A federal judge has given the Federal Bureau of Investigation until July 3 to respond to The Star News Network’s lawsuit demanding the agency turn over the manifesto and related records of Audrey Elizabeth Hale, the Covenant School killer.
The FBI had sought to delay the proceedings by another two weeks or a full month.
Read the full story
House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green possesses evidence that some Chinese migrants that crossed the southern border illegally and were released into the U.S. under the Biden administration are connected to the Chinese Communist Party and China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA), he told the Daily Caller News Foundation during a press conference Wednesday.
The intelligence came directly from a Border Patrol sector chief, Green told the DCNF. Border Patrol has seen a roughly 393 percent increase in illegal Chinese migrants at the southern border, with 9,711 Chinese migrant encounters recorded between October 2022 and April.
Read the full story
Tennessee U.S. Representative David Kustoff (R-TN-08) and U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) have introduced a bill in both the house and senate that would provide relief for impacted taxpayers in states that have issued state-level disaster declarations.
Read the full story
Tennessee’s teacher prep program, Grow Your Own (GYO), is in flux. Participating educator preparation providers (EPP) are awaiting Thursday, when they will be notified of how many seats they’ll be available to offer teacher candidates, along with the amount of funding available. The lack of clear answers is making some providers anxious for the fall.
“It is throwing off our staffing plans for next year as we can’t get an answer from Emma McCallie at TDOE or Erin Crisp at the GYO Center,” a source who wished to remain anonymous told The Tennessee Star.
Read the full story
U.S. Representatives David Kustoff (R-TN-08) and Mike Ezell (R-MS-04) on Tuesday introduced a bill that would enact stronger measures to stop drug traffickers from using the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to mail illegal drugs and precursor chemicals into the United States.
Read the full story
Tennessee U.S. Representative Tim Burchett (R-TN-02) recently re-introduced a bill that would impose stricter penalties on those who target veterans through telemarketing or email marketing fraud schemes.
Read the full story
On Sunday, approximately 70 Soldiers and Airmen from the Tennessee National Guard landed in Bulgaria to begin conducting an international joint readiness exercise the next day, the Tennessee Department of Military announced.
Read the full story
According to a Monday report, LGBT groups in Tennessee will be helping residents who believe their gender is different from their biological sex obtain new legal names.
The report comes as SB 1440, which defines “sex” as “biological sex” is set to take effect in the state.
Read the full story
Gov. Bill Lee (R) Monday released a proclamation marking June as “Great Outdoors Month” in Tennessee.
“From Mountain City to Memphis, Tennessee is blessed with an abundance of beauty & rich natural resources. I’m proud to proclaim this June “Great Outdoors Month” & celebrate our commitment to preserving Tennessee’s outdoor heritage for future generations,” Lee said on Twitter.
Read the full story
The “largest website and community of nurses online,” nurse.org, named the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga’s (UTC) School of Nursing as the best in the state as part of its 2023 nurse.org Best Nursing Schools by state rankings.
In its ranking explanation, nurse.org cited UTC’s National Council of State Boards of Nursing Licensure Exam (NCLEX) pass rate of 96 percent. Graduates are eligible to take the NCLEX to become a registered nurse upon completion of the bachelor’s program in nursing. The national average NCLEX pass rate is 82 percent.
Read the full story
The Tennessee Department of Education released district-level data on Tuesday from the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) retake opportunity, one of the pathways to promotion for third-grade students who failed to score proficient on the original administration of the assessment.
Statewide, roughly 44,000 students, which translates to 60 percent of the state’s third-graders who took the initial assessment, did not score proficient on the spring TCAP English Language Arts assessment. By law, those students are eligible for a retake exam. According to the TDOE, over 25,000 students took advantage of the opportunity.
Read the full story
After employing an elaborate scheme to smuggle drugs into a Tennessee correctional facility, a man faces over seven years in prison after one of the recipients of his smuggled narcotics overdosed and died.
“On June 8, 2023, Michael Wayne Lee, 45 of Blaine, Tennessee, was sentenced to 87 months in prison by the Honorable Clifton Corker, United States District Judge, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee at Greeneville,” according to a news release from the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Tennessee. “Following his imprisonment, Lee will be on supervised release for three years.”
Read the full story
Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti’s office responded Thursday to a report from conservative Daily Wire commentator and filmmaker Matt Walsh, saying that companies operating in Tennessee are allegedly writing bogus diagnoses of gender dysphoria in order to help people obtain sex change surgeries via insurance.
Walsh noted that these alleged scammers are operating in Tennessee, prompting The Tennessee Star to ask the Attorney General’s office for a comment.
Read the full story
The Tennessee State Museum announced that it will celebrate Juneteenth this weekend with a variety of free activities for Tennessee families.
Read the full story
U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Bill Hagerty (R-TN) both accused the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) of being “two tiered” after it was revealed that former President Donald Trump had been indicted following the FBI’s seizure of materials from his Mar-a-Lago estate last August.
On Thursday, Trump confirmed his indictment, writing on Truth Social, “The corrupt Biden Administration has informed my attorneys that I have been Indicted, seemingly over the Boxes Hoax, even though Joe Biden has 1850 Boxes at the University of Delaware, additional Boxes in Chinatown, D.C., with even more Boxes at the University of Pennsylvania, and documents strewn all over his garage floor where he parks his Corvette, and which is “secured” by only a garage door that is paper thin, and open much of the time.”
Read the full story
Thursday morning June 8, 2023 on The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy, broadcast weekday mornings on TalkRadio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC. 6:30 am TRANSCRIPT Michael Patrick Leahy: Clint, so we’re talking about the Nashville mayoral race. There was a poll released a couple days ago by the Commercial Real Estate Development Association. And well, it’s interesting because when the polls and there are polls, this is a poll of 400 likely Davidson County voters. What’s the margin of error on a poll like that? Clint Brewer: I think normally it’d be like four to five percent. Michael Patrick Leahy: Four to five percent. Got it. Okay. I mean, that’s a pretty small sample. Clint Brewer: It’s a sample size many would use for a city. But still small. Michael Patrick Leahy: You’re quite right. If it were a state, you’d probably get minimum 700 for your sample size, or more. But with the city being smaller, it’s harder to get a good sample. So the margin error is four or five percent. There are two things that struck me about this poll. And we’ll get to the horse race here in just a second. 45…
Read the full story
All state residents and visitors of any age may fish this Saturday without a license in Tennessee’s public waters for this year’s Bobby Wilson Free Fishing Day, according to the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA).
Furthermore, from Saturday through Friday, June 16th, anyone 15 years of age and younger can fish for free.
Read the full story
The Tennessee Republican Party announced Ron DeSantis, Florida governor and presidential candidate, as the keynote speaker for the group’s 46th annual Statesmen’s Dinner next month.
The event is scheduled for July 15 at the Music City Center in Nashville.
Read the full story
Two long-term Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE) executives have announced they will be leaving the department in the coming months. This announcement comes on the heels of Commissioner Penny Schwinn’s June 1 resignation.
Eve Carney, TDOE deputy commissioner, and Meghan McLeroy, TDOE’s chief statewide support officer, have served the department for over a quarter of a century. Along the way, they have earned accolades and appreciation from the state’s educators.
Read the full story
The Tennessee State University marching band, Aristocrat of Bands, is scheduled to perform at the White House in Washington D.C. and the Country Music Association (CMA) Fest in Nashville.
Read the full story
The Tennessee National Guard is launching a new fitness initiative to help guardsmen achieve their fitness goals, according to a Tuesday release.
“The Tennessee National Guard launched the pilot program of GRIT, Guard Readiness Improvement Training, at the Volunteer Training Site in Smyrna in May,” according to the release.
Read the full story
Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti has sent letters to ten major asset managers demanding information regarding how environmental, social, or governance (ESG) factors are incorporated into their investment decisions, according to Reuters.
Read the full story
Tennessee lawmakers are mourning the loss of State Representative Carson “Bill” Beck (D-Nashville) who passed away unexpectedly from a heart attack on Sunday.
Read the full story
The Tennessee Department of Agriculture (TDA) released the first round of recipients for its new Tennessee Forestry, Agriculture, and Rural Markets (FARM) cost share program.
Read the full story
Governor Bill Lee and other federal & state elected officials visited 100 Tennessee National Guard troops in Millington before their deployment to secure the U.S.-Mexico border.
Read the full story
Actor and children’s author Kirk Cameron released his book Pride Comes Before the Fall on June 1 as LGBTQ activists began their celebration of “pride” month.
“Thrilled to announce the release of my new children’s book, Pride Comes Before the Fall!” Cameron announced Thursday on Twitter.
Read the full story
June 1st officially marked the end of Penny Schwinn’s tenure as the top education official in Tennessee. Schwinn submitted her resignation on May 1st but gave the state 30 days’ notice before making it official.
Long-time Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE) employee Sam Pearcy will assume the reins for the next 30 days. At that time, Governor Bill Lee’s appointed successor, Lizzette Gonzalez Reynolds, officially begins her term.
Read the full story
Tennessee U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) vowed to vote against the debt ceiling bill that passed through the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday night.
Read the full story
As “pride month” kicks off across the country, Tennessee’s Democrats took to social media to show their support for the gay pride agenda.
State Senate Minority Leader Raumesh Akbari (D-District 29) retweeted a tweet by Sesame Street – a supposed children’s show – celebrating gay pride.
Read the full story
Nashville Pride, which has several events upcoming during the month of June, is sponsored by big name brands including the Tennessee Titans, Vanderbilt Health and others, according to its website.
Both Bridgestone and Nissan, who have huge presences in Tennessee, are listed on the site as “presenting partners” of this year’s pride activities. Nissan also sponsors the Tennessee Titans football stadium.
Read the full story
Five Tennessee U.S. Representatives voted against the Fiscal Responsibility Act on Wednesday.
The bill, negotiated between President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA-20) over the weekend, provides for a $4 trillion increase in the federal debt limit and suspends the federal debt limit until January of 2025.
Read the full story
Nine Tennessee counties audited by the Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury have all received a clean audit report for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2022, the comptroller’s office announced.
Read the full story
In the wake of The Covenant School shooting, a far-left reverend from Seattle has been working in Nashville to teach students how to protest.
“Reverend Osagyefo Sekou came to Nashville to work with the Dores Worker Solidarity Network [DWSN] on April 13,” according to Vanderbilt University’s website.
Read the full story
Tennessee U.S. Representatives Tim Burchett (R-TN-02) and Steve Cohen (D-TN-09) have introduced the Safe Aviation Flight Enhancement (SAFE) Act in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Read the full story
In observance of Memorial Day, the Tunnel to Towers Foundation honored 30 of America’s fallen veterans and first responders by delivering mortgage-free homes to the families that they left behind, including three in Tennessee.
Read the full story
The Star News Network asked a federal court on Thursday to issue summary judgment declaring the Federal Bureau of Investigation violated the law and must immediately turn over the Covenant Killer’s manifesto and related records.
Star News and its parent company, Star News Digital Media Inc., earlier this month filed a federal lawsuit against the FBI demanding it release the relevant writings of Audrey Elizabeth Hale, the mass murderer who in late March shot dead three 9-year-olds and three staff members at Nashville’s Covenant Presbyterian School.
Read the full story
According to multiple Thursday reports, the Clarksville-Montgomery County School System (CMCSs) is filing a lawsuit against several Silicon Valley titans of industry, claiming that social media is having a debilitating effect on its students.
The Frantz Law Group of California, working with the Tennessee law firm Lewis Thomason, filed the lawsuit the week of May 8, according to ClarksvilleNow.com. The defendants in the suit include Facebook, Google, Instagram, Meta, Snapchat, TikTok, WhatsApp and YouTube.
Read the full story
Data from the Tennessee Secretary of State’s Office shows that new business filings in Tennessee for the first quarter of 2023 were the highest in the state’s history.
Read the full story
Governor Bill Lee announced Wednesday evening that he authorized the deployment of 100 Tennessee National Guard troops to secure the U.S.-Mexico border.
Read the full story
Representatives from the State Freedom Caucus Network issued a statement of support Wednesday for the Tennessee House members who publicly rejected Governor Bill Lee’s call for a special session to pass gun control and red flag laws.
Earlier Wednesday, Tennessee State Representatives Bryan Richey (R-Maryville) issued an open letter to the governor, signed on to by Representatives Ed Butler (R-Rickman) and Todd Warner (R-Chapel Hill), urging the abandonment of the special session scheduled for August 21.
Read the full story
Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti has joined a bipartisan coalition of state attorneys general in suing a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service provider accused of initiating and facilitating millions of Americans with billions of illegal robocalls.
Read the full story
A new Tennessee law forbids public higher education from requiring allegiance to “divisive concepts,” including some tenets of “antiracism” and diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI.
The legislation becomes binding July 1, according to the Tennessee General Assembly. The bill passed the Tennessee House and Senate in late April, and Gov. Bill Lee signed it April 28.
Read the full story
In the aftermath of the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) test data release for third-graders by the Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE), legislators are pleased and encouraged, while parents are angry and confused.
On Friday, TDOE released scores to districts across the state. Due to the late distribution time, there was a variance in when parents received their child’s score. Some districts shared results with families on Friday night, while others in the larger urban districts didn’t receive results until Monday afternoon.
Read the full story
According to the Tennessee Department of Military, a Tennessee National Guard Unit, the 267th Military Police Company, will soon deploy to the Middle East.
“The 267th, headquartered in Dickson and with a detachment in Waverly, is a military police unit comprised of National Guardsmen trained in various security, policing, detention, and combat functions which enables the Army to maneuver freely, provide protection to the force, and promote the rule of law,” the Tennessee Department of Military said in a release. “The unit is initially deploying to Kuwait and then sending teams to countries throughout the Middle East to support other forward deployed military units.”
Read the full story
Tuesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, guest host Aaron Gulbransen welcomed Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson (R-Franklin) in studio to review the Tennessee General Assembly’s legislative victories and the outlook for 2024.
Read the full story
Tuesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, guest host Aaron Gulbransen welcomed Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson (R-Franklin) in studio to talk about how he became conservative at a young age.
Read the full story
Tennessee U.S. Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) has introduced three bills to permanently freeze hiring at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM), and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF).
Read the full story
Governor Bill Lee has signed a bill that amends the Tennessee code to apply biology-based definitions across all state statutes.
Read the full story
A lawyer from the conservative Heritage Foundation says that she is “floored” after a Tennessee man who returned fire on multiple assailants was charged with reckless endangerment.
“I’m floored that the home owner here is being charged with ‘reckless endangerment.’ The arguments from police seem absurd on their face to me. The only people he endangered were…the ones shooting at him. And he’s 100% entitled to ‘endanger’ them,” said Heritage Senior Legal Fellow Amy Swearer.
Read the full story
Monday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, guest host Gulbransen welcomed Tennessee AG’s Chief of Staff Brandon Smith in studio to discuss the new strategic litigation unit in the Tennessee AG office.
Read the full story