Search Results for: the tennessee star

Tennessee Firearms Association, Former Sheriff Sue Metro Nashville Police Demanding Release of Covenant Killer’s Manifesto

M.D. Kittle

The Tennessee Firearms Association is asking a state court to order the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department to turn over the Covenant School killer’s manifesto — documents law enforcement have kept from the public more than a month after Audrey Elizabeth Hale stormed into the private Covenant Presbyterian School and killed three 9-year-olds and three adults. 

In a lawsuit filed Monday, the TFA and former Hamilton County Sheriff James Hammond request the 20th Judicial District, Chancery Court, in Davidson County to grant the organization access to the manifesto. The complaint also seeks an order from the court finding the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County’s denial of TFA’s records requests is unlawful. 

Read the full story

Tennessee Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn Resigns, Governor Lee Names Lizzette Gonzales Reynolds as New Top Educator

TC Weber

Commissioner of Education Penny Schwinn is leaving the Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE) effective June 1, online education policy magazine The74, reported Monday. The outlet reports that Schwinn has grown tired of distracting culture war battles over the way race and gender are taught in the state’s classrooms. In response, Governor Lee is returning to familiar ground for her replacement.

Lee named Lizzette Gonzales Reynolds as the news Education Commissioner, who, like Schwinn, is a former Texas Deputy Commissioner of Education.

Read the full story

Dates Sets for Special Elections in Tennessee State House Districts of Expelled Interim State Reps

Mac Roberts

State Representatives Justin Jones (D-Nashville) and Justin Pearson (D-Memphis) will have an opportunity to seek election victories in their respective districts after their expulsions from the State House earlier this month. Nashville Metro Council and Shelby County Commission both voted unanimously to appoint Jones and Pearson to serve as their own interim replacements in Districts 52 and 86.

These appointments are only temporary, as special elections must take place to decide who will serve the remainder of Jones’s and Pearson’s terms. 

Read the full story

Unemployment Rates Drop in Nearly Every Tennessee County

Mac Roberts

In a new release on Thursday, the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development (TDLWD) announced March 2023 decreases in the unemployment rates in all but one county. Meigs County, a rural area situated between Chattanooga and Knoxville with a population of around 13,000, was the only one of 95 counties that saw an increase in its unemployment figure – by 0.7 percent.

Meigs County also had the highest unemployment rate of any county, with 5.6 percent. Most of the other top ten highest unemployment rates were in rural counties, including Bledsoe, Haywood, Lake, Scott, Clay, Cocke, Decatur, Lauderdale, and Grundy Counties.

Read the full story

Dan Lennington of the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty Explains Why Legal Action to Obtain Covenant Killer Manifesto on Behalf of Star News Network Began Against FBI

Julie Carr

Friday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed attorney Dan Lennington with the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty to the newsmaker line to discuss the process in which they intend to obtain the Hale Manifesto regarding the Nashville Covenant School shooting.

Read the full story

Tennessee Receives Annual Settlement Payment of More than $160 Million from Major Tobacco Companies

Kaitlin Housler

The State of Tennessee received a payment totaling $163.9 million on Wednesday from the major tobacco companies that joined the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement (MSA), bringing the state’s total payout amount from the settlement to $3.8 billion so far.

Read the full story

Biden Admin to Start Processing Migrants in Latin America as Border Surge Continues: Report

Admin

The Biden administration is expected to announce a plan Thursday to have migrant processing centers south of the U.S.-Mexico border amid an influx of illegal immigration, CBS News reported late Wednesday.

The plan would allow migrants to have their screening interviews at the centers to determine whether or not they have legal claims to come to the U.S., according to CBS News, citing four sources with knowledge of the plan. The processing centers will be located in areas that migrants traverse frequently and in large numbers.

Read the full story

The Star News Network Files Legal Action Against FBI in Seeking Covenant School Killer’s Manifesto

M.D. Kittle

The Star News Network’s attorneys have filed a new case with the U.S. Department of Justice demanding the Federal Bureau of Investigation turn over Nashville mass shooter Audrey Elizabeth Hale’s manifesto.

The Milwaukee-based Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL) on Wednesday filed an administrative appeal with the Justice Department’s Office of Information Policy after the FBI twice rejected The Star News Network’s Freedom of Information Act requests, seeking the expedited release of the documents.

Read the full story

Tennessee U.S. Rep. Tim Burchett One of Four Republicans to Vote Against Debt Ceiling Bill

Kaitlin Housler

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Limit, Save, Grow Act of 2023 on Wednesday, which would increase the debt limit for one year by $1.5 trillion and reduce the growth of domestic spending. The vote was 217-215.

Read the full story

Tennessee Teacher Goes Viral After Saying Kids Aren’t Ready for Social Media

Peter D'Abrosca

A Tennessee teacher has gone viral on Facebook after a post saying that children are not ready for social media.

Jackie Tate, whose Facebook profile identifies her as a teacher at St. Patrick’s School, a Catholic school in McEwen, Tennessee, says the following:

Imagine something embarrassing happened to you at school when you were in the 7th grade. Everyone laughed and it was awful and you were mortified. Then a few weeks passed and everyone found new things to laugh about and they moved on. You didn’t forget how embarrassed you were, but you could move on too.

Now imagine you did something embarrassing in 7th grade. And everyone laughed and it was awful. But someone also caught it on Snap Chat. And turned it into a meme. And a Tik Tok. And everyone in school saw it. And took a screen shot of it. And spread it further. And you couldn’t get away from it. And no one forgot. And you couldn’t either. And people were still re sharing it months later.

Just sit there and imagine it for a minute.

Kids aren’t ready for social media. It starts with us parents. Please share.

Read the full story

Tennessee U.S. Rep. and Homeland Security Chairman Mark Green Introduces the Border Reinforcement Act

Kaitlin Housler

Tennessee U.S. Representative and chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security Mark Green (R-TN-07) led Republican members of the committee in introducing the Border Reinforcement Act of 2023.

Read the full story

Nashville Council Approves New $2.1 Billion Tennessee Titans Stadium, to Open in 2027

The Center Square
LP Field in Nashville, Tennessee

The Tennessee Titans will have a new $2.1 billion stadium in 2027 after the deal to fund the stadium was approved by Metro Nashville’s Council on its third and final vote at a special meeting that stretched into Wednesday morning.

The final vote was 26-12 for the stadium project with Council Member Delishia Porterfield voting for the bill in order to attempt a procedural reconsideration of the vote that would have created another vote on the bill at the council’s May 2 meeting.

Read the full story

CPAC Ratings Reveal the Most Conservative Members of the Tennessee Congressional Delegation

Kaitlin Housler

The Conservative Political Action Coalition (CPAC) released on Monday the 52nd Edition of its annual Ratings of Congress, which shows all but one Tennessee Republican Congressional lawmaker receiving an award for conservative achievement.

CPAC’s report is based on a “compilation of over 20,000 votes cast by all 535 members of congress across the full spectrum of policy issues,” during last year’s legislative session analyzed by CPAC’s Center for Legislative Accountability.

Read the full story

Tennessee Valley Authority Donates $50,000 to Tipton County Schools Following Tornado Damage

Kaitlin Housler

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) recently announced that it is providing $50,000 for supplies and equipment at two Tipton County Schools destroyed by the March 31st and April 1st tornadoes that swept through 10 Tennessee counties.

Read the full story

Tennessee Lawmakers Call for the Release of Covenant Murderer Hale Manifesto Ahead of Special Session

Peter D'Abrosca

Tennessee Republicans are demanding a the release of a manifesto written by the person who killed six at The Covenant School on March 27, before entering into a special legislative session that will be focused on gun control. 

State Sen. Todd Gardenhire (R-Chattanooga), the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has filed a public records request with the Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) in order to obtain information about the manifesto left behind by 28-year-old Audrey Elizabeth Hale, who identified as transgender, after Hale’s rampage at The Covenant School in Nashville. 

Read the full story

Lizzo Welcomes Drag Queens on Stage at Knoxville Show to Protest Tennessee Drag Show Laws

Peter D'Abrosca

Pop star Lizzo invited drag queens onto the stage in her weekend performance in Knoxville, apparently in protest of a Tennessee law that bans drag shows near children.

“In light of recent and tragic events and current events, I was told by people on the internet, ‘Cancel your shows in Tennessee,’ ‘Don’t go to Tennessee,'” Lizzo said during her show. “Their reason was valid, but why would I not come to the people who need to hear this message the most? “The people who need to feel this release the most?”

Read the full story

Hundreds of Methodist Churches in Tennessee, Virginia, and Georgia Depart the Denomination Over ‘Human Sexuality’ and Other Matters

Kaitlin Housler

On Saturday, 264 congregations part of the United Methodists of the Holston Conference had their requests processed to leave the denomination, citing “issues around human sexuality and other matters.”

Read the full story

Transgender Professor at Middle Tennessee State University Appointed to Serve on a Presidential Advisory Commission in the Biden Administration

Kaitlin Housler

Marisa Richmond, a transgender professor at Middle Tennessee State University, has been appointed by President Joe Biden to serve on the Presidential Advisory Commission on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity for Black Americans.

Read the full story

Tennessee Board to Vote on $9.3 Million in Manufacturing Plant Incentives

The Center Square

Sinova Silicon is set to receive a second incentive for its silicon metal plant in Tiptonville if it is approved at next week’s State Funding Board meeting.

Sinova was awarded a $2.2 million incentive in December 2021 for its $150 million investment to build a new plant, which broke ground Oct. 17. Now the funding board is scheduled to approve a $6.5 million FastTrack incentive grant for the Lake County site.

Read the full story

Tennessee General Assembly Extends Eligibility for Participation in State Education Savings Account Program

TC Weber

Tennessee lawmakers passed a bill on Friday that would extend eligibility for participation in the state’s Educational Savings Account (ESA) program to Hamilton County students.

The Senate passed its version of the bill, which limited expansion to Chattanooga, back in February. This week, the House passed a version (SB0012) that included Knoxville in the ongoing pilot program.

Read the full story

ACLU Sues Tennessee over Law Preventing Trans Surgeries, Hormones

Peter D'Abrosca

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Thursday announced that it is filing a lawsuit against the state of Tennessee over what it calls an “attack” on transgender youth. 

SB 1 recently passed the Tennessee Senate and subsequently enacted into law, bans doctors from child genital mutilation and giving harmful sex-change hormones and puberty blockers to children, the former of which often cannot be reversed. 

Read the full story

Tennessee Teachers Gain Money, But Lose Option of Payroll Deduction for Union Dues

TC Weber

The Tennessee House voted this week to raise the starting pay for those entering the teaching profession in the state.

HB0329 calls for an increase in salary for teachers to $42,000 for the 2023-2024 school year. That number will increase each year by $2500 until it hits $50K for the school year of 2026-2027 school year.

Read the full story

TC Weber Explains New Bill That Would Increase Salary and Offer Payroll Deduction Options for Tennessee Teachers

Julie Carr

Thursday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Michael Patrick Leahy welcomed Tennessee Star education reporter TC Weber in studio to discuss the recent bill passed that would increase teacher salaries and options for payroll deductions.

Read the full story

Commentary: Tennessee Democrat Proposal for a Red Flag Law

Admin

On April 20, 2023, Tennessee Firearms Association received a “leaked” draft of a Red Flag law which information indicates is likely being offered by Tennessee Democrats since it seeks to amend House Bill 1233 Senate Bill 1029 which has Democrat sponsors in the House and Senate. Of particular concern, however, is that House Republican Caucus Chairman Jeremy Faison (R-Cosby). Since a high ranking House Republican leader is a sponsor on the bill, it must be considered whether this is a second attempt by Governor Bill Lee to get a Red Flag law to the floor.

Read the full story

Tennessee Senator Blackburn Introduces Sister City Transparency Act

Bradley Vasoli

U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) this week reintroduced the Sister City Transparency Act, a bill aimed toward addressing geostrategic scheming, particularly by China.

“Sister cities” are municipalities that enter into diplomatic relationships with localities abroad to facilitate cultural and economic exchange. But, the senator told The Tennessee Star, China is using these arrangements to advance propaganda and exert political pressure. 

Read the full story

Tennessee U.S. Congressman Andy Ogles Introduces the Ukraine Lend-Lease Accountability Act

Kaitlin Housler

Tennessee U.S. Congressman Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) introduced the Ukraine Lend-Lease Accountability Act on Wednesday, which would “restore the ordinary requirements found in the Arms Export Control Act and Foreign Assistance Act regarding any loans and/or leases of equipment made to Ukraine.”

Read the full story

Democrat State Representatives Involved in Tennessee Capitol Riot to Visit the White House

Kaitlin Housler

Tennessee Democrat State Representatives Justin Jones (D-Nashville), Justin Pearson (D-Memphis), and Gloria Johnson (D-Knoxville) will visit the White House on Monday, the Biden administration announced this week.

Read the full story

Tennessee to Require Tipton County Schools to Take TCAP Tests

TC Weber

Despite having two schools recently destroyed by tornados, Tipton County students will still be required to participate in the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP). Crestview Elementary and Crestview Middle School were the two elementary schools destroyed during the tornados. 

Tipton County, a rural conservative county that borders the Mississippi River, had appealed directly to Governor Lee for relief from the burden of testing this year, due to the county still dealing with the after facts of two tornadoes that struck on March 31. According to a report from television station WREG, “The tornadoes damaged 540 structures, causing more than $37 million in damages.”

Read the full story

Southern Baptist Convention Calls for Gun Control in Tennessee

Peter D'Abrosca

The Southern Baptist Convention is now using its massive sway to call for gun control in Tennessee. 

Brent Leatherwood, the Southern Baptist Convention’s president of the church’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC), demanded gun control in a letter published by The Tennesseean.

Read the full story

State Senator Jack Johnson: ‘The Tennessee General Assembly Will Not Pass Any Red Flag Law, Period’

Julie Carr

Tuesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Michael Patrick Leahy welcomed State Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson (R-Franklin) in studio to dispel rumors of the Tennessee State Senate passing red flag laws.

Read the full story

State Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson Identifies Significant Legislative Accomplishments in This Session of the Tennessee General Assembly

Julie Carr

Tuesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Michael Patrick Leahy welcomed State Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson (R-Franklin) in studio to discuss recent legislation that has passed quickly in the Tennessee Legislature.

Read the full story

Former President Trump Announces 2024 Tennessee National Leadership Team, Picks Up Endorsements from Members of the State Delegation

Kaitlin Housler

Former President Donald Trump traveled to Nashville over the weekend to attend the Republican National Committee’s Spring Retreat where he met with Republican members of the Tennessee Congressional Delegation.

Following his meeting with members of the state’s delegation, Trump announced the creation of his 2024 Tennessee Federal Leadership Team.

Read the full story

Tennessee Air National Guardsman Charged in Hitman Plot

Peter D'Abrosca

According to the Department of Justice (DOJ), a Tennessee National Guardsman has been charged in connection with a plot to become a hired hitman. 

“Josiah Ernesto Garcia, 21, was charged yesterday in a criminal complaint with the use of interstate facilities in the commission of murder-for-hire,” according to the DOJ. 

Read the full story

Tennessee Firearms Association Founder John Harris Blasts Plans to Pretend Proposed Red Flag Laws Are Something Else by Rebranding Them

Julie Carr

Monday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed Tennessee Firearms Associations John Harris in studio to discuss rumors of the rebranding of red flag laws in the state of Tennessee.

Read the full story

Oprah Winfrey, Mississippi U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson to Headline Tennessee State University’s Spring Commencement Ceremonies

Kaitlin Housler

Tennessee State University (TSU) recently announced that talk show host Oprah Winfrey and Mississippi Congressman Bennie Thompson (D-MS-02) will headline the university’s spring commencement ceremonies next month.

Read the full story

Tennessee Firearms Association: Gov. Lee’s ‘Red Flag Law’ Proposal Likely Unconstitutional

Peter D'Abrosca

The Executive Director of the Tennessee Firearms association said Friday that Gov. Bill Lee (R), who has asked the legislature to deliver him a proposed”Red Flag Law,” which he calls an “Order of Protection” law, is treading on dangerous Constitutional grounds. 

“It is not clear why Governor Bill Lee, who claims to support the Second Amendment, would propose a Red Flag law at this time. The circumstances indicate potentially two reasons,” John Harris told The Tennessee Star. “First, the Covenant School shooting fatalities have generated a public emotional response – something that he referenced in his April 11 statement. Second, activists Democrat state legislators are making a demand that more gun control be enacted now.”

Read the full story

Tennessee ESA Expansion Bill Moves to State House Floor for Final Vote

TC Weber

A bill expanding eligibility rules for Tennessee’s Education Saving Account (ESA) pilot program passed out of the House Education Administration Committee on Wednesday and is headed to the House floor for a final vote.

The bill would open the door for students in Chattanooga and Knoxville to enroll in private schools using state scholarship money.

Read the full story

Tennessee Three Voted Against School Safety Bill amid Riot, Gun Control Controversy

Peter D'Abrosca

On the same day that State Representatives Justin Jones (D-Nashville) and Justin Pearson (D-Memphis) were expelled from the Tennessee House of Representatives, they voted, along with State Representative Gloria Johnson (D-Knox County), against a school safety bill that overwhelmingly passed the legislative body.

The trio and State Representative Torrey Harris (D-Memphis) were the only House legislators that voted against House Bill 0322.

Read the full story

Constitutional Law Expert: Democrats’ Call for DOJ Probe into Tennessee State Lawmakers’ Expulsions Is ‘Ridiculous Political Grandstanding’

M.D. Kittle

The left’s press to paint the expulsions of two disorderly Democratic lawmakers from the Tennessee House of Representatives as an assault on civil rights is moving into overdrive, but constitutional law experts predict the effort will go nowhere — even for President Joe Biden’s politically weaponized Justice Department. 

A group of U.S. Senate Democrats led by Raphael Warnock (D-GA) and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is calling on the DOJ to investigate the Republican-controlled Tennessee House’s removal of State Representatives Justin Jones (D-Nashville) and Justin Pearson (D-Memphis). 

Read the full story

Michael Patrick Leahy and Clint Brewer Examine Tennessee State Law in Special Election to Fill for Jones and Pearson Vacancies

Julie Carr

Thursday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Michael Patrick Leahy welcomed recovering journalist Clint Brewer in studio to examine what would happen next in fulfilling the vacancies of Justin Jones and Justin Pearson.

Read the full story

Tennessee State Representative Sabi Kumar Talks About the Racial Slur Justin Jones Called Him

Julie Carr

Thursday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Michael Patrick Leahy welcomed State Representative Sabi ‘Doc’ Kumar (R-Springfield) in studio to talk about the racist slur he received from Justin Jones and the accomplishments of immigrants in America.

Read the full story

Leftist Lawmakers Raising Money Off of Their Expulsions from the Tennessee House

M.D. Kittle

Tennessee State Representatives Justin Jones (D-Nashville) and Justin Pearson (D-Memphis) are looking to cash in on their expulsion battles — and their friends on the far-left are, too.

Jones and Pearson, who were expelled last week from the Republican-led House of Representatives, are back in their seats after each was reinstated this week — Jones on Monday, Pearson on Wednesday. They were removed from their positions after being accused of inciting a riot on the House floor amid a chaotic protest demanding gun control laws. State Representative Gloria Johnson (D-Knoxville), who helped lead the protest, survived expulsion by one vote.

Read the full story

Shelby County Commission Votes Unanimously to Appoint Justin Pearson as His Own Interim Successor to the Tennessee House

Peter D'Abrosca

After being expelled from the Tennessee State legislature last week for inciting a riot at the Capitol in Nashville, Democrat lawmaker Justin Pearson has been appointed as his own interim replacement. 

“Keep representing us to the best of your ability, and know that you all have support from this body,” said Shelby County Commissioner Mickell Lowery before turning the floor over to Pearson for remarks. 

Read the full story

WTN’s Brian Wilson Interviews Speaker of the Tennessee House Cameron Sexton

Julie Carr

Live from Nashville, Tennessee, Tuesday on The Brian Wilson Show – host Wilson welcomed Tennessee House of Representatives Speaker Cameron Sexton to the newsmaker hotline to discuss the expulsion proceedings of Democrat Representatives Justin Jones and Justin Pearson.

Read the full story