Founder of Tennessee Anti-MAGA PAC Raised Nearly $440,000 at Last Political Organization, Then Folded

Chloe Akers

Chloe Akers, who founded The Best of Tennessee with seasoned political fundraiser Kim Kaegi, previously raised nearly $440,000 for a political action committee that sought to elevate moderate voices in support of abortion and gun control.

Prior to founding The Best of Tennessee, Akers was the creator of The Liminal Plan, a political action committee where she reportedly raised $439,461, according to Tennessee Lookout.

Read the full story

Most Americans Don’t Think Trump Acted Illegally in Alvin Bragg Case: Poll

Trump in Oval Office

Only 35 perdent of Americans believe former President Donald Trump acted illegally in regard to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s case against him, which began on Monday, a Tuesday poll found.

Jury selection is underway in the first of Trump’s four criminal cases, where he faces 34 felony counts over allegations related to falsifying business records when reimbursing a hush money payment to former porn star actress Stormy Daniels leading up to the 2016 election. As Trump sits in the courtroom this week, 31 percent believe Trump’s alleged actions were “unethical, but not illegal,” 14 percent argue he did “nothing wrong” and 19 percent said they “don’t know enough to say,” according to an AP/NORC poll.

Read the full story

Poll by Progressive Group Claims Republicans Divided over 1864 Arizona Abortion Law

Abort the Court

A progressive polling firm released data on Tuesday that claims Republicans are divided over the decision by the Arizona Supreme Court to enact a 19th-century law that bans most abortions, including in the event of rape or incest.

Pollsters at Data for Progress asked likely U.S. voters whether they approve of the state Supreme Court’s decision to ban all abortions “with exceptions only for when the life of the mother is in danger” and with “no exceptions for pregnancy resulting from rape or incest.”

Read the full story

Virginia Conservative Leaders Celebrate Gov. Glenn Youngkin for ‘Common Ground Budget,’ Record Vetoes

Glenn Youngkin Budget

A coalition of conservative leaders in Virginia praised Governor Glenn Youngkin for his “Common Ground Budget” and record vetoes on Monday.

The Virginia Conservative Leaders Coalition celebrated the governor’s “thoughtful navigation of Virginia’s fiscal priorities” in a Tuesday press release by Virginia Institute Action. The group claims the compromise budget proposed by Youngkin “exemplifies his leadership in bridging divides.”

Read the full story

Arizona Republicans Scramble to Counter Abortion Amendment Proposal

Arizona State House Speaker Ben Toma at a March for Life event

Republican lawmakers in Arizona are trying to fast-track ballot initiatives to counter an abortion amendment that will likely be in front of voters this fall, according to Axios.

Activists have been working to get an amendment on the ballot that would enshrine abortion as a right in the state’s constitution and in April, proponents of the measure claimed that they had enough signatures to get the proposal on the ballot in November, according to NBC News. GOP state representatives, however, are considering a series of initiatives that would protect the legislature’s ability to limit abortion and enshrine a law restricting abortion to before the first day of the 15th week of pregnancy, according to Axios.

Read the full story

Soros-Funded DA Faces Recall Vote After Crime Ravages Blue County

Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price

An effort to recall a George Soros-funded California district attorney has received enough signatures to advance, according to a county document.

Organizers seeking to oust Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price have collected 74,757 verified signatures in support of their effort to hold a recall election, over 1,000 more than needed, the Alameda County Registrar of Voters announced Monday. Save Alameda for Everyone, one of the primary committees campaigning for Price’s removal, argues that Price has been prioritizing offenders over victims, contributing to an uptick in crime in their community.

Read the full story

Commentary: Inflation Will Stick Around as Long as The Big Spenders Do

President Joe Biden signing a bill

August came early to the nation’s capital with last week’s round of March inflation data. The late summer weather in Washington, D.C., is notoriously hot and sticky, two accurate descriptors of the latest price increases facing families and businesses alike. Inflation is stubbornly high, and the Biden administration’s spendthrift public policies are to blame.

In the past 12 months, consumer prices rose 3.5 percent, the second month of accelerating annual inflation. In March alone, prices rose 0.4 percent. That may not sound like much, but it’s actually terrible. If that monthly inflation rate holds steady, prices will double in less than 16 years.

Read the full story

Nikki Haley Announces New Gig After Failed Presidential Campaign

Nikki Haley

Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley will serve as the next Walter P. Stern Chair of the conservative Hudson Institute following her suspended 2024 presidential run, according to a Monday press release.

Haley was the last remaining challenger to former President Donald Trump in the Republican primary until she dropped out of the race following a slew of Super Tuesday losses. The former ambassador and South Carolina governor, who received a Global Leadership Award from the foreign policy think tank in 2018, said she will seek to “defend the principles that make America the greatest country in the world,” according to the press release.

Read the full story

Courtney Johnston Sponsored Transgender Day of Remembrance Resolution Ahead of ‘Conservative’ Challenge to Rep. Andy Ogles

Nashville Metro Council Member Courtney Johnston

Metro Councilwoman Courtney Johnston, who is challenging Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) in the Republican primary for the 5th Congressional district, previously cosponsored a resolution in to set an official day for Nashville to recognize the Transgender Day of Remembrance in 2023.

Johnston is listed among the 29 sponsors of RS 2023-99, which was titled, “A Resolution recognizing November 20, 2023, as Transgender Day of Remembrance in Nashville and Davidson County, Tennessee.”

Read the full story

Kari Lake Tops $4 Million in First Fundraising Quarter of 2024

Kari Lake campaign

Republican Senate candidate Kari Lake of Arizona brought in $4.1 million in the first fundraising quarter of 2024, her campaign announced on Sunday.

Lake’s haul is roughly twice as much as she raised in 2023’s last fundraising quarter, and she now has $2.5 million in cash on hand, according to her campaign. The Republican’s opponent, Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego, announced on April 2 that his campaign topped $7.5 million in the first fundraising quarter with more than $9.6 million in the bank.

Read the full story

Arizona Democrats Katie Hobbs, Ruben Gallego Conflicted on Whether Lawmakers Should Repeal 1864 Abortion Law

Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs and Rep. Ruben Gallego

Two of Arizona’s most high profile Democrats have publicly disagreed about the correct course of action after the Arizona Supreme Court approved a 19th century law that effectively bans most abortions.

In a Friday appearance on The View, Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs urged the Arizona State Legislature to immediately repeal the 1864 law that predates Arizona’s statehood.

Read the full story

Commentary: Speaker Mike Johnson’s ‘Personal Conservatism’ Betrays the Conservative Movement

Speaker Mike Johnson

The election of Representative Mike Johnson of Louisiana to Speaker of the House has thrown into stark relief the difference between what one might call “personal conservatives” and those of us who consider ourselves to be part of the conservative movement, or movement conservatives.

There’s no doubt that Speaker Johnson lives his life according to a set of conservative principles: He’s a church-going man known for his personal rectitude; he married his wife in a “covenant marriage;” as a lawyer he advocated a constitutional “textualist” approach to his cases; he spent many years actively involved in advancing the Right-to-Life; he opposes same sex marriages, and in 2015 he took one of his daughters to a purity ball.

Read the full story

Author Geoff Shepard Explains His Role in the Nixon Administration During Watergate and How the Scandal Was ‘Misinterpreted’ for 40 Years

Author Geoff Shepard

Geoff Shepard, former staffer in the Nixon Administration and author of The Nixon Conspiracy: Watergate and the Plot to Remove the President, explained in an exclusive interview with The Michael Patrick Leahy Show how he came to the conclusion that the Watergate scandal had been misinterpreted for nearly 40 years.

Read the full story

Feds, Scientists Take Fire for Allegedly Hiding COVID Origins Truth

CO'VID testing stie

A Republican-led Congressional committee says a scientist and top advisor to Anthony Fauci used his personal email to hide evidence related to the origins of COVID-19.

Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic Chairman Brad Wenstrup, R-Ohio, sent a letter to the National Emerging Infectious Disease Institute asking for more information about these communications.

Read the full story

Metro Nashville Councilwoman Courtney Johnston Demanded Special Session for New Gun Laws in 2022

Metro Councilwoman Courtney Johnston, who recently announced a primary challenge to Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05), previously urged Governor Bill Lee to call a special session to pass legislation targeting firearms in a 2022 open letter.

Johnston argued in her letter that “thoughts and prayers are no longer enough” and urged Lee to “take a hard look at our policies and what we can and should do differently.”

Read the full story

Conservatives Urge House to Hold Hearing on Google Gemini Over 2024 Election Integrity Concerns

Rep. Jim Jordan

The hearing Republicans are calling for would increase public scrutiny on Google’s AI application and potentially inherent bias.

Conservative and Republican groups nationwide are urging House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan to hold a hearing about potential problems posed by Google Gemini, with concerns specifically about whether it could influence the 2024 presidential election.

Read the full story

Tennessee Faith and Freedom Coalition Announces 2024 Senate and House Conservative Champions

Representative Jake McCalmon Dawn White

The Tennessee Faith and Freedom Coalition (TNFFC) announced Friday that two members of the Tennessee General Assembly have been honored as the Senate and House Conservative Champions this legislative session.

According to the organization, TNFFC’s Conservative Champion awards are given to legislators in the General Assembly who “most ardently defend the Constitution, rights and freedoms” of the Volunteer State citizens.

Read the full story

Ex-Trump Advisor Purged from Federal Elections Board After Left-Wing Pressure Campaign, Emails Show

Attorney Cleta Mitchell

A federal agency did not reappoint a former Trump advisor to an elections advisory board after a left-wing activist group threatened to launch a public criticism campaign, according to emails obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Cleta Mitchell, a lawyer who is now the senior legal fellow at the Conservative Partnership Institute, was appointed to the advisory board for the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) in November 2021. After months of badgering United States Commission on Civil Rights (USCCR) officials to oust Mitchell from the EAC board of advisors, Free Speech for People president John Bonifaz threatened to launch a “public campaign” criticizing the agency if it did not drop Mitchell at the end of her two-year term, emails obtained by the DCNF via public records request show.

Read the full story

Republican Challenges Reelection Signatures by State Rep. Justin Jones in Move to Possibly Strike Democrat from Ballot

Tennessee State Rep. Justin Jones

Republican candidate Laura Nelson challenged the qualifying signatures submitted by State Representative Justin Jones (D-Nashville) on Friday, which if successful, would remove the controversial Tennessee Three member from the ballot.

With 25 signatures required to qualify for reelection, Jones reportedly turned in 26 signatures to election officials. One was then disqualified, with WSMV 4 reporting the signer was determined not to live in the district, which current leaves Jones with just the 25 signatures required.

Read the full story

Commentary: North Carolina Could Be Ground Zero for the Gen Z Revolt Against Democrats

Gen Z Trump Voter

What began as imprecise theories among a handful of forward-looking political observers and youth organizers is materializing this election year, and poll after poll is now showing young voters deserting Democrats in droves.

Mainstream news outlets have little choice but to acknowledge the vast, double-digit declines in support for Biden among younger voters, a group which supported him by 25 percentage points in 2020. Now we are seeing tentative coverage of the youth shift and warnings to Democrats in Vox, NPR, CNN and other mainstream outlets.

Read the full story

GOP Representative Blasts Squad Democrats for Trying to Block Sale of F-35s Israel Used to Defend Against Iran Attacks

Rep. Brian Mast

Republican Rep. Brian Mast of Florida blasted Democrats for trying to get the Biden administration to block the sale of advanced F-35 jets to Israel that defended on Saturday against Iran’s large-scale drone and ballistic missile attack in an exclusive statement to the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Former House speaker Nancy Pelosi joined 39 Democratic colleagues, including members of the “Squad,” in an April 5 letter urging the president to reverse his decision authorizing a weapons sale to Israel after an Israeli airstrike killed seven humanitarian workers in Gaza. The transfer included U.S.-made F-35 fighter jets and other American-origin weapons needed “to ensure Israel can survive” amid threats and attacks from Iran, Mast, who serves on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said in a statement to the DCNF.

Read the full story

Saving Whales Started as Left-Wing Cause, but Now Conservatives are Taking Up the Fight

Whale breaching the surface

Saving the whales was once a leading cause of left-wing environmental groups like Greenpeace. But offshore wind development has created an ironic twist in which conservative groups are now the loudest voices raising concerns about the North Atlantic right whale’s extinction.

The Heartland Institute, Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow (CFACT) and the National Legal and Policy Center, want to draw attention to what they say is a connection between an increase in dead whales along the East Coast and industrialization of the U.S. Coast. A new study by an independent acoustician concludes that they may be right.

Read the full story

Black Men’s Support for Trump Doubles in Swing States: Poll

MAGA Hat

Former President Donald Trump’s support among black men has increased in battleground states ahead of the 2024 election by more than double his support among the same group in 2020’s election, according to a poll published on Thursday by The Wall Street Journal.

Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, has long sought to gain support among black voters, traditionally a Democratic-supporting demographic, by touting his record on the economy and criminal justice reform while in office, among other matters. A recent poll estimated that 30 percent of black men in seven battleground states — Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — “definitely or probably” plan to vote for Trump in November’s election, an increase of 18 percent from his nationwide performance among that demographic in 2020, where he earned 12 percent of their votes, the Journal reported.

Read the full story

Mayorkas to Testify at House Committee Hearing on Homeland Security Budget

Alejandro Mayorkas

The U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security will be holding a hearing next Tuesday to examine the Department of Homeland Security’s fiscal 2025 budget request.

It will hear testimony from DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who is scheduled to testify for the first time since he was impeached in February. The committee’s chairman, U.S. Rep. Mark Green, R-Tenn., led the charge to impeach Mayorkas on two counts, making him the first sitting cabinet member to be impeached in U.S. history.

Read the full story

U.S. Rep. David Kustoff Is the Sole Tennessee Republican House Member to Vote Against Ending Warrantless Spying Under FISA

David Kustoff

U.S. Representative David Kustoff (R-TN-08) was the sole member of Tennessee’s congressional delegation to vote on Friday against an amendment that would have ended the warrantless spying on United States citizens allowed under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).

Kustoff was among the 86 Republicans who joined 126 Democrats in a vote against a FISA amendment proposed by Representatives Andy Biggs (R-AZ-05) and Pramila Jayapal (D-WA-07) that would have required intelligence agencies to obtain a warrant before spying on American citizens.

Read the full story

Dem Voter Registration Dips in Crucial Swing States Ahead of 2024

Voter Registration

Three crucial battleground states have experienced a drop in Democratic voter registration since late 2020 and ahead of a November rematch with former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden, election data shows.

Nevada, North Carolina and Pennsylvania — which saw some of the closest presidential elections last cycle — all currently have less registered Democratic voters overall than in late 2020, according to the most recent state records. While Democrats still lead Republicans in party registration, the margins in these states are much smaller than before.

Read the full story

Chinese Military Companies Have Spent over $24 Million Lobbying the U.S. Government in Recent Years

Chinese Military

Entities the Pentagon classifies as “Chinese military companies” have spent more than $24 million lobbying the U.S. government since 2020, a Daily Caller News Foundation review of lobbying disclosures found.

Some of the biggest spenders on lobbying included corporations directly tied to human rights abuses and Chinese military research, like telecom giant Huawei, facial recognition software developer Megvii and genomics company BGI Shenzhen. Chinese military corporations cast a wide net across the American government, lobbying the House, Senate and various parts of the executive branch, including the office of the president, often setting their sights on proposed policies that would impact their U.S. operations, according to a DCNF review of congressional disclosures and legislative records.

Read the full story

Commentary: House Should Plan to Drain the Swamp in January 2025

Drain the Swamp

The sad reality is that the Republicans in the House after a narrow victory in the 2022 Congressional midterms do not have enough of a majority to be able to accomplish many big things. 

This is not the fault of anyone in leadership, but instead is just the reality of what is at this time a one-vote majority with wildly divergent priorities amongst the GOP members in the House.

Read the full story

Reporter Tom Pappert: U.S. Rep. David Kustoff Is ‘Ripe for a Challenge’ in Tennessee’s 8th Congressional District Following FISA Vote

David Kustoff

Tom Pappert, lead reporter at The Tennessee Star, said he believes Tennessee U.S. Representative David Kustoff’s (R-TN-08) vote on Friday against an amendment that would have ended the warrantless spying on United States citizens allowed under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) makes the congressman “ripe for a challenge” this election cycle.

Kustoff and Democrat Congressman Steve Cohen (D-TN-09) were the sole members of Tennessee’s congressional delegation to vote against the amendment on Friday, Pappert previously reported.

Read the full story

Treasurer of Tennessee Anti-MAGA Super PAC Donated to Democrat Opponent of Sen. Marsha Blackburn

James Seabury Joanne Sowell

The treasurer for The Best of Tennessee Action Fund, the super PAC wing of the “moderate” political group founded by fundraiser Kim Kaegi and Democratic pro-abortion lawyer Chloe Akers, donated to to the former Democratic political opponent of Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) last year.

Treasurer James C. Seabury III donated $1,000 to the political campaign of Joanne Sowell, a Nashville-based attorney who announced an exploratory committee to consider seeking the Democratic Party’s nomination for U.S. Senate to challenge Blackburn last year, according to the Federal Elections Commission (FEC).

Read the full story

Rep. John Rose Applauds Possible Reduced FISA Reauthorization

John Rose

U.S. Representative John Rose (R-TN-06) applauded a possible change to a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) reauthorization bill, shrinking the period of reauthorization from five years to two, according to a Thursday release.

After several Republican legislators blocked a plan to reauthorize FISA on Wednesday, it was reported the next day that House leaders are considering a plan that would limit the bill’s authority to two years. Such a plan resembles an amendment originally proposed by Rose.

Read the full story

Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell Shares New Bus Lines Proposed in Transit Referendum

Freddie O'Connell

Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell on Thursday provided details of how his proposed transit referendum would expand lines and services for the city’s bus system.

O’Connell posted the details to the social media platform X, where he wrote the bus transit improvements are “a key element” of his referendum. The mayor confirmed, “We’ll have local, frequent, new, and express service updates.”

Read the full story

Judge Scott McAfee Under ‘Tremendous Amount of Pressure’ in Georgia Trump Case, Argues Democrat Seeking His Judgeship

Scott McAfee

The Democrat challenging Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee claimed the incumbent is under “tremendous” pressure due to the Georgia case against former President Donald Trump brought by District Attorney Fani Willis.

Robert Patillo, the former executive director of the Rainbow PUSH social justice group started by Reverend Jessee Jackson who is now challenging McAfee, made the remarks in a Wednesday interview with WSB-TV.

Read the full story

Kari Lake Looks to Arizona Legislature to Create Abortion Exceptions, Endorses ‘Baby Bonus’ Tax Breaks for Families

Kari Lake

U.S. Senate candidate Kari Lake on Thursday released a video detailing her full position on abortion in the wake of the Arizona Supreme Court decision to enact a 19th century law that imposes a near-total abortion ban in the state.

Lake announced she opposes the ruling on Tuesday and was joined in her opposition by former President Donald Trump on Wednesday. Both Trump and Lake have suggested Governor Katie Hobbs and the Arizona State Legislature should immediately approve legislation to change the state’s abortion laws.

Read the full story

Chicago Facing 57 Cases of Measles in Illegal Alien Shelters

Chicago migrant Shelter

The city of Chicago has become overrun with third-world diseases such as measles and tuberculosis due to the surge of illegal aliens flooding into the city, with the number of measles cases in the city rivaling nationwide totals.

As reported by Breitbart, health officials in Chicago report 57 “confirmed cases” of measles, with the vast majority being found in the shelters that have been set up for illegals. Of those cases, 33 are children under the age of 4, while 7 cases are children between the ages of 5 and 17, 16 cases are among those between the ages of 18 and 24, and a single case was found in an adult over the age of 50.

Read the full story

Majority of Colleges Tie Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion to Graduation Requirements: Report

Graduation Ceremony

A majority of colleges and universities require students to take courses related to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in order to graduate, according to a new report.

Speech First, a pro-free expression organization, examined the policies of 248 colleges across the country and found that 67 percent of them required DEI coursework to “satisfy general education requirements.” Students enrolled in these courses are “subjected to courses advocating far-left ideological perspectives and pushing far-left political advocacy,” the report notes.

Read the full story

Biden Suggests It’s Risky for Him to Secure Border by Executive Orders

President Joe Biden indicated in a new interview that he is considering taking executive action to secure the southern border.

“Have you made a final decision on taking executive order in terms of what you want to do at the border? That includes the power to shut down the border, as it was suggested,” Univision’s Enrique Acevedo asked Biden in an interview that aired late Tuesday night.

Read the full story