President Joe Biden spent part of his Friday in Georgia meeting with failed gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, and leaders of the Asian American community.
Along with Vice President Kamala Harris, Biden’s visit was aimed at offering “support to the Asian American community following a string of shootings at three Atlanta-area spas that left eight people dead, six of them women of Asian descent,” according to WKRN.
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After a damning New York Times report in which a Virginia Tech virologist said that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) six-foot social distancing guidelines appeared to be pulled out of “thin air,” one Michigan county is experimenting with three feet of social distancing in schools.
“The Kent County Health Department is in the middle of a study that officials hope will reduce the social distance requirements in all pre-k through 8th grade classrooms,” a WZZM report said. “During the six-week pilot study, any student that has been within three feet of a COVID-positive student for 15 minutes or more — within 48 hours — must quarantine at home for 10 days. Before that, quarantine was triggered at a distance of six feet.”
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Earlier this week, the attorney for Derek Chauvin requested that the ex-Minneapolis Police officer’s trial be moved from Hennepin County due to the risk of a prejudiced jury.
“You have elected officials — the governor, the mayor — making incredibly prejudicial statements about my client, this case,” Eric Nelson told Hennepin County District Court Judge Peter Cahill. “You have the city settling a civil lawsuit for a record amount of money. And the pre-trial publicity is just so concerning.”
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According to a Tennessee Star poll of 1001 likely Republican primary voters in Tennessee conducted by Triton Research from March 5 to March 10, Gov. Bill Lee (R) is fairly popular, but many of his policies are not.
Lee has a 69.9 percent favorability rate among those likely voters. That number is 20 points shy of former president Donald J. Trump’s 89.7 percent favorability – the highest ever for the forty fifth president in a Star poll – but still relatively high.
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Hennepin County District Court Judge Peter Cahill, who is presiding over the high-profile trial of former Minneapolis Police officer Derek Chauvin, had strong words for the members of the media inside his courtroom Wednesday.
“It’s been brought to the court’s attention that the media has been reporting specific details trying to look at counsels’ – the documents, computers, post-it notes – on counsel tables,” Cahill said. “That’s absolutely inappropriate. Any media who are in this room will refrain from even attempting to look at what is on counsel tables, either for the state or for the defense.”
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Details are emerging after a man was arrested for allegedly committing a series of killings in Georgia on Tuesday.
Robert Alan Long, 21, of Woodstock, was arrested in south Georgia after he allegedly killed eight people of Asian descent in shootings at three different massage parlors.
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A Democrat Congressman from Michigan falsely linked Tuesday’s deadly shootings at three massage parlors in Georgia to anti-Asian racism, a motive specifically ruled out by police Wednesday morning.
“The surge in anti-Asian hate crimes is horrifying and unacceptable. We all play a role in supporting the [Asian American Pacific Islander] community. I’m glad the House passed a resolution to condemn racism against Asian Americans. The tragedy in Atlanta requires us all to speak out to #StopAsianHate,” Rep. Dan Kildee (D-MI-05) said on Twitter.
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Three illegal aliens have been sentenced for operating a methamphetamine lab out of their home in Norcross, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ).
“Zury Brito-Arroyo, Bonifacio Brito-Maldonado, and Roberto Arroyo-Garcia have been sentenced to federal prison for manufacturing and distributing methamphetamine in a home where a minor child resided and within 1,000 feet of a school,” a Monday press release said. “The three men, all of whom had illegally entered the United States from Mexico, utilized a family home in Norcross less than 200 feet from an elementary school to operate a methamphetamine laboratory.”
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According to a Tennessee Star poll of 1001 likely Tennessee Republican primary voters, former President Donald J. Trump has all-time high approval rating among the GOP in the state, more than two months after leaving office.
The poll found that 89.7 percent of those voters have a favorable impression of the 45th president, compared to 7.4 percent who view him unfavorably.
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A Tennessee Republican is concerned that money donated to the Democrat Party via its universal donation portal might be ending up in the hands of foreign terrorists, according to a letter penned to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Attorney General Merrick Garland.
“The pro-BDS movement Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) currently uses ActBlue to solicit donations,” Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN-02) said in his letter. “PACBI is also affiliated with the Palestinian BDS National Committee (BNC), an organization known to have ties with foreign terrorist groups such as Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.”
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After the family of George Floyd received a $27 million settlement Friday from the city of Minneapolis stemming from his death in police custody, the attorney for the police officer charged in Floyd’s death is asking for a continuance in the jury selection process.
“Defense attorney Eric Nelson expressed deep concern that jurors already chosen and those yet to be chosen will be prejudiced should they learn of the settlement, thereby denying his client his right to a fair trial,” The Star Tribune reported.
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In defiance of calls for transparency from state lawmakers, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, is doubling down on the state’s policy of providing secretive severance packages to state officials.
In an executive directive, Whitmer states that agreements and payments can be used for a variety of purposes:
Separation agreements are used for many purposes, including to define the terms of employment during a period of transition; to secure the return of state property; and to mitigate legal exposure and potential costs to taxpayers through a release of claims against the state. (emphasis added)
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Hennepin County District Court Judge Peter Cahill Thursday overturned his own decision to drop third-degree murder charges against former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin after an appeal from state prosecutors.
“The dispute over the third-degree murder charge revolved around wording in the law that references an act ’eminently dangerous to others,'” Spectrum News reported. “Cahill’s initial decision to dismiss the charge had noted that Chauvin’s conduct might be construed as not dangerous to anyone but Floyd.”
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In a bipartisan vote last week, the Georgia State Senate voted to end daylight savings time.
H.B. 100, which ” provide[s] that this state shall observe standard time year round until such time as Congress authorizes the states to observe daylight savings time,” passed with 46 yes votes and only seven no votes. Three members of the Senate abstained. The bill now heads to the state House.
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Protestors have quietly set up an “autonomous zone” near the George Floyd memorial in Minneapolis, according to one reporter who visited the scene.
“The George Floyd memorial is an ‘autonomous zone’ with several blocks controlled by activists. Police don’t even go in. We tried to respectfully get video-but left after two people confronted us near the barricades. Later learned many protestors don’t even feel comfortable there,” Brian Entin of News Nation Now reported.
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Two students at Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) have been indicted by a grand jury for allegedly stealing more than $100,000 from the school over a period of several years.
“Mohamed Osman and Mohamed Gure were presidents of MTSU’s Somali Students Association, according to investigators,” WKRN said. “During their time in office, the Comptroller’s Office said they submitted at least 85 false invoices to MTSU, many of which were for non-existent vendors, to obtain reimbursements totaling $82,200 in student activity fee funds.”
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A man has been arrested after a student detonated a homemade explosive Newaygo High School Monday.
“33-year-old David Robert Daniel Saylor was charged Tuesday with one count of manufacture or possession of Molotov Cocktail and one count of contributing to the delinquency of a minor,” WZZM reported. “Saylor is also charged as a habitual offender.”
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Hennepin County District Court Judge Peter Cahill Wednesday morning decided to allow “spark of life” evidence on behalf of the prosecution in the highly-anticipated trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, but warned prosecutors not to go too far.
“We’re all familiar with the ‘spark of life’ doctrine – that essentially, like you say, this is not just a person who we label ‘victim’ and we depersonalize him – that Mr. Floyd in this case isn’t entitled to have the jury realize that he was a human being, he was loved, he had a family,” Cahill said. “I think if it’s basically evidence that will not call for cross examination, I think that’s generally well within the bounds.”
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After an airstrike in Syria at the end of February, the Biden administration is mobilizing the National Guard – including one unit from Tennessee – for deployment to the Middle East.
“Soldiers from the Tennessee National Guard’s 1st Battalion, 181st Field Artillery Regiment, deployed on Sunday for a 10-month tour of the Middle East,” Associated Press reported.
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Facing a situation similar to New York’s embattled Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D), Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) is now under scrutiny from prosecutors about COVID-19 deaths in Michigan’s nursing homes.
“If we find there’s been willful neglect of office if we find there’s been reckless endangerment of a person’s life by bringing them in then we would move forward with charges against the Governor,” Macomb County Prosecutor Peter Lucido told WXZY. “Of course, we would. Nobody’s above the law in this state.”
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One publicly-funded university in Georgia says it plans to resume normal operations in the fall semester.
“For Fall 2021, we are currently planning for a full return to campus, which means resuming ‘normal’ operations with in-person instruction, research, events, service, and activities, and full dining and housing operations,” Georgia Southern University President Dr. Kyle Marrero said in a message to students, faculty, and staff according to WTOC.
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After reports that National Guard troops deployed to Washington, D.C. have been forced to eat undercooked meat and other “disgusting” foods, a Republican U.S. Congressman from Michigan is taking a stand.
“Recently, there have been a cascade of reports describing the food being provided to our soldiers as poorly prepared, oftentimes inedible, and unacceptable,” Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-MI-02) said in a letter addressed to Acting Secretary of the Army John E. Whitley and Chief of the National Guard Bureau General Daniel R. Hokanson.
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The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is set to dole out thousands of doses of the COVID-19 vaccine in Cleveland, according to Friday reports.
“A mass coronavirus vaccination center will open on March 17 at Cleveland State University’s Wolstein Center, with the capability to vaccinate 6,000 people a day,” Cleveland.com reported.
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As some states return to business as usual while the COVID-19 pandemic becomes more manageable, Michigan is likely keep strict safety measures in place for a while longer.
One of those measures is a ban on working in person, first issued by the Michigan Occupational Safety and Administration (MIOSHA) in October, after the state Supreme Court struck down several orders by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D). That order is set to expire in mid-April, but that does not mean Michiganders will be able to return to work.
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A bill that would make voter registration automatic is headed the floor the of Minnesota House of Representatives.
“Members approved two bills with nearly identical language that would implement automatic voter registration in Minnesota by using information being collected during transactions with government agencies, such as getting a driver’s license, to register those who are eligible,” according to the state House’s website. “People would have 20 days to decline the registration.”
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After a summer of rioting nationwide, Georgia lawmakers have introduced a bill that would make it a felony to block a sidewalk or a street after being directed to disperse by a police officer.
According to the text of SB 171, “purposely or recklessly obstructing any highway or street in such a way as to render it impassable without unreasonable inconvenience or hazard and fails or refuses to remove the obstruction after he or she receives a reasonable official request or the order of a peace officer to do so, shall be guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by an imprisonment for not less than one nor more than five years or a fine of not less than $1,000.00 nor more than $5,000.00, or both.”
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Georgia’s Republican-controlled House of Representatives passed a bill Monday aimed at making elections more secure, specifically in the way of absentee voting.
House Bill 531 passed Monday with a 97-72 vote, and along with sweeping reforms related to absentee voting, strips the Secretary of State from his role as chairman of the State Elections Board. That person will, if the bill passes and is signed into law, be chosen by the General Assembly.
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Six animals were killed by the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) after they were confiscated from an Emmet County farm, where the agency says the owner did not have a permit to rehabilitate the animals.
“Kei Ju Farm, located in Petoskey, is widely known for its open-door policy for both community members and animals,” Petoskey News reported. “This year, the DNR received a complaint about owner, Julie Hall, rehabilitating wild animals on the farm. The farm is not a Michigan Licensed Rehabilitation facility.”
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A Republican member of the state House of Representatives is calling for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) to reveal to the public the agreement it had with former director Robert Gordon, who abruptly resigned on February 22.
“I am calling on the Department today to release to the public the separation agreement between Governor [Gretchen] Whitmer’s administration and former MDHHS Director Robert Gordon as well as any other similar agreements made with other public officials,” state Rep. Steve Johnson (R-MI-72) said in Tuesday letter to MDHHS.
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A trio of pro-Trump groups are ready to wage a massive battle against Silicon Valley titans of industry after the former president was drummed off social media prior to leaving office.
“The Center for American Restoration, the new organization stood up by former Trump administration official Russ Vought, is leading a coalition of groups calling for a ‘proliferation of legislative activity’ to reform Big Tech,” Axios reported.
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A former Republican congressman known for his public spats with former president Donald J. Trump has expressed his support for a bill introduced by two progressive Democrats that would end qualified immunity for law enforcement officers.
“End qualified immunity. Thanks to [Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA-07)] and [Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA)] for reintroducing our bill in this Congress,” Justin Amash said on Twitter.
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The Minneapolis City Council Friday approved a plan to pay social media “influencers” cash to spread city-approved messages during the trial of former Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) officer Derek Chauvin.
“The Minneapolis City Council voted unanimously Friday to approve a $1 million communications and de-escalation plan that involves partnering with community leaders, local media and social media influencers during Chauvin’s trial set to begin in March, as well the August trial of three other former officers charged in [George] Floyd’s death,” Fox News reported.
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A Mason Public Schools special education teacher resigned Friday after the school district refused to allow her to indoctrinate students with a radical Black Lives Matter and social justice curriculum.
Katelyne Thomas was a first through fifth grade teacher in the school system near Lansing, who in January suggested to her superiors that the school should implement the Black Lives Matter at School learning program during the first week of February, which is Black History Month, according to The Detroit Free Press.
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A Marietta man has been charged after the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) said his Atlanta-based nonprofit was scamming the criminal justice system.
“On Thursday, February 25, 2021, Derek ‘Al’ Sneed, age 39, was arrested in Marietta and charged with one felony count of false statements and writings,” GBI said in a press release.
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The Ohio-based leader of a black separatist militia has been charged with several federal gun crimes in relation to his attendance of the Breonna Taylor riots in Louisville, Kentucky last summer.
A grand jury indicted John “Grandmaster Jay” Johnson, the leader of the “Not F***ing Around Coalition” (NFAC) Wednesday on “one count of assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers or employees and one count of brandishing a firearm in relation to a crime of violence,” first reported by The Courier-Journal.
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Nashville’s COVID-19 vaccine registration website crashed early Friday, as the vaccine became more widely available in the state.
“The Metro Public Health Department said that a system malfunction is preventing people from registering for a COVID-19 vaccine on Friday morning,” according to The Tennessean. The glitch comes on the first day of sign-ups for residents 65+ in Davidson County and was likely due to a high volume of traffic starting at 7 a.m., city spokesperson Brian Todd said.”
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Continuing with a national trend, a University of Michigan study found that college students reported record levels of anxiety and depression during the fall semester of the 2020 school year, during nationwide COVID-19 lockdowns.
“The UM Healthy Minds Study, an annual web-based survey looking at mental health and service utilization among undergraduate and graduate students, found that 47% of respondents screened positive for clinically significant symptoms of depression and/or anxiety – up from 44% last year and the highest since the survey started in 2007,” according to Michigan Live.
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In a 10-minute video, Project Veritas exposed Salesforce executives bashing the GOP for the mostly peaceful protests at the Capitol on January 6, just weeks after the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) company unexpectedly severed ties with the journalistic nonprofit.
The footage from virtual meetings held by high-level executives was sent to Project Veritas by a whistleblower inside the company, according to Veritas’ founder James O’Keefe.
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The Virginia Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has released the results of a survey about the effects of COVID-19 lockdowns on children in the state, which it calls “alarming.”
“In the nine months since the issuance of the COVID-19 emergency declaration, our patients have experienced a major disruption in their lives, including disruptions to academic structure, participation in activities, peer interactions, lifestyle, and overall physical and emotional health,” the group explained. “To better identify and address the concerns of our patients and providers in Virginia, the Virginia Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics conducted a survey in December 2020 of 203 pediatric providers in the Commonwealth of Virginia.”
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Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) could be the subject of an investigation regarding her handling of nursing home patients who contracted COVID-19.
“Gov. Whitmer’s regional hub policy placed patients with and without COVID-19 in the same facilities and may have exacerbated the death toll in those facilities,” said state Sen. Jim Runestad (R-White Lake) in a press release. “Questions remain regarding the accuracy of data, compliance with CDC guidelines and compliance with our state’s Freedom of Information Act. There is a critical need for a full investigation into these matters.”
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Without evidence, Minnesota’s Democrat Lieutenant Governor suggested that opposition to the appointment of Rep. Deb Haaland (D-NM-01) to be the United States Secretary of the Interior is rooted in anti-Native American bigotry.
“Boozhoo! This is Peggy Flanagan. I’m a member of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe and Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota,” Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan said in a video on Twitter, urging her followers to support Haaland.
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In West Chester, a battle is raging after a donut shop called the police on a Republican state congresswoman who was holding an event inside their establishment.
“We didn’t think we’d be a shop that would have to make a post like this, but here we are… Our staff in West Chester were bombarded with a large group of people for a Facebook event ‘Coffee Chat with Rep. Jennifer Gross’. This was NOT approved by us, nor did anyone call to tell us that this was happening,” Holtman’s Donut Shop said on it’s Facebook page.
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Despite filing to run with the Federal Election Commission (FEC), former U.S. Sen. David Perdue (R-GA) says he will not mount a comeback bid against U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA) in 2022.
“After much reflection and prayer, Bonnie and I have decided that we will not enter the race for the United States Senate in 2022,” Perdue said in Tuesday press release. “This is a personal decision, not a political one. I am confident that whoever wins the Republican primary one next year will defeat the Democrat candidate in the General election for this seat, and I will do everything I can to make that happen.”
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Saugatuck Public Schools will no longer use the nickname “Indians,” after an 11-year saga culminated into the changing of the school system’s mascot over concerns of racial insensitivity.
According to Tuesday reports, the school will now use the nickname “Trailblazers,” following the trend of professional and other sports teams changing their nicknames from anything related to Native American culture.
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The Republican former Speaker of the Michigan House of Representatives Monday resigned from his new post as Chief Executive Officer of the nonprofit Southwest Michigan First (SWMF) after the organization faced backlash from the LGBT community for hiring him.
“For the betterment of the Kalamazoo community, the businesses that the board of directors represent, the staff at SWMF and for the sake of my conscience, please see the letter of resignation I offered this morning. I remain grateful for having had this incredible opportunity,” Lee Chatfield said on Twitter.
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A group of black legislators in Minnesota wants the state to begin awarding contracts on the basis of race, according to a Monday report.
“The United Black Legislative Caucus, made up of 10 Black Minnesota state senators and representatives, announced in a recent virtual town hall that they’ll push for the state to require 15% of all public contracts to be awarded to businesses owned by people of color,” The Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal said.
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In what is being viewed as an attempt to counter the efforts of former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, a Republican former U.S. Senator from the Peach State has founded her own voter outreach group.
“Former Sen. Kelly Loeffler is starting a voter registration and outreach group called ‘Greater Georgia,’ in her first major public move since losing her Senate seat to Democrat Raphael Warnock in a Jan. 6 runoff,” Fox News reported Monday.
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Embattled Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D), known for her strict and sometimes unconstitutional COVID-19 lockdown measures, signed an emergency order Saturday reducing commercial trucking regulations while the state faces severe winter weather.
“As many states have been experiencing consistent extreme cold temperatures, the demand for energy has increased significantly, which has put a strain on the nation’s energy infrastructure,” a press release from Whitmer’s office said. “Michigan has experienced an abnormally high demand for propane from in-state and regional consumers, causing longer lines at propane distribution centers. In an effort to reduce this strain and ensure a consistent flow of energy, the executive order temporarily suspends restrictions on commercial driver hours to allow the immediate delivery of energy to homes and businesses.”
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Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) along with six other Republican Senators sent a letter Tuesday to the College Board (CB) questioning the organization’s relationship with the Chinese-backed Confucius Institutes. In the letter, the senators expressed “concern” about CB’s relationship with the Confucius Institute. The CB is a non-profit organization that administers college placement examines including the SAT and Advanced Placement Program. According to its website, CB works with over 6,000 universities around the world and more than 7 million students yearly. On August 13, the U.S. Department of State designated these Chinese-backed institutes as “a foreign mission of the People’s Republic of China.” The State Department described these institutes as “organizations primarily located on U.S. college and university campuses that push out skewed Chinese language and cultural training for U.S. students as part of Beijing’s multifaceted propaganda efforts.” The State Department also said Confucius Institutes are funded by Hanban, which is an organization connected with the People’s Republic of China’s ministry office. As of September, 67 Confucius Institutes are located in America, The National Associated of Scholars (NAS) reported. Five of these locations will close by the end of 2021. Middle Tennessee University is the only college in Tennessee to…
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Tennessee first-time voters will not have to vote in person this year due to the coronavirus, according to Fox News.
Instead of voting in person, these new voters will have access to absentee ballot options. The deadline for obtaining an absentee ballot is October 27.
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