Todd Bensman, senior national security fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies, said there is no evidence that the “superhighway” immigration route via the Darien Gap has been closed despite an agreement between the U.S. and new Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino.
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Some of the most prominent elite universities in the nation have been ranked lowest for freedom of speech, according to a report released Thursday.
Harvard, Columbia, New York University (NYU), the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) and Barnard College make up the bottom five in a free speech ranking of 251 universities, according to a report by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) and College Pulse. The report cited several incidents of “suppression of free expression” at the schools, including disruption of events and sanctions on students and staff for expressing their views as the reasoning behind the schools’ low rankings.
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Five mental health professionals, some of whom already accused Donald Trump of being “dangerous,” prepared a risk assessment for New York state Judge Juan Merchan to consider in his July 11 sentencing decision on Trump, according to forensic psychiatrist Dr. Bandy X. Lee, a longtime critic of the former president.
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On August 31, 2023, Yale’s 23rd president, Peter Salovey, announced he would be stepping down. Since this announcement, much has transpired in the world of American higher education: the resignation of Harvard and UPenn presidents, the creation of campus encampments nationwide, and the cancelation of commencements at Columbia and USC. These developments point to an American higher education system that is malfunctioning. The breakdown we are witnessing at Yale’s peer institutions will continue until leaders are chosen for their courage to apply wisdom to divisive issues.
America’s Founders understood the importance of higher education. Of all his great accomplishments, only three made it onto Thomas Jefferson’s headstone: Author of the Declaration of American Independence, of the Statue of Virginia for Religious Freedom, and the father of the University of Virginia. Jefferson knew that America’s ability to be great and good – UVA’s motto – depended on the presence of high-functioning universities. America’s first polymath, Ben Franklin, famously said, “An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.” Framers like Franklin and Jefferson understood the value of academic pursuits, and their example lit a spark that motivated generations of Americans to pursue higher education.
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South Carolina senator and 2024 candidate Tim Scott racked up nearly 150 endorsements from current and former elected officials in his home state Monday.
Scott entered the Republican primary in late May, and already gained the backing of South Dakota’s GOP Senate Majority Whip John Thune and Sen. Mike Rounds. The South Carolina senator received 148 endorsements, including several members of the state legislature’s leadership, the mayor of South Carolina’s capital, Columbia, and a former U.S. congressman, the Daily Caller News Foundation confirmed.
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On Wednesday in a press release, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, Department of Economic and Community Development Commissioner Bob Rolfe and Fiberon officials announced the company, Fiberon, will establish new manufacturing and distribution operations in Columbia, Tennessee.
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The communications director of the Republican National Committee blasted President Joseph R. Biden’s Jr.’s removing today the Marxist guerillas fighting under the name Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, and undermining the democratic government of Columbia. “Biden’s decision has legitimized and emboldened terrorists who have murdered, kidnapped, and attacked Americans and our allies across Latin America, in addition to killing hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians in Colombia,” Danielle Alvarez said in a statement about the decision. Alvarez, a Cuban-American, was a spokeswoman for Trump Victory and also worked for Florida Republican Sen. Richard L. “Rick” Scott’s 2014 gubernatorial reelection campaign. “The FARC has actively worked to undermine democracy in Colombia through violence and drug trafficking, and this decision is an insult and disrespect to Colombian Americans and all victims of the FARC’s attacks,” said Alvarez. “Instead of removing the FARC from the list of terrorist organizations, Biden should be holding this communist group accountable for its violence, extremism, and oppression,” she said. “This is another unacceptable foreign policy decision from Biden that is making America and our allies less safe.” Biden’s move to recognize FARC, which was funded and mentored by Fidel Castro, as a political entity,…
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COLUMBIA, Tennessee – Confederate Lt. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest was “put to rest for eternity” Saturday by the Sons of Confederate Veterans at the National Confederate Headquarters and Museum at Historic Elm Springs in Columbia, Tennessee.
The General was reinterred with his wife Mary Ann Montgomery Forrest at a private ceremony that was free to attendees but required a ticket, the number of which was limited to about 2,000.
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COLUMBIA — Many thousands of people descended upon the city of Columbia, Tennessee Friday evening for the 2021 MuleFest, and, to signal the end of COVID-19, not a single person appeared to wear a face covering. Maury County officials held the event in the city’s downtown area.
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Tuesday morning on the Tennessee Star Report, host Michael Patrick Leahy welcomed Maury County Mayor Andy Ogles to talk about the history and tradition of Mules Day in Columbia, Tennessee.
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Health care workers and people 75 and older in Columbia received COVID-19 vaccinations Saturday, but Columbia Mayor Chaz Molder said the vaccines ran out within two hours, far earlier than expected. Officials delivered the vaccine at Columbia State Community College, said Maury County Mayor Andy Ogles, on his Facebook page.
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Officials at Columbia State Community College did not timely return Title IV funds for students who withdrew from classes before those classes ended, according to an audit Tennessee Comptrollers released this week.
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Columbia officials reportedly want a permanent public art display, and one suggestion includes a mural saying “Welcome” in multiple world languages. This, according to OakRidger.com, which did not specify whether taxpayers would have to pay for this public art. The proposed mural “would showcase the county’s diverse citizenship, as well as tourists who visit from around the globe” and cater to people who people who do not speak English, according to the website. Arts Council Chair Ross Jaynes did not return The Tennessee Star’s request for comment Thursday. According to OakRidger.com, no one yet knows what the display will look like or where city officials will place it. “An arts council Columbia Public Arts Project (CPAP) committee consisting of arts council members was formed earlier this year to figure out how, and if a public art display can be done, and what that process would entail,” according to the website. City officials have tasked committee members with finding ideas to generate public interest in the arts, whether it’s murals, installations or other types of art, OakRidger.com reported. The Maury County Visitors Bureau is one potential location for the permanent art display, according to the website. Arts council member Meredith…
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NASHVILLE — Members of the 917 Society held a luncheon at the Cordell Hull Building in Nashville this week to honor and recognize supporters. As reported, the 917 Society exists to help improve constitutional literacy among Tennessee eighth graders. And because of the 917 Society, every eighth-grader in Tennessee gets a copy of the U.S. Constitution. At their luncheon last week, in the Cordell Hull Building, members recognized, among many others, State Sen. Joey Hensley, R-Hohenwald, State Sen. Ed Jackson, R-Jackson, State Rep. Terri Lynn Weaver, R-Lancaster, and State Sen. Dawn White, R-Murfreesboro. Meanwhile, State Sen. Kerry Roberts, R-Springfield, presented a 917 Society Founders Club Award to State Sen. Janice Bowling, R-Tullahoma. Members of the group also recognized Angie McClanahan, an eighth-grade teacher at Whitmore Middle School in Columbia. “Your generous gifts have made it possible for my eighth-graders to have their own copies of the Constitution,” McClanahan told the crowd. “Our kids don’t have a workbook or a textbook to take home with them. I actually have children who say ‘You mean we get to keep this. One child even said ‘It’s like having knowledge in your pocket.’” Joni Bryan launched the 917 Society just a few years ago.…
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A Columbia nursing facility improperly billed Medicaid nearly $5,000, according to an audit Tennessee Comptrollers released Monday. In their audit, Comptrollers called out the Life Care Center of Columbia. This audit comes as several mainstream media outlets in Tennessee seem to urge state leaders to expand Medicaid. The most recent one was The Daily Memphian, in a glowing piece about newly-elected State Rep. Jesse Chism, D-Memphis. But, as Monday’s audit and many others reveal, people tasked with handling Medicaid expenses often make mistakes and bill the taxpayers more than necessary. According to the audit, Life Care Center of Columbia improperly billed the Medicaid Program for 31 noncovered days from 2014 through 2016. “Of the improperly billed days, 27 were for hospital or therapeutic leave days when the facility was operating below 85 percent occupancy, one was for a hospital leave day that exceeded the 10-day leave rule, and three were billed after a resident was discharged from the facility,” auditors wrote. The facility, Comptrollers went on to say, should refund $4,811 to the Medicaid Program. In another finding, Comptrollers said staff members inappropriately charged Medicaid residents’ trust fund accounts for shampoos and haircuts, which are Medicaid- covered services. “As a…
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Voters hit the polls heavily in the first two days of early voting in Maury County. The polls opened Friday at the Maury County Election Commission for early voting in the 2018 Tennessee general and primary election, The Daily Herald reported. On Friday and Saturday, at least 1,100 votes were cast even as Maury County candidates lined both shoulders of the road leading to the polling location. Maury County has 43,000 registered voters. Normally, about 30 percent of voters cast ballots early. During early voting in the 2016 presidential election, which included local races, more than 3,200 residents participated in early voting. The Tennessee Secretary of State’s office, which oversees elections, lists the advantages of early voting on its website: “being able to choose a day during the early voting period that best fits the voter’s schedule and the voter being able to change his or her address of registration and vote in the same voting location.” Each county’s election commission office may be found online here. Early voting will be from July 13-28. In Maury County, early voting will be held at the county’s election commission office at 1207A Tradewinds Drive in Columbia. The Secretary of State’s office also…
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