Citing an increase in COVID-19 cases, Nashville Mayor John Cooper announced Thursday that the city will go back to the second of its four-phased rollout to reopen the city.
Nashville will formally go from Phase Three back to Phase Two on Friday. The city will remain in Phase Two for the next several weeks, Cooper said at a press conference Thursday.
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In March, data guru Nate Silver wrote about the different ways blue states and red states were experiencing the COVID-19 epidemic, noting that “states Clinton won do have considerably more total reported cases.”
COVID-19 was not just a blue state problem though. Silver pointed out that cases in red states were increasing far more rapidly.
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If and when Metro Nashville Police officers see people in public not wearing a face covering or a mask they will react and approach them.
But they will only hand those people a printed advisory explaining the Metro Public Health Department’s new order fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Gov. Tim Walz said a statewide mask mandate to help curb the spread of COVID-19 is “on the table” during a Monday press conference.
According to Walz, Republican governors who participated in a Monday phone call with Vice President Mike Pence were also “exploring the idea.”
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Prime Minister Boris Johnson acknowledged Monday that the coronavirus pandemic has been a “disaster” for Britain, as he announced a spending splurge designed to get the country — and his faltering Conservative government — back on track.
As the U.K. emerges from a three-month lockdown, Johnson has lined up big-money pledges on schools, housing and infrastructure, in an attempt to move on from an outbreak that has left more than 43,000 Britons dead — the worst confirmed death toll in Europe.
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It is clear to me as a physician-lawyer that the disinformation about both Covid-19 and the Constitution has caused us to turn a medical issue into a legal crisis.
The scientific usefulness of a mask has been so aggressively overstated, and the foundational importance of the Constitution has been so aggressively understated, that we have normalized people screaming obscenities at each other while hiking.
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Dr. Simone Gold was asked by USA Today to submit an opinion piece regarding the Left’s move to mandate Americans to wear face coverings in order to help end the coronavirus pandemic of 2020.
To her surprise, she says, the newspaper giant materially altered her work.
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Congressional Republicans intensified their questioning of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s nursing home policies in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Members of the U.S. House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis sent a letter asking Michigan’s Attorney General Dana Nessel to investigate the impact of Whitmer’s executive orders that placed COVID-19 patients into the same buildings, but different units, as elderly nursing home residents.
They also sought investigations into four other state governors who set similar policies.
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The man who owns Kid Rock’s Big Honky Tonk and Steakhouse is reportedly taking Nashville officials to court.
That man, Steve Smith, reportedly said city officials impose hardships on his business because of COVID-19 but look the other way when it comes to protestors.
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The federal government will distribute $1 million of taxpayer money to cater to Tennesseans’ mental health needs as they pertain to COVID-19.
This, according to a press release the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services put out this week.
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The Memphis government is mandating the use of masks in many instances, with detailed instructions on when to do so or who may be exempt.
Mayor Jim Strickland signed a mask ordinance Thursday, WREG reported. The city council approved the ordinance 9-4 last week.
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Gov. Tim Walz approved plans Thursday to distribute $841 million in federal coronavirus aid to cities and counties across Minnesota, along with another $12 million for food banks and food shelves that have seen a surge in demand since the pandemic hit the state.
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As of Friday night, members of the Metro Nashville Board of Health did not say specifically why they voted in favor of mandating face coverings or face masks in public to combat COVID-19.
Board members did not answer The Tennessee Star’s emailed questions about the matter before Friday’s stated deadline.
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U.S. officials estimate that 20 million Americans have been infected with the coronavirus since it first arrived in the United States, meaning that the vast majority of the population remains susceptible.
Thursday’s estimate is roughly 10 times as many infections as the 2.3 million cases that have been confirmed. Officials have long known that millions of people were infected without knowing it and that many cases are being missed because of gaps in testing.
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The United States recorded nearly 37,000 new cases of the novel coronavirus Wednesday as the virus continued to spread across southern and western states, according COVID-19 trackers.
The 36,880 new cases is up from 34,700 recorded Tuesday, and broke previous single-day record for new cases set April 24 when 36,739 were confirmed, according to a New York Times database.
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Senate Health Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-TN) said Tuesday that Congress should act this year on “needed changes” to prepare for the next pandemic.
This, according to a press release that Alexander posted on his official website.
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TULSA, Oklahoma – At an event as big, complex and scheduled on short notice as President Trump’s campaign rally in Tulsa Saturday, there are innumerable behind-the-scenes tidbits that never make it to click-bait headlines or a story. Here are a few such takeaways. Rally Attendees Tulsa rally-goers ranged from CEOs of major corporations to heads of small manufacturers, to a Tulsan currently living under a bridge because he temporarily lost his job due to COVID-19, from home-schooling families to higher education students, from places as far away as Boston, Massachusetts to Portland, Oregon and San Diego, California as well as numerous fly-over states in between, representing every color and age, from those who voted for Trump in 2016 to those who weren’t even registered to vote in 2016. A couple of first-time Trump rally attendees pointed out the President sense of humor, saying he was “hilarious,” in the way he presented stories about “the fake news.” One attendee from Indiana was impressed that the rally began with a prayer, and noted that it is needed to set an example to get the country turning back to God. A freelance photographer who has captured a countless number and variety of…
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Monday Mayor John Cooper announced Nashville entered Phase Three of a four-phased plan to reopen the city after the COVID-19 pandemic hit the United States.
This, despite Nashville officials saying they have tallied higher numbers of the virus.
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by Andrew Trunsky White House economic advisor Larry Kudlow said Monday that there “is no second wave” of the novel coronavirus coming, as states across the country reported rapid increases in new virus cases. Kudlow touted the progress that the country has made in combating the COVID-19 virus during an interview with CNBC. “There are some hot spots. We’re on it,” Kudlow said. “We know how to deal with this stuff now, we’ve come a long way since last winter and there is no second wave coming.” His comments resembled those made by Vice President Mike Pence, who wrote an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal June 16 titled, “There Isn’t A Coronavirus ‘Second Wave.’” “All in all, I think it’s a pretty good situation, and of course reopening the economy is the key to economic growth, and we’ve had a whole bunch of green shoots that are showing recovery probably coming on faster than a lot of people thought,” Kudlow said. Kudlow blamed the increasing case count on additional testing, a similar argument to what President Donald Trump said during his Saturday rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Kudlow’s statements stand in contrast with those made administration official Peter Navarro, who said on CNN Sunday that…
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The University of Michigan will start the fall semester on Aug. 31 at its Ann Arbor campus with a mix of in-person and online classes, President Mark Schlissel said in a video Monday.
“Thanks to the thoughtful and deliberate efforts of hundreds of members of the U-M community, our cautious optimism about the fall has coalesced into a path forward,” Schlissel wrote.
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What’s a newspaper to do when given an exclusive interview with the governor during a pandemic that has ravaged the state’s economy and rioting that has ravaged the capital city? Would you push against answers that are not true?
If you’re The Columbus Dispatch, you allow Gov. Mike DeWine to talk about the “quick” reopening of the state, his walks with his dog Dolly and how he social distances with his grandkids.
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U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN-09) announced this week that the feds will send more than $100,000 of taxpayer money to the University of Memphis to study how COVID-19 affects employee morale.
Cohen announced this on his website this week.
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Tennessee’s largest county reported Saturday its highest single-day increase in COVID-19 cases, though officials were trying to figure out if the jump represented a surge in people getting sick or delayed results from testing laboratories.
The Shelby County Health Department in Memphis reported an increase of 385 cases of the new coronavirus, eclipsing the previous single-day spike by more than 100 cases.
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Gov. Bill Lee is thinking about calling the Legislature in for a special session to pass a bill to provide retroactive COVID-19 legal protection for businesses, the Chattanooga Times Free Press said.
The General Assembly ended their session on Friday without the House passing the Tennessee Recovery and Safe Harbor Act. It received 46 of 50 votes needed. House Majority Leader William Lamberth (R-Portland) questioned whether the measure was legal under Tennessee’s Constitution regarding the impairment of contracts. (The Senate had approved the bill.)
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Comedian D.L. Hughley announced he tested positive for COVID-19 after collapsing onstage during a performance in Nashville, Tennessee.
The stand-up comedian, 57, lost consciousness while performing at the Zanies comedy nightclub on Friday night and was hospitalized, news outlets reported. On Saturday, Hughley posted a video on Twitter in which he said he was treated for exhaustion and dehydration afterward.
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A federal judge asked the Michigan Supreme Court to settle questions regarding whether Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has the authority to issue executive orders under two state laws.
U.S. District Judge Paul Maloney certified two questions to the Michigan Supreme Court.
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Citizens for Community Values is pushing back against a “blatantly biased” story in The Columbus Dispatch newspaper attacking them for working with the state to help people during the COVID-19 pandemic.
CCV says it is “Ohio’s Family Policy Council” and “We endeavor to create an Ohio where God’s blessings of life, family, and religious freedom are treasured, respected, and protected.”
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At his first event in months, President Trump delivered a high-energy speech to an enthusiastic crowd of supporters in Tulsa Saturday night that lasted nearly two hours.
The backdrop of racial tensions and rhetoric about the spread of COVID-19 may have dampened attendance, but not the spirits of Trump supporters.
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Brazil’s government confirmed on Friday that the country has risen above 1 million confirmed coronavirus cases, second only to the United States.
The country’s health ministry said that the total now stood at 1,032,913, up more than 50,000 from Thursday. The ministry said the sharp increase was due to corrections of previous days’ underreported numbers.
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Republican lawmakers who sued Gov. Tim Walz said Friday that he has failed to provide legal justification for his response to the coronavirus pandemic.
“We are winning on this issue, and Gov. Walz knows it,” said Rep. Jeremy Munson (R-Lake Crystal), one of 13 Republican lawmakers who joined a lawsuit against Walz over his use of emergency powers during the pandemic.
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Gov. Bill Lee announced a new “TN Strong Mask Movement” Thursday with the goal of making face masks more “fun.”
According to a press release from the governor’s office, the Economic Recovery Group developed the new program along with more than 30 “flagship brands” across the state, including Amazon, Bridgestone, Bristol Motor Speedway, Graceland, Jack Daniel’s, several professional sports teams and universities, and many others.
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Apple is closing 11 stores in Arizona, Florida, North Carolina and South Carolina that it had reopened just few weeks ago as coronavirus infections rates in some regions in the U.S. begin to rise.
The decision announced Friday is another sign that the pandemic might prevent the economy from bouncing back as quickly as some states have been hoping. Those concerns sent stocks on Wall Street lower Friday.
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Live from Music Row Friday morning on The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. – host Leahy welcomed the owner of Nashville Boutique Venues Dan Cook to the newsmakers line.
During the third hour, Cook explained how his business comes into play with the mayor allowing Phase Three to open next Monday. He described the phase openings as an unequal application of the law by way of the equations of “capacity” being used by the Metro government.
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The rally scheduled for Saturday in Tulsa has not only shown continued enthusiasm for President Trump and the country but has also given opportunities to demonstrate America’s ingenuity and charitable nature.
One such example is that of TrueHero Extreme Coverage Face Shields.
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The on-the-ground evidence in Tulsa is that the enthusiasm for the country and President Trump is still strong, despite or perhaps because of the events in recent months related to the COVID-19 shutdowns since March followed by the unrest going on across the country over the past few weeks.
Once President Trump announced on June 10 his first rally since the “invisible enemy” changed life around the world, people started camping out two days later to hold their place in line at Tulsa’s BOK Center for the event.
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Nashville Mayor John Cooper announced Thursday that the city will enter the third of its four announced phases of reopening after the COVID-19 pandemic struck the United States.
Cooper announced this at a press conference.
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Minnesota will waive its witness requirements for absentee ballots for the statewide primary election in August under the settlement of two lawsuits sparked by the health threat from the coronavirus pandemic.
The lawsuits were filed by political arms of the League of Women Voters of Minnesota and the Minnesota Alliance for Retired Americans. A Ramsey County judge signed off on the consent decree with the retirees Wednesday while a federal judge scheduled a hearing for Thursday on the league’s case.
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Nine more Republican lawmakers have joined a lawsuit against Gov. Tim Walz regarding his use of emergency powers during the coronavirus pandemic.
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During another lengthy meeting that began Tuesday night and went into Wednesday morning, by a 32 to 8 vote the Nashville Metro Council passed a budget that includes a record 34 percent property tax increase, increased funding for police, cost-of-living raises to city employees, increases funding to the school district as well as funding for a school district minimum wage of $15 per hour.
The Council-approved property tax increase is even higher than the 32 percent increase that Mayor John Cooper called for in his budget proposal.
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Stocks rose again Tuesday, part of a strong and worldwide rally for markets, after a big rebound in buying at U.S. stores and online raised hopes that the economy can escape its recession relatively quickly.
The S&P 500 climbed 1.9% for its third straight gain, bringing it back within 8% of its record set in February. Gains have built in recent weeks as reports bolster investor expectations that the worst of the downturn may have already passed.
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The National Endowment for the Arts has awarded The Tennessee Arts Commission with $474,000 in COVID-19 relief money to, according to a press release, to “save jobs in the nonprofit arts sector.”
The COVID-19 relief money comes courtesy of the federal CARES Act. The Arts Commission will also receive another $60,000 in federal CARES Act funds from South Arts, the regional arts agency for Southern states, the press release said.
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The Nashville grassroots group NoTax4Nash announced that it and other like-minded groups pledge to recall Mayor John Cooper and any members of the Metro Nashville Council who vote for a property tax increase without an audit to determine if there is need for one.
The NoTax4Nash pledge comes as the Metro Council is scheduled to vote on Mayor John Cooper’s proposed budget Tuesday, June 16.
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The St. Paul Saints announced Friday that the team will be participating in a 60-game season beginning July 3, but all games will be played in Sioux Falls, South Dakota until “capacity restrictions for outdoor events have relaxed.”
The American Association of Independent Professional Baseball said the shortened season will run from July 3 to September 10, concluding with a championship series between the top two teams. The league will consist of six teams based in three separate hubs.
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U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) participated in a tele-town hall Monday with U.S. Senate candidate Bill Hagerty and described why he believes COVID-19 originated in a Chinese lab.
This, even though many people originally believed the virus started at a Chinese wet market.
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For the fourth time in its history, the Oscars are being postponed. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the ABC Television Network said Monday that the 93rd Academy Awards will now be held April 25, 2021, eight weeks later than originally planned because of the pandemic’s effects on the movie industry.
The Academy’s Board of Governors also decided to extend the eligibility window beyond the calendar year to Feb. 28, 2021, for feature films, and delay the opening of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures from December until April 30, 2021.
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Ohio Democrats asked Gov. Mike DeWine to indefinitely ban the use of tear gas by all county, municipal, and township police departments in a letter sent last week.
According to the letter, law enforcement agencies across Ohio used tear gas, pepper spray, and mace on peaceful protesters during recent demonstrations.
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Health officials in Tennessee have cited 14 Nashville businesses including a restaurant owned by singer Kid Rock for not complying with coronavirus public health orders.
Metro Public Health Department Director Michael Caldwell visited Kid Rock’s Big Ass Honky Tonk & Rock N’ Roll Steakhouse on Saturday after receiving a complaint, news outlets reported, citing a statement from the health department. Caldwell issued a citation “for serving people that were seated at the bar and for not observing proper social distancing inside the establishment.”
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A coalition of Nashville’s community organizations and labor unions want Nashville Mayor John Cooper to spend possibly as much as $100 million in remaining COVID-19 relief money on projects that cater to “a moral and racial equity lens.”
Members of the organization, Stand Up Nashville, announced this in an email to followers this weekend.
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The closely watched arrival of Christopher Nolan’s big-budget sci-fi espionage film “Tenet” will finally happen on July 31, Warner Bros. announced Friday.
The studio said it would delay the release by two weeks and instead re-issue Nolan’s 2010 sci-fi blockbuster “Inception” in mid-July.
The release date for “Tenet” has been closely watched in all corners of the film industry, which has faced shuttered theaters due to the coronavirus since mid-March. Movie theaters plan to reopen in July for a vastly different summer season than the one the industry had planned.
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As of Sunday night Tennessee had 30,432 COVID-19 cases and 475 deaths.
The COVID Tracking Project reported the latest numbers on their website Sunday night. The website also reported that COVID-19 had hospitalized 2,087 Tennesseans and taken the lives of 475 state residents.
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