Five months after Russia invaded Ukraine, the war is now reduced to one of attrition. The current dirty, grinding slog is fought mostly with artillery and rockets. Everything from Ukraine’s shopping centers to apartment buildings—and the civilians in them—are Russian targets.
Read the full storyTag: Russia
Putin Promises to Keep the Gas Flowing to Europe – for Now
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia would continue to supply Europe with natural gas, but warned that deliveries via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline could become constrained if sanctions prevent further maintenance on the pipeline, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Putin asserted that the pipeline’s owner, the Moscow-controlled energy firm Gazprom, will honor and fulfill its responsibilities to Europe in remarks that he made late Tuesday after his visit to Tehran, reported the WSJ. Putin’s comments come amid the reduced flow of natural gas into Europe due to sanctions and other supply chain disruptions caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Read the full storyRussia, Ukraine Reach Grain Export Deal as Food Crisis Worsens
Russia and Ukraine reached an agreement Friday to resume safe passage of grain as fears of global food insecurity spread.
Turkey and the United Nations (UN) mediated negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, hostile after months of brutal fighting, to reopen black sea ports from the Russian blockade, The Wall Street Journal reported. Disruption of Ukrainian grain exports has exacerbated a worldwide food shortage, and UN leaders have warned that soaring fertilizer and food prices will reach crisis levels in the next two years.
Read the full storyCommentary: Biden Has Conveniently Forgotten His Role in Explosive Gas Prices
President Joe Biden’s attempts to reduce the cause of high gas prices to the war in Ukraine initially, and corporate greed more recently, are disingenuous.
On day one this president clearly stated his opposition to oil and gas production and development. The president’s words and even more so his actions, have serious impacts on the costs of commodities, including oil.
Read the full storyCommentary: Hoaxes, Scams, and the Left
Here is the hard-discovered truth.
The Left, which now controls all the centers of power and the commanding heights of the world economy, seeks to codify their ideology as science, and thereby make it irrefutable. You can’t disagree with it or you are a kook or insurrectionist. You are outside what Thomas Kuhn, called the “paradigm of normal science.”
Read the full storyInternational Relations Specialist Dominick Sansone Explains Russia’s War of Attrition
Friday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed international relations expert and contributor for The Epoch Times, Dominick Sansone, in-studio to explain how the Russians are winning the war with Ukraine by attrition and what this means for the United States of America after giving $40 billion dollars in aid.
Read the full storyWhite House Adviser Claims High Gas Prices Necessary for ‘Future of the Liberal World Order’
White House economic adviser Brian Deese on Thursday told CNN that high gas prices were a necessary inconvenience to preserve the “future of the liberal world order,” amid the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The average price of gas exceeded $5 per gallon for the first time in U.S. history in early June.
Read the full storyU.S. Relies on Russia for Key Materials in Defense Production
The U.S. depends on Russia to supply key minerals used in technology and defense industries, but the Russia-Ukraine war and Western economic punishment of Russia have suppressed supply lines, according to a report from Defense News.
Russia and Ukraine supply a large percentage of minerals like neon and aluminum that the U.S. uses in civilian and military applications, Deborah Rosenblum, a Pentagon acting spokesperson who works on industrial base policy, told Defense News. Sanctions levied on Russian companies and a war-related drop in mineral production have put these supply chains in jeopardy, she said.
Read the full storyCommentary: Biden Is Sleepwalking U.S. into Nuclear War with Russia
Since Russia initiated its brutal and illegal invasion of Ukraine, the West has responded with a hearty bellow of “Cry Havoc! And let slip the dogs of war!” Since February 24, NATO has poured nearly all its otherwise limited surplus of weapons and diplomatic capital—as well as economic capital, especially from the United States—into propping up the Ukrainian resistance front. Due to this unprecedented level of support for Ukraine, Kiev’s forces have successfully rebuffed a Russian invasion of their historic capital and shifted the fighting over to the Russian-controlled eastern portion and the contested southern area of Ukraine.
Read the full storyAmericans Could See Grocery Store Prices Skyrocket Even Higher: Report
Food prices in the U.S. may get worse in the coming months as European Union countries predict a dismal wheat harvest on top of the loss in Ukraine’s wheat exports, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.
The EU may produce 5% less wheat than 2021 because of dry weather, agriculture consulting firm Strategie Grains told the WSJ.
Read the full storyNational Gas Price Average Hits $5 per Gallon
The average price for a gallon of gas nationwide has reached the the $5 threshold, according to Thursday reports.
“According to GasBuddy, the national average has reached $5 per gallon,” said GasBuddy’s Patrick De Haan.
Read the full storyFormer Ambassador of Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Jim Gilmore Updates Russia’s War with Ukraine
Thursday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, official guest host Aaron Gulbransen welcomed former Trump appointed Ambassador to Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Jim Gilmore to the newsmaker line to update listeners on the current situation between Russia and Ukraine.
Read the full storyDespite Record High for State, Georgia’s Gas Prices Lowest in Nation
Georgia’s record-high gas prices are lowest nationwide, according to the American Automobile Association (AAA).
The average price for a gallon of gasoline in Georgia Monday was $4.29, matching a record high set on March 11. That figure is the lowest in the nation, as the average price for a gallon of gas in the United States Monday was $4.86.
Read the full storyWhite House Slowly Imploding over Biden’s Lackluster Messaging: Report
Staffers in President Joe Biden’s White House are struggling to control public messaging and gain ground in the media amid internal dysfunction, according to a CNN report.
Tensions have arisen between older staffers and younger aides over media strategies, and staff believe they are unable to improve Biden’s public image or change their strategy, according to CNN. Staffers described conflict and frustration within the White House over their inability to put forward an effective communications strategy, CNN reported, citing multiple anonymous staff members.
Read the full storyTennessee Gas Prices Hit All Time High, Expected to Keep Climbing
Gas prices reached another all-time high in Tennessee Friday, and according to the American Automobile Association (AAA), they are only expected to continue rising. “While drivers might have seen a small break in pump price increases this holiday weekend, we could be looking at the calm before the storm for gas prices,” Megan Cooper, a spokeswoman for AAA, reportedly said. The average price for a gallon of gas in Tennessee was $4.39 on Friday, the highest ever recorded in the state. That price jump represents a 12-cent increase over the past week alone, and a 48-cent jump over the past month. A year ago, the average cost of a gallon of gas was $2.88. Nashville has been hit the hardest, where on Friday, the average cost of a gallon of gas was $4.44, five cents higher than the state’s average. Clarksville clocked in at $4.43 per gallon on average, just behind the state’s capital city. “A dip in gasoline demand provided drivers with a bit of stability at the pump, as the national average for a gallon rose less than three cents over the past week to reach $4.62. But this respite could be brief,” AAA said in a news…
Read the full storyCommentary: Biden Needs to Held Accountable for His Lies
According to The Washington Post, Donald Trump told 30,573 lies over the course of his four years in office.
CNN nutshelled it with “The 15 most notable lies of Donald Trump’s presidency.”
Read the full storyPoll: Most Americans Blame Biden for Rampant Inflation
Most Americans believe President Joe Biden’s policies are the leading contributor to inflation in the U.S., a recent poll found.
The poll, conducted by the Trafalgar Group and the Convention of States Action from May 25 – 29, asked respondents to choose whether they believed Biden’s policies and spending or the war between Russia and Ukraine contributed more to inflation. The survey found that 59.9% of respondents blamed Biden’s policies and spending for inflation, compared to 31.6% who blamed the war between Russia and Ukraine and 8.5% who were unsure.
Read the full storyFormer OSCE Ambassador Jim Gilmore: The Purpose of This War Is for Putin to Try to Make His Place in History by Reassembling the Russian Empire
Friday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, official guest host Aaron Gulbransen welcomed former Trump-appointed Ambassador to OSCE, Jim Gilmore to the newsmaker line to explain how he sees the war between Russia and Ukraine and the changes in international politics.
Read the full storyCommentary: Stolen Elections, a Tale of Two D.C. Courtrooms
The Elijah Barrett Prettyman Courthouse in Washington, D.C. is center stage this month to two competing tales of stolen presidential elections.
In the courtroom of U.S. District Court Judge Christopher Cooper, federal prosecutors have presented a detailed account of the greatest scandal in U.S. political history: the conspiracy of the country’s most powerful interests to fabricate the Trump-Russia collusion hoax in order to sabotage Donald Trump before the 2016 election.
Read the full storyCongressman Tim Burchett, One of Four Tennessean Legislators to Vote ‘No’ on 40 Billion Ukraine Package, Says ‘I Just Don’t Think It’s Our Fight’
Monday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed Congressman Tim Burchett (R-TN-02) to the newsmaker line to talk about his opposition to the $40 billion Ukraine aid package and the dwindling support of the Democratic Party.
Read the full storyMinnesota Farmers Are Far Behind Schedule This Planting Season
Minnesota farmers have been unable to plant nearly any wheat and have only planted a small amount of corn so far this year.
Last year, nearly all of Minnesota’s wheat (99%) was in the ground by mid-May, but per the most recent figures from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), only 5% has been planted so far this year. Corn producers are having a similarly rough year thus far. Only 35% of Minnesota’s corn has been put in the ground so far. Normally by this time, almost double as much would have been planted according to the USDA.
Read the full storyRussia Announces Western Military Buildup to Match NATO Presence Near Its Borders
The Russian Ministry of Defense announced the buildup of forces in the nation’s Western Military District as a response to the mounting NATO forces near its borders.
“Twelve military units and subunits will be formed in the Western Military District by the end of the year,” said Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, who highlighted the Swedish and Finnish bids to join NATO as factors in the buildup, according to Russian state media outlet Tass.
Read the full storyHillary Factor: Evidence Now Shows False Russia Collusion Story Began and Ended with Clinton
In an era where the hunt for disinformation has become a political obsession, Hillary Clinton has mostly escaped having to answer what role she played in spreading the false Russia collusion narrative that gripped America for nearly three years.
On Friday, that dodge ended with a most unlikely witness: her former campaign manager Robby Mook, who was supposed to be a witness helping the defense of her former campaign lawyer Michael Sussmann on a charge of lying to the FBI.
Read the full storyCommentary: Stop Canceling Ordinary Russians
With Russia’s invasion of Ukraine now in its third month, the demonization of all things Russian continues in the West. Russian athletes are prohibited from participating in sporting events, Russian artists prevented from performing, and an Italian university even “postponed” a course on Dostoevsky. As Tal Fortgang observes, “cancel culture is directed not at Russia the violent invader, but at people who have been made into avatars for Russianism.”
Read the full storyOhio Secretary of State Frank LaRose Calls on Federal Government to Address Inflation
Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose called on the federal government to address record inflation that is impacting small businesses across the state.
According to LaRose, his office received only 15,488 new business filings in April 2022—a dramatic decline from previous months. In March, he got 20 percent more applications.
Read the full storyAll-Star Panelist Clint Brewer: Tennessee Delegation’s Reluctance to Back $40 Billion in Ukraine Aid Due to ‘Lack of Trust and Belief’ in Biden’s Intent and Competency
Thursday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed all-star panelist Clint Brewer in-studio to comment upon Tennessee’s reluctance to support the $40 billion Ukraine package and Russia’s position on the world stage.
Read the full storySenator Bill Hagerty on the Biden Administration’s ‘Theology and Religion of Climate,’ Collapsing the Southern Border to ‘Transform’ America
Tuesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed U.S. Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN) to the newsmaker line to discuss his decision not to vote for the 40 billion dollar aid package to Ukraine and the concerted effort by the Biden administration to transform the United States of America.
Read the full storyMore Illegal Aliens Crossed the Border in April Than Any Month in Modern History
In the month of April, at least 234,088 illegal aliens crossed the border into the United States, smashing all previous records for the highest monthly total of illegal border crossings in modern history.
As reported by the Washington Examiner, the over 234,000 figure comes from successful interceptions by border authorities, and thus does not account for so-called “gotaways” who evaded the Border Patrol. The numbers were reported by a court document obtained by the Examiner on Monday.
Read the full storyVictor Davis Hanson Commentary: The Cycles of Revolutions in Our Midst
We are witnessing a number of radical military, social, and political revolutions that are changing the United States—and the world—in fundamental ways that we still have not appreciated.
The taboo about never mentioning the first-strike use of nuclear weapons in a major conventional war is now apparently over. Vladimir Putin routinely threatens their use. Communist China hints at its growing nuclear capability and is hell-bent on rushing into production a huge new nuclear missile force. The world is defining nuclear incineration down.
Read the full storyCommentary: Joe Biden vs. We the People
The Biden Administration last June unveiled its “National Strategy for Countering Domestic Terrorism.” Despite its anodyne-sounding name, the “national strategy” was anything but anodyne. The pamphlet represented the logical culmination of the Left’s cynical use of the January 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riot as a means of ginning up large-scale, nationwide anti-Republican/anti-Trump voter sentiment.
The result, evinced again by Attorney General Merrick Garland’s disgraceful October 2021 memo directing the FBI to intrude on local school board meetings and crack down on anti-critical race theory parental revolts, has been a roiling cold war waged by the ruling class against us “deplorables” and our political “wrong-think.”
Read the full storyCommentary: Biden Promises More U.S. Wheat Production to Combat Loss of Ukrainian, Russian Wheat Exports, Despite U.S. Wheat Production Being Down 15 Percent Since 2019
President Joe Biden is promising to boost U.S. production of wheat to offset the loss of Ukrainian and Russian exports from the Black Sea thanks to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine that has shut down the ports there, stating at a farm in Illinois on May 11 that he would extend crop insurance for farmers who double crop in a bid to get more wheat to market this year.
Read the full storyArizona Republicans, Others Sound Off on $40 Billion Ukraine Deal
The few dissenters from the U.S. House of Representatives who opposed a bill sending $40 billion to Ukraine while inflations crushes Americans are expressing their displeasure over the bill’s passage.
“Biden wants to send FORTY BILLION that has been taken from taxpayers to Ukraine while our borders remain wide open with historic crossings. This Regime prioritizes every other country before it even thinks about our own – this is the definition of America Last. I VOTE NO!” said Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ-04), who was one of 57 Republicans to vote against the spending package.
Read the full storyCongressman John Rose Votes Against Latest Ukraine Package
Congressman John Rose (R-TN-06), alongside 57 other Republicans, voted against authorizing an additional $40 billion in assistance for Ukraine.
According to Rose, he did not have confidence in the Biden Administration to properly oversee the disbursement of the funds, leading to his opposition.
Read the full storyVirginia Gas Prices Nearing Record High Set in March
Just two months after Virginia’s gas prices hit an all-time high, the average price per gallon of gasoline is set to eclipse that record again.
According to the American Automobile Association (AAA), the average price for a gallon of gas in Virginia was $4.22 on Monday, just three cents shy of the state’s March 11 record of $4.25.
Read the full storyOhio Sending Approximately 2,000 Pieces of Personal Protective Gear to Ukraine
Various Ohio law enforcement agencies are donating roughly 2,000 pieces of personal protective equipment to forces in Ukraine.
According to a release from Governor Mike DeWine, more than two dozen state and local law enforcement agencies supplied donations to the effort.
Read the full storyCommentary: America’s Future Depends on the Bioeconomy
If the coronavirus pandemic exposed the fragility of our supply chains, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has laid bare the precarious state of global food security. While inflation and sanctions on Russia have pushed up the price of food and fuel, the latest U.N. climate report provides a further urgent warning to change the status quo for the sake of our planet. It claims that global CO2 emissions must peak by 2025 to avoid catastrophic effects.
But there is an alternative to the uncomfortable choice between economic sacrifice, moral compromise, and ecological ruin. It’s called the bioeconomy, and it has the potential to address the existential challenges posed by climate change, global pandemics, and growing economic inequity. Imagine bio-based antiviral face masks, or carbon-neutral cement produced in facilities located in America’s former industrial hubs.
Read the full storyAll-Star Panelist Roger Simon and the Dystopic Tragedy of Joe Biden
Thursday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed all-star panelist and The Epoch Times’ Editor-at-Large Roger Simon in-studio to weigh in on Joe Biden’s visibly decline in mental faculties and its effects on the United States.
Read the full storyBiden Appoints Kenyon College Graduate as Ambassador to Ukraine
President Joe Biden is expected to nominate a Kenyon College graduate to be the United States’ Ambassador to Ukraine, which is currently embattled in war with Russia.
“Kenyon is proud that such an accomplished alumna has been selected for this critical diplomatic position,” Kenyon College Professor of Political Science David Rowe told The Ohio Star Monday. “Bridget Brink is being sent to one of the United States’ most important postings. How the Ukraine war is resolved will affect the fate of security and democracy in Europe and more broadly for a generation or more. We wish her all the best in what will likely be the challenge of a lifetime.”
Read the full storyInternational Relations Expert and Fulbright Recipient Dominick Sansone Describes Landscape of Donbas Region as Battles Ensue
Friday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed international relations expert and contributor for The Epoch Times, Dominick Sansone, in studio to describe the topography of the Donbas region of Ukraine where heavy fighting is taking place with Russia.
Read the full storyEpoch Times Contributor Dominick Sansone Describes Current Military Situation in Ukraine
Friday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed international relations expert and contributor for The Epoch Times, Dominick Sansone, in studio to describe the current military situation in Ukraine.
Read the full storyInternational Relations Expert Dominick Sansone on NATO, Ukraine, and Putin’s Geopolitics
Friday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed international relations expert and contributor for The Epoch Times, Dominick Sansone, in studio to describe the characteristics of Vladimir Putin that make him an expert in geopolitics and the relationship between NATO and Ukraine.
Read the full storyCommentary: ‘Genocide’ Is Not a Throwaway Term of Abuse
Soaring inflation is leaving Americans battered and bruised—and not just inflation in prices. Inflation in rhetoric is also doing a number on the people of our republic.
We’ve seen it unfold with depressing regularity. Donald Trump was a “fascist dictator,” we were told. The Capitol riot was a “coup” and an “insurrection.” Climate change poses an “existential threat” to all life on earth. And, just this past week, after failing to get the legislative redistricting map he wanted from the state Supreme Court, Wisconsin’s Democratic Governor Tony Evers declared: “At a time when our democracy is under near-constant attack, the judiciary has abandoned our democracy in our most dire hour.”
Read the full storyCommentary: Loose Nuke Talk
Americans, like the planet’s other 7.5 billion people, are not prone to talk or think much about nuclear weapons.
Of course, some of us are old enough to remember how “mutually assured destruction,” or MAD, was supposed to ensure the general peace.
Read the full storyTennessee Representatives ‘Proud’ and ‘Honored’ by Russian Sanctions Against Them
Eight of Tennessee’s nine members of the House of Representatives were sanctioned by Russia on Wednesday in response to the U.S. sanctioning members of the Russian Duma earlier this year.
In total, 398 members of Congress were listed in the release from Russia; however, some lawmakers were not included because the country took action against them previously.
Read the full storyUnited Nations Votes to Suspend Russia from Human Rights Council
The United Nations General Assembly voted Thursday to suspend Russia from the Human Rights council, amid emerging evidence the country has intentionally killing civilians in its invasion of Ukraine.
Read the full storyFeds: Retail Food Prices to Increase by an Additional Five Percent
The U.S. Department of Agriculture expects U.S. food prices to increase by at least another 5% on average this year as the majority of Americans surveyed in a new poll cite cost of living increases as a top concern and lack of confidence in President Joe Biden’s ability to do anything about it.
Rising prices are due to inflation, the Federal Reserve increasing interest rates, and consequences of Russia invading Ukraine, the USDA states in its most recent monthly Food Price Outlook, which forecasts retail food inflation.
Read the full storyArizona Gov. Ducey Sends Four Tons of Surplus Defensive Gear and Combat Equipment to Ukraine
Arizona is sending thousands of pounds of equipment and supplies to support the Ukrainian military amid Russia’s invasion of the country.
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey visited the Arizona Department of Emergency and Military Affairs for the official send-off.
Read the full storyRon Johnson’s Unanswered Corruption Questions from 2020 Loom Large over Joe Biden
Back before the 2020 election, when Democrats and their allies in the corporate media were still claiming the Hunter Biden story was a conspiracy theory or Russian disinformation, GOP Sen. Ron Johnson released an open letter to America posing questions to then-candidate Joe Biden.
Like most Biden scandals at the time, it mostly got ignored or ridiculed. But the questions were rooted in facts and evidence gathered over two years by investigators on Johnson’s Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.
Read the full storyDue to Price Spikes, Analysts Urge Michigan Consumers to Hold onto Current Vehicles
Michigan consumers considering the purchase of a new or used car or truck may be wise to put off replacing their current vehicle, according to University of Michigan-Flint Economics Professor Christopher Douglas.
An iSeeCars analysis of 1.8 million car sales in February 2022 concluded prices for used cars are up 35% nationally. In Detroit, used car prices were up 31%, or $7,442.77 over last year.
Read the full storyCommentary: History Should Be Our Guide in Ukraine
There are several historical referents we should keep in mind about the Ukraine war.
First, no-fly zones. Lots of Westerners are calling for NATO aircraft to establish a no-fly zone above Ukraine to stop Russian bombing of Ukrainian cities.
Read the full story