Category: Tennessee

Poll Claiming Nashville Wants Public Transit Admits Oversampling Black, Hispanic Citizens for ‘Greater Insight’

Tom Pappert
Nashville Buses

A poll touted by Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell on Wednesday, which claims the majority of the city’s residents want greater investments into public transits, admittedly over sampled black and Hispanic citizens in a bid to achieve “greater insight” into city’s mood.

The Imagine Nashville survey claimed that 74 percent of Nashville residents strongly agree with the city spending additional money on public transportation. The pollsters further claimed that 33 percent of respondents cited a lack of public transportation as an issue where the city needs to improve.

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Pollster John McLaughlin: ‘If the Election Was Held Today, Trump Would Win in a Landslide’

Kaitlin Housler
Donald Trump

Long-time pollster John McLaughlin said if the 2024 presidential general election was held today, former President Donald Trump would win over incumbent President Joe Biden “in a landslide.”

McLaughlin, citing Trump’s lead in national polling, said the former president would win both an electoral and popular vote landslide if the election were held now, however, noted how the Left is actively “trying to put him in jail.”

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Tom Pappert: ‘Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion’ Must Have Played a Role in Fani Willis, Nathan Wade, and Terrance Bradley’s Careers

Kaitlin Housler
Fani Willis

Tom Pappert, reporter for The Georgia Star News and lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, said he believes diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies were part of the explanation as to how Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, special prosecutor Nathan Wade, and attorney Terrance Bradley were hired into positions of influence.

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Lara Trump Officially Launches Bid for RNC Co-Chair

Just the News
Lara Trump

Lara Trump, former President Donald Trump’s daughter-in-law, launched her bid for co-chair of the Republican National Committee one day after current RNC chair Ronna McDaniel said she would resign from her position after Super Tuesday.

“I promise you that I will be laser-focused on election integrity, voter turn out, and ensuring every dollar spent goes towards winning!” Lara Trump said Wednesday on X, formerly Twitter, in an announcement about her candidacy. 

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Congressman Mark Green Will Run for Re-Election at Urging of Former President Trump

Kaitlin Housler
Tennessee U.S. Rep. Mark Green

Congressman Mark Green (R-TN-07) announced on Thursday that he has reconsidered his decision to retire from Congress and will now run for re-election to the U.S. House of Representatives in the 2024 election.

“While my strong desire was to leave Congress at the end of this year, since my announcement, I have received countless calls from constituents, colleagues, and President Trump urging me to reconsider,” Green said in a statement released by his office to The Tennessee Star.

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Former Trump Campaign Spokesman Steve Cortes Says Murder of Georgia Nursing Student Was ‘100 Percent Preventable’

Kaitlin Housler
Laken Riley

Steve Cortes, former senior spokesman and strategist for the 2016 and 2020 Trump campaigns and current head of the League of American Workers, said the murder of 22-year-old Georgia nursing student Laken Riley was “100 percent preventable” if it weren’t for the “radical open borders agenda” of President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

Jose Ibarra, a 26-year-old illegal alien from Venezuela, was arrested and charged last week for his alleged murder of Riley, who died from blunt-force trauma to her head.

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Williamson County Will Comply with Mass Deportation Order Under Potential Trump Presidency, Interim Sheriff Mark Elrod Says

Kaitlin Housler
Illegal Immigrants

Mark Elrod, who is currently serving as interim sheriff of Williamson County amid former Sheriff Dusty Rhoades’ retirement, said his department would assist Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in carrying out deportations of illegal immigrants under a potential Trump presidency beginning in 2025.

If elected, former President Donald Trump has said he would immediately mobilize ICE to deport illegal immigrants as part of his goal to carry out the “largest deportation operation” in the nation’s history.

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Lee Spokesman Rebukes Claims Tennessee Education Commissioner Lacks Qualifications as Democrats Demand Resignation

Tom Pappert
TDOE Commissioner

The office of Tennessee Governor Bill Lee on Tuesday pushed back on claims by Democrats in the Tennessee House of Representatives who claim that Lizzette Reynolds, the Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE), lacks the constitutional qualifications required for the position.

Reynolds has faced calls for her resignation by Democrats since late January, when Democrats claimed in a press conference that Reynolds is not eligible to lead TDOE citing the Tennessee Constitution.

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Immigration Experts Say Both Legal and Illegal Immigration Must Be Reduced to Balance U.S. ‘Social Experiment’ Migration Crisis

Kaitlin Housler
CBP Illegal Immigrants

Executive Director Mark Krikorian, Senior National Security Fellow Todd Bensman, and Director of Policy Studies Jessica Vaughan with the Center for Immigration Studies explained how immigration – both legal and illegal – into the U.S. must be reduced in order to balance out the nation’s rapidly rising foreign-born population.

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Williamson County Interim Sheriff Mark Elrod Says Narcotics, Fentanyl ‘Biggest Issue’ in County

Kaitlin Housler

Mark Elrod, who is currently serving as interim sheriff of Williamson County amid former Sheriff Dusty Rhoades’ retirement, said the biggest issues affecting the county in regards to crime are drugs and fentanyl.

“I would say that probably one of our biggest issues is drugs, narcotics, fentanyl. We’ve had an uptick in that as well as heroin over the last several years. With Williamson County, we’re a transient community where a lot of the drugs and other crimes come in from other areas into Williamson County. It’s not so much your next door neighbor or the people down the street, although there is some of that, but most of it is coming from other places…Davidson County, out of Nashville, out of the city of Columbia. We have four interstates that come through the county, so it could be, you know, really coming from anywhere, everywhere,” Elrod said on Tuesday’s edition of The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy.

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Tennessee Considers Bill Restricting State Department of Child Services from Requiring Adoptive Parents to Vaccinate

Matthew Giffin
Parents

The Tennessee General Assembly is considering a bill that would restrict the state’s Department of Child Services from requiring prospective adoptive or foster parents to get vaccinated.

The State House Children and Family Affairs Subcommittee voted to pass the State House version of the legislation today after discussion and testimony. It is now on the calendar for the State Senate for February 29.

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Tennessee Comptroller to Audit Shelby County, Expresses ‘Lack of Confidence’ over ‘Willful Neglect’ by County Clerk

Tom Pappert
Halbert Mumpower

Tennessee Comptroller Jason Mumpower announced an audit of Shelby County due to the alleged “incompetence and willful neglect” of the county by Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert.

Mumpower announced his intention in a letter to Mayor Lee Harris and the Shelby County Commission, expressing “deep concern and lack of confidence” in Halbert’s office.

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House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green Sends Letter to DHS Demanding Information Related to Murder of Georgia Medical Student

Kaitlin Housler
Mark Green DHS

Tennessee U.S. Representative Mark Green (R-TN-07), who chairs the House Homeland Security Committee, sent a letter to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas demanding information to assist the committee in its investigation into the murder of 22-year old nursing student Laken Riley.

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Tennessee AG Leads Charge Against Biden Admin Plan to Have Government Cut Back on Single-Use Plastic

Admin
Plastic Straws

A coalition of Republican state attorneys general led by Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti is fighting a federal agency’s proposal to massively reduce the amount of single-use plastics consumed by the government.

The General Services Administration (GSA) —  which provides centralized procurement for the federal government and offers office products and other services to federal agencies — proposed a rule in late December 2023 that would put the federal government on track to significantly reduce its use of single-use plastic packaging in an effort to be environmentally friendly. Skrmetti and 13 other state attorneys general argued in comments filed Monday that the policy exceeds the agency’s authority, and that it would decrease the efficiency of federal procurement and increase costs while failing to do much for the environment.

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Tennessee Bill Would Prohibit Financial De-Banking for Political, Religious Beliefs

Tom Pappert
Jason Zachary Jack Johnson

Tennessee State Representative Jason Zachary (R-Knoxville) and Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson (R-Franklin) have proposed legislation that would prohibit America’s largest financial institutions from discriminating against customers based on their religious or political beliefs.

Their bills, HB 2100 and SB 2148, would specifically prohibit banks, insurers and other financial institutions from “denying or canceling services to a person, or otherwise discriminating against a person, based upon the use of a social credit score or other factors.”

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Immigration Expert: ‘There Is Mass Immigration Asylum Fraud Underway Here’

Kaitlin Housler
Illegal Immigrants

Senior National Security Fellow Todd Bensman with the Center for Immigration Studies warned there is “mass immigration asylum fraud” taking place in the U.S.

Bensman, who has interviewed thousands of migrants over the years, explained on Thursday’s edition of The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy how migrants, specifically from Venezuela and Haiti, often live in other more stable countries – including Brazil, Colombia, and Ecuador – for years before making their way to the United States to work and live a prosperous life.

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Free Speech Expert: 2020 Election and COVID-19 Pandemic Most Censored Events in Human History

Peter D'Abrosca
Mike Benz Tucker Carlson

An expert in online free speech told Tucker Carlson in a wide-ranging interview that he believes the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2020 election were the two most censored events in human history.

“The two most censored events in human history, I would argue to date, are the 2020 election and the COVID-19 pandemic, and I’ll explained how I arrived there,” Mike Benz, founder and executive director of the Foundation for Freedom Online (FFO) told Carlson.

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Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti Details Consumer Protection Lawsuit Against BlackRock’s ESG Investing

Kaitlin Housler
TN AG Courtroom

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti said his consumer protection lawsuit against BlackRock’s Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG) investing will force the company to disclose if it is mixing ESG factors when making investment decisions instead of focusing on financial factors relative to the rate of return.

Skrmetti filed his lawsuit against BlackRock in December 2023, alleging that the hedge fund has misled consumers in Tennessee about the scale and impacts of its ESG initiatives for several years.

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Immigration Experts Outline Steps Congress Could Immediately Take to Ease Border Crisis

Kaitlin Housler
Illegal Immigrants

Executive Director Mark Krikorian, Senior National Security Fellow Todd Bensman, and Director of Policy Studies Jessica Vaughan with the Center for Immigration Studies said Republican lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives could immediately use their slim-margin majority to help correct the nation’s border crisis by cutting funding for programs and entities that fuel illegal immigration.

One idea the trio discussed during Thursday’s episode of The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – other than impeaching and convicting Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas – was lawmakers’ ability to cut funding for the United Nations (UN), which has been providing illegal immigrants with cash cards as they make their journey to North America.

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State Representative Jason Zachary Says Gavin Newsom Should ‘Mind His Own Business’ After Attacking Tennessee with Super-Pac Ad

Matthew Giffin
State Rep Jason Zachary

Tennessee State Representative Jason Zachary (R-Knoxville) said California Governor Gavin Newsom should pay more attention to his state’s problems after Newsom’s super PAC released an advertisement attacking Tennessee for proposing a parental rights bill.

Zachary made his comments in a phone interview on The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy on Monday.

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Tennessee AG Skrmetti Joins 24-State Amicus Brief Supporting Texas, Warns Federal Immigration Showdown Threatens State Sovereignty

Tom Pappert

Tennessee Attorney General Jonthan Skrmetti was among the 22 attorneys general who joined the amicus brief filed by Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach on Friday in support of Texas and Governor Greg Abbott in their in its legal fight with the federal government over the governor’s decision to protect the southern border.

The amicus brief argues that individual states “have a constitutional right to defend themselves that federal law cannot override absent” a declaration from U.S. Congress, and Skrmetti told The Tennessee Star the question ultimately relates to the sovereignty of states.

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Bannon Rallies CPAC for ‘Crusade of Righteousness’ to Elect ‘Dissident’ Trump in ‘Greatest Political Comeback in American History’

Tom Pappert
Stephen K. Bannon at CPAC 2024

War Room host Steve Bannon rallied Republicans at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on Saturday to vote for former President Donald Trump in November to accomplish what the former member of the Trump administration predicted will be the “greatest political comeback in American history.”

In just under 10 minutes, Bannon argued Trump’s “fate and destiny” are “intertwined” with the United States, lambasted President Joe Biden as an “illegitimate regime head” in the process of being cast out, and urged Americans to join a “crusade of righteousness” by voting for Trump on November 5.

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State Rep. Jason Zachary Challenges Newsom to Debate After California Governor Targets Tennessee with Super PAC

Tom Pappert
California Gov. Gavin Newsom

State Representative Jason Zachary (R-Knoxville) challenged California Governor Gavin Newsom to a debate after the Democrat targeted Tennessee for its pro-life legislation to protect unborn children using funds from a Super PAC that some speculate could lay the foundations of a campaign to oust President Joe Biden.

In a Sunday post to X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, the California governor falsely claimed Tennessee’s pro-life legislation offers no exceptions, including for rape or incest, and asserted that “Republicans in Tennessee are trying to punish young women” who travel to abort their children. 

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Tennessee Bill Would Create New Misdemeanor Crime for Defendants Caught Violating Bail

Tom Pappert

Bills advancing through the Tennessee General Assembly would make it a misdemeanor crime for a defendant to violate the conditions of their bail.

The legislation seeks to create a new Class A misdemeanor offense to charge defendants who violate the terms of release secured by paying a bond. Lawmakers specifically want to amend the existing Tennessee Code that mandates arrest warrants be filed for those who violate their release terms to also include the criminal offense.

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EPA Finalizes Air Pollution Standards That Critics Say Will Cost Jobs, Hurt the Economy

Just the News
Factory Smoke Stacks

The EPA finalized air pollution standards that create more stringent limits for soot exposure, as it is called. This despite a 42% decrease in the national average over the last 22 years, according to the agency’s own data.

“It’s going to hurt economies. It’s going to hurt manufacturing. It’s a real problem,” Daren Bakst, senior fellow with the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), told Just The News.

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U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles Stands Firm on ‘Death to Hamas’ Comment, Says ‘These Terrorists Deserve to Die’

Kaitlin Housler
Andy Ogles

Tennessee U.S. Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) is standing firm on comments he issued in response to an activist who pressed him on the situation unfolding in the Middle East between Israeli and Hamas forces in Gaza.

Footage shared on social media shows the activist pressing Ogles while walking through a corridor in the U.S. Capitol.

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Roger Simon Says Trump Is a ‘Force of Nature’ Following Nashville Speech

Kaitlin Housler
Donald Trump Speaking

Roger Simon, the co-founder of PJMedia and current columnist for The Epoch Times, attended former President Donald Trump’s speech at the National Religious Broadcasters International Christian Media Convention in Nashville on Thursday,

Simon, noting how Trump was nearly two hours late to the event after having delivered a speech at an earlier fundraiser event, said the former president was a “force of nature,” proving those who believe he has “lost a step” wrong.

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Neil W. McCabe: ‘Trump is Flourishing in a Political Era That Should Have Been Dominated by Democrats’

Kaitlin Housler
Donald Trump

National political reporter Neil W. McCabe said the tone of this year’s Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) is “completely Trump,” noting how the “Trump-hating corporate conservative establishment” is not present this time around.

“It’s completely Trump,” McCabe explained on Friday’s edition of The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy. “In the past you would kind of have sort of the Trump-hating corporate conservative establishment, but they’re not here.”

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U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles Sends Four Letters to the House Appropriations Committee

Kaitlin Housler

Tennessee U.S. Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) sent four letters to the House Appropriations Committee on Friday advocating for the defunding of “America-last directives” as the committee works on funding accounts for the remainder of fiscal year (FY) 2024.

In one letter to the Subcommittee on Homeland Security, Ogles requests that a provision be added to any upcoming spending legislation prohibiting President Joe Biden’s recent executive order granting Deferred Enforced Departure to Palestinians in the U.S. for 18 months.

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Center for Immigration Studies Senior Fellow Todd Bensman Says the ‘Entire World’ Knows of the Biden Administration’s Catch and Release Policy

Kaitlin Housler
Illegal Immigrants

Todd Bensman, senior national security fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies, said the U.S. is on track to encounter more than 600,000 illegal aliens that have traveled through the Darién Gap, which is the only land path connecting Central America and South America, to get to the U.S.-Mexico border this year.

The Darién Gap between Colombia and Panama consists of more than 60 miles of dense rainforest, steep mountains, and vast swamps. Illegal immigrants from South America and other parts of the world use the land path as a passageway to get to North America.

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Federal Court Bars NCAA from Enforcing NIL-Recruitment Ban After Legal Challenge by AGs of TN and VA

Kaitlin Housler
Skrmetti UT

The Eastern District Court of Tennessee granted Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti’s preliminary injunction request in his lawsuit against the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s (NCAA) illegal name, image, and likeness (NIL)-recruitment ban on Friday.

Through its NIL recruitment ban, the NCAA prohibits prospective student-athletes from discussing potential NIL opportunities with schools and collectives prior to enrolling. Specifically, the ban prohibits student-athletes from negotiating with collectives, reviewing NIL offers before making enrollment decisions, and adequately considering the full scope of NIL-related services a school might offer upon enrollment.

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Center for Immigration Studies Executive Director Mark Krikorian: There’s Very Little Screening of Incoming Illegal Aliens for Health Problems or Criminal Behavior

Kaitlin Housler
Illegal Immigrants

Mark Krikorian, the executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, said migrants who are crossing illegally into the U.S. are not being thoroughly screened for illnesses or criminal backgrounds.

“They often screen them before they go to detention, but they’re not being detained,” Krikorian explained on Thursday’s episode of The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy. “As far as criminal behavior, they do run their names through some databases before they let them go, but that only works if we have records of them having committed crimes in the United States. The problem always with vetting is garbage in, garbage out. Do you think that the Somalia DMV or the medical records office or whatever in Venezuela is going to tell us anything about people? Of course not. So, yes, there is some kind of pro forma screening but it doesn’t really screen very much.”

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Tennessee House Advances Bill Banning Local Governments from Returning Expelled Lawmakers

Tom Pappert

A bill advancing in the Tennessee House of Representatives would prohibit local governments from returning lawmakers to the General Assembly after they have been successfully expelled from office.

HB 2716 by State Representative Johnny Garrett (R-Goodlettsville) seeks to amend Tennessee law to mandate that any local government body must “elect a successor to fill a vacant seat” in the General Assembly due to a vacancy caused “due to the expulsion of a member for disorderly behavior, then the local legislative body shall not elect the expelled legislator to be the successor to fill the vacant seat.”

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Tennessee Senate Passes Bill Banning Politicians from Running in Multiple Elections at the Same Time

Tom Pappert
Richard Briggs

The Tennessee State Senate on Thursday passed a bill that would ban politicians in the state from seeking more than one elected office simultaneously.

SB 1968 passed the Tennessee Senate on Thursday with 17 votes in favor and 15 votes against. The bill, introduced by Senator Richard Briggs (R-Knoxville), would prohibit an individual from holding multiple elected offices in Tennessee, and would also ban any politician in the state from actively campaigning for more than one elected position.

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Governor Lee Signs Marriage Bill Protecting Religious Convictions

Matthew Giffin

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee signed into law a bill that protects the religious convictions of people approached to solemnize or officiate a marriage.

“A person shall not be required to solemnize a marriage if the person has an objection to solemnizing the marriage based on the person’s conscience or religious beliefs,” reads the new law which took effect on Wednesday.

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