Category: Tennessee

Greater Memphis Chamber Seeks $50 Million to Address Crime, Support for State Senator’s Bail Reform in Letter to Gov. Bill Lee

Tom Pappert

The Greater Memphis Chamber sent a letter to Governor Bill Lee (R) on Tuesday, requesting money, resources and new legislation to address the record high crime in Memphis. Among the requests include the passage of bills by State Senator Brent Taylor (R-Memphis) to reform Tennessee bail and sentencing practices.

The letter, written by Greater Memphis Chamber President Ted Townsend, appears to have the support of the chamber’s Chairman’s Circle, which includes prominent private sector leaders from more than 80 Memphis businesses.

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Tennessee House Bill Would Require All Driver’s License Tests to Be Administered in English

Peter D'Abrosca

A new bill introduced in the Tennessee General Assembly would require drivers wishing to obtain Tennessee driver’s licenses to pass a test administered only in English. 

HB 1730 “requires all written driver license examinations to be administered in English only; prohibits use of a translation dictionary, electronic device, or interpreter to assist with the examination,” according to the summary of the bill. 

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American Idol’s Taylor Hicks to Perform ‘Night Moves’ at the Franklin Theatre

Bethany Bowman

As I learned last year in my original interview, Season 5 American Idol winner, Taylor Hicks is a diverse entertainer. Besides being a soulful singer and songwriter, the artist is an actor and restaurateur. A few weeks after our last interview, Taylor Hicks was asked to make his Grand Ole Opry debut, a milestone desired by many Southern singers.

He made his debut on June 18, 2023. Hicks said, “As long as I’ve been doing this, being able to grace the Opry Stage was something that I will never forget. It’s a big deal. I’ve had a lot of great invitations, and this was definitely up there for sure.”

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Vanderbilt ‘Justice in Palestine’ Students and Alumni Accuse University of Supporting Genocide

Matthew Giffin

Pro-Palestine Vanderbilt students and alumni activists accused the university and its chancellor of “supporting genocide” in an Instagram post on Monday.

The Instagram accounts for the Vanderbilt Alumni for Palestine and the Vanderbilt chapter of the Students for Justice in Palestine jointly posted a series of graphics in response to an email that the groups claim Vanderbilt Chancellor Daniel Diermeier sent to students.

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Senator Marsha Blackburn Introduces Bill to Empower Border States to Place Temporary Barriers on Federal Land

Kaitlin Housler
Blackburn Border Wall

U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) joined a group of her Republican colleagues in introducing a bill that would authorize U.S. states bordering Canada or Mexico to place temporary structures on federal land to secure its border.

While the U.S. Constitution currently provides for the protection of states “against invasion” and reserves the right of states to defend themselves, states are unable to place structures on federal land without first obtaining authorization from the federal government under current law.

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Bill Ackman Slams Business Insider’s German Parent Company for Double Down on ‘False Reporting’

Peter D'Abrosca
Bill Ackman

Billionaire investor Bill Ackman’s spat with Business Insider escalated Thursday morning when he accused Business Insider’s German parent company Axel Springer of spreading what he says are false allegations printed by its subsidiary. 

“Yesterday, Axel Springer doubled down on Business Insider’s false reporting. The result is that Axel Springer has now become a directly responsible party for this exposure in addition to BI,” Ackman said on X.

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Tennessee Attorney General Skrmetti Claims Meta Knowingly Made Instagram Addictive to Children in Unredacted Lawsuit

Tom Pappert
AG Skrmetti

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti (R) released on Wednesday the unredacted lawsuit he is leading against Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, which alleges Meta created Instagram using “deceptive and unfair business practices that are fomenting a mental health crisis in this state.”

Skrmetti stated in a press release that his office’s “complaint makes clear that Meta knew its platforms were hurting kids and made a very clear decision to choose money over the mental health of its young users.” The attorney general said that “Tennessee law protects kids from companies, big or small, that mislead and hurt them” and that the state “will continue to aggressively enforce that law.”

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State Senator Hensley Confirms Tennessee Will Likely Owe Out-of-State Companies Up to $1 Billion Due to Constitutional Flaw in Decades Old Law

Tennessee Star Staff
Joey Hensley

State Senator Joey Hensley (R-Hohenwald) joined The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy in-studio on Thursday to discuss new allegations by a group of out-of-state companies that say they are owed for taxes they paid to the tune of more than a billion dollars. The companies’ claims stem from a 1932 law that applies a different formula to in-state companies versus firms located outside of Tennessee.

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New Details Emerge in Case of Memphis Man Who Fired Gun Outside Jewish School

Peter D'Abrosca
Joel Bowman

During a bond hearing, new details emerged in the case of the man who is behind bars for attempting to gain entry to a Jewish school in Memphis and then firing shots outside that school. 

Joel Bowman discharged a firearm outside the Margolin Hebrew Academy/Feinstone Yeshiva of the South (MHA-FYOS) on July 31. At the time, security video showed him attempting to enter the locked school, before retreating. 

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Tennessee State Rep. Justin Jones Ruled Out of Order After Calling House Speaker Sexton ‘Drunk with Power’ on Second Day of Session

Tom Pappert
Jones Sexton

State Representative Justin Jones (D-Nashville) was ruled out of order by the Tennessee House of Representatives on Wednesday after he reportedly claimed House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville) was “drunk with power” on the second day of the 2024 legislative session.

Jones asked to speak about his purported concerns over an incident he and Representative Gloria Johnson (D-Knoxville) claimed to witness on Tuesday, when they allege that Sexton’s security detail prevent Republican Majority Leader William Lamberth (R-Portland) from riding in the same elevator as Sexton.

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‘Tennessee Three’ Spoke in General Assembly for Combined Seven Hours in 2023, Despite Claims of Being Silenced

Tom Pappert

Despite repeated claims that Republicans seek to silence them in the Tennessee General Assembly, the members of the “Tennessee Three” collectively spoke more than seven hours in 2023, making them three of the four most loquacious Tennessee lawmakers over the year.

The Tennessee General Assembly began its 2024 regular session on Tuesday, but Representative Justin Pearson (D-Memphis) claimed in repeated statements outside the House chambers that Republicans are trying to silence him.

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Shelby County DA Steve Mulroy Wants Crime Lab in Memphis After City Reports Highest Murder Rate in America

Tom Pappert
Steve Mulroy

Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy said in a Tuesday press conference that he is officially pushing Memphis to build its own crime lab, citing the sheer amount of crime happening in the city. His call follows analysis that showed Memphis with the highest homicide rate in the United States in 2023.

Mulroy said a crime lab in Memphis would allow authorities to solve crimes “at a higher rate,” and noted a number of new investigative resources it would offer local law enforcement.

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Sen. Blackburn Co-Sponsors Bill That Makes Blocking Traffic While Protesting a Federal Crime

Peter D'Abrosca
Seattle Palestine Rally

A Tennessee senator is co-sponsoring a bill that would make it a federal crime to block a highway as a form of protest.

S.3492, “The Safe and Open Streets Act,” says “[i]t shall be unlawful to, in any way or degree, purposely obstruct, delay, or affect commerce or the movement of any article or commodity in commerce by blocking a public road or highway, or to attempt or conspire so to do.”

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Beacon Center of Tennessee Applauds Mt. Juliet Board of Commissioners for Amending Food Truck Permit Fee

Kaitlin Housler
Food Truck

The Beacon Center of Tennessee released a statement on Tuesday celebrating the Mt. Juliet Board of Commissioners for passing an ordinance setting a uniform rate for both in-city and out-of-city food trucks to operate within city limits.

“We are absolutely thrilled that our lawsuit prompted the City of Mt. Juliet to repeal its unconstitutional $100/day permitting fee for food truck operators located outside of Mt. Juliet,” Beacon Director of Legal Affairs Wen Fa said in a statement. “That exorbitant fee essentially shut out our clients— food truck owners who have served many satisfied Mt. Juliet residents in the past— from Mt. Juliet. We’re delighted for both our clients and for the residents of Mt. Juliet that the food trucks are now able to return.”

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Republican Bill Would Exempt Diapers, Baby Wipes, Formula from Sales Tax in Tennessee

Peter D'Abrosca

A bill introduced by a Tennessee Republican would exempt certain baby products from sales tax.

“There is exempt from the tax imposed by this chapter the retail sale of infant formula and diapers and wipes designed to be used by infants and children, if sold between 12:01 a.m. on July 1, 2024, and 11:59 p.m. on June 30, 2025,” says the text of HB 1637.

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WKRN TV Fails To Mention Tennessee 11 Gun Control Group Funded by Mexican-American New York Billionaire

Tom Pappert
Daniel Lubetzky

A report published Tuesday by WKRN TV failed to acknowledge the Tennessee 11 (TN 11), an activist group that seeks to pass red flag legislation and other gun restrictions this year in Tennessee, is funded by a Mexican-American billionaire based in New York.

The television station, which is owned by the publicly traded Nexstar Media Group, reported on the Tennessee 11 event held Tuesday at the Tennessee State Capitol, where the outlet reported, “The TN 11 said they’re calling for legislative solutions addressing gun violence and safety while upholding gun rights.” WKRN TV explained that “TN 11 also polled about 30,000 Tennesseans from all 95 counties” to determine priorities they would ask Tennessee lawmakers to address.

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Tennessee State Rep. Gino Bulso Files Bill to Compel Release of Covenant Killer Manifesto

Tom Pappert

Tennessee State Representative Gino Bulso (R-Brentwood) filed HB 1653 on Monday to compel Tennessee law enforcement to release materials and evidence related to the Covenant School shooting, including the manifesto written by Audrey Elizabeth Hale, who fatally shot three 9-year-old students and three faculty at the school in March 2023.

Bulso’s bill would require “all state and local law enforcement” to comply with a request from any member of the Tennessee General Assembly seeking “a copy of all records collected by the agency, including, but not limited to, all writings and medical, toxicology, and other reports, of a perpetrator involved in a school shooting incident that occurred at a public or private school in this state in March of 2023.”

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‘Lou Dobbs Tonight’ Joins Powerhouse, America First Lineup on WENO

Admin

Lou Dobbs, the newest host on the John Fredericks Radio Network, joined the newsmaker line on Monday’s episode of The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy.

Dobbs shared details about his early career covering the southern border from Yuma, Arizona during the height of the Caesar Chavez era, and discussed how his early experiences shaped his America first world view.

Dobbs’ new show launches at 7pm Easter / 6pm Central on  WENO AM760 The Flame – Nashville’s only America First news talk radio.

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Pope Calls for Global Ban on Surrogacy, Calls Process ‘Deplorable,’ Equates to Human Trafficking

Just the News

Pope Francis on Monday slammed surrogacy as a “deplorable” practice comparable to human trafficking, and he called for a global ban on it. 

“The path to peace calls for respect for life, for every human life, starting with the life of the unborn child in the mother’s womb, which cannot be suppressed or turned into an object of trafficking,” Francis told members of the Vatican Diplomatic Corps in an annual address Monday.

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Commentary: As DOJ Threatens to Charge ‘Thousands’ over J6 Trespassing, Judges Signal Skepticism

Julie Kelly

In a brazen act of political theater worthy of an ethics investigation, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Matthew Graves gave an hourlong rehash of the events of January 6 to a handful of reporters last week. Graves, a Biden 2020 campaign advisor who was appointed by Biden in November 2021, is overseeing the Department of Justice’s unprecedented and ongoing criminal investigation into the four-hour disturbance that has so far resulted in the arrest of more than 1,200 Americans.

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Report: 56 Percent of Tennessee’s Sales Tax Collection Go to Education

The Center Square
Credit Card

The state of Tennessee spent 43% of the state sales tax on education last fiscal year and 56 cents of every dollar of state and local sales tax went to education in that same span.

Sales tax accounts for most of both state and local tax collections in Tennessee. The state collected $13.8 billion in sales tax of the $22.0 billion it collected. There was $4.3 billion in local sales tax collected out of nearly $4.7 billion in total collections over that same span, according to the Tennessee Department of Revenue’s Annual Report.

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Mexican-American Billionaire from New York Funds ‘Tennessee 11’ to Push Gun Control Agenda via ‘Citizen Solutions’ in 2024

Tom Pappert

The foundation created by Mexican-American “social entrepreneur” and billionaire Daniel Lubetzky is funding a group called the “Tennessee 11,” which seeks to pass a red flag law and other gun control legislation this year in Tennessee.

Lubetzky is the founder of the snack company Kind LLC, and it was reportedly worth $5 billion when the company was sold to Mars Inc. in 2020. When the company was under his management, Lubetzky was named a Presidential Ambassador of Global Entrepreneurship by former President Barack Obama and his administration’s Commerce Secretary, Penny Pritzker.

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Middle Tennessee State University Names New ‘Social Justice Journalism’ Concentration Coordinator

Matthew Giffin

Middle Tennessee State University named Jennifer Woodard as the new program coordinator for the school’s Social Justice Journalism concentration, according to the university’s online academic catalog.

Woodard, a Ph.D. in mass communication from Indiana University-Bloomington and an MTSU alumna, is an expert in “diversity, equity and inclusion,” “race, class, gender and media issues,” and “mediated representations of women” according to her university faculty bio. She is also a faculty member of the Women’s and Gender Studies department and “concentrated on scholarship that would enhance her ability to teach students the value of a diversified newsroom” while pursuing her Ph.D., according to her faculty bio.

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Majority of Tennessee Trump Voters Say Conviction Would Not Change Their Vote: Poll

Tom Pappert
Donald Trump

A Majority of Tennessee voters who support former President Donald Trump say they will not vote for another candidate if the former president is convicted at any of the charges levied against him in four states and by the federal government.

The Nashville-based Beacon Center of Tennessee published data on Thursday indicating 58 percent of voters who support Trump “would still vote for him” even if he “were to be convicted of one or more of the crimes that he has been charged with before the next election.”

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Family of Tyre Nichols to Hold Candlelight Vigils to Commemorate First Anniversary of His Death

Kaitlin Housler
Candle Light Vigil

The family of Tyre Nichols, who five black Memphis police officers beat following a traffic stop and foot chase last year, will hold two candlelight vigils on Sunday to mark the first anniversary of his death.

Nichols’ family, who is being represented by civil rights attorneys Ben Crump and Antonio Romanucci, will hold a vigil in Memphis at the intersection of Castlegate Lane and Ross Road at 7 p.m. CT and in Nichols’ hometown of Sacramento, California, at the Tyre Nichols Skate Park at 5 p.m. PST.

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Rep. Burchett Renews Call for Epstein Client List Release After Latest Court Docs Unsealed

Peter D'Abrosca

A United States congressman from Tennessee is still pushing for a full list of dead pedophile Jeffrey Epstein’s clients, after unsealed court documents from earlier this week named several high profile figures as associates of Epstein’s. 

“I don’t care about the list of people Epstein interacted with in just ANY capacity,” said Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN-02) on X, formerly Twitter. “I care about the list of people who participated in his sex crimes and exploitation, especially when it involved minors. Where’s the actual client list?”

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Lawyer Ben Crump Demands Memphis Mayor Paul Young Accept Tyre Nichols Ordinances Despite Ex-Mayor Warning They Are Illegal

Tom Pappert
Ben Crump

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump reportedly urged Memphis Mayor Paul Young to embrace the police reforms passed through city ordinances following the death of Tyre Nichols last year, even after former Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland claimed the ordinances were illegal.

Crump, who represents family members of Nichols, said in a statement issued on the anniversary of Nichols’ death that the family and legal team “are deeply disturbed by the recent revelation by former Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland that he actively avoided signing and enforcing the Driving Equality Act in honor of Tyre Nichols that the Memphis City Council passed in Spring 2023.”

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From Tinseltown to Tennessee: Roger Simon Shares His Own Journey as an ‘American Refugee’ on the Eve on New Book Release

Tennessee Star Staff
Roger Simon

Roger Simon joined host Michael Patrick Leahy and original all-star panelist Crom Carmichael in-studio on Friday’s episode of The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy to discuss Simon’s new, highly-anticipated book, American Refugees.

The Oscar-nominated screenwriter and Epoch Times columnist shared personal details about his own journey to Nashville, including the city he almost moved to before settling on Music City.

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Maury County Adult Caregiver Charged with Financial Exploitation of Elderly Patients

Peter D'Abrosca
Woman Suspect

A adult caregiver in Maury County has been arrested for allegedly draining the bank accounts of her home care patients, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI). 

“In June 2023, after receiving referrals from Adult Protective Services, TBI agents initiated an investigation into an allegation that a caregiver for several home care patients in Maury County was using the victims’ debit cards to make fraudulent, personal charges on an online gambling site,” according to a TBI release. “The investigation identified Cynthia Dobbins as the caregiver responsible for the theft from the victims’ accounts.”

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Top-Ranked Political Advisor Ward Baker Delivers Four-Part Master Class on 2024 Election Cycle

Tennessee Star Staff
Ward Baker

Political consultant Ward Baker joined Wednesday’s episode of The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy in-studio to discuss his insights to the state of the 2024 election cycle across the 50 states.

With the Iowa caucuses less than two weeks away and Super Tuesday a scant nine weeks after that on March 5, Baker takes listeners inside the campaigns as he shares the polling, players and places that matter most in 2024.

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Memphis Has Highest 2023 Murder Rate of All Large U.S. Cities

Tom Pappert
Memphis Police Van

Memphis had the highest murder rate of 2023 in a comparison of 10 major cities identified as “homicide hubs” within the United States, according to an analysis published Wednesday.

The only Tennessee city tracked for the Wirepoints report, Memphis had a murder rate of 63.9 homicides per 100,000 people in 2023. A total of 397 homicides were reported in the city last year, up by 38 percent from 2022, when the city saw 288 homicides.

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Co-Founder of the Jewish Republican Alliance Mitch Silberman Says People are ‘Sick and Tired of Watching our Country Being Flushed Down the Toilet’

Kaitlin Housler

Co-founder of the Jewish Republican Alliance Mitch Silberman recently joined The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy to discuss his work with the group as well as the changes he’s seen among Jewish voters amid the terrorist group Hamas’ attack on Israel last year.

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