Matthew Giffin, reporter at The Tennessee Star and student at Middle Tennessee State University, joined Wednesday’s edition of The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy to discuss a socialist group’s response to an event scheduled at East Tennessee State University (ETSU) next week featuring Kyle Rittenhouse.
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Many Tennessee universities maintain speech codes that suppress campus free speech, according to a recent report by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE). Of the six Tennessee schools included in the report, five reportedly have rules restricting free speech.
The Spotlight on Campus Speech Codes 2024 report rates U.S. colleges based on whether their written speech codes do not infringe on protected speech. According to the report, 85.4 percent of schools maintain policies that can or do infringe on free expression.
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Tennessee State Representative and House Republican Caucus Chairman Jeremy Faison (R-Cosby) introduced a bill on Wednesday that would preserve “critical rights for victims of radical cosmetic gender reassignment surgeries.”
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Two Metro Nashville students were arrested on Wednesday as a result of separate incidents at two Metro Nashville schools involving firearms. Both schools, a middle school and high school, received D grades by the Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE).
A 14-year-old student was arrested on Wednesday at Hunters Lane High School after another student reportedly told school administrators he suspected a firearm in the other student’s backpack. School administrators searched the backpack and found a semi-automatic pistol, prompting the student’s arrest and transport to a juvenile detention facility.
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According to the Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD), four of the city’s residents have been arrested following a methamphetamine and fentanyl bust conducted by local, state, and federal authorities.
“A joint investigation by MNPD narcotics detectives, DEA agents and the TBI’s High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force led to Monday’s seizure of 12 pounds of pressed fentanyl pills (approximately 120,000) and 27 pounds of meth arriving in Nashville from California,” MNPD said in press release.
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A Republican member of Tennessee’s General Assembly is critical of a Democrat colleague’s new bill.
HB 2193, introduced by State Representative Bo Mitchell (D-Nashville), “imposes an additional 15-percent tax on the retail sale of firearms [and] requires revenue from the firearms tax to be deposited into the K-12 mental health counselor fund to be administered by the department of education and used exclusively to provide school counselors in elementary and secondary public schools and public charter schools in this state and for mental health assessments and services for students pursuant to a school counselor’s referral.”
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Tennessee U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn addressed the CEOs of five social media companies during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing entitled, “Big Tech and the Online Child Sexual Exploitation Crisis” on Wednesday.
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Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti joined Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares in filing an antitrust lawsuit against the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) on Wednesday.
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Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti joined a coalition of 26 other attorneys general in sending a letter to the Biden administration proclaiming support for the steps Texas has taken at its border with Mexico to prevent illegal immigrant crossings.
Last week, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in favor of the Biden administration to allow Border Patrol agents to cut through or move razor wire Texas installed on its border with Mexico to prevent illegal entries into the U.S.
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After fifteen hours of debating two articles of impeachment against Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security Mark Green (R-TN-07) led his Republican colleagues in voting to advance the articles out of committee.
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The Americans for Prosperity Foundation (AFPF) recently released a report highlighting the amount of new investment in the healthcare industry which was denied due to the state’s Certificate of Needs (CON) law.
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East Tennessee State University (ETSU)’s Young Democratic Socialists of America (YDSA) demanded the university strengthen its “hate speech policy” in response to an upcoming visit from conservative speaker Kyle Rittenhouse for the school’s chapter of Turning Point USA (TPUSA).
However, an ETSU spokesperson said no such policy exists.
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The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) reportedly plans to bring a slew of new Name, Image, Likeness (NIL) complaints against the University of Tennessee (UT), prompting a fiery response from Chancellor Donde Plowman in a Tuesday letter to the NCAA. Plowman received the support of Tennessee State Representative Jason Zachary (R-Knoxville), who argued the NCAA failed to create “clear guidance and rules” for institutions to follow.
Zachary wrote in a post to X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, that the Tennessee General Assembly “worked with institutions across our state to craft strong NIL institution that established the framework” in the state, but the NCAA’s “moving target” made work “very challenging” for lawmakers.
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A new bill introduced in the Tennessee General Assembly would increase the penalty for trafficking illegal aliens in the Volunteer State.
HB 2078 “prohibits any person from transporting an illegal alien into this state [and] increases from $1,000 to $5,000 the fine for transporting illegal aliens.”
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Every January, law enforcement agencies and advocacy groups mark National Human Trafficking Prevention Month to focus public attention on this horrific crime and its devastating impact on the victims involved. Once again, the Biden Administration is calling attention to the Department of Homeland Security’s broader “Blue Campaign” to combat human trafficking.
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Founder and president of Professional Educators of Tennessee JC Bowman joined Tuesday’s edition of The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy to discuss funding issues surrounding Governor Bill Lee’s universal school choice plan, known as the Education Freedom Scholarship Act.
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Tom Pappert, lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, joined Tuesday’s edition of The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy to discuss his recent article on the Tennessee Agriculture Commissioner’s omission on a letter concerning Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) policies being pushed on American farmers.
On Tuesday, Pappert reported that Tennessee Agriculture Commissioner Dr. Charlie Hatcher did not sign a letter sent by 12 states to the heads of six elite banks warning that their “Net-Zero Banking Alliance” (NZBA) will force ESG policies that would have a “catastrophic impact” on farmers.
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Founder and president of Professional Educators of Tennessee JC Bowman joined Tuesday’s edition of The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy to discuss the leaked draft of Governor Bill Lee’s Education Freedom Scholarship Act.
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House Committee on Homeland Security Chairman Mark Green (R-TN-07) delivered opening remarks on Tuesday during a full committee markup for articles of impeachment against Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
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The Tennessee Agriculture Commissioner, Dr. Charlie Hatcher, was not among the top agriculture officials from 12 different states who signed a letter on Monday that warned the heads of six elite banks that their “Net-Zero Banking Alliance” (NZBA) will force economically destructive Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) policies on American farmers.
The Tennessee Star contacted Hatcher’s office by phone and email to ask why he was not among the agriculture officials behind the letter, and to ascertain whether he is concerned by the claim that banks are foisting ESG policies on farmers, but did not receive an immediate response.
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A U.S. Congressman from Tennessee was the victim of a “swatting” over the weekend, a tactic that is more frequently being used to attack political foes in the United States.
Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN-02) was the victim of the nefarious incident.
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Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Tuesday issued a fiery defense against the impeachment articles he faces, calling the allegations “false” and urging Congress to fix the U.S. immigration system through legislation.
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A new study released by the Center for Individual Freedom (CFIF) shows a majority of Republican voters in Tennessee oppose Certificate of Need (CON) laws.
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A spokesman for Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville) on Monday provided The Tennessee Star with new details about the constitutional amendment proposed last week in Memphis to allow Tennessee judges to refuse to grant bail to more violent criminals.
Sexton was joined by Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson (R-Franklin) and Memphis Mayor Paul Young in a Friday press event with other lawmakers and community leaders to call for the constitutional amendment, which would need to be approved by Tennessee voters in a public referendum.
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Tennessee Rep. Antonio Parkinson, D-Memphis, filed a bill that would require all adult-oriented businesses to display human trafficking hotline information that would be overseen by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. The democrat what the only vote against the anti-trafficking bill passed during the special session last fall.
“This isn’t a bad bill but we are very confused as to why Rep. Parkinson has decided to file a bill that addresses human trafficking, albeit in a miniscule manner, given that he was literally the only member of the State House to vote against our special session anti-trafficking bill that became law,” a statement from the Tennessee Faith and Freedom Coalition board said.
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The Tennessee Star obtained on Monday a draft of the forthcoming Education Freedom Scholarship Act previously announced by Governor Bill Lee in November.
Lee announced in November that he would champion new school choice legislation in 2024 that will ultimately allow all Tennessee families to choose where their children are educated.
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Tennessee State Senator Mark Pody (R-Lebanon) joined Monday’s edition of The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy to discuss the latest developments surrounding his efforts to make new school-specific security technology eligible for the school safety grants approved by the General Assembly last year.
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Former IRS contractor Charles Littlejohn was sentenced to five years in prison on Monday after leaking former President Donald Trump’s tax records, according to NBC News.
Littlejohn, 38, was charged in September 2023 with one count of disclosing information from a tax return for a government official, and he pleaded guilty in October to leaking 10 years of Trump’s tax records to The New York Times. U.S. District Judge Ana C. Reyes sentenced Littlejohn to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine, according to NBC News.
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As part of making their case to impeach U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, House Committee on Homeland Security Republicans identified more than a dozen parole programs they argue Mayorkas illegally created to circumvent laws established by Congress.
Texas, Florida and other states have sued over many of the programs that have allowed illegal border crossers to remain in the U.S., agreeing with the committee’s chairman, U.S. Rep. Mark Green, R-Tenn., who is leading the charge for impeachment.
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A hearing in the public records lawsuit against the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County related to release of records from The Covenant School shooting took place before Chancery Court Judge I’Ashea Myles on Monday.
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Tennessee State Representative Jody Barrett (R-Dickson) filed a bill last week that will allow Tennessee gun owners with an enhanced handgun carry permit to bring their firearm into buildings that otherwise prohibit or restrict carrying weapons.
A second bill filed by Barrett, which would prevent individuals, businesses, or governments in Tennessee from prohibiting firearms, is scheduled to be heard this week.
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The Young Democratic Socialists of America chapter at East Tennessee State University (ETSU) has demanded the school makes a specific policy prohibiting “hate speech.” The call comes as the right-of-center ETSU chapter of Turning Point USA prepares to host Kyle Rittenhouse for a February 8 event they’re calling “The Rittenhouse Recap.”
ETSU’s Young Democratic Socialists of America (YDSA) said Rittenhouse’s visit to campus is “in clear violation of ETSU’s supposed hate speech policy” in a Friday Instagram post. YDSA also demanded that ETSU’s president and student government issue a statement condemning the event.
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Tennessee Representatives who were part of a joint committee examining the state rejecting K-12 federal education funding submitted a report on their findings without the signature of one member.
The report said Tennessee schools will accept $1.3 billion in federal funding this fiscal year, 9.9% of the funding for those schools. The state contributes $6.9 billion and local governments spend $4.8 billion.
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The Tennessee Board of Judicial Conduct (TBJC) has sent a letter to Lieutenant Governor Randy McNally (R-Oak Ridge) and House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville) recommending Shelby County Criminal Court Judge Melissa Boyd be removed from office.
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Former Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards made public this weekend that has been diagnosed with glioblastoma, an incurable brain cancer.
After receiving the diagnosis six months ago, Richards first publicly disclosed her illness Sunday to New York Magazine’s The Cut.
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The Tennessee Republican Party State Executive Committee voted in a specially called meeting on Saturday to tighten the standards for candidate eligibility in GOP primaries in the state, effective immediately.
Article IX, Section 1, Paragraph B of the Tennessee Republican Party (TRP) bylaws had been previously amended in a September 7, 2023 meeting of the SEC to state that “Beginning in 2026, notwithstanding anything to the contrary in Article IX, Section 1A, an individual who has voted in any of the most recent four (4) statewide primary elections held by a party other than the applicable Republican Party will be ineligible to seek the Republican nomination for any public office in Tennessee.” (emphasis added)
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Outspoken former President Donald Trump critic Jon Meacham, who compared Trump’s rhetoric to that of Nazi Germany’s Third Reich, serves as a co-chair of Vanderbilt University’s “Project on Unity and American Democracy.”
Vanderbilt launched the project in 2021 because the United States “has become disconnected from evidence and reason” and suffers from political and ideological polarization, according to its website.
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Metro Nashville Council Member Jeff Eslick joined Thursday’s edition of The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy where he discussed his recent meeting with Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell as well as his idea to form a type of snow patrol during the winter months.
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National political reporter Neil W. McCabe joined Thursday’s edition of The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy to discuss the latest developments in the leaked audio recording story where now-former Arizona Republican Party (AZGOP) Chairman Jeff DeWit offered Arizona U.S. Senate candidate Kari Lake money in return of staying out of politics for two years.
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Metro Nashville Council Member Jeff Eslick joined Thursday’s edition of The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy to discuss the latest work he’s done and plans to do since being elected to the Metro Nashville Council in September.
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Tennessee U.S. Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN) introduced a bill this week that would ensure only U.S. citizens are factored into the count for Congressional districts and the Electoral College map that determines presidential elections.
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U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) joined Friday’s edition of The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy to discuss a new bill she and Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN) introduced as well as State Representative Gloria Johnson’s (D-Knoxville) recent vote against a bill that would allow prosecutors to pursue a death penalty sentence for convicted child rapists.
Blackburn, who was traveling through Sumner County while on the newsmaker line, first discussed the importance of her annual trips to all 95 Tennessee counties.
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With a constitutional crisis brewing in Texas and voters nationwide alarmed by the toll of illegal immigration, some of the FBI’s most famous retired executives are issuing a stark warning to Congress that President Joe Biden’s border policies have unleashed an “invasion” of military-aged male foreigners who pose “one of the most pernicious ever” threats to American security.
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Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville) and Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson (R-Franklin) joined Memphis Mayor Paul Young and a number of lawmakers from both major political parties at a Friday press event in Memphis to call for an amendment to the Tennessee Constitution that would empower judges to deny bail more often.
Sexton, Johnson and Young were joined by State Senator Brent Taylor (R-Memphis) and State Representative Antonio Parkinson (D-Memphis), and other local leaders, to call for the constitutional amendment.
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Chris Morris, a State Executive Committee Member of the Tennessee Republican Party (TNGOP), joined Thursday’s edition of The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy to discuss his concern regarding the TNGOP’s failure to follow the Republican bylaws of the state of Tennessee.
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Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville) and Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson (R-Franklin) will hold a joint event with Memphis Mayor Paul Young at Memphis City Hall.
In a Thursday media release from Sexton’s office, the leaders revealed they plan to “make a major announcement alongside Mayor Young, law enforcement officials and community leaders” on Friday at 10:30 a.m.
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A new study shows the percentage of Tennessee homeowners that have paid off their mortgages is above the national average by 2.4 percent.
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The Tennessee Titans announced this week the complete architecture and engineering (A&E) team to help build its new $2.1 billion stadium.
The A&E team is comprised of 24 firms, including nine local businesses and 13 disadvantaged business enterprises (DBEs).
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Bridgestone is responding to criticism from the Coffee County Sheriff who accused the company of forcing workers to call the sheriff’s office to get notes for excused absences from work during last week’s severe winter weather.
Coffee County Sheriff Chad Partin wrote an open letter to the tire giant on his Facebook page on January 19. It said:
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A bill introduced in the Tennessee General Assembly would require minors to have parental consent before downloading social media applications.
HB 1891, filed by State Rep. William Lamberth (R-Portland) is called the “Protecting Children from Social Media Act.”
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