Category: Florida

Florida Officials, Congressional Delegation Demand FBI Disclose Election-Hack Details

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by John Haughey   Russian hackers gained access to voter information files in Washington County, a sparsely populated Republican-dominated Panhandle county, where 77 percent of its 11,000 votes cast in the 2016 presidential election went to Donald Trump. The revelation was reported by The Washington Post Thursday night, citing two unnamed officials “with knowledge of the investigation,” who said Washington County was one of the two Florida counties breached by the Russian military spy agency, the GRU, in the days before the November 2016 election. The Washington Post also cites two unnamed Florida sources that the second county the FBI maintains was penetrated by the GRU in 2016 is “a mid-sized county on the East Coast of the state.” The disclosures have further inflamed already angry state officials, including Gov. Ron DeSantis, and Florida’s congressional delegation, who are demanding the FBI and the Trump Administration be more forthcoming in discussing with them and county election officials what its investigation has uncovered. “The public needs to know which counties were hacked and what steps are being taken to hold the bad actors accountable,” U.S. Rep. Stephanie Murphy, D-Orlando, said during a bipartisan Washington D.C. press conference staged by five of the…

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By the Numbers: Florida’s Osceola County Posts 16th Highest Foreclosure Rate in First Quarter

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  One in 290 properties in Osceola County, Florida started the foreclosure process during the first quarter of the year – the 16th highest foreclosure rate among U.S. counties with at least 100 foreclosures nationwide, according to an ATTOM Data Solutions analysis of property data. Osceola County’s foreclosure rate was the highest in the Sunshine State. A total of 482 properties in the county had foreclosure filings during the first three months of 2019, the data showed. That’s out of 139,796 housing units countywide. The foreclosure rate in the county was up 79.9 percent from the same period a year earlier. ATTOM Data’s analysis included data from 2,200 counties nationwide, accounting for more than nine-tenths of the country’s population. Nationwide, nearly 162,000 properties began the foreclosure process in the first quarter, a 14.74 percent decrease over the first quarter of 2018, according to the company. County Foreclosure Activity in Q1 2019 Rank County Name State Name Housing Units Q1 2019 Properties with Foreclosure Filings Foreclosure Rate (Housing Units Per Foreclosure Filing) % Change From Q1 2018 1 Cumberland Tennessee 29,072 367 79 1,495.65 2 Cumberland New Jersey 56,332 497 113 50.15 3 Atlantic New Jersey 127,809 722 177 -36.16 4…

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Florida Governor Ron DeSantis Urged to Sign Turnpike Plan by Business While Environmentalists Virulently Oppose

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by John Haughey   A bill approving a decade-long, multi-billion dollar plan to extend three toll roads into rural “corridors” was formally sent to Gov. Ron DeSantis Monday as opponents intensified demands he veto the measure and launched a week of scheduled protests. DeSantis has 10 working days to veto Senate Bill 7068, the proposed Multi-Use Corridors of Regional Economic Significance [M-CORES] program. Even if he does not sign it, the bill becomes law on May 28. SB 7068 – Senate President Bill Galvano’s session priority – earmarks $45 million to establish regional task forces to study M-CORES, the state’s most significant highway-building project since the 1950s, approved by the Senate, 37-1, and by the House, 76-36. M-CORES would build the 150-mile Heartland Parkway from Lakeland to Naples, push the Florida Turnpike 40 miles west to link I-75 with the Suncoast Parkway, and extend the Suncoast 150 miles north to Georgia. Construction would begin in 2022 and end in 2030. M-CORES would be funded through license plate tag revenues – $1.1 billion over a decade – shifted from the state’s general fund into the State Transportation Trust Fund [STTF]. But SB 7068 appropriates $45 million for Fiscal Year 2020, M-CORES’s…

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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis Vetoes Bill Barring Straw Bans

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by John Haughey   Gov. Ron DeSantis cited a need for judicial restraint in January when he appointed three new Florida Supreme Court justices he said would strictly adhere to the state constitution and statutes as they are written. DeSantis has now revealed he also has a dim view of legislative activism, issuing the first veto of his tenure in Tallahassee by rejecting a bill prohibiting local governments from banning single-use straws. House Bill 711, passed by House 87-23 on April 25 and by the Senate, 24-15, four days later, would impose a five-year suspension of local bans of plastic straws. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Toby Overdorf, R-Stuart, originally addressed recycling issues but later amendments attached the moratorium on straw bans, a proposal included in several of the 50-plus state preemption bills filed during the recently concluded session, including HB 1299, sponsored by Rep. Spencer Roach, R-North Fort Myer, the so-called “Governmental Powers Preemption Train,” that died in committee. “A number of Florida municipalities, including Sanibel, Fort Myers Beach and Miami Beach, have enacted ordinances prohibiting single-use plastic straws,” DeSantis wrote in a veto message released Friday night. “These measures have not, as far as I can tell, frustrated any…

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DeSantis Signs School-Choice Bill Creating Florida’s First Tax-Funded Voucher Program

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by John Haughey   It took combative committee hearings and marathon floor debates to overcome “third rail” resistance to expanding Florida’s school choice voucher program, but none of that rancor was evident Thursday at a private Miami Gardens school where Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the hard-fought bill into law. “I personally believe, as a matter of philosophy, that parents know what’s best for their kids,” DeSantis said while flanked by Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nunez and bill sponsor Sen. Manny Diaz, Jr., R-Miami, at William J. Kirlew Junior Academy, a Seventh-day Adventist K-8 school with a predominantly African American student body. “What this will do, in one fell swoop,” he added, is offer “opportunity for thousands and thousands of low-income students.” With that, DeSantis signed Diaz’s Senate Bill SB 7070 into law, creating the $130 million Family Empowerment Scholarship, which will be offered to 18,000 students next fall. The new school choice program prioritizes students from families with incomes at 185 percent of the federal poverty level – $47,637 annually for a family of four – although students from families with annual incomes at 300 percent of the federal poverty level – $77,250 – would be eligible to attend a private…

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Commentary: Jeb! Goes ‘Full Bush’ on Sanctuary Cities

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by George Rasley   Jeb Bush is to Republican politics what the little mechanical moles are to the arcade game Whack-A-Mole; an annoyance that bursts forth according to some malevolent algorithm and the faster you beat it down the quicker it pops back up. With the Florida legislature about to pass a bill prohibiting Florida local governments from implementing so-called sanctuary policies, Jeb! has surfaced to opine that sanctuary cities in Florida were “not a problem.” (Despite Jeb Bush’s opposition the bill passed yesterday and Florida now has a tough anti-sanctuary city law.) Said the former governor and failed Republican presidential candidate: This is one of those new political issues where it’s designed to make a point rather than to solve a problem. I’m not sure we have this problem. But it could be in the last few years something has changed. As our friend John Binder of Breitbart documented, this is what the Democrats have been saying before and during the current debate in the legislature, and it’s not true. As Binder pointed out, the left-leaning fact-checking site PolitiFact debunked Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum’s claim that there were no sanctuary cities in the state, writing, “Whether Florida has sanctuary…

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Florida’s Governor Ron DeSantis Set to Sign Cost-Reducing Drug Importation Bill

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by Evie Fordham   Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis appears set to sign a bill creating a program to import prescription drugs from Canada after the Republican-backed legislation passed the state Senate. The bill passed the GOP-controlled Florida House 93-22 on April 11, reported The Associated Press. The Washington Examiner characterized the legislation as a move to lock down “the gray vote.” It passed in the state Senate 27-13 on Monday morning. “The United States pays more for prescription drugs than anywhere else in the world,” DeSantis said after the bill’s passage in the state House. “In Florida, we can change that by employing safe, common sense solutions such as importing FDA approved prescription drugs from Canada.” Opponents of the bill have called the policy socialist and point out that only one other state, Vermont, has taken steps toward a similar program, although it faces federal hurdles. “For starters it is one of [Independent Vermont Sen.] Bernie Sanders’ ideas,” Grover Norquist of conservative group Americans for Tax Reform said April 22. “The rest of the world has damaged their ability to invent new drugs. We invent the drugs. Then they put price controls on them. And some politicians in Florida want to bring those price controls into Florida, a…

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After Hurricane Michael’s Devastation, Help Is Still Needed in Panama City, Florida

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Hurricane Michael made landfall in the Florida Panhandle on Oct. 10, 2018, as a high-ended Category 4 Hurricane, causing catastrophic damage to the Panama City, Mexico Beach and Cape San Blas areas. Since that time, the news cycles have moved onto other events and the people in the Panhandle have felt forgotten. In an article by the AP’s Mike Schneider, homeless numbers in Panama City area are up around 7,800 according to local officials. The homeless number includes at least 4,700 homeless students. This area is still in need of assistance, and many different organizations have been in the area helping in this disaster response, to include Samaritan’s Purse, Mercy Chefs, and many more. Along with outside organizations helping those affected by the storm, there have been local churches that have stepped in to help their neighbors. Most of the local churches sustained damage to their structures, but they are making the most out of what they have. One such church is the Springfield Community Church. The church sustained heavy damage to their fellowship hall and youth chapel, and in the days and weeks following the hurricane landfall they pulled together to feed local residents. Every Thursday and Friday vehicles…

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Indiana’s Senator Mike Braun Wants to Get Congress Out of a Rut by Taking Away a Prized Cash Cow

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by Evie Fordham   Republican Indiana Sen. Mike Braun, co-sponsor of a recently introduced bill banning ex-members of Congress from lobbying Congress, told The Daily Caller News Foundation in an interview that his bill would help get Congress out of a “rut” — but he’s not expecting the legislation to gain traction anytime soon. “I think that here you’d attract better people if you didn’t have them make a career out of it,” Braun said. “But so many incentives are put in place with pensions, the ability after you’re done to become a lobbyist, so you do nestle in and then you start maybe not making the right long-term decisions. You basically make a decision: what will be best for me to nestle in further, be around here longer.” Braun and Republican Florida Sen. Rick Scott are the cosponsors of the Banning Lobbying and Safeguarding Trust (BLAST) Act, introduced Feb. 28. Braun connected the legislation to his reform agenda, including doing away with taxpayer-funded pensions for members of Congress. Although the lawmakers are “barking up the right tree,” their solution might not be realistic, a government transparency expert told TheDCNF. “You generally do see more of a reform agenda from some of the newer members…

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North Carolina Deputy State Superintendent Headed for Florida Department of Education

A.P. Dillon

Deputy State Superintendent Dr. Eric Hall is leaving the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) for a new job in Florida schools. Hall will be taking the role of Chancellor for Innovation at the Florida Department of Education in March. According to a press release by NCDPI, Hall’s new job includes overseeing the implementation of things such as “workforce and computer science education, expanding school choice and K-12 standards.” “Throughout his career, Dr. Hall has shown his dedication to student success and to using innovative strategies to spread that success in support of public schools,” said Florida Commissioner of Education Richard Corcoran in the statement. “I thank Superintendent Johnson for his gracious support of Eric’s career and family and am happy to welcome Eric home to the Sunshine State.” “This is an unbelievable opportunity to continue to work at the state level,” said Dr. Hall. Hall said he was looking forward to working in Florida and that both Gov. DeSantis and Commissioner Corcoran have great ideas and a great vision for education in the state. “I think the thing I am most proud of is to be able to really work and build good, strong teams,” said Hall about…

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Florida’s Universal Education Choice Moment

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by Lindsey M. Burke   Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Friday that the state legislature intends to establish Equal Opportunity Scholarships designed to end the current waiting list on the tax credit scholarship program – a move the Republican chief executive supports. The Florida Tax Credit Scholarship – which provides scholarships to eligible children to attend a private school of choice, and which is financed through corporate donations – currently has a waitlist of an estimated 13,000 families. As the Tampa Bay Times reported, DeSantis would like those waiting students to have an immediate school choice option. “If the taxpayer is paying for education, it’s public education,” regardless of where the student attends, DeSantis said. [The liberal Left continue to push their radical agenda against American values. The good news is there is a solution. Find out more ] He also said: We have parents who are lining up for a tax credit scholarship. They would not do that if the program was not succeeding. … The question for us now is, should we be satisfied there is a growing waitlist, or should we build off the successes? He is indeed correct to want to build off the success of the Florida Tax Credit…

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Florida Commissioner Who Criticized Michigan’s Rashida Tlaib Reprimanded by Colleagues

Anthony Gockowski

A Florida commissioner who suggested that Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI-13) might “blow up Capitol hill” was publicly reprimanded by her colleagues during a Wednesday night meeting. According to the South Florida Sun Sentinel, Hallandale Beach Commissioner Anabelle Lima-Taub’s recent comments were the subject of a Wednesday night meeting, where her colleagues voted to issue a public reprimand. They accused Lima-Taub of promoting bigotry, fueling hatred and creating a hostile environment for Muslims, the Sun Sentinel reports. Lima-Taub, however, argued that she never once “mentioned Muslim or Islam,” and suggested that media in attendance were contributing to her “demise.” “I never ever mentioned Muslim or Islam. I repeat, I never ever mentioned Muslim or Islam. I do not hate or discriminate against any group, including Islam,” she said Wednesday, and revealed that she was receiving numerous death threats over her comments. Protesters on both sides of the debate showed up to Wednesday night’s meeting, causing multiple recesses throughout the meeting. The Sun Sentinel reports that more than 200 people gathered outside the meeting space in support of Lima-Taub. “She’s a patriot,” one protester said. “We live in a democracy and what’s happening today with her own peers is not a democracy.”…

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Commentary: City Commissioner Anabelle Lima-Taub Discovers Telling the Truth about Muslim Politicians Is Now a Crime

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by George Rasley   Florida’s Hallandale Beach City Commissioner Anabelle Lima-Taub recently called for the removal of U.S. Representative Rashida Tlaib, a Michigan Democrat, with a petition on Facebook saying, “a Hamas-loving anti-Semite has no place in government!” and calling her a “danger.” Commissioner Lima-Taub is right about Rep. Tlaib, she is a danger, and she is a Hamas-loving anti-Semite. Tlaib supports anti-Israel boycotts. She also defended former CNN contributor Marc Lamont Hill after he was fired for calling for the elimination of Israel and endorsing violence against Jews. What’s more, Tlaib recently trotted out the old trope about American Jews having “dual loyalty,” a particularly ironic charge for Tlaib to make, given that she once wrapped herself in a Palestinian flag, and has vowed to “be a voice” for her relatives in the West Bank and declared that her “passion for justice is rooted in my beautiful Palestine.” Tlaib openly associates with anti-Israel extremists, such as Abbas Hamideh, who heads a “right of return” advocacy group — and has equated Zionism to Nazism and called Israel a “terrorist entity.” Abbas Hamideh was invited to and attended a Detroit swearing-in reception and dinner party for Rep. Tlaib, where he posed…

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As Exhaustive Parkland Report is Released, Father of Victim Seeks Accountability

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Andrew Pollack, the father of a teenage girl who was killed in a school shooting in Florida last year, was appointed to the state Education Board by outgoing Gov. Rick Scott. Scott appointed Pollack to the board Friday. Pollack, whose daughter Meadow was one of 17 people killed at a Parkland, Florida, high school, Feb. 14, 2018, still needs to be confirmed to the seat by the state Senate. Pollack, 52, who became a school safety activist after the shooting, told the South Florida Sun Sentinel, “What I hope to accomplish is accountability at a local level, to hold school boards accountable and superintendents accountable.” The governor, who will be stepping down from his post next week, was elected in November to the U.S. Senate. He had said during the campaign he would serve out his term as governor, which ends Jan. 9. Nikolas Cruz, a student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, has been charged with killing 17 people. Police say he used a semi-automatic AR-15 rifle. The mass shooting caused a larger debate nationwide regarding gun control measures, and also led to a local investigation. Safety commission report Pollack’s appointment to the Education Board came days after a report…

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Police Officer Deaths on Duty Increased in 2018, Report Finds

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by Neetu Chandak   A preliminary report released Thursday found U.S. police officer deaths on duty increased by 12 percent in 2018 from 2017. The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, a non-profit dedicated to making police officers’ work safer, found 144 police officers died between Jan. 1 and Dec. 27. Nearly 129 police officers died in the same time frame in 2017. The leading cause of death was gun-related followed by traffic-related incidents. Other forms of death included being struck by a train, having a heart attack and drowning. “The rising number of law enforcement officer deaths in 2018 is disappointing news after a decline in 2017,” the fund’s CEO Craig W. Floyd said in a press statement. “Sadly this reminds us that public safety is a dangerous job and can come at a very steep price.” Texas, Florida, California, and New York had the highest number of officer deaths with 11 each, according to the data. The District of Columbia along with 14 states did not have any police officer fatalities. The number of deaths could change as the numbers are not final, according to the fund. The report comes as an illegal immigrant allegedly shot and killed…

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Two Bills Introduced in the Florida Legislature Would Go a Long Way to Discourage Illegal Aliens

Anna Marie Bolton

In the wake of the hard fought win by former House of Representatives Republican Ron DeSantis in the Florida governor’s race, legislators in the state House and Senate are inspired to try again to move two bills that would have a chilling effect on the ability of businesses to hire illegal aliens and for local governments to harbor them from federal law enforcement. An immigration restriction group headquartered in Washington, DC, the Federation for Immigration Reform (FAIR), reported the news about the bills to its members on Friday. Although the legislature does not reconvene until March 2019, committees will discuss the bills during January and February. E-Verify On December 11, Representative Thad Altman (R-Melbourne/Indialantic) introduced HB 89 which would among other provisions: ~ Require all private employers to register with E-Verify and use it for all employees hired after January 1, 2020; ~ Require all state agencies, local governments and public contractors to verify new employees hired after July 1, 2019; ~ Set up an enforcement process where private employers could lose their business licenses for employing illegal aliens; ~ Require the state’s Department of Economic Opportunity to report illegal aliens to ICE. Many, including the leadership of FAIR, believe that mandatory…

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Soros Org Gave $500K to Activists Who Accosted Pam Bondi at Movie Theater

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by Peter Hasson   The left-wing activist group that accosted Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi at a movie theater in June received half a million dollars in 2017 from an organization funded by left-wing billionaire George Soros in 2017, documents obtained by The Daily Caller News Foundation reveal. Organize Florida, the group that hounded Bondi from a Florida movie theater, received $500,000 last year from the Open Society Policy Center (OSPC), according to OSPC’s most recent tax forms. OSPC is the advocacy arm of Soros’s Open Society Foundations, which the billionaire uses to advance his left-wing worldview around the globe. OSPC awarded the grant to Organize Florida to “support policy advocacy,” according to the group’s tax forms. Organize Florida activists yelled at Bondi, a Republican ally of President Donald Trump, about the president’s immigration and health care policies during the protest in June. One of the protesters spit on Bondi’s head, she said afterwards. WATCH: https://youtu.be/HqScWovwPe8 Other targets of Organize Florida’s protests include women’s health centers that don’t perform abortions. OSPC did not respond to a request for comment regarding the grant to Organize Florida, and whether the activists’s actions toward Bondi are consistent with OSPC’s mission. – – – Peter Hasson…

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Broward County School Pulls Assignment Asking if Parkland Shooter Deserves to Die

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by Neetu Chandak   A Broward County high school pulled an assignment that asked students whether the suspected Parkland shooter deserves to die. The assignment, “Does Nikolas Cruz Deserve to Die?,” was given to freshmen at Coral Glades High School, ABC News reported Sunday. The school is about five miles away from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School where Cruz allegedly killed 17 students on Feb. 14. The worksheets included questions involving the shooting and the death penalty. It was offered as part of a subscription service from Scholastic Corporation, according to ABC. One multiple choice question referenced March for Our Lives co-founder Cameron Kasky, who The New York Times’ quoted in an October Upfront magazine article about death penalty, ABC reported. “In the article, Cameron Kasky says, ‘Let him rot forever.’ His tone can best be described as ___,” the question reads. Answers include “angry,” “fearful,” “gloomy” and “truthful.” https://twitter.com/cameron_kasky/status/1071151056309100546 Upfront is a current events magazine that provides high school students ‘balanced, age-appropriate information that can be used as teaching resources in the classroom,” Scholastic Inc. Vice President of corporate communications Anne Sparkman told The Daily Caller News Foundation over email. “The article and the quiz were intended only to…

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Obama Meets with Florida Loser Andrew Gillum Igniting 2020 Speculation

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by Molly Prince   Defeated Florida Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum sat down with former President Barack Obama on Tuesday, launching speculation that he may be another Democrat added to the already long list of those considering a 2020 presidential run. Gillum met with the former president while he was in Washington, D.C., to address the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, according to CNN. While speaking at the event, he dodged answering questions regarding his presidential aspirations. “I’m plan on being married to my wife. That is all I’m planning,” Gillum said. “What I am committed to doing between now and 2020 is doing everything I can to make the state of Florida available and winnable for the Democratic nominee for president.” Prior to his ultimate defeat, Gillum, the former mayor of Tallahassee, Florida, faced backlash on a variety of fronts, including his anti-police stances and ties to anti-Israel and anti-Zionist organizations. Gillum‘s campaign had been fraught with scandals from the onset. Tallahassee City Hall has been under FBI investigation since as early as 2015 as part of an ongoing corruption probe. Records were released in October showing that an undercover FBI agent gave him tickets to a Broadway show, undermining his claims that he received the gift from…

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Memphis Contracts with Private Vendor That Has Serious Problems in Florida

Chris Butler

Memphis City officials apparently have at least three contracts with a private vendor that reportedly had serious problems of late in Florida. Memphis taxpayers have invested millions of dollars in those contracts. That vendor, the New Jersey-based Conduent, is reportedly responsible for serious problems with Florida’s SunPass tolling system — specifically, millions of unprocessed toll charges. The company might even owe the state at least $1.7 million, according to The Tampa Bay Times. The Tennessee Star tried repeatedly and often for more than a week to get comments on the matter from Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland’s office as well the city’s 10 current city council members. None of those people, not even Strickland’s two public information officers, returned our messages seeking comment. Conduent spokesman Neil Franz, meanwhile, operating from a Maryland-based office, said he had no information about any contracts Memphis has with his company. But the city of Memphis’ website lists three contracts with the company that say otherwise — for “Professional, Scientific and Technical Services.” A source sent The Star a copy of another supposed contract the city has with Conduent for traffic cameras, enacted in April. Memphis officials would not respond to The Star’s frequent requests to…

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Commentary: There’s No Such Thing as a Conservative Blue Dog Democrat

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by George Rasley   On Tuesday, the Blue Dog Coalition, a group of allegedly “fiscally responsible” House Democrats announced its new leadership team as their party is poised to retake the gavel in the 116th Congress. The Blue Dogs claim they embrace a “bipartisan approach” to legislating and are looking to play a major role in brokering compromise positions on legislation with a Republican-held Senate and President Trump. “In this new era of divided government, we Democrats must introduce bold ideas and fight for our shared values, and we must also seek bipartisan cooperation that keeps our government functioning and improves the lives of our constituents; the alternative is a partisan stalemate that brings our country to a halt,” said Florida Representative Stephanie Murphy, the Blue Dogs’ incoming co-chair for administration, reported the online news site The Well. The reality is that the Blue Dogs are, when push comes to shove, anything but “bipartisan” as their voting records show. Rep. Murphy, who represents Florida’s Seventh Congressional District, has a lifetime rating of 6 percent from Heritage Action for America. The House Democrats’ average is 8 percent, meaning Rep. Murphy is even more liberal than the average Democrat. The Blue Dogs’…

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Franklin Graham Group Helps with Disaster Relief in Florida

Chris Butler

Volunteers for a Franklin Graham affiliated group came to Florida’s panhandle to help with disaster relief in the aftermath of Hurricane Michael, but it’s about so much more than that, they said. Volunteers with the group Samaritan’s Purse told The Tennessee Star the devastation in that region is still widespread, and a lot of the locals have lost almost everything. Some volunteers came to help homeowners with the next stage of rebuilding. Some came to help remove trees off people’s homes. And then, as volunteer Kristy Kulberg told The Star this week, they also came to offer emotional and spiritual support. “One of our homeowners had bad roof and tree damage. Their son has battled with some addictions and his walk with Christ. The storm pushed him a lot farther away,” Kulberg said. Volunteers, Kulberg went on to say, helped him and his elderly father, and they helped make the home more livable and tolerable. They also brought the wayward man closer to God. That man soon rededicated his life to Christ, Kulberg said. “That was a big victory for us that we were able to help that family in so many different ways. When we got there, it was…

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Commentary: The Democrats Chaos Strategy Almost Worked in Florida

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by George Rasley   Ana Ceballos, reporting for my hometown newspaper The Naples Daily News, posted a bombshell article detailing the Democrats’ potentially criminal strategy to use chaos and the margin of litigation to steal Florida’s close election for U.S. Senator, Governor and Commissioner of Agriculture. Ms. Ceballos reports that a day after Florida’s election left top state races too close to call, a Democratic party leader directed staffers and volunteers to share altered election forms with voters to fix signature problems on absentee ballots after the state’s deadline. The altered forms surfaced in Broward, Santa Rosa, Citrus and Okaloosa counties and were reported to federal prosecutors to review for possible election fraud as Florida counties complete a required recount in three top races, reported Ceballos. But, says Ceballos, an email obtained by the USA TODAY NETWORK-Florida shows that Florida Democrats were organizing a broader statewide effort beyond those counties to give voters the altered forms to fix improper absentee ballots after the Nov. 5 deadline. Democratic party leaders provided staffers with copies of a form, known as a “cure affidavit,” that had been modified to include an inaccurate Nov. 8 deadline. One Palm Beach Democrat said in an interview the…

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Ron DeSantis Wins Florida Gubernatorial Election After Andrew Gillum Concedes Again

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Ron DeSantis

by Molly Prince   Former Republican Rep. Ron DeSantis defeated Democratic Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum on Saturday after an incredibly heated Florida gubernatorial race that remained contested for longer than a week after polls closed. Gillum ended the race via a message on Facebook, congratulating DeSantis for winning the governorship and giving a final concession. However, the results of the race will likely not be certified by the state until Tuesday. “My wife R. Jai and I wanted to take a moment to congratulate Mr. DeSantis on becoming the next governor of the great state of Florida,” Gillum said. “This has been the journey of our lives.” Gillum’s announcement follows an automatic recount that ended Thursday and showed him gaining just one net vote in the process, making the margin against DeSantis officially 33,683 votes, or 0.41 percentage points. DeSantis initially declared victory after Gillum conceded on the evening of Election Day. Gillum, however, withdrew his concession on Nov. 10 after the voting margin narrowed in the Democrats’ favor as absentee and provisional ballots were tallied. DeSantis has represented Florida’s 6th Congressional District since 2013 and was a founding member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus. He has also been a frequent…

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Florida’s Recount Begins Amid Allegations Officials Tampered With Ballots

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by Chris White   Florida’s secretary of state announced Saturday afternoon that the races for governor and senator would will be reviewed through a recount as Republicans allege officials tinkered with the results. Republican Gov. Rick Scott leads incumbent Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson by more than 12,500 votes. Former Republican Rep. Ron DeSantis leads his opponent, Democratic Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum, by nearly 34,000 votes in the Senate race. The paper-thin margin prompted the recount. Votes will now be recounted by machine after both races fell under the .5 percent margin. Races within .25 percent will then go to a hand recount. Scott’s campaign is calling on the Nelson to accept the official tally. “It’s time for Senator Nelson to accept reality and spare the state of the Florida the time, expense and discord of a recount,” the Florida Republican’s spokesman Chris Hartline said in a press statement following the news. Nelson shows no signs of giving up, telling reporters in a statement: “We have every expectation the recount will be full and fair and will continue taking action to ensure every vote is counted without interference or efforts to undermine the democratic process.” Scott initially won the open seat,…

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Broward County Elections Supervisor Mixes Over a Dozen Rejected Ballots in with Valid Ones, Raising New Charges of Incompetence

Jason M. Reynolds

Broward County, Florida’s elections supervisor accidentally mixed more than a dozen rejected ballots with nearly 200 valid ones, a circumstance that is unlikely to help Brenda Snipes push back against Republican allegations of incompetence, the Miami Herald reported. Incumbent U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) is locked in a virtual dead heat with Republican challenger Gov. Rick Scott. Scott’s lead shrunk to 12,562 votes out of nearly 8.2 million cast, a 0.15 percent margin, The Washington Post said. President Donald Trump’s reaction to the situation was: “Trying to STEAL two big elections in Florida! We are watching closely!” Trying to STEAL two big elections in Florida! We are watching closely! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 10, 2018 The mistake – for which no one had a solution Friday night – was discovered after Snipes agreed to present 205 provisional ballots to the Broward County canvassing board for inspection. She had initially intended to handle the ballots administratively, but agreed to present them to the canvassing board after Republican attorneys objected. America Rising raised concerns about Snipes’ competence, saying, “It’s important to note past criticism of the official at the helm of this process there. As recently as June 2018, The Sun…

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Andrew Gillum May Retract Concession as Recount Looms in Florida Governor Race

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by Chuck Ross   Andrew Gillum may retract his concession in the Florida governor’s race. Gillum, the mayor of Tallahassee, conceded the race in a speech on Tuesday, after polls showed him down one percentage point to Republican Ron DeSantis, a former congressman who is close to President Trump. But DeSantis’ vote margin dwindled on Wednesday as absentee and provisional ballots continued to be counted. “On Tuesday night, the Gillum for Governor campaign operated with the best information available about the number of outstanding ballots left to count. Since that time, it has become clear there are many more uncounted ballots than was originally reported,” Gillum campaign spokeswoman Johanna Cervona said in a statement. “Our campaign, along with our attorney Barry Richard, is monitoring the situation closely and is ready for any outcome, including a state-mandated recount. Mayor Gillum started his campaign for the people, and we are committed to ensuring every single vote in Florida is counted.” Gillum trailed DeSantis by 43,000 votes on Thursday. According to the Orlando Sentinel, that is just 0.02 percentage points from the threshold that will trigger a machine recount. Florida’s Senate battle is even closer than the gubernatorial race. Gov. Rick Scott, a…

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Rubio Warns: Dems Are Actively Trying to Steal the Florida Election

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by Luke Rosiak   Republican Florida Sen. Marco Rubio is warning that the fate of his state’s governorship could hang in the hands of Florida’s Broward County Supervisor of Elections Brenda Snipes, whom he’s called incompetent for violating state and federal laws. A liberal candidate similarly painted her as incompetent and corrupt. Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum initially conceded the Florida race to Republican Ron DeSantis, but backtracked after vote totals changed Thursday, narrowing the gap to less than half a percent in both the gubernatorial and senatorial races. Broward County is often the slowest of the state’s 67 counties to count votes, and its election department has repeatedly been faulted for wrongdoing. Now, Perkins Coie lawyer Marc Elias has been enlisted in a recount effort. Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson is retaining Elias, who said it’s “not plausible” that, as Broward statistics suggest, 14,000 people voted in sometimes-obscure state-level races but left the Senate one blank. Republican Gov. Rick Scott, who, by initial appearances, beat Nelson in a race for Senate, said Elias will use aggressive techniques to “steal” the election. Elias worked for both the Hillary Clinton campaign and the DNC during the 2016 election, even before the 2016 presidential candidate became the Democratic…

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Gunman Shoots Out Windows of GOP Office in Florida

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by Chuck Ross   A gunman in Florida fired at least four shots into the Volusia County Republican Party’s offices, police said Monday. South Daytona police Capt. Mark Cheatham told reporters that nobody was injured in the shooting, which occurred between Sunday afternoon and Monday morning. A suspect has also not been identified, according to the Orlando Sentinel. https://twitter.com/mspringerwftv/status/1056926486643511297 Tony Ledbetter, the chairman of the Volusia Co. GOP, told WFTV news station that a volunteer found the window’s shattered on Monday morning. Four bullets had pierced the drywall in the office, he said. “You’ve got some sick person, and I’ll call them out, they’re Democrats. No Republican’s got any reason to come attack our location,” said Ledbetter. https://twitter.com/mspringerwftv/status/1056928353230446593 The shooting follows a series of politically-motivated attacks in recent weeks. On Friday, Cesar Sayoc, Jr. was arrested in southern Florida for sending at least 12 pipe bombs to various Democratic politicians and personalities, including Barack Obama, the Clinton’s and Eric Holder. And on Saturday, Robert Bowers killed 11 people at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh. Bowers’ social media posts showed that he embraced anti-Semitic conspiracy theories. Republicans have also been targeted with acts of violence. A vandal in Bakersfield, California, threw…

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Commentary: Florida GOP Candidates Surging: Keep the Pedal to the Metal

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Ron Desantis, Andrew Gillum, Donald Trump, Bernie Sanders

by CHQ Staff   As we’ve said in the past, the Florida gubernatorial race is the most important campaign for governor in 2018. And we’ve been concerned about the top of the GOP ticket in Florida, as both Republican candidate for governor Congressman Ron DeSantis and Senate candidate Governor Rick Scott were behind in the polls and seemed stuck in small ball campaigns. But things in Florida are turning around and both the DeSantis and Scott campaigns have shown incredible energy in the wake of Hurricane Michael. First, Senate candidate Governor Rick Scott has been extremely effective in marshaling the state’s resources to provide disaster assistance to the hurricane-affected counties. And, while competence by itself rarely wins you many votes, his campaign has also been relentlessly hammering Democrat Bill Nelson for his ineffectiveness in the Senate – the contrast, even if unintended, could not be starker. Nelson, just yesterday said, I “have done everything I can do,” while Governor Scott works day and night to get help the Florida Panhandle back on its feet. Throwing his hands up in the face of disaster tells Florida voters everything they need to know about Senator Bill Nelson. In the governor’s race, Congressman…

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Commentary: Leftist Christians Target Florida Governor’s Race

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by CHQ Staff   The Far-Left Democratic Party – you know the party that removed any mention of God from its platform and booed and jeered when a pro-forma mention of the Creator was added – has found a new cloak for its anti-religious liberty policies; newly re-energized Leftist Christians. Vietnam-era Leftist Christian leaders, such as Yale University chaplain, William Sloane Coffin Jr., Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Father Daniel Joseph Berrigan SJ, Philip Berrigan, a former Josephite priest, Br. David Darst, a De La Salle Christian Brother, Thomas Melville, a former Maryknoll priest, Tom Cornell, a leader among the Catholic Worker movement, Reverend Richard Neuhaus, John B. Sheerin, the editor of Catholic World and prominent Catholic layman Michael Novak inspired a generation of Leftist Christian seminarians and activists. This Soviet-funded Christian Left, that led the nuclear disarmament movement and the opposition to the Vietnam War and Ronald Reagan’s defense build-up, never really went away, they simply faded from the front page when their ties to Moscow were revealed and their ideology was discredited by Reagan’s victory over the Soviet Union. Now they are back, leading the sanctuary city and open borders movements with funding from anti-Christian billionaire and Nazi…

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Ron DeSantis Resigns From Congress To Focus On Gubernatorial Bid

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by Molly Prince   Republican Rep. Ron DeSantis of Florida announced his resignation from Congress on Monday to focus on his Florida gubernatorial race. “As the Republican nominee for Governor of Florida, it is clear to me that I will likely miss the vast majority of our remaining session days for this Congress,” DeSantis wrote in his resignation letter to Speaker of the House Paul Ryan. “Under these circumstances, it would be inappropriate for me to accept a salary. In order to honor my principles and protect the taxpayer, I officially resign from the House of Representatives effective immediately.” DeSantis also requested that his resignation be retroactive so that he would not receive pay for the month of September. “It has been an honor to serve the people of Florida’s Sixth Congressional District,” tweeted DeSantis. It has been an honor to serve the people of Florida's Sixth Congressional District. pic.twitter.com/j0SgILImyP — Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) September 10, 2018 The Florida gubernatorial race has been contentious since DeSantis faced backlash mere hours after winning his state’s Republican nomination following a comment that was misconstrued to seemingly refer to the race of his opponent, Andrew Gillum. Despite vehemently denouncing racism, the media has continued to portray DeSantis as a racist. DeSantis…

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Commentary: It Isn’t Just Trump vs. Bernie in Florida Governor’s Race

Tennessee Star Staff
Ron Desantis, Andrew Gillum, Donald Trump, Bernie Sanders

by George Rasley, CHQ Editor   Tuesday’s Florida Primary Election rocked the Florida political establishment of both parties and set up what will likely be the most expensive and certainly the most important gubernatorial election of 2018. On the Republican side Rep. Ron DeSantis (FL-6) one of the most visible conservative members of the U.S. House of Representatives rode his national media profile to a wipeout of Florida political icon, Republican Ron DeSantisCommissioner of Agriculture Adam Putnam. Putnam, once the youngest member of Congress and one of the Sunshine State’s most popular politicians, was long assumed to be on his way to the Governorship, the Senate and perhaps even the presidency. On Tuesday those expectations came crashing down – crushed in a wave of populist support for Congressman DeSantis, who has been one of President Trump’s staunchest defenders on TV and who proudly campaigned with Donald Trump’s endorsement. While DeSantis and Putnam differed little on real substance – both are solidly conservative Republicans – it was DeSantis’ campaign against the Tallahassee political establishment that defeated Putnam, who had, perhaps unfairly, become seen as the candidate of a notoriously corrupt state capitol. On the Democratic side another iconic Florida political name…

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Left Wing Florida Dem. Representative Alcee Hastings Jokes That a ‘Catastrophe’ Is Anyone Saving President Trump from Drowning

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Alcee Hastings

Apprearing at a “Stronger Together” rally as emcee Sunday in the south Florida town of Sunshine, Democratic firebrand Representative Alcee Hastings (D-FL-20) made a joke at the expense of President Donald Trump that, while delighting the crowd assembled, caused some political watchers to take notice. In video posted on YouTube, viewers see Hastings on stage, standing behind a podium. “But I will tell you one joke that I heard from Ari Silver, whose father is former state legislator and is a rabbi, Barry Silver,” Hastings began. He continued: But Ari asked the audience the other night in Palm Beach County – he said, ‘Do you know the difference between a crisis and a catastrophe?’ And no one held up their hand so Ari answered for us. He said, ‘A crisis is if Donald Trump falls into the Patomac River and can’t swim.’ And he said, ‘A catastrophe is anybody saves his ass.’ The audience approved with an overwhelming and sustained applause with laughter. Watch the video: Anthony Man, the South Florida Sun Sentinel political writer, took note of the Hastings’ quip: .@AlceeHastingsFL warms up Democratic rally in Sunrise with a joke about the difference between a crisis and a catastrophe.Crisis:…

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Reports of Election Site Hacking Rankle Florida Officials

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voting machine

Child’s play or a signs of a serious security problem in one of the nation’s swing states? That’s the question confronting Florida election officials who are pushing back against reports that an 11-year-old hacked a replica of the state’s election website. Multiple media outlets over the weekend reported that children at a hacking conference in Las Vegas were able to easily hack into a version of the website that reports election results to the public. An 11-year-old boy got into Florida’s site within 10 minutes, while an 11-year-old girl did it in 15 minutes, according to the organizers of the event called DEFCON Voting Machine Hacking Village. State officials contend there’s no way that the replica used by hackers is an actual representation of the state’s website. “This was a mock site with likely very few, if any, security measures in place,” said Sarah Revell, a spokeswoman for Secretary of State Ken Detzner. “It is not a real-life scenario and it offers a wholly inaccurate representation of the security of Florida’s elections websites, online databases and voting systems that does not take into account the state-of-the-art security measures the Florida Department of State has in place to prevent any possible…

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Latino Groups Go To War With Facebook For Requiring ID To Buy Political Ads

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Florida Immigration Coalition

by Peter Hasson and Joe Simonson   Facebook’s recent policy changes requiring proof of identity to purchase political ads is unfair to Latino immigrants, several progressive groups claimed Thursday. Facebook began requiring users to submit a government-issued ID and mailing address before purchasing any political ads in April as part of the company’s efforts to combat foreign meddling in American politics. A coalition of progressive political groups asked Facebook in May to reverse the ID requirement but claim the company has been unresponsive. The activists said Thursday they will “step up efforts to continue shaming Facebook until the policy is amended” in a press release. “Facebook’s one-size-fits-all policy for so-called ‘political advertising’ has effectively shut millions of voices out of the democratic process and public discourse on the most populous and influential social media platform,” said Angelica Salas, executive director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, in the release. “The social media giant must face the fact immigrants and other communities are not the enemy.” “Facebook already has a horrible reputation of compromising its users’ sensitive information, and its new ad policies would force users to give up even more personal information — blocking many Latinx people from fully engaging in the democratic process via…

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Thumbs Up: Florida Candidate for Governor, DeSantis Ad Displays Him as More Likable, Less Political

Julie Carr
Steve Gill

During Tuesday’s broadcast of The Gill Report – live on WETR 92.3 FM in Knoxville – conservative political commentator and Tennessee Star Political Editor Steve Gill praised Florida Governor Candidate Ron DeSantis for his current ad appealing to the public in a more human than political way.  DeSantis’s wife narrates the advertisement accompanied by their children who appear along with their father DeSantis. He continued: I mentioned in the last segment that there is a great new television commercial airing in Florida for Ron DeSantis whose running for Governor.  A conservative Republican he’s been endorsed by President Trump.  Well they have a spot that is well featuring his wife Casey talking about Ron DeSantis and their kids and that he’s so much more than just a Trump supporter and he shows it in the way he plays with his kids, reads with his kids, and teachers them. CASEY DeSANTIS: Everyone knows my husband Ron DeSantis is endorsed by President Trump but he’s also an amazing dad.  Ron loves playing with the kids.  Build the wall.  He reads stories, then Mr. Trump says your fired!  I love that part.  He’s teaching Madison to talk.  Make America great again.  People say Ron’s…

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Florida GOP Governor Race: Ron DeSantis Ad Cuts Through the Clutter with Humor and Delivery

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Ron Desantis

Florida Republican Congressman and candidate for Governor Ron DeSantis is having a great week. Not only did President Donald Trump endorse him a few weeks ago, the President followed up with a rally in Tampa, Florida Tuesday night to promote both DeSantis and current Governor Rick Scott — who is challenging Democrat Bill Nelson for his Senate seat. Trump carried Florida in 2016, and DeSantis has surged to a 12-point lead over his GOP opponent Adam Putnam in the race to secure the GOP gubernatorial nomination. Adding to his momentum this week, DeSantis released a new television ad Monday featuring his wife Casey in what may be one of the best ads in the campaign season so far. https://youtu.be/2BYgM7yWgkY In the ad, Casey says: “Everyone knows my husband Ron DeSantis is endorsed by President Trump, but he’s also an amazing dad. Ron loves playing with the kids.” While Casey talks about her husband the Congressman is seen encouraging his daughter to “build the wall” out of blocks and to say Trump’s signature slogan “Make America Great Again.” It then shows DeSantis reading Trump’s “The Art of the Deal” to his son, who is also shown wearing a “Make America Great…

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Convert To Islam Kills Roommates in Florida For Disrespecting Muslim Faith

Tennessee Star Staff

A Florida man who was formerly a neo-Nazi but recently converted to Islam killed his two roommates Friday for “disrespecting” the Muslim faith. Police in Tampa, Florida arrested Devon Arthurs after he held three people hostage inside a smoke shop before leading authorities to the bodies of his two roommates. Arthurs, 18, yelled “Allah Mohammed” while…

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Florida Middle School Teacher Fired For Inappropriate Student Survey

Wendy Wilson
Tennessee Star

  A Florida middle school teacher has been fired for giving students a survey school officials said was inappropriate, WFTS-TV in Tampa reports. Students at Fox Chapel Middle School in Spring Hill were asked to circle responses to questions asking about their comfort level in certain hypothetical situations. Those situations included being approached by a group of young black men on the street, being in a gay bar, and finding out your new suite mates are Mexican. Other scenarios involved sitting next to a young Arab man on an airplane, dealing with a panhandling homeless man and finding out the new pastor at your church is a woman. The survey was a supplemental assignment. The New York Post also picked up on the story and provided a statement from the Hernando County School District. “The teacher did leave a supplemental assignment for students to complete in her absence,” the statement said. “In no way, does this assignment meet the standards of appropriate instructional material. After being made aware of the survey, school administration began an investigation and took immediate disciplinary action.” The district did not identify the teacher. Jennifer Block, mother of a 12-year-old who was given the survey, was interviewed by…

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