Category: The South

Virginia A.G. Jason Miyares Urges EPA to Block California Electric Truck Mandate, ‘Extreme Environmental Agenda’

Tom Pappert
Jason Miyares

Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares urged the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to maintain its block on the California electric truck mandate created by Governor Gavin Newsom, declaring the state is “playing games with America’s livelihood.”

Miyares on Monday announced he joined a comment letter urging the EPA to maintain its federal block on California’s Advanced Clean Fleets (ACF) regulation, which mandates every major commercial trucking company either maintain an “zero-emission-vehicle” (ZEV) fleet or have a plan to retire traditional internal combustion engines in accordance with the regulation.

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Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti Provides Update on Litigation Led by His Office

Kaitlin Housler
MPL and Skrmetti

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti provided an update on prominent lawsuits his office has filed under his leadership and discussed his goals for the remainder of his eight-year term during an exclusive sit-down interview this week on The Michael Patrick Leahy Show.

Skrmetti, who began serving as attorney general in 2022 after being appointed by the Tennessee Supreme Court, said, “I’ve been blessed with a great team and there is a lot of work for us to do.”

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Tennessee Sheriff Asks Citizens to Report Suspicious Activity amid ‘Ongoing Border Crisis,’ ‘Growing Homeless Population’

Tom Pappert
Eddie Farris

Putnam County Sheriff Eddie Farris on Wednesday urged the public to report suspicious activity to his office after photos of Greyhound buses reportedly sparked speculation about illegal immigration in Tennessee.

In a statement posted to the social media platform X, Farris revealed a photograph of two buses with Texas license plates were actually Greyhound buses. One bus had broken down, according to Farris, requiring a second bus to continue transporting passengers.

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TN Democrat State Senator Heidi Campbell Vulnerable to Challenge from GOP’s Wyatt Rampy

Kaitlin Housler
Heidi Campbell MPL

Aaron Gulbransen, executive director of the Tennessee Faith and Freedom Coalition, and Michael Patrick Leahy, CEO and editor-in-chief of The Tennessee Star, said Republicans have an opportunity to gain a seat in the Tennessee State Senate by flipping District 20, currently represented by Democrat Heidi Campbell (D-Nashville).

Campbell, who was elected to the Senate in 2020, is up for reelection this year and will face Republican nominee Wyatt Rampy in the November 5 general election.

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Tennessee Titans Partner with WeGo to Offer Free Bus Rides on Home Game Days

Kaitlin Housler
Nissan Stadium

The Tennessee Titans and WeGo Public Transit have partnered to offer free bus service on days the NFL team plays at Nissan Stadium in Nashville.

“We’re excited to expand and enhance our collaboration with WeGo into the full Titans season,” Burke Nihill, Titans president and CEO, said in a statement. “Free bus service is an incredible addition to the many ways to get to Titans home games.”

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Multiple Memphis Schools Locked Down After Threatening Messages with Reported Foreign Origin

Tom Pappert
Marie Feagins

Multiple in Memphis and Shelby County locked down their campuses on Wednesday after authorities confirmed threatening messages were posted online. Authorities have stated there was no immediate threat to any schools in the area, and reportedly that the messages were believed to have been created using chat bots and originated outside the United States.

Memphis-Shelby County Schools Superintendent Dr. Marie Feagins revealed a press conference, where she spoke on Wednesday alongside with Memphis Police Chief CJ Davis and Sheriff Floyd Bonner Jr., that threats were first received by Southwind High School via a phone call, and later through social media.

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Transgender Covenant Killer’s Journal Hints at Bipolar Disorder, but Prescription List Includes No Medications Associated with Illness

Tom Pappert
Audrey Hale

Audrey Elizabeth Hale, who killed three 9-year-old students and three adult staff members at the Covenant School in March 2023, referenced “bi-polar” in the journal from her “manifesto” released by The Tennessee Star on September 3.

Hale wrote in an entry dated January 16, 2023, “I’ve been anxious all last week, all day today [stressed] then I’m told I’m bi-polar by some prideful b****.”

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Nashville Metro Council Adopts Second Resolution Declaring Racism ‘Public Health Crisis’

Tom Pappert
MNPD meeting

The Nashville Metro Council on Tuesday voted to adopt a resolution declaring racism a “public health crisis” within Davidson County, marking the second time Nashville’s local lawmakers have passed such a resolution.

Originally sponsored by Councilwoman Kyonzté Toombs, the text of the resolution passed in Nashville states that black and minorities in face “significantly worse health outcomes than their white counterparts,” and claims these differences “are rooted in systemic racism.”

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Eugene Vindman’s Sister-in-Law, Who Apologized over Trump Assassination Tweets, Donated to Group Accused of Illegally Helping Democrat’s Campaign

Tom Pappert
Rachel Vindman

Rachel Vindman, the sister-in-law of Democratic U.S. House candidate Eugene Vindman, twice donated to the VoteVets political organization that is advised by her husband, Alexander Vindman.

News of her donations to VoteVets, which supports the campaign of Eugene Vindman, surfaces after Rachel Vindman apologized for social media posts minimizing the second attempt to assassinate former President Donald Trump.

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Georgia Supreme Court Dismisses Catoosa County GOP Ballot Challenge

The Center Square
Larry Black

The Supreme Court of Georgia dismissed a challenge by the Catoosa County Republican Party to keep four candidates off the primary ballot, as the primary and the runoff election have already occurred.

Republicans challenged the candidacies of Steven M. Henry, Larry C. Black, Jeffrey K. Long and Vanita C. Hullander, saying their views did not align with the party.

The case was appealed to Georgia’s highest court.

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Sen. Blackburn Demands Secret Service Increase Trump’s Security on Heels of ‘Unfathomable’ Second Assassination Attempt

Tom Pappert
Senator Marsha Blackburn

Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) on Monday demanded the U.S. Secret Service increase the level of security provided to former President Donald Trump to that of a sitting president, calling the second attempt to assassinate the former president, which happened on Sunday in Florida, an “unfathomable and unacceptable” development for the agency.

Blackburn revealed her demand in a letter to Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe, who began leading the agency following the resignation of former director Kimberly Cheatle as the agency’s shortcomings during the first assassination attempt were revealed.

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Petition to De-Annex Cordova from Memphis Passes 1,100 Signatures as Organizers Envision ‘Stricter Law Enforcement,’ Better Schools

Tom Pappert
Cordova Community Center

A petition calling for the reversal of the annexation of Cordova by Memphis has surpassed 1,100 signatures, and its organizers told The Tennessee Star they are “thrilled” with the progress.

“We’re thrilled to announce that our petition has recently surpassed 1,000 signatures,” the organizers told The Star, adding that much of the support has come through social media platforms including Nexdoor, Facebook, and X.

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Sister-in-Law of Democrat House Candidate Eugene Vindman Deletes ‘Flippant’ Tweets Blaming Trump for Assassination Attempt

Tom Pappert
Rachel Vindman, Eugene Vindman, tweets

The sister-in-law of Eugene Vindman, the Democratic nominee for Virginia’s 7th Congressional district, deleted a series of controversial posts to the social media platform X, all of which referenced the second attempt to assassinate former President Donald Trump.

Rachel Vindman on Sunday wrote at least three posts referencing the assassination attempt, which occurred at Trump’s golf course in West Palm Beach.

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Conservatives Celebrate Courage of Sen. Marsha Blackburn in Leading Fight Against Income Tax in Tennessee

Tom Pappert
Marsha Blackburn

The Tennessee Star on Monday obtained videos from a newly released ad campaign by Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), who is currently favored to win reelection against State Senator Gloria Johnson (D-Knoxville), which feature prominent Tennessee conservatives celebrate Blackburn’s role in the successful 2003 effort to defeat an income tax proposal.

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Texas Supreme Court Hears Oral Arguments on Texas Bar’s Lawfare Against Attorney General Ken Paxton’s Top Deputy over 2020 Election Lawsuit

Rachel Alexander
Texas A.G. Ken Paxton and Fist Asst A.G. Brent Webster

The Texas Supreme Court heard oral arguments on Thursday appealing the State Bar of Texas’s discipline of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s top deputy for bringing the election lawsuit Texas v. Pennsylvania with Paxton over the election irregularities in four states in 2020, which was joined by 21 other states. The bar’s Commission for Lawyer Discipline filed lawsuits against Paxton and First Assistant Attorney General Brent Webster in 2022 asking for sanctions over allegedly violating several broad, vague ethical rules increasingly used to target conservative attorneys. 

The bar claimed that Paxton and Webster violated the ethical rule against making “false statements of material fact or law to a tribunal” when they alleged there were unregistered voters and other types of illegal votes, and that tabulators from Dominion Voting Systems switched votes from Donald Trump to Joe Biden. They were also accused of violating an ethical rule that prohibits conduct “involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation” and a third rule that prohibits bringing frivolous claims.

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Alleged Apalachee High School Shooter Also Reportedly Sent Apology Text to Father Before Attack

Tom Pappert
Texting

The 14-year-old police say is responsible for killing four and injuring nine at Apalachee High School reportedly sent a text message to his father apologizing, a Friday report claimed emergency services dispatch records showed.

Existence of the the purported message from Colt Gray to his father, Colin Gray, was revealed by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, which reported the maternal aunt of the accused killer called law enforcement about an hour after the shooting.

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Embattled Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert Avoids Immediate Removal as Judge Grants Three-Day Extension

Tom Pappert
Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert

Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert will remain in her position amid an ongoing legal effort to remove her from office after Shelby County Circuit Court Judge Felicia Corbin-Johnson determined it would be “unfair” to remove the clerk at this early stage.

Corbin-Johnson was asked to hold Halbert in default after she filed a motion to dismiss after a legal petition was filed for her removal, Fox 13 Memphis reported on Friday, adding that private attorney Robert Meyers argued for Shelby County that Tennessee law requires Halbert to respond to the substance of the petition within 20 days.

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Virginia County Continues to Pursue Guaranteed Income Pilot Project

The Center Square
Counting Money

A select group of Loudoun County residents may soon receive an extra “no strings attached” $500 per month from the county.

Loudoun County’s Board of Supervisors voted in its most recent finance committee meeting to move forward with plans to establish a guaranteed income pilot project, as several other Virginia localities have done — along with more than 150 other localities across the country, according to Mayors for a Guaranteed Income.

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Fani Willis Defies Subpoena from State Investigative Committee to Attend Black Caucus Event in D.C.

Daily Caller News Foundation
Fani Willis

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis defied a subpoena Friday issued by a Georgia state senate committee investigating her alleged misconduct.

Rather than testify before the committee, Willis is scheduled to attend the annual legislative conference for the Congressional Black Caucus in Washington, D.C. An agenda for the Georgia Senate Special Committee on Investigations hearing stated Willis would provide “sworn testimony,” but state Republican Sen. Bill Cowsert began the meeting by announcing Willis would not appear.

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‘My Signature Has Been Forged’: DeSantis Probes Florida Pro-Abortion Ballot Measure Petitions amid Fraud Allegations

Admin
Ron DeSantis

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration is asking law enforcement to “prioritize” the investigation into what may be “fraudulent” signatures on petitions to get a pro-abortion measure on the Nov. 5 ballot, according to a letter shared with The Daily Signal.

The Palm Beach Supervisor of Elections’ office received complaints from voters about their signatures being forged on constitutional initiative petitions circulated by Floridians Protecting Freedom, the pro-abortion coalition behind an amendment that would legalize abortion on demand up to birth.

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Accused Killer Colt Gray Missed Nine of 12 Possible School Days After Enrolling Two Weeks Late at Apalachee High School: GBI

Tom Pappert
Colt Gray

Colt Gray, who authorities say killed four at the Apalachee High School on September 4, missed nine days of school after enrolling two weeks after classes commenced for the 2024 school year, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) revealed on Friday.

The GBI confirmed Colt Gray was enrolled at the high school on August 14, indicating he began attending two weeks after the Barrow County School System calendar indicates classes began.

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Latest Bush Admin Official to Endorse Harris is Former A.G. Alberto Gonzales, Now Dean of Belmont Law, Who Resigned After Democrats Demanded Perjury Inquiry

Tom Pappert
Alberto Gonzales

Former U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales on Thursday endorsed the presidential bid of Vice President Kamala Harris, making the current Belmont University College of Law Dean the latest Bush administration official to back the Democrat over former President Donald Trump.

In his endorsement, published by German-owned Politico, Gonzales noted he is “the only lawyer in American history to serve both as White House counsel and as attorney general,” but did not note that he resigned from the latter position as prominent Democrats demanded he face a perjury inquiry due to his claims before Congress.

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Conservative Florida Attorney Appeals License Suspension, Denounces Political Censorship over Calling His Opponent ‘Corrupt’ and ‘Swampy’

Rachel Alexander
Chris Crowley

Chris Crowley, a conservative attorney in Florida, filed an appeal with the Florida Supreme Court last month contesting 60-day suspension of his law license for exercising free speech during his political campaign for Office of the State Attorney in Florida’s 20th Judicial Circuit. His attorney said this is the first time an attorney has been disciplined for partisan political speech in Florida, and likely anywhere in the U.S.

Crowley, a decorated Gulf War veteran, said the Florida Bar should be subject to the state’s anti-SLAPP law, which prohibits the use of the courts to suppress free speech. SLAPP stands for Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation. 

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Federal Judge Releases Alleged Cyberstalker McKenzie McClure from Psychiatric Center Despite Objections of Nashville Christian School

Tom Pappert
McKenzie McClure

Alleged cyberstalker McKenzie McClure, who identifies as a transgender man named Kalvin, was released on Thursday from the East Tennessee psychiatric facility where she was ordered to receive treatment before her case could move forward following a detention hearing held by U.S. District Court Judge Chip Frensley.

McClure will now receive outpatient care while living at home with her parents, a location the court heard from the Christ Presbyterian Academy (CPA) Head of School is only blocks away from a bus stop used by its students.

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YouTube Censors Police Video of Jon Bon Jovi Talking Distraught Woman off Nashville Bridge During Music Video Shoot

Tom Pappert
Jon Bonjovi

A Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) spokesman confirmed to The Tennessee Star on Thursday that YouTube pulled its video of legendary musical artist Jon Bon Jovi talking a “distraught woman” off the ledge of a Nashville bridge, potentially saving her life.

MNPD Public Affairs Director Don Aaron confirmed to The Star the video was originally published to a YouTube channel operated by the police department, and that it was removed from the platform by YouTube. The platform did not impose additional punishment to the MNPD-operated channel beyond removal of its video, Aaron told The Star.

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UCLA Report: Spanish Language Ads Key to Connecting with Florida Hispanic and Latino Voters

ADN America
Florida Senate Race

Republican incumbent Sen. Rick Scott and Democratic challenger Debbie Mucarsel-Powell aired Spanish-language ads this week while amplifying their attempts to reach the Latino vote.

Scott, who speaks fluent Spanish, has so far released several Spanish language television and radio ads targeting Latino voters, and a pro-Scott super PAC backing Scott is also airing a Spanish language ad in Spanish in Orlando this week.

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Teacher Allowed Alleged Apalachee High School Killer Colt Gray to Leave Classroom with Belongings Ahead of Attack: GBI

Tom Pappert
Colt Gray

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) on Thursday revealed alleged Apalachee High School attacker Colt Gray, who is accused of killing four and injuring nine at the school on September 4, was allowed to leave his classroom by a teacher after he asked to speak with someone at the front office.

According to a GBI web page about the Apalachee High School attack, the teacher allowed Colt Gray to leave a classroom after he requested to “go to the front office and speak someone.”

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Climate Activists Disrupt Virginia GOP Gov. Glenn Youngkin Speech on September 11 Remembrance

Just the News
Glenn Youngkin

Climate activists crashed Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s lunch keynote at a Federalist Society education event in downtown Washington, D.C., on Thursday, interrupting his remarks about remembering the victims and heroes of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

The Republican, who sailed into office on the strength of parental demands to control their children’s education amid COVID-19 restrictions, was discussing how he just came from Arlington National Cemetery when a small mob of activists approached the stage and started chanting.

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Police Say Rifle Used at Apalachee High School Concealed in Backpack as Mother of Accused Killer Declares Son ‘Not a Monster’

Tom Pappert
Colt Gray

Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith reportedly offered new details about how authorities believe accused Apalachee High School killer Colt Gray obtained the rifle used during the attack and managed to conceal it at the campus where he allegedly killed four and injured nine.

Smith reportedly told Fox 5 Atlanta the rifle used during the attack was purchased legally after a background check was completed by Colin Gray, the father of Colt Gray. The purchase was made at a gun store just miles away from Apalachee High School, which the outlet reported is now cooperating with law enforcement.

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11-Year-Old Middle School Student Arrested, Charged After Making Threat to Carry Out Shooting at Knoxville School

Kaitlin Housler
Knoxville Police Department

An 11-year-old male student at Vine Middle Magnet School was arrested and charged on Tuesday evening for the threat of mass violence after he allegedly “made a school shooting threat,” according to the Knoxville Police Department (KPD).

KPD said one of the department’s school resource officers responded to Vine Middle Magnet School to investigate a report that the student had made a school shooting threat.

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Exclusive: Sen. Marsha Blackburn Slams Cashless Bail with Tennessee Sheriff in Push for Restoring Law and Order Act

Tom Pappert

The Tennessee Star on Wednesday exclusively obtained a video released by Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), who urged Congress to pass her Restoring Law and Order Act to provide relief to cities like Memphis, which the senator argued suffers from ill-conceived restorative justice schemes and soft-on-crime judges.

Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN) joined the senator’s Restoring Law and Order Act, which was reintroduced in May. The bill would authorize new grant funding for local law enforcement to hire and retain officers, combat child trafficking, and emphasize “public safety tools like bail and pretrial detention” to disallow accused criminals the opportunity to commit additional offenses.

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Reported Illegal Immigrant Suspected of Murder in Cleveland, Tennessee Apprehended Just 30 Miles from US-Mexico Border: Police

Tom Pappert
Dayren Lopez Roque

A reported illegal immigrant wanted for murder in Cleveland, Tennessee was apprehended in Texas on Tuesday, with law enforcement in that state arresting the alleged killer just 30 miles from the southern border of the United States.

The Cleveland Police Department (CPD) announced on Monday its officers were called to a residential address after a person was reported missing. Officers discovered the body of 25-year-old Dayana Garcia, and CPD revealed it “has deemed this domestic-related incident as a homicide investigation.”

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Nearly 1,000 Sign Petition for Cordova to Establish Own Tennessee Municipality, Reverse Memphis Annexation

Tom Pappert
Cordova Community Center

Nearly 1,000 people have signed a petition seeking the de-annexation of Cordova from the City of Memphis, citing the city’s struggles with crime, poverty, and road maintenance as key motivators for the effort.

Anonymously created, the Change.org petition argues Cordova has experienced “a downward spiral” since it was annexed by Memphis in 2012, with “an alarming increase in crime rates and a significant drop in home values,” as well as schools left “suffering” without “essential services,” and “pothole-ridden roads” depressing economic activity.

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Latest Poll Shows Harris with Strong Lead over Trump in Virginia

The Center Square
Kamala Harris and Donald Trump

Virginia may not be in play after all in the 2024 presidential contest, judging by the results of a new poll by The Washington Post and George Mason University’s Schar School of Policy and Government. 

The poll, conducted Wednesday through Sunday, shows Vice President Kamala Harris leading former President Donald Trump by 8% (51%-43%), starkly contrasting with polls administered in the late spring and earlier summer when President Joe Biden was still the Democratic nominee. 

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Superintendent over Apalachee High School Last Worked in Neighboring School System That Opposed School Resource Officers

Tom Pappert
Dallas Leduff

Barrow County School System Superintendent Dr. Dallas LeDuff was previously the Associate Superintendent of the Oconee County School System, which last year rebuffed calls from parents to station School Resource Officers (SROs) at its schools.

LeDuff was working for the Oconee County School System during the April 2023 push for it to adopt SROs at it schools, which Oconee County Observations reported occurred during an Oconee County Board of Education meeting.

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Counselor Reportedly Claimed Colt Gray Made ‘References to School Shootings’ Ahead of Apalachee High School Attack

Tom Pappert
Colt Gray

Marcee Gray, the mother of accused Apalachee High School shooter Colt Gray, who allegedly killed four and injured nine last week, claimed in a Monday interview a school counselor emailed on the morning of the shooting to report her child made “references to school shootings,” prompting her hurried call to warn of an “extreme emergency” involving Colt Gray.

The mother revealed in a Tuesday interview with ABC News that she was contacted by an Apalachee High School “counselor” shortly before the attack, which helped prompt her decision to call the school in advance of the shooting, which police say her son confessed to committing.

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Tennessee Congressional Delegation Honor the ‘Scarboro 85’ on 69th Anniversary of Desegregation at Oak Ridge Public Schools

Kaitlin Housler
Classroom Students

The entire Tennessee congressional delegation sponsored a resolution this week celebrating the Scarboro 85 students from the Scarboro neighborhood in Oak Ridge. Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Brown v. Board of Education, these students made history by entering all-white classrooms.

On May 17, 1954, the Supreme Court ruled in Brown v. Board of Education that separating children in public schools based on race was unconstitutional.

In a second opinion issued on May 31, 1955, the Supreme Court decreed that schools should be desegregated “with all deliberate speed.”

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Tom Pappert Details Troubling Series of Events Leading Up to Georgia High School Shooting

Kaitlin Housler
Tom Pappert

Tom Pappert, reporter at The Georgia Star News, detailed the unfortunate series of events that reportedly transpired just minutes before 14-year-old Colt Gray allegedly killed four and injured nine more at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia last week, which, if acted upon, may have prevented the shooting.

Gray, who surrendered to law enforcement Wednesday after allegedly carrying out the shooting, was on the FBI’s radar last year, as the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office interviewed him and his father in May 2023 after the FBI received “several anonymous tips about online threats to commit a school shooting.”

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Virginia A.G. Miyares Blames Kamala Harris After Illegal Immigrant Arrested for Abducting Teenager, Impersonating Police: ‘It’s A Betrayal’

Tom Pappert
Virginia A.G. Jason Miyares, Jesus Cabrera

Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares on Sunday responded to the recent arrest of an illegal immigrant who is charged with the abduction of a teenage girl and falsely claiming he was police officer by condemning Vice President Kamala Harris’ oversight of the southern border as “a betrayal” of the American people.

“This horrific crime is a direct result of Kamala Harris putting her political agenda above the safety of American citizens,” said Miyares in a post to the social media platform X. “It’s not just negligence; it’s a betrayal. Our communities’ safety should never be sacrificed for reckless, politically driven decisions.”

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Nashville Considers $6.9 Billion Transit Referendum Despite City Bus Network Just Now Reaching Pre-Pandemic Ridership

Tom Pappert
WeGo Bus stop

WeGo Public Transit in Nashville said on Friday it has now reached the high watermark of riders previously set in 2018, more than a year prior to the COVID-19 pandemic that saw the number of Nashvillians using public transit cut in half.

News that Nashville’s bus system has reached its pre-pandemic ridership numbers comes as the city’s voters consider a $3.1 billion transit package, which will be on their November ballot at the request of Mayor Freddie O’Connell.

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Grandfather of Colt Gray Claims Teen ‘Driven’ to Commit Attack on Apalachee High School by ‘Evil’ Father Colin Gray

Tom Pappert
Colin Gray (r) and Colt Gray (l)

The maternal grandfather of Colt Gray, who police say killed four and injured nine at the Apalachee High School in Georgia last Wednesday, said on Sunday the teen was “driven” to commit the attack due to a troubled childhood and “evil” father, Colin Gray, who was charged last week in relation to the attack.

Charlie Polhamus told the New York Post on Sunday that Colt Gray was subjected to constant “screaming and hollering” from his father, and suggested spending over a decade in that environment “can affect anybody.”

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Reporter Tom Pappert: ‘Incomprehensibly Stupid and Irresponsible’ for Father of 14-Year-Old Georgia School Shooter to Gift Rifle to Son

Kaitlin Housler
Tom Pappert

Tom Pappert, reporter at The Georgia Star News, said it seems “incomprehensibly stupid and irresponsible” and “difficult to comprehend” that the father of 14-year-old Colt Gray, who allegedly killed four and injured nine more at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia last week, gifted his son an AR-15-style rifle just months after an FBI tip prompted a visit from the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office in 2023.

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