Democrat and Republican governors alike are promising not to implement new mask mandates as COVID-19 cases rise again.
“All Virginians should consider wearing a mask in public indoor settings where there is increased risk of [COVID-19] transmission, as the new [CDC] guidance recommends. This is not a requirement, but a recommendation,” Gov. Ralph Northam (D) said Thursday on Twitter.
Amid the ongoing feud between progressive Democrats and their more moderate counterparts over a $3.5 trillion infrastructure bill and legislation to abolish the filibuster, one progressive House Democrat is forging ahead.
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN-05) Friday introduced a bill that would pilot universal basic income programs in certain geographic areas, before taking the program national within the next seven years.
In response to a “surge” in opioid overdoses in Ohio in 2020, Attorney General Dave Yost Friday announced the state’s first “Drug Dropoff Day.”
“You know, a lot of opioid addictions actually start out of the family medicine cabinet,” Yost said in a video posted to his Twitter account.
There will not be any new shutdowns or mask mandates in Georgia, as concerns over the recent uptick in COVID-19 cases grows.
“Georgia will not lock down or impose statewide mask mandates,” Gov. Brian Kemp said Wednesday on Twitter. “As the first state in the country to reopen over a year ago, we’ve proven that Georgians know how to come together and protect themselves and their loved ones.”
Former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D), the current Democrat Party nominee for the same position, accepted an endorsement from another radically far-left group this week.
“Proud to be endorsed by [New Virginia Majority]. Together, we are going to keep Virginia moving forward. That starts with building a more inclusive Commonwealth that lifts up working people across Virginia. Onward!” McAuliffe said on Twitter.
The Virginia Department of Health (VDH) teamed up Wednesday with the Washington Football Team to offer incentives for fans to get vaccinated against COVID-19 in Richmond.
“We are pleased to work with the Washington Football Team to help ensure that Training Camp is a fun, safe, and educational environment for everyone in attendance,” State Health Commissioner M. Norman Oliver, M.D. said, according to a press release. “Plus, with our mobile vaccination site set up all week at Training Camp, this is another wonderful opportunity for anyone who is able to get vaccinated to do so. Your best protection from COVID-19 is to get vaccinated.”
A Florida congressman joined CNN Tuesday evening to debate host Chris Cuomo on his decision not to take the COVID-19 vaccine.
“Do you feel responsible for spreading a message where [you say] ‘I’m not gonna take [the vaccine] because I don’t care what Biden wants. Byron Donald’s not gonna take it ’cause he doesn’t care what Biden wants?'” Cuomo asked Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL-19). “Do you think that’s a good message for people to hear?”
Rochester Public Schools Tuesday said that it will require students aged two to 12 to wear masks inside all school facilities during the upcoming school year, citing the fact that the COVID-19 has not been approved for children between those ages.
“When we have the opportunity as is anticipated to vaccinate younger children, and those rates of vaccination are sufficiently high, we could remove the requirement for our youngest learners,” Interim Superintendent Kent Pekel said. “So I wish I could tell the board that this is the last time that you’d be dealing with this, but I think it’s very likely that we need to continue to be responsive to this situation over time.”
The man who killed eight in a rampage against massage parlor employees in Georgia received four life sentences.
Robert Aaron Long formalized his deal, agreeing to plead guilty in exchange for being spared the death penalty, in Cherokee County Tuesday morning, according to several reports. He received 35 years tacked onto the life sentences, and will not be eligible for parole.
Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) Monday held a press conference with medical professionals, a concerned parent, a student to discuss mask mandates in schools for the upcoming school year.
Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, a Professor of Medicine at Stanford University and research associate at the National Bureau of Economics Research (NEBR), H. Cody Meissner, MD, a pediatrician and Chief of the Division of Pediatric Infectious Disease and Professor of Pediatrics at the Tufts University School of Medicine, and Mark McDonald, MD, a clinical child psychiatrist, all participated in the roundtable.
The lead investigator in the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) case against more than a dozen men who allegedly plotted to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) has legal troubles of his own, as reported by The Detroit News.
“An FBI agent at the center of the investigation into the plot to kidnap and kill Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is accused of smashing his wife’s head against a nightstand and choking her after a dispute stemming from their attendance at a swingers’ party, according to court records,” that news outlet reported this week.
A Franklin County judge may reimplement Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) benefits in Ohio after they were ended by Gov. Mike DeWine (R) in June.
The extra $300 per week in unemployment benefits, part of a federal government program to help Americans survive the COVID-19 pandemic, officially ended in Ohio on June 26. DeWine cited a labor shortage in the state, as most businesses reopened as normal after pandemic restrictions were lifted.
A Minnesota senator is cosponsoring a bill that would punish social media companies for allowing the spread of “medical misinformation.”
“These are some of the biggest, richest companies in the world and they must do more to prevent the spread of deadly vaccine misinformation,” Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) said. “The coronavirus pandemic has shown us how lethal misinformation can be and it is our responsibility to take action.”
Just days after Secretary of State’s office chief operation officer Gabriel Sterling brushed off concrete proof of illegal voting in the 2020 election, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R) was met with protests in Bibb County.
GOP protestors in Bibb County held up signs and demanded a full forensic audit of the vote tallies in the Peach State as Raffensperger spoke to the Bibb County GOP, according to WMAZ.
Monday, former Virginia governor and current gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe, a Democrat, accepted an endorsement from National Abortion and Reproduction Rights Action League Virginia (NARAL).
“I’m proud to be endorsed by [NARAL Virginia],” he said. “With a right-wing Supreme Court ready to hack away at the right to choose and Glenn Youngkin promising to ban abortion, reproductive freedom is at stake in this race. I’ll always fight to protect the right to choose.”
Right to Life of Greater Cincinnati hosted a protest Wednesday night at Mount St. Joseph University, a Catholic college that hosted a CNN town hall with President Joe Biden.
The Ohio Star spoke with the pro-life group’s executive director Meg DeBlase Wednesday, who has been leading the group’s response to Biden’s visit. Despite being Catholic, Biden supports abortion. His visit to the university is being viewed by many as tacit support for abortion by Mount St. Joseph.
After multiple complaints and health code violations, the Tennessee Department of Health (DOH) has temporarily revoked the license of Azalea Trace Assisted Living in Nashville.
That order said the nursing facility was closed to new patients as of February 1, 2021, while the DOH investigates and eventually hands down a punishment.
The former chief of police in Detroit slammed Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) in a speech to the Kent County Republican Party Monday night.
“The young people of today don’t want to sit at home and get free money,” James Craig said. “They want to experience the world, and in fact, they want to change the world. You can’t change the world sitting at home in your pajamas getting free money waiting on Queen Gretchen to issue her royal decree.”
A pro-life group in Cincinnati is speaking out against a Catholic college that is set to host President Joe Biden for a town hall Wednesday night.
Mount St. Joseph University is scheduled to host the 46th president, much to the chagrin of Right to Life of Greater Cincinnati, a pro-life group that is asking local supporters of their cause to call Archbishop Dennis Schnurr in protest.
Just a day after White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki admitted that the Biden administration is colluding with Facebook to censor “misinformation,” Psaki advocated for even more online censorship.
During a Friday press briefing, she advised social media companies to “create robust enforcement strategies that bridge their properties and provide transparency about rules.”
The Buckhead neighborhood’s efforts to secede from Atlanta have cleared another hurdle, as the state Senate will convene to debate a pair of bills aimed at separating the suburb from the city during its upcoming special session.
“Bill sponsor Sen. Brandon Beach (R-Alpharetta), who has served in the state legislature’s upper chamber for ten years, told Breitbart News he has ‘never seen’ Buckhead cityhood gain so much traction before,” Breitbart reported.
In a Thursday press conference, Press Secretary to President Joe Biden admitted that the White House is colluding with Facebook to censor content on the social media platform.
“We are in regular touch with the social media platforms and those engagements typically happen through members of our senior staff and also members of our COVID-19 team — given as Dr. Murthy conveyed, this is a big issue, of misinformation, specifically on the pandemic,” Psaki reportedly said
Fairfax’s NAACP Vice President Michelle Leetma appeared outside a Fairfax County Public Schools board meeting Thursday night, where she wished death upon those who do not want Critical Race Theory taught in public schools.
“So let’s meet and remain steadfast in speaking truth, tearing down double-standards, and refuting double-talk,” Leetma said. “Let’s not allow any double-downing on lies. Let’s prepare our children for a world they deserve.”
Gov. Mike DeWine (R) Thursday signed HB 244 into law, a bill that disallows schools and universities from forcing their students to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
Until the three COVID-19 vaccines, developed by Johnson & Johnson, Moderna, and Pfizer, respectively, receive full approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), that law will stand, according to The Cincinnati Enquirer.
The 25-year-old mayor of East Lansing, appointed to the position in 2020 during a year of turmoil for the city, is resigning in August in order to further his education.
“My program begins in late August, so I will be stepping down from my position as mayor, and as a member of the city council, because I will be unable to attend four regular and two discussion-only meetings before my term is over,” Mayor Aaron Stephens said in a Facebook post.
As The Tennessee Star reported, the Zinn Education Project, a nonprofit that pushes social justice curriculum in schools, released a petition signed by more than 5000 teachers nationwide who vow to continue to teach Critical Race Theory, even if it’s banned in their schools.
“Lawmakers in at least 21 states are attempting to pass legislation that would require teachers to lie to students about the role of racism, sexism, heterosexism, and oppression throughout U.S. history,” the petition says.
As the battle over Critical Race Theory rages on between parents and Loudoun County Public Schools, it has been revealed that that school system diverted funds from low income students for “racial equity” training.
The school district paid The Equity Collaborative, a North Carolina-based consulting firm, $24,000 to teach six virtual training sessions on equality between February and April.
As the Biden Administration continues to usher in a surge of migrants from south of the border, the “humanitarian” approach to immigration policy is taking its toll on some.
“The bodies of an unusually large number of migrants who died in Arizona’s borderlands are being recovered this summer amid record temperatures in the sun-scorched desert and rugged mountains,” Associated Press reported.
One Democrat in the Tennessee Legislature is accusing the state of firing its top COVID-19 vaccine expert for partisan political reasons, despite the fact that no official reason has been given for her termination.
“Science denying TNGOP legislators demanded a sacrifice to their anti-mask, anti-vax, anti-fact ideology & a great woman, Dr. Michelle Fiscus, who worked tirelessly for Tennesseans every day during the pandemic was fired by [Gov. Bill Lee] to appease those who deny data & research,” state Rep. Gloria Johnson (D-TN-13) said on Twitter.
A federal judge appointed by former President Bill Clinton issued a temporary injunction stopping the state of Tennessee from enforcing its new bathrooms signage law.
HB 1182 requires businesses that allow both biological sexes to use the same bathroom, locker room, or other typically-single sex area, to post signage reading “this facility maintains a policy of allowing the use of restrooms by either biological sex regardless of the designation of the restroom.”
Several Hennepin County police chiefs are speaking out after Minneapolis’ suburbs have seen an unprecedented uptick in violent crime.
“I’ve never seen the gun violence like it is,” Brooklyn Park Police Chief Craig Enevoldsen told Fox 9.
The record label behind one of America’s most popular Christian bands, along with several country music artists, is suing Tennessee over the state’s new transgender bathroom signage law.
Mike Curb, former Republican lieutenant governor of California who also owns Curb Records in Nashville, filed a federal lawsuit challenging HB 1182, which requires Tennessee businesses to post signage that says “This facility maintains a policy of allowing the use of restrooms by either biological sex regardless of the designation of the restroom” if the business intends to allow both sexes to use the same bathroom, locker room, dressing rooms, or other typically-single sex areas.
CloutHub, a major social networking alternative to Big Tech giants like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, announced its full autonomy from Silicon Valley.
Along with new features, CloutHub founder and CEO Jeff Brain said the company now hosts its product on its own servers, making it completely independent from Big Tech. Many social media companies rely on Big Tech for hosting services. Amazon is one of the largest hosting services in the world, and has caused trouble for alternative social media sites that used its servers.
A man described as a “lone shooter” was arrested in Chamblee Thursday and charged with the murder of a Kennessaw golf pro, along with two others.
“Bryan Anthony Rhoden of Atlanta was taken into custody in DeKalb County, more than 25 miles from Pinetree Country Club where golf pro Gene Siller, 46, was shot dead Saturday afternoon, according to Cobb officials,” The Atlanta Journal-Constitution said. “Rhoden is charged with three counts of murder, three counts of aggravated assault and two counts of kidnapping, Cobb police Chief Tim Cox said during a hastily arranged news conference Thursday evening.”
As Virginia’s gubernatorial candidates approach their first possible debate, questions of a possible conflict of interest are muddying the waters.
The Virginia Bar Association (VBA) has invited both former Virginia governor Terry McAuliffe, the Democrat candidate for his old job, and Glenn Youngkin, the Republican candidate for governor, to debate. The VBA customarily hosts a debate between the state’s gubernatorial candidates.
Tennessee will be the 37th state to join a massive anti-trust lawsuit against tech giant Google.
Attorney General Herbert H. Slatery III announced Wednesday that Tennessee will band together with the other states in the lawsuit in an attempt to combat what they see as anti-competitive trade practices.
The founder of CloutHub, a free speech social media network, has responded to former President Donald J. Trump’s class action lawsuit against several Silicon Valley titans, which the forty-fifth president announced Wednesday.
“I am pleased that President Trump is fighting back against Big Tech corporations after enduring months of blatant injustices,” Jeff Brain said in press release. “His lawsuit is based on the infringement of his fundamental free speech rights that powerful companies such as Facebook and Twitter imposed based on their own political bias; a bias that has no place with such important keepers of our national public square online.”
Though Tennessee ranks tenth-cheapest in gas prices among all 50 states, prices for a barrel of unleaded fuel are still on the rise, and Tennesseans can expect that trend to continue.
“AAA’s Tennessee Gas Price average is now $2.88 which is the same as one month ago and nearly 95 cents more than one year ago,” according to a WSMV report.
The uncle of Darnella Frazier, the Minneapolis teenager who was recently awarded an honorary Pulitzer for filming the viral video of the arrest of George Floyd, which led to his death at the hands of ex-Minneapolis Police officer Derek Chauvin, has died after a collision with police.
While officers from the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) were pursuing a suspect in an armed robbery Tuesday morning, one officer’s squad car struck an unrelated vehicle.
The Cleveland Plain Dealer released its endorsement in the Democrat Party primary in Ohio’s 3rd District, slated for August 3.
The paper chose the former co-chair to Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-VT) 2020 presidential campaign and former Cleveland City Council member Nina Turner.
Michigan has become the latest state to implement a plan to bribe its residents into receiving the COVID-19 vaccine.
Following Ohio, which, led by Republican Gov. Mike DeWine encouraged people to get the vaccine and enter into vaccine lottery, Michigan’s Democrat Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has done the same.
In rural southwest Virginia, the number of police officers quitting their jobs is turning heads.
“In total, Roanoke County saw 28 of its police officers leave during 2020, about one-fifth of its department,” The Roanoke Times reported. “That is both abnormal and normal all at once — abnormal because it’s twice as high as the turnover the agency would expect in a typical year. Normal because it tracks with a surge in police departures unfolding nationwide.”
A provision Ohio’s latest budget bill, which was recently passed, gives doctors the right to refuse service to potential patients on religious and moral grounds.
“This simply puts in statute what the practice has been anyways,” Gov. Mike DeWine (R) reportedly said. “Let’s say the doctor is against abortion, the doctor is not doing abortion. If there’s other things that maybe a doctor has a conscience problem with, it gets worked out, somebody else does those things.”
The Supreme Court recently decided in favor of a Fillmore County Amish community after the county attempted to force the Amish to violate their religious beliefs by installing a septic system, after a lower court had previously ruled in favor of the county and Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.
According to the Court’s decision, written by Justice Neil Gorsuch, the county engaged in bullying tactics in an attempt to get the Swartzentruber Amish community to agree to its terms. Those tactics included “threats of reprisals and inspections of their homes and farms” and attacks on “the sincerity of the Amish’s faith.”
A Friday report revealed that 300 Tennessee National Guard troops are deployed to the U.S. southern border with Mexico, and that they’ll likely remain there until October.
“We’ve had National Guard on the border on and off for many months, if not years,” Gov. Bill Lee (R) told The Tennesseean. “There’s a break in service between them, but right now we have 300.”
It is no longer a crime for Virginians to fail to disclose their HIV+ status before engaging in sexual activities with an unknowing partner, after legislation from the General Assembly’s spring session took effect Thursday.
The new law says that it is not a crime to unknowingly transmit the virus, for which there is no cure, unless the person transmitting intended to do so. Under the new law, an accuser must also prove that they contracted the virus.
Tennessee’s weekly jobs report shows that while continuing unemployment claims dropped for the third week in a row, new unemployment claims jumped slightly.
According to the Department of Labor & Workforce Development, during the week of June 26 there were 4,970 unemployment claims, a spike of 254 claims statewide from the previous week. But overall, unemployment claims dropped from 50,671 to 49,909, a drop of 762.
After an elementary school teacher in Loudoun County was suspended for voicing his opposition to using students’ preferred gender pronouns at a school board meeting, his case might be headed to the Virginia Supreme Court.
Tyson Langhofer, an attorney for Byron Tanner Cross who is an elementary physical education teacher in the district, has filed a brief with the state’s highest Court asking it not to hear Loudoun County’s appeal on the issue.
Nearly a month after news broke that the Biden administration is quietly resettling migrant children in Tennessee, more questions than answers remain.
“I’m pushing hard for transparency on this and the Biden administration is blocking us,” Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-TN) said in an interview with Fox News. “You notice they move these planes in the dead of night. They’re coming in both by commercial airlines as well as private air, and the planes that we’ve found out about at least, are landing after midnight. They’re dispersing the people coming in. We’re hearing they’re unaccompanied minors. They could be adults.
Right-leaning students at a Virginia institute of higher learning are petitioning the school against its policy of mandatory vaccinations.
“Virginia Tech students delivered a petition with about 500 signatures that urges Virginia Tech to end a policy requiring students to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to take classes in the fall,” according to The Center Square.