Despite the fact that only 23 people under the age of 20 are currently hospitalized in the state of Tennessee with COVID-19, the state’s health director is scaremongering, telling reporters that all of the pediatric hospitals in the state will soon be full.
Dr. Lisa Piercey said Thursday that every children’s hospital in the state will be full as children contract the delta variant of the COVID-19 virus.
Detectives from the Polk County Sheriff’s office, in conjunction with several other law enforcement entities, ran a sting operation to catch child sex predators between July 27 and August 1.
Dubbed “Operation Child Protector,” law enforcement posed as 13 and 14-year-old girls online, and made contact with several suspect online. When the suspects attempted to meet up with the “girls,” they were taken into custody.
After attempting to tie his Republican opponent Glenn Youngkin to former President Donald J. Trump’s challenge of the 2020 election results, former Virginia governor and current Democrat candidate for governor Terry McAuliffe has enlisted fundraising support from a notorious election skeptic.
During last week’s back-and-forth between the candidates that featured McAuliffe attacking Youngkin over his support for Trump and what McAuliffe’s campaign characterized as Trump’s election lies, and Youngkin responding by blasting McAuliffe for saying the 2000 election was stolen by then-President George W. Bush in his capacity as chairman of the Democratic National Convention (DNC), Democrat activist and former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams was sending fundraising emails on behalf of McAuliffe.
After Democrat gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe launched an ad blasting his Republican opponent Glenn Youngkin for making election integrity a central focus of his campaign, Youngkin’s campaign has responded in kind.
McAuliffe, who served as Virginia’s governor from 2014 to 2018, also headed the Democratic National Committee (DNC) from 2001 to 2005. During that time, he claimed that Republicans stole the 2000 election from then-candidate Al Gore, in favor of former President George W. Bush.
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.
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?”
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.
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.”
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.
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.”
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.
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 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.
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.
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 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.
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.
Virginia’s Democrat governor candidate called Critical Race Theory a “right-wing conspiracy,” despite the fact that the practice undoubtably exists.
Terry McAuliffe said that the hot button issue is a “right-wing conspiracy … totally made up by Donald Trump.” He also blamed his 2022 Republican opponent Glenn Youngkin.
A manhunt is on for two teens who remain at large, after three detainees from the Wilder Youth Development Center outside of Memphis escaped last Wednesday.
“The Fayette County Sheriff’s Office was notified this morning June 23, 2021 at approximately 6:45 am of (3) youth detainees that had escaped from the Wilder Youth Development Center in Somerville between 12:45 am and 1:00 am overnight,” the Fayette County Sheriff’s office said in a press release. “They left in an unknown direction of travel and by unknown means of travel after escape from the facility. Two of the escapees are from Memphis, TN and one is from Chattanooga, TN. One of the escapees has previously escaped from the facility in one of the earlier incidents.”
Citing a tip from a student, Young America’s Foundation Monday morning reported that Emory & Henry College in Virginia will require students to wear special lanyards designating their COVID-19 vaccination status.
“After listening to voices desiring a safe return to a more normal campus environment and using the date available to us regarding COVID-19 vaccination rates, the campus has decided that having a visible showing those who are vaccinated is the best route for our campus,” Dean of Students Tracey Wright said in an email to students. “Therefore, we are providing all who are fully vaccinated with a special lanyard that must be worn on campus.”
Several laws from the Virginia legislature’s session will take effect Thursday, including one groundbreaking law abolishing the death penalty in the state.
Virginia will be the first southern state to take such a measure.
The Virginia Police Benevolent Association (VPBA) blasted the Democrat Party’s candidates for governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general, after none of them showed up to a candidate screening event Thursday.
“We are concerned and surprised that none of the Democratic candidates were willing to meet with our representatives and discuss issues that are important to our members,” Sean McGowan, executive director of the VBPA reportedly said. “This is the first time in the history of the Virginia PBA that an entire ticket refused to meet with our law enforcement representatives.”
The Department of Justice (DOJ) plans to sue the state of Georgia over its recently-enacted election integrity law, according to Friday reports.
SB 202, according to Washington Post, “discriminate[s] against Black Americans,” and is “is the first major voting rights case the Justice Department has filed under the Biden administration and comes as Republican-led state governments across the country have been seeking to impose broad new voting restrictions in the wake of President Biden’s victory over Donald Trump last November.”
After a scathing report from The Orlando Sentinel tying Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Commissioner Nikki Fried to the cannabis industry, the gubernatorial candidate has denied that there is any conflict of interest.
“One of the sources of her income increase is from Ignite Florida, a consulting firm where she is sole proprietor and lobbies the marijuana industry. Specifically, she amended a 2018 financial statement on May 28 indicating she received $351,480 from the firm. Previously, she had to amend the same 2018 statements on January 30, 2020 saying she received $72,000 in 2018 income,” The Florida Capital Star reported.
The Florida Supreme Court Thursday struck down a proposed amendment to the state constitution that would have put marijuana legalization up for a vote in 2022.
The Court ruled that the language proposed for the ballot did not match the language in the amendment itself.
After no candidate succeeded in obtaining more than 50 percent of the vote Tuesday’s state House primaries, the two special elections are headed for a runoff. One of those special elections has national implications.
Republican Devan Seabaugh will square off against Democrat Priscilla Smith for a seat in House District 34, in Cobb County. That seat could be an early indicator of voters’ satisfaction with President Joe Biden.
A far-left legal nonprofit has filed the latest lawsuit against the state of Florida over its new election integrity measures.
“The lawsuit, filed on behalf of the groups HeadCount and the Harriet Tubman Freedom Fighters Corp., is the fourth challenge to the law, which was passed in April by the Republican-controlled Legislature and signed in May by Gov. Ron DeSantis,” Orlando Weekly reported.
The Press Secretary for Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) tussled Monday and Tuesday with two prominent Florida news media outlets, accusing them of political bias.
Of [South Florida Sun Sentinel]’s last 10,000 Tweets, ONE (1) was positive about [Gov. Ron DeSantis]. And it was a Letter to the Editor. Not written by Sun Sentinel staff. This is absolutely incredible. And they will still say the bias is all in our imaginations,” Christina Pushaw said, citing an account called District AI that claims to be run by an artificial intelligence engineer.
The former Republican governor of Florida turned Democrat congressman, who is once again mounting a gubernatorial bid, made his case for gun control during a Friday campaign appearance.
“One of the most common-sense things that we can do is ban assault weapons,” Rep. Charlie Crist (D-FL-13) said in Miami Beach. “It is hard for me to imagine why we already don’t do that.”
A federal judge Friday ruled against a nonprofit that sued Major League Baseball for moving its All Star game from Atlanta to Denver.
“U.S. District Judge Valerie E. Carponi ruled against a not-for-profit organization representing small businesses, saying a lawsuit had failed to provide proof that its members have suffered any injuries by the decision to move the game,” Associated Press reported.
A Florida Black Republican congressman blasted the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) in an interview with CNN, calling the group “off-putting” for ignoring his request for membership.
Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL-19) said he has “not really heard much from the CBC” since he attempted to join the group, and that nobody on the caucus has reached out to him to explain anything.
In a Monday interview with Daily Caller, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) continued to bolster his chops as a social conservative, saying he would happily sign a bill preventing doctors from prescribing sex-changing hormone treatments to children.
“I’m very much opposed to chemical castration of minors, I honestly didn’t know this existed until a few years ago,” DeSantis said during the interview. “That would be something I would sign for sure.”
Rep. Val Demings (D-FL-10) announced Wednesday her intention to run for U.S. Senate against Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL).
“When you grow up in the South poor, black, and female, you have to have faith in progress and opportunity,” Demings said in a campaign launch video
Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) joined appeared Saturday night on “Unfiltered,” conservative commentator Dan Bongino’s new Fox News show, where he vowed to take local action against Critical Race Theory.
“We’re not going to support any Republican candidate for school board who supports Critical Race Theory in all 67 counties or supports mandatory masking of school children,” he said in the segment.
Miami-based Royal Caribbean, one of America’s largest cruise lines, will resume operations in July, and will not fight the state of Florida on its new law banning vaccine passports.
Instead, the cruise vacation company recommends that its passengers are vaccinated against COVID-19.
In response to an Associated Press story that describes Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) as “seizing” the national spotlight, his Press Secretary Christina Pushaw told the Florida Capital Star that the governor has earned his newfound respect among Republicans nationwide.
“Governor DeSantis has earned the national stage by demonstrating real leadership. For elected officials facing a crisis like COVID-19, it’s tempting to abdicate decision-making power to unelected bureaucrats in public health,” Pushaw said. “Governor DeSantis did the opposite. He sought out expertise from health professionals and scientists, he did his own research, and most importantly, he made decisions that were harshly criticized sometimes, but more than a year on, the data has proven that his approach was the right one.”
In a Thursday letter to Deb Haaland, secretary of the U.S. Department of Interior (DOI), Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber asked the federal government to reject the newly-signed gambling compact between the state of Florida and the Seminole Indian tribe.
“I support the goals of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (’IGRA’), namely, to provide Native American tribes with a pathway to greater independence and economic vitality. But the Florida Compact you are considering was not crafted in pursuit of those goals,” Gelber wrote in the letter.
Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) slammed Florida Agriculture Commissioner and Democrat gubernatorial candidate Nikki Fried at press conference Wednesday in New Smyrna Beach, after Fried announced that she is running against DeSantis.
“Nikki Fried has done nothing in office. She does nothing,” DeSantis said. “All she does is emote on social media, virtue signal to small dollar donors in California and New York. She put her face, spent millions of dollars to put her face on every gas pump across this state, purely to boost her own image at your expense as a taxpayer.”
Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) Wednesday signed into law Florida’s 2021-2022 budget bill, which he calls the Florida Leads budget.
The whopping $101.5 billion budget is the largest in state history, but the tax burden per individual Floridian is the lowest in the country, according to DeSantis.
A defiant Gov. Ron DeSantis Tuesday signed a bill banning transgender girls – biological boys – from competing in girls sports.
“At a bill signing event at the Trinity Christian Academy in Jacksonville, DeSantis touted the ban as a way to protect the integrity of women’s and girls’ sports,” Tampa Bay Times reported, describing the bill as “controversial.”