The Virginia Star - Leading the Way in News and Education

April 23, 2021

Wason Center Releases New Democratic Primary Poll the Day Before Early Voting Begins

Delegate Elizabeth Guzman (D-Prince William) withdrew from the race for the Democratic nomination for Lieutenant Governor after campaign finance reports revealed she was trailing financially, sixth out of seven among the Democratic candidates. But a new Christopher Newport University/Wason Center...

April 23, 2021

Commentary: How Much Ruin Do We Have Left?

Any nation’s well-being—as Americans know from their own illustrious history—hinges on only a few factors. Its prosperity, freedom, and stability depend on its constitutional and political stability. A secure currency and financial order are also essential, as is a strong...

April 23, 2021

DOJ to Probe Minneapolis Police Department

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced the Justice Department launched a sweeping investigation into practices of the Minneapolis Police Department. Garland's announcement came one day after a jury convicted ex-Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin of the murder of George Floyd.

April 23, 2021

Hunter Biden Business Ambitions in China Included Building SeaWorld Parks, Memos Show

Hunter Biden's efforts to score big money in China while his father was vice president were far-reaching, including proposals to build a SeaWorld theme park in the communist country and to get Beijing to invest in an NBA arena in...

April 23, 2021

Feds Cancel Second Quarter Oil and Gas Lease Sales

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) said Wednesday the agency is canceling oil and gas lease sales for the second quarter, drawing criticism from Wyoming’s governor. The announcement marks the second quarter in a row that the agency, which...

April 23, 2021

House Democrats Pass Legislation That Would Make Washington, D.C., Nation’s 51st State

Democrats in the House of Representatives passed legislation Thursday that would make Washington, D.C. the 51st state in the union, a move that would almost certainly strengthen the Democrats’ Senate majority and bolster their ranks in the House. The bill...

April 23, 2021

USPS Monitoring Americans’ Social Media Accounts in ‘Covert’ Operation

The U.S. Postal Service’s law enforcement division is running a covert operation tracking and collecting Americans’ social media posts, Yahoo News reported. The postal service’s Internet Covert Operations Program (iCOP) monitored social media accounts for “inflammatory” posts and protest plans,...

April 23, 2021

NBA Player LeBron James Attempts to Dox Police Officer from Columbus Shooting

Basketball player LeBron James posted, then deleted, a tweet attempting to single out an officer from the recent police shooting in Columbus, Ohio, in which he tried to rally his supporters to dox and retaliate against the officer in question,...

April 23, 2021

Nearly 500 Migrants Biden Admin Rejected Have Been Attacked, Kidnapped: Report

Nearly 500 attacks targeted asylum seekers waiting or stranded in Mexico since President Joe Biden’s inauguration, Human Rights First reported Tuesday. Migrants waiting at the U.S.-Mexico border reported at least 492 instances of violent attacks including kidnapping, rape and assault, according to...

April 23, 2021

Jobless Claims Hit New Pandemic Low as Americans Return to Work

The number of Americans filing new unemployment claims dropped to 547,000 last week as the economy continues to recover from the coronavirus pandemic, according to the Department of Labor. The Bureau of Labor and Statistics figure released Thursday represented a decrease in...

April 23, 2021

Silicon Valley Tech Platforms Receive Failing Grades on Quarterly Censorship Report

According to a the most recent quarterly censorship report card from the Media Research Center (MRC), most of the major Silicon Valley tech titans are failing to protect freedom of expression. "By almost any measure, the first three months of...

April 23, 2021

Commentary: The Truth vs. Woke Fascism in Georgia

During World War II, General Dwight Eisenhower liked to remind his troops of the adage, “plans seldom survive initial contact with the enemy.” Today, the corollary is that the truth seldom survives initial contact with woke fascism. Woke fascism—the unholy...

April 23, 2021

Loudoun County Board of Supervisors Opts to Draft Collective Bargaining Ordinance

The Loudoun County Board of Supervisors (BOS) voted six to three to draft a collective bargaining ordinance enabling labor unions to represent county staff in negotiations with the county. County staff proposed drafting the ordinance, noting that a new law...

April 23, 2021

Lieutenant Governor Candidate Lance Allen Announces He Will Forgo Salary if Elected

Reminiscent of the $1 a year Generals of the Roosevelt Administration, Air Force veteran and Faquier County resident Lance Allen has decided to forgo his salary if he is elected Lieutenant Governor. Allen is running for the Republican nomination for...

April 23, 2021

Chase, Cox, and Youngkin Send Letter to RPV Criticizing Nomination Vote-Tabulating Plan

Senator Amanda Chase (R-Chesterfield), Delegate Kirk Cox (R-Colonial Heights), and Glenn Youngkin released a letter Wednesday criticizing a vote-counting plan to tally votes in the Republican Party of Virginia's (RPV) nominating convention. The convention will use ranked-choice voting, which makes...

April 22, 2021

Virginia Behavioral Health Hospitals Operating at Near 100 Percent Capacity with Just 60-75 Percent of Staff

Virginia's eight state-run mental health hospitals are operating at near-peak capacity, while operating at just 60 to 75 percent staffing levels, according to a presentation Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services Commissioner Alison Land gave legislators on Tuesday....

April 22, 2021

Commentary: Amazon’s Rejection of Unions in Alabama Is a Big Loss for Big Labor

Big labor suffered a significant loss in its attempt to unionize employees at Amazon’s warehouse facility in Bessemer, Alabama. Of the workers eligible to vote, an embarrassingly small 16% voted to join the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union. It...

April 22, 2021

Columbus Police Release More Footage and 911 Calls in Shooting Death of 16-year-Old

Columbus Division of Police released body camera footage Tuesday night showing the fatal shooting of 16-year-old Ma’Khia Bryant that occurred earlier in the day. Wednesday afternoon, police released additional body cam recordings and two 911 calls. Interim Chief of Police...

April 22, 2021

Children’s Book Used in New York School Faces Backlash over Claims That Police Are Racist

A public school district in New York state is facing criticism after it promoted a children’s book that falsely claims that police target black people instead of White people, and that black people are more likely to be shot, as...

April 22, 2021

Commentary: A Tale of Two California Recalls

For better or worse, California often leads the nation's political discourse. Central to that discourse at the moment is the expected recall of Gov. Gavin Newsom; a recall of Los Angeles County's district attorney, meanwhile, is building steam. Each reveals...

April 22, 2021

Twitter Defends Not Censoring Hacked Content About Donors Who Gave to Kenosha Shooter’s Legal Defense

Twitter defended its decision allowing users to share articles that cite hacked information about people who donated to the 18-year-old accused of killing protesters in Wisconsin last summer. The content did not violate the company’s distribution of hack materials policy because it...

April 22, 2021

Biden to Increase Number of Immigrants Approved for Refugee, Visa Status

President Joe Biden’s border policy will include an increase in the number of people approved for refugee and visa status, his administration announced Tuesday. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has repeatedly asked the Biden administration to answer questions about who is...

April 22, 2021

Stacey Abrams Spars with Republicans over Whether Georgia’s Elections Law Is Racist During Senate Hearing

Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee sparred with Stacey Abrams Tuesday during a hearing on Democrats’ voting rights bill and election reforms that Republicans have introduced in states across the country. The hearing consisted of testimony from officials on opposite sides of...

April 22, 2021

Corporate America Will Lobby for Progressive Policies — Unless It Costs Them Money

Big businesses have been vocal in supporting various progressive political causes, but have consistently stopped short of policies that would cut into profits. U.S. corporations came out in droves to announce their opposition to recently-passed voting legislation in Georgia, have pulled their...

April 22, 2021

New Website Allows Parents, Teachers to Upload What They Consider Evidence of Radical Curriculum

A North Carolina education advocacy group has launched a website to help whistleblowers expose what they consider radical curriculum in K-12 schools, including lessons on critical race theory. The Schoolhouse Shock site was launched Monday by Education First Alliance and...

April 22, 2021

Mark McCloskey, Lawyer Who Brandished His Rifle at Black Lives Matter Protesters, Floats Senate Bid

Mark McCloskey, the St. Louis lawyer who brandished his assault rifle at Black Lives Matter protesters as they marched through his neighborhood, floated a bid for Missouri’s open Senate seat. “I can confirm that it’s a consideration, yes,” McCloskey told Politico Tuesday...

April 22, 2021

Florida Civil Rights Attorney Ben Crump Falsely Claims Columbus Shooting Victim Was Unarmed

Tallahassee-based civil rights attorney Ben Crump falsely claimed on Twitter yesterday the victim of the police-involved shooting in Columbus, OH was unarmed. As bodycam footage was released, it found the victim, a 16-year-old black female, Ma’Khia Bryant, was wielding a...

April 22, 2021

‘Maybe They Need to Feel the Pain:’ Minneapolis Protestor Suggests Killing All White People

Reporter and filmmaker Ami Horowitz traveled to Minneapolis to interview residents about the trial of former Minneapolis Police officer, and killing of George Floyd. He released a two-minute compilation of interviews Tuesday night, after Chauvin's conviction for second and third...

April 22, 2021

Northam Signs Virginia Marijuana Legalization Bills

Governor Ralph Northam signed marijuana legalization into law in a ceremony Wednesday afternoon, joined by legislators and marijuana advocates. The new law is a major piece of legislation from the 2021 General Assembly session. The law has many components involving...

April 21, 2021

Wise County Satellite Internet Success for Students Leads to Expansion to Neighboring Counties

Wise County Public School's (WCPS) pilot program with SpaceX Starlink to provide satellite internet to rural students has been a success so far, and area officials and legislators are considering expanding the program to neighboring counties. In an April 8...

April 21, 2021

Commentary: Election Integrity and the Jim Crow Slur

Not too long ago, a good friend of mine took umbrage at a Facebook post that compared a proposed “vaccination passport” to the requirement that Jews in Nazi Germany carry papers identifying them as such. As a Jew, my friend...

April 21, 2021

Commentary: From ‘Insurrectionists’ to ‘Interruptionists’

Well, this is a bummer for the sedition-baiting crowd. The Biden Justice Department last week announced its first plea deal related to the January 6 protest on Capitol Hill: Jon Ryan Schaffer pleaded guilty to two charges—obstruction of an official...

April 21, 2021

U.S. Issues ‘Do Not Travel’ Guidance to 80 Percent of Countries, Cites COVID-19

The State Department is expanding the “Do Not Travel” guidelines for U.S. citizens to include nearly 80% of countries because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the agency announced Monday. The travel advisories will be updated to align with the Centers for...

April 21, 2021

Pro-Life Student Group Exposes Christian Universities with Ties to Planned Parenthood

Students for Life of America, a pro-life organization that aims to “recruit, train, and mobilize the pro-life generation to abolish abortion,” recently released a list of Christian universities with ties to Planned Parenthood. The group announced in a press release that they investigated over...

April 21, 2021

‘Enemy of the People’: Minneapolis Star-Tribune Publishes Biographical Information of Derek Chauvin Trial Jurors

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune is being blasted online for releasing biographical information of all twelve jurors plus two alternates in the Derek Chauvin trial in the killing of George Floyd. Without naming the jurors, reporters Paul Walsh and Hannah Sayle on Tuesday...

April 21, 2021

Commentary: Manchin Saves the Filibuster for Now, so House Democrats Call Supreme Court Packing ‘Infrastructure’

On April 7, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) penned an oped for the Washington Post entitled, “I will not vote to eliminate or weaken the filibuster,” appearing to foreclose any possibility of President Joe Biden ramming through major changes to law on a...

April 21, 2021

American Ambassador to Russia John Sullivan Returning to Washington as Tensions Heighten

United States Ambassador to Russia John Sullivan said Tuesday that he was returning to Washington for “consultations” with top American officials as tensions increase between the two countries. The former deputy secretary of state and appointee of former President Donald...

April 21, 2021

21 Black Leaders Denounce the Left’s Lies About Georgia Election Law

Twenty-one civil rights leaders and prominent black conservatives defended Georgia’s new election law in a letter to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, rejecting opponents’ comparisons to Jim Crow laws. “It has become clear that even well-intentioned critics of the law simply...

April 21, 2021

Music Spotlight: Nashvillains

NASHVILLE, Tennessee- When I interviewed the Nashvillains I mentioned that they were like a modern country music supergroup. Turns out they agree. Signed to Fate Entertainment, the newly formed country-rock-infused band is made up of veteran musicians Troy Johnson, Brett...

April 21, 2021

Poll: Majority of Americans Oppose Expanding the U.S. Supreme Court

Democrats enthralled their base and alarmed Republicans with the recent announcement of a new push to add four justices to the U.S. Supreme Court, but the latest polling suggests the majority of Americans don’t favor expanding the highest court in...

April 21, 2021

Bill Thwarting Big Tech Censorship Headed to Florida Senate Floor

A bill that would limit the ability of Big Tech platforms like Facebook and YouTube to ban political candidates passed the Senate Appropriations Committee Monday, and will head to the Senate floor. SB 7072, which according to its summary is...

April 21, 2021

Roanoke Postpones Decision on Plastic Bag Tax to Gather More Information, Public Comment

The Roanoke City Council is seeking more information and public input before making a decision on a 5-cent single-use plastic bag tax. In a public hearing at Monday evening's city council meeting, only three speakers spoke, all in favor of...

April 20, 2021

Jury Finds Derek Chauvin Guilty on All Counts in the Death of George Floyd

Less than a year after the death of George Floyd in police custody, a jury found former Minneapolis Police officer Derek Chauvin guilty on charges of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter. Anger from the tragic death in...

April 20, 2021

Virginians 16 and Older Eligible for COVID-19 Vaccine

All Virginians 16 years old and older are now eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, as of Sunday. "Over the past few months, we have made tremendous progress vaccinating Virginians as quickly, safely, and equitably as possible, and we need...

April 20, 2021

General Assembly Republicans Call for Special Session to Investigate Virginia Parole Board

General Assembly Republicans renewed calls for a special session to investigate the Virginia Parole Board (VPB) after media obtained recordings of a call held last summer between Northam administration officials and State Inspector General Michael Westfall. House of Delegates Minority...

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