The Pentagon is expected to establish two new military zones on the United States’ southern border with Mexico, defense officials told several news outlets on Thursday.
Read the full story
President Donald Trump on Thursday touted that the United States has brought in $88 billion in just two months under the tariffs he announced in April, and that now “everybody” wants a trade deal with the U.S.
Read the full story
Republican senators on Thursday urged U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) was urged to drop a provision from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act which establishes a 10-year moratorium on state-level laws regulating artificial intelligence (AI), with Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) reportedly leading her colleagues.
Blackburn’s role in the letter was her latest move to quietly oppose the bill, according to Punchbowl News, which noted her stated concerns over the language invalidating Tennessee’s Ensuring Likeness Voice and Image Security Act (ELVIS) of 2024, which prohibits using AI to impersonate musical artists.
Read the full story
The first song I heard from Jet Black Roses was “PsychoBoogieHoochieCoo,” and it reminded me of the R&B and Funk music I listened to in the 1980s. It turns out that, technically, Jet Black Roses is a multifaceted southern rock band with a vast array of influences.
Read the full story
The University of Tennessee System is among six public universities that have partnered together to form a new accreditation body, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced Thursday.
Read the full story
Following pushback from a growing coalition of politicians and public interest groups, U.S. Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, proposed an amended version of his plan to sell off public lands.
Read the full story
Attorneys confirmed in court on Thursday that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) plans to deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the citizen of El Salvador returned to the United States to face human smuggling charges, to a third country, if he is released from Department of Justice (DOJ) custody on Friday.
The remarks were made in a hearing called by U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis in response to an emergency motion filed by Murray Osorio, the immigration attorneys representing Abrego Garcia in his Maryland lawsuit over his March deportation, which would compel ICE to detain Abrego Garcia in Maryland.
Read the full story
Tennessee U.S. Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi on Thursday requesting that the Department of Justice (DOJ) open an investigation into whether New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Kwame Mamdani should be subject to denaturalization proceedings.
Read the full story
The U.S. Marshals Service told The Tennessee Star on Thursday that Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the citizen of El Salvador deported in March and returned last month to face human smuggling charges in Tennessee, remains within their custody pending a final decision from U.S. Magistrate Barbara Holmes.
Following his Wednesday court appearance, when Holmes instructed Abrego Garcia’s attorneys to submit additional arguments ahead of his potential release, at which time he would likely be detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a U.S. Marshals spokesman told The Star, “He is currently in U.S. Marshals Service custody.”
Read the full story
Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough, an unelected official with massive influence over the fate of President Donald Trump’s domestic policy agenda, continues to reduce the size of the Senate version of his “one big, beautiful” bill.
Read the full story
A series of new state laws are set to impact everyday driving in Tennessee, with changes ranging from how drivers show registration to what qualifies as a misdemeanor on the road.
Read the full story
Tennessee U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn’s (R-TN) bill aimed at holding the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) accountable passed through the Senate Committee on Commerce by a voice vote on Wednesday.
Read the full story
The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld South Carolina’s ban on funding for Planned Parenthood for non-abortion services, notching a win for conservatives who have long hoped to strip the abortion provider of state financial support.
Read the full story
Senior Defense Department officials described how the bombs used against the Iranian nuclear facility in Fordow worked during a Thursday press briefing at the Pentagon.
The United States struck facilities in Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan related to Iran’s efforts to develop nuclear weapons early Sunday morning local time, using as many as 14 GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrators in the operation, which involved a 37-hour flight by seven B-2A Spirit bombers. Air Force Gen. Dan “Razin” Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters the story of the bombs used to hit Fordow began in 2009 prior to showing a video of a test of the weapon.
Read the full story
Navigating online casinos in Tennessee can be a bit confusing. The rules for Tennessee are shaped by its history and reflect the legalization of online sports betting. Know what’s legal, what types of platforms are available, and how to play safely and responsibly. Let’s break it down so you know your options and risks before you jump in.
Read the full story
Congress issued subpoenas Wednesday to compel testimony from two ActBlue witnesses, significantly escalating a probe into whether the massive online fund-raising platform allowed itself to be misused by foreigners to route improper donations to Democrats in the 2024 election.
Read the full story
The Trump administration has secretly launched an intensive vetting process for hundreds of foreign scientists brought into the United States from “countries of concern” like China, using visas procured with the help of the National Institutes of Health and other federal research agencies, officials told Just the News.
The review involving intelligence and security agencies began weeks ago over concerns prior administrations did not adequately vet the backgrounds of scientists or their ties to actors like China’s military or its Communist Party.
Read the full story
The fact that many children are ditching America’s public schools is undeniable. Most recently, Nat Malkus, Deputy Director of Education Policy at the American Enterprise Institute, reported that while chronic absenteeism spiked during the COVID pandemic, it remains a serious problem. In 2024, rates were 57% higher than they were before the pandemic. (Students who miss at least 10% of the school year, or roughly 18 days, are considered chronically absent.)
Malkus goes on to explain that in 2018 and 2019, about 15% of K–12 public school students in the U.S. were chronically absent—a number so high that numerous observers and the U.S. Department of Education are labeling it a “crisis.”
Read the full story