The Tennessee State House passed a bill this week that gives public schools the option of displaying the Ten Commandments and other historical documents.
House Bill (HB) 0047, introduced by State Representative Michael Hale (R-Smithville), passed 75-17, with one member voting present. The bill now heads over to the State Senate for consideration.
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CBS News As pathways to freedom have narrowed in immigration courts across the United States, a record number of detainees are giving up their cases and voluntarily leaving the country. Last year, 28% of completed immigration removal cases among those in detention ended in voluntary departure, a higher share than in any year prior, a CBS News analysis of decades of court records found. That figure only appears to be climbing as the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown widens and detention populations swell. The percentage of voluntary departures among those detained grew nearly every month of 2025, reaching 38% in December. The analysis does not include those who were not given a hearing before an immigration judge, such as immigrants in expedited removal proceedings. READ THE FULL STORY
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Tech Crunch Meta plans to add facial recognition to its smart glasses as soon as this year, according to a new report from The New York Times. The feature, internally known as “Name Tag,” would allow smart glasses wearers to identify people and get information about them through Meta’s AI assistant. Meta’s plans could change, the report notes. The tech giant has been deliberating since early last year on how to release a feature that carries “safety and privacy risks.” According to an internal memo, the company had originally planned to release Name Tag to attendees of a conference for the visually impaired before releasing it to the public, but didn’t end up doing that. READ THE FULL STORY
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Breitbart President Donald Trump’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is ending Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for thousands of nationals from Yemen living throughout the United States. On Friday, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem announced that the agency would end TPS, a quasi-amnesty program, for anywhere from 2,000 to 4,000 Yemen nationals living in the U.S. who have no other immigration status. “After reviewing conditions in the country and consulting with appropriate U.S. government agencies, I determined that Yemen no longer meets the law’s requirements to be designated for Temporary Protected Status,” Noem said in a statement. Allowing TPS Yemen beneficiaries to remain temporarily in the United States is contrary to our national interest.” READ THE FULL STORY
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A former Republican senator known for a prostitution scandal has executed an agreement for his powerhouse lobbying firm to register as a “foreign agent” to help defend a Chinese military-linked advanced robotics firm that many in the U.S. House of Representatives want the Pentagon to blacklist under Section 1260H of the National Defense Authorization Act.
Former Sen. David Vitter left the Senate in 2017 and was embroiled in a notorious prostitution scandal in 2007. Vitter, who campaigned on “family values” while in office, was found to be on the client list of “The D.C. Madam.” He subsequently lost a gubernatorial campaign, and joined the prominent lobbying firm known as Mercury Public Affairs in 2019.
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A federal court is scheduled to hold a hearing Friday over the Department of Health and Human Services’ vaccine schedule revision and vaccine panel overhaul under Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy, a Biden appointee, is overseeing the case, which was brought by the American Academy of Pediatrics and other plaintiffs, Reuters reported.
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The Department of Justice on Friday sued Harvard University for allegedly withholding race-related admissions documents necessary to determine whether the institution is discriminating in its admissions process despite a 2023 Supreme Court ruling.
According to the lawsuit, Harvard allegedly slow-walked its production of the requested information multiple times and refused to give the DOJ documents it sought on individualized applicant admissions data, admissions policies, and correspondence regarding race and DEI.
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Far-left activist Analilia Mejia won a major upset victory over a former congressman in a Democratic House primary, the Associated Press projected Thursday — one week after the Feb. 5 special election.
Mejia won 29.3% of the vote, compared to former Democratic New Jersey Rep. Tom Malinowski who won 27.6%, former New Jersey Lt. Gov. Tahesha Way, who won 17.4% and Essex County Commissioner Brendan Gill, who won 14.4%, with over 95% of the vote in, according to the AP. Mejia is now all but certain to win the April 16 special general election against Republican nominee Joe Hathaway in the Democratic-leaning New Jersey’s 11th congressional district — which former Vice President Kamala Harris won by nine percentage points in 2024.
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House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, this week suggested that the panel he leads would hold a markup of a bill to crack down on sanctuary cities in the coming weeks, as major metropolitan areas continue to clash with the Trump administration over immigration enforcement.
“Sanctuary” jurisdictions refer to states, cities, and municipalities that have declared that they will not cooperate with federal immigration law enforcement and/or to instead place restrictions on the Feds’ ability to conduct those enforcement actions in public spaces.
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Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez did not rule out a possible presidential run in 2028 during her appearance at the Munich Security Conference on Friday.
An interviewer asked Ocasio-Cortez if she plans to impose a wealth tax — a tax on an individual’s assets and net worth — if she becomes president. The congresswoman did not confirm or deny whether she would run for president, but said a wealth tax should be imposed “expeditiously.”
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Tom Pappert, lead reporter at The Tennessee Star, said frustration in Sumner County has reached a boiling point following the winter storm response by Nashville Electric Service (NES), with local leaders now openly exploring alternatives to the municipal utility.
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Baker Group Strategies released a new poll on Friday, surveying voter attitudes in Davidson County, with a particular focus on Nashville Electric Service’s (NES) response to Winter Storm Fern and Mayor Freddie O’Connell’s job approval.
The survey of 418 likely Davidson County voters was conducted February 9-12, 2026.
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As state and local officials seek answers over the company’s response to Winter Storm Fern, Mayor Jason Cole of La Vergne told The Tennessee Star on Thursday that his community sent a letter requesting representation on the Nashville Electric Service (NES) utility board, or else for consent to make Middle Tennessee Electric (MTE) La Vergne’s electricity provider.
Cole told The Star that he and State Representatives Mike Sparks (R-Smyrna) and Robert Stevens (R-Smyrna) sent a letter to NES on Monday, but that neither the company, nor CEO Teresa Broyles-Aplin, have confirmed receiving the request.
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The “YES ON 2” campaign officially launched this week, kicking off a statewide effort to pass a constitutional amendment that would permanently prohibit a state property tax in Tennessee.
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District Attorney General for the 16th Judicial District Jennings H. Jones has determined there is “no probable cause to believe any criminal offense” was committed by Rutherford County Mayor Joe Carr in connection with ethics complaints filed against him in November 2025.
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As someone who has worked in both business and local government here in Tennessee, I’ve seen how much better things run when decisions are made close to home.
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Republicans can “win big” in midterm elections if they “unwrap the gift of MAHA” that President Donald Trump has handed them, according to a new memo from Tony Lyons, president of MAHA Action.
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To honor Galentine’s Day and her new song, Bella Lam has launched an entertainment-based breakup hotline to coincide with the release of her new single, “Take It Out On My Guitar.”
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Of all the revelations over the past year, the most underappreciated condition is the startling level of open, raw corruption that exists throughout the American social support systems. It appears that there is no program or state left untouched. While initial attention was brought on the Minnesota Somalian-led scams, every day brings yet another story of theft, cynicism and corruption from every corner of America.
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It was summer 2021, and my mother’s desk was a mess, including a torn envelope from the IRS shoved in the back of a drawer.
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