Day: April 6, 2026

Ads Claim Tennessee State Lawmakers Behind Pharmacy Benefit Manager Bill ‘Jeopardizing’ TrumpRx Drug Pricing Program

Tom Pappert
TN state legislators

Television advertisements rolled out in Tennessee on Thursday accuse state lawmakers of “jeopardizing” TrumpRx, the prescription drug pricing program created earlier this year by the White House, through their support for Senate Bill (SB) 2040, which would prohibit vertical integration between pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), which negotiate benefits and drug prices between pharmacies and insurance companies, and pharmacies. 

The group behind the ads, Shaping Health Initiatives for Tomorrow (SHIFT), has reportedly spent $500,000 on commercials opposing State Senators Adam Lowe (R-Calhoun), Rusty Crowe (R-Johnson City), and Richard Briggs (R-Knoxville), who have all voted to advance SB 2040. 

Read the full story

Ro Khanna Vows Democrats ‘Will Impeach’ Trump If They Win the House

Daily Caller News Foundation
Khanna and Trump

Democratic California Rep. Ro Khanna vowed during a MS NOW appearance that his party “will impeach” President Donald Trump if they take control of the House of Representatives.

Multiple congressional Democrats have tried to introduce impeachment resolutions against Trump since he began his second term on January 20, 2025, citing various reasons such as his approach to illegal immigration and the June 2025 attack on Iranian nuclear sites. Khanna told “The Briefing” guest host Ali Velshi that Trump is “threatening war crimes.”

Read the full story

Tennessee Valley Authority CEO Announces Retirement After Trump Slashes Pay by Half in Executive Order

Tom Pappert
Don Moul

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) announced the forthcoming retirement of CEO Don Moul, whose brief tenure leading the publicly owned utility only started on April 9, 2025. The decision came just weeks after President Donald Trump signed a White House memo directing the federal government to cap the pay of TVA executives, including Moul, which would have cut his compensation in half.

According to the notice TVA provided to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Moul announced his retirement last Friday and intends to retire on July 1.

Read the full story

Trump in War Update Threatens to Jail Whoever Leaked Downed Plane Story, Alerted Iranians

Just the News
Donald Trump

President Donald Trump on Monday threatened to jail an alleged leaker who divulged that the U.S. was searching for the second crewman of a downed F-15 plane that he said alerted Iranians to the search and made the U.S. recovery more difficult.

The plane went down amid the ongoing war with Iran that has seen the U.S. attempt to dismantle Iran’s military capabilities, largely through an aerial campaign.

Read the full story

Artemis II Crew Breaks Apollo 13 Distance Record, Begins Moon Flyby

Admin
BREAKING NEWS

CBS News   Artemis II astronauts made history Monday as they passed the Apollo 13 distance record of 248,655 miles from Earth, which was set in 1970. The Orion spacecraft’s four-person crew are traveling farther from Earth than any humans in history and are continuing on to a planned 252,760 miles. The astronauts are conducting a lunar flyby that is set to make them the first humans to see some parts of the far side of the moon with the naked eye. The spacecraft’s closest approach to the moon will be 4,070 miles. The crew is expected to briefly lose signal during their flyby Monday, which comes five days after the Artemis II mission lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on a test flight setting the stage for future moon missions. READ THE FULL STORY   

Read the full story

CBS Reveals ‘The Late Show with Stephen Colbert’ Replacement

Admin
BREAKING NEWS

The New York Post   CBS is turning to comedian-turned-media mogul Byron Allen to replace “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” starting next month. The network announced Monday that it will air back-to-back episodes of Allen’s “Comics Unleashed,” beginning at 11:35 p.m. for the 2026-2027 season. CBS, which recently aired Allen’s roundtable-style comedy talk show in the 12:35 a.m. slot, made the decision after it announced last July that it was getting out of the late-night game completely. READ THE FULL STORY   

Read the full story

Robinhood, BNY to Build Trump Accounts App

Admin
BREAKING NEWS

CNBC   The U.S. Department of the Treasury said Monday that Bank of New York Mellon will be the designated financial agent for Trump accounts. BNY will officially manage the initial accounts and has partnered with Robinhood to develop a yet-to-be-released Trump accounts app, according to an announcement on CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street.” Launching on July 4, the tax-deferred investing accounts for children include a one-time $1,000 deposit from the Treasury for kids born between 2025 and 2028. READ THE FULL STORY   

Read the full story

Pappert Criticizes Copyright Argument in Covenant Records Appeal as ‘Absurd’

Kaitlin Housler
Audrey Hale

As the legal fight over the release of the Covenant School shooter’s writings continues, The Tennessee Star’s lead reporter, Tom Pappert, is sharply criticizing one of the central arguments raised in the latest appeal to the Tennessee Supreme Court, focusing on claims that the materials are protected by copyright.

Speaking during Monday’s edition of The Michael Patrick Leahy Show, Pappert argued that the effort by Metro Nashville, Covenant-associated parties, and intervening parents to block further disclosure based on copyright claims is fundamentally flawed, especially given that many of the documents are already publicly available.

Read the full story

After Appeals Court Loss, Nashville and Covenant School Parents Ask TN Supreme Court for New Open Records Act Exceptions in Manifesto Lawsuit

Tom Pappert

Metro Nashville, the Covenant School, parents of some Covenant School students, and the Covenant Presbyterian Church, asked the Tennessee Supreme Court for permission to appeal the transparency victory handed to The Tennessee Star in February by the Tennessee Court of Appeals in the lawsuit to force the release of the Covenant School shooter’s writings.

After the appellate judges determined there was no reason to continue shielding the release of the files, citing the conclusion of the investigation by Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD), and lack of any ongoing prosecutions, the losing side told the high court that the Court of Appeals decision fails to uphold the Victims Rights Amendment (VRA) of the Tennessee Constitution, and that its decision means the VRA is no longer in effect after a case concludes.

Read the full story

Trump Makes Endorsement in California’s Governor Race

Daily Caller News Foundation
Steve Hilton

President Donald Trump endorsed former Fox News host Steve Hilton in the California governor’s race Monday, potentially impacting the GOP’s chance at flipping the seat.

Trump’s endorsement may have killed Republicans’ hopes of both Hilton and Republican Chad Bianco leading in the state’s primary, edging out a split Democrat ticket from reaching the run-off, according to Politico. Trump’s endorsement of Hilton, which he made on Truth Social Monday, is likely a death-blow to Bianco’s chances and the party’s hope of an evenly-split ticket.

Read the full story

‘Humiliating’: Pfizer Cancels COVID Vaccine Trial for Lack of Interest as Global Scrutiny Mounts

Just the News
vaccine shot

Five years after their wide deployment, first on a voluntary basis, then under threat of firing for nearly 100 million Americans at the direction of the White House, COVID-19 vaccines for at least low-risk groups may be on the way out amid higher regulatory requirements and indifference to the jabs by the vast majority of Americans.

Pfizer and its COVID mRNA vaccine partner BioNTech abruptly pulled the plug on their trial for healthy 50-64 year-olds, telling trial investigators in a March 30 letter they were coming up short on the 25,000-30,000 enrollment needed to generate enough data to evaluate the jabs, Reuters reported, citing a letter it viewed.

Read the full story

Chicago Municipal Workers Owe City Roughly $19M in Fines, Debts – Half Not Enrolled in Payment Plan

Just the News
Chicago Mayor

Chicago is owed roughly $19 million in unpaid debts and fines from its municipal workers – yet more than half of them are reportedly not enrolled in a payment plan or have had their wages garnished.

Most of the workers are employed by Chicago’s transit authority and public schools, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. The multi-million dollar debt is from traffic tickets, water bills and fines.

Read the full story

Swalwell Flip-Flops on Transparency as He Fights Release of Chinese Intel Files That Include Him

Just the News
Eric Swalwell

Rep. Eric Swalwell, a top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee and candidate for California governor, relentlessly pressed to release all the Jeffrey Epstein files — even if innocent people were implicated — going so far as to suggest withholding funding to the Justice Department.

“If the president is not implicated, then why not release everything?” Swalwell asked FBI Director Kash Patel in a tense exchange at a congressional hearing late last year that typified his pressure campaign. 

Read the full story

Nashville Police Chief Says Department Refuses to Enforce Immigration Laws over ‘Ethics,’ ‘Tactics’ Disputes

Tom Pappert
ICE arrest

Chief John Drake said last Friday the Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) does not enforce United States immigration laws due to disputes over the “ethics’ and “tactics” employed by the federal government, implying and confirming that law enforcement groups are lobbying the Trump administration to change its enforcement strategy.

“As I’ve said time and time again, the Metro Nashville Police Department does not do immigration enforcement,” said Drake on Friday. “The primary reason is that we don’t feel that some of the ethics, some of the tactics that we use [are] appropriate.”
“As I’ve said time and time again, the Metro Nashville Police Department does not do immigration enforcement,” said Drake on Friday. “The primary reason is that we don’t feel that some of the ethics, some of the tactics that we use is appropriate.”

Read the full story

Tennessee Partners with Tech Firm to Transform I-40 into Autonomous Freight Corridor

Kaitlin Housler
Will Reid

The Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) announced last month it selected Cavnue, LLC as its private-sector partner for a major smart freight initiative along Interstate 40, which the department said marks a significant step toward modernizing one of the state’s busiest transportation corridors.

TDOT said the Memphis/West Tennessee Smart Freight Corridor Pilot will focus on improving safety, easing congestion, and advancing freight technology between Memphis and Blue Oval City by testing Connected and Autonomous Vehicle (CAV) technologies in real-world conditions.

Read the full story