Day: April 30, 2026

State Sen. Brent Taylor Accuses ‘Litigious’ Shelby County Mayor of Misrepresenting State Takeover of Memphis Schools

Tom Pappert
State Senator Brent Taylor

State Senator Brent Taylor (R-Memphis) on Thursday accused Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris of misrepresenting the state takeover of Memphis-Shelby County Schools (MSCS), claiming the legislation he shepherded through the General Assembly specifically addresses the mayor’s claims. 

In a Thursday post to social media, Harris claimed the state takeover would lead to an end to collective bargaining, with the district no longer required to honor union contracts, maintain previously negotiated increases to faculty salaries, and newly empowered to change employee healthcare benefits. 

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Nashville Electric Service Under State, Federal Investigation for DEI Practices: Source

Tom Pappert
NES Lineman During Winter Storm Fern

Nashville Electric Service (NES) is being investigated by both the offices of the U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee and the Tennessee Attorney General, who are determining whether its Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) policies could rise to the level of discrimination, according to a source familiar with both investigations who was granted anonymity to discuss the sensitive legal matters. 

Legislation passed last year notably authorized the Tennessee Attorney General to accept and act on discrimination complaints made under the Tennessee Human Rights Act and Tennessee Disability Act, and the source told The Tennessee Star that its investigation into NES came as a result of the new authority. 

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Tennessee Lawmakers Pass 7 Immigration Bills Introduced to Make Volunteer a ‘Model’ for State Enforcement, Federal Cooperation

Tom Pappert
Illegal Immigration

Lawmakers in the Tennessee General Assembly successfully passed all but one of the bills introduced in January as part of the effort to make the Volunteer State a “national model” for immigration enforcement, as well as other immigration legislation that was either carried over from last year or introduced later in 2026.

Newly passed legislation includes bills to will empower law enforcement, beginning with HB 1704, which makes it a misdemeanor under Tennessee law for an illegal alien to remain in the state, or reenter the United States, while subject to a final deportation order. 

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Amazon Eyes ‘Apprentice’ Reboot with Donald Trump Jr. at the Helm

Admin
BREAKING NEWS

The Hollywood Reporter It looks like The Apprentice might be making a comeback. The Wall Street Journal reports that Amazon is discussing a potential reboot of The Apprentice, the reality TV show once hosted by Donald Trump before he went into politics and became the president of the United States. Talks are reportedly in the early stages, as the reboot isn’t in active development, and the Trump family hasn’t been approached about the idea yet. People close to the matter also told the WSJ that Amazon executives have suggested internally that Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., could potentially serve as the host of the reboot. READ THE FULL STORY

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Trump Signs DHS Funding Bill, Ending Shutdown

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BREAKING NEWS

CNBC President Donald Trump on Thursday signed a bill to fund most of the Department of Homeland Security, effectively ending the partial government shutdown that began in February. The U.S. House had approved the measure hours earlier following White House warnings that emergency funding for DHS would run out as soon as Friday. The funding bill’s passage comes after more than a month of House Republican opposition to the plan, which advanced unanimously out of the Senate in late March.   READ THE FULL STORY

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Trump Says Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee Agrees to Redraw 9th Congressional District After Supreme Court Decision

Tom Pappert
President Donald Trump, Governor Bill Lee

President Donald Trump announced in a Thursday post to his social media website, Truth Social, that Governor Bill Lee confirmed he will work to redraw Tennessee’s 9th Congressional District after the U.S. Supreme Court decision that narrowed how the Voting Rights Act can be applied when drawing congressional districts. 

“I had a very good conversation with Governor Bill Lee, of Tennessee, this morning, wherein he stated that he would work hard to correct the unconstitutional flaw in the Congressional Maps of the Great State of Tennessee,” wrote Trump. 

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Florida Lawmakers Approve New Redistricting Plan as Republicans Eye a Four-Seat Pickup

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BREAKING NEWS

NBC News State lawmakers passed redrawn congressional lines Wednesday that create four more GOP-leaning seats in Florida, making it the eighth state to complete mid-decade redistricting in the 2026 election cycle — and most likely setting up a historic legal challenge in the state. The proposal passed the state House and Senate on largely partisan lines, even as some members of the Republican majorities have expressed skepticism about redrawing the congressional lines. Florida GOP lawmakers largely remained silent publicly as the state has become part of a Trump-backed mid-decade redistricting push designed to beef up Republicans’ slim U.S. House majority ahead of the midterms. Several Democratic-controlled states retaliated, leading to something close to a stalemate nationally. READ THE FULL STORY

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Trump Says He Prefers Russia’s Help to End Ukraine Conflict over Their Offer to Help with Iran War

Just the News
Trump and Ukraine

President Donald Trump said his call Wednesday with Russian President Vladimir Putin included an offer for Russia to help with the conflict in Iran and the enrichment of uranium, which he declined in hopes of getting the war in Ukraine to end instead.

The president expressed confidence that a resolution to the Russia-Ukraine war could come “relatively quickly” after the call or that a ceasefire could take place while Russia hosts its Victory Day celebrations on May 9. 

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Commentary: RFK Jr.’s Call For Early Alzheimer’s Screening Could Stop a Fiscal Crisis

Daily Caller News Foundation
RFK

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. recently announced that “it is regulatory malpractice that we don’t have early [Alzheimer’s] screening already,” saying “we now know that early treatment of Alzheimer’s can postpone its onset.”

Kennedy echoes a sentiment that millions of Americans already feel: the healthcare system should be more concerned with prevention and early intervention than late-stage crisis care. His statement should serve as a wake-up call for doctors, policymakers and anyone concerned for the country’s long-term fiscal health.

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Music Spotlight: Jacob Tolliver

Bethany Bowman

Jacob Tolliver came upon my radar at the end of last year when I featured his high-octane version of “Here Comes Santa Claus” in my 2025 Country Christmas Roundup. I hadn’t heard anyone bang a piano like that since Jerry Lee Lewis. Turns out, Lewis was a major influence on young Tolliver.

Tolliver’s dad is a drummer, but other than that, there wasn’t a lot of direct musical influence growing up. However, on his mother’s side, his great-grandmother was a Wagner and was related to composer Richard Wagner. On his dad’s side, Sir Bartholomew Taliaferro (the anglicized form of Taliaferro is Tolliver) was a shopkeeper and musician for Queen Elizabeth I in 16th-century Venice. Sir Taliaferro was also pals with William Shakespeare, and his “Merchant of Venice” is loosely based on him.

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