Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell confirmed this week to multiple outlets that he will seek reelection in 2027 to “strengthen the foundation” of his administration’s policies.
O’Connell, elected in 2023, said his decision to run again is driven largely by the long-term nature of several major initiatives already underway, including his signature “Choose How You Move” transportation plan, redevelopment of the East Bank, and investments in “affordable housing.”
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Influencer Candace Owens has suggested she could depose Turning Point USA CEO Erika Kirk and unearth new footage of her husband’s assassination in response to the defamation lawsuit filed by Brian Harpole, whose company provided security services to Charlie Kirk.
Owens spent most of the Thursday episode of her eponymous podcast responding to Harpole’s lawsuit, denying its assertion that she falsely presented as factual the claims made by her podcast guest and co-defendant, Mitchell Snow, who said he saw three people attending a meeting at a military installation in Arizona on the day before Charlie Kirk was assassinated. Snow told Owens he was very confident these individuals were Harpole, Erika Kirk, and U.S. Representative Mark Amodei (R-NV-02).
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Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced a campaign Monday to end the overprescribing of psychiatric medications, including medications used to treat depression.
The announcement occurred during a Make America Healthy Again Institute summit on mental health.
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CBS News In an exclusive interview with CBS News, Tom Homan, President Trump’s border czar, conceded “things weren’t perfect” during the large-scale immigration enforcement crackdown in Minneapolis but stressed that the administration is not backing down from its mass deportation effort. “Things weren’t perfect. We addressed it. We fixed it,” Homan said when asked if he believes the administration made mistakes and went too far during the Minneapolis-area crackdown, known as Operation Metro Surge. Homan said he has discussed changes and ways to improve immigration enforcement with Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and Todd Lyons, the acting head of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement who is set to leave the agency later this month. READ THE FULL STORY
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The Hill A federal grand jury in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday indicted the man accused of attempting to violently disrupt the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner last month on four charges. The charges faced by Cole Tomas Allen, the alleged gunman, include attempting to assassinate President Trump at the annual black-tie dinner for journalists and public officials and assaulting an officer or employee of the United States with a deadly weapon. He faces two other firearms-related charges, as well. The latter charge marks the first time Allen has been formally accused of shooting a Secret Service officer, after law enforcement demurred for days on ballistic results from the scene. READ THE FULL STORY
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CNBC Spirit Airlines’ more than three-decade run ended over the weekend, but on Tuesday it was just starting the monthslong process of dismantling the company after the biggest U.S. airline collapse in a generation. Spirit and its stakeholders were in bankruptcy court in White Plains, New York, to start that process, which will take months. The hearing included discussions about airport landing fees, aircraft and staffing. The carrier filed a cumulative wind-down budget of around $217 million, though that number could change. READ THE FULL STORY
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The Tennessee Star’s lead reporter, Tom Pappert, outlined the central allegations in a newly filed defamation lawsuit against podcaster Candace Owens, highlighting claims that she amplified unverified accusations tied to the assassination of Turning Point USA Founder Charlie Kirk despite having information that may have contradicted them.
During an appearance Tuesday on The Michael Patrick Leahy Show, Pappert walked through the central arguments of the case filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee by security firm owner Brian Harpole.
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Governor Bill Lee plans to sign the Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) bill passed by the Tennessee General Assembly, according to State Affairs, which reported on Tuesday the governor confirmed his intentions during a visit to Humphreys County.
The governor’s reported comments follow the passage of Senate Bill (SB) 2040 by the Tennessee General Assembly on April 20. Once signed into law, the legislation will prohibit the vertical integration of pharmacies and pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), the third-party companies that negotiate drug prices and benefits between insurance companies and pharmacies.
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A lawsuit filed by five publishers on Tuesday alleges Meta and CEO Mark Zuckerberg of illegally using copyrighted materials to train the tech company’s online artificial intelligence platform Llama.
McGraw Hill, Macmillan, Elsevier, Hachette and Cengage contend Meta’s software engineers used pirated books and journal articles to train the AI model. The works were downloaded through piracy sites, according to the lawsuit, and Zuckerberg personally authorized the copyright infringement.
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California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom is facing a series of political and policy challenges that critics argue amount to a string of late-stage setbacks for his administration that could damage his potential 2028 presidential run.
Conservatives recently secured enough support to place a voter ID initiative on the fall ballot in California, which was an outcome that would have been unlikely in the state just a few years ago.
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Senate Republicans have proposed giving the U.S. Secret Service up to $1 billion for “security adjustments and upgrades” relating to President Donald Trump’s White House ballroom project.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley released the text of a reconciliation bill late Monday which notes the proposed $1 billion in funding would be used for “enhancements” by the Secret Service related to “the East Wing Modernization Project,” which includes “above-ground and below-ground security elements.” This amount is on top of the nearly $3.3 billion the Secret Service had already been allocated under the fiscal 2026 Department of Homeland Security funding bill signed into law on Thursday, Politico reported.
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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Tuesday morning at a Pentagon briefing that the U.S.-Iran ceasefire “is not over,” amid the sides exchanging fire at or near the Strait of Hormuz.
Hegseth also said the U.S. guiding vessels through the strait, a global shipping channel off the Iranian coast, is a “temporary solution,” according to CBS News.
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House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville) introduced five bills on the first day of Tennessee’s special session to consider redrawing its congressional map.
Governor Bill Lee called a special session last week after the Supreme Court’s decision in Louisiana v. Callais, ruling the Voting Rights Act did not require states to create additional majority-minority congressional districts.
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In an unsigned order issued late Monday, the Supreme Court ordered its April 29 decision in the case Louisiana v. Callais (No. 25A1197), which placed new limits on a key provision of the Voting Rights Act, to take effect immediately. The ruling bypasses the court’s usual 32-day waiting period and clears the way for Louisiana to pursue new congressional maps before the 2026 midterm elections.
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Tennessee is on the verge of a meaningful step forward for patients, families, and the future of healthcare in our state. With overwhelming bipartisan support—passing the House 94-0 and the Senate 29-1—HB 484 / SB 435 reflects a powerful shared commitment to improving patient access to modern, evidence-based care.
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Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent reassured American consumers Monday that “help is on the way” as the Iran conflict causes gas prices to climb to a national average of $4.50 per gallon.
Iran’s control over the Strait of Hormuz has impacted shipping through the Persian Gulf, resulting in higher oil and gas prices in the United States. The average price of a gallon of gas in the U.S. on Monday was approximately $4.46, according to AAA.
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The Trump administration is restoring the core value of equal opportunity to civil rights enforcement. It is eviscerating the race-baiting, intersectional policies of the Biden and Obama administrations, and giving substance to the Supreme Court’s unanimous decision in Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services (2025) that whites, men, and heterosexuals are not held to a higher standard in discrimination cases.
This is a time for rejoicing, tempered by concern that the administration will not have time to complete its work, and that its reliance on executive orders, rather than legislation and consent decrees, will allow the next Democratic president to rip asunder President Trump’s laudable accomplishments.
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