According to the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security (TDSHS), there will be no repercussions for a Thursday riot foiled by Tennessee State Troopers at the State Capitol.
“There were no arrests made on Thursday,” TDSHS communications director Wesley Moster told The Tennessee Star Monday. “There are no investigations or criminal charges pending.”
Read the full story
Monday marked another day of anti-gun protests in Nashville, as hundreds of Metro Nashville Public School (MNPS) students walked out of school and marched to the Tennessee State Capitol demanding gun control.
“HUNDREDS of students, activists, and community members in Nashville walked out of school this morning with us and are walking to the state Capital to DEMAND action against gun violence,” said the anti-gun group March For Our Lives on Twitter, attaching a video of some of the student protestors.
Read the full story
Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) did not return a Friday comment request from The Tennessee Star seeking further clarifications about students and parents who were reportedly involved in Thursday’s protest-turned-riot at the Tennessee Capitol building.
WTVF reported Thursday that thousands of parents and students gathered at the Capitol to protest in favor of gun control.
Read the full story
The office of Nashville District Attorney General Glenn Funk said no state or local criminal investigations are pending stemming from Thursday’s riot at the Tennessee State Capitol.
“I just checked with the folks here,” said Steve Hayslip, a Nashville District Attorney General’s spokesman. “No state or local law enforcement agency has brought any criminal complaint to this office for review.”
Read the full story
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) Thursday confirmed to The Tennessee Star that it is aware of a viral video circulating the web in which a transgender activist encourages transgender people in Tennessee to commit acts of violence.
“We are aware of the post, but don’t have any further information or insight to offer,” said TBI spokesman Josh DeVine.
Read the full story
On the heels of The Tennessee Star’s report in which a security expert recommended that schools implement ballistic glass film to deter and prevent school shooters, another security expert has recommended the same.
“So even if you shoot it 100 times, you’ve still not gained access,” said Wayne Gregory of Ever Safe, as reported by FOX17. “You’ve only put holes in the glass. And then beat it out of the frame of the hammer is the only way to get in.”
Read the full story
A riot at the Tennessee State Capitol was stopped by state troopers Thursday as State Rep. Justin Jones (D-Nashville) and at least two other far-left Democrat state representatives encouraged a crowd of more than a thousand protesters to breach the Tennessee House of Representatives chamber floor during a gun control demonstration.
Tennessee State Troopers foiled the breach, as protesters attempted to enter the chamber from the gallery above and the ground floor.
Read the full story
After body camera footage was released Tuesday showing Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) officers charging into The Covenant School and killing Audrey Elizabeth Hale, the shooter responsible for killing three children and three adults at the school, social media is abuzz with praise for the officers.
Read the full story
A security expert joined The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network’s Editor-In-Chief and CEO Michael Patrick Leahy on Tuesday’s episode of “The Tennessee Star Report” and discussed ways in which schools can fortify themselves against mass shooters.
The discussion occurred less than 24 hours after transgender female (biological male) Aiden “Audrey” Hale shot and killed six people at The Covenant School in Nashville.
Read the full story
The Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) Monday evening confirmed that the person who shot and killed six people on Monday morning at The Covenant Presbyterian School in Nashville is 28-year-old Audrey Elizabeth Hale, who “identified as transgender.” Hale was killed on scene by police that morning.
“Our investigations tell us she was a former student, at the school,” said MNPD Chief John Drake in a press conference, adding that he did not know how long Hale attended the school.
Read the full story
A state senator from Tennessee has introduced a bill that would disallow changes to a recent bill filed by another state senator.
SB 005, as introduced, “enacts the ‘Youth Health Protection Act,'” otherwise known as SB 001.
Three Franklin-area family members pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice and making false entries regarding the disposition of firearms, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ).
“Alan Hassler, 49, Brian Hassler, 52, and Michael Hassler, 45, all of Franklin, Tennessee, and co- owners of Franklin Gun Shop, a Federal Firearms Licensee (FFL) in Williamson County, Tennessee, were charged in September following a federal regulatory inspection by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF),” said a DOJ release.
Read the full story
Kid Rock joined Fox News’ “Tucker Carlson Tonight” to speak out against the possible demolition of a Civil War era home near Franklin.
Beechwood Hall is a historic property. It was owned by country music legends Hank Williams, Jr., and Tim McGraw and Faith Hill.
Read the full story
Chattanooga’s Chamber of Commerce is searching for a replacement for its “woke” CEO and has hired a consulting firm to assist it.
“The executive committee of the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce board of directors has selected the consulting firm Waverly Partners to help in the search for a new chamber chief executive to succeed Christy Gillenwater, who announced last month she is leaving the Chattanooga chamber after five years to head the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce,” the Times Free Press reported.
Read the full story
A cathode manufacturer is set to make the largest foreign investment in Tennessee in the Volunteer State’s history, according to the Department of Economic and Community Development (TDECD).
“LG Chem’s anticipated investment of approximately $3.2 billion represents the single largest announced foreign direct investment in Tennessee’s history. The project is expected to create 860 new jobs in Montgomery County,” according to a TDECD press release. “The Clarksville facility will be the largest of its kind in the U.S. and is expected to produce roughly 120,000 tons of cathode material annually by 2027, which is enough to power batteries in 1.2 million electric vehicles with a range of 310 miles per charge.”
Read the full story
The Tennessee Department of Corrections (TDOC) said it trained last week at the University of Tennessee – Knoxville on how to engage with the public.
“TDOC’s Communications team is participating in an intensive, week-long training session at the The University of Tennessee Institute for Public Service Law Enforcement Innovation Center (LEIC), where we’re learning how to better inform, engage, and educate the public about the true mission of corrections.” TDOC said on Facebook. “We’re looking forward to being back in full force next week, bringing you industry best practices to better serve you!”
Read the full story
The founder of now-defunct FTX, a cryptocurrency exchange that went bankrupt earlier this month, reportedly donated millions to a Political Action Committee (PAC) based in Phoenix.
FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried reportedly donated $27 million to the Protect Our Future PAC, according to Arizona Free News.
Read the full story
Tennessee’s Supreme Court says that mandatory life sentences for minors convicted of murder is unconstitutional, according to a recently decided case.
In a case called State of Tennessee v. Tyshon Booker No. E2018-01439-SC-R11-CD the state’s highest court says sentencing juveniles to life in prison for murders committed as minors is cruel and unusual punishment.
Read the full story
After a debacle earlier this week that led to Tennessee’s Attorney General announcing an investigation into event ticketing titan Ticketmaster, the company said it will not be selling tickets for Taylor Swift’s upcoming tour on Friday.
“Due to extraordinarily high demands on ticketing systems and insufficient remaining ticket inventory to meet that demand, tomorrow’s public on-sale for Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour has been cancelled,” Tickemaster said Thursday afternoon on Twitter.
Read the full story
According to a Wednesday report, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) says dangerous Mexican Cartels are actively operating in Tennessee.
“There are two primary cartels that we have found very connected to almost everything we do,” TBI Director David Rausch reportedly said. “That is the Sinaloa Cartel out of Mexico and the new Jalisco Cartel. Both of them are actively, very engaged in operations in Tennessee and we are working closely with our friends at the DEA on addressing that head on.”
Read the full story
A Tennessee Supreme Court Justice will retire next year, according to a press release.
“Today I notified Governor Lee I will retire on Aug. 31, 2023. It’s been the greatest honor of my professional life to serve in the TN judiciary. I am filled with gratitude,” said Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Sharon Lee, attaching an official statement.
Read the full story
According to the city of Memphis, a prolific United States Football League (USFL) team will be returning to action in city.
“Officials reached an agreement for the Memphis Showboats to play the USFL 2023 season at historic Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium, home of the 1980s team that featured Pro Football Hall of Famer Reggie White,” according to a release from the city. “The USFL announced the inaugural game will kickoff on Sunday, April 16, 2023.”
Read the full story
A man who is accused of abusing the Tennessee Medicaid system is now in custody, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI).
“An investigation by special agents with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation’s Medicaid Fraud Control Division into fraudulent TennCare time sheets has resulted in the arrest of a TennCare recipient in Bethel Springs,” TBI said.
Read the full story
Novemer 14 to 18 is National Apprenticeship Week, and the Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE) is celebrating by touting its one-of-a-kind teacher apprenticeship program.
“This week, the Tennessee Department of Education is celebrating the important role apprenticeships play in postsecondary preparation during the 8th Annual National Apprenticeship Week, happening November 14-18. Specifically, the department is highlighting the Tennessee Teacher Apprenticeship, the first registered apprenticeship program for teaching in the country, paving the way for the future of the teaching profession,” according to a release.
Read the full story
After Tuesday’s debacle in which attempted presale ticket purchases for Taylor Swift’s latest tour crashed the Ticketmaster website, Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti addressed the issue in a Wednesday press conference.
Ticketmaster’s website crashed upon the release of Swift’s presale tickets, enraging customers.
Read the full story
Following the news that a large Pentecostal church organization held a ribbon cutting ceremony on 20 new affordable housing units in Memphis, the city of Chattanooga has struck a similar deal with a network of churches.
“Kingdom Partners housing development group was selected by the city of Chattanooga for a grant of more than a million dollars to develop affordable housing units in Chattanooga,” according to reports. “The goal is push out 30 units over a two-year span with the help of churches and nonprofits in the area.”
Read the full story
The Knoxville Police Department (KPD) is warning residents that scammers pretending to be police officers are attempting to swindle cash out of the city’s residents.
“The KPD recently received another report of a scam call where an unknown suspect claimed to be a Knoxville Police Department officer and successfully swindled money and financial information from unsuspecting victims,” KPD said in a Twitter announcement. “The scammer claimed to need financial information and/or money to assist in the resolution of a pending criminal case.”
Read the full story
A Memphis news crew was robbed at gunpoint late last week, according to the reporter who was on the scene.
“HOW IN THE HOLY HELL YOU ROB THE NEWS CREW: Robbed at Poplar and Highland. You know I’ve had my fair share of stories but DAMN! Took the camera, tripod, and LIVEU,” said Fox13 reporter Jeremy Pierre. “One of the dudes even showed me the gun in his waist band.”
Read the full story
A church organization Monday held a ribbon cutting ceremony on new affordable housing units in Memphis.
The Church of God in Christ (COGIC), a Pentecostal church with more than six million members, said its new affordable housing units, 20 apartments called 280 Vance, will help lower income Memphians live downtown.
Read the full story
The Mt. Juliet Police Department (MJPD) are warning the city’s residents of fake social media posts that could sow division within the community.
“These posts are false and similar posts are occurring nationwide, targeting different city names, using multiple fake accounts. However, when posted to Facebook groups, many local residents share the fake post because they believe it to be true,” said the police department.
Read the full story
A Tennessee National Guard unit has returned from a nearly year-long deployment to Africa, according to the Tennessee Department of Military (TDM).
The soldiers are from Tennessee National Guard’s 268th Military Police Company, based in Millington.
Read the full story
In his weekly update, Memphis’ mayor lamented the city’s “revolving door” of crime, and said he supports new tough-on-crime legislature recently enacted by the Tennessee legislature.
“Last week, I told you about a man who, while driving a car, struck a Memphis police officer on foot, causing him to roll over the hood and be thrown to the ground. He led officers on a high-speed vehicle pursuit and crashed into a citizen’s car. He fled on foot. Officers apprehended him and found him in possession of a handgun. He was given a $15,000 bond,” said Mayor Jim Strickland. “Guess what has happened? He has posted his bond, was released, and is out and about in the Memphis community.”
Read the full story
Tennessee’s Department of Education (TDOE) and its Department of Agriculture (TDA) are teaming up to promote a nearly 100-year-old student organization.
Membership numbers are on the rise for Future Farmers of America (FFA) in the state, according to a joint release from the TDOE and TDOA.
Read the full story
Moms for Liberty in Williamson County Wednesday announced that it will host The Daily Wire’s Matt Walsh at an event next week.
“Grassroots organization Moms for Liberty – Williamson County (M4L-WC) will host Matt Walsh of the Daily Wire in a special screening of ‘What is a Woman?’ this Monday, November 14th, at 6:00 PM, at Generations Church, 408 Church Street, in downtown Franklin,” according to a press release from the group.
Read the full story
Tennessee lawmakers have introduced a bill that would ban lewd drag shows from places where children might see them.
The premise of SB 3 relies on defining drag shows as “adult cabaret” performances.
Read the full story
WeGo Public Transit, which offers public transportation in Nashville and the surrounding areas, broke ground Thursday on its latest Transit Center.
“Today, we celebrate the groundbreaking of the Dr. Ernest Rip Patton, Jr. North Nashville Transit Center,” WeGo Public Transit said on Twitter. “Thanks to everyone who attended and all who have made this possible.”
Read the full story
A bill introduced in the Tennessee House of Representatives would allow doctors to be held liable in civil court for completing transgender surgeries on minors.
“The legislature determines that medical procedures that alter a minor’s hormonal balance, remove a minor’s sex organs, or otherwise change a minor’s physical appearance are harmful to a minor when these medical procedures are performed for the purpose of enabling a minor to identify with, or live as, a purported identity inconsistent with the minor’s sex or treating purported discomfort or distress from a discordance between the minor’s sex and asserted identity,” says House Bill 1, introduced by Rep. William Lamberth (R-District 44).
Read the full story
Tennessee’s Department of Education (TDOE) is celebrating a first-of-it’s kind initiative that allows future teachers to qualify for that position by completing an apprenticeship program.
Announced in January, 2022, the “Grow Your Own” initiative has “set a new path for the educator profession as the top state to become and remain a teacher and leader for all” by “support[ing] partnerships between Educator Preparation Providers (EPPs) and Local Education Agencies (LEAs) to provide innovative, no-cost pathways to the teaching profession and will continue to build pipelines of qualified teachers and school district professionals.”
Read the full story
Hours after defeating State Sen. Heidi Campbell (D-Nashville), Maury County Mayor and Congressman-Elect Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) was welcomed by lawmakers to his new role.
“Thrilled to welcome [Andy Ogles] to Washington! He will fight hard to defend Tennesseans’ conservative values and help keep our state and nation on the right track,” said Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN).
Read the full story
The federal Congressional delegation from Tennessee will look very similar to how it looks now when members of the 118th Congress are sworn in on January 20, 2023.
But for a redrawn district – Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District – all of the incumbent members of Congress in Tennessee won their respective races Tuesday night.
Read the full story
The mayor of Maury County won his bid for U.S. Congress by a wide margin Tuesday night, defeating State Senator Heidi Campbell (D-District 20) in Tennessee’s newly-drawn 5th District.
Ogles’s race, which was called just after midnight on Wednesday morning, showed the first-time congressional candidate winning 55.9 percent of the vote, to Campbell’s 42.3 percent of the vote.
Read the full story
Tennessee’s Secretary of State issued a last minute guide for election day in the Volunteer State.
“Tennesseans can access voter-specific Election Day information, including polling times, locations, sample ballots, election results and more, on GoVoteTN.gov or the Secretary of State’s free GoVoteTN app. The GoVoteTN app is free in the App Store or Google Play,” said a the guide from Tre Hargett’s office. “On Election Day, polls in all 95 counties open at various times. A list of when polling locations open is available on GoVoteTN.gov. All polls close at 8 p.m. EST/7 p.m. CST.”
Read the full story
A U.S. Senator from Tennessee has spent the past few days campaigning nationwide for fellow Republicans who are vying for critical seats in Tuesday’s midterm elections.
“I look forward to working alongside [Ted Budd] in the U.S. Senate, but we need your help to make sure that can happen,” said U.S. Sen. Bill Hagerty late last week, attaching a video of he and Budd on the campaign trail.
Read the full story
According to the University of Tennessee -Knoxville, the school’s Board of Trustees has approved the construction of a new building that will cost more than a quarter of a million dollars.
“The board voted in favor of an amendment to the campus master plan to allow for construction of the building beginning as soon as fall 2023, as well as a $127,350,000 increase in funding for the project, bringing the total budget to $227,350,000,” according to the UT Daily Beacon.
Read the full story
A U.S. senator from Tennessee is hammering President Joe Biden and the Democrat Party on the economy – particularly skyrocketing inflation – ahead of Tuesday’s midterm elections.
Sen. Marsha Blackburn has been focused on the topic all week.
Read the full story
According to the school district’s calendar, Memphis-Shelby County schools will be closed on Election Day, Tuesday, November 8.
Thirteen of the schools in the district will be used as polling places for registered voters to cast their ballots.
Read the full story
After the city of Memphis announced that part of its One Beale project in September – a plan that would have brought a Grand Hyatt Hotel to Memphis – it was announced this week that the plans for the hotel have fallen through.
Developer Chance Carlisle blamed the city, saying that it did not hold up its end of the bargain to provide $46 million in municipal bonds for the project. Instead, those bonds only amounted to $41 million.
Read the full story
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is warning Tennessee college students about what it calls “sextortion,” which it says is on the rise.
“Tennessee college and university campuses have seen a marked increase in sextortion attempts aimed at students,” said the FBI’s Knoxville branch. “The suspects, often posing as college-aged female students, target unsuspecting students through dating apps and online social media platforms.”
Read the full story
After a lengthy redistricting battle this year, more than 200 voters cast ballots in the wrong districts at the state or federal level, according to several reports.
“Nothing can be done,” said Davidson County Election Administrator Jeff Roberts. “If you think about it, we voted 45,000+ people early voting. I don’t know which ballots they are. They all go into that scanner, and there’s nothing that identifies who, where, or anything on that ballot.”
Read the full story
Chattanooga’a main post office was closed down for a day earlier this week after an argument between employees turned violent.
“Effective immediately, all operations at the Chattanooga, TN, Main Post Office, Chattanooga Finance Station and Chattanooga P&DC are temporarily suspended until further notice,” said a United States Postal Service (USPS) press release from Monday.
Read the full story