Heritage Foundation Attorney Says Tennessee Man Wrongly Charged with Reckless Endangerment After Returning Fire on Assailants

A lawyer from the conservative Heritage Foundation says that she is “floored” after a Tennessee man who returned fire on multiple assailants was charged with reckless endangerment. 

“I’m floored that the home owner here is being charged with ‘reckless endangerment.’ The arguments from police seem absurd on their face to me. The only people he endangered were…the ones shooting at him. And he’s 100% entitled to ‘endanger’ them,” said Heritage Senior Legal Fellow Amy Swearer. 

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Tennessee A.G. Skrmetti Chief of Staff Brandon Smith on the Federal Government’s War on Appliances

Monday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, guest host Gulbransen welcomed Tennessee AG’s Chief of Staff Brandon Smith in studio to discuss his background and the federal government’s war on appliances.

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Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti Joins Bipartisan Group of Attorneys General in Urging Congress to Pass the Combating Illicit Xylazine Act

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti recently joined a bipartisan coalition of 38 other attorneys general in urging federal lawmakers to pass the Combating Illicit Xylazine Act amid the sudden surge of overdose deaths related to the drug.

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Tennessee Governor Lee Signs Bill Dissolving Remaining Community Oversight Boards in Memphis and Nashville

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee recently signed a bill to abolish community oversight boards in the state.

SB591/HB764, according to the bill’s official summary, “abolishes community oversight boards and authorizes municipalities to create police advisory and review committees to ensure the timely, fair, and objective review of citizen complaints and to make recommendations concerning such complaints.”

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Tennessee State Board of Education Defines Summer School Requirements for Third-Graders Facing Retention

As Tennessee school districts wait to receive scores from spring’s Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP), the State Board of Education (SBE) passed rules guiding the implications of those results.

The rules, crafted by the Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE), and passed by the SBE on Friday, will determine how many Tennessee’s third-graders will spend their summer months.

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Former Tennessee State Sen. Dolores Gresham: Story Claiming American Classical Education Charter Schools’ ‘Core Knowledge’ Program Has ‘Links’ to Common Core Is False

American Classical Education (ACE) board member Dolores Gresham, a former Tennessee state senator, said Tuesday the story at Tennessee Lookout that claimed Hillsdale College’s affiliated ACE charter schools are teaching a curriculum with links to the Common Core Standards, is “false.”

“The Core Knowledge Foundation program is not the same thing as Common Core,” Gresham said in a statement. “It is decades older than Common Core and is already in use by many schools in Tennessee – including all three of Nashville’s top-performing charter schools.”

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Tennessee U.S. Representative Andy Ogles Sends Letter to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Expressing Opposition to its Nonbank Registry

Tennessee U.S. Congressman Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) led a group of House Financial Services Committee Republicans in sending a letter to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Rohit Chopra expressing opposition to a proposal from the bureau to establish a nonbank registry.

It was announced last December that the CFPB proposed a rule to identify repeat financial law violators by creating a database of enforcement actions against certain nonbank-covered entities. According to the proposed rule, certain nonbank entities must register with the bureau and provide regular updates on their covered orders.

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Tennessee Department of Education’s Bill Dunn: ‘People Look to Us as Being a Leader in Education’

Tuesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Michael Patrick Leahy welcomed former Tennessee State Representative Bill Dunn in studio to talk about his work at the Tennessee Department of Education and school choice.

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Tennessee House Republicans Pen Letter to Metro Nashville Police Chief Requesting Covenant School Killer’s Writings, Medical Records

Sixty six Republican lawmakers in the Tennessee House of Representatives have sent a letter to Metro Nashville Police Chief John Drake asking for the release of writings and medical records of the Covenant School killer.

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Iowa Roundup: Tim Scott’s Tennessee Champion, Joe Manchin Courts Iowans Amid Speculation of Third-Party Run

U.S. Senator and presumptive GOP presidential candidate Tim Scott has tapped a former popular Republican governor to head up his national campaign. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis gets a little help from Mother Nature on Mother’s Day weekend. And is Joe Manchin opening doors in Iowa for a third-party presidential run? 

Here’s the roundup from the Hawkeye State presidential campaign trail. 

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Poll: Davidson County Voters Oppose New $2.1 Billion Tennessee Titans Stadium Deal

A new poll of Davidson County voters shows that they opposes the deal to give the Tennessee Titans $1.26 billion toward a new $2.1 billion stadium and oppose giving a potential Major League Baseball team public subsidies for a stadium.

The poll, paid for by the Tennesseans for Student Success, interviewed 500 Davidson County voters May 2-4 on a variety of topics.

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Tennessee U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn Issues Statement on the End of Title 42

Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) released a statement on Thursday just hours before Title 42, a pandemic-related immigration policy, expired.

“Every town is a border town, and every state is a border state,” Blackburn stated. “With hours left before the end of Title 42, 40,000 migrants are camped feet away from the Texas state line, and another 80,000 migrants are gathered in Guatemala with plans to head for the southern border.”

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Tennessee Restaurant Owners Plead Guilty to Crimes Stemming from Employing Illegal Aliens

Five people who owned eight restaurants in middle Tennessee have pleaded guilty to federal crimes related to employing illegal aliens at those restaurants. 

The five criminals pleaded guilty to charges of defrauding the United States via failure to pay employment taxes, among other charges. 

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The Star News Network Sues the FBI Over Agency’s Refusal to Release Covenant Killer Manifesto

The Star News Network is suing the Federal Bureau of Investigation alleging the law enforcement agency has broken a critical First Amendment guard in repeatedly denying Freedom of Information Act requests seeking the Covenant School killer’s manifesto.

Filed Wednesday, the federal lawsuit asks the U.S. District Court for Middle Tennessee to order the FBI to release Audrey Elizabeth Hale’s manifesto and related documents and to issue a declaration that the agency violated FOIA in denying the request for the information.

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JC Bowman Explains Why Indiana Is So Far Ahead of Tennessee in School Choice

Wednesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Michael Patrick Leahy welcomed JC Bowman of Professional Educators of Tennessee to discuss advances in Indiana’s universal school choice program and why Tennessee is falling behind.

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JC Bowman: Recently Appointed Tennessee Commissioner of Education Lizzette Gonzalez Reynolds to Bring a New Perspective

Wednesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Michael Patrick Leahy welcomed JC Bowman of Professional Educators of Tennessee in studio to discuss the unique perspective that the new Commissioner of Education Lizzette Gonzalez Reynolds will bring to Tennessee.

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New Mechatronics Lab Focusing on Artificial Intelligence, Robots Opens at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

A new mechatronics lab at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC) opened to prepare its College of Engineering and computer science students for post-graduation careers.

UTC describes mechatronics as the “combination of mechanical engineering with electronics, electrical circuits, control mechanisms and software engineering.”

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Joe and Linda Chambers, Eric Church, and Butch Spyridon Receive Stars on Walk of Fame

NASHVILLE, Tennessee – Three more stars last week were added to The Music City Walk of Fame.

May 4th marked the 25th ceremony where Star 98 was awarded to Joe and Linda Chambers, Star 99 was awarded to Eric Church, and Star 100 was given to Butch Spyridon.

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Lawsuit Claims Tennessee Aquarium Hiring Practices Discriminated Against White Applicants

A trio of Tennesseans who applied to work at the Tennessee Aquarium were turned down because they were white, according to a lawsuit filed in federal court.

Timothy Shawn Gunn and Marni Renee Pearce, both of Hamilton County along with Zachary Chance Taylor of Catoosa County, are suing the aquarium for discrimination. 

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USDA Approves D-SNAP Assistance for Residents in 10 Tennessee Counties Affected by Tornadoes

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently announced that low-income Tennessee residents in the ten counties impacted by tornadoes and severe storms that began at the end of March could be eligible for USDA’s Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (D-SNAP).

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Governor Lee Signs Amendment to Tennessee’s Third-Grade Retention Law

A bill to update Tennessee’s third-grade reading retention law has been signed by Gov. Bill Lee.

Starting this year, the bill will update a law originally passed in 2021 where students must show proficiency in order to advance to the fourth grade.

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‘Do No Harm’ Questions East Tennessee State University DEI Office’s ‘Moon Shot for Equity’ Program After Signing of Higher Education Freedom of Expression and Transparency Act

An organization of doctors, healthcare professionals, and policymakers attempting to protect health care from “radical, divisive, and discriminatory ideology” is questioning how East Tennessee State University (ETSU) will respond to the state’s new higher education transparency law that rolls back Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) requirements at publicly funded colleges, universities, and medical schools.

“ETSU is just continuing to double down on their DEI efforts,” Do No Harm’s Laura Morgan, MSN, RN, told The Tennessee Star in an interview, explaining that the school’s announced DEI program called “Moon Shot for Equity” is the “kind of program that House Bill 1376 and Senate Bill 817 is going to say you’ve got to get rid of because it’s pretty clear about not having courses or learning” related to DEI.

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Lee Signs Tennessee ESA Voucher Expansion to Chattanooga Area

Gov. Bill Lee signed a bill into law on Friday that expands  the state’s pilot educational savings account program to Hamilton County, which includes the Chattanooga area.

The Legislature approved the deal April 21 after removing Knox County and then passed the bill along to Lee on April 24.

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Tennessee U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn Joins Republican Colleagues in Sending a Letter to President Biden Urging Him to Keep Title 42 in Place

Tennessee U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) recently joined ten of her Republican U.S. Senator colleagues in sending a letter to President Joe Biden urging his administration to extend Title 42.

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Commentary: Advice for the New Tennessee Commissioner of Education

I have some advice for Tennessee’s new Commissioner of Education, Lizzette Gonzales-Reynolds. Please know that you will never be everyone’s cup of tea. And that statement of fact is true for all of us. 

However, everyone is worthy of respect. In an Age of Irreverence, it is worth remembering that simple truth. We are all created in the image of God. It doesn’t mean you have to accept others’ beliefs, or even agree with them. However, it is a good starting point for human interaction.

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Jack Johnson: It’s a Very Sad Testament and a Complete Overreach from the Biden Administration to Come in and Sue Tennessee over Legislation

Friday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, guest host Aaron Gulbransen welcomed Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson to the newsmaker line to comment upon the Biden administration and the DOJ’s lawsuit against the state of Tennessee in response to its gender mutilation of minors’ legislation.

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Attorney Douglas Pierce: MNPD Has an Independent Obligation to Comply with Tennessee Law

Thursday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Michael Patrick Leahy welcomed attorney Douglas Pierce of King & Ballow to the newsmaker line to discuss the refusal of Metro government to release the Covenant Killer’s manifesto.

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Tennessee Department of Education Names Steering Committee to Advise on Implementation of New School Funding Formula

The Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE) released on Wednesday the names of appointees to the newly created Tennesseans Investing in Student Achievement (TISA) steering committee.

The state is transitioning to a new public school funding model. The newly created committee will advise on the implementation of the new, student-based K-12 education funding formula, which goes into effect for the 2023-24 school year.

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Tennessee Bill Regulating Hemp-Derived Products Headed to Gov. Lee’s Desk

After the successful passage of SB038 by the Tennessee Senate, which establishes guidelines for regulating hemp-based products, including hemp seeds, extracts, cannabinoids, isomers, acids, and salts, is headed to the desk of Gov. Bill Lee (R) for review, and possibly a signature that would make the bill a law.

Aside from barring those under the age of 21 from purchasing hemp-derived cannabinoid, also known as CBD, SB038 tightens regulations to ensure that CBD products are safe for consumption. 

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Governor Lee Proclaims the Month of May ‘Foster Care Month’ in Tennessee

Governor Bill Lee proclaimed May as “Foster Care Month” in Tennessee.

“This ‘Foster Care Month,’ we recognize the 5,000 Tennessee families who open their hearts and hands to children in need,” Lee said in a statement. “We have an obligation to ensure that every child has a loving, permanent home, and I thank Commissioner Quin and the General Assembly for partnering to deliver important support to children and families.”

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Tennessee Valley Authority Awards 37 Tennessee Schools with Grants Based on Energy Waste Cuts

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) awarded 64 schools across six states in the southeast region grants ranging from $10,00 to $410,000 through the energy company’s School Uplift program, with 37 of the recipient schools in Tennessee.

TVA’s School Uplift program “supports public schools in the region by offering energy efficiency training and grants that reduce energy costs and improve the quality of the learning environment.”

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Tennessee U.S. Rep. Mark Green Blasts President Biden for Sending Troops to the Southern Border to Help Move Illegals into Country

Tennessee U.S. Representative and chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security Mark Green (R-TN-07) condemned the Biden administration for approving an increase of 1,500 military personnel to “supplement U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) efforts” on the U.S.-Mexico border.

Green accused the Biden administration of “using our troops to facilitate the demise of our homeland security, instead of securing our borders.”

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JC Bowman: Former Rep. Bill Dunn Was a Logical Choice for Tennessee’s Commissioner of Education

Tuesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Michael Patrick Leahy welcomed JC Bowman of Professional Educators of Tennessee in studio to discuss why Bill Dunn would have been a good choice for Tennessee’s new commissioner of education. 

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TBI Report Shows Violent Crime Rising on Tennessee College Campuses

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) last week released its annual report on criminal activity on college campuses, which shows, in part, that violent crimes are on the rise at Tennessee’s institutions of higher learning.  

According to the report, crime as a whole jumped a whopping 26.28 percent from 2021 to 2022. 

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