The new Tennessee College of Applied Technology (TCAT) at Stanton campus is officially open and will welcome its first class of students later this summer.
Read the full storyNew Tennessee College of Applied Technology Campus Opens at BlueOval City
Category: Tennessee
Tennessee Grants $17 Million to Local Municipalities to Prepare Sites for Businesses
Tennessee is sending $17 million in taxpayer funds to communities throughout the state to build out infrastructure on vacant sites being prepared for future businesses.
The largest grant is more than $4.5 million to Crossville for speculative building construction at Interchange Business Park.
Read the full storyLocal Power Companies, AAA Offer Tips for Extreme Heat Period Across Tennessee
The American Automobile Association (AAA) and local power companies across Tennessee have shared tips on how to stay safe and conserve energy usage to avoid high electric bills during periods of extreme heat.
Read the full storyAudrey Hale Sought Forgiveness Before Covenant School Attack, Wrote Journal Entries About Religion
Audrey Elizabeth Hale sought forgiveness from God in a journal entry dated March 27, 2023, the date she claimed the lives of three 9-year-old children and three adults during her devastating attack on the Covenant School.
The Tennessee Star confirmed on June 5 it obtained about 80 pages of Hale’s writings, recovered from her vehicle by police at the Covenant School, from a source familiar with the investigation.
Read the full storyAudrey Hale Expressed Desire to ‘Be a Kid Again’ in Journal Recovered from Vehicle After Covenant Attack
Covenant School killer Audrey Elizabeth Hale wrote entries in the journal police recovered from her vehicle that seems to corroborate media reports suggesting Hale had childlike interests and wanted to be a child prior to her devastating attack on March 27, 2023.
The Tennessee Star confirmed on June 5 it obtained about 80 pages of Hale’s writings from a source close to the Covenant investigation.
Read the full storyCovenant Killer Audrey Hale Wrote About Resorting to ‘Cartoon Porn’ in Recovered Journal
Covenant School killer Audrey Elizabeth Hale mentioned consuming pornography in the journal police recovered from her vehicle, and in one entry wrote she must “resort to cartoon porn” due to her inability to find a romantic partner.
The Tennessee Star confirmed on June 5 it obtained the journal police obtained from Hale’s vehicle after her devastating attack that claimed the lives of three 9-year-old children and three adult staff members at the Covenant School on March 27, 2023 from a source familiar with the investigation.
Read the full storyAutopsy Results Revealed in Death of Riley Strain
Autopsy results in the high profile death of college student Riley Strain were released Tuesday.
According to several reports, Strain’s cause of death is officially lists as “drowning and ethanol intoxication.” His death was classified as accidental.
Read the full storyTennessee Factored TennCare Reserves into New Budget
Over the past few budget years, Tennessee has received TennCare reserves that have covered the state’s end-of-year budget shortfalls.
This budget year, Senate Finance Chair Bo Watson vowed the budget would be adjusted for lower-than-expected tax and use fee collections. The budget came in at $52.8 billion, lower than the past two years.
Read the full storyAmericans for Prosperity Action Endorses Tennessee U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles for Reelection
Americans for Prosperity Action (AFP Action) endorsed U.S. Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) for reelection to Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District on Monday.
Read the full storyCovenant School Killer Audrey Hale Called Those She Disliked ‘Robots, ‘Clones’ or ‘Not Real’ in Recovered Journal
Audrey Elizabeth Hale referred to individuals or groups who she disliked as “robots,” “clones,” or “not real” in various entries found in the journal police recovered from her vehicle after she claimed the lives of three 9-year-old children and three adult staff members at the Covenant School on March 27, 2023.
The Tennessee Star confirmed on June 5 it obtained approximately 80 pages of Hale’s writings from a source familiar with the Covenant investigation.
Read the full storyBlaze Reporter Steve Baker on Monday’s Show Cause Hearing in Covenant Killer Writings Case: ‘The Nonsense’ Coming from Judge Myles Was ‘Remarkable’
Michael Patrick Leahy, Editor-in-Chief and CEO of The Tennessee Star, and Steve Baker, investigative journalist and opinion contributor for Blaze News, agreed that Monday’s show cause hearing in front of Tennessee Chancery Court Judge l’Ashea Myles was “nonsense.”
Read the full storyJudge Switches Show Cause Hearing to ‘Landscaping’ Exercise as Lawyers Plead for Release of Ruling, Leahy Still in Legal Jeopardy
The Show Cause Hearing scheduled Monday by Tennessee Chancery Court Judge I’Ashea L. Myles concluded after the judge repeatedly referenced her prior order in which she explained the possibility of appointing an outside attorney to investigate and prosecute possible contempt charges against Michael Patrick Leahy, the editor-in-chief of The Tennessee Star and the CEO of Star News Digital Media, Inc. (SNDM).
Myles ordered on June 10 for Leahy to appear in court for the Show Cause Hearing after a source familiar with the Covenant investigation provided The Star with a journal written by Covenant School killer Audrey Elizabeth Hale, as well as police documents related to the Covenant investigation, and The Star began reporting Hale’s own words and the contents of investigative documents.
Read the full storyFederal Judge Grants Tennessee AG’s Request to Block the Education Department’s Title IX Rule from Taking Effect
A federal judge with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky granted Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti and Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman’s preliminary injunction request to block the Biden Administration’s new Title IX rule from taking effect on Monday.
Read the full storyChinese ‘Cyber Police’ Agent Runs Online Network Helping Illegal Immigrants Flood Into US
A private social network run by a self-identified Chinese government agent provides illegal immigrants with resources to get into the U.S. and evade border authorities, a Daily Caller News Foundation investigation discovered.
The American Self-Guided Tour Channel is a Chinese-language groupwith over 8,000 members on the encrypted instant messaging platform Telegram that serves as both a forum for discussing Chinese illegal immigration and a hub for documents detailing specific routes to the U.S., a DCNF review of the channel found.
Read the full storyMedia Outlets, Influencers Band Together to Show Support for Tennessee Star Editor-in-Chief
On the day when The Star News Network’s Editor-in-Chief Michael Patrick Leahy is scheduled to appear before a judge for publishing information from the journal of Covenant School killer Audrey Elizabeth Hale, news networks across America and the world have picked up the story.
Leahy was ordered to appear Tennessee Chancery Court Judge l’Ashea Myles for a show cause hearing on Monday, to determine whether publishing the information interfered with Tennessee lawsuit in which Leahy and Star News Digital Media, Inc. (SNDM) are seeking to compel the full release of Hale’s writings, including those that have been called a manifesto, by the Metro Nashville Police Department.
Read the full storyCovenant School Killer Audrey Hale Wrote Her ‘Thoughts About Death’ Changed ‘Significantly’ After Middle School Classmate Died in Car Accident
Audrey Elizabeth Hale wrote in her journal, found in the killer’s vehicle by police after her March 27, 2023 attack on the Covenant School, that her “thoughts about death” changed “significantly” in the period after her middle school basketball teammate and classmate Sydney Sims died tragically following a 2022 car accident.
The Tennessee Star confirmed on June 5 it obtained about 80 pages from Hale’s journal from a source familiar with the Covenant investigation.
Read the full storyTennessee U.S. Rep. Tim Burchett Tells CNN Host Point-Blank He Knows ‘Good And Well’ Border Bill Would’ve Been ‘Disaster’
Republican Tennessee Rep. Tim Burchett told CNN’s Jim Acosta on Friday that the host knows “good and well” that a February Senate border bill would have been disastrous if enacted.
The Emergency National Security Supplemental Appropriations Act included additional funds for hiring more immigration judges as well as handling foreign nationals illegally in the United States, but Republicans argued it would not meaningfully reduce illegal immigration. Acosta on “CNN Newsroom With Jim Acosta” characterized the bill as a “bipartisan effort to crack down on the border,” but Burchett said it was “a bad deal” and that the host understands it would not have been effective.
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Read the full storyCountry Music Star Chris Young to Headline July 4 Event in Nashville
Nashville’s Independence Day celebration will be headlined this year by country music artist Chris Young, the Nashville Convention and Visitors Corp announced.
Read the full storyCovenant Killer Audrey Hale Called Mother ‘Only Love I Have’ in Valentine’s Day Entry to Journal Recovered by Police
Audrey Elizabeth Hale wrote a Valentine’s Day entry to the journal police recovered from her vehicle after she claimed the lives of three 9-year-old students and three adult staff members at the Covenant School on March 27, 2023.
The Tennessee Star confirmed on June 5 it obtained approximately 80 pages of Hale’s writings from a source familiar with the Covenant investigation.
Read the full storyTennessee’s Ninth Safe Haven Baby Box Opens in Springfield
The ninth Safe Haven Baby Box in the state of Tennessee opened in Springfield on Thursday.
Located at Springfield Fire Station #2 on Bradley Drive, the Safe Haven Baby Box is a resource for mothers in crisis to “safely, securely, and anonymously surrender if they are unable to care for their newborn.”
Read the full storyTennessee Sheriff Indicted for Illegally Profiting from Inmate Labor
The Gibson County sheriff has been indicted on 22 charges for improperly profiting off inmate labor.
Sheriff Paul Thomas was indicted on charges of theft, forgery, computer crimes and official misconduct.
Read the full storyReporter Tom Pappert: Weaponized Justice Department Targets Conservatives Down the Chain as President Trump Predicted
Tom Pappert, lead reporter at The Tennessee Star, said the “weaponized” Department of Justice is going after everyday Americans just as former President Donald Trump predicted, pointing to the case of The Star’s CEO and Editor-in-Chief Michael Patrick Leahy who is ordered to appear in court on Monday, June 17 after his publication reported on the journal entries of Covenant School killer Audrey Elizabeth Hale.
Read the full storyTennessee Congressional Delegation Urges President Biden to Approve Governor Lee’s Disaster Declaration
All 11 members of the Tennessee congressional delegation sent a letter to President Joe Biden requesting the “swift approval” of Governor Bill Lee’s request for a Major Disaster Declaration due to severe storms that devastated communities across the Volunteer State last month.
On May 8 and May 9, several rounds of significant severe weather impacted 13 Tennessee counties, causing three fatalities and damage to 459 homes in Tennessee.
Read the full storyTennessee U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles Introduces the ‘No Juicing Joe Act’ Ahead of Trump v. Biden Debate
U.S. Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) introduced a bill on Thursday that would require the White House to notify Congress of each instance the president takes certain drugs relating to cognitive function.
Ogles’ “No Juicing Joe Act” would specifically require the White House to alert Congress when the president takes a drug that could alter his alertness, judgment, or mood.
Read the full storyTBI Marks Three-Year Anniversary of Summer Wells’ Disappearance with Video Update
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) marked the three year anniversary of the disappearance of Summer Wells with a video update on the case.
“We don’t have the evidence in this case to know for sure whether Summer was abducted or whether or not she walked away from her home and became lost,” said Josh Melton, the assistant director of TBI’s Criminal Investigation Division, in a video posted to X. “It’s really important for us to not focus all our attention on just one of those two.”
Read the full storyCovenant School Killer Audrey Hale Declared Herself ‘Boy That Has No Penis’ in One of 17 Writings About Transgenderism in Recovered Journal
Covenant School killer Audrey Elizabeth Hale wrote at least 17 times about her gender, struggle with her gender identity, or transgenderism either directly or indirectly in the journal police recovered from her vehicle.
The Tennessee Star confirmed last week it obtained about 80 pages of Hale’s writings from the journal, as well as documents related to the police investigation, from a source familiar with the Covenant case.
Read the full storyFormer Assistant Attorney General Jeff Clark Raises Three Concerns with Judge’s Order in Lawsuit to Release Covenant Killer Writings
Former acting Assistant Attorney General Jeff Clark raised three concerns on Thursday in response to news that Michael Patrick Leahy, the editor-in-chief of The Tennessee Star and CEO of its publisher Star News Digital Media, Inc. (SNDM), was compelled to appear in court on Monday.
Tennessee Chancery Court Judge I’Ashea L. Myles first ordered Leahy to appear in court on June 10 after The Star published dozens of articles reporting the journal entries of Covenant School killer Audrey Elizabeth Hale. The Star confirmed last week it obtained Hale’s journal and a portion of police documents from a source familiar with the Covenant investigation.
Read the full storyCovenant Killer Audrey Hale Wrote She was ‘Trapped’ in ‘Adult Life’ Where ‘No One Seems to Notice’ Her in Recovered Journal
Covenant School killer Audrey Elizabeth Hale wrote in the journal police recovered from her vehicle about her social isolation and inability to live independently.
The Tennessee Star confirmed last week it obtained about 80 pages of Hale’s writings from a source close to the Covenant investigation, including the lengthy entry titled “My Brain… This Life.”
Read the full storyTennessee Lawmakers Defend Tennessee Star Editor-in-Chief in Legal Case over Covenant Documents
Members of the Tennessee General Assembly took to X Friday to defend Tennessee Star Editor-in-Chief Michael Patrick Leahy, who was ordered to appear before Tennessee Chancery Court Judge l’Ashea Myles for a show cause hearing on Monday.
Myles issued the order after The Star published dozens of articles reporting on writings from a journal recovered from Covenant School mass shooter Audrey Elizabeth Hale.
Read the full storyTransgender Covenant School Killer Audrey Hale Wrote About Drinking Bud Light After Company Paid for Dylan Mulvaney Ads
Covenant School killer Audrey Elizabeth Hale, a biological female who identified as a transgender male, wrote in her journal about consuming Bud Light just over one month after the Anheuser-Busch InBev brewing company paid Dylan Mulvaney, a biological male who identifies as a transgender woman, to promote its product.
The Tennessee Star confirmed last week it obtained about 80 pages of Hale’s writings, recovered from her vehicle by police, from a source familiar with the Covenant investigation.
Read the full storyTennessee AG Jonathan Skrmetti Urges Congress to Pass Child Safety Act
Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti is among the bipartisan coalition of 44 state and territory attorneys general endorsing the Child Exploitation and Artificial Intelligence Expert Commission Act of 2024.
Read the full storyTennessee U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles Signs Letter Pushing Back on New Energy Mandates on Home Construction
U.S. Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) signed a letter to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), opposing the agencies’ recently adopted mandates for new home construction.
On May 28, the HUD and USDA’s “Adoption of Energy Efficiency Standards for New Construction of HUD- and USDA-Financed Housing” mandate went into effect, requiring all HUD and USDA-financed single-family homes to be constructed under the 2021 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC).
Read the full storyTwo Blount County Deputies Shot, TBI Investigating
According to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI), two Blount County sheriff’s deputies were shot in the line of duty Tuesday afternoon.
TBI said the deputies were called to a domestic disturbance.
Read the full storyDaughter Points Gun at Father in Tennessee Department of Safety Gun Lock Campaign Video
In a promotional video for a gun cable lock giveaway by the Tennessee Department of Safety & Homeland Security (TDSHS), a girl is depicted pointing a rifle at her father.
The 30 second spot shows a father teaching his son how to shoot a rifle.
Read the full storyEntries in Journal of Audrey Hale Suggest Date of Covenant Attack was Significant to Killer
A handful of entries in the journal recovered from the vehicle of Covenant School killer Audrey Elizabeth Hale appear to suggest she might have assigned a numerological meaning to the date of her devastating attack which claimed the lives of three 9-year-old students and three adults.
The Tennessee Star confirmed last week it obtained about 80 pages of Hale’s writings from a source close to the Covenant investigation. Among these entries are multiple pages that suggest Hale assigned special significance to the numbers 2 and 7.
Read the full storyCovenant Killer Audrey Hale Drank Bud Light Prior to Social Media ‘Suicide Note’ Left for Friend, Journal Claims
Covenant School killer Audrey Elizabeth Hale wrote about drinking Bud Light around the time she published a now-deleted “suicide note” on social media, according to a journal police recovered from her vehicle.
The Tennessee Star confirmed last week it obtained about 80 pages of Hale’s writings from a source close to the Covenant investigation, including an entry that mentioned consuming alcohol less than two weeks before her devastating attack that claimed the lives of three 9-year-old students and three adult staff members on March 27, 2023.
Read the full storyTennessee Judge Denies Motion by Star News CEO in Covenant Killer Writings Case, Raises Possibility of Prosecution as Leahy Files Emergency Appeal
Michael Patrick Leahy, who is the editor-in-chief of The Tennessee Star and the CEO of Star News Digital Media, Inc., on Thursday filed an emergency appeal with the Middle Tennessee Court of Appeals.
Leahy seeks to obtain a stay to would stop the Show Cause Hearing set in the June 10 order by Chancery Court Judge I’Ashea L. Myles for Monday in the Tennessee case to unseal the writings of Covenant School killer Audrey Elizabeth Hale.
Read the full storyAmazon Announces Expansion to Affordable Housing Project in Nashville
Amazon announced Tuesday that it will invest another $2.2 billion in its Housing Equity Fund to create more than 21,000 new affordable housing units in Nashville and two other of its hometown communities.
Read the full storyStar News CEO Michael Patrick Leahy Files Emergency Motion to Set Aside Show Cause Hearing Order in Covenant Killer Documents Case
An emergency motion filed on Wednesday requests Tennessee Chancery Court Judge I’Ashea L. Myles set aside her June 10 court order which established a show cause hearing on Monday after dozens of articles including writings from a journal recovered from Covenant School killer Audrey Elizabeth Hale were published by The Tennessee Star.
Michael Patrick Leahy, who is the CEO of Star News Digital Media, Inc. and the editor-in-chief of The Star, was ordered by Myles to appear in court on Monday after WSMV 4 reporter Stacey Cameron claimed he called the court to ask Myles “if she was considering holding the Star or anyone else in contempt” due to its reporting.
Read the full storyFifth Medication Prescribed to Covenant Killer Audrey Hale was an Anti-Anxiety Drug Associated with ‘Mania, Hostility’ and ‘Irritability’
A photograph of medication bottles prescribed to Covenant School killer Audrey Elizabeth Hale reveals she was given a fifth, previously unknown prescription. This is in addition to the four medications previously reported by The Tennessee Star.
The image of the prescription bottles, obtained by The Star from a source familiar with the Covenant investigation, depicts four orange, semi-transparent prescription bottles with blue lids and white labels. All of the bottles are prescribed to Audrey E. Hale and bear the name of a psychiatric nurse practitioner who runs a practice based in Nashville.
Read the full storyCovenant Killer Audrey Hale Wrote ‘Dying Young Is My Destiny’ in Recovered Journal, Claimed ‘Society Ignores’ Her
Covenant School killer Audrey Elizabeth Hale wrote entries in her journal about her social isolation about one month before her devastating attack on March 27, 2023.
The Star confirmed last week it obtained 80 pages of Hale’s writings from a journal police recovered from her vehicle at the Covenant School from a source familiar with the investigation.
Read the full storyFBI Declines to Confirm ‘Legacy Tokens’ Memo Sent to Nashville Police Which Raised Precedent for Destruction of Covenant Killer Writings
The FBI declined on Monday to confirm to The Tennessee Star the authenticity of a memo it sent to the Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) that “strongly discourages” the release of “legacy tokens” left by those who commit devastating attacks like the Covenant School attack orchestrated by Audrey Elizabeth Hale.
The Star published the memo last week, revealing it was addressed to MNPD Chief John Drake and sent on May 11, 2023.
Read the full storyThree Tennessee U.S. Representatives to Play in Congressional Baseball Game on Wednesday
Tennessee U.S. Representatives Tim Burchett (R-TN-02), Chuck Fleischmann (R-TN-03), and Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) are set to play in the 2024 Congressional Baseball Game for Charity on Wednesday at Nationals Park.
Read the full storyTennessee AG Skrmetti Urges Federal Court to Block the Education Department’s Title IX Rule
Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti and Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman urged a federal judge in Kentucky to block the U.S. Department of Education’s (DOE) finalized rule to rewrite Title IX to encompass gender identity and sexual orientation.
Read the full storyTennessee Governor Bill Lee Endorses Aron Maberry in House District 68 Primary Race
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee endorsed Aron Maberry, a Montgomery County school board member, in the August 1 Republican primary election for Tennessee State House District 68.
Read the full storyBiden’s DOJ Orders Hawkins County Schools to Hire ‘Anti-Harassment Coordinator’ to Oversee ‘Race Discrimination and Harassment Complaints’
The Biden administration’s Department of Justice (DOJ) ordered Hawkins County Schools on Monday to implement a number of measures to “end racial discrimination in its schools.”
A DOJ-led investigation into Hawkins County Schools that began in March 2023 found that the school system was “deliberately indifferent to known race-based harassment in its schools” and was ordered to spend at least three years under a federal settlement with the DOJ.
Read the full storyTennessee Officials React to Hunter Biden’s Guilty Verdict
Some of Tennessee’s federal lawmakers Tuesday reacted to the news that Hunter Biden, son of President Joe Biden, was convicted on felony gun charges.
The younger Biden was found guilty of making a false statement in the purchase of a gun, making a false statement related to information required to be kept by a federally licensed gun dealer, and possession of a gun by a person who is an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance in a federal court in Wilmington, Delaware.
Read the full storyCovenant Killer Audrey Hale Wrote of Desire to ‘Inflict Pain’ to Share ‘Same Fate’ with Former Friend Who Became Local Celebrity
Before Audrey Elizabeth Hale claimed the lives of three 9-year-old children and three adults in her devastating March 27, 2023 attack at the Covenant School, she wrote in a journal recovered by police of her desire to “inflict pain” and share the “same fate” with a former friend and middle school classmate who is now a Nashville radio personality.
The Tennessee Star confirmed last Wednesday it obtained photographic images showing 80 pages written by Hale in a journal recovered from her vehicle from a source familiar with the Covenant investigation.
Read the full storyCovenant Killer Audrey Hale Wrote Journal Entries Blaming Her Brain for Planning Covenant School Attack
Covenant School killer Audrey Elizabeth Hale expressed frustrations in her journal with her brain in entries that appeared to reference her purported autism diagnosis and struggles with gender identity.
The Tennessee Star reported last Wednesday it obtained 80 pages of Hale’s writings, in the form of 40 photographic images of her journal captured by law enforcement.
Read the full storyHunter Biden Found Guilty on All Three Counts in Federal Gun Trial
The verdict comes after six days of testimony from witnesses that include ex-girlfriends, an ex-wife, and law enforcement officials. Biden did not testify in his own case.
The jury in the Hunter Biden gun trial on Tuesday found the first son guilty on all three federal charges in connection with the purchase of a gun in 2018.
Read the full story