A new law that will take effect on July 1 could put school bullies behind bars.
HB 2590, which was sponsored by State Representative Lowell Russell (R-Vonore), “makes bullying and cyber-bullying offenses subject to the same penalties as harassment; requires an officer to make a report of bullying and notify a parent or guardian when victim is a minor,” according to its summary.
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Metro Nashville Police Department handed out kits for Narcan, medicine that can treat drug overdoses in emergency situations, to about 40 homeless people on Monday in response to a spike in overdoses on Sunday and Monday.
Detectives are investigating the overdose spike, according to an MNPD press release. In only one incident downtown, eight individuals overdosed together, causing two fatalities while the other six were revived with Narcan.
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Tennessee U.S. Representative Steve Cohen (D-TN-09) introduced a resolution in the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday that would censure U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Samuel Alito and remove him from litigation related to the 2020 election or the January 6 Capitol riots.
Last week, The New York Times reported that an inverted U.S. flag was photographed flying from the front lawn of Alito’s residence on January 17, 2021.
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Caroline Glick, senior contributing editor at Jewish News Syndicate, sat down for an exclusive interview with The Michael Patrick Leahy Show on Monday during the first day of the 2024 Israel Summit at the Ramsey Event Center in Franklin.
Glick said she attended the Israel Summit to show “appreciation” for those “willing to stand up and make themselves heard” regarding supporting Israel.
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The Tennessee Student Solidarity Network will hold a “Justice School” in July to teach individuals as young as 15 how to organize protests and campaigns for “progressive movements.”
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A spokesman for Representative Jasmine Crockett (D-TX-30) provided new details to The Tennessee Star about the alleged hate crimes the Democrat experienced as an undergraduate student in Memphis around 2002.
Pressed for details about the incidents, Crockett’s spokesman told The Star, “they consisted of racist slurs and hate mail that were put in her and 17 other students’ campus mailboxes,” and Crockett “described them as using letters cut from newspapers and magazines.”
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NASHVILLE, Tennessee – Actress Patricia Heaton, known for her roles in Everybody Loves Raymond and The Middle, took a public stand against rising antisemitism in America by starting her own nonprofit, the October 7 Coalition (O7C).
Heaton, who lives in Nashville, founded O7C as a Christian grassroots group meant to serve as a network for Christians and pastors to take public stands against antisemitism in the U.S. Heaton and the group have been involved in protests against antisemitism, like at Columbia University which has previously been embattled by anti-Israel demonstrations and encampments by students.
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NASHVILLE, Tennessee– A group of Israeli artists gathered in a Nashville recording booth Monday to make music for a special initiative to fight antisemitism organized by actress Patricia Heaton.
Heaton, an Emmy winner for her role as Debra Barone in Everybody Loves Raymond, serves as founder of the October 7 Coalition (O7C), a nonprofit organization meant to be a network of Christians taking visible stands against rising antisemitism in the United States in the wake of the October 7 terrorist attack in Israel.
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A three month operation organized by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) and executed with the help of nearly 20 local, state, and federal law enforcement partners has resulted in the arrests of 12 people on child sex crime charges.
The operation, dubbed “Operation Protecting Tomorrow,” was designed to “identify and locate children who were victims of sextortion and online sexual exploitation, along with identifying and arresting individuals who aim to harm children online,” according to TBI.
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Pete Barrett, the founder of Barrett Firearms Manufacturing, has endorsed the new “Gun Owners for Trump” coalition organized by the Republican National Committee (RNC) and former President Donald Trump.
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A record high number of Tennesseans are expected to travel during this year’s Memorial Day weekend, according to the American Automobile Association (AAA).
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The arrest of a Ukrainian national previously in Tennessee on a student visa to study at Carson-Newman University was announced Thursday, with federal authorities alleging the foreign national participated in an “illicit revenue generation” scheme to aid the government of North Korea.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) reported that Oleksandr Didenko, a 27-year-old university student originally from Kiev, Ukraine, was arrested in Poland on May 6 on charges including identity theft of U.S. citizens for use by North Koreans.
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An independent accounting of the costs associated with the transportation referendum put forward by Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell on Thursday claims the true cost of the mayor’s goals will swell to $6.93 billion over the 15-year life of the project.
O’Connell originally announced the cost of building the transportation improvements in his referendum would amount to about $3.1 billion, with additional annual operating costs of about $111 million.
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Two Memphis men have pleaded guilty to committing arson at three tax service businesses, according to the United State’s Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Tennessee.
“Dantoni Colbert, 35, and Edward Matthews, Jr., 33, pled guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit arson, and arson of three separate tax service businesses,” says a release from United States Attorney Kevin G. Ritz’s office. “According to the information presented in court, on February 6 and 7, 2023, Colbert and Matthews conspired to set fire to three different buildings that were occupied by Washington Tax Services in the Memphis area.”
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Jeff Clark, former acting assistant attorney general during the Trump administration, said it is unlikely any officials in the Biden Administration will be charged and prosecuted under a provision of the 1939 Hatch Act for election interference and affecting the 2024 election.
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Former Nashville Mayor Megan Barry on Sunday explained her decision to reenter politics with a challenge to U.S. Representative Mark Green (R-TN-07), asserting “now is the right time” for her foray into the public arena.
Barry resigned as Nashville mayor in 2018 after it was reported she financed an affair with her bodyguard using almost $175,000 in taxpayer money and used taxpayer resources and vehicles to facilitate the affair at the Nashville City Cemetery.
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Representative Jasmine Crockett (D-TX-30) claimed in a 2020 interview that she and other black students were the victim to multiple hate crimes in 2002, when she was attending Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee.
Crockett told Darling Society in September 2020 that she was “the victim of a series of hate crimes” at Rhodes College that required the university to enlist the help of The Cochran Firm, a Memphis-based law firm made famous by its founder, Johnnie Cochran Jr., who secured a not guilty verdict in the O.J. Simpson murder trial often dubbed the “Trial of the Century.”
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Nashville-area public policy expert Clint Brewer said the Republican primary race for Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District will heavily be influenced by fundraising.
Incumbent Congressman Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) and Metro Councilwoman Courtney Johnston are running in the GOP primary for the 5th Congressional District on August 1.
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While the Biden administration claims that the U.S. inflation rate is only 3.4 percent, Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) released a guide disputing that figure, with evidence showing that Americans are suffering far more than the administration is letting on.
“Inflation is a top concern for Tennesseans and Americans,” says a guide called “The True Cost of Bidenflation. “Under the Biden administration, inflation has hit its highest rate in 41 years, and prices across the board are up nearly 20%. Meanwhile, the administration touts that inflation is ‘only’ at 3.4%.
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Nashville’s Beacon Center, a politically conservative think tank, explained the “downright inexcusably awful” portions of Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell’s mass transportation plan Choose How You Move in an analysis published Friday.
Choose How You Move is a $3.1 billion mass transportation plan proposed by O’Connell that would upgrade nearly 600 traffic signals, build or upgrade 86 miles of sidewalks, provide 24/7 public transportation, and more features planned to be funded by a half-cent sales tax increase. The plan fell under criticism by political conservatives who have argued Choose How You Move is a misuse of tax dollars.
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A bill to combat street racing has passed the Tennessee General Assembly and is awaiting the signature of Gov. Bill Lee (R).
HB 2062 “creates a street racing task force to study and determine best practices for curbing illegal street racing in this state,” according to its summary.
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A far-left activist and DEI consultant ha launched an anti-gun political action committee (PAC).
Heather Gee-Thomas, whose LinkedIn profile describes her as an “Entrepreneur, DE&I Consultant [and] Activist/Advocate (Equality and Justice),” founded the Tennessee Mom PAC.
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One month after announcing a transportation plan focused on more busses, Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell reportedly requested a full safety review of the city’s public transportation service, WeGo, after a man was shot six times on the steps of the bus station located at Rep John Lewis Way & MLK Jr Blvd, according to WSMV.
On Thursday, the Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) announced that a 31-year-old convicted felon was arrested for the shooting of an 18-year-old at the bus stop earlier in the day.
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Former President Donald Trump on Friday announced that he had agreed to participate in a fourth presidential debate with President Joe Biden and that he had accepted a Fox News proposal to hold the vice presidential debate on behalf of his as-yet-unselected running mate.
“I have accepted a fourth Presidential Debate against Crooked Joe Biden, this time with NBC & Telemundo,” Trump announced on Truth Social. “It is important as Republicans that we WIN with our Great Hispanic Community, who Biden has devastated with Crippling Inflation, High Gas Prices, Crime in our Streets, and Border Chaos.”
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Shelby County Sheriff Floyd Bonner on Wednesday said he will be compelled to file a lawsuit against the Shelby County Commission if the county proceeds with a plan to cut his budget. He warned that the county must provide the funding to comply with Tennessee law and promote public safety.
Bonner and Chief Administrative Officer Alicia Lindsey said the county budget proposed by Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris would force his office to cut 441 positions. They asserted that such severe cuts would jeopardize public safety, precluding him from consenting to the budget.
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Sonesta International Hotels Corporation and HaYovel, one of the organizers of the 2024 Israel Summit, have reportedly reached a “resolution” following the Sonesta Nashville Airport Hotel’s decision last week to breach its contract and withdraw from hosting the summit.
Sonesta and HaYovel released a joint statement on Friday announcing the update.
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CNN legal analyst Joey Jackson and criminal defense attorney Bill Brennan, who previously represented former President Donald Trump, said that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s star witness Michael Cohen experienced a beatdown on Thursday.
Cohen, who previously represented Trump, testified under cross-examination again Thursday, with legal commentators raising the prospect the witness committed perjury. Jackson and Brennan agreed on “CNN News Central” that Cohen’s testimony was brutal for the witness and that Trump’s defense attorney Todd Blanch made significant progress during the cross-examination.
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by Lee Rizzuto In today’s political discourse, conversations about saving our nation and its future are increasingly common. Key issues such as border security, increasing crime, economic stability, and rising inflation dominate headlines. However, amidst these pressing concerns, there is a critical, yet often overlooked, issue that demands our immediate attention. Ronald Reagan famously said, “The family has always been the cornerstone of American society.” We are witnessing in America, a systematic erosion of that cornerstone. Family values are defined as the principles which allow one man and one woman the opportunity to marry, have children, and earn a living to pay for the care and raising of their children – in short, family values are laid out early in our nation’s founding – life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Across America, there is a palpable sense of concern as these core principles are under threat. Divisive ideologies that preach blatant falsehoods have infiltrated our communities, our schools, our homes, our minds, our children’s minds. A man cannot become a woman and vice versa – a biological truth, yet one that is treated as bigotry by those seeking to destroy the cornerstones of society. Those spreading these falsehoods…
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Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell announced in his first State of Metro address on Tuesday that his Choose How You Move mass transit plan passed a required independent audit.
O’Connell’s mass transportation plan Choose How You Move includes public transportation available 24/7, almost 600 upgraded traffic signals, 86 miles of sidewalks, and other features, all proposed to be funded by a half-cent sales tax. The plan must meet certain requirements under Tennessee’s IMPROVE Act, like the independent audit, before being considered by Nashville voters on a November ballot.
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Tennessee U.S. Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) led a group of Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives in introducing the Let Trump Speak Act on Thursday.
The bill, filed as H.R.8410, would prohibit judges from issuing gag orders to defendants in any criminal or civil proceeding.
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Penske Truck Rental employees in Nashville successfully voted to remove the International Association of Machinists (IAM) union from power, the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation announced Thursday.
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The Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) is asking for the public’s help in solving a decades-old cold case.
“Do you know what happened to Ricky Rydell Young, 36?” asked a Thursday post on MNPD’s Facebook page. “On May 14, 1998, A resident on Greenwood Avenue in East Nashville was walking his dog when he discovered Ricky suffering from a gunshot wound to his chest in a nearby driveway. There were no witnesses to his murder. Someone knows what happened to Ricky Young.”
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A new Forbes study ranks Tennessee the 11th worst state in the country when it comes to porch piracy, stealing packages delivered to homes before the homeowner receives them.
“Porch piracy peaked during the pandemic when more people shopped online than ever before, according to Security.org’s annual package theft report,” according to Forbes. “Theft of parcels in general tends to increase during the holiday season as well. As online shopping continues to be on the rise, so do incidences of porch piracy.”
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Tennessee U.S. Representatives Diana Harshbarger (R-TN-01) and Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) were among 11 Republican members of the U.S. House of Representatives who traveled to New York on Thursday to support former President Donald Trump in his hush money trial.
While speaking to reporters outside of the Manhattan courthouse, Harshbarger called the trial involving Trump “the persecution of a patriot,” saying, “We’re watching in real time the Biden Administration’s Department of Justice interfere in a case that should have never been brought in the first place.”
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Aaron Gulbransen, executive director of the Tennessee Faith and Freedom Coalition, said he believes state lawmakers will craft a final bill for Governor Bill Lee’s universal school choice proposal before the General Assembly convenes in January.
Lee’s school choice bill, the Education Freedom Scholarship Act, failed to pass the General Assembly during its recent convened session.
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A Washington D.C.-based left-wing advocacy group called the Human Rights Campaign Foundation is behind a lawsuit against the Williamson County Board of Education challenging a state law that restricts students from using multi-person restrooms that do not match their sex.
The plaintiff, a transgender minor, is represented by two attorneys with the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, a nonprofit organization under the Human Rights Campaign (HRC). HRC describes itself as “the nation’s largest LGBTQ+ civil rights organization” on its website with local groups in most states.
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Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert held a press conference on Tuesday after her attorney filed a motion to dismiss the legal petition calling for her to be removed from office.
In her remarks, Halbert reasserted her stance that the Shelby County Clerk’s office should be given the majority of the money it collects for the betterment of the office and declared she will not apologize.
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Several Tennessee National Guard members headed to Bulgaria this week for joint training with NATO allies.
“Nearly 20 Soldiers from Athens’ 117th Military Police Battalion and Murfreesboro’s 269th Military Police Company joined more than 140 military policemen from five different allied nations today for the opening ceremony of Beyond Horizon 2024, a multi-national training exercise held at Bulgaria’s Novo Selo Training Site, May 14-22,” according to the Tennessee Department of Military.
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Tennessee U.S. Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) sent a letter to the mayors of Williamson County and Franklin as well as the top law enforcement officials of the area to offer his office’s support for the upcoming Israel Summit set to be held at the Ramsey Event Center on May 20-22.
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Tom Pappert, lead reporter at The Tennessee Star, said the Sonesta Nashville Airport Hotel’s decision to break its contractual obligation to host the 2024 Israel Summit not only appears to be antisemitic but also a “lack of moral leadership.”
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Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the Independent running for president, will hold a campaign event with big-name comedians on Wednesday night in Nashville.
“Laughter is the best medicine. Get a heaping dose and help heal America with humor at a ‘Night of Comedy’ with future President Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and future Vice President Nicole Shanahan,” said a flyer for the event.
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Ben Cunningham, founder of the Nashville Tea Party, said the Nashville Mayor’s $3.1 billion transit referendum is a “ripoff” of the taxpayers who are not given a proper voice in the media to express opposition to the transportation plan.
Mayor Freddie O’Connell unveiled his $3.1 billion transit plan, “Choose How You Move: An All-Access Pass to Sidewalks, Signals, Service, and Safety,” last month.
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First Liberty Institute, the legal counsel for the organizing groups of the 2024 Israel Summit, raised questions to the Sonesta Nashville Airport Hotel’s reasoning behind its decision to break its contractual obligation to host the event next week.
The Israel Summit was expected to be hosted next week at the Sonesta Hotel until hotel leadership contacted one of the summit’s sponsors, notifying the group that it was dropping its contract to host the event, citing “threatening” calls and messages.
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The Massachusetts-based asset management company which owns the Sonesta Nashville Airport hotel currently under threat of legal action over its decision to cancel the use of its venue for the 2024 Israel Summit did not respond to a Wednesday press inquiry by The Tennessee Star.
The hotel company’s silence comes amid conflicting claims by the Sonesta Nashville Airport hotel’s general manager, Troy Carver, and the Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD).
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Tennessee Governor Bill Lee signed a bill to authorize the death penalty in child rape cases into law last week. The law now goes into effect on July 1.
The bill, SB 1834/HB 1663, authorizes the death penalty as a punishment for rape of a child, aggravated rape of a child, or especially aggravated rape of a child.
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Tennessee U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) on Tuesday argued Syracuse University should lose its federal funding after a man convicted of manslaughter was arrested at an anti-Israel encampment constructed on the university campus.
Eural Warren was arrested by the Syracuse University of Public Safety on Friday, according to The National Desk, after the outlet previously confirmed the convicted killer was staying at the anti-Israel encampment constructed at the university despite officials declaring only students would be allowed access to the protest.
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Tennessee U.S. Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) introduced the companion legislation in the House of Representatives this week for Ohio U.S. Senator JD Vance’s (R-OH) bill that would restrict the Chinese government’s access to American capital markets and exchanges.
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Tom Pappert, lead reporter at The Tennessee Star, pointed out that McKenzie McClure, the biological female and former Christ Presbyterian Academy (CPA) student arrested by federal authorities on cyberstalking charges, may have been subject to a 30-day mental hold as she awaits a detention hearing scheduled for June 3.
McClure, who identifies as a transgender man and prefers the name “Kalvin,” was arrested on cyberstalking charges on April 29 after making a public threat against Governor Bill Lee and leaving a concerning voicemail to CPA in March, which caused two schools to shut down the following day.
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The Ramsey Event Center in Franklin will hold the 2024 Israel Summit next week after the event’s original venue, the Sonesta Nashville Airport Hotel, broke its contractual obligation to host the summit.
“God is doing amazing things in Tennessee, and we are even more excited about the upcoming Israel Summit,” two of the summit’s sponsors, HaYovel and The Israel Guys, announced Tuesday. “Dave Ramsey stepped in TODAY and offered his state-of-the-art event center for the Israel Summit!”
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Troy A. Miller, president and CEO of the National Religious Broadcasters (NRB) association, is demanding that the Sonesta Nashville Airport Hotel fulfill its contractual obligation to host the 2024 Israel Summit next week.
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