The man accused of killing a Blount County Sheriff’s deputy has been indicted on first-degree murder charges, according to Tuesday reports.
Kenneth Wayne DeHart Jr., who allegedly killed 43-year-old Deputy Greg McGowan and injured 22-year-old Deputy Shelby Eggers during a traffic stop in February, led authorities on a days-long manhunt before he was captured on February 13.
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A criminally indicted Shelby County judge, who last week was jailed for her alleged cocaine use, has reportedly asked to resign from her public position.
Shelby County Judge Melissa Boyd asked to resign from her judgeship in a letter dated March 29, according to Fox 13, which reported that Boyd’s letter bears the signature of one of her criminal defense attorneys.
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Home rental service Airbnb said in a Tuesday release that it brought in more than $425 million in tourism taxes to the state of Tennessee since 2018.
According to the company, $130 million of that tax revenue was remitted in 2023 alone.
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The Tennessee General Assembly approved legislation on Thursday to label any food product with vaccine technology as a pharmaceutical drug. The bill is currently awaiting a signature from Governor Bill Lee.
HB 1894 was passed by the Tennessee House on Thursday and subsequently adopted by the Senate. It aims to define “food that contains a vaccine or vaccine material as a drug for purposes of the Tennessee Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act.”
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Mike Benz, a former Trump State Department official and current executive director of the Foundation for Freedom Online, revealed how NewsGuard is making its way into K-12 public schools and “warping” the minds of tens of millions of schoolchildren.
NewsGuard is a for-profit entity dedicated to countering what it calls “misinformation” founded by journalist Steven Brill and former Wall Street Journal publisher Gordon Crovitz.
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The man wanted by police for a shooting in a Nashville restaurant on Easter Sunday was out of jail on a combined $50,000 bond and has an extensive criminal past, according to court records.
Anton Rucker, 46, is suspected of injuring five and killing one person—Allen Beachem, 33—in a shooting at Roasted, a restaurant in the Salemtown neighborhood of Nashville. Rucker is now one of Tennessee’s most wanted, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation in a post to X.
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The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) is investigating the death of Coffee County Mayor Judd Matheny, who was found deceased inside his home by the Tullahoma Police Department (TPD) on Tuesday.
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The second week of the disbarment trial of Donald Trump’s former DOJ official, Jeffrey Clark, resumed its second week on Monday. Clark, who is also a defendant in Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ RICO prosecution, is being disciplined for drafting a letter that was never sent to Georgia officials after the 2020 election advising them of their options for dealing with the election illegalities.
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Since the March 5 primary results were announced, the GOP rumor mill has been filled with claims that several members of the Tennessee Republican State Executive Committee (SEC) intend to challenge the “Republican bona fides” of some of the elected Trump delegates at an April 6 meeting of the SEC. Such a challenge would be unprecedented and fraught with legal and political complications.
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The recent revelation that the Biden administration has arranged for more than 380,000 illegal immigrants to fly into the United States, primarily to Florida and Texas, comes as Republicans in Congress demand answers about American airports being used to house them.
A Monday analysis of illegal immigrant flights by the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) found 386,000 have been allowed to enter the country illegally through airports by the Biden administration. CIS found the majority of illegal immigrants chose Florida airports as their destination.
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A bill in the Tennessee General Assembly that already passed the Senate would, in part, require students to view a fetal development video as part of their sex education or human development curriculum.
SB 2767 requires the state’s education commissioner to submit a report of the disposition of each complaint filed by a parent or legal guardian against any school district to the General Assembly. The General Assembly’s goal is to ensure that school boards are held accountable for investigating complaints made by parents.
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The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) Monday honored a special agent who was once described as being “addicted to danger,” after he passed away last week.
Special Agent Maxey Gilleland served the agency and the people of Tennessee for 31 years, until he retired in 2004. At age 19, before joining TBI, he entered the Marine Corps and was sent to fight in the Vietnam War. There, according to TBI, he earned several Purple Hearts, a Bronze Star and the Navy Cross.
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Tom Pappert, lead reporter at The Tennessee Star, said News Channel 5’s Phil Williams “ought to be embarrassed” as the investigative journalist continues to provide illegitimate responses to inquiries surrounding the legality of a recorded phone call the network aired during last Monday’s 8-minute anti-school choice hit piece.
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Tennessee Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) plans to table the impeachment articles against Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas next week after senators are sworn in as jurors.
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A pair of Tennessee bills are intended to allow Tennessee to fight illegal immigration in the state.
Senate Bill 2158 will require agencies and law enforcement departments across the state to collect data on the financial effects of illegal immigration in the state. Senate Bill 757 would require local law enforcement to verify the citizenship of a detainee and report the individual to the Department of Safety and Homeland Security if found to be illegally in the country.
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President Joe Biden’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS) refuses to publicly identify the dozens of U.S. international airports for which it has approved direct flights from abroad for certain inadmissible aliens. At least 386,000 migrants through February have been allowed to fly to interior U.S. airports as part of a legally dubious admissions program the administration launched in October 2022. The rationale for the program is to “reduce the number of individuals crossing unlawfully” over the southern border — by flying them over it directly into the interior and then releasing them on parole.
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The Tennessee Senate approved a bill that would put state law on college athletics name, image and likeness rules in line with a lawsuit brought against the National Collegiate Athletic Association by the Tennessee Attorney General.
The bill would change Tennessee law to allow prospective students to hire an agent and would eliminate fair market value limitations on athlete pay.
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Phil Williams, the NewsChannel 5 reporter known for his criticism of the effort by Governor Bill Lee to expand school choice in Tennessee, claimed on Friday that meddling by rich progressives in state politics is unworthy of his reporting because Republicans have a majority in the General Assembly.
Williams failed to acknowledge the recent funding of Nashville and Memphis by Bloomberg American Sustainable Cities, a climate change initiative backed by former New York mayor and Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg.
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At its core, conservativism holds that America is at its best when families are strong, communities are safe, and the economy is booming. But in recent years, in certain parts of Tennessee, violent crime has risen even though the state has increased spending to keep more of its citizens incarcerated for longer. It’s only prudent to ask whether the current approach is working.
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A Chinese national was arrested after driving onto a Marine Corps base in California and refusing to leave, U.S. Customs and Border Protection confirmed.
Border Patrol agents confirmed to a local news outlet that the Chinese national was arrested Wednesday after entering onto the base in Twentynine Palms.
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The Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) has released the identity of a suspect being sought for the shooting that occurred at Roasted, a small restaurant in the Salemtown neighborhood of Nashville, on Sunday that killed one man and injured four others.
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A gunman opened fire at a Nashville cafe during Easter brunch on Sunday afternoon, killing one and wounding four in a harrowing shooting that sent patrons scrambling.
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A group of Tennessee lawmakers have condemned President Joe Biden for proclaiming Easter Sunday as Transgender Day of Visibility, saying the president’s proclamation is a “satanic and patently Marxist declaration” and a “direct assault on Christianity.”
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The family of Riley Strain, the 22-year-old University of Missouri-Columbia student whose body was pulled from the Cumberland River in West Nashville last week, requested that a second autopsy be performed on Strain’s body.
Strain went missing after being asked to leave Luke Bryan’s bar on the night of March 8 before being recovered in the Cumberland River in West Nashville, approximately eight miles from downtown, two weeks later on March 22.
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Michael Patrick Leahy, editor-in-chief and CEO of The Tennessee Star, dissected a critical revelation in the case of The Covenant School shooter, 28-year-old Audrey Elizabeth Hale, who took six lives last year at the Nashville school.
Hale, who identified as transgender, shot and killed three adults and three students at The Covenant School in Nashville on March 27, 2023.
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NewsChannel 5 and investigative journalist Phil Williams have so far refused to answer questions about the suspicious origin of a phone call recording Williams obtained and broadcast in a Monday report attacking a school choice advocacy group.
The recording captured a phone conversation between Executive Director Tori Venable of Americans for Prosperity-Tennessee and State Representative Todd Warner (R-Chapel Hill), who currently opposes Governor Bill Lee’s pending school choice legislation.
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Tennessee State Representative Justin Jones (D-Nashville) claimed on Thursday that his Democratic colleagues are “bought and paid for” by House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville) in a now-deleted post to social media.
Jones wrote in a post to X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, that “Speaker Sexton has bought and paid for Dem leadership in the Tennessee House.” He accused Sexton of directing Democratic “silence and performance based on what’s best for him.”
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Governor Bill Lee appointed eight new members to the Tennessee State University (TSU) board of trustees on Thursday moments after signing legislation to vacate and reconstitute the entire board.
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Tucker Carlson posted an interview Tuesday of a Tennessee man who is facing 11 years in prison for praying outside an abortion clinic.
In October of 2022, agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) showed up at Paul Vaughn’s home with guns drawn and arrested him in front of his wife. Vaughn has 11 children.
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Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell claimed on Thursday that his transit referendum will include plans for approximately 600 new traffic signals, and that new technology will be used to streamline the flow of vehicle traffic in the Music City.
O’Connell addressed Nashville drivers in a series of posts to the social media platform X, writing, “one of the most important elements” to his “transportation improvement program” involves “how it improves how everyone moves, including people driving.”
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Americans for Prosperity – Tennessee (AFP-TN) celebrated the Tennessee Senate on Thursday for its passage of House Joint Resolution 81 by a 26-6 vote.
House Joint Resolution 81 would prohibit the Tennessee General Assembly from levying, authorizing, or otherwise permitting a state tax on property if enacted.
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A Chattanooga man received 21 years in prison on Wednesday after pleading guilty to distributing para-fluorofentanyl, a fentanyl analogue, that resulted in the overdose death of 19-year-old Charlotte Gallant.
Jonathan Bash, 25, sold a fentanyl analogue to the boyfriend of Gallant, misrepresenting the drug as ketamine, according to Bash’s plea agreement cited by the Eastern District of Tennessee U.S. Attorney’s Office.
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Shelby County Criminal Court Judge Melissa Boyd was remanded to jail by Tennessee Circuit Judge Roy Morgan on Wednesday after prosecutors provided evidence she tested positive for cocaine twice and failed to appear for a third drug test, violating the terms of her bond.
Boyd was previously granted a low, $5,000 bond after she was criminally indicted in December for alleged harassment and coercion of a former campaign employee. That employee stated Boyd abused drugs and alcohol while serving as a judge, including while she made decisions on the bench.
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The Tennesse General Assembly passed a bill prohibiting banks from de-banking and closing consumer accounts based on “social credit score” systems.
SB 2148 “prohibits financial institutions and insurers from denying or canceling services to a person, or otherwise discriminating against a person, based upon the use of a social credit score or other factors,” according to the bill’s summary.
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Tennessee Governor Bill Lee signed a bill prohibiting local governments from limiting the ability of law enforcement agencies to conduct routine traffic stops on Thursday.
The bill, SB 2572/HB 1931, was sponsored by State Senator Brent Taylor (R-Memphis) and State Representative John Gillespie (R-Memphis).
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State Senator Kerry Roberts (R-Springfield) said a bill that would prohibit individuals from transporting illegal aliens into the Volunteer State failed in committee because its language was not “exact.”
The bill, SB 2802, would increase the penalty fine for transporting an illegal alien from $1,000 to $5,000.
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Matt Boyle, the national political editor at Breitbart News, said Republican members of the U.S. House of Representatives need to “put the heat directly on” President Joe Biden from now until the November 5 General Election in order to “save America.”
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Matthew Giffin, a reporter for The Tennessee Star, and Michael Patrick Leahy, editor-in-chief and CEO of The Star, questioned the legality of News Channel 5’s airing of a so-called secret recording of a call between Tennessee State Representative Todd Warner (R-Chapel Hill) and Americans for Prosperity – Tennessee (AFP-TN) State Director Tori Venable.
On Monday, the news outlet ran investigative reporter Phil Williams’ 8-minute anti-school choice hit piece focused on AFP-TN’s push for state lawmakers to advance the governor’s bill.
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Steve Baker, a current opinion contributor for Blaze News and an investigative journalist, said he is being treated as a “terrorist” by the weaponized Department of Justice (DOJ) for covering the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021, as an independent journalist.
Baker has been charged with four misdemeanors for being present at the Capitol on January 6.
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Four Vanderbilt University students were arrested and charged on Wednesday following a pro-Palestine sit-in event which saw students breach Kirkland Hall and assault a Community Service Officer.
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Students at Vanderbilt University staged a sit-in that led to arrests on Tuesday amid unrest over the institution’s refusal to allow the Student Government Senate to consider joining the anti-Zionist Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement that seeks to isolate Israel.
Vanderbilt University graduate assistant Amar Latif Qazi told The Tennessee Star that the First Amendment rights of the university’s students were infringed after Vanderbilt refused to allow a vote following a petition, reportedly signed by 600 students, which sought to amend the Vanderbilt Student Government Constitution in order to join the BDS movement.
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A “non-partisan” political activism group that calls for gun control held a rally in Nashville Wednesday night on the year anniversary of the mass shooting at The Covenant School.
“Together, we will wear red and link arms as we mark the anniversary of one of our community’s darkest days and honor the memory of the hundreds of Tennessee lives lost to preventable firearm tragedies over the last year,” Voices for a Safer Tennessee said on its website. “Our goal is to form a chain of 13,000 people from Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt through Centennial Park and up Charlotte Avenue to our state capitol.”
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Tennessee’s lawmakers at the state and federal level Wednesday marked the year anniversary of the mass shooting at The Covenant School in Nashville, which claimed six lives.
Tennessee’s House Republicans shared the following message on X.
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A California judge has recommended disbarring attorney John Eastman, determining that he violated ethics rules by pushing former President Donald Trump’s election fraud claims.
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The Tennessee Department of Agriculture’s Forestry Division is reminding Tennesseans that burn permits are required through the middle of May.
“Fire prevention starts with each of us practicing safe burning and only burning when it’s safe. The burn permit process communicates to residents the safe locations and times for open burning,” State Forester Heather Slayton said in press release. “During hazardous fire conditions like high winds or extreme drought, permit issuance pauses temporarily until safe conditions return. Our aim is to safeguard Tennessee’s people, communities, and natural resources. Together, we can conserve our state’s beauty and prevent wildland fires.”
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Tennessee Republican Party Chairman Scott Golden explained why the Republican National Committee (RNC) and state Republican parties are pushing voters to vote early in this year’s November general election when the time comes.
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The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will provide almost $12 million to the Tipton County Board of Education to rebuild Crestview Elementary School, U.S. Representative Steve Cohen (D-TN-09) announced Tuesday.
Cohen represents Tennessee’s 9th Congressional District, which covers approximately half of Tipton County.
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Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti on Friday issued a statement celebrating the recent distribution of nearly $81 million accrued through lawsuit settlements against opioid manufacturers.
A press release explained the funding is available as a result of years of litigation against “opioid manufacturers and distributors” by the Tennessee Attorney General’s Office.
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Discussions on a nearly $1.6 billion franchise tax refund and $400 million annual franchise tax cut are set to begin in Tennessee’s House of Representatives on Wednesday.
Bill sponsors have termed the $1.55 billion franchise tax refund fund as necessary for the state to avoid litigation. But the Lee administration proposal has not included which businesses will get those refunds nor if threats of litigation have been received.
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The Tennessee House of Representatives Tuesday passed a bill that would significantly increase the penalty for making violent threats against schools.
HB 2198 “increases the penalty for the offense of threatening to commit an act of mass violence on school property or at a school-related activity from a Class A misdemeanor to a Class E felony.”
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