U.S. House Passes Bill to Require Tennessee Valley Authority Disclose Salaries for Top Executives

The U.S. House of Representatives on recently legislation filed by Representatives Steve Cohen (D-TN-09) and Tim Burchett (R-TN-02) that would require the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) to publish the salaries of its top executives, Cohen announced in a Monday press release.

Titled the TVA Salary Transparency Act, text of the two-page bill reveals new requirements would be posed for the TVA to provide annually “a report of the total number of employees at the management level or above, to include all executives and board members, that shall include the names, salaries, and duties” of employees “that are receiving compensation” higher than that allotted to the highest paid government employees.

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MNPD Arrests Alleged Kidnapper After He Dropped His Wallet in Gas Station Parking Lot

The Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) Tuesday announced the arrest of man with a lengthy criminal history after he left his wallet at the scene of an alleged kidnapping. 

According to an MNPD press release, convicted felon Jaymes Greer, 24, was arrested by local authorities for the kidnapping and assault of a female acquaintance after an attentive gas station employee witnessed the alleged crimes, and found that Greer had dropped his wallet in the parking lot. 

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Knoxville to Consider Resolution Demanding Biden Admin End Support for Israel, Seek Ceasefire in Gaza

Amelia Parker

The City of Knoxville will consider on March 19 a resolution that would call for Tennessee’s U.S. Congressional delegation to join the city in demanding the Biden administration cease providing military support to Israel until the country agrees to a ceasefire with Hamas terrorists in Gaza.

Filed by Knoxville City Council At-Large Seat C Representative Amelia Parker, the resolution urges the United States act to force Israel to comply with an International Court of Justice (IJC) ruling that raised concerns about Israel’s practices in its defensive war against Hamas.

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State Senator Mark Pody Discusses ‘Real,’ ‘Genuine’ Concerns Homeschool Families Have with School Choice Voucher Program

Home School

Tennessee State Senator Mark Pody (R-Lebanon) addressed two concerns he has heard from families that choose to homeschool their children regarding Governor Bill Lee’s universal school choice program, which would give $7,000 education savings account scholarships to 20,000 qualifying students in the first year of its inception.

“[Homeschoolers] have real concerns and they’re genuine,” Pody said on Monday’s edition of The Michael Patrick Leahy Show. “These objections are real because there’s something that is an underlying statement: If government funds it, government runs it. So if you take government money, no matter where you are or what you are, if you don’t think there’s a string attached somewhere, you’re not looking close enough.”

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Brent Hamachek Hopes His New Book, Dissidently Speaking, Will Change the Way Americans Think

Brent Hamachek

Brent Hamachek, author of Dissidently Speaking: Change the Words. Change the War. and vice president and associate publisher for Human Events Media Group, said he hopes his new book will challenge the way Americans think and motivate individuals to stop saying “it is” and instead start asking, “is it?”

Hamachek said his book challenges the “things that people have generally accepted about structures in the world around them.”

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Mark Pulliam Says Nullification Movement ‘Not Constitutional,’ Argues Best Way to Challenge Federal Law Is Through the Courts

Mark Pulliam

Mark Pulliam, a retired attorney and Misrule of Law blogger, said a series of nullification bills introduced in the Tennessee General Assembly are not constitutional despite seemingly being an “easy fix” to federal overreach.

“A lot of people these days come up with these theories and solutions of problems that sound good, that seem like it’s an easy fix, but they’re just not, at the end of the day, serious, and in some cases not workable, and in some cases not constitutional, and this whole nullification movement…is an example of one of those, I think, shamiracle solutions,” Pulliam explained on Monday’s episode of The Michael Patrick Leahy Show.

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Tennessee Considers Bill Legalizing Non-Lethal Weapons on College Campuses Following Murder of Laken Riley

State Rep Gino Bulso and Laken Riley

The Tennessee General Assembly is considering legislation that would enshrine the legal right of members of the public to carry a variety of non lethal weapons on college campuses.

Already passed in the Tennessee House of Representatives on last Monday, HB 1909 by Representative Gino Bulso (R-Brentwood) would specify “that it is not a criminal offense for an adult person to carry or possess pepper spray, a taser, or another similar device for purposes of self-defense” when on any college or university.

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Mask Mandate Ban Signed into Law

When President Joe Biden signed a package of bills over the weekend to avoid a government shutdown, he also made law Sen. J.D. Vance’s legislation to stop federal mask mandates from the Department of Transportation.

The law stops the Transportation Department from using federal funds to enforce mask mandates on passenger airlines, commuter rail, rapid transit buses and any other transportation program funded through fiscal year 2024.

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Titans Seat License Bill Would Cap Increase at 20 Percent for 10-Year License Holders

Proposed New Titans Stadium

A bill intending to cap increases on the cost of personal seat licenses at the new Nissan Stadium in Nashville would now put a 20% cap on those price increases for 10-year seat license holders at the Tennessee Titans’ current stadium.

The bill initially was written to block any increase in those prices but Rep. Larry Miller, D-Memphis, said he was planning to amend the bill to be more reasonable to the Titans.

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Towing Company Behind Racism Lawsuit Against Memphis Now Accused of Racketeering

A towing company that sued the City of Memphis last year over racism allegations is now a defendant in a lawsuit which asserts it is engaged in a racketeering scheme to squeeze owners 18-wheelers with excessive, duplicative and illegal fees for parking. The plaintiffs also claim the company engages in illegal towing, booting or impounding of vehicles.

The lawsuit claims the owner of A1’s Towing and Hauling of Memphis, Colton Ahmad Cathey, is the co-creator of an illegal network of towing and booting companies that lure unsuspecting drivers to their lots then charge excessive fees to remediate illegal booting and towing of their vehicles.

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State Court Postpones Trial of Police Officers Charged with Killing Tyre Nichols Until Federal Trial Concludes: Report

A Memphis judge on Friday postponed the state court trial of four former Memphis police officers charged in the killing of Tyre Nichols until a federal trial against them concludes, the Associated Press reported.

The delay comes after the former officers’ attorneys requested the judge postpone the state trial so as not to “hinder the officers’ rights to defend themselves in both cases,” the outlet continued. The federal trial is set for September 9, 2024.

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Rachel Alexander: ‘Zero Percent Chance’ Any Legal Challenge Would Change Law Permitting Noncitizens to Vote in Federal Elections by November

Vote Here

Rachel Alexander, lead reporter at The Arizona Sun Times, said there is a “zero percent chance” anything could happen legally between now and November to change federal law allowing no proof of citizenship to be submitted in order for an individual to be eligible to vote in a federal election.

“These 10 million invaders that have come here into the United States under the Biden administration, they’re going to try to get them to vote,” host Michael Leahy said to Alexander on Tuesday’s episode of The Michael Patrick Leahy Show. “Are there other things that we can do to prevent illegal aliens from voting in the federal election in November 2024?”

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‘Censorship Industry Heavyweights’ Carrying Out ‘Very Nasty Tricks’ to Interfere in 2024 Election, Mike Benz Says

Mike Benz

Mike Benz, former Trump State Department official and current executive director of the Foundation for Freedom Online, said all of the “major censorship industry heavyweights” are currently carrying out “very nasty tricks” to interfere in the 2024 presidential election.

“The main two tools that they’re using for 2024 censorship are the states because the federal censorship mechanism has been weakened after the Missouri v. Biden trial court ruling, which is now before oral arguments in the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court is likely to deal them a very heavy blow. So they’re moving into the states to help coordinate that rather than the federal government,” Benz explained on Tuesday’s edition of The Michael Patrick Leahy Show.

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Senate Democrats Block Tennessee Senator Bill Hagerty’s Amendment Barring Illegal Aliens from Being Counted on the Census

The U.S. Senate failed to pass an amendment introduced by U.S. Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN) that would bar illegal immigrants from being factored into the count for congressional districts and the Electoral College map that determines presidential elections on Friday.

A total of 47 Democrats, three Independents, and one Republican senator voted against the amendment, which failed to pass by a 45-51 vote.

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Former Tipton County Teacher Charged with More Sex Crimes After Further Victims Identified

Alissa McCommon

A former Tipton County teacher who was first charged with sex crimes in September has been hit with more criminal charges, according to Friday reports. 

“A Tipton County grand jury returned a twenty-three (23) count indictment on March 5, 2024, charging former teacher, Alissa McCommon, 38 of Covington, with multiple sexual misconduct offenses against minors,” the Covington Police Department (CPD) said on Facebook Friday. “The Covington Police Department Criminal Investigations Division detectives and intelligence analysts worked in tandem with the Tipton County Sheriff’s Office detectives and the District Attorney’s Office to present evidence collected during the seven-month joint investigation.”

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Memphis Police Officer in Stable Condition After Being Shot in Line of Duty

A Memphis Police officer is in stable condition after he was shot in the line of duty early Friday morning, according to the Memphis Police Department (MPD).

“At 4:19 am, officers conducted a traffic stop at 240 southbound near South Parkway. During the stop, an officer notified dispatch he had been shot,” said MPD on X. “The unknown motorist fled the scene. The officer was transported to Regional One critical. This is an ongoing investigation.”

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Tennessee Lawmaker Drops Bid to Ban Cold Beer Sales After Lukewarm Response

Ron Gant

The Tennessee State Senate advanced a new version of a bill aimed at addressing drunk driving laws, but the version advanced by lawmakers on Thursday was amended to omit any plans to ban the sale of cold beer.

After lawmakers greeted “The Tennessee Prevention of Drunk Driving Act” with a lukewarm reception over language that banned stores from selling cold beer to the public in a bid to lower the number of drunk drivers throughout the state, its sponsor announced plans to change the contents of the legislation through an amendment.

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Tennessee Bill Would Require Enforcement of Immigration Law

ICE Arrest

A bill being debated in the Tennessee General Assembly would require law enforcement agencies to follow the proper protocol of reporting illegal alien arrestees to federal authorities. 

HB 2124 “requires, rather than authorizes, law enforcement agencies to communicate with the appropriate federal official regarding the immigration status of any individual, including reporting knowledge that a particular alien is not lawfully present in the United States or otherwise cooperate with the appropriate federal official in the identification, apprehension, detention, or removal of aliens not lawfully present in the United States.”

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Nashville Mayor Reportedly Committed to Funding Transportation Plans with Sales Tax Increase

Freddie O'Connell

A report released on Wednesday claims Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell is committed to funding his proposed transportation initiative with an increase to the city’s sales tax.

O’Connell and his administration are reportedly “leaning toward a half cent sales tax” as the primary funding source of the transit referendum he plans to take before voters in November, a News Channel 5 report claims.

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Soldier Stationed at Fort Campbell Arrested, Charged with Selling National Defense Information to China

Korbein Schultz

Korbein Schultz, a U.S. Army soldier and intelligence analyst, was arrested at Fort Campbell on Thursday after a six-count indictment unsealed by a federal grand jury alleged he sold military documents to China, U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee Henry C. Leventis announced.

The 25-page indictment alleges that Schultz conspired with an individual – referred to as Conspirator A – from June 2022 until Thursday to “disclose documents, writings, plans, maps, notes, and photographs relating to national defense as well as information relating to national defense which Schultz had reason to believe could be used to injure the United States or used to the advantage of a foreign nation,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

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Super Tuesday Election Problems: Ballot Scanners, Voter Check-Ins, Wrong Redistricting Information

Vote Line

Numerous election issues occurred in multiple counties throughout the U.S. on Super Tuesday – from malfunctioning ballot scanners to voters having problems checking in at polling stations and being directed to the wrong station.

Counties in Alabama, California, Texas and Utah all experienced problems, resulting in some voters leaving polling sites without casting a ballot.

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Tennessee State Senator Joey Hensley Explains ‘Present’ Vote on School Choice Bill

Joey Hensley

Tennessee State Senator Joey Hensley (R-Hohenwald) said he voted present on the State Senate’s version of Governor Bill Lee’s universal school choice bill this week in the education committee because he said he believed there needed to be “more discussion” on the bill before it advanced out of committee.

“I was present, not voting, because I felt like we needed more discussion in the education committee,” Hensley said on Thursday’s episode of The Michael Patrick Leahy Show.

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Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti Sends Letter to Meta Demanding Instagram Stop Monetizing Child Exploitation

Kids on Phone

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti has joined a coalition of 26 other state attorneys general in sending a letter to Meta, the parent company of social media giants Facebook and Instagram, demanding that Instagram stop monetizing child exploitation content.

Citing reporting from The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times, the coalition of attorneys general expressed concern over news that Instagram has “actively promoted” to “likely pedophiles” content created by “adults seeking to profit from exploiting their own children.”

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Tennessee Jury Convicts Ex-FBI Technician Who ‘Abused His Position of Trust’ to Prey on 14-Year-Old Girl

Justin Carroll

The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on Wednesday the conviction of a former electronics technician for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in Tennessee who federal officials said abused his position to “prey” on a 14-year-old girl.

A press release from the DOJ reveals a jury in Middle Tennessee former FBI employee Justin Carroll “guilty of sexual exploitation of a minor, coercion and enticement of a minor to engage in unlawful sexual activity, receipt of child pornography, and transfer of obscene material to an individual under the age of sixteen.”

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Steven Crowder Releases Tennessee Office of Homeland Security Bulletin Warning Agencies of Bomb Threat Targeting Trump Supporters

Steven Crowder

Conservative commentator Steven Crowder released an Officer Safety Bulletin issued by the Tennessee Office of Homeland Security in response to a bomb threat targeting supporters of former President Donald Trump.

The document was issued in response to a Guardian Incident Report received by the Memphis Office of the FBI on February 29, regarding a threat made by a man named Benjamin Matthew Dayton via text message to his mother.

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Tennessee House Education Committee Advances Bill for School Choice Expansion

School Work

Lawmakers in the Tennessee House of Representatives voted on Wednesday to advance legislation to expand school choice, moving forward the proposal announced by Governor Bill Lee in November.

Designed to create 20,000 new Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) for Tennessee students next school year, HB 1183 passed the House Education Administration Committee with 12 votes in favor and seven votes against.

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Davidson County Republican Party Applauds Trump’s Primary Win in Tennessee

Lonnie Spivak

The Davidson County Republican Party (DCRP) congratulated former President Donald Trump’s victory in the Tennessee presidential primary election on Tuesday.

“We congratulate President Trump on his strong victory yesterday as we look forward to seeing the completion of the primary process and move toward a decisive November election victory – all toward a stronger, more prosperous America,” DCRP Chairman Lonnie Spivak said in a statement. “During President Trump’s first term, America’s economy grew, our border was secure, we projected strength abroad in support of our global allies, and good leaders were appointed to key positions while the swamp was draining. In the years since, the Biden regime has reversed what they can of that good work and made our country weaker. It is time for America to continue doing what is right for all under a steady hand and sound leadership.”

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Tennessee Senate Majority Leader Files Bill to Protect Citizens from ‘Overzealous Parking Attendants’

Car Boot

Tennessee’s Senate Majority Leader this week introduced legislation to protect automobile owners from excessive vehicle booting.

“The legislation ensures owners’ vehicles are not unfairly immobilized by overzealous parking attendants,” says a press release from Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson (R-Williamson County). “To further protect vehicle owners, the bill also proposes new regulations for towing and parking.”

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Judge Dismisses Challenge to Tennessee Election Integrity Law

Judge Eli Richardson

A federal district court judge dismissed a challenge to a Tennessee election integrity law meant to encourage people to only vote in the primary election associated with their party. District Judge Eli Richardson dismissed the lawsuit on Monday, The Associated Press reported.

The League of Women Voters of Tennessee, Knoxville News-Sentinel columnist Victor Ashe, and real estate developer Phil Lawson filed the lawsuit against the Tennessee Secretary of State, the state election coordinator, and the Tennessee Attorney General in November 2023, The Tennessee Star previously reported.

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