Category: The South

Federal Prosecutors Secure $1.5 Million Settlement from Tennessee Pain Clinic Accused of Fraudulently Billing Medicare, VA

Tom Pappert
doctor patient

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Tennessee on Thursday announced it reached a $1.5 million settlement to resolve allegations that it completed medically unnecessary diagnostic testing and submitted the claims to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and Medicare.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), the settlement involved Michael and Debbie Cox of the Clarksville Pain Institute and Pain Institute of Nashville, who prosecutors alleged submitted claims for unnecessary tests, including “urine drug testing, allergy testing, and psychological testing,” for about a decade between 2014 and 2024.

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Tennessee Woman Indicted Alongside Texas Man for Alleged Plot to Sexually Abuse Children, Distribution of Animal Abuse Videos

Tom Pappert

A federal grand jury in Tennessee returned an indictment against Trinity Acquart Anderson, a 23-year-old Clarksville woman whom prosecutors allege received and distributed child sexual abuse material (CSAM), videos depicting the abuse of animals, and conspired to sexually abuse two of her minor relatives.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Tennessee, the alleged crimes began in 2024, after Acquart Anderson began communicating with another defendant, 20-year-old Zaden Jasso of Texas. The investigation began after a tip submitted through the messaging app Kik raised concerns about suspected CSAM.

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Students at Middle Tennessee State University Protest Turning Point USA Campus Chapter, Demand Disbandment

Kaitlin Housler
MTSU protest

Around 30 Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) students marched across campus Thursday evening, demanding the university disband its Turning Point USA (TPUSA) chapter and prohibit conservative speaker Joshua Haymes from appearing on campus, according to WSMV.

The protest, organized by MTSU’s Southern Youth Solidarity Network (SYSN), follows an October 19 TPUSA event featuring Haymes, a conservative podcaster who participated in the chapter’s “Pick Up the Mic” debate-style event outside the Student Union.

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Tennessee Bill Would Allow Foreign Citizens with Federal Work Authorization to Apply for Temporary Driver’s License amid Nonprofit Lawsuit

Tom Pappert
truck driver

Legislation in the Tennessee State Senate would allow foreign nationals with authorization from the federal government to work inside the United States to apply for the temporary driver’s license Tennessee offers to lawful residents of the state who are not citizens. 

Senate Bill (SB) 1 by State Senator Becky Massey (R-Knoxville) would modify SB 6002, one of the landmark immigration laws passed during a special legislative session last year, which restricts standard driver’s licenses to American citizens, while allowing lawful permanent residents able to prove their status to obtain a temporary license, permit, or photo identification. 

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Beacon Poll Weighs Tennessee Voters’ Views on Property Taxes, Tariffs, License Plate Readers, and More

Kaitlin Housler
voters

The Beacon Center of Tennessee released a new statewide poll Thursday examining voter attitudes on a wide range of issues, including property taxes, capitalism and socialism, federal tariffs, taxpayer-funded sports stadiums, license plate readers, the death penalty, and whether Nashville’s airport should be renamed in honor of country music icon Dolly Parton.

According to the latest Beacon Poll, 88 percent of Tennessee voters support limiting how much property taxes can increase each year, requiring voter approval for increases that exceed the limit. Additionally, 64 percent said they would be more likely to vote for a state legislator who supported a statewide cap on local property tax increases.

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Trump-Appointed Judge Sides with Tennessee Christian Academy in Federal ACLU-Backed Lawsuit over Ban on Religious Charter Schools

Tom Pappert
students learning

U.S. District Judge Charles Atchley ruled in favor of a proposed Christian charter school that challenged Tennessee’s prohibition on religious charter schools.

Atchley ruled last week that Tennessee’s requirement for charter schools to operate without religious affiliation or instruction violated the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment as applied to Wilberforce Academy of Knoxville. He permanently enjoined the Knox County School Board from enforcing Tennessee Code Annotated (TCA) 49-13-111(a)(2) against the academy in future applications.

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Affordability Pitch by Tennessee Republicans Includes Sales Tax Exemption for Groceries, Greater Savings for Computers During Tax Holiday

Tom Pappert
grocery shopping

Republicans in the Tennessee State House have already submitted bills for the January 2027 legislative session to address affordability, including legislation that would exempt key groceries from state sales taxes and a bill to add more expensive computers to the state’s annual sales tax holiday.

Tennessee State House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville) submitted House Bill (HB) 6 last Thursday, while both House Majority Leader William Lamberth (R-Portland) and Tim Hicks (R-Gray) signed on as early sponsors on Monday.

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Blackburn Announces Chief of Staff, Releases Transition Website to Accept Applications for Gubernatorial Administration

Tom Pappert
Marsha Blackburn

U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) released a transition website on Tuesday, staffing her administration after she was elected Tennessee’s 51st governor.

The website, which says it is funded by the Blackburn Transition Committee, announces that Blackburn is accepting applications to “help build Tennessee’s future.” It states that the governor-elect is seeking “talented, experienced, and dedicated individuals who are committed to serving the people of Tennessee and making our state America’s Conservative leader.”

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Governor-Elect Marsha Blackburn Taps Lee’s Policy Director Michael Hendrix as Chief of Staff

Kaitlin Housler
Michael Hendrix

Governor-elect Marsha Blackburn announced Tuesday that she has appointed Michael Hendrix, who currently serves as policy director for Governor Bill Lee, as her chief of staff, marking the first cabinet appointment for her incoming administration.

In a release announcing the appointment, Blackburn said Hendrix’s experience in public policy and government would help shape her administration as it prepares to take office in January.

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Williamson County Commission Votes to Approve $87 Million Funding Request for New Middle School

Kaitlin Housler
Williamson County Board of Commissioners Meeting

The Williamson County Commission voted Monday to approve its intent to fund up to $87 million for a new middle school planned for the eastern part of the county.

The project, anticipated to open in fall 2029, is intended to address projected overcrowding in Williamson County schools. The new school is expected to serve students in parts of Brentwood and Nolensville and will be built on the same campus as Jordan Elementary in Brentwood.

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Former Tennessee Official Joins Vogel Group as a Principal

Zachery Schmidt
Scott Sloan

Vogel Group named former Tennessee official Scott Sloan a principal at its Nashville office.

Sloan, formerly COO and general counsel for the Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC), will help the lobbying firm’s clients with state legislative and regulatory strategy focused on higher education, gaming, and charitable solicitation regulation, as well as relations with state government and agencies.

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Republican Caucus Selects State Sen. Jack Johnson to Be Next Tennessee Lieutenant Governor

Tom Pappert
Jack Johnson

The Tennessee Senate Republican Caucus on Tuesday chose State Senator Jack Johnson (R-Franklin) to serve as the next Tennessee Lieutenant Governor. He will succeed Lt. Governor Randy McNally, who will have served 10 years in the office when he retires in January.

Though vote totals have not been released, reports confirm Johnson won more votes than State Senator Paul Bailey (R-Sparta) from the 27 Republicans in the State Senate. Now the Republican nominee, Johnson is expected to be elected before the full Tennessee General Assembly on January 12.

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Five Tennessee U.S. Reps. Join Push to Exclude Noncitizens from Census Apportionment

Kaitlin Housler

Five Tennessee Republican members of Congress signed a letter urging the U.S. Department of Commerce to adopt proposed changes to the Census Bureau’s population-counting rules, including measures to distinguish citizens from noncitizens and revise demographic questions.

Five Tennessee Republican members of Congress signed a letter urging the U.S. Department of Commerce to adopt proposed changes to the Census Bureau’s population-counting rules, including measures to distinguish citizens from noncitizens and revise demographic questions.

U.S. Representatives Diana Harshbarger (R-TN-01),  Tim Burchett (R-TN-02), Scott DesJarlais (R-TN-04), John Rose (R-TN-06), and Matt Van Epps (R-TN-07) joined 39 other lawmakers in signing the October 30 letter led by U.S. Representative Mary Miller (R-IL-15).

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Pappert: Metro Nashville Could Try to Delay 20-Member Council Until 2031

Kaitlin Housler

Tom Pappert, lead reporter at The Tennessee Star, said Nashville officials could face additional action from the Tennessee General Assembly if they try to delay implementing a state law that would reduce Metro Nashville’s 40-member council to 20 following a recent Tennessee Supreme Court ruling upholding the legislation.

Appearing Monday on The Michael Patrick Leahy Show, Pappert discussed last week’s ruling and a report published Monday morning by Axios detailing the legal and logistical questions Metro officials must resolve before implementing the reduction ahead of the August 2027 Metro elections.

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French President Macron, Wife File New Federal Defamation Lawsuit Against Candace Owens in Tennessee

Tom Pappert
Macrons

French President Emmanuel Macron and French First Lady Brigitte Macron sued Candace Owens for the second time last Wednesday, this time in a lawsuit filed in the Middle District of Tennessee, over the claims by Owens that Brigitte Macron is a transgender woman. 

The case stems from the same allegations originally made in the lawsuit filed by the Macrons in Delaware in July 2025, in which they allege that Owens, through her companies, defamed Brigitte Owens by claiming she was born male, assumed another person’s identity, and concealed her past.

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Blackburn Reportedly Narrows Potential Senate Successor to Four Names

Tom Pappert
TN senate candidates

U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) has reportedly narrowed her list of candidates for her Senate successor to four names: U.S. Representatives Tim Burchett (R-TN-02) and Chuck Fleschmann (R-TN-03), Deputy Governor Stuart McWhorter, and former Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs.

The four candidates were named separately by The Nashville Banner and The Washington Sun, both of which cited people close to Blackburn as the source. Both Burchett and Jacobs campaigned frequently with Blackburn, while she recently named McWhorter the head of her gubernatorial transition team.

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Downtown Franklin to Host Annual Veterans Day Parade on Wednesday

Kaitlin Housler
veteran

Franklin’s annual Veterans Day Parade will return to downtown Wednesday, marking the event’s 25th anniversary.

The parade, organized by the City of Franklin and WAKM AM-950, will begin at 11:00 a.m. at West Main Street and Fifth Avenue. The procession will travel down Main Street from Five Points to the Public Square, continue to Third Avenue North, and conclude at Bicentennial Park.

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Blackburn Compares Alaska’s ‘Decoy Dan’ Strategy to AI Smear Ad Against Her Following Tight Tennessee Victory

Tom Pappert
Marsha Blackburn

U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) on Friday said that the strategy Democrats allegedly used in Alaska, where they are accused of recruiting independent Senate candidate Daniel J. Sullivan to run against incumbent Senator Dan Sullivan (R-AK), is similar to the artificial intelligence (AI) advertisement a dark-money group ran against her during Tennessee’s gubernatorial election, which she narrowly won on Tuesday. 

Referring to the purported Alaska strategy, which has been denied by those Democrats accused of plotting it, Blackburn argued the allegations amount to a federal offense, before suggesting similar occurred in Tennessee.

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Blackburn Names Campaign Veterans, Advisers to Gubernatorial Transition Team

Kaitlin Housler
Marsha Blackburn

Governor-elect Marsha Blackburn announced her gubernatorial transition team Friday, naming several campaign veterans and political advisers who will help prepare her incoming administration to take office in January.

Chairman Stuart McWhorter will lead the transition team, which Blackburn named to oversee the committee on Wednesday. The team also includes Abigail Sigler as senior advisor, Dylan Miller as staff director, Rex Purgason and Jack Carnes as deputy staff directors, Annie Rogers as director of operations, Todd Rapp as press secretary, Jensen Blackiston as Blackburn’s executive assistant, and Katie Tully as McWhorter’s executive assistant.

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Tennessee Now Sole U.S. Site Qualified to Produce ‘Specialized Material’ for American Nuclear Weapons After Trump Admin Restoration

Tom Pappert
Oak Ridge Facility

The Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tennessee is now the only site qualified to produce “binary” alloy, a “specialized material” necessary to manufacture nuclear weapons, in a move the U.S. Department of Energy said ends “two decades of reliance on a limited supply of material manufactured years ago.”

According to the federal agency, binary alloy is used for radiation cases, which house “essential components” for nuclear weapons.

“Under the Trump Administration, NNSA is making sweeping investments to revitalize the nation’s nuclear weapons infrastructure,” said National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) administrator Brandon Williams. “This is not just about a warhead ingredient. This shift symbolizes our commitment to the long-term health of our weapons stockpile and the lasting security of our country.”

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Democrat Who Narrowly Defeated DesJarlais Says Roe v. Wade Overturn Inspired Activism, Credits Two-Year Campaign for Win

Tom Pappert
Victoria Broderick

The U.S. Supreme Court decision in 2022 to overturn Roe v. Wade inspired Victoria Broderick, the Democratic who unofficial results show defeated U.S. Representative Scott DesJarlais (R-TN-04) on Tuesday, she told Axios Nashville on Thursday. 

According to the outlet, Broderick said her political career “began at the hyper-local level,” in Lincoln County, where she leveraged her social media personality as “your Friendly Neighborhood Liberal on TikTok” to become the Democratic Party chair.

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CVS Announces Plan to Separate Pharmacies from PBM Business amid Federal Lawsuit Challenging Tennessee Law

Tom Pappert
CVS Pharmacy

CVS Health said on Wednesday that it will split its retail pharmacy business from its pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) and health insurance operations in a restructuring announced months after the retail pharmacy giant sued Tennessee over the FAIR Rx Act, which prohibits vertical integration between pharmacies and PBMs. 

CVS Health said it will be split into two companies, with the first set to become a “leading healthcare solutions company,” that will include Aetna, CVS Caremark, CVS Speciaty, Oak Street Health, and Oak Street Health. This company will continue to be known as CVS Health, according to its corporate press release.

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Democrats Flip Six Republican-Held Tennessee House Seats

Kaitlin Housler

Final unofficial results from the Tennessee Secretary of State’s Office show Democrats made their largest gains in the Tennessee House in three decades during Tuesday’s general election, flipping six Republican-held seats and unseating six incumbent Republicans.

Three of the six seats flipped in Rutherford County, where Democratic candidates defeated three of the county’s five Republican incumbents.

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Trump Predicts Hegseth Would Be ‘Very Popular’ If Tapped by Blackburn for U.S. Senate, but Denies He’s Considering Replacing War Secretary

Tom Pappert
Hegseth and Blackburn

President Donald Trump on Wednesday denied he is considering a replacement for U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, but predicted Hegseth would be “very popular” if U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) selected him to finish her term in the Senate after she becomes Tennessee’s 51st governor in January.

Amid reports claiming that Trump may hold Hegseth responsible for the lack of a satisfying conclusion to the conflict in Iran, which Vice President JD Vance said caused the Democratic Party victories in the 2026 midterms on Tuesday, the president on Wednesday told reporters that he thinks Hegseth is “doing a great job.”

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Immigration-Related Referendums Pass Easily in Eight States Where Republicans Suffered Defeats

Tom Pappert
voting

Republicans on Tuesday lost control of both the U.S. Senate and U.S. House, were defeated in gubernatorial races in five states, and suffered losses in state legislatures across the country, but public referendums on immigration-related issues passed easily in eight of the same states where the party lost.

In Kansas, U.S. Senator Roger Marshall (R-KS) lost reelection to controversial pastor Adam Hamilton, and Kansas State Senate President Ty Masterson (R-Wichita) is projected at press time to narrowly lose the gubernatorial race to State Senator Cindy Holscher (D-Overland Park).

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Governor-Elect Blackburn Names Stuart McWhorter Chairman of Transition Committee

Kaitlin Housler
Marsha Blackburn

Tennessee Governor-elect Marsha Blackburn announced Wednesday that Deputy Governor Stuart C. McWhorter will chair her gubernatorial transition committee as she prepares to take office after Tuesday’s election victory.

Blackburn announced the appointment Wednesday morning, saying McWhorter would oversee efforts to ensure a smooth transition between Governor Bill Lee’s administration and her incoming administration.

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Commentary: Big Tech Needs to Follow Tennessee’s Lead on Kids’ Online Safety

Star News Contributor
kid phone

Parents across Tennessee sent a clear message in this election: they want leaders who will stand up to Big Tech and keep our state the best place in America to live, work and raise a family. 

Governor-elect Marsha Blackburn has led on keeping Big Tech accountable in Congress and she will do the same as Governor of Tennessee. She spent years in Washington taking on the most powerful companies in the world, often when it was unpopular – putting parents who lost children to online predators and sextortion front and center. Senator Blackburn’s Kids Online Safety Act, co-authored with Senator Richard Blumenthal, would require platforms to build in safety by design, enable the strongest protections for minors by default, and give parents real tools to manage what their kids see. Tech companies resisted tooth and nail, but her bill passed the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee with an overwhelming bipartisan majority. Blackburn extended the same protective instinct to Tennessee’s artists and creators through the NO FAKES Act.

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Marsha Blackburn Wins Tennessee Gubernatorial Election

Kaitlin Housler
Marsha Blackburn

U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) won the Tennessee gubernatorial election Tuesday, according to final unofficial election results published by the Tennessee Secretary of State’s office.

At 11:18 p.m. CST, with all 95 Tennessee counties reporting results, Blackburn had garnered 957,136 votes (45.52 percent) compared to Democratic nominee Jerri Green’s 902,953 votes (42.95 percent) and independent candidate David Hatley’s 195,564 votes (9.3 percent).

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Escaped Tennessee Inmate Captured Near Kansas City

Kaitlin Housler
Jacob Allen Morley

Escaped Tennessee inmate Jacob Allen Morley, who was serving a life sentence for murder, has been captured near Kansas City, Missouri, following a multi-state manhunt, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) announced Tuesday.

“Fugitive Jacob Allen Morley is in custody near Kansas City, Missouri,” the TBI said in a social media post. “Thank you to the public for your assistance, vigilance, and the tips provided during this investigation.”

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25 Shelby County Voters Cast Ballots Outside Legal Voting Hours, Tennessee Secretary of State Confirms

Tom Pappert

A spokesman for Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett on Tuesday confirmed to The Tennessee Star that 25 voters in Shelby County cast early ballots outside the county’s publicly advertised voting hours, a practice the spokesman said “was not consistent with legal requirements.”

The Star contacted Hargett’s office after a source claimed an early voting location in Cordova opened one hour before the advertised start time so a high school class could vote early. Though the spokesman did not confirm the date or location where the 25 voters were allowed to cast ballots outside normal hours, Hargett’s office confirmed the incident occurred.

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Governor Lee Proclaims COPD Awareness Month as Advocacy Group Highlights Tennessee’s High Disease Rates

Kaitlin Housler
person coughing

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee proclaimed November 2026 as Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Awareness Month, recognizing a disease that affects more than one in 10 Tennessee adults.

According to Lee’s proclamation, an estimated 30 million Americans have COPD, but only 17 million have received a diagnosis. In Tennessee, 10.2 percent of adults report having been diagnosed with the progressive lung disease, which makes breathing increasingly difficult by damaging the airways or parts of the lungs.

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Pappert Blasts Media for Ignoring Hatley Suicide-Threat 911 Audio Days Before Election

Kaitlin Housler
Tom Pappert

Tom Pappert, lead reporter at The Tennessee Star, criticized Tennessee media outlets for what he described as their failure to report on his recent investigation into a 2020 911 call involving independent gubernatorial candidate David Hatley, suggesting financial and ideological considerations may be influencing their coverage ahead of Election Day.

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