Category: The South

Former Davidson County Correctional Officer Charged over Fatal Fentanyl Overdose at Nashville Jail

Tom Pappert
Charles Kelley

A former correctional officer with the Davidson County Sheriff’s Office has been charged with involvement in the fatal 2023 fentanyl overdose of an inmate in a Nashville jail, the Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) confirmed on Friday.

The police investigation into the circumstances behind the fatal overdose of 18-year-old Daniel Prisco at the Metro-Davidson County Detention Facility on Harding Place resulted in six arrests, according to the department, which revealed four of the accused are inmates at the jail.

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Local ‘Sanctuary’ Policies in Virginia Pose Dangers to National Security

The Center Square
Town of Quantico

Localities with “sanctuary” policies in Virginia have grown, many butting up against vital military or national security instillations, posing potential threats, according to a former Homeland Security and immigration senior official.

Last month, immigration policy think tank the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) released an updated map of localities that have adopted sanctuary policies, which showed a surge in the commonwealth totaling 84.

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Tennessee Schools Can Now Purchase Panic Buttons Similar to Those Credited for Rapid Response at Apalachee High School

Tom Pappert
Teacher with Centegix badge

The Tennessee General Assembly last year provoked a change within the Tennessee Department of Education that allows school districts in the Volunteer State to purchase identification badges for teachers which contain buttons to request rapid response from school administrators, a nearby School Resource Officer (SRO), or request an immediate law enforcement response.

Such a system, created by the company Centegix, was in place at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia last Wednesday, when police say 14-year-old Colt Gray committed an attack that claimed the lives of four and injured nine more before he was quickly confronted by armed SROs.

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Apalachee High School Shooting Suspect’s Family Claim He Experienced ‘Homicidal and Suicidal Thoughts’ Week Before Attack

Tom Pappert
Colt Gray, Marcee Gray

Family members of Colt Gray, who police say killed four and injured nine at Apalachee High School last Wednesday, have reportedly claimed they tried to warn school officials after the teen reported “homicidal and suicidal thoughts” in the weeks prior to the attack.

The Washington Post reported on Saturday it obtained text messages between Marcee Gray, the mother of Colt Gray, Annie Polhamus Brown, the biological sister of Marcee Gray and aunt of Colt Gray, as well as other family members, which suggest the school was advised Colt Gray experienced such thoughts in the week prior to the attack.

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University of Virginia Ranks First for Free Speech

The Center Square
UVA Students

The University of Virginia tops the 2025 free speech ranking on college campuses, a first for the school founded by Thomas Jefferson.

The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression surveyed over 250 colleges and universities in its rankings. The foundation survey, administered by College Pulse, surveyed nearly 60,000 undergraduates enrolled full-time in four-year degree programs.

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Georgia Court: Wholesale Prescription Medication Distributors Not Liable

The Center Square

The Supreme Court of Georgia has upheld a Glynn County jury’s verdict that found wholesale prescription medication distributors are not liable for damages under the state’s Drug Dealer Liability Act.

A group of 21 family members of drug abusers sued wholesale distributors of prescription medications for damages, arguing that “drug abusers who injured” them were addicted to prescription opioids. The family members accused wholesale distributors of not reporting suspicious orders to Glynn County area pharmacies or stopping the orders’ shipments.

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Roger Simon on Common Features Among Mass Shooters: ‘They’re Crazy!’

Kaitlin Housler
Roger Simon and MPL

Roger Simon, the co-founder of PJ Media and author of the newly-launched Substack “American Refugees,” said the noticeable common factor among a majority of mass shooters is that the perpetrators are simply “crazy.”

“In every case of these kinds of shootings, one of the things that is always amusing to me is that you get a report that police are looking for the motivation. The motivation is they’re crazy,” Simon said on Friday’s edition of The Michael Patrick Leahy Show.

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Virginia A.G. Miyares Promises No Campaign Talk Until After November Despite Lt. Gov. Earle-Sears Declaring Run for Governor

Tom Pappert
Jason Miyares

Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares on Thursday said he would not say whether he intends to seek a higher office, or reelection, until after the November elections in a Thursday post to social media.

Miyares confirmed he will hold his silence just hours after Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears on Thursday declared her gubernatorial candidacy in a bid to succeed Governor Glenn Youngkin, who is precluded from seeking a second term by the Virginia Constitution.

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Law Passed After Surfside Collapse Affecting Florida’s Real Estate Market

The Center Square
Miami Condo Collapse

A new Florida condominium law is affecting the Sunshine State’s real estate market. The new measure requires costly inspections, significantly increasing homeowners’ costs.

The law — Senate Bill 4D — was passed during a special session in 2022 and requires condominium associations to retain adequate funds for building repairs. Buildings three stories or higher are subject to inspection requirements.

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Alleged Apalachee High Killer Colt Gray Transferred to School Weeks Prior to Attack, Reportedly Spent Two Days on Campus

Tom Pappert
Colt Gray

Accused Apalachee High School killer Colt Gray reportedly only enrolled at the school two weeks prior to the shooting, Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith reportedly said Thursday, also noting the shooting occurred during Colt Gray’s second day on the school campus.

Smith revealed the information about the teen’s academic history to NBC News on Thursday.

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Two La Vergne Police Officers Shot by Metro Nashville Police Chief’s Estranged Son Last Year Awarded Purple Hearts

Kaitlin Housler

The two La Vergne police officers who were shot in the line of duty last year by Metro Nashville Police Chief John Drake’s estranged son, John Drake Jr., were awarded Purple Hearts on Wednesday.

The law enforcement Purple Heart is awarded to “department members who are seriously injured in the line of duty, by the direct action of a suspect, and requires hospital treatment for their injury,” according to the La Vergne Police Department.

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Man Charged with Attempted Second-Degree Murder in Knoxville Pickaxe Attack Is Illegal Immigrant: ICE

Tom Pappert
Jeinson Hernandez-Moran

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has issued an immigration hold for Jeinson Hernandez-Moran, who is charged with attempted second degree murder in Knoxville after he allegedly struck another person in the head with a pickaxe. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has reportedly confirmed Hernandez-Moran is an illegal immigrant.

The Knoxville Police Department (KPD) reported the incident on Sunday, when it revealed a suspect was detained, and later confirmed Hernandez-Moran was charged with attempted second-degree murder after police claim he “critically injured another man,” who remained hospitalized with life-threatening injuries.

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Colt Gray Reportedly Was Gifted Gun Used at Apalachee High School by Father, Colin Gray, Months After FBI Tip Prompted Intervention

Tom Pappert
GBI

Colt Gray, who allegedly killed four and injured nine more at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia on Wednesday, reportedly received the weapon used in the attack as a Christmas gift from his father, Colin Gray, who was arrested on Thursday.

It was reported Thursday by The New York Post that Colin Gray admitted to law enforcement he gave his son the rifle used during the attack as a Christmas gift in December last year. The gift occurred just seven months after an FBI tip prompted a visit from the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office in 2023.

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Mother of Alleged Georgia High School Shooter Colt Gray Claimed to Relocate After Years of ‘Almost Constant Domestic Abuse,’ Social Media Suggests

Tom Pappert
Marcee Gray

The woman who appears to be the mother of 14-year-old Colt Gray, who police say committed the shooting at Apalachee High School on Wednesday, claimed in a post to social media that she left her husband last year after 14 years of “almost constant domestic abuse.”

Colt Gray was accused by law enforcement of killing four, including two students and two teachers, and injuring nine during an attack at the Winder, Georgia high school.

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Tennessee Coalition for Open Government Executive Director Deborah Fisher Says the Continued Withholding of Covenant Killer Materials Is ‘Disturbing’

Kaitlin Housler

Deborah Fisher, the executive director of Tennessee Coalition for Open Government, described the continued withholding of documents by the Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) relating to the case of the Covenant School killer as simply “disturbing.”

On Tuesday, The Tennessee Star published all 90 pages of the journal written between January and March of 2023 by Audrey Elizabeth Hale, the 28-year-old biological woman who self-identified as a transgender man and who, on March 27, 2023, murdered three 9-year-old students and three staff members at the Covenant School in Nashville before being subsequently killed by MNPD officers.

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Fani Willis Shows Up with Nathan Wade During Daughter’s Arrest Months After Pair Said They Split

Just the News
Kinaya Willis

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who’s leading the Georgia election interference case against former President Donald Trump, showed up with her supposed ex-boyfriend, former prosecutor Nathan Wade, at the scene of her daughter’s arrest last week, according to bodycam footage published Wednesday.

Willis and Wade separately testified that the affair ended in the summer last year.

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January 6 Defendant Receives First Reduced Sentence After Supreme Court Ruling

Just the News
January Six Protest

A former Virginia police officer on Wednesday became the first January 6 defendant to receive a reduced sentence after the Supreme Court narrowed the scope of an obstruction charge used against Jan. 6 rioters.

The Supreme Court in June made it more difficult to charge the defendants with obstruction but charges can still be brought if prosecutors can prove that rioters were intentionally trying to stop the arrival of certificates used to certify electoral votes during the riot.

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Legal Filing Shows Rep. Andy Ogles Not ‘Target’ of FBI as MAGA Republican Demands Cell Phone Back, Cites Speech and Debate Clause of Constitution

Tom Pappert
Andy Ogles

Legal filings obtained by The Tennessee Star on Wednesday confirm Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) is not a “target” of the Biden-Harris Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation, which prompted the FBI to seize his cell phone after serving a search warrant at his home just one day after he won the Republican Party’s nomination for reelection.

In an emergency motion seeking the return of his phone, attorneys representing Ogles revealed that federal prosecutors previously acknowledged Ogles is a “subject” of the investigation but not a “target” and said the DOJ’s receipt of his property violates the Speech and Debate Clause of the U.S. Constitution.

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Suspect Reportedly in Custody After Casualties Reported in Shooting at Georgia High School

Tom Pappert
Apalachee High School

Law enforcement reportedly arrested the person responsible for committing a shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, which is part of Barrow County and about an hour away from downtown Atlanta.

Early police reports do not contain an estimate for the number of casualties from the shooting, nor do they reveal the identity of the shooter, but instead advise to avoid the area during the emergency response.

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Conservative Group Spends $2.3 Million to Flip Virginia U.S. House Seat Sought by Democrat Involved with Trump Impeachment

Tom Pappert
Derrick Anderson and Eugene Vindman

A Tuesday report revealed an influential conservative political fund has spent $2.3 million to flip Virginia’s 7th Congressional District in November. Republicans are trying to help Derrick Anderson secure a victory against Eugene Vindman, who featured prominently in the first impeachment of former President Donald Trump.

Anderson will benefit from $2.3 million in spending from the Congressional Leadership Fund (CLF), which exists to elect Republicans to the U.S. House, according to a Tuesday report by Punchbowl News.

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Tennessee Receives $35 Million Federal College Readiness Grant

The Center Square
Tutor helping kids study

Tennessee’s Higher Education Commission received a $35 million grant aimed at promoting college readiness in underserved and at-risk communities.

It will mean that 9,000 students will receive support throughout the seven years of the grant, starting with 1,600 seventh-graders from the class of 2030 who will receive support through their first year of college.

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Georgia Public Service Commission Could Issue Ruling This Week in Railroad Case

The Center Square
Sandersville Railroad

The Georgia Public Service Commission could decide a high-profile case this week that pits long-time property owners against a railroad looking to seize land for a new rail spur.

The Sandersville Railroad, a Class III short-line railroad, petitioned the PSC to condemn land for a 4.5-mile-long spur. Regardless of how the PSC rules, its decision will likely be appealed to Fulton County Superior Court and beyond, possibly even to the U.S. Supreme Court.

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Michael Patrick Leahy: Publishing of the Covenant School Killer’s Journal Offers Glimpse into How the Mental Health System Is ‘Destroying Children’

Kaitlin Housler

Aaron Gulbransen, executive director of the Tennessee Faith and Freedom Coalition, and Michael Patrick Leahy, CEO and editor-in-chief of The Tennessee Star, discussed The Star releasing  90 pages of writings left by Covenant School killer Audrey Elizabeth Hale on Tuesday, both agreeing that the case is an example of how the mental health system is “destroying children.”

On Tuesday morning, The Star published all 90 pages of the journal written between January and March of 2023 by Audrey Elizabeth Hale, the 28-year-old biological woman who self-identified as a transgender man and who, on March 27, 2023, murdered three 9-year-old students and three staff members at the Covenant School in Nashville before being subsequently killed by officers with the Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD).

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Statement by Michael Patrick Leahy on the Publication of the Covenant Killer’s Journal at The Tennessee Star

Michael Patrick Leahy
Michael Patrick Leahy, Hale 2023 Journal

At 9:30 am CT today, September 3, 2024, The Tennessee Star published all 90 pages of the journal written between January and March of 2023 by Audrey Elizabeth Hale, the 28-year-old biological woman who self identified as a transgender man and who, on March 27, 2023 murdered three 9-year-old students and three staff members at the Covenant School and was subsequently killed by Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) officers. Later that same day MNPD obtained this journal and a spiral notebook from the vehicle Hale used to drive to the school. MNPD Chief John Drake initially described this journal and the spiral notebook as the “manifesto” of Hale.

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The Tennessee Star Releases ‘Manifesto’ Left by Transgender Covenant School Killer Audrey Hale

Tom Pappert
Covenant Killer Journal released

The Tennessee Star and editor-in-chief Michael Patrick Leahy released the full “manifesto” left by Covenant School killer Audrey Elizabeth Hale on Tuesday, making the killer’s journal entries available to the public for the first time.

This release contains the pages of Hale’s journal that were obtained by The Star from a source familiar with the investigation in June. The journal containing the pages was recovered from Hale’s vehicle by police after her March 27, 2023 attack on the Covenant School, where she claimed the lives  of three 9-year-old children and three adult staff members.

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Covenant Killer Audrey Hale’s Suicide Note Was Discovered by an FBI Agent During Legal Search of Her Residence

Michael Patrick Leahy

An FBI agent is identified as the officer who found Covenant Killer Audrey Elizabeth Hale’s suicide note on the afternoon of March 27, 2023 at the residence of the house in Nashville where she resided with her parents, according to an inventory list of items seized from the house that day compiled by the Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) and legally obtained from a source familiar with the investigation by The Tennessee Star in June 2024.

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Former Delegate Jay Jones Announces Bid for Virginia Attorney General as A.G. Miyares Appears to Eye Executive Mansion

Tom Pappert
Jason Mirayes, Jay Jones

Former Virginia House Delegate Jay Jones reportedly filed paperwork to run for Attorney General of the commonwealth, ending his break from politics that began after Jones announced his resignation in 2021.

Jones filed paperwork to run for Virginia Attorney General on August 28, according to WRIC, which reported Monday a staff member for the Democrat replied that any official announcement would come after the November elections.

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Georgia Officials Tout Enhanced Election Security for 2024 Amid Ongoing 2020 Controversies

The Center Square
Georgia Sec State Brad Raffensperger

As Georgia gears up for the critical 2024 presidential election in November, state officials within the Legislature and Georgia’s State Election Board say they are enhancing security measures at polling stations in response to ongoing concerns stemming from the 2020 election.

Cobb County’s Board of Elections & Registration Director Tate Fall announced new safety protocols – including more instruction on conflict resolution for poll workers and discreet alert badges for managers – aimed at addressing potential threats and ensuring a secure voting environment. This heightened focus on election security comes amid a backdrop of intensified political rhetoric and unrest, underscoring Georgia’s pivotal role in the upcoming election.

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Doctors Warn Voters About ‘Deceptively Worded’ Language in Florida’s Amendment 4

Daily Caller News Foundation

A large group of Florida physicians recently united to oppose the state’s Amendment 4 initiative, warning voters about its potential impacts as it heads to the ballot in November. Florida’s Amendment 4, also known as the Right to Abortion Initiative, is sponsored by the Sarasota-based group “Floridians Protecting Freedom.” The amendment seeks to end the state’s six-week abortion ban by enshrining abortion rights in Florida’s constitution. While some physicians support the amendment, others have begun to caution voters against it.

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Nashville Man Charged in Shooting Judge’s Moving Vehicle Out on $125,000 Bond Ahead of Latest Arrest

Tom Pappert
Judge I'Ashea Myles, Divid Bush

The Nashville man arrested on Friday in relation to the shooting of a judge’s moving vehicle last September was out on bail for unrelated crimes at the time of his latest arrest, having previously been granted a $125,000 bond on attempted murder and reckless endangerment charges following a March arrest.

Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) confirmed the arrest on Friday, writing that law enforcement identified 23-year-old David Bush as their suspect using “ballistic evidence and cell phone data” recovered from the time of the shooting.

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Tennessee Gov. Lee Grants $41 Million for Vocational Education Programs

The Center Square
Gov. Bill Lee at Rural Opportunity Summit

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee’s office announced $41 million in grants to 23 projects to invest in vocational education in rural counties.

The Governor’s Investment in Vocational Education grants, capped at $2 million apiece, are intended to expand regional partnerships between Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology, community colleges and local industries.

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Listeria Outbreak from Boar’s Head Deli Meat Claims Life of One Tennessean

Kaitlin Housler
Bolar Head Ham

One Tennessean died from the effects of a Listeria outbreak linked to the recalled 7.2 million pounds of Boar’s Head deli meats, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced this week.

Since July 26, Boar’s Head has recalled 71 of its ready-to-eat meat and poultry products with “sell by” dates ranging from July 29 through October 17.

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Tennessee Equality Project Criticizes New Law Requiring Parent Notification of Student Pronoun Changes

Peter D'Abrosca
Parents

In a new online form electing feedback from students, teachers, staff, administrators, school counselors, parents or legal guardians, and LGBT allies, the LGBT group Tennessee Equality Project (TEP) bemoans a new state law that requires school officials to give parental notice of a student wishes to change their pronouns or “gender identity.” 

“Tennessee Equality Project is tracking how school districts and schools are implementing the new state law (SB 1810) that targets transgender and gender expansive students: the requirements of the law are triggered when a minor-aged student makes a request to a teacher to use a name and/or pronouns that may not align with their medically assigned sex on their birth certificate,” the form says. 

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Enrollment Growing for Virginia’s Four-Year Colleges, Community Colleges Declining

The Center Square
Students at University of Virginia

College enrollment declined nationwide by 15 percent from 2010-21 and still hasn’t returned to pre-pandemic levels, though the 2023-24 school year was the first since 2020 that schools saw an average increase in enrollment. 

Virginia colleges also experienced these trends but over a slightly shorter period. As of fall 2023, enrollment in the state’s four-year universities was actually higher than it was at its peak in 2012 but much lower for its community colleges. 

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Knoxville Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for ‘Heave-Ho’ on January 6

Peter D'Abrosca

A Knoxville man who was sentenced to four months in prison and two years of supervised release, including, the first four months in the form of home detention, “heave-ho’d’ his way to prison, according to the United State’s District Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia (USADC). 

The sentence was levied against Michael Asbury, 44, of Knoxville, after he pleaded guilty to one felony count of obstruction of justice during a civil disorder, an obscure federal charge that has been levied against many people who attended the riot at the Capitol on January 6, 2021. 

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Book Publishers Sue Florida over Law Banning Sexually Explicit Books from Schools

American Greatness
Kids reading at the library

A coalition of book publishers and individual authors have filed a lawsuit against the state of Florida over its law banning sexually explicit books from school libraries in the state.

As the Daily Caller reports, the lawsuit was filed in the Orlando Federal Court on Thursday by a group of over a dozen publishers and authors, claiming that the bill signed into law in May of 2023 by Governor Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) is a violation of both the First and 14th Amendments. The law, the plaintiffs claim, “interferes” with their ability to produce and distribute “constitutionally protected” books, insisting that the law is too vague in its description of “sexual conduct.”

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Virginia Leaders Come Together to Sign Anti-Bigotry Legislation

The Center Square
Gov. Glenn Youngkin signs a bill

Gov. Glenn Youngkin held a ceremonial signing for legislation adding ethnicity to the protected classes under the Virginia Human Rights Act and ratcheting up penalties for people committing crimes motivated by bigotry.

The bipartisan House and Senate legislation was inspired by the Oct. 7 Hamas attack in Gaza, which led to the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas, sparking anti-Israeli protests around the globe, including Virginia. 

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Georgia Lawmakers Could Set Transgender Athlete Policy

The Center Square
Georgia Softball

Georgia lawmakers could take control of the power to set policy for transgender athletes competing in women’s sports at Georgia high schools, removing the authority from a statewide association.

The revelation, which could potentially extend to publicly funded colleges and universities, came during the first hearing of the Senate Special Committee on Protecting Women’s Sports.

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Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell Says Failed 2018 Transit Referendum Proposal Would Be ‘Pretty Useful’

Tom Pappert
Freddie O'Connell

Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell on Wednesday said the 2018 transit referendum, which was rejected by 64 percent of the city’s voters and supported by just 36 percent, would have been “pretty useful” for Nashville’s residents.

O’Connell spoke about the failed, 2018 referendum in an appearance on The Nashville Scene Podcast, where he compared the long-term benefits of mass transit to planting trees.

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Nashville Police Confirm Covenant School Shooting Investigation Remains Ongoing Despite Predicted July Finish

Tom Pappert
Audrey Hale

The Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) on Friday was unable to provide The Tennessee Star with an estimated time of completion for its investigation into the Covenant School attack, but spokesman Don Aaron stated the case “remains open and is largely in a documentation phase where the lead detective is writing his and the department’s actions, findings, etc.”

Police began investigating the attack on March 27, 2023, when Audrey Elizabeth Hale claimed the lives three 6-year-old students and three adult staff members at the Covenant School in Nashville.

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