Briefs
Biden signs bill declassifying information on the origin of COVID-19
WASHINGTON — The U.S. director of national intelligence has three months to declassify information on potential links between China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology and the origin of COVID-19, after President Joe Biden signed legislation Monday. The bill was one of the first Biden has signed since a 118th Congress split between the two parties began […]
Lieutenant governor posted regularly on Knoxville man’s racy Instagram
The lieutenant governor’s office is defending frequent posting by Randy McNally on the racy Instagram pictures of a young gay man over the last three years even though he voted for anti-LGBTQ legislation recently. The story was initially reported by the Tennessee Holler and followed up by several TV stations. McNally, 79, often posted on […]
Ads to target Gov. Bill Lee’s anti-LGBTQ legislation at SEC tournament
A full page ad in Tuesday’s Tennessean newspaper features a high school yearbook photo of Gov. Bill Lee dressed in drag with a call to action by the Human Rights Campaign against Lee’s anti-LGBTQ legislation. The ad appears a week after Tennessee became the first state to enact a measure that could criminalize public drag […]
Former senator Katrina Robinson sued for failure to pay fines over late disclosures
The Tennessee Registry of Election Finance has filed suit against former state senator Katrina Robinson in order to collect financial penalties stemming from her failure to file 2020 and 2021 financial disclosures in a timely manner. Court filings show the Registry first assessed Robinson a $7,500 fine in Aug. 2021 for failing to file the […]
Report: Tennessee public school student losses traced to surge in private school enrollment
Tennessee public schools have lost more than 14,000 students since the start of the pandemic — with most switching to private schools and a lesser number newly homeschooled, a new reported from the Urban Institute has found. The report, which relies on state-level data collected by the Institute in collaboration with the Associated Press and […]
GOP lawmaker: TBI is investigating current and former DCS employees
A Republican lawmaker said during a public hearing this week that the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is probing the conduct of current and former employees of the Department of Children’s Services – an investigation a TBI spokesperson later said she could neither confirm nor deny. “I’ve been made aware of a specific instance where the […]
Hearing set on suit brought by former vaccine chief against Tennessee Department of Health
A federal judge in Nashville has set a hearing for March 10 to consider competing claims in a lawsuit brought by former Tennessee vaccine chief Michelle Fiscus, whose highly publicized ouster from state government during the pandemic came amidst political pushback on vaccinating teens. Fiscus is seeking a so-called “name clearing” hearing — open to […]
Tennessee attorney general challenges Biden program allowing asylum seekers path to U.S.
Tennessee on Tuesday joined 19 other GOP-led states in challenging a new Biden Administration program that provides some asylum seekers from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela a legal path to entering the U.S. The parole program, announced last month, would give up to 30,000 people per month a chance to legally enter the U.S. if […]
Austin Peay State University lands grant for study of grassland development
The Southern Grasslands Institute at Austin Peay State University has received a $495,000 grant to study the establishment of grasslands across millions of acres on the Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee, Georgia, Kentucky and Alabama. The grant will be used to “prioritize the habitat needs for at least 185 species of conservation concern that need or […]
FBI offers reward for info in Hope Clinic vandalism
The FBI Memphis Field Office is offering a reward of up to $25,000 for information leading to the identification, arrest and conviction of a suspect or suspects responsible for the June 30 vandalism of Hope Clinic in Nashville. A window at the clinic, a pregnancy counseling center, was smashed and an unlit Molotov cocktail was […]
After top departure, an interim director leads Tennessee’s domestic violence nonprofit
The Tennessee Coalition to End Domestic and Sexual Violence has a new, interim head, following the abrupt departure last month of its longtime leader. Jennifer Escue joined the nonprofit two years ago, as director of programs. Before that, she spent nearly two decades with Catholic Charities of Tennessee, overseeing programs for refugees resettling to the state. […]
New law requires Tennessee Children’s Services to cover more kids 18-21 leaving state custody
A new law taking effect this month requires the Department of Children’s Services to add additional services for kids leaving state custody who are between the ages of 18 and 21. The law requires DCS to pay low-income relatives of those children stipends set at 50% of the rate paid to foster parents while kids […]