COVID-19
24 Tennessee counties newly at “high risk” for COVID, as infections rise across the state
If it seems like more people in your orbit have been coming down with COVID recently, it’s not your imagination. COVID is spreading again, not yet at the same high levels of last spring, but the disease is experiencing a noticeable spike in Tennessee and across the country. One in four Tennessee counties is now […]
In Tennessee’s first partisan school board elections, candidates in key races address issues
In Williamson County, candidates are competing in hotly contested school board races, representing how divisive politics have become around teachers and students. Last year, Gov. Bill Lee signed into law a bill allowing political parties to nominate candidates for school board races, which were previously nonpartisan elections. The bill followed a series of clashes between […]
Third East Tennessean charged with fraud for misuse of federal COVID funds
A Maryville woman who claimed she needed COVID emergency relief funding to keep her Christian ministry afloat instead used the money to fund a trip to Disney, buy land, two trucks and a travel trailer and pay off her student loans, court records show. Sarrah Denton Willhite has struck a deal to plead guilty to […]
East Tennesseans accused of fraud in Paycheck Protection loans
An East Tennessee woman who was already on probation in a federal fraud case is now accused of duping the Small Business Administration into awarding her a Paycheck Protection Program loan for a fake business and using the money to get plastic surgery in Florida and spend a week recovering at the Trump International Beach […]
Sullivan County woman claims sheriff’s deputies retaliated after she insisted on masks
A 61-year-old woman claims in a lawsuit filed Friday she was roughed up, left inside a sweltering cruiser and falsely accused because she insisted Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office deputies don face masks while speaking to her. Attorney James Friauf on Friday filed a civil-rights lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Greeneville on behalf of Robin […]
This rural, red Tennessee county was a vaccine success story. Not anymore.
MEIGS COUNTY, Tenn. — At a glance, it seemed like a Southern pandemic success story in a most unlikely place. A small county northeast of Chattanooga, along the twisting banks of Chickamauga Lake, for much of the past year has reported the highest covid-19 vaccination rate in Tennessee and one of the highest in the […]
Tyson Foods wrote draft of Trump order keeping meatpacking plants open during pandemic
This story was originally published by Investigate Midwest. Lawyers for Tyson Foods, one of America’s largest meatpacking companies, drafted an early version of a 2020 executive order that allowed plants to continue operating during the COVID-19 pandemic, a new Congressional report based on company emails shows. It’s been reported that the meatpacking industry wrote a draft version […]
Biden administration to halt pandemic policy blocking migrants who claim asylum
WASHINGTON — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Friday the government will terminate a Trump-era policy that prevented migrants from claiming asylum during a health crisis, including the coronavirus pandemic. The policy will end on May 23, the CDC wrote in its notice. “There is no longer a serious danger that the entry […]
Knoxville hospital uses COVID as liability shield for suit over fatal medical mistake
A Knoxville hospital is trying to use the COVID-19 pandemic to shield itself from liability for a nurse’s fatal medication administration mistake, court records show. Sonny Caldwell was being treated for various conditions, including COVID-19, while he was a patient at the Turkey Creek Medical Center in October 2020, but an investigation by the Knox […]
Commentary: Ending the COVID Pandemic is Easy: Get Vaccinated, Get Boosted
One of my favorite board games for many years now is Pandemic. In this game, players try to discover cures to four diseases while keeping those diseases from getting out of control. It requires a little luck and a lot of cooperation, as everyone wins or loses together. As we approach two years of living […]
State ends no-bid contract with contact tracing firm, $65 million poorer
The state of Tennessee has wound down its contact tracing contract with Xtend Healthcare, a for profit medical billing firm hired in June 2020 through a no-bid contract in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic as state resources quickly became overwhelmed. Over the course of 19 months, the contract with the Hendersonville-based company — […]
White House plans speedy delivery to states of COVID vaccine for littlest kids
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration is preparing to ship COVID-19 vaccines to the states as quickly as possible, should the Food and Drug Administration approve an emergency use authorization for kids under 5. White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator Jeffrey Zients said Wednesday that approval of the specially formulated vaccine would make 18 million young children […]