Healthcare
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 […]
6th Circuit shoots down immunity for TVA coal ash spill contractor Jacobs Engineering
A federal appellate court on Wednesday struck down a last-ditch appeal by a Tennessee Valley Authority contractor accused in the mass poisoning by radioactive coal ash waste of the utility’s Kingston disaster workforce. The 6th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled Jacobs Engineering Inc. cannot ride the coattails of TVA governmental immunity because TVA itself […]
Food City seeks to spread blame in opioid lawsuit brought by Tennessee Attorney General
When a Bearden homeowners association blew the whistle on the high levels of opiates a Food City grocery store pharmacy was shelling out to pill mill patients, the company’s chief executive officer called it a lie. When a Knoxville weekly newsmagazine reported the Westwood Homeowners Association’s claims and exposed a slew of opiate-related crimes in […]
Abortion rights supporters rally in downtown Nashville
On Saturday, thousands of abortion-rights protesters marched through downtown Nashville, part of coordinated national “Bans off our Bodies” organizing effort to hold rallies in support of Roe v. Wade. A diverse and multigenerational crowd of roughly 500 people met at the Legislative Plaza and listened intently to organizers speaking about a potential future where abortion […]
Delays in processing disability applications impose “significant hardships” in Tennessee
A longstanding backlog in the processing of disability benefits applications from people who are too sick to work has surpassed 1.1 million people nationally — a 27% increase from pre-pandemic levels two years ago and a level not seen in more than a decade. In Tennessee, the number of people waiting to see if their […]
Biden administration looks for ways to alleviate infant formula shortage
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration sought to assuage parents’ concerns over an ongoing infant formula shortage Thursday, though officials couldn’t offer a timeline for when store shelves would be fully stocked again. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the administration is working to “cut red tape,” increase imports of formula and broaden what types […]
McConnell doesn’t rule out U.S. Senate vote outlawing abortion if GOP takes control
WASHINGTON — Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell isn’t ruling out bringing a nationwide abortion ban up for a vote, should the U.S. Supreme Court end the constitutional right to terminate a pregnancy and his party regains the chamber in the November elections. The Kentucky Republican was somewhat reserved last week when repeatedly asked by reporters […]
Editor’s column: Normalize abortion conversations
Like many women across the U.S., I’ve been reeling from the news that broke last week about the U.S. Supreme Court’s draft decision that would reverse Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1971 ruling that legalized abortion at the federal level. As soon as I tweeted, “Looks like the Supreme Court has given me my next […]
Tennessee health billing firm accused in court of “cartel-like” behavior
(The story has been updated from the original version to include a response from TeamHealth.) A Tennessee firm that pioneered the outsourcing of hospital emergency medical care now stands accused in courtrooms across the nation of scheming to turn emergency rooms into corporate profit centers through “cartel-like” behavior, including price fixing, legal intimidation, and fraud. […]
Vote on abortion rights planned in U.S. Senate next week, but likely will fall short
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer will force a vote next week on a bill to codify abortion protections, following the disclosure that the Supreme Court could be ready to overturn a landmark abortion rights ruling, he and other Senate Democrats announced Thursday. The effort appears largely symbolic. Democrats are well short of the 60 […]
In Tennessee, roots of expected ban on abortion date 20 years back
As the leaked draft of a Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade spilled swiftly across the internet Monday night, the reality that abortion in Tennessee could be almost entirely illegal before summer’s end was brought into sharp focus by morning. “I think we knew this day would come,” Ashley Coffield, CEO of Planned Parenthood […]
U.S. Senate to try again on abortion rights after bombshell disclosure of draft opinion
WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Democrats on Tuesday pledged a new vote codifying the right to an abortion after publication of a draft court ruling that showed the Supreme Court on track to overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade abortion decision. Democrats, who likely won’t have the votes to advance that bill, also predicted that abortion […]