Politics
Biden to states: Make all adults eligible for COVID-19 vaccines by May 1
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is directing states to make all adults eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine by May 1, he said in his first primetime address Thursday evening. Biden’s COVID-19 advisers are projecting that enough Americans in priority groups will be able to access the vaccine by the end of April to allow for the […]
Nashville Councilman Freddie O’Connell talks navigating the tornado, pandemic, 2nd Ave. bombing and police brutality protests
(Editor’s note: The interview has been edited for length.) Over the last year, Metro Councilman Freddie O’Connell’s district was devastated by a tornado, blown apart by the Second Avenue bombing, center stage for a series of protests over police brutality and racism and ground zero for the debate over the impact of public health orders […]
Legislation could move state cases out of Nashville courts
A resolution designed to remove Chancellor Ellen Hobbs Lyle from the bench may have died, but other legislation is pending that could move cases against the state out of Davidson County into more conservative parts of Tennessee. Cases against the state of Tennessee are filed in Davidson County courts because the State Capitol is located […]
Congress clears giant $1.9T emergency relief package for Biden’s signature
WASHINGTON — A sweeping $1.9 trillion coronavirus stimulus package is headed to President Joe Biden’s desk after the U.S. House passed the latest pandemic relief measure Wednesday on a party-line vote. The massive bill includes a new round of $1,400 direct checks for many Americans, as well as an extension of expanded unemployment checks to assist […]
Businesses support anti-transgender legislators despite public PR campaigns
Ahead of the Tennessee House of Representatives vote on SB228/HB3, which effectively bans transgender student athletes from competing in sports on teams that affirm their gender identity, both local and national businesses continued to donate money or support Gov. Bill Lee and other GOP legislators who advocate for the bill. For many of those companies, […]
Tennessee GOP measure to oust Nashville judge fails
A resolution to remove Davidson County Chancellor Ellen Hobbs Lyle over her ruling last year to expand absentee voting during the pandemic is dead after the measure failed to clear a necessary House subcommittee. Republican lawmakers targeted Lyle over her ruling that fear of COVID-19 was an adequate reason to request an absentee ballot. The […]
Forrest on way out Capitol door: Historical Commission votes for removal to State Museum
Hearing overwhelming support to move the Nathan Bedford Forrest out of the State Capitol, the Tennessee Historical Commission voted Tuesday to relocate the embattled statue to the State Museum. After a 25-1 decision, the bust of the Confederate lieutenant general will be moved with U.S. Admirals David Farragut and Albert Gleaves as part of a […]
Slatery, Hargett oppose federal voting rights bill
Tennessee Attorney General Herbert Slatery and Secretary of State Tre Hargett have signed letters written by their Republican colleagues criticizing a Democrat-backed federal voting rights bill. One letter, obtained by the Tennessee Journal, shows Slatery is joining 19 Republican attorneys general in a letter written by the Indiana attorney general and others contending the act […]
Lawyers across TN bash push to remove Chancellor Ellen Hobbs Lyle
A new coalition of Tennessee attorneys opposing the effort in the legislature to remove Davidson County Chancellor Ellen Hobbs Lyle announced its formation last week The group, called the Committee for an Independent Judiciary, formed just days after the influential Tennessee and Nashville bar associations announced their opposition to legislation to remove Lyle. State Rep. […]
Analysis: How to follow the Tennessee General Assembly
Democracy can’t exist without an informed public. Free and independent information makes citizens informed, allowing them to hold governments accountable. You probably don’t have unlimited time to watch General Assembly hearings and press conferences, or to pore over campaign finance reports and ethics filings. That’s why you read the news. But the news isn’t perfect. […]
Fired Rutherford Circuit Court Clerk employees file suit claiming harassment
Two men terminated by the Rutherford County Circuit Court Clerk, one of them disabled with cerebral palsy, are claiming they were wrongfully fired after suffering harassment and discrimination. Nicholas Trail, who has the physical disability, and Stephen LaQuire filed the lawsuit Thursday, March 4, in Rutherford County Chancery Court against Court Clerk Melissa Harrell, saying […]
U.S. mishandling of Covid response costs tens of thousands of lives, Hildreth says
Dr. James Hildreth, CEO of Meharry Medical College and a member of the new U.S. COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force, offered a pointed assessment of the nation’s early response to the COVID-19 pandemic, criticizing a lack of coordination among its 50 states and missed opportunities to protect the country’s most vulnerable populations that led to […]