Free Republic

Meet Abu Ammaar Yasir Kazi. He’s not some crazy Imam in the Middle East. He’s a college professor at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee, who was described by New York Times Magazine as “one of the most influential conservative clerics in American Islam.” In lectures to students at this American college, he blasts those in his class as being filthy and impure. He then steps up his vitriolic diatribes, by tearing into Christians, where he compares them to feces and urine, saying they are the “most evil of evils.” He then instructs his students that they should engage in jihad...

Donald J. Trump for President Inc. announced Thursday that the campaign has officially filed a full slate of state delegates to appear on the ballot in the Tennessee 2016 Primary. The campaign said the Tennessee slate of 82 potential delegates, the most allowed under state law...

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. -- A prominent professing atheist group is seeking to put an end a Tennessee police department's "Adopt a Cop" program, which invites local residents to pray for members of the city's police force. The Wisconsin-based Freedom from Religion Foundation sent a letter on Tuesday to the Johnson City Police Department to object to the program. The initiative involves assigning an officer to those who sign up for the effort, who in turn promise to pray daily for the officer's safety and well-being, as well as to send him or her a word of encouragement.

HOUSTON, Texas — Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), a 2016 GOP presidential candidate, told Breitbart News in an exclusive interview here that he wants to restrict immigration from predominantly Muslim countries after the Chattanooga, Tennessee, terrorist attack.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The public may never know what motivated a 24-year-old Chattanooga man to kill four Marines and a sailor in an attack on Chattanooga's U.S. Naval and Marine Reserve Center last July. Investigators have said Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez was a homegrown violent extremist but have not offered more details about what motivated the attack that began at a military recruiting center and ended when Abdulazeez was shot to death by police who followed him to the reserve center. "We're still trying to make sure we understand Abdulazeez, his motivations and associations, in a really good way," FBI Director...

More than five months after attacks on two military facilities in Chattanooga, Tenn., left four Marines and a sailor dead, federal investigators still have not determined whether the attack was terrorism - and it's financially costing the families of those who died, as Purple Heart awards hang in the balance. The July 16 attack killed Gunnery Sgt. Thomas Sullivan, 40; Staff Sgt. David Wyatt, 35; Sgt. Carson A. Holmquist; Lance Cpl. Squire D. "Skip" Wells, 21; and Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Randall Smith, 26. Other service members and a Chattanooga police officer also were wounded by Mohammad Youssef Abdulazeez,...

If you plan on having a Christmas party at the University of Tennessee be sure to leave the Baby Jesus and Santa Claus at home. The taxpayer-funded university’s Office for Diversity and Inclusion recently released an “unofficial” edict calling for the campus to host holiday parties that do not emphasize religion or culture. “Ensure your holiday party is not a Christmas party in disguise,” the organization warned in an online document titled, “Best Practices for Inclusive Holiday Celebrations in the Workplace.”

A military helicopter crashed outside Fort Campbell Ky. Wednesday night near the Tennessee border, officials said. Maj. Allen Hill, a spokesman for the 101st Airborne Division, said in a statement that crew members were flying an AH-64D Apache during a routine training mission. The aircraft went down about 12 miles south of Fort Campbell. The Tennessean reports the aircraft was found in a rural area of Montgomery County, Tenn. Montgomery County Emergency Management Agency Director Jerry Buchanan told the newspaper the helicopter was found crashed in a river bottom and was on fire when emergency personnel arrived.

Since the start of the Syria's civil war in the spring of 2011, the U.S. has admitted 2,311 Syrian refugees and resettled them in 36 different states. According to data from the State Department's Refugee Processing Center the top three destinations for Syrian refugees since the beginning of the conflict are California, Texas, and Michigan. From March 15, 2011 through December 1, 2015, California received the most (261) Syrian refugees, Texas received the second most with 242, and Michigan has received the third most with 217. Other states that have received Syrian refugees since March 2011 include: Arizona (182), Illinois...

Walk of Shame: How Tennessee's famous high-stepping horse became the latest animal-cruelty scandal

Dog lover Anthony Riggs was killed by a Rottweiler he had adopted from an animal control centre Anthony Riggs had adopted the dog Photo: Jackson Madison County Rabies Control Tributes have been paid to a Tennessee man who was 'mauled to death' by a stray dog he had adopted on the day he died. Anthony Riggs was attacked by a five-year-old male Rottweiler that had been taken in by a county-run animal control facility. "He never hesitated to be with dogs. Sometimes I thought he related to dogs better than to people," his ex-wife Adrienne Riggs told the Jackson Sun....

Brighton Middle School is being evacuated due to a threat. School officials said they received a bomb threat. Students are being evacuated as investigators search the school.

A top Tennessee Republican lawmaker believes the time has come for the National Guard to round up any Syrian refugees who have recently settled in the state and to stop any additional Syrian refugees from entering Tennessee. "We need to activate the Tennessee National Guard and stop them from coming in to the state by whatever means we can," said House GOP Caucus Chairman Glen Casada, R-Franklin, referencing refugees. "I’m not worried about what a bureaucrat in D.C. or an unelected judge thinks. ... We need to gather (Syrian refugees) up and politely take them back to the ICE center...

Full video replay in case you missed it. GOP Presidential candidate and front-runner Donald J. Trump was in Knoxville, TN today and gave a speech to thousands of supporters at the Knoxville Convention Center.

"Slamming the door in their faces would be a betrayal of our values," [Obama] said.Six Republican governors have announced that Syrian refugees won't be allowed to resettle in their states in the wake of last week's terrorist attacks in Paris. Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder and Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley issued statements Sunday saying that they wanted to prioritize the safety of the residents in their states. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott; Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, a GOP presidential candidate; Arkansas Gov. Gov. Asa Hutchinson; and Indiana Gov. Mike Pence joined them on Monday. "Michigan is a welcoming state and we are...

NASHVILLE -- A Tennessee lawmaker plans to ask Gov. Bill Haslam this week to work to "suspend all efforts" to settle Syrian refugees in the state following last Friday's terror attacks in Paris. Rep. Sheila Butt, R-Columbia, is asking colleagues in an email to sign a letter in an effort to persuade fellow Republican Haslam to agree in the wake of the attacks which according to news accounts killed at least 129 people. The self-proclaimed Islamic State has claimed credit for the coordinated assaults. In her email, Butt said "Tennesseans are mourning this week with the people of Paris." She...

Supporters of Al Gore have begun a round of conversations among themselves and with the former vice president about his running for president in 2016, the latest sign that top Democrats have serious doubts that Hillary Clinton is a sure thing. Gore, 67, won the popular vote in the 2000 election, and has been mentioned as a possible candidate in every contested Democratic primary since then. He instead spent much of the 2000s focused on environmental campaigning and business ventures. He has largely slipped out of public view more recent years. But in recent days, “they’re getting the old gang...

AL GORE IN PARIS: BROADCASTING FROM EIFFEL TOWER AS FRANCE PARIS ATTACK RAGES PARIS (AP) — Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore is hosting a 24-hour live webcast from the foot of the Eiffel Tower to drum up attention for this month’s international climate summit in Paris. Gore, who helped negotiate the 1997 climate treaty that failed to control global warming, will host the round-the-clock event that includes musical performances by Elton John, Duran Duran and others. Other concerts will be broadcast from locations around the globe, from Rio de Janeiro to Miami, Sydney and Cape Town. Gore’s aim is...

PARIS (AP) — Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore is hosting a 24-hour live webcast from the foot of the Eiffel Tower to drum up attention for this month's international climate summit in Paris. Gore, who helped negotiate the 1997 climate treaty that failed to control global warming, will host the round-the-clock event that includes musical performances by Elton John, Duran Duran and others. Other concerts will be broadcast from locations around the globe, from Rio de Janeiro to Miami, Sydney and Cape Town.

The separation of church and state is an issue that has been discussed in our country for hundreds of years. Gideon Bibles have been made available in Bledsoe county schools for years. Residents say a recent complaint put a halt to the deliveries in school libraries. Gideon places free Bibles in hotel rooms, fire halls, army bases and hospitals. The non-profit group also visits prisons to spread the word of the New Testament worldwide. The big question circulating the Tennessee Valley is whether or not the New Testament Bible should be offered up to 5th grade students or not. Gideon...