Free Republic

Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam signed two new laws this week to ensure that no state tax dollars go to Planned Parenthood and other groups that do abortions. One of the new laws (HB 2251) directs the state to request a federal government waiver to completely defund abortion facilities from the taxpayer-funded TennCare, the state Medicaid program. The legislature passed the bill in March. The second law (SB 2494 / HB 2262) codifies existing policy established in 2011 by the Haslam administration, which prioritizes health departments to receive Title X family planning funds rather than Planned Parenthood abortion facilities in the...

A Tennessee college senior is sticking to her guns after posting a graduation photo in which she stares wistfully off-camera while lifting her "Women for Trump" T-shirt to expose a handgun in her waistband. Despite receiving what she called a surprising "amount of hate" on social media, Brenna Spencer, 22, says she has no regrets. “I know the Tennessee state gun codes. ... I carry everywhere that I’m allowed to carry," the University of Tennessee, Chattanooga student said in an interview. On Twitter, where Spencer's profile states that "political correctness offends me," she posted the provocative photo with the caption...

BEAN STATION, TN (WATE) - New details were released Friday about Thursday's raid on an East Tennessee slaughterhouse by the IRS, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Tennessee Highway Patrol. What initially began as a criminal raid turned into immigration operation at Southeastern Provisions, a cattle slaughter business in Bean Station. During the raid, 97 people were found who were subject to removal from the United States. Ten of those were arrested on federal criminal charges, one on state charges and 86 on administrative charges. Of the 86 administrative arrests, 54 were placed in detention and 32 were released....

Former Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen (D) now has a 10-point lead over Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R) in their race to replace the retiring Sen. Bob Corker (R), according to a poll released Thursday. The Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) poll found that 45 percent of respondents would vote for Bredesen if the race were held today, compared to 35 percent for Blackburn, as first reported by The Tennessean. Another 17 percent said they remain unsure. The survey indicates Bredesen, a former Nashville mayor, is gathering a wide coalition of support, with a plurality of self-identified independents, 45 percent, saying they...

Former Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen, a Democrat, is leading Republican Rep. Marsha Blackburn by double digits going into the Senate race to replace retiring Sen. Bob Corker, according to a poll released Thursday. The poll, conducted by Middle Tennessee State University, shows 45% of registered voters favor Bredesen, while just 35% would back Blackburn. In addition, 17% are undecided. For registered independents, preference for Bredesen over Blackburn increases to 12 points. A fifth of Republican respondents would cross the aisle and vote for Bredesen, compared to just five percent of Democrats who would do so for Blackburn. Blackburn's poor performance...

Despite advances the country has made since the Rev. Martin Luther King. Jr. was slain while fighting poverty and racism, “the age of bullies and bigots is not fully behind us,” former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said Monday. The remark was one of two thinly veiled references to President Donald Trump that Holder made during his appearance at a symposium on the first of three days of events commemorating the 50th anniversary of King’s assassination. […] Holder, the first black U.S. attorney general, spoke at a symposium sponsored by the University of Memphis and the museum. He was introduced...

An attempted robbery of a Tennessee home Wednesday night turned deadly when the homeowner fatally shot one of the alleged robbers, who was a convicted felon.

After reconsidering his decision to retire in recent weeks, Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) says he will not run for reelection this fall, per Politico. Corker announced last year that he wouldn't seek to return to the Senate in 2018, opening up a war of words with President Trump — though the two have recently patched up their relationship.

Social-media giant waits 5 years before taking action.

Mayor Megan Barry found time alone with her police bodyguard during early morning visits to the Nashville City Cemetery, security video uncovered by NewsChannel 5 Investigates shows. And in every case, taxpayers were paying Sgt. Rob Forrest to be there, payroll records show. At the time, Forrest was having an affair with Barry.

Newly discovered nude cell phone photos may be evidence Nashville's mayor and her former security chief were having an affair while he was being paid to be her bodyguard, authorities say in court documents disclosed Thursday. In filing affidavits for search warrants, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation says Rob Forrest used a work phone to take two photos while on duty. Investigators say evidence points to the possibility that crimes -- official misconduct and theft of property -- occurred.

NASHVILLE, TN (WSMV) - District Attorney General Glenn Funk has asked the TBI to investigate whether Nashville Mayor Megan Barry or others violated any criminal law, according to a statement from the D.A.’s office.Funk has asked TBI Director Mark Gwyn to investigate whether Barry and/or others, including Sgt. Rob Forrest, violated any criminal law including misappropriation of public funds and official misconduct. On Thursday afternoon, Barry released a statement regarding the TBI investigation: “Earlier this morning, I spoke with General Funk and he informed me that he would be requesting a TBI investigation that could answer questions of legality in...

ClarksvilleNOW / Local / News / Nashville Mayor Megan Barry admits affair with former head of security Nashville Mayor Megan Barry admits affair with former head of security /Courtesy: WKRN 3 hours ago by ClarksvilleNow.com Facebook Twitter LinkedIn NASHVILLE, Tenn. (CLARKSVILLENOW) – Mayor Megan Barry admitted Wednesday to having an extramarital affair with her former head of security, according to WKRN News 2. In a prepared statement, Barry writes, “I accept full responsibility for the pain I have caused my family and his.” The mayor goes on to apologize to her husband Bruce, “who has stood by me in my...

Brownsville, Tennessee is not far from Fedex Headquarters in Memphis. And it is close but much farther from Bentonville, Arkansas (WalMart Headquarters). I was suprised to see a package I ordered delivered, and when I checked I could not find it. On checking the tracking information, it went (via Fedex) to Brownsville, Tennessee (in Western Tennessee off I-40 close to Memphis). In this day and age, I believe it is more likely that one Obama's children, or Al Gore's Dixie Mafia was involved. It also means that when someone STEALS something like this in this day and age, it can...

Scientists at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee have discovered a chemical reaction to turn CO2 into ethanol, potentially creating a new technology to help avert climate change. Their findings were published in the journal ChemistrySelect. The researchers were attempting to find a series of chemical reactions that could turn CO2 into a useful fuel, when they realized the first step in their process managed to do it all by itself. The reaction turns CO2 into ethanol, which could in turn be used to power generators and vehicles.

There may be rumblings that Sen. Bob Corker may not retire after all, but that doesn’t faze Rep. Marsha Blackburn, who’s staying in the race regardless of what he decides. More than that, however, she’s confident about her prospects of winning. “I am running, and I’m going to win,” the congresswoman told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt on Friday. “I think what Tennesseans want to see, Hugh, is a true conservative in the U.S. Senate. They want to see somebody there that is going to back Donald Trump and his agenda.” Politico recently reported that Corker is “listening” to...

A uniformed officer carrying his service weapon was asked to leave an Outback Steakhouse restaurant because it is a designated “gun-free zone.” Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency officer Andrew Ward went to Outback Steakhouse to have dinner with his wife Friday evening, he wrote in a public Facebook post.Ward said in the post that a manager approached him and requested that he put his gun in his truck. Ward told the manager that he could not because he was in uniform and had to have his weapon on his person. The manager left to make a call, Ward writes, and then...

SPARTA, Tenn. - Body camera video from the aftermath of a deadly officer-involved shooting has raised new questions about what happened. Video obtained by NewsChannel 5 Investigates shows the White County Sheriff discussing his order to use deadly force with another deputy. Sheriff Oddie Shoupe did not realize he was being recorded after the shooting by a body camera that another deputy put in the back of a patrol car. What it caught the sheriff saying is now at the center of a federal lawsuit.

If conservatives don’t coalesce behind a new repeal plan soon soon, they will find themselves bystanders as their Republican colleagues link arms with Democrats. ... a concoction of two bills. The first, championed by Sens. Lamar Alexander (R., Tenn.) and Patty Murray (D., Wash.), would appropriate cost-sharing-reduction payments to insurers. The second, sponsored by Sens. Susan Collins (R., Maine) and Bill Nelson (D., Fla.), would give insurers an additional $10 billion (and perhaps more) in federal cash.

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — (WARNING: Video included in this story is disturbing.) A Chattanooga woman says she lost her baby after she was brutally beaten up by a group of people on Monday. The woman, who asked only to go by Shaaylahh, says she was visiting a friend in Alton Park Village when it happened. The beating was caught on camera and uploaded to Facebook. In it, you can see Shaaylahh being dragged down the stairs and outside the house. In the background, you can hear someone yelling "push her down the stairs." Eventually, Shaaylahh says she lost consciousness while she...