Free Republic

Volkswagen workers at an automotive plant in Tennessee voted to unionize Friday, becoming the first southern car manufacturer to do so since the 1940s, the Washington Post reported. Roughly 75% of the 3,613 workers employed at the plant voted in favor of joining the United Auto Workers(UAW) union over the course of the election, according to a Volkswagen press release. The vote to unionize was opposed by a coalition of six Republican governors in the region, citing concerns that a stronger union presence could lead to fewer companies investing in new factories and, by extension, fewer jobs, the Washington Post...

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — Workers in attendance for Friday's United Auto Workers (UAW) watch party feel they've made history. And for those Volkswagen employees who wanted unionization, the third time was the charm. In order to unionize, the UAW needed 50% plus one vote. Both previous UAW elections fell short of this, with 2014's election showing 47%, and 2019's election showing 48%. But Friday night, employees won by a landslide with the official National Labor Relations Board results reporting 2,628-985 votes for union representation. Some who came to watch the vote were from other right-to-work states in the U.S., wanting to...

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Memphis Police are responding to reports of multiple people shot in Orange Mound. Viewer videos from the scene showed dozens of gunshots fired as a crowd gathered at the Orange Mound Community Center. People could be seen running for cover.

Whether the journals of a Nashville school shooter can be released to the public will go before a Tennessee judge on Tuesday after nearly a year of legal wrangling over who can participate in the case. What started as a simple public records request has ballooned into a messy mix of conspiracy theories, leaked documents, probate battles and new legislation as different sides try to gain an advantage. And even though the main issue of which police investigative records can be released has finally made it to a court hearing, any decision by Chancery Court Judge I’Ashea Myles is likely...

Over four years ago, someone sent me a November 2019 Huffington Post article titled “Coal Knew, Too” by Élan Young, a writer for the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of (UTK). The story, remarkably, also promptly appeared in Mother Jones, the UK’s Daily Mail, and even in an article from the Kent Law School. We were told that the Department head, Chris Cherry, “accidentally discovered what is, so far, the earliest known evidence of the coal industry acknowledging its awareness of the impending climate crisis”. The supposed “confession”, which fit nicely into an ongoing activist litigation...

Memphis Police officers responded to a call about a suspicious vehicle this morning at around 2 AM. Two teenage boys were found at the scene of the alleged crime and became engaged in a shootout with the police officers. One of the teens, 18-year-old Yaylen Loble, was recently caught inside a stolen vehicle by police officers with an illegally modified firearm that could be used as a machine gun. He was arrested and released without bond in March. The teen thugs murdered one Memphis Police Officer, while two more officers have been hospitalized.

At least one person is dead and five others are injured after an Easter Sunday shooting at a coffee shop in the Germantown section of Nashville, according to police. The incident was reportedly called in at around 3:03pm local time at Roasted Salemtown, a brunch place on Garfield Street. According to police, one person has been killed by gunfire, while five others have been shot, with police saying that they are not critical. 'A total of eight persons were transported from the scene, one of them deceased, 5 others confirmed gunshot victims, one other with a scratch, the cause of...

HARRISON, Tenn. — UPDATE: 2 suspects involved in a deadly home invasion in Harrison are still on the loose, according to the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office. HCSO says there were 3 armed suspects involved in the invasion. The preliminary investigation reveals the three suspects broke into the home around 1a.m. and were confronted by the homeowner, according to HCSO. Gunfire was exchanged between the homeowner and suspects. HCSO says one of the suspects was shot during the exchange and died at the scene. Two other suspects jumped through a window to escape and fled the scene, according to HCSO. Members...

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A woman who is three months pregnant says she was carjacked at gunpoint after a crash, but an AirTag hidden inside a Bible helped her track down her vehicle. Zaliyah Hughes said she was headed to Tops Bar-B-Que on Summer Avenue when a light-colored Nissan crashed into the passenger side of her Hyundai Sonata at the intersection of Summer and Holmes. “I was going through the light, and they were supposed to stop. They were speeding and hit me,” said Hughes.”Once they hit me, the man who had a black mask on already had his gun pointed...

A Nashville nightclub is redefining the concept of faith - and clubbing - with heavily attended gatherings that have strict rules against twerking, drinking, and smoking. Enter The Cove - an 18-and-up pop-up started this past year by seven young, black Christians, that only enforces the three above rules. There's an unspoken one as well - a playlist devoted entirely to Christian music. The establishment comes in response to a post-pandemic decline in church attendance, organizers this week said - citing the mostly black, Gen-Z crowd. These pious partiers flood their doors regularly, the masterminds revealed -speaking for a feature...

Strain disappeared on March 8 after being kicked out of Luke’s 32 Bridge Food + Drink in downtown Nashville while on a trip with his fraternity. University of Missouri student Riley Strain's body has been found in the Cumberland River Friday morning, the Metropolitan Nashville Police announced. "The body of Riley Strain was recovered from the Cumberland River in West Nashville this morning, approximately 8 miles from downtown," the department wrote on X. "No foul play-related trauma was observed. An autopsy is pending." Police received a call around 7:28 a.m. from a worker at a nearby business who discovered Strain's...

(The Center Square) – Two dozen Republican U.S. senators are pushing back against the Biden administration's plan to increase taxes on the U.S. oil, natural gas and coal industries to the tune of over $110 billion. U.S. Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., led a coalition of 24 senators expressing “grave concern regarding the administration's continued hostility towards American energy production.” In a letter to U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, they wrote, “America's working families and small businesses are facing immense challenges including high energy prices. At the same time, our allies and partners across the globe are asking for reliable American...

The body of missing University of Missouri student Riley Strain has been found in a Nashville river after he went missing leaving a country bar earlier this month, authorities said. “The body of Riley Strain was recovered from the Cumberland River in West Nashville this morning, approximately 8 miles from downtown,” the Metropolitan Nashville Police wrote on X. His body was found in the Cumberland River near 61st Avenue North around 7:30 a.m. Friday, news station WKRN reported. No foul play is suspected, but an autopsy has been scheduled, police said. Strain was visiting the Music City with his Delta...

Violent left-wing extremists on Wednesday hijacked a Turning Points USA event at the University of Memphis featuring Kyle Rittenhouse — and they did so with the full backing of the Democrat Party.Video footage from outside the university showed the extremists chasing down attendees as they tried to leave the event.The drama started days ahead of the event, with “students and community members” expressing fury after Rittenhouse was invited to speak at the school by Turning Points USA, according to The Commercial Appeal, a Memphis paper.The school released a statement shortly thereafter saying it wasn’t sponsoring the event but lacked the...

Tennessee cop-gone-wild Maegan Hall settled her lawsuit with the city of La Vergne for $500,000 after she was fired when an internal probe revealed her raunchy romps with six male officers. The 28-year-old was fired in January 2023 after it was first discovered that she had sexual relationships with several cops in the department - some who have been terminated, others suspended. The rookie cop hit back in a federal lawsuit, claiming she was groomed and abused by lecherous superiors, including Police Chief Burrel 'Chip' Davis and Sgt. Lewis Powell, a 15-year law enforcement veteran.

New York Mayor Ed Koch had a commonsense approach to hiring first responders, and it made a lifelong impression on me when I first heard it maybe 40 years ago. "I don’t care what sex a firefighter is," Mayor Koch said all those years ago, "as long as they can carry a 200 pound Mayor out of a burning building." When it comes to dangerous jobs — first responders, soldiers, sailors, pilots, industrial workers, etc. — every other consideration must come in second to the question of whether or not this particular applicant has the physical and mental stamina to...

Tennessee State Senator Charlane Oliver (D-Nashville) warned state Republicans on Thursday moments after the Tennessee General Assembly passed a bill prohibiting local governments from inhibiting law enforcement that her Democrat constituents may respond with riots. @FoxNashville posted footage of the Thursday press conference at which Oliver and other Democrat legislators held at the Capitol in which they announced their disapproval of the bill. The legislation easily passed in the State Senate on Thursday in a partisan vote 26 to 6. The previous week, the Tennessee House passed the bill in a partisan 68 to 24 vote. “So yeah, we’re gonna...

federal judge ordered the FBI to provide Covenant School shooter Audrey Hale's manifesto and other documents for a private review as part of a lawsuit from Star News Digital Media Inc., the parent company of The Tennessee Star. "The court's order today is a significant victory for the public’s right to know about the motives of Audrey Elizabeth Hale, who murdered six innocent Nashvillians at the Covenant School on March 27, 2023," Tennessee Star Editor-in-Chief Michael Patrick Leahy said. Star News sued the FBI in May 2023, claiming the bureau had violated the First Amendment by rejecting multiple Freedom of...

Step Directions ElapsedDistance 1 Begin at 601 Mainstream Dr on Mainstream Dr and go 0.4 miles 0.4 2 Turn right on Great Circle Rd and go 0.4 miles 0.8 3 Bear left and go 70 feet 0.9 4 Turn left on Metrocenter Blvd,TN-12,US-41A and go 0.9 miles 1.7 5 Bear right on ramp to I-65 and go 0.6 miles 2.3 6 Continue on I-40 West Ramp and go 0.6 miles 2.9 7 Continue on I-40 and go 81 miles 84.1 8 Exit I-40 via ramp and go 15 miles 99.4 9 Continue on access road and go 400 feet...

Gayle Borne has fostered more than 300 children in Springfield, Tennessee. She’s cared for kids who have rarely seen a doctor — kids so neglected that they cannot speak. Such children are now even more vulnerable because of a law Tennessee passed last year that requires the direct consent of birth parents or legal guardians for every routine childhood vaccination. Foster parents, social workers, and other caregivers cannot provide permission.In January, Borne took a foster baby, born extremely premature at just over 2 pounds, to her first doctor’s appointment. The health providers said that without the consent of the child’s...