Free Republic

A mid-air Southwest flight was forced to land in Georgia after a passenger triggered a security alert, coming amid escalating tensions in the Middle East. Southwest Airlines Flight 2094, bound for Fort Lauderdale, Florida, from Nashville, Tennessee, was abruptly diverted Friday night to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, according to Fox 5 Atlanta News. The incident was set-off by a passenger, described as a 'possible security matter,' though what exactly happened has not been confirmed. A TikTok video from inside the plane claimed there was a bomb threat mid-flight, capturing the panic of passengers on board. In the footage, passengers can...

A first-grade teacher in Nashville, Tennessee, claims that he was threatened with termination and reassigned to a new position after requesting religious accommodations to avoid reading books to children that promote same-sex marriage, which would have conflicted with his beliefs about marriage and sexuality. Eric Rivera is a devout Christian who taught first-grade students at KIPP Antioch College Prep Elementary School, according to a Wednesday statement from the First Liberty Institute, a nonprofit public interest law firm. KIPP is a public charter school that operates under the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission.

Knox County prosecutors and defense attorneys are heading back to court this week in the brutal rape and torture killing case of 22-year-old Danishka Melina Sibaja Mejia, a crime that rattled South Knoxville in April 2024. One defendant has already pleaded guilty and is serving life in prison, but the remaining co-defendants are back on the criminal calendar as judges take up pretrial procedures that will determine how the rest of the case moves forward. The renewed court dates are drawing fresh attention from Mejia’s family and local advocates who say they still want answers. According to WBIR, Knox County...

Officers were dispatched to a business to assist an elderly customer who appeared to be suffering from dementia. At the scene, officers found him extremely confused. He told them the year was 1948 and that the president was George Washington. So they call his daughter to come pick him up. So how did things go so terribly wrong that day, that this 74 year old man ended up dying alone in a jail cell 9 hours later, confined in a restraint chair with a hood over his head? The story of Lester Isbill is one that could happen to anyone....

The Tennessee House of Representatives passed legislation on Thursday that would allow private citizens and organizations to refuse to recognize homosexual “marriages,” in a major challenge to the LGBT movement. House Bill 1473, which cleared the state House 68-24 with overwhelming support from Republicans, would exempt banks, medical institutions, and other private entities from recognizing what the bill refers to as “a purported marriage between individuals of the same sex.” The bill additionally states that government officials may not face discipline or sanctions for “declining to celebrate or officiate at a marriage or commitment ceremony that falls outside the definition...

Conclusion The story of FedEx’s decline and Collierville’s transformation is a microcosm of a quiet crisis that has been unfolding across the United States for decades, though it has accelerated greatly in the past five years. What began with a change in leadership from founder Fred Smith to CEO Raj Subramaniam has culminated in a vote of no confidence from its pilots, an exodus of loyal customers, and a community in the heart of Tennessee that is now unrecognizable to its lifelong residents.

Forty-one DUI arrests made by a single Tennessee Highway Patrol trooper in Bedford County have been dismissed, with 22 of those cases involving drivers who had no alcohol or drugs in their system or were within legal limits.The dismissed cases all involved arrests made by former Trooper Asa Pearl between 2021 and 2024, according to records obtained from the Bedford County Clerk’s office.Pearl resigned from the Tennessee Highway Patrol in 2024 with no reason given.

Tennessee Congressman Tim Burchett just went there.In an explosive interview with Benny Johnson, Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) didn’t hold back, tearing into Barack Obama’s sudden political rise and his administration’s alarming proximity to convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.While the mainstream media continues to run cover for the Democrat elite, Burchett is asking the questions they refuse to touch: How did Jeffrey Epstein operate so freely while Obama was in the White House?The conversation kicked off with breaking news regarding Kathryn Ruemmler, Obama’s former White House Counsel, who recently resigned from Goldman Sachs.Ruemmler’s name has surfaced repeatedly in connection to Epstein, raising...

Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) is gunning for the Nashville Electric Service (NES) as thousands of Nashville residents remain without power — more than a week after Winter Storm Fern wreaked havoc on the area — and some may not see their power restored for another ten days. Blackburn argued that NES had had spent more time focusing on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives than on the kind of preparation that could have helped them manage a massive winter storm more efficiently. “The Nashville Electric Service held 102 DEI-related training sessions by the end of 2024. They should’ve been using...

Two Memphis City Council members think the snow from Winter Storm Fern is man-made. Council members Pearl Walker and Yolanda Cooper Sutton both publicly said the snow was artificial in differing Facebook posts and comments this week. Claims of fake snow have been rampant on social media during the storm, especially TikTok. Cooper Sutton posted a video showing who she says is her husband attempting to melt a chunk of snow with a lighter. ... In the video, Cooper Sutton says, “This is not melting. This is fire. OMG. What is falling from the sky hitting the ground? Oh my...

GATLINBURG, Tenn. (WATE) — The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency is investigating after a bear ransacked a candy store in Gatlinburg. This is not the first time the bear has caused damage to the store, but the store is hopeful the bear will be relocated. Glades Homemade Candies shared on social media Friday that this is the fourth time the bear has caused damage at the store. Photos of the damage show a glass door the bear busted through, an overturned sheet pan rack and pans that were once full of sweets dragged outside. The store is located along East Parkway,...

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) - Conflict between law enforcement and activists erupted outside an Orange Mound restaurant Sunday evening after a group of National Guard members was asked to leave the property. The Memphis Police Department was at the scene Sunday night, along with dozens of Memphis Safe Task Force members, outside Da Sammich Spot on Park Avenue, which has a posted sign banning ICE agents. Video shared by one of the activists protesting the National Guard’s presence showed National Guard troops standing by the sidewalk after being asked to leave the property before more reinforcements arrived, bringing dozens of National...

ATOKA, Tenn. - A tiny and innocent life was saved recently, thanks to a box outside a Mid-South fire station and a parent who decided to use it. Fire officials said that someone over the weekend surrendered an infant at a Safe Haven Baby Box at Atoka Fire Station No. 1 in the Tennessee town about 25 miles northeast of Memphis. The boxes allow mothers of newborns to safely and legally give away their babies without being prosecuted. "What happened over the course of this weekend is exactly why we have this box," Atoka Fire Chief Bill Scott said. "It...

Financed by JPMorgan, Jointly Owned by US DoD Under the plan, the U.S. Department of Defense will hold a 40% stake in the JPM Financed smelter joint-venture. GFN – WASHINGTON: Korea Zinc plans a $7.4 billion investment to construct a large-scale non-ferrous metals smelter in Clarksville, Tennessee, a project U.S. officials say will materially expand domestic critical minerals processing capacity and strengthen supply chain security.1 The project, known as the “U.S. Smelter,” is expected to require approximately $6.6 billion in capital expenditures, with total investment reaching $7.4 billion including financing costs. It is being developed in coordination with the U.S....

A 32-year-old Tennessee nurse practitioner fatally shot her two young sons and 88-year-old grandmother before killing herself in a horrific quadruple murder-suicide, authorities said. Deputies with the Humphreys County Sheriff’s Office discovered the four bodies during a welfare check at a home in Waverly on Friday morning, with all of them suffering gunshot wounds, authorities said. The dead were identified as Arius Thompson, 4, Isaiah Johnson, 13, Evelyn Johnson, 88, and Heather Thompson, 32. Preliminary evidence indicates that Heather — who was estranged from the boys’ dad — killed the three victims before herself, authorities said. Sheriff Chris Davis said...

The Trump administration’s FBI has released more than 100 additional pages of writings from Audrey Hale, the transgender shooter... These newly unclassified documents, part of a massive collection of notebooks and journals, offer a chilling look into the planning and financing of the assault that claimed the lives of three children and three adults. Hale, a biological woman who identified as a transgender man, used federal student financial aid, specifically Pell Grants, to fund the purchase of firearms used in the heinous 2023 attack. The FBI-released documents reportedly include Hale’s handwritten “Account Savings Record” page, tracking federal Pell Grant funds...

LAVERGNE, Tenn. (WTVF) — After the explosive sex scandal inside the La Vergne police department in 2023, the city agreed to pay former police officer Maegan Hall $500,000. La Vergne city leaders voted 3 to 1 during a special meeting Wednesday night. The half-a-million dollar settlement, which includes no admission of guilt on the city's behalf, settles Hall's lawsuit against the city and three of her former superiors. The La Vergne Board of Mayor and Aldermen voted tonight to authorize the mayor to sign a settlement agreement between the City of La Vergne and former police officer Maegan Hall. The...

Real America's Voice chief White House correspondent Brian Glenn and outgoing Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia revealed that they are engaged. "She said ‘yes’" Glenn wrote in a post on X, adding the ring emoji while sharing a photo of himself with the congresswoman. Greene shared Glenn's post and wrote, "Happily ever after!!!" along with a red heart emoji. "I love you @brianglenntv!!!" she added. "Congratulations!" Republican Rep. Warren Davidson of Ohio replied to both of the posts. GOP Rep. Tim Burchett of Tennessee shared Glenn's post and wrote, "Congratulations! I can perform the ceremony in Tennessee for...

Korea Zinc announced on Monday a $7.4 billion smelter project in Tennessee that will be backed by the U.S. government and which will lessen our reliance on China for critical minerals used in defense systems, electronics, and so much more that powers our modern world. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick took to X to laud the news: The tweet continues: Today, we announced a major investment with Korea Zinc to build a state-of-the-art critical minerals smelter and processing facility in Tennessee that will produce 540,000 tons per year of essential materials right here in America. He continued, listing a range of...

A Tennessee truck driver is dead after a Chinese national, who is not proficient in English and has a non-domiciled New York commercial driver’s license (CDL), allegedly crashed a tour bus — now federal transportation officials are investigating how he was cleared to drive. “A Chinese national driving a motorcoach slammed into a vehicle in Tennessee, killing an individual and causing a major traffic jam this week,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy wrote in a post on social media. “And to make matters worse: this driver had a non-domiciled CDL from NY and couldn’t speak English!”