Free Republic

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A tornado touched down north of downtown Nashville. Serious damage was caused in many parts of town including Germantown, where we've seen some of the worst damage.

The work crew had started ripping off the roof of Belinda Hungate's home in Spring Hill on February 20 when she was woken by the noise. She then confronted the crew, but she said that they didn't speak English. . . . 'They did not speak English. The sub-contractor is from Honduras. No business cards, no contractors license,' her husband Philip Hungate told DailyMail.com. 'My wife called me at work in a panic saying there were guys on the roof and they were tearing things off.'

NASHVILLE, TN (WSMV) - Nashville is hemorrhaging police officers at a time when more are needed than ever before. That’s according to the union president who says the problem has become a major public safety concern. “Even if we were fully staffed today, we would not have enough officers,” said fraternal order of police president James Smallwood. 42 officers recently graduated from Nashville’s police academy. In a few months, the graduates will be out on the streets, risking their lives, to keep the city safe. “I’m just proud to be doing the job I’m going to be doing,” said officer...

MEMPHIS - - Vanderbilt University student Will Newell wishes it was easier for college students like him to cast ballots in Tennessee, one of 14 states holding a presidential primary on Super Tuesday. The campus has no locations for early voting, so students must visit an off-campus polling location to cast a ballot on Election Day. Newell drives but worries that many students who don’t have their own transportation won’t make it to a precinct. He said some campus groups offer rides to students, but the university itself does not provide a shuttle. He supports a bill introduced in the...

Last month a professor at Harvard University was arrested for failing to disclose that he’d been receiving $50,000 per month from China. Dr. Charles Lieber had been recruited by something called the Thousand Talents Plan which pays foreign experts to share their knowledge at Chinese universities. However, professors are not allowed to accept research grants from federal agencies while also teaching in China. Lieber allegedly hid his China connections when applying for grants from the National Institutes of Health. Today, a professor in Tennessee has been charged for hiding similar connections to China: Anming Hu, an associate professor in...

<p>Michael Bloomberg’s campaign office in Knoxville, Tennessee, was vandalized Thursday evening with “Fuck Bloomberg,” “oligarch,” “classist” and “authoritarian” spraypainted on its door.</p> <p>Bloomberg campaign manager Kevin Sheekey issued a statement Friday saying the vandalism “echoes language from the Sanders campaign and its supporters,” but also saying that they don’t know who’s responsible for the action.</p>

The Knoxville office of 2020 democratic presidential candidate and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg was vandalized overnight Thursday. WVLT News Friday morning witnessed the front doors of the office painted with expletives and posters that featured the words "authoritarian," "classist" and "oligarch." The posters featured what appeared to be snippets from news articles on Bloomberg in which he allegedly made derogatory statements about women and people of color in the past alongside words like "fascist," "sexist" and "racist." Knoxville Police Department said they received a complaint saying the vandalism occurred at the Western Avenue office between 6 p.m....

A death row inmate who was convicted of killing four people — but who saved the lives of three corrections officers while in prison, according to his lawyer — is scheduled to be executed Thursday night. Tennessee Governor Bill Lee denied Nicholas Sutton’s clemency on Wednesday. “After careful consideration of Nicholas Sutton’s request for clemency and a thorough review of the case, I am upholding the sentence of the State of Tennessee and will not be intervening” Lee said in a statement. Sutton, 58, was sentenced to die for fatally stabbing a fellow inmate in 1985, when he was serving...

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee on Wednesday denied clemency to death row inmate Nicholas "Nick" Sutton one day before his scheduled execution. Sutton, 58, is scheduled to die by electric chair Thursday evening for the 1985 murder of Carl Estep. "After careful consideration of Nicholas Sutton's request for clemency and a thorough review of the case, I am upholding the sentence of the state of Tennessee and will not be intervening," Lee said in a statement released Wednesday morning. Kevin Sharp, Sutton's attorney, described his client's petition as "a once-in-a-lifetime case for clemency." "He has saved the lives of three corrections...

As Democratic lawmakers in Virginia chip away at commonwealth residents' firearms rights, one bill in a Southern state seeks to undo the damage and form a pro-Second Amendment bulwark across the south. Mississippi House Bill 753, sponsored by seven Republicans in the state Legislature, was introduced Monday. The bill aims to establish an interstate compact to circumvent certain federal gun laws by establishing a regional power dedicated to the defense of the Second Amendment. Part of the legislation's intended purpose is to exempt certain firearms, accessories and ammunition from overreaching federal regulation. The bill doesn't stop there, promising to "declare...

Sen. Lamar Alexander (Tenn.)Sen. Bill Cassidy (La.)Sen. Susan Collins (Maine)Sen. Mike Lee (Utah) Sen. Jerry Moran (Kan.)Sen. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska)Sen. Rand Paul (Ky.)Sen. Todd Young (Ind.)  

WASHINGTON, D.C., November 1, 2017 (LifeSiteNews) – Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tennessee, yelled at an African-American woman today, accusing her of “ignorance,” after she testified before a Congressional committee about abortion being the “leading cause of death in the black community today.” Star Parker, founder and president of the Center for Urban Renewal and Education (CURE), suggested it’s disingenuous to conflate abortion with social ills. Parker was testifying before the House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice as it discussed legislation banning abortions on babies with beating hearts.

A number of House Democrats are gearing up to stage protests against President Trump's State of the Union address once again Tuesday, this time after voting to impeach him. Female Democrats are reprising their coordinated white outfits to show solidarity with women, and, as in years past, at least a handful of lawmakers are considering or planning to boycott Trump's speech in the House chamber entirely. **SNIP** Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.), who introduced articles of impeachment against Trump in 2017, skipped the last two State of the Union addresses. He told The Hill that he has no intention to "go...

A third House Democrat announced plans on Monday to boycott President Trump's Tuesday State of the Union address, which will take place a day before the Senate is expected to acquit the president in his impeachment trial. Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), who also skipped Trump's previous State of the Union addresses, said that he will not be attending the speech on Tuesday. “I have chosen not to dignify Trump’s parade of lies about health care, his persistent exaggeration, and his personal attacks with my attendance at this year’s State of the Union Address. His appalling performances each day continue to...

Tennessee would officially consider both CNN and The Washington Post to be “fake news” outlets under a resolution proposed by a Republican state lawmaker. Introduced Wednesday by Tennessee state Rep. Micah Van Huss, the bill would “recognize CNN and The Washington Post as fake news and condemn them for denigrating our citizens,” according to its language. “I’ve filed HJR 779 on behalf of a constituency that’s tired of fake news and Republicans who don’t fight,” Mr. Van Huss said on social media. “Over 60% of Tennessee voters voted for President Trump, and CNN and The Washington Post denigrated them for...

Veteran investigative journalist Carl Bernstein blasted Senate Republicans on the eve of their vote to determine whether or not witnesses will be allowed in President Trump's Senate impeachment trial. "The Senate of the United States, through the Republican leadership and membership, has now joined hands with a tyrant," said Bernstein. "We now have a precedent that's been set, especially if we're going to follow this new catechism, this cult of Trump that professor Dershowitz has advanced, this catechism that he cannot abuse his power. So, totally different situation than what happened in Watergate, because in Watergate the real heroes were...

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. — A Tennessee Tech University student was placed in isolation after presenting mild symptoms of the Coronavirus. In a social media post released Thursday evening, the university said the student had recently traveled overseas and met the criteria for testing. The student was placed in isolation as a precautionary measure. The school said they have not confirmed that the student has the Coronavirus. Tennessee Tech and the doctors at the school have been in constant contact with both the Tennessee Department of Health and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. Tennessee Tech is located in Cookeville, which is...

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee hopes to join a growing list of states that are trying to protect unborn babies from abortion once their heartbeats are detectable. On Thursday, the Republican governor outlined his pro-life priorities for the new legislative session, including the heartbeat measure and a ban on sex-selection abortions, WSMV News 4 reports. “I believe that every human life is precious, and we have a responsibility to protect it,” Lee said. “Today, Tennessee is taking a monumental step in celebrating, cherishing, and defending life at every stage. I’m grateful to be joined by so many leaders in our state...

As the third day of the ongoing impeachment trial of President Trump wrapped up in the Senate chamber, most of the drama was elsewhere -- with one witness for the Democrats accusing a Republican senator of "defamation" and "slander," and Republicans vowing to aggressively highlight alleged corruption by Hunter Biden. The off-field spat began Thursday evening on Twitter, when Tennessee GOP Sen. Marsha Blackburn quoted the commanding officer of Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman as saying that Vindman was a "political activist in uniform." [cut] Vindman's legal team fired back within hours.

The far-left Netflix is promoting its new Taylor Swift documentary, “Miss Americana.” The release of the highly anticipated film, that features Swift explaining how she made the decision to come out against President Trump is perfectly timed to coincide with Trump’s reelection campaign. Swift made the decision to come out of the political closet in 2018 when she attacked conservative Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn in her home state of Tennessee. Swift didn’t have quite as much sway in the election as she had hoped. Republican Marsha Blackburn won her US Senate seat handily. After years of palling around with brain-dead...