Free Republic

As the special House election for a deep-red congressional district in Tennessee approaches, one issue has shaped the race above all else: Donald Trump. A crowded field in Tuesday’s GOP primary to fill former Rep. Mark Green’s seat spent months fighting over who’s the most pro-Trump before Trump stepped in with an endorsement for Matt Van Epps at the end of last week. Other issues have fallen to the background, blurring the lines between candidates, while the increasing drumbeat of campaign ads largely revolved around support for Trump and his policies. Trump and Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn each carried the...

MARYVILLE, Tenn.—Tucked in the foothills of Tennessee’s Smoky Mountains is a factory that has figured out a way to manufacture in America that’s cheaper, quicker and better. It’s the home of a famous American writing implement: the Sharpie marker.Pen barrels whirl along automated assembly lines that rapidly fill them with ink. At least half a billion Sharpie markers are churned out here every year, each one made of six parts. Only the felt tip is imported, from Japan. [snip] Newell began moving some Sharpie production to China in the 2000s, part of the wave of outsourcing by U.S. companies looking...

If Christa Gail Pike's execution proceeds as planned next year, she will become the first woman put to death in Tennessee since the state began to formally document capital punishment more than a century ago. After attempted appeals by Pike's attorneys repeatedly failed, the Tennessee Supreme Court on Tuesday set a date for her to be executed. The order granted a scheduling request from the state for the death warrant to be carried out Sept. 30, 2026, at the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville, which houses a majority of Tennessee's death row inmates. Under the terms of this week's...

dates for four people, including the only woman in the state on death row. Christa Pike received the death sentence at age 18 for the 1995 torture slaying of Colleen Slemmer, who was a fellow Knoxville Job Corps student. Slemmer, 18, was stabbed and beaten by Pike and Tadaryl Shipp, Pike’s boyfriend at the time, on the University of Tennessee’s Agricultural campus. The court on Tuesday also set execution dates for Tony Carruthers, Gary Sutton and Anthony Hines. Carruthers was convicted in 1996 of robbing and killing Marcellos Anderson, 21, Frederick Tucker, 17, and Anderson’s mother, Delois Anderson, 43, in...

A conservative activist group’s unannounced visit to Tennessee State University ignited a debate over free speech and safety on campus. Members of Fearless Debates said they had come to TSU to “create conversation and discourse.” The NAACP Nashville chapter countered that the group’s goal was to provoke and demean students at the historically Black university.... Fearless Debates described itself as part of the “Fearless Tour,” a grassroots effort inspired by the late conservative commentator Charlie Kirk. On its website, the group said it was “bringing honest conversation and open debate back to America’s college campuses.”... The NAACP Nashville chapter called...

This morning the House passed a clean CR designed to fund the government through November, thereby avoiding the possibility of a shutdown at the end of this month. Democrats how vowed not to support it in the Senate.The vote was 217-212, with one Democrat, Rep. Jared Golden of Maine, joining Republicans in voting yes. Two Republicans — conservative Reps. Tim Burchett of Tennessee and Victoria Spartz of Indiana — and all other Democrats voted against the bill.The short-term funding bill, known as a continuing resolution or CR, now heads to the Senate, where Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and other...

President Donald Trump signed a memo Monday establishing a task force in Memphis, Tennessee, that would mobilize the National Guard and other federal law enforcement agencies to crack down on crime, similar to steps taken in Washington, D.C.

President Donald Trump appeared to announce that his crime crackdown will spread to the very blue city of Memphis, in the red state of Tennessee. During his appearance on Friday on "Fox and Friends," President Trump talked about the success his administration has had after enacting a 30-day federalization of local law enforcement in Washington, D.C., before he revealed the next Democrat-run city that could see a surge of officers. "Look at what we did in D.C.," Trump said. "We took D.C., probably the single-worst place in the country in terms of crime. There's no crime. It's a crime-free area."...

President Trump announced Friday that Memphis would be the next city to get a federal policing surge — and the second following Washington, DC. “We’re going to Memphis. Memphis is that’s the next — deeply troubled and the mayor is happy. The Democrat mayor, the mayor is happy. And the governor, Tennessee, the governor is happy,” Trump said on “Fox & Friends.” “Deeply troubled — we’re going to fix that, just like we did Washington. I would have preferred going to Chicago,” Trump said. Trump said the move was pitched to him by a railroad executive, serving on the board...

Authorities in Tennessee announced Friday that they believe a sheriff who inspired the movie "Walking Tall" is responsible for his wife's death in 1967. During a news conference Friday, officials with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said there were "inconsistencies" in statements from Sheriff Buford Pusser following the 1967 murder of his wife, Pauline. “It’s been said that the dead can’t cry out for justice. It is the duty of the living to do so. In this case, that duty has been carried out 58 years later,” said District Attorney General Mark Davidson for the 25th Judicial District. Blood splatter...

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga went into lockdown on Thursday afternoon after an alert was sent out reporting a possible active shooter. The alert stated, per WSMV, "Run. Hide. Fight." The university reported the possible active shooter as being at the University Center or the school’s library. The Chattanooga Police Department said they are working with campus police to investigate reports of shots fired, and authorities said they have not found any victims at this time. All City of Chattanooga buildings are in lockdown along with campus buildings. This is a breaking story. Please refresh the page for updates.

Bobby Dodge, a Tennessee small‑business owner, is running in the special election for the state’s 7th Congressional District, seeking to become the first member of Congress associated with Elon Musk’s America Party, despite the group not having ballot access in Tennessee or any other state. Dodge announced his candidacy on Thursday, August 14, stating in a press release that he wants to be a voice for Americans frustrated with partisan gridlock and will focus on fiscal discipline, government accountability, and pragmatic reforms. His background includes studies in political science, an internship on Capitol Hill, and volunteer work at the Reagan...

A progressive Chicago politician is facing backlash for galavanting around Nashville as her district was “devastated” by severe storms and heavy flooding. Alderwoman Stephanie D. Coleman (D) showed off in a glamorous yellow dress, gold jewelry, a bulky watch and an expensive Chanel vanity bag during her trip to the 40th Annual Stellar Gospel Music Awards. Coleman, 37, flaunted the dazzling ensemble in multiple social media posts, several including her twirling her dress around on the street and strutting through a hallway like a runway model. As she “pranced” around Music City, the Windy City was ravaged by multiple thunderstorms...

What we know: According to a Facebook post by the Shelby County District Attorney's Office, 51-year-old Decarlo Pitchford pulled the trigger on his wife last month. The victim told authorities that she was being blocked from leaving, and when her husband shot her, he said, "I told you to stop playing with me."

Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn launched her long-awaited campaign for governor Wednesday, becoming the second Republican from the state’s congressional delegation to enter the race to succeed term-limited GOP Gov. Bill Lee. Blackburn, who hopes to become the Volunteer State’s first female governor, starts out as the front-runner after more than 20 years on Capitol Hill in both the House and Senate. She has tied herself closely to President Donald Trump, who won the deep-red state by 30 points last year. “In his first six months, President Trump has made historic strides in Making America Great Again, but as he sends...

Sen. Marsha Blackburn’s (R-Tenn.) nascent gubernatorial bid has kicked off a shadow race for her Senate seat in the event she wins, with Reps. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) and Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) each eyeing the seat. Burchett confirmed to The Hill that he would be interested in the Senate seat if Blackburn was elected governor. CNN first reported Burchett’s interest in the seat. Ogles, too, said he would be interested in the Senate seat. “Definitely interested in it. I’ve expressed my interest,” Ogles told The Hill. Ogles joked about going up against Burchett for the position: “We’ll probably do some sort...

The Iowa Attorney General’s Office on Wednesday opened an investigation into the University of Iowa after an official there was video recorded saying she and others at the school continue to advance diversity, equity and inclusion despite policies and a state law prohibiting it. A 2024 state law prohibits public funding for DEI programs. The Iowa Board of Regents in November 2023 also directed universities to abolish all “diversity, equity, and inclusion” initiatives at public universities. But an undercover video obtained by Fox News shows Drea Tinoco, assistant director for Leadership and Student Organization Development at the University of Iowa,...

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has privately discussed the idea of running for political office next year in Tennessee, according to two people who have spoken directly with him about it. If Hegseth were to follow through on the discussions, it would amount to a major leadership shake-up at the department that oversees the American military and millions of federal employees. The Defense Department bars civilian employees from running for political office, meaning Hegseth would have to resign to do so. In a statement, Sean Parnell, the Pentagon’s chief spokesman, said, “Hegseth’s focus remains solely on serving under President Trump.” One...

Billionaire In-N-Out owner Lynsi Snyder stirred up a storm of online controversy over the weekend when she revealed that she planned to move her family out of California to Tennessee. The news comes as In-N-Out begins to expand heavily into the South, launching a new joint headquarters in Franklin, Tennessee, near Nashville — where Snyder will also now be based. Snyder revealed the coming move on a recent podcast appearance, saying, “There’s a lot of great things about California, but raising a family is not easy here. Doing business is not easy here.” The clip, from a new episode of...

MARK GREEN has resigned from the House. He hasnt voted in a few weeks. . House is now: 219 - R 212- D 4 vacancies ... How/when do these vacancies get filled? By whom? ... They trigger special elections but often governors play games with when to schedule them depending on whose party the vacancy favors ... Special election for Tennessee - not an appointment. So usually several months from governor declaring the writ and the election ... Two Dem elections are in September. One in Virginia and the other in Arizona 7th. .... 3 of those are D vacancies...