Several laws restricting access to medications that can be used to terminate a pregnancy and others placing limits on minors’ access to sexual and reproductive healthcare — including the HPV vaccine — take effect today in Iowa, Mississippi and Tennessee. Many bills were considered in state legislatures earlier this year that would have added legal restrictions to mifepristone and misoprostol…
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Damon Hininger, the former CEO of Tennessee-based private prison operator CoreCivic, is interested in being Tennessee’s next U.S. senator when the seat opens up. Hininger publicly acknowledged for the first time that he wants to replace U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn if she wins her bid for governor this year, according to the Nashville Business Journal. Since 2024, when he chaired the state…
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It is difficult to find inspiration on this Juneteenth. We are still living in difficult times. In the last year, hundreds of thousands of African Americans have lost jobs. Some state legislatures in the South — Florida, Alabama, Tennessee, and Mississippi — have sought to dilute Black political power after the Supreme Court issued its Louisiana v. Callais decision. Meanwhile…
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A Tennessee man who spent over a month in jail for posting a meme following the death of right-wing pundit Charlie Kirk has received a large cash settlement from his home county, an outcome he described as a victory for free speech rights. Larry Bushart, a 61-year-old man from Lexington, Tennessee, spent 37 days in Perry County jail last fall following his arrest by the sheriff’s department…
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There are moments when history moves so fast that distraction becomes dangerous. Last week was one of those moments. While much of Memphis and Shelby County were pulled into the familiar rhythms of election analysis, political frustration, and personality-driven debate, something far more consequential was unfolding in Nashville. Tennessee’s recent congressional redistricting effort…
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Tennessee’s Republican House speaker is punishing Democrats for participating in a chaotic end to the special session lawmakers used to redraw congressional maps to bolster a GOP candidate in the midterm election. House Speaker Cameron Sexton sent a letter Tuesday to House Minority Leader Karen Camper notifying her that Democratic Caucus members will be removed from all standing committees…
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