On Wednesday, Tennessee state Republican lawmakers proposed a new congressional map that would lessen the already small Democratic representation in the state and eliminate Black political power within the delegation sent to Washington. The move comes after the federal Supreme Court ruled earlier this month that enforcement mechanisms from lower courts for the Voting Rights Act (VRA)…
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In Memphis, Tennessee, questions about AI data centers are rising nearly as quickly as their price tags. Recent reporting shows that Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company xAI now has properties in Memphis appraised at roughly $3.4 billion, a staggering valuation that will shape how much the company contributes in property taxes and how local officials frame its economic impact.
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Kansas, Texas, Indiana, Tennessee, and other states are creating lists of trans people, moves that advocates say would make it nearly impossible to exist in a trans body. In February, Kansas revoked the state identification cards and birth certificates of trans residents, making it the first state to cancel documents of individuals who changed their gender markers. The move was made possible…
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A Tennessee woman who sought to undergo sterilization surgery last week was abruptly blocked from receiving the procedure, with hospital staff informing her they decided they had a “duty to protect her sacred fertility.” The woman sought a salpingectomy, a type of surgery that removes fallopian tubes, after several years of trying various birth control methods to no avail.
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Some Republican lawmakers have routinely proposed criminally prosecuting women for getting abortions since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, despite bipartisan condemnation and criticism from national anti-abortion organizations. These bills never made it to the finish line, but they keep circulating in legislatures across the country. So-called “abortion abolitionists” who…
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In the United States, it is possible to be unhoused even inside a prison. At the South Central Correctional Center in Tennessee, people sleep in doorways, closets, or even in the showers. “Anywhere that’s pretty much off camera,” said Bishop, a man imprisoned in the facility who chose not to use his last name out of fear of retaliation. Atticus, another man in the prison…
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