TN To Keep 9 US House Seats

Tennessee will keep its nine U.S. House seats after its population grew nearly 9% from 2010 to 2020. According to initial numbers released by the U.S. Census Bureau on Monday, Tennessee had 6.9 million residents in the latest one-a-decade population count. That’s up from the 6.3 million reported in 2010. Republicans hold seven of the … Read more

TN Passes Law Preventing Intelluctually Disabled Death Row Inmates From Being Executed

Tennessee lawmakers have passed legislation designed to prevent death row inmates with an intellectual disability from being executed. The GOP-supermajority House and Senate passed the bill by wide margins Monday. Advocates point to inmate Pervis Payne, who attorneys call intellectually disabled as he awaits an execution date. Payne was sentenced to death in the 1987 … Read more

Court Re-Instates TN Abortion Waiting Period

A federal appeals court has reinstated a 48-hour waiting period for women seeking abortions in Tennessee as the state appeals a judge’s ruling in the case. The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued its ruling Friday in a case that stems from a challenge to a 2015 law in Tennessee. The law required women … Read more

Medicaid Recipients Sue To Stop Program Changes

A group of Tennessee Medicaid recipients has filed a lawsuit seeking to halt a plan that would make contentious changes to the state’s program designed to provide medical coverage to the poor. According to the federal lawsuit filed this week in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the Tennessee Justice Center claims the … Read more

Watchdog Group Gives Bleak Report On MS Prisons

Bloody clashes that brought Mississippi’s prison system under federal scrutiny last year were part of a dramatic increase in reported cases of violence behind bars. The Mississippi Department of Corrections logged 853 incidents of inmate-on-inmate assaults during the 2020 state budget year, which ended June 30. That was a 29% increase from the previous year. … Read more

Southaven Opens New Soccer Complex

A ribbon cutting ceremony was held at the new Snowden Grove Park soccer complex in Southaven. Mayor Darren Musselwhite led the ceremony. Things get underweay quickly, as the city prepares to host the 36 team SpringFest Cup tournament at the new 5-million dollar complex. The city has also recently invested millions of dollars in baseball … Read more

Feds Approve Disaster Declaration From February Ice Storm

Federal officials have approved a major disaster declaration for Tennessee’s February winter storms. State officials say the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s declaration will help 13 counties impacted by severe winter weather from Feb. 11-19. The declaration by President Joe Biden’s administration lets the counties seek reimbursement for emergency work and repair or replacement of disaster-damaged … Read more

First Black TN Senator Dies At 80

Former Tennessee senator Thelma Harper, who became the first African-American woman elected to the state Senate, has died. She was 80. The longtime Nashville lawmaker’s daughter, Linda Harper, said in a statement that her mother died “peacefully and unexpectedly” Thursday while holding her hand. Harper became a senator in 1989 and was first elected to … Read more

MS Governor Agrees To Expand Parole Possibility

A new Mississippi law will make more inmates eligible for the possibility of parole in a state with one of the highest incarceration rates in the nation. Republican Gov. Tate Reeves on Thursday signed Senate Bill 2795, and it will become law July 1. “Criminal Justice reform. It means a lot of different things to … Read more

Horn Lake Aldermen Deny Mosque Request

In Horn Lake, the city leaders have rejected a plan to allow a mosque to be built on vacant land on Church Road between Horn Lake and Foog Roads. City Planners already recommended denial of the plans for the mosque in February. On Tuesday, alderman voted 5-1 against the plans, citing concerns over additional traffic … Read more