News Staff The Southern Baptist Convention has ousted two churches over policies deemed to be too inclusive of LGBTQ people and two more for employing pastors convicted of sex offenses. The actions came at an executive committee meeting marked by warnings that the country’s largest Protestant denomination was hurting itself with internal divisions. The churches expelled for … Read more
Tennessee’s top health officials say that more than 2,400 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine in Tennessee’s most populous county have gone to waste over the past month. According to state findings announced Tuesday, local officials sat on tens of thousands of shots that were thought to have already gone into arms. The finding comes after … Read more
Tennessee officials say 28 of 95 counties now have voting machines that leave a paper trail, and more counties plan to buy them. On Tuesday, Tennessee Elections Coordinator Mark Goins told state senators that three counties had such equipment in 2010. Goins says 45% of the votes cast last year had a paper trail. Secretary … Read more
Tennessee’s Senate on Monday advanced legislation that would allow the governor to issue an executive order requiring schools to offer in-person learning. The GOP-dominant chamber easily passed the measure on a 27-5 vote, with only Democratic senators opposed. The bill comes as Republican leaders have lobbed criticisms against Shelby and Davidson counties — the state’s … Read more
Mississippi saw a steep decline in COVID-19 vaccinations last week as several drive-thru vaccination sites were closed because of freezing temperatures and icy roads. The state Department of Health said Monday that 32,540 vaccinations were given in the state during the week that ended Saturday. That is down from 106,691 the previous week, which was … Read more
Mississippi House leaders are pushing to decrease some state taxes and increase others. House Bill 1439 would reduce the amount people pay in the state personal income tax, and it would cut the 7% grocery sales tax in half. It would increase tax rates on a wide variety of items, including equipment for farms and … Read more
Memphis International Airport cancelled all flights for today due to low water pressure at the airport terminal. The airport director said they had been experincing problems with the water all week, and Thursday night the water pressure dropped to a level so low that it was no longer feasible to continue airport operations. The terminal … Read more
Locally, MLGW issued a precautionary boil water advisory for more than 257-thousand customers. The notice issued due to the water main breaks that had been happening across the Bluff City, causing the pressure in the entire system to drop. Water used for consumption should be boiled for at least three minutes. Use bottled water for … Read more
Icy winter weather has left most of the 161,000 residents of Mississippi’s capital with little or no running water for days, and the mayor says it’s unclear when water service will be restored as freezing temperatures have knocked out power and water to parts of the Deep South. The icy conditions are part of a … Read more
A federal judge has ruled that parts of Tennessee’s sex offender registration act should not be applied retroactively to two offenders who sued over the law. Monday’s ruling in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee was narrowly written to apply only to the two plaintiffs — identified as John Doe #1 … Read more