Tag Archives: Tennessee

The New York Post reports: A Tennessee state senator has been arrested on a DUI charge after he was filmed allegedly failing a sobriety test following a drunken hit-and-run crash in Georgia. Rep. Ken Yager, 77, was caught on camera stumbling around as troopers tried to make him walk in a straight line on Jekyll Island at about 5 p.m. …

Axios reports: President-elect Trump is looking more seriously at Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) for Treasury secretary — giving Trump three serious options for one of the few roles where he’s taking his time, transition sources tell me. Hagerty, a former private-equity investor who was Trump’s ambassador to Japan, is one of three apparent finalists, along with former Fed governor Kevin …

From the Justice Department: Skyler Philippi, 24, of Columbia, Tennessee, was arrested by federal agents and charged with attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction and attempting to destroy an energy facility. “As charged, Skyler Philippi believed he was moments away from launching an attack on a Nashville energy facility to further his violent white supremacist ideology – but …

The Knoxville News Sentinel reports: The former Maryville Apostolic Christian Academy middle school teacher convicted of sexually abusing a teenage girl who attended the school will serve six years in prison. Joseph “Kade” Abbott will not be eligible for parole and must register as a sex offender. Abbott was charged in 2023 with three counts of sexual assault by an …

From an earlier report at Friendly Atheist: The 2024 Cookeville-Putnam County Christmas Parade in Tennessee is going to be a huge event. Huge enough that the local PBS affiliate will carry the parade live on December 14 because, as one of its leaders previously explained, it’s “one of the community’s most beloved traditions.” If there are local groups interested in …

Hemant Mehta reports at the Friendly Atheist: The 2024 Cookeville-Putnam County Christmas Parade in Tennessee is going to be a huge event. Huge enough that the local PBS affiliate will carry the parade live on December 14 because, as one of its leaders previously explained, it’s “one of the community’s most beloved traditions.” If there are local groups interested in …

The Hill reports: A mayor in Tennessee joined other local officials Friday to denounce skepticism and rumors that have swirled around the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) response to the devastation in the southeastern U.S. from Hurricane Helene. Mayor Glenn Jacobs (R), who serves Knox County, Tenn., signaled in a post online that the attacks on the administration could make …

Knoxville’s ABC affiliate reports: East Tennessee’s own Dolly Parton partnered with several Sevier County attractions and Walmart to make a significant donation to flood relief at an event Friday. The event took place at the Walmart in Newport, Tennessee. Parton announced she was making a $1 million donation to the Mountain Ways Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to providing immediate assistance …

NBC News reports: The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, the state’s criminal investigation agency, said Wednesday it is looking into allegations against an Erwin plastics factory where several workers died and some went missing after they were swept away by floodwaters from Hurricane Helene. Relatives of the missing and deceased workers and factory employees who survived have alleged they were made …

The Associated Press reports: As the rain from Hurricane Helene came down harder and harder, workers inside a plastics factory in rural Tennessee kept working. It wasn’t until water flooded into the parking lot and the power went out that the plant shut down and sent workers home. Several never made it. The raging floodwaters swept 11 people away, and …

Nashville’s ABC affiliate reports: More than 50 people were sent to the roof of the Unicoi County Hospital on Friday and are awaiting rescue as flooding cut the hospital off from land, according to Ballad Health. Ballad previously announced at 10:45 a.m. that the hospital had closed and suspended operations due to the threat of flooding. Ballad stated in a …

Law & Crime reports: A federal judge on Friday temporarily blocked Tennessee’s so-called “abortion trafficking law,” which bans adults from helping minors get an abortion without parental permission. Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-15-220 was passed by the Tennessee General Assembly on April 24 and signed by Gov. Bill Lee [photo above] on May 28. It went into effect on July …

The Christian Post reports: David Baker Sr., a Tennessee pastor and father of 11, who served as vice president of Independent Baptist Online College, walked into a local hospital Wednesday and fatally shot himself a day after he was charged with aggravated sexual battery of a minor family member. A statement from the Columbia Police Department said Baker walked into …

Nashville’s NBC affiliate reports: The Wilson County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the shooting that left the home of Greg Locke, pastor of Global Vision Bible Church in Mt. Juliet, riddled with damage. The sheriff’s office said gunfire erupted outside the home late Tuesday night. Locke said he returned home with his family and found his home had been shot at …

From the Justice Department: United States Attorney Kevin G. Ritz today announced that a Memphis-area man has been charged with making threats against President Joseph R. Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and former President Barack Obama. On July 27, 2024, Kyl Alton Hall, 37, made numerous posts on the social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter). Specifically, in the …

The Associated Press reports: A federal appeals court on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit challenging first-in-the-nation law designed to place strict limits on drag shows, reversing a lower court ruling that deemed the statute unconstitutional and blocked its enforcement in part of the state. The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Memphis-based LGBTQ+ theater company that filed the …

Nashville’s NBC affiliate reports: For the second time in just nearly as many weeks, a hate group stationed themselves in downtown Nashville and passed out flyers against those who were Jewish and in the LGBTQ community. The group kept passing out flyers that labeled Jewish people as pedophiles and screaming that those who are LGBTQ needed to “get the f—k …

Nashville’s ABC affiliate reports: Mere days after it was painted and installed, Nashville’s first rainbow crosswalk was defaced by an unidentified driver. Hundreds of volunteers joined together Saturday, June 29 to paint the crosswalk at the intersection of 14th Street and Woodland in East Nashville. The crosswalk is meant to be a celebration of Nashville’s LGBTQ+ community. It’s placed outside …

Via press release from the Liberty Counsel: Reminiscent of proclamations to pray and fast by the Founders and past presidents during times of national concern, Governor Bill Lee has signed a resolution calling for 31 days of prayer and fasting in Tennessee beginning July 1, 2024. Tennessee House Joint Resolution 803 asks the state’s citizens to “seek God’s hand of …

Nashville’s NBC affiliate reports: Tennessee Congressman Andy Ogles filed 11 amendments to his campaign finance reports Wednesday, acknowledging that his claims for the last two years to have loaned $320,000 to his campaign were not true. Despite having reported making the $320,000 personal loan, Ogles’ personal financial disclosures did not show any substantial investments — not even a savings account. …