Tag Archives: Tennessee

Knoxville’s ABC News affiliate reports: Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agents are assisting the Knoxville Fire Department’s investigation into Friday’s fire that destroyed a Planned Parenthood Center, but officials say there is no evidence at this time that indicates the fire was intentionally set. “It’s because it is Planned Parenthood, because of the political nature of Planned Parenthood,” …

The Tennessean reports: Tennessee’s medical licensing board voted Tuesday to delete a policy opposing coronavirus misinformation from its website due to fears a powerful conservative lawmaker would otherwise dissolve the board and replace its members. The deletion was spurred by Rep. John Ragan, R-Oak Ridge, a co-chair of the Joint Government Operations Committee, who insisted board members don’t have the …

Posted to Facebook last week: Tonight, I’m asking for prayers for my Close friend and fellow servant of God John Adams. John lost his wife for 48 years yesterday and tonight he battles Covid pneumonia in the intensive care unit at a hospital in Knoxville. John is an amazing and compassionate friend. He has touched so many lives. John, I …

The Tennessee Lookout reports: Tennessee Republican Rep. John Ragan has demanded that a state medical board remove a policy statement from its website that warns physicians who spread misinformation regarding COVID-19 vaccines risk disciplinary action. In a letter sent Monday to Dr. Melanie Blake, president of the Tennessee Board of Medical Examiners, Ragan instructed the statement be deleted “without delay.” …

Nashville’s ABC News affiliate reports: A piece of legislation proposing to go against any federal COVID-19 vaccine mandate was postponed in the COVID-19 Committee today during the general assembly’s third extraordinary session. The “COVID-19 Health Care Liberty Jurisdiction Act,” proposed by Representative Bud Hulsey (R- Kingsport) essentially goes against any COVID-19 vaccine mandate and would likely invite a lawsuit by …

The Tennessean reports: Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee’s executive order allowing parents to opt their children out of school mask mandates violates federal law and will remain blocked in Williamson County, a judge decided Friday. U.S. District Judge Waverly D. Crenshaw’s ruling continues to prevent Lee’s order, which the governor extended through Nov. 5, from taking effect in Williamson County’s two …

ABC News reports: Authorities identified the suspected gunman Friday as UK Thang, 29, a third-party vendor for Kroger. Collierville Police Department Chief Dale Lane said in a press briefing Friday that a total of 15 people were shot, including 70-year-old Olivia King who died from her wounds, and are in stable condition. Ten of the victims shot were Kroger employees …

The Memphis Commercial Appeal reports: Multiple injuries have been reported in a shooting at a Kroger in Collierville, confirmed Jennifer Casey, public information officer for the Town of Collierville. The area outside the Kroger at 240 New Byhalia Rd. has been secured and law enforcement officers are trying to get customers out of the Kroger, she said. A spokesperson for …

The Independent reports: Alarming footage shows a group of adults heckle a Tennessee high school student for advocating face masks. The young boy emotionally tells the school board about how his grandmother, who was a former teacher, died from Covid due to the school not employing mandatory face masks. The student is rudely interrupted by heckling adults who shout “shut …

Nashville’s NBC News affiliate reports: The Tennessee Poison Center has seen a dramatic increase in calls for people experiencing issues after taking ivermectin for COVID-19. Many of those calls were for people accidentally getting the drug on their skin, Dr. Rebecca Bruccoleri said. “It can cause GI upset, it can cause neurological symptoms too,” Dr. Bruccoleri said. “We’ve been seeing …

The Hill reports: Jason Martin, an intensive care unit doctor, is set to announce his candidacy for Tennessee governor on Monday, saying he hopes to take his experience on the frontlines of the pandemic to the governor’s mansion in a state still grappling with the spread of COVID-19. Martin, a Democrat who works at community hospitals across Tennessee, says the …

The Associated Press reports: At least 22 people were killed and rescue crews searched desperately Sunday amid shattered homes and tangled debris for dozens of people still missing after record-breaking rain sent floodwaters surging through Middle Tennessee. Saturday’s flooding in rural areas took out roads, cellphone towers and telephone lines, leaving families uncertain about whether their loved ones survived the …

The Tennessean reports: Gov. Bill Lee on Monday announced he is issuing an executive order requiring schools to allow parents to exempt their children from mask mandates, a decision that follows an outcry from some conservative legislators over districts’ masking policies for students. While the governor’s new Executive Order 84 addresses a key concern raised by many House and some …

Nashville’s ABC News affiliate reports: Hundreds of parents attended the Williamson County School Board meeting Tuesday night where a roughly four-hour debate took place over the district’s mask policy. The board voted 7-to-3 to pass a temporary mask mandate for elementary school students, staff, and visitors. Hundreds of parents who didn’t fit inside the auditorium stayed outside the board meeting …

The Associated Press reports: Tennessee has sent nearly half a million dollars to farmers who have vaccinated their cattle against respiratory diseases and other maladies over the past two years. But Republican Gov. Bill Lee, who grew up on his family’s ranch and refers to himself as a cattle farmer in his Twitter profile, has been far less enthusiastic about …

The Washington Post reports: A Tennessee legislator who went from unmasked gatherings with fellow legislators to being placed on ventilator days later has emerged with a message for constituents after a harrowing eight-month experience with long-haul covid-19: Take the coronavirus seriously. “It is a disease that wants to kill us,” state Rep. David Byrd (R) said in a statement Friday. …

The Tennessean reports: More than half of the state’s Senate Republican Caucus signed a letter Tuesday urging Tennesseans to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, a sudden acceleration of pro-vaccine rhetoric from leading conservatives as hospitalizations from the virus have begun to rapidly increase. While statewide vaccination rates have stalled, the delta variant of the virus is causing coronavirus cases to surge …

Nashville’s NBC News affiliate reports: Ty and Charlene Bollinger’s anti-vaccine empire has created such widespread criticism, accused of making millions off vaccine disinformation, that major media platforms have blocked their content. “It’s almost every social media account as well. We’ve been flagged, shut down. Deplatformed. They take us off and put us up again,” said Ty Bollinger, standing on the …

Knoxville’s NBC News affiliate reports: Governor Bill Lee spoke to the press for the first time since the controversy surrounding the termination of the state’s top vaccine expert, Dr. Michelle Fiscus. Governor Lee said he supported Health Commissioner Dr. Lisa Piercey’s decision to terminate Dr. Fiscus and steer the department away from marketing the vaccine to Tennessee children. “We should …

Nashville’s ABC News affiliate reports: Conservative radio talk show host Phil Valentine is hospitalized with COVID-19, according to his family. In a statement released Thursday, relatives said Valentine is “in very serious condition” and is suffering from “Covid Pneumonia,” along with other side effects. Valentine had previously expressed his disagreement with mask mandates, stating that hospitals were never in danger …