Latest Tennessee state government News
Former ambassador and Republican politician sues to block Tennessee voting law
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Former Ambassador to Poland and longtime Tennessee Republican politician Victor Ashe sued state election officials on Wednesday over a law he claims is so vague that he could be prosecuted for voting in a Republican primary. The 1972 state law requiring...
Nashville DA seeks change after suspect released from jail is accused of shooting college student
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Nashville district attorney called on Wednesday for the Tennessee legislature to make it easier to commit someone to a mental institution after a man who was previously released for incompetence to stand trial was accused of shooting an 18-year-old college student in...
Inspired by online dating, AI tool for adoption matchmaking falls short for vulnerable foster kids
Some are orphans, others seized from their parents. Many are older and have overwhelming needs or disabilities. Most bear the scars of trauma from being hauled between foster homes, torn from siblings or sexually and physically abused. Child protective services agencies have wrestled...
ACLU and families of trans teens ask Supreme Court to block Tennessee ban on gender-affirming care
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Attorneys representing Tennessee transgender teens and their families asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday to block a ban on gender-affirming care for minors that a lower court allowed to go into effect. Should the nation's highest court agree to take...
Tennessee faces federal lawsuit over decades-old penalties targeting HIV-positive people
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — LGBTQ+ and civil rights advocates on Tuesday filed a federal lawsuit challenging Tennessee's aggravated prostitution statute, arguing that the law stems from the decades-old AIDS scare and discriminates against HIV-positive people. The sweeping complaint...
Tennessee GOP is willing to reject millions in funding, if it avoids complying with federal strings
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee Republican leaders are escalating their calls to reject millions of federal dollars rather than comply with requirements over LGBTQ+ rights, abortion access and other hot-button issues. Already this year, the Volunteer State has rebuffed federal...
Tennessee court to decide if school shooting families can keep police records from public release
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A lawsuit over whether the families of school shooting victims have a right to control what the public learns about a massacre was argued inside a packed Tennessee courtroom on Monday, the latest turn in an intense public records battle. The person who...
Appeals panel won't revive lawsuit against Tennessee ban on giving out mail voting form
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A panel of federal appeals judges has decided not to revive a challenge of a Tennessee law that makes it a felony for anyone other than election officials to distribute absentee ballot applications. In a 2-1 decision Thursday, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of...
North Carolina retiree group sues to block 30-day voter residency requirement
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina laws requiring citizens to reside in the state and within a precinct at least 30 days before an election date to be eligible to vote are unlawful and must be blocked, a union-affiliated retiree group said in a federal lawsuit this week. Lawyers...
Many states are expanding their Medicaid programs to provide dental care to their poorest residents
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — For months, Carlton Clemons endured crippling pain from a rotting wisdom tooth. He couldn’t sleep, barely ate and relied on painkillers to get by. The 67-year-old from Nashville, Tennessee, could not afford to see a dentist on the $1,300-a-month his family...
