by Kaitlin Housler | Feb 27, 2026 | Justice, News, Tennessee, The Michael Patrick Leahy Show, The South
Tom Pappert, 2025 Dao Prize winner and lead reporter at The Tennessee Star, said testimony in the Kilmar Abrego Garcia hearing undercut claims of vindictive prosecution and instead confirmed that federal charges stemmed from reporting by The Star. In November 2022,...
by Kaitlin Housler | Feb 26, 2026 | Justice, News, Tennessee, The Michael Patrick Leahy Show, The South
As a federal judge considers whether to throw out human smuggling charges against Kilmar Abrego Garcia, The Tennessee Star’s Lead Reporter and 2025 Dao Prize winner Tom Pappert said the absence of national media in the courtroom may signal the stakes of a hearing...
by Kaitlin Housler | Feb 26, 2026 | Culture, News, Tennessee, The Michael Patrick Leahy Show, The South
Fresh off Team USA’s Olympic gold medal victory over Canada, Tennessee Conservative Coalition Executive Director Aaron Gulbransen, a lifelong hockey enthusiast and former player, says he’s still riding the emotional high of what he calls an iconic moment in American...
by Kaitlin Housler | Feb 26, 2026 | News, Ohio, Politics, State News, The Michael Patrick Leahy Show, The Midwest
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine is facing sharp criticism from within his own party over his defense of Haitian migrants in Springfield, as conservative activist and founder of the Ohio-based We the People Convention Tom Zawistowski accused him of siding with immigrants...
by Zachery Schmidt | Feb 24, 2026 | National, News, Politics
President Donald Trump will give his State of the Union Address tonight before Congress. This will be Trump’s first State of the Union speech of his second term in the White House. The speech will start at 9 pm EST. At Trump’s joint address to Congress last year, he...
by Zachery Schmidt | Feb 24, 2026 | Education, News, Tennessee, The South
The Tennessee State House is considering a bill that would require public schools to teach Bible lessons and allow for prayer time and reading of religious texts during the day. The state House Judiciary Committee ran out of time to hear the bill last week, but said...
by Zachery Schmidt | Feb 23, 2026 | Education, News, Tennessee, The South
Vanderbilt University opened a “formal inquiry” last Saturday after reports alleged a faculty member “shared offensive content during course instruction.” The school said on X that the “content in question has been removed.” Vanderbilt University did not provide any...
by Zachery Schmidt | Feb 23, 2026 | Education, News, Tennessee, The South
Vanderbilt University opened a “formal inquiry” last Saturday after reports alleged a faculty member “shared offensive content during course instruction.” The school said on X that the “content in question has been removed.” Vanderbilt University did not provide any...
by Kaitlin Housler | Feb 23, 2026 | Elections, News, Tennessee, The South
State Representative Johnny Garrett (R-Goodlettsville) said he is officially the first Republican candidate to secure a spot on the primary ballot in the race for Tennessee’s 6th Congressional District after having submitted his nominating petitions signed by...
by Kaitlin Housler | Feb 23, 2026 | News, Policy, Tennessee, The South
Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) has confirmed it will no longer perform “gender-affirming” plastic surgeries on adult patients, citing “operational limitations and lack of surgical coverage.” VUMC said that while it will no longer offer sex-change...
by Kaitlin Housler | Feb 21, 2026 | News, Politics, Tennessee, The Michael Patrick Leahy Show, The South
Tom Pappert, lead reporter at The Tennessee Star, blasted Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell’s recent response to outrage over skyrocketing property taxes on Lower Broadway, saying the mayor’s remarks “show zero empathy” and amounted to telling a struggling business...
by Zachery Schmidt | Feb 20, 2026 | Justice, News, Tennessee, The South
A Tennessee man with a previous murder conviction faces prison time after a federal grand jury indicted him on another criminal charge. The grand jury indicted James Lafayette Moore, 51, for allegedly possessing a firearm as a convicted felon, the Department of...
by Kaitlin Housler | Feb 20, 2026 | News, Politics, Tennessee, The Michael Patrick Leahy Show, The South
Tom Pappert, lead reporter at The Tennessee Star, sharply criticized Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell over his decision to appoint former Governor Phil Bredesen to chair the city’s 2026 Winter Storm Response Commission tasked with studying Nashville Electric...
by Zachery Schmidt | Feb 17, 2026 | News, Politics, Tennessee, The South
Tennessee gubernatorial candidate Marsha Blackburn came out in support of an effort to eliminate state property taxes. Blackburn, who is currently one of Tennessee’s senators, said Tuesday she supports Amendment Two, which would modify the state Constitution to outlaw...
by Zachery Schmidt | Feb 16, 2026 | News, Policy, Tennessee, The South
The Tennessee House Judiciary Committee will hear a bill on Wednesday attempting to create a criminal charge for an illegal immigrant who fails to leave Tennessee after a final deportation order. The state House Criminal Justice Subcommittee passed House Bill (HB)...
by Kaitlin Housler | Feb 16, 2026 | News, Policy, Tennessee, The South
Tennessee U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) has joined a coalition of organizations pushing for state legislators in the Tennessee General Assembly to pass the Regulatory Freedom Act. The bill, filed in the General Assembly as Senate Bill 2199 / House Bill 1913,...
by Kaitlin Housler | Feb 13, 2026 | News, Politics, Tennessee, The South, TN LEAD
Baker Group Strategies released a new poll on Friday, surveying voter attitudes in Davidson County, with a particular focus on Nashville Electric Service’s (NES) response to Winter Storm Fern and Mayor Freddie O’Connell’s job approval. The survey of 418 likely...
by Zachery Schmidt | Feb 13, 2026 | News, Policy, Tennessee, The South
The Tennessee State House passed a bill this week that gives public schools the option of displaying the Ten Commandments and other historical documents. House Bill (HB) 0047, introduced by State Representative Michael Hale (R-Smithville), passed 75-17, with one...
by Kaitlin Housler | Feb 13, 2026 | News, Policy, Tennessee, The South
The “YES ON 2” campaign officially launched this week, kicking off a statewide effort to pass a constitutional amendment that would permanently prohibit a state property tax in Tennessee. The amendment, which will appear on the November 2026 general election ballot,...
by Kaitlin Housler | Feb 13, 2026 | Justice, News, Tennessee, The South
District Attorney General for the 16th Judicial District Jennings H. Jones has determined there is “no probable cause to believe any criminal offense” was committed by Rutherford County Mayor Joe Carr in connection with ethics complaints filed against him in November...
