by Kaitlin Housler | Mar 31, 2026 | Justice, News, Tennessee, The Michael Patrick Leahy Show, The South
EJ Haust, the official guest host of The Michael Patrick Leahy Show, said the U.S. Supreme Court’s 8-1 decision to revisit Colorado’s ban on conversion therapy for minors is a major win for First Amendment protections. The case, Chiles v. Salazar, involves a challenge...
by Zachery Schmidt | Mar 31, 2026 | Economy, News, Tennessee, The South
Davidson County saw its population increase the most of any county in Tennessee last year, according to the University of Tennessee-Knoxville (UTK)’s Boyd Center for Business and Economic Research. Tennessee’s second most populous county gained 9,281 residents from...
by Kaitlin Housler | Mar 31, 2026 | Elections, News, Tennessee, The South
A coalition of suburban mayors in Shelby County has endorsed U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) for Tennessee governor, citing her leadership on public safety and the success of the Memphis Safe Task Force. The Shelby County Suburban Mayors Council – including...
by Kaitlin Housler | Mar 31, 2026 | Justice, News, Tennessee, The Michael Patrick Leahy Show, The South
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is poised to become “two or three times larger than it was last year,” according to The Tennessee Star’s Lead Reporter Tom Pappert, who says a surge of 12,000 new hires is now translating into plans for expanded office...
by Zachery Schmidt | Mar 30, 2026 | News, Policy, Tennessee
The Tennessee House will debate a bill on Thursday that regulates children’s involvement in online content creation. The State House will deliberate on Senate Bill (SB) 1469, which allows children to receive money they generate from their own online content...
by Kaitlin Housler | Mar 29, 2026 | News, Politics, Tennessee, The Michael Patrick Leahy Show, The South
EJ Haust, a self-described political refugee from Minnesota, argued that fraud in federal benefit programs is not just widespread but “systemic,” claiming that government structures themselves have enabled billions in abuse while officials failed to act for years....
by Zachery Schmidt | Mar 27, 2026 | News, Policy, State News, Tennessee
Tennessee gender clinics may soon be required to offer detransition procedures for transgender people. The State House passed House Bill (HB) 0754 this week, which mandates gender clinics that accept state funds to offer detransition procedures to patients. State...
by Zachery Schmidt | Mar 20, 2026 | Culture, News, Tennessee, The South
Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) wrote a public letter to American Muslim leaders on Friday, asking them to condemn the recent violent attacks that have been allegedly perpetrated by Muslims. “In the last three weeks, our nation has faced a series of violent...
by Kaitlin Housler | Mar 20, 2026 | Culture, News, Tennessee, The South, TN LEAD
Jeff Webb, the Tennessee entrepreneur widely credited with transforming competitive cheerleading into a global industry and a prominent conservative media figure, has died at the age of 76 following injuries sustained in an accident. Webb passed away on Thursday,...
by Zachery Schmidt | Mar 18, 2026 | Justice, News, Tennessee, The South
Tennessee joined 20 other states in petitioning the Supreme Court to take up a lower court case about a Pennsylvania mail-in ballot law. The state attorneys general requested this week that the Court review and overturn a federal appellate court’s decision striking...
by Kaitlin Housler | Mar 18, 2026 | News, Politics, Tennessee, The South
President Donald Trump will visit Memphis on Monday to highlight the city’s turnaround with regard to crime under the Memphis Safe Task Force, his regional press secretary announced this week. On Tuesday, White House Regional Press Secretary Liz Huston announced that...
by Kaitlin Housler | Mar 17, 2026 | News, Politics, Tennessee, The South
State Representative Dennis Powers (R-Jacksboro) was elected by his colleagues to serve as chairman of the Tennessee-Ireland Trade Commission, an 11-member commission formed in 2024 to advance bilateral trade and investment between Tennessee and Ireland. The...
by Zachery Schmidt | Mar 17, 2026 | Education, News, Tennessee, The South
The Tennessee Senate unanimously passed a bill creating a disciplinary offense for a teacher or school employee who bullies a student. On Monday, state senators passed Senate Bill (SB) 1774 by a vote of 32 to 0. State Senator Paul Rose (R-Tipton County) introduced...
by Kaitlin Housler | Mar 17, 2026 | Education, News, Tennessee, The South
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has stepped into an ongoing dispute between Nashville prep school Lipscomb Academy and concerned parents, raising questions about whether the private Christian school’s code of conduct unlawfully restricts free expression. In a...
by Kaitlin Housler | Mar 16, 2026 | News, Politics, Tennessee, The South
Infighting among Tennessee Democrats has become public after State Senator Charlane Oliver (D-Nashville) criticized fellow Nashville Democrat State Representative Bo Mitchell (D-Nashville) on social media following the failure of a bipartisan housing bill she...
by Zachery Schmidt | Mar 16, 2026 | Economy, News, Tennessee, The South
A Tennessee-based energy company announced last week its expansion plan will create over 1,000 jobs for Tennesseans. Create Energy, based in Portland, Tennessee, is investing more than $78 million in Sumner and Robertson counties. Part of this investment will go...
by Kaitlin Housler | Mar 12, 2026 | Economy, News, Tennessee, The South
Pelican & Pig, a Nashville restaurant featured on the hit Netflix show Somebody Feed Phil, announced Tuesday it will be closing its doors after seven years in Music City after the business saw a sharp increase in its property taxes. The restaurant said its final...
by Kaitlin Housler | Mar 12, 2026 | Justice, News, Tennessee, The South
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) said authorities have identified a homicide victim as James Robert Benson, whose remains were discovered in Knoxville more than three decades ago, bringing new momentum to a long-standing cold case. On August 30, 1988,...
by Kaitlin Housler | Mar 12, 2026 | News, Policy, Tennessee, The Michael Patrick Leahy Show, The South
Clint Brewer, Founder and Managing Partner of public affairs firm Imperium Public Strategies, detailed how the push to rebuild American manufacturing is becoming a defining element of the economic agenda under President Donald Trump. On Tuesday’s edition of The...
by Zachery Schmidt | Mar 11, 2026 | Economy, News, State News, Tennessee, The South
The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) issued a permit to Elon Musk’s xAI company this week to build a power plant in Southaven. Southaven, about 15 minutes from Memphis, will help power the Colossus 2 data center, which helps operate Grok. The...
