by Kaitlin Housler | May 11, 2026 | Justice, News, Tennessee, The South
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and its Tennessee chapter filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of a coalition of voters and Memphis-based organizations on Monday challenging Tennessee’s newly enacted congressional redistricting plan, alleging that Republican...
by Kaitlin Housler | May 11, 2026 | News, Politics, Tennessee, The Michael Patrick Leahy Show, The South, TN LEAD
Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville) said in an exclusive interview Friday that Democratic lawmakers who were involved in disruptions during the congressional redistricting vote “will face the consequences” as House leadership continues investigating...
by Zachery Schmidt | May 8, 2026 | News, Politics, Tennessee, The South
A Tennessee state Democrat is calling for the City of Memphis to secede from Tennessee after the state passed a new congressional map. The Tennessee General Assembly approved a new map that turns the state’s 9th Congressional District into a district where Republicans...
by Kaitlin Housler | May 7, 2026 | Economy, News, Tennessee, The South
Anthropic, the artificial intelligence company behind the Claude, announced Wednesday it has signed an agreement to use the full compute capacity of the Colossus 1 supercomputer facility in Memphis. The agreement gives Anthropic access to more than 300 megawatts of...
by Zachery Schmidt | May 6, 2026 | News, Politics, Tennessee, The South
Shelby County Commissioner Mickell Lowery won the Democratic primary for Shelby County Mayor. According to unofficial election results, Lowery defeated seven other candidates in the primary, earning 32.03 percent of the vote. Memphis City Council Member JB Smiley, Jr....
by Kaitlin Housler | May 6, 2026 | News, Politics, Tennessee, The South, TN LEAD
Tennessee Republicans on Wednesday released a proposed new congressional map that would divide Memphis into three districts, reshaping the state’s only Democratic-held seat. The proposal, released on day two of the anticipated three-day special legislative session of...
by Zachery Schmidt | May 4, 2026 | News, Politics, Tennessee, The South
State Representative Justin Pearson (D-Memphis) criticized Tennessee’s efforts to redraw its congressional map. The Supreme Court ruled in the case of Louisiana v. Callais that the Voting Rights Act does not mandate states to create extra majority-minority...
by Kaitlin Housler | May 1, 2026 | News, Politics, Tennessee, The South, TN LEAD
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee ordered state lawmakers to convene next week for a special legislative session to formally review the state’s congressional map in the wake of a high-stakes ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court opening the door for states to redraw racial...
by Kaitlin Housler | Apr 13, 2026 | News, Policy, Tennessee, The Michael Patrick Leahy Show, The South
The Tennessee Star’s CEO and editor-in-chief, Michael Patrick Leahy, and lead reporter, Tom Pappert, praised Tennessee State Senator Brent Taylor’s (R-Memphis) latest push to advance state intervention in Memphis-Shelby County Schools, highlighting both his...
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,...
