Tennessee Lookout || tnlookout.bsky.social
@TNLookout
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Nonpartisan, nonprofit news site dedicated to covering Tennessee government, policy and politics. Send tips to [email protected].
Joined March 2020
Justin in: Tennessee Rep. @brotherjones_ has filed a police report against Republican Rep. Justin Lafferty for grabbing Jones phone and shoving him on the House floor Monday might.
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Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn is refusing to take the stage against Democratic opponent, state Rep. Gloria Johnson, leaving voters without a chance to see them go head-to-head as the Nov. 5 election approaches.
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In the gallery: @Justinjpearson, thanking visitors and telling them "Don't quit, no matter what happens today."
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ICYMI: Black farmers in a west Tennessee community are engaged in the latest fight for their land, as @myTDOT exercise's eminent domain for Ford Blue Oval City.
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BREAKING: More than one dozen residents of House Speaker Cameron Sexton's Crossville district have filed a complaint with @AGTennessee, asking for a civil investigation of Sexton's reimbursements. @friedmanadam5 reports.
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Sarah Neumann, who has a child at Covenant School--the site of last week's shooting that killed six, including three 9-year-olds--watching House proceedings.
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Just in: Denny Loudermilk, the Kansas City-area man accused by U.S. Rep. Tim Burchett of Tennessee of being the perpetrator of a mass shooting at the Kansas City Chief's Super Bowl parade, has filed a defamation suit against Burchett. Stand by for story.
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Two former Democratic lawmakers, both attorneys, will represent @VoteGloriaJ in her expulsion hearing in the Tennessee House of Representatives on Thursday, @stockard_sam reports.
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Confirmed: First Lady Jill Biden will be in Franklin on Friday to attend an event at country music star Brad and Kim Paisley's home to join country music influencers before potential endorsements of President Biden.
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As the national media spotlight focuses on Tennessee Republicans, @CSexton25 has drawn attention from journalist @JuddLegum for using his per diem expenses for a Nashville house, reports @friedmanadam5.
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Confirming months of speculation, Tennessee Rep. @VoteGloriaJ announced Tuesday morning outside the Knoxville high school at which she taught that she will run for U.S. Senate.
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From @anitawadhwani: The @aclutn has filed suit against Tennessee House leaders on behalf of three women ejected from a committee meeting Tuesday for holding 8.5- x 11-inch signs, alleging a violation of the First Amendment.
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A new ad from @ProjectLincoln titled "Bullies," highlights the recent expulsion of two young, Black Tennessee lawmakers and will run at the State Capitol for two days through digital geofencing. We spoke with @TheRickWilson about the ad.
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Kansas City-area man files a federal defamation lawsuit against Tennessee Republican Rep. Tim Burchett.
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"We do not endorse using the media as an excuse to prevent the public from watching their representatives at work." Bravo to our colleagues. #SpecialSession.
For those interested, here is the letter that the Tennessee Capitol Hill Press Corps sent to House leaders today on media access in the House gallery:
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JUST IN: A three-judge panel has temporarily blocked the discipline of doctors who perform emergency abortions in Tennessee . “Plaintiff Patients’ right to life is a fundamental right," the ruling said. via @TNLookout.
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Just now, from our @ArianaLFigueroa: The "Tennessee Three" - Democratic Reps. @VoteGloriaJ, @Justinjpearson and @brotherjones_ outside the White House following their meeting with @POTUS and @VP.
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BREAKING: A three judge panel has issued a temporary injunction on a state plan to cut the size 0f Metro Council in half.
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From House Minority Leader @KarenDCamper “I am appalled by what occurred today in a committee room at the State Capitol during the extraordinary session. Citizens were removed from the room for sitting quietly, and then the entire room was cleared -(1).
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Just in: @RepMikeStewart has sent letters to U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty asking them to provide “specific examples of violations of law or other actions that you believe justify your refusal to respect the Electoral College vote.”.
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We have some very big news we are absolutely thrilled to share: our newsroom has been named a @propublica partner newsroom for the nonprofit organization's 50 State Initiative. Over the next year, @friedmanadam5 will be producing an investigative series.
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On Monday morning, Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton and Lt. Gov. Randy McNally announced the formation of a group to consider rejecting $1.9 billion in federal funds for public schools. @stockard_sam reports.
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In House District 61, Democrat Claire Jones announces she will run to face off against incumbent Republican Gino Bulso.
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On Wednesday, @Kanew, founder of @TheTNHoller, issued a statement reporting his home was targeted by a shooting on Saturday night.
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This afternoon, @FLOTUS spoke at @nashvillepride: "We know there are those who wish to undo the hard-won progress that this community has made and tomorrow we will brave those battles together once more,” she said. @PartipiloJ with the photos.
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It is a basic, maybe the most basic, human request: Please save my child. Yet, @maryack writes in an opinion piece, despite years of seeing Tennessee lawmakers change rules, the recent special session made clear white patriarchy doesn't care.
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Now, writes Editor @jhollymc, America can see Tennessee not as a benignly pleasant state with Dolly Parton but one governed by petty and small-minded lawmakers on a path of unforced errors.
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From Memphis:.
A scene to show how many White Station High School students skipped lunch and showed up to the walkout today.
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"Republican Voters Against Trump" has posted 15 billboards around Milwaukee's Fiserv Forum, where the Republican National Convention will be held. Two feature Tennesseans, according to a spokesman for the group.
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A nonprofit watchdog group has asked @DavidsonCoDA and U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee to investigate House Speaker Cameron Sexton for cleaning $79,000 in per diem expenses, reports @friedmanadam5.
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Tennessee's 5th Congressional District Rep. Andy Ogles is in hot water with the Federal Election Commission again, as the agency writes it could audit his campaign for violations.
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As some TN legislators call legitimate questions from independent journalists "uncivil" and respond with personal attacks, @jhollymc writes, "I’ll take righteous incivility over sweet-talking and useless platitudes that redress no wrongs."
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Just in from the @aclutn: The Tennessee Supreme Court has refused to overturn a motion by the State of Tennessee to block absentee voting in 2020.
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The news we've been dreading: @tnnaterau tweeted last night and follows with a full story today, that @EXIT_IN, Nashville's oldest rock club, is under contract to be sold.
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Lookout photojournalist @PartipiloJ .captured the moment an altercation broke out on the Tennessee House floor Thursday between Nashville Democrat John Ray Clemmons, right, and Republican Scott Cepicky, over Cepicky's alleged disparaging comments about Metro Nashville Schools.
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Special elections to fill three seats in the Tennessee Legislature could cost taxpayers up to $570,000 after one resignation and two expulsions, reports @stockard_sam.
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Finishing off the day: Former Nashville Mayor @MeganCBarry reports beating the $1 million fundraising mark in her bid to unseat U.S. Rep. Mark Green.
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The state's court of appeals has ruled state game wardens cannot enter private property in Tennessee without a warrant, reports @anitawadhwani, comparing actions by @tnwildlife to those that led to the Revolutionary War.
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Gloria Johnson, who rose to national fame last year as a member of the “Tennessee Three” that protested gun violence on the state House floor, wins U.S. Senate Democratic Primary, and will face Blackburn in November. From @friedmanadam5.
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JUST IN: A federal judge has given the greenlight to a class action lawsuit against Johnson City and its police force that makes allegations coos took bribes & looked the other way while serial rapist assaulted scores of women, reports @anitawadhwani.
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Editor's notebook: The Nazis among us. Not all white nationalism is as obvious as a swastika and not all will be as clumsy as Franklin mayoral candidate Gabrielle Hanson has been about revealing their politics, writes @jhollymc.
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Statement from @TNDemocrats on GOP resolutions of expulsion for three Democratic lawmakers: "The Tennessee House Democratic Caucus stands firmly united with its members, Reps. Gloria Johnson, Justin Jones and Justin Pearson." (1).
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Tennessee Republicans didn't care about decorum when members were indicted or were accused of sexual assault, writes Editor @jhollymc. Now, they use coded language to discredit those who disagree with their gun policies.
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Privately, several Republicans say Gov. Bill Lee is forcing them to "walk the plank" on school vouchers, forcing them to choose between pressure from education leaders in their districts and school choice groups. From @stockard_sam.
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Can you hate what the state is doing to Nashville and still love the $2.1 billion @TitansStadium deal? No way, writes @brucebarry: Tennessee’s GOP-controlled state government has flatly disqualified itself as a morally acceptable partner .
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For decades, the South has been written off as a labor wasteland — a place where employers flock to if they’re looking to skirt unions -- but an April UAW vote in Chattanooga shows a change is on the way, writes Billy Dycus of the @tnaflcio.
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5th Congressional District Rep. Andy Ogles recently attacked a measure updating standards for water heaters as ‘woke,’ apparently not realizing Congress first passed water heater standards in 1987. @Harmon4Congress asks: is this stupidity?.
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Just in: @TNDemocrats are slamming a mail piece featuring a picture of House District 75 candidate Allie Phillips's 7-year-old daughter. Caucus Chair @JRClemmons calls it "a new low."
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"This is on you all. It shouldn't be this hard to vote in Tennessee." -- @CharlaneOliver, democratic Senate nominee at a press conference to address the snafu in Davidson county in which voters were given the wrong ballots. Video by @PartipiloJ.
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Photojournalist @PartipiloJ got a shot today of the destruction on Second Avenue with a wide angle lens. This shows the east side of Second where Old Spaghetti Factory, Laser Quest and other businesses are located.
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It's official: former Nashville Mayor @MeganCBarry will run for Congress in Tennessee's Seventh District, challenging incumbent Republican @RepMarkGreen. @friedmanadam5 reports.
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BREAKING: A federal judge has granted a peliminary injunction to plaintiffs in a suit against Tennessee, preventing a new law banning gender-affirming care for minors. Story to follow.
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Unpacking the TSU audit: @stockard_sam reports the audit of HBCU Tennessee State used to justify dissolution of the board found no fraud and less than $4,000 in questionable expenses.
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This morning, Tennessee Democratic House candidate @allie4tn is addressing a U.S. Senate Budget hearing on "the economic harms of restricting reproductive freedom:"
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State @VoteGloriaJ announces she raised more than $1 million in the third quartet of 2023 for a total of $2.3 million raised since declaring her candidacy for U.S. Senate in September.
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Republican lawmakers sponsored resolutions Monday to expel Democrats @Justinjpearson, @VoteGloriaJ and @brotherjones_ who led a protest on the House floor last week as hundreds of people rallied outside the chamber for tighter gun laws.
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Just in: @FLOTUS will be in Nashville on Tuesday, visiting COVID-19 vaccination sites and encourage people to get their vaccines.
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“I want people to know what they’re doing to Black people in these small towns behind closed doors,” said @courtneyteasley, after @TN_DCS filed to prosecute her and a Black family for talking to the Tennessee Lookout.
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Multiple large media outlets, including The Tennessean, WBIR and WATE in Knoxville, have tried to hold debates, according to Johnson, but Blackburn hasn’t responded. #ICYMI:
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Just in: GOP Rep. Todd Warner of Lewisburg accuses @ltgovmcnally of being a "predator" and of "sexually grooming" a young gay man, calls for resignation.
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Columnist @JimOHara6 doesn't bury the lede: "Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee and the GOP supermajority of the General Assembly have failed a critical test of leadership in the wake of the Covenant School massacre: They have failed to exhibit moral imagination.".
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Confirmed: @KiranSreepada will run as a Democrat against Fifth District Congressman Andy Ogles. Sreepada, a Williamson County resident, ran against Mark Green in CD 7 in 2020 but has since been redistricted to the fifth.
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Photojournalist @PartipiloJ is out and about on Nashville's election day and caught @Oliviafornash at a poll. If Hill wins her at-large race, she will become the first transgender person elected to office in Tennessee.
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A new report from the Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth finds that nearly one in five children in the state are living in poverty -- a statistic found in urban and rural areas, reports @anitawadhwani. cc: @tccy.
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The Metro Nashville Council voted unanimously to send former Rep. Justin Jones back to the Tennessee House, less than four days after he was expelled by the Republicans super majority. @friedmanadam5 reports.
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Tennessee Republican lawmakers like to shame unemployed Tennesseans for relying on federal benefits, but turns out many GOP legislators have relied on federal PPP funds. Who are the real "welfare queens," asks editor @jhollymc in her column.
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Just in from @CStephenson731:. TennCare illegally terminated health coverage for thousands in Tennessee, a federal judge ruled Monday.
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On Monday, Metro Nashville filed suit against Tennessee's top political leaders, including @GovBillLee. @stockard_sam.reports the suit alleges the group violated the Tennessee Constitution in a move to take over the Nashville Airport Authority.
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Cheers to four years! This week we celebrate our four year anniversary and thank you for reading! Year five will be a good one.
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This means anyone regardless of age or health can request an absentee ballot for the August primary and November general elections.
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Of interest this morning from @anitawadhwani: former @MarshaBlackburn lawyer named in Senate Intelligence report on Russian election interference.
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A three-judge panel Wednesday found a Republican-drawn Tennessee Senate district map drawn unconstitutional and ordered a new map to be redrawn by Jan. 31, reports @stockard_sam.
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Just in: @GovBillLee and Commissioner Jeff McCord of the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development are being sued in a class action suit for ending COVID-era federal unemployment benefits.
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Knoxville columnist @Harmon4Congress writes with personal thoughts on the "Tennessee Three," and particular @VoteGloriaJ: "Hundreds, if not thousands, of people in East Tennessee have 'Gloria Stories.'".
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Well, hello. Today is our six month anniversary, and it almost slipped by with all the electoral excitement. Thanks to all 8,725 of you for following us. (And getting to 9,000 would be a great six month gift!).
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No sir: The media is not the problem here.
Rep. Mark Green, R-Tenn., is furious because, earlier today, he saw a jogger wearing a face mask.
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Columnist @JimOHara6 was a Pulitzer Prize finalist in 1990 for covering corruption in the Tennessee Legislature. He shares a history lesson for current leaders on how locking out the public and media worked the last time it was tried.
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In a reference to a recent altercation in Montgomery, Ala., @CharlaneOliver is wearing miniature folding chair earrings to the start of the special legislative session.
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A group of healthcare professionals, including @jasonbmartin, is calling for @TheJusticeDept to investigate @GovBillLee's actions in the political firing of Tennessee's chief vaccine officer, @drfixus. @Dulcet24 reports.
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Statement from @JRClemmons on the firing of Dr. Michelle "Shelley" Fiscus from @TNDeptofHealth: "It is disturbing to think the governor would terminate someone of Dr. Fiscus's expertise and experience. just to appease a cabal of science denying extremists.".
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A few photos of Fridays visit by @VP to Nashville HBCU @Fisk1866 to support the "Tennessee Three," the two lawmakers expelled by the GOP supermajority--@Justinjpearson & @brotherjones_--and @VoteGloriaJ, who kept her seat. @PartipiloJ took pics.
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Congratulations to Lookout Editor @jhollymc for winning Best Single Editorial Friday at the @TennesseePress Awards.
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Rep. Justin Jones, D-Nashville, organized an event to protest the rise of white nationalism after members of a neo-Nazi group marched in Nashville over the weekend. In addition Metro Councilmembers Sherri Weiner, @JacobKupin4D19 & @zulfat4council spoke. Photos by @PartipiloJ.
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As some Republican-led states reject federal funds for a summer food program, Tennessee will participate in a Biden Administration program designed to give parents extra cash to buy food for their children during the summer months, reports @anitawadhwani.
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We've got a little hardware rolling in from today's @TennesseePress awards. First up: first place for best single feature story to @stockard_sam for his work on the state's Community Corrections program.
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Senior Reporter @anitawadhwani reports a Davidson County judge has ruled a ban on signs in the legislature by Tennessee House Republicans violates the First Amendment.
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In the span of about five minutes, the Shelby County Commission voted 7-0 to reappoint @Justinjpearson to the House District 86 seat from which he was expelled less than a week ago. From @friedmanadam5 .
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Freedom Rider Ernest "Rip" Patton has died at the age of 81, the Freedom Rides Museum in Montgomery, Alabama reported Tuesday.
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A source confirms to the Lookout's @stockard_sam that Gov. Bill Lee's statewide school voucher plan is unlikely to pass the House Finance Ways and Means subcommittee Tuesday, all but dooming it this legislative session.
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For the second week in a row, members of a neo-Nazi group -- the Goyim Defense League -- massed in downtown Nashville, harassing tourists and yelling anti-semitic epithets. All photos from @PartipiloJ.
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Congressional Democrats reintroduced a bill Wednesday that would guarantee access to birth control regardless of any future Supreme Court rulings. @JenniferShutt reports.
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BREAKING: Metro Nashville Legal Director Wally Dietz announces the city has, as expected, filed a lawsuit against the State of Tennessee over law cutting Metro Council. @friedmanadam5 reports.
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". because some people clapped during the meeting. This is outrageous. I cannot believe how petty this was. For a committee chairperson to use their position to banish grieving Tennesseans from the committee room is beyond the pale.".
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A group of Tennessee civil rights leaders, including @zulfat4council, @mattsteinhauer, @janeosgerby, @ellenmcpher41 & @Natrixdreammom, have released a statement of support for Democratic Reps. @Justinjpearson, @brotherjones_ & @VoteGloriaJ.
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The Tennessee Lookout is pleased to announce we have been selected to be a host newsroom for @Report4America, and we will be adding another full-time reporter to our staff to cover rural West Tennessee.
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Breaking from @friedmanadam5: In a unanimous decision, a three-judge panel struck down the state takeover of the Metro Nashville Airport Authority, returning authority to Metro.
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Big story posting in the morning, with data and info on COVID-19 in Tennessee that hasn’t been posted anywhere else. Stand by.
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Tennessee Republican lawmakers sure talk a big game about the Constitution, but as Editor Holly McCall writes in her column, the unconstitutional bills they pass show they are more interested in bending it to their purposes.
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