President Joe Biden delivers remarks on former President Donald Trump’s guilty verdict in his hush money trial before speaking on the Middle East at the White House on May 31, 2024 in Washington, D.C. Biden said Trump had a fair trial and an impartial jury found him guilty on all 34 counts and added it is dangerous for anyone to say the trial was rigged. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden announced a ceasefire proposal from Israel on Friday, saying the three-phase plan presented to Hamas represents the best chance to end the war. Biden, speaking from the ..read more

RowVaughn Wells, mother of the late Tyre Nichols, makes a point as she addresses Sen. Brent Taylor, R-Memphis. (Photo: John Partipilo) A Tennessee Republican senator’s request for the governor to hire an outside consultant to rein in Memphis crime is erupting into a bit of a turf war. Sen. Brent Taylor sent a letter to Gov. Bill Lee this week suggesting he bring in Teneo, headed by former NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton, who served under former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, using the “broken window” philosophy that called for arresting offenders for even the smallest crimes, back when New York was said ..read more

"WITCH HUNT," wrote U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn on the social media platform X following the Trump guilty verdict. (Photo: John Partipilo) After a New York jury convicted former President Donald Trump on 34 felony counts on Thursday, Tennessee’s Republican lawmakers wasted no time responding. The historic verdict — the first time a former president has been convicted of a felony — drew outrage. U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn posted from her campaign account on X, formerly Twitter, a two word message: “WITCH HUNT.” In a statement posted on the platform — one of seven tweets within an hour — sh ..read more

Former U.S. President Donald Trump appears in court for his hush money trial at Manhattan Criminal Court on May 30, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Steven Hirsch-Pool/Getty Images) WASHINGTON — Jurors in New York state court on Thursday found Donald Trump guilty on all 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to cover up hush money payments to a porn star ultimately to influence the outcome of the 2016 presidential election. The first-ever criminal trial of a former U.S. president wrapped up in Manhattan, marking an extraordinary moment in American history not only for a former leader ..read more

(Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images) Around 65% of Tennessee voters say the state economy is good, while only 29% believe the same about the U.S. economy, according to a Vanderbilt University poll released last week. The differing views between the state and nation’s economy make for the largest gap since the survey first asked the question in 2012, but they follow a trend based on the political party in power. John Geer, co-director of the Vanderbilt Poll, said when Republican President Donald Trump took office in 2017, views on the national economy shifted among Tennessee voters from split ..read more

Members of the bail bonds industry are gearing up for a fight over a proposed constitutional amendment that would allow judges to deny bail to some offenders. (Photo: John Partipilo) Tennessee’s top lawmakers and the bail industry are on a collision course in 2025 as the Legislature renews debate on a constitutional amendment designed to keep more criminal suspects in jail until they go to court. Lawmakers passed a resolution this year increasing the number of offenses for which judges can decline to set bail for pre-trial release, adding an array of charges to first-degree murder, including ..read more

The Biden administration on Wednesday said it will provide funding to help school districts purchase clean school buses, most of them electric. Shown is a yellow electric school bus plugged into a charging station. (Photo by TW Farlow/Getty Images) WASHINGTON — As part of its ongoing effort to replace diesel-fueled school buses, the Biden administration on Wednesday said it will provide approximately 530 school districts across nearly all states with almost $1 billion to help them purchase clean school buses. The initiative, part of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean School Bus ..read more

Former U.S. Capitol Police officers Michael Fanone and Harry Dunn, who were overwhelmed by the mob at the Capitol on Jan. 6, are interviewed during former President Donald Trump’s hush money trial in Manhattan Criminal Court on May 28, 2024 in New York City. Closing arguments were under way. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images) WASHINGTON — Closing arguments in the first-ever criminal trial of a former U.S. president concluded Tuesday, leaving the jury to now decide if Donald Trump is guilty of faking reimbursement to his personal lawyer for hush money paid to a porn star just before t ..read more

(Getty Images) Low-income Tennessee parents will soon have access to monthly supplies of free diapers under a new program approved last week by federal regulators. Beginning in August, the state will cover the cost of 100 diapers per month for children under two who are enrolled in TennCare, Tennessee’s Medicaid program, and CoverKids, the state’s insurance program for kids whose families are not poor enough for TennCare but cannot afford private insurance. “These new initiatives will ease financial burdens for families and ensure the well-being of TennCare’s youngest members,” a statement fr ..read more

: A Purple Heart medal is seen during a Purple Heart ceremony June 9, 2015 at George Washington’s Mount Vernon in Mount Vernon, Virginia. The U.S. Army held a celebration for its 240th birthday. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images) WASHINGTON — When a Purple Heart recipient named Pat reached out to U.S. Sen. Patty Murray in November to inform her that he couldn’t transfer his GI bill benefits to his children, he wasn’t expecting congressional action to solve the problem. He simply just wanted to let the Washington state Democrat know, he told States Newsroom in an exclusive interview. With a chi ..read more