Local News and Politics

Another mass shooting in Texas again spurs politicians to respond to gun violence. This shooter, a legal gun owner who bypassed school security guards and killed 21 people while heavily armed police stood by, has left Republicans struggling to assign blame for this carnage that ignores the destructive power of the murder weapon.

The State Supreme Court determined that school districts are not governments, and therefore a Republican-led effort to put school vouchers in Shelby and Davidson Counties did not violate the state law forbidding legislation directly targeting particular local governments.

In the past few years, the Tennessee legislature has become a conservative steamroller for the extreme right. Yet, some bills with high Republican interest failed to launch or didn't cross the finish line.

The leaked Supreme Court draft ruling overturning Roe V. Wade would trigger an immediate end to abortions in Tennessee, with little thought so far about the financial consequences of thousands of newborns being turned over to the state for care.

In show-business superstition, the two words no actor wants to hear before taking the stage are “good luck.” Memphis actress Kim Justis recently learned that the preferred "Break a Leg" doesn’t always keep bad luck at bay.

Last August, when the Taliban re-took Afghanistan after years of U.S. occupation, many former service members worked behind the scenes to help their former Afghan allies and interpreters flee the country. For one family, it's been a long road to freedom.

After Tennessee legislators passed a bill that would give a group of political appointees the final word in what books are available in K-12 libraries, state librarians predict a pattern of censorship to come.

If signed by Gov. Lee, the law would allow an individual parent in any one school district to bring a book before a panel of Republican-appointed reviewers. Removal of books would be statewide. One Representative said schools should "burn them."

Nearly a decade ago, rape victims in Memphis first learned that thousands of sexual assault kits collected by Memphis police had never been tested. But new depositions in an ongoing lawsuit have resulted in unsettling discoveries for some victims.

From Truth In Sentencing laws to arresting the homeless for "camping," some Republicans question tougher penalties for people they'd like to see improve their lives.