Tennessee Lookout — News Tracking and Analysis

Former CoreCivic CEO Damon Hininger Eyes US Senate Seat in Tennessee

Hininger had touted on earnings calls that Trump’s immigration crackdown was financially beneficial to CoreCivic.

Feds seek dismissal of xAI lawsuit in Memphis and Mississippi

The U.S. Department of Justice is asking a federal court to dismiss a lawsuit filed by the NAACP against Elon Musk’s xAI plants in Memphis and Mississippi, claiming they are critical to the country’s defense efforts. The feds filed a motion in U.S. District Court in the Northern district of Mississippi this week to intervene []

Report: Tennessee sees decline in most measures of child well-being

Tennessee experienced a sharp decline in measures of child well-being in recent years, according to a state-by-state assessment of federal economic, educational, census and health data analyzed yearly by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. The foundation’s “2026 Kids Count Data Book” examined a series of metrics to determine how children fared, overall, in every state []

Congressman urges Gov. Bill Lee to revoke directive to report immigration status of sick kids

Tennessee U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen on Wednesday urged Gov. Bill Lee to revoke a state directive that requires the reporting of approximately 400 sick or disabled children enrolled in a public health program to a state immigration enforcement division. In a letter to Lee, Cohen called the directive “morally repulsive” and “inhumane.” “As you wind []

John Cole’s Tennessee: Try THAT in a small town.

Tennessee soybean farmers get morale boost from better prices, but future remains ‘daunting’

Crops are in the ground, the weather is cooperating, soybean prices are up slightly from 2025, and China — the biggest buyer of U.S. soybean exports — is once again placing orders after a trade agreement ended the country’s purchasing freeze last fall. But while morale is higher among Tennessee soybean farmers as the 2026 []

Tennessee pharmacies sell potent Ivermectin, led by anti-vaccine doctor who’s taken ‘bucketloads’

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Four years ago, Tennessee became the first state to allow adults to buy the antiparasitic drug ivermectin from a pharmacy without first seeing a doctor. Pharmacies can use a pre-written, blanket prescription to sell to just about anyone who walks through their doors. The drug is now marketed and sold across the []

Shelby County Clerk Tami Sawyer indicted by U.S. DOJ for using $44k in public funds for personal use

Shelby County General Sessions Court Clerk Tami Sawyer was indicted Monday in a public corruption case brought by the U.S. Attorney in West Tennessee. The U.S. Department of Justice alleged Sawyer carried out a “scheme” to move 44,607.35 in public funds for her own use. Federal prosecutors allege she used county credit cards to pay []

After One Big Beautiful Bill Act, 100,000 Tennesseans’ lose SNAP food aid

As she neared her 60th birthday, the stable pieces of Cassandra Boyle’s life began to fall away: first, she was laid off from her job. Then, a newly-purchased used car died in the middle of the freeway. She depleted her savings and retirement to pay rent, as she unsuccessfully tried to find a job with []

Trousdale Turner guards to wear body cameras at privately-run prison

Tennessee’s private-prison operator is paying the cost of equipping officers with body cams at besieged Trousdale Turner, but much of the video captured in the delayed pilot program will not be subject to the state’s Public Records Act. State Sen. Tom Hatcher, a Maryville Republican who chairs the Senate Corrections Subcommittee, confirmed that Brentwood-based CoreCivic []