Tennessee lawmakers fast-tracked Gov. Bill Lee’s $5.5 million proposal to create a state immigration division and allocate funding for training grants for local law enforcement agencies seeking immigration agreements to cooperate with federal authorities.

The Education Freedom Act passed the state House Education Committe, the House Government Operations Committee, the House Finance Ways and Means Committee and the House Calendar and Rules Committee.

Gabby Salinas says she has been the beneficiary of support from all walks of life and both sides of the aisle. “That has really shaped me in my approach to the way I navigate politics.”

The governor and the legislature’s GOP leaders are seeking even more funding for the program’s first year than the legislative analysis identifies.

The Tennessee House is warning lawmakers and the crowds watching legislative floor sessions that they could be booted from the room if their behavior is deemed out of line.

Critics of Tennessee’s voucher proposal allege the program is financially unsustainable in the long term and will siphon funds away from public schools.

U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Memphis, has called on the Senate to reject several of Trump’s appointees, including Robert Kennedy Jr

Education, reproductive rights, immigration and tough-on-crime were in the spotlight last year. This year, the same topics will likely reemerge alongside new legislation focused on bail-bond reform, grocery taxes, school vouchers and more.

Despite the snowy weather, Tennessee Department of Transportation SmartWay cameras showed steady traffic on the Interstate 55 and Hernando DeSoto bridges. Streams for other interstate routes in the city showed minimal weather-related disruptions.

State Sen. Brent Taylor lists allegations he says are grounds for the removal of Shelby County District Attorney General Steve Mulroy. “He does not follow the law,” Taylor said.

Lee was joined on the tour by Lt. Gov. Randy McNally and Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton — but not xAI founder Elon Musk. 

“You cannot accept anymore that the lowest performing school system in our state is in Shelby County,” State House Speaker Cameron Sexton said while in Memphis. “There’s too many people. There’s too many new jobs coming in. It’s too important for our success.”

All of those pardoned by the governor have been out of prison for at least five years.

More turmoil at Memphis-Shelby County Schools could bring back proposals for state intervention in Tennessee’s largest school district, a state lawmaker told The Daily Memphian. 

Memphis gynecologist Dr. Susan Lacy has been treating the transgender community for the past eight years. When Tennessee passed a law banning transgender care for minors, she decided to become a plaintiff in the lawsuit.

The Supreme Court heard arguments on Wednesday in just its second major transgender rights case, a challenge to a Tennessee law that bans gender-affirming care for minors.

The Supreme Court will hear arguments Wednesday in a case involving Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for transgender people under age 18. Both sides in the case claim they are acting to protect minors from harm. 

The Tennessee Court of Appeals has effectively dismissed the decade-long rape-kit backlog lawsuit against the City of Memphis.

One of Tennessee’s top Republican leaders says his team will review all of a local judge’s criminal cases following a series of controversial bail decisions.

The new sentence includes no prison time. Robinson received a sentence of time served in 2022. Instead, U.S. District Judge Sheryl Lipman imposed a fine of $48,600. 

Lee called it “a great idea” to dismantle the agency, which was created under a 1979 federal law during President Jimmy Carter’s administration.

“It’s a one-time bonus that’s basically asking us to sell out our public schools,” said Liz Marable, a longtime Memphis educator who is currently president of the United Education Association of Shelby County. “But we are not for sale.”

The Sunday appearance on the CBS news program “Face The Nation” fuels speculation U.S. Sen. Bill Hagerty is being considered as Secretary of State or some other cabinet-level post in the second Trump Administration.

The governor said he looks forward to delivering on his promise for more education choices for parents.

The Associated Press reports Marsha Blackburn defeated state Rep. Gloria Johnson, who shot to fame last year after she was nearly expelled from the Statehouse for her participation in a gun control protest from the House floor.