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.

Six finalists will be interviewed in November by the Governor’s Council for Judicial Appointments, which will then select three finalists to submit to Gov. Bill Lee.

Following a stroll down the narrow pedestrian walkway of the Memphis-Arkansas Bridge, Bill Lee and other elected leaders got a briefing Tuesday, Oct. 22, on plans for the $800 million bridge to be completed in 2030.

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The ruling also outlined specific pregnancy-related conditions that would now qualify as “medical necessity exceptions” under the ban, which currently does not include exceptions for fetal anomalies or for victims of rape or incest.

Also, all eyes are on the Gillespie vs. Huseth race, Tennessee Democrats get funding from DNC and remembering Winfield Dunn.

Dunn moved to Memphis after marrying his wife Betty in 1950. He served as Tennessee’s governor in 1970-75.

In July, the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the Friends group did not have standing to sue because of the law because its performances were not “harmful to minors.”

Mayor Young says he still thinks the referendum is not the best approach, but told The Daily Memphian he understands the sentiment. Gov. Lee says the referendum is about finding a way to “circumvent the law.”

U.S. Attorney Kevin Ritz was confirmed as the newest judge on the Sixth U.S. Circuit Court Friday, Sept. 13, with both of Tennessee’s U.S. senators voting against him.