When Hamilton County Schools shut down in March of 2020 to pivot to online learning amid the coronavirus pandemic, Patricia Russell said that she saw reports of suspected child abuse begin to drop, just as she had feared.

The University of Tennessee Board of Trustees will consider a request by UTC to boost undergraduate student tuition and mandatory fees by 2% when trustees hold their June 25 meeting in Knoxville, officials say.

From statehouses to Congress, Republicans have launched into a fight against the teaching of "critical race theory," which was a niche academic term just a year ago.

Controversy in the past week about the movement of migrant children through Tennessee and into a Chattanooga shelter licensed by the state in May 2020 has led to confusion about the immigration status of the children housed in Southeast Tennessee and those video recorded exiting a plane in Chattanooga.

For months, Tennessee Republican lawmakers were hearing from dozens of parents concerned about how educators were trying to make their lessons more inclusive in response to the nation's racial reckoning.

Tennessee's Senate and House speakers announced Friday creation of a special committee to look into the issue of unaccompanied migrant children coming into Chattanooga and other parts of the state under a federal program that has generated controversy in Chattanooga.

A day after denying knowledge of sexual harassment complaints against him within the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, Rutherford County mayoral candidate Joe Carr went on the offensive.

In his latest executive order, Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly officially on Friday approved the reopening of all city facilities that were closed because of the coronavirus pandemic.

U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Rome, spent her birthday Thursday night hosting a rally with more than a hundred supporters in Dalton as part of her "America First" tour with U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Florida.

Members of Tennessee's congressional delegation are proposing a bill to increase transparency from the federal government about the movement of migrant children, a week after video surfaced of children getting off a plane in Chattanooga.

Bebe Heiskell, former Walker County sole commissioner, died Thursday.

After the COVID-19 pandemic interrupted classrooms, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey faces a decision whether to delay next year's high-stakes requirement to hold back third-graders who aren't reading on grade level.

Brad Raffensperger, the Republican secretary of state in Georgia, earned widespread praise for his staunch defense of the election results in his state last year in the face of growing threats and pressure from former President Donald Trump.

The Tennessee Department of Children's Services approved a license for a Chattanooga shelter to house unaccompanied migrant children a year ago, before Gov. Bill Lee and other state officials this month expressed outrage about the transport of migrant youth through the state to shelters like the one near downtown.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed an executive order Tuesday that bans the state government from requiring proof of vaccination against the coronavirus, joining other Republican-led states in restricting the use of so-called "vaccine passports."

Tennessee is the latest state to ban teachers from teaching certain concepts of race and racism in public schools.

The most powerful Republican in Georgia's state Senate will seek the presiding role of lieutenant governor in 2022.

Some of U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's Republican colleagues are condemning language she used recently comparing wearing masks to the Holocaust.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee on Monday signed into law two criminal justice reform bills he championed this year that will offer community-based alternatives to incarceration for low-level or nonviolent felons and help inmates with education and life skills.

Alabama lawmakers see the possibility of a special session on prison construction this summer as Gov. Kay Ivey's plan to rent prisons from private companies has been hit by setbacks.

Legal scholars are questioning whether a recently passed bill that seeks to restrict Tennessee educators' teachings about race and racism will pass legal muster given judicial precedent, including one case that dates back 50 years.

With unemployment falling to the lowest rates yet since the COVID-19 pandemic upended the economy last year, Tennessee employers say they are having trouble getting enough workers to fill available jobs even as they boost wages to lure more job applicants.

Hamilton County educators say they expect difficulty navigating already sensitive conversations about race after the passage earlier this month of legislation that would punish school districts if they allow teachers to discuss certain concepts related to critical race theory.