Andy Sher

A convicted Tennessee cop killer, housed on death row for nearly 27 years in the 2001 ambush murder of a Hamilton County deputy, has died of apparent natural causes, the state Department of Correction announced Thursday.

The Hamilton County Election Commission voted Wednesday to terminate Administrator Kerry Steelman after a brief leave of absence.

Tennessee is getting its first 133,000 of a projected 2 million rapid point-of-care coronavirus test kits, capable of producing results in the field within 13 to 15 minutes, officials say.

Gov. Bill Lee says he is lifting COVID-19 restrictions on businesses and other gatherings in 89 of the state's 95 counties beginning Wednesday, while also extending Tennessee's state of emergency order in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Two local Republican state legislators question criticisms made by fellow Rep. Yusuf Hakeem, a Chattanooga Democrat and the lone Black lawmaker from the county, who earlier this week aired what he called "troubling allegations" the Hamilton County Election Commission engaged in "practices causing voter suppression."

With Tennessee online sports gambling set to go live Nov. 1, Tennessee Education Lottery officials this week granted conditional betting licenses to its first sportsbook operators - high-profile FanDuel, DraftKings and BetMGM.

Tennessee students who were already struggling in school are taking a major hit in terms of learning loss this fall with a traditional "summer slide" becoming a much steeper "COVID slide," Gov. Bill Lee and state Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn warned this week.

NASHVILLE — State Rep. Yusuf Hakeem, D-Chattanooga, is calling on Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett to immediately investigate what he calls "troubling" allegations that the Hamilton County Election Commission is "engaging in practices causing voter suppression."

Tennessee Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn told irate Republican members of the House Education Committee this week that she would work more closely with them going forward following a series of blow-ups that incensed hard-right GOP lawmakers.

State officials are conducting a real-time experiment to see how much money new Tennessee Highway Patrol hybrid cruisers can save on fuel costs in addition to helping the environment.

Following stints as a teacher — as well as in senior education leadership roles in California and Delaware — Tennessee Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn finds herself in the midst of a new learning experience, navigating the Volunteer State's sometimes-treacherous intersection of politics, policy and management.

All five Republican U.S. senators from Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama say they support President Donald Trump's plan to push through a GOP replacement for the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice and Democratic appointee Ruth Bader Ginsburg this year.

Gov. Bill Lee, who has told fellow Tennesseans that "wearing a mask is the simplest action you can take to fight the spread of COVID-19," on Thursday found himself defending not wearing one earlier this month at a boat parade to support President Donald Trump on Tims Ford Reservoir near Winchester, Tennessee.

Tennessee government has successfully "clawed back" $18.4 million in taxpayer-funded economic incentive grants given to 17 companies that officials say failed to fulfill job-creation and investment promises under the state's FastTrack Economic Development Grant program.

A top Chattanooga-based BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee official is questioning a private data firm's assertions the nonprofit insurer paid out $11 million in medical overcharges during a three-year period in its role as a third-party administrator of state employees' health plan.

In a state where their party is a "super minority" in Tennessee's Republican-dominated Senate and House, Democrats hope to make inroads in the November election in changing urban and suburban-based districts, including a Chattanooga-based Senate seat.

Gov. Bill Lee on Thursday unveiled new recommendations to strengthen policing policies, boost law enforcement training and improve inter-agency sharing of disciplinary actions about problematic police officers amid civil and racial unrest as well as national calls for systemic police reform.

State Rep. Yusuf Hakeem and fellow legislative leaders warned Wednesday that Black residents and other poor-to-lower-middle-class Tennesseans face being undercounted by the U.S. Census Bureau, which could cost them in terms of political representation and millions of dollars in funding for programs.

State education officials launched Tennessee's new COVID-19 reporting website on Wednesday, which shows 756 active coronavirus cases among students and staff in public and public charter K-12 schools.

Tennessee Republican Gov. Bill Lee is torpedoing rumors that he's no longer enjoying his job and won't seek re-election in 2022 amid battles on the COVID-19 pandemic, politics and other fronts.