LOS ANGELES, California, Feb. 18 -- The Reason Foundation issued the following news on Feb. 17, 2026: * * * Aviation Policy News: DHS shutdown highlights airport security system's flaws Plus: NTSB collision report cites FAA failures, NASA's obsolete Moon launch program, and more. In this issue: * DHS shutdown highlights airport security system's flaws * NTSB collision report cites FAA failures * "FAA and aviation policy reform: the time is now" * FAA reorganization plan muddies the water  more

ATLANTA, Georgia, Feb. 19 (TNSLrpt) -- Alternative Measures of Labor Underutilization in Tennessee 2025 - A report from U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics Southeast Region - Feb. 18, 2026 * * * In 2025, the broadest measure of labor underutilization, designated U-6 (which includes the unemployed, workers employed part-time for economic reasons, and those marginally attached to the labor force), was 6.8 percent in Tennessee, compared to the 8.0-percent rate for the nation, the   more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 18 -- Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tennessee, issued the following news release: * * * Congressman Cohen Announces $1.3 Million in Immunology Grants to St. Jude * Underwriting research into T-cells WASHINGTON - Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-9) today announced that St. Jude Children's Research Hospital will receive two grants totaling $1,389,167 from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases for research on engineering high-fidelity regulator T-cells and defining their  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 18 -- Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tennessee, issued the following news release: * * * Congressman Cohen Will Not Attend Trump State of the Union * Has boycotted previous Trump addresses MEMPHIS - Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-9), who has boycotted previous State of the Union and inaugural addresses by President Trump, will again avoid the speech scheduled for Tuesday evening. He will instead attend the People's State of the Union organized by the progressive advocacy group MoveOn an  more

CLARKSVILLE, Tennessee, Feb. 18 -- Austin Peay State University posted the following news: * * * Conquering Kilimanjaro: APSU graduate student scales Africa's highest mountain * Madison Pertuset, a graduate student in APSU's Department of Communication, navigates the Barranco Wall while summiting Mount Kilimanjaro, the world's highest freestanding mountain. | Contributed photo CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - Madison Pertuset set her sights on Africa's highest peak with the same determination she brin  more

NASHVILLE, Tennessee, Feb. 19 -- The Tennessee Bar Association posted the following commentary blog on Feb. 18, 2026, by Stacey Shrader Joslin: * * * Court Refers Knox County Lawyer to BPR The Tennessee Supreme Court on Feb. 17 referred the case of Knox County lawyer Dianne Elizabeth Lashmit to the Board of Professional Responsibility for it to "evaluate the facts and circumstances" of the case and proceed "as appropriate." From September 2013 to January 2024, Lashmit was employed as a Blou  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 19 -- Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., D-New Jersey, ranking member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, issued the following news release: * * * E&C Democrats: Canceling Health Funding for Blue States Endangers All Americans "Beyond the overtly political and punitive nature of this action, we are deeply concerned that termination of awards in their final years wastes taxpayer dollars and puts the health of Americans at risk." * Energy and Commerce Committee Democratic leader  more

NASHVILLE, Tennessee, Feb. 19 -- The Tennessee Bar Association posted the following commentary blog on Feb. 18, 2026, by Azya Thornton: * * * Halbert Pulls Petition for 3rd Term, 2 Other Offices Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert has pulled a qualifying petition to run for a third term even though the county charter limits her to two consecutive terms. The Daily Memphian raises the possibility that Halbert's action might forecast a challenge to those limits, which have been in place since 2010  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 18 -- The Institute for Energy Research issued the following commentary: * * * EPA Begins Rolling Back Biden's "Good Neighbor" Rule The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced "Phase 1" of its rollback of Biden's "Good Neighbor" rule, which would approve the plans of eight states to address the interstate transport rules for the 2015 eight-hour ozone standards that the Biden administration rejected as insufficient. The eight states whose plans would now be accepted ar  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 18 -- The Institute for Energy Research issued the following commentary on Feb. 17, 2026: * * * President Trump Announced a Strategic Stockpile of Critical Minerals, the U.S. Strategic Critical Minerals Reserve President Trump is launching a $12 billion stockpile of critical and rare-earth minerals, called "Project Vault," to reduce reliance on Chinese rare earths and curb China's leverage in trade talks. President Trump indicated the reserve will be "for civilian use in time  more

NASHVILLE, Tennessee, Feb. 19 -- The Tennessee Bar Association posted the following commentary blog on Feb. 18, 2026, by Azya Thornton: * * * Judge Denies Injunction in Challenge to Police Buffer Law U.S. District Judge William L. Campbell decided not to grant a preliminary injunction to a lawsuit challenging a Tennessee law that allows police to arrest people who approach within 25 feet after a direct order to stop. According to the Nashville Banner newsletter, Campbell ruled that the plai  more

MEMPHIS, Tennessee, Feb. 18 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee posted the following news release on Feb. 17, 2026: * * * Justice Department Closes 60-Year-Old Tennessee Desegregation Case The Justice Department's Civil Rights Division announced today the dismissal of a desegregation case in Dyersburg, Tennessee, concluding a matter that has remained on the docket for sixty years. In 1966, the United States filed a complaint against the Dyersburg Board of  more

NASHVILLE, Tennessee, Feb. 19 -- The Tennessee Bar Association posted the following commentary blog on Feb. 18, 2026, by Azya Thornton: * * * Knoxville Showcases Black History Sites This Month Knoxville is highlighting Black history attractions and exhibits across the city in recognition of Black History Month. Featured sites include the Beck Cultural Exchange Center in East Knoxville, the Alex Haley Heritage Square at Morningside Park, the Cal Johnson Mural, and downtown institutions such as  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 18 -- Sen. Ben Ray Lujan, D-New Mexico, issued the following news release: * * * Lujan, Blackburn Reintroduce Legislation to Strengthen Weather Forecasting * Washington, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senators Ben Ray Lujan (D-N.M.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Co-Chairs of the Senate National Labs Caucus, reintroduced the bipartisan Advanced Weather Model Computing Development Act to authorize a collaborative research partnership between the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administ  more

GREENSBORO, North Carolina, Feb. 17 -- North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University posted the following news: * * * N.C. A&T Mourns the Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. '64 * Rev. Jackson '64 and his wife, Jacqueline L.B. Jackson '67, at the 2021 commencement where Mrs. Jackson received an honorary doctorate degree. EAST GREENSBORO, N.C. (Feb. 17, 2026) - Civil rights icon, presidential candidate and beloved alumnus of North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, the Rev  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 17 [Category: Political] -- The NAACP posted the following news release: * * * NAACP Urges Mississippi Regulators to Deny Permits to Gas-Powered AI Facility * JACKSON, Miss. - Today, the NAACP urged the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) Permit Board to deny a permit for MZX Tech LLC, an affiliate of Elon Musk's xAI, to construct and operate 41 methane gas-fired turbines in Southaven, Mississippi. The facility is intended to power the xAI "Colossus 2" ar  more

PLANO, Texas, Feb. 18 [Category: Sociological] -- The First Liberty Institute, an organization that says it is dedicated to defending liberty for all Americans, issued the following news release: * * * Nashville First Grade Teacher Banished from Classroom After Asking Accommodation from Pro Same-Sex Marriage Book * Nashville, TN -First Liberty Institute sent a letter to officials at the KIPP Antioch College Prep Elementary School in Nashville, TN on behalf of Eric Rivera, a former first grad  more

INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana, Feb. 19 -- The National Federation of State High School Associations issued the following news release on Feb. 18, 2026: * * * High School Flag Football Revisions Include Opportunity for Scoring Team to Retain Possession of the Ball if Trailing in Score In its first meeting to address rules changes in the sport, the NFHS Flag Football Rules Committee approved eight changes to the initial set of rules developed last year. All revisions recommended by the NFHS Flag Footb  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 18 -- The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation posted the following news release: * * * NFWF Invests $2.5 Million to Revive Forest and Freshwater Habitats Across the Southern Appalachians The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) today announced $2.5 million in grants to implement wildlife-focused, voluntary forest management practices on private lands in the Cumberland Plateau-Southern Appalachians region of Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina and Tennessee.   more

NASHVILLE, Tennessee, Feb. 18 -- Vanderbilt University Medical Center issued the following news release: * * * Novel vaccine protects against C. diff disease and recurrence * A novel vaccination approach developed by Vanderbilt Health researchers cleared the harmful gut bacterium Clostridioides difficile (C. diff) in an animal model of infection. An experimental vaccine administered to the mucosal lining of the colon protected against illness, death, tissue damage and infection recurrence.  more

NASHVILLE, Tennessee, Feb. 18 -- Vanderbilt University Medical Center issued the following news release: * * * Patient with melanoma receives tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte therapy * Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center has treated its first patient in a newly launched therapy program that magnifies the power of a person's natural defense system against tumors. Tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) therapy involves isolating the white blood cells from a tumor after it is surgically removed, expand  more

MEMPHIS, Tennessee, Feb. 19 (TNSjou) -- The University of Tennessee Health Science Center issued the following news: * * * Research from UT Health Sciences Adds Insight to FDA Nutrition Label Proposal Written by Lee Ferguson When Yuru Huang, PhD, an assistant professor in the Department of Preventive Medicine at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, talks about nutrition policy, she doesn't start with statistics or regulatory language. She starts with the grocery store. Picture  more

TROY, New York, Feb. 18 -- Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute issued the following news: * * * RPI Researchers Harness Agentic AI for Smarter, Faster Aerospace Design * A Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) engineering professor, Shaowu Pan, Ph.D. and his team of students have integrated agentic AI into computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to optimize the aerospace design process and alleviate bottlenecks. Pan's advances address priorities outlined in Winning the Race: America's AI Action P  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 18 -- The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Subcommittee on Consumer Protection released the following testimony by Brian Berry, executive director of the Ticket Policy Forum, from a Jan. 28, 2026, hearing entitled "Fees Rolled on All Summer Long: Examining the Live Entertainment Industry": * * * Chairwoman Blackburn, Ranking Member Hickenlooper, and members of the Subcommittee: My name is Brian Berry, and I serve as Executive Director of the Ticket Policy Forum. Tha  more

BROOKFIELD, Wisconsin, Feb. 19 -- The National Funeral Directors Association issued the following news release: * * * Twenty-two Funeral Professionals Selected for Prestigious NFDA Meet the Mentors Program The National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA) is proud to announce the 22 funeral professionals selected to participate in the 2026 Meet the Mentors program. This signature leadership experience, made possible through the generous support of the Funeral Service Foundation, will take pla  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 19 (TNSrpt) -- The U.S. Chemical Safety Board issued the following news release: * * * U.S. Chemical Safety Board Releases Volume 4 of Incident Reports Reports Cover Thirteen Serious Incidents in California, Indiana, Louisiana, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Virginia * The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) today released Volume 4 of its Incident Reports. The reports in the Volume detail 13 major chemical incidents that occurred across seven states -- Ca  more

HOUSTON, Texas, Feb. 19 -- The University of Houston issued the following news: * * * UH Researcher Joins $3.2 Million Effort to Develop Promising New Breast Cancer Treatment Research Targets Deadly Triple-negative Breast Cancer By Laurie Fickman, 713/743-8454, lafickma@Central.UH.EDU A University of Houston College of Pharmacy researcher has joined a $3.2 million effort to develop a promising new treatment for triple-negative breast cancer, one of the most aggressive and difficult-to-treat  more

NASHVILLE, Tennessee, Feb. 18 (TNSjou) -- Vanderbilt University School of Medicine Basic Sciences issued the following news: * * * Study challenges traditional assumptions about gut inflammation and Crohn's disease Professor of Cell and Developmental Biology Ken Lau and his lab published new research that challenges a longstanding assumption about Crohn's disease: that all regions of the gut respond similarly to inflammation and treatment. The study, published in the Journal of Clinical Inves  more

MACOMB, Illinois, Feb. 18 -- Western Illinois University issued the following news release: * * * WIU Ag Students Give Strong Showing at PAS Conference * MACOMB, IL - - Three Western Illinois University Agriculture students earned the right to compete at nationals during the Spring 2026 Professional Agricultural Students (PAS) Conference on Thursday, Feb. 12. Senior agriculture teacher education major Adam Vail (Tennessee, IL), senior agricultural science major Laila Beck (Arenzville) and   more

SANTA BARBARA, California, Feb. 18 [Category: BizReal Estate] -- Yardi, a provider of property management software and investment management solutions for real estate, issued the following news release: * * * Yardi Matrix: Student housing preleasing starts strong as rent growth dips * New national report draws data from Yardi 200 schools SANTA BARBARA, Calif., Feb. 18, 2026 - Early data offers evidence of a solid start to preleasing for the 2026-27 academic year, according to data from Yar  more