MEMPHIS, Tennessee, April 17 -- The University of Tennessee Health Science Center posted the following news: * * * $311 Million Approved for Construction of New UT Health Sciences College of Medicine Building * The Tennessee General Assembly Thursday approved the funding of $311 million recommended by Governor Bill Lee for the construction of a new $350 million College of Medicine Interdisciplinary Building at the University of Tennessee Health Sciences. The 275,000- to 300,000-square-foot  more

WASHINGTON, April 13 -- The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families issued the following news release: * * * 15 Jurisdictions Commit to ACF Effort to Close Foster Home Gap - A Home for Every Child The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services today announced that 14 states and the District of Columbia have joined A Home for Every Child, a bipartisan initiative to increase the number of licen  more

WASHINGTON, April 17 -- Americans for Tax Reform posted the following commentary on April 16, 2026, by Patrick Gleason: * * * Tennessee Becomes REINS Act State Number 14, with South Carolina on Deck to be Number 15 The American people continue to vote with their feet, moving from high-tax blue states to red states with lower overall tax burdens, according to updated interstate migration data recently released by the U.S. Census Bureau. In fact, no-income-tax states and those with relatively l  more

COLUMBIA, South Carolina, April 17 -- South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson issued the following news: * * * Attorney General Alan Wilson fights against the rise of the administrative state * (COLUMBIA, S.C.) - Attorney General Alan Wilson is joining a 21-state friend-of-the-court brief pushing back against burdensome regulations on national markets and the rise of the administrative state. The brief was filed in support of a challenge to a 2020 federal statute requiring the U.S. Envi  more

WASHINGTON, April 16 -- Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tennessee, issued the following news release: * * * Blackburn Leads Colleagues in Introducing Legislation to Close Loopholes Allowing Taxpayer-Funded Abortion * WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee Bill Cassidy (R-La.), and 17 of their Senate colleagues introduced the Title X Abortion Provider Prohibition Act to ban federal Title X family-plan  more

WASHINGTON, April 17 -- The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee posted the following news release: * * * Democrats Post "Gargantuan" Fundraising Numbers as They're Poised To Win Back the House Majority * House Democrats and Red to Blue candidates are dominating in Q1 fundraising, raising commanding numbers against their Republican opponents and strong momentum at the outset of 2026. Democrats outraised Republicans in 42 of the DCCC's battleground districts. DCCC Spokesperson Liam B  more

WASHINGTON, April 18 (TNSFR) -- The Federal Communications Commission Enforcement Bureau announced the suspension of Charles A. Jones from the schools and libraries universal service support mechanism, commonly known as the E-Rate Program. This action follows a criminal conviction involving a conspiracy to defraud the federal funding system. The bureau also started debarment proceedings to ban Jones from all federal universal service support mechanisms for three years. Jones pleaded guilty to c  more

JOHNSON CITY, Tennessee, April 17 -- East Tennessee State University posted the following news: * * * Former U.S. Sen. Bill Frist to speak at ETSU * Former U.S. Sen. Bill Frist, who represented Tennessee in Congress from 1995-2007, will visit East Tennessee State University's campus as part of the ETSU College of Public Health's Leading Voices in Public Health lecture series. Frist will speak on "The Intersection of Planetary and Human Health: A Doctor's Call to Rethink Health in the Age o  more

NASHVILLE, Tennessee, April 17 [Category: Law/Legal] -- The Tennessee Bar Association posted the following commentary blog: * * * General Assembly Passes State's $58 Billion Budget * The Tennessee House and Senate have passed the state's $58.3 billion budget for the 2026-27 fiscal year. As amended by lawmakers, the budget - HB2631/SB2690 -redirects $282.4 million from the governor's original proposal to fund $276.4 million of their legislative priorities. Funding includes support for hospi  more

CHICAGO, Illinois, April 17 [Category: Food/Beverage] -- The Institute of Food Technologists posted the following news release: * * * Institute of Food Technologists Student Association Elects New Board of Directors * CHICAGO - April 17, 2026 - The Institute of Food Technologists Student Association (IFTSA), a student-governed community of members of the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT), is proud to announce that its next Board of Directors have been elected, headlined by IFTSA Presiden  more

NASHVILLE, Tennessee, April 17 [Category: Law/Legal] -- The Tennessee Bar Association posted the following commentary blog: * * * News Reports Look at National, State AI Developments * President Donald Trump in mid-March released a national AI regulatory framework building on his December executive order, calling for children's online protections, reduced permitting barriers for data centers, anti-censorship provisions and expanded AI workforce training -while also aiming to preempt the grow  more

GREENVILLE, South Carolina, April 17 -- Furman University posted the following news: * * * Paul L. Thomas says education policy and socioeconomic policy have strong ties * Paul L. Thomas was quoted in the Alaska Beacon and other news sources about standardized test scores and what they mean for policymaking. Thomas, a longtime Furman University education professor, told the Alaska Legislature Task Force on Education Funding that standardized test results might not be the most appropriate dat  more

WASHINGTON, April 17 -- Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tennessee, issued the following news release: * * * Press Advisory: Congressman Cohen and Justice Advocates to Address Incarceration for Marijuana Offenses at a Press Conference and Policy Briefing on Monday, April 20 (4-20) * WASHINGTON - Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-9), a longtime advocate of fair and sensible laws regarding marijuana, will hold a press conference and policy briefing to address the impact of incarcerating those charged with mariju  more

CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts, April 17 [Category: Environment] -- The Union of Concerned Scientists posted the following news release: * * * Rep. Hageman Introduces Bill to Grant Big Oil Sweeping Legal Immunity * WASHINGTON (April 17, 2026)-U.S. Representative Harriet Hageman (R-WY) introduced a bill today seeking to grant sweeping immunity to the fossil fuel industry against legal and financial accountability for climate change damages. The congressional bill mirrors legislation recently passed  more

WASHINGTON, April 16 -- The Small Business Administration's Office of Disaster Assistance issued the following news release: * * * SBA Offers Disaster Relief to Tennessee Businesses, Nonprofits, and Residents Affected by the Severe Winter Storm * WASHINGTON -In response to an Presidential disaster declaration issued April 10, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced the availability of low interest disaster loans for Tennessee businesses, nonprofits, and residents affected by s  more

NASHVILLE, Tennessee, April 15 [Category: Law/Legal] -- The Tennessee Bar Association posted the following commentary blog: * * * Sumner County Lawyer Censured Sumner County attorney Beth Angel Garrison received a censure from the Tennessee Supreme Court on April 15. A client hired Garrison to prepare an agreed order for reduction of his child support, to which the other parent had agreed. Garrison prepared the order and sent it to opposing counsel, who requested minor changes, but she fail  more

NASHVILLE, Tennessee, April 15 [Category: Law/Legal] -- The Tennessee Bar Association posted the following commentary blog: * * * TBA Announces Convention CLE Program Topics Tennessee lawyers will gather in June for the 2026 TBA Annual Convention, which will offer compelling CLE programming, networking opportunities and social events. This year's CLE lineup -which will offer 8.5 hours of credit -will focus on technology topics as part of TBA's first-ever Tech Showcase. Programming kicks off  more

NASHVILLE, Tennessee, April 15 [Category: Law/Legal]-- The Tennessee Bar Association posted the following commentary blog: * * * Tennesseans in 23 Counties Get Tax Deadline Extension * More than 20 Tennessee counties are getting an extension on filing their federal taxes, according to an announcement from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Individuals, households and businesses in most of Middle Tennessee's counties now have until May 22 to file their 2025 tax returns and scheduled paymen  more

PINE BLUFF, Arkansas, April 17 -- The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff posted the following news: * * * UAPB Students Earn Top Honors at 1890 Research Symposium * Students from the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff School of Agriculture, Fisheries and Human Sciences (UAPB-SAFHS) earned top honors at the Association of 1890 Research Directors Biennial Research Symposium. Humphrey Wanjala, a graduate student in the Department of Aquaculture and Fisheries, received first place in the g  more

SACRAMENTO, California, April 17 [Category: Law/Legal] -- The Pacific Legal Foundation issued the following news release: * * * USDA drops yearslong enforcement action against Alabama horse trainer * Birmingham, Alabama; April 17, 2026: An Alabama horse trainer is finally free from a yearslong federal enforcement action after the U.S. Department of Agriculture agreed to permanently abandon its case against him. David Latham, who trains Tennessee Walking Horses with his father at their Northe  more

KNOXVILLE, Tennessee, April 17 -- The University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture issued the following news release: * * * UT Extension Announces Enhanced Senior Leadership Structure for Tennessee 4-H * New structure will position Tennessee 4-H to continue immense, positive impact on state's youth KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - "Making the best better." That's a motto of the Tennessee 4-H Youth Development Program. It's also the goal for a new leadership structure for the state's historic youth   more

BOWLING GREEN, Kentucky, April 17 -- Western Kentucky University posted the following news: * * * WKU sweeps leaderboard in ASCE concrete canoe competition * Western Kentucky University's American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) student chapter brought home an array of accolades from the 2026 ASCE Indiana-Kentucky Student Symposium. WKU was among 14 teams composed of civil engineering students in the competition held April 9-11, hosted by the University of Kentucky and the University of L  more