Tennessee’s Blackburn visits NH, defends Trump’s call for suspension of Muslim immigration

While many Republicans are distancing themselves from Donald Trump, Rep. Marsha Blackburn, a 14-year U.S. House member from Tennessee, is not in that category -- not by a long shot. Blackburn, in New Hampshire to headline a state GOP fundraiser on Friday night, not only strongly endorses Trump, but she said in an interview that she would not back away if the presumptive presidential nominee asked her to be his running mate - the subject of speculation in some media reports.

Chief Justice Lee And TBA President Harbison Declare Seersucker Day On June 16

Declaring summer is officially here, Chief Justice Sharon Lee and Tennessee Bar Association President William L. Harbison, have issued a joint proclamation announcing Seersucker Day for the legal community on That date marks the annual Bench Bar luncheon, which will be held in Nashville as part of both the Tennessee Judicial Conference and ... (more)

East Tennessee native Jack Hanna: Cincinnati Zoo made right decision in shooting gorilla

An animal protection watchdog group Tuesday called on federal authorities to hold the Cincinnati Zoo responsible for the death of an endangered western lowland gorilla. The zoo's director, Thane Maynard, said Monday it remains safe for its 1.6 million annual visitors despite a weekend tragedy in which a gorilla was fatally shot to protect a 4-year-old boy who had entered its exhibit.

Haslam: Use of private email for state business ‘inadvertent slip’

Gov. Bill Haslam said Friday that except for the rare "inadvertent slip," he and top staffers use the state's email system and don't try to hide anything from the public. "All of our business happens on state email except for an inadvertent email where we might happen to use a personal email account," Haslam told reporters.

Democratic Prospects for TN Governor. Dog-and-Pony at County Commission

In this week's Viewpoint , Tom Humphrey, retired from the Knoxville News Sentinel , where he earned a reputation as the dean of Tennessee political writers, and now my colleague as a contributing editor of The Tennessee Journal , contributes some informed - and likely definitive - thoughts on the Republican candidates who will be vying in a 2018 gubernatorial contest which is about to get started in earnest. As Humphrey points out, Tennessee is now about as deep-dyed red in its political sentiments as can be, and the GOP has a built-in advantage.