WEATHER ALERT
Tennessee will remove HIV-positive people convicted of sex work from violent sex offender list
Read full article: Tennessee will remove HIV-positive people convicted of sex work from violent sex offender listHIV-positive people who were convicted in Tennessee of sex work under a decades-old aggravated prostitution law will no longer be required to face a lifetime registration as a “violent sex offender” under a lawsuit settlement finalized this week.
Icy winter blast gripping US blamed for deaths from coast to coast
Read full article: Icy winter blast gripping US blamed for deaths from coast to coastA new layer of ice has formed over parts of Tennessee just days after a deadly snowy, frigid storm, as bitterly cold weather continued impacting the U.S. from Oregon to the Northeast.
ACLU sues Tennessee district attorney who promises to enforce the state's new anti-drag show ban
Read full article: ACLU sues Tennessee district attorney who promises to enforce the state's new anti-drag show banTennessee’s first-in-the-nation law placing strict limits on drag shows is facing another legal challenge.
Video of fatal Tennessee traffic stop shows car speeding off but not deputy's shooting of driver
Read full article: Video of fatal Tennessee traffic stop shows car speeding off but not deputy's shooting of driverVideo has been released of a fatal Tennessee traffic stop that shows a deputy holding on to the car’s steering wheel and being carried away as the vehicle speeds off.
District attorney drops at least 30 cases that involved officers charged in death of Tyre Nichols
Read full article: District attorney drops at least 30 cases that involved officers charged in death of Tyre NicholsA district attorney in Tennessee has said his office has dropped 30 to 40 cases involving the five former officers who have been charged with second-degree murder in the January beating death of Tyre Nichols.
Ruling on Tennessee's anti-drag law leaves questions about enforcement, next steps
Read full article: Ruling on Tennessee's anti-drag law leaves questions about enforcement, next stepsQuestions remain over how a law designed to limit drag shows in Tennessee will be enforced after a federal judge declared it unconstitutional while saying the decision only applied to the state’s most populated county.
1st officer in Nichols arrest accused of brutality at prison
Read full article: 1st officer in Nichols arrest accused of brutality at prisonYears before a Memphis police officer pulled Tyre Nichols from his car on Jan. 7, the officer was accused of taking part in the savage beating of an inmate at a county prison.
Alabama, Georgia pick up the pieces after deadly tornadoes
Read full article: Alabama, Georgia pick up the pieces after deadly tornadoesOfficials found “heavy, heavy damage” in parts of the city’s historic district, Newnan Fire Chief Stephen Brown told a news conference. One of the victims in the hard-hit town of Ohatchee, a small community of about 1,170 people in eastern Alabama, was Dwight Jennings' neighbor. AdBad weather wasn't limited to Georgia and Alabama. ___Chandler reported from Shelby County, Alabama. Associated Press journalists Kevin McGill in New Orleans; Desiree Mathurin in Atlanta; Jeff Martin in Marietta, Georgia; Butch Dill in Ohatchee, Alabama; and Rebecca Santana in New Orleans, contributed to this report.
Weather service: 8 tornadoes hit Alabama, killing at least 5
Read full article: Weather service: 8 tornadoes hit Alabama, killing at least 5(AP Photo/Butch Dill)A string of deadly tornadoes roared through Alabama on Thursday, toppling trees, demolishing homes and knocking out power to thousands, part of a broad swath of violent weather sweeping across the Deep South. In the city of Pelham, James Dunaway said he initially ignored the tornado warning when it came over his phone. “Thinking of everyone in Alabama and all of those impacted by the severe weather across the South tonight. Kay Ivey issued an emergency declaration for 46 counties as the severe weather approached, and officials opened shelters in and around Birmingham. Associated Press writer Kim Chandler in Montgomery and photographer Butch Dill in Alabama contributed to this report.
Tensions over COVID vaccine equity pit rural against urban America
Read full article: Tensions over COVID vaccine equity pit rural against urban AmericaBut a neighbor told her the state's rural counties had already moved to younger age groups and she found an appointment 60 miles away. The U.S. vaccine campaign has heightened tensions between rural and urban America, where from Oregon to Tennessee to upstate New York complaints are surfacing of a real — or perceived — inequity in vaccine allocation. In Oregon, state GOP lawmakers walked out of a Legislative session last week over the Democratic governor's vaccine plans, citing rural vaccine distribution among their concerns. Rural counties are less likely to have the deep-freeze equipment necessary to store Pfizer vaccines. The situation caused the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to investigate and the county health director to resign.
The Latest: Tennessee probe finds wasted vaccines
Read full article: The Latest: Tennessee probe finds wasted vaccines___WASHINGTON — Coronavirus vaccine makers tell Congress to expect a big increase in the delivery of doses over the coming month. AdLooking ahead to summer, Pfizer and Moderna expect to complete delivery of 300 million doses each, and J&J aims to provide an additional 100 million doses. ___MADRID — Spain has registered 7,461 new coronavirus cases and 443 more deaths. AdThe country has reached a total of 3.1 million cases and 68,000 confirmed deaths. Ad___GENEVA — The head of the World Health Organization is criticizing the lack of access to coronavirus vaccines for the world’s poor.