Kimberlee Kruesi

Tennessee’s Republican governor may sign a proposal that would require educational institutions that house students overnight to separate bathrooms “by immutable biological sex.”

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee prison officials say they won't publicly release the the state's latest manual for executing death row inmates. In an email Monday, Tennessee correction official Kayla Hackney denied a public records request from The Associated Press. She cited a state law protecting the identities of the executioner and other people involved. However, the law says confidential information should be redacted, and the fact that a record contains confidential information is not a reason to deny access to it.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee has nearly total abortion ban and a porous safety net for mothers and young children. GOP state leaders in Tennessee and other states that banned abortion after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022 argue that they are bolstering services for families. Recent research and an analysis by The Associated Press has found that from the time a Tennessee woman gets pregnant, she faces greater obstacles to a healthy pregnancy, a healthy child and a financially stable family life than the average American mom.

Republican U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn won her reelection bid Tuesday, securing a victory in GOP-dominant Tennessee after largely avoiding her Democratic opponent.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A federal judge has temporarily blocked Tennessee from enforcing a law banning adults from helping minors get an abortion without parental permission. A judge ruled Friday that Tennessee cannot “make it a crime to communicate freely” about legal abortion options even in a state where abortion is banned at all stages of pregnancy except for a handful of situations.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A federal judicial panel has dismissed a lawsuit alleging that Tennessee’s U.S. House maps and those for the state Senate amount to unconstitutional racial gerrymandering.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee has approved legislation allowing the death penalty in child rape convictions, a change the Republican-controlled Statehouse championed amid concerns that the U.S. Supreme Court has banned capital punishment in such cases.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee has conceded defeat on his push to enact universal school vouchers this year, acknowledging there was “not a pathway for the bill” after months of Republican infighting. Lee said Monday that he was disappointed but promised to renew school voucher talks next year.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Recently unsealed court documents show that an Army soldier accused of selling national defense information has been indicted by a federal grand jury on a wide range on charges, including bribery of a public official. Sgt. Korbein Schultz was arrested at Fort Campbell Thursday shortly after the indictment was released.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Republican lawmakers and Gov. Bill Lee have approved hundreds of laws in Tennessee this year. Many of the statutes take effect Saturday, including measures on health care for transgender children, police accountability and school safety. Notably, the first proposal introduced by lawmakers is a ban on gender-affirming care for minors. A federal judge has blocked part of it, preventing the state from enforcing a ban on puberty blockers and hormone therapy for minors. The judge has allowed the ban on gender-affirming surgeries for youth to take effect. Separately, Republicans have passed legislation to stop public schools and universities from requiring employees to take implicit bias training.