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Tennessee’s hemp industry is making a last-ditch legal effort to halt sweeping new rules that would ban the sale of popular hemp products legally available in the state since 2019. @TNLookout wkms.org/business-econo…

Senate Republicans huddled to plot the path forward for the unified control of government they won in the November elections, though GOP senators said a narrow House majority will likely determine how sweeping policy proposals will be. buff.ly/3D48zGe

Thanks @MLK50Memphis !

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NEW: for @TNLookout @statesnewsroom Knoxville, Tennessee native Nikki Giovanni, poet, civil rights legend, and educator who empowered generations with her fearless words and unwavering advocacy for Black America died on Dec. 9 at the age of 81 after her third cancer diagnosis.…

North Dakota judge temporarily blocks so-called "dreamers" from accessing health insurance under the Affordable Care Act in legal challenge brought by 19 state attorneys general, including Tennessee AG Jonathan Skrmetti tennesseelookout.com/2024/12/10/rul… @TNLookout @MarySteurer

A fight over a community center in majority-Black Mason, Tenn. continues a year after the county shut it down The dispute comes amid concern locals won't benefit from @blueovalcity, a $5.6B EV plant under construction 2 miles away tennesseelookout.com/2024/12/09/one… @CStephenson731

The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Friday it will require dairy farms to share samples of unpasteurized milk when requested, in an effort to gather more information about the spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza. buff.ly/3P7sEOV

In West Tennessee, Fayette County Commission members remain at odds with residents of Mason over the closure of a community center, action some former board members for the center attribute to development of Ford BlueOval City. From @CStephenson731. tennesseelookout.com/2024/12/09/one…

ICYMI: With 20 hospitals serving a 29-county region of Appalachia, Ballad Health offers the only health care option for 1.1 million people. But resident of the area told @BrettKelman with @KFFHealthNews they are afraid to be treated at Ballad facilities. tennesseelookout.com/2024/12/06/six…

Over the transom: Kathy Sinback, executive director of the @aclutn, is leaving the organization after two yeas in the role. Phyllida Burlingame will serve as interim executive director during a national search for Finback's replacement.

Senior Reporter @stockard_sam took a reporting trip to Washington, DC to cover Supreme Court arguments over a Tennessee law and found mumbling justices, an archaic sound system and reporters being herded like so much cattle. tennesseelookout.com/2024/12/06/sto…

In Upper East Tennessee, Ballad Health, with the largest state-sanctioned hospital monopoly in the nation, has failed for years to meet many quality-of-care goals, leaving some patients afraid of their local hospitals but with no other nearby options. tennesseelookout.com/2024/12/06/six…

In a large swath of Appalachia, many residents are afraid of the hospital, but there is nowhere else to go. This is my latest @KFFHealthNews story on Ballad Health, the largest state-sanctioned hospital monopoly in the nation. kffhealthnews.org/news/article/b…

When Jerry Qualls had a heart attack in 2022, physicians at a Ballad Health facility said he couldn't be expected to recover. At a non-Ballad hospital, he received a heart transplant. @BrettKelman with @KFFHealthNews reports on Ballad Health. tennesseelookout.com/2024/12/06/six…

Coming in the @TNLookout tomorrow, a special Stockard in the Swamp column from @stockard_sam.

A panel of federal judges on Monday largely upheld Idaho’s “abortion trafficking” law, a measure similar to one currently on hold in Tennessee. From our sibling outlet, @IdahoCapitalSun. buff.ly/3ODMQre

Conservative justices lean toward allowing Tennessee’s ban on gender affirming care buff.ly/3ZleSwv via @tnlookout

Via @Stockard_Sam of @TNLookout ... Conservative justices look likely to reject effort to block Tennessee's ban on gender affirming care for minors. buff.ly/3BrBJ1s

Sen. Ken Yager faces DUI, hit-and-run charges after Georgia arrest tennesseelookout.com/2024/12/04/sen… via @TNLookout