Tennessee will be one of the first states to pilot the White House’s immigration agenda, reports Marianna Bacallao (@ba.marianna). Statehouse Republican leadership collaborated with U.S. Homeland Security Advisor Stephen Miller and the Justice Department to craft the legislation.

The package of bills focuses on increasing verification for legal residents and requiring local law enforcement to work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

“Nobody in Tennessee is asking for this. Everybody`s asking for affordable housing, right? Everybody`s asking ... to be able to afford the groceries,” said Cesar Bautista, member of the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition.

Tennessee already has laws against sanctuary city policies that may shield immigrants from ICE, but House Speaker Cameron Sexton said the city’s Democratic-leaning cities are using a “loophole.”

Tennessee will be one of the first states to pilot the White House’s immigration agenda, reports Marianna Bacallao. Statehouse Republican leadership collaborated with U.S. Homeland Security Advisor Stephen Miller and the Justice Department to craft the legislation.

The package of bills focuses on increasing verification for legal residents and requiring local law enforcement to work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

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Photos: Bruce Newman (AP) George Walker IV (AP), Marianna Bacallao (WPLN)

America’s rural hospitals are closing at an alarming pace. And Tennessee has the highest closure rate. It’s a Healthcare Hollow.

In a series of reports this month, WPLN takes an in-depth look at the crisis and what is being done to reverse this course.

“There was something definitely wrong somewhere. Some red tape, some bureaucracy, something that was causing the closure of so many — I mean, it wasn`t just a coincidence that all these small communities lost their hospital at one time,” said Wess Ward, mayor of Linden, Tennessee, whose hospital closed and then re-opened in September, 2025.

Health Reporter Catherine Sweeney takes us to Linden — a rural Tennessee town that watched its hospital go dark but is now on the path to recovery.

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Photo credits: LaTonya Turner, Catherine Sweeney

After nine months of closure, Nashville’s Main Library reopened Monday.

The downtown library closed in June after a fire erupted in the adjoining parking garage. NPL had initially targeted an opening date one month later, but the closure was soon prolonged after improvements to the building’s fire safety systems were identified during cleanup.

The garage, which is operated by the Nashville Downtown Partnership, will remain closed. Instead, library patrons can park for 90 minutes at the McKendree Parking Center on 6th Avenue for a discounted rate of $4.

NPL Director Terri Luke said the library is working with Nashville Yards on 9th Avenue to reach a similar parking agreement.

Still, on reopening day, many patrons expressed their excitement.

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Data centers comprised about 10% of the Tennessee Valley Authority’s total power load in 2025.

And demand from data centers could double by 2030, according to TVA, the utility that covers nearly all of Tennessee and parts of six other states. That may impact the cost of electricity.

In response, a Tennessee lawmaker proposed a bill to protect rate-paying citizens from subsidizing data centers.

“We don`t want what`s happened in some other states where data centers have come in and rates have gone up $20 to $30 a month,” said the bill’s sponsor, state Rep. Ed Butler, R-Rickman.

But as WPLN’s Caroline Eggers reports, the bill could have an entirely different impact: It would allow data centers to produce their own power or buy from an independent company without needing approval from a state regulator.

“This bill would open the door to a massive influx of unregulated methane gas plants across the state,” said Trey Bussey, an attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center.

One example is already playing out in Memphis. Elon Musk’s data center called xAI has set up dozens of mini gas turbines, which research shows could significantly worsen regional air quality.

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Image Credits: Steve Helber/Associated Press, Steve Jones, Flight by Southwings for SELC., David Goldman/Associated Press (flaring oil and gas facility)