danielpotter

Several hundred protesters gathered at the state capitol today to rally against what they see as an attack on religious freedom. The protest came as part of a coordinated push by Catholics and others in dozens of cities today, over a federal requirement for most health plans to cover contraception.

Governor Bill Haslam says the state’s evaluations of teachers should be confidential. A bill to close teacher performance reviews to the public is moving in on its way to a floor vote in the state senate, and passed out of a House subcommittee today.

A sad first for state officials today: the governor and commissioner of Veterans Affairs presented a new medal to the family of a Tennessee soldier who died in combat. WPLN’s Daniel Potter reports on the award for Sergeant First Class Dennis Murray.

Tennessee lawmakers are getting a deadline extension for setting up a health insurance exchange, as part of the politically sticky federal healthcare overhaul.

Governor Bill Haslam says he wants to find out more about a bill that would make public more details concerning abortions. The proposal would require the state health department to publish the names of doctors who perform abortions.

Tennessee will dedicate three new schools to so-called STEM disciplines – Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. The million-dollar grants for each school come from federal Race to the Top money the state won two years ago.

Governor Bill Haslam declined to comment today on an East Tennessee lawmaker accused of hitting his wife over the weekend. Representative David Hawk pled not guilty after being arrested Sunday morning.

Governor Bill Haslam is backing a proposal to make people getting unemployment benefits prove they’re looking for a job.

A subcommittee of state lawmakers took an unexpected step yesterday toward repealing a controversial new voter ID requirement. But the state elections coordinator was quick to cast doubt on the repeal effort.