All articles tagged with #memphis
Democratic Rep. Steve Cohen of Memphis announced he is ending his bid for reelection after his district was redrawn amid nationwide redistricting battles sparked by last month’s Supreme Court decision, signaling upheaval in his political career as map fights reshape contests nationwide.
Democratic Rep. Steve Cohen announced he is dropping his bid for reelection in Tennessee’s 9th district after the state legislature redrew the district, splitting Memphis into parts of several districts; Cohen, the state's only Democrat, plans to retire after nearly two decades in Congress and has been a longtime advocate for civil rights and policing reform.
Republicans in Tennessee’s legislature approved a sweeping Congressional redistricting map that splits Memphis into three districts, arguing it improves GOP prospects in the 9th District, while opponents call it a racially targeted move tied to voting rights concerns. The hurried vote triggered floor protests, walkouts, and arrests, as critics likened the action to Jim Crow-era tactics. The NAACP filed for an emergency injunction, and election officials will have to revise materials ahead of August primaries and November elections.
After the Supreme Court weakened the Voting Rights Act, Tennessee’s GOP-led legislature redrew the map, breaking Memphis’s Ninth District—long a Democratic base with a Black majority—into three Republican-leaning districts and eliminating the state’s sole majority-Black district. Republicans say the changes are about population shifts and politics, not race, while critics argue they dilute Black voting power; Nashville’s district was similarly reconfigured in recent years. The move fits a broader wave of partisan redistricting in the South, with primaries set for Aug. 6.
Republican-led Tennessee redraws maps to erase the state’s last Democratic, Black-majority congressional district by splitting Shelby County into three GOP-leaning districts, prompting protests as Democrats decry it as diluting Black representation; the move follows broader southern redistricting amid a Supreme Court ruling weakening the Voting Rights Act.
Republican lawmakers in Tennessee approved a mid-decade redrawing of the state’s congressional map that splits Memphis and Shelby County into three districts, effectively dissolving the lone Democratic-leaning seat. Governor Bill Lee signed the bill amid protests, and Democrats vow to sue over the changes. The move comes as GOP-leaning redistricting accelerates nationwide following a Supreme Court ruling narrowing the Voting Rights Act’s protections for minority voting power.
Republicans in Tennessee approved a new congressional map that carves Memphis into three districts to dilute Black voters and eliminate the state's last Democratic House seat, a move tied to the Supreme Court's weakening of the Voting Rights Act and met with protests at the state capitol.
Tennessee lawmakers are set to vote on a Trump-backed U.S. House map that would carve up Memphis and threaten the state's only majority-Black district, sparking protests and a disrupted committee meeting during a special-session redistricting showdown.
Tennessee Senate and House Republicans released a new congressional map that divides Memphis into three districts and the Nashville area into five, aligning with President Trump's call to redraw lines after the Supreme Court rolled back Voting Rights Act protections.
Hundreds gathered at the Tennessee Capitol as lawmakers opened a three-day special session to redraw congressional maps, spurred by President Trump’s push for more GOP seats. Gov. Bill Lee backed the session after a Trump call, and Republicans moved to sideline public feedback and mid-decade redistricting rules, with hearings set to begin Wednesday amid concerns from Democrats that Black voters’ voting rights could be affected and some Republicans urging caution.
Tennessee Republicans are set to consider changes to the congressional map that would redraw the district centered on Memphis, a majority-Black area, as part of ongoing redistricting efforts.
Tennessee leaders are weighing a special-session map to boost GOP control and potentially flip Memphis' blue congressional seat, a move that could yield a 9-0 Republican House delegation after a Supreme Court ruling limiting race-based redistricting; Gov. Lee, Senate leaders, Marsha Blackburn and allies frame it as ensuring a legal, fair map ahead of the 2026 midterms.
Police say 34-year-old Jerry Stark attacked his infant son inside a Memphis Wings restaurant, squeezing the child until he turned blue and biting him on the cheek; bystanders restrained him and paramedics rushed the baby to a hospital for a facial injury. Stark was arrested on domestic assault causing bodily harm and is due in court; investigators say the mother had previously reported he pushed her from a moving vehicle and fled with their son, while Stark claimed the family was trying to kill him and asked for help.
A passerby found a skull near a wooded area in southeast Memphis in March, leading investigators to recover what are believed to be the remains of three children ages 3–7. The MPD homicide unit and Shelby County Medical Examiner’s Office are working with local, state, and federal agencies—including the FBI—to identify the victims and determine the circumstances of their deaths. The search area remains active; authorities say there is no current threat to the public and are urging anyone with information about missing children to come forward.
Memphis police say they recovered the remains of three children believed to be ages 3–7 after a passerby found a skull near Hickory Hill. The bones likely have been there for years. A large, multi-agency effort involving about 170 personnel is identifying the victims and determining the circumstances of their deaths, with the FBI assisting. Authorities emphasize there is no active threat to the public and are asking for tips that could help link the remains to missing children or cases in the area.