The Justice Department’s antitrust division is nearing a recommendation to block Comcast Corp.’s bid to buy Time Warner Cable according to sources, Bloomberg News reports. Attorneys who are investigating Comcast’s $45.2 billion proposal to create a nationwide cable giant are leaning against the merger out of concerns that consumers would be harmed and could submit their review as soon as next week.

Legislators approved and sent to Gov. Bill Haslam a bill that would create a protocol for the collection of sexual assault evidence kits. Sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Mark Norris, R-Collierville, and Rep. Larry Miller, D-Memphis, the bill should go a long way in alleviating the kind of situation that resulted in a backlog of untested rape kits in Memphis and other parts of the state, the Citizen Tribune reports. Lawmakers also approved a bill allowing a person to possess cannabis oil under certain conditions. If it becomes law, certain amounts of cannabis oil can be used for the treatment of intractable seizures, especially in the case of children.

FBI examiners gave flawed forensic testimony in 16 Tennessee cases that led to convictions, including four that sent defendants to death row, according to a report from The Washington Post this weekend. The Post reports that "[t]he Justice Department and FBI have formally acknowledged that nearly every examiner in an elite FBI forensic unit gave flawed testimony in almost all trials in which they offered evidence against criminal defendants over more than a two-decade period before 2000." None of the defendants in Tennessee have been executed yet, although Florida, Indiana, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas have all executed at least one person convicted in a case now identified as having included flawed forensic testimony, the Nashville Scene reports.

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A Tennessee Department of Safety survey made public last week showed 17 of the 27 state prosecutors who responded think a new law allowing the state to lock up women whose babies are born addicted to drugs (excluding meth) is preventing the birth of drug-addicted babies. Jamie Satterfield’s blog “Lady Justice Unmasked” refutes those beliefs, presenting data that shows the number of drug-addicted newborns is not only continuing to rise but reaching record levels. Knoxblogs has the story.

A federal appeals court today appeared divided over the Obama administration's request to lift a lower court ruling that blocked the government from implementing the president’s executive actions to shield undocumented immigrants from deportation and grant them work permits. In February, a Texas federal judge halted Obama’s deferred-action program to consider a suit filed by 26 states. The Justice Department appealed the decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. A three-judge panel of that court peppered lawyers from the Justice Department and the state of Texas with questions about whether Obama acted within his rights when he enacted the new policies. The Washington Post has more.

With more than a half a dozen school districts suing the state over a lack of funding for education, lawmakers want to ban them from using state funds for their legal crusade. Legislators reportedly are adding a provision to one of several budget bills that would ban local school districts from using state money for attorney’s fees, court costs or other expenses to sue the state, the Nashville Scene reports.

The Knoxville Family Justice Center unveiled a poster yesterday, which will be used in a statewide campaign that highlights and brings awareness to the prevalence of domestic violence, WBIR reports. The organization is one of only 15 of its kind in the country. Since it opened in 2006, the center has helped more than 10,000 victims.

President Barack Obama today called for the Senate to confirm his attorney general nominee, Loretta Lynch, 160 days after he named her to lead the Justice Department. Obama’s comments follow the Senate’s adjournment Thursday night without any action on Lynch’s nomination. Lynch has at least 51 votes for confirmation, including from five Republicans. “Nobody can describe a reason for [the delay] beyond political gamesmanship in the Senate on an issue that’s completely unrelated to her,” the president said. The National Law Journal has more (subscription required).

The Tennessee House has approved $33.3 billion for the state's annual budget after rejecting Democrat attempts to add an authorization for Republican Gov. Bill Haslam to strike a deal with the federal government over Medicaid expansion. Passing a balanced budget is one of the few constitutional requirements for Tennessee lawmakers, Memphis Daily News reports.