U.S. Sens. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tennessee, and Richard Blumenthal, D-Connecticut, sent a letter to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg requesting removal of a newly added Instagram map feature, WSMV reports. The senators said the feature could put children’s safety at risk by exposing their location to predators and traffickers. According to Meta, the map allows users to see a person’s last active location and where content is being posted from, with updates occurring anytime a user opens the app. Content with a location tag is available for 24 hours after posting. The feature requires users to opt in and can be restricted to friends, close friends or selected individuals, or turned off entirely. However, Blackburn and Blumenthal say some users have reported their location information was shared automatically without their consent.

A bipartisan group of U.S. senators — including Marsha Blackburn, R-Tennessee; Peter Welch, D-Utah; Josh Hawley, R-Missouri; and Adam Schiff, D-California — have introduced a bill that aims to give musicians, artists, writers and other creators the ability to see whether artificial intelligence (AI) is being trained on their work. The Transparency and Responsibility for Artificial Intelligence Networks, or TRAIN Act, would allow creators to access the courts to protect their copyrighted works, The Tennessean reports. Under the TRAIN Act, copyright holders could examine training records to determine whether AI companies have used their work to develop models, which rely on data to make predictions and decisions, and to generate content. The act has been endorsed by several music organizations, including the Recording Industry Association of America, the Recording Academy and Nashville Songwriters Association International.

Tennessee's Republican U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn and Georgia's Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock are introducing a new bill aimed at providing tax relief to entertainers, the Tennessean reports. The Creative Relief and Expensing for Audio and Television Enterprises Act, or CREATE Act, would allow singers, songwriters and other creatives to write off production expenses. Earlier this year, Blackburn advocated for including music production expenses in the Internal Revenue Code as part of what President Trump called his "One Big Beautiful Bill," which was signed into law on July 4. The Help Independent Tracks Succeed (HITS) Act currently allows artists to write off up to $150,000 in production expenses in the year they are incurred, but the provision is set to expire at the end of 2025. If passed, the CREATE Act would extend the deduction through 2030 and introduce annual cost-of-living adjustments beginning in 2027 to address rising production costs and make filming in the U.S. more financially viable.

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti, along with four other state attorneys general, are speaking out against the proposed SCORE (Student Compensation and Opportunity through Rights and Endorsements) Act. The group argues the bill gives too much power to the NCAA and risks undermining athlete compensation progress. According to WBIR, the bill would establish a federal standard for name, image and likeness (NIL), create regulations for agents who represent college athletes, prevent schools from revoking scholarships for injuries or performance, require schools to provide academic and medical support for athletes who leave the school, and put restrictions on the use of student fees for athletics. The lawyers agree with the bill authors that the NCAA has not done enough to "fully ensure fair treatment for student-athletes" but say this response is misguided. Read more in the release from the AG's office.

Last week, committees in both chambers of Congress voted on appropriations legislation that includes varying levels of funding for the Legal Services Corporation (LSC). The U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee included $566 million in LSC funding as part of its Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies FY 2026 Appropriation, according to a press release from LSC. This represents a $6 million increase from FY 2025's $560 million appropriation. Earlier in the week, an appropriations subcommittee in the House of Representatives included $300 million in funding in its version of the legislation. That funding represents a 46% cut from LSC’s FY 2025 level. The full Appropriations Committee is scheduled to consider the bill on Thursday. Neither bill follows the White House’s May 30 proposal, which included $21 million for an "orderly closeout" of LSC. Read more from Bloomberg Law.

The U.S. Senate voted 46-42 on Monday to confirm Whitney Hermandorfer to the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, Bloomberg Law reports. Hermandorfer will replace Judge Jane Branstetter Stranch, who announced plans last year to assume senior status upon confirmation of a successor. Hermandorfer directs the strategic litigation unit for the Tennessee Attorney General’s Office. She has been on the forefront of a number of high-profile state cases including a near total ban on abortion, prohibition on certain medical treatments for transgender minors, and a challenge to the Biden administration’s rule extending anti-sex discrimination language to transgender students. She also signed Tennessee’s amicus brief in support of President Donald Trump’s birthright citizenship executive order and against universal injunctions. Prior to joining the attorney general’s office, Hermandorfer worked at Williams & Connolly and clerked for Supreme Court Justices Samuel Alito and Amy Coney Barrett, and now-justice Brett Kavanaugh when he was on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

Tennessee's U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn is pushing to reduce air traffic controller shortages. Blackburn introduced the Control Tower Continuity Act on Thursday, which would allow air traffic controllers to be exempt from the mandatory retirement age of 61 as long as they meet certain standards and provide more flexibility during shortages, WSMV reports. Blackburn’s office said staffing has been a longstanding issue for the Federal Aviation Administration, which is short about 3,000 air traffic controllers nationwide. “Healthy and skilled air traffic controllers should not be forced to retire at age 61,” Blackburn said. “As the United States faces a shortage of air traffic controllers, Americans are forced to endure delays, cancellations and safety concerns. The Control Tower Continuity Act would empower healthy and experienced air traffic controllers to work beyond the current mandatory retirement age to address air traffic controller shortages.”

Prior to passage of President Donald Trump’s massive policy and budget bill by the U.S. Senate, the parliamentarian struck a proposed tax on litigation financiers. The provision, championed by retiring Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, would have imposed a 40.8% tax rate on all "qualified litigation proceeds" received by any third party through a litigation financing agreement. It met strong opposition from the industry, which argued the tax would chill investment and undermine access to justice, Reuters reports. According to litigation finance firm Westfleet Advisors, there are now more than 42 active funders managing a total of $16.1 billion in assets. The industry continues to face other challenges, including calls for greater transparency from the business community, state regulations and federal legislation that would require civil litigants to disclose any litigation funding agreements.

The U.S. Senate narrowly passed President Donald Trump’s sweeping “One Big, Beautiful Bill Act” after intense negotiations and a 27-hour amendment marathon, with Vice President J.D. Vance casting the tie-breaking vote. Key to the bill’s passage was securing the support of Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, whose concerns about deep Medicaid and SNAP cuts were addressed through last-minute changes and a $50 billion rural hospital relief fund. The legislation extends Trump-era tax cuts, boosts military and border security funding, phases out renewable energy credits, and raises the debt ceiling by $5 trillion. In a near unanimous vote, senators removed the bill's provision limiting states' ability to enact laws regulating artificial intelligence according to the Associated Press. A group of Tennessee state lawmakers had urged the Senate to remove the provision, which could have impacted the state's ELVIS Act, The Tennesse Journal reports. Despite the Senate win, the bill faces serious hurdles as it goes back to the House, The Hill reports.

The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee voted along party lines to advance to the full Senate President Trump's nomination of Whitney Hermandorfer to the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals. During the committee hearing earlier this month, Hermandorfer faced questions about her experience and the president’s interpretation of the birthright citizenship issue but won praise from Tennessee's congressional delegation and state Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti. Most recently serving as director of the Strategic Litigation Unit in Skrmetti’s office, Hermandorfer would replace Judge Jane Branstetter Stranch if confirmed. The committee also approved four other trial court nominees today, the first of Trump’s second term. Reuters has more on the action.