State Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti and the nonprofit Adoption Project are teaming up to boost public awareness about “adoption facilitators”: unlicensed, unregulated persons or entities that act as middlemen between expectant birth parents and adoptive parents. The groups say these “matchmakers” — who often are from out of state and charge large, nonrefundable upfront fees — are an increasing problem in the state. Skrmetti spoke to the issue in a video released last month as part of National Adoption Month. Local News 3 has more on the story.

Tennessee’s hemp industry is making a last-ditch legal effort to halt new rules from the state Department of Agriculture that would ban the sale of hemp products, which have been legally available in the state since 2019. The Tennessee Lookout reports that attorneys representing hemp retailers and producer associations will be in court next week to fight new testing rules scheduled to take effect Dec. 26. The rules would bar the manufacture, distribution and sale of many of the best-selling hemp products that have helped drive a nascent state industry to generate $280-$560 million in sales annually. The rules require products to be tested for the first time for so-called TCHA content, a naturally occurring and still-legal substance found in all hemp plants.

Memphis-area defense attorneys are sounding the alarm about conditions at the Shelby County Criminal Justice Center, also known as 201 Poplar, following the November death of an inmate in the jail’s intake area. Attorneys who spoke with The Daily Memphian noted long wait times for booking and processing into the jail and inadequate living conditions in intake, including a lack of beds and overcrowded holding cells. Booking and processing, which should normally take just a few hours, is taking days, the lawyers said. Data from the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office confirms these observations, the paper reports.

The struggle over the Swan Ball is over, the Nashville Business Journal reports. The annual gala, which has benefited Cheekwood Botanical Garden for the last 61 years, will live on but no longer will benefit that nonprofit. The agreement settles competing lawsuits filed by the tourist attraction and a group of volunteers who plan the white-tie gala. The dispute between the two groups burst into public view midsummer, when planners accused the garden of "planning a coup" to take control of the gala. Cheekwood hit back, arguing in a countersuit that it controlled the Swan Ball. It also accused the volunteers of "increasingly extravagant" spending that made the gala costlier to hold. The volunteer group will retain the Swan Ball trademark and name. Its 2025 event will take place on June 7 and benefit Friends of Warner Park, a nonprofit that raises money to beautify and improve the Edwin Warner and Percy Warner parks, which border Cheekwood's property.

Tennessee State University Interim President Ronald Johnson resigned today as tensions over the school’s finances continue to escalate. Johnson took office in July after the TSU Board of Trustees appointed him to a one-year term. According to The Tennessean, his appointment followed years of criticism from state leaders regarding the school’s management. Johnson had previously criticized the lack of oversight by the former board, which was vacated earlier this year by the state legislature. The board will hold a special meeting Friday morning to discuss appointing a new interim president.

On Thursday, the Elizabethton City Council will consider appointing an acting municipal judge while the city’s current judge remains unable to practice law, WJHL News reports. Municipal Judge Jason Holly’s law license was suspended in October after he reportedly failed to respond to a misconduct complaint filed with the Board of Professional Responsibility. That suspension followed a prior incident earlier this year when he was unable to sit on the bench due to failure to submit his required continuing legal education hours. Holly won reelection in November, despite not being able to practice law at the time voters went to the polls, according to the TV station.

Nashville Metro Police held its annual “Safe Surrender” event over the weekend. More than 300 individuals were served and more than 670 expungements were processed during the two-day event, News Channel 5 reports. The event offered men and women with warrants for non-violent crimes — including failure to appear in court — a chance to receive favorable consideration for surrendering. Many attendees were able to go home the same day. Held at the Galilee Missionary Baptist Church, the church was transformed into a courtroom where individuals could consult with an attorney and appear before a judge from either criminal or general sessions court. In addition, juvenile court staff assisted individuals with outstanding child support issues, the Metro Action Commission provided utility payment assistance applications and the Urban League offered job placement support.

A U.S. judge in North Dakota has blocked the Biden administration from requiring 19 states — including Tennessee — provide health insurance coverage to undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children, known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients or "Dreamers." U.S. District Judge Daniel Traynor ruled that a May rule adopted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services likely violates federal law, which prohibits offering public benefits to individuals without legal immigration status, Reuters reports. Traynor's ruling blocks the rule from being enforced in the states that sued in August, pending the outcome of the case. The judge sided with the states, agreeing that the rule improperly encourages DACA recipients to remain in the U.S. illegally and forces states to spend millions of dollars on public services for them and their children. The National Immigration Law Center, which represents DACA recipients who intervened in the case to defend the rule, said it was considering its next steps.

Criminal justice leaders in Memphis are advocating for the construction of a local crime lab, arguing that faster evidence processing could increase crime-solving rates. An October study by The Precision Criminal Justice Consulting LLC estimates the cost to build a local crime lab at $50 million. According to the Daily Memphian, this would be double the cost of building the current crime lab used by Memphis and Shelby County, which is located in Jackson. The annual operating cost of the proposed lab would be similar to that of Nashville’s crime lab, which has an $11 million yearly budget, according to the report. In a separate development, state Rep. G.A. Hardaway, D-Memphis, introduced a bill in the state legislature last session that mandates a feasibility study on the impact of a local crime lab. The study is expected to be completed by Dec. 19.

TikTok and its Chinese parent company ByteDance have filed an emergency injunction asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review legislation that would ban the social media app in the U.S. if ByteDance does not sell the platform by Jan. 19, 2025. The appeal follows a ruling on Friday from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, which upheld the ban. Under an act signed by President Joe Biden in the spring, TikTok will become illegal for distribution in the U.S. if ByteDance does not sell the platform. ByteDance has argued that selling the platform is "not possible," commercially, technologically or legally. The Tennessean has the latest in the case.