Tennessee Republicans are eyeing Oct. 27 as the tentative start date for a special session aimed at loosening COVID-19 restrictions in the state, The Tennessean reports. According to a message obtained by the paper, the session would extend into the week of Nov. 1. Senate Republicans had been cool to the idea, but after Gov. Bill Lee called for a special session to approve incentives for Ford Motor Company, Senate Speaker Randy McNally, R-Oak Ridge, voiced support for the fall session. 

A recent spike in harassment, intimidation and threats of violence against school administrators, board members, teachers and staff has led the Department of Justice to commit new resources for countering those actions, WJHL reports. Attorney General Merrick Garland has instructed each U.S. attorney to convene meetings with federal, state and local law enforcement within 30 days to address threats. Reaction in Tennessee has been mixed. State Rep. Vincent Dixie, D-Nashville, says he welcomes an investigation and would like to see the department quickly examine who is behind the rise in threats. By contrast, House Speaker Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville, said the federal government should not use politics to go after innocent people. 

The Nashville Public Library is launching a new community history project that explores the historical conflict over lynching, race and racism between two American Reformers. "Truth-Telling: Ida B. Wells and Frances Willard” will include a film screening and conversation with Michelle Duster, great-granddaughter of Wells and author of “Ida B. the Queen,” and Lori Osborne, director of the Frances Willard House Museum. It will also include a panel discussion on “The Role of Journalism in Documenting the Truth.” The virtual event will take place Oct. 23 at 10:30 a.m. CDT. Find out more about the program and register here.

Hamilton County commissioners last night voted 5-4 to pull a measure that would have cut funding for the district attorney’s office after DA Neal Pinkston answered questions about the budget, the Chattanoogan reports. Commissioner Tim Boyd sponsored the effort, which sought to withhold funds being used to pay Melydia Clewell, an employee in the DA’s office and Pinkston’s wife. Pinkston told commissioners that, at the time of the original budget question, his relatives were state employees and he later moved them to being county employees after concerns were raised at the DA’s conference. Pinkston also said none of his relatives answer to him, but to an administrator.

The Chattanooga City Council last night voted to suspend Division II of City Court next year, the Chattanoogan reports. The resolution, sponsored by Council Chairman Chip Henderson, was passed with seven votes. Henderson and other members of the council have been in favor of closing Division II, saying the court has been hearing few cases and that its closure could save roughly $500,000 per year. The court will be suspended next year after Division II Judge Russell Bean retires.  

Former Vanderbilt Law School student and VU Board of Trust member Justin Ishbia has given his alma mater $10 million, the Nashville Post reports. Ishbia is founder and managing partner of Shore Capital Partners, a private equity firm with offices in Chicago and Nashville. He also is a member of the Vanderbilt Law School Board of Advisors, which in 2015 established the Justin R. Ishbia Scholarship to provide financial support for VU law school students. Ishbia earned his law degree from the school in 2004. According to law school dean Chris Guthrie, the gift will support “key strategic priorities" within the law school and "strengthen its position as one of the nation’s premier institutions for legal scholarship.”

U.S. District Judge Waverly D. Crenshaw yesterday extended a temporary order blocking Gov. Bill Lee’s executive order that allows parents to opt their children out of school mask mandates, the Tennessean reports. Crenshaw has not yet ruled on the underlying legal issues in the lawsuit but extended the temporary order through Oct. 27 after hearing hours of testimony. The suit against Lee’s opt out order was brought by two Williamson County families under the Americans with Disabilities Act and other disability laws. The extension to Crenshaw’s original temporary order, which was issued last month, allows schools to enforce mask mandates while the case continues. Crenshaw will continue to hear testimony on Oct. 13.

Former Knox County Law Director Richard “Bud” Armstrong last week kicked off his campaign for the county’s Chancery Court Part II, the Knoxville Focus reports.  Armstrong, who served as the county’s law director from 2013 until 2021, is one of two candidates who have challenged incumbent Chancellor Clarence Pridemore for the seat. The publication says Knoxville attorney Deno Cole is in the running as well. 

Ragan Communications will host a free one-hour webinar tomorrow on prioritizing movement for better well-being. “How to Boost Employee Wellness: Move More and Sit Less,” will run from noon until 1 p.m. CDT and will teach attendees about the negative impact of sedentary behaviors in the workplace, the connection between movement and well-being and how to create a workspace program that prioritizes movement. A recording of the program will be sent to all those who register, even if they cannot attend the webinar live. Register here.  

The estate of Henrietta Lacks is suing Massachusetts-based biotechnology company Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. for allegedly selling cells taken from the Black woman in 1951 without her knowledge, NPR reports. Before Lacks died of cervical cancer, tissue was taken from her tumor and became the first human cells to be successfully cloned. HeLa cells, as they’re now known, have enabled countless medical innovations, including the development of the polio vaccine, genetic mapping and even COVID-19 vaccines. Lawyers for the Lacks family say Thermo Fisher has continued to commercialize the results long after the origins of the HeLa cell line became known. The estate is represented by well-known civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who called it “outrageous” that the company “would think that they have intellectual rights property” to Lacks’ cells.