Tension has been palpable between the crowd and the Fayette County School Board this year as as the board pushes toward dissolving the consent decree that has held the school system accountable to the federal government for integrating public schools since 1965. @cstephenson.bsky.social reports.

A child abused in foster care needs ongoing mental health treatment that TennCare and DCS won’t provide, his family says. He now faces a return to a system that harmed him. via @tennesseelookout.com www.newsfromthestates.com/article/tenn...

“You’re Already Approved”: How One Tennessee Company Sets a Debt Trap More than a dozen borrowers told @tennesseelookout.com and ProPublica that Advance Financial encouraged them through emails and notifications to borrow back the value of almost all of the payments they made: propub.li/3ZXaVPY

More than a dozen borrowers told @tennesseelookout.com and @propublica.org that Advance Financial encouraged them to borrow more money after making minimum payments. The Tennessee lender went on to sue them once they couldn’t pay back the loan.By @friedmanadam5.bsky.social.

More than a dozen borrowers told @tennesseelookout.com and @propublica.org that Advance Financial encouraged them to borrow more money after making minimum payments. The Tennessee lender went on to sue them once they couldn’t pay back the loan. Great work by @friedmanadam5.bsky.social

“It’s a nasty loan.” New from @friedmanadam5.bsky.social:

Tennessee Lawmakers and Lenders Said Their Flex Loan Law Would Protect Borrowers. Instead It Trapped Them in Debt. @friedmanadam5.bsky.social @tennesseelookout.com

A dozen-plus borrowers told @tennesseelookout.com and @propublica.org that Advance Financial urged them to borrow more money after making minimum payments. The Tennessee lender sued them once they couldn’t pay back the loan. By @friedmanadam5.bsky.social www.newsfromthestates.com/article/tenn...

In 2014, Cameron Sexton, now House Speaker, brought a bill he said would protect borrowers. Instead "flex loans" trap people in a debt spiral. One woman will end up owing $14k on a $3,850 loan. @friedmanadam5.bsky.social @tennesseelookout.com @propublica.org tennesseelookout.com/2025/06/26/t...

NEW: More than a dozen borrowers told @tennesseelookout.com‬ and ProPublica that Advance Financial encouraged them to borrow more money after making minimum payments. The lender went on to sue them once they couldn’t pay back the loan. By @friedmanadam5.bsky.social‬

Advance Financial has sued over 110,000 borrowers in Tennessee since 2015. In one county, where nearly half the households make less than $50,000, the company has filed one case for every 32 residents in that time, @tennesseelookout.com and ProPublica found. By @friedmanadam5.bsky.social

(ICYMI) My friend and former colleague @friedmanadam5.bsky.social teamed up w/ @propublica.org to expose TN-based flex loan-lender Advance Financial's predatory practices (high interest, suing borrowers) and how elected officials (state and federal) enabled them. tennesseelookout.com/2025/05/05/t...

We are continuing to report on flex loans. Have you been sued by Advance Financial, Harpeth Financial or another flex loan lender? To share your experience, call or text reporter Adam Friedman (@friedmanadam5.bsky.social) at 615-249-8509.

@tennesseelookout.com and @propublica.org are continuing to report on flex loans in Tennessee, where 110,000 borrowers have been sued by Advance Financial alone. Have you been sued by a flex loan lender? Call or text reporter @friedmanadam5.bsky.social at 615-249-8509 to share your experience.

Advance Financial’s Flex Loan charges 279.5% interest, trapping thousands of borrowers in debts that end up in court, where the company has won over $200 million in judgments since 2015. By @friedmanadam5.bsky.social, w/ @tennesseelookout.com

Since introducing the Flex Loan in 2015, Tennessee-based lender Advance Financial has filed ***over 110,000 lawsuits*** against its borrowers. Advance lobbied lawmakers to create the loan to avoid federal consumer protection regulations. @friedmanadam5.bsky.social @tennesseelookout.com

110,000+... Imagine filling the University of Tennessee's Neyland Stadium...and then still needing more seats. That's how many lawsuits Advance Financial has filed against its borrowers. From @friedmanadam5.bsky.social for @tennesseelookout.com+ @propublica.org: www.propublica.org/article/flex...

Have you been sued by Advance Financial, Harpeth Financial or another flex loan lender in Tennessee? The Tennessee Lookout and @propublica.org are continuing to report on flex loans. To share your experience, call or text reporter @friedmanadam5.bsky.social at 615-249-8509.

Our @friedmanadam5.bsky.social has spent months interviewing people sued by Advance Financial and combing through data. This, friends, is public service journalism and I am incredibly proud of him.

NEW: A Tennessee lender told legislators its new product, the Flex Loan, would help residents. In the 10 years since getting approval for it, the company has sued over 110,000 borrowers. With @tennesseelookout.com

Almost unfathomable: This Lender Said Its Loans Would Help Tennesseans. It Has Sued More Than 110,000 of Them. Yes, you read that right. By @friedmanadam5.bsky.social @tennesseelookout.com

A Tennessee lender told legislators its new product, the Flex Loan, would help residents. In the 10 years since getting approval for it, the company has sued over 110,000 borrowers. www.propublica.org/article/flex...

NEW: A $3.7 million Capitol Hill townhouse is the D.C. headquarters of a secretive political influence project. It’s owned by a major GOP donor. But one of the most powerful men in the country recently moved in: House Speaker Mike Johnson. www.propublica.org/article/mike...

Nashville community organizers hope outreach to clergy to equip them for ICE raids can counter some of the fear that's supplanted the safety and comfort many immigrants experience by belonging to faith congregations. My latest on these outreach efforts: www.tennessean.com/story/news/r...

A bill that would move the sale of all recreational hemp products into liquor stores or vape stores is on the Tennessee Senate docket Tuesday morning.

In my latest for @tennesseelookout.com, I reflect on the importance of holding all of our elected officials - even Democrats - accountable for their decisions. If you want to claim the moral high ground, you've got to be willing to admit when you've lost it. tennesseelookout.com/2025/02/24/a...

Who’s funding Tennessee’s politics? If you're interested in following the money, @tennesseelookout.com has all PAC, lawmaker & political party donor dollars since 2010 in an easily searchable database (newly updated) Data wrangler: @friedmanadam5.bsky.social tennesseelookout.com/2025/02/24/c...

I've updated our Tennessee million-dollar club in political spending. The $1 million club provides a 15-year look back at who's spending the most money to influence state politics. tennesseelookout.com/2025/02/24/c...

I've made some updates to our Cash for Clout page, tracking political spending in TN. On our Who's Funding Tennessee Politics page, you can now look up campaign donations, independent spending, and lobbying expenses in 15-year totals and 5-year increments. tennesseelookout.com/2025/02/24/c...

With gubernatorial bid looming, US Rep. John Rose calls for ‘robust’ tariffs on tile imported from India

How it started vs how it’s going

The hemp industry calls Tennessee’s new rules ruinous.

Tennessee lawmakers have tweaked a bill to allow the public to eventually know how much money officials spend to bring an NFL Super Bowl to Nashville, but the legislation still allows signed contracts to remain hidden for years. From @friedmanadam5.bsky.social tennesseelookout.com/2024/03/27/t...

Despite escalating emergency room times at Ballad Health hospitals, legislation to stop further medical monopolies suffered a quick death in the House Health Subcommittee Tuesday. tennesseelookout.com/2024/03/27/b...

Tennessee lawmakers have tweaked a bill to allow the public to eventually know how much money officials spend to bring an NFL Super Bowl to Nashville. But the legislation still allows signed contracts to remain hidden for years. tennesseelookout.com/2024/03/27/t...

Scene staff writer Eli Motycka was reporting on pro-Palestine student protests when police arrested him.

A local reporter left a Vanderbilt University student protest he was covering in handcuffs this afternoon. Campus police arrested @nashvillescene.bsky.social reporter Eli Motycka, as students accused the administration of suppressing pro-Palestinian voices on campus.

A new amendment attached to the Tennessee House's version of the $1.9 billion business tax cut and refund requires the revenue department to publish the names and amount of money corporations that apply for it receive. www.capitol.tn.gov/Archives/Das...

Two dark money groups pushing school vouchers are spending money to blast GOP Rep. Todd Warner, a voucher opponent, through a text message campaign and billboards in his district. @friedmanadam5.bsky.social reports. tennesseelookout.com/2024/03/20/d...

Gov. Bill Lee released his supplement budget. He's keeping in the $17M the state earmarked in 2022 to renovate the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway. The Speedway deal has been on ice since a failed attempt to push it through at the end of the 2023 Metro Nashville Council term.

Two East Tennessee hospitals merged in 2018 and were granted a state-sanctioned monopoly on promises that it wouldn't reduce quality of care. But the average ER wait time has tripled in the five years since. tennesseelookout.com/2024/03/26/a... via @kffhealthnews.bsky.social

The latest U.S. Census figures show Tennessee is on track to add a 10th congressional district in 2032. A new seat would give Democrats a shot at another federal office, and civil rights protections could protect it from partisan gerrymandering. tennesseelookout.com/2024/03/25/t...

The latest U.S. Census figures show Tennessee is on track to add a 10th congressional district in 2032. A new seat would give Democrats a shot at another federal office, and civil rights protections could protect it from partisan gerrymandering. tennesseelookout.com/2024/03/25/t...

Several online ticket resellers still hide the final price of tickets on their front pages despite a new law set out to create price transparency. Ticketmaster appears to be following it, but the other companies might be exploiting vague wording in it. tennesseelookout.com/2023/10/20/l...

The Tennessee legislature approved paid leave for public school teachers, but many aren’t aware of the policy, while school districts grapple with details, and some teachers are being wrongfully denied leave. tennesseelookout.com/2023/10/19/c...

Another banger incoming from Meribah Knight

Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan in his second bid for U.S. House speaker on Wednesday failed to win enough support from his fellow Republicans, dropping from 200 votes on the first ballot to 199. tennesseelookout.com/2023/10/18/u...

There are two (or more) ways to look at the 2024 TN Senate race: 1. Blackburn has raised a lot of money ($6.5M in the bank) and solid polling (50%) 2. Johnson raised the money needed to make herself known ($1.3M), and there are a lot of undecideds (25%) tennesseelookout.com/briefs/2024-...