Severe storms that tore through central Tennessee killed six people Saturday and sent about two dozen to the hospital as homes and businesses were severely damaged in multiple cities.

A federal judge quietly cleared the way to drop the minimum age to 18 for Tennesseans to carry handguns in public without a permit the same day Nashville residents were reeling from a fatal grade school shooting that left six dead, including three children.

The Tennessee National Guard says one of their Black Hawk helicopters crashed in Alabama, killing two crew members.

Despite having some of the lowest COVID-19 vaccination rates in the country, Tennessee isn’t planning to offer any incentives for people to get the shot.

Two Tennessee Republican lawmakers have said they received assurance that the state Department of Health won’t vaccinate children for COVID-19 without parental consent.

The Republican governor said Saturday, Dec. 19, 2020, that he has tested negative for the virus but will be quarantined at the Governors Residence out of an abundance of caution. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)NASHVILLE, Tenn. – As their state faced one of its toughest months of the pandemic, Tennesseans watched Gov. It was late December, and the state’s hospitals were bursting at the seams with virus patients. The governor is quick to point out the state’s swift COVID-19 vaccine rollout, praising Tennessee for being among the country’s leaders in distributing the immunizations. If that isn’t important to you, Governor Lee, then what is?”___Associated Press writers Jonathan Mattise and Travis Loller contributed to this report.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The White House quietly told Tennessee early this week that “a statewide mask mandate must be implemented" to curb its growing spread of COVID-19, strong instructions that the White House and governor did not discuss publicly before the report emerged in a records request. In a statement late Friday, the governor's office said the White House report had not altered his thinking. Previous White House reports dating back to the summer have included similar recommendations, so the inclusion here is not novel." Earlier in the week, the governor and his health commissioner downplayed the importance of releasing those White House “red zone” reports. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. The wife of singer-songwriter John Prine, who died from complications of COVID-19, urged lawmakers Tuesday to expand absentee voting so Tennesseans would not have to put their health at risk to exercise their right to vote. This is not nor should it be a partisan issue, said Whelan Prine, who spoke over a video livestream and did not attend in person. Shortly after Whelan Prine finished speaking, the Senate committee spiked an absentee ballot expansion proposal. The state has more than a dozen categories that qualify someone for an absentee ballot, from being sick to being 60 or older. The Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and the Campaign Legal Center also have sued in federal court seeking absentee voting for all voters this year.