By J. Holly McCall | Editor-in-Chief
Good morning, Lookout readers.
Suddenly, it seems like data centers are popping up across Tennessee just like toadstools have after recent rains.
First, it was Elon Musk’s massive xAI in Memphis, a project that has engendered lawsuits and requests for government intervention over health concerns: the centers release particulate matter, airborne droplets and particles found to worsen asthma and other chronic conditions, and formaldehyde.
The announcement of plans to site a data center near the Nashville Zoo has drawn explosive pushback with even U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, a candidate for governor, urging care about it.
In a video, Blackburn also said many communities across the state want data centers. That may be true but when researching today’s lead story, Cassandra Stephenson found plenty of communities who adamantly do not want them and are passing moratoriums on approval of data centers, including in rural parts of Warren and Coffee Counties and in Knox County.
THE LOOKOUT’S TOP STORY
xAI parked 27 unpermitted turbines in the Memphis suburb of Southaven, Miss., to power the company’s nearby datacenter. (Evan Simon / Floodlight)
by Cassandra Stephenson
Local governments in Tennessee are pausing data center development after outcry from residents while officials determine how to regulate the resource-intensive facilities.
NEWS AND NOTES
Firearms drive majority of veteran suicides, federal data shows | Amanda Watford, Stateline
Judge blocks Trump’s ‘anti-weaponization’ fund until government agrees it’s been dissolved | Ashley Murray, States Newsroom
FEATURED IN THE LOOKOUT
Tennessee continues to get lawsuits challenging legislative action with five new laws facing legal action. (Photo: John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout)
by Adam Friedman
Tennessee officials were sued again this week, marking five laws passed by the state legislature in 2026 facing legal challenges. The latest lawsuit challenges the legality of a new law that would impose a $10 fee and 2% tax on international money transfers.
COMMENTARY
Rep. Bud Hulsey, a Kingsport Republican retiring in 2026, sponsored a resolution to name June “Nuclear Family Month.” (Photo: John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout)
by Gabe Hart
I’ve been a full-time single father for the last five years. My daughter moved to Tennessee to live with me after her 8th-grade year. Being a parent to her, by myself, is singularly the most joyful experience I’ve ever had and state declaration of June as “Nuclear Family Month” that denigrates single parent families is a needless attack.
ICYMI
COMMENTARY
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