By J. Holly McCall | Editor-in-Chief
Good morning, Lookout readers.
Occasionally, the news isn’t big: it’s not redistricting and wars and legislative sessions. Sometimes, the news is about every day, kitchen table issues, and that’s where we start this week.
In one story, Cassandra Stephenson reports residents of nearly one third of Tennessee’s 95 counties are eligible to apply for funds from the federal government to help pay for damages caused by January’s catastrophic ice storm.
And Adam Friedman takes a look at the state’s economy, finding that the number of unemployed Tennesseans has increased and more than 40,000 have left the work force entirely. He talks to experts from the University of Tennessee about why.
THE LOOKOUT’S TOP STORY
A fallen tree lies across a road in Nashville, Tennessee on Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026. Thousands of Nashvillians were left without power for more than a week after Winter Storm Fern. (Photo: John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout)
by Cassandra Stephenson
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has obligated more than $36 million in disaster assistance to Tennesseans affected by a January severe winter storm since President Donald Trump approved individual assistance on April 11.
NEWS AND NOTES
Trump’s ‘anti-weaponization’ fund blocked for now by federal judge | Jonathan Shorman, States Newsroom
Inside the fight against ‘zombie deer disease,’ scientists confront changing politics | Elise Plunk, Louisiana Illuminator
Rental rates and abortion laws: Dems scrutinize states vying to go first in picking a president | Jennifer Shutt, States Newsroom
AI Public Use Fund Board Conflicted on Community Impact Recommendations | Kailynn Johnson, Memphis Flyer
FEATURED ON THE LOOKOUT
A sluggishness in job numbers can partially be attributed to the crackdown on immigrants, says a University of Tennessee expert. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images
by Adam Friedman
Tennessee’s unemployment rate remains at 3.6%, but for the fifth month in a row, the number of people employed statewide has dropped, newly released data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows.
Commentary
Former Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen, photographed during his 2018 U.S. Senate run, won all 95 counties in his 2006 gubernatorial reelection race and remains highly-thought of in the state, bur rarely addresses controversial issues.(Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
by J. Holly McCall
Tennessee has a crop of former governors and U.S. senators who are often referred to as statesmen. With nothing to lose, they could use their platforms to speak out on critical state issues, yet they don’t.
ICYMI
COMMENTARY
Freedom Summer 2.0: Tennessee and the redemption of democratic possibility | Rev. Earle Fisher
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