WASHINGTON (AP) — Control of Congress and the future of Donald Trump's presidency are on the line as the primary season closes this week, jump-starting a two-month sprint to Election Day that will test Democrats' ability to harness opposition to Trump and determine whether the Republican president can get his supporters to the polls.

2. Texas Democrat Beto O'Rourke Shakes Up Senate Race With Cruz - Tuesday, September 4, 2018

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — If elections were decided by viral videos and fawning media profiles, Democrat Beto O'Rourke would win Texas' Senate race in a landslide.

Video of the candidate defending NFL players' right to protest during the national anthem had been viewed by millions even before NBA star LeBron James called it a "must-watch." Another of O'Rourke, a three-term congressman, cruising through a Whataburger parking lot on a skateboard is almost as popular, increasing the onetime punk rocker's already considerable street cred.

3. 'Game of Thrones' Slays With a Leading 22 Emmy Nominations - Friday, July 13, 2018

LOS ANGELES (AP) — "Game of Thrones" roared back onto the Emmy battlefield, topping Thursday's nominations with 22 bids but with a formidable opponent in last year's winner "The Handmaid's Tale," while a streaming platform made history by earning the most bids for the first time.

4. Trump Closes in on Supreme Court Pick; 3 Judges Top List - Friday, July 6, 2018

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is closing in on his next Supreme Court nominee, with three federal judges leading the competition to replace retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy.

5. Ryan sets House vote on GOP immigration bill for Wednesday - Wednesday, June 27, 2018

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Paul Ryan scheduled a long-awaited showdown vote on a broad Republican immigration bill for Wednesday, but is showing little confidence that the package will survive.

6. Decision to Add Citizenship Question to Census Draws Protest - Wednesday, March 28, 2018

WASHINGTON (AP) – The 2020 U.S. Census will add a question about citizenship status, a move that brought swift condemnation from Democrats who said it would intimidate immigrants and discourage them from participating.

7. Mueller Examining Cambridge Analytica, Trump Campaign Ties - Friday, March 23, 2018

WASHINGTON (AP) – Special counsel Robert Mueller is scrutinizing the connections between President Donald Trump's campaign and the data mining firm Cambridge Analytica, which has come under fierce criticism over reports that it swiped the data of more than 50 million Facebook users to sway elections.

8. House Committee Calls for Facebook's Zuckerberg to Testify - Friday, March 23, 2018

WASHINGTON (AP) – The leaders of a key House committee declared Thursday that Facebook officials failed to answers questions about a privacy scandal involving a Trump-connected data-mining company, and they want CEO Mark Zuckerberg to testify before the panel.

9. The Next Four Years - Saturday, November 18, 2017

A week before candidates for the 2018 Shelby County elections could pull qualifying petitions to run, Shelby County Commissioner David Reaves was thinking out loud on Facebook.

“Next four years,” was how it began.

10. GOP Leaders Add Penalty for Lapsed Coverage to Health Bill - Tuesday, June 27, 2017

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican leaders added a penalty for people who've let their insurance lapse Monday as party leaders prepared to begin pushing their health care measure through the Senate, despite a rebellion within GOP ranks.

11. GOP Pushes 2 Top Cabinet Picks Through to Full Senate - Thursday, February 2, 2017

WASHINGTON (AP) – Republicans jammed two of President Donald Trump's top Cabinet picks through the Senate Finance Committee with no Democrats in the room Wednesday after suspending a rule that would have otherwise barred them from taking the vote. The tactic seemed a warning shot that they might deploy brute political muscle in the upcoming fight over the Supreme Court vacancy.

12. Presidential Election Tops Busy Year for Memphis Voters - Friday, December 30, 2016

2016 was an eventful election year in Shelby County, ending with the most popular voting cycle in Shelby County politics: the U.S. presidential general election in November. Slightly more than 60 percent of the county’s voters cast a ballot either during early voting in October or on the Nov. 8 Election Day.

13. The Fading Accuracy of Political Polling - Thursday, September 8, 2016

Joe Carr says he couldn’t believe the deficit when U.S. Rep. Diane Black trounced him in the August election to recapture Tennessee’s 6th Congressional District seat.

14. AP Explains: Bias Complaints On Facebook's 'Trending' Tool - Thursday, May 12, 2016

NEW YORK (AP) – What's behind the accusations that Facebook is manipulating its "trending topics" feature to promote or suppress certain political perspectives?

According to the technology blog Gizmodo , which is owned by Gawker Media, a former Facebook contractor with self-described conservative leanings said Facebook downplayed news that conservatives are interested in and artificially promoted liberal issues such as the "BlackLivesMatter" hashtag. Gizmodo did not name this person.

15. Lawmakers Lure Us In With Momentary Sanity, And Then... - Thursday, April 7, 2016

Just when it appears the Tennessee Senate is made up of sensible people – as evidenced by the killing of de-annexation legislation – the body is changing course with a Bible-thumping measure.

16. Election Commission Certifies March Results - Saturday, March 26, 2016

Shelby County Election commissioners certified Monday, March 21, the results of the March 1 presidential primaries and the countywide primaries for General Sessions Court Clerk in Shelby County.

In the Republican presidential primary, Donald Trump carried Shelby County with rival Ted Cruz a close second, followed by Marco Rubio. Trump carried the state by a wider margin.

17. Election Commission Certifies March Election Results - Wednesday, March 23, 2016

Shelby County Election commissioners certified Monday, March 21, the results of the March 1 presidential primaries and the countywide primaries for General Sessions Court Clerk in Shelby County.

In the Republican presidential primary, Donald Trump carried Shelby County with rival Ted Cruz a close second, followed by Marco Rubio. Trump carried the state by a wider margin.

18. Gov. Haslam Takes Issue With Trump on Immigration, Abortion - Friday, March 4, 2016

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam said Wednesday that Donald Trump would need to make major policy changes before he could consider supporting the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination.

19. Trump And Clinton Take Tennessee, Shelby County - Thursday, March 3, 2016

He drew 10,000 people to a Millington aircraft hangar last weekend. And Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump got about twice as many votes in Shelby County in Tuesday’s Tennessee primaries.

20. Trump, Clinton Carry Shelby in Tennessee Primaries - Wednesday, March 2, 2016

A lot of walk-up business at the polls Tuesday, March 1, meant some late election results for Shelby County in the Tennessee presidential primaries.

But there was little doubt about the outcome statewide even though the Republican primary was close in Shelby County.

21. Clinton Visits Churches, Trump Rallies In Millington - Monday, February 29, 2016

Democratic presidential front runner Hillary Clinton made surprise appearances at two Memphis churches Sunday, Feb. 28, the day after Republican presidential front runner Donald Trump drew a crowd of 10,000 less than 12 hours earlier in Millington.

22. Trump Rallies 10,000 In Millington - Saturday, February 27, 2016

Republican presidential front runner Donald Trump told a crowd of 10,000 in a hangar at the Millington Regional Jetport that the Republican Party is different and larger because of his supporters.

“We’ve got a Republican party but a lot of outsiders are coming in because they like what I say. We’re going to get a lot of people coming in and we don’t care where they’re coming from. We have to win, right?” Trump said. “We’re going to get independents. We’re going to get Democrats. Remember the term Reagan Democrats? … If you don’t get them, you’re really not going to win, folks.”

23. The Moving Election - Saturday, February 27, 2016

The Trump balloons were a late arrival to the Shelby County Republican party’s annual Lincoln Day Gala, the local party’s largest annual fundraiser.

They were an unsubtle accent in a room of 500 people where unabashed hand-to-hand campaigning kept the buzz of conversation at a steady level for most of the evening.

24. Last Word: Early Voting Begins, Marc Gasol's Right Foot and TNReady's Problem - Wednesday, February 10, 2016

Trump and Sanders win big in New Hampshire with a Republican scramble for second the only matter to be decided in the nation’s first Presidential primaries. That as the road to Tennessee begins to see some traffic in the distance.
Meanwhile, Marc Gasol goes from a “right mid-foot injury” on the Grizzlies DL to a fractured right foot.

25. Early Voting Opens in Tennessee Presidential Primaries - Wednesday, February 10, 2016

Tennesseans can begin casting their ballots in the presidential primaries on Wednesday, Feb. 10, the day after the votes were counted in New Hampshire on the political road to the summer conventions.

26. Last Word: Post Caucus, Fincher's Exit, 1919 Handwriting and Your Rolodex - Tuesday, February 2, 2016

That close (very little light between index finger and thumb) between Clinton and Sanders in Iowa Monday evening.
Both live to fight another day in another state—New Hampshire.
And because it is Iowa – they each get to declare victory as long as they don’t go into a lot of detail about the totals.
This is one of those cases where it is like horsehoes and hand grenades – close does count.

27. Tennessee Dems Want Eligibility Check on Presidential Ballot - Monday, January 25, 2016

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Two Tennessee Democrats want to pass a law to require the state to enforce the U.S. Constitution's "natural born citizen" requirement on this November's presidential ballot.

28. Last Word: 7 Dead in North Mississippi, City Hall Shuffle Continues, Another UCI Exit - Thursday, December 24, 2015

With first light Christmas Eve in North Mississippi the death toll from the Wednesday storm and tornadoes rose to seven with more than 40 injured, that according to Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant who has declared a state of emergency.

29. Cruz Touts Support for Arming Service Members in Tennessee - Thursday, December 24, 2015

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz on Tuesday touted his support for allowing service members to be armed following last summer's shootings in Chattanooga.

30. Last Word: Santa's Bag, Google at Hemlock and the 20 Percent Threshold - Wednesday, December 23, 2015

Last Word is a new daily online column that offers an overview of what’s happened at the end of shift, so to speak. Picture a dimly lit newsroom in the Downtown night and the last person in the place leaving a memo for the morning shift and you have a pretty good idea of what we are aiming for.

31. Sen. Cruz Brings Campaign Tour Through Tennessee, Arkansas - Wednesday, December 23, 2015

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz is bringing his campaign tour through Tennessee and Arkansas.

32. Vanderbilt Poll Finds Support for Modest Gas Tax Increase - Monday, December 7, 2015

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – As Gov. Bill Haslam crisscrosses the state trying to build support for a gas tax increase, a new Vanderbilt University poll finds voters are willing to pay more to improve roads and bridges.

33. Presidential Primary Ballot Set in Tennessee - Thursday, December 3, 2015

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — When Tennessee voters go to the polls for the March 1 presidential primary, they will be able to choose among either 14 Republicans or three Democrats.

Secretary of State Tre Hargett on Tuesday released the final list of candidates that will appear on the Super Tuesday ballot.

34. The Week Ahead: Nov. 16, 2015 - Monday, November 16, 2015

How was your weekend, Memphis? Here’s our weekly rundown of local happenings you need to know about, from a Stax lecture on music and the Vietnam War to Hillary Clinton’s visit…

35. 2016 Elections Already Taking Shape - Tuesday, October 13, 2015

Back in September, when the Memphis mayor’s race was still a race, Shelby County General Sessions Court clerk Ed Stanton walked out of his office at the Shelby County Courthouse, crossed both cratered and potholed lanes of Washington Avenue, entered the Shelby County Election Commission offices and kicked off the 2016 campaign season.

36. Cruz Rallies Standing-Room-Only Agricenter Crowd - Wednesday, August 12, 2015

Republican presidential contender Ted Cruz complained of “bipartisan corruption” and “the party of Washington” this week at a Memphis rally at Agricenter International that drew a standing-room-only crowd of more than 500.

37. Piano-Playing Senator's Latest Tune: New Education Policy - Tuesday, July 7, 2015

WASHINGTON (AP) – How does a musician-senator fill the time during yet another partisan Senate stalemate?

In Sen. Lamar Alexander's case, he sits down at a borrowed piano in his Capitol Hill office and, with a grin, bangs out "The Memphis Blues."

38. Trade Bill Clears Senate Hurdle, At Brink of Final Passage - Wednesday, June 24, 2015

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate pushed bipartisan trade legislation to the brink of final approval Tuesday in a combined effort by President Barack Obama and Republican congressional leaders to rescue a measure that appeared all but dead less than two weeks ago.

39. Congress OKs Bill Reshaping Medicare Doctors' Fees - Thursday, April 16, 2015

WASHINGTON (AP) – Conservatives hated that it's expected to swell federal deficits over the coming decade. Liberals complained that it shortchanged health programs for children and women.

40. Jindal Offers Political Red Meat On Foreign Policy - Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Some politicians considering a bid for president will talk a lot about the details of running a nationwide campaign at a point like this – more than a year and a half until the Presidential general election but less than a year out from the Presidential primaries.

41. Bid to End Tennessee Carry Permit Requirement Fails in House - Friday, March 13, 2015

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – A proposal to eliminate Tennessee's requirement to obtain a state-issued permit to openly carry handguns was defeated in a House subcommittee on Wednesday.

Republican Rep. Micah Van Huss Jonesborough said he introduced the measure because he believes that "current laws here in Tennessee infringe on the Second Amendment of our U.S. Constitution."

42. Senate Democrats Agree to GOP Plan to Fund Homeland Department - Thursday, February 26, 2015

WASHINGTON (AP) – Senate Democrats on Wednesday signed onto a Republican plan to fund the Homeland Security Department without the immigration provisions opposed by President Barack Obama. The announcement by Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid put the Senate on track to pass the bill as a partial agency shutdown looms Friday at midnight.

43. Obama Calls for Tougher Internet Regulation - Tuesday, November 11, 2014

WASHINGTON (AP) – President Barack Obama on Monday embraced a radical change in how the government treats Internet service, coming down on the side of consumer activists who fear slower download speeds and higher costs but angering Republicans and the nation's cable giants who say the plan would kill jobs.

44. Obama and the Midterms: What's At Stake? - Tuesday, October 14, 2014

WASHINGTON (AP) – For President Barack Obama, the stark reality of the looming midterm elections is that the best outcome for his party gets him nothing but two more years of the status quo.

45. Congress Races to Finish VA, Highway Bills - Friday, August 1, 2014

WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress ran full-tilt into election-year gridlock over immigration Thursday and headed toward a five-week summer break with no agreement in sight on legislation to cope with the influx of young immigrants flocking illegally to the United States.

46. Senate Reprieve for Highly Contested Border Bill - Thursday, July 31, 2014

WASHINGTON (AP) — A bill to deal with the immigration surge on the U.S.-Mexico border won a temporary reprieve in the Senate Wednesday as lawmakers maneuvered to offer some response to the crisis before adjourning for the summer.

47. Senate Sponsor Says Compromise Near on Common Core - Thursday, March 27, 2014

NASHVILLE (AP) – The Senate sponsor of a contentious proposal to delay further implementation of Tennessee's Common Core education standards for two years said Tuesday that a compromise is close on the legislation.

48. Common Core Spawns Widespread Political Fights - Tuesday, March 25, 2014

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — More than five years after U.S. governors began a bipartisan effort to set new standards in American schools, the Common Core initiative has morphed into a political tempest fueling division among Republicans.

49. Senate Clears Debt Limit Measure for Obama - Thursday, February 13, 2014

WASHINGTON (AP) – After a dramatic Senate tally in which top GOP leaders cast the crucial votes, must-pass legislation to allow the government to borrow money to pay its bills cleared Congress Wednesday for President Barack Obama's signature.

50. Health Care Tactics Split Republican Senate Rivals - Friday, December 27, 2013

ATLANTA (AP) – Republicans who want to regain control of the Senate will first have to do battle among themselves in 2014 primary elections, due largely to differences over how to proceed against the law they deride as "Obamacare."

51. Bipartisan Budget Agreement Nears Final Passage - Thursday, December 19, 2013

WASHINGTON (AP) – The Senate lined up Wednesday to give final congressional approval to legislation scaling back across-the-board cuts on programs ranging from the Pentagon to the national park system, adding a late dusting of bipartisanship to a year more likely to be remembered for a partial government shutdown and near-perpetual gridlock.

52. Health Care Debate Has Trust, Politics Themes, Too - Tuesday, December 10, 2013

WASHINGTON (AP) – For months, the talk was all about computer code. About response times. About glitches and bugs.

People who didn't know a URL from an http were blithely expounding on software snags and web design, thanks to the clunky launch of healthcare.gov, the insurance marketplace for the government's big health care overhaul.

53. Shutdown Over, Obama Surveys Damage and Blames GOP - Friday, October 18, 2013

WASHINGTON (AP) – The government unlocked its doors Thursday after 16 days, with President Barack Obama saluting the resolution of Congress' bitter standoff but lambasting Republicans for the partial shutdown that he said had damaged the U.S. economy and America's credibility around the world.

54. A Deal: Voting to Avoid Default, Open Government - Thursday, October 17, 2013

WASHINGTON (AP) – Up against one last deadline, Congress raced to pass legislation Wednesday avoiding a threatened national default and ending a 16-day partial government shutdown along the strict terms set by President Barack Obama when the twin crises began.

55. New House GOP Plan as Debt-Limit Deadline Nears - Wednesday, October 16, 2013

WASHINGTON (AP) – Time growing desperately short, House Republicans pushed for passage of legislation late Tuesday to prevent a threatened Treasury default, end a 15-day partial government shutdown and extricate divided government from its latest brush with a full political meltdown.

56. Poll: No Heroes in Shutdown, GOP Gets Most Blame - Thursday, October 10, 2013

WASHINGTON (AP) – President Barack Obama and lawmakers must rise above their incessant bickering and do more to end the partial government shutdown, according to a poll Wednesday that places the brunt of the blame on Republicans but finds no one standing tall in Washington.

57. Obama Says Talks OK – After Default Threat Averted - Wednesday, October 9, 2013

WASHINGTON (AP) – After weeks of gridlock, House Republicans floated broad hints Tuesday they might be willing to pass short-term legislation re-opening the government and averting a default in exchange for immediate talks with the Obama administration on reducing deficits and changing the three-year-old health care law.

58. Boehner: House Won't Pass 'Clean' Spending Bill - Friday, September 27, 2013

WASHINGTON (AP) – House Republicans will not simply pass a temporary spending bill from the Democratic Senate after it is shorn clean of a tea party plan to "defund Obamacare," House Speaker John Boehner said on Thursday.

59. Senate Clears Hurdle on Stopgap Spending Bill - Thursday, September 26, 2013

WASHINGTON (AP) – The Senate has cleared a hurdle on a stopgap spending bill that would avert a government shutdown and unravel President Barack Obama's health care law.

The vote was 100-0 and came an hour after freshman Sen. Ted Cruz ended his 21-hour, 19-minute filibuster. Cruz supports the bill but used a stalling tactic to postpone the inevitable – Democratic leader Harry Reid has the votes to strip out the defund Obamacare provision and send the spending bill back to the House.

60. One Week to Go Until Government Shutdown Deadline - Tuesday, September 24, 2013

WASHINGTON (AP) – With a week left to hammer out a deal to avoid a government shutdown, some lawmakers seem resigned – if not rushing – to that end.

Most say they don't want the first government shutdown since 1996. But if the government happens to shut down, so be it. Republicans say it is part of their effort to dismantle Democrats' health care overhaul, while Democrats defending the law recall that similar standoffs gave them political gains.

61. GOP House: Keep Government Open, Hit 'Obamacare' - Monday, September 23, 2013

WASHINGTON (AP) – Charting a collision course with the White House, the Republican-controlled House approved legislation Friday to wipe out the three-year-old health care law that President Barack Obama has vowed to preserve – and simultaneously prevent a partial government shutdown that neither party claims to want.

62. Dodge Default, Defund Obamacare, GOP Leaders Say - Thursday, September 19, 2013

WASHINGTON (AP) – House Republicans vowed Wednesday to pass legislation that would prevent a partial government shutdown and avoid a historic national default while simultaneously canceling out Obamacare, inaugurating a new round of political brinkmanship as critical deadlines approach.

63. Senate, House Ensnared in Health Care Controversy - Wednesday, September 18, 2013

WASHINGTON (AP) – Implacable Republican opposition to Obamacare has Congress once more veering closer to gridlock.

In the House, more than 50 conservatives support tacking a one-year delay in implementing the health care law onto a bill needed to prevent a partial government shutdown on Oct. 1.

64. Tea Party Set to Audition Challengers for Alexander - Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Tennessee Tea Party and national conservative groups are hoping to find the Volunteer State equivalent of a Rand Paul or a Ted Cruz to mount a primary challenge to U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn.