Newsroom

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Today, Gov. Bill Lee announced that two artificial intelligence (AI) tools with direct ties to the Chinese Communist Party are now banned on the state network. Manus and DeepSeek have been added to a list of foreign-owned platforms that are now strictly prohibited due to serious threats regarding data privacy and cyber security. Tennessee becomes the first state in the Nation to ban the Alibaba-owned Manus platform, which launched earlier today.

NASP State Championships Set to Return to Murfreesboro, March 12-14

NASHVILLE – Unemployment in Tennessee held steady in January, matching the rate from December, according to new data from the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development (TDLWD). The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for the month came in at 3.7%, while December’s rate was revised to 3.7%.

Consistent with the IRS’s decision to extend federal due dates to May 1, 2025, for those businesses located in a designated disaster area resulting from Hurricane Helene, the Department has extended the franchise and excise tax filing and payment due dates to May 1, 2025.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – March 4, 2025 – Seven Tennessee Songwriters Week finalists stunned audiences, and impressed esteemed judges and fellow songwriters with their original songs on stage at showcases across the state, the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development announced today. Songwriter showcases included Lafayette’s Music Room in Memphis, The Bijou Theatre in Knoxville, Paramount Bristol in Bristol, Ole Red in Gatlinburg, Bessie Smith Cultural Center in Chattanooga, Temple Theatre in Portland and The Franklin Theatre in Franklin.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – At the request of the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency, the Tennessee Army National Guard is providing two UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters, from Knoxville’s 1-230th Assault Helicopter Battalion, to support wildfire response in Mountain City.  

The Tennessee Department of Agriculture (TDA) will celebrate Weights and Measures week March 1-7, 2025. This year's theme, ‘Building a Lasting Legacy,’ reflects TDA’s pledge to uphold the highest standards and adapt to new weights and measures technologies.

The Federal National Mortgage Association has discontinued its free market auction system for commitments to purchase conventional home mortgages. Therefore, the Commissioner of Financial Institutions hereby announces that the maximum effective rate of interest per annum for home loans as set by the General Assembly in 1987, Public Chapter 291, for the month of April, 2025 is 8.56 percent per annum. The rate as set by the said law is an amount equal to four percentage points above the index of market yields of long-term government bonds adjusted to a thirty (30) year maturity by the U. S. Department of the Treasury. For the most recent weekly average statistical data available preceding the date of this announcement, the calculated rate is 4.56 percent.

NASHVILLE--Tennessee Department of Financial Institutions Commissioner Greg Gonzales announced today that the maximum effective formula rate of interest in Tennessee is 11.50 percent per annum. The rate is based on a ceiling of 4 percent over the weekly average prime loan rate of 7.50 percent as published by the Federal Reserve on March 3, 2025.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Spring is upon us, and as Tennesseans begin to emerge from winter’s hibernation, the Tennessee Department of Transportation’s (TDOT) Nobody Trashes Tennessee (NTT) campaign encourages residents to get outside and do their part to keep our roadways and waterways clean safe, and litter-free.