NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Gov. Bill Lee has reversed course by announcing that Tennessee will release data on COVID-19 in schools despite initially declaring that information would not be collected by the state.

The move marks yet another concession from the Republican’s administration to be more transparent.

Lee’s state health agency had stated last week that it would not collect nor report data regarding the virus in schools, which are in the early stages of opening for the new school year.

More than ever, it’s imperative to reinforce the truth that the blues, a creation of African-Americans, is the foundation upon which our popular music was built, with infinitely more appropriation than compensation. We’d make a mistake though to think of the blues, a genre of genres with 19th century roots, as atavistic and arcane, a music for recycling and mere preservation. Adia Victoria’s vision of the blues is as defiant as the music ever was, and not here for the comfort or consolation of those who’ve institutionalized the commerce that supports the art.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Mike Osborne)  --  Tennessee State President Glenda Glover has fired off an angry open letter to the campaign of presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden.

Former Senator Chris Dodd, a member of the panel helping Biden choose his vice presidential running mate, touched off a political fire storm last week when he questioned whether Biden VP front-runner Senator Kamala Harris was a viable candidate.

Dodd wondered if Harris would be loyal to Biden given the way she aggressively attacked him in the primaries.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Mike Osborne)  --  The Metro Council will vote Tuesday night on a plan to shift $10 million dollars from Nashville’s pandemic stimulus funding to help out of work Davidson County residents pay their rent or mortgage.

The Tennessean reports the recommendation is the first made by the nine member committee formed to help disperse the $121 million the city received in federal CARES Act relief aid.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Mike Osborne)  --  Metro Nashville’s 85,000 students started their school year Tuesday, but the hallways and classrooms of the system’s nearly 140 school buildings will remain empty and quiet.

Metro made the decision in early July to begin the school year with students studying remotely online.

MNPS initially planned to give families the option of having their children attend either in-person or remotely. However, a sharp jump in new cases of COVID-19 citywide in late June and early July scuttled those plans.

WASHINGTON, DC (Mike Osborne)  --  In an odd political twist, two members of Tennessee’s congressional delegation have expressed out-of-character reactions to President Donald Trump’s firing Monday of the Tennessee Valley Authority Board Chairman.

President Trump blasted TVA Monday for hiring “foreign” contract workers. He also complained that the board chair’s $8 million salary was excessive.

TVA facilities provide electricity to Tennessee and parts of six other southern states.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Monday that he had fired the chair of the Tennessee Valley Authority, criticizing the federal-owned corporation for hiring foreign workers.

Trump told reporters at the White House that he was formally removing chair Skip Thompson and another member of the board, and he threatened to remove other board members if they continued to hire foreign labor. Thompson was appointed to the post by Trump.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A Tennessee trauma surgeon running for an open Senate seat is calling for President Donald Trump to fire the nation’s leading top infectious diseases expert amid a pandemic.

Dr. Manny Sethi attacked Dr. Anthony Fauci during a campaign event over the weekend in Knoxville. Sethi is one of the top candidates running to replace outgoing Republican U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, who is retiring at the end of his term.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A report says the majority of Tennessee's new reported COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are now in areas outside of the Nashville and Memphis metro areas.

The Vanderbilt University report released Monday says that the outbreak in Tennessee began concentrated in large urban areas but has moved into more rural communities with fewer health care resources.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Mike Osborne)  --  Tennessee’s 2020 Primary and General Elections are set for this Thursday, but many of the state’s voters have already cast their ballots.

Thursday’s voting includes state and federal primaries, along with state and county general elections.

The number of voters taking advantage of early and absentee voting statewide is twice what was seen in 2016, the last presidential election year.