NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Mike Osborne)  --  Nashville Mayor John Cooper responded Thursday to public frustration over the slow pace of the city’s COVID-19 vaccination effort.

Cooper told reporters Metro has the infrastructure in place to inoculate residents faster. However, the mayor said the city just isn’t getting enough vaccines to move any faster.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Mike Osborne)  --  Gov. Bill Lee has revealed a portion of his agenda for the special legislative session on education he’s ordered to begin this coming Tuesday.

Lee on Thursday released three proposals he hopes will begin to address problems experienced by the state’s K-12 school children. Those problems have been exacerbated by the pandemic.

Jazz, pop, soul, blues… it’s all part of the sound from MELD – the music moniker for Melanie Dewey, a Nashville songwriter and musician with a rich and bold voice. Bold lyrically, musically and visually as evidenced in the gorgeous deep blue colors in her album artwork. The image evokes a cool bluesy jazz sound which is just part of the blend in this unique artist’s style. In a trying year for her personally, in addition to the collective stress of living through a pandemic and contentious election season, MELD released her debut full length album, Words of The Water.

WASHINGTON, DC. (Mike Osborne)  -- All seven of Tennessee’s Republican Congressional Reps. voted against Wednesday’s impeachment of President Donald Trump. The state’s two Democratic Reps. voted in favor.

Their comments about the impeachment ranged from defiant to conciliatory.

Mid-state Republican Rep. Scott DesJarlais called the impeachment “frivolous” and a “waste of taxpayer money.”

Nashville Democrat Jim Cooper called the president a “threat to America,” and concluded he “cannot be allowed to continue to continue to assault our democracy.”

NASVHILLE, Tenn. (Mike Osborne)  -- The number of Tennesseans hospitalized for COVID-19 has fallen eight consecutive days, but the number of virus related fatalities continues to climb.

As of Thursday morning, the number of virus patients statewide had fallen below 3,000 for the first time since late December. New data released overnight shows 741 Tennesseans in ICU, with 430 on respirators.

On the down side, COVID-19 related deaths are on pace to set new all-time highs this month.

NASVHILLE, Tenn. (Mike Osborne)  -- Tennessee Attorney General Herbert Slattery on Wednesday condemned last week’s attack on the U.S Capitol Building and vowed that mob violence would not go “unchecked.”

Slattery is one of 48 state AG’s to sign a letter pledging their support to U.S. Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen as he leads the investigation of the riot.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Mike Osborne)  --  A prominent, Nashville-based Christian Evangelical leader is calling on Donald Trump to resign following last week’s attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Dr. Russell Moore heads the influential Southern Baptist Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission. He has been one of the few evangelical leaders to consistently question President Donald Trump’s actions during his term in office.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Mike Osborne)  --  New details emerged Tuesday concerning Nashville’s COVID-19 vaccination appointment system.

In addition to the appointment plan, Metro has also launched a standby vaccination list in an effort to ensure that scarce doses of the vaccine never go to waste.

However, new details from health officials via social media reveal that there will never be more than four Nashvillians selected from the standby list on any given day. 

NASVHILLE, Tenn. (Mike Osborne)  --  Nashville Police on Tuesday arrested a second suspect in connection with the early December shooting death of a Nashville nurse on I-440.

Authorities said in a social media post that 28-year-old James Cowan was captured at an Antioch apartment complex late Tuesday night.

NASVHILLE, Tenn. (Mike Osborne)  --  Tennessee’s COVID-19 case counts, hospitalizations and deaths are all spiking again.

State health officials reported 734 virus related fatalities this past week, a new all-time record. Metro Nashville also recorded a new high of 48 deaths during the week that ended Saturday.

The number of Tennesseans admitted to hospitals statewide jumped 20 percent last week. As of Tuesday morning, there were 741 patients in ICU across the state, with 429 on respirators.