Inside Politics - NewsChannel 5 Plus Nashville

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement will not move forward with a detention center in Lebanon, Wilson County.

Wilson County Mayor Randall Hutto lays out the timeline, beginning with a call from a reporter.
"Maybe this is a thing that we can try to figure out more about," he said.

Hutto, along with other county officials and concerned citizens, began their search for answers. Hutto and Lebanon Mayor Ri...

During a spring rainstorm in May of 2025, The Tennessee Highway Patrol teamed up with Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to what was supposed to be a targeted effort to capture the worst of the worst illegal immigrant criminals. But what NewsChannel 5 Investigates reporter Levi Ismail found from going through 50 hours of law enforcement video may surprise you.

"People were driving 18 miles, 20 mile...

After snow and ice melted and power was restored to most of Nashville-Davidson County, Metro Council Members Emily Benedict (D–District 7) and Courtney Johnston (R–District 26) filed a resolution calling for the Electric Power Board of the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County to terminate Nashville Electric Service (NES) CEO Teresa Broyles-Aplin.

Both council members represe...

Tennessee State Senate Democratic Leader Raumesh Akbari gives her response to the State of the State address on February 2nd.  Governor Lee says our economy is thriving, but Akbari says the cost of electricity, housing and groceries are higher than it's ever been. "About 50% of those who live in the state are really struggling to even pay their regular bills." She hopes that our state can keep up with...

Tennessee Speaker of the House Cameron Sexton lays out the priorities of the Republican Super Majority. Main bills will address the budget, infrastructure, 3-strike legislation to the criminal code for career criminals, expedited specialized teaching degrees for K-6 grades as well as tougher immigration laws. "We need more data, more transparency about how many illegals we have in the state. There's a whole host of bills dealing wi...

In October 2025, Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett sent out a letter to all 181 public libraries calling for an immediate age appropriateness review of all materials in their juvenile/children's sections. While some libraries complied, others had questions about censorship and first amendment issues. In the wake of some school districts banning classic literature and and books about gender identity,...

With the recent military action in Venezuela, what is America's current approach to foreign policy?  Thomas A. Schwartz, Ph.D. Vanderbilt University Professor of Political Science and US Foreign Relations joins host Ben Hall as they discuss how this current action by the Trump administration is different from the Cold War and H.W. Bush's approach in the first Iraqi War.  Schwartz compares Bush engaging with the United Nat...

A comment about a private Facebook post after Charlie Kirk's death causes a UT professor to be suspended. Tamar Shirinian, M.A., Ph.D. thought the University of Tennessee at Knoxville would protect Freedom of Speech as they had done for other employees and protest groups in the past including controversial words spoken by Charlie Kirk earlier in the year. The school is taking action to fire her after publi...

Political Strategist Tucker Karnes, Public Affairs for Cooley Public Strategies breaks down the highly contested TN-07 Congressional Race.  Karnes joins host Ben Hall to analyze the dramatic numbers from the special election comparing them to the November 5, 2024 race between Democrat Megan Barry and Republican Mark Green.  With Megan Barry pulling in over 120,000 votes just a year earlier, the Aftyn Behn campaign's prima...

The fiercely competitive TN-07 Congressional race with Democrat Aftyn Behn and Republican Matt Van Epps is underway. But 4 other names will be on the ballot for the General Election, December 2nd. We continue our coverage by introducing you to 3 of the 4 Independent candidates who want your vote to represent District 7 in Washington. Teresa "Terri" Christi, Jon Thorp and Bobby Dodge join host Ben Hall to t...

In January 2025, Club for Growth a Washington D.C.-based political action committee issued a stark warning to all State Republicans to support Governor Bill Lee's School Freedom Act.

State Representative Jody Barrett who represents Dickson, Hickman and Lewis Counties chose to stand by his constituents and voted "no". Barrett says he is pro-school choice, but "I just didn't like this particular plan. It was...

District 15 State Senator Paul Bailey (R) sent out a press release urging Governor Lee to fund SNAP benefits for Tennesseans after the federal government shutdown, which halted payments November 1st, affecting more than 690,000 Tennesseans - including 20,635 constituents in district 15.  

Bailey's concerns stem from a firsthand look at the crisis during an October visit to a local food bank, where he witnessed empty shelves an...

Republican Primary Winner Matt Van Epps will face Democrat Aftyn Behn December 2nd in the General Election for U.S. Representative for the TN-07 Congressional District. Matt Van Epps returns to Inside Politics to answer more question from host Ben Hall. Van Epps says his experience in the military and small business while still serving National Guard helped him win the primary. Van Epps says his goals if e...

Democratic Primary Winner Rep. Aftyn Behn will face Republican Matt Van Epps Dec. 2nd in the General Election for U.S. Representative for theTN-07 Congressional District.  Aftyn Behn returns to Inside Politics to answer more questions from host Ben Hall.  Behn touts her campaign as "grassroots energy and not taking Corporate PAC money."  She considers herself an angry social worker who will fight for Tennesseans.&nbs...

As Chief Development Officer Bob Mendes wraps up his political career in Nashville government, he's taking stock of the key projects that have reshaped Music City over the past decade and a half.

The numbers tell a compelling story: the Nashville area generates an approximate 40% of Tennessee's income—a fact that hasn't gone unnoticed by state lawmakers creating ongoing tension between state and city...

Nashville’s Chief of Police, John Drake, grew up in Nashville and became a patrol officer in 1988. He has watched how the job has evolved—from the types of crimes patrol officers investigate to the tools they use to make arrests. Drake says his main priorities are reducing crime while maintaining public trust and protecting citizens’ rights. He also weighs in on using the National Guard in American cities to addre...

With the federal government grinding to a halt, Republican Senators and President Trump have not reached a funding deal with Senate Democrats over Healthcare premium subsidies being extended.

Congressman John Rose of TN-06 gives us his opinion why the Federal government shutdown occurred. Host Ben Hall also questions him about releasing the Epstein files and his reaction to Presid...

With President Trump ordering the National Guard to Memphis to solve the crime problem, questions about how to best use this resource and who will be in charge arise. Representative Antonio Parkinson for Dist. 98 Shelby County gives insight to who is involved with making decisions, what military presence will look like in the city and how the Guard will be used.  Plus, Representative Parkinson also di...

Inside Politics concludes a 5 week project to introduce you to the candidates who would like to be your U.S. Representative for TN-07. We offered all Democrat and Republican candidates the opportunity to sit down with Ben Hall for an interview before the Primary election. By random drawing after the interviews were completed, we present the final two candidate’s interviews on Friday, September 19.

Ca...