Travis Loller, Author at The Rapid City Post

An envelope from a Black soldier stationed in Alabama written to his wife in Nashville in 1942 shows a stamp that says "Idle Gossip Sinks Ships" Monday, Feb. 9, 2026 in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Kristin M. Hall)

Letters from a WWII soldier to his sweetheart offer an intimate picture of love during wartime

February 10, 2026

A trove of more than 200 letters from World War II that were found in a Tennessee home offers an intimate picture of love during wartime. Ray Whittaker attended school at the historically Black Meharry Medical College in Nashville. There he met and dated another student, Jane Dean. They lost contact for a time, but he wrote to her in 1942, stating that he was in the Army. Soon he was professing his love. A short four months later, they were married. The letters from their courtship and early marriage were donated to the Metro Nashville archive. Several are now on display digitally through the Nashville Public Library.

FILE - A person holds an American flag and a Mexico flag at a news conference, in Chicago, Sept. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)

Explainer: Why are many Hispanic surnames formed from 2 names and how does that work in the US?

February 6, 2026

The latest census estimates show more than 68 million people in the U.S. identify as ethnically Hispanic. And many of them follow the tradition of using two surnames. The first surname comes from the father and the second from the mother. In the U.S., Hispanic residents with two surnames often use just their father’s name. But because that name comes first, people sometimes assume it is a middle name. To avoid that problem, some people continue to use both surnames. Still others hyphenate the two names. Occasionally people even squish the two names together.

Kilmar Abrego Garcia and his wife Jennifer Vasquez Sura leave the United States District Court District of Maryland, Monday, Dec. 22, 2025, in Greenbelt, Md. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

DOJ pushed to prosecute Kilmar Abrego Garcia only after mistaken deportation, judge’s order says

December 30, 2025

A newly unsealed order in the criminal case against Kilmar Abrego Garcia reveals that high level Justice Department officials pushed for his indictment only after he was mistakenly deported and then ordered returned to the U.S. Abrego Garcia has pleaded not guilty to charges of human smuggling. He is seeking to have the case dismissed on the grounds that the prosecution is vindictive. The newly unsealed order sheds new light on the decision to prosecute. It reveals emails from top DOJ officials calling the criminal case a “top priority” in April. That was after the U.S. Supreme Court ordered the administration to work to bring Abrego Garcia back from El Salvador.

FILE - This undated photo released by the Tennessee Department of Corrections shows Harold Wayne Nichols in Tennessee. (Tennessee Department of Corrections via the Chattanooga Free Press via AP, File)

Tennessee to execute a man who confessed to 1980s rapes and a murder

December 10, 2025

Tennessee is preparing to execute Harold Wayne Nichols by lethal injection for the 1988 rape and murder of 20-year-old Karen Pulley. Nichols confessed to killing Pulley as well as raping several other women in the Chattanooga area. Although he expressed remorse at trial, he admitted that he would have continued his violent behavior had he not been arrested. He was sentenced to death in 1990. His execution is scheduled to take place on Thursday. His attorneys unsuccessfully sought to have his sentence commuted to life in prison. They cited the fact that he took responsibility for his crimes and pleaded guilty.

Lisette Monroe lost her beloved sister to murder. She hopes an execution will bring some peace

December 2, 2025

Lisette Monroe was a 23-year-old new mother in 1988 when she lost her beloved little sister in the most horrific way possible. Karen Pulley was raped and murdered. The man who did it was later arrested for a string of other rapes and burglaries around Chattanooga, Tennessee. He confessed his crimes to the police. Now, more than 37 years later, Harold Nichols is scheduled to be executed by the state of Tennessee. Monroe knows the pain of losing Karen will never completely go away. Still, she hopes that Nichols’ death, and the end of countless court battles, will bring some peace.

FILE - This undated photo released by the Tennessee Department of Corrections shows Harold Nichols in Tennessee. (Tennessee Department of Corrections via the Chattanooga Free Press via AP, File)

Tennessee death row inmate Harold Wayne Nichols asks governor for life in prison instead

November 26, 2025

Attorneys for Tennessee death row inmate Harold Wayne Nichols are asking the governor to convert his sentence to life imprisonment with just a month until his scheduled Dec. 11 execution date. In asking for clemency from Gov. Bill Lee, they argue the fact that Nichols took responsibility for his crimes sets him apart from others on death row. The petition says Nichols confessed to the 1988 rape and murder of Karen Pulley as well as a series of other rapes. It says Nichols would be “the first person to be executed for a crime he pleaded guilty to since Tennessee re-enacted the death penalty in 1978.”

FILE - Kilmar Abrego Garcia attends a protest rally at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office in Baltimore, Monday, Aug. 25, 2025, to support Abrego Garcia. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough, File)

After mistaken deportation, Abrego Garcia fights smuggling charges. Here’s what to know

November 3, 2025

The man whose mistaken deportation galvanized opposition to President Donald Trump’s immigration policies is charged in federal court in Tennessee with human smuggling. A judge this week will hear arguments on Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s motion to dismiss the charges on the grounds of “vindictive prosecution.” The judge previously found some evidence to support the motion. The judge cited a statement by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche that seemed to suggest the Justice Department charged Abrego Garcia because he won his wrongful-deportation case. The local prosecutor in Tennessee argues Blanche’s statements are irrelevant because he’s not the person who made the decision to indict. Abrego Garcia is a Salvadoran citizen who’s lived in Maryland for years.

FILE - Covenant School parents and their attorneys huddle in prayer outside a courtroom before a hearing to decide whether documents and journals of a Nashville school shooter can be released to the public April 17, 2024, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Travis Loller, File)

Parents of Nashville school shooting victims fight to keep records out of public view

October 30, 2025

The parents of children killed in a shooting at a private Christian school in Nashville are fighting to keep police investigative records a secret. The Covenant School parents say releasing the documents would be traumatic for the families and could inspire copycat attacks. In a Tennessee appeals court on Thursday, their attorneys defended a lower court ruling that determined the shooter’s writings and other documents are protected by federal copyright law and cannot be released under the Tennessee Public Records Act. Meanwhile, a coalition including a state senator, media outlets, and a gun rights group are seeking to have the ruling overturned.

FILE - Kilmar Abrego Garcia attends a protest rally at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office in Baltimore, Aug. 25, 2025, to support Abrego Garcia. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough, File)

A federal judge in Tennessee warns Trump officials over statements about Kilmar Abrego Garcia

October 28, 2025

A federal judge in Tennessee has warned of possible sanctions against top Trump administration officials if they continue to make inflammatory statements about Kilmar Abrego Garcia that could prejudice his coming trial. U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw filed an order late on Monday instructing local prosecutors in Nashville to provide a copy of his opinion to all Justice and Homeland Security department employees. The opinion cites court rules that prohibit public statements about a defendant’s “character, credibility, reputation, or criminal record.” His order specifically includes Attorney General Pam Bondi and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

Federal judges in 2 states are considering challenges to the government’s treatment of Abrego Garcia

October 9, 2025

Federal judges in two states are considering challenges to the government’s treatment of Kilmar Abrego Garcia. The Salvadoran national’s mistaken deportation to his home country galvanized opposition to President Donald Trump’s sweeping immigration agenda. In a Maryland court, Abrego Garcia has challenged efforts to deport him to Eswatini. His attorneys claim the Republican administration is illegally using the immigration system to punish Abrego Garcia after the embarrassment of his mistaken deportation. Meanwhile, attorneys in Tennessee have made similar claims about human smuggling charges brought against Abrego Garcia. The Tennessee judge has concluded that the prosecution may be an illegal retaliation. Hearings are scheduled in both cases Friday.

This undated photo released by the Tennessee Department of Correction shows Christa Pike. (Tennessee Department of Correction via AP)

Tennessee court sets execution date for the state’s only woman on death row and 3 male inmates

October 1, 2025

The Tennessee Supreme Court has set execution dates for four people, including the only woman in the state on death row. Christa Pike received the death sentence at age 18 for the 1995 torture slaying of Colleen Slemmer, who was a fellow Job Corps student. Pike’s attorneys previously asked the state’s high court to commute her sentence based on her youth and “severe mental illness at the time of her crime.” The court also set execution dates for Tony Carruthers, Gary Sutton and Anthony Hines. Tennessee began a new round of executions in May after a three-year pause following the discovery that the state was not properly testing its lethal injection drugs.

FILE - Sara Jane Moore rides in the backseat of a car on her way to federal court in San Francisco, Dec. 17, 1975, where a federal judge accepted her plea of guilty to the attempted assassination of President Ford. (AP Photo/Jim Palmer, File)

Sara Jane Moore, who tried to assassinate President Gerald Ford in 1975, dies at 95

September 26, 2025

Sara Jane Moore, who spent more than 30 years in prison for trying to shoot President Gerald Ford, has died. She was 95. A longtime acquaintance says Moore died Wednesday at a nursing home in Franklin, Tennessee. A bystander knocked Moore’s shot astray in the 1975 assassination attempt in San Francisco. Moore eventually voiced regret. She was paroled from prison in 2007, roughly a year after Ford’s death. Moore dabbled in leftist groups but was also a sometime FBI informant. Her confusing background baffled the public. Even her own attorney claimed he never understood why she fired at Ford.

Bobby Cain, a member of the Clinton 12 who helped integrate Tennessee high schools in 1956, has died

September 23, 2025

Bobby Cain, who helped integrate one of the first high schools in the South in 1956 as one of the Clinton 12, has died in Nashville. He was 85. Cain was a senior when he entered the formerly all-white Clinton High School in Tennessee under court order. He had previously attended a Black high school about 20 miles away in Knoxville and was not happy about leaving his friends to spend his senior year at a new school in a hostile environment. Despite threats and violence, he stuck it out. In 1957 Cain became the first Black student in Tennessee to graduate from a state-run integrated school.

FILE - In this Jan. 20, 2011 photo, Mark Volman teaches a class in music management at Belmont University in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, file)

Mark Volman, who co-founded The Turtles and performed with Flo & Eddie, has died at 78

September 7, 2025

Mark Volman, a founding member of the 1960s pop group The Turtles, whose hits include “Happy Together,” has died. Volman was known for his exuberant stage presence and distinctive vocals. When The Turtles imploded in 1970, he and bandmate Howard Kaylan reinvented themselves as the duo Flo & Eddie, earning a reputation for their humor and versatility. In midlife, Volman returned to college and later taught music business. In 2023, he published his memoir, “Happy Forever: My Musical Adventures With The Turtles, Frank Zappa, T. Rex, Flo & Eddie, and More.” Volman died on Friday in Nashville, Tennessee, after a brief, unexpected illness. He was 78.

FILE - This undated booking photo provided by the Tennessee Department of Corrections shows Byron Black. (Tennessee Department of Corrections via AP, File)

Tennessee death row inmate makes last-ditch effort to prevent Aug. 5 execution

July 3, 2025

Attorneys for a Tennessee death row inmate have launched a last-ditch effort to prevent his Aug. 5 execution. In Nashville’s Chancery Court, they are asking a judge to require the deactivation of an implanted defibrillation device in the moments before Byron Black’s execution. Such an order could potentially delay the execution until the state finds someone willing to do the deactivation. Meanwhile, at the state Supreme Court level, they want judges to order a lower court to consider their claim that Black is incompetent to be executed. The attorneys also have filed a general challenge to the state’s new execution protocol, but that case won’t be decided before the execution date.

FILE - Jennifer Vasquez Sura, the wife of Kilmar Abrego Garcia of Maryland, who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador, right, stands with supporters during a news conference at CASA's Multicultural Center in Hyattsville, Md., April 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, FIle)

Kilmar Abrego Garcia is expected to be released from jail only to be taken into immigration custody

June 24, 2025

Kilmar Abrego Garcia is expected to be released from jail in Tennessee on Wednesday, only to be taken into immigration custody. The Salvadoran national whose mistaken deportation became a flashpoint in the fight over President Donald Trump’s immigration policies has been in jail since he was returned to the U.S. on June 7. He faces two counts of human smuggling in Tennessee. A hearing to set conditions for his release on the criminal charges is set for Wednesday. However, attorneys have said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement will detain him as soon as he is released. It is less clear whether ICE will try to immediately re-deport him or allow him to face the criminal charges.

Terri Osborne, center, speaks as her brother, Mike Robirds, right, listens outside Riverbend Maximum Security Institution after the execution of Oscar Smith Thursday, May 22, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. Osborne and Robirds are siblings of Judy Robirds, shown in the photograph at right, who was murdered, along with her sons, shown in the photograph at left, by Oscar Smith in 1989. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

Tennessee man is executed for killing his wife and her 2 sons, 3 years after last-minute reprieve

May 22, 2025

Tennessee has executed Oscar Smith for the 1989 murder of his estranged wife, Judith Smith, and her sons, Jason and Chad Burnett. Smith was executed by lethal injection on Thursday morning three years after the 75-year-old was spared by a last-minute reprieve in 2022. It turned out that the lethal drugs had not been properly tested. An investigation found that testing was just one of numerous problems plaguing Tennessee’s executions. The state unveiled a new execution protocol in December. Smith was one of several inmates who sued over the new protocol. A trial in that case is set for next January.

FILE - Capital punishment protesters pray on the grounds of Riverbend Maximum Security Institution before the scheduled execution of inmate Oscar Smith, April 21, 2022, in Nashville, Tenn. AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)

Tennessee prepares to execute Oscar Smith, 3 years after last-minute reprieve

May 20, 2025

Oscar Smith came within minutes of being executed before Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee issued a surprise reprieve just over three years ago. It turned out there were problems with the lethal injection drugs that had been ongoing. The state now has a new execution process and is prepared to try again Thursday. Smith says his personal minister will be in the execution chamber praying for him. He’s grateful for that but also worried about her because “she doesn’t need any bad experiences.” The 75-year-old Smith was convicted of fatally stabbing and shooting his estranged wife, Judith Smith, and her sons, Jason and Chad, 13 and 16, at their Nashville, Tennessee, home in 1989.

Travis Loller.