Author: Associated Press

Tennessee floods tear 7-month-old twins from father’s arms

WAVERLY, Tenn. (AP) — Two 7-month-old twins were torn from their father's arms during devastating Tennessee floods that also claimed the lives of 16 others. Ryan and Rileighana were pulled out of Matthew Rigney's reach on Saturday just after he,…

Supreme Court orders ‘Remain in Mexico’ policy reinstated

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is refusing to block a court ruling ordering the Biden administration to reinstate a Trump-era policy that forces people to wait in Mexico while seeking asylum in the U.S. With the three liberal justices…

Chicago watchdog harshly criticizes ShotSpotter system

CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago's watchdog agency has concluded in a scathing report that the gunshot detection system the police department uses rarely produces evidence of gun-related crime in the city. The Office of Inspector General's Public Safety section says its…

House passes $3.5T Biden blueprint after deal with moderates

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Democratic leaders have compromised with moderates and muscled President Joe Biden’s multitrillion-dollar budget blueprint over a key hurdle. The 220-212 vote Tuesday hoped to end a standoff that halted proceedings but signaled challenges ahead. A band…

Proud Boys leader who burned BLM flag gets 5 months in jail

(AP) -- The leader of the Proud Boys extremist group, Enrique Tarrio, has been sentenced to five months in jail. Tarrio was convicted of burning a Black Lives Matter banner that was torn down from a historic Black church in…

Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts dies at age 80

LONDON (AP) — Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watt has died at the age of 80, according to his publicist. Bernard Doherty said Tuesday that Watts “passed away peacefully in a London hospital earlier today surrounded by his family.” The drummer…

Tennessee floods prompt disaster declaration from President Biden

WAVERLY, Tenn. (AP) — President Joe Biden has approved a major disaster declaration for Tennessee after record rainfall caused devastating floods that killed at least 22. A statement sent Tuesday says the action frees up federal aid to help with…

Titans carry on without quarantined head coach

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Titans coach Mike Vrabel anticipated further testing would confirm he has COVID-19. He was right. So the Tennessee Titans practiced without their head coach Monday with Vrabel quarantined at home after testing positive Sunday morning. Special…

Jack Daniel’s has its first age-stated whiskey in a century

LYNCHBURG, Tenn. (AP) — The producers of Jack Daniel’s are offering the brand's first age-stated whiskey in more than a century with the upcoming release of a 10-year-old Tennessee whiskey. Limited supplies will be available starting next month. The product…

Tennessee House speaker announces new chief of staff

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton has hired Sammie Arnold as his new chief of staff. Arnold most recently served as the assistant commissioner of community and rural development for the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community…

August 23rd: Today in Entertainment History

(AP) -- Today in Entertainment History On Aug. 23, 1960, Oscar Hammerstein the Second died in Pennsylvania. He’s best known for his collaborations with composer Richard Rogers on the musicals “Oklahoma,” ″Carousel,” ″South Pacific,” and “The King and I.” In…

FDA grants full approval to Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. has given full approval to the COVID-19 vaccine made by Pfizer. The Food and Drug Administration’s decision on Monday may help lift public confidence in vaccinations as the nation battles the most contagious coronavirus mutant…

University of Tennessee extends mask mandate

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The University of Tennessee has announced that it will extend its mask mandate to all indoor public spaces due to the ongoing spike in coronavirus cases and increasing hospitalizations. UT had been under a temporary mask…

After Tennessee flooding, 22 dead and dozens still missing

WAVERLY, Tenn. (AP) — Search crews are working through shattered homes and tangled debris in Tennessee, looking for dozens of people still missing after record-breaking rain unleashed floods that killed at least 22 people. Saturday’s flooding took out roads, cellphone…

Facebook launches virtual reality work app for meetings

UNDATED (AP) - Facebook is trying to pull in workplace users with a new virtual-reality app called Horizon Workrooms. Workrooms lets people meet remotely in a virtual space populated by avatars. It’s an app for Facebook’s headset, which costs at…

Titans coach Mike Vrabel tests positive for COVID-19

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee Titans coach Mike Vrabel says he has tested positive for COVID-19 and has quarantined pending further testing. Vrabel told reporters he had a sore throat and an earache. He went to the team headquarters Sunday…

Persephone, The robot guide, leads visitors in a Greek cave

ALISTRATI, Greece (AP) - Persephone is not your ordinary robot. Billed as the world’s first robot used as a tour guide inside a cave, Persephone has been welcoming visitors to the Alistrati cave in northern Greece since mid-July. The multilingual…

Don Everly of early rock ‘n’ roll Everly Brothers dies at 84

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Don Everly, one-half of the pioneering rock ‘n’ roll Everly Brothers, has died. He was 84. The Los Angeles Times reports that a family spokesperson confirmed Everly died Saturday at his home in Nashville, Tennessee. His…

Josephine Baker is 1st Black woman given Paris burial honor

PARIS (AP) — Plans are underway to reinter the remains of American-born singer and dancer Josephine Baker at the Pantheon monument in Paris. The late entertainer who is a World War II hero in France will be the first Black…

Radio host who regretted vaccine skepticism dies of COVID

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A conservative talk radio host from Tennessee who had been a vaccine skeptic until he was hospitalized from COVID-19 has died. He was 61. Nashville radio station SuperTalk 99.7 WTN confirmed Phil Valentine’s death in a…

Austin seeks ‘creative’ ways to get Americans out of Kabul

WASHINGTON (AP) - Biden administration officials say the U.S. military is considering “creative ways” to get Americans and others into the Kabul airport for evacuation from Afghanistan amid “acute” security threats. The Pentagon has ordered six U.S. commercial airlines to…

Coastal evacuations urged as Hurricane Henri heads north

(AP) --- Henri is now a hurricane. The National Hurricane Center issued an advisory late Saturday morning upgrading the tropical storm to a hurricane. Storm surge, hurricane conditions and rainfall that could cause flooding are expected to begin as early…

Memphis teens lead surge in Tennessee COVID vaccinations

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Memphis teenagers have been leading Tennessee's surge in recent COVID-19 vaccinations. The Commercial Appeal reports, the 15-to-19 age group in the Memphis region showed the greatest growth of any age group across the state's eight regions…

California hiker dies in Death Valley, heatstroke suspected

DEATH VALLEY, Calif. (AP) — Authorities say a San Francisco man died while hiking in Death Valley National Park, where temperatures can be among the hottest on Earth. Park officials say 60-year-old Lawrence Stanback died Wednesday while hiking near Red…

Some governors use federal virus aid to expand school choice

(AP) ---  Some Republican governors are using federal pandemic assistance to promote school choice programs, including charter schools and vouchers for private schools. The money comes with few strings attached, and it lets them sidestep legislative approval. In Tennessee, the…

Floyd Reese, GM of Titans’ Super Bowl team, dies at 73

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The general manager of the Tennessee Titans’ lone Super Bowl team has died. Floyd Reese's family informed the team of his death. The radio station where he worked until mid-December says he had cancer. Floyd took…

Tennessee doctors ask governor to reconsider mask opt-out

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee doctors have presented Gov. Bill Lee with a petition from 5,400 medical professionals urging Lee to drop an executive order that lets parents opt their children out of school mask requirements. The Chattanooga Times Free…

8th graders lead effort to pardon wrongly convicted ‘witch’

BOSTON (AP) - A woman convicted of witchcraft in 1693 and sentenced to death at the height of the Salem Witch Trials may finally be exonerated in Massachusetts. Lawmakers are considering a bill inspired by a curious eighth-grade civics class…

Neil Young bows out of Farm Aid

UNDATED (AP) - Neil Young is dropping out of playing Farm Aid because he’s concerned about the surge in COVID-19 cases. Young writes on his website he “can’t shake the feeling that it might not be safe for everyone.” He…

Polish Olympian auctions silver medal to help sick child

WARSAW, Poland (AP) - An Olympic athlete from Poland auctioned her silver medal from the Tokyo Games to raise money for a life-saving operation for an infant boy and then was told by the buyer that she could keep her…

Country singer Tom T. Hall dies; wrote ‘Harper Valley PTA’

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Singer-songwriter Tom T. Hall, who composed “Harper Valley P.T.A.” and sang about life’s simple joys as country music’s consummate blue collar bard, has died. He was 85. His son, Dean Hall, confirmed the musician's death Friday…

US appeals court refuses to end CDC’s eviction moratorium

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal appeals court says a pause on evictions designed to curb the spread of the coronavirus can remain in place for now. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia…

GM extends recall to cover all Chevy Bolts due to fire risk

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) — General Motors is recalling all Chevrolet Bolt electric vehicles sold worldwide to fix a battery problem that could cause fires. The recall raises questions about lithium ion batteries, which now are used in nearly all…

US keeps ban on nonessential border crossings to slow COVID

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. government is extending a ban on nonessential travel along the border with Canada and Mexico to slow the spread of COVID-19 despite increasing pressure to lift the restriction. U.S. border communities that are dependent on…

MLB to end 70-year partnership with Topps trading cards

(AP) -- Major League Baseball is ending a 70-year relationship with trading card company Topps after signing a new partnership with a rival company. The loss of the MLB partnership immediately scuttled a deal announced earlier this year that would…

TN man charged with killing grandma extradited from California

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Prosecutors say a man charged in the beating and stabbing death of his grandmother in Tennessee has been arrested in California. Shelby County prosecutors say Juamark Ryans has been indicted on a first-degree murder charge in…

Do I need a booster if I got the Johnson & Johnson vaccine?

The U.S. is planning booster doses of the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines, but if you got the one-dose Johnson & Johnson shot instead, stay tuned. Health authorities say a booster probably will be needed for that vaccine as well…

Feds seize over 3,000 fake vaccination cards in Anchorage

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — More than 3,000 fake COVID-19 vaccination cards have been confiscated at cargo freight facilities at the Anchorage, Alaska, airport as they were being shipped from China. Officers from U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized the cards…

Britney Spears under investigation over battery of staff

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. (AP) — Authorities say they are investigating Britney Spears over alleged misdemeanor battery after a staff member at her home said the singer struck her. The Ventura County Sheriff's Office said Thursday that deputies responded to Spears'…

OnlyFans website to ban ‘sexually explicit’ content

OnlyFans, a site where fans pay creators for their photos and videos, is planning to ban “sexually explicit” content. A spokesperson says the ban will start Oct. 1 and is the result of requests from banking partners. Nudity is still…

ICU beds full at most metropolitan Tennessee hospitals

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee hospitals are warning that the intensive care units are full in nearly every hospital in the state’s major metropolitan areas. In a Thursday statement, they pleaded with Tennesseans to get vaccinated and wear masks while…

Afghan officer who fought with US forces rescued from Kabul

The U.S. military and its allies have rescued a high-profile Afghan national police officer who was being hunted by the Taliban because of his years working with the American military. [field59_video account="WBBJ" key="c903401ee322a87fd836b24266e6e5cf55984122" vtitle="Afghan officer who fought with US forces…

New Amazon fulfillment center bringing 500 jobs to Tennessee

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A new Amazon fulfillment center is planned for Tennessee, bringing with it 500 full-time jobs. Gov. Bill Lee and state and company officials say the 1 million-square-foot center is being located in Clarksville. Amazon spokesperson Nikki…