Author: Associated Press

Tennessee city faces pushback over park bench blocks

KINGSPORT, Tenn. (AP) -- A park bench addition designed to prevent people from sleeping in public spaces has received pushback from some Tennessee residents. News outlets report that officials in Kingsport, Tennessee, have added wooden blocks through the middle of…

Tennessee moves up open-air burn permit requirements

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- State officials are telling Tennessee residents that all open-air outdoor fires will require a burn permit starting Monday. Burn permits are usually required statewide from Oct. 15 through May 15. Tennessee's Division of Forestry said Friday…

4 deputies on leave, 2 recovering after Memphis shooting

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) -- The Shelby County sheriff says four deputies have been placed on administrative leave after the fatal shooting of a man wanted on an attempted murder warrant. Shelby County Sheriff Floyd Bonner said Friday that the deputies…

Tennessee’s abortion wait period law faces court arguments

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Four years after Tennessee passed a law requiring a 48-hour waiting period for women seeking abortions, abortion clinics are getting a chance to argue against it in court. Beginning Monday, attorneys for five of the state's…

Where have the wild birds gone? 3 billion fewer than 1970

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A comprehensive study shows there are nearly 3 billion fewer wild birds in North America than in 1970. The new study finds that the bird population in the United States and Canada was probably around 10.1 billion…

Tennessee man sues after surviving police shooting

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) -- A Tennessee man who survived a shooting by police during a traffic stop alleges in a lawsuit that officers were told to turn off body cameras during the incident. Authorities say Martavious Banks ran from a…

Appeals court upholds diversion denial for former bus driver

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) -- A Tennessee appeals court has upheld a decision to deny diversion to a former school bus driver convicted of charges including negligent homicide in a 2016 crash that killed six children. News outlets report the ruling…

Tennessee unveils $7.9B block grant proposal for Medicaid

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Tennessee would become the first state in the nation to receive its Medicaid funding in a lump sum under a proposal seeking to drastically overhaul the entitlement program that provides health care services to low-income and…

Tennessee unveils voucher rules, prepping for 2020 rollout

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Top education officials say they are preparing to implement Tennessee's newly enacted voucher law a full year ahead of schedule while unveiling key requirements surrounding the closely-watched program. Earlier this year, Republican Gov. Bill Lee signed…

Tennessee appeals court says opioid producers can be sued

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- The Tennessee Court of Appeals has ruled that a lawsuit against opioid makers can move forward, overturning a lower court that had dismissed the claims. At issue is whether Tennessee's Drug Dealer Liability Act applies to…

University of Tennessee offers scholarship to bullied fan

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- A Florida fourth-grader who was bullied over his homemade University of Tennessee shirt has been offered a four-year scholarship to the school. School officials said Thursday the boy's scholarship would cover tuition and fees beginning in…

Nonprofit protests baptisms on Tennessee high school’s field

SPRINGFIELD, Tenn. (AP) -- A nonprofit that advocates for the separation of church and state has filed a formal complaint about baptisms on the football field of a Tennessee high school. The Tennessean reports the Freedom From Religion Foundation wrote…

Audit: TVA execs overspent on travel expenses

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- An audit has found instances where executives for the nation's largest public utility overspent on travel. The inspector general's report Wednesday audited about $1.8 million worth of Tennessee Valley Authority executive travel expenses from October 2016…

Spokesman: Oil tycoon T. Boone Pickens dies at age 91

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- T. Boone Pickens, who amassed a fortune as an oil tycoon and corporate raider and gave much of it away as a philanthropist, has died. He was 91. Spokesman Jay Rosser confirmed Pickens' death Wednesday to…

Memphis officer suspended, charged with DUI after crash

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) -- Police in Memphis say an officer has been suspended after he was charged with DUI after crashing his car into a building while off duty. Memphis police said Sgt. Thomas Berryhill was arrested Saturday afternoon on…

Tennessee speaker floats cutting state funds to Nashville

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton is warning Nashville officials that he might attempt to withhold state funding due to the city's recent executive order discouraging local cooperation with immigration officials. Sexton, a Republican, first made the…

Trump fires national security adviser John Bolton

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Donald Trump has fired national security adviser John Bolton. Trump tweeted Tuesday that he told Bolton Monday night that his services were no longer needed at the White House. He says Bolton submitted his resignation on…

Fred’s Inc. files for bankruptcy, closing retail stores

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) -- Discount retail and pharmacy chain Fred's Inc. is filing for bankruptcy and closing its stores over the next two months. The Memphis, Tennessee-based company said in a statement Monday that it has filed for chapter 11…

Police: Man dies after being punched outside Tennessee bar

HERMITAGE, Tenn. (AP) -- Police in Tennessee say a man who was punched outside a bar about two weeks ago has died from his injuries. News outlets report 52-year-old Jamie Mitchell has been in a coma since Aug. 23 after…

3 bodies found in Tennessee home in apparent murder-suicide

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Police in Tennessee say a man is suspected of fatally shooting his wife and grandson before killing himself. Metropolitan Nashville Police said on Twitter that the shooting occurred Saturday night in the Nashville neighborhood of Hermitage.…

Police: Officer in Nashville struck by car, shoots driver

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Police in Tennessee say an officer was struck by a car before shooting the driver in Nashville's entertainment district. Police in downtown Nashville were flagged down at 12:30 a.m. Saturday and told that a motorist was…

Tennessee reports 6 cases of illnesses related to vaping

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Health officials in Tennessee are reporting six cases of suspected respiratory disease among people who used electronic cigarettes or other vaping devices. State epidemiologist Tim Jones said in a statement Friday that Tennessee health care providers…

Lee names new chancellor for 5 West Tennessee counties

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Gov. Bill Lee has appointed a new chancellor to serve in a West Tennessee judicial district. Lee's office says in a news release Wednesday that attorney Jennifer King of Carroll County will serve as chancellor of…

Murder suspect turns self in after mistaken jail release

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Authorities say a murder suspect who was mistakenly released from jail has turned himself in. News outlets report 26-year-old Roberto Josue Viera-Aybar turned himself in to Nashville police after his attorney arranged a peaceful surrender. Davidson…

Tennessee woman dies after being attacked by 5 dogs

UPDATED: KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- In a story Sept.4 about a woman who died after being mauled by a pack of dogs, The Associated Press reported erroneously that Adrieanna O'Shea died Saturday, 10 days after the attack. O'Shea died Friday,…

Author to speak on history of slavery in Tennessee

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- The Tennessee State Library and Archives is offering a free workshop on the history of slavery in Tennessee. Author Bill Carey will speak Sept. 14 about the research he conducted for his latest book, going over…

Walmart to stop selling handgun ammunition

NEW YORK (AP) -- Walmart says it will discontinue the sale of handgun ammunition and also publicly request that customers refrain from openly carrying firearms in stores even where state laws allow it. The announcement comes just days after a…

Tennessee authorities discover body along Appalachian Trail

ROAN MOUNTAIN, Tenn. (AP) -- Authorities in Tennessee say they've discovered a body along the Appalachian Trail. The Carter County Sheriff's Office said in a Monday release that they found a man's body in the Carver's Gap area of the…

7 people killed in West Texas shooting rampage

MIDLAND, Texas (AP) -- The Latest on a shooting in West Texas Odessa police say the death toll in a West Texas shooting rampage is now seven after a man stopped by state troopers opened fire and fled, shooting people…

Condemned Tennessee inmate will be spared execution

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- A Tennessee inmate is leaving death row, just eight months before his execution date. A Nashville judge on Friday approved an agreement between prosecutors and attorneys for Abu-Ali Abdur'Rahman that converts his death sentence to life…

Tennessee pastor found guilty of raping, abusing child

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) -- A Tennessee pastor has been found guilty of 24 counts involving child sex abuse in the first of three trials. News outlets report a jury found 40-year-old Ronnie Gorton guilty Wednesday on charges including sexual battery…

Grizzlies official tapped for Tennessee sports betting panel

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- A Memphis Grizzlies official is joining a council that will regulate Tennessee's new online-only sports betting law. In Monday's letter, Tennessee Senate Speaker Randy McNally announced Kandace C. Stewart will serve a term on the sports…

Trial starts for Tennessee pastor accused of raping children

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) -- A Tennessee pastor is being tried on the first of 47 counts of child sexual abuse, including 16 counts of statutory rape. WMC-TV reports Ronnie Gorton sat in court Monday for opening statements and the testimonies…

Over 20,000 AT&T workers in the South struck over weekend

NEW YORK (AP) -- More than 20,000 AT&T workers in nine Southern states went on strike over the weekend, saying that the telecommunications company isn't bargaining in good faith over a new contract. The union, the Communications Workers of America,…

Tennessee suspends cornerback after domestic assault charge

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Tennessee suspended cornerback Bryce Thompson on Monday following his arrest on a domestic assault charge. Coach Jeremy Pruitt said in a statement Thompson will be out "while the process continues." Pruitt added that players are held…

Tennessee Valley Authority envisions no major new plants

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- The Tennessee Valley Authority board of directors has approved a 20-year plan that includes no new major generating plants. The Chattanooga Times Free Press reports the plan approved last week envisions getting more power out of…

Parents plead guilty, are sentenced in baby daughter’s death

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (AP) -- The parents of an infant who died in her crib have pleaded guilty to aggravated child neglect. The Daily News Journal reports Colleen Delaney and Jason Ormonde were sentenced Thursday in Murfreesboro to 15 years in…

Billionaire David Koch has died at 79

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Billionaire David Koch has died at age 79. Koch was a major donor to conservative causes and educational groups. His older brother, Charles, said on Friday, "It is with a heavy heart that I now must inform…

DeAngelo Williams donates $250,000 to alma mater Memphis

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) -- DeAngelo Williams, a former NFL running back, has donated $250,000 to the Memphis football program in his second donation to his alma mater. Memphis announced the gift Thursday. Williams' latest donation will go to help update…

Mother of Waffle House shooting victim sues medical center

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- The mother of a man killed in a shooting at a Tennessee Waffle House is now suing the medical center that treated him. The Tennessean reports the lawsuit filed Tuesday by Shaundelle Brooks says two Vanderbilt…

Nashville political commentator jailed for not paying child support

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Conservative political commentator and former congressional candidate Steve Gill has been jailed in Tennessee after he allegedly failed to pay $170,000 in child support to his ex-wife as ordered by a judge. News outlets report Gill…

Tennessee abortion waiting period lawsuit headed for trial

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Opponents of a Tennessee law requiring women to wait 48 hours before undergoing an abortion argue that such restrictions help perpetuate outdated gender stereotypes. The argument is part of a lengthy lawsuit challenging the legality of…

Investigators: Earnhardt’s plane bounced, went off runway

ELIZABETHTON, Tenn. (AP) - Investigators say the plane carrying NASCAR great Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his family bounced, veered off the runway and ended up on a highway during a crash landing. Elizabethton Police Chief Jason Shaw said at a…

More than 200 animals removed from house, homeowner charged

PIKEVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- A Tennessee woman who authorities say had more than 200 animals inside her home has been charged with animal cruelty. News outlets report all animals had been taken away by Friday afternoon from the home of…