Author: Associated Press

Couple who caged autistic child in East TN sentenced to probation

JONESBOROUGH, Tenn. (AP) -- Two people who locked an autistic girl in a cage at a home in northeastern Tennessee have received probation after pleading guilty to child neglect. WCYB-TV reports the sentencing for 64-year-old Mickey Sparks and 44-year-old Patricia…

Volkswagen to invest $800M in Chattanooga plant

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. -- German automaker Volkswagen says its factory in East Tennessee will be the focus of an $800 million investment in its manufacturing of electric vehicles in North America. Volkswagen said in a news release Monday that it will expand…

Man captured after weeklong manhunt pleads not guilty

DOVER, Tenn. (AP) -- A man accused of killing a Tennessee woman and attacking her husband in a case that led to an intense, weeklong manhunt has pleaded not guilty. News outlets report 53-year-old Kirby Gene Wallace was arraigned Monday…

Tests confirm 2 more cases of deer disease in Mississippi

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) -- Two more cases of debilitating deer disease have been confirmed in Mississippi, bringing the total to six. The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks tells the Clarion Ledger that tests confirm two deer shot by…

Groups using Super Bowl in push against Confederate statues

ATLANTA (AP) -- A coalition of civil rights groups in Atlanta is using this year's Super Bowl to help kick off a renewed "war on the Confederacy," in a fight to remove Confederate monuments around the nation. The groups on…

Via Airlines to offer flights from Memphis to 2 cities

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) -- Via Airlines says it is planning to offer flights from Memphis to cities in Pennsylvania and Texas starting in June. The low-cost airline said in a news release that it will start flying round-trip from Memphis…

Tennessee lawmakers re-elect treasurer, comptroller

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Tennessee lawmakers have re-elected the state treasurer and comptroller to their sixth two-year terms. The GOP-led House and Senate voted during a joint session Wednesday to retain Treasurer David Lillard and Comptroller Justin Wilson. Lillard and…

Mackler announces Dem bid for Tennessee’s open Senate seat

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Democratic Nashville attorney and former Army helicopter pilot James Mackler is the first candidate to announce a 2020 bid for the seat Republican U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander will leave after his term. …

Tennessee Legislature to convene Tuesday

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Tennessee lawmakers are preparing to kick off the 111th General Assembly, ushering with it a new governor and a booming freshman class poised to tackle the state's most high-profile issues while also setting the budget. The…

2 killed in house fire in Memphis, cause investigated

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) -- Officials say two elderly people were killed in a house fire in Memphis. Memphis Fire Department spokesman Wayne Cooke said in a statement that fire and emergency crews responded to a blaze at a one-story, wood-frame…

Gov. Haslam grants executive clemency to Cyntoia Brown

NASHVILLE -- Gov. Bill Haslam has granted executive clemency to a woman serving a life sentence. The governor granted clemency Monday to Cyntoia Brown by commuting her sentence of life imprisonment, according to a release from the governor's office. Brown…

TBI releases ID of man killed by Memphis police

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) -- The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has released the identity of a 20-year-old man killed by Memphis police. News outlets report the TBI says Abdoulaye Thiam was killed Wednesday by three police officers responding to a domestic…

After sentencing overhaul ruling, Tennessee man now free

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- A Tennessee man who was one of the first inmates to be released under a new federal sentencing reform law is officially a free man. Matthew Charles received national attention in 2018 after being resentenced and…

Washington governor to pardon marijuana convictions

SEATAC, Wash. (AP) -- Seven years after Washington legalized the adult use of marijuana, Gov. Jay Inslee says he plans to pardon thousands of convictions for misdemeanor pot possession. The Democrat, who is mulling a 2020 presidential run, made the…

Tennessee GOP leaders: Shelby Co. skirting new immigration law

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Tennessee's top Republican lawmakers say the state's biggest county isn't following a new law that prohibits local authorities from requiring a warrant or probable cause before complying with federal immigration detainers. The Shelby County Sheriff's Office…

Blackburn sworn in as US senator

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Marsha Blackburn was sworn in Thursday as Tennessee's junior senator, making her the first woman to serve in the U.S. Senate from Tennessee. Prior to her election to the Senate, Sen. Blackburn represented Tennessee's seventh congressional district…

TBI: Memphis officers shot, killed man armed with knife

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) -- Police in Memphis have shot and killed a man they say was armed with a knife. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation says in a news release that Memphis police officers responding to a domestic disturbance Wednesday…

Ex-Tennessee priest convicted of rape dies in prison

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- A former Tennessee priest who was forced from the priesthood in 1989 has died in prison while serving time for a 1999 child rape conviction. The Tennessean reports South Central Correctional Facility officials say 74-year-old Edward…

Memphis high school treated for pest infestation to reopen

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) -- A high school in Tennessee that's been struggling with a pest infestation is set to reopen after Christmas break. WMC-TV reports Shelby County Schools said Kirby High School students would return to campus on Jan. 7…

US judge concerned that race may play unfair role in charges

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) -- A black federal judge in Tennessee has raised concerns that a federal prosecutor's office in Memphis is charging black people with harsher counts than white people for similar crimes. The Commercial Appeal reports U.S. District Judge…

TN Dept. of Agriculture cautions farmers on herbicide rules

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- The Tennessee Department of Agriculture is advising soybean and cotton farmers to follow new federal guidelines when applying a weed killer blamed for drifting and damaging crops in neighboring fields. In a news release, the department…

Tennessee health clinics struggle amid frozen state funds

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- A revamp of billing rules for Tennessee's TennCare program has left some rural health care clinics struggling to stay open. The Tennessean reported Thursday that supplemental patient TennCare payments promised to rural clinics have been frozen…

Tennessee notes student protections amid anti-sanctuary law

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Tennessee's education department is advising school officials that it's not their role to determine whether students and their families are in the country legally under a new state law against sanctuary cities. The law taking effect…

Legal marijuana industry toasts year of global gains

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- The last year was a 12-month champagne toast for the legal marijuana industry as the global market exploded and cannabis pushed its way further into the financial and cultural mainstream. Liberal California became the largest legal…

Elvis Presley memorabilia to be auctioned at Graceland

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) -- Items associated with Elvis Presley will once again be on the auction block at Graceland as part of a celebration of the King of Rock 'n' Roll's birthday. According to a news release on Wednesday, the…

Woman, 3 teens killed in West TN house fire

COLLIERVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Authorities say three teenagers and an adult have been killed in a house fire in a suburb of Memphis. Collierville Fire Department Chief of Administration Mark King said the fire began Sunday night in a two-story…

Tennessee Gov.-elect Bill Lee releases inauguration schedule

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Gov.-elect Bill Lee has released his schedule of events leading up to inauguration on Jan. 19. Lee's transition team announced Friday that the newly elected Republican will hold events that include free tours of the Tennessee…

Tennessee businessman, co-workers killed in plane crash

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - A Tennessee airport has identified the four people killed in a plane crash in Atlanta, including a prominent businessman and three co-workers. Millington Airport said in a tweet on its official Twitter account Friday that the…

Detective: Woman convicted as teen shouldn’t get clemency

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- The lead detective in the case involving a woman convicted of murdering a man when she was a 16-year-old prostitute is urging Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam not to grant her clemency. According to a seven-page letter…

Gov. Haslam grants 11 people executive clemency

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Gov. Bill Haslam has granted executive clemency to 11 people as he inches closer to the end of his final term in office. Haslam announced Thursday he issued pardons to seven people and commutations to four…

3 killed in Atlanta crash of West Tennessee-bound jet

ATLANTA (AP) -- An official at a West Tennessee airport says the business jet that crashed in Atlanta had been headed to the Memphis area.   Millington-Memphis Airport Executive Director Roy Remington says the plane was headed to his airport…

Gov. Haslam to decide on Senate bid after leaving office

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Tennessee Republican Gov. Bill Haslam says he will decide whether to run for an open U.S. Senate seat sometime after leaving office next month. Haslam told The Associated Press on Tuesday that he's planning a short…

Audit: Student assessment lacked proper oversight from state

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- State auditors say the Tennessee Department of Education failed to provide adequate oversight while rolling out its problem-plagued student assessment test in the spring, which resulted in widespread delays and sparked outrage among lawmakers. According to…

East TN prosecutor drops charges against handcuffed, beaten man

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) -- An East Tennessee prosecutor says authorities have dismissed charges against a black man who was filmed being struck by a white police officer while he was handcuffed earlier this month. News outlets report prosecutor Alan Dunn…

Baby Jesus stolen from Tennessee Nativity scene, again

KINGSPORT, Tenn. (AP) -- An East Tennessee city's downtown Nativity scene has lost its baby Jesus for the second year in a row. After the figure's theft last year, the people responsible for the Nativity scene on Kingsport's Church Circle…

US Sen. Lamar Alexander not seeking 2020 re-election

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Republican U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee says he won't seek re-election in 2020. Alexander said in a news release Monday that he's deeply grateful for being elected to serve more combined years as governor and…

State lawmakers urge clemency for woman convicted as teen

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Several Democratic Tennessee lawmakers are urging Republican Gov. Bill Haslam to grant clemency to a woman convicted of murdering a man when she was a 16-year-old prostitute. Newly elected Nashville Sen. Brenda Gilmore led a group…

East TN sheriff disputes injuries caused by beating of man

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) -- An East Tennessee sheriff's office is disputing the extent of the injuries suffered by a black man beaten by a white officer while handcuffed. An attorney for 25-year-old Charles Toney says hospital records prove he suffered…

Reward rises to $10K in case of man killed by concrete chunk

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- The family of a man killed when a concrete chunk went through his windshield is now offering a $10,000 reward for more information on the case. News outlets report the family of Joe Crockett Shelton Jr.…

Lawyer wants prison for East TN detective who beat handcuffed man

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) -- The attorney for a black Tennessee man whose beating by a white sheriff's officer while he was handcuffed was caught on video says the officer should be fired immediately and then prosecuted. Lee Merritt told reporters…

Panel says sheriff’s policy contributed to Florida massacre

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) -- The commission investigating a Florida high school massacre heavily criticized the responding sheriff office's active shooter policy, saying it contributed to the failure of some deputies to run into the building and confront the gunman.…

Reward offered for info on guns stolen near TN-KY state line

OAK GROVE, Ky. (AP) -- A $5,000 reward is being offered for information that leads to the arrest of the people responsible for stealing multiple firearms from a store near the Kentucky-Tennessee state line. A statement from the Bureau of…

Report: Voting paper trail still needed in Tennessee

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- A state government group says Tennessee should still keep a paper trail of voters' ballots roughly 10 years after coming out with a similar recommendation that resulted in little change. According to the Tennessee Advisory Commission…

Wintry storm ices roads across much of Southeast

DURHAM, N.C. (AP) -- Residents walked instead of driving cars and children enjoyed another day of building snowmen with school canceled Monday after a wintry storm dropped snow, sleet or freezing rain across five southern states. Accidents on snow-covered interstates…

Tennessee husband charged with strangling wife to death

COLUMBIA, Tenn. (AP) -- Police in Tennessee found a 40-year-old woman strangled to death and have arrested her husband. Columbia Police say 42-year-old Richard Aaron Ludwig has been charged with first degree murder and aggravated domestic assault resulting in death.…

Tennessee governor-elect names 4 new staffers

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Incoming Gov. Bill Lee has named four more staffers as he prepares to take office next month. The Republican's transition team on Friday announced additions of Chris Devaney as special assistant to the governor; Brent Easley…