Author: Associated Press

Police: 1 dead, 2 injured in Nashville shooting

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - A woman has died and two men have been injured following a shooting in Nashville. The Metropolitan Nashville Police Department says in a news release that the shooting occurred Sunday afternoon outside a north Nashville residence.…

Sheriff: Boy, 13, fatally shot sister while unloading gun

ATHENS, Tenn. (AP) - Authorities in McMinn County say a teenage girl has been fatally shot after the gun her younger brother was unloading discharged. Local news outlets report that McCinn County Sheriff Joe Guy said the 17-year-old girl was…

Children’s Services closer to end of federal court oversight

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - After 15 years, the Tennessee Department of Children's Services is nearing the end of federal oversight following a 2001 settlement over its treatment of foster care children. The Tennessean reports (http://tnne.ws/2go7B8X) that November court filings show…

Lawyer: Driver likely to plead not guilty in fatal bus crash

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - The attorney for the driver in a Chattanooga school bus crash that killed six children says her client will likely plead not guilty. Amanda Dunn says she anticipates 24-year-old Johnthony Walker will plead not guilty if…

Students complained about erratic driving before Chattanooga bus wreck

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Students and administrators raised concerns about a Tennessee school bus driver's behavior behind the wheel in the weeks before a crash that killed six children. Police have charged driver Johnthony Walker with vehicular homicide after the…

Police: 2 shot after fight in Chattanooga mall parking lot

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) - Police are investigating at the scene of a double shooting in the parking lot of a mall in Chattanooga. Local media outlets report that police say one person was shot in the arm and another was…

Students complained about erratic driving before bus wreck

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Students and administrators raised concerns about a Tennessee school bus driver's behavior behind the wheel in the weeks before a crash that killed six children. Police have charged driver Johnthony Walker with vehicular homicide after the…

Tennessee State students helping assess bridge safety

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Engineering students from Tennessee State University and their professors are studying five bridges around the Nashville Fairgrounds to assess their structural integrity. The university says the findings will be submitted to city structural engineers to help…

Businesses in Cocke, Sevier eligible for drought loans

SEVIERVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - The U.S. Small Business Administration says federal economic injury disaster loans are available to businesses in Cocke and Sevier counties in Tennessee because of drought that began earlier this month. The agency says the counties are…

Tipper Gore attends fundraiser for nonprofit she founded

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Tipper Gore returned to Nashville recently to help raise money for Tennessee Voices for Children, a non-profit she founded before her husband was elected vice president in 1992. Tipper and Al Gore separated in 2010, and…

Regents vice chancellor elected chair of national council

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - James King, the vice chancellor of the Tennessee Board of Regents, has been elected chairman of the national Council on Occupational Education. King won the one-year term as chairman at the group's annual meeting in San…

3 finalists for chancellor of UT Institute of Agriculture

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Three finalists have been named in the search for the next chancellor of the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture. The Institute of Agriculture consists of UT Extension, AgResearch, the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural…

Man injured when shots fired in mall parking lot

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - Memphis police say a man has been injured after shots were fired in the parking lot of a mall after it had opened for shoppers. Police spokesman Louis Brownlee said in a statement that the victim…

Man on TBI ‘Top 10 Most Wanted’ list arrested in Ohio

ELIZABETHTON, Tenn. (AP) - A Tennessee man wanted in the death of his 3-year-old stepson has been captured in Ohio. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said in a news release that 28-year-old Demetrius Covington was taken into custody Wednesday at…

Defense Department names Poppas commander at Fort Campbell

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. (AP) - The Defense Department has announced that Maj. Gen. Andrew P. Poppas will take over as commanding general at Fort Campbell. The Leaf-Chronicle (http://leafne.ws/2gcIqX4 ) reported the announcement Friday, but it isn't clear when Poppas will…

$112K given to families of victims of Chattanooga bus crash

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) - More than $112,000 has been donated to The Woodmore Fund to benefit the families of victims of the Chattanooga school bus crash in which six children were killed. The United Way said in a recent news…

$112K given to families of victims of Chattanooga bus crash

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) -- More than $112,000 has been donated to The Woodmore Fund to benefit the families of victims of the Chattanooga school bus crash in which six children were killed. The United Way said in a recent news…

Man injured when shots fired in Memphis mall parking lot

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) -- Memphis police say a man has been injured after shots were fired in the parking lot of a mall after it had opened for shoppers. Police spokesman Louis Brownlee said in a statement that the victim…

Man wanted in South Carolina killing caught in Tennessee

ANDERSON, S.C. (AP) - Authorities say the suspect wanted in the killing of a South Carolina man who testified recently in a federal drug trial has been arrested in Tennessee. Anderson County deputies said in a news release that federal…

Tennessee targets deer from chronic wasting disease states

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency is warning hunters about restrictions on bringing deer carcasses into the state to help avoid the spread of chronic wasting disease. The wildlife agency says that there were three instances on…

Firefighters spend holiday monitoring Georgia wildfires

CALHOUN, Ga. (AP) - Nearly 100 firefighters are spending their Thanksgiving holiday mopping up and monitoring wildfires in north Georgia. WSB-TV reports (http://2wsb.tv/2fJGW5Q ) the state forestry commission is re-deploying the bulldozers and crews to different areas so that they…

Memphis could owe more than $727K in police beating case

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - The city of Memphis could be on the hook for more than $727,000 in the case of two former college football players beaten by police near Beale Street in 2011. The city in September settled the…

Police: Drugs, alcohol not involved in fatal Chattanooga bus crash

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) -- Police say toxicology reports on the driver of the bus that crashed in Chattanooga, killing five children, show no trace of drugs or alcohol. Chattanooga Police Sgt. Austin Garrett announced Wednesday that a blood test was conducted…

Haslam administration: Review confirms outsourcing savings

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - An outside firm hired by Gov. Bill Haslam's administration agrees that privatizing maintenance work at public colleges and universities could save $35 million per year. Haslam's outsourcing advisers and consultants have touted the outsourcing plan as…

Man injured when car hits deer, deer flies at him

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - A Tennessee man needs multiple surgeries after a car hit a deer and the deer flew off and hit him as he walked by. The Clarksville Leaf-Chronicle reports (http://leafne.ws/2gbC4K0 ) that Robert Hayes was walking to…

Southern wildfires continue spread as arson probes opened

ATLANTA (AP) - Authorities say firefighters have made progress against many of the large wildfires burning in the Southeast, but several blazes continue to creep into new areas - and they say more fires have been started by suspected arsonists.…

School bus driver charged in deadly Chattanooga crash

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) -- The driver of an elementary school bus that crashed in Chattanooga, killing at least five children, has been arrested and faces charges including vehicular homicide. Calling the Monday afternoon crash…

Funding available to preserve Tennessee Civil War sites

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Two Tennessee commissions are taking applications for the Tennessee Civil War Sites Preservation Fund. The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation says the amount of grant funding available for 2017 is expected to be $375,000. Applicants…

Dozens of 101st Airborne soldiers back at Fort Campbell

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. (AP) - Dozens of 101st Airborne Division soldiers are back at Fort Campbell after a nine-month deployment to Iraq. The post says about 170 soldiers from Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion, 101st Airborne, and 101st Airborne Division Artillery…

Corker to tour fire damage in Hamilton County

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) - U.S. Sen. Bob Corker is planning to tour fire damage in Hamilton County as firefighters continue to battle wildfires in Tennessee and elsewhere in the Southeast. The Tennessee Republican's office says Corker will receive a briefing…

Infant mortality rate hits record low in Memphis

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - The infant mortality rate in Memphis has hit a record low, marking an important milestone in the city's fight to improve a key measure of its overall health. The health department in Shelby County, which includes…

Knox County body armor purchase triggers ethics complaint

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - A businessman has accused Knox County officials of being opaque in their $160,000 purchase of 400 body armor vests for sheriff's deputies. The Knoxville News-Sentinel (http://bit.ly/2eYlZI1 ) reports that Rusty Burton, a law-enforcement supply dealer who…

Haslam still seeking consensus on transportation funding

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - The dust may have settled on legislative elections and leadership votes, but Republican Gov. Bill Haslam doesn't appear any closer to divulging his plans for boosting transportation funding in Tennessee. Haslam tells reporters he's meeting with…

UT selects Beverly Davenport for Knoxville chancellor job

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - University of Cincinnati Interim President Beverly Davenport has been selected as the University of Tennessee's next chancellor of its Knoxville campus. If the Board of Trustees approves Davenport's selection, she would become the school's first female…

The Latest: DA: 6 dead in Chattanooga school bus crash

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) - The district attorney says six people are dead in an elementary school bus crash in Chattanooga. Hamilton County District Attorney Neal Pinkston told media outlets that five people died at the scene and one died at…

Emeritus Corp. paying $979,000 to settle overbilling claims

SEATTLE (AP) - The assisted living chain Emeritus Corp. has agreed to pay nearly $1 million to settle claims that it overbilled state and federal governments for Medicaid services. Seattle U.S. Attorney Annette Hayes said Monday the company will pay…

UPDATE: DA says 6 dead in Chattanooga school bus crash

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) -- The district attorney confirms six people are dead after an elementary school bus crash in Chattagnooga. Hamilton County District Attorney Neal Pinkston told media outlets that five people died at the scene and one died at the…

Car hits deer, deer goes airborne, hits someone walking by

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. — A deer hit by a car in Tennessee went airborne and struck someone walking by hard enough to break some of the pedestrian's bones. Clarksville Police spokeswoman Officer Natalie Hall tells The Leaf-Chronicle (http://leafne.ws/2g3IdIg ) that a…

Spokesman: VW cuts will have ‘no effect’ in Chattanooga

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — A plant spokesman says Volkswagen's plan to cut 30,000 jobs will have "no effect" on the company's Chattanooga facility. The Chattanooga Times Free Press reports (http://bit.ly/2guYBD5 ) company staffing contractor Aerotek wants to hire 1,100 new employees…

Study offers route options for Atlanta-Chattanooga train

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — A study looking at the potential of a bullet train between Chattanooga and Atlanta includes three route options. The Chattanooga Times Free Press (http://bit.ly/2gsyqwc ) says the first part of the two-track study is almost ready. The…

Missing child found in Michigan, parents charged

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A missing DeKalb County 8-month-old has been found in Michigan along with his parents after authorities say the couple fled the scene of a car accident that exposed a mobile meth lab in their car. The Tennessean…

Tennessee sheriff’s major charged with faking US citizenship

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - A Tennessee sheriff's major is charged with lying about being a U.S. citizen on his job application, then denying it when he later applied for citizenship. Acting U.S. Attorney Jack Smith announced charges Thursday against 47-year-old…

Appalachian Power employees visit, read at 418 schools

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) - Readers from Appalachian Power have been visiting hundreds of schools in West Virginia, Tennessee and Virginia, reading to elementary students and donating a book to the school libraries. The electric utility says 314 readers read to…

Pill mill doctor sentenced to nearly 6 years in prison

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - A doctor who authorities say wrote thousands of prescriptions for a Maryville pill mill has been sentenced to nearly six years in prison. News outlets report that a Knoxville federal judge sentenced 47-year-old James Brian Joyner…

Car hits deer, deer goes airborne, hits someone walking by

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - A deer hit by a car in Tennessee went airborne and struck someone walking by hard enough to break some of the pedestrian's bones. Clarksville Police spokeswoman Officer Natalie Hall tells The Leaf-Chronicle (http://leafne.ws/2g3IdIg ) that…

Shelby County Sheriff sued over problems with records system

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - A class-action lawsuit claims people were held for "unreasonable" lengths of time at the Shelby County Jail after trouble with the new computer records system. Media outlets report that attorneys Claiborne Ferguson and Josh Spickler filed…

Huge solar power center opens in northwest Alabama

FLORENCE, Ala. (AP) - What's being billed as Alabama's largest solar energy project is opening in northwest Alabama. The River Bend Solar Energy Center was commissioned in Florence on Friday. It has more than 300,000 solar panels that follow the…

Jimmy Haslam subpoenaed for deposition in Pilot lawsuit

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam has been subpoenaed to appear in a videotaped deposition in a civil lawsuit against the Pilot Flying J truck-stop chain owned by the family of Haslam and his brother, Tennessee Gov.…