KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - The University of Tennessee is starting a $4 million fellowship program to recruit exceptional graduate students. Starting fall 2017 at the flagship campus in Knoxville, the university will offer four-year $10,000 annual fellowships for up to…
TULSA, Okla. (AP) - Public memorial services are planned in Tennessee and Oklahoma for Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Leon Russell, who died Sunday at the age of 74. Bond Memorial Chapel says a funeral will be held Friday…
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Republican state Sen. Randy McNally, a long time champion of ethics and transparency, is poised to become the next speaker of the Tennessee Senate. Senate Republicans, who control 28 of 33 seats in the upper chamber…
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - Police say a worker has been killed and another has been injured in an industrial accident at the Cargill plant in Memphis. Memphis police spokesman Louis Brownlee says a wall collapsed during demolition at the plant…
TIGER, Ga. (AP) - Thick smoke has settled over a wide area of the southern Appalachians, where dozens of uncontrolled wildfires are burning through decades of leaf litter, and people breathe in tiny bits of the forest with every gulp…
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) -- Tennessee's attorney general has issued an opinion saying municipalities cannot enact and enforce ordinances that allow police to reduce the penalty for people who possess small amounts of marijuana. Attorney General Herbert H. Slatery III said…
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) -- An autopsy shows a Chattanooga inmate died after suffering from heroin withdrawal. The Chattanooga Times Free Press reports the preliminary autopsy from the Hamilton County Medical Examiner's Office reveals 26-year-old Madison Bailee Deal died Aug. 18…
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - Conjoined twins from Nigeria have been separated after a lengthy operation at a Memphis hospital. Le Bonheur Children's Hospital spokeswoman Anne Glanker tells The Associated Press that Miracle and Testimony Ayeni were separated during an 18-hour…
MADISON, Tenn. (AP) - Tennessee health officials have ordered a nursing home to stop taking new residents and pay a $6,100 fine for violations. A Tennessee Department of Health news release Monday says Creekside Health and Rehabilitation in Madison faces…
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Democratic challenger Gloria Johnson has conceded to incumbent state Rep. Eddie Smith in their close race in Knoxville. The Knoxville News Sentinel reports (http://bit.ly/2fcGhK0 ) that Johnson decided to stop fighting the 154-vote result after finding…
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - A Houston County couple have been killed in an explosion at their home. The Leaf-Chronicle of Clarksville reports (http://leafne.ws/2eBhmDx ) that firefighters responded to the blaze at the mobile home in Stewart on Monday night. Houston…
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - A dispute about gas prices led a Tennessee lawmaker to call the police. WKRN-TV reports (http://bit.ly/2gbpiff ) that Republican state Rep. Mike Sparks of Smyrna claims he was charged for the price of premium gas when…
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - The Tennessee Firearms Association is denouncing Tennessee's first female House speaker as the "pink elephant in the room" in calling for Beth Harwell's replacement as the chamber's leader. Harwell is seeking the Republican nomination for a…
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - A deputy director of the Shelby County Corrections Center has resigned because of derogatory posts made on his Facebook page. The corrections center said in a news release that David Barber resigned Tuesday. The release said…
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - As drought-stressed forests burn across much of the South - including a blaze scorching a Manhattan-sized area of north Georgia - some traditional outdoor activities are now banned. Starting campfires, lighting fireworks, smoking cigarettes, even parking…
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Tennessee health officials say the state hit a record in drug overdose deaths in 2015. The state Department of Health on Tuesday said 1,451 people died of drug overdoses last year. In 2011, 1,062 deaths were…
DECATURVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- A judge says he is considering holding separate trials for each of three men charged in the kidnapping, rape and killing of a Tennessee woman…
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - The Tennessee Supreme Court has adopted plain-language forms and instructions that couples with children can use for uncontested divorces. The Administrative Office of the Courts says the forms are intended to simplify divorce proceedings for people…
HOLLYWOOD, Ala. (AP) - The Tennessee Valley Authority has sold an unfinished nuclear power plant in northeast Alabama for $111 million. Nuclear Holdings LLC purchased the Bellefonte Nuclear Plant at auction Monday. The sale price was more than three times…
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Thousands of property owners may have to purchase flood insurance policies for the first time as new flood maps go into effect next year in Davidson County. The Tennessean reports (http://tnne.ws/2fRUYDT) the Federal Emergency Management Agency…
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Democrat Bill Freeman, who came in third in Nashville's mayor's race despite spending $3.5 million of his own money, says the state party should replace Chair Mary Mancini following last week's election results. Freeman tells The…
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) - Three former officials at a Tennessee high school are seeking a dismissal of a lawsuit filed against them regarding the rape and assault of a freshman basketball player in an apparent hazing incident. The former principal,…
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (AP) - A jailed Tennessee sheriff faces suspension without pay while he awaits word whether he'll lose his job amid allegations he profited from the sale of electronic cigarettes to inmates. The Tennessean reports (http://tnne.ws/2fTpblT ) that Davidson…
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Tennessee's largest state office building will reopen Tuesday after being closed because of a power outage. About 2,100 state employees work in the William R. Snodgrass Tennessee Tower, which is located near the state Capitol in…
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) - A Sewanee professor's chance encounter with Republican U.S. Sen. Bob Corker during a weekend hike gave him a chance to vent his frustrations about the former Chattanooga mayor's support for President-elect Donald Trump. The Chattanooga Times…
STEWART COUNTY, Tenn. (AP) -- Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area is offering free cedar Christmas tree permits starting later this month. The park says the permits will be available online from Nov. 25 to Dec. 24, at their…
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- State Sen. Mark Green is launching a 60-day tour as he mulls a bid for statewide office in Tennessee. The Clarksville Republican was re-elected to a second four-year…
CROSSVILLE, Tenn. — The Tennessee Highway Patrol has identified three people who died in a fiery crash on Interstate 40 near Crossville. The Knoxville News Sentinel reports (http://bit.ly/2fM2phA ) that Erik New was driving eastbound in a tractor-trailer when he…
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — The Hamilton County Board of Education argues in court filings that it should not be held liable for the rape of a freshman basketball player. The Chattanooga Times Free Press reports (http://bit.ly/2g0cfhq ) that the legal repose…
ATLANTA (AP) - More than 5,000 firefighters and support staff from around the nation have come to the Southeast, because that's where the wildfires are right now. Regional aviation director Shardul Raval of the U.S. Forest Service said Thursday that…
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - Farmers who are just starting out can get information about federal programs, planning, financing and other topics at the Kentucky-Tennessee Beginning Farmer Summit being held in Louisville. The Kentucky Department of Agriculture says the daylong event…
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Authorities have charged a Lewis County restaurant owner with setting fire to his business for the insurance money. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said Thursday that Nick Spicer set fire to Nick and Bubba's Beer, Butts…
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - An audit of a state venture capital program called TNInvestco has found that Tennessee has recovered only $5 million of its $200 million investment. The program enacted in 2009 was aimed at encouraging start-up companies to…
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - The Tennessee Valley Authority has posted a record net income despite falling electric sales. According to the Chattanooga Times Free Press (http://bit.ly/2fB9vTJ ), the Tennessee Valley Authority says its 2016 budget year net income rose about…
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - A mother has inspired dozens of residents to gather in front of the Islamic Center of Nashville, take up pieces of sidewalk chalk and draw messages of support for their Muslim neighbors. News outlets report that…
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Former state Rep. Ryan Haynes says he won't seek another term as chairman of the Tennessee Republican Party following a tumultuous presidential election cycle. Haynes made several critical statements about Donald Trump during the presidential primary…
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - A Nashville man in prison on false allegations that led to his revoked parole two years ago is a step closer to being released. The Tennessean reports (http://tnne.ws/2fXjnv1) that Polk and Tennessee Board of Parole hearing…
GATLINBURG, Tenn. (AP) - Crews have wrapped up a major restoration project on Alum Cave Trail in the Great Smoky Mountains. WBIR-TV reported Friday that (http://on.wbir.com/2fWFsd1) the official ribbon-cutting is just days away for the revitalized 5.5 mile trail that…
BRENTWOOD, Tenn. (AP) - Tennessee U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn has been named to the 16-member executive committee of President-elect Donald Trump's transition team. Blackburn, who has represented the 7th Congressional District since 2002, was named to the panel on Friday…
SHREVEPORT, La. (AP) - ExpressJet, which operates a jet maintenance facility at Shreveport Regional Airport, plans to close it next year and shift those operations to its facility in Knoxville, Tennessee - costing nearly 300 people their jobs. ExpressJet spokeswoman…
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - Spurred by fear and outrage, demonstrators around the country are marching again to protest Donald Trump's presidential election victory. The spirited demonstrations Friday on college campuses and along downtown streets were mostly peaceful following previous outbreaks…
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Tennessee Revenue Commissioner Richard Roberts is leaving Gov. Bill Haslam's Cabinet. The governor announced Wednesday that Roberts' last day at the agency responsible for state tax collections will be Dec. 2. Haslam called Roberts a "valuable…
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - The U.S. Marshals Service says a man charged with murder in the shooting death of a former University of Memphis student has been caught in Minnesota. The service said Wednesday that Terrance Harris has been arrested…
CHICOPEE, Mass. (AP) - A marine from Massachusetts killed in the attacks on military facilities in Tennessee last year is being honored by his high school. Pope Francis High School on Wednesday held a ceremony to announce that a plaza…
ATLANTA (AP) - Federal authorities say warmer-than-average temperatures and no rainfall are deepening a drought that's sparking forest fires across the Southeastern U.S., forcing people to evacuate dozens of homes. Thursday's national drought report shows 41.6 million people in parts…
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Students at Fisk University held a protest that blocked traffic in downtown Nashville Wednesday afternoon to express their disagreement with Donald Trump being elected president. And in Knoxville, hundreds of students held an anti-Trump rally on…
DETROIT (AP) - The head of the United Auto Workers union says about 2,000 General Motors factory workers who face layoff in January could be placed at other company factories. President Dennis Williams told reporters Thursday that the UAW is…
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - A June trial date has been set for the third of four former Vanderbilt football players charged in the rape of an unconscious female student. Brandon Banks' trial was set for June 19 during a Thursday…
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Republican Gov. Bill Haslam says he hopes to have a strong relationship with Donald Trump's administration despite publicly announcing before the election that he wouldn't vote for…
BOSTON (AP) - The majority owner of a Massachusetts pharmacy blamed for a deadly fungal meningitis outbreak has been sentenced to a year of probation and fined $4,500 for financial crimes. Carla Conigliaro was sentenced Wednesday in federal court after…
