Author: Associated Press

University blames newspaper for fewer sex assault reports

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — University of Kentucky officials claim a student newspaper's stories about alleged sexual harassment by a professor are to blame for a drop in sexual assault reports on campus. University officials said in court filings that the…

Trapped: Deaths inside freezers can be prevented, but how?

ATLANTA (AP) — Federal records show that a hotel worker in Atlanta who was found dead inside a walk-in freezer is among a handful of workers who became trapped in cold storage rooms and froze to death or were killed…

A year after deadly crash, families still look for remains

PASCAGOULA, Miss. (AP) — A small plane crashed into the Mississippi Sound last October, killing three men aboard. A year later, the search continues for the victims' remains. And despite the passage of time, the searchers may be getting close. Tina…

UT withholds names of 3 candidates in chancellor search

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The University of Tennessee has refused to release the names of three candidates seeking to become Knoxville chancellor. The Knoxville News Sentinel (http://bit.ly/2eTKvJC ) reports the candidates are visiting campus in coming days. State law requires…

Deep South drought kills crops, threatens herds, dries lakes

ATLANTA (AP) - Six months into a drought across much of the South, the weather is killing crops, threatening cattle and sinking lakes to their lowest levels in years. The very worst conditions are in the mountains of northern Alabama…

Mary L. Wagner named circuit court judge in Shelby County

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Gov. Bill Haslam has appointed Mary L. Wagner as Circuit Court judge for the district that serves Shelby County. Haslam's office announced the appointment of Wagner to the judgeship in the 30th Judicial District on Monday.…

Tennessee’s 10 most endangered historic properties unveiled

FRANKLIN, Tenn. (AP) - The Tennessee Preservation Trust has unveiled its 2016 list of the ten most endangered historic properties across the state. The "Ten in Tenn." list was presented at an event held Wednesday at the Hiram Masonic Hall…

Corrections Corp. changing name to CoreCivic in rebrand push

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Corrections Corporation of America, the nation's largest private prison company, is changing its name to CoreCivic in an effort to rebrand and diversify. The publicly traded company based in Nashville announced the switch in a news…

Tennessee State announces new admission requirements

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Tennessee State University has announced new admissions requirements in an effort to attract more academically talented students. The Tennessean (http://tnne.ws/2eCWISm ) reports that TSU's new admission standards would require students to have at least a 2.5…

At least 6 lawmakers had financial ties to GOP donor Miller

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - At least six current and former Republican lawmakers in Tennessee had financial ties to a prominent GOP donor who recently settled a federal fraud case involving the military health care program. Andy Miller Jr. has been…

US trade chief touts TPP benefits for whiskey exports

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - United States Trade Representative Michael Froman is citing Tennessee whiskey as an example of why Congress should approve the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement. Froman met with Tennessee whiskey makers on Friday and took a tour of Nelson's…

Insurer accuses Memphis recording studio of fraud after fire

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - An insurance company that paid more than $2.8 million in claims after an arson fire damaged an historic Memphis music recording studio has now accused a rock music label company of fraud and wants its money…

Family sues Amazon over hoverboard that burned $1M house

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A family is suing Amazon for selling a hoverboard blamed for starting a fire that burned their $1 million home in Nashville. The Tennessean reports (http://tnne.ws/2eVcuWL ) that the Fox family's lawsuit says Amazon had information…

Tennessee heralds big improvement in science test scores

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Gov. Bill Haslam says Tennessee students made the fastest strides in the country in a national science test. Haslam's office says Tennessee's eighth-grade students were the fastest improving in the 2015 National Assessment of Educational Progress…

Tennessee governor to head to Germany on trade trip

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam is heading to Germany next week on a trade trip. Haslam's office says Economic and Community Development Commissioner Randy Boyd will accompany him to Germany from Oct. 31 to Nov. 4. They…

Bridge work to close roads in Greenbrier section of Smokies

GATLINBURG, Tenn. (AP) - Roads through the Greenbrier section of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park will be closed for bridge repairs next month. The project by the Eastern Federal Lands Highway Division of the Federal Highway Administration is part…

UT paying $75,000 in Knoxville chancellor search

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - The University of Tennessee is paying $75,000 plus expenses to a search firm to help in its hunt for a new Knoxville campus chancellor. Besides the search fee being paid the Parker Executive Search firm, the…

900K settlement reached for woman shot by sheriff’s deputy

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) - Bradley County will pay nearly $1 million to the family of a woman who was shot to death by a deputy. The Chattanooga Times Free-Press reports (http://bit.ly/2eyyk46) former Bradley County sheriff's deputy Dustin Patrick hasn't admitted…

5 more charged with drug conspiracy in overdose outbreak

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Five more people face federal charges in a fentanyl overdose outbreak that killed two people in Tennessee over 24 hours. U.S. Attorney David Rivera announced the drug distribution conspiracy charges Thursday. Over 24 hours in July,…

Garth Brooks, Ricky Skaggs join Musicians Hall of Fame

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Garth Brooks and his longtime studio band, "The G Men," bluegrass artist Ricky Skaggs, Eagles guitarist Don Felder, country artist Jerry Reed and the soul players Sigma Sound Studio Rhythm Section have been inducted into the…

Police: Fatal Jonesboro home invasion was gang-related

JONESBORO, Ga. (AP) - Clayton County police believe a home invasion that left two children dead over the weekend was gang-related. Fifteen-year-old Daveon Coates and his sister, 11-year-old Tatiyana Coates, were shot dead inside their Jonesboro home early Saturday. Police…

Haslam campaigns for GOP members in Tennessee House, Senate

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Gov. Bill Haslam is hitting the campaign trail on behalf of fellow Republicans in closely divided districts. The governor went door knocking with state Sen. Steve Dickerson ion Tuesday, and told reporters he has also been…

Nursing home chain settles record $145M overbilling case

CLEVELAND, Tenn. (AP) - An eastern Tennessee-based skilled nursing home chain has reached a $145 million settlement that federal officials called the largest ever of its kind. The U.S. Department of Justice said in a news release Monday that Life…

Comcast sues Nashville over utility pole ordinance

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Comcast has filed a lawsuit against Nashville over an ordinance that changed the area's policy regarding utility poles. Local news organizations report that the lawsuit, filed Tuesday, argues that the Metro Council lacks the authority to…

Justice Department to conduct review of Memphis police

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - Justice Department officials have launched a comprehensive review of the Memphis Police Department after citizens criticized the department's use of deadly force and its treatment of the black community. The review comes in the wake of…

2 soldiers being held in disappearance of fellow soldier

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - The Army says two Fort Campbell soldiers are being held as "persons of interest" in another soldier's disappearance nearly two months ago. Fort Campbell didn't identify these soldiers, and says law enforcement at the Army post…

Tennessee couple gets 3-year sentence in $10.8m tax fraud

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - A Tennessee husband and wife face sentences of about three years in prison for a scheme to defraud U.S. taxpayers by $10.8 million. U.S. Attorney Nancy Stallard Harr's office says 48-year-old Bertha Del Pilar Vargas and…

Nashville chosen for Bloomberg self-driving car initiative

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Bloomberg Philanthropies and the Aspen Institute are leading a year-long effort with Nashville and nine other cities around the world to accelerate their efforts to prepare for the arrival of self-driving cars. Under the Bloomberg Aspen…

Google launches home delivery service in Tennessee

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Google has launched its home delivery service across Tennessee. The Tennessean (http://tnne.ws/2dFa2qc ) reports that Google Express launched Tuesday and will connect shoppers with select retailers across the state. Customers can use the Google Express website…

Inmate charged in 1997 deaths of 2 brothers in Chattanooga

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) - A 52-year-old man serving time for kidnapping and rape has been indicted in Chattanooga on first-degree murder charges in the deaths of two brothers nearly 20 years ago. District Attorney General Neal Pinkston's office said Christopher…

Nearly 480K ballots cast through first 4 days early voting

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Nearly 480,000 Tennesseans have cast ballots through the first four days of early voting, up from the 388,000 who had gone to the polls through the same period four years ago. The state's early voting period…

Armada Nutrition expanding in Spring Hill, adding 310 jobs

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Armada Nutrition has announced it is expanding its Spring Hill operations, investing $2.1 million and creating 310 new jobs over the next five years. Officials from the food packaging company announced the plans Monday, along with…

Officials investigate claim of noose put on black student

WIGGINS, Miss. (AP) - Officials continue investigating claims that white students put a noose around the neck of black football player at a south Mississippi school. Mississippi NAACP President Derrick Johnson called Monday for a federal hate-crimes investigation as the…

Tennessee State, Google partner to prepare tech students

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Tennessee State University has received designation as a Google School through a partnership with the tech company. The university is one of 10 historically black colleges and universities participating in a program using Google engineers to…

New ‘Papers of Andrew Jackson’ volume available

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - A new volume of "The Papers of Andrew Jackson" has been published and is available through the University of Tennessee Press. Volume X covers 1832, the year Jackson defeated Henry Clay for a second term, pursued…

Elkview free clinic treats hundreds of patients

ELKVIEW, W.Va. (AP) - Hundreds of people were treated over the weekend at a free health clinic in Elkview. The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports (http://bit.ly/2eARS7d) that organizers of the clinic, which was held Saturday and Sunday at Elkview Middle School, say…

Third suspect in Nashville tourist’s death arrested

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Police say they have arrested a third suspect wanted in the killing of a California tourist in Nashville, Tennessee. Metro Nashville Police said in a statement that 25-year-old Joseph Santillan of Antioch surrendered to officers on…

Hollywood stars makes unscheduled stop in Little Rock

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - An American Airlines flight from Nashville to Los Angeles with two Hollywood stars on board made an emergency landing in Little Rock after a suspicious odor was reported in the cabin. The aircraft landed Saturday…

Officer shoots armed man outside Nashville restaurant

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Police in Nashville, Tennessee, say an officer shot and wounded an armed man who refused to drop his gun after firing several rounds outside a restaurant. A statement from Metro Nashville police says 26-year-old Jordan Martel…

Girlfriend wanted in Tenn. killing found in South Carolina

SPARTANBURG, S.C. (AP) - Authorities say a 39-year-old woman wanted in the killing of her boyfriend in a Brentwood, Tennessee, hotel room has been arrested in South Carolina. Spartanburg County sheriff's deputies said in a news release that Shannon Richardson…

Green re-evaluating investment with GOP donor Andy Miller

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - One of the leading contenders for Tennessee governor in 2018 says he is rethinking financial ties to a company run by a prominent GOP donor who settled a federal fraud case involving a military health care…

Report: Tennessee man died after riding Disney’s Star Tours

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - Authorities say a 67-year-old Tennessee tourist died after riding Star Tours at Disney's Hollywood Studios. The September death of the Memphis man was recorded in a list of serious ride-related injuries and illnesses that the major…

Knox County to hire recruiter to attract top teachers

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Knox County school officials are making some changes to attract and hire more top teachers. Interim Superintendent of Schools Buzz Thomas tells the Knoxville News Sentinel that the district will be revamping its website, improving the…

Drug overdoses on rise in Chattanooga area

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — Drug overdoses in Chattanooga and the surrounding area have increased by at least 40 percent in the past year, according to data from area hospitals and ambulance services. The Chattanooga Time Free Press reports (bit.ly/2euLkFo) Erlanger hospital's…

Mississippi county bans clowns until after Halloween

DEKALB, Miss. — A Mississippi county has had enough of the creepy clown craze, at least until after Halloween. Kemper County supervisors enacted a clown ban this week, temporarily preventing people from dressing as clowns. The Kemper County Messenger reports…

Georgia man charged in Tennessee crash that killed 2

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. — Police in Clarksville say a Georgia man has been arrested in an alcohol-related fatal accident that killed two people. Montgomery County Jail records show Ho Young Kang of Suwanee, Georgia, was charged with vehicular homicide, vehicle assault,…

2 killed in motorcycle accident in Nashville

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Police in Nashville say two motorcycle riders were killed in an accident along Interstate 440. The Metropolitan Nashville Police Department says in a news release that 58-year-old Mark Patrick Baker and his wife, 56-year-old Laurie M. Baker,…