Author: Associated Press

Memphis hotel linked to Legionnaires’ disease reopening

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - A Memphis hotel where health officials say an outbreak of Legionnaire's disease originated is reopening after a nearly two-week shutdown. The Shelby County Health Department said La Quinta Inn & Suites was reopening Wednesday. The health…

UT students march to support diversity, demand change

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Dozens of University of Tennessee students are demanding change from an administration they said hasn't done enough to help marginalized students. UT Diversity Matters spokeswoman Colleen Ryan tells The Knoxville News Sentinel (http://bit.ly/2e35UQn) that over 100…

Lamman Rucker, ‘Birth of a Nation’ highlight Black Film Fest

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Actor Nate Parker's "Birth of a Nation" is one of the many films to highlight the 10th annual International Black Film Festival in Nashville. Thousands are expected to attend the five-day festival, which kicks off Wednesday…

Judge awards $57K in attorney’s fees in open records lawsuit

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - A judge has ordered the city of Nashville to pay nearly $57,000 in attorney's fees in an open records case related to police reports. Senior Judge Robert E. Lee Davies ruled in August that Metropolitan Nashville…

Memphis council approves marijuana-related ordinance

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - The Memphis City Council has narrowly approved an ordinance that would allow police to reduce the penalty for people who possess a small amount of marijuana. The council voted 7-6 Tuesday after lengthy discussion from people…

Memphis council approves marijuana-related ordinance

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) -- The Memphis City Council has narrowly approved an ordinance that would allow police to reduce the penalty for people who possess a small amount of marijuana. The council voted 7-6 Tuesday after lengthy discussion from people…

Haslam visits Tennessee plants to promote manufacturing week

GALLATIN, Tenn. (AP) - Republican Gov. Bill Haslam has kicked off a week to promote the manufacturing sector with a visit to the Beretta plant in Gallatin. The Monday visit coincided with the 490th anniversary of the Italian gunmaker's first…

Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office to begin using drones

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) - The Hamilton County Sheriff's Office has unveiled its new drone system that deputies will use to gather evidence for court cases, detect bombs and find missing persons. Media outlets report Sheriff Jim Hammond assured the public…

Leaders of Tennessee Prison for Women on leave amid probe

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - The three top wardens at the Tennessee Prison for Women have been placed on leave while state officials investigate possible protocol violations at the Nashville facility. The Tennessean (http://tnne.ws/2du5Lmy ) reports that Warden Carolyn Jordan, Associate…

Memphis council set to vote on marijuana-related ordinance

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - City leaders are set to vote on an ordinance that would allow police to reduce the penalty for people who possess a small amount of marijuana. The Memphis City Council is scheduled to vote on the…

Off-duty Tennessee firefighter dies in car accident

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - Authorities in Shelby County say an off-duty firefighter has died in a weekend rollover accident. The Commercial Appeal (http://memne.ws/2dny6uD ) reports that 26-year-old Ryan McCray was ejected from his car when it left a road, struck…

Sheriff: Man arrested for shooting at Shelbyville churches

SHELBYVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - A man has been arrested after authorities say he shot at three Shelbyville churches. Bedford County Sheriff Austin Swing tells local media that 36-year-old Wendell Buchanan was arrested Saturday. Deputies conducted a traffic stop on Buchanan…

Haslam: Learning Tennessee history ‘critical’ for students

GALLATIN, Tenn. (AP) - Republican Gov. Bill Haslam says he's concerned that too much Tennessee history could be stripped from teaching requirements in the state's public schools under an update to social studies standards. A draft version would remove a…

Change to steep part of Appalachian Trail planned for 2019

ELIZABETHTON, Tenn. (AP) - Forestry officials are planning to alter one of the steepest, most scenic sections of the Appalachian Trail in Carter County to make it safer. The Johnson City Press (http://bit.ly/2dMQOvg) reports the U.S. Forest Service and The…

Reward offered for information about guns stolen from store

ATOKA, Tenn. (AP) - Authorities are offering a $5,000 reward for information concerning the theft of about 21 firearms from a gun shop in West Tennessee. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said in a news release Monday…

Former police officer indicted on sex-related charges

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - A former Spring Hill police officer has been indicted on sex-related charges that allegedly occurred while he was on duty. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said that a Maury County grand jury on Monday returned indictments…

Mental health commissioner to retire from Haslam Cabinet

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam says Doug Varney is retiring as commissioner of the state Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services. Varney has served in Haslam's Cabinet since the start of the Republican governor's first…

TVA seeks public comment on new Knoxville headquarters

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - The Tennessee Valley Authority is seeking input from the public about the potential environmental impacts of future plans for its downtown Knoxville headquarters. The TVA said Thursday that the public is invited to comment through Oct.…

Judge: Sullivan County owes cities $180K in past drink taxes

BLOUNTVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - A judge has ordered Sullivan County to pay more than $180,000 to the cities of Kingsport and Bristol for past liquor-by-the-drink revenue collected over a 30-year period. The Kingsport Times-News (http://bit.ly/2dBcm1L) reports that a chancery court…

Postal worker hid piles of undelivered mail in her home

GREENEVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - A former postal worker in Tennessee has reached a plea deal after she was accused of keeping nearly 2,700 pieces of undelivered mail inside her home. News outlets report that Kathy Gross pleaded guilty to an…

ABB aims to grow to 500 jobs in Senatobia within 5 years

SENATOBIA, Miss. (AP) - Swiss firm ABB says its new Tate County plant is a key part of its plan to produce its full range of electrical components for North American customers. Franklin Sullivan, who leads ABB's electrical components business…

Men broke key race barrier, now back on Vanderbilt campus

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Two men who helped integrate college basketball came back to Vanderbilt University this week to talk about race. Perry Wallace and Godfrey Dillard shared provocative views on the pace of change, took up matters they rarely…

Man shot, killed during road rage shooting in Nashville

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - One man has died after being shot in what police are calling an apparent road rage incident. Metro Nashville Police tell local media that Wednesday afternoon, 36-year-old Christopher Sparks was driving a red Honda Accord in…

Paris named Tennessee Main Street community

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - State officials say the west Tennessee city of Paris has received Main Street accreditation, which gives it access to funding to improve its downtown area. Department of Economic and Community Development Commissioner Randy Boyd said Wednesday…

Electrolux workers in Memphis vote for union representation

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - Employees at the Electrolux appliance factory in Memphis have voted to be represented by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union. The Commercial Appeal reports (http://memne.ws/2dsw8Zg ) that about 650 workers cast ballots in the unionization…

Prominent voucher advocate takes Harwell, Dean on trip

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - A prominent school voucher advocate in Tennessee paid for a private plane to take public officials including potential Republican and Democratic candidates for governor to North Carolina on a private school tour. The Tennessean reports (http://tnne.ws/2cYx1In…

Federal suits claim segregation, abuse of disabled students

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - A group of Tennessee parents says the public schools are mistreating their disabled children, and they're asking a federal judge to intervene. The parents say their children are being segregated from able-bodied students, isolated, restrained and…

Community Health selling 4 hospitals in Mississippi, Florida

FRANKLIN, Tenn. (AP) - Community Health Systems says it is selling four hospitals in Mississippi and Florida to Curae Health Inc. The Mississippi hospitals involved in the deal are the 95-bed Merit Health Gilmore Memorial in Amory, the 112-bed Merit…

Drugged driving overtakes alcohol in Tennessee road deaths

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Drugged driving has overtaken drunken and distracted driving as a factor in Tennessee traffic fatalities. Citing an analysis of Tennessee Highway Patrol data, The Tennessean (http://tnne.ws/2cO3vYa ) reports…

Stand for Children, charter candidates face $685K in fines

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - A pro-charter school organization and the four Nashville school board candidates it backed last month could face harsh punishments for campaign disclosure violations. The Tennessean (http://tnne.ws/2cYOyQz ) reports that education advocacy group Stand for Children and…

Sheriff: School counselor convinces student to hand over gun

PLEASANT VIEW, Tenn. (AP) - A middle-school counselor in Tennessee is being called a hero after talking a teenager into handing over a loaded handgun. Media outlets report that a 14-year-old boy went to Sycamore Middle School Wednesday asking to…

Boutique Air passengers flying to Atlanta continues to rise

MUSCLE SHOALS, Ala. (AP) - The number of passengers flying Boutique Air in Muscle Shoals to Atlanta has continued to increase. The TimesDaily reports (http://bit.ly/2dhw8wa) the Shoals' commuter airline boarded 342 passengers last month compared to 330 in July. The…

ATF investigating church fire in Memphis

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives says it is investigating a church fire in Memphis. Memphis Fire Department spokesman Wayne Cooke says crews put out a fire at New Salem Fellowship Ministries church at…

Student arrested for wearing gorilla mask to protest

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (AP) - A student at East Tennessee State University has been arrested for disrupting a Black Lives Matter event on campus wearing a gorilla mask, carrying around a rope and trying to hand out bananas. Media report…

Attorney who stopped Vermont suspect 1 of 25 Carnegie Heroes

PITTSBURGH (AP) - A Vermont prosecutor who disarmed a woman accused of fatally shooting a social worker outside a state office building is one of 25 people being honored with Carnegie medals for heroism. The Carnegie Hero Fund Commission announced…

Navy sailor gets medal for helping save woman’s life

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - A Navy sailor from Indiana has received a medal for helping save the life of a woman involved in a car crash in Memphis. The Navy's Office of Community Outreach Public Affairs says Mass Communication Specialist…

Mexican consulate, Memphis office of EEOC renew agreement

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - The Mexican consulate in Atlanta and the Memphis office of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission have renewed an agreement to fight workplace discrimination against immigrants. Under the memorandum of understanding renewed Tuesday, the consulate and…

Ky. police officer arrested in prostitution investigation

Authorities say a Kentucky police officer has been arrested as part of an investigation into an alleged prostitution ring. Kentucky State Police said Wednesday that Oak Grove police Sgt. Benjamin R. Walden was among three people arrested after state police…

Board doesn’t want wrongfully convicted man to be exonerated

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - The Tennessee Board of Parole says the governor should not formally exonerate a man who spent 31 years in prison but was released after DNA evidence cleared him of the crime. News organizations report that the…

After 170 years, remains of US troops return from Mexico

DOVER, Del. (AP) - Remains of U.S. troops who died in the Mexican-American War are being returned from Mexico for forensic study that might determine where they were from and how they died. Several sets of remains were expected Wednesday…

Rutherford sheriff taken into custody until JailCigs trial

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (AP) - A federal magistrate judge has ordered Rutherford County Sheriff Robert Arnold taken into custody until his February trial on allegations that he profited from the sale of electronic cigarettes to jail inmates. The Daily News Journal…

Ex-Mountie accused of smuggling narwhal tusks pleads guilty

BANGOR, Maine (AP) - A retired Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer accused of smuggling narwhal tusks has pleaded guilty in federal court in Maine to 10 money-laundering counts. U.S. prosecutors say Gregory Logan, of St. John, New Brunswick, smuggled 250…

Officials confirm cougar sighting in Wayne County

WAYNESBORO, Tenn. (AP) - With western cougars expanding their range, Tennessee wildlife authorities have confirmed that a cougar was documented in Wayne County for the first time earlier this month. News outlets report that the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency confirmed…

House speaker blames claim of lewd conduct on angry lawmaker

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - House Speaker Beth Harwell says a complaint filed against the House clerk is being brought by a lame-duck lawmaker who is angry about the expulsion of fellow Republican Rep. Jeremy Durham over a series of sexual…