Author: Associated Press

Rioter who assaulted cops at Capitol gets 5 years in prison

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Tennessee man who authorities say came to Washington ahead of the Jan. 6, 2021, riot prepared for violence in a car full of weapons and assaulted officers who were trying to defend the Capitol was sentenced…

Tennessee eyes $2M in contracts to test 1000 rape kits

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee's lead investigative agency is seeking $2 million in contracts with outside labs to process 1,000 rape kits it says need to be tested before the end of June. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation issued the…

Oldest DNA reveals life in Greenland 2 million years ago

NEW YORK (AP) — Scientists discovered the oldest known DNA and used it to reveal what life was like 2 million years ago in the northern tip of Greenland. Today, it’s a barren Arctic desert, but back then it was…

Tennessee high school sports org votes to allow NIL deals

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The rulemaking arm of Tennessee’s high school sports oversight organization has made a change that allows student athletes to profit off their name, image and likeness. A news release from the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association…

Tennessee suspends ex-senator’s law license over guilty plea

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Tennessee Supreme Court has suspended the law license of a former Tennessee state senator who pleaded guilty last month to violating federal campaign finance laws. The court suspended former Republican Sen. Brian Kelsey’s law license…

AG: Tennessee to receive $13M from Juul settlement

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee’s attorney general says the state will get $13 million from a nearly $440 million settlement with electronic cigarette maker Juul Labs spread among 33 states and Puerto Rico. In a news release, Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti says…

EXPLAINER: Pronouns, nonbinary people and the Club Q attack

The Colorado Springs gay bar shooting suspect’s assertion of being nonbinary has put gender identity and pronouns — and some sensitive questions around them — back in the spotlight. Respecting Anderson Lee Aldrich’s request to be referenced with they/them pronouns does not…

Bill protecting same-sex, interracial unions clears Congress

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House gave final approval Thursday to protections for same-sex marriages. The vote sends the legislation to President Joe Biden, a monumental step in a decadeslong battle for nationwide recognition of such unions. The law requires all…

Celine Dion diagnosed with rare neurological disorder

(AP) -- Celine Dion has put a halt on all performing after being diagnosed with a rare neurological disorder. In an emotional video messages posted in French and English on Thursday on Instagram, Dion said stiff person syndrome was causing spasms…

FBI got earlier tip about Colorado Springs gay bar shooter

DENVER (AP) — Authorities say the person who would later kill five at a Colorado gay nightclub was on the FBI’s radar a day before being arrested for threatening to kill family members. However, agents closed out the case just…

WNBA star Griner freed in swap for Russian arms dealer Bout

WASHINGTON (AP) — Russia has freed WNBA star Brittney Griner in a dramatic high-level prisoner exchange, with the U.S. releasing notorious Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout. The swap comes at a time of heightened tensions over Ukraine and it achieved…

Microsoft strikes 10-year deal with Nintendo on Call of Duty

LONDON (AP) — Microsoft agreed Wednesday to make the hit video game Call of Duty available on Nintendo for 10 years should its $69 billion purchase of game maker Activision Blizzard go through — an apparent attempt to fend off objections from…

Hawaii remembrance draws handful of Pearl Harbor survivors

PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii (AP) — A handful of centenarian survivors of the attack on Pearl Harbor joined about 2,500 members of the public at the scene of the Japanese bombing on Wednesday to commemorate those who perished 81 years ago. [caption id="attachment_1247803"…

Putin says Ukraine fight is taking longer than expected

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin acknowledged Wednesday that his “special military operation” in Ukraine is taking longer than expected but said it has succeeded in seizing new territory and added that his country’s nuclear weapons are deterring escalation of…

Juul reaches settlements covering more than 5,000 cases

(AP) -- Electronic cigarette maker Juul Labs has reached settlements covering more than 5,000 cases brought by about 10,000 plaintiffs related to its vaping products. Financial terms of the settlement were not disclosed, but Juul said that it has secured…

Justices skeptical of elections case that could alter voting

WASHINGTON (AP) — At least six Supreme Court justices are sounding skeptical of making a broad ruling that would leave state legislatures virtually unchecked when making rules for elections. The North Carolina case the high court was hearing Wednesday has…

FBI: Polygamous leader had 20 wives, many of them minors

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — Authorities say the leader of a small polygamous group near the Arizona-Utah border had taken at least 20 wives and punished followers who didn't treat him as a prophet. The details of Samuel Bateman's life were…

Titans owner fires GM Jon Robinson in his 7th season

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk has very high standards for her Titans. FILE - Tennessee Titans owner Amy Adams Strunk, right, and general manager Jon Robinson watch players warm up before…

‘Next mass killer’: Dropped case foretold Colorado bloodbath

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — Anderson Lee Aldrich loaded bullets into a Glock pistol and chugged vodka, ominously warning frightened grandparents not to stand in the way of an elaborate plan to stockpile guns, ammo, body armor and a homemade…

Officers to receive Congressional Gold Medals for Jan. 6

WASHINGTON (AP) — Top House and Senate leaders will present law enforcement officers who defended the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, with Congressional Gold Medals on Tuesday, awarding them Congress's highest honor nearly two years after they fought with former President…

Many kids are struggling. Is special education the answer?

The COVID-19 pandemic sent Heidi Whitney’s daughter into a tailspin. FILE - Desks are spaced apart ahead of planned in-person learning at an elementary school on March 19, 2021, in Philadelphia. The COVID-19 pandemic spared no…

Jim Stewart, co-founder of Stax Records in Memphis, dies

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Jim Stewart, the white Tennessee farm boy and fiddle player who co-founded the influential Stax Records with his sister in a Black, inner-city Memphis neighborhood and helped build the soulful “Memphis sound,” has died at age…

Memphis hospital: Halt to trans procedures is temporary

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A Memphis hospital says it has paused, not stopped, its gender-affirming services in response to possible legal action by civil rights advocates who argue the hospital's move is illegal and discriminatory. Last week, the American Civil Liberties…

EXPLAINER: US power grid has long faced terror threat

WASHINGTON (AP) — Investigators believe a shooting that damaged power substations in North Carolina was a crime. What they don't have yet is a suspect or a motive. FILE - Power transmission lines deliver electricity to rural Orange…

Justices spar in latest clash of religion and gay rights

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court 's conservative majority sounded sympathetic Monday to a Christian graphic artist who objects to designing wedding websites for gay couples, a dispute that's the latest clash of religion and gay rights to land at the highest…

Hurts has 3 TD passes plus TD run, Eagles beat Titans 35-10

By Dan Gelston - AP Sports Writer PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Jalen Hurts strengthened his MVP bid by throwing for 380 yards and three touchdowns and running for another score, and A.J Brown caught two touchdown passes against his former team…

Tennessee facing ACC champ Clemson in Orange Bowl on Dec. 30

By The Associated Press undefined High-powered Tennessee will play Atlantic Coast Conference champion Clemson in the Orange Bowl on Dec. 30. It's the seventh Orange Bowl appearance for Clemson and the fifth for Tennessee. The programs haven't played since Clemson…

George Clooney, Gladys Knight among Kennedy Center honorees

By Rebecca Santana - Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Performers such as Gladys Knight or the Irish band U2 usually would be headlining a concert for thousands but at Sunday's Kennedy Center Honors the tables will be turned as they…

‘Wakanda Forever’ is No. 1 for 4th straight weekend

By Jake Coyle - AP Film Writer NEW YORK (AP) — "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" kept the box-office crown for the fourth straight weekend, and the comic holiday thriller "Violent Night" debuted with $13.3 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.…

St. Edward’s Crown moved out of tower ahead of coronation

By Danica Kirka - Associated Press LONDON (AP) — St. Edward's Crown, the centerpiece of the Crown Jewels viewed by millions of people every year at the Tower of London, has been moved to an undisclosed location for modification in…

FDA change ushers in cheaper, easier-to-get hearing aids

By Tom Murphy - AP Health Writer It's now a lot easier — and cheaper — for many hard-of-hearing Americans to get help. Hearing aids can now be sold without a prescription from a specialist. Over-the-counter, or OTC, hearing aids…

Man charged with threatening doctor over transgender care

BOSTON (AP) — Federal prosecutors have charged a Texas man with threatening a Boston physician who cares for transgender children. Thirty-eight-year-old Matthew Jordan Lindner of Comfort, Texas, faces a charge of transmitting interstate threats. He was arrested Friday in Texas…

Man arrested in fatal shooting of Migos rapper Takeoff

By Lekan Oyekanmi and Jake Bleiberg - Associated Press HOUSTON (AP) — A 33-year-old man was arrested on a murder charge in the shooting of rapper Takeoff, who police on Friday said was an "innocent bystander" when he was struck…

Czech museum to return original Beethoven score to heirs

By Karel Janicek - Associated Press PRAGUE (AP) — A musical manuscript handwritten by Ludwig van Beethoven is getting returned to the heirs of the richest family in pre-World War II Czechoslovakia, whose members had to flee the country to…

Body of 7-year-old Texas girl found, FedEx driver arrested

PARADISE, Texas (AP) — A 7-year-old Texas girl has been found dead, two days after being reported missing, and a FedEx delivery driver arrested in her death, authorities said. The body of Athena Strand was found Friday and Tanner Lynn…

Ja Morant fined $35K after jawing at referee during game

MEMPHIS, Ten.. (AP) — Memphis guard Ja Morant has been fined $35,000 for getting angry at a referee and not leaving the court "in a timely manner" after he was ejected from Wednesday's game against Minnesota. The NBA announced the…

Tennessee roads plan mulls toll lanes, electric car fee hike

By Jonathan Mattise - Associated Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee is considering allowing express toll lanes on highways and tripling a fee for electric car owners as he targets his first big push after winning reelection…

Pentagon debuts its new stealth bomber, the B-21 Raider

WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States' newest nuclear stealth bomber is making its public debut after years of secret development. The new bomber is part of the Pentagon’s answer to rising concerns over a future conflict with China. The B-21…

ACLU warns Tenn. hospital over transgender treatment policy

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Civil rights advocates say a Memphis hospital is no longer providing gender-affirming surgeries, a move they argue is illegal and discriminatory. According to the American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee, Memphis-based Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare alerted…

Tennessee to provide free books to young students

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Tennessee Department of Education announced it is partnering with the Governor’s Early Literacy Foundation to provide free books to children in kindergarten through second grade. The decodable book series encourages at-home reading practice to help…

NASCAR, Goodyear extend partnership in new multi-year deal

NASHVILLE (AP) — Goodyear will remain the exclusive tire for NASCAR's top three national series under a new multi-year deal announced on Thursday. Specifics of the extension weren't included, but the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company will continue as title…

Jamie Lee Curtis to receive AARP Career Achievement Award

LOS ANGELES (AP) — “Scream Queen” Jamie Lee Curtis will be this year's recipient of AARP The Magazine’s Movies for Grownups Awards career achievement honor. FILE - Jamie Lee Curtis appears at the Governors Awards in Los Angeles…

Mistrial after jury deadlock in Danny Masterson rape case

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A judge declared a mistrial Wednesday at the rape trial of “That ’70s Show” actor Danny Masterson after jurors, who were leaning strongly toward acquitting him, deadlocked following the monthlong trial in which the Church of Scientology played…

Drug slows Alzheimer’s but can it make a real difference?

An experimental Alzheimer’s drug modestly slowed the brain disease’s inevitable worsening — but the anxiously awaited new data leaves unclear how much difference that might make in people’s lives. Japanese drugmaker Eisai and its U.S. partner Biogen had announced earlier this…

Tennessee officers won’t face charges for violent arrest

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — A grand jury has declined to indict police officers after an investigation by Tennessee’s police agency into the violent arrest of a Black man for alleged traffic violations, a district attorney said Wednesday. Members of a…

House votes to avert rail strike, impose deal on unions

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. House moved urgently to head off the looming nationwide rail strike on Wednesday, passing a bill that would bind companies and workers to a proposed settlement that was reached in September but rejected by some…