Author: Associated Press

Former Kentucky choir teacher sentenced in student rape case

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — A former choir teacher at a Kentucky high school has been sentenced to five years in prison in the rape of an underage student. News outlets reported that former Oldham County High School teacher Haley Reed…

In the news: Instagram seeking ways to verify users age

By: Oscar Well Gabriel II - AP writer WASHINGTON (AP) - How old are you? Everyone knows the answer for themselves - but people don't always share their true age. Often it's no big deal, but it can be when…

Biden signs landmark gun measure, says ‘lives will be saved’

By Will Weissert-Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Saturday signed the most sweeping gun violence bill in decades, a bipartisan compromise that seemed unimaginable until a recent series of mass shootings, including the massacre of 19 students…

Congress approves free student meal extension through summer

By Lisa Rathke-Associated Press (AP)---Congress passed a bill Friday that aims to keep up the expanded, pandemic-era distribution of free meals for all students this summer. Final passage of the Keep Kids Fed Act in the U.S. House came less…

West Virginia helicopter crash victims identified

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Medical examiners in West Virginia have released the names of six people killed in the crash of a Vietnam-era helicopter that gave tour rides. The aircraft crashed Wednesday during its last planned flight at an annual…

Manufacturers struggle to keep pace with vinyl record demand

By David Sharp - Associated Press (AP)--The arrival of the compact disc nearly killed off record albums, with vinyl pressing machines sold, scrapped and dismantled by major record labels. Four decades later, with resuscitated record album sales producing double-digit annual…

Couple faces fines for bringing a raccoon to a pet store

By: Oscar Wells Gabriel II- AP writer ATTICA, N.Y. (AP) — For most people, seeing a raccoon coming their way means they're going the other way. But authorities in New York state say a couple faces fines because they took…

Charlie Daniels’ first “Volunteer Jam” will be released

By: Marige Szaroleta--AP writer NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Charlie Daniels fans will be able to listen to his first Volunteer Jam in its entirety. “Charlie Daniels and Friends: Volunteer Jam-1974” features The Charlie Daniels Band, Toy Caldwell and Paul Riddle…

NASA demands its roaches back

By Oscar Wells Gabriel II-AP Writer BOSTON (AP) - If you heard someone had some dust and cockroaches that once belonged to you, would you want them back? Probably not - but the national space agency would. NASA has demanded…

Congress sends landmark gun violence compromise to Biden

Summary WASHINGTON (AP) — The House has sent President Joe Biden the most wide-ranging gun violence bill Congress has passed in decades. The bill that passed the House on Friday is a measured compromise that at once illustrates progress on…

Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade; states can ban abortion

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has ended constitutional protections for abortion that had been in place nearly 50 years in a decision by its conservative majority to overturn Roe v. Wade. Friday's outcome is expected to lead to abortion bans in roughly…

Tennessee man charged with killing tenant in machete attack

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — A Tennessee rooming house manager has been charged with killing a tenant with a machete during an argument over parking, state prosecutors said. Leaford Anderson, 53, has been indicted on a second-degree murder charge in the…

Rausch to continue leading Tennessee Bureau of Investigation

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee says he will appoint David Rausch to serve a second term as director of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. Rausch, a U.S. Army veteran, has been TBI director since 2018. Rausch has…

Senate OKs landmark gun violence bill, House passage is next

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate easily approved a bipartisan gun violence bill Thursday that seemed unthinkable a month ago, setting up final approval of what will be Congress' most far-reaching response in decades to the nation's run of brutal mass shootings. [caption…

LGBTQ students would get new protections under Biden plan

The rights of LGBTQ students would become enshrined in federal law and victims of campus sexual assault would gain new protections under rules proposed by the Biden administration on Thursday. FILE - Protesters stand in solidarity with rape…

Supreme Court expands gun rights, with nation divided

WASHINGTON (AP) — In a major expansion of gun rights, the Supreme Court said Thursday that Americans have a right to carry firearms in public for self-defense, a ruling likely to lead to more people legally armed in cities and…

Tennessee GOP leaders urge delay of toddler COVID-19 shots

SUMMARY NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Top Tennessee Republican House leaders are urging Gov. Bill Lee to delay the state’s health department from distributing and promoting the COVID-19 vaccines to infants, toddlers and preschoolers. In a letter sent to the Republican…

FDA bans Juul e-cigarettes tied to teen vaping surge

SUMMARY WASHINGTON (AP) — Health officials have ordered vaping company Juul to pull its electronic cigarettes from the U.S. market. It's the biggest blow yet to the embattled company that is widely blamed for sparking a surge in teen vaping.…

Title IX: Strides for women of color in sports lag under law

Once Tina Sloan Green took over the lacrosse program at Temple University in the years after the passage of Title IX, the landmark gender-equity law, she never stopped thinking about the girls who weren't playing. FILE - U.S.…

Afghanistan quake kills 1,000 people, deadliest in decades

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — A powerful earthquake struck a rugged, mountainous region of eastern Afghanistan early Wednesday, flattening stone and mud-brick homes and killing at least 1,000 people in the country's deadliest quake in two decades, the state-run news agency…

Civil jury finds Bill Cosby sexually abused teenager in 1975

SANTA MONICA, Calif. (AP) — Jurors at a civil trial found Tuesday that Bill Cosby sexually abused a 16-year-old girl at the Playboy Mansion in 1975. FILE - Bill Cosby arrives for a sentencing hearing following his sexual…

Title IX’s next battle: The rights of transgender athletes

When the gender equity legislation known as Title IX became law in 1972, the politics of transgender sports was not even a blip in the national conversation. Today, it is one of the sharpest dividing points in American culture. …

Elvis movie shines light on Tupelo’s influence

TUPELO, Miss. (AP) — Elvis’ legacy looms large over Tupelo, but in Australian writer/director Baz Luhrmann’s new film, Tupelo’s influence on the King of Rock and Roll is front and center. Luhrmann, who served as writer, director and producer for…

Supreme Court: Religious schools must get Maine tuition aid

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that Maine can't exclude religious schools from a program that offers tuition aid for private education, a decision that could ease religious organizations’ access to taxpayer money. The U.S. Supreme…

Titans add assistant coaches, scouting interns for camp

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Tennessee Titans have added a handful of new coaches and scouts for training camp. Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel talks to players at the NFL football team's practice facility Tuesday,…

Justice Bus to bring legal aid to Tennessee residents

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A Tennessee court initiative to help residents in need of legal aid has found a new way to reach out. On Monday, officials launched the Tennessee Justice Bus — a mobile legal clinic that will travel…

Trump lashes out at Jan. 6 committee as he teases 2024 run

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Making his first public appearance since the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection began its hearings laying bare his desperate attempts to subvert democracy and remain in power, former President Donald Trump on Friday lashed out at…

Decision on gas tax holiday may come this week, Biden says

REHOBOTH BEACH, Del. (AP) — President Joe Biden said Monday that he's considering a federal holiday on the gas tax, possibly saving U.S. consumers as much as 18.4 cents a gallon. “Yes, I’m considering it,” Biden told reporters after taking…

No tuition increases for Tennessee community, technical colleges

COLUMBIA, Tennessee (AP) — Students attending Tennessee's public community colleges and applied technology colleges will not face a tuition or fee increase for the upcoming academic year, officials said. The Tennessee Board of Regents voted at a quarterly meeting Friday…

Mayor of Louisville, Kentucky, ‘doing fine’ after punch

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — The mayor of Louisville, Kentucky, was punched in the city's Fourth Street Live entertainment district on Saturday night. Mayor Greg Fischer, a Democrat, is "doing fine," according to a tweet from the Louisville Metropolitan Police Department.…

Researchers hope fireflies will aid robot communication

GATLINBURG, Tenn. (AP) — Researchers from the University of Colorado are studying the Great Smoky Mountains' synchronous fireflies to determine whether understanding the way they communicate could help with developing robot communication. The fireflies "need to solve complex problems while…

Reports: Paul Haggis detained in Italy in sex assault case

ROME (AP) — Film director Paul Haggis was detained on Sunday for investigation of allegations that he sexually assaulted a woman in southern Italy, Italian news media said, quoting local prosecutors. The Canadian-born, Oscar-winning Haggis, 69, has been in Italy…

Inflation taking bite out of new infrastructure projects

By: David A. Lieb and Michael Casey- Associated Press (AP) --Inflation is taking a toll on infrastructure projects across the U.S. Rising prices for materials such as asphalt, steel and iron pipes are driving up the costs to build roads,…

Hank Jr. unleashes Thunderhead Hawkins on bawdy blues record

By Kristin M. Hall - AP Entertainment Writer NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Sometimes it's hard to tell who Hank Williams Jr. really is behind the dark sunglasses and the beard covering facial scars. How much of him is a persona…

Aardvark cub born at San Diego Zoo doing well

SAN DIEGO (AP) - There's an update on an aardvark born at the San Diego Zoo last month. Officials say the female cub is doing well - and developing quickly. The cub was born May 10 and will be nursing…

Vince McMahon will step down during WWE misconduct probe

By Michelle Chapman- AP Business Writer (AP)--Vince McMahon is stepping down as CEO and chairman of WWE during an an investigation into alleged misconduct involving the longtime leader and public face of the organization. McMahon will continue to oversee WWE's…

Tennessee secretary of state arrested on DUI charge

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett was arrested Friday night for allegedly driving under the influence after leaving a music festival in the state. Hargett was booked into the Coffee County Jail shortly after midnight Saturday…

CDC advisers recommend COVID-19 shots for children under 5

By Mike Stobbe - AP Medical Writer NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. health advisers on Saturday recommended COVID-19 vaccines for infants, toddlers and preschoolers — the last group without the shots. The advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and…

Revlon, beauty icon in crowded market, files for bankruptcy

By Anne D'innocenzio - AP Retail Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Revlon, a cosmetics maker that broke racial barriers and dictated beauty trends for much of the last century, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The company has been…

Fire at historic Chattanooga church was intentionally set

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) - Authorities say a fire that heavily damaged a historic church in Chattanooga was intentionally set and authorities searched Friday for a person of interest in the arson case. The Chattanooga Fire Department says a three-alarm fire…

Kentucky restaurant created by KFC founder for sale

SHELBYVILLE, Ky. (AP) — A restaurant created by KFC founder Harland Sanders for his wife decades ago is for sale. Claudia Sanders Dinner House in Shelbyville, Kentucky, hit the market this week, news outlets reported, citing a statement from the…

7 arrested in House office building linked to Colbert show

By Michael Balsam- Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. Capitol Police said Friday that officers arrested seven unauthorized people in a congressional office building Thursday night and charged them with unlawful entry. Media set up before…

Former Tennessee governor buying majority share of Predators

By Teresa M. Walker-AP Sports Writer NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The chairman of the Nashville Predators has agreed to sell the majority of his stake in the NHL team to former Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam. The Predators announced the agreement…

Biden takes spill while getting off bike after beach ride

By Aamer Madhani-Associated Press REHOBOTH BEACH, Del. (AP) — President Joe Biden fell when he tried to get off his bike at the end of a ride Saturday at Cape Henlopen State Park near his beach home in Delaware, but…