Tennessee News Archives

“We require our managers and supervisors to report all problems that they see”

The general manager of Nuclear Fuel Services says the company is taking steps to improve safety at its East Tennessee plant. via Knoxville News Sentinel

Staff Reports Tennesseans are asked to beware of letters suggesting they have won a prize in the popular lottery game Powerball, officials said today. via Nashville City Paper

A proposal to create constitutional protections for hunting in Tennessee is headed back to the House after the Senate passed a slightly changed version. via WREC-AM Memphis

“This will be a respectful debate”

Republican National Committee Chairman Mike Duncan formally denounced on Thursday the Tennessee Republican Party's use of Barack Obama's full name in a recent news release questioning the Illinois senator's ... via CNN

A prosecutor says death row inmate Paul House will have a new murder trial and the state will again seek the death penalty. via The Jackson Sun

A Tennessee man gunned down four people in a Bristol public housing complex and then retreated to a family farm to kill himself, police said. via Political Gateway

The Tennessee Republican Party intends to keep using Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's middle name despite Republican John McCain's repudiation of the practice. via The Tennessean

“I believe that we can move forward in a measure, deliberative and bipartisan manner with legislation that seriously tackles drugs in sports.”

Once again, professional sports and their leaders were hauled up to Capitol Hill on Wednesday by lawmakers who say they might try once again to legislate drug-testing policies for U.S. leagues. via Clarion Dispatch

“For so long the pro-abortion Democrats have been trying to hide behind a minority of members who want to keep this bill in this room. Today, they had to speak to their real convictions”

A proposed constitutional amendment that could have allowed new limits on abortions in Tennessee was killed on Tuesday by a state House subcommittee, the fourth time the Republican-backed proposal has been ... via WBIR-TV Knoxville

The Knoxville Fire Department is investigating two suspicious fires, including one at a University of Tennessee dormitory. via WLMT

It's the end of an era at a Tennessee whiskey distillery steeped in tradition. Brown-Forman Corp. via WLKY.com

“I don't agree that we should buy property in this fashion, I don't think it's state business”

Some lawmakers are expressing concern about approving another cash infusion for the state's Heritage Conservation Trust Fund amid tight budget conditions. via The Knoxville News-Sentinel

“Somebody needs to do something.”

Maybe it was the expensive lobster lunch. The questionable federal grants. The collective amnesia about term limits. via Guardian Unlimited

A border dispute between Georgia and Tennessee has been the subject of a few laughs but little substantive discussion between their governors at a meeting in Washington. via WALB-TV Albany

Police are looking for three inmates who overpowered a guard and escaped from a Tennessee jail. via Guardian Unlimited

“Having the ability to get this from a pre-negotiated service level at a very, very competitive rate is a huge step forward”

AT&T Inc. is partnering with Tennessee to provide the country's first statewide system to electronically exchange patient medical information, the telecommunications company said Monday.

The system is designed to securely transmit detailed patient information between medical professionals. It will allow doctors to access medical histories, prescribe medicines over the Internet and transfer images like X-rays, MRIs and CT scans.

'As patients we really want our information to be available to physicians whenever and wherever they're needed,' said Diane Turcan, director of health care marketing for AT&T in Atlanta. 'And we certainly don't want to be copying paper records.' Read more

An afternoon crash on Winfield Dunn Parkway on Sunday resulted in life-threatening injuries for the 21-year-old driver of a motorcycle involved. via Knoxville News Sentinel

Lawmakers began examining a slew of lottery scholarship bills to determine how to spend the state's $400 million in lottery reserves. via WVLT-TV Knoxville

“Tomorrow looks like a deadly day”

Two weeks ago, tornadoes carved through 24 Tennessee counties and killed 31 people. via The Leaf Chronicle

Florida police have arrested a Tennessee couple in connection with the death of an eastern Kentucky man last fall. via WAVE-TV Louisville

“It's such a blatant attack on freedom of speech”

For one state lawmaker, it's a disturbing trend in public education: Tennessee middle school teachers attending seminars on how to teach about transgender people and a Massachusetts kindergarten class being ... via WBIR-TV

Hispanic birth rate booms in Tennessee The Associated Press Originally published 01:10 p.m., February 16, 2008 Updated 01:10 p.m., February 16, 2008 NASHVILLE, Tenn. via Knoxville News Sentinel

“It's the silliest thing I've ever seen any group of Republicans do. I'm embarrassed that they would embarrass the party like that”

Thirsting for more water in the midst of a drought, Georgia lawmakers have taken a step toward moving the state line so they can tap the mighty Tennessee River. via USA Today

The National Civil Rights Museum Board of Directors has increased its black community membership -- a response to critics who said the board was too white and too tied to big business. via WTVF Nashville

The scene is set for a Number-1 versus Number-2 in men's college basketball. In the latest Associated Press Top-25 college basketball poll, the Memphis Tigers retained the top spot while Tennessee edged up to ... via WANE-TV Fort Wayne

Governor Phil Bredesen has appointed the first black woman to serve on the Tennessee Regulatory Authority board. via WLMT

Tennessean The number of Hispanic babies born in Tennessee has increased from 444 in 1990 to 7,885 in 2006, according to state department of health data. via Immigration Watchdog

Victims of recent storms in Tennessee may qualify for tax relief from the Internal Revenue Service. via The Tennessean

A federal judge in Tennessee has thrown out a long-running lawsuit that accused Tyson Foods of hiring illegal immigrants at plants in five states, including Alabama, to depress wages. via WAAY-TV Huntsville

The Federal Emergency Management Agency said it needs about 100 mobile homes for Tennesseans who lost homes after this month's deadly tornadoes. via WTVF Nashville

State lawmakers want to move next month's sales tax holiday so it won't fall on Easter weekend. via WREC-AM Memphis

“Where's the problem?''', Opie said. ''I know nowhere in the state where this is going on.'”

A proposal that would have banned teaching about homosexuality in public schools failed in a House subcommittee mainly because state officials say it's not necessary. via The Jackson Sun

Gov. Phil Bredesen has already laid out his top priorities for the current legislative session. via WSMV-TV Nashville

“Many employers in Tennessee today have difficulty finding and retaining skilled workers. The long-term outlook suggests that this problem will become more acute in the next 10 years, which could hamper the state's path of economic development”

Researchers at the University of Tennessee say they expect the U.S. economy to avoid a recession but continue a slowdown in 2008. via WATE-TV Knoxville

A former plastic surgeon convicted in Tennessee of criminally negligent homicide in the overdose death of his girlfriend faces new charges in Kentucky. via WMC-FM

Lack of funding and confusion about the law has meant a number of Tennessee law enforcement agencies are not taking DNA samples from arrestees, as a new law requires. via WREG-TV Memphis

A new report examines thousands of statistics from Tennessee to try to quantify the relationship between education and quality of life issues like jobs, health and civic participation. via WREC-AM Memphis

“As soon as people believe carbon has a price, it's going to have a price”

Al Gore advised Wall Street leaders and institutional investors Thursday to ditch businesses too reliant on carbon-intensive energy _ or prepare for huge losses down the road.

'You need to really scrub your investment portfolios, because I guarantee you _ as my longtime good redneck friends in Tennessee say, I guarandamntee you _ that if you really take a fine-tooth comb and go through your portfolios, many of you are going to find them chock-full of subprime carbon assets,' the former vice president said. Read more

“The Tennessee Republican Party is glad Gov. Bredesen has embraced this Republican policy proposal, however long it took him to make the shift”

Gov. Phil Bredesen urged a 'fundamental restructuring' of how long-term care is provided to elderly and disabled Tennessee residents on Thursday, saying there should be more options available than nursing home ... via The Tennessean

Eight additional Tennessee counties have been approved for federal disaster aid in the wake of last week's deadly storms. via WAAY-TV Huntsville

“This is not anything different than what we've done”

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is seeking public comment on a company's request to import about 20,000 tons of nuclear waste from Italy for processing in Tennessee and disposal in Utah. via Sioux City Journal

“I tried to lift up but I couldn't. I was thinking I would lose my legs. I couldn't feel them for a long time. I just felt really helpless.”

Danny Song bolted for cover as a tornado tore through the dormitory complex at Union University _ then the ceiling came crashing down on top of a couch that was wedged against him. via Cumberlink.com

A list of Tennessee storm victims who have been identified by authorities: Madison County Alta M. Baker, 84, of Huntersville. via WREG-TV Memphis

“Can you imagine what would happen to our boundary lines? They'd be all willy-nilly. "It's correct -- no matter how wrong it is.”

Nearly two centuries after a flawed survey placed Georgia's northern line just short of the Tennessee River, some legislators are suddenly thirsting to set the record straight. via CNN

“I have no doubt in my mind this community will come back better than before”

President Bush, dispensing hugs freely as he comforted tornado survivors Friday, acknowledged the "incredible sadness and worry" he saw in their eyes and said the nation stood ready to help."I have no doubt in ... via KansasCity.com

President Bush is expected to visit Tennessee on Friday to help comfort victims affected by the devastating string of tornadoes that plowed through the South. via WPSD-TV Paducah

The Hickory Ridge Mall in Southeast Memphis, Tennessee is one of the many locations that sustained severe damage because of evening Tornados and storms in that area on Tuesday.

CBS Affiliate WREG is reporting that some strong storm cells hit the area Tuesday afternoon causing severe damage, and a Tornado Emergency is currently in effect in Jackson City in Madison County.

Tornado warnings remain in effect until 7:15 p.m. central time for Fayette County, and Madison County as well.

Baseball size hail and storms have also been reported. Read more

The political redemption of John McCain began half a year ago, half a world away at a place called, fittingly enough, Camp Victory. via PR-inside.com

“Law enforcement corruption cannot be tolerated and must be dealt with quickly and professionally”

The sheriff of a southern Tennessee county was arrested Saturday in an FBI sting and charged with extorting money from video gambling operators. via Time

Elections officials say turnout for Tennessee's presidential primary could reach a record of one million voters by Super Tuesday. via The Jackson Sun

The state Fire Marshal's Office has ordered the University of Tennessee to begin a 24-hour fire alert and watch at a dormitory hit by two fires on consecutive days. via Insurance Journal West

“Maybe at some point, we ought to consider what Tennesseans want. It's something I am taking a look at how I might have an influence on.”

Gov. Phil Bredesen, D-Tenn., said today he may become involved this year in the fight between AT&T and Tennessee's cable television companies over cable and broadband services in the state. via Chattanooga Times Free Press