Increase reported in 2023 Chattanooga overdose deaths
CHATTTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) - The Hamilton County Drug Recovery Court presented updated statistics on Wednesday showing the extent of the local drug crisis. During a presentation, the court said…
Hixson High School starts new EMS program
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) -- Hixson High School took some major new steps this week for the future of their school. They announced their…
Vacation rental committee to be held next week
HAMILTON COUNTY, Tenn. (WDEF) - A resolution about vacation rentals will be discussed next week at Hamilton County Commission. It will be discussed in a committee session after next week’s regular meeting on Wednesday, May 8. This resolution, proposed by…
Explosions reported in house fire near Montlake Golf Course
HAMILTON COUNTY, Tenn. (WDEF) -- Hamilton County authorities have reported a house fire near the Montlake Golf Course in Soddy-Daisy, Tennessee. According to the Office of Emergency Management, the fire…
Ocmulgee Mounds could be home to Georgia's first national park
MACON, Ga. (WDEF) -- Georgia lawmakers from both parties are banding together to push through the first national park in the state. Georgia's two democratic senators and many House republicans, including Marjorie Taylor Greene, announced…
Violence breaks out at some pro-Palestinian campus protests
Dueling groups of protesters clashed Wednesday at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), grappling in fistfights and shoving, kicking and using sticks to beat one another. Hours earlier, police burst into a building at Columbia University that pro-Palestinian protesters took over to…
United Methodists overwhelmingly vote to repeal longstanding ban on LGBTQ clergy
United Methodist delegates repealed their church's longstanding ban on LGBTQ clergy with no debate on Wednesday, removing a rule forbidding "self-avowed practicing homosexuals" from being ordained or appointed as ministers. Delegates voted…
Motorcyclist dies in crash at Bates, Alabama Road intersection
APISON, Tenn. (WDEF) -- A motorcyclist died in a crash at the intersection of Bates and Alabama Roads in Hamilton County on Tuesday. The Hamilton County Sheriff's Office…
Bryan College reopens after potential bomb threat Wednesday
UPDATE: DAYTON, Tenn. (WDEF) -- Bryan College stated on social media that it received an all-clear from authorities to return to campus. At around 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, the college said students could return to their dorms. Bryan College's dining…
Dalton Public Schools gets a new superintendent
DALTON, Ga. (WDEF) - Dalton Public Schools welcomed its new superintendent on Tuesday. The Dalton Board of Education unanimously approved Dr. Steven Craft contract at Tuesday's board meeting.…
Louisiana man charged with rape in DeKalb County, Alabama
DEKALB COUNTY, Ala. (WDEF) -- A Louisiana man has been arrested for a rape case in DeKalb County, Alabama, the sheriff's office said. Lafayette, Louisiana law enforcement arrested 31-year-old Bobby John Bergeron, Jr. on Friday, April 5. [caption id="attachment_1717307" align="alignright"…
Golden Apple Award: Sarah Dodson, Lake Forest Middle School
CLEVELAND, Tenn. (WDEF) - Kindness, patience and understanding are always on the syllabus for Sarah Dodson's class at Lake Forest Middle. She has been described as, "the…
First responders rescue missing hiker at Rainbow Lake Trail
HAMILTON COUNTY, Tenn. (WDEF) -- First responders in Hamilton County conducted a rescue of a hiker at the Rainbow Lake Trail on Signal Mountain on Tuesday. A woman…
Fort Payne man dies in Chattooga County crash, GSP says
CHATTOOGA COUNTY, Ga. (WDEF) -- A Fort Payne man died from a car wreck in Chattooga County on Monday, according to the Georgia State Patrol. The crash happened around 1:30 p.m. on Georgia Highway 1 at Kirby Hollow Road. There…
Walker County unveils McLemore Cove sign on Tuesday
WALKER COUNTY, Ga. (WDEF) - Walker County unveiled its new interpretive sign of McLemore Cove on Tuesday. In the 1900s, the McLemore Cove Historic District was added to…
Sherman+Reilly acquired in merger, continuing Chattanooga operations
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) - A local utility company that’s been around for nearly a century announced a big change on Tuesday. Sherman+Reilly have been making products for…
City Council discusses potential new staff position
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) - The Chattanooga City Council discussed a potential change to how they reach out to the public during a committee session Tuesday. A new position called…
Cleveland High Schools remembers 2 who died in weekend crash
CLEVELAND, Tenn. (WDEF) -- Two Cleveland High School students tragically died in car crash this past weekend. Students, teachers and family came together tonight for a memorial…
Justice Dept will move to reclassify marijuana in a historic shift, sources say
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration will move to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug as soon as Tuesday, CBS News has learned, a historic shift to generations of American drug policy that could have wide ripple effects across the country. The…
Democrats say they will save Speaker Mike Johnson's job if Republicans try to oust him
By KEVIN FREKING/Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — House Democrats will vote to save Republican Speaker Mike Johnson’s job should some of his fellow Republican lawmakers seek to remove him from the position, Democratic leaders said Tuesday, likely assuring for now…
Tennessee Aquarium ranked nation's best aquarium in recent poll
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) -- A recent poll named the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga as the nation's best aquarium. Newsweek Magazine held a readers' choice poll, allowing readers to vote for their favorite aquariums.…
U.S. pilot accounted for 57 years after vanishing during Vietnam War spy mission
An American pilot who disappeared during a Vietnam War-era spy mission has been accounted for almost 60 years later, officials said Monday. John C.G. Kerr, originally from Florida, was 35 when he was reported missing in 1967. Kerr had been…
4 law enforcement officers killed in shooting in Charlotte, North Carolina
Four law enforcement officers were killed and four others were wounded in a shooting in Charlotte, North Carolina, while trying to serve a warrant Monday afternoon, police said. A suspect was killed in a shootout with police, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Johnny Jennings announced during…
DeKalb County narcotics agents seize 1 kilo of meth, arrest 2 men
DEKALB COUNTY, Ala. (WDEF) -- DeKalb County authorities seized one kilo of methamphetamine on Friday and arrested two suspects in that case. The sheriff's office said on April 26, narcotics agents spotted 51-year-old Thomas Dewayne Bailey's vehicle on Glenn Boulevard.…