Chemical Spill forces residents to stay indoors
Residents in Monteagle were ordered to shelter in place after a chemical spill.
Cherokee Forest Fire near Tellico Plains & Cherohala Skyway
TELLICO PLAINS, Tennessee (WDEF) - A third forest fire has hit the southern part of the Cherokee National Forest. Foresters were already battling two different fires in the northeast Tennessee mountains. Now they report a third fire is burning about…
Chattanooga Police investigate 2 more shootings
CHATTANOOGA (WDEF) - Chattanooga Police are investigating two shootings from Thursday night. The first happened around 5 PM in the 3400 block of Campbell Street in East Chattanooga. A 22 year old male victim showed up at the hospital with…
Police looking for fatal hit and run driver in Brainerd
CHATTANOOGA (WDEF) - Police are looking for the driver who hit and killed a pedestrian overnight in Brainerd. It happened at 300 North Germantown Road around 12:45 AM. The victim was trying to cross the road when he was hit…
Proposed student bathroom bill
CHATTANOOGA, Tennessee (WDEF)- Tennessee lawmakers pass a new transgender student 'bathroom bill' Tennessee lawmakers have passed a bill that would put public schools at risk of civil lawsuits if they let transgender students or employees use multi-person bathrooms or…
Earth Day trash pickup
CHATTANOOGA, Tennessee- Members of the community workers led together for multiple hours to help clean up a Chattanooga creek on Earth Day. The nonprofit organization, Green steps, and other members of the community worked hard to clean out multiple garbage…
No Vaccine Requirements
The bill that opposes vaccine mandates now includes incentives for people to receive unemployment benefits if they leave their employer for refusing to get a shot.
Local restaurant owners struggling to find staff
https://youtu.be/BBCGV3gRPJ8 CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) - Many restaurants are looking to hire more staff as the economy continues to edge towards reopening. However, owners are now saying they are having trouble filling the jobs they need to keep up with the…
SUV climbs guy wires up power pole in Bristol, TN
BRISTOL, Tennessee (WDEF) - We see wreck everyday, but not like this one. Crews in northeast Tennessee had to figure out how to get a vehicle down from a power pole. They believe the SUV made a turn too fast,…
Zebra Mussels: Wrecking havoc on economy and ecology
https://youtu.be/NFRpB3_vSYY CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF)- Here in the Tennessee Valley we are aware of some invasive species like the Bighead Carp or the Silver Carp. But, how many of us have ever heard of Zebra Mussels. Well, one boater in Georgia…
Hamilton County announces school principal changes
CHATTANOOGA (WDEF) - The annual school principal shuffle has begun at Hamilton County Schools. The system announced several changes on Thursday for next year. Crystal Sorrells at East Ridge is moving over to Brainerd. She is currently the Principal of…
Volkswagen & The Conservation Fund Announce New Conservation Mural in Downtown Chattanooga
Volkswagen has unveiled a conservation - inspired mural in downtown Chattanooga on Earth Day. Last year, Volkswagen and The Conservation Fund awarded five charitable organizations grants in eastern Tennessee to enhance environmental learning. This mural was the product of the…
Tennessee Aquarium Partners with TDOT for New Exhibits on Earth Day
https://youtu.be/NHYxVoXJ4g8 Thursday is the 51st anniversary of Earth Day! The Tennessee Aquarium is partnering with TDOT's Nobody Trashes Tennessee campaign. This campaign will highlight the impact of road litter and micro plastics on waterways. "TDOT spends 19 million dollars picking…
Deputy charged with DUI after a wreck
CHATTANOOGA (WDEF) - A Hamilton County Sheriff's deputy has been charged with DUI. Deputy Nicholas Monroe was involved in a crash on I-75 near the East Brainerd Road exit. He was off duty at the time. Chattanooga Police charged him…
Hiring event for 150 Volkswagen jobs
CHATTANOOGA (WDEF) - Volkswagen is looking for another 150 production workers in Chattanooga. The pay starts at $15.50 an hour and up. They need experienced machine operation, warehouse or logistics workers in the production of their Passat, Volkswagen Atlas and…
High School bookkeeper charged with stealing school funds
FAYETTEVILLE, Tennessee (WDEF) - A grand jury has indicted the former bookkeeper at Highland Rim School in Fayetteville, Tennessee, to our west. Investigators were called in when school officials discovered their accounts were running low on money. Auditors found the…
Video released of Austin East school shooting in Knoxville
KNOXVILLE, Tennessee (WDEF) - The District Attorney in Knoxville showed video on Wednesday of the shooting at Austin-East High School 9 days ago. It was part of the announcement that police officers will not face charges in the shooting. Her…
Community and Law Enforcement Relations
The verdict of Derek Chauvin is now forcing leaders to figure out how to improve relations with law enforcement in our own community.
How much money do people need saved to retire?
CHATTANOOGA, Tennessee (WDEF) - How much money do people need to save to be able to retire? "If you don’t feel like you’ve done enough, the best advice you can get is don’t retire when people say you should retire.…
Sen. Blackburn condemns Sen. Warnock on Georgia voting law
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) - U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn talked exclusively with News 12 in a Zoom interview this morning in which she touched on a wide range of policy issues, including Georgia’s new voter ID law. Georgia Senator Reverend Raphael…
Biggest "relationship" question Tennesseans ask
(WDEF) - The folks at CenturyLinkQuote have been prying into our love lives again. For the third year in a row, they have been researching relationship questions we ask Google. And in the year of the pandemic, Tennesseans Googled "When…
Blood Assurance in Critical Need of Blood Donors
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn (WDEF) - Blood Assurance and blood banks across the nation are seeing the lowest donor turnout since the pandemic began. Volunteer blood donors are in critical need in our communities to help replenish the blood supply to save patient's…
North Carolina lifting Covid restrictions on June 1st
RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA (WDEF) - North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper has announced his timeline for lifting Covid restrictions in the state. He anticipates ending mandatory social distancing, capacity and mass gathering rules by the first of June. Gov. Cooper will…
No Appointments Needed: North Ga Health Departments offering walk in Covid-19 vaccine
WHITFIELD COUNTY, Ga (WDEF) - Getting your Covid-19 shot will now be even easier. At several North Georgia health department sites, you can walk up and receive your Covid-19 vaccination without an appointment-but that's only for a limited time. These…