Abortion Law Exemptions among Legislative Issues the General Assembly plans to address
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) -- Speaker of the House Cameron Sexton plans to bring a variety of bills to the legislation this year. Among these are exemptions to…
2 Tenn. officials fired after lethal injection errors noted
By JONATHAN MATTISE Associated Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - The Tennessee Department of Correction has fired its top attorney and another employee following a scathing independent report on failures within the state’s lethal injection system. Documents obtained by the AP…
US's largest public utility names panel to study blackouts
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - The nation's largest public utility has appointed an independent panel to look into power failures that spurred the decision to implement rolling blackouts during dangerously cold conditions late last year. The Tennessee Valley Authority said Thursday…
Alabama extends time for executions, ends automatic review
By KIM CHANDLER Associated Press MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) - Alabama has changed death penalty procedures to give the prison system longer to carry out executions - a move that comes after a string of troubled lethal injections in the state…
Texas man pleads guilty to role in $1.6M romance scam plot
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - A Texas man has pleaded guilty to his role in a romance scam in which women from across the nation were cheated out of a total of about $1.6 million by someone often pretending to be…
Georgia Officials Warn Residents of Home Repair Fraud
ATLANTA, Ga. (WDEF) -- Georgia residents should be aware of home repair fraud that may occur following damaging storms, Attorney General Chris Carr said in a press release. Some things to look out for are insurance scams, price gouging and…
Man killed, trooper shot while ‘Cop City’ protesters cleared
ATLANTA (AP) - Authorities say they killed a man who shot and injured a Georgia state trooper as law enforcement officers tried to clear protesters from the site of a planned public safety training center just outside Atlanta. Georgia Bureau…
Marjorie Taylor Greene gets Committee Assignments
WASHINGTON, D.C. (WDEF) -- Georgia House Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene was selected to sit on the House Homeland Security, and Oversight and Accountability Committees. She was selected by the House GOP Steering Committee. The decision will still need to be…
Commissioners Propose Knoxville Highway Bypass
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WDEF) -- Knox County commissioners are proposing a new highway bypass around Knoxville. Knox County Commissioner Larsen Jay stated that the highway would help alleviate the continually increasing traffic in the area. The Commission of Knox County created…
Smoky Mountains to Require Parking Passes
SEVIER COUNTY, Tenn. (WDEF) -- The Great Smoky Mountains National Park will require parking tags beginning March 1st, the National Park Service announced on Tuesday. They say this will not…
Memorial for Lisa Marie Presley to be held at Graceland
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - A public memorial service for Lisa Marie Presley will be held next weekend at Graceland, the famed Memphis home of her father, Elvis Presley. A family representative says the memorial for Lisa Marie Presley will be…
Carter's Dam Stuck Open, Flooding to Occur
UPDATE: The Gordon County Government released that the issue has been resolved. They say the gate is now shut. They say there is still a potential for minor flooding from the water that has been released. GORDON COUNTY, Ga. (WDEF)…
Huntsville's Welcome Center rocket is coming down
HUNTSVILLE, Alabama (WDEF) - For decades, visitors to Huntsville, Alabama have been greeted with a real-life Saturn Rocket along the interstate. But that rocket's days are numbered. The Saturn 1B rocket was placed at a Welcome Center along I-65 at…
Coach: Alabama 'grieving' after teammate charged with murder
By AARON BEARD AP Basketball Writer -- Alabama men’s basketball coach Nate Oats says the fourth-ranked Crimson Tide is going through “kind of a grieving process” after player Darius Miles and another man were charged with capital murder following a…
Tennessee Death Row inmate dies of natural causes
NASHVILLE, Tennessee (WDEF) - Another death row inmate in Tennessee has died of natural causes. James Dellinger was 71. State prison officials say he died Monday morning at the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution. Dellinger was given the death penalty for…
Officials: Tennessee inmate on death row dies in prison
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Authorities say a Tennessee inmate on death row has died of apparent natural causes. The Department of Correction says 71-year-old James Dellinger was pronounced dead Monday at…
Georgia, Tennessee Ranked among Best States for Driving
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) -- Georgia and Tennessee are ranked in the top ten best states to drive in, according to WalletHub. Georgia was ranked the second-best driving state in the U.S., while Tennessee was ranked number eight. The criteria used…
Naked, Bloody Woman Assaults Officer
POWELL, Ala. (WDEF) -- A naked woman covered in blood assaulted a police officer on Sunday, the Powell Police Department stated in a press release. They are labeling the incident as a…
UGA football player killed in wreck after title celebration
By PAUL NEWBERRY AP Sports Writer -- Georgia offensive lineman Devin Willock and a recruiting staff member have been killed in a car wreck hours after the Bulldogs celebrated their second straight national championship. The school announced their deaths and…
Mother and children safe after car fire spreads to home
A mother and her two children are safe after a car fire spread to their Hixson home. Firefighters responded to the fire at 7:10 last night. No injuries were reported and crews…
Storms set off search for survivors, salvageable belongings
By KIM CHANDLER and JEFF MARTIN Associated Press SELMA, Ala. (AP) - Stunned residents tried to salvage belongings as rescue crews pulled survivors from the aftermath of a deadly tornado-spawning storm system that killed at least nine people in Georgia…
Lisa Marie Presley dies at 54 after hospitalization
Lisa Marie Presley — the only child of Elvis Presley — died Thursday after being hospitalized earlier that day, her mother said in a statement. The singer was 54.
UTK Student Found Guilty of Rape
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WDEF) -- A student at the University of Tennessee was found guilty of rape on Wednesday, according to District Attorney General Charme Allen. The 25-year-old student is Gavin…
Federal utility chooses gas plant despite EPA concerns
By TRAVIS LOLLER Associated Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - The nation’s largest public utility has decided to build a new natural gas plant despite concerns from the Environmental Protection Agency. Tennessee Valley Authority President and CEO Jeff Lyash on Tuesday…