$1.2 billion waiting to be claimed by Tennesseans
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn (WDEF) - The Unclaimed Property Division is a consumer protection program that works to reunite the millions of missing dollars turned over to the state every…
2020 Amber Alert ends in child abuse charges today
ASHELAND CITY, Tennessee (WDEF) - An AMBER Alert from last year has lead to a pair of arrests today. Last November, TBI agents began the search for a missing 9 year old boy in Cheatham County near Nashville. A couple…
Police now say a school shooting threat in Tennessee came from Canada
MANITOBA, Canada (WDEF) - It took investigators from two states and two countries to crack a case of multiple false reports of school shootings. They believe it was a "swatting" case across international boarders. Swatting is the term…
Governor Bill Lee speaks on masks and vaccine during Meigs County visit
MEIGS COUNTY, Tennessee (WDEF)- Governor Bill Lee didn’t want to speak much about a Tennessee judge blocking his order allowing students to opt-out of mask mandates due to it being an…
U of Tennessee-Knoxville extends COVID mask requirement
UTC on Twitter: Our medical team remains concerned about the spread of COVID-19 on campus and within the community. UTC, like our peers across the UT system, will extend the mask requirement set on August 23rd. This requirement will be…
West Nile case in Shelby County Tennessee's 3rd this year
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - Health officials say a person who contracted West Nile virus in Shelby County is Tennessee’s third case of the illness this year. In a news release Friday, the Shelby County Health Department did not identify the…
Ex-prosecutor indicted for misconduct in Ahmaud Arbery death
SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — A former Georgia prosecutor was indicted Thursday on misconduct charges alleging she used her position to shield the men who chased and killed Ahmaud Arbery from being charged with crimes immediately after the shootings. A grand…
Judge blocks Tenn. gov's mask opt-out order in Shelby County
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - A federal judge has issued a temporary restraining order blocking Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee from allowing parents to opt out of school mask requirements in Shelby County, the state’s largest county that includes Memphis. U.S. District…
Nurse practitioner convicted of unlawful opioid distribution in Manchester
CHATTANOOGA (WDEF) - A jury in Chattanooga this week convicted a man of unlawfully distributing prescription opioids. 64- year old Mark Daniel Allen was a nurse practitioner at a clinic in Manchester that he owned. Prosecutors say he…
Keith Urban's tour production manager, 72, dies from fall
PUT-IN-BAY, Ohio (AP) — The longtime tour production manager for country star Keith Urban has died after falling from a stage before an Ohio concert. Randy “Baja” Fletcher, 72, died on Aug. 27 at a hospital after falling the previous…
Fired Tennessee vaccine director files federal lawsuit
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - The terminated vaccine director in Tennessee has sued the state in federal court and says she wants to clear her name. Michelle Fiscus was fired after Republican lawmakers objected to her promoting COVID-19 vaccinations for teenagers.…
Gov. Lee: No plans to take up Texas abortion law
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Republican Gov. Bill Lee says he has no plans to introduce anti-abortion legislation similar to what Texas adopted earlier this year. Lee told reporters on Thursday that the state is awaiting a ruling on the state's…
Bald River Falls Bridge Replacement pushed back again
TELLICO PLAINS, Tennessee (WDEF) - The U.S. Forest Service announces that the project to build a new bridge at Bald River Falls is getting postponed again. This time they are blaming "challenges in the contracting marketplace." Some road and trail…
Woman who claimed to have "maybe an ounce" of marijuana takes amazing mug shot
JACKSON, Tennessee (WDEF) - A West Tennessee woman will face a grand jury after a visit from a drug task force to her farm this week. The 15th Drug Task Force in Jackson says they have been investigating the case…
40% of Tennessee Covid cases now children
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - The state Department of Health says the number of children contracting COVID-19 now makes up 40% of all of Tennessee’s cases. Tennessee is confronting a steady rise in hospitalizations that mirror the drastic numbers from the…
Bonnaroo Music Festival cancelled because of weather
MANCHESTER, Tennessee (WDEF) - In the end, it was the weather, not Covid, that took down this year's Bonnaroo festival near Manchester. After posting on Monday that they would have to scale back camping for the event this weekend, they…
Search postponed by weather at High Falls for missing swimmer
FORT PAYNE, Alabama (WDEF) - The weather has forced a pause for a missing swimmer on Sand Mountain. Emergency crews were called to High Falls Park on Monday night. The Falls are on Town Creek above Lake Guntersville. Sheriff Nick…
Governor Kemp issues new executive order as Covid-19 cases continue to surge
GEORGIA, (WDEF) - The Fourth wave of Covid-19 is continuing to overwhelm Georgia’s hospitals. Right now, more than 92% of Georgia's ICU beds are in use - while nearly 50 % of adult ventilators are being used. On…
U.S. Department of Education opens civil rights investigation into Tennessee and 4 others
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn (WDEF) - On Monday, The U.S. Department of Education launched a civil rights investigation into Gov. Bill Lee and four other governors who are prohibiting mask mandates in schools. “The Department has heard from parents from…
Tennessee National Guard sending hundreds of soldiers to Louisiana
Hundreds of Tennessee National Guard soldiers are responding to Hurricane Ida to help with relief and recovery operations in Louisiana.
Georgia calling up more National Guard to deal with Covid patients
ATLANTA (AP) - Georgia’s governor is calling up as many as another 1,500 National Guard soldiers to help with COVID-19 response. More than 5,600 COVID-19 patients were hospitalized across Georgia on Monday, nearly one-third of all people in hospitals. That’s…
Representative Robin Smith requesting legal opinion about vaccine mandates
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn (WDEF) - State Rep. Robin Smith is asking the Tennessee Attorney General for a legal opinion as to whether employers can require their workers to get COVID-19 vaccinations. In a recent Facebook post, Rep. Smith says…
TDOE to allow schools to request virtual learning waivers
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn (WDEF) -With the surge in covid-19 cases showing no signs of slowing, schools are struggling to continue in-person learning. Tennessee Education Commissioner, Dr. Penny Schwinn, made the announcement that she will consider waivers that are…
Tennessee schools can request remote learning due to virus
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - Tennessee's education commissioner says classrooms and schools facing a surge in COVID-19 cases and quarantines can request a temporary shift to remote instruction if their districts can show a need. In a letter dated Friday, Tennessee…