Golden Apple Award: Dena Newsome, Cloud Springs Elementary

CATOOSA COUNTY, Ga. (WDEF) — This week’s Golden Apple teacher award was presented to Mrs. Dena Newsome. She is a third-grade teacher at Cloud Springs Elementary. “Mrs. Newsome is amazing. She’s a very caring teacher,” Principal Lori Welborn said. “She has had these students twice, once in kindergarten and now again in third grade. She is teaching them math. On…

Century-old building lost in Mentone fire

Video Credit: Coby Harrison MENTONE, Ala. (WDEF) — A historical building in Mentone, Alabama is a total loss after a fire Thursday night. The Mentone Hitching Post was located at 6081 Alabama Highway 117. It was completely engulfed in flames, unable to be saved. The Hitching Post made a statement on Facebook that no one was inside the building at…

TECH BYTE: Chat GPT Takes Internet by Storm

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) — Artificial intelligence may be the future, but we’re already seeing a lot more of it right now. Computers are getting too smart for our own good. Artificial intelligence research and development company Open AI has created this new Chat GPT software. “I personally feel that it is integral for students to actually understand how these technologies…

Country Legend Marty Stuart to Play Chattanooga Show

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) — Country music legend Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives are stopping in Chattanooga next week. They’ll be performing at the Walker Theatre on February 9. Marty tells News 12 he loves the Walker Theatre, and visiting the Scenic City. If you’ve seen him in concert before, don’t expect the same show twice. “We have so many…

Chattanooga Boat Show returns for 2023

Weekend event will showcase boats, accessories, rentals; director encourages community to bring the family

CHATTANOOGA (WDEF) — Chattanoogans are ready to hoist their sails and head on down to the city’s Convention Center this weekend for the annual Chattanooga Boat Show, which kicked off Thursday afternoon. Whether you’re interested in boating accessories, the boating lifestyle, or just boats in general, the maritime showcase is packed to the gills with practically everything both new and…

Hamilton County sees rise in drug overdoses

HAMILTON COUNTY, Tenn. (WDEF) — The Hamilton County Health Department says there’s been a 33 percent increase in non-fatal overdoses just in the last few weeks. They say that each overdose represents a family member. Time is of the essence. The cluster of ODs are due to suspected fentanyl, opioid or other illicit drug use. The health department says even small…

Hixson Dealing with Multiple Business Closings

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) – A group of Hixson businesses have either recently closed or are about to close. Hixson has long been one of the primary retail districts in Chattanooga, serving residents of central and northern Hamilton County. However, in recent months if you’ve been up and down Hixson Pike or Highway 153, you’ve likely noticed several long-standing businesses in…

Half-price tickets at the Tennessee Aquarium during College Days

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) — College Days have arrived at the Tennessee Aquarium. For the month of February, college students receive half-price admission to the aquarium. Additionally, students receive half price 45-minute IMAX 3D films. Courtesy: Tennessee Aquarium The discount does not only apply to college students, though. College faculty and staff can receive the discount as well. Every person accompanying…

Lookout Mountain’s version of Groundhog Day

LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN, Georgia (WDEF) – Our area may not have a weather-predicting groundhog of its own, but today, Lookout Mountain got the next best thing. The city of Lookout Mountain, Georgia and Rock City partnered to bring the kids of Fairyland Elementary something special. Earlier this morning, they began the tradition of Groundhog Day for the students, hosting an interactive…

Baylor Has Seven Athletes Sign on National Signing Day

Chattanooga-(WDEF-TV) Balyor had a big signing party as well as seven kids inked scholarships….mostly football. Murray state is adding Asher Skyes to its team Dalton Restelli is staying close to home going to Chattanooga. Evan Haynie is going to a top ivy league school in Princeton. Marceo Collins signed with Austin Peay Tony Boggs is going to Duke and Omaury…

Mocs Fall Hard on the Road to Furman 79-58

(gomocs.com) GREENVILLE, S.C. – The Chattanooga Mocs men’s basketball team saw a second-half surge but ultimately fell to Southern Conference leader and preseason favorite Furman 79-58 on Wednesday night inside Timmons Arena in Greenville, S.C. Following the loss, Chattanooga moves to 12-12 overall and 4-7 inside SoCon play. Furman has now won five in-a-row and improves to 18-6 this season and…

Boyd Buchanan Has Six Athletes Sign on National Signing Day

Chattanooga-(WDEF-TV) National Signing Day was a big affair at Boyd Buchanan on Wednesday as six student athletes signed college scholarships. Jacob Hutcheson will play football at Kentucky Wesleyan. Abigal Aman is going to Southern Weslyan to play soccer Cali Sandhoff is going to play volleyball at Covenant and Molly Burnett will be knocking down pins at Millian University as part…

Chattanooga named one of best places to travel worldwide in 2023

Scenic City made Forbes list of 50 global destinations; Chattanooga Tourism Co. anticipates more visitors

CHATTANOOGA (WDEF) — There’s excitement throughout Chattanooga, as the city was recently named one of the best places to travel in the world in 2023 by Forbes. The Scenic City was featured alongside Botswana, Spain, and the Canary Islands, among other destinations. The folks at Chattanooga Tourism Company are beyond excited about their inclusion on this selective list in Forbes,…

Driving Our Economy Forward: Hamilton Co. Business Development Center

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) — If you’re looking to start a business, the Chattanooga Chamber of Commerce has you covered. The Chamber offers a special service for these new business owners to help get them up and running. Let’s look at how the INCubator is driving our economy forward. “The INCubator is the third largest incubator in the country,” said Bill…

ChatGPT Presents Challenges, Opportunities for Education

A portion of an essay written by ChatGPT on the topic of Chattanooga. CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF)- An emerging artificial intelligence that anyone can use is soon to rapidly change the way we think about language and its usage. ChatGPT is an artificial intelligence language model, which in simpler terms means it can pull from existing data and sources to create…

Chattanooga Police respond to fatal shooting

Local authorities asking for information from community

CHATTANOOGA (WDEF) — Police responded to a deadly shooting off Rossville Blvd. Wednesday afternoon. It happened just before 1:15 in the 4300 block of 6th Avenue. Police got a call about a person who’d been shot and got there to find a 35-year-old man dead. Witnesses told police that the suspect, a man in dark clothing, fled the scene before…

Proposed Bill May Tighten Regulations on Hemp

Various hemp products being tested inside New Bloom Labs. CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF)- A proposed bill in the Tennessee General Assembly is aiming to regulate the sale of hemp products. House Bill 403 aims to increase consumer protections and raise production standards of hemp across the state. Hemp products were made legal by the 2018 Farm Bill at the federal level….

More To The Story With Staley: What is Tinnitus?

Dave finds out how much trouble "ringing in the ears" can be

CHATTANOOGA (WDEF) – Millions of Americans have it. Between 15 to 20 percent of us. Tinnitus. Most of us call it —ti-NIGHT-us—but the official pronunciation is —TIN-it-us——. It’s a ringing in the ear. Or a hissing. A buzzing. A roaring. Some sort of sound in the ear. It’s a serious kind of situation. Ranging from annoying to debilitating. Cynthia Carter is…

Fatal shooting near Rossville Boulevard

CHATTANOOGA (WDEF) – Chattanooga Police are investigating a fatal shooting near Rossville Boulevard. It happened just after 1 PM at 4310 6th Avenue. Officers found a 35 year old man had already died from a gunshot wound. Witnesses say a man in dark clothing fled the scene before they got there. If you have any information on the case, please…

Heritage Girls Hand NW Whitfield First Region Loss of the Year

Tunnel Hill, GA-(WDEF-TV) Heritage beat NW Whitfield 48-40 on Tuesday night in Tunnel Hill. It was the Lady Bruins first region loss of the year. Now Northwest and Heritage are tied for first in the region with 7-1 league marks. Categories: Sports – Local Sports News Tags: Beats, first region loss, game. local sports, Girl’s basketball, Heritage High School, Highschool…