Blue Ridge’s David Ralston will not seek another term as House Speaker

Cites unspecified health concern

BLUE RIDGE, Georgia (WDEF) – Georgia’s Speaker of the House announces he will not seek the post again next year. Representative David Ralston is from Blue Ridge in the north Georgia mountains. He says his tenure as House Speaker will end in January, but he will continue to represent his district. Rep. Ralston is currently the longest serving speaker in…

Car drives up with more fentanyl during Sequatchie drug raid

Fentanyl pills, meth and marijuana confiscated along with guns

from Sequatchie County Sheriff DAUS, Tennessee (WDEF) – Sequatchie County deputies are looking for a suspect who drove up on their raid of a suspect drug house. Deputies and narcotics officers were serving warrants at a home in the Daus community, south of Dunlap, on Thursday. The Sheriff says the warrants were the result of a long investigation and they…

TECH BYTE: Don’t Fall for Political Texting Scams

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) — The mid-term election is almost here, which means our phones are blowing up with political texts. Yes, they’re annoying, and some could even be scams. But there are things you can do to keep from falling for them. If you’ve been bombarded with political texts lately, you’re not alone. iconectiv VP George Cray says it’s an…

Tips for beating Thanksgiving Food Price Inflation

Walmart & Aldi rolling back prices to years past

CHATTANOOGA (WDEF) – Inflation is hitting Thanksgiving meals hard this year. One research firm says your holiday meal will cost about 13.5% more this year. Another study finds that it may actually be cheaper to eat out this year. But two grocery chains have announced plans to capitalize on the bad publicity. Walmart on Thursday announced they will roll back…

Influenza cases rising in Hamilton County

Flu cases rising faster than in recent years according to Hamilton County Health Department

HAMILTON COUNTY, Tenn. (WDEF) — Dr. Stephen Miller of the Hamilton County Health Department says flu cases are rising much faster than anticipated this year. Miller says, this year, the flu has been particularly bad in the Southeastern part of the United States and one person has already passed away from it in North Carolina. The health officer says the…

Enterprise Center Recieves EPA Grant

  CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF)- The Environmental Protection Agency announced today that the Enterprise Center is receiving a federal grant to conduct some air quality research in Hamilton County. They are receiving nearly $500,000 in funding for the Community Air Pollution Monitoring Project. This funding comes from the American Rescue Plan and Inflation Reduction Act that has provided more than $50…

From The Archives: Honey Alexander

We pay tribute to the former First Lady of Tennessee who passed away over the weekend

MARYVILLE, Tennessee (WDEF) – We remember a First Lady of Tennessee who passed away on Sunday at the age of 77. Honey Alexander may be best known as the wife of Tennessee politician Lamar Alexander. But her own love of politics pre-dated meeting her husband. And she left quite a mark of her own, particularly on the well-being of children….

Fraternal Twin Sisters Abbigail and Caroline Tremmier Handle Place Kicking Duties For Dade Co

Trenton, GA-(WDEF-TV) Dade County has one of the neatest kicking tandems in high school football. Sister fraternal twins. Juniors Abbigail and Caroline Tremmier have handled PAT’s and field goals for the Wolverines the last two seasons. Like most coaches, Dade Co’s Jeff Poston knows it’s hard to find a kicker, and then he stumbles on two of them. Said Poston:”I…

Commission overrides mayor’s veto on status of County Attorney

Mayor and commissioners still at odds over who can hire or fire Rheubin Taylor

HAMILTON COUNTY, Tennessee (WDEF) – The dispute between the Hamilton County Commission and new county mayor Weston WAMP reached new heights this morning, as the commission unanimously decided to override for vetoes issued by the mayor last Friday. All but one resolution focused on the current status and future role of long term county attorney Rheubin Taylor by unanimous vote. The…

Driving Our Economy Forward: NOVONIX

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) — One Chattanooga company is working to make North America a greener place – making money, and running on sustainable energy. And their company only continues to grow. NOVONIX talked to News 12 about how they’re driving our economy forward. “NOVONIX started here in Chattanooga in 2017 – just myself and one other person, so we’ve experienced…

CPD provides further details on post office homicide

Chattanooga Police Chief Harry Sommers says victim died from "apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound"

CHATTANOOGA (WDEF) — The Chattanooga Police Department shared some new details on Sunday night’s post office shooting. For the first time since it happened, Police Chief Celeste Murphy spoke with News 12 about the homicide. On Sunday, October 30, police say 27-year-old Brian Simmons, a Chattanooga post office worker, shot and killed his supervisor — 30-year-old Cody Ransom. Simmons then…

More To The Story: Why do some people age quicker than others?

Dave Staley talks to the UTC professor who has been studying the issue

CHATTANOOGA (WDEF) – This is the MultiDisciplinary Research Building on the campus of UTC. The SimCenter. A lot of smart people are here. This man is one of the best: Dr. Hong Qin. He’s a professor of computer science and research. His research….condensed into these two pages….only two pages…has brought him a very prestigious honor. As Dr. Qin advances to the…

Mocs Prepare For Another Rock’em-Sock’em Match-Up Against the Citadel

Chattanooga-(WDEF-TV) Chattanooga Mocs are coming off their first SoCon loss of the year, and it doesn’t get any easier this week as UTC travels to the Citadel. The Bulldogs option offense is nothing but a big headache…every year. When the Mocs battle the Citadel…it’s not football. It’s more like keep away. As in the Bulldogs hog the ball with that…

High School Basketball Preview of Class 4A, District 5

Cleveland, TN-(WDEF-TV) As the calander turns from october to november, its almost time for high school basketball to begin Teams from Class 4-A, District 5, held a pre-season media day, and news 12’s Brian Armstrong captured the coaches thoughts on the upcoming season. High school football in Tennessee has wrapped up its regular season and starts its post season this…

CPD Chief addresses panhandling, homelessness concerns

Some business owners in North Chattanooga Chamber Council concerned for employees, residents

CHATTANOOGA (WDEF) — Northern Chattanooga crime data from this past June to September was presented by Police Chief Celeste Murphy to members of the North Chattanooga Chamber Council. This soon brought attention to a key concern shared by many — panhandlers swindling residents and tourists, as well as threatening behavior from some of the area’s homeless. “If you are a…

Chattanooga City Council approves Westside Evolves Plan

Plan includes replacement, work force, market rate housing during each phase of development

CHATTANOOGA (WDEF) — Chattanooga’s City Council has voted in favor to adopt the Westside Evolves Plan. The 10-year plan will see millions of dollars utilized to rebuild and refurbish the city’s Westside community. The Scenic City is set to contribute three million dollars to the plan’s efforts. Ellis Smith, Chattanooga’s Director of Special Projects, says it will be a complete…

PIE Innovation Center held the official ‘Grand Opening’ Nov. 1st

Bradley County, TN (WDEF) – The PIE Innovation Center in Bradley County is now officially open. The facility is a planned regional educational facility that will prepare students for post-secondary careers and workforce opportunities. Officials say this center is the first of its kind in Tennessee. Governor Bill Lee gave the keynote speech during Tuesday’s ceremony. As a supporter of…

Mom to Mom – Healthy Snack

Today on Mom to Mom we’ve got a healthy snack for that sweet tooth. We are making a healthy Snickers. Once I hit a certain age, I wanted to find some things that was low in calories and in sugar content

Chattanooga Choo Choo Removing Vintage Railcars

CHATTANOOGA (WDEF) – The historic Chattanooga Choo Choo railroad cars are being removed. The vintage cars that sit behind the terminal building at the Choo Choo have been sold and the removal process started this afternoon. A large crane was at the site ready to lift rail cars onto waiting truck beds. It is said that not all of the rail…

CPD provides update on post office shooting

Postal worker shoots supervisor, fatally crashes into local Hixson nail salon

HIXSON — At 10:26 p.m. Sunday night, CPD was notified of a possible active shooter at a post office located on 6050 Shallowford Rd. “Right now, what I can confirm for you is that there are two deceased from gunshot wound injuries,” said Chattanooga Police Chief Celeste Murphy. “Right now, the situation is contained. There is no further threat to…

More To The Story with Staley: Direct Primary Care

New method to cut the insurance company out of your doctor visits

CHATTANOOGA (WDEF) – Dr. Greg Steinke has been a physician since 2006. But after time, he became frustrated with the standard way of practicing. He was looking for more. “I wanted to have more time to help people. To educate and teach people. I began searching for a more effective way.” So Steinke jumped into the world of Direct Primary Care….

What’s Right With Our Schools” Notre Dame Students Build Beds

CHATTANOOGA, TN – (WDEF) – A good day usually begins after a good night’s sleep. Some students at Notre Dame have been busy building beds that will be given away free of charge. That kind of generosity is a heartfelt example of what’s right with our schools. Conor Martin is the Senior Theology Teacher at Notre Dame. He explains, “Today,…