Tennessee is committing to spend nearly $900 million on incentives, infrastructure work and a new technical college as its part of an agreement with Ford Motor Co. and South Korea battery maker SK Innovation for a multibillion battery plant and assembly facility in rural West Tennessee.

Starting next month, Catoosa County Animal Control will no longer offer animal adoption services on Saturdays.

Talk about moving some metal.

The Humane Educational Society is encouraging Chattanooga area residents to donate or adopt after 21 dogs were rescued from a property in Rhea County, Tennessee, according to a society news release.

U.S. health advisers said Thursday that some Americans who received Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine at least six months ago should get a half-dose booster to rev up protection against the coronavirus.

Get ready to pay sharply higher bills for heating this winter, along with seemingly everything else.

Millions of retirees on Social Security will get a 5.9% boost in benefits for 2022. The biggest cost-of-living adjustment in 39 years follows a burst in inflation as the economy struggles to shake off the drag of the coronavirus pandemic.

Rising inflation is expected to lead to a sizeable increase in Social Security's annual cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, for 2022. Exactly how much will be revealed Wednesday morning after a Labor Department report on inflation during September, a data point used in the final calculation.

Chattanooga gas prices jumped Monday to the highest level in seven years as oil prices rose after OPEC decided not to raise production more than it already agreed to in July.

After previously debating adding as many as half a dozen new political districts due to growth in Hamilton County, county commissioners indicated at their Wednesday redistricting workshop they are focusing on an "11-district option."

When Hamilton County Schools informed the families of 45,000 Hamilton County Schools students that their contact information was requested by a private citizen and would be released this week because the law requires it, there was something the district didn't mention.

Gov. Bill Lee says his administration will conduct a review of Tennessee's nearly 30-year-old funding formula for public school districts and explore changing the current system to one where state money "follows" a student to the school he or she attends.

Tennessee's biggest health insurer has terminated 19 of its front-line employees for refusing to get vaccinated for the COVID-19 virus.

Tennessee physicians who create or spread COVID-19 vaccine misinformation or disinformation could now face disciplinary action, including suspension or revocation of their medical licenses in the most extreme cases, according to a new policy from the state medical board that oversees doctors.

Supporters of Republican Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp are fighting back against Donald Trump and their own party leaders, angered by a rally last month in which the former president again attacked the state's chief executive.

The same day Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee and Ford Motor Co. executives announced last week's agreement to put a $5.6 billion electric vehicle plant in rural West Tennessee, conservative opponents of school mask mandates and federal vaccination requirements rallied in Lt. Gov. Randy McNally's Oak Ridge hometown to pressure Lee and other Republicans into backing their efforts.

Doctors warn that this flu season could be particularly severe, renewing fears of a potential "twindemic" in which the spread of that virus and COVID-19 collide.

Fort Bragg is the largest military base in the nation, but not because its namesake was a giant of strategy or tactics.

Residential curbside recycling service will resume in Chattanooga next month, according to a news release from the Chattanooga Department of Public Works.

Droughts that cause leaves to turn brown and wither before they can reach peak color. Heat waves prompting leaves to fall before autumn even arrives. Extreme weather events like hurricanes that strip trees of their leaves altogether.

Hamilton County Commissioner Warren Mackey said Wednesday that he will host an open meeting for anyone in Chattanooga or the county to brainstorm ideas on how to address gun violence after a series of deadly shootings.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said Monday that he will use federal COVID-19 aid to pay $1,000 bonuses to every police officer, sheriff's deputy, firefighter and emergency medical technician statewide.

Dozens of residents gathered at the Westside Community Center on Monday evening to walk in unity with law enforcement and community leaders after a series of weekend shootings in Chattanooga that claimed the lives of 37-year-old Labrecia Dews, 21-year-old Keniqua Hughes and 21-year-old Jailen Wofford.

Tennessee experienced a 10-year high in violent crime in 2020, mirroring a trend that showed a sharp increase in homicides across the country, according to data from the FBI.

Southeast Tennessee's Bledsoe and Grundy counties are among nine in the state to be targeted by an economic initiative to grow tourism using state-owned lands.

State Rep. Yusuf Hakeem, D-Chattanooga, and some fellow Black Democrats are calling for more transparency from the Republican-led Hamilton County Commission as officials begin work on the once-a-decade redrawing of political boundaries for commission and school board districts to reflect population changes.

Billions more in profits are at stake for some vaccine makers as the U.S. moves toward dispensing COVID-19 booster shots to shore up Americans' protection against the virus.

A month into the new academic year, three-fourths of Tennessee parents said school was going well for their child, and 69% said their student felt safe attending classes in person, even as many districts closed temporarily under the strain of COVID-19's highly contagious delta variant.

Hamilton County Health Department officials say they will begin administering Pfizer COVID-19 booster shots Monday.

State Rep. Yusuf Hakeem, D-Chattanooga, has vowed to return next year with his effort to provide more Black history instruction to Tennessee public school students after the bill was omitted from a summer education study committee.

Many vaccinated Tennesseans could be denied access to monoclonal antibodies in favor of unvaccinated people as new recommendations aim to conserve the life-saving treatment for those at highest risk of COVID-19 hospitalization.

State Rep. Yusuf Hakeem, D-Chattanooga, is questioning why House Republicans aren't honoring what he views as their commitment to return to a Black history bill he sponsored that GOP lawmakers in April set aside for summer study.

As he prepares to make the first full-fledged overhaul to Tennessee license tags in nearly 16 years, Gov. Bill Lee is asking residents to "rate the plates" of his administration's four proposed redesigns.

Saying the nation pledged 20 years ago that "we would never forget" the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the country, U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., believes Congress needs to stand by that promise by making the date a legal public holiday.

Hamilton County District Attorney Neal Pinkston has now moved both his wife and brother-in-law to the county's payroll instead of the state payroll amid concerns about a law against nepotism among state employees.

Tennessee lawmakers are eyeing modest tweaks to the state's privatized bail bond system, where lawsuits and data show poorer people charged even with nonviolent crimes often can't afford to get out of jail before their cases are heard — despite a justice system that allows for pre-trial release of detainees presumed innocent after being assessed for risk.

Wahid Dorany, an Afghan American and Chattanooga area resident, is awaiting the day that his parents, wife and two siblings can join him after he helped facilitate their evacuation from Afghanistan.

In a video posted mid-August, Joie St. Hubert sat sipping from a Dunkin' iced coffee beside a nondescript brick building.

Catoosa County, Georgia, government employees are now eligible to receive $500 and an additional 40 hours of paid time off if they get vaccinated against COVID-19.

Just weeks after Walker County, Georgia, residents marched down Main Street in LaFayette to the courthouse to call for the resignation of commission Chairman Shannon Whitfield, who they claimed illegally rezoned property related to the proposed Gateway at Rossville affordable workforce housing development, the county held a town hall meeting to address "inaccurate information" being spread about the project.

When people first started lining up to receive monoclonal antibody treatments at the convention center in Dalton, Georgia, last month in the hopes of fighting COVID-19, the city said prescriptions were not necessary for patients.

Hamilton County school-aged children have accounted for roughly 1 in 4 of the county's new COVID-19 cases in the past month — underscoring that the highly contagious delta variant of the coronavirus and other compounding forces are creating a new academic year far different from the last.

The world solemnly marked the 20th anniversary of 9/11 on Saturday, remembering the dead, invoking the heroes and taking stock of the aftermath just weeks after the bloody end of the Afghanistan war that was launched in response to the terror attacks.

Many large employers in Chattanooga and Tennessee have qualms about a federal mandate that would require workers at companies with 100 or more employees to get vaccinated or undergo weekly COVID-19 testing.

Three American presidents stood somberly side by side Saturday at the National September 11 Memorial in New York, sharing a moment of silence to mark the anniversary of the nation's worst terrorist attack with a display of unity.

The Rev. Brad Whitaker, rector of St. Paul's Episcopal Church, was serving a parish in Northwest New Jersey when America was attacked.

Chattanooga area elected officials, service members and first responders gathered early Saturday to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the U.S.

The Times Free Press asked readers where they were and what they remember from Sept. 11, 2001. These are some of those memories. Responses have been lightly edited for clarity and brevity.

A car passed, the driver's window rolled down and the man spat an epithet at two little girls wearing their hijabs: "Terrorist!"

Call it sweet surrender. After decades of pushing popcorn, local Boy Scouts have a new product for their fall fundraiser.

Members of the Tennessee National Guard arrived in Hamilton County on Wednesday to assist with CHI Memorial Health System's monoclonal antibody injection clinic, which recently expanded its capacity to treat up to 50 outpatients a day.

In President Joe Biden's vision of a green future, half of all new cars sold in 2030 will be electric. But something really basic is standing in the way of that plan: enough outlets to plug in all those cars and trucks.

Participation in curbside recycling is increasing in East Ridge, and so is the cost.

More than 400 people have been injected with monoclonal antibodies in Dalton over the past week as health officials and city leaders attempt to mitigate the late summer surge of COVID-19 that has overwhelmed North Georgia hospitals and schools.

As chaotic scenes from Afghanistan unfolded on TV in the past few weeks, Marina Peshterianu, associate director of Bridge Refugees Services, felt certain she would be helping to resettle Afghan refugees in Chattanooga in the near future.

At least a dozen Dalton Public Schools parents have filed a federal complaint with the U.S. Department of Education over the Georgia school district's policy allowing students to opt out of masking at school.

Catoosa County Schools in Georgia is using staff members who do not have full-time classroom assignments, such as counselors and media specialists, to cover classes amid a shortage of teachers.

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic - or perhaps because of it - business starts jumped to a record high in the first half of 2021, according to filings with the Tennessee Secretary of State's Office.

The city of Dalton's Regeneron treatment clinic took its first official appointments Friday, just two days after the city announced it would be the first in the state to offer free monoclonal antibody treatment to people in the early stages of COVID-19 infection.

State Rep. Robin Smith is asking Tennessee Attorney General Herbert Slatery for a legal opinion as to whether employers can require their workers to get COVID-19 vaccinations.

Jeff Luttrell's voice cracked at times as he laid bare the dire situation he is facing as director of Wilson County Schools three weeks into the academic year: 209 teachers absent, 38 bus routes down for the day, 562 active COVID cases among students and staff.

Standing in front of a judge in Hamilton County General Sessions Court, the single father of two teenage sons asked for more time.

Triple-digit temperatures inside the tram cars of the Lookout Mountain Incline Railway have employees raising concerns about unsafe working conditions and poor customer experiences.

Schools across the Chattanooga region that just started the new academic year are struggling to control COVID-19 as the highly contagious delta variant drives cases among largely unvaccinated students - prompting Hamilton County Schools to ask all students to wear face masks and forcing some schools to close altogether.

Councilwoman Demetrus Coonrod is proposing Chattanooga consider reclaiming control of its schools, now operated by Hamilton County.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. gave full approval to Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine on Monday, a milestone that may help lift public confidence in the shots as the nation battles the most contagious coronavirus mutant yet.

Given strong strains of COVID-19 vaccine resistance in their flocks, some white evangelical leaders are too concerned about blowback to talk about the matter.

COVID-19 vaccines were never promised to be 100% effective, and experts are united in saying they remain the best way to combat the pandemic.

In light of his extensive success on the mat for Cleveland High School during the winter, it could be easy to forget that Tetoe Boyd has also starred in the fall, rushing for more than 1,500 yards as a sophomore for the Blue Raiders during the 2019 football season.

The high school football season kicked off throughout the Chattanooga area Friday night. Here are the scores:

Hamilton County Schools' mask policy is taking heat from parents and community members both in favor of and opposed to students wearing masks.

The percentage of students opting out of masks in Hamilton County ranges from less than 1% to more than 50% across the district, according to data from Hamilton County Schools as of Wednesday. Find your school's student opt-out percentage in the searchable database below.

The Hamilton County Commission voted Wednesday to increase the pay for the county sheriff's position to the legal maximum, but not until next year, so the action won't benefit the current sheriff.

Mandatory vehicle emissions testing will no longer be required in Hamilton County and four other Tennessee counties starting in mid-January after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency gave final approval to a years-long effort to end the program aimed at curbing nitrogen oxide and carbon monoxide pollutants.

Chattanooga's public transportation system started charging bus fares again this week after allowing riders free boardings since April 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic outfall.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee issued an executive order Monday giving parents statewide the ability to opt out of local mask mandates for public school students, as a group of parents in Hamilton County reiterated their desire for a universal mask requirement.

Explosive population growth in Metro Nashville and surrounding counties with corresponding stagnation or losses in the western, northeast and several other sections of Tennessee will bring major changes to the boundaries of many congressional and state legislative districts next year.

Tennessee lawmakers speculated Thursday on how the state can further regulate companies providing services to unauthorized immigrants under federal contracts and if the state can levy stricter punishments on those aiding the immigrants.

The possible return to duty of a Hamilton County Sheriff's Office detective under federal investigation received attention from a national figure this week - prominent civil rights activist the Rev. Jesse Jackson.

By 7:15 a.m. Thursday, most students at Soddy-Daisy High School had made their way upstairs to start their first block classes as the sun shone brightly, giving one of the second-floor hallways an orange glow.

Hamilton County commissioners are again calling for District Attorney Neal Pinkston to answer concerns about potential nepotism in his office after he refused to appear before the board.

For at least the third time since Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene became a congresswoman, Twitter has suspended her account, this time for posting that the Food and Drug Administration should not approve the coronavirus vaccines and that the vaccines were "failing."

A group of Hamilton County parents and Tennessee doctors are calling on the Hamilton County school board and county Mayor Jim Coppinger to issue a temporary mask mandate for local schools in the face of political pressure to do otherwise.

When the first notes from George Thorogood's guitar ring out inside the Walker Theatre on Tuesday night around 7:30, they will be the first heard in the building since the Heartstrings concert in Memorial Auditorium on March 10, 2020, and the Marc Broussard show on March 12, 2020 in the Walker, which is upstairs.

For months, Karen Collins felt like she was living a double life. She spent nearly every day of the week working to get people in Chattanooga vaccinated, especially people of color, and fighting the rampant misinformation around the vaccine.

As a spike in pediatric respiratory illness pushes children's hospitals across Tennessee to their limits, officials at the Children's Hospital at Erlanger say they're prepared to handle more pediatric COVID-19 patients as the highly contagious delta variant sweeps through predominantly unvaccinated populations.

Two Tennessee congressmen are among 16 U.S. House Republicans warning U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin that it's "illegal" for him to mandate COVID-19 vaccinations for active-duty troops absent the medicine's full approval by the Food and Drug Administration.

Students in Whitfield County and Dalton public schools are encouraged but not required to wear masks as they return to class this week.

An increase in pediatric respiratory illness, including but not limited to COVID-19, is straining children's hospitals across Tennessee, and the state's health and education commissioners on Friday said mask mandates for schoolchildren remain a local matter, up to school districts.

The city of Chattanooga announced a new sweepstakes offering $1,000 per week to encourage Hamilton County residents to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

The Hamilton County Commission approved a lower certified tax rate on Wednesday, but some taxpayers will still see an increase due to property values.

The rate of people getting their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine has more than doubled over the past two weeks in Hamilton County and the surrounding area of Southeast Tennessee as the delta variant drives an increase in hospitalizations and new cases.

Tennessee students' combined scores across all grade levels declined 5 percentage points, from 36% in 2019 to 31% this year, according to new data released Monday by the Tennessee Department of Education.

Up to 40,000 people are expected to roll into the city for the Chattanooga Motorcar Festival in October, or about three times as many as the inaugural event two years ago, organizers say.

Katie Helms stepped onto East 8th Street minutes before 11 a.m. as the nearby church bells continued their slow toll.

The return of in-person schooling, consumers with extra cash from child tax credit payments and Tennessee's annual tax-free holiday have converged to create what retailers hope will be a season of brisk spending.

Children are far less likely than adults to face serious COVID-19 infections, but it can still happen and the spread of the highly infectious delta variant has some worried while researchers work to determine whether the youngest members of society face an increased risk from the latest strain.

Hamilton County Schools Superintendent Bryan Johnson doubled down on the district's decision to recommend that students and staff wear masks in schools - with no mandate - at a virtual town hall Thursday evening.

Chattanooga will temporarily suspend its curbside recycling service as the city faces a shortage of truck operators, according to a news release.

Wednesday marked 100 days since Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly was inaugurated.

Former White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany will be the featured speaker in June for the 2022 Athens Area Chamber of Commerce's 15th Annual Benefit Banquet, extending a growing list of big-name political and sports figures to visit McMinn County's seat for the event.

The city of Chattanooga will fund support staff to "meet the holistic needs of students and families" in seven schools within the city, marking its first such investment in Hamilton County Schools since the 1990s.

The Tennessee Department of Children's Services suspended one residential child care license in the past five years, according to data from the department.

Hamilton County Schools will "strongly encourage" but not require students and staff to wear face masks when in-person learning resumes next month, despite rising COVID-19 cases, low vaccination rates and recommendations from leading medical organizations.

Tennessee will resume vaccine outreach - paused earlier this month amid pressure from some conservative state legislators - except for social media marketing aimed specifically at children, according to Tennessee's top health official.

Property taxes could go up next year if the Signal Mountain Town Council decides to implement recommendations made by its personnel committee to give some town employees significant raises.

Hamilton County District Attorney Neal Pinkston used county funds to supplement state pay for his wife and brother-in-law, state records show.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene blasted social media companies over her temporary suspension from Twitter on Tuesday, calling it "a Communist-style attack on free speech."

Volkswagen will cease production of the Passat in Chattanooga with the 2022 model year and end a decade of assembly of the sedan at the plant.

This week could mark Confederate cavalry general Nathan Bedford Forrest's final charge with a state panel scheduled to vote on whether to give final approval to removing the long-controversial 44-inch bust of the untutored military genius, former slave trader and early Ku Klux Klan leader from its perch of honor inside Tennessee's Capitol.

Bryan Johnson will take a leadership role at trucking and logistics business U.S. Xpress in August, shifting gears from a career spent entirely in education to a publicly-traded company with ambitious growth goals.

Tennessee has decided to halt all vaccine outreach for children and adolescents preparing to head back to school, which will cost lives and could worsen the state's current resurgence of COVID-19 cases, the pediatrician fired last week as the state's top immunization official said.

Mackee Mason says families choose his Austin, Texas, charter high school because it's safe, with little bullying or fighting. Mason, the school's principal and football coach, credits its ethnic studies courses.

Both the Hamilton County Health Department and the city of Chattanooga are continuing to advocate for childhood vaccinations, including the COVID-19 vaccine, despite the Tennessee Department of Health's recent decision to halt all youth vaccine outreach and fire its immunization programs director amid political pressure.

Legislative Democrats on Wednesday criticized Tennessee Republican Gov. Bill Lee over the firing of the state's immunization director over outreach to youth to get coronavirus vaccines.

Drivers sped more on Chattanooga streets after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to officials from the police department and the city, which responded with speed limit reductions on eight city streets approved by the City Council at the end of March.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee is calling the surge in migrants attempting to cross the U.S. southern border an overwhelming crisis and security risk following the Republican's weekend trip to visit 300 Tennessee National Guard members engaged in supporting U.S. Customs and Border Protection operations in Texas.

Chattanooga-area colleges are seeing continued interest in online classes for the fall 2021 semester, despite some classrooms reopening by the end of the last academic year and requirements for masks and distancing falling away as the COVID-19 pandemic wanes.

While the religious diversity of the United States continues to grow, the Southeast remains the most religiously homogeneous and majority white Christian region of the country.

Gov. Bill Lee is defending his new $2.82 million "Tennessee On Me" tourism promotion effort against criticisms, predicting the program will generate a "great return on investment."

Tennessee Attorney General Herbert Slatery and 36 other attorneys general have filed an antitrust suit against Google's app store, alleging the global tech giant maintains an illegal monopoly on distributing apps for its Android operating system used by most smartphones.

From pressure washers to a studio where you can create your own podcast, the Chattanooga Public Library offers citizens access to far more than books.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee's $2.8 million plan to provide thousands of $250 travel vouchers to attract visitors from other states is finding a rocky landing with critics of his policies on unemployment and other issues.

Some 300 East Brainerd residents, many fed up with clogged roads and worried about over-development with more home building on the way, have met with key city, Hamilton County and state officials.

Around a dozen people stood in front of the stage at Metro Tab Church on Sunday, each holding a various piece of U.S. currency, from a single cent to a $100 bill.

Lifelong Catoosa County resident Angie Stiggins has ridden the rollercoaster of North Georgia's health care market since she started working in respiratory care at Fort Oglethorpe's community hospital in 1987.

Accusations by two former staffers against former Chattanooga mayoral candidate Monty Bruell this week also brought to light financial reporting irregularities from Bruell's campaign.

Despite a pandemic and a reported shortage of available fireworks, many organizations and municipalities will have fireworks shows this weekend.

As the long Fourth of July weekend lifts off, local travel and tourism experts say the summer season is shaping up to rival 2019's record numbers.

Tennessee officials' revocation of the personalized license plate belonging to a Nashville astronomy buff and gamer for being "offensive" now faces a legal challenge charging the state is violating the woman's constitutionally protected right to free speech.

The Hamilton County Commission will vote next week on purchasing the McDonald Farm in Sale Creek for $16 million.

Before the pandemic hit, Jacqueline Bartley, a mother of two girls and a boy, had a comfortable life. Then the 41-year-old lost her job at American Airlines, quickly spent her savings and found herself months behind on the $1,350-a-month home she rented. Until then she had never missed a rent payment.

With a major lawsuit seeking to strike down Georgia's new elections law, the U.S. Justice Department started a long and difficult voting rights fight that will reverberate in political campaigns while winding its way through the courts.

Sculpture Fields officials in Chattanooga are going on offense as they continue to compete with the Chattanooga FC Foundation over the future use of 13 acres at the city's Montague Park.

Hamilton County's COVID-19 numbers continue to improve to levels not seen since the early days of the pandemic, but a more contagious strain of the coronavirus — known as the Delta variant — could reverse the positive trends.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee and the national ACLU sued in federal court Friday to block a first-of-its-kind state law requiring warning signs at businesses that allow transgender people to use the restroom of their choice.

Dramatic drops in patient visits, surgeries and revenue as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic created financial crises for hospitals across the nation, but Erlanger Health System in Chattanooga is one of the few fortunate ones expecting to head into the new fiscal year on July 1 on its most solid financial footing in recent years.

A panel of federal appellate judges on Tuesday reinstated a Tennessee law requiring first-time voters in the state to appear in person to vote, reasoning in part that the COVID-19 pandemic is "unlikely to pose a serious threat during the next election cycle."

Each May, Chattanooga's Hindu community celebrates the anniversary of its temple opening.

The Supreme Court decided unanimously Monday that the NCAA can't enforce rules limiting education-related benefits - like computers and paid internships - that colleges offer to student-athletes, a ruling that could help push changes in how the student-athletes are compensated.

The historic downtown area of Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia, has been hit hard by time and changes to traffic flow.

A new study of federal weather data shows tornado activity in Tennessee and Georgia has increased by almost 36% in the past decade compared to activity from 2000-2009.

The ongoing fight for and against the arrival of Planned Parenthood in Chattanooga came before the Hamilton County Board of Education on Thursday night as abortion opponents rallied at the monthly meeting in support of the county's abstinence-only sexual education model.

Chattanooga Clergy for Justice, a group of faith leaders pushing for police reform, filed a complaint Thursday with the U.S. Department of Justice seeking an investigation of the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office.

If completion of the Interstate 75-Interstate 24 Interchange Improvement project near the Tennessee-Georgia state line is nearing completion, why is there still a daily backup for northbound traffic, often stretching miles into Georgia?

For years, Carmen Davis celebrated Juneteenth with friends and family, gathering for food, music and fellowship in observance of the day in 1865 when word of their freedom reached enslaved people in Texas.

Congressmen from Georgia and Texas have filed a federal lawsuit claiming that using metal detectors to screen members of Congress is unconstitutional and that the security measure is being used unfairly against Republicans.

As a teacher, principal, administrator and senior adviser to Chattanooga's Public Education Foundation, Edna Varner has spent most of her career working with and advocating for middle and high school students and teachers.

Fourth of July fireworks displays may lose some of their sparkle this year as consumers burn through a nationwide shortage of inventory.

While the pandemic shut down most live entertainment venues, the folks with the Tivoli Theatre Foundation used the time to make significant improvements to the Memorial Auditorium. Those improvements are one reason why the foundation decided to move the entire Broadway at the Tivoli season to the larger auditorium for the 2021-'22 season.

Southern Honda Powersports made its first sale this week at its new 73,000-square-foot East Ridge store — a Honda Africa Twin motorcycle capable on- and off-road with a $17,900 price tag.

The highly contagious coronavirus variant first seen in India and now overrunning Great Britain has been detected in Georgia, a potential threat to progress the state has made unless more people get vaccinated, health officials say.

The rich really are different from you and me: They're better at dodging the tax collector.

Chattanooga Police Chief David Roddy announced his retirement Monday.

Late last month, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed into law a bill sponsored by state Rep. Glen Casada that has raised concerns among transparency advocates.

Whatever or whoever they are, they're still out there. U.S. intelligence is after them, but its upcoming report won't deliver any full or final truth about UFOs.

Gov. Bill Lee said this week that federal transparency about the movement of migrant children was different under President Donald Trump, as the governor continues his criticism of federal immigration policies under President Joe Biden.

More than 272,000 registered voters don't have a driver's license or state ID on file with election officials, meaning they'd have to submit additional documents to vote by mail under Georgia's new voting law, state election records show.

The Chattanooga Police Department is making staffing changes as a way to better respond to shootings in the city, according to a statement.

A local conservation group is worried construction associated with the Red Wolves soccer stadium in East Ridge will permanently damage wetlands in the South Chickamauga Creek watershed after the state allowed the $150 million project to go forward.

Colleges and universities across the nation waived SAT and ACT requirements for applying students amid the coronavirus pandemic, and some — including schools in the Chattanooga area — continue to waive these requirements for the upcoming school year and years to come.

The Republican Governors Association this week bounced MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, a staunch supporter of former President Donald Trump, from its annual conference held in Nashville, according to a published report.

Senate Republicans are ready to deploy the filibuster to block a commission on the Jan. 6 insurrection, shattering chances for a bipartisan probe of the deadly assault on the U.S. Capitol and reviving pressure to do away with the procedural tactic that critics say has lost its purpose.

The Tennessee Department of Children's Services approved a license for a Chattanooga shelter to house unaccompanied migrant children a year ago, before Gov. Bill Lee and other state officials this month expressed outrage about the transport of migrant youth through the state to shelters like the one near downtown.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed an executive order Tuesday that bans the state government from requiring proof of vaccination against the coronavirus, joining other Republican-led states in restricting the use of so-called "vaccine passports."

Tennessee businesses risk being charged with misdemeanor crimes punishable by fines and even jail if they ignore a new state "bathroom" law involving access for transgender patrons.

Several private schools in the Chattanooga area have decided not to require COVID-19 vaccinations for students returning in the fall, making McCallie School's decision last week to do so something of a stand-out.

After a crack in the Interstate 40 bridge over the Mississippi River in Memphis shut down one path over the nation's largest river earlier this month, a natural question comes to mind: What's the condition of bridges in the Chattanooga area?

Immigration advocates and researchers are pushing back against the claims of some Tennessee elected officials who are concerned about unaccompanied migrant children being transported through the Chattanooga airport to shelters in the region.

Most major retailers and many other businesses in the Chattanooga area have relaxed their mask policies this week after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last week said people fully vaccinated against COVID-19 are safe not to wear a mask in most indoor settings.

Tennessee's congressional representatives issued strong words Thursday against President Joe Biden's administration and what they described as a lack of transparency around the alleged movement of unaccompanied migrant children through Chattanooga.

The House voted Wednesday to create an independent commission on the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

The Rev. Steve Caudle is trying to save lives.

Georgia's sweeping new overhaul of election laws threatens the fundamental right to vote, freedom of speech and the separation of powers, according to a federal lawsuit filed Monday.

Since Tennessee's first public charter schools opened in Memphis and Nashville in 2003, the state's charter sector has been contained to its four largest cities. But that could change in a few years under expansion work by Gov. Bill Lee's administration.

Starting next year, Tennessee teachers will have to restrict their instruction on race and racism under recently passed legislation that Gov. Bill Lee is expected to sign into law.

Federal health officials this week released new guidelines for fully vaccinated people, saying they no longer need to wear face masks or socially distance to protect themselves from COVID-19.

Hamilton County District Attorney Neal Pinkston defended his marriage to a subordinate in his office on Thursday, saying his management decisions "are both legal and ethical."

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, who has already signed into law two measures limiting transgender and LGBTQ rights approved by fellow Republicans in the legislature, says he anticipates signing several more as they reach his desk.

Some Chattanooga area fuel stations are running out of gasoline amid the Colonial Pipeline crisis with operators and motorists hopeful the outages are short-lived.

COVID-19 vaccination sites look much different today compared to several months ago, when eager drivers would often sit in bumper-to-bumper traffic to get their long-awaited first vaccine dose.

More than six months after voters elected Joe Biden as president, Tennessee's congressional Republicans continue to raise questions about the way the November 2020 election was conducted and want electoral changes before the mid-term congressional election next year.

Federal officials have been publicly silent in the four months following FBI raids on three sitting Tennessee Republican House members, two of them political consultants performing work for several GOP colleagues.

High school bands, military veterans, vintage car groups and an array of supporters for the nation's armed services marched through downtown Chattanooga on Friday in what U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann called "the most patriotic city in America."

A multimillion-dollar makeover is planned for a large chunk of historic Montague Park as the Chattanooga FC Foundation envisions synthetic turf soccer fields, sand volleyball and other upgrades.

Former President Donald Trump won't return to Facebook — at least not yet.

A pledge for racial equity developed by the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce has drawn about 40 business leaders' signatures, as well as some criticism that the work falls outside the mission of the economic development organization.

Tennessee's Republican lawmakers are mounting a last-minute effort to ban public schools' teaching of certain concepts involving systemic racism, with the bill's sponsor saying citizens "must take a stand against hucksters, charlatans and useful idiots peddling identity politics."

A federal lawsuit has been filed challenging Tennessee's new permitless handgun-carry law, which starting July 1 would allow most adults to carry the weapons in public without having firearms training, undergoing state criminal background checks or having state-issued carry permits.

Real estate investors are buying up Chattanooga area apartment complexes for prices that have shot up 35% to 40% over the past several years, and rents are rising along with those values, leaving some tenants struggling to hang onto their housing.

The creation of new affordable housing units in Chattanooga has made some headway in recent years, but the processes are slow and the need is high, local affordable housing advocates said.

A Chattanooga attorney is one of the prominent voices speaking out against a bill in the Tennessee legislature that would create a "super court" of three judges initially appointed by Republican Gov. Bill Lee that some say is a politically motivated tactic to control the state's judicial system.

A Dade County sheriff's deputy allegedly left bruises on the arms of an 82-year-old man after the two had a dispute about a shared property line that turned physical, leaving the older man in handcuffs.

Bars and restaurants in Tennessee could keep up the coronavirus-era offering of to-go beers and other alcoholic drinks for two years under a bill now awaiting action from Republican Gov. Bill Lee.

Although Gov. Bill Lee wants to back off of local mask mandates and COVID-related business restrictions, most Tennessee school leaders expect to continue mask and social distancing requirements for students and staff for the rest of the academic year.

Hamilton County's mask mandate will expire at the end of the day Wednesday, but local health officials are recommending that citizens, businesses and schools still follow the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines and continue to wear face coverings in situations with higher risk for COVID-19 exposure.

Declaring the COVID-19 pandemic no longer a health crisis but a "managed public health issue," Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee on Tuesday announced the end of any statewide public health restrictions and the revocation of authority for local leaders to impose mask mandates in 89 counties whose health departments he controls.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee's proposed $250 million trust fund for student mental health is generating accolades for its magnitude, but new questions are emerging about the plan's unconventional funding approach.

"The first blessings box in Dade for free food and household item take-and-give was put up on the side of the library back in 2019," Huffman said.

NASHVILLE — Beginning July 1, most Tennesseans ages 21 and older will no longer be legally required to undergo state criminal background checks, firearms training or demonstrate firearm competency in order to carry a handgun either openly or concealed while in public.

In groups of four or fewer, families and loved ones whistled and cheered beneath their masks as University of Tennessee at Chattanooga undergraduates walked across the stage at McKenzie Arena at Friday morning's commencement ceremony.

Most Chattanooga leaders are concerned about COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in Tennessee and believe politics and misinformation are the driving forces behind it, according to the latest Times Free Press Power Poll - which surveys people in Chattanooga and Hamilton County who make or influence policy decisions at the local, state and federal levels.

Eve Williams is planning to open her new Mojo Burrito restaurant just down the road from the existing location on Dayton Boulevard, but she's got one big worry.

Tennessee legislators will consider two bills Wednesday that could increase the number of families opting out of vaccinations for their children on religious grounds — a growing trend that a recent state report cited as likely driven by anti-vaccine philosophy, not religion.

The jurors who sat quietly off-camera through three weeks of draining testimony in Derek Chauvin's murder trial in George Floyd's death moved into the spotlight Tuesday, still out of sight but now in control of verdicts awaited by a skittish city.

Outgoing Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke attributes a drop in the city's gang violence under his tenure to the Violence Reduction Initiative, his flagship program, rolled out in March 2014 to fight gang violence in a new way.

Outgoing Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke said he spent eight years striving to maintain a human connection as he sought "renewal" amid unprecedented challenges.

Former Democrat Vernon Jones crowd-surfed across adoring Trump supporters in October after speaking at one of the former president's campaign rallies.

As the city welcomes a new mayoral administration, a third of the Chattanooga City Council will also be replaced Monday with newly elected representatives, ushering in a new era of city government.

Chattanooga agencies that assist low-income families with utility payments are preparing for an increase in requests for help as electric bills rise with the warmer weather - just as pandemic-related assistance that has softened the financial blow for many Chattanoogans struggling to pay their utility bills is running out.

The world's only known transgender billionaire warned Monday she may move her private family trust out of Nashville if Tennessee Republican lawmakers continue efforts to enact a series of anti-LGBTQ measures into law.

Redemption to the Nations is housing unaccompanied migrant children who arrived at the border in recent weeks in one of its unused buildings, a move that thrust the Chattanooga-based Pentecostal church back into the latest nationwide immigration debate.

A record-breaking season in the garden industry last year has contributed to a nationwide plant shortage this spring, but officials at Chattanooga-area garden centers say they've worked hard to make sure customers won't notice.