By NANCY ZUCKERBROD / Associated Press Writer MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Two-by-two, lawmakers left the church where the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. once preached and walked to a black granite civil rights memorial bearing the names of those killed in the 1960s struggle for equality. Led by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., and…

By Jim Mullen / Columnist The sun set tonight at one minute after five. It was a big psychological milestone. The days ARE getting longer. Remind me again, what was the advantage of going off daylight-saving time? So the sun would set at 3:30 in the afternoon instead of 4:30? So we could see the…

Cokie & Steven Roberts / Columnists When it comes to gay marriage, President George W. Bush and Mayor Gavin Newsom of San Francisco need each other. In fact, they love each other. Politically speaking, that is.There’s Newsom, new to his job after a tough election fight, seizing the chance for some free publicity by defying…

By Mike Vinson / Columnist About twice a year, I run into Dr. Jerry Hale, Warren County’s director of schools. Being that Dr. Hale and I have a common interest in sports, our past few conversations have been about sports.Specifically, a good many of those conversations have focused on the Pearl High School (now known…

The Kingsport Times-News What do Tennessee lawmakers have against bingo and veterans and fraternal clubs?While the General Assembly has embraced a new state lottery and the millions in revenue that come with it, lawmakers seem to have a curious hang-up when it comes to allowing private groups to play bingo.They also seem to suspect the…

The Knoxville News Sentinel We urge caution in making changes in the state’s specialty license plate program.No state officials or legislators have proposed changes, but the group Friends of the Smokies fears a recent lawsuit will affect the program, which raised more than $600,000 last year for projects related to the Great Smoky Mountains National…

Members of Lucky Homemakers Family and Community Education Club gathered at the home of Dima Craddock for the Jan. 26 meeting.Gladys Womack, devotional leader, read Proverbs 22:1-6 and Elsie Fugate worded the prayer.Beth Jones showed a quilted square of uniform, hand-appliqued stitches in pink and green on a white background. Brenda Woodlee shared two items,…

Charles W. Johnson photo Angie Lafever looks on as her son Cameron, 13, takes his snazzy remote-control car out for a spin. The hobby is a popular pastime for local residents of all ages.

The congregation at East End Church of Christ will be serving a covered dish dinner Sunday to welcome Garland Robinson and his family. The dinner will take place in the annex following the morning worship service.Robinson and his wife, Angelita, were raised in Cookeville. They have three children, Hillary, 20, Josh 17, and Jesse, 8.They…

By Dandy Dave It has been a long, hard ride for the cruiserweight wrestlers in the WWE.Just a few months ago, the WCW had the cruiserweights as their main part of their program, and they were on top of the wrestling world. The heavyweights were seen as main-eventers, but Chris Jericho, Psychosis, Billy Kidman, Dean…