By MARK SHERMAN / Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Medicare will go broke by 2019 without changes, 11 years sooner than its trustees projected two years ago — a deterioration the White House blames on rising health care costs, but that Democrats attribute to failed economic policies. The government health care program for older…

By GINA HOLLAND / Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans overwhelmingly want the phrase “under God” preserved in the Pledge of Allegiance, a new poll says as the Supreme Court examines whether the classroom salute crosses the division of church and state. Almost nine in 10 people said the reference to God belongs in…

CHATTANOOGA (AP) — The Tennessee Valley Authority has no immediate plans to participate in a Bush administration proposal to build a prototype clean-coal power plant that also would make hydrogen for vehicles. “If we can come up with a clean-coal solution, that would be great,” said Jack Bailey, TVA’s vice president of power resource planning.…

CHATTANOOGA (AP) — A state panel that has worked eight months trying to develop rail crossing safety recommendations hasn’t yet agreed on a proposal and a search is under way for a new facilitator. Ben Smith, a Tennessee Department of Transportation official who has moderated meetings of the 17-member state Railroad Crossing Task Force, canceled…

BRENTWOOD (AP) — A lawn equipment manufacturer on Tuesday recalled more than 93,000 lawn tractors because a faulty fuel tank poses a fire hazard. Officials with Brentwood-based Murray Inc. said in a statement that they had received two complaints of fires caused by the problem but no reports of injury. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety…

By SCOTT REEVES / Associated Press Writer NASHVILLE (AP) — A multimillion dollar advertising campaign for Firestone tires aims to rebuild the battered brand with American drivers. The TV ads, pitched to an audience age 18 to 49, cover the range of Firestone products, including passenger, sports utility vehicle, light truck, truck, bus and agricultural…

NASHVILLE (AP) — The state Supreme Court has declined to review a lower court’s ruling affirming a Chattanooga television station’s access to photos of the city’s uniformed police officers. Citing Tennessee’s Open Records Act, WTVC requested pictures of six officers involved in the Dec. 26, 2001, death of Torris Harris, 21. According to a police…

BRISTOL (AP) — Tennessee lawmakers could soon put the brakes on online ticket scalping for Bristol Motor Speedway. Selling speedway tickets for more than face value anywhere in the state would become illegal July 1 and carry a fine of up to $5,000 under legislation pending before the General Assembly. The bill, sponsored by Sen.…

By AMBER McDOWELL / Associated Press Writer NASHVILLE (AP) — District Attorney General John Carney has spent 30 years in law enforcement, including three as director of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. Carney — the top prosecutor for Montgomery and Robertson counties — has seen crime of all kinds committed against people of all ages,…

By KARIN MILLER / Associated Press Writer House judiciary sub-committee chairman Chris Newton, R-Cleveland, gestures as he refers to the roll call voting used during the committee meeting in legislative plaza in Nashville, Tenn., Tuesday, March 23, 2004. (AP Photo) NASHVILLE (AP) — The House Education K-12 Subcommittee had 24 bills on its Tuesday calendar,…