By RANDOLPH E. SCHMID / Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — America’s water use has been stable since the mid-1980s despite population growth, a sign that conservation works, researchers from the U.S. Geological Survey said Thursday. Water use in the United States totaled 408 billion gallons per day in 2000, the same as in 1990…

By RICHARD N. OSTLING / AP Religion Writer Does it matter whether the Pledge of Allegiance proclaims that the indivisible American republic is “under God”? In a political sense, the answer is certainly yes. The attorneys general of all 50 states, the Bush administration and many members of Congress joined briefs backing the current wording,…

NASHVILLE (AP) — Grand Ole Opry stars Vince Gill, Patty Loveless and the Del McCoury Band will hit the road this spring for an 11-city Opry tour, the long-running radio show’s first in several years. “The Grand Ole Opry American Road Show 2004” begins April 23 in Uncasville, Conn., then stops at state fairs and…

By DAN LEWERENZ / Associated Press Writer STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — After a 17-year absence, Mother Nature is bringing the noise. Periodical cicadas, a species of the grasshopper-like insects best known for the scratching, screeching “singing” of the males, will emerge this May, filling forests in all or part of more than a dozen…

NASHVILLE (AP) — Residents in DeKalb, Johnson and McNairy counties may get to keep their constables after all. The General Assembly passed legislation this week returning the issue to county ballots, and Rep. Jason Mumpower, R-Bristol, said Wednesday the bill he’s sponsored only needs Gov. Phil Bredesen’s signature to become law. Mumpower had been asked…

By MATT GOURAS / Associated Press Writer NASHVILLE (AP) — The state program that pays for cleaning up leaky underground oil and gas tanks is bankrupt and hasn’t paid some of its bills in nearly a year, prompting Gov. Phil Bredesen to propose a taxpayer bailout of the fund. The state Department of Environment and…

COLUMBIA (AP) — Some legislators and their constituents have a bone to pick with a bill requiring pickup truck drivers to restrain dogs riding in truck beds with leashes or carriers. The bill, introduced by Rep. Bill Dunn, R-Knoxville, would make failure to secure the animals in the open area of a motor vehicle a…

By KARIN MILLER / Associated Press Writer EDIGER NASHVILLE (AP) — The former grants director for the state Labor Department’s division of employment and training under Gov. Don Sundquist has been indicted on federal charges. The charges allege Joanna L. Ediger lied when she said a company owned by Sundquist’s friend was the only one…

By AMBER McDOWELL / Associated Press Writer NASHVILLE (AP) — Two Tennessee charities leading the push for nonprofit organizations to raise money through games of chance said Thursday they’re satisfied with changes this week to a bill that would allow the events. Officials with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis and the Boys and…

By MATT GOURAS / Associated Press Writer NASHVILLE (AP) — State lawyers argued Thursday that pro-abortion advocates haven’t tried hard enough to get their own license plate so the courts shouldn’t tamper with the “Choose Life” tag or Tennessee’s specialty plate program. The American Civil Liberties Union has sued the state, saying the Legislature gave…