By DANIEL Q. HANEY / AP Medical Editor NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A new pill in the final stages of testing shows promise in attacking two of humanity’s biggest killers by helping people quit smoking and lose weight at the same time. As government officials in Washington launched a campaign against obesity Tuesday, doctors at…

By MARK SHERMAN / Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — More Americans soon will be dying of obesity than from smoking if current trends persist, which would make being fat the nation’s No. 1 cause of preventable death, the government says. A poor diet and physical inactivity caused 400,000 deaths in 2000, a 33 percent…

MURFREESBORO (AP) — Authorities have arrested a high school teacher and charged him with having sex with a 15-year-old student in his classroom. Thomas Ray Harris, 49, was suspended without pay from his job at Oakland High School on Monday, Rutherford County school officials said. He was charged Saturday with 20 counts of statutory rape…

ADAMSVILLE (AP) — After some initial hesitation, the daughter of legendary McNairy County Sheriff Buford Pusser has embraced a remake of the film “Walking Tall,” starring former wrestler turned actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. MGM produced the modern-day version of the 1973 movie, the first of a trilogy. The film was inspired by Pusser, who…

By KARIN MILLER / Associated Press Writer NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee lawmakers soon may join 23 other states in stopping smaller cigarette manufacturers from getting back most of the money they put into a state fund each year in lieu of participating in a national tobacco settlement. The state is losing about $10 million each…

CHATTANOOGA (AP) — Reversing a Hamilton County chancellor, a state appeals court said any Tennessee resident trying to protect a conservation easement has standing to challenge development. The Tennessee Court of Appeals sided with environmentalist Sandra Kurtz, who in July filed a lawsuit that said construction of a Wal-Mart Supercenter in Brainerd would seriously harm…

NASHVILLE (AP) — The United Methodist Church will offer prescription drug discount cards, a service members believe is a first for a religious denomination. Representatives from churches across the nation voted to offer the benefit during a weekend conference in Nashville. “We think we’re pioneering,” said the Rev. Mearle Griffith. Church leaders note that Methodists…

NASHVILLE (AP) — Gov. Phil Bredesen’s administration is pushing to abolish “Toughman” competitions and similar fighting events in Tennessee, saying they are too dangerous to participants. “The administration came to the conclusion that this is an activity basically sanctioning a night spot, or whatever, holding contests where untrained, unconditioned, nonprofessional people beat the stuffing out…

By TOM SHARP / Associated Press Writer NASHVILLE (AP) — Charity games in Tennessee will be put on a much shorter leash under a compromise brokered among Gov. Phil Bredesen, legislative sponsors and other officials. The charity gaming bills originally would have opened the state up to for-profit operators. That raised the specter of the…

By AMBER McDOWELL / Associated Press Writer NASHVILLE (AP) — Gov. Phil Bredesen needs to reform TennCare’s finances, but the former health care executive also wants to make the program a “model for other states” by using technology from Vanderbilt University Medical Center. He’s particularly interested in the electronic medical record-keeping technology developed by the…