NASHVILLE (AP) — Small schools who sued the state over disparities in teacher pay agreed Tuesday to back Gov. Phil Bredesen’s plan to equalize salaries among rich and poor districts. Bredesen’s office said in a statement the agreement came after the group met with officials from the state Department of Education to hear details of…

By DUNCAN MANSFIELD / Associated Press Writer KNOXVILLE (AP) — Tennessee added enough people in the past three years to fill a city the size of Chattanooga, but the Volunteer State’s growth rate is slowing, according to new U.S. Census estimates. In the decade leading up to the 2000 Census, Tennessee experienced a 16.7 percent…

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By LIZ SIDOTI / Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — President Bush is accused of “eroding the American dream” in the first television ad by a liberal-leaning interest group partly funded by billionaire philanthropist George Soros. The Media Fund, in its initial ad buy, will air $5 million worth of commercials in 17 battleground states…

By WILL LESTER / Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Voters in four Southern states were eager to see U.S. troops brought home from Iraq, worried about the economy and confident that likely presidential nominee John Kerry shares their values, according to exit polls. With little doubt that Kerry would carry the day, voters who…

By MIKE GLOVER / Associated Press Writer CHICAGO (AP) — After a four-state sweep that moved him closer to claiming the Democratic presidential nomination, John Kerry looked to cement ties with an important constituency and woo a vanquished rival. Kerry was meeting Wednesday with workers at a Chicago contracting business before addressing, by satellite, top…

By SCOTT LINDLAW / Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — President Bush wants Cleveland to know he feels its pain. For the 15th time as president, Bush on Wednesday visits Ohio, where unemployment is stuck at 6.2 percent and where nearly 200,000 jobs were lost during the recession from 2001 through last March — nearly…

By MATT GOURAS / Associated Press Writer NASHVILLE (AP) — A new poll shows President Bush and Democratic challenger John Kerry in a virtual dead heat among Tennessee voters, as support for the war in Iraq wanes and concern about the economy increases. The poll, which gauged opinion on a number of issues, also found…

Tullahoma resident and Warren County native Mamie R. Chisam, 69, died March 6 at United Regional Nursing Center.A member of the Church of Christ, she was the daughter of Newt and Mary Elizabeth Chisam, and is survived by sisters, Betty Jo Kirkland of Tullahoma, Lenora Hobbs of McMinnville and Bonnie Glazier of Birkley, Mich.; several…

Paul Douglas Matheny Sr., 79, died March 8 at Centennial Hospital in Nashville after an extended illness.A retired manager with Genesco and a member of Arlington Church of Christ, he was a U.S. Army veteran of World War II, serving his country during the Normandy invasion and European campaigns where he received several honors including…