NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee’s unemployment rate dropped sharply from December to January, but labor officials attributed the decline to a fluke in Census data and said it likely will rise again next month. The state Department of Labor and Workforce Development said January’s rate was 4.9 percent, down from December’s seasonally adjusted rate of 6…

WINCHESTER (AP) — A pipe bomb was found in a car Thursday after the driver led authorities on a 10-mile chase, authorities said. Beth Denton, spokeswoman for the Tennessee Department of Safety, said the bomb was detonated by the department’s special operations unit. It was 5 inches long and 1 inch in diameter with an…

By NANCY ZUCKERBROD / Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate lawmakers said Thursday it’s time for the nation to invest more heavily in nuclear power, and praised the Tennessee Valley Authority for doing its part. “I think as the price of gasoline goes up and the difficulty of burning coal cleanly increases, people are…

NASHVILLE (AP) — In a strategy believed to be the first of its kind in Tennessee, Metro Nashville police are having the telephone lines of escort services disconnected in an initiative aimed at prostitution. After requests from vice detectives, at least three Davidson County judges ordered BellSouth to disconnect 106 telephone lines used by area…

By JOHN GEROME / Associated Press Writer Kristin Crego, right, a student at Middle Tennessee State University, talks about the cost of music and the availability of online music downloads as she sits on a panel of young music consumers Thursday, March 4, 2004. (AP Photo) NASHVILLE (AP) — Young adults hold both promise and…

By AMBER McDOWELL / Associated Press Writer NASHVILLE (AP) — A bill that would allow the host county to tax tickets to the Bonnaroo music festival hit a speed bump Thursday when the state House delayed a vote over concerns it would drive the event from Tennessee. The bill would let the Coffee County Commission…

By William Rusher / Columnist It would help if the two sides in the debate over gay marriage could begin by conceding that each has a point. The gay supporters of the concept are not, in most cases, out to scupper the institution of marriage; on the contrary, all they ask is to be allowed…

By Morton Kondracke / Columnist It’s conventional wisdom now that this may be one of the nastiest presidential campaigns ever. But those keeping score should observe that, right now, the muddy epithets thrown at President Bush outweigh those thrown at Democrats by tons.For months now, Democrats have accused Bush of being a “liar” who “misled”…

By James Clark / Columnist If you thought you heard construction noises in Murfreesboro Tuesday, you weren’t far from the truth. Those noises were the sound of Craig Fults getting hammered by a Murfreesboro judge, as the Warren County native received a 45-year sentence for a sexual relationship he had with a 16-year-old boy.Fults should…

Our Viewpoint Last week, a group of parents went to the school board asking for fifth-grade basketball at McMinnville’s three elementary schools.It sounds like a fine idea.Currently fifth-graders at McMinnville’s three elementary schools – Hickory Creek, West and Bobby Ray – do not play school-sponsored basketball. It could be pointed out that fifth-graders at all…