Tourists and residents were told Thursday they will have to leave the Florida Keys to avoid mighty Hurricane Ivan, even as Floridians still struggled with the destruction and misery left by Hurricanes Frances and Charley. Forecasters said Ivan — which weakened slightly Thursday to near 150 mph — could reach the island chain as early…

NASHVILLE (AP) Cracker Barrel agreed Thursday to pay $8.7 million to settle allegations the restaurant chain mistreated black customers and discriminated against black employees. More than 40 plaintiffs in 16 states alleged blacks were denied service, assigned to segregated seating, subjected to racial slurs and served food taken from the trash. Also, about a dozen…

NASHVILLE (AP) Tennessee had the lowest state and local tax burden in the United States in 2002, according to a survey by the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation. The foundation ranked tax burden per $1,000 of personal income, which foundation president Michael Widmer said he believes is a more accurate reflection than a per capita assessment. According…

George Plagenz Unknown and penniless at age 45, Mary Baker — later, Mary Baker Eddy — the founder of Christian Science, was a millionaire when she died at the age of 89. How did she do it? It was during the women’s rights movement in the 19th century that Mrs. Eddy came into prominence as…

James Clark For those of you who read last week’s column, you may recall how I complained about the silliness of the state’s sudden crackdown against charity raffles and bingo games. I hardly want to relive that whole rant again this week, but I have to mention the fact that the state’s hard stance against…

Nat Hentoff On Aug. 31, during the Republican National Convention in New York, more than 1,000 protestors reveling in their right of free expression ironically staged a “shut-up-athon” outside the midtown studios of the Fox News Channel. Demonstrators chanted “Fox lies, people die,” while accusing the cable network of being a Republican mouthpiece. I wonder…

Kingsport Times-News For Tennessee to succeed in an increasingly technological work world, its residents must seek out higher education no matter the cost. Unfortunately, that cost is high, even factoring in the state’s new lottery scholarships. Tuition at Tennessee’s colleges and universities rose 7 percent just this year.Northeast State Community College, with campuses in Blountville…

Margo Howard Dearest Pru: Love your work; need your help. My brilliant boyfriend and I have been together three years and lived together for two. We are both in grad school working on advanced chemistry degrees. (We know; we’re nerds.) We’re exceedingly happy together and plan, after grad school, to get married and bring some…