WASHINGTON (AP) — Half the people in the country say record-high gas prices are starting to cause them problems. Who’s to blame? Americans point a finger at the oil companies, foreign nations that control the oil supply, and politicians. More than half say they’re cutting back on driving, and many plan to stay closer to…

BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) — Dial the phone, drop some pounds. This month, a University of California hot line began offering 20 recorded messages on healthier eating habits. The service is targeted at the poor people and recent immigrants, who often find their weight increasing when they abandon traditional diets for American fare. The obesity-prevention and…

KNOXVILLE (AP) — The Great Smoky Mountains National Park — the most popular and most polluted park in the country — is President Bush’s stage Friday to mark Earth Day. Traveling to picturesque Cades Cove, about 30 miles south of Knoxville, Bush will help restore a trail and give a speech emphasizing “personal environmental stewardship,…

KNOXVILLE (AP) — Tennessee is projected to add nearly 1.7 million people in the next 25 years — a nearly 30 percent growth rate on par with the rest of the nation, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures released Thursday. That’s enough people to fill Memphis, Nashville, Chattanooga, Knoxville and Johnson City combined, and rank…

NASHVILLE (AP) — All of the 323,000 adults slated to lose TennCare coverage will receive adequate health care from the state’s “safety net,” Gov. Phil Bredesen said Wednesday. “In states where they don’t have a program like TennCare, the safety net is taking care of everyone,” he said following a meeting of the task force…

NASHVILLE (AP) — A sweep to capture some of the most dangerous juvenile offenders who escaped state custody netted four of the 13 sought — including two who were being held in the Nashville jail for other crimes. The other two were found at their families’ homes during the Wednesday roundup, officials said. A quarter…

NASHVILLE (AP) — The top Republican in the state Senate says the party’s caucus chairman, accused of cheating on his wife in a divorce case, won’t be asked to step down. State Sen. Jeff Miller, R-Cleveland, has been a vocal leader in his party’s fight to raise moral issues as key topics in state politics.…

NASHVILLE (AP) — Gov. Phil Bredesen is getting rave reviews from education advocates over his proposed pre-kindergarten program, which could be spending about $150 million a year by 2010. That’s how much state funding Bredesen believes it will take to provide a school readiness program to the approximately 40,000 4-year-olds likely to enroll if it’s…

NASHVILLE (AP) — Loud objections from some lawmakers in the House stalled a sweeping ethics reform measure on Thursday, just as it seemed the bill was on the fast track to the governor’s desk. The objections surprised Democratic and Republican leaders, who stood side by side as they urged lawmakers to pass the bill. “Today…

NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee’s proposed constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage, which supporters touted as a way to keep the issue out of the hands of “activist judges” in the state, is being challenged in court. The American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee announced Thursday that it has filed a lawsuit in Davidson County Chancery…