WASHINGTON (AP) — When Howard Dean opens his mouth, Democrats cringe — and Republicans pounce. His depictions of Republicans as “pretty much a white, Christian party,” with many who “never made an honest living,” have prompted top Democrats to beseech him to cool his rhetoric. They also have questioned how much more the party will…

KNOXVILLE (AP) — State Rep. William Baird was fined $15,000 for failing to file required reports on his 2004 campaign and business interests, believed to be the largest penalty ever assessed to a sitting lawmaker. The fine against Baird, R-Jacksboro, was one of several penalty orders Wednesday by the Registry of Election Finance. Others included…

NASHVILLE (AP) — After 18 years amid livestock barns at the state fairgrounds, the Country Music Association’s annual Fan Fair was slumping along with aging facilities, waning interest from big stars and no corporate sponsorships. “The decision was to relocate or quit,” said CMA Executive Director Ed Benson. Organizers chose to move the event downtown…

MANCHESTER (AP) — State and local law enforcement have prepared for Thursday’s onslaught of traffic from the Bonnaroo music festival. Past Bonnaroo festivals have drawn about 90,000 people and a load of traffic headaches. Coffee County Sheriff Steve Graves said that he expected traffic to lighten by Friday, the first day of the event. “We’ve…

NASHVILLE (AP) — The Tennessee Supreme Court is weighing whether there is enough risk of unnecessary pain and suffering involved in the state’s lethal injection process to switch to drugs used by a majority of other states. Associate Deputy Attorney General Joe Whalen told the five justices on Wednesday that the state’s death penalty protocol…

NASHVILLE (AP) — Federal regulators on Wednesday approved a second part of the state’s plan to reduce TennCare benefit limits, giving the governor another piece of good news on his reform plans. Already, a federal appeals court has approved Gov. Phil Bredesen’s plans to cut 323,000 people from the TennCare rolls. The Legislature has endorsed…

NASHVILLE (AP) — Students attending Tennessee public colleges and universities are a step closer to seeing double-digit percentage increases in tuition next fall. The Tennessee Higher Education Commission voted 6-3 Wednesday to recommend tuition go up between 12 percent and 15 percent. THEC officials have said the hike is needed because of continued flat state…

NASHVILLE (AP) — While other Southern states have resolved recent battles over Confederate symbols, Tennessee is still struggling with how to remember its Civil War past. There’s a proposal in predominantly black Memphis to rename Confederate Park, Jefferson Davis Park and Nathan Bedford Forrest Park, and to place the statues of Davis and Forrest in…

FORD MEMPHIS (AP) — The size of the enemy doesn’t make much difference for former state Sen. John Ford. He hits back, or at least tries to. “They’re the ones who are corrupt. They’re the villains,” Ford said Wednesday after pleading innocent to federal bribery and extortion charges. Ford has weathered many a struggle during…

CHICAGO (AP) — Suicidal impulses and attempts are much more common in teenagers who think they are too fat or too thin, regardless of how much they actually weigh, a study found. Using actual body size based on teens’ reports of their height and weight, the researchers found that overall, overweight or underweight teens were…