KNOXVILLE (AP) — Tennessee football coach Phillip Fulmer testified Thursday in an identity theft trial that his wallet was stolen in 2001. Maurice Edward Hughley was indicted in 2003 after investigators found a stash of credit cards and bank cards hidden above a ceiling tile in a bathroom at a laundry. He went on trial…

MEMPHIS (AP) — A former IRS data clerk drew a prison sentence of almost six years Thursday for taking part in a conspiracy to steal thousands of dollars in tax returns. Teresa Fleming, who has sometimes used the name Tiffany Boone, also was ordered to pay $420,000 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service and…

OAK RIDGE (AP) — The Energy Department on Thursday proposed a $247,500 fine against its chief environmental cleanup contractor in Oak Ridge for two industrial accidents in 2004. A chemical fire at DOE’s former uranium enrichment plant in Oak Ridge exposed four workers to radioactive materials and forced a daylong evacuation of about 150 people…

NASHVILLE (AP) — Someone aimed a laser beam into the cockpit of a Southwest Airlines plane at Nashville International Airport late Wednesday night. Airport officials said a green laser beam aimed from the ground shined into the cockpit shortly after the plane took off. The pilot was not hindered by the light and the flight…

MEMPHIS (AP) — Ophelia E. Ford won a razor thin victory Thursday night in the Democratic primary for the state Senate seat once held by John Ford, her brother, now under indictment. With all 60 precincts reporting, Ophelia Ford had 1,336 votes to 1,316 for state Rep. Henri Brooks. John Ford, a Democrat, gave up…

By TOM RAUM / Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON — The deadly recent attacks on American troops in Iraq are increasing the pressure on President Bush to develop an exit strategy. The U.S. death toll from the war is now over 1,800, and a new AP-Ipsos poll shows the lowest approval yet for Bush’s handling of…

By Kathryn Lopez The knee-jerk reaction some critics have had to John Roberts being selected as the president’s first Supreme Court pick reeks of foolishness. This has been their thinking: A woman is retiring, and a woman must replace her. And so they just can’t get that into a “John.”Even retiring Justice Sandra Day O’Connor’s…

By William Rusher A lot of Americans have been baffled by the proliferation, in recent years, of gambling casinos on Indian reservations in states, or places in states, that had previously been blessedly free of that particular curse. Some states, of course, threw in their lot with the gambling interests many years ago (Nevada comes…

By Mike Vinson Here in McMinnville, we often hear complaints along the lines of, “This town is so boring. There’s nothing fun to do.”Granted, McMinnville does not feature a smorgasbord of entertainment jumping out at you, as does, say, 2nd Avenue in Nashville, but to say McMinnville suffers from a total drought is faulty. Along…

Our Viewpoint For anyone who has bothered to notice, The Hole is regaining its junkyard look. It’s become a popular spot for construction workers to park heavy equipment and store just about anything they aren’t currently using.Of course downtown is hardly close to a finished state. There’s still much renovation work to be done so…