NASHVILLE (AP) — Gov. Phil Bredesen said Wednesday he now knows his options after a judge dropped out of the running for a state Supreme Court vacancy, but he hasn’t decided whether to choose from the remaining two or ask for a new list of candidates. In a letter to Bredesen last week, Circuit Court…

NASHVILLE (AP) — Gov. Phil Bredesen said Wednesday he’s satisfied with the distribution of money in his so-called “safety net” program to help those being cut from TennCare, despite criticism that the state is being stingy. The governor has said he’s cutting about 190,000 adults from the state public health care program and reducing benefits…

CHATTANOOGA (AP) — Increased bonuses, advertising, relaxed qualifications and more recruiters are being credited by Tennessee National Guard and Army recruiters for rising enlistments. Maximum bonuses for new recruits have been increased from $6,000 to $10,000 and for re-enlistments from $8,000 to $15,000, said Lt. Col. William Wenzler, recruiting commander for the Tennessee National Guard.…

WASHINGTON (AP) — Several Tennessee Army Reserve and National Guard centers are slated to be closed and recombined under federal recommendations approved Wednesday. Six Tennessee Army Reserve centers and one National Guard Readiness Center would be closed under the recommendation, including the U.S. Army Reserve Area Maintenance Support Facility in Kingsport. Their freed resources would…

HOT SPRINGS, N.C. (AP) — A magnitude 3.8 earthquake rattled homes in North Carolina, Tennessee and Georgia but appeared to have caused little serious damage. The minor quake, which hit at 11:09 p.m. EDT Wednesday, was centered about 2 miles southeast of Hot Springs in Madison County, 25 miles north of Asheville, according to the…

Kids of Summer 2005 is a special section packed with photographs of your favorite local youth teams and players. Available for download in PDF format.

NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee starting offensive tackle Brad Hopkins had arthroscopic surgery to repair torn cartilage in his right knee, coach Jeff Fisher said Tuesday night. The 12-year veteran hurt his knee near the end of practice Monday afternoon. He tried to walk off the injury, but then left the field with a team doctor.…

By DALE STUBBLEFIELD / Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard Savannah Rutledge heads downfield on her way to scoring the Lady Pioneers’ only goal of the day. (Dale Stubblefield photo) The Lady Pioneer soccer team opened its 2005 District 7-AAA season on the road Saturday against the Lady Patriots of Oakland.After battling Livingston Academy to…

By DALE STUBBLEFIELD / Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard Lady Pioneer senior McKenna Rhea bumps a pass to the front row during Monday afternoon’s tri-match against Tullahoma and Franklin County. (Dale Stubblefield photo) The Warren County Lady Pioneer volleyball team opened the season Monday with a pair of non-district wins over Tullahoma and Franklin…

NASHVILLE (AP) — Watch Tennessee’s receivers and it’s impossible to pick out the rookies without a roster. There’s Brandon Jones lining up opposite of starter Drew Bennett or Courtney Roby and Roydell Williams pulling in passes. They’ve looked good enough that Bennett likes watching them work. “This is probably the best group of receivers since…