WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of newly laid off Americans filing applications for unemployment benefits rose slightly last week but still remained at levels indicating a strong labor market. The Labor Department reported Thursday that applications for unemployment benefits totaled 316,000 last week, a gain of 6,000 from the previous week. That increase was above…

NEW YORK (AP) — The back-to-school shopping season can be a trying — and expensive — time of year. Parents and their kids, often armed with school-provided lists of required supplies, must maneuver crowded stores in search of just the right notebooks, trendy backpacks, hip jeans and new shoes. The price tag for families with…

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Google Inc. plans to sell another 14.2 million shares, raising about $4 billion, but the famous search engine company isn’t providing many clues as to how the money will be spent. Some analysts speculated Mountain View-based Google might be devising a bid for the Chinese search firm Baidu.com or the…

HURRICANE MILLS — Country great George Jones in concert at Loretta Lynn’s Ranch Hurricane Mills, TN Phone: 931-296-7700

This exposition will be bigger and better than ever. Four great days of exciting quilt contests, beautiful quilt exhibitions, plenty of classes, marvelous special events, and lots of variety — all under one roof. Event DatesAug 24, 2005 – Aug 27, 2005 Contact InformationVisitor ServicesNashville, TNPhone: 888-999-OPRY Location InformationGaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center

MANCHESTER — Here it comes, Fantasy 101.5FM presents the Fifth Anniversary 2005 “Smokin’ on the Square” BBQ Competition: The Coffee Pot BBQ Challenge at it’s NEW location in Fred Deadman Park in Manchester, Tennessee! Coming this August 19th and 20th, come on down to southern-middle Tennessee for what is being forecast as one of the…

WASHINGTON (AP) — Inflation at the wholesale level increased by the largest amount in nine months in July, reflecting the hit consumers are taking at gas pumps. The Labor Department reported that its Producer Price Index, which measures price pressures before they reach the consumer, jumped by 1 percent in July, the biggest advance since…

WASHINGTON (AP) — Front-seat fatalities involving children have declined since 1996 as adults have become more aware that youngsters are safer in the back seat wearing seat belts. Fatalities involving children 12 and under in the front seat have dropped 46 percent from 1996 to 2003, according to a study Wednesday by the Air Bag…

NEW YORK (AP) — A 25-year-old former America Online employee who admitted he became a cyberspace “outlaw” when he sold all 92 million screen names and e-mail addresses to spammers was sentenced Wednesday to a year and three months in prison. “I know I’ve done something very wrong,” the soft-spoken and teary eyed Jason Smathers…

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — The owners of a controversial exhibit featuring plasticized human corpses vowed Wednesday to open at a Tampa museum despite a state board voting that it would be illegal to do so. Florida’s Anatomical Board, which oversees the use of cadavers at the state’s medical schools, voted 4-2 to deny a request…