NASHVILLE (AP) — Country band Alabama, singer Glen Campbell and pioneering harmonica player DeFord Bailey, the Grand Ole Opry’s first black star, are being inducted into the County Music Association Hall of Fame. Formal induction will take place Nov. 15 at the annual CMA Awards in New York. The winners will be honored with plaques…

KNOXVILLE (AP) — Federal officials said Monday they have fined a Maryville company for allowing a 17-year-old employee to operate a power-driven cutting machine that sliced off her hand during an accident. DLJ Enterprises, also known as Altr-Eco Pallets, was fined $10,670 by the U.S. Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division for violating the Fair…

MARYVILLE (AP) — Highway Patrol Trooper Ernest Marion survived a land mine in Iraq and being wounded after chasing down a speeding driver at home. But he worried he wasn’t tough enough to raise four children on his own. “In the beginning, I said, ‘I don’t think I can do this,’” the 38-year-old Marine reservist…

CHATTANOOGA (AP) — Records show it’s not uncommon for Republican candidates to take union money although GOP primary opponents are criticizing U.S. Senate candidate Bob Corker for taking such campaign donations. Corker rivals Ed Bryant and Van Hilleary, both former U.S. representatives, have sharply criticized former Chattanooga Mayor Corker for accepting $5,000 this year from…

By WOODY BAIRD / Associated Press Writer NEWTON MEMPHIS — State Rep. Chris Newton was expected to appear in court Tuesday to change his plea of not guilty to charges of taking bribes to sponsor legislation favoring what turned out to be a fake company created by the FBI. Newton, an East Tennessee Republican, is…

NASHVILLE (AP) — Vanderbilt coach Bobby Johnson and his staff still have several decisions to make on starters before the Commodores open the season Thursday night at Wake Forest. The Commodores’ depth chart has three starters on offense still undecided and three choices left on defense. Johnson promised Monday at his weekly news conference that…

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Bullied and abused by Florida State last season, the UAB Blazers now can chalk up the 34-7 blowout as a learning experience for facing a top team. They’re hoping to put the lesson to good use in Saturday’s season-opener at No. 3 Tennessee. “We’re better than we were last year,” defensive…

KNOXVILLE (AP) — The competition for starting quarterback at Tennessee is still on, and even though Erik Ainge will take the first snap on Saturday, he wants to land the job for good. Coach Phillip Fulmer announced Saturday he picked the sophomore over senior Rick Clausen to start the No. 3 Volunteers’ opener against UAB.…

NASHVILLE (AP) — Antwan Odom finally feels alive. Thanks to surgery that removed a bone from his nose and fixed a crooked septum in June, the sleep apnea that kept the Titans defensive end from taking a deep breath or sleeping for more than a couple hours is gone. Now he can sleep more than…

By TERESA M. WALKER / AP Sports Writer NASHVILLE — A handful of Tennessee Titans had a hard time concentrating on football Monday with Hurricane Katrina forcing families to evacuate or bunker down to ride out the storm. Early reports indicated that Bay St. Louis, Miss., took the brunt of the storm, and that’s the…