CHATTANOOGA (AP) — Chattanooga police have charged two teenage boys in the fatal beating of a 71-year-old man over the weekend. The body of Robert Wise was discovered by WDSI-TV employees on the station’s lawn as they were leaving work late Saturday night. Investigators say Wise suffered several injuries to his head, face and chest.…

KENTON (AP) — A Kenton police officer has been arrested and charged with six counts of statutory rape, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation reported Tuesday. George Anthony Sonmen, 39, is accused of having sex with a 16-year-old girl on six separate occasions in the last month, according to a release from TBI. The incidents took…

NASHVILLE (AP) — Police have charged a teenager in the death of her 5-year-old cousin who suffered severe head injuries in May. Latara Williams, 19, of Nashville, is charged with first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse in the death of Carlyle Mullins, who was staying with her after the Department of Children Services removed him…

KNOXVILLE (AP) — An Army soldier from Knoxville was killed in Baghdad, Iraq, on Monday when his vehicle accidentally rolled over into a ditch, the Department of Defense reported Tuesday. Spc. Luke C. Williams, 35, served with the 3rd Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade of the 3rd Infantry Division, based in Fort Stewart, Ga.…

NASHVILLE (AP) — Democratic U.S. Rep. Harold Ford Jr., a U.S. Senate candidate, said a $1,000 donation from his campaign account to the defense fund of a Chicago businessman facing criminal charges was unusual but was given to help a Memphis friend’s son. A first quarter federal campaign financial report shows Ford made the contribution…

NASHVILLE (AP) — A month into widespread cuts to TennCare rolls and benefits, some pharmacists and doctors say limits on prescription drug coverage is forcing some people to choose which of their ailments to treat. Before the cuts began Aug. 1, TennCare provided unlimited prescription coverage, but that has been cut to paying for two…

By Nat Hentoff / Columnist Having read hundreds of pages of John Roberts’ record in his years at the Justice Department and in private practice, I do not question that this amiable, quick-witted nominee to the Supreme Court has extensive experience in the law. But the prospect of Roberts as chief justice of the High…

By William Rusher / Columnist When Cindy Sheehan began her vigil outside President Bush’s ranch in Texas, there was widespread goodwill for this mother whose son, age 24, had been killed in Iraq. That tragedy didn’t magically transform her into an authority on the Middle East, but it induced in most Americans a feeling that…

By George Friedman / Columnist The American political system was founded in Philadelphia, but the American nation was built on the vast farmlands that stretch from the Alleghenies to the Rockies.But it was not the extraordinary land nor the farmers and ranchers who alone set the process in motion. Rather, it was geography — the…

By Duane Sherrill / Columnist The tragedy of Hurricane Katrina goes to show people will complain about anything and everything, always quick to lay the blame while they stand around wringing their hands, not doing a thing to help.Folks, Hurricane Katrina is nobody’s fault. Hurricanes happen. This is not the first one to hit New…