KNOXVILLE (AP) — Gerald Riggs Sr. used two simple words to describe the start of his son’s career as a tailback at Tennessee — dismal and painful. Gerald Riggs Jr. had all the accolades fitting one of the top high school prospects in the country plus a rich football pedigree as the son of the…

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) — Wake Forest routinely fought opponents into the fourth quarter last season only to come up short. Vanderbilt also knows that late-game disappointment all too well. And even though both teams would say any season-opener is important, the Demon Deacons and the Commodores sure could use a win — complete with a…

NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee quarterback Steve McNair teamed up with Green Bay quarterback Brett Favre and arranged to fill a tractor-trailer with relief supplies bound for Mississippi on Wednesday. McNair also asked his fans to help him raise money for victims of Hurricane Katrina. The co-MVP of 2003, who has a home near Favre’s in…

NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee is focused on rebuilding, so coach Jeff Fisher is more worried about preparing young Titans for the season opener than resting veterans as they wrap up the preseason. That’s why Fisher plans to play his starters into the third quarter Thursday night against the Green Bay Packers in their exhibition finale.…

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Scores of detainees have started a new hunger strike at the U.S. prison for terror suspects in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, demanding to be put on trial or released, human rights lawyers said Wednesday. Many have been held more than 3 1/2 years without charge or access to lawyers. Most…

WASHINGTON (AP) — The economy grew at a 3.3 percent annual rate in the second quarter, slightly less than initially estimated but still a solid performance, especially given galloping energy prices. The new reading for the gross domestic product (GDP) for the April-to-June, quarter released by the Commerce Department on Wednesday, showed a tad less…

LONDON (AP) — Princess Diana’s most loyal fans gathered outside her former home Wednesday to mark the eighth anniversary of her death and to revile the woman who succeeded her as the wife of Prince Charles. Britain’s royal family planned no special observances. Her sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, “will be going about their…

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Hurricane Katrina telethons reminiscent of benefits for tsunami and 9/11 victims were announced Wednesday with artists including Wynton Marsalis and Green Day, while Jerry Lewis’ annual Labor Day fundraiser will join in as well. Lewis said Wednesday his telethon for the Muscular Dystrophy Association would include celebrity appeals for hurricane relief.…

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Substitute teacher Liliette Pena watched TV images of the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina until she could watch no more. She turned to her checkbook. “It’s heart wrenching,” Pena said, stifling sobs as she waited to donate $100 at a Red Cross center at Dodger Stadium. “I’d like to think that…

WASHINGTON (AP) — Confronting one of the nation’s worst natural disasters, President Bush says rebuilding from the massive devastation of Hurricane Katrina will take years and that “the days seem awfully dark” for millions of people suffering across the devastated Gulf Coast. The Bush administration is working to put a price tag on the federal…