Sparta resident and White County native Vesta Sims Jordan, 85, died Sept. 19 at National Health Corporation of Sparta.A homemaker, she was the daughter of the late Grover and Callie Myatt Sims; and was preceded in death by her husband, Elmore Jordan; sister, Lela M. Alexander; and brother, A.T. Sims.She is survived by daughters and…

Nashville resident Lillian Cantrell Wiseman, 95, died Sept. 17.A retiree of Washington Manufacturing Company and the oldest member of Meads Chapel Church of Christ, she was the daughter of the late Mattie and Joe B. Cantrell; and was preceded in death by six sisters and one brother.She is survived by her daughter and son-in-law, Doris…

Morganton, N.C., resident and Warren County native James W. Elrod, 71, died Aug. 18 at his home after a brief illness.A 22-year veteran of the U.S. Air Force serving his country in Vietnam, he was the son of the late Willie Davis and Madie Bess Elrod and was preceded in death by son, Wilber James…

McMinnville resident and Warren County native James Leon (J.L.) Chambers, 77, died Sept. 17 at St. Thomas Hospital after a short illness.A retired foreman with Century Electric and a member of Westwood Church of Christ, he was the son of the late J.A. and Sarah Elizabeth Bell Chambers; and was preceded in death by stepmother,…

Beersheba Springs resident Homer Birch Fults Jr., 33, died Sept. 16 at Vanderbilt University Medical Center from injuries sustained in an automobile accident.The son of Homer B. and Almedia Whitman Fults, he married Lavanda Faye Ward, all of whom survive. He was preceded in death by daughters, Latosha and Lacy Fults; and son, Stacey Fults.He…

Woodbury resident Avanell Jones George, 77, died Sept. 16 after an extended illness.Funeral services were held in the Chapel of Woodbury Funeral Home Monday with Odell Powell, Herb Alsup and Frelan George officiating.She is survived by her husband of 61 years, Grady Seldon George of Woodbury; sons, David (Joan) George and Grady, Jr. (Carol) George…

WASHINGTON (AP) — Rebecca Valois is working to become a lawyer — without setting foot in a law school. She’s studied for three years at the private Virginia practice of her mother-in-law, Judith Valois, who was admitted to the state bar in 1986 after getting her legal education from her husband. They are “law readers”…

CHICAGO (AP) — Total U.S. spending on medical research has doubled in the past decade to nearly $95 billion a year, though whether the money is being well spent needs much better scrutiny, a study has found. The report in Wednesday’s Journal of the American Medical Association comes amid heightened public attention to medical research…

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — With 360 pounds hanging on his 5-foot-7 frame, Robert Stratiff was in sad shape. He had heart problems, poor circulation, wasted knees and sleep apnea that kept him awake most nights. Miserable at age 69, he knew he wasn’t long for the world unless he did something drastic. And soon. So…

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Fewer people have died in smoking-related fires since New York last year became the first state to require that tobacco companies sell self-extinguishing cigarettes, according to records released Tuesday. State officials were optimistic about the data, but said it was too early to draw conclusions. “We are encouraged by the results…