By George Plagenz / Columnist “It was hell.” That is how some residents in Mississippi described what they were going through after hurricane Katrina devastated their state and other areas in the South.They didn’t say, “What we experienced was like something we might have read in the Book of Revelation.” No — they said, “This…

By Gene Lyons / Columnist Don’t hold your breath, but Democrats may be showing signs of life in the national debate over Iraq. For most of three years, including Sen. John Kerry’s presidential campaign, party leaders have appeared fearful of challenging George W. Bush’s belligerent bungling. They haven’t wanted voters to mistake them for George…

By Charles C. Haynes / Columnist We don’t know exactly where the chief justice nominee John Roberts stands on the separation of church and state under the establishment clause of the First Amendment — and his confirmation hearings haven’t shed much light on the question.But strong hints from past memos and briefs suggest the nominee’s…

By James Clark / Columnist The result of a recent federal court ruling in San Francisco involving the Pledge of Allegiance is ridiculous.I’m referring to the decision made by Judge Lawrence Karlton that ruled the individual rights of school children are being violated by the words “under God.”I still remember putting my hand to my…

Nearly 50 students displaced by Hurricane Katrina have registered and enrolled at MTSU, according to an official with the school’s Office of Enrollment Services.“Our listing shows 47 students registered at MTSU as a result of Katrina,” said Sherian Huddleston, assistant vice provost for enrollment services.Huddleston said the students range in age from 18 to 41.…

Charles W. Johnson photo Twin sisters Bren, left, and Braelee Curtis sample some of the delicious, and colorful, fair food Tuesday night. They are the 21-month-old daughters of Lee and Gail Curtis.

The engagement of Samantha Marie Burgner and Jeffery Todd Prater is being announced.The bride-elect is the daughter of Freddie Burgner of Jonesboro and Judy Burgner of Greeneville. She is a 1991 graduate of Greeneville High School and received her bachelors degree in sociology from East Tennessee State University. Miss Burgner is employed as a youth…

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — A federal judge has declared unconstitutional a Michigan law that supporters said would ban a late-term abortion procedure. In a ruling dated Monday, U.S. District Court Judge Denise Page Hood in Detroit ruled the Legal Birth Definition Act places an “undue burden” on women’s right to choose. Hood said the law…

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — As floodwaters recede from the city’s hard-hit east side, a grim scene of destruction has been revealed: Block after block of once-flooded neighborhoods are covered in a slimy, putrid muck and dotted with ruined cars, snapped utility poles and collapsed houses. Although the cleanup will likely take months, Mayor Ray C.…

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — When the Supreme Court tossed out Michael Newdow’s challenge to reciting the Pledge of Allegiance in public schools, he vowed to keep fighting. With little delay, Newdow filed an identical case, and on Wednesday, the Sacramento atheist won a major battle in his quest to force the high court to take…