NEW YORK (AP) — Ten hours, 28 minutes. That was the sum of the music recorded and released by the Beatles before breaking up, a volume of work that changed lives, careers and the course of music history. Eight years, 2,792 pages. That was the effort author Bob Spitz put into telling their story, although…

BATESVILLE, Ark. (AP) — First Kingsport, Tenn.-based Eastman Chemical Co. started using biodiesel fuel in its company vehicles. Now it is producing the alternative fuel at a plant in Arkansas. The first truckload of the alternative fuel has been sold from the Eastman Chemical plant near Batesville, the first Arkansas facility to produce biodiesel. Eastman…

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (AP) — Bears and parasites already threaten the survival of elk in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Now, scientists say, the herd has another problem — a shortage of females. Roughly 55 elk roam the park nearly five years after the animals were reintroduced to the area. But there’s a trend toward…

CLARKSVILLE (AP) — The mother of a Fort Campbell soldier who collapsed and died during physical training four months ago is calling for more heart defibrillators to be close at hand on the base. Pvt. Geoffrey Wiedel, 20, of Campbell, Calif., collapsed on the morning of June 13 while his unit was running in a…

CROSSVILLE (AP) — The Cumberland Plateau is well known for its beauty and scarcity of economic opportunities for its residents. Some think the beauty of the area is going to begin attracting more tourists, retirees and telecommuters, who can do their work from anywhere and would like to do it in a pretty, peaceful setting.…

CHATTANOOGA (AP) — A year out from the 2006 election, with no Republican stepping up to take on Democratic Gov. Phil Bredesen, the noisiest candidates in Tennessee are a trio of Republicans who want to succeed Bill Frist in the U.S. Senate. Former Chattanooga Mayor Bob Corker started raising campaign money two years before Frist’s…

By Paul K. McMasters / Guest Editorial Late last month, a junior sociology major at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., silently stationed himself near a military recruiters’ table on campus. The student, Tariq Khan, is a Pakistani-American and a four-year veteran of the U.S. Air Force. He held literature and wore a sign stating,…

By Joan Ryan / Columnist The four-page letter, on pink-lined paper with schoolgirl penmanship, arrived in the newsroom eight years ago.“Hi!” it began, as cheery as a postcard from summer camp.Lorrie Sue McClary, inmate W-13181 at Valley State Prison for Women in Chowchilla, went on to tell a tale that raised questions about the purpose…

By Thomas Vaughn / Columnist The Iraqi people now have their new constitution. As of this writing, the details are murky, but the results are promising. One thing is clear. The Sunnis participated, and that’s a good thing. For now, at least, they have chosen ballots over bullets.We need to remember, though, that elections, whether…

By Lisa Chapman / Columnist With the cold weather setting in, I recently went to the store and purchased fragrances and candles to get rid of the closed-in smell that seems to be accumulating in my home. I bought some candles that smelled like peppermint, for the upcoming holiday season, and ones that smelled like…