WAVERLY, Tenn. Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. ? Rescue divers searched the Tennessee River Monday for the driver and any possible passengers in a tractor-trailer that plunged over the side of an Interstate 40 bridge. The eastbound truck went out of control…

NASHVILLE, Tenn. Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. ? A record 36 Tennessee educators received certification from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards this year, raising the total statewide to 173. It’s the highest credential in the teaching profession and considered one…

NASHVILLE, Tenn. Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. ? A new species of snail was found in the Harpeth River, making it just one of hundreds of new species to be discovered in Tennessee. Although the snail, called Lithasia spicula, was found in…

MARYVILLE, Tenn. Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. ? A mother convicted of voluntary manslaughter in the shooting death of a man she said raped her young daughter was sentenced to four years in prison Monday. Kimberly Cunningham has been acquitted twice already…

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. ? Chattanooga city officials say they want to use a herd of goats as a more environmentally friendly way of curbing the invasive weed kudzu. “We’re trying to get a handle on the kudzu without…

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. ? Tennessee ranks fourth in the nation for the number of public entities that receive federal funds and have received poor audit ratings since 1997 under new federal reporting guidelines. An analysis by the Chattanooga…

MEMPHIS, Tenn. Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. ? A couple of votes, by themselves, don’t usually stir much interest in state Senate elections. But when they were supposedly cast by dead people, they get noticed. Now, a Senate committee must decide how…

DYERSBURG, Tenn. Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. ? The grandparents of a 12-year-old boy waiting for a lung transplant are charged with emptying the charity account set up to pay for his medical expenses. Charles Norman Vaughn Sr., 61, and Phyllis Vaughn,…

NASHVILLE, Tenn. Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. ? Gov. Phil Bredesen on Monday called the General Assembly into special session next month, and urged lawmakers to pass strong ethics legislation to help restore public trust in elected officials after a scandal-filled year.…

LAWRENCE, Kan. Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. ? Taking another look at Wilt Chamberlain, a dominating force in college basketball when he played for the University of Kansas in the mid-1950s, a historian views him as a pivotal figure in both sports…