McMinnville resident Willard Twain Barnes, 46, died March 18. A factory worker and a member of Mason Lodge 125 and Mt. Hope the Baptist Church, he was preceded in death by father, A.B. Barnes; grandfather, Grove Barnes; grandfather, John Taylor Russell; grandmother, Mary Emma Barnes; and grandmother, Maggie Ella Russell. He is survived by his…

Melba Jean Smith Davis, 77, of Knoxville, formerly of McMinnville, died April 3 at St. Mary?s Hospice after an extended illness. Mrs. Davis was born Aug. 25, 1928 in Warren County and was preceded in death by her parents Neal A. and Willie Milstead Smith, husband James Howard Davis, daughter Carol Lee Davis, and brother…

Woodbury resident and Cannon County native Alta Mae Jones, 74, was born Nov. 20, 1931 and died April 2 at Raintree Manor Nursing Home following an extended illness. A seamstress at Woodbury Shirt Factory and a homemaker, and a member of the Church of Christ, she was the daughter of the late Archie Carson and…

WASHINGTON (AP) Young adults and minorities are leading a revolution in how Americans use their cellphones. People from age 18 to 29 and minorities are more likely to use their phones as personal computers, digital music players, cameras and more, an AP-AOL-Pew poll found. ?We?ve got everything on my phone,? said Mark Madsen, a 24-year-old…

WASHINGTON (AP) DELAY Succumbing to scandal, former Majority Leader Tom DeLay said Tuesday he will resign from Congress in the face of a tough re-election race, closing out a career that blended unflinching conservatism with a bare-knuckled political style. ?I have no fear whatsoever about any investigation into me or my personal or professional activities,?…

BRYSON State Sen. Jim Bryson (R-Franklin) has announced his plans to run for governor of Tennessee. Speaking at the Hermitage Hotel in Nashville, Bryson declared, ?I?m State Senator Jim Bryson and I?m running for governor of the great state of Tennessee.? Bryson continued, ?The people of Tennessee deserve a clear choice for governor. I will…

GOODLETTSVILLE (AP) A 13-year-old boy was charged with criminal homicide after police say he struck another teenager in the head with a rock during a fight. D’Angelo Carr, 15, died Monday at Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital. Police said he got into a fight for unknown reasons the night before on a basketball court at Goodlettsville Elementary…

NEWBERN, Tenn. (AP) Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen, left, walks with Dyer County Sheriff Jeff Holt on Biffle Road in Newbern, Tenn., surveying the tornado damage Tuesday morning. The death toll from a swarm of tornadoes that devastated communities across eight states rose to 28 overnight with the discovery of the last unaccounted for resident in…

Donald Lambro Measuring what worries Americans most is an inexact science at best. Very often, the issues that produce the greatest noise don’t even top the list. Congress is in the midst of a political fight over what to do about illegal aliens and the budget deficit, Democrats are hammering the White House on the…

William Rusher Those of us who want real immigration reform had better reconcile ourselves to the fact that it just isn’t going to happen. We are at least 20 years too late. The trouble began, as so many of America’s troubles have, with a proposal by Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass. — specifically, his 1965 immigration…