McMinnville resident and Warren County native E. Leverne Barnes, 52, died May 23 at Erlanger Medical Center after an extended illness. A factory worker and a member of Mt. Hope the Baptist Church of Christ, he was the son of Anna Ruth Barnes of McMinnville and the late A.B. Barnes; and was preceded in death…

Dorothy Pearl Neal, 81, of McMinnville died Saturday, June 3 at her home. Born Aug. 31, 1924 in Coffee County, she was a homemaker and was previously employed with Stewart Plaza Pharmacy and Gribble?s Meat Processing. She was a member of Northside Baptist Church. Mrs. Neal was preceded in death by her parents William Harvey…

Smithville resident Deborah Darlene Puckett, 52, died June 3 at her home. A lab technician and a member of New Life UPC, she was the daughter of Eunice Banks of Smithville and the late Woodrow Wilson Banks. She is survived by daughter, Misty Bush and fiance Shawn Shehane of Smithville; son, John and Chelsie Young…

WASHINGTON (AP) McCAIN The constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage is headed toward certain defeat today despite a fresh appeal for passage by President Bush. While a majority of Americans oppose gay marriage, an equal majority oppose amending the Constitution to prohibit it, according to a poll this week by ABC News. And, according to…

NEW YORK (AP) Around the country, some superstitious mothers-to-be took steps Tuesday to make sure their babies were not born on the most bedeviling of dates, 6-6-6. In New York, “people are canceling left and right because of what today represents,” said Liza Washington, an administrative assistant at Children’s Hospital of the New York-Presbyterian Medical…

WASHINGTON (AP) Personal data on more than 2.2 million active-duty military troops ? not just 50,000 as initially believed ? were among the material stolen from a Veterans Affairs employee last month, the Pentagon said Tuesday. In a briefing paper to Congress, the Defense Department said the VA understated figures when it said up to…

BRAMPTON, Ontario (AP) HARPER Spectators and family members of some of the 17 Muslim men accused of plotting terror attacks in Canada were stunned Tuesday when they heard allegations of plans to storm Parliament, take hostages and behead the prime minister. Authorities during a hearing at the Ontario Court of Justice further alleged that one…

MURFREESBORO (AP) A teen accused of killing his stepfather with a sword was sentenced to 30 years in prison. Quintell Deshon Hardy, 18, entered a “best-interest” plea to the second degree murder of his stepfather Keith Williams, 37. That plea does not contest the charges against him and has the same legal weight as admitting…

MEMPHIS (AP) A man stuck up to his waist in a muddy riverbank for more than a day was rescued Monday after he was spotted by a passing fisherman. Rescuers said Anthony Hawkes, 50, was hunting squirrels along the banks of Loosahatchie River north of Memphis on Sunday when he got stuck. “He said he…

Gov. Phil Bredesen announced yesterday that with the launch in Sumner County, Tennessee?s Imagination Library now extends to all 95 counties. Tennessee is the first state in the nation to offer the free book program to each of the state?s residing children under age 5. Created by Dolly Parton in 1996, Imagination Library provides one…