LEBANON Tennessee Sport Writers Association Hall of Fame inductees (or their representatives) present at ceremonies at Cumberland University were, from left, Ben Byrd, Randy Bibb (representing John Bibb, his father), Edgar Allen, Marvin West, Gus Manning, Haywood Harris, Nancy Siler (representing Tom Siler) and Buck Johnson. The inaugural class of 16 were inducted Thursday, July…

NEW ORLEANS (AP) Three brothers and a friend were killed in a neighborhood not far from the French Quarter, and a fifth person was gunned down in a separate incident hours later, authorities said Saturday. The shootings were the latest round of killings as the city struggles to rein in drug- and gang-related violence that…

KNOXVILLE (AP) Tennessee Valley Authority directors on Friday approved a cut in wholesale electric rates less than six months after they last raised them because of rising fuel costs. The 4.5 percent rate decrease ? worth about $400 million ? will take effect Oct. 1. The rate proposal was contained in a $9.3 billion fiscal…

MEMPHIS (AP) A former Shelby County man was charged with voting twice in the 2004 presidential election. Willie F. McCain, 60, of Nesbit, Miss., was escorted by police back to Memphis on Friday after a grand jury indicted him on three felony counts of election fraud. Each count is punishable by one to six years…

SEVIERVILLE, Tenn. (AP) OAKES A former high school teacher accused of having sex with a 16-year-old student was sentenced Thursday to six months in jail. Kristi Dance Oakes, 33, pleaded guilty to statutory rape in June as part of a deal with prosecutors that could have yielded an 18-month sentence. But Circuit Court Judge Richard…

NASHVILLE (AP) BREDESEN Gov. Phil Bredesen says creating five-year high school programs that bundle together a diploma with a community college degree could help stem the state’s dropout rate. Bredesen, a Democrat who is running for re-election this fall, said he would use his second term to explore starting five-year high school programs aimed at…

Editorial Our Viewpoint When husbands lose their temper and lash out against their wives, Families in Crisis is there to provide a safe haven for these women and their children. That?s why it was so surprising to see Families in Crisis members do exactly the same thing ? lose their temper and lash out against…

Thomas Vaughn What if we had a political forum for Warren County Commission candidates to express their views ? and no one showed up for it? Thanks to the Southern Standard, public radio station WCPI, and some civic-minded sponsors, we did have a political forum last Monday night.?A first for Warren County Commission candidates, it…

Morton Kondracke A chance encounter in the lobby of the National Press Club suggests that it’s possible — not likely, but possible — that immigration reform could pass this year. Prospects are grim because House Republicans seem dug in on their plan to fight illegal immigration, period, while the Senate wants to combine border and…

Mike Vinson A few weeks back, Standard news editor Charlie Johnson did a cordial story recognizing Thomas B. Vaughn and me for being Three-Star letter winners with The Tennessean. Spinning off Johnson?s piece, allow me to share with you a special Three-Star story. Each daily edition of The Tennessean publishes seven to nine letters to…