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KNOXVILLE — Two Sunnyview Primary School students and a Sunnyview teacher's aide died Tuesday afternoon when two school buses serving Sunnyview and Chilhowee Intermediate School crashed with "a big bang" in East Knoxville, authorities said. ~snip~ Police gave no names or ages of the students but said most ranged from kindergarten to second grade. Relatives of at least one victim learned of the death at the scene from the police chief and burst into screams and tears.

A communications director for a GOP congressman has apologized for saying the first daughters weren’t showing “class” and were wearing clothes fit for a “spot at a bar” during this week’s turkey pardoning ceremony.

A US lawmaker's communications director was facing social media calls she be sacked after her Facebook rant about President Barack Obama's daughters prompted widespread anger. Elizabeth Lauten, spokeswoman for Republican Congressman Stephen Fincher of Tennessee, wrote a scathing post to her Facebook account scolding Malia and Sasha Obama, 16 and 13, for looking bored while attending a public event with their father on Wednesday. In the post, since deleted but widely reproduced in screen grabs, Lauten tells the girls to "try showing a little class. At least respect the part you play." The girls stood beside Obama -- looking vaguely...

Dear Sasha and Malia, I get you’re both in those awful teen years, but you’re a part of the First Family, try showing a little class. At least respect the part you play. Then again your mother and father don’t respect their positions very much, or the nation for that matter, so I’m guessing you’re coming up a little short in the ‘good role model’ department. Nevertheless, stretch yourself. Rise to the occasion. Act like being in the White House matters to you. Dress like you deserve respect, not a spot at a bar. And certainly don’t make faces during...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Interstate 24 has been shut down near LP Field as a large group of protesters converged on the streets of downtown Nashville. Several hundred people took to the street Tuesday night, one day after a grand jury decided not to indict Officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of Michael Brown. What initially began as a vigil gathering, soon turned into a demonstration with protesters forcing the closure of James Robertson Bridge and I-24 near LP Field.

Saturday marked the opening day for firearm season in Tennessee. But warm and windy weather plagued hunters across the region this weekend.

FERGUSON, Mo. (CBS ST. Louis) - Supporters of Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson successfully crowd-sourced the funds to put up a #PantsUPDontLOOT billboard in Ferguson. Don Alexander of Brentwood, Tenn., raised the over $3,000 to place the billboard in the Ferguson area amid months of racial tensions vandalism from riots following the Aug. 9 shooting death of unarmed teenager Michael Brown.

Even as abortion advocates in Tennessee try to find a loophole to invalidate the legitimately passed Amendment 1, lawmakers are wasting no time responding to the bill’s passage. First up is a an ultrasound bill, prefiled by Rep. Rick Womick, R-Rockvale. The Tennessean reports that the “main requirement of the bill calls for a woman to receive an ultrasound within 24 to 72 hours of when she plans to have the abortion.” Womick noted that currently abortion facilities do ultrasounds anyway and that this bill would simply say, “look, let the mother see the picture and hear the heartbeat, that’s...

On Thursday, Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) showed disdain for conservatives who object to massive amnesty legislation that he wants a GOP-led Congress to enact. To Corker, those who oppose amnesty because they care about the rule of law, American workers, and sovereignty and secure borders are nothing but "demagogues." “I get really frustrated with people on my side of the aisle who say that anything you do on immigration is amnesty,” Corker reportedly said on Thursday. “I saw it play out in these congressional races, where people were actually trying to solve the problem, and the only word people used...

A couple posted selfies to Facebook in a car they stole from a pastor after gunning him down, police have said. Lashonda Williams, 24, and Roger Reed Jr., 23, allegedly shot Reverend Don Smith on the side of the road in Hickory Hill, Tennessee on November 1 before stealing his 2010 Buick Lacrosse. They drove more than 150 miles back home to Greenville, Mississippi, where they were caught four days after the heinous murder, MyFoxMemphis reported. But while on the journey, the apparently had plenty of time to snap multiple kissing and grinning selfies and post them to their Facebook profiles.

Opponents of Amendment 1 are asking a federal judge to void the vote that amended the Tennessee Constitution to make it easier for lawmakers to restrict abortions. In a lawsuit filed late Friday in federal court, plaintiffs say the state ignored the plain language of the constitution, which says it can be amended by “a majority of all the citizens in the state voting for governor, voting in … favor” of the amendment. The plaintiffs want the judge to order the state to count only those Amendment 1 votes where the voters also cast ballots for governor. If that is...

On election night, Tennessee voters gave the Volunteer State a chance to enact the kind of pro-life laws that have dropped abortions to historic lows in state after state across the nation. But, now, abortion activists are trying to overturn that pro-life victory. Tennessee voters approved Amendment 1 to help ensure nothing in the state constitution could be used to secure an unlimited right to abortion. With 100% of the vote counted, Amendment 1 won with a 53-47 percent margin. tennessee3The amendment is necessary because the Tennessee Supreme Court ruled 4-1 in 2000 that the state constitution allows unlimited abortions....

Nearly every high school senior applied for Tennessee Promise, but a small percentage of them may not be eligible for free community college tuition. Before getting the state funding, students must apply for federal financial aid — which leaves undocumented students behind. Tennessee has about 6,000 high school students who are undocumented, according to the Migration Policy Institute. The governor’s speech introducing Tennessee Promise may have encouraged that hope: “To every student, from every kindergartner to every high school senior, we will promise that he or she can attend two years of community college or college of applied technology absolutely...

By a two-to-one vote, a federal appeals court in Cincinnati upheld the right of states to ban same-sex marriage, overturning lower court decisions in Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee that found such restrictions to be unconstitutional.

(Reuters) - A federal appeals court on Thursday upheld gay marriage bans in Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee, reversing a recent trend in the federal courts to strike down such bans.

Republicans moved up to a 28-5 advantage in the state Senate with Tuesday's election. In Hamilton County, Senator Bo Watson was unopposed. He received 37,377 votes. Lt. Governor Ron Ramsey (R-Blountville) said, "A great night for Republicans and the cause of conservatism in Tennessee. For the past few years, the Tennessee Senate has been the most Republican east of the Mississippi. After tonight, we join a elite group of Republican super majorities where the majority outnumbers Democrats more than 4 to 1. "These results are decisive proof that, in Tennessee, it matters who governs. I look forward to continuing to...

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Voters have decided to amend Tennessee’s constitution in regards to abortion, according to the AP. The amendment reads: Nothing in this Constitution secures or protects a right to abortion or requires the funding of an abortion. The people retain the right through their elected state representatives and state senators to enact, amend, or repeal statutes regarding abortion, including, but not limited to, circumstances of pregnancy resulting from rape or incest or when necessary to save the life of the mother.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Voters have approved a change to the Tennessee Constitution that would prohibit lawmakers from imposing a state income tax. The last serious attempt to impose a state income tax failed in 2002 amid raucous Capitol protests that included a brick thrown through the window of the governor's office. The public backlash against the proposal led several supporters to retire from office or to lose their re-election campaigns.

(VIDEO-AT-LINK)Liberal MSNBC contributor Jimmy Williams said the “old white people” in the South who vote Republican are “going to die someday” and hopefully usher in a new era of Democratic rule in the region. Host Krystal Ball, a former failed Democratic congressional candidate, asked Williams whether white Southerners should just be written off by the party, but Williams said never, saying that since they are “for people” and Republicans aren’t, they would eventually win the day. “Mitt Romney only won South Carolina with 53 [percent], John McCain with 52,” he said. “That’s a changing South. Those old white people? They’re...

NASHVILLE, TN (WSMV) - A candidate for Tennessee Senate is trying to find out who stole a 100-pound campaign sign. George Thomas is trying to unseat long-time Sen. Thelma Hooper. His campaign sign was placed at the Kwik Sak convenience store on Clarksville Highway after 10 p.m. Monday. "We think this is dirty politics," Thomas said. Less than three hours later, the Thomas camp discovered the sign missing.