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Komodo Dragons at the Chattanooga Zoo
It's part of their new Forests of the World display. Friends of the zoo got a preview Thursday night. The display will feature the Komodo Dragons, snakes, a parrot, and a sloth! Zoo workers say getting the Komodos ready for their new homes was a challenging but fun process. "It's
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Robbery Arrests
Chattanooga Police make 6 arrests after a series of robberies. Here is the Police Department News Release: Yesterday at approximately 1:40 p.m., four suspects were interrupted during a burglary at 1069 Hurricane Creek Drive by the home owner. The suspects then carjacked the victim’s 2001 Chevy truck. At 11:00 p.m. the suspects utilized the stolen Chevy and went on a
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Whitwell Residents Pack Two Trailers Full of Supplies for OK Tornado Victims
(WDEF) People in one Marion County town find a way to help the tornado victims in Oklahoma. Residents in Whitwell spent their Thursday filling two trucks and trailers with bottled water, clothing, personal supplies, stuffed animals and paper products. Pretty much everything the tornado victims may need. The trucks will start their journey west early Friday morning.
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Local Medical Professionals address Smokeless areas for Riverbend
CHATTANOOGA, TN, (WDEF)-Chip Baker executive director of Friends of the Festival is looking forward to a smokeless Riverbend. "So we took it another step this year and we created designated smoking areas, which we have created seven around the site, so the rest of the festival will be smoke free". Heith Townson, Respiratory therapist, Standifer Place Health Care,"Mainly asthmatics, anyone
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Chattanooga Kids on the Block Get Fitted for New Glasses
(WDEF) The Chattanooga Kids on the Block get a makeover. And it's thanks to Eyear Optical. Some of the Kids on the Block puppets have been sporting old and out of style glasses. A few even had broken glasses. So the folks at Eyear Optical decided to fix that by offering free "eye exams" and glasses
National News
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Anti-war protester shouts at Obama during speech
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama was interrupted three times by a woman on Thursday, who shouted about drones and detainees in Cuba as he delivered a speech on national security. The woman was identified as Medea Benjamin from the anti-war group Code Pink. Benjamin yelled from behind a bank of cameras before she was removed from the hall at
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Arizona lawmaker receives threat for supporting Medicaid
PHOENIX (AP) — A Republican member of the Arizona House says she received an obscene and threatening voicemail at her office because she supports Gov. Jan Brewer's push to expand Medicaid. A visibly shaken Rep. Kate Brophy McGee of Phoenix urged fellow members Thursday to tell their constituents to be civil. She told them she should not be frightened to
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Men charged with killing adults, toddler during drug deal
FAYETTEVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Authorities say two men have been charged in six killings, including a toddler and unborn baby, near the Tennessee-Alabama border last fall during a dispute over drug dealing. Lincoln County Sheriff Murray Blackwelder announced on Thursday that 36-year-old Henry Burrell, of Fayetteville, Tenn., and 35-year-old Zakkawanda Moss, of New Market, Ala., are charged with six counts
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Christian Brothers will pay $16M to molestation victims
NEW YORK (AP) — The Christian Brothers have agreed to pay more than $16 million to people who were molested as children by members of the U.S. religious order. The settlement was announced Thursday by attorneys for the Roman Catholic group and for more than 400 victims. The Christian Brothers staffed schools and worked in dioceses in parts of the
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Texas man gets death penalty for drowning sons in creek
DALLAS (AP) — A Dallas man who drowned two of his sons in a creek has been sentenced to death. Naim Rasool Muhammad was convicted last week of capital murder in the killings of 5-year-old Naim and 3-year-old Elijah in August 2011. Jurors decided on the death penalty for the 34-year-old father on Thursday. Muhammad confessed that he took the
International News
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Brazilian police arrest 9 for abusing Indian girls
SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazil's Federal Police said on Thursday that nine people have been arrested on suspicion of sexually abusing Indians girls in the northern state of Amazonas. The force says two women and seven men in the city of Sao Gabriel da Cachoeira are in custody for the alleged sexual exploitation and abuse of Indian girls between the
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Guilty plea in shooting of ICE agents in Mexico
WASHINGTON (AP) — An accused Mexican drug cartel member has pleaded guilty in the killing and wounding of two U.S. agents in Mexico. Julian Zapata Espinoza pleaded guilty Thursday to the February 2011 shootings of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. He faces up to life in prison. Agent Jaime Zapata was killed and his colleague Victor Avila was wounded
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US criticized over response to Indonesia attacks
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. is expressing concern over increased attacks on religious minorities in Indonesia, but human rights groups accuse Washington of downplaying the problem as it looks to forge stronger relations with Jakarta. Muslim-majority Indonesia has emerged as Southeast Asia's most robust democracy since the fall of longtime dictator Suharto 15 years ago. But recent years have seen
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Yemen welcomes Obama decision on Gitmo transfers
WASHINGTON (AP) — Yemen is welcoming President Barack Obama's decision to lift his ban on the transfer of Yemeni prisoners from the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. In a statement released Thursday shortly after Obama announced the step, the Yemeni Embassy said it appreciated the switch. It said Yemen would work with the U.S. to ensure the safe
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Greeks to see no tax relief until budget improves
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece's conservative-led government can't lower taxes before the public deficit falls further, the prime minister said Thursday, but he pledged to eventually slash the corporate tax rate to a flat 15 percent. Antonis Samaras made the promise at a meeting in Athens with Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny, whose country holds the European Union's rotating presidency.
Tennessee State News
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Rep. DesJarlais reprimanded for sex with patients
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Rep. Scott DesJarlais, a licensed physician, has been reprimanded and fined by the Tennessee Board of Medical Examiners for having sex with patients before he was elected to Congress. The Republican from Tennessee won re-election last year despite revelations that he had affairs with patients and once urged one of them to seek an abortion. He
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VW plant reaches production milestone
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) — Volkswagen has reached another production milestone at its assembly plant in Chattanooga. The Chattanooga Times Free Press (http://bit.ly/18lupfw) reports that the 250,000 Passat midsize sedan has rolled off the assembly line. The milestone announced Thursday comes barely more than two years since production began at the Tennessee plant. The Chattanooga plant completed its first customer car
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2 dead in drugstore shooting in Tenn.
BEAN STATION, Tenn. (AP) — Authorities say two people were killed and two more wounded in a shooting at a drugstore in East Tennessee. A Tennessee Bureau of Investigation spokeswoman tells the Knoxville News Sentinel (http://bit.ly/10TXMDs ) that one person is in custody. TBI spokeswoman Kristin Helm says the shooting happened just before noon Thursday at the Down Home Pharmacy
Georgia State News
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Quarantine to be lifted at Georgia animal shelter
SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — A 14-day quarantine at the Savannah-Chatham animal control shelter is expected to be lifted early next week. Georgia Department of Agriculture officials Wednesday extended an existing quarantine by 14 days after a dog at the shelter was found suffering from a respiratory illness. Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police spokesman Julian Miller says the quarantine is expected to be
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Georgia man convicted of shooting wife 8 times
ATLANTA (AP) — A metro Atlanta man has been found guilty of shooting his wife eight times outside their apartment. Michael Parson, of Sandy Springs, was convicted Thursday on charges of aggravated assault, attempted murder and other charges in the April 2012 shooting of his wife Adina, who survived the attack and now uses a wheelchair. She was hit eight
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Savannah man sentenced to life in rape case
SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — A Savannah man accused of strangling a woman and raping her in front of her 1-year-old daughter has been sentenced to life in prison without parole. Jerry Lewis Howard was sentenced Thursday for the 2007 incident. Officials with the Chatham County District Attorney's office say he was granted a retrial in the case in 2010. Authorities
Alabama State News
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Gulf anglers get longer red snapper season
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Gulf of Mexico anglers will have a longer red snapper season than they thought. Federal regulators had said the season would be nine to 28 days depending on the state. But a week before opening, NOAA Fisheries announced that the recreational red snapper season in federal waters will be 17 to 34 days. NOAA says updated
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Jo Bonner announces resignation from Congress
MOBILE, Ala. (AP) — Republican U.S. Rep. Jo Bonner, of Mobile, has announced his resignation from Congress to take a top job at the University of Alabama. Bonner, a congressman since 2003, is a member of the House Appropriations Committee and announced his resignation Thursday afternoon. A letter explaining Bonner's resignation was delivered to Alabama lawmakers' offices in Washington. In
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2 charged in slayings of 6 on Tenn.-Ala. border
FAYETTEVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Officials say three women, a man, a toddler and an unborn baby who were slain last October near the Tennessee-Alabama border were the victims of a dispute over drug dealing. Lincoln County Sheriff Murray Blackwelder announced on Thursday that 36-year-old Henry Burrell, of Fayetteville, and 35-year-old Zakkawanda Moss, of New Market, Ala., are charged with six