News

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — State lawmakers trying to wrap up the General Assembly this month are hoping to push through two key education proposals.

One measure would create a state panel to authorize charter schools for five Tennessee counties and the other seeks to clear the way for cities to begin forming municipal school systems.

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (WMOT)  --  Authorities have arrested a man they say is responsible for the death of McMinnville woman whose body was found shot and burned near cave in Coffee County.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the Coffee County Sheriff’s Office announced Friday morning that they have charged 51 year-old Jimmy Byron Jones, Jr. of Morrison, Tennessee with first degree murder in the death of 58 year-old Connie Lou Godsey Brown.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP/WMOT) — Country artist and Middle Tennessee resident Brad Paisley has stirred controversy with the release of his song "Accidental Racist.”

The song is a collaboration with artist LL Cool J and focuses on racial perceptions. “Accidental Racist” has drawn the ire of both the country and urban music worlds.

Paisley, a Franklin resident, says he wrote the song after someone called him racist for wearing a t-shirt with a Confederate flag in the logo.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A proposal that would dock the welfare payments of Tennessee parents whose children fail in school is dead.

After about a 40-minute debate on the Senate floor Thursday, Republican Sen. Sponsor Stacey Campfield decided to pull the bill so it can be studied over the summer.

Both Republicans and Democrats expressed concern about the legislation, which sought to cut Temporary Assistance for Needy Families benefits by 30 percent if a child fails to advance to the next grade.

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (AP/WMOT)  --  A delegation from Middle Tennessee was in the nation’s capital yesterday for a pro-immigration reform rally held on the grounds of the capital building.

Thousands took part in yesterday’s rally in Washington D.C. Thousands more participated in rallies in 18 state capitals.

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (WMOT)  --  The man that DownBeat magazine calls “one of the finest performing jazz trombonists around today” is making an appearance Thursday in Middle Tennessee.

Chris Brubeck, son of jazz legend Dave Brubeck, is set to perform Thursday evening in Lipscomb University’s Collins Auditorium beginning at 8 p.m.

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (ANFINSON)  --  The topic of slavery may be history to some, but it’s a living reality for others. Unfortunately, slavery still exists--even in our own backyard. One group of activists is doing their part to "End It" for good.

A 2011 report by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation found that Human Sex Trafficking has been reported in 85 percent of the counties in Tennessee. The average age of a sex trafficking victim is just 13.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP/WMOT) — Authorities say a 4-year-old shot and killed the wife of a Wilson County sheriff's deputy over the weekend.

The shooting took place inside the Lebanon home of Deputy Daniel Fanning. Authorities say the deputy and a friend were looking at firearms in a bedroom when a 4-year-old, who was also in the room, picked up a gun and pulled the trigger.

The weapon was loaded and discharged once and hitting Josephine Fanning. The deputy’s 48-year-old wife was pronounced dead at the scene.

MURFREESBORO, Tenn (WMOT)  --  Members of the Murfreesboro Fire Department will train this week  at Smyrna Airport on how to handle aircraft emergencies.

The three day course includes training in aviation fire suppression, general airfield safety, airport terminology, and search procedures for locating downed aircraft.

Department spokesperson Ashley McDonald says changes at the Murfeesboro airport, and courses at Middle Tennessee State University,   prompted Chief Cumbey Gaines to send his firefighters for the training in Smyrna.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP/WMOT) —  A bill that will limit the way Tennessee law enforcement agencies can use unmanned drone aircraft is advancing in the state legislature.

Drones are a hot topic both in Congress and on the state levels as the technology has rapidly outpaced regulations on the use of remotely piloted aircraft domestically.

The bill's sponsor, Senator Mae Beavers, says the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, as well as the Nashville and Memphis Police Departments are already using drones.