AP/WMOT

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP/WMOT) — Authorities in Tennessee are investigating bomb threats that forced the evacuation of dozens of courthouses across the state, including several here in Middle Tennessee.

The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency’s Dean Flener says that - so far - bomb threats have been made against government facilities in 28 counties.

ATLANTIC CITY, NEW JERSEY (AP/WMOT) — The nor'easter that moved up the East Coast is being blamed for more than 200,000 additional power outages in the same areas that were hit by Superstorm Sandy.

More than 750,000 homes and businesses, mostly in New Jersey and New York, are in the dark. That's down from a peak of more than 8.5 million following Sandy.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee Republicans have earned their first supermajority in the state legislature

The GOP claimed at least two seats necessary in Tuesday's election to take a 22-11 margin in the upper chamber.

WSMV-TV is reporting today that the GOP now also has a supermajority in the House, having picked up two additional seats.

According to legislative records, the last time a party won a supermajority in both chambers was in 1976, when Democrats controlled the Senate 23-9 and the House 66-32.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A state appeals court removed a senior judge from presiding over a notorious East Tennessee murder case because of questions about his impartiality.

The Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee in Knoxville has approved a request by state prosecutors to recuse Jon Kerry Blackwood from the retrials of three men stemming from the January 2007 slayings of Channon Christian and Christopher Newsom.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) —Secretary of State Tre Hargett says Tennessee will ask the state Supreme Court to overturn a ruling that upholds the new voter photo ID law but orders the state to accept an ID issued by the Memphis public library.

Hargett says he was pleased the Court of Appeals upheld the new law’s constitutionality, but also says the Haslam Administration will continue to fend off any challenges to the measure.

SAVANNAH, Tenn. (AP) — The Tennessee Arts Commission is hosting a conference to explore how the arts can strengthen local communities.

The Transforming Assets Into Opportunities conference takes place Tuesday through Thursday at Pickwick Landing State Park. It will bring together artists, arts administrators, arts supporters and community planners to explore how the arts can fuel community and economic development.

The Arts Commission's Shannon Ford says the Cannon County Arts Center in Woodbury is a good example of arts based development.

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP/WMOT) — A new nation-wide report shows two-thirds of the college class of 2011 finished school with loan debt, and those who borrowed walked off the graduation stage owing more than $26,600. That's up about 5 percent from the class before.

The latest figures are calculated in a report by The Institute for College Access and Success (TICAS). The report does not include most graduates of for-profit colleges, who typically borrow more than their counterparts elsewhere.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP/WMOT)  --  The Tennessee Highway Patrol is advising motorists to watch out for deer crossing roads during mating and hunting season.

The THP says an increase in deer-related crashes is likely from now through December. Deer are more likely to be on the move during mating season, especially during daybreak and dusk.

THP head Colonel Tracy Trott says you should avoid swerving in an effort to miss an approaching deer.

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. (AP/WMOT) — Both campaign teams are calling Tuesday night's presidential debate a win for their candidate.

President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney engaged in a pushy, interruption-filled encounter, making charges and countercharges that the other guy wasn't telling the truth.

The candidates will meet for their third and final debate Monday, October 22. 

WMOT is asking Tennesseans what one question they would ask the candidates if given the chance. Today we hear from Eben Cathy of the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition.

WASHINGTON (AP/WMOT) — The stakes are high tonight as President Barack Obama faces off against Republican challenger Mitt Romney in the second of three presidential campaign debates.

The meeting will take place on the campus of Hofstra University in New York. Undecided voters attending the debate will get a chance to ask the night’s questions.

WMOT is asking Tennesseans what one question they would ask the candidates if given the chance. Today we hear from Scott Smith. Smith lives in Antioch and works retail sales in Murfreesboro.