Top Stories

MURFREESBORO, Tenn.  (WMOT)  --  More than 100 Tennessee law enforcement officers, including deputies with the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office, are being trained this week in Murfreesboro by an organization that believes an Islamic insurgency is underway in the United States.

          The training sessions are being held each day through Wednesday at the World Outreach Church on New Salem Highway. The Tennessee Freedom Coalition (TFC) is scheduled to host a one-time seminar beginning this evening at 6:30 p.m. featuring the same training group at the same location.

MURFREESBORO, Tenn  (WMOT)  --  More than 100 students gathered on the Vanderbilt campus this morning to protest changes the university recently made to its policies governing student organizations.

The new policies require that, to remain certified, student organizations must allow any student to join and also allow all-comers to stand for leadership positions in the group.

The policy is being contested, largely by Christian groups, that insist their officers must be students who share their core beliefs.

NASHVILLE, Tenn (AP) — Gov. Bill Haslam says he hopes Tennessee's waiver from the federal No Child Left Behind education law boosts teacher morale.

President Barack Obama announced yesterday that Tennessee is among 10 states to receive the waiver.

No Child Left Behind requires all students to be proficient in reading and math by 2014, which critics say is unrealistic.

Phil Waldrop, the Associate Dean at Middle Tennessee State’s College of Education says it’s one less thing for teachers to worry about.

MURFREESBORO, Tenn (WMOT)  --  Occupy Nashville is calling for fresh protests in downtown Nashville today. The group is using social media to encourage supporters to picket at a meeting of the Tennessee Banker’s Association being held at the Renaissance Hotel.

Occupy protesters are upset over a $25 billion dollar settlement announced yesterday between the federal government, 49 states, and five of the nation’s top mortgage lenders for loan abuses in recent years. Tennessee will reportedly receive $146 million dollars as part of the deal.

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (WMOT)  Former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor spoke to an overflow crowd here on the campus of Middle Tennessee State last night.

WMOT student reporter Charity Dunn was there and says the lecture hall filled early and a line formed for an overflow room with a video feed.

The former justice, and the first woman appointed to the nation’s highest court, gave a wide-ranging and surprisingly entertaining talk that had the crowd laughing repeatedly. O’Connor shared a number of biographical details, including memories of her childhood.