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WASHINGTON‭ (‬AP‭) — ‬Tennessee’s‭ ‬Republican‭ ‬Senator’s‭ ‬are‭ ‬reacting strongly to President Barack Obama’s decision to‭, at least temporarily‭, ‬block‭ ‬the‭ ‬$7‭ ‬billion Keystone oil pipeline.

Lamar Alexander‭ ‬says he can’t understand why the president failed to move ahead on a‭ ‬project that would,‭ ‬as the Senator put it,‭ ‬“...make us less reliant on oil from hostile countries.‭”

Senator Bob Corker was even more scathing,‭ ‬saying the president’s decision is‭ ‬election year politics and concluding,‭ “‬...we really need the energy and the jobs.‭”

NASHVILLE,‭ ‬Tenn.‭ (‬AP‭) — ‬A constitutional amendment to ban an income tax in Tennessee has passed the House.

The measure was approved‭ ‬73-17‭ ‬Thursday.‭ ‬The companion legislation passed the Senate last year.‭ ‬The measure must now be approved by a two-thirds vote of both chambers in the next General Assembly before it's placed on the ballot in‭ ‬2014.

Opponents of the legislation say it's unnecessary because the state constitution already bans an income tax and that the measure is politically motivated.

NASHVILLE,‭ ‬Tenn.‭ (‬AP‭) — Tennessee's unemployment rate fell four-tenth to‭ ‬8.7‭ percent in December,‭ ‬the lowest rate in three years.

State officials say that just over‭ ‬11,000‭ ‬people gained employment last month over November when the rate was‭ ‬9.1‭ ‬percent.

From November to December,‭ the professional and business services sector added jobs, as did durable goods manufacturing,‭ ‬and the clothing and accessories sectors.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A state trade mission to China and South Korea in April will focus on Tennessee's medical device manufacturers and other health care companies.

The state announced yesterday that Commissioner Bill Hagerty of the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development will lead the April trip.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A federal judge in Knoxville has ordered a man suspected in a $6.5 million prescription painkiller operation jailed until his trial in March.

The ruling came at a Tuesday detention hearing for Eric Christopher Hefner. 

According to the Knoxville News Sentinel, Drug Enforcement Administration agent Bethel Poston testified during the hearing that -by conservative estimate - Hefner brought 260,000 pills into East Tennessee in a single year.