News - Friday, January 24, 2025

Jen Gregory didn’t have time to think about the life changes she’d have to make as she plummeted 12 feet from her mother’s attic toward the concrete floor below. She barely had time to register what had happened as she stepped onto what she says looked like solid wood in the dim light of the roof space but was merely particle board.

Ryan Burgett was not raised by a family of lawyers or eyeing law school as he packed for college. In fact, the legal profession could not have been further from his mind as he settled in at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville and began to study finance.

This past year saw a fresh start and new beginnings for some of our citizens, who took the final step to abandon their former national citizenship and become United States citizens.

These new citizens underwent naturalization. Naturalization is the process by which a foreign national becomes a United States citizen. The nationalization power is within the authority of Congress under Article I, Section 8, Clause 4 of the Constitution.

Ryan Burgett of Husch Blackwell is not the only new partner in Chattanooga. Local firms are home to at least two additional new partners, including commercial attorney Rachael Ruiz of Miller & Martin and Luke Neder of Copeland, Stair, Valz & Lovell.

Chattanooga has emerged as one of the South’s most desirable cities for first-time homebuyers. With its blend of outdoor activities, growing tech scene and relatively affordable housing market, the Scenic City offers unique opportunities for those looking to make their first home purchase. This comprehensive guide will help you navigate the journey to homeownership in Chattanooga.

The start of a new year brings fresh insights into the evolving real estate market, which continues to show signs of resilience and growth.

Recent data from the National Association of Realtors highlights positive trends, including an eight-month high in U.S. existing-home sales. While inventory challenges persist, the activity in the market both nationally and locally offers an optimistic outlook.

The Hunter Museum’s upcoming exhibition – “The Long View: From Conservation to Sustainability – Works from the Bank of America Collection” – traces the history and impact of the environmental movement through art.

Firefighter Allen Green has entered burning houses to save lives and property. Now he’s written a children’s book he’s hoping will do the same.

“Mom! Dad! What Should I Do?” teaches elementary school age children how to respond when a fire breaks out in their home. Through colorful illustrations and diverse characters, children learn how to put together a fire escape plan for their home and are encouraged to practice the plan with family members.

Environmental activist Erin Brockovich will speak at the kickoff dinner for the annual statewide Women’s Policy Conference Thursday, Feb. 6, at the Westin Chattanooga. Known for inspiring the Oscar-winning film “Erin Brockovich,” she advocates for clean water and environmental equity.

 Are you changing jobs soon? If so, you’ll obviously be interested in your new salary. But you’ll also want to look at other financial considerations.

Here are some of the most important ones:

• 401(k): If you had a 401(k) plan through your previous employer, you’ll need to decide what to do with it once you’ve joined a new employer. You could just cash it out, but you’d pay taxes and possible penalties. You could leave your 401(k) with your previous employer, if allowed, and if you have been happy with your plan’s performance.

Nearly all small investors lose money in the markets, but a new trading platform called Good Market thinks artificial intelligence might be the solution. Launched by fintech experts from M2 Exchange and Freetrade, Good Market targets what many consider to be the biggest enemy of retail trading: human emotion.

This message from Capt. Damien Vinson, the Chattanooga Fire Department’s community outreach and recruitment coordinator, concerns an ordinance change voters will see on their ballot March 4 and during early voting starting Feb. 12. The proposed referendum would amend the residency requirements for firefighters, police officers and other essential workers in the city’s charter.

Kennedy Dykes walked into her dad’s home office in Arkansas during her sophomore year of high school. Dykes was deciding if she wanted to run track or be a cheerleader in college. Dykes informed her dad that her heart was pulling her to be a cheerleader at an SEC school.

Welcome to Tennessee, Mike Borgonzi.

You’ve got a big job ahead of you, even if you don’t have final say over the Titans roster and the exact direction the franchise wants to go.

Wherever that direction leads, Borgonzi will be a key component in the makeup of what the Titans roster looks like going forward.

Its name sounds simplistic – the code. But in hockey circles, the code is far from simple.

Baseball is famous for its unwritten rules. Hockey too has its share of unwritten rules, but one of the most prominent ones is that players need to stand up and face the metaphorical music if they do something dangerous on the ice, either within or outside of the game’s written rules.

CES, formerly known as the Consumer Electronics Show, in Las Vegas continues to provide a sneak peek at future technology. The annual showcase includes advanced automotive tech in an industry striving to reduce pollution and increase occupant safety while also providing greater convenience and entertainment for road warriors.

NASHVILLE (AP) — Authorities are examining "very concerning online writings and social media posts" connected to the shooter who killed a female student and wounded another student in a Nashville high school cafeteria.

Solomon Henderson, a 17-year-old Black student at Antioch High School, shot and killed Josselin Corea Escalante, who was 16 and Hispanic, in the school's cafeteria on Wednesday, then turned the gun on himself.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Thursday revived a requirement that owners of millions of small businesses register with an arm of the Treasury Department charged with fighting money laundering and other financial crimes.

The justices granted an emergency plea made by the Justice Department in the waning days of the Biden administration to allow enforcement of the Corporate Transparency Act, enacted in 2021 to crack down on the illicit use of anonymous shell companies.

SEATTLE (AP) — A federal judge on Thursday temporarily blocked President Donald Trump's executive order redefining birthright citizenship, calling it "blatantly unconstitutional" during the first hearing in a multi-state effort challenging the order.

CNN announced a restructuring Thursday that includes some 200 layoffs, an accelerated pivot to digital operations and new TV roles for personalities like Wolf Blitzer, Jake Tapper and Audie Cornish.

It's the boldest revamp yet in the 18-month tenure of CEO Mark Thompson, a former chief executive at The New York Times and BBC called upon by parent company Warner Bros. Discovery to revive the news outlet's flagging fortunes.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has pledged cheaper prices and lower interest rates, but an economy transformed by the pandemic will make those promises difficult to keep.

Economic growth is solid, driven by healthy consumer spending. And budget deficits are huge and could get even larger. Meanwhile, businesses are borrowing more to step up their investments in data centers and artificial intelligence, leading to a greater demand for loans that can raise interest rates.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump used an address Thursday to the World Economic Forum to promise global elites lower taxes if they bring manufacturing to the U.S. and threatened to impose tariffs if they don't.

Speaking by video from the White House to the annual summit in Davos, Switzerland, on his third full day in office, Trump ran through his flurry of executive actions since his swearing-in and claimed that he had a "massive mandate" from the American people to bring change. He laid out a carrot-and-stick approach for private investment in the U.S.

DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump drew pockets of laughter and a few moans with his blunt comments to an international audience while appearing by video link Thursday at the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland.

Trump's address and answers to a handful of questions were the highlight of the fourth day of the annual gathering of political and business leaders. His return to the White House this week also shaped other sessions, from a panel on tariffs to a fiery speech by Javier Milei, the brash president of Argentina.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is preparing to reshape the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which has been on the frontlines of responding to recent wildfires in California and last year's hurricane in North Carolina.

He spoke at length about the issue with congressional Republican leaders on Tuesday, discussing whether the agency known as FEMA should continue providing assistance to states in the same way, according to a person familiar with the conversation and granted anonymity to discuss it.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate on Thursday confirmed John Ratcliffe as CIA director, President Donald Trump's nominee to lead America's premier spy agency and his second nominee to win Senate approval.

Ratcliffe was director of national intelligence during Trump's first term and is the first person to have held that position and the top post at the CIA. The Texas Republican is a former federal prosecutor who emerged as a fierce Trump defender while serving as a congressman during Trump's first impeachment.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate advanced the nomination of Pete Hegseth as President Donald Trump's defense secretary Thursday on a largely party-line vote, despite grave objections from Democrats and stirring unease among Republicans over his behavior and qualifications to lead the U.S. military.