News - Friday, October 2, 2026

It’s 4 a.m. in Chattanooga, and Alton Park Boulevard is asleep.

Unlike other city streets, it appears to be sleeping with one eye open.

Just past the crumbling concrete train trestle that welcomes drivers to Alton Park, a red GMC pickup truck with Georgia Bulldog-themed license plates is parked outside a small brick building. Despite the early hour, its glass front door glows warmly with light from inside.

When “Maus” was removed from the curriculum of an East Tennessee school district in 2022, some readers responded by trying to put more copies of the book into circulation.

Spencer Pennington remembers patrons bringing copies of Art Spiegelman’s graphic novel about a Polish Jew who survived the Holocaust to the Northwest Georgia public library system where Pennington worked at the time.

A copy of George Orwell’s “1984” faces outward from a shelf at 2nd & Charles in Hixson, its black cover dominated by a watchful eye.

Nearby are Margaret Atwood’s “The Handmaid’s Tale,” J.D. Salinger’s “The Catcher in the Rye” and Anne Frank’s “The Diary of a Young Girl.”

Imagine receiving an email with last-minute changes to your closing instructions or a phone call from someone who sounds exactly like a person you have been working with throughout your home purchase.

Would you know what to do next?

As a Realtor, I know how much trust buyers and sellers place in the professionals guiding them through a transaction. Protecting that trust is an important part of our work. This week, I’m sharing the National Association of Realtors Consumer Guide, “Fraud Red Flags,” to help buyers, sellers and homeowners recognize potential warning signs and know when to ask questions.

Scenic City Shakespeare will present a free outdoor performance of William Shakespeare’s “The Tempest” at 7:30 p.m. at Greenway Farms, 4960 Gann Store Road. Additional performances will take place Oct. 3, 16, 17 and 24. Audience members should bring lawn chairs or picnic blankets, as seating is not provided. Reservations are recommended due to limited space. An ArtsBuild Artists Work Grant supports the production. Reservations

The Chattanooga Fire Department is urging residents to use caution when charging phones, laptops, e-bikes and other devices powered by lithium-ion batteries as part of this year’s Fire Prevention Week.

Fire Prevention Week, observed Oct. 4-10, will focus on the theme “Charge into Fire Safety: Safe Charging Is a Superpower.” CFD is partnering with the National Fire Protection Association to educate the public about reducing the risk of fires involving rechargeable batteries.

Giving to charity feels good, but understanding the tax benefits can benefit both the charity and you. Whether you donate regularly or are planning your first gift, knowing how charitable tax deductions work can help you make informed decisions while supporting causes you care about. Here are things to consider:

Here, there and everywhere:

• A candidate for governor you may never have heard of asked a candidate for governor you probably never have heard of to drop out of the race.

The first candidate is Jerri Green, who also happens to be the Democratic nominee in the race. She, or her campaign, called on Lauren Pinkston, an independent candidate, to abandon her bid. Pinkston, unsurprisingly, has declined.

Wearing orange-and-white checkerboard overalls with no shirt, Charles Lothamer stood nearby Hodges Library on the University of Tennessee campus with a plastic Home Depot helmet in his hand.

The Tennessee freshman had been awake since 7 a.m. on Friday and it was now 10 a.m. on Saturday. But no amount of sleep deprivation could prevent Lothamer from missing out on all the excitement surrounding his first big football game as a college student.

ESPN’s College GameDay made its 13th appearance in Knoxville. The guest picker for the pregame show was actor Johnny Knoxville, who grew up in South Knoxville and wore a full Tennessee uniform with shoulder pads to make his picks.

Tennessee sophomore civil engineering major Colby Lamb made a $1.5 million kick after being selected to take part in the weekly kicking competition sponsored by GameDay personality and former NFL kicker Pat McAfee.

Cam Ward had a chance to have a signature moment Sunday against the New York Giants.

Instead, he had his Will Levis “what the (insert expletive here) are you doing?” moment, throwing a game-ending interception on an ill-advised pass to the end zone with 17 seconds left and the Titans with two timeouts in their pocket.

The Titans are hoping the fourth time will be the charm, and the “win” column will see its first usage of the 2026 season. That said, Charm City residents the Baltimore Ravens are coming off a last-second win in Brazil last week, and look to dash the Titans’ hopes for a road win. Here are the Titans’ keys to notching that first W.

The Tesla Model Y has been the sales king of small electric SUVs since the moment it arrived. Many rivals have chased its success, but none have come close. Now it’s Rivian’s turn.

The Rivian R2 is the California EV automaker’s first small electric SUV, and it’s gunning for the Model Y. Rivian’s R1T truck and larger R1S SUV are excellent EVs, but their $80,000-ish price tags put them out of reach for most shoppers.

NASHVILLE (AP) — Christa Pike was in critical condition Thursday and receiving "lifesaving care" at a hospital, her lawyers said, a day after a failed attempt to execute her in what Tennessee's governor called a "deeply disturbing" outcome.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to consider whether a religious institution has a right to build a shrine to the Virgin Mary on residential property next to its Kentucky church.

The church's owner — a nonprofit formed by Roman Catholic priests — claims the Kentucky Supreme Court misconstrued a federal law and erroneously ruled against its plan to build a shrine on a residential plot that it bought for the project.

BALTIMORE (AP) — Gov. Wes Moore of Maryland is forming a bipartisan group of governors to respond to mounting concerns about the threats posed by artificial intelligence as he argued that states need to fill a void left by the federal government's inaction on the issue.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military is dispatching roughly 9,000 troops aboard a group of ships to the Middle East, a U.S. official said Thursday. The bolstering of the American military presence comes as President Donald Trump warned anew that new strikes against Iran could be on the horizon.

NEW YORK (AP) — More swings in the bond market rattled stock markets around the world.

Thursday's moves were relatively modest on Wall Street after U.S. bond yields cranked higher but then gave back the gains later in the day.

The S&P 500 rose 0.2% and broke a three-day losing streak. The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up less than 0.1%, and the Nasdaq composite also rose less than 0.1%.

NASHVILLE (AP) — Nick Foligno and Blake Coleman scored first-period goals, and the Minnesota Wild beat the Nashville Predators 3-1 on Thursday night in the season opener for both teams.

Long before Christa Pike was brought into Tennessee's execution chamber, prison leaders reviewed and approved a backup plan detailing exactly what to do if the first attempt at lethal injection failed.

NASHVILLE (AP) — Christa Pike was scheduled to be executed. But after two injections, she kept breathing. She made snoring sounds, she talked, she said her arm was hurting.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Department of Energy electrical engineer has been arrested on charges of providing support to the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels, including by buying materials for homemade explosives and drones and traveling to Yemen, the Justice Department said Thursday.

NEW YORK (AP) — New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said Friday that the woman who accused members of a Cornell University fraternity of gang rape was "failed" by people obligated to protect her, including police and the county prosecutor.

Hochul's claim came during a news conference in which she gave details on her decision to turn the case over to a special prosecutor, the state Attorney General Letitia James.

NEW YORK (AP) — New York's governor and attorney general were set to give an update Friday morning about the investigation into a woman's allegations that she was gang raped at a Cornell University fraternity house.

Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Thursday she appointed the office of Attorney General Letitia James as the special prosecutor to oversee the investigation, saying she had lost faith in the local district attorney's ability to handle the case.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Group of Seven industrial nations said they agreed to release 100 million barrels of oil, starting with "substantial" amounts of diesel after the fuel recently hit record high prices in the United States, where President Donald Trump said the diesel release would happen "immediately."

Households in the contiguous United States will pay thousands of dollars more for energy through 2040 because of federal policy changes since President Donald Trump returned to office, according to modeling released Friday by a nonpartisan think tank.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is launching an office of religious affairs, the latest of his faith-related reforms at the Pentagon.

He announced in a speech Wednesday that the office will help offer "first-class religious support" and will report directly to him.

WASHINGTON (AP) — With early voting already underway, a question worrying some voters is what role — if any — immigration enforcement officers might have at polling places through Election Day.

Department of Homeland Security officials say they don't plan to send immigration enforcement officers en masse to patrol the polls and dismissed concerns that they plan to do so as "fearmongering." Election legal experts say federal law clearly prevents the government from deploying any armed troops, agents or officers to election sites except to "repel armed enemies of the United States," a high bar to clear.

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. employers added a disappointing 29,000 jobs and the unemployment rate ticked up last month, the government reported Friday, a month before voters go to the polls in pivotal midterm elections at a time of discontent over the high cost of living and the state of the economy.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The official numbers show that the U.S. job market has proved sturdy in the face of one shock after another – President Donald Trump's trade wars, persistent inflation, high interest rates, and a conflict with Iran that has sent gasoline prices rocketing higher, squeezing family budgets.

MILWAUKEE (AP) — G20 trade ministers failed to reach an agreement Thursday to curb the flooding of markets with overproduced, underpriced goods, a practice the Trump administration says undercuts American manufacturers.

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, emerging from the gathering, said talks were constructive despite not reaching consensus on the issue, which is known as "excess capacity."

NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon is investing more than $1 billion over the next five years into communities where it operates data centers for education, job training, water and energy preservation projects and other local priorities as it reacts to a growing backlash from politicians and consumers to the tech industry's rollout of the massive buildings.

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — John Evich, a commercial fisherman in Washington and Alaska, has voted for President Donald Trump three times, viewing him as someone who would fight for his industry.

But these days, Evich is weary of the high cost of doing business at sea, with fuel prices rising and trade hostilities with Canada jeopardizing markets for the crabs that he pulls off the ocean floor.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Marco Rubio has waived a restriction on $320 million in military aid to Egypt that had been previously withheld over human rights concerns, citing Egypt's help in dealing with Iran since the conflict began earlier this year.

NASHVILLE (AP) — Dolly Parton's nephew wants more time to get a lawyer in place to defend himself against a temporary restraining order granted to her estate against him and his security company.

Representing himself, Bryan Seaver filed a motion Friday in a Tennessee court asking that a hearing on the order now set for Oct. 9 be delayed by about 10 days.

DETROIT (AP) — A group of environmental organizations sued the Trump administration on Friday over its recent relaxation of key vehicle fuel economy rules, a decision that the group says will make vehicles less efficient, contribute to more pollution and increase gas consumption.

NEW YORK (AP) — Florida's current dengue outbreak appears to be the largest in several decades in the continental United States.

State health officials reported this week that more than 250 locally acquired cases of the mosquito-borne disease have been tallied so far this year. The vast majority of them were in Hillsborough County, home to Tampa.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Group of Seven wealthy democracies said Friday that they plan to release 100 million barrels of oil and fuel products in the coming weeks, starting with "substantial" amounts of diesel after the fuel recently hit record high prices in the United States.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Republicans' top campaign spending organization is pulling back in North Carolina and pouring money into Kansas, a striking shift that shows how the party's plan to keep its majority has turned into an increasingly defensive fight ahead of November's midterms.

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks climbed near their all-time high on Friday after the latest update on the U.S. job market cooled worries that a potentially hot U.S economy could make inflation much worse.

The S&P 500 rose 0.7% and pulled within 1% of its record set in August. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 250 points, or 0.5%, and the Nasdaq composite gained 1.2%.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The FBI has released a classified report to its workforce examining what it says are chapters from the bureau's history "where this institution fell short," according to an internal message obtained Friday by The Associated Press.

BALTIMORE (AP) — The Baltimore Ravens could have used a quiet, boring victory as a heavy favorite at home.

They were halfway toward exactly that — before Lamar Jackson's latest injury.

Jackson's ankle appeared to roll under a Tennessee defender in the final seconds of the second quarter, and although the Ravens held on for a 24-18 win over the Titans on Sunday, they didn't score after their star quarterback left the game. Tyler Huntley, no stranger to replacing Jackson when needed, took the snaps for Baltimore in the second half.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is rebuffing an appeal from a Michigan woman fighting a school district's ban on shirts with the phrase "Let's Go Brandon," a jab at then-President Joe Biden with a coded reference to profanity.

The mother of two boys says their First Amendment rights were violated when they were told to take off the sweatshirts she bought them for Christmas in 2022.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court's new term begins Monday with cases on climate change, religious rights and President Donald Trump's crackdown on immigration high on the agenda.

Here's a look at what's in store:

Climate change

The high court is starting its term with a major climate change case. The justices will hear an appeal from energy companies trying to block dozens of lawsuits seeking to hold them liable in court for damage related to climate change.

It was sometime around Xavier Rogers' second birthday that his mom and Early Head Start teachers noticed a shift in his demeanor. Xavier, usually a happy baby, now mostly wanted to play alone and would sometimes bite and hit other kids in his class.

VIENNA (AP) — Air Force Secretary Troy Meink made headlines recently by confirming the United States has deployed weapons in space. He did not, however, detail what the weapons were, how they work or if they were targeting other objects in space.

It's not just U.S. efforts regarding space weapons that remain shrouded in mystery.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A top cryptocurrency campaign organization is unveiling a bipartisan list of House members that it will support in the November midterms, as one of the biggest-spending interest groups looks to flex its muscles after a mixed legislative year in Congress.

WASHINGTON (AP) — More than a year into President Donald Trump's sweeping immigration crackdown, a poll finds that voters in rural parts of the country are divided on whether those immigration policies have benefited or harmed their communities.

In The Associated Press-KFF survey of more than 2,000 rural voters in August, about a third said the Trump administration's immigration enforcement had been positive for their community and about a third said it had been negative. The remaining 3 in 10, roughly, said it had no impact.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is taking his Republican midterm rescue mission to Nebraska on Monday, campaigning alongside GOP Sen. Pete Ricketts, who is running against an independent candidate backed by national Democrats.

Trump is headed to Grand Island, Nebraska, located in the solidly conservative south-central part of the state. It's part of what the Republican president says is a 32-day blitz of rallies ahead of Nov. 3 that so far has taken him to ruby-red territory such as Oklahoma and Alabama. On Wednesday, he'll make his second stop in two weeks in Texas with a rally in San Antonio.

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said Sunday his party is on track to win back control of the House, confident Democrats can overcome a fundraising disadvantage and reach deep into conservative areas to flip congressional districts won by President Donald Trump just two years ago.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military said it attacked a boat suspected of being used to smuggle drugs in the Caribbean Sea on Sunday, killing four people, as the Trump administration continues its yearlong campaign against alleged traffickers in Latin America.

WASHINGTON (AP) — On a sunny, cloudless morning on March 1, the day after President Donald Trump started the war against Iran, Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert Marzan was coordinating critical Army supplies out of Port Shuaiba in Kuwait.

In an instant, a drone crashed through the ceiling and exploded, killing Marzan, who had served in the military for 36 years. The force flung soldiers into the air, fragments of sheet metal and glass shards impaling them. The tin roof was peeled back "like opening up a sardine can," one soldier recalled.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Air Force has brought home its bombers stationed at a U.S.-run military air base in England used to strike Iran following an investigation into a planned terror attack at the RAF Fairford base.

The bombers were redeployed to their home bases in the United States, according to a Pentagon official who was not authorized to discuss sensitive military movements and spoke Sunday on condition of anonymity.

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — A Laotian citizen deported by the United States to Eswatini under the Trump administration's immigration crackdown was released from a maximum-security prison in the African nation on Sunday after being held there for more than a year, his lawyer said.

DETROIT (AP) — Every Monday, Ricky Blanding drives his Ford Ranger pickup truck around Detroit along a carefully planned route.

Blanding hops in and out of the truck, grabbing buckets of food scraps from porches and restaurants, piling those scraps into bins in the truck bed and driving them to a composting site.

CHICAGO (AP) — Dennis Hastert, the nation's longest-serving Republican House speaker, who helped turn much of President George W. Bush's agenda into law before his own political legacy was forever fouled by allegations that he molested high school athletes when he was a wrestling coach, died over the weekend, a coroner said Monday. He was 84.