News - Friday, August 28, 2026

For most of her life, Kaitlyn Laczko imagined motherhood as something waiting for her in the future.

She remembers being in kindergarten when her teacher asked what she wanted to be when she grew up. Kaitlyn’s answer was simple: a mom.

Inside a sound-treated booth at Chattanooga’s Speech & Hearing Center, Dr. Hailey Long can determine not only how much hearing a person has lost but also when a hearing aid is no longer enough.

The testing is more involved than a standard hearing exam. Patients listen while wearing a hearing aid or another form of amplification and are asked to identify speech under increasingly difficult conditions. In effect, Long is trying to determine how much help the hearing aid still provides.

For years, a vacant building at the corner of Alton Park Boulevard and 38th Street offered a less-than-encouraging advertisement for investment in South Chattanooga.

Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly says he remembers a large “free rent” sign posted outside the property – and the fact that even that offer wasn’t enough to fill it.

We’re all familiar with the phrase “freedom is not free.” This often-repeated phrase reminds us that the many freedoms we enjoy in the United States – the most individual freedoms possessed by any citizens in the world – only came about because generations before us paid a price, and in some instances the ultimate price.

Dolly Parton, the country music icon whose soaring vibrato vocals, poignant songwriting and sparkling costumes defined her rise from a log cabin in the Tennessee mountains to the height of stardom and acclaim, has died. She was 80 years old.

Parton died peacefully Tuesday in Nashville, Tennessee, her publicist said in a statement.

Aug. 29

CommonSpirit – Memorial Hospital will host a free stroke awareness event 9 a.m.-noon at the hospital, 2525 de Sales Ave. The event will feature lectures and Q&A sessions on stroke warning signs, risk factors and prevention, along with complimentary blood pressure and blood glucose screenings, a resource fair and light refreshments. No appointment is necessary. Attendees should enter through Entrance F (Outpatient Services) off Glenwood Drive.

Hamilton County EMS has promoted Capt. Devoria Johnson to assistant chief, making her the first woman to hold the rank in the department’s history.

Johnson began her emergency medical services career in 1993 as a first responder and EMT-IV at Hutcheson Medical Center in North Georgia. She earned her paramedic certification in 2001 and joined Hamilton County EMS in 2007.

Urban Story Ventures is planning a $350 million retail and residential district at the Bend, a major addition to the developer’s 120-plus-acre redevelopment of Chattanooga’s riverfront.

Construction is expected to begin in 2027 and could be completed by fall 2028, depending on the pace of preleasing, according to Urban Story Ventures.

In its simplest form, saving can mean putting money into a jar, adding to it and letting it grow slowly. A 401(k) or other workplace retirement plan is a step beyond that. It’s more like a garden than a jar. Once you understand the basics of your 401(k), it becomes easier to feel confident in your decisions.

What did you want to be when you grew up? You might have listed three or four possibilities: policeman, doctor, farmer or a soldier, ballerina, teacher or acrobat. 

You were sure they could all happen, simultaneously, happily. And then you grew up and where did that dreamer-you go? Read “How to Grow Up Without Becoming a Grown-Up” by Julian Shapiro-Barnum and find that kid inside you again.

In their only primetime appearance this season, the entire country got to see the Tennessee Titans secondary get schooled in a blown communication between Kevin Winston and Alontae Taylor. The result: an easy 36-yard touchdown pass from Seattle Seahawks backup QB Drew Lock to Elijah Arroyo.

Buying a used car can be a smart money move. During a typical ownership cycle, the cost of a used vehicle is usually significantly lower than buying or leasing a new car. 

Choose one that’s only a few years old, and it will likely have relatively low miles and plenty of reliable years ahead at a nicer price than getting a new vehicle. You can save even more by selecting a fuel-efficient hybrid model known for reliability.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military is experiencing a "beyond critical" shortage of advanced missile interceptors in Europe largely driven by President Donald Trump's war with Iran, a U.S. defense official in Europe and a NATO official told The Associated Press, raising concerns about vulnerabilities in NATO countries to a potential Russian attack.

WASHINGTON (AP) — When President Donald Trump launched the war with Iran in late February, he initially forecast it would last four weeks to five weeks. Six months later, there still is no off-ramp in sight despite Trump's repeated assertions that the war has been won or a deal to resolve it was nearly complete.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Thursday he is renaming Lake Ontario to be known as "Lake America" in the United States as he escalates his trade war with Canada.

The Republican president signed an executive order directing the Interior Department to update the lake's name in the U.S. geographic naming service. Trump cannot force Canada to follow his preferred naming convention, however.

NASHVILLE (AP) — The Chicago Bears and Tennessee wrapped up training camp Thursday with a joint practice highlighted late by a hit laying out wide receiver Wan'Dale Robinson in a two-minute drill that Titans coach Robert Saleh needed only one word to describe.

Two days after the Southeastern Conference passed a rule barring players from returning to the league from the pros, a Texas judge put that rule on hold Thursday in a case involving more than 40 players.

It was the latest piece of news in what has turned into a breakneck week of legal wrangling over the NCAA's new five-year eligibility rule. The rule does not apply to college players who exhausted their fourth year of eligibility last spring; many are suing across the country for that fifth year.

Tennessee National Guard members assigned to a federal anti-crime task force in Memphis fatally shot an armed 20-year-old man in the back, according to an autopsy report obtained Thursday by The Associated Press, contradicting police accounts that said the man was facing the troops when they fired.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A judge on Thursday expressed skepticism about the Kennedy Center's intention to return President Donald Trump's name to the historic performing arts venue by early next month, challenging the board's insistence on moving forward even in the face of a court ruling that blocked and reversed a previous effort.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Three staff members from the Stars and Stripes military news outlet are suing to challenge their recent firings by the Pentagon, accusing the Trump administration of violating their First Amendment free speech rights to speak out against government interference in their work.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A new study suggests that El Ninos — the natural climatic chaos agent that pops up periodically and spikes global temperatures — are getting stronger because of human-caused climate change.

El Ninos are more than 36% stronger than they were before the industrial age began in the mid 1800s, with a 16% jump in just the last 40 years showing that the increase is accelerating, according to a study in Thursday's journal Science. The findings come as a strong El Nino that formed a couple months ago is forecast to be the biggest on record in coming months. El Ninos, which are a temporary warming of parts of the equatorial Pacific, warp weather worldwide and increase extreme events, including heat waves, floods in some places and droughts in others. They can cost trillions in damage.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Parasitic illness cases linked to recalled iceberg lettuce have now been confirmed in 20 states, federal health officials said Thursday, expanding the scope of the largest outbreak of its kind in the U.S.

The Food and Drug Administration said government scientists have now identified cases in three additional states: Georgia, Tennessee and Texas.

NEW YORK (AP) — In a Michigan swing district just north of Detroit, Democratic congressional candidate Christina Hines said voters are far more worried about affording fuel, groceries and healthcare than about left-wing extremists gaining ground in her party.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is taking steps to limit an Egyptian bank's operations in the United Arab Emirates, accusing the financial institution of serving as an economic lifeline to Tehran's leadership as the U.S. war against Iran reaches the six-month mark.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump arrives at an awkward moment for his presidency on Friday as the U.S.-Israel war against Iran reaches the six-month mark, a notable milestone for a conflict that the Republican leader repeatedly assured Americans would be a "little excursion" lasting a matter of weeks.

JACKSON HOLE, Wyoming (AP) — Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh said Friday that inflation is still too high and suggested the central bank may have to raise interest rates in the coming months to bring it down, a clearer signal than he had sent previously about his economic outlook.

ATLANTA (AP) — Good Good Golf lost its partnership with Callaway on Thursday and no longer will be title sponsor of a PGA Tour event in November as the fallout continued over a video for a new Callaway driver that showed a man shoving a woman to the ground who was trying to touch the golf club.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Thousands of protesters are rallying Friday on the National Mall in support of voting rights and racial justice ahead of the midterm elections, following a wave of changes to voting laws and redistricting that civil rights groups have condemned as detrimental to Black Americans.