News - Friday, September 12, 2025

The International Bluegrass Music Association’s World of Bluegrass will be held in Chattanooga Sept. 16-20, bringing five days of performances, showcases, contests and family-friendly activities to downtown. While the event includes the IBMA Business Conference and Bluegrass Music Awards, much of the programming is designed for the public, with multiple stages, food vendors, art markets and special events open to attendees.

Bluegrass has long had a home in Chattanooga. From the 3 Sisters Bluegrass Festival drawing thousands each fall to the legendary Dismembered Tennesseans carrying the sound forward for generations, the city has deep ties to the genre’s past and present.

When Kelsey Vasileff opened Southern Squeeze in 2014, the tiny storefront was built around a simple idea: help people nourish their bodies through clean, healthy food. Back then, the concept was straightforward – cold-pressed juices, smoothies, a few raw treats and simple cleansing programs. But Vasileff quickly learned that “healthy” looks different for everyone.

Performances will take place Thursdays Thursdays in September, noon-1 p.m. in Miller Park Sept. 4, 11 and 25. Hosted by the city of Chattanooga Parks & Outdoors and the Office of Arts, Culture and Creative Economy, Noontunes offers attendees an outdoor midday break complete with music, games, food trucks and community activities. The 2025 season is sponsored by City of Chattanooga Parks & Outdoors, Tennessee Arts Commission, EPB, First Horizon Bank and Tennessee American Water.

Beginning Oct. 1, the city of Chattanooga will launch two pilot programs aimed at reducing landfill waste and promoting responsible recycling. The initiatives – a curbside food waste composting service and a glass recycling collection program – will run through June 30 with an initial focus on select neighborhoods in the Brainerd area.

La Paz Chattanooga has expanded its team with the addition of two new staff members.

Brenda Zaragoza joins La Paz as education and outreach coordinator. A first-generation Mexican American, Brenda was born in Illinois and raised in Chattanooga. She earned both her Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in Criminal Justice from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, where she focused her academic work on issues of social equity and justice. Zaragoza brings a strong background in bilingual support, community outreach and culturally responsive programming to her role.

Exactly a day after completing his final training session for the Gift of Life Marrow Registry Campus Ambassador Program, Nick Stone received a call. The University of Tennessee senior diver assumed the call was about his new role when he saw the Gift of Life number on his phone.

Welcome back to Flick Picks, your twice-monthly movie fix.

Late summer might be the slowest season for movie lovers, but there’s still plenty to talk about – from lackluster theatrical releases to a new streaming mystery and a classic Spielberg blockbuster. Here’s what’s worth watching – and skipping – right now.

At Greater Chattanooga Realtors, we’re proud to shine a light on the leaders who give their time and energy to serve our association. This Director Spotlight features Rolanda Daniel, whose professional journey began with empowering others in their careers – a passion that now carries over into her real estate work and leadership. Rolanda’s dedication to client service, Realtor education and community involvement reflects the very best of who we are as an association.

If you own a business, you’ve probably spent countless hours thinking about how to grow it, manage daily operations and serve your customers. But have you thought about how you’ll eventually step away from it? 

While it might seem premature, planning your successful exit from your business is one of the smartest moves you can make as an owner.

Gov. Bill Lee has declared that “nothing is off the table” when it comes to efforts to reduce crime in Tennessee. “Everything is a possibility.” So, what the heck, why not pull out the big gun, so to speak: martial law, which is military rule over civilian population with the suspension of normal civilian laws.

Let me preface this column by saying this: I like Brian Callahan a lot.

He and his coaching staff have been a breath of fresh air. They’ve brought transparency and openness that was sorely lacking in dealing with previous regimes that had the old New England Patriots mentality of making information and data harder to come by than extracting state secrets from the Pentagon.

For those expecting Cam Ward to come out blazing in his first NFL start, well, those things aren’t the norm – despite what CJ Stroud, Jayden Daniels and Bo Nix have done the last couple of years.

Ward certainly didn’t dazzle in his NFL debut the way Marcus Mariota and Will Levis did with four touchdown passes each in their first starts. Maybe that’s a good thing in the long run. But Ward’s debut wasn’t all bad either.

Toyota has released a redesigned 4Runner for 2025. This is a big deal for fans of this SUV, as the previous generation was on sale for a lengthy 14 years. 

The new Toyota 4Runner has distinctive new styling, the latest technology features and an available hybrid powertrain that promises increased performance without sacrificing mpg. And just like previous models, it has a rugged design that’s well suited for off-road adventures.

NASHVILLE (AP) — Cam Ward is excited to finally play an NFL regular-season game in his new home stadium and knows the best way to make the Tennessee Titans' home opener even more memorable is just win.

"I'm excited for it myself, the team trying to get our first win of the season," Ward said. "So we're ready to get it going."

NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee starting right tackle JC Latham said Thursday that he will be out Sunday against the Los Angeles Rams in the Titans' home opener.

Latham left the season-opening loss in Denver early in the fourth quarter after with an injured hip that limited him during the preseason. Titans coach Brian Callahan said Monday that Latham aggravated an issue that the lineman has been playing through.

NASHVILLE (AP) — President Donald Trump said Friday he'll send the National Guard to address crime concerns in Memphis with support from the mayor and Tennessee's governor, making it his latest expansion of military forces into American cities that has tested the limits of presidential power and drawn sharp criticism from local leaders.

BOSTON (AP) — A U.S. appeals court panel on Thursday allowed President Donald Trump's administration to block Medicaid funds to Planned Parenthood while legal challenges continue.

A federal judge in July ruled Planned Parenthood clinics nationwide must continue to be reimbursed for Medicaid funding as the nation's largest abortion provider fights Trump's administration over efforts to defund the organization in his signature tax legislation.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military strike on what the Trump administration says was a drug-carrying speedboat from Venezuela came after the vessel had turned around and was heading back to shore, raising fresh questions as members of Congress are demanding more information about the provocative attack.

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — A series of reported threats toward historically Black colleges and universities across the U.S. on Thursday led to lockdown orders, canceled classes and heightened security.

Authorities did not elaborate on the type of threats that were made and no injuries have been reported. The FBI told The Associated Press that they are taking the "hoax threat calls" seriously and that there is "no information to indicate a credible threat."

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will travel to Madrid this weekend for negotiations with his Chinese counterparts over tariffs and national security issues related to the ownership of social media platform TikTok.

Bessent is slated to meet Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in Madrid to discuss national security and economic issues, a Treasury news release states.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's push to revitalize American manufacturing by luring foreign investment into the U.S. has run smack into one of his other priorities: cracking down on illegal immigration.

Hardly a week after immigration authorities raided a sprawling Hyundai battery plant in Georgia, detained more than 300 South Korean workers and showed video of some of them shackled in chains, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung warned that the country's other companies may be reluctant to take up Trump's invitation to pour money into the United States.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration has asked an appeals court to remove Lisa Cook from the Federal Reserve's board of governors by Monday, before the central bank's next vote on interest rates.

LONDON (AP) — European Union regulators have accepted Microsoft's proposed changes to Teams, resolving a long-running antitrust investigation that targeted the company's messaging and videoconferencing app.

The European Commission said in a statement Friday that Microsoft's final commitments to unbundle Teams from its Office software suite, including further tweaks following a market test in May and June, are enough to satisfy competition concerns.

MILAN (AP) — After a lifetime of spurning would-be business suitors, the late Italian designer Giorgio Armani instructed his heirs to sell a 15% minority stake in his vast fashion empire, with priority to the French conglomerate LVMH, the eyewear giant Essilor-Luxottica or the cosmetics company L'Oreal.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer weathered backlash from Democrats earlier this year when he voted with Republicans to keep the government open. But he's now willing to risk a shutdown at the end of the month if Republicans don't accede to Democratic demands.

OREM, Utah (AP) — The man accused of assassinating Charlie Kirk had expressed opposition to the conservative activist's viewpoints and indicated that he was responsible for the shooting, authorities said Friday as they announced an arrest in the killing that raised fresh alarms about political violence in a deeply polarized United States.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Republicans took the first steps to change the chamber's rules on Thursday, moving to make it easier to confirm groups of President Donald Trump's nominees after last-minute negotiations with Democrats fell apart.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune's move is the latest salvo after a dozen years of gradual changes by both parties to weaken the filibuster and make the nominations process more partisan. He has said the Democrats' obstruction is "unsustainable" as they have drawn out the confirmation process and infuriated Trump as many positions in his administration have remained unfilled.

OREM, Utah (AP) — President Donald Trump said Friday that the suspect in the Charlie Kirk killing has been captured.

"With a high degree of certainty, we have him," Trump announced in a live interview on Fox News Chanel on Friday morning.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The same scene played out at campuses across the country. Charlie Kirk would grab a microphone, take a seat under a canopy — often in busy campus hubs — and invite debate from anyone who came along. His prompt: "Prove me wrong."

ATLANTA (AP) — A judge has rejected an attempt by the state of Georgia and a local development agency to force people who unsuccessfully sued to block an electric vehicle plant to pay the government's legal fees.

State government and the development authority demanded that six Morgan County property owners who challenged the zoning for Rivian Automotive pay more than $337,000 in legal fees incurred by the government.

OpenAI has reached a new tentative agreement with Microsoft and said its nonprofit, which technically controls its business, will now be given a $100 billion equity stake in its for-profit corporation.

The maker of ChatGPT said it had reached a new nonbinding agreement with Microsoft, its longtime partner, "for the next phase of our partnership."

WASHINGTON (AP) — A group of top U.S. Catholic bishops and nuns on the front lines of the country's immigration conflict have decried the Trump administration's hard-line policies for tearing apart families, inciting fear and upending American church life.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's tariff policy, immigration crackdowns and sweeping tax and spending law are expected to increase jobless rates and inflation and lower overall growth this year before they improve next year, according to a new report from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Family members of the young Utah man accused of shooting Charlie Kirk told authorities he had recently become "more political" and saw the ally of President Donald Trump as a person spreading hate, according to authorities.