News - Friday, October 31, 2025

Jessica Winspear wasn’t sure what to expect when she first carried her 2-year-old daughter, Sophie, into a Little Gym class in Knoxville. The bright mats, the giggles that bounced off the walls and the relaxed rhythm of the class were all new to her. But before the session ended, she watched Sophie hold up two fingers to show her age and tell the group her name.

For hundreds of years, college classrooms have been sanctuaries for the written word as professors have led generations of students through the tragedies, sonnets and novels that make up the canon.

But stories no longer live only on the page. At the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, they live on screens, in code and in the choices players make inside digital worlds.

Hundreds of community members rose to their feet at the Waterhouse Pavilion in downtown Chattanooga Tuesday as Edna Varner, Ed.D. – educator, mentor and civic leader – was welcomed into a sisterhood she’d long admired but never formally joined.

Now that the buzz of summer has faded, fall can be a great moment to refocus on your home goals. Cooler temps, calmer weekends and a little less competition often make this season a smart time to shop, especially if you’re hoping to settle in before the holidays.

The Chattanooga Zoo’s annual event returns Oct. 31 with trick-or-treating, character meet-and-greets, a bounce house, a scavenger hunt and festive decorations. Popular characters like Elsa, Spider-Man and Moana will be on hand for photos, courtesy of Magic Lamp Entertainment. Friday, 4-8 p.m. Tickets

A piano composition by University of Tennessee at Chattanooga professor Jonathan McNair is featured on “Piano Crosscurrents,” a Grammy-nominated classical album by New York pianist and composer Max Lifchitz.

McNair, the Ruth S. Holmberg professor of American Music, has taught at UTC for 26 years. His piece, “Rabun Gap,” was professionally recorded with support from a UTC faculty development grant and added to the album, which debuted in April 2025. Lifchitz’s North-South Consonance Ensemble, founded more than four decades ago, is dedicated to performing works by contemporary composers from across the Americas.

Banner Built Homes has announced the development of Davidson Meadows, its first Chattanooga community. Developed with Legacy South, the East Brainerd neighborhood will include 95 single-family, cottage-style homes across five floor plans, with base prices from $299,900 to $409,900. Standard features include granite countertops, high-end cabinetry and Mohawk flooring.

Medicare becomes a vital part of your health care coverage when you turn 65. But signing up is just the beginning. Many people don’t realize that Medicare isn’t a “set it and forget it” program. 

In fact, you have the opportunity – and often the need – to review and adjust your coverage every single year.

Photograph provided

Leaders from Covenant College gather onstage during the ribbon-cutting ceremony marking the completion of renovations to Sanderson Auditorium in Sanderson Hall. The project modernized the well-known theater and classroom space with updated audiovisual technology, ADA-accessible features and refreshed interiors to support both academic and performance uses.

To Amy Adams Strunk: I know you only want what is best for the Tennessee Titans. The issue seems to be that you really just don’t know how to get there. But I think I have the answer for you. There is a legendary former sports executive that you could model yourself and your decision-making after in an attempt to turn the franchise around.

The Titans are the least-competitive team in the NFL, losing by an average of 29-14. With the Los Angeles Chargers coming to town, the Titans could be in for another long day at Nissan Stadium, where they have not won in nearly a calendar year.

First down

Play with a lead. The Titans have not had many leads this season, but they did have one briefly two weeks ago against New England. It would be nice if they could somehow score first, play some adequate defense and then try to use the running game to shorten the game and keep the Chargers offense on the sideline. That’s probably wishful thinking, but it has to be an option if the Titans are to have a chance.

Don’t buy that new car yet. If you can wait, you’ll have new 2026 model year options that aren’t out yet. Although some models barely change, others are completely redesigned and often get the latest features and improvements.

Whether you’re interested in improved fuel economy, cutting-edge technology or maybe just fresh and distinctive styling, there’s likely a car on the horizon that you’ll be interested in. To ensure you don’t miss out on the latest and greatest, the car experts at Edmunds highlight five vehicles you should consider waiting for.

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas quarterback Arch Manning was "making good progress" in practice, coach Steve Sarkisian said Thursday, but his status to return from a concussion in time to play against No. 9 Vanderbilt was still uncertain.

Manning has been in concussion protocol since being injured at the beginning of overtime in No. 20 Texas' 45-38 win over Mississippi State last week. Backup Matthew Caldwell came on to throw the winning touchdown as Texas rallied from 17 points down in the fourth quarter.

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — As the football season pushes into November, No. 9 Vanderbilt continues its march through what could be a special one for the Commodores.

A shot at both the Southeastern Conference championship and a College Football Playoff berth are still easily within sight. Such things are new in Nashville, but quarterback Diego Pavia and this group of Commodores have changed the goals and the very idea of what's possible.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department has stripped references to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack from court papers and punished two federal prosecutors who filed the document seeking prison time at sentencing Thursday for a man arrested with guns and ammunition near former President Barack Obama's home.

NEW YORK (AP) — Hip-hop producer Sean "Diddy" Combs wants a federal appeals court to quickly consider the legality of his conviction on prostitution-related charges and his more than four-year prison sentence.

His lawyers filed papers with the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday, asking that oral arguments in his appeal occur in April.

BOSTON (AP) — A federal judge in Boston on Thursday challenged the Trump administration's argument that SNAP benefits could be suspended for the first time in the food aid program's history because of the government shutdown.

During a hearing over a request by 25 Democratic-led states to keep the funding flowing, U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani told lawyers that if the government can't afford to cover the program, there's a process to follow rather than simply suspending all benefits. "The steps involve finding an equitable way of reducing benefits," said Talwani, who was nominated to the court by former President Barack Obama.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — American farmers welcomed China's promise to buy some of their soybeans, but they cautioned this won't solve all their problems as they continue to deal with soaring prices for fertilizer, tractors, repair parts and seeds.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The government shutdown is exacting a heavy mental toll on the nation's military families, leaving them not knowing from week to week whether their paychecks will arrive.

Alicia Blevins, whose husband is a Marine, said she's going to see a therapist in large part because of the grinding uncertainty.

MILAN (AP) — Stellantis' shares dropped 10% on Thursday after the world's fourth-largest carmaker posted modest third-quarter gains and warned about possible future charges.

The Italian-French-U.S. carmaker that makes Jeep, Fiat and Peugeot vehicles reported a 13% increase in net revenues in the three months ending in September to 37.2 billion euros ($43.2 billion), ending seven quarters of decline on strong North American results as the carmaker showed the first signs of a turnaround under the new CEO.

BUSAN, South Korea (AP) — Three-digit tariffs are off the table, but import duties on each other are higher than in January.

Rare earth materials will flow more smoothly, but China has put in place an export permitting regime that it can tighten or loosen as needed.

The market for obesity and diabetes treatments remains scorching hot, funneling billions in sales to Eli Lilly and fueling a bidding war over another drugmaker.

Lilly said Thursday that its top-selling drugs, Mounjaro and Zepbound, brought in more than $10 billion combined during the recently completed third quarter. That made up over half of the drugmaker's $17.6 billion in total sales.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration's increasing efforts to exclude Democrats from national security briefings could endanger troops and keep important information from the public, the top Democrat on the Senate intelligence committee warned Thursday.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate passed a resolution Thursday that would undo many of President Donald Trump's tariffs around the globe, the latest note of displeasure at his trade tactics in Washington that came just as the president celebrated his negotiations with China as a success.

BUSAN, South Korea (AP) — President Donald Trump appeared to suggest the U.S. will resume testing nuclear weapons for the first time in three decades, saying it would be on an "equal basis" with Russia and China.

The Kremlin pointed out that a global ban on nuclear tests has remained in place, but warned that if any country resumes nuclear testing Russia would follow suit.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is restricting the number of refugees admitted annually to the United States to 7,500 and they will mostly be white South Africans, a dramatic drop announced Thursday that effectively suspends America's traditional role as a haven for those fleeing war and persecution.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Two prominent Republicans on Capitol Hill want the Supreme Court to allow a lawsuit to proceed against tech giant Cisco over allegations that the company's technology was used to persecute members of the Falun Gong religious sect in China.

NEW YORK (AP) — A Senate hearing for President Donald Trump's surgeon general pick, Dr. Casey Means, has been postponed because she went into labor, a spokesperson for the Senate health committee said Thursday.

The news came just hours before the 38-year-old Means, who has been pregnant with her first child, was set to appear virtually with the committee for her confirmation hearing. It was not immediately clear when the hearing would be rescheduled.