News - Friday, May 8, 2026

In a courtroom or conference room, the work often begins the same way. Someone speaks first – an attorney outlining a position, a family member describing a dispute or a client trying to explain what brought them there.

Others follow, sometimes circling the same ground, sometimes approaching the issue from different directions. The details can be technical, emotional or both. The stakes are rarely small.

The selection of Robin Miller as clerk and master in 2014 was the easy part. There were several qualified applicants. After interviewing each, Chancellor Frank Brown, newly elected Chancellor Pam Fleenor and I considered, reflected and gave deep thought to the issue – for at least three minutes – before making our choice.

When Robin Miller took over as Hamilton County’s clerk and master in 2014, her predecessor, S. Lee Akers, told her she’d be able to take the office to a new level.

Robin took this guidance to heart – and has done just that.

By David Laprad

Cars stack at the light. Pedestrians move between shops. At the intersection of Frazier Avenue and North Market Street, Paula Muina stands in the middle of it all, holding a sign with a simple message:

“I ♥ U fellow American.”

In the first installment of this two-part series, we covered the headline that matters most: Buyer and seller profiles are changing in measurable ways.

A Realtor News article by Melissa Dittmann Tracey, published April 15, summarizes insights from the National Association of Realtors 2026 Home Buyers and Sellers Generational Trends report, including historic markers on first-time buyers, repeat buyers and sellers.

The Hamilton County Health & Social Services Division will eliminate 13 positions and close two programs as part of a budget and efficiency review, officials announced.

Employees were notified May 4 that their positions will be cut effective June 30. Two additional vacant roles will also be eliminated. No further staff reductions are planned, according to the county.

Baker Donelson has elected 16 new shareholders across the firm, including Chattanooga attorneys Ashley Baxter Gibson and Erin Gomez.

Gibson, a member of the firm’s Complex Litigation and Class Action Practice Group, has more than a decade of experience as a nationwide litigator and trial lawyer. She recently secured a complete defense verdict in a case with $100 million in potential exposure.

Reflection Riding Arboretum & Nature Center will host its annual Brunch & Blooms, a cocktail brunch in support of its conservation efforts, May 9, 11 a.m.-1 p.m., at its campus, 400 Garden Road. The event will include live music from Alva Leigh and self-guided exploration of the gardens and grounds. Proceeds will benefit the organization’s Native Plant Nursery and the P. Robert Philp Memorial Garden, advancing its mission of promoting native biodiversity and environmental stewardship throughout the region. Tickets: reflectionriding.org/events/brunch-and-blooms-2026.

If you’re a local business owner, a workplace retirement plan can help you manage taxes, strengthen employee retention and build personal financial security. 

Many in your situation, however, assume retirement plans are complicated or only suitable for large companies. The reality is quite different. Today’s retirement plan options encompass businesses of every size, from solo entrepreneurs to companies with dozens of employees.

The Chattanooga Symphony & Opera is preparing to launch its 2026-27 season with an ambitious slate of performances that blend classical masterworks, contemporary voices and community-centered programming. It’s part of a broader three-year artistic vision that traces the arc of past, present and future.

The finish line is in the distance.

It’s not so far that you can’t see it and, for months, you’ve planned for the moment you’d get there. You wanted it so much you could feel it. And you’ll make it because, as in the new book, “Selling Opportunity” by Mary Lisa Gavenas, you’re willing to do whatever it takes.

Anyone attending events near Neyland Stadium at the University of Tennessee over the next year can expect some significant changes. A major parking garage is being razed, and new traffic patterns will be implemented.

As part of the Neyland Entertainment District project, UT will begin demolishing two-thirds of the G10 parking garage this summer after the board of trustees and State Building Commission give their final approval Monday.

The Ford Mustang and Dodge Charger have been rivals since the 1960s, but modern versions take distinct approaches to the muscle car formula. 

Today’s Mustang leans into sports car territory, with sharp reflexes and the track-tuned Dark Horse model. The Charger is more pragmatic, debuting as an EV under the Daytona moniker in 2024, and now available with a turbocharged six-cylinder in the R/T and Scat Pack. 

NASHVILLE (AP) — Republican lawmakers in Tennessee forged ahead with a plan Thursday that could carve up a majority-Black congressional district, reshaping it to the GOP's advantage as part of President Donald Trump's strategy to try to hold on to a slim House majority in the November midterm elections.

MADRID (AP) — More than two dozen people from at least 12 different countries left a cruise ship hit by a deadly hantavirus outbreak without contact tracing nearly two weeks after the first passenger died on board, the ship's operator and Dutch officials said Thursday.

WASHINGTON (AP) — In one of his first major announcements as health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. called a news conference to unveil a plan to "phase out" synthetic food dyes.

Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary opened the event by saying his agency was "removing all petroleum-based food dyes" from U.S. foods. But the specifics did not become clear until the final minutes, when Kennedy revealed that the government had "an understanding" with foodmakers to voluntarily stop using the chemicals. A "national standard and timeline" for completing the process would soon follow, according to an FDA statement.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran has created a government agency to vet and tax vessels seeking passage through the crucial Strait of Hormuz, a shipping data company reported Thursday, as Tehran said it was reviewing the latest U.S. proposals for ending the war.

BEIJING (AP) — China again signaled that Taiwan would be a priority topic ahead of a highly anticipated summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping next week, saying that U.S. must adhere to the "one China principle" for a stable relationship with Beijing.

NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed a new U.S. House map into law Thursday that carves up a majority-Black district in Memphis, reshaping it to the GOP's advantage as part of President Donald Trump's strategy to hold on to a slim majority in the November midterm elections.

BOULDER, Colo. (AP) — A man was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole after pleading guilty Thursday to killing one person and injuring a dozen others in a 2025 firebombing attack on a demonstration in Boulder, Colorado, in support of Israeli hostages in Gaza.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former FBI Director James Comey on Thursday asked to cancel his upcoming court appearance in North Carolina, saying it was unnecessary because he already surrendered in Virginia and gone before a judge for allegedly threatening President Donald Trump. The Department of Justice is supporting the request.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — As concerns mount over artificial intelligence and its rapid integration into society, tech companies are increasingly turning to faith leaders for guidance on how to shape the technology — a surprising about-face on Silicon Valley's longstanding skepticism of organized religion.

The Pentagon is holding up the development of more than 250 new onshore wind farms on private lands by failing to complete its national security reviews, according to an industry group.

The Pentagon evaluates wind energy projects during the Federal Aviation Administration review process. But in recent weeks, it has stopped sending any projects back to the FAA, grinding the process to a halt, the American Clean Power industry association said.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Global warming extinctions usually have people picturing the last polar bears or other furry critters disappearing, but the crucial and oft-overlooked world of plants is going to be decimated by climate change. Scientists predict tens of thousands of plant species will disappear by the end of the century.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said in a Thursday social media post that goods from the European Union would face higher tariff rates if the 27-member bloc fails to approve last year's trade framework by July 4.

Trump made the announcement after what he described as a "great call" with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. State Department will begin revoking the U.S. passports of thousands of parents who owe a significant amount of unpaid child support.

The department told The Associated Press on Thursday that the revocations would begin Friday and be focused on those who owe $100,000 or more. That would apply to about 2,700 American passport holders, according to figures supplied to the State Department by the Department of Health and Human Services.

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Republican U.S. Sen. Susan Collins says she has a benign essential tremor, disclosing the longtime health condition for the first time in her decades-long political career as she seeks reelection in one of this year's toughest Senate races.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal court ruled Thursday against the new global tariffs that President Donald Trump imposed after a stinging loss at the Supreme Court.

A split three-judge panel of the Court of International Trade in New York found the 10% global tariffs were illegal after small businesses sued.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge said Thursday that instructions received by immigration enforcement officers to make civil immigrant arrests without warrants do not meet probable cause standards and should not used as guidance.

In continuing a preliminary injunction she issued in December, U.S. District Judge Beryl A. Howell in Washington, D.C., said that "when conducting civil immigration arrests without a warrant in this District, defendants shall not rely on the probable cause standard or analytical approach set forth in the five-page memorandum" from the former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

WASHINGTON (AP) — America's employers a delivered a surprising 115,000 new jobs last month despite an economic shock from the Iran war.

Hiring was better than the 65,000 forecasters had expected, though it decelerated from the 185,000 jobs created in March. The unemployment rate remained at a low 4.3%.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's proposal to put a coat of white paint on the exterior of a 19th-century historic landmark building next to the White House could cost taxpayers at least $7.5 million, a White House official involved in the project said Thursday.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Thursday went on an unannounced trip to the Lincoln Memorial to see the Reflecting Pool after he had it coated in a color he calls "American flag blue."

He did more than just see it — the Republican president was driven across the new coating before he got out of his SUV to make a statement and answer questions from reporters who had been taken there to await his arrival before the sun set.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is conducting a review of the 53 Mexican consulates in the United States, a move that could lead some of them to be closed, a State Department official said Thursday.

No reason was given for the review, which was earlier reported by CBS News, or what it would entail, but it is likely to further inflame tensions between the neighboring countries. The official was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States is not looking at imminent military action against Havana despite President Donald Trump's repeated threats that "Cuba is next" and that American warships deployed in the Middle East for the Iran conflict could return by way of the island, U.S. officials say.