The Tennessean

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) -- The Environmental Protection Agency is hearing gripes from Tennessee and Alabama officials who feel left out as the agency goes across the country asking if coal ash should be federally regulated as a hazardous material. Those are the two states most affected by the December 2008 spill in East Tennessee that sent a wave of toxic-laden coal ash and sludge into the Emory River and covered 300 acres, damaging homes, burying roads and raising health concerns. Some residents near a garbage landfill in rural west Alabama are not happy about trainloads of the ash being shipped to their neighborhood for disposal.

Downtown will be teeming with people headed to several events tonight, and traffic will likely be jammed on major thoroughfares.

NEW ORLEANS, La. (AP) — A mile-long oil sheen spread Thursday from an offshore petroleum platform burning in the Gulf of Mexico off Lousiana, west of the site of BP's massive spill.

Tennessee and 10 other states will receive $170 million to lead the development of a new standardized testing system, putting the country's public schools one step closer to using a uniform test to measure student learning.

A man held police at bay with a rifle for about two hours Thursday morning in his home after emergency officials were called there to help with a diabetic issue.

A fugitive allegedly linked to a Phoenix, Ariz., shootout that left one police officer dead and two wounded was coaxed out of the bedroom of a suburban Hendersonville home last week by members of the Sumner County Sheriff's Department.

Donelson Christian Academy far exceeded a campaign that started last June to raise $1 million for flood relief to its campus.

NEW ORLEANS — An offshore petroleum platform exploded and was burning Thursday in the Gulf of Mexico about 102 miles south of Vermilion Bay on the central Louisiana coast.

The Convention Center Authority unanimously approved at its meeting today a predevelopment agreement with Omni Hotels to build Nashville's new convention center headquarters hotel.

A position-by-position look at who's on solid footing, who's on the bubble and who's in trouble as final cuts loom.

ROUND ROCK, Texas -- Dell is walking away from a bidding contest with rival Hewlett-Packard for data-storage maker 3Par.

Metro Police are trying to determine the identity and cause of death for a woman whose body was found Wednesday afternoon in South Nashville.

MEMPHIS -- The Memphis Zoo will open a 5,400-square-foot outdoor skating rink this winter.

MIAMI -- Burger King agrees to $3.26 billion private equity buyout by 3G Capital, $24 per share.

LAFAYETTE, Tenn. -- A Macon County family is mourning the loss of a 3-year-old girl who died less than a day after being bitten by a brown recluse spider.

WASHINGTON -- Productivity in the spring fell by the largest amount in nearly four years while labor costs rose, signals that companies may have reached the limits of squeezing more work out of fewer workers.

A wreck on Ellington Parkway that was slowing southbound traffic has been cleared.

SWEETWATER, Tenn. -- Police say two women suspected in the robbery of a bank in Sweetwater have been arrested in Atlanta.

NEW YORK -- Retailers are reporting surprisingly solid gains for August even as unusually hot weather and job worries kept a lid on back-to-school buying.

The musician sets a record for female artists.