Story courtesy of WVLT: KNOXVILLE, TN (WVLT) – Private schools have prepared for Gov. Bill Lee’s new school voucher program with nearly 40,000 families looking to cash in on the scholarships. This coming school year, only 20,000 students will be granted scholarships from the program. State numbers show 244 private schools have opted-in to allow…… MORE
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) introduced the Free Americans from Ideological Reporting (FAIR) Act to stop federal taxpayer dollars from being sent to National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) after years of left-wing politically biased reporting under the guise of public broadcasting. Senator Blackburn has long pushed to ensure taxpayers are not…… MORE
A multi-county police chase ends with three people arrested. The Knox County Sheriff’s Office says deputies tried to pull over a car on Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard last night (Wednesday), but it didn’t stop and sped onto I-40 East leading deputies on a chase from Knox County, through Sevier County and into Jefferson County.…… MORE
Ahead of a first vote by the Knoxville City Council on Mayor Indya Kincannon’s proposed sales tax increase, Kincannon released a breakdown of what that added money will support. The proposal is for a half-percent increase to the Local Option Sales Tax. This tax allows local municipalities, like cities, to charge their own sales tax…… MORE
Knoxville, TN (WOKI) Two former West High School football coaches are moving through the court system after being accused of sex crimes. Chad Brooks was scheduled for arraignment Wednesday, June 4 but that was rescheduled to June 16. He is charged with multiple counts of aggravated statutory rape and statutory rape by an authority figure.…… MORE
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has put out a new missing person flyer out for Sebastian Rodgers. He’s the teen who vanished more than a year ago in Sumner County, in Middle Tennessee. TBI say the missing 15-year-old has autism. He was last seen at his Hendersonville home in February of 2024. A $50,000 reward…… MORE
Knoxville, TN (WOKI) Knox County announced Tuesday that its “Park & Play” program will be visiting parks across the county this summer, beginning on Thursday. The pop-up program offers a wide range of fun and activities, including board games, scavenger hunts, arts and crafts, group games and athletic demonstrations. “It’s a simple, fun way to…… MORE
Morristown, TN (WOKI) Hamblen County is getting ready to open their new jail this summer. At the current Hamblen County Jail, Sheriff Chad Mullins says they’ve dealt with overcrowding issues for years. At times, they’ll have as many as 400 inmates at a building that only holds about 250 beds so fighting happens every day…… MORE
Nashville, TN (WOKI) Though kids in Tennessee have just begun to enjoy being out of school for the summer, you may want to plan now for back-to-school shopping. That’s because the State of Tennessee has announced its popular tax-free weekend where you can secure back-to-school essentials such as clothing, school supplies, and certain electronics, tax-free.…… MORE
Philadelphia, TN (WOKI) UPDATE: The National Weather Service confirming that a tornado touched down Friday morning in Loudon County. NWS officials say the storm, which blew through the Philadelphia area near Holt Road at Stockton Valley Road, involved an EF-0 tornado, two miles long and 200 yards wide. Officials report five people were injured during…… MORE
