News - Friday, December 5, 2025

Autumn Witt Boyd still remembers the soft crackle of the speakers in Judge Curtis Collier’s chambers – the way they let his clerks follow everything happening in the courtroom down the hall. When the proceedings wrapped and the sounds from the bench faded, she and the other clerks would gather in the library, knowing he was on his way back.

Carrie Stefaniak keeps a scrap of paper taped to the side of her printer, where her eyes land when she looks up from a brief. It holds a line she wrote down during one of the first sentencings she watched after leaving private practice to become U.S. District Judge Curtis Collier’s career law clerk.

When Notre Dame High School senior McKinna Wiles first stepped into the federal courthouse in Chattanooga, she expected to spend her internship doing what she’d seen interns do in movies – fetching coffee, shuffling papers and observing the real work from a distance.

Federal judges are drawn from the ranks of experienced lawyers with diverse personal and professional backgrounds. They bring to the bench their professional training and experience, personal history and lived experiences.

As a result of these experiences, they form certain beliefs and sympathies and develop certain preferences and biases. But, as judges, they must put aside these beliefs, sympathies, preferences and biases if they conflict with their obligation to apply the law fairly and impartially.

For many, this time of year is already packed with travel, school events and holiday prep. But if life has you listing your home this winter, whether for a job move, a growing household or a fresh start, there are smart ways to make the season work in your favor.

Thanks to market swings, evolving tax laws and new technology, it might be a good year to consider tax-loss harvesting – a strategy that can help reduce taxes and improve long-term returns.

What is tax-loss harvesting?

When you sell an investment for less than you paid, you might be able to use that loss to offset gains from other investments, potentially reducing your overall tax bill.

Ole Miss and Tennessee football programs now have one more thing in common, in addition to best-ever quarterbacks with the last name Manning: They’ve both been jilted by Lane Kiffin.

I will argue that Ole Miss is the more seriously aggrieved.

Getting run out of their own stadium by their in-state rival on Senior Day isn’t the way the Tennessee Volunteers wanted to end the regular season.

An inconsistent stretch of SEC play ended with a thud as Tennessee suffered a 45-24 loss to Vanderbilt at Neyland Stadium. Vanderbilt outscored Tennessee 24-3 in the second half to secure the first 10-win season in program history and beat the Vols for the first time since 2018.

If you build it, will they stay home? It’s a possibility, especially if the product continues to be as bad and boring as it was Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Nissan Stadium was half empty Sunday, as a good number of holders of the 54,000 tickets distributed decided they had better things to do than sit through a blustery, 40-degree day and watch the Titans lose for their 11th consecutive time at home. 

Turnovers plagued the 2024 Tennessee Titans. Will Levis’ struggle with interceptions (12 in 12 games) is well-documented, and backup Mason Rudolph’s efforts (9 in 8 games) were no better as the Titans struggled to find three wins a year ago.

After a disappointing 2024-25 season, Predators general manager Barry Trotz looked to improve his team, especially on defense where he emphasized the need to get bigger and stronger. 

Defensemen Nicolas Hague and Nick Perbix were brought in to provide some of that size and strength, with Hague standing 6-foot-6 and Perbix a bit shorter at 6-foot-4.

There are many luxury electric SUVs to choose from, but they are often out of reach financially for most buyers. This is especially true now that the $7,500 federal tax credit has been eliminated. 

But there are some options if you’re working with a modest luxury budget. Two of the most compelling are the Audi Q4 E-tron and Cadillac Optiq.

So much has been given to you. You have a place to sleep, food to eat and clean water to drink. You have friends and family, people who look out for you and folks who know your face. 

You have received much in life, and as you’ll see in the new book, “A Talent for Giving” by John Studzinski, you have much to give.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration has instructed U.S. embassies and consulates around the world to prioritize visa applications from foreigners wishing to visit the United States to either invest in America or attend the 2026 World Cup, 2028 Olympics and other major sporting events.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House is expected to submit plans for its new ballroom to a federal planning commission this month, about three months after construction began, the presidentially appointed head of the panel said Thursday.

"Once plans are submitted, that's really when the role of this commission, and its professional staff, will begin," Will Scharf, chair of the National Capital Planning Commission, said at its monthly meeting.