News - Friday, December 27, 2024

A Chattanooga homebuilder is ringing in 2025 with a resolution to create affordable living choices for today and tomorrow.

When the founders of RP Homes launched their company in 2018, they focused on meeting the demands of a market that was hungry for single-family homes.

As we flip the calendar from 2024 to 2025, the Chattanooga Bar Association (CBA) is seeking nominations for the next recipient of its Ralph H. Kelley Humanitarian Award.

The CBA presents its humanitarian award to a member of the legal profession who, in the opinion of its board of governors, has excelled in community service.

The Chattanooga chapter of the Federal Bar Association has presented Miller & Martin litigation attorney Randy Wilson with its 2024 Judge Bill Carter Civility Award, the title of which could suggest that Wilson is a nice guy.

But the federal bar’s accolade is no nice guy – or nice gal – award. Rather, it goes above and beyond an attorney’s disposition to recognize federal court practitioners who “do the job the right way.”

By Herald staff

Class is back in session for three Chattanooga attorneys who will represent the Scenic City in an annual statewide leadership preparation program.

April Holland, Brittany Faith and John Jolley will join 32 other law practitioners as members of the Tennessee Bar Association’s 2025 Leadership Law class.

Chambliss, Bahner & Stophel has added Alyssa Mediate to serve as client development manager.

Mediate will work under the umbrella of the firm’s marketing and business development department.

She will work with Chambliss’ executive leadership and practice groups to develop and implement strategies that advance the firm’s business objectives, states the firm in a news release.

Preschoolers at Primrose School of Hixson are serving as Santa’s little helpers this holiday season as they support their food insecure neighbors.

These 3- and 4-year-olds donated 698 canned goods to Scrappy’s Cupboard, which addresses food insecurity at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

The National Park City Foundation said, “Tell us your story.” Chattanooga did just that.

Chattanooga has submitted a narrative-based “journey book” to the NPCF as part of its bid to become North America’s first National Park City.

After 35 years with the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office, Deputy Chief of Corrections Shaun Shepherd is calling it a day, hanging up his hat and packing it in.

In other words, Shepherd is retiring.

Sheriff Austin Garrett, members of the HCSO, elected officials, law enforcement colleagues and community members from throughout Southeast Tennessee gathered Dec. 18 to recognize Shepherd’s retirement.

Imagine a world where Realtors have never existed.

The buying and selling of homes would look very different, as the processes would be complicated, expensive and downright overwhelming.

The Utah Central Association of Realtors recently released a creative and thought-provoking video that reimagines the classic 1946 film “It’s a Wonderful Life” with a real estate twist. Their version, titled “It’s a REALTOR Life,” follows a seller named George who believes he can save time and money by going through the selling process without a Realtor.

With inflation squeezing budgets, side hustles are no longer optional but essential. Side gigs help Americans bridge income gaps, tackle rising costs and regain control over their finances.

Newsweek mapped Google Trends data compiled by web host Hostinger to illustrate which states’ residents made the most searches for side hustles and reveal the most popular side gigs in the U.S.

As rampant layoffs across industries concern many American workers, a recent ResumeTemplates.com survey reveals another potentially significant workforce shift. More than half (56%) of survey respondents admit they’re already searching for a new job or plan to start hunting in the coming year.

On the surface, ETFs – exchange-traded funds – managed by competing firms that track the same underlying index appear to deliver a standardized product. A new report that looks under the hood suggests otherwise.

In a 2024 Dimensional Fund Advisors report, the average annual return difference among four U.S. total market indexes over the past 20 years ranged from 0.2% to 3.2%, with an average spread of 1%.

The officials at Second Harvest Food Bank of East Tennessee had a hard time convincing Jahmai Mashack that he should be publicly recognized for the work he did with the nonprofit. It was only after the Tennessee senior guard learned it would likely help even more people that he agreed to promote how much he gave back.

Bad teams find ways to lose.

Sometimes it’s embarrassing. Sometimes it’s heartbreaking. But one of the main reasons for the Tennessee Titans’ struggles this season stem from leadership – or maybe the lack thereof.

Most good teams around the NFL have a strong identity, an established culture and locker room leadership that polices everything enough that if a team is good enough, the coaching staff doesn’t really have to concern itself with that aspect of the game.

Jeffery Simmons still has times when his emotions get the better of him. On Sunday, he got a 15-yard penalty that helped aid a Colts scoring drive when he slammed a blocker to the ground.

It’s not the type of play that one wants to see from a team leader. That said, Simmons’ frustration is understandable to a certain point, as he remembers the good old days when the Titans won games and made it to the postseason.

A recent spate of injuries to Predators defensemen sidelined three of the team’s top four blueliners. While not an ideal scenario for any team, the struggling Predators rely on their top four defensemen to provide offense as well as defense, so this really wasn’t an ideal scenario.

Players with more than 1,000 NHL games on their resume aren’t often known for setting milestone numbers that far into their careers, but Predators defenseman Luke Schenn did just that in Nashville’s Dec. 17 game against the New York Rangers.

Full-size trucks are hugely popular thanks to their ability to get tough jobs done. This characteristic equally applies to those times when paved roads end and off-road hardware becomes essential to getting to your given destination. The automotive experts at Edmunds have compiled four full-size light-duty pickups that won’t wilt over rough landscapes.

BANGKOK (AP) — European and Asian shares were mixed Friday in thin year-end trading, with European markets moving in narrow ranges as they reopened after Christmas holidays.

Germany's DAX edged 0.1% higher to 19,863.29, while the CAC 40 in Paris was up 0.4% at 7,308.99. Britain's FTSE 100 inched 0.1% lower, to 8,147.00.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Most Americans believe health insurance profits and coverage denials share responsibility for the killing of UnitedHealthcare's CEO — although not as much as the person who pulled the trigger, according to a new poll.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — North Korean troops are suffering heavy losses in the fighting in Russia's Kursk region and facing logistical difficulties as a result of Ukrainian attacks, Ukraine's military intelligence said Thursday.

The intelligence agency, known under its acronym GUR, said Ukrainian strikes near Novoivanovka inflicted heavy casualties on North Korean units. It said North Korean troops also faced supply issues and even shortages of drinking water.

KNOXVILLE (AP) — Tennessee running back Dylan Sampson is heading to the NFL draft after leading the Southeastern Conference in rushing and setting a handful of school records.

The SEC Offensive Player of the Year announced on social media his intention Friday to leave after his junior season. He helped the seventh-ranked Vols go 10-3 with a first-round loss in the College Football Playoff where Sampson was limited by an injured hamstring.

NASHVILLE (AP) — More than 2 years after Tennessee abruptly halted the execution of inmate Oscar Smith — admitting that correction officials were not following their own execution protocols — the state has announced a new method that could allow it to resume executions halted since May 2022. But that won't happen right away.

MEMPHIS (AP) — Taylor Cagnacci moved from California to Tennessee with hopes of starting a new chapter in a state that touts a low cost of living and natural beauty.

But she's infuriated by Tennessee's meager social services, which leave her and many other moms struggling in a state where abortion is banned with limited exceptions.

MEMPHIS (AP) — States with restrictive abortion laws generally have more porous safety nets for mothers and young children, according to recent research and an analysis by The Associated Press.

Tennessee is an example of how this plays out. Tennessee residents of childbearing age are more likely to live in maternal care deserts and face overall doctor shortages. Women, infants and children are less likely to be enrolled in a government nutrition program known as WIC. And Tennessee is one of only 10 states that hasn't expanded Medicaid to a greater share of low-income families.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A ninth U.S. telecoms firm has been confirmed to have been hacked as part of a sprawling Chinese espionage campaign that gave officials in Beijing access to private texts and phone conversations of an unknown number of Americans, a top White House official said Friday.

2024 was another banner year for a source of electricity that is better for people's lungs, better for climate change and may be reaching your home when you turn on the lights or turn up the thermostat — large banks of batteries.

This ability to store large amounts of electricity in batteries was essentially nonexistent a decade ago, but the country had about 24 gigawatt-hours operating as of the end of November, up a whopping 71% over the same date in 2023.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — An online spat between factions of Donald Trump's supporters over immigration and the tech industry has thrown internal divisions in his political movement into public display, previewing the fissures and contradictory views his coalition could bring to the White House.

NEW YORK (AP) — As a Democrat who immersed himself in political news during the presidential campaign, Ziad Aunallah has much in common with many Americans since the election. He's tuned out.

"People are mentally exhausted," said Aunallah, 45, of San Diego. "Everyone knows what is coming and we are just taking some time off."

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Whoever ends up coaching the Jacksonville Jaguars next season, receiver Brian Thomas Jr. will be the team's most dynamic rebuilding piece.

Mac Jones threw two touchdown passes, including his fifth in as many games to Thomas, and the Jaguars beat the Tennessee Titans 20-13 in the rain Sunday to sweep the season series for just the fourth time in 30 years.

NASHVILLE (AP) — The Missouri Tigers and Iowa Hawkeyes finally get to make up for a missed opportunity on Monday at the Music City Bowl.

The teams originally were set to play each other here in 2020 when Missouri was hit hard by COVID-19 cases, canceling the game. Iowa got here in 2022 and shut out Kentucky, but this will be Missouri's first trip to the bowl sponsored by TransPerfect.

NEW YORK (AP) — A federal appeals court on Monday upheld a jury's finding in a civil case that Donald Trump sexually abused a columnist in an upscale department store dressing room in the mid-1990s.

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a written opinion upholding the $5 million award that the Manhattan jury granted to E. Jean Carroll for defamation and sexual abuse.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A machinists strike. Another safety problem involving its troubled top-selling airliner. A plunging stock price.

2024 was already a dispiriting year for Boeing, the American aviation giant. But when one of the company's jets crash-landed in South Korea on Sunday, killing all but two of the 181 people on board, it brought to a close an especially unfortunate year for Boeing.

ATLANTA (AP) — Jimmy Carter, the peanut farmer who won the presidency in the wake of the Watergate scandal and Vietnam War, endured humbling defeat after one tumultuous term and then redefined life after the White House as a global humanitarian, has died. He was 100 years old.

PLAINS, Ga. (AP) — Newly married and sworn as a Naval officer, Jimmy Carter left his tiny hometown in 1946 hoping to climb the ranks and see the world.

Less than a decade later, the death of his father and namesake, a merchant farmer and local politician who went by "Mr. Earl," prompted the submariner and his wife, Rosalynn, to return to the rural life of Plains, Georgia, they thought they'd escaped.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Jimmy Carter's memorial journey will end at his house in the tiny town of Plains, Georgia, where he grew up on a peanut farm. That is where his wife, Rosalynn, was laid to rest last year in a burial plot that they chose years ago.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump is endorsing House Speaker Mike Johnson as he prepares to fight to keep his role leading Republicans in Congress.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden said Monday that the United States will send nearly $2.5 billion more in weapons to Ukraine as his administration works quickly to spend all the money it has available to help Kyiv fight off Russia before President-elect Donald Trump takes office.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The players in this year's Army-Navy football game kept up a long tradition, with each side honoring the other's school song when the contest ended. It was an acknowledgment that the future could bring moments when the opponents that day are teammates on deadlier fields.

Tennessee remains No. 1 after a quiet holiday week in the AP Top 25. The Volunteers received 41 first-place votes from a 61-person media panel in The Associated Press men's college basketball poll released Monday. No. 2 Auburn had 20 first-place votes, with Iowa State, Duke and Alabama rounding out the top five.

NASHVILLE (AP) — The Tennessee Titans are living through a repeat of their worst season since the franchise left Texas in 1997.

Only this is much worse.

The 2014 team went 2-14 in Ken Whisenhunt 's first season as head coach.

If these Titans (3-13) lose Sunday against Houston, they would match the most losses in Tennessee thanks to the NFL's move to a 17-game regular season.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Chinese hackers remotely accessed several U.S. Treasury Department workstations and unclassified documents after compromising a third-party software service provider, the agency said Monday.

The department did not provide details on how many workstations had been accessed or what sort of documents the hackers may have obtained, but it said in a letter to lawmakers revealing the breach that "at this time there is no evidence indicating the threat actor has continued access to Treasury information."

JARWENG, South Sudan (AP) — Nobel Prize-winning peacemaker Jimmy Carter spent nearly four decades waging war to eliminate an ancient parasite plaguing the world's poorest people.

WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) — Gabriel Vilardi scored a pair of power-play goals a minute apart in the third period to help the Winnipeg Jets extend their winning streak to four games with a 3-0 victory over the Nashville Predators on Monday night.

Connor Hellebuyck made 22 saves for his fifth shutout of the season and 42nd of his career.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A military appeals court has ruled against Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's effort to throw out the plea deals reached for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two other defendants in the 9/11 attacks, a U.S. official said.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A team of U.S. investigators including representatives from Boeing on Tuesday examined the site of a plane crash that killed 179 people in South Korea while authorities were conducting safety inspections on all Boeing 737-800 aircraft operated by the country's airlines.

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stock markets will remain closed on Jan. 9 in honor of former President Jimmy Carter, continuing a long-held Wall Street tradition in mourning the nation's leaders.

PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — The cars begin lining up early in the morning to be screened by Secret Service agents under white tents near the fence that surrounds President-elect Donald Trump's vast south Florida estate.

Famous figures such as Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Tesla and X owner Elon Musk pop up at breakfasts, luncheons and other social gatherings held daily at the opulent Mar-a-Lago club.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States has imposed sanctions on two groups linked to Iranian and Russian efforts to target American voters with disinformation ahead of this year's election.

Treasury officials announced the sanctions Tuesday, alleging that the two organizations sought to stoke divisions among Americans before November's vote. U.S. intelligence has accused both governments of spreading disinformation, including fake videos, news stories and social media posts, designed to manipulate voters and undermine trust in U.S. elections.