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By a two-to-one vote, a federal appeals court in Cincinnati upheld the right of states to ban same-sex marriage, overturning lower court decisions in Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee that found such restrictions to be unconstitutional.

(Reuters) - A federal appeals court on Thursday upheld gay marriage bans in Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee, reversing a recent trend in the federal courts to strike down such bans.

Republicans moved up to a 28-5 advantage in the state Senate with Tuesday's election. In Hamilton County, Senator Bo Watson was unopposed. He received 37,377 votes. Lt. Governor Ron Ramsey (R-Blountville) said, "A great night for Republicans and the cause of conservatism in Tennessee. For the past few years, the Tennessee Senate has been the most Republican east of the Mississippi. After tonight, we join a elite group of Republican super majorities where the majority outnumbers Democrats more than 4 to 1. "These results are decisive proof that, in Tennessee, it matters who governs. I look forward to continuing to...

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Voters have decided to amend Tennessee’s constitution in regards to abortion, according to the AP. The amendment reads: Nothing in this Constitution secures or protects a right to abortion or requires the funding of an abortion. The people retain the right through their elected state representatives and state senators to enact, amend, or repeal statutes regarding abortion, including, but not limited to, circumstances of pregnancy resulting from rape or incest or when necessary to save the life of the mother.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Voters have approved a change to the Tennessee Constitution that would prohibit lawmakers from imposing a state income tax. The last serious attempt to impose a state income tax failed in 2002 amid raucous Capitol protests that included a brick thrown through the window of the governor's office. The public backlash against the proposal led several supporters to retire from office or to lose their re-election campaigns.

(VIDEO-AT-LINK)Liberal MSNBC contributor Jimmy Williams said the “old white people” in the South who vote Republican are “going to die someday” and hopefully usher in a new era of Democratic rule in the region. Host Krystal Ball, a former failed Democratic congressional candidate, asked Williams whether white Southerners should just be written off by the party, but Williams said never, saying that since they are “for people” and Republicans aren’t, they would eventually win the day. “Mitt Romney only won South Carolina with 53 [percent], John McCain with 52,” he said. “That’s a changing South. Those old white people? They’re...

NASHVILLE, TN (WSMV) - A candidate for Tennessee Senate is trying to find out who stole a 100-pound campaign sign. George Thomas is trying to unseat long-time Sen. Thelma Hooper. His campaign sign was placed at the Kwik Sak convenience store on Clarksville Highway after 10 p.m. Monday. "We think this is dirty politics," Thomas said. Less than three hours later, the Thomas camp discovered the sign missing.

NASHVILLE, TN (WSMV) - Issues have been reported at some polling locations in Davidson County on this Election Day. he polling location at the Church of the Redeemer in Oak Hill opened an hour and 10 minutes late because election officials said a church employee left the wrong key for poll workers. Three satellite locations were given as alternatives for the voters who were affected. Some voters were frustrated, while others just shrugged it off.

Nashville's police chief is raising stunning new allegations regarding the U.S. Secret Service, saying local agents once asked his officers to fake a warrant. Even more disturbing, Chief Steve Anderson said he complained to top Secret Service officials in Washington, and they did not seem to care. (snip) In the Nashville case, a Secret Service agent made a frantic call for backup to Nashville police after he and another agent went to the home of a Nashville man, investigating threatening comments on Facebook about the President. The man who posted them had refused to let the agents into his house....

Next Tuesday more is at stake than control of the United States Senate, important as it is. One example is Tennessee’s “Amendment 1,” which is on the ballot and is intended to neutralize a 2000 ruling by the Tennessee Supreme Court. In that 4-1 ruling the Court found, “A woman’s right to terminate her pregnancy is a vital part of the right to privacy guaranteed by the Tennessee Constitution.” As a result, Tennessee now boasts a broader right to abortion than that recognized by Roe v. Wade or the U.S. Constitution. tennessee3The proposed language to be added says, “Nothing in...

As expected, pro-abortion opponents of Amendment 1 continue to draw nearly all their support and funding from the abortion industry itself. Based on disclosures filed through October 25, the 'Vote No' campaign shows just 198 individual donors statewide contributing more than $100 each. In contrast, 16 abortion facilities in Tennessee and across the country contributed a total $3.5 million dollars of $4.0 million reported raised. Additionally, ACLU of Tennessee and New York contributed $200,000. $854,240 Planned Parenthood of Memphis $800,000 Planned Parenthood of the Great Northwest $749,500 Planned Parenthood of Middle and East Tennessee $275,000 Planned Parenthood of Orange &...

Bowie Resource Partners says it has eliminated 150 jobs at the Bowie #2 coal mine near Paonia. ... Last year the shutdown of another mine in the region caused nearly 300 people to lose their jobs. That coal mine is in Somerset. In the release, Bowie says it will provide the 150 laid off workers with 60 days of wages and benefits.

The mother of an eight-year-old wants to know why a Tennessee school teacher gave her child a handout from the Nation of Islam that portrayed the presidents on Mount Rushmore as being racists. Sommer Bauer tells me her son was given The Nation of Islam handout at Harold McCormick Elementary School in Elizabethton. The handout asked “What does it take to be on Mount Rushmore?" The handout then explains that George Washington hailed from Virginia, a “prime breeder of black people.” Of Theodore Roosevelt, it was alleged he called Africans “ape-like.” There were also disparaging remarks made of Thomas Jefferson...

The mother of an eight-year-old wants to know why a Tennessee school teacher gave her child a handout from the Nation of Islam that portrayed the presidents on Mount Rushmore as being racists. Sommer Bauer tells me her son was given The Nation of Islam handout at Harold McCormick Elementary School in Elizabethton. The handout asked “What does it take to be on Mount Rushmore?" The handout then explains that George Washington hailed from Virginia, a “prime breeder of black people.” Of Theodore Roosevelt, it was alleged he called Africans “ape-like.” There were also disparaging remarks made of Thomas Jefferson...

Threatened days before car crash for her reporting on ISIS. The death of an American journalist who worked in the Middle East has come under suspicion because she had claimed days before her death that the Turkish intelligence services had threatened her over her coverage of the siege of the Syrian city of Kobani. Serena Shim, an American citizen of Lebanese origin, was a journalist for Iran’s state-owned Press TV. She was killed in a car crash in the city of Suruc after she reportedly collided with a “heavy vehicle.” She was in a rental car returning from her assignment...

Liberal and conservative groups are mobilizing armies of poll watchers to battle over the enforcement of voter ID laws on Election Day. The Democratic Party has more to lose if turnout is low on Nov. 4. Liberals want to ensure that the young, black and Latino voters who form a key part of the party’s electoral base are not kept from the polls. Conservatives insist that they just want to uphold the integrity of the electoral process by making sure that all votes cast are legitimate. The Democratic National Committee (DNC) has state directors stationed across the country for its...

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The patient at Methodist University Hospital that is being tested for Ebola is in isolation and is in stable condition, resting comfortably. Officials tell us the isolated area is separate from the main hospital on Methodist University Hospital Campus. A Methodist spokesperson also tells us the lab work to be tested has been sent and are waiting on results. Memphis City Mayor A C Wharton released the following statement regarding the situation: I have been briefed by officials of the Shelby County Health Department, the lead agency. I am pleased to hear that out of an abundance...

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A patient in the Mid-South is in isolation and being tested for Ebola at Methodist University Hospital is in stable condition. Officials tell us the isolated area is separate from the main hospital on Methodist University Hospital Campus. Methodist University Hospital released the following statement regarding the patient and the effectiveness of Methodist University employees: Our experts have an alternate primary diagnosis that has been established, but in an abundance of caution, the team is still strictly following Ebola protocols to protect all caregivers and others. We are waiting for a definitive Ebola test result which we...

A Bristol mother is upset after she says her baby was denied a flu vaccination, even though the health department had flu shots on the shelf. When Annie Howard took her 14-month-old son to get his flu shot last week, she ran into what she calls a big problem. "My child is being denied the vaccination outright, denied the vaccination because we have insurance. That baffles me," she says. Howard's physician ran out of the preservative-free vaccination for infants, so she made an appointment at the Sullivan County Health Department. "I called asking them if they have the infant vaccination,...

NASHVILLE - In a just-released TV ad, Republican U.S. Sen Lamar Alexander is again linking Democratic opponent Gordon Ball to President Barack Obama and asks voters to "trust me." The television ad, Alexander's third, features the senator speaking directly to the camera, saying, "These are serious times, and here’s the choice. A vote for my opponent is just one more vote for Barack Obama’s agenda. "Trust me with your vote," Alexander continues. "It could mean a new Senate majority that will stand up to terrorism, secure our borders, and make it easier to find a job. And finally, we’ll begin...