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KNOXVILLE — A clerk at a Sunoco convenience store pulled a gun on a would-be robber Sunday evening, apparently thwarting the crime, according to the Knox County Sheriff’s Office.

The winning bidder will also receive historic photos and documentation of Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow's last stand, when the partners in life and crime were ambushed by law enforcement officers in Louisiana.

Questions raised about attacks that already are happening Al [Sharpton] and Jesse [Jackson] may worry that the acquittal of George Zimmerman will usher in a new era of white-on-black violence in America. After all, the local CBS affiliate is reporting that police officers already are training for violence. “There has been some talk among the officers that we believe that this training has to do with the fact that there might be some type of civil unrest, but we are hoping that that doesn’t happen,” said Javier Ortiz with the Fraternal Order of Police. The affiliate also said in Broward...

The George Zimmerman trial is a TV ratings bonanza. We are told that this is an important trial because… Well, because the liberal ruling class and the race hustlers who work in concert to Balkanize this nation—race, gender, religion, whatever works—tell us that this is a narrative about race relations in America. George Zimmerman is being cast as a post-modern Bull Connor. Forget that Zimmerman is dark-skinned and Hispanic. Ignore the inconvenient fact that Zimmerman mentored young black kids. Forget that it’s Trayvon Martin who was the racist, referring to Zimmerman as a “creepy-ass cracker.” Barack Hussein Obama most helpfully...

The gun glinted in the dark as the man turned toward Anthony Smith and fired. “I saw the gun,” Smith said. “I heard the shot. I didn’t hit the ground. I fired.” The gunman missed, but Smith hit his mark. Knoxville Police Department officers found the body of Justin Pierre Jackson, 30, in a nearby alley less than half an hour later.

WATE: Authorities are investigating after a security guard was fired upon at the Watts Bar Nuclear Power Plant. It happened around 2 a.m. today on the TVA property near the Tennessee River about a quarter mile from the plant's protected area. Officials say the security officer was patrolling the area when he was shot at, he returned fire and was uninjured. The shooting lead the Watts Bar plant staff to declare an unusual event, which is the lowest of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's four emergency classifications. The FBI will also be sending a team. A suspect has not been found.

KNOXVILLE — The FBI has Pilot Flying headquarters on lockdown Monday afternoon.

Three people found asleep in a tent with the corpse of a slain man in a homeless camp are suspects in three killings that occurred in the span of a few hours Tuesday, Knoxville police said Friday...

When Knoxville Police Chief David Rausch announced in late January that the department would no longer use the .40-caliber Glock pistol that officers have carried since 2002, he didn’t mention any problems with the gun. Rausch said the replacement gun, a .45-caliber Sig Sauer, had more stopping power than the .40-calibers. Testing among officers also revealed they were more accurate using the Sig Sauer, he said.

Knoxville, Tenn., known for being the home of Dolly Parton and the Tennessee Valley Authority, was named number one on the American Bible Society's "Most Bible-Minded Cities" list. With research conducted by the Barna Group, the ABS' recently released findings were based off of seven years' worth of telephone and online interviews with a random sample space of 42,855 adults. After Knoxville, the other nine cities on the top ten list in descending order are: Shreveport, La.; Chattanooga, Tenn.; Birmingham, Ala.; Jackson, Miss.; Springfield, Mo.; Charlotte, N.C.; Roanoke and Lynchburg, Va. sharing the number 8 spot; Huntsville, Ala.; and Charleston,...

Four more years! Four more years! Reuters: ******** Retailers moving into old downtown buildings, an abundance of freshly planted greenspaces, and a stream of new jobs in Knoxville, Tennessee, are all signs to Mayor Madeline Rogero that for the last year prosperity has been blooming in her city. "We feel very good about how we're coming out of this recession," Rogero said. "We see new interest. We see new development that's occurring. We're optimistic that this recovery is going to continue." Knoxville is a member of a very small club. Three and a half years since the 2007-09 economic recession...

Longtime Knoxville abortion clinic closes doors A new Tennessee law requiring abortion doctors to have admitting privileges at local hospitals is being blamed for the closure of a longtime Knoxville abortion provider. An executive director of the Abortion Care Network confirmed to The Tennessean (http://tnne.ws/S1m8aL ) that the Volunteer Women's Medical Center closed Friday. The clinic had been operating for 38 years.

State Sen. Doug Overbey, a Maryville lawyer, has pocketed a passel of endorsements in the 2nd District Republican primary. Newspapers, the National Federation of Independent Business and the Tennessee Education Association endorsed Overbey, along with Republican heavyweights Gov. Bill Haslam and, a bit surprisingly, Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey, a tea party favorite. Given his opponent, Overbey needs all the help he can get. Scott Hughes, chief financial officer for a Knoxville church and former pro-life executive, is challenging Overbey at every turn, in every way. Though Overbey maintains an enormous financial advantage, Hughes has loquaciously roughed up Overbey in debates.

KNOXVILLE — A special judge has decided to — again — grant new trials in one of Knoxville’s most high-profile cases, and state prosecutors are responding by asking him to step down from the case. A motion filed late Friday afternoon in Knox County Criminal Court reveals that Special Judge Jon Kerry Blackwood is planning to enter an order granting new trials in the January 2007 torture slayings of Channon Christian, 21, and Christopher Newsom, 23, without holding a hearing and despite a recent state Supreme Court ruling faulting his legal reasoning. Assistant District Attorney General Leland Price, in turn,...

Man Who Fathered 30 Kids Says He Needs A Break—On Child Support [Pic of Father in URL] By Pueng Vongs And you thought Octomom had her hands full—a Tennessee man who has fathered 30 children is asking the courts for a break on child support. Desmond Hatchett, 33, of Knoxville has children with 11 different women, reports WREG-TV. The state already takes half his paycheck and divides it up, which doesn't amount to much when Hatchett is making only minimum wage. Some of the moms receive as little as $1.49 a month. The oldest child is 14 years old. Hatchett...

KNOXVILLE (AP) - The Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals has said that it won't take up an extraordinary appeal involving a lower court's decision to throw out convictions in the murders of a Knoxville couple who was kidnapped and sexually tortured. Friday's split court decision is a setback for Knox County prosecutors who were hoping that they wouldn't be forced to retry cases heard by a judge who is said to have been high on prescription drugs.

KNOXVILLE — A special judge today granted new trials for four defendants in the 2007 torture-slaying cases, agreeing with lawyers that presiding Judge Richard Baumgartner's conduct led to fundamental structural flaws in the prosecutions. Jon Kerry Blackwood, his voice at times rising to a shout, said Baumgartner was obviously intoxicated in 2009 and 2010 while Lemaricus Davidson, Letalvis Cobbins, George Thomas and Vanessa Coleman were being prosecuted.

One judge lied for her, had sex with her and shared painkillers with her. Another sent her to prison Wednesday. Knox County Criminal Court Judge Mary Beth Leibowitz ordered Deena Castleman, 37, to serve six years for a slew of convictions, including aggravated burglary, theft, DUI and possession of prescription painkillers. Castleman racked up all those charges while engaged in a relationship with former Criminal Court Judge Richard Baumgartner that included sex and both pill-procuring for him and pill-using with him, according to portions of a Tennessee Bureau of Investigation probe made public earlier this month. At least one of...

Court of secrecy: How Richard Baumgartner, a drug-addicted judge, stayed on the bench despite warningsIt was a Thursday night in January 2010 when the phone rang at the Andersonville home of then-Knox County Sheriff's Office courtroom security officer Meredith Driskell. "He said, 'I'm coming to get those pills.' He told me to put them in a brown paper bag. I told him no ... but he told me I was going to," she recalled when contacted by the News Sentinel. "So, I put them in a brown paper bag and handed it to him, my husband, who hadn't been in...

KNOXVILLE — A Tennessee judge was so addicted to prescription drugs during his final two years on the bench, he was having sex and buying pills during courtroom breaks, at times purchasing from convicts he had previously sentenced, an investigation found. His behavior has called into question many of the cases he presided over, including one of Knoxville's most notorious murders. Many people didn't realize Criminal Court Judge Richard Baumgartner had a problem until he stepped down from the bench and pleaded guilty in March 2011 to a single count of official misconduct. It would be another eight months before...