Updated: 5:02 PM The state House has passed a watered down version of a bill that originally would have lifted a ban switchblades and knives with blades longer than 4 inches.

Posted: 11:03 AM The U.S. immigration system would undergo dramatic changes under a bipartisan Senate bill that puts a new focus on prospective immigrants' merit and employment potential.

Posted: 10:59 AM Obama's 2014 budget proposal calls for a strategic review of the TVA, the nation's largest public utility with 9 million customers in seven states from Virginia to Mississippi.

Posted: 10:56 AM However, he says his administration does not believe Pyongyang has the capacity to put a nuclear warhead on a ballistic missile. His says his conclusion is based on current intelligence estimates.

Posted: 6:08 AM State Sen. Jim Tracy has raised more than four times as much as the embattled congressional incumbent he's challenging in the Republican primary next year.

Posted: 5:42 AM The proposal sponsored by Republican Rep. Curry Todd of Collierville was overwhelmingly approved 70-24 on Monday evening. The companion bill was also scheduled to be taken up by the full Senate.

Posted: 5:31 AM Republican opposition is growing to a bipartisan Senate plan for expanding background checks for firearms buyers, enough to put the proposal's fate in jeopardy.

Posted: 1:46 PM An effort to require whistleblowers to quickly submit damning evidence of animal abuse to law enforcement has hit a snag in the state Senate over questions about the true intentions of the bill.

Posted: 1:41 PM The measure maintains a requirement for public notices to be published in the print editions of newspapers. It would also create a statewide online clearinghouse for all notices.

Posted: 1:32 PM As Department of Finance and Administration commissioner, the 60-year-old Emkes has been responsible for budget matters and managing the state's day-to-day finances.

Posted: 8:10 AM As Congress readies for a drawn-out immigration debate, an expanding network of Republican fundraisers is pressing for a path to legal status for millions of immigrants living in the United States illegally.

Posted: 8:07 AM U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will stop in Chicago on Monday to visit the parents of the young U.S. diplomat who was killed while delivering textbooks in southern Afghanistan earlier this month.

Updated: 8:06 AM A bipartisan group of senators is almost ready to share with colleagues and voters an immigration overhaul crafted over several months.

Posted: 7:43 AM With the Senate set to begin debate on gun control legislation this week, a proposal to expand background checks for gun buyers picked up some key Republican support over the weekend.

Posted: 7:00 AM DNA may be the building block of life, but can something taken from it also be the building block of a multimillion-dollar medical monopoly?

Posted: 5:29 AM One measure would create a state panel to authorize charter schools for five Tennessee counties and the other seeks to clear the way for cities to begin forming municipal school systems.

Posted: 2:09 PM President Barack Obama's latest plan to raise monthly Medicare premiums for upper-income retirees would significantly expand the number who would be expected to pay more.

Posted: 6:14 AM The chamber voted 91-0 on Thursday in favor of the bill sponsored by Republican Rep. James "Micah" Van Huss of Jonesborough, himself a former Marine with experience piloting drones.

Posted: 5:53 AM U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander has raised more than $1 million for his 2014 re-election campaign in the first quarter of the year.

Posted: 12:49 PM The House has approved Republican Gov. Bill Haslam's bill to change the way the state considers injured workers' claims after defeating several attempts by Democrats to dial back the proposal.

Posted: 10:56 AM It sounds like a mismatch: An illustrious Republican president's son supporting a Democrat-turned-independent, ex-Obama administration official in his quest to run for New York City mayor on the GOP line.

Posted: 10:44 AM The Senate is ready to launch an emotion-charged debate on new gun restrictions, four months after the carnage at a Connecticut elementary school spurred Congress to address firearms violence.

Posted: 10:41 AM Advocates for seniors say President Barack Obama is breaking his promise to protect Social Security, while conservatives say he is breaking his promise not to raise taxes on the middle class.

Posted: 10:36 AM Hagel and Dempsey were to testify Thursday before the House Armed Services Committee on Obama's 2014 defense budget, a day after Obama unveiled the $526.6 billion proposal

Posted: 10:35 AM It turns out that the costs of the Affordable Care Act — Obamacare to its unyielding Republican foes— are sprinkled here and there through hundreds of pages of budget books.