Wednesday, January 15, 2025

Good Morning! On this day in 1951, the East Tennessee Tuberculosis Hospital and Field Service in Knoxville opened.

Did you hear that Nashville’s Carrie Underwood is singing at the presidential inauguration? The news is featured in today’s Et Cetera section.

If you have outrageous medical bills that are confusing or have been denied a claim, it helps to have someone in your corner to advocate for you. That is what today's sponsor, Healthlock, is here for.

Lawmakers Propose School Cell Phone Ban

State Senator Todd Gardenhire and State Representative Dan Howell have introduced a bill to ban cell phones, tablets, and other electronic devices in classrooms, citing student distraction and declining grades.

The proposed legislation sets different rules based on grade levels. Students through eighth grade would be required to keep devices off all day, while high school students would only need to keep them off during instructional time.

Exceptions would be made for lessons requiring the use of electronic devices with teacher approval.

If passed, the bill would take effect at the start of the 2025-26 school year.

$352M for Interstate Repairs After Helene

The Department of Transportation announced on Monday the release of $352.6 million in Emergency Relief funds for Tennessee and North Carolina to address extensive damages caused by Hurricane Helene.

According to a statement, the funding will support long-term recovery efforts in East Tennessee and western North Carolina communities affected by flooding from the September 2024 hurricane.

A total of $70 million will focus on repairs to I-40 and I-26 in Tennessee, two major interstate highways damaged during the storm.

This announcement follows an earlier allocation of $167 million for recovery efforts. Damage estimates eligible for federal aid are still being finalized but are projected to exceed $4 billion.

Resident Faces Court Over Halloween Decor

A Germantown resident who blended Halloween decorations into her Christmas display has been summoned to court by the city.

Alexis Luttrell had placed a skeleton and a skeleton dog in her yard in October, later dressing them up for the holiday season. In December, she received a notice indicating that her decorations violated city regulations.

The city ordinance prohibits displaying decorations more than 45 days before or 30 days after a holiday.

Luttrell argues the definition of Christmas decorations is subjective. She is due in court Feb. 13.

Flying together with our sponsor

Medical Claim Denials and Overbilling Cost Americans $325 Billion Every Year — Here's How You Can Make Sure You're Not Overpaying

Can you really trust your medical bills? We would all like to think our doctor is doing a good job — and charging us fairly for it.

But recent statistics have revealed that more than 50% of all medical bills contain an error… which contributes to wasting consumers over $325 billion every year!

However, that has all changed thanks to HealthLock — a service designed to protect Americans from the expensive, potentially life-changing mistakes and fraud that are flooding our chaotic medical system.

HealthLock has existed as a private service for high-net-worth individuals for over a decade. After optimizing their technology, they recently opened their doors to the public — and now Americans across the country can finally take advantage of the advanced protection and peace of mind they offer.

➤ Gatlinburg: Cades Cove in Smoky Mountain National Park will be closed to visitors from Jan. 20-24 while the National Park Service removes “hazard trees.” (More)

➤ Knoxville: An Amazon Prime van crashed into an outbuilding belonging to Christian Fellowship Church on Sunday. (See Photo)

➤ Chattanooga: A Chattanooga Preparatory School student arrested in September 2024 for allegedly making a school threat has filed a federal lawsuit in his defense. (More)

➤ Rutherford County: The board of education removed more books from school libraries after a Jan. 9 meeting. (More)

➤ Nashville: Local non-profit Beacon Rescue is sending volunteers to help on the frontlines of California’s wildfires. (Watch Video)

➤ Memphis: City police officer Charles H. Cathey was found dead on North Main Street near City Hall on Monday after medical complications. (More)

➤ The University of Tennessee men’s basketball team lost its No. 1 spot in the Associated Press poll to Auburn, falling to No. 6 after its first loss last week to Florida. (More)

➤ Memphis moved up to No. 18 in the Associated Press men’s basketball poll after defeating East Carolina University. (More)

➤ The Tennessee Lady Volunteers host their annual “We Back Pat” game on Thursday against Mississippi State as part of a nationwide effort to raise awareness and funds for Alzheimer’s disease research and treatment. (More)

Flying together with our sponsor

➤ Impress your dinner guests with the Wine Wand. The Wand purifies any wine in minutes. Finally, enjoy wine without the nasty side effects, plus it makes a great stocking stuffer. (See It Here)

➤ The Greater Memphis Chamber secured a $12 billion investment for xAI’s Gigafactory of Compute. (More)

➤ Nashville’s Opry Entertainment announced that it has acquired a majority interest in Southern Entertainment, a live events, hospitality, and production company based in Charlotte, North Carolina. (More)

➤ Jelly Roll’s new Goodnight Bar on Broadway in Nashville is expected to open this week. The musical artist is scheduled to perform at the location on Feb. 20. (More)

Flying together with our sponsor

➤ Clear Your Mind… Fall Asleep 2.5x Faster! Dodow is a light metronome scientifically designed to block out overactive thought patterns and quickly lull you into a deep peaceful sleep. Over 1 million former insomniacs now sleep peacefully with Dodow—are you next?

Flying together with our sponsor

What Does HealthLock Do?

HealthLock helps you fight back against the chaos in our medical system. It’s designed to give you peace of mind about your medical billing and private information, and it’s been highly successful so far.

Here are just a few of the reasons why so many people are signing up for HealthLock:

Automatic Claim Review
Bill Negotiation & Fighting Denials
Privacy Protection
Fraud Remediation
Easy Dashboard

HealthLock Is A Must-Have For Families & Anyone Who Regularly Pays Medical Bills!

➤ Tennessee ranks eighth in the nation for the largest 10-year increase in home prices, according to a new report. (More)

➤ Nashville’s Carrie Underwood will perform at President-elect Donald Trump’s second inauguration, singing America the Beautiful. (More)

➤ The Nashville Zoo posted photos of some of its animals enjoying the recent snow day, including adorable photos of red panda Mei Lee. (See Photos)

Flying together with our sponsor

➤ Naturally Improve Your Breathing. AirPhysio is a patented, award-winning device that uses Oscillating Positive Expiratory Pressure (OPEP) to naturally improve your breathing. After using AirPhysio once, you’ll see why 250,000+ people describe it as “life-changing”. (See It Here)