Former Brazilian Francisca Loiola Turner was among the immigrants who swore the oath of American citizenship Friday at the U.S. District Court in Abingdon.

Fewer Pap Smears For Most Woman in their 20’s

Neighborhoods evacuated for about five hours after a front loader pierces a natural gas pipeline.

Environmentalists are closer than ever to halting surface mining projects in Wise County, Va. Surface mining adds up to a third of the area’s coal production, which is the major economic industry.

Visitors of Tennessee’s oldest town will soon get some much-needed relief. Jonesborough leaders say its town’s Main Street will soon have the one thing it has lacked during the last several years; a place for tourists to use the restroom.

Students at Tennessee’s public colleges and universities could be facing a 5 percent tuition increase.

Today marked yet another delay in the case of accused killer Howard Hawk Willis.

Health officials say four people in North Carolina have tested positive for a type of swine flu that’s resistant to the drug Tamiflu.

By the end of next year, dozens of families in Washington County, Tennessee should have fresh, clean water to quench their thirsts. Mayor George Jaynes returned from Nashville Friday with a $500,000 Tennessee Community Development grant. According to Jaynes, Governor Phil Bredesen awarded the county the money to help bring water service to the Bulldog Miller Road section of the county in Telford. People in that section of the county currently get their water from wells that are either dry or contaminated, Jaynes said.

Johnson City leaders are still working on the railroad, hoping to nail down a deal that would turn an old rail line into biking and hiking trails. At Thursday night’s commission meeting, leaders reaffirmed their interest in the old Tweetsie Line.

A Nashville judge has ruled a law that allows handguns in Tennessee bars and restaurants is unconstitutional.

Tennessee State Comptroller Justin Wilson met with state and local politicians in Kingsport, discussing the state’s efforts to avoid fraud with its Federal stimulus money.

East Tennessee State University takes a step further in promoting its Bluegrass, Old Time, and Country Music program as a national and international academic hub.

The building used to be the largest department store in a 175-mile radius.

Judge says billboard magnate Bill Roop didn’t get enough qualified procedures or sign the petition under oath

His son and co-defendant, William Lee Anderson III, pleaded guilty Wednesday for his role in the crime, agreeing to serve more than two years behind bars.

Elizabethton Police said a car driving eastbound on Highway 67 crossed the median, and crashed into a car driving westbound.  Three people involved were transported to the hospital.

A business park in Southwest Virginia is getting a $5.6 million grant from the state for improvements, including improving access roads and installing additional
utilities.

Check out some of this morning’s top stories on 11 Connects at 5 a.m. and 6 a.m. by clicking on the video link.

A food distribution at Anderson Street United Methodist Church on a rainy Thursday morning drew 78 households representing 225 people, some lining up hours before the supplies were scheduled to be passed out.

Kevin Hamed, a professor at Virginia Highlands Community College has received a prestigious award as Virginia Professor of the Year.

The Sullivan County Republican Party’s Executive Committee unanimously voted Thursday to hold a May 4, 2010, primary for all 24 seats on the commission and the offices of county mayor, county clerk, county trustee, register of deeds, highway commissioner, county attorney, sheriff and circuit court clerk.

The 16,417 customers of Bristol Virginia Utilities got an early holiday present Thursday when the power company announced that December electric bills will be 18 percent lower than they were a year ago.

The Kingsport-Sullivan County GED Program’s fund to help students pay for test fees is now down to $400 as more and more people who can’t afford the test fee are taking the program’s classes.

Three months after the Bristol Herald Courier reported on improperly completed disclosure forms filed by the Russell County Board of Supervisors, new forms have been finished and county officials are promising to do better.

City Councilman David Shumaker said Thursday he resigned from the Bristol Chamber of Commerce because of unease over its political activity – including opposition to health-care reform – but he strongly denied allegations in an anonymous flier that he angrily confronted Chamber President Lisa Meadows during a recent meeting.

Animal Control is seeking help in tracking down a tiny black dog that escaped from its owner at the Old Airport Road Bojangles near Exit 7 of Interstate 81.

We have new information into the death of an area high school football player.

Rape allegations landed a county employee behind bars.

Environmentalists cheer for progress made with blocking surface mining permits, but coal companies and local officials are nervous for what may may be the beginning of the end for the industry, and SW Virginia’s economy.