S&P Downgrades Nation's Largest Government-Owned Utility

(CHATTANOOGA, Tenn.) -- Amid economic concern in Washington and a fractured U.S. credit rating, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services has dropped the long-term rating for the Tennessee Valley Authority to AA plus.

Following S&P's downgrade of the United States' top-level credit rating, the company followed suit by dropping the TVA's credit rating down a notch with a negative outlook.

It is the first time the utility company has experienced a credit downgrade since it began issuing bonds in the 1960s, according to the Chattanooga Free Times Press.

“TVA’s top credit rating has been reaffirmed by one agency, unchanged by another and downgraded one notch to AA plus by the third major agency,” John Thomas, the chief financial officer for the Tennessee Valley Authority, told the Press. “Investors continue to seek the relative safety of U.S. Treasury and TVA investments, and the downgrade by one rating agency is not expected to have a material impact.”

The TVA is the largest government-owned utility agency in the U.S.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Fugitive Siblings May Be in Tennessee

(CHATTANOOGA, Tenn.) -- Officials say three siblings on the run after allegedly shooting at police and robbing a bank may be in the Chattanooga area.

Brothers Ryan Dougherty, 21, Stanley Dylan Dougherty, 26, and their sister Lee Grace Dougherty, 29, are fugitives after allegedly shooting at a police officer attempting to stop them for speeding in Florida on August 2. A few hours later the trio reportedly robbed a Certus Bank in Valdosta, Georgia. They are considered armed and dangerous.

Officials, who released the car chase video of the trio on Monday, say they are closing in on the siblings after receiving several tips that their white Subaru Impreza was sighted in Tennessee over the weekend.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Agriculture Businesses Get Export Help

(NASHVILLE, Tenn.) -- Tennessee agriculture-related businesses are being given the opportunity to develop foreign markets through the federal Market Access Program (MAP) for Branded Products.

The Department of Agriculture has announced that the Southern United States Trade Association is accepting applications from businesses for the 2012 MAP program, which aims to assist small agriculture companies enter export markets by reimbursing companies for as much as 50 percent of eligible expenses.

The program matches marketing costs, including costs for advertising, exhibiting at trade shows, and changes to packaging and labels, according to a department release.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Tennessee Purple Coneflower to be Removed from Endangered List

(NASHVILLE, Tenn.) -- The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is removing the Tennessee purple coneflower from the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants in September.

The rare sunflower was placed on the list in 1979. The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, the Nature Conservancy, the Tennessee Division of Forestry, the National Park Service, and the Army Corps of Engineers have all contributed to the plant's recovery.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar lauded the people of Tennessee for their continued efforts on preventing the coneflower from going extinct.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Police Say Attempted Abductions May Be Connected

(CLARKSVILLE, Tenn.) -- Clarksville Police say attempted kidnappings in two Tennessee cities may be related.

According to the Leaf-Chronicle, a white middle-aged male is the suspect in Friday's attempted abduction of a 14-year-old girl at a shopping mall in Mount Juliet. Officials say the man approached the girl, who was talking to two friends. According to officials, he approached her with a weapon and forced the girl into his truck. The girl was able to escape when he walked to the driver's side.

In Clarksville on July 24, a man fitting the same description of a white male weighing about 250 pounds with short red hair and a goatee attempted to kidnap a 17-year-old girl, who escaped from his white Ford Ranger.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Clarksville Police Department at (931) 645-7480 or the Mount Juliet Police Department at (615) 754-2550.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio