Food Stamps on the Rise in Tennessee

(NASHVILLE, Tenn.) -- State officials say Tennessee's Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as food stamps, has reached unprecedented levels as unemployment rates soar.

The Tennessean reports one in five Tennessee residents have enrolled in the program in 2011, representing a 37-percent increase from 2008. Officials say part of the increase is attributed to new and discreet debit cards that have eliminated some of the stigma associated with food stamps and encouraged more businesses to accept them.

According to the report, the biggest gain has been in farmers' markets, where food stamps are being accepted in more than three times the number of markets than five years ago.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Autopsy: Tennessee Kidnapper Died from Victim's Gunshot Wound

(ABERDEEN, Miss.) -- An autopsy confirmed Sunday that a Tennessee man died from a gunshot wound, corroborating his female victim's hair-raising tale of abduction and sexual assault.

Stephen Lynn Cronk, 58, was found dead at the Crossroads Shell in Hamilton, Miss., early Friday morning. Officials had been searching for Cronk after a woman claimed to have been kidnapped by him Wednesday and brought to a Best Western Motel in Mississippi.

Cronk allegedly threatened his 18-year-old victim with a handgun. She eventually distracted him long enough to shoot him in the abdomen.

The investigation into the incident is ongoing.
Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

AT&T Contributes Scholarships to Tennessee Community Colleges

(CLEVELAND, Tenn.) -- AT&T will contribute scholarships to Tennessee's community colleges to assist students in attaining certification.

According to the Chattanooga Times Free Press, AT&T Regional Director Mary Steward Lewis said the $10,000 scholarships will prepare students for the workforce. The contributions were welcomed by state representatives and will assist Gov. Bill Haslam achieve his main goal of improving education in the state in order to make Tennessee workers more competitive locally and internationally.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Tennessee Has Highest Sales-Tax Rate in Nation

(NASHVILLE, Tenn.) -- Tennessee has the highest sales-tax rate in the country, according to the Tax Foundation.

The combined sales-tax rate in Tennessee is 9.43 percent. By contrast, the state with the lowest combined rate was Hawaii at 4.35 percent.

The Tax Foundation was created in 1937 to examine the effect of depression-era government regulation on businesses.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Number of Employed Tennesseans Rises in August

(CHATTANOOGA, Tenn.) -- Tennessee’s unemployment rate seems to be making a slow recovery, according to a report released Thursday by the University of Tennessee.

The Chattanooga Times Free Press reports that the monthly unemployment rate is now 9.7 percent—down from 9.8 percent in July.

Among the report’s findings, both state and national joblessness will linger above 9 percent until 2013. According to economist Matt Murray, associate director for the UT Center for Business and Economic Research, Tennessee’s rate "will surpass the national unemployment rate through the short-term forecast horizon.”

The unemployment rate for Chattanooga's metro was 8.8 percent in August. Knoxville’s 7.9 percent was the lowest unemployment of any other major metro area in the state. Union City had the highest at 17.2 percent.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio