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Chattanooga Update - June 7, 2013

189 views · Published 7 June 2013 · 5:29 · Indexed 27 October 2026

Channel: chattanooga times free press · 2013 · News & Politics

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Hello Chattanooga. Here's a quick look at today's top stories.

First of all, The 2013 Riverbend Festival opens tonight and it's no coincidence that it kicks off with two of country music's hottest acts.

Fan favorite Jake Owen will be the festival's opening headliner after Florida Georgia Line revs up the crowd.

Those involved in booking the show said this year's lineup could be the strongest one in recent memory.

While the festival sometimes receives criticism for catering mainly to fans of country and classic rock, this year's acts are, overall, younger than those in the past and arguably more relevant.
Of the 10 acts headlining this year's festival, four released albums within the last year. That's twice as many acts with new albums as last year, and more than any Riverbend of the past five years.
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Next up, no one is claiming a raft of debris left on the Tennessee River in Chattanooga.
The raft, which is piled high with scrap metal, is bobbing precariously about a half mile downstream from the Delta Queen.
Pontoon boat owner Davis Joiner said he believes the raft came from Allen Casey's rundown barge across from the aquarium.
But Casey said the raft could have come from somewhere else along the river.
Then he said it could be a raft of scrap metal he intended to recycle but couldn't because the center wouldn't take the materials.
But PSC Metals, a scrap metal center just up the river from the raft, says the claims are completely untrue.
Also, Kim White, president of the River City Company, says she's concerned that the raft and Casey's barge will pose a threat to other boaters -- especially with the Riverbend Festival in town this week.
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Local U.S. senators are reacting with outrage to reports that the National Security Agency confiscates millions of Verizon phone records every day. But through their own votes, those same senators actually helped the NSA obtain the records.
Several lawmakers appeared to be caught off-guard at the connection.
Johnny Isakson says he never intentionally voted for a bill that would allow the government to review every phone call of every citizen of the country.
Bob Corker says he thought Congress provided authority to the Obama administration to spy on Americans in a narrow way. Corker has demanded an explanation about how the information is used and why such a broad collection of phone records is necessary.
Corker said he too uses Verizon and is troubled that ordinary citizen's call records are being tracked.
Lamar Alexander, Saxby Chambliss, Corker and Isakson all voted in 2011 to renew the law that the Obama administration is using to collect phone records.
In the house, Tom Graves, Scott DesJarlais and Chuck Fleischmann also supported the extension.

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In crime news, a 30-year-old Cleveland man admitted to molesting two young girls and sharing images of the crime on the Internet.
Police searched Jerry Ray Tyler Jr.'s home last year after tracing his computer's identification number to child pornography websites.
But all they found to confiscate was a cellphone.
Tyler stopped the officers when they were walking out the door, however, and told them they overlooked hard drives in the shed in his backyard.
The drives contained graphic images of child pornography, some of which depicted girls under 10 years old in Tyler's bedroom.
Tyler has been sentenced to 33 years in prison.
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And a man sought by police after another man was pushed into oncoming traffic and killed has been arrested by authorities.
Steven Lamount Williams has been charged with criminal homicide in the death of 58-year-old Steven Cran.
Witnesses told police the suspect apparently attacked the victim without being provoked.
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In dalton, people are preparing for the end of the world.
The Prepper's Trade Show is happening today and Saturday at the Northwest Georgia Trade and Convention center.
People can come to the expo not only to learn about surviving an apocalypse but also about providing for themselves in a sustainable way.
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In sports news, New UTC women's basketball coach Jim Foster will be inducted into the Women's College Basketball Hall of Fame on Saturday.

Foster's college teams have achieved 783 wins for him, reached the NCAA tournament in 26 of the last 29 seasons, and, he says -- he's not done yet.
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Finally, thousands of people attended the Hot Rod Power Tour at Chattanooga State on Thursday. Take a look:

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