News Around the Region from TRN...
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Early Elections
from TRN
Early voting starts today across the Volunteer State for the August 7th state primary and county general elections. Ballots will be cast in primaries for U-S Senator, all 9 of the state's congressional seats, half the members of the state Senate and all 99-members of the state House, and "yes-or-no" retention elections for some of the judges on the state appeals court.

Salmonella
from TRN
THE U-S GOVERNMENT IS STILL NOT ABLE TO PINPOINT WHAT CAUSED THE OUTBREAK OF SALMONELLA THAT SICKENED OVER ONE THOUSAND PEOPLE SINCE APRIL. HEALTH OFFICIALS THOUGHT THE ILLNESSES WERE CAUSED BY TOMATOES BUT NOW THE WARNING AGAINST THEM HAS BEEN LIFTED. TENNESSEE HAS REPORTED 9 CASES OF THE ILLNESS.

TennCare
More than 1,200 prison inmates are on TennCare. The state has not reverified the eligibility of more than 150,000 people on TennCare. Some of those people ended up in prison, others moved out of state, and the state has kept them on the TennCare rolls. A quarter of the state's budget is spent on the TennCare program.

Unemployment Rate
Tennesseans lost an estimated 13-hundred jobs between May and June, and the state's unemployment rate crept up to 6-point-5 percent. TRN reports nearly 197-thousand people were unemployed in June, that's about 57-thousand fewer employed than the same month of last year, according to the Department of Labor & Workforce Development. Tennessee's unemployment rate was a full percentage point above the national average.


The Pain At The Pump
Although the high price of gas is distressing to nearly everyone, it’s having an unexpected benefit. Researchers say with fewer people hitting the road, there are also fewer fatalities on the road. Triple-A reports Thursday's state average price for a gallon of gas was at 3-96.


Sports Wrap
THE CARDINALS HOST SAN DIEGO IN ROUND 2 OF THE 3 GAME SERIES TONIGHT. THE ON-DECK SHOW IS AT 6:32 ON OLDIES 1450 AM AND 101.7 FM.
 

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