Blake Farmer

A Nashville middle school is test-driving a big idea: To put a great teacher in charge of multiple classrooms.

The Southern Baptist Convention is quietly nudging its 16 million members to tie the knot at a younger age. Baptist leaders say that marriage should be considered a foundation of adult life.

In Nashville, Tenn., several public schools are struggling to compete with nearby charters. To recruit more students, teachers are tearing a page from the charter playbook: going door to door.

One of the most conservative members of Congress, U.S. Rep. Scott DesJarlais, is defending his seat against state Sen. Jim Tracy, who is making the most of the incumbent's personal scandals.

Though the denomination still considers homosexuality a sin, some leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention are telling pastors to rein in harsh rhetoric and accept that gay people are in their pews.

The proposal awaiting the governor's signature has bipartisan support, despite doctors' opposition. Critics say it could deter expectant mothers from seeking help, or even encourage more abortions.

The Kentucky Baptist Convention has found a surefire way for getting people through church doors: free guns. The church raffle events combine dinner, sermons and a Second Amendment message.

At auto plants, the tension is typically between the workers and the management. But not at Volkswagen in Chattanooga, where it's Republican officials who are trying to stand in the way. One of them is the Tennessee governor, who says a unionized plant might discourage other companies from coming to his state.

Thousands of Americans are still deployed overseas in Afghanistan and Iraq. A few soldiers from Fort Campbell returned home on Thursday after a nine month deployment to Afghanistan.