Knoxville, TN (WOKI) Two men are arrested and drugs, including suspected fentanyl, are seized Wednesday, September 10 during a search of a West Knoxville home.
Knoxville Police Department officials say 46-year-old William Aldridge and 36-year-old Brandon Bayne were arrested following the execution of a search warrant at a home in the 7300 block of Toxaway Drive.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the 5th Judicial Drug Task Force helped KPD officers execute the search warrant which was obtained as part of an ongoing investigation into two different overdose deaths and the distribution of fentanyl in West Knoxville.
KPD says officers found nearly 65 grams of suspected fentanyl, over 35 grams of suspected psychedelic mushrooms, two handguns – including one that was reported stolen in Knoxville in 2022 – and over $2,200 in cash as a result of the search.
Both Aldridge and Bayne were taken into custody during the search on charges including:
Maintaining a dwelling for drug purposes
Schedule I drugs
Convicted felon in possession of a weapon
Tampering with evidence
Felony theft
The overdose death and drug distribution investigation is ongoing.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Week 1 of the 2025 NFL season is in the books with VFLs across the league making an impact.
Cleveland teammates Dylan Sampson and Cedric Tillman played well in the Brown’s matchup against Cincinnati. Sampson finished with 93 total yards of offense, rushing for 29 and recording 64 through the air. Tillman hauled in five receptions for 52 yards and grabbed a third-quarter touchdown on a 5-yard catch.
Josh Palmer shone for his new squad on Sunday night as he caught five passes for 61 yards in Buffalo’s come-from-behind win over Baltimore.
On the defensive side of the ball, Byron Young filled the stat sheet in the Rams’ win over the Texans. Young tallied nine tackles with one TFL, two QB hits and a sack.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – On Wednesday, the Southeastern Conference released the 2026 league schedule for all 15 teams.
Coming off its second Women’s College World Series appearance in three seasons, the Lady Vols open conference play at home against the LSU Tigers (March 6-8). Tennessee’s home slate also includes matchups versus Ole Miss (March 27-29) and South Carolina (April 3-5) before playing host to Alabama (April 24-26) on senior weekend.
Tennessee’s road swings feature trips to Mississippi State (March 13-15) and Florida (March 20-22) in back-to-back weekends before heading to Kentucky (April 10-12) and Missouri (April 30-May 2) to round out the year.
The 2026 SEC Tournament will be held at Kentucky’s John Cropp Stadium in Lexington, Kentucky. The single-elimination tournament will begin on Tuesday, May 5, with the championship game slated for Saturday, May 9.
Seven of UT’s eight SEC opponents played in an NCAA regional last season, with four advancing to Super Regionals. Two teams – Florida and Ole Miss – advanced to the WCWS last season.
The Lady Vols’ 2026 SEC schedule can be seen below. All series are currently slated to be played Friday-Sunday, except for the final series of the season, which will be played Thursday-Saturday. The first seven series are subject to change to Saturday-Monday based on television. Those altered dates will be announced when the TV schedule is released in January or February.
Tennessee’s full 2026 schedule will be released later this fall.
Tennessee Softball 2026 SEC Schedule (home series in BOLD)
Monroe County, TN (WOKI / WVLT) – Officials say a battery backup failure knocked out 911 services in Monroe County.
911 calls are being rerouted to other counties like Loudon County.
Monroe County Emergency Services says the 911 center is powered in different stages: Fort Loudon Electric, battery backups and generator. In the event of a power outage or flicker, the center automatically goes on battery backup to prevent the equipment from going down.
Tuesday, CO2 monitors went off, and there was a smell in the 911 center. The Madisonville Fire Department was called out and discovered a toxic leak and at least two of the backup batteries were overheating.
The defective battery was quickly rising in temperature and had no alarm to warn them but with MFD’s quick assessment the threat was discovered and a plan to remove it was instantly put into place.
The 911 center says the battery backup issue was not something they could have seen coming and stemmed from a problem with the battery itself.
As you saw through some of our updates we have been experiencing some technical difficulties at 911. I wanted to take a moment and explain what happened and to hopefully answer any questions that someone may have.
The 911 Center is powered in three different stages 1) Ft Loudon Electric 2) Battery Backup 3) Generator. In the event there is even a flicker of an outage we automatically go on battery backup to prevent the equipment going completely down. This battery backup is a very crucial part of our center. Yesterday there was a strong odor in the building and the CO2 monitors started going off. Madisonville FD was called out and it was discovered that there was a toxic leak and at least two of those backup batteries (that are rather large in size) were overheating. We immediately went into our contingency plan that we utilize in the event of an emergency situation. Our 911 lines were immediately rerouted to McMinn and Loudon Counties. Both counties were given the dispatchers personal cell numbers and our EMA Director Chad Leming brought additional portable radios to us. Our dispatchers were each checked for exposure levels by EMS while the other dispatchers worked from the sidewalk with their portable radios and phones keeping constant communication with McMinn and Loudon 911’s who relayed information to us.
For safety protocol and because the batteries had to be removed by a specific team there were additional fire personnel on scene, including Athens City Fire, Englewood Fire, and Tri-Community FD.
Todd Torbett with Madisonville FD (he is also the Chief of Notchey Creek) did an amazing job with incident command and Chief John Anderson with Sweetwater FD assisted in several ways throughout the day and evening. Monroe County EMS quickly assessed all personnel that were in the building from 911 and the Monroe County Highway Department.
The defective battery had no alarm to warn us and through Chief Torbett’s quick assessment the threat was discovered and a plan for removal was instantly put into place. The battery was quickly rising in temperature and a possible threat of the batteries exploding merited having emergency personnel from fire, EMS and EMA on scene.
I wanted to explain all of this because the citizens that we serve and represent deserved to know what happened and how we handled this situation. I want to assure you that regardless of any situation that all emergency communications at your 911 Center is set up to instantly be rerouted to another agency who will in turn immediately relay this information to us.
This isolated incident with the battery backup is only the fault of defective batteries and could not have been a foreseen situation that we could have stopped.
I want to personally thank McMinn County 911 and Loudon County 911 for all of their hard work and for relaying all requests for emergency assistance without any hesitation. We have an amazing support group with our neighboring 911 Centers and we are extremely appreciative of them. Last but not least, thank you to our IT department who worked many hours into the night helping.
Thank you to our citizens and followers on our page for helping us spread the word when incidents happen and information needs to be shared. We appreciate you all!
“The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead. No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie. He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us. Melania and my Sympathies go out to his beautiful wife Erika, and family. Charlie, we love you!”
FBI Director Kash Patel and other law enforcement officials said a person suspected in the shooting was taken into custody for questioning before later updating the investigation, saying the person was eventually released, with authorities seeking a new person of interest.
Patel’s announcement late Wednesday afternoon came after Utah Valley University officials previously said another individual was detained immediately after the shooting, but it was later determined that he was not the suspect.
Officials said the university’s security cameras helped authorities locate the person of interest, who is believed to have been wearing dark clothes when they fired a single gunshot from an area roof.
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox called Kirk’s killing a “political assassination.”Officials hold a press conference with the latest details after Charlie Kirk was shot and killed. (KSTU)
The university confirmed the shooting in a post on X, writing:
“Today at about 12:10 a shot was fired at the visiting speaker, Charlie Kirk. He was hit and taken from the location by his security.”
Bystanders told the Deseret News that Kirk was shot during a Q&A with students.
Charlie Kirk speaks before he is shot during Turning Point’s visit to Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025.(Tess Crowley | Tess Crowley/The Deseret News via AP)
Kirk is the CEO and co-founder of the conservative youth organization Turning Point USA. The organization also confirmed Kirk’s death.
Videos posted to social media from Utah Valley University show Kirk speaking into a handheld microphone while sitting under a white tent emblazoned with the slogans “The American Comeback” and “Prove Me Wrong.”
A single shot rings out, and Kirk can be seen reaching up with his right hand as a large volume of blood gushes from the left side of his neck. Stunned spectators are heard gasping and screaming before people start to run away.Witnesses describe Wednesday’s shooting of Charlie Kirk. (KSTU)
Kirk is a well-known gun activist and defender of the Second Amendment.
Immediately before the shooting, Kirk was taking questions for an audience member about mass shootings and gun violence.
“Do you know how many transgender Americans have been mass shooters over the last 10 years?” an audience members asked. Kirk responded: “Too many.”
The questioner followed up: “Do you know how many mass shooters there have been in America over the last 10 years?”
“Counting or not counting gang violence?” Kirk asked.
Then a single shot rang out.
A spokesperson for the university told the New York Times that Kirk was struck by a suspect who had fired from the Losee Center, a building about 200 yards away.
FILE – Charlie Kirk speaks during a town hall meeting Monday, March 17, 2025, in Oconomowoc, Wis.(Jeffrey Phelps | AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps)
President Donald Trump responded to the shooting, writing in a post on Truth Social:
“We must all pray for Charlie Kirk, who has been shot. A great guy from top to bottom. GOD BLESS HIM!”
The White House said Trump has ordered for flags to be flown at half-staff until Sept. 14 in honor of Kirk.
Vice President JD Vance also responded to the shooting, writing in a post on X:
“Say a prayer for Charlie Kirk, a genuinely good guy and a young father.”
Kirk, 31, was married and had two children.
Utah Valley University said its campus was closed and all classes were canceled until further notice.
University officials urged students to “leave campus immediately.”
Sevierville, TN (WOKI) UPDATE: The Sevier County Sheriff’s Office has identified the inmate who died following a fist fight Tuesday in the jail annex.
The sheriff’s office confirms the inmate who died, Gary Dewayne Stiltner II, had gotten into a fist fight with another inmate in the E Dorm of the Sevier County Jail Annex.
Corrections officers, along with on-site medical staff, responded to the annex and began giving medical attention to Stiltner who was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.
The inmate with whom Stiltner fought has been identified as Shay Vincent Spell. The sheriff’s office says charges against Spell are pending.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is also investigating.
ORIGINAL STORY: The Sevier County Sheriff’s Office releases more information about an inmate death.
The sheriff’s office confirms the inmate who died had gotten into a fist fight with another inmate on Tuesday, September 9.
Sheriff Michael Hodges says the fight happened in the E Dorm of the Sevier County Jail Annex.
Corrections officers, along with on-site medical staff, responded to the annex and began giving medical attention to the injured inmate who was taken to the hospital where they were pronounced dead.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation will investigate this death and once their investigation is complete, the results will be sent to the district attorney’s office, which will decide whether or not to file charges.
Officials said the altercation was between two inmates at the jail Tuesday morning. (Courtesy: SCSO via Facebook)
TENNESSEE (WVLT) Several East Tennessee leaders and politicians have reacted after news broke that Charlie Kirk, a well known conservative political commentator, was shot at a Utah Valley University event Wednesday.
Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs said he is praying for Kirk in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
Similarly, U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn took to X to also say she was praying for the conservative advocate.
Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, who represents Tennessee’s third district in the U.S. House, put out a call for condemning political violence.
“Any form of political violence against anyone in our country is pure evil and must be loudly condemned by every single American,” the representative said.
His call for condemning violence was joined by a lengthy X post from Tennessee Representative and Republican Caucus Chairman Jeremy Faison.
Our nation has been on a dangerous path for some time. Division, pain, hatred, and destructive actions seem to know no limits.
In the days ahead, blame will be cast, and anger from every side will boil over.
But before the finger-pointing, before the outrage and rage-baiting, can we pause and remember a deeper truth? Every life is sacred. Every person carries immeasurable worth, because we are created in the very image of Almighty God. He alone is our Creator, and He alone can save us from ourselves. – Jeremy Faison, via X.com
Across the aisle, the Tennessee Democratic Party released a statement also condemning the shooting.
“Today another act of senseless violence occurred in Utah. Violence has no place in a civil society and we condemn this act of terrorism in the strongest possible terms,” Party Chair Rachel Campbell said. Her call to end violence in politics was echoed by her vice chair, Nathan Higdon.
“There is no excuse for acts of heinous violence. There is no place for it in our politics, in our country, or in any civilized world,” Higdon said.
Kirk is the co-founder and CEO of Turning Point USA, a conservative youth organization. Videos on social media captured the shooting, showing Kirk speaking into a microphone under a white tent on campus.
A single shot is heard ringing out, and Kirk is shown reaching towards himself as blood rushes from his neck.
Conservative commentator and activist Charlie Kirk was shot at an event at Utah Valley University Tuesday. (Courtesy: Turning Point USA)
Hamblen County, TN (WOKI) An investigation is underway after a teen is killed in a motorcycle crash in Hamblen County.
The preliminary report from the Tennessee Highway Patrol says 19-year-old Landon Roland died after being thrown from the motorcycle in Tuesday night’s crash on I-81.
According to the report, Roland was going north on the interstate, around mile marker 11, when he lodged his bike into a trailer being towed by another car. He then became dislodged and crashed.
The other driver, 24-year-old Bradley Hayes Jr., is facing a charge for driving on a revoked license.
Driver thrown from motorcycle on Hamblen County interstate in deadly crash, Tennessee Highway Patrol says. (Courtesy: THP)
