AP/WMOT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP/WMOT) — A bill requiring students to use restrooms matching their gender at birth is advancing again in the Tennessee House after being revived in committee.

The House Education Committee voted 8-4 Wednesday to reverse an earlier decision to sideline the bill.

The measure’s supporters say the bill is needed to protect children who might otherwise be forced to share a restroom with a person of the opposite sex. Detractors say the bill would discriminate against transgender students.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A bill calling for more free speech rights at public colleges and universities in Tennessee has been withdrawn after the sponsor said it would allow Islamic State recruiters to operate on campuses.

Republican Rep. Martin Daniel of Knoxville was challenged Wednesday about the impact that his "Tennessee Student Free Speech Protection Act" would have on campuses.

Democratic Rep. John Deberry of Memphis asked whether it would go so far as to allow people to stand in the middle of campus and "recruit for ISIS."

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (AP/WMOT)  --   People in Southeast Texas are being evacuated from their flooded homes today and Tennessee volunteers with the Red Cross are on the move to provide aid.

People living along the Sabine River along the Texas – Louisiana line are facing the worst flooding the region has seen since 1884. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has issued a disaster declaration for much of the region.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are the clear Super Tuesday presidential primary winners, including here in Tennessee.

Trump won seven of the 11 states in which Republicans voted. Clinton enjoyed sweeping victories in large states like Texas, Virginia and Georgia putting her far ahead of rival Bernie Sanders.

Donald Trump pulled down 39 percent of the vote in Tennessee’s Republican primary, topping the vote count in every county but one. Marco Rubio was the Republican favorite in Williamson County.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A skeptical congressional panel led by Tennessee Senator Bob Corker will grill Secretary of State John Kerry today about the deal he struck this week with Russia for a ceasefire in Syria.

Kerry is scheduled to testify today before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee amid nagging questions over enforcement of the truce and how violations of the agreement will be handled.

The cease-fire is to go into effect Saturday.

Congressional mistrust of Russia runs high on Capitol Hill and is sure to color the hearing.

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (WMOT)  --  WASHINGTON (AP) —  Republican presidential hopeful Ted Cruz released a new campaign ad Monday focused on the death of Supreme Court justice Antonin Scalia.

The ad warns conservatives they they’re "just one Supreme Court justice away" from losing on key issues including “marriage, religious liberty [and] the Second Amendment."

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP/WMOT) — Officials say less than 0.2 percent of Tennesseans who have applied for welfare since July 2014 have failed a drug test mandated for some.

Citing data provided by the Department of Human Services the Tennessean reports that 65 of 39,121 people applying for Families First cash assistance benefits tested positive for drugs since the law was implemented.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP/WMOT) — The Tennessee lawmaker who introduced a bill seeking to bar the state from following the Supreme Court's gay marriage ruling says he is undeterred by a projected loss of $8.5 billion in federal funds if the Legislature enacts the measure.

State Rep. Mark Pody said at a rally at the state Capitol Tuesday that the proposal he’s dubbed the "Tennessee Natural Marriage Defense Act" is worth any cost, even though the Lebanon Republican disputed the estimated loss of federal funds.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Embattled Tennessee Rep. Jeremy Durham has survived an effort to oust him from his leadership role among state House Republicans.

Before discussing Durham’s fate, House Republicans voted to eject the media from Tuesday’s meeting. A secret ballot to remove Durham as majority whip then failed to reach the required two-thirds vote.

Prosecutors in 2013 sought charges against Durham on allegations that he had altered the dates on medical prescriptions, but a grand jury declined to indict him in 2014.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Chancellor John Morgan is stepping down as head of the Tennessee Board of Regents following Republican Gov. Bill Haslam's announcement that he wants to grant more autonomy to the six four-year universities in the system.

Haslam surprised Morgan and many others in the higher education community when he announced plans last month to re-focus the Board of Regents on the state's 40 community and technical colleges.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (AP/WMOT)  --  Tennessee’s Republican leadership was quick to pan new gun control measures announced yesterday by President Barack Obama.

Speaking at the White House, Obama defended his executive actions to tighten criminal background checks, saying he’s not plotting to take away everyone’s guns.

Tennessee Republican Party Chairman Ryan Haynes responded with a press statement saying that the president’s actions “could undermine our constitutional rights.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee lawmakers say they continue to get calls from their constituents expressing concern about the vetting process for allowing Syrian refugees in the state.

A joint legislative committee heard testimony yesterday from security officials and refugee advocates.

A highlight of the testimony came from David Shedd, former director of the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency, who acknowledged there are some weaknesses in the federal vetting process.

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) — Skilled trades workers at the Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga have given the United Auto Workers Union its first inroads into a foreign auto plant in the American south.

This past week the skilled workers who maintain the plant’s equipment and robots at VW's lone U.S. plant voted to have the UAW negotiate their collective bargaining agreements. The workers approved unionization by a vote of 108-44 over two days of voting that ended Friday.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — State Attorney General Herbert Slatery says in a legal opinion that federal law prevents Tennessee from refusing entry to Syrian refugees.

In the opinion released Monday, Slatery notes that through the supremacy clause of the U.S. Constitution, federal law pre-empts any rules the state may put into place regarding refugees.

But Slatery also says the state has every right to communicate to the federal government its preferences and concerns about the refugee resettlement program.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A two day unionization vote begins Thursday at the Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga.

Last year an election pushed by the United Auto Workers Union to gain bargaining rights for the plant’s entire workforce was narrowly defeated. This time around the union is trying to unionize just 165 skilled trades workers, not the entire 1250 blue-collar workforce.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio now has a full slate of Tennessee delegates lined up for next year’s Republican National Convention.

Former U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp is Rubio’s state chairman. Wamp presided over a press conference in Nashville Monday to announce that the campaign has assembled a full slate of 82 delegates to represent Rubio at the convention.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — It was a down to the wire kind of weekend for Tennessee football.

The Tennessee Titans blocked a New Orleans Saints field goal attempt and then scored in overtime to snap their six game losing streak with a 34-28 victory Sunday.

Rookie Marcus Mariota passed for 371 yards and four touchdowns, including the winning 5-yard scoring pass to Anthony Fasano in overtime.

In Knoxville on Saturday, Jalen Reeves-Maybin recovered a fumble deep in Tennessee territory with 32 seconds remaining to preserve the Volunteers' 27-24 triumph over South Carolina.

NEW YORK (AP) — You may soon see changes to your Comcast bill.  The cable company is expanding the use of data caps in select markets in 5 Southern states, including Tennessee.

The cable company is rolling out more data limits as the Internet becomes an increasingly popular way to watch TV. Streaming video eats up more data than surfing the Internet and reading email.

Public-interest groups criticize the caps, saying they hurt innovation and make it more difficult for people to go online.