NASHVILLE, Tennessee, Dec. 19 -- The Country Music Association issued the following news release: Celebrate the holidays with an encore presentation of "CMA Country Christmas," airing Tuesday, Dec. 24 at 9/8c on the ABC Television Network. Trisha Yearwood hosts and performs during the festive special with additional performances by Dierks Bentley, Kristin Chenoweth, for KING & COUNTRY, Chris Janson, Tori Kelly, Lady Antebellum, Rascal Flatts, Runaway June, CeCe Winans, Brett Young and Chris You  more

ATHENS, Georgia, Dec. 19 -- The National Press Photographers Association issued the following news: WTVF NewsChannel 5 and Scripps in Nashville, Tennessee, will host the 2020 NPPA Video Awards in conjunction with a workshop in late June. Exact dates, as well as hotel and registration information, will be announced after the close of the BOP contest in January. Catherine Steward, a photojournalist at the station and a member of NPPA's Board of Directors, will chair the event. NPPA's Video Award  more

MEMPHIS, Tennessee, Dec. 16 -- St. Jude Children's Research Hospital issued the following news release: ALSAC, the fundraising and awareness organization for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital(R), has announced that Abed Abdo has joined its team as chief financial officer. Abed will report to CEO Richard Shadyac, Jr., and play a key role in helping the organization strategically leverage analytical and financial information to advance growth and position the organization for the future. "Th  more

NASHVILLE, Tennessee, Dec. 19 -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee issued the following news release: The ACLU, ACLU of Tennessee, and the law firm of Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP brought suit against the city of Mt. Juliet, Tennessee in federal court over a zoning ordinance that bans the provision of surgical abortion care within the city limits. The challenge is being brought on behalf of carafem, a national network of reproductive health care clinics. Carafem currently provide  more

NASHVILLE, Tennessee, Dec. 19 -- The American Civil Liberties Union, a 501(c)3 non-profit that works to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed by the Constitution and laws of the U.S., issued the following news release: The ACLU, ACLU of Tennessee, and the law firm of Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP brought suit against the city of Mt. Juliet, Tennessee in federal court over a zoning ordinance that bans the provision of surgical abortion care within the city limits. Th  more

NASHVILLE, Tennessee, Dec. 20 -- The American Farm Bureau Federation issued the following statement by President Zippy Duvall: "Farm Bureau commends the House for approving the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. It was a bipartisan effort as shown by the overwhelming 385 to 41 vote, and we appreciate the work of members of Congress on both sides of the aisle in getting this deal done. "This trade agreement could not come at a more critical time for U.S. agriculture. Farmers and ranchers ha  more

NASHVILLE, Tennessee, Dec. 16 -- The American Farm Bureau Federation issued the following news release: The American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture has recognized the winning teams in the fall 2019 Purple Plow Challenge, Growing Green. Each team received a 3-D printer and a $100 gift card for their class. The following teams were selected as the winners in this national competition: * Canton Solar 8, Canton RV School District in Canton, Missouri; educator - Lezlie Durst * Canton Hydr  more

NASHVILLE, Tennessee, Dec. 19 -- The American Federation for Children issued the following news release: A Cygnal statewide survey of 630 likely Republican primary voters in Tennessee shows that support for educational choice is strong, and that Republican voters are more likely to support state legislature candidates that support Education Savings Accounts. Statement from Shaka Mitchell, American Federation for Children Tennessee state director: "These results reinforce the fact that school   more

WACO, Texas, Dec. 20 -- The American Football Coaches Association issued the following news: Riverside City College Head Coach Tom Craft has been named the 2019 American Community College Football Coaches Association (ACCFCA) Coach of the Year. The award will be presented to Craft during the American Football Coaches Awards ceremony on Tuesday, January 14, at the 2020 AFCA Convention in Nashville, Tennessee. "I'm honored and flattered to be named ACCFCA Coach of the Year on behalf of our coach  more

JEFFERSON, Missouri, Dec. 16 -- The Missouri Farm Bureau issued the following news release: Barry Bean, of Gideon, was re-elected to a two-year term on the Missouri Farm Bureau (MFB) board of directors during the organization's 105th annual meeting December 10 at the Lake of the Ozarks. Bean represents District 6 in the southeast area of the state and has served in the position since 2015. Bean received a bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee, a  more

CHEVY CHASE, Maryland, Dec. 19 -- The National 4-H Council issued the following news release: National 4 H Council has announced the election of three new Trustees to its Board - James C. Collins, Jr., Chief Executive Officer, Corteva Agriscience; Wade Miquelon, Chief Executive Officer, JOANN; and Tennessee 4 H alumnus Justin Cross, Young Alumni Advisory Committee (YAAC) Representative. The new Trustees will be important partners in the Board's work to support the 4 H system's ambitious goal o  more

NASHVILLE, Tennessee, Dec. 20 -- The Country Music Association issued the following news release: The Country Music Association has announced two new hires in the Finance & Administration department. Sarah Abell joins CMA as Operations Manager and Leslie London joins as Senior Staff Accountant. In her new role as CMA's Operations Manager, Abell will oversee event space utilization, including booking, event execution and maintenance. Additionally, she will maintain outside vendor relationships   more

NASHVILLE, Tennessee, Dec. 20 -- The American Farm Bureau Federation issued the following news release: Legislation to fund the government adopted by Congress this week contains many wins for American farmers and ranchers. From much-needed disaster aid to increased broadband access, rural communities will benefit from this legislation. "We are grateful to members of Congress from both parties for their work to develop and pass budget bills that will help farmers and ranchers on multiple fronts  more

MEMPHIS, Tennessee, Dec. 16 -- St. Jude Children's Research Hospital issued the following news release: St. Jude Children's Research Hospital announced today that Elizabeth Fox, M.D., has been named senior vice president of clinical trials research. In this role, Fox will oversee clinical trials research administration and strategy at St. Jude. She will also serve as the associate director for clinical research in the St. Jude Comprehensive Cancer Center. She will begin in January 2020. Fox c  more

NASHVILLE, Tennessee, Dec. 20 -- The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws issued the following news release: The enactment of statewide cannabis access laws is associated with a reduction in opioid prescriptions, according to data published in the Journal of Health Economics. A team of researchers from Vanderbilt University in Tennessee and the University of Alabama School of Law analyzed "a dataset of over 1.5 billion individual opioid prescriptions, which represent approxim  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 19 -- The National Wildlife Federation issued the following news release: A budget agreement passed yesterday by the U.S. House of Representatives to fund the U.S. government for fiscal year 2020 includes several priorities for efforts to control, eradicate and stop invasive Asian carp. The budget agreement allocates funding to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for efforts to stop Asian carp across the country, f  more

OAK RIDGE, Tennessee, Dec. 20 -- New Phytologist, a journal that says it features plant science and its applications, published research articles, including the following topics, in Part 2 of its January 2020 edition: * Conifers depend on established roots during drought: results from a coupled model of carbon allocation and hydraulics * Cyanobacterial carboxysomes contain an unique rubisco-activase-like protein * Cytochrome respiration pathway and sulphur metabolism sustain stress tolerance   more

CHATTANOOGA, Tennessee, Dec. 18 -- The Open Space Institute issued the following news release: * * * - With the Six Properties' Conservation, Protected Lands Now Span Nearly 7 Continuous Miles Along the South Side of the Tennessee River * * * The Open Space Institute (OSI) and the Tennessee River Gorge Trust (TRGT) announced the acquisition of six properties on the northern and southern banks of the Tennessee River Gorge. Just miles from downtown Chattanooga, the properties will lay the grou  more

MEMPHIS, Tennessee, Dec. 20 -- St. Jude Children's Research Hospital issued the following news release: * * * - Researchers at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital Are Testing a Game-Changing Technique for Predicting Infection in Patients With Weakened Immune Systems. * * * A test called microbial cell-free DNA identified potentially lethal bloodstream infections in children with relapsed leukemia days before symptoms appeared, according to investigators at St. Jude Children's Research Hosp  more

NASHVILLE, Tennessee, Dec. 17 -- The Tennessee Electric Cooperative Association issued the following news: The House on Tuesday passed the RURAL Act, protecting more than 900 electric cooperatives throughout the nation from the risk of losing their tax-exempt status when they accept government grants for disaster relief, broadband service and other programs that benefit co-op members. The Senate is poised to pass the bill later this week, and President Trump is expected to sign it into law. T  more

BRENTWOOD, Tennessee, Dec. 20 -- The Tennessee Hospital Association issued the following news: Will Cromer has been named executive vice president and chief operating officer at the Tennessee Hospital Association (THA). "Will's previous experience as a leader in state government and at TennCare make him an excellent fit for THA," said Wendy Long, M.D., THA president and CEO, in announcing the appointment. "His work across a variety of disciplines, including finance, strategy and policy, will s  more