Great Smoky Mountains National Park wildlife technician Ryan Williamson talks bear behavior during mating season as summertime is underway in the Smokies. WATE Midday News on Wednesday, June 28, 2023.

The Holiday Festival of Lights at Concord Park has been a Christmas staple in Knox County for 25 years, giving those that come to the lakeside during the winter a chance to enjoy the holiday season with their families.

A baseball coach at Hardin Valley Academy has been placed on paid leave, a Knox County Schools spokesperson announced Wednesday.

An East Tennessee man got quite the surprise when he returned from fishing on Douglas Lake. A group of vultures had taken over a couple of trucks at the boat ramp.

ORNL & CAT researching ways to cut down emissions.

A new crate is being built for Tonka, an elephant residing at Zoo Knoxville, as he prepares to move to the Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, Tenn., a 3000-acre refuge for elephants who are retired from zoos and circuses.

People who own short-term rentals or who rent out their homes on sites like Airbnb and Vrbo will soon need a permit to operate in Sevier County.

Overnight Wednesday, Dec. 6 snowfall coated parts of the Great Smoky Mountains.

The Maryville Police Department is investigating after a string of catalytic converter thefts. WATE's Ella Wales reports.

WATE's Lori Tucker and Attorney Greg Isaacs continue their conversations on a Tennessee voting law that has become the center of a lawsuit.

Leaders of several school districts across Tennessee are coming out against Governor Bill Lee's school voucher plan. If his bill passes next year, every student in Tennessee could eventually be eligible to take taxpayer money for private school. As state capitol reporter Chris O'Brien finds, the opposition isn't coming from just big cities.

Instead of hitting the gridiron, several high school football players got the chance to hit some golf balls on the greenway, a fake one that is.

The Knoxville Police Department is investigating the carjacking of a U.S. Postal Service worker Wednesday morning on Dandridge Avenue.