The Tennessee Department of Children's Services called foster care a "pain point" in last week's annual budget hearing, where it requested an additional $180 million in state funding. The DCS currently has 250 job openings for case managers.

The federal education funding working group had its first series of meetings this week to look into the potential consequences of rejecting more than $1 billion in federal education funds. Many experts and educators stressed the likely impacts on lower-income and rural districts. The U.S. Department of Education refused to testify.

Local attorney Tyler Caviness defeated incumbent Judge John R. Rosson for the Knoxville municipal judgeship in Tuesday's election.

The University of Tennessee is hiring a consultant to look at best practices in campus parking. UTK also said applications are being driven by new admissions standards.

As the city of Knoxville and the Planning Commission look for ways to rezone to allow for more multi-family housing, like duplexes, or so-called "missing middle" housing, some residents and realtors say the plan isn't thorough enough.

Maha Ayesh, president of the Muslim Community of Knoxville, talks about the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, how the messages of media and political leadership affect Palestinians, and how the current conflict is affecting some residents of Knoxville's community.

Knoxville's homeless population remains above the 10-year average, with housing affordability being a main factor.

As Tennessee prepares to debate whether to accept $1.8 billion in federal education funds, policy experts agree that low-income students and those with disabilities have the most to lose.

As the candidates for municipal judge in Knoxville head toward a Nov. 7 runoff election, issues of politics in a nonpartisan election, and the operations of the court, are at stake. Incumbent Judge John R. Rosson was endorsed by the Knox County Republicans and says he's "working hard" for re-election. His opponent, Tyler Caviness, says the court needs some operational change.

Tennessee is in the top 10 states for traffic fatalities, and the Knoxville Police Department says traffic safety, and noise, are among the top complaints from residents and businesses. The city has taken some measures, including noise-detecting cameras, to try mitigate the problem. But traffic enforcement and resources remain challenging for law enforcement. WUOT's Eden Bollschweiler reports.