Treasurer Timothy Cahill, facing harsh criticism from a gubernatorial rival, said Friday that a running tab of nearly $400,000 in attorney fees to defend himself in a lawsuit accusing him of rigging Lottery contracts was “more of a protection for the taxpayers,” and called the suit baseless.

Ticket sales for the Cars for Christmas Mega Lottery are dragging with less than two weeks remaining in the 12th annual campaign. At this time last year ticket sales for the lottery were at the break-even point.[...]

NASHVILLE — A day of reckoning is coming for students and parents on Tennessee’s lottery scholarships that could result in tightened eligibility, reduced scholarship awards or both.After more than five years in which the state steadily expanded eligibility and the size of the scholarship grants, the annual cost of the program is already outstripping the net revenue produced by the lottery.That …