Author: Associated Press

Mother of handcuffed student files lawsuit against officer

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (AP) - The mother of a Murfreesboro elementary school student has filed a lawsuit against an officer who handcuffed her daughter. Local news outlets report that Elexecia Martin filed the lawsuit Friday, accusing Murfreesboro Police Department officer Chrystal…

Officials: Police shoot, kill man in eastern Kentucky

PHELPS, Ky. (AP) - Authorities say a trooper in eastern Kentucky was investigating an assault complain when he shot and killed a man. Kentucky State Trooper Steven Mounts tells news outlets that 32-year-old John Casey was killed Sunday morning in…

Ex-Tennessee teacher sentenced in child sex case

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - A former Tennessee middle school teacher who ran an after-school program will serve one year in prison for his guilty plea in a child sex case. Twenty-eight-year-old Brandon Kyle Hester was sentenced Friday in Montgomery County…

Jackson schools faces accreditation downgrade

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - The Jackson Public School District is expected to file a response to an audit conducted by the Mississippi Department of Education that resulted in a recommendation for a downgrade in the district's accreditation status. The Clarion-Ledger…

Officials: Man drowns after falling into cemetery pond

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) - Officials say a 29-year-old man has drowned after falling into a pond at the Lexington Cemetery. Local news outlets report the Fayette County Coroner's Office says 29-year-old Luis Arevalo Jimenez died following the incident Sunday morning.…

TVA wants public comment on solar facility assessment

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - The Tennessee Valley Authority is asking for public comment on a draft environmental assessment for a proposed purchase agreement with a planned solar generating facility in McNairy County. TVA says it has tentatively approved a 20-year…

Kentucky chief justice elected president of national group

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) - Kentucky's chief justice has been elected president of the Conference of Chief Justices and chair of the National Center for State Courts board of directors. Chief Justice John D. Minton Jr. was elected during the groups'…

Volunteers grow oysters to restore reefs, clean water

PASCAGOULA, Miss. (AP) - The Mississippi Alabama Sea Grant Consortium is looking for volunteer oyster gardeners with waterfront property. Extension specialist P.J. Waters says the program provides the "gardens." Those are wire cages about a foot or so long, seeded…

Former USM dance team captain, boyfriend killed

BAY ST. LOUIS, Miss. (AP) - Bay St. Louis police say officers investigating a report of a missing person found two bodies and a wounded baby. Coroner Jim Faulk says 28-year-old Kristina Quintini and 29-year-old Norris Demeteris Mueller Jr. were…

Shelby County seeks extra funding for mental health court

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - A Tennessee county's mental health court has reached capacity in just a few months and is asking the state for additional funding. The Commercial Appeal reports the extra funding would double the number of people served…

Nashville airport plans $1.2 billion renovation

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Nashville International Airport is embarking on a $1.2 billion renovation aimed at changing virtually every aspect of a traveler's experience. The Tennessean reports projects planned in the next five to seven years include new parking, more…

Man faces sex trafficking charges after missing girl found

  NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Authorities say a Nashville man has been charged in a human trafficking case involving a missing 12-year-old Texas girl. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation says in a news release that 36-year-old Tavarie A. Williams was…

Man held in Tennessee in slaying of elderly Alabama woman

SCOTTSBORO, Ala. (AP) - Bond is set at $1 million for a man accused in the death of an 88-year-old woman in northeast Alabama. Scottsboro police say 28-year-old Terrance Austin of Hollywood is charged with murder in the slaying of…

Tennessee sales tax holiday runs through Sunday

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Tennessee's annual sales tax holiday is underway this weekend as parents prepare for children to return to school. Eligible items include clothing and school supplies costing less than $100 and computers sold for less than $1,500.…

Newspaper seeks to unseal cases regarding Hinds DA

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - The case against Hinds County District Attorney Robert Shuler Smith is a puzzle with the missing pieces of which may be hidden within sealed cases and hearings in Hinds County Circuit Court and the Mississippi Supreme…

State judge temporarily blocks order creating new UofL board

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - A state judge has temporarily blocked Republican Gov. Matt Bevin's executive order abolishing and replacing the University of Louisville board of trustees. Franklin Circuit Judge Phillip Shepherd issued an order Friday morning temporarily stripping the new…

Man sues after he’s denied license to marry Kentucky inmate

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) - A Louisville man is suing after he was denied a license to marry an inmate scheduled for another decade behind bars. The Lexington Herald-Leader reports Bradley Jones filed a lawsuit in federal court Thursday against Shelby…

Man dies after struggle with eastern Tennessee deputy

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - An eastern Tennessee man has died after deputies say he hit his head against the pavement while resisting arrest. Attorney Troy Bowlin II told the Knoxville News Sentinel that 25-year-old Anthony M. Edwards of Sevierville was…

2016 spring inshore shrimp season closes Monday

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries says the 2016 spring inshore shrimp season will close Monday in the remainder of state inside waters except for the open waters of Breton and Chandeleur Sounds. This…

Police: high school tennis coach caught buying meth

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) - A private school tennis coach in Chattanooga has been arrested after buying $200 worth of methamphetamine during a police sting. The Times Free Press reports 51-year-old Philip Henry Johnson, the boys tennis coach at Baylor School…

Dollar General moving into former Walmart Express stores

TUPELO, Miss. (AP) - Dollar General has bought 41 former Walmart Express stores in 11 states for an undisclosed sum. Included in the purchase are five locations in Mississippi: Belmont, Derma, Mantachie, Nettleton and Sardis. Dollar General has existing stores…

Officials to discuss natural gas cutoff to community

NATCHEZ, Miss. (AP) - Representatives from the American Midstream gas pipeline will meet with Kingston residents facing loss of gas service. The meeting, which is scheduled for Aug. 9, will be at the Kingston Schoolhouse. The Natchez Democrat reports American…

Police: Southaven drug bust nets 11 arrests

SOUTHAVEN, Miss. (AP) - Southaven police have arrested 11 people in a drug bust that netted methamphetamine and crystal methamphetamine from a home in the Colonial Hills area. Police Chief Steve Pirtle tells The Commercial Appeal the drugs were found…

Man admits selling meth to undercover officer in Gulfport

GULFPORT, Miss. (AP) - Prosecutors say a 28-year-old Gulfport man has admitted selling meth to an undercover narcotics officer and been ordered to serve five full years in prison. Assistant District Attorney Mitch Owen tells the Sun Herald Gulfport police…

Billboards remind motorists to watch out for school buses

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) - As a new school year approaches, billboards are going up in Kentucky to remind motorists to watch out for stopped school buses. The state Department of Education says about 45 billboards will warn of the danger…

Man found dead in Pascagoula River identified

GAUTIER, Miss. (AP) - Authorities have identified the man whose body was found in the Pascagoula River. Media outlets report that Jackson County Coroner Vicki Broadus announced Thursday that the man has been identified as 75-year-old Stephen Foster Krebs Sr.…

Bristol lawyer charged with stealing from estate

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (AP) - Authorities say a Bristol lawyer has been charged with stealing from an estate for which he was serving as executor. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said Thursday that it began investigating 70-year-old Don W. Cooper…

Gov’s office: Trump to visit Mississippi on Aug. 24

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - Gov. Phil Bryant's office says Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump will be back in Mississippi next month. News outlets report that he's to attend an event Aug. 24 in the Jackson area. Details were not released.…

3 kids found living in Kentucky shed; 2 adults arrested

DANVILLE, Ky. (AP) - Authorities say they found three children living in a shed in Kentucky that had no electricity, no running water and a bucket containing human feces. The Boyle County Sheriff's Office said in a news release that…

Train carrying coal derails in Spring City

SPRING CITY, Tenn. (AP) - A train carrying coal has derailed in Spring City. Local news outlets report that the incident occurred Thursday night near Highway 27. Dozens of boxcars carrying coal overturned, spilling large amounts of coal as a…

Gov. Haslam names David Purkey as safety commissioner

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Republican Gov. Bill Haslam has named David Purkey as the new commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Safety. The safety commissioner oversees law enforcement and homeland security issues in the…

Lowe’s to build $100M facility in Tennessee, create 600 jobs

COOPERTOWN, Tenn. (AP) - Home improvement retailer Lowe's is building a new fulfillment center in Robertson County, creating 600 jobs. Construction on the $100 million facility is set to begin immediately at the 110-acre site in Coopertown, about 25 miles…

2 charged after firing at deputy, running into the woods

CENTERVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Two men have been arrested after authorities say they led officers on a car chase, fired at a Hickman County deputy and then ran into the woods. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said in a statement…

Court: Man who killed 2 must be freed from mental hospital

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - A Tennessee appellate court says a man who believed Jesus commanded him to slaughter his father and stepmother in 1990 should be freed from the psychiatric hospital where he's been held for decades. The Knoxville News…

Haslam happy to ‘help our friends’ facing GOP primaries

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - For Republican Gov. Bill Haslam it's a happy coincidence that he can give a boost to embattled legislative incumbents while traveling the state to hand out community grant checks. Haslam is spending the week traveling to…

Sanders urges delegates supporting him to get behind Clinton

DETROIT (AP) - U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders tells delegates he's grateful for their support in his presidential bid but urged them to back his former rival, Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. Sanders said at a Thursday meeting of delegates from Michigan,…

Bond denied for suspect in death of transgender woman

PASCAGOULA, Miss. (AP) - The mother of a transgender woman killed at a Mississippi hotel has learned the wounds her daughter suffered included "deep" stab wounds to her face. Vickie Whigham tells The Sun Herald the funeral home told her…

Police: Bank robber produced rap video critical of cops

GULFPORT, Miss. (AP) - Police say an up-and-coming Gulfport hip-hop artist may have to put his career plans on hold after police say he robbed a bank. Gulfport police tell The Sun Herald 23-year-old Byron Michael Fairley robbed a BancorpSouth…

Mississippi grand jury clears 3 officers in fatal shooting

BLIOXI, Miss. (AP) - A grand jury has ruled Mississippi police officers were justified in the fatal shooting of a 37-year-old man whose weapon turned out to be a BB gun. Biloxi Police Chief John Miller says Wesley Sheppard of…

Boater’s body found in Pascagoula River

GAUTIER, Miss. (AP) - Police have found the body of a man in the Pascagoula River. Gautier Police Officer Matt Hoggart tells local media that shortly before 9 p.m. Wednesday, police were notified that a man had fallen overboard while…

Mother to Alcorn Co: ban caffeine pill sales to kids, teens

CORINTH, Miss. (AP) - A woman whose 17-year-old son died after taking caffeine pills has asked the Alcorn County Board of Supervisors to ban sales of caffeine pills and powders to children and teens under age 18. The Daily Corinthian…

2 of 3 escaped Kentucky inmates back in custody

PINEVILLE, Ky. (AP) - Two of three inmates who escaped from a jail in southeastern Kentucky are back in custody. TV station WATE reports 27-year-old Gary Mills turned himself in Wednesday in Knox County. That's after authorities recaptured 28-year-old Bobby…

Grant will expand sewer service in eastern Kentucky city

IRVINE, Ky. (AP) - The Appalachian Regional Commission has approved $500,000 in funding to expand sewer service in the eastern Kentucky city of Irvine. The money will be used to expand and upgrade the city's wastewater collection system and provide…

University of Louisville president’s resignation accepted

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - University of Louisville trustees have accepted the resignation of embattled President James Ramsey, whose long tenure was dogged by scandal. The action by the school's new board at a special meeting Wednesday signals the end of…

Former Mississippi State QB Prescott acquitted of DUI

STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) - WTVA-TV reports that a municipal court has cleared former Mississippi State quarterback Dak Prescott on charges of speeding and drunk driving. The Dallas Cowboys draft pick appeared in Starkville Municipal Court on Wednesday to answer the…

Cement manufacturer to reduce pollution from 5 plants

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Federal officials say a cement manufacturer has agreed to invest about $10 million to cut emissions of air pollution at five of its plants in Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama and Texas. Under a consent decree, Cemex Inc.…