Author: Associated Press

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.…

TN delegate tossed from DNC after tiff with Bernie supporter

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - A Hillary Clinton delegate from eastern Tennessee has been booted from the Democratic National Convention after a Bernie Sanders supporter says he became overly aggressive with her. Tennessee Democratic Party spokesman Spencer Bowers is quoted by…

Lanes closed to create I-40 delays as rockslide project ends

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (AP) - Highway officials are warning about significant delays as road work is planned on Interstate 40 in the North Carolina mountains. The N.C. Department of Transportation says crews will close one of two lanes in each direction…

Tennessee dad drowns saving 3 daughters from rip current

ATLANTIC BEACH, N.C. (AP) - Authorities say a father from Tennessee has drowned after trying to save his three daughters from a rip current off the North Carolina coast. Meanwhile, there's a search farther down the coast for a missing…

State police: Homeowner fatally shoots would-be robber

BOONEVILLE, Ky. (AP) - Kentucky State Police are investigating after they say an Owsley County homeowner shot two of three suspected robbers, killing one of them. News outlets report that the incident happened at a home near Booneville early Tuesday…

Seabees help repair century-old Ocean Springs depot

OCEAN SPRINGS, Miss. (AP) - A century old building in Ocean Springs is getting some updates with help from military personnel. The city's historic train depot houses the Chamber of Commerce and a gift shop. But the building has damage…

Officials recapture 1 of 3 escaped inmates in Bell County

PINEVILLE, Ky. (AP) - Authorities have recaptured one of three inmates who escaped from the Bell County Detention Center. Jailer Gary Ferguson tells local news outlets that officials recaptured 28-year-old Bobby Holman Tuesday night after he and two others escaped…

Somerville leaders raise $1.125 million for UT Martin center

SOMERVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Leaders in Fayette County have raised $1.125 million for the development of an educational outreach center in Somerville that will be operated by the University of Tennessee at Martin. WMC-TV reports that Gov. Bill Haslam presented…

5 Kentucky parks to share funding for upgrades

OLIVE HILL, Ky. (AP) - State officials say five Kentucky State Park resorts will receive an estimated $3.13 million in safety and other improvements over the next two years. The funding announced Tuesday comes from $18 million approved this year…

Alexander lauds $10M grant for Foothills Parkway to Smokies

MARYVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander says a $10 million federal transportation grant will improve access to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The grant will help complete a 16-mile stretch of the Foothills Parkway in Blount and…

State library offers online collection on women’s suffrage

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - The Tennessee State Library & Archives says it has a new online collection about the women's suffrage movement. The collection, called "Women's Suffrage: Tennessee and the Passage of the 19th Amendment," highlights Tennessee's role in the…

Medics at Fort Campbell competing to represent 101st

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. (AP) - Medics from across Fort Campbell are competing to represent the 101st Airborne Division this fall in Texas. The competition Wednesday involves medics being evaluated in several medical and warrior tasks within 72 hours of continuous…

2 demonstrations to be held Saturday in Tupelo

TUPELO, Miss. (AP) - Two groups are set to host public demonstrations on the same day on opposite ends of Tupelo. The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal reports Tupelo Police Chief Bart Aguirre approved a permit for Our Lives Matter 2…

More than 124,000 have voted early in Aug. 4 election

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - More than 124,000 Tennesseans already have taken advantage of early voting or absentee voting for the Aug. 4 state primary and county general election. According to the a news release from the Secretary of State's Office,…

Mississippi Power announces additional $9M Kemper overrun

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - Mississippi Power Co. says it will spend another $9 million on its overrun-plagued Kemper County power plant, pushing its total cost toward $6.8 billion. The unit of Atlanta-based Southern Co. will absorb the cost, part of…

Police identify woman whose body was found in river

AP-KY--Body Found Police identify woman whose body was found in river Eds: APNewsNow. MUNFORDVILLE, Ky. (AP) - Kentucky State Police have identified a woman whose dismembered body was found in a container floating in the Green River. Police on Tuesday…

Hearing delayed for Texan on Mississippi prison bribe charge

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - A hearing for a Texas man accused of bribing the former leader of Mississippi's prison system has been delayed. Mark Longoria, CEO of Houston-based Drug Testing Corp., was supposed to appear Tuesday before a federal magistrate…

University of Louisville board resets meeting on president

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - University of Louisville trustees have rescheduled a meeting to decide the status of embattled school President James Ramsey. The school's board of trustees had scheduled a special meeting for Tuesday, but about an hour before the…

French official visits Mississippi to back union at Nissan

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - A French parliamentarian is visiting Mississippi as part of an effort to pressure Nissan Motor Co. to allow workers at its Canton plant to organize a union. Chrisitian Hutin, deputy chairman of the Social Affairs Commission…

Old western Kentucky bridge finally demolished

AURORA, Ky. (AP) - An old western Kentucky bridge that's been replaced by a new span connecting Marshall and Trigg counties has been demolished. The old Eggners Ferry bridge opened to traffic in March 1932. After a blast, it collapsed…

3 convicted in string of jewelry store heists across South

PANAMA CITY, Fla. (AP) - Three Georgia men face up to life in prison after being found guilty following a federal trial in the Florida Panhandle on conspiracy charges connected to six jewelry store robberies across the southeastern United States.…

Prosecutors: Roof headed to Tennessee after church shootings

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) - Federal prosecutors say that the man charged in the Charleston church shootings used the internet to scope out Emanuel AME church and was trying get away to Nashville, Tennessee, when he was arrested. The new details…

French official visits Mississippi to back union at Nissan

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - A French parliamentarian is visiting Mississippi as part of an effort to pressure Nissan Motor Co. to allow workers at its Canton plant to organize a union. Chrisitian Hutin, deputy chairman of the Social Affairs Commission…

Gray calls for roads, technology to help coal regions

PIKEVILLE, Ky. (AP) - Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Jim Gray says he would spend more money on technology and improve roads in eastern Kentucky to help the region recover from the devastating effects of a declining coal industry. Gray revealed…

Haslam urges Durham to resign, won’t call special session

CAMDEN, Tenn. (AP) - Republican Gov. Bill Haslam is renewing his call for state Rep. Jeremy Durham to resign, but says he won't speed up the process for convening a special legislative session to oust him. Haslam told reporters after…

Sheriff’s deputy’s baby drowns in home swimming pool

LEBANON, Tenn. (AP) - Authorities are investigating after they say the 1-year-old child of a Wilson County Sheriff's deputy drowned. Officials with the Wilson County Emergency Management Agency tell media outlets that the incident happened Monday morning at a home…

Ex-pharmacy owner gets prison time for stealing from charity

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) - A former Lexington pharmacy owner has been sentenced to more than six years behind bars after he was accused of stealing $1.1 million from a charity that helps with patients' medication costs. The Lexington Herald-Leader reports…

Tenn. Inmates sue over lack of Hepatitis C treatment

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Tennessee inmates infected with hepatitis C have filed a federal lawsuit against state prison officials, seeking treatment for all inmates who have the potentially deadly disease. The American Civil Liberties Union and other advocates are alleging…

Another judge recuses himself from Hinds County DA case

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - A second judge has recused himself from a case against Hinds County District Attorney Robert Shuler Smith, who was accused of aiding criminal defendants last month. The Clarion-Ledger reports Hinds County Court Judge William Skinner filed…

Transgender man admits having sex with transgender minor

LUCEDALE, Miss. (AP) - A 24-year-old Lucedale transgender man has pleaded guilty to sex crimes against a transgender minor. The Sun Herald reports Krishna "Kris" Maroney pleaded guilty Monday to six counts of sexual battery and one count of touching…

4 qualify for special election to Jackson-area House seat

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - Four candidates have qualified for the Aug. 23 election to a vacant seat in the Mississippi House. A. Shae Buchanon-Williams, Synarus Green, Debra Gibbs and Theresa G. Kennedy qualified with the Secretary of State's Office before…

Hearing set for Texas man on Mississippi prison bribe charge

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - A Texas man is scheduled to answer charges that he sought to bribe the leader of Mississippi's prison system. Mark Longoria, CEO of Houston-based Drug Testing Corp., is set to appear before a federal magistrate judge…

Holiday scrooge strikes early, steals Gulfport’s decorations

GULFPORT, Miss. (AP) - Authorities say someone has stolen holiday decorations from the city of Gulfport. City spokesman Chris Vignes tells WLOX-TV that a city storage site was recently burglarized three times in two days. The city is doing an…

TVA giving cash incentives to airports for new equipment

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - The Tennessee Valley Authority says it is joining forces with four airports and FedEx to replace some of their diesel-powered ground support equipment with more environmentally friendly gear. TVA said Monday that the FedEx World Hub…

Adams County looks at hiring nurse practitioner

NATCHEZ, Miss. (AP) - The Adams County Board of Supervisors is exploring the possibility of hiring a nurse practitioner to work for the county full-time. The Natchez Democrat reports the county already pays about $115,000 annually for nurse practitioner visits…

UofL board to consider status of campus president

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - University of Louisville trustees may be ready to decide the status of embattled school President James Ramsey. The school's new board of trustees has scheduled a special meeting on Tuesday. The agenda includes consideration of Ramsey's…

Officials: Patients of dental clinic should get HIV tests

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - Health officials in Tennessee say patients treated at a Memphis dental clinic should get tested for hepatitis B and C, and HIV after "breaches in infection control" may have put patients at risk for the diseases.…

Tennessee Democrats laud DNC role for transgender official

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - The first transgender person to be named to a Tennessee government board or commission has been named the official podium timekeeper at the Democratic National Convention. Nashville Mayor Megan Barry appointed Marisa Richmond to the Metro…

Gore not attending convention but endorses Hillary Clinton

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Former Vice President Al Gore may not be attending the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia this week, but he is for the first time endorsing Hillary Clinton for president. Gore in a statement Monday cited what…

Witness to helicopter crash reports abrupt rotor tilt

HICKORY, Ky. (AP) - A Tennessee Valley Authority lineman who witnessed a fatal helicopter crash in western Kentucky this month has told investigators he saw the main rotor tilt abruptly just before the helicopter banked right and fell to the…

Tennessee limiting types of bags fans can bring to games

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Tennessee is limiting the types of bags that fans can bring into athletic venues during the upcoming school year. School officials announced Monday that each person is permitted to bring only one clear plastic bag no…

Extreme drought hurting farmers in Chattanooga region

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) -- Scattered showers over the last few weeks have not eased extreme drought hurting farmers in and around the Chattanooga area. The Chattanooga Times Free Press reports the latest U.S. Drought Monitor map shows extreme drought conditions…

CSX: Bearing failed 9 miles before Maryville derailment

MARYVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - CSX Transportation Inc. says in court filings that the mechanical failure that caused a July 2015 train derailment resulting in the evacuation of 5,000 Maryville residents actually began about nine miles earlier. The Daily Times reports…

Louisville panel holds meeting on Confederate monument

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer's public art commission is holding a public meeting about relocation sites for a Confederate monument near the University of Louisville. The move comes after a judge last month ruled that Fischer has…

Budget cuts forces local hospitals to pick-up slack

LEXINGTON, Miss. (AP) - Some hospitals are increasing services for poor Mississippians, as county health clinics face tightening budgets. Mississippi Public Broadcasting reports the University of Mississippi Medical Center Hospital in Holmes County will begin offering pre-natal care this year…

Person of interest be questioned in Rankin Co. homicide

BRANDON, Miss. (AP) - Investigators are questioning a person of interest in the death of a wheelchair-bound Rankin County woman. Undersheriff Raymond Duke says 51-yeaer-old Kimberly Rainer Schrader was found Wednesday slumped over in her mechanical chair in her living…

Manufacturer opens expanded operations in Kentucky

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) - A manufacturer that produces grills, stoves and fireplaces has opened a 30-job, $2.3 million-plus expansion at its facility in Grant County in northern Kentucky. Gov. Matt Bevin's office says Wolf Steel's new warehouse adjoins its current…