Author: Associated Press

Kentucky Power moving headquarters back to Ashland

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) - Kentucky Power says it is moving its headquarters back to Ashland. The utility currently has its headquarters in Frankfort, where it moved to be closer to government operations. Company President Greg Pauley said in a statement…

Company’s new regional office in Franklin adds 250 jobs

FRANKLIN, Tenn. (AP) - Officials have announced that Schneider Electric USA Inc. will locate a regional office in Franklin, bringing an additional 250 jobs to the county. The state said in a news release the company will consolidate its existing…

State police taking applications for accelerated class

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) - Kentucky State Police are taking applications for the agency's next class of law enforcement officers aspiring to become state police troopers. KSP's fourth Law Enforcement Accelerated Program is scheduled to begin in the spring of 2017.…

Clark County Constable arrested on drug trafficking charge

WINCHESTER, Ky. (AP) - A Clark County constable has been arrested for allegedly trafficking drugs. WKYT-TV reports that Kentucky State Police arrested 52-year-old Glenn Witt on Wednesday afternoon. Witt is a constable in Clark County. According to an arrest citation,…

Mississippi man gets prison for assault on Indian land

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - A 26-year-old man has been sentenced to prison for assault with intent to commit murder and the use of a firearm during a crime of violence. U.S. Attorney Gregory K. Davis, in a news release Wednesday,…

McComb doctor pleads guilty to federal charges

MCCOMB, Miss. (AP) - A doctor from McComb, Mississippi, has pleaded guilty to federal charges before a senior U.S. District judge. U.S. Attorney Gregory Davis, in a news release, said 59-year-old Lawrence Stewart pleaded guilty Wednesday to distributing and dispensing…

Soldier swept away in severe weather is identified

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. (AP) - The military has identified a soldier from Fort Campbell who died after being swept away by strong currents during severe weather. The post said he is 34-year-old Spc. Dhaifal Ali of Arlington, Texas. Ali was…

Investigation: Lawmaker sexually harassed women on job

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - An investigation of a Tennessee state legislator has found he took advantage of his position to sexually harass at least 22 women. They include a then-20-year-old college student who told investigators he plied her with drinks…

Contractor for VW’s Chattanooga plant looks to hire hundreds

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) - A contractor for Volkswagen is actively seeking job applicants for VW's Chattanooga plant as the German automaker prepares to start production on a new SUV. The Chattanooga Times Free Press (http://bit.ly/29BUgp5 ) reports that contract staffing…

2 more sentenced in New Orleans human trafficking case

NEW ORLEANS (AP) - The U.S. Department of Justice says two more Tennessee residents have been sentenced in a human trafficking case in New Orleans. Federal prosecutors said Wednesday that 31-year-old Christopher Williams and 34-year-old Laquentin Brown, both of Memphis,…

Court upholds conviction of mother in newborn twins’ death

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - A court has upheld the first-degree murder convictions of a woman serving at least 51 years in prison for the 2011 smothering deaths of her infant twins. The Tennessean (http://tnne.ws/29IXhYf) reports that the Tennessee Court of…

Bevin launches $100 million program aimed at worker training

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) - Kentucky's Republican governor says the state is now accepting applications on how to spend up to $100 million of taxpayer money to help train the state's workforce. Gov. Matt Bevin and Education and Workforce Development Secretary…

Breathitt County voters opt to allow alcohol sales

JACKSON, Ky. (AP) - Breathitt County voters have chosen to go wet. News outlets report that 58 percent of county voters on Tuesday opted in favor of allowing alcohol sales in restaurants and other businesses. Businesses will need to acquire…

Boy, 16, pleads not guilty in slaying of Mercer County teen

HARRODSBURG, Ky. (AP) - A Mercer County teenager has pleaded not guilty to charges of murder and robbery in connection with the April slaying of a 17-year-old boy. News outlets report that the 16-year-old defendant appeared in Mercer Circuit Court…

State asks judge to dismiss suit over Jackson airport board

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - Mississippi officials are asking a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit that seeks to maintain the city of Jackson's control over the state's largest airport. Gov. Phil Bryant signed a law in May to create a…

Shots fired at Gulfport police during standoff

GULFPORT, Miss. (AP) - Gulfport police are on the scene of a standoff with an armed suspect. Sgt. Damon McDaniel tells local news outlets that a suspect has fired shots during a standoff with police, but no one has been…

Man covers face with toilet paper, robs Nashville store

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Police are looking for a man who they say robbed a Nashville gas station while covering his face with toilet paper. WSMV-TV reports that just before 2 a.m. Wednesday the man entered a Twice Daily gas…

USM center gets federal grant to help at-risk students

HATTIESBURG, Miss. (AP) - The Center for Community and Civic Engagement at the University of Southern Mississippi has been awarded a $379,076 federal grant from the Corporation for National and Community Service to implement the Campus Link AmeriCorps Program. The…

Ingalls lifts deckhouse on Tripoli

PASCAGOULA, Miss. (AP) - Ingalls Shipbuilding division in Pascagoula has successfully installed the deckhouse on the amphibious assault ship Tripoli (LHA 7). The Sun Herald reports the lifting of the deckhouse is a major event in the ship's construction schedule…

State holding scholarship lottery for special needs children

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - The Mississippi Department of Education will hold a scholarship lottery for special needs children. The Equal Opportunity for Students with Special Needs Act of 2015 provides scholarships to parents of students with disabilities who want to…

Skeletonized remains found in Waveland identified

WAVELAND, Miss. (AP) - Hancock County officials have identified the skeletonized body found in Waveland's Shoreline Park community. Coroner Jim Faulk tells The Sun Herald the body was that of 35-year-old Jeremy Fountain, of Bay St. Louis. Fountain had been…

Man charged with running over Memphis officer has court date

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - The case of a man charged with shooting three people and running over and killing a Memphis police officer is heading to a grand jury. According to The Commercial Appeal (http://bit.ly/29ExT2U ), a judge ruled Wednesday…

United Plastics, staffing agency ASI Group to pay back wages

SARDIS, Miss. (AP) - Employees at United Plastics' manufacturing plants in Sardis, Mississippi and Leominster, Massachusetts, will get a total of $1,433,618 in back wages and liquidated damages as part of a consent judgment obtained by the U.S. Department of…

Plan to protect pollinators to be reviewed at meeting

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) - The Kentucky Department of Agriculture is planning a second public forum on the state's plan to protect pollinators such as honey bees. State Apiarist Tammy Horn Potter and her team at the Agriculture Department will host…

Crews searching for teen in Cumberland River find body

LEBANON, Tenn. (AP) - Rescue crews searching for a 17-year-old boy who police say dove into the Cumberland River from about 30 feet above the water have found a body. Wilson County Emergency Management Agency Director Joey Cooper told media…

Grand jury indicts suspect in highway shootings

BRISTOL, Tenn. (AP) - Authorities say a man accused of killing a woman and injuring a police officer and two others when he shot at passing cars along a Tennessee highway has been indicted on charges including murder and attempted…

Protests begin outside Elvis Presley’s home, 2 detained

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - Memphis police say a small group of people associated with the Black Lives Matter movement have gathered outside Elvis Presley's home, and two people have been detained for blocking the street. Police spokeswoman Karen Rudolph said…

Group says it’s warning schools about Noah’s ark attraction

WILLIAMSTOWN, Ky. (AP) - A group opposed to a new Noah's ark attraction in Kentucky says it is warning hundreds of public schools against visiting the Ark Encounter. The Freedom From Religion Foundation says ark field trips would expose children…

Krause appointed to lead Tennessee Higher Ed Commission

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Gov. Bill Haslam has appointed Mike Krause to head the Tennessee Higher Education Commission. The 34-year-old Krause succeeds Russ Deaton, who has been interim executive director since the retirement of Richard Rhoda in 2014. Deaton will…

Body of missing Fort Campbell soldier found

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. (AP) - The body of a 101st Airborne Division soldier who was swept away by strong currents during severe weather at Fort Campbell has been found. The post said Tuesday that the soldier was found less than…

Judge denies lawmaker’s attempt to block probe of conduct

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - A Nashville chancellor won't block the release of an investigative report on allegations of sexual harassment by state Rep. Jeremy Durham. Chancellor Russell Perkins said in a Tuesday ruling that Durham raised some legitimate questions about…

Former Tenn. Supreme Court Chief Justice Cooper dead at 95

SIGNAL MOUNTAIN, Tenn. (AP) - Former Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice Robert E. Cooper Sr. has died at his Signal Mountain home after a brief illness. According to the Chattanooga Funeral Home, Cooper died on Sunday. He was 95. A…

FedEx to construct distribution center in Pearl

PEARL, Miss. (AP) - FedEx Ground says it will complete construction on a massive distribution center to be opened in Pearl by August 2017. The new facility will take up more than 248,000 square feet and will replace a smaller…

Lawsuit seeks to block charter schools in Mississippi

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - A new lawsuit seeks to block charter schools in Mississippi, arguing that they violate the state constitution by making school districts share property tax collections with schools they don't control. Southern Poverty Law Center filed the…

Nashville officer suspended over Black Panthers Facebook pic

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Authorities say a veteran Metro Nashville police officer has been suspended for posting a Black Panthers photo as the profile picture on his personal Facebook page. The police department confirmed to news outlets that Officer Christopher…

Man pleads not guilty in deaths of missing Kentucky couple

SPRINGFIELD, Ky. (AP) - A man charged with two counts of murder in connection with the deaths of a missing northern Kentucky couple has pleaded not guilty. News outlets report 52-year-old Craig Pennington of Springfield entered his plea in court…

USM builds on success enrolling kids in health care

HATTIESBURG, Miss. (AP) - Officials at the University of Southern Mississippi's School of Social Work will continue with efforts to enroll underprivileged children in health care now that the school has received a $910,000 grant from the Centers for Medicare…

Bond set at $1M for suspect in Hattiesburg murder case

HATTIESBURG, Miss. (AP) - Bond has been set at $1 million for 25-year-old Taiwan Jermaine Blakely, of Hattiesburg, charged with murder in a weekend slaying. Twenty-six-year-old Loretta Dewberry was found shot in her truck Saturday night at a Hattiesburg apartment…

Veteran fined, sentenced to prison for illegal gun purchase

GULFPORT, Miss. (AP) - A retired serviceman's wife has urged a federal judge to imprison him so he can get help, after he made an unlawful gun purchase without disclosing an involuntary mental-health commitment. The Sun Herald reports 76-year-old Travis…

Skeletal remains found in Waveland’s Shoreline Park

WAVELAND, Miss. (AP) - Hancock County Coroner Jim Faulk says the skeletal remains of a man found in Shoreline Park likely had been there for almost a week. Faulk tells The Sun Herald he is working to obtain dental records…

Former D’Iberville High School football star arrested

D'IBERVILLE, Miss. (AP) - A former Mississippi football star, who had been headed to play at the University of Texas-San Antonio, turned himself in to police in connection with several felonies in Florida. Police say it's his second felony arrest…

Natchez owes $14,000 to IRS

NATCHEZ, Miss. (AP) - The City of Natchez owes about $14,000 in penalties and interest for failing to file reports and taxes to the Internal Revenue Service dating back to 2011. Mayor Darryl Grennell says IRS representatives made a stop…

Chattanooga plans events to honor victims of July 16 attack

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) - City officials have planned a full day of memorial events to mark the first anniversary of the terrorist attack in Chattanooga that claimed the lives of five U.S. service members. The Times Free Press reports that…

Defense Department awards U of L $848K for training program

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - The University of Louisville says the Defense Department has awarded its College of Education and Human Development an $848,000 grant to expand a training program based at Fort Knox. The program is for college-level educators, mostly…

Governor reappoints TBI director Mark Gwyn

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Gov. Bill Haslam has reappointed Mark Gwyn as director of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. The 53-year-old Gwyn was first appointed as TBI director in 2004. Haslam announced the reappointment on Monday and said under Gwyn's…

Kentucky State Police say kids, hot cars are bad combination

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) - Children and hot cars can quickly become a life-threatening combination, and Kentucky State Police officials want parents and caregivers to avoid such a tragedy. State police spokesman Sgt. Michael Webb advises never leaving a child in…