Author: Associated Press

Pedestrian cameras coming on Biloxi-Ocean Springs bridge

OCEAN SPRINGS, Miss. (AP) - Exercising on the bridge in Ocean Springs is about to get a lot safer The Sun Herald reports two security cameras will be installed to watch foot traffic on the Biloxi Bay Bridge. Ocean Springs…

Kentucky State President Raymond Burse to resign

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) - Kentucky State University President Raymond Burse is resigning at the end of this week. In a statement released Monday, Burse says he decided that the "further demands and challenges of Kentucky State must be undertaken by…

Missing dog found dead nearly 2 weeks after tornado

MAYFIELD, Ky. (AP) - A dog that went missing following a tornado in Graves County has been found dead. Local news outlets report that Ruger, a 2-year-old blue heeler, was found not far from the storm site Sunday afternoon. A…

Deputies: Chattanooga lawyer and son dead after shooting

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) - A Chattanooga attorney and his son are dead in what the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office is calling a domestic incident. Deputies tell local media that 82-year-old retired attorney Glenn Copeland was shot by his son Steven…

State launches college counseling program for high schools

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Gov. Bill Haslam has announced the launch of a $2.4 million program that will provide college counselors to 30 public high schools across the state. The Governor's Office says in a statement that Advise TN, announced…

Embattled lawmaker accuses reporter of trespassing

FRANKLIN, Tenn. (AP) - Embattled state Rep. Jeremy Durham has brought criminal trespass charges against a reporter for the Nashville Scene weekly newspaper, accusing her of trying to enter his Franklin home while seeking an interview. Citing an affidavit, the…

Pike County to borrow $2.5M for land, bridge

MCCOMB, Miss. (AP) - Pike County supervisors plan to borrow millions of dollars for industrial and infrastructure projects. The Enterprise-Journal reports supervisors voted 4-1 Friday to borrow $2.5 million to expand Gateway Industrial Park, make repairs to the Holmesville bridge…

Attempted heroin hand-off in court nets arrest

OSHKA, Miss. (AP) - A woman who allegedly tried to pass off a bag of heroin to a Pike County jail inmate inside a courtroom finds herself in jail. The Enterprise-Journal reports 28-year-old Carrie McClendon, of McComb, was arrested in…

Petal officials move ahead with annexation process

PETAL, Miss. (AP) - Petal officials are moving ahead with annexation plans over the objects of those being annexed. The Hattiesburg American reports the mayor and board of aldermen plan to annex about 9 square miles, which would include around…

Widening Interstate 10, expect delays for 2 years

OCEAN SPRING, Miss. (AP) - The next two years will be a challenge for drivers and construction workers as Interstate 10 is widened from four lanes to six between Ocean Springs and Vancleave. The Mississippi Department of Transportation says lane…

Gulfport Police: Bystander shot outside convenience store

GULFPORT, Miss. (AP) - Police say a shot fired during a fight outside a Gulfport convenience store struck a bystander who they say was not part of the fight. Sgt. Damon McDaniel with the Gulfport Police Department tells The Sun…

Deputies: Drugs, cash found in same room as sleeping child

LONDON, Ky. (AP) - A Laurel County man under house arrest has been taken into custody after police discovered a half-pound of crystal meth and more than $100,000 in the same room where the man's 8-year-old son was sleeping. The…

Woman’s neck severed in freak accident outside nightclub

HOLLANDALE, Miss. (AP) - Officials say a Washington County woman was killed almost instantly after her neck was severed in a freak accident outside of a nightclub. WLBT-TV reports Washington County Deputy Coroner Equoane Smith says 28-year-old Jacquilla Wilson died…

After 10 years, Indian mound trail grand opening Monday

WINTERVILLE, Miss. (AP) - After 10 years of planning, Mississippi's Mound Trail - a driving tour of 33 Indian mounds along or near Highway 61 - is making its debut. Monday's ceremony is at Winterville Mounds, one of the four…

Cheating hearing set to start for Clarksdale principal

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - A hearing to suspend or revoke a Clarksdale elementary school principal's teaching license is scheduled to begin Monday. The state teacher licensure commission will examine whether Heidelberg Elementary School Principal Lowanda Tyler-Jones helped orchestrate cheating on…

Smoky Mountains, partners give guide books to 4th-graders

SEVIERVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Fourth-grade students in Sevier County are receiving a guide book from Great Smoky Mountains National Park, LeConte Lodge and Great Smoky Mountains Association. The book is "Day Hikes of the Smokies" and copies were given in…

Extras sought for film about FBI informant slain in Kentucky

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) - A film about an FBI agent who pleaded guilty in Kentucky to strangling an informant in 1989 is scheduled to begin shooting this week in Lexington. Extras casting director Taylor Woodell told the Lexington Herald-Leader that…

MVSU boosts dormitory renovation costs by $2.5 million

ITTA BENA, Miss. (AP) - Mississippi Valley State is adding $2.5 million to renovations at 170-bed College Hall, saying construction and contingency costs have risen. The College Board approved raising total spending to $7.25 million Thursday. Valley is shifting $1.5…

China university to send 260 students to Murfreesboro

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (AP) - Middle Tennessee State University says Guangxi (GWAHNG'-she) University in China will send 260 students to study at the Murfreesboro University for two years. The plan was announced two years ago, but the goal was 140 students.…

3 more Kentucky counties certified as work ready

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) - Three more Kentucky communities have been certified as work ready. Kentucky Education and Workforce Development Cabinet Secretary Hal Heiner said in a statement that Bullitt, Montgomery and Trigg counties have been added to the official list…

Nashville police say 4 injured in shooting, 2 critically

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Police say four people have been wounded, two critically, in a shooting in Nashville. Nashville police said in a statement that detectives are investigating why a car was targeted by gunfire just after 7 p.m. Sunday.…

Ingalls christens amphibious transport dock Portland

PASCAGOULA, Miss. (AP) - The Navy's newest amphibious transport dock has been named after Oregon's largest city. The Portland is the 11th San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock built by Huntington Ingalls Industries. At the christening Saturday in Pascagoula, Mississippi, the…

Former church school principal charged with sex crimes

CORINTH, Miss. (AP) - A former principal at a church-run school is accused of sexual offenses involving minors. Court records show that 37-year-old Michael Shane Casabella of Iuka is free on $40,000 bond. An Alcorn County grand jury indicted him…

2 Kentucky groups get federal grants to help poverty areas

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - A group will receive a $250,000 federal grant to help low-income communities develop businesses and create jobs in eastern Kentucky. The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced the grant last week for the London-based Kentucky Highlands Investment…

65 cadets report for Kentucky State Police training

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) - Sixty-five cadets have reported for Kentucky State Police training. The recruits are mostly from Kentucky. Two are from Ohio and there are one each from Alabama, Illinois and Michigan. Six cadets are females. The cadets who…

Diagnosed schizophrenic jailed 11 years without trial

WEST POINT, Miss. (AP) - A newspaper reports that a man accused of killing his father but diagnosed with schizophrenia has been jailed for 11 years without trial. Clay County District Attorney Scott Colon tells The Clarion-Ledger that Steven Jessie…

Ole Miss to spend $12 million to add 12 acres to campus

OXFORD, Miss. (AP) - The University of Mississippi plans to spend $12 million to buy 12 acres of land on the western edge of its Oxford campus. The College Board voted Thursday to allow Ole Miss to advance $2.5 million…

Ironman triathlon competitor in Chattanooga dies

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) - A spokeswoman for an Ironman triathlon in Chattanooga says a male competitor has died. Race spokeswoman Ellie Siefert tells media outlets that an athlete required medical attention during the 2.4-mile swim portion of Sunday's event and…

Sullivan University opening branch in Fort Mitchell

FORT MITCHELL, Ky. (AP) - Sullivan University plans to offer classes in northern Kentucky later this year. The Louisville-based university will expand to Fort Mitchell. The Kentucky Enquirer ( ) reports the new campus will be led by Vicki Berling,…

Tennessee lake reopens to recreational use after sewage leak

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - Memphis officials have reopened a lake seven weeks after a sewage line break. Media outlets report that the city reopened McKellar Lake and removed recreational use advisory signs Saturday. The March 31 sewage line break sent…

Woman sentenced to 26 years in prison for fatal crash

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - A woman has been sentenced to 26 years in prison for causing a crash in Tennessee that killed two men soon after she pleaded guilty to a drunken-driving charge in another case. The Tennessean reports 30-year-old…

Police: Security guard fatally shoots man outside nightclub

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - Police say a security guard shot and killed an armed man outside a Jackson nightclub. Multiple news outlets report that no charges have been filed against the security guard over the deadly shooting early Saturday outside…

Production ends at company’s West Point manufacturing plant

WEST POINT, Miss. (AP) - A company that once was one of the largest employers in a north Mississippi city has ended production at a manufacturing plant. The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal reports that approximately 165 workers were affected by…

Appointment rescinded following Facebook slur

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - A northern Kentucky man's appointment to a new state Boxing and Wrestling Commission has been rescinded after a Facebook slur aimed at Kentucky's chief justice. The Courier-Journal reports that Tim Nolan drove to Frankfort on Wednesday…

Defendants accused of drug activities near schools

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - A narcotics detective in Memphis watched a man exit a bus from Chicago and climb into a vehicle. Another officer tried to pull over the vehicle for traffic violations, but the driver fled. During the pursuit,…

Union County clinic owner charged with drug fraud

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Authorities say a Union County medical clinic owner has been charged with identity theft and prescription drug fraud. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation says agents began investigating 45-year-old Kristi Lynn Walker, who owned and operated Quality…

States ban kratom supplement over abuse worries

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) - States worried about the effect of a plant-based substance called kratom are moving to ban it over abuse concerns. The controversy around kratom - a plant originating in Southeast Asia - has led Alabama to become…

Children’s minister among 32 arrested in trafficking sting

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Tennessee authorities say a children's minister is among 32 people facing charges after a prostitution and human-trafficking sting in Knoxville. News media outlets on Friday quoted Tennessee Bureau of Investigation officials as saying the suspects were…

Sequestered juror dies in Memphis murder trial

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - A juror who was sequestered in a murder trial in Memphis has died, prompting a mistrial to be declared in the case. The Commercial Appeal (http://bit.ly/1U4k3J2 ) reports the juror had become sick at his hotel…

Production unaffected by fire at GM plant in Spring Hill

SPRING HILL, Tenn. (AP) - A fire at the General Motors plant in Tennessee was quickly extinguished and will not affect production at the Spring Hill facility. GM spokesman Tom Wickham said Friday that the fire in the air handling…

Nashville mayor appoints first transgender city board member

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Nashville Mayor Megan Barry has appointed a transgender woman to the Metro Human Relations Commission - an apparent first for Tennessee. Media outlets report that Nashville's Metro Council on Tuesday confirmed all 20 of Barry's board…

Father charged with murder after 8-month-old dies in car

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - Police say a man has been charged with second-degree murder after his 8-month-old daughter died in his overheated car. Grenada Assistant Police Chief George Douglas said Friday that 25-year-old Joshua Blunt is being held at the…

Ex-academy director sentenced for not reporting sex abuse

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - The former leader of a military-style academy for teenagers in Kentucky has been sentenced to 90 days of home confinement for failing to report sexual child abuse. The Courier-Journal reports former Bluegrass Challenge Academy director John…

Bill to strip UT of diversity office funding becomes law

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - A bill to strip funding from the diversity office at the state's flagship public university has become law without Gov. Bill Haslam's signature. Lawmakers had been angered by the University of Tennessee's diversity office recommending the…

Police say body found near highway may be missing woman

SEVIERVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Deputies say a body found near a highway in Sevier County may be that of a missing woman. The Knoxville News Sentinel reports the Sevier County Sheriff's Office says in a statement that authorities discovered the…

Springfield police: 7-year-old brings loaded gun to school

SPRINGFIELD, Tenn. (AP) - A Springfield elementary school was placed on lockdown after officials say a 7-year-old student brought a loaded gun to school. The Tennessean reports the incident happened Thursday morning at Westside Elementary School. No one was hurt.…

Haslam allows Tennessee refugees lawsuit to move forward

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Republican Gov. Bill Haslam has decided against a veto of a resolution demanding a lawsuit to be filed over the federal refugee resettlement program in Tennessee. Fears about refugees in Tennessee came into focus after terrorist…