GULFPORT, Miss. (AP) - Tickets for texting while driving may start to rise in Harrison County. Since Troy Peterson became sheriff in January, deputies have written a total of 22 tickets -- 13 citations filed in Justice Court and nine…
PASCAGOULA, Miss. (AP) - Mississippi authorities say a 3-year-old boy is in an Alabama hospital with critical injuries allegedly caused by his father. Jackson County Sheriff Mike Ezell says 24-year-old Nathan McCrory is being held without bond on charges of…
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - A bill that would have allowed Tennesseans to weigh in on whether to decriminalize possession of low-level amounts of marijuana has failed in the Legislature. The Senate Judiciary Committee killed the proposal on Tuesday. The measure,…
TULLAHOMA, Tenn. (AP) - The Tennessee Army National Guard's 30th Troop Command has a new commander. He is Col. Milton Thompson, who takes charge of the unit headquartered at the Tullahoma Readiness Center. Thompson assumed the role from Col. John…
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Economic development officials say eight counties have been chosen to participate in a state program that evaluates properties for future industrial use. Tennessee's Department of Economic and Community Development says Fayette, Humphreys, Lawrence, Maury, Scott, Unicoi,…
FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) - Officials at the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet are urging drivers to use caution in work zones. State officials say they launched an effort this week to educate drivers about work zone safety and traffic laws. The initiative…
GULFPORT, Miss. (AP) - The final two defendants have pleaded guilty in an alleged scam that federal prosecutors say involved bogus checks and money orders distributed through fraudulent "mystery shopper" internet sites. U.S. Attorney Gregory K. Davis in a news…
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - With the Kentucky Derby a little more than three weeks away, the 14-karat gold trophy to be presented to the winner's owner is arriving at Churchill Downs. The trophy was created by a Richline team that…
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan is speaking in Nashville this week during a conference at Tennessee State University. The Black United Summit International Leadership Conference is designed to foster leadership among students at historically black…
FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) - Kentucky officials say annual unemployment rates fell in 115 of the state's counties in 2015 compared to 2014. The Kentucky Office of Employment Training says the jobless rate stayed the same in Owsley County and rose…
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - A federal judge says the Confederate emblem on the Mississippi flag is "anti-American" because it represents those who fought to leave the United States. But, U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves is not yet saying whether he…
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - A bill that would increase state regulation of bail bond companies is now in Gov. Phil Bryant's hands. Senate Bill 2664 would require bail bond agents to get licensed by the Mississippi Department of Insurance. The…
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) - Most public schoolteachers, administrators and employees will get a 4 percent pay raise next fiscal year under legislation and a budget approved by a Senate committee Tuesday. The raise, if it wins final approval, will be…
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) - Alabama is one step closer to researching industrial hemp production. The Alabama House of Representatives on Tuesday passed legislation to allow the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries to research industrial hemp production and its possibilities…
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) - With only nine meeting days left in the 2016 session, impeachment efforts against Alabama Governor Robert Bentley have slowed as legislators say necessary legislation to continue the process is not yet ready. But Rules Chairman Mac…
PHOENIX (AP) - The Phoenix City Manager's Office has a new addition to the other nine semifinalists in its search for a new police chief. They say Deputy Police Chief Nathaniel Allen of Knoxville, Tennessee has been added to the…
FLORENCE, Ala. (AP) - Authorities say a Tennessee Valley Authority worker was electrocuted at Wilson Dam, a hydroelectric facility in northwest Alabama. TVA officials identified the worker as 51-year-old Wendell Smith of Florence, who died Monday. The TimesDaily reports that…
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - A sponsor of a Tennessee transgender bathroom bill has told a finance committee that he has to consider a state attorney general's opinion before going forward. A member of the Senate Finance Ways and Means Committee…
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - State Rep. Curry Todd, a retired Memphis police officer who has pleaded guilty to drunken driving and gun charges, is speaking out against Gov. Bill Haslam's proposal to keep retired law enforcement officers with DUI convictions…
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) - State officials have restructured how remedial courses at Tennessee colleges operate. The Chattanooga Times Free-Press (http://bit.ly/1SbEuGv ) reports that the Tennessee Board of Regents has changed how students take remedial classes in math and writing at…
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Tennessee courts are going to make it easier for people who have been arrested but never convicted of a crime to have their criminal records wiped clean. On Tuesday, a bipartisan group of legislators, judges and…
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Republican House Speaker Beth Harwell is creating a task force to propose ways to improve access to health care in Tennessee. The Nashville Republican said she began conversations with health policy experts at Vanderbilt University's medical…
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Republican Gov. Bill Haslam says he won't wait the full 10 days to decide whether to sign or veto a bill seeking to make the Bible the official book of Tennessee. Haslam, who has expressed reservations…
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Gov. Bill Haslam and fellow Republican House Speaker Beth Harwell are making a health care announcement at the state Capitol on Tuesday. A press advisory gives no other details other than that the speaker and governor…
PEARLINGTON, Miss. (AP) - Authorities say federal agents seized three 5-gallon buckets of liquid methamphetamine during a raid of a Mississippi home and two pounds of crystal meth while foiling a drug deal at a Gulfport gas station. The Sun…
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - Mississippi's attorney general says allegations in a recently unsealed lawsuit that accused his office of participating in a kickback scheme with a New York firm were false. The Clarion-Ledger reports that the now-settled 2014 lawsuit filed…
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Nashville's mayor has announced she will devote $10 million in city money to affordable housing projects. News outlets report Mayor Megan Barry held a news conference Monday announcing the plan to spur on the construction of…
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - Environmental groups are calling on a federal agency to stop a potential dam-construction project near the Pascagoula River in southeastern Mississippi. The Army Corps of Engineers is requiring an environmental impact study before approving a proposal…
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - The children of a couple who met at Tennessee State University in the 1930s have donated $250,000 to the schools in their parents' honor. University officials say it is among the five largest donations from a…
BRANDON, Miss. (AP) - Mississippi's conservative Republican governor, Phil Bryant, often spends his Sunday mornings at St. Mark's United Methodist Church in suburban Jackson. The same can be said for Jan Smith and Donna Phillips, a same-sex couple who have…
BRANDON, Miss. (AP) - Later this month, the City of Brandon will start using a drone to get a closer look at things around the city. WLBT-TV reports Mayor Butch Lee says the $4,000 drone can be programmed to take…
FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) - Kentucky officials have approved a proposal to increase the number of public charging stations for electric vehicles. A statement from the Public Service Commission says the panel agreed on Monday to allow a proposal by Louisville…
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - A former Oldham County minister is expected to plead guilty to federal charges of aiding and abetting sex trafficking with a minor. The Courier-Journal (http://cjky.it/1qFmFU6 ) reports the U.S. attorney's office announced Monday that 64-year-old Howard…
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - Federal prosecutors say a West Tennessee woman has been sentenced to three years and five months in prison for defrauding a disabled couple of more than $500,000. The U.S. attorney's office says 41-year-old Martha Bizzell was…
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - After 15 years of federal oversight, the Tennessee Department of Children's Services has finally met all of the goals set out after a 2001 settlement over its treatment of foster care children. In court on Monday,…
PIGEON FORGE, Tenn. (AP) - A preliminary report on a helicopter crash that killed the pilot and four people sightseeing near the Great Smoky Mountains National Park has found indications the tail rotor may not have had power when it…
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Republican-run Senate has confirmed President Barack Obama's nominee for a federal district judgeship in Tennessee. But the GOP blockade against filling the Supreme Court vacancy is continuing. Senators voted 92-0 Monday to approve Waverly Crenshaw for…
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - A bill that would allow mental health therapists to turn patients away based on the counselors' religious beliefs and personal principles has passed and is on its way to the governor. The American Counseling Association says…
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Tennessee's attorney general says a transgender bathroom bill that is moving through the state Legislature could cost the state federal education funding. Democratic lawmakers opposed to the bill said Monday that Attorney General Herbert Slatery's opinion…
FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) - A Kentucky Senate committee hearing had an anticlimactic ending after a review of the state's health insurance exchange and Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act. The Republican-led panel on Monday took up Democratic-backed bills to…
COVINGTON, Ky. (AP) - A former college women's basketball coach accused of groping a player has been found not guilty of misdemeanor charges of sexual abuse and unlawful transaction with a minor. A Kenton County District Court judge found 29-year-old…
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) - Eric C. Conn, the Kentucky lawyer accused of conspiring to defraud the government of $600 million in questionable federal disability payments, could be released from jail pending trial. A federal judge has called a hearing for…
RADCLIFF, Ky. (AP) - The Radcliff City Council is expected to discuss if farm animals should be allowed in residential zones within city limits. The News-Enterprise reports that the issue was brought up after council members were notified that several…
VICKSBURG, Miss. (AP) - The outside westbound lane of the Interstate 20 bridge will soon be closed while workers with the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development do maintenance work on the bridge. Vicksburg Police Chief Bobby Stewart tells the…
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - Three people have died following a crash on Interstate 64 in Louisville. Local news outlets report that two sisters and an infant boy died as a result of Saturday night's crash. The Clarksville Police Department said…
FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) - Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin is encouraging state lawmakers to pass a budget before the legislature adjourns for the year. Bevin spokeswoman Jessica Ditto said the Republican governor still hopes lawmakers can pass a budget without an…
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation says it's investigating a fatal shooting involving an off-duty Memphis police officer. A TBI statement says the off-duty officer shot 29-year-old Luis Philipe Soto at a Memphis gas station Sunday night…
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - The spirits company behind Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey is taking a deeper plunge into Kentucky bourbon. Brown-Forman Corp. said Monday that Coopers' Craft will be its first new bourbon brand in 20 years. Company executives say…
FULTON, Miss. (AP) - Fulton officials are encouraging people to pay any delinquent utility bills before their names are turned over to a collection agency. The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal reports that the city is expected to sign a contract…
NATCHEZ, Miss. (AP) - Natchez Mayor Butch Brown says the city is about to secure an interim director for the Convention and Visitors Bureau. Brown tells The Natchez Democrat he plans to provide nominees for the interim director and at…
