Author: Associated Press

Vases stolen from headstones at Greenville cemetery

GREENVILLE, Miss. (AP) - Washington County authorities say several vases have been stolen off headstones from Greenlawn Memorial Garden. Bobby Gordon, named as the receiver of the cemetery in 2013, says 30 to 40 bronze vases have been stolen, at…

Tupelo officials discuss Youth Court overcrowding

TUPELO, Miss. (AP) - Efforts are ongoing by Lee County leaders to address an overburdened Youth Court. But a proposal that would see the city of Tupelo help pay for a solution has met with some initial resistance. County Court…

Coroner IDs Kiln toddler who died after head trauma

KILN, Miss. (AP) - Hancock County authorities are investigating the death of 1-year-old boy who suffered traumatic head injuries in Kiln. Sheriff's Cmdr. Glenn Grannan tells The Sun Herald deputies responded to a home on Thursday and found toddler suffering…

Memphis homicide tally on pace to break 1993 record

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - Memphis is on pace to break its record for the number of homicides that have occurred in the city in one year. The Commercial Appeal reports through the end of March in Memphis, 60 people had…

Harrodsburg mother killed in hit-and-run crash; man arrested

HARRODSBURG, Ky. (AP) - Investigators in Mercer County have arrested a man who they say was responsible for a hit-and-run accident that left a Harrodsburg mother dead. Citing an arrest citation, WLEX-TV reports that 21-year-old Matthew Warner was arrested Sunday…

Authorities: 14-year-old stole Jackson police cruiser

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - A teenager has been taken into custody after police say he stole a police cruiser in Jackson. Local media outlets report the incident happened Sunday night. Jackson police spokeswoman Colendula Green says the 14-year-old male stole…

Child dies after SUV, firetruck crash in Rankin County

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - A child has been killed after his family's SUV collided with a firetruck in Rankin County. Multiple media outlets report that the crash happened Sunday night. Cpl. Eric Henry with the Mississippi Highway Patrol said a…

Stave mill planned in Marshall County to supply cooperages

BENTON, Ky. (AP) - The American Stave Company is building a mill in Benton to produce barrel staves for the bourbon and whiskey industries. A news release from the governor's office says the $12 million project will create more than…

Tennessee Valley Authority approves solar power proposals

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - The Tennessee Valley Authority has approved proposals for new solar power installations by four local power companies in three states. Once completed, the projects will produce 16.7 megawatts of solar energy, enough to power more than…

Smokies limits access to Whiteoak Sink to protect bats

GATLINBURG, Tenn. (AP) - The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is limiting access to the Whiteoak Sink area to protect a critical bat habitat. Park Superintendent Cassius Cash says in a news release the closure of certain areas will minimize…

UT business center named after state Commissioner Randy Boyd

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - The University of Tennessee is naming its Center for Business and Economic Research after businessman and state Commissioner of Economic and Community Development Randy Boyd and his wife, Jenny. The center is housed at the school's…

Monument for families dedicated at veterans cemetery

GRAYSON, Ky. (AP) - A monument that honors families of those who died while serving in the military is being dedicated at the Kentucky Veterans Cemetery Northeast. The Independent reports the Gold Stars Family Monument will be dedicated Monday afternoon…

Nashville area leads Tennessee in population growth

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Nashville and its surrounding areas are leading the state in population growth. According to the Tennessee State Data Center, the Nashville metropolitan statistical area, which includes Murfreesboro and Franklin, had a 2015 population of more than…

Police say man stole donation jar and table it was bolted to

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) - A man accused of stealing a donation jar for disabled veterans along with the table it was attached has turned himself in to police. The Lexington Herald-Leader reports police say the victim was collecting donations in…

23-year-old man accused of abusing 5-year-old

MCCOMB, Miss. (AP) - A 23-year-old McComb man is accused of beating his girlfriend's 5-year-old daughter and recording the acts on his cellphone. The Enterprise-Journal reports that Alex Mead's bond was set at $140,000 after Pike County sheriff's investigators charged…

DeSoto school board OKs reading gazebo at Hernando Middle

HERNANDO, Miss. (AP) - Outdoor reading spaces have become the newest trend at DeSoto County schools. The Commercial Appeal reports that the school board approved a reading gazebo at Hernado Middle School last month. When chairwoman Ann Jolley presented the…

Margaritaville returning to Biloxi, without a casino

BILOXI, Miss. (AP) - Margaritaville is returning to Biloxi - this time, without a casino. Businessman and developer Cono Caranna has released plans for a family-friendly Margaritaville Resort Biloxi, built around a 373-room hotel. News media report that it will…

Louisville Zoo’s orphaned baby meeting other gorillas

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - A new baby gorilla, whose mother died after delivery, is starting to get acclimated to other gorillas. The Courier-Journal reports the nearly 3-week-old baby girl is now in the Louisville Zoo's Gorilla Forest. Zoo staff says…

Investigation says miner crushed under 18-ton machine

DIXON, Ky. (AP) - An investigation into an accident that killed a coal miner in Western Kentucky last year found he was crushed after workers propped up an 18-ton machine with a stack of wooden boards that gave way. The…

Memphis homicide tally on pace to break 1993 record

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - Memphis is on pace to break its record for the number of homicides that have occurred in the city in one year. The Commercial Appeal reports through the end of March in Memphis, 60 people had…

Chris Stapleton, Luke Bryan, Lambert set for ACM Awards

LAS VEGAS, Nevada. -- Chris Stapleton dominated at the Grammys and the Country Music Association Awards, but will he repeat at the Academy of Country Music Awards on Sunday? Yes and no. Stapleton is the leading nominee with seven, but…

Community donates medic kits to Tishomingo deputies

IUKA, Miss. (AP) - Tishomingo County Sheriff's deputies now have a new tool available when they're in the field. Sheriff John Daugherty says the community has provided 15 medical bags for deputies to carry in their vehicles. The Northeast Mississippi…

Lawmakers pass bill to let some felons clear records

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) - Kentucky lawmakers have given final approval to legislation aimed at giving some nonviolent felons a second chance by letting them seek to have their criminal records erased. The bill cleared the House on Friday and goes…

Oxford Middle School student wins state geography bee

PEARL, Miss. (AP) - A 7th grade student from Oxford Middle School is the winner of the 2016 Mississippi National Geographic Bee. Edmund Doerksen took top honors at the competition held Friday at the Clyde Muse Center on Hinds Community…

Embezzlement

NATCHEZ, Miss. (AP) - A Natchez man has been arrested for allegedly embezzling money from his employer. The Natchez-Democrat reports 43-year-old William Pugh was arrested Friday for allegedly embezzling an undisclosed sum of money from Gulf South Auto, where he…

Doctors applaud end of Tennessee’s fetal assault law

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Brittany Hudson was pregnant, addicted to painkillers and afraid of a Tennessee law that calls for the arrest of mothers of drug-dependent babies. She eventually gave birth without medical help, on the side of a road…

Memphis Zoo welcomes baby anteater

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - A baby Southern tamandua has become the latest youngster to join the ranks of animals at the Memphis Zoo. The Commercial Appeal reports the baby hasn't yet been named because its sex is still unknown. It…

House leader: Mississippi road tax push dies amid opposition

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - Unable to attract enough support from lawmakers, House leaders are giving up on a plan to increase money for roads through a series of tax changes. House Transportation Committee Chairman Charles Busby, a Pascagoula Republican, said…

House approves extra $60 million for Kentucky courts

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) - The House of Representatives has approved a bill that would give the Kentucky court system an extra $60 million over the next two years to avoid what the chief justice says would be a crippling deficit.…

Body of missing teen found in Jackson County, MS

BILOXI, Miss. (AP) - Jackson County authorities say a teenager has been charged in the killing of a 16-year-old from Vancleave whose body was found in the woods behind his grandmother's home. Sheriff Mike Ezell, in a news release, says…

UT president says even 1 sexual assault ‘too many’

MARTIN, Tenn. (AP) - University of Tennessee President Joe DiPietro has told UT's board of trustees that even a single sexual assault is one too many. DiPietro made the remarks to the full board during its spring meeting at the…

Kingsport fight video shows what led to deadly brawl

KINGSPORT, Tenn. (AP) - Video footage of a fight that hospitalized and killed a 63-year-old Kingsport man appears to show what happened in the moments leading up to the brawl. The Kingsport Times-News reports the footage, filmed March 11, shows…

Mississippi’s Renasant completes $59M Georgia bank purchase

TUPELO, Miss. (AP) - Mississippi-based regional bank Renasant Corp. has completed its acquisition of Georgia-based KeyWorth Bank for $59 million in stock. Tupelo-based Renasant announced Friday that it has wrapped up the deal. The merger bulks up the presence of…

Mother charged after making children to walk to school

JASPER, Tenn. (AP) - A Marion County mother faces child neglect charges after deputies say she made her daughters walk to school. The Chattanooga Times Free-Press reports that 32-year-old Lisa Marie Palmer was charged after authorities found her driving ahead…

2 children die in residential blaze in West Tennessee

COVINGTON, Tenn. (AP) - An official says two children have died in a residential fire in West Tennessee. District Attorney Mike Dunavant told media that the fire was reported early Friday at a home in Covington, which is about 40…

Whitely Co. Schools sued over boy’s death

WILLIAMSBURG, Ky. (AP) - The parents of a Whitley County Schools student who struck and killed by school bus have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the school district. Media outlets report the lawsuit, filed by John Wesley and Jennifer…

Protesters sue Donald Trump, allege he “incited a riot”

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - Three protesters who allege they were assaulted at a Donald Trump rally in Louisville last month filed a lawsuit against the presidential front runner, alleging he "incited a riot" by repeatedly shouting for his supporters to…

Berea’s Spoonbread Festival cancelled

BEREA, Ky. (AP) - The Berea City Council has voted to not hold the Spoonbread Festival this year. Media outlets report this year's Spoonbread Festival, previously scheduled for September 16-18, would have been its 20th anniversary. The Berea Chamber of…

Forest County deputy, wife plead not guilty to tax evasion

HATTIESBURG, Miss. (AP) - The Forrest County Sheriff's Department chief deputy and his wife have pleaded not guilty to multiple federal charges for allegedly filing false tax returns and tax evasion. Charles and Linda Bolton each face five counts of…

Ex-college dean gets prison for meth found in cereal box

GULFPORT, Miss. (AP) - A former college administrator has been sentenced to nearly seven years in prison for drug distribution including 2 pounds of meth found in a cereal box and a duffel bag. The Sun Herald reports Morris Wilson…

No bond for suspect charged in death of Biloxi man

PASCAGOULA, Miss. (AP) - An Ocean Springs man held on a capital murder charge in the robbery and shooting death of a Biloxi man in Jackson County will remain jailed pending trial. The Sun Herald reports 35-year-old Patrick Anderson was…

Mississippi shipbuilder fined $17,500

PASCAGOULA, Miss. (AP) - The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality has levied an environmental fine on VT Halter Marine. The Sun Herald reports the company has agreed to pay the $17,500 for failing to protect the surrounding environment from paint…

Investigators: Passenger assaulted driver before crash

GREENEVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Authorities say that a man who was killed in a crash in Greene County this week was reportedly assaulting the driver of the SUV before it ran off the road and overturned. The Greeneville Sun is…

Auto supplier to build plant in Bardstown, creating 216 jobs

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) - An auto supplier is planning to build a $110 million plant in central Kentucky that's expected to create 216 full-time jobs. Gov. Matt Bevin's office said Thursday that Thai Summit America Corp. plans to begin construction…

Former prison nurse sentenced for taking money for tobacco

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) - A former prison nurse in Kentucky has been sentenced to a year behind bars for smuggling tobacco into the prison in exchange for payments from inmates. The U.S. attorney's office says U.S. District Judge Danny Reeves…

Haslam names Shelby County lawyer to criminal appeals court

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Gov. Bill Haslam's office says he has appointed J. Ross Dyer to the western section of the Court of Criminal Appeals. In a statement Thursday, Haslam said Dyer's appointment will require confirmation by the General Assembly.…

Stamps to head Tennessee State Employees Association

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Former state Rep. Randy Stamps has been named executive director of the Tennessee State Employees Association. Stamps had served as the group's lobbyists before being selected to replace interim Executive Director LaTanya McAdo. Stamps was a…

Bridge over Herrington Lake set to reopen April 8

BURGIN, Ky. (AP) - Kentucky Transportation Cabinet officials say the reopening of the Kennedy Mill Bridge over Herrington Lake in central Kentucky has been delayed until April 8. The bridge had been set to reopen on April 1, but The…

3 contestants left to vie for final ‘American Idol’ title

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Three contestants are left to vie for the last "American Idol" crown. Trent Harmon, of Amory, Mississippi; Dalton Rapattoni of Dallas; and La'Porsha Renae of McComb, Mississippi, were announced Thursday as the contenders. MacKenzie Bourg of…

Mississippi House leaders mull sales tax increase for roads

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - Mississippi legislative leaders are considering raising sales tax rates from 7 percent to 9 percent as part of plan to increase road and bridge funding. But they indicated they might remove the sales tax from groceries.…