NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - An effort to raise Tennessee's smoking age from 18 to 21 has been defeated in the state House. The bill sponsored by Republican Rep. Bob Ramsey of Maryville failed to receive a motion in the House…
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - The Louisville Zoo announced that 27-year-old gorilla Mia Moja died from complications from an emergency cesarean section to deliver a female baby three weeks premature. The baby, in critical but stable condition since its birth Monday,…
HERNANDO, Miss. (AP) - Now that the U.S. Department of Education has agreed to investigation allegations of discriminatory disciplinary practices by Mississippi's largest public school district, parents and students are hoping for changes soon. The Commercial Appeal reports those initiating…
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - A bill that would strip the University of Tennessee's controversial Office of Diversity and Inclusion of some - but not all - of its state funding has passed a House subcommittee. An amendment tacked on to…
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant has signed a bill that revises the state's regulation of small loan companies. He signed House Bill 1511 on Monday, and it will become law July 1. It will allow small loan…
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - A bill that would require transgender students to use bathrooms that match their sex at birth is gaining momentum in the Tennessee legislature after passing in a House subcommittee. The bill is advancing despite opposition from…
FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) - Kentucky lawmakers have delved back into the contentious issue of needle-exchange programs created as a result of a 2015 law combating the state's heroin-addiction problems. The state Senate on Tuesday passed a bill to require a…
NEWPORT, Ky. (AP) - A car has plunged into the Ohio River after a three-car crash on a bridge leading from Kentucky to Cincinnati. Ryan Watts, spokesman for the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, says rescue efforts are still underway. It is…
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - A bill to allow municipal utilities that offer broadband to also provide ultra-fast Internet outside of their service areas has failed for the year. Republican Rep. Kevin Brooks of Cleveland withdrew his bill from consideration on…
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - The Mississippi House has voted to restore a type of speech that a majority of members previously voted to remove. House Republicans voted Feb. 25 to take away representatives' right to take a point of personal…
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee is donating $1 million to the state's Imagination Library to help grow the program that provides a free book every month to children from birth to age 5 at no cost to…
SEVIERVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - The Latest on a hearing for three Tennessee high school basketball players charged with raping a teammate. A judge has rejected prosecutors' bid to have one of three Tennessee high school basketball players charged with raping…
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - A Mississippi Senate panel is advancing early budget proposals that would cut spending by 5 percent for many agencies. The plan would put more money into schools, but would still be $130 million short of full…
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - The city of Biloxi, the American Civil Liberties Union and a private probation service are settling a lawsuit over how the city court system treats poor people who can't pay fines. A federal judge approved the…
SEVIERVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Prosecutors want to transfer one of the three Tennessee high school basketball players charged with raping a teammate from juvenile to adult court. Three Ooltewah high school players face aggravated rape charges. Police say the defendants…
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - Police say a Memphis man has been charged with second-degree murder in the fatal shooting of a pregnant 15-year-old girl. Authorities say 24-year-old Terry Turner is being held on $200,000 bond in the death of Vianca…
GRAYSON, Ky. (AP) - The Carter County Fiscal Court has denied the implementation of a taxing district to support county libraries. The Independent reports that the fiscal court met Monday night to consider the issue and argued that a taxing…
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - A Knox County Schools bus driver has been charged with DUI, reckless endangerment and simple possession after crashing his bus with 26 students on board. Knoxville police said in a news release that 78-year-old Hollis Walker…
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) - A program in Lexington is allocating grants and low-interest loans to groups developing affordable housing projects. The Lexington Herald Leaders reports that Lexington's affordable housing fund has financed 443 affordable housing units since it was created…
LEBANON, Tenn. (AP) - A former Lebanon youth pastor has been sentenced to spend six years behind bars after pleading guilty to two counts of statutory rape by an authority figure. The Tennessean reports that 44-year-old Christopher Douglas Ross of…
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Court records show that taxpayers will be footing the bill for a settlement reached in the beating of a mentally ill inmate by Knox County Sheriff's Office corrections officers. News outlets report that a settlement in…
SMITHLAND, Ky. (AP) - Kentucky State Police say they are investigating after an 18-year-old female was found dead at the scene of a house fire. Police said in a statement that first responders responded Monday night to a report of…
SHELBYVILLE, Ky. (AP) - A Shelby County grand jury has indicted a Simpsonville police officer accused of stealing from his department. Local news outlets report that officer Terry Putnam was indicted Friday on charges of theft, criminal mischief, official misconduct…
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - An East Tennessee woman has been charged with murder in the overdose death of her infant daughter. Media report 31-year-old Heather Renee Keylon of Oak Ridge was arrested Saturday and booked in the Knox County Jail…
FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) - The State Board of Elections has certified the results of last week's four special Kentucky House elections that solidified Democratic control of the chamber. The board's certification on Tuesday clears the way for the four new…
VICKSBURG, Miss. (AP) - Two Mississippi probationers on the run for two weeks are in custody in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Multiple news outlets report 25-year-old Christopher Brown and 23-year-old Christopher Livingston were convicted in Warren County and assigned to…
NATCHEZ, Miss. (AP) - Leaders from around the state will join tourism officials Wednesday at the state capitol to celebrate Natchez Tricentennial Day. The Natchez Democrat reports the Mississippi Legislature passed a resolution earlier in the current session declaring Wednesday…
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - Louisville police say they have seen a spike in the number of overdose calls they've responded to this month. The Courier-Journal reports Louisville Metro Police Chief Steve Conrad says they believe heroin is being mixed with…
HATTIESBURG, Miss. (AP) - Members of the Hattiesburg Public School District Board of Trustees will turn to the Mississippi School Boards Association to help them with the search for a superintendent to replace James Bacchus, who resigned the post in…
APISON, Tenn. (AP) - A grand jury will decide whether or not to indict an Apison mother on charges after authorities say her 3-year-old son accidentally shot himself to death in a vehicle. Local media outlets report 26-year-old Kelly Pittman…
OCEAN SPRINGS, Miss. (AP) - Mississippi officials have ordered the shutdown of a camp that offers support for adult cancer patients. The Sun Herald reports Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann says in a statement that his office has ordered Ocean…
GULFPORT, Miss. (AP) - W.C. Fore is protesting a $44 million contract award to Necaise Bros. Construction Co. for work on the state port's West Pier because Fore was low bidder on the project. The Sun Herald reports the state…
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - A bill to assign letter grades to public schools in Tennessee is headed to Gov. Bill Haslam's desk. Supporters say the current system of rating schools on a scale of one to five can confuse parents…
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - A Ridgecrest, Louisiana woman has pleaded guilty to forgery and theft from a senior citizen in her care. Attorney General Jim Hood says 30-year-old Nicole Mata appeared before Judge Forrest A. Johnson in Adams County Circuit…
FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) - Kentuckians can now register to vote with a few clicks on their computers or smartphones. Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes said Monday that the start of online voter registration is a milestone in the effort…
FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) - Kentucky Democrats and Republicans are scheduled to release a pair of dueling budget plans, but Democrats most likely will have the votes to win. House Republicans have called a news conference at 9 a.m. to release…
CARROLLTON, Ky. (AP) - A longtime state resort park worker has been killed in car crash while driving to work to cover a shift in for a co-worker. Andy Persanyi was the dining room supervisor at General Butler State Resort…
LUCEDALE, Miss. (AP) - Prosecutors are seeking a court order to obtain a DNA sample from a Lucedale man charged in the slaying of a transgender teen. The Sun Herald reports 28-year-old Joshua Vallum faces first-degree murder in the death…
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) - Kentucky officials say two men have been charged with trespassing after going over Cumberland Falls in kayaks last weekend. State Department of Parks spokesman Gil Lawson says a ranger cited Dane Jackson and Nicholas Troutman after…
FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) - A bill aimed at boosting voter turnout in Kentucky by allowing early voting without an excuse has been passed by the state House despite some lawmakers' concerns about strapping county clerks with extra costs. The measure…
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - The campus NAACP says a plan to add context to a Confederate statue at the University of Mississippi is a failure because a proposed plaque does not mention slavery as the central issue in the Civil…
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - A legislative panel will consider whether to increase Mississippi's gasoline tax and put additional registration fees on vehicles to help pay for highway and bridge repairs. Senate Highways and Transportation Committee Chairman Willie Simmons says he…
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Republican Gov. Bill Haslam says he supports giving cities and counties the power to levy their own gas tax to help pay for transportation needs. Haslam told the Tennessee Municipal League on Monday that raising the…
FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) - House Republicans say a tweak in Republican Gov. Matt Bevin's budget plan would get the federal government to spend an extra $162.2 million on the state's multi-billion dollar public pension debt. But the proposal depends on…
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - A proposal to allow public-private partnerships for transportation projects in Tennessee is advancing in the state Legislature after sponsors said it would no longer apply to highway or bridge construction. Republican Sen. Bill Ketron of Murfreesboro…
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - Most customers can restart their normal use of water in Mississippi's capital city. Jackson officials notified the public Monday afternoon that a water-conservation notice and a boil-water notice have been lifted for all but about 200…
FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) - A proposal aimed at amending Kentucky's Constitution to guarantee rights for crime victims has cleared another hurdle in the General Assembly. The measure was approved by the House Elections, Constitutional Amendments and Intergovernmental Affairs Committee on…
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (AP) - A coroner says a man who died after officers used a stun gun on him when he became combative after a weekend rollover crash suffered blunt-force trauma from the crash. Warren County Coroner Kevin Kirby…
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - Mississippi's unemployment rate ticked down in January, but a yearly rebalancing of the jobless figures has once again left the state with the nation's worst jobless rate. The jobless rate fell to 6.7 percent from 6.8…
WINCHESTER, Ky. (AP) - A man charged in an apartment fire that killed three people, including his son, says he was drinking and smoking near his oxygen tank when it caught fire. Police charged 55-year-old Jackie Hisle Jr. on Friday…
