Author: Associated Press

A measure that seeks to ban Tennessee public schools from teaching about gay issues is once again before lawmakers. The proposal, dubbed the "Don't Say Gay" bill, is sponsored by Republican Rep. Joey Hensley of Hohenwald and is scheduled to…

The city of Corinth will ask the Legislature to approve a city-only vote on the sale of alcoholic beverages. The Daily Corinthian reports (http://bit.ly/wpkgRF ) that the board of aldermen voted 5-1 Tuesday to present a resolution to lawmakers now…

Officials of the private Episcopal Church-affiliated university said Tuesday the practical result will be that seniors in the class of 2016 will pay the same tuition as when they enter as freshmen this fall, according to the Chattanooga Times-Free Press…

After nearly four decades on the national missing items list, a gun stolen in 1975 has turned up in a Gautier pawnshop. Tupelo Police Capt. Tim Tate says the 22-caliber Ruger revolver was in the glove box of a Ford…

A former Vanderbilt University Law School manager has been arrested in the theft of more than $600,000 from the university. Jason Hunt was arrested on Friday in Sims, Ark., where he is awaiting extradition to Tennessee, according to The Tennessean…

Chattanooga's public hospital has cut more than one-third of its executive positions in a restructuring plan. Erlanger Health System announced on Monday it pared six of 15 executive posts and moved one of its executives to Erlanger at Hutcheson, according…

The Tennessee Highway Patrol is accepting applications for the first session of the new Citizens Trooper Academy. The nine-week academy consists of approximately 30 hours of training designed to give citizens a better understanding of the THP and its parent…

Two Oktibbeha County schools could face state takeovers if test scores aren't improved. The Dispatch reports ) that one of the two could be taken over by the state as soon as September. The Oktibbeha County School District board of…

The loss of federal funds to help offset costs to start charter schools in Tennessee has officials predicting a "significant strain." Roblin Webb, principal of Freedom Prep in Memphis, told The Commercial Appeal the money can be used to help…

Rebuilding a rundown East Tennessee farm house as a project of ABC's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" promises to benefit more than one family. The show's selection of Daniel Watson, his wife, Mandy, and their three adopted youngsters is also a…

State wildlife officials say new bald eagle nests are showing up across the state, including one within the city of Franklin. Additionally, they say there are many other nests that may have been around for years that are not included…

A former Ripley High School teacher is free on $5,000 bond after being charged with two counts of sexual battery. District Attorney Ben Creekmore told the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal the investigation involves allegations of an improper relationship between 37-year-old…

Rogersville officials think they have discovered the source of an unpleasant mystery odor that plagued the Rogersville City School for years. During a sewer smoke test over Christmas break, officials discovered that one of two garbage disposal lines in the…

The pace of home foreclosures in Mississippi slowed substantially in 2011, following a national trend that may soon be reversed. That's according to Irvine, Calif.-based RealtyTrac, which tracks foreclosures nationwide. RealtyTrac says that, in 2011, 3,172 homes in the state…

Civil rights activist and former Memphis judge D'Army Bailey will speak Thursday at Vanderbilt University Law School in commemoration of the Rev. Martin Luther King. Bailey is scheduled to speak at noon in Flynn Auditorium on "Law in the Hands…

A Memphis city police car has been involved in a traffic crash that killed a woman. A sedan and a marked police cruiser collided Wednesday afternoon, killing 38-year-old Mervat Abdelrahman Almalhi, according to The Commercial Appeal The police car had…

The owners of Silver Slipper have put the casino on the market. Casino general manager John Ferrucci tells The Sun Herald the sale price of the casino is confidential and provided only to qualified buyers. Ferrucci says four suitors are…

Tennessee is meeting most of its goals for implementing educational reforms tied to a $500 million federal Race to the Top award. A progress report released by the U.S. Department of Education on Tuesday found the state's major challenge during…

Tennessee lawmakers return for the second session of the 107th General Assembly on Tuesday. Both chambers are scheduled to begin their business at noon CST. Their main task will be to craft an annual spending plan for the budget year…

Shelby County Commission members have complained that the state Open Meetings Act should be loosened to allow more secrecy. At a meeting Monday, commissioners discussed member Steve Mulroy's call to change the law which bars private decisions about public business.…

Phil Bryant's staff says he will take his oath as Mississippi governor outside on the Capitol steps Tuesday, unless weather deteriorates overnight. However, his inaugural parade is being postponed until Jan. 21. The 57-year-old Bryant is scheduled to be sworn…

A trucker who aimed his tractor-trailer at police cars during a chase on Interstate 81 is heading to court in Hagerstown to learn his sentence. Forty-three-year-old Thomas McNeel of Pontotoc Miss., faces the prospect of more than 40 years in…

A change of plea hearing has been scheduled for a contractor charged in a federal investigation of the South Delta Regional Housing Authority. Court records show Jimmy Johnson was to enter a guilty plea to an unspecified charge Monday in…

A research project by a Western Kentucky University professor about pre-park residents and communities near Mammoth Cave National Park has been tapped as the 2011 Best Paper Award by the International Journal of Applied Geospatial Research. Associate Professor of Geography…

A Republican state lawmaker is proposing paying expectant mothers in three Memphis ZIP codes for having prenatal checkups. Sen. Brian Kelsey of Germantown said he would like to make such a program statewide, but thought it would have a better…

Leaders of an affluent north Mississippi town are calling for the mayor to resign after state auditors said he misspent thousands of taxpayer dollars, including some at a gay sex shop in Canada. Southaven Mayor Greg Davis has come under…

Members of a south Mississippi high school baseball team participated in a hazing ritual that left one teenager hospitalized after being held from behind and punched in the chest, according to a lawsuit filed by the player's parents. The lawsuit…

A central Kentucky Army post is celebrating the return of more soldiers. A statement from Fort Knox says 257 soldiers from the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division returned Wednesday night from a yearlong deployment to Afghanistan. They were…

Tough economic times are apparently manifesting themselves in the offering plate. The Southern Baptist Convention says giving to its Cooperative Program is down 7.1 percent in the first quarter of the denomination's fiscal year. That fund supports mission programs and…

Gov. Steve Beshear has used his state of the commonwealth speech to again call on lawmakers to pass a proposed constitutional amendment that can be put on the ballots so Kentucky voters can decide whether to legalize casino-style gambling. The…

Court hearings in Jefferson County's record-setting bankruptcy filing are scheduled to resume Thursday. The Birmingham News reports (http://bit.ly/AjsLzY) that U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Thomas Bennett is expected to consider a variety of motions. Jefferson County filed the largest municipal bankruptcy in…

Under the state's new teacher evaluation system, observations by principals make up half of their scores, but a first glimpse at those observation scores shows they are all over the map. An open records request from The Tennessean found that…

Two men have been charged in Maury County, Tenn., with civil rights intimidation and multiple counts of vandalism for defacing homes. According to The Daily Herald, investigators said the two defaced four homes New Year's Eve with racial slurs and…

More Tennessee National Guard members are coming home. About 300 soldiers of the 230th Sustainment Brigade were processed at Camp Shelby in Mississippi on Tuesday and are expected to arrive at four Tennessee armories on Wednesday. The unit is based…

A man accused of setting a teddy bear on fire and throwing it at a 9-year-old boy is scheduled for arraignment Thursday on an aggravated child abuse charge. Ronald Dalton was charged over the weekend after the child's mother called…

A requirement that Tennessee voters show photographic identification could be challenged in a lawsuit. Unless or until there is legislative or court action to change the statute that took effect Jan. 1, it remains the law. Tennessee Election Coordinator Mark…

Protesters have broken camp after nearly a month in Murfreesboro. Scott Martindale said the Occupy Murfreesboro protesters decided to - as he put it - "redeploy...assets." Martindale and two women moved their general assembly meeting inside a library on Monday…

Someone obviously liked the back deck of a Clarksville home. They stole it. Jadranko Beslic told The Leaf-Chronicle he and his wife lived in the house while he was in the Army, but it has sat vacant for about a…

The Mississippi Legislature begins its 2012 session Tuesday, with Republicans controlling both chambers for the first time since Reconstruction. Philip Gunn of Clinton is on track to be elected speaker of the 122-member House, and fellow Republican Greg Snowden of…

An exploding gun at a New Year's celebration killed a McMinn County man who was hit by a piece of flying shrapnel. Police say 48-year-old Jeffrey Watson of Calhoun was celebrating the New Year around midnight at his home with…

Tim McGraw's latest studio album, which was at the center of a recent court battle with his record label, is set to be released on Jan. 24. The new album "Emotional Traffic" features 12 songs including the No. 1 single…

Fire officials say they suspect arson in a blaze that destroyed a historic school building that had become a landmark in Pulaski County. Eubank fire chief Norman Rutheford told the Commonwealth Journal that the cause of Friday night's fire at…

Authorities say a Mississippi girl is dead following a go-kart accident in north Alabama. State troopers say 10-year-old Laura Carson of Starkville, Miss., was riding a go-kart near Athens on Monday when she crashed into an unoccupied vehicle on a…

Mississippi revenues continue to run ahead of projections, lifting state government finances. The state Department of Revenue said Thursday that through December it has collected nearly $2.1 billion for the state's General Fund, where most spending is concentrated. That's nearly…

Vanderbilt University students will be heading to Iowa for the caucus meetings and will be teaming up to support a favorite candidate or just observe the first voting of the 2012 presidential election. Four vans of about 20 students will…

Two Kentucky death row inmates are hoping that brain scans and mental tests will bolster their cases for a rare grant of executive clemency that would spare their lives. Ralph S. Baze Jr., condemned for killing a sheriff and deputy…

A longtime journalist has been named to lead the Tennessee Coalition for Open Government. Kent Flanagan was named executive director of the group this week, according to The Knoxville News Sentinel (http://bit.ly/tmPWUO ). TCOG is a nonprofit alliance of media,…

A dispute over money was apparently behind an incident at the Occupy Nashville encampment near the state Capitol. There were no injuries when someone threw gasoline onto the tent of an Occupy protester and set it on fire. People who…

Three miners trapped by smoke underground in a Tennessee zinc mine have been rescued after a fire started on a drill rig. Tim Wilder, of the Jefferson County EMA, said the three were helped out of the mine by a…