Author: Associated Press

The Department of Justice has issued a report critical of the care Mississippi provides for the mentally ill. During two visits earlier this year, Justice Department officials toured Mississippi Department of Mental Health programs, community mental health centers and a…

A federal grand jury in Memphis has indicted four warehouse workers, charging them with stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of video game software. Byron Manning, Darryl Covington, John Brown and Alexander Smith are named in indictments that charge…

A project adding four lanes to the heavily traveled Interstate 65 south of Nashville is halfway done. Crews are widening a four-mile stretch of the roadway as part of a $100 million project that began a year ago. According to…

A Maysville middle school teacher is using Twitter as a study tool. Ella Bowling told The Ledger Independent that most of her students at Mason County Middle School already use Twitter or other social networking sites so she decided to…

With the 2012 presidential election looming, a Vanderbilt University political scientist says the one key factor is the disposable income of voters. Larry Bartels says if the real disposable incomes of voters are growing in the six months before Election…

The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency says a rare Asian hooded crane has been spotted at the Hiwassee Refuge in Birchwood, Tenn. The bird normally is seen only in Southeast Asia, China and Japan. Officials said they were not sure how…

Two former officials at an East Tennessee utility district are facing theft charges. Del Ray Roberts, who is the former general manager of the Powell-Clinch Utility District, was indicted on charges of theft and fraudulent use of a district credit…

In the weeks and months after tornadoes tore through homes across the South, pictures and documents rained on yards hundreds of miles away. An Alabama woman began collecting them in an online database, posting the cherished scraps of people's lives…

A lawmaker from Kentucky's impoverished Appalachian region has decided to drop a proposal that would have banned welfare recipients from buying candy, soda and other sweets with food stamp cards. Democratic state Rep. Rick Nelson of Middlesboro faced heated criticism…

According to projections by Gov. Bill Haslam's administration, increasing Tennessee's estate tax exemption by $500,000 would cost the state about $23 million in lost revenues The inheritance tax currently applies to estates worth more than $1 million, and was paid…

An East Tennessee veterinary hospital was able to help local families have a merry Christmas by collecting bags of cat hair. Strange as it may sound, the Jonesborough Animal Hospital collected 2.6 pounds of feline fur and sold it to…

The FBI, local law enforcement agencies and the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians are looking into a security breach in a credit card processing systems at the Pearl River Resort in Neshoba County. The tribe reported the problem Thursday. Philadelphia…

Changes are coming to the Army's junior reserve officers' training program that would allow cadets to wear religious head coverings after a Muslim high school student in Tennessee wasn't allowed to participate because she wore a headscarf. The Army office…

A man accused of using counterfeit money at stores and yard sales in north Mississippi is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 30 in federal court in Greenville. Court records say Tommy R. Cooley used fake money in stores in Saltillo…

The Nashville hospital that performed Tennessee's first heart transplant will no longer be doing the surgeries. Officials say the number of transplants at Saint Thomas has declined in recent years, while volume has increased at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, according…

Who knew that the song many are familiar with as the theme to "The Andy Griffith Show" had lyrics? The song is actually called "The Fishing Hole" and it has been re-recorded - words and all - by country singer…

With Amazon and Tennessee finally in agreement over the collection of sales taxes, the online retailer formally finalized its plans to open two new distribution centers in Murfreesboro and Lebanon that are expected to create 1,300 new jobs. Seattle-based Amazon.com…

As Alabama lawmakers try to decide how much money students should be allowed to spend on gifts for their teachers, some say $25 and others say $100. Gov. Robert Bentley is encouraging the Legislature to clear up confusion created by…

The Tennessee Valley Authority's chief operating officer, 60-year-old Bill McCollum, says he will retire June 30. McCollum announced his plans in a Wednesday telephone call with reporters. As chief operating officer, McCollum oversees management of power production, transmission, power trading…

A Memphis police officer has been arrested after authorities said he tried to buy large amounts of marijuana and sold painkillers while on duty and in uniform. The U.S. attorney's office in Memphis said Tuesday that 35-year-old Michael Shane Sinnock…

Wynonna Judd will perform holiday songs for children with life-threatening medical conditions. The event is part of Macy's "Believe" campaign in which the department store donates $1 to the Make-A-Wish Foundation for each letter to Santa Claus that is mailed…

Watch that wassailing - the Mississippi Highway Patrol plans a tough crackdown on drunken driving as the heart of the holiday season arrives. Col. Donnell Berry, director of the patrol, tells The Mississippi Press that they want families traveling for…

Clarksville police are trying to identify the owner of nearly two dozen wrapped Christmas gifts that may have been stolen. Clarksville police said in a statement that police were called to a residential neighborhood on Monday after a report of…

An environmentalist dressed in a Santa suit has delivered lumps of coal for Christmas to Gov. Steve Beshear and other state officials who have done nothing to halt mountaintop removal mining. Martin Mudd, a Lexington teacher and member of the…

The Metro Nashville School Board decided Monday evening to keep a charter school open on a probationary status. The board, at a special meeting, decided against revoking the charter for Drexel Preparatory Academy which has more than 230 students. The…

Tennessee U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn says her family's holiday will be bright. She's filling Christmas stockings with light bulbs. Incandescent, of course. The Brentwood Republican has backed a provision to cut funding for an energy efficiency law scheduled to take…

Police are investigating a possible abuse case after a 4-year-old Chattanooga boy died and a 3-year-old boy was placed in intensive care. Chattanooga police spokeswoman Sgt. Jerri Weary said the two boys were taken to a local emergency room, where…

Police say they believe two men now in jail may have shot and killed the wife of the New Albany High School football coach. New Albany Police Chief David Grisham says the Union County Sheriff's Office arrested two men in…

A high school student has been injured when a science experiment went awry in Jonesborough. Washington County Sheriff's Office Sgt. John Rupe said students were outside the building at David Crockett High School under teacher supervision on Thursday afternoon when…

Hundreds of drunken driving cases in Jefferson County are under review because four Breathalyzer technicians let their certifications lapse. Jefferson County Attorney Mike O'Connell told The Courier-Journal that his office found out about the issue Tuesday and has been reviewing…

Four bridges spanning the Mississippi River will get $9.8 million in retrofits, including closed circuit television cameras and dynamic message signs, in an effort to provide real-time river monitoring for barge traffic. The Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery grants to…

A young Salvation Army bell ringer has been struck and killed by a train. Scott County Coroner John Goble identified the victim as 21-year-old Cory Ross of Georgetown. Ross was walking along tracks near the Georgetown Bypass on Thursday afternoon,…

The state fire marshal's office has cut off the electrical outlet Occupy Nashville was using on Legislative Plaza after an inspector found that it posed a safety threat. The group was able to operate off a battery-powered backup generator all…

The Southern Baptist Convention's publishing division is recalling pink Bibles, saying some of the money raised through their sale was being given to Planned Parenthood. LifeWay Christian Resources no longer markets the pink-bound version of the Holman Christian Standard Bible…

A Chinese drywall manufacture has agreed to pay hundreds of millions of dollars to settle court claims by thousands of Gulf Coast property owners who blame the product for damaging their homes. A settlement announced Thursday by U.S. District Judge…

The company that produces Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey is breaking ground in north Alabama for a plant that will produce the wood used in its barrels. The mill operated by Brown-Forman Cooperage is located in Stevenson, which is in northeast…

Five more Amish men have been convicted in western Kentucky of not displaying a slow-moving emblem on their buggies. The action came Monday after bench trials in Graves County. The men told The Paducah Sun that they do not plan…

Once prominent attorney Thomas D. Keenum Sr. will be sentenced Dec. 30 for federal bank fraud. The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal reports the 71-year-old Keenum pleaded guilty in August 2010 to a scheme to defraud BancorpSouth of Booneville through a…

Homeless people who stay in a tent city in Paducah have been told to leave or face arrest. Mayor Bill Paxton said at a City Commission meeting Tuesday night that he would meet with an advocate for the camp Wednesday,…

The Tennessee Department of Transportation will study a section of a limited-access highway north of Nashville where a 50-car pileup this month left two people dead. A review of the Dec. 1 crash in Sumner County and the response to…

The state has announced an agreement with Motorola Solutions Inc. for a statewide radio system for state troopers. Under $39.2 million appropriated by the General Assembly, radios will be upgraded in the Tennessee Highway Patrol Chattanooga, Fall Branch and Knoxville…

Gov. Steve Beshear is pushing for a constitutional amendment to expand the types of gambling allowed in Kentucky. The second-term Democrat told reporters Tuesday that changing the constitution to allow gambling could generate needed revenue for state government. He said…

A veteran deputy with the Sevier County Sheriff's Office is back on the job - with a firearms refresher course completed - after he accidentally fired a shot inside a convenience store. Cpl. Chris Huskey was demonstrating a Glock pistol…

Someone stole a Metro Nashville school bus and took it for a ride, parking it at an abandoned business just outside of West Memphis, Ark. Schools Transportation Director Keith Phillips told WKRN-TV that the bus driver reported the vehicle missing…

A newspaper investigation reveals that Gov. Bill Haslam, who has never revealed all the sources of his income, has overstated his personal income tax rate in his limited financial disclosures. During his run for governor, Haslam released data listing millions…

Three women have been charged with forgery over the estate of the late state Rep. Ulysses Jones. Sandra Richards, Avis Langford-Brannon and Beverly Prye have all surrendered after a Shelby County grand jury returned indictments against them last week, according…

The Kentucky State Parks are offering eagle watching tours in January and February. The park system sponsors wildlife-watching opportunity as bald eagles gather around the major lakes of western Kentucky looking for food. The park tours allow visitors to observe…

A one-day course at the University of Tennessee is for individuals who use a domestic kitchen to prepare and sell food to the public. The course Wednesday is designed to ensure that facilities meet regulations of the Tennessee Department of…

A Memphis tattoo artist is doing ink work on the bodies of people who bring in a new toy. Toys for Tattoos has become an annual event at Jay Guzman's House of Ink. Guzman says it's so busy that he…

Police say they believe a western Kentucky man was out looking for unlocked cars to steal from. If so, he picked the wrong car at the wrong house. Daviess County Sheriff's Deputy Ed Hoskins said he found 24-year-old Sean N.…