Author: Associated Press

Federal prosecutors are confirming there's a criminal investigation under way related to the Gibson Guitar raid and are asking a judge to delay efforts by the company to reclaim wood that was seized. Agents last month raided Gibson factories and…

Civil rights leader the Rev. Fred L. Shuttlesworth, who was hailed by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. for his courage and energy, has died. He was 89. Princeton Baptist Medical Center spokeswoman Jennifer Dodd confirms he died at the…

The Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Administration found no safety violations in its investigation of a fatal accident at the Gatlinburg Wastewater Treatment Plant, according to The Mountain Press .Two workers were killed and millions of gallons of sewage spilled…

City officials in Lebanon announced a proposal to build a $40 million arena and events center that would be city owned and funded through new tax revenues. Mayor Philip Craighead said Wednesday that the proposed Cumberland Center would include 1.5…

A federal judge in Lexington has awarded $65 million to six people who invested in a mare leasing program that the judge said was almost entirely bogus from the beginning. U.S. District Judge Joseph M. Hood granted a motion for…

The home of the New Orleans Saints is getting a new name. Greg Bensel, a spokesman for the team, confirmed Monday that the Louisiana Superdome soon will be known as the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Bensel says the automaker is signing on…

Attorneys for property owners who are seeking damages from the Tennessee Valley Authority's huge coal ash spill are continuing to call witnesses after 10 days of the trial. Plaintiff lawyers contend the December 2008 spill of toxin-laden muck into the…

Tennessee officials say two of the agencies that rate government bonds have reaffirmed the state's top credit rating. The Tennessean reports that Jason Mumpower, a senior aide to state Comptroller Justin Wilson, sent an email to lawmakers Monday afternoon stating…

A proposal for a new theme park at the Tennessee State Fairgrounds in Nashville is expected to be on the agenda of the Metro Council. The Council is holding its first meeting of the new term Tuesday night, according to…

State officials say Tennessee may be the best place in the country to find a good pumpkin this year. Severe weather in other parts of the country has put a premium on pumpkins on Tennessee farms. Officials say drought and…

A few weeks after Bell County Schools stopped its practice of having public prayer before high school football games, the crowd who came recited the Lord's Prayer. Several people showed up at Friday night's game wearing T-shirts that said "Let…

The Supreme Court won't stop Iowa from forcing KFC Corp. to pay nearly $250,000 in corporate income taxes, even though it had no restaurants or employees in the state. The high court on Monday refused to hear an appeal from…

Memphis authorities have made more arrests due to violence on Beale Street, a week after six people were shot outside a nightclub. According to The Commercial Appeal, 10 people were arrested after several fights on Beale Street early Sunday morning…

A Tennessee man who is a patient at a nursing home in Virginia has been arrested after police say he stole a car with a child inside and led police on a chase that reached 100 miles per hour. The…

The Mississippi Department of Public Safety says 14 state troopers are being disciplined after an internal investigation found they shared or gained access to information about promotion exams for the Highway Patrol. Commissioner of Public Safety Albert Santa Cruz said…

A southern Kentucky man's Facebook relationship status is likely much more complicated. Bowling Green police say 21-year-old Tristan Neal assaulted his girlfriend Tuesday after the pair fought over his refusal to change his Facebook status from "single" to "in a…

Gov. Steve Beshear's campaign cannot provide proof that his administration created or retained more than 19,500 jobs in Kentucky, despite ads and press releases laying claim to the positions. Hundreds of jobs that the Democratic governor cites on his campaign…

A study to be carried out in Middle Tennessee will seek to connect health and transportation. Hundreds of people in 10 counties, including Nashville and the surrounding area, will be recruited to wear global positioning system monitors and accelerometers, according…

Police in Memphis have charged a woman with stealing more than $60,000 from an elderly retired city police captain who has dementia. Christine Widner was arraigned Thursday in Shelby County Criminal Court on a charge of financial exploitation of a…

Vanderbilt University has asked about a dozen student organizations to comply with a policy banning discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The university has not identified the groups, but if they don't comply, school officials say they could…

The Trash and Treasures Along the Tenn-Tom, an annual, 234-mile yard sale that runs from Tennessee through Mississippi and into Alabama, takes place this weekend. Bargain hunters will find hundreds of yard and garage sales Friday and Saturday in nearly…

Brown-Forman Corp. says its former chairman and CEO, Owsley Brown II, who helped make the company's brands a staple in liquor stores and restaurants around the world, died late Monday after a brief illness. He was 69. Brown was a…

Authorities say one person has been taken to a hospital by helicopter after an Amtrak train hit a car in north Mississippi. Tunica County spokesman Larry Liddell says the collision happened Tuesday morning at the intersection of Pritchard Road and…

Federal prosecutors have charged another contractor employee at the Tennessee Valley Authority's Watts Bar Nuclear Plant with falsifying electrical cable inspection records. Court records show John E. Delk as a supervisor for Williams Specialty Services of Tucker, Ga., is charged…

The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum's new exhibition next year will explore the roots and heyday of the Bakersfield Sound, a music style personified by the careers of Buck Owens and Merle Haggard. During the Great Depression, the…

The University of Tennessee College of Pharmacy has a new dean who is the first African-American to be appointed to the position in the college's 113-year history. Marie Chisholm-Burns was introduced as the new dean on Friday. She currently is…

An autopsy shows that complications from a gunshot wound to the abdomen is the cause of death of a Tennessee man whose body was found in Monroe County on Friday. County Coroner Alan Gurley tells the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal…

A Chattanooga woman has found a unique use for her Facebook account - reporting a robbery. Chattanooga Police said 20-year-old Rolanda Hill answered a knock at her door Sunday night and a man stuck a gun through the open door…

Campbell County police have found five pipe bombs in residential mailboxes and are now warning other residents to be cautious. The fifth pipe bomb was found Sunday in a mailbox in the Alexandria area. Four others similar in appearance have…

A kidnapping that reportedly began at a Kangaroo gas station in Nashville, Tenn., ended in Monroe County, Miss., when a 57-year-old man was found dead at a gasoline station in Hamilton. Aberdeen Police Chief Henry Randall says authorities had been…

A new report says Birmingham is on track to rank among the nation's smoggiest cities in 2011. The Birmingham News reports that Environment America, a coalition of environmental advocacy organizations, examined smog statistics in several cities. The group's report looked…

Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam has put partisan differences aside to join President Barack Obama for an announcement that states will be given more freedom to opt out of key parts of the federal No Child Left Behind law. The Republican…

Police say a central Kentucky catnap burglar has been arrested after falling asleep on a couch inside an apartment he had broken into. Harrodsburg police say a neighbor called officers after seeing 19-year-old Alex McCrystal snoozing inside the Hensley Heights…

Memphis police say they received several calls about a man walking nude along city streets near Tobey Park. The calls came in early Thursday afternoon and officers trained to deal with people with mental health issues were called in. They…

A court order has shut down six gas stations in Paducah because of underground storage tank violations. A statement from the Kentucky Division of Waste Management says the six stations owned by Superway Inc. had gas pumps locked by state…

Two people have pleaded guilty to charges of insurance fraud involving the State and School Employees Health Insurance Plan. The Clarion-Ledger reports that the pleas were entered Wednesday in Rankin County Circuit Court. Seven people pleaded guilty earlier this month.…

State lawmakers say they plan to move forward with proposed changes to the commission that disciplines Tennessee judges. Republican Sen. Mae Beavers of Mt. Juliet led two hearings this week concerning the Tennessee Court of the Judiciary. A panel of…

A state health official says that despite a much higher rate of infection among mosquito samples from Shelby County, there have been only eight human West Nile cases documented so far this year statewide. While that number is twice the…

Questions are being raised about a Pennsylvania company's ability to finance a combination toll road and rail line from the Alabama coast to the Tennessee line. Proposed project developer Ameri-Metro announced the plans Tuesday and sent out a statement about…

Annual job growth in Mississippi remained largely flat in August. The Mississippi Department of Employment Security says the state had 6,300 more non-farm jobs last month than in August 2010. The July-to-July comparison showed 6,500 more jobs in the state.…

The Tennessee Valley Authority's top executive is set to testify at the federal trial on lawsuits seeking damages from the utility's coal ash spill. With the third day of testimony set Wednesday in the bench trial, TVA President and CEO…

Mississippi's state-licensed casinos saw revenues drop in August, traditionally a big month for gaming venues. The 19 riverside casinos took in $94 million from players last month, down $17 million from July. The Mississippi River casinos saw a $6.5 million…

The Nashville Fire Department has suspended a paramedic after anti-gay comments were posted on a department Internet page and his own Facebook account. Fire Chief Steve Halford ordered a two-month suspension of Kevin Kennedy after a departmental hearing last week,…

An Anderson County Church says it followed protocol when it denied burial in the church cemetery to the family of an 83-year-old woman who died. Fairview Free Will Baptist Church told the family of Virginia Smith that Smith had not…

A group representing brick-and-mortar stores says forgone tax collections from online sales are costing Tennessee more than 6,000 jobs. The Alliance for Main Street Fairness has been a vocal opponent of the state's agreement to waive the requirement for online…

The Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance Consumer Affairs Division is warning about emails that request participation in a survey and promise a gift card in return. The division said in a news release that instead of receiving a gift…

A young Hendersonville woman charged with two counts of first-degree murder the death of her newborn twins has been allowed $250,000 bond. The general sessions courtroom in Gallatin was packed Monday with supporters of 25-year-old Lindsey Lowe and several testified…

Officials with the Tupelo-Lee Humane Society say it will take more manpower to enforce a new dangerous dog ordinance they hope the city council will adopt. The ordinance could come before the city council next month. TLHS currently controls the…