Author: Associated Press

Gov. Bill Haslam is refusing to grant pay raises to hundreds of state workers who have been disciplined during the past year. The increases of 1.6 percent for an estimated 42,000 executive branch workers went into effect July 1. Most…

Police in western Kentucky say three people were charged after authorities seized 3 lbs. of crystal methamphetamine with a street value of up to $130,000 in Owensboro, the largest amount of meth found in the city's history. Owensboro police charged…

Oxford officials are looking for a way to weed out some of the town's seediest properties. The city is updating an ordinance that will require property owners to maintain their property in such a way that, even if it doesn't…

Thirty-seven abandoned coal mines have been closed at the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area straddling the Tennessee-Kentucky border. Using federal stimulus funds, the mines were barred with steel gates, wire netting and closed using other methods. According…

The final permit for Tennessee's third managed elk hunt will go to the successful bidder in an eBay auction starting Thursday through July 23. Proceeds from the auction benefit the state's elk restoration program. The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency donated…

A second round of teacher layoffs has put 47 Memphis City Schools educators out of work. Most of those laid off Tuesday are English, history, social studies or vocational teachers, according to The Commercial Appeal. The cuts bring to more…

The Nuclear Fuel Services plant in East Tennessee has been cleared to restart its last idled processing line. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission notified the company in a letter on Tuesday, according to the Johnson City Press. Roger Hannah, a spokesman…

A Nashville pharmacist has pleaded guilty to illegally distributing prescription painkillers and not reporting the income. Glenn Brooks, who formerly owned Brooks Pharmacy, entered the pleas Monday and will be sentenced Oct. 28, according to The Tennessean. The 74-year-old Brooks…

Crews have recovered the body of a man who witnesses said drown while swimming near the small Alabama town of Waterloo, authorities said. Authorities say the body of David Lee "Tony" Ticer, who was living in Waterloo, was recovered Tuesday.…

All the legislation approved this year during the General Assembly is now available online. According to a news release from the Tennessee secretary of state, it's the first year that all resolutions are available on the website: www.tn.gov/sos/acts/index.htm . The…

A state representative from Lenoir City says she carved her initials into her desk in the House chamber but said she doesn't understand why that's news. WSMV-TV in Nashville first reported the initials J.C.H. had been carved into the desk…

Officials in the music industry are meeting this week in Nashville to discuss ways to combat online music piracy. Some 70 people are attending sessions organized by DDEX, Digital Data Exchange, to develop ways for copyright tracking and enforcement and…

A Texas man has drowned while swimming in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Witnesses told park rangers that Dick Chijioke of Plano, Texas, was tubing with his family Monday morning when he slipped from a rental tube in the…

The sale of spray paint to minors will be banned in Shelby County, effective July 25. The Shelby County Commission voted 9-3 on Monday to bar stores from selling cans of pressurized paint and so-called "graffiti sticks to anyone under…

Fans of Japanese cartoon style animation have showed up in costume for the first Anime (AN'-ih-may) Blues Con in Memphis. The conference drew about 1,300 fans to the Hilton Memphis on Sunday for panel discussions, autograph signings and what fans…

Temperatures near 100 are forecast in parts of Tennessee and forecasters have issued heat warnings. Even in East Tennessee, where no warnings were yet posted on Monday morning, the National Weather Service was forecasting very warm weather. An excessive heat…

Kentucky officials report more than 21,000 motorists were cited recently for not wearing seat belts during a special two-week enforcement period. But the Transportation Cabinet's Office of Highway Safety reports officers also made 1,347 drunken driving arrests, 1,381 felony arrests…

An Alabama woman faces sentencing Monday in U.S. District Court in Nashville for kidnapping a 4-day-old boy while claiming to be an immigration agent. Tammy Silas of Ardmore, Ala., has pleaded guilty to the 2009 kidnapping in a plea agreement…

Fatal tornadoes in April mean Alabama has seen more of the strongest category of twister than any other state. The National Weather Service has upgraded an April 27 tornado in northeast Alabama's DeKalb County from the category EF-4 to EF-5.…

A dog that went missing seven years ago in northwest Arkansas soon will be reunited with its owner. The Rogers Morning News reports that Andrew Navarette's Shih Tzu, Mimi, disappeared from his Rogers backyard seven years ago. Navarette was unable…

oyota Motor Manufacturing Mississippi isn't quite ready to produce the world's best-selling sedan yet at its Blue Springs plant. Company spokeswoman Emily Holland tells the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal that work still needs to be completed inside the plant, and…

Gov. Steve Beshear has scheduled a news conference for Thursday to give an update on his administration's efforts to privatize some Medicaid services. The Beshear administration has been trying to hammer out contracts with managed-care organizations to cuts costs. The…

A grand jury in Chattanooga has indicted a Smyrna woman on a charge of attempted first-degree murder in what prosecutors say was an attempt to suffocate her young son. The indictment returned Wednesday also charges 41-year-old Monica Hammers with aggravated…

A sheriff in western Kentucky is investigating a complaint that a deputy beat an injured dog with a hoe. Ohio County Sheriff David Thompson told the Messenger-Inquirer that state road workers made the complaint against Deputy Randy Taylor, who was…

Authorities have charged a 22-year-old man with first-degree murder in the shootings of a Memphis police officer and another man. A criminal court affidavit shows Alexander Haydel was charged Tuesday in the deaths of Officer Timothy Warren and Arthur Warren,…

Challenger Phyliss J. Anderson has defeated Beasely Denson with 55 percent of the vote Tuesday in a run-off election to become the first woman chief of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians. The Neshoba Democrat reports that complete but unofficial…

Gov. Bill Haslam and other state officials will commemorate the 80th anniversary Wednesday of the National Library Service for the Blind & Physically Handicapped. Tennessee's Library for the Blind & Physically Handicapped opened in 1971. There are almost 7,900 Tennesseans…

The Oxford Board of Aldermen has agreed to buy video surveillance cameras. Police Chief Mike Martin says the 10 cameras would be placed around the downtown area. The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal reports Martin told aldermen on Tuesday that the…

Kentucky police agencies say the commonwealth's texting while driving statute is well intended, but difficult to enforce. The law went into effect a year ago, but officers issued only verbal warnings for the first six months. Citations and fines have…

Dr. Robert L. Brunston Jr., a Biloxi surgeon and cardiologist, has pleaded guilty to willful failure to file a federal income tax return. Brunston was indicted on four counts that alleged he failed to file returns for four years on…

Police in Clarksville believe the same man committed three pharmacy robberies in two days, taking prescription painkillers after showing a handgun. A third drug store was held up Monday afternoon by a slender white man who had asked a pharmacist…

The state Highway Patrol says almost 200 people were arrested over the holiday weekend for DUIs through midnight Sunday. Another 154 were cited for improper seat belt use. Master Sgt. Johnny Poulos, spokesman for the state Highway Patrol, tells The…

Eighteen-year-old Michael Williams missed so many days in his senior year due to his professional Motocross career that he turned online to Metro Nashville's virtual school program to finish his school work in order to get his diploma. That opportunity…

A female employee at the Clinton Wal-Mart was not seriously injured when she was stabbed in an apparent random attack. According to Sunday's Clarion-Ledger, 47-year-old Jackie Spears, of Jackson, Tenn., allegedly saw the employee come out of the automotive department…

Dr. Jerald Ogg has been appointed provost at the University of Tennessee at Martin. He will continue his role as vice chancellor for academic affairs. Provost is the second-ranking administrative officer at the university. Ogg joined the UT-Martin faculty in…

A state economist is estimating that Kentucky smokers purchased 120 million fewer packs of cigarettes over the past two years. Greg Harkenrider, deputy executive director of the Governor's Office for Economic Analysis, said Friday that raising the state's cigarette tax…

Kentucky officials say the presence of wild pigs is expanding in the state, and they believe people are importing the animals and releasing them to create hunting opportunities. Two people have been convicted this year of bringing wild pigs into…

A southern Kentucky firefighter has pleaded guilty to setting a blaze in the Daniel Boone National Forest. Michael L. Luttrell, a volunteer with the Woodbine Fire Department in Whitley County, entered the plea Tuesday in U.S. District Court in London.…

The Tennessee Highway Patrol says there will be saturation patrols along with sobriety and driver license checkpoints across the state this holiday weekend. AAA estimates there will be 619,500 Tennesseans on the road over the long period. The state had…

The TBI will begin issuing special alerts Friday to help apprehend violent criminals who harm law officers. They are similar to Amber Alerts, which are designed to publicize the disappearance of a child. The new "Blue Alerts" will use the…

About 125 Memphis city employees will be laid off this week and most city employees who keep their jobs will get a 4.6 percent reduction in pay. A letter was sent to employees from Human Resources director Quintin Robinson saying…

Laws that create tougher tenure requirements for teachers and crack down on terrorism are among a number of new measures that take effect in Tennessee on Friday. The tenure law and anti-terrorist legislation are probably the most contentious of the…

Volkswagen loaded the first rail shipment of 2012 Passats built at the automaker's new plant in Chattanooga, and a spokesman said Wednesday they are destined for dealers who will show them off to prospective customers until selling starts in late…

Attorney General Jack Conway is warning about the resurgence of what's come to be known as the "grandparent's scam" that has cost elderly Kentuckians at least $40,000 so far. Investigators from his office have received four new complaints in the…

A thief who took a laptop computer from the car of a medical billing company employee got personal information on more than 1,500 patients. An official of PhyData LLC said there is no indication the information has been accessed or…