Author: Associated Press

An insect that could pose a serious threat to Kentucky forests is getting uncomfortably close to the state. The Asian longhorned beetle was found near Cincinnati, just across the Ohio River from Campbell County. Kentucky Division of Forestry Director Leah…

A federal judge has denied efforts by reputed Ku Klux Klansman Edgar Ray Killen for access to FBI files obtained by The Clarion-Ledger of Jackson. On Tuesday, the judge quashed the subpoena for the 40,000 pages of FBI files the…

Authorities led by federal marshals have arrested a man in Alaska who's charged with murder in Memphis, Tenn. A news release from the U.S. Marshals Service says 30-year-old David Burrows was found and arrested in a residential area Tuesday in…

Individuals who have received help from the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program since last July must wait until Oct. 1 to reapply for benefits. This is because the funds are now being awarded annually to coincide with the federal fiscal…

A Tennessee inmate will be sent to a federal prison for 25 years upon completion of his state term. A federal judge in Knoxville sentenced 44-year-old Ricky Cofer on his February conviction of impersonating a federal agent during an Oak…

Police in Nashville have charged a young woman with extorting $5,000 from Tennessee Titans player Damian Williams. Officers said in a news release that 22-year-old Shelley Anne David was taken into custody Monday afternoon in a parking lot after meeting…

Road workers will be installing cable barriers on stretches of Interstates 65 and 64 next month. The cable barriers will begin going up July 7 along an 8-mile stretch I-64 in Franklin and Woodford Counties. Construction will begin about two…

An exhibition of photographs of the Beatles is coming to Memphis - the home of Elvis Presley and the birthplace of the blues. The photos will be on display at the Memphis Rock `n' Soul Museum beginning Friday through Sept.…

A Rutherford County judge appointed the Clerk and Master to review thousands of emails requested by opponents of a Murfreesboro mosque. Seventeen plaintiffs are suing the county, claiming officials violated the state open meetings law when they approved the site…

Shelby County authorities say a deputy jailer has been charged with raping a female inmate. The Shelby County Sheriff's Office says 53-year-old Sgt. Robert Bradshaw was arrested Monday and charged with sexual contact with an inmate, rape and official oppression.…

Volunteers can play park ranger Monday in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. High school students, recent graduates and their families can spend time in the field with a park ranger conducting scientific projects such as salamander monitoring, tree identification…

Female or Hispanic farmers or ranchers who believe they were improperly denied farm loan benefits may be eligible to apply for compensation. The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced the program with the Justice Department earlier this year. It provides up…

Police in Memphis have charged a teacher at a private high school with the statutory rape of a youth. A police affidavit shows 31-year-old Jose Garcia was arrested and jailed early Sunday in the rape of a 15-year-old boy. Garcia…

The Frist Center for the Visual Arts in Nashville has opened an exhibit of an Andy Warhol collection. The exhibit features more than 220 works and objects, including paintings, silkscreen prints, photographs, works on paper, films, videos and album covers…

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) - The Tennessee Valley Authority continues to make repairs on its electricity distribution system following storms in May. While some say the storm damage points to a fragile electricity delivery system, TVA says that's not true. Congressman…

Rupp Arena is adding more seats for fans who use wheelchairs in the upper levels of the arena starting next season. Lexington Center Corp. announced Thursday that about $200,000 is being budgeted for the renovation to add about 100 wheelchair-accessible…

Shelby County school officials have voted not to allow home school students to play for public school teams. A new TSSAA bylaw opens the way for home school athletes to try out for public school teams, according to The Commercial…

A fisherman on the banks of Old Hickory Lake reeled in an explosive catch that police believe was actually a military grenade. Hendersonville police along with Nashville police, the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were…

The president of Tennessee Temple University is resigning after students at the Christian college in Chattanooga complained that he had plagiarized, but Danny Lovett said he was leaving the university anyway. Lovett told the Chattanooga Times Free Press on Thursday…

A Memphis attorney and a Nashville law firm have been honored for doing free work for low-income families. Jeffrey C. Smith, partner in charge of the Memphis office of Adams and Reese, was named pro bono attorney of the year…

Churchill Downs officials are assessing the aftermath of a possible tornado that left several horse barns damaged and has temporarily halted races at the famed Kentucky Derby horse track. Track spokesman John Asher says it was "borderline miraculous" that no…

The Nashville district of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers gets a new commander Friday. Lt. Col. James Delapp will become the new commander, succeeding Lt. Col. Anthony Mitchell, who is taking a post in Baghdad. Delapp has been in…

A Chattanooga man's body is being exhumed to remove dentures that belong to another man after a hospital employee mistakenly gave them to the wrong family. Parkridge Medical Center spokeswoman Alison Counts told The Chattanooga Times Free Press that the…

University of Tennessee system trustees are voting on annual undergraduate tuition increases of $774 for students at the campus in Knoxville, $508 more at the Martin campus and a $488 increase for students in Chattanooga. Proposed increases at the Health…

Gov. Bill Haslam doesn't plan to stand in the way of proposed tuition hikes at Tennessee's two higher education systems. The Republican governor plans to attend the University of Tennessee's board of trustees meeting in Knoxville on Thursday, where tuition…

Pediatricians in Chattanooga are again sounding a community alarm about child abuse. Seven months ago, pediatricians at Erlanger Medical Center held a child abuse prevention news conference. They called reporters after treating six babies for traumatic brain injuries from being…

More than half of a volunteer rescue squad for a western Kentucky county quit over ongoing disputes with the county judge executive. Thirteen members of Ballard County's 21 rescue squad members quit on Monday over an argument with County Judge…

Blind and visually impaired children will benefit from a new effort between the Dollywood Foundation in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., and the American Printing House for the Blind in Louisville. The organizations have announced they will work together to provide Braille…

The owner of the Musicians Hall of Fame said he is worried a plan to reopen the hall in the Municipal Auditorium is falling apart. The original location on Sixth Avenue South in downtown Nashville was condemned by the city…

Authorities say severe storms have knocked down trees and power lines and left some 113,000 Knoxville-area customers without electricity. Knox County emergency dispatchers say they have numerous reports of trees into houses but no immediate reports of injuries. North Knoxville…

Nashville's flooded Opry Mills mall will reopen several anchor stores in time for the 2011 holiday season. The mall's official reopening date is March 29, 2012, but the 20-screen Regal Cinemas movie theater and three other tenants will reopen earlier,…

A 10-year study by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has found that some violent crimes and property crimes have decreased, but drug and disorderly conduct cases have increased. The report released Monday found that property crimes decreased by 9 percent…

Surveillance cameras caught a person on video spray painting graffiti on parts of the Tennessee State Capitol over the weekend. More than one spot of the building was tagged with symbols and messages, like "Get Out." Workers were removing the…

Officials say Kentucky bourbon distilleries have spent at least $150 million to expand their operations, moves aimed at quenching an increasing worldwide thirst for the state's signature liquor. Eric Gregory, president of the Kentucky Distillers' association, says it's one of…

A state transportation worker is among two people killed in a crash on Interstate 55 west of Memphis just before the Mississippi River bridge. Authorities said the state worker was a HELP truck driver who was aiding a stalled vehicle…

A day's ordeal ended happily for three Kentucky mine maintenance workers and their families after the men were rescued from deep underground. After more than half a day trapped underground in a flooded southeastern Kentucky coal mine, the men waded…

A spokeswoman for the Mine Safety and Health Administration says crews are pumping 1,100 gallons of water per minute from a mine where three Kentucky coal miners have been trapped for hours. Amy Louviere (LOO'-vee-air) says none of the miners…

Flooding along the Mississippi River took a chunk out of Mississippi's state-licensed casino winnings in May. High water caused lengthy closures for most of the 19 riverfront casinos. As a result, those casinos won only $41 million last month, compared…

A new detention center being built to house female inmates in Nashville will be Tennessee's first green jail. The facility will hold 256 beds when it opens in September and features solar panels, a geothermal heat pump system, parking for…

A Louisville woman was trying to capture severe weather pictures on her cell phone when she was struck by lightning, but she was lucky to survive with just first-degree burns. Almeta Davis said she was snapping a picture outside of…

Mississippi and Tennessee officials will be on hand Thursday for a ground-breaking that will signal the start of work on Interstate 269. The ceremony will be held at 10 a.m. at the corner of Mt. Carmel Road and Highway 302/Goodman…

A bankruptcy trustee is searching for 80 pieces of artwork once owned by a Dickson retirement plan manager who was sent to jail for embezzlement in the hopes of recovering money for his creditors. Former 1Point Solutions CEO Barry Stokes…

Greenwood police say three shots were fired into the home of state Sen. David Jordan but they don't know if it was some random incident or directed at Jordan. Jordan, a Democrat, is a member of the Greenwood City Council…

The Tennessee Valley Authority has signed a letter of intent to become the first utility to have a small modular nuclear reactor built. Spokesmen for the nation's largest public utility and Babcock & Wilcox Nuclear Energy subsidiary Generation mPower in…

The University of Tennessee is requesting a 12 percent hike in tuition at its Knoxville campus. The state's nameplate public university also wants to increase tuition nearly 10 percent at its campuses in Martin and Chattanooga. University officials are making…

U.S. Rep. Stephen Fincher says in a new financial disclosure that he had debt of at least $1.54 million that he owed in 2010, despite reporting that he had no debts in a report he filed as a candidate last…

The Southern Baptist Convention has passed a resolution advocating a path to legal status for illegal immigrants. The resolution was passed on Wednesday at the annual meeting of the nation's largest protestant denomination in Phoenix. It also calls on Southern…

After a recent rash of wrecks, the Columbus Police Department is starting up an in-house driving school. Police Chief Joseph St. John tells The Commercial Dispatch that Patrolman Gregory M. Harstad is a driving instructor and will teach all his…