Author: Associated Press

The Kentucky Office of Employment and Training says jobless rates have fallen in 96 counties between June 2010 and June 2011. In the same time period, unemployment increased in 19 of Kentucky's 120 counties while five counties reported no change.…

The public works director for the West Tennessee city of Millington says he's been subpoenaed to testify before a grand jury. Jack Huffman told The Commercial Appeal he received a summons to appear before a grand jury sometime next month.…

Internal Revenue Service officials are encouraging taxpayers to be on guard for people trying to persuade them to file false claims for tax credits or rebates. The IRS said in a statement Thursday that officials have noticed an increase in…

One person was killed and several injured Thursday morning when a van belonging to a Middle Tennessee church overturned on an off-ramp of Interstate 40 about 55 miles west of Nashville. The gray van landed on its top, which was…

Building permits for a transmission shop were among items seized in a raid on Millington city government offices. The Commercial Appeal reports that Transmission Doctors and the home of Millington Mayor Richard Hodges were also raided on Wednesday. District attorney…

Eastern Kentucky University and Somerset Community College have made the list of top colleges to work for in a survey by The Chronicle of Higher Education. Eastern is among 10 large four-year colleges and universities and Somerset Community College is…

Two political parties have filed a federal lawsuit in Nashville, claiming state law makes it too hard for them to get candidates on the ballot. The lawsuit by the Green Party of Tennessee and the Constitution Party of Tennessee says…

The man convicted of killing three and wounding seven in a 1997 rampage in Pearl is asking for clemency. In a legal ad running this month in the weekly Rankin County News, Luke Woodham says he will ask Gov. Haley…

Dean Faulkner Wells, the niece of literary master William Faulkner, has died at an Oxford hospital from complications of a stroke. She was 75. Her husband, Larry Wells, said his wife suffered a stroke Sunday and had been hospitalized at…

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and Shelby County District Attorney's office investigators are raiding city offices in Millington. District attorney spokesman Vince Higgins said the officers were serving warrants Wednesday morning after an investigation into a complaint of official misconduct.…

A hawk that was orphaned in eastern Kentucky is almost ready to be released back into the wild. Master falconer Mitch Whitaker has been caring for the bird through the 4-H raptor rehabilitation program at the Letcher County Extension Office…

The Memphis school board has agreed on a schedule of payments from the city that would send students back to school on time on Aug. 8. The board last week voted to delay the start of classes in a fight…

The Tennessee Court of Appeals has upheld a trial court ruling that ordered a Tampa, Fla., woman to turn over an unexecuted marriage license for frontiersman Davy Crocket to Jefferson County, Tenn., where it was issued in 1805. Margaret Vance…

A voluntary recall of thousands of pounds of ready-to-eat chicken has been expanded over concerns that the meat could be contaminated with bacteria that can cause food poisoning. Colorado-based Pilgrim's Pride on Tuesday announced the recall now includes about 7,000…

Reelfoot Lake and its sunsets are getting a tourism push. The town of Samburg has sponsored a billboard off Interstate 55 in Missouri between Sikeston and Hayti. It features a sunset image of the lake with the slogan "See the…

Alabama's largest county is laying the groundwork for filing what would be the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history, over a more than $3 billion debt for its sewer system. The Jefferson County Commission approved resolutions Tuesday to hire prominent…

The pilot of crop duster was killed when his plane crashed in Leflore County. Sheriff Ricky Banks tells the Greenwood Commonwealth that the crash occurred Tuesday in a remote field near Minter City.in northwest Leflore County. Banks said the pilot…

Tennessee has been awarded a $1 million grant to fund innovative ways to improve the state's college completion rates. Gov. Bill Haslam joined other state education officials Monday in making the announcement that Tennessee is one of 10 states to…

Columbus police say former University of Kentucky basketball player Desmond Allison was killed and another man was wounded in a shooting outside an apartment complex in Northeast Columbus. Authorities say the two were shot multiple times at around 4 p.m.…

A Tennessee man is suing a Mississippi casino because he claims the slot machine he was playing broke apart and injured his arm and back. Randy E. Perkins of Hickman County, Tenn., said he was injured at Tunica Roadhouse Casino…

Middle Tennessee State University has rolled out its first Online Undergraduate Catalog. The catalog replaces the bound paper one, which had grown to 408 pages. The graduate catalog is available in print and PDF and will be brought online in…

Arkansas State Police say four Tennessee residents were killed and an infant and three others were injured in a crash on Interstate 30. Officials say the 7:30 a.m. Monday crash occurred when an eastbound SUV drifted into the median and…

Kentucky's jobless rate has fallen slightly in the latest accounting from the Office of Employment and Training, the state agency that monitors employment trends. Labor market analyst Justine Detzel said Friday that the jobless rate fell to 9.6 percent in…

A federal judge ordered a Mississippi man held without bond for allegedly threatening to kill President Barack Obama. David Williams of Attala County was arrested Wednesday. Krisi Allen, a U.S. attorney's spokeswoman, said U.S. Magistrate Judge David Sanders ordered Williams…

Democratic and Republican opponents in the Mississippi governor's race are taking verbal jabs at the man who has raised the most money in the contest, Republican Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant. Two Democrats and five Republicans took part in a two-hour…

The city of Corinth is undertaking an assessment of its drainage and the sewer system in the city. The Board of Mayor and Aldermen on Tuesday approved applying for an Appalachian Regional Commission grant to help fund the assessment. Other…

The Peabody hotel in Memphis is seeking an assistant "duckmaster" to help care for the five famed mallards. The person hired would assist Jason Sensat in feeding and tending to the ducks. The new hire also would guide the four…

A former FBI agent in Nashville has been sentenced to four years in prison for wire and bankruptcy fraud related to his purchase of rental properties totaling more than $1.25 million. Forty-four-year-old Darin Lee McAllister of Brentwood, Tenn., was also…

Northeast Mississippi Community College has decided to hold off any tuition increase this fall. The tuition will remain at $1,050 per semester for Mississippi students and $2,100 for full-time out-of-state students. NEMCC President Johnny Allen tells WTVA-TV that financial decisions…

About 150 soldiers from the Tennessee Army National Guard will deploy Thursday from Smyrna, Tenn., with Afghanistan the final destination. The Nashville-based 230th Signal Company will leave the Volunteer Training Site and mobilize first to Fort Bliss, Texas. Part of…

A male black bear has been released back into the wild after state wildlife agents tranquillized it and removed a plastic jar that was stuck on its head. The bear was first spotted in jeopardy on June 28 when a…

A second man charged in the killing of four kittens has been sentenced in Sevierville. Aaron Kunak was handed 6 one space½ months of jail time as part of a four-year sentence on Tuesday on his guilty plea to four…

The University of Kentucky will treat a lounge in the Student Center with heat after bedbugs were found there. Center director John Herbst says he saw one bedbug and what appeared to be eggs in the lounge, which contains upholstered…

The Army says a Muslim soldier from Fort Campbell who won conscientious objector status but then was charged with possessing child pornography has gone AWOL. Spokesman Rick Rzepka said Wednesday that Pfc. Naser Abdo has been absent without leave since…

Mississippi Choctaw Indians Chief Beasley Denson says media reports earlier this month that an FBI search of tribal records includes those related to the Choctaws' relationship to an Atlanta management company are true. Denson told The Clarion-Ledger on Tuesday that…

In the wake of a government official's resignation to avoid prosecution, the Metro Nashville Council has voted to make policy on personal use of city vehicles part of the law. The legislation approved Tuesday night codifies Metro policy on how…

A man and his son have survived being struck by lightning while fishing. Shad Hinkley's fishing pole was reduced to strands of fiberglass by the strike Sunday as Hinkley and his 10-year-old son Braedin fished at a friend's farm pond…

The FBI has opened an investigation into whether a Blount County Sheriff's Office deputy violated the civil rights of an arrested man. Department video requested by The Knoxville News Sentinel in June was released Tuesday and the newspaper says it…

The school board has decided to indefinitely delay the start of class for Memphis City Schools this fall in a dispute over money with the City Council. The board voted 8-1 Tuesday night to postpone school until the city hands…

Memphis' police director says there's a new lead detective in the year-old investigation into the fatal shooting of former NBA player and local favorite son Lorenzen Wright. Director Toney Armstrong said Tuesday that police are a long way from finding…

Sheriff's investigators say 3 Doors Down memorabilia was among items stolen in a burglary at a house that belongs to a family member of the band. The Jackson County Sheriff's Department said four people, ranging in age from 19 to…

Police in Nashville say a man who stole an all-terrain vehicle then ran over another man with it as police chased him. An off-duty police officer saw 21-year-old Kevin Beasley run a traffic signal on an ATV, which a radio…

A Western Kentucky University math professor has been working with a Bowling Green technology company to develop a software product that he hopes will help detect explosives in airports, drugs and contraband and help protect the military from explosive devices.…

The Hermitage, the home of President Andrew Jackson, had more than $521,000 in donations during its just completed fiscal year. Hermitage officials said in its July newsletter that the money enabled it to complete major preservation projects and expand both…

Authorities in Cookeville, Tenn., say a man who wandered into church where the sheriff was worshipping ended up charged with public intoxication. Sheriff David Andrews said 42-year-old Gregory Blaine Wade of Cookeville showed up Wednesday at the Jefferson Avenue Church…

The Tennessee Valley Authority's monthly fuel cost adjustment will raise average monthly bills for residential customers by up to $1 in August. The utility said in a statement on its website that the increase is due mainly to higher expenses…

A Murfreesboro man leading an effort to build a mosque says finding contractors has been a slow process because of controversy surrounding the project. In August, excavation equipment at the site of the proposed Islamic Center of Murfreesboro was set…

A Washington state Native American tribe is suing several Mississippi municipalities over allegations that law enforcement officials illegally invaded tribal lands during an FBI-led raid earlier this year. The target of the Feb. 16 search was property that belongs to…

Gov. Bill Haslam says he is concerned that Oak Ridge has not been getting its fair share of environmental cleanup money from the federal government. The Republican governor said having the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee provides a huge…