An aluminum company has singled out northeastern Kentucky as its preferred site for a new aluminum smelter that would bring about 1,000 permanent jobs to an Appalachian region hard hit by the loss of coal and steel production, Gov. Andy Beshear said Monday. Plans by Century Aluminum Co. to build a smelter that produces dramatically lower emissions will be supported …
Read More »
Virginia State Police have identified the five people who were killed when a small private jet crashed as it approached a rural airport earlier this month. The twin-engine IAI Astra 1125 left Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on March 10 and was scheduled to land at Ingalls Field Airport in Hot Springs, Virginia, but it crashed, killing all five people aboard, including …
Read More »
North Carolina’s highest court declined on Friday to revive a challenge to the decision by Asheville city leaders to remove in 2021 a downtown monument honoring a Civil War-era governor. The state Supreme Court agreed unanimously that it had been appropriate to dismiss legal claims filed by an historic preservation group that had helped raise money to restore the 75-foot …
Read More »
West Virginia, which has the highest rate of adult cigarette use in the nation, became the 12th state to ban smoking in vehicles with children present under a bill signed by Republican Gov. Jim Justice on Friday. But violators can only be fined up to $25 if they’re pulled over for another offense. Smoking with children present cannot be the …
Read More »
Two Black officers with Louisville Metro Police have filed a lawsuit alleging they faced discrimination, a hostile work environment and disparate punishment because of race and faith, according to a published report. The lawsuit was filed by Andre Shaw and Jay Moss in Jefferson Circuit Court on March 11, the Courier Journal reported Friday. It cites multiple examples of the …
Read More »
A former Georgia insurance commissioner who made a failed Republican run for governor has pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit health care fraud. John W. Oxendine of Johns Creek entered the guilty plea Friday in federal court in Atlanta. The 61-year-old had been indicted in May 2022 on charges of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and conspiracy to commit …
Read More »
The Tennessee Senate on Thursday approved a nearly $2 billion tax and refund for businesses, a proposal designed to prevent threats of a potential lawsuit even as critics warned the so-called solution was rushed without being properly vetted and shrouded in mystery. Starting last fall, Republican legislative leaders say a law firm representing a large group of businesses contacted the …
Read More »
A fisherman in Tennessee has reeled in an alligator that wildlife officials suspect was “being illegally held in captivity and possibly released” into a lake in the eastern part of the state. The unusual catch of the 3- to 4-foot-long reptile in Norris Lake on Monday comes as state wildlife officials say that alligators are “naturally expanding their range into …
Read More »
An Alabama woman who claimed she was abducted after stopping her car to check on a wandering toddler on Thursday pleaded guilty to charges of giving false information to law enforcement. News outlets reported that Carlee Russell pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges of false reporting to law enforcement and falsely reporting an incident. She was given a suspended six-month sentence …
Read More »
Alabama has placed new restrictions on assistance with absentee ballot requests, making it illegal to return another person’s ballot application and making it a felony to pay someone to distribute or collect applications. Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey on Wednesday announced she had signed the bill into law a day after it was given final approval in the Alabama Legislature. “Here …
Read More »
