Updated: 2:01 PM Cardinal Bernard Law, the central figure in the worst scandal to hit the Roman Catholic Church in America, resigned Friday.

Updated: 10:35 AM Alabama executed Keith Johnson Thursday night, the first in the state to die by lethal injection.

Updated: 6:30 PM Lauderdale County tourism director Sandy Bynum resigned in late November.

Updated: 7:01 PM President Bush sharply criticized recent controversial remarks made by Republican Sen. Trent Lott, but refused to ask Lott to resign as leader.

Updated: 6:16 PM Three African-American students face disciplinary action by the judicial council at Ole Miss.

Updated: 7:22 PM Property tax bills were mailed out this week. Many homeowners were apparently surprised by the amount of increase.

Updated: 3:10 PM After agonizing for months, President Bush has decided to make a risky but effective smallpox vaccine available to all Americans.

Updated: 6:49 PM Radar is being used on county roads but not to issue tickets. Deputies are compiling data to support a lobbying effort in the 2003 Legislature.

Updated: 10:23 AM Thousands of Mississippi health care workers could be getting the smallpox vaccine as early as January.

Updated: 6:50 PM Cities seeking to annex land area have to meet specific standards in order to win the favor of the courts.

Updated: 6:52 PM The 186th Security Forces Squadron of the Air National Guard based at Key Field left Wednesday morning for undisclosed duty.

Updated: 6:00 PM Alabama's next governor promises an inauguration "for everybody," but some events will be exclusive.

Updated: 6:40 PM Meridian's First Assembly of God Church plans to distribute food to the needy, even after the holiday season, through Feed the World.

Updated: 5:37 PM A mother and three children are in need of coats, after a fire takes their possessions.

Updated: 5:35 PM A coalition of military communities says Mississippi could lose clout with the replacement of a base closure consultant.

Updated: 10:07 AM Two law enforcement agencies are at odds over money in Kemper County.

Updated: 6:59 PM The Boys and Girls Club of East Mississippi and the Drug Free Communities Coalition sponsored a Healthy Futures Forum in Meridian.

Updated: 6:54 PM Lt. Gov. Amy Tuck told Meridian business leaders about plans and problems for the upcoming legislative session.

Updated: 6:50 PM Alabama's chief justice has filed notice he is appealing an order to remove the Ten Commandments from the rotunda of the state's judicial building.

Updated: 7:30 PM Sen. Richard Shelby, Vice-Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said he will file a minority report calling for someone or some agency to face the blame for the Sept. 11 attacks.

Updated: 6:23 PM A Waynesboro attorney and his former client have entered "best interest'' pleas to charges they attempted to bribe a Hinds County judge.

Updated: 7:29 PM Reaction to a statement made Dec. 5 at a party for Sen. Strom Thurmond has prompted Mississippi Sen. Trent Lott to apologize for his choice of words.

Updated: 5:54 PM An annual safety test of small and mid-size cars show improvements in safety features.

Updated: 10:37 AM A Texas woman was hit by a vehicle as she crossed a road in Russell Monday morning.

Updated: 6:44 PM The leader of the Montgomery Institute outlined its economic development goals to a Meridian civic club.