Updated: 5:43 PM Attorneys for Meridian and Lauderdale County have sent a stinging letter to the U.S. Justice Department, denying any discrimination against youths in Meridian Public Schools.

Updated: 11:28 AM South Mississippi Electric Power Association says it will go through with its planned purchase of a share of the Kemper County lignite plant.

Posted: 10:57 AM Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant is ordering state agencies to not provide public benefits to immigrants who recently received deferred deportation status from the federal government.

Posted: 10:26 AM Former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman is appealing his prison sentence three weeks before he is scheduled to report again to federal prison.

Updated: 12:23 AM The city of Meridian is considering adding a second walking track at Bonita Lakes Park.

Posted: 2:31 PM Sen. Terry Burton of Newton has been appointed chairman of the Energy Committee. Sen. John Polk will lead the Universities and Colleges Committee.

Posted: 11:29 AM Former Gov. Don Siegelman must report to prison Sept. 11.

Posted: 11:16 AM Democrat Johnny DuPree says he will seek a fourth term as Hattiesburg mayor in 2013.

Posted: 10:27 AM Former Alabama Democratic congressman, Artur Davis, will address the Republican National Convention in Tampa.

Posted: 10:39 AM There's a new development in the case of York, Alabama and its money woes.

Posted: 12:10 PM The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in October about whether to maintain racial preferences in college admissions.

Updated: 11:03 PM The Meridian City Council begins work this week on its fiscal 2013 budget.

Updated: 11:02 PM York, Ala., is borrowing money from a finance company to pay what it owes the IRS.

Updated: 11:03 AM The Mississippi Ethics Commission has agreed to reconsider an unfavorable opinion on whether state College Board member Dr. Doug Rouse is violating ethics laws.

Updated: 9:27 AM GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney picks Rep. Paul Ryan as his running mate.

Posted: 11:44 AM Former Gov. Don Siegelman's daughter has created a petition on the Internet that asks President Obama to grant him clemency.

Posted: 5:34 PM Mississippi officials say they have relented on a ban on same-sex commitment ceremonies at a state-owned museum.

Updated: 2:50 PM State officials say an online hoax is spreading untrue information about voter registration in Alabama.

Updated: 12:22 PM The Mississippi Public Service Commission voted unanimously to open an inquiry into the profit margins allowed to Mississippi Power and Entergy.

Updated: 11:32 PM Meridian's chief of police was sworn in Wednesday morning.

Updated: 11:19 AM The Mississippi Republican Party has endorsed Mississippi Supreme Court Chief Justice Bill Waller, Justice Mike Randolph, and Josiah Coleman for seats on the state's highest court.

Posted: 10:55 AM Former newspaper editor Fredie Carmichael plans to run for a seat on the Lauderdale County School Board.

Updated: 10:29 AM Recent firings at the Newton Fire Department have dropped the number of full-time firefighters on staff. And some people say they are not happy about how those firefighters were fired.

Updated: 6:14 PM An official with Southern Company told investors lower interest rates could help avoid higher-than-planned rate increases.

Updated: 11:38 PM As department heads in Lauderdale County work on next year's budget, Sheriff Billy Sollie says there's one area where a previous cut is paying off in more ways than one.