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National

Blues Legend B.B. King Honored with Memphis Processional

A Dixieland jazz band walked ahead of a slow black hearse and a crowd of thousands followed as the city of Memphis said farewell Wednesday to blues legend B.B. King …

Business

Exxon Shareholders to Vote on Climate Change, Fracking

Shareholders of big oil companies overwhelmingly rejected several environmental resolutions including proposals to put climate-change experts on their boards and set goals for greenhouse-gas emissions.

National

Nebraska Abolishes Death Penalty in Landmark Override Vote

Nebraska abolished the death penalty on Wednesday over the governor's objections in a move pushed through the Legislature with unusual backing from conservatives who oppose capital punishment.

Environment

EPA Issues Final Rules Protecting Drinking Water, Streams

Drinking water for 117 million Americans will be protected under new government rules shielding small streams, tributaries and wetlands from pollution and development, the Obama administration said Wednesday.

Crime

Congress Wants to Know How Thieves Stole Tax Info from IRS

Congress is demanding answers about how identity thieves were able to steal the personal tax information of more than 100,000 taxpayers from an IRS website.

National

Guantanamo Inmates Swapped for Bergdahl Could Move Freely

Five senior Taliban leaders released last year from the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in exchange for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl could move freely around the world next week as …

World

Soccer Officials Arrested in Zurich; World Cup Votes Probed

Swiss prosecutors opened criminal proceedings into FIFA's awarding of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, only hours after seven soccer officials were arrested Wednesday pending extradition to the U.S. in …

State

Lawyer says Sen. Cochran's Marriage Helps Blogger's Defense

A lawyer defending a man accused of crimes in taking photos of Sen. Thad Cochran's late wife says the legislator's Saturday marriage to his executive assistant will help his defense.

National

Obama Urges Senate to Renew Phone-Records Program

President Barack Obama is urging the Senate to renew the government's power to search Americans' telephone records, saying public safety demands it.

Business

Charter Buying Time Warner Cable as TV Viewers Go Online

As TV watchers increasingly look online for their fix, cable companies are bulking up. In the latest round, Charter Communications is buying Time Warner Cable for $55.33 billion.

Business

Amtrak to Install Long-Sought Cameras in Locomotives

Amtrak said Tuesday it will install video cameras inside locomotive cabs to record the actions of train engineers, a move that follows a deadly derailment earlier this month in which …

National

Sen. Thad Cochran Weds Kay Webber in Gulfport

U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran — the Mississippi Republican whose 2014 primary campaign drew national attention over an aspiring blogger's photos of his bedridden wife — has married his longtime aide, …

Tease photo Politics

Lawmakers Submit Arguments in School Funding Ballot Fight

Republican legislative leaders are asking the Mississippi Supreme Court to restore the original description for one of the two school funding amendments that will be on the ballot in November.

Tease photo State

Justice Department Cites Hinds County Over Jail Conditions

Federal officials say faltering efforts to improve conditions at Hinds County's two jails have been far inadequate to overcome decrepit physical conditions, rampant violence and poor staffing.

National

Senate Expected to Act on NSA Collection of Phone Records

The fate of the bulk collection of American phone records by the National Security Agency is now before the Senate, in what is increasingly looking like a game of legislative …