TVA Generation Partners site wins national award

STARKVILLE — A Mississippi regional landfill participating in the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Generation Partners renewable power program has been recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as one of the nation’s top renewable generation projects.

The Brazilian bikini expands to fit the country’s plus-size consumers

RIO DE JANEIRO — Tall and tan and young and … chunky?

The Girl From Ipanema has put on a few pounds, and for many sunbathers on Brazil’s beaches the country’s iconic itsy-bitsy, teeny-weeny bikini just doesn’t suffice anymore.

Miss. regulators pushed to drop statewide burn ban

JACKSON — Although almost no one seems to know it, it’s illegal for everyday citizens to burn common waste in Mississippi.

New Orleans celebrates anniversary of steamboat

NEW ORLEANS — Two hundred years ago, the first steamboat meandered down the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, taking more than four months to reach New Orleans. The journey was marked by Indians chasing the paddle-wheeled boat, a baby’s birth and an earthquake that made the Mississippi flow in the opposite direction for 45 miles.

Bryant salutes work of racial reconciliation group

JACKSON — Gov. Phil Bryant said he plans to continue activity with a Christian group promoting racial reconciliation.

Brandon teenager in ‘Idol’ top 40

Brandon — A 17-year-old Brandon girl is one of the Top 40 candidates on Fox’s American Idol.

Skylar Laine Harden was one of the top 40 contestants who advanced to the singing competition’s Hollywood round, placing her one step closer to making her debut on a stage that has launched the careers of stars such as Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood.

BP emails reveal company knew rig could blow

NEW ORLEANS — On the day the Deepwater Horizon sank in the Gulf of Mexico, BP officials warned in an internal email conversation that if the well was not protected by the blow-out preventer at the drill site, crude oil could burst into the Gulf of Mexico at a rate of 3.4 million gallons a day, an amount a million gallons higher than what the U.S. government ultimately estimated spilled daily from the site.

Bully Gras Ball hopes to raise $30,000

Imagine it: formal wear, finger foods and good, old-fashioned face-to-face dancing all set to classic rhythm and blues. This isn’t a high school prom it’s the second annual Bully Gras Ball, a grownup party with hometown philanthropy at the core.

Sara Lee to close plant in Shannon

SHANNON — Sara Lee says it will close a plant in Shannon, Miss., by the end of March putting 155 people out of work.

Judge dismisses stun gun case

BAY ST. LOUIS — A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit against a former Waveland police officer and the city in a ruling that found the use of stun gun against a naked man was reasonable under the circumstances.

Man charged in priest’s death found dead in jail

JACKSON — A man accused of killing a Roman Catholic priest and taking the victim’s car on a family vacation to Walt Disney World was found dead early Thursday in a prison cell with a sheet wrapped around his neck.

Jackson fire chief: No social media pix in uniform

JACKSON — Jackson Fire Chief Raymond McNulty has told firefighters not to post any comments that could hurt the department on their social network sites — or post photos of themselves in uniform or with city equipment.

Former teacher sentenced in sexual battery case

NEW ALBANY — A former Ripley High School teacher has pleaded guilty in Union County to one count of sexual battery on a minor, in connection with an improper relationship with a former student.

AG’s office offers money to find pardoned trusty

JACKSON — Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood said Thursday that his office is willing to pay confidential informants for information that helps him track down a convicted killer pardoned by former Gov. Haley Barbour.

State lawmakers working to expand charter schools

JACKSON — With even opponents conceding that a bill expanding charter schools in Mississippi is likely to pass, lawmakers are trying to hash out what a new law should cover.

Tennessee rebounds to beat Alabama; Ole Miss women lose

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The University of Tennessee women’s basketball team was determined to bounce back from the second-worst loss in program history. With a matchup against slumping Alabama, it was an easy task.

Shekinna Stricklen scored 14 points and Glory Johnson added 13 to lead the No. 7 Lady Volunteers to an 86-56 win against the Crimson Tide on Thursday night.

Frontcourt gives Ole Miss a chance

OXFORD — The University of Mississippi men’s basketball team isn’t very good at shooting 3-pointers and even worse at the free-throw line, serious flaws that have made scoring points a struggle during stretches this season.

But the Rebels do have some muscle — and they like to flex it.

That’s been enough to keep Ole Miss (13-6, 3-2) in the top half of the Southeastern Conference entering a home game at 6 tonight (ESPN2) against the No. 14 University of Florida (15-4, 4-1).

Foreclosures made up 20 percent of home sales in third quarter

LOS ANGELES — Foreclosures made up a smaller slice of all U.S. homes sold in last year’s third quarter, as banks delayed placing properties for sale and home sales slowed.

Report: Taxpayers still owed $133B from bailout

WASHINGTON — Companies that were bailed out during the financial crisis still owe U.S. taxpayers nearly $133 billion. Treasury’s plans to recoup that money have been slowed by the volatile stock market and weakness among smaller banks.

Some of the money will never be recovered.

Tigers, other animals taken from Mississippi zoo

COLLINS — Authorities have seized three tigers, three cougars, two leopards, two wolf-hybrids and a Macaque monkey from a roadside zoo in Mississippi.