PERKINSTON -- Hundreds gathered at the stadium of Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College’s Perkinston campus on Friday as Stone High School’s class of 2012 celebrated their graduation.

BAY ST. LOUIS -- One hundred thirty-one smiles dressed in electric blue and crowned with blue and gold tassels entered J.D. McCullough Stadium at Bay High School for the last time as the senior class of 2012 Friday night.

LUCEDALE -- Not even a rainy afternoon could dampen the celebration of George County High School’s largest graduating class Friday night as 253 new alumni received their diploma.

BILOXI -- On Friday night, Long Beach High School held its graduation at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum.

GULFPORT -- Students who graduated Friday evening from Christian Collegiate Academy have set goals for their futures.

PASCAGOULA -- When Pascagoula High School’s 215 graduates entered the field at War Memorial Stadium on Friday night, they were greeted with simulated fireworks on the scoreboard.

PASS CHRISTIAN -- The students of Pass Christian High School’s class of 2012 took their last turn on stage Friday night. One hundred and thirty strong, they walked under the lights to collect their diplomas, shake hands and give great big bear hugs to Principal Cathy Broadway.

FRESNO, Calif. (AP) -- Frank Edward “Ed” Ray, a school bus driver who was hailed as a hero for helping 26 California students escape after three kidnappers buried them underground in 1976, has died. He was 91.

Arrest after pursuit leads to new drug charge

NEW ORLEANS -- An oil company exploration crew’s chance discovery of a 200-year-old shipwreck in a little-charted stretch of the Gulf of Mexico is yielding a trove of new information to scientists who say it’s one of the most well-preserved old wrecks ever found in the Gulf.

JACKSON -- After more than a week of fear that an impostor police officer was pulling over motorists and killing them, police in northwestern Mississippi said Friday that a suspect in two roadside slayings was arrested.

GULFPORT -- When it's time to feed more than just your appetite for music, the second annual Gulfport Music Festival has you covered.

The second annual Gulfport Music Festival got under way in pure country style Friday night in Jones Park. More than 10,000 people kicked their boots off to everything from local singer-songwriters to country superstars such as Justin Moore and Gary Allen.

GULFPORT -- When it's time to feed more than just your musical appetite, the second annual Gulfport Music Festival has you covered.

HANCOCK COUNTY -- A Bayside Park resident has been arrested on five counts of possession of child pornography.

JACKSON -- Jimmy Buffet appeared before the Mississippi Gaming Commission on Thursday, five days before he opens Margaritaville Casino and Restaurant Biloxi.

GULFPORT -- Police asked for help Thursday to identify a man accused of impersonating a police officer when he stopped a woman on Cowan Road.

MOSS POINT -- Family and friends of Jackson County law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty quietly wept Thursday as they gathered to remember those who had made the ultimate sacrifice.

“American Idol” finalist Joshua Ledet won’t be belting it out on this season’s final showdown.

GULFPORT -- Rear Adm. Richard P. Breckenridge said Thursday the $2 billion USS Mississippi attack submarine, which will be commissioned in Pascagoula June 2, will play a major role in future U.S. military strategy.