The Associated Press

Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam is starting the annual state budget hearings for the next fiscal year this week in Nashville.

The Kentucky Department of Financial Institutions says checks from the recent Morgan Keegan settlement will be mailed today to investors who filed an approved claim. The fund administrator, A.B. Data, will issue 1,930 checks totaling just over $4.5 million to Commonwealth investors.

A ferry that carries traffic between western Kentucky and southeast Missouri has reopened to loaded semi trucks. Dorena-Hickman Ferry officials say Mississippi River water levels have returned to near normal levels following a summer drought. The ferry was closed from June 23 to Aug. 8 due to low river levels.

There's a new Kentucky State Police campaign to improve safe driving across the state. The project is known as Operation R.A.I.D., for "Remove Aggressive, Impaired and Distracted" drivers from Kentucky roads. The agency says it has kicked off the six-month effort, which will continue through the fall and the holidays into the New Year. 

Emergency workers in Kentucky are increasingly confident that fire crews have contained a multi-day blaze spewing flames and smoke from a derailed tanker car. The blaze began Wednesday afternoon, and authorities initially thought it would last no longer than a couple hours. They were still waiting for it to die out late last night, acknowledging they were unsure how much butadiene was left in the burning railcar to fuel the flames. 

More than half of Kentucky's public high school students last year were not prepared for college or careers based on the results of an assessment released today. Despite that finding, Education Commissioner Terry Holliday said the results were significantly improved from the previous year's 38 percent. Of the more than 43,000 high school students who received diplomas last spring, about 18,700 were deemed college ready. That's up from about 15,000 found to be college ready the previous year.

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan is reminding voters of some basic rights ahead of Tuesday's election. Madigan says voters have the right to vote if they are in line when the polls close at 7 p.m. If a voter makes a mistake or spoils a paper ballot and the voter hasn't cast the ballot, the voter has the right to a replacement ballot. Voters have the right to take unpaid time from work to vote - up to two successive hours - as long as they've applied with their employer before Election Day. However, the employer may choose the time of day.

Kentucky Medi-Share members now have until Jan. 1 a to find new health insurance. Franklin County Circuit Judge Thomas Wingate originally ordered Medi-Share to cease operations on Thursday because it doesn’t comply with state insurance regulations. But Wingate decided today to allow the Christians-only health insurer to continue covering some 800 Kentuckians for another two months.

Some 800 Kentucky members of the Christian health plan Medi-Share will no longer have coverage at the end of the week. Franklin County Circuit Judge Thomas Wingate ordered Medi-Share to cease operations Thursday saying it doesn’t comply with state insurance regulations. Medi-Share President Tony Meggs says the company is notifying health plan members.

The chairman of Kentucky’s Arts Council board has been elected to a three-year term on the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies board of directors. The KAC says Todd Lowe of Louisville has been on the state board since 2005. He is president and founder of the investment advisory firm Parthenon LLC. Lowe says he intends to work with the board to preserve and strengthen the state art agencies' impact. Lowe has experience as a professional musician, including performing with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, Rich Little Orchestra and Radio City Music Hall Rockettes.