Whitney Jones

Legislation that makes cock fighting a felony in Tennessee is dead this session after failing to pass the Senate. Under the bill, a first offense for cock fighting would have remained a misdemeanor. But a second offense would be considered a felony punishable by six years in prison and a fine of up to $3,000.

Crews are working to contain a fire that has damaged at least 14 acres of the sprawling Shawnee National Forest in southern Illinois.

U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman Patricia York says at least one-quarter of the blaze is contained at Little Grand Canyon near Pomona, southwest of Carbondale, in Jackson County. 

An Illinois House Republican leader has announced his support for legalizing gay marriage in the state.

Rep. Ed Sullivan Jr. says his mother-in-law influenced his position. She's been in a lesbian relationship for about 20 years.

Sullivan is the second GOP House member to support gay marriage and the first member of Minority Leader Tom Cross's leadership team.  The proposal got Senate approval in February and a House vote is expected soon.

From NPR: The Wu-Tang Clan looks back on 20 years of making “home-cooked, real” rap music and talks about what each member brought to the group.

Eggner’s Ferry Bridge remains open and undamaged this morning after a barge broke loose from its mooring upstream from the bridge this weekend.

Kentucky State Police closed the bridge that crosses the Kentucky Lake and Tennessee River between Marshall and Trigg counties briefly Saturday afternoon until the runaway barge was recaptured. Boat crews retrieved the barge about a mile upstream from the bridge.

Police are investigating the fatal shooting of 32-year-old Clarksville woman.

WKRN-TV reports that officers responded to a shooting in progress around 3 a.m. Sunday. When they arrived on the scene they discovered a woman had been shot and was lying between two buildings. She was transported to a local hospital where she was pronounced dead.

Republican legislative leaders in Tennessee are glad the most contentious issues of this session are largely decided as they enter the final weeks.

Gov. Bill Haslam's decision last week to withdraw his limited school voucher proposal highlights the sometimes contentious nature of his relationship with fellow Republicans in the Legislature, who now hold a supermajority. The governor was unable to persuade a faction led by Sen. Brian Kelsey to refrain from trying to expand the bill to more families.

Lobbyists have treated Frankfort lawmakers to lavish parties spending more than $77,000 in just January and February.

Financial reports filed with the Kentucky Legislative Ethics Commission show the most expensive of those get-togethers was at the Buffalo Trace bourbon distillery and cost nearly $15,000.

From NPR: Vice Media CEO Shane Smith admits people think the media group is strange, but he says he wishes it was weirder. The media-conglomerate makes videos about music, news, books and television – but with a not-so traditional voice. And it’s reaching the much desired 18-24 age group.

Kentucky: The American Civil Liberties Union is seeking information about how religious groups are granted access to elementary school classrooms. The group says allowing Gideons International into the classroom is a violation of the law. 

Kentucky higher education officials say some adult students may be eligible for student aid known as the Go Higher Grant with awards as much as $1,000.

The grants are for students 24 or older who are enrolled less than half-time at a participating Kentucky college or university and are seeking their first undergraduate degree.