The Associated Press

Tennessee lawmakers are preparing to take up a measure that would restrict police agencies in the state from using unmanned drone aircraft. It's a hot topic both in Congress and on the state level as technology has outpaced regulations on the domestic use of remotely piloted aircraft.

The Kentucky Fire Commission is urging people across the Commonwealth to install smoke detectors after several fatal blazes. Kentucky Fire Commission Executive Director Ronnie Day says the use of smoke detectors alerts residents to danger and gives them more time to escape before they’re overcome by smoke or trapped by flames.

A Tennessee House committee has stripped student identification cards issued by public universities from a bill about photo IDs that can be used to vote. Tuesday's change comes less than a week after the full Senate passed the bill allowing student IDs 21-8. Republican Rep. Jeremy Durham of Franklin made the change, arguing that "there's a public policy good in making sure that the right people are voting."

Illinois officials say the state lottery's private operator faces a $20 million penalty because it fell $66 million short of its promised profits. Authorities said yesterday Northstar Lottery Group promised to generate $823 million in net income in fiscal 2012, but brought in $757 million.

Tennessee Transportation Commissioner John Schroer says his agency's new Office of Community Transportation is aimed at better coordinating transportation planning statewide. Schroer announced the office’s formation yesterday. He says the state wants to increase collaboration between TDOT and cities across Tennessee.

The Tennessee House has passed a bill to bar public universities and colleges from implementing nondiscrimination policies for student groups. The bill sponsored by Republican Representative Mark Pody passed on a 75-21 vote yesterday. The bill does not include private institutions like Vanderbilt University, a provision that caused Republican Governor Bill Haslam to veto last year's version.

Kentucky transportation officials say the new U.S. 60 Tennessee River Bridge will likely be ready for traffic by mid-summer. Transportation Cabinet chief engineer Jim LeFevre says the new bridge at Ledbetter is still on track to open well ahead of schedule. He says workers are making preparations to pour a deck on the new bridge's main truss span.

Emergency officials say a CSX train derailed in Hopkins County Saturday afternoon blocking a road, but nothing was spilled and no one was injured.  When responders arrived at the scene near Morton’s Gap, they found 14 cars overturned, including one tanker.

Paducah city officials are looking for a private investor to build a marina on its riverfront as a part of a larger riverfront development project. The city is planning to start the first phase of construction on the project in the coming months, but the completion will depend on whether the city can find a business partner to operate a marina.

Attorneys for Kentucky are set to argue why lethal injections should be allowed to go forward for the first time in more than four years. Franklin Circuit Judge Phillip Shepherd will hear arguments at 2 this afternoon in Frankfort. Earlier this year, the Commonwealth switched from using three drugs to carry out a lethal injection to a method that uses 3 grams of sodium thiopental or 5 grams of pentobarbital — similar to Ohio’s method.