Whitney Jones

Kentuckians can buy alcohol at restaurants, bars and retail stores on the next Election Day now that Gov. Steve Beshear has signed legislation lifting the Prohibition-era ban.

The state House and Senate both voted overwhelmingly last month to allow alcohol sales during hours the polls are open.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky has sent open records requests to all 174 public school superintendents in the state seeking information about how outside organizations and people are granted access to elementary schools during school hours to distribute religious or other literature to students.

The Morning Cram [mrs degree edition]

From NPR: Princeton alumna Susan Patton has received a lot of backlash about her Daily Princetonian letter advising women at the university to hunt for their husband while attending class.

Many students say her letter wasn’t helpful and that conversations about finding an intellectual equal were already happening on campus. But their moms are sending Patton letters thanking her for saying what they wish they had the guts to tell their daughters.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is granting a Daviess County child and substance abuse program $2.5 million. The five-year grant is to support the Sobriety Treatment and Recovery Teams project, better known as START.

Several child advocacy groups say they support Gov. Pat Quinn's plan to end so-called corporate tax loopholes. They say the money saved would help pay Illinois' massive backlog of unpaid bills.

The Illinois Senate Revenue Committee took testimony Wednesday on a proposal to end three tax breaks, including not taxing foreign dividends of multinational corporations. Quinn outlined the idea in his March budget address. His office estimates the move will bring in about $450 million annually that would go toward paying down bills.

A House committee has approved a measure linking a family's welfare benefits to student performance a day after Gov. Bill Haslam expressed serious reservations about the measure. The House Health Committee voted 10-8 Wednesday to advance the bill sponsored by Republican Rep. Vance Dennis.

The measure would cut monthly benefits under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program if a child fails to "maintain satisfactory academic progress." Supporters say that those cuts could be avoided if parents attend conferences with teachers, take parenting classes or enroll their children in tutoring programs or summer school.

From NPR: Newsweek and The Daily Beast’s Tina Brown shares what she has been reading lately. Her recommendations all cover the role of women in the developing world from risk-taking Malala to the horrendous death of Nirbhaya, or "The Fearless One."

A former helmsman is returning to the Marshall County Hospital when current CEO Kathy Long leaves the hospital this summer. David Fuqua served as the hospital’s CEO from 1995 to 1999 and is stepping into the position again July 1.

A Republican venture capitalist weighing a run for Illinois governor has raised $1.3 million in the last month.

Bruce Rauner began forming and exploratory committee in March to consider a 2014 bid for governor. He also started a statewide listening tour to gauge interest from Illinois residents. The money raised since then includes a $249,000 contribution from Rauner.

Tennessee Senate Majority Leader Mark Norris says that lawmakers will either have to approve Gov. Bill Haslam’s approach to a school voucher program or face the measure being withdrawn entirely.

The Collierville Republican told reporters Tuesday that he perceives a growing level of comfort with Haslam’s more measured approach to the bill that would supply a limited number of parents of children in the state’s worst schools with public money to pay for a private education.