From NPR: The capital of Northern Ireland is no longer the city of snipers that it was before the Good Friday Agreement, but novelist Stuart Neville still draws inspiration from the decades of violence. In The Ghosts of Belfast, he examines the shattered life of an IRA killer in the aftermath of The Troubles.
Kentucky: Some community-based organizations and local health departments in Kentucky are hosting free test events for HIV this month. State workers and job seekers have a revamped website to provide career information they may need. Retired coal miners and their supporters are planning another rally in downtown St. Louis this morning in an ongoing dispute with Patriot Coal. The Kentucky Supreme Court heard arguments late last week from attorneys representing the Kentucky New Era and the city of Hopkinsville. Kentucky’s Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources has come under scrutiny in the past few weeks.
Tennessee: Gov. Bill Haslam began the year by dismissing what he called a "caricature" of Republicans struggling to manage their supermajority in state government.
Illinois: The Democratic-controlled legislature is scheduled to address pensions again this week.