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have reached an out-of-court settlement under which the state no longer will shackle prisoners together on chain gangs. The Southern Poverty Law Center had sued Alabama in federal court, charging the practice violated the Constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment. Under the agreement, Alabama will continue to use prisoners on road crews, and their ankles will be shackled together, but they won't be chained to other inmates.

Nearly four years after the No Child Left Behind Act took effect, the nation's urban school districts are making only slight progress in raising test scores, and no progress in reducing the achievement gap between white and minority students.

A new Pew Charitable Trusts report shows Kentucky’s spending on Medicaid has increased since the recession, but remains below the national average. The…

A leader in a Kentucky-based patient advocacy group is calling for more timely information about drug-resistant bacteria cases. Members of a state…

to the farm economy in Florida this winter. Florida grows about half the national supply of fresh winter fruits and vegetables. Farmers are facing at least 300 million dollars in losses from an unexpected freeze ten days ago. Agricultural workers also are paying the cost in lost earnings, which are not included in that figure. Nor does it include the cost to shoppers across the country, who are paying about twice as much for fresh beans, tomatoes, and squash, as they did at the beginning of the month.

endorsed needle exchange programs for drug addicts, who are likely to spread AIDS. The officials stopped short of lifting the ban on federal funds for the program. While supplying addicts with free, clean syringes can slow the spread of the virus, the idea has been controversial since it was proposed early in the epidemic. More than 50 cities currently run a needle exchange program, but they're funded through local or private funds.

Chinese into the United States. Most of them start in Bangkok, Thailand, then go practically around the world trying to make it to the U.S. For as much as 40,000 dollars, a Bangkok "travel agent" will provide falsified passports and travel visas, and bribes to key military and police personnel. The fee is usually paid off by relatives already in the U.S., or by indentured service after the illegal immigrant arrives.

As a journalist, John Darnton spent 40 years at The New York Times. As a novelist, he writes colorful mysteries. His newest murder yarn, set in a big-city newsroom that seems awfully familiar: Black and White and Dead All Over.

Researchers are reporting mass die offs of wild birds and sea mammals due to bird flu. They're tracking the deaths to better understand the virus and how it might create a greater threat to humans.

The National Intelligence Estimate released Tuesday says al-Qaida could use contacts in Iraq to launch an attack on the United States.