Lieutenant Governor Ron Ramsey says he’ll hit the campaign trail to get a proposed state constitutional amendment on the ballot in 2014. The measure would affect how judges are chosen in Tennessee.

Nashville’s federal prosecutor pledged to be tough on hate crime Thursday at a forum on the topic. In attendance was the family of Matthew Shepard, whose murder inspired new federal hate crime laws.

December unemployment rates dropped in more than half of Tennessee’s counties. Still, jobless figures remain in the double-digits in 40 counties.

Two state legislators working to clear the “Occupy Nashville” protest group off the plaza at the state capital say they’ve gotten a green light from the Tennessee Attorney General’s office.

After Matthew Shepard was killed in 1998, his name became a mantra for anti-hate crime legislation. Witnesses said the University of Wyoming student was targeted because he was gay. His father came to Tennessee’s Capitol Hill Wednesday to ask for more tolerance.

A charter school director from California wants to start a network of new schools in Nashville.

Critics of the way Tennessee names its Supreme Court justices and appellate judges are waving a caution flag Wednesday. Governor Bill Haslam proposed making the much-debated judicial selection process more permanent by writing it into the state constitution.

Governor Bill Haslam wants to rewrite part of the constitution on how judges are chosen, to spell out that the current system is okay. It’s held up to court challenges, but some lawmakers have argued it goes against the constitution, which says judges “shall be elected.”

During his State of the Union speech, President Obama talked about opening up more opportunities for offshore oil drilling and natural gas production. Republican Congressman Scott DesJarlais of Jasper says House Republicans have already taken action.

President Obama led off his State of the Union address Tuesday night with a nod to American soldiers, saying that for the first time in nine years, none of them are fighting in Iraq.