Associated Press

The trial of a Hendersonville woman charged with murder in the smothering deaths of her newborn twins got underway Tuesday morning.

Twenty-six-year-old Lindsay Lowe told police she hid her pregnancy from everyone. She said she gave birth to the boys at home on Sept. 12, 2011, and smothered them so her parents would not hear their cries.

Police have said the baby's father was a family friend, not Lowe's fiance.

District Attorney General Ray Whitley has said he plans to argue the affair gave Lowe a motive to conceal her pregnancy by killing the twins. Defense attorneys have argued that Lowe was mentally ill.

On Monday, a jury of seven men and five women was seated. Prosecutors have said they will not seek the death penalty.

House Speaker Greg Stumbo is calling again for passage of a measure to shore up government pensions in the waning days of the legislative session.

Stumbo said Wednesday that he wants to avoid the expense of a special legislative session that Gov. Steve Beshear has pledged to call if lawmakers don't reach an agreement on pension reform.

The Democratic-controlled House and the Republican-led Senate are at odds over competing proposals for restoring solvency to the pension system, which has a $33 billion unfunded liability.

The Senate proposal would create a 401(k)-like hybrid retirement plan for new employees. The House opposes that idea. The House wants to generate money for pensions from the state lottery and from horse racing tracks. But the Senate is balking at that proposal.

Airports in Nashville and Memphis will soon offer the Transportation Security Administration’s pre-check program.  

According to the TSA, the program allows passengers traveling on Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and US Airways to participate in expedited screening. Advantages include being able to leave on shoes, light outerwear and belts, not having to remove laptops from their cases and leaving liquid or gel bags in carry-ons.

Eligible passengers include U.S. citizens who have opted-in through a participating airline and members of one of U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Trusted Traveler programs. 

Pre-check should be available in Nashville by April 1st.

The mother of a young woman whose kidnapping more than 17 years ago remains unsolved has sued members of FBI, the Kentucky State Police, the Henderson Police Department and others alleging a cover-up.

Sarah Teague, of Madisonville, is asking for a jury trial in the hand-written lawsuit she filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Owensboro.

Teague's daughter, Heather Teague, was 23 years old when she disappeared while sunbathing on an Ohio River beach in western Kentucky on Aug. 26, 1995.

The case remains open. Just last year, Kentucky State Police issued a plea for someone to come forward with information.

Former Indiana governor, now Purdue University President Mitch Daniels, has joined a panel that will make recommendations about the future of the nation's space program. 

The Committee on Human Spaceflight is part of the 2010 NASA Authorization Act. Its purpose is to review the space program's long-term goals and direction and suggest ways to sustain it. 

Daniels says Purdue has a long history with the space program and that he's honored to serve on the panel. Purdue's alumni include astronauts Virgil `Gus' Grissom, Roger Chaffee, Neil Armstrong and Eugene Cernan. Armstrong was the first man on the moon, and Cernan was the last. 

Daniels will serve as co-chairman of the committee through June 30, 2014.