The Senate today approved a bill to reform National Security Agency domestic surveillance programs, ending a drawn-out showdown on Capitol Hill that saw counterterrorism provisions expire. The bill, which passed the House nearly three weeks ago, requires the government to obtain a warrant to collect phone metadata from telecommunications companies. It now heads to President Barack Obama, who has pledged to sign the bill. WCYB has the story from CNN.

A GOP-controlled House panel today approved using $37 billion in unrequested war money to match President Barack Obama's 7 percent budget boost for the military. The move came over the opposition of Democrats and the White House, who argue that domestic programs deserve equal treatment. The Appropriations Committee action came as it approved a $579 billion Pentagon spending bill that would fund a 2.3 percent pay increase for the military and add new money to boost air reconnaissance. WRCB has more on budget negotiations from the AP.

A dramatic shift is taking hold across the country as police and prosecutors scramble to process tens of thousands of untested rape kits and use DNA matches to track down sexual predators, many of whom attacked more women while evidence of their crimes languished in storage. In a two-part special report, the Associated Press examines the issue and what lawmakers are doing to ensure this doesn’t happen again. The Commercial Appeal carries the story.

Ninth Judicial District Criminal Court Judge E. Eugene Eblen is retiring at the end of this year, ending almost 49 years on the bench. Retirement plans "are kind of up in the air," said Eblen, who will be 80 when he steps down. Gov. Bill Haslam will appoint his replacement, at least until August 2016 when a special election will be held to fill the remaining six years of Eblen’s term. Knoxnews has more.

Lawrence Maynard Magdovitz died May 24 after a long illness. A graduate of Vanderbilt Law School, Madgovitz practiced law for 52 years. He was licensed in Tennessee, Kentucky and Mississippi until the day he died. Services were held May 28 at Meredith-Nowell Funeral Home in Clarksdale, Mississippi.

Craig P. Barnes of Memphis Area Legal Services has been chosen as the STEP Inc. 2015 Wayne Parker Advocate of the Year. STEP (Support and Training for Exceptional Parents) presents the award annually to a person who has “exemplified using information to assist a child or youth with a disability to receive a free appropriate public education.”

While Nashville’s surging economy has brought new businesses and jobs to town, it’s amplified the competition for legal talent and led to a flurry of turnover among firms in Music City. Out-of-town regional law firms have gained a foothold in the market by siphoning talent from local competition, the Nashville Business Journal reports (subscription required). Mississippi-based Butler Snow pulled off its second big grab in its five-year stint in Nashville, absorbing a 13-attorney commercial litigation practice. Burr Forman of Birmingham recently took a quarter of the attorneys from a Kentucky firm’s local office. The message is clear, the newspaper says: keep your competitor close and your attorneys closer.

Hundreds of high school girls observed the Tennessee Supreme Court yesterday during arguments at Lipscomb University. The girls are part of the American Legion Auxiliary Volunteer Girls State, a week-long program that exposes high school students to government. Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Sharon Lee gave a brief introduction and said she was a program participant in high school. The Tennessean has the story.

State Rep. Ryan Haynes has resigned his seat in the House following his election as chairman of the Tennessee Republican Party, Memphis Daily News reports. Haynes, who represented Knoxville in the legislature for seven years, was elected by the state GOP’s executive committee last month to replace Chris Devaney, who stepped down just months into his fourth term to become executive director of the Chattanooga-based Children’s Nutrition Program of Haiti.

The parade of possible GOP presidential candidates marching through Tennessee continues Saturday at the state Republican Party's biggest event of the year, the Tennessean reports. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush is the keynote speaker at this year's Statesmen's Dinner, the party's largest gathering — and possibly largest fundraiser — of the year.