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MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (AP) — A jury has convicted the roommate of slain Middle Tennessee basketball player Tina Stewart of the lesser charge of second-degree murder.

The jury delivered the verdict Monday against 19-year-old Shanterrica Madden after deliberating for about two hours.

Stewart was fatally stabbed in the chest March 2, 2011, at the off-campus apartment the two shared in Murfreesboro. Madden acknowledged stabbing Stewart but claimed it was self-defense against her larger and more athletic roommate.

GUNTOWN, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi authorities say a fugitive accused of a double-slaying and kidnapping has been killed but the two girls he fled with are safe.

Guntown Police Chief Michael Hall says 35-year-old Adam Mayes was killed Thursday evening. He says 12-year-old Alexandria Bain and 8-year-old Kyliyah Bain are safe.

Hall says Mayes died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The chief says a SWAT team located Mayes and when they moved in to apprehend him, he shot himself.

BRISTOL, Tenn. (AP) — The Tennessee Valley Authority is reporting that reservoir levels in East Tennessee are already at mid-summer highs.

Officials on Thursday told the Bristol Herald Courier (http://bit.ly/Kf2PqQ ) that South Holston, Watauga and Boone lakes are at levels that are ready for recreational use this summer. That usually doesn't happen until June.

West Tennessee is a different story.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — More than $38 million in federal money is headed to dozens of Tennessee schools targeted to boost student performance.

A report in The Commercial Appeal of Memphis (http://bit.ly/IIj0cq) said the schools will use the money to make systemic changes, such as extending the school day and adding technology.

Gov. Bill Haslam announced the grant Thursday at a Nashville middle school where he also signed into law a new school accountability system required under Tennessee's waiver from the federal No Child Left Behind law.

MURFREESBORO, Tenn (AP) — Murfreesboro Police Officer Kristy Inglish has testified that the former Middle Tennessee State University student accused of killing her roommate during a fight never complained of any injury.

Shanterrica Madden has claimed self-defense, saying she was being beaten up when she stabbed Tina Stewart with a knife that she found on Stewart's bed.

The Daily News Journal reports Inglish drove Madden to the police station on the night of the stabbing, March 2, 2011.

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (WMOT)  --  A rash of burglaries at rural churches throughout Middle Tennessee has law enforcement asking for the public's help.

The Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office reports that five rural Rutherford County churches were burglarized in the early morning hours of April 20 and May 8. Three of the churches are located in Walter Hill will the other two are located Manson Pike.

Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Lisa Marchesoni says electronics and petty cash were stolen in most of the cases.

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (WMOT)  --  WMOT News is asking news makers from across the political spectrum to comment on the just ended 107th Tennessee General Assembly. Today the views of State Democratic Party Communications Director Brandon Puttbrese.

While this legislative session was the first in decades that Tennessee Democrats found themselves in the minority, Puttbrese says the Party did enjoy some legislative victories.