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MUFREESBORO, Tenn (WMOT)  --  The Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce says 60,000 high-school athletes and their supporters have visited Middle Tennessee in recent days.  They're here for the state high-school basketball championships currently underway in Murfreesboro.

The Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association is holding its annual tournament on the campus of Middle Tennessee State University.  The girls championship was held last week. This week the boy’s teams are in town for their tournament.

Mona Herring is with the Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce.

MURFREESBORO, Tenn (WMOT)  --  Franklin Mayor Ken Moore says city and county governments across the state are becoming increasingly concerned about a series of bills under consideration by the Tennessee General Assembly.

The Franklin Board of Alderman recently passed a resolution opposing 14 measures currently working their way through the state legislature. Moore says the bills would strip local governments of the ability to regulate everything from land use to fireworks sales.

MURFREESBORO, Tenn.  (AP/WMOT) — Fewer people sought U.S. unemployment benefits last week, adding to signs that the job market is strengthening.

A U.S. Department of Labor report out Thursday shows that applications for unemployment dropped by 14,000 applicants to a seasonally adjusted 351,000.

Here in Tennessee initial jobless claims have dropped to their lowest point in four years. The state saw just over 6100 claims in February, the lowest reading since February, 2008.  Applications hit their peak in April, 2009, when more than 13,400 Tennessee’s made an initial claims.

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – A day and time has been announced for the MTSU/UT post season men’s basketball matchup.

The National Invitation Tournament game will tip off at 6 p.m. CT this Monday evening in Knoxville.  Middle Tennessee State has won only a single game in nine meetings between the in-state rivals, but that lone win did come during an NIT game in 1988.

WASHINGTON (AP/WMOT) — Tennessee Senator Lamar Alexander is firing back at Majority Leader Harry Reid over comments the Democrat made concerning a Republican filibuster.

Republicans are holding up 17 Obama Administration  judicial nominations.  Reid is hoping to pull together the 60 votes he needs to limit debate on the appointments and force a vote.

The Majority Leader says he’s acting in response to the slow pace of confirmations of Obama's picks for the federal bench. He said Republicans should end the delays immediately to ease the backlog of cases in federal courts.

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (WMOT)  -- Alcoa and Marshall County took the court Wednesday morning in Murfreesboro for the first game of the Tennessee high-school boys basketball championships.

An estimated 30,000 student athletes and their supporters are in Middle Tennessee this week for the annual Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association tournament.  The games are being held at Murphy Center on the Middle Tennessee State University campus.

Kendra Tate drove over from East Tennessee to see her son Trey play for Alcoa.

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (AP/WMOT) — Tennessee isn't the only part of the country enjoying unusually warm temperatures. Golfers are already hitting the links in Minnesota.

From the Rocky Mountains to the Atlantic coast, areas where residents are normally bundled up against the cold in March are enjoying clear skies and temperatures in the 70s.

Forecasters say spring is early and here to stay.

The National Weather Service says the weather pattern is a random, normal fluctuation and can be attributed in part to a La Nina pattern in the Pacific Ocean.