A new estimate shows Auburn is among the fastest growing in the country.

   The estimate released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau shows Auburn was among the top 15 fastest-growing cities with populations of at least 50,000 people.

   AL.com reports (http://bit.ly/11cP9j0 ) the city had an estimated population growth rate of 3.71 percent during the one-year period starting July 1, 2011.

   Eight Texas cities made the ranking of 15 with San Marcos, located between San Antonio and Austin, topping the list with a 4.91 percent increase.

Alabama's governor has signed legislation that expands where people can carry guns in Alabama.
   The bill by Republican Sen. Scott Beason of Gardendale passed the Legislature Monday, and Bentley's office announced he signed it into law Wednesday.

   House Speaker Mike Hubbard said the governor's signature makes Second Amendment rights more secure.

   The new law says employees can have firearms in their cars at work, and businesses can't be sued for any harm resulting from the use of those weapons.

President Barrack Obama plans to sign a bill Friday that awards the Congressional Gold Medal posthumously to the four girls killed in the 1963 bombing of a Birmingham church.

   Alabama Reps. Terri Sewell and Spencer Bachus sponsored the bill, which received final approval May 9. Sewell told al.com (http://bit.ly/Z0FxeP ) that some members of Alabama's congressional delegation will attend the signing ceremony at 12:15 p.m. Friday.

   Also planning to attend are some family members of the four girls killed in the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church bombing.

Animal protection groups are urging Alabama's governor to sign legislation toughening the penalties for animal cruelty.

   The Legislature passed a bill on the last night of its session to increase the penalty for animal cruelty from a maximum of six months in jail to a maximum of one year. The bill also adds a definition for torture that can cause the punishment to increase to a felony carrying up to 10 years in prison.

A Lee County judge has scheduled a hearing for a man accused of killing three people at a pool party at an Auburn apartment complex last year.

   Circuit Judge Jacob A. Walker set the date for the hearing for 23-year-old Desmonte Leonard for Oct. 15 in Lee County Court.

   The Opelika-Auburn News reports (http://bit.ly/119hRkJ ) that one aspect of the hearing would be Walker saying that both sides have indicated that the case is not yet ready for trial.

State health officials say a mysterious respiratory illness has left five people hospitalized and two dead in southeast Alabama.

   In a statement, Alabama Department of Public Health spokeswoman Mary McIntyre says seven people have been admitted to hospitals with a fever, cough and shortness of breath. Two of the seven have died and McIntyre says the department and the Centers for Disease Control Respiratory Laboratory are analyzing lab tests from all seven.

The board of the Alabama Public Historical Sites and Parks Improvement Corporation has authorized $1.2 million in bond money for a landmark voting rights center in the capitol city.

A new facility at Alabama State University will be home to the last stop on the route memorialized as the Voting Rights Trail, officials said Tuesday.

Finance Director Marquita Davis told Lt. Gov. Kay Ivey and House Speaker Mike Hubbard the center had been funded in 2001, but the project didn't get off the ground.

When the Legislature adjourned Monday just before midnight, more than 70 nominations to state boards died without a vote.

The affected bodies range from university governing boards to the state environmental management board and the Real Estate Commission.

Of the pending nominations, 56 were from Gov. Robert Bentley, while another 14 came from legislative leaders or self-perpetuating boards.