Tennessee Attorney General Bob CooperNASHVILLE - Tennessee's attorney general says married parents can't invent new last names for their children.
Attorney General Bob Cooper writes in a legal opinion that state law limits the options to the last name of either the father or the mother, or both.
What's not allowed, says Cooper, is a hybrid name using portions of both parents' last names. For example, he says, the child of a couple named Johnson or McAllister could have either last name or both names hyphenated.
But Cooper says the parents could not decide to create a new name like "Johnister" or 'McAllinson."
The legal opinion was requested by Republican state Rep. Charles Sargent of Franklin.
Free book program marks 10 years
NASHVILLE - The Governor's Books from Birth Foundation is celebrating the 10th anniversary of Dolly Parton's Imagination Library in Tennessee with a statewide bus tour.
The Imagination Library has mailed more than 20 million free books to Tennessee children since it began. The Books from Birth Foundation helps support the program by matching the funding raised by local groups.
The 50-county bus tour will include recognizing the work of volunteers and donors, signing children up for free books and building community support for the program. The Books from Birth Foundation will provide reading-themed giveaways for children at each stop.
The tour begins on Aug. 26 in Johnson County and ends at the Tennessee State Capitol in Nashville on Sept. 30.
Missing owl found on porch
ATLANTA - Authorities say an owl that went missing from Zoo Atlanta has been found on the front porch of a home about a half a mile away.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that Soren the barn owl was found after members of the zoo's bird team responded to a call about a possible sighting Friday.
Zoo officials said they examined the owl and found no signs of injury. They said the bird was positively identified from leather bands on its legs.
James Ballance, the zoo's curator of birds, said the owl had lost weight, appeared to be hungry and showed signs of dehydration. But he said the staff is optimistic that the bird will recover normally.
Zoo spokeswoman Keisha Hines said the owl had flown away from trainers Aug. 10.
Boy, 4, shoots himself, dies
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - Police in Middle Tennessee say a 4-year-old boy has died after shooting himself in the chest.
Clarksville Police Department spokeswoman Natalie Hall told The Leaf-Chronicle that the boy apparently gained access to a loaded handgun Sunday night and was able to fire it.
Police were called to the scene, and the boy was flown to Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where he later died.
An investigation into the circumstances of the boy's death is continuing.