Wyoming News Briefs

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — The Wyoming Senate has given preliminary approval to a bill that would allow the use of silencers for hunting. Some have suggested the practice is unsporting, since it would give hunters who miss a second shot. To that, Republican sponsor Sen. Ogden Driskill of Devils Tower, said, "If we're going to talk about fair chase, let's make bow-and-arrow hunters say 'bang.'"

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — Somestate lawmakers have come out against a measure to make clear that schools have the right to teach classes about the Bible, because the practice is already allowed. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled several times that public schools can offer classes about the Bible but can't use it for devotional purposes. The bill was sent to the House floor this week.

CROW AGENCY, Mont. (AP) — Wyoming mining company Cloud Peak says it has foreign markets in mind as it enters a deal to lease an estimated 1.4 billion tons of coal beneath the Crow Tribe's land in southeastern Montana. Executive Colin Marshall says the fate of the project is tied to pending coal port proposals in Oregon and Washington state that would allow the resource to be shipped to Asia.

LARAMIE, Wyo. (AP) — The University of Wyoming Cowgirls have done a solid job so far this season of holding onto the basketball. Wyoming has averaged 14.5 turnovers a game through 18 games, the second-best mark in the Mountain West behind San Diego State. UW sophomore forward Kayla Woodward tells the Laramie Boomerang as long as the team remains calm it can handle the pressure defenses.