Newcast: Thursday, July 19, 2012, 12:04 p.m.

A panel of Vermont lawmakers is getting a briefing on how a man convicted in a Barre murder in 1992 ended up getting out of jail three years before his combined state and federal sentences were up. Congressman Peter Welch has joined a Republican colleague to gather more than 50 signatures from both parties urging House leaders to bring the farm bill to the floor. A former Norwich University student charged with drunk driving in a crash that killed a fellow student has pleaded guilty to two felonies. The alternative energy event known as Solarfest will hold its 18th annual summer event this weekend in Tinmouth.