Lead Stories

Environment
4:49 pm
Fri February 1, 2013

Chemical Safety Board to Release Findings of Investigation Into 2011 Rubbertown Explosion

The Chemical Safety Board will be in Louisville next week to present the results of its investigation into the March 2011 explosion at the Carbide Industries plant in Rubbertown.

The explosion killed two workers and injured two others on March 21, 2011, when an electric arc furnace over pressured and emitted hot gases and debris.

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The Two-Way
3:59 pm
Fri February 1, 2013

Obama Administration Issues Proposal On Birth Control Coverage

Originally published on Fri February 1, 2013 1:40 pm

(The top of this post and our headline was updated at 1:35 p.m. ET.)

"The Obama administration on Friday proposed a work-around for religious nonprofits that object to providing health insurance that covers birth control," The Associated Press reports.

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Local News
3:37 pm
Fri February 1, 2013

Officials Halt Indiana Plant Project Over Pakistan Connection

Indiana officials have suspended their support for a proposed fertilizer plant while they investigate a Pakistani company involved in the project.

The Indiana Finance Authority issued $1.3 billion in bonds in December for a nitrogen fertilizer plant Midwest Fertilizer Corp. plans to build at the Port of Mount Vernon in southwestern Indiana's Posey County. Midwest Fertilizer Corp. is part of the Pakistan-based Fatima  Group.

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Local News
3:19 pm
Fri February 1, 2013

Byline | Local Take on Immigration Reform; Frankfort News; Gay Marriages in Indiana

Here is the audio and rundown on today's edition of Byline:

At the top - Immigration reform is back in the headlines, with President Obama stating a deal with Congress that includes a path to citizenship should be attainable this year.  We discuss the potential local impact with Edgardo Mansilla, executive director of the Americana Community Center, and Kate Miller, program associate for the ACLU of Kentucky.

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Education
2:46 pm
Fri February 1, 2013

With More Snow in Forecast, JCPS Cancels Weekend Sports

Credit Gabe Bullard/WFPL

With more winter weather in the forecast, Jefferson County Public Schools is canceling all school activities—including athletics—this weekend.

Snow is expected in southern Indiana after midnight, reaching north central Kentucky early Saturday morning, the National Weather Service said.

Louisville has a 30-percent chance of snow—accumulating to less than an inch— mostly after 3 a.m. Saturday, the weather service said. And the chance of snow is forecast to increase through the day Saturday, with a chance remaining to early Sunday afternoon.

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Environment
1:49 pm
Fri February 1, 2013

MSHA Reports 36 Miners Died on the Job Last Year

Credit MSHA

The Mine Safety and Health Administration has released its preliminary fatality data for last year.

Thirty-six miners died on the job last year—19 of them in coal mines. The federal government has been keeping records for more than a century, and 2012 was the second-lowest year for fatalities on record. The only year that was lower was 2009, when 35 miners died.

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Arts and Humanities
1:01 pm
Fri February 1, 2013

REVIEW | 'Girlfriend': Fine, Fizzy Romance with Killer Soundtrack

Credit Alan Simons / Actors Theatre of Louisville
Curt Hansen as Mike and Ryder Bach as Will in "Girlfriend" at Actors Theatre.

Let’s flash back to 1993, to the days before texting and ready Internet access, when living in a small town really could feel like living on the moon. We are in Nebraska, but it might as well be any small town in Kentucky, Indiana, England. Let us say we are dorks, friendless and stilted, moving through high school like occasionally kicked stray dogs. Or. We are wearing someone else’s life, someone popular and ambitious and accomplished and right, holding our breath until we can leave this town and shed the fake skin like a bad sweater.

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Shots - Health News
12:19 pm
Fri February 1, 2013

Are NFL Football Hits Getting Harder And More Dangerous?

Originally published on Mon February 4, 2013 7:56 am

Super Bowl XLVII will kick off Sunday with its typical bombastic fanfare: Beyonce will wow us with her live halftime show, and "space baby" commercials will overload us with cuteness.

But this year, there's a gray cloud hanging over the Super Bowl: the mounting anger about devastating injuries to players' brains and bodies.

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Politics
12:02 pm
Fri February 1, 2013

In Wake of Financial Downgrade, Kentucky Business Leaders Call for Quick Pension Reform

Credit Kentucky Chamber of Commerce

Another change in Kentucky’s financial outlook has the state’s business leaders calling on the General Assembly for immediate pension reforms.

Standard and Poor’s has changed Kentucky’s outlook to negative, citing the state's large unfunded pension obligations as the main reason.

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Local News
11:50 am
Fri February 1, 2013

On Byline Today: General Assembly Coming Back to Work, Cyclo-Cross and More

Kentucky legislators prepare to return to Frankfort, a greener Louisville and a big dirty cycle race are among the topics WFPL will explore at 1 p.m. today on Byline.

Kentucky Public Radio's Kenny Colston will join Byline host Rick Howlett to talk about pension reform and other issues with next week's resumption of the Kentucky General Assembly's 2013 session.

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