Lead Stories

Economy
4:05 pm
Tue December 18, 2012

The Downsides Of Living In An Oil Boomtown

Originally published on Tue December 18, 2012 11:18 am

The population boom in Williston, N.D., has been a blessing and a curse for many local businesses. Williston, the fastest growing small city in America, is enjoying an oil boom and has seen its population double in the past two years.

At the city's brand new McDonald's, manager Vern Brekhus struggles every day to maintain his staff of nearly 100 workers.

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Local News
3:42 pm
Tue December 18, 2012

Two Companies Choose To Locate Headquarters Downtown

Gov. Steve Beshear welcomes two companies to a soon-to-be renovated space on East Market Street.

Gov. Steve Beshear joined local officials in announcing two companies that have chosen to relocate their headquarters in downtown Louisville from Indiana.

The companies are expected to add 100 “top-level” jobs, according to a press release sent out by the governor’s office.

Indatus and sister company Mocura—both owned under ownership of ICIM Corporation—will relocate headquarters in a historic building on East Main Street, which previously housed the headquarters of Four Roses Bourbon.

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Global Health
2:42 pm
Tue December 18, 2012

States Dreading Fiscal Cliff Outcome — But Indecision May Be Worse

Credit Steven Senne / AP
Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick says uncertainty about a federal budget deal in Washington played a big part in his recent announcement of cuts to his state's budget by $500 million.

Originally published on Tue December 18, 2012 12:35 pm

It's not the cutting, it's the uncertainty.

That's the lament these days from governors and mayors awaiting the outcome of federal budget negotiations.

They know they're likely to take a hit; they just don't know how bad it's going to be.

"How do you budget for the unknown?" wonders Ed Long, the county executive in Fairfax County, Va. "Our worst fear is that by [the federal government] not acting, the economy is going to get worse going forward."

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Local News
2:34 pm
Tue December 18, 2012

President Barack Obama 'Actively Supportive' of Assault Weapons Ban

Credit White House
President Barack Obama

WASHINGTON — The White House says President Barack Obama is "actively supportive" of efforts on Capitol Hill to reinstate an assault weapons ban.

Obama has long backed the ban, but has failed to push for it throughout his first term. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., plans to introduce legislation to reinstate the ban early next year.

White House spokesman Jay Carney says Obama would also support legislation to close the gun show "loophole," which allows people to buy guns from private dealers without background checks.

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Local News
1:26 pm
Tue December 18, 2012

Turfway Park Pilots Substance Abuse Program

Credit Creative Commons

Turfway Park will begin piloting a substance abuse program for licensed racetrack workers next year, which officials hope can extend to other tracks around the state.

“That’s our intent is to have a program in place that will be effective at all the racetracks in Kentucky,” said Richard Riedel, executive director of the Kentucky Racing Health and Welfare Fund, which is paying the $5,000 cost to pilot the program.

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Environment
1:09 pm
Tue December 18, 2012

Energy Agency Predicts Coal's Short-Term Prospects Are Bright Internationally

Credit Decumanus / Wikimedia Commons

In the United States, recent data has shown that coal is losing ground, and is now neck in neck with natural gas in terms of the percentage of electricity generation the country gets from each fuel. Coal use is even diminishing in the southeast, a region that's typically relied on coal-fired power.

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Shootings In Newtown, Conn.
1:03 pm
Tue December 18, 2012

Coverage Rapid, And Often Wrong, In Tragedy's Early Hours

Credit Eric Thayer / Reuters/Landov
Flowers, candles and stuffed animals make up a makeshift memorial in Newtown, Conn., on Monday. Much of the initial news coverage of Friday's events was later found to be inaccurate.

Originally published on Tue December 18, 2012 2:09 pm

Nearly everyone reported so many things wrong in the first 24 hours after the Sandy Hook shootings that it's hard to single out any one news organization or reporter for criticism.

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Local News
12:22 pm
Tue December 18, 2012

How Did TV Dramas Get So Good?

Breaking Bad. Homeland. The Sopranos. Madmen. Friday Night Lights. The Walking Dead.

Chances are you've lost weeks — if not months — of your life to one of these shows. I know I have. But where on earth did they come from? Why has there been this explosion of high-quality TV dramas?

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Local News
11:51 am
Tue December 18, 2012

In His Final Broadcast, BBC's Robin Lustig Shouts Out Louisville

After decades on air (he joined the BBC in 1989), legendary broadcaster Robin Lustig has signed off.

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Politics
10:57 am
Tue December 18, 2012

Rand Paul: Tim Scott Appointment Will Help GOP, Tea Party Among Black Voters

Credit U.S. Senate
U.S. Sen. Rand Paul

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., says the appointment of Congressman Tim Scott, R-S.C., to the Senate could help Republicans and the Tea Party among African-Americans.

Scott will succeed retiring Sen. Jim DeMint, who is leaving for the Heritage Foundation. The appointment will make Scott the only black senator in the chamber next year.

As observers note, Scott's prominence is due in large part to the Tea Party wave that elected him in 2010.

From NPR:

Scott touts a Tea Party message of drastically smaller government, and beyond that he has endeared himself to many conservatives with his willingness to criticize President Obama.

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