Lead Stories

Politics
11:01 am
Wed October 24, 2012

In House Races, Democrats Enlist Beshear for TV Ads

Credit Kentucky Governor's Office

Kentucky House Democrats are enlisting Governor Steve Beshear for electoral help.

In addition to fundraisers and public appearances with candidates, Governor Steve Beshear is now appearing in TV ads asking for broad support for House Democrats.

The airs are airing in Central Kentucky, where Democrats hope to win some seats from the GOP.

“The Republicans are throwing a lot of junk in your mailbox, on your TVs and radios, full of attacks and half-truths," says Beshear in the ads. "They did it to me last year and now they are doing it to my friends."

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Local News
8:45 am
Wed October 24, 2012

LMPD, FBI to Discuss Dangers of Laser Pointers and Aircraft

Credit Creative Commons

Louisville Metro Police and other authorities will discuss the "growing problem" of people using laser pointers on aircraft, which LMPD says can lead to "catastrophic results."

LMPD pilots will be joined at a news conference Wednesday by representatives from the FBI and the University of Louisville Police, a news release said. Authorities will urge people to be aware of the dangers laser pointers pose to aircraft, and they'll also discuss a recent arrest.

Education
7:30 am
Wed October 24, 2012

Nobel Prize Laureate James Heckman to Address Education

Economist and Nobel Prize laureate James Heckman will speak Wednesday in Louisville during an event co-hosted by the Governor's Office of Early Childhood Development.

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Politics
9:02 pm
Tue October 23, 2012

Mourdock: Rape Pregnancies "Something God Intended"

During the final debate in the Indiana Senate race on Tuesday evening, Republican Richard Mourdock said that pregnancies resulting from rape should not be exempt from an abortion ban because they are the will of God.

During the hour-long debate against Democrat Joe Donnelly and Libertarian Andrew Horning, the GOP nominee appeared to fight back tears while answering a question about his stance on abortion and women's reproductive health issues.

"I know there are some who disagree, and I respect their point of view. But I believe that life begins at conception. The only exception I have, to have an abortion, is in that case of the life of the mother," said Mourdock. "I've struggled with it myself for a long time, but I came to realize that life is that gift from God. And even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that it is something that God intended to happen."

Watch the video:

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Politics
4:17 pm
Tue October 23, 2012

Kentucky Officials Watching for Vote Trading

Credit Kentucky Secretary of State

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Booze has been traded for votes in the Appalachian region in years past, but at least one election official is raising prescription pills as a new worry.

Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes, Kentucky's chief election official, voiced that concern at a Capitol press conference on Tuesday where she appeared with federal and state investigators to put unscrupulous politicians on notice that they'll be closely watched on Nov. 6.

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Education
4:16 pm
Tue October 23, 2012

Kentucky's Districts of Innovation Process Announced Friday

Credit File photo

Despite failing to pass charter school legislation in the Kentucky General Assembly this year, education officials will announce details of the compromise Districts of Innovation bill this Friday.

The new regulations will allow local districts flexibility from some state laws controlling how students are educated if certain goals are met, mainly for low-achieving students.

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Arts and Humanities
4:04 pm
Tue October 23, 2012

Great 'I Want' Moments in Musicals

Credit NETWorks
Emily Behny as Belle.

The Broadway touring production of Disney's "Beauty and the Beast" opens tonight in the Kentucky Center's Whitney Hall.

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Business
3:48 pm
Tue October 23, 2012

Churchill Downs Gets Approval For September Dates

Churchill Downs has been given the go-ahead to offer a third racing meet starting next year.

The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission voted Tuesday to give the track a third live racing meet in September.

The schedule will be added to Churchill's traditional spring and fall meets.

The 12 additional dates will be Churchill's first all-September meet since 1890. The dates have traditionally gone to Turfway Park in northern Kentucky.

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Politics
3:42 pm
Tue October 23, 2012

Democrats Plan to Drop More Money Into Indiana Senate Race

Political parties and outside groups have already spent large sums in Indiana's Senate race, and voters can expect to see a surge in the last two weeks of the campaign.

Republican Richard Mourdock holds a huge lead over Democrat Joe Donnelly in fundraising, and conservative Super PACs have been running ads. But Democrats are planning to pump additional cash into the race as well.

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Arts and Humanities
3:07 pm
Tue October 23, 2012

A Few Honest Words: New Book Explores Pop Music in Kentucky

  • An interview with author Jason Howard about his new book, "A Few Honest Words."

WFPL's Erin Keane speaks with Kentucky author Jason Howard about his new book, “A Few Honest Words: the Kentucky Roots of Popular Music."

In the book's introduction, Howard quotes songwriter Harlan Howard when he writes, “if there is a creed that defines roots music, it is that it consists of ‘three chords and a truth.’”

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