Historians now estimate that 750,000 people died in the American Civil War, two-and-a-half percent of the population.

The Union and the Confederacy were both ill-equipped to deal with the carnage as the fighting escalated.

Filmmaker Ric Burns’ new documentary, Death and the Civil War, which premieres tonight on public television, focuses on how the war forced Americans to improvise ways of coping with battlefield casualties and honoring their war dead.

In some states, the 2012 presidential election is turning into a race of who can support coal more.

That's not really in Kentucky, or in West Virginia, where voters will reliably lean Republican in national elections. But as McClatchy Newspapers reports, both Barack Obama and Mitt Romney are focusing on nearby Ohio.

The Kentucky Opera opens Puccini’s tragedy “Tosca” this week.  The company will begin its 60th anniversary season with Friday’s gala performance in the Brown Theatre, accompanied by the Louisville Orchestra.

Kentucky Derby-winning trainer Rick Dutrow, Jr. is asking New York's top court to overturn his 10-year ban by the state Racing and Wagering Board for equine drug violations, saying it raises substantial civil rights issues.

In asking the Court of Appeals to hear Dutrow's case, attorney Michael Koenig says it should decide whether the appearance of bias by racing board Chairman John Sabini cost the trainer his right to a fair proceeding.

A federal grant that directs more than $4 million to the Transit Authority of River City will help Louisville come into compliance with air quality standards.

The University of Louisville football team will be on the road for the next three games, starting next Saturday night at Florida International. U of L is 3-0 for the first time since 2006, but nearly blew a 29 point halftime lead last Saturday against North Carolina. The Cards held on for a 39-34 victory.

Coach Charlie Strong says his team hasn’t yet learned how to play a complete game.

The WFPL News staff is going outside. This Friday is Park(ing) Day, when city dwellers across the country put parking spaces to new use.

Park(ing) Day re-imagines metered parking spots as public spaces. So what could be more public than public radio? WFPL will set up a streetside studio outside of our headquarters at 619 S. 4th Street.

In our space, we'll present the radio equivalent of a photo booth. Here's how it'll work:

The Louisville man charged with fatally shooting two of his neighbors at a homeowners' association meeting has pleaded not guilty to two murder charges and seven counts of wanton endangerment.

Mahmoud Yousef Hindi is being held without bond. He said he has no money and needs a public defender.

Hindi had longstanding disputes with neighbors and the homeowners' association over a fence and driveway he put in his front yard in an eastern Louisville suburb.

Protestors with Occupy Wall Street are marking their one-year anniversary with demonstrations this week, but critics argue the movement has lost momentum and is in disarray.

The protests started in New York City's financial district in reaction to corporate greed, rising unemployment and the national recession. It drew attention to the country’s income gap and economic inequality by rallying behind the 99 percent of wage earners. Several other Occupy demonstrations sprouted up across the country to address foreclosures and affordable housing and saw varying degrees of success.

But opponents say the movement has died down because the leaderless coalition had no clear platform or strategy.

From L.A. Times:

Yet the movement cannot claim any new policy, law or regulation as its own. Unlike the Tea Party on the political right, there is no cohesive Occupy group promoting candidates in November's national election.

Karl Zoellner is a spokesman for Occupy Louisville. He says the movement is in transition, but has successfully pushed an agenda.

"The name, the brand Occupy is not on the front burner like it once was. But the issues of the 99 percent, which is something that the Occupy Wall Street brought attention to, has in turn become the focus of thousands of social justice organizations across the United States," he says.