Lead Stories

Environment
3:00 pm
Sun August 26, 2012

Pollution Controls at Power Plants Create Greater Demand for Limestone

Credit Erica Peterson / WFPL
Hillside Basic's quarry in Battletown, Ky.

The need for more sophisticated pollution controls at power plants as led to an increased demand for limestone. And a quarry in Meade County has installed new equipment to meet that demand.

Power plants have to reduce sulfur dioxide emissions, and one popular way of doing that is running it through layers of crushed limestone mixed with water. The sulfur dioxide bubbles through the high-calcium limestone, and doesn’t go out the smokestack.

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Local News
10:00 am
Sun August 26, 2012

Program Could Provide Deportation Immunity to Young Immigrants in Louisville

On August 15, the Department of Homeland Security began accepting applications for the program known as Deferred Action for Childhood arrivals. It would allow some undocumented immigrants who came to this country as children to obtain temporary immunity from deportation. LEO Weekly’s Anne Marshall joined us on Friday's Byline to talk about the program and some local young people who are applying for it.

Politics
9:30 am
Sun August 26, 2012

Reports from Kentucky's Tea Party Rally

A Tea Party rally featuring Kentucky Senators Mitch McConnell and Senator Rand Paul was held earlier this week in Frankfort to protest President Obama’s health care law. WFPL's Phillip Bailey and Kentucky Public Radio's Kenny Colston were there, and they joined us on Friday's Byline to let us know what they saw.  

Politics
10:30 pm
Sat August 25, 2012

Noise and Notes: Braden's Southern Patriotism and The Values of Hip-Hop Politcs

Credit Louisville Public Media

A new documentary on the late civil rights icon Anne Braden is coming out.

The Louisville social justice advocate died in 2006 at the age of 81 and dedicated her life to civil rights. Braden gained notoriety as an affluent southern white woman who led many campaigns against Jim Crow laws at the height of segregation.

Check out the trailer:

I talked with Braden biographer and historian Cate Fosl, who is the director of the Anne Braden Institute at the University of Louisville. We talked about Braden’s legacy, the new film and if her brand of social justice still matters in a so-called post-racial America.

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The Two-Way
9:41 pm
Sat August 25, 2012

Storm Forces Republicans To Cancel Monday Convention Events

Credit National Hurricane Center
Tropical Storm Isaac's projected path on Saturday, Aug. 25, 2012

Originally published on Sat August 25, 2012 8:55 pm

Tropical Storm Isaac has been difficult to track, but its potential to affect Florida has caused the Republican National Convention to change its plans. Events for Monday have been canceled, though the committee will convene briefly. As Alan Greenblatt reported for It's All Politics, this is now the second-consecutive Republican National Convention to be delayed by a storm.

Update at 8:55 p.m. ET. Nomination Delayed:

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The Two-Way
3:55 pm
Sat August 25, 2012

Neil Armstrong, First Man To Walk On The Moon, Dies

Originally published on Sun August 26, 2012 5:28 pm

Former astronaut Neil Armstrong, known for his words, "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind," has died. The first man ever to walk on the moon was 82.

Update at 5:15 p.m. ET:

Armstrong's family has released a statement, saying he died following cardiovascular procedures. NASA published it here. They say, "Armstrong was also a reluctant American hero who always believed he was just doing his job."

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Politics
3:35 pm
Sat August 25, 2012

Paul: There is a War Over The American Dream

Days before his speech at the Republican National Convention, U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., is warning Americans about a "war going on" between those who respect the Constitution and those who do not.

Paul delivered the message in the GOP weekly address on Friday, and says many of the country's problems could have been resolved over the past two years if President Obama had worked with congressional Republicans.

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Local News
3:02 pm
Sat August 25, 2012

Bridge Groundbreaking: Who Sets the Tolls?

Next week, a ceremonial groundbreaking will be held for a road extension in Clark County, Indiana.  The three million dollar contract is among the first for the Ohio River Bridges Project, which after more than 40 years of study, debate, and untold public hearings is moving forward.  The project of course includes a new East End bridge, with construction overseen by Indiana.   The Kentucky-managed part of the project includes a new downtown bridge and the reworking of Spaghetti Junction.

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Politics
9:00 am
Sat August 25, 2012

Romney Reboot? Convention Could Be The Ticket

Originally published on Sat August 25, 2012 5:47 am

Mitt Romney, 65, has spent the better part of a decade running for president. And as the son of a Michigan governor who headed a Detroit auto company, he's been in the public eye much longer.

Yet the former Massachusetts governor has remained an enigma to many voters, his political positions malleable, and much of his business and private life — including his Mormon religion — intentionally obscured.

Or simply declared off limits, like years of his tax returns.

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Arts and Humanities
3:33 pm
Fri August 24, 2012

A Look at the Louisville Orchestra's 2012-2013 Season

Lindsay Vallandingham

The Louisville Orchestra has announced its 2012-2013 season, and General Manager Lindsay Vallandingham joined WFPL's Erin Keane on Friday afternoon to talk about what's on their schedule this season. 

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