News

Federal Environmental Protection Agency officials say there’s still work to be done at the Lees Lane Landfill site in southwest Louisville, though they don’t believe the site is currently a danger to nearby residents.

After 10 days, WLKY is back on Insight Cable in Louisville.

The station was pulled from the cable lineup earlier this month after Insight parent Time Warner and WLKY owner Hearst Television failed to ink a new retransmission agreement. Retransmission deals stipulate how much money cable operators pay to rebroadcast content.

According to a new analysis by U.S. House Democrats, an increasing percentage of coal from mountaintop removal mines is being exported overseas. The report was released this morning, as the House Natural Resources committee held a hearing on a proposed stream buffer rule to protect Appalachian streams from coal mine pollution.

Ford Motor Company has announced the second major recall this week of the 2013 Escape SUVs.

Ford officials are telling owners of the new Escape not to drive the vehicle until dealers can fix a fuel line that may crack and cause engine fires.

There has only been one such incident with a customer and no injuries were reported.

The recall is for 2013 Escapes with 1.6 liter four-cylinder engines. Officials say dealers will pick up the vehicle up and drop off a loaner car until repairs are finished.

A report released today from the Democrats on the House Natural Resources Committee analyzed coal export data and found that mountaintop removal mines are sending an increased percentage of coal produced oversees.

The report used data from the Energy Information Administration, the Mine Safety and Health Administration, and data self-reported by the mines. Here's a summary of what they found:

UPS officials say it could be good news for the company’s Louisville Worldport hub if UPS wins a contract with the United States Postal Service next year.

The USPS has had a contract with FedEx to transport certain mail since 2000, but officials announced earlier this year that USPS intends on opening the contract up for bidding.  The contract is worth nearly $1 billion annually.

Both UPS and FedEx officials have announced they plan to place bids when the USPS releases its request for proposals, which could be as early as next month,  said UPS spokesman Norman Black.

The latest numbers show Kentucky's unemployment rate staying flat from May to June.

The Office of Employment and Training says the jobs rate remained at 8.2 percent, which matches the national jobless figure.

This ends a long trend of monthly declines in the unemployment rate. The rate was 8.8 at the beginning of this year, and 9.6 in June of last year.

More candidates have filed this week for the Jefferson County Board of Education elections including some high-profiled names.

Three of the seven board seats are up for grabs this fall including Joe Hardesty's District 4, Steve Imhoff's District 2 and Larry Hujo's District 7. 

Most recently former Humana chairman David Jones has announced he plans to run for District 2, which covers the Highlands and Crescent Hill among other neighborhoods.

In Kentucky's Fourth District congressional race, Democratic candidate Bill Adkins is demanding Republican Thomas Massie renounce a super PAC over its executive director pleading guilty to driving under the influence.

Earlier this week, The Courier-Journal reported that Liberty For All leader Preston Bates faced DUI charges from an incident in July 2011. The police report said Bates crashed his car into a fence, told officers he was an "anarchist" and had a blood alcohol level of 0.121 percent, which is above the .08 percent legal limit.

Bates's attorney entered a guilty plea for the 23-year-old on Wednesday. He will pay a fine and have his driver's license suspended for 30 days.

In the crowded GOP primary, Bates led the Texas-based super PAC, which put in over $500,000 to support Massie over his opponents.

In a statement, Adkins says Massie needs to tell the group to get out of Kentucky and argues their positions are "un-American" due to Bates' comments.

"I call upon Tom Massie to disavow the Ron Paul/Texas Liberty For All SuperPAC Tell them to leave Kentucky and stay out of this race for Congress," he says. "Liberty for All and its leaders are far out of touch with the values of Kentuckians in the Fourth District. Their executive director is a confirmed anarchist. Anarchists do not believe in any authority, anarchists have no respect for government and anarchists often use violent means to achieve their goals. Their positions are un-American."

Information for this story also came from the Associated Press

Indiana officials have issued a water shortage warning for all 92 counties in the Hoosier state, asking local governments, businesses and residents to voluntary conserve as much water as possible.

Facilties that draw more than 100,000 gallons of water each day are being asked to curb consumption by 10 to 15 percent.