Kentucky News Now

SENATE-KENTUCKY-PARADE

McConnell, Grimes campaign in Madisonville parade

MADISONVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky's U.S. Senate candidates rode in the annual Madisonville Veterans Day Parade, their final joint appearance before Tuesday's closely watched election.

Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell rode in a Ford Thunderbird convertible with his wife on Sunday, while Democratic challenger Alison Lundergan Grimes and about two dozen supporters walked behind chanting that McConnell had to go.

A new NBC/Marist poll shows McConnell leads Grimes by 9 percentage points just two days before the election. McConnell told reporters he expects to win on Tuesday and said he is hopeful Republicans will win a majority in the U.S. Senate.

Grimes says she is excited about the energy she sees on the campaign trail, citing her endorsements from the United Mineworkers of America and the state's two largest newspapers.

SENATE-KENTUCKY-TV ADS

Republicans winning TV ad war in Kentucky

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky's U.S. Senate election could be a close race, but the battle for the airwaves has already been won.

Republicans have outspent Democrats on TV by more than $8.4 million, according to data compiled by the Center for Public Integrity. That means Kentucky voters have seen roughly 13,600 more ads for Sen. Mitch McConnell than they have for Democrat Alison Lundergan Grimes.

But Grimes and her allies have not been absent from the airwaves, airing 30,700 ads over the course of the campaign.

More than half of the ads aired by or on behalf of the two campaigns have been negative, according to an analysis by the Wesleyan Media Project, while just 17 percent have been positive.

The election is Tuesday.

SENATE-KENTUCKY-HILLARY CLINTON

Hillary Clinton stumps for Grimes in northern Ky.

HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. (AP) — Hillary Rodham Clinton is urging voters in conservative northern Kentucky to elect Democrat Alison Lundergan Grimes to the U.S. Senate, saying the country cannot continue to reward dividers.

It was Clinton's second trip to Kentucky this election cycle to help boost Grimes' effort to unseat Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell.

Clinton told more than 1,000 people at Northern Kentucky University the election boils down to which candidate is on their side. She says Grimes would fight for Kentuckians by working to raise the minimum wage and fighting against wage discrimination for women.

McConnell campaigned in his hometown of Louisville on Saturday morning, sounding confident as most public polls show he has a narrow lead. He stressed his experience and leadership post as important assets for his Kentucky constituents.

HEROIN TASK FORCE

Heroin task force marks one year, successes

(Information in the following story is from: The Kentucky Enquirer, http://www.nky.com)

COVINGTON, Ky. (AP) — A year after leaders in northern Kentucky formed a task force to battle the growing heroin problem, they are setting their sights on the next phase.

The Northern Kentucky Heroin Impact Response Task Force gathered in Covington earlier this week to reflect on the year's successes. But the business leaders, law enforcement officers and health care workers who make up the group say they have a long way to go.

The Kentucky Enquirer reports the group's efforts have inspired 17 free overdose-prevention clinics, providing 129 free kits containing a life-saving drug, naloxone. The group has recorded five rescues, including a 15-year-old boy who overdosed on heroin on his birthday.

They've created a program for addicted pregnant women and infants, and a hospital-based treatment clinic is expected to open in 2015.

CHURCH BURGLAR

Police search for Lexington church burglar

(Information in the following story is from: WKYT-TV, http://www.wkyt.com)

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Lexington police are searching for a suspect in a church burglary.

According to WKYT-TV, police believe the person who robbed the church Friday night may have also broken into the apartment of one of the church's members.

Nevada Frizzell's place was burglarized a few hours after the church was hit.

Frizzell says she's part of a church group that helps people break free of addictions, and she believes one of those individuals may have been responsible for the burglaries.

Police say they're checking nearby security cameras to see if they caught the burglar breaking into the church.

AMBER ALERT

Amber Alert issued for Kentucky baby, mother

WILLIAMSBURG, Ky. (AP) — An Amber Alert has been issued for a 16-year-old mother who Kentucky authorities say took her 9-day-old daughter from her foster home without the baby's necessary medication.

Authorities say the mother took a car from her foster parents' home in Williamsburg on Friday night. Police say the baby is medication-dependent, but the mother did not take the medicine.

The Amber Alert issued Saturday says the mother is driving a 2010 Buick Enclave with a Kentucky license plate, 729MER. The vehicle has a "WHS" sticker and a police dog sticker on the back window.

The mother has bleached blonde hair with brown roots. She may be traveling to Cumberland in Harlan County.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Kentucky State Police or the Whitley County Sheriff's Office at 606-549-6017.

GARTH BROOKS-YOUTH

Garth Brooks shoots hoops with Ky. youth

(Information in the following story is from: Lexington Herald-Leader, http://www.kentucky.com)

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Garth Brooks took time from his tour in Lexington, Kentucky to shoot a few hoops with some local youth.

The Lexington Herald-Leader reports that Brooks and Teammates for Kids, an organization he co-founded, provided a basketball camp for kids Saturday at the Joe Craft Center on the University of Kentucky campus.

Brooks was in Lexington to perform at Rupp Arena over two nights.

A camp will be held in every city of Brooks' world tour. Brooks and the organization's athletes volunteer to coach kids in football, basketball, baseball, hockey or soccer.

CONFEDERATE GRAVES

Diggers search for soldiers' final resting place

(Information in the following story is from: Kentucky New Era, http://www.kentuckynewera.com)

HOPKINSVILLE, Ky. (AP) — An archaeologist who spent two weeks digging in a Kentucky cemetery says he may have found the site of unmarked graves for more than 300 Confederate soldiers.

But the Kentucky New Era reports the search to find the final resting place for the troops from Kentucky, Mississippi, Texas and Louisiana will have to wait until next year because time ran out on this year's dig.

Archaeologist William Meacham recently dug trenches at Riverside Cemetery in Hopkinsville in hopes of finding evidence of the burials. But the Hopkinsville native, who now lives in Hong Kong, says his trip came out of pocket, so he was limited to two weeks.

After digging about a dozen trenches, Meacham found something. The final trench showed outlines of burial sites based on different soil color.