News

Firefighters in a Kentucky town that is still rebuilding after being devastated by tornadoes last year are collecting goods to send to tornado victims in Oklahoma.

West Liberty Assistant Fire Chief James Phipps told WYMT-TV that officials there wanted to help in some way because "we know what they are going through."

Much of the small city's downtown was wiped out when a twister hit on March 2, 2012.

The deadly tornado that struck the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore on Monday also caused much devastation and damaged or destroyed as 13,000 homes.

The planned expansion of Kentucky's Medicaid program coupled with a push to help the uninsured obtain health coverage could exacerbate the state's shortage of physicians, according to a report released Wednesday.

Deloitte Consulting, a technology firm that's helping to set up the Kentucky Health Benefit Exchange, unveiled the report showing Kentucky's 10,475 primary care physicians and specialists are far short of the actual need.

However, the firm concluded that Kentucky would need to find ways to increase the number of doctors and other medical professionals even if it didn't expand medical coverage to more than 600,000 new patients.

Now it's Heather French Henry's turn.

The former Miss America has joined a list of half a dozen party activists or leaders waiting for Kentucky Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes to decide whether she'll run in 2014 against Mitch McConnell for his U.S. Senate seat.

If Grimes run, she's likely to get enough support to clear out the field. Otherwise, the Democrats have potential candidates known within political circles, but who may be not instantly recognizable with the majority of voters—former state Democratic Party Chairman Bill Gorman or environmental activist Tom FitzGerald, for example.

Without Grimes, Democrats may find themselves with a crowded primary—and that would cause problems in a bid to unseat McConnell, who polls suggest is vulnerable, says Dewey Clayton, a political scientist for the University of Louisville.

Former Miss America Heather French Henry is the latest Democrat to consider a challenge to U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell next year.

French Henry, a Louisville clothing designer, said Wednesday that she's being encouraged to run, but that she has made no decision.

McConnell is seeking a sixth term in Washington in 2014.

A magazine says Kentucky is #1 when it comes to whitetail deer hunting. The latest edition of "Outdoor Life" ranks the Bluegrass state as the top whitetail trophy state in the country.

The publication says western Kentucky was especially noteworthy for producing a relatively high number of trophy bucks.

In tallying the scores, Kentucky ranked second in the number of record-book bucks. But the state reached the top of the rankings due to a low hunter density, relatively low costs for guided hunts and hunter-friendly laws and regulations.