Regional
1:33 pm
Thu May 16, 2013

Centre Student's Road to Graduation Began in Pakistan

Ibrahim Jadoon graduates from Centre College this weekend, thankful for his American education. He will spend the next year in Malaysia as a Fullbright Scholar.

Ibrahim Jadoon will graduate with honors this weekend from Centre College in Danville. His family left Pakistan and moved to the U.S. when he was three. When Osama bin Laden was captured two years ago just blocks from Jadoon's former home, he did a lot of reflecting.

"It was disappointing because, if people don't know, Pakistan is a relatively new nation," explained Jadoon. "I realize it was the Pakastani government's poor border security, it's inability to remove extremist militant groups like the Taliban, and it's general dysfunction that enabled bin Laden to stay hidden for so long."

Jadoon often thinks about how his life would have been different had his family stayed in Pakistan.

"The United States, for all of its faults we sometime talk about in the news, unequivocally houses the best institutes of higher education in the world," said Jadoon. "I feel lucky just to be in the U.S., but in about four days when I graduate, I will join the surprisingly seven percent of the world that actually has a college degree."

The Pakistani-American spoke to Lisa Autry about how his life may have turned out had his family had not left Pakistan, and what he thinks are the prospects for a democracy in his home country. 

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Politics
12:33 pm
Thu May 16, 2013

Sen. Rand Paul Seeks to Cut Corporate Tax to Fund Transportation

U.S. Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY)

Through a single piece of legislation, Sen. Rand Paul is hoping to cut a corporate tax and get more revenue for transportation projects.

Here's how: When American companies make money overseas and put it in foreign banks, they have to pay a tax to bring the money back to the U.S.  Paul is sponsoring legislation that lowers the tax companies pay to transfer foreign profits to America from 35 percent to 5 percent. Many of those companies keep that money overseas instead of paying the 35-percent tax.

The new tax revenue generated under Paul's proposal would be put into a transportation fund, which could benefit projects including the Ohio River Bridges and the Brent Spence Bridge in Northern Kentucky.

A  lot of money is sitting overseas, and a lower tax rate would entice companies to bring it home, Paul spokesman Dan Bayens said.

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Politics
10:02 am
Thu May 16, 2013

Beshear: McConnell "Vulnerable" in 2014, Democrats Just Need "Good Alternative"

Governor Beshear has some strong words about the state's senior U.S. Senator. During a visit to Bowling Green Wednesday, Beshear told WKU Public Radio that he thinks Republican Mitch McConnell symbolizes the partisan bickering and obstructionism that has plagued Washington D.C. recently.

"And of course Sen. McConnell has been a part of that for the past 30 years. It's gotten worse, it hasn't gotten better. And he's gotten to be part of the problem and not part of the solution. So I think people are looking for a change," said Beshear. "We just have to give them a good alternative."

Beshear says he believes Senator McConnell would be "vulnerable" against a strong Democratic challenge next year.

McConnell has said he's ready to defend his record against any challengers during the 2014 Senate contest, and believes the majority of Kentuckians support his efforts to block key parts of President Obama's agenda.

McConnell has been amassing a campaign war chest and staffers to help his re-election efforts. Scott Jennings, a longtime Kentucky GOP operative who is working with two SuperPacs that support McConnell, says the Republican incumbent has attracted a great deal of support based on his legislative work in Washington.

"And I think that's why you're seeing such an early formation of a political apparatus designed to re-elect him, because he's done a good job and he's done right by the state of Kentucky and that's why you have some of these folks doing what they're doing," Jennings recently told Kentucky Public Radio.

Democrats have yet to land a high-profile challenger to take on McConnell next year.

Business
3:12 pm
Wed May 15, 2013

Kobe to Add 100 New Jobs to Warren County Facility in $66 Million Expansion

Credit Kevin Willis
Gov. Beshear announcing Kobe's latest expansion in Warren County

Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear Wednesday announced a $66 million expansion at Kobe Aluminum Automotive Products in Warren County.

The move includes 100 new full-time jobs and an additional 87,000 square feet at the plant outside Bowling Green, where employees build aluminum suspension products for the automotive industry.

Bowling Green Mayor Bruce Wilkerson said Kobe's announcement is a shot in the arm for the region.

"Kobe has been a great corporate citizen for the past eight years, and we look forward to continuing this relationship long into the future," said Wilkerson. "We congratulate them on their decision to expand here again and send well wishes for their continued growth."

Kobe first opened its Warren County facility in 2005, and currently employs 270 full-time workers.

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Arts & Culture
1:56 pm
Wed May 15, 2013

Darius Rucker to Headline SKyPac Music Festival

The Southern Kentucky Performing Arts Center is bringing musician Darius Rucker to Bowling Green this summer.  The pop-turned-country artist will headline The Sounds of Independence Music Festival on July 27th.  SKyPAC Executive Director Tom Tomlinson believes Rucker will be a big regional draw.

"I think without a doubt he's one of the biggest names to appear here in a number of years," says Tomlinson.  "He's at least one of the biggest names we've brought here since the opening night with Vince Gill."

The downtown music festival will be a fundraiser for SKYyPAC.  Tickets go on sale Friday to the general public.  The festival will be held outside the SKYyPAC facility and will feature a number of artists, including Justin Rivers from this season of "The Voice."

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Health
12:32 pm
Wed May 15, 2013

Kentucky's Insurance Exchange Is Named, 'Similiar to Travelocity or Expedia' Experience

Kentucky's new exchange for people on the market for healthcare now has a name and  a website.

It'll be called Kynect—pronounced "connect." People can access it at kynect.ky.gov. A phone line will be running in August.

Kynect will be fully operational in time for October open health insurance enrollment.

Once running, Kynect will help Kentucky residents or employers find and compare prices for health insurance coverage. It's part of the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.

Carrie Banahan, the health exchange's executive director,  says the online portal will work much like online shopping.

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Station Events
10:50 am
Wed May 15, 2013

Join WKU Public Radio For A Free Living Will Event On Saturday

Credit WKU Public Radio

Do you have a living will? A living will is a legal document that indicates the types of medical treatments and life-sustaining measures you want and don't want, such as mechanical breathing (respiration and ventilation), tube feeding or resuscitation.

Adults throughout the area can complete a living will free of charge on Saturday, May 18th.

Stop by anytime between 9am and 3pm at the Campbell Lane branch of Citizens First Bank in Bowling Green.

Leave in minutes with your living will signed, notarized, copied, and legal. 

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Regional
4:03 pm
Tue May 14, 2013

NTSB: Ship's Crew Ignored Warnings Before Western Kentucky Bridge Collapse

Federal investigators have concluded that the crew of a cargo ship ignored radioed and visual warnings about lights being out on a western Kentucky bridge in the moments leading up to a wreck. 

National Transportation Safety Board investigators said on Tuesday that the crew of the Delta Mariner used only visual cues and went under the wrong span of the Eggner's Ferry Bridge near Aurora, Ky., in January 2012.  The wreck tore down a 322-foot span of the bridge over the Tennessee River. 

Investigators also concluded that white warning lights on the bridge had been out for several years and other lights shorted out before the wreck.  The missing span halted traffic on U.S. 68 between the western shore of Kentucky Lake and the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area. 

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Politics
3:51 pm
Tue May 14, 2013

As IRS Scandal Endures, Kentucky Tea Party Activists Split on Mitch McConnell

As the scandal surrounding the targeting of tea party groups by the IRS continues,  some Kentucky tea party activists are upset with Senator Mitch McConnell's role in the process—even as the state party is asking them to support him.

In Kentucky, only the statewide 9/12 project has come forward to acknowledge that they were targeted and that they were rejecting the IRS' apology on the matter.

But that hasn't stopped Kentucky politicians, including McConnell, from consistently pointing to the issue. He's demanded a full investigation into the matter.

The Republican Party of Kentucky is circulating a letter to back up McConnell on his efforts, asking tea party activists in Kentucky to sign it.

But Kentucky tea party activist David Adams called the attempts opportunistic.

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Gene Demby is the lead blogger for NPR's Code Switch team.

Before coming to NPR, he served as the managing editor for Huffington Post's BlackVoices following its launch. He later covered politics.

Prior to that role he spent six years in various positions at The New York Times. While working for the Times in 2007, he started a blog about race, culture, politics and media called PostBourgie, which won the 2009 Black Weblog Award for Best News/Politics Site.

Demby is an avid runner, mainly because he wants to stay alive long enough to finally see the Sixers and Eagles win championships in their respective sports. You can follow him on Twitter at @GeeDee215.

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