the morning cram [converse all stars...I know you want some edition]

You know what kicks you should rock in China? The same ones you rock everywhere else…Chucks.

NPR reports since 2007, sales of the Converse Chuck Taylor All Stars in China have gone up about fifty percent.

Kentucky~ The Racers get GameDay’s attention (next step, Dickie V). Get lucky drawers out, it’s gamblin time. Good news, we can now leave children behind. The drop-out age could be on its way up.

Tennessee~ You can still say gay, at least for a little while. If you don’t want your kids to participate in extracurricular activities, you’re pushing for this one. Haslam wants more kids per teacher (because handling 30 kids is just too easy).

the morning cram [the first rule of Gitmo is... you do not talk about Gitmo edition]

The infamous prison hits double digits.

NPR reports some of the original 20 detainees are still at the site and we don’t know what to do with them.

Kentucky~  Education Commissioner spends the day with Murray Independent Schools. Paducah offers to pay half of the Convention and Expo centers’ bills.  A coin dropped in a Salvation Army kettle nets the group big money.  The Senate considers a debt limit for the Commonwealth.

the morning cram [the airborne toxic event]

The EPA has a ‘watch list’ of toxic air polluters that’s longer than you might think.

NPR reports a newly revealed watch list of toxic polluters shows air pollution is still a huge problem, over 40 years after the passage of the Clean Air Act.

OVC Scores…

Kentucky~ There are more Murray State students than ever. The Fonz is comin to Kentucky (Aaay!!).  Beshear is pullin for dems. University Hospital in Louisville wants to keep some things private.

Missouri~ There’s fertile land in Bird’s Point now.

Tennessee~ There’s a Union City safe room. There’s a video to teach you how to get a picture ID.

the morning cram [Saudi payback edition]

After Iran gets caught trying to assassinate the Saudi ambassador, the world waits to see if retribution is coming.

NPR reports the Saudi’s could hurt Iran badly by using their vast oil reserves to drive away Iran’s oil business.

Kentucky~ Carhartt adds 150 jobs to its Hopkinsville operation. Kentucky’s Education Commissioner defends his international jaunts.  Oops! Kroger forgot to mention there’s peanuts in that ice cream. Beshear is the big spender in the gubernatorial race. State racetracks are looking for more ways to draw a crowd.

Tennessee~ Cops find a plethora of pot plants in Obion county.

Illinois~ The state house speaker decides to go to the matresses over Gov. Quinns attempts at shutting down the a scholarship program.

morning cram [restraint edition]

The effort to repeal what many have called the “job-killing health care law act” is underway. Though, many lawmakers are now using more restrained language to describe their distaste of the bill.

NPR reports this comes in the wake of heightened sensitivity after the shooting of Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.

KENTUCKY~ The weekend death of a Reidland teen is blamed on inhalant abuse. A McCracken County Commissioner thanks Western Baptist Hospital for saving him. A MSU alum will takeover the helm of Murray-Calloway County Hospital. The state will hand out grants to startup high school biofuel programs. Education Commissioner Holliday doesn’t want the senate to stall on education reform.

TENNESSEE~ Workers will blow up Clarksville’s Red River Bridge tonight. Governor Haslam hides some of his investments from himself.

ILLINOIS~ The remains of a swimmer who went missing last year near Cairo have been found. Honeywell and union reps will meet up (yet again) next month.

morning cram [funding flood edition]

“Special interests are flooding state Supreme Court races with millions of dollars to try to tip the courts in their direction.”

~NPR reads a report and finds it may be undermining public confidence in the courts.

KENTUCKY~ What the proposed McCracken County/Paducah merger may look like, as outlined in a committee’s first-draft report. Marshall County search and rescue teams recover the body of a drowned boater. A planned coal-2-liquid plant eyes building on a 3k-acre Carlisle County plot. Beshear and education leaders will host a (live) KET forum tomorrow. The state workers’ lawsuit against upcoming furloughs will be heard this afternoon. You can design the state’s next business license plate.

TENNESSEE~ TVA warns higher electric bills are incoming (again). Study: bad time to be a tiny hospitalized baby.

morning cram [quagmire edition]

“Top politicians have been kidnapped and killed. Massacres of more than a dozen people have become common. And last month, a car bomb exploded in Juarez.”

~NPR reports the violence has no end in sight (1/5).

KENTUCKY~ McCracken County school officials will pay a motivational speaker $16k to improve teachers’ classroom skills. Several area parks get state grant$. Kentucky Utility electricity bills go up by +$7. Another Fort Campbell hero dies abroad and the 101st applies lessons learned from May’s Cumberland River flooding to flooding in eastern Afghanistan. State Police destroy outdoor pot farms (+$1mil worth).

TENNESSEE~ Police: Fort Campbell soldier lied about his identity, then faked a seizure. Clarksville launches (www.clarksvillesmartgrowth.com) to track its development. FEMA report: seniors were hardest hit by flooding.

ILLINOIS~ A Metropolis-born filmmaker gets featured on a postage stamp.

morning cram [crowdsourcing edition]

“A type of information gathering  called crowdsourcing could have a big impact on Republicans’ fall agenda.”

~NPR logs on two websites seeking input.

KENTUCKY~ Paducah approves its Executive Inn demolition contract, buys $100k in software upgrades and proposes to buy more Greenway Trail property. A committee is still working on a plan to merge the Paducah/McCracken County governments. One of Fort Campbell’s last major units prep to leave for Afghanistan. 2 Hopkinsville Community College professors are now Kellogg-certified specialists. The Commonwealth is (again) among Race to the Top finalists and ranks 40th in the nation for overall child well-being.

TENNESSEE~ A Clarksville Police detective is suspended over Facebook photos. Publix breaks ground at the former Gateway Medical Center in Clarksville.

ILLINOIS~ Honeywell/union worker talks derail. Officials think their Race to the Top chances are better this time around.

morning cram [ramble edition]

An NPR poll predicts a difficult road ahead for Democrats to thwart Republican gains in the House this November.

KENTUCKY~ McCracken Judge Executive Newberry will draft a letter to County Clerk Jeff Jerrell advising he revise his policies. A Calloway County man gets a life sentence for murder. Good advice: Don’t sleep with bed bugs. WIC participants are encouraged  to use Farmer’s Markets. Chances thin for the state to win federal Race to the Top money without charter schools. Rand Paul defends his certification group.

TENNESSEE~ Montgomery County passed a budget on time (for once).

ILLINOIS~ The Pentagon: aspiring politician Mark Kirk isn’t acting properly.