morning cram [joplin edition]

Authorities report at least 89 people have died in the southwest Missouri city of Joplin after a massive tornado blasted through with cataclysmic force.

NPR details the disaster.

KENTUCKY~ McCracken County officials will vote tonight to decide if proposed coal facilities on the Ohio River will become a reality. A high-speed chase through Marshall and McCracken ends in suicide. MSU ups its tuition rate$. The state gears up to redraw voting district lines. You can get your GED test for free (limited time offer). GOP candidate for governor David Williams holds a rally/attacks Gov Beshear. Cops’ campaign reminds drivers that seat belts save lives.

TENNESSEE~ FEMA assigns $5mil for disaster aid.

ILLINOIS~ The state Treasurer claims the state is facing financial apocalypse.

OVC BASEBALL~ MSU > TTU, APSU > UTM.

morning cram [freezer cash edition]

The top Libyan opposition official is stopping by the White House today.

NPR reports Transitional National Council Prime Minister Mahmoud Jibril’s goal is to persuade US officials to recognize the TNC as the legitimate representative of the Libyan people — and to give it some of Khadafi’s frozen cash.

KENTUCKY~ Harrah’s Casino-Metropolis parent company Caesar’s Entertainment donates $100k to local Red Cross efforts. Parts of US-60 are reopened. Police: a driver dragged a gas station owner after a pump ‘n run (see photo). Road work closes KY-83 in Graves Co. A mysterious house fire in Sharpe injures a resident. State tourism revenue$ had a 5% bump last year. Check out the difference between this year’s GOP Secretary of State candidates. The NAACP and a Confederate heritage group differ on a proposal to issue rebel flag license plates.

TENNESSEE~ Clarksville Police are now using stats to fight crime. GOP lawmakers want to wrap it up by next week. A bill progresses which would (again) allow Nashville businesses that discriminate against homosexuals to do work with the city.

SPORTS~ OVC Softball Tourney: MSU > UTM; MSU < JSU.

morning cram [you’re hired edition]

Employers added more than 200,000 jobs last month.

NPR reports it’s the biggest hiring spree in five years.

KENTUCKY~ Prez Obama will hit up Fort Campbell today. Gov Beshear adds Calloway, Christian and Trigg counties to his federal agriculture disaster aid request. FEMA flood damage assessments begin. Parts of LBL reopen. A Hoptown junkyard fire just wouldn’t give up. A Hazel antique mall owner’s lawsuit against the city may soon head to court. Oak Grove has a new Police Chief. OVC Softball: MSU = WKU.

TENNESSEE~ Clarksville will vote to ban ‘bath salts’ and other synthetic drugs Monday.

ILLINOIS~ Missouri’s latest Birds Point Levee blasting is supposed to further relieve Mississippi River flooding.  The state has a low-interest loan program for flood victims.

morning cram [benghazi edition]

Rumor and fear are rife in Benghazi.

NPR reports Libyan rebels and citizens whisper of Gadhafi infiltrators:  sabotaging, bombing and intent on spreading chaos.

KENTUCKY~ Most of us are living in a newly declared federal disaster area as river levels crest today. Ballard and Carlisle Counties report receding floodwaters. Commercial traffic along the Ohio River is at a standstill. There’s a roadblock set up on US-60 in Livingston County. About 100 McCracken County homes were evacuated yesterday as thousands remain displaced. 3 are dead after a horrific Hickman County wreck. Murray and Calloway County will start picking up your debris next week. GM drops $100mil into Bowling Green’s Corvette plant.

TENNESSEE~ Union City’s Goodyear plant is still closing at the end of the year and some employees are transferring to other states.

ILLINOIS~ Union reps and Honeywell officials break up again. Gov Quinn is pushing to reform worker’s comp (for no more coverage for injuries off-the-clock).

morning cram [$27 million edition]

The $27 million reward for Osama bin Laden could go unclaimed.

NPR blogs Secretary of State Hilary Clinton wouldn’t comment on the bounty.

KENTUCKY~ Paducah ditches efforts to block flooding at the Julian Carroll/Paducah Expo Centers and river industry companies there cite million$ in expected damages. The rest of Paducah’s floodgates will go up today. Gov Beshear is back today! and will end his tour at the Benton-hosted Regional Emergency Operations Center. Evacuations and inundated farmland abound in Ballard, Carlisle and Fulton counties. GOP AG-hopeful Todd P’Pool has raised $350k (totally).

ILLINOIS~ Some 65% of Alexander County residents have evacuated; both relief shelters near max capacity; officials relieved by levee blasting.

morning cram [gitmo edition]

Thousands of pages of previously secret military documents about detainees at the Guantanamo Bay prison now put a name, history and face on hundreds of men in captivity there.

NPR reports the documents shed details on over 150 men on whom no information has ever been released.

Flash flooding & other weather mischief.

KENTUCKY~ Rainfall (up to 9 more inches) is expected by mid-week causing historic flood levels and could prompt evacuations. An (unofficial) tornado blasted Bardwell for +$3 million in damage. Another Fort Campbell hero dies in Afghanistan. The Japanese nuclear disaster prompts Paducah Gaseous Diffusion officials to review earthquake safety measures. Kentucky’s former Lt Gov calls his guilty plea ‘inaccurate’.

morning cram [blessed shrimp edition]

One year ago today, BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded, spewing crude into the Gulf of Mexico.

NPR revisits a Cajun family living on the fragile edge of Louisiana for their community’s annual Blessing of the Fleet: a traditional launch of the shrimp season, where boats get blessed with holy water.

KENTUCKY~ McCracken County’s public hearing yesterday for proposed Ohio River coal industry projects is swarmed with input. High winds last night took out some area trees and a few power lines. MSU mulls tuition hikes. Several area high schools hop on WKCTC’s Commonwealth Middle College program. College students learn about binge drinking. A one-vehicle wreck on KY-131/Said Rd proves fatal. I-24 in Lyon County gets blocked by a truck-fire. Police: dental records confirm skeletal remains belonged to a missing Marshall County man.

TENNESSEE~ Gov Haslam’s proposal to cap lawsuit damage$ makes progress. US-641 wreck claims one.

ILLINOIS~ Honeywell Corp & USW talks make progress.

OVC SPORTS~ (Baseball) MSU< UE, APSU > Lipscomb, UTM > SIU-C; (Softball) UTM > Belmont x2.