The Morning Cram [etsy goes to the mall edition]

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From NPR: Those yearning for a more homemade Christmas might turn to the online shop Etsy to find the perfect handmade gifts. But the website that was built as an alternative to mass production is now turning to the retail chain West Elm, connecting local Etsy sellers with the big name store. Every time a new West lm opens, it sells items wholesale from local Etsy sellers.

Kentucky: An Ohio County teacher and two others are going to be inducted into the Kentucky Teacher Hall of Fame. Attorney General Jack Conway tells Kentuckians to be wary of organizations they donate to during the holiday season because some might be fraudulent. Hunters killed the maximum of 11black bears last weekend during the state’s fourth bear hunting season. The cost of taking the GED will double in 2014 which has a Hopkins County adult education director concerned.

Tennessee: State House Democrats have voted to keep the same top leaders.

Illinois: State a officials are urging the attorney general to appeal a court decision that says a ban on concealed carry weapons is unconstitutional. The Mississippi river level will continue to drop during the next several weeks.