Afternoon Update

Today on NPR: Medical Marijuana Use Sprouting In Israel

Substances [con't]:

Kentucky’s bourbon production has increased 115% over the past 13 years.

Today on NPR: The sound of your city.

Around the Region:

Ever since five Kentucky state parks began selling alcohol by the drink last August, liquor sales have procured more than $110,000 for the state.

Today on NPR: When Star Wars fans saw that the dwelling in the Tunisian desert was decaying, they jumped into hyperspace — OK, the Internet — to save it. A call on Facebook to help restore the sandy igloo first featured in Episode IV: A New Hope netted $11,000.

Rising Temps:

Ten counties in our area have opened cooling stations.

Today on NPR:Chris Thile's First Musical Memory

Bluegrass Politics:

The American Medical Association says it will continue to lobby lawmakers on behalf of the poor and uninsured.

Today on NPR: Falcon Lake, on the U.S.-Mexico border, has been named the best bass fishing lake in the country. But a Mexican drug cartel also uses the lake to smuggle drugs. While that hasn't kept the anglers away, it does mean fishing Falcon Lake carries an element of risk.

Politics:

Today on NPR: Psychoacoustic engineers like Chris Kyriakakis work to perfect the way music sounds in imperfect environments as diverse as symphony halls, your living room and your ears.

Jackson Purchase:

Dr. Troy Nelson of Paducah pled not guilty yesterday to 11 drug trafficking charges.

Today on NPR: When complete, Interstate 69 will provide a direct route from Mexico to Canada through the Midwest. Indiana must build miles of road to complete its leg of the project, but funding for the necessary construction is dwindling.

Western Kentucky:

Today on NPR: Advocates for prisoners have long argued that confinement conditions in prisons violate the constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment. On Tuesday, they made their case before a Senate Judiciary subcommittee, complete with a replica prison cell in the hearing room.

Four Rivers Region:

Today on NPR: Is it bad manners to have technology at the dinner table?

Around the Commonwealth:

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is being scolded for flip-flopping on campaign disclosures.