President Barack Obama Congratulates UK

{Lexington, Kentucky}...President Barack Obama called coach John Calipari Tuesday to congratulate him and the UK team on their 2012 NCAA national championship. According to a statement from the White House, President Obama commended Calipari on his first national title and told the coach he looks forward to congratulating the entire team in person at the White House. Calipari passed the phone to star freshman Anthony Davis, and Obama congratulated the Chicago native on earning the Final Four's Most Outstanding Player Award.

Foot Amputated After Shooting

{Lexington, Kentucky}...Doctors amputated the foot of 31 year old Harold Calloway, who remained hospitalized Tuesday afternoon after being shot around 2:00 A.M. as Kentucky fans were celebrating Kentucky’s NCAA basketball championship in the street. Lexington police spokeswoman Sherelle Roberts says police don’t typically identify wounded victims, but Calloway has outstanding criminal warrants on drug-related charges in Indiana.

Kentucky Youth Advocates Praising General Assembly

{Frankfort, Kentucky}...Kentucky Youth Advocates are praising the General Assembly's passage of a handful of key bills aimed at making life better for Kentucky's vulnerable children. Jamie Cotton, a former foster child, pushed for a bill that gives foster children more time to decide whether they want to stay in state care until age 21.

Some of the key victories cited by advocates include:

■ The House and Senate agreed to keep in the state budget an additional $21 million proposed by Gov. Steve Beshear to hire 300 more social workers, about 100 of whom will be assigned to beef up child protection.

■ Approval of House Bill 168, which prohibits superintendents from assigning teachers to alternative schools as punishment. Advocates say that too often, a school district's worst teachers are assigned to alternative schools.

■ Approval of House Concurrent Resolution 129, a measure that creates a juvenile justice task force charged with reforming Kentucky's juvenile criminal code.

■ Approval of Senate Bill 213, which requires state social workers to give foster children specific information and support when they are age 17½ . The bill also gives foster children extra time to decide whether they want to extend their time in the state system until age 21.

Churches Attempt To Stop Pole Dancing

{Adairville, Kentucky}...Churches in Kentucky and Tennessee are uniting in an effort to stop Tenn-Tucky State Line Tavern, a tavern located just outside Adairville on the state line, from allowing pole dancing. Around 300 Adairville Baptist Church members gathered Sunday to pray that the owner would have a change of heart. Tavern owner Sheila Haley says she runs a clean establishment, dancers are fully clothed, and she made an economic decision recently to add pole dancing. While Haley waits to hear whether Logan County officials will approve her request for an entertainment license, she says she is allowing people to pole dance for fun. Logan County Judge-Executive Logan Chick said last week that, because all of her business is conducted in Tennessee, he's not sure they can regulate it.

Former Bookkeeper Pleads Guilty To Embezzlement

• {Louisville, Kentucky}...Fifty-four year old Mary "Kathy" Montfort, a former bookkeeper for the Little Sisters of the Poor, has pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $300,000 from the charity and using the money to buy herself a new car, among other items. Montfort entered the guilty plea Monday to 16 charges including forging checks and money laundering. The charges arose in November when a nun with Little Sisters of the Poor, who operate St. Joseph's Home for the Aged in Louisville, called police to report suspicions that Montfort was embezzling from the organization. Sentencing is set for July 2nd.

Lawmakers Left With Big Workload

{Frankfort, Kentucky}...When state lawmakers return to Frankfort April 12th to end Kentucky's 2012 General Assembly, their biggest jobs will be to consider any vetoes issued by Governor Steve Beshear and to decide what to do with legislation left hanging when they departed from the Capitol Friday night. High on that list are two measures pushed by House Speaker Greg Stumbo: an anti-drug bill to regulate pain-management clinics in hopes of curbing prescription drug abuse, and a bill to set up a scholarship program for students in coal-producing counties. They also will have to finalize a state road-building plan for the next two years. Beshear has not vetoed any of the 123 bills the General Assembly sent him through Friday.

EPA Closer To Approving 15 Percent Ethanol Gas

{Washington, D.C.}...The federal government announced Monday it has taken a step toward wide distribution of gasoline mixed with 15 percent ethanol by allowing manufacturers to register as suppliers. E15 still must clear another set of federal tests and become a registered fuel in individual states. Ethanol makers then must convince petroleum marketers to sell it at gas stations. Most ethanol fuel sold for passenger cars and pickups is 10 percent ethanol and 90 percent gas. The new blend that boosts ethanol to 15 percent would only be sold for use in 2001 and newer vehicles. The industry trade group Renewable Fuels Association says EPA's move is the most significant in a three-year effort to get E15 approved for the market, and Midwestern states that have started the regulatory process could see E15 for sale as early as this summer. Tom Buis, CEO of Growth Energy, another ethanol industry trade group, says, "Our nation needs E15 to reduce our dependence on foreign oil - it will keep gas prices down at the pump and help to end the extreme fluctuations in gas prices caused by our reliance on fuel from unstable parts of the world." The American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers has challenged the government's efforts to offer E15 in court, and president Charles Drevna issued a statement saying with a lawsuit pending, the EPA should not rush E15 to market.