French Foreign Minister Alain Juppé expressed a bit of a softer stance on a surrender and cease-fire deal with embattled Libyan leader Col. Moammar Gadhafi.

In an interview with French LCI TV, Juppé said Gadhafi could be allowed to stay in Libya if he gives up politics. CNN reports:

What will the cost of the Ark Encounter be for Grant County? To date, the project, which is estimated to bring more than 900 full and part-time jobs to the community, has cost a little bit of money, a 100-acre piece of property, some cooperation and a lot of time.

The Urban County Government reversed course on Wednesday and said it will release a "significant portion" of the police investigation in the murder case against former state Rep. Steve Nunn. In a response last week to the Herald-Leader's open-records request for the records, Lexington police said the investigative file would not be released until after Nunn had completed his sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. The sentence was handed down after he pleaded guilty in the shooting death of Amanda Ross.

The Indiana man who received a hand transplant at Louisville’s Jewish Hospital earlier this month is speaking publicly for the first time about the procedure.  Thirty-six year old Donnie Rickelman lost his left hand in a factory accident thirteen years ago.  His new left hand, transplanted July 10, came from an undisclosed male donor from Rickelman’s home state of Indiana.

Amid the apologies, the shaving cream pie and Wendi Deng Murdoch's now famous head slap, you might have missed an accusation made by Louise Mensch, a member of the British Parliament's Culture, Media and Sport Committee. She alleged that Piers Morgan, a CNN talk show host and a former editor at News of the World and Daily Mirror, "boasted" about hacking into phones in his autobiography.

Rebel commanders in the western mountains of Libya say they are supplying anti-government forces in Tripoli with weapons in advance of a march on the capital.

Claims like this have been made before, and there are still few signs that the rebels can take Moammar Gadhafi's stronghold city. Still, interviews with Tripoli residents who have fled to the western mountains in recent days suggest that Gadhafi's hold on the capital may be weakening.

Preparing For Urban Combat

Microsoft is spending two million dollars in Kentucky and twelve other states in order to boost job training programs.  The economy nationwide is still reeling from the economic downturn, but prolonged joblessness is nothing new to the Appalachian region. That’s why Microsoft announced its divvying up two million dollars to non profits from Pennsylvania to Mississippi. Company Vice President Fred Humphries says providing new computer software is vital to uplifting the economy throughout the region.

The Ark Encounter project is moving. Even though no dirt has been moved since the $150 million Grant County project was announced in November, there’s been much activity, mostly getting agreements signed, property purchased and data gathered. The project, which will involve a full-scale wooden replica of Noah’s Ark, as well as a bird sanctuary, a biblical village and animal shows, is on track for a ground breaking ceremony in late summer.

Bruce Kessler’s math research has never been a life saver - until now. Kessler, a math professor and associate dean of Western Kentucky University’s Ogden College of Science and Engineering, helped develop a piece of software that can detect hidden explosives and illegal substances. It’s a breakthrough piece of technology that can help officials screen for such devices in a nondestructive way, which, until recently, has been nearly impossible, Kessler said.

Two Western Kentucky congressmen said Tuesday that they had aligned themselves with a bill that would raise the debt ceiling while also cutting spending. The bill, known as “cut, cap and balance,” passed in the U.S. House on Tuesday night and now moves to the Democratic-controlled Senate, where it faces a much tougher road to passage.