At a time of fiscal austerity, critics are pointing to the cost of a helicopter part made by a company whose owners are donors to Representative Harold Rogers, a Kentucky Republican.

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Behind Army’s $17,000 Drip Pan, Harold Rogers’s Earmark

BALTIMORE — Almost immediately, there was talk of lucky numbers. Kentucky Derby winner I’ll Have Another drew the No. 9 post at the post-position draw for the 137th running of the Preakness on Wednesday. After racing from the 19th position — and becoming the first to win from that spot — in Kentucky, Doug O’Neill saw no problem. Read full article > >

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Preakness Stakes 2012: Bodemeister, I’ll Have Another are early favorites

Doug O’Neill’s Kentucky Derby victory places him — and his troubled record — center stage at a time when thoroughbred racing faces calls for federal regulation.

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Trainer of Kentucky Derby Winner Has a Troubled Record

I’ll Have Another, at 15-1 odds, won the 138th Kentucky Derby with a late surge against Bodemeister, who led the pack for most of the race.

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I’ll Have Another and Mario Gutierrez Win Kentucky Derby

While you're frying up some eggs and bacon, we're cooking up something else: a way to celebrate today's food holiday. Raise your glass – May 4 is National Home Brew Day ! Sometimes, daring fans of beer, wine, cider and other alcoholic beverages surpass their passion and turn to small-scale fermenting at home – either for themselves, competitions or to share among friends. Although there have been various legalities and bans concerning home brewing, especially across other countries, the ban was lifted here in 1978. However, it's up to individual states to let you brew to your heart's content or shut down your basement business. Besides the fact that it's cheaper to brew your own beverage, you can also become a bit of an artisan about it and tailor the flavor to your tastes. Because the process is similar to commercial breweries, you can streamline it down to a smaller level. Ingredients for brewing beer, like malt, hops and yeast, are easy to obtain. If you don't know the first thing about brewing, there are kits available as well . Be sure and check the laws in your state regarding home brewing before beginning any project, and always brew responsibly. With this weekend being a great mix of  Cinco de Mayo and the Kentucky Derby (“Cinco de Derby” if you will), you'll be in fine spirits to start making your own drink of choice.

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National home brew day

To anyone who calls himself a speed handicapper, there should be no doubt about the identity of the best colt in the Kentucky Derby . When Bodemeister won his final prep race, the Arkansas Derby, he appeared to be in a class by himself. Read full article > >

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2012 Kentucky Derby: Bodemeister by a Nose

The BBC’s Matt Danzico speaks to a group of trackers looking for Bigfoot in the US state of Kentucky.

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VIDEO: Searching for Bigfoot in Kentucky

Kate Krader ( @kkrader on Twitter ) is Food & Wine's restaurant editor. When she tells us where to find our culinary heart's desire, we listen up. Drumroll, please. The feverishly awaited premiere of Mad Men’s newest season is almost here. Hopefully you’ve all been drinking like Don Draper in anticipation of the moment (Sunday, March 25th at 9 pm ET, if you’re synchronizing your countdown). In fact, it’s increasingly easy to drink like the Old Fashioned-swilling star of show. According to statistics from the Kentucky Distillers’ Association, last summer more than five million barrels of bourbon and other whiskeys were aging in Kentucky. That’s the highest inventory since 1982. To celebrate Mad Men’s new season with Old Fashioneds, or some of the show’s other signature drinks, here’s a guide to places that specialize in them, plus some scenes from Mad Men that made them famous. Mint Julep – Julep Bar : Boston, Massachusetts One section of the cocktail menu at this new vintage bar and lounge is dedicated to Vintage Classics & Crafty Cocktails. That includes the classic, simply titled The Julep. It’s made with Bulleit bourbon, fresh mint and simple syrup, shaken and served over shaved ice. No fancy tricks. The bar menu has some classic throwbacks, too, like the Old School Wedge Salad – though if you want more real-time dishes, there are Kobe meatball sliders. Mad Men’s Mint Julep Moment: In Season 1, Betty and Don Draper throw a springtime birthday party for their daughter, Sally; Betty makes a tray of Mint Juleps for the adults. Mai Tai – The Tonga Room & Hurricane Bar : San Francisco, California The Tonga Room claims to be the nation's first tiki bar; indeed it made its first umbrella drink at The Fairmont San Francisco in 1945. Recently, it’s been looking spiffier, thanks to a $1 million renovation, but there are still periodic simulated rainstorms and their signature Tonga Mai Tai (dark rum with triple sec and fruit juices), which they like to call “a coconut cup of South Seas hospitality.” Mad Men’s Mai Tai Moment: In Season 1, unsatisfied client Rachel Menken (who owns an upscale department store that’s considering Draper’s agency Sterling Cooper for its advertising) drinks a Mai Tai while Draper tries to win back her account and attempts to seduce her. Tom Collins – The Franklin Mortgage & Investment Co. : Philadelphia, Pennsylvania The cocktail list at this amazing bar, which fronted the country’s largest alcohol-smuggling ring during Prohibition (wow), is action-packed with interesting contemporary mixes. (The Midnight's Children cocktail = Old Grand Dad 114, rum, Pedro Ximenez sherry and house mulled wine syrup.) They call their retooled Tom Collins a “John Collins”: It’s made with genever, lemon juice and orange bitters, and served tall with club soda. Mad Men’s Tom Collins Moment: In Season 2, Draper instructs his young daughter, Sally, on the art of mixing a Tom Collins for him and his neighbor Carlton Hanson: “Okay, you don't smash the cherry on that. Just plop it in at the end. Try to keep it in the top of the glass. Gin.” Old Fashioned – Jbird Cocktails : New York City The New York Times recently called out this new spot and its six variations on the classic drink. Jbird uses a definition from 1806 as the benchmark: “Spirit, sweet, and a dash of bitter, stirred and served over hand-cut ice.” Among the versions at this Upper East Side place are the Coco Viejo, made with coffee-bean-aged rum, cane syrup and grapefruit bitters; and the Honey-Nut Old Fashioned, a mix of roasted-peanut-infused bourbon, honey syrup and bitters. Mad Men’s Old Fashioned Moment: Lots of those. But the defining one, when we learn that it’s Draper's go-to drink before we even learn his name, comes in the first scene of the first episode of Season 1, when he tells the waiter in a smoky bar (where he's brainstorming ideas for a Lucky Strike campaign), “Do this again – Old Fashioned, please.” Vodka Gimlet – Bar UnCommon : New Orleans, Louisiana The gimlet at this bar in the Pere Marquette Hotel is as simple as it should be – Grey Goose, lime juice and simple syrup. Fourth-generation bartender Chris McMillian is the guy who put that classic on Bar UnCommon’s menu; he’s the co-founder of the Museum of the American Cocktail, which is also in New Orleans, if you’re shopping for something to do besides getting smashed on gimlets in a bar. Mad Men’s Vodka Gimlet Moment: The Gimlet is Betty Draper's drink of choice. After a Season 1 dinner with her husband's boss Roger Sterling and his wife, when she’s queasy in the car, Betty notes: “Lobster Newburg and Gimlets should get a divorce. They're not getting along well.” More from Food & Wine : 50 Best Bars in America Best Pizza Places in the U.S. Best Burgers in the U.S. Classic Cocktail Recipes Easter Recipes

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Drinking with Don Draper – where to find Mad Men’s classic cocktails

Kentucky, Syracuse earn top seeds.

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March Madness Bracket Announced

Kansas forward Thomas Robinson should be college basketball’s national player of the year . Biased? As a KU alum, sure I am. But there are good statistical arguments for Robinson. In eight games against ranked opponents this season – seven were top six teams at the time – Robinson averaged 19.8 points (shooting 56 percent from the field and 76 percent from the line) and 12.3 rebounds. The junior’s overall averages were 18 points a game and 11.9 rebounds; he’s had 22 double-doubles this season. Read full article > >

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Kansas’s Thomas Robinson near the end of emotional run

Indiana, Kentucky declare state of emergency.

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Southern Storms Kill More Than 30

Kentucky congregation invites everyone to join.

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Church Drops Interracial Couple Ban

Kentucky reelects Democrat governor.

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Ohio Rejects Anti-Union Law

We’d set off in the dark. The road got quiet and crooked. The truck’s headlights panned over twisty pavement and old pine. Our horizon became blanketed in tall branches as if we were getting sucked farther and deeper into a thick, old nest. “I mean, this thing is so far back, you know you have to fight for daylight out there,” Bill Burden had joked. Read full article > >

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Fall Travel: In Kentucky, searching for Bill Monroe’s bluegrass spirit

Senator Rand Paul, a freshman Republican from Kentucky, has used tactics that have enraged both Democratic and G.O.P. leaders.

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Senate Gadfly Who Isn’t Shy About Buzzing