Police: Man fatally shot after hitting trooper with vehicle

HAZARD, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky State Police say a man who hit a state trooper with his sport-utility vehicle has died after troopers fired at the vehicle.

Police said in a news release that troopers were trying to find Christopher L. Brown of Letcher County in connection with a stolen vehicle and previous charges. He was located around 6:20 p.m. Tuesday, but police said he fled in the SUV and refused to stop when troopers turned on their lights and sirens.

Officers followed him south from Hazard to the Vicco community of Perry County, where police say Brown drove onto a strip mine road. The release said he struck a trooper, who was treated at a hospital and released.

Brown died at the scene. No one else was injured.

The state police Critical Incident Response Team is investigating.

TV anchor dismissed for on-air comments

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — A Kentucky television station says it has dismissed a morning host for what it considered inappropriate comments during his show earlier this month.

WLEX-TV in Lexington said in a statement Wednesday that it has decided to “part ways” with Lee Cruse, the co-host of a morning show called “Live with Lee & Hayley.”

Cruse had made remarks on-air about a BBC radio broadcaster fired for using a picture of a chimpanzee in a tweet about the royal baby born to Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, and Prince Harry. The photograph was criticized as racist, and Cruse called his comments about it “an egregious error.”

WLEX General Manager Pat Dalbey says the news station “is committed to reflecting our diverse audiences through our coverage and to upholding equitable, diverse, and inclusive practices in our workplace.”

State grants will use old tires to repave roadways

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky’s Division of Waste Management is giving grants to five counties to used recycled rubber tires to repave roadways.

The $502,000 in grant funding will be used for rubber-modified asphalt projects that use crumb rubber manufactured from waste tires.

The grants were announced by the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet, which oversees the waste management division.

Cabinet Secretary Charles Snavely says the grant program is valuable because it promotes the use of recycled rubber from discarded tires. The counties of Clark, Fayette, Hardin, Hopkins, and Pulaski received the grants.

The state’s Waste Tire Trust Fund collects a $2 fee from the sale of each new tire in the state. The funding helps manage millions of scrap tires discarded each year and develops markets for recycled tire products.

Fruit of the Loom losing about 100 jobs, most in Ky.

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (AP) — Fruit of the Loom says it is cutting about 100 jobs, mostly at its headquarters in Kentucky.

News outlets report the Bowling Green-based company said it is transferring information technology services to Wipro Ltd., an India-based company that specializes in IT, consulting and business process services.

The company said in a news release Wednesday that the transition starts immediately and continues through March. The move will result in the loss of about 100 positions, most of which are in Bowling Green.

Fruit of the Loom manufactures underwear, clothing and sports equipment under various brands. Berkshire Hathaway Corp. purchased the ailing company in 2002 for $835 million.

The company has about 28,000 employees worldwide, including about 1,000 in Bowling Green. It closed its Jamestown plant in 2014, eliminating about 600 jobs.