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LOUISVILLE, Ky. | Kentucky bigwig Ben Chandler, a new U.S. rep and grandson of a former governor, will endorse Barack Obama today, Obama’s state campaign director said.
 The endorsement would give Obama the support of Kentucky’s two Democratic congressmen — who represent the state’s most urban areas — leading into the state’s May 20 primary.
 Carolyn Tandy, Obama’s campaign director in Kentucky, told The Associated Press on Tuesday that Chandler will announce his support for Obama at a late-morning news conference in downtown Louisville.
Chandler represents a central Kentucky district that includes Lexington. He entered Congress in early 2004 after winning a special election to fill the seat of Republican Ernie Fletcher, who defeated him in the state’s 2003 gubernatorial election. Chandler is also a former attorney general and state auditor.
 The Chandler name is one of the most famous in Kentucky politics. Ben Chandler’s grandfather, A.B. “Happy” Chandler, was twice elected governor, served in the U.S. Senate and was commissioner of baseball.
By The AP

primebuzz.kcstar.com

By: Jon Mahoney 3/28/08
Hoops junkies have been in heaven the past two weeks with some of the best basketball the sport has to offer. Of course, a lot of that has to do with the NCAA Tournament, which continues tonight with the four remaining games in the Sweet 16. The games will be televised nationally on CBS.
It all starts at 7:10 p.m. EST as popular underdog Davidson takes on Big Ten power Wisconsin. Those who haven’t heard of Davidson sophomore guard Stephen Curry, a.k.a. people-living-in-caves, will get to see if the scoring dynamo can continue his heroics against a well-balanced Badgers squad.
The dominant low-post tandem of twin brothers Brook and Robin Lopez will lead the Stanford Cardinal against explosive guard D.J. Augustin and his Texas Longhorns at 7:27. Meanwhile, sophomore guard Scottie Reynolds hopes to continue Villanova’s Cinderella run when it plays title-contender Kansas at 9:40.
The evening is capped by a contrast in styles when hard-nosed Michigan State battles super-athletic Memphis at 9:57.
If college basketball doesn’t suit you, there’s a monster matchup in the NBA tonight when the top team in the East, the Boston Celtics, hosts West No. 1 New Orleans Hornets at 7:30 p.m. The game, which will be televised on NBA TV, is a potential NBA Finals preview.
The C’s are led by the Boston 3 Party: Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen. New Orleans stars dynamic point guard Chris Paul, who might cop MVP honors this year, while forward David West is one of the NBA’s most underrated players.
The Hornets earned a comeback win against the C’s last Saturday, but if Boston wins this one, it’ll have beaten every team in the NBA.
Now if you don’t watch TV tonight, that’s fine. Just don’t say it was because there was nothing on.

risemag.com

Stocks were pummeled after a plan to alleviate a liquidity crisis at Bear Stearns sparked concerns about the depth of the problems in the already roiled financial markets.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average opened higher Friday, boosted by better-than-expected inflation data, before developments in the financial sector pushed the index down more than 300 points early in the session. The industrials finished down 194.65 points, off 1.6%, at 11951.09, with 29 of its 30 components in the red.
Bear’s stock price tumbled 47% after the firm turned to J.P. Morgan Chase and the Federal Reserve for a 28-day loan of as-yet undetermined size.
Other financial stocks took a beating. Lehman Brothers Holdings fell 15%. Citigroup slid 6.1%, at one point reaching its lowest intraday price since December 1998. American Express ended down 4%, and J.P. Morgan, Bank of America and American International Group each declined more than 3%.
For much of the past year, investors have demonstrated an aversion to potentially risky assets, shunning stocks, “junk” bonds and mortgage debt. In the past few weeks, they have even fled seemingly safe products such as municipal bonds or debt issued by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which are government-sponsored enterprises.
Worried about a housing meltdown and an economic downturn, investors instead are flocking to U.S. Treasurys and gold, customary havens.

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Ridgeland, MS, MAR 14, 2008 (EventX/Knobias.com via COMTEX) –WM | news |PowerRating | PR Charts — COMMENTARY: Bear Stearns shares have recovered to their pre-conference call level. At midday, CEO Alan Schwartz told the public the company experienced large cash outflows this week, but will be able to do business as usual. He is comfortable with the Street’s earnings estimates, and said capital ratios are good with a book value in the mid-80’s. Mr. Schwartz also said the firm is exploring alternatives to maximize shareholder value. The Bear Stearns call was just one catalyst for the financials.
This morning, Moody’s cut Washington Mutual’s (WM) debt rating to ‘Baa3′ from ‘Baa2′, one step above junk status, with a negative outlook. “Moody’s action reflects the rapid deterioration of the residential housing sector in the first quarter of 2008 and the resulting increase in expected provisioning needs on WaMu’s residential mortgage loan portfolio. Moody’s believes that remaining lifetime losses on this portfolio will be higher than previously expected.” Fed Chief Ben Bernanke is currently addressing the National Community Reinvestment Coalition in Washington DC. He noted “far too much of the lending in recent years was neither responsible nor prudent.” and “The current high rate of delinquencies and foreclosures is not confined to the subprime market. In 2007, about 45 percent of foreclosures were on prime, near-prime, or government-backed mortgages.”As a result, the Fed is proposing four rules to “apply stricter regulations to higher-priced mortgage loans.”

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