Iowa

WASHINGTON - Watch out, Fred Thompson: By the time you get into the race for the Republican presidential nomination, Mitt Romney may have run away with your constituency. And while Rudy Giuliani and John McCain have decided not to compete in next Saturday's Republican straw poll in Iowa, they now have a powerful interest in preventing Romney from turning what they had hoped would be a nonevent into a meaningful victory. Look for maneuvering from Romney's top rivals to strengthen former Gov. Mike Huckabee and Sen. Sam Brownback so they can dilute Romney's share of the vote - and of the news.

DES MOINES, Iowa - The assassination of Benazir Bhutto came as a brutal reminder of the gravity of the decision Iowa's voters will be rendering in their caucuses Thursday night. Its impact may be felt most powerfully by Democrats who have been thinking less about issues than about the style and quality of leadership they are seeking from their next president. All of a sudden, the politicians' endless loop of television advertisements took on a new and somber significance. During "Good Morning America's" coverage of Bhutto's murder, up popped a Hillary Clinton ad where the message over grave music is that the moment "demands a leader with a steady hand who will weather the storms.

An official with the National Weather Service said residents of Iowa are experiencing "a historic hydrological event" of unprecedented river levels, with the city of Cedar Rapids underwater after a nearby waterway exceeded its capacity. "We're in uncharted territory. This is an event beyond what anybody could even imagine," meteorologist Brian Pierce told the Associated Press. Iowa Gov. Chet Culver has declared 55 of the state's 99 counties disaster areas as Southern Baptists continue to aid in relief efforts.

If you don't make time to watch Jon Stewart's Daily Show you should. If you don't have cable or satellite that delivers Comedy Central, watch him on your laptop, IPad or smartphone and get, hands down, the best news analysis available anywhere. Despite his irreverent and sometimes obscenity laden (don't worry, Comedy Central provides the bleeps) delivery, Stewart was recently voted “the most trusted newsman in America” in a Time Magazine poll. Even here in socially conservative Kentucky, Stewart tied for first place with NBC's Brian Williams, who is a frequent guest on Stewart's show.

LEXINGTON - Tubby Smith knows what Kentucky's biggest matchup problem with Iowa will be. "They have a lot more experience returning than we do, and at this time of year, that's important," the Kentucky's coach said. "When you return so many talented players, it makes it a little bit easier going into the season. We lost three starters, but they have a veteran team back. " Kentucky will face No. 20 Iowa Monday in the semifinals of the Guardians Classic in Kansas City, Mo. Texas and West Virginia will play in the other semifinal.

High-school junior Sarah Warren got back from a global food conference just last month and is already working to bring lessons learned home to Jessamine County. Warren participated in the World Food Prize Global Youth Institute in Des Moines, Iowa, from Oct. 18-20. She followed in the footsteps of fellow West Jessamine High School and Jessamine Career and Technology Center student Katie Cross, who attended the institute during her senior year in 2011. “She got to go because she was older, and then I got to fill her shoes the next year,” Warren said.

LOUISVILLE - Iowa State senior guard Chris Allen says as soon as the game ended, he was “ready for Kentucky” and anxious to play the No. 1 Wildcats on Saturday night. “It feels great. I can't wait to the next game. I wish we played now,” said Allen after Iowa State's 77-64 win over Connecticut. “If we do what we have to do, this is probably going to be one of the toughest roads to get to the NCAA finals in history. If we come out like we did against UConn, it's going to be a long game for Kentucky.” Iowa State might back up those bold words if it plays like it did during what coach Fred Hoiberg called his team's “best 10 minutes of the season” that put Connecticut in a hole early and took care of all the pre-NCAA hype about a Kentucky-Connecticut rematch of last year's Final Four game.

LOUISVILLE - Darius Miller knows it's crunch time. The Kentucky senior guard pounded his chest after connecting on a 3-pointer that proved be a momentum-changer in the second half of an 87-71 victory over Iowa State in the third round of the NCAA Tournament Saturday night at the KFC Yum! Center. “We all came out with a lot of intensity,” Miller said. “(We) were really focused on what we needed to do. We all know this is the last time this team is going to be together. We're not quite ready for that yet.” The trey by Miller was part of a 14-0 scoring blitz by the Wildcats that propelled his squad to the blowout win over the Cyclones.

LOUISVILLE - Iowa State coach Fred Hoiberg saw enough of Kentucky's win over Western Kentucky to be impressed and know what a challenge his team faces against the No. 1 Wildcats on Saturday night in the NCAA Tournament. “Look, they're the number one seed in this thing for a reason. They're so talented. The biggest thing we're going to have to try to do is slow them down a little bit,” said Hoiberg. “Just watching that game today, when they can get out and use their athleticism on the break, they're impossible to stop.  When they can get out, those bigs run to the rim, that sucks in the defense and opens up 3's for them.

10 years ago... Karon Click of Stanford was chosen the state's outstanding school board member for 1998, it was announced at the Kentucky School Boards Association annual conference in Louisville. Click, who was on her second tour of duty on the Lincoln County Board of Education, was described in receiving the award as epitomizing "the total impact one person can have upon the educational opportunities in her community. " Click was the seventh winner of the annual award for outstanding service to education in her community.