2 Kentucky crashes kill 6, injure 5

2 Kentucky crashes kill 6, injure 5

ELIZABETHTOWN, Ky.

Kentucky State Police were investigating whether distracted driving caused a tractor-trailer to plow into an SUV carrying eight people Saturday, killing six and injuring two and possibly triggering a serious crash on the opposite side of the highway.

The truck driver is “telling us that he saw the vehicle that was in front of him and he hit the brakes, and he didn’t hit them in time,” Master Trooper Norman Chaffins said. “ ... There was a reason for that, and we’re trying to figure out what the reason was.”

The late-morning crash was followed 15 minutes later by a multivehicle crash on the opposite side of Interstate 65 that injured three people.

Chaffins said despite snow flurries, weather was not a factor in Saturday’s crashes.

McConnell blasts group for remarks

WINCHESTER, Ky.

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell lambasted a liberal group Saturday for criticizing the Asian heritage of his wife, former Labor Secretary Elaine Chao, calling its Twitter messages “racial slurs” and “the ultimate outrage.”

“They will not get away with attacking my wife in this campaign,” McConnell told about 100 home-state supporters at a Republican dinner in Winchester.

“This woman has the ear of @McConnellPress — she’s his #wife,” the group Kentucky Progress tweeted Feb. 14. “May explain why your job moved to #China!”

McConnell forcefully defended Chao, who was born in Taiwan and who moved to the U.S. as an 8-year-old with her family aboard a freight ship.

Man accused of sneaking into jails

NEW YORK

Most people who’ve done time in jail can’t wait to get away. But this week, New York City authorities accused one former inmate of sneaking back in.

Yonkers resident Matthew Matagrano, 36, was arraigned in Manhattan on Saturday on charges that he impersonated a Department of Correction investigator.

Officials say that for at least a week, Matagrano used phony credentials to get into multiple city lockups, including Rikers Island and the Manhattan Detention Center, where he mingled with inmates for hours.

Chad: Troops killed attack mastermind

N’DJAMENA, Chad

Chad’s military chief announced late Saturday that his troops deployed in northern Mali had killed Moktar Belmoktar, the terrorist who orchestrated the attack on a natural-gas plant in Algeria that left 36 foreigners dead.

The French military, which is leading the offensive against al-Qaida-linked rebels in Mali, said they could not confirm the information immediately.

Local officials in Kidal, the northern town that is being used as the base for the military operation, cast doubt on the assertion, saying Chadian officials are attempting to score a PR victory to make up for the significant losses they have suffered in recent days.

Rove: Calif. GOP must diversify

SACRAMENTO, Calif.

GOP strategist Karl Rove said Saturday that rebuilding the Republican brand in California will be a tough task that will require them to diversify and create a strategy to spread their message to a wider audience.

Referring to the state party’s deep losses in recent years, Rove said it needs to focus on larger themes of restoring jobs and reducing government spending.

He also said the party must recruit candidates who reflect the diversity of the country, and in particular, California. By next year, Hispanics will overtake whites as the state’s largest demographic group.

Associated Press