False reports of an active shooter during a training drill at the Kentucky Air National Guard base caused a temporary delay at the Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport (SDF).

Natalie Ciresi Chaudoin, spokesperson for the Louisville Regional Airport Authority, said SDF experienced a “very brief” stop lasting around ten minutes because of the incident, and only one flight was diverted.

The Delta flight from Detroit was scheduled to land at approximately 10:10 a.m. and was diverted to the Lexington Blue Grass Airport. The flight has recently arrived in Louisville and Ciresi Chaudoin predicts about a two-hour delay for passengers.

Adjacent to the Louisville International Airport, the Kentucky Air National Guard base was performing an “exercise scenario involving a simulated active shooter” when a report was made of an active shooter engagement, Chief of Public Affairs Dale Greer said.

While officials believe it was an error resulting from the exercise, it couldn’t be verified and the incident was reported to Louisville Metro Police.

Greer said there have been “no further reports of a shooter, no shots fired, no injuries, and no indication that it was a real event.”

The incident is being investigated.

Louisville Muhammad Ali Airport What airlines fly in and out of SDF? What to know about Louisville International Airport before traveling

Independent bookstores are the heartbeats of their communities. They provide culture and community, generate local jobs and sales tax revenue, promote literacy and education, champion and center diverse and new authors, connect readers to books in a personal and authentic way, and actively support the right to read and access to books in their communities.

Each week we profile an independent bookstore, sharing what makes each one special and getting their expert and unique book recommendations.

This week we have Kate Snyder, owner of Plaid Elephant Books in Danville, Kentucky!

What’s your store’s story?

Founded in 2021, Plaid Elephant Books is the only independent children’s bookstore in Central Kentucky. We are a mom-owned store that is deeply invested in our community’s flourishing. Located in historic downtown Danville, Plaid Elephant Books has quickly become a cornerstone of our community through events and programs for families.

What makes your independent bookstore unique?

Shopping isn’t just transactional – it’s an experience. That is what sets brick-and-mortar bookstores apart from online vendors. So we work hard to make the experience of visiting Plaid Elephant Books magical. Children don’t get to visit many places designed specifically for them. They love the kid-sized chairs, interactive play spaces (like the Tiny Zoo!), and the opportunity to “hunt” for our store mascot, Penelope the Plaid Elephant, who hides around the store.

What’s your favorite section in your store?

I’m partial to our middle grade room. Middle grade readers are special. They’re just spreading their wings and are ready to really embrace all that the literary world has to offer. These are the books that capture children’s hearts and minds for a lifetime. This is where they meet Harry Potter, visit Narnia, fall in love with Wilbur, and laugh out loud with Dogman. This section has a whole room in our shop, with a table to play games on, a nugget couch for lounging, and twinkle lights for ambience!

What book do you love to recommend to customers and why?

The Greenwild series by Pari Thomson is my favorite middle grade fantasy series because it’s such an inventive world.

For picture books, I can’t get enough of “I Eat Poop” by Mark Pett. It has a hilarious title and a fantastic storyline about playground empathy.

And for early readers, I’m a sucker for the grumpy cat that stars in “Flubby Is Not a Good Pet!” by Jennifer E. Morris.

What book do you think deserves more attention and why?

There’s a YA novel that I think everyone should read. It’s called “Dear Medusa” by Olivia A. Cole and it is a searing novel in verse that tackles the aftermath of sexual trauma. It’s heavy, but amazing. My teenage daughter and I read it together and it sparked really good, really important conversations.

Why is shopping at local, independent bookstores important?

Particularly for kids books, the online shopping experience just does not compare. You need to be able to feel and interact with the books to appreciate and understand them. Test the flaps, feel the paper weight, and really look carefully at the illustrations. Or for sound books? You have to push the buttons! You just can’t duplicate that experience online.

Indie bookstores also contribute so much to their communities. We host events, connect people with authors, sponsor local teams and organizations, and bring vibrancy to our downtown locations.

What are some of your store’s events, programs, or partnerships coming up this quarter that you would like to share?

The big upcoming event is our third Anniversary Celebration, which we do as a birthday party for Penelope the Plaid Elephant, our store mascot/logo. It is on Aug. 24 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Create your own birthday crown or design a personalized bookmark. Enjoy snacks and prizes, while supplies last.

A judge in Kentucky has dismissed core charges against two former Louisville police officials involved in the raid that ended in Breonna Taylor’s death.

Judge Charles R. Simpson III of western Kentucky’s U.S. District Court on Thursday said Taylor’s death was triggered by the actions of her boyfriend, who opened fire when police arrived outside her Louisville apartment March 13, 2020.

Regardless of whether former Louisville Police Detective Joshua Jaynes and former Sgt. Kyle Meany wrote and approved a falsified request for a warrant, it was boyfriend Kenneth Walker’s gunfire at what he believed were intruders that caused a deadly police response, Simpson said.

Taylor, 26, was killed by officers who returned fire.

The case was already being upheld by civil rights activists as an example of police allegedly disregarding the life and rights of a Black woman when George Floyd, a Black man, was murdered by officers in Minneapolis two months later, which gave Taylor’s death renewed attention.

A federal grand jury in 2022 returned indictments against Jaynes, 40, and Meany, 35, charging them with depriving Taylor of her constitutional right to be free of unreasonable searches and seizures resulting in death.

The mechanism cited in the case was Jaynes’ draft of an allegedly false search warrant application, which Meany approved, that stated there was sufficient evidence tying Taylor’s residence to illicit drugs.

Jaynes was also charged with conspiracy to cover up the search warrant’s lack of a foundation by allegedly creating a supporting document after the fact and then lying to investigators; and Meany was charged with lying to federal investigators.

At the time charges were announced, Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said the charges reflected the main reason the Justice Department exists — to protect Americans’ civil rights.

“Those violations resulted in Ms. Taylor’s death,” he said in a statement at the time. “Breonna Taylor should be alive today.”

In his ruling Thursday, Simpson cited a timeline that relies on what happened at Taylor’s residence after the ink on the warrant dried. Jaynes and Meany weren’t at the raid, and her death was more directly tied to Walker’s decision to open fire, the judge wrote.

“The Court finds that the warrantless entry was not the actual cause of Taylor’s death,” he wrote in his decision. “The Court also concludes that the Death-Results charge requires proof of proximate cause and that allegations in this case show that the warrantless entry was not the proximate cause of Taylor’s death and even if it were, K.W.’s decision to open fire is the legal cause of her death, it being a superseding cause.”

Simpson’s ruling effectively reduced the felony civil rights violation charges against Jaynes and Meany, which had carried a maximum sentence of life in prison, to misdemeanors

The charges related to covering up the allegedly false search warrant and lying to investigators will remain, according to the decision.

Attorneys for the former police officials and spokespeople for the Justice Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment from NBC News.

The U.S. Justice Department said in an email to the Associated Press that it “is reviewing the judge’s decision and assessing next steps.”

In a statement to the AP, Taylor’s family said they will “continue to fight until we get full justice” for Taylor.

“Obviously we are devastated at the moment by the judge’s ruling with which we disagree and are just trying to process everything,” the statement said. It said prosecutors told the family they plan to appeal Simpson’s ruling.

The federal case also included charges against two other former Louisville police officials, Kelly Goodlett, who pleaded guilty in 2022 to conspiring to falsify the warrant application; and Brett Hankison, charged with endangering the lives of Taylor, Walker and nearby neighbors with unconstitutionally excessive force when he opened fire during the raid.

Hankinson’s 2023 prosecution ended in mistrial when a jury deadlocked on the counts against him. Federal prosecutors said they plan to retry him beginning in October.