Dismissing both plans as insufficient, U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., quickly released a statement opposing the dueling debt ceiling deals being proposed by House Republicans and Senate Democrats on Monday.  The proposed deals being discussed today by House Republican and Senate Democrat Leaders do not make cuts to our debt. They do not solve our debt problems. They do not balance the budget, ever,” says Paul.

Ever since the chicken pox vaccine became routine for kids back in 1995, deaths from the virus, also known as varicella, have been dropping. A study in the journal Pediatrics out today tells us just how steep that drop has been.

One of Lexington’s best known social service agencies has suffered funding cuts from three different sources, totaling close to 120 thousand dollars. Tough to swallow’ news about funding cuts was delivered this summer to officials with the Salvation Army.  United Way cut its contribution by 73 thousand dollars, the city of Lexington cut another 20 thousand dollars, and the agency lost 25 thousand dollars in federal support.

If the shooting and bombing rampage that killed dozens of people in Norway last week had happened in the United States, the man who confessed to the assault could be facing the death penalty. Instead, the maximum sentence Anders Behring Breivik faces — at least initially — is 21 years.

Pakistan's army is deploying alternative methods to deal with the menace of militants.

The same Pakistani army that crushed the Taliban extremists two years ago in the Swat Valley is trying to deradicalize some 200 young militants from that conflict. Doctors, teachers and psychologists are taking up the challenge.

Speaking in Swat, Army Chief Gen. Ashfaq Kayani told a first-of-its-kind conference on the subject, "There is no military solution to terrorism."

Access to the young men is extremely limited.

In China, waiting in line sometimes feels like a competitive sport. The overnight queue at the launch of Apple's iPad 2 pales in comparison to the epic waits for certain over-subscribed state-run services.

Earlier this month, people waited four days and three nights to register for low-income housing in the central city of Xian, while admission to a certain Beijing kindergarten in Changping last year required a week-long, round-the-clock queue, for which people set up camp beds along the pavement.

Football fans have the Super Bowl. Soccer fans have The World Cup. Sci-fi geeks have Starship Smackdown.

Everything you need to know about the event is in the name, says panelist Mark A. Altman, creator of the Cinemax show Femme Fatales: "'Starship Smackdown' says it all."

New recycling containers now enhance the landscape of Lexington parks.  59 containers with one section for waste and another section for recyclables are being situated in parks.   Bill Clarke, who's with Parks and Recreation says the container handles various recyclables. “Primarily aluminum cans and plastic bottles, cardboard, paper.  We don’t like to get items that have been soiled or contaminated with food,” said Clarke.

Dr. Michael Zasloff, a surgeon and researcher at Georgetown University, is famous for discovering compounds in the skin of frogs and sharks that can fight disease in humans.

Parenting Magazine has listed two Kentucky cities in their top 20 cities for families.  Louisville rounds off the top ten, while Lexington ranks 18th. The magazine looked at factors such as quality of schools, prices of  homes, crime rates, available jobs, and parkland. Here is the list…