Conductor Marin Alsop discusses how open kids are to new sounds — especially compared to adults — and what an important role humor plays.

We'd love to hear more of your thoughts about connecting kids with classical music — please share your ideas and experiences in the comments section below.

I've always been intensely curious about reaching out to children, to find the best method to expose them to classical music.

Rep. Paul Ryan, the Republican from Wisconsin most identified with the controversial GOP proposal to revamp Medicare, has decided against running for the Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Herb Kohl, according to news reports Tuesday morning.

It's also being reported that Tommy Thompson, 69, the Republican former Wisconsin governor and George W. Bush Administration cabinet member plans to run for the seat.

Had enough of Eurovision? Hats off to Lena for giving Deutschland her best.

Now here's your chance to get a dose of something radically different.

How about some some "parlour punk?" Sister Chain and Brother John will be playing at Ex'n Pop Potsdamer Strasse 157, Berlin 10783 on May 21^st.

There's no sugar-coating it: the Commerce Department says during April, builders got started on fewer homes in the U.S. Housing starts, as they're called, were down 10.6% from March's report, and they're 23.9% lower than what they were a year ago at the same time.

Jerry Lewis says he'll croon his song, "You'll Never Walk Alone" for the last time this year as host of the Muscular Dystrophy Association's annual telethon. He released a statement saying this Labor Day Weekend Telethon will be his last. Lewis will continue to serve as the organization's national chairman.

I won't lie: I started watching The Good Wife because it had Chris Noth and Josh Charles in it. I liked the premise fine — longtime woman-behind-the-man Alicia Florrick (Julianna Margulies) must dust off her law degree and start over in the big city when her husband, State's Attorney Peter Florrick (Noth), goes to prison thanks to a hookers-and-payola scandal. But two of my celebrity boyfriends of long standing on one show? Buntnip.

An organizational change within the American Red Cross is affecting the city of Lexington's public transit service. LexTran has a contract with the Bluegrass Chapter of the Red Cross to operate WHEELS, the transportation service for people with disabilities. As LexTran prepares to pass a $24 million budget for the next fiscal year, the Red Cross has said it needs an additional $346,000, pushing the cost of its service past $4 million a year.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency is conducting an exercise this week in the New Madrid Seismic Zone, which covers much of Kentucky. FEMA will conduct various simulations and drills to test the federal, state and local response to a devastating earthquake on the New Madrid Fault. Among the participants will be about 30 of the University of Louisville’s standardized patients, who act out various maladies during disaster drills. Program director Carrie Bohnert says the patients have been trained to simulate common earthquake-related injuries.

The Vatican today released a letter presenting some guidelines for dealing with sex abuse in dioceses around the world. The letter didn’t change much on the policy outlined last summer by Pope Benedict XVI…and the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, or SNAP, says the new guidelines don’t go far enough.

Kentucky elections officials are predicting the second-lowest voter turnout for a primary in more than 10 years. Secretary of State Elaine Walker predicts 10% of voters will go to the polls today.