The U.S. Forest Service is conducting controlled burns in Kentucky’s Daniel Boone National Forest. [H-L]

Among the thousands still waiting for a pardon or commutation from Obama is Clarence Aaron. His application for early release is pending despite media attention and a finding by the Justice Department’s inspector general that his case was mishandled. [ProPublica]

Um, finally? Knott County Judge-Executive Randy Thompson, who is serving a 40-month prison sentence for conspiring to buy votes, has been removed from office. [C-J/AKN]

Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear has signed legislation into law that could make biomass power a more attractive option for electricity suppliers within the state. [Biomass Magazine]

After a 90-minute meeting at the Governor’s Mansion Friday morning, Gov. Steve Beshear and the top two legislative leaders said they are committed to working out a compromise on solving Kentucky’s employee pension problems and avoiding a special session. [Ronnie Ellis]

Sen. Rand Paul blasted fellow GOP Sens. John McCain and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) on Thursday, saying the two “think the whole world is a battlefield.” [The Hill]

The Franklin County Humane Society has dealt with overcrowding issues for awhile. They have taken in many animals connected to several animal hoarding investigations since the first of the year. [WKYT]

Go read what President Bill Clinton had to say. On March 27, DOMA will come before the Supreme Court, and the justices must decide whether it is consistent with the principles of a nation that honors freedom, equality and justice above all, and is therefore constitutional. [WaPo]

A Virginia consulting company seeking out-of-work coal miners says it is moving forward with plans to place hundreds of workers in jobs at idled mines in Virginia and Kentucky. However, a regional employment program in Eastern Kentucky has decided not to refer applicants to the Virginia company out of concern over whether its job claims are legitimate, and a former employee of the company told the Lexington Herald-Leader he quit over similar questions. [H-L]

South Dakota school districts could arm teachers under a bill introduced after the Connecticut school shooting rampage and signed into law on Friday, a day after Georgia lawmakers advanced legislation to end a ban on firearms in bars, churches and college classrooms. [Reuters]

An Iraqi man sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty to terrorism charges has been assigned to a high-security facility in Kentucky. [WDRB]

The debate goes to the heart of a deeply rooted American suspicion about the government, the military and the surveillance state: the specter of drones streaking through the skies above American cities and towns, controlled by faceless bureaucrats and equipped to spy or kill. [NY Times]