Joe Corcoran

The Bowling Green Daily News is reporting that a Rockfield man has been charged with second degree cruelty to animals after an online video clip of a man biting the head off a baby bird went viral. The same man previously told Warren County sheriff's deputies that the noise of birds chirping on his porch bothered him.

Bradley Heard was cited on a charge of second degree cruelty to animals after the Warren County Sheriff's Office became aware of the video footage which was posted on YouTube. Heard has pleaded not guilty.

The 45 second clip shows a man outdoors biting the head off a bird then walking towards the camera with the head in his mouth. A man's voice can be heard saying "That's just awful Bradley." The video was posted on YouTube last June.

Sheriff's deputies were able to identify the person biting the bird's head through comments made during the video as well as the poster's information and by obtaining information from the Warren County Humane Society.

A lone bank robber held up the PBI Bank on Fairview Avenue just after 8:00 a.m. Wednesday.

Employees say the man entered the bank and passed a note to the teller demanding money. After the teller complied, the man left with an undisclosed amount of money on foot walking north into the neighborhood behind the bank.

He's described as a white male, 5'6" to 5'9", average build, wearing a long black overcoat, a dark colored pullover sweater, a white button-up collared shirt, black gloves and a black knit hats. Witnesses say he appeared unshaven.

One customer was present during the robbery. There were no injuries.

This is the third bank robbery in Bowling Green so far this year.

Statistics show cases of hepatitis C have exploded in northern Kentucky. Due to the increase, the Independent Health Department District is offering free blood testing to anyone concerned about the chronic blood-borne disease that affects the liver. The department is also encouraging people in high-risk groups to get tested.

The area had 23 cases of acute hepatitis C in 2010, 42 in 2011 and 44 in 2012. Officials have said the heroin epidemic in the area is likely a factor in the increase.

Health department spokeswoman Emily Gresham Wherle said anyone who tests positive for the disease will be provided with counseling, education and care options. She says the health department also hopes to get a better understanding of the prevalence of the problem.

Kobe Automotive Products plans to invest more than $66 million in their plant at the South Industrial Park for both a building expansion and new equipment.

In November, the company announced an $11 million investment for an additional 39,000 square feet of space and up to 20 new jobs. That expansion is now complete.

Most of Kobe's new investment, $44.2 million, will go toward purchasing new equipment to expand their product line of forged aluminum suspension products. In addition, $20 million will be spent on a new building project. There was no mention of any new jobs being created by the expansion.

This is an entry by WKYU-FM in the category of Continuing Coverage for the 2013 PRNDI awards.

This entry contains a feature report and two interviews done by WKYU-FM's Joe Corcoran.

In 2012, WKU graduate and former swimmer Claire Donahue had a great chance at qualifying for the U.S. Olympic women's swim team. In the first part of our entry, Joe put together a preview piece on all the work Claire had done to prepare for Olympic qualifying in Knoxville, Tennessee.

The second part is an interview with Claire the day after she qualified for the U.S. team.