Students at the 19 schools in Jefferson Parish, La., are getting more than 50,000 new books and, best of all, those books are free. Last week, the Jefferson Federation of Teachers (an AFT affiliate), union and community volunteers began sorting the 2,000 boxes of books that will be distributed during the next month. The book distribution is part of a nationwide joint project between AFT and First Book, a nonprofit organization that distributes books to children from low-income families

Union-endorsed Gov. Steve Beshear (D) is up two dozen points over state Senate President David Williams (R), his challenger in the gubernatorial race, which will be decided Nov. 8.