Kentucky Democratic Party Chairman Dan Logsdon is ridiculing freshman Republican Congressmen Andy Barr and Thomas Massie for voting against aid for victims of Superstorm Sandy.

Last Friday, Congress approved a $9.7 billion package to help homeowners, renters and businesses pay for flood insurance claims caused by the hurricane. The Republican-controlled House passed the measure with overwhelming bipartisan support in a 354-to-67 vote.

In a telephone interview, Logsdon tells WFPL that Barr and Massie's actions have embarrassed Kentucky, adding natural disasters shouldn't be used to make a point about federal spending.

"It shouldn't be politicized. When our neighbors need help we should give them help. When a natural disaster occurs the rest of us should want to help that affected region," he says.

The Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is like:

• an Etch A Sketch. You can make it into pretty much whatever you want.
• an optical-illusory M.C. Escher staircase that climbs back into itself.

A conservative group is attacking Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell over the fiscal cliff deal in a series of online advertisements in Kentucky that questions his loyalty to the GOP.

The ads were purchased by the Virginia-based group For America and began running Wednesday on the The Daily Caller, Drudge Report and Fox News websites, as well as on Facebook. It accuses McConnell of capitulating to President Obama and calls for conservatives to stand up to the party leader.

Brent Bozell is founder and chairman of For America. He says McConnell was the architect of a bad deal and that is playing "President Obama’s bag man."

"There comes a point where as a conservative you just say you’ve had it. This was a quintessential tax and spend piece of legislation," he says. "Conservatives have for decades labeled Democrats the party of tax and spend. How can you not label Republicans the same thing when they go along with it?"

McConnell fashioned the agreement with Vice President Joe Biden, which permanently extended the Bush-era tax rates for individuals making less than $400,000 and was praised by many conservative thinkers.

However, the deal delayed government spending cuts for another two months.

Update: At 6 a.m. ET. Jan. 10, White House Announcement:

The White House has officially confirmed that President Obama will nominate his chief of staff, Jacob "Jack" Lew, to be the next Treasury secretary. According to a statement, the announcement is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. ET today (Thursday).

NPR's Scott Horsley had more about the nomination on Morning Edition.

In 1961, Robert Frost became the first poet to read at a U.S. inauguration when he recited "The Gift Outright" at President John F. Kennedy's swearing in. Since then, only three other poets have taken part in subsequent inaugural ceremonies: Maya Angelou, Miller Williams and Elizabeth Alexander. Now, there's a fifth.

A deli, a bourbon bar and an ice cream shop are opening soon on the corner of Third and Main streets, says developer Al J. Schneider Co.

They'll be called, respectively, 21deli, Down One Bourbon Bar and 2 Dips & a Shake. 

Here's the descriptions of each, in Al J. Schneider Co.'s own words:

The U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments Wednesday in a case testing whether police must get a warrant before forcing a drunken driving suspect to have his blood drawn.

One fewer city is pursuing an NBA franchise.

Virginia Beach's mayor said Tuesday that the city is "withdrawing" from efforts to build an 18,500 seat arena in the community with an NBA team as the main tenant, the Virginian-Pilot newspaper reported.