Newly elected state Senator Morgan McGarvey, D-Louisville, lashes out a Senate Republican Mitch McConnell in a Courier-Journal editorial, saying the GOP leader is only interested in attaining more power.

McGarvey was defending Democratic Congressman John Yarmuth from McConnell biographer John David Dyche, who penned a stinging article comparing to a "yapping toy poodle" among other things. The Dyche article was in response to Yarmuth's cheerleading for a challenge to McConnell in 2014.

What's interesting about McGarvey's piece is that it acknowledges the origins of the Yarmuth-McConnell divide. Both men were once moderate Republican staffers who worked for former U.S. Senator Marlow Cook at the same time.

McGarvey says since then Yarmuth has become more liberal but taken principled stands while McConnell is only interested in accumulating more power.

From The C-J:

Unlike Yarmuth, and their former boss, McConnell’s career has not been forged in ideological fidelity, civil discourse or bipartisan cooperation.

Here's the news you've been waiting for, royal watchers:

"The Duchess of Cambridge is expecting a baby, St James's Palace has announced." (BBC News)

That would be Catherine, wife of Prince William (the Duke of Cambridge). They, of course, are the potential future king and queen.

The BBC adds that:

Thousands of Kentuckians have until the end of 2013 to complete their GEDs before the cost increases and the test is updated.

It’s been a decade since the GED Testing Service has changed the exam, which is equivalent to earning a high school diploma. In that time, nearly 16,000 Kentuckians have taken but not completed all five parts the test requires.

In Jefferson County, an estimated 2,000 residents have not completed the GED test, according to the Council on Post Secondary Education.

Federal prosecutors in West Virginia are moving further up Massey Energy’s chain of command in their investigation into a 2010 mine disaster that killed 29 coal miners.

Another Massey Energy executive has been charged in connection with the federal criminal investigation into the 2010 explosion at the Upper Big Branch mine. David Hughart didn’t work at the mine, but last week agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy to violate federal mine safety laws.

That deal to export Kentucky coal to India still hasn't been scheduled.

The deal was announced in August—an agreement to send up to nine million tons of Appalachian coal to India every year for 25 years. The first shipment was supposed to leave the U.S. in September, but the company responsible for facilitating the transportation says it still hasn’t been scheduled.

A hearing will be held this week in U.S. District Court on the bond conditions set for Paul Barth, the former McMahan Fire Chief who pleaded guilty to stealing nearly $200,000 intended for the Crusade for Children charity.

Prosecutors requested the hearing after Barth did not disclose two real estate transactions that could have impacted his ability to pay restitution.

Louisville Metro Council President Jim King says it isn’t practical to raise taxes for the Affordable Housing Trust Fund, despite Mayor Greg Fischer’s suggestion.

The council set up the trust fund to give grants and loans for affordable housing activities, such as new construction, home rehabilitation, payment assistance and emergency repair. But the fund has struggled to find an adequate revenue stream since it was first formed in 2008.

After months of saying that residents had no appetite for higher taxes, Fischer told The Courier-Journal his administration supports a one percent increase of the insurance premium tax to pay for the trust fund if council members agreed.

But King says raising taxes of any kind would be a burdensome to residents and small businesses in a tough economy.

"I would have to say that I didn’t expect (Fischer's) comment because I wasn’t aware he was interested in adding anything to that tax. But I don’t think that the council as a whole is in a position to support that right now," he says.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner says it's up to congressional Republicans to take the next step in budget talks to avoid the pending automatic spending cuts and tax increases at the end of the year.

Appearing on the Sunday talk shows, Geithner said there's "no path to an agreement" until Republicans are willing to accept higher tax rates on the rich.

An annual holiday tradition starts back up this week at Actors Theatre of Louisville. Barbara Field’s stage adaptation of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” opens Thursday in the Pamela Brown Auditorium for its 37th run.