The involvement of a state representative in a major coal deal in Kentucky is raising some eyebrows. Under the terms of a new $7 billion contract, Kentucky coal producers will ship nine million tons of coal a year to India for the next twenty-five years. Representative Keith Hall was instrumental in brokering the deal—and he represents both the people of Kentucky and his own private coal interests.

Hall's district covers part of coal-rich Pike County. He’s the chair of a special energy subcommittee, and the vice chair on the House Natural Resources and Environment Committee.

He also owns several coal-related businesses in the area—including mines—and sits on the board of FJS Energy. FJS is the New Jersey-based company that signed the deal with India.

“I’m not just a friend of coal,” Hall said. “I’m coal’s best friend.”

The Kentucky State Fair Board has released a request for proposals to operate the former Kentucky Kingdom amusement park.

This comes a day after a group of developers called the Kentucky Kingdom Redevelopment Company announced a $40 million plan to re-open the park by 2014.

The proposal provides $10 million from four private investors, including local businessman Ed Hart, and $30 million in bank financing, which would need to be guaranteed by the state.

Other members of the group include Ed Glasscock, Bruce Lunsford, and Mary Moseley.

In the Indiana gubernatorial race, a new poll shows Republican Mike Pence leading Democrat John Gregg by an 18-point margin.

The Indiana Chamber of Commerce released the survey Thursday showing that among 600 likely voters, Pence has 50 percent while Gregg is being backed by 32 percent in the fall election. Polling also shows Libertarian candidate Rupert Boneham with about 3 percent support, and that 15 percent of Hoosier voters are still undecided.

Pence campaign spokeswoman Christy Denault says they haven’t focused on the poll numbers, but instead on touting their platform.

"Mike has a vision for how to make this a state that works, we’re focused on jobs and education," she says. "We have a whole slate of policy rollouts already scheduled and we’re going to keep rolling out our ideas so that the people of Indiana get an idea who Mike Pence is and what he will do should he become governor of this great state."

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's running mate, Paul Ryan, has staked out a reputation in Congress as a fiscal conservative. He has spoken out against President Obama's efforts to jump-start the economy with the stimulus law and, after a conversion a few years ago, now opposes earmarks. But when it comes to helping out his district in southern Wisconsin, Ryan's principles have been flexible.

U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., is taking heat for promoting a report that the National Weather Service was stockpiling ammunition based on website run by conspiracy theorist Alex Jones.

Summer is ending for students in Louisville and, according to reports, students return to class in the fall one month behind where they left off in the spring. The loss is even greater for low-income students.

To combat summer learning loss, JCPS has invested in two online programs previously offered only to low-performing students.

The programs will now be used to boost learning during the school year.

Nine million tons of Appalachian coal will be heading to India this year, after a new deal was announced yesterday between several Kentucky coal producers and an Indian company. This is good news for the struggling Kentucky coal industry—but it may not be enough.

Reality TV star and real estate mogul Donald Trump is endorsing Republican Richard Mourdock in the Indiana Senate race.

The billionaire conservative has become a controversial figure for questioning President Obama's birth certificate while he briefly flirted with a White House bid. For the most part, Trump has been lampooned for embracing the so-called "birther" movement and observers have criticized his remarks as a publicity stunt.

Kentucky lawmakers are frustrated by the lack of information on the state’s incoming health insurance exchange.

The exchange is required under the healthcare law, and will allow Kentuckians to compare and purchase insurance plans.

At a meeting of the joint Health and Welfare committee, many lawmakers prodded members of the executive branch for details on the costs and operations of the exchange. But answers were lacking.

Kentucky Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes is speaking out against the rise of voter identification laws across the country, and she blames Republican leaders for pushing the measures.

Several states have passed new measures to protect the integrity of elections, but they have also made registering and voting more difficult. Many of the laws require voters to present a government-issued photo ID before casting a ballot.

But opponents, including Grimes, say the new laws target young, minority and elderly voters, who tend to vote Democratic. 

"Here in Kentucky we’ve seen no indication of in-person fraud, which would indicate that we would need to change or alter or amend our current ID requirements. But what we have seen in states surrounding us, they are Republican controlled both at the governor's level and state legislature level. We have seen ID requirements being strengthened to be a government issued id," she says.