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.

Louisville’s Air Pollution Control District is taking a look at Louisville’s rising temperature. In a meeting today, board members discussed the city’s declining tree cover and how a lack of protective legislation is contributing to the problem.

Louisville recently placed first on a list of fifty cities suffering from rising temperatures. Georgia Tech University Professor Brian Stone described the city as the “climate change center of the United States.” 

Director Charles Venable is leaving the Speed Art Museum next month. The Board of Governors of the Indianapolis Museum of Art announced today that Venable has been appointed The Melvin & Bren Simon Director and CEO of the Museum. 

Venable joined the Speed five years ago, leading the museum during the development and funding of a $50 million renovation and expansion project, which will close the museum to the public for three years next month.

Coal mines in Kentucky and West Virginia will send millions of tons of coal to India, under the terms of a 25-year contract that was signed today.

The $7 billion deal between FJS Energy, a New Jersey-based energy company, and a coal group in India will send 6 to 9 million tons of coal annually for use in Indian power plants and steel production. There are coal mines in India, too, but production is unable to meet growing demands.