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Libertarian Vice Presidential candidate Jim Gray made a few stops in Kentucky on Monday to tout his party's small government message

Gray is a former California judge who is running on the libertarian presidential ticket with former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson. Gray was in Mt. Washington earlier today visiting a small business and also made an appearance on 84 WHAS radio.

He told talk show host Mandy Connell that his party is fighting to be included in the nationally televised debates, but that is it an uphill battle.

"By the end of September if we’re polling well enough to be in the debates then we will be. There are three for the president, one for the vice president and honestly I cannot wait to debate against Joe Biden," he says.

National surveys have shown the Libertarian ticket carrying six percent of the vote against President Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney, which is quietly raising concern among GOP officials that the Johnson-Gray ticket could be a spoiler for Romney.

Longtime Indiana Supreme Court Justice Brent Dickson has been formally sworn in as the state's first new chief justice since 1987.

The 71-year-old Dickson is the longest-serving current member of the five-member Supreme Court and became the acting chief justice when Randall Shepard retired in March. He was sworn as chief justice  by Gov. Mitch Daniels during a Statehouse ceremony today.

Dickson takes over a court in transition. After 10 years of no changes, the court has its third vacancy in the past two years.

Louisville's Air Pollution Control District has issued an Air Quality Alert for tomorrow.

The Air Quality Index is expected to be 156. Anything between 151 and 200 is considered unhealthy for all groups.

For hourly air quality updates, call (502) 574-3319.

Louisville resident Kathy Little has been selected to receive a national award from the Sierra Club for her activism opposing the coal-fired Cane Run Power Plant.

Little has lived across the street from the Cane Run Power Station in southwest Louisville for decades. But in recent years, she’s organized residents and challenged utility company Louisville Gas and Electric on its handling of coal ash at the site.

NASA climatologist James Hansen has produced new research that ties the record heat waves the world has experienced over the past decade to climate change.

Hansen's paper will be published today, and in an Op-Ed in the Washington Post he previewed his findings. He and his colleagues analyzed 60 years of weather patterns and have found that extremely hot summers are increasing in frequency.

While the biggest ticket at every Fancy Farm political picnic is the speaking, the after the picnic chatter revolves around whoever was working the crowd.

One surprise this year was Congressman Ben Chandler, who’s locked into another re-election fight in his Central Kentucky district, miles away from Fancy Farm.

Kentucky Public Radio caught up with Chandler at the grounds, where he said he was just visiting with friends for the weekend.

A task force of Kentucky lawmakers is using the next few months to figure out how the state can improve digital learning across all classrooms in the commonwealth.

The General Assembly agreed to form the task force to review possible legislative changes that encourage using more technology in schools.

The goal now is to propose legislation that pairs up the state with successful digital education providers or programs, said task force co-chair Rep. Carl Rollins.

Carbon capture has been out of the news lately, as many power plants have abandoned efforts to capture and store carbon dioxide. But the University of Kentucky says the technology is still relevant.

UK’s Center for Applied Energy Research will host a carbon capture workshop in September. It’s meant for utility members and researchers to learn more about the technology.

There was a time when summer didn't yield such an abundance of theatrical riches in Louisville, with the big houses dark and maybe a handful of small company revivals to sustain us through the long humid season.

Louisville’s PTA is hosting its annual back-to-school clothing blitz this week and officials say they expect a large turnout this year for the program, which serves less fortunate Jefferson County Public Schools students.

The clothing assistance program, or CAP, last year served between 1,000 to 1,500 students just during blitz week, according to CAP director Paula Wolf.