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A bill that would require Super PACs to release their donor list was defeated due to a Republican filibuster led by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who has been a vocal opponent of the legislation.

The DISCLOSE (Democracy Is Strengthened by Casting Light On Spending in Elections) Act failed by a 51-to-44 vote, falling short of the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster. Since last month, McConnell has ripped the legislation as a form of intimidation being led by the Obama administration.

Local and national critics, including U.S. Rep. John Yarmuth, D-Ky., have pounced on McConnell's opposition, pointing out that he once supported the idea of full transparency.

From The Daily Beast:

Originally, conservatives like Mitch McConnell who backed the money-is-speech position offered the consolation prize of radical transparency and instant disclosure for all election-related spending, including independent expenditures.

But now such a proposal represents, in McConnell’s words, an attempt to “protect unpopular Democrat politicians by silencing their critics and exempting their campaign supporters from an all-out attack on the First Amendment.”

Congressman Ben Chandle, D-Ky., supports President Barack Obama in the fall election, but needs to focus on his own re-election rather than attend the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte later this year.

Last week, Chandler's campaign told WFPL that he was skipping the event. Since critics have pounced the central Kentucky representative for snubbing the president and running away from his own voting record.

Gov. Steve Beshear has signed an executive order to create a 17 member panel that will review child death and near-death cases throughout Kentucky.

"These reviews allow us to see if policies and practices in the entire system need to be altered to better protect Kentucky’s children," Beshear said in a release.

In the Indiana governor's race, Republican Congressman Mike Pence is ahead of Democrat John Gregg in fundraising totals by $2.5 million.

Pence reported raising $3 million in the second quarter, which gives the GOP contender over $5.5 million in cash on hand. Gregg, a former Indiana House speaker, garnered around $1.8 million and has $3 million in his campaign coffers.

The Pence campaign has been running television ads since May and it highlighted the number of Indiana contributors .

"Mike Pence will continue to take his vision for making Indiana the state that works to Hoosiers through grassroots meetings, policy announcements and television," campaign manager Kyle Robertson said in a news release.

Information for this story also came from the Associated Press

Kentucky wildlife officials are seeking the public’s help in tracking the health of the state’s deer herd.

They’re trying to locate deer suffering from a fatal disease that’s prevalent in warm weather.

It’s called epizootic hemorrhagic disease—EHD---which has been found in white-tailed deer across the southeastern U.S. since 1966.  

A healthy lifestyle isn't just about physical health. Seven Counties Services and the Mayor's Healthy Hometown Movement want to remind the community not to neglect mental health, so they're staging a free concert in the Kentucky Center's Bomhard Theater Friday that will emphasize the importance of preventative measures and empathy for those dealing with mental health issues. 

Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer continues to push for a local sales tax option to fund future city services and projects.

The option would make it easier for the city to pay for services in the face of budget shortfalls. Currently, the state must approve a ballot initiative to increase local taxes for specific projects. In 2007, Louisville voters rejected such a tax referendum to pay for an expansion of the Louisville Free Public Library by a resounding 2-to-1 margin. 

Kentucky Republicans hoping to win the state House in elections this fall are getting a helping hand from the party’s leader.

U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell has used his leadership PAC to dole out at least $54,000 dollars to Republican lawmakers in the last three months.

McConnell typically uses the Bluegrass Committee PAC to help U.S. Senate candidates in his bid to become majority leader. But his focus is now on making sure Kentucky’s two legislative chambers are controlled by Republicans. Currently, the Senate is GOP controlled, but not the House. 

In the Indiana Ninth congressional district race, Democrat Shelli Yoder has filed a tepid fundraising report.

Yoder is a political newcomer and she brought in just over $93,000 in the second quarter of this year. She faces Republican incumbent Todd Young, who garnered $311,000 in the same period. According to documents filed with the Federal Election Commission, Yoder has $73,000 total on hand, compared to the nearly $900,000 in Young’s coffers.

Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear is not joining other Kentucky  officials in calling for the repeal of the Affordable Care Act.