News

A political action committee founded by former Democratic presidential candidate and Vermont Governor Howard Dean is backing Shelli Yoder in Indiana’s Ninth Congressional District race.

Democracy for America unveiled six key races for Congress on Wednesday that the organization will focus on in the 2012 election. The PAC is aimed at building a dozen "progressive powerhouse" in the House and this is the first crop attempting to give Democratic challengers a booster in their general election bids.

Yoder is challenging Republican incumbent Todd Young, but has struggled to keep face with the GOP freshman's fundraising totals.

She says it is an honor to receive Dean’s support and she hopes it will give her campaign a boost.

"We are continuing to work hard and we’re doing everything we can to win back this seat. I think that the 9th District, folks weren’t really paying attention to the race. But in the last few weeks we’ve certainly have work as hard as we can making sure that voters feel like they will have a voice and an opportunity to gain back that voice come November 6," he says.

Former Indiana Supreme Court Justice Randall Shepard will lead a task force looking into the state of legal education across America.

The panel was appointed by the American Bar Association.   Shepard says it will examine the way schools prepare their students to practice law, and the economic state of the profession.

Despite speculation of greater ambitions, U.S. Senator Rand Paul is likely to stay in his current position if Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is elected this fall. 

In the Indiana Senate race, polling has shown Republican Richard Mourdock is having trouble gaining traction with moderate voters in his battle with Democratic Congressman Joe Donnelly and a fundraising letter may indicate why.

It was Mourdock's ties to the Tea Party that helped him upset longtime Sen. Dick Lugar in the GOP primary, but days after his victory a message to voters continued to attack Lugar as a traitor to the conservative movement.

From Howey Politics Indiana:

"Conservatives scored a tremendous victory in Indiana just a few weeks ago," the Mourdock letter read. "Against all odds and with the establishment working day and night to defeat me, we retired a 36-year entrenched incumbent senator, who routinely betrayed conservative voters to push through some of the most radical aspects of President Obama's agenda."

Alpha Natural Resources--a coal company with mines in eastern Kentucky, as well as throughout Appalachia--reported its second quarter earnings this morning and the news wasn't good.

The company had a net loss of $2.2 billion in the second quarter of 2012. That compares to a $50 million loss for the same period last year.

From the company's announcement:

In an interview with Pure Politics, Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway says he "might" run for governor in 2015.

Political rumors are swirling and the speculation is that Conway will be a top contender to succeed Gov. Steve Beshear in three years, but the attorney general remains coy—at least on the record—for now.

Watch below:

In Kentucky's Fourth Congressional District race, Republican Thomas Massie raised ten times more than Democrat Bill Adkins during the second quarter.

According to Federal Election Commission report, Massie, who is the Lewis County Judge-Executive, garnered $247,493 compared to $21,783 by the Adkins campaign. Massie also has some notable contributors, including the infamous Koch brothers.

From the Cincinnati Enquirer:

The national tour of the hit musical "The Book of Mormon" will be part of next season’s Broadway in Louisville series. Broadway in Louisville won’t announce their 2013-2014 season until March, but a limited engagement of “The Book of Mormon” will be on the slate. 

Drought-stricken Kentucky farmers in need of hay or other forages for their livestock can seek help through a state Department of Agriculture website.

Agriculture Commissioner James Comer says a forage sales directory is up and running that can match up farmers with forages for sale with those whose pastures and fields have been dried up by the drought.    A similar program is also available for farmers in Indiana.

Environmental groups are suing the Environmental Protection Agency, in hopes they can force federal regulators to crack down on air pollution in national parks. The groups—including Earthjustice, the Sierra Club, and the National Parks Conservation Association—filed a lawsuit in federal court this week.