Citing a "lack of business integrity," the Environmental Protection Agency announced it was temporarily suspending the oil giant BP from entering into new contracts with the federal government.

In a press release, the EPA said BP demonstrated the lack of integrity during the Deepwater Horizon "blowout, explosion, oil spill and response." This kind of suspension, the EPA explained, is "standard practice when a responsibility question is raised by action in a criminal case."

Federal prosecutors in West Virginia stepped higher up the corporate ladder at Massey Energy Wednesday with new criminal charges stemming from the investigation of the 2010 coal mine explosion that killed 29 workers.

David C. Hughart was president of Massey's Green Valley Resource Group, a major coal mining subsidiary based in Leivasy, W. Va., from 2000 to 2010.

Anyone who watched television footage of Lexington during last year’s Final Four knows that if you try hard enough, couches can burn. But because of a California state law requiring the inclusion of flame retardants, most are made with some chemicals designed to slow burning down. And a new analysis of couch cushions from around the country shows that several toxic or carcinogenic chemicals are still common ingredients in most couches.

For the third straight day Republican Leader Mitch McConnell defended his parties use of the filibuster while criticizing Democrat's push for an overhaul in Senate rules.

The filibuster is held by many as a Senate tradition that allows the minority party to hold up legislation, but Democrats argue that the GOP has abused the tool. The reforms are rather simple, but McConnell and Majority Leader Harry Reid have been jousting over the issue this week while the Democratic caucus is threatening to use the "nuclear option" that would allow a simple 51-vote majority to change the Senate rules.

Speaking on the Senate floor Wednesday, McConnell says he is willing to negotiate rule changes with Reid to reach an agreement. But in an editorial, the GOP leaders ratchets up his criticism that Democrats are threatening a tool that has been a safeguard for the political minority.

From U.S. News & World Report:

The majority leader was once a staunch defender of the Senate's protection of minority rights. Yet now that he finds himself frustrated he's prepared to recklessly throw those rules away and his own solemn pledge to defend them.

Southern Coal is recalling several hundred laid off workers and plans to hire 650 more, thanks to a new contract from American Electric Power.

From the Williamson (WV) Daily News:

So far, the speculation on who'll be the Democratic challenger to U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell's 2014 re-election bid has practically been a casting call.

First, Ashley Judd got a mention from U.S. Rep. John Yarmuth. Now, George Clooney and Diane Sawyer have had their names dropped Tuesday by Lt. Gov. Jerry Abramson during an interview with WHAS 11, though he later told WFPL that he was just joking.

The Louisville Cardinals and Duke Blue Devils played in men's basketball on Saturday for the first time since 1986. (Duke won.) Now, the two storied hoops teams will be seeing much more of each other in the coming years.

The University of Louisville  is joining the Atlantic Coast Conference, leaving behind a Big East Conference that continues to lose members to rival leagues.

The ACC's Council of Presidents on Wednesday unanimously voted to admit UofL, according to a news release issued by the conference and the university.

Irving Gottesman is the winner of the 2013 Grawemeyer Award for Psychology. Over the past several decades, Gottesman’s work on the genetic and environmental factors that contribute to schizophrenia and other mental disorders has changed the way scientists classify the condition.

The Kentucky Supreme Court is expected to hand down a ruling soon on whether public school administrators should read Miranda rights to students when they question them with a resource officer present.

The case involves a high school student in Nelson County who was convicted of sharing prescription pain pills after confessing to the school’s vice principal and resource officer.

The State Senate Republican Caucus has officially nominated Sen. Robert Stivers for Senate president.

Stivers’ new role won’t be official until it’s voted on by the full chamber in early January. But the GOP holds a 24-14 advantage, meaning Stivers is all but certain to succeed former Senate President David Williams. Williams left the Senate to take a position as a circuit judge.