A ballooning number of Americans are struggling with food insecurity. At a time like this, people like Mitch McConnell and Mittens Romney want to do things like cut food stamps. The number of poor Americans who repeatedly ran short of food shot up by 800,000 in 2011 to nearly 17 million compared with 2010, the U.S. government said on Wednesday. [HuffPo]

A ruling that could allow Kentuckians to buy liquor and wine at grocery stores, convenience stores and gas stations across the state has been appealed. [Business First]

Ann Romney says women need to wake up and let fat white men make all the decisions for them. [HuffPo]

Justice went dark Tuesday across Kentucky, as state courthouses shut down and thousands of court workers went on furlough for a day because of state budget cuts. Yet even as Kentucky’s judicial system struggles to pay for its day-to-day operations, state spending on courthouse buildings is soaring. [C-J/AKN]

It’s not just drones that President Barack Obama refuses to discuss with the American people. [Mother Jones]

What a relief! After a few rare months of quality hard-hitting campaigning, the Democratic party may just have its beloved “let’s go out of our way to completely fuck up over nothing” swagger back. [Wonkette]

The recession’s impact on American education has not yet dissipated, as more than half of states are slashing their education budgets this year. [HuffPo]

Three retired and current Lexington police officers have filed a lawsuit in federal court alleging that the city is violating their constitutional rights by not contributing 100 percent of the cost of retiree health insurance premiums. [H-L]

The biggest understatement from the LA Times in months: “Bill Clinton fires up Democratic convention.” [LAT]

PEE ALERT. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has at least one vote in his pocket for Majority Leader if Republicans take the Senate in November — controversial Rep. Todd Akin. [BuzzFeed]

A human rights organization says it has collected evidence of two previously unreported cases in which U.S. agents used waterboarding or a similar harsh interrogation technique on Libyan militants held by American forces in Afghanistan. [Reuters]

KentuckyOne Health laid off 40 employees at its St. Joseph Hospital and St. Joseph Hospital East locations in Lexington on Wednesday. [H-L]