Fun fact: ethics don’t actually exist in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Three former state agriculture employees agreed Monday to pay a total of $15,500 in fines to settle ethics charges that stemmed from their employment under former Agriculture Commissioner Richie Farmer. [H-L] Here’s a finding that shouldn’t be all that surprising: Since 1991, roughly 97 [...]

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An Owsley County man died Saturday and a second man was shot after the two allegedly got into an argument involving an all-terrain vehicle. [H-L] Your hospital may be hazardous to your health. An interactive investigation into patient harm. [ProPublica] With U.S. Sen. Rand Paul edging ever closer to a presidential run in 2016, the [...]

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Nearly a year after it was fined more than $800,000 for safety violations, K and D Mining Inc. — run by two operators of the Kentucky Darby Mine where five miners died in 2006 — has essentially disappeared and none of the fines have been paid, federal records show. [C-J/AKN] President Obama’s nominee to head [...]

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In the 56th House District special election, the Democrats have this guy: Kay said he wants to see the legislature debate tax reform in order to modernize the system. And in the heart of horse country, he said he also expects casino gambling to be a key issue in the special election, although he said [...]

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Oh, look, Rand Paul’s fired campaign manager is still complaining about things that don’t mesh with his 16th Century worldview. Tea Party activist David Adams filed a lawsuit Monday in Franklin Circuit Court, challenging Gov. Steve Beshear’s executive order that created the Kentucky Health Benefit Exchange. [H-L] Restaurant chains like McDonald’s want to keep their [...]

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Mexican drug cartels whose operatives once rarely ventured beyond the U.S. border are dispatching some of their most trusted agents to live and work deep inside the United States — an emboldened presence that experts say is meant to tighten their grip on the world’s most lucrative narcotics market and maximize profits. [H-L] President Obama [...]

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Senate President Robert Stivers informed his colleagues Monday that he will reimburse the state for the nearly $1,000 bill for boxed barbecue dinners provided to state senators and their staffs on the evening of March 7. Someone needs to tell Damon Thayer (R-Attention Starved) that the only “gotcha” going on is the “gotcha” he’s trying [...]

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Oh, look, now Jim Gray is afraid to take a stand against the anti-gay “religious freedom” bill. If he had any sense about the position he holds and wasn’t an absolute coward, he’d speak up. Even Greg Fischer did the right thing. [H-L] Even Ronnie knows pension reform is never going to be a real [...]

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The Attorney General’s office has ruled that the Blue Grass Area Development District is not a state agency and, therefore, has to follow local zoning regulations. [H-L] Dollars for Docs mints a millionaire. Dr. Jon W. Draud, the medical director of psychiatric and addiction medicine at two Tennessee hospitals, pursues some eclectic passions. [ProPublica] It [...]

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White House press secretary Jay Carney on Thursday tried to put to rest a simmering debate over President Barack Obama’s drone policy, stating in clear terms that the president doesn’t have the legal authority to, hypothetically, order drone strikes on Americans on U.S. soil. [HuffPo] CoventryCares of Kentucky, the Medicaid health plan affiliate of Coventry [...]

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