Updated: 3:45 PM LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) -- U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R) is downplaying the risks that looming automatic federal spending cuts will damage the nation's economy.

Posted: 9:18 PM Automatic spending cuts scheduled to take effect Friday, are expected to touch a vast range of government services.

Posted: 8:56 PM FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) -- The Senate has rejected the House's proposals to fund and overhaul Kentucky's pension plans for government retirees.

Posted: 3:37 PM FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) -- Kentucky House Speaker Greg Stumbo says Ashley Judd would be a formidable candidate if she runs for the U.S. Senate next year.

Updated: 2:50 PM FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) -- Industrial hemp supporters are ratcheting up the pressure to force a vote on a stalled bill that would allow farmers in Kentucky to grow the crop if federal ban is lifted.

Posted: 3:34 PM FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) -- A Senate Panel has cleared the second bill introduced this session, to address Medicaid disputes between hospitals and the organizations that provide reimbursements.

Updated: 9:36 PM FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) -- Lawmakers won't pursue a 6 percent tax on lottery tickets as a source of revenue to shore up Kentucky's financially troubled pension system for government retirees.

Updated: 5:50 PM FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) -- Lawmakers are considering modifications to Kentucky's prescription drug law to exempt patients in hospitals, nursing homes, and hospice centers, from rules intended to make it more difficult for addicts to get painkillers.

Updated: 3:04 PM WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama says Congress can keep across-the-board cuts from taking effect with "just a little bit of compromise."

Updated: 10:37 PM The measures would allow lawmakers to vote on whether Kentucky expands the Medicaid program and sets up a state-run insurance marketplace.

Updated: 10:49 PM The vote was 36-2 Thursday, a week after the House unanimously passed a similar proposal. Each chamber will consider the other's legislation.

Updated: 4:19 PM The House Committee on Health and Welfare passed the bill Thursday. It will now go to the full House for consideration.

Updated: 6:51 PM A Kentucky inmate is facing federal charges for threatening the life of President Obama and his family.

Updated: 7:24 PM Stumbo told reporters Tuesday, such a package doesn't have the 60 votes necessary to pass in the House.

Posted: 3:47 PM WASHINGTON, DC – Tuesday Sen. Rand Paul announced his nominations to the U.S. service academies, consisting of 41 individuals from across the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

Posted: 4:42 PM The proposal would increase the dropout age incrementally from 16 to 17 to 18 over a period of years, giving both students and school districts time to adjust to the change.

Posted: 2:42 PM The bill cleared the Senate on a 31-6 vote Thursday. It now heads to the House, where its prospects are much less certain.

Posted: 4:10 PM A Prohibition-era ban on the sale of alcohol at restaurants, bars, and retail stores on Election Day, would be lifted under legislation approved by the Senate Tuesday.

Updated: 2:52 PM U.S. Sen. Rand Paul appears before Senate Ag Committee to support legalizing industrial hemp.

Posted: 9:40 PM This week's focus on the New Jersey governor's weight is raising new questions about whether this is a fresh attempt to prepare for an eventual presidential run.

Posted: 9:24 PM The conservative lawmaker will speak immediately after Sen. Marco Rubio, who is giving the official Republican response to the president Tuesday night.

Posted: 3:36 PM Persistent Senate Republicans are again pushing a bill that would require doctors to allow women seeking abortions to look at ultrasound images.

Posted: 2:45 PM Democratic state Rep. Mary Lou Marzian of Louisville and Democratic Sen. Kathy Stein of Lexington said Thursday the measure could save lives. But they gave it little chance of passing this year.

Posted: 2:33 PM The committee vote came one day after Beshear called on lawmakers in his annual State of the Commonwealth speech to pass the smoking ban.

Updated: 10:23 PM The biggest expenditure would be $110 million to renovate UK's Commonwealth Stadium. Morehead, Murray, Northern and Western Kentucky Universities also would get upgrades, as would the University of Louisville.