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Republican congressional candidate Brooks Wicker won’t commit to keeping current House Speaker John Boehner in the position if he defeats Democratic incumbent John Yarmuth this fall.

Since taking control of Congress, the GOP caucus has had some internal infighting and conservative activists have been critical of Speaker John Boehner, who has clashed with Tea Party lawmakers over the debt ceiling and other negotiations.

Some national conservative groups have publicly called for Boehner's ouster as House leader.

Wicker says he won’t commit to voting for Boehner or not, and hopes other lawmakers will be vying for the position.

"I have questions about some of the issues and positions that have been taken. I would prefer to have an open election for the seat," he told 84 WHAS radio show host Mandy Connell. "Hopefully there will be other people who will contest him for that leadership position and we’ll be able to have a true election for the leader."

The highest-ranking Republican in the Kentucky state House is calling on Governor Steve Beshear to reject an expansion of Medicaid set forth in the Affordable Care Act.

The Supreme Court ruling on the healthcare law allows states to opt out of the expansion of the program. House Minority Floor Leader Jeff Hoover wants Beshear to follow other states that have opted out.

Hoover says expanding the program in Kentucky would put an even bigger burden on the state budget, even with managed care operators running the system.

The Louisville Air Pollution Control District has issued an Air Quality Alert for Friday. Ozone levels are expected to be high enough to be unhealthy for everyone--a 156 on the Air Quality Index. This is the fourth Air Quality Alert issued so far this week, and the 17th so far this summer.

For hourly air quality updates, call (502) 574-3319.

A federal appeals court has upheld the conviction of a the woman who tried to extort millions in cash, cars and a house from University of Louisville basketball coach Rick Pitino.

The U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals today found that attorneys for 52-year-old Karen Sypher ``advanced no arguments of merit on appeal.''

In 2010, a jury convicted Sypher of extortion, lying to the FBI and retaliation against a witness. Prosecutors said she sought the money from Pitino to stay quiet about a tryst in a Louisville restaurant.

A new political action committee is hoping to strengthen the political power of Catholics in Kentucky.

The Kentucky Catholic PAC was founded by Louisville attorney Vince Heuser after the May primary elections.

Heuser says the idea for the state-based PAC stems from two issues that are contentious in the Catholic community. One is a mandate from the federal government that health insurance plans must cover contraceptives. The second is a tussle with state House Democrats over bill that would require women seeking abortions to view an ultrasound of their fetus.

A Louisville lawmaker is again preparing to unveil legislation that he will introduce in next year's legislative session that would legalize marijuana for medical purposes.

Louisville’s Democratic state Sen. Perry Clark has scheduled a press conference Thursday at 2 pm to promote what he has dubbed the "Gatewood Galbraith Medical Marijuana Memorial Act."

“One of his favorite statements was it’s food, fuel, fiber and medicine and I think we’re finding that out from all the research and everything that we find," said Clark.

Officials for the American Council of the Blind (ACB) say Louisville residents should expect to see more people carrying canes and being accompanied by dogs this week with the start of the organization’s national conference Friday.

Over 1,500 blind and visually impaired individuals are expected to be in Louisville for the conference, which offers updated technologies and policy discussions each year.

Ronald Milliman, council spokesman, said verbal applications that use GPS are a widely used by the visually impaired and one of the new technologies that will be featured.

Are women funny? Every few years, another male writer or comic says no – Jerry Lewis, Christopher Hitchens, most recently, Adam Carolla.

Janelle Fitzpatrick disagrees. She’s a high school teacher who works with incarcerated youth in Indiana. Her day job can be intense, so a few years ago she tried her hand at stand-up comedy and found a second calling.

People of all ages are invited to take part in the annual butterfly count Saturday in Oldham County.

Results will submitted to the North American Butterfly Association for its national census. 

The local count has been conducted at University of Louisville’s Horner Wildlife Sanctuary since 1976, led by biology professor emeritus Charles Covell.