Kenny Colston

A former trustee for the Kentucky Pension Systems says an international banking scandal is leading to millions of dollars in losses for Kentucky agencies.

Investment consultant Chris Tobe believes the pension systems have lost money due to the false interest rates associated with the LIBOR banking scandal.

LIBOR averages interest rates from other major banks to set a standard. Some banks are charged with providing manipulated rates to LIBOR to boost profiles. 

Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear is ordering flags across the commonwealth to half-staff in wake of last week’s shootings in Aurora, Colorado.

A lone gunman opened fire in a Colorado cinema last week, killing 15 people and wounding dozens more.

The flags will remain at half staff until sundown on Friday, exactly one week from the shootings. President Barack Obama ordered all flags at federal buildings to half staff in the aftermath of the shooting.

Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear recently signed an executive order to create an insurance exchange for Kentucky. Under the Affordable Care Act, states must create marketplaces in which residents can purchase insurance, or else the federal government will do so for them.

“It’s a lot easier to adapt your policies and regulations to personalize it to your population, so we think Kentucky is in a better position to respond to the needs of Kentuckians,” says Kentucky Voices for Health Executive Director Jodi Mitchell, who believes state-run exchanges are the way to go.

A relatively new economic think tank in Kentucky has released a report that pushes back on calls to cut the state's pension benefits.

The report from the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy says the idea that public pensioners are well-compensated compared to their private sector counterparts is a myth.

“If you fairly compare what public workers receive at this point in Kentucky, compared to the private sector in total compensated, wages and benefits, you find that they are actually somewhat under-compensated," says KCEP director Jason Bailey.

Supporters of instant racing in Kentucky are once again trying to take their case to the state supreme court. Instant racing games allow players to wager on previously-run horse races using slot-machine like-devices. The Franklin Circuit Court previously ruled that the games are legal, but an appeals court sent the decision back, saying  the anti-gambling Family Foundation should've been allowed to gather evidence in the case.  Now horse industry officials are appealing that decision in hopes of taking the case to the state supreme court.

Update: Picnic emcee and Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner James Comer says, despite claims from Fancy Farm officials, no surrogate has been named. This story has been modified.

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney will send a surrogate to this year’s Fancy Farm Picnic.

Former Auditor Crit Luallen says she will not challenge Republican U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell in 2014.

Luallen has long been considered to be among the best-situated Democrats to unseat McConnell. She served two terms as auditor and many political observers credit her with raising the office's profile during her tenure. Luallen also served in former Governor Paul Patton's administration for several years.

But the long-time public servant tells Kentucky Public Radio she will not enter the 2014 race.

The Kentucky Chamber of Commerce is taking a firmer stand on conservative issues.

Republican legislators have criticized the chamber in the past for supporting Democratic-led proposals like expanded gambling and a higher dropout age while staying quiet on so-called right to work and prevailing wage laws.

But in the chamber's latest annual report, right to work and other conservative issues are more prominent.

Such legislation has caused lengthy political battles in other states, recently in Indiana.

Kentucky Republicans hoping to win the state House in elections this fall are getting a helping hand from the party’s leader.

U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell has used his leadership PAC to dole out at least $54,000 dollars to Republican lawmakers in the last three months.

McConnell typically uses the Bluegrass Committee PAC to help U.S. Senate candidates in his bid to become majority leader. But his focus is now on making sure Kentucky’s two legislative chambers are controlled by Republicans. Currently, the Senate is GOP controlled, but not the House.