Phillip M. Bailey

A secret recording of a campaign strategy session between U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell and his advisors was taped by leaders of the Progress Kentucky super PAC, says a longtime local Democratic operative.

Mother Jones Magazine released the tape this week. The meeting itself took place on Feb. 2.

The Transit Authority of River City is conducting a series of random passenger surveys on buses over the next two months to gain information about travel patterns and rider needs.

Passengers on bus trips included in the scientific survey will be asked to complete a brief written questionnaire.

The poll will begin April 15 and additional passenger surveys will also be conducted in mid-May.

A group seeking full voting representation for Washington, D.C. residents in Congress is holding a demonstration ahead of Republican Senator Rand Paul's speech at Howard University, calling the Tea Party favorite a hypocrite.

The address is being promoted as an attempt by Kentucky's junior senator—and presidential hopeful—to reach out to African-American voters. A handful of black leaders in Louisville have said that's a good sign given Paul's rising prominence in national politics.

But DC Vote is once again calling out Paul's libertarian and small-government message, comparing it to his obstruction of the D.C. Budget Autonomy Act last year.

In 2012, the mayor of D.C. and others urged lawmakers to approve the measure to give local residents the authority to spend tax dollars without Congressional oversight. Paul introduced several amendments to the bill, however, which sought to change the city’s gun, abortion and labor laws.

From DC Vote:

Think about that for a moment: Rand Paul, of all people, used a DC budget autonomy bill that would allow D.C. to spend money it raises from its own population so he can impose his causes on people that have no vote in Congress.

Speaking to reporters in Washington, D.C., Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell blamed the liberal Super PAC Progress Kentucky of bugging his campaign offices.

On Tuesday, Mother Jones released a recording of a private meeting between McConnell and his campaign aides discussing attacks on potential challengers, including actress Ashley Judd's struggles with depression.

The McConnell campaign has said it contacted the FBI and U.S. Attorney to look into charges of eavesdropping. But McConnell went further during a press conference and alluded to Progress, which attacked the ethnicity of the GOP leader's wife in a series of Tweets earlier this year.

"As you know last month my wife’s ethnicity was attacked by a left-wing group in Kentucky and then apparently they also bugged my headquarters. So I think that pretty well sums up the way the political left is operating in Kentucky," McConnell said.

A secret audio recording of Senator Mitch McConnell's re-election campaign reveals the Kentucky Republican's aides intended to target actress Ashley Judd's mental health and religious beliefs among other issues.

The news magazine Mother Jones obtained audio of a private meeting between McConnell and aides where much of the conversation focused on potential Democratic opponents.

In a 2011 memoir, "All That is Bitter and Sweet"  Judd recounted she had checked into rehab for depression as an adult and once considered suicide as a child.

The leaked tapes reveal Judd's bouts with depression were considered fair game by the McConnell campaign.

"This sounds extreme, but she is emotionally unbalanced," an unknown McConnell aide says on the recording. "I mean it’s been documented. Jesse can go in chapter and verse from her autobiography about, you know, she’s suffered some suicidal tendencies. She was hospitalized for 42 days when she had a mental breakdown in the '90s."

Listen:

U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is praising the late British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher as an icon of conservatism during the end of the Cold War period.

The 'Iron Lady' died at age 87 on Monday and is being remembered by many as a part of a triumvirate—along with former U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Pope John Paul II—who stood against the Soviet Union in the 1980s. Thatcher's reign is considered a controversial and successful tenure, which also brought Anlgo-American relations closer.

As the Seante's GOP leader, McConnell says it was Thatcher's conservative ideas that helped Britain socially and economically.

From McConnell's office:

"Americans and all freedom-loving people around the world mourn the passing today of The Iron Lady, Margaret Thatcher. A shopkeeper’s daughter from Lincolnshire, Margaret Thatcher rose through the force of her will and the power of her arguments to become the first and only female Prime Minister Great Britain has ever had.

Now that Ashley Judd is out, Kentucky Democrats are scrambling for a legitimate contender to take on Republican Senator Mitch McConnell next year.

The speculation is on Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes, whose every word is being examined.

But what if Grimes also forgoes a 2014 Senate bid?

Remember five years ago, when the Louisville Metro Council and then-Mayor Jerry Abramson fought over the Center City project?

Center City was to be a retail-focused expansion of the 4th Street Live entertainment district bounded by Second, Third and Liberty streets and Muhammad Ali Boulevard.

Following a number of Democrats, freshman Senator Joe Donnelly of Indiana says he now supports marriage equality for gay and lesbian couples.

The Friday announcement comes days after other Democratic senators such as Bob Casey of Pennsylvania and Tom Carper of Delaware came out in support of gay marriage. Fellow freshman Democratic Senator Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota also said she now favors same-sex unions.

A petition launched by MoveOn.org this week urged Donnelly to rethink his views, and just last week a spokesperson told WFPL the Indiana Democrat was steadfast that such unions were reserved for a man and a woman only.

From Donnelly's Facebook page:

"In recent years, our country has been involved in an important discussion on the issue of marriage equality. While serving in the House of Representatives, I had the opportunity to act on a core belief of mine: we are a stronger country when we draw on the strengths of all Americans. I voted to repeal ‘don't ask, don't tell’ and was an original supporter of the bill that would make it illegal to discriminate against someone in the workplace because of their sexual orientation.

Kentucky Democrat Jack Conway is the second hottest attorney general in the country, according to BuzzFeed. 

How did this arbitrary and meaningless satirical list even come up, one may ask.

Well The Washington Post reported on Thursday President Obama diverged from his prepared remarks at fundraiser to praise California Attorney General Kamala Harris.

The president said: "She’s brilliant and she’s dedicated, she’s tough. She also happens to be, by far, the best looking attorney general."

"It’s true! C’mon," Obama added.

Not so, says the online news outlet that is known for viral cat videos as much as political reporting.