News

Former Miss America Heather French Henry is the latest Democrat to consider a challenge to U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell next year.

French Henry, a Louisville clothing designer, said Wednesday that she's being encouraged to run, but that she has made no decision.

McConnell is seeking a sixth term in Washington in 2014.

A magazine says Kentucky is #1 when it comes to whitetail deer hunting. The latest edition of "Outdoor Life" ranks the Bluegrass state as the top whitetail trophy state in the country.

The publication says western Kentucky was especially noteworthy for producing a relatively high number of trophy bucks.

In tallying the scores, Kentucky ranked second in the number of record-book bucks. But the state reached the top of the rankings due to a low hunter density, relatively low costs for guided hunts and hunter-friendly laws and regulations.

Eastern Kentucky University says it's giving the buyouts to 127 workers who applied for them and were accepted.

The school's executive director of human resources, Gary Barksdale, says most people who chose the buyout are rank-and-file staff workers. The program was not made available to faculty or vice presidents.

Buyout packages were calculated based on an employee's years of service. They include a $1,500 payment for health insurance costs.

Governor Steve Beshear has named a longtime tourism veteran to oversee the part of his cabinet dealing with travel and the arts.

Bob Stewart is a familiar face in state government, having worked for 11 years as commissioner of travel from 1992 to 2003.

And now, he'll be the new Tourism Secretary, having been appointed by Beshear to fill the post vacated by Marcheta Sparrow, who’s retiring.

Stewart is starting work for his fourth governor, having previously served under Brereton Jones, Martha Layne Collins and Julian Carroll. He's either played roles in tourism or worked as an executive assistant for those governors.

Stewart begins June 1.

Kentucky Senator Rand Paul says the Republican Party needs to “look like America.” Paul told the New Hampshire Republican State Committee Liberty Dinner Monday that the GOP needs to become more diverse in order to prosper.

“We need to be white, we need to be brown, we need to be black, we need to be with tattoos, without tattoos, with pony tails, without pony tails, with beard, without," said the Bowling Green Republican.

The Courier-Journal noted Paul’s appearance in New Hampshire also stokes further speculation that he is planting the seeds for a 2016 presidential run.

New Hampshire is the first state to hold a presidential primary every four years. Paul visited Iowa, home of the nation’s first caucuses, earlier this month, and appeared the early primary state of South Carolina in January.