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Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has released a robocall in Kentucky criticizing President Obama’s gun control proposals. In the pre-recorded call, McConnell accuses the President of trying to “restrict your constitutional right to keep and bear arms.”

The call goes on to say McConnell will do everything in his power as Senate Minority Leader to protect Second Amendment freedoms.

The robocall was first reported in the online political journal Politico.

The President announced last week a set of wide-ranging gun control proposals, including a call for Congress to improve the federal background check system used to screen gun buyers. The White House also wants a ban on military-style assault weapons and a limit on the size of gun magazines available for purchase.

The debate over gun limits and Second Amendment rights was put on the front-burner after the December school shootings in Newtown, Connecticut, in which 20 children and six others were murdered.

Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid are reportedly engaged in negotiations over the use of the filibuster. The online journal Politico says Reid is weighing whether to change the filibuster rules with a 51 vote majority, instead of a two-thirds majority.

Democrats, who control the Senate, have long complained about what they consider Republican abuse of the filibuster. It’s become common for members of the Senate to effectively kill legislation and block judicial appointments by just threatening a filibuster.

Both Reid and McConnell say the Senate isn’t functioning as it should, but McConnell says the problem isn’t GOP use of the filibuster.

Some Senators, like Tennessee Republican Lamar Alexander, are nervous about changing the rules that govern filibusters.

The negotiations between the Senate leaders is expected to continue Wednesday, with Reid saying he hopes to have a deal in place by Thursday.

WKU head men's basketball coach Ray Harper announced Tuesday the addition of Chris Harrison-Docks to the program after the guard elected to transfer from Butler University before the start of the 2012-13 regular season.

Harrison-Docks is enrolled in school and practicing with the Hilltoppers, and he will have three-and-a-half years of eligibility at WKU beginning after the conclusion of the first semester of the 2013-14 season.

"Chris is a great addition to our basketball program," Harper said. "He has a very high basketball IQ, and he is as competitive of a player as you could find. He can shoot with range, and his dedication to improving his skills is evident in how he enrolled in school early so he could begin practicing with our current team right away. We could not be more pleased to be able to bring a player of Chris' caliber to WKU."

Understanding that veterans have a higher unemployment rate than the population as a whole, Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner James Comer is launching two programs to help veterans find work.  The Homegrown by Heroes initiative will place a label on food items produced by Kentucky veterans. 

It's like the Kentucky Proud symbol, but includes a flag in the background and a veteran saluting.

"We've been getting calls from many other states and this is something I believe will be a nation model as a way to help market farm products by our military veterans," Comer remarked at a news conference Tuesday at the Boone National Guard Center in Frankfort..

Comer is launching another program called Kentucky Proud Jobs for Vets.  The initiative will maintain a database of farmers and agri-businesses looking for workers.  The database will be shared with military support groups like USA Cares.  Comer says many people like hiring veterans because of their strong work ethic and service to the country.

Indiana legislators have introduced bills to help the state’s riverboat casinos hold onto business in the face of growing competition from casinos in neighboring states.

The bills would allow the casinos to move from the boats onto land, reduce their taxes and lift game restrictions on some. A major question, however, is whether any can win approval from lawmakers leery about being perceived as expanding gambling.

Indiana expects a 15 percent drop in the tax revenues from its 13 casinos, from the $614 million it collected last year to about $520 million for the 2015 budget year. State officials blame the decline in part on the opening of new casinos in Ohio, Michigan and Illinois.