Leading candidates for U.S. Senate in Kentucky, a top coal-producing state, are tolerant of a controversial mining practice often referred to as mountaintop removal.

Colorado's Senate this morning passed the controversial teacher effectiveness bill on its third reading, 21-14, sending it to the House.

The Senate will begin a prolonged debate next week on an overhaul of financial regulations, while the House will take up a measure designed to promote energy efficiency.

A bill limiting the terms of payday loans has narrowly passed a vote in the Colorado Senate. The Senate backed a new version of the bill late Thursday by one vote. It changes short-term payday loans into six-month loans.

A bill that would give Colorado colleges more flexibility to set tuition rates won approval Thursday from the Senate Education Committee after lawmakers warned funding for colleges is headed for a cliff in the next year or two.