The Hoosier Democrat says he met recently with government officials in Israel, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.

Sen. Dan Coats says vote should wait until after the November election. Sen. Joe Donnelly says the Senate should vote before the election.

Indiana Republicans and Democrats are reaching across the aisle to urge United Technologies, the parent company of Carrier and UTEC, to not leave Indiana.

Grades approved by the board reflect changes signed into law last month. The law ensures lower ISTEP scores do not negatively impact schools during the state's transition to more rigorous college and career ready academic standards.

As the General Assembly convened Tuesday for the 2016 legislative session, discussion of how to handle this year's A-F grades was one of the first issues addressed.

Gov. Mike Pence and state Superintendent Glenda Ritz finally agree on the best way to handle a "pause" of penalties schools would otherwise pay for poor test scores for 2014-15, and they appear poised to follow Ritz's preferred approach.

Leaders from Indiana's medical device industry and both of the state's U.S. senators hailed Congress' passage Friday of a more than $1 trillion spending bill. The measure temporarily halts a controversial medical device tax.

In preliminary numbers compiled by State Board of Education staff, 17 percent of Indiana's K-12 schools will be considered failing under the state's A-F accountability system. Last year, 4 percent of schools were considered failing.

The effort follows up on Donnelly's 2014 legislation that allowed all military members to receive annual mental health screenings.