Clinics are shutting down abortion services in Texas after the Supreme Court in the nation's second-largest state blocked an order that briefly allowed the procedure to resume in some cases. It's the latest development in legal scrambles taking place across the country following the reversal of reversal of Roe v. Wade. The Friday night ruling stopped a three-day-old order allowing abortions to resume up to six weeks into pregnancy. On Saturday, the American Civil Liberties Union said it doubted that any abortions were now being provided in the state. One provider, Whole Woman’s Health, says the ruling forced it to stop offering the procedure in its four Texas clinics. Read more
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The Texas Supreme Court has blocked a lower court order that had given some abortion clinics confidence to resume performing abortions. The order handed down Friday night by the state’s highest court comes just days after some abortion providers rushed to resume services. An lower court order issued this week by a Houston judge had reassured some doctors they could temporarily resume abortions up to six weeks into pregnancy. Before that, doctors across Texas had stopped performing abortions in the state after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and ended the constitutional right to abortion. Read more
Three Kentucky law enforcement officers were killed when a man opened fire on police attempting to serve a warrant at a home in eastern Kentucky. Police took 49-year-old Lance Storz into custody late Thursday night after an hourslong standoff at a home in Allen, a small town in the hills of Appalachia. An emergency management official was also injured and a police dog was killed. Floyd County Sheriff John Hunt told reporters that the responding officers encountered “pure hell” when they arrived on the scene, saying the had “no chance.” Storz was arraigned Friday and jailed on a $10 million bond. Read more
Social media users shared a range of false claims this week. Here are the facts: A 2019 amendment to a Kentucky abortion law was proposed as satire and not seriously considered. A Department of Defense statement issued after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade did not say the Pentagon would defy the ruling, nor did it say it would violate any state laws on the matter. Pallets of bricks pictured on a Washington, D.C., street were for ongoing construction, not to incite rioting. Research at a Tennessee laboratory studied neutron activity, not a portal to a parallel universe. Read more
Last July, a federal judge in West Virginia heard closing arguments in the first lawsuit to go to trial over the U.S. opioid addiction epidemic. With an avalanche of documents that included transcripts of testimony and exhibits, Judge David Faber didn’t indicate when he would make a ruling, and his decision wasn’t expected right away. Nearly a year later, a community is still waiting. The lawsuit by Cabell County and the city of Huntington accused distributors AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health and McKesson of creating a public nuisance. Some 81 million pills were sent to the community of about 93,000 along the Ohio River from 2006 to 2014. Read more
Gov. Andy Beshear has announced another round of state assistance for regions of Kentucky hit by tornadoes last December. The governor said Thursday that nearly $800,000 will go to Hopkins and Taylor counties. He says more than $655,000 will be sent to Hopkins County for the purchase of heavy equipment to help with debris removal. About $134,000 will be used for debris removal in Taylor County. The governor's office says it’s the seventh round of awards from the state fund. State lawmakers supported the assistance with the passage of Senate Bill 150 during this year’s legislative session. Read more
A Florida judge says he will temporarily block the state's 15-week abortion ban. The judge said Thursday that ban violates the state’s constitution and he will issue an order blocking it, but not before it is scheduled to take effect Friday. In Kentucky, a judge has temporarily blocked that state’s near-total ban on the procedure triggered by the Supreme Court ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade. The cases reflect battles being waged in courts across the country after the Supreme Court left it up to the states to decide whether abortion is legal within their borders. Read more
Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear has denounced a Kentucky law designed to impose a near-total ban on abortions as “extremist.” Beshear pointed to the measure's lack of exceptions for rape and incest victims. In doing so, he pushed back on an issue Republicans have made a policymaking priority. Beshear's comments came after a state judge on Thursday temporarily suspended enforcement of the state’s so-called trigger law. The 2019 measure took effect after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled last week to end federal constitutional protections for abortions. A ruling Thursday by Jefferson Circuit Judge Mitch Perry allowed abortions to resume in Kentucky. Read more
Judge temporarily blocks Kentucky’s near-total abortion ban that was triggered by Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade ruling. Read more
Kentucky Secretary of State Michael Adams says more new voters were added to the state’s registration rolls than were removed in May. That marks the third straight month of voter registration gains. Adams says that from May 18 through May 31, 8,617 new voters registered. Another 4,420 were removed, mostly due to deaths. The rolls reopened for registration on May 18, a day after the state's primary election. Adams says he hopes the registration gains indicate voter interest in the November general election. The state’s U.S. Senate race will top the statewide ballot in November. Read more
Hershel W. “Woody” Williams, the last remaining Medal of Honor recipient from World War II, has died at age 98. Williams’ foundation announced he died Wednesday at the Veterans Affairs medical center bearing his name in Huntington, West Virginia. As a young Marine corporal, Williams went ahead of his unit during the Battle of Iwo Jima in the Pacific Ocean in February 1945 and eliminated a series of Japanese machine gun positions. Later that year, the 22-year-old Williams received the Medal of Honor from President Harry Truman. The Medal of Honor is the nation’s highest award for military valor. Read more
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky State Police fatally shot a suspect who fled after allegedly shooting an officer in Tennessee. Read more
Company officials have broken ground on a new campus in western Louisville that will house a hospital and a headquarters for Goodwill Industries. The new hospital will be the first in the predominantly African American area since a Marine hospital closed in the 1930s. The $100 million Norton Healthcare Opportunity Campus on Broadway will be built on a 20-acre site. The project was announced in February. Read more
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice has been elected chairman of the Southern Regional Education Board. Read more
Kentucky State University regents have selected an interim campus president for the upcoming school year. Media outlets report that Ronald A. Johnson will serve in the role while the search continues to fill the position on a long-term basis. Johnson is a former president of Clark Atlanta University. It's a private historically black university in Atlanta. Johnson was chosen for the interim role by KSU regents on Monday. Clara Ross Stamps has been KSU’s acting president since last summer. Former president M. Christopher Brown II resigned amid concerns about KSU’s finances and lawsuits filed against the university. Read more
Kentucky’s juvenile justice agency is hiring people to help fill more than 90 full- and part-time positions across 24 facilities. To help in the recruitment, the Department of Juvenile Justice says it's offering a job fair on June 29 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. EDT. It will be at the Campbell Regional Juvenile Detention Center in Newport. The department’s vacancy rates are improving. But DJJ Commissioner Vicki Reed says the agency needs more people committed to fostering and investing in the life of each youth. Read more
Kentucky’s new abortion ban is being challenged by abortion-rights supporters. They filed a lawsuit Monday saying women are being “forced to remain pregnant against their will” in violation of the state’s constitution. Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron says he'll fight any “baseless claim” against the abortion ban. It takes aim at a Kentucky law halting nearly all abortions in the event the Roe v. Wade ruling were to be overturned. The law went into effect when the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday ended women’s constitutional protections for abortions. The suit asks a judge to temporarily block the so-called trigger law. Read more
Supreme Court sides with football coach who wanted to pray on the field. Read more
Farmers in western Kentucky will get some relief after a grain elevator was damaged by deadly tornadoes in December. Gov. Andy Beshear announced that up to $3.25 million will help farmers continue to grow and process grains. Funds are from the Team West Kentucky Tornado Relief Fund. Tornadoes last Dec. 10 and 11 devastated parts of western Kentucky and killed 81 people in the state. Beshear says the Graves County Grain Assistance Program was established after a group concerned about potential loss of crop yield contacted the governor. Beshear says the funds will help remove stress for farmers due to the loss of Mayfield's grain elevator. Read more
A former choir teacher at a Kentucky high school has been sentenced to five years in prison in the rape of an underage student. News outlets reported that former Oldham County High School teacher Haley Reed was sentenced Thursday. Reed will not be eligible for probation. She will be required to complete sex offender treatment and she must register as a sex offender. Court documents show that Reed pleaded guilty in March to third-degree rape and first-degree unlawful illicit sex acts with a minor. Reed told police she had sex with an underage student multiple times on school property in 2018. Read more
A Kentucky man pardoned by former Gov. Matt Bevin is facing assault and strangulation charges. The Kentucky Enquirer reports 20-year-old Johiem Bandy, of Covington, is charged with strangulation, assault and second-degree criminal mischief. The incidents happened in March and April, according to court documents. One female victim told police Bandy “pinned her against the wall" and choked her. Bandy was sentenced at age 15 to prison for robbery and assault, but he was pardoned by Bevin in 2019. Bevin wrote in the document that Bandy is “turning his life around,” and he is "confident that he will do great things with his life.” Read more
An Army private charged with plotting to kill members of his unit overseas with adherents of a secretive radical violent group was planning a defense calling it all an internet fantasy before pleading guilty shortly before trial. Plans for the defense of Ethan Phelan Melzer were revealed in court papers in the weeks before he abruptly pleaded guilty to charges Friday, eliminating the need for his July 5 trial in Manhattan federal court. Prosecutors say Melzer was in Italy with his unit when he plotted online to arrange an attack to occur against his Army unit once it was redeployed in Turkey in 2020. Read more
Kentucky’s so-called trigger laws means abortion has largely been outlawed in the state upon the U.S. Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade on Friday. The state’s only two abortion clinics, both in Louisville, halted abortions Friday. The Kentucky law passed in 2019 declares that abortion would become illegal “effective immediately” if Roe v. Wade is overturned. The measure contains a narrow exception allowing a physician to perform a procedure necessary to prevent the death or permanent injury of a pregnant woman. Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear said the ruling triggers a ban that also includes victims of rape or incest. Republican state Attorney General Daniel Cameron, a candidate for governor, hailed the ruling as “a new era.” Read more
A U.S. Army private from Kentucky has pleaded guilty to charges that he plotted to kill members of his unit in an organized attack. Ethan Phelan Melzer entered the plea Friday in Manhattan federal court. The 24-year-old Louisville, Kentucky, man is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 6 after he pleaded guilty to trying to murder U.S. military service members, attempting to provide support to terrorists and illegally transmitting national defense information. The three charges carry a potential maximum penalty of 45 years in prison. Authorities say Melzer was already a member of a radical violent group known as 09A even before joining the Army in 2018. Read more
A large aluminum plant in Kentucky is temporarily halting production and laying off more than 600 workers due to rising energy costs. Century Aluminum has announced plans to shut down its Hawesville smelter for 9 to 12 months starting in August. The plant, with about 628 workers, is the second-largest employer in Hancock County. Century Aluminum said the Hawesville plant is its largest “U.S. smelter and the largest producer of high purity primary aluminum in North America.” Read more
A heat wave that's already lasted more than a week keeps on baking the US, Asia and even the Arctic. At least nine US states Thursday hit 100 degrees, that's after 12 did that on Wednesday. Records keep falling. A city in the Russian Arctic hit nearly 90 degrees. This early summer heat wave looks and feels more like August. Scientists say it has all the hallmarks of climate change. In Macon, Georgia, the temperature ramped from 64 to 105 degrees on Wednesday and then hit 104, a further record, on Thursday. Read more
Officials say a Kentucky State Police trooper has been indicted on federal charges accusing him of conspiracy and engaging in misleading conduct stemming from an arrest that involved use of force. The U.S. attorney's office says 32-year-old Michael L. Howell of London, Kentucky, was accused of conspiring with others, along with another trooper, to conceal the nature of force used by troopers. The release says Howell is also accused of engaging in misleading conduct to prevent giving information to federal law enforcement about an offense possibly being committed. Prosecutors say the indictment alleges that Howell and the others failed to disclose the use of force and made up a story about what happened. Read more
Gov. Andy Beshear has taken executive action to activate the state’s price gouging laws. He's touting it as a consumer protection measure amid sky-high gas prices straining Kentuckians’ budgets. The Democratic governor signed an executive order Thursday declaring a state of emergency. It's in response to gas prices hovering close to $5 per gallon. With his action, Kentucky consumers can report suspected price gouging at the pump to Attorney General Daniel Cameron’s office. Beshear says “every little bit helps” in trying to buffer consumers from increasing fuel prices. Cameron is urging Kentuckians to alert his office to any signs of price gouging. Read more
The company that operated a Kentucky candle factory leveled by a deadly tornado last winter is planning to ramp up production. Gov. Andy Beshear announced Thursday that Mayfield Consumer Products plans a $33 million investment at a nearby plant. It plans to employ more than 500 people full time in the next five years at its factory in Hickory. Its plant in Mayfield, Kentucky, took a direct hit from a tornado that devastated the town last December. Beshear touted the economic development news without mentioning workplace citations against the company. State officials recently cited the company for alleged violations of occupational safety and health laws. Read more
Frankort State Journal. June 21, 2022. Read more
HENDERSON, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky is ready to start construction in earnest on the first phase of a planned Ohio River bridge that will connect western Kentucky and Indiana. Read more
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear says Jefferson County has received nearly $360,000 in awards to enhance accessibility and improve three parks, while $400,000 is being provided for two parks in another county. The Jefferson County funding is for Jefferson Memorial Forest in Fairdale, Little Hunting Creek Park in Prospect and Wetherby Park in Middletown. Meanwhile, the city of Henderson is receiving funding for the Airline Road Sports Complex project, and Henderson County was awarded funds for Sandy Lee Watkins Park. The funding comes from the Land & Water Conservation Fund. Read more
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) — A motocross instructor who visited states from New York to Georgia has been charged with producing child pornography, federal officials said Wednesday. Read more
If “invasive carp” doesn't sound appetizing, how about a plate of copi? The state of Illinois is unveiling a market-tested rebranding campaign to make the fish appealing to consumers. Four species imported from Asia decades ago now infest the Mississippi and other rivers in the U.S. heartland. They also threaten the Great Lakes. Officials say the fight to contain them would get a boost if more people would eat them. The Illinois Department of Natural Resources hired a marketing firm to find a new name. And “copi” is the winner. Chefs, distributors and others in the food industry say it's a tasty, healthy fish. Read more
Kentucky's governor has run into a roadblock in seeking relief for Louisville-area motorists forced to pay more at the pump for reformulated gas. Gov. Andy Beshear said Tuesday that federal regulators turned down his request. He's seeking a waiver to temporarily remove the requirement that costlier but cleaner-burning reformulated fuel be sold in Metro Louisville. He says reformulated fuel costs 20-30 cents more per gallon than other kinds of gas. During a time of skyrocketing gas pries, that’s adding to the financial strain for motorists in Jefferson County and parts of neighboring Oldham and Bullitt counties. Jefferson County includes Louisville. Read more
The Gaines family has agreed to sell the Daily News of Bowling Green, Kentucky, to Carpenter Newsmedia LLC, an affiliate of Boone Newspapers Inc. Terms of the sale were not disclosed. The deal is expected to close June 30 and also includes a weekly shopper and three magazines. A statement says the family’s history with the newspaper dates back 140 years. The newspaper said it is one of the oldest family-owned papers in the southeastern U.S. Boone Newspapers' website says it owns or manages newspapers and other publications in 12 states, including several in Kentucky. Read more
A new 10-panel mural is being added to a Kentucky project that began in 1996 to ornament Paducah’s floodwall with portraits of the area’s history. The Paducah Sun reports the new mural will depict trains traveling from New Orleans to Chicago and highlight Paducah’s importance in railroad transit. Once it is completed, murals will fill every panel of a three-block stretch on Water Street. While most of the existing murals fill a single panel each, the new mural will be spread across 10 panels resembling a historical railroad map with Paducah as a bull’s-eye in the middle panel. Read more
A distilling group is working to develop a new $23 million distillery planned in the northern Kentucky community of Augusta. Augusta Distillery will be located in the historic F.A. Neider building, which provided metal stamping services dating back to 1883 until its closure in 2007. The 40,000-square-foot building situated on 1.8 acres will house Augusta Distillery’s first full-scale operation. Gov. Andy Beshear's office says the plans call for the distillery to reach full production capacity by summer 2024. Beshear attended a groundbreaking for the distillery on Monday. Read more
A medical marijuana advisory team formed by Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear has met for the first time. The agenda for the Kentucky Medical Cannabis Advisory Committee meeting Monday included an overview of its responsibilities and a discussion about town hall meetings. The committee will travel the state to gather views on the issue and provide feedback to the governor’s office. The first town hall meeting is scheduled for July 6 in Pikeville. The next town hall is set for July 19 at the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet in Frankfort. Two more town halls meetings are expected to be scheduled later. Read more
Gov. Andy Beshear has announced $203 million in investments for broadband expansion as part of an effort to close Kentucky’s digital divide. Beshear said Monday that the investments will be divided into 46 grant awards to 12 internet service providers and local governments spanning more than 30 counties. The infusion will deliver reliable internet to more than 34,000 Kentucky families and businesses. The investments include $89.1 million from the state’s share of federal pandemic aid. Grant recipients pledged to match those contributions. Read more
PADUCAH, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky transportation officials are advising motorists of lane closures on Interstate 75 and state highways during this coming week. Read more
A Kentucky judge who was removed from office two months ago is running again. The Judicial Conduct Commission voted unanimously in April to permanently remove Daviess Family Judge Julie Hawes Gordon for attempting to influence criminal cases involving her adult son. However, the commission does not have the power to prevent Gordon from running again. A state lawmaker tells The Messenger-Inquirer that a blanket prohibition would require a constitutional amendment, but there are other options. The Judicial Conduct Commission could have sought a voluntary agreement from Gordon not to run again. In addition, the General Assembly can impeach judges. And those judge who lose their law licenses cannot seek reelection. Read more
The mayor of Louisville, Kentucky, was punched in the city’s Fourth Street Live entertainment district on Saturday night. The Louisville Metropolitan Police Department tweeted that Democratic Mayor Greg Fischer is “doing fine." The department has released photos of a suspect they are trying to locate. Police in Kentucky's largest city say they will release more information as it becomes available. Read more
The Kentucky Supreme Court has agreed to consider a lawsuit that seeks to re-erect a statue of a Louisville civic and military leader who fought for the Confederacy before later renouncing it. The Courier Journal reports, the statue of John B. Castelman stood for 107 years near Louisville's Cherokee Park before it was removed in June 2020. It was vandalized several times before its removal. It is currently in storage. A group called Friends of Louisville Public Art filed a lawsuit challenging a 2019 decision from Louisville’s landmarks commission that the monument could be taken down. The Kentucky Court of Appeals ruled against the group. Now the state Supreme Court will review the case. Read more
Former Kentucky lawmaker Wilson Stone has died after a lengthy illness. He was 69. Stone died Friday at Hospice House of Southern Kentucky in Bowling Green. That's according to an obituary posted on the website of Scottsville’s Goad Funeral Home. Stone was known for his advocacy for education and agriculture. The Daily News reports that Stone served as a state representative for 12 years before announcing in 2019 that he wouldn't seek reelection in 2020. He made public at that time that he had a brain tumor and was choosing not to run to “prioritize his health and family." Read more
Gov. Andy Beshear has declared a state of emergency for a western Kentucky town struggling with a water shortage. Beshear's office says state officials are expected to travel to Marion to implement a plan aimed at ensuring that families have access to water. Beshear took the action Saturday, hours after receiving a request from Marion officials. The water shortage in the Crittenden County town stems from having to drain Lake George — the town's primary reservoir — because of a levee failure. That, coupled with limited rainfall and unseasonably hot weather, caused the water shortage to become critical. Read more
The University of Kentucky says UK Health Care plans to buy 27 acres in central Kentucky to build a new medical campus. Media outlets report that plans for the campus include a regional hospital facility, medical office building and other clinical facilities. A focus will be on providing acute and outpatient care. UK says the property is expected to cost $20.3 million. UK announced plans for the new location at a health care committee meeting Friday. The finance committee later voted to approve the land purchase. The full board of trustees approved the land purchase later in the day. Read more
Legendary civil rights leader Bayard Rustin and three other men had their convictions vacated posthumously. They were sentenced to work on a chain gang in North Carolina after launching the first of the “freedom rides” to challenge Jim Crow laws, which mandated segregation on buses. Friday's ceremony vacating their convictions took place at the Orange County Courthouse in Hillsborough. Rustin was a pioneer of the civil rights movement and an adviser to the late Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. He was instrumental in organizing the 1963 March on Washington. Read more
Kentucky gubernatorial hopeful Ryan Quarles is doubling down on his grassroots Republican strategy. And Kelly Craft is hinting anew at her own continuing interest in Kentucky’s top political job. They sounded undeterred Friday — a day after Donald Trump shook up the 2023 campaign by endorsing Attorney General Daniel Cameron. The thunderbolt announcement came 11 months before the state’s primary. GOP voters will select a nominee to challenge Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear. Trump's endorsement is seen as a boost for Cameron. The first-term attorney general is seeking support from a Republican base viewed as still loyal to the ex-president. Read more
A restaurant created by KFC founder Harland Sanders for his wife decades ago is for sale. The Claudia Sanders Dinner House in Shelbyville, Kentucky, hit the market this week. The sale of the 25,000-square-foot restaurant and banquet hall is being handled by Six Degrees Real Estate. The listing includes the trademark and likeness of the Claudia Sanders name as well as memorabilia from the Sanders family. The 3-acre property also includes a 5,000-square-foot residence where Harland and Claudia Sanders lived for more than 20 years. The listing does not include a sale price. The sellers are hoping a buyer will fight to maintain the restaurant and expand the brand. Read more
Kentucky Athletics Hall of Famer Mike Pratt has died. Pratt helped lead the Wildcats to three SEC championships and two Elite Eight appearances during his college career. And he was a courtside fixture since the 2001-02 season as the UK Sports Network’s radio color analyst alongside play-by-play announcer Tom Leach. The 6-foot-4 forward from Ohio played at Kentucky from 1967-70 and averaged 16.8 and 8.9 rebounds in 81 career games. He finished at Kentucky with 1,359 points and 718 rebounds. Kentucky Athletics Director Mitch Barnhart and basketball coach John Calipari said he would be missed. A statement from the school said Pratt died Thursday at the age of 73. Read more
The annual Kentucky River Clean Sweep is this weekend, and organizers are asking for volunteers to help with the effort. The event takes place on Saturday, and it’s Lexington’s first River Sweep since 2019. Organizers say participants will go out on boats to collect trash from the 12 miles of river connected to Fayette County. Volunteers meet at a site near the Madison County border at 8:30 a.m. Participants will return to shore around noon for a free lunch and will also be given a T-shirt. Register online at LexingtonKY.gov/RiverSweep or by calling (859) 425-CALL (2255). Anyone under 18 needs a waiver signed by a parent or guardian. Read more
Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron has won former President Donald’s Trump’s endorsement in his 2023 bid for governor. Cameron tweeted the endorsement Thursday evening. Trump's support offers a momentum boost given the ex-president’s enduring popularity among Republican voters in the state. Trump says he has known Cameron since the beginning of what he calls the Kentuckian’s “meteoric rise.” He describes the first-term attorney general as “absolutely outstanding in every way.” Trump’s endorsement comes about 11 months before the state's GOP gubernatorial primary. Cameron is among several Republicans already vying for the GOP nomination to challenge popular Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear next year. Read more
The Kentucky's Supreme Court has issued a sharply divided ruling against the warrantless use of cellphones as tracking devices by police. The court said in a 4-3 decision Thursday that the warrantless accessing of a phone for such use violates constitutional protections against unreasonable searches and seizures. The ruling stems from a Woodford County case involving a robbery suspect. The court’s majority says the robbery suspect was subjected to a warrantless search when police obtained his real-time cellphone location information. They ruled that the information was illegally acquired and should be excluded from evidence. The decision sends the case back to the trial court for further proceedings. Read more
As many victims of campus sexual assault see it, guidelines put in place to protect them at colleges have a long way to go to fulfill the promise of Title IX. A polarizing Trump-era policy means that students who report abuse face a live hearing in which they could be cross-examined by a person of their accuser’s choosing. President Joe Biden is expected to announce new rules as soon as this month. Meanwhile, many students have opted out entirely, never reporting the abuse. Or they’ve chosen to go an informal route, in which the accused might be asked not to take classes with the accuser, or to switch schools. Read more
Bowling Green Daily News. June 12, 2022. Read more
Officials say federal funding has been awarded to Kentucky to support protections for older adults and those with disabilities. Gov. Andy Beshear said Wednesday in a statement that Adult Protective Services in Kentucky will receive $2.1 million and the Office of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman will receive $238,000 from the Administration for Community Living. The programs will use the funding to hire staff and recruit and train volunteers to conduct visits and investigate complaints. The funding will help the agencies develop resident and family councils and provide education and assistance on resident rights and prevention of abuse and neglect. Read more
People are flocking to pools, beaches and cooling centers in a swath of the Midwest and South spanning from northern Florida to the Great Lakes, as a heat wave pushed temperatures into the 90s and beyond and may have caused the deaths of at least two people in the Milwaukee area. The National Weather Service maintained an excessive heat warning through Wednesday evening for most of Illinois, Indiana and Ohio, which have been dealing with the sticky humidity and soaring temperatures since Tuesday. And the heat advisory in place for the Midwest and South stretched all the way eastward to the South Carolina shoreline, covering an area that is home to roughly a third of the country’s population. Read more
A former correctional officer at the Federal Medical Center in Kentucky has been sentenced to more than 11 years after pleading guilty to sexual abuse of inmates. The U.S. attorney's office says 46-year-old Christopher Brian Goodwin pleaded guilty in March to deprivation of rights under color of law and three counts of sexual abuse of a ward. The release says Goodwin admitted touching three inmates on multiple occasions in 2019 and sexually abusing them. Prosecutors say Goodwin in his plea agreement also admitted depriving another inmate of her constitutional rights and his actions also resulted in injury to the inmate. Read more
A dangerous heat wave has washed over much of the Midwest and South, with temperatures hitting triple digits in Chicago and combining with the humidity to make it feel even hotter there and in other sweltering cities. Cities throughout the affected area warned residents on Tuesday to stay hydrated, remain indoors when possible and be aware of the health risks of high temperatures. Strong storms brought heavy rain and damaging wind to parts of the affected region on Monday, and more than 500,000 customers remained without power as of Tuesday afternoon. By midafternoon, the temperature at Chicago Midway National Airport reached 100 degrees for the first time since July of 2012, the area’s National Weather Service office reported. Read more
Kentucky’s Republican attorney general has gone to court over the state's new abortion law. The lawsuit is loaded with political and legal implications. Attorney General Daniel Cameron claims Gov. Andy Beshear's administration missed a deadline to set up regulations for the measure. The law is currently blocked by a federal judge. Cameron filed the suit Tuesday in state court. He says the order blocking the law didn’t relieve state regulators of their obligation to craft regulations and create forms related to the measure. Health and Family Services Cabinet spokeswoman Susan Dunlap calls the suit a “baseless and blatant political stunt.” Read more
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear has named 17 people to serve on a medical marijuana advisory team that he formed by an executive order. Beshear said in a statement that Justice Cabinet Secretary Kerry Harvey and Public Protection Cabinet Secretary Ray Perry will serve as co-chairs. The panel will include health care professionals, members of law enforcement and advocates for medical marijuana. The committee will travel around the state to gather views on the issue and provide feedback to the governor’s office. The move comes after a bill to legalize medical cannabis died in the state Senate after the House passed it. Read more
