Briefs
Ahead of filing deadline, candidates sign election paperwork to run for office
FRANKFORT — Kentucky’s candidate filing deadline is next month.? So far, many have already signed papers seeking the Kentucky General Assembly and U.S. Congress. To appear on the primary election ballot, candidates must register by Jan. 5, 2024.? Next year, Kentucky voters will decide who will represent them in Frankfort and Washington D.C. and in […]
US approves a non-water-cooled nuclear reactor
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has issued a construction permit for a new nuclear test reactor to be built in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Kairos Power, the California company developing the Hermes demonstration reactor, says it’s the first non-water-cooled reactor to be approved for construction in the U.S. in over 50 years. Construction of the 35-megawatt […]
Defense bill paves way for ‘new missions’ at Blue Grass Army Depot, says McConnell
The newly passed national defense act “lays the groundwork for Blue Grass Army Depot to take on new missions,” said U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell, who called for “ramping up production of defense materials at installations” like the 14,600-acre site in Madison County. The depot housed the United States’ last stockpile of chemical weapons, the last […]
Beshear calls for an amendment on redistricting though passing it would be ‘challenging’
After the Kentucky Supreme Court affirmed redrawn congressional and legislative districts Thursday morning, Gov. Andy Beshear said a constitutional amendment should be pursued but noted it would be “challenging” to pass through the General Assembly.? Beshear, a Democrat, said in his weekly press conference Thursday afternoon that he had not read the entire 78-page opinion […]
Pike County schools will distribute overdose reversal drug
The Pike County School District in Eastern Kentucky will distribute 200 extra boxes of naloxone, commonly called Narcan,?to its campuses and families, thanks to a donation from the national nonprofit HarborPath. The school district already made the overdose reversal drug available to schools, it said Wednesday, but now has the capacity to provide more doses […]
Sen. Damon Thayer, Republican floor leader, will not run for reelection
Sen. Damon Thayer, a Georgetown Republican and the Kentucky Senate’s majority floor leader for a decade, announced Wednesday he will not seek reelection. “I have decided not to seek reelection to the state Senate in 2024,” Thayer said. “The end of my current term next year will mark 22 years in the Senate and 12 […]
Georgetown’s Phillip Pratt will not seek reelection to Kentucky House in 2024
A four-term member of the Kentucky House will not seek reelection in 2024. Rep. Phillip Pratt, R-Georgetown, said in a press release that he appreciated the “opportunity to serve Scott County in the Kentucky House of Representatives.” Pratt will serve in the upcoming 2024 regular session beginning in January. His term ends at the end […]
Lexington leaders appeal for peace in Mideast, mutual respect at home
Lexington Mayor Linda Gorton on Tuesday released a joint statement with religious, civic and business leaders in Kentucky’s second-largest city appealing for peace in Gaza and Israel and respect for a diversity of views at home. Gorton, Lexington Police Chief Lawrence Weathers and a group of Jewish, Muslim and Palestinian leaders in Lexington have been […]
Dr. Steven Stack, MC for private swearing-in, praises Beshear, recalls their pandemic work
State Public Health Commissioner Steven Stack was master of ceremonies for Gov. Andy Beshear’s private swearing-in ceremony as Tuesday began, providing a platform for him to reflect on his and Beshear’s work during the pandemic, work that won public approval and set Beshear up for reelection. Taking the lectern in the Capitol Rotunda after Land […]
Kentucky woman who sued for right to abortion now carrying embryo with no ‘cardiac activity’
Four days after a Kentucky woman sued for the right to an abortion, her lawyers said the embryo she carried “no longer had cardiac activity” as of Monday morning. A spokesperson for the American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky declined to say whether Jane Doe, as the woman is called in her suit, will now […]
John Rosenberg, civil and human rights activist, to receive honorary degree from University of Kentucky
John Rosenberg, a Holocaust survivor who worked as a civil rights attorney in the U.S. Justice Department and built a nonprofit legal aid organization in Eastern Kentucky, will receive an honorary degree from the University of Kentucky at the December commencement. Rosenberg will receive an honorary doctor of humane letters at the ceremony which begins […]
Former Gov. Julian Carroll will lie in state at Kentucky Capitol Friday
Former Kentucky Gov. Julian Carroll, who died Sunday at 92, will lie in state at the state Capitol on Friday, Dec. 15. Carroll, who also served as speaker of the Kentucky House and as a state senator, will lie in state in the Rotunda from 10 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. and from 1:30 p.m. until […]