Government
Trump on trial: Former president faces criminal charges of falsifying business records
NEW YORK — The trial of former President Donald Trump kicked off Monday in a lower Manhattan courtroom, marking the first time in U.S. history that an ex-president has been tried on criminal charges. Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee for president, appeared in the state of New York courtroom, where he is charged with falsifying […]
April 22 deadline to register to vote in Kentucky primary election
To vote in Kentucky’s primary election next month you must be registered by 4 p.m. Monday, April 22. In the May 21 primary, Kentuckians will be nominating candidates for U.S. Congress, state legislature and many local offices, as well as casting ballots in primaries for U.S. president. You can register online by clicking here. Read […]
Tobacco control comes up short in state budget, while anti-vaping law could increase smoking
FRANKFORT — In a year when the American Cancer Society asked the Kentucky legislature to increase spending on tobacco prevention, lawmakers cut it and passed an anti-vaping bill that some say could increase cigarette use in the state.? The two-year state budget’s allocation for tobacco prevention — about $8 million shy of advocates’ ask — […]
Kentucky Republicans override Beshear vetoes
FRANKFORT —?The GOP-dominated Kentucky legislature easily overrode nearly all of Democratic Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear’s vetoes Friday on the next to last day of this year’s legislative session, cementing a number of Republican priorities into state law.? In total, Republican supermajorities in both legislative chambers overrode two dozen vetoes of bills and a resolution, including […]
Poll shows GOP voters in Kentucky support gun removal measure, Westerfield assures Senate
FRANKFORT — In what he said could be his last speech on the Senate floor, Sen. Whitney Westerfield assured his colleagues that “the politics … are safe” to support a law that would temporarily remove firearms from Kentuckians at risk of harming themselves or others.? Speaking on Friday night, Westerfield cited polling that found 76% […]
Perry County prosecutor faces federal charges for allegedly trading favors for sex, drugs
A Kentucky prosecutor, who allegedly helped criminal defendants in exchange for sexual favors and methamphetamine, is facing federal wire fraud charges. Perry County commonwealth’s attorney Scott Blair, 51, of Hazard, was charged with committing honest services wire fraud in a federal criminal complaint Friday, according to a release from the U.S. attorney for the Eastern […]
Fletcher tells lawmakers he wants to serve all Kentucky kids, avoid politics as ed commissioner
FRANKFORT — Robbie Fletcher, awaiting confirmation as Kentucky’s next education commissioner, told a Senate committee Friday that schools should be dedicated to serving all children and that he values strong teams and relationships.? Fletcher told the Senate Education Committee about his experience as an educator in his native Eastern Kentucky and his commitment to his […]
Billionaire TikTok investor, charter school advocate puts $8 million into Paul affiliated PAC
Jeff Yass, the Pennsylvania billionaire and major investor in the parent company of TikTok, contributed $8 million last month to a super PAC affiliated with U.S. Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky. The super PAC is called Protect Freedom PAC, and a report it filed with the FEC on Wednesday says Yass gave the $8 million […]
Democrats hope to force vote on abortion exceptions as session winds down
FRANKFORT — Democrats are hoping to force lawmakers to take a stand on loosening Kentucky’s near total ban on abortion before going home Monday. Sen. David Yates, D-Louisville, announced Thursday that he is filing a discharge petition for his Senate Bill 99, which would create exceptions in the abortion ban for rape and incest. He […]
Covington breaks ground on mixed-use development at former IRS site
Nearly two years ago, O’Rourke Wrecking crews busted a hole into the wall of the derelict Internal Revenue Service processing center, which had sat vacant since 2020. Today, the building’s demolition is complete. The former IRS site is now a barren 23-acre plot awaiting development. The city’s plan is to transform the site into a […]
‘We cannot hold on:’ Kentucky child care providers plead for more help from lawmakers?
More than 250 Kentucky child care providers responsible for 150,000 children across the state sent lawmakers a letter Tuesday pleading for more support, saying what’s been proposed in the state budget “is not enough” as their industry is “at risk of collapse.”? The letter asks lawmakers to pass a supplemental lifeline funding bill in the […]
Beshear lets school ‘guardians’ bill become law without his signature
Kentucky school districts will have the option of employing armed “guardians” to fill vacant law enforcement positions on campuses under a bill that became law Tuesday without Gov. Andy Beshear’s signature.? Senate Bill 2 is a Republican-backed measure that built upon a bipartisan school safety law that was passed in 2019 after a shooting at […]