News
Deaths of 2 Kentucky workers demolishing coal-prep plant bring $31,500 fine for safety violations
On a cool evening in late October, David Peyton heard a pop then a warning scream to get out. Within seconds two men were trapped under 11 stories of steel and concrete. Peyton ran to where Alvin Nees and Billy Joe “Bo” Daniels were trapped in the collapsed Pontiki/Excel coal preparation plant in Martin County. […]
Kentucky attorney general opposes syringe exchanges despite evidence of their efficacy
The leader of the agency that makes grants from the state’s opioid settlements declined to support funding for a syringe-exchange program, saying Attorney General Russell Coleman does not support such programs — which are considered a key tool for reducing harm to people who inject drugs. Kentucky Opioid Abatement Advisory Commission Director Chris Evans, who […]
Anti-abortion groups say Supreme Court’s mifepristone ruling won’t deter them
In the aftermath of the U.S. Supreme Court’s unanimous ruling Thursday to maintain current access to the abortion medication mifepristone, abortion-rights advocates and opponents vowed to continue their respective battles over the drug. Mifepristone is one of two drugs used to treat miscarriages and terminate a pregnancy during the first trimester, and is the most […]
Lexington Democrat will attempt to make Juneteenth a state holiday (again)
Kentucky Rep. George Brown, D-Lexington, says he will file legislation in 2025 to try and establish Juneteenth as an official state holiday.? Past efforts to do so have failed.? Juneteenth became a federal holiday in 2021, commemorating the day in 1865 when the last enslaved people in the United States learned they were free in […]
U.S. Supreme Court overturns ban on bump stocks used in Las Vegas mass shooting
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday struck down a rule enacted following a 2017 mass shooting in Las Vegas that defined a semiautomatic rifle equipped with a bump stock attachment as a machine gun, which is generally prohibited under federal law. The opinion, written by Justice Clarence Thomas, reduces the executive branch’s already-limited […]
Industry, clean power groups breathe a sigh of relief as Senate approves energy regulators?
Three nominees by President Joe Biden to serve on the nation’s top energy regulatory panel, which had risked losing a quorum, were approved this week by the U.S. Senate. The vote to approve the new members — two Democrats and a Republican — for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission was cheered by industry, renewable power […]
Trump claims ‘great unity’ after talks with congressional GOP
WASHINGTON — In his first visit to Capitol Hill since leaving office in January 2021, former President Donald J. Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee,?mapped campaign strategy with GOP lawmakers and projected party unity?ahead of the November elections. Trump said the meetings brought “great unity.” Surrounded by Republican senators who were smiling and applauding him […]
Controversial new rules for decision-making win final OK from University of Kentucky trustees
LEXINGTON —?University of Kentucky trustees gave final approval Friday to a new internal governance structure that faculty say strips them of power over academic decisions.? The Board of Trustees reviewed the new shared governance proposal, backed by President Eli Capilouto, during its Friday meeting, voting 19-1 in favor of the changes.? The lone nay vote […]
Stuck in idle: Kentucky Speedway falls short of once high hopes 4 years after last NASCAR race
SPARTA — By the end of the year, the owners of Kentucky Speedway will have paid Gallatin County more than $900,000 for tickets never sold to races never run. NASCAR abandoned the racetrack following the 2020 Quaker State 400, but a 20-year PILOT agreement (Payments In Lieu Of Taxes) obligates Speedway Motorsports Inc. to two […]
U.S. Senate Republicans reject Democrats’ bill on IVF protections
WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Democrats’ attempts to bolster reproductive rights failed again Thursday when Republicans blocked a bill guaranteeing access to in vitro fertilization from moving forward. The 48-47 procedural vote came just one day after Republicans tried unsuccessfully to pass their own IVF access bill and one week after GOP senators prevented legislation from […]
Colorectal cancer deaths in Appalachian Kentucky have declined, study finds
Deaths from colorectal cancer in Appalachian Kentucky declined from 1999 to 2020, but far less than the rate of decline in the rest of the nation.? That’s the upshot of a University of Kentucky study analyzing death data. It found that in the 54 Kentucky counties served by the Appalachian Regional Commission, the mortality rate […]
Memorial Day storms death total updated
The storms that swept through Kentucky over Memorial Day weekend killed at least 6 people, Gov. Andy Beshear said Thursday.? The previous known death total was 5. The sixth death was a 99-year-old woman in Laurel County, Beshear said.? Previous deaths were reported in Hopkins, Caldwell, Hardin, Mercer and Jefferson Counties.? The late May storms […]