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Farm bill progress stalled Thursday as the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee failed to move forward its version of the omnibus legislation due to a conflict over when states will shoulder a share of federal nutrition assistance costs. While the bill included bipartisan language from more than 100 bills, Democrats were unwilling to budge on their […]
The Trump administration appears poised to gut the central policies that shape Head Start, a popular and long-established early childhood education program that serves the country’s neediest children. The Department of Health and Human Services announced the changes Thursday. The federal Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs posted a notice that it intends to “significantly reduce regulatory […]
U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell says he has been discharged from a rehabilitation program after a seven-week absence from the Senate. McConnell, 84, was hospitalized in June and said on July 12 he would enter a rehabilitation center. “Earlier today, I was discharged from the rehabilitation center to continue my recovery at home. Elaine and I […]
FANCY FARM, Ky. – The three-day political cavalcade that ends at the Fancy Farm Picnic was less about this year than next year. Yes, the picnic’s political speaking featured the first faceoff of candidates to succeed retiring Sen. Mitch McConnell, and they had vigorous exchanges – with each other and the largely Republican crowd stoked […]
Gov. Andy Beshear is expanding Kentucky’s “Pre-K for All” pilot program again — this time to his dad’s hometown of Dawson Springs. About 160 children will be enrolled through the Dawson Springs Independent School District, Beshear announced Thursday. “This is a town that’s been through a lot. It’s been through a level of heartbreak that’s […]
Democratic Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear says he’s signing an executive order to protect Kentuckians “against any harmful impacts from potential data centers,” directing the state utility regulator and environmental protection officials to take specific actions on data centers. During a Thursday press conference, Beshear said economic wins “can never come at the cost of the […]
WASHINGTON — The Department of Health and Human Services plans to award a $150 million contract to a small Texas firm — with no specialty in immigration law and run by a former Trump official — to provide legal services to tens of thousands of unaccompanied immigrant children, according to a Wednesday pre-published notice in […]
When Rob Stone finished high school in Bethesda, Maryland, in 2018, he was asked to identify three goals for his life. Stone loves art and baseball. He’s cheerful, sports a cheeky mustache, and he’s always up for an adventure. Stone has a rare genetic movement disorder, dystonia-parkinsonism, that limits his mobility and speech. Setting specific […]
On Wednesday, Nate Morris jumped through one of the last hoops to become the next U.S. Ambassador to Colombia. Morris answered questions from the Senate Foreign Relations committee, in preparation for a committee vote that will send his nomination to the full Senate. Morris is a native Kentuckian, a successful businessman, and a popular figure […]
U.S. Rep. James Comer appears to be the favorite to win the Republican nomination in next year’s Kentucky governor race before he’s even announced he’s running. Meanwhile, Democrats must decide between Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman and former Democratic House leader Rocky Adkins.
U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. traveled to Lexington on Wednesday to announce his office is firing a Kentucky organ donation organization accused of pursuing critically ill patients for their organs. Kennedy said the decision to decertify the nonprofit was reached after numerous reviews. “Federal reviewers found serious deficiencies in nearly […]
LEXINGTON — Kentucky is still not building nearly enough homes across all incomes, but especially for lower-income people, to bridge the state’s large housing supply gap that’s burdening some Kentuckians with severe housing costs, according to a state housing executive. Kentucky would need to build more housing at a higher rate than currently just to […]
This story was published through the Appalachian News Exchange, a regional media collaboration. Respiratory therapist Marcy Freeman doesn’t need a research study to confirm for her a return to the dark days of coal mining. She finds evidence in a stack of more than 150 funeral programs, all for former patients at her pulmonary rehabilitation […]
In the late summer of 1974 somebody set fire to the Mountain Eagle in Whitesburg. The blaze took the offices, the files, the bound archives — most of the institutional memory of Letcher County that Tom and Pat Gish had been accumulating since they bought the paper in 1956 and changed its masthead from “A […]
The mayor of Kentucky’s largest city is calling on city council members to pass a temporary ban or moratorium on data center construction within the city while the local government mulls over potential regulations restricting the siting and impacts of large data centers. In a Tuesday afternoon press conference, Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg said that […]
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear joined a coalition of Democratic state officials in suing to block the Trump administration from getting access to sensitive data of families receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) benefits. Filed in federal court in Washington, D.C., the lawsuit said that the Administration for Children and Families had issued a notice […]
New research — which Kentucky participated in as a trial site — shows a combination of cannabidiol (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) can help late-stage dementia patients feel less agitation. Dr. Greg Jicha, the director of clinical trials at the University of Kentucky’s Sanders-Brown Center on Aging, said this combination, given to patients all over the […]
Character. The word seems antique in these rancorous times, as rare as truth. As rare as objectivity and nuance in our political discourse. I recently came across Thomas Jefferson’s reminiscence of his fellow Virginian and nation-builder, George Washington: “I think I knew General Washington intimately and thoroughly; and were I called on to delineate his […]
A construction contractor says a hyperscale data center developer asked him to continue to clear Bell County land where a data center is planned, despite a two-year temporary ban on data center construction passed by the county government. Lexington-based Murray Industries wants to use land with leftover electrical infrastructure for coal mining along the Bell-Knox […]
This article was produced for ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network in partnership with the Lexington Herald-Leader. By the end of 2020, Kentucky’s newly elected Gov. Andy Beshear had one goal above all others: Keep people alive. The state was battling two merciless threats. COVID-19 was killing hundreds of people each month, and deadly drug overdoses were among […]
WASHINGTON — U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro moved Friday to dismiss charges against a former Olympian canoeist alleged to have damaged part of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. Pirro had charged David Hearn, of Bethesda, Maryland, with destruction of property of more than $1,000 for allegedly vandalizing the newly refinished Lincoln […]
States will have to meet a Jan. 1 deadline to implement new Medicaid work requirements, after a federal judge denied 25 Democratic-led states’ request to pause implementation of the rule. The broad tax and spending law President Donald Trump signed last summer, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, requires states that have expanded Medicaid to […]
Paducah Mayor George Bray calls the former Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant in McCracken County the ideal site for a hyperscale data center. When the plant was enriching uranium, initially for the nation’s stockpile of nuclear weapons and then for nuclear power plant fuel, it had the ability to use over 3 gigawatts of power and […]
As politicians in Washington D.C. and Dr. Anthony Fauci butted heads over the latter’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, a nonpartisan commission — which includes a former Kentucky governor — is pushing for better relationships between elected and public health officials. The “Good Health is Good Governance” toolkit, released in July, challenges leaders to commit […]
WASHINGTON — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is not planning an aggressive campaign at voting sites during the upcoming midterm elections, the Department of Homeland Security said Thursday in response to a States Newsroom inquiry about a letter from U.S. Senate Democrats voicing concerns about armed federal agents at polling places. ICE, an agency within […]
Editor’s Note: One of Kentucky’s most familiar faces is leaving our television screens. Renee Shaw has announced she is retiring from Kentucky Educational Television, where for the past 29 years she has covered innumerable stories, anchored thousands of shows, interviewed hundreds of people, and overall, brought Kentucky’s public policy issues into our homes and consciousness. […]
FANCY FARM — After fueling speculation about a run for governor, Republican Secretary of State Michael Adams said he wouldn’t step into the ring next year and instead was backing U.S. Rep. James Comer. Ahead of the annual Fancy Farm Picnic, Adams told the Lexington Herald-Leader he was thinking about launching a campaign for governor at […]
A woman who was detained by federal immigration agents at the Louisville airport a couple of weeks ago has been released from custody Friday. A federal judge ordered the release of Sarafinah Bukirwa and her family paid her bond, according to media reports. Earlier this week, Bukirwa’s brother, Isaac Kabunga, appeared with Democratic U.S. Rep. […]
I grew up in Bell County, which means I grew up hearing two promises. The first was jobs. The second was that whatever created those jobs would not hurt anybody. We got pretty good at believing the first one. The second one, not so much. So when hundreds of people packed the old courthouse in […]
A state economic development board voted Thursday to give state tax refunds to an international renewable energy company looking to invest $307 million to build a 188-megawatt solar installation in Fleming County. The Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority awards most financial incentives including grants, tax breaks and more to companies through the Cabinet for Economic […]
Attorneys for the couple denied a marriage license by former Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis more than a decade ago now allege she lied about her assets to avoid dishing out the roughly $570,000 she owes to them and to their attorneys. According to July court documents, filed in the U.S. District Court, Davis said […]
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear will go on a tour starting in September to promote his upcoming book, “Go and Do Likewise.” Beshear, a Democrat who is seen as a possible candidate for the 2028 presidential election, will make stops in Kentucky as well as a couple of states with early primaries — New Hampshire and Michigan. […]
More than 9,000 children in foster care had to temporarily stay in hotels, office buildings and other potentially unsafe settings when states couldn’t find suitable places for them, according to a new federal audit. The inspector general’s office of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services found that states had an especially difficult time […]
A brother of a woman detained by federal immigration agents in Louisville said she has been denied proper medical care for sickle cell anemia while being held in a Kentucky jail. Sarafinah Bukirwa, 31, was on her way to a sickle cell anemia conference when her brother, Isaac Kabunga, dropped her off at the Louisville […]
The auction of items from one of the most widely known Kentuckians — Colonel Harland Sanders — generated nearly $300,000 in sales. More than 500 bidders, both online and in person at the Claudia Sanders Dinner House in Shelbyville, participated in the Tuesday auction according to a press release from the auction house. Sanders founded […]
On the first Saturday in August, thousands of political spectators flock to a far West Kentucky town with a population of about 300 people. They are always ready to loudly cheer, boo and wave campaign signs during a church picnic that annually brings together Kentucky Republicans and Democrats vying for office. The Fancy Farm Picnic, a barbecue fundraiser for the St. Jerome Catholic Church in Graves County, is where Kentucky politicians go if they want to get a boost ahead of an upcoming election — whether they are on stage flinging zingers at their opponents or in the crowd making connections with party faithful and trying to get a slice of the media attention.
In 49 states, the number of people enrolled in Obamacare plans has declined since Congress made coverage more expensive by allowing federal subsidies to expire at the end of last year. The lone exception was New Mexico, the only state that has used its own money to fully replace the expired aid, according to a […]
WASHINGTON — Dr. Anthony Fauci, one of the nation’s most visible public health officials during the coronavirus pandemic, declined to answer questions from a U.S. Senate committee in a tense and confrontational hearing Wednesday, citing his Fifth Amendment rights. Fauci said during a brief opening statement he believed Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman […]
As the Kentucky Lantern covered, legislation in the last legislative session mandated the creation of a new Center for American Civics at the University of Kentucky. Though the legislation itself is somewhat opaque about its intentions, it clearly aimed to set up a full academic unit in a style increasingly familiar across the United States. […]
More than $100 billion in private investment will go to build a massive hyperscale data center along with new natural gas-fired power plants at the former Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant in McCracken County, the U.S. Department of Energy announced Wednesday. The public-private partnership – including data center developer Brookfield, energy company NextEra Energy and local […]
Kentucky Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear wrote in a Monday letter to Republican U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell and his staff that the senator should “provide proof of your capacity to serve, or resign.” The letter from the governor came after McConnell’s office shared a Monday statement from the senator and another photo of him with his […]
Kentucky’s lone Democratic congressman, U.S. Rep. Morgan McGarvey, joined two of his House colleagues to get a closer look at a Northern Kentucky jail holding federal immigration detainees Monday. Speaking to reporters in Louisville Tuesday morning, McGarvey said the visit to the facility “as part of our ongoing and continuing oversight of what ICE is […]
A hearing on whether former Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin and his ex-wife, Glenna, are required to support their estranged son, Jonah Bevin, got underway Tuesday without Matt Bevin. Bevin failed to show up for the hearing despite an order from Jefferson Family Court Judge Angela Johnson that he attend in person. Bevin already is subject […]
The Trump administration on Monday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to halt a district court ruling that blocked President Donald Trump’s broad March 31 executive order restricting vote-by-mail. The move came just two days after a federal appeals court denied the administration’s request to resume the controversial plan, which would force significant limits and voter […]
A Lowcountry aluminum plant is back to running at full capacity for the first time in over a decade, leaders announced Monday. Century Aluminum’s Mt. Holly smelter in Berkeley County spent about $50 million to restart an idle portion of the plant, adding back 150 jobs, said company CEO Jess Gary during a Monday ribbon-cutting […]
Across Kentucky, a troubling pattern is emerging. Whether in healthcare, education, or non-profit organizations, board decisions are increasingly being questioned — not simply because difficult decisions are being made, but because stakeholders are asking how those decisions are being made. Recent events involving boards governing Fayette County Public Schools, the University of Kentucky, and the […]
Amid his prolonged absence from the U.S. Senate after he was hospitalized last month, Kentucky Republican U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell said he will not attend the Fancy Farm Picnic this weekend.
Kentucky Senate President Robert Stivers said he will not launch a 2027 bid for governor. In a Monday morning statement, the Manchester Republican said he was “deeply grateful for the encouragement and confidence so many Kentuckians have shown by asking me to consider running for governor in 2027.” “After thoughtful discussions with my family, friends […]
University of Kentucky scientists have discovered the cause of sleep loss in patients with Alzheimer’s disease and how to help restore hours of rest. They originally set out to see how sleep loss worsened over the course of the disease, believing Alzheimer’s patients lost sleep because their neurons were dying or because of amyloid plaques, […]
FRANKFORT – Ruth Day contributed another $15,000 to the Kentucky Democratic Party on June 16, ten days before Gov. Andy Beshear appointed her to the University of Kentucky Board of Trustees, according to a report filed by the KDP this week with the Federal Election Commission. That brings the total contributed by Day (and her […]
This column first appeared in the Northern Kentucky Tribune, which makes it available to other publications with appropriate credit. FRANKFORT – The Kentucky Democratic Party is having a one-on-one primary election for governor, its first in more than 50 years. Those primaries were usually contests between two factions, one moderately liberal, the other more conservative. […]
Days after launching his bid for governor, Democrat Rocky Adkins will join the lineup of speakers at the upcoming Fancy Farm Picnic, a Kentucky political tradition. Meanwhile, the state’s top Democrat, Gov. Andy Beshear declined to speak this year. Organizers announced the latest lineup Friday evening. The annual barbecue picnic, a fundraiser for the St. […]
After school cellphone bans passed many statehouses with bipartisan support in recent legislative sessions, state lawmakers are turning to legislation governing how long students should spend looking at screens. This year, four states passed laws restricting or regulating screen time for students from childcare through fifth grade. Iowa capped digital instruction at 60 minutes per […]
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Thursday announced the addition of Republican governors, legislators, utility services and tech companies into his voluntary pledge aimed at keeping data center construction and operation costs off the shoulders of American consumers. The Ratepayer Protection Pledge, first signed by the president in March, requires companies that build and use data […]
Sharon Kulovsek and her husband moved to the Rowan County woods to be closer to nature and family. What she didn’t expect was to have a gas company representative tell her a planned 30-inch diameter pipeline would run through her yard. The proposed pipeline route, cutting across their front yard, wasn’t disclosed when they bought […]
A federal judge has dismissed a case from the U.S. Department of Justice against Kentucky election officials that sought to gain access to voter registration data, including sensitive information such as driver’s license and Social Security numbers. In an opinion released Thursday, District Judge Claria Horn Boom cited a recent ruling regarding Michigan voter data […]
Like two sides of a coin imprinted with the nation’s motto, “e pluribus unum” — out of many, one — America’s political factions are cast in opposition, but they are intrinsically bound together as parts of a larger whole. From the beginning, the United States has aspired to build a more perfect union. When our founders […]
The Trump administration has a new plan for teenagers learning about pregnancy: Beginning this summer, it will steer millions of dollars toward organizations that focus on anatomy, fertility tracking, hormonal production and “reproductive goals counseling.” The plan will also emphasize abstinence from sex and the importance of marriage. In doing so, it will pivot away […]
In the 1930s, as Harlan County, Kentucky, erupted into one of the most violent labor conflicts in American history, a quiet reality was unfolding two hundred miles to the west. In Crittenden County, men went into the ground every morning to dig fluorspar—a mineral essential to building the steel for Allied ships, the aluminum for […]
A federal judge denied a motion to temporarily prevent a federal judge from starting as the next dean of the University of Kentucky College of Law. Last week, professor Ramsi Woodcock filed a lawsuit against the incoming dean, Judge Gregory Van Tatenhove, as well as UK President Eli Capilouto, Provost Robert DiPaola and the university. […]
“Today is not a magic wand. It’s not a magic bullet."
U.S. Representative Andy Barr, R-KY, is sponsoring a bipartisan effort, backed by Kentucky’s hemp industry, to regulate intoxicating hemp-derived products ahead of an effective ban of such products spearheaded by Kentucky’s senior U.S. Senator, Mitch McConnell. The Lawful Hemp Protection Act would create a regulatory framework for consumable hemp products that have tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, […]
More than 200 American mayors are calling on the federal government to reverse changes that will cost states billions and push millions of people off the food stamp program. This week, the United States Conference of Mayors asked the U.S. Senate’s agriculture committee to reconsider the deep cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or […]
A lot of people are asking Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear to “do something” about U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell’s absence from the Senate. Former Illinois Republican congressman turned political commentator Adam Kinzinger said on Threads Tuesday: “I think the Governor of Kentucky has every right and responsibility to either see Mitch or declare the seat vacant.” […]
An international company wants to build a hyperscale data center — consuming the equivalent of more than 10% of the electricity produced in the state of Kentucky during the summer — at the site of the former site of the AK Steel mill in Eastern Kentucky. The data center developer Rubix Data Centers is a […]
Immigration arrests reached 1,593 per day in early July in a new push to detain and deport immigrants that has led to deaths in traffic stops. There were more than 43,000 arrests in June, the highest recorded by the Trump administration, according to statistics released Monday by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement reflecting new bookings […]
Courtney Hamby and her husband spend close to $6,000 per year for their daughter Ellie’s cheer and tumbling classes, competition fees and uniforms. That doesn’t include their travel expenses for multiple out-of-town competitions, including hotel rooms, gas, meals, and sometimes even flights. “This should be something that everyone gets to play, and it shouldn’t be […]
A 4% cut may sound small. In a state budget, it may look like fiscal discipline. But Kentucky’s Medicaid reimbursement cut is the kind of decision that can save money on paper while costing taxpayers more in real life. The Kentucky Department for Medicaid Services notified providers in June that it would implement a 4% […]
Rocky Adkins, a former Democratic leader in the Kentucky House and senior advisor to Gov. Andy Beshear from Eastern Kentucky, is officially running for governor. His campaign issued a press release Tuesday morning and released a video on social media. It opens with boxers fighting in a ring and then moves to Adkins speaking over […]
Kentuckians are feeling the strain as residential energy bills sky-rocket and historic heat waves grip the region. Families need solutions that will lower energy burdens and monthly costs. For that reason, Sierra Club Kentucky – alongside six other community advocacy organizations – submitted a letter to the state’s Public Service Commission (PSC) asking that the […]
WASHINGTON — A top U.S. Food and Drug Administration official said Monday that a false positive report for the parasite cyclospora from a Taylor Farms iceberg lettuce sample does not change the basis for an ongoing agency investigation. FDA had announced Sunday the false positive on a Taylor Farms lettuce sample, amid an outbreak of cyclosporiasis […]
The Trump administration is removing protections from the key places where endangered species live, saying states can keep the areas safe. But experts say states aren’t equipped for the task. Earlier this month, the Trump administration finalized a major change to the Endangered Species Act, rolling back protections for the forests, wetlands, deserts and other […]
Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear appointed his former senior adviser, Rocky Adkins, to the Kentucky State Fair Board, which is embroiled in controversy after the governor gained control of the board following a recent Kentucky Supreme Court opinion. Adkins, who left Beshear’s administration earlier this month amid speculation that he will run for governor in 2027, […]
Renee Shaw, a notable Kentucky journalist who has worked at KET for 29 years, will retire from the state’s public television network at the end of July. Shaw, the director of Public Affairs and moderator at KET, hosts Kentucky Edition weekly and Kentucky Tonight, the network’s public policy discussion series. Ahead of elections, she moderates […]
In 1996, the Cigarette Papers was published, revealing how Kentucky’s Tobacco and Health Research Institute at the University of Kentucky presented itself as an independent arm of a publicly funded university, but in fact it was run by tobacco manufacturers and their highly paid lawyers. Although the purported goals of the institute were to conduct […]
A recent U.S. Supreme Court decision makes it easier for political parties to put their stamp on the most important campaigns, just as the struggle heats up for control of Congress in the midterm elections. Simply put, the ruling “gives the parties more money to spend,” said David Kolker, senior counsel at the nonpartisan Campaign […]
An effort by the Mercer County city of Burgin to annex land into its city limits for a potential data center has embroiled the small community in a contentious debate over the impacts of such a project, something that’s also raising strong concerns from local leaders of the county seat. People packed inside the Burgin […]
Families asked that leaders find a way to work together and reverse the cut.
WASHINGTON — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Friday that public health officials have linked the ongoing outbreak of cyclosporiasis in five states to shredded iceberg lettuce from Taco Bell restaurants. The fast food chain wrote in a statement that it plans to remove the “potentially impacted lettuce” from its “supply chain nationwide […]
The feckless response of American elites to President Donald Trump’s authoritarian attempt the past decade has often been a failure of imagination: Oh, surely he’ll leave office after he loses. Oh, his immigration officers surely won’t roam our streets racially profiling people and killing our neighbors. Brazenness is a key tool of tyrants, both personal […]
The nation’s election infrastructure is vulnerable to cyberattacks by foreign actors, President Donald Trump said during a primetime address Thursday night, citing a batch of documents he declassified — but providing no proof broad interference actually occurred or affected an election outcome. Democrats and advocates quickly criticized the remarks as another attempt by Trump to give […]
Addiction Recovery Care, once Kentucky’s largest provider of addiction services, has reached a settlement with the federal government over “billing issues,” the Louisa, KY-based company said in a July 16 news release. It also announced it has reached a separate settlement with a finance company that had accused ARC of fraud. “The resolution of these […]
The tiniest menace of summer doesn’t care if you’re hiking through the woods, walking the dog or pulling weeds in your backyard. It just wants a ride and a meal. As ticks spread into new parts of the country and emergency room visits for tick bites climb higher than usual, states are scrambling to monitor […]
Gov. Andy Beshear criticized the $3.2 million payout to retiring University of Kentucky Athletics Director Mitch Barnhart on Thursday, stating his disapproval despite the fact the funds were privately raised. “Yes, $3 million that could otherwise go to helping students, to better paying faculty, to doing research that could cure this disease that’s afflicting one […]
FRANKFORT – Two big Andy Beshear supporters from outside Kentucky provided the lion’s share of the money donated to Beshear’s super PAC between April 1 and June 30. Beshear’s super PAC is called In This Together PAC Inc., and a report it filed Wednesday with the Internal Revenue Service shows: Ashish Patel, an investor from […]
Democratic socialism is on the rise in some blue states, but socialists are still rare in ruby red Republican Kentucky. That wasn’t always so. Six-score years ago, Louisville hosted the Christian Socialist Fellowship movement’s first national convention. The movement even spread to the Jackson Purchase, arguably Kentucky’s Trumpiest territory today. The CSF aimed “to perfect […]
The judge will need to rule on Kentucky’s motion to dismiss the case.
Commentary author Al Cross writes, Sen. Mitch McConnell's taciturn approach caused turmoil for him and the country when he went four weeks without explaining why he was hospitalized. And it gave Gov. Andy Beshear an opening to burnish his potential-president profile.
The 2026 state fair is August 20-30.
As federal officials consider whether to reclassify marijuana under federal drug law, a new study has found that more American teenagers seeking treatment for cannabis use disorder, known as CUD, are facing longer wait times before receiving care. The study, published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, analyzed national data from more than 124,000 […]
The attorney for former London Mayor Randall Weddle says that in the spring of 2023 the chief fundraiser for Gov. Andy Beshear's reelection campaign "destroyed vital evidence" in a pending criminal case against Weddle for making excess campaign contributions to Beshear.
The full-day programs are set to begin in the 2026-2027 school year.
A University of Kentucky law professor has filed a federal lawsuit to prevent a federal judge from becoming the next dean of the UK College of Law.
As state and federal officials work to identify the source of the recent outbreak of the intestinal illness cyclosporiasis, Michigan health officials have identified lettuces or salad greens as one potential culprit. “Early information has shown lettuce as a common product that regularly comes up during the investigation,” said Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, chief medical executive […]
A teenager charged with the same crime can face dramatically different consequences depending on where they live. In one state, a young person accused of a serious offense may be sent to a juvenile facility focused on treatment and rehabilitation. In another, they could face adult criminal proceedings, a permanent record and the possibility of […]
Consumers are unlikely to see any relief in gas and electric bills as utilities proposed more than $18 billion in rate hikes across the country over the first half of the year. The consumer advocacy group PowerLines reported that utilities asked regulators for a record $9.2 billion in cumulative rate increases during the second quarter […]
Shopping for a farm in Scott County, Dr. William “Chip” Richardson, a Georgetown ophthalmologist, found one with a feature that grabbed his attention. “There was this really old building,” said Richardson, who discovered that the stone structure was all that remained of a Native American school established for members of the Choctaw Nation in Kentucky […]
Rocky Adkins, a former Kentucky Democratic House floor leader, has left his post with Gov. Andy Beshear’s administration.
Rocky Adkins, a former Kentucky Democratic House floor leader, has left his post with Gov. Andy Beshear’s administration.
A few Kentucky politicians — mostly Republicans — have confirmed they will be speaking at this year’s Fancy Farm Picnic next month.
A coalition of 23 state governors and the governor of Guam, all Democrats, submitted a joint comment to the U.S. Office of Management and Budget on Monday objecting to a proposed rule that would drastically change the federal grantmaking process, saying it threatens programs related to maternal health and reproductive care. The public comment period […]
"You don't get to just say that we don't have the right to exist here."
For Ohio County Judge-Executive David Johnston, passing a resolution last year urging an increase in black lung disability benefits was a matter of principle. The last major coal mine in Ohio County, a part of the Western Kentucky Coal Field region, closed years ago. But he said the former miners who have coal workers’ pneumoconiosis, […]
Kentucky U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell said in a Sunday statement he fell before he was hospitalized last month and he has moved from being a hospital patient to “a rehabilitation center where I’ll keep regaining my strength.” “My doctors have confirmed that I didn’t break any bones or suffer a concussion. I didn’t have a […]
WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham died on Saturday night of a “brief and sudden illness,” the South Carolina Republican’s office announced early Sunday. “Senator Graham’s family appreciates prayers at this time and asks for privacy during this incredibly difficult period,” the statement added. Graham, who turned 71 on Thursday, was a close ally of President […]
The Trump administration is continuing its pushback against state artificial intelligence laws that it views as ideologically biased, proposing a new Federal Trade Commission policy. The proposed policy statement, which is open for public comment through July 31, would affect how the FTC regulates AI companies. The agency said it’s meant to address concerns that […]
Embattled London Mayor Randall Weddle is resigning from office after an appeals court reaffirmed the city council’s 2025 decision to remove him from his post.
Today "ideology is put before kids' issues.”
The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s guidelines to states on how to request funding under counterterrorism grant programs include potentially illegal demands related to election administration, Democrats on the U.S. House Homeland Security Committee said Thursday. The Department of Homeland Security, which includes FEMA, sent states last month notices of available federal funding for non-disaster grants […]
Former University of Kentucky Athletics Director Mitch Barnhart is set to move to a part-time role with the university that includes a schedule for $3.06 million in severance payments.
Upcoming funding shifts in the federal food stamp program are poised to cost states billions of dollars, heightening fears that more Americans will lose access to the nation’s largest food assistance program. Last year’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act made major changes to the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program, or SNAP, including new eligibility and work […]
Democratic U.S. Rep. Morgan McGarvey of Louisville is urging the city’s investor-owned electric utility to ensure that electricity ratepayers don’t bear the costs of hyperscale data centers, saying he’s opposed to data center construction in the city. McGarvey in a Thursday letter to John Crockett, the president of Louisville Gas and Electric and Kentucky Utilities, […]
As U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell’s hospitalization nears one month, people in his home state of Kentucky are raising questions about the seven-term senator’s condition and his fitness to serve.
“We are helping to make Kentuckians whole."
Republicans on a legislative committee on Wednesday deferred review of a contract with the interim president and CEO of the Kentucky State Fair who was installed by Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear’s latest appointees to the fair board last week.
Kentucky Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear is asking Republican U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell to provide an update on his health.
A quarter millennia after its founding, the United States faces a stark choice that will define its future. In the years ahead, the country can continue to follow the path blazed by President Donald Trump, who is attempting to bring states under the authority of a more powerful federal government led by him. Or it […]
A new analysis of state road paving contracts by a free market think tank shows that some asphalt companies receive a large share of single-bid contracts from the state, a practice the think tank argues raises costs for taxpayers because of the lack of competition for road projects. The analysis released Tuesday by the Kentucky […]
Gov. Andy Beshear has announced two more people died from severe flooding that swept through Kentucky last week.
Ever since Kentucky lawmakers approved statewide sales tax breaks for hyperscale data centers, developers are eyeing the state as a place to build these potentially massive, electricity-intensive operations. The state has long been home to smaller data centers that power various online services such as digital cloud storage. But with the surge of billions of […]
Almost 20 years ago, Kentucky native Bill Bishop wrote “The Big Sort,” a very prescient book that provided an analysis of how Americans were organizing their lives according to their political identities. They were choosing where to live, work, and play based on their desire to be among people who shared their political philosophy. As […]
“Especially during points of isolation, kids were able to use social media as a means to stay connected to their friends and their peers, which is really important. We want that connectivity."
As usual, political shenanigans around education are a bipartisan game, fun for everyone except those most affected, our kids, be they little tykes or college students. The past couple of weeks in Kentucky are nothing new. Consider the following: -Auditor Allison Ball announced her completed audit of the Jefferson County Public Schools, and I could […]
FRANKFORT – Gov. Andy Beshear has filled two vacancies on the University of Kentucky Board of Trustees with longtime supporters as he works to exercise more control over the direction of the state’s flagship university. In an executive order filed June 26 – and effective July 1 – Beshear appointed Ruth Cecelia Day as an […]
The 250th anniversary of our nation’s independence is a time to consider what it means to be patriotic. Immigration has always been part of our country’s history, and that history is filled with moving stories about why immigrants chose to move to this country. Like many Kentuckians living in an increasingly diverse state these days, […]
Kentucky’s utility regulator has launched an investigation into concerns it has about “troubling” managerial and planning practices at investor-owned electric utility Kentucky Power. The Kentucky Public Service Commission wrote in a Thursday morning order that it was opening an investigation into the Eastern Kentucky utility following years of concerns the regulator and the Kentucky attorney […]
The Kentucky Democrat who is hoping to succeed Republican U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell says that Kentuckians “deserve a clear and honest answer about their senator’s condition.”
At least 25 Kentuckians were killed by an intimate partner in 2025.
After the Kentucky Supreme Court ruled that Gov. Andy Beshear should have appointment power over the State Fair Board, the board removed the leader of the organization that oversees the fair.
While Republicans have been gaining more members through Kentucky voter registration in the last few years, Democrats still hold the registration edge in some Kentucky counties.
SEVENTY SIX, Ky. – If the increasing turmoil in Washington makes you worry about our country’s future as we prepare to mark the 250th anniversary of its independence, come with me to Seventy Six. The derivation of this place’s name has been lost to history, but it seems safe to conclude that it was inspired […]
Members of the U.S. House of Representatives introduced a bill this week that, if made law, would increase black lung disability payments for coal miners and their families and tie the stipends to inflation rates moving forward. Despite the outsized impact black lung has had on miners in West Virginia, neither of the state’s U.S. […]
Democrats are seizing the mantle of states’ rights to oppose the agenda of President Donald Trump, who has sought to reset Washington’s relationship with the states. While the party out of federal power has always pushed its agenda in statehouses, Democrats across the country have recently demanded more autonomy for governors and state lawmakers. Liberals, […]
Bob Rouse, 68, of Midway is a loyal reader of The Woodford Sun. The Versailles-based newspaper means a lot to him: With it, he has been able to keep up with hometown events like school board and other governmental actions, community activities, scores from games of the high school’s Yellowjackets, church milestones and obituaries. “I […]
Gov. Andy Beshear has a clear message on data centers: Not one penny of Kentuckians’ electric bills should rise because of them. Any data center that wants to locate in Kentucky must pay for 100% of its own energy, including any new generation it requires. Companies that can’t meet that standard, he says, aren’t welcome. […]
It's also expanding its shelter, advocacy and other services.
The nation’s largest electricity grid — which includes Maryland, Washington D.C, and a dozen other states — received a green light from the Trump administration on Tuesday to require data centers and other large customers to turn on back-up generators during this week’s heatwave. The order, signed by U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, allows […]
State Medicaid agencies are concerned that many sick and disabled enrollees will lose their coverage because the Trump administration is narrowing the definition of who is “medically frail” enough to get an exemption from new work requirements. Under the tax and spending law President Donald Trump signed a year ago, states that have expanded Medicaid […]
LOUISVILLE — Jefferson County Clerk David Yates says “a clerical error by a former employee” prevented eight voters from casting a ballot in the 44th House District during Kentucky’s May primary. In that race, incumbent Rep. Beverly Chester-Burton, D-Shively, lost by five votes to Democratic challenger Kenya Wade. No recanvass was requested. Yates wrote in […]
When the Kentucky General Assembly could not reconcile the House and Senate versions of Senate Bill 4 — a measure best known for restructuring the Jefferson and Fayette county school boards — its free conference committee added something neither chamber had debated: a Center for American Civics at the University of Kentucky. UK never asked […]
Republican Kentucky Auditor Allison Ball’s office has released findings from its special examination of Jefferson County Public Schools, including the district “lacks a current and cohesive plan that outlines district priorities and goals.”
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday kept in place state laws banning transgender athletes from participating on women’s and girls’ sports teams. The decision stems from challenges to bans in Idaho and West Virginia and marks a major setback for transgender rights across the country. The opinion also came as President Donald Trump’s administration has pursued a broad anti-trans agenda that […]
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court Tuesday struck down President Donald Trump’s attempt to redefine the constitutional right to birthright citizenship. In the decision, a majority of the justices upheld the country’s long understanding of automatic citizenship by birth on American soil, regardless of the immigration status of a newborn’s parents. The majority opinion, written by […]
Following a round of severe thunderstorms across the state, Kentuckians are now being warned to watch out for high temperatures.
A century ago, in 1926, Kentucky lawmakers adopted “the native redbird, commonly known as the Kentucky cardinal… [as] the official state bird of Kentucky (KRS 2.080).” In doing so, Kentucky pioneered environmental stewardship, becoming the first US state to formally adopt a state bird. While I write today to celebrate a century of the native […]
A coalition of consumer advocacy, environmental and renewable energy groups is calling on Kentucky’s utility regulator to study various aspects of utility affordability for ratepayers, including the potential costs of data centers and fossil fuels. In a letter dated Sunday, the groups are asking the Kentucky Public Service Commission to investigate “the drivers of rising […]
A Kentucky judicial watchdog group says it is concerned about Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear’s involvement in the upcoming Court of Appeals election. The Kentucky Judicial Campaign Conduct Committee said in a Saturday statement that Beshear has been fundraising for Court of Appeals Judge Will Moynahan, who is currently facing Fayette Circuit Court Judge Lucy VanMeter. […]
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday that states can count mail-in ballots that arrive after Election Day, a blow to the Trump administration and some Republican states that had urged the justices to require all ballots to arrive by the close of polls. In a 5-4 decision, the court found that federal law does not prevent […]
Two of the three people who died in weekend floods in Madison County have been identified. According to the Madison County Coroner, John Powell, 57, drowned after his basement apartment flooded. Garnett Isbell, 73, died after his car was swept off the highway on Page Creek Road in Richmond in a presumed drowning. The third […]
The Federal Communications Commission has approved new rules designed to improve the reliability of Next Generation 911 systems as states continue replacing decades-old emergency call infrastructure with internet-based networks. The rules require companies that operate critical parts of Next Generation 911 systems, known as NG911, to adopt reliability and redundancy measures intended to reduce service […]
Homicides decreased from 582 in 2024 to 491 in 2025.
In 1947, Wendell and Edith Foster were determined to support their daughter, Louise, and seven other children in Owensboro, all of whom had disabilities. This was not the norm, nor was it popular, but it was their mission. Seventy-nine years later, Wendell Foster remains a nonprofit with that same mission: empower people with disabilities. It […]
Farmer LeTicia Marshall grew up helping her grandparents grow tobacco on 40 acres in Metcalf County. She has fond memories of riding the setter. After becoming a mother, Marshall began gardening as a way to ground herself. That practice grew into a small urban farm in Jefferson County and her life’s work of advocating for […]
Gov. Andy Beshear declared a state of emergency due to widespread flooding on Saturday with more rain expected Saturday night. In social media posts, Beshear said at least one person had died in the floods and he expected more casualties. He asked that motorists stay off roadways after dark because of dangerous road conditions. Five […]
The Kentucky Supreme Court declared recent laws passed by the Republican-controlled General Assembly that moved powers away from Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear as unconstitutional. In a Thursday majority opinion written by Justice Michelle Keller, the high court found a 2021 law shifting control of the State Fair Board from the governor to the agriculture commissioner […]
State courts cannot find liability for labeling shortcomings in pesticides and similar products because such products are covered by federal law, the U.S. Supreme Court said Thursday in a decision backing agricultural giant Monsanto. The justices, in a 7-2 decision, threw out a $1.25 million verdict a Missouri court awarded to a man who said long-term […]
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court Thursday allowed the Trump administration to move forward with its plans to strip temporary legal status from 350,000 Haitians and 6,000 Syrians, a move that opens them up to deportation. The 6-3 conservative court ruled that the Haitian and Syrian immigrants are not “entitled” to orders postponing an end […]
PEWEE VALLEY — Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman hopes to do something no other Republican has done as attorney general — get a second term in office. Coleman, 50, formally announced his reelection bid for the 2027 election in Oldham County Thursday afternoon surrounded by his family, friends and a crowd of supporters, including fellow Republicans Agriculture […]
A center for civics courses is coming to the University of Kentucky after state Republican lawmakers approved an eleventh-hour addition to an education bill earlier this year, but it’s unclear who spearheaded the idea.
“Get in there, send the seasoned diplomats, and get it done."
“I've never used people as political pawns and I never will.”
When people hear the words Medicaid cuts, they often picture numbers on a spreadsheet. On Wednesday in Frankfort, those numbers were projected on a PowerPoint presentation. Yet several basic questions remained unanswered. Kentucky Medicaid Commissioner Lisa Lee and her team were asked about provider recoupments, Medicaid expenditures, and other financial data that could help explain how we […]
The majority of U.S. states will soon have to pay 5% to 15% of federal nutrition assistance benefits in their state, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s release Wednesday of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program payment error rates. House Resolution 1, commonly known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that was enacted in 2025, […]
The University of Kentucky is one of several schools nationwide that abolished its university senate.
Kate Dineen assumed she would always have access to reproductive healthcare because of where she lived. It came as a shock when she was denied an abortion in 2021 because of gestational limits to the procedure in Massachusetts law. Dineen was 33 weeks into her pregnancy, the third trimester, when a routine ultrasound detected a […]
On June 26, 1876, U.S. Seventh Cavalry trooper Michael P. Madden of Louisville gulped brandy before a surgeon amputated his right leg under fire during the Battle of the Little Bighorn. The sawbones gave the Irish-born Kentucky enlistee another snort afterwards. Supposedly, Madden was so appreciative of the second drink that he invited the surgeon […]
FRANKFORT — For more than an hour on Wednesday, parents and community advocates pleaded with Kentucky leaders to reverse budget cuts that threaten to shutter Lee Specialty Clinic in Louisville. In three-minute testimony increments, more than a dozen said their loved ones with disabilities have nowhere else to turn, begging the members of the the […]
A Trump administration organization that oversees regulation of derivatives markets has sued Kentucky to block efforts by the state’s attorney general to prevent two prediction market companies from operating what he says are unlicensed and illegal sports gambling operations.
President Donald Trump derailed a housing overhaul that he was set to sign into law Wednesday, canceling a signing ceremony for the broadly popular bipartisan bill until Congress passes an election security measure. Trump had been scheduled to sign the bill, which passed the Senate Monday and House Tuesday with wide margins, during a Capitol ceremony. But […]
WASHINGTON — Parties, protests, displays of historic documents, odes to the Founding Fathers — and a massive political rally by the president — will mark a deeply polarized nation’s 250th anniversary on this Fourth of July. Pomp and circumstance will abound for the semiquincentennial as the similarly named America250 and Freedom 250 offer different slates […]
A Laurel County judge has ruled that embattled London Mayor Randall Weddle is ineligible to be a candidate in the town’s upcoming mayoral election.
Kentucky is in a housing crisis. We know this. Our state suffers a shortage of more than 200,000 homes and the vast majority of that gap is a lack of housing for low-income households or those who can only afford to pay $500 a month in rent. We know that people’s wages aren’t keeping up […]
Mylissa McNeill never expected to be a mother. But when she learned she was pregnant in the spring of 2022, at age 41, she and her partner were happy and excited at the prospect of parenting a little girl they planned to name Maeve. On June 24, 2022, about one month after McNeill discovered she was pregnant, the U.S. […]
FRANKFORT – The latest finance report filed by Gov. Andy Beshear’s super PAC shows all of the signs of a campaign committee of a presidential candidate. It also discloses a big contribution from a first-time Beshear donor. The political action committee is called In This Together PAC Inc., and the report it filed with the […]
Kentucky Republican U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell will not be voting this week following a recent hospitalization.
The Trump administration illegally overhauled a U.S. Department of Homeland Security computer program in its hunt for noncitizen voters, a judge ruled Monday in a stinging decision that laid into federal officials for violating the privacy of millions of Americans. The ruling struck at the core of President Donald Trump’s project to assert authority over […]
States and cities are loosening building code requirements in an effort to lower construction costs and boost affordable housing. Some of these changes include allowing low-rise apartment buildings to have just one stairway, reducing how often building codes are updated and rolling back specific electrical or fire safety standards. But critics have raised safety concerns, […]
Lexington works to heal pain of racial violence history.
Kentucky lawmakers directed more than $1.7 billion from the state’s “rainy day fund,” to one-time spending projects across the state.
The message from the Kentucky GOP in the upcoming election cycle will focus around three tenets – faith, family and freedom. That’s the message nearly 1,000 GOP faithful heard at the Republican Party of Kentucky’s Statewide Lincoln Dinner Saturday night at the Central Bank Center. Party leaders, office holders, donors and members gathered to listen […]
The National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association and a family planning organization in Pennsylvania filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Health and Human Services agency on Thursday alleging that it is politicizing the Title X grant funding program and violating the intent of the law. Attorneys from the Pennsylvania chapter of the American Civil […]
Purdue Pharma introduced the painkiller OxyContin in late 1995 – and we are still learning of the harm it has caused. Purdue marketed Oxy in communities with high percentages of people with chronic pain from cancer. The company particularly targeted Appalachian communities. Oxy proved especially addictive and easy to both obtain and abuse. When restrictions […]
Tim Robinson, the former CEO of what was once Kentucky’s largest and fast-growing addiction treatment company, has entered a not guilty plea in federal court to fraud charges related to finances at the Louisa-based company. Robinson, who founded what became Addiction Recovery Care, or ARC, as a single halfway house in 2008 in Eastern Kentucky, […]
James Bruggers, a longtime Kentucky environmental and energy journalist whose groundbreaking coverage spanned from the hazards of coal mines to scrutinizing polluters, died Tuesday. He was 68. Bruggers spent nearly two decades reporting at the Louisville Courier Journal, first arriving in 1999 after reporting stints in Washington and California and after graduating from the University […]
A federal poverty-fighting program focused on reducing unintended pregnancies is about to undergo a major overhaul. Reproductive health clinics use Title X federal grant money to provide birth control, cancer screenings and testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections to people with little or no health insurance. Title X money cannot be used for abortions. The […]
Are data centers the new coal? Or are they the new landfills? Or the new prisons? The comparisons aren’t perfect, but they are easy to make: a brand new shiny industry owned by out-of-state corporations comes to a beleaguered region with the promise of (some) jobs, part of an ephemeral promise to buttress the failing […]
Clients will be able to access services through other partner programs.
A coalition of prediction market companies including Polymarket and Kalshi is suing to block Kentucky’s recently enacted tax on prediction markets. The lawsuit filed in Franklin Circuit Court by the Coalition for Fair Markets — which represents prediction market companies where people can wager on the outcomes of events, including sports games — calls the […]
Editor’s note: Shortly after the Lantern posted its story on the tax lawsuit by prediction market companies, AG Coleman announced his lawsuit against them. Republican Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman is suing two prominent prediction market companies over allegations that they operate unlicensed and illegal sports gambling operations. The lawsuits announced filed Wednesday come less […]
The days of ground beef and chicken legs are long gone at the Ritenour Co-Care Food Pantry just outside of St. Louis. The nonprofit has swapped out those staple proteins for cheaper ground chicken and hot dogs as it faces higher food costs and surging demand. “We have to adapt just like everybody else,” Executive […]
May housing starts fell to the lowest level since the pandemic disrupted construction six years ago, the U.S. Census Bureau announced Tuesday. Builder confidence has dropped recently because of higher material and financing costs. The change threatens to exacerbate housing shortages and disrupt recent progress in most states toward building enough new housing for new […]
Kentuckians deserve better than this.
When SpaceX, Elon Musk’s rocket and artificial intelligence company, began trading on the stock market last week, he became the world’s first trillionaire. The SpaceX IPO made the world’s richest man even richer, grabbing headlines worldwide. But it is merely the most vivid illustration of a U.S. trend that has been accelerating since 2022. The […]
A spokesperson for U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell said the Kentucky Republican is keeping up with government business during his recent hospitalization.
Judy and I just reviewed our youngest grandchildren’s report cards (Their older siblings mysteriously can’t find theirs!) and those Brooks kids seemingly are doing well. The documents were filled with “Os” and “Ss,” which I guess are now the new “A” and “B.” In-depth narratives – generated by either AI or hard-working teachers – densely […]
A Democratic state lawmaker is working on a bill to file next year in Frankfort that would try to regulate the impacts of hyperscale data centers and the transparency concerns swirling around those pending developments in the state. Rep. Adam Moore, D-Lexington, proposed a bill during this year’s legislative session that sought to ensure electricity […]
An email Friday from former Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin’s personal account to various media outlets, blasts lawyers for his estranged son, Jonah Bevin, for making “FALSE STATEMENTS” to the media and accuses Jonah of trying “TO SHAKE HIS PARENTS DOWN FOR MONEY.” The two-page email, mostly in capital letters, repeats attacks on Jefferson Family Court […]
Hospitals are required to publish basic information about pricing for their services.
At a press conference earlier this month, a reporter told Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear that people in Boyd and Greenup counties had been “caught off guard” by a deal local officials unveiled to bring a very large data center to the area. A number of Boyd County residents had packed a town hall the day […]
Commentary: Just say no to data centers.