Tag Archives: Kentucky

From the Justice Department: A Lexington man, Neal Harris, 57, was sentenced on Monday, by U.S. District Judge Robert Wier, to 37 months in prison, for eight counts of wire fraud, for obtaining Economic Injury Disaster Loans under false pretenses. His co-defendant, Kelly Harris, 64, was sentenced on July 2, 2024, to 46 months in prison, also for eight counts …

The Christian Post reports: Zachary King, a pastor with “significant experience serving in youth ministry” at multiple megachurches, including LexCity Church in Lexington, Kentucky, from which he recently resigned as executive pastor, has been charged with the rape and sexual abuse of a minor. A press release from the office of Attorney General of Kentucky, Russell Coleman, said King, 47, …

The Associated Press reports: A federal judge on Monday temporarily blocked the Biden administration’s new Title IX rule expanding protections for LGBTQ+ students in six additional states, dealing another setback for a policy that has been under legal attack by Republican attorneys general. U.S. District Judge Danny C. Reeves referred to the regulation as “arbitrary in the truest sense of …

Lexington’s Fox affiliate reports: A federal judge denied an appeal by former Rowan County clerk Kim Davis. Davis made national headlines when she refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples while acting as Rowan County clerk in 2015. In September 2023, a federal jury decided Davis owed David Ermold and David Moore $50,000 each in damages. In October 2023, …

The Associated Press reports: Republican lawmakers in Kentucky on Friday removed the Democratic governor from any role filling future U.S. Senate vacancies — a move supporters said was unrelated to recent scrutiny about the health of the state’s senior senator, Republican leader Mitch McConnell. The GOP supermajority Legislature easily overrode Gov. Andy Beshear’s veto of the measure. The legislation calls …

The Lexington Herald-Leader reports: A Republican candidate for state House of Representatives in Northern Kentucky was arrested and booked for strangulation Monday night. According to Kenton County Jail records, Brian Ormes was arrested by a Fort Wright police officer and booked into Kenton County Jail at 11:02 p.m. Monday on three charges — first-degree strangulation, menacing and fourth-degree assault with …

The Louisville Courier-Journal reports: Lawmakers approved a bill that would require age verification to access pornography websites in Kentucky. The purpose of the measure is to prevent minors from viewing porn, said bill sponsor Rep. Matt Lockett, R-Nicholasville. House Bill 278 would allow the parents of minors who access porn sites, or anyone else injured by the access, to sue …

The Associated Press reports: Kentucky lawmakers gave final approval Thursday to a bill stripping the state’s Democratic governor of any role in picking someone to occupy a U.S. Senate seat if a vacancy occurred in the home state of 82-year-old Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell. The legislation calls for a special election to fill any Senate vacancy from the Bluegrass …

The Associated Press reports: Kentucky school districts could hire retired law officers or military veterans to serve as armed guardians offering security at schools under a bill advanced by a state Senate committee on Thursday. The proposal cleared the Senate Education Committee and heads to the full Senate next. It would still need House approval if it gains Senate passage. …

Louisville Public Media reports: legislation to erode worker’s protections in Kentucky have begun moving through the legislative process this year, including a bill to allow teenagers to work longer and later hours. Another measure in that surge of legislation would strip Kentucky’s meal and rest break protections as well as seventh-day overtime. Both bills would weaken Kentucky labor laws. They …

The Associated Press reports: Mitch McConnell, the longest-serving Senate leader in history who maintained his power in the face of dramatic convulsions in the Republican Party for almost two decades, will step down from that position in November. McConnell, who turned 82 last week, was set to announce his decision Wednesday in the well of the Senate, a place where …

Vice News reports: Republican politicians in Kentucky are rallying behind a new bill that would authorize the use of force—and potentially deadly force—against unhoused people who are found to be camping on private property. The bill would also criminalize unsanctioned homeless encampments and restrict cities and towns from preempting state laws. The bill, known as the “Safer Kentucky Act,” or …

NBC News reports: At least six state capitol complexes across the U.S. were forced to evacuate Wednesday morning due to a series of bomb threats, officials said. In Georgia, Gabriel Sterling, an elections official with the Office of the Secretary of State, wrote on X around 8:30 a.m. ET that there had been a bomb threat at the Georgie state …

Lexington’s ABC affiliate reports: A former Lancaster pastor last week agreed to a plea deal to drop 12 charges of sexual abuse of children in exchange for pleading guilty to one charge. Thomas Wall on Dec. 8 pleaded guilty to one count of sexual abuse of a child, according to Garrard County court records. In 2022, Wall was arrested and …

The Hill reports: A pregnant woman in Kentucky who filed a lawsuit demanding the right to an abortion discovered her embryo no longer has any cardiac activity, her attorneys said Monday. Attorneys for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Planned Parenthood who were representing plaintiff Jane Doe said they couldn’t comment on what impact the development will have on …

The Hill reports: Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear was projected to win reelection in Kentucky, according to Decision Desk HQ, fending off a challenge from his Trump-backed Republican challenger.  Beshear, who has seen strong approval despite being the Democratic governor of a red state, defeated Republican state Attorney General Daniel Cameron after a competitive race, winning his second term in the …

Cincinnati’s NBC affiliate reports: A pastor from Covington has been arrested and accused of sexually abusing a child at a church, according to Covington police. The investigation began when police received a report of sexual abuse from a child. An investigation revealed the abuse allegedly took place at the Ministerio Jesus Liberta Church in Covington late last month. During the …

The Washington Post reports: After Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) experienced his second freezing episode in five weeks, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D) is declining to say whether he would follow a state law requiring him to appoint a Republican in the event of a Senate vacancy. A reporter asked Beshear on Thursday whether, if McConnell were to step …

CNBC reports: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., on Wednesday appeared briefly unable to respond to reporters’ questions at a press event, marking the second time in weeks that the Republican leader has abruptly stopped speaking and required help from people around him. McConnell, 81, initially seemed to struggle to hear when asked at an event in Covington, Kentucky, about …

The Lexington Times reports: A Lexington high school teacher, Kevin Lentz, 49, has been charged with 17 sexual offenses involving minors and has been placed on leave by the Fayette County district. Lentz, an English teacher at Henry Clay High School, was arrested and charged with 10 counts of distribution of obscene matter to a minor, seven counts of use …