Politics & health reporter, @heraldleader. H-L Guild prez. Past: @bangordailynews, @the_forecaster. @report4america, @SaltInstitute, @WKU alum | she/her
Kentucky
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BREAKING: A Louisville judge has GRANTED a restraining order blocking Kentucky's trigger law banning abortion from taking effect. It also blocks a 6 wk ban
RO is in place until at least next week, which means abortions at EMW & Planned Parenthood can resume until then
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NEW: A Kentucky woman who is 8 weeks pregnant has filed a class action lawsuit asking a judge for emergency relief to terminate her pregnancy.
She is the 2nd woman this week (other is in Texas) nationwide to ask a judge to intervene on her behalf to get an abortion.
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UPDATE: EMW Women's Surgical Center & Planned Parenthood in Louisville will both resume providing abortions beginning Friday morning, July 1. Both clinics are now taking appointments.
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Byproduct of KY's abortion ban:
A Lexington OB-GYN told me this morning that yesterday, alone, her clinic got *91* appointment requests from women wishing to get surgically sterilized (tubes tied). Said that's far & away the most, ever. Tubals are permanent birth control.
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Jack Harlow on the campaign trail w/ Gov. Beshear this morning at UofL. Says they’ve gotten to know each other organically over the last year & a half.
Harlow calls Beshear a “hell of a stand-up guy” & says, “you all are all holding the right signs.”
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300 Kentucky doctors have penned a public letter urging a No vote on Constitutional Amendment 2.
“Kentuckians should have the right to make complex, personal health decisions w/assistance of their docs & health care team — w/out interference from politicians.”
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Kentucky Physicians for Reproductive Freedom, who say they represent 275 docs in Ky, are calling for a repeal of Ky’s abortion bans.
Dr. Nancy Newman: “Would I come to the state now (to practice)? No, I would not. Our legislators have created a culture of fear.”
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Right now, a throng of students & adults are shouting on the steps of Ky Capitol Annex protesting SB150, which includes a ban on gender-affirming care for trans youth. Leg is expected to override Beshear’s veto today or tomorrow. They’re shouting, “Trans rights are human rights”
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NEW: A KY woman 7 wks pregnant who wants an abortion but cannot legally get one because of Ky's near-total bans, filed a class-action lawsuit today to overturn those bans.
This is the 2nd time a pregnant Kentuckian has sued to overturn those laws.
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@realDonaldTrump arrives, mentions the Wildcats and how big Rupp Arena is
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A memorial service for Joshua Barrick is about to start at Holy Trinity Catholic Church here in Louisville, where he was a parishioner. Barrick, who was 40, was killed today by a gunman in Louisville.
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Dr Michele Elisburg, a pediatrician in Louisville, said she had a 14 y/o patient raped by her 60 y/o landlord who had to carry her pregnancy to term.
“Many of my patients are indigent & have very few resources when they have their baby. Is this what we want for our children?”
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Virginia Moore, Beshear's ASL interpreter who announced earlier this month that she had stage 1 uterine cancer & needed a hysterectomy, says by video that she's now cancer free.
"I am doing very well," she said. "They were able to get all of the cancer out."
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AP has called it: Ky voters have REJECTED Amendment 2, which would’ve made clear there is no protected right to abortion in the Ky constitution.
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UK HealthCare Dr. Derek Forster just said that the first KY patient with confirmed COVID-19 that was being treated at UK Chandler has “fully recovered” and was discharged today.
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Heck of a story this morning from @d_yetter about Jonah Bevin, adopted son of former Gov. Matt Bevin.
‘I don’t have anybody’: Adoptive teen son of a KY governor talks about life on his own
kentuckylantern.com/2025/02/…
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Sen. Karen Berg, D-Louisville, said Sunday would've been her son's 27th birthday.
Henry, who was trans, died by suicide in Dec 2022. Berg said hatred of trans ppl is "inhumane" & "everybody who participates should look into their own hearts & find out what you are so scared of"
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NEW: 5 Lexington trans kids & their parents filed a class-action suit last night in Fayette Co Circuit Court challenging SB150's pronoun & bathroom requirements in public schools.
Said it violates their fundamental right to public education & privacy rights.
Story coming.
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Beshear, in his weekly update, says "a lot of legislation passed this session means we're going to kick the people who are down."
"Cuts to our safety net make us one of the least generous, stingiest, meanest states for those who have been knocked down."
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UK Pres Capilouto today sent a campus-wide email rebuking Ky GOP-led efforts to curtail DEI.
“We don’t speak out as an institution on public policy unless (it) will impact our entire comm in potentially significant ways. This is one of those moments."
bit.ly/42IQEOi
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Here in Jefferson Family Court this morning for Jonah Bevin’s EPO against his adoptive parents, former Gov & First Lady Matt & Glenna Bevin
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My 86-year-old grandmother, Nancy, who lives in an independent senior facility in Owensboro, just got the first dose of her Covid-19 vaccine. She just texted to let me know: “I have been shot, didn't feel anything.”
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It's hard to convey what it means when a hospital is overrun, when resources are strained beyond what's manageable.
In KY's case, a deluge of Covid-19 patients in a very short time, coupled w/ an unflinching demand on staffing is beginning to buckle the system.
My latest:
SPECIAL REPORT: 'You should see what we see.’ What it’s like inside KY hospitals swamped by COVID-19.
kentucky.com/news/coronaviru…
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The Kentucky Academy of Scienes emailed lawmakers today & urged them *not* to override Beshear's presumed veto of SB 150, banning gender-affirming care, teaching on sexuality & gender, etc.
"We refuse to subject our students to the harm & bigotry allowed by this bill."
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Beshear on KY Supreme Court's declining to lift ban on abortion:
They've “left in place one of the most extremist laws in the US,” noting, as he has in the past, its lack of rape and incest exceptions.
“I think that’s wrong, and I think the majority of KYians agree w/me.”
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1/KY Supreme Court tomorrow morning will hear oral arguments in the case brought by Ky's 2 abortion clinics challenging the constitutionality of our state's trigger law & 6wk abortion ban.
Seems like as good a time as any to walk thru some of the filed amicus briefs.
A long🧵
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University of Kentucky has co-published a new study in the American College of Obstetrics & Gynecology that shows when a pregnant person gets vaxxed for Covid-19, it benefits their fetus.
ajogmfm.org/article/S2589-93…
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ICYMI: I spoke w/7 OBGYNs in KY about how the trigger law has impacted their ability to provide care. Bottom line: confusion is rampant.
Ky Med Assoc. says law "raises a number of legal questions for Ky physicians."
But Ky has yet to provide clarity.
kentucky.com/news/state/kent…
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Full 52-page filing here.
Jane Doe, a KY resident who's 8 wks pregnant, is suing the state over the constitutionality of our trigger law & 6-wk ban.
aclu.org/documents/complaint…
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In the Ky Senate just now, Senate Pres. Stivers temporarily ceded the lectern to Mallory Hudson, Miss Kentucky 2023, who was Miss America 3rd runner up this wknd.
Hudson just said words that undoubtedly made some lawmakers' ears prick: diversity, equity & inclusion....
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NEW: Planned Parenthood's request for a federal judge to block enforcement of KY's new far-reaching anti-abortion law has been GRANTED.
"The Court restrains enforcement of the
entirety of HB 3 at this time," District Judge Rebecca Grady Jennings wrote in her ruling.
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NEW: Ky Court of Appeals has DENIED AG Cameron’s request to undo a lower court’s blocking of the trigger law banning abortion. Excerpts from the ruling include a reference to Dobbs & agreement that PP & EMW have constitutional standing to sue because personal injury exists
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Ky Supreme Court tonight *denied* AG Cameron’s second attempt to overturn a ban on the state’s trigger law banning abortion:
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In Louisville, this group of heavily-armed protesters is on the move. They just broke out in a chant of “U-S-A” and “Whose streets? Our streets.” One man Shouted “America’s streets!”
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Cameron: "If the Legislature brings me a bill, I will sign those exceptions."
Beshear: "Over 3 debates my opponent has been asked this 9 times & has refused to look in the camera & answer.
Let me show him how to do it: I believe victims of rape and incest deserve options."
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Story here:
Kentucky woman sues state over abortion ban so she can terminate her pregnancy kentucky.com/news/politics-g…
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I’ve been in Mayfield all afternoon (&w/out service) following Paige & Chris as they search for Chris’ mom, Jill Monroe. Jill, who’s 52, works at the candle factory & was taking shelter in the bathroom last night when the tornado hit. They haven’t heard from her since.
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Bit personal news here: I've accepted a fellowship through @report4america and will moving back home to Kentucky in June to cover public health and social services for the @heraldleader. I'll dearly miss #mepolitics but am very excited to cover issues that matter to Kentuckians.
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During tonight's KET debate @ReneeKET asked Beshear & Cameron if they support rape & incest exceptions.
Asked Cameron twice for a "direct" yes or no answer.
"Do you believe that in cases of rape & incest, abortion should be a legal option for Ky women, yes or no sir?"
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Protect Kentucky Access, the group working to defeat the const'l amendment in Nov that would make clear there's no protected right to an abortion in KY, has raised more than $1.4M so far in 2022, according to KREF.
Yes for Life, which supports the amendment, has raised $350K.
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Just as Rep Tate sits down to introduce HB 467, aimed at persuading women w/nonviable pregnancies not to get abortions but instead to carry those pregnancies to term, Democratic Reps Roarx, Burke and Camuel walked out of the meeting in protest.
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A fed KY judge has blocked the med portion of SB150, a law slated to take effect tmrw banning gender-affirming care for trans youth.
Judge: this banned treatment is "med. appropriate & necessary...under the evidence-based stndrd of care accepted by all major med.orgs in the US"
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Sen. Karen Berg receives a big crowd welcome. Berg’s trans son, Henry, died by suicide late last year. Berg tells the students, “You are perfect the way God made you. Remember that every moment of your life.”
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A few minutes ago, I asked Ky Gov. Beshear, whose name has been floated as a possible VP candidate in the event Pres. Biden steps down, whether he still planned to finish his 2nd term as gov, as he has repeatedly vowed to do.
He basically said yes, but…
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The order: "Given the need for a clear and consistent statewide public health policy and recognizing that the Kentucky legislature has expressly given the Governor broad executive powers in a public health emergency, the Court orders a stay of all orders of injunctive relief..."
Update: Kentucky Supreme Court issues a stay in the Scott and Boone county COVID-19 cases, meaning Beshear's orders stand until the high court reviews them.
All judges concur.
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Ky's 2 abortion providers have asked a circuit court judge to block enforcement of the trigger law & a 6 week abortion ban.
They assert that a right to privacy & self-determination are protected by the Ky Constitution, & the trigger law infringes on both. Story coming
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Correction here: Kentucky's estimated LGBTQ population is 4.9%, rather than the 10.5% the Williams Institute published this week.
We realized this morning that there was an error in our LGBT adult population estimates. A letter of apology from our Founding Executive Director @bradsears is below.
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UMaine head football coach Joe Harasymiak says of 18-year-old Darius Minor who collapsed and died yesterday at practice: "No one else in the next 4 years will wear #39. That's his. That number's his and that's the only decision that's been made on that."
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Beshear won't give a daily update tomorrow. Says it'll be his 1st day off. Tells everyone to get outside & prioritize their mental health (w/social distancing): "Let's just take a day to breathe and get outside."
"I need to prioritize my mental health & I know you need to, too"
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NEW: Protect KY Access, the group trying to defeat a const'l amendment in Nov that would remove a constitutionally protected right to abortion, has raised just over $3M, according to new filings.
That's roughly $1.2M more than the campaign had raised a month ago.
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So much of this rally so far is Dem lawmakers encouraging & affirming the LGBTQ youth here. Rep Pam Stevenson leads the crowd in a chant, tells everyone to point to themselves: “Me, free to be me.”
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Beshear just now: "As horrible as last year’s surge was, we were never in a position where doctors had to choose between treating a patient because of COVID-19 and treating a patient who’s bleeding out because of a car accident. That’s the strain our hospitals are under"
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NEW: KY Family Foundation just issued a real press release titled, "Report of Satanist, Marxist ties to Amendment 2 Opposition Shows Kentuckians the Stakes of Nov. 8 Election" & cites a Daily Wire story.
It accuses Protect Ky Access staffers of pushing socialism & witchcraft.
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Kentucky's positivity rate today lurches above 14% for I'm pretty sure the first time ever, at 14.16%.
4,468 new cases,
30 deaths.
2,424 ppl hospitalized (71 more than yesterday)
674 in ICU (13 more)
431 on a vent (2 fewer)
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In Frankfort, Dem Rep. Lindsey Burke, D-Lex, is unveiling 3 bills to restore repro. health protections & repeal Ky's abortion ban.
She's sharing about her own pregnancy journey, incl. a miscarriage & needing an abortion to remove the fetus. Bec. of Ky's ban, she had to go to OH
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Ky Supreme Court chambers on this rainy Tuesday morning, where oral arguments will soon begin in the case challenging the constitutionality of Ky’s trigger law & 6wk abortion ban. Watch the livestream here: ket.org/ky-supreme-court/
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NEW: The Ky Court of Appeals has GRANTED Republican AG Daniel Cameron's motion for emergency relief, giving him the go ahead to enforce Ky's trigger law banning abortion, as well as a 6-wk ban.
This means nearly all abortions in KY will stop immediately for the time being.
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Beshear asked about this outbreak at Clays Mill Baptist Church I wrote about last week. Says he knows Pastor Fugate joined AG Daniel Cameron in late April to urge him to allow churches to reopen because they could do it safely.
"Well, he couldn't," Beshear said.
This Central Kentucky church reopened on May 10 and became a COVID-19 hot spot
kentucky.com/news/coronaviru…
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@TTChilders performs “Universal Sound,”
which is apparently a favorite for Beshear.
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NEW: Once KY's abortion ban took effect, younger women sought surgical sterilization in droves, & OBGYNs were beholden to a vaguely-worded law under threat of felony.
2 mos. later, KY has yet to provide trigger law clarity. Here's how that's playing out:
kentucky.com/news/state/kent…
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Kentucky GOP has filed a bill to outlaw curriculum, initiatives in public K-12 schools that prmotes "diversity, equity, inclusion & belonging."
SB 93 from Sen. Stephen Meredith, R-Leitchfield, would nix req for a "trauma-informed" approach & "diversity bias awareness training"
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INBOX: 7 Ky trans kids & their families will appeal to the U.S. Supreme Ct a 6th Circuit Appeals ruling that upheld a trans youth gender-affirming health care ban in Ky.
Ky will sue w/TN, making them the "1st challenge to trans healthcare restrictions before the SC," per ACLU
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Beshear, on the Easter Bunny's ability to deliver gifts this Sunday: "I want people to know that the Easter bunny is an essential worker and that the travel ban does not apply."
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Protect Kentucky Access Campaign Manager Rachel Sweet just now on a press call:
"While our opposition has complained ceaselessly about what they call 'out-of-state activists,'" the campaign had volunteers in 99 of Ky's 120 counties.
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In Health & Welfare Rep. Danny Bentley asks Stack whether there are any approved "injections" to treat covid.
Stack says yes, Pfizer.
Bentley says it was a "bait & swtich by the FDA & that's not really approved."
Stack: "Idk how to respond to that. It is fully approved."
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Freshman U.S. Rep. Jared Golden just introduced bipartisan legislation on the House floor, the Solidarity in Salary Act of 2019, which proposes withholding paychecks of POTUS, VP and members of Congress in escrow during future gov't shutdowns. #mepolitics
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We’re back. This is Noah, who introduced himself as a trans gay man.
“I thought my transition was a burden to those around me.” Somebody in the crowd shouts, “No it’s not!”
“Trans people existing are not a threat to anyone. We are nearly fighting to maintain basic human rights”
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I've attempted to wrangle the nuance in both Beshear's & Cameron's positions on abortion all in one piece. Beshear's camp answered my questions. Cameron's didn't.
In their own words: Where KY’s gubernatorial candidates stand on abortion bit.ly/3tJZfme
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Apparently KY in 1920 had the highest voter turnout of women, at 57%, Lt. Gov. Coleman just said. Pretty rad.
She and Gov. Beshear will be in Lexington later tonight for the unveiling of the "Stand" sculpture downtown celebrating the 19th Amendment
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Republican Sen. Mike Nemes just asked for the average age of people in KY dying from covid. It's 77.4, which Nemes said "is the actual life expectancy of Kentuckians."
Doesn't take a lot to infer the point he's trying to make.
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🧵Ky first unveiled its gender-affirming medical ban this winter. Since early March, I've followed 3 trans teens (Henry, 13; Casper, 17; Milo, 16) as they grapple w/how to continue existing authentically in a place often hostile to their well-being.
bit.ly/3MVmEs5
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Injunction hearing in Louisville over Ky’s trigger law banning abortion is starting. Last night the Ky Supreme Court *denied* AG Cameron’s request to bypass this court’s order & let him enforce the trigger law.
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Erin Marshall, a 29 y/o Frankfort single mom, is running to unseat "anti-abortion Republican" James Comer.
Says her story - an unexpected pregnancy in her early 20s, considering abortion & deciding to stay pregnant, is personal. Not having that choice puts "our lives in danger"
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Kentucky Democrats file bills to protect IVF, clarify that an embryo cannot be considered an “unborn child”
kentucky.com/news/politics-g…
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My post-election analysis on Cameron & why his anti-trans messaging failed to earn the support he hoped it would.
‘Nobody likes a bully’: Why Cameron’s anti-trans messaging hobbled his bid for governor kentucky.com/news/politics-g…
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Beshear just now:
From March 1 to July 21 in Kentucky, unvaccinated people accounted for 95% of all new Covid-19 cases, 91% of all covid hospitalizations & 88% of all covid deaths (out of 447).
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Dr. Darren Greenwell, President of the KY Dental Association asks ppl to tune out "junk science," says "good science" shows fluoridation is safe & effective.
Those who say this is bad for us" are "the same people saying vaccinations are going to kill everybody."
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Really sad update: Paige & Chris learned this morning that Jill's body had been found in the candle factory rubble. "I'm so sorry this happened to you," Chris wrote on FB. "I have you coming home so you can be here around your family & all of your babies."
kentucky.com/news/state/kent…
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It's a bittersweet day at the H-L, saying bye to sweet Jack Brammer & all his institutional knowledge. What a titan! It's been such a pleasure to work with & learn from him. Here's my fav portrait of Jack by @ryanhermens & one of the gang, pre-covid. @drdesrochers @BGPolitics
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Just now: @KYSecState is awarded the JFK Profile in Courage award for defending Kentucky's elections.
Jack Schlossberg, JFK's grandson, says Adams is a recipient because "he put himself, his family & career on the line to protect the right to vote."
piped.video/watch?v=nh_6Ii7Y…
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More than 30 DCBS social workers are at the KY Capitol to advocate for higher pay & other support measures to stop what has become a mass exodus of workers over the last year or so. “You’re going to keep seeing us,” one said. “We’re demanding that we get what we’re asking for.”
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NEW: Kentucky voters overwhelmingly reject Amendment 2, leaving tax dollars with public schools
kentucky.com/news/politics-g…
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A reminder: when the US Supreme Court overturned Roe on Friday, KY enacted an immediate ban on abortions. A med. emergency &/or imminent death are essentially the only exceptions.
Expect a lawsuit, likely today, from the KY ACLU & Planned Parenthood challenging that trigger law.
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Happy Monday, it's the four-year anniversary of my story about a Maine woman who drowned a rabid raccoon in a puddle after it attacked her. The one that got a stupid amount of internet fame & earned me my very own Esquire article.
bangordailynews.com/2017/06/…
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My story about Paige & Chris, & their search for Chris' mom.
‘We have to find her.’ A tornado warning, a phone call, then a day of searching in Mayfield. kentucky.com/news/state/kent…
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Rally co-organizer McKenzie Roller, 18, a senior at Pleasure Ridge Park High School:
“To Max Wise, if this bill is passed and anything happens to the trans youth, it’s on your hands.”
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Several Dems are here, including Reps Rachel Roberts, Josie Raymond, Keturah Herron, Pam Stevenson, Cherlynn Stevenson & Lisa Willner. Herron tells the young crowd: “You are going to be the young people to get us free. You have to engage each other, recognize & mobilize.”
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Along w/a lot of other media, I’m in Frankfort for a presser introducing a bill from Lexington Dem Rep Lindsey Burke to restore some amount of abortion access in Ky. Speaking is Tamarra Wieder of Planned Parenthood.
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Plz be advised that @MESecOfState Matt Dunlap has set the bar high for going away presents. #mepolitics
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A reminder because people have asked: the Kentucky Supreme Court has *not* issued an order yet in the case challenging the constitutionality of Ky's abortion bans.
We don't know when it'll come. It's been almost 3 weeks since oral arguments.
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After sharing her own harrowing pregnancy journey, which required having to travel out of Ky to get an abortion to end her nonviable pregnancy, Rep. Lindsey Burke filed 3 bills to restore abortion access, shield patient medical records
kentucky.com/news/health-and…
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Before today's presser ended, Beshear was asked for (I think) the first time, how he's holding up:
"I'm really bad at answering personal questions. Um, it's hard. It's hard on all of us. It's the anxiety. There's the sacrifice, there's the loss."
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Happening now: judge hears arguments from ACLU on why Ky’s trigger law banning abortion should be blocked.
ACLU’s Heather Gatnarek: nearly 200 patients have been turned away from EMW since Friday.
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Most important news of the day in the #KyLeg : Bill Bryant getting recognized for 40 years of working @ WKYT. Bill is also the longtime host of Comment on Kentucky. A titan!
Lexington Dem Sen. Reggie Thomas just compared him to Walter Conkrite.
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