Lexington Herald-Leader
KY Senate race: Barr, Cameron, Morris’ paths to nomination
This is one of the most consequential election years in recent Kentucky history. For the first time in 16 years, a seat in the U.S. Senate is opening up. And, it’s not just any seat. Love him or hate him, Mitch McConnell put his thumb on the scales...
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Hundreds brave cold to celebrate MLK Jr. with Lexington march
marched through bitter cold and wind in downtown Lexington Monday to celebrate the legacy of civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. Lexington-area residents said showing up Jan. 19 was particularly important given the current political climate,...
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No major shakeups as filing period ends for KY elections
The dust has finally settled on the filing period to run for office in Kentucky this year. Though there were no major candidates to file in the final hours — and certainly no soliloquy from a former governor like Matt Bevin’s 2023 spectacle — the...
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Beshear bets on modest pre-K start in budget address
The funding request from Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear for a pre-K for all initiative looks different from what he pitched two years ago. And this year’s ask could be seen as a more politically savvy move as spendconscious Republicans are increasingly...
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An early look at who’s likely to run for governor in 2027
The year is 2026, and there are plenty of elections to watch this May and November. But with Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear term-limited from running again, the 2027 governor’s race is already garnering plenty of attention. The Herald-Leader caught up...
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KY Fish & Wildlife chair defies AG’s resignation demand
The chair of the board overseeing Kentucky’s fish and wildlife management agency says he will retain his post, despite calls from the state attorney’s general office that he resign due to ineligibility. Fish and Wildlife Commission Chair Chuck Meade...
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Beloved Lexington pediatrician to hang up her stethoscope
One of the first times I met Dr. Rebecca Bosomworth, I had been sitting in her office trying to nurse a 4-day-old newborn who had screamed for what seemed like the entire time we were there. I’d been up all night with him, and I was an emotional...
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A year after deadly KY raid, public still wants facts
Drivers along a stretch of Main Street near the intersection with West Dixie in London have grown accustomed to the sight of signs and battery-operated candles near the tire cenaside ter, just down the road from the police station and city hall. On...
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Bourbon maker Jim Beam shuttering distillery for 2026
One of Kentucky’s largest bourbon producers apparently is pausing whiskey production at the end of the year. Jim Beam, which is one of the largest makers of American whiskey in the world, is planning to shut down production in Happy Hollow in Clermont...
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Three proposals for new city hall: How one rose to the top
The city of Lexington is in final negotiations with the Lexington Opportunity Fund for a renovation and overhaul of the Truist bank building at 200 W. Vine St. for a new city government building. After approval by the Lexington-Fayette Urban County...
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About 1,600 to be laid off as Ford repurposes BlueOval SK
About 1,600 Kentuckians will be laid off as Ford Motor Co. repurposes its battery manufacturing capacity and facilities in the Bluegrass State to make energy storage systems for data centers, utility companies and large-scale industrial and commercial...
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New high-tech basketball gym opens in Lexington
Cage Davis stood inside the three-point arc Tuesday, waiting for a machine to feed him a basketball. The 10-year-old Squires Elementary School student launched the ball over nets — designed to get shooters to adjust their form to the correct arc — and...
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Perry County center will be refuge for free-roaming horses
The problem of Eastern Kentucky’s free-roaming horses just eased a little bit, thanks to the creation of a new refuge in Perry County. The Appalachian Horse Center is a new farm that will try to save Kentucky’s wild horses, as it celebrates their...
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Federal immigration operation starts in New Orleans
Federal authorities announced the start of an immigration enforcement operation in New Orleans on Wednesday, the latest front in the Trump administration’s crackdown. The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement that its targets would...
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TSA offers $45 option for those without REAL ID or passport
The Transportation Security Administration announced Monday that fliers who don’t have an acceptable REAL ID or passport can pay a $45 fee and use Confirm.ID, a modernized identity verification system to confirm their identities at security checkpoints...
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Trump vows crackdown on immigration after DC shooting
Donald Trump on Wednesday called for a crackdown on immigration and ordered 500 more troops to Washington after the shooting of two National Guard members patrolling the capital and the identification of an Afghan national as the suspect. Trump posted...
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Nonprofit alleges hostile takeover of charitable fund
The organizers of an Eastern Kentucky charitable fund are under fire for allegedly hijacking control of the organization away from the Lexington-based nonprofit that owns it shortly after the death of its wealthy founder last year. An ongoing dispute...
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Influencer climbed to MAGA fame but risks arrest if he returns home
Nick Sortor was arrested last month in Oregon for disorderly conduct. It was a huge boost for his career. In an Oct. 2 altercation with people protesting the actions of Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Portland, Sortor grabbed American flags...
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Kentuckians remember Gov. Martha Layne Collins at Old State Capitol
Kentucky dignitaries lined up to pay their respects to trailblazing Governor Martha Layne Collins, the commonwealth’s first and only woman governor. Sunday afternoon, the First Family and hundreds of others arrived outside the Old State Capitol in...
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Feds: Engine detached from UPS plane shortly before crash
Federal transportation safety officials said Wednesday video shows an engine detached from a UPS cargo plane shortly before it crashed at Muhammad Ali International Airport in Louisville, killing at least 12 people. National Transportation Safety...
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With SNAP aid in doubt, Kentuckians flock to food pantries
Just after 8:30 a.m. Monday, the number of cars lined up to get free food at God’s Outreach Food Bank stretched onto East Main Street in Richmond. “We typically see about five or more cars. Nothing like this,” said Mandy Agee, assistant director of...
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Trump and Xi, hoping to ease trade war, call 1-year truce
After a series of failed attempts to de-escalate an acrimonious trade war, President Donald Trump and China’s leader, Xi Jinping, agreed to a yearlong truce that rolls back many of the contentious tariffs and retalover. iatory measures that deepened...
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Food banks brace for high demand as SNAP cutoff looms
Food banks across the United States were stretched thin even before the federal government shut down. Rising food prices had driven a growing number of people to their doors. Cuts to federal programs had left them with less to give. Now, that system –...
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Trump demolishing entirety of White House’s East Wing
The White House is demolishing the entirety of the East Wing to make way for President Donald Trump’s $200 million ballroom, a construction project that is far more extensive than he initially let on, a senior administration official said...
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Juvenile justice staff skip safety checks on youths
at Kentucky’s juvenile detention centers routinely skip the mandatory every-15-minutes visual safety checks of youths who are locked alone in cells, and they falsify paperwork afterward to make it appear they performed those checks, according to a...
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Senate money race: Barr leads, Morris self-funds $3M
Lexington tech entrepreneur Nate Morris loaned himself more than $3 million to kickstart his campaign for U.S. Senate, and Rep. Andy Barr still has a fundraising lead in the contentious 2026 GOP primary, according to new disclosures. Morris, who had...
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Without a deal, US troops likely to miss shutdown paycheck
The financial impacts of the government shutdown are set to escalate this week, even as Senate Republicans and Demoday crats show no signs of breaking the stalemate over health care policies at the heart of the fight. Without a deal, military troops...
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Israel-Hamas deal paves way for Gaza ceasefire
Israel and Hamas on Thursday edged closer to ending their devastating two-year war, agreeing on the initial terms of a deal that could pave the way to an imminent ceasefire and bringing relief to the families of Israeli hostages and to 2 million...
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3 physicists in US share Nobel for work in quantum mechanics
Clarke, Michel H. Devoret and John M. Martinis were awarded the Nobel Prize in physics Tuesday in Sweden for showing that two properties of quantum mechanics, the physical laws that rule the subatomic realm, could be observed on a system large enough...
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Trump promises cuts to ‘Democrat agencies’ during shutdown
The federal government remained shut down Thursday with no end in sight and President Donald Trump calling it an “unprecedented opportunity” to enact cuts targeting agencies that provide services cherished by Democrats. The threat came as his...
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State senator sued over failed cryptocurrency business
A Kentucky state senator is fighting multiple legal battles over a failed Bitcoin mining operation in Eastern Kentucky. Sen. Brandon Smith, R-Hazard, and his company Mohawk Energy are defendants in two lawsuits related to the company's property...
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Trump’s UK visit shifts from pomp to politics and investment
President Donald Trump and U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer unveiled a new technology partnership at a business roundtable Thursday, where they were joined by executives highlighting efforts to deepen ties on artificial intelligence and digital...
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Courthouse cost $32M to renovate, now valued at $2.8M
When the former Fayette County courthouse reopened in 2018 as a new multi-use building with offices, restaurant and event space, it was heralded as an achievement in historic preservation. The final price tag for the overhaul and facelift was north of...
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Family of man killed by London police files lawsuit
The family of a man shot and killed last year by London police filed a wrongful death lawsuit Wednesday, according to court documents. Doug Harless, 63, was shot and killed by police who were attempting to serve a search warrant late Dec. 23, 2024,...
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FCPS enacts new financial controls to limit budget problems
Fayette County Public Schools has enacted new financial controls to ward against budget problems that surfaced this summer. The new controls are aimed at ensuring the projected contingency more closely aligns with the year-end fund balance, which did...
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Records: Stine’s wife, daughter deny relationship with slain judge
The wife and daughter of former Letcher County Sheriff Shawn “Mickey” Stines deny any relationship with District Judge Kevin Mullins, according to grand jury transcripts. Mullins, 54, was shot and killed inside his chambers at the Letcher County...
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McConnell on his legacy, Beshear, Israel and more
Mitch McConnell has a message he’d like to get across. At the outset of a recent incause terview with the Herald-Leader, McConnell made a point to ask: What greater measure of popularity is there than elections? “These suggestions about who’s popular...
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A traumatized Minneapolis confronts another tragedy
Mayor Jacob Frey of Minneapolis shook his fist in sorrow and anger, spitting out words before the hastily assembled television cameras. “Don’t just say this is about thoughts and prayers right now,” he said Wednesday, referring to the three words...
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Vote on controversial Central KY industrial park set
The Franklin County Fiscal Court is expected to vote this week on a contentious zone change for an industrial park on the Franklin and Anderson county line. The proposed 175-acre industrial park along U.S. 127 has sparked a more than 10-month fight...
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Sneak peek of Gatton Park on Town Branch before it opens
Allison Lankford was delighted. The CEO of Gatton Park on Town Branch hustled across the newly planted grass to a team of construction workers who were testing the park’s water play area. The water flowed through the troughs and wheels, down to a...
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Takeaways from Trump’s meeting with Zelenskyy
President Donald Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders at the White House on Monday, in a cordial but inconclusive push to end Russia’s war in Ukraine. Much of the meeting focused on what security guarantees the...
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DC federal deployment ramps up as protesters start to gather
Protesters gathered around an array of law enforcement officers, including homeland security agents, who set up a police checkpoint Wednesday night in the busy U Street corridor in northwest Washington, as President Donald Trump’s takeover of law...
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Cuts ahead for Fayette County Public Schools without new money
Fayette County Public Schools is in dire need of more money to operate the 40,000-plus-student district. If the funds don’t come, painful staff cuts, reductions in student services and other notable slashes to the district’s operations could occur, a...
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ICE ups surveillance of asylum seekers in Kentucky
Teresa nodded and gave a brief smile to the receptionist behind the Plexiglass barrier as she signed the sheet attached to a clipboard shortly after 8 a.m. on a recent weekday. The Central Kentucky mother had been summoned to the drab, generic, white...
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House subpoenas Maxwell; Trump reportedly in Epstein files
A Republican-led House committee subpoenaed convicted sex offender and Jeffrey Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell on Wednesday to testify next month while The Wall Street Journal separately published its latest piece drawing a link between President...
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Future of Blue Grass Army Depot in question; layoffs feared
A union representing workers at the Blue Grass Army Depot in Madison County says it’s concerned about the future of the facility. Ryan McCarthy, a business representative for District 1888 of the IAM Union, the International Association of Machinists...
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Kentucky universities in compliance with DEI ban
University leaders across Kentucky say they are in compliance with the new law banning diversity, equity and inclusion policies and practices, which went into effect at the end of June. House Bill 4, which was passed by Kentucky lawmakers earlier this...
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Ex-girlfriend sought restraining order before KY shooting
For the past three months, the relationship between Guy House and his girlfriend had deteriorated. House had taken her driver’s license, gone through her phone to see who she was calling, checked to see if she was at work, and stalked her at a...
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KY Southern Baptist leader working to overturn gay marriage
Since the Supreme Court legalized gay marriage in 2015, Andrew Walker of Louisville has devoted much of his adult life working to get it overturned. That decade-long effort reached a milestone in June at the Southern Baptist Convention’s annual...
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Texas flood deaths exceed 100 with toll expected to rise
More than 100 people have been confirmed dead in floods that tore through central Texas over the weekend, marking a grim milestone as searchers used boats, dogs and drones to locate victims and authorities debated whether anything more could have been...
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Hall of Fame horse racing trainer D. Wayne Lukas dies
Legendary horse racing trainer D. Wayne Lukas — a fourtime Kentucky Derby winner — has died. The Lukas family released a statement Sunday afternoon: “It is with heavy hearts that we share the passing of our beloved husband, grandfather, and...
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Trump says US and Iran will talk next week, war over for now
President Donald Trump said the U.S. would hold a meeting with Iran next week but cast doubt on the need for a diplomatic agreement on the country’s nuclear program, citing the damage that American bombing had done to key sites. “We’re going to talk...
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After 40 years, journalism legend Estep retires notepad
He profiled coal miners, pot farmers, and snake handlers, exposed corrupt politicians, pill pushers and pedophiles, zigzagged the state to describe harrowing floods and tornadoes and changed Kentucky policy through his investigative reporting. He...
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SCOTUS shields Kentucky ban on transgender care for minors
Supreme Court of the United States ruled Wednesday to uphold a state ban on certain gender transition treatments for minors, strengthening the legality of Kentucky’s own ban passed in 2023. The high court’s six conservative justices upheld a Tennessee...
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Israel’s war with Iran may last weeks, not days
When Israel and Iran clashed last year, they fought in short and contained bursts that usually ended within hours, and both sides looked for off-ramps that allowed tensions to ebb. Since Israel started a new round of fighting Friday, the two countries...
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Lexington group finds community breakfasting at White Castle
It’s 9:30 on a Saturday morning at the White Castle on Reynolds Road, and the party is in full swing. Ten men, several wearing caps noting their military service, are gathered around tables that have been pushed together, and the coffee and...
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Developers, preservationists at odds over home near UK
A lawyer for a developer of a six-story apartment complex near the University of Kentucky says a demolition permit was mistakenly pulled for a home that preservationists and neighbors thought would be saved. Yet, it’s likely the home at 245 Stone Ave....
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Trump announces travel ban for citizens of 12 countries
President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced a travel ban on citizens of 12 countries, mostly in Africa and the Middle East, aiming to prevent or severely limit their entry to the United States. The policy is similar to a ban that Trump put into...
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Man charged with hate crime in Colorado flame attack
The man accused of an attack against demonstrators who were seeking to bring attention to hostages held in the Gaza Strip had been planning it for a year and told investigators that he wanted to “kill all Zionist people and wished they were all dead,”...
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Breeders’ Cup World Championships coming back to Keeneland
For the fourth time, horse racing’s world championships are coming to Central Kentucky. On Wednesday morning, it was announced that the 2026 Breeders’ Cup World Championships would be held at Keeneland Race Course. Next year’s Breeders’ Cup will take...
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Kentucky arts groups struggle as Trump’s cuts hit hard
Jordan Campbell got another round of bad news in early May. The executive director of the Gateway Regional Arts Center in Mount Sterling was notified that a $76,105 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts that helps the center grow its...
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House passes domestic policy bill, overcoming resistance
The House early Thursday narrowly passed a wide-ranging bill to deliver President Donald Trump’s domestic agenda, after Speaker Mike Johnson put down several mini-rebellions in Republican ranks to muscle the legislation to its first major victory over...
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Who were the 19 victims of storms in southeast KY?
As more information emerges about the victims of the weekend tornadoes in Laurel and Pulaski counties, countless tributes and notes of condolences have filled social media. Saturday night, Laurel County Coroner Doug Bowling and Pulaski County Coroner...
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Trump visits UAE in last stop of Middle East tour
President Donald Trump arrived Thursday in the United Arab Emirates for the final leg of a Middle East tour that has so far yielded a diplomatic breakthrough with Syria and deals for U.S. firms. After landing in Abu Dhabi, Trump was greeted by Sheikh...
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Trump arrives in Saudi Arabia on first leg of Mideast visit
President Donald Trump touched down in Saudi Arabia aboard Air Force One on Tuesday on the first stop of a fourday visit to the region, the first major overseas trip of his sectary ond term, with a focus on securing investment in the U.S. economy worth...
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Vatican announces first US pope: Leo XIV
Cardinal Robert Prevost of the United States has been elected the new pope and has chosen the name Pope Leo XIV. Pope Leo XIV is the first U.S. pope and the second American pope after Pope Francis, who was from the South American nation of...
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Father charged in deadly arson asks to attend funerals
A Frankfort father charged with arson in a fire that killed his two teenage sons at his first court appearance Monday morning requested release to attend their funerals. Dustin Fields, 44, was charged with first-degree arson May 1 after the Franklin...
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Hernandez on how Derby win has and hasn’t changed things
The jockey that wins the Kentucky Derby earns 10 percent of the victor’s purse. Last year, Brian Hernandez Jr. made $310,000 for booting Mystik Dan home first in a scintillating three-horse photo finish. Yet the cash may not be the most-appreciated...
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2025 Kentucky Derby: How owners made it to Churchill Downs
Getting a horse into the Kentucky Derby requires big dreams, and often big bank accounts. But that’s not always the case as syndicates, or groups of owners, band together to make a chase at the “Run for the Roses.” There are 47 owners listed among the...
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Distiller says she was fired after 11 days at distillery
The former master distiller at the financially troubled Garrard County Distilling Co. said Tuesday she was fired before she really got started. Lisa Wicker, who had been announced as master distiller in a Feb. 13, 2024, news release, was ousted...
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Parents try to save rural Eastern Kentucky school from closing
Parents of students at Arlie Boggs Elementary School praise the care teachers show the kids, the quality of instruction and the family atmosphere. But that may not be enough to save it. As the population declines in Eastern Kentucky, the tiny school...
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Trump’s tariff threat for imported medicines poses political risks
President Donald Trump’s decision to move a step closer to imposing tariffs on imported medicines poses considerable political risk, because Americans could face higher prices and more shortages of critical drugs. The Trump administration filed a...
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Inside Trump’s plan to halt hundreds of regulations
At the Department of Health and Human Services, Trump administration officials want to reverse a regulation that has required nursing homes to have more medical staff on duty. At the Mine Safety and Health Administration, powerful lobbying groups have...
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