>> cutting another 100 foot wide swath, but Frost art conservation corridor and remove some critical habitat.

>> A Kentucky nature preserve loses a legal battle over a proposed natural gas pipeline.

>> Necessitated.

Then we react.

We respond.

>> Kentucky's only private historically black college respond to the Department of Justice's report about Louisville police misconduct.

>> Doesn't matter.

He spent 2 years for year 6 for 20 plus years.

You come out of the services can be a struggle getting back into the civilian, quote, unquote, mindset.

>> And see how one Kentucky University is making the transition from military to civilian life.

A little easier for some of its students.

And turning bourbon barrels into bow ties.

>> We'll help you tie one on.

>> Production of Kentucky Edition is made possible in part by the KET Endowment for Kentucky Productions.

Leonard Press Endowment for Public Affairs and the KET Millennium Fund.

♪ ♪ >> Good evening and welcome to Kentucky EDITION on this Wednesday.

April, the 5th, I'm Renee Shaw.

Thank you for winding down your Wednesday with us.

We begin tonight with business and environmental news.

A judge has ruled Louisville gas and Electric can take property owned by the burn Time.

Arboretum and research Forest.

>> For a proposed natural gas pipeline, LG and E and burn time.

We're in a lawsuit over whether the utility company could use Kentucky's eminent domain law for easements on the property.

Our Casey Parker Bell spoke to Burn Times.

Executive director Mark warms about the ruling and what comes next.

>> Welborn I'm of course, is is difficult.

I but not surprised.

>> A bullet County judge has ruled against burn time are in research forest and in favor of Louisville, gas and electric.

The ruling will allow LG and E to purchase land for the installation of a new natural gas pipeline.

>> Using Kentucky's and that domain law, the proposed LG pipeline runs through part of Burnham's property.

The 12 Mile Line will connect 2 separate natural gas lines provide more distribution.

Parts of board county.

Burn Times executive director had this to say about the rule.

>> What this means is that our 3 and a half almost four-year battle too protect land are rised, protect our conservation easements in it and be sure that that legal entity of conservation easement stays intact and say straw for all and across the state has just taken a blow.

>> Well, Jeanne released a statement about the ruling.

It reads, We are pleased with the outcome of the proceeding.

This project will enhance for liability for current customers in the area and expand capacity to support energy needs of this quickly growing region.

But Byrne Himes, executive director since the pipeline will hurt the environment.

>> Cutting another 100 foot wide swath across our conservation corps, remove some critical habitat.

It exposes land on the spills.

It should not be exposed and they're very unstable, which means erosion and slip.

It's walker polluting the local streams and sprains.

>> And the fight over the proposed pipeline may not be over.

>> You all have plans to appeal.

>> Well, we're we're investigating.

Are I can tell you that regardless or not and will continue to work for national labs and protection of national labs.

And that's where Waters.

>> For Kentucky edition, I'm Casey Parker Bell.

>> LG and E has 69 of the 78 easements.

It needs to complete the pipeline.

On March 8th.

The U.S. Department of Justice to publish its findings on a report of a thorough investigation into the Louisville Metro Police Department and the city of Louisville.

According to the report, the LMPD showed a pattern of constitutional violations specifically that the LMPD uses excessive force and dangerous neck restraints, conduct searches based on invalid warrants discriminates against black people regarding enforcement and response inappropriately to people with behavioral health disabilities.

Simmons College of Kentucky, an HBCU in Louisville is responding to that report by opening a new center for racial justice.

Yesterday's announcement was paired with the unity service commemorating the 55th anniversary of Doctor Martin Luther King Junior's assassination.

♪ >> All >> the people you.

>> We'll see how the waiting.

>> Then on the day the king gave his locks.

We're going to see.

Justice take place later on today.

The DOJ report necessitated.

Then we react.

We and Simmons College.

Has decided.

>> To start the.

>> Jesse Louis Jackson center.

For Racial Justice.

Person to speak to Martin Luther King.

Was the Reverend Jesse Jackson.

Jesse Jackson pick up the mantle of Doctor King.

And since 1968, to 55 years, he has been a stalwart champion.

Of Justice.

Purpose and mission of the Simmons College.

Jesse Louis Jackson Center for Racial Justice.

Is to respond to the disparities.

That our to the police MS Ms condo in our city in our nations.

The state of Kentucky is not percent black.

But yet we comprise 21% of the prison population.

If Kentucky was jus.

We would only be 9.2% of the Not encourage you to continue to pray for our institution right here in Louisville.

Speak of it.

Well, encourage our citizens to come.

And join.

Those are coming from across the nation to be students.

>> At Louisville's HBCU.

>> Simmons College of Kentucky is one of only 2 HBC use in this day.

The other one being in Kentucky State University in Frankfort.

Congressman Thomas Massie of Kentucky's 4th congressional district tweeted this about yesterday's arraignment.

Our former President Donald Trump.

He says, quote, Alvin Bragg should be disbarred and removed from office.

This is an egregious abuse of the legal system for political purposes and threatens the fabric of our judicial system.

End quote.

Bragg is the district attorney for Manhattan.

The man prosecuting former President Donald Trump.

Congressman Morgan McGarvey of the 3rd district is the only Democrat in Kentucky's congressional delegation last week after the grand jury indicted Trump, he tweeted this, quote, No one is above the law.

Even a former president for our system to work the rich and powerful must be held accountable just like anyone else who's credibly accused of doing something illegal and quote.

Senator Rand Paul has criticized the indictment saying Alvin Bragg, he says should be put in jail.

Paul also continues to speak out against the idea of banning TikTok the Chinese own social media app.

The restrictive bill is a response to concerns that TikTok can be used to gather personal data about Americans speaking on the Senate floor last week, Paul said a proposed ban is unconstitutional and we give a president too much power.

>> There are 2 main reasons why we might not want to do this.

The would be the First Amendment of the Constitution.

Speech is protected.

Whether you like it or not.

The second reason would be is that the Constitution actually prohibits bills of detained.

You're not allowed to have a specific bill against a person or So this fails onto egregious points.

Pretty obvious points.

And I think we ought to think about I think we should be aware of those who peddle I think we should be aware of those who use fear to coax Americans to link was our liberties to regulate unlimited our First Amendment rights.

Every accusation of data gathering that's been attributed to TikTok could also be attributed to domestic big tech companies.

In fact, one of the bills are looking at doing is broad enough that the president will be given the power to designate one ever country.

He sees fit to be an adversary and whatever company underneath that definition, it would basically be a limitless authority for the president to ban speech.

>> The U.S. House is considering similar legislation during the session of the Kentucky General Assembly.

It ban TikTok from state issued devices nearly half the states have done the same.

The Army now has the flight data recorders often called black boxes from the 2 Black Hawk helicopters that crashed in Trigg County last week.

9 soldiers from the 100st airborne stationed at Fort Campbell were killed in the crash.

It was during a nighttime training mission last Wednesday night.

Now this is file video showing you a Black Hawk helicopter.

The recorders have been sent to Fort Rucker, Alabama as the investigation continues.

The 9 soldiers remains have been sent to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.

There were no Kentucky natives on either helicopter.

Hardin County is getting some help paying for water projects tourism, law enforcement and education.

The state is a warning the county more than 10 million dollars about 2 million of that will go to the school system to expand the early college and career center.

Almost 7 million from the cleaner water program will upgrade sewer mains, extend water lines and pay for a new water tank.

The Hardin County Sheriff's Office will get about $77,000 from the Kentucky Office of Homeland Security.

♪ ♪ >> Time now for our midweek check and of some major political developments in Kentucky with our good friend Rylan Barton.

He's the managing editor of Kentucky Public Radio.

Good to see your island.

>> It's eat every day.

>> So we're going to KET dissecting the legislative session that was.

So let's just start talking by about what kind of bipartisan bills did you see this time that really had some success?

The got to the governor's desk that he signed.

What's your take on it?

>> I mean, I think the 2 big marquee bills are the bills medical cannabis.

It also sports betting a those are the 2 bills that the governor had really signaled way ahead of time that you would back.

So Democrats are already going to be behind that.

We already KET said that some Republicans are in favor of that.

Obviously, these have been issues that happened the legislature before.

But again, they they been stymied, especially, I guess both those bills really in the Senate.

that seems like the big bipartisan moment of of of this session is is the Senate kind of coming behind that even though wasn't everybody.

But there are folks from both parties and they were in line with what the what the governor wanted, as well as obviously some other bipartisan measures that did not make it for years.

A bill to ban conversion therapy the discredited practices of of trying to that people, sexual orientation.

That's about it.

Taking up also the Crown Act which would ban discrimination based on a natural hair or hairstyles.

This is, you know, had a Republican sponsor in the Senate and still working able to get anywhere despite this being something been discussed for several years and really last legislative session that the Crown Act got to come in here.

though those wants to get the momentum.

But medical cannabis and sports betting of the big bipartisan takeaways.

I think.

>> And we should mention when it comes to the Crown Act, the prime sponsor vac, Senator Whitney Westerfield says he's not going to seek reelection after this next session 2024.

So we'll see if you actually proposes that bill in the regular session.

And 24, yeah, I'll have that one last session to do it.

So we'll see if it comes up.

>> Yeah.

So while one particular bill that we know there was a lot of party and political division over and that's SB One 50, which is the sweeping anti trans.

We do the transgender youth measure and we know that perhaps, you know, the ACLU or maybe other groups are looking at mounting a lawsuit against this.

>> The ACLU has been threatening to sue over this for a while since this bill was being discussed.

And they, you know, once it passed or and once lawmakers overrode the governor's veto over that, they once again threaten to do that, they're still nothing This is a huge bill.

There's lots and lots of different provisions in it and some of them take effect at different times.

There's a whole bucket of provisions that affect Those take effect immediately.

Schools have to start figuring out policies related transgender people using the bathroom.

They also have to set policies and the new restrictions on how teachers discuss sexuality and gender in class So those take effect immediately.

And then there's some other health of the restrictions that deal with a gender affirming medical care.

Those don't take effect until June.

29.

I don't know.

I don't.

I love the ACLU is thinking about this as the weather.

You know, what point do these provisions take effect?

But that is the thing that's going on right on that school part really, this is going to be a whole of schools trying to figure out these policies before next year And really, you know, those discussions are starting to happen now.

>> Yeah, those are going to be an interesting that will be happening at the school board meeting.

So let's talk about of development on the last day hours before they went into sine die awesome House Republican leadership for House Republican leadership made some changes and some committee assignments and it affected a handful of Republicans who were booted off some committees.

So tell us what you know about this.

>> Yeah.

And this is relied on reporting from the terror leader in the Courier Journal.

So credit where Credit's at the last one of the final moves.

And during this year's legislative session in the House, the House majority kicked off several members from are several Republicans from the committees are are some of their committees.

but really this comes down to there being a very large, 80, 80 out of Republicans in that in the house right now Division start getting created when a caucus gets that big.

So there are some moves that some folks in the GOP had made that the leadership was not happy and so has been really is a bit of housekeeping.

They were removed from some of their committees.

the full to remove their come from the committees are saying that this is punishment for speaking out majority So one example being Josh Holloway who had spoken out against really trying to include of severe parents rights in in a Senate bill 5, the so-called don't say gay bill.

One pass out of the House seat.

you filed filed several amendments to try to included and lawmakers who tried to vote in favor of getting those minutes of heard.

And in speaking out against House leadership for a striking those down and not allowing them to be attached.

The bill.

I think another of notable inclusion here a northern Kentucky state Representative Ken Mosher who is removed from her post on the licensee are key patients and administrative regulations.

Committee she had told the Courier Journal or against another lawmaker, Felicia Rayburn had told the Courier-Journal that that was because Jim Mosier had said addressing the that don't think of us as Neanderthals for voting in favor of these sorts of restrictive bills, anti-trans bills and for also passing a vote on the Senate bill.

One, 50 anti-trans bill.

So it's a bit of housekeeping that undertook at the end of the legislative session Some Republicans are mad about it.

But this is you know, this is a thing that goes back to the legislative history for decades.

Majority leadership gets to decide who sits on committees and and really how and whether tweak or punish lawmakers for not falling in line with leadership.

Very interesting.

What happens at the very tail end of the legislative session.

people might not remember some of these You know, 9 months later in the legislature draws back in for the regular session.

>> And just a tease it out.

We'll have people go to the Kentucky tonight that we aired on Monday night.

When I asked that question to Representative Suzanne Miles, is there House Majority caucus chair?

She gave an answer and says it's just it's just the way things work and trying to prepare for an interim session.

So go back and watch that on line.

Folks.

Lastly, real we've got the big news of yesterday with president former President Donald Trump.

34 felony counts and we haven't heard the Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky say anything at this particular point at the time that we talked today around 2.33, o'clock.

>> This is kind of par for the course when talking to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell about Donald Trump since 2020, they supposedly have not spoken to each other at all.

Since then.

And this is really after years of of tense tense But also McConnell is one of the chief people who help Donald Trump get elected by holding pause on the on the nomination of a Supreme Court justice.

The 2016.

So, you know, it's it's been a tense relationship and and McConnell is really not sticking his neck out at this moment to defend or criticize the former president.

And this is this is just kind of how it's worked for the last while McConnell's not going to, you know, he does not going to get in trouble for not saying anything.

Yeah.

>> Well, thank you, Robin Barton for saying plenty and in the time we have, we appreciate it.

Taken care.

♪ ♪ >> According to data from Veterans Affairs, the 75% of veterans enrolled in post-secondary education after they leave the military.

A program at Northern Kentucky University aims to help military affiliated students adapt to life in the classroom.

It's also giving staff and faculty the tools to assist and better understand the needs of the students.

>> Transition general stuff.

We know this.

We also know that is extremely important to be engaged with other like-minded folks, the greens, Amber Gate was established 2 years ago for Veterans Day.

We launch it to train faculty and staff to learn more about military connected and veteran students coming into university in the ones that are here to make sure that there set up to provide them with guidance by the resources and have a better understand what their experiences are from being in.

The service are going through some type of that service environment to be successful in the classroom.

It's >> kind of hard for a lot of us just, you know, getting started.

I went to high school and I did my first semester and then I left for an appointment for a whole year and then I had to come back.

So that transition from coming back.

Home is really hard.

So I it kind of took me a while.

It doesn't matter if you spent 2 years for year 6 for 20 plus years.

>> You come out of the service and it says can be a struggle getting back into civilian quote, unquote, mindset.

>> Like no computer.

And some of the things that we learned in the training to include how to speak to our veteran sometimes it's simply what what are the right questions to ask?

Also, just to be able to know that we can you could build relationships with a veteran students and those have been really rewarding to see.

A lot of veteran students are very focused on what they want to do.

And they they kind of have a really good sense of the journey that they want to take and what goals that they're going after.

>> I went through the Green Zone Brigade training, which is a really helpful session in terms of how best to support our veterans so that everything from what to talk about are not talk about what questions to ask or not ask what it's fair to expect of people how what they might be navigating in a major life transition.

You know how we can be sensitive to support that.

When they go to that training, it helps them better understand what we're kind of going through.

What we're feeling.

>> And hopes that transition from from being away for so long and then coming back into school and then do performing as well.

The biggest difference I see having done the Green Zone Brigade training is I'm more confident and how I interact with our veterans students and how I support them.

How I express my gratitude for their service, how I support their learning in our programs.

I do think the program is having great success and in for our veterans students themselves.

I it's just important >> we not only appreciate our veterans Service, think about ways to make our veterans feel comfortable and more >> appreciated one saying leave that service.

>> Northern Kentucky University said over 127 faculty and staff of gone through the Green Zone.

BRI grade training.

The training is offered monthly.

♪ ♪ Bourbon with Hart.

A Louisville based nonprofit just opened its second exhibit this past weekend.

It partnered with crews, customs and local artists to create 50.

You make wooden bow ties made out of old bourbon barrels each boat.

I was sponsored by a local bourbon brand or business to raise funds for other local nonprofits.

More in our Arts and Culture segment called Tapestry.

>> And the way they came up with this idea is we wanted to do something unique.

Again, something that had never been done before and it's derby season.

So we thought about had to be thought about bow ties.

And then we thought what if we made the bow ties out of very good to us and then I had connected with a group of U.S. military veterans who are woodworkers, which is artist and in its own right.

And they had discovered that woodworking was great therapy for PTSD.

So I approached them and said, would you be able to create those highs out of Bergen?

Dallas.

And they said sure.

So they hand card for the 50 bow ties and then they went on to 25 local artist who then designed them and turned them into the works of art that you'll see at this exhibit.

>> It is.

>> The way that we shows the artist with the public artist Paul.

Just like with our first thing that it was difficult because we were flooded with incredible Lee, talented Kentucky artists that were up line.

And as much as we love our artists from the Vale exhibit, we wanted to give 25 brand new artists and this opportunity they were able to use any medium to turn their into a work of art.

So we have everything from little mirrored disco ball tiles to Legos to ceramic to medal.

2 more lead.

We're KET eye.

We have every type of medium and this exhibit was just makes it cook.

One thing that I think is important.

>> About what everyone does is we want to get across the message.

right is more than just a novelty or just a hobby.

>> That art has the power to unite people and bring people together that you may not otherwise see together.

And when you come to one of the exhibits, we certainly see that happening.

But also behind each one of these pieces.

There's a story and we even have one piece here and that is a Vietnam.

>> That you're in tribute piece and it's actually a Vietnam veteran helmet cover and written on that is the name of every soldier that died that particular day killed in action.

And it's been sponsored by one of the soldiers, sisters.

So that's just one example.

But every one of these 50 pieces.

>> It is more than just something called a look at it.

This story and it is it's the >> What extraordinary works of art.

The boat tied together.

Exhibit is open now through the Kentucky Derby at the Galt House in Louisville.

The funds raised through this exhibit will primarily go to support the leukemia, leukemia and lymphoma Society could cause.

Is there.

So I sat down today with Kentucky Senate Majority Floor Leader Damon Thayer as he took a look back at this year's Kentucky General Assembly.

You'll see part of that interview tomorrow and the Transylvania pioneers, basketball women are back from Dallas as undefeated national champions in division 3 basketball.

We'll catch up with them tomorrow after their big homecoming today.

And and I is back in business in Letcher County after the floods last July.

What this storm means to the community will tell you tomorrow on Kentucky EDITION, which we hope will see you 4 at 6.30, Eastern 5.30, central where we inform connect and inspire.

Subscribe to our e-mail newsletter and watch full episodes and clips akt Dot Org.

You can find this on the PBS video app on your mobile device and smart TV.

>> And send us a story idea.

And public affairs at KET Dot Org.

Thank you so much for watching tonight.

I'm Renee Shaw.

I hope to see you right back here again tomorrow night.

Take good care.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪