♪ >> Teachers, it would help students.

It would help our whole society.

>> The case for keeping students phone-free in the classroom.

These places and disappear and they can disappear without a whisper.

>> We learn about the art show honoring women who preserve Kentucky's land.

>> It's not just you're getting hit by a bear.

If you're actually giving more than that.

And find out who benefits when you buy a bear.

Production of Kentucky Edition is made possible in part by the KET Millennium Fund.

♪ ♪ >> Good Evening and welcome to Kentucky edition on this midweek.

It is Wednesday, December, the 4th.

>> I'm Renee Shaw and we thank you for winding down your Wednesday with us today.

The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in a transgender rights case from Tennessee that could have legal implications right here in Kentucky, Tennessee passed a law that bans gender affirming care for minors.

The father suing over Tennessee's law says the ban on gender affirming care is a quote, active threat to his transgender daughter's future.

He says she had to travel out of state to receive health care.

The court has to decide if the Tennessee law violates the equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.

That clause requires equal treatment under the law.

At least 26 states, including Kentucky, have passed legislation similar similar to the Tennessee law and arguments that lasted for more than 2 hours today.

5 of the 6 conservative justices voiced skepticism of arguments made by the Biden administration and the chief Justice John Roberts questioned whether judges should be weighing in on a question of regulating medical procedures.

An area usually left to the states to decide.

>> I think that we're, you know, we can do just as good a job with respect to the the evidence here is is, you know, Tennessee or anybody else.

But my understanding is that the Constitution leaves that question to the people's representatives rather than to 9 people, one of whom is a doctor.

>> Justice Sonia Sotomayor pushed back against the assertion that the Democratic process would be the best way to address objections to the law.

She cited a history of laws discriminating against others, noting that transgender people make up a small percentage of the U.S. population >> we KET one percent of the population or lettuce very hard to see how the Democratic Party says he's going to protect you while you're on to.

Lex were much larger part of the population and didn't protect the didn't protect women in the first 2 centuries.

>> Now we have reaction from David Walls, the executive director of the Conservative Family Foundation of Kentucky.

He says, quote, for all of human history, the truth that the human person is objectively and profoundly male or female has been the cornerstone of all civilizations.

We pray that the court's decision will recognize the harms perpetrated upon children in the name of gender, affirming care and that they would rightly allowed for Kentucky, Tennessee and other states to protect our most vulnerable fellow image bears from lifelong harm.

The end of quote.

Under outgoing President Joe Biden.

The U.S. Department of Education has called a limit students cell phone use saying it can be a hazard to classroom learning and kids mental health.

Yesterday, the federal agency released a guide to help local government and school leaders create their own policies saying there is no one size fits all Kentucky lawmakers have debated the issue in the past this year.

One lawmaker told educators he supports a statewide ban that schools can lean on.

>> This would be the one thing that we could do.

It would help teachers.

It would help students.

It would help our whole society.

So I would hope that we will take a serious look at taking the heat off of you all making this a a law and then letting you have a look back at the grout grassroots level.

>> A statewide ban was proposed in the last legislative session.

We'll see if it comes back next year.

The U.S. Department of Education says cell phones, quote, May also have negative health effects spurs on on people like depression and suicidal ideation, sleep disruption or exposure to cyber bullying.

Kentucky tax revenue could go down during the current fiscal year which started July first.

That's only happened twice before in the last 50 years.

The Lexington Herald-Leader reports that the state budget director is predicting a drop in tax revenue of about 1.4% or 223 million dollars compared to the last fiscal year.

It's because of the income tax cut and slowing growth from sales taxes.

But the Herald leader says despite the drop in tax revenues, some Republican leaders and the Kentucky General Assembly are still in favor of another half point cut in the state income tax, taking it down to 3.5%.

The Kentucky community and technical College system is being sued by a former employee for allegedly violating the Kentucky Whistleblower Act.

The Kentucky Lantern reports Hana Rivera filed the suit 3 months after she left the college system.

She worked to kctcs for more than a decade and held numerous roles, including manager of Government Affairs.

Rivera claims she was wrongfully terminated after make unquote numerous good faith.

Reports of waste, mismanagement and violations of the laws of the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

Kctcs denies Rivera's claims and is asking a Franklin circuit judge to dismiss her lawsuit.

A hearing is scheduled for next Wednesday last month.

A forensic audit of Kctcs found no signs of fraud.

The audit was recommended by the Kentucky General Assembly after the previous president of Kctcs suggested past administrations.

We're not accurately document and financial transactions.

Former Kentucky agriculture commissioner and Republican gubernatorial primary candidate Ryan corals took over Kctcs back in January.

Almost 4 years after the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Another Kentuckyian has pleaded guilty to charges related to the attack on Monday.

Matthew Brent Carver of Vanceburg pleaded guilty to obstruction of law enforcement.

Court documents say Carver breached the Capitol and when police officers approached him, he took a quote, aggressive stand and yelled, come on, bring it before grabbing an officer's baton and trying to take it from him.

The FBI arrested Carver in Kentuckyian January of this year.

A judge is scheduled to sentence Carver on March 5th 2020 foot.

25, however, President elect Donald Trump will be in office by that time and he has promised a pardon.

Those convicted in connection to the January 6th attack.

President elect Trump's nominee to head the drug Enforcement Administration or DEA has withdrawn Chad Chronister is the sheriff for Hillsborough County, Florida.

He withdrew yesterday without saying why libertarians and some conservatives criticized the choice because of Chronister his actions as sheriff during the COVID pandemic.

Congressman Thomas Massie of Kentucky opposed the nomination.

This is what he said on social media.

Quote, the sheriff ordered the arrest of a pastor for holding services during the COVID pandemic.

He was tapped by Trump to head the D a glad to see him withdraw from consideration.

Next time politicians lose their ever love and minds.

You can redeem himself by following the Constitution, end quote.

U.S.

Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky is speaking out about the cease-fire in the Middle East.

That cease-fire continues to hold even as Israel launches strikes in Lebanon as it accuses Hezbollah of violating the terms of the cease-fire.

Senator McConnell says he's glad to see an agreement, but he still seems skeptical about the long-term picture.

Or sell.

And hopes ensure looters much.

>> A durable and they made it on click.

But both hope is not a strategy.

And I know better than to expect on the Steelers.

From Hart and Parrish.

The not even a year and a half ago to believe that Iran and its proxies.

And so we decided to show Israel.

2.

>> McConnell urges the U.S. to continue providing strong backing to Israel and also to Ukraine and its continuing war with Russia.

And Kentucky.

Now union city commissioner who lost his bid for reelection in November is suing the Boone County clerk.

According to Link Nky Doug van calls the election quote, botched his lawsuit comes after some voters claimed that received the wrong ballots at to union polling places.

And a statement.

Vaughn says the election was an absolute disaster.

Uses phrases like deeply flawed process and grocer regularity.

Ys County Clerk Justin Curricular wrote an opinion piece for link Nky.

He says the ballot problem was because of human error and there was no attempt at fraud.

Craig Miller says he's confident the integrity of election was not compromised.

♪ Time now to talk about some major political news so far this week with Rylan Barton, who's an editor and reporter with National Public Radio.

NPR.

Good to see your island.

>> It seemed to Renee.

>> Let's start with the new or the incoming Kentucky Senate majority Floor Leader Max Wise, who was a 10 year Senator.

He first started serving in 2015 and now he's been a chairman of committees and now he is making his ascension soon as the majority floor leader.

And he's making the media rounds to talk about his role and how he's going to manage the caucus and we need the bills.

And he's also said there is one issue in particular that will not be on the back burner, but the front burner.

And what is that and why?

>> Yeah, it's the so-called Anti Dei Bill, Anti Diversity, Equity and inclusion of Bill for higher education.

This is something that he had been a player and trying to get a bill passed this last year.

There is there a couple different versions of what that policy could look like.

And also he was somebody who championed this Yelp's in K 12 education sponsoring the bill that you really tried to limit.

How people talk about race of people talk about history.

Also, how teachers talk about sex and sexuality in the classroom.

So this one is geared towards higher education.

The version that had been proposed this last year was the of trying to prohibit discriminatory concepts in non classrooms settings.

But also it was something that what a fun event and universities from requiring a new statements from a staffer, Falcon faculty and students on the of the promising to teach around diversity and other issues of, you know, this has been part of a larger movement across the country of conservatives trying to dismantle some of these diversity forward programs, especially in higher education.

But we've seen in the private sector as well.

A lot of this has all happened after the U.S. Supreme Court ruling from last year that undermined affirmative action programs in higher education.

So a lot of these state legislatures, but also universities and they're kind of concerted leaders on their own have been doing this year versus around Kentucky have already started doing this on their own.

And you really and anticipation of a bill like this, though, its start dismantling it.

So, you know, some universities like university, Kentucky, northern Kentucky University of started dismantling their dei programs on their own.

>> All right.

And we've even heard the House Speaker David Osborne say that in reaction to what the universities have done, that they will try to codify some of that to make sure, but that hold.

So we'll KET our eye on that when the session begins on January 7.

And oh, yeah, a lot to the already starting before we start, right.

So now let's talk about Washington and our 2 U.S. senators.

The first the junior U.S.

Senator Rand Paul is in the news and the enterprising reporter that he is Tom Loftus with the Kentucky Lantern has uncovered.

That was U.S.

Senator Rand Paul has been going on some lavish trips courtesy to some political donors.

Tell us about this >> Yeah, Tom Loftus retired a couple of years ago that you wouldn't really build a notice from all the great journalism that he's done over the last couple years yet as he discovered that Rand Paul of your most recently had spent about $50,000 in campaign money for luxurious hotels, restaurants and travel Services in Sweden and Denmark over over the is and I think this is last year and earlier this year and this was, you know, this is Rand Paul's campaign says this is an authorized use of that campaign money that he was using it to raise for other money.

Sure, it is illegal to raise campaign funds from foreign nationals.

But they're saying that this was for, you know, this is for other United States citizens were traveling abroad.

But also United States citizens who live abroad as well.

And they say they raised about $100,000 from that in a Tom story, he said they didn't respond to a question of whether or not that accounted for the 50,000 that they paid for that or if that was just the, you know, the the the total gross if they were able to get from that particular campaign trips.

This also continues a pattern for Senator Paul in and booking some pretty you know, campaign trips around the country is campaigns reported about 25 grand at a ski resort in Utah over the 2022 election period of another $19,000 and bookings through ski dot com.

A lot of a lot of other trips to ski ski resorts around the country.

And there's there's also trip to Hawaii here.

But again, this campaign defends this is this is yeah, this is how he is raising money for his political campaigns and is political.

Let's pull political action committees which have done quite well and especially in recent years, there has about at the end of the last campaign at about 2020, the time about 5 million dollars left in the bank in 2022.

And now since then, he raced another 7 million dollars.

So it's the strips of we know the the worked out, I guess, because it came to his campaign coffers are really overflowing.

He's not really running into many competitive races and the future any won't be up for re-election until 2028.

>> Right.

And there's nothing illegal about what he's doing right?

>> Then there's an again as long as he's raising money through United States citizens, whether they live abroad are traveling abroad.

You know, there's nothing.

There's nothing improper about this as long as those, you know, as long as those trips can be justified is no legitimate meeting with the potential donors for to raise money for his campaign and his political careers.

>> So shifting to the a senior U.S.

Senator Mitch McConnell.

There's been a story by Austin Warren of the Lexington Herald-Leader and others who talked about what's next and who is gunning for his seat in 2026.

And in McConnell, as we have reported, has not announced his intentions to retire from the upper chamber or run in Twenty-twenty 6.

But there are some reporting that suggests some folks may be positioning themselves for such a run.

>> Alston.

A part of the Lexington Herald-Leader discovered that somebody has been a lot of The campaign websites for Kentucky politicians for Senate to who it might run for Senate in 2026 when McConnell would be up for re-election.

So 6th district Congressman Andy Barr, a second district on a Congressman Brett Guthrie, first district Congressman James Comer, Daniel Cameron, the former Attorney-General ran for governor.

Also U.S. ambassador to United Nations Kelly Craft.

And these are Web sites that are kind of like Andy Barr for Senate dot com, James Comer for Senate dot com.

These are all of them.

They do.

None of the Camp Kennedy took an for these potential candidates would confirm that they're actually seeking officer and there's really no indication of who's doing this.

There's a bit of a practice of people squatting on websites like this.

Just in case somebody runs for office and and they really want to have have that domain names that they can get that candidate to then buy from them.

There's actually a pretty famous example this year where somebody had bought the harris-walz dot com.

A website ahead of that campaign.

That ticket being created and the end of the campaign in the buying that website.

I mean, from from that person for $15,000.

So it can be quite lucrative for people to do that.

And it seems like somebody may have gone ahead and done that on behalf of some of these Republican candidates.

As you said, Mitch McConnell has not said that he's not running for re-election.

You know, certainly seems like some signs are pointing that way since he stepped down from Republican leadership in the Senate this year.

And but we will see him are kind of waiting to see what happens there.

Still still a couple more years to to decide on that.

>> Yeah, certainly.

But the fund raising will start soon sooner rather than later.

Right?

Well, good to hear from you.

Always rylan for your insight, your perspective about these issues and more and we'll talk to you next week.

>> C to an end.

♪ ♪ >> It's a great time to buy a bear, a teddy bear.

That is first lady Martha Wilkinson, Big Ed, the Teddy trooper program run by the Kentucky State Police and 1989 misses Wilkinson held the ball to raise money to pay for 2000 trooper, Teddy bears.

After some years without any funding, ksp came up with an idea to sell the Bears to the public to KET the program going.

>> The trick for Teddy project is an outreach project for the Kentucky State Police where we give these little bears out to children who may be having a crisis or a traumatic experience that could be a car crash.

That could be an investigation, whether it's like a sexual assault investigation or we're maybe it's an instance where a trooper is having too possibly a rest apparent.

And of course, a child is a little bit upset at that point.

And the troopers able to provide a bear build trust, calm the child down.

We also give these bears out to children who are dealing with the critical or terminal illness.

One of our favorite things, we do the tears.

We go to the hospitals here in Kentucky and we provide bears to children who are L. And these bears have been everywhere with the western Kentucky tornadoes.

Our troopers and after the initial impact of the tornado.

And they provided these bears to children.

We sell the Bears.

To raise funds so that we can continue purchasing the Bears twice a year.

We have a big sale.

The Valentine's Day sale and then our Black Friday sale which is going on now through Wednesday night.

We put the Bears on sell for $20 and it's not just your getting to by a bear.

You're actually giving more than that.

The purchase of this pair allows us to purchase 2 more bears.

This is opportunity for us to humanized the badge.

You know, troopers are out there and they have a job to do.

But there also humans, their fathers, their mothers, aunts, uncles, in the opportunity to reach out to children and and to have that connection through even a teddy bear like this means a lot.

It's not just about supporting state police.

It's about supporting your fellow Kentuckians.

I can recall the Marshall County School shooting and that was a tough time.

And you think about these bears, you think about little kids, but our troopers were interviewing the students at that high school and they gave out some of these bears.

So it doesn't matter if they're little kids or even teenagers.

When somebody is going to a crisis just having a little something like this will bring a little bit of joy or at least a little bit of comfort no matter what the circumstances.

>> The Kentucky State troopers also go to nursing homes to pass out bears to the elderly, the sale to buy a trooper Teddy Berenson.

It can find out more information about the program online at Kentucky State Police Dot com.

♪ ♪ From the Western Kentucky coal fields to Appalachian Mountains, the land that makes up our state is as diverse as it is beautiful Gaia sentinels as a series of paintings inspired by the women who take care of this land from dairy farmers to forestry directors learn more about the special connection means women have to their land and this week's look at arts and culture.

We call tapestry.

>> So in 2022, I received a grant from the Kentucky Foundation for Women to do a series of 3 workshops at Nature.

Conservancy's around Kentucky.

Interestingly, when I did these workshops, several of the participants and for instance, the director of the conservancy.

>> We're >> women and they had a really incredible story to share.

So I applied again for another grant to actually feature these female land stewards.

So that could be a a farm or a scientist.

>> And a forest or a land manager.

What my purpose was is I wanted to feature the most meaningful are sacred place on their land that they steward and bring that kind of awareness to a broader audience.

Bridget Abernathy, she is the assistant director of Forestry of the whole list, the state Forestry office in Kentucky Littleton Trail was a very meaningful place for her because that's >> where she would hike free when Lee and when she was pregnant with her first child.

She went on this hike on this Mother's Day hike for her very first Mother's Day.

And so that really became an important place for her.

They all had stories like that.

Each one had significant, meaningful, tangible relationships with the land.

They steward folks who are in the conservancy field.

It is hard to.

To to kind of to their own horn and draw attention to it in a way that impacts the viewer or the average person.

So I think art does a lot to help, you know, draw that awareness to what they're doing in a very interesting way.

I've I have discovered that not only as an artist, but as an art educator that nature and art really go hand in hand and our I it's an important way to advocate for nature.

Most of all, I want people to come away with hope and a sense of wonder and curiosity.

About the natural world.

I I don't want to paint just pretty pictures because these places can disappear.

And they can disappear without a whisper.

So I just hope that.

We appreciate what we have.

Now.

And I hope that we enlarge the garden of what is possible even at her own.

Our own small ways in our own yards in our own lives.

How can we enlarge the garden like these fantastic women are doing.

Gaia sentinels is on display at the Louisville Visual art through December.

The 11th high school students in Lexington are giving back during the holidays in a special way.

>> So this is something that has been on the hearts of Dunbar students for 17 years.

>> The story behind staff, the ambulance tomorrow night on Kentucky edition, which, you know, to join us for at 6.30, Eastern 5.30, central where we inform connect and inspire.

You can connect with us all the ways you see on your screen, Facebook, X and Instagram to stay in the loop.

Not just Kentucky Edition things but also all things public affairs and K T send us a story idea at KET at public affairs at KET Dot Org and look for us on the PBS app.

Thank you so much for joining us.

I'm Renee Shaw.

Until I see you again.

Take really good care.

Have a great night.

♪