♪ >> Just how bad is it?

We'll get a bird's eye view of some eastern Kentucky flooding.

>> It's going to get really cold.

>> The floods are just part of the problem.

I'm I'm I'm interested in taking that state.

Why?

Because I love Kentucky.

Plus, Congressman Andy Barr talks to Kentucky edition about whether he's looking for a promotion.

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

♪ ♪ Good Evening and welcome to Kentucky EDITION on this Tuesday.

It's February, the 18th, I'm Renee Shaw.

All we thank you for spending some of your Tuesday night with us.

>> 14 people have now died from the natural disaster that hit Kentucky over the weekend.

Governor Andy Beshear says the most recent victims died of hypothermia and Louisville.

The news comes as part of the state, particularly eastern Kentucky are cleaning up for major flooding while we brace what's expected to be a major winter storm.

The National Weather Service is predicting anywhere from 2 to 7 inches from Paducah to Pikeville speaking again today from the Emergency Management Center in Frankfort, Governor Beshear is encouraging everyone to take this next storm.

Seriously.

>> If you can't safely warm your home by this afternoon, make sure you call friends or family go stay with them.

You know, get kids to a safe place or find one of these emergency shelters.

It's not it's not fair that we got hit again.

Some fear that some of the same areas got flooded again.

And it's certainly.

Not fair that we get hit by a snowstorm while this is still going on we here in the E E O C and in our counties.

We don't we don't get to stop because it's not they're going to push through the very, very best for people.

We need the people out there to respond and make sure that by late tonight you are in a safe place.

>> More than a dozen emergency shelters are open across the state.

We have them listed here on the screen there and Brexit, Clay Henderson and Knox counties.

They're also shelters.

And Lawrence Martin McCrary one and Pulaski counties.

The state is also housing people at some of the state parks, including more than 140 adults and kids at Jenny Wiley State Park in Floyd County.

The Kentucky National Guard continues to help families escape the devastating flooding yesterday alone, airmen and soldiers evacuated nearly 300 people from home surrounded by flood waters in Martin County.

The families were airlifted to Big Sandy Regional airport and then taken to a shelter in on as the Kentucky Guard has more than 170 soldiers and airmen on duty for flood relief.

Governor Beshear says their mission is now shifting from a rescue to a recovery operation.

As temperatures begin to drop, many places are still assessing the damage.

A state lawmaker is also coordinating efforts to KET people safe.

State Senator Brandon Smith represents the 30th district in the Senate which covers 9 counties in eastern Kentucky.

His district was hit hard by flooding 3 years ago.

And now again, we caught up with him today as he surveyed the damage in Bradford County as our Kentucky floods coverage continues.

>> Families that their house, the pledge came up so fast.

They only had a chance to grab a backpack.

And so you've got a family that has a 2 year-old and a 4 year-old Bennett.

They they race out of there.

And fortunately for them, they had a car.

There he goes maybe Wagoneer.

>> But they were able to get in that.

But it only had enough gas to run for a couple of hours.

So they ran out and then they were there for 2 days.

There's no way to call or to let anybody know that you're stranded.

So it really depends on a neighbor noticing, but you're missing or family member.

They can't And so we've got a lot of people and thank God for the and the taking notice that they have a saying somebody for a while or not heard from them and then they reach out and let us know about it.

But that's how we found this family.

And once we found them, there is a lot more.

>> And after I talked to some of the pilots that have blown and they had a lot of pickups and this particular region, which was more break.

>> I think the forward may have had, you know, like maybe 30 or 40% of my district in certain areas, it's it's like 70 80 at a lot of cases.

>> Hear that.

So so broad.

Lot more washout.

Tree falls, water lines, water, sewer lines taken out a lot more structure failures were saying >> homes that are on the riverbank that of collapse and fall down a major water lines that didn't collapse of poor collapse now and pulled out and shut down entire cities because the water line was fell out.

So we're seeing a lot more.

Devastation as far as that goes.

What we need now is we need heaters.

Many propane heater for us.

And when you do the heater, which is great, people donate SOS.

We also need it takes.

And with those big 100 contacts through the best.

And so I mean, he tended to be able to get some very portable sources of heat and people.

>> To be able to get into these places where people got there.

The power's out Sunday but generators.

Some don't and gas.

So that's another part of it.

>> If you know, we fight bank for the Army Corps of Engineers.

We've got lakes here, but quarter car for and others that were built for flood control.

But they still today.

And this is a story.

These things have still done over the years and they won't let his dredge up because the the environmentalists say we're going to kill the fish.

>> I'm honestly more worried about families at this point.

These these flood control projects that the Army Corps manages these need to be direct.

The strains that you see the one back behind me here that I'm standing by and I want to make a point this right here.

Its capacity is greatly diminished because we can't dredge these.

And every time you put a piece of equipment anywhere you get every kind of authority out there raising Cain that you put a piece of equipment and the stream and maybe some Greece or something out the will fall and we have a crisis here where people are losing their livelihoods and their lives.

We need them to take action.

>> It's it's really difficult to have this happen to us now because we have just.

Almost recovered from the previous flood to do it all over again.

And I'm really afraid this may be truly the last straw as we hear the people like.

I just can't.

>> I do this again.

Brandon Sun hearing.

A lot of people say that I just don't have the heart to me to know Reid restored yet.

So I'm afraid that there could be a fall that we haven't seen yet.

>> And of course, our hearts go out to all of those who are affected.

Here's another way of putting this flooding event into perspective.

Cumberland Falls is sometimes called the Niagara of the South.

It's on the border of Whitley and McCrary County and southern Kentucky.

Now, here's what the falls typically look like.

Kentucky Edition shot this video over the summer.

Now here's what the Falls look like yesterday.

The drone video is from Ben Childers who use in a lot of his footage from.

You can see just how small in the Cumberland River is making.

The falls appear much smaller than normal.

Now, if you're concerned about a loved one, maybe you haven't been able to get in touch with them or maybe you just want to make sure they're OK, Kentucky State police do want to hear from you, Governor Beshear says calling Ksp post will help emergency responders conduct targeted welfare checks.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ Now turning to developments in Frankfort today.

State lawmakers move toward or forward with a bill to give universities more leeway and firing professors, of course, Kentucky professors in attendance at a legislative committee hearing had something to say about that.

Our June Leffler has more as we begin tonight's Legislative update.

Kentucky lawmakers have set their sights on higher education once again says the University of Louisville sophomore.

>> I've no idea how education become enemy number one, but as a student and tell you that it's so exhausting to constantly have to monitor what is coming out of these chambers.

>> I urge you all 2.

But government over reach out and leave higher education to higher education.

>> One more proposal to tweet Kentucky's colleges and universities is House Bill 424. the chair of the House Post-secondary Education Committee proposes universities have more power to fire their professors for mayor for a story where university had program course ahead, professor, that he chip program.

He came to a point in time may no longer hitting students in that program.

Yes, what?

That faculty members, that professor was still on staff.

I've heard of other examples for it is currently very difficult.

For a faculty member to be removed.

Universities can remove their professors.

But this bill adds another reason for dismissal.

>> Someone could be Remy for incompetency, neglect of a refusal to perform his or her duty, the moral conduct in the line with this ad is our failure to meet college or university performance and productivity requirements as determined in accordance with subsection 2 of the section, nobody can be removed without calls.

It adds to list causes based on our review of form should be set up by the Board of Regents.

>> Kentucky professors say they're already held to the highest standards.

And I have been undergoing 13 years of work towards tenure.

>> Since, you know, undergrad so many years of doctoral work and then, you know, annual reviews as a faculty member, which my colleagues already talked about, that these processes are already in place.

You know, my productivity is monitored and evaluated by peers.

This is really in in the necessary use of government funds and overreach, tenured faculty, including myself who have been at the University for 25 years.

We undergo annual reviews every year.

>> Already we are already evaluated.

>> What this bill would do is allow it to what I see is a process of eroding tenure and it would allow the board and the president's to terminate faculty for possibly ideological reasons.

The bill sponsor respond still for 24 is not about tenure.

>> Tenure is alive and well and continue to be alive and well.

Their public post-secondary institutions evil to passage of House Bill 424, that is a process.

By the Board of regents of each of our institutions.

They will continue to have that process.

>> The committee did advance the bill.

2 Democrats voted no.

It now heads to the House floor for a vote for Kentucky edition.

I'm June Leffler.

Thank you.

June.

The House post-secondary education panel.

Also advanced House Bill 427.

>> It deals with transfer credits.

The bill allows more of those credits to go toward certain in-demand degrees right now, much of those credits only count as electives.

43% of miners who use vapes get them from a retail stores such as a vape shop or gas station.

According to the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, Senator Jimmy Higdon and his co-sponsors hope Senate Bill, 100 will help lower that percentage by subjecting the vape industry to the same licensing standards as alcohol retailers in the state.

McKenzie spank is following this issue and filed this report.

>> Delaney Crump is a freshman at Boyd County High School in Ashland.

She says the vaping industry has manipulated her peers into becoming addicted to nicotine.

And she says the devastating effects of vaping on kids are already apparent.

This isn't just about lung cancer, 30 years down the line.

It's about kids dropping out of sports because their lungs can KET up.

>> It's about the anxiety and depression.

The nicotine fields.

It's about academic distraction in underperformance.

It's about an entire generation being stolen before they've had a chance to live fully.

Well, most miners get nicotine products second hand through friends or adults.

>> Many have been able to purchase vapes directly for retailers.

That's according to a study by the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.

Proponents of Senate Bill 100 believe the lack of licensure among these retailers is what allows vape shops and gas stations to sell to underage customers without oversight.

>> We know that Kentucky is one of only about 10 states that does not require any licensing legislation.

No tobacco retail license.

Sure.

We know that Kentucky has one of the highest densities of retailers as well.

>> Senate bill 100 if passed, would create the Division of Tobacco nicotine vapor product licensing within the Department of Alcohol Beverage Control for ABC retailers license to sell nicotine and vape products would operate similarly to retailers with a liquor license.

Under this measure, the ABC would have the authority to investigate and the premise selling unlicensed products, conduct yearly compliance checks and a lout serious penalties for stores and suppliers found in violation of the law.

This bill has teeth.

If you sell products without license, you will face criminal penalties.

>> If you sell to underage individuals, there will be serious financial and legal consequences.

>> Supporters of the bill claim SB 100 is not anti business but would improve the industry for legitimate retailers by waiting out the so-called bad actors, Tony Florence, who owns a distribution center for Vapor products agrees with the sentiment and supports the bill but felt it could use some tuning up when it came to the language.

The funding and unauthorized paper product bringing up the future of medical marijuana.

>> And unauthorized, they were product is just any device.

But as nicotine or any other substance could be an authorized.

So the issue there is it broadly scapes help vapor products in the future.

Medical marijuana vapor products.

So our the fix there is just taking out or other substances out of the definition of a vapor product because technically a room humidifier comes into the purview of the ABC.

>> Senator Higdon says half of the money generated by incurred fines would go towards a program, educating youth on the dangers of vaping for Kentucky edition.

I'm McKenzie Spank.

>> Thank you.

McKenzie Senate Bill 100 passed unanimously in committee and a statement Dr. Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates commended Senator Higdon and the students who testified and urged the full Senate to pass the measure and get it moved on to the House.

Meanwhile, another bill dealing with smoking also advanced today, Kentucky cities could not stop people from lighting up a cigar indoors under a bill that cleared the full House House Bill.

211 sets guidelines for cigar bars.

One provision, local governments cannot impose ordinances or policies that restrict smoking within cigar bars.

However, smoking cigarettes are using vaping products at the establishments would be prohibited.

Opponents argue the bill undermines smoke-free ordinances that have been around for decades.

Supporters say people will only be exposed to secondhand smoke if they go into the cigar bars.

>> This bill does not fully roll back existing smoke-free laws and any local municipality in the Commonwealth.

This is not about smoking cigars in a regular bar, your local bowling alley restaurant or in any other public place that doesn't currently allow smoking.

If you do not want to be exposed to cigar smoke in a public place where smoke-free laws currently exist, nothing in this bill changes your ability to maintain that separation.

We have had a smoke, but it's not indoor smoking ban in Bay County.

>> For 20 plus years, we have not had any issues with this.

There are 6 there's cigar bar locally.

That does very well.

>> This is a bill that should be addressed on.

This is an issue that should be addressed on the local level.

>> And I strongly oppose this bill.

>> Pass the House.

74 to 19.

It now heads to the Senate for further consideration.

And the Senate state lawmakers spent more than an hour debating Senate bill 2.

The bill seeks to ban public dollars from funding gender affirming surgeries and medications for Kentucky inmates, state senator and majority whip the Mike Wilson, a bowling Green, explained the bill on the Senate floor today.

>> And in my opinion, and I'm sure the opinion of many other folks.

In this commonwealth, those are not services that benefit the Commonwealth of Kentucky are the citizens of Kentucky.

>> This is nothing.

>> But could she KET which Continued, which I thought.

To make sure that the least vulnerable, that the most vulnerable people in this state.

>> I did.

And if he used and torture.

>> The bill passed the full Senate.

31 to 6 will have much more on the debate on Senate Bill 2 tomorrow night right here on Kentucky EDITION.

Animal lovers across Kentucky, including high school students gathered at the state Capitol today to advocate for Kentucky's animals.

>> One of the reasons I'm so committed.

>> 2.

>> Animal welfare is because how do you treat your animals is directly related to how you treat people around to?

There is just no other way to say it.

If you are cruel to an animal, you are probably going to abuse your partner.

You may abuse or child.

There is a direct correlation.

And so I think that the more attention, if we can place on caring for our animals in good for us, because I think it's it could save a human life.

On the other end of things.

>> We have a combo bill this year.

It is cost of care and animal control advisory board.

>> Basically, the taxpayers pay any time at all that our animal of any kind actually is impounded by government agency.

>> Whether it's a straight all or some kind of abuse case taxpayers pay for that and we don't think that taxpayers should be paying for that.

>> There's this idea that with all the crises happening in the world became for animals isn't a priority.

It's just not we treat animals reflect who we are as a society.

I know that.

But I can't vote Sunday.

A voting for legislators.

And they care about the issues.

I want to know that the people in power is it not just me.

The countless animals can't speak for themselves.

With the people who refuse to be silent.

If you're here today, it leads you refuse to be silent, too.

rules, sir, and seeing all the of life as people.

>> One of the animal protection Senate Bill 124.

That says the owners of pets that are abused should be responsible for paying for their cost of care instead of taxpayers.

That bill is still waiting on action from the committee.

And other news.

Yam brands headquartered in Louisville is moving its KFC.

Corporate office is affecting about 100 jobs.

Yum says it's moving KFC, corporate office employees to Plano, Texas.

This will happen over the next 6 months.

Yum Brands and the KFC Foundation will KET their corporate offices in Louisville.

Also, remote employees will be asked to relocate to their work campus that affects about 90 people and will happen over the next year and a half.

♪ ♪ >> Will he or won't he?

That question is being asked frequently to and about Kentucky Congressman Andy Barr of Central Kentucky's 6th district.

When it comes to whether he'll pursue a U.S. Senate seat in 2026, the seat currently held by Mitch McConnell will be on the ballot next year.

McConnell hasn't said whether or not he'll retire or make another run at it.

Here's what Barr says about that contest as we continue our Congressional update series.

So let's talk about you.

And what we've been reading of late about will you or won't you run for U.S. Senate in 2026?

what say you, sir?

>> Well, as I've said, we're doing a lot of listening and deliberation and discernment.

>> Listening to whom listening to number one, my family a distance to write the number one constituent right.

But you know, my constituents in Central Kentucky who I've represented and served over these last 12, now, 13 years who, you know, I've I've developed a really strong close relationship with these people, Democrats, independents and Republicans.

And, you know, one thing I look at is how am I doing with Democrats and independents?

And, you know, we get a report card in of years.

We know how I did.

I worked over 12,000 citizens of Lexington, Kentucky, who voted for Kamala Harris and me in Lexington.

I must be doing something right.

I see that as a positive that I'm able to appeal across party lines.

And if you're a Republican in Kentucky and you want to win and you want to retain this seat in the United States Senate and you want an America first conservative.

You want someone who's going to win.

And my view is the only way a Democrat can win statewide in Kentucky is to do it the way Governor Beshear did.

And when the 6th district a central Kentucky district, the fact that we've been able to lock down this purple swing district over and over again showcases not only that we're in step with the values of the people of Kentucky, but also that we have a record of success, a record of competency, a record of constituent service of delivering for the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

And if so, the Democrats and independents will cross over and vote for me and my team.

So this is a yes.

So it is.

It is.

It is a lot of encouragement.

And I you know, I I I felt cold to represent the Central Kentucky district over these last 10 years.

It has been the privilege of my lifetime to get a chance to go and fight for these families and fight for the people of Toyota and fight for the researchers at the University, Kentuckyian fight for the bourbon industry and fight for our farmers, you know, and fight for the horse.

Our signature horse industry.

And I think we've done a pretty good job.

I am.

I'm interested in taking that state.

Why?

Because I love Kentucky.

I love the people of Kentuckyian I'm getting a lot of green lights.

>> Okay.

Even if Senator Mitch McConnell stays in.

Yeah, I think.

>> I think the people of Kentucky deserve number one, a U.S. senator that supports this president.

And number 2 and Mitch McConnell you think does not well, in some cases he does in some cases he doesn't.

I'm my own man.

People have often said are you a Rand Paul Republican or Mitch McConnell, Republican?

And Andy Barr, Republican?

What does that mean?

I'm an American first conservative, I believe in limited government, fiscal responsibility and free enterprise, I believe in a strong national defense.

And I believe in Kentucky, most most of all, I believe in Kentucky.

I think Kentucky.

Has enormous potential, enormous potential.

And I've got a lot of ideas about that.

And I got a vision for making Kentucky great again.

Just like we're trying to make America great again.

So have we made a decision yet?

Know, but I'm listening and I'm getting a lot of encouragement.

And I just I'm grateful for that.

>> Are you getting any kind of that telepathic signals from Senator McConnell that he is going to step aside or have you had any conversations with him about his intentions for 2026?

>> Well, I think he's going to have to make that decision on his own.

We're going to make a decision on our own as well on our own timeline and consultation number one with my family.

Yeah, but I also take it very seriously that a lot of Kentuckians across the commonwealth, both here in Central Kentuckyian elsewhere.

It's time we we want you to run.

>> So there is more tomorrow night, Congressman Barr shares his thoughts on the Department of Government Efficiency.

Ordos run by Elon Musk.

So make sure you tune in tomorrow evening for part of that discussion right here on Kentucky EDITION.

♪ ♪ Plenty on the way tomorrow on Kentucky.

Addition, more weather coverage will talk politics with Weiland Barton and it's tea time.

>> Coming into this beautiful mansion is is just the best experience.

I believe, and that he's just a little bit extra.

>> We're stopping off for tea and wave land.

We what made this such a special find out tomorrow on Kentucky edition, which, you know is at 6.30, Eastern 5.30, central where we inform connect and inspire.

We hope you'll connect with us all the ways you see on your screen, Facebook X, formerly Twitter and Instagram to stay in the loop.

Send us a story idea by email to public affairs at KET Dot Org and look for us on the PBS app that you can download to your smart device and phone.

Thanks again for watching tonight.

We will see you right back here again tomorrow.

Stay safe and warm and I'll see you tomorrow.

Take a cab.

♪ ♪