>> We do not have any statutes that protects our children from this predatory behavior that occurs prior to physical sexual abuse.

>> Now, one legislator plans to fight grooming.

[MUSIC] >> We're not going to close.

[MUSIC] Whoever put us on that list was wrong.

[MUSIC] >> Kentucky Senate president pushes back on the idea that Medicaid cuts will force the shutdown of many rural Kentucky hospitals.

[MUSIC] >> People want a conservative fighter.

They want a voice, not an echo in Washington, D.C.

[MUSIC] >> Why this man wants to trade one Capitol for another.

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

[MUSIC] .

>> Good evening and welcome to Kentucky Edition for this Wednesday, January the 14th, I'm Renee Shaw, and we thank you for winding down your Wednesday with us.

An update tonight on the deadly UPS plane crash in Louisville last November.

Boeing says it warned plane owners in 2011 about the same part that failed during the Louisville flight.

[MUSIC] Video of the plane's takeoff shows an engine failing off or falling rather off a wing.

The NTSB says it was because of the failure of a part that secured that engine.

The NTSB says.

In 2011, Boeing documented four previous times when the same part failed.

But at the time, Boeing didn't think that part failure was a safety threat.

Three pilots on the UPS plane and 12 people on the ground died in the Louisville crash.

A new bill looks at cracking down on distracted driving, and the line to renew your driver's license may be getting shorter.

Our Mackenzie Spink tells us about the bill's moving swiftly in Frankfort in tonight's legislative update.

[MUSIC] >> Senate Bill seven would allow offices in counties without a regional licensing office to renew driver's licenses, for example, at the offices of county clerks, sheriff's departments and county judge executives.

Senator Aaron Reed says the current 35 regional driver's licensing offices to serve 120 counties is not accessible enough.

>> We have long drives, long lines and repeated delays that have created real frustration across the Commonwealth in many rural counties.

Families are traveling up to an hour or more just to obtain a license.

>> Under the bill, no county is required to offer license renewal services.

Reed says one of the main concerns from county offices was funding.

>> There's also a $25 convenience fee added to this.

It's retained locally so that the counties can break even and avoid an unfunded mandate that you hear so much about.

>> Over the summer reported that illegal immigrants received licenses at Kentucky regional offices.

Reed says Senate Bill seven doesn't directly address that issue.

>> I know one of the comments or problems that we've seen was some fraud cases that took place with issuing driver's license.

Do you think restoring this back to the county level will help with that fraud issue?

>> It won't directly affect the fraud.

However, this again is is going to be renewals only.

And important to note is that anyone the burden will be on the local elected officials.

So the people, if there is fraud, will be able to hold their elected officials accountable.

>> Senate Bill seven passed out of committee unanimously.

The phone down Kentucky act also passed out of committee favorably this morning.

Senate Bill 28 would make it illegal to have your phone in your hand while driving.

>> I had really no intention of getting involved in this bill until.

Alicia Burns came forward.

Her daughter, Kimberly Burns, was killed by a distracted driver.

Even though the bill is not named for Kimberly, I do that out of respect and for her memory.

>> If passed, the new law would prohibit holding your phone to make texts or calls while driving.

But a display that is part of your car's original manufacturing is allowed.

As well as mounting your phone to your dashboard using an earpiece or wristwatch for voice messages is permitted, and you may use your phone at a stoplight or in standstill traffic.

>> Mr.

chairman, that was one of the biggest complaints we had with last year's bill that it said you had to pull over to the side of the road, you couldn't talk while you were stopped at a traffic light or stuck in traffic.

This bill doesn't limit that.

>> Although the bill passed unanimously in committee, the issue of phone usage at a red light was a point of disagreement among some lawmakers.

>> I would really like to see us address the red light issue or stoplight issue.

I think I think that's a safety issue as well.

>> You've got me to a point where I can support this bill, and I just want to make sure that, for the record, you understand that if there's any more amendments or if it's not kept clean, I won't be able necessarily to support the bill moving forward.

>> The bill does not apply to emergency calls.

Commercial drivers using a hand-held radio, or first responders using their phone in an official capacity for Kentucky Edition.

I'm Mackenzie Spink.

>> Thank you.

Mackenzie.

Under Senate Bill 28, an officer can pull you over if they see you on your phone while driving.

The penalty is a $100 fine, which would go towards the Traumatic Brain Injury Trust Fund.

The Kentucky Trauma Care System Fund and the Veterans Program Trust Fund.

The pardoning power of Kentucky's governor is once again up for debate, as our June Leffler reports.

A Northern Kentucky senator has not forgotten former Republican Governor Matt Bevin.

String of pardons, including for violent offenders.

>> But Alex Taylor, a chef at the University of Kentucky, was driven around the town of Lexington, beaten and choked to death with his last gurgling breaths coming in the back seat of a car before his lifeless body was stuffed into a barrel and rolled into the Kentucky River.

>> The man convicted for this murder was pardoned by Bevin.

>> Now our system of justice is built on the idea that we do not grovel to Kings for our freedom.

We do not purchase indulgences from a church.

We are judged instead by a jury of our peers.

>> Bevin issued hundreds of pardons and commutations in his final weeks in office.

Senate Bill ten would limit that power if passed by the General Assembly and by Kentucky voters.

>> The bill that sits in front of you today is a constitutional amendment that will be taken to the people of the Commonwealth.

That constitutional amendment merely says that for 60 days leading up to the gubernatorial election, and then from the time of the election until the swearing in of either a successive governor or a new governor, the pardon power is not in place.

This is a reasonable attempt to ensure that if the power to pardon is executed by a governor, that either that governor or his party must stand in front of an informed electorate, who can then decide whether they think that those pardons rise to the level of changing their vote.

>> The Senate State Government Committee approved the bill unanimously.

It now heads to the Senate floor, where it has had success in past years, but not in the House.

Another senator proposed Senate Bill 51 to ease property taxes for seniors.

>> It will freeze the increased assessment after they turn 65, so they will still pay property tax.

For instance, if your home is $200,000 when you turn 65 and it goes up to 300,000, you will still pay the tax on the 200,000.

And whatever rate it is, you just won't pay on that 100,000 that went up.

>> This is probably the number one thing that I get calls and emails about in my district.

They say I've done my job.

I've done everything the right way.

Please stop raising my taxes on my property.

>> I too get emails constantly from people that say, I'm going to have to sell my home or move out of my home because I can't afford the taxes.

And we know that for those low income seniors, homeownership is how they build and transfer wealth to the next generation.

>> The committee approved the bill unanimously, sending it to the full Senate.

If the General Assembly signs off, it too will go to Kentucky voters as a ballot measure for Kentucky edition.

I'm June Leffler.

>> Thank you.

June.

Now, back to Senator Chris McDaniel's bill.

He first introduced his parton limits bill back in the year 2020.

There's a push to stop sexual solicitation and abuse before it starts.

Representative Mariann Proctor is sponsoring a bill to criminalize predators for grooming children.

That bill was filed today.

>> Right now, we do not have any statutes that protects our children from this predatory behavior that occurs prior to physical sexual abuse.

So with House Bill four, not only will we criminalize it, but we will hold the offenders accountable.

>> There's kind of two levels that we look at.

One is if you're not in a position of authority or trust, if you're having a communication with someone who is under the age of 14, we think that in and of itself, there's very few reasons for someone maybe outside of a family member or someone to be having that.

However, if you are in a position of trust, such as a coach, teacher, a youth leader, something like that, if you make any types of those behaviors to anyone who's under the age of 18, and as because of laws that have been passed by the General Assembly even last year, we know that people in these positions of trust are their official and appropriate means of communication, that they should be communicating with these people.

And it's hard to give you a strict say when someone does this, this will be grooming.

It's going to be circumstantial.

How are they communicating to this person?

Why are they communicating this person?

Does this person have any reason to be asking these questions or doing these things?

All those things factor together.

>> I think what makes quote unquote grooming difficult is it looks so different when we're talking about victims who are children versus victims who are adults.

Grooming for children looks like building relationships, being kind, making children trust you.

And so, you know, I think the fact that we are we are calling this out and we are naming it is a big success at this point.

I have heard from so many people since this bill has come out from across the Commonwealth, people telling me their stories.

There's people that are in this room today that have been inspirational for this bill.

It's our most valuable assets, our children.

>> If passed, Representative Proctor says Kentucky would be one of 13 states that have legislation to protect children from grooming.

As we've reported, a University of North Carolina study in 2025 concluded that more than 30 rural hospitals in Kentucky could close because of planned cuts to Medicaid in early 2027.

That's after Congress passed a budget bill last year that cuts about $800 billion from the Medicaid program over ten years.

But will the hospital closures really happen, or is that a political scare tactic?

Legislative leaders talked about the future of Kentucky's hospitals and the impact of state income tax cuts Monday night on WKYT's Kentucky tonight.

>> You know.

>> It always intrigues me about how this is going to happen or that's going to happen.

But then when you actually see the proof of what happens, it contradicts what people are saying.

I know the hospitals that were listed.

I know the phone calls that were made to hospital administrators to say, would you sign a letter that your hospital is going to close?

And they said, no, we're not.

One of them is in my hometown.

They got the call.

They said, we're not going to close.

Whoever put us on that list was wrong.

So I think it's really seriously inappropriate to create this type of angst and anxiety for the purpose of a political argument.

Then here's the other thing.

All I've heard is, wait a minute, you're cutting the income tax.

You're cutting the income tax.

You're ruining ruining our base.

Well, let's talk about cutting the income tax.

Does anybody here on the other side know how much our income tax grew the first six months of the year?

Close to 8%.

Wait a minute.

We've been cutting the taxes, but it's growing.

I don't hear anybody talking about that because they don't want to carry that political narrative because it's wrong.

>> How is it growing?

Explain that to us.

>> Because when you do this, we become a growth state.

People move here.

It's just like what happened in the bourbon industry.

We cut taxes, but when we cut the taxes, the base expanded.

And so it's not five of us paying taxes.

It's 20 of us paying taxes.

We don't risk putting an individual at any greater tax liability because we bring more people into work.

And if you want to address a lot of the social ills and woes, give people economic opportunity, they're less likely to get into drugs.

They're less likely to do something wrong.

They're more likely to take care of their families.

That's the way you cure a lot of these things.

>> I want to go back to what President Stivers was saying about health care.

I do think it's connected to economic growth, because I think people can't access health care and can't be healthy.

You're not going to have an economy that grows.

But I believe that those numbers about hospitals came out of the Trump administration.

Those were from the federal government controlled by his political party.

Many of the projections about the specific hospitals and what I'll say is, I have not heard any hospitals saying, yeah, we're about to close today.

>> You just said 34.

We're going to close.

>> What I Knott today, what I have heard people saying is that we are already beginning to change the services that we offer and the care that we provide because of the changes to the Medicaid program and our ability to make ends meet.

And so when we're talking about places, you know, this President Stivers, rural Kentucky, we already have a lot of health care deserts.

And when we have hospitals that have to start walking back, the care that they're providing, it's going to be that care.

That's sort of the the low dollar, low value, and that's going to make it harder for people to drive and get the care they need.

>> A lot of spirited discussion on Monday night.

Our panelists also talked about the budget, the state budget, the merits of pre-K education in Kentucky, fighting poverty, and much more.

So you can see it all online and on demand at Keturah.

Amanda Mays Bledsoe KY.

Tonight, the Trump administration is cutting about $2 billion in federal grants supporting people with substance use disorders and mental illnesses and people experiencing homelessness.

And Kentucky is affected.

NPR reports.

The U.S.

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, or SAMHSa, sent out hundreds of termination letters today.

Lexington city government confirms the cuts include $499,000 that paid for Narcan supplies and the salaries of two employees who helped distribute that Narcan or overdose reversal drug.

Mayor Linda Gordon says the city is assessing the impact on Lexington.

Congressman James Comer, a Republican from Kentucky's first district, says he will bring contempt of Congress charges against former president Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Comer is chair of the House Oversight Committee, and the committee has subpoenaed the Clintons to testify in an investigation into Jeffrey Epstein.

President Clinton failed to show up for a deposition Tuesday morning, and Hillary Clinton didn't show up.

Today, the Clintons released a letter saying the subpoena against them is legally invalid.

They say comer is starting a process to result in their imprisonment, and that they will forcefully defend themselves.

Comer also says the committee would not attempt to force testimony from President Donald Trump, saying that it could not force a sitting president to testify.

[MUSIC] 124 that's the number of days remaining before Kentucky's primary election contest on May the 19th.

Now that the field is set, Kentucky Edition will bring you one on one interviews with top contenders and some key federal races.

Tonight, we speak with Republican State Representative Ryan Dodson, who, after five years in Frankfort, wants to level up to Washington as a congressman for Kentucky's sixth congressional district.

There are a handful of other contenders in the Republican primary for that district.

Dodson tells us why he's ready for Capitol Hill and what he wants to do if he gets there.

Here's part one of my interview, recorded earlier today for our coverage of election 2026.

Tell us a little bit about your background before we get into why you're running for the sixth district.

>> Well, I'm currently a state representative that represents the 73rd district, which encompasses all of Clark County and a huge portion of Fayette County.

And I am a transplant.

I'm originally from the mountains of eastern Kentucky.

I'm a Pike County boy, but I moved down here after getting out of the military.

I went into the Army and I got a job at the University of Kentucky in the medical center.

I was an x ray tech.

I got my schooling while I was in the Army.

So after it was either go into the coal mines or go into the army for me, and I seen the, the, the havoc that it took upon my father.

And he was a sixth generation coal miner, and I didn't want that life for me and my family.

So I chose the military.

And so I moved down here after getting out of the military and settled in Winchester.

Been there for 33 years now, and been a public servant for many years as a pastor, been a business for many years, and I took on six years ago the opportunity to run for this seat and try to really impact in a in a powerful way as much as I possibly can.

>> So why do you want to leave Frankfort and go to Washington?

>> Well, I told my wife about three years ago.

We knew that Mitch McConnell would probably move on after this session.

And so and we knew Andy Barr had aspirations.

And I told my wife, I said, if these things fall into line, I said, I believe that would kind of be my open door opportunity because these opportunities don't come very often, these open seats.

And she said, if it happens that way, she said, I'll be fully behind you.

And sure enough, it happened exactly the way we talked about three years ago.

So so it was kind of a sign to me to get involved and to, you know, pursue this opportunity.

>> And you got in early.

I mean, as soon as Andy Barr had announced that he was going to pursue the U.S.

Senate, you were quick on his heels to get into the sixth district race.

Do you think that's benefited you in some way?

What can you point to that says, this really was the great call, the right call to make to get in early.

>> Right.

I came out 30 minutes after he did because I had been chomping at the bit.

I'd been working with his staff at the time, trying to coordinate the timing of it, because I think there's a huge benefit in getting in early and what it was.

It helped me to solidify a lot of local support.

It helped me to get out early enough to let people know who I am.

And I do have a reputation in Frankfort and in our area for being a conservative fighter, and so I wanted to get out early enough, be vocal, solidify and shore up some support.

And it's paid off really well.

>> Yeah.

And for those who may not quite know how this works, you do have to forfeit your seat and the state House in order to pursue this Washington seat.

So.

And you were you had decided that a long time ago that this was going to be the path for you.

Yeah.

What are you hearing from the voters in the sixth district?

Because we talk often about how while the sixth district has been held by Republican Andy Barr since 2013, there is a history of the sixth district being both a Republican and Democratic kind of vacillates, right.

Depending.

And so what is it you're hearing from voters in the sixth district that 40 something percent of it is in Lexington, right?

Fayette County?

What are you hearing that they want you to take on that is the same or different than the current congressman, Andy Barr?

>> Well, we do know that the Democrats have targeted the sixth district to flip the seat.

But when you look at the last several years of Andy Barr running in this district, he won this district by, I think 25% in November and I think.

>> 27 percentage points.

>> And Donald Trump had won by 15 points.

So we know that we have trended more red than purple as of the last several elections.

But what we're hearing is that people want a conservative fighter.

They want a voice, not an echo.

In Washington, D.C.

they want somebody that's going to go there and not be the status quo, not be just another politician.

And that's something I'm not.

I want to be a public servant, and I really want to go up there and really try to impact this district and help bring funding back to this district, fix our infrastructure, recruit fortune 500 companies.

Because really, Central Kentucky is the heart of Kentucky, and Kentucky is the heart of the United States of America.

Geographically and within a day's drive, we're within 75% of driving to all of America.

And I think we're really geographically positioned for great growth.

And I think with the right leadership, and I think I can be able to do that and bring that back to the sixth district.

>> Do you think that you will if you are elected, you've got to advance from the primary.

And then when the general that you would affirm the second term, Trump second term of Donald Trump, would you always side with him, or are there instances and even issues that you think of now in which you differ from the president?

>> Well, I look at what he's been able to accomplish, and it's been pretty amazing giving just a year, right, at a year, to try to right the wrongs of Joe Biden and our economy and where we have been heading over the last several years and seeing the work that he's done.

I think he's done a phenomenal job.

And I think that given more time, we'll see a lot of those wrongs made right.

And I think that we just have to trust.

I think the big, beautiful bill that was passed is going to be jet fuel to the economy.

And we're starting to see that.

We're starting to see inflation come down.

We're starting to see the interest rates are starting to come down.

We're getting stronger economically.

We're having more jobs created, more manufacturing coming back to America from overseas.

So I it's still early and only time will tell.

But I believe we're on a great trajectory of growth.

>> You you know that many Americans and many Kentuckians don't feel like we're on the right path to growth, right?

They still look at their grocery bills, they look at their heating bills, and they think, gosh, things are not better.

But perhaps even worse.

When the president when he came in on Inauguration Day, he had said on day one he could do x, Y, and Z. How do you respond to Kentuckians who say, I don't feel any of the positives that you just mentioned?

>> I think many do that I have talked to now, there's going to always be a group of folks that doesn't.

They're anti whatever Trump does, and I understand that.

But here's the thing is that given the status of where we were a year ago and to see where we are today, we are much better off.

And so I think we're going to start seeing that trending upward, even more so over the next six months to a year.

So I just want to encourage people to be patient and just let things work out.

As you know, in Mercer County, as of late, we've seen Apple come over there bringing some manufacturing jobs.

We're seeing GE coming back, bringing their industries back here to Kentucky.

So we're seeing a lot of things that are going to be very positive in the very near future.

>> In 2022, you were able to muscle through the bill on Save Women's Sports, right?

That would ban transgender girls who are not biologically female at birth from participating in middle and high school sports.

When you think about how you crafted your agenda, did did your ambition to pursue a higher political office?

Was that the motivation for sponsoring and bringing those bills?

Tell us how that works.

>> Absolutely not.

That wasn't even in my mindset at the time.

I championed the fact that when I ran and campaigned for this seat, that I would push back against ideology that was non conforming to what we as Kentuckians believe in, and to take the path of allowing biological males to play girls sports is really it's it's a lack of common sense.

In my opinion, being a pastor, being who I am.

I've got two daughters, I've got granddaughters.

And so I never looked forward to using this as a stepping stone to go to a higher office at all.

It was just something that I thought it was something of a conviction.

>> We'll have more of my interview with sixth District congressional candidate Ryan Dodson tomorrow night on Kentucky Edition.

Stay tuned.

[MUSIC] Another busy news day tomorrow.

We'll have the latest from Frankfort, and we'll talk about what's called Dry January.

And the champ gets a stamp.

Tomorrow is the rollout of the new Muhammad Ali postage stamp.

Those stories and more on Kentucky Edition tomorrow at 630 eastern, 530 central, where we inform, connect and inspire.

We hope you'll connect with us all the way.

As you see on your screen the social media channels.

Look for us on the PBS app that you can download on your phone and other smart devices.

Look for us on the website at Keturah, where you can download our program and other great content, and send us a story idea to the email on your screen.

Thanks for watching.

I'm Renee Shaw and I'll see you tomorrow night.