>> When they don't volunteer, we're trying to get enough of for them to get into treatment.

What kind for do some state lawmakers have in mind for Kentucky's homeless?

>> The tragedy that took place on National Bank is infinitely more horrific because it didn't need to happen.

>> Why a new lawsuit filed over last year's mass shooting in Louisville is calling the shooter's actions predictable and preventable.

>> The Louisville orchestra is not just for Louisville.

Now it's for everybody in our great Commonwealth.

And hear how the Louisville orchestra has been connecting.

Kentucky ends through music.

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

♪ ♪ Good evening and welcome to Kentucky EDITION on this Tuesday, January.

The 23rd, I'm Renee Shaw.

Thank you for spending some of your Tuesday night with us.

>> And tonight's Legislative update, Kentucky schools would be required to set aside time for a moment of silence under a bill that advanced by a House committee today.

House Bill 96 calls for establishing one to 2 minutes of quiet reflection at the beginning of each school day teachers would not be allowed to instruct students on what they should reflect on.

Instead, parents would be encouraged to provide guidance to their child.

The sponsor of the bill, Republican Representative Daniel Pfister of Versailles says ultimately students would decide how to use that time.

>> The challenge is to allow the time to to focus on whatever is important to them.

Whether be the dog ate my homework speech or or whatever they want to work on, just allow some that time to to settle and get ready for the day.

>> Some state representatives, however, question the need for a moment of silence to be facilitated by the school.

Representative Tina Bojanowski, a Democrat and a teacher herself said the bill seems to set aside time specifically for prayer.

They're just it.

Didn't scan already pray.

And any time during the school day, which I'm sure you're very well aware.

They can flagpole.

They can pray at breakfast.

They can pray at wellness there.

They have a right to pray at any time during the day.

But what this bill creates is that time specifically, I believe, intended to be for prayer, which is a little edgy because we have what's called the Establishment Clause, which has a very fine line when it comes to teacher directed.

Activities that could be conferred as prayer.

>> We KET saying we want parents make decisions for their children about the schools.

And here are asking the school to take over something that the parents responsibility.

And I think the children have plenty of time to meditate on their 45 minute bus ride.

>> My sentence, Lafayette High School and they do moment of mindfulness.

The start of every school.

>> Republican Representative Killian Timoney voted in favor of the bill saying his son's high school already participates in a daily moment of mindfulness shows.

I think it's amazing.

Getting the kids not to nutty to decompress before the school day begins.

I think there's a lot of research that shows about.

>> Be mentally prepared for the start of the school day that the school does a really good job of of helping sick kids kind of understand what mindfulness is.

And I think that where we are in 2024, was technology and this on real pressure from social media, for our kids to be and they need up.

They need an intentional time just to just to catch their breath.

The bill cleared the House Education Committee this morning and now heads to the full House for consideration there.

>> The same committee also unanimously passed House Bill.

2.75 this morning.

The bill would set guidelines for teacher misconduct in schools require report and complete investigation of sexual misconduct.

Allegations training and background checks for school employees and require job applicants to disclose previous allegations.

The bill would also ban schools from entering a nondisclosure agreement when it relates to misconduct with a student today a UK student spoke in favor of the bill after giving testimony about being sexually abused by a high school teacher.

The teacher who abused made did not stop after his actions were first questioned.

>> And I wish I could tell you that my experience is unique.

But since I last sat here before the Education committee, less than a year ago, I've had friends, community members, teachers and strangers.

Tell me their story or story that happened in their community.

I was not the first person to experience educator sexual misconduct in Kentucky and I'm not the last.

The bill sponsor and chair of the House Education Committee, Representative James Tipton.

>> Says a similar bill was passed by the full House last year.

>> But the time ran out before it could be considered by the full Senate.

And House chambers.

Today there was a robust debate over House Bill.

18, its sides with landlords who say they should be able to choose who they rent to.

The bill says landlords and Kentucky do not have to accept tenets with federal housing assistance such as Section 8.

>> So even though I had a positive experience, there are many, many landlords that have not had that positive experience and about and ball rise in their mind after leasing the property for a number of years to Section 8 housing cover will say, you know what I do want to do that anymore.

And if they don't, they shouldn't be forced to do so.

>> Democratic opponents say this bill discriminates against poor people.

I don't think it will come as a shock to anyone that source of income discrimination >> greatly ardis disproportionately affects renters of color and women and the elderly who are often on a fixed income.

And those with disabilities that's been stated.

But they're also broader economic and social ramifications.

It limits housing choices for low-income households, exacerbating the residential segregation and concentrating poverty in certain neighborhoods.

This in turn leads to reduced access to quality schools, health care and other essential services that just further hindering upward mobility for residents.

And critics say this is in conflict with some local governments.

>> And Louisville, an ordinance requires landlords to accept tenets, housing vouchers, Social Security or child support that local ordinance would be moot if this bill becomes law.

Opponents also say people with housing vouchers need places to live.

The bill's backers say forcing landlords to rent to certain people will only lead them to take units off the market.

The vote was 74 to 20 with all Democrats voting against the Bill House Bill 18 now heads to the Senate where a similar bill Senate bill.

25 is waiting to be heard.

Love them both the unborn and the mother.

That was the theme of a pro-life rally today in Frankfort, abortion is now illegal and almost all cases in Kentucky.

But pro-life forces say for them, there's still some work to be done.

It's always give me these are bands and this a lot of things love Jesus.

>> But last night I grabbed the tiny is our man.

It said.

God's got this and he certainly has had his today.

>> The high as we're here because every life has value.

Every life is a gift.

Your presence here bears witness to that today in order to reverse the generational decline of respect for life in our culture each and every one of us must speak out against cloture death in our data about.

This is the only way we can cultivate a lasting and fruitful life generation.

>> This time in history the Saudis may we had a label transporting abortion pills into this state.

People selling on Amazon giving away free, risking the lives of young when I was so critically important that when we look at what we do what we do >> Staff what we do.

We make sure we love them both up for that.

All they say that is get on.

That is exactly right.

Always does.

But we do way as we are >> we're going make ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> and other news House Bill, 5 known as the Safer Kentucky Act includes a provision that would ban so-called unlawful camping, making it illegal to sleep outside in public areas.

We talked about for Kentucky Act and that provisions potential impact on Kentucky's homeless population last night on Kentucky tonight, one panelist said existing laws already deal with homeless people who break the law.

>> For us right now, we believe like Senate Bill 5 or has the fight is cruel and unnecessary.

Like there are a slew of statutes on the books right now that can be used to address health behaviors that are associated with homelessness.

So some of these appalling using they can be charged later.

It's there missing or harassing somebody on the street.

They can be charged with minute menacing harassment if they are camping on sidewalks, they can be charged with blocking a public passage.

But we have the tools already on the books.

I don't see in need.

To have an additional charge like late on them that it's going to create a new barrier for us to move people into housing at the same time, like by the phone, even though this isn't targeting homelessness as a crime, like by default.

Most counties in our state don't have a homeless shelter in Louisville.

We have 1600 people that are homeless each night and we have 750 shelter pets.

What's worse is we only have 15 family spots.

So by the fall, we have.

You know, 20 families that are on the waiting list trying to get in shelter.

And so for us, this is a not addressing issues that we have at hand and it's really not going to reveal the results that that the sponsors are looking for.

>> So I want to get to the question about the homeless population.

We know that there's a sizable youth and underage homeless population and would those same restrictions and penalties apply?

So we understand that during the 2021.

22 year, the last complete data that of year of data, that was a bit from KET.

Some 21,062 school age children were Dana fight is homeless.

Even more recent data reveals that one 14 kids younger than 6 are homeless.

This comes from the Kentucky Youth advocates since there's not a minimum age of accountability around criminal arrest, would these children possibly even a four-year-old be subject to prosecution under House Bill?

5?

>> Yes.

So let's let's talk about what this bill is with respect.

some unanswered question directly.

We don't want anybody to be charged.

Friend George said it was cruel and unnecessary.

Let me tell you what I believe is I don't think this is KRON think that is humane.

Let me tell you, I think its crew, what we're doing now is cruel.

We're trying to work with the mayor to get more funds to get more treatment for these folks.

But what is cruel is allowing all these people, especially the young kids that you just identify.

Renee, allowing them to camp out all over the community.

What we need to do is have spots for them.

So what this bill does is it calls on Mayor Greenberg and other local officials to have a designated area where people can camp it has water in facilities like Puerto Plata when more than that.

But certainly that trying to get these people treatment as well.

And with respect to whether charged if they don't, you know, follow all they don't go to the designated area.

We're hoping that judges will divert them and we have a lot of diversion programs that we fund in the We're trying to get people treatment.

So look, this is devilishly difficult, not want to commend my friend George for what he's done, what he's devoted his life to and and all the other advocates we were with you.

But what we're doing right now is not right.

And that's one thing the mayor Greenberg did when he first came in, he's sweeping up homeless camps because that's the right thing to do.

It's not the right thing to do for the business owner who's affected.

Most importantly, it's a it's right for the for the particular homeless person.

We're trying to get them treatment to try to hurt anybody.

This is a devilishly difficult issue and it's not as simple as just saying.

We're trying to be cruel.

But you also can find them up to $250 and they could get and carry a jail sentence of up to 90 days.

>> There has to be there has to be a penalty for them to do something to lower, trying to do is we're trying to win.

They don't volunteer.

We're trying to get enough of for them to get into treatment.

You want to get housing you want to.

We want to go to not have this offense.

When you go to court, we want to divert you and get you train.

But there has to be a stick on that.

If they don't volunteer.

>> So it was a very spirited and informative conversation last night that touched on many aspects of the safer Kentucky at House Bill.

5.

You can see it all online on demand at K E T Dot Org Slash K K why tonight?

Now another legislative news Kentucky senator's heard about expanding access to publicly regulated college scholarships.

And while they all agreed, expansion is good.

They disagreed on some of the details.

Here's more on Senate Bill.

7 from our Clayton Dalton.

>> The Kentucky Educational Excellence Scholarship commonly referred to as KET money uses a student's a CT or SAT score and the GPA to determine a scholarship amount for post-secondary educational expenses.

Senate Bill 7 expands the amount of KET money.

Home-schooled students can earn.

The bill also allows students to use their score on the classic learning test commonly referred to as CLT in place of the a CT or sat.

Some Democrats question the test level of academic rigor.

It took issue with its religious elements.

>> I'm left with the sense that there are still many unresolved questions about this classical learning tests.

So many questions, in fact, that based on my research, fewer than 6% of the universities in America except it as an interest to exam.

>> And I was unable to find any public university in the state of Kentucky that allows students to submit it as part of their consideration to be accepted into a body.

25 1% of their questions.

>> Have religious, a philosophical basis to that.

And the problem with that.

Is when you're talking about those children that are not of that religion.

Putting them at a tremendous disadvantage by having them take a test that has been written and designed, particularly for Christian home schooled students.

>> State Senator Lindsey tension or a Republican from Oldham County pushed back claiming that hes material about different religions and philosophies is good for students.

>> But of those tax that are philosophical and religious on that test it they represent different of variety of tax from Saint Theresa Gandhi, Aristotle and even marks.

So when it's in the philosophy and religious category, it covers a broad range and I think it's not harmful for our students to be exposed to lots of varieties of information, religious, non-religious and be assessed on their ability to comprehend that information.

>> Senate Bill 7 pass the full Senate by a vote of 33 to 4 Democratic Senators Reggie Thomas Robin Webb and David Yates joined the Republican majority voting in favor of the bill for Kentucky edition.

I'm Clayton.

Don't.

>> Thank you, Clayton Dot.

Now moving on from news in the state legislature today, attorneys who filed a lawsuit in connection to last year's mass shooting at a bank in Louisville say the tragedy was foreseeable.

As we reported yesterday on Kentucky additions, survivors and family members of those killed in the old National Bank shooting have filed a lawsuit against the gun store that sold the weapon to the shooter used to kill 5 and wounding 8 others.

The lawsuit alleges River City fire arms ignored obvious warning signs about Connor Sturgeon when he purchased the AR 15 style rifle.

The lawsuit states, an eyewitness said Sturgeon appeared on easy and avoided eye contact and the gun store and demonstrated a complete lack of knowledge about guns.

All warning signs for suspicious sales today at a press conference to discuss the lawsuit, attorneys said the gun shop chose profit over community safety.

>> The tragedy that took place at all National Bank is infinitely more horrific because it didn't need to happen.

5 people were killed.

Countless others were wounded and traumatized on the heels of the pandemic of gun violence making this all very predictable in very preventable.

This mass shooting just was not the act of one troubled man.

Now.

As our complaint alleges the shooter was able to purchase an assault rifle because River city ignored obvious red flags.

Any reasonable employee in the store shouldn't notice they were trained to notice these red flags.

And in fact, a witness in the store didn't notice these red flags.

River City firearms was derelict in its responsibilities to those that old National bank by deciding the profit from one gun sell.

It's more important to protecting their community.

>> In addition to the weapon, Sturgeon also purchase 3 additional 30 round magazines, a red dot sight to increase accuracy and a vertical grip that allows greater control of the weapon.

Attorneys said they may sue the makers of the additional Equipment River City firearms has not yet commented on the lawsuit.

Gun violence was also the focus of another announcement out of Louisville today.

Mayor Craig Greenberg was joined by city state and federal officials to announce the prohibited Firearms possess ERs initiative or PFT.

They say the new initiative is aimed at identifying and stopping repeat gun offenders by using a multi-agency approach that involves law enforcement, prosecutors and federal agencies.

>> Despite some progress is and reduction in the number of shootings over the last few years, gun crime continues to threaten our city.

And we know that many violent crimes are committed by a relatively small and few individuals here in the city.

The prohibited Firearms possessor program is aimed towards repeat offenders.

As you've heard here today, those with a violent histories and those with the recent felony convictions.

>> People should feel safe while going about their daily lives and their cars, their homes, their neighborhoods, one trigger pulled or a singer, a bowl of has the power to destroy that feeling of security in an instant.

And that's why all of us here of a bright red circle drawn around the repeat gun offenders, which >> the group began reviewing cases when they met for the first time earlier this month.

They plan to meet monthly.

♪ ♪ >> Kentucky faces a blood shortage.

That's thanks to recent winter weather.

>> And the TV show American pickers is headed to Kentucky.

Our Toby Gibbs has those stories and more an hour Tuesday.

Look at headlines around Kentucky.

♪ >> New data show low income black and Latino students are the most likely to miss out on the instructional time to the bus delays at Jefferson County, Public Schools, Louisville, Public Media requests to pass the light data kept by JCPS from October 2023, the Thanksgiving break.

Louisville public Media reports the data shows students were missing more instructional time than last year.

It also said black students make up only 36% of the school district's population but experience nearly half of the 2.4 million minutes lost to the bus delays in October and November.

An official with the Kentucky Blood Center tells W E K you it is critically low on blood due to the winter weather as of Monday.

W E K you reports that 14 blood drives were canceled because of last week's cold temperatures and snow storms.

The official said Monday the senator had less than a day's supply O negative.

A negative be positive and ab positive.

The Kentucky Blood Center has a donor centers around the state.

♪ The documentary series that follows and take pickers is coming to Kentucky.

The baby Bill Enterprise reports the History Channel's American Pickers Plan to film episodes around Kentucky in March.

The Lakers are hoping to find a rare items and Kentuckyian learned the back stories of the end takes they come across.

With headlines around Kentucky.

I'm still begins.

♪ ♪ >> And 2023, the Louisville Orchestra began its and harmony to or statewide journey to bring free concerts to every corner of the Commonwealth and February Day start their final leg of the tour.

The music is the focus of the tour, but music director Teddy Abrams says connecting to the community is just as important.

♪ ♪ >> Our heart money toward is a collaboration with this state of Kentucky.

I say with the Kentucky state Legislature which so generously provided us the opportunity to tore every single part of Kentucky.

The idea was that we would take the orchestra and visit every single part of our great Use the language of music which is common to all Kentucky INS and something that Kentucky does extremely well.

We're we're known around the world for our music.

So we have this language that connects all of us as as Kentuckians and we're using it to build bridges in our state.

We visited every single part of our state.

As we promised, we would do with in this two-year span and the visits are a lot more than just one concert.

We show up and were part of the community for several days at a time.

Our musicians fanned out and visit libraries, schools, community centers, hospitals.

And then we get to know the community.

So by the time we have a concert.

>> Everybody in town has already met the orchestra.

It feels like a real kind of a family gathering in and to the concerts are incredibly exciting and moving and powerful.

So we're we're gearing up for our final wrong of that or >> what's going to take us to a lot of areas that we wanted to visit, but haven't quite been able to get to yet.

>> 1, 2, to every place that we go.

We try and represent the kind of music you were making right now at this time in this place.

And that's one of the most moving things that we found about these tours.

The percent is a shift from the various areas that were visiting performing with the orchestra.

People go crazy.

And that's a big part of what we're trying to do to show that the orchestra is a way of building these bridges that everybody feels like.

It's their home.

The kind of people that it come to these concerts represent the entirety of the communities were visiting.

There are so many different demographics and backgrounds and ages of the kind of people that that show up to our performances.

They that you get this sense that that we really are forging relationships and building between the orchestra and these communities.

Throughout Kentucky.

There are so many more communities that we need to visit.

We want to visit every single county in Kentucky.

>> And the whole point of this is that we're performing in towns that may just have a few 100 people or cities that that might have over 100,000 people were visiting every time to place.

This is not.

>> The kind of what I just want to go and play in places that are comfortable for us.

So that's one of the reasons we have to KET the tour going because there are so many community is a wonderful counties and different parts of the state the Louisville Orchestra.

He's not just for Louisville now it's for everybody in our great commonwealth.

>> And the idea that we were toying and sharing our music forever.

It's a really important part of our strategy for making sure that the orchestra is it connected for us in our state.

And that's what we're going to do.

Everything we can to make sure the Tory is something we do not only this year, not only next year but forever.

♪ ♪ >> Bravo and Teddy Abrams is a force in self.

The final leg of the and Harmony Tour includes 5 dates in February and March, starting in Corbin and ending in Fort Knox.

Well, one northern Kentucky woman is recreating her childhood home from memory and >> yard.

Lots of yard.

>> I have absolutely no idea what the yardage is.

But I spent between 800 to $1000 in >> Wow.

Wow.

She'll show us what makes the art from form so special in a very appropriately named Tapestry segment tomorrow on Kentucky EDITION, which we know you'll join us for 6.30, Eastern 5.30, central where we inform connect and inspire.

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

>> Thanks so much for watching tonight.

I will see you right back here tomorrow.

And until then, take really good care.

Tonight.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪