Daniel Cameron has a message for America's CEOs.

The latest on the race for Kentucky governor ahead.

In the end, it's about protecting the entire community.

How the whole county health department is helping people struggling with drug addiction and keeping everyone safe.

Pretty impressive is hoping to rescue them.

And Kentucky veteran remembers his time working on nuclear test sites.

Production of Kentucky Edition is made possible in part by the KET Endowment for Kentucky Productions, the Leonard Press Endowment for Public Affairs and the KET Millennium Fund.

Good evening and welcome to Kentucky Edition for this Friday, July the 14th.

I'm Renee Shaw.

Thank you for starting off your weekend with us.

We begin with some breaking news late this afternoon concerning Senate Bill 150, the measure that blocks gender affirming care hormone therapy and puberty blockers from Kentucky's transgender youth.

In late June, a federal judge blocked that portion of the bill from going into effect.

But this afternoon, that same judge, David Hale, lifted that injunction, meaning the ban can go forward.

Hale's decision came after the sixth District Court of Appeals allowed a similar law to go forward in Tennessee.

Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron, who backs Senate Bill 150, has already sent out a tweet about this.

He calls it, quote, a victory for the rule of law and the protection of our children.

He says, I'll continue to defend Senate Bill 150 and the right of children to be children free from radical gender, ideology and quote, The ACLU of Kentucky is also responding.

Legal director Corey SHAPIRO says this, quote, While we strongly disagree with this opinion, it is only in effect.

While our appeal is pending in front of the Sixth Circuit.

It is not the final word.

And we remain optimistic that with a full briefing, we will achieve a positive result, unquote.

Now, the Fairness Campaign calls the court reversal a tragedy.

Watch comment on Kentucky tonight with Bill Bryant and a group of working journalists.

They'll have more about this tonight at eight Eastern, seven Central right here on K.T.. Now, here's another big issue in the contest for governor race.

Attorney General Daniel Cameron, the Republican nominee and 12 other Republican attorneys general, have signed a letter sent to Fortune 100 CEOs warning them of serious legal consequences if they use, quote, diversity, equity and inclusion and hiring practices.

Now, this is after a US Supreme Court decision stopping race from being considered as a factor in college admissions.

And all of this comes as Governor Andy Beshear urged all elected officials in Kentucky to denounce racist comments made by Eric dieters on his social media platform.

Data was a Republican candidate for governor in the May primary.

Now Cameron has withdrawn as a speaker from Dieter's Freedom Fest rally in September.

But he has not denounced Dieter's comments.

Lawyers for the city of Louisville say a US Supreme Court decision on a Colorado case does not apply to a recent case in Louisville.

Last month, the nation's highest court sided with a Colorado Web designer who didn't want to create wedding sites for same sex couples.

According to the Courier Journal, Louisville lawyers filed a brief with the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals saying that's different from the case involving a Louisville wedding photographer accused of violating the city's fairness ordinance by refusing to photograph same sex weddings.

The Louisville lawyers say the Colorado case is about free speech.

While the Louisville Fairness Ordinance covers, quote, conduct.

Time now to go inside Kentucky politics as we review some of the big developments this week in Kentucky politics with Dr. Stephen Voss, who's a political science professor at the University of Kentucky.

Good to have you.

Thanks.

I'm here, Renee.

So we always say several times this week that the governor's race is heating up like the summertime temperatures right.

That's not unusual.

We're just about three weeks out from the big political event of pretty much the whole campaign season.

Fancy Farm and the candidates in the governor's race in particular.

That race has really intensified on the campaign trail.

We're just getting to the point where voters who didn't know how they were going to vote a year ago are starting to pay attention, you know, doing their homework, making those decisions.

This is the make or break time for the campaign.

So when you view there has been at least one poll that I think that was Republican leaning, when you look at the candidates, the personalities, the issues, the times.

How do you view how tight this race is and could end up being?

You know, the public doesn't have much by polling data.

Usually the campaigns that at a gubernatorial level, they have more information than we do.

But even they're limited by what polling can give you.

So what I like to look for is how are the campaigns behaving?

Are they acting as though they think, you know, it's close or they're acting as though they think one side's ahead or the other?

And most signs are no one's ruling out either candidate in this governor's race.

I mean, if you look at Fancy Farm, full slate, both parties trying to have everyone there, both campaigns, the incumbent governor and the challenger, very active, spending a decent amount of money to get messages out.

Everyone's acting as though they think this one's neck and neck.

Well, and we've even heard that you've got folks out campaigning already door to door this early for the incumbent, which may seem a little rare.

Well, I mean, it's a smart thing to do.

You don't always have the resources to have people out in the field this early.

And, you know, clearly, Governor Bush here has got the resources.

This is the benefit of us having a gubernatorial election that's off cycle, which is we're almost the only game in town.

Right.

And especially for the Democrats, I mean, Andy Beshear is the star of this this election season.

And he's their one big, you know, goal that they can pursue and expect a likely victory.

So, you know, the resources have been pouring in for Governor Beshear and they're likely to continue.

Mississippi and Louisiana are the only other states that have gubernatorial contests this year, and they seem to be already kind of decided in some way or expected to go where they're going to go.

That's right.

The Deep South electorate's a little more committed to Republicans, a little more ideological than Kentucky's.

And also, those Democrats don't have incumbency.

Andy Beshear has got the advantage of the name recognition and already being in the governor's mansion.

So how powerful is the power of incumbency still, particularly in this Kentucky governor's race?

Incumbency has a holding.

The job matters less and less because people are so polarized.

If you're a Democratic governor, you're less able to get Republic wins normal Republican voters to stick with you because of things you've done.

And that's true in the other direction as well.

But it still matters.

I mean, name recognition, having people know who you are matters.

If people are content with Governor Beshear, they're unlikely to even really think about Daniel Cameron.

They're unlikely to think of themselves as having to make a decision.

That's the challenge for Attorney General.

Cameron is convincing people that they should make a choice, that they should even be shopping for a candidate.

Right.

Because we would think that the Democrats are firmly in the camp of the incumbent Governor Andy Beshear, and the Republicans are solidly behind the Republican challenger, Daniel Cameron.

So who's left to grab at this particular point?

Well, there are a lot of swing voters.

I mean, some of them are registered independents.

They're hard to get and hard to get in large numbers.

But you have a lot of people here who are registered Democrats who don't really think of themselves as Republicans.

But they often resist the Democratic candidate because they view that candidate is too extreme or too focused on hot button cultural issues that play well in California and New York.

But Governor Beshear so far has been able to do pretty well with those sort of fence sitting Democrats.

We do see some of those ads still connecting him to the president, still talking about those cultural wedge issues like transgender youth issues and the abortion issues, saying more of that than we are an economic message really, at this particular point.

Well, for sure, Republicans want this election to be about national cultural issues, where voters here have rejected Democrats over and over.

Right.

The Democrats want this election to be about job development, you know, economic development, about how the state handled the crises in Eastern and western Kentucky, you know, the flooding and the tornadoes.

That's what they want the election to be about.

Look, you've got a competent manager.

Don't switch just because of ideology or just because of, you know, broad issues that may not even matter here.

Right.

And when you talked about the fact that we are kind of the only game in town when it comes to the electoral landscape this time, is that good or bad in the sense that, well, maybe more money will flow, but there is a more opportunity to federalize the race when it comes to issues.

I'd say the opposite.

You said the office, the fact that we don't have a bunch of national elections taking place, we don't have a presidential election, we don't have battle for Congress taking place, it makes it easier for Governor Beshear to make it a more local race, which is what he wants.

He wants it of Kentucky race.

Mm hmm.

The money, though, I mean, do you have any idea of how much will be spent on this governor's race by looking at where we are right now and myself, Are those numbers sound?

You know, you can go to the moon and back, Plus stacking those bills?

No.

Yeah, it's hard.

It's going to be a lot.

It's going to be a lot.

The messaging we've talked about the candidates down ballot.

I mean, there are some pretty strong candidates for Kentucky secretary of state.

There are some incumbent there, of course, attorney general, of course, that's being vacated by the officeholder.

Now, Russell Coleman and and Pam Stephenson, folks who have some name recognition.

Right.

So do you think that the coattails of a governor incumbent, Andy Beshear, will be strong enough to pull up some of those down ballot Democrats who may not have the financial resources that the governor has?

Well, we do have we do have a coattails effect.

First, if people are turning out to vote for Andy Beshear, they're there for the other Democrats down the ticket.

Plus, with this state, you can just vote a straight ticket.

So it makes it more tempting to just vote for all the Democrats if you're there to vote for Beshear.

So those are advantages for the Democrats in this state.

Right.

But we know from Beshear's victory that there are a lot of voters who will consider him, but in general are going to vote are you know, he he won when all the other Democrats lost.

And that can happen again.

I have to ask you, is there any power in the number two spot and who you select as lieutenant governor?

Because we're still waiting for Daniel Cameron to make that announcement, which there's some speculation he'll do before Fancy Farm.

Even at the presidential level, the vice presidential choice doesn't matter very much.

So it's almost certainly not that big a deal.

Who gets picked to be the ticket made for lieutenant governor?

But it is a chance for Daniel Cameron to send a message that will be fairly high profile that lots of people will hear.

And in terms of messaging, in terms of sort of bang for your buck and getting a message to the public, his choice of lieutenant governor is going to be one of the clearest signals he can send to the most people.

And in that sense, I do think who Daniel Cameron picks as his running mate will matter.

Yeah.

Stephen Voss, we could always use some more time with you.

We always appreciate your expertise and insight and we'll have you back again.

Thanks for the time you did give me.

Yes.

Thank you.

One more political note.

Kentucky Secretary of State Michael Adams, a Republican, has been elected secretary of the National Association of Secretaries of State at its summer conference in Washington, D.C.. Adams says he's honored to be chosen.

He says it's because secretaries of state across the country recognize Kentucky's achievements and making it, quote, easier to vote and harder to cheat.

More than half of Kentucky's counties now have syringe service programs for intravenous drug users.

The programs are part health Department's efforts to curb the impact of drug use.

The county health department just started offering a syringe service program through its mobile clinic.

We visited one of the sites and spoke with health care workers who said harm reduction programs are not designed to enable drug addicts, but instead make communities safer.

We work out of it, so it gives us a little privacy for everyone.

We offer syringe exchange.

Obviously we do HIV and hep C testing.

We offer wound care education as well as wound care kits.

We do referrals to treatment for hep C if they are hep C positive.

We hear all the time, Well, why do they need Narcan?

You know, we need to just let people die.

They've used drugs.

They did this to themselves.

And it's sad.

It's really sad to hear people say that because these are people who they didn't choose to be an addict.

The harm reduction program is not to keep someone from being or using drugs.

It's to protect the community.

And that means to protect drug users as well as other people in the community.

And a way to do that is giving them clean needles.

So they're not sharing, they're not sharing and spreading diseases.

And you throw away a needle, get rid of it, then somebody else doesn't get it.

It doesn't harm just in any citizen.

You know, we've had participants tell us that they've used the same needle for months and they sharpen it on concrete or brick walls or, you know, they draw up water out of mud holes because they can't get access to clean water.

So, you know, to me, if we can stop that from occurring, that's the main thing.

Hepatitis can live on these surfaces for over 30 days.

So the risk of you stepping on a needle that's been used multiple times and you getting hep C is very high, but you stepping on a needle that's been used one time, your chances of getting hep C is very low.

So you look at those statistics and it makes more sense.

But it's hard to get people to understand that sometimes we've had to come to terms with it at first too, because we thought long and hard about it.

But in the end it's about protecting the entire community, not just providing we're not enabling people, we're not encouraging it.

People are using whether we give them clean needles or not.

And so we have to do something that will at least help protect everybody else and them as well.

And this is just the best way that we've found that we can do that.

We also offer treatment, referrals for rehab, things like that.

If they're interested and when they're ready for rehab.

So remember, these are people that, you know, they're all crying out for help in some way or another.

They're all very thankful.

They're very appreciative of what we do every time they come.

Anybody that comes is, you know, thank you for doing this.

Thank you for thinking of us.

Thank you for treating us like humans.

Sometimes you just want to give them a hug before they leave.

And sometimes we do, you know, because they come and tell us their stories.

And, you know, it's just it's hard not to want to live on them.

And, you know, when you hear that they get shunned by people in the community because they know that they've done wrong, they know they've done things in the community, that's probably not the best, but they're still human beings in the end.

There's still people that can be loved and need to be loved.

And when you hear them say, You're the only person that cares about us, that's sad.

It's really sad to me.

If we have 100 participants and one goes to rehab, that's worth it to me.

So, you know, the goal with all of this is definitely to stop the spread of diseases, but it's also to get people help.

And if we can do that, then I feel like we can go home with good conscience and say that we did our job.

The mobile clinic also began offering fentanyl testing strips after a new law went into effect last month decriminalizing the tests.

Another programing note here shifting gears.

Next week, Haiti will premiere a new three part PBS series called Southern Storytellers, which looks at how place informs the work of creators across the South.

As part of the project, Ted reached out to some Kentucky storytellers for a collection of short digital videos.

The first of those with author and Kentucky's 2023 24 poet laureate Silas House has really resonated with people.

Garnering nearly 50,000 views in less than two days.

I think every good love story is complicated, and my love for Kentucky's complicated too.

There are aspects of it that frustrated me, but I love it in spite of those frustrations.

And I think that's a real love.

You know, when you love something, even when it's not completely perfect.

Sometimes I feel like Kentucky doesn't love me back properly, but mostly I always feel like Kentucky is a balm for me.

It's a tangible thing, you know, I can go out into the mountains, to a creek, the land where I grew up, but it's also in tangible it's like over here in people who are talking with a particular cadence and knowing that I'm home when I hear that.

I was raised in southeastern Kentucky.

When you're from a place that most of the world is has disdain for, I think it makes you prouder to be from there, because I think you sort of focus in on the best parts of it, you know, and you love it more.

For me, the most foundational part was the it's a storytelling culture.

I think storytelling is essential.

It's foundational.

We have a craving for stories in our DNA from the beginning.

The time people were sitting around fires, telling stories to each other, you know?

So there's a reason that we need stories to be told to us.

Absolutely.

Good words from Silas House.

Other videos show how storytelling happens through a variety of endeavors.

Extended versions of these videos will be available online on demand at Katie Dawn, Oregon, Southern Storytellers.

The series premieres on Katie Tuesday at nine Eastern eight Central.

Check it out.

President Biden declared this Sunday as National Atomic Veterans Day.

The day is set aside to honor America's veterans who worked on the testing of nuclear weapons and led our country to the forefront of the technology.

One Kentucky man was honored earlier this year for his time working at an atomic weapon site, and 93 year old Jerry Will Brandt says he was honored to serve and receive the recognition as a mechanic.

But Jerry Will Brandt is more than just a mechanic.

He's an atomic veteran.

Atomic veterans are military members who participated in nuclear related activities after World War Two through 1962.

These vets participated in nuclear weapons tests, remove radiation from equipment, or were exposed to it like veterans assigned to serve in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

After the United States detonated the bombs, Fat man and little boy at the end of World War Two, the US's nuclear weapons program conducted over 200 tests showing that time with more than 400,000 servicemembers playing a role.

Many of the members didn't know the risks of being involved, and some suffered health issues because of their work.

Very young 21 men in waiting worried about nothing.

It was like an anywhere else went to Arabia.

It's interesting, you know, the fact that we're doing it again, that we didn't really much care, I guess.

Serving in Sacramento during the Korean War.

Terry took to the skies and a B 29 after atomic weapons tests, and our B-29 would fly around the cloud and keep our planes flying through it.

They ensured no one else was exposed to the cloud and the dangerous radiation inside.

But Jerry says at the time he didn't think much about the tests.

Instead, he says something else was on his mind.

Not much of anything.

There is this girl.

Despite the joking, Jerry knows what some of his fellow atomic veterans went through.

Many face medical issues because of their exposure to radiation and were denied help from the government.

You know, it's a I think it was just school doctor to and a patient.

And I'm telling a lie to her.

But they're all guinea pigs.

Jerry lived a life doing things most people only read about, like chasing hurricanes or exploring the Bermuda Triangle.

But even with his list of adventures, the detonation of the atomic bomb stuck with him.

All right, I'm here.

Bottle and never see him, you know.

L know what your bottom line is.

He involved that.

That's pretty impressive.

He's hoping to rescue them.

His orders to report to the now shuttered McClellan Air Force Base near Sacramento are still in pristine condition.

There he, along with other soldiers, would fly from that base to Indian Springs, Nevada, where nuclear tests were conducted.

He has photos from a test he witnessed at the site, photos of an event many hope to never see again.

Most people, you know, I don't want to hear here movies, you know, on the power that they're taking there, you know.

I mean, you know, if what happened afterwards is like a lot of damage, they are to be highly appreciated, highly GWAR fodder.

Danny Glover is commander of American Legion Post 38.

Jerry has been a member of the American Legion for 67 years.

He says all veterans need to be respected for their role, but noted the unique challenges atomic veterans faced during and after their service.

They've sacrificed so much.

A lot of them are no longer with us.

A lot of them didn't live to the ripe old age.

A jury is, and certainly not in the condition he's in.

Jerry Will Brandt was honored for his time as an atomic veteran.

He was given a plaque and a challenge coin inscribed with the atomic Veterans label.

But even as I tried to get Jerry to talk about his time seeing one of man's most powerful creations, while I had talk about Jerry sat down for an interview.

He spent time talking about the good old days, saying wonders and sharing it with his fellow soldiers servicemen doing their job.

I guess I enjoyed it.

We had a good time in the service.

It was some rough spots, but the trailer all around a lot.

But with a proper timeline of things that we never would seen before.

For Kentucky Edition, I'm Casey Parker.

Belle.

Thank you, Casey, for that.

The last nuclear test carried out by the US was a 1992.

The U.S. has conducted more than 1000 nuclear tests with more than 1 million people involved in the process.

America remains the only country to use nuclear weapons during armed conflicts.

It's another great weekend, packed with interesting things to do.

All over Kentucky, including music, theater, a county fair and an air show.

Our Toby Gibbs has the details.

And this look at what's up around the commonwealth of.

Starting tomorrow and running all week as the Harrison County Fair in Cynthia Hanna.

It's got everything you want at the county fair.

Tractor pulls, horse shows a barbecue cook off donkey racing agrees pig contest and even more.

It's a family friendly event and full of fun.

Roll on down to River Fest days in Augusta this weekend.

From now until Sunday, you can enjoy music, vendors, food, bourbon and more local attractions like the Rosemary Clooney Museum and the Augusta Distillery will be open.

So there's something for everyone at this event.

The bluegrass is alive with the Sound of Music.

The Lexington Theater Company is currently performing this musical theater classic, and there are four more shows over Saturday and Sunday.

The show is sure to be one of your favorite things, so don't miss your chance to see it.

Brews and balloons at Beaver Dam City Park is tomorrow.

The brew Fest portion kicks off at noon for those 21 and older and includes live musical performances and delicious food truck options.

Then at 6 p.m., Balloon Fest begins and is open to all ages, looking for an enchanting evening among the giant hot air balloons.

Many Adkins is one of the best known folk woodcarving artists in Kentucky, and July 15th is a day set aside to honor her contribution to Kentucky folk art.

Come on down to Sandy Hook to experience many.

Adkins Day one of the biggest folk art festivals in eastern Kentucky.

For good music, great food and amazing art.

Tomorrow is the last day of jet sober Kentucky and Campbellsville.

Bring your lawn chairs down and keep your eyes on the sky as our sea jets fly overhead.

There will also be food vendors so hungry, looking for an event that is mysterious, spooky, and altogether ooky.

Well, check out the Glen Mama Center for the Arts in Madisonville for their performance of the Adams Family musical.

The Adams are in for a ride when Daughter Wednesday falls in love with a straitlaced young man and she invites him and his seemingly normal family over to dinner.

There are two more shows this weekend, so be sure to make it out.

And that's what's happening around the Commonwealth.

I'm Toby Gibbs.

As always, we thank you, Toby Gibbs.

That'll do it for us this week on Kentucky Edition.

Thank you for being with us all this week.

We sure hope to see you again Monday night at 630 Eastern, 530 Central, where we inform, Connect and Inspire.

You can check us out all the ways that you can on social media, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, we are there.

Thank you for watching.

I'm Rene.

I'll have a terrific weekend and I'll see you right back here Monday night.