>> Mr.

Alvarado is clearly not going to be independent.

[MUSIC] >> Zach Demboand Ralph Alvarado trade jabs about corruption in Congress and the war in Iran.

[MUSIC] >> We're seeing young people drop off as they generally have in midterm elections.

[MUSIC] >> Find out whatelse could be behind the downturn in the number ofyoung people registering to vote in Kentucky.

>> Housing is a big We're goingto be talking about energy, energy, stability rates.

We're going to be talking about data centers.

>> And what's on the agenda when lawmakers return to Frankfort in January.

[MUSIC] >> Production of Kentucky Editionis made possible in part by the KET Millennium Fund.

[MUSIC] >> Good evening, and welcome to Kentucky Edition for Tuesday, October 13th.I'm Kelsey Starks in our KET Studios in Louisville.

us this evening.

Kimberly Guilfoyle has resigned as U.S.

Ambassador to Greece.

And this story has a Kentucky connection.

As we reportedlast week.

Eric Deters claimed Guilfoyle asked him to give her $100,000 to help retire her credit card debt.

Deters is from Northern Kentucky.

He's a businessman whoran for governor and for Congress.

He claims Guilfoyle offered to give him access high ranking Trump administration officials.

This morning, President Trump asked Guilfoyle to step down, and she did.

President Trump will campaign in Northern Kentucky Saturday.Trump will bein Highland Heights.

KET is told that U.S.

Senate candidate Andy Barr will be there along with Ed Gallrein, the Republican nomineefor Congress, in the fourth district.

This is all happening justsouth of Cincinnati.

There are races for governor and the U.S.

Senate in Ohio.

One of the candidates for Congress in the sixth district joined us last night on Kentucky.

Tonight, Democrat Zach Dembo is a Navy veteran and former federal prosecutor.

Republican Ralph Alvarado declined our invitation to appear.

Our Laura Rogers asked about his stated plans to go after corruption.

If elected.

>> Right now, still legal for members of Congress to trade individual stocks based on information that you and I don't have.

I don't see how you can see that as anything but corruption.

Similarly, members of Congress are allowed to be lobbyists.

Only a year after they leave.

This is why I've come out in favor of a lifetime ban on lobbying and a ban on stock trading for members of Congress.

I stocks I own if I'm lucky enough to be a member of Congress.

But we need to make sure all members of Congress, from both parties are banned from trading stocks.

>> Do you think you could get bipartisan support?

>> A viewerasked Dembo about Alvarado's ads, saying he would be an independent voice for Kentucky.

[MUSIC] >> Mr.

Alvarado is clearly not going to be independent.

We know that because the advertising he used in the primary was how many times he backed the president.

Since then, we've seen the speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, flown in from D.C.

to try to prop up his campaign.

We've seen Jim Jordan flown in to prop up his campaign.

We've seen a lot of D.C.

insiders being sent here.

They wouldn't come here ifthey didn't know he'd be a rubber stamp for everything.

This failed majority has wanted and done, which has beennothing other than giving up their power based on political cowardice.

>> You can see the entire interview at ket.org/ky.

Tonight.

Yesterday, Dembo appeared with a group of veterans opposed to the war in Iran.

We havea statement from Alvarado about that.

He said, quote, I agree with the people of Kentucky that it is time to end thewar in victory, get troops out of harm's way, calm energy markets and refocus our attention on domestic production of energy.

On this issue, like many others, Zach Dembo is a cynical opportunist whoonly seizes on the war as a politicalissue in Congress.

He would gut our military just like he attacks police officers andhas criticized the legislation that preserved benefits like VA loans and the GI Bill.

End quote.

senators just sent a letter to President Trump asking him to back out of his diesel fuel deal with Russia.

Six are Democrats, six are Republicans.

Andone of those Republicans is Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell.

A few days ago, President Trump announced the U.S.

would buy diesel fuel from Russia in an attempt to lower the record high price of diesel in the United States.

In the letter,the 12 senators say the deal will help Russia fund its war with Ukraine without helping the American consumer.

Turning to state politics now, we're just three months away from the 2027 Kentucky General Assembly.

So what are the priorities?

We caught up with Senate President Robert Stivers at the recent Soar summit.

>> Well, we're going tobe talking about housing.

That's a big thing in It's a big thing in Louisville, Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky or Western Kentucky.

Housing is a big thing we're going tobe talking about energy, energy, stability rates.

We're going to be talking about data centers.

We're actually going to be talkingabout education.

Education is a key component.

And anything related to like regulations and taxes, which will make us more competitive.

That's how we've been able to grow region is we're creating an economic dynamic that that is really changing the upward trajectory for a lot of people.

And so when youthink of education and economic trajectory changing for the good, that's what we're going to be looking at in the next session.

>> This year's Soar summit included a Mountain Caucus forum, where state lawmakers from districts in eastern Kentucky talked and problems in the region.

State representative Nick Wilson of Williamsburg talked about his work related to child welfare and what issues are top of mind for him going into this 2027 legislative session.

>> So this this past year, we looked a lot at ingestion cases.

We there's a fatality in near fatality board that looks at cases with children.

And those numbers have gone through roof of Ingestions, where a child gets into maybe prescription medicine or illegal drugs.

And actually now with the rise of like edible marijuana, things that actually look like candy, it's become a very dangerous situation for our children.

And it could be a complete accident or it could be total negligence or recklessness and, and the welfare bill this past year was able to appropriatedegree of, of what's happening in that house.

So that was one portion of the bill.

And others looked at the training and awareness and, and hopefully some of our medical professionalsin here have, or have receivedthat training already.

But that's an example of, of something that's important that's in these child welfare pieces of legislation, this upcoming session, goingto visit the grandparents rights issue, hopefully strike a balance there to where we don't want families fighting each other in court.

We want to find a way to help everyone.

The, the, the parents and the grandparents.

And we're I'm trying to predict ahead what we're kind oflooking at a very important piece of, of this is proper placements for children that are in foster they require an elevated level of need, making sure that they're in a placement where they're receiving that or simply a placement that just makes sense for that child.

If it's a Christian, hopefully they're with a Christian family.

So we're just I'm the vice chair of the Families and Children Committee in the House, and we're just very locked in on making lives safer for children, better for families, and how we can pass legislation that reaches that goal.

>> State lawmakers will gavel in to the next legislative session on January 5th, 2027.

Frankfort is getting rid of flock cameras, according to the Lexington Herald-Leader.

The City Board ofCommissioners voted unanimously to end Frankfort's contract with Flock Safety.

Frankfort has 19 flock cameras.

This means Frankfort is Kentucky to end its use of cameras.

There has been public criticism of license plate reading cameras because of concerns over privacy and questions about who has access to them.

For the first time, a coach is now charged under the state's new grooming law.

The Courier-Journalreports that a former coach and teacher in Somerset is now accused of charges related to grooming.

Trevor Scherer, who worked for Somerset Independent, is accused with one count of grooming involving a 12 to 17 year old and one count of tampering with physical evidence.

Somerset Police arrested Scherer October 9th.

He is scheduled to be arraigned on October 22nd.

Lawsuits.

School overcrowding and a milestone in an ongoing river cleanup effort.

Our Toby Gibbs has more on this look at headlinesaround Kentucky.

>> From Louisville Public Media.

Murray State University's procurement director, has filed a whistleblower lawsuit.

Darcy Little says she was stripped of her dutiesand put on leave in August whenshe voiced concerns about purchases and contracts that she thinks may have violated the law.

The vice president of finance and Administration,Laura Foltz, was also disciplined.

[MUSIC] Murray State comment on pending litigation.

[MUSIC] The USA Today Network is suing OpenAI.

USA today says OpenAI used copyrighted content without permission to train its programs.

According to Kentucky Public Radio.

The Courier Journal, one of the 19 newspapers owned by the USA Today Company, is a plaintiff in the lawsuit.

The company is seeking $250 million in damages.

Several other media including The New York Times, have also sued OpenAI for copyright infringement.

[MUSIC] The Boone County Board of Education has rejected a plan to move up to 500 students from Long Branch Elementary School because of overcrowding.

Lincoln KY says the school has 990 students but only has room for 900, and it could add 300 more by the year 2030.

But there was strong the plan to move students to four other schools.

[MUSIC] It's a milestone for a Kentucky watershedgroup.

The News Express reports the friends of the Tug Fork River just pulled their 20,000th tire from the river.

[MUSIC] This was an old tire, a 1940s or 50s era Firestone Super balloon tire.

The friends of the Tug Fork River began their work in 2019.

The October 7th eventwas the last one 2026 season.

[MUSIC] Those are tonight's headlines around Kentucky.

I'm Toby Gibbs.

[MUSIC] >> More than half a million Kentuckians are living with a disability, and nearly 3 in 10 adults provide care for an adult, family member or friend.

Well, this weekend, this statewide community will come together in Louisville for the disability support and Advocacy Awards.

I recently sat down with the organization's coordinator to learn more.

Alena Chesser is the event coordinator for the Disability and Advocacy Awards here in Louisville.

Coming up this Saturday.

This is an all day event.

Explain what happens here.

>> Yeah.

So in the beginning, we will have our doors openat nine.

Our morning session will run from 10 to 1.

And during that they will go along the school.

the Tour of Support.

And in each classroom we will have a resource table organization.

Things like special, which is all things special education.

We have KY spin to help parents and students who are graduating into an out of school program.

And we have moving forward limb loss for those who are amputees, and they are also going to be some of our we're going to be looking at workplace safety and coping with a disability from them.

>> So people from all over the state come and, you know, there are a lot of cutsin this area right now.

And so it'sso important connecting people to the resources that are available, right?

>> That's exactly right.

And that's what we hope to do more than anything.

And we invite everybody day.

There's tons of entertainment for adults and for the kids.

Like we have the Kosair clowns coming and we have a magic show, which is a professional magic show by Aaron Harp.

He's toured with Lance Burton before.

I got to see that show when it was in Elizabethtown.

It was great.

He did some close magic and I still don't know anything.

So and that's free as well.

The entire event is free.

>> That's incredible too.

So the tour of support is one thing, but you all have a ton of guest speakers.

It'sreally a learning experience.

>> Yeah.

And it's learning for educators, social workers, parents, caregivers, anyone that just wants to know more about the disabled community.

And we actually have two very young doing the daytime programs and introducing theguest speakers, and they are both in their first year of college.

So we're excited to have them and we're glad they're interested in the disabled community.

>> That's great.

And it all tops off with, of course, the awards.

So explain what some of these awards are.

>> So some of our awards are things like special Education Teacher of the always a good one.

And then we have our advocates of the year.

And my favorite, because I got to go around as Miss Wheelchair Kentucky.

We actually this program does.

Mister and Miss Wheelchair Advocate of the year.

So they will be crowned at the end of theevent.

And everybody can cheer them on from there.

>> It's so important to have that support system Talk about why it is so important for not only this community, but the the people outside the community to understand and learn about disability and caregiving.

>> So there are some things that people kind of do that think they're helping, but it's not necessarily helping.

Like, you know, someone might push your wheelchair for you even if youdon't know them.

So coming out and things will help you serve the community better.

It'll give you some insight.

And there's 1 in 4 people in Kentucky living with a disability.

That's a lot of people.

And when we start looking at our caregivers, family members and educators, that number grows.

So anything that people want to get into will be there.

And we are looking for that positivex progress inthe disabled community.

>> And bringing that community together.

>> Absolutely.

30 special lives resources, ten guest speakers, a school that is absolutely amazing.

They cater to students with disabilities and those who are medically fragile that need a little help for their education.

So they go there and they are amazing kids too.

>> And that is the host at Churchill Park School.

And that is where the event is happening.

That free, family friendly event at Churchill Park School this Saturday in Louisville.

The disability Support and Advocacy Awards happening October 17th at Churchill Park School here in Louisville.

[MUSIC] The number of young people registered to vote is up across several states, but Kentucky is not joining the trend, according to new data from Tufts University, states saw more young people registering to vote in the 2026 midterms than in the 2022 election.

Kentucky was among a handfulof states that did not make gains.

Instead showing double digit decreases in young people registering to vote this year compared to the last midterm.

We spoke to University of Kentucky political science professor Stephen Voss about the decline and whether it means young people in the state arebecoming less engaged politically.

>> When I first saw the wild spikes in youth registration across the States, I knew this has to be about more than youth engagement.

There's two big two large differences from states that saw big increases and big decreases.

So my first thought seeing the data is other things are driving these numbers.

Besides how voters are.

State by state.

And and so I lookedand I noticed that the states have had big differences and changes in how many young people they have in their population.

The thing about the data we're discussing is that they'rejust counts of how many people are on the rolls.

They're not a capture of how engaged young people are, what rate they're getting engaged with the system.

Kentucky has not seena large increase in its youth population some states have seen very large onesover the last few years.

Texas has seen its youth population increase by a third of a million.

So Kentucky is notgoing to look very good in the statistics just because we're not seeing those huge population influxes.

One pattern that does stand out about the states that have seen increases in youth voters versus statesthat have seen decreases, is whether they a serious statewide competitive election this year, with the exception of Maine, which has seen young voters drop off despite having a closely contested election.

Most of the states that have a really hard fought contest, we're still seeing young people engaged in states that are sleepier this year.

We're seeing young people drop off as they generally have in midterm elections, so there's no presidential on the ballot.

Seeing people drop off the rolls nationwide is actually common at a time like this.

So to me, the real story is the gains that we're seeing insome states, not so much the slightdrift downward in a place like Kentucky.

There are reasons why Kentucky lags in youth engagement, that people might want to address.

One of them is the lack of political competition.

You know, Kentucky used to have more youth compared toother states.

Back when Kentucky was a state that was up for grabs.

You know, when Bill Clinton could win it one year, Republican could win it the next.

But as Kentucky has become more lopsided politically and the elections have becomeless closely contested, the motivation for voters to get engaged goes down.

Even more important.

We tend to thinkof political engagement as an individual trait.

I'm either engaged or I'm not.

But a lot of what polls young people, a lot ofwhat polls everybody into politics are what outsiders do to pull us into the system, what the campaigns do to register voters, what interest groups do to advertise the campaign or get people out knocking on doors.

As Kentucky's become less contested by the two parties because we're lopsided, all those outside groups that used to makeit easier for us to get engaged with politics don't spend their money here to the same degree.

I wouldn't say Kentucky's been a typical over the long span in terms of engagement of young voters.

You know, young voters, especially respond to all the the flurry of campaign activity and the efforts toget them mobilized.

You know, if you go back even half a decade, we would see was more people registered to vote because the candidates had the money to spend, to get young people registered to vote, and they hoped for their support.

We're not seeing as much of that intense activity to get young voters on the rolls by these outside campaigns, by the national parties, politicians do worry a little bit more about people who vote.

So if a trend developed of young Kentuckians just not being involved in thepolitical system, youwould expect eventually tosee the parties worrying a little bit less about issuesthat directly impact young people, or the issues that concern young people.

>> Tomorrow on Kentucky Edition will continue our conversation with Stephen Voss here.

What he believes will lead to more civic engagement among young people in the state.

[MUSIC] On America's early whiskey was more than a drink.

It was currency survival and a way of life.In this episode of Kentucky Origins, discover how the Whiskey Rebellion, river trade and Limestone water helped Kentucky create one of America's most iconic spirits.

>> While Kentucky bourbon is known around theworld today, rum was the dominant spirit in colonial America.

[MUSIC] But everything changed with the American Revolution.

disrupted Caribbean trade that supplied American distilleries with molasses rums, essential ingredient.

[MUSIC] Meanwhile, the frontier had more corn than settlers knew what to do with whiskey made from American grain on American land became the natural heir to rum.

[MUSIC] Unlike raw grain, whiskey didn't spoil and was easier to transport over long distances.

[MUSIC] Farmers traded it for services and even land.

But as whiskey production surged, the new federal government, deeply in debt from the revolution, wanted their cut.

So in 1791, Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton proposed the first internal federal tax in U.S.

history a tax on whiskey.

Under the law, large commercial distilleries back east would pay a flat annual fee.

The more they saved.

Small farmers, on the otherhand, paid bythe gallon, often at rates that varied from the whiskey's proof.

Farmers believe the system clearly favored the larger Eastern operations.

[MUSIC] Congress passed the tax, but the frontier resisted immediately.

[MUSIC] The resistance was so strong in many Western counties.

Federal officials struggled to collect the tax at with threats, intimidation and in some cases, violence.

In one notorious incident, a federal officer named Robert Johnson was ambushed, tarred and feathered, robbed and abandoned in the woods.

Others who tried to enforce the law suffered similar treatment.

President Washington understood something far bigger than tax revenue was at stake.

The real question was whether the new federal government could own laws.

If citizens could simply refuse to comply, take up arms and walk away.

The American experiment would crumble.

Washington responded by calling nearly 13,000 militiamen, and they rode for westernx Pennsylvania.

[MUSIC] The show of force worked.

By the time the militia arrived, the rebellion had largely collapsed.

[MUSIC] While the president won the standoff and showed the government laws, the whiskey tax remained difficult to collect on the frontier.

[MUSIC] The Whiskey Rebellion may have ended, but America's Whiskey story was just beginning.

Kentucky had numerous distilleries operating within its borders by the time of the Whiskey Rebellion.

[MUSIC] Plus, the Ohio and Mississippi rivers were natural highways to the rest of the country.

Flatboats loaded with barrels of to New Orleans and from there to markets across the world.

[MUSIC] More and more people started noticing that what came from Kentucky tasted different from anything else.

[MUSIC] In 1802, Congress repealed the tax on whiskey, and by the early 1820s, the term bourbon whiskey was appearing in newspaper ads.

In 1964, Congress formally recognized bourbon as a distinctive product >> To hear the rest of this story and many others, you can visit Kentucky Origins playlist on KET YouTube channel.

Now, when you vote, you won't just be voting for candidates.

You'll be deciding on an amendment covering pardons.

>> This does not completely eliminate the power to pardon, but what it does do is it enforces the ultimate level of accountability for a governor, which front of the voters at the ballot box.

>> So should Kentucky governors have the power togive pardons closeto an election, voters will decide with amendment one.

We'll hear more from the state lawmaker backing that amendment tomorrow night here on Kentucky edition.

And we do hope you'll join us again tomorrow night.

We'll be here at 630 eastern, 530central for Kentucky Edition, where we inform, connect and inspire.

Thanks much for joining us tonight.

Have a great evening.x