>> Some Kentucky INS were in the path of Hurricane Milton.

Others are now helping with disaster response with the election.

Just 3 weeks away, some races to KET an eye on in Kentucky, including 2 proposed constitutional amendments.

The Legislature's artificial intelligence task force hears from the secretary of Something he wants outlawed.

Attorney General Russel Coleman takes aim at TikTok with legal action.

He says will protect kids.

We have fall feels starting out there and calm and he's next on KET.

♪ Good evening.

I'm Bill Bryant and we welcome you to comment on Kentucky.

A look back and am some analysis.

All of the week's news in the Commonwealth and the gas on our panel of Working Kentucky journalists tonight are Mark Vanderhoff reporter for WLKY in Louisville McKenna, Horsley Politics reporter for the Kentucky Lantern and John Cheves reporter for the Lexington Herald-Leader.

Also tonight, parents could be sued if a child misuses a gun under a proposal from a Republican lawmaker.

And another disturbing revelation about Kentucky's juvenile justice system.

We have a lot to discuss this evening.

Many Kentuckians are now checking on relatives and friends and in some cases their own property.

Also, there are many people going now in response to Hurricane Milton in Florida.

And it comes as the Southeast continues to deal with trouble from Hurricane Helene.

It has been a rough couple of weeks.

John Milton made landfall very near where you grew up and we all know there are a lot of Kentucky ties and a lot of folks dealing with adversity.

>> Yeah, it's been the bad time down there between, as you mentioned, Hurricane Helene 2 weeks ago.

And the Milton this I am from Sarasota County born and raised.

This could have been a lot worse.

The weather forecasters are saying this could have been the catastrophic hurricane for Tampa Bay that has been feared for a century and then several things happened to this storm weekend at the last minute, right before landfall.

It came ashore south of Tampa Bay's so we didn't push all that water in from Tampa Bay.

Out of Tampa Bay's.

So we didn't push all that water in from Tampa Bay up into downtown It came in Sarasota and hit the barrier islands.

Anna Maria Island in Lido Key in Siesta Key and they took the brunt of it, which is, you know, good for Sarasota, not so good.

If you have a condo on Siesta Key and we have the evacuations, people that the seriously they got out of the shoreline areas.

You see a lot of these houses were destroyed to filled with water, filled with sand, even and if people had not fled, when they were told to flee the casualty numbers would have been a lot worse down there, even so we're looking at 14 dead, 50 billion dollars in property damage.

It's hard to overstate the Kentucky ties to that to actually even that region of Florida.

>> The Kentucky INS were the founders and explores it in in early Florida history.

>> They really weren't back when Florida had very few people there back before air conditioning was invented.

Nobody wanted to live there, you know, Kentuckyian help to develop Naples, Florida.

Kentuckians went down to Venice, my hometown because in Louisville where the Kentucky Military Institute, which had its winter quarters in Venice, 2 generations of young men drilled in downtown Venice and every winter.

And as they got older that about property down there, there's a lot of cross-pollination between Kentuckyian the Gulf coast of Florida.

You walk down the beach there and you see the UK flag.

You see the Kentucky flag.

>> Mark, we know that the Louisville area is among those who sent first responders, including some from the angry inch of Middletown Fire and >> That's right.

17 0st responders from Louisville were in place in central Florida before landfall and that way as soon as things cleared out, they could get to work immediately with the rescue operations.

And there were also 2 dispatchers that were sent to Asheville, North Carolina to help with the recovery efforts after Hurricane Helene.

There.

Nashville is a place that's dear to my heart.

I lived there for several years and both my children were born there.

You know, these and these lineworkers that we're sending they they they have work to do here.

>> And then as soon as Kentucky's utilities companies can spare them, they're being sent to sent down as well.

>> McKenna as we as we speak of North Carolina in East Tennessee and the situation from Helene.

We know that Kentucky hospitals are now dealing with some shortages of I the fluid or at least trying to figure out how bad it's going to be because of the situation.

The plant.

>> Yes, so a supplier in North Carolina has closed for the foreseeable future because of storm and storm.

A storm damage in the area.

And here in Kentucky, officials at Baptist Health Hospitals say they are holding elective procedures for the next couple weeks.

So has that situation involves then the situation with the surgery as well as well.

>> Sure seems these things are coming more and more often doesn't mean that our of cases and Kentucky, as we know, certainly in 2021 2022.

All right.

We are now about 3 weeks away from the election and 3 months away from the Kentucky General Assembly.

So will a flip the page and start talking of the public policy here.

We're all watching this battle over amendment 2.

It's the most visible race in this year from both sides.

How the battle lines drawn in this McKenna?

>> Well, here in the mid 2, it's really kind of become a partisan issue, particularly in these last few weeks before Election Day.

This was a Republican backed policy in the General Assembly and were seen top Republicans come out on this issue and be very supportive of it.

While we're also seeing top Democrats come out against this against the issue.

Lieutenant Governor Jacqueline Coleman has been leaning Democrats around the state having press conferences.

The mayor is campaign against this amendment.

And also we're seeing a lot of money being spent on this.

So I'm sure we'll see even millions more come in within the next couple of weeks.

>> Senator Rand Paul now running ads are appearing in ads it for those in favor of 2.

>> Right.

And you know, even with the presidential election on the line this year, we're also seeing school choice become an issue in national politics.

Republican President Donald Trump has said has talked a really about different school choice policies and things like that.

So while there's a campaign here, Kentucky, there's also national want to play as well.

>> I've got mailers at my home in Lexington in favor of amendment 2.

And I guess what Pat puzzles me is that they talk about the increasing teacher pay and a decrease in classroom size, which which sounds great.

But neither one of anything that has to do with the language and amendment to amendment 2 would authorize the legislature to allow K through 12 public school money to go to private and religious schools.

There may be some, you know, explanation for why this eventually would lead to that.

But I don't know why the proponents for amendment 2 just don't address that on its own merits when there supporting it.

I don't know why we're hearing that teacher pay, which has nothing to do with.

Well, I think what they're saying is that the 2 would be more competition for teachers and then.

But then the public school advocates say, but then if there was not pay from the >> from the public school to pay the higher.

Rates.

They wouldn't work.

>> Well, yes, and also one thing we've heard from Republicans, particularly as to what the amendment says is that it's just simply this first step in legislation and policy to come.

Last week I was in a press gaggle with Senate President Robert Stivers and Speaker David Osborne and they both thank that the debate.

Should this amendment passed next session will be a hotly debated topic among lawmakers and also when this was put to be considered to be put on the ballot.

There were Republicans and Democrats who voted against it, particularly world Republicans were kind of a force against this, but it ultimately did passing it on the bout.

>> And some people are going on record.

Some local school boards.

The state school board has gone on record this week as well.

Right?

>> Yes.

So earlier this week, the Kentucky Board of Education passed a resolution to oppose policies that would allocate state dollars to not public schools.

So they didn't say amendment to but reading between the lines, that's what they mean.

And then earlier today we saw Boone County Board of Education adopt a similar resolution.

Pretty much.

All that has changed is just to say Boone County from Kentucky State Board of Education.

So I'm sure we'll see other school boards adopt a similar measure in the weeks to come.

Marquardt.

Does this look like in Louisville home to the state's largest public school system?

JCPS?

>> And Louisville, a lot of the debate has been centered on how it will help or hurt disadvantaged neighborhoods where many children.

And they have lower test scores or they face bigger odds.

And so supporters say, hey, you know, this is an opportunity for your child to get a better education, either.

Maybe 3 charter schools if they're eventually funded or through private schools.

If a voucher system is eventually funded and of course, critics will say.

None.

And now it's not going to help like that because charter schools will take resources away from the public schools and those disadvantaged neighborhoods.

And critics contend that if there were eventually about your system put in place that the cost of a private education, even with the vouchers would be out of reach for many families and those disadvantaged neighborhoods was quite the debate.

And will it continue to watch on amendment 2?

Meanwhile, Amendment one which doesn't get talked about nearly as much.

>> It but Mckinnie.

You did a story this week on whether it is a proactive as the proponents say or a way of stirring up the voting.

Some sect.

>> Right.

So this amendment was sponsored by Senator Jason, how he's a Republican from Murray.

There was also Mayor Bill in the House, but this is the one that ultimately came out on top.

But how said that this amendment, which would bar non-citizens of the United States from voting in Kentucky is a proactive way to prevent non-citizens from doing that.

However, though, earlier this summer state election officials, including Republican secretary of state Michael Adams, said that there are safeguards in place in Kentucky to prevent that from happening.

And the time interesting thing about this amendment is also this amendment 172 is that it's part of a nation wide.

Movement that we've kind of Kentucky is one of 8 states this election cycle to have an amendment like this on the ballot.

And so we're kind of going to see how it plays out in all states.

>> You know it here.

You said you we only get confused about these amendment.

We cover write ledge and people out there who are just sort of casually, you know, planning to go in and vote for president and some other things and see these long wordy amendments.

>> They're going to be on the ballot if they're not prepared for that.

>> General Haddad, people don't understand an amendment or referendum the vote against it.

>> An amendment one, is it on a sample.

Ballot is much longer than amendment 2.

So voters maybe if they're in the ballot box, they get frustrated with amendment one and they'll make a snap decision on them.

And to mark, there's a reason you can't you don't put it on in short hand, right?

Because the courts have said no, no, that's right.

There was a case few years ago with Marsy's Law.

That was if you aren't familiar with, it would create created actually eventually.

>> This victims, Bill of rights to give crime victims more of a say in court proceedings.

But they had to >> change some things.

They had a a ballot measure.

We're Marsy's Law Court said, well, this the wording is too confusing.

We need a better explanation on the ballot.

Well, now we have some pretty long ballot questions.

And and that's pretty much the amendment or ever were.

>> All right.

There are some races to watch in the state McKenna.

There are not enough Democratic challengers to put a big dent in the Republican super majority in their dominance.

But the Democrats are hoping to at least hold what they have and maybe pick up a few seats right?

>> Yes, I think Democrats are particularly looking at suburban areas of Lexington and Louisville to hopefully make some gains there and takeout, Republican incumbents in those areas you know what we're kind of seeing there is kind of hoped to play off the Bashir effect from 2023 where he outperformed in some of those areas.

So they're hoping that translates to the state house, but it's kind of a different story in rural areas where scene.

Not as much support by rural Democrats, but they are some are on the ballot incumbent Ashley Tackett Lafferty is one race watch.

She's the only Democrat east of I-75 that is on the ballot this time.

The assistant, right?

Yeah.

So that will be race to watch and kind of how that plays out could be a signal of.

Of what Kentucky Democrats hope to do in rural areas in the future.

Marcano you've looked at some level area races in the Safer Kentucky Act.

A crime bill passed this year is a factor in the 28 House race.

>> That's right.

I mean, it's been a factor in just about every house race in the Louisville area because public safety is always a big issue.

But particularly in that race because the incumbent Republican Representative Jim Bowden was the primary sponsor House Bill 5, the Safer Kentucky Act.

His Democratic challenger, Al Murray, a Baker has said that.

Basically what the same arguments that we saw when it was first passed.

She says that it's the wrong approach to crime that it unfairly penalizes certain people, particularly the homeless.

She says that there should be more resources put into programs to stop crime versus punishing people after it happens.

But, you know, Republican Jerrod Baum and he says that he believes that the bill is working as intended and that while yes, it stiffens a lot of penalties, but it gives law enforcement a leverage to steer people into programs to get help.

Then education's a big race in the district.

36 Louisville, right?

That's right.

And that district in particular.

And there's an educator who's a Democrat who's running William Woody's Orn, and he's been hitting his Republican opponent, the incumbent, John Hodgson.

As for voting for what he perceives as anti publication, education bills as well as for Hodgson support for amendment 2 of course, Hodgson, you know, defends the Republican record, noting that they've got that they funded per people find funding at record levels by real cash amounts.

And, you know, Representative Dotson believes that amendment 2 will be good for education.

So and we're seeing this debate all over Louisville and and these Howard House races.

>> And a similar and in Lexington, again, in the in the urban and suburban races.

John, a race in central Kentucky getting attention.

The 45th district.

We're Republican named Thomas Jefferson be the more moderate to GOP run Killian Tammany and the Democrats seem to be uniting around their nominee at a more.

>> And so the 40th House district is southwestern suburbs of Lexington.

It's usually a conservative district for 20 years.

This is where Representative Stan Lee, not the Marvel Comics.

Stan Lee, the staunchly conservative Republican Stanley with the impressive mustache.

We all remember Stan Stanley was there for 20 years.

And so that's the way that district usually votes.

And a Republican Killian to many of the incumbent got ousted.

He was an educator in the Fayette County Public Schools.

He was too moderate, according to the voters, apparently.

We have the Liberty Republican candidate Thomas Jefferson, who's going to be facing off against a Democrat, Adam or the Democrats seem pretty happy with that and more.

He is a young military retiree military veteran not retiring, is still fairly young.

He worked in the offices of Senator Mitch McConnell, the Republican godfather of Kentucky.

And then in 2020, he decided that the Republicans had moved too far to the right to change his party registration to become an Democrats would have bucking the trend in Kentucky politics.

>> It incumbent Democrat Cherlynn Stevenson also facing a challenger in Lexington area.

>> this is Republican Vanessa across whole.

You know, this race.

It's interesting because it's it's a Republican against one of the leaders of the House Democratic So if Grossell takes is over, then.

Democrats will lose not only just see in the legislature but also position of leadership within them and have to refill it.

And that district was redrawn as well.

Right?

I think it to make scoots slightly in the Scott County.

>> Right.

So that might make it a bit more public an this time around.

Right?

Election integrity is important to getting the vote, right, of course.

And Secretary of state Michael Adams testified this week before a legislative committee about artificial intelligence and elections.

I think a law that would, for example, prohibit someone from pretending to be me by clipping my voice or my image.

>> And generating something that says the secretary of state says don't vote on Tuesday.

But on Wednesday, things of that nature.

There are already laws against a voter suppression.

They're not written like this.

>> McKenna Adams once the General Assembly to make it a crime to impersonate election official or to spread >> Right.

So when Adams appeared in a legislative committee this week talking about the use of AI to interfere with elections.

He compared them impersonate election official to the issue of impersonating a peace officer, which is a crime in Kentucky.

So he was but he would support legislation.

That does that for election officials here in Kentucky.

He also noted that other states are making laws in this area.

He referred to an issue in the New Hampshire Democratic primary earlier this year where a political consultant made fake robo calls impersonating President Joe Biden urging Democratic voters to not vote in the primary and they're that consultant is facing millions of dollars in fines, various criminal charges.

So Adams is saying other states are doing it.

So Kentucky should follow suit.

>> Mark Governor Andy Beshear campaigned in North Carolina Friday for Kamala Harris.

He has made a lot of appearances personally in on television in her Governor Beshear is brand is strong, especially among Democrats.

I get calls from friends of mine who live in other states from California to North Carolina who ask me about a governor.

Beshear.

>> And so at this past session in a state like North Carolina, that has a lot of similarities to Kentucky.

I think that makes sense.

And as a matter of fact, Governor Beshear will be doing a hosting a fundraiser for Indiana Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jennifer McCormick next week.

So yeah, I guess he's being sought out.

>> Yeah, we all face give keeping his options open.

Maybe for the future.

We'll see.

There was a tragedy in northern Kentucky this week when a medical chopper went down in Owen County.

3 people on board were killed.

John, we've seen these kinds of tragedies before.

We also know that a lot of patients are moved in Kentucky, especially from rural areas, too.

Senators with higher levels of care.

>> Yes, as hospitals and emergency rooms of closed in rural areas around Kentuckyian around the United States.

The people who live in those areas have to drive an hour more into a city to get to a hospital.

And so they become reliant on an air ambulance or helicopter when they're in a hurry.

Sadly, sometimes we do have a tragedy like we did know in county, also just on a daily basis, it can cost $20,000 or more to take one of those helicopter rides.

It's a real factor in health care costs.

And the governor has ordered the flags at half-staff Saturday in honor of the crew.

>> On state buildings invites others too, acknowledge that as well.

Kentucky's juvenile justice system is under federal investigation in efforts to improve the conditions are ongoing.

But John.

>> You've led the reporting on this issue.

And this week, another revelation involving guards and a mentally ill teenager.

>> Write this.

It was an incident in April at the Warren Regional Juvenile Detention Center in Bowling Green.

There was a teen boy as he was mentally ill in an isolation cell for 24 hours.

The guards want to do it.

They say calm him down because he was throwing a noisy tantrum.

So they remotely flushed the toilet in his isolation cell from the control center where they were he thought a ghost of disasters toilet.

He didn't know what was going on again.

He wasn't altogether there.

They were laughing at him.

They were lapping up.

The outburst was a point that it is toilet and started yelling.

They even went down there and told them he didn't stop flushing the toilet.

They were going to restart his 24 hours in isolation, even though they KET perfectly well that they were doing it to him.

They just they they thought it was funny at the same facility in Bowling Green in June.

I wrote recently about staff Pepper spraying an asthmatic team boy.

Not obeying a verbal command and then tossing him in his cell for an hour in pain, gasping for breath having an asthma attack without properly treating him.

The justice system obviously continues to mistreat these teams.

>> Are things going to improve?

I don't know the Department of Justice from Washington as a civil rights investigation under way into our juvenile detention centers.

It could be next year before we get the results of that.

>> Likely they'll be a consent decree between the state of Kentuckyian the federal government demanding reforms.

We do have a new juvenile justice Commissioner Randy White.

I got the chance to speak to him briefly in Frankfort.

It looks like he's taking action and firing people when he finds them.

But there's a cultural change that agency that just a long overdue.

Kentucky's Attorney General Russel Coleman is taking aim at TikTok is saying the social media platform.

>> It's really addicting.

2 juveniles and Mark Coleman is among other attorneys general in filing similar suits around the country.

That's right.

14 in all.

And they're not just alleging that it's addictive.

They're alleging that the social media platforms are harming teenagers >> and there's evidence to back up the this this these allegations.

CDC report that showed up 49% increase and teenagers who reported depression between 2011 some folks might say, well, maybe it was the pandemic.

Other studies have shown that this started before the pandemic.

For example, there was a United Hospital fund study that saw our that cited a 32% increase in reports of anxiety from 2016 to 2019.

You know, as a reporter, I am a staunch defender of the First Amendment.

So I want to make sure that freedom of speech is preserved.

But as a parent and deeply concerned about the effect that social media it's having on our team and we'll KET a watch on that.

>> Republican State Representative Kim Banta of northern Kentucky says she will file a bill in the 2025 station.

It would hold parents and guardians civilly liable for a issues of a gun McKenna.

Watch the proposal.

Will it get traction given that this is a Republican state representative?

>> Right.

So earlier this week ban to spoke with my colleagues here a lot about this issue, more in-depth and Banta is proposing a bill that would allow people who are hurt or threatened by a miner who has a gun.

They could sue the guardians of that minor for monetary damages and ban to is hoping that this is an incentive to parents to properly store and secure their weapons.

But when it comes to any kind of gun legislation in Frankfort, Republicans are wary of kind of taking any steps because they don't want to seem like they're the Second Amendment.

And when that comes around election time, they want to make sure that they are pro-gun with supporters.

It does seem unlikely for years.

One, another lawmaker has filed a safe storage.

>> Criminal bill that would say that if you are a gun owner and at kids in your home, if you don't safely store the gun with that for a trigger lock and the kid gets the gun and the kid uses the gun to shoot somebody accidentally or deliberately you can be held to a misdemeanor criminal charge and those bills going nowhere.

Dozens of like that landed should bill.

But the bills, the bill is going nowhere.

So it doesn't seem like an issue that really is that important to the Legislature.

All right.

Quickly, Mark, a Jefferson County Superintendent Marty Pollio announces retirement.

>> Is the search about to get under way for a replacement?

Yeah, we're going to find out more on Tuesday because this is on the Board of Education's agenda.

>> What we do know is that they'll decide Tuesday or talk about at least whether they want to hire a search firm.

The board chair has said he expects a national search.

Superintendent Jose says he thinks there's some internal candidates either way.

We got 9 months.

Interesting.

Northern Kentucky apparently responsible for 60% of the new jobs in the greater Cincinnati area.

That according to an arm of the Cincinnati Chamber in the study.

>> The Louisville Bourbon and beyond festival has been named the 2024 Festival of the year.

The international Entertainment Buyers Association made that announcement in Nashville.

They've bourbon and beyond festival sent an attendance record this year.

More than 210,000 people attended over 4 days.

That's come and have a good week ahead.