>> I don't think we should elevate people to a debate.

We are advocates of violence.

>> Senator Rand Paul on why he didn't want to be on TV with Charles Booker.

>> I thought it was time to really let the community know, you know.

Was troubled.

Waters were.

>> A Kentucky newspaper needs help and is getting it.

Gun pounds.

Israel.

Gun battles destroyed families.

It destroys west around this.

And using art as an outlet to discuss gun violence.

>> Production of Kentucky Edition is made possible in part by the KET Endowment for Kentucky Productions.

Lynyrd Press Endowment for Public Affairs and a K E Team Millennium Fund.

♪ ♪ >> Good evening and welcome to Kentucky.

Addition for Thursday, October 6.

Thank you for joining us.

I'm your host Kelsey Starks in for Renee Shaab.

>> 3 women are suing Attorney General Daniel Cameron over Kentucky's abortion ban.

The suit is on religious grounds.

The 3 women from Louisville are all Jewish.

They say that according to their faith wife does not begin at conception.

They say Kentucky's abortion ban and fetal personhood law are both.

They can give preference to Christian beliefs.

One of the 3 women says she's afraid to try to have another child out of fear that a miscarriage might lead to her prosecution.

2 more of a clinics are already suing over Kentucky's abortion law with a hearing set for November.

15th.

Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky is explaining why he didn't appear on KET Kentucky tonight.

Last Monday he was invited but didn't respond.

His election opponent, Democrat Charles Booker accepted the invitation Wbko in Bowling Green caught up with Senator Paul yesterday as he campaigned in Scottsville there.

He explained why he didn't appear with Booker and the thinking behind his new online ad.

>> Made the decision that people who advocate for violence really, it's not.

I think a good idea for me to elevate them to any kind of discussion.

>> You know, the fact that he thinks it's a funny that I was attacked.

He's made ads mocking the attack that cost me 6 broken ribs and part of my long he's produced ads with people in the ad saying that it should happen again.

One of his supporters that we mentioned in the video also said that the person who attacked me is your hero.

>> Booker calls the new Paul Ed desperate and ridiculous.

And he says he's never endorsed violence against any politician.

President Biden today pardoned thousands of people convicted of marijuana possession and he urged governors to do the same.

This comes after a new report from the governor's Medical Cannabis advisory group that suggests 90% support for legalized medical marijuana in Kentucky.

Kerry Harvey, the committee co-chair told us the governor's office is studying what executive action he can take.

>> I think that's an understudy.

I think the governor and his staff are studying what's possible.

And I would say, you know, we all know we've all recognized from the beginning that the governor can simply unilateral unilaterally change the statute.

So that's no one has that in mind.

But by the same token, the powers of the governor and the governor are not inconsiderable.

And so I think he's studying what action he might take out.

What impact could medical cannabis have on the criminal justice and public safety community?

>> Well, I think the the most important impact is is really on them broader population of the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

What we heard over and over for reports from folks.

>> Who are really suffering either themselves or their family from all sorts of horrific medical conditions and they that they're suffering has been relieved by using medical cannabis win other drugs did not provide that sort of delays in terms the impact on the criminal justice community I think we if medical cannabis is ever.

Completely legalized in Kentucky has it has been in 30 other state.

38 other states in the country.

We'll have a good statutory and regulatory framework to make sure that medical cannabis is used in appropriate cases and the right way.

And so I would not.

And despite that, it would have any negative impact on the criminal justice community.

And in fact, I think we might see and we would hope to see that it might the minute it's the number of sadly become addicted to opioid painkillers that are used to treat the very same conditions that could be in some cases treated by medical cannabis.

>> No word yet on how many of those pardoned are from Kentucky.

Well, more fallout from the investigation into sexual and emotional misconduct in the National Women's Soccer League, including racing Louisville, the professional women's soccer team in Louisville.

WDRB Reports that a player Aaron Simon accused coach Christy Holly of inappropriate sexual behavior.

The team president James O'Connor has put out a statement apologizing to Simon into the team's fans.

Here's part of what that statement says appointing Christy Holly is racing.

Louisville FC these first coach was a mistake.

We have learned from that mistake and we apologize to Erin Simon, our players past and present and to our fans.

We run for her bravery in coming forward as part of U.S. soccer's investigation.

And while our former coach was terminated within 24 hours of us being alerted to the behavior, we know that wasn't enough and that we failed our locker room by creating a space where this behavior could occur.

Well, here's a troubling statistic.

45% of Kentucky women experience physical violence or rape by an intimate partner.

October is domestic Violence Awareness Month.

Greenhouse 17 is one of many groups working to end domestic violence.

Renee Shaw recently sat down with the agency's executive director who says leaving an abusive relationship is not as simple as it sounds.

>> I think it's almost worse now.

The beginning of the pandemic, things got eerily quiet for some bites.

Been doing this work a really long time.

He got very quiet and I couldn't understand.

Chris never lived through a pandemic before.

So I didn't know what to expect.

We were trying to figure it out.

But as time when it what we're beginning to see, it was more stuff like the violence, more severe people were calling with horrendous stories of being held prisoner having all there, technology, Stockton, didn't feel like they were trapped and they'd ever felt trapped before.

And I do believe it was because of where we were all told to kind of be safe at home for domestic violence victims.

That's the least safe place for the night and their children is in the home.

And now we're kind of forced schools were shut down.

There was nowhere to go.

We couldn't work necessarily so much work was lost during that time and it gave, I think of those that abuse more power.

I'm kind of sanctioned by pandemic.

Yeah.

and what you saw, what we see now, what I believe are saying now is as the world has opened back up, those and abuse are losing their power because now there's opportunity for employment.

Children are back in school.

Choices and options are happening again.

Where survivors can decide.

Maybe it's time for me to try to leave or get out or seek choices and options, which puts them at greater risk.

And, you know, abusers don't like to lose power, And there and they've had more than they ever had.

>> The most dangerous time for someone to try to exit that relationship is when.

>> Or right after you've left or right before those like finalization of the relationship ending.

So it depends on the abuser, but leaving in right after you've left is increase the risk for some buyers, which is why it's so important for us as a community in a society not to send this message that you're the new job is to leave your your your son.

You know, you just got to get out of there with yourself in the kids.

It really needs safety and safety planning.

And we do not need to minimize the risk in the leaving we need to understand there's greater risk in leaving than staying.

You might get hurt.

There's still violence that's going to happen when you stay.

But it really has a tendency to escalate or the threat and the fear that escalation is very real.

When you leave.

So we needed.

No, that is a community.

Yeah.

It just simply saying.

>> Can see.

We're in a full interview with Darling Thomas of Greenhouse 17 this Sunday on connections at 12 Eastern 11 central right here on KET.

>> Bourbon, distilleries are popular places.

The Kentucky Distillers Association says the Kentucky Bourbon Trail is on pace to set a record for visitors.

>> The record is 1.7 million visits set in 2019.

Now that's before the COVID pandemic.

Distilleries are so popular with tourists that visitors are asked to book their tours in advance.

The Kda has launched a campaign with the slogan book.

Now Bourbon later.

>> To ensure that all of our visitors get the experience that they want.

We highly encourage that you make a reservation for the experience that you want.

A lot of our big distilleries just are able to accommodate walk-ins for people on the same day for the experience that, you know, that visitor may want you maybe saw on the website.

You want to call it the best way to ensure you get the experience that you want and and get the most out of your your visit is to just to check the website.

You can check the availability and go ahead and reserve your year.

Your experience.

>> That was Colleen Thomas with the Kentucky Distillers Association.

She says they expect more than 2 million visitors to the Kentucky Bourbon Trail this year.

There were just 6 distilleries on the trail when it began back in 1999.

Today, there are 42.

♪ ♪ That familiar sound returns to Central Kentucky tomorrow the Keeneland fall Meet begins Friday at last through Saturday, October 29th Healing will offer.

22 stakes were the record 8.9 million dollars.

And on November 4th and 5th Keeneland will host the Breeders Cup World championship for the 3rd time.

♪ The Meade County Messenger reports the news and they recently made the news.

It's struggling financially.

So it reached out to the community for help as our Casey Parker Bell found out the community responded.

>> I can see how close we could be.

The fallen victim to a lot of the way these other newspapers have been shuttered indoors.

I didn't want to be a part of that.

And I thought it was time that we really let the community know, you know.

This troubled waters were in.

>> Since 18, 82, the Meade County Messenger has been telling stories stories about the small River County of about 30,000 stories unique to its community.

But until recently, the paper hadn't told its own story.

>> Newsrooms are facing the technologies just advance so much so.

I think we kind of got to a point where community started to turn away from it.

The Internet has cut into the Meade County messengers ability to KET subscribers.

>> And attract advertisers.

Many go to social media to get free versions of the news or to avoid it altogether.

This put the paper on shaky ground, something a meeting with the newspaper's publisher made clear.

>> We had had a meeting and I had told them about my plans with the paper.

I felt like it was time for me to start considering retiring.

But I had that meeting.

I told them I was chance for ING the responsibility to them.

>> The meeting and the new responsibility prompted Chad Homs to write an editorial about the financial status of the community newspaper.

His words were blunt in the editorial chat wrote the pandemic and ensuing shutdowns wrecked our advertising lifeline.

To the point, the owner of this paper hasn't taken a cent from the business and over 2 years.

>> I thought it was time, you know, would let them know we're out here fighting for you.

We're out here supporting you were out here telling your story.

But we've always came to your aid and we could really use some help right now.

>> Chad was clear that the community needed to help the paper or would lose the county's oldest business.

His frankness was a surprise to everyone, including his publisher, Reena single time.

>> And when I first read it in all honesty, I was embarrassed.

I was like.

Okay.

This is been a business for me and in a business, you like to KET your financial status kind of private.

Well, he aired all my dirty laundry.

He in a in a sense.

And I was like at first, like, sit a little embarrassed.

But then we started having responses from the public that they were in support of us.

>> The Messenger reported on its truth and it paid off.

Readers began reaching out and some advertisers returned.

>> Pretty young, innocent move or we can >> The new commitment from the community is helping the Meade County Messenger serve its purpose, telling the story of one small part of Kentucky.

>> That advertising gives us the opportunity to go out to people that would never have their story told.

If they're one local journalism.

That means the world to him.

>> We have actually had people given us calls and coming in and caught having conversations about what can we do to help this paper survive?

They're taking ownership of the paper, not just us taking ownership of this paper being resource for the community that it or changed all that.

>> To give us more insight on the status of world journals and we brought an Al Cross.

He's the director for the Institute for World Journalism at the University of Kentucky.

Now, thanks for taking a couple minutes later, the with Casey AO.

We just saw the story on the meat County Messenger and is that the status financially for a lot of rural newspapers across the country >> well, we don't really know.

I expect most of them are more profitable than the messenger.

you know, about the 3rd these papers are privately held and many more are owned by chains that are also privately hill.

So really, we really don't know the finances of them, but you can tell by the page count, you know, these papers have fewer pages because they have less advertising and this month you can actually get a glimpse into their finances because they have to file an annual report on the circulation and published in the newspaper.

And there's 2 columns in that report.

One is for the average of the last 12 months.

The next one is for the issue closest to the filing date and in the last several years, it's always been a decline from a to B. Yeah.

How the new county messenger was pretty blunt about their financial situation there.

Is there something that other room newspapers can get by being honest with their readers like they were?

>> I think There's been good survey work done out the Midwest, which shows publishers are reluctant to talk about their finances and ask for extra help because they think it's a sign of weakness.

Well, I think they have to play from their strength, which is that there are a community asset and they need to remind the community where masks that they are and they have to go about proving that with every edition.

Now, you know, not weeks papers going to be a bang-up paper, but I don't think people in this day and age are going to pay good money for bad journalism and it's essential that they pay the money because the whole business model of newspapers has been turned on its head.

We used to get 75% of revenue from advertising.

And 25% from the audience.

And now newspapers are increasingly getting more revenue from the audience than they are from advertising because social media the online platforms have destroyed the business model for newspapers.

Obviously, there's talk about changing the business model for community journalism.

What are some of the options that were all newspapers could do to help continue to provide communities with that service?

>> Well, the market has done some things.

The market has consolidated so that you have a group of papers owned by a chain and a cluster that provides economies of scale reduces expenses, but you lose a lot of the local flavor when you do that.

I'm involved with the National Trust for local news in an effort to maintain local, independent ownership of newspapers and Kentucky.

And we the best option going forward for many of them is likely nonprofit status.

♪ >> NASA's Artemis one mission to the moon was delayed again last week, all because of Hurricane Ian.

But when it does launch a satellite built by students and staff at Morehead State University will be on board.

But did you know there's another Kentucky Connection Shelbyville native and U of L graduate Alora Mazur ACA says a flight communication and tracking engineer working on Artemis for NASA.

She's home for a visit this weekend.

She stopped by our studio to explain her role at NASA.

>> I'm a flight communications and tracking engineer.

So basically what that means is that I work on a team of other that make up the lot launch team for my particular subsystem and we handle all of the antennas and our assets, radio frequency communication for the space launch system.

Core stage and the Orion Crew Module, which is where the crew will eventually sit.

But for Artemis one mission, its uncrewed mission so, yeah, basically, we just look at all of the radio traffic back and and make sure that all of the systems are go for launch.

Oh, my goodness at so take us back.

>> To the East say this is you always since you are a little girl.

Wanted to work on a rocket ship.

Sprite.

Yeah, absolutely.

I always tell people I think it's kind of funny when I was a little kid, I told my parents that I wanted to go to school at NASA.

That was my Khalid Taha.

NASA does not have a school unfortunately.

Yeah, just to kind of case and that from the very beginning.

So my dad is in aviation and ever since I was little my toys, all of my games, they're all space themes and aerospace, airplanes.

I had a pilot, Mickey and a flight attendant.

Many haha.

So I guess you could say it kind of runs deep and then, you know, kind of when it came to the time for me to decide what I really wanted to do.

I sort of I was thinking, you know, is this something that's really realistic for Can you really work at NASA?

You know, is that really something that people do or is that just a fantasy career?

Right is not just a fantasy career.

Here we are.

So it's been a fantastic ride and it truly truly has been a lifelong dream come true.

And so while you are back here in Kentucky is that you are speaking to a lot of young people.

What is it that are telling them and what do you hope to inspire and then yeah, you know absolutely.

Well, I like to think of it this way.

If I had had the opportunity to chat with a NASA engineer at that age, I think I would have been so wide eyed and so enamored.

And I think I would just ask them every single question that I ever had and maybe it would have made me feel like it was more of a realistic path way to begin with which it was.

It was a real sick pathway, but maybe I just didn't know it from the beginning.

And I hope that all of the people that I talked to, I maybe can inspire little in going about and then as well.

I just always hope that maybe they'll be like a young girl or young boy that thinks and maybe like I can work in launch control one day, counting down and then they need.

They say it's not just a mystical career.

There are people who really do these jobs they're nice and that my school talking to me, that's probably what they would say.

So, yeah, I just I like to let everybody know and especially young younger people.

But also, I mean, everybody you know, no dream is beyond your grasp.

You can always always do it.

If you, you know, work hard enough.

I love that.

Now.

Tell us of the about Artemis what you working on right now.

Yeah, absolutely.

So I'll just give a brief summary.

So Artemis one is the first a couple of increasingly complex missions.

So Artemis one is going to be our from NASA's first since the Apollo program trip back to the moon.

We want to get human boots on the moon, particularly women and people of color.

That's kind of the the hole.

But like in the 60's, you know, it's the space race again.

But in the 60's, we sort of went to the moon just to say that we could.

But now we're focusing on the science of it.

You know, we want to learn everything that we can about the moon.

You know, we want to do more gravitational research, microgravity research, because those are the things we've been doing on the International Space Station.

But, you know, we're better than to practice that than our own moon.

I don't march to mention the goal, but, you know, right now we're focused on the moon.

I in particular, as I mentioned earlier, work on the antennas.

So basically.

When the rocket is on the launch pad there are a couple different ways that the rocket can get information back us at launch control to make sure that all the systems are okay.

And one of the ways is through radio frequency through radios or antennas.

The same way that you get information through your phone for your TV.

We also get that information through the rocket.

But once the rocket launches.

The physical connections are no longer there.

So the only method of communication habits are intent is so my team make sure that all those antennas are I'm healthy and that they're working as anticipated and that everything is again, go for launch.

That's really are.

Our job is launch team to make sure everything is go for launch.

That is one cool career and you can see that pass story on the Morehead State built satellite by visiting KET Dot Org.

Slash Kentucky Edition.

Just click on the September 30th episode.

♪ ♪ >> A group of artists, educators and community activists and Lovell is not so typical approach to addressing gun violence instead of a podium and a microphone.

This group has turned to the power of art to recognize the destruction caused by gun violence and the hope for change moving forward.

Take a look at the promise.

Exhibit.

>> Everyone in Louisville.

>> Collectively has been affected by gun violence, but we were specifically looking for people that were most affected are adversely affected.

>> And so participants have to I didn't I black or African American.

They had to be living are from Louisville, Kentucky, and they had so say the experience with them violence either themselves directly or indirectly.

The reason why can't fall because my nephew, Aaron Williams, who was marred in 2016.

>> It's what he and these meetings in division who lost loved ones such as myself.

I lost my nephew.

They said no one is listening.

No one feels my pain.

And, you know, he's sitting in those meetings.

I will to do the outreach port sauce and then we do it different.

Let them tell this story through their voice because they can't year they challenged voice anymore.

But the challenge is speaking through the deal.

There's about 28 pieces on display somewhere around 11 series.

Some of the recognize one notable ones.

When you come into the gallery are photographs which are part of what we call quote, a voice and photo Every start met.

They were you actually allowing people to respond with different plops through photography.

And so a lot of participants took that direction to really think different aspects of their lives.

Aaron was at going Parson.

He was a family parts and we have family gatherings.

We played games.

We ate together and you know how you build a team because he played basketball.

Everybody to be on his team.

It's so that's why continue to honor him this way because this would be STA 4.

He suffer family when people come to this museum, they want to know who that Chad use, that their child was important and they was is being hired.

I want him to take away from the within the community, gun balance.

Israel.

Gun ballast destroyed families.

It destroys west around us in trauma.

Trauma is real and a lot of times with trauma, you feel isolated and alone in your feelings and your experience.

But we can bring people together to say, OK, I don't know what you experienced, direct.

They because you are different from me.

But I understand pain, right and understand the year.

And we also understood how.

>> The promise exhibit will be on display at the University of Louisville Speed Art Museum until act.

>> Tobar 23rd.

What we hope will see.

You hear back tomorrow.

Have a great night.

♪ ♪