♪ >> It has been widespread and it's not going to be a quick fix for our county as a whole.

But getting school started in getting our students back on campus is a step in the right direction.

>> Students go back to class and Letcher County and they're getting more than an education.

>> We really feel like this financial education.

It's something that is happening so little in the life of young people.

>> That's about to change of some Kentucky college students are about to get a crash course in money management.

>> Everyone is going to find a book in the library that day.

I don't agree with or they even find objectionable.

>> But some people do more than complain about books.

They work to ban them.

How often does it happen?

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

Leonard Press Endowment for Public Affairs and the KET Millennium Fund.

♪ ♪ >> Good evening and welcome to Kentucky EDITION for this Wednesday, September.

The 21st, I'm Renee Shaw.

Thank you for spending some of your Wednesday night with OSS.

We began with eastern Kentucky flood news.

Kentucky's federal congressional delegation is asking FEMA for a 30 day extension for flood victims to apply for housing assistance.

Right now, the deadline is next Wednesday, September.

28, we'll KET following this story for the first time since the floods students were back in class today in Letcher County, the for students to arrive at Letcher County Central High.

This morning.

We're West Whitesburg Elementary school students.

Their school was damaged by flooding and they're now sharing space with students at the high school Superintendent, Denise Yachts told us students, teachers and staff are excited to be back and after the disaster, the school system needs to do more than just teach.

>> We're here to support our students and not just their basic needs, but in their emotional health as well.

Our students and staff are ready.

We have counselors and every We have a partnership with Kentucky River Community Care to have their houses on our campuses as well.

other than meaning, there may be a names we can meet.

The emotional needs as well.

It has been widespread and it's not going to be a quick fix for our county as a whole.

But getting school started in getting our students back on campus is a step in the right direction as a to watch what's happened over the last 8 weeks and to see how far we've come.

>> I'm so very proud of my staff.

My employees, our community, our students and our families.

You know, our high school students and students of all I just pitched an at the donation sites and where the backbone of unloading trucks unload cars and helping people make out their homes and then families working together to help each other.

When most people lost a like I was themselves and their time and to see this community come together.

It's a beautiful thing.

It gives you hope and see the progress with my tomorrow.

Might 8 weeks and to know that we've been able to start school, it's not perfect.

You know, it's not in their campuses are in their schools on their campuses.

But we're here.

We're together.

We can take care of our kids and I can leave at the end of the day knowing that they're loved.

I cared about.

>> It's been a big week for students in Eastern Kentucky school also resumed Monday and not county and the Jenkins independent school system.

We'll talk about the flood's impact on education and eastern Kentucky next Monday on Kentucky tonight.

That's at 8 Eastern 7 central right here on KET.

More water service is headed to Bell and Harlan counties, Governor Andy Beshear today announced almost a quarter million dollars for infrastructure improvements.

And those 2 counties, the money will be used to resurface 3 roads and extend water services to underserved household.

And the governor says he's recommending that the National Park Service give $200,000 to kingdom come state Park.

The park service will review that request.

30 million dollars will help pay for a 50 mile natural gas pipeline through Christian Todd and Trig counties.

It will also serve Caldwell and Lyon counties.

Governor Beshear presented the money today after lawmakers approved it during the regular General Assembly session.

The governor says the areas served right now by a small pipeline from Tennessee and the new pipeline will mean new potential for industrial development.

U.S.

Senator Mitch McConnell says Americans are not buying the argument that inflation is easing.

The last report shows inflation at 8.3% down from the previous 2 months, but still higher than many economists expected on the Senate floor today.

Senator McConnell criticized President Biden for some of his recent comments about inflation.

>> After the latest measurement, data reported that consumer prices are rising at 8.3% year on year.

The president suggested the country should be celebrating, but they weren't rising even faster.

Working Americans.

Our by the insulting spent.

Middle class families aren't rejoicing that daily life 0.3% more than it did a year ago.

And most of this 13.2% more than when President Biden took office.

In Parma.

'01, local grocer is working hard to KET her precious competitive.

But admits, quote, We've been getting hit with all of our suppliers.

It sure can.

Ground meat.

Everything.

And in Fairfield County, the head of one organization that helps feed folks experiencing economic hardship, put it this way.

I think things are going to get a whole lot darker and a lot more bleak before they get a lot better.

>> Congressman John Yarmuth of Kentucky, the only Democrat in the state's congressional delegation has been critical of the argument that Democratic policies have caused inflation.

He's quoted.

Moody's Analytics has signed the COVID stimulus spending of 2021.

Had almost no effect on inflation.

Congressman Yarmouth was on the House floor today paying tribute to study quote, Reynolds, a former Jefferson County District Court judge who is stepping down after 7 years as president and CEO of the Louisville Urban League.

>> I rise today to honor and a leader in my community and the person I consider one of the most impactful individuals in the history of Louisville said Igloo.

Reynolds, your final days as president and CEO of the Urban League of Louisville was only 7 years ago.

The city was an esteemed judge, a world where she conducted herself with impartiality and kept her feelings and opinions to yourself.

My how times change as head of the Urban League City quiz held nothing back pleading with an open heart and open mind.

Speaking out for a little was marginalized communities with the passion and eloquence necessary to create positive lasting change in people's lives.

You cannot drive Louisville streets without seeing city was impact our west and has begun a much-awaited transformation in the last few years.

A Kurd in large part by new world class track and field in education complex, which she conceived and spearheaded.

So they put you in the conscience of our community, leading the fight against injustice in historic times.

We are a better city because of your leadership.

We are grateful for your service and can't wait to see what you will achieve next.

You Mike.

>> The Urban league says Reynolds will take over as CEO of an organization based in New York City.

But she'll continue to live in Louisville.

Kentucky.

Attorney General Daniel Cameron is one of 11 attorneys general, all Republicans siding with former President Donald Trump and his legal fight over documents seized at his Mar-A-Lago home in Florida.

Cameron and the others filed a brief siding with the federal judge who ordered a special master to look over the documents and blocked investigators from using the materials until that review is finished.

The brief is critical of the Biden administration for the Mar-A-Lago search and other policy decisions.

We'll discuss camera support of Trump and just a few minutes with journalist Rylan Barden of Kentucky, Public Radio and Ohio Valley Resource.

Cameron has also joined other attorneys general and 23.

Other states urging banks and major credit card companies to avoid tracking and monitoring customers got ammunition purchases using merchant category codes.

It's a cold system used to process credit and debit card purchases.

The attorneys general say information from the system could be misused by gun critics.

Monkeypox cases continue to increase and can't hockey and across the U.S..

The CDC now says Kentucky has 48 cases of monkeypox.

The number is more than 24,000 nationwide and Kentucky has fewer cases than most of its neighbors, though Ohio has 252 cases.

Tennessee has 259.

Indiana has 211.

It's an important day for a NASA mission with that Kentucky connection.

NASA has twice tried to launch the Artemis one which carries a satellite built in Kentucky.

But NASA had to scrub the launch both times because of a hydrogen leak.

Today NASA is filling the giant fuel tanks to see if it's fixed.

The leak problem if the test goes well, another launch could be possible September 27th or October 2nd, a satellite built at Morehead State University will be used to detect water on the moon.

That water could be used by a future space station.

Today Perea celebrated the first bell Hooks day Hooks was a Berea College professor and author writing about feminism and race among the events.

The renaming of a street as Bell Hooks way.

>> This is a great day for ia.

It's a great day for us.

We're going to miss Bill that having this this way, the bill It continues her legacy and what she is done with the Rhea College as well as for women and for the world.

>> Bell hooks birth name was Gloria Jean Watkins.

She died of kidney failure last December at the age of 69.

We'll have more on the first bell Hooks day tomorrow night on Kentucky edition.

Hundreds of soldiers from Kentucky's Fort Campbell are in Ohio today to honor James Martin, a member of the 100st airborne who just died at the age of 101 Martin parachuted into France on D-Day during World War.

2, about 500 soldiers from the 100st will be attending memorial and burial services this week for Martin.

He lived in Sugarcreek Township, Ohio, where he died on September.

The 11th in a statement, a spokesperson for the 100st Airborne said, quote, He is a true legend in the 100st and will live on forever.

This division was founded on the sacrifice, valor, audacity and grit of soldiers like Martin, unquote.

♪ ♪ The White House as a half million Kentucky ends could see their student loan debt.

>> Canceled.

President Biden announced a plan last month that would let people caught their debt by $10,000.

If they make less than 125 grand a year, it would be 20,000 for people who received Pell Grants on Tuesday.

The White House estimated 563,000 Kentuckians qualify for debt relief and almost 400,000 of them were Pell Grant recipients.

According to the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy, 209,000, Kentuckians would have their student loans wiped out completely.

Only 57% of U.S. adults are financially literate.

According to the Milken Institute.

But the University of Kentucky is working to educate its students to improve their financial wellness.

Last week, the university announced a first of its kind initiative called UK Invest UK Invest will use investment accounts to allow students to practice investing in better understand long-term financial planning.

Our Casey Parker Bell spoke to some of the people behind the new initiative to discover how will all work.

>> We really feel like this financial education.

It's something is happening so little in the life of young people.

>> The University of Kentucky wants to make sure students don't break the bank through their new UK invest program.

Students will be able to sign up for personal investment accounts for partnership.

With Fidelity Investments and get a better understanding of personal finance.

>> The vision behind you can invest is to bring the education and the knowledge of finances helping students really understand the value of compound interest in their money over the long term.

How to save how to be prepared for the future.

And we combine that education with some opportunities to learn about that practically.

>> By creating UK Invest University of Kentucky is hoping to give students a broader picture of what it means for life after college.

These accounts are something that students will create when they get to the university and can take with them long after they graduate and the university will incentivize students for positive behaviors like improving their financial education.

We're overall wellness with monetary rewards.

>> When we think about being well-rounded, it's not one thing, right?

It's a lot of little things that someone can do to make sure that there leading that life of meaning and purpose.

So I'm thinking about, you know, you don't study for a test all at one time the night before an exam.

You study in small increments over time.

The investment accounts, it's not a large investment all at one time.

It's small things over time.

And so students are able to see the value of just doing small things every single day.

This financial wellness strategy.

>> Is really a portal into a more holistic effort to think about the total body of a student when they're here.

What happens?

Don't bother hear their mental health.

>> But in addition to increasing student wellness, UK hopes this first of its kind program can help close gaps in students understanding of their finances.

A better plan for the long term.

>> I think one of the things that we know about our students is that we have a wide range of comfort when it comes to talking about finances.

We have some students are extremely comfortable.

They've already been investing in something that they're very comfortable with.

And they've been doing for some time.

And then we have some other students who maybe don't have that same level of comfort or haven't had the same opportunity to really kind of get in there and learn.

>> For Kentucky edition, I'm Casey Parker Bell.

>> Thanks, Casey.

UK invest will open this fall with a task group of the university's almost 600 student athletes.

It will be open to all students in the fall of 2023 and will eventually be available for employees of the University.

Help is here for students who face hunger today is the first of the summer 2022 P EBT program that stands for pandemic electronic benefit transfer.

It's a program that reimburses families with children who are eligible for free or reduced cost school meals.

Starting today, each eligible child will receive $391.

That will be loaded onto a card.

The card can then be used to buy groceries.

♪ Time now for our midweek, check-in of some major political developments here in Kentucky with Rylan Barton, who is the managing editor of Kentucky Public Radio and Ohio Valley Resource.

Good to see your island.

>> I run a good seat to so we've got a couple of the 3 things we want to talk about.

Daniel Cameron has joined along with 10 or so attorneys General Republican who are.

>> And the fight with Donald Trump about Mar-A-Lago raid.

What can you tell us about this?

>> Yeah.

So this is a group of other attorneys general around the country led by Texas Attorney general and the Paxton it's a it's a a group that Cameron has frequently joined with 2 of 2 file, a basically against the Biden This is what's called in and the kiss which is it's a brief in support of the president's position of it doesn't really carry the force of law or anything too much.

But it's kind of asking the judge to consider their perspective when considering this case in their filing.

This with the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, a view to federal appeals court.

It's reviewing this over the of the raid the former presidents, a under allegations that he had improperly taken a classified documents.

I think that there's there's a few different interesting angles to this that, again, that the gang is back together to to challenge the to check to support the former president and his endeavors of the rupee's Republican attorneys general and really that they're saying that that's that's part of part of why they're doing this in the brief, they say that these states have been frequent litigants against the Biden administration and they want to show that there is this pattern of questionable conduct is that the they call that the administration is taking part of and the other part of this, of course, is Attorney General Cameron is running for governor next year, but he's the candidate that's been endorsed by the former president and of this new story.

And headlines is another opportunity to remind voters that he's the one candidate who's and been endorsed by the former president.

>> So let's move on now to talk about.

There are 2 amendments on the Kentucky ballot in November.

We've talked a lot about amendment number 2, which is the abortion amendment.

But amendment number one hasn't gotten a lot of shine.

And so we're going to put a little sunlight on it today.

And this is about the General Assembly being able to call itself into special session.

ways to maybe extend.

>> The deadline or the end date of the regular sessions that are now March.

30th an odd years, April 15th and even years.

>> Yeah, this is an incredibly important amendment that gives the Legislature a lot more power.

And it's interesting because it's been really flying under the radar.

So there's been a lot of attention to amendment 2, which has to do with under cutting abortion rights in the state.

But this amendment one wood, as you said, it would it would allow the legislature to extend the end of the annual legislative session with a 3.

It's Vo so every year the legislature either meet or 30 working days for 60 working days.

So if 3 fifths of the of the Legislature of the chamber of the legislature votes to extend that, then those 30 or 60 days could be extended feasibly throughout the entire year greater they would have to all come to agreement on what that would look like during each one of those.

But I'd imagine the other thing that I would do is it would allow the Legislature all itself into special session rather.

It's just that as long as the House speaker and Senate president of Re to all the legislature into special session, everybody would have to come back into Frankfort and they can, you know, easily pass the This is of our that is normally reserved for the governor.

And so again, this would be a massive change in who ends up, you know, getting to told the Legislature when it gets to me would allow the legislature to do that itself.

A lot more supporters of this bill, which are mostly kind of leaders, Republican leaders of the legislature say that this would allow them to be a lot more nimble and respond to the state.

But otherwise, you know, this is also it's it's a big change in how government works right now and really, if you search some of that power away from the executive branch.

>> And Kentucky has been known to be or to have a citizen Legislature, right where people are used to having a schedule that kind of conforms to the winter much the 1st quarter of the year.

This could mean that could be strong out throughout the year.

It wouldn't be more than 30 days or more than 60 days.

But what does this do to a government that is run by just ordinary people are people who who are ordinary who might want to get in to state law, making it what it kind of exclude them from being able to do that because of the in flexibility.

>> Of it really changes a little bit of that tender of what the of how the of the legislature operate.

So these are really important considerations for voters when they're when they're taking this up but also it to begin this kind of blank slate idea of how you know who knows at how this could end up working.

You know, there could be versions of this where, you know, lawmakers do a lot of their discussions and stuff I did behind closed doors or in committee hearings that aren't really official committee hearings and then save those legislative days up just for those moments where they need to pass a bill out of committee or pass a bill off off the House floor.

That's what they do during special sessions to try and limit those legislative days as much as possible.

There's just a lot of different ways in which this amendment really end up rolling But that's part of the the problem with what this how this amendment is written up right now.

You can really go in any number of different ways.

I don't think voters are entirely aware of the full extent of what this is a look.

>> Right.

And we'll wait to see what the voters do decide real quickly, let's talk about a school resource officers.

There was a committee hearing this morning that talked how that's going, how many schools are able to have those school resource officers on their campus and how much it could cost.

What did we learn today?

>> There's no funding that's gone along with this, too help school districts of 4 of those officers.

All they've done so far is safe.

If you feel like you can't afford it, ask the statewide school safety Marshall to cut of the to review it.

And you guys can come up with a plan, but that's all what it's really been left out so far today of the school safety Marshall estimated to be about 25 million dollars statewide to really up.

And it employs school safety, a school resource officer at every well.

So those are some big considerations for lawmakers going forward.

There's other considerations as well, which is especially after A lot of people question whether this is the best to have or even if having an armed resource officer, you know, would really deter if they would be able to, you know, you know, do the things that lawmakers imagined they would do and stand in the to prevent a shooter from of from killing people.

So these are lawmakers are going have to consider going forward of as the reviewing the spill and deciding whether or not they're going to ultimately on.

That's >> well, thank you, Robin Barton, of course, as always on Wednesdays for giving us the breakdown.

We appreciate you.

♪ >> This week is banned books week and Adelie that the draws attention to efforts to remove or restrict access to books.

It began in 1982 in response to a surge in challenges to books, according to the American Library Association, the number of books targeted for removal from schools has already reached an all-time high this year.

The association says so far in 2022, there have been 681 attempts to ban or restrict access to 1651 different books in schools.

The brakes this breaks last year's record of 729 attempts to ban or restrict access to 1597 books and comparison.

The number of books challenge in 2018, 2019 2020 had a combined total of 1133 and today's tapestry, our weekly look at arts and culture.

We went to the Lexington Public Library where many of the book's targeted for removal from schools and libraries across the country are on display this week.

♪ >> I think that it is important for library collections to really reflect the diversity of their community.

It's important for everyone in our community to see themselves and their life experience reflected on the shelves of their public library.

Banned book Week really reminds our that that everyone is going to find a book in the library that they don't agree with or they even find objectionable because our community is so diverse.

It's our responsibility as a public library to reflect that and to make those new points available to our community.

A banned book is a book that people do not have access to.

That has been limited by the government or an institution that people are not allowed to read for some reason.

Banned book week is when libraries across the country celebrate our freedom to read.

You were fortunate to live in a country where we can read what we want.

We can think what we want.

We can express whatever ideas we want and it's important not to lose sight of that and not to take it for Right now we're programs to celebrate banned book Week.

We're having a teen banned book club where teens can come and read books that have been challenged or censored in the past.

We're also just promoting the idea in the community to remind people of the importance.

There's an extensive list of books that have been challenge throughout the years.

And there's everything from Huck Finn and kept under pants to Harry Potter, beloved by Toni Morrison.

It's are hard to find a, but that hasn't been challenge by somebody.

Most of the books that are being challenge today either reflect the experiences of or are written by authors of color or from the LGBTQ+ community.

I believe the libraries are place for self-directed learning.

It's a place just to explore and to to learn about things that you love.

I believe that the public library really celebrates the joy of mourning.

>> The American Library Association also tracks who is challenging books in school libraries.

It said 39% of book challenges come from parents about 10% come from political or religious groups and only one percent comes from students.

You saw this at the top of our program.

Students were back in class in Letcher County for the first time since the late July flies.

We'll have more from Letcher County on the first day of school.

You can see that tomorrow night on Kentucky edition, which, as you know, comes on 6.30, Eastern 5.30, central Kentucky edition where we inform connect and inspire.

We sure hope you subscribe to our weekly Kentucky Edition, e-mail news letter and watch full episodes at KET Dot Org and you can find Kentucky edition on the PBS video app on your mobile device and smart TV.

>> Thank you so much for watching tonight.

And I hope to see you again tomorrow night at 6.30, Eastern 5, 30 central.

In the meantime, take good care.

♪