Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear to Headline Pro-Abortion Fundraiser in Nashville

Kentucky governor Andy Beshear

Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, described in the press as rising star within Democratic Party politics, is set to headline a Nashville abortion event and fundraiser in June, it was reported Monday.

A website advertising the Tennessee Freedom Circle event reveals Beshear will appear with “survivor and advocate, Hadley Duvall,” for the “Championing Reproductive Freedom” event on June 21.

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Toll-Free Brent Spence Bridge Project Connecting Cincinnati to Northern Kentucky Allowed to Move Forward

Brent Spence Bridge project

Ohio and Kentucky announced Friday they received federal approval to move the $3.6 billion Brent Spence Bridge Corridor project forward without tolls.

The environmental approval means the massive project connecting Cincinnati to Northern Kentucky moves ahead the project that transforms an 8-mile stretch of I-71/75 and includes a new companion bridge immediately to the west of the existing bridge.

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Parental Rights in Education Bill Becomes Law After Dem Governor Declines to Veto

Democratic Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear let a bill that allows parents to challenge sexually explicit school materials become law without his signature on Tuesday.

Senate Bill 5, sponsored by Republican state Rep. Josh Calloway, lets parents file complaints over school materials that depict sexual acts “in an obscene manner” or are “patently offensive to prevailing standards.” The legislation passed the state Senate in February and then the state House on March 15 before Beshear allowed the bill to become law.

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Ohio, Kentucky Officials Again Ask for Funding for Brent Spence Bridge Project

Ohio and Kentucky made a second request to a second federal grant program to cover the $1.66 billion needed to replace an Ohio River bridge that connects the two states at Cincinnati.

The second ask follows a May request for the 8-mile Brent Spence Bridge Corridor project from the Western Hills Viaduct in the Cincinnati area of Ohio to Dixie Highway in Kentucky. The May request is still pending.

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Three More States Consider Bills Banning Men from Women’s Sports

Arizona, Kentucky and Oklahoma are the latest states considering bans on biological males participating in girls’ and women’s sports, with all three states passing legislation Thursday addressing the issue.

The Arizona legislature passed two bills addressing transgender issues that currently await Republican Gov. Doug Ducey’s signature. If enacted, one bill will ban biological males from girls’ sports teams while the other will ban gender reassignment surgeries for minors.

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Kentucky GOP Lawmakers Ask Governor Beshear to Reconsider Mask Mandate

Four Republican members of the Kentucky General Assembly sent a letter to Gov. Andy Beshear asking him to revise the order he issued this week requiring masks in all schools and daycare facilities.

State Reps. Myron Dossett (R-Pembrok), Walker Thomas (R-Hopkinsville), Lynn Bechler (R-Marion), and state Sen. Whitney Westerfield (R-Crofton), asked the governor to amend the order to include children 4 and older. The governor’s order calls for everyone 2 and older to wear masks in those facilities.

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State Lawmakers Strip Four Democrat and Two Republican Governors’ Power After Overreach During COVID-19 Pandemic

State legislatures in six states limited their governors’ emergency powers wielded during the COVID-19 pandemic, arguing executives have overextended their authority.

As of June 2021, lawmakers in 46 states have introduced legislation stripping governors of certain emergency powers, according to USA Today. Legislatures justified their actions as necessary to restore a balance between the branches of state government, pointing to examples of executive overreach and the centralization of power in the hands of governors.

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Commentary: Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear is the Poster Child for School Choice Hypocrisy

Last week, Kentucky was the first state legislature to pass a new program to fund students instead of systems this year. The proposal, House Bill 563, would allow eligible students to access scholarships to use at approved private education providers of their families’ choosing. But the Bluegrass State’s Democratic governor, Andy Beshear, blocked educational opportunities for thousands of children by vetoing the bill on Wednesday.

Kentucky requires a constitutional majority in both the House and Senate to override Beshear’s veto, and that vote is expected to happen Monday.

During his press conference announcing the decision, Beshear said that the bill “would greatly harm public education in Kentucky by taking money away from public schools and sending it to unaccountable private organizations with little oversight.”

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Kentucky Governor Beshear Participates in Jefferson Davis Statue Removal from State Capitol

  FRANKFORT, Kentucky (AP) — Having led the push to take down a statue of Jefferson Davis from the Kentucky Capitol, the state’s governor had a ceremonial role Saturday in its removal from the place it stood for generations. Gov. Andy Beshear pushed the button to a rig that lifted the 15-foot (4.5-meter) marble statue off its pedestal in the ornate Capitol Rotunda. The governor tweeted a photo showing the memorial to the Confederate president being hoisted for removal. “Today I pressed the button to bring it down,” the Democratic governor said in his tweet. “Now, every child who walks into their Capitol feels welcome. Today we took a step forward for the betterment of every single Kentuckian.” Joining Beshear for the historic event were two leading members of his administration — J. Michael Brown and La Tasha Buckner, who are black. In a quintessentially Kentucky twist, workers discovered an empty bourbon bottle in the base after the statue was hoisted. Also found was a newspaper front page. Later in the day, Beshear posted a photo showing the statue — secured in a crate — being loaded by crane onto a truck outside the statehouse. The governor tweeted that the…

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Louisville Police Chief Fired in Aftermath of Fatal Shooting

Louisville’s police chief was fired Monday after the mayor learned that officers involved in a shooting that killed the popular owner of a barbecue spot failed to activate body cameras during the chaotic scene.

David McAtee, known for offering meals to police officers, died early Monday while police officers and National Guard soldiers were enforcing a curfew amid waves of protests over a previous police shooting in Kentucky’s largest city. Police said they were responding to gunfire from a crowd.

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