Kentucky News Now – January 7th, 2014

DEEP FREEZE-KENTUCKY

As cold blast moves in, Ky. seeks to stay warm

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Kentuckians are hunkering down for more chilly weather, but maybe not quite as frigid as Monday.

Forecasters said things should warm up slightly heading into Tuesday, with daytime temperatures rising into the teens or better.

It would be a welcome respite for people who ventured outside Monday as the temperature hovered around zero all day. The plunge forced schools to close, and some are expected to remain closed Tuesday.

KENTUCKY LEGISLATURE

Budget tops issues awaiting Ky. lawmakers

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky lawmakers are set to open a legislative session dominated by work on a new state budget.

The House and Senate gavel in at noon EST Tuesday, starting a session stretching to mid-April.

Perennial issues to legalize casinos and reshape the tax code are expected to surface.

Education funding will be a key issue in writing the next two-year state budget.

House Speaker Greg Stumbo says one of his priorities is raising the state's minimum wage from $7.25 to $10.10 an hour over three years.

Senate President Robert Stivers says one of his top goals is to put a constitutional amendment on the ballot to restrict the governor's power to issue administrative regulations.

The session's first day will be capped by Gov. Steve Beshear's annual State of the Commonwealth speech.

HEALTH GRANT

Kentucky receives $1.7 million health grant

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky has received a nearly $2 million federal grant aimed at reducing the most serious risk factors leading to obesity and chronic disease.

Gov. Steve Beshear said Monday the grant will promote improved physical activity and nutrition. Another focus will be preventing diabetes, heart disease and stroke by focusing on high blood pressure.

The $1.7 million grant comes from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The governor's office says Kentucky was among 32 states to receive enhanced funding.

Rankings from the United Health Foundation show Kentucky is near or at the bottom of nearly every major health indicator in the country.

SUBSTANCE ABUSE-TREATMENT

Drug settlement money to fund addiction treatment

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway says the state's substance abuse treatment programs will get a $32 million infusion of funding from settlements with two pharmaceutical companies.

Conway said Monday that almost $19 million will be used to start a grant program for treatment programs for juveniles. It will expand treatment beds at existing facilities and create new treatment programs.

Another $500,000 will complete construction of a Recovery Kentucky Center in Boyd County to provide treatment in northeastern Kentucky.

Money will also create drug-free homes for people transitioning out of residential treatment programs.

Conway says the investment will save lives and communities riddled by drug addiction.

The money comes from settlements recovered by Conway's office in lawsuits against two drug companies.

Joining Conway in the announcement were Gov. Steve Beshear and House Speaker Greg Stumbo.

BILL NYE DEBATE

Bill Nye debate tickets already sold out

PETERSBURG, Ky. (AP) — Tickets to an evolution debate with science advocate Bill Nye at Kentucky's Creation Museum have sold out on the first day.

The Creation Museum said in a news release Monday that tickets for the debate in its 900-seat auditorium sold out just minutes after they were offered online in the morning. Nye, a former TV star known as "The Science Guy," has agreed to visit the museum and debate founder Ken Ham.

As a creationist, Ham is a critic of evolution and says the Bible's Old Testament provides the answers to the Earth's beginnings. Nye spoke out against teaching creationism to kids in a YouTube video that went viral last year.

The debate is set for 7 p.m. EST Feb. 4.

MINING DEATHS

US Mine Safety: 42 miners died on job in 2013

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Forty-two miners in the United States died on the job in 2013, up from 36 the year before.

The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration released the preliminary data on Monday. It said while the first three quarters of 2013 saw mining deaths occurring at a record-low rate, the fourth quarter saw a significant spike.

Six coal miners and nine metal and nonmetal miners died in accidents during the fourth quarter of last year. That's from a total of six miners who died in the same period of 2012.

Last year, West Virginia had the most coal mining deaths, six, with Kentucky claiming the most fatal accidents involving metal and non-metal mines, four.

FATAL FIRE

2 die in fire in central Ky.

LEBANON, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky State Police say two people are dead following a blaze that destroyed a mobile home.

A statement from police says the fire in Marion County was reported early Monday morning. Multiple departments from Marion and Nelson County responded and found the bodies after extinguishing the blaze.

Police identified the victims as 60-year-old Thomas Wayne Cundiff and his wife, 71-year-old Mary Rose Cundiff, of the Holy Cross community.

Investigators are trying to determine the cause of the blaze but say no foul play is suspected.