Tag: KY State Wire

What a federal ban on THC-infused drinks and snacks could mean for the hemp industry

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MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The production lines at Indeed Brewing moved quickly, the cans filling not with beer, but with THC-infused seltzer. The product, which features the compound that gets cannabis users high, has been a lifeline at Indeed and other craft breweries as alcohol sales have fallen in recent years.

But that boom looks set to come to a crashing halt. Buried in the bill that ended the federal government shutdown this month was a provision to ban those drinks, along with other impairing beverages and snacks made from hemp, which have proliferated across the country in recent years. Now the $24 billion hemp industry is scrambling to save itself before the provision takes effect in November 2026.

“It’s a big deal,” said Ryan Bandy, Indeed’s chief business officer. “It would be a mess for our breweries, for our industry, and obviously for a lot of people who like these things.”

Ryan Bandy, chief business officer at Indeed Brewing in Minneapolis, stands near a pallet of six-packs of seltzer containing THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, in his brewery on Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Steve Karnowski)

Here’s what to know about the looming ban on impairing products derived from hemp.

Congress opened the door in 2018

Marijuana and hemp are the same species. Marijuana is cultivated for high levels of THC in its flowers. Low-THC hemp is grown for its sturdy fibers, food or wellness products. “Rope, not dope” was long the motto of farmers who supported legalizing hemp.

After states began legalizing marijuana for adult use over a decade ago, hemp advocates saw an opening at the federal level. As part of the 2018 farm bill, Congress legalized the cultivation of industrial hemp to give farmers, including in Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell’s home state of Kentucky, a new cash crop.

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But the way that law defined hemp — as having less than 0.3% of a specific type of THC, called delta-9 — opened a huge loophole. Beverages or bags of snacks could meet that threshold and still contain more than enough THC to get people high. Businesses could further exploit the law by extracting a non-impairing compound, called CBD, and chemically changing it into other types of impairing THC, such as delta-8 or delta-10.

The result? Vape oil, gummy candies, chips, cookies, sodas and other unregulated, untested products laden with hemp-derived THC spread around the country. In many places, they have been available at gas stations or convenience stores, even to teens. In legal marijuana states, they undercut heavily taxed and regulated products. In others, they evaded the prohibition on recreational use of weed.

Some states, including Indiana, have reported spikes in calls to poison-control centers for pediatric exposure to THC.

Cans of seltzer containing THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, are shown in a cooler at the Indeed Brewery taproom in Minneapolis on Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Steve Karnowski)

A patchwork of state regulations

Dozens of states have since taken steps to regulate or ban impairing hemp products. In October, Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill banning the sale of intoxicating hemp products outside the state’s legal marijuana system.

Texas, which has a massive hemp market, is moving to regulate sales of impairing hemp, such as by restricting them to those over 21. In Nebraska, lawmakers have instead considered a bill to criminalize the sale and possession of products containing hemp-based THC.

Washington state adopted a program to regulate hemp growing. But the number of licensed growers has cratered since the state banned intoxicating hemp products outside of the regulated cannabis market in 2023. Five years ago, there were 220, said Trecia Ehrlich, cannabis program manager with the state agriculture department. This year, there were 42, and with a federal ban looming, she expects that number to drop by about half next year.

Minnesota made infused beverages and foods legal in 2022 for people 21 and older. The products, which must be derived from legally certified hemp, have become so popular that Target is now offering THC drinks at some of its stores in the state.

They’ve also been a boon to liquor stores and to small Minneapolis brewers like Indeed, where THC drinks make up close to one-quarter of the business, Bandy said. At Bauhaus Brew Labs, a few blocks away, THC drinks account for 26% of their revenues from distributed products and 11% of revenues at the brewery’s taproom.

A powerful senator moves to close the loophole

None of that was what McConnell intended when he helped craft the 2018 farm bill. He finally closed the loophole by inserting a federal hemp THC ban in the measure to end the 43-day federal government shutdown, approved by the Senate on Nov. 10.

“It will keep these dangerous products out of the hands of children, while preserving the hemp industry for farmers,” McConnell said. “Industrial hemp and CBD will remain legal for industrial applications.”

Some in the legal marijuana industry celebrated, as the ban would end what they consider unfair competition.

They were joined by prohibitionists. “There’s really no good argument for allowing these dangerous products to be sold in our country,” said Kevin Sabet, president and CEO of Smart Approaches to Marijuana.

But the ban doesn’t take effect for a year. That has given the industry hope that there is still time to pass regulations that will improve the hemp THC industry — such as by banning synthetically derived THC, requiring age restrictions on sales, and prohibiting marketing to children — rather than eradicate it.

“We are very hopeful that cooler heads will prevail,” said Jonathan Miller, general counsel of the industry group U.S. Hemp Roundtable. “If they really thought there was a health emergency, there would be no year-long period.”

The federal ban would jeopardize more than 300,000 jobs while costing states $1.5 billion in lost tax money, the group says.

Drew Hurst, president and chief operating officer at Bauhaus Brew Labs, has no doubt his company would be among the casualties.

“If this goes through as written currently, I don’t see a way at all that Bauhaus could stay in business,” Hurst said.

Drew Hurst, president and chief operating officer of Bauhaus Brew Labs in Minneapolis, stands outside a cooler for cans of seltzer containing THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, in his brewery’s taproom on Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Steve Karnowski)

What comes next?

A number of lawmakers say they will push for regulation of the hemp THC industry. Kentucky’s second senator, Republican Rand Paul, introduced an amendment to strip McConnell’s hemp language from the crucial government-funding bill, but it failed on a lopsided 76-24 vote.

Minnesota’s Democratic U.S. senators, Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith, are among those strategizing to save the industry. Klobuchar noted at a recent news conference that the ban was inserted into the unrelated shutdown bill without a hearing. She suggested the federal government could allow states to develop their own regulatory frameworks, or that Minnesota’s strict regulations could be used as a national model.

Kevin Hilliard, co-founder of Insight Brewing in Minneapolis, said the hemp industry needs a solution before planting time next spring.

“If a farmer has uncertainty, they’re not going to plant,” Hilliard said.

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Johnson reported from Seattle. AP congressional reporter Kevin Freking contributed from Washington, D.C.

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November 28, 2025
Fleet of UPS planes grounded after deadly crash expected to miss peak delivery season

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A fleet of planes that UPS grounded after a deadly crash isn’t expected to be back in service during the peak holiday season due to inspections and possible repairs, the company said Wednesday in an internal memo.

The airline expects it will be several months before its McDonnell Douglas MD-11 fleet returns to service as it works to meet Federal Aviation Administration guidelines, said the memo from UPS Airlines president Bill Moore to employees. The process was originally estimated to take weeks but is now expected to take several months.

A fiery MD-11 plane crash on Nov. 4 in Louisville, Kentucky, killed 14 people and injured at least 23 when the left engine detached during takeoff. Cargo carriers grounded their McDonnell Douglas MD-11 fleets shortly after, ahead of a directive from the FAA.

“Regarding the MD-11 fleet, Boeing’s ongoing evaluation shows that inspections and potential repairs will be more extensive than initially expected,” Moore wrote in the memo.

A UPS spokesperson said in a statement that the company will rely on contingency plans to deliver for customers throughout the peak season, and it “will take the time needed to ensure that every aircraft is safe.”

The 109 remaining MD-11 airliners, averaging more than 30 years old, are exclusively used to haul cargo for package delivery companies. MD-11s make up about 9% of the UPS airline fleet and 4% of the FedEx fleet.

Boeing, which took over as the manufacturer of MD-11s since merging with McDonnell Douglas in 1997, said in a statement that it is “working diligently to provide instructions and technical support to operators” so that they can meet the FAA’s requirements.

The FAA said Boeing will develop the procedures for inspections and any corrective actions, pending approval from the FAA.

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November 28, 2025
UAB football player accused of stabbing 2 teammates before game

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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — A University of Alabama at Birmingham football player stabbed two teammates Saturday morning hours before the team’s game against the University of South Florida, the university said in a statement.

The two wounded players were in stable condition, interim head coach Alex Mortensen said at the postgame news conference. He said the team decided to play to honor graduating seniors in the last home game of the season, though several players opted to sit it out due to the incident.

The teammate suspected in the stabbing was in custody, the university said. The school did not release the names of the players involved.

Daniel Mincey, an offensive lineman who transferred to UAB in May, was arrested and booked on charges of aggravated assault and attempted murder in the afternoon, according to Jefferson County Jail records. He was in custody in Birmingham and appeared to be the only UAB player who was arrested Saturday.

It was not immediately clear if Mincey had legal representation. Attempts to reach family members for comment were not immediately successful.

UAB officials would not confirm that Mincey was involved in the stabbing.

The team’s online roster lists Mincey as a 6-foot-4 redshirt freshman from Pompano Beach, Florida, who was previously at the University of Kentucky.

Mortensen said that once the team decided to play, it focused on its normal game-day routines. He also said counseling was being made available for players who want it.

The coach declined to share further details about the incident, citing the ongoing investigation.

The stabbing occurred on campus at the Football Operations Building.

The Blazers lost 48-18 to South Florida to fall to 3-8 on the season and 1-6 in the American Conference. Their last game is Nov. 29 at Tulsa.

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November 23, 2025
Dramatic videos show the burning UPS cargo plane crash in a massive fireball

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LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Videos from phones, cars and security cameras captured the tragic final moments of a UPS cargo plane as it caught fire and crashed in a massive explosion just outside Louisville’s airport, killing at least 12 people and carving a path of destruction on the ground.

A large UPS cargo plane with three people aboard crashed Tuesday while taking off from an airport in Louisville, Kentucky, igniting an explosion and massive fire.

Plumes of smoke rise from the area of a UPS cargo plane crash at Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport, on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Jon Cherry)

A fireball erupts near airport property after reports of a plane crash at Louisville International Airport, Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Jon Cherry)

The videos provide investigators and the public with many different angles of the plane going down Tuesday in an area dotted with scrap yards and UPS facilities. No one expects to find survivors.

The plane had been cleared for takeoff from UPS Worldport, the company’s global aviation hub, when a large fire developed in the left wing and an engine fell off, said Todd Inman, a member of the National Transportation Safety Board, which is leading the investigation.

One video of the crash taken by a vehicle’s dashcam shows flames and smoke trailing from the wing as the jet barely clears a road, clips a building and vanishes behind an eruption of black smoke.

The grim task of finding and identifying victims from the firestorm that followed a UPS cargo plane crash in Louisville, Kentucky, entered a third day Thursday as investigators gathered information to determine why the aircraft caught fire and lost an engine on takeoff.

Another video from a business security camera captures the deafening sound of the plane’s impact and a wall of fire and black smoke. As the flames grow, a smaller blast ripples through the wreckage as sirens begin to echo in the distance.

Surveillance video from a truck parts business near the Louisville airport shows large flames and plumes of smoke as the UPS plane crashes. The disaster killed at least 12 people on the plane and on the ground.

The blaze stretched nearly a city block and destroyed much of the plane’s fuselage, fire officials have said.

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In yet another recording, the UPS plane can be seen lifting off the runway already on fire, then disappearing seconds later in an orange fireball.

From a nearby street, a driver filmed the explosion and thick black smoke above nearby buildings. The smoke fills the sky as the vehicle backs away. Other videos from the street show a pillar of black smoke towering over buildings and traffic in the area as sirens echo and lights from emergency vehicles flash.

A UPS plane crashed on takeoff from the airport in Louisville, Kentucky, igniting a huge fire on ground, officials said Tuesday.

The recordings of the crash have deepened the shock and grief among other UPS pilots, said Independent Pilots Association President Robert Travis. The union represents 3,500 pilots who fly for UPS.

“We’re just all heartbroken,” he said. “This is a tragedy that is even highlighted further by the video that’s out there circulating around the world due to the catastrophic, violent nature of the accident itself.”

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November 6, 2025
Students face new cellphone restrictions in 17 states as school year begins

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Jamel Bishop is seeing a big change in his classrooms as he begins his senior year at Doss High School in Louisville, Kentucky, where cellphones are now banned during instructional time.

In previous years, students often weren’t paying attention and wasted class time by repeating questions, the teenager said. Now, teachers can provide “more one-on-one time for the students who actually need it.”

Kentucky is one of 17 states and the District of Columbia starting this school year with new restrictions, bringing the total to 35 states with laws or rules limiting phones and other electronic devices in school. This change has come remarkably quickly: Florida became the first state to pass such a law in 2023.

Both Democrats and Republicans have taken up the cause, reflecting a growing consensus that phones are bad for kids’ mental health and take their focus away from learning, even as some researchers say the issue is less clear-cut.

“Anytime you have a bill that’s passed in California and Florida, you know you’re probably onto something that’s pretty popular,” Georgia state Rep. Scott Hilton, a Republican, told a forum on cellphone use last week in Atlanta.

Phones are banned throughout the school day in 18 of the states and the District of Columbia, although Georgia and Florida impose such “bell-to-bell” bans only from kindergarten through eighth grade. Another seven states ban them during class time, but not between classes or during lunch. Still others, particularly those with traditions of local school control, mandate only a cellphone policy, believing districts will take the hint and sharply restrict phone access.

Students see pros and cons

For students, the rules add new school-day rituals, like putting phones in magnetic pouches or special lockers.

Students have been locking up their phones during class at McNair High School in suburban Atlanta since last year. Audreanna Johnson, a junior, said “most of them did not want to turn in their phones” at first, because students would use them to gossip, texting “their other friends in other classes to see what’s the tea and what’s going on around the building.”

That resentment is “starting to ease down” now, she said. “More students are willing to give up their phones and not get distracted.”

But there are drawbacks — like not being able to listen to music when working independently in class. “I’m kind of 50-50 on the situation because me, I use headphones to do my schoolwork. I listen to music to help focus,” she said.

Some parents want constant contact

In a survey of 125 Georgia school districts by Emory University researchers, parental resistance was cited as the top obstacle to regulating student use of social and digital media.

Johnson’s mother, Audrena Johnson, said she worries most about knowing her children are safe from violence at school. School messages about threats can be delayed and incomplete, she said, like when someone who wasn’t a McNair student got into a fight on school property, which she learned about when her daughter texted her during the school day.

“My child having her phone is very important to me, because if something were to happen, I know instantly,” Johnson said.

Many parents echo this — generally supporting restrictions but wanting a say in the policymaking and better communication, particularly about safety — and they have a real need to coordinate schedules with their children and to know about any problems their children may encounter, said Jason Allen, the national director of partnerships for the National Parents Union.

“We just changed the cellphone policy, but aren’t meeting the parents’ needs in regards to safety and really training teachers to work with students on social emotional development,” Allen said.

Research remains in an early stage

Some researchers say it’s not yet clear what types of social media may cause harm, and whether restrictions have benefits, but teachers “love the policy,” according to Julie Gazmararian, a professor of public health at Emory University who does surveys and focus groups to research the effects of a phone ban in middle school grades in the Marietta school district near Atlanta.

“They could focus more on teaching,” Gazmararian said. “There were just not the disruptions.”

Another benefit: More positive interactions among students. “They were saying that kids are talking to each other in the hallways and in the cafeteria,” she said. “And in the classroom, there is a noticeably lower amount of discipline referrals.”

Gazmararian is still compiling numbers on grades and discipline, and cautioned that her work may not be able to answer whether bullying has been reduced or mental health improved.

Social media use clearly correlates with poor mental health, but research can’t yet prove it causes it, according to Munmun De Choudhury, a Georgia Tech professor who studies this issue.

“We need to be able to quantify what types of social media use are causing harm, what types of social media use can be beneficial,” De Choudhury said.

A few states reject rules

Some state legislatures are bucking the momentum.

Wyoming’s Senate in January rejected requiring districts to create some kind of a cellphone policy after opponents argued that teachers and parents need to be responsible.

And in the Michigan House in July, a Republican-sponsored bill directing schools to ban phones bell-to-bell in grades K-8 and during high school instruction time was defeated in July after Democrats insisted on upholding local control. Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, among multiple governors who made restricting phones in schools a priority this year, is still calling for a bill to come to her desk.

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Associated Press writers Isabella Volmert in Lansing, Michigan, and Dylan Lovan in Louisville, Kentucky, contributed.

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August 20, 2025
No. 11 Clemson tries to stay perfect in ACC play and against Louisville on Saturday night

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Louisville (5-3, 3-2 ACC) at No. 11 Clemson (6-1, 5-0), Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPN)

BetMGM College Football Odds: Clemson by 10 by 2 1/2.

Series record: Clemson leads 8-0.

What’s at stake?

Clemson has been on a tear since losing its opener to then-No. 1 Georgia, winning six in a row by lopsided margins. The Tigers must keep winning as one of four ACC teams still undefeated in league play to stay on track for a return to the championship game. Louisville had hoped to be in the mix, too, but has lost to ranked opponents in Miami and SMU to fall off the pace.

Key matchup

Louisville QB Tyler Shough vs. Clemson’s defensive line. The Tigers have taken advantage of opponents not nearly as offensively skilled as them to open big leads. That’s unlikely to happen with the Cardinals, who are averaging 460 yards and 36 points a game. Clemson needs to get pressure on Shough, the Texas Tech transfer who’s has four 300-yard passing games this season.

Players to watch

Louisville: RB Isaac Brown is a freshman who’s run for 649 yards, second only to Heisman Trophy winner and NFL MVP Lamar Jackson, who ran for 960 yards as a freshman in 2015. Brown’s yards are the most nationally among freshmen and his six TDs on the ground are tied for second.

Clemson: LB Wade Woodaz leads the Tigers with 53 tackles and eight quarterback pressures. He’s also forced three fumbles and is tied for the top with freshman Sammy Brown with 6.5 tackles for loss this season.

Facts & figures

Clemson is looking to go 9-0 all-time against the Cardinals. … Louisville has about as balanced an offense as possible this season, running 244 times with 14 TDs and throwing it 246 times for 18 scores. … The Tigers have rushed for at least one touchdown in 57 straight home games, the longest such current streak in the country. … Shough, who is in his seventh year after stops at Oregon and the Red Raiders, has so far thrown for a career-high 2,348 yards and 20 touchdowns. … Clemson passer Cade Klubnik has also had a stellar year this season with a career-high 20 TD throws. … The Tigers have won their past 22 home games played at night. Their last loss was a 51-14 defeat at Death Valley to Florida State in 2013.

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October 31, 2024
Kentucky sign language interpreter honored in program to give special weather radios to the deaf

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Putting grant money into action is routine for Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, but an effort to provide weather alerts to people who are deaf or hard of hearing is tugging at his heart.

The grant-backed campaign to distribute 700 specially adapted weather alert radios to the deaf and hard of hearing is named in honor of his friend Virginia Moore, who died last year. She was the governor’s sidekick as the sign language interpreter for his briefings during the height of COVID-19. The updates became a staple for Kentuckians, and Moore gained celebrity status. She even got her own bobblehead of her likeness.

Beshear tapped the bobblehead displayed on his podium as he announced the “Moore Safe Nights” program, which will distribute the radios at no cost to eligible Kentuckians who apply. It is an effort to ensure all Kentuckians have equal access to information that can keep them safe, he said Thursday.

“I think Virginia would have loved this program,” Beshear said, his voice shaking with emotion. “Virginia has a legacy for service that is living on with new programs.”

The weather radios were purchased with funding from an emergency preparedness grant and other funds, Beshear said. The state will seek additional funds with a goal of eventually providing the radios to every Kentuckian who needs one, he said.

The radios are equipped with pillow-shaker and strobe-light attachments to alert people who are deaf and hard of hearing of severe weather warnings issued by the National Weather Service. The radios also have text displays that light up, so they know the type of weather warning issued.

“As Kentuckians know all too well, severe weather can strike at any hour,” Beshear said. “And the most dangerous time is when people are sleeping.”

No matter how vigilant deaf and hard-of-hearing people are in monitoring weather alerts, their vulnerability increases once they fall asleep because they are unable to hear alarms and sirens, said Anita Dowd, executive director of the Kentucky Commission on the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.

“This equipment will allow users to rest easier knowing that they now have access to this important and often life-saving information,” Dowd said.

Kentucky has more than 700,000 deaf and hard-of-hearing residents, the governor said.

Moore, who died at age 61, was known as a tireless champion for the deaf and hard of hearing and served as executive director of the state commission that advocates for them.

On Thursday, Beshear spoke about their bond. At the end of each long day of work during the height of the pandemic, he said, he would see her on his way home to his family at the governor’s mansion.

“She’d look at me and say, ‘I hope you’re OK and take care of yourself,’ ” he recalled. “That’s pretty special. That’s who she was, looking out for everybody else, including me.”

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Eligible Kentuckians can go to https://www.kcdhh.ky.gov/msn/ or call 800-372-2907 or 502-416-0607 to apply for a radio, Radios will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis.

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September 28, 2024
Gaming wins Del Mar Futurity, giving Bob Baffert his 18th career victory in the race for 2-year-olds

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DEL MAR, Calif. (AP) — Gaming won the $300,000 Del Mar Futurity by 1 3/4 lengths on Sunday, giving Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert his 18th career victory in the Grade 1 race for 2-year-olds.

Ridden by Flavien Prat, Gaming ran seven furlongs in 1:23.02 and paid $9.80 to win. The colt earned a credit toward entry fees for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at the same seaside track north of San Diego in November.

“He relaxed well; he was a bit on his toes before the race so I kept him quiet,” Prat said. “Very straightforward, and leveled out nice. Bob just told me not to rush him and I thought I was in a good spot on my way around the corner.”

Gaming improved to 2-0 in his young career, with earnings of $225,000.

McKinzie Street was second and Citizen Bull, also trained by Baffert, finished third. The trainer’s third entry, Getaway Car, was fourth in the field of seven.

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September 9, 2024
Coal miner killed on the job in West Virginia. The death marks fourth in the state this year

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CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A coal miner was killed on the job in West Virginia on Friday night, Gov. Jim Justice said.

The Republican governor said Gary Chapman, 33, of South Williamson, Kentucky, died after being injured at the Mountaineer II Mine near Sharples, West Virginia.

Justice expressed his condolences in a statement, saying Chapman and his family were in his prayers.

“When we lose a miner, it’s not just a loss for the community, but a loss for the entire State of West Virginia,” Justice said in a statement. “Mr. Chapman’s loss is a powerful reminder that we should always have a deep gratitude for every one of our coal miners. They are the ones who keep our nation running.”

At least eight U.S. coal miners have died on the job in 2024, according to the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration. Four of them died in West Virginia.

The incident is under investigation by the West Virginia Office of Miners’ Health, Safety, and Training and the Mine Safety and Health Administration.

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September 8, 2024
First rioter to enter Capitol during Jan. 6 attack is sentenced to over 4 years in prison

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WASHINGTON (AP) — A Kentucky man who was the first rioter to enter the U.S. Capitol during a mob’s attack on the building was sentenced on Tuesday to more than four years in prison.

A police officer who tried to subdue Michael Sparks with pepper spray described him as a catalyst for the Jan. 6 insurrection. The Senate that day recessed less than one minute after Sparks jumped into the building through a broken window. Sparks then joined other rioters in chasing a police officer up flights of stairs.

Before learning his sentencing, Sparks told the judge that he still believes the 2020 presidential election was marred by fraud and “completely taken from the American public.”

“I am remorseful that what transpired that day didn’t help anybody,” Sparks said. “I am remorseful that our country is in the state it’s in.”

U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly, who sentenced Sparks to four years and five months, told him that there was nothing patriotic about his prominent role in what was a “national disgrace.”

“I don’t really think you appreciate the full gravity of what happened that day and, quite frankly, the full seriousness of what you did,” the judge said.

Federal prosecutors recommended a prison sentence of four years and nine months for Sparks, a 47-year-old former factory worker from Cecilia, Kentucky.

Defense attorney Scott Wendelsdorf asked the judge to sentence Sparks to one year of home detention instead of prison.

A jury convicted Sparks of all six charges that he faced, including a felony count of interfering with police during a civil disorder. Sparks didn’t testify at his trial in Washington, D.C.

In the weeks leading up to the Jan. 6 attack, Sparks used social media to promote conspiracy theories about election fraud and advocate for a civil war.

“It’s time to drag them out of Congress. It’s tyranny,” he posted on Facebook three days before the riot.

Sparks traveled to Washington, D.C, with co-workers from an electronics and components plant in Elizabethtown, Kentucky. They attended then-President Donald Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally near the White House on Jan. 6.

After the rally, Sparks and a friend, Joseph Howe, joined a crowd in marching to the Capitol. Both of them wore tactical vests. Howe was captured on video repeatedly saying, “we’re getting in that building.”

Off camera, Sparks added: “All it’s going to take is one person to go. The rest is following,” according to prosecutors. Sparks’ attorney argued that the evidence doesn’t prove that Sparks made that statement.

“Of course, both Sparks and Howe were more right than perhaps anyone else knew at the time — it was just a short time later that Sparks made history as the very first person to go inside, and the rest indeed followed,” prosecutors wrote.

Dominic Pezzola, a member of the far-right Proud Boys extremist group, used a police shield to break a window next to the Senate Wing Door. Capitol Police Sgt. Victor Nichols sprayed Sparks in the face as he hopped through the shattered glass.

Nichols testified that Sparks acted “like a green light for everybody behind him, and everyone followed right behind him because it was like it was okay to go into the building.” Nichols also said Sparks’ actions were “the catalyst for the building being completely breached.”

Undeterred by pepper spray, Sparks joined other rioters in chasing Capitol Police Officer Eugene Goodman as he retreated up the stairs and found backup from other officers near the Senate chamber.

“This is our America!” Sparks screamed at police. He left the building about 10 minutes later.

Sparks’ attorney downplayed his client’s distinction as the first rioter to enter the building.

“While technically true in a time-line sense, he did not lead the crowd into the building or cause the breach through which he and others entered,” Wendelsdorf wrote. “Actually, there were eight different points of access that day separately and independently exploited by the protestors.”

But the judge said when and where Sparks entered the Capitol was an important factor in his sentencing.

“I think it’s undeniable that the first person” to enter the Capitol “would have an emboldening and encouraging effect on everyone who was at least in your vicinity,” Kelly told Sparks. “To say it wasn’t a material, key point in the mob’s taking of the Capitol, I think, is just ignoring the obvious.”

Sparks was arrested in Kentucky less than a month after the riot. Sparks and Howe were charged together in a November 2022 indictment. Howe pleaded guilty to assault and obstruction charges and was sentenced last year to four years and two months in prison.

More than 1,400 people have been charged with Capitol riot-related federal crimes. Approximately 950 riot defendants have been convicted and sentenced. More than 600 of them have received terms of imprisonment ranging from a few days to 22 years.

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August 28, 2024
US Justice Department says Kentucky may be violating federal law for lack of mental health services

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LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky is likely violating federal law for failing to provide community-based services to adults in Louisville with serious mental illness, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a report issued Tuesday.

The 28-page DOJ report said the state “relies unnecessarily on segregated psychiatric hospitals to serve adults with serious mental illness who could be served in their homes and communities.”

The Justice Department said it would work with the state to remedy the report’s findings. But if a resolution cannot be reached, the government said it could sue Kentucky to ensure compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

“People with serious mental illnesses in Louisville are caught in an unacceptable cycle of repeated psychiatric hospitalizations because they cannot access community-based care,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke said in a release Tuesday. Clarke, who works in the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, also led an i nvestigation into civil rights violations by the city’s police department.

The report said admissions to psychiatric hospitals can be traumatizing, and thousands are sent to those facilities in Louisville each year. More than 1,000 patients had multiple admissions in a year, and some spent more than a month in the hospitals, the report said.

“These hospitals are highly restrictive, segregated settings in which people must forego many of the basic freedoms of everyday life.” the report said.

The lack of community and home-based services for the mentally ill in Louisville also increases their encounters with law enforcement, who are the “primary responders to behavioral health crises,” the report said. That often leads to people being taken into custody “due to a lack of more appropriate alternatives and resources.”

The Justice Department acknowledged the state has taken steps to expand access to services, including crisis response initiatives and housing and employment support.

“Our goal is to work collaboratively with Kentucky so that it implements the right community-based mental health services and complies with the (Americans with Disabilities Act),” a Justice Department media release said.

A spokesperson for Gov. Andy Beshear’s office said state officials were “surprised by today’s report.”

“There are sweeping and new conclusions that must be reviewed as well as omissions of actions that have been taken,” James Hatchett, a spokesperson for the governor’s office, said in a statement to AP Tuesday. “We will be fully reviewing and evaluating each conclusion.”

Kentucky has worked to expand Medicaid coverage and telehealth services along with launching a 988 crisis hotline, Hatchett said. The governor also attempted to implement crisis response teams, but that effort was not funded in the 2024 legislative session, Hatchett said.

The report also acknowledged an effort by the city of Louisville to connect some 911 emergency calls to teams that can handle mental health crises instead of sending police officers. A pilot program was expanded this year to operate 24 hours a day.

“The lack of community-based mental health services is a nationwide problem that leaves far too many individuals without critical, lifesaving care,” Kevin Trager, a spokesperson for Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg, said in statement. The mayor hopes to work with state government to improve care in Kentucky “but ultimately, cities like Louisville need our federal partners to help provide comprehensive resources and investments if we are to make the meaningful progress we all want,” Trager said.

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August 28, 2024
ACC to use Apple’s iPads on football sidelines and in coaching booths for video playback this fall

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The Atlantic Coast Conference will collaborate with Apple to bring iPad technology to the sidelines and coaching booths for the upcoming season.

In an announcement Monday, the ACC said all 17 football members — a group that includes new arrivals California, SMU and Stanford — will have access to league-provided iPad Pro and iPad Air models allowing them to view video playback. That comes after the NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel in April approved the use of in-game video.

In a statement, ACC commissioner Jim Phillips made an “unparalleled prioritization of technology” going back to its design of a new gameday operations center. It will assist in football replays as part of the headquarters move to Charlotte last year.

The ACC’s first game this season is Aug. 24 in Dublin, Ireland, featuring Florida State and Georgia Tech.

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AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football

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July 17, 2024
Caustic feedback, serious injuries and the quiet mental health suffering of horse racing jockeys

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BALTIMORE (AP) — Eurico Rosa da Silva was in a dark place.

On the track, the jockey in his early 30s was winning races and making money. At home, he was fighting suicidal thoughts every day.

“I got to the point where I have no more choice but to go for help,” he recalled recently. “I went because if I have no choice, I would kill myself.”

Da Silva got help in 2006 and rode for more than a decade before retiring. He’s one of the lucky ones.

Earlier this year, horse racing was stunned by the suicides less than six weeks apart of two young jockeys, 23-year-old Avery Whisman and 29-year-old Alex Canchari. A friend of Whisman’s, Triple Crown-winning rider Mike Smith, said he has seen similar tragedies over three decades.

“I know several riders that I knew very well committed suicide when it was all said and done,” Smith said. “This is not all of a sudden just happening. It’s been going on. You just never heard of it.”

The dangers of riding thoroughbreds at high speed add up to an average of two jockeys dying from racing each year and 60 being paralyzed, according to one industry veteran, citing data dating to 1940. Combine that with criticism from owners, trainers and bettors and the need to maintain the low weight necessary to establish a career, and jockeys have been quietly suffering for as long as they have been riding horses.

While jockeys interviewed for this story worry that racing has lagged behind other sports in accepting the importance of their mental health on the job, there is hope that renewed conversation about it prompts real change.

“This needs to be addressed,” jockey Trevor McCarthy said. “We take a lot of beatings mentally and physically. With the mental and physical state, when you mix both of them together, it can be a recipe for disaster. Look, there’s proof of it, right? We lost two guys.”

McCarthy last year, like da Silva before him, sought help before it was too late. His father was a jockey, as is his father-in-law and his wife, Katie Davis McCarthy. They are all used to the ups and downs of the job, from the broken pelvis and collarbone from his spill during a race in November to the uncertain hold on a ride.

A particularly rough summer, including flying up and down the East Coast to ride, took a toll on McCarthy, who at 118 pounds could feel his diet and lack of calories affect his work. He wanted to quit.

“I was going absolutely nuts, and my body couldn’t handle it,” McCarthy said. “You’re constantly going through mind games. And I think a lot of guys get caught up in that with the weight and the mind game of not doing good or thinking they’re not good enough.”

His wife made him promise to talk to a sports therapist. McCarthy did so for months, learning how to find a better work-life balance that has helped him win 28 races already this year.

Now 47, da Silva was named Canada’s best jockey seven times and is the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame.

“In 30 years of riding horses, I can say to you that I never heard anybody talk about the emotional pain, never talked about going for help,” said da Silva, who’s now a mental health coach and spoke Tuesday at the first jockey mental health symposium in Lexington, Kentucky. “I approached many jockeys that I feel like they need help, and many times I said, ‘Go for help.’ I motivate them to go for help. They just listen, but they don’t really want to talk about.”

Dr. Ciara Losty of South East Technological University in Waterford, Ireland, pointed out that jockeys have an “underdeveloped sense of self inside of their sport,” compared to team sport or Olympic athletes who are less likely to burn out because they seek out other activities. She said jockeys can also be less familiar with mental health topics because of low literacy levels and lack the support system of a coach or coaching staff.

“Maintaining a low weight and obviously disordered eating is a big part of it,” said Losty, who co-authored a 2018 study on jockey mental health. “Being a jockey, you have a risk of serious injuries, and if you’ve had a serious injury the fear of re-injury when you engage or get back up on the horse again may impact your performance or lead you to some kind of distress.”

Dr. Lewis King, now at Ireland’s Technological University of the Shannon, did his doctoral degree in 2021 on the subject because he wanted to explore what makes jockeys susceptible to mental health problems and what stopped them from seeking help. In talking to 84 jockeys in Ireland, he said, he found 61% met the threshold for adverse alcohol use, 35% for depression and 27% for anxiety.

King’s research showed that despite nearly 80% of jockeys having at least one common mental health disorder, only a third saw a professional. He said most feared losing their jobs.

“The main barrier was stigma and the negative perceptions of others,” King said. “But primarily it was related to the negative perceptions of trainers. There was a perception within the jockeys I interviewed that if they spoke about their mental health issues or it somehow got back to their trainer that it may impact whether they get rides. The trainer may perceive them as not in the right headspace, for instance, to ride their horses.”

Trainers told King and his colleagues they felt similar worries about sharing their own mental health concerns with owners.

McCarthy, who has been a jockey since 2011, said in recent months he has actually confronted trainers in the U.S., telling them to ease up on berating fellow jockeys after races.

The entire cycle speaks to horse racing being “an old-school sport,” McCarthy said. Losty pinned the lack of progress in mental health on the masculinized nature of the industry, and da Silva said the topic is still “taboo” in racing.

“Asking for help in our sport is almost a sign of weakness, sad to say,” said Smith, who rode Justify to the Triple Crown in 2018 and is still riding at 57. “You certainly don’t want to show any signs of that. We’re supposed to be tough and be able to handle it all.”

The Jockeys’ Guild and Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority recently sent out an anonymous survey — the first of its kind — to gauge the best ways to support riders’ mental health and wellbeing, a hotline is among the ideas being considered.

The results of that survey, returned by 230 jockeys, included 10% describing their mental health as “poor,” a third saying sadness, depression or anxiety were causing challenges in their daily life over the past month and 93% expressing concern about financial stability and providing for their families.

Surveyed jockeys also said money, weight concerns and the pressure to win were among the biggest stressors; they cited the fear of losing work and a stigma around seeking support as barriers to seeking help.

“It’s important for the industry to come together on this issue and other issues to grow our industry and make sure equine and human athletes are taken care of,” said Jockeys’ Guild president and CEO Terry Meyocks, a third-generation horseman whose daughter, Abby, is married to Kentucky Derby-winning jockey Javier Castellano.

“It’s important that people talk about it,” said Meyocks, who noted an average of two jockeys have died and 60 have been paralyzed annually dating to 1940.

McCarthy only started talking seriously about it after getting married and daughter Riley was born, knowing he’s at the leading edge of thinking about mental health and how far behind other jockeys are.

“We’re just behind the 8-ball a little bit with that,” he said. “It’s going to be baby steps, but we have a long way to go.”

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AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/sports and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

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May 23, 2023