Free Republic

House Republicans passed a bill they say will lower healthcare costs for a broad swath of Americans by roughly 11%. It's a victory for Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., who has been managing deep divisions within the House GOP on the topic of healthcare as insurance premiums are set to spike across the country in a matter of weeks. One glaring issue that remains unresolved is Obamacare subsidies, which were enhanced during the COVID-19 pandemic but are set to expire at the end of this year. The legislation passed 216 to 211. Just one Republican, Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., voted against...

The maker of the popular Jim Beam bourbon whiskey says it will halt production at its main site in Kentucky for all of next year. The distillery will stay closed while the firm takes "the opportunity to invest in site enhancements," it told the BBC in a statement on Sunday. "We are always assessing production levels to best meet consumer demand and recently met with our team to discuss our volumes for 2026." Distillers in Kentucky - famous for its bourbon - face uncertainty, in part, due to US President Donald Trump's trade policies. The brand is owned by Japanese...

One of Kentucky’s largest bourbon producers apparently is pausing whiskey production at the end of the year. Jim Beam, which is one of the largest makers of American whiskey in the world, is planning to shut down production in Happy Hollow in Clermont on Jan. 1 through 2026. The visitors center on site will remain open for Kentucky Bourbon Trail visitors. “We are always assessing production levels to best meet consumer demand and recently met with our team to discuss our volumes for 2026,” according to a statement from the company. “We’ve shared with our teams that while we will...

Democrat Gary Clemons, a South Louisville union leader and U.S. Army veteran, won Kentucky’s vacant Senate District 37 seat on Tuesday in a roughly 47.5‑point landslide, taking 72.6 percent of the vote to Republican Calvin Leach’s 25.1 percent, according to unofficial Jefferson County results. “State Democrats are overperforming and winning special elections across every part of the country,” said Heather Williams, the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (DLCC) president, in a statement shared with Newsweek. “Momentum is on our side as voters turn away from MAGA Republicans and back state Democrats who are fighting to lower costs.”

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- All 1,600 employees of the brand new electric vehicle battery plant in Kentucky will be laid off before Ford converts it to manufacture batteries for data centers and other utilities. Ford will turn the Glendale factory into a battery-storage business for customers such as utilities, wind- and solar-power developers, and massive data centers that train artificial intelligence, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday. And Ford announced Monday it plans to begin shipping the battery energy storage systems from its Kentucky and Michigan plants in Late 2027, a shift to "higher-return opportunities." In total, the company said...

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) slammed President Trump on Monday over the president’s remarks about the killings of Hollywood director Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele. Reiner, a well-known Democratic donor and activist who had criticized Trump, and his wife were found dead in their home on Sunday in a suspected homicide. “Regardless of how you felt about Rob Reiner, this is inappropriate and disrespectful discourse about a man who was just brutally murdered. I guess my elected GOP colleagues, the VP, and White House staff will just ignore it because they’re afraid,” Massie wrote on the social platform X. “I...

A DoorDash worker who was caught on a doorbell cam spraying a mystery substance on a delivery order bizarrely claimed she was only aiming at a spider. Kourtney Stevenson is seen on the Dec. 7 footage delivering Arby’s to the doorstep of an Indiana home, taking a confirmation picture — then calmly spraying an aerosol substance onto the bag. After identifying her, authorities in Indiana charged the driver with two counts of battery resulting in moderate injury and two counts of consumer package tampering. Stevenson was arrested in Kentucky and will be extradited to Indiana.

Ronald Exantus was released early from 20-year sentence for stabbing 6-year-old Logan Tipton in Kentucky home invasion A man who was released from prison early after racking up good behavior credits following his conviction for fatally stabbing a 6-year-old Kentucky boy during a 2015 home invasion was arrested weeks later for violating his parole. Ronald Exantus, 42, of Indianapolis, was serving a 20-year sentence for the killing of Logan Tipton, who was brutally slain in his Versailles, Kentucky, home, when he was released back onto the streets in October. Despite confessing, Exantus was found not guilty of murder by reason...

"I think we're missing an incredible opportunity right now," Stalker said. "I'm going to be honest, I don't feel good about being white every day for a lot of reasons, because it's a point of privilege that I get to move through the world in a way that so many of my other colleagues and friends and family members in the community don't get the privilege to do."

How did more than $3 million in Civil War era gold coins end up in a farm field, somewhere in Kentucky? Everyone from the Washington Post to USA Today to major TV news networks covered this story last summer when it first broke, but in this segment you'll hear for the first time from the Lexington coin dealer who brokered the sale of the coins when he was first approached by the farmer who literally stumbled upon them. You'll also hear from a UK professor about why she thinks the coins were buried in the first place, and from some...

A Kentucky Democrat went viral this week after admitting she felt guilty about her skin color in a speech defending diversity, equity and inclusion programs in public schools. "I'm going to be honest," state Rep. Sarah Stalker said during a meeting of the Kentucky General Assembly's Interim Joint Committee on Education Tuesday. "I don't feel good about being White every day, for a lot of reasons."

A Kentucky sheriff who was caught on camera shooting a local judge at point-blank range has admitted to the murder but pleaded 'not guilty' in court - and a new filing offers insight into his possible defense. Lawyers representing ex-Letcher County Sheriff Shawn 'Mickey' Stines argued in court documents that he 'lacked the capacity to intend' to shoot and kill his good friend, District Court Judge Kevin Mullins, 54, in September 2024, the Lexington Herald-Leader reports. Stines lawyers' said the sheriff was 'exhibiting paranoid and psychotic conduct' when he shot the judge inside his chambers. The legal team also laid...

According to the document, NATO "no longer aligns with current US national security interests"WASHINGTON, December 10. /TASS/. Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, a Kentucky representative, introduced a bill calling for the United States to withdraw from NATO. "NATO is a Cold War relic," the Republican Congressman wrote on the X social network. "We should withdraw from NATO and use that money to defend our own country, not socialist countries," the legislator said, referring to the US expenditures in the military alliance. The lawmaker added that he had submitted a bill to remove the United States from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization....

As of 12/10/2025 text has not been received for H.R.6508 - To require the President to give notice of denunciation of the North Atlantic Treaty for purposes of withdrawing the United States from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and for other purposes.

Because of the shift from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar in the 1500s, Christmas ended up being celebrated 11 days earlier than before. When the change reached America in the 1750s, some people continued to observe December 25 as sacred and also marked January 6 as “Old Christmas.” This tradition held on strongly in Appalachia and remained part of Kentucky's holiday heritage as a parallel celebration alongside the newer Christmas date. The Forgotten Holiday Called 'Old Christmas' | 5:57 KET - Kentucky Educational Television | 44K subscribers | 47,374 views | November 26, 2025

Multiple people were injured in a shooting at Kentucky State University on Tuesday afternoon. A suspect has been taken into custody. “We are aware of a reported shooting at Kentucky State University in Frankfort. At this time, we are aware of some injuries. We will share more information as available. Law enforcement are on scene, and a suspect has been arrested. Let’s pray for all those affected,” Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear said on Tuesday. We are aware of a reported shooting at Kentucky State University in Frankfort. At this time, we are aware of some injuries. We will share more...

(snip) All you need to do is buy the right product, and you'll be experiencing top-shelf tastes at a bottom-shelf cost. To make sure you're getting the best of the best without overpaying, we turned to a slew of experienced bartenders from across the country to get their choices for the best whiskeys that not only won't break the bank, but that are also readily available for anyone to find. Evan Williams Bottled In Bond Evan Williams bottled-in-bond has both the glowing endorsements of numerous bartenders, and an authentication from the U.S. government to boot. The government supervised requirements for...

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (TCN) -- A popular YouTube personality known as “Mr. Crafty Pants” for his online arts and crafts tutorials was arrested Oct. 22 for allegedly possessing and trading explicit images of minors on Kik, a messaging app. Michael David Booth, 39, was charged with 29 felony counts related to possessing and distributing matter portraying sexual performances by minors. He appeared in Jefferson County District Court on Oct. 23 and pleaded not guilty to all charges. According to WDRB, court docs say the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children tipped police off about Booth’s Kik account. A subpoena and...

The plight of Afghan allies desperately trying to flee the Taliban is exposing divisions among Republicans, with some pressing the Biden administration to help resettle those people who helped the U.S. military and others stoking nativist fears about an influx of refugees. The rift comes as Republicans have tried to remain unified in their criticism of President Biden’s handling of the messy U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan. The GOP divide is taking place at both the state and national level. Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) was one of the first GOP governors to say his state is “ready and willing”...

MARGARET BRENNAN: ... Is the President holding himself to the same standard that he is asking of others when it comes to dialing back dangerous rhetoric? PAUL: You know, everybody knows that the President is famous for his unfiltered social media. But if you take at face value the idea that calling your opponents traitors and then specifically saying that it warrants the death penalty is reckless, inappropriate, irresponsible, there are a number of other ways to describe it, but it’s not something that is helping the country heal wounds. I think it stirs things up and- and really, I...