9.28.25

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the reading of the Lexington Herald Leader. Today
is Sunday, September twenty eighth, twenty twenty five, and your
reader is Roger Hamperion. As a reminder, RADIOI is a
reading service intended for people who are blind or have
other disabilities that make it difficult to read printed material.

(00:21):
We'll start with a seven day forecast brought to you
by ACI Weather. Sunday's weather will be mostly sunny and warm,
with a high of eighty three degrees and a low
of sixty Monday will be cloudy and warm, with a
high of eighty three and a low of sixty one.
Tuesday will be cloudy with a shower with a high

(00:42):
of eighty and a low of sixty one. Showers will
be possible on Wednesday, with a high of seventy seven
and a low of fifty seven. Thursday we'll see some
sun with a high of seventy six and low fifty four.
Friday will be cloudy with showers in the afternoon, with

(01:02):
a high of seventy five and low of fifty seven.
Saturday will see a little morning rain and mostly cloudy,
with a high of seventy six and a low of
fifty six. In the Weather Almanac. The high temperature is
seventy seven degrees and the low sixty two normal high
seventy seven, normal low fifty five. Last year's high seventy five.

(01:27):
Last year's low sixty four. Record high was ninety three
degrees in two thousand seven, record low thirty five in
nineteen sixty five. Precipitation Thursday was point four to three inches.
Month to date three point two seven normal month to
date two point eight three. Year to date forty six

(01:51):
point four to one normal year to date thirty eight
point zero two last year to date thirty six point
nine three record for the date two point nine six
in nineteen seventy. The pollen count today is absent. Sunrise
today will be at seven thirty two am. Sunset tonight

(02:14):
seven twenty seven pm. Moonrise today one fourteen pm. Moonset
today ten twenty one pm. First quarter is September twenty ninth,
Full moon October sixth, Last quarter October thirteenth, New moon
October twenty first. Now we will read the front page

(02:36):
headlines from today's edition. Kentucky's animal shelters are in crisis
amid a complicated stew of societal issues including housing inflation
and a lack of veterinary care. Kentucky's animal shelters are
running out of room and out of money. Also, third

(02:58):
new high rise student of parks and complex approved near
UK's campus. The first article from today's edition is titled
Kentucky Animal Shelters faced storm of overcrowding under funding by
Linda Blackford. Debbie, Fiona and Chloe were so happy to
be around Kiera Tuggle she could hardly get anything done.

(03:21):
They frolicked, rolled around, pounded on toys, and jumped up
Tuggle's small frame. So of course she had to stop
cleaning out kennels and tell them how beautiful they were.
The three six month old mixed breed puppies had just
arrived at Pause for the cause a rescue operation on
Newtown Pike in Lexington. They'd come all the way from

(03:44):
the Estell County Animal Shelter, where they had been squeezed
in with ninety dogs in a space that should hold
thirty five. That Anita Spritzer, the Pause general manager, When
we first got them here, they were so upset. Spritzer said,
come in broken and defeated, and when they get here
they just blossom into someone's pet. The eight dogs now

(04:07):
at Pause were Spade and newtered, so they would be
eligible for fostering and adoption. The Estell County Animal Shelter
is reorganizing, according to its Facebook post, after losing the
shelter director. But that kind of overcrowding is hardly an
isolated situation. At county animal shelters all over Kentucky, crowding

(04:29):
is the norm, and that spills into crowding at the
many rescue organizations that support them. In Pike County, for example,
Judge Executive Ray Jones said his county shelter has fifty
seven dogs in forty nine kennels, and thanks to their
no kill policy, it's like that all the time. Out
of state rescue organizations sometimes take dogs to be adopted

(04:53):
in other states, but they're overrun two. Quite candidly, with
all the other problems we've had, we are over our
heads at the shelter, Jones said. There are only so
many resources rural counties can commit to animal control programs.
People are more important than animals, but animals are important too.

(05:14):
Plus there's a public safety issue. For example, on September two,
a woman in Knox County was killed by a pack
of feral dogs. Police said the case is still under investigation.
A host of factors have brought us to this point,
said Todd Blevins, Kentucky, director of the Humane World for
Animals formerly the Humane Society of the United States. It's

(05:39):
for all the reasons, Blevins said, a lack of pet
inclusive housing, a lack of affordable vet care, the rising
cost of caring for a pet in general. With inflation,
what you're seeing is higher intakes, fewer adoptions, and that
makes it harder on shelters. It's a huge story. It's
all inner can but when you zoom out one policy

(06:02):
reform won't take care of it. An interconnected problem. Levin's
has a well rehearsed list at his fingertips to explain
the crisis. One, there aren't enough vets. There's a national
shortage of veterinarians, and in rural areas it's particularly dire.
A map of the Veterinary Care Accessibility Project shows a

(06:24):
numerical ranking for each county based on access to not
just affordable vet care, but any vet care. Martin County,
for instance, has a score of four out of one hundred,
largely because there isn't a single vet in the entire county.
Same goes for Wolf County and Mercreary County has a

(06:45):
score of one. Levin said. The General Assembly tried to
address part of the problem in twenty twenty four with
House Built five point fifty three, the Kentucky Rural Veterinary
Medicine Student Loan Repayment Program. It may it's lower payment
available to eligible veterinarians who practice in designated Underserved rural

(07:05):
areas for five consecutive years, but that still doesn't fill
the need. Plus, veterinary care is expensive for people already
suffering in today's economy. Two Kentucky has a housing crisis
that doesn't help pets. According to the twenty twenty four
Hills State of Pet Adoption Report, people making less than

(07:27):
fifty thousand dollars a year are significantly more likely to
have experienced at least one pet related housing restriction. In addition,
most homeless shelters don't take pets, leaving an anquishing decision
for pet owners looking for shelter. Three, Not enough pets
are getting spade and neutered. According to the twenty twenty

(07:49):
four Shelter Animal count, The percentage of dogs already spayed
or neutered has decreased ten point nine percent since twenty nineteen.
This is related to you guessed it, the costs of
veterinary care. Kentucky doesn't have laws regarding spaying and neutering animals.
Shelters can make adopters sign an agreement to do so,

(08:12):
but it's not binding. Where shelters can do the work
of spaying and neutering themselves, but that adds significant costs
to already strain budgets. Whether rural or urban, shelters face
the same problems. Despite being in more densely populated Fayette County,
the Lexington Humane Society has seen some of the same

(08:34):
problems as rural areas. President Summer Jackson said the nonprofit,
which works as a partner with the Fayette County Animal
Control Program, is just coming out of what she called
the big dog crisis. We were being overrun with big dogs,
she said. Folks who got a puppy during COVID came
out of it with a big dog and everything that

(08:57):
comes with that. The lack of affordable housing, the lack
of access to affordable vent care, coupled with life in
general being hard for people we see the influx of
folks facing horrible decisions to give up their pets because
of overcrowding. Jackson said they've tried to expand their foster
care program to open up space. The best humane society

(09:20):
is supported by a humane community, So donating, adopting, volunteering,
and engaging with us is what I would encourage everyone
to do, she said. Connect with your local shelter and volunteer,
donate and support to care. Jackson said the Humane Society
is one hundred percent successful because of the support of

(09:42):
a large urban community, but shelters in rural areas where
people face so many struggles, suffer from underfunding and sometimes
downright neglect. The Kentucky State Police are now investigating the
rock Castle Animal Shelter because of reports of animal abuse
and the neglect, including the deaths of puppies with parvo,

(10:03):
a largely preventable but dangerous canine disease. Pause sprites or
thinks the legislature needs to give more dedicated resources to
county governments for shelters because they are run on a
shoe string. We need to make money for those counties
to do the right thing. Or group just used donations
to expand their space, adding several exam rooms and a

(10:27):
surgery to perform low cost spaying and neutering. Along with
low cost vet care, laws also need to change. Many
advocates say Kentucky's abuse and neglect laws need more teeth,
not least because of the strong relationship between animal abuse
and child abuse. In the last legislative session, Representative Susan

(10:49):
Whitten worked with Kentucky youth advocates to mandate that animal
control officers received training on recognizing child abuse. It was
named Kehan's Law in honor of a child killed by
his mother, whose house had been visited twenty four times
by animal control officers in the eighteen months before his death.

(11:10):
It never got a vote in the full House. In
twenty twenty four, legislators did strengthen the penalties for animal
torture to a felony thanks to Ethan's Law, named in
honor of a dog who had been tortured. But this
is a state that only outlawed beast reality in twenty nineteen.
At least thirty two other states have mandatory spay and

(11:31):
neuter rules. Last year, the Animal Legal Defense Fund ranked
Kentucky forty six in the nation. For Animal Welfare, citing
several reasons, including that vets and social workers are not
required to report suspected animal abuse. What if we help
people before they have to surrender their pets? Tanya Khan

(11:53):
is the face of an innovative approach to animal welfare.
She is working on a pilot program called Pets for Life,
funded through the Kentucky Humane Society and Humane World for Animals,
aimed at helping people before they are forced to give
up their pets. Con serves six zip codes in Floyd County,
the region known as Left Beaver two or three days

(12:16):
a week. She drives the back roads and when she
sees homes that obviously have pets, she stops and knocks
on the door and asks the owners what they might need.
I say, I'd like to know what I can do
to make your pet healthy, she said. I carry dog food,
topical flea and tick supplies. I ask them if they're

(12:37):
interested in spain or neutering. Pets for Life works with
a private vet doctor, Sean Tussy of Beaver Creek Veterinary Clinic,
who gives them thirty shots a month for spay, neuter,
or vaccines, and other medical care organizers hope to expand
the programme statewide. Con said she recently helped a mother

(12:59):
with foster kids get control of a colony of feral
cats that lived around her house. One by one, Cohn
helped get cat's spade or neutered and their ears clipped
so they knew which ones had been altered. The colony
stopped growing. It takes a village, Cohn said, And when
you work together and stand for the same thing, you

(13:20):
see chains happen. The next article from today's edition is
titled third new high rise student apartment complex approved near
UK's campus by Beth Musgrave. Third high rise apartment building
geared toward University of Kentucky's students could be coming to
East Maxwell Street, despite opposition from neighbors and preservationists who

(13:43):
say the area is being overrun by student housing. The
Urban County Planning Commission on Thursday voted eight to two
to approve his own change from a residential to a
business zone for several properties on East Maxwell and Kalmia Avenue.
The zone change for two fifty one, two fifty three,

(14:03):
two fifty five, two sixty one, two sixty three, two
seventy one and two seventy three East Maxwell and two
fifty six, two fifty eight, two sixty two, two sixty six,
two sixty eight, two seventy and two seventy two. Kalmea
now goes to the Lexington fed Urban County Council for

(14:25):
final approval. The change would allow Chicago based core Spaces
to build an eight story, three hundred thirty two unit
building with multiple townhouses at ground level for a total
of more than nine hundred beds. Plans show an interior
parking garage with four hundred thirty six parking spaces. It

(14:46):
would mark the third new major student housing complex in
the area of East Maxwell. The other two one six
stories and the other eight were approved earlier this year.
Core Spaces made changes to its proposed structure after receiving
feedback from planning staff and neighbours. Those changes included adding

(15:08):
more setbacks in the building to break up the mass
on Rose Street. A portion of the building will be
stepped down from eight stories to six stories. The developer
also added more townhouses to the Kalmia side of the building.
Entrances would be from Kalmia and Stone Avenues. The plans
show the entrance to the parking garage would be near

(15:31):
Kalmia and Rows. Jeremy Young, a senior planner for the city,
said staff had recommended approval of the zone change. The
city's Comprehensive Plan, which guides development, encourages more density in
the city's downtown and along major corridors. More than a
dozen buildings in the area would have to be raised

(15:51):
to make room for the Core Space's property. Core Space's
student properties are known as the Hub. The other two
Hub apartments for UK students are at five hundred South
Upper and six eighty five South Limestone Streets. Brandon Gross,
a lawyer for Core Spaces, said the city and UK

(16:12):
need more student housing. The proposed development would replace housing
that is rented to about eighty people now and build
a structure that would house more than nine hundred. That
will dramatically help the city address a shortage of housing
keep UK students from spilling into other neighborhoods. We are
going to get three hundred more units, closing our desperately

(16:34):
needed rental gap. Gross said. Three apartments in three blocks
on East Maxwell Neighbors told the Urban County Planning Commission
the area is already inundated with proposed high rise student housing,
adding nearly three thousand residents in three large multi story
buildings on a secondary road like Maxwell Street. Sandwich between

(16:57):
small single family and small multi family houses is simply wrong.
Mark Matthews, president of the Historic South Hill Neighborhood Association,
which includes parts of Maxwell Street, wrote in a letter
to the Planning Commission, the esthetics that one experiences in
driving down Maxwell Street will be forever changed to the detriment.

(17:18):
The proposed Hub complex is near a six story under
construction student apartment complex from Staffroff Development. Next to that
development is another recently approved student apartment complex. That building,
eight stories and home to eight hundred and twenty five bedrooms,
is being built by Subtext, a Saint Louis based private

(17:40):
student housing developer. A dozen buildings on the block will
be raised to make room for the Subtext building. Other
historic buildings in the area have already been bulldozed to
make room for the Staffroff development. Most of the building's
core spaces, once to bulldoze, were built in nineteen twenties,
said Betty Kerr, director of Historic Preservation for the city.

(18:03):
Kerr said the block was part of a planned neighborhood
of single family homes and smaller apartment buildings. It was
one of the first neighborhoods designed to mix students with
city residents. Those structures have a relationship to each other,
Kerr said, they are part of what gives Lexington its charm,
its character, and its stories. All the structures are listed

(18:25):
on the National Register of Historic Places. However, it is
not in a historic district. Richard Shine, president of the
board for the Bluegrass Trust for Historic Preservation, urged the
Commission not to approve its own change and save the
block from destruction. I find it ironic that the Hub
will wipe out a neighborhood that many cities are now

(18:47):
trying to build. Shine said. Many cities are now encouraging
different types of housing in the same block, which the
block of East Maxwell has, he said. Wendy mc allister
has lived on Stone Endue near the property for thirty years.
Although a traffic study showed the building would have some
impacts on traffic on East Maxwell and East High Streets,

(19:09):
it did not study the impact on Stone Avenue, she said.
McAllister said Stone Avenue will be used by people trying
to get to the Hub and the nearby stavrof development
that's going to make an already traffic log Stone Avenue
even more difficult to navigate. She said, you can't back
out of your driveway without feeling like you were going

(19:30):
to hit somebody, McAllister said a conflicted Planning commission. Planning
Commission member Robin Mickler said he has voted for the
two other zone changes on East Maxwell, but felt this
zone change was different. The block of homes and apartments
is the missing middle housing that the city is trying
to encourage. Those apartments house more than just UK students.

(19:56):
The new hub would cater almost exclusively to UK students,
Mickler said. Mickler said he's also concerned the city is
allowing this type of zoning a business zone near Lexington neighborhoods.
Those business zones do not have a strict requirements for
open space or tree canopies, which means a lot less
shade and green space in downtown Lexington. He said, we

(20:20):
are doing that for the sake of density. I don't
know if this is really a long term strategy that
we want, Mickler said. Other Planning Commission members said they
were torn. The city has encouraged more density along its
major corridors the city needs more housing. Providing housing in
the city's core near UK's campus will help relieve pressures

(20:43):
on housing in other parts of the city, some Planning
Commission members said. Mickler and Planning Commission member Molly Davis
voted against the zone change. The next article from today's
edition is titled Netan Yahoo met by walkout during address
to world leaders by Frank Livni. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

(21:05):
of Israel defended his country's attacks on its enemies and
vowed to continue its campaign in the Gaza Strip to
finish the job against Hamas. In a defiant address to
the UN General Assembly on Friday morning, representatives from dozens
of countries walked out of the hall just before Nettunyahou
began his address, the latest public protest of Israel from

(21:28):
an audience of world leaders who are demanding an end
to the war in Gaza and pressing for recognition of
a Palestinian state. Israel had expected the walk out, which
its ambassador to the U, n Danny Danon derided as
a stage performance, as Heckler's repeatedly shouted at him from
the audience. Netanyahu used a prompt map to detail his

(21:52):
country's attacks on opponents and Middle East neighbors, and read
a list of names of hostages held in Gaza. Position
loud speakers in Gaza on Thursday morning to broadcast his speech,
which he used to send a message in English and Hebrew. Netanyahu,
who has been accused of war crimes by the International

(22:12):
Criminal Court, faces intense pressures at home and abroad and
has remained defiant. I will tell our truth, he pledged
before leaving Israel. On Thursday. He promised to use his
speech to condemn the wave of recognitions this week about
ten countries, including Israel's longtime allies France, Britain and Canada,

(22:34):
recognized Palestinian statehood as part of an effort to advance
a two states solution to the conflict. In response, some
members of netting Nah, whose right wing governing coalition, have
called for the annexation all or part of the Israeli
occupied West Bank, that could put the Israeli leader at
odds with his strongest ally, President Donald Trump, who this

(22:57):
week assured world leaders that he would not allow it.
Netanyahu has said that recognizing Palestinian statehood would be an
affirmation that the Hamas led October seventh, twenty twenty three
attack on Israel, which ignited the war in Gaza, had
advanced the Palestinian cause. Many Israelis, including some who have

(23:18):
clashed with Neat Nyahu over his policies, have echoed his opposition,
citing security concerns. But many others in Israel, including some
who were kidnapped during the October seventh attack and later released,
and some relatives of hostages still being held by Hamas,
have strongly objected to Israel's ground offensive in Gaza City.

(23:41):
They say that it endangers their loved ones. About twenty
hostages are thought to be still alive, according to the
Israeli authorities. Here's what else to know. Arab anxiety. The
Israeli airstrike targeting members of Hamas and Katar this month
has raised fears among Arab nations that maintain uneasy relations

(24:02):
with Israel, including Jordan and Egypt, that their own security
may be at risk. Governing Gaza. Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian
Authority president, addressed the UN on Thursday by video after
he had been denied of visa to the United States.
He said the Authority, which administers part of the West

(24:22):
Bank and governed in Gaza before Hamas took over in
two thousand seven, was willing to take responsibility for Gaza
and that Hamas would have no part. Netanyahu objects to
a role for the Palestinian authority in Gaza. The next
article from today's edition is titled major shareholder of Stoley

(24:42):
Kentucky Awl blames putin Fifth Third for bankruptcy by Janet Patten.
In an unusual move, the majority shareholder in Stoli, owner
of Kentucky Awl, Bourbon, is asking a bankruptcy judge to
approve the company's plan to pay off its debt with Bourbon,
despite objections from Fifth Third Bank. The debtors do not

(25:05):
ask for indulgence, they ask for recognition. Yuri Scheffler wrote
in a letter to Judge Scott W. Everett, dated September
twenty second, and entered into the court record Thursday. There
is a plan. It is sound, it is fair. It
has not only the overwhelming support of all constituents, but
there is no significant, yet alone material creditor other than

(25:29):
the bank that has not voted in favor of the plan.
The future is not yet written, but the debtors are
prepared to write it. I hope they will have this chance.
Fifth Third has opposed Kentucky Owl and Stoley's plan to
pay off seventy eight million dollars in debt with thirty
five thousand barrels of bourbon, plus assorted other spirits, and

(25:51):
a lean on Bardstown real estate, once proposed for a
distillery and tourist attraction. The bank has called it a
dirt for Dollar's proposition and said it will leave them
on the hook for sixty million dollars. Fifth Third has
asked instead for an independent fiduciary to be appointed by
the Texas Bankruptcy Court to take over Stolely and Kentucky

(26:14):
Owl filed for bankruptcy in November twenty twenty four. In
his letter, Scheffler wrote that the company stands at the
edge of resolution. Acceptance of the plan will mark the
end of uncertainty. He blamed injustices of Russian President Putin
for decades of financial struggle. The Stolely group has survived

(26:34):
much not by accident, but by resilience, by vision, and
by refusal to collapse under the weight of injustice, Scheffler said.
In twenty twenty two, Scheffler said when Putin invaded Ukraine.
Stoley did not stay silent. It sent humanitarian aid, it
offered refuge, and for that the Russian state stripped the

(26:55):
group of its final asset on its soil, A one
hundred million dollar Dar distillery seized under a veil of
legal pretense. Very same week, coincidence or choreography, the company's
servers were crippled in a cyber attack, he said. Scheffler
also blamed Fifth Third, saying the bank tightened its script

(27:16):
on liquidity not in caution but in disregard, ignoring what
are globally recognized as force mature circumstances. He said, slowly
open negotiations offered compromises and were very close to securing
new deals worth up to fifty million dollars funds that
would have enabled repayment of over half of the loans

(27:37):
and avoided Chapter eleven bankruptcy. There would have been no
financial harm to debtors that may be assessed in the
hundreds of millions, including at least ten million dollars of
avoidable expenditures on these proceedings, no losses from delayed production
from two hundred fifty thousand unbottled and undelivered cases, and

(27:57):
no lasting damage to the Stolely brand value you through
retail d listings and the silist marketing campaigns never run.
The case is awaiting a ruling from the bankruptcy Judge.
And now after a short pause, I hope you'll rejoin
us for a continuation of the reading of the Lexington
Herald Leader for today. Thank you for listening, and now

(28:19):
please stay tuned for more news right here on RADIOI.
Now we will continue reading from the Lexington Herald Leader
for Sunday, September twenty eighth, twenty twenty five. Your reader
is Roger Hamperion. We will start with the obituaries. We
read only the name, age and location. If you would

(28:41):
like further information on any of the obituaries, please see
their website or call us during the weekdays at eight
five nine four two two six three nine zero and
we will be glad to read the entire obituary for you.
I will repeat that number at the end of the listings.
Today's obituaries are as follows. Howel Todd Livesey Junior eighty

(29:06):
seven of Lexington, Susan K. Marnatti sixty three of Lexington,
cap Turner ninety three of Lawrenceburg. If you would like
any further information about any of the listings today, please
visit the following website www dot legacy dot com slash

(29:27):
obituaries slash Kentucky. Again, that site is Legacy dot com
slash obituaries slash Kentucky. You can also call us at
our RADIOIZ studios at eight five nine four two two
sixty three nine zero and we will try to read
them to you over the phone. There is no Paul

(29:48):
Praether column this week, so we will continue reading the
next article from today's edition of The Herald Leader, titled
Takeaways from Securing of Indictment against Komy by Maggie Haberman.
In the span of a few hours Thursday, President Donald
Trump went from claiming no knowledge of a possible indictment

(30:10):
of former FBI Director James Comy to celebrating it as
justice in America. In reality, Trump had hand picked the prosecutor,
previously one of his own personal lawyers, in an effort
to ensure it happened. It was a landmark moment in
Trump's retribution campaign, one that put on full display the

(30:31):
relentlessness of his efforts to use the criminal justice system
to get back at those he feels persecuted him, and
there is no indication that his efforts at payback are over.
Here are some takeaways on the indictment of Komy. It
broke fundamental democratic norms. Throughout his first term, Trump under

(30:53):
investigation himself for possible ties between his twenty sixteen presidential
campaign and Russia, seeking to influence the outcome of the race,
sought to investigate investigations into his perceived enemies. Trump's zeal
prompted his White House counsel at the time, Don McGann,
to write a memo explaining what the president could and

(31:15):
could not do. Strong constitutional norms of non political law
enforcement should also guide your decision making and make caution
against involvement in a specific matter, McGann wrote. In a
second term, backed by a new cast of advisers who
say he has the ability to direct investigations, Trump has

(31:37):
abandoned any pretense of adhering to such advice. He publicly
pressed his Attorney general for the prosecution of Komi and
other foes, fired a federal prosecutor who balked at carrying
out his will, and installed an ally to do his
bidding over the objections of career prosecutors, who concluded the
evidence against Komy was too weak to warrant charge him.

(32:01):
Comy again declared his innocence Thursday and said he looked
forward to a trial. Other Trump foes are now at risk.
Comy was high on Trump's list of retribution targets, but
the list is long. Trump also has sought mortgage fraud
charges against Letitia James, the New York Attorney general who

(32:22):
successfully brought a civil fraud case against Trump and his company.
Trump may now put more pressure on his prosecutors to
charge James, as well as Senator Adam Schiff, Democrat of California, who,
while serving in the House, was a leading force in
investigating Trump. The Justice Department is already investigating an organization

(32:44):
tied to liberal billionaire George Soros, who has long been
a focus of the right, and the President ratcheted up
the pressure Thursday, signing a memorandum for a whole of
government effort at combating organized domestic terrorist groups, with a
strong focus on those whose politics he dislikes and whose
activities he sees as having incouraged threats to him and

(33:07):
his allies. Trump's reach is unchecked. Trump's Siken election victory
was more decisive than the first and showed his first
win was not the fluke his critics claimed. Since January,
he has imposed much of his agenda on the country
and the world, reshaping global trade, slashing government, reversing many

(33:29):
bided administration policies, and leaving many Democrats flustered and demoralized.
Yet Trump remains deeply aggrieved by the investigations that dogged
him through his first term, the prosecutions that put him
at risk of being jailed in the years after, and
the attempts on his life in twenty twenty four. Trump

(33:49):
has sought ever expanding presidential power, and has for the
most part seen his efforts endorsed by a Supreme Court
that he shaped in his first term. Is voted extensive
time to trying to silence critics, including threatening to pull
broadcast licenses from television networks and filing lawsuits against media outlets.

(34:11):
Trump has almost always sought to see how far he
can press the limits on him. So far, he has
been largely unchecked by courts, by Congress by a staff
radicalized by the investigations into him. Prosecutors faced challenges to
winning the case, getting an indictment is relatively easy for

(34:32):
prosecutors who have a lot of sway over grand juries.
Winning at trial is much harder, and in the Komi
case many factors could make it challenging for the government
to secure a conviction. Line prosecutors in Virginia who had
initially reviewed the evidence in the Komi case put in
a memo why they thought the effort to convict him

(34:54):
was too weak to take to court. The grand jury
on Thursday rejected one of the three counts present ended
to it. In Trump's string of invective about Comy and
his repeated references to his own criminal cases provide a
lot of evidence for possible defense motions about a vindictive prosecution. Still,
Trump has always understood that even absent a conviction, defendants

(35:18):
face a reputational cost in a criminal case, not to
mention the financial penalty in the form of legal bills.
The next article from today's edition is titled Swift to
be on Tonight's Show on October sixth from Parade Taylor
Swift is officially set to appear on The Tonight Show
starring Jimmy Fallon on October six, just three days after

(35:41):
the release of her twelfth studio album The Life of
a Showgirl, and Yes, Jimmy Fallon definitely planned this reveal
Swift style. On Thursday, the Tonight Show host shared a
cryptic and very playful teaser video on social media that
has fans asking is Swift making a surprise appearance. In

(36:04):
the clip, Fallon plays a game of Roulette, placing chips
on numbers ten, six and twenty five, a not so
subtle nod to October six, a date that could mark
Swift's appearance. When the wheel spins and lands on thirteen,
Swift's famously lucky number, Fallon flashes a grin and Clare's baby,

(36:26):
that's show business for you. As the video continues, viewers
are treated to a full Vegas style spectacle showgirls in
feathered headdresses and sparkling costumes, similar to the visuals on
Swift's The Life of a Showgirl album cover struck past
Fallon in a preyed through the halls of Rockefeller Center,

(36:47):
and just in case fans needed more confirmation, Fallon went
ahead and tagged both Swift and Tailor Nation on Instagram.
Variety confirmed that Swift will indeed be a guest on
the October sixth episode of the Tonight Show. The next
article from today's edition is titled new record set at
Keenland's two week auction of Young Thoroughbreds by Piper Hanson.

(37:12):
The Keenland September Yearling Sale, a two week thoroughbred auction
ending September twentieth, broke its sales record by more than
one hundred million dollars. In twelve sessions, three thousand seventy
horses sold for a combined five hundred thirty one point
five million dollars, signaling the strength of the industry and

(37:33):
confidence in the sport among established top buyers of young
horses from just a few pricey bloodlines. The results of
this sale reflect a shared achievement for the industry and
a powerful source of optimism for the future of racing
and breeding, said Keenland Vice President of Sales, Tony Lacy.

(37:53):
Many factors contributed to these record setting results, Beyond the
exceptional quality of horses on offer, strong purses, favorable tax legislation,
growing confidence in the sport, and broader national visibility through broadcast,
streaming and influencers all point to a brighter future for
our industry, he said in a statement attached to the

(38:16):
Racetrack and Horse Auction Company's announcement it had broken its
own record. Sales this year were almost twenty four percent
higher than last year's, led by Mike Repoll's Repolls Stable
acquiring thirty three horses for more than fourteen million dollars.
Intenent of M. V. Menier, Peter Brandt's Whitebirch Farm, and

(38:38):
Ron Winchell's Winchell Thoroughbreds purchased a son of twelve year
old gun Runner for three point three million dollars. The
horse was a leading contender in the twenty sixteen Kentucky
Derby and went on to win the twenty seventeen Stephen
Foster Stakes, Whitney Stakes, Woodward Stakes, and Breeders Cup Classic.

(38:58):
Gun Runner was named the twenty seventeen Horse of the Year.
Sierra Leone, a son of gun Runner, finished second in
the twenty twenty four Derby. A sire the father of
a horse with commercially desirable offspring, can increase in auction's
average and median prices. Buyers gravitate toward decorated sires in

(39:19):
the hopes purchasing one of their yearlings may give them
a higher success rate and return on investment in the
winner's circle. About a quarter of this year's sales were
made on yearlings from the following four horses, indicating need
and preference while the market signals it might shift to consolidation.
Fifty five yearlings from Not This Time sold for nearly

(39:42):
forty million dollars, fourteen of them for one million dollars
or more. Forty from gun Runner sold for more than
thirty five million dollars, twelve of them for one million
dollars or more. Forty four yearlings from flight Line sold
for thirty point five five million dollars, eight of them

(40:03):
for one million dollars or more. Forty one yearlings from
Into Mischief sold for nearly twenty seven million dollars, six
of them for one million dollars or more. Keenland having
a big sale just puts more money into purses, more
money into a world class experience when you come race
in Central Kentucky, said Nicholasville based Stallion Operation Tailor Maids

(40:27):
President and CEO Mark Taylor in Keenland's announcement. These things
are so positive and gives us a lot of optimism
for the future. It is one ecosystem, and when these
parts are healthy and they all come together, great things happen.
The average horse sale price increased for the fifth year
in a row to one hundred seventy five thousand, eight

(40:50):
hundred seven dollars. The median price also rose, as did
the percession average and median. At auction this year, eighteen
buyers spent five million dollars or more compared to fourteen
last year, and one hundred and twenty buyers spent one
million dollars or more compared to ninety six last year.

(41:11):
Fifty six seven figure horses sold to a record thirty
four unique buyers. Keenland Senior Director of Sales Operation, Cormac
Breathnock said, these metrics are exciting and show the depth
and breadth of this entire two week period, but ultimately
it comes down to the median and the RNA rate,

(41:33):
which stands for reserve not attained or a horse that
didn't sell because bidding didn't reach the seller's minimum. When
you really look at the health of a sale top
to bottom, because a median is the middle market, Breathnock said,
if you have a healthy median or an improving medium
like we did this year, and an equal or better clearance,

(41:54):
rate that's as good of an indicator of the health
of the market as any other favorable tax legislation. Strong
results from the auction can be partly attributed to the
extension and reinstatement of a tax incentive for qualifying property
passed in the Federal Tax and Spending Bill July fourth,

(42:14):
as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill, Bonus depreciation
was dialed back up to the one hundred percent deduction
threshold like it was in the Tax Cuts and Jobs
Act of twenty seventeen. The incentive allows businesses to deduct
the cost of assets immediately instead of over time. Qualifying
assets can be new or used machinery and equipment, computer software,

(42:39):
land improvements, and race horses, as long as they are
new to the taxpayer. Utilizing the incentive lowers one's tax
liability because it reduces taxable income. If bonus depreciation creates
a net operating loss for the year, it can be
carried forward to offset future income, which is a way

(43:00):
to average profitability over time. For tax reasons, the incentive
starts to get complicated, especially for those in the horse industry,
because it's available only for business operators, not hobbyists. The
irs responsible for collecting federal taxes, pays incredibly close attention
to things that report losses to determine if they are

(43:23):
legitimate businesses or hobbies. Horse racing notoriously and for a
long time, has consistently posted losses because expenses are often
more than winnings. Lexington Law firm Stole keenan Ogden's Douglas
Romayne said bonus appreciation policy is meant to stimulate the economy.

(43:44):
It does that by giving people an incentive to go
out and spend money and acquire these assets to be
used for their business, said Romayne, who practices in the
law firm's equine transactional practice. The firm represented thoroughbred farms
in nineteen thirdsive to create the Keenland Association, the nonprofit
organization that later established the famed Central Kentucky race course

(44:08):
and horse auction complex that's now the world's largest. Former
University of Kentucky J David Rosenberg College of Law associate
dean Jennifer bird polland, an expert in federal income tax
law and now a professor at Wayne State University in Michigan,
said some form of bonus depreciation policy is passed when

(44:30):
the economy struggles as a way to bring it back
to life. But bird Polland said the incentive as a
way to stimulate the economy distorts decisions people may otherwise
make if there wasn't a tax benefit. If we knew that,
people would just buy the things that they needed for
their business in order to get the benefits of bonus appreciation,

(44:52):
they replace machinery earlier than they otherwise would have, and
that falls in line with the goal of stimulation whatever.
But that's not what we always see happen, she said.
What we see happen is that people adjust their spending
in order to maximize their tax incentives, and we end
up motivating people to borrow. The tax policy, she said,

(45:15):
asks a more fundamental question over what kinds of businesses
are people interested in supporting. Historically, tax code has helped
some maintain their lifestyle. It's helped businesses that are big employers,
including horse racing in central Kentucky. Bird Pollen said, but
there's also a sense in which if you can end

(45:36):
up producing a bunch of tax losses out of something
that you're calling a business but for you is really
kind of a hobby, then we're sort of failing as
a system too, she said. Racing resumes at Keeneland for
the seventeen day Fall Meat October third, with a track
record ten point eighty five million dollars in stakes perses.

(45:56):
The next article from today's edition is titled Uncle Nearest
paid one hundred twenty five thousand dollars for a world record.
Bank wants to know why? By Janet Patten, Uncle Nearest
paid the Guinness Book of World Records one hundred twenty
five thousand dollars to have a five hundred eighteen foot
bar at its Tennessee distillery, declared longest bar in the world.

(46:21):
According to a new court filing, the whiskey then leveraged
that into stories in Garden and Gun and The Bourbon Review,
generating publicity for the brand. According to the document filed
in ongoing lawsuit against Uncle Nearest, Nearest Green Distillery and
Fawn and Keith Weaver, the distillery's lender would like to

(46:42):
know why. If the restaurant and the distillery are unrelated
financial entities, the distillery paid not the restaurant on its grounds.
While having a record verified is technically still free, corporations
often now pay for help finding an adjudicating record for
publicity stunts. According to published reports, Nearest Green Uncle Nearest

(47:06):
in receivership. Kentucky lender farm Credit Mid America has sued
the Weavers and the Whiskey, now in default on more
than one hundred eight million dollars in loans. On August fourteenth,
at the request of Farm Credit, Uncle Nearest was placed
in receivership. Earlier this month, Receiver Philip G. Young asked

(47:27):
US District Judge Charles E. Ashley Junior for a ruling
on whether other assets attached to the financially distressed distillery,
the Whiskey, and the Weavers should be included in the receivership,
including the Humble Barn restaurant and entertainment venue where that
really long bar two hundred and two seats is located.

(47:49):
The Weavers, Young said, are expected to oppose this move. Meanwhile,
Tennessee Distilling Group, a contract distillery that actually makes what
is sold under the Uncle Near labels, is watching closely.
Their attorney has given notice of appearance and has asked
to receive all filings and notices in the case. The

(48:09):
attorney did not respond to a request for comment on
why now Farm Credit has weighed in with a statement
supporting the move to bring in several entities and is
using the Guinness World Record payment to argue its case.
According to the lender, records have turned up that show
there is significant financial overlap between the distillery and the entities.

(48:33):
The Weavers and Uncle Nearest have maintained no financial discipline
or corporate formalities, the lender said. The lender said that
an order from the court providing the receiver access to
books and records of at least three entities Grant Sydney Incorporated,
Humble Barn Incorporated, and Quill and Cask, is necessary Grant

(48:55):
Sydney payments to Uncle Nearest. Grant Sydney is listed on
Uncle Nearest's website as the owner of both the Uncle
Nearest Whiskey Brand and the Nearest Green Distillery, and is
wholly owned by Fawn Weaver. According to the filing, Grant
Sidney wired more than sixteen million dollars to Uncle Nearest
for payroll, plus another seven point five million dollars to

(49:17):
the lender, and paid other operating costs. Grant Sydney's significant
infusion of capital during this time period to Uncle Nearest
warrant an investigation by the receiver into the source of
these funds. These transfers are also an example of the
lack of separation of finances between the weavers, Uncle Nearest

(49:39):
and the other entities related to the weavers. The lenders
said Humble Baron's links in the case of Humble Baron
the restaurant and bar On the distillery grounds in Shelbyville,
Uncle Nearest apparently paid an August twenty twenty four confidential
settlement with Levy Premium Food Service in a dispute that

(49:59):
also involved Shelbyville Barrel House Barbecue, which also appears to
be linked to Keith Weaver, over failure to pay Levy
contracted amounts. This settlement payment alone demonstrates that farm credits
collateral has been used to fund Humble Baron's obligation, the
lender said. The bank also pointed out that the restaurant

(50:21):
doesn't appear to have a lease or to have paid
any rent to Uncle Nearest, and said the bank can't
get a list of employees. See if discillery employees are
working there, then there's that Guinness World Record. In March
twenty twenty three, Uncle Nearest paid eighty two thousand, five
hundred dollars, and then an additional forty two thousand, five

(50:42):
hundred dollars in April twenty twenty four, the day after
the first payment, Guinness World Records named Humble barn as
the holder of the record for longest bar in the world.
According to the lenders filing mystery buyer for Uncle Nearest barrels, Quills,
apparently a Tennessee based LLC with the same office and

(51:04):
mailing address as Keith Weaver, paid two hundred seventy five
thousand dollars to Uncle Nearest in January twenty twenty five,
allegedly for barrels of whiskey, according to Farm Credit. Interestingly,
farm Credit said that when it had originally inquired if
the buyer was tied to Weaver, the link was denied.

(51:25):
Now the lender said that the receiver has begun his diligence.
The fact that quilln Cask is an affiliate is undisputed.
This payment leads to more questions about the relationship between
Quill and Cask and Uncle Nearest. The lender said their
potentially linked entities were identified by the receiver, and Farm
Credit said that the court should order those books and

(51:47):
records be examined to determine if they are possibly related
or transferring money to or from the weavers or uncle nearest.
The next article from today's edition is titled Reservative Billionaire
pack backs Nate Morris for Senate in TV ad campaign
by Austin Horn. A political action committee supporting Nate Morris

(52:10):
for U S Senate in Kentucky, placed a one point
one million dollar ad by Wednesday. The ad, a positive
television commercial about Morris's background, marks the first outside spending
to support Morris on television. Morris and Representative Andy Barr's
campaigns for Senate in twenty twenty six have both run

(52:31):
ads in a race and a pack supporting Bar as
well as a pack opposing Bar, have spent millions on
TV ads. Former State Attorney General Daniel Cameron, who is
leading in all the publicly available polling but lagging his
opponents in fundraising, has yet to air any television ads.
Restoration of America pack led by GOP Megadonor and Billionaires

(52:56):
Shipping magnate Dick Uline. The latest political ads strikes a
sunnier tone than the ones previously aired by Morris. There's
a fresh new voice in the Kentucky Senate race. A conservative.
Nate Morris a ninth generation Kentuckian. He was raised by
a single mother in a union household. Nate worked hard,

(53:17):
pulled himself up, built a successful job, creating business from scratch.
The ads narrator says the ad will air in most
of the state, covering Lexington, Louisville, Cincinnati, and Bowling Green
television markets. According to records with a Federal Communications Commission,
u Line is one of the most influential conservative donors

(53:38):
in the country. Restoration of America pack was a top
five outside spender supporting Trump in the twenty twenty four
presidential election, almost all of its money coming from Uline,
and U Line is one of the top contributors for
Club for Growth, the conservative advocacy group behind a series
of ads hitting Bar in the twenty twenty two miss

(54:00):
the heir to the Schlitz brewing fortune, was the top
donor to Republicans. Eu Line, who lives in Illinois, also
has history supporting both Cameron and Barr, as well as
other Kentucky conservative ventures. Eu Line even gave Barr's Senate
campaign a direct donation of seven thousand dollars in June,
According to records with the Federal Elections Commission, Along with

(54:24):
Pennsylvania billionaire jeff yass U, Line was one of the
biggest outside spenders supporting Cameron's twenty twenty three run for governor,
where he fell short of Democratic Governor Andy Basheer by
five percentage points. Eu Line fueled three separate packs that
supported cameron Restoration of America. Pack was also the money

(54:45):
behind an expensive twenty twenty two race for Franklin's Circuit judge,
an important role overseeing most challenges to state law. It
pumped thousands into supporting Joe Bilby, a Republican attorney, against
incumbent Judge Philip Shepherd. Still Shepherd won in a landslide.
The pack's ad backing Morse strikes something of a contrast

(55:08):
from Morris's own previous ads, where the focus was on
bashing his opponents and Senator Mitch McConnell, whose he and
several others are seeking to fill. In the early days
of the campaign and in the lead up to his
public launch, Morris's messaging was focused on his opposition to McConnell,
who was routinely won in landslide fashion despite low approval

(55:31):
ratings in Kentucky. That message came with some prodding from
national conservative figures like Vice President J. D. Vance and
the late conservative influencer Charlie Kirk. Morris launched his campaign
in June with Kirk, who was mourned across the country
after he was assassinated earlier this month, who said Morris

(55:51):
would end the McConnell mafia. The Senate candidate also claims
he was encouraged to get into the race by Vance,
a personal friend, who told told him McConnell's gotta go. Still,
some of that perspective was present in the ending of
the Restoration of America pack ad. Nate's not part of
the Mitch McConnell machine. He's a true Washington outsider, and

(56:14):
like President Trump, Nate believes in creating prosperity for all Americans.
It's a new day in Kentucky, the narrator says, beyond
you line. Morris also got a boost this week from
the current Trump endorsed front runner to become Ohio's next governor,
Vivik Ramaswamy, a businessman who rose to political prominence with

(56:35):
a run for president in twenty twenty four. Endorsed Morris Wednesday.
Nate Morris is the exact kind of candidate the MAGA
movement needs in the Senate, Ramaswami told the Daily Wire.
Era of career politicians is over. This concludes the reading
of the Lexington Herald Leader for today, Sunday, September twenty eighth,

(56:55):
twenty twenty five. Your reader has been Roger Imperion. Thank
you for listening and please stay tuned for sports news
here on Radio I