Author: Associated Press

Man gets 2 years for swapping fake diamonds for real ones

Demetrius Eugene Woodson, 28GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) — A federal judge in Michigan has sentenced a man to two years in prison for swapping fake diamonds for real ones at jewelry stores in several states. Twenty-eight-year-old Demetrius Eugene Woodson was sentenced Friday in U.S. District Court in Kalamazoo. Woodson, who pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit offenses…

Kentucky’s Cambrian Coal files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy

PIKEVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Another Kentucky coal producer has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The Lexington Herald-Leader reports Cambrian Coal LLC plans to auction off most of its assets next month, if it gains court approval. Nearly 700 people are employed by Cambrian at three major mining operations in eastern Kentucky and Virginia. Court documents show the company’s president…

Company: Kentucky coal mine to cease production Friday

HENDERSON, Ky. (AP) — A Kentucky mine that employs about 200 people is slated to stop producing coal within a week. Alliance Resource Partners L.P. announced Friday that Dotiki Mine in Webster County will halt production starting Aug. 16. The Oklahoma-based company said it’s focusing on maximizing production at lower-cost Illinois Basin mines. Company Chairman and CEO Joseph W. Craft…

Hampton says her staff hasn’t been ‘treated right’

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky’s lieutenant governor says she never talked with Gov. Matt Bevin about his administration’s dismissal of two of her top staffers without her consent. The Lexington Herald-Leader reports that Lt. Gov. Jenean Hampton challenged Bevin’s comments in June in which he tried to play down a feud between himself and Hampton. Bevin said then that he…

Twitter reposts McConnell threat video after appeal

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Twitter has reposted a video from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s campaign that showed protesters yelling threats in front of his Kentucky home. The social media giant temporarily locked McConnell’s campaign account Wednesday after his account shared the video. Republican leaders and President Trump’s campaign manager complained of the lockout and threatened advertising boycotts. Twitter said…

PurchasePro founder heading back to prison

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — A Kentucky native who founded an internet startup is heading back to prison after a judge determined he violated the terms of his supervised release. The Lexington Herald-Leader reports PurchasePro founder Charles “Junior” Johnson was ordered to serve 10 months in prison Thursday and 26 more months of supervised release. Johnson was sentenced in 2008 to…

Deputy says Kentucky man shot by grandson dies

GEORGETOWN, Ky. (AP) — Authorities say a Kentucky man who was shot by his 17-year-old grandson has died. News outlets report 79-year-old Richard Barkley was shot on July 31 in Scott County by his grandson. Sgt. Eddie Hart with the Scott County Sheriff’s Office says Barkley died Thursday at the University of Kentucky Medical Center in Lexington and that a…

Authorities: Kentucky officer shot man during welfare check

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Authorities in Kentucky say an officer shot and injured a man while checking on a barricaded person. News outlets report Breckinridge County Sheriff’s deputies and Kentucky State Police troopers went to a home Thursday evening to conduct a welfare check on a report of a barricaded person. State Police public information officer Scotty Sharp told news…

Kentucky awarded nearly $9.2 million to combat opioid crisis

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky is receiving more than $9 million from a federal agency to help combat opioid addiction. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says the money will help expand access to services dealing with substance use disorder and mental health problems. The agency says community health centers, rural organizations and academic institutions involved in the…

Wilderness first aid training to be offered at Kentucky park

SLADE, Ky. (AP) — State parks officials in Kentucky say a wilderness advanced first aid training course will be offered later this year at Natural Bridge State Resort Park. Officials say the five-day course will be presented Dec. 2-6 at the eastern Kentucky park. They say the course is geared toward people who work or play in remote wilderness areas….