Lisa Autry

Kentucky has seen the second-highest jump in gasoline prices in the nation, with a 12-cent increase over the past week. 

Still, the state’s average gas price of $2.85 a gallon, as of Wednesday, is still 16 cents less than the national average of $3.01. That’s the most expensive gas has been since 2014. 

Lynda Lambert, a spokeswoman for AAA’s East Central Division, says the spike in Kentucky was recorded before the shutdown of a national pipeline. She adds the main factor in the price of gas is the cost of crude oil, which has been on the rise.

“That is due to quite a bit of optimism around the world because of the vaccine rollout and we’re seeing improvement in the pandemic situation, so, they’re feeling more confident and feeling demand will increase," Lambert told WKU Public Radio.

The Vatican has restored a priest of his duties within the Catholic Diocese of Owensboro. 

Father Joseph Edward Bradley was permanently suspended from public ministry in 2019 following allegations of sexual abuse by two minors in the 1980s. During that time, Fr. Bradley served as Dean of Students and Principal of Owensboro Catholic High School.

The local Diocesan Review Board found the accusations credible and permanently suspended him two years ago. Bradley filed an appeal with the Vatican which immediately reinstated his priestly duties last week. 

The Vatican decree notes “given the imprudent behavior of the cleric throughout the course of his ministry in education, the Congresso (Vatican body) imposes a penal precept (restriction) on the cleric, according to canon 1739, through which he is forbidden to enter any primary or secondary school for a period of five years.”

For the third year in a row, Kentucky ranks first in the nation the for the rate of child abuse, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services "Child Maltreatment 2019" report released this year.

Based on 2019 numbers, the most recent year for which data is available, Kentucky had more than 20,000 abuse and neglect cases, more than double the national average. 

Poverty, the state’s drug epidemic, and the high number of children in foster care are believed to be some of the most important contributing factors. But experts are worried the COVID-19 pandemic could lead to a spike in child abuse numbers for 2020.  Chrisie Sherrard, assistant director of the Barren River Area Child Advocacy Center (BRACAC) in Bowling Green, said the full effect of the pandemic may not be seen for a while.

Following more than a year of restrictions due to the pandemic, Kentucky’s Agriculture Commissioner is pressing Gov. Andy Beshear to set a reopening date for restaurants, bars, and other businesses. 

Ryan Quarles held a roundtable discussion in Bowling Green on Wednesday with farmers and restaurant owners, as well as food suppliers and distributors.

Quarles said bars and restaurants have suffered more under the coronavirus than any other industry.  He’s on a listening tour around the state, hearing from business owners who have struggled under what Quarles calls inconsistent and confusing executive orders from the governor’s office.

A newly released poll suggests Kentucky has a good chance of reaching herd immunity with the COVID-19 vaccine. 

Herd immunity is achieved when a significant amount of the population is vaccinated or immune to infection. Experts believe herd immunity will be possible when that applies to 70-85% of the population. 

The poll found 71% of Kentucky adults have already received or intend to get the vaccine. The 29% of Kentuckians who said they hesitant to get the shot were more likely to be male, Republican, and live in suburban or rural communities.

Ben Chandler heads the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky, which funded the survey. He says much of the hesitancy toward the vaccine can be attributed to misinformation.

Former President Donald Trump is endorsing Kentucky’s junior U.S. Senator for re-election.  Rand Paul will be seeking a third term in office in 2022.

In a statement on Thursday, Trump said Senator Paul has “done a fantastic job for our Country, and for the incredible people of Kentucky.”  Paul was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2010 and ran for president in 2016. 

Trump and Paul are former political rivals, often clashing when they both sought the GOP presidential nomination. But Paul later became one of Trump’s allies.  During a stop in Logan County last week, Paul praised the former president for expanding the party.

“I think President Trump did a good job bringing working class people into the party," he told reporters. "At times there’s been a sense that Republicans were more of a country club, richer people’s party. Trump really brought in a lot of America’s working class and that was good for the party.”

A U.S. Congressman from southern Kentucky says the pace of COVID-19 vaccinations in the state is "phenomenal" and improving every day. 

Rep. Brett Guthrie of Bowling Green toured a vaccination site at the T.J. Samson Health Pavilion in Barren County on Monday.

"This is something to see come to fruition. It just shows when people really work together, they don't let partisanship or other things get in the way, we can make big things happen," Guthrie said. "Lines were really long in Janaury, and now people can call and get almost a same-day appointment to come here."

The T.J. Regional Health system has given out more than 11,000 doses of the coronavirus vaccine since the end of December at its locations in Glasgow and Columbia.

A research facility in rural Kentucky is encouraged over new results of a study on the Pfizer vaccine in children. 

The pharmaceutical giant has announced its COVID-19 vaccine is 100 percent effective against the virus in children between the ages of 12 and 15. 

Kentucky Pediatric\Adult Research in Bardstown was the only clinic in the state to test Pfizer's vaccine on adolescents and itenrolled 66 participants.  Research Director Marty Osbourn says the efficacy rate is remarkable.

“It’s in a small selection of patients. We’ll see over time how accurate that is. I truly believe it’s accurate based on the results we have so far," Osbourn told WKU Public Radio. "It’s pretty amazing 100 percent of the patients who received the vaccine did not get symptomatic COVID.”

Mitch McConnell is acknowledging his hand in restricting Gov. Andy Beshear’s ability to fill a vacancy in the event that one of the state’s U.S. Senators dies or leaves office early. 

During a stop in Bowling Green on Tuesday, Sen. McConnell said he’s “not going anywhere,” but  suggested legislative leaders change Kentucky law to limit the governor's power to appoint someone to temporarily take over for a senator until voters can elect a successor.  Lawmakers over-rode Democratic Governor Andy Beshear’s veto of the bill. 

While his office previously said McConnell supported it, the 79-year-old senator said on Tuesday he actually recommended the rule change.

“I had watched over the years the way Senate vacancies are filled in different states," McConnell told WKU Public Radio. "I thought the worst way to fill it was the way Kentucky law set it up so the governor alone picks somebody who can serve a fairly lengthy period of time before there’s an election.”