Source: Kentucky Health News

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Kentucky’s Opioid Abatement Advisory Commission awarded nearly $34 million in grants to more than 100 organizations Thursday, marking the largest single disbursement in the state’s effort to combat the ongoing drug crisis. The money comes from settlements with pharmaceutical companies involved in the opioid epidemic, with Attorney General Russell Coleman announcing…

FRANKFORT, Ky. — Kentucky has received $94.4 million in its 2026 Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement payment, bringing the state’s total haul from the historic 1998 settlement with cigarette manufacturers to nearly $3 billion, Attorney General Russell Coleman announced last week. The settlement, reached in 1998 between Kentucky and 51 other states and territories with…

FRANKFORT, Ky.- A Frankfort man, Donald Demil Clay, 50, was convicted on Wednesday by a federal jury in Frankfort for possession with intent to distribute cocaine. Clay was convicted of the charges following a two-day trial.  According to testimony at trial, the investigation as to Clay began with numerous tips to law enforcement that Clay…

FRANKFORT, Ky. — Gov. Andy Beshear announced that Kentucky has been included in UnitedHealthcare’s expansion of its Rural Payment Acceleration Pilot, a program designed to lower healthcare costs and increase access in rural communities. The program will accelerate Medicare Advantage payments to participating hospitals from an average of fewer than 30 days to fewer…

LEXINGTON, Ky. – A Lexington man, Terence Lorenzo Clemons, 52, was sentenced on Tuesday to 25 years by U.S. District Judge Karen Caldwell for the production of child pornography.   According to his plea agreement, Clemons was a County Extension Agent that operated 4-H programs in the Bath County School System. In April 2024, Clemons began…

FRANKFORT, Ky.- A Frankfort man, Donald Demil Clay, 50, was convicted on Wednesday by a federal jury in Frankfort for possession with intent to distribute cocaine. Clay was convicted of the charges following a two-day trial.   According to testimony at trial, the investigation as to Clay began with numerous tips to law enforcement that…

LEXINGTON, Ky. – A Lexington man, Osama Omar Qasem, 29, was sentenced on Thursday to 120 months by U.S. District Judge Karen Caldwell for two counts of distribution of 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, one count of possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, and one count of trafficking in…