Tag: kentucky

The Real-Life UFO Story That Led to a Famously Unmade Steven Spielberg Sci-fi Movie

Steven Spielberg has had a lifelong fascination with alien beings from beyond the stars. When the legendary director was just 17, he made a nearly two-and-a-half-hour epic on his 8mm camera called Firelight, a film that he more or less remade 14 years later as Close Encounters of the Third Kind. That 1977 classic would be the first of three professional movies Spielberg would make about aliens arriving on our planet, the other two being E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982) and War of the Worlds (2005). And each trip into the extraterrestrial has led to one of the director’s most successful and acclaimed films (we’re not counting 2008’s Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull since Spielberg didn’t actually want aliens in the movie).

It’s also a subject that continues to fascinate the filmmaker, with Variety recently reporting that Spielberg’s next film is going to be another UFO story based on his own original idea. But of the many announced films that Spielberg never made (and there are a bunch), one continues to intrigue his fans decades after he began developing it: Night Skies. Pitched as the darker, nastier flipside to the friendly aliens in Close Encounters, Night Skies was meant to follow a group of extraterrestrial beings that land on Earth and begin to terrorize a family on their isolated farm.

The idea for Night Skies came to Spielberg after he heard about an alleged real-life incident while doing research for Close Encounters that involved a family under attack by extraterrestrials. But what exactly was the incident, and why is it famous in Ufology? How did it influence Night Skies, and how did Night Skies itself morph into an utterly different film altogether? Well…

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States Keep Passing Unconstitutional Age-Verification Laws for Porn Sites

Last Friday, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear signed a controversial bill requiring age verification for individuals seeking to use pornography websites in the state. While the bill seeks to prevent minors from accessing explicit materials, the law will require a substantial invasion of adults’ privacy.

The newly signed law started as an unrelated bill aimed at tightening penalties for child sexual abuse and other crimes, with the age-verification provision of the bill added as a floor amendment in March.

“Pornography is creating a public health crisis and having a corroding influence on minors,” the final bill reads. “Pornography may also impact brain development and functioning, contribute to emotional and medical illnesses, shape deviate sexual arousal, and lead to difficulty in forming or maintaining positive, intimate relationships, as well as harmful sexual behaviors and addiction.”

The bill requires pornography websites to limit access to adults and to verify a user’s age by accessing their government-issued identification or using another “commercially reasonable method of identification that relies on public or private transactional data.” Under the law, sites that violate the law face $10,000 fines for each instance that a minor accesses pornography.

As a result of this law, it’s likely that major porn websites will cease operations in Kentucky rather than develop a complex and invasive age-verification system. PornHub has so far left seven states that have adopted similar laws. 

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Federal Judge Strikes Down Biden’s Greenhouse Gas Emissions Rule

A federal judge in Kentucky has struck down a Biden administration rule that required states to measure and report the greenhouse gas emissions from any vehicles traveling on the national highway system.

“With this victory in court, we’re slamming the brakes on the Biden Administration’s politics that make no sense,” said Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman, who led a coalition of 21 state attorneys general in suing the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) over the rule that sought to force states to cut carbon dioxide emissions on their roads.

Multiple states that sued over the rule argued that it could dampen job creation and eliminate future economic development.

Judge Benjamin Beaton of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky blocked the FHWA rule in a 26-page order and opinion issued on April 1, calling it “invalid” and “a statutorily unsupported and substantively capricious exercise of the [FHWA] Administrator’s rulemaking authority.”

Judge Beaton only blocked the rule in the 21 plaintiff states, not nationwide. He also asked the parties to file supplemental briefs “on the proper remedy” within three weeks in light of potentially conflicting requirements from other courts.

Asked for comment on the ruling, an FHWA spokesperson told The Epoch Times in an emailed statement that the agency is reviewing the decision and determining next steps, while remaining committed to supporting the Biden administration’s climate goals.

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Kentucky Approves Gun Owner Privacy Protection

In a significant victory for Second Amendment advocates and the right to privacy, Kentucky has taken a bold step forward with the passage of House Bill 357, also known as the Second Amendment Privacy Act. This pioneering legislation, which received robust support from the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) marks a crucial milestone in protecting the privacy and financial details of firearm and ammunition purchasers in the Bluegrass State.

Crafted with the dedication and foresight of Kentucky state Representatives Derek Lewis and Michael Meredith, along with state Senator Jason Howell, the Second Amendment Privacy Act ensures that the financial transactions of law-abiding citizens buying firearms and ammunition are shielded from undue scrutiny and politicization. By prohibiting financial institutions from using a specific firearm code to track these purchases, the law stands as a bulwark against discrimination and unwarranted surveillance.

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Kentucky Budget Bill On Governor’s Desk Would Restrict Medical Marijuana Funding Ahead Of Program Launch

Kentucky’s legislature has delivered a budget bill to the governor that includes a provision restricting funding for a medical marijuana regulatory body overseeing the state’s forthcoming program until its advisory board determines there’s a “propensity” of research supporting the therapeutic “efficacy” of cannabis.

The language represents a watered down version of what was included in the Senate budget proposal, which would have set a much stricter threshold for the availability of funding for the Office of Medical Cannabis.

A last-minute amendment that was adopted prior to passage on Thursday removed Senate-approved language that would have broadly required a “propensity of federal and international peer reviewed, published research with conclusive evidence as to the efficacy of medical cannabis” in order to fund the regulatory division.

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Kentucky prison officers accused of forcing inmates to drink urine or be tased upon failed drug test

A lawsuit filed on behalf of seven inmates at the Eastern Kentucky Correctional Complex claims they were forced to either drink their own urine or be tased after failing a drug test while in custody.

And Department of Corrections spokeswoman Lisa Lamb acknowledged in a statement that some employees have been fired and disciplined in other ways.

“This incident was thoroughly investigated and multiple disciplinary actions were taken including employee terminations,” she said. “As of now, the Department of Corrections has not been served with the lawsuit and cannot provide further comment.”

She would not discuss details of the disciplinary action or terminations, including the results of the investigation. 

WDRB News has requested the investigation and disciplinary action taken through the Kentucky open records law. 

In a June 6th memo to Randy White, deputy commissioner of the Department of Corrections, an investigator said the findings substantiated that staffers were tasing inmates who failed drug test. 

“This determination is based on the preponderance of evidence,” according to an investigative memo obtained by WDRB. “This evidence includes video footage, staff and inmate witness statements , electronic Taser evidence log … and inconsistencies in suspect interviews.” 

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court’s Eastern District in Ashland, claims four correctional officers told the inmates who failed drug tests “they would be able to ‘throw away’ their urine sample if they chose to be subjected to electrocution by taser or to drink their own urine.”

However, the suit also claims the seven inmates were “forced” to either be tased or drink their urine.

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Kentucky state senator claims pedophiles need ‘child sex dolls’, calls predators ‘minor attracted persons’

During a Thursday meeting of the Kentucky Senate Standing Committee on the Judiciary to discuss a bill to make the possession or trafficking of child sex dolls a felony offense, one member of the committee spoke in support of the use of these objects by pedophiles.

“I was completely unfamiliar with child sex dolls, so I had, of course, to Google it last night,” State Senator Karen Berg said. “I was scared to put it in my search engine, but I did, and apparently, there is research on the subject, not much.”

“But there are what they call MAPs, minor-attracted persons. And the limited amount of research that’s been done on these dolls, guys, suggests that they actually, for people who are attracted to minors, that these dolls actually decrease their proclivity to go out and attack children.”

“That it actually gives them a release that makes them less likely to go outside of their home. And what was interesting is the research did not support the same conclusions who were adult attracted using dolls, that did not diminish their proclivity to engage other people.”

The comments came as the committee considered House Bill 207. The bill passed the House in February in a 93-0 vote, and the Senate Judiciary Committee passed the bill. It now heads to the Senate for a vote.

The bill makes it a felony to own or sell child sex dolls, defined in the bill as “an anatomically correct or anatomically precise doll, mannequin, or robot that may consist of an entire body, pelvis, or any other body part, with features of, or with features that resemble, those of a minor intended for use in sexual acts.”

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Kentucky prison system in chaos after more than THIRTY workers are caught having sex with inmates behind bars, anally raping others and smuggling them drugs including meth for cash

More than 30 workers with the Kentucky Department of Corrections were caught having sex with inmates behind bars during a 16-month period, while others were found smuggling drugs and guns.

A shocking investigation by Herald-Leader revealed 59 cases of employee-on-inmate sexual offenses in the past five years, with 35 cases involving possible criminal charges.

Most recently, 42-year-old Amanda Kulka was charged with third-degree sodomy earlier this month for allegedly having a sexual relationship with an inmate half her age. 

The inmate, who has not been identified, was serving a lengthy sentence for burglary, assault and theft, according to the outlet.  

Meanwhile, at least 14 others were caught smuggling drugs like suboxone and meth into prisons in exchange for money. One officer faced charges for carrying a handgun.

A total of 62 employees were either fired or resigned across 13 state prisons and a minimum-security prison camp, which together house more than 11,300 inmates.  

Experts say that troubles in Kentucky state prisons extend beyond inappropriate relationships or smuggling, and the same holds true for correctional facilities across the country.  

‘Being a correctional officer is a very challenging job,’ said Judah Schept, an associate professor in the School of Justice Studies at Eastern Kentucky University. 

‘In the popular imagination, we think of these jobs as being exposed to extreme forms of violence, and of course, that can happen,’ he said. 

‘But more often, I think what you’re dealing with are mundane daily tasks and being unappreciated and underpaid and feeling isolated and overworked. Given where you’re working, this can lead to some problems,’ Schept said.

DailyMail.com was able to identify and picture at least eight corrections officers who were charged with rape, sodomy, or sexual assault in recent years. 

In a federal lawsuit filed last year, Todd Steven Boyce, 56, was accused of sexually abusing an inmate in multiple ways between March and July 2022. Allegedly, prison officials were aware of his behaviors but made no effort to stop him. 

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Prosecutor defends no prison time for trans daycare molester

The prosecutor who signed off on the plea deal in the case of a transgender daycare worker who sexually abused an infant says he believes the “sentence that the defendant served was appropriate for what could be proven in court.” 

“The defendant pled guilty to sexual misconduct and received a sentence of twelve months,” McCracken County Commonwealth’s attorney Dan Boaz told The Spectator in an exclusive statement. “The defendant served over 300 days in jail, primarily in solitary confinement, prior to entering the guilty plea. As the case developed, there were contradictions as sometimes happens and a plea bargain was entered. As stated, the defendant served over 300 days in jail.

“Ultimately, any plea bargain that is reached is my responsibility and I believe the sentence that the defendant served was appropriate for what could be proven in court.” 

Reduxx first reported on the case involving Maria Childers, a female-identifying male who works at a daycare in Paducah, Kentucky. Childers was accused of molesting a baby while changing her diaper. Childers was arrested in February 2023 based on an anonymous tip to the police claiming that Childers had touched the little girl’s clitoris inappropriately and police interviews with employees at the daycare corroborating the report. A female coworker told police that Childers rubbed the baby’s private area in a “circular motion,” and said, “She likes it. It just made her day.” 

Childers was charged with one count of first-degree sexual abuse of a victim under twelve and three counts of first-degree criminal abuse of a child under twelve. Childers was originally held in solitary confinement at McCracken County Jail on a $100,000 bond, which was reduced to $5,000 after his lawyer, transgender activist Madison Leach, complained that Childers couldn’t access his estrogen treatments. Childers was released in January 2024 and quickly struck a plea deal with prosecutors.

The deal saw the felony charges dropped down to a single misdemeanor count of class A sexual misconduct. Judge Joe Roark sentenced Childers to a twelve-month penalty, but with a conditional discharge for six months. If Childers abides by conditions set by the court, he will serve no time in prison.

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Kentucky GOP bill paves the way for ‘deadly physical force’ against the homeless

Republicans in Kentucky are cooking up new legislation that would pave the way for property owners to deploy “deadly physical force” against homeless people.

Vice reports that the bill, known as the “Safer Kentucky Act,” says that physical force against homeless people is “justifiable” if a property owner believes that criminal trespass, robbery or unlawful camping are occurring on their property.

Additionally, “deadly physical force” can be justified if the property owner believes a homeless person is trying to “dispossess” them of their property.

Lyndon Pryor, the CEO of the Louisville Urban League, tells Vice that the legislation will likely have deadly consequences for the homeless in his state.

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