LEXINGTON, Ky. — A Virgie man has been sentenced to 80 months in federal prison for possessing child pornography. Charles Hopkins, 35, was sentenced Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Karen Caldwell. According to federal prosecutors, law enforcement received a tip May 6, 2025, that a sexually explicit video involving a child younger than 12 had been uploaded to Hopkins’ Verizon cloud storage account. Investigators later seized and searched Hopkins’ cellphone and discovered additional child pornography, including images involving children younger than 12 and infants. Under federal law, Hopkins must serve at least 85 percent of his prison sentence. Following his […]

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BEREA — The Mountain Association has been awarded $2 million from the Appalachian Regional Commission to support economic development efforts across Appalachian Kentucky. The funding, announced in September, will support the organization’s new Strong Foundations: Fortifying the Building Blocks of Economic Development in Appalachian Kentucky project. The award is part of a $45.5 million package supporting 47 projects through ARC’s POWER — Partnerships for Opportunity and Workforce and Economic Revitalization — Initiative. The POWER Initiative provides federal resources to help Appalachian coal-impacted communities diversify their economies, create high-quality jobs, attract private investment and provide workforce training and other services. The […]

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DEBORD, Ky. — An Illinois woman has been arrested after police say she tried to smuggle drugs to a prisoner at the Martin County federal prison. Staff at U.S. Penitentiary Big Sandy were monitoring live surveillance footage of a visit from Alicia Tranette Johnson, 39, of Belleville, Ill., to inmate Tjuan Thompson. During the visit, staff saw Johnson hide a black hair bow under a paper plate and pass it to Thompson. Staff confiscated the hair bow and found that it concealed 14 paper packets. The contents of one of the packets was tested and came back positive for amphetamine. […]

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KITE, Ky. — Kentucky State Police are investigating a fatal shooting reported Monday night at Kite in Knott County. KSP Post 13 in Hazard received a report of a shooting at about 9:39 p.m. Monday. Troopers and emergency medical personnel responded to the 13,000 block of Route 7. Troopers found a man outside an apartment suffering from multiple gunshot wounds to his upper back and to the side and back of his head. The man was identified as Terry Short, 55, of Kite. He was pronounced dead at the scene by the Knott County Coroner’s Office. According to KSP, a […]

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CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia students in kindergarten through fifth grade will have an opportunity to celebrate reading and Dolly Parton’s commitment to childhood literacy through a new statewide reading challenge. Gov. Patrick Morrisey announced the launch of the Dolly Days Read-a-Thon, which begins Oct. 1 and runs through Dec. 31. The challenge encourages students to read 25 books during the three-month period, an average of about two books per week. Students also are encouraged to visit their local public libraries to find new books and participate in storytime programs. “Fostering a lifelong love of reading is one of the […]

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