COVID cases hit two-month high; at current vaccine rate, state won’t reach 70 percent until December
By Al Cross Kentucky Health News Kentucky reported 669 new cases of the coronavirus Wednesday, the largest daily number in…
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Al Cross: Rand Paul trends more eccentric, leaving room in the middle
By his own account, U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, M.D., is discouraging Kentuckians from getting vaccinated against the coronavirus. He wrote…
Al Cross: Both parties go too far with election bills; bipartisan compromise is needed
In a democratic republic, it’s essential that voters have confidence in the system by which they, democratically with one vote…
Al Cross: Mitch McConnell continues to choose his own interests over those of the country
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell usually has facts and logic to support what he says, but in opposing a bipartisan…
Under three percent of Ky. coronavirus tests positive in last seven days; new cases continue to decline
By Al Cross Kentucky Health News Major measures of the pandemic in Kentucky continued to decline last week. The percentage…
Al Cross: Mitch McConnell’s silence makes him less worthy of leadership — at what price is power?
So, Liz is out. What about Mitch? Republican House members’ removal of Rep. Elizabeth Cheney from their leadership Wednesday made…
Al Cross: For our Derby visitors, real and remote, a scratch sheet on Kentucky politics
OK, we’re back to normal. Partly. The Kentucky Derby is back where it has been since the Great Depression, on…
Al Cross: Republican legislature grabs wheel from Democratic governor; voters will have a say in 2022
When Kentuckians elected Andy Beshear in 2019, they created a recipe for partisan conflict between a legislature with a recent,…
Al Cross: Rural Republican Stivers finds common ground on race with urban, Democrat senators
Just before the legislature adjourned Tuesday night, there was a remarkable scene on the dais of the Senate: fist bumps…
Al Cross: Al Smith’s journalism was one of good faith, now often missing
Al Smith, my friend and mentor who died last weekend after a very full life, was known best as the…
Al Cross: In a sneaky way, the secretive, short-circuited legislature makes itself more secret
For years, the Kentucky General Assembly has been sliding down the slippery slope of secrecy, into a hole that shields…
Beshear calls new vaccine a ‘game changer’ as end of pandemic is in sight; masks, distancing still needed
By Al Cross Kentucky Health News As a new vaccine was released and the coronavirus and Covid-19 kept waning in…
Al Cross: McConnell stayed true to form; no guardian of the republic, but ready for the next battle
As the House impeachment managers concluded their case against Donald Trump Saturday, one seemed focused on a senator in the…
Pandemic metrics continue to fall in Kentucky, but state’s infection rate remains one of the highest
By Al Cross Kentucky Health News Two major measures of the pandemic in Kentucky, new cases of the novel coronavirus…
Al Cross: McConnell never evolved so quickly, and then in reverse
The 50-year political career of Addison Mitchell McConnell Jr. is a study in evolution. When he was running for and…
Al Cross: McConnell makes play to sideline Trump as he has chance to remake how he’ll be remembered
“There is a tide in the affairs of men, which taken at the flood leads on to fortune. . ….
Al Cross: McConnell’s speech was a turning point, at last, as he stands up for the truth
On one of the most dramatic days in American history, Kentucky’s senior senator saw he would lose control of the…
Al Cross: Mischievous Christmas gifts for Kentucky politicians, a tradition continued
Thirty-nine years ago, Ed Ryan, then the Frankfort Bureau chief of The Courier-Journal, wrote a column headlined “Possible gifts for…
Al Cross: Governor Beshear needs help with preventive pandemic messaging
It’s rare for a high-ranking official to seek advice publicly, but that’s exactly what Gov. Andy Beshear did Wednesday at…
Al Cross: Mitch McConnell has the switch to turn off The Trump Show, but will he use it?
As far as we know, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell hasn’t told President Trump to throw in the towel and…
Al Cross: Republicans cement Frankfort power; will they overreach?
Well, that was a whoopin’. Tuesday’s election was a political disaster for Kentucky Democrats, and it has the makings of…
Al Cross: Good, evil, McConnell and the Supreme Court
After decades of writing about politics, never have I been so eager – anxious may be a better word –…