A state ethics panel says that even if Gov. Matt Bevin got a $1 million discount on a mansion bought from a political donor and appointee, he didn’t violate the state’s ethics code.

The ruling comes after two complaints were filed against Bevin over his purchase of a house and 10 acres of land from Neil Ramsey, who Bevin appointed to the Kentucky Retirement Systems board of trustees last summer.

Katie Gabhart, executive director of the Executive Branch Ethics Commission, says that the board unanimously voted to dismiss the complaints.

Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis’ refusal to issue marriage licenses during the summer of 2015 will cost Kentucky taxpayers $224,000. In a U.S. District Court ruling released Friday, Judge David Bunning awarded attorney fees and costs to the plaintiffs that were refused marriage licenses by Davis.

After the 2015 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that made same-sex marriage legal in the country, Davis refused to issue marriage licenses. Citing her religious beliefs, she said she couldn’t in good conscience issue the licenses to same-sex couples, and also temporarily stopped issuing the licenses to straight couples, too.  

The U.S. Senate has confirmed Louisville lawyer John Bush to be a judge on the federal appeals court despite controversy over offensive blog posts he penned under a pseudonym nearly a decade ago.

Bush made more than 400 posts to the Elephants in the Bluegrass Blog, discussing his opposition to same-sex marriage, questioning former President Obama’s citizenship and comparing abortion to slavery.

Sen. Al Franken, a Democrat from Minnesota, said that Bush was unqualified because he frequently cited articles that promoted conspiracy theories.

State officials say they will offer more historical context for a 15-foot marble statue of Jefferson Davis in the Kentucky Capitol that refers to the only president of the Confederacy as a "patriot, hero, statesman."

The Historic Properties Advisory Commission appointed a seven-member committee Thursday to find the best way of "providing a good interpretation" for the statutes in the rotunda, according to chairman Craig Potts. The rotunda includes five large statues, including former president Abraham Lincoln and Davis, who were both born in Kentucky.

"We want to make sure we are doing good history, providing an accurate representation of the art that is there and the representations that are there," Potts said. "It's too early to say specifically what that interpretation will look like."

A federal judge in Kentucky has denied an Iraqi native’s bid to vacate his life sentence on terrorism-related crimes. 

Mohanad Shareef Hammadi and a co-defendant were arrested in 2012 while living in Bowling Green. 

Hammadi argued that his court-appointed attorney James Earhart assured him he would get a lesser sentence if he pleaded guilty.   The 29-year-old Hammadi also contended that he didn’t know a life sentence was possible as a result of his plea, or else he would not have pleaded guilty. 

As Bowling Green, Hopkinsville, Franklin and other Kentucky cities in prime viewing area prepare for the solar eclipse on Aug. 21, NASA is issuing a warning.

NASA has been alerted that some unsafe eclipse glasses are being sold to consumers. Special eye protection is needed for safe viewing of the astronomical event.   

NASA says the only glasses that should be used are produced by four companies – American Paper Optics, Rainbow Symphony, TSE 17 and Thousand Oaks Optical. 

The safe glasses must also have the reference number ISO 12312-2.

NASA has details on safe eclipse viewing glasses and on the solar eclipse on its website. 

The path of the eclipse runs across the United States from Oregon to South Carolina. Locations nearest the center line will experience darkness for two-minutes-and-43-seconds.

The Islamic Center in Bowling Green is sponsoring a first-of-its-kind Unity Festival Friday.

The Islamic Center hopes the event will bring local officials and the Muslim and refugee population closer together.

Backpacks and school supplies will be handed out to the 210 children expected to attend. The event is not open to the public, because the Islamic center is only providing supplies to the children expected to attend.

A white nationalist was fined, ordered to attend anger management classes and given a suspended jail sentence Wednesday, resolving allegations that he physically harassed a woman who protested at a Donald Trump rally in Louisville last year.

Matthew Heimbach, 26, entered an Alford plea, which enables him to maintain innocence while acknowledging that there's sufficient evidence to convince a jury he's guilty of second-degree disorderly conduct, media outlets reported.

An attorney for Gov. Matt Bevin argued during a hearing on Wednesday that county officials overestimated the value of the governor’s home, considering the mansion is old, in disrepair and has water damage.

The governor’s purchase has come under scrutiny after the Courier-Journal first reported that Bevin paid around $1 million less than official estimates deemed the house and surrounding 10 acres were worth.

Bevin bought the property from Neil Ramsey, a political donor and fellow investment manager who the governor appointed to the board that manages one of the state’s pension systems.

Owensboro Health is beginning a new partnership with the University of Kentucky Markey Cancer Center. It will focus on sharing research and resources for clinical trials.

Under the agreement announced Wednesday, cancer patients being treated at Owensboro Health's Mitchell Center won’t have to travel to participate in clinical trials. Eligible patients will now have access to new treatments in Owensboro.