Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear declined to label Israel’s actions in Gaza as “genocide” in an interview with Politico published Sunday, instead critiquing the question as a litmus test among Democrats.
Kentucky
Former Kentucky superintendent sentenced for sexually exploiting children
A former Kentucky superintendent was sentenced May 7 at the federal courthouse in Owensboro on charges related to sexual exploitation of children.
U.S. District Court Judge Greg N. Stivers sentenced Matthew D. Constant, the former Owensboro Public Schools superintendent, to 30 years in prison, followed by a lifetime supervised release for:
- Two counts of online enticement of a minor
- Three counts of receipt of child pornography
- Two counts of sexual exploitation of a minor
- Two counts of transferring obscene material to a minor
Court records state Constant “knowingly received child pornography” on or about Dec. 3, 2019. The nine charges span events from that day until April 26, 2023.
Constant, who served as superintendent in Owensboro from 2020 to May 2023, was arrested by Kentucky State Police in July 2023 after KSP received a tip about an inappropriate relationship between the school administrator and a student.
Owenboro’s Board of Education voted unanimously in June 2023 to suspend Constant without pay, then began to terminate his contract “for conduct unbecoming of a superintendent,” according to the Owensboro Times.
While criminal charges had not yet been filed in June 2023, the school board told the Owensboro Times it had been informed by police that Constant “did engage in a relationship with an adult-aged student enrolled in another school district.”
A grand jury indicted Constant in August 2024 on charges related to three separate minors. The case was quickly sealed under state law.
Court records show it was unsealed within a week, while Constant was being held in the Henderson County Detention Center. On Aug. 22, 2024, he pleaded not guilty to the charges, according to a court order.
Due a protective order brought forward by U.S. Attorney Michael Bennett and Assistant U.S. Attorney Leigh Ann Dycus, many of the details of the case remain under seal.
Constant withdrew his guilty plea on Feb. 11, instead pleading guilty to all counts. He did not enter a plea agreement, according to court records.
A sentencing memorandum filed May 5 and written by his attorney, Bryce L. Caldwell, states: “Mr. Constant makes no excuses for his actions and fully accepts the consequences of his catastrophic, illegal choices.”
Stephanie Kuzydym is an enterprise and investigative sports reporter, with a focus on the health and safety of athletes. She can be reached at skuzydym@courier-journal.com. Follow her for updates at @stephkuzy.
Kentucky
Final gargoyle returned to its perch atop rehabbed Kentucky cathedral modeled after Notre Dame
COVINGTON, Ky. (AP) — The last stone gargoyle has been returned to its perch as part of a two-year restoration of a Kentucky cathedral with a facade modeled after Notre Dame in Paris.
The rehab project at the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption was sorely needed to repair deteriorated stone, metal and glass that adorns the limestone exterior. The project included 32 recreated gargoyles along with repairs of deteriorated finials, arches and balustrades.
The 125-year-old church, in Covington just across the Ohio River from Cincinnati, offers the experience of a European gothic cathedral in the Midwest, said the Very Rev. Ryan Maher, the cathedral’s rector. The cathedral has an “intimate connection to what is really the most popular and most well-known cathedral outside of Rome itself,” he said.
“I think it’s very special and very unique,” said Maher, who watched from the sidewalk as the last gargoyle was raised to top of the facade on Monday.
The renovation price tag was nearly $8 million, and most came from donations, Maher said.
Brian Walter, CEO of Trisco Systems, the contractor, said the final gargoyle going in was “a symbol of the accomplishment of all our facade work.”
“That’s a big, monumental occasion for not only people here, but for us. That kind of symbolized the last stone we’re putting in,” Walter said.
Restoration plans grew out of Maher’s discovery in 2018 of a large piece of stone that fell from the exterior.
“We realized at that time that we needed to investigate not only the source of that one piece of stone that had fallen, but to take a look at the overall facade of the cathedral,” Maher said.
Workers will continue with smaller tasks around the facade, including the installation of chimeras that sit on the roofline, but the heavy lifting has been completed, Walter said.
“This is kind of a once or twice in a lifetime project,” Walter said.
“That’s becoming one of those new litmus tests that we said we would never do as a party again,” Beshear told Politico’s Dasha Burns after being asked if he agreed with the label. “It’s trying to throw out a word and, ‘Are you going to raise your hand or are you not going to?’”
Beshear is the Democratic governor of a solidly red state and a potential 2028 presidential contender. His remarks come as Democratic candidates increasingly grapple with their stances on Israel amid record-low support for Israel among their base.
While several lawmakers, including Vermont’s Jewish Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent, have called Israel’s actions in Gaza a “genocide,” the label has not gained mainstream support in the Democratic Party. Last October, former Vice President Kamala Harris declined to use the “genocide” label, which Israel had long rejected, but said, “We should all step back and ask this question and be honest about it.”
Some Democrats have embraced the question, with a New York congressional candidate telling the leftist streamer Hasan Piker this week that she is “100%” comfortable with the issue serving as a litmus test in her party.
Others have acted as though the litmus test is already in place. In January, for example, California congressional candidate Scott Wiener announced that he believes Israel’s actions in Gaza constitute a genocide after drawing scrutiny for declining to answer the question during a debate.
Beshear critiques Trump, Netanyahu
While Beshear told Burns that Israel “has the right to exist as a democratic country, as a Jewish country,” he added that his feelings about President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s conduct during the war in Gaza and ongoing war in Iran were “a different thing.”
“I believe the United States needs a strong Israel, but not one with decisions being made in the way that Netanyahu is making them,” Beshear said.
Beshear also critiqued President Donald Trump’s response to the crisis in Gaza.
“I believe that it could have been done without a lot of the suffering, but I put a lot of that blame also on Donald Trump,” he said. “If he’d said we are coming in and we are bringing food and aid and you are going to make sure that we’re safe, it would’ve happened.”
Last week, a spokesperson for Beshear told Politico that “AIPAC has never contributed to Governor Beshear and they’re never going to – ever,” a response that dovetailed with a host of other potential Democratic presidential candidates, including California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who are increasingly distancing themselves from the pro-Israel lobby.
“I think that’s up to each and every Democrat,” Beshear answered when asked whether he thought his fellow Democrats should take money from AIPAC.
“In the end, I think people need to be clear about their stance on these issues,” Beshear said. “And for me, it’s one where I believe that we need a future with an ally in Israel. But we need decision makers there that are not acting the way that Netanyahu is, and we need a president that will push when we are seeing humanitarian crises to actually do something about it.”
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