Kentucky
‘My hero.’ George Clooney’s sister dies at 65 in Northern Kentucky
Beverly Hills fire: Nick Clooney recounts event that left 165 dead
Nick Clooney, who was a TV anchor at the time, remembers the Beverly Hills Supper Club fire 40 years later. He’s joined by state Sen. Julian Carroll, hospital administrator John Hoyle and volunteer Bill Klingenberg.
Meg Vogel, Cincinnati
George Clooney’s sister, Adelia “Ada” Zeidler, died on Friday in Northern Kentucky.
Zeidler died at St. Elizabeth Hospital on Dec. 19, according to her obituary. Clooney confirmed to People magazine his sister died after a battle with cancer. She was 65.
“My sister, Ada, was my hero,” Clooney told the magazine. “She faced down cancer with courage and humor. I’ve never met anyone so brave. Amal and I will miss her terribly.”
Zeidler was born in May 1960 to her parents, Nick and Nina Clooney in Los Angeles, her obituary says. She was an artist and worked as an elementary art teacher at Augusta Independent School for several years. She was a member of the Augusta Art Guild and was a past grand marshal of Augusta’s Annual White Christmas Parade.
Augusta, Kentucky, is a small town about an hour east of Cincinnati along the Ohio River. It was the childhood home of Clooney while his father, Nick Clooney, was a reporter for WKRC Local 12.
In a 2015 interview with “CBS This Morning,” Clooney noted he is really close with his family. “My sister, I’m very close to,” he said.
Zeidler was not a public figure like Clooney. But in 2012, she gave an interview to the New York Daily News, where she shared that she had dreams of becoming an actor herself.
“Yes, there is a part of me that would very much like to have become a famous actress or something like that,” she said at the time. “I enjoy acting and I was fairly OK at it, but I did not have a thick enough skin for it.”
She added that she instead prioritized raising her children, saying, “I really enjoyed being a wife and a mother and that kind of wound up taking precedence with me.”
Zeidler was preceded in death by her husband Norman Zeidler, who died in 2004.
She leaves behind her two children, Nick Zeidler and Allison Zeidler Herolaga and her husband, Kenny; her brother, Clooney and his wife, Amal; and several uncles, aunts, and cousins.
A funeral Mass will be offered at noon on Monday, Dec. 22, at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Maysville, Kentucky. Private interment will be in the St. Patrick Cemetery in Washington, Kentucky.
USA TODAY reporter Brendan Morrow contributed.
Kentucky
It’s National Mint Julep Day! How many are served during Kentucky Derby weekend?
Is the mint julep overhyped? See what was said at Kentucky Derby 2026.
Courier Journal’s Keely Doll and Olivia Evans asked racegoers at the 152nd Kentucky Derby if the mint julep, a derby-staple, live up to its hype.
It’s National Mint Julep Day, a celebration of one of Kentucky’s most recognizable cocktails.
The popular bourbon drink has long been tied to Louisville and the Kentucky Derby. According to Churchill Downs, about 127,000 mint juleps are served over the two-day Kentucky Oaks and Kentucky Derby weekend.
How to make a mint julep
Let’s Talk Derby: How to make a mint julep for the Kentucky Derby
It’s time for another ‘Let’s Talk Derby with Kathryn and Kirby’ video. Learn how to make the official drink of the Kentucky Derby: the mint julep.
How many mint juleps are served during Kentucky Derby weekend each year?
According to Churchill Downs, about 127,000 mint juleps are served over the two days of Kentucky Oaks and Kentucky Derby weekend. This number of cocktails requires more than 10,000 bottles of bourbon, 2,250 pounds of freshly harvested mint and 475,000 pounds of ice.
The mint julep has been a traditional beverage of Churchill Downs and the Kentucky Derby for nearly a century.
Reach Marina Johnson at Marina.Johnson@courier-journal.com.
Kentucky
Social media companies pay $27 million to settle Kentucky school district’s lawsuit over social media harms, records show
Kentucky
Every Kentucky State University player drafted by the Brooklyn Nets
The Brooklyn Nets have developed their teams through a number of strategies over the decades, and their front office has put together considerable success through the NBA draft. Many of the franchise’s best players have joined the Nets either by being selected directly in the annual draft or through trades made on that day.
Moreover, it is not only the star players who have been acquired by the Nets through the draft. Several prominent alumni have been selected by the team each offseason during this annual event, with certain colleges being more prominently represented than others. An analysis of the players from different schools reveals that both prestigious programs and smaller institutions have contributed top talent to the Nets’ roster over the years.
So without further ado, let’s take a look at every player who has been drafted by the Nets out of Kentucky State University.
Gerald Cunningham – forward
Draft year and position: fifth round (first pick, 89th overall), 1977 NBA Draft
Seasons at Kentucky State University:
Seasons played with Nets: did not make the team
All stats and data courtesy of Basketball Reference.
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