LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) – Gov. Andy Beshear signed a proclamation on May 5. It officially marks May 11-17 as Period Poverty Awareness Week in Kentucky.

According to a fact sheet from Alliance for Period Supplies, one in five women and girls in Kentucky between the ages of 12 and 44 live below the federal poverty level. Nationwide, two out of five people who get periods struggle to afford period products.

Skylar Davis founded Period Y’all in 2022. Since then, the organization has been fighting to end period poverty in the Commonwealth. Davis said the group has installed free menstrual product pantries in seven Kentucky counties.

That includes Letcher, Madison, Garrard, Jessamine, McCracken, Jefferson, and Washington County.

Davis said recent cost increases have left many with a difficult choice.

“Choosing between period products and feeding their kids,” Davis said.

Davis said many have had to skip work or school because of a lack of resources.

But through her organization’s work, she’s able to make a change.

This week alone, they were able to give out more than 19,000 free period products.

“Anything that we can do to raise awareness about this experience and help alleviate this is monumental,” Davis said.

Emily Yonter, creator of the more than 60,000 member Ladies of Lexington Facebook page, has noticed the problem too.

“We get tons of requests, pretty much daily, of women in the area needing period products,” Yonter said.

That’s why she and other members of the group launched “The Pink Box” last week on West Sixth Street downtown, right across from Coolavin Park.

Yonter said it’s simple to use. Anyone can open the door, take what they need and leave what they can.

“It’s time to start being more direct and be more hands on with the community,” Yonter said.

“We’re just really grateful that the community wanted to help us make it happen and that so many women in ladies of lex donated,” Yonter said.

Both groups rely on the community to keep these pantries stocked and they hope to open more pantries in Kentucky.

Ladies of Lexington is accepting monetary and supply donations. They also are now selling merchandise, and that money will go towards buying period products.

Period Y’all has an Amazon Wishlist and monetary donation link for anybody who’d like to donate.

Sen. Bill Cassidy’s primary loss Saturday brings to an end a two-decade career in public office that was ultimately defined by tensions with President Donald Trump.

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Cassidy failed to advance in the Republican primary in Louisiana, as Trump-backed Rep. Julia Letlow and state Treasurer John Fleming are projected to head to a June 27 runoff.

The result marks another trophy for the president’s collection in his ongoing bid to oust Republicans perceived as disloyal to him.

Throughout Cassidy’s career, there were occasional signs that the physician-turned-politician wasn’t quite in lockstep with his party on a handful of issues, including around health care. But Cassidy’s cardinal sin, in the eyes of the Trump and his supporters, was voting in 2021 to convict the then-former president on impeachment charges of inciting an insurrection on Jan. 6.

Sen. Lindsey Graham says status quo in the Strait of Hormuz is ‘hurting us all’

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., on Sunday called for more U.S. military action in Iran.

“I think the status quo is hurting us all. The longer the [Strait of Hormuz] is closed, the more we try to pursue a deal that never happens, the stronger Iran gets,” Graham told NBC News’ “Meet the Press.”

Graham’s comments come amid a pause in negotiations between the U.S. and Iran, which have not yet led to a deal to end the war.

Somalia is among the most exposed to ripple effects from the Strait of Hormuz crisis. The East African nation was already facing one of its worst food security crises in years.

Now, poor rains and renewed climate shocks are again pushing harvest expectations down, while global supply chain disruptions linked to the Middle East conflict are pushing up fertilizer and food costs, the world’s leading body on hunger warned.

Notable quote

As the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz drags on, guardians of another critical waterway are worried about the precedent it sets for any potential future clash between the United States and China. The Strait of Malacca carries more than a quarter of global trade, including most of the oil that flows from the Persian Gulf to key Asian markets

‘Meet the Press’

Former FBI Director James Comey said he has “complete faith in our judicial system” as he faces an ongoing federal case over a 2025 Instagram post.

The judiciary is “the genius of our founders,” Comey told NBC News’ “Meet the Press.”

“It’s frankly the only leg of our three-legged stool that is still standing in the U.S. government, but it’s standing tall and straight,” he added. “It is the guardian of the rule of law, and I believe in it.”

Politics in brief

• Ballroom bill: The Senate parliamentarian said that the GOP budget bill, which aims to fund ICE and Border Patrol alongside $1 billion for the White House ballroom, needs to be rewritten to account for jurisdictional issues.
• Gauging the mood: NBC News spoke to roughly 30 Republican National Committee members and GOP activists around the country about how the party can keep control of Congress in November.

• Dropping hints: Pennsylvania’s 7th District has been close to evenly split in recent elections. This year, the Democratic primary is also sending signals about what matters to the party.

On Gaza border, Israeli hard-liners lay out their desire to settle Palestinian territory

A river of Israeli flags winds through a desert path as hundreds of people march toward the border in a display of their determination to build new Jewish settlements atop the rubble of northern Gaza.

Daniella Weiss, founder of the radical right-wing settler group Nachala, sums up the crowd’s intentions.

“We are here on the way to new Jewish communities in Gaza,” she told NBC News in an interview at the border in late April.

“What we did in Judea and Samaria, we are going to do the same thing here,” Weiss added, a reference to the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where illegal Jewish outposts and settler violence against Palestinians have grown dramatically in recent years.

Last month, Aws al-Nasaan, 14, was gunned down in broad daylight in the small Palestinian village of Al-Mughayyir, in the occupied West Bank. The boy’s blood still stained the sidewalk in front of his school days after an Israeli settler shot him dead.

Napoleon Solo almost didn’t race. Thanks to a jockey’s suggestion, it won the Preakness.

Before winning the 151st Preakness Stakes, Napoleon Solo almost wasn’t entered in the race known as the middle jewel of horse racing’s Triple Crown.

The horse had competed twice this year and finished fifth both times. It was after the second race that jockey Paco Lopez told owner Al Gold and trainer Chad Summers that there was more to Napoleon Solo’s potential than its most recent finishes indicated.

“Paco told Chad … to go to this race,” Gold said on the NBC Sports broadcast. “I didn’t want to come here. I didn’t think this horse could go this far.”

The faith paid off, and Napoleon Solo overtook favorites Taj Mahal and Iron Honor for the Preakness.

“Paco, it’s you, baby,” Gold said. “You did this. It’s awesome.”

Got maggots? These doctors are bringing the bugs into their practice on purpose

The lowly maggot gets a bad rap, mostly known for feeding on corpses and rotting meat. But modern medicine is giving its reputation new life — as a tiny surgeon.

Polly Cleveland, of New York City, turned to so-called maggot therapy in 2023 when she was caring for her late husband, Tom, who developed sores after a hospital stay.

“You get this little vial with these teeny, tiny little maggots on a piece of gauze,” Cleveland said. “I stuck the maggots in, and by golly, they did their thing” cleaning up the wound.

The thinking is straightforward: Diseased and dying tissue must be removed from wounds in order to prevent infection. To maggots, this dead tissue is food, and they are able to remove it precisely and painlessly.

In case you missed it

• The Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho was locked down Sunday following a midair collision during a local air show that sent two fighter jets crashing to the ground.

• Thai police charged ​a train driver with negligence after a crash on Saturday in central Bangkok killed eight and injured 32.

• Bulgaria triumphed for its first win at the Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna, held under the shadow of controversy over the continued participation of Israel.
• A Canadian who was a passenger on the MV Hondius cruise ship, which is set to dock Monday in the Netherlands, has tested positive for the Andes hantavirus.
• A passenger on board the plane that crashed into the ocean off the coast of Florida last week has been arrested on cocaine smuggling charges.
• SpaceX is preparing to launch a new version of its megarocket — a prototype of the system NASA could use to carry astronauts to the moon’s surface.

The Maryland State Board of Elections (SBE) is denying President Trump’s claim that the state “just had 500,000 Fake Mail-In Ballots revealed,” saying that no “fake ballots” were distributed.

The SBE previously acknowledged an error by its mail-in ballot vendor that resulted in some voters receiving the wrong party ballot for the gubernatorial primary election. The president, in response, claimed on social media that Maryland “just had 500,000 Fake Mail-In Ballots revealed” and pushed for the passage of the Save America Act.

Maryland SBE mailed some voters the wrong ballots

The SBE said that more than 500,000 Maryland voters requested mail-in ballots. According to the SBE, the error only affects voters who were mailed a ballot before May 14, 2026.

However, the SBE said that while it is possible that “only a small number” of voters received the wrong ballot, because of the error, all voters must be sent a replacement ballot.

The board of elections said it is working with the vendor to send those replacement mail-in ballots.   

Voters who requested and received their mail-in ballot online to print at home will not be impacted, according to the SBE. All impacted voters will be notified.   

The Maryland primaries will be held on June 23, 2026.

After the error was acknowledged, Mr. Trump wrote on Saturday, “Maryland just had 500,000 Fake Mail-In Ballots revealed. We cannot, as a Country, put up with this any longer!!! Voter I.D., and Proof of Citizenship, must be approved, NOW. Crooked Mail-In Voting must be stopped!!! PUT IT ALL IN THE HOUSING AND FISA BILLS. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!”  

Jared DeMarinis, the Maryland State Administrator of Elections, told CBS News Baltimore that “I want to assure the President, voters, and the public that NO Fake Mail-in ballots were distributed.”

He added that the trusted source on election results is the State Board of Elections, “rather than a social media influencer.”

“The wording in President Trump’s post regarding Maryland’s election seeks to mislead, sow distrust, and create misinformation,” DeMarinis said.  

DeMarinis said the SBE issued a statement acknowledging an error, and it continues to move quickly to engage all affected and concerned voters.

“The action taken for reissuance of ballots eliminates any doubt about the integrity or accuracy of mail-in voting,”  DeMarinis said. “Maryland’s elections are verified, secure, and transparent. Mail-in voting is, and will remain, an integral part of the electoral process. Every eligible voter will get a chance to cast their ballot in their chosen manner and every voice will be heard.”

What is the Save America Act?

The SAVE America Act, or the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives on Jan. 30, 2026.

The bill would require voters to provide proof of U.S. citizenship when registering, and would implement photo identification requirements for voting.

The bill would also prevent states from accepting and processing voting applications to register in a federal election unless the voter presents documentary proof of U.S. citizenship.

Proponents of the bill say it is aimed at preventing noncitizens from casting ballots. Some experts, however, say the bill could affect millions of Americans who don’t have access to certain documents, like a passport or their birth certificate, or who have changed their names.