LEXINGTON, Ky. — A Virgie man has been sentenced to 80 months in federal prison for possessing child pornography. Charles Hopkins, 35, was sentenced Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Karen Caldwell. According to federal prosecutors, law enforcement received a tip May 6, 2025, that a sexually explicit video involving a child younger than 12 had been uploaded to Hopkins’ Verizon cloud storage account. Investigators later seized and searched Hopkins’ cellphone and discovered additional child pornography, including images involving children younger than 12 and infants. Under federal law, Hopkins must serve at least 85 percent of his prison sentence. Following his […]

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BEREA — The Mountain Association has been awarded $2 million from the Appalachian Regional Commission to support economic development efforts across Appalachian Kentucky. The funding, announced in September, will support the organization’s new Strong Foundations: Fortifying the Building Blocks of Economic Development in Appalachian Kentucky project. The award is part of a $45.5 million package supporting 47 projects through ARC’s POWER — Partnerships for Opportunity and Workforce and Economic Revitalization — Initiative. The POWER Initiative provides federal resources to help Appalachian coal-impacted communities diversify their economies, create high-quality jobs, attract private investment and provide workforce training and other services. The […]

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DEBORD, Ky. — An Illinois woman has been arrested after police say she tried to smuggle drugs to a prisoner at the Martin County federal prison. Staff at U.S. Penitentiary Big Sandy were monitoring live surveillance footage of a visit from Alicia Tranette Johnson, 39, of Belleville, Ill., to inmate Tjuan Thompson. During the visit, staff saw Johnson hide a black hair bow under a paper plate and pass it to Thompson. Staff confiscated the hair bow and found that it concealed 14 paper packets. The contents of one of the packets was tested and came back positive for amphetamine. […]

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