of life's most underappreciated talents is to know when it's time to move on to Life's next chapter so I stand before you today Mr President and my colleagues to say this will be my last term as Republican leader of the Senate the announcement today stepping down is role as the Senate minority leader that's going to happen in November today Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell making the stunning announcement he'll no longer be leading the party starting in November McConnell who just turned 82 last
week is the longest serving Senate leader in US history he maintained his power throughout Decades of change in the Republican party but McConnell made it clear he's not stepping away from the Senate he says he will still be serving Kentucky until 2027 WHAS lens Connor Stefan been talking with those who served with him Connor how are they reacting to the news today well Doug and Shay many of them say they actually saw the writing on the wall with this one still they underscore the immense impac
t McConnell has had on this country and is near two decades at the top of Senate leadership so as I've been thinking about when I would deliver some news to the Senate is the news heard around the nation shaking up Washington reverberating to right here in Louisville every 6 years or so he comes up for Renewal it's a report card time after 40 years in the US Senate with many of those years in the leadership role Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell will step down from his leadership role in No
vember Mitch and I have always gotten along uh we we understand we're in a highly polarized highly competitive uh Arena as a longtime colleague and one time fellow Republican former Congressman Democrat John Yarmouth was not surprised to hear the news with a coming uh new Congress it was a the right time a logical time for him to to make that move he knows how to read his Republican colleagues and clearly this means they are ready to make a change former Democratic Congress Mike Ward underscores
McConnell's strategic and tactical skills as a GOP leader that's led him to becoming the longest serving Senate leader in history that's what he's always done that's what he loves doing his entire political career is on political tactics gratitude poured into the Senate chamber as McConnell wrapped up his announcement in a statement the Jefferson County GOP described the announcement as shocking and said it has quote tremendous gratitude for all he has accomplished for our nation for the Common
wealth of Kentucky and for our local Republican party I always imagined a moment when I had total Clarity and peace about the sunset of my work Yarmouth says his decision points to a major shift in policies and values of his Republican party I think you're likely to see um a more um a more even more partisan uh party in in the Senate he saw the handwriting on the wall clearly and with his dealing with his caucus which is now completely dominated by Donald Trump McConnell says he plans to serve o
ut the rest of his term in the Senate which ends in January of 2027 I'm no longer the young man sitting in the back hoping colleagues would remember my name it's time for the next generation of leadership after first being elected to the US Senate in 1984 McConnell finally became party leader in 2006 and has won nine straight elections Shay all right Connor thanks for the update well today President Joe Biden reacted to news of McConnell stepping away his party leader saying I've trusted him we'
ve had a great relationship we fight like hell but he has never never never misrepresented anything he added I am sorry to hear that he is stepping down President Biden is the seventh President McConnell has seen through his term more of our coverage continues right here today at 5:30 the former head of the Kentucky Republican party is going to be joining us live to talk about Mitch McConnell's Legacy m brown is also a close friend of the Senators he'll tell us why he believes McConnell is timin
g the move for November that's all new coming up at 5:30 now to new developments from Frankfurt two bills have been filed to make abortion exemptions for victims of rape or incest one was filed by a republican one was filed by a Democrat the latest bill was filed by Republican Ken Fleming it would create Limited exceptions to the state's abortion ban for rape and incest the bill would only allow abortions of done before 6 weeks after the first day of the last menstrual cycle it would also create
a process for Physicians to document the circumstances surrounding that abortion meanwhile Hadley's bill was filed by Democratic senator David Yates back in January this bill aims to create a greater exemptions for victims of rape or incest allowing abortions as long as the child is not viable it would also allow abortions if there is a fetal anomaly and the child would not survive outside the womb we spoke to Planned Parenthood who says these exceptions are still too restrictive we want people
to access abortion care when and if they need it but what we've seen play out across the country uh especially in ban States since Rell is that if there is an exemption the likelihood of accessing it has been slim to none we reached out to the Kentucky right to life a pro-life organization they told us their opposing representative Fleming's bill they saying it could potentially legalize the intentional termination of a human life a closer look on the abortion issue Kentucky Doctors healthc Car
e Providers and medical students met at the capital today in Frankfurt to call for the repeal of the state's abortion ban the medical professionals called the current laws dangerous and restrictive saying complex Health decisions should be between a healthc care provider and a patient without the interference of lawmakers the sanctity of the patient doctor relationship has been violated by these laws we know patients can no longer trust that when they come to us what they tell us won't be made r
eadily available to the press or the public the group called Kentucky Physicians for Reproductive Freedom says they are gravely concerned for the well-being of Kian particularly women more than 280 Kentucky doctors signed their name to the document calling for the Kentucky State Legislature to repeal the current abortion ban an animal shelter in Grayson County Kentucky reopened today after a man broke into the shelter overnight on Tuesday and released 16 dogs today police confirmed one of those
dogs died Lichfield police say surveillance video shows Michael Baker breaking into the Lichfield animal shelter releasing the dogs and then walking out of the building looking for one in particular he later catches it and then leaves the property well after that the surveillance video shows multiple dogs fighting which police believe led to the injuries of four dogs dogs and the death of a fifth one dog was on the run but has since been found by police Bakers charged with burglary criminal tres
passing and cruelty to animals and an update now after a deadly attack in a predominantly elderly neighborhood in Fern Creek video camera doorbells are now being stalled at homes where the residents need some extra help and want the extra security Now The Helping Hands are from local government who want to make sure the most vulnerable have an extra sense of security one Metro council member talked with whs 11's Jose Alonzo about the new effort neighborhood leaders in Fern Creek are taking actio
n to make sure residents in the area feel safe and comfortable especially those who are retired this comes just after a 79-year-old woman was found fatally stabbed to death in her own home just over two weeks ago the tragic news has worked its way down to nearby neighborhoods as well I was very upset uh the fact that someone would take a lady of that age retired Louisville resident Billy ston lives with her protective fur companion since her community caught word about the murder it's put them o
n edge I hate that and I was concerned for all of us and uh some of the neighbors have talked and U we just really try to keep an eye out for anything that's unusual video camera doorbells can be seen in several neighborhoods including those surrounding Fern Creek Metro councilman Stuart Benson says he his team and lmpd are helping retire Lilian who were feeling uneasy after the murder with with Betty Collins's stamping death it really made him nervous and it rightfully so and and people need to
know that we're they're we're watching out for them we're going to try to help them Benson says his team has been walking the streets and assisting those who have purchased a device set them up sometimes older you are uh computer computers and stuff are kind of foreign to them still and and so we really want to help them feel comfortable and and really when you help one person sometimes they can help another person and it's a multiplying effect of of helping each other and and making sure that
people feel s secure in her neighborhood Billy says she's glad to hear help is being provided even if it's not on her street several residents like herself are now thinking twice about buying a video doorbell they probably thought about it before and just maybe didn't want to go to the trouble to check it out like myself and I have been thinking about getting one and um I am going to get one a small tool residents hope will ease their worries in Louisville Jose Alonzo ws1 on your side lmpd tells
us today they are still investigating this case no word on if they have any suspects more local news here today at 5:00 dozens of police officers in the Louisville Metro Police SWAT team headed one of the city's most prominent downtown hotels this morning as the storms were moving through one person was taken for treatment after an incident at the brown Hotel on Broadway in downtown this morning the lmpd SWAT team and the lmpd hostage negotiation team responded to a quote person in crisis at th
e hotel at about 3:30 in the morning after a couple of hours the man was taken into police custody and was taken to uvl hospital for treatment and don't forget Sherman mitton bridge will experience Lane rest restriction starting on Friday it'll allow Crews to pour some concrete on the top deck I64 westbound will be impacted from 6 on Friday until one on Saturday access to the New Albany exit ramp will also be blocked during this time Lane restrictions are planned for the weekend of March 15th th
rough the 16th and the 22nd through the 23rd all will be during that same 6:00 p.m. to 1: p.m. time frame
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