Jury selection got underway on Monday in Mingo County, in the murder trial of Timothy Kennedy. He’s facing charges in the death of West Virginia State Police Sgt. Cory Maynard in 2023. Judge Joshua Butcher has not issued a ruling on a change of venue motion, but decided to call in 100 jurors between yesterday and today. Kennedy’s lawyers have raised concerns that many jurors had made up their minds on his guilt. The defense requested the case be moved to McDowell county, but the judge is waiting to see if a panel of impartial jurors can be selected before making a ruling.

West Virginia’s high-school sports transfer rule is back in the spotlight. Lawmakers approved the one-time transfer rule in 2023, but many coaches and parents now say it’s too loose and needs tightening. Delegate J.B. Akers says public-school teams are meant to reflect their communities, not individual shopping for programs, and he wants lawmakers to revisit the rule in the upcoming session. Eyewitness News said

Delegate Dana Ferrell plans to reintroduce a bill that limits transfers to a student’s freshman and sophomore years, saying upperclass moves can skew competition and disadvantage smaller schools. Ferrell also wants students to be allowed to return to their original school if a transfer doesn’t work out.

Kentucky State Police say a 69-year-old man was shot and killed by troopers in Lawrence County as they searched for a woman wanted on assault warrants.

Troopers went to a home on KY 1715 in the Martha area just before midnight Saturday. While they were there, a man from a neighboring home, identified as Timothy Keeton confronted them and ordered them to turn off their cruiser lights, saying he would shoot them out.

Investigators say Keeton went back inside, came out with a gun, and was shot when he raised the weapon toward troopers. The shooting remains under investigation.

A Maryland man accused in a Charleston homicide was denied bond Monday in Kanawha County court. Thirty-four-year-old Joshua Scales of Hyattsville had requested home confinement, but the judge rejected it.

Scales is charged with murdering 34-year-old Ethan Samuel Chic-Colbert, the St. Albans man convicted in a high-profile 2012 child-death case. Chic-Colbert served time after an 11-year-old boy was killed on I-77 while trying to get help for his mother during an assault.

Chic-Colbert was fatally shot in January along Elizabeth Street in Charleston. Scales is scheduled for trial on February 23, 2026.

State Police are investigating the deaths of two brothers found inside a McDowell County home. Troopers say they discovered the bodies during a welfare check Sunday evening on Stewart Street in Welch.

The deaths are being treated as suspicious, and investigators say the men had recently moved to the area. Both bodies have been sent for medical examination as the investigation continues.

Talbot County Council members’ opinions are sharply divided over the latest proposal to amend Chapter 190 of the zoning code governing short-term rentals (STRs) such as Airbnb and Vrbo. TalbotSpy.org reports the bill, introduced by Council Vice President Pete Lesher and Councilmember Lynne Mielke, would reshape how the Short-Term Rental Review Board operates. It adds new requirements for applications and renewals, expands the grounds for denial, and includes stricter rules on neighbor notifications, density caps, and transfer restrictions — all of which have stirred strong objections from many property owners.

A scheduled closed-door meeting Tuesday to discuss the future of the Kent County Detention Center has become a flashpoint over transparency, with the commission president calling it illegal while the commissioner who requested it now says it may not happen at all. Commissioner John Price told the Kent County News Monday evening that the 5 p.m. closed session listed on Tuesday’s agenda will likely not occur as planned, and that he will read a prepared statement instead. The commissioners will then convene for their regularly scheduled 6 p.m. public meeting.

In Saranac Lake, the Adirondack Health Foundation will honor Dr. Christopher Hyson, a beloved primary medicine physician and steadfast advocate for rural healthcare, with the Dr. Edward L. Trudeau Award at its 2026 Summer Gala. The award recognizes Dr. Hyson’s extraordinary service and enduring commitment to the people of the Adirondacks.

The Keene Central School District has appointed Mark Bennett as its next superintendent of schools, effective Jan. 5. Bennett succeeds Dan Mayberry, who transitioned after 13 years of service to the district. The Adirondack Daily Enterprise reports Bennett brings more than 23 years of experience in education, leadership and community engagement. He most recently served as the assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction at Potsdam Central School District and previously served as the principal of A. A. Kingston Middle School and Potsdam Senior High School.

The legal battle over a proposed howitzer artillery cannon testing range in the town of Lewis appears to be heating up. According to the Adirondack Daily Enterprise, the attorney for the project’s applicant is asking the administrative law judge (ALJ), who would oversee the project’s upcoming adjudicatory hearing, to recuse himself, citing his employment with the Adirondack Council, which ended 25 years ago.