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Leaked audiotape of Iranian foreign minister Javad Zarif indicates he had no knowledge of covert Israeli military strikes before former secretary of state John Kerry provided him with the information, new details that contradict the State Department's recent defense of Kerry. These details are likely to further fuel calls from leading Republicans for Kerry's firing or resignation. The New York Times reported that Zarif said on the tape that Kerry told him Israel launched 200 airstrikes against Iranian interests in Syria. The Times did not provide further details on that issue. But an independent translation of the audiotape commissioned by...

Rep. Andy Barr on Tuesday won the Republican primary in Kentucky’s 6th Congressional District, about one week after his wife’s sudden death. Barr, who will be looking to secure a fifth term in the House of Representatives in November, won with 94 percent of the vote with 25 percent of precincts reporting, according to the Associated Press. The congressman’s wife, Carol Barr, died suddenly on June 16 in her Lexington home at the age of 39. The coroner later said Carol was in her home office and the cause of death appeared to be a heart condition called mitral valve...

(WYMT) - Eleanor Carol Barr, the wife of U.S. Representative Andy Barr, died suddenly on Tuesday night, according to a statement released by Congressman Barr’s Chief of Staff Mary Rosado. Congressman Barr, a Republican representing Kentucky’s 6th Congressional District, married Carol in 2008. She had previously served as the executive director of the Henry Clay Center for Statesmanship in Lexington. Together they had two daughters, Eleanor and Mary Clay. The statement mentions that Congressman Barr may release a more detailed statement at a later date, but that right now his focus is on his two daughters. U.S. Senate Majority Leader...

WASHINGTON Emily’s List is naming Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell and Rep. Andy Barr as two of its top targets for 2020. The Senate Majority Leader and Barr, a Lexington Republican, are among the first round of candidates the Democratic group that backs women running for office is putting “On Notice” as part of its opposition program targeting 43 House Republicans and six Senate Republicans. Kentucky may be tough for Democrats, who unsuccessfully challenged Barr in 2018, but Stephanie Schriock, president of Emily’s List, said “after flipping the House with Democratic women in 2018, we’re ready to send more Republicans packing...

Time are EST You could be in for a long wait to know the results of the midterm elections and which party ends up controlling the House and Senate. But polling places close earlier in some states than others — and they could provide a hint of things to come as the night progresses. 6 p.m. Kentucky’s 6th Congressional District: President Trump won this district near Lexington by 15 points. Democrats are fielding retired Marine fighter pilot Amy McGrath against three-term incumbent Andy Barr. The race is rated as a toss-up. A Democratic victory could be an early sign of...

Washington, D.C. – Today the Susan B. Anthony List Candidate Fund announced its endorsement of Representative Andy Barr for re-election in Kentucky’s 6th Congressional District. “Susan B. Anthony List Candidate Fund is proud to endorse Congressman Andy Barr, a staunch advocate for unborn children and their mothers,” said former congresswoman Marilyn Musgrave, SBA List’s Vice President of Government Affairs. “Rep. Barr is a co-sponsor of the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, legislation to protect babies from late-term abortion after five months of pregnancy. His pro-life leadership in Congress also includes fighting to stop the flow of tax dollars to Planned...

President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden will campaign next week in Kentucky, with each seeking to sway a hotly contested 6th Congressional District race that could help determine which party controls the House of Representatives next year. Republican U.S. Rep. Andy Barr is in a tight race with Democrat Amy McGrath, a retired Marine fighter pilot. Trump's campaign said Friday it will hold a rally in Richmond, Kentucky, on Oct. 13. It will be Trump's third visit to Kentucky, but his first venture outside of the state's largest city of Louisville. Trump will appear at the Alumni...

LEXINGTON- U.S. Representative Andy Barr, R-Lexington, has released his first attack ad against opponent Amy McGrath. The ad paints the former fighter pilot as “too liberal” for the sixth congressional district and uses clips of McGrath from various interviews and speeches. It is the second ad released by Barr. The race between Andy Barr and McGrath is tight, with Sabato’s Crystal Ball and Cook Political Report listing the race as a toss-up.

Conservative Washington Political Action Committees are pumping money into Kentucky’s Sixth Congressional District and attacking Democratic Candidate Amy McGrath. The Congressional Leadership Fund released three ads on Wednesday in the district attacking Amy McGrath for being too liberal, soft on borders, and against the tax reform plan. The Lexington Herald-Leader reports the radio ad paints Amy McGrath “as liberal as Nancy Pelosi, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders”. The first ad features local mother, Hannah Thornton, who benefited from the GOP tax plan. In the ad, she criticizes McGrath for being opposed to “a tax cut for working moms.” The second...

MOUNT STERLING – U.S. Rep. Andy Barr faced an overwhelmingly hostile crowd in Mt. Sterling on Wednesday during his Coffee with a Congressman event. A standing room only crowd of approximately 100 constituents, many from Lexington and Frankfort, were in attendance at the event often booing and shouting at the 6th district Congressman as he spoke about a number of issues and answered numerous questions. The tone was set early on as Barr was thanking a few people at the start of the event when he was interrupted by Debbie Winslow, of Lexington, who was upset that Barr had not...

U.S. Rep. Andy Barr, R-Lexington, had to bridge the partisan divide to win two terms in the central Kentucky 6th Congressional District, and he says that knowledge of the political terrain will be put to use for GOP governor nominee Matt Bevin. The 6th Congressional District has 1.6 times more registered Democrats than Republicans, but Barr was able to defeat incumbent U.S. Rep. Ben Chandler in 2012 and hold the seat facing a Democratic challenge in 2014. The incumbent congressman used some well-placed ads and had the benefit of President Barack Obama on the ballot, but he also credits voter...

Kentucky Republican U.S. Rep. Andy Barr of Lexington is one of the targets of a new ad campaign from national Democrats who are trying to put incumbent GOP congressmen on the defensive for repeatedly voting to repeal the Affordable Care Act. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee launched web ads Tuesday aimed at Republican congressmen in competitive re-election races — including Barr — on the effect their attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act would have on their constituents. The DCCC is also launching a website, FacesOfRepeal.com , in which Kentuckians and other Americans can share their stories of how the...

In recent weeks, as the government shutdown loomed and then became reality, Andy Barr's 6th District constituents have had plenty to say about it. Researchers at the University of Kentucky have pointed out that stopping, or cutting, the federal investment in their work is shortsighted, at best. Advocates for poor children who depend upon food stamps have warned about the dire consequences of condemning them to hunger and malnutrition. Employees at the Federal Detention Center in Lexington have pointed out that they stayed on the job, not knowing if they would ever be paid, to keep us all safe. Hundreds...

WASHINGTON — The stalemate between Republicans and Democrats over health care and the budget showed no signs of ending Tuesday as Kentucky Republicans insisted nothing will change until President Barack Obama is willing to compromise. As Obama made clear through the day that he will not negotiate over the looming debt limit or any budget talks that include changes to his health care law, Republicans like U.S. Rep. Andy Barr warned that nothing will change until Obama changes his tune. "Nothing will happen if the president refuses to negotiate," Barr told the Herald-Leader Tuesday. Blasting the refusal by Democrats to...

A coal executive is threatening to sue Congressman Ben Chandler over a recent campaign ad. Chandler is facing Republican Andy Barr in the November election. Executive Heath Lovell appeared in a Barr ad recently wearing a hardhat and miner's garb. In response, Chandler has been running an ad saying Lovell is not actually a coal miner. Lovell's attorneys sent Chandler a letter today asking that the campaign take down the ad. The letter also included certificates to show Lovell is a certified miner for underground and surface coal operations in the commonwealth. A spokesperson for Chandler did immediately not return...

Seven of Kentucky’s eight members of the congressional delegation signed the Americans for Tax Reform “no tax” pledge that they have found they now can’t get out of. U.S. Rep. Ben Chandler of Versailles, the only Democrat in that group to sign, now says signing that pledge that is monitored by Grover Norquist was one of the biggest mistakes of his congressional career. “I’m sorry I did that, too,” Chandler said just before the 6:00 of the interview video. “I thought I was doing it for one session. And he made a determination that you do it forever. And I...

A Politico reporter who often penned stories about Sarah Palin and other Republicans has quit journalism to work with the Democratic Party in Arizona, sources tell The Daily Caller. That reporter, Andy Barr, has covered national politics for the publication since 2008. Barr leaving to help elect Democrats will likely fan the flames of critics who say Politico has a liberal bias. It’s not exactly clear what his new job duties are. Barr wouldn’t say, but told FishbowlDC, which first reported that Barr was leaving, that he left Politico on “very good terms.” That report said Barr, who is from...

Rick Santorum discovered this week what nearly all the other GOP presidential candidates already know – you don’t mess with Sarah Palin. Santorum touched off a media firestorm Tuesday with remarks that appeared to denigrate Palin, and the response from the former Alaska governor and her supporters was swift and unforgiving. The episode proved instructive: Not only is the Republican outline against Palin taking shape, but so too is the Palin outline for how she’ll fight back. With Palin looming as a possible contender for the GOP nomination, the question of how — or whether — to take her on...

Andy Barr hanging close in KY-6. Demo Chandler won with 65% in 2008. Most metro areas reported. Barr still has a shot. U.S. House Kentucky 6th District results 72% OF PRECINCTS REPORTING Ben Chandler (D) / Inc. 81,829 51% Andy Barr (R) 79,748 49%

Palin: Obama 'in over his head' By: Andy Barr August 5, 2010 09:40 AM EDT Former Alaska GOP Gov. Sarah Palin declared on Wednesday night that President Barack Obama has proven to be “in over his head.” Though Palin did not fully articulate when the president has demonstrated that he has not been able to handle the job, the former Alaska governor asserted during an interview with Fox News’s Sean Hannity that Obama was not up to the job. “I think he’s quite complacent and I think he’s in over his head and he has poor advisers around him and...