Jon Cherry

Nearly Half of America’s Murderers Get Away With It Firstly, I owe many thanks to @misterwidmer for supporting this work that accompanied German Lopez’s written reporting. I offer my deepest condolences and appreciation to the 8 women who let me into their homes for this story. — Someone murdered Raymel Atkins in Louisville, Ky., in 2023. More than a year later, his mother and sister don’t know who did it; the police have not made an arrest in the case. The same is true for Tiffanie Floyd, killed in 2021. And Michael David, killed in 2017. And Cory Crowe, killed in 2014. In fact, the Louisville police do not arrest anyone in roughly half of murder cases. I spoke to family members of a dozen victims. They all conveyed a similar sentiment: that the police had abandoned them and theirs. “The police don’t really care,” said Deondra Kimble, David’s aunt. “They’ve proven it to me.” Louisville is representative of a national issue. In the United States, people often get away with murder. The clearance rate — the share of cases that result in an arrest or are otherwise solved — was 58 percent in 2023, the latest year for which F.B.I. data is available. And that figure is inflated because it includes murders from previous years that police solved in 2023. The experience of communities with unchecked violence, which are often poor and Black, is instructive. The reality of daily robberies, shootings and killings forces people to take a harder view of the world to survive, as the journalist Jill Leovy documented in her book “Ghettoside: A True Story of Murder in America.” John Skaggs, a retired detective from Los Angeles, told her that the gang members he dealt with were often “regular guys” who joined gangs and acted violently for self-protection. “I want someone to be held accountable for taking my son’s life,” said Delphine Prentice, the mother of Damion Morton, who was shot and killed in 2017. But after eight years, she added, “I’m about to give up hope.” For @nytimes

Last week’s coverage of the dignified arrival of Tech. Sgt Ashley B. Pruitt. Born in Bardstown, Kentucky, Pruitt was killed on March 12 after the KC-135 aerial refueling tanker she was aboard crashed in western Iraq while supporting Operation Epic Fury. Pruitt was assigned to the 6th Air Refueling Wing at Mac Air Force Base in Florida. For @apnews

Back to back No Kings protests in Shelbyville and Louisville, Kentucky. During the third national No Kings event since the Trump administration came to power, and possibly the largest, crowds addressed US military intervention overseas, the elimination of DEI in the federal government, and a seemingly authoritarian Executive enforcing immigration enforcement that has left communities reeling. For @gettyimages

When art and life are synchronized, something powerful emerges. Reference 📸/ original work: @jonpcherry 📍: @hellonimbus 🎨: @artbydiaz & #dariusdennis 🤝: @katydelahanty and @mayorcraiggreenberg 🗓️: No Kings Day, Louisville Kentucky #justiceforbreonnataylor #alwayshandpaint #abolish #resist

Inside the dignified transfer and procession of Staff Sgt. Benjamin Pennington, 26, of Glendale, Kentucky. Sgt. Pennington was mortally injured by an Iranian rocket strike on the second day of the US-Iran conflict, succumbing to his wounds a week later. Pennington’s remains were flown from Dover Air Force Base to Godman Army Airfield at Fort Knox in Kentucky. While his family embraced over his flag-draped casket, hundreds of supporters gathered by roadside along the procession route, awaiting the passing hearse, motorcycle motorcade, and state trooper escorts. For @apnews

President Donald Trump visits Hebron, Kentucky to address the MAGA constituents of the Commonwealth. During his two-stop trip, Trump spoke poorly of US Congressman Thomas Massie, a Republican who is running for reelection in District 4. The comments at Verst Logistics, which is located in Massie’s district, were largely about US strikes in Iran, the SAVE act, and finally a fervent endorsement to candidate Ed Gallrein. Gallrein, a retired Navy Seal Officer, is running against Massie in the GOP primary. “He is disloyal to the Republican Party, the People of Kentucky and, most importantly, he is disloyal to the United States of America! He is a MISFIT, who should be voted out of Office, ASAP,” said POTUS, referring to Rep. Massie in a Truth Social post ahead of his remarks in Kentucky. Shortly after this address, Kalshi betting markets soared - Massie’s odds moved from 53% to 67%, gapping Gallrein by 29 points. For @apnews

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Images of various coal-fired power plants around the commonwealth of Kentucky. President Donald Trump and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin revoked the EPA’s 2009 “endangerment finding,” which concluded that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases endanger human health and the environment and underpin federal efforts to regulate emissions. As part of a repeal of Biden-era regulations unveiled last week, the EPA will continue to allow plants that burn lignite, which releases mercury at a rate more than three times that of other coal-fired generation methods. Coal’s lower-grade cousin will be now be fired at a greater rate. Its emissions, which are deemed no longer harmful according to the EPA, will also no longer require continuous monitoring systems to track metal air toxic emissions. The Environmental Protection Agency said these moves align with the administration’s goal of “restoring American energy dominance.” For @gettyimages

The Night the Couches Died In a historic, undefeated 16-0 season, the Indiana University football team won its first College Football Playoff national championship. Immediately after, thousands of fans packed Kirkwood Avenue in downtown Bloomington, flooding out of sweaty, packed bars. Students, stripped of their inhibitions, filled with joy and cheap beers, unglued their gaze from big-screen TVs and took to the single-digit temperatures to celebrate a long-awaited victory. Students instinctively clamored to the highest points possible. Altitude is the prize when you’re a champion. Every rooftop and sketchy foothold was inundated with inebriated Hoosiers. Big, youthful smiles beamed from trees sagging under the weight of an unfamiliar animal. Any couch that was not secured indoors instantly set ablaze. A wonderful night to observe a riot without anger. A bad night to be a curbside piece of furniture. Photographed in January For @gettyimages

In Kentucky, People Blame Ford More Than Trump for Lost Factory Jobs This story features portraits former Ford employees Joe Morgan, Sandie Yarbrough, and Derek Dougherty. Big thanks to Crista Chapman for the guidance and trust, as well as these 3 story participants. In Kentucky, People Blame Ford More Than Trump for Lost Factory Jobs ✍️  Jack Ewing  “Those are 1,600 Kentuckians that lost their jobs solely because of Donald Trump pushing that big, ugly bill, eliminating the credits that had people interested and excited to buy E.V.s,” Andy Beshear, the Democratic governor of Kentucky, said in an interview. “I bet many, if not most, of those 1,600 people voted for him, and he basically fired them.” — The electric vehicle battery factory that Ford Motor and a South Korean company opened on 1,500 acres of Kentucky farmland last year was the biggest thing, economically speaking, that had ever happened in Hardin County. Yet in December, only four months after the first batteries rolled off the line, Ford abruptly shut down production and laid off all 1,600 workers, leaving people here in the county, about 45 miles south of Louisville, stunned and angry. The closing came after President Trump and Republicans in Congress gutted programs designed to promote electric vehicles, causing sales to plunge. Yet few people in Hardin County, where Mr. Trump won 64 percent of the vote in 2024, place much blame on Republicans. .. Many said Ford itself was the biggest culprit, raising their hopes and then dashing them. They said the company’s foray into electric vehicles was a disaster largely of its own making. .. Sales of electric vehicles have plummeted since the end of September, when federal tax credits worth up to $7,500 ended. The Trump administration has cut subsidies and loans for clean energy projects, while seeking to eliminate regulations that encouraged automakers to sell low-emission vehicles. For @nytimes

Drifting back to the warmer days in the late summer of 2025. How a Trump Tax Break Rescued Horse Racing ✍️ Joe Drape — Horse racing, one of America’s oldest sports, has repeatedly been left for dead. Worries over animal safety, cheating scandals and competition from online gambling have undermined racing’s appeal. But lately, horse racing is seeing a renaissance. Last year, owners spent nearly $1.5 billion in pursuit of fast racehorses in North America, a nearly 21 percent increase from 2024. The Keeneland September Yearling Sale, one of the premier horse auctions, set a global record with $531.5 million in total sales, up nearly 24 percent from the year before. .. But a big impetus of the recent cash infusion into the Sport of Kings has come from a tax break tucked away in President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill, which he signed into law last summer. The tax provision — called a bonus depreciation — means businesses can immediately deduct the full cost of certain assets, like machinery and equipment, and enhance their cash flow. It now applies to racehorses, and it is helping turn these animals into a hot investment for wealthy people. .. The early foals are already dropping in the bluegrass now, slippery as seals with legs akimbo until they vault themselves to their feet to meet their mothers. Breeders and owners are anticipating another record-breaking year in the sales ring. It is off to a fast start. Keeneland’s two-day January Horses of All Ages Sale moved 700 horses for more than $53.5 million, its highest gross since 2008. For @nytimes

From AROUND, my yearly folder of random images from nighttime walks, moments in between on assignment, tales from the road. 2025 AROUND