Skip to main content

Protesters confront McConnell outside Kentucky restaurant

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — A group of protesters confronted Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell about the Trump administration’s immigration policy as he left dinner in Kentucky, in the second such incident in under a month.

News outlets report the group outside Louisville’s Bristol Bar & Grille chanted “Abolish ICE!” on Saturday. The impromptu protest took place near where hundreds protested the government’s now-ended family separation policy outside an Immigrations and Customs Enforcement office.

One protester asked, “Where are the babies, Mitch?”

McConnell’s dining companion, Kentucky politician Jonathan Shell, characterized the protesting group as “small” and “extremist.”

Shell criticized one protester who called McConnell “turtle head” and said, “We know where you live.” While the protest was attended by Louisville’s Democratic Socialists of America, the chapter said in a statement that that protester was unaffiliated.

Between prices and a diarrhea-causing parasite, lettuce is causing hard times at some restaurants

It’s been a choppy year for restaurants that lean into lettuce. Lettuce prices rose sharply in the first half of 2026 due to hot weather in Arizona, where about one-third of America’s lettuce is grown. Now, restaurants are dealing with the fallout from a cyclospora outbreak linked to shredded lettuce that has sickened thousands of Americans. Taco Bell will likely see the biggest sales impact from the outbreak, which began in late June. Federal health officials first tied the outbreak to shredded iceberg lettuce served at Taco Bell restaurants in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and West Virginia. Later, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said customers in Illinois, Kansas, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania were also affected. Taco Bell said on July 17 that it had voluntarily removed shredded iceberg lettuce supplied by Taylor Farms from its U.S. restaurants. But its customer volume has suffered. As of July 23, Taco Bell visits were 21% lower than average across the U.S., according to Placer.ai, a market research company.
Read Next Story