For Ryan Osborne, the road to NASCAR didn’t start in a race shop, it started in the mountains of Eastern Kentucky and later on, East Tennessee. Born in Pikeville and raised with deep roots in Floyd County coal country, Osborne’s journey to the top level of motorsports is anything but typical. His grandfather worked in the mines, his uncle drove a dump truck, and his father worked on the railroad. Racing wasn’t a career path, it was a passion.  That passion eventually led him to a young driver and Knoxville native named Trevor Bayne in the mid-2000s. Osborne spent time […]

The post From EKY to NASCAR’s Biggest Stage: Osborne’s Journey to the Cup Series appeared first on Mountain Top Media.

PRESTONSBURG, Ky. — Media reports that M.K. McKinney has been granted “temporary release” from house arrest are not accurate, Mountain Top News has confirmed. McKinney is accused of the June 18, 2023, the murder of Amber Spradlin. Spradlin’s body was found in the home of McKinney’s father, Prestonsburg dentist Michael McKinney. Both McKinneys and family friend Josh Mullins are also charged with evidence tampering for allegedly trying to cover up the crime. Media reports Friday morning suggested that M.K. McKinney had been given permission to travel to meet his attorneys in Louisville from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. each day […]

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PRESTONSBURG, Ky. — A blood-spattered door and a bloody handprint found next to the body. Those are just two of the dozens of pieces of evidence still waiting to be tested in the Amber Spradlin murder case, even as it heads to trial in 11 days. One week after Special Judge Eddy Coleman denied a prosecution request to delay the trial, Commonwealth’s Attorney Brent Turner filed an 11th-hour request for the judge to reconsider. In doing so, he provided the most complete accounting of the outstanding evidence the public has seen yet. Turner says much of the evidence could prove […]

The post LIFE-ALTERING IMPLICATIONS: Turner files last-ditch motion to delay Amber Spradlin trial appeared first on Mountain Top Media.

PRESS RELEASE: UK ATHLETICS LEXINGTON, Ky. – Justin McBride, a 6-foot-7 forward, has signed with the Kentucky men’s basketball program it was announced on Thursday.  McBride averaged 15.3 points and 5.6 rebounds per game at James Madison a season ago.  The Plano, Texas, native was a third team pick for the All-Sun Belt team after appearing in all 31 games and making 30 starts for the Dukes in 2025-26. He is the first JMU player since Matt Lewis in 2019-20 to average at least 15 points and five rebounds per game for the season. McBride logged 22 games in double-digit […]

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BELFRY, Ky. — A complaint about squatters resulted in two people being arrested on burglary charges.And one of them was later charged with drug trafficking after being found with meth and fentanyl at the jail. Police were called to Cow Branch Road at Belfry Wednesday evening over a report of people staying in a vacant home without permission. There, they encountered Vangie Thacker, 52, on the front porch and could hear a man and woman arguing inside. When they went inside to investigate, the man and woman ran away and couldn’t be located. Thacker told police she had been staying […]

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