(Radio Iowa) - As Iowa trick-or-treaters hit the streets this week, parents are reminded about a few real-life scares to beware of during the Halloween season. 

Janna Day, education manager at the Iowa Poison Control Center, says kids will be eager to sink their teeth into their loot, but parents need to give those treats a close inspection first. Day says make sure the candy is in its original packaging and hasn't been tampered with. Masks can pose a visibility problem, so make sure kids can see clearly while in costume. Day suggests going with make-up or face paints instead, though test those out well ahead of time to ensure there's no skin irritation or allergies. Also, says keep the treat bag away from pets, as chocolate can be poisonous to dogs. 

The Sioux City-based Iowa Poison Control Center is staffed around-the-clock and can be reached at 1-800-222-1222.

(Radio Iowa) - As Iowa trick-or-treaters hit the streets this week, parents are reminded about a few real-life scares to beware of during the Halloween season. Janna Day, education manager at the Iowa Poison Control Center, says kids will be eager to sink their teeth into their loot, but parents need to give those treats a close inspection first. Day says make sure the candy is in its original packaging and hasn't been tampered with. Masks can pose a visibility problem, so make sure kids can see clearly while in costume. Day suggests going with make-up or face paints instead, though test those out well ahead of time to ensure there's no skin irritation or allergies. Also, says keep the treat bag away from pets, as chocolate can be poisonous to dogs. The Sioux City-based Iowa Poison Control Center is staffed around-the-clock and can be reached at 1-800-222-1222.

Iowa parents need to watch for a few Halloween hazards

As issue campaigns fill airwaves with ads, statewide candidates are running on the smallest campaign budgets in years

BY:&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/rudi-keller/">RUDI KELLER</a> <a href="https://missouriindependent.com/briefs/missouri-senate-committee-advances-bill-to-ban-texting-while-driving/">Missouri Independent</a>

After trying to convince voters that legalized sports betting would boost Missouri education funding, the campaign for Amendment 2 is now focused on the fact that residents already bet in large numbers and allowing it in the state will capture some of the revenue, a spokesman said Monday.

Winning for Missouri Education, the committee promoting Amendment 2 on next Tuesday’s ballot, reported Monday that it has&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mec.mo.gov/CampaignFinanceReports/Generator.aspx?Keys=B2G41dEVPKgI8cDcdGFsgJsm99XwPL2G94muMOtnA6SqB%2bW9%2fFE6IpCxIiTPyfP%2fVj3DxXGa28v592151Et%2fZC560DyBa5Wh" target="_blank">raised $40.25 million</a>&nbsp;since beginning its initiative campaign in January. That is $9 million more than the&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2024/10/14/record-spending-fuels-missouri-campaigns-to-legalize-sports-gambling-new-casino/">most expensive ballot issue campaign</a>&nbsp;in state history — the $31 raised by supporters of a 2006 proposal to protect stem cell research.

The campaign provided data from GeoComply showing that the 216,000 mobile sports betting accounts in the state made 11.1 million attempts to place a bet between Sept. 5, the opening day of the NFL season, and Oct. 21. GeoComply is a geofencing company that contracts with gambling companies to block illegal bets.&nbsp;

And on opening day, when the Kansas City Chiefs hosted the Baltimore Ravens, there were nearly 21,000 geolocation checks in and around Arrowhead Stadium.

“The numbers are really staggering,” said Jack Cardetti, spokesman for Winning for Missouri Education.

The final pre-election campaign finance reports for state races were due Monday at the Missouri Ethics Commission. The reports cover the period Oct. 1 through Oct. 24.

Tracking by The Independent shows that spending on ballot measure campaigns in Missouri this year so far is $95 million, including about $15.8 million for initiatives to get on the ballot.&nbsp;

The spending by statewide candidates reported so far is just under $130 million, including the&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2024/09/09/republicans-combine-to-spend-65-million-in-missouri-primaries-for-statewide-offices/">$65 million spent by Republicans</a>&nbsp;in the primaries and $44.9 million spent&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/briefs/lucas-kunce-fundraising-continues-to-outpace-josh-hawley-in-missouri-senate-race/">in the U.S. Senate race</a>&nbsp;between incumbent Josh Hawley, Democratic nominee Lucas Kunce and Better Party candidate Jared Young.&nbsp;

Less than half of the Senate race spending has been for the fall campaign.

The two gambling measures account for almost $59 million of the total ballot measure spending, with the Amendment 3 abortion rights initiative accounting for $31 million more.

The enormous bank account for Winning for Missouri Education, with the cost evenly split between DK Crown Holdings, owner of DraftKings, and BetFair Interactive, owner of FanDuel, has purchased $18.1 million of broadcast ads, $1.5 million in digital ads and $1.2 million in direct mail.

A $14 million opposition campaign, funded by Caesars Entertainment, attacked Amendment 2 as misleading because the funding it promises for education programs is uncertain. The gambling companies could deduct promotional bets used to lure new customers as well as federal taxes from their take before calculating state taxes.

That campaign, called Missourians Against the Deceptive Online Gambling Amendment,&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/briefs/opponents-of-missouri-sports-betting-amendment-pull-tv-ads-in-campaigns-homestretch/">abruptly pulled its television ads</a>&nbsp;on Oct. 17. The campaign’s final pre-election report shows it had $5 million on hand on Oct. 24, but it does not indicate the campaign is shutting down operations.

In an earlier report, the campaign stated it had purchased $612,000 in direct mail opposing Amendment 2 and $1.5 million on digital media. The current report does not show any refunds from those amounts.

Campaign spokesperson Brooke Foster could not be reached for comment.

The opposition campaign is one reason the pro-sports betting initiative is making the fact that betting is legal in every state on Missouri’s border except Oklahoma a big part of its final argument.

“Missourians know that whether or not they participate in sports betting or not, that it’s here to stay, and that Missouri currently gets zero benefit out of it,” Cardetti said. “And I think that is one of the most unifying messages that the amendment has.”

The other gambling proposal is Amendment 5, which would authorize&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2024/10/25/push-for-hand-counting-ballots-a-key-divide-in-race-for-missouri-secretary-of-state/">a new casino</a>&nbsp;near the Lake of the Ozarks. Supporters of that measure, Bally’s Corp. and a Lake-area developer, have spent $10.3 million promoting it. There is no significant opposition campaign.

The Missouri governor’s race continues to be one of the least expensive fall campaigns in years for the state’s top office.

Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe, the Republican nominee, has reported spending only $1.5 million for the fall from his campaign account, while a PAC he helps raise money called American Dream has spent $1.8 million. The two committees combined to spend $17.1 million in the primary.

State Rep. Crystal Quade of Springfield, the Democratic candidate, has spent $1.1 on the fall campaign and her affiliated committee, CrystalPAC, has spent just under $100,000. That is about the same amount Quade spent in the primary.

Until the election, campaigns will be required to file daily reports of contributions. New spending reports will also be filed when significant amounts are expended.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/11/1604337062106.png" alt="-&nbsp;Winning for Missouri Education, the committee promoting Amendment 2 on next Tuesday’s ballot, reported Monday that it has raised $40.25 million since beginning its initiative campaign in January. Photo by Noah Taborda" />
 <figcaption>-&nbsp;Winning for Missouri Education, the committee promoting Amendment 2 on next Tuesday’s ballot, reported Monday that it has raised $40.25 million since beginning its initiative campaign in January. Photo by Noah Taborda</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>As issue campaigns fill airwaves with ads, statewide candidates are running on the smallest campaign budgets in years</h2>BY:&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/rudi-keller/">RUDI KELLER</a> <a href="https://missouriindependent.com/briefs/missouri-senate-committee-advances-bill-to-ban-texting-while-driving/">Missouri Independent</a>After trying to convince voters that legalized sports betting would boost Missouri education funding, the campaign for Amendment 2 is now focused on the fact that residents already bet in large numbers and allowing it in the state will capture some of the revenue, a spokesman said Monday.Winning for Missouri Education, the committee promoting Amendment 2 on next Tuesday’s ballot, reported Monday that it has&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mec.mo.gov/CampaignFinanceReports/Generator.aspx?Keys=B2G41dEVPKgI8cDcdGFsgJsm99XwPL2G94muMOtnA6SqB%2bW9%2fFE6IpCxIiTPyfP%2fVj3DxXGa28v592151Et%2fZC560DyBa5Wh" target="_blank">raised $40.25 million</a>&nbsp;since beginning its initiative campaign in January. That is $9 million more than the&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2024/10/14/record-spending-fuels-missouri-campaigns-to-legalize-sports-gambling-new-casino/">most expensive ballot issue campaign</a>&nbsp;in state history — the $31 raised by supporters of a 2006 proposal to protect stem cell research.The campaign provided data from GeoComply showing that the 216,000 mobile sports betting accounts in the state made 11.1 million attempts to place a bet between Sept. 5, the opening day of the NFL season, and Oct. 21. GeoComply is a geofencing company that contracts with gambling companies to block illegal bets.&nbsp;And on opening day, when the Kansas City Chiefs hosted the Baltimore Ravens, there were nearly 21,000 geolocation checks in and around Arrowhead Stadium.“The numbers are really staggering,” said Jack Cardetti, spokesman for Winning for Missouri Education.The final pre-election campaign finance reports for state races were due Monday at the Missouri Ethics Commission. The reports cover the period Oct. 1 through Oct. 24.Tracking by The Independent shows that spending on ballot measure campaigns in Missouri this year so far is $95 million, including about $15.8 million for initiatives to get on the ballot.&nbsp;The spending by statewide candidates reported so far is just under $130 million, including the&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2024/09/09/republicans-combine-to-spend-65-million-in-missouri-primaries-for-statewide-offices/">$65 million spent by Republicans</a>&nbsp;in the primaries and $44.9 million spent&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/briefs/lucas-kunce-fundraising-continues-to-outpace-josh-hawley-in-missouri-senate-race/">in the U.S. Senate race</a>&nbsp;between incumbent Josh Hawley, Democratic nominee Lucas Kunce and Better Party candidate Jared Young.&nbsp;Less than half of the Senate race spending has been for the fall campaign.The two gambling measures account for almost $59 million of the total ballot measure spending, with the Amendment 3 abortion rights initiative accounting for $31 million more.The enormous bank account for Winning for Missouri Education, with the cost evenly split between DK Crown Holdings, owner of DraftKings, and BetFair Interactive, owner of FanDuel, has purchased $18.1 million of broadcast ads, $1.5 million in digital ads and $1.2 million in direct mail.A $14 million opposition campaign, funded by Caesars Entertainment, attacked Amendment 2 as misleading because the funding it promises for education programs is uncertain. The gambling companies could deduct promotional bets used to lure new customers as well as federal taxes from their take before calculating state taxes.That campaign, called Missourians Against the Deceptive Online Gambling Amendment,&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/briefs/opponents-of-missouri-sports-betting-amendment-pull-tv-ads-in-campaigns-homestretch/">abruptly pulled its television ads</a>&nbsp;on Oct. 17. The campaign’s final pre-election report shows it had $5 million on hand on Oct. 24, but it does not indicate the campaign is shutting down operations.In an earlier report, the campaign stated it had purchased $612,000 in direct mail opposing Amendment 2 and $1.5 million on digital media. The current report does not show any refunds from those amounts.Campaign spokesperson Brooke Foster could not be reached for comment.The opposition campaign is one reason the pro-sports betting initiative is making the fact that betting is legal in every state on Missouri’s border except Oklahoma a big part of its final argument.“Missourians know that whether or not they participate in sports betting or not, that it’s here to stay, and that Missouri currently gets zero benefit out of it,” Cardetti said. “And I think that is one of the most unifying messages that the amendment has.”The other gambling proposal is Amendment 5, which would authorize&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2024/10/25/push-for-hand-counting-ballots-a-key-divide-in-race-for-missouri-secretary-of-state/">a new casino</a>&nbsp;near the Lake of the Ozarks. Supporters of that measure, Bally’s Corp. and a Lake-area developer, have spent $10.3 million promoting it. There is no significant opposition campaign.<h2>Statewide races</h2>The Missouri governor’s race continues to be one of the least expensive fall campaigns in years for the state’s top office.Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe, the Republican nominee, has reported spending only $1.5 million for the fall from his campaign account, while a PAC he helps raise money called American Dream has spent $1.8 million. The two committees combined to spend $17.1 million in the primary.State Rep. Crystal Quade of Springfield, the Democratic candidate, has spent $1.1 on the fall campaign and her affiliated committee, CrystalPAC, has spent just under $100,000. That is about the same amount Quade spent in the primary.In other statewide contests:<ul>
 <li>David Wasinger, the Republican candidate for lieutenant governor, reported raising $28,688 in the period and spending $7,803. He has spent $35,856 on the fall campaign after spending $2.7 million in the primary. His Democratic opponent, state Rep. Richard Brown of Kansas City, had not filed his report by late Monday afternoon.</li><li>Democratic secretary of state candidate Barbara Phifer&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2024/10/25/push-for-hand-counting-ballots-a-key-divide-in-race-for-missouri-secretary-of-state/">continued to outraise</a>&nbsp;her Republican rival, Denny Hoskins. Phifer raised $53,072 and SAFE Missouri, a PAC supporting her, raised $20,500 more. Hoskins raised $29,735. His PAC, Old Drum Conservative PAC, has not reported by Monday afternoon.</li><li>State Treasurer Vivek Malek reported $78,531 in spending since the primary and his affiliated committee, American Promise PAC, has spent just under $8,000. His campaign spent $2.6 million in the primary and his PAC spent $3.2 million. Democratic candidate Mark Osmack has reported raising $63,535 and spending $51,583 for the entire year.</li><li>Attorney General Andrew Bailey, a Republican, reported raising $193,395 in the period compared to $63,184 for his Democratic rival, Elad Gross. Bailey has spent just under $150,000 for the fall campaign after spending $1.4 million for the primary. Gross has spent $345,000 for the entire year. Bailey’s affiliated committee, Liberty and Justice PAC, had not reported by late afternoon. It spent $5.3 million helping Bailey win the primary.</li>
 </ul>Until the election, campaigns will be required to file daily reports of contributions. New spending reports will also be filed when significant amounts are expended.

Spending on Missouri ballot measures nears $100 million as campaign enters final week

GENTRY COUNTY —One person was injured in an accident just after 6p.m. Monday in Gentry County.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 2019 Chevy Silverado driven by Michael S. Cole, 56, Fish Creek, Wisconsin, was eastbound on Route E one half mile west of Darlington.

The driver attempted to turn north on Route H and crossed into the path of a westbound 1979 Suzuki CB850 driven by Brandon M. Church, 43, St. Joseph. The motorcycle struck the front of the pickup.

Life Flight Eagle transported Church to Truman Medical Center. Cole was not injured. Church was not wearing a helmet, according to the MSHP.

GENTRY COUNTY —One person was injured in an accident just after 6p.m. Monday in Gentry County.The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 2019 Chevy Silverado driven by Michael S. Cole, 56, Fish Creek, Wisconsin, was eastbound on Route E one half mile west of Darlington.The driver attempted to turn north on Route H and crossed into the path of a westbound 1979 Suzuki CB850 driven by Brandon M. Church, 43, St. Joseph. The motorcycle struck the front of the pickup.Life Flight Eagle transported Church to Truman Medical Center. Cole was not injured. Church was not wearing a helmet, according to the MSHP.

St. Joseph man airlifted to hospital after motorcycle, pickup crash

(Radio Iowa) - The Federal Emergency Management Agency has approved about 68-million dollars in individual assistance for more than 69-hundred Iowa households that were impacted by severe weather this year, including deadly tornadoes and flooding. 

FEMA spokeswoman Sharon Karr says in all, 29 of Iowa’s 99 counties received a federal disaster declaration. The deadline for storm victims to apply for Iowa’s final presidential disaster declaration ended last week. Even though Iowans can no longer apply for individual assistance, Karr says FEMA will still have a presence in the state. 

She says three long-term disaster recovery centers in Council Bluffs, Spencer, and Rock Valley are available to help residents in person, or they can still reach out to FEMA by phone, online, or through a phone app.

(Radio Iowa) - The Federal Emergency Management Agency has approved about 68-million dollars in individual assistance for more than 69-hundred Iowa households that were impacted by severe weather this year, including deadly tornadoes and flooding. FEMA spokeswoman Sharon Karr says in all, 29 of Iowa’s 99 counties received a federal disaster declaration. The deadline for storm victims to apply for Iowa’s final presidential disaster declaration ended last week. Even though Iowans can no longer apply for individual assistance, Karr says FEMA will still have a presence in the state. She says three long-term disaster recovery centers in Council Bluffs, Spencer, and Rock Valley are available to help residents in person, or they can still reach out to FEMA by phone, online, or through a phone app.

Individual assistance from FEMA for disasters tops $68M in Iowa this year

A 30-year-old St. Joseph resident has been shot and killed while
two others suffered critical wounds in a Sunday shooting at a residence in the 2200 block of South 14th Street.

The St. Joseph Police Department reports Melchizedek Fitzgerald
died in the shooting at his residence, 2218 S. 14th Street.

A 20-year-old from Johnson County, Kansas is being treated in
Kansas City, now listed in critical condition. A 20-year-old Atchison, Kansas man
is being treated in St. Joseph, listed in critical, but stable condition.

Police arrived at the residence shortly before three o’clock Sunday
afternoon and found Fitzgerald dead at the scene.

You can follow Brent on X @GBrentKFEQ and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.

By BRENT MARTINSt. Joseph PostA 30-year-old St. Joseph resident has been shot and killed while
two others suffered critical wounds in a Sunday shooting at a residence in the 2200 block of South 14th Street.The St. Joseph Police Department reports Melchizedek Fitzgerald
died in the shooting at his residence, 2218 S. 14th Street.A 20-year-old from Johnson County, Kansas is being treated in
Kansas City, now listed in critical condition. A 20-year-old Atchison, Kansas man
is being treated in St. Joseph, listed in critical, but stable condition.Police arrived at the residence shortly before three o’clock Sunday
afternoon and found Fitzgerald dead at the scene.The investigation continues.You can follow Brent on X @GBrentKFEQ and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.

St. Joseph shooting victim identified; two others critically wounded

Across the country, skyrocketing prices, wages and operating costs have shuttered hundreds of thousands of American farms. Reports show in the past five years alone, over 140,000 American farms have tilled for the last time. Going back to 1950, 66% of all U.S. farms — nearly 4 million farms in total — have stopped producing. The number of acres farmed has dropped by 323 million, which is roughly double the size of Texas. 

Agriculture experts worry as family farms across America gasp to stay afloat and go broke. Scott Blubaugh, the president of American Farmers &amp; Ranchers/Oklahoma Farmers Union says  “We have been losing family farmers at an alarming rate for 50 years now, and every time we go through these cycles like we are currently in, we lose more." Many agricultural economist say it’s the smaller farms that suffer because their backs are against the wall.

Across the country, skyrocketing prices, wages and operating costs have shuttered hundreds of thousands of American farms. Reports show in the past five years alone, over 140,000 American farms have tilled for the last time. Going back to 1950, 66% of all U.S. farms — nearly 4 million farms in total — have stopped producing. The number of acres farmed has dropped by 323 million, which is roughly double the size of Texas. Agriculture experts worry as family farms across America gasp to stay afloat and go broke. Scott Blubaugh, the president of American Farmers &amp; Ranchers/Oklahoma Farmers Union says “We have been losing family farmers at an alarming rate for 50 years now, and every time we go through these cycles like we are currently in, we lose more." Many agricultural economist say it’s the smaller farms that suffer because their backs are against the wall.

American family farms going broke

(Radio Iowa) - Due to the threat of litigation connected to the closure of a Charles City plant, over a million chickens from 14 northern Iowa farms have been euthanized. 

Pure Prairie Poultry had contracts with farmers and provided the chicks and their feed until the chickens were ready to be slaughtered and processed at the company's plant in Charles City. The company abruptly filed for bankruptcy, closed the plant in early October and the Iowa Department of Agriculture took over the care and feeding of one-point-three million chickens. Court records show Tyson had agreed to buy, process and then sell those chickens, but attorneys for some of the Charles City plant's creditors threatened to sue for part of Tyson's profits -- and Tyson recinded its offer. 

The Iowa Department of Agriculture was unable to find another buyer and, with ever increasing costs to feed and care for the chickens, officials decided to euthanize the birds.

(Radio Iowa) - Due to the threat of litigation connected to the closure of a Charles City plant, over a million chickens from 14 northern Iowa farms have been euthanized. Pure Prairie Poultry had contracts with farmers and provided the chicks and their feed until the chickens were ready to be slaughtered and processed at the company's plant in Charles City. The company abruptly filed for bankruptcy, closed the plant in early October and the Iowa Department of Agriculture took over the care and feeding of one-point-three million chickens. Court records show Tyson had agreed to buy, process and then sell those chickens, but attorneys for some of the Charles City plant's creditors threatened to sue for part of Tyson's profits -- and Tyson recinded its offer. The Iowa Department of Agriculture was unable to find another buyer and, with ever increasing costs to feed and care for the chickens, officials decided to euthanize the birds.

Chickens being raised for closed Iowa plant have been euthanized

(Radio Iowa) - The Hy-Vee supermarket chain is removing self checkout stations from some stores. 

A spokesperson for Hy-Vee say they have started removing the self checkouts from some stores, but they do not have a final number. The spokesperson says they "want to provide a better customer experience in several of our stores by bringing back the face-to-face interaction with our employees that we had pre-COVID." 

A clerk in a central Iowa store told Radio Iowa the self checkouts were being removed over concerns about theft. The Hy-Vee spokesperson would not confirm that, saying there have been national stories about retailers doing this, however, she says their main focus is to provide them the best service possible.

(Radio Iowa) - The Hy-Vee supermarket chain is removing self checkout stations from some stores. A spokesperson for Hy-Vee say they have started removing the self checkouts from some stores, but they do not have a final number. The spokesperson says they "want to provide a better customer experience in several of our stores by bringing back the face-to-face interaction with our employees that we had pre-COVID." A clerk in a central Iowa store told Radio Iowa the self checkouts were being removed over concerns about theft. The Hy-Vee spokesperson would not confirm that, saying there have been national stories about retailers doing this, however, she says their main focus is to provide them the best service possible.

Hy-Vee Removing Self Checkouts

Members of the Air National Guard 139th
Airlift Group anxiously await a decision by the Air Guard on whether it
receives the new C-130J model planes.

139th Commander, Colonel John Cluck,
says the wing is currently flying legacy aircraft, the C-130H, and there is no
future for such older aircraft.

“The importance of the J model is paramount,”
Cluck tells KFEQ/St. Joseph Post. “The 139th needs to continue to
survive. And with the support from the city of all the new structures out here
and all the new facilities, it’s only appropriate that we bring in the new
aircraft.”

Afterall, Cluck points out The Advanced Airlift
Tactics Training Center at the St. Joseph base trains pilots from across the
country on the new aircraft.

“We are teaching people to fly in aircraft that
we don’t even operate,” Cluck says. “So, we have to get the new one here so
that we can remain relevant in all things, not only the 139th
mission, but also the Advanced Airlift Tactics Training Center.”

Cluck says the base underwent a virtual
inspection earlier this month.

“And we did everything we could to improve our
status in that and I have not seen the results of the snapshot yet,” Cluck
says. “I look forward to getting those in the next couple of weeks and then,
hopefully, we can analyze that data. Hopefully, if we need to improve anywhere,
which I don’t think there were many places left to improve, we can get after
that and just keep fighting.”

Rosecrans Memorial Airport is undergoing a
stunning transformation with new runways, a new terminal soon to open, and a
new air traffic control tower being erected. The 139th itself has
been constructing new buildings north of its current location, preparing to
move from its headquarters constructed in the 1950s.

Cluck says the investments made through federal,
state, and local money makes a statement as Air Guard officials evaluate the
base.

“It shows them that we’re here to stay,”
according to Cluck. “We will have a world-class airport here in another couple
of months when the tower’s finished and the terminal building is finished. We
have two brand new runways. We’ll continue to invest in all things 139th
in the north site. This is the place to be. We are centrally located. We’re the
right Airforce base in the right city at the right time to really make a
difference.”

Cluck says improvements at the base should be
enough to convince the Air Guard to provide new C-130J model cargo planes to
the 139th to replace its aging C-130H models.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1730136299188.jpeg" alt="Rosecrans Memorial Airport and 139th Airlift Wing officials discuss renovations underway at Rosecrans Memorial Airport with Sen. Eric Schmitt during a recent visit. The old terminal and air traffic control tower are in the background./Photo by Brent Martin" />
 <figcaption>Rosecrans Memorial Airport and 139th Airlift Wing officials discuss renovations underway at Rosecrans Memorial Airport with Sen. Eric Schmitt during a recent visit. The old terminal and air traffic control tower are in the background./Photo by Brent Martin</figcaption>
 </figure>By BRENT MARTINSt. Joseph PostMembers of the Air National Guard 139th
Airlift Group anxiously await a decision by the Air Guard on whether it
receives the new C-130J model planes.139th Commander, Colonel John Cluck,
says the wing is currently flying legacy aircraft, the C-130H, and there is no
future for such older aircraft.“The importance of the J model is paramount,”
Cluck tells KFEQ/St. Joseph Post. “The 139th needs to continue to
survive. And with the support from the city of all the new structures out here
and all the new facilities, it’s only appropriate that we bring in the new
aircraft.”Afterall, Cluck points out The Advanced Airlift
Tactics Training Center at the St. Joseph base trains pilots from across the
country on the new aircraft.“We are teaching people to fly in aircraft that
we don’t even operate,” Cluck says. “So, we have to get the new one here so
that we can remain relevant in all things, not only the 139th
mission, but also the Advanced Airlift Tactics Training Center.”Cluck says the base underwent a virtual
inspection earlier this month.“And we did everything we could to improve our
status in that and I have not seen the results of the snapshot yet,” Cluck
says. “I look forward to getting those in the next couple of weeks and then,
hopefully, we can analyze that data. Hopefully, if we need to improve anywhere,
which I don’t think there were many places left to improve, we can get after
that and just keep fighting.”Rosecrans Memorial Airport is undergoing a
stunning transformation with new runways, a new terminal soon to open, and a
new air traffic control tower being erected. The 139th itself has
been constructing new buildings north of its current location, preparing to
move from its headquarters constructed in the 1950s.Cluck says the investments made through federal,
state, and local money makes a statement as Air Guard officials evaluate the
base.“It shows them that we’re here to stay,”
according to Cluck. “We will have a world-class airport here in another couple
of months when the tower’s finished and the terminal building is finished. We
have two brand new runways. We’ll continue to invest in all things 139th
in the north site. This is the place to be. We are centrally located. We’re the
right Airforce base in the right city at the right time to really make a
difference.”Cluck says improvements at the base should be
enough to convince the Air Guard to provide new C-130J model cargo planes to
the 139th to replace its aging C-130H models.You can follow Brent on X @GBrentKFEQ and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.

The 139th awaits the Air Guard evaluation of a renovated Rosecrans

Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez has been honored with one of the most prestigious awards in Major League Baseball, being named the 2024 winner of the Roberto Clemente Award.&nbsp;

The award annually recognizes&nbsp;recognizes a Major League player who best represents baseball through extraordinary character, community involvement, philanthropy and positive contributions.&nbsp; Perez is the first Royal ever to win the award.

Perez is the heart and soul of the Royals. He has spent his entire career with the organization and is the fourth captain in Royals history. The 34-year-old is a nine-time All-Star, five-time Gold Glove catcher and four-time Silver Slugger who was the World Series MVP when the Royals won their second title in 2015.&nbsp; But Perez says, this honor means more than all of those accolades, except maybe the World Series.&nbsp;

“It means a lot to me,” Perez says. “I’ve read a lot about Roberto Clemente. I know he was an amazing player, but he was even better outside the field. So that’s what made him super special. And it makes this award super special.”

Perez’s philanthropic efforts are truly global, from Colombia to his native country, Venezuela, to the United States and Kansas City. In Venezuela, Perez and his family distribute food and kitchen supplies to around 2,000 homes in his hometown of Valencia. Perez has paid for cleft-lip surgeries for kids, donates to children’s hospitals and supports police officers.

He and his family also established a youth league that has grown to over 200 players, providing well-kept fields, coaches, equipment and financial support. Perez also takes time to speak to the league about leading successful lives, including the importance of education and the dangers of drugs.

In Kansas City, Perez made a $1 million donation to the Kansas City Urban Youth Academy when it opened. He hosted over 100 kids from Kansas City’s urban core for a baseball clinic while providing funding that allowed each participant to go home with a backpack filled with school supplies. Perez is constantly finding ways to provide baseball equipment to kids in need so they can love the game as much as he does.

A video in August went viral of Perez playing wiffleball with some children in his neighborhood in their backyard.&nbsp; What was a simple moment for Perez, was a life changing moment for those kids.&nbsp; Perez, whose always smiling, will never say no to an autograph or photo.&nbsp;

He encourages his teammates to find what they’re passionate about off the field, too.

“Even if you do one thing one day every month, that’s it,” Perez said. “One day every month to make someone happy. Do something. Get on your social media and make someone happy. Maybe stop and take a picture with somebody. I think that’s going to change the world. That’s the way I look at it. That’s why I take pictures with everybody.

“... We make people’s lives change for like 10-20 seconds [of our time]. When I did the Wiffle game, all these kids and parents came to me and said, ‘You changed my son’s life.’ How cool is that? When people tell you that, I’m like, ‘Oh my God, thank God. I’m doing my job.’ Pretty cool.”

Royals reporter Anne Rogers contributed to this report

You can follow Matt on X @KfeqMatt and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.

By MATT PIKESt. Joseph PostKansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez has been honored with one of the most prestigious awards in Major League Baseball, being named the 2024 winner of the Roberto Clemente Award.&nbsp;The award annually recognizes&nbsp;recognizes a Major League player who best represents baseball through extraordinary character, community involvement, philanthropy and positive contributions.&nbsp; Perez is the first Royal ever to win the award.Perez is the heart and soul of the Royals. He has spent his entire career with the organization and is the fourth captain in Royals history. The 34-year-old is a nine-time All-Star, five-time Gold Glove catcher and four-time Silver Slugger who was the World Series MVP when the Royals won their second title in 2015.&nbsp; But Perez says, this honor means more than all of those accolades, except maybe the World Series.&nbsp;“It means a lot to me,” Perez says. “I’ve read a lot about Roberto Clemente. I know he was an amazing player, but he was even better outside the field. So that’s what made him super special. And it makes this award super special.”Perez’s philanthropic efforts are truly global, from Colombia to his native country, Venezuela, to the United States and Kansas City. In Venezuela, Perez and his family distribute food and kitchen supplies to around 2,000 homes in his hometown of Valencia. Perez has paid for cleft-lip surgeries for kids, donates to children’s hospitals and supports police officers.He and his family also established a youth league that has grown to over 200 players, providing well-kept fields, coaches, equipment and financial support. Perez also takes time to speak to the league about leading successful lives, including the importance of education and the dangers of drugs.In Kansas City, Perez made a $1 million donation to the Kansas City Urban Youth Academy when it opened. He hosted over 100 kids from Kansas City’s urban core for a baseball clinic while providing funding that allowed each participant to go home with a backpack filled with school supplies. Perez is constantly finding ways to provide baseball equipment to kids in need so they can love the game as much as he does.A video in August went viral of Perez playing wiffleball with some children in his neighborhood in their backyard.&nbsp; What was a simple moment for Perez, was a life changing moment for those kids.&nbsp; Perez, whose always smiling, will never say no to an autograph or photo.&nbsp;<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Amazing experience at our house today; Salvy joined in the neighborhood wiffle ball game! My son and I are the biggest Royals fans, this was truly unbelievable! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ForeverRoyal?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ForeverRoyal</a> <a href="https://t.co/HwlxCgjE8m">pic.twitter.com/HwlxCgjE8m</a>&mdash; Lesley Lard (@LibrarianLesL) <a href="https://twitter.com/LibrarianLesL/status/1826828983050096664?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 23, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>He encourages his teammates to find what they’re passionate about off the field, too.“Even if you do one thing one day every month, that’s it,” Perez said. “One day every month to make someone happy. Do something. Get on your social media and make someone happy. Maybe stop and take a picture with somebody. I think that’s going to change the world. That’s the way I look at it. That’s why I take pictures with everybody.“... We make people’s lives change for like 10-20 seconds [of our time]. When I did the Wiffle game, all these kids and parents came to me and said, ‘You changed my son’s life.’ How cool is that? When people tell you that, I’m like, ‘Oh my God, thank God. I’m doing my job.’ Pretty cool.”Royals reporter Anne Rogers contributed to this reportYou can follow Matt on X @KfeqMatt and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Congratulations to the 2024 Roberto Clemente Award winner Salvador Perez! Salvy is the first player in Kansas City Royals history to earn baseball’s most prestigious individual honor. 👏 <a href="https://t.co/u1XhwhL6tV">pic.twitter.com/u1XhwhL6tV</a>&mdash; MLB (@MLB) <a href="https://twitter.com/MLB/status/1850898286971928625?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 28, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>

Royals Salvador Perez honored with 2024 Roberto Clemente Award

BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/natanyafriedheim/">NATANYA FRIEDHEIM</a>

Physician David Mehr addressed a dozen voters gathered Saturday morning at the Columbia headquarters of Missourians for Constitutional Freedom, the coalition behind a proposed amendment would enshrine the right to abortion in Missouri’s constitution.

Meanwhile, physicians greeted volunteers in St. Louis County, and still more gathered in Kansas City, as part of the coalition’s final get-out-the-vote campaign before the Nov. 5 election.

“I’ve cared for women my entire life,” Mehr told the group of volunteers in Columbia. “It’s important that we keep this decision between a woman and her doctor.”

Mehr works at University of Missouri Health Care but spoke as an individual and not on behalf of the hospital.

An hour later, he was navigating a thicket in a northwest Columbia neighborhood, looking for the right door to knock on. By the end of the day, he and his canvassing partner had knocked on 44 doors.

Like other states with abortion bans, Missouri’s state law carves out exceptions “in cases of medical emergency.” Medical professionals who perform abortions deemed unnecessary can be found guilty of a Class B felony and have their license revoked or suspended.

“There’s no definition of what a medical emergency might be,” said Betsy Wickstrom, a high-risk obstetrician who works in Kansas City. “So if my patient is bleeding and her cervix is open, there’s still cardiac activity, how much do I need to let her bleed?”

Wickstrom preferred not to disclose her hospital affiliation. Her reluctance was shared by doctors who gathered in St. Louis on Saturday and reflects a broader trend of doctors keeping their workplaces hidden when talking about abortion, identified in a 2023 study.

Last month, a group of 800 medical professionals from Missouri, including 500 physicians, signed a letter supporting the abortion-rights amendment, which appears on the ballot as Amendment 3.

No doctor in any state has been criminally prosecuted for performing an abortion during a medical emergency, according to an article published last month by the Association of American Medical Colleges. However, doctors across the country have warned that lack of clarity about what constitutes a medical emergency compromises their ability to offer emergency abortions.

In August, a group of OB-GYN medical residents in Missouri anonymously published an article in the Journal of Graduate Medical Education describing their shock and fear entering the profession in a state with a strict abortion ban.

“Because the text of the law reads so punitively, it has struck fear into clinicians and caused life-saving care to be unnecessarily delayed or blatantly refused,” the authors wrote.

Since abortion became illegal in Missouri in 2022, the state has seen a more than 25% drop in applications for OB-GYN medical residencies, according to a May report by the Association of American Medical Colleges.

In a widely publicized case from 2022, two hospitals, including one in Missouri, turned away Missouri resident Mylissa Farmer when she sought care after her water broke at just 18 weeks of pregnancy. Last year, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid found the two hospitals — Freeman Hospital West in Joplin and the University of Kansas Health System in Kansas City, Kansas — violated federal law when they denied Farmer care.

Numerous other examples of women being denied emergency medical care have appeared in news media since the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ended the constitutional right to an abortion.

Health care professionals opposed to abortion argue that media reports promote an exaggerated narrative that abortion bans jeopardize women’s access to emergency care.

“All state laws allow for maternal fetal separations to be done (through whatever means necessary) in order to save the life of the mother,” Christina Francis, an OB-GYN and CEO of the American Association of Pro-Life OB-GYNs, wrote in testimony for a U.S. Senate Finance Committee hearing in September.

Decisions in medicine are rarely black-and-white. When a woman’s water breaks early enough that the fetus’ viability is remote, abortion is the standard of care, said Wickstrom. When a woman is closer to 20 weeks, factors like bleeding, signs of infection and how much amniotic fluid is in the uterus are considered.

Some women want to wait, and a doctor guides the patient through that choice.

“Of course we do that, because the point is choice. The point is that it is her body to determine for herself what’s right for her, and we come alongside her and support her and guide her through what is right for her,” Wickstrom said.

If a woman does not want to continue the nonviable pregnancy, the fetus has a heartbeat and her condition is not considered an emergency, she has to leave the state for an abortion, Wickstrom said. In Kansas City and St. Louis, women can get to clinics that offer abortion care in Kansas and Illinois more easily than those in mid-Missouri.

Wickstrom brings her metal water bottle to work at a hospital in Kansas City. She keeps it on display when she talks to patients so they can see the stickers adorning it: Just above a cutout of Taylor Swift is a sticker that reads “ABORTION RESOURCES,” followed by a list of phone numbers and website URLs.

Wickstrom said she struggles to speak frankly with women who have high-risk pregnancies about their options.

“You’ve got to dance around it a lot more,” she said, “because the waters are muddy.”

This story originally appeared in the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.columbiamissourian.com/news/elections/ballot-initiatives/doctors-gather-across-missouri-to-canvass-for-amendment-3/article_bad37842-93aa-11ef-a493-9b41a7d95124.html#tncms-source=Top%20Story" target="_blank">Columbia Missourian</a>. It can be republished in print or online.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/9/1725887984419.png" alt=" Supporters of a proposed ballot measure to legalize abortion up until the point of fetal viability gathered at a rally hosted by Missourians for Constitutional Freedom on Feb. 6 in Kansas City (Anna Spoerre/Missouri Independent)." />
 <figcaption> Supporters of a proposed ballot measure to legalize abortion up until the point of fetal viability gathered at a rally hosted by Missourians for Constitutional Freedom on Feb. 6 in Kansas City (Anna Spoerre/Missouri Independent).</figcaption>
 </figure>BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/natanyafriedheim/">NATANYA FRIEDHEIM</a>Physician David Mehr addressed a dozen voters gathered Saturday morning at the Columbia headquarters of Missourians for Constitutional Freedom, the coalition behind a proposed amendment would enshrine the right to abortion in Missouri’s constitution.Meanwhile, physicians greeted volunteers in St. Louis County, and still more gathered in Kansas City, as part of the coalition’s final get-out-the-vote campaign before the Nov. 5 election.“I’ve cared for women my entire life,” Mehr told the group of volunteers in Columbia. “It’s important that we keep this decision between a woman and her doctor.”Mehr works at University of Missouri Health Care but spoke as an individual and not on behalf of the hospital.An hour later, he was navigating a thicket in a northwest Columbia neighborhood, looking for the right door to knock on. By the end of the day, he and his canvassing partner had knocked on 44 doors.Like other states with abortion bans, Missouri’s state law carves out exceptions “in cases of medical emergency.” Medical professionals who perform abortions deemed unnecessary can be found guilty of a Class B felony and have their license revoked or suspended.“There’s no definition of what a medical emergency might be,” said Betsy Wickstrom, a high-risk obstetrician who works in Kansas City. “So if my patient is bleeding and her cervix is open, there’s still cardiac activity, how much do I need to let her bleed?”Wickstrom preferred not to disclose her hospital affiliation. Her reluctance was shared by doctors who gathered in St. Louis on Saturday and reflects a broader trend of doctors keeping their workplaces hidden when talking about abortion, identified in a 2023 study.Last month, a group of 800 medical professionals from Missouri, including 500 physicians, signed a letter supporting the abortion-rights amendment, which appears on the ballot as Amendment 3.No doctor in any state has been criminally prosecuted for performing an abortion during a medical emergency, according to an article published last month by the Association of American Medical Colleges. However, doctors across the country have warned that lack of clarity about what constitutes a medical emergency compromises their ability to offer emergency abortions.In August, a group of OB-GYN medical residents in Missouri anonymously published an article in the Journal of Graduate Medical Education describing their shock and fear entering the profession in a state with a strict abortion ban.“Because the text of the law reads so punitively, it has struck fear into clinicians and caused life-saving care to be unnecessarily delayed or blatantly refused,” the authors wrote.Since abortion became illegal in Missouri in 2022, the state has seen a more than 25% drop in applications for OB-GYN medical residencies, according to a May report by the Association of American Medical Colleges.In a widely publicized case from 2022, two hospitals, including one in Missouri, turned away Missouri resident Mylissa Farmer when she sought care after her water broke at just 18 weeks of pregnancy. Last year, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid found the two hospitals — Freeman Hospital West in Joplin and the University of Kansas Health System in Kansas City, Kansas — violated federal law when they denied Farmer care.Numerous other examples of women being denied emergency medical care have appeared in news media since the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ended the constitutional right to an abortion.Health care professionals opposed to abortion argue that media reports promote an exaggerated narrative that abortion bans jeopardize women’s access to emergency care.“All state laws allow for maternal fetal separations to be done (through whatever means necessary) in order to save the life of the mother,” Christina Francis, an OB-GYN and CEO of the American Association of Pro-Life OB-GYNs, wrote in testimony for a U.S. Senate Finance Committee hearing in September.Decisions in medicine are rarely black-and-white. When a woman’s water breaks early enough that the fetus’ viability is remote, abortion is the standard of care, said Wickstrom. When a woman is closer to 20 weeks, factors like bleeding, signs of infection and how much amniotic fluid is in the uterus are considered.Some women want to wait, and a doctor guides the patient through that choice.“Of course we do that, because the point is choice. The point is that it is her body to determine for herself what’s right for her, and we come alongside her and support her and guide her through what is right for her,” Wickstrom said.If a woman does not want to continue the nonviable pregnancy, the fetus has a heartbeat and her condition is not considered an emergency, she has to leave the state for an abortion, Wickstrom said. In Kansas City and St. Louis, women can get to clinics that offer abortion care in Kansas and Illinois more easily than those in mid-Missouri.Wickstrom brings her metal water bottle to work at a hospital in Kansas City. She keeps it on display when she talks to patients so they can see the stickers adorning it: Just above a cutout of Taylor Swift is a sticker that reads “ABORTION RESOURCES,” followed by a list of phone numbers and website URLs.Wickstrom said she struggles to speak frankly with women who have high-risk pregnancies about their options.“You’ve got to dance around it a lot more,” she said, “because the waters are muddy.”This story originally appeared in the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.columbiamissourian.com/news/elections/ballot-initiatives/doctors-gather-across-missouri-to-canvass-for-amendment-3/article_bad37842-93aa-11ef-a493-9b41a7d95124.html#tncms-source=Top%20Story" target="_blank">Columbia Missourian</a>. It can be republished in print or online.&nbsp;

Doctors gather across Missouri to canvass for abortion amendment

A 30-year-old has been killed, two others wounded in a
shooting in St. Joseph Sunday afternoon.

St. Joseph police report the shooting took place in the
2200 block of South 14th Street shortly before three o’clock
Sunday afternoon.

Police confirm a 30-year-old man was pronounced dead at the
scene. Two others are hospitalized and undergoing treatment. The extent of the
wounds has not been disclosed.

There are no suspects at this time. The investigation
continues.

By BRENT MARTINSt. Joseph PostA 30-year-old has been killed, two others wounded in a
shooting in St. Joseph Sunday afternoon.St. Joseph police report the shooting took place in the
2200 block of South 14th Street shortly before three o’clock
Sunday afternoon.Little is being released at this time.Police confirm a 30-year-old man was pronounced dead at the
scene. Two others are hospitalized and undergoing treatment. The extent of the
wounds has not been disclosed.There are no suspects at this time. The investigation
continues.You can follow Brent on X @GBrentKFEQ and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.

One dead, two wounded in St. Joseph shooting

KANSAS CITY – A Mexican national who worked with a drug-trafficking organization tied to the Cárteles Unidos cartel in Michoacán, Mexico, was convicted by a federal trial jury last week for his role in a $4.7 million conspiracy to distribute more than 335 kilograms of methamphetamine and 22 kilograms of heroin in the Kansas City metropolitan area and throughout the United States, according to the United State's Attorney.

Luis Eduardo Pineda-Zarao, 29, a citizen of Mexico residing in Lebanon, Tennessee, was found guilty of participating in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and heroin from Feb. 28, 2020, to June 1, 2022.

The indictment alleges the conspiracy involved the distribution of more than 335.5 kilograms of methamphetamine, with an average street price of $300 per ounce, and more than 22.1 kilograms of heroin, with an average street price of $1,500 per ounce.

During the investigation, federal agents with Homeland Security Investigations conducted two undercover bulk cash pickups totaling $308,775 and seized $610,400 in bulk cash, over 56 kilograms of methamphetamine, 5.5 kilograms of heroin, 2.6 kilograms of marijuana, and at least eight firearms, two of which were stolen. Law enforcement officers also seized $277,863 during a vehicle stop and $114,863 while executing search warrants at four Kansas City, Mo., residences.

Pineda-Zarao is among 44 defendants charged in this case. Nine co-defendants have been sentenced and 34 co-defendants have pleaded guilty and await sentencing.

Following the presentation of evidence, the jury in the U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Mo., deliberated for less than an hour before returning guilty verdicts to U.S. District Judge Greg Kays, ending a trial that began Monday, Oct. 21.

Under federal statutes, Pineda-Zarao is subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison without parole, up to a sentence of life in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Patrick C. Edwards and Megan Baker. It was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Jackson County Drug Task Force, IRS-Criminal Investigation, the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department, the Kansas City, Kan., Police Department, the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the Kansas Highway Patrol, the Independence, Mo., Police Department, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, the Minnesota State Patrol, the Olmsted County, Minn., Sheriff’s Office, the Texas Department of Public Safety, the FBI, the Clay County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the U.S. Marshals Service.

Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force

This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

This prosecution was brought as a part of the Department of Justice’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Co-located Strike Forces Initiative, which provides for the establishment of permanent multi-agency task force teams that work side-by-side in the same location. This co-located model enables agents from different agencies to collaborate on intelligence-driven, multi-jurisdictional operations against a continuum of priority targets and their affiliate illicit financial networks. These prosecutor-led co-located Strike Forces capitalize on the synergy created through the long-term relationships that can be forged by agents, analysts, and prosecutors who remain together over time, and they epitomize the model that has proven most effective in combating organized crime. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking organizations, transnational criminal organizations, and money laundering organizations that present a significant threat to the public safety, economic, or national security of the United States.

KANSAS CITY – A Mexican national who worked with a drug-trafficking organization tied to the Cárteles Unidos cartel in Michoacán, Mexico, was convicted by a federal trial jury last week for his role in a $4.7 million conspiracy to distribute more than 335 kilograms of methamphetamine and 22 kilograms of heroin in the Kansas City metropolitan area and throughout the United States, according to the United State's Attorney.Luis Eduardo Pineda-Zarao, 29, a citizen of Mexico residing in Lebanon, Tennessee, was found guilty of participating in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and heroin from Feb. 28, 2020, to June 1, 2022.The indictment alleges the conspiracy involved the distribution of more than 335.5 kilograms of methamphetamine, with an average street price of $300 per ounce, and more than 22.1 kilograms of heroin, with an average street price of $1,500 per ounce.During the investigation, federal agents with Homeland Security Investigations conducted two undercover bulk cash pickups totaling $308,775 and seized $610,400 in bulk cash, over 56 kilograms of methamphetamine, 5.5 kilograms of heroin, 2.6 kilograms of marijuana, and at least eight firearms, two of which were stolen. Law enforcement officers also seized $277,863 during a vehicle stop and $114,863 while executing search warrants at four Kansas City, Mo., residences.Pineda-Zarao is among 44 defendants charged in this case. Nine co-defendants have been sentenced and 34 co-defendants have pleaded guilty and await sentencing.Following the presentation of evidence, the jury in the U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Mo., deliberated for less than an hour before returning guilty verdicts to U.S. District Judge Greg Kays, ending a trial that began Monday, Oct. 21.Under federal statutes, Pineda-Zarao is subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison without parole, up to a sentence of life in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Patrick C. Edwards and Megan Baker. It was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Jackson County Drug Task Force, IRS-Criminal Investigation, the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department, the Kansas City, Kan., Police Department, the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the Kansas Highway Patrol, the Independence, Mo., Police Department, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, the Minnesota State Patrol, the Olmsted County, Minn., Sheriff’s Office, the Texas Department of Public Safety, the FBI, the Clay County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the U.S. Marshals Service.Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task ForceThis case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.KC Metro Strike ForceThis prosecution was brought as a part of the Department of Justice’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Co-located Strike Forces Initiative, which provides for the establishment of permanent multi-agency task force teams that work side-by-side in the same location. This co-located model enables agents from different agencies to collaborate on intelligence-driven, multi-jurisdictional operations against a continuum of priority targets and their affiliate illicit financial networks. These prosecutor-led co-located Strike Forces capitalize on the synergy created through the long-term relationships that can be forged by agents, analysts, and prosecutors who remain together over time, and they epitomize the model that has proven most effective in combating organized crime. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking organizations, transnational criminal organizations, and money laundering organizations that present a significant threat to the public safety, economic, or national security of the United States.

Jury: Mexican national guilty of $4.7 million meth, heroin conspiracy in KC

(Radio Iowa) - The map released this morning by the U-S Drought Monitor shows -all- of Iowa is again experiencing some level of drought. 

Last week's map showed about two-and-a-half percent of the state was still in the normal category, but even that's gone now. The new map indicates about 16-percent of Iowa is abnormally dry, all in south-central Iowa, while almost two-thirds of the state is in moderate drought. 

That leaves about 19-percent that's in severe drought, with large patches of that category in northwest, west-central and northeast Iowa.

(Radio Iowa) - The map released this morning by the U-S Drought Monitor shows -all- of Iowa is again experiencing some level of drought. Last week's map showed about two-and-a-half percent of the state was still in the normal category, but even that's gone now. The new map indicates about 16-percent of Iowa is abnormally dry, all in south-central Iowa, while almost two-thirds of the state is in moderate drought. That leaves about 19-percent that's in severe drought, with large patches of that category in northwest, west-central and northeast Iowa.

Drought conditions worsen in Iowa, but rain is in the forecast

A woman that a court has found was wrongly convicted of a St.
Joseph murder in 1980 has taken yet another step toward freedom.

The Western Missouri Court of Appeals has upheld a lower
court’s ruling that Sandra Hemme was wrongly convicted in the death of Patricia
Jeschke, a library worker at the St. Joseph State Hospital.

Hemme was released from the Chillicothe women’s prison in July
after Livingston County Circuit Judge Ryan Horsman ordered Hemme be released or
retried. Attorney General Andrew Bailey objected and sought to block her
release.

Horsman ruled evidence in the case now points to a discredited
former St. Joseph police officer, the late Michael Holman.

Buchanan County Prosecutor Michelle Davidson has 10 days to
decide whether to retry Hemme or dismiss the case.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/7/1721392686501.png" alt="Sandra Hemme/Missouri Dept. Corrections" />
 <figcaption>Sandra Hemme/Missouri Dept. Corrections</figcaption>
 </figure>By BRENT MARTINSt. Joseph PostA woman that a court has found was wrongly convicted of a St.
Joseph murder in 1980 has taken yet another step toward freedom.The Western Missouri Court of Appeals has upheld a lower
court’s ruling that Sandra Hemme was wrongly convicted in the death of Patricia
Jeschke, a library worker at the St. Joseph State Hospital.Hemme was released from the Chillicothe women’s prison in July
after Livingston County Circuit Judge Ryan Horsman ordered Hemme be released or
retried. Attorney General Andrew Bailey objected and sought to block her
release.Horsman ruled evidence in the case now points to a discredited
former St. Joseph police officer, the late Michael Holman.Buchanan County Prosecutor Michelle Davidson has 10 days to
decide whether to retry Hemme or dismiss the case.Hemme spent 43 years in prison.You can follow Brent on X @GBrentKFEQ and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.

Woman found by courts to be wrongly convicted in 1980 St. Joseph murder nears freedom

BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/ashley-murray/">ASHLEY MURRAY</a>

WASHINGTON — The next U.S. president must steer the nation through crises across the globe, including worsening violence in the Middle East, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s refusal to retreat from Ukraine and U.S-China trade relations.

The Democratic nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris, largely built her career as a prosecutor, but once in Washington she sat on the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, a position that comes with access to highly classified national security files.

As vice president she’s represented the U.S. at high-profile international meetings, including the Munich Security Conference and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation.

The Republican nominee, former President Donald Trump, who followed his wealthy father’s path into real estate and ascended to the status of celebrity businessman, has already held the elected position of Commander-in-Chief for four years — though high-ranking officials who served under him&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/milley-trump-biden-democracy-military-d2abb76858291c87ae856f91e9556d8e" target="_blank">say</a>&nbsp;he&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/bolton-excoriates-trump-fresh-introduction-his-memoir-2024-01-30/" target="_blank">should</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2024/03/30/mark-esper-wont-vote-for-trump-wont-say-he-will-vote-for-biden-sot-nr-vpx.cnn" target="_blank">not</a>&nbsp;occupy that seat again.

Trump and Harris’ track records can provide clues on how, if elected, they would handle complex and challenging national and economic security policies.

But overall on the campaign trail, foreign policy “has played a back seat role to domestic politics in the 2024 election,” James M. Lindsay, a senior fellow in U.S. foreign policy for the Council on Foreign Relations, told States Newsroom in an interview.

That’s not unusual, Lindsay said, as presidential year politics generally tend to have a domestic focus.

“This has been more a campaign about personalities than about specific policy prescriptions. It’s safe to say that the two candidates have very different world views,” Lindsay said.

Harris centers relationship building, and promised in her Democratic National Convention acceptance speech to “stand strong” with NATO allies.

In Trump’s convention speech he lamented that the U.S. has “long been taken advantage of” by “so-called allies.”

Observers say the former president leads with a transactional outlook: In other words, nations must pay for access to U.S. markets and security.

“Trump thinks that U.S. support to allies is a bad deal for America, whereas Harris realizes that the United States benefits immensely from them,” Matthew Waxman, senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and chair of Columbia Law School’s National Security Law Program, told States Newsroom.

But predicting how a presidential candidate would act on the global stage, if elected, is tricky. Conflicts continue to evolve, and those in top defense and diplomatic jobs are likely to turn over.

“It’s partly because a President Harris or President Trump could face a very different situation in the Middle East or in Ukraine come Inauguration Day, but it’s also because in Washington personnel are policy, people are policy,” Lindsay said.

Here are some of the serious international situations either administration will face:

The deadly Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, launched from the Palestinian territory of the Gaza Strip, reignited smoldering regional tensions and highlighted the inextricable U.S. role. Hamas militants killed roughly 1,200 in the brutal and unexpected incursion, and took 250 hostages, many of whom still remain in captivity.

President Joe Biden immediately&nbsp;<a href="https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R47828" target="_blank">surged</a>&nbsp;weapons and security aid to the key U.S. defense partner, and in April Congress approved his request for $8.7 billion more in foreign military financing and missile defense.

Israel’s year-long campaign to completely eliminate Iranian-allied Hamas militants from the Gaza Strip has resulted in a staggering death toll, now over 41,000, according to Gaza health officials.

Hamas’ assault also set in motion attacks from other Iranian-backed militias, opening up a war front between Israel and Hezbollah fighters to the north in Lebanon. And for months, Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthis have terrorized commercial shipping in the Red Sea.

Biden has faced fierce criticism for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s war tactics.

Harris, as early as March,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.npr.org/2024/03/04/1234822836/kamala-harris-benny-gantz-gaza-cease-fire-israel-hamas" target="_blank">publicly</a>&nbsp;criticized Israel over the humanitarian “<a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us-vp-harris-urges-israeli-government-do-more-boost-aid-into-gaza-2024-03-03/" target="_blank">catastrophe</a>” in Gaza and called for an immediate six-week cease-fire.

Harris, who became the Democratic presidential nominee in mid-summer after Biden dropped his bid, has repeatedly said she defends Israel’s right to defend itself but that “<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2024/07/25/remarks-by-vice-president-harris-following-meeting-with-prime-minister-benjamin-netanyahu-of-israel/" target="_blank">how it does so matters</a>.”

Protesters could be heard in the distance Monday as Harris planted a memorial tree at the vice president’s residence to mark the one-year anniversary of the Oct. 7 attack. Pro-Palestinian activists protesting the death toll in Gaza have marched and rallied throughout the U.S. during the past year.

Harris&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/one-year-oct-7-attack-israel-us-leaders-honor-victims-and-protesters-march" target="_blank">told</a>&nbsp;reporters that the administration is “not giving up” on negotiating a cease-fire deal and release of hostages, an effort that has so far floundered.

“It’s one of the most important ways we will be able to end this war and bring any type of stability to the region. It’s one of the highest priorities of this administration,” she said.

She has not indicated any slowdown or conditions on assistance to Israel if elected — though she continues to advocate for a two-state solution.

“Trump may give Jerusalem less public chastising and criticism, but I’m not sure the policy differences would be that great either,” Michael O’Hanlon, senior fellow and foreign policy research director at the Brookings Institution, told States Newsroom. O’Hanlon recently published an article arguing the Trump and Harris defense strategies would at least “<a href="https://www.brookings.edu/articles/the-partially-convergent-trump-and-harris-defense-policies/" target="_blank">partially</a>” converge.

Trump maintains that Oct. 7 “would never have happened” had he been in office, and he accuses the Biden administration of inviting the attack because of its “weak” relationship with Iran.

“What is needed more than ever is a return of unwavering American leadership and unquestioned American strength. We were strong, we were powerful … That’s what I intend to deliver as the 47th president of the United States,” he said Monday while in Miami marking one year since the ambush on Israel.

The attack also wrecked any forward progress on the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.state.gov/the-abraham-accords/" target="_blank">Abraham Accords</a>&nbsp;— Trump’s signature Middle East achievement that created full diplomatic relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco. While those established channels remain steady, the Biden administration’s efforts to strike a deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia are now at a standstill.

Trump is increasingly selling himself on the campaign trail as the candidate of stability who can quash Iran’s aggression — which is pretty much a “standard approach to campaigning,” Lindsay said.

“He is not the first challenger to argue that the incumbent president has been weak.”

But Lindsay said, “the important question isn’t whether he was tougher, it’s whether his policies were more effective.”

For example, the Iranian-backed so-called “axis of resistance” militias currently upending the Middle East were also operating during Trump’s presidency.

“(They) pre-dated his coming into office but it’s not that a Trump administration ended that network of anti-Western, anti-Israeli groups,” Lindsay said. “And during the Trump administration it was the case that Iran both underwrote attacks on American troops and actually launched attacks on American troops.”

Trump drew attention last week to an early January 2020 barrage on U.S. troops in Iraq when he again&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/trump-describes-traumatic-brain-injuries-sustained-us-troops-iraq-headache" target="_blank">described</a>&nbsp;the traumatic brain injuries they suffered as “headaches.”

U.S. troops&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cfr.org/article/us-troops-middle-east-mapping-military-presence" target="_blank">in Iraq and Syria</a>, already a target, have come under increasing fire from Iran-backed militants, with more than 100&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cfr.org/in-brief/drone-strike-risks-dangerous-us-iran-escalation" target="_blank">attacks</a>&nbsp;on U.S. service members since Israel began its post-Oct. 7 offensive. A drone strike in January&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/28/politics/us-troops-drone-attack-jordan/index.html" target="_blank">killed</a>&nbsp;three U.S. soldiers and injured 30 at an outpost in Jordan on the Syrian border. The U.S. retaliated by&nbsp;<a href="https://www.npr.org/2024/02/02/1228132782/us-biden-iran-drone-response-strike" target="_blank">launching</a>&nbsp;more than 100 precision rockets at 85 of Iran military sites in Iraq and Syria.

The U.S. assisted Israel&nbsp;<a href="https://www.defense.gov/News/News-Stories/Article/Article/3923123/us-assets-in-mediterranean-again-helped-defend-israel-against-iranian-missiles/" target="_blank">twice</a>&nbsp;in 2024 in intercepting rockets fired directly from Iran — once in April following Israel’s bombing of the Iranian embassy in Damascus, and again in September after Israel’s assassination of Iranian-backed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut, Lebanon.

“We’re in the last months of the Biden presidency, and Biden’s own, I think, personal influence here is quite diminished. And you know, I can’t predict what Trump policy really would be. I assume he would be less likely to be trying to restrain the Israelis, but so is the Biden administration. And maybe that is a Biden-Harris policy,” Elliott Abrams, CFR’s senior fellow for Middle Eastern Studies, told reporters on Oct. 2, the day after Iran launched its second direct&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/oct/01/iran-imminent-ballistic-missile-attack-israel-us-warns" target="_blank">attack</a>.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with both&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/zelenskyy-washington-meets-us-leaders-beef-support-ukraine" target="_blank">Harris</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2024/09/27/u-s-government-unveils-charges-against-iranians-who-hacked-into-trump-2024-campaign/" target="_blank">Trump</a>&nbsp;in recent weeks to shore up continued U.S. support for his country’s ongoing war against Russia’s occupation.

Harris’ meeting with the Ukrainian leader was her seventh, and she pledged continued aid for the eastern European nation on the principle that Putin would continue marching into Europe if allies relent on Ukraine.

Harris supports continued U.S. assistance, which has&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cfr.org/article/how-much-us-aid-going-ukraine" target="_blank">totaled</a>&nbsp;roughly $175 billion since 2022. At the Ukraine peace&nbsp;<a href="https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2024/06/16/joint-communique-on-a-peace-framework-summit-on-peace-in-ukraine/" target="_blank">summit</a>&nbsp;in Switzerland in June, Harris&nbsp;<a href="https://www.france24.com/en/americas/20240723-from-gaza-to-china-where-kamala-harris-stands-on-foreign-policy-issues" target="_blank">pledged</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.usaid.gov/news-information/press-releases/jun-15-2024-/vice-president-kamala-harris-announces-over-1-billion-bolster-ukraines-energy-sector-address-humanitarian-needs-and-strengthen-civilian-security" target="_blank">nearly</a>&nbsp;$2 billion, some new and some redirected, to bolster the country’s energy sector and add to humanitarian efforts.

The vice president has&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2022/02/19/remarks-by-vice-president-harris-at-the-munich-security-conference/" target="_blank">represented</a>&nbsp;the U.S.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2023/02/18/remarks-by-vice-president-harris-at-the-munich-security-conference-2/" target="_blank">three</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2024/02/16/remarks-by-vice-president-harris-at-the-munich-security-conference-munich-germany/" target="_blank">times</a>&nbsp;at the annual Munich Security Conference in Germany, where she praised the NATO alliance and said the U.S. commitment to its principles is “ironclad.”

When facing Harris on the presidential debate stage in September, Trump&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/harris-tears-trump-over-abortion-rights-and-race-tense-presidential-debate" target="_blank">refused</a>&nbsp;to answer whether he wants Ukraine to be victorious over Russia.

Trump’s rhetoric and past behavior “spells bad news for Ukraine,” Waxman said.

“He is likely to reduce American support for Ukraine and push Ukraine to make concessions to Russia. Overall, Trump’s transactional approach to leader-to-leader diplomacy is likely to benefit Putin,” Waxman continued. “Whereas Harris wants to invest in alliances like NATO, Trump is skeptical of them.”

That type of leader-to-leader communication was notoriously highlighted in 2019 when U.S. House lawmakers&nbsp;<a href="https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/artII-S4-4-9/ALDE_00000035/" target="_blank">impeached</a>&nbsp;Trump for directly threatening to withhold Ukraine aid if Zelenskyy did not announce an investigation into Biden — Trump’s presidential campaign rival at the time. The Senate acquitted Trump.

Like his campaign line on the Israel attack, Trump also repeatedly claims that had he been in office, instead of Biden, Russia would have never launched its February 2022 attack on Ukraine.

“The war in Ukraine did not begin in February of ‘22, it began back in 2014,” Lindsay said, referring to Putin’s forced annexation of the Crimean Peninsula.

Trump’s own administration&nbsp;<a href="https://www.brookings.edu/articles/on-the-record-the-u-s-administrations-actions-on-russia/" target="_blank">expanded</a>&nbsp;Obama-era sanctions meant to punish Russia’s actions in Crimea.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/9/1695389171060.png" alt="File photo -President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy&nbsp; and U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin- photo courtesy White House" />
 <figcaption>File photo -President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy&nbsp; and U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin- photo courtesy White House</figcaption>
 </figure>BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/ashley-murray/">ASHLEY MURRAY</a>WASHINGTON — The next U.S. president must steer the nation through crises across the globe, including worsening violence in the Middle East, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s refusal to retreat from Ukraine and U.S-China trade relations.The Democratic nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris, largely built her career as a prosecutor, but once in Washington she sat on the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, a position that comes with access to highly classified national security files.As vice president she’s represented the U.S. at high-profile international meetings, including the Munich Security Conference and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation.The Republican nominee, former President Donald Trump, who followed his wealthy father’s path into real estate and ascended to the status of celebrity businessman, has already held the elected position of Commander-in-Chief for four years — though high-ranking officials who served under him&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/milley-trump-biden-democracy-military-d2abb76858291c87ae856f91e9556d8e" target="_blank">say</a>&nbsp;he&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/bolton-excoriates-trump-fresh-introduction-his-memoir-2024-01-30/" target="_blank">should</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2024/03/30/mark-esper-wont-vote-for-trump-wont-say-he-will-vote-for-biden-sot-nr-vpx.cnn" target="_blank">not</a>&nbsp;occupy that seat again.Trump and Harris’ track records can provide clues on how, if elected, they would handle complex and challenging national and economic security policies.But overall on the campaign trail, foreign policy “has played a back seat role to domestic politics in the 2024 election,” James M. Lindsay, a senior fellow in U.S. foreign policy for the Council on Foreign Relations, told States Newsroom in an interview.That’s not unusual, Lindsay said, as presidential year politics generally tend to have a domestic focus.“This has been more a campaign about personalities than about specific policy prescriptions. It’s safe to say that the two candidates have very different world views,” Lindsay said.<h2>Relationships with allies</h2>Harris centers relationship building, and promised in her Democratic National Convention acceptance speech to “stand strong” with NATO allies.In Trump’s convention speech he lamented that the U.S. has “long been taken advantage of” by “so-called allies.”Observers say the former president leads with a transactional outlook: In other words, nations must pay for access to U.S. markets and security.“Trump thinks that U.S. support to allies is a bad deal for America, whereas Harris realizes that the United States benefits immensely from them,” Matthew Waxman, senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and chair of Columbia Law School’s National Security Law Program, told States Newsroom.But predicting how a presidential candidate would act on the global stage, if elected, is tricky. Conflicts continue to evolve, and those in top defense and diplomatic jobs are likely to turn over.“It’s partly because a President Harris or President Trump could face a very different situation in the Middle East or in Ukraine come Inauguration Day, but it’s also because in Washington personnel are policy, people are policy,” Lindsay said.Here are some of the serious international situations either administration will face:<h2>Middle East</h2>The deadly Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, launched from the Palestinian territory of the Gaza Strip, reignited smoldering regional tensions and highlighted the inextricable U.S. role. Hamas militants killed roughly 1,200 in the brutal and unexpected incursion, and took 250 hostages, many of whom still remain in captivity.President Joe Biden immediately&nbsp;<a href="https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R47828" target="_blank">surged</a>&nbsp;weapons and security aid to the key U.S. defense partner, and in April Congress approved his request for $8.7 billion more in foreign military financing and missile defense.Israel’s year-long campaign to completely eliminate Iranian-allied Hamas militants from the Gaza Strip has resulted in a staggering death toll, now over 41,000, according to Gaza health officials.Hamas’ assault also set in motion attacks from other Iranian-backed militias, opening up a war front between Israel and Hezbollah fighters to the north in Lebanon. And for months, Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthis have terrorized commercial shipping in the Red Sea.Biden has faced fierce criticism for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s war tactics.Harris, as early as March,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.npr.org/2024/03/04/1234822836/kamala-harris-benny-gantz-gaza-cease-fire-israel-hamas" target="_blank">publicly</a>&nbsp;criticized Israel over the humanitarian “<a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us-vp-harris-urges-israeli-government-do-more-boost-aid-into-gaza-2024-03-03/" target="_blank">catastrophe</a>” in Gaza and called for an immediate six-week cease-fire.Harris, who became the Democratic presidential nominee in mid-summer after Biden dropped his bid, has repeatedly said she defends Israel’s right to defend itself but that “<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2024/07/25/remarks-by-vice-president-harris-following-meeting-with-prime-minister-benjamin-netanyahu-of-israel/" target="_blank">how it does so matters</a>.”Protesters could be heard in the distance Monday as Harris planted a memorial tree at the vice president’s residence to mark the one-year anniversary of the Oct. 7 attack. Pro-Palestinian activists protesting the death toll in Gaza have marched and rallied throughout the U.S. during the past year.Harris&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/one-year-oct-7-attack-israel-us-leaders-honor-victims-and-protesters-march" target="_blank">told</a>&nbsp;reporters that the administration is “not giving up” on negotiating a cease-fire deal and release of hostages, an effort that has so far floundered.“It’s one of the most important ways we will be able to end this war and bring any type of stability to the region. It’s one of the highest priorities of this administration,” she said.She has not indicated any slowdown or conditions on assistance to Israel if elected — though she continues to advocate for a two-state solution.“Trump may give Jerusalem less public chastising and criticism, but I’m not sure the policy differences would be that great either,” Michael O’Hanlon, senior fellow and foreign policy research director at the Brookings Institution, told States Newsroom. O’Hanlon recently published an article arguing the Trump and Harris defense strategies would at least “<a href="https://www.brookings.edu/articles/the-partially-convergent-trump-and-harris-defense-policies/" target="_blank">partially</a>” converge.Trump maintains that Oct. 7 “would never have happened” had he been in office, and he accuses the Biden administration of inviting the attack because of its “weak” relationship with Iran.“What is needed more than ever is a return of unwavering American leadership and unquestioned American strength. We were strong, we were powerful … That’s what I intend to deliver as the 47th president of the United States,” he said Monday while in Miami marking one year since the ambush on Israel.The attack also wrecked any forward progress on the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.state.gov/the-abraham-accords/" target="_blank">Abraham Accords</a>&nbsp;— Trump’s signature Middle East achievement that created full diplomatic relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco. While those established channels remain steady, the Biden administration’s efforts to strike a deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia are now at a standstill.Trump is increasingly selling himself on the campaign trail as the candidate of stability who can quash Iran’s aggression — which is pretty much a “standard approach to campaigning,” Lindsay said.“He is not the first challenger to argue that the incumbent president has been weak.”But Lindsay said, “the important question isn’t whether he was tougher, it’s whether his policies were more effective.”For example, the Iranian-backed so-called “axis of resistance” militias currently upending the Middle East were also operating during Trump’s presidency.“(They) pre-dated his coming into office but it’s not that a Trump administration ended that network of anti-Western, anti-Israeli groups,” Lindsay said. “And during the Trump administration it was the case that Iran both underwrote attacks on American troops and actually launched attacks on American troops.”Trump drew attention last week to an early January 2020 barrage on U.S. troops in Iraq when he again&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/trump-describes-traumatic-brain-injuries-sustained-us-troops-iraq-headache" target="_blank">described</a>&nbsp;the traumatic brain injuries they suffered as “headaches.”U.S. troops&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cfr.org/article/us-troops-middle-east-mapping-military-presence" target="_blank">in Iraq and Syria</a>, already a target, have come under increasing fire from Iran-backed militants, with more than 100&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cfr.org/in-brief/drone-strike-risks-dangerous-us-iran-escalation" target="_blank">attacks</a>&nbsp;on U.S. service members since Israel began its post-Oct. 7 offensive. A drone strike in January&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/28/politics/us-troops-drone-attack-jordan/index.html" target="_blank">killed</a>&nbsp;three U.S. soldiers and injured 30 at an outpost in Jordan on the Syrian border. The U.S. retaliated by&nbsp;<a href="https://www.npr.org/2024/02/02/1228132782/us-biden-iran-drone-response-strike" target="_blank">launching</a>&nbsp;more than 100 precision rockets at 85 of Iran military sites in Iraq and Syria.The U.S. assisted Israel&nbsp;<a href="https://www.defense.gov/News/News-Stories/Article/Article/3923123/us-assets-in-mediterranean-again-helped-defend-israel-against-iranian-missiles/" target="_blank">twice</a>&nbsp;in 2024 in intercepting rockets fired directly from Iran — once in April following Israel’s bombing of the Iranian embassy in Damascus, and again in September after Israel’s assassination of Iranian-backed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut, Lebanon.“We’re in the last months of the Biden presidency, and Biden’s own, I think, personal influence here is quite diminished. And you know, I can’t predict what Trump policy really would be. I assume he would be less likely to be trying to restrain the Israelis, but so is the Biden administration. And maybe that is a Biden-Harris policy,” Elliott Abrams, CFR’s senior fellow for Middle Eastern Studies, told reporters on Oct. 2, the day after Iran launched its second direct&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/oct/01/iran-imminent-ballistic-missile-attack-israel-us-warns" target="_blank">attack</a>.<h2>Ukraine and NATO</h2>Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with both&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/zelenskyy-washington-meets-us-leaders-beef-support-ukraine" target="_blank">Harris</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2024/09/27/u-s-government-unveils-charges-against-iranians-who-hacked-into-trump-2024-campaign/" target="_blank">Trump</a>&nbsp;in recent weeks to shore up continued U.S. support for his country’s ongoing war against Russia’s occupation.Harris’ meeting with the Ukrainian leader was her seventh, and she pledged continued aid for the eastern European nation on the principle that Putin would continue marching into Europe if allies relent on Ukraine.Harris supports continued U.S. assistance, which has&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cfr.org/article/how-much-us-aid-going-ukraine" target="_blank">totaled</a>&nbsp;roughly $175 billion since 2022. At the Ukraine peace&nbsp;<a href="https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2024/06/16/joint-communique-on-a-peace-framework-summit-on-peace-in-ukraine/" target="_blank">summit</a>&nbsp;in Switzerland in June, Harris&nbsp;<a href="https://www.france24.com/en/americas/20240723-from-gaza-to-china-where-kamala-harris-stands-on-foreign-policy-issues" target="_blank">pledged</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.usaid.gov/news-information/press-releases/jun-15-2024-/vice-president-kamala-harris-announces-over-1-billion-bolster-ukraines-energy-sector-address-humanitarian-needs-and-strengthen-civilian-security" target="_blank">nearly</a>&nbsp;$2 billion, some new and some redirected, to bolster the country’s energy sector and add to humanitarian efforts.The vice president has&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2022/02/19/remarks-by-vice-president-harris-at-the-munich-security-conference/" target="_blank">represented</a>&nbsp;the U.S.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2023/02/18/remarks-by-vice-president-harris-at-the-munich-security-conference-2/" target="_blank">three</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2024/02/16/remarks-by-vice-president-harris-at-the-munich-security-conference-munich-germany/" target="_blank">times</a>&nbsp;at the annual Munich Security Conference in Germany, where she praised the NATO alliance and said the U.S. commitment to its principles is “ironclad.”When facing Harris on the presidential debate stage in September, Trump&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/harris-tears-trump-over-abortion-rights-and-race-tense-presidential-debate" target="_blank">refused</a>&nbsp;to answer whether he wants Ukraine to be victorious over Russia.Trump’s rhetoric and past behavior “spells bad news for Ukraine,” Waxman said.“He is likely to reduce American support for Ukraine and push Ukraine to make concessions to Russia. Overall, Trump’s transactional approach to leader-to-leader diplomacy is likely to benefit Putin,” Waxman continued. “Whereas Harris wants to invest in alliances like NATO, Trump is skeptical of them.”That type of leader-to-leader communication was notoriously highlighted in 2019 when U.S. House lawmakers&nbsp;<a href="https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/artII-S4-4-9/ALDE_00000035/" target="_blank">impeached</a>&nbsp;Trump for directly threatening to withhold Ukraine aid if Zelenskyy did not announce an investigation into Biden — Trump’s presidential campaign rival at the time. The Senate acquitted Trump.Like his campaign line on the Israel attack, Trump also repeatedly claims that had he been in office, instead of Biden, Russia would have never launched its February 2022 attack on Ukraine.“The war in Ukraine did not begin in February of ‘22, it began back in 2014,” Lindsay said, referring to Putin’s forced annexation of the Crimean Peninsula.Trump’s own administration&nbsp;<a href="https://www.brookings.edu/articles/on-the-record-the-u-s-administrations-actions-on-russia/" target="_blank">expanded</a>&nbsp;Obama-era sanctions meant to punish Russia’s actions in Crimea.“Experts can argue about how to dole out criticism across administrations, but clearly the issue of Russian support for a notionally independent insurrection in eastern Ukraine was not solved during the Trump presidency,” Lindsay continued.<h2>China and trade</h2>Foreign trade is a “political hot potato,” and neither Harris nor Trump are offering much clarity for U.S. trading partners around the world, Mary E. Lovely, senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, told States Newsroom in an interview.Lovely described the Biden-Harris approach as multipronged, in that they’ve instituted policies to bring manufacturing back to the U.S. while also aiming to maintain good trade relationships with partner nations.The tightrope walk becomes even trickier as U.S. policy also&nbsp;<a href="https://www.piie.com/blogs/realtime-economics/2024/while-us-and-china-decouple-eu-and-china-deepen-trade-dependencies" target="_blank">disincentivizes</a>&nbsp;materials and components from China — one of the world’s largest trading nations — in the final products imported from trading partners. Think: components in solar panels and electric vehicles.The Biden administration’s major legislative accomplishments — the Inflation Reduction Act and the CHIPS and Science Act — provided major subsidies for “reshoring,” or returning to the U.S., clean energy and semiconductor production. But the policies were not without risks to U.S. trading partners.“We had a lot of things (in the legislation), including things that upset the allies — you know, subsidies for American businesses, that they saw potentially as pulling investment out of their economies,” Lovely said.“These are things that the European Union, Japan, Korea were concerned about,” Lovely continued. “So we’ve seen it there — this tension between foreign policy and this idea of economic security.”While Lovely said she worries about how some of the Biden-Harris trade policies might affect competition and the nation’s ability to sign timely trade agreements, she said Trump’s plans are overall “destabilizing.”“The increased use of tariffs is misguided at best,” Lovely said.Trump’s promise to not only increase tariffs on Chinese imports to 60%, but also to slap flat 10% to 20% tariffs on all imports across the board is akin to “starting a trade war with the entire world.”“We’re not going to see those kinds of tariffs without retaliation,” Lovely said.If enacted, the tariffs would be particularly challenging for Indo-Pacific countries that rely on U.S. partnership in the face of China’s regional dominance.“I mean, you can imagine how this will go down in, say, Japan and Korea, two countries which rely on the U.S. for a security umbrella, which is why Trump thinks that he can do stuff to them. But they also have to protect their own economies,” Lovely said. “So it’s going to put them in a really terrible position because it’s very important for them to maintain their alliance with the U.S., economic as well as military.”But one thing is for sure, Lovely said: “Everybody wants to know what’s going to happen. Everybody in every embassy here in Washington.”

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