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

The annual markets outlook from the Food &amp; Agricultural Policy Research Institute anticipates declining farm income, higher costs for producers

U.S. farm income is falling from record highs as low commodity prices, trade headwinds and higher costs squeeze profits, according to a&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://fapri.missouri.edu/publications/2024-us-agricultural-market-outlook/?utm_campaign=485145_FAPRI%20Baseline%20Report%20%28March%202024%29&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_source=Child%20account%20for%20The%20Curators%20of%20the%20University%20of%20Missouri&amp;dm_i=7JGU,AEC9,4NFRO6,1HPH8,1">new report from the University of Missouri</a>.

The 2024&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://fapri.missouri.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/2024-Baseline-Outlook.pdf">U.S. Agricultural Market Outlook</a>&nbsp;report released Tuesday by the Food &amp; Agricultural Policy Research Institute, also known as FAPRI, is a 10-year projection of the agriculture economy. It examines production trends and pricing for commodity and specialty crops and livestock and discusses issues like interest rates, consumer prices and biofuel production that impact on farming as a whole.

For producers, the news isn’t especially welcome.

“We got lower commodity prices kind of across the board, except for cattle,” said Pat Westhoff, the agricultural economics professor who serves as the institute’s director.

The annual report is eagerly anticipated in the agriculture industry and its findings have extra significance this year as Congress tries to&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://thehill.com/homenews/house/4467907-farm-bill-tensions-conservation-fire-food-aid/">pass a farm bill</a>&nbsp;renewing producer support and food distribution programs.

Net farm income nationally is expected to be about $118.2 billion this year, down from a record of about $162 billion in 2022.

Westhoff said he briefed Congressional staff on the report Tuesday and the reaction was a classic glass half-empty, glass half-full split. Some saw the large decline in farm income as a problem, while others noted that income is expected to remain above the average from 2015 to 2019.

“People were using the same numbers and making the opposite arguments,” Westhoff said.

Missouri is second only to Texas in the number of farms, with 87,887 farms that sold $14.7 billion in agricultural products in 2022, up from $10.5 billion in 2017 according to&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/AgCensus/2022/Full_Report/Volume_1,_Chapter_2_US_State_Level/st99_2_001_001.pdf">the Census of Agriculture</a>. Missouri farms also received nearly $1 billion in government payments or other income.

With farm production expenses of $10.7 billion, Missouri farms had net cash income of $5 billion.

The 5,596 largest Missouri farms, with sales of $500,000 or more, sold more than $11.6 billion of products in 2022. The 67,400 Missouri farms with sales of less than $50,000 sold&nbsp;$685 million agricultural products.

Prices for grain and oil crops have fallen dramatically in the past year. Missouri farmers were receiving $14.90 a bushel for soybeans in January 2023, and $6.94 a bushel for corn. According to the monthly agricultural prices report from the National Agricultural Statistics Service, the price received for soybeans in January was $12.90 a bushel and for corn it was $4.79.

The issues facing farmers nationally, Westhoff said, are true in Missouri, where corn, soybeans and wheat are the major cash crops.&nbsp;

The FAPRI report projects the decline in commodity grain prices will slow, but continue.

Missouri farmers get a slightly better price than the national average for corn and soybeans because of proximity to large rivers and industries such as ethanol and biodiesel that buy commodities locally, Westhoff said.

“Where you have crushing facilities for soybeans matters tremendously,” Westhoff said. “Where you have ethanol plants matters as well.”

Missouri produced 264.9 million bushels of soybeans in 2023. A decline of $2 per bushel means the farmers producing those beans received more than $500 million less than they did for the same commodity the previous year.

The sharp decline in market prices for soybeans hasn’t been accompanied by a similar decline in prices for fertilizer, fuel and other supplies, said Casey Wasser, chief operating officer of Missouri Soybeans, the industry lobbying association.

“The input prices have not come down at all with the other prices,” Wasser said. “So that’s where that net farm income is going to hit producers pretty tight.”

Missouri has the nation’s sixth largest cattle herd. It also is home to the sixth largest number of hogs, and its farmers sold the seventh largest number of chickens for meat consumption and had the nation’s 12th largest flock of laying hens.

But Missouri is losing farmers – and farmland – faster than the national average.

The number of farms declined 7.8% since the 2017 farm census while nationally the number fell 6.9%. Nationally, 2.2% of farmland was converted to other uses between the surveys, while in Missouri the acreage in farming declined 2.7%.

The smallest producers are being squeezed the tightest, said Tim Gibbons of the Missouri Rural Crisis Center. In a telephone interview after he spent a day lobbying in Washington for changes in national farm programs, Gibbons said the issues facing farmers go well beyond commodity prices and interest rates.

Control of agriculture continues to be concentrated in large corporations, he said. Farm programs are designed to support cheap commodities and large producers, he said.

“What I’m hearing on the Hill is a joke relative to the situation that is farming in Missouri and in the United States right now,” Gibbons said.

Corporate-backed buyers are&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://missouriindependent.com/2024/01/01/boom-or-bubble-high-missouri-farmland-prices-encourage-investors-concern-farmers/">outbidding local residents</a>&nbsp;for farmland and the concentration in meatpacking means producers become dependent on contracts that can be canceled when profits narrow. The decision by Tyson Foods to&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2024/03/11/tyson-to-close-perry-pork-plant-in-june/">close a plant in Perry, Iowa</a>, that employs 1,300 people will have a ripple effect on the farmers who raise hogs under contract, Gibbons said.

Missouri has lost more than 1,000 cattle producers a year over the past 25 years, a trend that accelerated to about 2,000 per year in the past five years, according to the farm census. The number of farms producing hogs has declined from 12,133 in 1992 to 2,184 in 2022.

“The policies that have been in recent past farm bills have been written by and for these multinational corporations and lobbyists that lobby for them,” Gibbons said. “We need a very different vision and a farm bill.”

The only area where prices are increasing in the past year are for cattle. That’s because the national herd is at its&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://missouriindependent.com/2024/03/19/droughts-complicated-by-climate-change-result-in-us-beef-herd-hitting-historic-low/">lowest number since the 1960s</a>, in large part due to pastureland drying up because of droughts starting in 2020.

“It’s causing liquidation and we’re not seeing rebuilding right now,” Gibbons said. “That connects with interest rates as well.”

Higher interest rates in the United States, which increase costs for farmers as they borrow to finance annual operations or add land and equipment, put farmers at a disadvantage internationally by making the dollar worth more in exchange, Westhoff said.

One indicator of the impact is that the U.S. has become a&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://nebraskapublicmedia.org/en/news/news-articles/the-us-agricultural-trade-deficit-could-reach-record-highs-for-2023-is-there-cause-for-concern/">net importer of food and agricultural products</a>, reversing decades of a surplus in the balance of farm trade.

“We are importing lots of value-added products that might otherwise be produced here and of course that has spillover effects,” Westhoff said.

The FAPRI report section on government aid to farmers notes that the cost of the two main programs intended to shore up prices –&nbsp; agricultural risk coverage, or ARC, and price loss coverage, or PLC fell below $1 billion because of recent high commodity prices.&nbsp;

At the same time, crop insurance payments in 2023 totaled $9.3 billion.

“We need to figure out a system of farmer-owned grain reserves and price floors and price ceilings to stop the volatility of the market, and keep that price floor at the cost of production,” Gibbons said.

Missouri Soybean is pushing for changes in federal farm support programs to reset the protected prices at a higher level, Wasser said. Prices on beans could fall another $2 per bushel and Missouri farmers wouldn’t qualify for payments to make up any of the difference, he said.

“We’re still not even close to a safety net, with inputs and $11 beans it’s tough for any farmer no matter what your size or your leverage to be making any profit on that,” Wasser said..

FAPRI’s job is to provide information, not advise on policy decisions, Westhoff said.

The difficulty of getting changes to the programs is cost, he said.

Some “would like to do some changes that would improve the safety net from the perspective of producers but those changes all cost money,” he said. “And unless you’re going to reduce that spending or reduce spending on conservation programs, there’s not any obvious way to put those pieces together.”

The decline in commodity prices should ease inflation in food costs and even reverse some recent increases, such as for eggs and pork, Westhoff said. Food purchased for consumption at home should not increase any faster than inflation generally, the report indicates.

But consumers shouldn’t expect everything in the supermarket to get cheaper, he said.

“For the most part, the share of those commodity prices that affect consumer food prices is pretty small,” Westhoff said. “Therefore even a significant decline in the farm level price doesn’t translate to any decline, or not a very big decline, in grocery store prices.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/2/1614189270972.jpeg" alt="Photo USDA" />
 <figcaption>Photo USDA</figcaption>
 </figure>By RUDI KELLER,&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/briefs/missouri-senate-committee-advances-bill-to-ban-texting-while-driving/">Missouri Independent</a><h2>The annual markets outlook from the Food &amp; Agricultural Policy Research Institute anticipates declining farm income, higher costs for producers</h2>U.S. farm income is falling from record highs as low commodity prices, trade headwinds and higher costs squeeze profits, according to a&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://fapri.missouri.edu/publications/2024-us-agricultural-market-outlook/?utm_campaign=485145_FAPRI%20Baseline%20Report%20%28March%202024%29&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_source=Child%20account%20for%20The%20Curators%20of%20the%20University%20of%20Missouri&amp;dm_i=7JGU,AEC9,4NFRO6,1HPH8,1">new report from the University of Missouri</a>.The 2024&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://fapri.missouri.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/2024-Baseline-Outlook.pdf">U.S. Agricultural Market Outlook</a>&nbsp;report released Tuesday by the Food &amp; Agricultural Policy Research Institute, also known as FAPRI, is a 10-year projection of the agriculture economy. It examines production trends and pricing for commodity and specialty crops and livestock and discusses issues like interest rates, consumer prices and biofuel production that impact on farming as a whole.For producers, the news isn’t especially welcome.“We got lower commodity prices kind of across the board, except for cattle,” said Pat Westhoff, the agricultural economics professor who serves as the institute’s director.The annual report is eagerly anticipated in the agriculture industry and its findings have extra significance this year as Congress tries to&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://thehill.com/homenews/house/4467907-farm-bill-tensions-conservation-fire-food-aid/">pass a farm bill</a>&nbsp;renewing producer support and food distribution programs.Net farm income nationally is expected to be about $118.2 billion this year, down from a record of about $162 billion in 2022.Westhoff said he briefed Congressional staff on the report Tuesday and the reaction was a classic glass half-empty, glass half-full split. Some saw the large decline in farm income as a problem, while others noted that income is expected to remain above the average from 2015 to 2019.“People were using the same numbers and making the opposite arguments,” Westhoff said.Missouri is second only to Texas in the number of farms, with 87,887 farms that sold $14.7 billion in agricultural products in 2022, up from $10.5 billion in 2017 according to&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/AgCensus/2022/Full_Report/Volume_1,_Chapter_2_US_State_Level/st99_2_001_001.pdf">the Census of Agriculture</a>. Missouri farms also received nearly $1 billion in government payments or other income.With farm production expenses of $10.7 billion, Missouri farms had net cash income of $5 billion.The 5,596 largest Missouri farms, with sales of $500,000 or more, sold more than $11.6 billion of products in 2022. The 67,400 Missouri farms with sales of less than $50,000 sold&nbsp;$685 million agricultural products.Prices for grain and oil crops have fallen dramatically in the past year. Missouri farmers were receiving $14.90 a bushel for soybeans in January 2023, and $6.94 a bushel for corn. According to the monthly agricultural prices report from the National Agricultural Statistics Service, the price received for soybeans in January was $12.90 a bushel and for corn it was $4.79.The issues facing farmers nationally, Westhoff said, are true in Missouri, where corn, soybeans and wheat are the major cash crops.&nbsp;The FAPRI report projects the decline in commodity grain prices will slow, but continue.Missouri farmers get a slightly better price than the national average for corn and soybeans because of proximity to large rivers and industries such as ethanol and biodiesel that buy commodities locally, Westhoff said.“Where you have crushing facilities for soybeans matters tremendously,” Westhoff said. “Where you have ethanol plants matters as well.”Missouri produced 264.9 million bushels of soybeans in 2023. A decline of $2 per bushel means the farmers producing those beans received more than $500 million less than they did for the same commodity the previous year.The sharp decline in market prices for soybeans hasn’t been accompanied by a similar decline in prices for fertilizer, fuel and other supplies, said Casey Wasser, chief operating officer of Missouri Soybeans, the industry lobbying association.“The input prices have not come down at all with the other prices,” Wasser said. “So that’s where that net farm income is going to hit producers pretty tight.”Missouri has the nation’s sixth largest cattle herd. It also is home to the sixth largest number of hogs, and its farmers sold the seventh largest number of chickens for meat consumption and had the nation’s 12th largest flock of laying hens.But Missouri is losing farmers – and farmland – faster than the national average.The number of farms declined 7.8% since the 2017 farm census while nationally the number fell 6.9%. Nationally, 2.2% of farmland was converted to other uses between the surveys, while in Missouri the acreage in farming declined 2.7%.The smallest producers are being squeezed the tightest, said Tim Gibbons of the Missouri Rural Crisis Center. In a telephone interview after he spent a day lobbying in Washington for changes in national farm programs, Gibbons said the issues facing farmers go well beyond commodity prices and interest rates.Control of agriculture continues to be concentrated in large corporations, he said. Farm programs are designed to support cheap commodities and large producers, he said.“What I’m hearing on the Hill is a joke relative to the situation that is farming in Missouri and in the United States right now,” Gibbons said.Corporate-backed buyers are&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://missouriindependent.com/2024/01/01/boom-or-bubble-high-missouri-farmland-prices-encourage-investors-concern-farmers/">outbidding local residents</a>&nbsp;for farmland and the concentration in meatpacking means producers become dependent on contracts that can be canceled when profits narrow. The decision by Tyson Foods to&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2024/03/11/tyson-to-close-perry-pork-plant-in-june/">close a plant in Perry, Iowa</a>, that employs 1,300 people will have a ripple effect on the farmers who raise hogs under contract, Gibbons said.Missouri has lost more than 1,000 cattle producers a year over the past 25 years, a trend that accelerated to about 2,000 per year in the past five years, according to the farm census. The number of farms producing hogs has declined from 12,133 in 1992 to 2,184 in 2022.“The policies that have been in recent past farm bills have been written by and for these multinational corporations and lobbyists that lobby for them,” Gibbons said. “We need a very different vision and a farm bill.”The only area where prices are increasing in the past year are for cattle. That’s because the national herd is at its&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://missouriindependent.com/2024/03/19/droughts-complicated-by-climate-change-result-in-us-beef-herd-hitting-historic-low/">lowest number since the 1960s</a>, in large part due to pastureland drying up because of droughts starting in 2020.Short supplies are pushing prices up.“It’s causing liquidation and we’re not seeing rebuilding right now,” Gibbons said. “That connects with interest rates as well.”Higher interest rates in the United States, which increase costs for farmers as they borrow to finance annual operations or add land and equipment, put farmers at a disadvantage internationally by making the dollar worth more in exchange, Westhoff said.One indicator of the impact is that the U.S. has become a&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://nebraskapublicmedia.org/en/news/news-articles/the-us-agricultural-trade-deficit-could-reach-record-highs-for-2023-is-there-cause-for-concern/">net importer of food and agricultural products</a>, reversing decades of a surplus in the balance of farm trade.“We are importing lots of value-added products that might otherwise be produced here and of course that has spillover effects,” Westhoff said.The FAPRI report section on government aid to farmers notes that the cost of the two main programs intended to shore up prices –&nbsp; agricultural risk coverage, or ARC, and price loss coverage, or PLC fell below $1 billion because of recent high commodity prices.&nbsp;At the same time, crop insurance payments in 2023 totaled $9.3 billion.“We need to figure out a system of farmer-owned grain reserves and price floors and price ceilings to stop the volatility of the market, and keep that price floor at the cost of production,” Gibbons said.Missouri Soybean is pushing for changes in federal farm support programs to reset the protected prices at a higher level, Wasser said. Prices on beans could fall another $2 per bushel and Missouri farmers wouldn’t qualify for payments to make up any of the difference, he said.“We’re still not even close to a safety net, with inputs and $11 beans it’s tough for any farmer no matter what your size or your leverage to be making any profit on that,” Wasser said..FAPRI’s job is to provide information, not advise on policy decisions, Westhoff said.The difficulty of getting changes to the programs is cost, he said.Some “would like to do some changes that would improve the safety net from the perspective of producers but those changes all cost money,” he said. “And unless you’re going to reduce that spending or reduce spending on conservation programs, there’s not any obvious way to put those pieces together.”The decline in commodity prices should ease inflation in food costs and even reverse some recent increases, such as for eggs and pork, Westhoff said. Food purchased for consumption at home should not increase any faster than inflation generally, the report indicates.But consumers shouldn’t expect everything in the supermarket to get cheaper, he said.“For the most part, the share of those commodity prices that affect consumer food prices is pretty small,” Westhoff said. “Therefore even a significant decline in the farm level price doesn’t translate to any decline, or not a very big decline, in grocery store prices.”

University  report warns falling prices could squeeze farmers

By JONATHAN J. COOPER&nbsp; &nbsp;Associated Press

The lack of excitement many Americans feel about a presidential rematch has heightened interest in alternatives to the major-party candidates, none more so than&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/politics/election-2024-0000018ca126d7a5a79da57ef5030000">Robert F. Kennedy Jr.</a>, whose famous name has helped him build buzz for his&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/rfk-jr-presidential-campaign-independent-2024-30d940109c4956de9c81f332ec418463">independent bid</a>.

Kennedy is a huge longshot to win Electoral College votes, much less the presidency. But his campaign events have drawn large crowds of supporters and people interested in his message.

He plans to announce his vice presidential nominee&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/kennedy-rfk-running-mate-announcement-vp-3b53343f1be4567bcfba7fb1eab3f3e3">later this month</a>&nbsp;in Oakland, California, and is stoking expectations that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/robert-kennedy-rfk-rodgers-ventura-453c6078714b867f5af736ee8f97d8fe">he might pick</a>&nbsp;New York Jets quarterback&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/aaron-rodgers">Aaron Rodgers</a>&nbsp;or former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura. His campaign manager said Saturday that Kennedy has made his choice but didn’t say whom he’s picked. She said he had also interviewed Nicole Shanahan, a California philanthropist who bankrolled a Super Bowl ad for Kennedy, and Mike Rowe, star of the television show “Dirty Jobs.”

Here is a look at his campaign and what he's stood for:

Kennedy, 70, is a member of perhaps the nation’s most famous political dynasty. His uncle was President John F. Kennedy. His father served as attorney general and a U.S. senator before seeking the Democratic nomination for president. Both were assassinated.

RFK Jr. built a reputation of his own as an activist, author and lawyer who fought for environmental causes such as clean water.

Along the way, his activism has&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/how-rfk-jr-built-anti-vaccine-juggernaut-amid-covid-4997be1bcf591fe8b7f1f90d16c9321e">veered into conspiracies</a>&nbsp;and contradicted scientific consensus,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/rfk-kennedy-election-vaccines-2ccde2df146f57b5e8c26e8494f0a16a">most infamously on vaccines</a>. Some members of his family have publicly&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/robert-kennedy-joe-biden-2024-democrat-super-bowl-e4dee4be456e643be11735c6e4029377">criticized his views</a>. Dozens of his family members posed with President Joe Biden at a St. Patrick's Day reception at the White House in a photo his sister Kerry Kennedy posted to social media.

Kennedy founded Waterkeeper Alliance, which works to secure clean water, and built a small anti-vaccine organization into Children’s Health Defense, a juggernaut in the movement that saw its reach grow rapidly during the pandemic.

Children's Health Defense has a lawsuit pending against a number of news organizations, among them The Associated Press, accusing them of violating antitrust laws by taking action to identify misinformation, including about COVID-19 and COVID-19 vaccines. Kennedy took leave from the group when he announced his run for president but is listed as one of its attorneys in the lawsuit.

What does Kennedy’s campaign look like?

Kennedy's need to collect thousands of signatures to get on the ballot has taken him to places that rarely see presidential candidates, including Hawaii, Wyoming and West Virginia.

At events in Phoenix and Las Vegas, hundreds of supporters queued up outside hours before he was scheduled to arrive. He attracts a legion of fans, many of whom have listened extensively to Kennedy's interviews on podcasts or YouTube videos.

In Nevada, massive graphics and photos were projected on three walls as upbeat music played. Drinks and merchandise were for sale.

Kennedy speaks in a quiet, strained voice, sometimes haltingly, the result of a neurological condition called&nbsp;<a href="https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/spasmodic-dysphonia#:~:text=Spasmodic%20dysphonia%20is%20a%20voice,able%20to%20talk%20at%20all.">spasmodic dysphonia</a>.

Kennedy frames himself as a truthteller with a track record of fighting for the middle class against powerful interests. He points to lawsuits he's won against corporate behemoths such as Monsanto and DuPont.

“I can fix this country,” he said in Las Vegas in February. “All these agencies that intimidate normal politicians, I’ve sued every one of them. ... When you sue these agencies, you get a Ph.D. in corporate capture and how to unravel it.” Corporate capture refers to private interests using their influence to control government decision-making, as when they help draft legislation.

Kennedy has been critical of U.S. support for Ukraine and supportive of Israel’s war against Hamas. He wants to reduce military and health care spending because of the impact on budget deficits, and combat rising housing costs so young people can afford to buy homes.

Kennedy has found a loyal following among people distrustful of institutions and those who believe the government has been captured by corporations, especially pharmaceutical companies.

He hasn't shied away from his controversial views on health care and vaccines. He wants to dismantle the public health bureaucracy, saying he'd immediately tell the National Institutes of Health to refocus research away from infectious diseases and vaccines and toward chronic diseases.

Kennedy&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/rfk-kennedy-election-2024-president-campaign-621c9e9641381a1b2677df9de5a09731">insists he is not anti-vaccine</a>&nbsp;and claims he has never told the public to avoid vaccination. But he has repeatedly made his opposition to vaccines clear. He said on a podcast “there’s no vaccine that is safe and effective” and has urged people to resist CDC guidelines on when kids should get vaccinated.

While there are rare instances when people have severe reactions to vaccines, the billions of doses administered globally provide real-world evidence that they are safe. The World Health Organization says vaccines prevent as many as 5 million deaths each year.

The United States has a long history of rejecting independent or third-party presidential candidates. In fact, the last president to win without a party’s backing was George Washington, and he did it before there were political parties.

The last third-party candidate to make it to the White House was Abraham Lincoln with the newly formed Republican Party.

The last third-party candidate to pull more than single digits in the popular vote was Ross Perot, a businessman who won 19% in 1992 and 8% in 1996. But he won zero electoral votes.

And while the independent share of the electorate is growing, it is still dwarfed by voters who consistently support Republican or Democratic candidates, even if they identify as independent.

Kennedy’s case for optimism hinges on his relatively strong showing in a few national polls. Polls during the 2016 presidential campaign regularly put libertarian Gary Johnson’s support in the high single or low double digits, but he ultimately received only about 3% of the vote nationwide.

Horse-race polls are also notoriously unreliable this far out from an election, and many Americans don’t know who Kennedy is.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnorc.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/February-2024-topline-Biden.pdf">A February AP-NORC poll</a>&nbsp;found, for instance, that 29% of Americans don’t know enough about Kennedy to have a view about him.

Some of the people who say they’d support him may also be reacting to his famous last name rather than his actual pitch as a candidate.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/25/politics/cnn-poll-democrats-2024/index.html">A CNN/SSRS poll</a>&nbsp;conducted last spring found that 20% of people who said they would consider supporting Kennedy for the Democratic nomination — for which he was running at the time — said that their support was related to his last name and Kennedy family connections. Only 12% said it was because of support for his views and policies.

But for any of that to matter, he has to get on the ballot.

Forget getting elected; merely running for president is an arduous process, especially for candidates like Kennedy who don’t belong to a party.

Every state has different rules, requiring an army of lawyers to make sure everything is done right. Most states require thousands of signatures.

A pro-Kennedy super PAC is&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/dnc-fec-complaint-kenedy-trump-biden-09d42502ca757cd4656b4829c4b4c00d">helping pay</a>&nbsp;for Kennedy’s ballot access work in several states. His allies have created a political party to ease the process in some states by getting recognized as a party and making Kennedy its nominee.

He has been&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/robert-kennedy-president-election-utah-ballot-863513ec2bf75d1efc9b202cb8ddcc4a">approved for the ballot in Utah</a>. His campaign and super PAC say he’s collected enough signatures to qualify in several other states, including the battlegrounds of Arizona, Georgia and Nevada, though election officials in those states have not yet affirmed his candidacy.

Kennedy has also said he’s talked with officials from the Libertarian Party, though it’s not clear what a tie-up between the two might look like.

Kennedy is looking to his family and his allies in the anti-vaccine world to staff his campaign, building a leadership team that is light on experience working in politics.

His campaign manager is Amaryllis Fox Kennedy, his daughter-in-law who served as a CIA officer and has not worked in politics before.

His communications director, Del Bigtree, is founder of the Informed Consent Action Network, an anti-vaccine group. He also produced “Vaxxed,” an anti-vaccine film that promoted the discredited idea that the vaccines cause autism.

Press secretary Stefanie Spear was an editor for the Children's Health Defense news website. Charles Eisenstein, a New Age author, is an adviser.

Kennedy also has staff and volunteers spread throughout states and focused on gathering signatures to get him on the ballot.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/1/1704300369387.png" alt="Robert F. Kennedy Jr- courtesy photo" />
 <figcaption>Robert F. Kennedy Jr- courtesy photo</figcaption>
 </figure>By JONATHAN J. COOPER&nbsp; &nbsp;Associated PressThe lack of excitement many Americans feel about a presidential rematch has heightened interest in alternatives to the major-party candidates, none more so than&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/politics/election-2024-0000018ca126d7a5a79da57ef5030000">Robert F. Kennedy Jr.</a>, whose famous name has helped him build buzz for his&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/rfk-jr-presidential-campaign-independent-2024-30d940109c4956de9c81f332ec418463">independent bid</a>.Kennedy is a huge longshot to win Electoral College votes, much less the presidency. But his campaign events have drawn large crowds of supporters and people interested in his message.He plans to announce his vice presidential nominee&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/kennedy-rfk-running-mate-announcement-vp-3b53343f1be4567bcfba7fb1eab3f3e3">later this month</a>&nbsp;in Oakland, California, and is stoking expectations that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/robert-kennedy-rfk-rodgers-ventura-453c6078714b867f5af736ee8f97d8fe">he might pick</a>&nbsp;New York Jets quarterback&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/aaron-rodgers">Aaron Rodgers</a>&nbsp;or former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura. His campaign manager said Saturday that Kennedy has made his choice but didn’t say whom he’s picked. She said he had also interviewed Nicole Shanahan, a California philanthropist who bankrolled a Super Bowl ad for Kennedy, and Mike Rowe, star of the television show “Dirty Jobs.”Here is a look at his campaign and what he's stood for:Who is RFK Jr?Kennedy, 70, is a member of perhaps the nation’s most famous political dynasty. His uncle was President John F. Kennedy. His father served as attorney general and a U.S. senator before seeking the Democratic nomination for president. Both were assassinated.RFK Jr. built a reputation of his own as an activist, author and lawyer who fought for environmental causes such as clean water.Along the way, his activism has&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/how-rfk-jr-built-anti-vaccine-juggernaut-amid-covid-4997be1bcf591fe8b7f1f90d16c9321e">veered into conspiracies</a>&nbsp;and contradicted scientific consensus,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/rfk-kennedy-election-vaccines-2ccde2df146f57b5e8c26e8494f0a16a">most infamously on vaccines</a>. Some members of his family have publicly&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/robert-kennedy-joe-biden-2024-democrat-super-bowl-e4dee4be456e643be11735c6e4029377">criticized his views</a>. Dozens of his family members posed with President Joe Biden at a St. Patrick's Day reception at the White House in a photo his sister Kerry Kennedy posted to social media.Kennedy founded Waterkeeper Alliance, which works to secure clean water, and built a small anti-vaccine organization into Children’s Health Defense, a juggernaut in the movement that saw its reach grow rapidly during the pandemic.Children's Health Defense has a lawsuit pending against a number of news organizations, among them The Associated Press, accusing them of violating antitrust laws by taking action to identify misinformation, including about COVID-19 and COVID-19 vaccines. Kennedy took leave from the group when he announced his run for president but is listed as one of its attorneys in the lawsuit.He’s married to actress Cheryl Hines.What does Kennedy’s campaign look like?Kennedy's need to collect thousands of signatures to get on the ballot has taken him to places that rarely see presidential candidates, including Hawaii, Wyoming and West Virginia.At events in Phoenix and Las Vegas, hundreds of supporters queued up outside hours before he was scheduled to arrive. He attracts a legion of fans, many of whom have listened extensively to Kennedy's interviews on podcasts or YouTube videos.In Nevada, massive graphics and photos were projected on three walls as upbeat music played. Drinks and merchandise were for sale.Kennedy speaks in a quiet, strained voice, sometimes haltingly, the result of a neurological condition called&nbsp;<a href="https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/spasmodic-dysphonia#:~:text=Spasmodic%20dysphonia%20is%20a%20voice,able%20to%20talk%20at%20all.">spasmodic dysphonia</a>.What does he talk about?Kennedy frames himself as a truthteller with a track record of fighting for the middle class against powerful interests. He points to lawsuits he's won against corporate behemoths such as Monsanto and DuPont.“I can fix this country,” he said in Las Vegas in February. “All these agencies that intimidate normal politicians, I’ve sued every one of them. ... When you sue these agencies, you get a Ph.D. in corporate capture and how to unravel it.” Corporate capture refers to private interests using their influence to control government decision-making, as when they help draft legislation.Kennedy has been critical of U.S. support for Ukraine and supportive of Israel’s war against Hamas. He wants to reduce military and health care spending because of the impact on budget deficits, and combat rising housing costs so young people can afford to buy homes.Kennedy has found a loyal following among people distrustful of institutions and those who believe the government has been captured by corporations, especially pharmaceutical companies.He hasn't shied away from his controversial views on health care and vaccines. He wants to dismantle the public health bureaucracy, saying he'd immediately tell the National Institutes of Health to refocus research away from infectious diseases and vaccines and toward chronic diseases.Kennedy&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/rfk-kennedy-election-2024-president-campaign-621c9e9641381a1b2677df9de5a09731">insists he is not anti-vaccine</a>&nbsp;and claims he has never told the public to avoid vaccination. But he has repeatedly made his opposition to vaccines clear. He said on a podcast “there’s no vaccine that is safe and effective” and has urged people to resist CDC guidelines on when kids should get vaccinated.While there are rare instances when people have severe reactions to vaccines, the billions of doses administered globally provide real-world evidence that they are safe. The World Health Organization says vaccines prevent as many as 5 million deaths each year.Can he win?The United States has a long history of rejecting independent or third-party presidential candidates. In fact, the last president to win without a party’s backing was George Washington, and he did it before there were political parties.The last third-party candidate to make it to the White House was Abraham Lincoln with the newly formed Republican Party.The last third-party candidate to pull more than single digits in the popular vote was Ross Perot, a businessman who won 19% in 1992 and 8% in 1996. But he won zero electoral votes.And while the independent share of the electorate is growing, it is still dwarfed by voters who consistently support Republican or Democratic candidates, even if they identify as independent.In other words, the odds are long.Kennedy’s case for optimism hinges on his relatively strong showing in a few national polls. Polls during the 2016 presidential campaign regularly put libertarian Gary Johnson’s support in the high single or low double digits, but he ultimately received only about 3% of the vote nationwide.Horse-race polls are also notoriously unreliable this far out from an election, and many Americans don’t know who Kennedy is.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnorc.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/February-2024-topline-Biden.pdf">A February AP-NORC poll</a>&nbsp;found, for instance, that 29% of Americans don’t know enough about Kennedy to have a view about him.Some of the people who say they’d support him may also be reacting to his famous last name rather than his actual pitch as a candidate.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/25/politics/cnn-poll-democrats-2024/index.html">A CNN/SSRS poll</a>&nbsp;conducted last spring found that 20% of people who said they would consider supporting Kennedy for the Democratic nomination — for which he was running at the time — said that their support was related to his last name and Kennedy family connections. Only 12% said it was because of support for his views and policies.But for any of that to matter, he has to get on the ballot.How does he get on the ballot?Forget getting elected; merely running for president is an arduous process, especially for candidates like Kennedy who don’t belong to a party.Every state has different rules, requiring an army of lawyers to make sure everything is done right. Most states require thousands of signatures.A pro-Kennedy super PAC is&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/dnc-fec-complaint-kenedy-trump-biden-09d42502ca757cd4656b4829c4b4c00d">helping pay</a>&nbsp;for Kennedy’s ballot access work in several states. His allies have created a political party to ease the process in some states by getting recognized as a party and making Kennedy its nominee.He has been&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/robert-kennedy-president-election-utah-ballot-863513ec2bf75d1efc9b202cb8ddcc4a">approved for the ballot in Utah</a>. His campaign and super PAC say he’s collected enough signatures to qualify in several other states, including the battlegrounds of Arizona, Georgia and Nevada, though election officials in those states have not yet affirmed his candidacy.Kennedy has also said he’s talked with officials from the Libertarian Party, though it’s not clear what a tie-up between the two might look like.Who is working for him?Kennedy is looking to his family and his allies in the anti-vaccine world to staff his campaign, building a leadership team that is light on experience working in politics.His campaign manager is Amaryllis Fox Kennedy, his daughter-in-law who served as a CIA officer and has not worked in politics before.His communications director, Del Bigtree, is founder of the Informed Consent Action Network, an anti-vaccine group. He also produced “Vaxxed,” an anti-vaccine film that promoted the discredited idea that the vaccines cause autism.Press secretary Stefanie Spear was an editor for the Children's Health Defense news website. Charles Eisenstein, a New Age author, is an adviser.Kennedy also has staff and volunteers spread throughout states and focused on gathering signatures to get him on the ballot.

Who is Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and why is he running for president?

WASHINGTON (AP) — Two recent U.S. Supreme Court actions have opened the door to a new legal frontier in which local and state officials can be disqualified from office for life for engaging in “insurrection" or providing “aid and comfort” to enemies of the Constitution, based on&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-insurrection-14th-amendment-2024-colorado-79373b5043976588b599fc00ede049e8">a post-Civil War era addition to</a>&nbsp;the nation's foundational legal document and how the courts interpret it.

The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/us-supreme-court">Supreme Court</a>&nbsp;on Monday rejected an appeal from a former New Mexico county commissioner who was kicked out of office after he was convicted of trespassing during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. The state judge who&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/new-mexico-government-and-politics-5e2fd96d5f698017b974f878398578c8">barred him from office</a>&nbsp;did so on the grounds that his actions violated Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which was added to the Constitution in 1868 to prevent Confederates from returning to government.

The move came on the heels of an&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-trump-insurrection-election-colorado-51e79c0f03013034c8a042cb278b6446">expedited high-court ruling</a>&nbsp;that Section 3 can't be used against federal officials or candidates until Congress writes a law outlining procedures to do so. That includes former President Donald Trump, the target of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-14th-amendment-insurrection-supreme-court-colorado-2b9d5b628cb2779fc84212cdc651e4e7">a national campaign</a>&nbsp;to end his bid to return to the White House via the 14th Amendment.

But the court's ruling in the Trump case explicitly said the provision could still be used against state and local officials.

Taken together, the actions herald a new legal landscape as the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-14th-amendment-insurrection-2024-election-ballot-9c5f79203109ba221b35a48e708ad725">liberal groups</a>&nbsp;that pushed the issue of Trump's disqualification to the Supreme Court reboot efforts to target state and local officials linked to Jan. 6.

“This is a bit of returning to the course we expected to be following, which was holding individuals accountable, who are low-level officials, who still broke their oath by coming to D.C., engaging in insurrection,” said Stuart McPhail, an attorney with Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a left-leaning group whose lawsuit against Trump ended up at the Supreme Court.

Ron Fein, legal director of Free Speech For People, which brought several other actions seeking to disqualify Trump and Republican members of Congress for their role in the Capitol attack, wouldn't comment on his group's plans. But, he said, one legal fact remains clear.

“Section 3 continues to be a viable way of protecting against insurrectionists in state and local government,” Fein said.

CREW, which brought the lawsuit against Trump’s candidacy that landed at the Supreme Court, has identified state lawmakers it believes might be vulnerable to challenges under Section 3. It already has succeeded in one case, brought against the local official in New Mexico.

Otero County Commissioner&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-politics-new-mexico-state-government-donald-trump-santa-fe-5a4bde1a89344a0eb11a0a1d58a2100d">Couy Griffin,</a>&nbsp;a founder of the promotional group Cowboys for Trump, is the only elected official thus far to be banned from office in connection with the Capitol attack, which disrupted Congress as it was trying to certify Joe Biden’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/election-claims-biden-won-explained-bd53b14ce871412b462cb3fe2c563f18">2020 electoral victory</a>&nbsp;over Trump.

The lawsuit against him cited his violation of Section 3, which prohibits anyone who swore an oath to uphold the Constitution and then “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” against it or gave “aid and comfort” to its enemies, from holding future office.

McPhail says there is a new sense of urgency to take action under that clause against state or local officials linked to Jan. 6 — before they run for federal office and can’t be sidelined.

“It does create this incentive to bring cases from low-level officials now because then you can actually win them and get some kind of relief in judgments, whereas if you wait, you may have lost the opportunity,” he said.

Based on the Supreme Court's ruling in the Trump disqualification case, a state or local official removed under Section 3 could still hold federal office, all the way up to president, unless Congress acted.

Griffin said his disqualification was politically motivated. He and his defense attorney said Monday’s dismissal by the Supreme Court holds ominous implications, creating a pathway for partisan actors to harness Section 3 of the 14th Amendment in unpredictable ways in the future.

“All you have to do is go to a really friendly county, with a good friendly judge that’s politically on your side, and then you get rid of your opposition,” said Peter Ticktin, Griffin's attorney in the appeal to the Supreme Court.

Derek Muller, a Notre Dame law professor, said he wouldn't be surprised if Section 3 litigation eventually targets people for reasons well beyond Jan. 6.

“I don't know how widespread it's going to be,” he said. “I'm sure people are going to start thinking creatively about what it means — if you're supporting, Hamas, the Taliban, (Black Lives Matter).”

Muller added that the court system is well-equipped to sort out frivolous uses of Section 3, just as it does in other cases of ballot challenges: “In most of these cases, I think it won't pass the initial motion to dismiss.”

The bigger question, he said, is how do courts address issues that the Supreme Court dodged in its ruling on the Trump case: What constitutes an insurrection under Section 3? How do First Amendment rights and other constitutional guarantees interact with its provisions?

In Griffin's case, New Mexico Judge Francis Mathew found that Griffin aided an insurrection without engaging in violence, contributing to a delay in Congress’ certification of the presidential election.

He ruled that Griffin spread&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-michael-pence-electoral-college-elections-health-2d9bd47a8bd3561682ac46c6b3873a10">lies about the 2020 election being stolen</a>&nbsp;from Trump in a series of speeches during rallies held across the country, calling on crowds to go with him to Washington on Jan. 6 and join the “war” over the presidential election results.

“Knowledgeable 19th century Americans including Section 3’s framers would have regarded the events of Jan. 6, and the surrounding planning, mobilization and incitement, as an insurrection,” Mathew ruled. “Mr. Griffin also incited, encouraged, and helped normalize the violence on January 6.”

Griffin, a Republican, was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/capitol-siege-biden-new-mexico-riots-presidential-elections-7cf8b8a96a39bde8f6966e47cc37ff46">convicted separately</a>&nbsp;in federal court of entering a restricted area on the Capitol grounds on Jan. 6 and received a 14-day prison sentence. The sentence was offset by time served after his arrest in Washington, where he had returned to protest Biden’s 2021 inauguration. That conviction is under appeal, but is unlikely to influence enforcement of Griffin’s ban from office.

“Neither the courts nor Congress have ever required a criminal conviction for a person to be disqualified under Section 3,” Judge Mathew wrote.

CREW brought the case against Griffin partly because New Mexico is one of several states that allow any citizen to bring a private right of action to establish that an elected official is not qualified to hold office. In states that lack such provisions, attorneys note, those who want to remove people under Section 3 may have other paths, such as ballot challenges filed with the secretary of state or an election board.

“There is no one-size-fits-all solution for enforcing Section 3 in states,” McPhail said.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/3/1710880938454.png" alt="FILE - A demonstrator holds a sign outside of the U.S. Supreme Court, Feb. 8, 2024, in Washington. A pair of recent U.S. Supreme Court actions has opened the door to a new legal frontier in which local and state officials can be disqualified from office for life for engaging in "insurrection" or providing "aid and comfort" to enemies of the Constitution, based on a post-Civil War-era provision of the nation's foundational legal document and how the courts interpret it. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib, File)" />
 <figcaption>FILE - A demonstrator holds a sign outside of the U.S. Supreme Court, Feb. 8, 2024, in Washington. A pair of recent U.S. Supreme Court actions has opened the door to a new legal frontier in which local and state officials can be disqualified from office for life for engaging in "insurrection" or providing "aid and comfort" to enemies of the Constitution, based on a post-Civil War-era provision of the nation's foundational legal document and how the courts interpret it. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib, File)</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — Two recent U.S. Supreme Court actions have opened the door to a new legal frontier in which local and state officials can be disqualified from office for life for engaging in “insurrection" or providing “aid and comfort” to enemies of the Constitution, based on&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-insurrection-14th-amendment-2024-colorado-79373b5043976588b599fc00ede049e8">a post-Civil War era addition to</a>&nbsp;the nation's foundational legal document and how the courts interpret it.The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/us-supreme-court">Supreme Court</a>&nbsp;on Monday rejected an appeal from a former New Mexico county commissioner who was kicked out of office after he was convicted of trespassing during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. The state judge who&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/new-mexico-government-and-politics-5e2fd96d5f698017b974f878398578c8">barred him from office</a>&nbsp;did so on the grounds that his actions violated Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which was added to the Constitution in 1868 to prevent Confederates from returning to government.The move came on the heels of an&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-trump-insurrection-election-colorado-51e79c0f03013034c8a042cb278b6446">expedited high-court ruling</a>&nbsp;that Section 3 can't be used against federal officials or candidates until Congress writes a law outlining procedures to do so. That includes former President Donald Trump, the target of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-14th-amendment-insurrection-supreme-court-colorado-2b9d5b628cb2779fc84212cdc651e4e7">a national campaign</a>&nbsp;to end his bid to return to the White House via the 14th Amendment.But the court's ruling in the Trump case explicitly said the provision could still be used against state and local officials.Taken together, the actions herald a new legal landscape as the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-14th-amendment-insurrection-2024-election-ballot-9c5f79203109ba221b35a48e708ad725">liberal groups</a>&nbsp;that pushed the issue of Trump's disqualification to the Supreme Court reboot efforts to target state and local officials linked to Jan. 6.“This is a bit of returning to the course we expected to be following, which was holding individuals accountable, who are low-level officials, who still broke their oath by coming to D.C., engaging in insurrection,” said Stuart McPhail, an attorney with Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a left-leaning group whose lawsuit against Trump ended up at the Supreme Court.Ron Fein, legal director of Free Speech For People, which brought several other actions seeking to disqualify Trump and Republican members of Congress for their role in the Capitol attack, wouldn't comment on his group's plans. But, he said, one legal fact remains clear.“Section 3 continues to be a viable way of protecting against insurrectionists in state and local government,” Fein said.CREW, which brought the lawsuit against Trump’s candidacy that landed at the Supreme Court, has identified state lawmakers it believes might be vulnerable to challenges under Section 3. It already has succeeded in one case, brought against the local official in New Mexico.Otero County Commissioner&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-politics-new-mexico-state-government-donald-trump-santa-fe-5a4bde1a89344a0eb11a0a1d58a2100d">Couy Griffin,</a>&nbsp;a founder of the promotional group Cowboys for Trump, is the only elected official thus far to be banned from office in connection with the Capitol attack, which disrupted Congress as it was trying to certify Joe Biden’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/election-claims-biden-won-explained-bd53b14ce871412b462cb3fe2c563f18">2020 electoral victory</a>&nbsp;over Trump.The lawsuit against him cited his violation of Section 3, which prohibits anyone who swore an oath to uphold the Constitution and then “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” against it or gave “aid and comfort” to its enemies, from holding future office.McPhail says there is a new sense of urgency to take action under that clause against state or local officials linked to Jan. 6 — before they run for federal office and can’t be sidelined.“It does create this incentive to bring cases from low-level officials now because then you can actually win them and get some kind of relief in judgments, whereas if you wait, you may have lost the opportunity,” he said.Based on the Supreme Court's ruling in the Trump disqualification case, a state or local official removed under Section 3 could still hold federal office, all the way up to president, unless Congress acted.Griffin said his disqualification was politically motivated. He and his defense attorney said Monday’s dismissal by the Supreme Court holds ominous implications, creating a pathway for partisan actors to harness Section 3 of the 14th Amendment in unpredictable ways in the future.“All you have to do is go to a really friendly county, with a good friendly judge that’s politically on your side, and then you get rid of your opposition,” said Peter Ticktin, Griffin's attorney in the appeal to the Supreme Court.Derek Muller, a Notre Dame law professor, said he wouldn't be surprised if Section 3 litigation eventually targets people for reasons well beyond Jan. 6.“I don't know how widespread it's going to be,” he said. “I'm sure people are going to start thinking creatively about what it means — if you're supporting, Hamas, the Taliban, (Black Lives Matter).”Muller added that the court system is well-equipped to sort out frivolous uses of Section 3, just as it does in other cases of ballot challenges: “In most of these cases, I think it won't pass the initial motion to dismiss.”The bigger question, he said, is how do courts address issues that the Supreme Court dodged in its ruling on the Trump case: What constitutes an insurrection under Section 3? How do First Amendment rights and other constitutional guarantees interact with its provisions?In Griffin's case, New Mexico Judge Francis Mathew found that Griffin aided an insurrection without engaging in violence, contributing to a delay in Congress’ certification of the presidential election.He ruled that Griffin spread&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-michael-pence-electoral-college-elections-health-2d9bd47a8bd3561682ac46c6b3873a10">lies about the 2020 election being stolen</a>&nbsp;from Trump in a series of speeches during rallies held across the country, calling on crowds to go with him to Washington on Jan. 6 and join the “war” over the presidential election results.“Knowledgeable 19th century Americans including Section 3’s framers would have regarded the events of Jan. 6, and the surrounding planning, mobilization and incitement, as an insurrection,” Mathew ruled. “Mr. Griffin also incited, encouraged, and helped normalize the violence on January 6.”Griffin, a Republican, was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/capitol-siege-biden-new-mexico-riots-presidential-elections-7cf8b8a96a39bde8f6966e47cc37ff46">convicted separately</a>&nbsp;in federal court of entering a restricted area on the Capitol grounds on Jan. 6 and received a 14-day prison sentence. The sentence was offset by time served after his arrest in Washington, where he had returned to protest Biden’s 2021 inauguration. That conviction is under appeal, but is unlikely to influence enforcement of Griffin’s ban from office.“Neither the courts nor Congress have ever required a criminal conviction for a person to be disqualified under Section 3,” Judge Mathew wrote.CREW brought the case against Griffin partly because New Mexico is one of several states that allow any citizen to bring a private right of action to establish that an elected official is not qualified to hold office. In states that lack such provisions, attorneys note, those who want to remove people under Section 3 may have other paths, such as ballot challenges filed with the secretary of state or an election board.“There is no one-size-fits-all solution for enforcing Section 3 in states,” McPhail said.___

Court opens new frontier for insurrection claims that could target state, local officials

BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/tim-carpenter/">TIM CARPENTER</a>&nbsp; &nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/">Kansas Reflector</a>

House-passed bill adds ban against spy drones, aircraft flying below 500 feet

TOPEKA — The Animal Legal Defense Fund filed a lawsuit in 2018 challenging on First Amendment grounds Kansas’ quarter-century-old law thwarting covert investigations into the treatment of animals and workers at feedlots, slaughterhouses and crop production zones.

Ramifications of that legal action continue to vex the animal agriculture industry in Kansas, farm lobbying organizations and rural legislators.

In 2021, the 10th Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals agreed with ALDF’s legal claim and a lower federal court’s decision to strike down provisions of Kansas’ “ag-gag” law — the oldest statute in the United States criminalizing undercover videotaping of alleged abuses.

The appellate court concluded Kansas had embarked on a forthright statutory plan to limit the ability of ALDF and like-mined organizations to slip under the radar in search of proof of the industry’s shortcomings. When signed into law by Republican Gov. Mike Hayden in 1990, he said the legislation was a direct response to damage perpetrated by “radical elements of the animal-rights movement.”

That state law selectively criminalized work of activists critical of Kansas agriculture practices. It didn’t mandate charges against a person who gained access to property without permission with the goal of lauding Kansas animal-handling practices. In other words, Hayden and other Kansas lawmakers interested in squelching dissent were guilty of state-sanctioned discrimination based on viewpoint.

“We reject this approach,” the federal Court of Appeals said. “It elevates form over substance and permits Kansas to do just what the First Amendment prohibits: License one side of a debate to fight freestyle, while requiring the other to follow&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marquess_of_Queensberry_Rules">Marquis of Queensberry rules</a>.”

The U.S. Supreme Court declined in 2022 to review the Court of Appeals’ unraveling of the Farm Animal and Field Crop and Research Facilities Protection Act.

The courthouse outcome was celebrated by the coalition of special-interest groups led by ALDF as a victory for animal rights and free speech. They also could see a path to placing their people — whistleblowers — as employees at targeted facilities to collect insider information for articles and videos about hog, beef and dairy or poultry operations, processing facilities and other agriculture businesses in Kansas.

“The industry works hard to keep its practices secret, knowing consumers won’t accept the intense confinement and other inhumane treatment of animals,” said Stephen Wells, executive director of the Animal Legal Defense Fund.

The Kansas Livestock Association, with more than 5,000 members involved in dairy, swine and beef production along with other farm enterprises, went to work drafting a rebuttal bill. The objective was to refine the state’s protection against trespassers on farm property or people making fraudulent statements on employment applications to gain access to land and facilities.

Results of that effort, wrapped into House Bill 2816, was approved 99-24 this week by the Kansas House after five minutes of floor debate. KLA’s legal product avoided the sticky mess caused by language about “intent to damage” and “effective consent” that helped to undermine the 1990 statute. The package forwarded to the Kansas Senate also clarified criminal penalties and blocked use of drones and aircraft below 500 feet directly above agriculture businesses.

“There are some places that people just shouldn’t go without permission,” said Rep. Lisa Moser, a Wheaton Republican and rancher. “This is tailored language done specifically to address the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision.”

Moser noted the bill resolved the free speech issue by applying sanctions to any unauthorized trespasser on agriculture cropland, farm research facility or animal operation whether those people were engaged in covert investigations or innocent behavior.

None of the likely opponents of the bill, such as the ALDF, the Sierra Club of Kansas or Humane Society of the United States, testified during the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee hearing March 6.

Jackie Garagiola, associate counsel to the Kansas Livestock Association, said the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court not to hear the state’s appeal meant the law had to be revised so “critical protections provided by the act for these facilities remain, but in a manner that does not come into conflict with the First Amendment.”

Under House Bill 2816, Kansas would make it illegal to enter or remain in animal facility or field crop production areas without permission of the owner or to knowingly make false statements on an employment application to gain access to those places. The same standards would apply to agriculture research areas controlled by private, university, federal, state or local government entities.

Garagiola said “effective consent” language in the Kansas law was unconstitutional because it regulated speech as opposed to conduct.

The new bill addressed the federal court’s contention the old Kansas law forbid speech made with the “intent to damage the enterprise conducted at the animal facility.” To clear up constitutional violations, the House-passed bill created the simple prohibition for trespass or use of fraudulent employment applications regardless of intent of the individual.

It would be a class A misdemeanor to enter or remain on these properties without consent and a class B misdemeanor for making bogus statements on job applications to gain access. The penalty for property damage or destruction of an animal or crop facility would be a level 9 nonperson felony for damage ranging from $1,000 to $25,000 and a level 7 nonperson felony for damages of $25,000 or more.

KLA’s approach was endorsed by Kansas Farm Bureau, Kansas Grain &amp; Feed Association, Kansas Agribusiness Retailers Association, Kansas Pork Association and Kansas Dairy Association.

Janet Bailey, CEO of the dairy association, said the fastest growing segment of Kansas agriculture — dairying — needed lawmakers to&nbsp; close the gap left by the Court of Appeals’ decision. In particular, she said, the dairy industry was keen to secure criminal sanctions against people seeking jobs under false pretenses. The threat of prosecution has been an effective deterrent to undercover inquiries in the United States.

“Labor is a top concern among those in the dairy industry,” Bailey said. “As such, it can make our industry even more vulnerable to those who might seek employment with motives other than working in the care of our animals and production of milk. Their motives are clear in their desire to damage our industry and the livelihoods of the industry.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/3/1711230479923.png" alt=" Janet Bailey, CEO of the Kansas Dairy Association, said the fastest growing segment of Kansas agriculture — dairying — needed the Kansas Legislature to respond to a federal court decision by removing unconstitutional provisions of state law and restoring protections against undercover animal-rights organizations and applicants seeking jobs under false pretenses. (Jill Hummels/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption> Janet Bailey, CEO of the Kansas Dairy Association, said the fastest growing segment of Kansas agriculture — dairying — needed the Kansas Legislature to respond to a federal court decision by removing unconstitutional provisions of state law and restoring protections against undercover animal-rights organizations and applicants seeking jobs under false pretenses. (Jill Hummels/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure>BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/tim-carpenter/">TIM CARPENTER</a>&nbsp; &nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/">Kansas Reflector</a><h2>House-passed bill adds ban against spy drones, aircraft flying below 500 feet</h2>TOPEKA — The Animal Legal Defense Fund filed a lawsuit in 2018 challenging on First Amendment grounds Kansas’ quarter-century-old law thwarting covert investigations into the treatment of animals and workers at feedlots, slaughterhouses and crop production zones.Ramifications of that legal action continue to vex the animal agriculture industry in Kansas, farm lobbying organizations and rural legislators.In 2021, the 10th Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals agreed with ALDF’s legal claim and a lower federal court’s decision to strike down provisions of Kansas’ “ag-gag” law — the oldest statute in the United States criminalizing undercover videotaping of alleged abuses.The appellate court concluded Kansas had embarked on a forthright statutory plan to limit the ability of ALDF and like-mined organizations to slip under the radar in search of proof of the industry’s shortcomings. When signed into law by Republican Gov. Mike Hayden in 1990, he said the legislation was a direct response to damage perpetrated by “radical elements of the animal-rights movement.”That state law selectively criminalized work of activists critical of Kansas agriculture practices. It didn’t mandate charges against a person who gained access to property without permission with the goal of lauding Kansas animal-handling practices. In other words, Hayden and other Kansas lawmakers interested in squelching dissent were guilty of state-sanctioned discrimination based on viewpoint.“We reject this approach,” the federal Court of Appeals said. “It elevates form over substance and permits Kansas to do just what the First Amendment prohibits: License one side of a debate to fight freestyle, while requiring the other to follow&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marquess_of_Queensberry_Rules">Marquis of Queensberry rules</a>.”The U.S. Supreme Court declined in 2022 to review the Court of Appeals’ unraveling of the Farm Animal and Field Crop and Research Facilities Protection Act.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/3/1711230441938.png" alt=" Kansas Rep. Lisa Moser, a Republican and rancher, asked House colleagues to ditch unconstitutional provisions of Kansas law and adopt a revised strategy for thwarting animal-rights activists engaging in undercover work to expose livestock industry practices. (Rachel Mipro/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption> Kansas Rep. Lisa Moser, a Republican and rancher, asked House colleagues to ditch unconstitutional provisions of Kansas law and adopt a revised strategy for thwarting animal-rights activists engaging in undercover work to expose livestock industry practices. (Rachel Mipro/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>‘Just shouldn’t go’</h2>The courthouse outcome was celebrated by the coalition of special-interest groups led by ALDF as a victory for animal rights and free speech. They also could see a path to placing their people — whistleblowers — as employees at targeted facilities to collect insider information for articles and videos about hog, beef and dairy or poultry operations, processing facilities and other agriculture businesses in Kansas.“The industry works hard to keep its practices secret, knowing consumers won’t accept the intense confinement and other inhumane treatment of animals,” said Stephen Wells, executive director of the Animal Legal Defense Fund.The Kansas Livestock Association, with more than 5,000 members involved in dairy, swine and beef production along with other farm enterprises, went to work drafting a rebuttal bill. The objective was to refine the state’s protection against trespassers on farm property or people making fraudulent statements on employment applications to gain access to land and facilities.Results of that effort, wrapped into House Bill 2816, was approved 99-24 this week by the Kansas House after five minutes of floor debate. KLA’s legal product avoided the sticky mess caused by language about “intent to damage” and “effective consent” that helped to undermine the 1990 statute. The package forwarded to the Kansas Senate also clarified criminal penalties and blocked use of drones and aircraft below 500 feet directly above agriculture businesses.“There are some places that people just shouldn’t go without permission,” said Rep. Lisa Moser, a Wheaton Republican and rancher. “This is tailored language done specifically to address the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision.”Moser noted the bill resolved the free speech issue by applying sanctions to any unauthorized trespasser on agriculture cropland, farm research facility or animal operation whether those people were engaged in covert investigations or innocent behavior.None of the likely opponents of the bill, such as the ALDF, the Sierra Club of Kansas or Humane Society of the United States, testified during the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee hearing March 6.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/3/1711230407996.png" alt="The Kansas Livestock Association’s attorneys prepared House Bill 2816, which easily passed the House, to restore protections of the beef, dairy, hog and poultry industries, crop producers and research facilities that might be targeted by animal-rights organizations. (Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption>The Kansas Livestock Association’s attorneys prepared House Bill 2816, which easily passed the House, to restore protections of the beef, dairy, hog and poultry industries, crop producers and research facilities that might be targeted by animal-rights organizations. (Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>KLA steps into void</h2>Jackie Garagiola, associate counsel to the Kansas Livestock Association, said the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court not to hear the state’s appeal meant the law had to be revised so “critical protections provided by the act for these facilities remain, but in a manner that does not come into conflict with the First Amendment.”Under House Bill 2816, Kansas would make it illegal to enter or remain in animal facility or field crop production areas without permission of the owner or to knowingly make false statements on an employment application to gain access to those places. The same standards would apply to agriculture research areas controlled by private, university, federal, state or local government entities.Garagiola said “effective consent” language in the Kansas law was unconstitutional because it regulated speech as opposed to conduct.The new bill addressed the federal court’s contention the old Kansas law forbid speech made with the “intent to damage the enterprise conducted at the animal facility.” To clear up constitutional violations, the House-passed bill created the simple prohibition for trespass or use of fraudulent employment applications regardless of intent of the individual.It would be a class A misdemeanor to enter or remain on these properties without consent and a class B misdemeanor for making bogus statements on job applications to gain access. The penalty for property damage or destruction of an animal or crop facility would be a level 9 nonperson felony for damage ranging from $1,000 to $25,000 and a level 7 nonperson felony for damages of $25,000 or more.KLA’s approach was endorsed by Kansas Farm Bureau, Kansas Grain &amp; Feed Association, Kansas Agribusiness Retailers Association, Kansas Pork Association and Kansas Dairy Association.Janet Bailey, CEO of the dairy association, said the fastest growing segment of Kansas agriculture — dairying — needed lawmakers to&nbsp; close the gap left by the Court of Appeals’ decision. In particular, she said, the dairy industry was keen to secure criminal sanctions against people seeking jobs under false pretenses. The threat of prosecution has been an effective deterrent to undercover inquiries in the United States.“Labor is a top concern among those in the dairy industry,” Bailey said. “As such, it can make our industry even more vulnerable to those who might seek employment with motives other than working in the care of our animals and production of milk. Their motives are clear in their desire to damage our industry and the livelihoods of the industry.”

Kansas House tries to fix constitutional flaw to shield agriculture from animal-rights activists

CALLAWAY COUNTY —Oner person died and four others were injured in an accident just before 1:30a.m. Sunday in Callaway County.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 2005 Chevy Trailblazer driven by Demont L. Webb,&nbsp; 19, Jefferson City, was southbound on U.S. 63 at County Road 399.

The SUV traveled off the right side of the road. The driver overcorrected and the vehicle returned to the road, slid sideways, struck the guard rail, rolled and came to a rest on its top in the median. Webb was pronounced dead at the scene.

EMS transported passengers Fiona E. Chanache, 18 and Devione J. Hallmon, 24, both of Jefferson City to University Hospital.

MU Air transported passenger Melissa Armichael, 19, Columbia, to University Hospital.

A private vehicle transported passenger Jassmine R Carter, 18, Jefferson City to SSM Health St. Mary's Hospital. She was the only occupant in the SUV wearing a seat belt, according to the MSHP.

CALLAWAY COUNTY —Oner person died and four others were injured in an accident just before 1:30a.m. Sunday in Callaway County.The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 2005 Chevy Trailblazer driven by Demont L. Webb,&nbsp; 19, Jefferson City, was southbound on U.S. 63 at County Road 399.The SUV traveled off the right side of the road. The driver overcorrected and the vehicle returned to the road, slid sideways, struck the guard rail, rolled and came to a rest on its top in the median. Webb was pronounced dead at the scene.EMS transported passengers Fiona E. Chanache, 18 and Devione J. Hallmon, 24, both of Jefferson City to University Hospital.MU Air transported passenger Melissa Armichael, 19, Columbia, to University Hospital.A private vehicle transported passenger Jassmine R Carter, 18, Jefferson City to SSM Health St. Mary's Hospital. She was the only occupant in the SUV wearing a seat belt, according to the MSHP.

Missouri man dead, 4 hospitalized after SUV rollover crash

KANSAS CITY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating another deadly shooting in Kansas City.

Just before 2a.m. Saturday, police&nbsp;were dispatched to a shooting at 28th Terrace and Cleveland in Kansas City, according to Police Captain Jake Becchina.

Officers were led to a wooded area next to an empty parking lot. They located an adult male shooting victim later identified as 30-year-old  Lawrence D. Pickett, who was unresponsive.

Officers rendered aid and called in EMS who transported Pickett to the hospital where he was pronounced deceased.

Preliminary investigation indicates Pickett and an unknown suspect had an interaction at that location that led to the suspect firing a shot or shots at Picket striking him.

Crime scene investigators processed the scene and detectives canvassed for witnesses.&nbsp; Police have released no suspect information or additional details.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/3/1711201651346.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating another deadly shooting in Kansas City.Just before 2a.m. Saturday, police&nbsp;were dispatched to a shooting at 28th Terrace and Cleveland in Kansas City, according to Police Captain Jake Becchina.Officers were led to a wooded area next to an empty parking lot. They located an adult male shooting victim later identified as 30-year-old Lawrence D. Pickett, who was unresponsive.Officers rendered aid and called in EMS who transported Pickett to the hospital where he was pronounced deceased.Preliminary investigation indicates Pickett and an unknown suspect had an interaction at that location that led to the suspect firing a shot or shots at Picket striking him.Crime scene investigators processed the scene and detectives canvassed for witnesses.&nbsp; Police have released no suspect information or additional details.

Homicide: Shooting victim found in wooded area near KC parking lot

JERUSALEM —Iranian-backed terrorist continue attacks in the Red Sea. On Saturday, the Houthis launched four anti-ship ballistic missiles (ASBM) into the Red Sea in the vicinity of M/V Huang Pu, a Panamanian-flagged, Chinese-owned, Chinese-operated oil tanker, according to a statement from the U.S. Central Command.


At 4:25 p.m. (Sanaa time), a fifth ballistic missile was detected as fired toward M/V Huang Pu. The ship issued a distress call but did not request assistance. 

M/V Huang Pu suffered minimal damage, and a fire on board was extinguished within 30 minutes. No casualties were reported, and the vessel resumed its course. 

The Houthis attacked the MV Huang despite previously stating they would not attack Chinese vessels.


Between <a href="https://twitter.com/CENTCOM/status/1771726107168960751?t=410">6:50</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/CENTCOM/status/1771726107168960751?t=590">9:50</a> a.m. (Sanaa time), U.S. forces, including USS Carney (DDG 64), engaged six Houthi unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) over the southern Red Sea. Five crashed into the Red Sea, and one flew inland into Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen.


It was determined these UAVs presented an imminent threat to U.S., coalition, and merchant vessels in the region. These actions are taken to protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer and more secure for U.S, coalition, and merchant vessels.

JERUSALEM —Iranian-backed terrorist continue attacks in the Red Sea. On Saturday, the Houthis launched four anti-ship ballistic missiles (ASBM) into the Red Sea in the vicinity of M/V Huang Pu, a Panamanian-flagged, Chinese-owned, Chinese-operated oil tanker, according to a statement from the U.S. Central Command.
At 4:25 p.m. (Sanaa time), a fifth ballistic missile was detected as fired toward M/V Huang Pu. The ship issued a distress call but did not request assistance. M/V Huang Pu suffered minimal damage, and a fire on board was extinguished within 30 minutes. No casualties were reported, and the vessel resumed its course. The Houthis attacked the MV Huang despite previously stating they would not attack Chinese vessels.

Between <a href="https://twitter.com/CENTCOM/status/1771726107168960751?t=410">6:50</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/CENTCOM/status/1771726107168960751?t=590">9:50</a> a.m. (Sanaa time), U.S. forces, including USS Carney (DDG 64), engaged six Houthi unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) over the southern Red Sea. Five crashed into the Red Sea, and one flew inland into Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen.

It was determined these UAVs presented an imminent threat to U.S., coalition, and merchant vessels in the region. These actions are taken to protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer and more secure for U.S, coalition, and merchant vessels.

Iran-backed terrorist missile strikes oil tanker in the Red Sea

DOUGLAS COUNTY —A Kansas man is going to prison for a violent attack on his fiancée.

This month, Matthew T. Lee, 59, of Baldwin City, was sentenced to 57 months in the Kansas Department of Corrections for aggravated battery, according to Douglas County District Attorney Suzanne Valdez.

Charges stemmed from an incident that occurred in the 700 block of Chapel Street in Baldwin City on February 6, 2023, when Lee caused eye and neck injuries to a 37-year-old woman who identified herself as Lee’s fiancée. 

The woman, who declined medical attention at the time, also suffered injuries that made it difficult for her to walk.

“This sentence makes clear that violence has no place in our homes or community,” District Attorney Valdez said. “When a survivor steps forward, we will take action to address the harms committed and prevent the infliction of future violence.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/3/1711231042724.png" alt="Lee-photo Douglas Co." />
 <figcaption>Lee-photo Douglas Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>DOUGLAS COUNTY —A Kansas man is going to prison for a violent attack on his fiancée.This month, Matthew T. Lee, 59, of Baldwin City, was sentenced to 57 months in the Kansas Department of Corrections for aggravated battery, according to Douglas County District Attorney Suzanne Valdez.Charges stemmed from an incident that occurred in the 700 block of Chapel Street in Baldwin City on February 6, 2023, when Lee caused eye and neck injuries to a 37-year-old woman who identified herself as Lee’s fiancée. The woman, who declined medical attention at the time, also suffered injuries that made it difficult for her to walk.“This sentence makes clear that violence has no place in our homes or community,” District Attorney Valdez said. “When a survivor steps forward, we will take action to address the harms committed and prevent the infliction of future violence.”

Kansas man sentenced for attack that injured his fiancée

COLUMBIA —The University of Missouri is mourning the loss of 22-year-old Riley Strain, a student at the school.

Strain, a who went missing in Nashville for nearly two weeks, was found dead in a river, police announced Friday. No foul play is suspected, investigators said.

In a statement from the University, President Mun Choi wrote:&nbsp;

"Dear campus community, I write to you with a heavy heart with the news that the search for MU student Riley Strain has ended tragically. After an exhaustive search by authorities and volunteers, Riley’s body was recovered today in Nashville, Tenn., where he had traveled to attend his fraternity’s spring formal event."

"The university is equipped to assist you as you process this loss. Students can contact the MU Counseling Center for support. Additionally, the Employee Assistance Program is available to faculty and staff."

"The safety of our community is our highest priority, whether on campus or off campus. If you feel unsafe at any time, please call the MU Police Department at 573-882-7201 or dial 911 in the event of any emergency."

"As the Mizzou community mourns Riley, we are keeping his family in our thoughts and offering support."

Metro Nashville police officials confirmed that Strain's body had been recovered from the Cumberland River about 8 miles (12.8 kilometers) west of downtown at around 7:30 a.m.

Police Chief John Drake told reporters that workers on the river initially found Strain's body and alerted authorities. Medical examiners later confirmed it was Strain, he said. Police department spokesperson Don Aaron said an autopsy will be conducted Saturday.

“We have reports that normally under these circumstances ... with his height and weight, he could have surfaced between 14 and 20 days,” Drake said. “This is the 14th day. So we were really expecting to find him.”

Police previously said Strain, 22, was last seen just before 10 p.m. on March 8 after drinking downtown. A massive search was quickly launched, with just small clues available to help investigators trying to find him, including finding his bank card along a riverbank and using surveillance footage to track his final moments.

University of Missouri officials said in a statement that Strain was traveling to Nashville to attend a private event.

Members of Strain’s family offered their thanks for everyone’s help and support during remarks to reporters Friday in Nashville.

“I just ask that you mommas out there, hug your babies tight tonight please,” his mother, Michelle Whiteid, said through tears. “Please, for me, just hug your babies tight tonight. And again, thank you. Thank you for sharing our story.”

Drake said that his “heart and prayers" were going to Strain's family “for this very unfortunate and tragic accident.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/3/1711121657770.jpeg" alt="This undated photo provided by Chris Whiteid show Riley Strain on Jan. 2, 2024. (Chris Whiteid via AP)" />
 <figcaption>This undated photo provided by Chris Whiteid show Riley Strain on Jan. 2, 2024. (Chris Whiteid via AP)</figcaption>
 </figure>COLUMBIA —The University of Missouri is mourning the loss of 22-year-old Riley Strain, a student at the school.Strain, a who went missing in Nashville for nearly two weeks, was found dead in a river, police announced Friday. No foul play is suspected, investigators said.In a statement from the University, President Mun Choi wrote:&nbsp;"Dear campus community, I write to you with a heavy heart with the news that the search for MU student Riley Strain has ended tragically. After an exhaustive search by authorities and volunteers, Riley’s body was recovered today in Nashville, Tenn., where he had traveled to attend his fraternity’s spring formal event.""The university is equipped to assist you as you process this loss. Students can contact the MU Counseling Center for support. Additionally, the Employee Assistance Program is available to faculty and staff.""The safety of our community is our highest priority, whether on campus or off campus. If you feel unsafe at any time, please call the MU Police Department at 573-882-7201 or dial 911 in the event of any emergency.""As the Mizzou community mourns Riley, we are keeping his family in our thoughts and offering support."Metro Nashville police officials confirmed that Strain's body had been recovered from the Cumberland River about 8 miles (12.8 kilometers) west of downtown at around 7:30 a.m.Police Chief John Drake told reporters that workers on the river initially found Strain's body and alerted authorities. Medical examiners later confirmed it was Strain, he said. Police department spokesperson Don Aaron said an autopsy will be conducted Saturday.“We have reports that normally under these circumstances ... with his height and weight, he could have surfaced between 14 and 20 days,” Drake said. “This is the 14th day. So we were really expecting to find him.”Police previously said Strain, 22, was last seen just before 10 p.m. on March 8 after drinking downtown. A massive search was quickly launched, with just small clues available to help investigators trying to find him, including finding his bank card along a riverbank and using surveillance footage to track his final moments.University of Missouri officials said in a statement that Strain was traveling to Nashville to attend a private event.Members of Strain’s family offered their thanks for everyone’s help and support during remarks to reporters Friday in Nashville.“I just ask that you mommas out there, hug your babies tight tonight please,” his mother, Michelle Whiteid, said through tears. “Please, for me, just hug your babies tight tonight. And again, thank you. Thank you for sharing our story.”Drake said that his “heart and prayers" were going to Strain's family “for this very unfortunate and tragic accident.”

Univ. of Missouri statement on death of student Riley Strain

JACKSON COUNTY– Law enforcement authorities are investigating a woman on drug allegations.

Just after 9p.m. March 19, a Sheriff’s Deputy conducted a traffic stop on a 2006 Pontiac Grand Prix near 110th and U.S. Highway 75, according to Sheriff Tim Morse.

  During the traffic stop, the deputy discovered drug contraband that was inside the vehicle. The driver, Stacy L. Ripple, 37, of Topeka was arrested and transported to the Jackson County Jail and&nbsp; booked on requested charges of&nbsp; possession of methamphetamine, possession of a hallucinogenic drug, possession of drug paraphernalia and interference with law enforcement.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/3/1711199532043.png" alt="Ripple-photo Jackson Co." />
 <figcaption>Ripple-photo Jackson Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>JACKSON COUNTY– Law enforcement authorities are investigating a woman on drug allegations.Just after 9p.m. March 19, a Sheriff’s Deputy conducted a traffic stop on a 2006 Pontiac Grand Prix near 110th and U.S. Highway 75, according to Sheriff Tim Morse. During the traffic stop, the deputy discovered drug contraband that was inside the vehicle. The driver, Stacy L. Ripple, 37, of Topeka was arrested and transported to the Jackson County Jail and&nbsp; booked on requested charges of&nbsp; possession of methamphetamine, possession of a hallucinogenic drug, possession of drug paraphernalia and interference with law enforcement.

Deputy found meth in Kansas woman's car 

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration announced new automobile emissions standards this week that officials called the most ambitious plan ever to cut planet-warming emissions from passenger vehicles.

The new rules relax initial tailpipe limits proposed last year but eventually get close to the same strict standards set out by the Environmental Protection Agency.

The rules come as sales of electric vehicles, which are needed to meet the standards,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/auto-sales-prices-chip-shortage-interest-rates-7e07b5d1b1362d1394514bfd0d6f4c0d">have begun to slow.</a>&nbsp;The auto industry cited lower sales growth in objecting to the EPA’s preferred standards unveiled last April as part of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-electric-vehicles-epa-tailpipe-emissions-climate-406d74e18459bc135f089c681ba9e224">its ambitious plan</a>&nbsp;to cut planet-warming emissions from passenger vehicles.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/3/1710894346609.png" alt="File&nbsp;President Joe Biden speaks during a visit to the General Motors Factory ZERO electric vehicle assembly plant in Nov. 2021" />
 <figcaption>File&nbsp;President Joe Biden speaks during a visit to the General Motors Factory ZERO electric vehicle assembly plant in Nov. 2021</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration announced new automobile emissions standards this week that officials called the most ambitious plan ever to cut planet-warming emissions from passenger vehicles.The new rules relax initial tailpipe limits proposed last year but eventually get close to the same strict standards set out by the Environmental Protection Agency.The rules come as sales of electric vehicles, which are needed to meet the standards,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/auto-sales-prices-chip-shortage-interest-rates-7e07b5d1b1362d1394514bfd0d6f4c0d">have begun to slow.</a>&nbsp;The auto industry cited lower sales growth in objecting to the EPA’s preferred standards unveiled last April as part of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-electric-vehicles-epa-tailpipe-emissions-climate-406d74e18459bc135f089c681ba9e224">its ambitious plan</a>&nbsp;to cut planet-warming emissions from passenger vehicles.The EPA said that under its final rule, the industry could meet the limits if 56% of new vehicle sales are electric by 2032, along with at least 13% plug-in hybrids or other partially electric cars, as well as more efficient gasoline-powered cars that get more miles to the gallon.That would be a huge increase over current EV sales, which rose to 7.6% of new vehicle sales last year, up from 5.8% in 2022.The new standards will avoid more than 7 billion tons of planet-warming carbon emissions over the next three decades and provide nearly $100 billion in annual net benefits, the EPA said, including lower health care costs, fewer deaths and more than $60 billion in reduced annual costs for fuel, maintenance and repairs.President Joe Biden, who has made fighting climate change&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-climate-health-tax-law-economy-inflation-f112d7c78abaa724d22964317d213deb">a hallmark of his presidency</a>, cited “historic progress” on his pledge that half of all new cars and trucks sold in the U.S. will be zero-emission by 2030.“We’ll meet my goal for 2030 and race forward in the years ahead,'' Biden said in a statement Wednesday.WHAT IS EPA PROPOSING?The EPA rule applies to model years 2027 to 2032 and will significantly reduce emissions of planet-warming greenhouse gases, as well as other air pollution such as nitrogen oxides and particulate matter from new passenger cars, light trucks and pickups.Transportation makes up the largest source of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, and cars and trucks account for more than half of those emissions. The EPA said the new rule will help “tackle the climate crisis” while accelerating the adoption of cleaner vehicle technologies. The agency is finalizing the rule as sales of clean vehicles, including plug-in hybrid and fully electric vehicles, hit record highs last year.The new rule slows implementation of stricter pollution standards from 2027 through 2029, after the auto industry called proposed benchmarks unworkable. The rule ramps up to nearly reach the level the EPA preferred by 2032.“Let me be clear: Our final rule delivers the same, if not more, pollution reduction than we set out in our proposal,'' EPA Administrator Michael Regan told reporters. In addition to carbon pollution, the final standards also will reduce other serious air pollution that contributes to heart attacks, respiratory illnesses, aggravated asthma and decreased lung function, Regan said.“Folks, these new standards are so important for public health, for American jobs, for our economy and for our planet,'' he said.The standards are designed to be technology-neutral and performance-based, Regan said, giving car and truck manufacturers the flexibility to choose pollution-control technologies that are best suited for their customers while meeting environmental and public health goals.WHY DID EPA CHANGE THE PROPOSED RULE?The changes appear aimed at addressing strong industry and labor opposition to the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-epa-auto-dealers-electric-vehicles-62c173d2be33e05e3405a489e5924e26">accelerated ramp-up of EVs,</a>&nbsp;along with public reluctance to fully embrace the new technology. There is also a legitimate threat of legal challenges before conservative courts.The Supreme Court, with a 6-3 conservative majority, has increasingly reined in the powers of federal agencies, including the EPA, in recent years. The justices have restricted the EPA’s authority to fight air and water pollution — including a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-epa-ruling-2e893673819a1b6c6aa272a5e814f0b0">landmark 2022 ruling</a>&nbsp;that limited the EPA’s authority to regulate carbon dioxide emissions from power plants that contribute to global warming.At the same time, the Democratic president needs cooperation from the auto industry and political support from auto workers, a key political voting bloc.“U.S. workers will lead the world on autos — making clean cars and trucks, each stamped ‘Made in America,’” Biden said Wednesday. “You have my word.''The United Auto Workers union, which has endorsed Biden, said it supports rules that benefit workers and the environment, not just the industry. The new rule protects workers who build combustion engine vehicles “while providing a path forward for automakers to implement the full range of automotive technologies to reduce emissions,” the union said.HOW ARE THE NEW RULES BEING RECEIVED?Generally, environmental groups have been optimistic about the new EPA plan, which is aimed at slashing emissions from a source that causes one-fifth of the nation’s carbon pollution.David Cooke, senior vehicles analyst for the Union of Concerned Scientists, said the rule would significantly reduce vehicle pollution from current requirements. But the standards are weaker than those EPA proposed a year ago and make it unlikely that the U.S. will be able to meet its commitments under the 2015 Paris Climate Accord, which aims to keep global warming from increasing more than 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit)&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/climate-science-business-scotland-europe-7b282af7df95b55dff2630e158631a73">since pre-industrial times</a>, he said.Still, the new rules over time will prevent more carbon pollution “than the entire U.S. economy coughs up in a year,″ said Manish Bapna, president of the Natural Resources Defense Council. In the short term, the rules “will save drivers money at the pump and cut tailpipe pollution that endangers public health,″ he added.“In the longer journey to confront the climate crisis, these standards take us in the right direction,″ he said.But Dan Becker at the Center for Biological Diversity said he fears loopholes will let the industry continue to sell gas burners. He also is afraid the industry will get away with doing little during the first three years of the standards, which could be undone if former President Donald Trump is reelected.“The bottom line is that the administration is caving to pressure from big oil, big auto and the dealers to stall progress on EVs and now allow more pollution from cars,” Becker said.WHAT DO REPUBLICANS SAY?Republicans criticized the new standards, saying they essentially decide for the public which vehicles they should buy. “These regulations represent yet another step toward an unrealistic transition to electric vehicles that Americans do not want and cannot afford,” said West Virginia Sen. Shelley Moore Capito.House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, called the rule a “misguided electric vehicle mandate” that will force the U.S. to rely on China and other foes for critical minerals needed for batteries.Regan said the government isn’t requiring people to buy EVs or any other technology, adding that there are “multiple pathways companies can choose to comply″ with the rule.“We are staying well within the confines of the law and our statutory authority by not mandating a specific technology,'' he said.The EPA could achieve its carbon pollution goals even if sales of battery electric vehicles are as low as 30% in 2032, as long as other standards are met, he said.U.S. electric vehicle sales grew 47% last year to a record 1.19 million as EV market share rose to 7.6%. But EV sales growth slowed toward the end of the year. In December, they rose 34%.WHAT DOES THE CAR INDUSTRY THINK?The Alliance for Auto Innovation, a large industry trade group, praised the EPA’s slower implementation of the standards, saying the pace of the EV transition matters as the industry moves to produce more electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids to convert more traveling miles to electricity. The group had complained that the ramp-up to 67% initially proposed by the EPA was too fast for the industry to achieve. The proposal was faster than Biden’s goal of ensuring that EVs account for&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-politics-united-states-government-business-climate-and-environment-f145b24414ff245f491fd68257b3db60">half of new vehicles in the U.S. by 2030</a>.“Moderating the pace of EV adoption was the right call because it prioritizes more reasonable electrification targets in the next few, very critical years of the transition,” said John Bozzella, the Alliance CEO.The adjusted emissions targets will still be a stretch for the industry to achieve, Bozzella said, but they should give the market and parts supply chains a chance to catch up to higher EV sales. The plan also gives the industry more time to set up public charging stations, and it allows government tax incentives for EV manufacturing and for consumers to buy EVs to take hold, he said.Toyota, the top seller of hybrid vehicles in the U.S., said it believes the fastest way to reduce carbon emissions quickly is to give consumers choices of battery electric vehicles and hybrids. The new EPA standards allow for more sales of plug-in hybrids and regular gas-electric hybrids to meet emissions limits.____