MILWAUKEE (AP) — President Joe Biden said it's “self-evident” that Donald Trump is an insurrectionist for trying to overturn his 2020 election loss but stopped short of commenting on&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-insurrection-14th-amendment-2024-colorado-d16dd8f354eeaf450558378c65fd79a2">a Colorado legal case</a>&nbsp;that would bar him from the state's ballot.

The Democratic president made the comments about his likely Republican opponent in next year's election shortly after landing in Milwaukee for&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/milwaukee-biden-wisconsin-small-businesses-black-latino-b12b198e413c7916e16ae4b61179d828">an event focused on the economy</a>.

“Whether the 14th Amendment applies or not, we’ll let the court make that decision," Biden told reporters on the tarmac after stepping off Air Force One. "But he certainly supported an insurrection. There’s no question about it. None. Zero. And he seems to be doubling down on it.”

The Colorado Supreme Court issued a decision on Tuesday declaring that Trump is ineligible to serve as president under&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-14th-amendment-insurrection-2024-election-ballot-9c5f79203109ba221b35a48e708ad725">Section 3 of the 14th Amendment</a>. It's the first time in the country's history that the provision has been used to keep a candidate off the ballot.

Republicans have denounced the court's decision, and Trump's lawyers said they plan to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Trump has refused to back down from his lies that voter fraud allowed Biden to win in 2020, and he's pledged to pardon supporters who participated in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Biden has repeatedly condemned Trump and described him as a threat to American democracy. However, he's been more circumspect when addressing his predecessor's legal challenges, including several criminal cases against him, and this one is no different.

Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre declined to comment when asked by reporters aboard Air Force One.

“The president is not involved; we’re not involved in this," she said. "This is a legal process and we’re not involved in this.”

Biden's campaign was similarly circumspect in a call with reporters on Tuesday.

“What I will say is that the president looks forward to defeating Donald Trump or whoever else emerges from the Republican primary on the ballot box in November 2024," said Brooke Goren, the campaign's deputy communications director.

MILWAUKEE (AP) — President Joe Biden said it's “self-evident” that Donald Trump is an insurrectionist for trying to overturn his 2020 election loss but stopped short of commenting on&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-insurrection-14th-amendment-2024-colorado-d16dd8f354eeaf450558378c65fd79a2">a Colorado legal case</a>&nbsp;that would bar him from the state's ballot.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Q: Is Trump an insurrectionist, sir? President Biden: &quot;It&#39;s self-evident. You saw it all. Now whether the 14th Amendment applies, I&#39;ll let the court make that decision. But he certainly supported an insurrection. There&#39;s no question about it. None. Zero.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/kREbFSDbyV">pic.twitter.com/kREbFSDbyV</a>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1737526031697801707?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 20, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>The Democratic president made the comments about his likely Republican opponent in next year's election shortly after landing in Milwaukee for&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/milwaukee-biden-wisconsin-small-businesses-black-latino-b12b198e413c7916e16ae4b61179d828">an event focused on the economy</a>.“Whether the 14th Amendment applies or not, we’ll let the court make that decision," Biden told reporters on the tarmac after stepping off Air Force One. "But he certainly supported an insurrection. There’s no question about it. None. Zero. And he seems to be doubling down on it.”The Colorado Supreme Court issued a decision on Tuesday declaring that Trump is ineligible to serve as president under&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-14th-amendment-insurrection-2024-election-ballot-9c5f79203109ba221b35a48e708ad725">Section 3 of the 14th Amendment</a>. It's the first time in the country's history that the provision has been used to keep a candidate off the ballot.Republicans have denounced the court's decision, and Trump's lawyers said they plan to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.Trump has refused to back down from his lies that voter fraud allowed Biden to win in 2020, and he's pledged to pardon supporters who participated in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.Biden has repeatedly condemned Trump and described him as a threat to American democracy. However, he's been more circumspect when addressing his predecessor's legal challenges, including several criminal cases against him, and this one is no different.Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre declined to comment when asked by reporters aboard Air Force One.“The president is not involved; we’re not involved in this," she said. "This is a legal process and we’re not involved in this.”Biden's campaign was similarly circumspect in a call with reporters on Tuesday.“What I will say is that the president looks forward to defeating Donald Trump or whoever else emerges from the Republican primary on the ballot box in November 2024," said Brooke Goren, the campaign's deputy communications director.

🎥 President Biden asked if Trump supported insurrection

KANSAS CITY—Law enforcement authorities investigating a fatal accident that occurred just before 9p.m. Monday in Kansas City have identified the driver who died as 33-year-old Cy'erra R. Lowey of Kansas City,&nbsp;according to KCPD Captain Corey Carlisle.

&nbsp;A KIA Rondo driven by Lowery was southbound on Cleaver II&nbsp; at a very high rate of speed. Just before Elmwood, the KIA traveled off the road to the left through the grassy median and struck a large tree.

Lowery, sole occupant of the KIA, was pronounced deceased at the scene. She was not wearing a seat belt, according to Carlisle.

This is fatality #100 compared to #84 at this time last year.&nbsp;&nbsp;

KANSAS CITY—Law enforcement authorities investigating a fatal accident that occurred just before 9p.m. Monday in Kansas City have identified the driver who died as 33-year-old Cy'erra R. Lowey of Kansas City,&nbsp;according to KCPD Captain Corey Carlisle.&nbsp;A KIA Rondo driven by Lowery was southbound on Cleaver II&nbsp; at a very high rate of speed. Just before Elmwood, the KIA traveled off the road to the left through the grassy median and struck a large tree.Lowery, sole occupant of the KIA, was pronounced deceased at the scene. She was not wearing a seat belt, according to Carlisle.This is fatality #100 compared to #84 at this time last year.&nbsp;&nbsp;

KCPD IDs woman who died in crash after car struck a tree

CAIRO(AP) —The top leader of Yemen's Houthi rebels threatened Wednesday to target U.S. warships if attacks are launched against Yemen, a day after Washington announced a new international coalition to protect commercial vessels sailing through the Red Sea.

For weeks, the Iran-backed rebels in Yemen have been attacking ships transiting the Red Sea with drones and ballistic missiles. The group has said their attacks aim to end Israel's military offensive in the Gaza Strip. But the Israeli ties to the commercial ships targeted by the hardline Shia force have grown more tenuous with each attack.

In an hourlong speech, Abdel Malek al-Houthi said, “America seeks to militarize the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, seeking to turn the region into a war zone.”

On Tuesday, Washington announced the establishment of a new international coalition to protect vessels traveling through the Red Sea. The United Kingdom, Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Seychelles and Spain have joined the new maritime security mission, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said. Bahrain is the only Arab country in the coalition, and it does not border the Red Sea. Few additional details about how the maritime alliance will operate were made public.

The rebel leader also accused other Arab countries of intercepting its missile fire bound for Israel. In both cases, no specific country was named.

The Houthis control the capital, Sanaa, several northern provinces bordering Saudi Arabia as well as much of the western highlands and Red Sea ports.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/10/1696803172229.png" alt="The USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group arrived in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea in mid October-photo U.S. Central Command" />
 <figcaption>The USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group arrived in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea in mid October-photo U.S. Central Command</figcaption>
 </figure>CAIRO(AP) —The top leader of Yemen's Houthi rebels threatened Wednesday to target U.S. warships if attacks are launched against Yemen, a day after Washington announced a new international coalition to protect commercial vessels sailing through the Red Sea.For weeks, the Iran-backed rebels in Yemen have been attacking ships transiting the Red Sea with drones and ballistic missiles. The group has said their attacks aim to end Israel's military offensive in the Gaza Strip. But the Israeli ties to the commercial ships targeted by the hardline Shia force have grown more tenuous with each attack.In an hourlong speech, Abdel Malek al-Houthi said, “America seeks to militarize the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, seeking to turn the region into a war zone.”On Tuesday, Washington announced the establishment of a new international coalition to protect vessels traveling through the Red Sea. The United Kingdom, Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Seychelles and Spain have joined the new maritime security mission, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said. Bahrain is the only Arab country in the coalition, and it does not border the Red Sea. Few additional details about how the maritime alliance will operate were made public.The rebel leader also accused other Arab countries of intercepting its missile fire bound for Israel. In both cases, no specific country was named.The Houthis control the capital, Sanaa, several northern provinces bordering Saudi Arabia as well as much of the western highlands and Red Sea ports.

Terrorists threaten to strike US warships if Yemen is attacked 

DOUGLAS COUNTY —On Tuesday morning, police issued a Silver Alert for 73-year-old Jerry Adams who had not been seen since December 11.

&nbsp;Late Tuesday, Lawrence Police were notified&nbsp; that Jerry Adams’ vehicle was located in Kansas City, Missouri, with a deceased man inside the vehicle, according to Lawrence Police Sgt&nbsp;Sgt. Drew Fennelly.

 While the man has not been positively identified, investigators believe it is Jerry Adams. There has been no indication this case was a homicide, but police will await the coroner’s determination on cause and manner of death.&nbsp;

DOUGLAS COUNTY –The Silver Alert for missing Lawrence resident&nbsp; 73-year-old Jerry Adams has been cancelled, according to Lawrence Police. Authorities are expected to released more information Wednesday as they are able to confirm further details.

Check the Post for an update on Wednesday.

DOUGLAS COUNTY–&nbsp;Law enforcement authorities are asking for the public’s assistance in locating 73-year-old Jerry Dean Adams of Lawrence, according to a media release from Lawrence Police.

Adams was reported missing on December 19, and hasn’t been heard from since December 11.

 Adams is believed to be driving a white 2002 Chevrolet full size van with Kansas tag 008MFS, which was last known to be leaving Lawrence on December 11, around 9:15 a.m. 

&nbsp;Anyone with information on Adams’ location, or his vehicle location, is asked to call 911.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/12/1703008899269.png" alt="Adams-photo Lawrence Police" />
 <figcaption>Adams-photo Lawrence Police</figcaption>
 </figure>DOUGLAS COUNTY —On Tuesday morning, police issued a Silver Alert for 73-year-old Jerry Adams who had not been seen since December 11.&nbsp;Late Tuesday, Lawrence Police were notified&nbsp; that Jerry Adams’ vehicle was located in Kansas City, Missouri, with a deceased man inside the vehicle, according to Lawrence Police Sgt&nbsp;Sgt. Drew Fennelly. While the man has not been positively identified, investigators believe it is Jerry Adams. There has been no indication this case was a homicide, but police will await the coroner’s determination on cause and manner of death.&nbsp;-----------------------DOUGLAS COUNTY –The Silver Alert for missing Lawrence resident&nbsp; 73-year-old Jerry Adams has been cancelled, according to Lawrence Police. Authorities are expected to released more information Wednesday as they are able to confirm further details.Check the Post for an update on Wednesday.-----------DOUGLAS COUNTY–&nbsp;Law enforcement authorities are asking for the public’s assistance in locating 73-year-old Jerry Dean Adams of Lawrence, according to a media release from Lawrence Police.Adams was reported missing on December 19, and hasn’t been heard from since December 11.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/12/1703008988714.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure> Adams is believed to be driving a white 2002 Chevrolet full size van with Kansas tag 008MFS, which was last known to be leaving Lawrence on December 11, around 9:15 a.m. &nbsp;Anyone with information on Adams’ location, or his vehicle location, is asked to call 911.

Silver Alert canceled, body of missing Kan. man found in his van

TOPEKA —Governor Laura Kelly is taking some time this week to enjoy some good music thanks to her staff.&nbsp;

On social media Wednesday, the governor wrote, "Now that Taylor Swift has been spending more time in Kansas — thanks Travis Kelce— my fearless staff thought it was time I drop everything now and give her music a proper listen."

Check out the personalized CD with handpicked tracks I received from my staff. It pairs well with the Reputation friendship bracelet a Swiftie gave me at a recent Chiefs game. What other songs should I check out?

TOPEKA —Governor Laura Kelly is taking some time this week to enjoy some good music thanks to her staff.&nbsp;On social media Wednesday, the governor wrote, "Now that Taylor Swift has been spending more time in Kansas — thanks Travis Kelce— my fearless staff thought it was time I drop everything now and give her music a proper listen."<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Check out the personalized CD with handpicked tracks I received from my staff. It pairs well with the Reputation friendship bracelet a Swiftie gave me at a recent <a href="https://twitter.com/Chiefs?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Chiefs</a> game. What other songs should I check out? <a href="https://t.co/n1gGH0I6lh">pic.twitter.com/n1gGH0I6lh</a>&mdash; Governor Laura Kelly (@GovLauraKelly) <a href="https://twitter.com/GovLauraKelly/status/1737535802890932627?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 20, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Check out the personalized CD with handpicked tracks I received from my staff. It pairs well with the Reputation friendship bracelet a Swiftie gave me at a recent Chiefs game. What other songs should I check out?

Kansas governor might just become a Swiftie

SHAWNEE COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect on multiple allegations after a car crash and follow up investigation.

Just before 1p.m.&nbsp; Monday, the Shawnee County Emergency Communications Center received a report of a single vehicle rollover injury auto accident in the 5000 block SW 61st Street in Topeka, according to Sheriff's Lt. Scott Wanamaker.

 Deputies arrived to find that three of the four adult occupants of the vehicle were injured from the accident. Two of the occupants sustained non-life threatening injuries and one sustained life threatening injuries. American Medical response transported all three of the injured occupants to local hospitals.

The vehicle, a 1999 Honda Civic, was found to be reported stolen through the Topeka Police Department. The Shawnee County Sheriff’s Office and the Topeka Police Department are working together on the investigation of this stolen vehicle.

The driver William Sharon, 23, of Topeka was treated at a local hospital for his injuries and then booked into the Shawnee County Department of Corrections on requested charges of aggravated battery, reckless driving, interference with law enforcement, registration not assigned, no insurance, operate a vehicle without being licensed, improper driving on laned roadway, and unsafe speed for prevailing conditions.&nbsp; Additional requested charges are expected.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/12/1703041928867.png" alt="Sharon-photo Shawnee Co." />
 <figcaption>Sharon-photo Shawnee Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>SHAWNEE COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect on multiple allegations after a car crash and follow up investigation.Just before 1p.m.&nbsp; Monday, the Shawnee County Emergency Communications Center received a report of a single vehicle rollover injury auto accident in the 5000 block SW 61st Street in Topeka, according to Sheriff's Lt. Scott Wanamaker. Deputies arrived to find that three of the four adult occupants of the vehicle were injured from the accident. Two of the occupants sustained non-life threatening injuries and one sustained life threatening injuries. American Medical response transported all three of the injured occupants to local hospitals.The vehicle, a 1999 Honda Civic, was found to be reported stolen through the Topeka Police Department. The Shawnee County Sheriff’s Office and the Topeka Police Department are working together on the investigation of this stolen vehicle.The driver William Sharon, 23, of Topeka was treated at a local hospital for his injuries and then booked into the Shawnee County Department of Corrections on requested charges of aggravated battery, reckless driving, interference with law enforcement, registration not assigned, no insurance, operate a vehicle without being licensed, improper driving on laned roadway, and unsafe speed for prevailing conditions.&nbsp; Additional requested charges are expected.

Kansas man driving stolen car moved from hospital to jail

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Civil rights organizations on Tuesday filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/immigration-texas-border-8c86bc6c20a7c30d6127b2413b8688fc">new Texas law</a>&nbsp;that would allow police to arrest migrants who cross the border illegally and permit local judges to order them to leave the country.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Austin, argues that the measure that is set to take effect in March is unconstitutional because the federal government has sole authority over immigration.

The American Civil Liberties Union, its Texas branch, and the Texas Civil Rights Project sued less than 24 hours after Republican Gov. Greg Abbott signed the measure during a ceremony on the U.S.-Mexico border in Brownsville.

The civil rights groups filed the lawsuit on behalf of El Paso County and two immigrant aid groups seeking to block enforcement of the measure, known as SB 4, and declare it unlawful.

“S.B. 4 creates a new state system to regulate immigration that completely bypasses and conflicts with the federal system,” the lawsuit states.

The lawsuit was filed against the head of the Texas Department of Public Safety, whose troopers could arrest migrants, and the El Paso County district attorney, whose office would potentially prosecute cases in that border community.

A DPS spokesperson declined to comment in an email Tuesday, citing the pending litigation. A person who answered the phone in Hicks’ office said he was not available and had no immediate comment.

Abbott and other Texas Republicans who support the measure say President Joe Biden isn’t doing enough to control the 1,950-mile (3,149-kilometer) southern border.

“In his absence, Texas has the constitutional authority to secure our border through historic laws like SB 4,” Abbott said in an email Tuesday, adding that he was willing to take the case to the Supreme Court.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre criticized the law, but wouldn’t say whether the Justice Department would also challenge it.

“This is an extreme law that will not and does not make the communities in Texas safer,” Jean-Pierre said. She added that the purpose of the law was to “demonize immigrants and also dehumanize immigrants” and said “communities should not be individually targeted and put into harm’s way.”

According to Tuesday’s lawsuit, DPS Director Steve McGraw told lawmakers that his agency estimates approximately 72,000 arrests will be made each year under the measure.

The law comes as the U.S.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/arizona-border-wall-breaches-asylum-immigration-beddd2ca0ffd02884ce0d0ad1785f538">is seeing an increase in illegal border crossings.</a>&nbsp;Customs and Border Patrol acting commissioner Troy Miller called the number of daily arrivals “unprecedented,” as illegal crossings have topped 10,000 on some days this month.

The measure allows any Texas law enforcement officer to arrest people who are suspected of entering the country illegally. Once in custody, they could either agree to a Texas judge’s order to leave the U.S. or be prosecuted on misdemeanor charges of illegal entry. Migrants who don’t leave could face arrest again under more serious felony charges.

Opponents have called it the most dramatic attempt by a state to police immigration since a 2010 Arizona law — denounced by critics as the “Show Me Your Papers” bill — that was largely&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/57fd255191214d54b420a39a96b82451">struck down</a>&nbsp;by the U.S. Supreme Court. The lawsuit cites the 2012 Supreme Court decision on the Arizona law, which stated the federal government has exclusive power over immigration.

“The bill overrides bedrock constitutional principles and flouts federal immigration law while harming Texans, in particular Brown and Black communities," Adriana Piñon, legal director of the ACLU of Texas, said in a statement.

Earlier Tuesday, ACLU affiliates in Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arkansas, Louisiana, Arizona, Texas, and San Diego and Imperial Counties in California issued a travel advisory warning of a possible threat to travelers’ civil and constitutional rights violations when passing through Texas.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/12/1702952665492.png" alt="Gov. Greg Abbott signed three bills into law at a border wall construction site in Brownsville, Texas on Monday, Dec. 18, 2023, that will broaden his border security plans and add funding for more infrastructure to deter illegal immigration. (AP Photo/Valerie Gonzalez)" />
 <figcaption>Gov. Greg Abbott signed three bills into law at a border wall construction site in Brownsville, Texas on Monday, Dec. 18, 2023, that will broaden his border security plans and add funding for more infrastructure to deter illegal immigration. (AP Photo/Valerie Gonzalez)</figcaption>
 </figure>By Associated PressAUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Civil rights organizations on Tuesday filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/immigration-texas-border-8c86bc6c20a7c30d6127b2413b8688fc">new Texas law</a>&nbsp;that would allow police to arrest migrants who cross the border illegally and permit local judges to order them to leave the country.The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Austin, argues that the measure that is set to take effect in March is unconstitutional because the federal government has sole authority over immigration.The American Civil Liberties Union, its Texas branch, and the Texas Civil Rights Project sued less than 24 hours after Republican Gov. Greg Abbott signed the measure during a ceremony on the U.S.-Mexico border in Brownsville.The civil rights groups filed the lawsuit on behalf of El Paso County and two immigrant aid groups seeking to block enforcement of the measure, known as SB 4, and declare it unlawful.“S.B. 4 creates a new state system to regulate immigration that completely bypasses and conflicts with the federal system,” the lawsuit states.The lawsuit was filed against the head of the Texas Department of Public Safety, whose troopers could arrest migrants, and the El Paso County district attorney, whose office would potentially prosecute cases in that border community.A DPS spokesperson declined to comment in an email Tuesday, citing the pending litigation. A person who answered the phone in Hicks’ office said he was not available and had no immediate comment.Abbott and other Texas Republicans who support the measure say President Joe Biden isn’t doing enough to control the 1,950-mile (3,149-kilometer) southern border.“In his absence, Texas has the constitutional authority to secure our border through historic laws like SB 4,” Abbott said in an email Tuesday, adding that he was willing to take the case to the Supreme Court.White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre criticized the law, but wouldn’t say whether the Justice Department would also challenge it.“This is an extreme law that will not and does not make the communities in Texas safer,” Jean-Pierre said. She added that the purpose of the law was to “demonize immigrants and also dehumanize immigrants” and said “communities should not be individually targeted and put into harm’s way.”According to Tuesday’s lawsuit, DPS Director Steve McGraw told lawmakers that his agency estimates approximately 72,000 arrests will be made each year under the measure.The law comes as the U.S.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/arizona-border-wall-breaches-asylum-immigration-beddd2ca0ffd02884ce0d0ad1785f538">is seeing an increase in illegal border crossings.</a>&nbsp;Customs and Border Patrol acting commissioner Troy Miller called the number of daily arrivals “unprecedented,” as illegal crossings have topped 10,000 on some days this month.The measure allows any Texas law enforcement officer to arrest people who are suspected of entering the country illegally. Once in custody, they could either agree to a Texas judge’s order to leave the U.S. or be prosecuted on misdemeanor charges of illegal entry. Migrants who don’t leave could face arrest again under more serious felony charges.Opponents have called it the most dramatic attempt by a state to police immigration since a 2010 Arizona law — denounced by critics as the “Show Me Your Papers” bill — that was largely&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/57fd255191214d54b420a39a96b82451">struck down</a>&nbsp;by the U.S. Supreme Court. The lawsuit cites the 2012 Supreme Court decision on the Arizona law, which stated the federal government has exclusive power over immigration.“The bill overrides bedrock constitutional principles and flouts federal immigration law while harming Texans, in particular Brown and Black communities," Adriana Piñon, legal director of the ACLU of Texas, said in a statement.Earlier Tuesday, ACLU affiliates in Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arkansas, Louisiana, Arizona, Texas, and San Diego and Imperial Counties in California issued a travel advisory warning of a possible threat to travelers’ civil and constitutional rights violations when passing through Texas.

Lawsuit filed over new Texas law that lets police arrest illegals

SHAWNEE COUNTY – The City of Topeka announced Tuesday that it is parting ways with Chief Financial Officer Freddy Mawyin, according to a media release from the city.

Mawyin had been on administrative leave since December 11, following his arrest on a requested charge of domestic battery.

Just before 10 p.m. on Dec. 10, police were called to a home in the 4400 block of SW Lincolnshire Road for a&nbsp; report of a past domestic dispute that occurred Dec. 9, according to a media release.

Throughout the course of the investigation, police determined Mawyin was the suspect. He was arrested and booked into the Shawnee Co. Dept. of Corrections on a requested charges of domestic battery.

Rachelle Mathews has been named Acting Finance Director and will serve in the role until further notice. 

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/12/1703025008801.png" alt="Mawyin-photo Shawnee Co." />
 <figcaption>Mawyin-photo Shawnee Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>SHAWNEE COUNTY – The City of Topeka announced Tuesday that it is parting ways with Chief Financial Officer Freddy Mawyin, according to a media release from the city.Mawyin had been on administrative leave since December 11, following his arrest on a requested charge of domestic battery.Just before 10 p.m. on Dec. 10, police were called to a home in the 4400 block of SW Lincolnshire Road for a&nbsp; report of a past domestic dispute that occurred Dec. 9, according to a media release.Throughout the course of the investigation, police determined Mawyin was the suspect. He was arrested and booked into the Shawnee Co. Dept. of Corrections on a requested charges of domestic battery.Rachelle Mathews has been named Acting Finance Director and will serve in the role until further notice.

City of Topeka fires Chief Financial Officer after his arrest

DENVER (AP) — A divided Colorado Supreme Court on Tuesday declared former President Donald Trump ineligible for the White House under the U.S. Constitution’s insurrection clause and removed him from the state’s presidential primary ballot, setting up a likely showdown in the nation’s highest court to decide whether the front-runner for the GOP nomination can remain in the race

On social media, Kansas U.S. Senator Roger Marshall blasted the decision, "&nbsp;Colorado Democrats: If you can't beat him, take him off the ballot. This unprecedented weaponization of the 14th Amendment will only make victory that much sweeter on Nov. 5th, 2024."

The decision from a court whose justices were all appointed by Democratic governors marks the first time in history that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-14th-amendment-insurrection-2024-election-ballot-9c5f79203109ba221b35a48e708ad725">Section 3 of the 14th Amendment</a>&nbsp;has been used to disqualify a presidential candidate.

“A majority of the court holds that Trump is disqualified from holding the office of president under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment,” the court wrote in its 4-3 decision.

Colorado’s highest court overturned a ruling from a district court judge who found that Trump incited an insurrection for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, but said he could not be barred from the ballot because it was unclear that the provision was intended to cover the presidency.

The court stayed its decision until Jan. 4, or until the U.S. Supreme Court rules on the case. Colorado officials say the issue must be settled by Jan. 5, the deadline for the state to print its presidential primary ballots.

“We do not reach these conclusions lightly,” wrote the court’s majority. “We are mindful of the magnitude and weight of the questions now before us. We are likewise mindful of our solemn duty to apply the law, without fear or favor, and without being swayed by public reaction to the decisions that the law mandates we reach.”

Trump’s attorneys had promised to appeal any disqualification immediately to the nation's highest court, which has the final say about constitutional matters.

Trump's legal spokeswoman Alina Habba said in a statement Tuesday night: “This ruling, issued by the Colorado Supreme Court, attacks the very heart of this nation’s democracy. It will not stand, and we trust that the Supreme Court will reverse this unconstitutional order.”

Trump didn't mention the decision during a rally Tuesday evening in Waterloo, Iowa, but his campaign sent out a fundraising email citing what it called a “tyrannical ruling.”

Republican National Committee chairwoman Ronna McDaniel labeled the decision “Election interference” and said the RNC’s legal team intends to help Trump fight the ruling.

Trump lost Colorado by 13 percentage points in 2020 and doesn’t need the state to win next year’s presidential election. But the danger for the former president is that more courts and election officials will follow Colorado’s lead and exclude Trump from must-win states.

Dozens of lawsuits have been filed nationally to disqualify Trump under Section 3, which was designed to keep former Confederates from returning to government after the Civil War. It bars from office anyone who swore an oath to “support” the Constitution and then “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” against it, and has been used only a handful of times since the decade after the Civil War.

“I think it may embolden other state courts or secretaries to act now that the bandage has been ripped off,” Derek Muller, a Notre Dame law professor who has closely followed the Section 3 cases, said after Tuesday's ruling. “This is a major threat to Trump’s candidacy.”

The Colorado case is the first where the plaintiffs succeeded. After a weeklong hearing in November, District Judge Sarah B. Wallace found that Trump indeed had “engaged in insurrection” by inciting the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/congress-confirm-joe-biden-78104aea082995bbd7412a6e6cd13818">Jan. 6 attack</a>&nbsp;on the Capitol, and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-insurrection-amendment-2024-ballot-colorado-5b6e40f069abc1b8604ec37c46621055">her ruling that kept him on the ballot</a>&nbsp;was a fairly technical one.

Trump’s attorneys convinced Wallace that, because the language in Section 3 refers to “officers of the United States” who take an oath to “support” the Constitution, it must not apply to the president, who is not included as an “officer of the United States” elsewhere in the document and whose oath is to “preserve, protect and defend” the Constitution.

The provision also says offices covered include senator, representative, electors of the president and vice president, and all others “under the United States,” but doesn’t name the presidency.

The state’s highest court didn’t agree, siding with attorneys for six Colorado Republican and unaffiliated voters who argued that it was nonsensical to imagine that the framers of the amendment, fearful of former confederates returning to power, would bar them from low-level offices but not the highest one in the land.

“President Trump asks us to hold that Section 3 disqualifies every oathbreaking insurrectionist except the most powerful one and that it bars oath-breakers from virtually every office, both state and federal, except the highest one in the land,” the court’s majority opinion said. “Both results are inconsistent with the plain language and history of Section 3.”

The left-leaning group that brought the Colorado case, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, hailed the ruling.

“Our Constitution clearly states that those who violate their oath by attacking our democracy are barred from serving in government,” its president, Noah Bookbinder, said in a statement.

Trump’s attorneys also had urged the Colorado high court to reverse Wallace’s ruling that Trump incited the Jan. 6 attack. His lawyers argued the then-president had simply been using his free speech rights and hadn’t called for violence. Trump attorney Scott Gessler also argued the attack was more of a “riot” than an insurrection.

That met skepticism from several of the justices.

“Why isn’t it enough that a violent mob breached the Capitol when Congress was performing a core constitutional function?” Justice William W. Hood III said during the Dec. 6 arguments. “In some ways, that seems like a poster child for insurrection.”

In the ruling issued Tuesday, the court's majority dismissed the arguments that Trump wasn’t responsible for his supporters’ violent attack, which was intended to halt Congress' certification of the presidential vote: “President Trump then gave a speech in which he literally exhorted his supporters to fight at the Capitol,” they wrote.

Colorado Supreme Court Justices Richard L. Gabriel, Melissa Hart, Monica Márquez and Hood ruled for the petitioners. Chief Justice Brian D. Boatright dissented, arguing the constitutional questions were too complex to be solved in a state hearing. Justices Maria E. Berkenkotter and Carlos Samour also dissented.

“Our government cannot deprive someone of the right to hold public office without due process of law,” Samour wrote in his dissent. “Even if we are convinced that a candidate committed horrible acts in the past — dare I say, engaged in insurrection — there must be procedural due process before we can declare that individual disqualified from holding public office.”

The Colorado ruling stands in contrast with the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-insurrection-election-president-f6b72c94bb351c1b870d4884e54f6a75">Minnesota Supreme Court</a>, which last month decided that the state party can put anyone it wants on its primary ballot. It dismissed a Section 3 lawsuit but said the plaintiffs could try again during the general election.

In another 14th Amendment case,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-insurrection-14th-amendment-ballot-michigan-b2a870f98a60dffbe4c9566cfe97457c">a Michigan judge</a>&nbsp;ruled that Congress, not the judiciary, should decide whether Trump can stay on the ballot. That ruling is&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-insurrection-14th-amendment-michigan-appeal-c6b66ef9ed85734305ff2dd27023447d">being appealed</a>. The liberal group behind those cases, Free Speech For People, also filed another lawsuit in Oregon seeking to bounce Trump from the ballot there.

Both groups are financed by liberal donors who also support President Joe Biden. Trump has blamed the president for the lawsuits against him, even though Biden has no role in them, saying his rival is “defacing the constitution” to try to end his campaign.

Trump’s allies rushed to his defense, slamming the decision as “un-American” and “insane” and part of a politically-motivated effort to destroy his candidacy.

“Four partisan Democrat operatives on the Colorado Supreme Court think they get to decide for all Coloradans and Americans the next presidential election,” House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik said in a statement.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/12/1703040304815.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>DENVER (AP) — A divided Colorado Supreme Court on Tuesday declared former President Donald Trump ineligible for the White House under the U.S. Constitution’s insurrection clause and removed him from the state’s presidential primary ballot, setting up a likely showdown in the nation’s highest court to decide whether the front-runner for the GOP nomination can remain in the raceOn social media, Kansas U.S. Senator Roger Marshall blasted the decision, "&nbsp;Colorado Democrats: If you can't beat him, take him off the ballot. This unprecedented weaponization of the 14th Amendment will only make victory that much sweeter on Nov. 5th, 2024."<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">The Left invokes “democracy” to justify its use of power, even if it means abusing judicial power to remove a candidate from the ballot based on spurious legal grounds. SCOTUS should reverse. <a href="https://t.co/D4pCzZ7FhY">https://t.co/D4pCzZ7FhY</a>&mdash; Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) <a href="https://twitter.com/RonDeSantis/status/1737297350257693102?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 20, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/12/1703039912250.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>The decision from a court whose justices were all appointed by Democratic governors marks the first time in history that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-14th-amendment-insurrection-2024-election-ballot-9c5f79203109ba221b35a48e708ad725">Section 3 of the 14th Amendment</a>&nbsp;has been used to disqualify a presidential candidate.“A majority of the court holds that Trump is disqualified from holding the office of president under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment,” the court wrote in its 4-3 decision.Colorado’s highest court overturned a ruling from a district court judge who found that Trump incited an insurrection for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, but said he could not be barred from the ballot because it was unclear that the provision was intended to cover the presidency.The court stayed its decision until Jan. 4, or until the U.S. Supreme Court rules on the case. Colorado officials say the issue must be settled by Jan. 5, the deadline for the state to print its presidential primary ballots.“We do not reach these conclusions lightly,” wrote the court’s majority. “We are mindful of the magnitude and weight of the questions now before us. We are likewise mindful of our solemn duty to apply the law, without fear or favor, and without being swayed by public reaction to the decisions that the law mandates we reach.”Trump’s attorneys had promised to appeal any disqualification immediately to the nation's highest court, which has the final say about constitutional matters.Trump's legal spokeswoman Alina Habba said in a statement Tuesday night: “This ruling, issued by the Colorado Supreme Court, attacks the very heart of this nation’s democracy. It will not stand, and we trust that the Supreme Court will reverse this unconstitutional order.”Trump didn't mention the decision during a rally Tuesday evening in Waterloo, Iowa, but his campaign sent out a fundraising email citing what it called a “tyrannical ruling.”Republican National Committee chairwoman Ronna McDaniel labeled the decision “Election interference” and said the RNC’s legal team intends to help Trump fight the ruling.Trump lost Colorado by 13 percentage points in 2020 and doesn’t need the state to win next year’s presidential election. But the danger for the former president is that more courts and election officials will follow Colorado’s lead and exclude Trump from must-win states.Dozens of lawsuits have been filed nationally to disqualify Trump under Section 3, which was designed to keep former Confederates from returning to government after the Civil War. It bars from office anyone who swore an oath to “support” the Constitution and then “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” against it, and has been used only a handful of times since the decade after the Civil War.“I think it may embolden other state courts or secretaries to act now that the bandage has been ripped off,” Derek Muller, a Notre Dame law professor who has closely followed the Section 3 cases, said after Tuesday's ruling. “This is a major threat to Trump’s candidacy.”The Colorado case is the first where the plaintiffs succeeded. After a weeklong hearing in November, District Judge Sarah B. Wallace found that Trump indeed had “engaged in insurrection” by inciting the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/congress-confirm-joe-biden-78104aea082995bbd7412a6e6cd13818">Jan. 6 attack</a>&nbsp;on the Capitol, and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-insurrection-amendment-2024-ballot-colorado-5b6e40f069abc1b8604ec37c46621055">her ruling that kept him on the ballot</a>&nbsp;was a fairly technical one.Trump’s attorneys convinced Wallace that, because the language in Section 3 refers to “officers of the United States” who take an oath to “support” the Constitution, it must not apply to the president, who is not included as an “officer of the United States” elsewhere in the document and whose oath is to “preserve, protect and defend” the Constitution.The provision also says offices covered include senator, representative, electors of the president and vice president, and all others “under the United States,” but doesn’t name the presidency.The state’s highest court didn’t agree, siding with attorneys for six Colorado Republican and unaffiliated voters who argued that it was nonsensical to imagine that the framers of the amendment, fearful of former confederates returning to power, would bar them from low-level offices but not the highest one in the land.“President Trump asks us to hold that Section 3 disqualifies every oathbreaking insurrectionist except the most powerful one and that it bars oath-breakers from virtually every office, both state and federal, except the highest one in the land,” the court’s majority opinion said. “Both results are inconsistent with the plain language and history of Section 3.”The left-leaning group that brought the Colorado case, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, hailed the ruling.“Our Constitution clearly states that those who violate their oath by attacking our democracy are barred from serving in government,” its president, Noah Bookbinder, said in a statement.Trump’s attorneys also had urged the Colorado high court to reverse Wallace’s ruling that Trump incited the Jan. 6 attack. His lawyers argued the then-president had simply been using his free speech rights and hadn’t called for violence. Trump attorney Scott Gessler also argued the attack was more of a “riot” than an insurrection.That met skepticism from several of the justices.“Why isn’t it enough that a violent mob breached the Capitol when Congress was performing a core constitutional function?” Justice William W. Hood III said during the Dec. 6 arguments. “In some ways, that seems like a poster child for insurrection.”In the ruling issued Tuesday, the court's majority dismissed the arguments that Trump wasn’t responsible for his supporters’ violent attack, which was intended to halt Congress' certification of the presidential vote: “President Trump then gave a speech in which he literally exhorted his supporters to fight at the Capitol,” they wrote.Colorado Supreme Court Justices Richard L. Gabriel, Melissa Hart, Monica Márquez and Hood ruled for the petitioners. Chief Justice Brian D. Boatright dissented, arguing the constitutional questions were too complex to be solved in a state hearing. Justices Maria E. Berkenkotter and Carlos Samour also dissented.“Our government cannot deprive someone of the right to hold public office without due process of law,” Samour wrote in his dissent. “Even if we are convinced that a candidate committed horrible acts in the past — dare I say, engaged in insurrection — there must be procedural due process before we can declare that individual disqualified from holding public office.”The Colorado ruling stands in contrast with the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-insurrection-election-president-f6b72c94bb351c1b870d4884e54f6a75">Minnesota Supreme Court</a>, which last month decided that the state party can put anyone it wants on its primary ballot. It dismissed a Section 3 lawsuit but said the plaintiffs could try again during the general election.In another 14th Amendment case,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-insurrection-14th-amendment-ballot-michigan-b2a870f98a60dffbe4c9566cfe97457c">a Michigan judge</a>&nbsp;ruled that Congress, not the judiciary, should decide whether Trump can stay on the ballot. That ruling is&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-insurrection-14th-amendment-michigan-appeal-c6b66ef9ed85734305ff2dd27023447d">being appealed</a>. The liberal group behind those cases, Free Speech For People, also filed another lawsuit in Oregon seeking to bounce Trump from the ballot there.Both groups are financed by liberal donors who also support President Joe Biden. Trump has blamed the president for the lawsuits against him, even though Biden has no role in them, saying his rival is “defacing the constitution” to try to end his campaign.Trump’s allies rushed to his defense, slamming the decision as “un-American” and “insane” and part of a politically-motivated effort to destroy his candidacy.“Four partisan Democrat operatives on the Colorado Supreme Court think they get to decide for all Coloradans and Americans the next presidential election,” House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik said in a statement.

Kan. U.S. Senator blasts decision to kick Trump off ballot in Colorado

SEDGWICK COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities&nbsp; investigating a shooting that seriously injured two Wichita teens reported that 15-year-old&nbsp;Gabriel Jimenez died from his injuries on Monday, according to Officer Juan Rebolledo.

just before 12:30 a.m. Dec. 13, police were dispatched to a shooting call at the intersection of 15th Street North and Polar Avenue in Wichita, according to Rebolledo.&nbsp;

First responders located Jimenez with a gunshot wound to his abdomen and a 14-year-old victim with a gunshot wound to his right upper leg. EMS transported both victims to a local hospital.

Detectives are still working to fully determine the circumstances leading up to the shooting and searching for a suspect.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/12/1702502344958.png" alt="Police on the scene of the investigation Dec. 13 -photo courtesy KWCH" />
 <figcaption>Police on the scene of the investigation Dec. 13 -photo courtesy KWCH</figcaption>
 </figure>SEDGWICK COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities&nbsp; investigating a shooting that seriously injured two Wichita teens reported that 15-year-old&nbsp;Gabriel Jimenez died from his injuries on Monday, according to Officer Juan Rebolledo.just before 12:30 a.m. Dec. 13, police were dispatched to a shooting call at the intersection of 15th Street North and Polar Avenue in Wichita, according to Rebolledo.&nbsp;First responders located Jimenez with a gunshot wound to his abdomen and a 14-year-old victim with a gunshot wound to his right upper leg. EMS transported both victims to a local hospital.Detectives are still working to fully determine the circumstances leading up to the shooting and searching for a suspect.

15-year-old Kansas boy dies five days after shooting 

KANSAS CITY — Liberty Hospital,&nbsp;2525 Glenn Hendren Drive, Liberty, Mo., is experiencing a disruption to their computer systems. The technical problems began early Tuesday, according to a media release. 

Hospital staff continues to care for patients while following standard protocols to document patient care while the computer systems are down. 

As information technology staff actively investigate the source of the disruption, hospital officials are unable to estimate how long the computer issue will last. 

The technology team is confirming the impact to hospital services and working to restore functionality as soon as possible.

 After evaluating the care of every inpatient, hospital staff made the decision to transfer certain patients to other hospitals.

The&nbsp;Kansas City Fire Department, along with the other strike team Ambulances, transported approximately 30 patients, according to Battalion Chief Michael Hopkins. Liberty EMS transported an additional 10 to 15.&nbsp;

The remaining inpatients will continue to receive care at the hospital. Meanwhile, the hospital is encouraging the public to seek emergency care at other hospital emergency departments. Our primary and specialty care clinics is contacting patients who have appointments scheduled&nbsp; to determine next steps.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/12/1703037649784.png" alt="The Kansas City Fire Department, along with the other strike team Ambulances, transported approximately 30 patients-photo courtesy KCTV" />
 <figcaption>The Kansas City Fire Department, along with the other strike team Ambulances, transported approximately 30 patients-photo courtesy KCTV</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY — Liberty Hospital,&nbsp;2525 Glenn Hendren Drive, Liberty, Mo., is experiencing a disruption to their computer systems. The technical problems began early Tuesday, according to a media release. Hospital staff continues to care for patients while following standard protocols to document patient care while the computer systems are down. As information technology staff actively investigate the source of the disruption, hospital officials are unable to estimate how long the computer issue will last. The technology team is confirming the impact to hospital services and working to restore functionality as soon as possible. After evaluating the care of every inpatient, hospital staff made the decision to transfer certain patients to other hospitals.The&nbsp;Kansas City Fire Department, along with the other strike team Ambulances, transported approximately 30 patients, according to Battalion Chief Michael Hopkins. Liberty EMS transported an additional 10 to 15.&nbsp;The remaining inpatients will continue to receive care at the hospital. Meanwhile, the hospital is encouraging the public to seek emergency care at other hospital emergency departments. Our primary and specialty care clinics is contacting patients who have appointments scheduled&nbsp; to determine next steps.

Computer attack: KC emergency crews transport patients from hospital

WASHINGTON (AP) — The IRS said Tuesday it is going to waive penalty fees for people who failed to pay back taxes that total less than $100,000 per year for tax years 2020 and 2021.

Nearly 5 million people, businesses and tax-exempt organizations — most making under $400,000 per year — will be eligible for the relief starting this week, which totals about $1 billion, the agency said.

The IRS temporarily suspended mailing automated reminders to pay overdue tax bills during the pandemic, beginning in February 2022, and agency leadership says the pause in automated reminders is a reason behind the decision to forgive the failure-to-pay penalties.

“Due to the unprecedented effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, these reminders would have normally been issued as a follow up after the initial notice,” the IRS said in a statement.

“Although these reminder notices were suspended, the failure-to-pay penalty continues to accrue for taxpayers who did not fully pay their bills in response to the initial balance due notice.”

While the IRS plans to resume sending out normal collection notices, the Tuesday announcement is meant as one-time relief based on the unprecedented interruption caused by the pandemic, IRS officials said.

“It was an extraordinary time and the IRS had to take extraordinary steps,” IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel told reporters. He said the change will be automatic for many taxpayers and will not require additional action.

Taxpayers are eligible for automatic relief if they filed a Form 1040, 1041, 1120 series or Form 990-T tax return for years 2020 or 2021, owe less than $100,000 per year in back taxes, and received an initial balance-due notice between Feb. 5, 2022 and Dec. 7, 2023.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The IRS said Tuesday it is going to waive penalty fees for people who failed to pay back taxes that total less than $100,000 per year for tax years 2020 and 2021.Nearly 5 million people, businesses and tax-exempt organizations — most making under $400,000 per year — will be eligible for the relief starting this week, which totals about $1 billion, the agency said.The IRS temporarily suspended mailing automated reminders to pay overdue tax bills during the pandemic, beginning in February 2022, and agency leadership says the pause in automated reminders is a reason behind the decision to forgive the failure-to-pay penalties.“Due to the unprecedented effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, these reminders would have normally been issued as a follow up after the initial notice,” the IRS said in a statement.“Although these reminder notices were suspended, the failure-to-pay penalty continues to accrue for taxpayers who did not fully pay their bills in response to the initial balance due notice.”While the IRS plans to resume sending out normal collection notices, the Tuesday announcement is meant as one-time relief based on the unprecedented interruption caused by the pandemic, IRS officials said.“It was an extraordinary time and the IRS had to take extraordinary steps,” IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel told reporters. He said the change will be automatic for many taxpayers and will not require additional action.Taxpayers are eligible for automatic relief if they filed a Form 1040, 1041, 1120 series or Form 990-T tax return for years 2020 or 2021, owe less than $100,000 per year in back taxes, and received an initial balance-due notice between Feb. 5, 2022 and Dec. 7, 2023.

Christmas bonus: IRS cancels $1 billion in taxpayer penalties 

GARDNER, Kansas. –Kansas Department of Corrections inmate 52-year-old Clifford Leon Evans has been placed on escape status after it was reported at 2:45p.m. Monday that he did not return to the facility while serving his sentence at the Johnson County Work Release center, according to a statement from the KDOC.

Evans is described as a white male, has brown hair, brown eyes, is 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighs 131 pounds.

He currently serving a sentence for violating his parole. Evans was convicted in Johnson County for possession of opiates. He is serving that sentence at the Johnson County Department of Corrections (JCDOC) Adult Residential Center (ARC) from which he walked away. Under an agreement between the KDOC and JCDOC, residents who have release plans that are appropriate to Johnson County are housed at the ARC to promote their successful reintegration back into the community.

Anyone with information on Evans can call EAI at 816-266-2102, JCDOC 913-715-6539, the Kansas Bureau of Investigation at (800) 572-7463 or local law enforcement at 911. Kansans can also contact EAI via email at&nbsp;<a href="mailto:KDOC_EAI_Intel@ks.gov">KDOC_EAI_Intel@ks.gov</a>

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/12/1702940092760.png" alt="Evans-photo KDOC" />
 <figcaption>Evans-photo KDOC</figcaption>
 </figure>GARDNER, Kansas. –Kansas Department of Corrections inmate 52-year-old Clifford Leon Evans has been placed on escape status after it was reported at 2:45p.m. Monday that he did not return to the facility while serving his sentence at the Johnson County Work Release center, according to a statement from the KDOC.Evans is described as a white male, has brown hair, brown eyes, is 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighs 131 pounds.He currently serving a sentence for violating his parole. Evans was convicted in Johnson County for possession of opiates. He is serving that sentence at the Johnson County Department of Corrections (JCDOC) Adult Residential Center (ARC) from which he walked away. Under an agreement between the KDOC and JCDOC, residents who have release plans that are appropriate to Johnson County are housed at the ARC to promote their successful reintegration back into the community.Anyone with information on Evans can call EAI at 816-266-2102, JCDOC 913-715-6539, the Kansas Bureau of Investigation at (800) 572-7463 or local law enforcement at 911. Kansans can also contact EAI via email at&nbsp;<a href="mailto:KDOC_EAI_Intel@ks.gov">KDOC_EAI_Intel@ks.gov</a>

Kan. inmate who walked away from work release is still missing

HAMILTON COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect on multiple charges after a 2-state police chase.

Just before 1a.m. Dec. 17, the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office received information from Colorado authorities that a vehicle involved in a pursuit across several counties was headed towards Kansas, according to the Hamilton County Sheriff's office.

The suspect vehicle was observed traveling through Coolidge headed east on U.S.50. A traffic stop was initiated east of Syracuse, Kansas where the vehicle pulled over. 

The Deputy started to approach the vehicle and the driver later identified as 27-year-old Adrian Gonzales of Aurora, Colorado fled eastbound.

Gonzales turned around and headed back towards Syracuse and went off road north on Grain Bin Road and got stuck. He threw a handgun and methamphetamine out the passenger side window shattering the glass. Deputies were able to take him into custody without incident.&nbsp; He remains in custody, according to online jail records. The sheriff's office has not released all the requested charges he faces.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/12/1702899439213.png" alt="Photos Hamilton Co. Sheriff" />
 <figcaption>Photos Hamilton Co. Sheriff</figcaption>
 </figure>HAMILTON COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect on multiple charges after a 2-state police chase.Just before 1a.m. Dec. 17, the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office received information from Colorado authorities that a vehicle involved in a pursuit across several counties was headed towards Kansas, according to the Hamilton County Sheriff's office.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/12/1702899418342.png" alt="Gonzales-photo Hamilton Co. Sheriff" />
 <figcaption>Gonzales-photo Hamilton Co. Sheriff</figcaption>
 </figure>The suspect vehicle was observed traveling through Coolidge headed east on U.S.50. A traffic stop was initiated east of Syracuse, Kansas where the vehicle pulled over. The Deputy started to approach the vehicle and the driver later identified as 27-year-old Adrian Gonzales of Aurora, Colorado fled eastbound.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/12/1702899794865.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Gonzales turned around and headed back towards Syracuse and went off road north on Grain Bin Road and got stuck. He threw a handgun and methamphetamine out the passenger side window shattering the glass. Deputies were able to take him into custody without incident.&nbsp; He remains in custody, according to online jail records. The sheriff's office has not released all the requested charges he faces.

Drug suspect tossed gun, meth from pickup during Kansas chase

KANSAS CITY —Cyril Gregory Buyanovsky, 60, of Lawrence, Kansas, the owner and president of KanRus Trading Company Inc., pleaded guilty Tuesday for his role in a years-long conspiracy to circumvent U.S. export laws by filing false export forms with the U.S. government and, after Russian’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, continuing to sell and export sophisticated and controlled avionics equipment to customers in Russia without the required licenses from the U.S. Department of Commerce, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

“Buyanovsky admitted to a long-running scheme to smuggle sophisticated U.S. avionics equipment to Russia, doubling down to hide his actions after Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “Today’s guilty plea demonstrates the Justice Department’s commitment to cut off Moscow from means to fuel its military and hold those enabling it accountable in a court of law.”

“The rejection of tyranny and&nbsp;the&nbsp;protection of democracy are among the foundational principles of the United States of America. Our country continues to hold steadfastly to these ideals,” said U.S. Attorney Kate E. Brubacher for the District of Kansas. “After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the U.S. government imposed export controls and sanctions to prevent the weaponization of U.S. manufactured technology against Ukraine in a conflict intended to usurp its right to sovereignty within its borders. As long as there are people who value greed and profit over freedom and justice, the U.S. Department of Justice will remain vigilant and investigate and prosecute these crimes.”

“Buyanovsky’s guilty plea serves as a reminder to those who defy U.S. law to support Russia’s aggression – know you will be held accountable for your actions,” said Executive Assistant Director Larissa Knapp of the FBI’s National Security Branch. “The FBI, along with our partners, works diligently to identify and prevent illegal transfers of sophisticated equipment to hostile nations and will pursue those who support such smuggling operations.”

“The diversion of controlled U.S.-origin goods and falsification of end user information for use by Russian end users will be vigorously investigated,” said Special Agent in Charge Aaron Tambrini of Department of Commerce’s Office of Export Enforcement Chicago Field Office. “Individuals will be pursued and prosecuted wherever they are located.”

According to court documents, as part of his guilty plea, Buyanovsky admitted that between 2020 and when he was arrested in March, he conspired with others – including co-defendant and former KanRus vice president Douglas Edward Robertson, 56, of Olathe, Kansas – to smuggle U.S.-origin avionics equipment to end users in Russia, as well as Russian end users in other foreign countries, by, among other actions, knowingly filing false export forms and failing to file required export forms with the U.S. government. In these forms, Buyanovsky and his conspirators lied about the exports’ value, end users and end destinations.

Buyanovsky further admitted that on at least one occasion in 2021, he and Robertson smuggled a repaired Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) to the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (FSB) by removing the FSB sticker from the device before sending the device to a U.S. company to be repaired and then reattaching the sticker before shipping the TCAS back to the FSB in Russia.&nbsp;

Buyanovsky further admitted that after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 and the U.S. government tightened export controls concerning Russia, he, co-defendant Robertson and other conspirators continued to purchase and export U.S.-origin avionics equipment to customers in Russia and took numerous steps to hide their illegal activity from law enforcement, including by lying to U.S. suppliers about the intended end users; shipping goods through intermediary companies in Armenia, the United Arab Emirates, and Cyprus; continuing to file false export forms with the U.S. government; and using foreign bank accounts in countries other than Russia, such as Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Cyprus and the United Arab Emirates, to funnel money from the Russian customers to KanRus in the United States.&nbsp;

In addition to pleading guilty, Buyanovsky consented to the forfeiture of over $450,000 worth of avionics equipment and accessories and a $50,000 personal forfeiture judgment. According to court documents, among the equipment that Buyanovsky forfeited was a pallet of avionics devices that was detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection the day before Buyanovsky and Robertson were arrested.

On Dec. 7, as part of the U.S. government’s interagency efforts to dismantle Russian procurement networks designed to circumvent U.S. export controls and sanctions imposed in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Department of Commerce added many of the entities and individuals involved in Buyanovsky’s illegal export scheme to the Commerce Department’s Entity List, which imposes specific license requirements on all listed individuals and entities.

As a result of today’s guilty plea, Buyanovsky faces a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison – five years for the conspiracy count and 20 years for the money laundering count. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for March 21, 2024.

KANSAS CITY —Cyril Gregory Buyanovsky, 60, of Lawrence, Kansas, the owner and president of KanRus Trading Company Inc., pleaded guilty Tuesday for his role in a years-long conspiracy to circumvent U.S. export laws by filing false export forms with the U.S. government and, after Russian’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, continuing to sell and export sophisticated and controlled avionics equipment to customers in Russia without the required licenses from the U.S. Department of Commerce, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.“Buyanovsky admitted to a long-running scheme to smuggle sophisticated U.S. avionics equipment to Russia, doubling down to hide his actions after Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “Today’s guilty plea demonstrates the Justice Department’s commitment to cut off Moscow from means to fuel its military and hold those enabling it accountable in a court of law.”“The rejection of tyranny and&nbsp;the&nbsp;protection of democracy are among the foundational principles of the United States of America. Our country continues to hold steadfastly to these ideals,” said U.S. Attorney Kate E. Brubacher for the District of Kansas. “After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the U.S. government imposed export controls and sanctions to prevent the weaponization of U.S. manufactured technology against Ukraine in a conflict intended to usurp its right to sovereignty within its borders. As long as there are people who value greed and profit over freedom and justice, the U.S. Department of Justice will remain vigilant and investigate and prosecute these crimes.”“Buyanovsky’s guilty plea serves as a reminder to those who defy U.S. law to support Russia’s aggression – know you will be held accountable for your actions,” said Executive Assistant Director Larissa Knapp of the FBI’s National Security Branch. “The FBI, along with our partners, works diligently to identify and prevent illegal transfers of sophisticated equipment to hostile nations and will pursue those who support such smuggling operations.”“The diversion of controlled U.S.-origin goods and falsification of end user information for use by Russian end users will be vigorously investigated,” said Special Agent in Charge Aaron Tambrini of Department of Commerce’s Office of Export Enforcement Chicago Field Office. “Individuals will be pursued and prosecuted wherever they are located.”According to court documents, as part of his guilty plea, Buyanovsky admitted that between 2020 and when he was arrested in March, he conspired with others – including co-defendant and former KanRus vice president Douglas Edward Robertson, 56, of Olathe, Kansas – to smuggle U.S.-origin avionics equipment to end users in Russia, as well as Russian end users in other foreign countries, by, among other actions, knowingly filing false export forms and failing to file required export forms with the U.S. government. In these forms, Buyanovsky and his conspirators lied about the exports’ value, end users and end destinations.Buyanovsky further admitted that on at least one occasion in 2021, he and Robertson smuggled a repaired Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) to the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (FSB) by removing the FSB sticker from the device before sending the device to a U.S. company to be repaired and then reattaching the sticker before shipping the TCAS back to the FSB in Russia.&nbsp;Buyanovsky further admitted that after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 and the U.S. government tightened export controls concerning Russia, he, co-defendant Robertson and other conspirators continued to purchase and export U.S.-origin avionics equipment to customers in Russia and took numerous steps to hide their illegal activity from law enforcement, including by lying to U.S. suppliers about the intended end users; shipping goods through intermediary companies in Armenia, the United Arab Emirates, and Cyprus; continuing to file false export forms with the U.S. government; and using foreign bank accounts in countries other than Russia, such as Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Cyprus and the United Arab Emirates, to funnel money from the Russian customers to KanRus in the United States.&nbsp;In addition to pleading guilty, Buyanovsky consented to the forfeiture of over $450,000 worth of avionics equipment and accessories and a $50,000 personal forfeiture judgment. According to court documents, among the equipment that Buyanovsky forfeited was a pallet of avionics devices that was detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection the day before Buyanovsky and Robertson were arrested.On Dec. 7, as part of the U.S. government’s interagency efforts to dismantle Russian procurement networks designed to circumvent U.S. export controls and sanctions imposed in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Department of Commerce added many of the entities and individuals involved in Buyanovsky’s illegal export scheme to the Commerce Department’s Entity List, which imposes specific license requirements on all listed individuals and entities.As a result of today’s guilty plea, Buyanovsky faces a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison – five years for the conspiracy count and 20 years for the money laundering count. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for March 21, 2024.

Kan. man admits scheme to illegally sell avionics equipment to Russia

DENVER (AP) — A divided Colorado Supreme Court on Tuesday declared former President Donald Trump ineligible for the White House under the U.S. Constitution’s insurrection clause and removed him from the state’s presidential primary ballot, setting up a likely showdown in the nation’s highest court to decide whether the front-runner for the GOP nomination can remain in the race.

The court stayed its decision until Jan. 4, or until the U.S. Supreme Court rules on the case.

"The Colorado Supreme Court issued a completely flawed decision tonight and we will swiftly file an appeal to the United States Supreme Court and a concurrent request for a stay of this deeply undemocratic decision,” Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said in a statement Tuesday night.

Colorado officials say the issue must be settled by Jan. 5, the deadline for the state to print its presidential primary ballots.

The state’s highest court didn’t agree, siding with attorneys for six Colorado Republican and unaffiliated voters who argued that it was nonsensical to imagine the framers of the amendment, fearful of former Confederates returning to power, would bar them from low-level offices but not the highest one in the land.

“You’d be saying a rebel who took up arms against the government couldn’t be a county sheriff, but could be the president,” attorney Jason Murray said in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-2024-ballot-14th-amendment-insurrection-f865cff9bdc5ac7ab61d63a3742a3630">arguments before the court</a>&nbsp;in early December.

Trump’s attorneys argued unsuccessfully that the writers of the amendment expected the Electoral College to prevent former insurrectionists from becoming president.

They also had urged the Colorado high court to reverse Wallace’s ruling that Trump incited the Jan. 6 attack. His lawyers argued the then-president had simply been using his free speech rights and hadn’t called for violence. Trump attorney Scott Gessler also argued the attack was more of a “riot” than an insurrection.

Colorado Supreme Court Justices Richard L. Gabriel, Melissa Hart, William W. Hood III and Monica Márquez ruled for the petitioners. Chief Justice Brian D. Boatright dissented, arguing the constitutional questions were too complex to be solved in a state hearing. Justices Maria E. Berkenkotter and Carlos Samour also dissented.

In another 14th Amendment case,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-insurrection-14th-amendment-ballot-michigan-b2a870f98a60dffbe4c9566cfe97457c">a Michigan judge</a>&nbsp;ruled that Congress, not the judiciary, should decide whether Trump can stay on the ballot. That ruling is&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-insurrection-14th-amendment-michigan-appeal-c6b66ef9ed85734305ff2dd27023447d">being appealed</a>.

The liberal group behind those cases, Free Speech For People, also filed another lawsuit in Oregon seeking to bounce Trump from the ballot there. The Colorado case was filed by another liberal group, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/12/1703030684419.png" alt="Trump during a campaign address in Iowa December 13-image CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>Trump during a campaign address in Iowa December 13-image CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>DENVER (AP) — A divided Colorado Supreme Court on Tuesday declared former President Donald Trump ineligible for the White House under the U.S. Constitution’s insurrection clause and removed him from the state’s presidential primary ballot, setting up a likely showdown in the nation’s highest court to decide whether the front-runner for the GOP nomination can remain in the race.The decision from a court whose justices were all appointed by Democratic governors marks the first time in history that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-14th-amendment-insurrection-2024-election-ballot-9c5f79203109ba221b35a48e708ad725">Section 3 of the 14th Amendment</a>&nbsp;has been used to disqualify a presidential candidate.“A majority of the court holds that Trump is disqualified from holding the office of president under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment,” the court wrote in its 4-3 decision.Colorado’s highest court overturned a ruling from a district court judge who found that Trump incited an insurrection for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, but said he could not be barred from the ballot because it was unclear that the provision was intended to cover the presidency.The court stayed its decision until Jan. 4, or until the U.S. Supreme Court rules on the case.“We do not reach these conclusions lightly,” wrote the court’s majority. “We are mindful of the magnitude and weight of the questions now before us. We are likewise mindful of our solemn duty to apply the law, without fear or favor, and without being swayed by public reaction to the decisions that the law mandates we reach.”Trump’s attorneys had promised to appeal any disqualification immediately to the nation's highest court, which has the final say about constitutional matters."The Colorado Supreme Court issued a completely flawed decision tonight and we will swiftly file an appeal to the United States Supreme Court and a concurrent request for a stay of this deeply undemocratic decision,” Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said in a statement Tuesday night.Trump lost Colorado by 13 percentage points in 2020 and doesn’t need the state to win next year’s presidential election. But the danger for the former president is that more courts and election officials will follow Colorado’s lead and exclude Trump from must-win states.Colorado officials say the issue must be settled by Jan. 5, the deadline for the state to print its presidential primary ballots.Dozens of lawsuits have been filed nationally to disqualify Trump under Section 3, which was designed to keep former Confederates from returning to government after the Civil War. It bars from office anyone who swore an oath to “support” the Constitution and then “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” against it, and has been used only a handful of times since the decade after the Civil War.The Colorado case is the first where the plaintiffs succeeded. After a weeklong hearing in November, District Judge Sarah B. Wallace found that Trump indeed had “engaged in insurrection” by inciting the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/congress-confirm-joe-biden-78104aea082995bbd7412a6e6cd13818">Jan. 6 attack</a>&nbsp;on the Capitol, and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-insurrection-amendment-2024-ballot-colorado-5b6e40f069abc1b8604ec37c46621055">her ruling that kept him on the ballot</a>&nbsp;was a fairly technical one.Trump’s attorneys convinced Wallace that, because the language in Section 3 refers to “officers of the United States” who take an oath to “support” the Constitution, it must not apply to the president, who is not included as an “officer of the United States” elsewhere in the document and whose oath is to “preserve, protect and defend” the Constitution.The provision also says offices covered include senator, representative, electors of the president and vice president, and all others “under the United States,” but doesn’t name the presidency.The state’s highest court didn’t agree, siding with attorneys for six Colorado Republican and unaffiliated voters who argued that it was nonsensical to imagine the framers of the amendment, fearful of former Confederates returning to power, would bar them from low-level offices but not the highest one in the land.“You’d be saying a rebel who took up arms against the government couldn’t be a county sheriff, but could be the president,” attorney Jason Murray said in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-2024-ballot-14th-amendment-insurrection-f865cff9bdc5ac7ab61d63a3742a3630">arguments before the court</a>&nbsp;in early December.Trump’s attorneys argued unsuccessfully that the writers of the amendment expected the Electoral College to prevent former insurrectionists from becoming president.They also had urged the Colorado high court to reverse Wallace’s ruling that Trump incited the Jan. 6 attack. His lawyers argued the then-president had simply been using his free speech rights and hadn’t called for violence. Trump attorney Scott Gessler also argued the attack was more of a “riot” than an insurrection.That met skepticism from several of the justices.“Why isn’t it enough that a violent mob breached the Capitol when Congress was performing a core constitutional function?” Justice William W. Hood III said during the Dec. 6 arguments. “In some ways, that seems like a poster child for insurrection.”In the ruling issued Tuesday, the court's majority dismissed the arguments that Trump wasn’t responsible for his supporters’ violent attack, which was intended to halt Congress' certification of the presidential vote: “President Trump then gave a speech in which he literally exhorted his supporters to fight at the Capitol,” they wrote.Colorado Supreme Court Justices Richard L. Gabriel, Melissa Hart, William W. Hood III and Monica Márquez ruled for the petitioners. Chief Justice Brian D. Boatright dissented, arguing the constitutional questions were too complex to be solved in a state hearing. Justices Maria E. Berkenkotter and Carlos Samour also dissented.“Our government cannot deprive someone of the right to hold public office without due process of law,” Samour wrote in his dissent. “Even if we are convinced that a candidate committed horrible acts in the past — dare I say, engaged in insurrection — there must be procedural due process before we can declare that individual disqualified from holding public office.”The Colorado ruling stands in contrast with the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-insurrection-election-president-f6b72c94bb351c1b870d4884e54f6a75">Minnesota Supreme Court</a>, which last month decided that the state party can put anyone it wants on its primary ballot. It dismissed a Section 3 lawsuit but said the plaintiffs could try again during the general election.In another 14th Amendment case,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-insurrection-14th-amendment-ballot-michigan-b2a870f98a60dffbe4c9566cfe97457c">a Michigan judge</a>&nbsp;ruled that Congress, not the judiciary, should decide whether Trump can stay on the ballot. That ruling is&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-insurrection-14th-amendment-michigan-appeal-c6b66ef9ed85734305ff2dd27023447d">being appealed</a>.The liberal group behind those cases, Free Speech For People, also filed another lawsuit in Oregon seeking to bounce Trump from the ballot there. The Colorado case was filed by another liberal group, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.Both groups are financed by liberal donors who also support President Joe Biden. Trump has blamed the president for the lawsuits against him, even though Biden has no role in them, saying his rival is “defacing the constitution” to try to end his campaign.___<h2>Story Details</h2>

Landmark ruling: Trump removed from ballot in Colorado

WASHINGTON (AP) —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/sandra-day-oconnor">Justice Sandra Day O’Connor</a>, the Arizona rancher's daughter who became a voice of moderate conservatism as the first woman on the U.S. Supreme Court, was memorialized by President Joe Biden on Tuesday as a pioneer in the legal world who inspired generations of women.

Biden and Chief Justice John Roberts were among those who eulogized O'Connor at Washington National Cathedral. O’Connor retired from the high court in 2006 after more than two decades, and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-oconnor-first-woman-justice-304f91633f069c46350bdfff540ff9fe">died Dec. 1</a>&nbsp;at age 93.

The president, a longtime senator who once chaired the Senate Judiciary Committee, began his remarks by recalling her 1981 confirmation hearing — a day that Biden described as momentous because of the history that she would make on the nation's most powerful court.

He called her “a pioneer in her own right” who shattered barriers in both the political and legal worlds, along with the “nation’s consciousness.” He said that 'her principles were deeply held and of the highest order.”

“How she embodied such attributes under such pressure and scrutiny helped empower generations of women in every part of American life, including the court itself — helping to open doors, secure freedoms and prove that a woman can not only do anything a man can do, but many times do it a hell of a lot — a heck of a lot better," the president said.

Biden added: "Excuse my language, Father.”

Roberts, in his eulogy, also highlighted O'Connor's trailblazing career and said her leadership shaped the legal profession, making it clear that justices were both men and women. She had a distinct style during arguments, often jumping in with a question that cut to the heart of a case, he said. That put her most important issues on the table quickly, in line with one of her favorite sayings: “Get it done.”

“She was so successful that the barriers she broke down are almost unthinkable today,” Roberts said, calling her a “strong, influential and iconic jurist.”

Roberts had initially been tapped to replace O'Connor, although during his confirmation process, he was nominated to be chief justice. He recalled how O'Connor, in response to questions from reporters about him, said the only issue with the then-nominee was that he didn't wear a skirt.

“My initial reaction was, of course, everything's negotiable,” Roberts said.

O’Connor was nominated in 1981 by President Ronald Reagan. Largely unknown on the national scene until her appointment, she would come to be referred to by commentators as the nation’s most powerful woman.

O’Connor wielded considerable influence on the nine-member court, generally favoring states in disputes with the federal government and often siding with police when they faced claims of violating people’s rights. Her impact could perhaps best be seen, though, on the court’s rulings on abortion. She twice helped form the majority in decisions that upheld and reaffirmed Roe v. Wade, the decision that said women have a constitutional right to abortion.

Thirty years after that decision,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-supreme-court-decision-854f60302f21c2c35129e58cf8d8a7b0">a more conservative court</a>&nbsp;overturned Roe, and the opinion was written by the man who took her place, Justice Samuel Alito.

O’Connor was a top-ranked graduate of Stanford’s law school in 1952, but quickly discovered that most large law firms at the time did not hire women. She nevertheless built a career that included service as a member of the Arizona Legislature and state judge before her appointment to the Supreme Court at age 51.

When she first arrived, there wasn’t even a women’s bathroom anywhere near the courtroom. That was soon rectified, but she remained the court’s only woman until 1993, when Ruth Bader Ginsburg joined the court.

“She loved the law and the Supreme Court,” said Jay O’Connor, one of her three sons, during her memorial service. “She loved our country and our democracy. And most of all, she loved her family.”

She brought a formidable energy to her personal life as well, her son recalled, noting that her way of relaxing after a long day at work was “three rounds of tennis or 18 holes of golf.”

She was a voracious reader and, along with her husband John, a talented dancer — the couple took disco lessons in Arizona in the late 1970s. She also ran a bustling household as her three sons grew up, at times employing the same skills she used to question attorneys in the courtroom.

“She honed those skills grilling her sons about being out late on Saturday night,” he said.

The late justice’s final message to her three sons, Jay O’Connor said, included the guidance: “Our purpose in life is to help others along the way.”

“What a beautiful, powerful and totally Sandra Day O’Connor sentiment,” he said.

In a speech before her casket lay in repose Monday, Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor remembered O'Connor as a trailblazer and a “living example that women could take on any challenge, could more than hold their own in any spaces dominated by men and could do so with grace.”

O’Connor retired at age 75, citing her husband’s struggle with Alzheimer’s disease. She later expressed regret that a woman had not been chosen to replace her, but would live to see a record four women serving on the high court.

President Barack Obama awarded O’Connor the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor.

She died in Phoenix of complications related to advanced dementia and a respiratory illness. Her survivors include a brother, three sons and grandchildren. The family plans to return her remains to her childhood home, the Lazy B Ranch in Arizona.

The family has asked that donations be made to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.icivics.org/">iCivics</a>, the group she founded to promote civics education.

WASHINGTON (AP) —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/sandra-day-oconnor">Justice Sandra Day O’Connor</a>, the Arizona rancher's daughter who became a voice of moderate conservatism as the first woman on the U.S. Supreme Court, was memorialized by President Joe Biden on Tuesday as a pioneer in the legal world who inspired generations of women.<div><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?height=314&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FWhiteHouse%2Fvideos%2F401888025517184%2F&show_text=false&width=560&t=281" width="560" height="314" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowFullScreen="true"></iframe></div>Biden and Chief Justice John Roberts were among those who eulogized O'Connor at Washington National Cathedral. O’Connor retired from the high court in 2006 after more than two decades, and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-oconnor-first-woman-justice-304f91633f069c46350bdfff540ff9fe">died Dec. 1</a>&nbsp;at age 93.The president, a longtime senator who once chaired the Senate Judiciary Committee, began his remarks by recalling her 1981 confirmation hearing — a day that Biden described as momentous because of the history that she would make on the nation's most powerful court.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/12/1703014716387.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>He called her “a pioneer in her own right” who shattered barriers in both the political and legal worlds, along with the “nation’s consciousness.” He said that 'her principles were deeply held and of the highest order.”“How she embodied such attributes under such pressure and scrutiny helped empower generations of women in every part of American life, including the court itself — helping to open doors, secure freedoms and prove that a woman can not only do anything a man can do, but many times do it a hell of a lot — a heck of a lot better," the president said.Biden added: "Excuse my language, Father.”<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Chief Justice John Roberts begins his tribute to Justice O&#39;Connor: &quot;It has been said that the Supreme Court is like a family, a family composed entirely of in-laws.&quot; <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SCOTUS?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SCOTUS</a> <a href="https://t.co/q4E01hJjdI">pic.twitter.com/q4E01hJjdI</a>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1737162787032343024?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 19, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Roberts, in his eulogy, also highlighted O'Connor's trailblazing career and said her leadership shaped the legal profession, making it clear that justices were both men and women. She had a distinct style during arguments, often jumping in with a question that cut to the heart of a case, he said. That put her most important issues on the table quickly, in line with one of her favorite sayings: “Get it done.”“She was so successful that the barriers she broke down are almost unthinkable today,” Roberts said, calling her a “strong, influential and iconic jurist.”Roberts had initially been tapped to replace O'Connor, although during his confirmation process, he was nominated to be chief justice. He recalled how O'Connor, in response to questions from reporters about him, said the only issue with the then-nominee was that he didn't wear a skirt.“My initial reaction was, of course, everything's negotiable,” Roberts said.O’Connor was nominated in 1981 by President Ronald Reagan. Largely unknown on the national scene until her appointment, she would come to be referred to by commentators as the nation’s most powerful woman.O’Connor wielded considerable influence on the nine-member court, generally favoring states in disputes with the federal government and often siding with police when they faced claims of violating people’s rights. Her impact could perhaps best be seen, though, on the court’s rulings on abortion. She twice helped form the majority in decisions that upheld and reaffirmed Roe v. Wade, the decision that said women have a constitutional right to abortion.Thirty years after that decision,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-supreme-court-decision-854f60302f21c2c35129e58cf8d8a7b0">a more conservative court</a>&nbsp;overturned Roe, and the opinion was written by the man who took her place, Justice Samuel Alito.O’Connor was a top-ranked graduate of Stanford’s law school in 1952, but quickly discovered that most large law firms at the time did not hire women. She nevertheless built a career that included service as a member of the Arizona Legislature and state judge before her appointment to the Supreme Court at age 51.When she first arrived, there wasn’t even a women’s bathroom anywhere near the courtroom. That was soon rectified, but she remained the court’s only woman until 1993, when Ruth Bader Ginsburg joined the court.“She loved the law and the Supreme Court,” said Jay O’Connor, one of her three sons, during her memorial service. “She loved our country and our democracy. And most of all, she loved her family.”She brought a formidable energy to her personal life as well, her son recalled, noting that her way of relaxing after a long day at work was “three rounds of tennis or 18 holes of golf.”She was a voracious reader and, along with her husband John, a talented dancer — the couple took disco lessons in Arizona in the late 1970s. She also ran a bustling household as her three sons grew up, at times employing the same skills she used to question attorneys in the courtroom.“She honed those skills grilling her sons about being out late on Saturday night,” he said.The late justice’s final message to her three sons, Jay O’Connor said, included the guidance: “Our purpose in life is to help others along the way.”“What a beautiful, powerful and totally Sandra Day O’Connor sentiment,” he said.In a speech before her casket lay in repose Monday, Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor remembered O'Connor as a trailblazer and a “living example that women could take on any challenge, could more than hold their own in any spaces dominated by men and could do so with grace.”O’Connor retired at age 75, citing her husband’s struggle with Alzheimer’s disease. She later expressed regret that a woman had not been chosen to replace her, but would live to see a record four women serving on the high court.President Barack Obama awarded O’Connor the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor.She died in Phoenix of complications related to advanced dementia and a respiratory illness. Her survivors include a brother, three sons and grandchildren. The family plans to return her remains to her childhood home, the Lazy B Ranch in Arizona.The family has asked that donations be made to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.icivics.org/">iCivics</a>, the group she founded to promote civics education.___