DAMASCUS —On Thursday, U.S. Forces conducted a precision airstrike in Northwest Syria targeting and killing Muhammad Salah al-Za'bir, a senior operative in the terrorist organization Hurras al-Din (HaD), an Al-Qaeda affiliate, according to a statement from the U.S. Central Command.


The airstrike is part of Centcom's ongoing commitment, along with partners in the region, to disrupt and degrade efforts by terrorists to plan, organize, and conduct attacks against civilians and military personnel from the U.S., our allies, and our partners throughout the region and beyond.



"CENTCOM will continue to hunt and kill or capture terrorists, and defend our homeland, against groups that plot to attack US and allied personnel," said Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla, commander, U.S. Central Command.

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/12/1734705079925.png" alt="File photo U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle&nbsp; -photo U.S. Central Command" />
                        <figcaption>File photo U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle&nbsp; -photo U.S. Central Command</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>DAMASCUS —On Thursday, U.S. Forces conducted a precision airstrike in Northwest Syria targeting and killing Muhammad Salah al-Za'bir, a senior operative in the terrorist organization Hurras al-Din (HaD), an Al-Qaeda affiliate, according to a statement from the U.S. Central Command.</p><p>
The airstrike is part of Centcom's ongoing commitment, along with partners in the region, to disrupt and degrade efforts by terrorists to plan, organize, and conduct attacks against civilians and military personnel from the U.S., our allies, and our partners throughout the region and beyond.
</p><p>
"CENTCOM will continue to hunt and kill or capture terrorists, and defend our homeland, against groups that plot to attack US and allied personnel," said Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla, commander, U.S. Central Command.</p>

U.S. airstrike kills senior operative of terror group, an Al-Qaeda affiliate

KANSAS CITY —Prosecutors secured a guilty plea from a Kansas City man who shot at a Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper during a high-speed pursuit in 2022, according to&nbsp;Jackson County Prosecutor Melesa Johnson.

Christopher Northcutt, 23, pleaded guilty to Assault in the 1st Degree, two counts of Armed Criminal Action, Unlawful Use of a Weapon, Resisting Arrest, and Tampering with Evidence.&nbsp;

According to court records, on Nov. 19, 2022, a Missouri Highway Patrol trooper was conducting a traffic stop on a pickup truck that had been traveling 92 miles per hour in a 70-mph zone.

The stop was attempted on Interstate 70 at Grain Valley. The driver of the truck briefly pulled over then accelerated away at a high rate of speed and a pursuit ensued. The trooper pursued and a passenger in the vehicle emerged from the passenger side and fired several shots at the trooper. Shell casings were recovered.

Video surveillance showed three suspects in the vehicle, when the vehicle was abandoned at a motel. The suspects entered a hotel laundry room and rented a room. The suspect used an ID identifying him as John Glock. The investigation of this incident resulted in a cell phone video showing that Northcutt was in the vehicle involved in fleeing the trooper.&nbsp;

Northcutt will be sentenced on April 17 at 11:00 a.m.&nbsp;

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/12/1670013867051.png" alt="Northcutt -photo Jackson County" />
                        <figcaption>Northcutt -photo Jackson County</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>KANSAS CITY —Prosecutors secured a guilty plea from a Kansas City man who shot at a Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper during a high-speed pursuit in 2022, according to&nbsp;Jackson County Prosecutor Melesa Johnson.</p><p>Christopher Northcutt, 23, pleaded guilty to Assault in the 1st Degree, two counts of Armed Criminal Action, Unlawful Use of a Weapon, Resisting Arrest, and Tampering with Evidence.&nbsp;</p><p>According to court records, on Nov. 19, 2022, a Missouri Highway Patrol trooper was conducting a traffic stop on a pickup truck that had been traveling 92 miles per hour in a 70-mph zone.</p><p>The stop was attempted on Interstate 70 at Grain Valley. The driver of the truck briefly pulled over then accelerated away at a high rate of speed and a pursuit ensued. The trooper pursued and a passenger in the vehicle emerged from the passenger side and fired several shots at the trooper. Shell casings were recovered.</p><p>Video surveillance showed three suspects in the vehicle, when the vehicle was abandoned at a motel. The suspects entered a hotel laundry room and rented a room. The suspect used an ID identifying him as John Glock. The investigation of this incident resulted in a cell phone video showing that Northcutt was in the vehicle involved in fleeing the trooper.&nbsp;</p><p>Northcutt will be sentenced on April 17 at 11:00 a.m.&nbsp;</p>

Man admits role in shooting at State Trooper after I-70 traffic stop

🎥NTSB briefing on Helicopter, Jet from Kansas Collision Investigation

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1738258064893.png" alt="View of the Thursday morning President Trump press confernce-Photo by Margo Martin, Assistant to the President" />
                        <figcaption>View of the Thursday morning President Trump press confernce-Photo by Margo Martin, Assistant to the President</figcaption>
                    </figure><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">President Trump Holds Press Briefing on Aviation Disaster <a href="https://t.co/uyYbkQJ9mp">https://t.co/uyYbkQJ9mp</a></p>&mdash; The White House (@WhiteHouse) <a href="https://twitter.com/WhiteHouse/status/1884997692281020745?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 30, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">President Trump on DCA helicopter-plane crash: &quot;Sadly, there are no survivors. This was a dark and excruciating night in our nation&#39;s capitol and in our nation&#39;s history and a tragedy of terrible proportions.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/ZzeXygwpAr">pic.twitter.com/ZzeXygwpAr</a></p>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1885002717858263358?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 30, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Q: Should people be hesitant to fly right now?<br><br>President Trump: No...this collision is something we don&#39;t expect to ever happen again...I&#39;m not blaming the controller. I&#39;m saying there are things that you can question, like the height of the helicopter, the height of the plane. <a href="https://t.co/QpIDeeT3FG">pic.twitter.com/QpIDeeT3FG</a></p>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1885012440695423113?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 30, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Q: Are you saying this crash was somehow caused and the result of diversity hiring?<br><br>Pres. Trump: It just could have been...you have to go by brain power. You have to go by psychological quality...these are very powerful tests that we put to use and they were terminated by Biden. <a href="https://t.co/IpaxJ12IBm">pic.twitter.com/IpaxJ12IBm</a></p>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1885009901354631399?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 30, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">President Trump on former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg: &quot;A real winner. Do you know how badly everything has run since he&#39;s run the Department of Transportation. He&#39;s a disaster...he&#39;s just got a good line of bullshit.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/TTYrtmFRRU">pic.twitter.com/TTYrtmFRRU</a></p>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1885005079830282369?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 30, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">.<a href="https://twitter.com/SecDef?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SecDef</a> Hegseth: &quot;Tragically last night a mistake was made. I think the president is right. There was some sort of an elevation issue that we have immediately begun investigating.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/9udIM2o7Lc">pic.twitter.com/9udIM2o7Lc</a></p>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1885008961146929508?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 30, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">President Trump on NTSB investigation and safety: &quot;I put safety first. Obama, Biden and the Democrats put policy first...my administration will set the highest possible bar for aviation safety.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/F557NDQ4iM">pic.twitter.com/F557NDQ4iM</a></p>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1885004789492175047?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 30, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>

🎥 President Trump takes question on airplane, helicopter crash

Democratic governor vetoed attempt in 2024 to pass comparable measure

BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/tim-carpenter/">TIM CARPENTER</a><br><a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2025/01/03/kansas-state-garden-city-cc-striving-to-shrink-bachelors-degree-educational-desert/?emci=8e6f56cf-3bca-ef11-88d0-0022482a9b45&amp;emdi=a9416bb1-82ca-ef11-88d0-0022482a9b45&amp;ceid=115039"><i>Kansas Reflector</i></a>

TOPEKA — The Kansas Senate approved with a bipartisan supermajority a bill prohibiting health professionals from providing gender-affirming care to minors and enforcing that statewide ban with civil, financial and regulatory sanctions for violators.

The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kslegislature.gov/li/b2025_26/measures/vote_view/je_20250129163959_218903/" target="_blank">Senate voted 32-8 on Wednesday</a>&nbsp;to forward the legislation to the Kansas House, where it was expected to be approved and sent to Gov. Laura Kelly. The Democratic governor vetoed a comparable bill last year, but the Legislature was unable to pull together two-thirds majorities necessary to override her.

Senate President Ty Masterson, a Republican from Andover, said the Help Not Harm Act was necessary to protect children. He said surgeries, puberty blockers and other measures violated the duty of a medical professional to do no harm to the patient.

“A supermajority of the Kansas Senate took a firm stand in support of helping and not harming children by making it clear that transgender ideology and the mutilation of minors is no longer legal in Kansas,” Masterson said.

Masterson said credit for progress on the legislation should be shared with “courageous men and women who have spoken out against the harm these procedures are causing our children.”

The legislation was part of a multi-year campaign in Kansas to stop individuals under the age of 18 from receiving gender-affirming care. It was a political rejection of decisions by Kansans to seek treatment to address a condition described as gender dysphoria, in which a person experienced distress due to a mismatch between biological sex and gender identity.

Health and medical associations warned of harmful consequences to closing off care for youth. Opponents of the measure said it was outrageous to place in statute potential civil penalties and license revocations for professionals working within their scope of practice.

Such a law could be challenged on constitutional grounds. A Kansas Supreme Court decision affirming the right to abortion, which relied upon analysis of the Kansas Constitution’s Bill of Rights, hinged on a belief Kansans had a core constitutional right to bodily autonomy.

Eight of nine Democrats in the Senate voted against the measure. All 31 Republicans voted for the bill, and that veto-proof majority was bolstered by support from Sen. David Haley, a Democrat from Kansas City, Kansas.

Sen. Cindy Holscher, D-Overland Park, offered an amendment — it was defeated — that would have allowed minors taking medication related to gender-affirming treatment to continue that regimen after a Dec. 31, 2025, deadline written into the bill.

“This bill is extreme and expands far beyond a ban on certain kinds of health care,” Holscher said. “This bill inserts politicians into highly personal, private health care situations and that is against the values of Kansans.”

Identical bills were introduced in the House and Senate to advance the anti-transgender agenda. Republican Sen. Renee Erickson of Wichita introduced&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kslegislature.gov/li/b2025_26/measures/sb63/?#" target="_blank">Senate Bill 63</a>, while Republican Rep. Ron Bryce of Coffeyville was responsible for&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kslegislature.gov/li/b2025_26/measures/hb2071/" target="_blank">House Bill 2071.</a>

Committees in both chambers conducted public hearings on the bills, but the full Senate acted first. The House could move ahead with Bryce’s bill, which would be open to amendment, or simply concur with the Senate to move the bill as quickly as possible to Kelly.

Once it officially arrived on the governor’s desk, she would have 10 days to determine whether to veto it, sign it or allow it to become law without her signature.

In 2024, Kelly said Kansas shouldn’t join about two-dozen states that banned or restricted gender-affirming care for minors because those actions trampled parental rights and targeted a tiny sector of the state’s population.

“Voters do not want politicians getting between doctors and their patient by interfering in private medical decisions,” Kelly’s veto message said.

House Speaker Dan Hawkins, a Wichita Republican, responded to her veto by declaring she would “find herself on the wrong side of history.”

Masterson, the Senate’s president, pledged to override Kelly if she again stood in the way of legislation putting an “end to this extreme practice within our borders once and for all.”

Under Senate Bill 63, a civil cause of action would be created for lawsuits against health professionals involved in gender-affirming chemical or surgical interventions with minors. The measure would set the statute of limitations for such lawsuits at 10 years from the patient’s 18th birthday. The bill would prevent professional liability insurance from covering damages related to these suits.

The measure would restrain use of state tax dollars to promote gender transitioning. It would authorize professional disciplinary sanctions against health professionals responsible for delivering prohibited gender-affirming care.

If a physician prescribed drugs to a minor that were subsequently forbidden by law, the treatment would have to be gradually diminished and discontinued by Dec. 31.

Sen. Beverly Gossage, the Eudora Republican who carried the bill on the Senate floor, theorized 80% of minors seeking gender-affirming treatment suffered from autism, ADHD, depression, anxiety, eating disorders, PTSD or some form of trauma. She said many seeking the treatment were victims of sexual abuse.

Gossage, who chairs the Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee, said three-fourths of these patients were females who were “often influenced by social media.” Physicians and mental health professionals were pressuring youth to accept medical intervention that could begin with puberty blockers and progress to surgery, she said.

“There’s a troubling trend of doctors and mental health experts who are overlooking the underlying issues and putting these kids on an assembly line to so-called gender-affirming care,” Gossage said. “Children are not a social experiment. They are being ushered down a conveyor belt to lifelong pharmaceutical dependencies.”

The Senate defeated an amendment proposed by Minority Leader Dinah Sykes, D-Lenexa, to allow mental health professionals — school counselors, for example — to provide assistance to minors trying to work through gender issues.

The Senate rejected an amendment by Haley, the lone Democratic supporter of the bill, to change the threshold of medical independence in terms of an individual’s right to gender-affirming care from 18 in the bill to 14. Likewise, the Senate deflected an amendment that would have set the age of medical independence at 16.

Sen. Tory Marie Blew, R-Great Bend, quizzed her colleagues about the age at which a person could legally get a tattoo, vote or drink at a bar.

“At the age of 14, you can change your gender, but you can’t get a drink at a bar until you’re 21? Come on, people,” she said.

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1738256080335.jpeg" alt=" Senate President Ty Masterson, R-Andover, celebrated passage by the Kansas Senate of a bill banning gender-affirming medical care. The bill moves to the Kansas House. Masterson said the Legislature was prepared to override a veto by Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)" />
                        <figcaption> Senate President Ty Masterson, R-Andover, celebrated passage by the Kansas Senate of a bill banning gender-affirming medical care. The bill moves to the Kansas House. Masterson said the Legislature was prepared to override a veto by Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
                    </figure><h2>Democratic governor vetoed attempt in 2024 to pass comparable measure</h2><p>BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/tim-carpenter/">TIM CARPENTER</a><br><a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2025/01/03/kansas-state-garden-city-cc-striving-to-shrink-bachelors-degree-educational-desert/?emci=8e6f56cf-3bca-ef11-88d0-0022482a9b45&amp;emdi=a9416bb1-82ca-ef11-88d0-0022482a9b45&amp;ceid=115039"><i>Kansas Reflector</i></a></p><p>TOPEKA — The Kansas Senate approved with a bipartisan supermajority a bill prohibiting health professionals from providing gender-affirming care to minors and enforcing that statewide ban with civil, financial and regulatory sanctions for violators.</p><p>The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kslegislature.gov/li/b2025_26/measures/vote_view/je_20250129163959_218903/" target="_blank">Senate voted 32-8 on Wednesday</a>&nbsp;to forward the legislation to the Kansas House, where it was expected to be approved and sent to Gov. Laura Kelly. The Democratic governor vetoed a comparable bill last year, but the Legislature was unable to pull together two-thirds majorities necessary to override her.</p><p>Senate President Ty Masterson, a Republican from Andover, said the Help Not Harm Act was necessary to protect children. He said surgeries, puberty blockers and other measures violated the duty of a medical professional to do no harm to the patient.</p><p>“A supermajority of the Kansas Senate took a firm stand in support of helping and not harming children by making it clear that transgender ideology and the mutilation of minors is no longer legal in Kansas,” Masterson said.</p><p>Masterson said credit for progress on the legislation should be shared with “courageous men and women who have spoken out against the harm these procedures are causing our children.”</p><h2>‘This bill is extreme’</h2><p>The legislation was part of a multi-year campaign in Kansas to stop individuals under the age of 18 from receiving gender-affirming care. It was a political rejection of decisions by Kansans to seek treatment to address a condition described as gender dysphoria, in which a person experienced distress due to a mismatch between biological sex and gender identity.</p><p>Health and medical associations warned of harmful consequences to closing off care for youth. Opponents of the measure said it was outrageous to place in statute potential civil penalties and license revocations for professionals working within their scope of practice.</p><p>Such a law could be challenged on constitutional grounds. A Kansas Supreme Court decision affirming the right to abortion, which relied upon analysis of the Kansas Constitution’s Bill of Rights, hinged on a belief Kansans had a core constitutional right to bodily autonomy.</p><p>Eight of nine Democrats in the Senate voted against the measure. All 31 Republicans voted for the bill, and that veto-proof majority was bolstered by support from Sen. David Haley, a Democrat from Kansas City, Kansas.</p><p>Sen. Cindy Holscher, D-Overland Park, offered an amendment — it was defeated — that would have allowed minors taking medication related to gender-affirming treatment to continue that regimen after a Dec. 31, 2025, deadline written into the bill.</p><p>“This bill is extreme and expands far beyond a ban on certain kinds of health care,” Holscher said. “This bill inserts politicians into highly personal, private health care situations and that is against the values of Kansans.”</p><p>Identical bills were introduced in the House and Senate to advance the anti-transgender agenda. Republican Sen. Renee Erickson of Wichita introduced&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kslegislature.gov/li/b2025_26/measures/sb63/?#" target="_blank">Senate Bill 63</a>, while Republican Rep. Ron Bryce of Coffeyville was responsible for&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kslegislature.gov/li/b2025_26/measures/hb2071/" target="_blank">House Bill 2071.</a></p><p>Committees in both chambers conducted public hearings on the bills, but the full Senate acted first. The House could move ahead with Bryce’s bill, which would be open to amendment, or simply concur with the Senate to move the bill as quickly as possible to Kelly.</p><p>Once it officially arrived on the governor’s desk, she would have 10 days to determine whether to veto it, sign it or allow it to become law without her signature.</p><p>In 2024, Kelly said Kansas shouldn’t join about two-dozen states that banned or restricted gender-affirming care for minors because those actions trampled parental rights and targeted a tiny sector of the state’s population.</p><p>“Voters do not want politicians getting between doctors and their patient by interfering in private medical decisions,” Kelly’s veto message said.</p><p>House Speaker Dan Hawkins, a Wichita Republican, responded to her veto by declaring she would “find herself on the wrong side of history.”</p><p>Masterson, the Senate’s president, pledged to override Kelly if she again stood in the way of legislation putting an “end to this extreme practice within our borders once and for all.”</p><h2>‘Not a social experiment’</h2><p>Under Senate Bill 63, a civil cause of action would be created for lawsuits against health professionals involved in gender-affirming chemical or surgical interventions with minors. The measure would set the statute of limitations for such lawsuits at 10 years from the patient’s 18th birthday. The bill would prevent professional liability insurance from covering damages related to these suits.</p><p>The measure would restrain use of state tax dollars to promote gender transitioning. It would authorize professional disciplinary sanctions against health professionals responsible for delivering prohibited gender-affirming care.</p><p>If a physician prescribed drugs to a minor that were subsequently forbidden by law, the treatment would have to be gradually diminished and discontinued by Dec. 31.</p><p>Sen. Beverly Gossage, the Eudora Republican who carried the bill on the Senate floor, theorized 80% of minors seeking gender-affirming treatment suffered from autism, ADHD, depression, anxiety, eating disorders, PTSD or some form of trauma. She said many seeking the treatment were victims of sexual abuse.</p><p>Gossage, who chairs the Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee, said three-fourths of these patients were females who were “often influenced by social media.” Physicians and mental health professionals were pressuring youth to accept medical intervention that could begin with puberty blockers and progress to surgery, she said.</p><p>“There’s a troubling trend of doctors and mental health experts who are overlooking the underlying issues and putting these kids on an assembly line to so-called gender-affirming care,” Gossage said. “Children are not a social experiment. They are being ushered down a conveyor belt to lifelong pharmaceutical dependencies.”</p><p>The Senate defeated an amendment proposed by Minority Leader Dinah Sykes, D-Lenexa, to allow mental health professionals — school counselors, for example — to provide assistance to minors trying to work through gender issues.</p><p>The Senate rejected an amendment by Haley, the lone Democratic supporter of the bill, to change the threshold of medical independence in terms of an individual’s right to gender-affirming care from 18 in the bill to 14. Likewise, the Senate deflected an amendment that would have set the age of medical independence at 16.</p><p>Sen. Tory Marie Blew, R-Great Bend, quizzed her colleagues about the age at which a person could legally get a tattoo, vote or drink at a bar.</p><p>“At the age of 14, you can change your gender, but you can’t get a drink at a bar until you’re 21? Come on, people,” she said.</p>

Kan. Senate easily adopts bill blocking gender-affirming health care for minors

A Missouri House committee debated legislation that would allow students to attend schools outside their district

BY:&nbsp;ANNELISE HANSHAW<br><a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2022/09/21/missouri-judge-once-again-delays-decision-on-closing-agape-boarding-school/"><i>Missouri Independent</i></a>

A Republican lawmaker from Sedalia has once again begun his push to allow some students to enroll in schools outside the district where they live.

For the fifth year in a row on Wednesday, the House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee debated an open enrollment bill sponsored by state Rep. Brad Pollitt.&nbsp;

As he introduced the legislation, Pollitt called it the “only school-choice bill that allows students to make a choice and stay in the public school system.”

In the previous four years that Pollitt filed the bill, state lawmakers have prioritized programs allowing families to use state funds for homeschooling and to attend private schools. The state’s K-12 tax credit program, dubbed MOScholars, passed in 2021, and it was expanded last year&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2024/06/03/missouri-education-package-establishes-long-time-priorities-stomping-smaller-bills/">in a sweeping education package</a>.

Pollitt’s bill has cleared committee and&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2024/01/30/open-enrollment-legislation-wins-initial-approval-in-missouri-house/">made it out of the House</a>&nbsp;four times. But it has never been debated by the Senate.

He addressed his bill’s four-year purgatory in Wednesday’s committee hearing, saying good legislation doesn’t completely please anyone.

“All four years I’ve passed this bill, neither side was happy. It didn’t go far enough or it went too far,” he said. “Sometimes Missouri does a disservice by looking for perfection and bypassing what is better.”

Pollitt’s legislation has evolved through the years of deliberation. The current version has a cap of 3% on the portion of students allowed to leave a district annually.

He also added language suggested by the Missouri High School Activities Association, which oversees competitive athletics in Missouri schools, that would restrict students who transfer into a new district from competing in sports for one year.

The bill does not require school districts to accept students living outside the area but, instead, has an opt-in structure. Receiving districts would get state funding for the students coming in, but local funds would remain with the district of residence.

Some testified Wednesday that they are concerned the legislation would become mandatory for school districts in the future.

“Our worry is in the future. A lot of (laws) tend to start as voluntary and become mandatory,” said Tammy Henderson, who represents the North Kansas City School District. “We are concerned about losing some of the local control.”

Steve Carroll, a former lawmaker who now lobbies for school districts, cited his experience in the Missouri House in critiquing the bill.

“If this bill passes, within two or three legislative sessions, there is going to be a bill that is going to mandate this,” he said. “Mark my word.”&nbsp;

A majority of public comments were against the bill, and 220 school districts sent in a letter opposed to the legislation.

However, Pollitt’s proposal is not without its supporters — including Gov. Mike Kehoe, who included the bill in his&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2025/01/28/missouri-governor-vows-state-takeover-of-st-louis-police-in-state-of-the-state-address/">State of the State speech Tuesday</a>.

“To expand school choice, I urge the General Assembly to pass voluntary open enrollment in public schools,” he said.

Jordan Zachary, representing a national education nonprofit started by Jeb Bush called ExcelinEd, said Missouri’s neighbors already have open enrollment.

“We believe open enrollment to be one of those student-centered policies,”’ he said. “We do believe in giving students an opportunity to attend a school that best fits their needs.”

The bill would not require school districts to add accommodations for incoming students, and some worry the program would exclude students in special education.

Pollitt said he would work with Rep. Matthew Overcast, a Republican from Ava who serves on the education committee, to revise the bill to help students requiring accommodations. Overcast is an attorney with experience assisting students in special education.

The updated version would be presented to the committee before a vote.

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1738262004606.png" alt=" State Rep. Brad Pollitt, R-Sedalia, presents a bill to the House Education Committee earlier this month (Annelise Hanshaw/Missouri Independent)." />
                        <figcaption> State Rep. Brad Pollitt, R-Sedalia, presents a bill to the House Education Committee earlier this month (Annelise Hanshaw/Missouri Independent).</figcaption>
                    </figure><h2>A Missouri House committee debated legislation that would allow students to attend schools outside their district</h2><p>BY:&nbsp;ANNELISE HANSHAW<br><a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2022/09/21/missouri-judge-once-again-delays-decision-on-closing-agape-boarding-school/"><i>Missouri Independent</i></a></p><p>A Republican lawmaker from Sedalia has once again begun his push to allow some students to enroll in schools outside the district where they live.</p><p>For the fifth year in a row on Wednesday, the House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee debated an open enrollment bill sponsored by state Rep. Brad Pollitt.&nbsp;</p><p>As he introduced the legislation, Pollitt called it the “only school-choice bill that allows students to make a choice and stay in the public school system.”</p><p>In the previous four years that Pollitt filed the bill, state lawmakers have prioritized programs allowing families to use state funds for homeschooling and to attend private schools. The state’s K-12 tax credit program, dubbed MOScholars, passed in 2021, and it was expanded last year&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2024/06/03/missouri-education-package-establishes-long-time-priorities-stomping-smaller-bills/">in a sweeping education package</a>.</p><p>Pollitt’s bill has cleared committee and&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2024/01/30/open-enrollment-legislation-wins-initial-approval-in-missouri-house/">made it out of the House</a>&nbsp;four times. But it has never been debated by the Senate.</p><p>He addressed his bill’s four-year purgatory in Wednesday’s committee hearing, saying good legislation doesn’t completely please anyone.</p><p>“All four years I’ve passed this bill, neither side was happy. It didn’t go far enough or it went too far,” he said. “Sometimes Missouri does a disservice by looking for perfection and bypassing what is better.”</p><p>Pollitt’s legislation has evolved through the years of deliberation. The current version has a cap of 3% on the portion of students allowed to leave a district annually.</p><p>He also added language suggested by the Missouri High School Activities Association, which oversees competitive athletics in Missouri schools, that would restrict students who transfer into a new district from competing in sports for one year.</p><p>The bill does not require school districts to accept students living outside the area but, instead, has an opt-in structure. Receiving districts would get state funding for the students coming in, but local funds would remain with the district of residence.</p><p>Some testified Wednesday that they are concerned the legislation would become mandatory for school districts in the future.</p><p>“Our worry is in the future. A lot of (laws) tend to start as voluntary and become mandatory,” said Tammy Henderson, who represents the North Kansas City School District. “We are concerned about losing some of the local control.”</p><p>Steve Carroll, a former lawmaker who now lobbies for school districts, cited his experience in the Missouri House in critiquing the bill.</p><p>“If this bill passes, within two or three legislative sessions, there is going to be a bill that is going to mandate this,” he said. “Mark my word.”&nbsp;</p><p>A majority of public comments were against the bill, and 220 school districts sent in a letter opposed to the legislation.</p><p>However, Pollitt’s proposal is not without its supporters — including Gov. Mike Kehoe, who included the bill in his&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2025/01/28/missouri-governor-vows-state-takeover-of-st-louis-police-in-state-of-the-state-address/">State of the State speech Tuesday</a>.</p><p>“To expand school choice, I urge the General Assembly to pass voluntary open enrollment in public schools,” he said.</p><p>Jordan Zachary, representing a national education nonprofit started by Jeb Bush called ExcelinEd, said Missouri’s neighbors already have open enrollment.</p><p>“We believe open enrollment to be one of those student-centered policies,”’ he said. “We do believe in giving students an opportunity to attend a school that best fits their needs.”</p><p>The bill would not require school districts to add accommodations for incoming students, and some worry the program would exclude students in special education.</p><p>Pollitt said he would work with Rep. Matthew Overcast, a Republican from Ava who serves on the education committee, to revise the bill to help students requiring accommodations. Overcast is an attorney with experience assisting students in special education.</p><p>The updated version would be presented to the committee before a vote.</p>

Open enrollment bill gets public hearing after winning praise from Missouri governor

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1738207177867.png" alt="Image from Kennedy Center web camera at the time of the collision&nbsp;" />
                        <figcaption>Image from Kennedy Center web camera at the time of the collision&nbsp;</figcaption>
                    </figure><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Fire &amp; EMS Chief John Donnelly: &quot;We are now at a point where we are switching from a rescue operation to a recovery operation. At this point we don&#39;t believe there are any survivors from this accident. We have recovered 27 people from the plane and one from the helicopter.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/422JqoEiVO">pic.twitter.com/422JqoEiVO</a></p>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1884965008783667498?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 30, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>

🎥Fire Chief: No survivors after collision of jet from Kansas and Army Helicopter

ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) — Everyone aboard an American Airlines jet carrying 60 passengers and four crew members that collided with an Army helicopter was feared dead in what was likely to be the worst U.S. aviation disaster in almost a quarter century, officials said Thursday.

At least 28 bodies were pulled from the icy waters of the Potomac River after&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ronald-reagan-national-airport-aircraft-crash-9d79051a9e535bd855df5a4e5553b2e9">the midair collision Wednesday night</a>&nbsp;when the helicopter apparently flew in the path of the jet as it was landing at Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington, D.C., officials said.

Crews were still searching for other casualties but did not believe there were any survivors, which would make it&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/aircraft-crashes-history-washington-ee55776ea0c5f9e322fc77ea1ea452d1">the deadliest U.S. air crash</a>&nbsp;in nearly 24 years.

“We are now at the point where we are switching from a rescue operation to a recovery operation,” said John Donnelly, the fire chief in the nation’s capital. “We don’t believe there are any survivors.”

The body of the plane was found upside down in three sections in waist-deep water. The wreckage of the helicopter was also found. Donnelly said first responders on Thursday were searching an area of the Potomac River as far south as the Woodrow Wilson Bridge, roughly 3 miles (4.8 kilometers) south of the airport.

There was no immediate word on the cause of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ronald-reagan-national-airport-crash-cebb142d24859ba0c4e0e4fd6c33773f">the collision</a>, but officials said flight conditions were clear as the jet coming from Wichita, Kansas, with U.S. and Russian figure skaters and others aboard, was making a routine landing when the helicopter flew into its path.

“On final approach into Reagan National it collided with a military aircraft on an otherwise normal approach," American Airlines CEO Robert Isom said. "At this time we don’t know why the military aircraft came into the path of the ... aircraft.”

Three soldiers were onboard the helicopter during a training flight, an Army official previously said.

Images from the river showed boats around the partly submerged wing and the mangled wreckage of the plane's fuselage.

Investigators will try to piece together the aircrafts’ final moments before their collision, including contact with air traffic controllers as well as a loss of altitude by the passenger jet.

“I would just say that everyone who flies in American skies expects that we fly safely,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said. “That when you depart an airport, you get to your destination. That didn’t happen last night and I know that President Trump, his administration, the FAA, the DOT, we will not rest until we have answers for the families and for the flying public. You should be assured that when you fly, you’re safe.”

Reagan Airport will reopen at 11 a.m. Thursday, the Federal Aviation Administration announced. The FAA previously said it would be closed until 5 a.m. Friday.

Duffy,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/sean-duffy-transportation-elon-musk-selfdriving-spacex-tesla-31c739cfb56737413d40c5d1492225df">just sworn in earlier this week</a>, was asked if he could reassure Americans that the United States still has the safest airspace in the world.

“Can I guarantee the American flying public that the United States has the most safe and secure airspace in the world? And the answer to that is, absolutely yes, we do,” he said.

Authorities have ‘early indicators’ of what went wrong

The night was clear, the plane and helicopter were both in standard flight patterns and there was standard communication between the aircraft and the tower, Duffy said.

“We have early indicators of what happened here,” Duffy said, though he declined to elaborate further pending an investigation.

It was not unusual to have a military aircraft flying the river and an aircraft landing at the airport, he said. Asked if the plane was aware that there was a helicopter in the area, Duffy said he would say that the helicopter was aware that there was a plane in the area.

Asked about President Donald Trump suggesting in an overnight social media post that the collision could have been prevented, Duffy said, “From what I’ve seen so far, do I think this was preventable? Absolutely.”

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth did not appear at the Thursday morning press conference.

Likely the deadliest plane crash since November 2001

If everyone aboard the plane was killed, it will make it the deadliest U.S. airline crash since Nov. 12, 2001, when an American Airlines flight just after takeoff crashed into a residential area of Belle Harbor, New York, killing all 260 people aboard.

The last major fatal crash involving a U.S. commercial airline occurred in 2009 near Buffalo, New York. Everyone aboard the Bombardier DHC-8 propeller plane was killed, including 45 passengers, two pilots and two flight attendants. Another person on the ground also died, bringing the total death toll to 50. An investigation determined that the captain accidentally caused the plane to stall as it approached the airport in Buffalo.

Passengers on Wednesday's flight&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/washington-plane-collision-victims-ee829891574aa35a30d8262b7e07e638">included a group of figure skaters</a>, their coaches and family members who were returning from a development camp that followed the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita.

“We are devastated by this unspeakable tragedy and hold the victims’ families closely in our hearts,” U.S. Figure Skating said in a statement.

Two of those coaches were identified by the Kremlin as Russian figure skaters Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, who won the pairs title at the 1994 world championships and competed twice in the Olympics. The Skating Club of Boston lists them as coaches and their son, Maxim Naumov, is a competitive figure skater for the U.S.

The FAA said the midair crash occurred before 9 p.m. EST in some of the most tightly controlled and monitored airspace in the world, just over 3 miles south of the White House and the Capitol.

American Airlines Flight 5342 was inbound to Reagan National at an altitude of about 400 feet (122 meters) and a speed of about 140 mph (225 kph) when it suffered a rapid loss of altitude over the Potomac River, according to data from its radio transponder. The Canadian-made Bombardier CRJ-701 twin-engine jet, manufactured in 2004, can be configured to carry up to 70 passengers.

A few minutes before landing, air traffic controllers asked the arriving commercial jet if it could land on the shorter Runway 33 at Reagan National and the pilots said they were able. Controllers then cleared the plane to land on Runway 33. Flight tracking sites showed the plane adjust its approach to the new runway.

Less than 30 seconds before the crash, an air traffic controller asked the helicopter if it had the arriving plane in sight. The controller made another radio call to the helicopter moments later: “PAT 25 pass behind the CRJ.” Seconds after that, the two aircraft collided.

The plane’s radio transponder stopped transmitting about 2,400 feet (732 meters) short of the runway, roughly over the middle of the river.

Video from an observation camera at the nearby Kennedy Center showed two sets of lights consistent with aircraft appearing to join in a fireball.

The U.S. Army described the helicopter as a UH-60 Blackhawk based at Fort Belvoir in Virginia. The helicopter was on a training flight. Military aircraft frequently conduct training flights in and around the congested and heavily-restricted airspace around the nation’s capital for familiarization and continuity of government planning.

<div><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OHKkQu6RU04?si=3XpvUR56gs2QjFTR" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe></div><p>ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) — Everyone aboard an American Airlines jet carrying 60 passengers and four crew members that collided with an Army helicopter was feared dead in what was likely to be the worst U.S. aviation disaster in almost a quarter century, officials said Thursday.</p><p>At least 28 bodies were pulled from the icy waters of the Potomac River after&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ronald-reagan-national-airport-aircraft-crash-9d79051a9e535bd855df5a4e5553b2e9">the midair collision Wednesday night</a>&nbsp;when the helicopter apparently flew in the path of the jet as it was landing at Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington, D.C., officials said.</p><p>Crews were still searching for other casualties but did not believe there were any survivors, which would make it&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/aircraft-crashes-history-washington-ee55776ea0c5f9e322fc77ea1ea452d1">the deadliest U.S. air crash</a>&nbsp;in nearly 24 years.</p><p>“We are now at the point where we are switching from a rescue operation to a recovery operation,” said John Donnelly, the fire chief in the nation’s capital. “We don’t believe there are any survivors.”</p><p>The body of the plane was found upside down in three sections in waist-deep water. The wreckage of the helicopter was also found. Donnelly said first responders on Thursday were searching an area of the Potomac River as far south as the Woodrow Wilson Bridge, roughly 3 miles (4.8 kilometers) south of the airport.</p><p>There was no immediate word on the cause of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ronald-reagan-national-airport-crash-cebb142d24859ba0c4e0e4fd6c33773f">the collision</a>, but officials said flight conditions were clear as the jet coming from Wichita, Kansas, with U.S. and Russian figure skaters and others aboard, was making a routine landing when the helicopter flew into its path.</p><p>“On final approach into Reagan National it collided with a military aircraft on an otherwise normal approach," American Airlines CEO Robert Isom said. "At this time we don’t know why the military aircraft came into the path of the ... aircraft.”</p><p>Three soldiers were onboard the helicopter during a training flight, an Army official previously said.</p><p>Images from the river showed boats around the partly submerged wing and the mangled wreckage of the plane's fuselage.</p><p>Investigators will try to piece together the aircrafts’ final moments before their collision, including contact with air traffic controllers as well as a loss of altitude by the passenger jet.</p><p>“I would just say that everyone who flies in American skies expects that we fly safely,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said. “That when you depart an airport, you get to your destination. That didn’t happen last night and I know that President Trump, his administration, the FAA, the DOT, we will not rest until we have answers for the families and for the flying public. You should be assured that when you fly, you’re safe.”</p><p>Reagan Airport will reopen at 11 a.m. Thursday, the Federal Aviation Administration announced. The FAA previously said it would be closed until 5 a.m. Friday.</p><p>Duffy,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/sean-duffy-transportation-elon-musk-selfdriving-spacex-tesla-31c739cfb56737413d40c5d1492225df">just sworn in earlier this week</a>, was asked if he could reassure Americans that the United States still has the safest airspace in the world.</p><p>“Can I guarantee the American flying public that the United States has the most safe and secure airspace in the world? And the answer to that is, absolutely yes, we do,” he said.</p><h2>Authorities have ‘early indicators’ of what went wrong</h2><p>The night was clear, the plane and helicopter were both in standard flight patterns and there was standard communication between the aircraft and the tower, Duffy said.</p><p>“We have early indicators of what happened here,” Duffy said, though he declined to elaborate further pending an investigation.</p><p>It was not unusual to have a military aircraft flying the river and an aircraft landing at the airport, he said. Asked if the plane was aware that there was a helicopter in the area, Duffy said he would say that the helicopter was aware that there was a plane in the area.</p><p>Asked about President Donald Trump suggesting in an overnight social media post that the collision could have been prevented, Duffy said, “From what I’ve seen so far, do I think this was preventable? Absolutely.”</p><p>Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth did not appear at the Thursday morning press conference.</p><h2>Likely the deadliest plane crash since November 2001</h2><p>If everyone aboard the plane was killed, it will make it the deadliest U.S. airline crash since Nov. 12, 2001, when an American Airlines flight just after takeoff crashed into a residential area of Belle Harbor, New York, killing all 260 people aboard.</p><p>The last major fatal crash involving a U.S. commercial airline occurred in 2009 near Buffalo, New York. Everyone aboard the Bombardier DHC-8 propeller plane was killed, including 45 passengers, two pilots and two flight attendants. Another person on the ground also died, bringing the total death toll to 50. An investigation determined that the captain accidentally caused the plane to stall as it approached the airport in Buffalo.</p><p>Passengers on Wednesday's flight&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/washington-plane-collision-victims-ee829891574aa35a30d8262b7e07e638">included a group of figure skaters</a>, their coaches and family members who were returning from a development camp that followed the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita.</p><p>“We are devastated by this unspeakable tragedy and hold the victims’ families closely in our hearts,” U.S. Figure Skating said in a statement.</p><p>Two of those coaches were identified by the Kremlin as Russian figure skaters Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, who won the pairs title at the 1994 world championships and competed twice in the Olympics. The Skating Club of Boston lists them as coaches and their son, Maxim Naumov, is a competitive figure skater for the U.S.</p><h2>What happened</h2><p>The FAA said the midair crash occurred before 9 p.m. EST in some of the most tightly controlled and monitored airspace in the world, just over 3 miles south of the White House and the Capitol.</p><p>American Airlines Flight 5342 was inbound to Reagan National at an altitude of about 400 feet (122 meters) and a speed of about 140 mph (225 kph) when it suffered a rapid loss of altitude over the Potomac River, according to data from its radio transponder. The Canadian-made Bombardier CRJ-701 twin-engine jet, manufactured in 2004, can be configured to carry up to 70 passengers.</p><p>A few minutes before landing, air traffic controllers asked the arriving commercial jet if it could land on the shorter Runway 33 at Reagan National and the pilots said they were able. Controllers then cleared the plane to land on Runway 33. Flight tracking sites showed the plane adjust its approach to the new runway.</p><p>Less than 30 seconds before the crash, an air traffic controller asked the helicopter if it had the arriving plane in sight. The controller made another radio call to the helicopter moments later: “PAT 25 pass behind the CRJ.” Seconds after that, the two aircraft collided.</p><p>The plane’s radio transponder stopped transmitting about 2,400 feet (732 meters) short of the runway, roughly over the middle of the river.</p><p>Video from an observation camera at the nearby Kennedy Center showed two sets of lights consistent with aircraft appearing to join in a fireball.</p><p>The U.S. Army described the helicopter as a UH-60 Blackhawk based at Fort Belvoir in Virginia. The helicopter was on a training flight. Military aircraft frequently conduct training flights in and around the congested and heavily-restricted airspace around the nation’s capital for familiarization and continuity of government planning.</p><p>___</p>

🎥Wichita mayor news conference in response to deadly airplane crash

A passenger jet from Kansas went down near Ronald Reagan National Airport on Wednesday night. The FAA reported that American Airlines flight 5342 departed from Wichita and collided midair with a Blackhawk helicopter. There were 60 passengers on board and 4 crew members, according to a statement from the airlines.

<p>A passenger jet from Kansas went down near Ronald Reagan National Airport on Wednesday night. The FAA reported that American Airlines flight 5342 departed from Wichita and collided midair with a Blackhawk helicopter. There were 60 passengers on board and 4 crew members, according to a statement from the airlines.</p><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">LIVE: Update on Tonight&#39;s Plane Collision <a href="https://t.co/8IK8LlKp07">https://t.co/8IK8LlKp07</a></p>&mdash; Mayor Muriel Bowser (@MayorBowser) <a href="https://twitter.com/MayorBowser/status/1884842402638102811?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 30, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>

🎥 Kan. lawmakers hold press conference following aircraft tragedy

WASHINGTON— A passenger jet went down near Ronald Reagan National Airport on Wednesday night, and all takeoffs and landings have been halted, according DC Fire and Rescue.&nbsp;The FAA reported that American Airlines flight 5342 departed from Wichita and collided midair with a Blackhawk helicopter. There were 60 passengers on board and 4 crew members, according to a statement from the airlines.

At 8:53p.m. multiple calls were received for an aircraft crash above the Potomac River, according to a statement from DC Police. DF Fire and Rescue, the Metropolitan Police and multiple partner agencies were conducting a search and rescue operation.

Multiple helicopters, including those from the U.S. Park Police and the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department and U.S. military, were flying over the scene of the incident in the Potomac River. D.C. Fire and EMS said on X that fireboats were on the scene.

Video from an observation camera at the nearby Kennedy Center shows two sets of lights consistent with aircraft appearing to conjoin in a fireball.&nbsp;

The airport said emergency personnel were responding to “an aircraft incident on the airfield.”&nbsp; As of 9p.m. there was no word on casualties or additional details.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1738204717978.png" alt="Image from Kennedy Center web camera" />
                        <figcaption>Image from Kennedy Center web camera</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>WASHINGTON— A passenger jet went down near Ronald Reagan National Airport on Wednesday night, and all takeoffs and landings have been halted, according DC Fire and Rescue.&nbsp;The FAA reported that American Airlines flight 5342 departed from Wichita and collided midair with a Blackhawk helicopter. There were 60 passengers on board and 4 crew members, according to a statement from the airlines.</p><figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1738207413005.png" alt="Search and rescue operation -Image courtesy WUSA TV" />
                        <figcaption>Search and rescue operation -Image courtesy WUSA TV</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>At 8:53p.m. multiple calls were received for an aircraft crash above the Potomac River, according to a statement from DC Police. DF Fire and Rescue, the Metropolitan Police and multiple partner agencies were conducting a search and rescue operation.</p><p>Multiple helicopters, including those from the U.S. Park Police and the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department and U.S. military, were flying over the scene of the incident in the Potomac River. D.C. Fire and EMS said on X that fireboats were on the scene.</p><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">All takeoffs and landings have been halted at DCA. Emergency personnel are responding to an aircraft incident on the airfield. The terminal remains open. Will update.</p>&mdash; Reagan Airport (@Reagan_Airport) <a href="https://twitter.com/Reagan_Airport/status/1884786809407693308?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 30, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><p>Video from an observation camera at the nearby Kennedy Center shows two sets of lights consistent with aircraft appearing to conjoin in a fireball.&nbsp;</p><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Learning that a plane inbound from Kansas was involved in a crash at DCA.<br><br>I am in contact with authorities.<br><br>Please join me in praying for all involved.</p>&mdash; Senator Jerry Moran (@JerryMoran) <a href="https://twitter.com/JerryMoran/status/1884793078571032979?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 30, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">I am aware that a plane inbound from Wichita was involved in a crash at Reagan National Airport. I am actively in contact with authorities. My thoughts go out to those involved. I will share more information as it becomes available.</p>&mdash; Governor Laura Kelly (@GovLauraKelly) <a href="https://twitter.com/GovLauraKelly/status/1884800422268825894?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 30, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Tonight, we received devastating news of what can only be described as nothing short of a nightmare.  A plane, traveling to the Nation&#39;s capital from Wichita, KS carrying roughly 60 passengers collided with a Military helicopter. My prayer is that God wraps his arms around each…</p>&mdash; Dr. Roger Marshall (@RogerMarshallMD) <a href="https://twitter.com/RogerMarshallMD/status/1884804403909046674?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 30, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">My team and I are actively monitoring updates related to the collision of the Wichita flight and a DC helicopter. <br><br>Audrey and I are praying for the safety of the passengers, flight crew, and everyone involved. Please join us in praying.</p>&mdash; Tracey Mann (@RepMann) <a href="https://twitter.com/RepMann/status/1884792910433918993?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 30, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><p>The airport said emergency personnel were responding to “an aircraft incident on the airfield.”&nbsp; As of 9p.m. there was no word on casualties or additional details.</p><p>The Associated Press contributed to this report.</p>

Passenger jet from Kan. collides with helicopter while landing in DC

KANSAS CITY —The Clay County, Missouri Sheriff’s Office, in conjunction with other law enforcement agencies and advocacy organizations, led a counter-human trafficking operation Jan. 23 and 24 that resulted in the arrest of two men who sought to have sex with a child, as well as services provided to more than a dozen potential trafficking victims.

Two men identified as 33-year-old&nbsp;Jose Trinidad-Diaz of Kansas City, Mo. / Mexico and 34-year-old&nbsp;Dominic Shelby of Kansas City, Kan. &nbsp;have been charged with felony attempted child enticement after they tried to meet whom they believed to be a 14-year-old girl for sex.

 It was actually under-cover detectives who had been chatting with them online and by text message. 

At the same time as the predator operation, investigators conducted a victim advocacy operation at a Clay County hotel. They had posted an online ad purportedly soliciting sex, knowing that many sex workers are victims of human trafficking. Twenty-seven sex workers responded to the hotel, and 13 agreed to accept services to leave a life of sex trafficking and/or sex work. Advocates from the organizations Value Unconditional and Relentless Pursuit met with them to begin giving them resources for their journeys.

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1738161592950.png" alt="Trinidad-Diaz-photo Clay Co." />
                        <figcaption>Trinidad-Diaz-photo Clay Co.</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>KANSAS CITY —The Clay County, Missouri Sheriff’s Office, in conjunction with other law enforcement agencies and advocacy organizations, led a counter-human trafficking operation Jan. 23 and 24 that resulted in the arrest of two men who sought to have sex with a child, as well as services provided to more than a dozen potential trafficking victims.</p><p>Two men identified as 33-year-old&nbsp;Jose Trinidad-Diaz of Kansas City, Mo. / Mexico and 34-year-old&nbsp;Dominic Shelby of Kansas City, Kan. &nbsp;have been charged with felony attempted child enticement after they tried to meet whom they believed to be a 14-year-old girl for sex.</p><p> It was actually under-cover detectives who had been chatting with them online and by text message. </p><p>At the same time as the predator operation, investigators conducted a victim advocacy operation at a Clay County hotel. They had posted an online ad purportedly soliciting sex, knowing that many sex workers are victims of human trafficking. Twenty-seven sex workers responded to the hotel, and 13 agreed to accept services to leave a life of sex trafficking and/or sex work. Advocates from the organizations Value Unconditional and Relentless Pursuit met with them to begin giving them resources for their journeys.</p>

Kan. man arrested after human trafficking, child sexual abuse sting

JACKSON COUNTY —Law enforcement are investigating a suspect on drug allegations.

Just after 9:30p.m. Jan. 23, a&nbsp;Sheriff’s Deputy conducted a traffic stop on a 2021 Nissan Altima for an alleged traffic violation on 150th Road near Q. Road, according to Sheriff Tim Morse. 

The occupants of the vehicle were identified as Brandon Michael Oliver, 39, and Amberle Clare Harrington, 33, both of Topeka.

After a probable cause search of the vehicle, Oliver and Harrington were arrested and booked into the Jackson County Jail.&nbsp; Oliver was booked on requested charges of possession of cocaine, possession of THC, possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, transporting an open container and driving while suspended. 

Harrington was booked into jail on requested charges of possession of cocaine, possession of THC, possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia and interference with law enforcement conceal/alter/destroy evidence.

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1738164693942.png" alt="Oliver-photo Jackson Co." />
                        <figcaption>Oliver-photo Jackson Co.</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>JACKSON COUNTY —Law enforcement are investigating a suspect on drug allegations.</p><p>Just after 9:30p.m. Jan. 23, a&nbsp;Sheriff’s Deputy conducted a traffic stop on a 2021 Nissan Altima for an alleged traffic violation on 150th Road near Q. Road, according to Sheriff Tim Morse. </p><p>The occupants of the vehicle were identified as Brandon Michael Oliver, 39, and Amberle Clare Harrington, 33, both of Topeka.</p><figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1738164726507.png" alt="Harrington-photo Jackson County" />
                        <figcaption>Harrington-photo Jackson County</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>After a probable cause search of the vehicle, Oliver and Harrington were arrested and booked into the Jackson County Jail.&nbsp; Oliver was booked on requested charges of possession of cocaine, possession of THC, possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, transporting an open container and driving while suspended. </p><p>Harrington was booked into jail on requested charges of possession of cocaine, possession of THC, possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia and interference with law enforcement conceal/alter/destroy evidence.</p>

Sheriff: Kan. woman accused of hiding evidence during traffic stop

The chair of the state’s utility regulatory commission drew criticism for testifying in support of the legislation being pushed by Evergy and Ameren

BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/allison-kite/">ALLISON KITE</a><br><a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2022/09/21/missouri-judge-once-again-delays-decision-on-closing-agape-boarding-school/"><i>Missouri Independent</i></a>

Missouri’s two largest electric utilities want the state’s permission to charge customers for natural gas power plants before they’re completed.

Both Evergy and Ameren Missouri asked the Missouri House Utilities Committee on Wednesday to support legislation that would allow them to charge customers for natural, or methane, gas power plants even before they’re completed, saying the state needs more electrical power.

Because Ameren, Evergy and other Missouri electric companies&nbsp;are monopolies, the rates they charge customers must be approved by state regulators. Right now, they’re only permitted to charge customers for the cost to build power plants once they’re completed.&nbsp;

The utility companies — along with business groups and economic development officials — say Missouri is losing out on attracting major employers to the state because it doesn’t have enough power supply.

“With the strain on our grid, the first question business locators are asking local economic developers is not what your workforce looks like or what the tax structure is,” said the bill’s sponsor, Republican state Rep. Josh Hurlbert of Smithville. “It’s, ‘Do you have the power necessary for our project?’”

Hurlbert claims his district missed out on a major economic development project because of power supply issues, though he didn’t offer any specifics at Wednesday’s hearing.

But environmental and consumer advocates say the legislation, known as “construction work in progress,” just allows more profit for monopoly companies at the expense of consumers.&nbsp;

“They like construction work in progress because they’re having us make the investment for them,” said John Coffman, an attorney for the Consumers Council of Missouri. “They’re actually collecting profits, return on equity, during the construction of the project before they’ve even proved that they can do it.”

Proponents of the legislation pointed to Kansas, which passed construction work in progress legislation last year, as a success story. Evergy last year announced it would build two new natural gas plants in southwest Kansas.&nbsp;

“Kansas saw this as a jobs bill,” said Jason Clint, senior director of external affairs for Evergy. “They understood that if we don’t have the power, then we are not going to attract anyone to our state that brings the jobs.”&nbsp;

Supporters also included the chair of the Missouri Public Service Commission, Kayla Hahn. The commission regulates utility providers and must approve rates before companies, including Evergy and Ameren, can change customers’ prices.

“We don’t want to be losing any football teams, Googles, Metas or gas plants to Kansas,” Hahn said.

Hahn’s support of the bill despite being a utility regulator drew criticism later in the hearing from Jeanette Mott Oxford, a former Missouri House member. She said since she started coming to the Missouri Capitol more than 30 years ago, she had not heard the Public Service Commission testify in favor of legislation.

She said she testified in opposition to a proposed rate hike by Ameren Missouri and staff of the commission were not allowed in the room.

“Has something changed that the Public Service Commission is now being an advocate for power companies?” Mott Oxford said.&nbsp;

The bill is one of several pieces of utility legislation heard this week that drew criticism from consumer advocates.

On Wednesday, the Senate Commerce Committee heard legislation that would allow utilities to defer and collect a return on certain costs associated with building natural gas power plants. The state has such a provision now, but it excludes natural gas.

The legislation would also require that, before taking a power plant offline, a utility places an equal or greater amount of power generation on the grid.

James Owen, executive director of Renew Missouri, said the legislation creates a misperception that clean energy sources, such as wind and solar, are not reliable. The bill requires utilities place “reliable and dispatchable” power on the grid when taking a generator offline but does not define what lawmakers consider reliable and dispatchable.

“Our concern,” Owen said, “is when we hear proponents of this legislation talk about clean energy in a way that suggests it would not fit in with those definitions.”

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1738193197384.png" alt=" A rendering shows Evergy’s planned natural gas plant in Hutchinson, Kansas. The electric utility plans to add two combined-cycle natural gas plants in Kansas by the end of 2030 (photo courtesy of Evergy)." />
                        <figcaption> A rendering shows Evergy’s planned natural gas plant in Hutchinson, Kansas. The electric utility plans to add two combined-cycle natural gas plants in Kansas by the end of 2030 (photo courtesy of Evergy).</figcaption>
                    </figure><h2>The chair of the state’s utility regulatory commission drew criticism for testifying in support of the legislation being pushed by Evergy and Ameren</h2><p>BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/allison-kite/">ALLISON KITE</a><br><a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2022/09/21/missouri-judge-once-again-delays-decision-on-closing-agape-boarding-school/"><i>Missouri Independent</i></a></p><p>Missouri’s two largest electric utilities want the state’s permission to charge customers for natural gas power plants before they’re completed.</p><p>Both Evergy and Ameren Missouri asked the Missouri House Utilities Committee on Wednesday to support legislation that would allow them to charge customers for natural, or methane, gas power plants even before they’re completed, saying the state needs more electrical power.</p><p>Because Ameren, Evergy and other Missouri electric companies&nbsp;are monopolies, the rates they charge customers must be approved by state regulators. Right now, they’re only permitted to charge customers for the cost to build power plants once they’re completed.&nbsp;</p><p>The utility companies — along with business groups and economic development officials — say Missouri is losing out on attracting major employers to the state because it doesn’t have enough power supply.</p><p>“With the strain on our grid, the first question business locators are asking local economic developers is not what your workforce looks like or what the tax structure is,” said the bill’s sponsor, Republican state Rep. Josh Hurlbert of Smithville. “It’s, ‘Do you have the power necessary for our project?’”</p><p>Hurlbert claims his district missed out on a major economic development project because of power supply issues, though he didn’t offer any specifics at Wednesday’s hearing.</p><p>But environmental and consumer advocates say the legislation, known as “construction work in progress,” just allows more profit for monopoly companies at the expense of consumers.&nbsp;</p><p>“They like construction work in progress because they’re having us make the investment for them,” said John Coffman, an attorney for the Consumers Council of Missouri. “They’re actually collecting profits, return on equity, during the construction of the project before they’ve even proved that they can do it.”</p><p>Proponents of the legislation pointed to Kansas, which passed construction work in progress legislation last year, as a success story. Evergy last year announced it would build two new natural gas plants in southwest Kansas.&nbsp;</p><p>“Kansas saw this as a jobs bill,” said Jason Clint, senior director of external affairs for Evergy. “They understood that if we don’t have the power, then we are not going to attract anyone to our state that brings the jobs.”&nbsp;</p><p>Supporters also included the chair of the Missouri Public Service Commission, Kayla Hahn. The commission regulates utility providers and must approve rates before companies, including Evergy and Ameren, can change customers’ prices.</p><p>“We don’t want to be losing any football teams, Googles, Metas or gas plants to Kansas,” Hahn said.</p><p>Hahn’s support of the bill despite being a utility regulator drew criticism later in the hearing from Jeanette Mott Oxford, a former Missouri House member. She said since she started coming to the Missouri Capitol more than 30 years ago, she had not heard the Public Service Commission testify in favor of legislation.</p><p>She said she testified in opposition to a proposed rate hike by Ameren Missouri and staff of the commission were not allowed in the room.</p><p>“Has something changed that the Public Service Commission is now being an advocate for power companies?” Mott Oxford said.&nbsp;</p><p>The bill is one of several pieces of utility legislation heard this week that drew criticism from consumer advocates.</p><p>On Wednesday, the Senate Commerce Committee heard legislation that would allow utilities to defer and collect a return on certain costs associated with building natural gas power plants. The state has such a provision now, but it excludes natural gas.</p><p>The legislation would also require that, before taking a power plant offline, a utility places an equal or greater amount of power generation on the grid.</p><p>James Owen, executive director of Renew Missouri, said the legislation creates a misperception that clean energy sources, such as wind and solar, are not reliable. The bill requires utilities place “reliable and dispatchable” power on the grid when taking a generator offline but does not define what lawmakers consider reliable and dispatchable.</p><p>“Our concern,” Owen said, “is when we hear proponents of this legislation talk about clean energy in a way that suggests it would not fit in with those definitions.”</p>

Missouri utilities push legislation to charge customers upfront costs to build gas plants

TOPEKA —In celebration of Kansas Day, Governor Laura Kelly joined leaders to unveil the new women's suffrage mural in the Statehouse.

On social media the governor wrote, "It serves as a reminder of the bold, visionary women who helped shape Kansas into the state we know and love while inspiring future generations to lead with courage."

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1738187071712.png" alt="" />
                        <figcaption></figcaption>
                    </figure><p>TOPEKA —In celebration of Kansas Day, Governor Laura Kelly joined leaders to unveil the new women's suffrage mural in the Statehouse.</p><figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1738187016499.png" alt="" />
                        <figcaption></figcaption>
                    </figure><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Today, we celebrate 164 years of Kansas statehood! As we reflect on our history, let&#39;s celebrate what makes Kansas unique. From our booming agricultural industry to our rolling sunflower fields, there&#39;s truly no place like Kansas. Ad Astra per Aspera, and happy <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/KansasDay?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#KansasDay</a>! 🌻 <a href="https://t.co/MCWAGY7S27">pic.twitter.com/MCWAGY7S27</a></p>&mdash; Governor Laura Kelly (@GovLauraKelly) <a href="https://twitter.com/GovLauraKelly/status/1884614993708212391?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 29, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><p>On social media the governor wrote, "It serves as a reminder of the bold, visionary women who helped shape Kansas into the state we know and love while inspiring future generations to lead with courage."</p>

Kansas Day: New women's suffrage mural in the Kan. Statehouse

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

The Attorney General’s Office did not violate the Missouri Sunshine Law when it refused to turn over records showing how it fulfilled a request, the Western District Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday.

In a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.courts.mo.gov/file.jsp?id=216937" target="_blank">split decision</a>, a three-judge panel ruled that the office reasonably concluded the records being sought by St. Louis attorney Elad Gross were exempt from disclosure because of his threatened litigation.

Gross was seeking records about then-Attorney General Eric Schmitt’s participation in a U.S. Supreme Court case seeking to&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2020/12/11/supreme-court-rejects-lawsuit-backed-by-missouri-ag-schmitt-trying-to-overturn-presidential-election/">overturn the 2020 presidential election</a>&nbsp;and the Republican Attorneys General Association’s&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2021/01/09/eric-schmitt-denies-involvement-in-call-for-trump-supporters-to-march-on-u-s-capitol/">robocall efforts</a>&nbsp;encouraging “patriots” to participate in a march that ended on Jan. 6, 2021, with a violent attack on the U.S. Capitol.

“This case presents a unique question for which we have found no direct precedent – application of (Sunshine Law exemptions) to records created by a public governmental body in responding to a previous Sunshine Request where the threatened litigation concerns the public governmental body’s handling of that previous records request,” Judge Edward Ardini wrote in the 2-1 decision.

The Sunshine Law allows government agencies&nbsp;<a href="https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=610.021&amp;bid=54667&amp;hl=" target="_blank">to close records</a>&nbsp;about “legal actions, causes of action or litigation.” That exception doesn’t allow a record that should be open to be closed just because it might become evidence in a court case, Ardini wrote, but it does allow records created in contemplation of possible litigation to be closed.

“The nature of these records rendered them not merely discoverable or admissible in an enforcement action over the AGO’s compliance with the Sunshine Law concerning its response to Gross’s first request but go to the very core of such an action by disclosing the precise means utilized by the AGO to comply with its legal responsibilities,” Ardini wrote.

In a dissenting opinion, Judge Alok Ahuja wrote that there was no prospective or actual litigation when the records were created, so they must be open.&nbsp;

An “open ended application” of the litigation exemption which “authorizes the closure of any records which may ‘go to the very core of’ litigation threatened after the records’ creation, would result in precisely the sort of ‘extreme’ consequences of which (an earlier precedent) warned,” Ahuja wrote.

Since the lawsuit was filed in 2021, Schmitt has been elected to the U.S. Senate and replaced by Andrew Bailey,&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2024/11/05/andrew-bailey-wins-full-term-as-missouri-attorney-general/">who defeated Gross</a>, the&nbsp;Democratic nominee for attorney general, last year.

In an email to The Independent, Gross said he would appeal the decision.

“Attorney General Bailey is wrong to prevent taxpayers from seeing what our government is doing with our money,” Gross said. “We need transparency in our government.”

Gross has sued over Sunshine Law questions in the past, losing at the trial court level before gaining a win on appeal.&nbsp;

In 2021, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled, in a case brought by Gross, that government agencies&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2021/06/29/missouri-supreme-court-state-cant-charge-attorney-fees-for-sunshine-law-requests/">cannot charge for time</a>&nbsp;attorneys spend reviewing public records are requested under the Sunshine Law.

In the case decided Tuesday, Gross lost a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.courts.mo.gov/fv/c/Judgment_FINAL.pdf?courtCode=19&amp;di=3043133" target="_blank">summary judgment decision</a>&nbsp;in Cole County. He raised 12 points in the appeal.

Along with arguing the trial court made a mistake by allowing the attorney general’s office to close some records, Gross sought to overturn the decision by claiming Cole County Circuit Judge Daniel Green made other errors.

Gross argued Green wrongly terminated the discovery process, limited his ability to question staff witnesses in person, and allowed the attorney general’s office to move the date promised for the delivery of records.

The decision was unanimous except for Ahuja’s dissent related to the question of whether the documents were related to litigation.

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1738168444470.png" alt="Democratic candidate for Missouri Attorney General Elad Gross after filing in February 2024. (Annelise Hanshaw/Missouri Independent)." />
                        <figcaption>Democratic candidate for Missouri Attorney General Elad Gross after filing in February 2024. (Annelise Hanshaw/Missouri Independent).</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/rudi-keller/">RUDI KELLER</a><br><a href="https://missouriindependent.com/briefs/missouri-senate-committee-advances-bill-to-ban-texting-while-driving/"><i>Missouri Independent</i></a></p><p>The Attorney General’s Office did not violate the Missouri Sunshine Law when it refused to turn over records showing how it fulfilled a request, the Western District Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday.</p><p>In a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.courts.mo.gov/file.jsp?id=216937" target="_blank">split decision</a>, a three-judge panel ruled that the office reasonably concluded the records being sought by St. Louis attorney Elad Gross were exempt from disclosure because of his threatened litigation.</p><p>Gross was seeking records about then-Attorney General Eric Schmitt’s participation in a U.S. Supreme Court case seeking to&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2020/12/11/supreme-court-rejects-lawsuit-backed-by-missouri-ag-schmitt-trying-to-overturn-presidential-election/">overturn the 2020 presidential election</a>&nbsp;and the Republican Attorneys General Association’s&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2021/01/09/eric-schmitt-denies-involvement-in-call-for-trump-supporters-to-march-on-u-s-capitol/">robocall efforts</a>&nbsp;encouraging “patriots” to participate in a march that ended on Jan. 6, 2021, with a violent attack on the U.S. Capitol.</p><p>“This case presents a unique question for which we have found no direct precedent – application of (Sunshine Law exemptions) to records created by a public governmental body in responding to a previous Sunshine Request where the threatened litigation concerns the public governmental body’s handling of that previous records request,” Judge Edward Ardini wrote in the 2-1 decision.</p><p>The Sunshine Law allows government agencies&nbsp;<a href="https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=610.021&amp;bid=54667&amp;hl=" target="_blank">to close records</a>&nbsp;about “legal actions, causes of action or litigation.” That exception doesn’t allow a record that should be open to be closed just because it might become evidence in a court case, Ardini wrote, but it does allow records created in contemplation of possible litigation to be closed.</p><p>“The nature of these records rendered them not merely discoverable or admissible in an enforcement action over the AGO’s compliance with the Sunshine Law concerning its response to Gross’s first request but go to the very core of such an action by disclosing the precise means utilized by the AGO to comply with its legal responsibilities,” Ardini wrote.</p><p>In a dissenting opinion, Judge Alok Ahuja wrote that there was no prospective or actual litigation when the records were created, so they must be open.&nbsp;</p><p>An “open ended application” of the litigation exemption which “authorizes the closure of any records which may ‘go to the very core of’ litigation threatened after the records’ creation, would result in precisely the sort of ‘extreme’ consequences of which (an earlier precedent) warned,” Ahuja wrote.</p><p>Since the lawsuit was filed in 2021, Schmitt has been elected to the U.S. Senate and replaced by Andrew Bailey,&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2024/11/05/andrew-bailey-wins-full-term-as-missouri-attorney-general/">who defeated Gross</a>, the&nbsp;Democratic nominee for attorney general, last year.</p><p>In an email to The Independent, Gross said he would appeal the decision.</p><p>“Attorney General Bailey is wrong to prevent taxpayers from seeing what our government is doing with our money,” Gross said. “We need transparency in our government.”</p><p>Gross has sued over Sunshine Law questions in the past, losing at the trial court level before gaining a win on appeal.&nbsp;</p><p>In 2021, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled, in a case brought by Gross, that government agencies&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2021/06/29/missouri-supreme-court-state-cant-charge-attorney-fees-for-sunshine-law-requests/">cannot charge for time</a>&nbsp;attorneys spend reviewing public records are requested under the Sunshine Law.</p><p>In the case decided Tuesday, Gross lost a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.courts.mo.gov/fv/c/Judgment_FINAL.pdf?courtCode=19&amp;di=3043133" target="_blank">summary judgment decision</a>&nbsp;in Cole County. He raised 12 points in the appeal.</p><p>Along with arguing the trial court made a mistake by allowing the attorney general’s office to close some records, Gross sought to overturn the decision by claiming Cole County Circuit Judge Daniel Green made other errors.</p><p>Gross argued Green wrongly terminated the discovery process, limited his ability to question staff witnesses in person, and allowed the attorney general’s office to move the date promised for the delivery of records.</p><p>The decision was unanimous except for Ahuja’s dissent related to the question of whether the documents were related to litigation.</p>

Appeals court rules Missouri attorney general did not violate Sunshine Law 

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1738163034654.png" alt="Kennedy spoke with Kansas U.S. Senator Roger Marshall, a member of the Senate Finance committee, moments before the hearing started-image courtesy CSPAN&nbsp;" />
                        <figcaption>Kennedy spoke with Kansas U.S. Senator Roger Marshall, a member of the Senate Finance committee, moments before the hearing started-image courtesy CSPAN&nbsp;</figcaption>
                    </figure><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">WATCH: Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. complete opening statement at Senate Finance Committee confirmation hearing. <a href="https://t.co/FE0svVjixs">pic.twitter.com/FE0svVjixs</a></p>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1884628422279721203?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 29, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">A protester interrupts Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. during his opening statement, as he addresses his views on vaccines. He says, &quot;I am not anti-vaccine.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/h5UliMeP1I">pic.twitter.com/h5UliMeP1I</a></p>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1884624753744347323?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 29, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.: &quot;I don&#39;t want to take food away from anybody. If you like a McDonald&#39;s cheeseburger, a Diet Coke -- which my boss loves -- you should be able to get them.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/MC7cZUkkF1">pic.twitter.com/MC7cZUkkF1</a></p>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1884626398230253810?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 29, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">&quot;Are you lying to Congress today when you say you are pro-vaccine or did you lie on all those podcasts?&quot;<br><br>Watch exchange between Sen. <a href="https://twitter.com/RonWyden?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RonWyden</a> and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. on vaccines. <a href="https://t.co/4jYWaWUuzL">pic.twitter.com/4jYWaWUuzL</a></p>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1884628588785254722?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 29, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. &quot;I support the measles vaccine. I support the polio vaccine. I will do nothing as HHS secretary that makes it difficult or discourages people from taking either of those vaccines.&quot;<br><br>Sen. <a href="https://twitter.com/RonWyden?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RonWyden</a>: &quot;Anybody who believes that ought to look at the measles… <a href="https://t.co/NqMxcr1ep0">pic.twitter.com/NqMxcr1ep0</a></p>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1884631127950037297?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 29, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">.<a href="https://twitter.com/SenatorBennet?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SenatorBennet</a> to Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.: &quot;Unlike other jobs were confirming around this place, this is a job where it is life and death...it&#39;s too important for the games that you&#39;re playing Mr. Kennedy.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/VQZlA26o2V">pic.twitter.com/VQZlA26o2V</a></p>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1884639007289507891?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 29, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.: &quot;I agree with President Trump that every abortion is a tragedy.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/OPrRNEq1FP">pic.twitter.com/OPrRNEq1FP</a></p>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1884643434792652848?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 29, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">.<a href="https://twitter.com/SenatorHassan?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SenatorHassan</a> asks Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.: &quot;When was it that you decided to sell out the values you&#39;ve had your whole life in order to be given power by President Trump?&quot; <a href="https://t.co/nNBzzaB9Xv">pic.twitter.com/nNBzzaB9Xv</a></p>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1884643823499788405?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 29, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">.<a href="https://twitter.com/SenatorHassan?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SenatorHassan</a> asks Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.: &quot;When was it that you decided to sell out the values you&#39;ve had your whole life in order to be given power by President Trump?&quot; <a href="https://t.co/nNBzzaB9Xv">pic.twitter.com/nNBzzaB9Xv</a></p>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1884643823499788405?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 29, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>

🎥Highlights of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s confirmation hearing 

WYANDOTTE COUNTY&nbsp;–&nbsp;The Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) updated details on the investigation into the death of Roger Golubski, 71, of Edwardsville.

Upon arriving at the scene, KBI agents recovered a&nbsp;Smith and Wesson M&amp;P Shield handgun on the back deck of the residence near the body, and five suicide letters from Golubski. KBI agents traced the handgun to a woman who lives in Kansas City, Missouri. She indicated the gun had been stolen from her vehicle in 2022. The investigation did not establish a relationship or connection between Golubski and the gun owner. Agents were not able to determine how Golubski gained possession of the firearm.

Through the investigation, KBI agents established that Golubski left his house for his federal trial around 8:30 a.m., but never arrived at the Courthouse. He made several phone calls to family and to his attorney, and returned home. His roommate reported that she heard the gunshot around 9 a.m. and then called 911.

The final autopsy report concluded Golubski’s cause of death was a gunshot wound to the head, and manner of his death was suicide. The toxicology report found no significant positive findings.

The KBI has concluded this investigation. Foul play is not suspected in Golubski’s death.

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/9/1663616484786.png" alt="Golubski photo Wyandotte Co." />
                        <figcaption>Golubski photo Wyandotte Co.</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>WYANDOTTE COUNTY&nbsp;–&nbsp;The Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) updated details on the investigation into the death of Roger Golubski, 71, of Edwardsville.</p><figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1738116368745.png" alt="Police on the scene of the investigation -photo courtesy KCTV" />
                        <figcaption>Police on the scene of the investigation -photo courtesy KCTV</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>Upon arriving at the scene, KBI agents recovered a&nbsp;Smith and Wesson M&amp;P Shield handgun on the back deck of the residence near the body, and five suicide letters from Golubski. KBI agents traced the handgun to a woman who lives in Kansas City, Missouri. She indicated the gun had been stolen from her vehicle in 2022. The investigation did not establish a relationship or connection between Golubski and the gun owner. Agents were not able to determine how Golubski gained possession of the firearm.</p><p>Through the investigation, KBI agents established that Golubski left his house for his federal trial around 8:30 a.m., but never arrived at the Courthouse. He made several phone calls to family and to his attorney, and returned home. His roommate reported that she heard the gunshot around 9 a.m. and then called 911.</p><p>The final autopsy report concluded Golubski’s cause of death was a gunshot wound to the head, and manner of his death was suicide. The toxicology report found no significant positive findings.</p><p>The KBI has concluded this investigation. Foul play is not suspected in Golubski’s death.</p>

KBI: Stolen handgun used in death of disgraced Kansas detective 

Sen. Jerry Moran says VA programs exempt from president’s federal funding freeze

TOPEKA — U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids, a Kansas Democrat, said President Donald Trump’s sudden pause of federal grants, loans and other financial assistance programs was causing unnecessary disruption and anxiety for Kansans.

A federal judge in Washington, D.C., temporarily blocked the spending freeze until Monday when a hearing on the issue was scheduled.

The Trump administration’s standstill in allocation of federal tax dollars was devised to create a window for an administrative review intended to root out initiatives opposed by the president.

“Families shouldn’t have to worry about feeding their kids, keeping a roof over their heads or affording health care,” Davids said. “This reckless and deliberately vague order cuts vital investments in our economy that hardworking Kansans rely on to stay safe and healthy.”

Davids said the Trump administration should be working to address “real needs of our communities” that included lowering the cost of living for families rather than prioritizing interests of “big corporations and special interests.”

The president’s order put public safety as risk by jeopardizing funding to law enforcement, homeland security and disaster response programs, Davids said. Questions were raised about implications for federally funded road, bridge and transit infrastructure projects, she said.

Davids said the president’s directive could interfere with operation of Head Start, mental health services, the 988 Suicide Crisis Lifeline as well as funding for tribal communities, small business loans and energy programs.

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1738170282573.png" alt="File photo Rep. Davids a the Panasonic manufacturing plant in De Soto&nbsp; earlier this month" />
                        <figcaption>File photo Rep. Davids a the Panasonic manufacturing plant in De Soto&nbsp; earlier this month</figcaption>
                    </figure><h2>Sen. Jerry Moran says VA programs exempt from president’s federal funding freeze</h2><p>BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/tim-carpenter/">TIM CARPENTER</a><br><a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2025/01/03/kansas-state-garden-city-cc-striving-to-shrink-bachelors-degree-educational-desert/?emci=8e6f56cf-3bca-ef11-88d0-0022482a9b45&amp;emdi=a9416bb1-82ca-ef11-88d0-0022482a9b45&amp;ceid=115039"><i>Kansas Reflector</i></a></p><p>TOPEKA — U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids, a Kansas Democrat, said President Donald Trump’s sudden pause of federal grants, loans and other financial assistance programs was causing unnecessary disruption and anxiety for Kansans.</p><p>A federal judge in Washington, D.C., temporarily blocked the spending freeze until Monday when a hearing on the issue was scheduled.</p><p>The Trump administration’s standstill in allocation of federal tax dollars was devised to create a window for an administrative review intended to root out initiatives opposed by the president.</p><p>“Families shouldn’t have to worry about feeding their kids, keeping a roof over their heads or affording health care,” Davids said. “This reckless and deliberately vague order cuts vital investments in our economy that hardworking Kansans rely on to stay safe and healthy.”</p><p>Davids said the Trump administration should be working to address “real needs of our communities” that included lowering the cost of living for families rather than prioritizing interests of “big corporations and special interests.”</p><p>The president’s order put public safety as risk by jeopardizing funding to law enforcement, homeland security and disaster response programs, Davids said. Questions were raised about implications for federally funded road, bridge and transit infrastructure projects, she said.</p><p>Davids said the president’s directive could interfere with operation of Head Start, mental health services, the 988 Suicide Crisis Lifeline as well as funding for tribal communities, small business loans and energy programs.</p><p>U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kansas, said Trump’s directive wouldn’t disrupt services and benefits offered through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.</p><p>Moran, chairman of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, said he was assured no VA programs, including those provided through grant recipients, would be undercut by directives issued by Trump through the Office of Management and Budget.</p><p>“Veterans and their families, as well as the organizations that serve them, will continue to have access to the benefits, services and resources provided through the Department of Veterans Affairs,” Moran said. “I appreciate the VA quickly providing answers to my questions and continuing the important programs that serve our veterans and their families.”</p>