WAILUKU, Hawaii (AP) — Several thousand Hawaii residents raced to escape homes on Maui as the Lahaina fire swept across the island, killing at least 36 people and burning parts of a centuries-old town.

The fire took the island of Maui by surprise, leaving behind burned-out cars on once busy streets and smoking piles of rubble where historic buildings had stood. Flames roared throughout the night, forcing adults and children to dive into the ocean for safety.

<a href="https://www.mauicounty.gov/">Maui county announced</a> the updated death toll on its website late Wednesday, writing that no other details were currently available on the deaths. Officials said earlier that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/hawaii-wildfire-maui-dora-winds-ec23c16abfbeb6ba689f1a98263720db">271 structures were damaged or destroyed</a>&nbsp;and dozens of people injured.

On Wednesday, Maui crews continued to battle blazes in several places on the island. Authorities urged visitors to stay away.

Lahaina residents Kamuela Kawaakoa and Iiulia Yasso described a harrowing escape under smoke-filled skies Tuesday afternoon. The couple and their 6-year-old son got back to their apartment after a quick dash to the supermarket for water, and only had time to grab a change of clothes and run as the bushes around them caught fire.

“We barely made it out,” Kawaakoa said at an evacuation shelter on Wednesday, still unsure if anything was left of their apartment.

As the family fled, a senior center across the road erupted in flames. They called 911, but didn't know if the people got out. Fire alarms blared. As they drove away, downed utility poles and fleeing cars slowed their progress.

Kawaakoa, 34, grew up in the apartment building, called Lahaina Surf, where his dad and grandmother also lived. Lahaina Town dates back to the 1700s and has long been a favorite destination for tourists.

“It was so hard to sit there and just watch my town burn to ashes and not be able to do anything," Kawaakoa said. “I was helpless.”

The Hawaiian fires were&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/hawaii-wildfires-climate-change-92c0930be7c28ec9ac71392a83c87582">whipped by strong winds</a>&nbsp;from Hurricane Dora passing far to the south. It's the latest in a series of disasters caused by extreme weather around the globe this summer. Experts say climate change is increasing the likelihood of such events.

As winds eased somewhat on Maui, some flights resumed Wednesday, allowing pilots to view the full scope of the devastation. Aerial video from Lahaina showed dozens of homes and businesses razed, including on Front Street, where tourists once gathered to shop and dine. Smoking heaps of rubble lay piled high next to the waterfront, boats in the harbor were scorched, and gray smoke hovered over the leafless skeletons of charred trees.

“It’s horrifying. I’ve flown here 52 years and I’ve never seen anything come close to that,” said Richard Olsten, a helicopter pilot for a tour company. “We had tears in our eyes."

About 14,500 customers in Maui were without power early Wednesday. With cell service and phone lines down in some areas, many people were struggling to check in with friends and family members living near the wildfires. Some were posting messages on social media.

Tiare Lawrence was frantically trying to reach her siblings who live near where a gas station exploded in Lahaina.

“There’s no service, so we can’t get ahold of anyone,” she said from the Maui community of Pukalani.

Maj. Gen. Kenneth Hara, from the Hawaii State Dept. of Defense, told reporters Wednesday night that officials were working to get communications restored, to distribute water, and possibly adding law enforcement personnel. He said National Guard helicopters had dropped 150,000 gallons of water on the Maui fires.

State Department of Education Superintendent Keith Hayashi said in a statement that a team was working on contingency plans and preparing for the possible loss of the King Kamehameha III elementary school that had been in Lahaina for more than a century.

“The department is striving to maintain regular school schedules to provide a sense of normalcy, but will keep most Maui schools closed for the remainder of this week,” he said.

The Coast Guard said it rescued 14 people who jumped into the water to escape flames and smoke, including two children.

Among those injured were three people with critical burns who were flown to Straub Medical Center’s burn unit on the island of Oahu, officials said. At least 20 patients were taken to Maui Memorial Medical Center, officials said, and a firefighter was hospitalized in stable condition after inhaling smoke.

Richard Bissen Jr., the mayor of Maui County, said at a Wednesday morning news conference that he didn't have details on how or where on the island the six deaths occurred. He said officials hadn't yet begun investigating the immediate cause of the fires, but officials did point to the combination of dry conditions, low humidity and high winds.

More than 2,100 people spent Tuesday night in evacuation centers. Another 2,000 travelers sheltered at Kahului Airport after many flights were canceled. Officials were preparing the Hawaii Convention Center in Honolulu to take in thousands of displaced tourists and locals.

Mauro Farinelli, of Lahaina, said the winds had started blowing hard on Tuesday, and then somehow a fire had started up on a hillside.

“It just ripped through everything with amazing speed,” he said, adding it was “like a blowtorch.”

The winds were so strong they blew his garage door off its hinges and trapped his car in the garage, Farinelli said. So a friend drove him, along with his wife Judit and dog Susi, to an evacuation shelter. He had no idea what had happened to their home.

“We’re hoping for the best,” he said, “but we’re pretty sure it’s gone.”

President Joe Biden said he'd ordered all available federal assets to help with the response. He said the Hawaii National Guard had mobilized Chinook helicopters to help with fire suppression as well as search and rescue efforts on Maui.

“Our prayers are with those who have seen their homes, businesses and communities destroyed," Biden said in a statement.

Former President Barack Obama, who was born in Hawaii, said on social media that it’s tough to see some of the images coming out of a place that is so special to many.

Alan Dickar, who owns a poster gallery and three houses in Lahaina, said most tourists who come to Maui visit Front Street.

“The central two blocks is the economic heart of this island, and I don’t know what’s left," he said.

Dickar took video of flames engulfing the main strip before escaping with three friends and two cats.

“Every significant thing I owned burned down today,” he said. “I’ll be OK. I got out safely.”

Wildfires were also burning on Hawaii’s Big Island, Mayor Mitch Roth said, although there had been no reports of injuries or destroyed homes there. Roth said firefighters had needed to extinguish some roof fires and there were continuing flareups of one fire near the Mauna Kea Resorts.

Acting Gov. Sylvia Luke said the flames had wiped out communities and urged travelers to stay away.

“This is not a safe place to be,” she said.

Luke issued an emergency proclamation on behalf of Gov. Josh Green, who was traveling. Green's office said he'd cut short his trip and was returning Wednesday evening.

Fires in Hawaii are unlike many of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/bonny-fire-york-california-nevada-wildfires-mojave-3fe4fc9ea8bb500bb48e7589f16911ad">those burning in the U.S. West</a>. They tend to break out in large grasslands on the dry sides of the islands and are generally much smaller than mainland fires. A&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/fires-environment-and-nature-droughts-hawaii-wildfires-ca2f8cbf76abf6affbbee9fce3be69a8">major fire on the Big Island in 2021</a>&nbsp;burned homes and forced thousands to evacuate.

The 2018&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/wildfires-business-environment-and-nature-gavin-newsom-paradise-dbae2ef725b32d91ff4c612de38f01e2">Camp Fire</a>&nbsp;in the Sierra Nevada foothills of California killed at least 85 people and destroyed nearly 19,000 homes.

Yasso, who fled her home with boyfriend Kawaakoa, said residents are going to need time to regroup and that people shouldn't plan to visit right now.

“It’s everybody losing their memories of growing up,” she said. “It’s the memories for everybody. We all lost our homes with this.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/8/1691662929011.png" alt="Image taken from a helicopter shows the vast destruction of Lahaina, a historic town in Hawaii. Courtesy: Vince Carter/Air Maui" />
 <figcaption>Image taken from a helicopter shows the vast destruction of Lahaina, a historic town in Hawaii. Courtesy: Vince Carter/Air Maui</figcaption>
 </figure>WAILUKU, Hawaii (AP) — Several thousand Hawaii residents raced to escape homes on Maui as the Lahaina fire swept across the island, killing at least 36 people and burning parts of a centuries-old town.The fire took the island of Maui by surprise, leaving behind burned-out cars on once busy streets and smoking piles of rubble where historic buildings had stood. Flames roared throughout the night, forcing adults and children to dive into the ocean for safety.<a href="https://www.mauicounty.gov/">Maui county announced</a> the updated death toll on its website late Wednesday, writing that no other details were currently available on the deaths. Officials said earlier that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/hawaii-wildfire-maui-dora-winds-ec23c16abfbeb6ba689f1a98263720db">271 structures were damaged or destroyed</a>&nbsp;and dozens of people injured.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Leeward areas of the state will remain under a Red Flag Warning through tonight. Stay updated with our watches, warnings, and advisories at <a href="https://t.co/ZtuCL9tVrL">https://t.co/ZtuCL9tVrL</a>. The wildfires on Maui were captured on satellite imagery as shown here. <a href="https://t.co/ix1MR58DHS">pic.twitter.com/ix1MR58DHS</a>&mdash; NWSHonolulu (@NWSHonolulu) <a href="https://twitter.com/NWSHonolulu/status/1689447349800800256?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 10, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>On Wednesday, Maui crews continued to battle blazes in several places on the island. Authorities urged visitors to stay away.Lahaina residents Kamuela Kawaakoa and Iiulia Yasso described a harrowing escape under smoke-filled skies Tuesday afternoon. The couple and their 6-year-old son got back to their apartment after a quick dash to the supermarket for water, and only had time to grab a change of clothes and run as the bushes around them caught fire.“We barely made it out,” Kawaakoa said at an evacuation shelter on Wednesday, still unsure if anything was left of their apartment.As the family fled, a senior center across the road erupted in flames. They called 911, but didn't know if the people got out. Fire alarms blared. As they drove away, downed utility poles and fleeing cars slowed their progress.Kawaakoa, 34, grew up in the apartment building, called Lahaina Surf, where his dad and grandmother also lived. Lahaina Town dates back to the 1700s and has long been a favorite destination for tourists.“It was so hard to sit there and just watch my town burn to ashes and not be able to do anything," Kawaakoa said. “I was helpless.”The Hawaiian fires were&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/hawaii-wildfires-climate-change-92c0930be7c28ec9ac71392a83c87582">whipped by strong winds</a>&nbsp;from Hurricane Dora passing far to the south. It's the latest in a series of disasters caused by extreme weather around the globe this summer. Experts say climate change is increasing the likelihood of such events.As winds eased somewhat on Maui, some flights resumed Wednesday, allowing pilots to view the full scope of the devastation. Aerial video from Lahaina showed dozens of homes and businesses razed, including on Front Street, where tourists once gathered to shop and dine. Smoking heaps of rubble lay piled high next to the waterfront, boats in the harbor were scorched, and gray smoke hovered over the leafless skeletons of charred trees.“It’s horrifying. I’ve flown here 52 years and I’ve never seen anything come close to that,” said Richard Olsten, a helicopter pilot for a tour company. “We had tears in our eyes."About 14,500 customers in Maui were without power early Wednesday. With cell service and phone lines down in some areas, many people were struggling to check in with friends and family members living near the wildfires. Some were posting messages on social media.Tiare Lawrence was frantically trying to reach her siblings who live near where a gas station exploded in Lahaina.“There’s no service, so we can’t get ahold of anyone,” she said from the Maui community of Pukalani.Maj. Gen. Kenneth Hara, from the Hawaii State Dept. of Defense, told reporters Wednesday night that officials were working to get communications restored, to distribute water, and possibly adding law enforcement personnel. He said National Guard helicopters had dropped 150,000 gallons of water on the Maui fires.State Department of Education Superintendent Keith Hayashi said in a statement that a team was working on contingency plans and preparing for the possible loss of the King Kamehameha III elementary school that had been in Lahaina for more than a century.“The department is striving to maintain regular school schedules to provide a sense of normalcy, but will keep most Maui schools closed for the remainder of this week,” he said.The Coast Guard said it rescued 14 people who jumped into the water to escape flames and smoke, including two children.Among those injured were three people with critical burns who were flown to Straub Medical Center’s burn unit on the island of Oahu, officials said. At least 20 patients were taken to Maui Memorial Medical Center, officials said, and a firefighter was hospitalized in stable condition after inhaling smoke.Richard Bissen Jr., the mayor of Maui County, said at a Wednesday morning news conference that he didn't have details on how or where on the island the six deaths occurred. He said officials hadn't yet begun investigating the immediate cause of the fires, but officials did point to the combination of dry conditions, low humidity and high winds.More than 2,100 people spent Tuesday night in evacuation centers. Another 2,000 travelers sheltered at Kahului Airport after many flights were canceled. Officials were preparing the Hawaii Convention Center in Honolulu to take in thousands of displaced tourists and locals.Mauro Farinelli, of Lahaina, said the winds had started blowing hard on Tuesday, and then somehow a fire had started up on a hillside.“It just ripped through everything with amazing speed,” he said, adding it was “like a blowtorch.”The winds were so strong they blew his garage door off its hinges and trapped his car in the garage, Farinelli said. So a friend drove him, along with his wife Judit and dog Susi, to an evacuation shelter. He had no idea what had happened to their home.“We’re hoping for the best,” he said, “but we’re pretty sure it’s gone.”President Joe Biden said he'd ordered all available federal assets to help with the response. He said the Hawaii National Guard had mobilized Chinook helicopters to help with fire suppression as well as search and rescue efforts on Maui.“Our prayers are with those who have seen their homes, businesses and communities destroyed," Biden said in a statement.Former President Barack Obama, who was born in Hawaii, said on social media that it’s tough to see some of the images coming out of a place that is so special to many.Alan Dickar, who owns a poster gallery and three houses in Lahaina, said most tourists who come to Maui visit Front Street.“The central two blocks is the economic heart of this island, and I don’t know what’s left," he said.Dickar took video of flames engulfing the main strip before escaping with three friends and two cats.“Every significant thing I owned burned down today,” he said. “I’ll be OK. I got out safely.”Wildfires were also burning on Hawaii’s Big Island, Mayor Mitch Roth said, although there had been no reports of injuries or destroyed homes there. Roth said firefighters had needed to extinguish some roof fires and there were continuing flareups of one fire near the Mauna Kea Resorts.Acting Gov. Sylvia Luke said the flames had wiped out communities and urged travelers to stay away.“This is not a safe place to be,” she said.Luke issued an emergency proclamation on behalf of Gov. Josh Green, who was traveling. Green's office said he'd cut short his trip and was returning Wednesday evening.Fires in Hawaii are unlike many of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/bonny-fire-york-california-nevada-wildfires-mojave-3fe4fc9ea8bb500bb48e7589f16911ad">those burning in the U.S. West</a>. They tend to break out in large grasslands on the dry sides of the islands and are generally much smaller than mainland fires. A&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/fires-environment-and-nature-droughts-hawaii-wildfires-ca2f8cbf76abf6affbbee9fce3be69a8">major fire on the Big Island in 2021</a>&nbsp;burned homes and forced thousands to evacuate.The 2018&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/wildfires-business-environment-and-nature-gavin-newsom-paradise-dbae2ef725b32d91ff4c612de38f01e2">Camp Fire</a>&nbsp;in the Sierra Nevada foothills of California killed at least 85 people and destroyed nearly 19,000 homes.Yasso, who fled her home with boyfriend Kawaakoa, said residents are going to need time to regroup and that people shouldn't plan to visit right now.“It’s everybody losing their memories of growing up,” she said. “It’s the memories for everybody. We all lost our homes with this.”

Dozens dead, injured on Maui as fires burn through Hawaii

By BECKY GOFF Little Apple Post

MANHATTAN - Following the Tuesday morning announcement by President Richard Linton about his recent cancer diagnosis, community members and leaders gathered on the lawn outside Anderson Hall on Tuesday evening to show their support of his fight against cancer.

Dr. Linton's complete announcement can be <a href="https://littleapplepost.com/posts/01715cae-372f-4b64-9e96-63b7ac62ac48">found here</a>.

A guest book was available for community members to write messages of support and notes of encouragement for President Linton and his family.

Online messages of support should include the hashtag #LoveForLinton.

By BECKY GOFF Little Apple Post<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/8/1691595759768.jpeg" alt="K-State community show support of President Linton" />
 <figcaption>K-State community show support of President Linton</figcaption>
 </figure>MANHATTAN - Following the Tuesday morning announcement by President Richard Linton about his recent cancer diagnosis, community members and leaders gathered on the lawn outside Anderson Hall on Tuesday evening to show their support of his fight against cancer.Dr. Linton's complete announcement can be <a href="https://littleapplepost.com/posts/01715cae-372f-4b64-9e96-63b7ac62ac48">found here</a>.A guest book was available for community members to write messages of support and notes of encouragement for President Linton and his family.Online messages of support should include the hashtag #LoveForLinton.<div><iframe src="https://cdn.jwplayer.com/players/MEmEtLAE-Kjb0luCJ.html" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" title="Linton Support" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>

🎥 K-Staters show support for President Linton following cancer diagnosis

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden signed an executive order Wednesday to block and regulate high-tech U.S.-based investments going toward&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/china-biden-xi-jinping-dictator-c1fe17f72e2d37fcc840575eea1b78d2">China</a>&nbsp;— a move the administration said was targeted but it also reflected an intensifying competition between the world's two biggest powers.

The order covers advanced computer chips, micro electronics, quantum information technologies and artificial intelligence. Senior administration officials said that the effort stemmed from national security goals rather than economic interests, and that the categories it covered were intentionally narrow in scope. The order seeks to blunt China's ability to use U.S. investments in its technology companies to upgrade its military while also preserving broader levels of trade that are vital for both nations' economies.

The Chinese Ministry of Commerce responded in a statement early Thursday that it has “serious concern” about the order and “reserves the right to take measures.”

The United States and China appear to be increasingly locked in a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-united-states-government-china-18398dd629fa6b4d5d93a439e003cb11">geopolitical competition</a>&nbsp;with a conflicting set of values. Biden administration officials have insisted that they have no interest in “decoupling” from China, yet the U.S. also has limited the export of advanced computer chips and kept the expanded tariffs set up by President Donald Trump. And in its response, China accused the U.S. of “using the cover of ‘risk reduction’ to carry out ‘decoupling and chain-breaking.’” China has engaged in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/china-foreign-business-crackdown-349cf4e894fef93c9fd150ac1242bfb1">crackdowns</a>&nbsp;on foreign companies.

Biden has suggested that China's economy is struggling and its global ambitions have been tempered as the U.S. has reenergized its alliances with Japan, South Korea, Australia and the European Union. The administration consulted with allies and industry in shaping the executive order.

“Worry about China, but don’t worry about China,” Biden told donors at a June fundraising event in California.

The officials previewing the order said that China has exploited U.S. investments to support the development of weapons and modernize its military. The new limits were tailored not to disrupt China's economy, but they would complement the export controls on advanced computer chips from last year that led to pushback by Chinese officials. The Treasury Department, which would monitor the investments, will announce a proposed rulemaking with definitions that would conform to the presidential order and go through a public comment process.

The goals of the order would be to have investors notify the U.S. government about certain types of transactions with China as well as to place prohibitions on some investments. Officials said the order is focused on areas such as private equity, venture capital and joint partnerships in which the investments could possibly give countries of concern such as China additional knowledge and military capabilities.

J. Philip Ludvigson, a lawyer and former Treasury official, said the order was an initial framework that could be expanded over time.

“The executive order issued today really represents the start of a conversation between the U.S. government and industry regarding the details of the ultimate screening regime," Ludvigson said. “While the executive order is limited initially to semiconductors and microelectronics, quantum information technologies, and artificial intelligence, it explicitly provides for a future broadening to other sectors."

The issue is also a bipartisan priority. In July by a vote of 91-6, the Senate added as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act requirements to monitor and limit investments in countries of concern, including China.

Yet reaction to Biden's order on Wednesday showed a desire to push harder on China. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., said the order was an “essential step forward," but it “cannot be the final step.” Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said Biden should been more aggressive, saying, “we have to stop all U.S. investment in China’s critical technology and military companies — period.”

Biden has called Chinese President Xi Jinping a “dictator” in the aftermath of the U.S. shooting down a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-united-states-government-china-18398dd629fa6b4d5d93a439e003cb11">spy balloon</a>&nbsp;from China that floated over the United States. Taiwan's status has been a source of tension, with Biden saying that China had become coercive regarding its independence.

China has supported Russia after its 2022 invasion of Ukraine, though Biden has noted that the friendship has not extended to the shipment of weapons.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce said it met a number of times with the White House and federal agencies as the order was being prepared and said its goal during the comment period will be “to ensure the measure is targeted and administrable.”

U.S. officials have long signaled the coming executive order on investing in China, but it's unclear whether financial markets will regard it as a tapered step or a continued escalation of tensions at a fragile moment.

“The message it sends to the market may be far more decisive,” said Elaine Dezenski, a senior director at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. "U.S. and multinational companies are already reexamining the risks of investing in China. Beijing’s so-called ‘national security’ and ‘anti-espionage’ laws that curb routine and necessary corporate due diligence and compliance were already having a chilling effect on U.S. foreign direct investment. That chilling now risks turning into a deep freeze.”

In its statement, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said the executive order “seriously deviates from the market economy and fair competition principles the United States has always advocated. It affects the normal business decisions of enterprises, disrupts the international economic and trade order and seriously disrupts the security of global industrial and supply chains.”

China's strong economic growth has stumbled coming out of pandemic lockdowns. On Wednesday, its National Bureau of Statistics reported a 0.3% decline in consumer prices in July from a year ago. That level of deflation points to a lack of consumer demand in China that could hamper growth.

Separately, foreign direct investment into China fell 89% from a year earlier in the second quarter of this year to $4.9 billion, according to data released by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange.

Most foreign investment is believed to be brought in by Chinese companies and disguised as foreign money to get tax breaks and other benefits, according to Chinese researchers.

However, foreign business groups say global companies also are shifting investment plans to other economies.

Foreign companies have lost confidence in China following tighter security controls and a lack of action on reform promises. Calls by Xi and other leaders for more economic self-reliance have left investors uneasy about their future in the state-dominated economy.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/8/1691616065590.png" alt="Biden at the Grand Canyon on Wednesday-White House image" />
 <figcaption>Biden at the Grand Canyon on Wednesday-White House image</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden signed an executive order Wednesday to block and regulate high-tech U.S.-based investments going toward&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/china-biden-xi-jinping-dictator-c1fe17f72e2d37fcc840575eea1b78d2">China</a>&nbsp;— a move the administration said was targeted but it also reflected an intensifying competition between the world's two biggest powers.The order covers advanced computer chips, micro electronics, quantum information technologies and artificial intelligence. Senior administration officials said that the effort stemmed from national security goals rather than economic interests, and that the categories it covered were intentionally narrow in scope. The order seeks to blunt China's ability to use U.S. investments in its technology companies to upgrade its military while also preserving broader levels of trade that are vital for both nations' economies.The Chinese Ministry of Commerce responded in a statement early Thursday that it has “serious concern” about the order and “reserves the right to take measures.”The United States and China appear to be increasingly locked in a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-united-states-government-china-18398dd629fa6b4d5d93a439e003cb11">geopolitical competition</a>&nbsp;with a conflicting set of values. Biden administration officials have insisted that they have no interest in “decoupling” from China, yet the U.S. also has limited the export of advanced computer chips and kept the expanded tariffs set up by President Donald Trump. And in its response, China accused the U.S. of “using the cover of ‘risk reduction’ to carry out ‘decoupling and chain-breaking.’” China has engaged in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/china-foreign-business-crackdown-349cf4e894fef93c9fd150ac1242bfb1">crackdowns</a>&nbsp;on foreign companies.Biden has suggested that China's economy is struggling and its global ambitions have been tempered as the U.S. has reenergized its alliances with Japan, South Korea, Australia and the European Union. The administration consulted with allies and industry in shaping the executive order.“Worry about China, but don’t worry about China,” Biden told donors at a June fundraising event in California.The officials previewing the order said that China has exploited U.S. investments to support the development of weapons and modernize its military. The new limits were tailored not to disrupt China's economy, but they would complement the export controls on advanced computer chips from last year that led to pushback by Chinese officials. The Treasury Department, which would monitor the investments, will announce a proposed rulemaking with definitions that would conform to the presidential order and go through a public comment process.The goals of the order would be to have investors notify the U.S. government about certain types of transactions with China as well as to place prohibitions on some investments. Officials said the order is focused on areas such as private equity, venture capital and joint partnerships in which the investments could possibly give countries of concern such as China additional knowledge and military capabilities.J. Philip Ludvigson, a lawyer and former Treasury official, said the order was an initial framework that could be expanded over time.“The executive order issued today really represents the start of a conversation between the U.S. government and industry regarding the details of the ultimate screening regime," Ludvigson said. “While the executive order is limited initially to semiconductors and microelectronics, quantum information technologies, and artificial intelligence, it explicitly provides for a future broadening to other sectors."The issue is also a bipartisan priority. In July by a vote of 91-6, the Senate added as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act requirements to monitor and limit investments in countries of concern, including China.Yet reaction to Biden's order on Wednesday showed a desire to push harder on China. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., said the order was an “essential step forward," but it “cannot be the final step.” Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said Biden should been more aggressive, saying, “we have to stop all U.S. investment in China’s critical technology and military companies — period.”Biden has called Chinese President Xi Jinping a “dictator” in the aftermath of the U.S. shooting down a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-united-states-government-china-18398dd629fa6b4d5d93a439e003cb11">spy balloon</a>&nbsp;from China that floated over the United States. Taiwan's status has been a source of tension, with Biden saying that China had become coercive regarding its independence.China has supported Russia after its 2022 invasion of Ukraine, though Biden has noted that the friendship has not extended to the shipment of weapons.The U.S. Chamber of Commerce said it met a number of times with the White House and federal agencies as the order was being prepared and said its goal during the comment period will be “to ensure the measure is targeted and administrable.”U.S. officials have long signaled the coming executive order on investing in China, but it's unclear whether financial markets will regard it as a tapered step or a continued escalation of tensions at a fragile moment.“The message it sends to the market may be far more decisive,” said Elaine Dezenski, a senior director at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. "U.S. and multinational companies are already reexamining the risks of investing in China. Beijing’s so-called ‘national security’ and ‘anti-espionage’ laws that curb routine and necessary corporate due diligence and compliance were already having a chilling effect on U.S. foreign direct investment. That chilling now risks turning into a deep freeze.”In its statement, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said the executive order “seriously deviates from the market economy and fair competition principles the United States has always advocated. It affects the normal business decisions of enterprises, disrupts the international economic and trade order and seriously disrupts the security of global industrial and supply chains.”China's strong economic growth has stumbled coming out of pandemic lockdowns. On Wednesday, its National Bureau of Statistics reported a 0.3% decline in consumer prices in July from a year ago. That level of deflation points to a lack of consumer demand in China that could hamper growth.Separately, foreign direct investment into China fell 89% from a year earlier in the second quarter of this year to $4.9 billion, according to data released by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange.Most foreign investment is believed to be brought in by Chinese companies and disguised as foreign money to get tax breaks and other benefits, according to Chinese researchers.However, foreign business groups say global companies also are shifting investment plans to other economies.Foreign companies have lost confidence in China following tighter security controls and a lack of action on reform promises. Calls by Xi and other leaders for more economic self-reliance have left investors uneasy about their future in the state-dominated economy.___

China slams Biden’s order limiting U.S. overseas tech investment

&nbsp;KANSAS CITY —A jury late recommended a prison sentence of 35 years after convicting a Kansas City man, of three felonies in connection with sexual assaults of a child, according to Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker.

The jury found 56-year-old Rosendo Palma guilty of Attempted Statutory Rape in the 1st Degree With a Child Under 12, Statutory Sodomy in the 1st Degree, Child Under 12 and Attempted Statutory Sodomy in the First Degree, Child Under 12.

The jury recommended 10 years, 15 years and 10 years, respectively, on each conviction. The sentences would run consecutively.

A Jackson County judge will sentence the defendant on October 6.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/8/1691162323721.png" alt="Palma-photo Jackson Co." />
 <figcaption>Palma-photo Jackson Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>&nbsp;KANSAS CITY —A jury late recommended a prison sentence of 35 years after convicting a Kansas City man, of three felonies in connection with sexual assaults of a child, according to Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker.The jury found 56-year-old Rosendo Palma guilty of Attempted Statutory Rape in the 1st Degree With a Child Under 12, Statutory Sodomy in the 1st Degree, Child Under 12 and Attempted Statutory Sodomy in the First Degree, Child Under 12.The jury recommended 10 years, 15 years and 10 years, respectively, on each conviction. The sentences would run consecutively.A Jackson County judge will sentence the defendant on October 6.

Jury: Kansas City man guilty of sex crimes with child under age 12

ELLSWORTH COUNTY— Kansas 156 south of Interstate 70 reopened just after 8p.m. Wednesday in Ellsworth County as area farmhands&nbsp; helped remove cattle from the overturned trailer, according to the Kansas Highway Patrol.&nbsp;

The trailer was loaded with 76 head of cattle.&nbsp; Thirteen cows died. Five of those thirteen had to be put down due to injury; sixty-three survived, according to the Kansas Highway Patrol.

There&nbsp; were no other injuries reported.

Use <a href="https://t.co/hfsl1kxwFt" target="_blank">http://KanDrive.org</a> for traffic updates.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/8/1691615070868.png" alt="Photo Kansas Highway Patrol" />
 <figcaption>Photo Kansas Highway Patrol</figcaption>
 </figure>ELLSWORTH COUNTY— Kansas 156 south of Interstate 70 reopened just after 8p.m. Wednesday in Ellsworth County as area farmhands&nbsp; helped remove cattle from the overturned trailer, according to the Kansas Highway Patrol.&nbsp;The trailer was loaded with 76 head of cattle.&nbsp; Thirteen cows died. Five of those thirteen had to be put down due to injury; sixty-three survived, according to the Kansas Highway Patrol.There&nbsp; were no other injuries reported.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Cattle starting to get offloaded from overturned trailer. Around 10 area ranchers, have responded to assist with recovery. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/KansasTrue?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#KansasTrue</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HelpingNeighbors?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#HelpingNeighbors</a> (Ellsworth county) <a href="https://t.co/uRwi1ycLEp">pic.twitter.com/uRwi1ycLEp</a>&mdash; Trooper Ben (@TrooperBenKHP) <a href="https://twitter.com/TrooperBenKHP/status/1689386264590692352?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 9, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/8/1691615450288.png" alt="KHP image" />
 <figcaption>KHP image</figcaption>
 </figure>Use <a href="https://t.co/hfsl1kxwFt" target="_blank">http://KanDrive.org</a> for traffic updates.&nbsp;

13 cows dead: Kan. farmhands help remove cattle from overturned trailer

CHEROKEE COUNTY, Georgia —A former Hays Mayor will serve a 20-year prison sentence in Georgia.

Blue Ridge Judicial Circuit district attorney Susan K.
Treadaway said in a statement Aug. 8 on May 15, Troy Dean Hickman, 59, Canton, Ga., pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated sexual battery and two counts of
exploitation and intimidation of a disabled adult.

Hickman served as a Hays city commissioner from 1997 to 2013, serving as mayor for five of those years. He also was the executive director at Ellis County First Call for Help from 2010 to 2013, according to his LinkedIn profile.

At the time of his departure from the commission, Hays commissioners proclaimed April 11, 2013 as Troy Hickman Day in recognition of his 16 years of service on the city commission.

He was most
recently employed by the Cherokee County Georgia School District.

“The Cherokee Sheriff’s Office first became aware of these
allegations in November 2022 after the young woman disclosed the abuse to a
friend,” according to the release. “Hickman, who was a relation, frequently
spent time alone with the victim, committing the acts over the course of
several years, beginning when the victim was approximately 18 years old.”

“Victims of sexual assault are often afraid to come forward,
and that was certainly the case here,” said Assistant District Attorney Elliot
Stone, who prosecuted the case. “The victim is
intellectually disabled and had been subjected to repeated threats of harm by
this defendant as he attempted to prevent her from revealing the abuse. She
bravely overcame that fear by seeking help.” 

“While Troy Hickman admitted to his crimes, he used alcohol
as an excuse for his despicable behavior and even suggested that the victim was
partly to blame.”

During the investigation, the Anna Crawford Children’s
Center conducted a forensic interview in which the victim described the
specific acts by Hickman that resulted in the charges of aggravated sexual
battery.

The victim’s mother addressed the court during the plea
hearing, describing the impact of Hickman’s crimes.

Superior Court Judge Tony Baker sentenced Hickman to 20
years in prison, followed by probation for the remainder of his life.

“Through the duration of his sentence, Hickman is forbidden
to have contact with the victim or her family,” according to the release. “He
must also obtain a psycho-sexual evaluation, receive treatment for substance
abuse and adhere to sex offender special conditions.”

Hickman will not be eligible for parole during his 20-year
prison sentence.

“The victim looked to this defendant as a father figure, and
it is despicable that he would manipulate her trust and vulnerability for his
own sexual desires,” said District Attorney Susan K. Treadaway. “Our hope is
the victim and her family will find peace and healing in knowing that this
defendant has received justice for his crimes and that he will never again be
able to hurt another individual in this way.” 

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/8/1691608232456.png" alt="Hickman-photo Cherokee Co." />
 <figcaption>Hickman-photo Cherokee Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>CHEROKEE COUNTY, Georgia —A former Hays Mayor will serve a 20-year prison sentence in Georgia.Blue Ridge Judicial Circuit district attorney Susan K.
Treadaway said in a statement Aug. 8 on May 15, Troy Dean Hickman, 59, Canton, Ga., pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated sexual battery and two counts of
exploitation and intimidation of a disabled adult.Hickman served as a Hays city commissioner from 1997 to 2013, serving as mayor for five of those years. He also was the executive director at Ellis County First Call for Help from 2010 to 2013, according to his LinkedIn profile.At the time of his departure from the commission, Hays commissioners proclaimed April 11, 2013 as Troy Hickman Day in recognition of his 16 years of service on the city commission.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/8/1691597721895.jpeg" alt="Hickman (center) was honored by then-mayor Kent Steward&nbsp;for his 16 years of service in 2013.&nbsp; Photo by Becky Kiser/Hays Post" />
 <figcaption>Hickman (center) was honored by then-mayor Kent Steward&nbsp;for his 16 years of service in 2013.&nbsp; Photo by Becky Kiser/Hays Post</figcaption>
 </figure>He was most
recently employed by the Cherokee County Georgia School District.“The Cherokee Sheriff’s Office first became aware of these
allegations in November 2022 after the young woman disclosed the abuse to a
friend,” according to the release. “Hickman, who was a relation, frequently
spent time alone with the victim, committing the acts over the course of
several years, beginning when the victim was approximately 18 years old.”“Victims of sexual assault are often afraid to come forward,
and that was certainly the case here,” said Assistant District Attorney Elliot
Stone, who prosecuted the case. “The victim is
intellectually disabled and had been subjected to repeated threats of harm by
this defendant as he attempted to prevent her from revealing the abuse. She
bravely overcame that fear by seeking help.” “While Troy Hickman admitted to his crimes, he used alcohol
as an excuse for his despicable behavior and even suggested that the victim was
partly to blame.”During the investigation, the Anna Crawford Children’s
Center conducted a forensic interview in which the victim described the
specific acts by Hickman that resulted in the charges of aggravated sexual
battery.The victim’s mother addressed the court during the plea
hearing, describing the impact of Hickman’s crimes.Superior Court Judge Tony Baker sentenced Hickman to 20
years in prison, followed by probation for the remainder of his life.“Through the duration of his sentence, Hickman is forbidden
to have contact with the victim or her family,” according to the release. “He
must also obtain a psycho-sexual evaluation, receive treatment for substance
abuse and adhere to sex offender special conditions.”Hickman will not be eligible for parole during his 20-year
prison sentence.“The victim looked to this defendant as a father figure, and
it is despicable that he would manipulate her trust and vulnerability for his
own sexual desires,” said District Attorney Susan K. Treadaway. “Our hope is
the victim and her family will find peace and healing in knowing that this
defendant has received justice for his crimes and that he will never again be
able to hurt another individual in this way.”

Former Kan. mayor sentenced for sex abuse of disabled family member

PROVO, Utah (AP) — An armed Utah man accused of making threats against&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-factory-jobs-new-mexico-manufacturing-renaissance-95700c62f45c3a69b03e550ebdcfa01b">President Joe Biden</a>&nbsp;was shot and killed by FBI agents hours before the president was expected to land in the state Wednesday, authorities said.

Special agents were trying to serve a warrant on the home of Craig Deleeuw Robertson in Provo, south of Salt Lake City, when the shooting happened at 6:15 a.m., the FBI said in a statement.

Robertson was armed at the time of the shooting, according to two law enforcement sources who spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity to discuss details of an ongoing investigation.

Robertson posted online Monday that he had heard Biden was coming to Utah and he was planning to dig out a camouflage suit and “clean the dust off the m24 sniper rifle," according to court documents.

In another post, Robertson refers to himself as a “MAGA Trumper," a reference to former President Donald Trump's “Make America Great Again” slogan.

The posts indicated he did appear to own a long-range sniper rifle and numerous other weapons, as well as camouflage gear known as a “ghillie suit," investigators said in court records. Robertson was charged under seal Tuesday with three felony counts, including making threats against the president, court documents show.

Robertson also referenced a “presidential assassination” and made a long list of other online threats, including against top law enforcement officials overseeing&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-investigations-other-charges-b8b064a00caad4306fb54d2f6a320468">court cases against Trump</a>: Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland and New York Attorney General Letitia James.

“The time is right for a presidential assassination or two. First Joe then Kamala!!!” authorities say Robertson wrote in a September 2022 Facebook post included in the filings. No attorney was immediately listed for Robertson in court documents.

No further details were immediately released about the shooting, which is under review by the FBI.

At the Provo house where the confrontation apparently took place and which is connected with Robertson through public records, law enforcement could be seen Wednesday going in and out and removing items.

A broken window could be seen next to the door and the blinds inside were askew.

The road leading to the house was blocked by police.

The house is just up the street from a meeting house of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, with the Wasatch Mountains rising in the background.

Robertson had a custom woodworking business but did not renew his license after it expired last year, according to state records. On LinkedIn, Robertson said he worked for 45 years as a structural steel and welding inspector before retiring and starting his business, saying he specialized in “custom designs."

Biden is in the middle of a trip to the Western United States. He spent Wednesday in New Mexico, where he spoke at a factory that will produce wind towers, and is scheduled to fly to Utah later in the day.

On Thursday, he’s expected to visit a Veterans Affairs hospital to talk about the PACT Act, which expanded veterans benefits, and hold a reelection fundraiser.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/8/1691617796283.png" alt="President Biden speaking at an event in New Mexico Wednesday afternoon-White House image" />
 <figcaption>President Biden speaking at an event in New Mexico Wednesday afternoon-White House image</figcaption>
 </figure>PROVO, Utah (AP) — An armed Utah man accused of making threats against&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-factory-jobs-new-mexico-manufacturing-renaissance-95700c62f45c3a69b03e550ebdcfa01b">President Joe Biden</a>&nbsp;was shot and killed by FBI agents hours before the president was expected to land in the state Wednesday, authorities said.Special agents were trying to serve a warrant on the home of Craig Deleeuw Robertson in Provo, south of Salt Lake City, when the shooting happened at 6:15 a.m., the FBI said in a statement.Robertson was armed at the time of the shooting, according to two law enforcement sources who spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity to discuss details of an ongoing investigation.Robertson posted online Monday that he had heard Biden was coming to Utah and he was planning to dig out a camouflage suit and “clean the dust off the m24 sniper rifle," according to court documents.In another post, Robertson refers to himself as a “MAGA Trumper," a reference to former President Donald Trump's “Make America Great Again” slogan.The posts indicated he did appear to own a long-range sniper rifle and numerous other weapons, as well as camouflage gear known as a “ghillie suit," investigators said in court records. Robertson was charged under seal Tuesday with three felony counts, including making threats against the president, court documents show.Robertson also referenced a “presidential assassination” and made a long list of other online threats, including against top law enforcement officials overseeing&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-investigations-other-charges-b8b064a00caad4306fb54d2f6a320468">court cases against Trump</a>: Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland and New York Attorney General Letitia James.“The time is right for a presidential assassination or two. First Joe then Kamala!!!” authorities say Robertson wrote in a September 2022 Facebook post included in the filings. No attorney was immediately listed for Robertson in court documents.No further details were immediately released about the shooting, which is under review by the FBI.At the Provo house where the confrontation apparently took place and which is connected with Robertson through public records, law enforcement could be seen Wednesday going in and out and removing items.A broken window could be seen next to the door and the blinds inside were askew.The road leading to the house was blocked by police.The house is just up the street from a meeting house of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, with the Wasatch Mountains rising in the background.Robertson had a custom woodworking business but did not renew his license after it expired last year, according to state records. On LinkedIn, Robertson said he worked for 45 years as a structural steel and welding inspector before retiring and starting his business, saying he specialized in “custom designs."Biden is in the middle of a trip to the Western United States. He spent Wednesday in New Mexico, where he spoke at a factory that will produce wind towers, and is scheduled to fly to Utah later in the day.On Thursday, he’s expected to visit a Veterans Affairs hospital to talk about the PACT Act, which expanded veterans benefits, and hold a reelection fundraiser.__

Man who posted threats toward President Biden is killed in FBI raid

Los Angeles (AP) —<a href="https://apnews.com/article/-----e0de46d3454745658248d5c1c78c3f08/gallery/c65d111282a941f0b4ef16e49aa98d41">Robbie Robertson,</a>&nbsp;The Band's lead guitarist and songwriter who in such classics as “The Weight,” “Up on Cripple Creek” and “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" mined and helped reshape American music, died Wednesday at 80.

Robertson died surrounded by family in Los Angeles “after a long illness,” publicist Ray Costa said in a statement.

From their years as&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/bob-dylan">Bob Dylan's</a>&nbsp;masterful backing group to their own stardom as embodiments of old-fashioned community and virtuosity, The Band profoundly influenced popular music in the 1960s and '70s, first by literally amplifying Dylan’s polarizing transition from folk artist to rock star and then by absorbing the works of Dylan and Dylan's influences as they fashioned a new sound immersed in the American past.

The Canadian-born Robertson was a high school dropout and one-man melting pot — part-Jewish, part-Mohawk and Cayuga — who fell in love with the seemingly limitless sounds and byways of his adopted country and wrote out of a sense of amazement and discovery at a time when the Vietnam War had alienated millions of young Americans. His life had a “Candide”-like quality as he found himself among many of the giants of the rock era — getting guitar tips from Buddy Holly, taking in early performances by Aretha Franklin and by the Velvet Underground, smoking pot with the Beatles, watching the songwriting team of Leiber and Stoller develop material, chatting with Jimi Hendrix when he was a struggling musician calling himself Jimmy James.

The Band began as supporting players for&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-elvis-presley-conway-twitty-jerry-lee-lewis-arkansas-14e27228b9e253f18457d62325c91807">rockabilly star Ronnie Hawkins</a>&nbsp;in the early 1960s and through their years together in bars and juke joints forged a depth and versatility that opened them to virtually any kind of music in any kind of setting. Besides Robertson, the group featured Arkansan drummer-singer&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-music-new-york-mavis-staples-c11f1340f9ea8d87e1606da6c1599ff3">Levon Helm</a>&nbsp;and three other Canadians: bassist-singer-songwriter Rick Danko, keyboardist singer-songwriter Richard Manuel and all-around musical wizard Garth Hudson. They were originally called the Hawks, but ended up as The Band — a conceit their fans would say they earned — because people would point to them when they were with Dylan and refer to them as “the band.”

They remain defined by their first two albums, “Music from Big Pink” and “The Band,” both released in the late 1960s. The rock scene was turning away from the psychedelic extravagances of the Beatles' “Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band” and a wave of sound effects, long jams and lysergic lyrics. "Music from Big Pink,” named for the old house near Woodstock, New York, where Band members lived and gathered, was for many the sound of coming home. The mood was intimate, the lyrics alternately playful, cryptic and yearning, drawn from blues, gospel, folk and country music. The Band itself seemed to stand for selflessness and a shared and vital history, with all five members making distinctive contributions and appearing in publicity photos in plain, dark clothes.

Through the “Basement Tapes” they had made with Dylan in 1967 and through their own albums, The Band has been widely credited as a founding source for Americana or roots music. Fans and peers would speak of their lives being changed. Eric Clapton broke up with his British supergroup Cream and journeyed to Woodstock in hopes he could join The Band, which influenced albums ranging from The Grateful Dead’s “Workingman's Dead” to Elton John's “Tumbleweed Connection.” The Band's songs were covered by Franklin, Joan Baez, the Staple Singers and many others. During a television performance by the Beatles of “Hey Jude,” Paul McCartney shouted out lyrics from “The Weight.”

Like Dylan, Robertson was a self-taught musicologist and storyteller who absorbed everything American from the novels of William Faulkner to the scorching blues of Howlin' Wolf to the gospel harmonies of the Swan Silvertones. At times his songs sounded not just created, but unearthed. In “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down,” he imagined the Civil War through the eyes of a defeated Confederate.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/b020697a3c604542ad250f75ab754b80">In “The Weight,”</a>&nbsp;with its lead vocals passed around among group members like a communal wine glass, he evoked a pilgrim's arrival to a town where nothing seems impossible:

“I pulled into Nazareth, was feelin’ about half past dead / I just need some place where I can lay my head / Hey, mister, can you tell me where a man might find a bed? / He just grinned and shook my hand, ‘No,’ was all he said.”

The Band played at the 1969 Woodstock festival, not far from where they lived, and became newsworthy enough to appear on the cover of Time magazine. But the spirit behind their best work was already dissolving. Albums such as “Stage Fright” and “Cahoots” were disappointing even for Robertson, who would acknowledge that he was struggling to find fresh ideas. While Manuel and Danko were both frequent contributors to songs during their “Basement Tapes” days, by the time “Cahoots” was released in 1971, Robertson was the dominant writer.

They toured frequently, recording the acclaimed live album “Rock of Ages” at Madison Square Garden and joining Dylan for 1974 shows that led to another highly praised concert release, “Before the Flood.” But in 1976, after Manuel broke his neck in a boating accident, Robertson decided he needed a break from the road and organized rock's ultimate sendoff, an all-star gathering at San Francisco's Winterland Ballroom that included Dylan, Van Morrison, Neil Young, Muddy Waters and many others. The concert was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/martin-scorsese-cannes-history-529f5f118fe0fed0ea1b07bd15220d93">filmed by Martin Scorsese</a>&nbsp;and the basis for his celebrated documentary “The Last Waltz,” released in 1978.

Robertson had intended The Band to continue recording together but “The Last Waltz” helped permanently sever his friendship with Helm, whom he had once looked to as an older brother. In interviews and in his 1993 memoir “Wheel on Fire,” Helm accused of Robertson of greed and outsized ego, noting that Robertson had ended up owning their musical catalog and calling “The Last Waltz” a vanity project designed to glorify Robertson. In response, Robertson contended that he had taken control of the group because the others — excepting Hudson — were too burdened by drug and alcohol problems to make decisions on their own.

“It hit me hard that in a band like ours, if we weren't operating on all cylinders, it threw the whole machine off course,” Robertson wrote in his memoir “Testimony,” published in 2016.

The Band regrouped without Robertson in the early 1980s, and Robertson went on to a long career&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/58ff0b66c1454076aef10a8918486989/gallery/71acaf5b8b534572801a19aafb05789c">as a solo artist</a>&nbsp;and soundtrack composer. His self-titled 1987 album was certified gold and featured the hit single “Show Down at Big Sky” and the ballad “Fallen Angel,” a tribute to Manuel, who was found dead in 1986 in what was ruled a suicide (Danko died of heart failure in 1999, and Helm of cancer in 2012).

Robertson, who moved to Los Angeles in the 1970s while the others stayed near Woodstock, remained close to Scorsese and helped oversee the soundtracks for “The Color of Money,” “The King of Comedy,” “The Departed” and “The Irishman” among others. He also produced the Neil Diamond album “Beautiful Noise” and explored his heritage through such albums as “Music for the Native Americans” and “Contact from the Underworld of Redboy.”

The Band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994; Robertson attended, Helm did not. In 2020, Robertson looked back and mourned in the documentary “Once Were Brothers” and in the title ballad, on which Robertson sang “When the light goes out and you can’t go on / You miss your brothers, but now they’re gone.”

Robertson married the Canadian journalist Dominique Bourgeois in 1967. They had three children before divorcing.

Jaime Royal Robertson was born in Toronto and spent summers at the Six Nations of the Grand River reserve where his mother Rosemarie Dolly Chrysler grew up. He never met his father, Alexander David Klegerman, who died before he was born and whose existence Robertson only learned of years later. His mother had since married a factory worker, James Robertson, whom Robbie Robertson at first believed was his biological parent.

Music was an escape from what he remembered as a violent and abusive household; his parents separated when he was in his early teens. He would watch relatives play guitar and sing at the Six Nations reserve, and became “mesmerized” by how absorbed they were in their own performances. Robertson was soon practicing guitar himself and was playing in bands and writing songs in his teens.

He had a knack for impressing his elders. When he was 15, his group opened for Hawkins at a club in Toronto. After overhearing Hawkins say he was in need of new material, Robertson hurried home, worked up a couple of songs and brought them over to his hotel. Hawkins recorded both of them, “Someone Like You,” and “Hey Boba Lu,” and Robertson would soon find himself on a train to Hawkins' home base in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

Over the next few years, he toured with Hawkins in the U.S. and Canada as members left and the performers who eventually became The Band were brought in. By 1963, Robertson and the others had grown apart from Hawkins and were ready to work on their own, recording a handful of singles as the Canadian Squires and stepping into rock history when mutual acquaintances suggested they should tour behind Dylan, then rebelling against his image as folk troubadour and infuriating fans who thought he had sold out.

In 1965-66, they were Dylan's co-adventurers in some of rock's most momentous shows, with Dylan playing an acoustic opening set, then joined by the Hawks for an electric set that was booed so fiercely, Helm dropped out and was replaced on the road by Mickey Jones. As captured in audio recordings and in footage by filmmaker D.A. Pennebaker seen decades later in the Dylan documentary “No Direction Home,” the music on stage for such Dylan songs as “Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues” and “Ballad of a Thin Man” more than equaled the fury of its detractors, culminating in a May 1966 show at Manchester, England, when one fan screamed out “Judas!”

“I don't belieeeeve you," Dylan snarled in response. “You're a liar!” Calling on the Hawks to ”play f----ing loud," he led them through an all-out finale, “Like a Rolling Stone.”

“A kind of madness was percolating,” Robertson wrote in his memoir. “The whole atmosphere was heightened. I adjusted the strap on my Telecaster so I could release it with a quick thumb movement and use the guitar as a weapon. The concerts were starting to feel that unpredictable.”

Later in 1966, Dylan was badly injured in a motorcycle accident and recuperated in the Woodstock area, where The Band also soon settled. Under no contractual obligations or any sort of deadlines, Dylan and his fellow musicians stepped out of time altogether. They jammed on old country and Appalachian songs and worked on such originals as “Tears of Rage” and “I Shall Be Released” that were originally intended as demo recordings for other artists. “The Basement Tapes,” as they were eventually called, were among rock's first bootlegs before being released officially — in part in 1975, and in a full six-CD set in 2014.

Working and writing with Dylan encouraged The Band to try an album of its own. “Music from Big Pink” featured the Dylan-Danko collaboration “This Wheel's On Fire” and Dylan-Manuel's “Tears of Rage,” along with such Band originals as Manuel's “In a Station” and Robertson's “Caledonia Mission.”

In his memoir, Robertson remembered the first time their old boss listened to “Music from Big Pink.”

“After each song, Bob looked at ‘his’ band with proud eyes. When ‘The Weight’ came on, he said, ‘This is fantastic. Who wrote that song?’" he wrote. "‘Me,’ I answered. He shook his head, slapped me on the arm, and said, ‘Damn! You wrote that song?’"

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/8/1691614471253.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Los Angeles (AP) —<a href="https://apnews.com/article/-----e0de46d3454745658248d5c1c78c3f08/gallery/c65d111282a941f0b4ef16e49aa98d41">Robbie Robertson,</a>&nbsp;The Band's lead guitarist and songwriter who in such classics as “The Weight,” “Up on Cripple Creek” and “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" mined and helped reshape American music, died Wednesday at 80.Robertson died surrounded by family in Los Angeles “after a long illness,” publicist Ray Costa said in a statement.From their years as&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/bob-dylan">Bob Dylan's</a>&nbsp;masterful backing group to their own stardom as embodiments of old-fashioned community and virtuosity, The Band profoundly influenced popular music in the 1960s and '70s, first by literally amplifying Dylan’s polarizing transition from folk artist to rock star and then by absorbing the works of Dylan and Dylan's influences as they fashioned a new sound immersed in the American past.The Canadian-born Robertson was a high school dropout and one-man melting pot — part-Jewish, part-Mohawk and Cayuga — who fell in love with the seemingly limitless sounds and byways of his adopted country and wrote out of a sense of amazement and discovery at a time when the Vietnam War had alienated millions of young Americans. His life had a “Candide”-like quality as he found himself among many of the giants of the rock era — getting guitar tips from Buddy Holly, taking in early performances by Aretha Franklin and by the Velvet Underground, smoking pot with the Beatles, watching the songwriting team of Leiber and Stoller develop material, chatting with Jimi Hendrix when he was a struggling musician calling himself Jimmy James.The Band began as supporting players for&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-elvis-presley-conway-twitty-jerry-lee-lewis-arkansas-14e27228b9e253f18457d62325c91807">rockabilly star Ronnie Hawkins</a>&nbsp;in the early 1960s and through their years together in bars and juke joints forged a depth and versatility that opened them to virtually any kind of music in any kind of setting. Besides Robertson, the group featured Arkansan drummer-singer&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-music-new-york-mavis-staples-c11f1340f9ea8d87e1606da6c1599ff3">Levon Helm</a>&nbsp;and three other Canadians: bassist-singer-songwriter Rick Danko, keyboardist singer-songwriter Richard Manuel and all-around musical wizard Garth Hudson. They were originally called the Hawks, but ended up as The Band — a conceit their fans would say they earned — because people would point to them when they were with Dylan and refer to them as “the band.”They remain defined by their first two albums, “Music from Big Pink” and “The Band,” both released in the late 1960s. The rock scene was turning away from the psychedelic extravagances of the Beatles' “Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band” and a wave of sound effects, long jams and lysergic lyrics. "Music from Big Pink,” named for the old house near Woodstock, New York, where Band members lived and gathered, was for many the sound of coming home. The mood was intimate, the lyrics alternately playful, cryptic and yearning, drawn from blues, gospel, folk and country music. The Band itself seemed to stand for selflessness and a shared and vital history, with all five members making distinctive contributions and appearing in publicity photos in plain, dark clothes.Through the “Basement Tapes” they had made with Dylan in 1967 and through their own albums, The Band has been widely credited as a founding source for Americana or roots music. Fans and peers would speak of their lives being changed. Eric Clapton broke up with his British supergroup Cream and journeyed to Woodstock in hopes he could join The Band, which influenced albums ranging from The Grateful Dead’s “Workingman's Dead” to Elton John's “Tumbleweed Connection.” The Band's songs were covered by Franklin, Joan Baez, the Staple Singers and many others. During a television performance by the Beatles of “Hey Jude,” Paul McCartney shouted out lyrics from “The Weight.”Like Dylan, Robertson was a self-taught musicologist and storyteller who absorbed everything American from the novels of William Faulkner to the scorching blues of Howlin' Wolf to the gospel harmonies of the Swan Silvertones. At times his songs sounded not just created, but unearthed. In “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down,” he imagined the Civil War through the eyes of a defeated Confederate.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/b020697a3c604542ad250f75ab754b80">In “The Weight,”</a>&nbsp;with its lead vocals passed around among group members like a communal wine glass, he evoked a pilgrim's arrival to a town where nothing seems impossible:“I pulled into Nazareth, was feelin’ about half past dead / I just need some place where I can lay my head / Hey, mister, can you tell me where a man might find a bed? / He just grinned and shook my hand, ‘No,’ was all he said.”The Band played at the 1969 Woodstock festival, not far from where they lived, and became newsworthy enough to appear on the cover of Time magazine. But the spirit behind their best work was already dissolving. Albums such as “Stage Fright” and “Cahoots” were disappointing even for Robertson, who would acknowledge that he was struggling to find fresh ideas. While Manuel and Danko were both frequent contributors to songs during their “Basement Tapes” days, by the time “Cahoots” was released in 1971, Robertson was the dominant writer.They toured frequently, recording the acclaimed live album “Rock of Ages” at Madison Square Garden and joining Dylan for 1974 shows that led to another highly praised concert release, “Before the Flood.” But in 1976, after Manuel broke his neck in a boating accident, Robertson decided he needed a break from the road and organized rock's ultimate sendoff, an all-star gathering at San Francisco's Winterland Ballroom that included Dylan, Van Morrison, Neil Young, Muddy Waters and many others. The concert was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/martin-scorsese-cannes-history-529f5f118fe0fed0ea1b07bd15220d93">filmed by Martin Scorsese</a>&nbsp;and the basis for his celebrated documentary “The Last Waltz,” released in 1978.Robertson had intended The Band to continue recording together but “The Last Waltz” helped permanently sever his friendship with Helm, whom he had once looked to as an older brother. In interviews and in his 1993 memoir “Wheel on Fire,” Helm accused of Robertson of greed and outsized ego, noting that Robertson had ended up owning their musical catalog and calling “The Last Waltz” a vanity project designed to glorify Robertson. In response, Robertson contended that he had taken control of the group because the others — excepting Hudson — were too burdened by drug and alcohol problems to make decisions on their own.“It hit me hard that in a band like ours, if we weren't operating on all cylinders, it threw the whole machine off course,” Robertson wrote in his memoir “Testimony,” published in 2016.The Band regrouped without Robertson in the early 1980s, and Robertson went on to a long career&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/58ff0b66c1454076aef10a8918486989/gallery/71acaf5b8b534572801a19aafb05789c">as a solo artist</a>&nbsp;and soundtrack composer. His self-titled 1987 album was certified gold and featured the hit single “Show Down at Big Sky” and the ballad “Fallen Angel,” a tribute to Manuel, who was found dead in 1986 in what was ruled a suicide (Danko died of heart failure in 1999, and Helm of cancer in 2012).Robertson, who moved to Los Angeles in the 1970s while the others stayed near Woodstock, remained close to Scorsese and helped oversee the soundtracks for “The Color of Money,” “The King of Comedy,” “The Departed” and “The Irishman” among others. He also produced the Neil Diamond album “Beautiful Noise” and explored his heritage through such albums as “Music for the Native Americans” and “Contact from the Underworld of Redboy.”The Band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994; Robertson attended, Helm did not. In 2020, Robertson looked back and mourned in the documentary “Once Were Brothers” and in the title ballad, on which Robertson sang “When the light goes out and you can’t go on / You miss your brothers, but now they’re gone.”Robertson married the Canadian journalist Dominique Bourgeois in 1967. They had three children before divorcing.Jaime Royal Robertson was born in Toronto and spent summers at the Six Nations of the Grand River reserve where his mother Rosemarie Dolly Chrysler grew up. He never met his father, Alexander David Klegerman, who died before he was born and whose existence Robertson only learned of years later. His mother had since married a factory worker, James Robertson, whom Robbie Robertson at first believed was his biological parent.Music was an escape from what he remembered as a violent and abusive household; his parents separated when he was in his early teens. He would watch relatives play guitar and sing at the Six Nations reserve, and became “mesmerized” by how absorbed they were in their own performances. Robertson was soon practicing guitar himself and was playing in bands and writing songs in his teens.He had a knack for impressing his elders. When he was 15, his group opened for Hawkins at a club in Toronto. After overhearing Hawkins say he was in need of new material, Robertson hurried home, worked up a couple of songs and brought them over to his hotel. Hawkins recorded both of them, “Someone Like You,” and “Hey Boba Lu,” and Robertson would soon find himself on a train to Hawkins' home base in Fayetteville, Arkansas.Over the next few years, he toured with Hawkins in the U.S. and Canada as members left and the performers who eventually became The Band were brought in. By 1963, Robertson and the others had grown apart from Hawkins and were ready to work on their own, recording a handful of singles as the Canadian Squires and stepping into rock history when mutual acquaintances suggested they should tour behind Dylan, then rebelling against his image as folk troubadour and infuriating fans who thought he had sold out.In 1965-66, they were Dylan's co-adventurers in some of rock's most momentous shows, with Dylan playing an acoustic opening set, then joined by the Hawks for an electric set that was booed so fiercely, Helm dropped out and was replaced on the road by Mickey Jones. As captured in audio recordings and in footage by filmmaker D.A. Pennebaker seen decades later in the Dylan documentary “No Direction Home,” the music on stage for such Dylan songs as “Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues” and “Ballad of a Thin Man” more than equaled the fury of its detractors, culminating in a May 1966 show at Manchester, England, when one fan screamed out “Judas!”“I don't belieeeeve you," Dylan snarled in response. “You're a liar!” Calling on the Hawks to ”play f----ing loud," he led them through an all-out finale, “Like a Rolling Stone.”“A kind of madness was percolating,” Robertson wrote in his memoir. “The whole atmosphere was heightened. I adjusted the strap on my Telecaster so I could release it with a quick thumb movement and use the guitar as a weapon. The concerts were starting to feel that unpredictable.”Later in 1966, Dylan was badly injured in a motorcycle accident and recuperated in the Woodstock area, where The Band also soon settled. Under no contractual obligations or any sort of deadlines, Dylan and his fellow musicians stepped out of time altogether. They jammed on old country and Appalachian songs and worked on such originals as “Tears of Rage” and “I Shall Be Released” that were originally intended as demo recordings for other artists. “The Basement Tapes,” as they were eventually called, were among rock's first bootlegs before being released officially — in part in 1975, and in a full six-CD set in 2014.Working and writing with Dylan encouraged The Band to try an album of its own. “Music from Big Pink” featured the Dylan-Danko collaboration “This Wheel's On Fire” and Dylan-Manuel's “Tears of Rage,” along with such Band originals as Manuel's “In a Station” and Robertson's “Caledonia Mission.”In his memoir, Robertson remembered the first time their old boss listened to “Music from Big Pink.”“After each song, Bob looked at ‘his’ band with proud eyes. When ‘The Weight’ came on, he said, ‘This is fantastic. Who wrote that song?’" he wrote. "‘Me,’ I answered. He shook his head, slapped me on the arm, and said, ‘Damn! You wrote that song?’"

Robbie Robertson, lead guitarist, songwriter of The Band, dies at 80

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. officials said Tuesday they have referred 22 more cases involving unruly passengers on airline flights to the FBI for possible criminal charges.

The allegations include sexually assaulting female passengers, attacking flight attendants, trying to break into the cockpit, making terror threats, and smoking in airplane lavatories.

The Federal Aviation Administration said the incidents happened as far back as late 2021 and as recently as April of this year.

The FAA can&nbsp;<a href="https://www.faa.gov/unruly">seek fines of up to $37,000</a>&nbsp;against unruly passengers, but it lacks authority to file criminal charges; that is why the agency refers some cases to the FBI.

Reports of passengers acting up on flights peaked in 2021, with many of the roughly 6,000 incidents involving anger over a since-dropped mask requirement. The number dropped under 2,500 last year and under 1,200 so far this year, the FAA said.

The FAA said it has referred more than 270 cases to the FBI since late 2021.

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. officials said Tuesday they have referred 22 more cases involving unruly passengers on airline flights to the FBI for possible criminal charges.The allegations include sexually assaulting female passengers, attacking flight attendants, trying to break into the cockpit, making terror threats, and smoking in airplane lavatories.The Federal Aviation Administration said the incidents happened as far back as late 2021 and as recently as April of this year.The FAA can&nbsp;<a href="https://www.faa.gov/unruly">seek fines of up to $37,000</a>&nbsp;against unruly passengers, but it lacks authority to file criminal charges; that is why the agency refers some cases to the FBI.Reports of passengers acting up on flights peaked in 2021, with many of the roughly 6,000 incidents involving anger over a since-dropped mask requirement. The number dropped under 2,500 last year and under 1,200 so far this year, the FAA said.The FAA said it has referred more than 270 cases to the FBI since late 2021.

The FAA wants criminal charges against more unruly airline passengers

By CASEY QUINLAN <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/02/19/rural-hospitals-gird-for-unwinding-of-pandemic-medicaid-coverage/">States Newsroom</a>

Construction workers who work on federal projects are poised to receive better wages and worker protections under a Department of Labor rule touted by Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday.

Speaking at a union hall in Philadelphia, Harris praised the Biden administration’s economic agenda and pointed out that the new rule would be the first update in more than 40 years to the Davis-Bacon Act, which requires paying prevailing wages on public works projects. The Reagan administration changed the definition of prevailing wages in 1983.

“Let’s agree these workers deserve our recognition and appreciation and they deserve something more,” Harris said. “They deserve a raise. … Many workers are paid much less than they deserve, much less than the value of their work … in some cases by thousands of dollars a year, and that is wrong and completely unacceptable.”

The final rule transforms how prevailing wages, or the hourly rate of wages paid to workers in a given area, are calculated. It would base wages off of at least 30% of workers instead of 50% of workers in a trade in a certain locality, which the Biden administration said will help ensure workers’ prevailing wages aren’t dragged down by employers who pay low wages.

The regulation also makes it easier for the agency to withhold funds from contractors to ensure workers are paid properly and protects workers from employer retaliation, Biden administration officials have stated.

The rule will be effective in about two months and would affect an estimated 1.2 million workers.

Harris praised the work of union leaders during her speech. She called Sean McGarvey, president of North America’s Building Trades Unions (NABTU), who was present at the speech, “a partner,” and thanked Jimmy Williams, the general president of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades. After the speech, she planned to tour Interstate 95. In June, part of I-95&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.fox29.com/news/i-95-collapse-medical-examiner-confirms-identity-cause-of-death-of-tanker-truck-driver#:~:text=The%20Philadelphia%20Medical%20Examiner%27s%20Office,ruled%20an%20accident%2C%20officials%20said.">collapsed</a>&nbsp;when a gasoline tanker exploded, and the man driving the vehicle died. Harris applauded the swift rebuild of the section, which took only 12 days. The rebuilding effort received&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://boyle.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/boyle-casey-fetterman-announce-3-million-emergency-funding-i-95#:~:text=Boyle%20PA%2D02%20along%20with,Philadelphia%20on%20June%2011%2C%202023.">federal funding</a>.

Sharita Gruberg, vice president for economic justice at the National Partnership for Women and Families, said that the original formula for wage standards was supposed to make sure that federal contracts are paying workers a competitive wage but the Reagan administration’s changes in the 1980s weakened the rules.

“There’s just been all of these artificial barriers constructed since the ’80s that weaken this really strong rule that’s supposed to protect the local economy and protect workers,” Gruberg said. She added that the idea was “to make sure that these local economies are not subject to a large influx of federal dollars going to construction companies that are paying less than market rate and creating a race to the bottom.”

The administration is prioritizing these changes after it has invested billions in manufacturing facilities and repairing roads through the CHIPS and Science Act and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Gruberg said the administration is trying to make the most out of those investments by making these reforms.

“There’s two paths here,” she said. “One, we update these rules and make sure that these investments are reaching their full potential for communities, or we don’t and lose workers a lot of money.”

Progressive think tanks have argued that such changes will make it easier for workers to receive higher pay and better benefits. In its comment on the proposed rule in May 2022, the Economic Policy Institute&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.epi.org/publication/epi-comments-on-davis-bacon-updates-nprm/">said</a>&nbsp;research has established that prevailing wage laws increase worker pay, help more workers get pension plans, and improve workers’ health care coverage as well as make the construction industry more equitable for women and workers of color.

The Laborers’ International Union of North America also supports the change and said it will protect many LIUNA members.

“With massive investments in infrastructure through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the CHIPS and Science Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act creating hundreds of thousands of new jobs with prevailing wage rules, construction workers across the nation will benefit from the strengthened wage floor,” LIUNA&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.liuna.org/news/story/construction-workers-celebrate-strengthened-prevailing-wages">stated</a>.

There is still opposition to the rule from the Associated Builders and Contractors, a non-union trade group, which has said it will take legal action in response to the rule. The trade association said there’s no timeline yet for when they will bring a lawsuit.

Ben Brubeck, vice president of regulatory, labor, and state affairs at the Associated Builders and Contractors, a non-union trade group, called the rule a “handout to organized labor on the backs of taxpayers, small businesses and the free market” and said the regulation is “unnecessary, costly and burdensome.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/8/1691598176685.png" alt="Vice President Kamala Harris, shown here at an event in June, touted a new Department of Labor rule while in Philadelphia on Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2023.&nbsp;&nbsp;The new rule would improve wages and workplace protections for people working on projects that get federal funding-White House image" />
 <figcaption>Vice President Kamala Harris, shown here at an event in June, touted a new Department of Labor rule while in Philadelphia on Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2023.&nbsp;&nbsp;The new rule would improve wages and workplace protections for people working on projects that get federal funding-White House image</figcaption>
 </figure>By CASEY QUINLAN <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/02/19/rural-hospitals-gird-for-unwinding-of-pandemic-medicaid-coverage/">States Newsroom</a>Construction workers who work on federal projects are poised to receive better wages and worker protections under a Department of Labor rule touted by Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday.Speaking at a union hall in Philadelphia, Harris praised the Biden administration’s economic agenda and pointed out that the new rule would be the first update in more than 40 years to the Davis-Bacon Act, which requires paying prevailing wages on public works projects. The Reagan administration changed the definition of prevailing wages in 1983.“Let’s agree these workers deserve our recognition and appreciation and they deserve something more,” Harris said. “They deserve a raise. … Many workers are paid much less than they deserve, much less than the value of their work … in some cases by thousands of dollars a year, and that is wrong and completely unacceptable.”The final rule transforms how prevailing wages, or the hourly rate of wages paid to workers in a given area, are calculated. It would base wages off of at least 30% of workers instead of 50% of workers in a trade in a certain locality, which the Biden administration said will help ensure workers’ prevailing wages aren’t dragged down by employers who pay low wages.The regulation also makes it easier for the agency to withhold funds from contractors to ensure workers are paid properly and protects workers from employer retaliation, Biden administration officials have stated.The rule will be effective in about two months and would affect an estimated 1.2 million workers.Harris praised the work of union leaders during her speech. She called Sean McGarvey, president of North America’s Building Trades Unions (NABTU), who was present at the speech, “a partner,” and thanked Jimmy Williams, the general president of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades. After the speech, she planned to tour Interstate 95. In June, part of I-95&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.fox29.com/news/i-95-collapse-medical-examiner-confirms-identity-cause-of-death-of-tanker-truck-driver#:~:text=The%20Philadelphia%20Medical%20Examiner%27s%20Office,ruled%20an%20accident%2C%20officials%20said.">collapsed</a>&nbsp;when a gasoline tanker exploded, and the man driving the vehicle died. Harris applauded the swift rebuild of the section, which took only 12 days. The rebuilding effort received&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://boyle.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/boyle-casey-fetterman-announce-3-million-emergency-funding-i-95#:~:text=Boyle%20PA%2D02%20along%20with,Philadelphia%20on%20June%2011%2C%202023.">federal funding</a>.Sharita Gruberg, vice president for economic justice at the National Partnership for Women and Families, said that the original formula for wage standards was supposed to make sure that federal contracts are paying workers a competitive wage but the Reagan administration’s changes in the 1980s weakened the rules.“There’s just been all of these artificial barriers constructed since the ’80s that weaken this really strong rule that’s supposed to protect the local economy and protect workers,” Gruberg said. She added that the idea was “to make sure that these local economies are not subject to a large influx of federal dollars going to construction companies that are paying less than market rate and creating a race to the bottom.”The administration is prioritizing these changes after it has invested billions in manufacturing facilities and repairing roads through the CHIPS and Science Act and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Gruberg said the administration is trying to make the most out of those investments by making these reforms.“There’s two paths here,” she said. “One, we update these rules and make sure that these investments are reaching their full potential for communities, or we don’t and lose workers a lot of money.”Progressive think tanks have argued that such changes will make it easier for workers to receive higher pay and better benefits. In its comment on the proposed rule in May 2022, the Economic Policy Institute&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.epi.org/publication/epi-comments-on-davis-bacon-updates-nprm/">said</a>&nbsp;research has established that prevailing wage laws increase worker pay, help more workers get pension plans, and improve workers’ health care coverage as well as make the construction industry more equitable for women and workers of color.The Laborers’ International Union of North America also supports the change and said it will protect many LIUNA members.“With massive investments in infrastructure through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the CHIPS and Science Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act creating hundreds of thousands of new jobs with prevailing wage rules, construction workers across the nation will benefit from the strengthened wage floor,” LIUNA&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.liuna.org/news/story/construction-workers-celebrate-strengthened-prevailing-wages">stated</a>.There is still opposition to the rule from the Associated Builders and Contractors, a non-union trade group, which has said it will take legal action in response to the rule. The trade association said there’s no timeline yet for when they will bring a lawsuit.Ben Brubeck, vice president of regulatory, labor, and state affairs at the Associated Builders and Contractors, a non-union trade group, called the rule a “handout to organized labor on the backs of taxpayers, small businesses and the free market” and said the regulation is “unnecessary, costly and burdensome.”

VP Kamala Harris unveils new wage rule for federal projects

An inspections backlog grew in Missouri during the COVID-19 pandemic, exacerbated more recently by staffing shortages and a spike in complaints that have tapped available resources

By CLARA BATES <a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2022/09/21/missouri-judge-once-again-delays-decision-on-closing-agape-boarding-school/">Missouri Independent</a>

One in four Missouri nursing homes hasn’t had a standard inspection in two or more years, according to recently-updated federal data.

Federal law requires states conduct an unannounced comprehensive inspection for each long-term care facility at least every&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.cms.gov/files/document/qso-22-02-all.pdf">15 months</a>&nbsp;to assess compliance with federal health and safety rules.&nbsp;

During those visits, inspectors generally spend several days at each facility&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.cms.gov/medicare/provider-enrollment-and-certification/certificationandcomplianc/downloads/usersguide.pdf">reporting</a>&nbsp;on factors including medication management, resident rights and quality of life.

Of the 510 nursing homes in Missouri, 126 have not been inspected in at least two years, according to&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://data.cms.gov/provider-data/dataset/4pq5-n9py">data</a>&nbsp;published by the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid in July.&nbsp;

The nonprofit investigative newsroom&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://projects.propublica.org/nursing-homes/">ProPublica</a>’s&nbsp;Nursing Home Inspect database combines several CMS data sources to make them more easily searchable across reports.&nbsp;

According to ProPublica’s database, Missouri has among the largest inspection backlogs in the country. The worst backlog is in Kentucky, where 74% of nursing homes are awaiting inspection more than two years.&nbsp;

The inspections are run by state agencies but overseen with federal standards.

The state is “really behind,” said Marjorie Moore, executive director of VOYCE St. Louis, an advocacy group for long-term care residents.

Moore said that makes it harder for people to access accurate information about facility quality, and potentially raises the risk the state is overlooking issues.

“When the surveys haven’t been updated in two or three years, there’s a lot of times facilities have changed hands at that point [and] there’s been significant changes in facility quality since COVID,” Moore said.

“And then on top of that, they’re not catching some of the important stuff that they would typically catch,” she later continued.

More complaints put inspections on backburner

Nursing home inspections were put on hold during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, creating an initial backlog that was compounded by national staffing shortages and increased demand for inspectors to survey for COVID infection control in facilities.

In May, a U.S. Senate committee published a report on the issue called&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.aging.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/UNINSPECTED%20&amp;%20NEGLECTED%20-%20FINAL%20REPORT.pdf">“Uninspected and Neglected”</a>&nbsp;and held a hearing about the “strained nursing home inspection system.”

At the congressional committee hearing, Shelly Williamson, who serves as Missouri’s administrator for the section for long term care regulation for the Department of Health and Senior Services,&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.aging.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/0768f66e-9586-f364-f4fb-25317a412d71/Testimony_Williamson%2005.18.2023.pdf">testified</a>&nbsp;about the state’s challenges.

COVID meant that “many of our normal survey activities were paused, creating a backlog that is contributing to the difficulties today,” Williamson said. “Infection control surveys were often in nursing homes that were experiencing widespread COVID-19 outbreaks, adding to surveyor stress, illness and burnout.”

Now, though — years from the initial pause in inspections and the COVID surges in long term care facilities — a major cause of the delayed inspections is that there has been a significant increase in complaints, Lisa Cox, spokesperson for the Department of Health and Senior Services, said in an email to The Independent.

The number and severity of complaints has risen, Cox said, stretching inspectors thin. Those inspectors are required not only to perform annual reviews of facilities but also to investigate specific complaints.

The number of complaints against long-term care facilities increased around 36% over the last four years, Cox said.

The largest increase was in severe complaints, Cox said, which are defined as complaints that could result in “immediate jeopardy” for residents and require action within 24 hours. Those increased by 125% in those three years, Cox said

Complaints categorized as “non-immediate jeopardy high complaints,” which allege actual harm and must be investigated within 10 working days increased by 25%, Cox said.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/8/1691491334868.png" alt=" Of the 511 nursing homes in Missouri, 126 have not been inspected in at least two years, according to data published by the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid in July (Tessa Weinberg/Missouri Independent)" />
 <figcaption> Of the 511 nursing homes in Missouri, 126 have not been inspected in at least two years, according to data published by the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid in July (Tessa Weinberg/Missouri Independent)</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>An inspections backlog grew in Missouri during the COVID-19 pandemic, exacerbated more recently by staffing shortages and a spike in complaints that have tapped available resources</h2>By CLARA BATES <a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2022/09/21/missouri-judge-once-again-delays-decision-on-closing-agape-boarding-school/">Missouri Independent</a>One in four Missouri nursing homes hasn’t had a standard inspection in two or more years, according to recently-updated federal data.Federal law requires states conduct an unannounced comprehensive inspection for each long-term care facility at least every&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.cms.gov/files/document/qso-22-02-all.pdf">15 months</a>&nbsp;to assess compliance with federal health and safety rules.&nbsp;During those visits, inspectors generally spend several days at each facility&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.cms.gov/medicare/provider-enrollment-and-certification/certificationandcomplianc/downloads/usersguide.pdf">reporting</a>&nbsp;on factors including medication management, resident rights and quality of life.State rules require annual inspections.Of the 510 nursing homes in Missouri, 126 have not been inspected in at least two years, according to&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://data.cms.gov/provider-data/dataset/4pq5-n9py">data</a>&nbsp;published by the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid in July.&nbsp;The nonprofit investigative newsroom&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://projects.propublica.org/nursing-homes/">ProPublica</a>’s&nbsp;Nursing Home Inspect database combines several CMS data sources to make them more easily searchable across reports.&nbsp;According to ProPublica’s database, Missouri has among the largest inspection backlogs in the country. The worst backlog is in Kentucky, where 74% of nursing homes are awaiting inspection more than two years.&nbsp;The inspections are run by state agencies but overseen with federal standards.The state is “really behind,” said Marjorie Moore, executive director of VOYCE St. Louis, an advocacy group for long-term care residents.Moore said that makes it harder for people to access accurate information about facility quality, and potentially raises the risk the state is overlooking issues.“When the surveys haven’t been updated in two or three years, there’s a lot of times facilities have changed hands at that point [and] there’s been significant changes in facility quality since COVID,” Moore said.“And then on top of that, they’re not catching some of the important stuff that they would typically catch,” she later continued.<h2>More complaints put inspections on backburner</h2>Nursing home inspections were put on hold during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, creating an initial backlog that was compounded by national staffing shortages and increased demand for inspectors to survey for COVID infection control in facilities.In May, a U.S. Senate committee published a report on the issue called&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.aging.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/UNINSPECTED%20&amp;%20NEGLECTED%20-%20FINAL%20REPORT.pdf">“Uninspected and Neglected”</a>&nbsp;and held a hearing about the “strained nursing home inspection system.”At the congressional committee hearing, Shelly Williamson, who serves as Missouri’s administrator for the section for long term care regulation for the Department of Health and Senior Services,&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.aging.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/0768f66e-9586-f364-f4fb-25317a412d71/Testimony_Williamson%2005.18.2023.pdf">testified</a>&nbsp;about the state’s challenges.COVID meant that “many of our normal survey activities were paused, creating a backlog that is contributing to the difficulties today,” Williamson said. “Infection control surveys were often in nursing homes that were experiencing widespread COVID-19 outbreaks, adding to surveyor stress, illness and burnout.”Now, though — years from the initial pause in inspections and the COVID surges in long term care facilities — a major cause of the delayed inspections is that there has been a significant increase in complaints, Lisa Cox, spokesperson for the Department of Health and Senior Services, said in an email to The Independent.The number and severity of complaints has risen, Cox said, stretching inspectors thin. Those inspectors are required not only to perform annual reviews of facilities but also to investigate specific complaints.The number of complaints against long-term care facilities increased around 36% over the last four years, Cox said.The largest increase was in severe complaints, Cox said, which are defined as complaints that could result in “immediate jeopardy” for residents and require action within 24 hours. Those increased by 125% in those three years, Cox saidComplaints categorized as “non-immediate jeopardy high complaints,” which allege actual harm and must be investigated within 10 working days increased by 25%, Cox said.“With this increase in the number of complaints, the section is not able to investigate all within the required timeframes,” Cox said.&nbsp;The state is currently meeting the timeframe for the most-severe complaints, Cox said, and meets the next-most severe “between 65%-70%” of the time.“Because of the increase in the number and severity of complaints, the regulatory functions of [section for long term care regulation]&nbsp;have become reactionary to complaints,” Cox said, “rather than proactive in identifying concerns at nursing homes before complaints occur.”Complaints have risen as staffing numbers within nursing homes declined over the course of the pandemic, Moore said. Pay and benefits for long-term care staff are generally low, she said, and they’re “some of the hardest jobs in health care” — requiring care “a lot of people aren’t willing to do.”&nbsp;She also said she has also observed large corporations increasingly buying facilities and cutting staff to increase profit.&nbsp;&nbsp;In March, Missouri senior care workers rallied at the Missouri Capitol to make the case for improved conditions, KOMU&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.komu.com/news/state/missouri-nursing-home-workers-call-for-action-to-improve-facilities/article_f3e47508-c8e2-11ed-bca5-efa19334d5b2.html">reported</a>. In their letter to the governor, they wrote that “inspectors aren’t out there to find and correct problems, so the whole system is just cycling downward.”<h2>Nurses in high demand</h2>Workforce challenges have exacerbated delays with inspections, Cox said.Annual inspections require at least one registered nurse, she said, and many complaints require a nurse, too, depending on the allegations.The agency has needed to cancel annual inspections because of a lack of available qualified nurses, Cox said.When recertification inspections do happen, Cox said, they often take more time because there has been a trend of increasing number and severity of issues found.Citations for issues are called deficiencies in nursing home inspections. The average number of deficiencies at recertification surveys increased from 6.5 in fiscal year 2019 to 9.7 in fiscal 2023, Cox said. The severity worsened, too: The number of “actual harm and immediate jeopardy deficiencies” increased by 70% over the same time.Those severe deficiencies need to be investigated, taking more resources — for instance, the inspectors may need to interview more residents to ensure the review is comprehensive, and the investigation may broaden in scope to determine the extent of the deficiency.The&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://projects.propublica.org/nursing-homes/">ProPublica</a>&nbsp;database allows users to search deficiencies in specific nursing homes or geographically. If a home has not had a standard inspection in more than two years, it will have an “inspections delayed” flag at the top of its page.<h2>Vetoed ombudsmen funding</h2>Every state has long-term care ombudsmen, who are staff and volunteers tasked with advocating for long-term care residents. The program has been in place federally since the&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://acl.gov/programs/Protecting-Rights-and-Preventing-Abuse/Long-term-Care-Ombudsman-Program">1970s</a>.&nbsp;It’s an arm of oversight separate from state-funded inspectors, but they often work “in tandem,” said Moore, whose organization operates the ombudsmen program for St. Louis and Northeast Missouri regions.Sometimes, they may resolve issues before they rise to the level of making a formal complaint to the state and needing a visit, she said.“A lot of times the ombudsmen are there to help the facility and the resident come to solutions before the state needs to step in,” Moore said.&nbsp;Other times, the ombudsmen help report issues to the state.Moore said the ombudsmen often serve as liaisons between nursing home residents and the facilities, looking into complaints such as residents not getting their food on time or not getting enough assistance to go to the bathroom — many issues surround short-staffing, she said.&nbsp;The ombudsmen have been meeting their goals for visiting each facility at least three times each year, Moore said, but could increase their visits and resources to assist with increasing complaints if they had more staff.The legislature approved $2.35 million in the budget to go to the long-term care ombudsmen program in the state, which Moore said would’ve enabled the regional program she oversees to hire more than 20 new ombudsmen to help advocate for nursing home residents. She said it received no public opposition during the last legislative session.&nbsp;But Gov. Mike Parson&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://oa.mo.gov/sites/default/files/Fiscal_Year_2024_HB_10_Appropriation_Letter.pdf">vetoed</a>&nbsp;$2.2 million of that funding, noting a general need to ensure a balanced budget and the “financial stability of Missouri,” and pointing to another funding source to meet those needs.Moore said due in part to the constraints of the other fund Parson suggested, it is unlikely they receive support from it.&nbsp;