By JENNIFER SHUTT&nbsp;&nbsp; <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/03/30/u-s-judge-rules-insurers-dont-have-to-cover-many-free-preventive-health-services/">States Newsroom</a>

WASHINGTON — One year after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to an abortion, the courts rather than a divided Congress are leading the way on decisions on reproductive rights that would affect the entire nation.

Congress has not enacted federal legislation to either preserve reproductive rights or to restrict abortion in the year since the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ruling nullified the landmark Roe v. Wade decision. And that’s unlikely to change anytime soon.

Despite many Republicans campaigning for the U.S. House on promises of a nationwide abortion ban, the chamber hasn’t brought such a bill to the floor six months after the GOP took control.

And in the U.S. Senate, Democrats who control that chamber don’t have the 60 votes needed to overcome the legislative filibuster, leading to a stalemate on abortion legislation as well as&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/democrats-congress-renew-push-protect-access-birth-control">protections for birth control access.&nbsp;</a>

The next nationwide policy on abortion is much more likely to be written by the same U.S. Supreme Court that wrote one year ago “the authority to regulate abortion is returned to the people and their elected representatives.” That court is dominated 6-3 by conservative justices.

“To the extent that Congress continues to be inept in many regards in legislating, it falls to the courts,” said Suzanne Bell, assistant professor in the Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

The stalemate within Congress is in sharp contrast to&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/see-data-reproductive-rights?eType=EmailBlastContent&amp;eId=12326989-bb86-442e-9f90-a46c19a27854">new laws from dozens of state legislatures</a>, where lawmakers have moved to either restrict abortion access or solidify it within the last year. But many of those proposals have landed in the state court systems, with some ending up at a state’s Supreme Court.

The nine justices on the U.S. Supreme Court are expected to take up a case late this year or next spring on access to the abortion pill, known as mifepristone or its brand name Mifeprex, after a federal circuit court in New Orleans rules on the appeal. It likely will be the highest-profile court case on reproductive rights since Dobbs to reach the Supreme Court.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved mifepristone in 2000 as part of a two-drug regimen that’s currently used up to 10 weeks in a pregnancy.

Alliance Defending Freedom, an anti-abortion legal organization, filed a lawsuit in November seeking to have that authorization overturned nationwide.

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas Judge Matthew Joseph Kacsmaryk, who was nominated by former President Donald Trump, found their arguments compelling and&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/biden-administration-appeals-judges-ruling-ordering-abortion-pill-us-market">stayed the FDA’s approval in early April</a>.

The U.S. Justice Department appealed the case to the 5th Circuit Court, which&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://lailluminator.com/2023/05/17/three-judge-panel-in-u-s-appeals-court-hears-arguments-in-abortion-pill-case/">heard oral arguments in May&nbsp;</a>and could rule any day.

That ruling will likely move to the U.S. Supreme Court after that.

Bell said in an interview that it’s odd to see the case in the courts system, calling it “disheartening,” though she expects that could become more common.

“This is such a strange overreach of the courts or even Congress, if Congress were to be involved in this mifepristone case,” she said.

Bell also cautioned that as politicians increasingly focus on winning or losing the debate&nbsp; — whether in the courts or in the legislature — they often lose sight of the impact of their decisions, and the effect changes in access have on Americans’ actual lives as well as public health.

“We get caught up in some of the politics and the legislation and the litigation around this issue. But in the meantime it’s having real impacts on birthing people and families,” Bell said.

In the year since Dobbs, Republicans and Democrats in Congress have introduced dozens of bills that would either expand reproductive rights or restrict access to abortion, though none stand a chance of becoming law anytime soon.

Republicans have introduced more than 80 bills that address abortion in some way, including a proposal from Missouri Rep. Ann Wagner that would require health care providers to give the same level of care “to preserve the life and health of the child” if an abortion were to result in a live birth.

House Republicans&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/us-house-republicans-push-through-two-anti-abortion-measures-first-work-week">passed the bill in January</a>, though it’s highly unlikely that it would move through the Democratically controlled Senate. House Republicans, however, have opted not to bring up any of the bills proposing a nationwide ban on abortion.

Democrats have reintroduced legislation that would provide nationwide protection for abortion access, though it hasn’t gotten a vote in the Senate this Congress and would be unlikely to secure the votes needed to move past the legislative filibuster.

The so-called Women’s Health Protection Act would bar local, state or federal governments from restricting access to abortion before viability, roughly 22 to 24 weeks gestation. After that threshold, governments couldn’t implement restrictions when “in the good-faith medical judgment of the treating health care provider, continuation of the pregnancy would pose a risk to the pregnant patient’s life or health.”

The nature of a divided Congress has led some members to turn their attention toward the annual government funding process as one way to change nationwide policy on abortion.

Attempts to do that in the past have been unsuccessful at shaking up the status quo, but Republicans in the House are attempting to bar the Defense and Veterans Affairs Departments from providing abortions — even in cases of rape, incest or the life of the pregnant patient.

The House GOP also added language to the annual funding bill for the FDA that would bar it from allowing pharmacies, including mail-order pharmacies, to apply to dispense abortion medication the same way they dispense other prescriptions. The FDA proposed that change in January and some pharmacy chains have begun the process.

Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America praised House Republican appropriators for adding “strong language in the Agriculture Appropriations Bill that protects women and girls from the dangers of chemical abortion.”

On barring female troops and veterans from having access to abortion in the case of rape, incest or their lives, SBA Pro-Life America thanked Republicans on the committee “for standing up for longstanding law and for the unborn by prohibiting funding for Biden’s illegal rule that would force taxpayers to pay for abortions at Veterans hospitals.”

Federal spending laws have barred the use of taxpayer dollars to pay for abortions with exceptions for rape, incest and the life of the patient since the 1970s. The provision is generally referred to as the Hyde amendment and applies to dozens of federal programs, including federal employee health care, Medicaid, Medicare and foreign aid.

The House Republicans’ decision is a change from September 2022, when&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/republicans-congress-say-theyd-keep-federal-abortion-funding-cases-rape-incest">numerous Republicans on the spending panels said</a>&nbsp;they didn’t anticipate changing how the provisions were applied.

While the House GOP proposals are unlikely to become law, they could throw a wrench into the annual government funding process, increasing the odds of a partial government shutdown later this year.

When Democrats were in control of the U.S. House during the first two years of the Biden administration, they removed the language that limited when the federal government could pay for abortion from all of their bills.

But the limitation that the federal government would only pay for abortions under the three exceptions was added back into the final bills at the insistence of Republicans.

Autumn Katz, managing senior counsel of U.S. Litigation at the Center for Reproductive Rights, said that while Congress may not be able to enact legislation protecting reproductive rights at the moment, the hearings, bill introductions and debate are “important work.”

“There’s the filibuster issue in the Senate, and things have changed in the House, so enacting protection for abortion I think is difficult right now,” Katz said. “But I do think it’s important to emphasize that Congress is not sticking its head in the sand.”

Katz said she expects cases will continue in the federal courts system, especially given that some states are seeking to restrict when and how residents travel to access reproductive health care.

“The idea it’s now settled and will be resolved in individual states is really kind of a cynical view because there are so many questions,” Katz said. “And so I think there is bound to continue to be litigation and confusion and chaos.”

Access to medication abortion is one of the areas of ongoing confusion amid a patchwork of state laws, an ongoing federal court case and the FDA announcing in January that pharmacies could apply to dispense mifepristone like other prescription drugs.

More than 50 Democrats in Congress&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://goldman.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/goldman.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/final-goldman_chu-letter-protect-access-to-medication-abortion_june-14-2023.pdf">wrote to&nbsp;</a>five major pharmacy chains earlier this month, encouraging them to apply to dispense mifepristone like other prescription drugs.

“We are concerned that your respective companies have not yet indicated plans to seek certification to dispense mifepristone, consistent with federal guidelines and regulations, as this could help increase access to needed medication,” they wrote. “Your continued silence is unacceptable as it is misaligned with your publicly stated values in support of equal access to health care and of gender equality.”

A possible U.S. Supreme Court opinion on access to mifepristone could decide the issue if the justices rule to overturn its 2000 approval, or revert to prescribing and dosage instructions that were in place before 2016.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/6/1656088183967.png" alt="People protest in response to the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ruling in front of the U.S. Supreme Court on June 24, 2022, in Washington, D.C photo courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>People protest in response to the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ruling in front of the U.S. Supreme Court on June 24, 2022, in Washington, D.C photo courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>By JENNIFER SHUTT&nbsp;&nbsp; <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/03/30/u-s-judge-rules-insurers-dont-have-to-cover-many-free-preventive-health-services/">States Newsroom</a>WASHINGTON — One year after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to an abortion, the courts rather than a divided Congress are leading the way on decisions on reproductive rights that would affect the entire nation.Congress has not enacted federal legislation to either preserve reproductive rights or to restrict abortion in the year since the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ruling nullified the landmark Roe v. Wade decision. And that’s unlikely to change anytime soon.Despite many Republicans campaigning for the U.S. House on promises of a nationwide abortion ban, the chamber hasn’t brought such a bill to the floor six months after the GOP took control.And in the U.S. Senate, Democrats who control that chamber don’t have the 60 votes needed to overcome the legislative filibuster, leading to a stalemate on abortion legislation as well as&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/democrats-congress-renew-push-protect-access-birth-control">protections for birth control access.&nbsp;</a>The next nationwide policy on abortion is much more likely to be written by the same U.S. Supreme Court that wrote one year ago “the authority to regulate abortion is returned to the people and their elected representatives.” That court is dominated 6-3 by conservative justices.“To the extent that Congress continues to be inept in many regards in legislating, it falls to the courts,” said Suzanne Bell, assistant professor in the Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.The stalemate within Congress is in sharp contrast to&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/see-data-reproductive-rights?eType=EmailBlastContent&amp;eId=12326989-bb86-442e-9f90-a46c19a27854">new laws from dozens of state legislatures</a>, where lawmakers have moved to either restrict abortion access or solidify it within the last year. But many of those proposals have landed in the state court systems, with some ending up at a state’s Supreme Court.<h2>Abortion pill case</h2>The nine justices on the U.S. Supreme Court are expected to take up a case late this year or next spring on access to the abortion pill, known as mifepristone or its brand name Mifeprex, after a federal circuit court in New Orleans rules on the appeal. It likely will be the highest-profile court case on reproductive rights since Dobbs to reach the Supreme Court.The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved mifepristone in 2000 as part of a two-drug regimen that’s currently used up to 10 weeks in a pregnancy.Alliance Defending Freedom, an anti-abortion legal organization, filed a lawsuit in November seeking to have that authorization overturned nationwide.U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas Judge Matthew Joseph Kacsmaryk, who was nominated by former President Donald Trump, found their arguments compelling and&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/biden-administration-appeals-judges-ruling-ordering-abortion-pill-us-market">stayed the FDA’s approval in early April</a>.The U.S. Justice Department appealed the case to the 5th Circuit Court, which&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://lailluminator.com/2023/05/17/three-judge-panel-in-u-s-appeals-court-hears-arguments-in-abortion-pill-case/">heard oral arguments in May&nbsp;</a>and could rule any day.That ruling will likely move to the U.S. Supreme Court after that.Bell said in an interview that it’s odd to see the case in the courts system, calling it “disheartening,” though she expects that could become more common.“This is such a strange overreach of the courts or even Congress, if Congress were to be involved in this mifepristone case,” she said.Bell also cautioned that as politicians increasingly focus on winning or losing the debate&nbsp; — whether in the courts or in the legislature — they often lose sight of the impact of their decisions, and the effect changes in access have on Americans’ actual lives as well as public health.“We get caught up in some of the politics and the legislation and the litigation around this issue. But in the meantime it’s having real impacts on birthing people and families,” Bell said.<h2>Cascade of bill introductions</h2>In the year since Dobbs, Republicans and Democrats in Congress have introduced dozens of bills that would either expand reproductive rights or restrict access to abortion, though none stand a chance of becoming law anytime soon.Republicans have introduced more than 80 bills that address abortion in some way, including a proposal from Missouri Rep. Ann Wagner that would require health care providers to give the same level of care “to preserve the life and health of the child” if an abortion were to result in a live birth.House Republicans&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/us-house-republicans-push-through-two-anti-abortion-measures-first-work-week">passed the bill in January</a>, though it’s highly unlikely that it would move through the Democratically controlled Senate. House Republicans, however, have opted not to bring up any of the bills proposing a nationwide ban on abortion.Democrats have reintroduced legislation that would provide nationwide protection for abortion access, though it hasn’t gotten a vote in the Senate this Congress and would be unlikely to secure the votes needed to move past the legislative filibuster.The so-called Women’s Health Protection Act would bar local, state or federal governments from restricting access to abortion before viability, roughly 22 to 24 weeks gestation. After that threshold, governments couldn’t implement restrictions when “in the good-faith medical judgment of the treating health care provider, continuation of the pregnancy would pose a risk to the pregnant patient’s life or health.”<h2>Spending bills</h2>The nature of a divided Congress has led some members to turn their attention toward the annual government funding process as one way to change nationwide policy on abortion.Attempts to do that in the past have been unsuccessful at shaking up the status quo, but Republicans in the House are attempting to bar the Defense and Veterans Affairs Departments from providing abortions — even in cases of rape, incest or the life of the pregnant patient.The House GOP also added language to the annual funding bill for the FDA that would bar it from allowing pharmacies, including mail-order pharmacies, to apply to dispense abortion medication the same way they dispense other prescriptions. The FDA proposed that change in January and some pharmacy chains have begun the process.Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America praised House Republican appropriators for adding “strong language in the Agriculture Appropriations Bill that protects women and girls from the dangers of chemical abortion.”On barring female troops and veterans from having access to abortion in the case of rape, incest or their lives, SBA Pro-Life America thanked Republicans on the committee “for standing up for longstanding law and for the unborn by prohibiting funding for Biden’s illegal rule that would force taxpayers to pay for abortions at Veterans hospitals.”Federal spending laws have barred the use of taxpayer dollars to pay for abortions with exceptions for rape, incest and the life of the patient since the 1970s. The provision is generally referred to as the Hyde amendment and applies to dozens of federal programs, including federal employee health care, Medicaid, Medicare and foreign aid.The House Republicans’ decision is a change from September 2022, when&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/republicans-congress-say-theyd-keep-federal-abortion-funding-cases-rape-incest">numerous Republicans on the spending panels said</a>&nbsp;they didn’t anticipate changing how the provisions were applied.While the House GOP proposals are unlikely to become law, they could throw a wrench into the annual government funding process, increasing the odds of a partial government shutdown later this year.When Democrats were in control of the U.S. House during the first two years of the Biden administration, they removed the language that limited when the federal government could pay for abortion from all of their bills.But the limitation that the federal government would only pay for abortions under the three exceptions was added back into the final bills at the insistence of Republicans.<h2>‘Not sticking its head in the sand’</h2>Autumn Katz, managing senior counsel of U.S. Litigation at the Center for Reproductive Rights, said that while Congress may not be able to enact legislation protecting reproductive rights at the moment, the hearings, bill introductions and debate are “important work.”“There’s the filibuster issue in the Senate, and things have changed in the House, so enacting protection for abortion I think is difficult right now,” Katz said. “But I do think it’s important to emphasize that Congress is not sticking its head in the sand.”Katz said she expects cases will continue in the federal courts system, especially given that some states are seeking to restrict when and how residents travel to access reproductive health care.“The idea it’s now settled and will be resolved in individual states is really kind of a cynical view because there are so many questions,” Katz said. “And so I think there is bound to continue to be litigation and confusion and chaos.”Access to medication abortion is one of the areas of ongoing confusion amid a patchwork of state laws, an ongoing federal court case and the FDA announcing in January that pharmacies could apply to dispense mifepristone like other prescription drugs.More than 50 Democrats in Congress&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://goldman.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/goldman.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/final-goldman_chu-letter-protect-access-to-medication-abortion_june-14-2023.pdf">wrote to&nbsp;</a>five major pharmacy chains earlier this month, encouraging them to apply to dispense mifepristone like other prescription drugs.“We are concerned that your respective companies have not yet indicated plans to seek certification to dispense mifepristone, consistent with federal guidelines and regulations, as this could help increase access to needed medication,” they wrote. “Your continued silence is unacceptable as it is misaligned with your publicly stated values in support of equal access to health care and of gender equality.”A possible U.S. Supreme Court opinion on access to mifepristone could decide the issue if the justices rule to overturn its 2000 approval, or revert to prescribing and dosage instructions that were in place before 2016.

A year after Dobbs: Congress takes a back seat on federal abortion policy

SEDGWICK COUNTY —A man accused of sex crimes involving patients at a Wichita hospital made his first court appearance Wednesday.

Miguel Rodela, 28, Wichita, was charged with two counts of rape, two counts of attempted rape, and two counts of battery, according to the Sedgwick County District Attorney's office

Just after 2a.m. June 15, police responded to a call of an officer was in trouble at Ascension Via Christi St. Francis Hospital, 929, St. Francis Street in Wichita, according to Officer Juan Rebolledo.

A hospital security officer was in a physical altercation with a suspect.

When Wichita Police arrived they learned three adult female patients were allegedly sexually assaulted.

Officers arrested<a href="https://ssc.sedgwickcounty.org/InmateSearch/Details.aspx?Id=740544">&nbsp;Rodela</a>&nbsp;who is not an employee or a patient of the hospital, according to Rebolledo.&nbsp;

His next court date is July 10. He remains jailed on a $250,000 bond.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/6/1686922520098.png" alt="Rodela-photo Sedgwick County" />
 <figcaption>Rodela-photo Sedgwick County</figcaption>
 </figure>SEDGWICK COUNTY —A man accused of sex crimes involving patients at a Wichita hospital made his first court appearance Wednesday.Miguel Rodela, 28, Wichita, was charged with two counts of rape, two counts of attempted rape, and two counts of battery, according to the Sedgwick County District Attorney's officeJust after 2a.m. June 15, police responded to a call of an officer was in trouble at Ascension Via Christi St. Francis Hospital, 929, St. Francis Street in Wichita, according to Officer Juan Rebolledo.A hospital security officer was in a physical altercation with a suspect.When Wichita Police arrived they learned three adult female patients were allegedly sexually assaulted.Officers arrested<a href="https://ssc.sedgwickcounty.org/InmateSearch/Details.aspx?Id=740544">&nbsp;Rodela</a>&nbsp;who is not an employee or a patient of the hospital, according to Rebolledo.&nbsp;His next court date is July 10. He remains jailed on a $250,000 bond.

Man charged with rape of patients at Kansas hospital

WICHITA (AP) —Spirit Aerosystems, a major supplier to the world's largest aircraft manufacturers, is suspending operations at a critical Kansas plant after union workers there rejected a proposed four-year contract and authorized a strike.

Approximately 6,000 members of the IAM District 70, Local 839 voted to reject Spirit Aerosystems' best and last offer after 13 years without a fully negotiated agreement, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers said in a prepared statement.

Shares of Boeing Co. and Airbus slid about 2%, and shares of Spirit Aerosystems Holdings Inc. tumbled 10% at the opening bell.

The tentative deal that was rejected had included up to a compounded 34% average pay bump through general wages increases, cost-of-living adjustments, and a guaranteed annual bonus; a 14.7% increase in retirement benefits; increased paid time off; job security enhancements and made Sunday overtime voluntary.

A strike is scheduled to start on Saturday.

“Most of our members have concluded that the company’s offer is unacceptable,” the union said in a prepared statement. "IAM District 70 and Local 839 will regroup and begin planning the following steps to bring the company back to the table.”

The IAM is an industrial trade union that representing about 600,000 active and retired members in the aerospace, defense, airlines, railroad, transit, healthcare, automotive, and other industries.

Operations at the factory will be suspended starting Thursday, Spirit said. The company said union employees should not show up for work, but would be paid for their regularly scheduled hours. All scheduled overtime was canceled. Employees not represented by the IAM were instructed to show up for work as normal.

“We are disappointed that our employees represented by the IAM rejected our four-year contract offer and voted to strike. We believe that our fair and competitive offer recognizes the contributions of our employees and ensures we can successfully meet increasing demand for aircraft from our customers,” the Wichita, Kansas, company said in a prepared statement.

Aircraft manufacturers have wrestled with supply issues in recent years and a strike at Spirit Aerosystems at the Wichita plant could add to those headaches.

Spirit builds the fuselage for Boeing's 737 MAX narrowbody jet and substantial sections of aircraft bodies in other of its models. It builds components for Airbus aircraft as well.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/6/1687445400176.png" alt="A strike is scheduled to start on Saturday.-Google image" />
 <figcaption>A strike is scheduled to start on Saturday.-Google image</figcaption>
 </figure>WICHITA (AP) —Spirit Aerosystems, a major supplier to the world's largest aircraft manufacturers, is suspending operations at a critical Kansas plant after union workers there rejected a proposed four-year contract and authorized a strike.<div><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FIAMDL70%2Fposts%2Fpfbid0SgFdsu7DiQZmGbRJFfmxBH1nyTHk7qbBUHRewfLKcmaYAfft9EiQahnVrQHGXz7cl&show_text=true&width=500" width="500" height="223" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share"></iframe></div>Approximately 6,000 members of the IAM District 70, Local 839 voted to reject Spirit Aerosystems' best and last offer after 13 years without a fully negotiated agreement, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers said in a prepared statement.Shares of Boeing Co. and Airbus slid about 2%, and shares of Spirit Aerosystems Holdings Inc. tumbled 10% at the opening bell.The tentative deal that was rejected had included up to a compounded 34% average pay bump through general wages increases, cost-of-living adjustments, and a guaranteed annual bonus; a 14.7% increase in retirement benefits; increased paid time off; job security enhancements and made Sunday overtime voluntary.A strike is scheduled to start on Saturday.“Most of our members have concluded that the company’s offer is unacceptable,” the union said in a prepared statement. "IAM District 70 and Local 839 will regroup and begin planning the following steps to bring the company back to the table.”The IAM is an industrial trade union that representing about 600,000 active and retired members in the aerospace, defense, airlines, railroad, transit, healthcare, automotive, and other industries.Operations at the factory will be suspended starting Thursday, Spirit said. The company said union employees should not show up for work, but would be paid for their regularly scheduled hours. All scheduled overtime was canceled. Employees not represented by the IAM were instructed to show up for work as normal.“We are disappointed that our employees represented by the IAM rejected our four-year contract offer and voted to strike. We believe that our fair and competitive offer recognizes the contributions of our employees and ensures we can successfully meet increasing demand for aircraft from our customers,” the Wichita, Kansas, company said in a prepared statement.Aircraft manufacturers have wrestled with supply issues in recent years and a strike at Spirit Aerosystems at the Wichita plant could add to those headaches.Spirit builds the fuselage for Boeing's 737 MAX narrowbody jet and substantial sections of aircraft bodies in other of its models. It builds components for Airbus aircraft as well.

Strike looming: Machinists in Kan. reject airlines supplier's labor contract 

KANSAS CITY – A former analyst with the Kansas City Division of the FBI was sentenced in federal court today for illegally retaining documents related to the national defense at her residence, according to the United State's Attorney.

Kendra Kingsbury, 50, of Garden City, Kansas, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Bough to three years and 10 months in federal prison without parole. Kingsbury pleaded guilty on Oct. 13, 2022, to two counts of unlawfully retaining documents related to the national defense.

Kingsbury was an intelligence analyst for the FBI for more than 12 years, from 2004 to Dec. 15, 2017. Kingsbury was assigned to a sequence of different FBI squads, each of which had a particular focus, such as illegal drug trafficking, violent crime, violent gangs, and counterintelligence. Kingsbury held a TOP SECRET//SCI security clearance and had access to national defense and classified information. Training presentations and materials specifically warned Kingsbury that she was prohibited from retaining classified information at her personal residence. Such information could only be stored in an approved facility and container.

Kingsbury admitted that, over the course of her FBI employment, she repeatedly removed from the FBI and retained in her personal residence (at that time in North Kansas City, Mo.) an abundance of sensitive government materials, including classified documents related to the national defense.

In total, Kingsbury improperly removed and unlawfully and willfully retained approximately 386 classified documents in her personal residence. Some of the classified documents she unlawfully removed and kept in her home contained extremely sensitive national defense information. According to court documents, Kingsbury put national security at risk by retaining classified information in her home that would have, if in the wrong hands, revealed some of the government’s most important and secretive methods of collecting essential national security intelligence.

Kingsbury admitted to investigators that she retained and destroyed other documents over the years that could have contained classified and/or national defense information. The documents retained by Kingsbury in her personal residence included documents in electronic format on hard drives, compact discs, and other storage media.

The national defense information that Kingsbury unlawfully retained included numerous documents classified at the SECRET level from the FBI that describe intelligence sources and methods related to U.S. government efforts related to counterterrorism, counterintelligence, and defending against cyber threats. These documents included details on the FBI’s nationwide objectives and priorities, including specific investigations across multiple field offices that were open at the time Kingsbury unlawfully retained the documents. In addition, Kingsbury retained documents relating to sensitive human-source operations in national security investigations, intelligence gaps regarding hostile foreign intelligence services and terrorist organizations, and the technical capabilities of the FBI against counterintelligence and counterterrorism targets.

The national defense information that Kingsbury unlawfully retained also included numerous documents classified at the SECRET level from another government agency. These documents described intelligence sources and methods related to U.S. government efforts to collect intelligence on terrorist groups. The documents included information about al Qaeda members on the African continent, including a suspected associate of Usama bin Laden. In addition, there were documents regarding the activities of emerging terrorists and their efforts to establish themselves in support of al Qaeda in Africa.

The FBI investigated what uses Kingsbury put to the classified documents she illegally removed from the secure workspace, but according to court documents, the investigation revealed more questions and concerns than answers.

Investigators reviewed Kingsbury’s telephone records, which revealed a number of suspicious calls. Kingsbury contacted phone numbers associated with subjects of counterterrorism investigations, and these individuals also made telephone calls to Kingsbury. Investigators have not been able to determine why Kingsbury contacted these individuals, or why these individuals contacted her. Kingsbury declined to provide the government with any further information.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/4/1586964970283.png" alt="Kingsbury was an intelligence analyst for the FBI for more than 12 years, from 2004 to Dec. 15, 2017." />
 <figcaption>Kingsbury was an intelligence analyst for the FBI for more than 12 years, from 2004 to Dec. 15, 2017.</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY – A former analyst with the Kansas City Division of the FBI was sentenced in federal court today for illegally retaining documents related to the national defense at her residence, according to the United State's Attorney.Kendra Kingsbury, 50, of Garden City, Kansas, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Bough to three years and 10 months in federal prison without parole. Kingsbury pleaded guilty on Oct. 13, 2022, to two counts of unlawfully retaining documents related to the national defense.Kingsbury was an intelligence analyst for the FBI for more than 12 years, from 2004 to Dec. 15, 2017. Kingsbury was assigned to a sequence of different FBI squads, each of which had a particular focus, such as illegal drug trafficking, violent crime, violent gangs, and counterintelligence. Kingsbury held a TOP SECRET//SCI security clearance and had access to national defense and classified information. Training presentations and materials specifically warned Kingsbury that she was prohibited from retaining classified information at her personal residence. Such information could only be stored in an approved facility and container.Kingsbury admitted that, over the course of her FBI employment, she repeatedly removed from the FBI and retained in her personal residence (at that time in North Kansas City, Mo.) an abundance of sensitive government materials, including classified documents related to the national defense.In total, Kingsbury improperly removed and unlawfully and willfully retained approximately 386 classified documents in her personal residence. Some of the classified documents she unlawfully removed and kept in her home contained extremely sensitive national defense information. According to court documents, Kingsbury put national security at risk by retaining classified information in her home that would have, if in the wrong hands, revealed some of the government’s most important and secretive methods of collecting essential national security intelligence.Kingsbury admitted to investigators that she retained and destroyed other documents over the years that could have contained classified and/or national defense information. The documents retained by Kingsbury in her personal residence included documents in electronic format on hard drives, compact discs, and other storage media.The national defense information that Kingsbury unlawfully retained included numerous documents classified at the SECRET level from the FBI that describe intelligence sources and methods related to U.S. government efforts related to counterterrorism, counterintelligence, and defending against cyber threats. These documents included details on the FBI’s nationwide objectives and priorities, including specific investigations across multiple field offices that were open at the time Kingsbury unlawfully retained the documents. In addition, Kingsbury retained documents relating to sensitive human-source operations in national security investigations, intelligence gaps regarding hostile foreign intelligence services and terrorist organizations, and the technical capabilities of the FBI against counterintelligence and counterterrorism targets.The national defense information that Kingsbury unlawfully retained also included numerous documents classified at the SECRET level from another government agency. These documents described intelligence sources and methods related to U.S. government efforts to collect intelligence on terrorist groups. The documents included information about al Qaeda members on the African continent, including a suspected associate of Usama bin Laden. In addition, there were documents regarding the activities of emerging terrorists and their efforts to establish themselves in support of al Qaeda in Africa.The FBI investigated what uses Kingsbury put to the classified documents she illegally removed from the secure workspace, but according to court documents, the investigation revealed more questions and concerns than answers.Investigators reviewed Kingsbury’s telephone records, which revealed a number of suspicious calls. Kingsbury contacted phone numbers associated with subjects of counterterrorism investigations, and these individuals also made telephone calls to Kingsbury. Investigators have not been able to determine why Kingsbury contacted these individuals, or why these individuals contacted her. Kingsbury declined to provide the government with any further information.

FBI employee from SW Kan. sentenced for storing classified documents at home

KANSAS CITY (AP) —More than 1 million people have been dropped from Medicaid in the past couple months as some states including Kansas moved swiftly to halt health care coverage following the end of the coronavirus pandemic.

Most got dropped for not filling out paperwork.

Though the eligibility review is required by the federal government,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/medicaid-coverage-eligibility-states-coronavirus-pandemic-11a97923f345db1be5ffe174325cec96">President’s Joe Biden’s administration isn’t too pleased</a>&nbsp;at how efficiently some other states are accomplishing the task.

“Pushing through things and rushing it will lead to eligible people — kids and families — losing coverage for some period of time,” Daniel Tsai, a top federal Medicaid official recently told reporters.

Already, about 1.5 million people have been removed from Medicaid in more than two dozen states that started the process in April or May, according to publicly available reports and data obtained by The Associated Press.

Florida has dropped several hundred thousand people, by far the most among states. The drop rate also has been particularly high in other states. For people whose cases were decided in May, around half or more got dropped in Kansas, Arkansas, Idaho, Nevada, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah and West Virginia.

By its own count, Arkansas has dropped more than 140,000 people from Medicaid.

The eligibility redeterminations have created headaches for Jennifer Mojica, 28, who was told in April that she no longer qualified for Medicaid because Arkansas had incorrectly determined her income was above the limit.

She got that resolved, but was then told her 5-year-old son was being dropped from Medicaid because she had requested his cancellation — something that never happened, she said. Her son’s coverage has been restored, but now Mojica says she’s been told her husband no longer qualifies. The uncertainty has been frustrating, she said.

“It was like fixing one thing and then another problem came up, and they fixed it and then something else came up,” Mojica said.

Arkansas officials said they have tried to renew coverage automatically for as many people as possible and placed a special emphasis on reaching families with children. But a 2021 state law requires the post-pandemic eligibility redeterminations to be completed in six months, and the state will continue “to swiftly disenroll individuals who are no longer eligible,” the Department of Human Services said in statement.

Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders has dismissed criticism of the state’s process.

“Those who do not qualify for Medicaid are taking resources from those who need them,” Sanders said on Twitter last month. “But the pandemic is over — and we are leading the way back to normalcy.”

<a href="https://www.medicaid.gov/medicaid/program-information/medicaid-and-chip-enrollment-data/report-highlights/index.html">More than 93 million people</a>&nbsp;nationwide were enrolled in Medicaid as of the most recent available data in February — up nearly one-third from the pre-pandemic total in January 2020. The rolls swelled because federal law prohibited states from removing people from Medicaid during the health emergency in exchange for providing states with increased funding.

Now that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/medicaid-enrollees-removed-review-health-insurance-pandemic-bffc3c67ab2767e4e3cea8250683ea7a">eligibility reviews have resumed</a>, states have begun plowing through a backlog of cases to determine whether people's income or life circumstances have changed. States have a year to complete the process. But tracking down responses from everyone has proved difficult, because some people have moved, changed contact information or disregarded mailings about the renewal process.

Before dropping people from Medicaid, the Florida Department of Children and Families said it makes between five and 13 contact attempts, including texts, emails and phone calls. Yet the department said 152,600 people have been non-responsive.

Their coverage could be restored retroactively, if people submit information showing their eligibility up to 90 days after their deadline.

Unlike some states, Idaho continued to evaluate people's Medicaid eligibility during the pandemic even though it didn't remove anyone. When the enrollment freeze ended in April, Idaho started processing those cases — dropping nearly 67,000 of the 92,000 people whose cases have been decided so far.

“I think there’s still a lot of confusion among families on what’s happening,” said Hillarie Hagen, a health policy associate at the nonprofit Idaho Voices for Children.

She added, “We’re likely to see people showing up at a doctor’s office in the coming months not knowing they’ve lost Medicaid.”

Advocates fear that many households losing coverage may include children who are actually still eligible, because Medicaid covers children at higher income levels than their parents or guardians.&nbsp;<a href="https://aspe.hhs.gov/reports/unwinding-medicaid-continuous-enrollment-provision">A report last year</a>&nbsp;by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services forecast that children would be disproportionately impacted, with more than half of those disenrolled still actually eligible.

That's difficult to confirm, however, because the federal Centers for Medicare &amp; Medicaid Services doesn't require states to report a demographic breakdown of those dropped. In fact, CMS has yet to release any state-by-state data. The AP obtained data directly from states and from other groups that have been collecting it.

Medicaid recipients in numerous states have described the eligibility redetermination process as frustrating.

Julie Talamo, of Port Richey, Florida, said she called state officials every day for weeks, spending hours on hold, when she was trying to ensure her 19-year-old special-needs son, Thomas, was going to stay on Medicaid.

She knew her own coverage would end but was shocked to hear Thomas’ coverage would be whittled down to a different program that could force her family to pay $2,000 per month. Eventually, an activist put Talamo in contact with a senior state healthcare official who confirmed her son would stay on Medicaid.

“This system was designed to fail people,” Talamo said of the haphazard process.

Some states haven't been able to complete all the eligibility determinations that are due each month. Pennsylvania reported more than 100,000 incomplete cases in both April and May. Tens of thousands of cases also remained incomplete in April or May in Arizona, Arkansas, Indiana, Iowa, New Mexico and Ohio.

“If states are already behind in processing renewals, that’s going to snowball over time," said Tricia Brooks, a research professor at the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families. "Once they get piles of stuff that haven’t been processed, I don’t see how they catch up easily.”

Among those still hanging in the balance is Gary Rush, 67, who said he was notified in April that he would lose Medicaid coverage. The Pittsburgh resident said he was told that his retirement accounts make him ineligible, even though he said he doesn’t draw from them. Rush appealed with the help of an advocacy group and, at a hearing this past week, was told he has until July to get rid of about $60,000 in savings.

Still, Rush said he doesn’t know what he will do if he loses coverage for his diabetes medication, which costs about $700 a month. Rush said he gets $1,100 a month from Social Security.

In Indiana, Samantha Richards, 35, said she has been on Medicaid her whole life and currently works two part-time jobs as a custodian. Richards recalled receiving a letter earlier this year indicating that the pandemic-era Medicaid protection was ending. She said a local advocacy group helped her navigate the renewal process. But she remains uneasy.

“Medicaid can be a little unpredictable,” Richards said. “There is still that concern that just out of nowhere, I will either get a letter saying that we have to reapply because we missed some paperwork, or I missed a deadline, or I’m going to show up at the doctor’s office or the pharmacy and they’re going to say, ‘Your insurance didn’t go through.’”

KANSAS CITY (AP) —More than 1 million people have been dropped from Medicaid in the past couple months as some states including Kansas moved swiftly to halt health care coverage following the end of the coronavirus pandemic.Most got dropped for not filling out paperwork.Though the eligibility review is required by the federal government,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/medicaid-coverage-eligibility-states-coronavirus-pandemic-11a97923f345db1be5ffe174325cec96">President’s Joe Biden’s administration isn’t too pleased</a>&nbsp;at how efficiently some other states are accomplishing the task.“Pushing through things and rushing it will lead to eligible people — kids and families — losing coverage for some period of time,” Daniel Tsai, a top federal Medicaid official recently told reporters.Already, about 1.5 million people have been removed from Medicaid in more than two dozen states that started the process in April or May, according to publicly available reports and data obtained by The Associated Press.Florida has dropped several hundred thousand people, by far the most among states. The drop rate also has been particularly high in other states. For people whose cases were decided in May, around half or more got dropped in Kansas, Arkansas, Idaho, Nevada, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah and West Virginia.By its own count, Arkansas has dropped more than 140,000 people from Medicaid.The eligibility redeterminations have created headaches for Jennifer Mojica, 28, who was told in April that she no longer qualified for Medicaid because Arkansas had incorrectly determined her income was above the limit.She got that resolved, but was then told her 5-year-old son was being dropped from Medicaid because she had requested his cancellation — something that never happened, she said. Her son’s coverage has been restored, but now Mojica says she’s been told her husband no longer qualifies. The uncertainty has been frustrating, she said.“It was like fixing one thing and then another problem came up, and they fixed it and then something else came up,” Mojica said.Arkansas officials said they have tried to renew coverage automatically for as many people as possible and placed a special emphasis on reaching families with children. But a 2021 state law requires the post-pandemic eligibility redeterminations to be completed in six months, and the state will continue “to swiftly disenroll individuals who are no longer eligible,” the Department of Human Services said in statement.Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders has dismissed criticism of the state’s process.“Those who do not qualify for Medicaid are taking resources from those who need them,” Sanders said on Twitter last month. “But the pandemic is over — and we are leading the way back to normalcy.”<a href="https://www.medicaid.gov/medicaid/program-information/medicaid-and-chip-enrollment-data/report-highlights/index.html">More than 93 million people</a>&nbsp;nationwide were enrolled in Medicaid as of the most recent available data in February — up nearly one-third from the pre-pandemic total in January 2020. The rolls swelled because federal law prohibited states from removing people from Medicaid during the health emergency in exchange for providing states with increased funding.Now that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/medicaid-enrollees-removed-review-health-insurance-pandemic-bffc3c67ab2767e4e3cea8250683ea7a">eligibility reviews have resumed</a>, states have begun plowing through a backlog of cases to determine whether people's income or life circumstances have changed. States have a year to complete the process. But tracking down responses from everyone has proved difficult, because some people have moved, changed contact information or disregarded mailings about the renewal process.Before dropping people from Medicaid, the Florida Department of Children and Families said it makes between five and 13 contact attempts, including texts, emails and phone calls. Yet the department said 152,600 people have been non-responsive.Their coverage could be restored retroactively, if people submit information showing their eligibility up to 90 days after their deadline.Unlike some states, Idaho continued to evaluate people's Medicaid eligibility during the pandemic even though it didn't remove anyone. When the enrollment freeze ended in April, Idaho started processing those cases — dropping nearly 67,000 of the 92,000 people whose cases have been decided so far.“I think there’s still a lot of confusion among families on what’s happening,” said Hillarie Hagen, a health policy associate at the nonprofit Idaho Voices for Children.She added, “We’re likely to see people showing up at a doctor’s office in the coming months not knowing they’ve lost Medicaid.”Advocates fear that many households losing coverage may include children who are actually still eligible, because Medicaid covers children at higher income levels than their parents or guardians.&nbsp;<a href="https://aspe.hhs.gov/reports/unwinding-medicaid-continuous-enrollment-provision">A report last year</a>&nbsp;by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services forecast that children would be disproportionately impacted, with more than half of those disenrolled still actually eligible.That's difficult to confirm, however, because the federal Centers for Medicare &amp; Medicaid Services doesn't require states to report a demographic breakdown of those dropped. In fact, CMS has yet to release any state-by-state data. The AP obtained data directly from states and from other groups that have been collecting it.Medicaid recipients in numerous states have described the eligibility redetermination process as frustrating.Julie Talamo, of Port Richey, Florida, said she called state officials every day for weeks, spending hours on hold, when she was trying to ensure her 19-year-old special-needs son, Thomas, was going to stay on Medicaid.She knew her own coverage would end but was shocked to hear Thomas’ coverage would be whittled down to a different program that could force her family to pay $2,000 per month. Eventually, an activist put Talamo in contact with a senior state healthcare official who confirmed her son would stay on Medicaid.“This system was designed to fail people,” Talamo said of the haphazard process.Some states haven't been able to complete all the eligibility determinations that are due each month. Pennsylvania reported more than 100,000 incomplete cases in both April and May. Tens of thousands of cases also remained incomplete in April or May in Arizona, Arkansas, Indiana, Iowa, New Mexico and Ohio.“If states are already behind in processing renewals, that’s going to snowball over time," said Tricia Brooks, a research professor at the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families. "Once they get piles of stuff that haven’t been processed, I don’t see how they catch up easily.”Among those still hanging in the balance is Gary Rush, 67, who said he was notified in April that he would lose Medicaid coverage. The Pittsburgh resident said he was told that his retirement accounts make him ineligible, even though he said he doesn’t draw from them. Rush appealed with the help of an advocacy group and, at a hearing this past week, was told he has until July to get rid of about $60,000 in savings.Still, Rush said he doesn’t know what he will do if he loses coverage for his diabetes medication, which costs about $700 a month. Rush said he gets $1,100 a month from Social Security.In Indiana, Samantha Richards, 35, said she has been on Medicaid her whole life and currently works two part-time jobs as a custodian. Richards recalled receiving a letter earlier this year indicating that the pandemic-era Medicaid protection was ending. She said a local advocacy group helped her navigate the renewal process. But she remains uneasy.“Medicaid can be a little unpredictable,” Richards said. “There is still that concern that just out of nowhere, I will either get a letter saying that we have to reapply because we missed some paperwork, or I missed a deadline, or I’m going to show up at the doctor’s office or the pharmacy and they’re going to say, ‘Your insurance didn’t go through.’”___

Post Pandemic Purge: Thousands in Kansas dropped from Medicaid

SEDGWICK COUNTY —A preliminary hearing is scheduled Thursday for a Kansas woman accused in a fatal shooting last month, according to the Sedgwick County District Attorney's office.

La’Niha Banks, 19 of Wichita, is charged with 1st degree murder, attempted 1st degree murder, two counts of criminal discharge of a firearm, and four counts of aggravated assault, according to the Sedgwick County District Attorney's office.

On June 14, police arrested&nbsp; Banks after a 17 day search.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Just after 11 pm May 20, police were dispatched to a shooting in the 1000 block of E 1st Street N. in Wichita. Upon arrival, officers located&nbsp; 19-year-old Lationna Johnson &nbsp;with two gunshot wounds to her upper body. 

EMS transported Johnson to an area hospital in critical condition and with life-threatening injuries. She died on May 23, according to Rebolledo. 

The investigation revealed that Johnson was trying to break up a physical altercation between an acquaintance of hers and Banks in a parking lot. After the victim managed to stop the fight, she started to drive away, but the Banks produced a handgun and started to shoot into the occupied vehicle.

Banks is out of jail after meeting the requirements of a $500,000 bond, according to online jail records.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/6/1686138861430.png" alt="Banks photo Sedgwick Co." />
 <figcaption>Banks photo Sedgwick Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>SEDGWICK COUNTY —A preliminary hearing is scheduled Thursday for a Kansas woman accused in a fatal shooting last month, according to the Sedgwick County District Attorney's office.La’Niha Banks, 19 of Wichita, is charged with 1st degree murder, attempted 1st degree murder, two counts of criminal discharge of a firearm, and four counts of aggravated assault, according to the Sedgwick County District Attorney's office.On June 14, police arrested&nbsp; Banks after a 17 day search.&nbsp;&nbsp;Just after 11 pm May 20, police were dispatched to a shooting in the 1000 block of E 1st Street N. in Wichita. Upon arrival, officers located&nbsp; 19-year-old Lationna Johnson &nbsp;with two gunshot wounds to her upper body. EMS transported Johnson to an area hospital in critical condition and with life-threatening injuries. She died on May 23, according to Rebolledo. The investigation revealed that Johnson was trying to break up a physical altercation between an acquaintance of hers and Banks in a parking lot. After the victim managed to stop the fight, she started to drive away, but the Banks produced a handgun and started to shoot into the occupied vehicle.Banks is out of jail after meeting the requirements of a $500,000 bond, according to online jail records.----------

Hearing for Kan. murder suspect who hid from police 17 days

KANSAS CITY — The Kansas City, Kansas Police offered a "Public Service Message" Wednesday evening on their social media page.

" Please, do not attempt to charge your electric or hybrid vehicles on Board of Public Utility poles. It simply doesn’t work, and it’s down right dangerous."

Instead, please take advantage of the many official vehicle charging stations throughout the city"

"The photo is real.&nbsp; It was taken at about 2p.m. Wednesday afternoon at the interchange of Interstate 70 and Southbound 18th Street Expressway." 

"Was the driver really trying to charge his car? Nope. He was actually experiencing car trouble and attempting to pull off the side of the road. How he made it up those wires so far; folks there are things even we cannot explain. We are very thankful nobody was injured."

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/6/1687398736435.png" alt="Photo KC Kansas Police" />
 <figcaption>Photo KC Kansas Police</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY — The Kansas City, Kansas Police offered a "Public Service Message" Wednesday evening on their social media page." Please, do not attempt to charge your electric or hybrid vehicles on Board of Public Utility poles. It simply doesn’t work, and it’s down right dangerous."Instead, please take advantage of the many official vehicle charging stations throughout the city""The photo is real.&nbsp; It was taken at about 2p.m. Wednesday afternoon at the interchange of Interstate 70 and Southbound 18th Street Expressway." "Was the driver really trying to charge his car? Nope. He was actually experiencing car trouble and attempting to pull off the side of the road. How he made it up those wires so far; folks there are things even we cannot explain. We are very thankful nobody was injured."

KCPD: Don't charge electric cars on public utility poles

POTOSI, Mo. (AP) — A 43-year-old death row inmate in Missouri has died awaiting execution for murdering&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/michael-brown-executions-197887c2517d4430865fa51d3a99ce2e">an elderly couple</a>&nbsp;who caught him breaking into their home, prison officials said Wednesday.

Jesse Driskill died June 12 at a prison in Potosi. The cause of death was not known and an autopsy is planned, said Missouri Department of Corrections spokesperson Karen Pojmann.

Driskill, from the town of Lebanon in southern Missouri, was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of 82-year-old Johnnie Wilson and his 76-year-old wife Coleen. Driskill was also convicted of sexually assaulting Coleen.

The couple had just celebrated their 59th wedding anniversary when they interrupted Driskill burglarizing their home in Lebanon in 2010.

He appealed the convictions, claiming his lawyers were ineffective. The Missouri Supreme Court upheld his convictions in 2021.

No execution date had been set for Driskill. Missouri has executed three people so far this year:&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/crime-legal-proceedings-missouri-st-louis-capital-punishment-b45a31029fa42d9eb67b5b4e1f6a6ffe">Amber McLaughlin</a>&nbsp;in January,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/missouri-state-government-california-homicide-94fe2fefa47faa618d3826c7f32e6f1d">Raheem Taylor</a>&nbsp;in February and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/missouri-execution-michael-tisius-7f961969aabd38e4e6b3dbe83ae72813">Michael Tisius</a>&nbsp;on June 6. Another inmate,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/missouri-execution-august-06f474f368dfd5ff5c4145164b222a3b">Johnny Johnson</a>, is scheduled to die Aug. 1 for killing a 6-year-old St. Louis County girl in 2002.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/6/1622594244360.png" alt="Driskill-photo MODOC" />
 <figcaption>Driskill-photo MODOC</figcaption>
 </figure>POTOSI, Mo. (AP) — A 43-year-old death row inmate in Missouri has died awaiting execution for murdering&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/michael-brown-executions-197887c2517d4430865fa51d3a99ce2e">an elderly couple</a>&nbsp;who caught him breaking into their home, prison officials said Wednesday.Jesse Driskill died June 12 at a prison in Potosi. The cause of death was not known and an autopsy is planned, said Missouri Department of Corrections spokesperson Karen Pojmann.Driskill, from the town of Lebanon in southern Missouri, was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of 82-year-old Johnnie Wilson and his 76-year-old wife Coleen. Driskill was also convicted of sexually assaulting Coleen.The couple had just celebrated their 59th wedding anniversary when they interrupted Driskill burglarizing their home in Lebanon in 2010.He appealed the convictions, claiming his lawyers were ineffective. The Missouri Supreme Court upheld his convictions in 2021.No execution date had been set for Driskill. Missouri has executed three people so far this year:&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/crime-legal-proceedings-missouri-st-louis-capital-punishment-b45a31029fa42d9eb67b5b4e1f6a6ffe">Amber McLaughlin</a>&nbsp;in January,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/missouri-state-government-california-homicide-94fe2fefa47faa618d3826c7f32e6f1d">Raheem Taylor</a>&nbsp;in February and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/missouri-execution-michael-tisius-7f961969aabd38e4e6b3dbe83ae72813">Michael Tisius</a>&nbsp;on June 6. Another inmate,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/missouri-execution-august-06f474f368dfd5ff5c4145164b222a3b">Johnny Johnson</a>, is scheduled to die Aug. 1 for killing a 6-year-old St. Louis County girl in 2002.

Missouri inmate dies awaiting execution for elderly couple's murder

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House voted Wednesday to censure California Rep. Adam Schiff for comments he made several years ago about investigations into Donald Trump's ties to Russia, rebuking the Democrat and frequent critic of the former president along party lines.

Schiff becomes the 25th House lawmaker to be censured. He was defiant ahead of the vote, saying he will wear the formal disapproval as a “badge of honor" and charging his GOP colleagues of doing the former president's bidding.

“I will not yield,” Schiff, who is&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-united-states-government-2022-midterm-elections-dianne-feinstein-donald-trump-4cbf8c0995a1a60da50294d091732946">running for the Senate</a>&nbsp;in his home state, said during debate over the measure. “Not one inch.”

When it was time for Schiff to come to the front of the chamber to be formally censured, immediately after the vote, the normally solemn ceremony turned into more of a celebratory atmosphere. Dozens of Democrats crowded to the front, clapping and cheering for Schiff and patting him on the back. They chanted “No!,” “Shame!” and “Adam! Adam!"

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., read the resolution out loud, as is tradition after a censure. But he only read part of the document before leaving the chamber as Democrats heckled and interrupted him.

“Censure all of us," one Democrat yelled.

Schiff, the former Democratic chairman of the House Intelligence Committee and the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-ap-top-news-ca-state-wire-adam-schiff-politics-3eec3ea9be5c07a9c297bad439f8f3e8">lead prosecutor</a>&nbsp;in Trump’s first impeachment trial, has long been a top Republican political target. Soon after taking back the majority this year, Republicans&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-united-states-government-us-democratic-party-adam-schiff-paul-gosar-1a6afccd576df86400d800535e4b4387">blocked</a>&nbsp;him from sitting on the intelligence panel.

More than 20 Republicans voted with Democrats last week to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/house-censure-schiff-russia-investigation-trump-c3e7e2c3ce34a689f7c305581cb41b5a">block the censure resolution</a>, but they changed their votes this week after the measure's sponsor, Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida, removed a provision that could have fined Schiff $16 million if the House Ethics Committee determined he lied. Several of the Republicans who voted to block the resolution last week said they opposed fining a member of Congress in that manner.

The final vote on Wednesday was 213-209 along party lines, with a handful of members voting present.

The revised resolution says Schiff held positions of power during Trump’s presidency and “abused this trust by saying there was evidence of collusion between Trump’s campaign and Russia.” Schiff was one of the most outspoken critics of the former president as both the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/north-america-donald-trump-ap-top-news-elections-politics-3ca2f285b54d4312960ed2ddcf6e71e6">Justice Department</a>&nbsp;and the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/north-america-donald-trump-ap-top-news-elections-politics-8b95a7cf7bcb4585b00c038be2257ba4">Republican-led House</a>&nbsp;launched investigations into Trump’s ties to Russia in 2017. Both investigations concluded that Russia intervened in the 2016 presidential election but neither found evidence of a criminal conspiracy.

“Representative Schiff purposely deceived his Committee, Congress, and the American people,” the resolution said.

The House has only censured two other lawmakers in the last 20 years. Republican Rep.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/technology-entertainment-marjorie-taylor-greene-censures-alexandria-ocasio-cortez-854fd412b7a1049c8fb9a83fe2c56b8f">Paul Gosar</a>&nbsp;of Arizona was censured in 2021 for tweeting an animated video that depicted him striking Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., with a sword. Former Democratic Rep. Charlie Rangel of New York was censured in 2010 for serious financial and campaign misconduct.

The censure itself carries no practical effect, except to provide a historic footnote that marks a lawmaker’s career. But the GOP resolution would also launch an ethics investigation into Schiff's conduct.

While Schiff did not initiate the 2017 congressional investigation into Trump's Russia ties — then-House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes, a Republican who later became one of Trump’s most ardent defenders, started it — Republicans arguing in favor of his censure Wednesday blamed him for what they said was the fallout of that probe, and of the separate investigation started that same year by Trump's own Justice Department.

Luna said that Schiff's comments that there was evidence against Trump “ripped apart American families across the country” and that he was “permanently destroying family relationships.” Several blamed him for the more than $30 million spent by then-special counsel Robert Mueller, who led the Justice Department probe.

Schiff said the censure resolution “would accuse me of omnipotence, the leader of some a vast Deep State conspiracy, and of course, it is nonsense.”

Democrats aggressively defended their colleague. Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin, who led Trump's second impeachment, called the effort an “embarrassing revenge tour on behalf of Donald Trump.”

Mueller, who led the two-year Justice Department investigation, determined that Russia intervened on the campaign’s behalf and that Trump’s campaign welcomed the help. But Mueller’s team did not find that the campaign conspired to sway the election, and the Justice Department did not recommend any criminal charges.

The House intelligence committee probe launched by Nunes similarly found that Russia intervened in the election but that there was no evidence of a criminal conspiracy. Schiff was the top Democrat on the panel at the time.

Schiff said last week that the censure resolution was “red meat” that McCarthy was throwing to his conference amid squabbles over government spending. Republicans are trying to show their fealty to Trump, Schiff said.

He said he warned the country during impeachment proceedings three years ago that Trump “would go on to do worse. And of course he did worse in the form of a violent attack on the Capitol.”

After Democrats won the House majority in 2018, the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-ap-top-news-elections-international-news-politics-0756fda2b5143891c5da1c6897001cee">House impeached Trump</a>&nbsp;for abuse of power after he threatened to withhold military aid to Ukraine and urged the country’s president to investigate then-candidate Joe Biden. Schiff was the lead House prosecutor making the case for conviction to the Senate, arguing repeatedly that “right matters.” The Republican-led chamber ultimately acquitted him.

Trump was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-impeachment-vote-capitol-siege-0a6f2a348a6e43f27d5e1dc486027860">impeached a second time</a>&nbsp;a year later, after he had left office, for his role in the January 6, 2021, insurrection at the Capitol. The Senate again acquitted Trump.

In the censure resolution against Schiff, Luna also cited a report released in May from special counsel John Durham that found that the FBI rushed into its investigation of Trump’s campaign and relied too much on raw and unconfirmed intelligence.

Durham — who&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/john-durham-trump-russia-house-republicans-b24ef8c4b781083227009d09d55bc5e7">testified</a>&nbsp;before the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/durham-report-fbi-trump-clinton-2016-campaign-f3039e651eeb35a09091c363419e6766">said investigators</a>&nbsp;repeatedly relied on “confirmation bias,” ignoring or rationalizing away evidence that undercut their premise of a Trump-Russia conspiracy as they pushed the probe forward. But he did not allege that political bias or partisanship were guiding factors for the FBI’s actions.

In the hours before the vote, Schiff’s campaign sent out a fundraising email that said Luna had introduced “yet ANOTHER resolution to censure me.”

“The vote and debate will happen imminently,” the email read, asking recipients to donate to help him fight back. “Once more, I have to be on the House floor to listen as MAGA Republicans push false and defamatory lies about me.”

Democrats argued that the House censure resolution is an effort to distract from Trump’s recent&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-classified-documents-indictment-miami-court-e9412bb71b63ab1b7cfb8e8b122e9809">indictment</a>&nbsp;on federal charges of hoarding classified documents — several of which dealt with sensitive national security matters — and attempting to conceal them. House Republicans, most of whom are loyal to Trump, say the indictment is more evidence that the government is conspiring against the former president.

“This is not a serious resolution,” said Rep. Madeleine Dean, D-Pa., but political theater to “distract from Donald Trump’s history of transgressions and now indictments.”

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House voted Wednesday to censure California Rep. Adam Schiff for comments he made several years ago about investigations into Donald Trump's ties to Russia, rebuking the Democrat and frequent critic of the former president along party lines.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">U.S. House censures Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA). House Democrats chant &quot;shame&quot; and interrupt the pronouncement of censure. <a href="https://twitter.com/SpeakerMcCarthy?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SpeakerMcCarthy</a>: &quot;I have all night.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/VZTUVnkBBt">pic.twitter.com/VZTUVnkBBt</a>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1671656629329367041?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 21, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Schiff becomes the 25th House lawmaker to be censured. He was defiant ahead of the vote, saying he will wear the formal disapproval as a “badge of honor" and charging his GOP colleagues of doing the former president's bidding.“I will not yield,” Schiff, who is&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-united-states-government-2022-midterm-elections-dianne-feinstein-donald-trump-4cbf8c0995a1a60da50294d091732946">running for the Senate</a>&nbsp;in his home state, said during debate over the measure. “Not one inch.”When it was time for Schiff to come to the front of the chamber to be formally censured, immediately after the vote, the normally solemn ceremony turned into more of a celebratory atmosphere. Dozens of Democrats crowded to the front, clapping and cheering for Schiff and patting him on the back. They chanted “No!,” “Shame!” and “Adam! Adam!"House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., read the resolution out loud, as is tradition after a censure. But he only read part of the document before leaving the chamber as Democrats heckled and interrupted him.“Censure all of us," one Democrat yelled.Schiff, the former Democratic chairman of the House Intelligence Committee and the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-ap-top-news-ca-state-wire-adam-schiff-politics-3eec3ea9be5c07a9c297bad439f8f3e8">lead prosecutor</a>&nbsp;in Trump’s first impeachment trial, has long been a top Republican political target. Soon after taking back the majority this year, Republicans&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-united-states-government-us-democratic-party-adam-schiff-paul-gosar-1a6afccd576df86400d800535e4b4387">blocked</a>&nbsp;him from sitting on the intelligence panel.More than 20 Republicans voted with Democrats last week to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/house-censure-schiff-russia-investigation-trump-c3e7e2c3ce34a689f7c305581cb41b5a">block the censure resolution</a>, but they changed their votes this week after the measure's sponsor, Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida, removed a provision that could have fined Schiff $16 million if the House Ethics Committee determined he lied. Several of the Republicans who voted to block the resolution last week said they opposed fining a member of Congress in that manner.The final vote on Wednesday was 213-209 along party lines, with a handful of members voting present.The revised resolution says Schiff held positions of power during Trump’s presidency and “abused this trust by saying there was evidence of collusion between Trump’s campaign and Russia.” Schiff was one of the most outspoken critics of the former president as both the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/north-america-donald-trump-ap-top-news-elections-politics-3ca2f285b54d4312960ed2ddcf6e71e6">Justice Department</a>&nbsp;and the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/north-america-donald-trump-ap-top-news-elections-politics-8b95a7cf7bcb4585b00c038be2257ba4">Republican-led House</a>&nbsp;launched investigations into Trump’s ties to Russia in 2017. Both investigations concluded that Russia intervened in the 2016 presidential election but neither found evidence of a criminal conspiracy.“Representative Schiff purposely deceived his Committee, Congress, and the American people,” the resolution said.The House has only censured two other lawmakers in the last 20 years. Republican Rep.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/technology-entertainment-marjorie-taylor-greene-censures-alexandria-ocasio-cortez-854fd412b7a1049c8fb9a83fe2c56b8f">Paul Gosar</a>&nbsp;of Arizona was censured in 2021 for tweeting an animated video that depicted him striking Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., with a sword. Former Democratic Rep. Charlie Rangel of New York was censured in 2010 for serious financial and campaign misconduct.The censure itself carries no practical effect, except to provide a historic footnote that marks a lawmaker’s career. But the GOP resolution would also launch an ethics investigation into Schiff's conduct.While Schiff did not initiate the 2017 congressional investigation into Trump's Russia ties — then-House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes, a Republican who later became one of Trump’s most ardent defenders, started it — Republicans arguing in favor of his censure Wednesday blamed him for what they said was the fallout of that probe, and of the separate investigation started that same year by Trump's own Justice Department.Luna said that Schiff's comments that there was evidence against Trump “ripped apart American families across the country” and that he was “permanently destroying family relationships.” Several blamed him for the more than $30 million spent by then-special counsel Robert Mueller, who led the Justice Department probe.Schiff said the censure resolution “would accuse me of omnipotence, the leader of some a vast Deep State conspiracy, and of course, it is nonsense.”Democrats aggressively defended their colleague. Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin, who led Trump's second impeachment, called the effort an “embarrassing revenge tour on behalf of Donald Trump.”Mueller, who led the two-year Justice Department investigation, determined that Russia intervened on the campaign’s behalf and that Trump’s campaign welcomed the help. But Mueller’s team did not find that the campaign conspired to sway the election, and the Justice Department did not recommend any criminal charges.The House intelligence committee probe launched by Nunes similarly found that Russia intervened in the election but that there was no evidence of a criminal conspiracy. Schiff was the top Democrat on the panel at the time.Schiff said last week that the censure resolution was “red meat” that McCarthy was throwing to his conference amid squabbles over government spending. Republicans are trying to show their fealty to Trump, Schiff said.He said he warned the country during impeachment proceedings three years ago that Trump “would go on to do worse. And of course he did worse in the form of a violent attack on the Capitol.”After Democrats won the House majority in 2018, the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-ap-top-news-elections-international-news-politics-0756fda2b5143891c5da1c6897001cee">House impeached Trump</a>&nbsp;for abuse of power after he threatened to withhold military aid to Ukraine and urged the country’s president to investigate then-candidate Joe Biden. Schiff was the lead House prosecutor making the case for conviction to the Senate, arguing repeatedly that “right matters.” The Republican-led chamber ultimately acquitted him.Trump was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-impeachment-vote-capitol-siege-0a6f2a348a6e43f27d5e1dc486027860">impeached a second time</a>&nbsp;a year later, after he had left office, for his role in the January 6, 2021, insurrection at the Capitol. The Senate again acquitted Trump.In the censure resolution against Schiff, Luna also cited a report released in May from special counsel John Durham that found that the FBI rushed into its investigation of Trump’s campaign and relied too much on raw and unconfirmed intelligence.Durham — who&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/john-durham-trump-russia-house-republicans-b24ef8c4b781083227009d09d55bc5e7">testified</a>&nbsp;before the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/durham-report-fbi-trump-clinton-2016-campaign-f3039e651eeb35a09091c363419e6766">said investigators</a>&nbsp;repeatedly relied on “confirmation bias,” ignoring or rationalizing away evidence that undercut their premise of a Trump-Russia conspiracy as they pushed the probe forward. But he did not allege that political bias or partisanship were guiding factors for the FBI’s actions.In the hours before the vote, Schiff’s campaign sent out a fundraising email that said Luna had introduced “yet ANOTHER resolution to censure me.”“The vote and debate will happen imminently,” the email read, asking recipients to donate to help him fight back. “Once more, I have to be on the House floor to listen as MAGA Republicans push false and defamatory lies about me.”Democrats argued that the House censure resolution is an effort to distract from Trump’s recent&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-classified-documents-indictment-miami-court-e9412bb71b63ab1b7cfb8e8b122e9809">indictment</a>&nbsp;on federal charges of hoarding classified documents — several of which dealt with sensitive national security matters — and attempting to conceal them. House Republicans, most of whom are loyal to Trump, say the indictment is more evidence that the government is conspiring against the former president.“This is not a serious resolution,” said Rep. Madeleine Dean, D-Pa., but political theater to “distract from Donald Trump’s history of transgressions and now indictments.”

🎥 Rowdy scene: House censures congressman who led Trump investigations

JACKSON COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect on multiple allegations after a violent incident on Monday.

Just after 11:30a.m. June 19, the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call reporting a building on fire at 211 N. 4th&nbsp;Street in the City of Mayetta, according to Sheriff Tim Morse.

A man was believed to have started the fire and then cut a hose that the owner was using to try to extinguish the blaze.

The suspect, later identified a 35-year-old Jeffrey Micheal Harris of Mayetta, left the scene in a silver passenger car.&nbsp;&nbsp;

 A Jackson County Deputy located the suspect vehicle near 190th&nbsp;Road and U.S. 75.&nbsp; Harris allegedly slammed on his brakes and exited the vehicle with a long knife in his hand and came towards the deputy.&nbsp;

 A taser was deployed and Harris was taken into custody and transported to the Jackson County Jail where he is being held on requested charges of Aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, aggravated battery, aggravated assault, criminal use of a weapon, criminal threat, arson, burglary, felony criminal damage to property, felony interference with law enforcement, reckless driving, and transporting an open container.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/6/1687379572825.png" alt="Harris-photo Jackson Co." />
 <figcaption>Harris-photo Jackson Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>JACKSON COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect on multiple allegations after a violent incident on Monday.Just after 11:30a.m. June 19, the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call reporting a building on fire at 211 N. 4th&nbsp;Street in the City of Mayetta, according to Sheriff Tim Morse.A man was believed to have started the fire and then cut a hose that the owner was using to try to extinguish the blaze.The suspect, later identified a 35-year-old Jeffrey Micheal Harris of Mayetta, left the scene in a silver passenger car.&nbsp;&nbsp; A Jackson County Deputy located the suspect vehicle near 190th&nbsp;Road and U.S. 75.&nbsp; Harris allegedly slammed on his brakes and exited the vehicle with a long knife in his hand and came towards the deputy.&nbsp; A taser was deployed and Harris was taken into custody and transported to the Jackson County Jail where he is being held on requested charges of Aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, aggravated battery, aggravated assault, criminal use of a weapon, criminal threat, arson, burglary, felony criminal damage to property, felony interference with law enforcement, reckless driving, and transporting an open container.

Sheriff: Kan. deputy used Taser to stop suspect with long knife

RENO COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities investigating a fentanyl overdose death have made an arrest.

On Tuesday, police arrested 36-year-old Christa L. Redd of Hutchinson, on requested charges of&nbsp; distributing a controlled substance causing death, two counts of distributing a controlled substance causing great bodily harm, and seven counts of unlawful distribution of a controlled substance using a communication device, according to a media release from Hutchinson Police 

On Wednesday police arrested 26-year-old Mariah P. Lamunyon of South Hutchinson of requested charges of distributing a controlled substance causing death, two counts of distributing a controlled substance causing great bodily harm, and seven counts of unlawful distribution of a controlled substance using a communication device.

Anyone with information regarding this case, are asked to contact the Hutchinson Police Department at (620) 694-2816.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/6/1687382754125.jpeg" alt="Christa L. Redd. Photo: Hutchinson Police Department." />
 <figcaption>Christa L. Redd. Photo: Hutchinson Police Department.</figcaption>
 </figure>RENO COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities investigating a fentanyl overdose death have made an arrest.On Tuesday, police arrested 36-year-old Christa L. Redd of Hutchinson, on requested charges of&nbsp; distributing a controlled substance causing death, two counts of distributing a controlled substance causing great bodily harm, and seven counts of unlawful distribution of a controlled substance using a communication device, according to a media release from Hutchinson Police <figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/6/1687382861812.jpeg" alt="Mariah P. Lamunyon. Photo: Hutchinson Police Department." />
 <figcaption>Mariah P. Lamunyon. Photo: Hutchinson Police Department.</figcaption>
 </figure>On Wednesday police arrested 26-year-old Mariah P. Lamunyon of South Hutchinson of requested charges of distributing a controlled substance causing death, two counts of distributing a controlled substance causing great bodily harm, and seven counts of unlawful distribution of a controlled substance using a communication device.Anyone with information regarding this case, are asked to contact the Hutchinson Police Department at (620) 694-2816.

2 Kansas women jailed for deadly fentanyl overdose

KANSAS CITY—A Kansas City police officer is being hailed a hero for actions he took while on duty this week.

In the early hours of Monday, Kansas City&nbsp;East Patrol Captain Joshua Gasper saw a house, according to a social media report from KCPD.&nbsp; He raced to the home, radioing for the fire department.

Alone, Gasper entered the home, where he spotted two people.

Those two got out of the home.&nbsp; Once outside, those individuals told Gasper another person lived in the home. With the fire growing larger, Gasper re-entered the house.

He went room-to-room looking for a third person, clearing the first floor. With the fire spreading and the firefighters on site, Gasper finally escaped. Incredibly, the firefighters found the third person alive, later saying, “If Captain Gasper would not have done the heroic efforts, the man in the downstairs apartment would have perished.”

After the fire, Gasper ensured the man’s dogs were cared for and returned to work.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/6/1687367705722.png" alt="Police Captain Joshua Gasper-photo courtesy KCPD" />
 <figcaption>Police Captain Joshua Gasper-photo courtesy KCPD</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY—A Kansas City police officer is being hailed a hero for actions he took while on duty this week.In the early hours of Monday, Kansas City&nbsp;East Patrol Captain Joshua Gasper saw a house, according to a social media report from KCPD.&nbsp; He raced to the home, radioing for the fire department.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/6/1687429589267.png" alt="A view of the back of the home courtesy KCTV" />
 <figcaption>A view of the back of the home courtesy KCTV</figcaption>
 </figure>Alone, Gasper entered the home, where he spotted two people.Those two got out of the home.&nbsp; Once outside, those individuals told Gasper another person lived in the home. With the fire growing larger, Gasper re-entered the house.He went room-to-room looking for a third person, clearing the first floor. With the fire spreading and the firefighters on site, Gasper finally escaped. Incredibly, the firefighters found the third person alive, later saying, “If Captain Gasper would not have done the heroic efforts, the man in the downstairs apartment would have perished.”After the fire, Gasper ensured the man’s dogs were cared for and returned to work.

Hero: KCPD Captain helped save man from house fire

PAWNEE COUNTY —Larned State Correctional Facility (LSCF) resident&nbsp; Cortez Timley died Wednesday morning at the facility, according to a media release from the Kansas Department of Corrections.

Timley, 33, was serving a sentence for one count of murder in the first degree, three counts related to drug possession and one misdemeanor count of interfering with the duties of a law enforcement officer from Shawnee County. He was admitted to KDOC on June 11, 2018.

 The cause of death is pending further investigation and results of an independent autopsy.

Per protocol, when a resident dies in the custody of the Kansas Department of Corrections (KDOC), the death is under investigation by the KDOC and the Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI). The investigation is currently on-going.

The Larned State Correctional Facility is an all-male facility housing all custody levels with a current population of 525 residents. The name of the facility was officially changed on April 27, 2023, from Larned Correctional Mental Health Facility to the Larned State Correctional Facility.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/6/1687371807922.png" alt="Timley was listed as a registered Kansas violent offender since 2018. Photo KDOC" />
 <figcaption>Timley was listed as a registered Kansas violent offender since 2018. Photo KDOC</figcaption>
 </figure>PAWNEE COUNTY —Larned State Correctional Facility (LSCF) resident&nbsp; Cortez Timley died Wednesday morning at the facility, according to a media release from the Kansas Department of Corrections.Timley, 33, was serving a sentence for one count of murder in the first degree, three counts related to drug possession and one misdemeanor count of interfering with the duties of a law enforcement officer from Shawnee County. He was admitted to KDOC on June 11, 2018. The cause of death is pending further investigation and results of an independent autopsy.Per protocol, when a resident dies in the custody of the Kansas Department of Corrections (KDOC), the death is under investigation by the KDOC and the Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI). The investigation is currently on-going.The Larned State Correctional Facility is an all-male facility housing all custody levels with a current population of 525 residents. The name of the facility was officially changed on April 27, 2023, from Larned Correctional Mental Health Facility to the Larned State Correctional Facility.

Man convicted of murder dies in Kansas prison

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden’s remarks calling Chinese leader Xi Jinping a “dictator” and China a country with "real economic difficulties” drew fast condemnation from China on Wednesday, cracking open a new rift just after the two countries agreed to tentative steps to stabilize the relationship.

In Beijing, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning condemned Biden's unusually pointed comments as “extremely absurd and irresponsible.”

The clash of words comes after&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/us-china-blinken-beijing-rivalry-0b08a809f12b1bcdee92afa5491a9fbf">Secretary of State Antony Blinken concluded a visit to Beijing</a>&nbsp;on Monday that sought to break the ice in a relationship that has hit a historical low. While both sides saw those talks as productive, they did not result in any significant breakthroughs beyond an agreement to return to a broad agenda for cooperation and competition.

China's quick response to Biden, a president known for seemingly off-script remarks that venture beyond his administration's policies, raises questions whether his remarks would undo the limited progress that had been made in Blinken's carefully engineered trip or whether the two sides would move on.

Biden's characterization of China comes as the campaign for next year's presidential election is already taking off, with Republicans accusing him of being weak on China.

Biden also was preparing to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-modi-trump-state-visit-0b045d88deb69195dea7ef65557dc975">welcome Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi</a>&nbsp;to Washington on Wednesday evening for a lavish state visit where a central theme will be a shared wariness of China.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/6/1687169037256.png" alt="U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, Monday, June 19, 2023. (Leah Millis/Pool Photo via AP)" />
 <figcaption>U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, Monday, June 19, 2023. (Leah Millis/Pool Photo via AP)</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden’s remarks calling Chinese leader Xi Jinping a “dictator” and China a country with "real economic difficulties” drew fast condemnation from China on Wednesday, cracking open a new rift just after the two countries agreed to tentative steps to stabilize the relationship.In Beijing, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning condemned Biden's unusually pointed comments as “extremely absurd and irresponsible.”The clash of words comes after&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/us-china-blinken-beijing-rivalry-0b08a809f12b1bcdee92afa5491a9fbf">Secretary of State Antony Blinken concluded a visit to Beijing</a>&nbsp;on Monday that sought to break the ice in a relationship that has hit a historical low. While both sides saw those talks as productive, they did not result in any significant breakthroughs beyond an agreement to return to a broad agenda for cooperation and competition.China's quick response to Biden, a president known for seemingly off-script remarks that venture beyond his administration's policies, raises questions whether his remarks would undo the limited progress that had been made in Blinken's carefully engineered trip or whether the two sides would move on.Biden's characterization of China comes as the campaign for next year's presidential election is already taking off, with Republicans accusing him of being weak on China.Biden also was preparing to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-modi-trump-state-visit-0b045d88deb69195dea7ef65557dc975">welcome Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi</a>&nbsp;to Washington on Wednesday evening for a lavish state visit where a central theme will be a shared wariness of China.Biden, at a fundraiser in California on Tuesday night, referred back to January and February's two-week overflight of what the U.S. says was a Chinese spy balloon. The balloon's surprise appearance over U.S. skies roiled relations and transfixed the American public.Speaking to wealthy donors at the event for his 2024 reelection campaign, Biden depicted Xi as out-of-touch and embarrassed by the incident, which ended with the Air Force shooting down the balloon just off the East Coast.“The reason why Xi Jinping got very upset in terms of when I shot that balloon down with two box cars full of spy equipment is he didn’t know it was there," Biden told the crowd.“No, I’m serious,” he added. "That was the great embarrassment for dictators, when they didn’t know what happened.“Biden also played down trade competition from China, which is the world's second-biggest economy after the United States but struggling to emerge from COVID-era financial troubles.“By the way, I promise you, don’t worry about China. Worry about China but don’t worry about China," Biden said. "I really mean it. China has real economic difficulties.”Biden's remarks came hours after his secretary of state, in an interview with MSNBC, had called for the two countries to put the balloon incident behind them, saying it was a chapter that “should be closed.”In Beijing on Wednesday, Mao told reporters that Biden's remarks "go totally against facts and seriously violate diplomatic protocol, and severely infringe on China’s political dignity.”“It is a blatant political provocation,” Mao said.Mao also reiterated China's version of the balloon episode, saying the balloon was for meteorological research and had been accidentally blown off course.Administration officials signaled Wednesday that Biden had no intention of walking back his comments.Biden and Blinken have made clear “we will continue to responsibly manage this relationship, maintain open lines of communication with the PRC,” Vedant Patel, a State Department spokesman, told reporters, using an abbreviation for the People's Republic of China.“But that, of course, does not mean we will not be blunt and forthright about our differences,” including differences on the global competition between democracies and autocracies, Patel said.U.S.-China tensions have mounted for years as rivalry builds over trade and global influence. Repeated flare-ups have helped escalate the tensions, including over the balloon, U.S. tariffs, sanctions on China, and self-ruled Taiwan.The U.S. is pressing China to embrace direct communications between Biden, Xi and other senior U.S. and Chinese military and civilian leaders, as a channel to defuse tensions and keep incidents from escalating into open hostilities.Despite the administration's diplomatic efforts to soothe relations, analysts point to the Republican political pressure, and note Biden regularly seems to go off-script to criticize Xi.Bonnie Glaser, Asia director of the George Marshall Fund of the United States, pointed Wednesday to Biden's state of the union address in February, soon after the balloon flight, as Republican lawmakers in the audience heckled him over China and other issues. Waving a finger in the air, Biden cried out, “Name me a world leader who’d change places with Xi Jinping! Name me one! Name me one!"For Biden, “he’s under a lot of criticism from the right. He doesn’t want to be seen as soft on China. He views Xi Jinping as a dictator," Glaser said.“And he’s not very good ... at differentiating what should be said in public and what should be said in private,” Glaser said. "And the relationship pays a price for it. There’s no doubt about it.”Xi was likely upset by the claim that he hadn’t been fully informed about the balloon incident, said Steve Tsang, director of the China Institute at the London University School of Oriental and African Studies and a longtime observer of Chinese politics.“My sense is that Xi may not want to overreact and put the relationship back on ice again,” Tsang said in an email.The initial Republican response to Biden's remarks was approving. “It’s an appropriate description of their system of government,” Sen. Marco Rubio, the top Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said.While Xi heads a country formally named the People’s Republic of China, he faces no limits on his terms as head of state, commander of the military and leader of the ruling Communist Party, which brooks no challenges to its authority.In California, Biden had told donors that Xi “wants to have a relationship again.”Blinken “went over there ... did a good job, and it's going to take time," he said.___BEIJING (AP) — China on Wednesday called comments by U.S. President Joe Biden referring to Chinese leader Xi Jinping as a dictator “extremely absurd and irresponsible,” as a new rift threatened to upset tentative efforts to stabilize the relationship between the two countries.The clash of words comes just over a day after&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/us-china-blinken-beijing-rivalry-0b08a809f12b1bcdee92afa5491a9fbf">Secretary of State Antony Blinken concluded a visit to Beijing</a>&nbsp;that sought to break the ice in a relationship that has hit a historical low. While both sides saw those talks as productive, they did not result in any significant breakthroughs beyond an agreement to return to a broad agenda for cooperation and competition.Biden, at the fundraiser on Tuesday night, said Xi was embarrassed over recent tensions surrounding a suspected Chinese spy balloon that was shot down by the Air Force over the East Coast.“That’s a great embarrassment for dictators. When they didn’t know what happened,” Biden said.Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning, responding to a question about Biden’s remarks, said the comments at a fundraiser in California “go totally against facts and seriously violate diplomatic protocol, and severely infringe on China’s political dignity.”“It is a blatant political provocation. China expresses strong dissatisfaction and opposition,” Mao said at a daily briefing.“The U.S. remarks are extremely absurd and irresponsible,” Mao said.Mao reiterated China's contention that the balloon was for meteorological research and had been accidentally blown off course.“The U.S. should have handled it in a calm and professional manner,” she said. "However, the U.S. distorted facts and used forces to hype up the incident, fully revealing its nature of bullying and hegemony.”Biden has previously used the term dictator, along with war criminal, to refer to Russian President Vladimir Putin over his country's invasion of Ukraine.While Xi heads a country formally named the People's Republic of China, he faces no limits on his terms as head of state, commander of the military and leader of the ruling Communist Party, which brooks no challenges to its authority.Blinken’s visit, during which he met with Xi, was aimed at easing tensions between the two superpowers.The trip was originally scheduled for February but was put on hold after the balloon incident. While the visit marked a return to high-level contacts between the sides, China continues to refuse talks between their militaries.In recent days, the U.S. says Chinese warplanes and naval ships have maneuvered in ways that threaten their U.S. counterparts in the Taiwan Strait and South China Sea, despite agreements between them on protocols for avoiding such incidents.During Blinken's visit, China reiterated its strong objections to U.S. support for the self-governing island democracy of Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its own territory. The U.S. has also sought to block China's access to cutting-edge computer chip manufacturing technology that could be used for military purposes and accused Beijing of stealing American intellectual property.In his comments at the fundraising event for his 2024 re-election campaign, Biden said he believed the balloon incident had caught Xi unaware.“That’s what’s a great embarrassment for dictators, when they didn’t know what happened. That wasn’t supposed to be going where it was. It was blown off course up through Alaska and then down through the United States. And he didn’t know about it,” Biden said. “When it got shot down, he was very embarrassed. He denied it was even there.”Despite their sharp political divide, the countries continue to have deep economic and cultural links. Bilateral trade passed $690 billion last year and an estimated 300,000 Chinese are believed to be studying in the U.S., shoring up American institutions that have come under financial pressure.After meeting with Xi on Monday, Blinken acknowledged entrenched differences. “We have no illusions about the challenges of managing this relationship. There are many issues on which we profoundly, even vehemently, disagree,” he said.Xi sounded a similar note but suggested the rivalry could be overcome.“The competition among major countries is not in line with the trend of the times and cannot solve the problems of the United States itself and the challenges facing the world,” he told Blinken. “China respects the interests of the United States and will not challenge or supplant the United States. Similarly, the United States should also respect China and not harm its legitimate rights and interests.”