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.

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.”

<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.”

Biden in trouble for 'absurd' comment on Chinese leader

LINN COUNTY—One person died in an accident just before 7:30a.m. Wednesday in Linn County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 1992 Ford F150 driven by Denver Lee Reagan, Jr. 45, Blue Mound, was southbound on Kansas 7 six miles south of Mound City.

The pickup crossed the center line and struck a 1977 Kenworth semi driven by Tom Ray Snyder, 67, Fulton, Kansas, head-on. After impact, the pickup came to rest in the south ditch and caught fire.

Reagan&nbsp; was pronounced dead at the scene and was transported to Frontier Forensics. Snyder was not injured. The KHP had incomplete seat belt usage information.

LINN COUNTY—One person died in an accident just before 7:30a.m. Wednesday in Linn County.The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 1992 Ford F150 driven by Denver Lee Reagan, Jr. 45, Blue Mound, was southbound on Kansas 7 six miles south of Mound City.The pickup crossed the center line and struck a 1977 Kenworth semi driven by Tom Ray Snyder, 67, Fulton, Kansas, head-on. After impact, the pickup came to rest in the south ditch and caught fire.Reagan&nbsp; was pronounced dead at the scene and was transported to Frontier Forensics. Snyder was not injured. The KHP had incomplete seat belt usage information.

Kansas man dies after head-on semi crash, fire

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A former southern Kansas sheriff’s deputy who shot and killed a man with a defective beanbag has been stripped of his peace officer certification.

Virgil Brewer, a former Barber County deputy, was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/shootings-kansas-city-c6bb7857c0de89305ee07eddb3e8439d">found not guilty</a>&nbsp;of involuntary manslaughter in the Oct. 6, 2017, death of 42-year-old Steven Myers, who died after Brewer shot him with the beanbag during a confrontation at Myers' home in Sun City.

The Kansas Commission on Peace Officers’ Standards and Training reviewed the shooting last month and revoked Brewer's license, KSHB-TV&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kshb.com/news/local-news/former-kansas-sheriffs-deputy-loses-peace-officer-certification-after-deadly-bean-bag-shooting">reported</a>.

The commission's report noted that body camera video of the confrontation showed Myers complying with conflicting commands from Brewer and another deputy when he exited a shed on his property.

He was not informed he was under arrest or that the beanbag would be used before Brewer fired the shot, according to the report.

The peace officers commission described Brewer’s conduct as “unprofessional” and lacking “good moral character”.

Brewer shot Myers with his own shotgun with a beanbag that he received at a previous job in Texas, and had not been trained to use it before the shooting, according to testimony at the trial. The ammunition had been discontinued for several years because it could cause penetrating injuries.

Prosecutor Melissa Gay Johnson with the Kansas attorney general’s office charged Brewer in October 2018. A Wyandotte County jury acquitted him in November 2022.

Myers' widow filed a federal lawsuit over his death and Kansas officials agreed to a $3.5 million settlement in 2020.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/6/1591026923971.png" alt="Brewer's original Barber Co. booking photo" />
 <figcaption>Brewer's original Barber Co. booking photo</figcaption>
 </figure>TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A former southern Kansas sheriff’s deputy who shot and killed a man with a defective beanbag has been stripped of his peace officer certification.Virgil Brewer, a former Barber County deputy, was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/shootings-kansas-city-c6bb7857c0de89305ee07eddb3e8439d">found not guilty</a>&nbsp;of involuntary manslaughter in the Oct. 6, 2017, death of 42-year-old Steven Myers, who died after Brewer shot him with the beanbag during a confrontation at Myers' home in Sun City.The Kansas Commission on Peace Officers’ Standards and Training reviewed the shooting last month and revoked Brewer's license, KSHB-TV&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kshb.com/news/local-news/former-kansas-sheriffs-deputy-loses-peace-officer-certification-after-deadly-bean-bag-shooting">reported</a>.The commission's report noted that body camera video of the confrontation showed Myers complying with conflicting commands from Brewer and another deputy when he exited a shed on his property.He was not informed he was under arrest or that the beanbag would be used before Brewer fired the shot, according to the report.The peace officers commission described Brewer’s conduct as “unprofessional” and lacking “good moral character”.Brewer shot Myers with his own shotgun with a beanbag that he received at a previous job in Texas, and had not been trained to use it before the shooting, according to testimony at the trial. The ammunition had been discontinued for several years because it could cause penetrating injuries.Prosecutor Melissa Gay Johnson with the Kansas attorney general’s office charged Brewer in October 2018. A Wyandotte County jury acquitted him in November 2022.Myers' widow filed a federal lawsuit over his death and Kansas officials agreed to a $3.5 million settlement in 2020.

Former Kan. deputy involved in beanbag shooting death loses certification

SALINE COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities investigating a burglary have made an arrest.

On May 19, a residential burglary was reported in the 3600 Block of Deer Road in Dickinson County, according to Undersheriff Jeff Vaughan. The victim reported over $3,000 worth of property was stolen.

The investigation led to a search warrant being obtained for a residence in Salina.&nbsp; With assistance from the Salina Police Department, officers recovered some of the property reported stolen from Deer Road.

On June 13, a warrant was issued through the Dickinson County District Court for 40-year-old Brian Dickerman in reference to the burglary.

On Tuesday, a Saline County Deputy made contact with Dickerman and placed him under arrest for the Dickinson County warrant. 

Dickerman is being held in the Saline County Jail on requested charges of&nbsp; &nbsp;burglary, theft, and criminal damage to property, according Vaughan

Anyone with information regarding the location of stolen property can contact the Dickinson County Sheriff’s office. Citizens can submit anonymous tips to Crime Stoppers of Dickinson County at 1-888-535-8477 or the Crime Stoppers online/mobile app via www.p3tips.co

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/6/1687349301315.png" alt="Dickerman -photo Saline County" />
 <figcaption>Dickerman -photo Saline County</figcaption>
 </figure>SALINE COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities investigating a burglary have made an arrest.On May 19, a residential burglary was reported in the 3600 Block of Deer Road in Dickinson County, according to Undersheriff Jeff Vaughan. The victim reported over $3,000 worth of property was stolen.The investigation led to a search warrant being obtained for a residence in Salina.&nbsp; With assistance from the Salina Police Department, officers recovered some of the property reported stolen from Deer Road.On June 13, a warrant was issued through the Dickinson County District Court for 40-year-old Brian Dickerman in reference to the burglary.On Tuesday, a Saline County Deputy made contact with Dickerman and placed him under arrest for the Dickinson County warrant. Dickerman is being held in the Saline County Jail on requested charges of&nbsp; &nbsp;burglary, theft, and criminal damage to property, according VaughanAnyone with information regarding the location of stolen property can contact the Dickinson County Sheriff’s office. Citizens can submit anonymous tips to Crime Stoppers of Dickinson County at 1-888-535-8477 or the Crime Stoppers online/mobile app via www.p3tips.co

Kansas man jailed for alleged rural home burglary

WASHINGTON (AP) —For the first time, U.S. regulators on Wednesday approved the sale of chicken made from animal cells, allowing two California companies to offer “lab-grown” meat to the nation's restaurant tables and eventually, supermarket shelves.

The Agriculture Department gave the green light to Upside Foods and Good Meat, firms that had been racing to be the first in the U.S. to sell meat that doesn't come from slaughtered animals — what's now being referred to as “cell-cultivated" or “cultured” meat as it emerges from the laboratory and arrives on dinner plates.

The move launches a new era of meat production aimed at eliminating harm to animals and drastically reducing the environmental impacts of grazing, growing feed for animals and animal waste.

“Instead of all of that land and all of that water that's used to feed all of these animals that are slaughtered, we can do it in a different way," said Josh Tetrick, co-founder and chief executive of Eat Just, which operates Good Meat.

The companies received approvals for federal inspections required to sell meat and poultry in the U.S. The action came months after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration deemed that products from both companies are safe to eat. A manufacturing company called Joinn Biologics, which works with Good Meat, was also cleared to make the products.

Cultivated meat is grown in steel tanks, using cells that come from a living animal, a fertilized egg or a special bank of stored cells. In Upside's case, it comes out in large sheets that are then formed into shapes like chicken cutlets and sausages. Good Meat, which already sells cultivated meat in Singapore, the first country to allow it, turns masses of chicken cells into cutlets, nuggets, shredded meat and satays.

But don’t look for this novel meat in U.S. grocery stores anytime soon. Cultivated chicken is much more expensive than meat from whole, farmed birds and cannot yet be produced on the scale of traditional meat, said Ricardo San Martin, director of the Alt:Meat Lab at University of California Berkeley.

The companies plan to serve the new food first in exclusive restaurants: Upside has partnered with a San Francisco restaurant called Bar Crenn, while Good Meat dishes will be served at a Washington, D.C., restaurant run by chef and owner Jose Andrés.

Company officials are quick to note the products are meat, not substitutes like the Impossible Burger or offerings from Beyond Meat, which are made from plant proteins and other ingredients.

Globally, more than 150 companies are focusing on meat from cells, not only chicken but pork, lamb, fish and beef, which scientists say has the biggest impact on the environment.

Upside, based in Berkeley, operates a 70,000-square-foot building in nearby Emeryville. On a recent Tuesday, visitors entered a gleaming commercial kitchen where chef Jess Weaver was sauteeing a cultivated chicken filet in a white wine butter sauce with tomatoes, capers and green onions.

The finished chicken breast product was slightly paler than the grocery store version. Otherwise it looked, cooked, smelled and tasted like any other pan-fried poultry.

“The most common response we get is, ‘Oh, it tastes like chicken,’” said Amy Chen, Upside’s chief operating officer.

Good Meat, based in Alameda, operates a 100,000-square-foot plant, where chef Zach Tyndall dished up a smoked chicken salad on a sunny June afternoon. He followed it with a chicken “thigh” served on a bed of potato puree with a mushroom-vegetable demi-glace and tiny purple cauliflower florets. The Good Meat chicken product will come pre-cooked, requiring only heating to use in a range of dishes.

Chen acknowledged that many consumers are skeptical, even squeamish, about the thought of eating chicken grown from cells.

“We call it the ‘ick factor,’” she said.

The sentiment was echoed in a recent poll conducted by the Associated Press and the NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Half of U.S. adults said that they are unlikely to try meat grown using cells from animals. When asked to choose from a list of reasons for their reluctance, most who said they'd be unlikely to try it said “it just sounds weird.” About half said they don’t think it would be safe.

But once people understand how the meat is made, they’re more accepting, Chen said. And once they taste it, they're usually sold.

“It is the meat that you’ve always known and loved," she said.

Cultivated meat begins with cells. Upside experts take cells from live animals, choosing those most likely to taste good and to reproduce quickly and consistently, forming high-quality meat, Chen said. Good Meat products are&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fda.gov/media/166346/download">created from</a>&nbsp;a master cell bank formed from a commercially available chicken cell line.

Once the cell lines are selected, they’re combined with a broth-like mixture that includes the amino acids, fatty acids, sugars, salts, vitamins and other elements cells need to grow. Inside the tanks, called cultivators, the cells grow, proliferating quickly. At Upside, muscle and connective tissue cells grow together, forming large sheets. After about three weeks, the sheets of poultry cells are removed from the tanks and formed into cutlets, sausages or other foods. Good Meat cells grow into large masses, which are shaped into a range of meat products.

Both firms emphasized that initial production will be limited. The Emeryville facility can produce up to 50,000 pounds of cultivated meat products a year, though the goal is to expand to 400,000 pounds per year, Upside officials said. Good Meat officials wouldn't estimate a production goal.

By comparison, the U.S. produces about 50 billion pounds of chicken per year.

It could take a few years before consumers see the products in more restaurants and seven to 10 years before they hit the wider market, said Sebastian Bohn, who specializes in cell-based foods at CRB, a Missouri firm that designs and builds facilities for pharmaceutical, biotech and food companies.

Cost will be another sticking point. Neither Upside nor Good Meat officials would reveal the price of a single chicken cutlet, saying only that it’s been reduced by orders of magnitude since the firms began offering demonstrations. Eventually, the price is expected to mirror high-end organic chicken, which sells for up to $20 per pound.

San Martin said he’s concerned that cultivated meat may wind up being an alternative to traditional meat for rich people, but will do little for the environment if it remains a niche product.

“If some high-end or affluent people want to eat this instead of a chicken, it's good,” he said. "Will that mean you will feed chicken to poor people? I honestly don't see it."

Tetrick said he shares critics' concerns about the challenges of producing an affordable, novel meat product for the world. But he emphasized that traditional meat production is so damaging to the planet it requires an alternative — preferably one that doesn't require giving up meat all together.

“I miss meat," said Tetrick, who grew up in Alabama eating chicken wings and barbecue. “There should be a different way that people can enjoy chicken and beef and pork with their families."

WASHINGTON (AP) —For the first time, U.S. regulators on Wednesday approved the sale of chicken made from animal cells, allowing two California companies to offer “lab-grown” meat to the nation's restaurant tables and eventually, supermarket shelves.<div><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fgoodmeat%2Fposts%2Fpfbid0114d5rGCnk48cEZR848wMs58K9WnD55tTqPXEmghghAiDg2eY758Jwfd7eHqJpidl&show_text=true&width=500" width="500" height="732" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share"></iframe></div>The Agriculture Department gave the green light to Upside Foods and Good Meat, firms that had been racing to be the first in the U.S. to sell meat that doesn't come from slaughtered animals — what's now being referred to as “cell-cultivated" or “cultured” meat as it emerges from the laboratory and arrives on dinner plates.The move launches a new era of meat production aimed at eliminating harm to animals and drastically reducing the environmental impacts of grazing, growing feed for animals and animal waste.“Instead of all of that land and all of that water that's used to feed all of these animals that are slaughtered, we can do it in a different way," said Josh Tetrick, co-founder and chief executive of Eat Just, which operates Good Meat.The companies received approvals for federal inspections required to sell meat and poultry in the U.S. The action came months after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration deemed that products from both companies are safe to eat. A manufacturing company called Joinn Biologics, which works with Good Meat, was also cleared to make the products.Cultivated meat is grown in steel tanks, using cells that come from a living animal, a fertilized egg or a special bank of stored cells. In Upside's case, it comes out in large sheets that are then formed into shapes like chicken cutlets and sausages. Good Meat, which already sells cultivated meat in Singapore, the first country to allow it, turns masses of chicken cells into cutlets, nuggets, shredded meat and satays.But don’t look for this novel meat in U.S. grocery stores anytime soon. Cultivated chicken is much more expensive than meat from whole, farmed birds and cannot yet be produced on the scale of traditional meat, said Ricardo San Martin, director of the Alt:Meat Lab at University of California Berkeley.The companies plan to serve the new food first in exclusive restaurants: Upside has partnered with a San Francisco restaurant called Bar Crenn, while Good Meat dishes will be served at a Washington, D.C., restaurant run by chef and owner Jose Andrés.Company officials are quick to note the products are meat, not substitutes like the Impossible Burger or offerings from Beyond Meat, which are made from plant proteins and other ingredients.Globally, more than 150 companies are focusing on meat from cells, not only chicken but pork, lamb, fish and beef, which scientists say has the biggest impact on the environment.Upside, based in Berkeley, operates a 70,000-square-foot building in nearby Emeryville. On a recent Tuesday, visitors entered a gleaming commercial kitchen where chef Jess Weaver was sauteeing a cultivated chicken filet in a white wine butter sauce with tomatoes, capers and green onions.The finished chicken breast product was slightly paler than the grocery store version. Otherwise it looked, cooked, smelled and tasted like any other pan-fried poultry.“The most common response we get is, ‘Oh, it tastes like chicken,’” said Amy Chen, Upside’s chief operating officer.Good Meat, based in Alameda, operates a 100,000-square-foot plant, where chef Zach Tyndall dished up a smoked chicken salad on a sunny June afternoon. He followed it with a chicken “thigh” served on a bed of potato puree with a mushroom-vegetable demi-glace and tiny purple cauliflower florets. The Good Meat chicken product will come pre-cooked, requiring only heating to use in a range of dishes.Chen acknowledged that many consumers are skeptical, even squeamish, about the thought of eating chicken grown from cells.“We call it the ‘ick factor,’” she said.The sentiment was echoed in a recent poll conducted by the Associated Press and the NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Half of U.S. adults said that they are unlikely to try meat grown using cells from animals. When asked to choose from a list of reasons for their reluctance, most who said they'd be unlikely to try it said “it just sounds weird.” About half said they don’t think it would be safe.But once people understand how the meat is made, they’re more accepting, Chen said. And once they taste it, they're usually sold.“It is the meat that you’ve always known and loved," she said.Cultivated meat begins with cells. Upside experts take cells from live animals, choosing those most likely to taste good and to reproduce quickly and consistently, forming high-quality meat, Chen said. Good Meat products are&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fda.gov/media/166346/download">created from</a>&nbsp;a master cell bank formed from a commercially available chicken cell line.Once the cell lines are selected, they’re combined with a broth-like mixture that includes the amino acids, fatty acids, sugars, salts, vitamins and other elements cells need to grow. Inside the tanks, called cultivators, the cells grow, proliferating quickly. At Upside, muscle and connective tissue cells grow together, forming large sheets. After about three weeks, the sheets of poultry cells are removed from the tanks and formed into cutlets, sausages or other foods. Good Meat cells grow into large masses, which are shaped into a range of meat products.Both firms emphasized that initial production will be limited. The Emeryville facility can produce up to 50,000 pounds of cultivated meat products a year, though the goal is to expand to 400,000 pounds per year, Upside officials said. Good Meat officials wouldn't estimate a production goal.By comparison, the U.S. produces about 50 billion pounds of chicken per year.It could take a few years before consumers see the products in more restaurants and seven to 10 years before they hit the wider market, said Sebastian Bohn, who specializes in cell-based foods at CRB, a Missouri firm that designs and builds facilities for pharmaceutical, biotech and food companies.Cost will be another sticking point. Neither Upside nor Good Meat officials would reveal the price of a single chicken cutlet, saying only that it’s been reduced by orders of magnitude since the firms began offering demonstrations. Eventually, the price is expected to mirror high-end organic chicken, which sells for up to $20 per pound.San Martin said he’s concerned that cultivated meat may wind up being an alternative to traditional meat for rich people, but will do little for the environment if it remains a niche product.“If some high-end or affluent people want to eat this instead of a chicken, it's good,” he said. "Will that mean you will feed chicken to poor people? I honestly don't see it."Tetrick said he shares critics' concerns about the challenges of producing an affordable, novel meat product for the world. But he emphasized that traditional meat production is so damaging to the planet it requires an alternative — preferably one that doesn't require giving up meat all together.“I miss meat," said Tetrick, who grew up in Alabama eating chicken wings and barbecue. “There should be a different way that people can enjoy chicken and beef and pork with their families."

U.S. approves the nation's first 'lab-grown' meat

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon said Tuesday that it overestimated the value of the weapons it has sent to Ukraine by $6.2 billion over the past two years — about&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ukraine-costs-war-russia-weapons-884a9eefe32eee9ec611771cfe2a4642">double early estimates</a>&nbsp;— resulting in a surplus that will be used for future security packages.

Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said a detailed review of the accounting error found that the military services used replacement costs rather than the book value of equipment that was pulled from Pentagon stocks and sent to Ukraine. She said final calculations show there was an error of $3.6 billion in the current fiscal year and $2.6 billion in the 2022 fiscal year, which ended last Sept. 30.

As a result, the department now has additional money in its coffers to use to support Ukraine as it pursues its counteroffensive against Russia. And it come as the fiscal year is wrapping up and congressional funding was beginning to dwindle.

“It’s just going to go back into the pot of money that we have allocated” for the future Pentagon stock drawdowns," said Singh.

The revelation comes as Ukraine moves ahead with the early stages its&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-nuclear-plant-reactor-dam-flooding-a961ad87eff34fa0bc7cfbb7223cb422">counteroffensive</a>, in an effort to dislodge the Kremlin’s forces from territory they’ve occupied since a full-scale invasion in February 2022. The counteroffensive has come up against heavily mined terrain and reinforced defensive fortifications, according to Valerii Zaluzhnyi, the commander in chief of Ukraine’s armed forces.

Russia, meanwhile, has been bombarding the Kyiv region with dozens of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-iran-military-cooperation-d982dd3faf78fbb17dfc8b9c1cb9dae7">Shahed exploding drones</a>, in an assault that has exposed gaps in the country’s air protection after almost 16 months of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine">war</a>. Officials said&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ukraine-russia-war-air-defenses-3f0a918c617534251e53da4a93121c42">Ukrainian air defenses</a>&nbsp;downed 32 of 35 drones that were launched by Russia early Tuesday.

The Pentagon has repeatedly used presidential drawdown authority to pull weapons, ammunition and other equipment off the shelves, so that it can get to Ukraine far more quickly than going through a purchase process.

Based on previous estimates announced June 13, the U.S. had committed more than $40 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since Russia invaded. Using the new calculation, the U.S. has actually provided less than $34 billion in aid.

Officials have not been able to give exact totals for the amount of money that remains for the drawdowns or for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which provides longer-term funding to purchase weapons, including some of the larger air defense systems.

The U.S.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-united-states-government-us-republican-party-texas-michael-mccaul-114e61bdd752d387a3df813638dab68a">has approved four rounds of aid</a>&nbsp;to Ukraine in response to Russia’s invasion, totaling about $113 billion, with some of that money going toward replenishment of U.S. military equipment that was sent to the frontlines. Congress&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/kevin-mccarthy-nancy-pelosi-ed54dbd327c4362ee052f851f497fcd4">approved the latest round of aid</a>&nbsp;in December, totaling roughly $45 billion for Ukraine and NATO allies. While the package was designed to last through the end of the fiscal year in September, much depends upon events on the ground, particularly as the new counteroffensive ramps up.

President Joe Biden and his senior national security leaders have repeatedly stated that the United States will help Ukraine&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/putin-zelenskyy-washington-4d5fc23be5518e689fbbcac334769d59">“as long as it takes”</a>&nbsp;to repel the Russian forces. Privately, administration officials have warned Ukrainian officials that there is a limit to the patience of a narrowly divided Congress — and American public — for the costs of a war with no clear end.

Members of Congress have repeatedly pressed Defense Department leaders on how closely the U.S. is tracking its aid to Ukraine to ensure that it is not subject to fraud or ending up in the wrong hands. The Pentagon has said it has a “robust program” to track the aid as it crosses the border into Ukraine and to keep tabs on it once it is there, depending on the sensitivity of each weapons system.

Singh said the accounting mistake won't affect the ongoing delivery of aid to Ukraine.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/6/1687304849422.png" alt="Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said a detailed review of the accounting error found that the military services used replacement costs rather than the book value of equipment-photo Defense Dept." />
 <figcaption>Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said a detailed review of the accounting error found that the military services used replacement costs rather than the book value of equipment-photo Defense Dept.</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon said Tuesday that it overestimated the value of the weapons it has sent to Ukraine by $6.2 billion over the past two years — about&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ukraine-costs-war-russia-weapons-884a9eefe32eee9ec611771cfe2a4642">double early estimates</a>&nbsp;— resulting in a surplus that will be used for future security packages.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">LIVE: <a href="https://twitter.com/DepPentPressSec?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DepPentPressSec</a> Sabrina Singh holds a news briefing at the Pentagon. <a href="https://t.co/0TLRhX6OQQ">https://t.co/0TLRhX6OQQ</a>&mdash; Department of Defense 🇺🇸 (@DeptofDefense) <a href="https://twitter.com/DeptofDefense/status/1671220904695562242?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 20, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said a detailed review of the accounting error found that the military services used replacement costs rather than the book value of equipment that was pulled from Pentagon stocks and sent to Ukraine. She said final calculations show there was an error of $3.6 billion in the current fiscal year and $2.6 billion in the 2022 fiscal year, which ended last Sept. 30.As a result, the department now has additional money in its coffers to use to support Ukraine as it pursues its counteroffensive against Russia. And it come as the fiscal year is wrapping up and congressional funding was beginning to dwindle.“It’s just going to go back into the pot of money that we have allocated” for the future Pentagon stock drawdowns," said Singh.The revelation comes as Ukraine moves ahead with the early stages its&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-nuclear-plant-reactor-dam-flooding-a961ad87eff34fa0bc7cfbb7223cb422">counteroffensive</a>, in an effort to dislodge the Kremlin’s forces from territory they’ve occupied since a full-scale invasion in February 2022. The counteroffensive has come up against heavily mined terrain and reinforced defensive fortifications, according to Valerii Zaluzhnyi, the commander in chief of Ukraine’s armed forces.Russia, meanwhile, has been bombarding the Kyiv region with dozens of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-iran-military-cooperation-d982dd3faf78fbb17dfc8b9c1cb9dae7">Shahed exploding drones</a>, in an assault that has exposed gaps in the country’s air protection after almost 16 months of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine">war</a>. Officials said&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ukraine-russia-war-air-defenses-3f0a918c617534251e53da4a93121c42">Ukrainian air defenses</a>&nbsp;downed 32 of 35 drones that were launched by Russia early Tuesday.The Pentagon has repeatedly used presidential drawdown authority to pull weapons, ammunition and other equipment off the shelves, so that it can get to Ukraine far more quickly than going through a purchase process.Based on previous estimates announced June 13, the U.S. had committed more than $40 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since Russia invaded. Using the new calculation, the U.S. has actually provided less than $34 billion in aid.Officials have not been able to give exact totals for the amount of money that remains for the drawdowns or for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which provides longer-term funding to purchase weapons, including some of the larger air defense systems.The U.S.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-united-states-government-us-republican-party-texas-michael-mccaul-114e61bdd752d387a3df813638dab68a">has approved four rounds of aid</a>&nbsp;to Ukraine in response to Russia’s invasion, totaling about $113 billion, with some of that money going toward replenishment of U.S. military equipment that was sent to the frontlines. Congress&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/kevin-mccarthy-nancy-pelosi-ed54dbd327c4362ee052f851f497fcd4">approved the latest round of aid</a>&nbsp;in December, totaling roughly $45 billion for Ukraine and NATO allies. While the package was designed to last through the end of the fiscal year in September, much depends upon events on the ground, particularly as the new counteroffensive ramps up.President Joe Biden and his senior national security leaders have repeatedly stated that the United States will help Ukraine&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/putin-zelenskyy-washington-4d5fc23be5518e689fbbcac334769d59">“as long as it takes”</a>&nbsp;to repel the Russian forces. Privately, administration officials have warned Ukrainian officials that there is a limit to the patience of a narrowly divided Congress — and American public — for the costs of a war with no clear end.Members of Congress have repeatedly pressed Defense Department leaders on how closely the U.S. is tracking its aid to Ukraine to ensure that it is not subject to fraud or ending up in the wrong hands. The Pentagon has said it has a “robust program” to track the aid as it crosses the border into Ukraine and to keep tabs on it once it is there, depending on the sensitivity of each weapons system.Singh said the accounting mistake won't affect the ongoing delivery of aid to Ukraine.

U.S. accounting error provides extra $6.2 billion for Ukraine military aid

PAWNEE COUNTY —A Kansas man is going back to prison after a court appearance on June 17.

According to Pawnee County District Attorney Doug McNett, 58-year-old Stacey Minor of Larned, was sentenced to 59 months in prison for convictions of a 3rd violation of the Offender Registration Act and Possession of Methamphetamine with Intent to Distribute; 

Miner has been registered as offender since July of 2010 for convictions that include distribution of heroin, distribution of opiates, conspiracy to manufacture a controlled substance and possession of precursors with intent to manufacture a controlled substance, according to the Kansas Offender Registry.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/6/1686932363835.png" alt="Miner-photo KBI offender registry" />
 <figcaption>Miner-photo KBI offender registry</figcaption>
 </figure>PAWNEE COUNTY —A Kansas man is going back to prison after a court appearance on June 17.According to Pawnee County District Attorney Doug McNett, 58-year-old Stacey Minor of Larned, was sentenced to 59 months in prison for convictions of a 3rd violation of the Offender Registration Act and Possession of Methamphetamine with Intent to Distribute; Miner has been registered as offender since July of 2010 for convictions that include distribution of heroin, distribution of opiates, conspiracy to manufacture a controlled substance and possession of precursors with intent to manufacture a controlled substance, according to the Kansas Offender Registry.

Kan. registered offender convicted of new drug crimes

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas officials have agreed not to enforce a new restriction on medication abortions for at least five weeks before a state court judge decides whether to put it on hold until he decides&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-kansas-waiting-period-medication-reversal-1f0f5fad64b4180997d0f32a32d047dd">a lawsuit</a>&nbsp;challenging it and other existing rules.

Providers and their attorneys announced the agreement Tuesday. For now, providers won't have to tell patients that they can stop a medication abortion using a regimen that providers and major medical groups consider unproven and potentially dangerous. The new rule was set to take effect July 1.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/4/1680967457500.png" alt="The lawsuit alleges that Kansas has a “Biased Counseling Scheme” meant to discourage patients from having abortions-photo AP" />
 <figcaption>The lawsuit alleges that Kansas has a “Biased Counseling Scheme” meant to discourage patients from having abortions-photo AP</figcaption>
 </figure>By JOHN HANNA&nbsp;TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas officials have agreed not to enforce a new restriction on medication abortions for at least five weeks before a state court judge decides whether to put it on hold until he decides&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-kansas-waiting-period-medication-reversal-1f0f5fad64b4180997d0f32a32d047dd">a lawsuit</a>&nbsp;challenging it and other existing rules.Providers and their attorneys announced the agreement Tuesday. For now, providers won't have to tell patients that they can stop a medication abortion using a regimen that providers and major medical groups consider unproven and potentially dangerous. The new rule was set to take effect July 1.The agreement, filed Friday in Johnson County District Court in the Kansas City area, does not prevent the state from enforcing other, existing restrictions the providers have challenged, including a requirement that patients wait 24 hours after seeing a doctor in person to terminate their pregnancies. District Judge K. Christopher Jayaram has set an Aug. 8 hearing to consider whether the newest restriction or others should be blocked while the lawsuit is pending.The providers — a clinic in the Kansas City suburbs in Johnson County operated by Planned Parenthood Great Plains and another nearby clinic and its two doctors — hope to overturn all of the state's requirements for what providers must tell patients. The information must be given to patients 24 hours in advance of their abortions, in writing and in a specific size and kind of type.The lawsuit alleges that Kansas has a “Biased Counseling Scheme” meant to discourage patients from having abortions and to stigmatize those who do. But, for providers, the urgent task was stopping the latest requirement before it took effect, said Alice Wang, an attorney for the Center for Reproductive Rights.“This buys the court and it buys us some more time to litigate that in full while the status quo remains in effect,” Wang said.For more than a decade, abortion opponents have touted a medication “reversal” regimen developed by a veteran California doctor using the hormone progesterone, long given to prevent miscarriages.The new Kansas law was set to take effect less than a year after a decisive August 2022 statewide vote&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-primary-elections-kansas-abortion-b6d62a852c2ce4617f2c03589fbb523e">affirming abortion rights.</a>&nbsp;The Republican-controlled Legislature enacted it over&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-medication-reversal-kansas-veto-55f16c0a47c2b023998cae68b5a5901b">Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly's veto.</a>Abortion opponents argue that the state's “Woman's Right to Know Act” requirements help patients make informed decisions and give them a source of information other than the clinics themselves. They argue that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-pill-reversal-culture-war-kansas-b4f1ab2b807eaa36fe11756248cc08ea">the new medication “reversal” law</a>&nbsp;informs patients of an option if they're still unsure about ending their pregnancies even after taking the first dose of abortion medication.“The new portions are only temporarily delayed during the first phase of litigation," Republican state Attorney General Kris Kobach said in a statement. "The parties have agreed that this is the most efficient way to proceed.”The defendants in the lawsuit include Kobach; the Johnson County district attorney, and the district attorney in Sedgwick County, in the Wichita area, who could prosecute violations of the new law. Five of the state's six abortion clinics are in one of those two counties.Also sued were the chairman and top staffer of the state's medical board, which can suspend or revoke doctors' licenses for breaking state law.___