DOUGLAS COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a shooting in Lawrence that sent a victim to the hospital.

Just before 11:45p.m. Monday, police responded to the 100 Block of Arkansas Street in Lawrence, according to a social media report.

Responding officers found the victim, a 33-year-old man, who was transported to an area trauma center for treatment of gunshot wounds that are not believed to be life-threatening.

Officers located the area where the shooting took place nearby, and crime scene technicians processed the scene for forensic evidence. Detectives continue to&nbsp; follow up on leads. No one is in currently in custody.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/2/1675370024772.png" alt="Photo Lawrence Police" />
 <figcaption>Photo Lawrence Police</figcaption>
 </figure>DOUGLAS COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a shooting in Lawrence that sent a victim to the hospital.Just before 11:45p.m. Monday, police responded to the 100 Block of Arkansas Street in Lawrence, according to a social media report.Responding officers found the victim, a 33-year-old man, who was transported to an area trauma center for treatment of gunshot wounds that are not believed to be life-threatening.Officers located the area where the shooting took place nearby, and crime scene technicians processed the scene for forensic evidence. Detectives continue to&nbsp; follow up on leads. No one is in currently in custody.

33-year-old hospitalized after shooting in Lawrence

BUFFALO, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri man has been sentenced to life in prison without parole for his role in the death of a woman who authorities said was kept in a cage and dismembered.

James Phelps, 60, entered an Alford plea Friday to first-degree murder, kidnapping and abandonment of a corpse in the death of 33-year-old Cassie Rainwater, The Springfield News-Leader&nbsp;<a href="https://www.news-leader.com/story/news/local/ozarks/2023/04/28/man-charged-in-cassidy-rainwater-death-enters-plea-sentenced-to-life/70164196007/">reported</a>. Under an Alford plea, Phelps does not admit guilt but acknowledges enough evidence exists to convict him.

Phelps and Timothy Norton&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/missouri-51f93eea7f79e9792164414092e581f6">were charged</a>&nbsp;in September 2021 after DNA tests identified the remains found at Phelps’ home near Lebanon as Rainwater, Dallas County officials said at the time.

Authorities said the men were initially arrested on a kidnapping charge after the FBI received a tip that photos of Rainwater partially nude and in a cage were found on Phelps' phone.

Dallas County Sheriff Scott Rice has said other photos showed Rainwater's body had been disemboweled and dismembered.

Some of her remains were later found in a freezer, while others were located on a nearby property.

Rainwater was reported missing in August 2021 by a woman who said she was last seen with Phelps.

Phelps twice told investigators that Rainwater was staying with him but she had left for Colorado, according to court records.

Phelps’ house later&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/fires-kidnapping-missouri-arson-5552c41ab88e9dac352f2143ac8aec71">burned to the ground</a>&nbsp;in what investigators determined was arson.

Norton, who faces the same charges as Phelps, is scheduled for a court hearing on Tuesday.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/11/1637236063305.png" alt="Phelps-photo Dallas County" />
 <figcaption>Phelps-photo Dallas County</figcaption>
 </figure>BUFFALO, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri man has been sentenced to life in prison without parole for his role in the death of a woman who authorities said was kept in a cage and dismembered.James Phelps, 60, entered an Alford plea Friday to first-degree murder, kidnapping and abandonment of a corpse in the death of 33-year-old Cassie Rainwater, The Springfield News-Leader&nbsp;<a href="https://www.news-leader.com/story/news/local/ozarks/2023/04/28/man-charged-in-cassidy-rainwater-death-enters-plea-sentenced-to-life/70164196007/">reported</a>. Under an Alford plea, Phelps does not admit guilt but acknowledges enough evidence exists to convict him.Phelps and Timothy Norton&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/missouri-51f93eea7f79e9792164414092e581f6">were charged</a>&nbsp;in September 2021 after DNA tests identified the remains found at Phelps’ home near Lebanon as Rainwater, Dallas County officials said at the time.Authorities said the men were initially arrested on a kidnapping charge after the FBI received a tip that photos of Rainwater partially nude and in a cage were found on Phelps' phone.Dallas County Sheriff Scott Rice has said other photos showed Rainwater's body had been disemboweled and dismembered.Some of her remains were later found in a freezer, while others were located on a nearby property.Rainwater was reported missing in August 2021 by a woman who said she was last seen with Phelps.Phelps twice told investigators that Rainwater was staying with him but she had left for Colorado, according to court records.Phelps’ house later&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/fires-kidnapping-missouri-arson-5552c41ab88e9dac352f2143ac8aec71">burned to the ground</a>&nbsp;in what investigators determined was arson.Norton, who faces the same charges as Phelps, is scheduled for a court hearing on Tuesday.

Man sentenced in death of caged, dismembered woman

MCDONALD COUNTY—One person died in an accident just before 3p.m. Monday in McDonald County.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 2015 Hyundai Sonata driven by Halle M. Hoffman, 27, Grove, Oklahoma, was northbound on Highway 43 two miles northeast of Southwest City.

The driver failed to yield a southbound Yamaha motorcycle driven by Judah R. Hendricks, 29, Noel. He was pronounced dead at the scene and was transported to Ozark Funeral Home in Anderson.

Freeman ambulance transported Hoffman to the hospital in Grove, Oklahoma. She was not wearing a seat belt, according to the MSHP.

MCDONALD COUNTY—One person died in an accident just before 3p.m. Monday in McDonald County.The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 2015 Hyundai Sonata driven by Halle M. Hoffman, 27, Grove, Oklahoma, was northbound on Highway 43 two miles northeast of Southwest City.The driver failed to yield a southbound Yamaha motorcycle driven by Judah R. Hendricks, 29, Noel. He was pronounced dead at the scene and was transported to Ozark Funeral Home in Anderson.Freeman ambulance transported Hoffman to the hospital in Grove, Oklahoma. She was not wearing a seat belt, according to the MSHP.

Missouri man dead after car, motorcycle crash

SEDGWICK COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities investigating a fatal shooting have made an arrest.

Just before 4a.m. Sunday, police were dispatched to a shooting that took place in the 2800 block of East Stadium Drive, according to Officer Juan Rebolledo.

At the scene, officers located a man later identified as 36-year-old Christian Santiago, of Wichita, in the front passenger seat of a white SUV deceased.

Investigators identified 47-year-old Adonis, C. Andrews as a suspect, and he was located Sunday in the 4300 block of Wood Hollow Court. He was arrested and booked into the Sedgwick County Jail on requested charges of First Degree Murder, Aggravated Assault, Aggravated Battery, Aggravated Burglary, Aggravated Robbery, Criminal Possession of a Weapon, Distribute Controlled Substance, and 3 Warrants (x3).&nbsp; The two men knew each other and this was not a random incident, according to Rebolledo.

Andrews has a previous conviction for criminal threat and three previous  drug convictions, according to the Kansas Dept. of Corrections. He had been out of prison since December.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/5/1682951869148.png" alt="Andrews has a previous conviction for criminal threat and three previous&nbsp; drug convictions, according to the Kansas Dept. of Corrections -photo Sedgwick County" />
 <figcaption>Andrews has a previous conviction for criminal threat and three previous&nbsp; drug convictions, according to the Kansas Dept. of Corrections -photo Sedgwick County</figcaption>
 </figure>SEDGWICK COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities investigating a fatal shooting have made an arrest.Just before 4a.m. Sunday, police were dispatched to a shooting that took place in the 2800 block of East Stadium Drive, according to Officer Juan Rebolledo.At the scene, officers located a man later identified as 36-year-old Christian Santiago, of Wichita, in the front passenger seat of a white SUV deceased.Investigators identified 47-year-old Adonis, C. Andrews as a suspect, and he was located Sunday in the 4300 block of Wood Hollow Court. He was arrested and booked into the Sedgwick County Jail on requested charges of First Degree Murder, Aggravated Assault, Aggravated Battery, Aggravated Burglary, Aggravated Robbery, Criminal Possession of a Weapon, Distribute Controlled Substance, and 3 Warrants (x3).&nbsp; The two men knew each other and this was not a random incident, according to Rebolledo.Andrews has a previous conviction for criminal threat and three previous drug convictions, according to the Kansas Dept. of Corrections. He had been out of prison since December.

Man accused of Kansas murder was released from prison in Dec.

NORTON COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating two suspects for alleged hunting violations.

Game Wardens encountered two individuals hunting for turkey in Norton County, according to a social media report from Kansas Dept. of Wildlife and Parks Game Wardens.&nbsp;

Upon noticing the game warden, one individual attempted to fill out a Nebraska turkey tag for a turkey they previously killed in Kansas. The wardens seized three turkeys in connection with violations in Kansas and Nebraska.  Charges are Pending.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/5/1682963388345.png" alt="Photo courtesy KDW&amp;P Game Wardens" />
 <figcaption>Photo courtesy KDW&amp;P Game Wardens</figcaption>
 </figure>NORTON COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating two suspects for alleged hunting violations.Game Wardens encountered two individuals hunting for turkey in Norton County, according to a social media report from Kansas Dept. of Wildlife and Parks Game Wardens.&nbsp;Upon noticing the game warden, one individual attempted to fill out a Nebraska turkey tag for a turkey they previously killed in Kansas. The wardens seized three turkeys in connection with violations in Kansas and Nebraska. Charges are Pending.

Kan. Game Warden: Hunter attempted to falsify turkey tag

WASHINGTON (AP) — Two hospitals that refused to provide an emergency&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/abortion">abortion</a>&nbsp;to a pregnant woman who was experiencing premature labor put her life in jeopardy and violated federal law, a first-of-its-kind investigation by the federal government has found.

The findings, revealed in documents obtained by The Associated Press, are a warning to hospitals around the country as they struggle to reconcile dozens of new state laws that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-abortion-ruling-states-a767801145ad01617100e57410a0a21d">ban or severely restrict abortion</a>&nbsp;with a federal mandate for doctors to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-health-government-and-politics-4221f9306a596904b9af2e0d1fad23b9">provide abortions when a woman's health is at risk</a>. The competing edicts have been rolled out since the Supreme Court&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-supreme-court-decision-854f60302f21c2c35129e58cf8d8a7b0">overturned the constitutional right to an abortion</a>&nbsp;last year.

But federal law, which requires doctors to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-health-idaho-government-and-politics-7c316e07d0889ec5f9c9657a4da2a1d3">treat patients in emergency situations</a>, trumps those state laws, the nation's top health official said in a statement.

“Fortunately, this patient survived. But she never should have gone through the terrifying ordeal she experienced in the first place," Health and Human Services Secretary&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/xavier-becerra">Xavier Becerra</a>&nbsp;said. “We want her, and every patient out there like her, to know that we will do everything we can to protect their lives and health, and to investigate and enforce the law to the fullest extent of our legal authority, in accordance with orders from the courts.”

The federal agency's investigation centers on two hospitals — Freeman Health System in Joplin, Missouri, and University of Kansas Hospital in Kansas City, Kansas — that in August refused to provide an abortion to a Missouri woman whose water broke early at 17 weeks of pregnancy. Doctors at both hospitals&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-health-business-missouri-joplin-4204d1c9c7e9b83a93c833603e55a588">told Mylissa Farmer that her fetus would not survive</a>, that her amniotic fluid had emptied and that she was at risk for serious infection or losing her uterus, but they would not terminate the pregnancy because a fetal heartbeat was still detectable.

Ultimately, Farmer had to travel to an abortion clinic in Illinois.

“It was dehumanizing. It was terrifying. It was horrible not to get the care to save your life,” Farmer, who lives in Joplin, said of her experience. “I felt like I was responsible to do something, to say something, to not have this happen again to another woman. It was bad enough to be so powerless.”

Farmer's complaints launched the first investigations that the Centers for Medicare &amp; Medicaid Services, or CMS, has publicly acknowledged since Roe v. Wade was overturned last year. Across the country,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-science-health-business-890e813d855b57cf8e92ff799580e7e8">women have reported being turned away</a>&nbsp;from hospitals for abortions, despite doctors telling them that this puts them at further risk for infection or even death.

President Joe Biden's administration has prodded hospitals not to turn away patients in those situations, even when state law forbids abortions. Weeks after the Supreme Court's ruling,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-health-government-and-politics-4221f9306a596904b9af2e0d1fad23b9">the Democratic administration reminded hospitals</a>&nbsp;that federal law requires them to offer an abortion when a pregnant woman is at risk for an emergency medical condition. The federal government can investigate hospitals that receive Medicare and Medicaid money — which encompasses most facilities in the U.S. — for violations of the law.

CMS has not announced any fines or other penalties against the two hospitals in its investigation, but it did send them notices warning that they were in violation of the law and asking them to correct the problems that led to Farmer being turned away. Federal Medicare investigators will follow up with the hospitals before closing the case.

Abortions are&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-missouri-constitution-voters-election-0d2fdde552c2478b283937a6fab78cfc#:~:text=Currently%2C%20most%20abortions%20are%20outlawed,least%20one%20Missouri%20Democratic%20strategist.">largely banned in Missouri</a>, but there are exceptions for medical emergencies. In Kansas, when Farmer visited the hospital, abortions were still legal up to 22 weeks. It's unclear why University of Kansas Health refused to offer Farmer one. Neither hospital responded immediately to a request for comment on the case.

Nationwide, doctors have reported uncertainty around how to provide care to pregnant women, especially in the nearly 20 states where new laws have banned or limited the care. Doctors face&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-science-health-medication-lupus-e4042947e4cc0c45e38837d394199033">criminal and civil penalties</a>&nbsp;in some states for aborting a pregnancy.

But in a letter sent Monday to hospital and doctors associations that highlights the investigations, Becerra said he hopes the investigations clarify that the organizations must follow the federal law, the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, or EMTALA.

“While many state laws have recently changed," Becerra wrote, “it’s important to know that the federal EMTALA requirements have not changed, and continue to require that health care professionals offer treatment, including abortion care, that the provider reasonably determines is necessary to stabilize the patient’s emergency medical condition.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/5/1682953822738.png" alt="University of Kansas Hospital in Kansas City, Kansas is among those under investigation -Google image" />
 <figcaption>University of Kansas Hospital in Kansas City, Kansas is among those under investigation -Google image</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — Two hospitals that refused to provide an emergency&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/abortion">abortion</a>&nbsp;to a pregnant woman who was experiencing premature labor put her life in jeopardy and violated federal law, a first-of-its-kind investigation by the federal government has found.The findings, revealed in documents obtained by The Associated Press, are a warning to hospitals around the country as they struggle to reconcile dozens of new state laws that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-abortion-ruling-states-a767801145ad01617100e57410a0a21d">ban or severely restrict abortion</a>&nbsp;with a federal mandate for doctors to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-health-government-and-politics-4221f9306a596904b9af2e0d1fad23b9">provide abortions when a woman's health is at risk</a>. The competing edicts have been rolled out since the Supreme Court&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-supreme-court-decision-854f60302f21c2c35129e58cf8d8a7b0">overturned the constitutional right to an abortion</a>&nbsp;last year.But federal law, which requires doctors to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-health-idaho-government-and-politics-7c316e07d0889ec5f9c9657a4da2a1d3">treat patients in emergency situations</a>, trumps those state laws, the nation's top health official said in a statement.“Fortunately, this patient survived. But she never should have gone through the terrifying ordeal she experienced in the first place," Health and Human Services Secretary&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/xavier-becerra">Xavier Becerra</a>&nbsp;said. “We want her, and every patient out there like her, to know that we will do everything we can to protect their lives and health, and to investigate and enforce the law to the fullest extent of our legal authority, in accordance with orders from the courts.”The federal agency's investigation centers on two hospitals — Freeman Health System in Joplin, Missouri, and University of Kansas Hospital in Kansas City, Kansas — that in August refused to provide an abortion to a Missouri woman whose water broke early at 17 weeks of pregnancy. Doctors at both hospitals&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-health-business-missouri-joplin-4204d1c9c7e9b83a93c833603e55a588">told Mylissa Farmer that her fetus would not survive</a>, that her amniotic fluid had emptied and that she was at risk for serious infection or losing her uterus, but they would not terminate the pregnancy because a fetal heartbeat was still detectable.Ultimately, Farmer had to travel to an abortion clinic in Illinois.“It was dehumanizing. It was terrifying. It was horrible not to get the care to save your life,” Farmer, who lives in Joplin, said of her experience. “I felt like I was responsible to do something, to say something, to not have this happen again to another woman. It was bad enough to be so powerless.”Farmer's complaints launched the first investigations that the Centers for Medicare &amp; Medicaid Services, or CMS, has publicly acknowledged since Roe v. Wade was overturned last year. Across the country,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-science-health-business-890e813d855b57cf8e92ff799580e7e8">women have reported being turned away</a>&nbsp;from hospitals for abortions, despite doctors telling them that this puts them at further risk for infection or even death.President Joe Biden's administration has prodded hospitals not to turn away patients in those situations, even when state law forbids abortions. Weeks after the Supreme Court's ruling,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-health-government-and-politics-4221f9306a596904b9af2e0d1fad23b9">the Democratic administration reminded hospitals</a>&nbsp;that federal law requires them to offer an abortion when a pregnant woman is at risk for an emergency medical condition. The federal government can investigate hospitals that receive Medicare and Medicaid money — which encompasses most facilities in the U.S. — for violations of the law.CMS has not announced any fines or other penalties against the two hospitals in its investigation, but it did send them notices warning that they were in violation of the law and asking them to correct the problems that led to Farmer being turned away. Federal Medicare investigators will follow up with the hospitals before closing the case.Abortions are&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-missouri-constitution-voters-election-0d2fdde552c2478b283937a6fab78cfc#:~:text=Currently%2C%20most%20abortions%20are%20outlawed,least%20one%20Missouri%20Democratic%20strategist.">largely banned in Missouri</a>, but there are exceptions for medical emergencies. In Kansas, when Farmer visited the hospital, abortions were still legal up to 22 weeks. It's unclear why University of Kansas Health refused to offer Farmer one. Neither hospital responded immediately to a request for comment on the case.Nationwide, doctors have reported uncertainty around how to provide care to pregnant women, especially in the nearly 20 states where new laws have banned or limited the care. Doctors face&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-science-health-medication-lupus-e4042947e4cc0c45e38837d394199033">criminal and civil penalties</a>&nbsp;in some states for aborting a pregnancy.But in a letter sent Monday to hospital and doctors associations that highlights the investigations, Becerra said he hopes the investigations clarify that the organizations must follow the federal law, the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, or EMTALA.“While many state laws have recently changed," Becerra wrote, “it’s important to know that the federal EMTALA requirements have not changed, and continue to require that health care professionals offer treatment, including abortion care, that the provider reasonably determines is necessary to stabilize the patient’s emergency medical condition.”

Feds: Mo., Kan. hospitals that denied emergency abortion broke the law

NEW YORK (AP) — Regulators seized troubled First Republic Bank early Monday, making it the second-largest bank failure in U.S. history, and promptly sold all of its deposits and most of its assets to JPMorgan Chase in a bid to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/silicon-valley-fed-supervision-review-30f56061bf5d103cef7e9445d50fd759">end the turmoil</a>&nbsp;that has raised questions about the health of the U.S. banking system.

It's the third midsize bank to fail in less than two months. The only larger bank failure in U.S. history was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/silicon-valley-bank-failure-fdic-tech-vc-f343cdc6a8adee4a3635b756cec1f787">Washington Mutual</a>, which collapsed at the height of the 2008 financial crisis and was also taken over by JPMorgan in a similar government-orchestrated deal.

“Our government invited us and others to step up, and we did,” said Jamie Dimon, chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase.

First Republic's 84 branches opened on Monday as branches of JPMorgan Chase, which acquired the bank's $92 billion in deposits and $203 billion in loans and other securities. The bank's shareholders are likely to be wiped out as part of the deal.

Dimon said in a conference call with both reporters and investors that he believed “this part of this (banking) crisis is over.” Other midsize banks reported their results last week and the vast majority of them showed deposits had stabilized and profits remained relatively healthy. The outlier was First Republic.

Once the envy of the banking industry, First Republic has struggled since the March&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/silicon-valley-bank-uk-bailout-hsbc-sale-4d2da0e9c6f39c0fd8faf321a2b295cf">collapses of Silicon Valley Bank</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/signature-fdic-failure-new-york-community-bank-3c820646cc6574439fa158095594505e">Signature Bank</a>. The bank catered to wealthy clients and had taken on a large amount of uninsured deposits — that is, deposits above the $250,000 limit set by the FDIC.

As was the case with Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, those clients with large accounts at First Republic were quick to pull their money at the first sign of trouble.

“Too many (First Republic) customers showed their true loyalties were to their own fears,” wrote Timothy Coffey, an analyst with Janney Montgomery Scott, in a note to investors.

A coalition of a dozen banks pulled together&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/first-republic-bank-deposits-rescue-9daaea0e7133007d5e7f8257030d1b1c">a $30 billion funding package</a>&nbsp;for First Republic last month that, for awhile, seemed to stanch the bleeding of deposits. But it became increasingly clear that First Republic was on borrowed time: it needed to find a buyer, or find new forms of funding to replace the deposits that had left the bank.

First Republic planned to sell off unprofitable assets, including low interest mortgages that it provided to wealthy clients. It also announced plans to lay off up to a quarter of its workforce, which totaled about 7,200 employees in late 2022. But it was seen as too little, too late, by analysts.

The $30 billion package “bought time when time was needed” for First Republic, said Jeremy Barnum, JPMorgan’s chief financial officer, in a call with reporters.

Last Monday, First Republic reported its first-quarter results and stunned analysts and investors when it revealed that $100 billion in deposits had flowed out of the bank, most in mid-March immediately after the failure of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank. Its executives took no questions from analysts on an earning conference call. First Republic's stock plunged more than 50% the day after the report.

By mid last week, it became clear government intervention in First Republic was necessary. Treasury officials asked banks to submit bids for First Republic, and bankers and regulators worked through the weekend to find a way forward.

Once again JPMorgan Chase, the nation’s biggest bank with a reputation as a dealmaker during times of crisis, became the government's go-to bank. Treasury officials had enlisted JPMorgan last month to lead the $30 billion rescue package. Back in 2008, Dimon was the go-to banker for Washington to find private solutions for that banking crisis and JPMorgan acquired both Bear Stearns and Washington Mutual.

The Federal Reserve and FDIC, which regulate the banking industry along with the Office of Comptroller of the Currency, could face renewed criticism over their handling of First Republic. Both acknowledged Friday in separate reports that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/silicon-valley-fed-supervision-review-30f56061bf5d103cef7e9445d50fd759">lax supervision had contributed</a>&nbsp;to the failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank.

As First Republic grew its deposits, it used them to fund more and more low interest rate loans to customers. When the Fed rapidly increased interest rates last year, the value of those loans decreased.

“These banks were allowed to get too big too quickly when interest rates were low,” Coffey said in an interview.

There could also now be questions about the size of JPMorgan Chase, which has more than $3 trillion in assets and is by far the biggest of the “too big to fail” institutions around the world.

Regulators "permitted the country’s biggest bank to get even bigger. We expect this will be a Democratic focus for months,” said Jaret Seiberg, banking analyst at TD Cowen.

JPMorgan is so big that by law it would not be allowed to buy First Republic because no one bank can have more than a 10% market share of deposits in the U.S. It is only because First Republic failed that JPMorgan was able to step in.

In a statement, JPMorgan portrayed the First Republic deal as beneficial both to the financial system and the company. As part of the agreement, the FDIC will share losses with JPMorgan on First Republic’s loans.

JPMorgan expects the addition of First Republic to add $500 million to its net income per year, although it expects to incur $2 billion in costs integrating First Republic into its operations over the next 18 months.

NEW YORK (AP) — Regulators seized troubled First Republic Bank early Monday and sold all of its deposits and most of its assets to JPMorgan Chase Bank in a bid to head off&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/silicon-valley-fed-supervision-review-30f56061bf5d103cef7e9445d50fd759">further banking turmoil</a>&nbsp;in the U.S.

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/first-republic-bank-silicon-valley-fdic-7a3aba1a94652d2d21f5a10d73894d4d">San Francisco-based First Republic</a>&nbsp;is the third midsize bank to fail in two months. It is the second-biggest bank failure in U.S. history, behind only&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/silicon-valley-bank-failure-fdic-tech-vc-f343cdc6a8adee4a3635b756cec1f787">Washington Mutual</a>, which collapsed at the height of the 2008 financial crisis and was also taken over by JPMorgan.

First Republic has struggled since the March&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/silicon-valley-bank-uk-bailout-hsbc-sale-4d2da0e9c6f39c0fd8faf321a2b295cf">collapses of Silicon Valley Bank</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/signature-fdic-failure-new-york-community-bank-3c820646cc6574439fa158095594505e">Signature Bank</a>&nbsp;and investors and depositors had grown increasingly worried it might not survive because of its high amount of uninsured deposits and exposure to low interest rate loans.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation said early Monday that First Republic Bank’s 84 branches in eight states will reopen as branches of JPMorgan Chase Bank and depositors will have full access to all of their deposits.

Regulators worked through the weekend to find a way forward before&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/stock-market-banks-rates-first-republic-b77be6738745b1dc394a6dbcf374b9a2">U.S. stock markets</a>&nbsp;opened. Markets in many parts of the world were closed for May 1 holidays Monday. The two markets in Asia that were open, in Tokyo and Sydney, rose.

As of April 13, First Republic had approximately $229 billion in total assets and $104 billion in total deposits, the FDIC said.

At the end of last year,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/lbr/current/">the Federal Reserve ranked it 14th in size</a>&nbsp;among U.S. commercial banks. The FDIC estimated its deposit insurance fund would take a $13 billion hit from taking First Republic into receivership. Its rescue of Silicon Valley Bank cost the fund a record $20 billion.

Before Silicon Valley Bank failed, First Republic had a banking franchise that was the envy of most of the industry. Its clients — mostly the rich and powerful — rarely defaulted on their loans. The bank has made much of its money making low-cost loans to the wealthy, which reportedly included Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

Flush with deposits from the well-heeled, First Republic saw total assets more than double from $102 billion at the end of 2019’s first quarter, when its full-time workforce was 4,600.

But the vast majority of its deposits, like those in Silicon Valley and Signature Bank, were uninsured — that is, above the $250,000 limit set by the FDIC. And that worried analysts and investors. If First Republic were to fail, its depositors might not get all their money back.

Those fears were crystalized in the bank’s recent quarterly results. First Republic experienced a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/silicon-valley-bank-bank-run-twitter-fdic-fdbfc08ed00fcbdb9d83897b1b9f42ae">modern day bank run</a>&nbsp;as&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/first-republic-bank-silicon-valley-federal-reserve-fdic-dimon-a6a5de4b82708573a846f24006b9f4c1">customers rushed to pull out more than $100 billion in deposits</a>&nbsp;following the failure of Silicon Valley and Signature Bank. Unlike bank runs throughout history, First Republic's demise was fueled by the speed of social media and digital withdrawals that can be made in seconds from a cell phone.

San Francisco-based First Republic said that it was only able to stanch the bleeding after a group of large banks&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/first-republic-bank-deposits-rescue-9daaea0e7133007d5e7f8257030d1b1c">stepped in to save it with $30 billion</a>&nbsp;in uninsured deposits.

First Republic had been looking for a way to quickly turn itself around. The bank planned to sell off unprofitable assets, including the low interest mortgages that it provided to wealthy clients. It also announced plans to lay off up to a quarter of its workforce, which totaled about 7,200 employees in late 2022.

Investors were skeptical, and the devastating quarterly report sent them running for the exits. First Republic shares fell 75% last week and closed Friday at $3.51. Any remaining shareholders are likely to get wiped out. The shares traded at $115 on March 8, right before Silicon Valley Bank failed.

The Fed and FDIC, which regulate the banking industry along with the Office of Comptroller of the Currency, could face renewed criticism over their handling of First Republic. Both acknowledged Friday in separate reports that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/silicon-valley-fed-supervision-review-30f56061bf5d103cef7e9445d50fd759">lax supervision had contributed</a>&nbsp;to the failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank.

For Dimon and JPMorgan, there may be a sense of déjà vu: Back in 2008, Dimon was the go-to banker for Washington to find private solutions for that banking crisis and JPMorgan acquired both Bear Stearns and Washington Mutual.

In a statement, JPMorgan portrayed the First Republic deal as beneficial both to the financial system and the company. As part of the agreement, the FDIC will share losses with JPMorgan on First Republic’s loans. JPMorgan expects the addition of First Republic to add $500 million to its net income per year, although it expects to incur $2 billion in costs integrating First Republic into its operations over the next 18 months. .

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/5/1682936523768.png" alt="photo courtesy First Republic Bank" />
 <figcaption>photo courtesy First Republic Bank</figcaption>
 </figure>NEW YORK (AP) — Regulators seized troubled First Republic Bank early Monday, making it the second-largest bank failure in U.S. history, and promptly sold all of its deposits and most of its assets to JPMorgan Chase in a bid to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/silicon-valley-fed-supervision-review-30f56061bf5d103cef7e9445d50fd759">end the turmoil</a>&nbsp;that has raised questions about the health of the U.S. banking system.It's the third midsize bank to fail in less than two months. The only larger bank failure in U.S. history was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/silicon-valley-bank-failure-fdic-tech-vc-f343cdc6a8adee4a3635b756cec1f787">Washington Mutual</a>, which collapsed at the height of the 2008 financial crisis and was also taken over by JPMorgan in a similar government-orchestrated deal.“Our government invited us and others to step up, and we did,” said Jamie Dimon, chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase.First Republic's 84 branches opened on Monday as branches of JPMorgan Chase, which acquired the bank's $92 billion in deposits and $203 billion in loans and other securities. The bank's shareholders are likely to be wiped out as part of the deal.Dimon said in a conference call with both reporters and investors that he believed “this part of this (banking) crisis is over.” Other midsize banks reported their results last week and the vast majority of them showed deposits had stabilized and profits remained relatively healthy. The outlier was First Republic.Once the envy of the banking industry, First Republic has struggled since the March&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/silicon-valley-bank-uk-bailout-hsbc-sale-4d2da0e9c6f39c0fd8faf321a2b295cf">collapses of Silicon Valley Bank</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/signature-fdic-failure-new-york-community-bank-3c820646cc6574439fa158095594505e">Signature Bank</a>. The bank catered to wealthy clients and had taken on a large amount of uninsured deposits — that is, deposits above the $250,000 limit set by the FDIC.As was the case with Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, those clients with large accounts at First Republic were quick to pull their money at the first sign of trouble.“Too many (First Republic) customers showed their true loyalties were to their own fears,” wrote Timothy Coffey, an analyst with Janney Montgomery Scott, in a note to investors.A coalition of a dozen banks pulled together&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/first-republic-bank-deposits-rescue-9daaea0e7133007d5e7f8257030d1b1c">a $30 billion funding package</a>&nbsp;for First Republic last month that, for awhile, seemed to stanch the bleeding of deposits. But it became increasingly clear that First Republic was on borrowed time: it needed to find a buyer, or find new forms of funding to replace the deposits that had left the bank.First Republic planned to sell off unprofitable assets, including low interest mortgages that it provided to wealthy clients. It also announced plans to lay off up to a quarter of its workforce, which totaled about 7,200 employees in late 2022. But it was seen as too little, too late, by analysts.The $30 billion package “bought time when time was needed” for First Republic, said Jeremy Barnum, JPMorgan’s chief financial officer, in a call with reporters.Last Monday, First Republic reported its first-quarter results and stunned analysts and investors when it revealed that $100 billion in deposits had flowed out of the bank, most in mid-March immediately after the failure of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank. Its executives took no questions from analysts on an earning conference call. First Republic's stock plunged more than 50% the day after the report.By mid last week, it became clear government intervention in First Republic was necessary. Treasury officials asked banks to submit bids for First Republic, and bankers and regulators worked through the weekend to find a way forward.Once again JPMorgan Chase, the nation’s biggest bank with a reputation as a dealmaker during times of crisis, became the government's go-to bank. Treasury officials had enlisted JPMorgan last month to lead the $30 billion rescue package. Back in 2008, Dimon was the go-to banker for Washington to find private solutions for that banking crisis and JPMorgan acquired both Bear Stearns and Washington Mutual.The Federal Reserve and FDIC, which regulate the banking industry along with the Office of Comptroller of the Currency, could face renewed criticism over their handling of First Republic. Both acknowledged Friday in separate reports that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/silicon-valley-fed-supervision-review-30f56061bf5d103cef7e9445d50fd759">lax supervision had contributed</a>&nbsp;to the failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank.As First Republic grew its deposits, it used them to fund more and more low interest rate loans to customers. When the Fed rapidly increased interest rates last year, the value of those loans decreased.“These banks were allowed to get too big too quickly when interest rates were low,” Coffey said in an interview.There could also now be questions about the size of JPMorgan Chase, which has more than $3 trillion in assets and is by far the biggest of the “too big to fail” institutions around the world.Regulators "permitted the country’s biggest bank to get even bigger. We expect this will be a Democratic focus for months,” said Jaret Seiberg, banking analyst at TD Cowen.JPMorgan is so big that by law it would not be allowed to buy First Republic because no one bank can have more than a 10% market share of deposits in the U.S. It is only because First Republic failed that JPMorgan was able to step in.In a statement, JPMorgan portrayed the First Republic deal as beneficial both to the financial system and the company. As part of the agreement, the FDIC will share losses with JPMorgan on First Republic’s loans.JPMorgan expects the addition of First Republic to add $500 million to its net income per year, although it expects to incur $2 billion in costs integrating First Republic into its operations over the next 18 months.---------------NEW YORK (AP) — Regulators seized troubled First Republic Bank early Monday and sold all of its deposits and most of its assets to JPMorgan Chase Bank in a bid to head off&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/silicon-valley-fed-supervision-review-30f56061bf5d103cef7e9445d50fd759">further banking turmoil</a>&nbsp;in the U.S.<a href="https://apnews.com/article/first-republic-bank-silicon-valley-fdic-7a3aba1a94652d2d21f5a10d73894d4d">San Francisco-based First Republic</a>&nbsp;is the third midsize bank to fail in two months. It is the second-biggest bank failure in U.S. history, behind only&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/silicon-valley-bank-failure-fdic-tech-vc-f343cdc6a8adee4a3635b756cec1f787">Washington Mutual</a>, which collapsed at the height of the 2008 financial crisis and was also taken over by JPMorgan.First Republic has struggled since the March&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/silicon-valley-bank-uk-bailout-hsbc-sale-4d2da0e9c6f39c0fd8faf321a2b295cf">collapses of Silicon Valley Bank</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/signature-fdic-failure-new-york-community-bank-3c820646cc6574439fa158095594505e">Signature Bank</a>&nbsp;and investors and depositors had grown increasingly worried it might not survive because of its high amount of uninsured deposits and exposure to low interest rate loans.The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation said early Monday that First Republic Bank’s 84 branches in eight states will reopen as branches of JPMorgan Chase Bank and depositors will have full access to all of their deposits.Regulators worked through the weekend to find a way forward before&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/stock-market-banks-rates-first-republic-b77be6738745b1dc394a6dbcf374b9a2">U.S. stock markets</a>&nbsp;opened. Markets in many parts of the world were closed for May 1 holidays Monday. The two markets in Asia that were open, in Tokyo and Sydney, rose.“Our government invited us and others to step up, and we did,” said Jamie Dimon, chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase.As of April 13, First Republic had approximately $229 billion in total assets and $104 billion in total deposits, the FDIC said.At the end of last year,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/lbr/current/">the Federal Reserve ranked it 14th in size</a>&nbsp;among U.S. commercial banks. The FDIC estimated its deposit insurance fund would take a $13 billion hit from taking First Republic into receivership. Its rescue of Silicon Valley Bank cost the fund a record $20 billion.Before Silicon Valley Bank failed, First Republic had a banking franchise that was the envy of most of the industry. Its clients — mostly the rich and powerful — rarely defaulted on their loans. The bank has made much of its money making low-cost loans to the wealthy, which reportedly included Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg.Flush with deposits from the well-heeled, First Republic saw total assets more than double from $102 billion at the end of 2019’s first quarter, when its full-time workforce was 4,600.But the vast majority of its deposits, like those in Silicon Valley and Signature Bank, were uninsured — that is, above the $250,000 limit set by the FDIC. And that worried analysts and investors. If First Republic were to fail, its depositors might not get all their money back.Those fears were crystalized in the bank’s recent quarterly results. First Republic experienced a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/silicon-valley-bank-bank-run-twitter-fdic-fdbfc08ed00fcbdb9d83897b1b9f42ae">modern day bank run</a>&nbsp;as&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/first-republic-bank-silicon-valley-federal-reserve-fdic-dimon-a6a5de4b82708573a846f24006b9f4c1">customers rushed to pull out more than $100 billion in deposits</a>&nbsp;following the failure of Silicon Valley and Signature Bank. Unlike bank runs throughout history, First Republic's demise was fueled by the speed of social media and digital withdrawals that can be made in seconds from a cell phone.San Francisco-based First Republic said that it was only able to stanch the bleeding after a group of large banks&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/first-republic-bank-deposits-rescue-9daaea0e7133007d5e7f8257030d1b1c">stepped in to save it with $30 billion</a>&nbsp;in uninsured deposits.First Republic had been looking for a way to quickly turn itself around. The bank planned to sell off unprofitable assets, including the low interest mortgages that it provided to wealthy clients. It also announced plans to lay off up to a quarter of its workforce, which totaled about 7,200 employees in late 2022.Investors were skeptical, and the devastating quarterly report sent them running for the exits. First Republic shares fell 75% last week and closed Friday at $3.51. Any remaining shareholders are likely to get wiped out. The shares traded at $115 on March 8, right before Silicon Valley Bank failed.The Fed and FDIC, which regulate the banking industry along with the Office of Comptroller of the Currency, could face renewed criticism over their handling of First Republic. Both acknowledged Friday in separate reports that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/silicon-valley-fed-supervision-review-30f56061bf5d103cef7e9445d50fd759">lax supervision had contributed</a>&nbsp;to the failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank.For Dimon and JPMorgan, there may be a sense of déjà vu: Back in 2008, Dimon was the go-to banker for Washington to find private solutions for that banking crisis and JPMorgan acquired both Bear Stearns and Washington Mutual.In a statement, JPMorgan portrayed the First Republic deal as beneficial both to the financial system and the company. As part of the agreement, the FDIC will share losses with JPMorgan on First Republic’s loans. JPMorgan expects the addition of First Republic to add $500 million to its net income per year, although it expects to incur $2 billion in costs integrating First Republic into its operations over the next 18 months. .

First Republic Bank: Second-largest bank failure in U.S. history

By SHERMAN SMITH <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/briefs/kansas-house-agrees-to-raise-legal-smoking-age-to-21/">Kansas Reflector</a>

TOPEKA — An investigation into Emporia State University’s realignment plan, which included the firing of tenured professors, faults the university for “shifting and incoherent rationales” and concludes university administrators and Kansas Board of Regents members are “unfit to lead.”

The American Association of University Professors&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/aaup_EmporiaState_Final.pdf">released its findings</a>&nbsp;Monday following months of interviews and review of documentation. Investigators said the actions taken by ESU president Ken Hush with&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2022/09/14/emporia-state-receives-green-light-to-move-rapidly-with-faculty-program-realignment/">the blessing of KBOR</a>&nbsp;amounts to an attack on academic freedom.

“This does not reflect well on the university,” said Michael DeCesare, a senior program officer for AAUP and a professor of sociology at Merrimack College in Massachusetts. “If I were a prospective faculty member reading this report and reading your reporting on what’s going on since the fall, I would have serious reservations about even considering a position at Emporia State.”

<a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2022/09/22/emporia-state-university-faculty-leaders-wait-for-answers-after-rapid-firing-of-tenured-professors/">ESU fired 30 tenured and tenure-track professors in September 2022</a>&nbsp;under a temporary COVID-19 emergency policy that was put in place January 2021, before vaccines were widely available, and set to expire Dec. 31, 2022. The university cited “extreme financial pressure” when presenting its “framework” for campus realignment to KBOR, even though the university wasn’t facing financial exigency.

The university subsequently reinvested in new programs,&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/04/05/emporia-state-university-awarded-bonuses-to-68-faculty-after-firing-tenured-professors/">handed out secret “performance bonuses,”</a>&nbsp;offered to rehire fired professors as adjuncts, and is looking to hire new professors with the same qualifications as ones who were fired.

Last week, an appeals officer for the state Office of Administrative Hearings reinstated Michael Behrens, an associate professor of English. He is the third fired faculty member to get his job back through the appeals process, with 10 more awaiting decisions.&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/04/19/two-emporia-state-university-professors-reinstated-as-bonus-tension-swirls/">All three were reinstated</a>&nbsp;for the same reason: The university refused to say why they were fired.

Meanwhile, the university last week announced restructuring plans, which include the merger and renaming of various departments or programs and a stated desire to eliminate middle management. The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences was moved into the new School of Science &amp; Mathematics, prompting some professors to joke that they now teach “S&amp;M.”

“When you just look at the big picture from a distance, what it appears to be is a relatively new president comes on board and within a few months of becoming a permanent president, he applies to take advantage of this board policy that’s been sitting dormant for over a year and a half, for no reason,” DeCesare said. “And suddenly, 30 tenured and tenure track faculty members are out of jobs. The curriculum is being completely redefined. Now they’ve eliminated, quote unquote, middle management positions. But the stated rationale for any of these major changes, when stated at all, seems to shift constantly. If I were faculty over at Emporia State, my head would be spinning right now.”

KBOR and ESU communications staff didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment for this story.

Hush took over as ESU interim president in November 2021. KBOR, after a secret hiring process, named Hush president on June 22, 2022.

In a letter to AAUP, Hush emphasized that changes were the result of a campus-wide study that began in July 2021 and was completed in February 2022. Hush then formed a team of 12 individuals, “selected for their contributions to the university,” he wrote, “to evaluate, question and consider the operational, financial and marketplace value of all academic programs.”

Hush denied making any personnel decisions based on any person’s personal, professional or political views. He provided an accompanying letter by a history professor who noted his career had blossomed since Hush’s arrival even though the history professor identifies as an outspoken political conservative.

The AAUP report notes that “this faculty member appeared to overlook the possibility that these very characteristics protected him from the fate suffered by dozens of his tenured colleagues.”

AAUP&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2022/10/20/national-faculty-group-to-investigate-layoffs-finances-and-academic-freedom-at-emporia-state/">formed an investigative committee</a>&nbsp;in November. That team conducted interviews by video conference in December and January with 15 current and former faculty members, Kansas AAUP conference leaders, a former interim president of ESU and KBOR chairman Jon Rolph. The committee also reviewed “voluminous evidence” associated with appeals, policies, KBOR and faculty senate meetings, and news reports.

The report found the appeals process, in which faculty members were not allowed to gather evidence or call witnesses, to be “shockingly inadequate.” They were given a bullet-point list of nine possible reasons for their dismissal, copied from the “framework” policy approved by KBOR.

Lynnette Sievert, professor of biological sciences, asked the investigating committee: “How do you write an appeal letter when you don’t know why you’re being fired?”

During appeals hearings, the administration “proceeded to chastise faculty members for failing to intuit the precise reasons for their selection,” the AAUP report said. The report also said administration was “breathtaking in its feigned incredulity.”

At times, the AAUP report said, the university mispresented evidence during appeals and made “a mockery of basic due process rights.”

The university cited part of Sievert’s own appeal as a reason for why he should be fired. Sievert, the university noted, had written that it would have to replace him with “someone who can teach healthcare type classes[.]” The AAUP noted that the university deleted the rest of Sievert’s sentence: “which I am fully capable of doing.”

The report highlighted “shifting and incoherent rationales” for the university’s actions.

The “framework” presented to KBOR provides no financial or enrollment data. The university never explained how its financial pressures differ from hundreds of other colleges and universities that have overcome those challenges without resorting to such extreme measures. In stating its case to the regents, administration referenced “substantive changes in the educational marketplace.”

The rationale was further clouded, the report said, by public statements from ESU that faculty were dismissed as part of a “strategic alignment.”

“In other words, while the administration pleaded financial hardship and warned of an impending crisis when submitting its framework for KBOR approval, its media messaging painted a different picture,” the report said. “While soft-pedaling budgetary motivations for the terminations, the administration consistently emphasized the programmatic reinvestments to come.”

It also wasn’t clear why the university needed to use the emergency policy offered by KBOR instead of following existing procedures for eliminating programs.

“A critical question lingers: If KBOR and the administration could take such extreme measures once on such flimsy grounds, what is to prevent them from doing it again?” the report said.

The report noted the effect the university’s actions would have on donations. H. Edward Flentje,&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/briefs/former-interim-emporia-state-president-condemns-mass-firing-of-tenured-faculty/">a former interim president</a>, told AAUP that he and his wife had asked the university to return money they gave to endow a scholarship in political science, a program that was discontinued.

In conclusion, the report said the willingness of KBOR members to approve a 2.5-page “framework” was so stunning it brings into question the qualification of board members.

“The unilateral termination of 30 tenured and tenure-track faculty appointments by the administration of Emporia State University is a signal event in American higher education,” the report said. “Remarkably, the Kansas Board of Regents and the ESU administration have insisted that they support tenure and academic freedom. If we take them at their word, we must conclude that they are unfit to lead, least of all during a crisis.

<figure>
 <img src="https://kansasreflector.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/P4180680-1024x576.jpg" alt="A sign from April 18, 2023, on the Emporia State University campus promises improvements. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption>A sign from April 18, 2023, on the Emporia State University campus promises improvements. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure>By SHERMAN SMITH <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/briefs/kansas-house-agrees-to-raise-legal-smoking-age-to-21/">Kansas Reflector</a>TOPEKA — An investigation into Emporia State University’s realignment plan, which included the firing of tenured professors, faults the university for “shifting and incoherent rationales” and concludes university administrators and Kansas Board of Regents members are “unfit to lead.”The American Association of University Professors&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/aaup_EmporiaState_Final.pdf">released its findings</a>&nbsp;Monday following months of interviews and review of documentation. Investigators said the actions taken by ESU president Ken Hush with&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2022/09/14/emporia-state-receives-green-light-to-move-rapidly-with-faculty-program-realignment/">the blessing of KBOR</a>&nbsp;amounts to an attack on academic freedom.“This does not reflect well on the university,” said Michael DeCesare, a senior program officer for AAUP and a professor of sociology at Merrimack College in Massachusetts. “If I were a prospective faculty member reading this report and reading your reporting on what’s going on since the fall, I would have serious reservations about even considering a position at Emporia State.”<a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2022/09/22/emporia-state-university-faculty-leaders-wait-for-answers-after-rapid-firing-of-tenured-professors/">ESU fired 30 tenured and tenure-track professors in September 2022</a>&nbsp;under a temporary COVID-19 emergency policy that was put in place January 2021, before vaccines were widely available, and set to expire Dec. 31, 2022. The university cited “extreme financial pressure” when presenting its “framework” for campus realignment to KBOR, even though the university wasn’t facing financial exigency.The university subsequently reinvested in new programs,&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/04/05/emporia-state-university-awarded-bonuses-to-68-faculty-after-firing-tenured-professors/">handed out secret “performance bonuses,”</a>&nbsp;offered to rehire fired professors as adjuncts, and is looking to hire new professors with the same qualifications as ones who were fired.Last week, an appeals officer for the state Office of Administrative Hearings reinstated Michael Behrens, an associate professor of English. He is the third fired faculty member to get his job back through the appeals process, with 10 more awaiting decisions.&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/04/19/two-emporia-state-university-professors-reinstated-as-bonus-tension-swirls/">All three were reinstated</a>&nbsp;for the same reason: The university refused to say why they were fired.Meanwhile, the university last week announced restructuring plans, which include the merger and renaming of various departments or programs and a stated desire to eliminate middle management. The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences was moved into the new School of Science &amp; Mathematics, prompting some professors to joke that they now teach “S&amp;M.”“When you just look at the big picture from a distance, what it appears to be is a relatively new president comes on board and within a few months of becoming a permanent president, he applies to take advantage of this board policy that’s been sitting dormant for over a year and a half, for no reason,” DeCesare said. “And suddenly, 30 tenured and tenure track faculty members are out of jobs. The curriculum is being completely redefined. Now they’ve eliminated, quote unquote, middle management positions. But the stated rationale for any of these major changes, when stated at all, seems to shift constantly. If I were faculty over at Emporia State, my head would be spinning right now.”KBOR and ESU communications staff didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment for this story.Hush took over as ESU interim president in November 2021. KBOR, after a secret hiring process, named Hush president on June 22, 2022.In a letter to AAUP, Hush emphasized that changes were the result of a campus-wide study that began in July 2021 and was completed in February 2022. Hush then formed a team of 12 individuals, “selected for their contributions to the university,” he wrote, “to evaluate, question and consider the operational, financial and marketplace value of all academic programs.”Hush denied making any personnel decisions based on any person’s personal, professional or political views. He provided an accompanying letter by a history professor who noted his career had blossomed since Hush’s arrival even though the history professor identifies as an outspoken political conservative.The AAUP report notes that “this faculty member appeared to overlook the possibility that these very characteristics protected him from the fate suffered by dozens of his tenured colleagues.”AAUP&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2022/10/20/national-faculty-group-to-investigate-layoffs-finances-and-academic-freedom-at-emporia-state/">formed an investigative committee</a>&nbsp;in November. That team conducted interviews by video conference in December and January with 15 current and former faculty members, Kansas AAUP conference leaders, a former interim president of ESU and KBOR chairman Jon Rolph. The committee also reviewed “voluminous evidence” associated with appeals, policies, KBOR and faculty senate meetings, and news reports.The report found the appeals process, in which faculty members were not allowed to gather evidence or call witnesses, to be “shockingly inadequate.” They were given a bullet-point list of nine possible reasons for their dismissal, copied from the “framework” policy approved by KBOR.Lynnette Sievert, professor of biological sciences, asked the investigating committee: “How do you write an appeal letter when you don’t know why you’re being fired?”During appeals hearings, the administration “proceeded to chastise faculty members for failing to intuit the precise reasons for their selection,” the AAUP report said. The report also said administration was “breathtaking in its feigned incredulity.”At times, the AAUP report said, the university mispresented evidence during appeals and made “a mockery of basic due process rights.”The university cited part of Sievert’s own appeal as a reason for why he should be fired. Sievert, the university noted, had written that it would have to replace him with “someone who can teach healthcare type classes[.]” The AAUP noted that the university deleted the rest of Sievert’s sentence: “which I am fully capable of doing.”The report highlighted “shifting and incoherent rationales” for the university’s actions.The “framework” presented to KBOR provides no financial or enrollment data. The university never explained how its financial pressures differ from hundreds of other colleges and universities that have overcome those challenges without resorting to such extreme measures. In stating its case to the regents, administration referenced “substantive changes in the educational marketplace.”The rationale was further clouded, the report said, by public statements from ESU that faculty were dismissed as part of a “strategic alignment.”“In other words, while the administration pleaded financial hardship and warned of an impending crisis when submitting its framework for KBOR approval, its media messaging painted a different picture,” the report said. “While soft-pedaling budgetary motivations for the terminations, the administration consistently emphasized the programmatic reinvestments to come.”It also wasn’t clear why the university needed to use the emergency policy offered by KBOR instead of following existing procedures for eliminating programs.“A critical question lingers: If KBOR and the administration could take such extreme measures once on such flimsy grounds, what is to prevent them from doing it again?” the report said.The report noted the effect the university’s actions would have on donations. H. Edward Flentje,&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/briefs/former-interim-emporia-state-president-condemns-mass-firing-of-tenured-faculty/">a former interim president</a>, told AAUP that he and his wife had asked the university to return money they gave to endow a scholarship in political science, a program that was discontinued.In conclusion, the report said the willingness of KBOR members to approve a 2.5-page “framework” was so stunning it brings into question the qualification of board members.“The unilateral termination of 30 tenured and tenure-track faculty appointments by the administration of Emporia State University is a signal event in American higher education,” the report said. “Remarkably, the Kansas Board of Regents and the ESU administration have insisted that they support tenure and academic freedom. If we take them at their word, we must conclude that they are unfit to lead, least of all during a crisis.

Investigation: Emporia State, Kan. Board of Regents members ‘unfit to lead.'

KANSAS CITY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating an accident that left one dead and two injured following an ambulance crash in Johnson County, Missouri.

Just after 4p.m. Sunday, police responded to the grass median between north and southbound U.S. 71 at Bannister Road, according to Kansas City Police.

The driver of a Johnson County, Missouri ambulance lost control of the vehicle while traveling in the No. 2 lane of travel on the Bannister Road overpass.

&nbsp;The ambulance left the road and rolled, according to KCPD. A&nbsp;patient on board was pronounced deceased at the scene.

Two Emergency Medical Technicians were transported to an area hospital.

Johnson County Ambulance Chief Shane Lockard reported in a media release "both EMTs were recovering after the tragic accident. Please keep the friends and family of our patient in your hearts as we mourn their loss." The accident remains under investigation.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/5/1682959235438.png" alt="Traffic backed up near the accident scene Sunday-image KC Scout" />
 <figcaption>Traffic backed up near the accident scene Sunday-image KC Scout</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating an accident that left one dead and two injured following an ambulance crash in Johnson County, Missouri.Just after 4p.m. Sunday, police responded to the grass median between north and southbound U.S. 71 at Bannister Road, according to Kansas City Police.The driver of a Johnson County, Missouri ambulance lost control of the vehicle while traveling in the No. 2 lane of travel on the Bannister Road overpass.&nbsp;The ambulance left the road and rolled, according to KCPD. A&nbsp;patient on board was pronounced deceased at the scene.Two Emergency Medical Technicians were transported to an area hospital.Johnson County Ambulance Chief Shane Lockard reported in a media release "both EMTs were recovering after the tragic accident. Please keep the friends and family of our patient in your hearts as we mourn their loss." The accident remains under investigation.

Patient dies in ambulance crash near Kansas City

WASHINGTON (AP) — Hundreds of Americans fleeing two weeks of deadly fighting in Sudan reached the east African nation’s port Saturday in the first U.S.-run evacuation, completing a dangerous land journey under escort of armed drones.

American unmanned aircraft, which have been keeping an eye on overland evacuation routes for days, provided armed overwatch for a bus convoy carrying 200 to 300 Americans over 500 miles, or 800 kilometers, to Port Sudan, a place of relative safety, U.S. officials said.

The U.S., which had none of its officials on the ground for the evacuation, has been criticized by families of trapped Americans in Sudan for initially ruling out any U.S.-run evacuation for Americans who wanted out, calling it too dangerous.

U.S. special operations troops briefly flew to the capital, Khartoum, on April 22 to airlift out American staffers at the embassy and other American government personnel. Several thousand U.S. citizens were left behind, many of them dual-nationals.

More than a dozen other nations had already been carrying out evacuations for their citizens, using a mix of military planes, navy vessels and on the ground personnel.

A wide-ranging group of international mediators — including African and Arab nations, the United Nations and the United States — has only managed to achieve a series of fragile temporary cease-fires that failed to stop clashes but created enough of a lull for tens of thousands of Sudanese to flee to safer areas and for foreign nations to evacuate thousands of their citizens by land, air and sea.

Since the conflict between two rival generals broke out April 15, the U.S. has warned its citizens that they needed to find their own way out of the country, though U.S. officials have tried to link up Americans with other nations’ evacuation efforts. But that changed as U.S. officials exploited a relative lull in the fighting and, from afar, organized their own convoy for Americans, officials said.

Without the evacuation flights near the capital that other countries have been offering their citizens, many U.S. citizens have been left to make the dangerous overland journey from Khartoum to the country’s main Red Sea port, Port Sudan. One Sudanese-American family that made the trip earlier described passing through numerous checkpoints manned by armed men and passing bodies lying in the street and vehicles of other fleeing families who had been killed along the way.

State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said the convoy carried U.S. citizens, local people employed by the U.S. and citizens of allied countries. “We reiterate our warning to Americans not to travel to Sudan,” he said.

From Port Sudan, away from the fighting, the Americans in the convoy can seek spots on vessels crossing the Red Sea to the Saudi port city of Jeddah. U.S. officials also are working with Saudi Arabia to see if one of the kingdom’s naval vessels can carry a larger number of Americans to Jeddah.

U.S. consular officials will be waiting for the Americans once they reach the dock in Jeddah, but there are no U.S. personnel in Port Sudan, officials said.

Two Americans are confirmed killed in the fighting that erupted April 15. One was a U.S. civilian whom officials said was caught in crossfire. The other was an Iowa City, Iowa, doctor, who was stabbed to death in front of his house and family in Khartoum, in the lawless violence that has accompanied the fighting.

In all, the fighting in the east African country has killed more than 500 people.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Hundreds of Americans fleeing two weeks of deadly fighting in Sudan reached the east African nation’s port Saturday in the first U.S.-run evacuation, completing a dangerous land journey under escort of armed drones.American unmanned aircraft, which have been keeping an eye on overland evacuation routes for days, provided armed overwatch for a bus convoy carrying 200 to 300 Americans over 500 miles, or 800 kilometers, to Port Sudan, a place of relative safety, U.S. officials said.The U.S., which had none of its officials on the ground for the evacuation, has been criticized by families of trapped Americans in Sudan for initially ruling out any U.S.-run evacuation for Americans who wanted out, calling it too dangerous.U.S. special operations troops briefly flew to the capital, Khartoum, on April 22 to airlift out American staffers at the embassy and other American government personnel. Several thousand U.S. citizens were left behind, many of them dual-nationals.More than a dozen other nations had already been carrying out evacuations for their citizens, using a mix of military planes, navy vessels and on the ground personnel.A wide-ranging group of international mediators — including African and Arab nations, the United Nations and the United States — has only managed to achieve a series of fragile temporary cease-fires that failed to stop clashes but created enough of a lull for tens of thousands of Sudanese to flee to safer areas and for foreign nations to evacuate thousands of their citizens by land, air and sea.Since the conflict between two rival generals broke out April 15, the U.S. has warned its citizens that they needed to find their own way out of the country, though U.S. officials have tried to link up Americans with other nations’ evacuation efforts. But that changed as U.S. officials exploited a relative lull in the fighting and, from afar, organized their own convoy for Americans, officials said.Without the evacuation flights near the capital that other countries have been offering their citizens, many U.S. citizens have been left to make the dangerous overland journey from Khartoum to the country’s main Red Sea port, Port Sudan. One Sudanese-American family that made the trip earlier described passing through numerous checkpoints manned by armed men and passing bodies lying in the street and vehicles of other fleeing families who had been killed along the way.State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said the convoy carried U.S. citizens, local people employed by the U.S. and citizens of allied countries. “We reiterate our warning to Americans not to travel to Sudan,” he said.From Port Sudan, away from the fighting, the Americans in the convoy can seek spots on vessels crossing the Red Sea to the Saudi port city of Jeddah. U.S. officials also are working with Saudi Arabia to see if one of the kingdom’s naval vessels can carry a larger number of Americans to Jeddah.U.S. consular officials will be waiting for the Americans once they reach the dock in Jeddah, but there are no U.S. personnel in Port Sudan, officials said.Two Americans are confirmed killed in the fighting that erupted April 15. One was a U.S. civilian whom officials said was caught in crossfire. The other was an Iowa City, Iowa, doctor, who was stabbed to death in front of his house and family in Khartoum, in the lawless violence that has accompanied the fighting.In all, the fighting in the east African country has killed more than 500 people.

US conducts 1st evacuation of Americans from Sudan war

KANSAS CITY —Two men in Kansas City for the NFL Draft face burglary and&nbsp; other charges for stealing NFL jerseys for top draft picks from areas requiring special NFL Draft access credentials, according to Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker.

Jude Ocanas, 19, Los Angeles, California and Eric F. Lambkins, 41, of Marietta, Georgia each face Burglary 2nd Degree, Stealing, and a misdemeanor count of Trespass 1st Degree.

According to court records filed Saturday, NFL officials reported Friday that three NFL jerseys were stolen from the Nike Room of the NFL draft. 

KCPD detectives reviewed video from security cameras that showed the defendants entering areas early in the morning on Friday, including the Talent Waiting Room, which is adjacent to the Nike Room. 

NFL officials advised that the defendants had credentials for the NFL Draft but not for those areas and not at that time of the morning. Three jerseys, valued by the NFL at $350 each, were stolen. One was a blue Dallas Cowboy's jersey, a second was a red San Francisco 49ers jersey and the third was a Minnesota Vikings jersey. Each jersey had a No. 1 on the back and were available for first-round picks for those teams.&nbsp;

The defendants, according to court records, were arrested later Friday as they were attempting to leave for their home states. Two of the jerseys were found in their luggage.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/4/1682821638304.png" alt="Ocanas-photo Jackson Co." />
 <figcaption>Ocanas-photo Jackson Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY —Two men in Kansas City for the NFL Draft face burglary and&nbsp; other charges for stealing NFL jerseys for top draft picks from areas requiring special NFL Draft access credentials, according to Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker.Jude Ocanas, 19, Los Angeles, California and Eric F. Lambkins, 41, of Marietta, Georgia each face Burglary 2nd Degree, Stealing, and a misdemeanor count of Trespass 1st Degree.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/4/1682821576371.png" alt="Lambkins-photo Jackson Co." />
 <figcaption>Lambkins-photo Jackson Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>According to court records filed Saturday, NFL officials reported Friday that three NFL jerseys were stolen from the Nike Room of the NFL draft. KCPD detectives reviewed video from security cameras that showed the defendants entering areas early in the morning on Friday, including the Talent Waiting Room, which is adjacent to the Nike Room. NFL officials advised that the defendants had credentials for the NFL Draft but not for those areas and not at that time of the morning. Three jerseys, valued by the NFL at $350 each, were stolen. One was a blue Dallas Cowboy's jersey, a second was a red San Francisco 49ers jersey and the third was a Minnesota Vikings jersey. Each jersey had a No. 1 on the back and were available for first-round picks for those teams.&nbsp;The defendants, according to court records, were arrested later Friday as they were attempting to leave for their home states. Two of the jerseys were found in their luggage.

2 accused of stealing jerseys meant for top NFL draft picks

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. (AP) — General Mills has issued a nationwide recall of its bleached and unbleached flour after discovering salmonella during a sampling of a 5-pound (2.3-kilogram) bag.

The company is recalling 2-, 5- and 10-pound (0.9-, 2.3- and 4.5-kilogram) bags of its Gold Medal Unbleached and Bleached All Purpose Flour with a “better if used by” date of March 27, 2024, and March 28, 2024, according to a notice <a href="https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-market-withdrawals-safety-alerts/general-mills-recalls-four-gold-medal-unbleached-and-bleached-all-purpose-flour-varieties-dated">posted on its website.</a>

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say people should not consume raw products made with flour. Salmonella is killed by heat through baking, frying or boiling products made with flour.

General Mills is encouraging customers to check their pantries and dispose of any product affected by the recall. Customers who had to throw out products may contact General Mills Consumer Relations at 1-800-230-8103.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/5/1682945009373.png" alt="Image FDA" />
 <figcaption>Image FDA</figcaption>
 </figure>MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. (AP) — General Mills has issued a nationwide recall of its bleached and unbleached flour after discovering salmonella during a sampling of a 5-pound (2.3-kilogram) bag.The company is recalling 2-, 5- and 10-pound (0.9-, 2.3- and 4.5-kilogram) bags of its Gold Medal Unbleached and Bleached All Purpose Flour with a “better if used by” date of March 27, 2024, and March 28, 2024, according to a notice <a href="https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-market-withdrawals-safety-alerts/general-mills-recalls-four-gold-medal-unbleached-and-bleached-all-purpose-flour-varieties-dated">posted on its website.</a><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/5/1682944992154.png" alt="Image FDA" />
 <figcaption>Image FDA</figcaption>
 </figure>The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say people should not consume raw products made with flour. Salmonella is killed by heat through baking, frying or boiling products made with flour.General Mills is encouraging customers to check their pantries and dispose of any product affected by the recall. Customers who had to throw out products may contact General Mills Consumer Relations at 1-800-230-8103.

General Mills issues flour recall after salmonella discovery

LYON COUNTY—One person died in an accident during a law enforcement pursuit just before 10:30p.m. Saturday in Lyon County.

Kansas Highway Patrol was northbound on Interstate 35 just south of the Emporia exit pursing a 2017 Chevy Malibu driven by Adonis Keshawn Isaiah Dailey, 22, Wichita.

The car rear-ended a trailer pulled by a 1999 Freightliner driven by&nbsp;Gabino Garcia, 61, Magnolia, South Carolina. After striking the trailer the car struck the median barrier wall multiple times.

A passenger in the Chevy identified as&nbsp;Kejuan Cortez Shugart, 27, Wichita, was pronounced dead at the scene. EMS transported Dailey to Stomont Vail in Topeka. Garcia was not injured. All three were properly restrained, according to the KHP.

Shugart had previous convictions for second degree murder and robbery in 2013, according to the Kansas Dept. of Corrections.&nbsp;Dailey was&nbsp; &nbsp;convicted in 2020 for Flee and elude law enforcement with five or more previous violations.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/4/1682873360637.png" alt="Shugart had previous convictions for murder and robbery, according to the Kansas Dept. of Corrections-photo Shugart" />
 <figcaption>Shugart had previous convictions for murder and robbery, according to the Kansas Dept. of Corrections-photo Shugart</figcaption>
 </figure>LYON COUNTY—One person died in an accident during a law enforcement pursuit just before 10:30p.m. Saturday in Lyon County.Kansas Highway Patrol was northbound on Interstate 35 just south of the Emporia exit pursing a 2017 Chevy Malibu driven by Adonis Keshawn Isaiah Dailey, 22, Wichita.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/4/1682873283037.png" alt="Dailey has a previous conviction for Flee and elude law enforcement" />
 <figcaption>Dailey has a previous conviction for Flee and elude law enforcement</figcaption>
 </figure>The car rear-ended a trailer pulled by a 1999 Freightliner driven by&nbsp;Gabino Garcia, 61, Magnolia, South Carolina. After striking the trailer the car struck the median barrier wall multiple times.A passenger in the Chevy identified as&nbsp;Kejuan Cortez Shugart, 27, Wichita, was pronounced dead at the scene. EMS transported Dailey to Stomont Vail in Topeka. Garcia was not injured. All three were properly restrained, according to the KHP.Shugart had previous convictions for second degree murder and robbery in 2013, according to the Kansas Dept. of Corrections.&nbsp;Dailey was&nbsp; &nbsp;convicted in 2020 for Flee and elude law enforcement with five or more previous violations.

Kan. man convicted of murder killed in crash during KHP chase

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis on Sunday revealed that a secret peace “mission” in Russia's war in Ukraine was under way, though he gave no details, and said the Vatican is willing to help facilitate the return of Ukrainian children taken to Russia during the war.

“I’m available to do anything,” Francis said during an airborne press conference en route home from Hungary. “There’s a mission that’s not public that’s underway; when it’s public I’ll talk about it.”

Francis gave no details when asked whether he spoke about peace initiatives during his talks in Budapest this weekend with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban or the representative of the Russian Orthodox Church in Hungary.

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ukrainian-children-russia-7493cb22c9086c6293c1ac7986d85ef6">Deportations of Ukrainian children</a>&nbsp;have been a concern since Russia invaded Ukraine last year. Francis said the Holy See had already helped mediate some prisoner exchanges and would do “all that is humanly possible” to reunite families.

“All human gestures help. Gestures of cruelty don’t help,” Francis said.

The International Criminal Court in March&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/icc-putin-war-crimes-ukraine-9857eb68d827340394960eccf0589253">issued an arrest warrant</a>&nbsp;for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russia’s children’s commissioner, accusing them of war crimes for abducting children from Ukraine. Russia has denied any wrongdoing, contending the children were moved for their safety.

Last week Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal met with Francis at the Vatican and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ukraine-pope-francis-russia-abducted-children-c2dedb2e8440aa458bfe3532d42a73b4">asked him to help return Ukrainian children</a>&nbsp;taken following the Russian invasion.

“I asked His Holiness to help us return home Ukrainians, Ukrainian children who are detained, arrested, and criminally deported to Russia,″ Shmyhal told the Foreign Press Association after the audience.

Francis recalled that the Holy See had facilitated some prisoner exchanges, working through embassies, and was open to Ukraine’s request to reunite Ukrainian children with their families.

The prisoner exchanges “went well. I think it could go well also for this. It’s important,” he said of the family reunifications. “The Holy See is available to do it because it’s the right thing,” he added. “We have to do all that is humanly possible.” ___

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/3/1615845367722.png" alt="Pope Francis gave no details when asked whether he spoke about peace initiatives during his talks in Budapest this weekend with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban or the representative of the Russian Orthodox Church in Hungary-photo courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>Pope Francis gave no details when asked whether he spoke about peace initiatives during his talks in Budapest this weekend with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban or the representative of the Russian Orthodox Church in Hungary-photo courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>ROME (AP) — Pope Francis on Sunday revealed that a secret peace “mission” in Russia's war in Ukraine was under way, though he gave no details, and said the Vatican is willing to help facilitate the return of Ukrainian children taken to Russia during the war.“I’m available to do anything,” Francis said during an airborne press conference en route home from Hungary. “There’s a mission that’s not public that’s underway; when it’s public I’ll talk about it.”Francis gave no details when asked whether he spoke about peace initiatives during his talks in Budapest this weekend with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban or the representative of the Russian Orthodox Church in Hungary.<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ukrainian-children-russia-7493cb22c9086c6293c1ac7986d85ef6">Deportations of Ukrainian children</a>&nbsp;have been a concern since Russia invaded Ukraine last year. Francis said the Holy See had already helped mediate some prisoner exchanges and would do “all that is humanly possible” to reunite families.“All human gestures help. Gestures of cruelty don’t help,” Francis said.The International Criminal Court in March&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/icc-putin-war-crimes-ukraine-9857eb68d827340394960eccf0589253">issued an arrest warrant</a>&nbsp;for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russia’s children’s commissioner, accusing them of war crimes for abducting children from Ukraine. Russia has denied any wrongdoing, contending the children were moved for their safety.Last week Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal met with Francis at the Vatican and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ukraine-pope-francis-russia-abducted-children-c2dedb2e8440aa458bfe3532d42a73b4">asked him to help return Ukrainian children</a>&nbsp;taken following the Russian invasion.“I asked His Holiness to help us return home Ukrainians, Ukrainian children who are detained, arrested, and criminally deported to Russia,″ Shmyhal told the Foreign Press Association after the audience.Francis recalled that the Holy See had facilitated some prisoner exchanges, working through embassies, and was open to Ukraine’s request to reunite Ukrainian children with their families.The prisoner exchanges “went well. I think it could go well also for this. It’s important,” he said of the family reunifications. “The Holy See is available to do it because it’s the right thing,” he added. “We have to do all that is humanly possible.” ___Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

Pope speaks of secret peace 'mission' in Ukraine 

JOHNSON COUNTY—One person died in an accident just before 4:30p.m. Sunday in Johnson County.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 1990 John Deere Gator driven by Robert D. Bush, 69, Kingsville, was westbound at 1690 NW 200 Road just west of Route W when the vehicle overturned.

A passenger identified as Sharon K. Bemboom, 69, Bates City, was pronounced dead at the scene. Johnson County EMS transported Bush to Research Medical Center. They were not wearing helmets, according to th MSHP.

JOHNSON COUNTY—One person died in an accident just before 4:30p.m. Sunday in Johnson County.The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 1990 John Deere Gator driven by Robert D. Bush, 69, Kingsville, was westbound at 1690 NW 200 Road just west of Route W when the vehicle overturned.A passenger identified as Sharon K. Bemboom, 69, Bates City, was pronounced dead at the scene. Johnson County EMS transported Bush to Research Medical Center. They were not wearing helmets, according to th MSHP.

Missouri woman dies after UTV overturns

SHAWNEE COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a Kansas man after his child was found in possession of illegal narcotics at school.

Just after 1pm Wednesday, a Sheriff’s Office deputy/school resource officer and members of the Shawnee County Sheriff's Office’s Drug Enforcement Unit (DEU) responded to an elementary school in southwest Shawnee County after a student was found to have inadvertently brought illegal narcotics to school, in a backpack. During the investigation, it was discovered that the student found items in his backpack that did not belong to him and immediately told a school staff member. The staff member then notified school administration, who promptly contacted law enforcement. Deputies went to the child's home in the 6500 BLock of SW 21st Street in Topeka and arrested the father of the student identified as 39-year-old Christopher G. Hernandez of Topeka,

&nbsp;Hernandez was booked into the Shawnee County Department of Corrections on charges of possession of a hallucinogenic drug and endangering a child.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/4/1682677631190.png" alt="Hernandez-photo Shawnee Co." />
 <figcaption>Hernandez-photo Shawnee Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>SHAWNEE COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a Kansas man after his child was found in possession of illegal narcotics at school. Just after 1pm Wednesday, a Sheriff’s Office deputy/school resource officer and members of the Shawnee County Sheriff's Office’s Drug Enforcement Unit (DEU) responded to an elementary school in southwest Shawnee County after a student was found to have inadvertently brought illegal narcotics to school, in a backpack. During the investigation, it was discovered that the student found items in his backpack that did not belong to him and immediately told a school staff member. The staff member then notified school administration, who promptly contacted law enforcement. Deputies went to the child's home in the 6500 BLock of SW 21st Street in Topeka and arrested the father of the student identified as 39-year-old Christopher G. Hernandez of Topeka, &nbsp;Hernandez was booked into the Shawnee County Department of Corrections on charges of possession of a hallucinogenic drug and endangering a child.

Kansas dad jailed after child found drugs in backpack at school

LYON COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a registered Kansas offender in connection with a shooting.

Just before 6p.m. Thursday, the Lyon County Emergency Communications Center received multiple reports of shots fired toward a vehicle near East 9th Avenue and Whittier Street in Empiria, according to Police Captain Ray Mattas.

Upon arrival, officers located evidence of shots being fired. They located the vehicle believed to have been shot at and the victim who were unharmed. 

Investigators determined 48-year-old Michael Bradley shot at 67-year-old Samuel Gardenhire.&nbsp;Bradley then ran from the area. Police located him a short distance away and arrested him. 

Officers also found a firearm in the area a short time later. 

Bradley is being held on requested charges of Attempted First Degree Murder, Criminal Discharge of a Firearm, Aggravated Assault, Criminal Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon, Possession of Methamphetamine, and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.

Bradley has been registered as a Kansas offender since 2011 for a conviction on conspiracy on sale or distribution of a controlled substance.&nbsp; Has has additional convictions for violation of the offender registration, according to the Kansas Dept. of Corrections.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/4/1682699741160.png" alt="Bradley photo KBI offender registry" />
 <figcaption>Bradley photo KBI offender registry</figcaption>
 </figure>LYON COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a registered Kansas offender in connection with a shooting.Just before 6p.m. Thursday, the Lyon County Emergency Communications Center received multiple reports of shots fired toward a vehicle near East 9th Avenue and Whittier Street in Empiria, according to Police Captain Ray Mattas.Upon arrival, officers located evidence of shots being fired. They located the vehicle believed to have been shot at and the victim who were unharmed. Investigators determined 48-year-old Michael Bradley shot at 67-year-old Samuel Gardenhire.&nbsp;Bradley then ran from the area. Police located him a short distance away and arrested him. Officers also found a firearm in the area a short time later. Bradley is being held on requested charges of Attempted First Degree Murder, Criminal Discharge of a Firearm, Aggravated Assault, Criminal Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon, Possession of Methamphetamine, and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.Bradley has been registered as a Kansas offender since 2011 for a conviction on conspiracy on sale or distribution of a controlled substance.&nbsp; Has has additional convictions for violation of the offender registration, according to the Kansas Dept. of Corrections.

Kansas offender accused of attempted murder

Kansas among states proposing limits on long trains

Kansas among states proposing limits on long trains<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/9/1663119327130.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Federal regulators are warning railroads that the long trains they favor can cause all kinds of problems and contribute to derailments, so they want the railroads to ensure their training and operating procedures account for that.The Federal Railroad Administration stopped short of recommending in its latest safety advisory issued Thursday that railroads limit the size of their trains, which can routinely stretch more than 2 miles long. However, they did suggest a number of precautions including making sure engineers know how to handle them and that locomotives don't lose communication with devices at the end of trains that can help trigger the brakes in an emergency.Currently, there aren't any restrictions on train length but&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/derailment-ohio-safety-senate-legislation-brown-vance-82c55dc95aca9524d6ae8e6d01336dbe">members of Congress</a>&nbsp;and state lawmakers in at least six states have proposed establishing limits particularly in the wake of the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/video/hospitality-and-leisure-industry-children-parkinsons-disease-architecture-associated-press-a151cadb732e470091d9c186e189d3d4">fiery Feb. 3 Norfolk Southern derailment</a>&nbsp;in Ohio. The major freight railroads have&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ohio-train-derailment-congress-6288cdfb0b4381de4c9bfb05199b8ba6">pushed back</a>&nbsp;against that idea because they have increasingly come to rely on longer trains to help them move cargo with fewer crews and mechanics as they overhauled their operations over the past six years. Union Pacific CEO Lance Fritz&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/union-pacific-railroad-first-quarter-earnings-economy-bf63a5eeadb902e901b8aed4d8975ff9">said recently</a>&nbsp;that he doesn't think accident data shows that long trains are riskier.But the Federal Railroad Administration cited three derailments involving trains longer than 12,250 feet (3,734 meters) where train length was a factor in its advisory. That agency and the National Academies of Sciences are both in the middle of studying the impact of long trains, and they expect to issue reports next year on whether they are a problem."FRA believes these incidents demonstrate the need for railroads and railroad employees to be particularly mindful of the complexities of operating longer trains," the agency said.The derailments mentioned as examples of the problems that can accompany long trains were in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/norfolk-southern-springfield-train-derailment-1b08c84e0788082dd24a4f4ca447f459">Springfield, Ohio</a>, in March; in Ravenna, Ohio, last November; and in Rockwell, Iowa, in March 2022. In each of those cases, the way cars in different parts of the train pulled and pushed against each other contributed to the derailments.The fiery February derailment that prompted evacuations in East Palestine, Ohio, and sparked a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/railroad-safety-derailments-tank-car-ohio-minnesota-c60f33b64e9c7dc05768a78ae20f3ce5">nationwide focus</a>&nbsp;on&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/palestinian-territories-ohio-canada-business-accidents-d57651e17b2f9e0163c50298106950a3">rail safety</a>&nbsp;wasn't mentioned as an example. The National Transportation Safety Board&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-pete-buttigieg-evacuations-ohio-explosions-64908a6416662b5866809387f210aee5">has said</a>&nbsp;that an overheated bearing that caused an axle to fail on one of the railcars likely caused that derailment.This latest advisory follows&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/federal-railroad-administration-freight-safety-derailments-53145452535c089190565ee43eceaafc">one earlier this month</a>&nbsp;that directed railroads to re-examine the way they assemble their trains to minimize those kind of forces that often come into play as a train goes over hills and around corners. Parts of a train can be pulling forward going up a hill while the middle or back of the train pushes against the rest of the cars while going down a hill.Those forces make it challenging for engineers to control a train, so regulators said railroads need to adjust their training to make sure their engineers are prepared to handle the monster trains they are operating. The common practice of putting locomotives in the middle of long trains as well as in the front can help manage a long train, but having to control those additional locomotives also complicates the engineer's job.“A locomotive engineer cannot be expected to safely operate in a more demanding service without proper additional training that covers the unique challenges and complexities those trains present,” regulators said in the advisory.A spokeswoman for the Association of American Railroads trade group said railroads are already working to manage the challenges associated with long trains and looking for ways to improve safety.“All stakeholders – the FRA, railroads, and elected officials – share the same goal of continuously enhancing rail safety, minimizing adverse impacts to surrounding communities and keeping the goods that power our economy flowing," AAR spokeswoman Jessica Kahanek said. "The recommendations within this advisory align closely with the prudent steps railroads already take to do just that.”The Federal Railroad Administration said that in addition to the concerns about derailments, long trains can block crossings for extended periods of time. When crossings are blocked, firefighters, police and ambulance drivers may be delayed in getting someone the help that they need, and pedestrians may risk their lives by crawling under or across stopped trains that could start moving without warning.The states proposing limits on train size this year include Arizona, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Nevada and Washington.