WASHINGTON –&nbsp;U.S. Senator Jerry Moran, ranking member of the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Aviation and co-chair of the Senate Travel Caucus – joined Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) announced that the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation passed their bipartisan legislation to help prevent Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) system outages.

The&nbsp;NOTAM Improvement Act&nbsp;would require the FAA to strengthen the resiliency and cybersecurity of the NOTAM system, which alerts pilots of safety and location hazards on flight routes. This bill follows a recent NOTAM system outage in January that grounded flights nationwide. Companion legislation led by Representative Pete Stauber (R-Minn.) passed the U.S. House of Representatives in January with a strong bipartisan vote of 424-4. “The complete failure of the FAA’s NOTAM system stranded millions of Americans and was a warning of the need to strengthen and modernize our air travel system,”&nbsp;said Sen. Moran.&nbsp;“The FAA has a responsibility to make certain air travel in our country is as safe and efficient as possible. Moving this legislation forward is an important step to help meet the demands of 21st-century travel and prevent a similar failure in the future.” The task force would be composed of representatives from air carriers, airports and airline pilots, aircraft dispatchers and FAA personnel unions, as well as aviation safety and cybersecurity experts. In January,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.moran.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news-releases?ID=2EE3818C-74BA-46CC-9E0D-1B36A4B9E9E8">Sens. Moran and Klobuchar spoke with FAA Acting Administrator Billy Nolen</a>&nbsp;following the NOTAM system failure to discuss his agency’s efforts to identify the factors behind the system outage that grounded all flights nationwide and to prevent similar breakdowns from happening again.

WASHINGTON –&nbsp;U.S. Senator Jerry Moran, ranking member of the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Aviation and co-chair of the Senate Travel Caucus – joined Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) announced that the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation passed their bipartisan legislation to help prevent Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) system outages. The&nbsp;NOTAM Improvement Act&nbsp;would require the FAA to strengthen the resiliency and cybersecurity of the NOTAM system, which alerts pilots of safety and location hazards on flight routes. This bill follows a recent NOTAM system outage in January that grounded flights nationwide. Companion legislation led by Representative Pete Stauber (R-Minn.) passed the U.S. House of Representatives in January with a strong bipartisan vote of 424-4. “The complete failure of the FAA’s NOTAM system stranded millions of Americans and was a warning of the need to strengthen and modernize our air travel system,”&nbsp;said Sen. Moran.&nbsp;“The FAA has a responsibility to make certain air travel in our country is as safe and efficient as possible. Moving this legislation forward is an important step to help meet the demands of 21st-century travel and prevent a similar failure in the future.” The task force would be composed of representatives from air carriers, airports and airline pilots, aircraft dispatchers and FAA personnel unions, as well as aviation safety and cybersecurity experts. In January,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.moran.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news-releases?ID=2EE3818C-74BA-46CC-9E0D-1B36A4B9E9E8">Sens. Moran and Klobuchar spoke with FAA Acting Administrator Billy Nolen</a>&nbsp;following the NOTAM system failure to discuss his agency’s efforts to identify the factors behind the system outage that grounded all flights nationwide and to prevent similar breakdowns from happening again.

Moran's legislation to prevent FAA system outages advances

KANSAS CITY —A Kansas City man has been charged in the fatal beating and strangulation of Elizabeth Stivers, who was found deceased in the yard of a Northeast Kansas City area residence on March 14, 2023.

According to Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker, 24-year-old Darion Hall faces Murder 2nd Degree, Tampering with a Motor Vehicle 1st Degree and Attempted Stealing.

According to court records, Kansas City Police Department officers were dispatched on March 14, 2023 and found a Stivers in the yard. The Jackson County Medical Examiner's Office ruled the death a homicide and the cause was strangulation. 

The day of the homicide, Hall was observed driving his grandfather's truck, a reported stolen vehicle. It was found abandoned near 7th and Norton, about 2 minutes from the victim's residence.

Video also captured him at a drug store on Independence Avenue in which he was involved in a attempted strong arm robbery. Homicide detectives submitted to the crime lab the suspect's clothing for testing. The lab reported that DNA collected from the hoody that the defendant wore when he was arrested was DNA from the victim.&nbsp;

He is being held on a $150,000 bond.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/3/1679747905961.png" alt="Hall-photo Jackson Co." />
 <figcaption>Hall-photo Jackson Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY —A Kansas City man has been charged in the fatal beating and strangulation of Elizabeth Stivers, who was found deceased in the yard of a Northeast Kansas City area residence on March 14, 2023.According to Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker, 24-year-old Darion Hall faces Murder 2nd Degree, Tampering with a Motor Vehicle 1st Degree and Attempted Stealing.According to court records, Kansas City Police Department officers were dispatched on March 14, 2023 and found a Stivers in the yard. The Jackson County Medical Examiner's Office ruled the death a homicide and the cause was strangulation. The day of the homicide, Hall was observed driving his grandfather's truck, a reported stolen vehicle. It was found abandoned near 7th and Norton, about 2 minutes from the victim's residence.Video also captured him at a drug store on Independence Avenue in which he was involved in a attempted strong arm robbery. Homicide detectives submitted to the crime lab the suspect's clothing for testing. The lab reported that DNA collected from the hoody that the defendant wore when he was arrested was DNA from the victim.&nbsp;He is being held on a $150,000 bond.&nbsp;

Man charged in strangulation murder of Kansas City woman

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas' highest court is considering whether the state can restrict how doctors end second-trimester pregnancies or impose extra health and safety rules for abortion providers after a decisive statewide vote last year confirming that the state constitution protects abortion rights.

The state Supreme Court is set to hear arguments Monday from attorneys for the state and abortion providers in two lawsuits. One challenges a 2015 law banning a common second-trimester abortion procedure, and the other challenges a 2011 law that regulates abortion providers more strictly than other health care providers. Legal challenges have blocked both laws from being enforced.

The U.S. Supreme Court declared in June 2022 that the U.S. Constitution doesn't protect abortion rights and that states can ban abortion, but the Kansas court ruled in 2019 that access to abortion is a "fundamental" right under the state constitution. That led the Republican-controlled Legislature to put a proposed amendment on last August's ballot asking voters whether to lift that constitutional protection, which would have allowed lawmakers to greatly restrict or ban abortion. Voters soundly rejected the measure, though.

Kansas allows most abortions up until the 22nd week of pregnancy, attracting patients from other states with bans, most notably Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas. Abortion opponents fear that Kansas courts will overturn many of the restrictions imposed over the past 30 years. But they also see the two cases before the state's highest court as an opportunity for its seven justices to reconsider the 2019 decision or at least narrow its scope.

"There's no way to know what they're going to do, but quite frankly, I think there's a reason for them to back off," Kansas House Speaker Dan Hawkins, a Wichita Republican who opposes abortion rights, said before the hearings.

The court will likely take months to issue rulings.

Among Republican-leaning states, Kansas is an outlier in preserving abortion access, in part because the state's abortion opponents preferred making year-by-year incremental changes prior to last year's U.S. Supreme Court ruling.

However, the state still forces patients to wait 24 hours before getting an abortion, requires minors to get parental consent, spells out what patients must be told in writing beforehand and even mandates that the information for patients be printed in 12-point Times New Roman type.

Three members of the court's 6-1 majority retired after the 2019 decision, but their replacements all were appointed by Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly, a strong abortion rights supporter.

"The court was clear before, and they did a really comprehensive analysis of the state constitution," said Emily Wales, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Great Plains, which operates three of Kansas' six clinics that provide abortions.

She added: "I'd much rather be on the abortion rights side."

The 2019 state Supreme Court ruling came in the early stages of the lawsuit over the ban on the second-trimester procedure. The justices kept the law on hold but sent the case back to the trial court to examine the ban further. A trial judge said the law could not stand.

The law deals with a certain type of dilation and evacuation, or D&amp;E, procedure. According to state health department statistics, about 500 D&amp;E procedures are done in Kansas each year, accounting for 6% of the state's total abortions. About 90% of the state's abortions occur in the first trimester.

A D&amp;E procedure ban would force providers to use alternative methods that the Center for Reproductive Rights, an abortion rights advocate, has said are riskier for the patient and more expensive.

Abortion providers saw the law requiring them to comply with stricter regulations than other types than of doctors as an attempt to regulate them out of business. Before it was set to take effect in July 2011, it appeared briefly that no Kansas provider would be able to comply, though a Kansas City-area Planned Parenthood clinic ultimately did. A trial court judge ruled that the state had no justification for rules applying only to abortion providers, and the state appealed.

"The court needs to be objective and they need to do what they need to do," said state Rep. Stephanie Clayton, a Kansas City-area Democrat. "But obviously, I hope that we have victories for privacy and bodily autonomy and choice in the state."

Those behind the clinic regulation law argued that it would make clinics safer for women seeking abortions.

Their argument for banning the second-trimester procedure was summed up in how they wrote the law. It specifically would prohibit doctors from using forceps or similar instruments on a live fetus to remove it from the womb in pieces. Such instruments are used in some D&amp;E abortions.

"Absolutely, we are we are hoping that the Kansas Supreme Court will realize that it went too far," said Jeanne Gawdun, lobbyist for Kansans for Life, the most influential anti-abortion group at the Kansas Statehouse and a key player within the state GOP.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/6/1656080662104.png" alt="Protests outside the Supreme Court in June 0f 2022 -image courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>Protests outside the Supreme Court in June 0f 2022 -image courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>By JOHN HANNA AP Political WriterTOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas' highest court is considering whether the state can restrict how doctors end second-trimester pregnancies or impose extra health and safety rules for abortion providers after a decisive statewide vote last year confirming that the state constitution protects abortion rights.The state Supreme Court is set to hear arguments Monday from attorneys for the state and abortion providers in two lawsuits. One challenges a 2015 law banning a common second-trimester abortion procedure, and the other challenges a 2011 law that regulates abortion providers more strictly than other health care providers. Legal challenges have blocked both laws from being enforced.The U.S. Supreme Court declared in June 2022 that the U.S. Constitution doesn't protect abortion rights and that states can ban abortion, but the Kansas court ruled in 2019 that access to abortion is a "fundamental" right under the state constitution. That led the Republican-controlled Legislature to put a proposed amendment on last August's ballot asking voters whether to lift that constitutional protection, which would have allowed lawmakers to greatly restrict or ban abortion. Voters soundly rejected the measure, though.Kansas allows most abortions up until the 22nd week of pregnancy, attracting patients from other states with bans, most notably Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas. Abortion opponents fear that Kansas courts will overturn many of the restrictions imposed over the past 30 years. But they also see the two cases before the state's highest court as an opportunity for its seven justices to reconsider the 2019 decision or at least narrow its scope."There's no way to know what they're going to do, but quite frankly, I think there's a reason for them to back off," Kansas House Speaker Dan Hawkins, a Wichita Republican who opposes abortion rights, said before the hearings.The court will likely take months to issue rulings.Among Republican-leaning states, Kansas is an outlier in preserving abortion access, in part because the state's abortion opponents preferred making year-by-year incremental changes prior to last year's U.S. Supreme Court ruling.However, the state still forces patients to wait 24 hours before getting an abortion, requires minors to get parental consent, spells out what patients must be told in writing beforehand and even mandates that the information for patients be printed in 12-point Times New Roman type.Three members of the court's 6-1 majority retired after the 2019 decision, but their replacements all were appointed by Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly, a strong abortion rights supporter."The court was clear before, and they did a really comprehensive analysis of the state constitution," said Emily Wales, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Great Plains, which operates three of Kansas' six clinics that provide abortions.She added: "I'd much rather be on the abortion rights side."The 2019 state Supreme Court ruling came in the early stages of the lawsuit over the ban on the second-trimester procedure. The justices kept the law on hold but sent the case back to the trial court to examine the ban further. A trial judge said the law could not stand.The law deals with a certain type of dilation and evacuation, or D&amp;E, procedure. According to state health department statistics, about 500 D&amp;E procedures are done in Kansas each year, accounting for 6% of the state's total abortions. About 90% of the state's abortions occur in the first trimester.A D&amp;E procedure ban would force providers to use alternative methods that the Center for Reproductive Rights, an abortion rights advocate, has said are riskier for the patient and more expensive.Abortion providers saw the law requiring them to comply with stricter regulations than other types than of doctors as an attempt to regulate them out of business. Before it was set to take effect in July 2011, it appeared briefly that no Kansas provider would be able to comply, though a Kansas City-area Planned Parenthood clinic ultimately did. A trial court judge ruled that the state had no justification for rules applying only to abortion providers, and the state appealed."The court needs to be objective and they need to do what they need to do," said state Rep. Stephanie Clayton, a Kansas City-area Democrat. "But obviously, I hope that we have victories for privacy and bodily autonomy and choice in the state."Those behind the clinic regulation law argued that it would make clinics safer for women seeking abortions.Their argument for banning the second-trimester procedure was summed up in how they wrote the law. It specifically would prohibit doctors from using forceps or similar instruments on a live fetus to remove it from the womb in pieces. Such instruments are used in some D&amp;E abortions."Absolutely, we are we are hoping that the Kansas Supreme Court will realize that it went too far," said Jeanne Gawdun, lobbyist for Kansans for Life, the most influential anti-abortion group at the Kansas Statehouse and a key player within the state GOP.___

Kansas court to review pair of unenforced abortion laws

SHAWNEE COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a homicide in Topeka.

Just after 10 a.m. Sunday, police responded to a shooting in the&nbsp; 1500 Block of SE Quincy in Topeka, according to Police Lt. Donna Eubanks

Police found one victim suffering from a gun shot wound who was pronounced deceased at the scene. Detectives responded to the scene. Police have not released the victim's name, reported an arrest or any additional details.

SHAWNEE COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a homicide in Topeka.Just after 10 a.m. Sunday, police responded to a shooting in the&nbsp; 1500 Block of SE Quincy in Topeka, according to Police Lt. Donna EubanksPolice found one victim suffering from a gun shot wound who was pronounced deceased at the scene. Detectives responded to the scene. Police have not released the victim's name, reported an arrest or any additional details.

Police investigating weekend Kansas homicide

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Fighter jets roared off the USS Nimitz as the nuclear-powered U.S. aircraft carrier and its battle group began exercises with South Korean warships on Monday, hours after North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles in an apparent protest of the allies’ expanding drills.

The seventh missile test this month underscored&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-north-korea-south-nuclear-weapons-f409b488bb38ad3cfc37d1f8d29a6857">heightening tensions in the region</a>&nbsp;as both the North’s weapons tests and the U.S.-South Korea joint military exercises have intensified in a cycle of tit-for-tat.

The launches may have been timed for the arrival of the USS Nimitz and its strike group, including a guided missile cruiser and two destroyers, which engaged in air defense exercises and other drills with South Korean warships in waters near Jeju island.

Jang Do Young, a South Korean navy spokesperson, said the drills were aimed at sharpening joint operational capabilities and demonstrating the U.S. commitment to defend its ally with the full range of options, including nuclear, in face of the North’s “escalating nuclear and missile threats.”

The Nimitz strike group was expected to arrive at the South Korean mainland port of Busan on Tuesday.

“The United States has deployable strategic assets at the ready on every day,” said Rear Adm. Christopher Sweeney, commander of Carrier Strike Group Eleven. “We can continue to deploy those assets and we will.”

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the two North Korean missiles were fired from a western inland area south of the North's capital of Pyongyang from around 7:47 a.m. to 8 a.m. and traveled around 370 kilometers (229 miles) before landing at sea. Japan’s military said the missiles, which landed outside Japan's exclusive economic zone, flew on an irregular trajectory and reached a maximum altitude of 50 kilometers (31 miles).

Japan has previously used similar language to describe a North Korean solid-fuel missile apparently modeled after Russia’s Iskander mobile ballistic system, which is designed to be maneuverable in low-altitude flight to better evade South Korean missile defenses. North Korea also has another short-range system with similar characteristics that resembles the U.S. MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile System.

Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said North Korea may dial up its testing activity further with more missile launches or even conducting its first nuclear test since September 2017.

The South Korean and Japanese militaries denounced the latest launches as a serious provocation threatening regional peace and said they were working with the United States to analyze the missiles further. The U.S. Indo Pacific Command said the launches did not pose an immediate threat to the United States or its allies, but still highlighted the “destabilizing impact” of North Korea's illicit nuclear weapons and missiles programs.

North Korea, which has weathered tightened U.N. Security Council sanctions since 2016 over its nuclear developments, didn't immediately comment on the launches.

The United States and South Korea completed their biggest springtime exercises in years last week, which had included both computer simulations and live-fire field exercises. But the allies have continued their field training in a show of force against the North's rising threats.

North Korea had also fired a short-range missile when the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/south-korea-north-ronald-reagan-government-and-politics-27b1aaea7df51e52d39e0465ea18d4dd">USS Ronald Reagan and its battle group arrived for joint drills with South Korea in September,</a>&nbsp;which was the last time the United States sent an aircraft carrier to waters near the Korean Peninsula.

North Korea has launched more than 20 ballistic and cruise missiles on 11 occasions this year as it tries to force the United States to accept its nuclear status and negotiate a removal of sanctions from a position of strength.

The weapons tested this month included&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/north-korea-kim-jong-un-icbm-nuclear-3e30acae3ddc537add6b33dab96410e5">an intercontinental ballistic missile</a>&nbsp;and a series of short-range missiles intended to overwhelm South Korean defenses as North Korea tries to demonstrate an ability to conduct nuclear strikes on both South Korea and the U.S. mainland.

The North last week carried out what it described as a three-day exercise that simulated nuclear attacks on South Korean targets.

The country's leader&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-north-korea-south-895fb34033780fdafd5bf925b376a2c6">Kim Jong Un</a>&nbsp;has condemned the U.S.-South Korean joint military drills as invasion rehearsals. The allies say the exercises are defensive in nature.

The tests also included a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/north-korea-nuclear-simulation-kim-jong-un-f9bc2d9f4fbcb9b5eaba339b441a02ad">purported nuclear-capable underwater drone</a>&nbsp;that the North claimed can set off a huge “radioactive tsunami” and destroy naval vessels and ports. Analysts were skeptical whether such a device was a major new threat and Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement Monday that it considers the North Korean claims likely to be “exaggerated and fabricated.”

North Korea, following some of its ballistic and cruise missile tests this month, also claimed that those weapons were tipped with mock nuclear warheads that detonated 600 to 800 meters (1,960 to 2,600 feet) above their sea targets, communicating them as heights that would maximize damage.

North Korea already is coming off a record year in weapons testing, launching more than 70 missiles in 2022. It had set into law an escalatory nuclear doctrine that authorizes pre-emptive nuclear strikes in a broad range of scenarios where it may perceive its leadership as under threat.

“It appears North Korea might be practicing, or signaling that it’s practicing, the use of nuclear strikes, both preemptive and retaliatory, in a range of scenarios that are authorized in its nuclear doctrine,” said Duyeon Kim, a senior analyst at the Center for a New American Security.

“The problem is that continued testing helps Pyongyang perfect its technology, strengthen its nuclear weapons capability that threatens South Korea and Japan, increase the likelihood of miscalculation that could lead to inadvertent conflict, and accumulate political leverage ahead of future diplomatic talks with Washington.”

Following the North’s announcement of the drone test on Friday, South Korea’s air force released details of a five-day joint drill with the United States last week that included live-fire demonstrations of air-to-air and air-to-ground weapons.

The air force said the exercise was aimed at verifying precision strike capabilities and reaffirming the credibility of Seoul’s “three-axis” strategy against North Korean nuclear threats — preemptively striking sources of attacks, intercepting incoming missiles and neutralizing the North’s leadership and key military facilities.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/11/1667483523229.png" alt="A TV screen showing a news program reporting about North Korea's missile launch with file footage is seen at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Nov. 3, 2022.&nbsp; (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)" />
 <figcaption>A TV screen showing a news program reporting about North Korea's missile launch with file footage is seen at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Nov. 3, 2022.&nbsp; (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)</figcaption>
 </figure>SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Fighter jets roared off the USS Nimitz as the nuclear-powered U.S. aircraft carrier and its battle group began exercises with South Korean warships on Monday, hours after North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles in an apparent protest of the allies’ expanding drills.The seventh missile test this month underscored&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-north-korea-south-nuclear-weapons-f409b488bb38ad3cfc37d1f8d29a6857">heightening tensions in the region</a>&nbsp;as both the North’s weapons tests and the U.S.-South Korea joint military exercises have intensified in a cycle of tit-for-tat.The launches may have been timed for the arrival of the USS Nimitz and its strike group, including a guided missile cruiser and two destroyers, which engaged in air defense exercises and other drills with South Korean warships in waters near Jeju island.Jang Do Young, a South Korean navy spokesperson, said the drills were aimed at sharpening joint operational capabilities and demonstrating the U.S. commitment to defend its ally with the full range of options, including nuclear, in face of the North’s “escalating nuclear and missile threats.”The Nimitz strike group was expected to arrive at the South Korean mainland port of Busan on Tuesday.“The United States has deployable strategic assets at the ready on every day,” said Rear Adm. Christopher Sweeney, commander of Carrier Strike Group Eleven. “We can continue to deploy those assets and we will.”South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the two North Korean missiles were fired from a western inland area south of the North's capital of Pyongyang from around 7:47 a.m. to 8 a.m. and traveled around 370 kilometers (229 miles) before landing at sea. Japan’s military said the missiles, which landed outside Japan's exclusive economic zone, flew on an irregular trajectory and reached a maximum altitude of 50 kilometers (31 miles).Japan has previously used similar language to describe a North Korean solid-fuel missile apparently modeled after Russia’s Iskander mobile ballistic system, which is designed to be maneuverable in low-altitude flight to better evade South Korean missile defenses. North Korea also has another short-range system with similar characteristics that resembles the U.S. MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile System.Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said North Korea may dial up its testing activity further with more missile launches or even conducting its first nuclear test since September 2017.The South Korean and Japanese militaries denounced the latest launches as a serious provocation threatening regional peace and said they were working with the United States to analyze the missiles further. The U.S. Indo Pacific Command said the launches did not pose an immediate threat to the United States or its allies, but still highlighted the “destabilizing impact” of North Korea's illicit nuclear weapons and missiles programs.North Korea, which has weathered tightened U.N. Security Council sanctions since 2016 over its nuclear developments, didn't immediately comment on the launches.The United States and South Korea completed their biggest springtime exercises in years last week, which had included both computer simulations and live-fire field exercises. But the allies have continued their field training in a show of force against the North's rising threats.North Korea had also fired a short-range missile when the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/south-korea-north-ronald-reagan-government-and-politics-27b1aaea7df51e52d39e0465ea18d4dd">USS Ronald Reagan and its battle group arrived for joint drills with South Korea in September,</a>&nbsp;which was the last time the United States sent an aircraft carrier to waters near the Korean Peninsula.North Korea has launched more than 20 ballistic and cruise missiles on 11 occasions this year as it tries to force the United States to accept its nuclear status and negotiate a removal of sanctions from a position of strength.The weapons tested this month included&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/north-korea-kim-jong-un-icbm-nuclear-3e30acae3ddc537add6b33dab96410e5">an intercontinental ballistic missile</a>&nbsp;and a series of short-range missiles intended to overwhelm South Korean defenses as North Korea tries to demonstrate an ability to conduct nuclear strikes on both South Korea and the U.S. mainland.The North last week carried out what it described as a three-day exercise that simulated nuclear attacks on South Korean targets.The country's leader&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-north-korea-south-895fb34033780fdafd5bf925b376a2c6">Kim Jong Un</a>&nbsp;has condemned the U.S.-South Korean joint military drills as invasion rehearsals. The allies say the exercises are defensive in nature.The tests also included a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/north-korea-nuclear-simulation-kim-jong-un-f9bc2d9f4fbcb9b5eaba339b441a02ad">purported nuclear-capable underwater drone</a>&nbsp;that the North claimed can set off a huge “radioactive tsunami” and destroy naval vessels and ports. Analysts were skeptical whether such a device was a major new threat and Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement Monday that it considers the North Korean claims likely to be “exaggerated and fabricated.”North Korea, following some of its ballistic and cruise missile tests this month, also claimed that those weapons were tipped with mock nuclear warheads that detonated 600 to 800 meters (1,960 to 2,600 feet) above their sea targets, communicating them as heights that would maximize damage.North Korea already is coming off a record year in weapons testing, launching more than 70 missiles in 2022. It had set into law an escalatory nuclear doctrine that authorizes pre-emptive nuclear strikes in a broad range of scenarios where it may perceive its leadership as under threat.“It appears North Korea might be practicing, or signaling that it’s practicing, the use of nuclear strikes, both preemptive and retaliatory, in a range of scenarios that are authorized in its nuclear doctrine,” said Duyeon Kim, a senior analyst at the Center for a New American Security.“The problem is that continued testing helps Pyongyang perfect its technology, strengthen its nuclear weapons capability that threatens South Korea and Japan, increase the likelihood of miscalculation that could lead to inadvertent conflict, and accumulate political leverage ahead of future diplomatic talks with Washington.”Following the North’s announcement of the drone test on Friday, South Korea’s air force released details of a five-day joint drill with the United States last week that included live-fire demonstrations of air-to-air and air-to-ground weapons.The air force said the exercise was aimed at verifying precision strike capabilities and reaffirming the credibility of Seoul’s “three-axis” strategy against North Korean nuclear threats — preemptively striking sources of attacks, intercepting incoming missiles and neutralizing the North’s leadership and key military facilities.

North Korea fires 2 more missiles as US sends warship

DOUGLAS COUNTY —Law enforcement found an abandoned SUV parked on&nbsp;railroad tracks in the 1500 block between N1550 and N1500 roads just east of Lawrence on Sunday morning, according to the Douglas County Sheriff. 

On social media, the sheriff's office reminded the public, "you can't park there." Deputies called a tow service who used a pickup to remove the SUV.

 Deputies later located the suspected driver in Lawrence, who is under investigation for DUI.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/3/1679836941285.png" alt="Photo Douglas County Sheriff" />
 <figcaption>Photo Douglas County Sheriff</figcaption>
 </figure>DOUGLAS COUNTY —Law enforcement found an abandoned SUV parked on&nbsp;railroad tracks in the 1500 block between N1550 and N1500 roads just east of Lawrence on Sunday morning, according to the Douglas County Sheriff. On social media, the sheriff's office reminded the public, "you can't park there." Deputies called a tow service who used a pickup to remove the SUV. Deputies later located the suspected driver in Lawrence, who is under investigation for DUI.

Kansas Sheriff: You can't park there

SEDGWICK COUNTY —Clifton Ray Weatherspoon, 30, and Antonio Dawayne Knight, 24, both of Wichita were indicted this week on one count of possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute.

Weatherspoon was also indicted on one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is investigating the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Deb Barnett and Ola Odeyemi are prosecuting the case. 

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/3/1679522652693.png" alt="Knight-photo Sedgwick Co." />
 <figcaption>Knight-photo Sedgwick Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>SEDGWICK COUNTY —Clifton Ray Weatherspoon, 30, and Antonio Dawayne Knight, 24, both of Wichita were indicted this week on one count of possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/3/1679522512346.png" alt="Weatherspoon" />
 <figcaption>Weatherspoon</figcaption>
 </figure>Weatherspoon was also indicted on one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is investigating the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Deb Barnett and Ola Odeyemi are prosecuting the case.

2 Kansas men accused of selling fentanyl

DOUGLAS COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating an alleged aggravated battery and continue asking the public for&nbsp;assistance in locating Anthony Richards.

A 43-year old man reported being struck in the head with a baseball bat, and sustained life threatening injuries, according to Lawrence Police.

This incident was reported to have occurred just after noon March 23 at&nbsp; Hobb's Park, 702 E. 11th Street in Lawrence.&nbsp;

Anyone with information on Richards' whereabouts is asked to call 911, or contact dispatch on the non-emergency line, (785)832-7509

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/3/1679655267944.png" alt="Richards-photo Lawrence Police" />
 <figcaption>Richards-photo Lawrence Police</figcaption>
 </figure>DOUGLAS COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating an alleged aggravated battery and continue asking the public for&nbsp;assistance in locating Anthony Richards.A 43-year old man reported being struck in the head with a baseball bat, and sustained life threatening injuries, according to Lawrence Police.This incident was reported to have occurred just after noon March 23 at&nbsp; Hobb's Park, 702 E. 11th Street in Lawrence.&nbsp;Anyone with information on Richards' whereabouts is asked to call 911, or contact dispatch on the non-emergency line, (785)832-7509

Search continues for Kan. man in alleged baseball bat attack

KANSAS CIY, KAN. – A Kansas man who led police on a high-speed chase was sentenced to 195 months in prison for drug trafficking, according to the United State's Attorney.

According to court documents, in October 2022, Russell Loomis, 50, of Kansas City, Kansas, pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute more than 50 grams of methamphetamine.

In September 2019, Loomis went to a home in Kansas City, Kansas, to deliver approximately 86 grams of methamphetamine in what was a controlled buy set up by the Drug Enforcement

Administration (DEA). Loomis drove away from the residence, and a short time later the Kansas City, Missouri police attempted to pull him over. Loomis refused to stop and initiated a chase in which multiple law enforcement agencies and an aerial unit joined in the pursuit. Loomis struck two DEA vehicles, a Kansas Highway Patrol vehicle, and a Kansas Department of Transportation dump truck before eventually losing control and crashing. 

He was then taken into custody. Law enforcement officers found 150.6 grams of methamphetamine and guns in his vehicle.

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Kansas City, Kansas Police Department, the Kansas Highway Patrol, and the Olathe Police Department investigated the case.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/3/1679610227557.png" alt="Loomis has previous convictions for obstruction, ID theft, flee or attempt to elude and for drugs." />
 <figcaption>Loomis has previous convictions for obstruction, ID theft, flee or attempt to elude and for drugs.</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CIY, KAN. – A Kansas man who led police on a high-speed chase was sentenced to 195 months in prison for drug trafficking, according to the United State's Attorney.According to court documents, in October 2022, Russell Loomis, 50, of Kansas City, Kansas, pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute more than 50 grams of methamphetamine.In September 2019, Loomis went to a home in Kansas City, Kansas, to deliver approximately 86 grams of methamphetamine in what was a controlled buy set up by the Drug EnforcementAdministration (DEA). Loomis drove away from the residence, and a short time later the Kansas City, Missouri police attempted to pull him over. Loomis refused to stop and initiated a chase in which multiple law enforcement agencies and an aerial unit joined in the pursuit. Loomis struck two DEA vehicles, a Kansas Highway Patrol vehicle, and a Kansas Department of Transportation dump truck before eventually losing control and crashing. He was then taken into custody. Law enforcement officers found 150.6 grams of methamphetamine and guns in his vehicle.The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Kansas City, Kansas Police Department, the Kansas Highway Patrol, and the Olathe Police Department investigated the case.

Kan. suspect struck DEA vehicle, KDOT dump truck during chase

DETROIT (AP) — Ford Motor Co.'s electric vehicle business has lost $3 billion before taxes during the past two years and will lose a similar amount this year&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ford-motor-co-michigan-detroit-business-e75de5b389687e7a3bbc248e83e23ac0">as the company invests heavily</a>&nbsp;in the new technology.

The figures were released Thursday as Ford rolled out a new way of reporting financial results. The new business structure separates electric vehicles, the profitable internal combustion and commercial vehicle operations into three operating units.

Company officials said the electric vehicle unit, called “Ford Model e,” will be profitable before taxes by late 2026 with an 8% pretax profit margin. But they wouldn't say exactly when it's expected to start making money.

Chief Financial Officer John Lawler said Model e should be viewed as a startup company within Ford.

“As everyone knows, EV startups lose money while they invest in capability, develop knowledge, build (sales) volume and gain (market) share,” he said.

Model e, he said, is working on second- and even third-generation electric vehicles. It currently offers three EVs for sale in the U.S.:&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/technology-detroit-business-taxes-29362a3adb2611e3360e16b3ff3021fa">the Mustang Mach E SUV</a>, the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/technology-business-environment-and-nature-michigan-ed809bb0f237e4d3be7974936416f91e">F-150 Lightning pickup</a>&nbsp;and an electric Transit commercial van.

The new corporate reporting system, Lawler said, is designed to give investors more transparency than the old system of reporting results by geographic regions. The automaker calculated earnings for each of the three units during the past two calendar years.

Model e had pretax losses of $900 million in 2021 and $2.1 billion last year, and it is expected to lose $3 billion this year. In the past two years Ford has announced it would build four new battery factories and a new vehicle assembly plant as well as spending heavily to acquire raw materials to build electric vehicles.

By the end of this year, the company based in Dearborn, Michigan, expects to be building electric vehicles at a rate of 600,000 per year, reaching a rate of 2 million per year by the end of 2026.

Last year, the pretax profit margin for Model e was minus 40%, Lawler said. To get to a positive 8% by the end of 2026, the company expects economies of scale — spreading costs over more vehicles sold— to be worth 20 points of the improvement. Design and engineering improvements will bring 15 points, battery cost reductions 10 points and 3 points will come from other areas including federal tax incentives and raw material price reductions.

Wells Fargo analyst Colin Langan calculated that Ford would need $15,000 in cost savings to get to an 8% profit margin. He asked what gives Ford confidence it can reach that number. “It just seems like quite a big number,” he said.

Lawler replied that Ford is looking at a whole new way of designing vehicles, focusing on energy efficiency, including aerodynamics. “Every decision is about optimizing energy efficiency so that we can get the smallest battery possible to hit the range target that we have for that vehicle,” he said.

Ford also will simplify its manufacturing process, maximizing common parts in next generation of EVs, saving over the current generation of repurposed internal combustion vehicle underpinnings. “There is a significant amount of opportunity in there to identify efficiencies and drive those home,” he said.

Ford Blue, the unit that sells internal combustion and gas-electric hybrid vehicles, made just over $10 billion before taxes during the last two years. Ford Pro, the commercial vehicle unit, made $5.9 billion during those years, the company said.

For this year, Ford expects Ford Blue to post a $7 billion pretax profit, modestly better than last year. Ford Pro is expected to earn $6 billion before taxes, nearly double its earnings last year, Lawler said.

Ford was to present the new structure, announced last March, to analysts and investors on Thursday. Other business units include corporate, Ford Credit and Ford Next, a new business incubator. Shares of Ford rose 1.7% in Thursday midday trading.

Lawler said the company is changing the way it does business, not just doing an accounting exercise.

“After 120 years, we've essentially re-founded Ford,” he said. “We're embracing technology and competitive disruption in our industry, fundamentally changing how we're thinking, how we're making decisions, and how we're running the company.”

DETROIT (AP) — Ford Motor Co.'s electric vehicle business has lost $3 billion before taxes during the past two years and will lose a similar amount this year&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ford-motor-co-michigan-detroit-business-e75de5b389687e7a3bbc248e83e23ac0">as the company invests heavily</a>&nbsp;in the new technology.The figures were released Thursday as Ford rolled out a new way of reporting financial results. The new business structure separates electric vehicles, the profitable internal combustion and commercial vehicle operations into three operating units.Company officials said the electric vehicle unit, called “Ford Model e,” will be profitable before taxes by late 2026 with an 8% pretax profit margin. But they wouldn't say exactly when it's expected to start making money.Chief Financial Officer John Lawler said Model e should be viewed as a startup company within Ford.“As everyone knows, EV startups lose money while they invest in capability, develop knowledge, build (sales) volume and gain (market) share,” he said.Model e, he said, is working on second- and even third-generation electric vehicles. It currently offers three EVs for sale in the U.S.:&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/technology-detroit-business-taxes-29362a3adb2611e3360e16b3ff3021fa">the Mustang Mach E SUV</a>, the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/technology-business-environment-and-nature-michigan-ed809bb0f237e4d3be7974936416f91e">F-150 Lightning pickup</a>&nbsp;and an electric Transit commercial van.The new corporate reporting system, Lawler said, is designed to give investors more transparency than the old system of reporting results by geographic regions. The automaker calculated earnings for each of the three units during the past two calendar years.Model e had pretax losses of $900 million in 2021 and $2.1 billion last year, and it is expected to lose $3 billion this year. In the past two years Ford has announced it would build four new battery factories and a new vehicle assembly plant as well as spending heavily to acquire raw materials to build electric vehicles.By the end of this year, the company based in Dearborn, Michigan, expects to be building electric vehicles at a rate of 600,000 per year, reaching a rate of 2 million per year by the end of 2026.Last year, the pretax profit margin for Model e was minus 40%, Lawler said. To get to a positive 8% by the end of 2026, the company expects economies of scale — spreading costs over more vehicles sold— to be worth 20 points of the improvement. Design and engineering improvements will bring 15 points, battery cost reductions 10 points and 3 points will come from other areas including federal tax incentives and raw material price reductions.Wells Fargo analyst Colin Langan calculated that Ford would need $15,000 in cost savings to get to an 8% profit margin. He asked what gives Ford confidence it can reach that number. “It just seems like quite a big number,” he said.Lawler replied that Ford is looking at a whole new way of designing vehicles, focusing on energy efficiency, including aerodynamics. “Every decision is about optimizing energy efficiency so that we can get the smallest battery possible to hit the range target that we have for that vehicle,” he said.Ford also will simplify its manufacturing process, maximizing common parts in next generation of EVs, saving over the current generation of repurposed internal combustion vehicle underpinnings. “There is a significant amount of opportunity in there to identify efficiencies and drive those home,” he said.Ford Blue, the unit that sells internal combustion and gas-electric hybrid vehicles, made just over $10 billion before taxes during the last two years. Ford Pro, the commercial vehicle unit, made $5.9 billion during those years, the company said.For this year, Ford expects Ford Blue to post a $7 billion pretax profit, modestly better than last year. Ford Pro is expected to earn $6 billion before taxes, nearly double its earnings last year, Lawler said.Ford was to present the new structure, announced last March, to analysts and investors on Thursday. Other business units include corporate, Ford Credit and Ford Next, a new business incubator. Shares of Ford rose 1.7% in Thursday midday trading.Lawler said the company is changing the way it does business, not just doing an accounting exercise.“After 120 years, we've essentially re-founded Ford,” he said. “We're embracing technology and competitive disruption in our industry, fundamentally changing how we're thinking, how we're making decisions, and how we're running the company.”

Ford losing billions on electric vehicle business

KANSAS CITY (AP) — Police officers involved in two separate fatal shootings in Missouri will not face charges after investigations by prosecutors.

Jackson County Prosecuting Attorney Jean Peters Baker said no charges will be filed against Independence officers in the March 2022 death of Tyrea M. Pryor. Meanwhile, Greene County Prosecuting Attorney Dan Patterson ruled that the use of deadly force by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/springfield-ab8846d98c93519286d4bd8a53094851">four Springfield officers</a>&nbsp;against Justin Barker on Feb. 1 was justified.

Baker's ruling was March 17. Her office released a letter to Pryor's family on Thursday. Patterson's ruling in the Springfield shooting was announced Friday.

Springfield officers were called to a park where Barker was allegedly threatening suicide. Police said officers were talking to Barker, 33, when he ignored orders to drop a gun and pointed it at officers, who shot him several times.

Pryor, 39, was shot to death on March 11, 2022, in the Kansas City suburb of Independence. Officers called to a home disturbance saw a white car leaving and began a chase. A car driven by Pryor wrecked a short time later.

Police dashboard camera video provided by attorneys for Pryor's family showed officers talking to Pryor, who was still inside the car. One officer said, “He's got a gun!” and officers began shooting into the car. Investigators said Pryor was shot 15 times. He died at the scene.

An AR-15-style semi-automatic weapon was pulled from the car, police said. One officer believed he saw a second gun, a pistol, but no pistol was found, the prosecutor's office said in its findings.

The letter to Pryor's family said the prosecutor’s office did not believe “the facts and law support charges here.”

Attorneys for Pryor's family said they will ask the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/3/1679833680314.png" alt="Pryor, 39, was shot to death on March 11, 2022, in the Kansas City suburb of Independence. Officers called to a home disturbance saw a white car leaving and began a chase and crash -image courtesy KMBC TV" />
 <figcaption>Pryor, 39, was shot to death on March 11, 2022, in the Kansas City suburb of Independence. Officers called to a home disturbance saw a white car leaving and began a chase and crash -image courtesy KMBC TV</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY (AP) — Police officers involved in two separate fatal shootings in Missouri will not face charges after investigations by prosecutors.Jackson County Prosecuting Attorney Jean Peters Baker said no charges will be filed against Independence officers in the March 2022 death of Tyrea M. Pryor. Meanwhile, Greene County Prosecuting Attorney Dan Patterson ruled that the use of deadly force by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/springfield-ab8846d98c93519286d4bd8a53094851">four Springfield officers</a>&nbsp;against Justin Barker on Feb. 1 was justified.Baker's ruling was March 17. Her office released a letter to Pryor's family on Thursday. Patterson's ruling in the Springfield shooting was announced Friday.Springfield officers were called to a park where Barker was allegedly threatening suicide. Police said officers were talking to Barker, 33, when he ignored orders to drop a gun and pointed it at officers, who shot him several times.Pryor, 39, was shot to death on March 11, 2022, in the Kansas City suburb of Independence. Officers called to a home disturbance saw a white car leaving and began a chase. A car driven by Pryor wrecked a short time later.Police dashboard camera video provided by attorneys for Pryor's family showed officers talking to Pryor, who was still inside the car. One officer said, “He's got a gun!” and officers began shooting into the car. Investigators said Pryor was shot 15 times. He died at the scene.An AR-15-style semi-automatic weapon was pulled from the car, police said. One officer believed he saw a second gun, a pistol, but no pistol was found, the prosecutor's office said in its findings.The letter to Pryor's family said the prosecutor’s office did not believe “the facts and law support charges here.”Attorneys for Pryor's family said they will ask the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate.

No charges in 2 fatal officer-involved shootings 

United States Catholic bishops have issued guidelines that seek to stop Catholic hospitals from providing gender transition care, a move LGBTQ advocates say could harm the physical and emotional health of transgender people within the church.

<a href="https://www.usccb.org/resources/Doctrinal%20Note%202023-03-20.pdf">Click here to read</a> the guidelines

The 14-page doctrinal note, titled “Moral Limits to the Technological Manipulation of the Human Body,” sets forth guidelines for changing a person’s sex, specifically with youth. The document, issued Monday, says Catholic hospitals “must not perform interventions, whether surgical or chemical, that aim to transform the sexual characteristics of a human body into those of the opposite sex, or take part in the development of such procedures.”

Transgender Catholics&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/religion-united-states-gender-identity-marquette-e88473adf85944f912511fc85d542d29">have received a mixed response</a>&nbsp;across the U.S. church. Some have found acceptance in specific parishes and rejection in certain dioceses, including those that bar church personnel from using trans people’s preferred gender pronouns. The bishops’ latest guidance to Catholic medical centers could prevent trans people from getting the health care they need, said Francis DeBernardo, executive director of New Ways Ministry, which advocates for greater LGBTQ acceptance in the church.

Catholic hospitals make up a sizeable portion of the U.S. health care system and in some communities they are the only option. The Catholic Health Association, which comprises more than 600 hospitals and 1,400 long-term care and other health facilities in the United States, says more than one in seven U.S. hospital patients is cared for in a Catholic facility.

“These decisions are being made at a much higher level without knowing the individuals and individual cases involved,” DeBernardo said. “When transgender people are not permitted or restricted from transitioning in ways they feel are appropriate, it could end in depression, anxiety or even self harm, including suicide.”

The bishops’ guidelines “will not change much” when it comes to caring for transgender patients at Catholic hospitals, said the Rev. Charlie Bouchard, CHA’s senior director of theology and sponsorship. Transgender people will continue to always be accepted in Catholic hospitals and treated with dignity and respect, but might not receive all of the gender-affirming care they request because of the church's theological and moral teachings, he said.

“As we look at the document from the bishops, what we are mindful of is that we have a history of caring for the marginalized, and we see transgender people very much as a marginalized group,” he said.

Catholic hospitals see transgender patients with a variety of health care needs from broken bones to cancer treatment and heart attacks, Bouchard said, adding that the hospitals would not perform cosmetic procedures such as reconstructive surgeries, hysterectomies, or treatments such as sterilizations on request, unless there is a medical need for them.

He said Catholic hospitals are also training staff to be respectful of transgender patients: “When a patient checks in, we ask staff to be respectful in how they ask questions. We want to affirm transgender individuals as persons and provide them with spiritual care and psychological counseling.”

Bouchard said Catholic hospitals will “base health care on science and continue to follow the science when it comes to transgender people.”

“But we don’t treat ideology,” he said. “We treat patients who are really suffering. There are things out there about gender fluidity that we do not agree with. But as Catholic hospitals, we are held to the same standard of care as other hospitals.”

DeBernardo disagreed, saying the bishops’ doctrinal guidelines cause harm rather than heal people by not paying heed to science.

“The bishops’ unwillingness to counter any of the evidence from the scientific community or the experience of transgender people is neither good theology nor acceptable pastoral care,” he said.

DeBernardo said he sees hope with many more Catholics in the pews showing greater understanding of transgender people's lives. He noted cases where Catholic parents are supporting their transgender children against&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/des-moines-gender-b67a28db1a2b04a3622cfcec649afade">restrictive policies in Catholic schools</a>, including barring puberty blockers and preferred pronouns on campuses and in parishes.

Christine Zuba, a transgender woman who lives in New Jersey, said she feels accepted at her local parish, but is upset that the national church “continues to deny our existence and our need for health care.” Zuba said she was disappointed to see that transgender people were not even mentioned in the 14-page document.

“In my parish, I feel accepted unconditionally for who I am,” she said. “But that is missing in our hierarchy. There is no willingness to engage with us and understand our lives.”

Zuba said she is happy to see more engagement and interaction in some dioceses. In Davenport, Iowa, Bishop Thomas Zinkula formed a Gender Committee calling Catholics to “listen to the people in the margins,” calling ministering to LGBTQ people – particularly trans people – as “a life issue.” In a column published in the Catholic Messenger, Zinkula said he has been haunted by the story of a transgender youth who attempted suicide after being denied Communion.

“This type of thing should never happen again,” he wrote.

Zuba said she would like to see that type of commitment to listen and learn in the upper echelons of the church.

“All we ask is listen to us as a group and as individuals,” she said. “Open your hearts and try to understand.”

By DEEPA BHARATH, Associated PressUnited States Catholic bishops have issued guidelines that seek to stop Catholic hospitals from providing gender transition care, a move LGBTQ advocates say could harm the physical and emotional health of transgender people within the church.<a href="https://www.usccb.org/resources/Doctrinal%20Note%202023-03-20.pdf">Click here to read</a> the guidelinesThe 14-page doctrinal note, titled “Moral Limits to the Technological Manipulation of the Human Body,” sets forth guidelines for changing a person’s sex, specifically with youth. The document, issued Monday, says Catholic hospitals “must not perform interventions, whether surgical or chemical, that aim to transform the sexual characteristics of a human body into those of the opposite sex, or take part in the development of such procedures.”Transgender Catholics&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/religion-united-states-gender-identity-marquette-e88473adf85944f912511fc85d542d29">have received a mixed response</a>&nbsp;across the U.S. church. Some have found acceptance in specific parishes and rejection in certain dioceses, including those that bar church personnel from using trans people’s preferred gender pronouns. The bishops’ latest guidance to Catholic medical centers could prevent trans people from getting the health care they need, said Francis DeBernardo, executive director of New Ways Ministry, which advocates for greater LGBTQ acceptance in the church.Catholic hospitals make up a sizeable portion of the U.S. health care system and in some communities they are the only option. The Catholic Health Association, which comprises more than 600 hospitals and 1,400 long-term care and other health facilities in the United States, says more than one in seven U.S. hospital patients is cared for in a Catholic facility.“These decisions are being made at a much higher level without knowing the individuals and individual cases involved,” DeBernardo said. “When transgender people are not permitted or restricted from transitioning in ways they feel are appropriate, it could end in depression, anxiety or even self harm, including suicide.”The bishops’ guidelines “will not change much” when it comes to caring for transgender patients at Catholic hospitals, said the Rev. Charlie Bouchard, CHA’s senior director of theology and sponsorship. Transgender people will continue to always be accepted in Catholic hospitals and treated with dignity and respect, but might not receive all of the gender-affirming care they request because of the church's theological and moral teachings, he said.“As we look at the document from the bishops, what we are mindful of is that we have a history of caring for the marginalized, and we see transgender people very much as a marginalized group,” he said.Catholic hospitals see transgender patients with a variety of health care needs from broken bones to cancer treatment and heart attacks, Bouchard said, adding that the hospitals would not perform cosmetic procedures such as reconstructive surgeries, hysterectomies, or treatments such as sterilizations on request, unless there is a medical need for them.He said Catholic hospitals are also training staff to be respectful of transgender patients: “When a patient checks in, we ask staff to be respectful in how they ask questions. We want to affirm transgender individuals as persons and provide them with spiritual care and psychological counseling.”Bouchard said Catholic hospitals will “base health care on science and continue to follow the science when it comes to transgender people.”“But we don’t treat ideology,” he said. “We treat patients who are really suffering. There are things out there about gender fluidity that we do not agree with. But as Catholic hospitals, we are held to the same standard of care as other hospitals.”DeBernardo disagreed, saying the bishops’ doctrinal guidelines cause harm rather than heal people by not paying heed to science.“The bishops’ unwillingness to counter any of the evidence from the scientific community or the experience of transgender people is neither good theology nor acceptable pastoral care,” he said.DeBernardo said he sees hope with many more Catholics in the pews showing greater understanding of transgender people's lives. He noted cases where Catholic parents are supporting their transgender children against&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/des-moines-gender-b67a28db1a2b04a3622cfcec649afade">restrictive policies in Catholic schools</a>, including barring puberty blockers and preferred pronouns on campuses and in parishes.Christine Zuba, a transgender woman who lives in New Jersey, said she feels accepted at her local parish, but is upset that the national church “continues to deny our existence and our need for health care.” Zuba said she was disappointed to see that transgender people were not even mentioned in the 14-page document.“In my parish, I feel accepted unconditionally for who I am,” she said. “But that is missing in our hierarchy. There is no willingness to engage with us and understand our lives.”Zuba said she is happy to see more engagement and interaction in some dioceses. In Davenport, Iowa, Bishop Thomas Zinkula formed a Gender Committee calling Catholics to “listen to the people in the margins,” calling ministering to LGBTQ people – particularly trans people – as “a life issue.” In a column published in the Catholic Messenger, Zinkula said he has been haunted by the story of a transgender youth who attempted suicide after being denied Communion.“This type of thing should never happen again,” he wrote.Zuba said she would like to see that type of commitment to listen and learn in the upper echelons of the church.“All we ask is listen to us as a group and as individuals,” she said. “Open your hearts and try to understand.”

U.S. Catholic bishops: New guidelines to limit trans health care

KANSAS CITY (AP) — Kansas City Police Department leaders encouraged officers to meet illegal ticket quotas by targeting drivers in Black and other minority neighborhoods, a lawsuit filed by an officer contends.

Edward Williams, a white traffic officer who said he's been with the department for 21 years, filed the discrimination lawsuit Monday, the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kansascity.com/article273437100.html">Kansas City Star reported.</a>

Racial profiling is a violation of the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964. Ticket quotas are also illegal under a Missouri state law passed in 2016.

Kansas City police Chief Stacey Graves said in a written statement that the department “is dedicated to policing that is both equitable and fair in all aspects of our duties.” She said officers do not direct enforcement activities based on demographics but instead on high crash areas and citizen traffic complaint locations.

Williams was reprimanded after he reported the violations to his superiors, Williams' attorney, Gerald Gray II, said.

“Officers have received unsatisfactory marks on their evaluations and had duties and benefits stripped for low ticket writing numbers," the lawsuit states. “This continues to this date.”

It comes several months after the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/police-discrimination-race-and-ethnicity-racial-injustice-7a3d4c84f6e3ba8bb97b5c49e5287408">U.S. Department of Justice announced an investigation</a>&nbsp;into the department's employment practices to determine if it engaged in any racial discrimination.

KANSAS CITY (AP) — Kansas City Police Department leaders encouraged officers to meet illegal ticket quotas by targeting drivers in Black and other minority neighborhoods, a lawsuit filed by an officer contends.Edward Williams, a white traffic officer who said he's been with the department for 21 years, filed the discrimination lawsuit Monday, the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kansascity.com/article273437100.html">Kansas City Star reported.</a>Racial profiling is a violation of the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964. Ticket quotas are also illegal under a Missouri state law passed in 2016.Kansas City police Chief Stacey Graves said in a written statement that the department “is dedicated to policing that is both equitable and fair in all aspects of our duties.” She said officers do not direct enforcement activities based on demographics but instead on high crash areas and citizen traffic complaint locations.Williams was reprimanded after he reported the violations to his superiors, Williams' attorney, Gerald Gray II, said.“Officers have received unsatisfactory marks on their evaluations and had duties and benefits stripped for low ticket writing numbers," the lawsuit states. “This continues to this date.”It comes several months after the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/police-discrimination-race-and-ethnicity-racial-injustice-7a3d4c84f6e3ba8bb97b5c49e5287408">U.S. Department of Justice announced an investigation</a>&nbsp;into the department's employment practices to determine if it engaged in any racial discrimination.

KC traffic officer says he was told to target minority drivers

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin announced plans on Saturday to station tactical nuclear weapons in neighboring Belarus, a warning to the West as it steps up military support for Ukraine.

Putin said the move was triggered by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/depleted-uranium-ukraine-russia-tanks-a92a4784dfcbd1ff221813154b7f3a8e">Britain’s decision</a>&nbsp;this past week to provide Ukraine with armor-piercing rounds containing depleted uranium.

Tactical nuclear weapons are intended for use on the battlefield and have a short range and a low yield compared with much more powerful nuclear warheads fitted to long-range missiles. Russia plans to maintain control over those it sends to Belarus, and construction of storage facilities for them will be completed by July 1, Putin said.

He didn’t say how many nuclear weapons Russia would keep in Belarus. The U.S. government believes Russia has about 2,000 tactical nuclear weapons, which include bombs that can be carried by tactical aircraft, warheads for short-range missiles and artillery rounds.

Putin argued that by deploying its tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, Russia was following the lead of the United States, noting that the U.S. has nuclear weapons based in Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Turkey.

“We are doing what they have been doing for decades, stationing them in certain allied countries, preparing the launch platforms and training their crews,” Putin said, speaking in an interview on state television that aired Saturday night. “We are going to do the same thing.”

Russia has stored its tactical nuclear weapons at dedicated depots on its territory, and moving part of the arsenal to a storage facility in Belarus would up the ante in the Ukrainian conflict by placing them closer to the Russian aircraft and missiles already stationed there.

Some hawkish commentators in Russia long have urged the Kremlin to put the tactical nuclear weapons close to the weapons to send a signal to the West about the readiness to use them.

The U.S. said it would “monitor the implications” of Putin's announcement.

“We have not seen any reason to adjust our own strategic nuclear posture nor any indications Russia is preparing to use a nuclear weapon,” National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said. "We remain committed to the collective defense of the NATO alliance.”

Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine had Soviet nuclear weapons stationed on their territory but handed them over to Russia after the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union.

Putin said Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has long asked to have nuclear weapons in his country again as a counter to NATO. Belarus shares borders with three NATO members — Latvia, Lithuania and Poland — and Russia used its&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-drones-hit-kyiv-2a8d03f70dc20eab9a8c150df8c04b37">territory as a staging ground</a>&nbsp;to send troops into neighboring Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022.

Putin noted that Russia helped&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-drones-hit-kyiv-2a8d03f70dc20eab9a8c150df8c04b37">modernize Belarusian military aircraft</a>&nbsp;last year to make them capable of carrying nuclear warheads. He said 10 such planes were ready to go. He said nuclear weapons also could be launched by the Iskander short-range missiles that Russia provided to Belarus last year.

Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who is living in exile, said the agreement to transfer the tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus “underlines the threat to regional security” from Lukashenko's regime.

“Europe won’t be safe until Belarus dictator is removed &amp; brought before tribunal to face justice for crimes against our country &amp; Ukraine," Tsikhanouskaya wrote in English on Twitter.

Lukashenko’s support of the war has drawn international criticism and sanctions. But he has publicly stood by Russia, which has pumped billions of dollars into shoring up his Soviet-style, state-controlled economy with cheap energy and loans.

Putin had initially objected to the depleted uranium rounds that Britain promised to ship to Ukraine by making the false claim that they have nuclear components.

He subsequently toned down his language, but insisted Saturday that the ammunition posed an additional danger to both troops and civilians in Ukraine by leaving a radioactive trace and contaminating agricultural land.

“Those weapons are harmful not just for combatants, but also for the people living in those territories and for the environment,” he said.

Putin added that Russia has vast stockpiles of similar ammunition but so far has refrained from using it.

Depleted uranium is a byproduct of the uranium enrichment process needed to create nuclear weapons. The rounds can't generate a nuclear reaction but they do emit low levels of radiation. The U.N. nuclear watchdog has warned of the possible dangers of exposure.

Such rounds were developed by the U.S. during the Cold War to destroy Soviet tanks, including the same T-72 tanks that Ukraine now faces in its push to break through a stalemate in the east.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/9/1663760963726.jpeg" alt="Russia has stored its tactical nuclear weapons at dedicated depots on its territory, and moving part of the arsenal to a storage facility in Belarus would up the ante in the Ukrainian&nbsp; photo -Russian Presidential Press Service via AP" />
 <figcaption>Russia has stored its tactical nuclear weapons at dedicated depots on its territory, and moving part of the arsenal to a storage facility in Belarus would up the ante in the Ukrainian&nbsp; photo -Russian Presidential Press Service via AP</figcaption>
 </figure>MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin announced plans on Saturday to station tactical nuclear weapons in neighboring Belarus, a warning to the West as it steps up military support for Ukraine.Putin said the move was triggered by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/depleted-uranium-ukraine-russia-tanks-a92a4784dfcbd1ff221813154b7f3a8e">Britain’s decision</a>&nbsp;this past week to provide Ukraine with armor-piercing rounds containing depleted uranium.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/3/1679781807563.png" alt="Putin didn’t say how many nuclear weapons Russia would keep in Belarus. The U.S. government believes Russia has about 2,000 tactical nuclear weapons, which include bombs that can be carried by tactical aircraft, warheads for short-range missiles and artillery rounds.-Google map" />
 <figcaption>Putin didn’t say how many nuclear weapons Russia would keep in Belarus. The U.S. government believes Russia has about 2,000 tactical nuclear weapons, which include bombs that can be carried by tactical aircraft, warheads for short-range missiles and artillery rounds.-Google map</figcaption>
 </figure>Tactical nuclear weapons are intended for use on the battlefield and have a short range and a low yield compared with much more powerful nuclear warheads fitted to long-range missiles. Russia plans to maintain control over those it sends to Belarus, and construction of storage facilities for them will be completed by July 1, Putin said.He didn’t say how many nuclear weapons Russia would keep in Belarus. The U.S. government believes Russia has about 2,000 tactical nuclear weapons, which include bombs that can be carried by tactical aircraft, warheads for short-range missiles and artillery rounds.Putin argued that by deploying its tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, Russia was following the lead of the United States, noting that the U.S. has nuclear weapons based in Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Turkey.“We are doing what they have been doing for decades, stationing them in certain allied countries, preparing the launch platforms and training their crews,” Putin said, speaking in an interview on state television that aired Saturday night. “We are going to do the same thing.”Russia has stored its tactical nuclear weapons at dedicated depots on its territory, and moving part of the arsenal to a storage facility in Belarus would up the ante in the Ukrainian conflict by placing them closer to the Russian aircraft and missiles already stationed there.Some hawkish commentators in Russia long have urged the Kremlin to put the tactical nuclear weapons close to the weapons to send a signal to the West about the readiness to use them.The U.S. said it would “monitor the implications” of Putin's announcement.“We have not seen any reason to adjust our own strategic nuclear posture nor any indications Russia is preparing to use a nuclear weapon,” National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said. "We remain committed to the collective defense of the NATO alliance.”Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine had Soviet nuclear weapons stationed on their territory but handed them over to Russia after the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union.Putin said Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has long asked to have nuclear weapons in his country again as a counter to NATO. Belarus shares borders with three NATO members — Latvia, Lithuania and Poland — and Russia used its&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-drones-hit-kyiv-2a8d03f70dc20eab9a8c150df8c04b37">territory as a staging ground</a>&nbsp;to send troops into neighboring Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022.Putin noted that Russia helped&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-drones-hit-kyiv-2a8d03f70dc20eab9a8c150df8c04b37">modernize Belarusian military aircraft</a>&nbsp;last year to make them capable of carrying nuclear warheads. He said 10 such planes were ready to go. He said nuclear weapons also could be launched by the Iskander short-range missiles that Russia provided to Belarus last year.Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who is living in exile, said the agreement to transfer the tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus “underlines the threat to regional security” from Lukashenko's regime.“Europe won’t be safe until Belarus dictator is removed &amp; brought before tribunal to face justice for crimes against our country &amp; Ukraine," Tsikhanouskaya wrote in English on Twitter.Lukashenko’s support of the war has drawn international criticism and sanctions. But he has publicly stood by Russia, which has pumped billions of dollars into shoring up his Soviet-style, state-controlled economy with cheap energy and loans.Putin had initially objected to the depleted uranium rounds that Britain promised to ship to Ukraine by making the false claim that they have nuclear components.He subsequently toned down his language, but insisted Saturday that the ammunition posed an additional danger to both troops and civilians in Ukraine by leaving a radioactive trace and contaminating agricultural land.“Those weapons are harmful not just for combatants, but also for the people living in those territories and for the environment,” he said.Putin added that Russia has vast stockpiles of similar ammunition but so far has refrained from using it.Depleted uranium is a byproduct of the uranium enrichment process needed to create nuclear weapons. The rounds can't generate a nuclear reaction but they do emit low levels of radiation. The U.N. nuclear watchdog has warned of the possible dangers of exposure.Such rounds were developed by the U.S. during the Cold War to destroy Soviet tanks, including the same T-72 tanks that Ukraine now faces in its push to break through a stalemate in the east.--------------

U.S. responds to Putin plan to place nuclear weapons on Ukraine border

KANSAS CITY (AP) — Following threats and attacks on public officials, state lawmakers across the U.S. have stepped up efforts to shield personal information from being publicly disclosed about judges, police, elected officeholders and various public employees.

The measures generally are winning widespread support in state capitols — adding a layer of secrecy, in the name of safety, that could make it more difficult to determine whether public officials are complying with residency laws and paying their property taxes.

The efforts to exempt more information from public disclosure come despite the fact that many governments are more transparent than ever when it comes to their meetings — making permanent&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/legislature-state-legislature-coronavirus-pandemic-4d6cf5821b44cb0ce70587305d5e1175">the online streaming options</a>&nbsp;spurred as a response to coronavirus-related restrictions on public gatherings.

That's led to a split assessment of government openness during Sunshine Week, an annual recognition of public information laws that began Sunday and runs through Saturday.

Though meetings may be more accessible, “basically, government is getting more secretive every year,” said David Cuillier, an associate journalism professor at the University of Arizona who has been analyzing data about government compliance with open-records laws.

People requesting records from the federal government are successful only about one-fifth of the time, down from a greater than 50% success rate more than a decade ago, according to Cuillier's research.

Information requests under state laws typically fair better, Cuillier said, but “every year, we get exemptions being passed in state legislatures all across the country, and that just seems to be accelerating.”

On a case-by-case basis, many public records exceptions may appear reasonable and justified. The movement to shield the home addresses of judges provides one good example.

In 2020, a man disgruntled with U.S. District Judge Esther Salas came to her New Jersey home disguised as a deliveryman and fatally shot her 20-year-old son while wounding her husband. New Jersey officials responded later that year by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/shootings-laws-9c13dc83bdc9948e8af7249bbea13cde">enacting a law that exempted the home addresses</a>&nbsp;of current or retired judges, prosecutors and law enforcement officers from disclosure under public records laws. The measure, called Daniel’s Law in honor of the judge’s son, also allowed covered officials to ask businesses or individuals to remove their home addresses from internet sites they control.

Though some states already had similar laws, the New Jersey case provided an impetus for action elsewhere. Most states now have laws prohibiting governmental entities from disclosing the home addresses of at least some public employees, with judges among the most commonly protected,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/23702717-home-address-exemptions-in-state-foi-laws">according to research</a>&nbsp;by Jodie Gil, an associate journalism professor at Southern Connecticut State University.

A study panel of the Uniform Law Commission, a nonprofit organization that drafts potential legislation for state lawmakers, plans to recommend this spring that a common policy be drafted to exclude judges' home addresses and certain personal information from public-record disclosures, said Vince DeLiberato, director of Pennsylvania's Legislative Reference Bureau and chair of the study panel. The policy also could include an option to shield information for other public officials facing threats, he said.

Meanwhile, states are pressing forward with their own information-exemption laws for certain officials.

The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.senate.mo.gov/23info/BTS_Web/Bill.aspx?SessionType=R&amp;BillID=44449">Missouri Senate recently voted 30-1 for legislation</a>&nbsp;that allows judges and prosecutors to request that their home addresses, phone numbers, personal email addresses, marital status, children's identities and other information be removed from public display. The shield would apply not only to government records and websites but also to privately run sites such as online phone directories and internet search engines. That bill is now pending in the House.

On the same day as the Missouri vote, the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/64592">Georgia Senate voted 53-0 for legislation</a>&nbsp;allowing federal, state or local public employees to request that their residential addresses and phone numbers be removed from online property records posted by local governments. That bill is now pending in the House.

“We don’t want people to be able to track these folks down and cause harm," Georgia state Sen. Matt Brass, a Republican, said while explaining his bill to a Senate committee.

But Richard Griffiths, a former president of the Georgia First Amendment Foundation, raised concerns about the unintended consequences, asserting that the New Jersey law “turned into a bit of a train wreck.” Some governments shut down entire databases because of uncertainty about exactly whose information should be removed from which public records, he said.

New Jersey lawmakers responded in January 2022 by tweaking the process in Daniel’s Law and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.njleg.state.nj.us/bill-search/2020/A6171">establishing a state Office of Information Privacy</a>&nbsp;— funded with $3 million — to create an online portal through which judicial and law enforcement officials can request that their information be redacted.

Public records listing the home addresses of government officials can function as an important tool for journalists working on public accountability stories, Gil said. Addresses in voter registration files and property ownership records can be used to determine whether officials actually live in the district they represent or are delinquent on property taxes.

When she was working as a journalist a decade ago, Gil&nbsp;<a href="https://valley.newhavenindependent.org/article/Ansonia_Officials_Owe_Car_Taxes_But_Dont_Suffer_The_Consequences/">reported that a local tax collector</a>&nbsp;was certifying that some public officials had paid their vehicle taxes when they actually had not.

“It's something that I could have never even attempted if public records were not connecting public officials and their addresses,” Gil said. “I didn’t publish any address — I didn't say the mayor lives at this house — but I needed his address to confirm that he was paying his taxes.”

Lawmakers are taking a variety of approaches to address confidentiality this year.&nbsp;<a href="https://olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2023R1/Measures/Overview/HB3073">An Oregon bill</a>&nbsp;would prohibit the home addresses of elected officials and candidates from being publicly disclosed on voter registration lists.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cga.ct.gov/asp/cgabillstatus/cgabillstatus.asp?selBillType=Bill&amp;bill_num=SB01157&amp;which_year=2023">A Connecticut bill</a>&nbsp;would add court marshals, attorney general's employees and workers in a state unit that determines services for people with disabilities to a list of about a dozen types of public employees whose home addresses are confidential under the Connecticut Freedom of Information Act.

The Connecticut bill is backed by state Attorney General William Tong, a Democrat who told lawmakers that his assistants are getting targeted online.

“People get really angry when they’re the subject of an enforcement action,” Tong said, "and sometimes they retaliate and they threaten people in my office with violence.”

But redacting public employee addresses from state records won't necessarily prevent threats and “provides employees with a false sense of comfort and security,” said Colleen Murphy, executive director of the Connecticut Freedom of Information Commission, a state agency that administers and enforces open-records laws.

"For better or worse, the fact is that the residential addresses of most people are now readily available for free, or for a nominal charge, on the internet and through other commercial services,” Murphy said.

In New Mexico, a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-new-mexico-state-government-crime-albuquerque-1410b516f5b66c18d62342a0d7a9b60f">series of drive-by shootings</a>&nbsp;at the homes of Democratic elected officials prompted&nbsp;<a href="https://nmlegis.gov/Legislation/Legislation?chamber=S&amp;legType=B&amp;legNo=180&amp;year=23">the Senate to pass legislation</a>&nbsp;that would let public officials keep secret their home addresses on election-related documents and government websites. The provision was included in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/elections-political-violence-driveby-shootings-b963e0341516ccf6ea61131b88980fbb">a broader election bill</a>&nbsp;that is now pending in the House.

Among the supporters is Democratic state Sen. Linda Lopez, of Albuquerque, whose home was hit by multiple shots while her 10-year-old daughter was sleeping.

KANSAS CITY (AP) — Following threats and attacks on public officials, state lawmakers across the U.S. have stepped up efforts to shield personal information from being publicly disclosed about judges, police, elected officeholders and various public employees.The measures generally are winning widespread support in state capitols — adding a layer of secrecy, in the name of safety, that could make it more difficult to determine whether public officials are complying with residency laws and paying their property taxes.The efforts to exempt more information from public disclosure come despite the fact that many governments are more transparent than ever when it comes to their meetings — making permanent&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/legislature-state-legislature-coronavirus-pandemic-4d6cf5821b44cb0ce70587305d5e1175">the online streaming options</a>&nbsp;spurred as a response to coronavirus-related restrictions on public gatherings.That's led to a split assessment of government openness during Sunshine Week, an annual recognition of public information laws that began Sunday and runs through Saturday.Though meetings may be more accessible, “basically, government is getting more secretive every year,” said David Cuillier, an associate journalism professor at the University of Arizona who has been analyzing data about government compliance with open-records laws.People requesting records from the federal government are successful only about one-fifth of the time, down from a greater than 50% success rate more than a decade ago, according to Cuillier's research.Information requests under state laws typically fair better, Cuillier said, but “every year, we get exemptions being passed in state legislatures all across the country, and that just seems to be accelerating.”On a case-by-case basis, many public records exceptions may appear reasonable and justified. The movement to shield the home addresses of judges provides one good example.In 2020, a man disgruntled with U.S. District Judge Esther Salas came to her New Jersey home disguised as a deliveryman and fatally shot her 20-year-old son while wounding her husband. New Jersey officials responded later that year by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/shootings-laws-9c13dc83bdc9948e8af7249bbea13cde">enacting a law that exempted the home addresses</a>&nbsp;of current or retired judges, prosecutors and law enforcement officers from disclosure under public records laws. The measure, called Daniel’s Law in honor of the judge’s son, also allowed covered officials to ask businesses or individuals to remove their home addresses from internet sites they control.Though some states already had similar laws, the New Jersey case provided an impetus for action elsewhere. Most states now have laws prohibiting governmental entities from disclosing the home addresses of at least some public employees, with judges among the most commonly protected,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/23702717-home-address-exemptions-in-state-foi-laws">according to research</a>&nbsp;by Jodie Gil, an associate journalism professor at Southern Connecticut State University.A study panel of the Uniform Law Commission, a nonprofit organization that drafts potential legislation for state lawmakers, plans to recommend this spring that a common policy be drafted to exclude judges' home addresses and certain personal information from public-record disclosures, said Vince DeLiberato, director of Pennsylvania's Legislative Reference Bureau and chair of the study panel. The policy also could include an option to shield information for other public officials facing threats, he said.Meanwhile, states are pressing forward with their own information-exemption laws for certain officials.The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.senate.mo.gov/23info/BTS_Web/Bill.aspx?SessionType=R&amp;BillID=44449">Missouri Senate recently voted 30-1 for legislation</a>&nbsp;that allows judges and prosecutors to request that their home addresses, phone numbers, personal email addresses, marital status, children's identities and other information be removed from public display. The shield would apply not only to government records and websites but also to privately run sites such as online phone directories and internet search engines. That bill is now pending in the House.On the same day as the Missouri vote, the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/64592">Georgia Senate voted 53-0 for legislation</a>&nbsp;allowing federal, state or local public employees to request that their residential addresses and phone numbers be removed from online property records posted by local governments. That bill is now pending in the House.“We don’t want people to be able to track these folks down and cause harm," Georgia state Sen. Matt Brass, a Republican, said while explaining his bill to a Senate committee.But Richard Griffiths, a former president of the Georgia First Amendment Foundation, raised concerns about the unintended consequences, asserting that the New Jersey law “turned into a bit of a train wreck.” Some governments shut down entire databases because of uncertainty about exactly whose information should be removed from which public records, he said.New Jersey lawmakers responded in January 2022 by tweaking the process in Daniel’s Law and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.njleg.state.nj.us/bill-search/2020/A6171">establishing a state Office of Information Privacy</a>&nbsp;— funded with $3 million — to create an online portal through which judicial and law enforcement officials can request that their information be redacted.Public records listing the home addresses of government officials can function as an important tool for journalists working on public accountability stories, Gil said. Addresses in voter registration files and property ownership records can be used to determine whether officials actually live in the district they represent or are delinquent on property taxes.When she was working as a journalist a decade ago, Gil&nbsp;<a href="https://valley.newhavenindependent.org/article/Ansonia_Officials_Owe_Car_Taxes_But_Dont_Suffer_The_Consequences/">reported that a local tax collector</a>&nbsp;was certifying that some public officials had paid their vehicle taxes when they actually had not.“It's something that I could have never even attempted if public records were not connecting public officials and their addresses,” Gil said. “I didn’t publish any address — I didn't say the mayor lives at this house — but I needed his address to confirm that he was paying his taxes.”Lawmakers are taking a variety of approaches to address confidentiality this year.&nbsp;<a href="https://olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2023R1/Measures/Overview/HB3073">An Oregon bill</a>&nbsp;would prohibit the home addresses of elected officials and candidates from being publicly disclosed on voter registration lists.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cga.ct.gov/asp/cgabillstatus/cgabillstatus.asp?selBillType=Bill&amp;bill_num=SB01157&amp;which_year=2023">A Connecticut bill</a>&nbsp;would add court marshals, attorney general's employees and workers in a state unit that determines services for people with disabilities to a list of about a dozen types of public employees whose home addresses are confidential under the Connecticut Freedom of Information Act.The Connecticut bill is backed by state Attorney General William Tong, a Democrat who told lawmakers that his assistants are getting targeted online.“People get really angry when they’re the subject of an enforcement action,” Tong said, "and sometimes they retaliate and they threaten people in my office with violence.”But redacting public employee addresses from state records won't necessarily prevent threats and “provides employees with a false sense of comfort and security,” said Colleen Murphy, executive director of the Connecticut Freedom of Information Commission, a state agency that administers and enforces open-records laws."For better or worse, the fact is that the residential addresses of most people are now readily available for free, or for a nominal charge, on the internet and through other commercial services,” Murphy said.In New Mexico, a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-new-mexico-state-government-crime-albuquerque-1410b516f5b66c18d62342a0d7a9b60f">series of drive-by shootings</a>&nbsp;at the homes of Democratic elected officials prompted&nbsp;<a href="https://nmlegis.gov/Legislation/Legislation?chamber=S&amp;legType=B&amp;legNo=180&amp;year=23">the Senate to pass legislation</a>&nbsp;that would let public officials keep secret their home addresses on election-related documents and government websites. The provision was included in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/elections-political-violence-driveby-shootings-b963e0341516ccf6ea61131b88980fbb">a broader election bill</a>&nbsp;that is now pending in the House.Among the supporters is Democratic state Sen. Linda Lopez, of Albuquerque, whose home was hit by multiple shots while her 10-year-old daughter was sleeping.“I understand the issue on transparency," Lopez said, “but the day and time that we’re in, we really have to rethink what we are doing.”