By RACHEL MIPRO <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/02/28/who-let-the-dogs-in-kansas-breweries-and-health-officials-clash-over-indoors-pet-ban/">Kansas Reflector</a>

TOPEKA — Kansas government officials clashed last week over education, with Gov.&nbsp;Laura Kelly promoting the full funding of special education and other politicians emphasizing private schools as a way to educate Kansas youths.

“I believe that they built schools before they built churches,” Kelly said during a Thursday Zoom meeting with education officials on special education funding. “If you’re from Kansas, you know what that means. That’s an incredibly high priority that Kansans put on education from the get-go. They even put it in the Constitution.”&nbsp;

Kelly has&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/02/21/kansas-governor-renews-push-to-invest-in-special-education-services/">done a series of events</a>&nbsp;to promote increased funding, as Kansas special education has been underfunded for years. Under Kansas law, the state has to provide 92% of the extra costs of special education, but the Legislature hasn’t met this requirement since 2011. The current level of funding sits around 71% statewide, according to the Kansas Association of School Boards. Districts have had to divert funds from general education programs to pay for special education costs.&nbsp;

Kelly’s proposed budget would add $72.4 million for special education every year for the next five years to meet the statutory requirement. While the federal government is supposed to provide up to 40% of the funding as stipulated by legislation passed in 1990, only about 13% has been provided.

Kelly said she was fully aware that the federal government needed to do more, and was working with other governors to address the issue with Washington lawmakers.&nbsp;

“I’ll continue to work with my colleagues to get that fully funded mechanism back in place out of Washington, DC but in the meantime, we still have a responsibility here,” Kelly said.&nbsp;

She urged concerned Kansans to get parents and legislators involved with their local special education programs and school systems. Funding public education in general hasn’t gained much traction in the Legislature, with several lawmakers expressing concern about public school content and transparency.

During a Thursday House K-12 Education Budget Committee hearing, Chair Kristey Williams, an Augusta Republican, gave a hearing on an education bill that will be gutted and reworked Monday, rendering testimony moot.

“Monday, we will work the empty shell of Senate Bill 83,” Williams said. “So that is Monday. The content, for those that asked, I told them, ‘Don’t even worry about the content,’ is what we’re having the hearing on today.”

The&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2023_24/measures/sb83/">original version of the bill&nbsp;</a>would have expanded eligibility for a private school scholarship tax credit program. Some people giving testimony said there were transparency issues with the gutting, given that they couldn’t accurately testify&nbsp;when they didn’t know the final content of the bill.

Kansas State Board of Education member Ann Mah spoke in support of public education and mentioned the lack of information.&nbsp;

“With the lack of transparency, we’re not really sure what you’re going to work, but I thought we might just remind you of a couple of things, and point out a couple of things and hope that what I talked about actually hits what you’re going to vote on,” Mah said during the hearing.&nbsp;

The committee has been criticized for a lack of transparency before, including when lawmakers&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/02/17/kansas-parental-rights-legislation-folded-into-unrelated-bill/">rolled parental rights legislation</a>&nbsp;into an unrelated bill without giving the public an opportunity to voice their concerns about the legislation.

Critics have said hasty hearings and the education bills worked by the committee, along with parental rights rhetoric, are meant to&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/02/13/kansas-education-advocates-see-vouchers-and-hostility-as-attempts-to-undermine-public-schools/">promote distrust of school districts</a>&nbsp;and public education.

Williams and Vice Chair Rep. Brenda Landwehr, a Wichita Republican, pushed back on Mah’s transparency concerns. Landwehr emphasized the legality of the process.&nbsp;

“We’re just having a hearing on this bill because that’s the process so that then we have a shell,” Landwehr said. “There will not be anything put in that bill that really hasn’t been discussed in this committee. So it’ll be bills previously heard. And it’s legal. It’s been declared legal. And we’re fine to do that, so being accused of not being transparent is disingenuous.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/1/1673623244745.png" alt="&nbsp;Special education programs have been underfunded for years. (Rachel Mipro/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption>&nbsp;Special education programs have been underfunded for years. (Rachel Mipro/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure>By RACHEL MIPRO <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/02/28/who-let-the-dogs-in-kansas-breweries-and-health-officials-clash-over-indoors-pet-ban/">Kansas Reflector</a>TOPEKA — Kansas government officials clashed last week over education, with Gov.&nbsp;Laura Kelly promoting the full funding of special education and other politicians emphasizing private schools as a way to educate Kansas youths.“I believe that they built schools before they built churches,” Kelly said during a Thursday Zoom meeting with education officials on special education funding. “If you’re from Kansas, you know what that means. That’s an incredibly high priority that Kansans put on education from the get-go. They even put it in the Constitution.”&nbsp;Kelly has&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/02/21/kansas-governor-renews-push-to-invest-in-special-education-services/">done a series of events</a>&nbsp;to promote increased funding, as Kansas special education has been underfunded for years. Under Kansas law, the state has to provide 92% of the extra costs of special education, but the Legislature hasn’t met this requirement since 2011. The current level of funding sits around 71% statewide, according to the Kansas Association of School Boards. Districts have had to divert funds from general education programs to pay for special education costs.&nbsp;Kelly’s proposed budget would add $72.4 million for special education every year for the next five years to meet the statutory requirement. While the federal government is supposed to provide up to 40% of the funding as stipulated by legislation passed in 1990, only about 13% has been provided.Kelly said she was fully aware that the federal government needed to do more, and was working with other governors to address the issue with Washington lawmakers.&nbsp;“I’ll continue to work with my colleagues to get that fully funded mechanism back in place out of Washington, DC but in the meantime, we still have a responsibility here,” Kelly said.&nbsp;She urged concerned Kansans to get parents and legislators involved with their local special education programs and school systems. Funding public education in general hasn’t gained much traction in the Legislature, with several lawmakers expressing concern about public school content and transparency.During a Thursday House K-12 Education Budget Committee hearing, Chair Kristey Williams, an Augusta Republican, gave a hearing on an education bill that will be gutted and reworked Monday, rendering testimony moot.“Monday, we will work the empty shell of Senate Bill 83,” Williams said. “So that is Monday. The content, for those that asked, I told them, ‘Don’t even worry about the content,’ is what we’re having the hearing on today.”The&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2023_24/measures/sb83/">original version of the bill&nbsp;</a>would have expanded eligibility for a private school scholarship tax credit program. Some people giving testimony said there were transparency issues with the gutting, given that they couldn’t accurately testify&nbsp;when they didn’t know the final content of the bill.Kansas State Board of Education member Ann Mah spoke in support of public education and mentioned the lack of information.&nbsp;“With the lack of transparency, we’re not really sure what you’re going to work, but I thought we might just remind you of a couple of things, and point out a couple of things and hope that what I talked about actually hits what you’re going to vote on,” Mah said during the hearing.&nbsp;The committee has been criticized for a lack of transparency before, including when lawmakers&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/02/17/kansas-parental-rights-legislation-folded-into-unrelated-bill/">rolled parental rights legislation</a>&nbsp;into an unrelated bill without giving the public an opportunity to voice their concerns about the legislation.Critics have said hasty hearings and the education bills worked by the committee, along with parental rights rhetoric, are meant to&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/02/13/kansas-education-advocates-see-vouchers-and-hostility-as-attempts-to-undermine-public-schools/">promote distrust of school districts</a>&nbsp;and public education.Williams and Vice Chair Rep. Brenda Landwehr, a Wichita Republican, pushed back on Mah’s transparency concerns. Landwehr emphasized the legality of the process.&nbsp;“We’re just having a hearing on this bill because that’s the process so that then we have a shell,” Landwehr said. “There will not be anything put in that bill that really hasn’t been discussed in this committee. So it’ll be bills previously heard. And it’s legal. It’s been declared legal. And we’re fine to do that, so being accused of not being transparent is disingenuous.”

As Kan. gov. emphasizes funding for special ed, lawmakers focus on private schools

Sheriff Brian C. Hill announces four females are in custody following the execution of a narcotics related search warrant in the 5300 block of SW Reeder Street this morning. Just after 9a.m. Friday, the Shawnee County Sheriff’s Office Drug Enforcement Task Force served a narcotics related search warrant in the 5300 block of SW Reeder Street.

During the search, deputies and officers located numerous illegal counterfeit pills containing fentanyl and multiple drug paraphernalia items.

The following individuals were located inside the residence and were arrested for outstanding warrants including 47-year-old Stacy D. Stinnett; 20-year-old Keanna D. Douglas, 20; 45-year-old Stephanie A. Graham all of Topeka.

Gisella K. Pryor, 56, of Topeka was booked into the Shawnee County Department of Corrections on requested charges of possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute and possessing of drug paraphernalia.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/3/1677937269445.png" alt="Stinnett-photo Shawnee Co." />
 <figcaption>Stinnett-photo Shawnee Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>Sheriff Brian C. Hill announces four females are in custody following the execution of a narcotics related search warrant in the 5300 block of SW Reeder Street this morning. Just after 9a.m. Friday, the Shawnee County Sheriff’s Office Drug Enforcement Task Force served a narcotics related search warrant in the 5300 block of SW Reeder Street.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/3/1677937530106.png" alt="Douglas-photo Shawnee Co." />
 <figcaption>Douglas-photo Shawnee Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>During the search, deputies and officers located numerous illegal counterfeit pills containing fentanyl and multiple drug paraphernalia items.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/3/1677937460286.png" alt="Graham-Shawnee Co." />
 <figcaption>Graham-Shawnee Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>The following individuals were located inside the residence and were arrested for outstanding warrants including 47-year-old Stacy D. Stinnett; 20-year-old Keanna D. Douglas, 20; 45-year-old Stephanie A. Graham all of Topeka. <figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/3/1677937410558.png" alt="Pryor-photo Shawnee Co." />
 <figcaption>Pryor-photo Shawnee Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>Gisella K. Pryor, 56, of Topeka was booked into the Shawnee County Department of Corrections on requested charges of possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute and possessing of drug paraphernalia.

4 Kansas women arrested after search warrant at Kan. home

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Tens of thousands of Texans from the bustling Dallas-Fort Worth area routinely drive across the Red River to gamble in glitzy, Las Vegas-style tribal casinos or to relax at cabins or swim and ski in lakes that dot southern Oklahoma.

Soon, they could come north for another draw: recreational marijuana.

Oklahoma voters will decide Tuesday whether to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/elections-marijuana-oklahoma-general-ee1bab3b4b25fda860d1477ac109e077">approve a ballot measure</a>&nbsp;that legalizes consuming the plant for adults 21 and older. The conservative state already has one of the nation's most robust medical marijuana programs, and industry proponents hope an influx of Texas consumers will be a boon for a market that's become saturated.

“There are thousands and thousands of Texans who are increasingly coming to Oklahoma as a tourist destination,” said Ryan Kiesel, a former state lawmaker and one of the organizers of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sos.ok.gov/documents/questions/820.pdf">State Question 820</a>. “I want to be able to sell legal, regulated and taxed marijuana to those Texans over the age of 21, and take their tax dollars and invest them in Oklahoma schools and Oklahoma health care.”

The population of the booming Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex alone — closing in on 8 million people — is nearly double that of the entire state of Oklahoma.

Oklahoma is expected to see an increase of $1.8 billion in recreational sales that would generate about $434 million in excise tax revenue alone from 2024 to 2028 if the measure passes, according to an&nbsp;<a href="https://vicentellp.com/img/content/downloads/An_Economic_Impact_and_Tax_Analysis_of_Oklahoma_State_Question_820.pdf">economic impact study</a>&nbsp;sponsored by the cannabis industry. By far the largest number of out-of-state consumers would be from Texas, followed by Arkansas and Kansas, the report shows.

Oklahoma already has one of the most liberal&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/marijuana-us-news-ap-top-news-ar-state-wire-health-58daeb2ed452710e03ea4542976a620a">medical marijuana programs</a>&nbsp;in the country, with roughly 10% of the state's adult population having a medical license. Unlike most other states, Oklahoma has no list of qualifying medical conditions, allows patients to get a recommendation from a doctor online, and gives licenses that are valid for two years.

Supporters of SQ 820 initially tried to get the question on the November ballot, but a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-health-marijuana-special-oklahoma-e99404c21e880093fd2093d20581d5ff">delay in verifying the signatures</a>&nbsp;led to Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt calling for a special election just for that proposal.

People in the industry say Oklahoma's low barrier to entry led to thousands of licensed growers, processors and dispensary operators competing for a limited number of patients. While inflation is causing the cost of many products to go up, marijuana prices at dispensaries have plummeted, and many operators are going out of business. A website for cannabis-related sales shows thousands of Oklahoma grow operations and dispensaries up for sale.

"They allowed for a free-market cannabis industry, and that’s what everyone wanted, but now we need more customers,” said Chip Baker, a grower who also runs a marijuana garden supply shop in Oklahoma City. “There needs to be an influx of people here to buy this product. It’s just simple math.”

Kevin Pattah, a Michigan native who came to Oklahoma to get into the cannabis business, now operates six Mango Cannabis retail locations across the state. He said the price of 1-gram cartridges of marijuana concentrate that retailed for $60-$70 in 2019 is now going for $20. Prices for marijuana flower and other products also have plunged.

“There’s so much product on the market, and there’s only so much demand. It hurts everyone,” said Pattah, whose dispensary features a prominent digital screen with a countdown to Tuesday's vote. "We've felt the heat as well.

“Our average ticket was $130 at one point. Now they're spending an average of $60. So, it's less than half now.”

Pattah said the expansion of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-marijuana-nd-state-wire-utah-mo-state-wire-fc8269d59d084ceab360f2fcd9456ec6">legalized sales in Michigan in 2018</a>&nbsp;was a huge boon to medical operators in that state, particularly those who ran dispensaries near its border with Ohio and Indiana.

While many in Oklahoma's cannabis industry are eager for recreational sales, opponents include a group of clergy, law enforcement and prosecutors led by former Republican Gov. Frank Keating, an ex-FBI agent. Current Gov. Kevin Stitt and nearly all the Republicans in the Oklahoma Senate also have announced their opposition.

Opponents cite an increase in the amount of Oklahoma marijuana being exported out of state and sold on the black market, as well as criminal activity associated with some marijuana grows, including the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-shootings-marijuana-homicide-oklahoma-f6922f0e9b96cac4b25867bf698be6e9">execution-style slayings of four Chinese nationals</a>&nbsp;at an illegal marijuana farm in rural Oklahoma.

“SQ 820 throws a match into the middle of what already is a powder keg in rural Oklahoma,” said Logan County Sheriff Damon Devereaux, president of the Oklahoma Sheriffs’ Association.

Not everyone in law enforcement is overly concerned about legalized marijuana. Sheriff Ray Sappington in Cooke County, Texas, which borders Oklahoma and includes a major north-south interstate, I-35, said that while his deputies may end up arresting more people for bringing marijuana into Texas from Oklahoma, it's not his top priority.

“Our issues are not marijuana, to be honest with you,” said Sappington, who said most people caught with less than 2 ounces of cannabis are issued a citation and released. “Fentanyl is so deadly, and we're facing that all across the nation. That's the battle. It's not marijuana.”

Still, marijuana legalization is a non-starter in the Texas Capitol and is poised to stay that way as Republican Gov. Greg Abbott settles into a new four-year term. That has left marijuana supporters in Texas looking elsewhere — including with ballot measures in some cities. In November, five Texas cities approved referendums to decriminalize marijuana possession. One was Denton, less than an hour’s drive from the Oklahoma border.

If approved, Oklahoma would be the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/marijuana-legalization-2022-midterm-elections-c693f5e23e0faf2f39168df6a2f80ab2">22nd state to legalize cannabis</a>&nbsp;and likely the most conservative, following defeats of similar proposals in Arkansas, North Dakota and South Dakota last year. Under Oklahoma's plan, anyone over the age of 21 would be able to purchase and possess up to 1 ounce of marijuana, plus concentrates and marijuana-infused products. People could also legally grow up to 12 marijuana plants. Recreational sales would be subjected to a 15% excise tax on top of the standard sales tax. The excise tax would be used to help fund local municipalities, the court system, public schools, substance abuse treatment and the state’s general revenue fund.

The proposal also outlines a judicial process for people to seek expungement or dismissal of prior marijuana-related convictions.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/3/1677941306901.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Tens of thousands of Texans from the bustling Dallas-Fort Worth area routinely drive across the Red River to gamble in glitzy, Las Vegas-style tribal casinos or to relax at cabins or swim and ski in lakes that dot southern Oklahoma.Soon, they could come north for another draw: recreational marijuana.Oklahoma voters will decide Tuesday whether to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/elections-marijuana-oklahoma-general-ee1bab3b4b25fda860d1477ac109e077">approve a ballot measure</a>&nbsp;that legalizes consuming the plant for adults 21 and older. The conservative state already has one of the nation's most robust medical marijuana programs, and industry proponents hope an influx of Texas consumers will be a boon for a market that's become saturated.“There are thousands and thousands of Texans who are increasingly coming to Oklahoma as a tourist destination,” said Ryan Kiesel, a former state lawmaker and one of the organizers of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sos.ok.gov/documents/questions/820.pdf">State Question 820</a>. “I want to be able to sell legal, regulated and taxed marijuana to those Texans over the age of 21, and take their tax dollars and invest them in Oklahoma schools and Oklahoma health care.”The population of the booming Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex alone — closing in on 8 million people — is nearly double that of the entire state of Oklahoma.Oklahoma is expected to see an increase of $1.8 billion in recreational sales that would generate about $434 million in excise tax revenue alone from 2024 to 2028 if the measure passes, according to an&nbsp;<a href="https://vicentellp.com/img/content/downloads/An_Economic_Impact_and_Tax_Analysis_of_Oklahoma_State_Question_820.pdf">economic impact study</a>&nbsp;sponsored by the cannabis industry. By far the largest number of out-of-state consumers would be from Texas, followed by Arkansas and Kansas, the report shows.Oklahoma already has one of the most liberal&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/marijuana-us-news-ap-top-news-ar-state-wire-health-58daeb2ed452710e03ea4542976a620a">medical marijuana programs</a>&nbsp;in the country, with roughly 10% of the state's adult population having a medical license. Unlike most other states, Oklahoma has no list of qualifying medical conditions, allows patients to get a recommendation from a doctor online, and gives licenses that are valid for two years.Supporters of SQ 820 initially tried to get the question on the November ballot, but a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-health-marijuana-special-oklahoma-e99404c21e880093fd2093d20581d5ff">delay in verifying the signatures</a>&nbsp;led to Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt calling for a special election just for that proposal.People in the industry say Oklahoma's low barrier to entry led to thousands of licensed growers, processors and dispensary operators competing for a limited number of patients. While inflation is causing the cost of many products to go up, marijuana prices at dispensaries have plummeted, and many operators are going out of business. A website for cannabis-related sales shows thousands of Oklahoma grow operations and dispensaries up for sale."They allowed for a free-market cannabis industry, and that’s what everyone wanted, but now we need more customers,” said Chip Baker, a grower who also runs a marijuana garden supply shop in Oklahoma City. “There needs to be an influx of people here to buy this product. It’s just simple math.”Kevin Pattah, a Michigan native who came to Oklahoma to get into the cannabis business, now operates six Mango Cannabis retail locations across the state. He said the price of 1-gram cartridges of marijuana concentrate that retailed for $60-$70 in 2019 is now going for $20. Prices for marijuana flower and other products also have plunged.“There’s so much product on the market, and there’s only so much demand. It hurts everyone,” said Pattah, whose dispensary features a prominent digital screen with a countdown to Tuesday's vote. "We've felt the heat as well.“Our average ticket was $130 at one point. Now they're spending an average of $60. So, it's less than half now.”Pattah said the expansion of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-marijuana-nd-state-wire-utah-mo-state-wire-fc8269d59d084ceab360f2fcd9456ec6">legalized sales in Michigan in 2018</a>&nbsp;was a huge boon to medical operators in that state, particularly those who ran dispensaries near its border with Ohio and Indiana.While many in Oklahoma's cannabis industry are eager for recreational sales, opponents include a group of clergy, law enforcement and prosecutors led by former Republican Gov. Frank Keating, an ex-FBI agent. Current Gov. Kevin Stitt and nearly all the Republicans in the Oklahoma Senate also have announced their opposition.Opponents cite an increase in the amount of Oklahoma marijuana being exported out of state and sold on the black market, as well as criminal activity associated with some marijuana grows, including the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-shootings-marijuana-homicide-oklahoma-f6922f0e9b96cac4b25867bf698be6e9">execution-style slayings of four Chinese nationals</a>&nbsp;at an illegal marijuana farm in rural Oklahoma.“SQ 820 throws a match into the middle of what already is a powder keg in rural Oklahoma,” said Logan County Sheriff Damon Devereaux, president of the Oklahoma Sheriffs’ Association.Not everyone in law enforcement is overly concerned about legalized marijuana. Sheriff Ray Sappington in Cooke County, Texas, which borders Oklahoma and includes a major north-south interstate, I-35, said that while his deputies may end up arresting more people for bringing marijuana into Texas from Oklahoma, it's not his top priority.“Our issues are not marijuana, to be honest with you,” said Sappington, who said most people caught with less than 2 ounces of cannabis are issued a citation and released. “Fentanyl is so deadly, and we're facing that all across the nation. That's the battle. It's not marijuana.”Still, marijuana legalization is a non-starter in the Texas Capitol and is poised to stay that way as Republican Gov. Greg Abbott settles into a new four-year term. That has left marijuana supporters in Texas looking elsewhere — including with ballot measures in some cities. In November, five Texas cities approved referendums to decriminalize marijuana possession. One was Denton, less than an hour’s drive from the Oklahoma border.If approved, Oklahoma would be the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/marijuana-legalization-2022-midterm-elections-c693f5e23e0faf2f39168df6a2f80ab2">22nd state to legalize cannabis</a>&nbsp;and likely the most conservative, following defeats of similar proposals in Arkansas, North Dakota and South Dakota last year. Under Oklahoma's plan, anyone over the age of 21 would be able to purchase and possess up to 1 ounce of marijuana, plus concentrates and marijuana-infused products. People could also legally grow up to 12 marijuana plants. Recreational sales would be subjected to a 15% excise tax on top of the standard sales tax. The excise tax would be used to help fund local municipalities, the court system, public schools, substance abuse treatment and the state’s general revenue fund.The proposal also outlines a judicial process for people to seek expungement or dismissal of prior marijuana-related convictions.

Pot vote has Oklahoma hungry to rake in green from Kansas, Texas

STANTON COUNTY, NE — Law enforcement authorities are investigating two Honduran nationals on multiple charges who were hunting and killed a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fws.gov/law/bald-and-golden-eagle-protection-act">protected national bird.</a>

Just after 4p.m. Tuesday, sheriff’s deputies responded to a report of a suspicious vehicle just northwest of the main Wood Duck Recreation Area three miles southwest of Stanton, Nebraska according to a media release.

The deputy contacted two men in a vehicle in a field. The deputies determined the men had a dead North American Bald Eagle in their possession.

Further investigation revealed that the two had shot and killed the protected national bird in that area and stated they planned on cooking and eating the bird. 

Nebraska Game and Parks was contacted and took custody of the eagle and the rifle used to kill it.

Ramiro Hernandez-Tziquin, 20 and Domingo Zetino-Hernandez, 20, both currently living in Norfolk, Nebraska were cited for unlawful possession of the eagle. Hernandez-Tziquin was also cited for having No Drivers License. More serious charges are possible as the investigation into the killing continues.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fws.gov/law/bald-and-golden-eagle-protection-act">Click here to read </a>the Bald and Golden eagle protection act.

STANTON COUNTY, NE — Law enforcement authorities are investigating two Honduran nationals on multiple charges who were hunting and killed a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fws.gov/law/bald-and-golden-eagle-protection-act">protected national bird.</a>Just after 4p.m. Tuesday, sheriff’s deputies responded to a report of a suspicious vehicle just northwest of the main Wood Duck Recreation Area three miles southwest of Stanton, Nebraska according to a media release.The deputy contacted two men in a vehicle in a field. The deputies determined the men had a dead North American Bald Eagle in their possession.Further investigation revealed that the two had shot and killed the protected national bird in that area and stated they planned on cooking and eating the bird. Nebraska Game and Parks was contacted and took custody of the eagle and the rifle used to kill it.Ramiro Hernandez-Tziquin, 20 and Domingo Zetino-Hernandez, 20, both currently living in Norfolk, Nebraska were cited for unlawful possession of the eagle. Hernandez-Tziquin was also cited for having No Drivers License. More serious charges are possible as the investigation into the killing continues.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fws.gov/law/bald-and-golden-eagle-protection-act">Click here to read </a>the Bald and Golden eagle protection act.

Sheriff: 2 men wanted to eat the bald eagle they killed

SELMA, Ala. (AP) — President Joe Biden used the searing memories of&nbsp;<a href="https://history.house.gov/Exhibitions-and-Publications/Civil-Rights/Selma/">Selma's “Bloody Sunday”</a>&nbsp;to recommit to a cornerstone of democracy, lionizing a seminal moment from the civil rights movement at a time when he has been&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-voting-rights-bill-collapses-27c888b4f9bf876520913d7036a942b0">unable to push enhanced voting protections through Congress</a>&nbsp;and a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/us-supreme-court-arizona-voting-voting-rights-race-and-ethnicity-1a63621d6ebaa55e5ebae6c1fd02ae09">conservative Supreme Court</a>&nbsp;has undermined a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/courts-voting-race-and-ethnicity-racial-injustice-laws-871be7654df041549cf74eb1a1d377ca">landmark voting law</a>.

(Click below to watch the President's in Selma on Sunday)

“Selma is a reckoning. The right to vote ... to have your vote counted is the threshold of democracy and liberty. With it anything's possible,” Biden told a crowd of several thousand people seated on one side of the historic&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/voting-rights-alabama-selma-6aa9f36a49d1ba73084c2d79ae9960ad">Edmund Pettus Bridge</a>, named for a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/5f13e0c9b63f4c4aaabd4fa1b2edfaa6">reputed Ku Klux Klan leader</a>.

"This fundamental right remains under assault. The conservative Supreme Court has gutted the Voting Rights Act over the years. Since the 2020 election, a wave of states and dozens and dozens of anti-voting laws fueled by the ‘Big Lie' and the election deniers now elected to office," he said.

As a candidate in 2020, Biden promised to pursue sweeping legislation to bolster protection of voting rights. Two years ago, his 2021 legislation, named after&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ga-state-wire-us-news-ap-top-news-voting-selma-eda3ffe8fbfcf7727270e67bba1c9566">civil right leader John Lewis</a>, the late Georgia congressman, included provisions to restrict partisan gerrymandering of congressional districts, strike down hurdles to voting and bring transparency to a campaign finance system that allows wealthy donors to bankroll political causes anonymously.

It passed the then-Democratic-controlled House, but it failed to draw the 60 votes needed to advance in a Senate under control by Biden's party. With Republicans now running of the House, passage of such legislation is highly unlikely.

“We know we must get the votes in Congress,” Biden said, but there seems no viable path right now.

The visit to Selma was a chance for Biden to speak directly to the current generation of civil rights activists. Many feel let down because of the lack of progress on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/03/05/fact-sheet-the-biden-harris-administration-continues-to-promote-access-to-voting/">voting rights</a>&nbsp;and they are eager to see his administration keep the issue in the spotlight.

Few moments have had as lasting importance to the civil rights movement as what happened on March 7, 1965, in Selma and in the weeks that followed.

Some 600 peaceful demonstrators led by Lewis and fellow activist Hosea Williams had gathered that day, just weeks after the fatal shooting of a young Black man,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/us-news-ap-top-news-voting-selma-voting-rights-35e9b7e91a9c8b87b351c34d65e45d2f">Jimmie Lee Jackson</a>, by an Alabama trooper.

Lewis and the others were brutally beaten by Alabama troopers and sheriff’s deputies as they tried to cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge at the start of what was supposed to be a 54-mile walk to the state Capitol in Montgomery as part of a larger effort to register Black voters in the South.

“On this bridge, blood was given to help redeem the soul of America,” Biden said.

The images of the police violence sparked outrage across the country. Days later, civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. led what became known as the “Turnaround Tuesday” march, in which marchers approached a wall of police at the bridge and prayed before turning back.

President Lyndon B. Johnson introduced the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/voting-rights-act">Voting Rights Act of 1965</a>&nbsp;eight days after “Bloody Sunday,” calling Selma one those rare moments in American history where “&nbsp;<a href="https://millercenter.org/the-presidency/presidential-speeches/march-15-1965-speech-congress-voting-rights">history and fate meet at a single time.</a>&nbsp;” On March 21, King began a third march, under federal protection, that grew by thousands by the time they arrived at the state Capitol. Five months later, Johnson signed the bill into law.

This year’s commemoration came as the historic city of roughly 18,000 was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/tornadoes-terri-sewell-selma-civil-rights-bc7ad07193d62ecf4300d610a7d57f22">still digging out</a>&nbsp;from the aftermath of a January EF-2 tornado that destroyed or damaged thousands of properties in and around Selma. The scars of that storm were still evident Sunday. Blocks from the stage where Biden spoke, houses sat crumbled or without roofs. Orange spray paint marked buildings beyond salvage with instructions to “tear down.”

“We remain Selma strong,” Mayor James Perkins said, adding that “we will build back better.” He thanked Biden for approving a disaster declaration that helped the small city with the cost of debris cleanup and removal.

Before Biden's visit, the Rev. William Barber II, a co-chair of Poor People’s Campaign, and six other activists&nbsp;<a href="https://www.breachrepairers.org/selma">wrote Biden and members of Congress</a>&nbsp;to express their frustration with the lack of progress on voting rights legislation. They urged Washington politicians visiting Selma not to sully the memories of Lewis and Williams and other civil rights activists with empty platitudes.

“We’re saying to President Biden, let’s frame this to America as a moral issue, and let’s show how it effects everybody,” Barber said in an interview.

Among those sharing the stage with Biden before the march across the bridge were Barber, the Rev. Jesse Jackson, Martin Luther King III and the Rev. Al Sharpton. On the bridge crossing, marchers sang “This Little Light of Mine” and “We Shall Overcome” and, following tradition, once they reached the point where Lewis and others were told in 1958 that they were on an unlawful march, they stopped and prayed.

Water bottles were passed out to some who had gathered to hear Biden and at least one person was taken away on a stretcher because of the upper-70s heat. Some had waited hours in the sun before relief came from shadows cast from nearby building.

Delores Gresham, 65, a retired health care worker from Birmingham, arrived four hours early, grabbing a front-row spot so her grandchildren could hear the president and see the commemoration.

“I want them to know what happened here,” she said.

In his remarks, Biden said, “Everyone should know the truth of Selma.” And the president took a veiled dig at a high-profile Republican,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ron-desantis-florida-race-and-ethnicity-education-353417231de0a790c8e290479a5e52b8">Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis,</a>&nbsp;when he said: "We should learn everything. The good, the bad, the truth, who we are as a nation.”

DeSantis' administration has blocked a new Advanced Placement course on African American studies from being taught in high schools, saying it violates state law and is historically inaccurate. Last year, he signed legislation that restricts certain race-based conversations and analysis in schools and businesses. More recently, his budget office called on state colleges to submit spending information on programs related to diversity, equity and inclusion and critical race theory.

Two years ago on the anniversary,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-alabama-selma-voting-rights-elections-eec9cde9f9713183b6c8d1d7123cbbae">Biden issued an executive order</a>&nbsp;directing federal agencies to expand access to voter registration, called on the heads of agencies to come up with plans to give federal employees time off to vote or volunteer as nonpartisan poll workers, and more.

But many federal agencies are lagging in meeting the voting registration provision of Biden's order, according to a report published Thursday by the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights.

SELMA, Ala. (AP) — President Joe Biden used the searing memories of&nbsp;<a href="https://history.house.gov/Exhibitions-and-Publications/Civil-Rights/Selma/">Selma's “Bloody Sunday”</a>&nbsp;to recommit to a cornerstone of democracy, lionizing a seminal moment from the civil rights movement at a time when he has been&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-voting-rights-bill-collapses-27c888b4f9bf876520913d7036a942b0">unable to push enhanced voting protections through Congress</a>&nbsp;and a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/us-supreme-court-arizona-voting-voting-rights-race-and-ethnicity-1a63621d6ebaa55e5ebae6c1fd02ae09">conservative Supreme Court</a>&nbsp;has undermined a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/courts-voting-race-and-ethnicity-racial-injustice-laws-871be7654df041549cf74eb1a1d377ca">landmark voting law</a>.(Click below to watch the President's in Selma on Sunday)<div><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?height=314&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FWhiteHouse%2Fvideos%2F726705922369707%2F&show_text=false&width=560&t=804" width="560" height="314" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowFullScreen="true"></iframe></div>“Selma is a reckoning. The right to vote ... to have your vote counted is the threshold of democracy and liberty. With it anything's possible,” Biden told a crowd of several thousand people seated on one side of the historic&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/voting-rights-alabama-selma-6aa9f36a49d1ba73084c2d79ae9960ad">Edmund Pettus Bridge</a>, named for a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/5f13e0c9b63f4c4aaabd4fa1b2edfaa6">reputed Ku Klux Klan leader</a>."This fundamental right remains under assault. The conservative Supreme Court has gutted the Voting Rights Act over the years. Since the 2020 election, a wave of states and dozens and dozens of anti-voting laws fueled by the ‘Big Lie' and the election deniers now elected to office," he said.As a candidate in 2020, Biden promised to pursue sweeping legislation to bolster protection of voting rights. Two years ago, his 2021 legislation, named after&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ga-state-wire-us-news-ap-top-news-voting-selma-eda3ffe8fbfcf7727270e67bba1c9566">civil right leader John Lewis</a>, the late Georgia congressman, included provisions to restrict partisan gerrymandering of congressional districts, strike down hurdles to voting and bring transparency to a campaign finance system that allows wealthy donors to bankroll political causes anonymously.It passed the then-Democratic-controlled House, but it failed to draw the 60 votes needed to advance in a Senate under control by Biden's party. With Republicans now running of the House, passage of such legislation is highly unlikely.“We know we must get the votes in Congress,” Biden said, but there seems no viable path right now.The visit to Selma was a chance for Biden to speak directly to the current generation of civil rights activists. Many feel let down because of the lack of progress on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/03/05/fact-sheet-the-biden-harris-administration-continues-to-promote-access-to-voting/">voting rights</a>&nbsp;and they are eager to see his administration keep the issue in the spotlight.Few moments have had as lasting importance to the civil rights movement as what happened on March 7, 1965, in Selma and in the weeks that followed.Some 600 peaceful demonstrators led by Lewis and fellow activist Hosea Williams had gathered that day, just weeks after the fatal shooting of a young Black man,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/us-news-ap-top-news-voting-selma-voting-rights-35e9b7e91a9c8b87b351c34d65e45d2f">Jimmie Lee Jackson</a>, by an Alabama trooper.Lewis and the others were brutally beaten by Alabama troopers and sheriff’s deputies as they tried to cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge at the start of what was supposed to be a 54-mile walk to the state Capitol in Montgomery as part of a larger effort to register Black voters in the South.“On this bridge, blood was given to help redeem the soul of America,” Biden said.The images of the police violence sparked outrage across the country. Days later, civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. led what became known as the “Turnaround Tuesday” march, in which marchers approached a wall of police at the bridge and prayed before turning back.President Lyndon B. Johnson introduced the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/voting-rights-act">Voting Rights Act of 1965</a>&nbsp;eight days after “Bloody Sunday,” calling Selma one those rare moments in American history where “&nbsp;<a href="https://millercenter.org/the-presidency/presidential-speeches/march-15-1965-speech-congress-voting-rights">history and fate meet at a single time.</a>&nbsp;” On March 21, King began a third march, under federal protection, that grew by thousands by the time they arrived at the state Capitol. Five months later, Johnson signed the bill into law.This year’s commemoration came as the historic city of roughly 18,000 was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/tornadoes-terri-sewell-selma-civil-rights-bc7ad07193d62ecf4300d610a7d57f22">still digging out</a>&nbsp;from the aftermath of a January EF-2 tornado that destroyed or damaged thousands of properties in and around Selma. The scars of that storm were still evident Sunday. Blocks from the stage where Biden spoke, houses sat crumbled or without roofs. Orange spray paint marked buildings beyond salvage with instructions to “tear down.”“We remain Selma strong,” Mayor James Perkins said, adding that “we will build back better.” He thanked Biden for approving a disaster declaration that helped the small city with the cost of debris cleanup and removal.Before Biden's visit, the Rev. William Barber II, a co-chair of Poor People’s Campaign, and six other activists&nbsp;<a href="https://www.breachrepairers.org/selma">wrote Biden and members of Congress</a>&nbsp;to express their frustration with the lack of progress on voting rights legislation. They urged Washington politicians visiting Selma not to sully the memories of Lewis and Williams and other civil rights activists with empty platitudes.“We’re saying to President Biden, let’s frame this to America as a moral issue, and let’s show how it effects everybody,” Barber said in an interview.Among those sharing the stage with Biden before the march across the bridge were Barber, the Rev. Jesse Jackson, Martin Luther King III and the Rev. Al Sharpton. On the bridge crossing, marchers sang “This Little Light of Mine” and “We Shall Overcome” and, following tradition, once they reached the point where Lewis and others were told in 1958 that they were on an unlawful march, they stopped and prayed.Water bottles were passed out to some who had gathered to hear Biden and at least one person was taken away on a stretcher because of the upper-70s heat. Some had waited hours in the sun before relief came from shadows cast from nearby building.Delores Gresham, 65, a retired health care worker from Birmingham, arrived four hours early, grabbing a front-row spot so her grandchildren could hear the president and see the commemoration.“I want them to know what happened here,” she said.In his remarks, Biden said, “Everyone should know the truth of Selma.” And the president took a veiled dig at a high-profile Republican,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ron-desantis-florida-race-and-ethnicity-education-353417231de0a790c8e290479a5e52b8">Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis,</a>&nbsp;when he said: "We should learn everything. The good, the bad, the truth, who we are as a nation.”DeSantis' administration has blocked a new Advanced Placement course on African American studies from being taught in high schools, saying it violates state law and is historically inaccurate. Last year, he signed legislation that restricts certain race-based conversations and analysis in schools and businesses. More recently, his budget office called on state colleges to submit spending information on programs related to diversity, equity and inclusion and critical race theory.Two years ago on the anniversary,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-alabama-selma-voting-rights-elections-eec9cde9f9713183b6c8d1d7123cbbae">Biden issued an executive order</a>&nbsp;directing federal agencies to expand access to voter registration, called on the heads of agencies to come up with plans to give federal employees time off to vote or volunteer as nonpartisan poll workers, and more.But many federal agencies are lagging in meeting the voting registration provision of Biden's order, according to a report published Thursday by the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights.

🎥Biden says right to vote remains under assault

MONTGOMERY COUNTY—One person was injured in an accident during a police chase just before 10p.m. Sunday in Montgomery County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2005 Yamaha motorcycle driven by 40-year-old Layton T. Moore of Pryor Oklahoma, was westbound on U. S. 166 at 11th Street in Coffeyville fleeing from law enforcement. 

The motorcycle struck a curb, overturned multiple times and came rest on the shoulder. EMS transported Moore to a hospital in Tulsa. He was not wearing a helmet, according to the KHP.&nbsp; Law enforcement have not reported what prompted the police chase.

MONTGOMERY COUNTY—One person was injured in an accident during a police chase just before 10p.m. Sunday in Montgomery County.The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2005 Yamaha motorcycle driven by 40-year-old Layton T. Moore of Pryor Oklahoma, was westbound on U. S. 166 at 11th Street in Coffeyville fleeing from law enforcement. The motorcycle struck a curb, overturned multiple times and came rest on the shoulder. EMS transported Moore to a hospital in Tulsa. He was not wearing a helmet, according to the KHP.&nbsp; Law enforcement have not reported what prompted the police chase.

Man hospitalized after crash during police chase in Kansas

SEDGWICK COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect for alleged child sex crimes.

Just before 9p.m. March 1, police responded to the domestic violence call in the 600 block of W. Patterson, according to Officer Chad Ditch.

At the scene, police spoke with 36-year-old woman who said that she had been beaten and threatened by<a href="https://ssc.sedgwickcounty.org/sheriffinmates/SheriffInmateDetail.aspx?nameId=20081335"> 34-year-old Joshua Selby of Wichita.</a>

Investigators also learned of alleged sex crimes that had occurred between Selby and a girl under 14.

Detectives with the Exploited and Missing Child Unit were called to assist with the investigation. Police arrested Selby on requested charges of aggravated indecent liberties with a child,&nbsp; rape of a victim under 14, aggravated assault, domestic battery and battery.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/3/1677799593866.png" alt="Selby-photo Sedgwick COunty" />
 <figcaption>Selby-photo Sedgwick COunty</figcaption>
 </figure>SEDGWICK COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect for alleged child sex crimes.Just before 9p.m. March 1, police responded to the domestic violence call in the 600 block of W. Patterson, according to Officer Chad Ditch.At the scene, police spoke with 36-year-old woman who said that she had been beaten and threatened by<a href="https://ssc.sedgwickcounty.org/sheriffinmates/SheriffInmateDetail.aspx?nameId=20081335"> 34-year-old Joshua Selby of Wichita.</a>Investigators also learned of alleged sex crimes that had occurred between Selby and a girl under 14.Detectives with the Exploited and Missing Child Unit were called to assist with the investigation. Police arrested Selby on requested charges of aggravated indecent liberties with a child,&nbsp; rape of a victim under 14, aggravated assault, domestic battery and battery.

Police learn of alleged sex crimes during Kan. domestic violence call

SEDGWICK COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating an armed robbery and asking the public for help to identify a suspect.

Just after 9p.m. January 19, the suspect as shown on security cameras&nbsp; entered a liquor store in the 2100 block of E. Central in Wichita, pointed a handgun at the clerk and demanded cash, according to Officer Trevor Macy.

The suspect was last seen running north across Central. He is described as a black male in his 30's, 6 feet tall and approximately 100-120 pounds. He was wearing a black puffy coat with fur around the hood, gloves and a mask.

If you know who this person is, or you have any other information on this case, call Crime Stoppers at 316-267-2111 or download the free P3 mobile app to submit an anonymous tip. If your tip leads to an arrest, you could be eligible for a cash reward of up to $2,500.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/2/1676565814090.png" alt="photo Wichita Police" />
 <figcaption>photo Wichita Police</figcaption>
 </figure>SEDGWICK COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating an armed robbery and asking the public for help to identify a suspect.Just after 9p.m. January 19, the suspect as shown on security cameras&nbsp; entered a liquor store in the 2100 block of E. Central in Wichita, pointed a handgun at the clerk and demanded cash, according to Officer Trevor Macy.The suspect was last seen running north across Central. He is described as a black male in his 30's, 6 feet tall and approximately 100-120 pounds. He was wearing a black puffy coat with fur around the hood, gloves and a mask.If you know who this person is, or you have any other information on this case, call Crime Stoppers at 316-267-2111 or download the free P3 mobile app to submit an anonymous tip. If your tip leads to an arrest, you could be eligible for a cash reward of up to $2,500.

Police ask for help to ID Kansas armed robbery suspect

WASHINGTON (AP) — The government agency responsible for tracking down contaminated peanut butter and defective pacemakers is taking on a new health hazard: online misinformation.

It’s an unlikely role for the Food and Drug Administration, a sprawling, century-old bureaucracy that for decades directed most its communications toward doctors and corporations.

But FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf has spent the last year warning that growing “distortions and half-truths” surrounding vaccines and other medical products are now “a leading cause of death in America.”

“Almost no one should be dying of COVID in the U.S. today,” Califf told The Associated Press, noting the government's distribution of free vaccines and antiviral medications. “People who are denying themselves that opportunity are dying because they're misinformed.”

Califf, who first led the agency under President Barack Obama, said the FDA could once rely on a few communication channels to reach Americans.

“We’re now in a 24/7 sea of information without a user guide for people out there in society," Califf said. "So this requires us to change the way we communicate.”

The FDA's answer? Short&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6G9rnQmEAk">YouTube videos</a>, long&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/DrCaliff_FDA/status/1610727792450076679">Twitter threads</a>&nbsp;and other online&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fda.gov/news-events/rumor-control">postings</a>&nbsp;debunking medical misinformation, including bogus COVID-19 remedies like ivermectin, the anti-parasite drug intended for farm animals. “Hold your horses y'all. Ivermectin may be trending, but it still isn't authorized or approved to treat COVID-19” the&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/US_FDA/status/1429050070243192839">FDA told</a><a href="https://twitter.com/US_FDA/status/1518942739639017472"></a>&nbsp;its 500,000 Twitter followers in April.

On Instagram, FDA memes referencing&nbsp;<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CkYQaIHMsSF/">Scooby-Doo</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Cj0cqUhMTPk/">SpongeBob</a>&nbsp;urge Americans to get boosted and ignore misinformation, alongside staid agency postings about the arrival of National Handwashing Awareness Week.

The AP asked more than a half-dozen health communication experts about the FDA's fledgling effort. They said it mostly reflects the latest science on combating misinformation, but they also questioned whether it’s reaching enough people to have an impact — and whether separate FDA controversies are undercutting the agency's credibility.

“The question I start with is, ‘Are you a trusted messenger or not?'” said Dr. Seema Yasmin, a Stanford University professor who studies medical misinformation and trains health officials in responding to it. “In the context of FDA, we can highlight multiple incidents which have damaged the credibility of the agency and deepened distrust of its scientific decisions."

In the last two years the FDA has come under fire for its&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-health-us-food-and-drug-administration-medication-dementia-8a4dea09ba183d7f047ee5eb10224289">controversial approval</a>&nbsp;of an unproven Alzheimer’s drug as well as its&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/covid-science-health-robert-califf-cce94aeeb3b53af5617d32086df01410">delayed response</a>&nbsp;to a contaminated baby formula plant, which contributed to a national supply shortage.

Meanwhile, the agency’s approach to booster vaccinations has been criticized by some of its&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-health-coronavirus-pandemic-science--38544e89b9dba06d49a800189c3ed42d">top vaccine scientists</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/fda-panel-rejects-widespread-pfizer-booster-shots-1cd1cf6a5c5c02b63f8a7324807a59f1">advisers</a>.

“It’s not fair, but it doesn’t take too many negative stories to unravel the public’s trust,” said Georgetown University’s Leticia Bode, who studies political communication and misinformation.

About a quarter of Americans said they have “a lot” of trust in the FDA's handling of COVID-19, according to a&nbsp;<a href="https://cdn.annenbergpublicpolicycenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/ASAPH_Knowledge_Monitor_Fall_2022_web.pdf">survey</a>&nbsp;conducted last year by University of Pennsylvania researchers, while less than half said they have “some trust.”

"The FDA's word is still one of the most highly regarded pieces of information people want to see,” said Califf, who was confirmed to his second stint leading the FDA last February.

As commissioner he is trying to tackle a host of issues, including restructuring the agency’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/us-food-and-drug-administration-robert-califf-health-nutrition-963a3e590c1055f8be3132f237ad5108">food safety program</a>&nbsp;and more aggressively deploying&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-science-health-coronavirus-pandemic-coronavirus-vaccine-ffdc3c1ce4a9622a064a672ce8aee543">FDA scientists</a>&nbsp;to explain vaccine decisions in the media.

The array of challenges before the FDA raises questions about the new focus on misinformation. And Califf acknowledges the limits of what his agency can accomplish.

“Anyone who thinks the government’s going to solve this problem alone is deluding themselves," he said. “We need a vast network of knowledgeable people who devote part of their day to combating misinformation.”

Georgetown's Bode said the agency is “moving in the right direction,” on misinformation, particularly its&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8ZLdnLAtLM&amp;list=PLey4Qe-UxcxZlA84cUxA7RMdXnomNp5SO">“Just a Minute”</a>&nbsp;series of factchecking videos, which feature FDA’s vaccine chief Dr. Peter Marks succinctly addressing a single COVID-19 myth or topic.

“FDA’s YouTube videos have a minuscule audience,” said&nbsp;Brendan Nyhan, who studies medical misinformation at Dartmouth College. The people watching FDA videos ”are not the people we typically think about when we think about misinformation.”

Research by Nyhan and his colleagues suggests that fact-checking COVID-19 myths briefly dispels false beliefs, but the effects are “ephemeral.” Nyhan and other researchers noted the most trusted medical information source for most Americans is their doctor, not the government.

Even if the audience for FDA’s work is small, experts in online analytics say it may be having a bigger impact.

An FDA page dubbed&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fda.gov/news-events/rumor-control">“Rumor Control”</a>&nbsp;debunks a long list of false claims about vaccines, such as that they contain pesticides. A Google search for “vaccines” and “pesticides” brings up the FDA’s response as a top result, because the search engine prioritizes credible websites.

“Because the FDA puts that information on its website, it will actually crowd out the misinformation from the top 10 or 20 Google results,” said David Lazer, a political and computer scientist at Northeastern University.

Perhaps the most promising approach to fighting misinformation is also the toughest to execute: introduce people to emerging misinformation and explain why it’s false before they encounter it elsewhere.

That technique, called “pre-bunking," presents challenges for large government agencies.

“Is the FDA nimble enough to have a detection system for misinformation and then quickly put out pre-bunking information within hours or days?” Lazer asked.

Califf said the FDA tracks new misinformation trends online and quickly decides whether — and when — to intervene.

“Sometimes calling attention to an issue can make it worse,” he notes.

Other communication challenges are baked into how the FDA operates. For instance, the agency consults an&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/covid-science-health-57a21c137541c97a6eafed41b2497971">independent panel of vaccine specialists</a>&nbsp;on major decisions about COVID-19 shots, considered a key step in fostering trust in the process.

But some of those&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp2215780">experts have disagreed</a>&nbsp;on who should receive COVID-19 vaccine boosters or how strong the evidence is for their use, particularly among younger people.

The FDA then largely relies on news media to translate those debates and its final decisions, which are often laden with scientific jargon.

The result has been “utter confusion,” about the latest round of COVID-19 boosters, says Lawrence Gostin, a public health specialist at Georgetown.

“If you’re trying to counteract misinformation on social media your first job is to clarify, simplify and explain things in an understandable way to the lay public,” said Gostin. “I don’t think anyone could say that FDA has done a good job with that.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/5/1653259399279.png" alt="In May, the Food and Drug Administration advised consumers to double-check their jars of Jif peanut butter.&nbsp;Jif’s creamy, crunchy, natural and reduced fat peanut butters had been linked to a salmonella outbreak across 12 states&nbsp;" />
 <figcaption>In May, the Food and Drug Administration advised consumers to double-check their jars of Jif peanut butter.&nbsp;Jif’s creamy, crunchy, natural and reduced fat peanut butters had been linked to a salmonella outbreak across 12 states&nbsp;</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — The government agency responsible for tracking down contaminated peanut butter and defective pacemakers is taking on a new health hazard: online misinformation.It’s an unlikely role for the Food and Drug Administration, a sprawling, century-old bureaucracy that for decades directed most its communications toward doctors and corporations.But FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf has spent the last year warning that growing “distortions and half-truths” surrounding vaccines and other medical products are now “a leading cause of death in America.”“Almost no one should be dying of COVID in the U.S. today,” Califf told The Associated Press, noting the government's distribution of free vaccines and antiviral medications. “People who are denying themselves that opportunity are dying because they're misinformed.”Califf, who first led the agency under President Barack Obama, said the FDA could once rely on a few communication channels to reach Americans.“We’re now in a 24/7 sea of information without a user guide for people out there in society," Califf said. "So this requires us to change the way we communicate.”The FDA's answer? Short&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6G9rnQmEAk">YouTube videos</a>, long&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/DrCaliff_FDA/status/1610727792450076679">Twitter threads</a>&nbsp;and other online&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fda.gov/news-events/rumor-control">postings</a>&nbsp;debunking medical misinformation, including bogus COVID-19 remedies like ivermectin, the anti-parasite drug intended for farm animals. “Hold your horses y'all. Ivermectin may be trending, but it still isn't authorized or approved to treat COVID-19” the&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/US_FDA/status/1429050070243192839">FDA told</a><a href="https://twitter.com/US_FDA/status/1518942739639017472"></a>&nbsp;its 500,000 Twitter followers in April.On Instagram, FDA memes referencing&nbsp;<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CkYQaIHMsSF/">Scooby-Doo</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Cj0cqUhMTPk/">SpongeBob</a>&nbsp;urge Americans to get boosted and ignore misinformation, alongside staid agency postings about the arrival of National Handwashing Awareness Week.The AP asked more than a half-dozen health communication experts about the FDA's fledgling effort. They said it mostly reflects the latest science on combating misinformation, but they also questioned whether it’s reaching enough people to have an impact — and whether separate FDA controversies are undercutting the agency's credibility.“The question I start with is, ‘Are you a trusted messenger or not?'” said Dr. Seema Yasmin, a Stanford University professor who studies medical misinformation and trains health officials in responding to it. “In the context of FDA, we can highlight multiple incidents which have damaged the credibility of the agency and deepened distrust of its scientific decisions."In the last two years the FDA has come under fire for its&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-health-us-food-and-drug-administration-medication-dementia-8a4dea09ba183d7f047ee5eb10224289">controversial approval</a>&nbsp;of an unproven Alzheimer’s drug as well as its&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/covid-science-health-robert-califf-cce94aeeb3b53af5617d32086df01410">delayed response</a>&nbsp;to a contaminated baby formula plant, which contributed to a national supply shortage.Meanwhile, the agency’s approach to booster vaccinations has been criticized by some of its&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-health-coronavirus-pandemic-science--38544e89b9dba06d49a800189c3ed42d">top vaccine scientists</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/fda-panel-rejects-widespread-pfizer-booster-shots-1cd1cf6a5c5c02b63f8a7324807a59f1">advisers</a>.“It’s not fair, but it doesn’t take too many negative stories to unravel the public’s trust,” said Georgetown University’s Leticia Bode, who studies political communication and misinformation.About a quarter of Americans said they have “a lot” of trust in the FDA's handling of COVID-19, according to a&nbsp;<a href="https://cdn.annenbergpublicpolicycenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/ASAPH_Knowledge_Monitor_Fall_2022_web.pdf">survey</a>&nbsp;conducted last year by University of Pennsylvania researchers, while less than half said they have “some trust.”"The FDA's word is still one of the most highly regarded pieces of information people want to see,” said Califf, who was confirmed to his second stint leading the FDA last February.As commissioner he is trying to tackle a host of issues, including restructuring the agency’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/us-food-and-drug-administration-robert-califf-health-nutrition-963a3e590c1055f8be3132f237ad5108">food safety program</a>&nbsp;and more aggressively deploying&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-science-health-coronavirus-pandemic-coronavirus-vaccine-ffdc3c1ce4a9622a064a672ce8aee543">FDA scientists</a>&nbsp;to explain vaccine decisions in the media.The array of challenges before the FDA raises questions about the new focus on misinformation. And Califf acknowledges the limits of what his agency can accomplish.“Anyone who thinks the government’s going to solve this problem alone is deluding themselves," he said. “We need a vast network of knowledgeable people who devote part of their day to combating misinformation.”Georgetown's Bode said the agency is “moving in the right direction,” on misinformation, particularly its&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8ZLdnLAtLM&amp;list=PLey4Qe-UxcxZlA84cUxA7RMdXnomNp5SO">“Just a Minute”</a>&nbsp;series of factchecking videos, which feature FDA’s vaccine chief Dr. Peter Marks succinctly addressing a single COVID-19 myth or topic.But how many people are seeing them?“FDA’s YouTube videos have a minuscule audience,” said&nbsp;Brendan Nyhan, who studies medical misinformation at Dartmouth College. The people watching FDA videos ”are not the people we typically think about when we think about misinformation.”Research by Nyhan and his colleagues suggests that fact-checking COVID-19 myths briefly dispels false beliefs, but the effects are “ephemeral.” Nyhan and other researchers noted the most trusted medical information source for most Americans is their doctor, not the government.Even if the audience for FDA’s work is small, experts in online analytics say it may be having a bigger impact.An FDA page dubbed&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fda.gov/news-events/rumor-control">“Rumor Control”</a>&nbsp;debunks a long list of false claims about vaccines, such as that they contain pesticides. A Google search for “vaccines” and “pesticides” brings up the FDA’s response as a top result, because the search engine prioritizes credible websites.“Because the FDA puts that information on its website, it will actually crowd out the misinformation from the top 10 or 20 Google results,” said David Lazer, a political and computer scientist at Northeastern University.Perhaps the most promising approach to fighting misinformation is also the toughest to execute: introduce people to emerging misinformation and explain why it’s false before they encounter it elsewhere.That technique, called “pre-bunking," presents challenges for large government agencies.“Is the FDA nimble enough to have a detection system for misinformation and then quickly put out pre-bunking information within hours or days?” Lazer asked.Califf said the FDA tracks new misinformation trends online and quickly decides whether — and when — to intervene.“Sometimes calling attention to an issue can make it worse,” he notes.Other communication challenges are baked into how the FDA operates. For instance, the agency consults an&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/covid-science-health-57a21c137541c97a6eafed41b2497971">independent panel of vaccine specialists</a>&nbsp;on major decisions about COVID-19 shots, considered a key step in fostering trust in the process.But some of those&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp2215780">experts have disagreed</a>&nbsp;on who should receive COVID-19 vaccine boosters or how strong the evidence is for their use, particularly among younger people.The FDA then largely relies on news media to translate those debates and its final decisions, which are often laden with scientific jargon.The result has been “utter confusion,” about the latest round of COVID-19 boosters, says Lawrence Gostin, a public health specialist at Georgetown.“If you’re trying to counteract misinformation on social media your first job is to clarify, simplify and explain things in an understandable way to the lay public,” said Gostin. “I don’t think anyone could say that FDA has done a good job with that.”___

FDA’s own reputation could be restraining its misinfo fight

KANSAS CITY (AP) — It was pharmacist Gwendolyn Herzig's first time testifying before a legislative committee when she spoke to several Arkansas lawmakers in a packed hearing room this month about&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/arkansas-state-government-gender-health-586e773f62600b34e4ed55422a5a3de8">a bill restricting gender-affirming care for minors</a>.

Herzig, who is transgender, spoke out against the legislation and told the panel that one of the biggest obstacles trans people face is a lack of empathy. Only a few minutes later, a Republican lawmaker asked her an inappropriate question about her genitalia.

<a href="https://sg001-harmony.sliq.net/00284/Harmony/en/PowerBrowser/PowerBrowserV2/20230213/-1/26533?viewMode=1#agenda_">Click here to watch</a>&nbsp;Herzig's testimony

The exchange, which was&nbsp;livestreamed on the Legislature's website&nbsp;and has since been widely shared on social media, is an example of the type of demeaning questions and rhetoric that transgender people meet when they show up to statehouses to testify against new bills targeting their rights.

The Republican-dominated Kansas Legislature on Thursday approved a group of bills targeting transgender people and gender-affirming health care. Two bills approved by the Senate would<a href="http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2023_24/measures/sb233/" target="_blank">&nbsp;ban doctors from providing gender-affirming</a>&nbsp;care to children and create&nbsp;<a href="http://kslegislature.org/li/b2023_24/measures/sb180/" target="_blank">the so-called “women’s bill of rights</a>” that legally defines a person’s sex as the sex they were assigned at birth. The bills now head to the House for consideration.

(Click below to watch&nbsp;Rep. Barb Wasinger, R-Hays comments on the bill)

In South Dakota, a lawmaker invoked “furries" — people who dress up as animals — when talking about gender-affirming care. In Montana, a legislator compared parents supporting their children in finding treatment to asking doctors to carry out medically assisted suicide.

Advocates worry that increasingly hostile rhetoric about transgender people could have a chilling effect on those who want to speak out against new restrictions and could do lasting damage to a community of trans youth that is already marginalized.

“I feel like that's what they're trying to do, to keep us from coming and exercising this right that we have," said Rumba Yambu, executive director of Intransitive, an advocacy and support group for transgender people in Arkansas. “Because who wants to go and be asked about their genitalia in front of a bunch of strangers? Especially strangers in power."

So far this year, at least 150 bills targeting transgender people have been introduced, which is the highest in a single year, according to the Human Rights Campaign.

Bans on gender-affirming care for minors have already been enacted this year in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/sd-state-wire-kristi-noem-health-south-dakota-gender-2b6ba634acc1f17f6ab9ade36fc1ae96">South Dakota</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-utah-state-government-gender-d699cef2d20c6cea03f1754d11a5ef7b">Utah</a>, and Republican governors in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-tennessee-state-government-health-gender-181952f6bd94a8e8c0a35be81afe00ad">Tennessee</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-mississippi-state-government-tate-reeves-health-880325ae03127d7fc868d96c2c02171b">Mississippi</a>&nbsp;are expected to sign similar bans into law.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-business-arkansas-american-civil-liberties-union-4d93ef6d5f1978832949f8a46da2a871">Arkansas</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-alabama-gender-identity-d01d4e362647b28800da7a378041371c">Alabama</a>&nbsp;have bans that were temporarily blocked by federal judges.

The push has included efforts in some states to restrict gender-affirming care for adults and proposed bans on drag shows that opponents have warned would also discriminate against transgender people.

Herzig came to the state Capitol to testify against a bill attempting to reinstate Arkansas' ban on gender-affirming care for minors by making it easier to file malpractice lawsuits against providers. In her testimony, Herzig talked about working with transgender patients who are on hormone replacement therapy.

“Bills like SB199 are designed to hinder, not help, Arkansans by creating barriers to evidence-driven health care they deserve under the guise of helping the young and innocent," she said, later saying a vote for the bill was “unpatriotic, and casts doubts on our own health and research institutions who have worked through health care fields to improve the lives of Americans.”

During follow-up questions, Republican Sen. Matt McKee asked Herzig if she is transgender.

When she said yes, he asked: “Do you have a penis?"

The question was met with jeers and audible gasps in the packed committee room.

“That's horrible," Herzig responded, telling McKee that asking her such a question was inappropriate and noting she was testifying as a health care professional.

“I had never been so publicly humiliated in my life,” Herzig told The Associated Press in an interview days later.

McKee did not respond to an email or phone call, but defended his question in a written statement.

“As a father of 4 daughters, I will do everything in my power to protect my children and the children of Arkansas, especially from the woke mob who intend to push their agenda and beliefs down our throats and destroy our families," McKee's statement said.

The idea of protecting children by withholding medical care is undermined by health experts, who have said minors with gender dysphoria who do not receive appropriate care face dramatically increased risk of suicide and serious depression.

McKee's questions were similar in tone to those posed to Debi Jackson's teen Avery, who is transgender and nonbinary, when they testified before Missouri legislators last year about a proposal to ban trans girls and women from participating on sports teams matching their gender identity.

During the hearing, a lawmaker asked Avery if they were “gonna go through the procedure." Since that exchange, Jackson said Avery hasn't wanted to testify again before the Legislature.

“It’s this same idea that in any of these discussions about trans people just being treated with basic dignity and respect, legislators want to reduce them to one body part," Jackson said. “They miss the entirety of the human being sitting in front of them having a conversation.”

Advocates say the rhetoric surrounding these proposed bans further exacerbates an already treacherous environment for transgender people, their families and medical providers. Children’s hospitals around the country have faced&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-social-media-boston-7a6bed81a86fe5576ca0145d893ad153">an uptick of harassment and threats of violence</a>&nbsp;for providing gender-confirming care.

Though she said she's received an outcry of support since her testimony, Herzig said she and the pharmacy she owns have also gotten hateful emails and calls.

People opposed to gender-affirming care for minors argue that children are too young to make decisions about their futures, sometimes comparing such treatments to child abuse. That's despite medical experts saying the care is safe when administered properly.

Nearly every major medical group, including the American Medical Association, has opposed the bans on such care for minors.

Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott last year ordered the state’s child welfare agency to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/texas-child-abuse-child-welfare-greg-abbott-ken-paxton-65c054b6ccd9040e81ad1a4be11403b9">investigate reports of gender-affirming care for kids as abuse</a>, but a judge has since&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/texas-lawsuits-d2af85158fd7dd1660b9d18871e0e7b0">blocked those investigations</a>.

Amber Briggle, the mother of a transgender teenager in Texas whose family was investigated after Abbott's order, said she gets frustrated when speaking before lawmakers in her state who she thinks already have made up their minds on the issue. But Briggle said she plans on returning to Texas' Capitol this year and that Herzig's encounter motivates her even more to show up and speak out.

“They should not have to fight this alone," Briggle said of transgender people testifying in statehouses. “They should know they have loving, supporting allies in their corner."

Herzig said she probably would not have testified had she known she was going to be asked about her genitalia.

“I felt like I was pretty much prepared for any combative question," she said. “Except that."

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/2/1677510504772.png" alt="Gwendolyn Herzig during her testimony before Arkansas lawmakers-image courtesy Arkansas Senate Judiciary Committee" />
 <figcaption>Gwendolyn Herzig during her testimony before Arkansas lawmakers-image courtesy Arkansas Senate Judiciary Committee</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY (AP) — It was pharmacist Gwendolyn Herzig's first time testifying before a legislative committee when she spoke to several Arkansas lawmakers in a packed hearing room this month about&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/arkansas-state-government-gender-health-586e773f62600b34e4ed55422a5a3de8">a bill restricting gender-affirming care for minors</a>.Herzig, who is transgender, spoke out against the legislation and told the panel that one of the biggest obstacles trans people face is a lack of empathy. Only a few minutes later, a Republican lawmaker asked her an inappropriate question about her genitalia.“It was horrifying," she said.&nbsp; <a href="https://sg001-harmony.sliq.net/00284/Harmony/en/PowerBrowser/PowerBrowserV2/20230213/-1/26533?viewMode=1#agenda_">Click here to watch</a>&nbsp;Herzig's testimonyThe exchange, which was&nbsp;livestreamed on the Legislature's website&nbsp;and has since been widely shared on social media, is an example of the type of demeaning questions and rhetoric that transgender people meet when they show up to statehouses to testify against new bills targeting their rights.The Republican-dominated Kansas Legislature on Thursday approved a group of bills targeting transgender people and gender-affirming health care. Two bills approved by the Senate would<a href="http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2023_24/measures/sb233/" target="_blank">&nbsp;ban doctors from providing gender-affirming</a>&nbsp;care to children and create&nbsp;<a href="http://kslegislature.org/li/b2023_24/measures/sb180/" target="_blank">the so-called “women’s bill of rights</a>” that legally defines a person’s sex as the sex they were assigned at birth. The bills now head to the House for consideration.(Click below to watch&nbsp;Rep. Barb Wasinger, R-Hays comments on the bill)<div><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KGAzsPA9Vqg?start=26325" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>In South Dakota, a lawmaker invoked “furries" — people who dress up as animals — when talking about gender-affirming care. In Montana, a legislator compared parents supporting their children in finding treatment to asking doctors to carry out medically assisted suicide.Advocates worry that increasingly hostile rhetoric about transgender people could have a chilling effect on those who want to speak out against new restrictions and could do lasting damage to a community of trans youth that is already marginalized.“I feel like that's what they're trying to do, to keep us from coming and exercising this right that we have," said Rumba Yambu, executive director of Intransitive, an advocacy and support group for transgender people in Arkansas. “Because who wants to go and be asked about their genitalia in front of a bunch of strangers? Especially strangers in power."So far this year, at least 150 bills targeting transgender people have been introduced, which is the highest in a single year, according to the Human Rights Campaign.Bans on gender-affirming care for minors have already been enacted this year in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/sd-state-wire-kristi-noem-health-south-dakota-gender-2b6ba634acc1f17f6ab9ade36fc1ae96">South Dakota</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-utah-state-government-gender-d699cef2d20c6cea03f1754d11a5ef7b">Utah</a>, and Republican governors in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-tennessee-state-government-health-gender-181952f6bd94a8e8c0a35be81afe00ad">Tennessee</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-mississippi-state-government-tate-reeves-health-880325ae03127d7fc868d96c2c02171b">Mississippi</a>&nbsp;are expected to sign similar bans into law.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-business-arkansas-american-civil-liberties-union-4d93ef6d5f1978832949f8a46da2a871">Arkansas</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-alabama-gender-identity-d01d4e362647b28800da7a378041371c">Alabama</a>&nbsp;have bans that were temporarily blocked by federal judges.The push has included efforts in some states to restrict gender-affirming care for adults and proposed bans on drag shows that opponents have warned would also discriminate against transgender people.Herzig came to the state Capitol to testify against a bill attempting to reinstate Arkansas' ban on gender-affirming care for minors by making it easier to file malpractice lawsuits against providers. In her testimony, Herzig talked about working with transgender patients who are on hormone replacement therapy.“Bills like SB199 are designed to hinder, not help, Arkansans by creating barriers to evidence-driven health care they deserve under the guise of helping the young and innocent," she said, later saying a vote for the bill was “unpatriotic, and casts doubts on our own health and research institutions who have worked through health care fields to improve the lives of Americans.”During follow-up questions, Republican Sen. Matt McKee asked Herzig if she is transgender.When she said yes, he asked: “Do you have a penis?"The question was met with jeers and audible gasps in the packed committee room.“That's horrible," Herzig responded, telling McKee that asking her such a question was inappropriate and noting she was testifying as a health care professional.“I had never been so publicly humiliated in my life,” Herzig told The Associated Press in an interview days later.McKee did not respond to an email or phone call, but defended his question in a written statement.“As a father of 4 daughters, I will do everything in my power to protect my children and the children of Arkansas, especially from the woke mob who intend to push their agenda and beliefs down our throats and destroy our families," McKee's statement said.The idea of protecting children by withholding medical care is undermined by health experts, who have said minors with gender dysphoria who do not receive appropriate care face dramatically increased risk of suicide and serious depression.McKee's questions were similar in tone to those posed to Debi Jackson's teen Avery, who is transgender and nonbinary, when they testified before Missouri legislators last year about a proposal to ban trans girls and women from participating on sports teams matching their gender identity.During the hearing, a lawmaker asked Avery if they were “gonna go through the procedure." Since that exchange, Jackson said Avery hasn't wanted to testify again before the Legislature.“It’s this same idea that in any of these discussions about trans people just being treated with basic dignity and respect, legislators want to reduce them to one body part," Jackson said. “They miss the entirety of the human being sitting in front of them having a conversation.”Advocates say the rhetoric surrounding these proposed bans further exacerbates an already treacherous environment for transgender people, their families and medical providers. Children’s hospitals around the country have faced&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-social-media-boston-7a6bed81a86fe5576ca0145d893ad153">an uptick of harassment and threats of violence</a>&nbsp;for providing gender-confirming care.Though she said she's received an outcry of support since her testimony, Herzig said she and the pharmacy she owns have also gotten hateful emails and calls.People opposed to gender-affirming care for minors argue that children are too young to make decisions about their futures, sometimes comparing such treatments to child abuse. That's despite medical experts saying the care is safe when administered properly.Nearly every major medical group, including the American Medical Association, has opposed the bans on such care for minors.Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott last year ordered the state’s child welfare agency to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/texas-child-abuse-child-welfare-greg-abbott-ken-paxton-65c054b6ccd9040e81ad1a4be11403b9">investigate reports of gender-affirming care for kids as abuse</a>, but a judge has since&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/texas-lawsuits-d2af85158fd7dd1660b9d18871e0e7b0">blocked those investigations</a>.Amber Briggle, the mother of a transgender teenager in Texas whose family was investigated after Abbott's order, said she gets frustrated when speaking before lawmakers in her state who she thinks already have made up their minds on the issue. But Briggle said she plans on returning to Texas' Capitol this year and that Herzig's encounter motivates her even more to show up and speak out.“They should not have to fight this alone," Briggle said of transgender people testifying in statehouses. “They should know they have loving, supporting allies in their corner."Herzig said she probably would not have testified had she known she was going to be asked about her genitalia.“I felt like I was pretty much prepared for any combative question," she said. “Except that."

🎥Trans people face 'horrifying' rhetoric at statehouses

KANSAS CITY —A Kansas City man is charged in the fatal shooting in January 2022 of Desmond Matthews at city BP station, according to Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker.

Shyrone H. Daniels, 18,&nbsp; faces Murder 2nd Degree and Armed Criminal Action charges.

According to court records, Kansas City police were dispatched to the 3000 block of Van Brunt in Kansas City. Officers found the victim 19-year-old Desmond Matthews partially inside a vehicle in the BP gas station lot.

 Video surveillance showed a suspect confront the victim as they came face to face at the station. The suspect showed a handgun and pointed it at the victim and shot, striking him in the neck and upper back. A witness identified the shooter as Daniels. He was certified recently to stand trial as an adult.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/3/1677797109319.png" alt="Daniels-photo Jackson Co." />
 <figcaption>Daniels-photo Jackson Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY —A Kansas City man is charged in the fatal shooting in January 2022 of Desmond Matthews at city BP station, according to Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker.Shyrone H. Daniels, 18,&nbsp; faces Murder 2nd Degree and Armed Criminal Action charges.According to court records, Kansas City police were dispatched to the 3000 block of Van Brunt in Kansas City. Officers found the victim 19-year-old Desmond Matthews partially inside a vehicle in the BP gas station lot. Video surveillance showed a suspect confront the victim as they came face to face at the station. The suspect showed a handgun and pointed it at the victim and shot, striking him in the neck and upper back. A witness identified the shooter as Daniels. He was certified recently to stand trial as an adult.

KC teen charged in killing will stand trial as an adult

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

TOPEKA — Attorney General Kris Kobach signed an appellate court brief in support of a Kentucky photographer’s objection to potentially being compelled to serve clients at a same-sex wedding.

Kobach, a Republican who took office in January,&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://ag.ks.gov/docs/default-source/documents/dn-42-ky-et-al-amicus-brief.pdf?sfvrsn=39f5bd1a_2">added Kansas to a list of 21 states</a>&nbsp;backing Louisville photographer Chelsey Nelson’s challenge of a city ordinance that forbid her from advertising she only worked opposite-sex ceremonies because those events were inconsistent with her beliefs. The amicus brief embraced by Kobach was filed by the Kentucky attorney general in the U.S. Court of Appeals.

Anthony Powell, Kobach’s solicitor general in Kansas, said the case resembled that of a Colorado baker who said his Christian beliefs forbid him from making a wedding cake for a gay couple in 2012.

The U.S. Supreme Court decided in 2018 a Colorado state court was wrong to find the baker engaged in unlawful discrimination, but that opinion wasn’t extended by the Supreme Court to florists, photographers and others who refused to work with gay couples.

“When the state of Colorado tried force a baker to create designs antithetical to his beliefs, so many Americans were outraged that the phrase ‘you will bake the cake’ has entered our nation’s lexicon,” Powell said. “In this case, a photographer in Louisville, Kentucky, is being forced to create images which are contrary to her deeply held beliefs.”

Powell said the Kansas attorney general’s office took the view government shouldn’t compel speech, especially when that speech was offensive to the individual compelled to speak.

“We are joining other states in an amicus brief defending this photographer and her First Amendment rights,” Powell said.

According to court records, the Kentucky photographer had never been forced to photograph a same-sex wedding. The photographer’s attorneys urged the Court of Appeals to uphold a federal district judge’s ruling that protected her religious liberty and free speech rights.

Kobach joined attorneys general from Oklahoma, Nebraska, Iowa, South Dakota and Texas on the appellate brief.

In 2019, Nelson filed a lawsuit alleging Louisville’s “fairness ordinance” violated her constitutional rights and that she couldn’t be directed by the city to accept jobs photographing same-sex weddings. A U.S. District Court judge issued a 44-page ruling granting an injunction against the city’s ordinance, declaring the fairness ordinance couldn’t trample First Amendment rights.

The perspective endorsed by Kobach, captured in the amicus brief, said: “In the end, although Louisville’s interest in preventing discrimination must give way here, its ordinance retains its full force in most situations. All the city cannot do is directly force Nelson to speak in a way that sends a message with which she deeply disagrees. And that’s a good thing.”

The ACLU of Kentucky, however,&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.aclu-ky.org/sites/default/files/doc_32_-_20230130_aclu-ky_amicus_brief89.pdf">filed its own amicus brief in January</a>&nbsp;asking the appeals court to uphold Louisville’s LGBTQ anti-discrimination protections. The brief asked the appellate court to reverse the lower court judge ruling opening the door for businesses to deny service to LGBTQ people.

Louisville’s anti-discrimination&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/louisvillemetro/latest/loukymetro/0-0-0-7850">anti-discrimination ordinance</a>&nbsp;bars businesses open to the public from refusing service to customers based on clearly defined innate characteristics, including a customer’s sexual orientation.

“Louisville Metro Government unquestionably has the authority to prohibit businesses within its borders from discriminating against LGBTQ people in the sales of goods and services to the general public,” said Corey Shapiro, legal director at ACLU of Kentucky. “If a business needs to know who the service is for to decide whether it will provide those services, that is identity-based discrimination.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://kansasreflector.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Kris-Kobach-gop-4-1024x768.jpg" alt="Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach signed onto a federal court brief defending the right of a Kentucky photographer to refuse to work at same-sex weddings because it would violate her Christian beliefs. (Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption>Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach signed onto a federal court brief defending the right of a Kentucky photographer to refuse to work at same-sex weddings because it would violate her Christian beliefs. (Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure>By SHERMAN SMITH <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/briefs/kansas-house-agrees-to-raise-legal-smoking-age-to-21/">Kansas Reflector</a>TOPEKA — Attorney General Kris Kobach signed an appellate court brief in support of a Kentucky photographer’s objection to potentially being compelled to serve clients at a same-sex wedding.Kobach, a Republican who took office in January,&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://ag.ks.gov/docs/default-source/documents/dn-42-ky-et-al-amicus-brief.pdf?sfvrsn=39f5bd1a_2">added Kansas to a list of 21 states</a>&nbsp;backing Louisville photographer Chelsey Nelson’s challenge of a city ordinance that forbid her from advertising she only worked opposite-sex ceremonies because those events were inconsistent with her beliefs. The amicus brief embraced by Kobach was filed by the Kentucky attorney general in the U.S. Court of Appeals.Anthony Powell, Kobach’s solicitor general in Kansas, said the case resembled that of a Colorado baker who said his Christian beliefs forbid him from making a wedding cake for a gay couple in 2012.The U.S. Supreme Court decided in 2018 a Colorado state court was wrong to find the baker engaged in unlawful discrimination, but that opinion wasn’t extended by the Supreme Court to florists, photographers and others who refused to work with gay couples.“When the state of Colorado tried force a baker to create designs antithetical to his beliefs, so many Americans were outraged that the phrase ‘you will bake the cake’ has entered our nation’s lexicon,” Powell said. “In this case, a photographer in Louisville, Kentucky, is being forced to create images which are contrary to her deeply held beliefs.”Powell said the Kansas attorney general’s office took the view government shouldn’t compel speech, especially when that speech was offensive to the individual compelled to speak.“We are joining other states in an amicus brief defending this photographer and her First Amendment rights,” Powell said.According to court records, the Kentucky photographer had never been forced to photograph a same-sex wedding. The photographer’s attorneys urged the Court of Appeals to uphold a federal district judge’s ruling that protected her religious liberty and free speech rights.Kobach joined attorneys general from Oklahoma, Nebraska, Iowa, South Dakota and Texas on the appellate brief.In 2019, Nelson filed a lawsuit alleging Louisville’s “fairness ordinance” violated her constitutional rights and that she couldn’t be directed by the city to accept jobs photographing same-sex weddings. A U.S. District Court judge issued a 44-page ruling granting an injunction against the city’s ordinance, declaring the fairness ordinance couldn’t trample First Amendment rights.The perspective endorsed by Kobach, captured in the amicus brief, said: “In the end, although Louisville’s interest in preventing discrimination must give way here, its ordinance retains its full force in most situations. All the city cannot do is directly force Nelson to speak in a way that sends a message with which she deeply disagrees. And that’s a good thing.”The ACLU of Kentucky, however,&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.aclu-ky.org/sites/default/files/doc_32_-_20230130_aclu-ky_amicus_brief89.pdf">filed its own amicus brief in January</a>&nbsp;asking the appeals court to uphold Louisville’s LGBTQ anti-discrimination protections. The brief asked the appellate court to reverse the lower court judge ruling opening the door for businesses to deny service to LGBTQ people.Louisville’s anti-discrimination&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/louisvillemetro/latest/loukymetro/0-0-0-7850">anti-discrimination ordinance</a>&nbsp;bars businesses open to the public from refusing service to customers based on clearly defined innate characteristics, including a customer’s sexual orientation.“Louisville Metro Government unquestionably has the authority to prohibit businesses within its borders from discriminating against LGBTQ people in the sales of goods and services to the general public,” said Corey Shapiro, legal director at ACLU of Kentucky. “If a business needs to know who the service is for to decide whether it will provide those services, that is identity-based discrimination.”

Kan. AG aids cause of photographer opposed to working same-sex ceremonies

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Seven months after a decisive statewide vote&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-primary-elections-kansas-abortion-b6d62a852c2ce4617f2c03589fbb523e">affirmed abortion rights</a>&nbsp;in Kansas, the Republican-controlled Legislature’s annual session in some ways looks a lot like previous ones, with multiple anti-abortion proposals.

But key players are focusing on incremental changes, instead of a ban. Their biggest goal this year is getting more financial help for&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-politics-united-states-government-kansas-health-c0c8a6cbe211ca4970e3a38b3aa7faf9">centers that discourage abortions while offering free pregnancy and post-pregnancy services</a>. An income tax credit for donors is one of three proposals that have gained traction in the state's Republican-controlled Legislature. The other two deal with medical malpractice insurance and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-health-kansas-city-planned-parenthood-7bbd62399537dac61093864166f0e81e">telemedicine abortions.</a>

Though abortion opponents have pulled some punches — quickly nixing an idea to try to pursue a 15-week ban — abortion-rights supporters argue even the limited changes being sought defy the will of voters.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/8/1659494980922.png" alt="Kansas voters were the first in the U.S. to weigh in on the abortion issue after U.S. Supreme Court&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-supreme-court-decision-854f60302f21c2c35129e58cf8d8a7b0">struck down Roe v. Wade</a>&nbsp;in June. They resoundingly defeated a proposal to add an amendment to the Kansas Constitution stating that it does not grant the right to abortion." />
 <figcaption>Kansas voters were the first in the U.S. to weigh in on the abortion issue after U.S. Supreme Court&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-supreme-court-decision-854f60302f21c2c35129e58cf8d8a7b0">struck down Roe v. Wade</a>&nbsp;in June. They resoundingly defeated a proposal to add an amendment to the Kansas Constitution stating that it does not grant the right to abortion.</figcaption>
 </figure>By JOHN HANNA&nbsp;TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Seven months after a decisive statewide vote&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-primary-elections-kansas-abortion-b6d62a852c2ce4617f2c03589fbb523e">affirmed abortion rights</a>&nbsp;in Kansas, the Republican-controlled Legislature’s annual session in some ways looks a lot like previous ones, with multiple anti-abortion proposals.But key players are focusing on incremental changes, instead of a ban. Their biggest goal this year is getting more financial help for&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-politics-united-states-government-kansas-health-c0c8a6cbe211ca4970e3a38b3aa7faf9">centers that discourage abortions while offering free pregnancy and post-pregnancy services</a>. An income tax credit for donors is one of three proposals that have gained traction in the state's Republican-controlled Legislature. The other two deal with medical malpractice insurance and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-health-kansas-city-planned-parenthood-7bbd62399537dac61093864166f0e81e">telemedicine abortions.</a>Though abortion opponents have pulled some punches — quickly nixing an idea to try to pursue a 15-week ban — abortion-rights supporters argue even the limited changes being sought defy the will of voters.“These extreme legislators think they know better than us what our families need to stay safe and healthy,” Ashley All, the main spokeperson for the campaign against the August ballot measure that would have allowed lawmakers to greatly restrict or ban the procedure, said in an email.But abortion opponents contend that vote didn't preclude any new restrictions.“You don’t have a full understanding of what that vote said about Kansas because of the complexities behind it," Senate President Ty Masterson, a Wichita-area Republican, told reporters. “So I just disagree that that’s the case, that it cuts against the grain of Kansas."Kansas voters were the first in the U.S. to weigh in on the abortion issue after U.S. Supreme Court&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-supreme-court-decision-854f60302f21c2c35129e58cf8d8a7b0">struck down Roe v. Wade</a>&nbsp;in June. They resoundingly defeated a proposal to add an amendment to the Kansas Constitution stating that it does not grant the right to abortion.That vote reset the national debate because the state leans Republican and has elected strong anti-abortion legislative majorities since the 1991 “Summer of Mercy” protests outside a Wichita clinic that was among a few in the nation known to perform third-trimester abortions.The ballot measure was abortion foes' attempt to overturn&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/3f479b218a6140719e1694fcfcdb8036">a 2019 decision</a>&nbsp;of the Kansas Supreme Court declaring access to abortion a matter of bodily autonomy and therefore a “fundamental” right under the state's Bill of Rights.Senate Democratic Leader Dinah Sykes, from the Kansas City-area, where the vote was especially lopsided in favor of abortion rights, said anti-abortion lawmakers are showing that they still intend to try to ban all abortions.“And they will do it one piece at a time,” she said.The&nbsp;<a href="http://www.kslegislature.org/li_2022/b2021_22/measures/documents/hcr5003_enrolled.pdf">proposed anti-abortion amendment</a>&nbsp;specifically asked voters to give “the people, through their elected state representatives and state senators” the power to “pass laws regarding abortion.” All, who campaigned against it, said the answer was a "19 points clear” no, referring to the final margin.Many state restrictions remain despite the vote. Patients must wait 24 hours before getting an abortion, and minors must have the written consent of a parent or guardian. Most abortions are banned at 22 weeks.But other restrictions are on hold, with&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-politics-kansas-state-government-kris-kobach-e10773d1eb521e6d47d0c9d04f83835c">two separate lawsuits</a>&nbsp;before the Kansas Supreme Court over banning the most common second-trimester abortion procedure and imposing special health and safety rules specifically for abortion providers. A state law requiring the doctor to be in the same room with a patient taking their first dose of abortion medication also is on hold in the state courts.<a href="http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2023_24/measures/sb5/">One bill</a>&nbsp;approved by the Senate last week would require the doctor to be physically present to write a prescription for pregnancy-ending pills — banning online or teleconference prescribing.&nbsp;<a href="http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2023_24/measures/sb219/">Another</a>&nbsp;would prevent abortion providers who can't get their legally required malpractice insurance in the private market from turning to a state fund providing it.<a href="http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2023_24/measures/sb96/">The proposed income tax credit</a>&nbsp;is an attempt to strengthen the state's 50-plus network of centers that discourage women from having abortions through counseling or by providing free services, including pregnancy tests, sonograms and even housing. Arizona, Mississippi and Missouri have such credits, and Kansas' would be worth $10 million a year to donors.Supporters say the centers address the financial needs of vulnerable women, girls and families. But opponents say they coerce women and provide inaccurate information — a contention the centers deny.Jeanne Gawdun, a lobbyist for Kansans for Life, the state’s most politically influential anti-abortion group, said opponents of the August ballot measure assured voters that rejecting still would leave limits on abortion “because they knew for decades, Kansans have supported reasonable regulations.""There are things that can be passed, but when those are brought up, all of a sudden, oh, well, ‘The vote, the vote, the vote,’” Gawdun said.