ANADARKO, Okla. (AP) — A man charged in the Christmas Day beating death of a 4-year-old Oklahoma girl has been returned to the state.

Ivon Adams III, 36, was booked into the county jail Thursday night, the Caddo County Sheriff’s Office said on its website.

Adams&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/law-enforcement-oklahoma-e98c18aec68a194338b304a7c494a0a6">was arrested last week</a>&nbsp;in Arizona on murder and child neglect charges in the death of Athena Brownfield in the town of Cyril, about 70 miles southwest of Oklahoma City.

The girl&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/oklahoma-city-1b331093878a39b70fccfdc6ba2e47dc">was reported missing Jan. 10</a>&nbsp;when a postal carrier found her 5-year-old sister alone outside the home where she lived with Adams and his wife, Alysia Adams. Alysia Adams, 31, is charged with two counts of child neglect in the case.

Court documents do not list an attorney who could speak on Adams' behalf. A gag order has been issued in the case against Alysia Adams at the request of her court-appointed attorney.

An affadavit for Ivon Adams' arrest alleges he beat the girl to death the night of Dec. 25 and later buried her on property he and his wife once owned near the nearby town of Rush Springs, where&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/561482cabb0dd44c8c732650c28a3797">authorities found a child's body</a>&nbsp;on Tuesday.

The child's body has not been identified and was sent to the state medical examiner's office for identification and to determine the cause of death.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/1/1673643845430.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>ANADARKO, Okla. (AP) — A man charged in the Christmas Day beating death of a 4-year-old Oklahoma girl has been returned to the state.Ivon Adams III, 36, was booked into the county jail Thursday night, the Caddo County Sheriff’s Office said on its website.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/1/1674236691271.png" alt="Adams" />
 <figcaption>Adams</figcaption>
 </figure>Adams&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/law-enforcement-oklahoma-e98c18aec68a194338b304a7c494a0a6">was arrested last week</a>&nbsp;in Arizona on murder and child neglect charges in the death of Athena Brownfield in the town of Cyril, about 70 miles southwest of Oklahoma City.The girl&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/oklahoma-city-1b331093878a39b70fccfdc6ba2e47dc">was reported missing Jan. 10</a>&nbsp;when a postal carrier found her 5-year-old sister alone outside the home where she lived with Adams and his wife, Alysia Adams. Alysia Adams, 31, is charged with two counts of child neglect in the case.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/1/1673617381405.png" alt="Alysia Adams remains in custody, according to online jail records" />
 <figcaption>Alysia Adams remains in custody, according to online jail records</figcaption>
 </figure>Court documents do not list an attorney who could speak on Adams' behalf. A gag order has been issued in the case against Alysia Adams at the request of her court-appointed attorney.An affadavit for Ivon Adams' arrest alleges he beat the girl to death the night of Dec. 25 and later buried her on property he and his wife once owned near the nearby town of Rush Springs, where&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/561482cabb0dd44c8c732650c28a3797">authorities found a child's body</a>&nbsp;on Tuesday.The child's body has not been identified and was sent to the state medical examiner's office for identification and to determine the cause of death.

Man charged in death of 4-year-old, returned to Oklahoma

By MIKE COURSON Great Bend Post

The cat is out of the bag. And the ponies, unicorns, and a host of other characters. Wednesday evening, it was announced the first-ever FurryFansago event is coming to the Great Bend Events Center in July. Founder Kristian Rivera always planned for glitz and glam, but the first convention will be much more subtle. After years of thinking about doing a convention locally, it is finally becoming a reality.

"I've always just imagined a place where people can come together and celebrate not only the fandom, but who they are," he said. "This is much more than just a furry fandom. It's an LGBTQ community. It's a celebration of art, designs, and I wanted to bring that to Kansas. I wanted to give people a chance to be a part of something that's not in the big city, something they can do locally."

Wednesday's announcement made statewide headlines. Rivera expected backlash with the announcement but is pleased the event is finally moving forward.

"Public opinion was pretty much about where I thought it would be," he said. "The amount of returns I've gotten from the hidden furry community, the people behind the scenes, they've been sending me emails giving me lots of support. The open, out-loud people who are against the community, I 100 percent expected that. But given the support from the inner community, and even from our community abroad, I'm excited for this."

The 3-day event is scheduled for July 21-23 at the Events Center. A schedule of events is still in the works, though Rivera would like to have a speaker of some sort. A small number of vendors will be present for the event, which Rivera said will be similar to a Comic-Con. Security at the door will check identification, and another security guard will be inside the facility. Costumes are encouraged but not required for the first convention. The idea is expression with the safety of anonymity.

"That's basically the whole idea behind it, the ability for people to create and design their own characters," said Rivera. "Most of the furry community are normal, everyday people. The only difference is they love to come together and draw animals, or celebrate animals in that sense. We're not doing anything weird with the animals, we're not doing anything weird with the suits. It's all just normal people coming together to have a good time and celebrate the furry community."

Rivera is hoping for 20-30 attendees for the inaugural events. Admission tickets are $25 and will soon be available on the group's website.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/1/1674221180078.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>By MIKE COURSON Great Bend PostThe cat is out of the bag. And the ponies, unicorns, and a host of other characters. Wednesday evening, it was announced the first-ever FurryFansago event is coming to the Great Bend Events Center in July. Founder Kristian Rivera always planned for glitz and glam, but the first convention will be much more subtle. After years of thinking about doing a convention locally, it is finally becoming a reality."I've always just imagined a place where people can come together and celebrate not only the fandom, but who they are," he said. "This is much more than just a furry fandom. It's an LGBTQ community. It's a celebration of art, designs, and I wanted to bring that to Kansas. I wanted to give people a chance to be a part of something that's not in the big city, something they can do locally."Wednesday's announcement made statewide headlines. Rivera expected backlash with the announcement but is pleased the event is finally moving forward."Public opinion was pretty much about where I thought it would be," he said. "The amount of returns I've gotten from the hidden furry community, the people behind the scenes, they've been sending me emails giving me lots of support. The open, out-loud people who are against the community, I 100 percent expected that. But given the support from the inner community, and even from our community abroad, I'm excited for this."The 3-day event is scheduled for July 21-23 at the Events Center. A schedule of events is still in the works, though Rivera would like to have a speaker of some sort. A small number of vendors will be present for the event, which Rivera said will be similar to a Comic-Con. Security at the door will check identification, and another security guard will be inside the facility. Costumes are encouraged but not required for the first convention. The idea is expression with the safety of anonymity."That's basically the whole idea behind it, the ability for people to create and design their own characters," said Rivera. "Most of the furry community are normal, everyday people. The only difference is they love to come together and draw animals, or celebrate animals in that sense. We're not doing anything weird with the animals, we're not doing anything weird with the suits. It's all just normal people coming together to have a good time and celebrate the furry community."Rivera is hoping for 20-30 attendees for the inaugural events. Admission tickets are $25 and will soon be available on the group's website.

Great Bend will host first-ever Kansas Furcon in July

WASHINGTON (AP) — One year ago, the annual March for Life protest against legal abortion took place in Washington in a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-texas-mississippi-constitutions-281018c3cd29f79d02444a539bc16d63">mood of undisguised triumph</a>. With a fresh conservative majority on the Supreme Court, thousands of marchers braved bitterly cold weather to celebrate the seemingly inevitable fall of Roe v. Wade.

Now they're assembling again, with the constitutional right to abortion&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-supreme-court-decision-854f60302f21c2c35129e58cf8d8a7b0">no longer the rule of the land</a>. Friday's March for Life has a new focus. Instead of concentrating their attention on the Supreme Court, the marchers are pushing for action from the building directly across the street: the U.S. Capitol.

Movement leaders say they plan to warn Congress against making any attempt to curtail the multiple anti-abortion laws imposed last year in a dozen states.

Evangelist Franklin Graham, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., and Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch, whose office argued the case that overturned Roe v. Wade, were among the expected speakers.

Jeanne Mancini, president of the March for Life Education and Defense Fund, said the march is “a somber reminder of the millions of lives lost to abortion in the past 50 years, but also a celebration of how far we have come and where we as a movement need to focus our effort as we enter this new era in our quest to protect life.”

Some movement leaders also hope to plant seeds in Congress for a potential federal abortion restriction down the line. Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of SBA Pro-Life America, said she envisions an eventual “federal minimum standard” cut-off line such as 13 weeks of pregnancy after which abortion would not be permitted in any state. Dannenfelser's scenario would still leave individual states free to impose their own, stricter measures, including a total ban.

That last ambition is an admitted longshot since even if it passes the newly Republican-controlled House, it would most likely fail in the Democratic-held Senate.

“We know it’s not going to happen this session, but this is the beginning,” Dannenfelser said. “It's (Congress') responsibility to listen to the will of the people.”

In permit applications to the National Park Service, protest organizers estimated 50,000 participants this year, about the same size as previous marches.

In the absence of Roe v. Wade's federal protections, abortion rights have become a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/march-for-life-abortion-roe-anniversary-0a7e6ef93091d16307ca935e0ae1d2bd">state-by-state patchwork</a>.

Since June, near-total bans on abortion have been implemented in Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and West Virginia. Legal challenges are pending against several of those bans.

Elective abortions also are unavailable in Wisconsin, due to legal uncertainties faced by abortion clinics, and in North Dakota, where the lone clinic relocated to Minnesota.

Bans passed by lawmakers in Ohio, Indiana and Wyoming have been blocked by state courts while legal challenges are pending. And in South Carolina, the state Supreme Court on Jan. 5 struck down a ban on abortion after six weeks, ruling the restriction violates a state constitutional right to privacy.

But other states have witnessed unexpected pushback on the issue. Voters in Kansas and Kentucky rejected constitutional amendments that would have declared there is no right to abortion; Michigan voters approved an amendment enshrining the right to abortion in the state constitution.

President Joe Biden's administration has limited options after the Supreme Court decision. Vice President Kamala Harris is scheduled to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-ron-desantis-politics-florida-state-government-minnesota-fbc766faf5d1aad308ae923103e0db64">give a speech in Florida</a>&nbsp;on Sunday, the 50th anniversary of the original Roe v. Wade ruling, to emphasize that abortion rights remain a core focus for the administration.

“The vice president will make very clear: The fight to secure women’s fundamental right to reproductive health care is far from over,” said a statement from Kirsten Allen, a Harris spokesperson. “She will lay out the consequences of extremist attacks on reproductive freedom in states across our country and underscore the need for Congress to codify Roe.”

According to an&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-health-congress-government-and-politics-fc8c68d1c4dd29ef0a364050013b8cf4">Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll</a>&nbsp;conducted in July, 53% of U.S. adults said they disapproved of the Supreme Court’s repeal of Roe, while 30% approved.

Dannenfelser disputes those numbers and says that while blanket abortion bans are a divisive issue among voters, limited restrictions such as a ban after the first trimester of pregnancy are “wildly popular” in both red and blue states.

Anti-abortion activists also have their eye on the 2024 presidential elections and are essentially vetting prospective candidates over their views on the issue. Dannenfelser said she met recently with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a potential leading Republican candidate, and came away “incredibly impressed,” but said it was still too early for her organization to endorse anyone.

She predicted that there will be some “fault lines” among Republican presidential contenders over abortion rights and protections, but warned that any candidate perceived as being soft on the issue will have "disqualified him or herself as a presidential candidate in our eyes, and having done so has very little chance of winning the nomination.”

WASHINGTON (AP) — One year ago, the annual March for Life protest against legal abortion took place in Washington in a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-texas-mississippi-constitutions-281018c3cd29f79d02444a539bc16d63">mood of undisguised triumph</a>. With a fresh conservative majority on the Supreme Court, thousands of marchers braved bitterly cold weather to celebrate the seemingly inevitable fall of Roe v. Wade.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Welcome to the wonderful people participating in the March For Life on the National Mall today! Our fight for life is not over, and I look forward to fighting alongside you for pro-life policies here in DC. <a href="https://t.co/yPljpcn5ah">pic.twitter.com/yPljpcn5ah</a>&mdash; Dr. Roger Marshall (@RogerMarshallMD) <a href="https://twitter.com/RogerMarshallMD/status/1616442057945481216?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 20, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Now they're assembling again, with the constitutional right to abortion&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-supreme-court-decision-854f60302f21c2c35129e58cf8d8a7b0">no longer the rule of the land</a>. Friday's March for Life has a new focus. Instead of concentrating their attention on the Supreme Court, the marchers are pushing for action from the building directly across the street: the U.S. Capitol.<div><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?height=314&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fmarchforlife%2Fvideos%2F2001769443547788%2F&show_text=false&width=560&t=0" 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>Movement leaders say they plan to warn Congress against making any attempt to curtail the multiple anti-abortion laws imposed last year in a dozen states.Evangelist Franklin Graham, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., and Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch, whose office argued the case that overturned Roe v. Wade, were among the expected speakers.Jeanne Mancini, president of the March for Life Education and Defense Fund, said the march is “a somber reminder of the millions of lives lost to abortion in the past 50 years, but also a celebration of how far we have come and where we as a movement need to focus our effort as we enter this new era in our quest to protect life.”Some movement leaders also hope to plant seeds in Congress for a potential federal abortion restriction down the line. Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of SBA Pro-Life America, said she envisions an eventual “federal minimum standard” cut-off line such as 13 weeks of pregnancy after which abortion would not be permitted in any state. Dannenfelser's scenario would still leave individual states free to impose their own, stricter measures, including a total ban.That last ambition is an admitted longshot since even if it passes the newly Republican-controlled House, it would most likely fail in the Democratic-held Senate.“We know it’s not going to happen this session, but this is the beginning,” Dannenfelser said. “It's (Congress') responsibility to listen to the will of the people.”In permit applications to the National Park Service, protest organizers estimated 50,000 participants this year, about the same size as previous marches.In the absence of Roe v. Wade's federal protections, abortion rights have become a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/march-for-life-abortion-roe-anniversary-0a7e6ef93091d16307ca935e0ae1d2bd">state-by-state patchwork</a>.Since June, near-total bans on abortion have been implemented in Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and West Virginia. Legal challenges are pending against several of those bans.Elective abortions also are unavailable in Wisconsin, due to legal uncertainties faced by abortion clinics, and in North Dakota, where the lone clinic relocated to Minnesota.Bans passed by lawmakers in Ohio, Indiana and Wyoming have been blocked by state courts while legal challenges are pending. And in South Carolina, the state Supreme Court on Jan. 5 struck down a ban on abortion after six weeks, ruling the restriction violates a state constitutional right to privacy.But other states have witnessed unexpected pushback on the issue. Voters in Kansas and Kentucky rejected constitutional amendments that would have declared there is no right to abortion; Michigan voters approved an amendment enshrining the right to abortion in the state constitution.President Joe Biden's administration has limited options after the Supreme Court decision. Vice President Kamala Harris is scheduled to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-ron-desantis-politics-florida-state-government-minnesota-fbc766faf5d1aad308ae923103e0db64">give a speech in Florida</a>&nbsp;on Sunday, the 50th anniversary of the original Roe v. Wade ruling, to emphasize that abortion rights remain a core focus for the administration.“The vice president will make very clear: The fight to secure women’s fundamental right to reproductive health care is far from over,” said a statement from Kirsten Allen, a Harris spokesperson. “She will lay out the consequences of extremist attacks on reproductive freedom in states across our country and underscore the need for Congress to codify Roe.”According to an&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-health-congress-government-and-politics-fc8c68d1c4dd29ef0a364050013b8cf4">Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll</a>&nbsp;conducted in July, 53% of U.S. adults said they disapproved of the Supreme Court’s repeal of Roe, while 30% approved.Dannenfelser disputes those numbers and says that while blanket abortion bans are a divisive issue among voters, limited restrictions such as a ban after the first trimester of pregnancy are “wildly popular” in both red and blue states.Anti-abortion activists also have their eye on the 2024 presidential elections and are essentially vetting prospective candidates over their views on the issue. Dannenfelser said she met recently with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a potential leading Republican candidate, and came away “incredibly impressed,” but said it was still too early for her organization to endorse anyone.She predicted that there will be some “fault lines” among Republican presidential contenders over abortion rights and protections, but warned that any candidate perceived as being soft on the issue will have "disqualified him or herself as a presidential candidate in our eyes, and having done so has very little chance of winning the nomination.”

🎥 Marshall offers welcome; March for Life returns to DC 

SHAWNEE COUNTY—Two children and one adult died in a Kansas house fire on Friday.

Just 5:00 a.m., crews responded to the report of house fire at 916 SW Warren Avenue in Topeka, according to fire department spokesperson Rosie Nichols.

First responding crews found heavy smoke and flames coming from the two-story house. Crews entered, searched the home and found four individuals.&nbsp;An adult and child were pronounced deceased on the scene.

Fire crews rescued an adult and a juvenile from the home and firefighters began immediate life-saving treatment.&nbsp; American Medical Response (AMR) transported both to a local hospital. The child later died at the hospital, according to Nichols. 

The adult remains hospitalized. Officials did not have an update on the condition of the adult.&nbsp; The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Check the Post for additional details as they become available.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/1/1674225989378.png" alt="First responding crews found heavy smoke and flames coming from the two-story house.-photo courtesy WIBW TV" />
 <figcaption>First responding crews found heavy smoke and flames coming from the two-story house.-photo courtesy WIBW TV</figcaption>
 </figure>SHAWNEE COUNTY—Two children and one adult died in a Kansas house fire on Friday.Just 5:00 a.m., crews responded to the report of house fire at 916 SW Warren Avenue in Topeka, according to fire department spokesperson Rosie Nichols.First responding crews found heavy smoke and flames coming from the two-story house. Crews entered, searched the home and found four individuals.&nbsp;An adult and child were pronounced deceased on the scene.Fire crews rescued an adult and a juvenile from the home and firefighters began immediate life-saving treatment.&nbsp; American Medical Response (AMR) transported both to a local hospital. The child later died at the hospital, according to Nichols. The adult remains hospitalized. Officials did not have an update on the condition of the adult.&nbsp; The cause of the fire is still under investigation.Check the Post for additional details as they become available.

2 children, adult killed in Kansas house fire

APTOS, Calif. (AP) — A frustrated President Joe Biden said Thursday there is “no there there” when he was persistently questioned about the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-politics-united-states-government-hillary-clinton-karine-jean-pierre-58228d94cdcfe4ebe00521b049037868">discovery of classified documents</a>&nbsp;and official records at his home and former office.

(click below to watch the President's comment)

“We found a handful of documents were filed in the wrong place,” Biden said to reporters who questioned him during a tour of the damage from storms in California. “We immediately turned them over to the Archives and the Justice Department.”

Biden said he was “fully cooperating and looking forward to getting this resolved quickly.”

“I think you're going to find there's nothing there,” he said. “There's no there there.”

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-politics-united-states-government-812ef44a5333f6d93423a67a683fa024">The White House has disclosed</a>&nbsp;that Biden attorneys found classified documents and official records on four occasions in recent months — on Nov. 2 at the offices of the Penn Biden Center in Washington, and then in follow up searches on Dec. 20 in the garage of the president’s home in Wilmington, Delaware, and on Jan. 11 and 12 in the president’s home library.

The discovery complicates a federal probe into former President Donald Trump, who the Justice Department says took hundreds of records marked classified with him upon leaving the White House in early 2021 and resisted months of requests to return them to the government.

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-classified-documents-trump-side-by-side-fb2c4ebccdbdbb9039c1c5e227b1da53">The two cases are different</a>&nbsp;— Biden for example, willingly turned over the documents once found. But the issue is wearing on the president and his aides, who have repeatedly said they acted swiftly and appropriately when the documents were discovered, and are working to be as transparent as possible though key questions remain unanswered.

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/classified-documents-biden-home-wilmington-33479d12c7cf0a822adb2f44c32b88fd">Attorney General Merrick Garland</a>&nbsp;last week appointed Robert Hur, a former Maryland U.S. attorney, to serve as special counsel to oversee the Justice Department’s inquiry into the documents. Garland said the extraordinary circumstances warranted a special counsel, and he also made the decision in part to show the Justice Department’s “commitment to both independence and accountability in particularly sensitive matters.”

Hur is taking over for federal prosecutor John Lausch, who was initially asked to review the documents and whose team has already been interviewing former Biden aides responsible for packing up boxes during his time as vice president. Those interviews include Kathy Chung, who served as an administrative assistant during that time, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation.

Biden expressed frustration that the documents matter was coming&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-tours-california-storm-damage-ad4193df692da681ab10dab1aa11fa27">up as he surveyed coastal storm damage,</a>&nbsp;telling reporters that it “bugs me” that he was being asked about the handling of the classified material even as “we have a serious problem here” in California.

"Why you don’t ask me questions about that?" he pressed.

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-politics-united-states-government-hillary-clinton-karine-jean-pierre-58228d94cdcfe4ebe00521b049037868">Biden’s team has faced criticism</a>&nbsp;for its fragmented disclosures — the public wasn't notified of the documents until early January and after that the additional findings dripped out slowly. It has occasionally led to heated exchanges between reporters and White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre in the White House briefing room. She ran into trouble when she suggested last Friday that all documents had been recovered, only to have an additional discovery disclosed over the weekend.

Biden said Thursday he has “no regrets” over how and when the public learned about the documents.

“I’m following what the lawyers have told me they want me to do," he said.

APTOS, Calif. (AP) — A frustrated President Joe Biden said Thursday there is “no there there” when he was persistently questioned about the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-politics-united-states-government-hillary-clinton-karine-jean-pierre-58228d94cdcfe4ebe00521b049037868">discovery of classified documents</a>&nbsp;and official records at his home and former office.(click below to watch the President's comment)<div><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?height=314&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FWhiteHouse%2Fvideos%2F557971022872716%2F&show_text=false&width=560&t=1186" 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>“We found a handful of documents were filed in the wrong place,” Biden said to reporters who questioned him during a tour of the damage from storms in California. “We immediately turned them over to the Archives and the Justice Department.”Biden said he was “fully cooperating and looking forward to getting this resolved quickly.”“I think you're going to find there's nothing there,” he said. “There's no there there.”<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-politics-united-states-government-812ef44a5333f6d93423a67a683fa024">The White House has disclosed</a>&nbsp;that Biden attorneys found classified documents and official records on four occasions in recent months — on Nov. 2 at the offices of the Penn Biden Center in Washington, and then in follow up searches on Dec. 20 in the garage of the president’s home in Wilmington, Delaware, and on Jan. 11 and 12 in the president’s home library.The discovery complicates a federal probe into former President Donald Trump, who the Justice Department says took hundreds of records marked classified with him upon leaving the White House in early 2021 and resisted months of requests to return them to the government.<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-classified-documents-trump-side-by-side-fb2c4ebccdbdbb9039c1c5e227b1da53">The two cases are different</a>&nbsp;— Biden for example, willingly turned over the documents once found. But the issue is wearing on the president and his aides, who have repeatedly said they acted swiftly and appropriately when the documents were discovered, and are working to be as transparent as possible though key questions remain unanswered.<a href="https://apnews.com/article/classified-documents-biden-home-wilmington-33479d12c7cf0a822adb2f44c32b88fd">Attorney General Merrick Garland</a>&nbsp;last week appointed Robert Hur, a former Maryland U.S. attorney, to serve as special counsel to oversee the Justice Department’s inquiry into the documents. Garland said the extraordinary circumstances warranted a special counsel, and he also made the decision in part to show the Justice Department’s “commitment to both independence and accountability in particularly sensitive matters.”Hur is taking over for federal prosecutor John Lausch, who was initially asked to review the documents and whose team has already been interviewing former Biden aides responsible for packing up boxes during his time as vice president. Those interviews include Kathy Chung, who served as an administrative assistant during that time, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation.Biden expressed frustration that the documents matter was coming&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-tours-california-storm-damage-ad4193df692da681ab10dab1aa11fa27">up as he surveyed coastal storm damage,</a>&nbsp;telling reporters that it “bugs me” that he was being asked about the handling of the classified material even as “we have a serious problem here” in California."Why you don’t ask me questions about that?" he pressed.<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-politics-united-states-government-hillary-clinton-karine-jean-pierre-58228d94cdcfe4ebe00521b049037868">Biden’s team has faced criticism</a>&nbsp;for its fragmented disclosures — the public wasn't notified of the documents until early January and after that the additional findings dripped out slowly. It has occasionally led to heated exchanges between reporters and White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre in the White House briefing room. She ran into trouble when she suggested last Friday that all documents had been recovered, only to have an additional discovery disclosed over the weekend.Biden said Thursday he has “no regrets” over how and when the public learned about the documents.“I’m following what the lawyers have told me they want me to do," he said.___

🎥 Biden says he has 'no regrets' on how he handled classified docs

BOSTON (AP) — The U.S. wireless carrier T-Mobile said Thursday that an unidentified malicious intruder breached its network in late November and stole data on 37 million customers, including addresses, phone numbers and dates of birth.

T-Mobile said in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that the breach was discovered Jan. 5. It said the data exposed to theft — based on its investigation to date — did not include passwords or PINs, bank account or credit card information, Social Security numbers or other government IDs.

“Our investigation is still ongoing, but the malicious activity appears to be fully contained at this time,” T-Mobile said, with no evidence the intruder was able to breach the company's network. It said the data was first accessed on or around Nov. 25.

T-Mobile said it has notified law enforcement and federal agencies, which it did not name. It did not immediately respond to an e-mail seeking comment.

The company has been hacked multiple times in recent years. In its filing, T-Mobile said it did not expect the latest breach to have material impact on its operations. But a senior analyst for Moody's Investors Service, Neil Mack, said in a statement that the breach raises questions about management's cyber governance and could alienate customers and attract scrutiny by the Federal Communications Commission and other regulators.

“While these cybersecurity breaches may not be systemic in nature, their frequency of occurrence at T-Mobile is an alarming outlier relative to telecom peers,” Mack said.

In July, T-Mobile agreed&nbsp;<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/8f03e9f76fa75f474f1a2584ce3a55f0">to pay $350 million to customers</a>&nbsp;who filed a class action lawsuit&nbsp;<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/8f03e9f76fa75f474f1a2584ce3a55f0"></a>after the company disclosed in August 2021 that personal data including Social Security numbers and driver's license info had been stolen. Nearly 80 million U.S. residents were affected.

It also said at the time that it would spend $150 million through 2023 to fortify its data security and other technologies.

Prior to the August 2021 intrusion, the company disclosed breaches in January 2021, November 2019 and August 2018 in which customer information was accessed.

T-Mobile, based in Bellevue, Washington, became one of the country’s largest cellphone service carriers in 2020&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/1150e4f20d30bc327665da6aca0b1cbd">after buying rival Sprint</a>. It reported having more than 102 million customers after the merger.

BOSTON (AP) — The U.S. wireless carrier T-Mobile said Thursday that an unidentified malicious intruder breached its network in late November and stole data on 37 million customers, including addresses, phone numbers and dates of birth.T-Mobile said in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that the breach was discovered Jan. 5. It said the data exposed to theft — based on its investigation to date — did not include passwords or PINs, bank account or credit card information, Social Security numbers or other government IDs.“Our investigation is still ongoing, but the malicious activity appears to be fully contained at this time,” T-Mobile said, with no evidence the intruder was able to breach the company's network. It said the data was first accessed on or around Nov. 25.T-Mobile said it has notified law enforcement and federal agencies, which it did not name. It did not immediately respond to an e-mail seeking comment.The company has been hacked multiple times in recent years. In its filing, T-Mobile said it did not expect the latest breach to have material impact on its operations. But a senior analyst for Moody's Investors Service, Neil Mack, said in a statement that the breach raises questions about management's cyber governance and could alienate customers and attract scrutiny by the Federal Communications Commission and other regulators.“While these cybersecurity breaches may not be systemic in nature, their frequency of occurrence at T-Mobile is an alarming outlier relative to telecom peers,” Mack said.In July, T-Mobile agreed&nbsp;<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/8f03e9f76fa75f474f1a2584ce3a55f0">to pay $350 million to customers</a>&nbsp;who filed a class action lawsuit&nbsp;<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/8f03e9f76fa75f474f1a2584ce3a55f0"></a>after the company disclosed in August 2021 that personal data including Social Security numbers and driver's license info had been stolen. Nearly 80 million U.S. residents were affected.It also said at the time that it would spend $150 million through 2023 to fortify its data security and other technologies.Prior to the August 2021 intrusion, the company disclosed breaches in January 2021, November 2019 and August 2018 in which customer information was accessed.T-Mobile, based in Bellevue, Washington, became one of the country’s largest cellphone service carriers in 2020&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/1150e4f20d30bc327665da6aca0b1cbd">after buying rival Sprint</a>. It reported having more than 102 million customers after the merger.

37 million T-Mobile customers were hacked

KANSAS CITY —The suspect wanted in connection with an Amber Alert on&nbsp;&nbsp;Wednesday in Kansas City is now in custody, according to KCPD.

Markelv Avery, 23, was allegedly armed with a handgun when he abducted Malani Avery by force from her mother's house in the area of Gladstone Boulevard and Belmont Avenue. The Missouri State Highway Patrol issued an amber alert and police found the child a short time later.&nbsp;

&nbsp;Avery, reported to a patrol division station on Thursday and was taken into custody without incident. Police have not released possible charges in the case.

KANSAS CITY —Police continue to search for a suspect involved in the armed abduction of an 8-month old girl that prompted an Amber Alert in Kansas City.

According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, 23-year-old Markelv Avery, was armed with a handgun when he took Malani Avery by force from her mother's house in the area of Gladstone Boulevard and Belmont Avenue. Within an hour, police found the girl. She was not with Markley.&nbsp;

He was last seen driving a four-door white Acura sedan that is missing the front bumper with an unknown license plate.&nbsp;&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/1/1674068973618.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY —The suspect wanted in connection with an Amber Alert on&nbsp;&nbsp;Wednesday in Kansas City is now in custody, according to KCPD.Markelv Avery, 23, was allegedly armed with a handgun when he abducted Malani Avery by force from her mother's house in the area of Gladstone Boulevard and Belmont Avenue. The Missouri State Highway Patrol issued an amber alert and police found the child a short time later.&nbsp;&nbsp;Avery, reported to a patrol division station on Thursday and was taken into custody without incident. Police have not released possible charges in the case.------------KANSAS CITY —Police continue to search for a suspect involved in the armed abduction of an 8-month old girl that prompted an Amber Alert in Kansas City.According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, 23-year-old Markelv Avery, was armed with a handgun when he took Malani Avery by force from her mother's house in the area of Gladstone Boulevard and Belmont Avenue. Within an hour, police found the girl. She was not with Markley.&nbsp;He was last seen driving a four-door white Acura sedan that is missing the front bumper with an unknown license plate.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Suspect wanted for KC-area Amber Alert turns himself in

HONOLULU — The U.S. Coast Guard continues to monitor a Russian vessel, believed to be an intelligence gathering ship, off the coast of the Hawaiian Islands, according to a statement from the guard released late Wednesday. While foreign military vessels may transit freely through the U.S. economic exclusive zone (EEZ), as per customary international laws, foreign-flagged military vessels have often been observed operating and loitering within Coast Guard District Fourteen’s area of response. The Coast Guard continues to coordinate with Department of Defense partners, providing updates to foreign vessel movements and activities and to appropriately meet presence with presence to encourage international maritime norms. &nbsp; “The U.S. Coast Guard is currently monitoring the Russian vessel operating in the vicinity of Hawaii,” said Cmdr. Dave Milne, chief of External Affairs.

“As part of our daily operations, we track all vessels in the Pacific area through surface and air assets and joint agency capabilities. The Coast Guard operates in accordance with international laws of the sea to ensure all nations can do the same without fear or contest. This is especially critical to secure freedom of movement and navigation throughout the Blue Pacific.”&nbsp; As a part of the Department of Homeland Security, the Coast Guard is the lead federal agency for at-sea enforcement of U.S. fisheries laws; additionally, the Coast Guard assists in the enforcement of laws on the high seas subject to the jurisdiction of the United States’ exclusive economic zone. Law and treaty enforcement account for approximately 1/3 of the Coast Guard's annual budget.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/1/1674158129029.png" alt=" U.S. Coast Guard has continued to monitor a Russian vessel, believed to be an intelligence gathering ship, off the coast of the Hawaiian Islands-photo courtesy U.S. Coast Guard" />
 <figcaption> U.S. Coast Guard has continued to monitor a Russian vessel, believed to be an intelligence gathering ship, off the coast of the Hawaiian Islands-photo courtesy U.S. Coast Guard</figcaption>
 </figure>HONOLULU — The U.S. Coast Guard continues to monitor a Russian vessel, believed to be an intelligence gathering ship, off the coast of the Hawaiian Islands, according to a statement from the guard released late Wednesday. While foreign military vessels may transit freely through the U.S. economic exclusive zone (EEZ), as per customary international laws, foreign-flagged military vessels have often been observed operating and loitering within Coast Guard District Fourteen’s area of response. The Coast Guard continues to coordinate with Department of Defense partners, providing updates to foreign vessel movements and activities and to appropriately meet presence with presence to encourage international maritime norms. &nbsp; “The U.S. Coast Guard is currently monitoring the Russian vessel operating in the vicinity of Hawaii,” said Cmdr. Dave Milne, chief of External Affairs. “As part of our daily operations, we track all vessels in the Pacific area through surface and air assets and joint agency capabilities. The Coast Guard operates in accordance with international laws of the sea to ensure all nations can do the same without fear or contest. This is especially critical to secure freedom of movement and navigation throughout the Blue Pacific.”&nbsp; As a part of the Department of Homeland Security, the Coast Guard is the lead federal agency for at-sea enforcement of U.S. fisheries laws; additionally, the Coast Guard assists in the enforcement of laws on the high seas subject to the jurisdiction of the United States’ exclusive economic zone. Law and treaty enforcement account for approximately 1/3 of the Coast Guard's annual budget.&nbsp;

U.S. Coast Guard monitoring Russian spy ship near Hawaii

SALINE COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a Kansas man for for suspected distribution of methamphetamine.

Just after 1p.m. Thursday, Kansas Bureau of Investigation agents arrested Gregory “Bo” Westfall, 55, of Salina, at a hotel at 3932 S. 9th&nbsp;St. in Salina, according to a media release from the KBI.

 Westfall was arrested for alleged distribution, or possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine. The crime is suspected to have occurred in November 2022 in Dickinson County. The arrest was the result of a joint investigation by the KBI and the Dickinson County Sheriff’s Office.

After KBI agents arrested Westfall, they received consent to search a hotel room that was rented by an associate of Westfall. Agents observed drug paraphernalia in the room. They obtained a warrant to search the hotel room. The Kansas Highway Patrol (KHP) and the Salina Police Department assisted by offering K-9 officers to aid in the search.

During the search they uncovered methamphetamine, counterfeit oxycodone pills believed to be laced with fentanyl, and an illegal firearm. A female subject was also detained for questioning.

Westfall was booked into the Dickinson County Jail. Additional charges are pending, according to the KBI.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/1/1674182364949.png" alt="Westfall-photo KBI" />
 <figcaption>Westfall-photo KBI</figcaption>
 </figure>SALINE COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a Kansas man for for suspected distribution of methamphetamine.Just after 1p.m. Thursday, Kansas Bureau of Investigation agents arrested Gregory “Bo” Westfall, 55, of Salina, at a hotel at 3932 S. 9th&nbsp;St. in Salina, according to a media release from the KBI. Westfall was arrested for alleged distribution, or possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine. The crime is suspected to have occurred in November 2022 in Dickinson County. The arrest was the result of a joint investigation by the KBI and the Dickinson County Sheriff’s Office.After KBI agents arrested Westfall, they received consent to search a hotel room that was rented by an associate of Westfall. Agents observed drug paraphernalia in the room. They obtained a warrant to search the hotel room. The Kansas Highway Patrol (KHP) and the Salina Police Department assisted by offering K-9 officers to aid in the search.During the search they uncovered methamphetamine, counterfeit oxycodone pills believed to be laced with fentanyl, and an illegal firearm. A female subject was also detained for questioning.Westfall was booked into the Dickinson County Jail. Additional charges are pending, according to the KBI.

KBI finds pills believed laced with fentanyl at motel

KANSAS CITY —A Kansas City-area man&nbsp;has pleaded guilty to multiple felonies in connection with the June 2019 fatal shooting of 54-year-old <a href="https://www.heckartfuneralhomesedalia.com/kimberly-r-alcorn/">Kimberly Renee Alcorn</a>, according to&nbsp; Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker.

Dana C. Jones, 48, pleaded guilty to Murder 2nd Degree, Assault 1st Degree and two counts of Armed Criminal Action. As part of his plea agreement, Jones was sentenced to 20 years in prison on the Murder 2nd Degree conviction and five years on each of the other three convictions. All sentences were set to run concurrently.&nbsp;

According to court records,Jackson County Sheriff's deputies responded to a possible shootig on June 26, 2019 in the 1200 block of South Harris Road in the Kansas City suburb of Greenewood. 

Deputies tried to stop Jones from leaving the residence, but he fled until his vehicle left the roadway nearby. 

Inside the house, deputies located <a href="https://www.heckartfuneralhomesedalia.com/kimberly-r-alcorn/">Kimberly Renee Alcorn</a>. Witnesses reported the victim and defendant had been in an argument, then gunshots were heard coming from the room where they were.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/1/1674059759691.png" alt="Jones-photo Jackson County" />
 <figcaption>Jones-photo Jackson County</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY —A Kansas City-area man&nbsp;has pleaded guilty to multiple felonies in connection with the June 2019 fatal shooting of 54-year-old <a href="https://www.heckartfuneralhomesedalia.com/kimberly-r-alcorn/">Kimberly Renee Alcorn</a>, according to&nbsp; Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker.Dana C. Jones, 48, pleaded guilty to Murder 2nd Degree, Assault 1st Degree and two counts of Armed Criminal Action. As part of his plea agreement, Jones was sentenced to 20 years in prison on the Murder 2nd Degree conviction and five years on each of the other three convictions. All sentences were set to run concurrently.&nbsp;According to court records,Jackson County Sheriff's deputies responded to a possible shootig on June 26, 2019 in the 1200 block of South Harris Road in the Kansas City suburb of Greenewood. Deputies tried to stop Jones from leaving the residence, but he fled until his vehicle left the roadway nearby. Inside the house, deputies located <a href="https://www.heckartfuneralhomesedalia.com/kimberly-r-alcorn/">Kimberly Renee Alcorn</a>. Witnesses reported the victim and defendant had been in an argument, then gunshots were heard coming from the room where they were.

Man admits to 2019 murder of Kansas City-area woman 

TOPEKA – Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach has issued an open letter to the U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland asking that the Department of Justice conduct a thorough, independent, and transparent investigation into President Biden’s mishandling and storage of confidential records, according to a statement from the AG's office.

<a href="https://ag.ks.gov/docs/default-source/documents/3-letter-to-merrick-garland-01-18-2023.pdf?sfvrsn=832dbd1a_2">Click here to read</a> a full copy of the letter

“It has become clear, since the discovery of President Biden’s illegally stored records, that President Biden’s apparent disregard for the rule of law extends beyond unconstitutional executive orders and agency actions. The President appears to believe that the rules do not apply to him,” Kobach writes in the open letter. “Our nation expects the sitting President of the United States to approach with delicacy and discretion his obligation to protect the most important government secrets.”

Appointing a special counsel to investigate is an important first step, but questions remain about the Department of Justice’s actions since the initial discovery of classified materials stored in unsecure civilian locations. The Kansas Attorney General requests that the White House immediately cease meddling in the investigation and asks that the DOJ provide a timeline and explanation that clarifies additional steps the office has taken in the investigation.

Kobach’s letter includes a list of unanswered questions about how the DOJ handled the initial discovery, including whether the president can confirm that all of the confidential documents he took to his private residence in 2016 have been recovered.

“Please take these steps swiftly and assure the American people that the Department will no longer allow President Biden or his representatives to interfere with the investigation of his own potentially criminal actions,” the letter concludes.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/1/1673546739694.png" alt="Biden backing his Corvette into the garage next to stacks of boxes where classified documents were found-image from a 2020 Biden for President campaign ad" />
 <figcaption>Biden backing his Corvette into the garage next to stacks of boxes where classified documents were found-image from a 2020 Biden for President campaign ad</figcaption>
 </figure>TOPEKA – Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach has issued an open letter to the U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland asking that the Department of Justice conduct a thorough, independent, and transparent investigation into President Biden’s mishandling and storage of confidential records, according to a statement from the AG's office.<a href="https://ag.ks.gov/docs/default-source/documents/3-letter-to-merrick-garland-01-18-2023.pdf?sfvrsn=832dbd1a_2">Click here to read</a> a full copy of the letter“It has become clear, since the discovery of President Biden’s illegally stored records, that President Biden’s apparent disregard for the rule of law extends beyond unconstitutional executive orders and agency actions. The President appears to believe that the rules do not apply to him,” Kobach writes in the open letter. “Our nation expects the sitting President of the United States to approach with delicacy and discretion his obligation to protect the most important government secrets.”Appointing a special counsel to investigate is an important first step, but questions remain about the Department of Justice’s actions since the initial discovery of classified materials stored in unsecure civilian locations. The Kansas Attorney General requests that the White House immediately cease meddling in the investigation and asks that the DOJ provide a timeline and explanation that clarifies additional steps the office has taken in the investigation.Kobach’s letter includes a list of unanswered questions about how the DOJ handled the initial discovery, including whether the president can confirm that all of the confidential documents he took to his private residence in 2016 have been recovered.“Please take these steps swiftly and assure the American people that the Department will no longer allow President Biden or his representatives to interfere with the investigation of his own potentially criminal actions,” the letter concludes.

Kan. AG seeks answers on President Biden's classified documents

LOS ANGELES (AP) —<a href="https://apnews.com/DavidCrosby">David Crosby,</a>&nbsp;the brash rock musician who evolved from a baby-faced harmony singer with the Byrds to a mustachioed hippie superstar and an ongoing troubadour in Crosby, Stills, Nash &amp; (sometimes) Young, has died at 81.

The New York Times reported Thursday, based on a text message from Crosby's sister in law, that the musician died Wednesday night. Several media outlets reported Crosby's death citing anonymous sources; The Associated Press was not able to confirm Crosby's death despite calls and messages to multiple representatives and Crosby's widow.

Crosby underwent a liver transplant in 1994 after decades of drug use and survived diabetes, hepatitis C and heart surgery in his 70s.

While he only wrote a handful of widely known songs, the witty and ever opinionated Crosby was on the front lines of the cultural revolution of the ’60s and ’70s — whether triumphing with Stephen Stills,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-music-arts-and-entertainment-bob-dylan-graham-nash-eb296a99ac3078e2eb66215488ac5eac">Graham Nash</a>&nbsp;and Neil Young on stage at Woodstock, testifying on behalf of a hirsute generation in his anthem “Almost Cut My Hair” or mourning the assassination of Robert Kennedy in “Long Time Gone.”

He was a founder and focus of the Los Angeles rock music community from which such performers as the Eagles and Jackson Browne later emerged. He was a twinkly-eyed hippie patriarch, the inspiration for Dennis Hopper’s long-haired stoner in “Easy Rider.” He advocated for peace, but was an unrepentant loudmouth who practiced personal warfare and acknowledged that many of the musicians he worked with no longer spoke to him.

“Crosby was a colorful and unpredictable character, wore a Mandrake the Magician cape, didn’t get along with too many people and had a beautiful voice — an architect of harmony,” Bob Dylan wrote in his 2004 memoir, “Chronicles: Volume One.”

Crosby's drug use left him bloated, broke and alienated. He kicked the addiction in 1985 and 1986&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/c794f730038a4ca2c8f119f358a26240">during a year’s prison stretch</a>&nbsp;in Texas on drug and weapons charges. The conviction eventually was overturned.

“I’ve always said that I picked up the guitar as a shortcut to sex and after my first joint I was sure that if everyone smoked dope there’d be an end to war,” Crosby said in his 1988 autobiography, “Long Time Gone,” co-written with Carl Gottlieb. “I was right about the sex. I was wrong when it came to drugs.”

He lived years longer than even he expected and in his 70s enjoyed a creative renaissance, issuing several solo albums while collaborating with others including his son James Raymond, who became a favorite songwriting partner.

“Most guys my age would have done a covers record or duets on old material,” he told Rolling Stone in 2013, shortly before “Croz” was released. “This won’t be a huge hit. It’ll probably sell nineteen copies. I don’t think kids are gonna dig it, but I’m not making it for them. I’m making it for me. I have this stuff that I need to get off my chest.”

In 2019, Crosby was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/0766ba0a5b604a428743802049a26939">featured in the documentary “David Crosby: Remember My Name,”</a>&nbsp;produced by Cameron Crowe.

While his solo career thrived, his seemingly lifetime bond with Nash dissolved. Crosby was angered by Nash’s 2013 memoir “Wild Tales” (whiny and dishonest, he called it) and relations between the two spilled into an ugly public feud, with Nash and Crosby agreeing on one thing: Crosby, Stills and Nash was finished. Donald Trump’s election as U.S. president did lead Crosby to suggest that he was open to a Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young protest tour, but his old bandmates declined to respond.

Crosby became a star in the mid-1960s with the seminal folk-rock group The Byrds, known for such hits as “Turn! Turn! Turn!” and “Mr. Tambourine Man.” Clean-cut and baby-faced at the time, he contributed harmonies that were a key part of the band’s innovative blend of The Beatles and Dylan. Crosby was among the first American stars to become close to The Beatles, and helped introduce George Harrison to Eastern music.

Troubled relations with bandmates pushed Crosby out of The Byrds and into a new group. Crosby, Stills and Nash's first meeting is part of rock folklore: Stills and Crosby were at Joni Mitchell’s house in 1968 (Stills would contend they were at Mama Cass'), working on the ballad “You Don’t Have to Cry,” when Nash suggested they start over again. Nash’s high harmony added a magical layer to Stills' rough bottom and Crosby’s mellow middle and a supergroup was born.

Their eponymous debut album was an instant success that helped redefine commercial music. The songs were longer and more personal than their individual prior outputs, yet easily relatable for an audience also embracing a more open lifestyle.

Their spirited harmonies and themes of peace and love became emblematic of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Their version of the Mitchell song “Woodstock” was the theme for the documentary about the 1969 rock concert during which the group made only its second live appearance together. Crosby had produced Mitchell’s first album, “Song to a Seagull,” in 1968, and for a time was her boyfriend (as was Nash).

Now wearing the drooping, bushy mustache that would define him ever after, Crosby provided harmony and rhythm guitar, and his songs reflected his own volatile personality. They ranged from the misty-eyed romanticism of “Guinevere,” to the spirituality of “Deja Vu,” to the operatic paranoia of “Almost Cut My Hair.”

Some critics panned the group as soft-headed and self-indulgent.

“If you’re into living-room rock, fireplace harmonies and just a taste of good old social consciousness, this is your group,” reported Rolling Stone, which nonetheless rarely missed a chance to write about the band.

But CSN, as they would soon be called, won a best new artist Grammy and remained a worldwide touring act and brand name decades later.

The first album was an easy, happy recording, but the mood darkened during the second album, “Deja Vu.” The band was joined&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-music-arts-and-entertainment-bob-dylan-graham-nash-eb296a99ac3078e2eb66215488ac5eac">by Neil Young,</a>&nbsp;who had feuded with Stills while both were in Buffalo Springfield and continued to do so.

Everyone in the band was troubled: Nash and Mitchell were splitting up, and so were Stills and singer Judy Collins. Crosby, meanwhile, was so devastated by the death of girlfriend Christine Hinton in a car accident, that he would lay on the studio floor and sob.

Featuring a rougher, less unified sound, the album released in 1970 and was another commercial smash. Yet within two years, the quartet had broken up, destined to continuously reunite and splinter for the rest of their lives.

They worked in every combination possible — as solo artists, as duos, trios and, occasionally, all four together. They played stadiums and clubs. They&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/3331110b71e891d7371e51e74dabf7ad">showed up at the Berlin Wall in 1989</a>&nbsp;as the Cold War was ending and turned up in 2011 for the Occupy Wall Street protests in New York.

In recent years, Crosby toured often, and candidly answered questions on Twitter with a blend of affection and exasperation, whether commenting on rock star peers or assessing the quality of a fan’s marijuana joint. He loved sailing and his greatest regret, besides hard drugs, was selling his 74-foot boat because of money problems. Among the songs completed on the boat was the classic “Wooden Ships,” co-written with Stills and Jefferson Airplane’s Paul Kantner.

Crosby was born David Van Cortlandt Crosby on Aug. 14, 1941, in Los Angeles. His father was Oscar-winning cinematographer Floyd Crosby of “High Noon” fame. The family, including his mother, Aliph, and brother, Floyd Jr., later moved to Santa Barbara.

Crosby was exposed early to classical, folk and jazz music. In his autobiography, Crosby said that as a child he used to harmonize as his mother sang, his father played mandolin and his brother played guitar.

“When rock ‘n’ roll came in during that era and the Age of Elvis possessed America, I wasn’t into it,” he recalled.

His brother taught him to play guitar and, still in his teens, he began performing in Santa Barbara clubs. He moved to Los Angeles to study acting in 1960 but abandoned the idea and became a folk singer, working around the country before joining The Byrds. Like so many folk performers, Crosby was dazzled by the Beatles’ 1964 movie “A Hard Day’s Night” and decided to become a rock star.

Crosby&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/e50f854d5a33237ef46ccaede16436d4">married longtime girlfriend Jan Dance</a>&nbsp;in 1987. The couple had a son, Django, in 1995. Crosby also had a daughter, Donovan, with Debbie Donovan. Shortly after he underwent the liver transplant, Crosby was reunited with Raymond, who had been placed for adoption in 1961. Raymond, Crosby and Jeff Pevar later performed together in a group called CPR.

“I regretted losing him many times,” Crosby told the AP of Raymond in 1998. “I was too immature to parent anybody, and too irresponsible.”

In 2000, Melissa Etheridge revealed that Crosby was the father of the two children she shared with then-partner Julie Cypher. Cypher carried the children Crosby fathered by artificial insemination, Etheridge told Rolling Stone. One son,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/us-news-ap-top-news-opioids-julie-cypher-music-0c0c1bfb50bbe51984f77fdbd8c90b2f">Beckett, died in 2020</a>.

Crosby didn’t help raise the children but said, “If, you know, in due time, at a distance, they’re proud of who their genetic dad is, that’s great.”

LOS ANGELES (AP) —<a href="https://apnews.com/DavidCrosby">David Crosby,</a>&nbsp;the brash rock musician who evolved from a baby-faced harmony singer with the Byrds to a mustachioed hippie superstar and an ongoing troubadour in Crosby, Stills, Nash &amp; (sometimes) Young, has died at 81.The New York Times reported Thursday, based on a text message from Crosby's sister in law, that the musician died Wednesday night. Several media outlets reported Crosby's death citing anonymous sources; The Associated Press was not able to confirm Crosby's death despite calls and messages to multiple representatives and Crosby's widow.Crosby underwent a liver transplant in 1994 after decades of drug use and survived diabetes, hepatitis C and heart surgery in his 70s.While he only wrote a handful of widely known songs, the witty and ever opinionated Crosby was on the front lines of the cultural revolution of the ’60s and ’70s — whether triumphing with Stephen Stills,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-music-arts-and-entertainment-bob-dylan-graham-nash-eb296a99ac3078e2eb66215488ac5eac">Graham Nash</a>&nbsp;and Neil Young on stage at Woodstock, testifying on behalf of a hirsute generation in his anthem “Almost Cut My Hair” or mourning the assassination of Robert Kennedy in “Long Time Gone.”He was a founder and focus of the Los Angeles rock music community from which such performers as the Eagles and Jackson Browne later emerged. He was a twinkly-eyed hippie patriarch, the inspiration for Dennis Hopper’s long-haired stoner in “Easy Rider.” He advocated for peace, but was an unrepentant loudmouth who practiced personal warfare and acknowledged that many of the musicians he worked with no longer spoke to him.“Crosby was a colorful and unpredictable character, wore a Mandrake the Magician cape, didn’t get along with too many people and had a beautiful voice — an architect of harmony,” Bob Dylan wrote in his 2004 memoir, “Chronicles: Volume One.”Crosby's drug use left him bloated, broke and alienated. He kicked the addiction in 1985 and 1986&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/c794f730038a4ca2c8f119f358a26240">during a year’s prison stretch</a>&nbsp;in Texas on drug and weapons charges. The conviction eventually was overturned.“I’ve always said that I picked up the guitar as a shortcut to sex and after my first joint I was sure that if everyone smoked dope there’d be an end to war,” Crosby said in his 1988 autobiography, “Long Time Gone,” co-written with Carl Gottlieb. “I was right about the sex. I was wrong when it came to drugs.”He lived years longer than even he expected and in his 70s enjoyed a creative renaissance, issuing several solo albums while collaborating with others including his son James Raymond, who became a favorite songwriting partner.“Most guys my age would have done a covers record or duets on old material,” he told Rolling Stone in 2013, shortly before “Croz” was released. “This won’t be a huge hit. It’ll probably sell nineteen copies. I don’t think kids are gonna dig it, but I’m not making it for them. I’m making it for me. I have this stuff that I need to get off my chest.”In 2019, Crosby was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/0766ba0a5b604a428743802049a26939">featured in the documentary “David Crosby: Remember My Name,”</a>&nbsp;produced by Cameron Crowe.While his solo career thrived, his seemingly lifetime bond with Nash dissolved. Crosby was angered by Nash’s 2013 memoir “Wild Tales” (whiny and dishonest, he called it) and relations between the two spilled into an ugly public feud, with Nash and Crosby agreeing on one thing: Crosby, Stills and Nash was finished. Donald Trump’s election as U.S. president did lead Crosby to suggest that he was open to a Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young protest tour, but his old bandmates declined to respond.Crosby became a star in the mid-1960s with the seminal folk-rock group The Byrds, known for such hits as “Turn! Turn! Turn!” and “Mr. Tambourine Man.” Clean-cut and baby-faced at the time, he contributed harmonies that were a key part of the band’s innovative blend of The Beatles and Dylan. Crosby was among the first American stars to become close to The Beatles, and helped introduce George Harrison to Eastern music.Troubled relations with bandmates pushed Crosby out of The Byrds and into a new group. Crosby, Stills and Nash's first meeting is part of rock folklore: Stills and Crosby were at Joni Mitchell’s house in 1968 (Stills would contend they were at Mama Cass'), working on the ballad “You Don’t Have to Cry,” when Nash suggested they start over again. Nash’s high harmony added a magical layer to Stills' rough bottom and Crosby’s mellow middle and a supergroup was born.Their eponymous debut album was an instant success that helped redefine commercial music. The songs were longer and more personal than their individual prior outputs, yet easily relatable for an audience also embracing a more open lifestyle.Their spirited harmonies and themes of peace and love became emblematic of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Their version of the Mitchell song “Woodstock” was the theme for the documentary about the 1969 rock concert during which the group made only its second live appearance together. Crosby had produced Mitchell’s first album, “Song to a Seagull,” in 1968, and for a time was her boyfriend (as was Nash).Now wearing the drooping, bushy mustache that would define him ever after, Crosby provided harmony and rhythm guitar, and his songs reflected his own volatile personality. They ranged from the misty-eyed romanticism of “Guinevere,” to the spirituality of “Deja Vu,” to the operatic paranoia of “Almost Cut My Hair.”Some critics panned the group as soft-headed and self-indulgent.“If you’re into living-room rock, fireplace harmonies and just a taste of good old social consciousness, this is your group,” reported Rolling Stone, which nonetheless rarely missed a chance to write about the band.But CSN, as they would soon be called, won a best new artist Grammy and remained a worldwide touring act and brand name decades later.The first album was an easy, happy recording, but the mood darkened during the second album, “Deja Vu.” The band was joined&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-music-arts-and-entertainment-bob-dylan-graham-nash-eb296a99ac3078e2eb66215488ac5eac">by Neil Young,</a>&nbsp;who had feuded with Stills while both were in Buffalo Springfield and continued to do so.Everyone in the band was troubled: Nash and Mitchell were splitting up, and so were Stills and singer Judy Collins. Crosby, meanwhile, was so devastated by the death of girlfriend Christine Hinton in a car accident, that he would lay on the studio floor and sob.Featuring a rougher, less unified sound, the album released in 1970 and was another commercial smash. Yet within two years, the quartet had broken up, destined to continuously reunite and splinter for the rest of their lives.They worked in every combination possible — as solo artists, as duos, trios and, occasionally, all four together. They played stadiums and clubs. They&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/3331110b71e891d7371e51e74dabf7ad">showed up at the Berlin Wall in 1989</a>&nbsp;as the Cold War was ending and turned up in 2011 for the Occupy Wall Street protests in New York.In recent years, Crosby toured often, and candidly answered questions on Twitter with a blend of affection and exasperation, whether commenting on rock star peers or assessing the quality of a fan’s marijuana joint. He loved sailing and his greatest regret, besides hard drugs, was selling his 74-foot boat because of money problems. Among the songs completed on the boat was the classic “Wooden Ships,” co-written with Stills and Jefferson Airplane’s Paul Kantner.Crosby was born David Van Cortlandt Crosby on Aug. 14, 1941, in Los Angeles. His father was Oscar-winning cinematographer Floyd Crosby of “High Noon” fame. The family, including his mother, Aliph, and brother, Floyd Jr., later moved to Santa Barbara.Crosby was exposed early to classical, folk and jazz music. In his autobiography, Crosby said that as a child he used to harmonize as his mother sang, his father played mandolin and his brother played guitar.“When rock ‘n’ roll came in during that era and the Age of Elvis possessed America, I wasn’t into it,” he recalled.His brother taught him to play guitar and, still in his teens, he began performing in Santa Barbara clubs. He moved to Los Angeles to study acting in 1960 but abandoned the idea and became a folk singer, working around the country before joining The Byrds. Like so many folk performers, Crosby was dazzled by the Beatles’ 1964 movie “A Hard Day’s Night” and decided to become a rock star.Crosby&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/e50f854d5a33237ef46ccaede16436d4">married longtime girlfriend Jan Dance</a>&nbsp;in 1987. The couple had a son, Django, in 1995. Crosby also had a daughter, Donovan, with Debbie Donovan. Shortly after he underwent the liver transplant, Crosby was reunited with Raymond, who had been placed for adoption in 1961. Raymond, Crosby and Jeff Pevar later performed together in a group called CPR.“I regretted losing him many times,” Crosby told the AP of Raymond in 1998. “I was too immature to parent anybody, and too irresponsible.”In 2000, Melissa Etheridge revealed that Crosby was the father of the two children she shared with then-partner Julie Cypher. Cypher carried the children Crosby fathered by artificial insemination, Etheridge told Rolling Stone. One son,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/us-news-ap-top-news-opioids-julie-cypher-music-0c0c1bfb50bbe51984f77fdbd8c90b2f">Beckett, died in 2020</a>.Crosby didn’t help raise the children but said, “If, you know, in due time, at a distance, they’re proud of who their genetic dad is, that’s great.”___

Legendary musician David Crosby dies at 81

WASHINGTON (AP) — The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/us-supreme-court">Supreme Court</a>&nbsp;said Thursday&nbsp;<a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/publicinfo/press/Dobbs_Public_Report_January_19_2023.pdf">it has not determined who leaked a draft</a>&nbsp;of the court's opinion overturning abortion rights, but that the investigation continues.

Eight months after Politico published its explosive&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-abortion-draft-opinion-07439f9fc4542f1500ab78dfd34036b1">leak detailing the draft of Justice Samuel Alito’s opinion that overturned Roe v. Wade</a>, the court said its investigative team “has to date been unable to identify a person responsible by a preponderance of the evidence.”

Never before had an entire opinion made its way to the public before the court was ready to announce it.

Chief Justice John&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-covid-us-supreme-court-health-john-roberts-7737a7e3a2fbbcac985549941b884a61">Roberts ordered an investigation</a>&nbsp;the next day into what he termed an “egregious breach of trust.”

Investigators “conducted 126 formal interviews of 97 employees, all of whom denied disclosing the opinion” in sworn statements, the court said in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/publicinfo/press/Dobbs_Public_Report_January_19_2023.pdf">a 23-page document posted on its website</a>.

Some employees had to amend their written statements after they “admitted to telling their spouses about the draft opinion or vote count,” the report said.

The court said it could not rule out that the opinion was inadvertently disclosed, “for example, by being left in a public space either inside or outside the building."

Investigators looked closely at connections between court employees and reporters, and they found nothing to substantiate rampant speculation on social media about the identity of the leaker.

The investigation concluded that it “is unlikely that the Court’s information technology (IT) systems were improperly accessed by a person outside the Court,” following an examination of the court’s computers, networks, printers, and available call and text logs.

The “risk of both deliberate and accidental disclosures of Court-sensitive information” grew with the coronavirus pandemic and shift to working from home, the report said. More people working from home, ”as well as gaps in the Court’s security policies, created an environment where it was too easy to remove sensitive information from the building and the Court’s IT networks,” the report said.

Investigators are continuing to “review and process some electronic data that has been collected and a few other inquiries remain pending,” the report said.

Roberts also asked former Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, himself a onetime federal judge, to assess the investigation. Chertoff, in a statement issued through the court, described it as thorough.

Politico published the draft decision on May 2. Less than 24 hours later, Roberts confirmed the draft’s authenticity and said he had directed the court’s marshal, former Army Col. Gail Curley, to lead the investigation.

Since then, there had been silence from the court — until Thursday.

The court had declined to say anything about the status of the investigation or whether an outside law firm or the FBI has been called in or whether it had taken steps to try to prevent a repeat. Speaking in Colorado in September, Justice Neil Gorsuch said he hoped a report was coming “soon” but he did not say whether it would be made public.

Gorsuch joined Roberts in condemning the breach of trust the leak engendered. Justice Clarence Thomas spoke in even starker terms about the leak’s effect on the justices.

“When you lose that trust, especially in the institution that I’m in, it changes the institution fundamentally. You begin to look over your shoulder. It’s like kind of an infidelity that you can explain it, but you can’t undo it,” he said while speaking at a conference in Dallas less than two weeks after the leak became public.

The leak itself sparked protests and round-the-clock security at justices’ homes. Alito said it made the conservative justices who were thought to be in favor of overturning Roe v. Wade “targets for assassination” that “gave people a rational reason to think they could prevent that from happening by killing one of us.”

In early June, a man carrying a gun, a knife and zip ties was arrested near Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s house in Maryland after threatening to kill the justice. The man told police he was upset by the leaked draft.

Responding to protests outside the court, officials ringed the building with hard-to-climb fencing, the same barrier that was in place for months following the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.

When the final decision was released on June 24, it was remarkably similar to the draft that was leaked. Alito, Thomas, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh and Justice Amy Coney Barrett voted to overturn Roe.

Speculation has swirled since the draft’s release about who might be the source. Only the justices, a small number of staff and the justices’ law clerks, young lawyers who spend a year at the court helping the justices with their work, would have had access to the document.

Conservatives pointed fingers at the liberal side of the court, speculating that the leaker was someone upset about the outcome. Liberals suggested it could be someone on the conservative side of the court who wanted to ensure a wavering justice didn’t switch sides.

It would have taken just one conservative justice to side with Roberts to alter the decision. Instead of overturning Roe entirely, Roberts favored weakening abortion rights.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/6/1656081470334.png" alt="Protestors outside the court when the Roe decision was announced June 24-photo courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>Protestors outside the court when the Roe decision was announced June 24-photo courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/us-supreme-court">Supreme Court</a>&nbsp;said Thursday&nbsp;<a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/publicinfo/press/Dobbs_Public_Report_January_19_2023.pdf">it has not determined who leaked a draft</a>&nbsp;of the court's opinion overturning abortion rights, but that the investigation continues.Eight months after Politico published its explosive&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-abortion-draft-opinion-07439f9fc4542f1500ab78dfd34036b1">leak detailing the draft of Justice Samuel Alito’s opinion that overturned Roe v. Wade</a>, the court said its investigative team “has to date been unable to identify a person responsible by a preponderance of the evidence.”Never before had an entire opinion made its way to the public before the court was ready to announce it.Chief Justice John&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-covid-us-supreme-court-health-john-roberts-7737a7e3a2fbbcac985549941b884a61">Roberts ordered an investigation</a>&nbsp;the next day into what he termed an “egregious breach of trust.”Investigators “conducted 126 formal interviews of 97 employees, all of whom denied disclosing the opinion” in sworn statements, the court said in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/publicinfo/press/Dobbs_Public_Report_January_19_2023.pdf">a 23-page document posted on its website</a>.Some employees had to amend their written statements after they “admitted to telling their spouses about the draft opinion or vote count,” the report said.The court said it could not rule out that the opinion was inadvertently disclosed, “for example, by being left in a public space either inside or outside the building."Investigators looked closely at connections between court employees and reporters, and they found nothing to substantiate rampant speculation on social media about the identity of the leaker.The investigation concluded that it “is unlikely that the Court’s information technology (IT) systems were improperly accessed by a person outside the Court,” following an examination of the court’s computers, networks, printers, and available call and text logs.The “risk of both deliberate and accidental disclosures of Court-sensitive information” grew with the coronavirus pandemic and shift to working from home, the report said. More people working from home, ”as well as gaps in the Court’s security policies, created an environment where it was too easy to remove sensitive information from the building and the Court’s IT networks,” the report said.Investigators are continuing to “review and process some electronic data that has been collected and a few other inquiries remain pending,” the report said.Roberts also asked former Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, himself a onetime federal judge, to assess the investigation. Chertoff, in a statement issued through the court, described it as thorough.Politico published the draft decision on May 2. Less than 24 hours later, Roberts confirmed the draft’s authenticity and said he had directed the court’s marshal, former Army Col. Gail Curley, to lead the investigation.Since then, there had been silence from the court — until Thursday.The court had declined to say anything about the status of the investigation or whether an outside law firm or the FBI has been called in or whether it had taken steps to try to prevent a repeat. Speaking in Colorado in September, Justice Neil Gorsuch said he hoped a report was coming “soon” but he did not say whether it would be made public.Gorsuch joined Roberts in condemning the breach of trust the leak engendered. Justice Clarence Thomas spoke in even starker terms about the leak’s effect on the justices.“When you lose that trust, especially in the institution that I’m in, it changes the institution fundamentally. You begin to look over your shoulder. It’s like kind of an infidelity that you can explain it, but you can’t undo it,” he said while speaking at a conference in Dallas less than two weeks after the leak became public.The leak itself sparked protests and round-the-clock security at justices’ homes. Alito said it made the conservative justices who were thought to be in favor of overturning Roe v. Wade “targets for assassination” that “gave people a rational reason to think they could prevent that from happening by killing one of us.”In early June, a man carrying a gun, a knife and zip ties was arrested near Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s house in Maryland after threatening to kill the justice. The man told police he was upset by the leaked draft.Responding to protests outside the court, officials ringed the building with hard-to-climb fencing, the same barrier that was in place for months following the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.When the final decision was released on June 24, it was remarkably similar to the draft that was leaked. Alito, Thomas, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh and Justice Amy Coney Barrett voted to overturn Roe.Speculation has swirled since the draft’s release about who might be the source. Only the justices, a small number of staff and the justices’ law clerks, young lawyers who spend a year at the court helping the justices with their work, would have had access to the document.Conservatives pointed fingers at the liberal side of the court, speculating that the leaker was someone upset about the outcome. Liberals suggested it could be someone on the conservative side of the court who wanted to ensure a wavering justice didn’t switch sides.It would have taken just one conservative justice to side with Roberts to alter the decision. Instead of overturning Roe entirely, Roberts favored weakening abortion rights.

Supreme Court has failed to find leaker of abortion opinion

By TIM CARPENTER <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/01/19/audit-of-kansas-economic-development-programs-offers-mixed-assessment-of-incentives/">Kansas Reflector</a>

TOPEKA — Auditors working for the
 Kansas Legislature estimated five of the state’s major business 
development incentive programs would generate positive total returns for
 the private-sector economy but not produce enough growth in tax revenue
 to cover public investments.

The evaluation was ordered in June by a joint committee of the House 
and Senate due to skepticism among some legislators with the state 
government’s use of tax credits or exemptions, or direct expenditure of 
state funds, to convince businesses to make capital investments or 
create jobs in Kansas. Gov. Laura Kelly, who won reelection in November,
 invited scrutiny by pointing to her first-term success in pursuing new 
jobs, including a $4 billion Panasonic battery plant for De Soto.

Legislative auditor Josh Luthi said during a briefing with lawmakers 
all five programs were viewed as “generally successful” despite 
projections the programs wouldn’t deliver enough new state and local 
income, sales or property taxes to cover every dollar in direct costs or
 foregone revenue devoted to economic development.

Ranking the five programs in terms of proficiency would be folly, 
Luthi said, because they were of different size, targeted different 
needs and were funded differently.

The audit focused on an alphabet soup of incentives: High Performance
 Incentive Program (HPIP), Job Creation Fund (JCF), Kansas Industrial 
Training (KIT), Kansas Industrial Retraining (KIR) and Promoting 
Employment Across Kansas (PEAK). At least $400 million has been awarded 
to businesses by the Kansas Department of Commerce through these 
programs from 2017 to 2021.

Luthi said auditors sent surveys to nearly 300 businesses that 
received benefits from the five programs to determine whether executives
 would have made the same business decisions if they hadn’t received 
state incentives. In response, 11 said they would have created a new 
business facility in Kansas and hired people to work there without the 
state’s generosity. Thirteen businesses said incentives convinced them 
to do bigger projects or to speed development timelines. Three 
businesses said they would have canceled the projects or moved to 
another state if denied tax dollars.

“Incentives do not always make 100% of the difference,” Luthi said. “Sometimes they don’t make any difference.”

The audit didn’t delve into details of how the Kansas Department of 
Commerce administered these programs. For example, auditors didn’t 
examine how the department negotiated incentive awards with businesses.

Sen. Mike Thompson, R-Shawnee, said cost recovery was the bottom-line issue related to incentives paid by Kansas taxpayers.

“If we’re putting more money into the program that we’re recovering, 
then it’s not doing its job. The taxpayers need to receive some kind of 
return,” he said.

Democratic Sen. Mary Ware of Wichita said she was frustrated by the 
audit’s lack of reform recommendations and absence of an 
apples-to-apples assessment of economic incentives. She said the 
Legislature could dig deeper into complex topics with the addition of 
personnel to the overloaded auditing division or by shrinking the number
 of audits assigned to them.

“I honestly am not sure what to do with this report,” she said. 
“Throughout this there’s the words estimate, assumption, not a 
projectable sample, survey results can’t be considered representative. 
My conclusion is that this is a 40-page report with limited utility.”

Rep. Sean Tarwater, a Republican from Stilwell and chairman of the 
House Commerce, Labor and Economic Development Committee, said 
legislators would welcome information about the experience of companies 
competing with business rivals that got state incentives.

Augusta Rep. Kristey Williams, a Republican, suggested the Department
 of Commerce’s reliance on economic development incentives could fail to
 address the state’s labor shortage. She said there was an estimated 2.5
 unfilled jobs for every unemployed Kansan seeking a job.

“Are you concerned that further incentives are going to not drive 
more people into Kansas, but to move Kansans from one job to another?” 
she said.

The Department of Commerce, which operates the five business 
incentive programs, responded to the report with criticism of the 
decision by auditors to rely on a new economic modeling program rather 
than stick with methodology deployed in 2014 to evaluate state 
incentives. The commerce department said the switch meant meaningful 
comparisons between audits would be impossible.

Bob North, chief counsel to the Department of Commerce, said auditors
 “arbitrarily” chose the new model. He viewed it as a drastic departure 
from the previous evaluation tool. He recommended the state select a 
model and stick with it so program success could be coherently measured 
over time. Internally, he said, the Department of Commerce used a system
 developed at Wichita State University.

He said the auditor’s process was flawed because it didn’t take into 
consideration the influence of construction jobs and capital 
expenditures flowing through the economy. In terms of the Panasonic 
facility, he said, there would be 16,000 construction jobs in the course
 of two years. If those jobs averaged $50,000 per year, he said, the 
auditors’ approach wouldn’t capture that significant fiscal impact.

“We want a tool that helps us administer a programs and we think that
 will be most meaningful to you as well,” North told legislators. “We 
want to give the least amount of incentives possible to recruit or 
retain a project to the state.”

The agency also disagreed with auditors’ decision to closely study 28
 Kansas projects — they were selected, not randomly identified — from 
among 600 projects involving state incentives from 2017 to 2021. Some 
projects were linked to several economic development initiatives. 
Auditors reported 23 of the 28 were projected to yield positive economic
 returns over a 20-year period.

North said the agency supported appropriation of additional funding 
to the Legislature’s auditing division to allow for more robust 
assessments of business incentives. It would be improper to extrapolate 
the value of programs through the lens of a couple dozen projects, he 
said.

In addition, the commerce department said broad conclusions shouldn’t
 be drawn from a supplemental survey of businesses with an “extremely 
low” response rate. The survey was sent to 298 businesses, but only 30 
volunteered to fully complete the survey.

“No one wants to go through another audit,” North said, “but if we’re going to do it, let’s do it right.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/1/1674149932056.png" alt="Josh Luthi, an auditor with the Kansas Legislature’s auditing division, says a new report on five of the state’s prominent economic development incentives will produce positive business growth but may not generate enough tax revenue to cover taxpayers’ investment in those programs. (Kansas Reflector screen capture from Kansas Legislature YouTube channel)" />
 <figcaption>Josh Luthi, an auditor with the Kansas Legislature’s auditing division, says a new report on five of the state’s prominent economic development incentives will produce positive business growth but may not generate enough tax revenue to cover taxpayers’ investment in those programs. (Kansas Reflector screen capture from Kansas Legislature YouTube channel)</figcaption>
 </figure>By TIM CARPENTER <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/01/19/audit-of-kansas-economic-development-programs-offers-mixed-assessment-of-incentives/">Kansas Reflector</a>TOPEKA — Auditors working for the
 Kansas Legislature estimated five of the state’s major business 
development incentive programs would generate positive total returns for
 the private-sector economy but not produce enough growth in tax revenue
 to cover public investments.The evaluation was ordered in June by a joint committee of the House 
and Senate due to skepticism among some legislators with the state 
government’s use of tax credits or exemptions, or direct expenditure of 
state funds, to convince businesses to make capital investments or 
create jobs in Kansas. Gov. Laura Kelly, who won reelection in November,
 invited scrutiny by pointing to her first-term success in pursuing new 
jobs, including a $4 billion Panasonic battery plant for De Soto.Legislative auditor Josh Luthi said during a briefing with lawmakers 
all five programs were viewed as “generally successful” despite 
projections the programs wouldn’t deliver enough new state and local 
income, sales or property taxes to cover every dollar in direct costs or
 foregone revenue devoted to economic development.Ranking the five programs in terms of proficiency would be folly, 
Luthi said, because they were of different size, targeted different 
needs and were funded differently.The audit focused on an alphabet soup of incentives: High Performance
 Incentive Program (HPIP), Job Creation Fund (JCF), Kansas Industrial 
Training (KIT), Kansas Industrial Retraining (KIR) and Promoting 
Employment Across Kansas (PEAK). At least $400 million has been awarded 
to businesses by the Kansas Department of Commerce through these 
programs from 2017 to 2021.Luthi said auditors sent surveys to nearly 300 businesses that 
received benefits from the five programs to determine whether executives
 would have made the same business decisions if they hadn’t received 
state incentives. In response, 11 said they would have created a new 
business facility in Kansas and hired people to work there without the 
state’s generosity. Thirteen businesses said incentives convinced them 
to do bigger projects or to speed development timelines. Three 
businesses said they would have canceled the projects or moved to 
another state if denied tax dollars.“Incentives do not always make 100% of the difference,” Luthi said. “Sometimes they don’t make any difference.”The audit didn’t delve into details of how the Kansas Department of 
Commerce administered these programs. For example, auditors didn’t 
examine how the department negotiated incentive awards with businesses.<h2>Frustration bubbles over</h2>Sen. Mike Thompson, R-Shawnee, said cost recovery was the bottom-line issue related to incentives paid by Kansas taxpayers.“If we’re putting more money into the program that we’re recovering, 
then it’s not doing its job. The taxpayers need to receive some kind of 
return,” he said.Democratic Sen. Mary Ware of Wichita said she was frustrated by the 
audit’s lack of reform recommendations and absence of an 
apples-to-apples assessment of economic incentives. She said the 
Legislature could dig deeper into complex topics with the addition of 
personnel to the overloaded auditing division or by shrinking the number
 of audits assigned to them.“I honestly am not sure what to do with this report,” she said. 
“Throughout this there’s the words estimate, assumption, not a 
projectable sample, survey results can’t be considered representative. 
My conclusion is that this is a 40-page report with limited utility.”Rep. Sean Tarwater, a Republican from Stilwell and chairman of the 
House Commerce, Labor and Economic Development Committee, said 
legislators would welcome information about the experience of companies 
competing with business rivals that got state incentives.Augusta Rep. Kristey Williams, a Republican, suggested the Department
 of Commerce’s reliance on economic development incentives could fail to
 address the state’s labor shortage. She said there was an estimated 2.5
 unfilled jobs for every unemployed Kansan seeking a job.“Are you concerned that further incentives are going to not drive 
more people into Kansas, but to move Kansans from one job to another?” 
she said.<h2>Agency’s perspective</h2>The Department of Commerce, which operates the five business 
incentive programs, responded to the report with criticism of the 
decision by auditors to rely on a new economic modeling program rather 
than stick with methodology deployed in 2014 to evaluate state 
incentives. The commerce department said the switch meant meaningful 
comparisons between audits would be impossible.Bob North, chief counsel to the Department of Commerce, said auditors
 “arbitrarily” chose the new model. He viewed it as a drastic departure 
from the previous evaluation tool. He recommended the state select a 
model and stick with it so program success could be coherently measured 
over time. Internally, he said, the Department of Commerce used a system
 developed at Wichita State University.He said the auditor’s process was flawed because it didn’t take into 
consideration the influence of construction jobs and capital 
expenditures flowing through the economy. In terms of the Panasonic 
facility, he said, there would be 16,000 construction jobs in the course
 of two years. If those jobs averaged $50,000 per year, he said, the 
auditors’ approach wouldn’t capture that significant fiscal impact.“We want a tool that helps us administer a programs and we think that
 will be most meaningful to you as well,” North told legislators. “We 
want to give the least amount of incentives possible to recruit or 
retain a project to the state.”The agency also disagreed with auditors’ decision to closely study 28
 Kansas projects — they were selected, not randomly identified — from 
among 600 projects involving state incentives from 2017 to 2021. Some 
projects were linked to several economic development initiatives. 
Auditors reported 23 of the 28 were projected to yield positive economic
 returns over a 20-year period.North said the agency supported appropriation of additional funding 
to the Legislature’s auditing division to allow for more robust 
assessments of business incentives. It would be improper to extrapolate 
the value of programs through the lens of a couple dozen projects, he 
said.In addition, the commerce department said broad conclusions shouldn’t
 be drawn from a supplemental survey of businesses with an “extremely 
low” response rate. The survey was sent to 298 businesses, but only 30 
volunteered to fully complete the survey.“No one wants to go through another audit,” North said, “but if we’re going to do it, let’s do it right.”

Audit of Kansas eco-devo programs offers mixed assessment

WASHINGTON (AP) — Pro-life activists will have multiple reasons to celebrate — and some reasons for unease — when they gather Friday in Washington for the <a href="https://marchforlife.org/national-march-for-life/">annual March for Life.</a>

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 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/1/1674052326441.png" alt="Friday’s gathering — 50 years after that decision — will be the first since the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-supreme-court-decision-854f60302f21c2c35129e58cf8d8a7b0">high court struck down Roe</a>&nbsp;in a momentous ruling last June.-photo courtesy March for Life" />
 <figcaption>Friday’s gathering — 50 years after that decision — will be the first since the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-supreme-court-decision-854f60302f21c2c35129e58cf8d8a7b0">high court struck down Roe</a>&nbsp;in a momentous ruling last June.-photo courtesy March for Life</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — Pro-life activists will have multiple reasons to celebrate — and some reasons for unease — when they gather Friday in Washington for the <a href="https://marchforlife.org/national-march-for-life/">annual March for Life.</a>The march, which includes a rally drawing abortion opponents from across the nation, has been held annually since January 1974 — a year after the U.S. Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision established a nationwide right to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/abortion">abortion</a>.This year’s gathering — 50 years after that decision — will be the first since the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-supreme-court-decision-854f60302f21c2c35129e58cf8d8a7b0">high court struck down Roe</a>&nbsp;in a momentous ruling last June.Since then, 12 Republican-governed states have implemented sweeping bans on abortion, and several others seek to do the same. But those moves have been offset by other developments. Abortion opponents were defeated in votes on ballot measures in Kansas, Michigan and Kentucky. State courts have blocked several bans from taking effect. And myriad efforts are underway to help women in abortion-ban states either get abortions out of state or use the abortion pill for self-managed abortions.“It’s almost like the old wild, wild West … everything is still shaking out,” said Carol Tobias, president of the National Right to Life Committee.With numerous Democratic-governed states taking steps to protect and expand abortion access, Tobias likened the current situation to the pre-Civil War era when the nation was closely divided between free states and slave states.“I will not be surprised if we have something like that for a few years,” she said. “But I do know that pro-lifers are not going to give up — it’s a civil rights issue for us.”The theme for this year’s March for Life is “Next Steps: Marching Forward into a Post-Roe America.” Scheduled speakers include Hall of Fame football coach Tony Dungy and Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch, who won the Supreme Court case that overturned Roe.The president of March for Life, Jeanne Mancini, depicted the June ruling as “a massive victory for the pro-life movement.”“But the battle to build a culture of life is far from over,” she said. “March for Life will continue to advocate for the unborn and policies that protect them until abortion becomes unthinkable.”Prospects for any federal legislation restricting abortion nationwide are negligible for now, given that any such measures emerging from the Republican-led House would face rejection in the Democratic-led Senate. The main battlegrounds will be in the states.Since June, near-total bans on abortion have been implemented in Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and West Virginia.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-politics-health-indiana-state-government-reproductive-rights-7308b2edc8a8ac62446d821abc5fae59">Legal challenges are pending</a>&nbsp;against several of those bans.Elective abortions also are unavailable in Wisconsin, due to legal uncertainties faced by abortion clinics, and in North Dakota, where the lone clinic relocated to Minnesota.Bans passed by lawmakers in Ohio, Indiana and Wyoming have been blocked by state courts while legal challenges are pending. And in South Carolina, the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-politics-health-south-carolina-state-government-6cd1469dbb550c70b64a30f183be203c">state Supreme Court on Jan. 5 struck down a ban</a>&nbsp;on abortion after six weeks, ruling the restriction violates a state constitutional right to privacy.The Guttmacher Institute, a research group which supports abortion rights, says the overall result is “a chaotic legal landscape that is disruptive for providers trying to offer care and patients trying to obtain it.”“When people do not have access to abortion care in their state, they are forced to make the difficult decision to travel long distances for care, self-manage an abortion or carry an unwanted pregnancy to term,” Guttmacher staffers Elizabeth Nash and Isabel Guarnieri wrote last week.Looking ahead, some anti-abortion leaders hope the Republicans nominate a 2024 presidential candidate who will aggressively push for nationwide abortion restrictions, rather than keep it as a state-by-state matter.“The approach to winning on abortion in federal races, proven for a decade, is this: state clearly the ambitious consensus pro-life position and contrast that with the extreme view of Democrat opponents,” said Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of SBA Pro-Life America.Dannenfelser says she’s not surprised by the divisive ups-and-downs that have unfolded since the June ruling.“This is what it looks like when democracy is restored and we have a voice in the debate,” she said. “For 50 years, we had no voice because the judiciary was always going to shield public opinion from having an effect on the law.”“We always knew it wouldn’t be a straight line (after Roe’s repeal),” she said, adding "we know neither side is going to lay down and die.”Professor Kathleen Sprows Cummings, director of the University of Notre Dame’s Cushwa Center for the Study of American Catholicism, suggested the anti-abortion movement may suffer from a perception among many Americans that it’s more concerned with controlling women’s bodies than helping them cope with unintended pregnancies.“It’s about consolidating their political power, more than about babies," she said.Some abortion opponents are trying to counter such perceptions. In Texas, for example, anti-abortion groups are urging lawmakers to spend more money on services for pregnant and parenting Texans, including expanding Medicaid coverage for mothers.According to Texas Right to Life, the state's new abortion ban has had a major impact — it says only 68 abortions were recorded by state health officials in July 2022, compared to 4,879 in July 2021.The group noted the data does not include illegal, unreported abortions — which are widely believed to be increasing as women obtain abortion pills by mail from overseas or from Mexico suppliers.Charles Camosy, a medical humanities professor at Creighton University School of Medicine who opposes abortion, has analyzed the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-abortion-voting-rights-health-kentucky-fabb3a40797c5491e9b2a3a696435161">high-profile election defeats</a>&nbsp;suffered by the anti-abortion movement. Voters in Kansas and Kentucky rejected constitutional amendments that would have declared there is no right to abortion; Michigan voters approved an amendment enshrining the right to abortion in the state constitution.“Pro-lifers have clearly and badly lost the PR battle since June and this has shaped how people are voting,” Camosy said via email. He said abortion-rights supporters were better organized and better funded, while many anti-abortion politicians either avoided the issue or sounded too extreme.“There are obviously very good things that have happened, however,” added Camosy, citing the drop in abortions reported in states with bans.“Pro-lifers also now relish the chance to actually debate the issues in a democratic, open context ... as opposed to constantly running into the fiats of various courts,” he said. “We may lose some battles early on... but it is worth it to have the debates.”