WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats kept control of the Senate on Saturday, repelling Republican efforts to retake the chamber and making it harder for them to thwart President&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/joe-biden">Joe Biden's</a>&nbsp;agenda.&nbsp;

Biden briefly spoke with reporters during his stay in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.&nbsp; The White House issued a transcript of the exchange.

THE PRESIDENT:&nbsp; Well, I tell you what — congratulations to Senator Schumer.&nbsp; He’s got a majority again.&nbsp; And we’re focusing now on — on Georgia.&nbsp; We feel good about where we are.

And I know I’m a cockeyed optimist — I understand that — from the beginning, but I’m not surprised by the turnout.&nbsp; I’m incredibly pleased by the turnout.&nbsp; And I think it’s a reflection of the quality of our candidates.&nbsp; And the — they’re all running on the same program.

There wasn’t anybody who wasn’t running on what we did.&nbsp; They’re all staying with — sticking with it.&nbsp; And so I feel good, and I’m looking forward to the next couple of years.

Q&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; How is your life and your agenda better with 50 or 51, compared to what you were facing?

Q&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; How is your life or your agenda better with 50 or 51, compared to what you were facing?

THE PRESIDENT:&nbsp; It’s always better with 51, because we’re in a situation where you don’t have to have an even makeup of the committees.&nbsp;And so that’s why it’s important, mostly.&nbsp; But it’s just simply better.&nbsp; The bigger the numbers, the better.

Q&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; What do you hope to get done in the lame duck?&nbsp; And how does it impact your ability to get voting rights and then Roe done in Congress next year?

THE PRESIDENT:&nbsp; Well, it — it kind of depends.&nbsp; I think, rather than — I’d rather talk with the Republican leadership when that’s settled as to what we’re going to try to get done in the lame duck and just take it slow, in terms of what the priorities are.

We’re going to try to get as much done as we can to continue to fulfill the agenda.&nbsp; We’re also going to have to be waiting on what happens with this — with the court case on — on student debt, which I’ve — is very important to me.

And so there’s a lot to be done, but we’re just — we’re going to slow down and — and get a chance to talk to the — to —

Q&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Mr. President, do you feel stronger coming into the meeting with President Xi Jinping?&nbsp; Do you feel that with this result you’re coming in stronger with President Xi Jinping?

THE PRESIDENT:&nbsp; I know I’m coming in stronger, but I don’t need that.&nbsp; I know Xi Jinping.&nbsp; I’ve spent more time with him than any other world leader.&nbsp; I know him well.&nbsp; He knows me.&nbsp; There’s no — we have very little misunderstanding.&nbsp; We just got to figure out where the red lines are and what we — what are the most important things to each of us going into the next two years.&nbsp; And his circumstance has changed, to state the obvious, at home.&nbsp;

And so, we’re going to have a — we’re going to have a — I think — I’ve always had straightforward discussions with him.&nbsp; There’s never any — any miscalculation about what each of us — where each of us stand.&nbsp; And I think that’s critically important in our relationship.

Q&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; What does it mean for the Republican Party as it stands today, Mr. President? &nbsp; THE PRESIDENT:&nbsp; Well, I heard someone on television as I was coming down here — and I’m not sure whether it was one of you guys, or whether he was a pundit, or — he said — they said, “What about Trump and the Republican Party?”&nbsp; He said — he said, “All Trump has done is reveal who the Republican Party is.”&nbsp; And so, I think the Republican Party is going to have to make — like other — like our parties in the past have done, it’s going to have to decide who they are. &nbsp; And (inaudible) — &nbsp; Q&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Mr. President, are you going to go to Georgia to campaign?&nbsp; And are you still confident that Democrats could keep the House? &nbsp; THE PRESIDENT:&nbsp; I — confident they could, yeah.&nbsp; Whether they will — look, it’s an out- — it’s a stretch.&nbsp; Everything has to fall our way.&nbsp; I just got off the phone with Congressman Levin who just won.&nbsp; There’s several more seats in California.&nbsp; &nbsp; It’s — I’m not predicting it’s going — but I’m predicting that, as I’ve said all along, it’d be perilously close.&nbsp; We can win it.&nbsp; Whether we’re going to win it remains to be seen

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/11/1668344489697.png" alt="President Biden in Phnom Penh, Cambodia Sunday -White House photo" />
 <figcaption>President Biden in Phnom Penh, Cambodia Sunday -White House photo</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats kept control of the Senate on Saturday, repelling Republican efforts to retake the chamber and making it harder for them to thwart President&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/joe-biden">Joe Biden's</a>&nbsp;agenda.&nbsp;Biden briefly spoke with reporters during his stay in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.&nbsp; The White House issued a transcript of the exchange.THE PRESIDENT:&nbsp; Well, I tell you what — congratulations to Senator Schumer.&nbsp; He’s got a majority again.&nbsp; And we’re focusing now on — on Georgia.&nbsp; We feel good about where we are.And I know I’m a cockeyed optimist — I understand that — from the beginning, but I’m not surprised by the turnout.&nbsp; I’m incredibly pleased by the turnout.&nbsp; And I think it’s a reflection of the quality of our candidates.&nbsp; And the — they’re all running on the same program.There wasn’t anybody who wasn’t running on what we did.&nbsp; They’re all staying with — sticking with it.&nbsp; And so I feel good, and I’m looking forward to the next couple of years.Q&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; How is your life and your agenda better with 50 or 51, compared to what you were facing?THE PRESIDENT:&nbsp; Say it again?Q&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; How is your life or your agenda better with 50 or 51, compared to what you were facing?THE PRESIDENT:&nbsp; It’s always better with 51, because we’re in a situation where you don’t have to have an even makeup of the committees.&nbsp;And so that’s why it’s important, mostly.&nbsp; But it’s just simply better.&nbsp; The bigger the numbers, the better.Q&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; What do you hope to get done in the lame duck?&nbsp; And how does it impact your ability to get voting rights and then Roe done in Congress next year?THE PRESIDENT:&nbsp; Well, it — it kind of depends.&nbsp; I think, rather than — I’d rather talk with the Republican leadership when that’s settled as to what we’re going to try to get done in the lame duck and just take it slow, in terms of what the priorities are.We’re going to try to get as much done as we can to continue to fulfill the agenda.&nbsp; We’re also going to have to be waiting on what happens with this — with the court case on — on student debt, which I’ve — is very important to me.And so there’s a lot to be done, but we’re just — we’re going to slow down and — and get a chance to talk to the — to —Q&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Mr. President, do you feel stronger coming into the meeting with President Xi Jinping?&nbsp; Do you feel that with this result you’re coming in stronger with President Xi Jinping?THE PRESIDENT:&nbsp; I know I’m coming in stronger, but I don’t need that.&nbsp; I know Xi Jinping.&nbsp; I’ve spent more time with him than any other world leader.&nbsp; I know him well.&nbsp; He knows me.&nbsp; There’s no — we have very little misunderstanding.&nbsp; We just got to figure out where the red lines are and what we — what are the most important things to each of us going into the next two years.&nbsp; And his circumstance has changed, to state the obvious, at home.&nbsp;And so, we’re going to have a — we’re going to have a — I think — I’ve always had straightforward discussions with him.&nbsp; There’s never any — any miscalculation about what each of us — where each of us stand.&nbsp; And I think that’s critically important in our relationship.Q&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; What does it mean for the Republican Party as it stands today, Mr. President? &nbsp; THE PRESIDENT:&nbsp; Well, I heard someone on television as I was coming down here — and I’m not sure whether it was one of you guys, or whether he was a pundit, or — he said — they said, “What about Trump and the Republican Party?”&nbsp; He said — he said, “All Trump has done is reveal who the Republican Party is.”&nbsp; And so, I think the Republican Party is going to have to make — like other — like our parties in the past have done, it’s going to have to decide who they are. &nbsp; And (inaudible) — &nbsp; Q&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Mr. President, are you going to go to Georgia to campaign?&nbsp; And are you still confident that Democrats could keep the House? &nbsp; THE PRESIDENT:&nbsp; I — confident they could, yeah.&nbsp; Whether they will — look, it’s an out- — it’s a stretch.&nbsp; Everything has to fall our way.&nbsp; I just got off the phone with Congressman Levin who just won.&nbsp; There’s several more seats in California.&nbsp; &nbsp; It’s — I’m not predicting it’s going — but I’m predicting that, as I’ve said all along, it’d be perilously close.&nbsp; We can win it.&nbsp; Whether we’re going to win it remains to be seen---------

Biden victory lap from Cambodia after Dems retain Senate control

POLK COUNTY—A 9-year-old boy died and three other people were injured in an accident just after 2:30p.m. Sunday in Polk County.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol 2007 GMC Yukon driven by Faith L. Ryan, 29, Flemington, was westbound on East 330th Road three miles south of Humansville.

The SUV traveled off the road and overturned. 

A 9-year-old Flemington boy was pronounced dead.&nbsp;EMS transported Ryan to Citizens Memorial Hospital in Bolivar. A private vehicle transported a 2-year-old boy and a 5-year-old girl to Citizens Memorial for treatment of minor injuries. The MSHP had incomplete seat belt usage information.

POLK COUNTY—A 9-year-old boy died and three other people were injured in an accident just after 2:30p.m. Sunday in Polk County.The Missouri State Highway Patrol 2007 GMC Yukon driven by Faith L. Ryan, 29, Flemington, was westbound on East 330th Road three miles south of Humansville.The SUV traveled off the road and overturned. A 9-year-old Flemington boy was pronounced dead.&nbsp;EMS transported Ryan to Citizens Memorial Hospital in Bolivar. A private vehicle transported a 2-year-old boy and a 5-year-old girl to Citizens Memorial for treatment of minor injuries. The MSHP had incomplete seat belt usage information.

9-year-old Missouri boy dies, 3 injured in rollover crash

SEDGWICK COUNTY—A Kansas man accused in the sexual assault of a 17-year-old girl, which which was recorded and posted on Snapchat has been sentenced to probation.

A Sedgwick County Judge sentenced Ethan Garrett, 21, Wichita, to two years of probation, with an underlying sentence of 122 months if he violates the terms of probation, according to the Sedgwick County District Attorney's office.

Garrett was also ordered to pay $2,892.72 in restitution and complete sexual offender treatment.

&nbsp;David Clark, 20, Wichita, Garrett's co-defendant received the&nbsp;same sentence earlier this month, according to the district attorney's office.&nbsp;

On May 28, police contacted a 17-year-old girl at a Wichita area hospital regarding a sexual assault report.&nbsp;

The victim reported being sexually assaulted while at a friend’s home in an incoherent state and the incident being videoed and put on the social media platform Snapchat, according to Officer Charley Davidson.

Wichita Police Domestic violence/sex crimes detectives, crime linkage unit detectives and officers from the Domestic Intervention Violence Reduction Team (DIVRT) collaborated and followed up on the case, identifying Garrett and Clark both of Wichita being involved in the assault.

On June 3, the suspects were booked into the Sedgwick County Jail and released the following day after posting bond.&nbsp;Both pled guilty to aggravated sexual battery and sexual exploitation of a child, according to the district attorney's office.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/6/1622835416251.png" alt="Garrett-photo Sedgwick County" />
 <figcaption>Garrett-photo Sedgwick County</figcaption>
 </figure>SEDGWICK COUNTY—A Kansas man accused in the sexual assault of a 17-year-old girl, which which was recorded and posted on Snapchat has been sentenced to probation.A Sedgwick County Judge sentenced Ethan Garrett, 21, Wichita, to two years of probation, with an underlying sentence of 122 months if he violates the terms of probation, according to the Sedgwick County District Attorney's office.Garrett was also ordered to pay $2,892.72 in restitution and complete sexual offender treatment.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/6/1622835347409.png" alt="Clark-photo Sedgwick County." />
 <figcaption>Clark-photo Sedgwick County.</figcaption>
 </figure>&nbsp;David Clark, 20, Wichita, Garrett's co-defendant received the&nbsp;same sentence earlier this month, according to the district attorney's office.&nbsp;On May 28, police contacted a 17-year-old girl at a Wichita area hospital regarding a sexual assault report.&nbsp;The victim reported being sexually assaulted while at a friend’s home in an incoherent state and the incident being videoed and put on the social media platform Snapchat, according to Officer Charley Davidson.Wichita Police Domestic violence/sex crimes detectives, crime linkage unit detectives and officers from the Domestic Intervention Violence Reduction Team (DIVRT) collaborated and followed up on the case, identifying Garrett and Clark both of Wichita being involved in the assault.On June 3, the suspects were booked into the Sedgwick County Jail and released the following day after posting bond.&nbsp;Both pled guilty to aggravated sexual battery and sexual exploitation of a child, according to the district attorney's office.

Kan. men who posted sex assault on social media sentenced

KANSAS CITY (AP) —In the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/2022-midterm-elections?utm_source=apnewsnav&amp;utm_medium=featured">midterm elections</a>, evangelical Christians across the nation reconfirmed their allegiance to conservative candidates and causes, while Catholic voters once again showed how closely divided they are -- even on&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-abortion-us-supreme-court-health-michigan-23bfba4a07de57b175d9de1281ecace6">abortion</a>.

On a successful, high-profile ballot measure in the battleground state of Michigan, proposing to enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution, Catholic voters split about evenly, according to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-donald-trump-race-and-ethnicity-only-on-ap-congress-a15f6d6ebd6f629c6e92531a0c7172e6">AP VoteCast</a>, an expansive survey of more than 94,000 voters across the country.

In&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-kentucky-abortion-3fa387a4cdc355d50a223f4788aa0ae8">Kentucky</a>, a reliably Republican state, voters rejected a GOP-backed ballot measure aimed at denying any state constitutional protections for abortion. Among those voting No were 60% of Catholic voters, according to VoteCast.

In contrast, about two-thirds of white evangelical voters in both Kentucky and Michigan voted against protecting abortion access.

Albert Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, said rejection of that measure in his state was an “unmitigated disaster.”

He was less surprised by abortion-rights amendments passing in more liberal Vermont and California and centrist Michigan. But the Kentucky vote was the “hardest loss” and followed a similar vote in August in another red state, Kansas.

Mohler said it's important for abortion opponents to be willing to enact their views into policy.

Voters “who voted for pro-life candidates turned around and voted against a pro-life constitutional amendment,” Mohler lamented.

On the opposite side of the fight, Catholics for Choice president Jamie Manson said abortion access protections are popular.

“In red states and blue states, with religious voters and secular voters, wherever abortion was on the ballot, abortion rights disproportionately won,” she said in a statement.

John Fea, a professor of American history at Messiah University in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, said the Kentucky vote signaled that many Americans seem to want the status quo provided under the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision. It legalized abortion nationwide — with some limits — until it was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court in June.

“Most of the country wants some restrictions on abortion, but they don’t want bans,” Fea said. “The Christian right, despite the fact that they got what they wanted with the overturning of Roe, is not getting the extent of the victory they had hoped."

Only about one in 10 voters nationwide and across most states say abortion should be illegal in all cases, according to AP VoteCast. Even among white evangelical voters, while most say abortion should generally be illegal, only about two in 10 say abortion should be illegal in all cases.

Despite&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/fabb3a40797c5491e9b2a3a696435161">setbacks on the ballot measures</a>, abortion opponents took heart from some other election results. Michael New, who teaches social research at The Catholic University of America, cited the comfortable re-election victories for GOP Govs.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/texas-governor-race-2022-midterm-elections-1aba86e87ccd8384655d4319fd14f3fb">Greg Abbott</a>&nbsp;in Texas,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-georgia-governor-nov-10-994a658eafee86843e084bc52beb6866">Brian Kemp</a>&nbsp;in Georgia,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/florida-governor-race-2022-midterm-elections-4b2fe3a05668ed67119511838339110e">Ron DeSantis</a>&nbsp;in Florida and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-abortion-health-ohio-covid-cdb0993362d1c13c957783782c4bd3b2">Mike DeWine</a>&nbsp;in Ohio.

“All these governors signed strong pro-life laws and did not hide from the abortion issue,” New said.

According to VoteCast, about 4 in 10 Catholics voting in the midterm elections identified as Democrats; about half as Republicans. A breakdown of some high-profile races for governor and for U.S. Senate illustrated how these voters are very much a swing constituency.

In Wisconsin, Catholic voters slightly favored Republicans in those two races.

In Pennsylvania, Catholics were slightly more likely to have voted for the Republican loser in the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/pennsylvania-governor-race-2022-midterm-elections-cfcdce9eb72761415dcea9fbd970c553">Senate race</a>, Mehmet Oz, but more likely to vote for the Democratic winner in the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/pennsylvania-governor-race-2022-midterm-elections-cfcdce9eb72761415dcea9fbd970c553">governor’s race</a>, Josh Shapiro. Oz is Muslim and Shapiro is Jewish.

In Arizona, Catholic voters were evenly divided between the Democratic and Republican candidates for governor, while about 60% backed Democrat Mark Kelly, seeking re-election to the Senate. The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-arizona-nov-10-007b2d3aab2820016b1e009cdcbd3ecc?utm_source=homepage&amp;utm_medium=TopNews&amp;utm_campaign=position_02">tight</a>&nbsp;races in Arizona remain&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-arizona-phoenix-government-and-politics-b6635bde28147596293daa2608cd7d35">uncalled</a>&nbsp;by The Associated Press.

In each of those three states, roughly two-thirds or more of white evangelical Christian voters backed the GOP candidates.

Another notable factor in these results: large majorities of voters who describe themselves as nonreligious voted for the Democrats and supported abortion rights in their decisions on the Michigan and Kentucky ballot measures.

While it remains&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-results-nov-9-198d61bcafe31d96c0a966eae7492756">uncertain</a>&nbsp;which party will control Congress, John Fea and other scholars said the election was a setback for at least some Christian nationalist candidates on the Republican side – those who fuse Christian and American identity, symbols and mission.

While some candidates associated with the view succeeded – such as U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Republican re-elected in her overwhelmingly red Georgia district – those facing a more mixed electorate struggled.

Republican Doug Mastriano -- whose campaign rallies were infused with Christian music and symbols though he has rejected the “Christian nationalist” label -- lost decisively in the race for governor in Pennsylvania.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-colorado-lauren-boebert-175af4a031c300dc73e7f8905d033f91?utm_source=hubpage&amp;utm_medium=RelatedStories&amp;utm_campaign=position_04">Republican U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert</a>, also associated with the movement, faced a tighter-than-expected race for re-election in Colorado.

Fea said Mastriano may have alienated people with his Christian nationalism but also with other factors, such as his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results.

“I think it’s a vote against an extreme brand of Christian nationalism, combined with election denying,” said Fea, author of “Believe Me: The Evangelical Road to Donald Trump.”

Mastriano won about 6 in 10 of the votes of his fellow evangelical Christians, according to VoteCast, but that seemed to slightly lag behind the two-thirds who backed Mehmet Oz.

Overall, among voters nationwide, about 4 in 10 say they attend religious services at least monthly; about a third say they never attend. About a fifth say they go once a week or more.

Democrats largely attend religious services less frequently – about 7 in 10 go less than monthly. Among Republicans, 46% attend at least monthly, while 54% go less often.

KANSAS CITY (AP) —In the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/2022-midterm-elections?utm_source=apnewsnav&amp;utm_medium=featured">midterm elections</a>, evangelical Christians across the nation reconfirmed their allegiance to conservative candidates and causes, while Catholic voters once again showed how closely divided they are -- even on&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-abortion-us-supreme-court-health-michigan-23bfba4a07de57b175d9de1281ecace6">abortion</a>.On a successful, high-profile ballot measure in the battleground state of Michigan, proposing to enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution, Catholic voters split about evenly, according to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-donald-trump-race-and-ethnicity-only-on-ap-congress-a15f6d6ebd6f629c6e92531a0c7172e6">AP VoteCast</a>, an expansive survey of more than 94,000 voters across the country.In&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-kentucky-abortion-3fa387a4cdc355d50a223f4788aa0ae8">Kentucky</a>, a reliably Republican state, voters rejected a GOP-backed ballot measure aimed at denying any state constitutional protections for abortion. Among those voting No were 60% of Catholic voters, according to VoteCast.In contrast, about two-thirds of white evangelical voters in both Kentucky and Michigan voted against protecting abortion access.Albert Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, said rejection of that measure in his state was an “unmitigated disaster.”He was less surprised by abortion-rights amendments passing in more liberal Vermont and California and centrist Michigan. But the Kentucky vote was the “hardest loss” and followed a similar vote in August in another red state, Kansas.Mohler said it's important for abortion opponents to be willing to enact their views into policy.Voters “who voted for pro-life candidates turned around and voted against a pro-life constitutional amendment,” Mohler lamented.On the opposite side of the fight, Catholics for Choice president Jamie Manson said abortion access protections are popular.“In red states and blue states, with religious voters and secular voters, wherever abortion was on the ballot, abortion rights disproportionately won,” she said in a statement.John Fea, a professor of American history at Messiah University in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, said the Kentucky vote signaled that many Americans seem to want the status quo provided under the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision. It legalized abortion nationwide — with some limits — until it was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court in June.“Most of the country wants some restrictions on abortion, but they don’t want bans,” Fea said. “The Christian right, despite the fact that they got what they wanted with the overturning of Roe, is not getting the extent of the victory they had hoped."Only about one in 10 voters nationwide and across most states say abortion should be illegal in all cases, according to AP VoteCast. Even among white evangelical voters, while most say abortion should generally be illegal, only about two in 10 say abortion should be illegal in all cases.Despite&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/fabb3a40797c5491e9b2a3a696435161">setbacks on the ballot measures</a>, abortion opponents took heart from some other election results. Michael New, who teaches social research at The Catholic University of America, cited the comfortable re-election victories for GOP Govs.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/texas-governor-race-2022-midterm-elections-1aba86e87ccd8384655d4319fd14f3fb">Greg Abbott</a>&nbsp;in Texas,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-georgia-governor-nov-10-994a658eafee86843e084bc52beb6866">Brian Kemp</a>&nbsp;in Georgia,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/florida-governor-race-2022-midterm-elections-4b2fe3a05668ed67119511838339110e">Ron DeSantis</a>&nbsp;in Florida and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-abortion-health-ohio-covid-cdb0993362d1c13c957783782c4bd3b2">Mike DeWine</a>&nbsp;in Ohio.“All these governors signed strong pro-life laws and did not hide from the abortion issue,” New said.According to VoteCast, about 4 in 10 Catholics voting in the midterm elections identified as Democrats; about half as Republicans. A breakdown of some high-profile races for governor and for U.S. Senate illustrated how these voters are very much a swing constituency.In Wisconsin, Catholic voters slightly favored Republicans in those two races.In Pennsylvania, Catholics were slightly more likely to have voted for the Republican loser in the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/pennsylvania-governor-race-2022-midterm-elections-cfcdce9eb72761415dcea9fbd970c553">Senate race</a>, Mehmet Oz, but more likely to vote for the Democratic winner in the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/pennsylvania-governor-race-2022-midterm-elections-cfcdce9eb72761415dcea9fbd970c553">governor’s race</a>, Josh Shapiro. Oz is Muslim and Shapiro is Jewish.In Arizona, Catholic voters were evenly divided between the Democratic and Republican candidates for governor, while about 60% backed Democrat Mark Kelly, seeking re-election to the Senate. The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-arizona-nov-10-007b2d3aab2820016b1e009cdcbd3ecc?utm_source=homepage&amp;utm_medium=TopNews&amp;utm_campaign=position_02">tight</a>&nbsp;races in Arizona remain&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-arizona-phoenix-government-and-politics-b6635bde28147596293daa2608cd7d35">uncalled</a>&nbsp;by The Associated Press.In each of those three states, roughly two-thirds or more of white evangelical Christian voters backed the GOP candidates.Another notable factor in these results: large majorities of voters who describe themselves as nonreligious voted for the Democrats and supported abortion rights in their decisions on the Michigan and Kentucky ballot measures.While it remains&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-results-nov-9-198d61bcafe31d96c0a966eae7492756">uncertain</a>&nbsp;which party will control Congress, John Fea and other scholars said the election was a setback for at least some Christian nationalist candidates on the Republican side – those who fuse Christian and American identity, symbols and mission.While some candidates associated with the view succeeded – such as U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Republican re-elected in her overwhelmingly red Georgia district – those facing a more mixed electorate struggled.Republican Doug Mastriano -- whose campaign rallies were infused with Christian music and symbols though he has rejected the “Christian nationalist” label -- lost decisively in the race for governor in Pennsylvania.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-colorado-lauren-boebert-175af4a031c300dc73e7f8905d033f91?utm_source=hubpage&amp;utm_medium=RelatedStories&amp;utm_campaign=position_04">Republican U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert</a>, also associated with the movement, faced a tighter-than-expected race for re-election in Colorado.Fea said Mastriano may have alienated people with his Christian nationalism but also with other factors, such as his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results.“I think it’s a vote against an extreme brand of Christian nationalism, combined with election denying,” said Fea, author of “Believe Me: The Evangelical Road to Donald Trump.”Mastriano won about 6 in 10 of the votes of his fellow evangelical Christians, according to VoteCast, but that seemed to slightly lag behind the two-thirds who backed Mehmet Oz.Overall, among voters nationwide, about 4 in 10 say they attend religious services at least monthly; about a third say they never attend. About a fifth say they go once a week or more.Democrats largely attend religious services less frequently – about 7 in 10 go less than monthly. Among Republicans, 46% attend at least monthly, while 54% go less often.___

Midterms reinforce Christian voter trends on abortion, GOP

KANSAS CITY — The Drug Enforcement Administration St. Louis Division that includes Kansas, Missouri and Illinois broke its fentanyl seizure record in fiscal year 2022 with more than 671 pounds of the deadly opioid seized through the region.

 That’s a 41% increase over the 396 pounds seized in the last fiscal year, and more fentanyl seized than the last two years combined.

Among the seizures was a record 20,000 fake pills seized in partnership with St. Louis County Police Department, and the first colored fake pills DEA has seized. The latter were seized in Kansas. The colored fentanyl has been also seized in powder form throughout the division.

The increase of 41% in fentanyl seizures aligns with the continued increase since the synthetic opioid was first seized by the division in 2017:

“Looking at this staggering increase in seizures, there is no question that DEA and its local, state and federal partners have stepped up our efforts to stop fentanyl from reaching our communities,” said Special Agent in Charge Michael A. Davis. “Unfortunately, the drugs pouring into the Midwest in multiple forms is also a sign that drug trafficking organizations will go to any length to profit from the misery of our citizens. We’ll continue to take down these criminal networks and put out the message that what they’re selling kills.”

In addition, agents and task force officers seized 3,203 pounds of methamphetamine and 57 pounds of heroin. Investigators also seized 503 weapons.

Topping off the St. Louis Division’s statistics for 2022 were its efforts to curtail money laundering by drug trafficking organizations, seizing and stopping $13.7 million from reaching criminal organization leaders.

Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid, is used for pain management in a medical setting and is 50 times more potent than heroin. Drug cartels have been attempting to distribute illicit fentanyl in record amounts, leading to an alarming increase in deaths caused by illicit drugs.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/11/1667925507851.png" alt="In September, law enforcement seized these colored, fake pills with fentanyl in Kansas-photo DEA" />
 <figcaption>In September, law enforcement seized these colored, fake pills with fentanyl in Kansas-photo DEA</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY — The Drug Enforcement Administration St. Louis Division that includes Kansas, Missouri and Illinois broke its fentanyl seizure record in fiscal year 2022 with more than 671 pounds of the deadly opioid seized through the region. That’s a 41% increase over the 396 pounds seized in the last fiscal year, and more fentanyl seized than the last two years combined.Among the seizures was a record 20,000 fake pills seized in partnership with St. Louis County Police Department, and the first colored fake pills DEA has seized. The latter were seized in Kansas. The colored fentanyl has been also seized in powder form throughout the division.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/11/1667925657522.png" alt="DEA seized purple powder fentanyl in Kansas City- photo DEA" />
 <figcaption>DEA seized purple powder fentanyl in Kansas City- photo DEA</figcaption>
 </figure>The increase of 41% in fentanyl seizures aligns with the continued increase since the synthetic opioid was first seized by the division in 2017:<ul>
 <li>FY 2022 – 671 pounds</li><li>FY 2021 – 396 pounds</li><li>FY 2020 – 180 pounds</li><li>FY 2019 – 227 pounds</li><li>FY 2018 – 77 pounds</li>
 </ul>“Looking at this staggering increase in seizures, there is no question that DEA and its local, state and federal partners have stepped up our efforts to stop fentanyl from reaching our communities,” said Special Agent in Charge Michael A. Davis. “Unfortunately, the drugs pouring into the Midwest in multiple forms is also a sign that drug trafficking organizations will go to any length to profit from the misery of our citizens. We’ll continue to take down these criminal networks and put out the message that what they’re selling kills.”In addition, agents and task force officers seized 3,203 pounds of methamphetamine and 57 pounds of heroin. Investigators also seized 503 weapons.Topping off the St. Louis Division’s statistics for 2022 were its efforts to curtail money laundering by drug trafficking organizations, seizing and stopping $13.7 million from reaching criminal organization leaders.Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid, is used for pain management in a medical setting and is 50 times more potent than heroin. Drug cartels have been attempting to distribute illicit fentanyl in record amounts, leading to an alarming increase in deaths caused by illicit drugs.

DEA seized record amount of fentanyl in the Kan., 2 other states 

TOPEKA –&nbsp;The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE), in partnership with The Rockefeller Foundation’s public charity, RF Catalytic Capital and Project Access to Covid Tests (Project ACT), is providing a second round of free at-home COVID-19 tests to households in all Kansas communities. All Kansas households can now visit&nbsp;<a href="https://lnks.gd/l/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJidWxsZXRpbl9saW5rX2lkIjoxMDAsInVyaSI6ImJwMjpjbGljayIsImJ1bGxldGluX2lkIjoiMjAyMjExMTAuNjY1MTY5MDEiLCJ1cmwiOiJodHRwczovL3d3dy5hY2Nlc3Njb3ZpZHRlc3RzLm9yZy8_dXRtX21lZGl1bT1lbWFpbCZ1dG1fc291cmNlPWdvdmRlbGl2ZXJ5In0.LK6i6q9sHhdjt5FZHrsxVzfCWtQqwUetQca9vxkFwDw/s/1305913448/br/147980946722-l" target="_blank">AccessCovidTests.org</a>&nbsp;to place an order for an additional five at-home COVID-19 test kits. Amazon will deliver the test kits directly to your house.

Testing before holiday gatherings is one way to prevent spreading COVID-19 to family and friends. Frequent testing is especially important for those with more exposure outside the home, such as kids in school or people who spend time in a group setting. By visiting&nbsp;<a href="https://lnks.gd/l/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJidWxsZXRpbl9saW5rX2lkIjoxMDEsInVyaSI6ImJwMjpjbGljayIsImJ1bGxldGluX2lkIjoiMjAyMjExMTAuNjY1MTY5MDEiLCJ1cmwiOiJodHRwczovL3d3dy5hY2Nlc3Njb3ZpZHRlc3RzLm9yZy8_dXRtX21lZGl1bT1lbWFpbCZ1dG1fc291cmNlPWdvdmRlbGl2ZXJ5In0.q8UckYc37C-ixo98tudCA4eV5EpS0PRHovKtAfoEg5E/s/1305913448/br/147980946722-l" target="_blank">AccessCovidTests.org</a>, Kansans will be able enter their zip code to order free, rapid, at-home COVID-19 test kits.

Kansans who need more support in ordering can call 866-534-3463 (866-KDHEINF).

If you need additional testing, please visit&nbsp;<a href="https://lnks.gd/l/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJidWxsZXRpbl9saW5rX2lkIjoxMDIsInVyaSI6ImJwMjpjbGljayIsImJ1bGxldGluX2lkIjoiMjAyMjExMTAuNjY1MTY5MDEiLCJ1cmwiOiJodHRwczovL3d3dy5jb3JvbmF2aXJ1cy5rZGhla3MuZ292LzI4MC9DT1ZJRC0xOS1UZXN0aW5nP3V0bV9tZWRpdW09ZW1haWwmdXRtX3NvdXJjZT1nb3ZkZWxpdmVyeSJ9.d6BbEsixXnM0xoaONjf_WytflDzfjM3CiCCST-FxLgg/s/1305913448/br/147980946722-l" target="_blank">KnowBeforeYouGoKS.com</a>&nbsp;to find a free testing site in your community.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/11/1668121481504.png" alt="Frequent testing is especially important for those with more exposure outside the home, such as kids in school or people who spend time in a group setting—whether vaccinated or not." />
 <figcaption>Frequent testing is especially important for those with more exposure outside the home, such as kids in school or people who spend time in a group setting—whether vaccinated or not.</figcaption>
 </figure>TOPEKA –&nbsp;The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE), in partnership with The Rockefeller Foundation’s public charity, RF Catalytic Capital and Project Access to Covid Tests (Project ACT), is providing a second round of free at-home COVID-19 tests to households in all Kansas communities. All Kansas households can now visit&nbsp;<a href="https://lnks.gd/l/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJidWxsZXRpbl9saW5rX2lkIjoxMDAsInVyaSI6ImJwMjpjbGljayIsImJ1bGxldGluX2lkIjoiMjAyMjExMTAuNjY1MTY5MDEiLCJ1cmwiOiJodHRwczovL3d3dy5hY2Nlc3Njb3ZpZHRlc3RzLm9yZy8_dXRtX21lZGl1bT1lbWFpbCZ1dG1fc291cmNlPWdvdmRlbGl2ZXJ5In0.LK6i6q9sHhdjt5FZHrsxVzfCWtQqwUetQca9vxkFwDw/s/1305913448/br/147980946722-l" target="_blank">AccessCovidTests.org</a>&nbsp;to place an order for an additional five at-home COVID-19 test kits. Amazon will deliver the test kits directly to your house.Testing before holiday gatherings is one way to prevent spreading COVID-19 to family and friends. Frequent testing is especially important for those with more exposure outside the home, such as kids in school or people who spend time in a group setting. By visiting&nbsp;<a href="https://lnks.gd/l/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJidWxsZXRpbl9saW5rX2lkIjoxMDEsInVyaSI6ImJwMjpjbGljayIsImJ1bGxldGluX2lkIjoiMjAyMjExMTAuNjY1MTY5MDEiLCJ1cmwiOiJodHRwczovL3d3dy5hY2Nlc3Njb3ZpZHRlc3RzLm9yZy8_dXRtX21lZGl1bT1lbWFpbCZ1dG1fc291cmNlPWdvdmRlbGl2ZXJ5In0.q8UckYc37C-ixo98tudCA4eV5EpS0PRHovKtAfoEg5E/s/1305913448/br/147980946722-l" target="_blank">AccessCovidTests.org</a>, Kansans will be able enter their zip code to order free, rapid, at-home COVID-19 test kits.Kansans who need more support in ordering can call 866-534-3463 (866-KDHEINF).If you need additional testing, please visit&nbsp;<a href="https://lnks.gd/l/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJidWxsZXRpbl9saW5rX2lkIjoxMDIsInVyaSI6ImJwMjpjbGljayIsImJ1bGxldGluX2lkIjoiMjAyMjExMTAuNjY1MTY5MDEiLCJ1cmwiOiJodHRwczovL3d3dy5jb3JvbmF2aXJ1cy5rZGhla3MuZ292LzI4MC9DT1ZJRC0xOS1UZXN0aW5nP3V0bV9tZWRpdW09ZW1haWwmdXRtX3NvdXJjZT1nb3ZkZWxpdmVyeSJ9.d6BbEsixXnM0xoaONjf_WytflDzfjM3CiCCST-FxLgg/s/1305913448/br/147980946722-l" target="_blank">KnowBeforeYouGoKS.com</a>&nbsp;to find a free testing site in your community.

Free COVID-19 tests reordering available for Kan. households

By LAURA SPENCER and CARLOS MARENO <a href="https://www.kcur.org/arts-life/2022-11-04/this-kansas-doctor-collected-medical-artifacts-for-decades-his-very-unusual-collection-is-for-sale">Kansas News Service</a>

Dr. Bruce Hodges, 90, began collecting medical memorabilia as a hobby
 about 55 years ago. It started, he says, “as one item here and one item
 there,” until he had a handful of items to fill a curio cabinet in his 
waiting room.

“It just kind of grew accidentally until I became a serious collector,” he says, “and I’ve accumulated over 5,000 artifacts.”

Those artifacts are now <a href="https://www.auctionbymayo.com/search/auctions/all-sales/ending-soon/all-categories/all-locations?terms=medicine&amp;dist=any&amp;postal=&amp;items=24" target="_blank">up for auction</a>.

Hodges earned a medical degree from the University of Kansas and 
started practicing medicine in 1964. He and his wife, Cathy, who also 
has a medical background, served tours as medical missionaries in 
Africa, where he kept collecting.

Once his collection reached 1,000 to 2,000 items, Hodges says he started looking for a building.

<a href="https://www.medicineshalloffame.com/" target="_blank">Medicine’s Hall of Fame &amp; Museum</a>
 opened March 1, 2020, at the former site of the Johnson County Museum 
in Shawnee, Kansas, but closed a week later due to COVID-19 pandemic 
shutdowns.

In October, the museum closed for good due to low attendance and financial challenges.

Online bidding on the collection is open through Mayo Auction and 
Realty, of Belton, Missouri. In-person previews will take place Friday 
from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Bidding on items will close on Monday, Nov. 7, 
Wednesday, Nov. 9, and Thursday, Nov. 10.

Auctioneer Robert Mayo says it’s a unique situation.

“You
 never see this vast of a collection sell all at once,” Mayo says. “In 
fact, you're never going to see this type of collection be sold ever 
again, because it's not one collection, it's multiple collections.”

The inventory is divided into four categories:<a href="https://bid.auctionbymayo.com/auctions/catalog/id/33824/" target="_blank"> </a><a href="https://bid.auctionbymayo.com/auctions/catalog/id/33824/" target="_blank">antiquities</a>,<a href="https://bid.auctionbymayo.com/auctions/catalog/id/33832/" target="_blank"> </a><a href="https://bid.auctionbymayo.com/auctions/catalog/id/33832/" target="_blank">Africa and Egypt</a>,<a href="https://bid.auctionbymayo.com/auctions/catalog/id/33843/" target="_blank"> </a><a href="https://bid.auctionbymayo.com/auctions/catalog/id/33843/" target="_blank">Native America</a> and <a href="https://bid.auctionbymayo.com/auctions/catalog/id/33854/" target="_blank">apothecary</a>.

“And so it does take a lot of work, for sure, to catalog it and 
present it to all the collectors across the country that are interested 
in bidding on the different types of items here,” says Mayo.

There’s
 a 1915 Ford Model T touring car, and a doctor’s saddle bag from the 
1880s with original medications. Also included are two 1940s iron lungs,
 one designed for children, that were once staples in polio treatment.

“And it's very, very rare,” Hodges says of the pediatric iron lung. “Probably not another one outside of <a href="https://www.si.edu/object/posts_0c16ac483f508011a7a975f440eaf905" target="_blank">the Smithsonian Institution</a>.”

Other items in the collection include an assortment of patent 
medicines, such as “miracle cures” or tonics for liver and kidney 
conditions, an early 1900s shrunken head from the Jivaro tribe of 
Ecuador and Peru, and an 1870s wood and rawhide medicine drum used by 
the Chippewa tribe.

Hodges says he’s disappointed the “gem of a 
museum” didn’t really take off as a tourist destination — he sunk his 
own money into the venture to keep it going.

“But finally (I) just ran out of capital to sustain it,” he says. “So, it’s on the auction block.”

Hodges
 and his wife recently downsized, and he says they just don’t have the 
space to keep any items from the collection. But he hopes that others, 
maybe even some budding collectors, will enjoy it.

“People would 
just be amazed at the collection. And it is quite a variety, if I do say
 so,” he says. “There’s just nothing like it in the area for a hundred 
miles — even beyond that. It is a very unusual collection.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/11/1667837196573.png" alt="Dr. Bruce Hodges pauses in the apothecary exhibit inside Medicine’s Hall of Fame &amp; Museum in Shawnee, Kansas, where all of the items are being auctioned off. Carlos Moreno / KCUR 89.3" />
 <figcaption>Dr. Bruce Hodges pauses in the apothecary exhibit inside Medicine’s Hall of Fame &amp; Museum in Shawnee, Kansas, where all of the items are being auctioned off. Carlos Moreno / KCUR 89.3</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>Thousands of items are up for auction</h2>By LAURA SPENCER and CARLOS MARENO <a href="https://www.kcur.org/arts-life/2022-11-04/this-kansas-doctor-collected-medical-artifacts-for-decades-his-very-unusual-collection-is-for-sale">Kansas News Service</a>Dr. Bruce Hodges, 90, began collecting medical memorabilia as a hobby
 about 55 years ago. It started, he says, “as one item here and one item
 there,” until he had a handful of items to fill a curio cabinet in his 
waiting room.And he kept adding to it.“It just kind of grew accidentally until I became a serious collector,” he says, “and I’ve accumulated over 5,000 artifacts.”Those artifacts are now <a href="https://www.auctionbymayo.com/search/auctions/all-sales/ending-soon/all-categories/all-locations?terms=medicine&amp;dist=any&amp;postal=&amp;items=24" target="_blank">up for auction</a>.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/11/1667837287919.png" alt="A teaching skeleton built from human bones is among the thousands of items up for auction at the Medicine's Hall of Fame &amp; Museum in Shawnee. Carlos Moreno / KCUR 89.3" />
 <figcaption>A teaching skeleton built from human bones is among the thousands of items up for auction at the Medicine's Hall of Fame &amp; Museum in Shawnee. Carlos Moreno / KCUR 89.3</figcaption>
 </figure>Hodges earned a medical degree from the University of Kansas and 
started practicing medicine in 1964. He and his wife, Cathy, who also 
has a medical background, served tours as medical missionaries in 
Africa, where he kept collecting.Once his collection reached 1,000 to 2,000 items, Hodges says he started looking for a building.<a href="https://www.medicineshalloffame.com/" target="_blank">Medicine’s Hall of Fame &amp; Museum</a>
 opened March 1, 2020, at the former site of the Johnson County Museum 
in Shawnee, Kansas, but closed a week later due to COVID-19 pandemic 
shutdowns.In October, the museum closed for good due to low attendance and financial challenges.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/11/1667837323642.png" alt="Among some gruesome instruments inside the museum is a Civil War surgeon's kit, including an amputating saw. Carlos Moreno / KCUR 89.3" />
 <figcaption>Among some gruesome instruments inside the museum is a Civil War surgeon's kit, including an amputating saw. Carlos Moreno / KCUR 89.3</figcaption>
 </figure>Online bidding on the collection is open through Mayo Auction and 
Realty, of Belton, Missouri. In-person previews will take place Friday 
from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Bidding on items will close on Monday, Nov. 7, 
Wednesday, Nov. 9, and Thursday, Nov. 10.Auctioneer Robert Mayo says it’s a unique situation.“You
 never see this vast of a collection sell all at once,” Mayo says. “In 
fact, you're never going to see this type of collection be sold ever 
again, because it's not one collection, it's multiple collections.”The inventory is divided into four categories:<a href="https://bid.auctionbymayo.com/auctions/catalog/id/33824/" target="_blank"> </a><a href="https://bid.auctionbymayo.com/auctions/catalog/id/33824/" target="_blank">antiquities</a>,<a href="https://bid.auctionbymayo.com/auctions/catalog/id/33832/" target="_blank"> </a><a href="https://bid.auctionbymayo.com/auctions/catalog/id/33832/" target="_blank">Africa and Egypt</a>,<a href="https://bid.auctionbymayo.com/auctions/catalog/id/33843/" target="_blank"> </a><a href="https://bid.auctionbymayo.com/auctions/catalog/id/33843/" target="_blank">Native America</a> and <a href="https://bid.auctionbymayo.com/auctions/catalog/id/33854/" target="_blank">apothecary</a>.“And so it does take a lot of work, for sure, to catalog it and 
present it to all the collectors across the country that are interested 
in bidding on the different types of items here,” says Mayo.There’s
 a 1915 Ford Model T touring car, and a doctor’s saddle bag from the 
1880s with original medications. Also included are two 1940s iron lungs,
 one designed for children, that were once staples in polio treatment.“And it's very, very rare,” Hodges says of the pediatric iron lung. “Probably not another one outside of <a href="https://www.si.edu/object/posts_0c16ac483f508011a7a975f440eaf905" target="_blank">the Smithsonian Institution</a>.”Other items in the collection include an assortment of patent 
medicines, such as “miracle cures” or tonics for liver and kidney 
conditions, an early 1900s shrunken head from the Jivaro tribe of 
Ecuador and Peru, and an 1870s wood and rawhide medicine drum used by 
the Chippewa tribe.Hodges says he’s disappointed the “gem of a 
museum” didn’t really take off as a tourist destination — he sunk his 
own money into the venture to keep it going.“But finally (I) just ran out of capital to sustain it,” he says. “So, it’s on the auction block.”Hodges
 and his wife recently downsized, and he says they just don’t have the 
space to keep any items from the collection. But he hopes that others, 
maybe even some budding collectors, will enjoy it.“People would 
just be amazed at the collection. And it is quite a variety, if I do say
 so,” he says. “There’s just nothing like it in the area for a hundred 
miles — even beyond that. It is a very unusual collection.”

Kansas doctor's 'unusual' medical artifact collection' for sale

DALLAS (AP) — Six people were killed after two historic military planes&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/sports-texas-dallas-transportation-air-shows-28e06a464b1f200cfe22b58cc8fdd7f6">collided and crashed to the ground Saturday</a>&nbsp;afternoon during a Dallas air show, officials said.

“According to our Dallas County Medical Examiner, there are a total of 6 fatalities from yesterday’s Wings over Dallas air show incident,” Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/judgeclayj/status/1591780329278345222?s=46&amp;t=IJ1CrvPHkGyrXZH093DoWQ">tweeted Sunday</a>. He said authorities are continuing to work to identify the victims.

Emergency crews raced to the crash scene at the Dallas Executive Airport, about 10 miles (16 kilometers) from the city’s downtown. News footage from the scene showed crumpled wreckage of the planes in a grassy area inside the airport perimeter. Dallas Fire-Rescue told The Dallas Morning News that there were no reported injuries among people on the ground.

Anthony Montoya saw the two planes collide.

“I just stood there. I was in complete shock and disbelief,” said Montoya, 27, who attended the air show with a friend. “Everybody around was gasping. Everybody was bursting into tears. Everybody was in shock.”

Officials did not specify how many people were inside each plane, but Hank Coates, president of the company that put on the airshow, said one of the planes, a B-17 Flying Fortress bomber, typically has a crew of four to five people. The other, a P-63 Kingcobra fighter plane, has a single pilot.

No paying customers were on the aircraft, said Coates, of Commemorative Air Force, which also owned the planes. Their aircraft are flown by highly trained volunteers, often retired pilots, he said.

Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson said the National Transportation Safety Board had taken control of the crash scene, with local police and fire providing support.

“The videos are heartbreaking,” Johnson said on Twitter.

The planes collided and crashed around 1:20 p.m., the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement. The collision occurred during the Commemorative Air Force Wings Over Dallas show.

Victoria Yeager, the widow of famed Air Force test pilot Chuck Yeager and herself a pilot, was also at the show. She didn’t see the collision, but did see the burning wreckage.

“It was pulverized,” said Yeager, 64, who lives in Fort Worth.

“We were just hoping they had all gotten out, but we knew they didn’t,” she said of those on board.

The B-17, a cornerstone of U.S. air power during World War II, is an immense four-engine bomber used in daylight raids against Germany. The Kingcobra, a U.S. fighter plane, was used mostly by Soviet forces during the war. Most B-17s were scrapped at the end of World War II and only a handful remain today, largely featured at museums and air shows, according to Boeing.

Several videos posted on social media showed the fighter plane appearing to fly into the bomber, causing them to quickly crash to the ground and setting off a large ball of fire and smoke.

“It was really horrific to see,” Aubrey Anne Young, 37, of Leander. Texas, who saw the crash. Her children were inside the hangar with their father when it occurred. “I’m still trying to make sense of it.”

A woman next to Young can be heard crying and screaming hysterically on a video that Young uploaded to her Facebook page.

Air show safety — particularly with older military aircraft — has been a concern for years. In 2011, 11 people were killed in Reno, Nevada, when a P-51 Mustang crashed into spectators. In 2019,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/connecticut-hartford-accidents-transportation-8d48d898ee86ee0395c8895b3d91daf4">a bomber crashed in Hartford, Connecticut,</a>&nbsp;killing seven people. The NTSB said then that it had investigated 21 accidents since 1982 involving World War II-era bombers, resulting in 23 deaths.

Wings Over Dallas bills itself as “America’s Premier World War II Airshow,” according to a website advertising the event. The show was scheduled for Nov. 11-13, Veterans Day weekend, and guests were to see more than 40 World War II-era aircraft. Its Saturday afternoon schedule of flying demonstrations included the “bomber parade” and “fighter escorts” that featured the B-17 and P-63.

Arthur Alan Wolk is a Philadelphia aviation attorney who flew in air shows for 12 years. After watching the air show video and hearing the maneuvers described as “bombers on parade,” Wolk told The Associated Press Sunday that the P-63 pilot violated the basic rule of formation flying.

“He went belly up to the leader,” Wolk said. “That prevents him from gauging distance and position. The risk of collision is very high when you cannot see who you are supposed to be in formation with and that kind of join up is not permitted.”

He added, “I am not blaming anyone and to the greatest extent possible air shows, the pilots and the aircraft that fly in them are safe. Air shows are one of the largest spectator events in America and it is rare that a tragedy like this occurs.”

Wolk said it takes extensive training and discipline to fly in an air show setting. The air show qualifications of the P-63 pilot are not known.

The FAA was also launching an investigation, officials said.

DALLAS (AP) — Two historic military aircraft collided and crashed Saturday during an air show in Dallas, exploding into a ball of flames and sending black smoke billowing into the sky. It was not clear how many people were on board.

Officials would not say how many people were on board the planes, but Hank Coates, president of the company that put on the airshow, said one of the planes, a B-17 Flying Fortress bomber, typically has a crew of four to five people. The other, a P-63 Kingcobra fighter plane, has a single pilot.

A team of National Transportation Safety Board investigators will arrive at the scene of the crash on Sunday.

Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson said the NTSB had taken control of the crash scene, with local police and fire providing support.

Victoria Yeager, the widow of famed Air Force test pilot Chuck Yeager and herself a pilot, was also at the show. She didn't see the collision, but did see the burning wreckage.

“It was pulverized," said Yeager, 64, who lives in Fort Worth.

"We were just hoping they had all gotten out, but we knew they didn’t,” she said of those on board.

“It was really horrific to see," Aubrey Anne Young, 37, of Leander. Texas, who saw the crash. Her children were inside the hangar with their father when it occurred. “I’m still trying to make sense of it."

Air show safety - particularly with older military aircraft -&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/connecticut-us-news-ap-top-news-world-war-ii-ct-state-wire-bd8a291db10e4885af369fbc6590b8f8">has been a concern for years</a>. In 2011, 11 people were killed in Reno, Nevada, when a P-51 Mustang crashed into spectators. In 2019, a bomber crashed in Hartford, Connecticut, killing seven people. The NTSB said then that it had investigated&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/303fbf50cb88445fbd298bc0b92fa84b">21 accidents</a>&nbsp;since 1982 involving World War II-era bombers, resulting in 23 deaths.

Videos of previous Wings Over Dallas events depict vintage warplanes flying low, sometimes in close formation, on simulated strafing or bombing runs. The videos also show the planes performing aerobatic stunts.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/11/1668307203249.png" alt="The collision occurred during the Commemorative Air Force Wings Over Dallas show.- photo courtesy CBSDFW TV" />
 <figcaption>The collision occurred during the Commemorative Air Force Wings Over Dallas show.- photo courtesy CBSDFW TV</figcaption>
 </figure>DALLAS (AP) — Six people were killed after two historic military planes&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/sports-texas-dallas-transportation-air-shows-28e06a464b1f200cfe22b58cc8fdd7f6">collided and crashed to the ground Saturday</a>&nbsp;afternoon during a Dallas air show, officials said.“According to our Dallas County Medical Examiner, there are a total of 6 fatalities from yesterday’s Wings over Dallas air show incident,” Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/judgeclayj/status/1591780329278345222?s=46&amp;t=IJ1CrvPHkGyrXZH093DoWQ">tweeted Sunday</a>. He said authorities are continuing to work to identify the victims.Emergency crews raced to the crash scene at the Dallas Executive Airport, about 10 miles (16 kilometers) from the city’s downtown. News footage from the scene showed crumpled wreckage of the planes in a grassy area inside the airport perimeter. Dallas Fire-Rescue told The Dallas Morning News that there were no reported injuries among people on the ground.Anthony Montoya saw the two planes collide.“I just stood there. I was in complete shock and disbelief,” said Montoya, 27, who attended the air show with a friend. “Everybody around was gasping. Everybody was bursting into tears. Everybody was in shock.”Officials did not specify how many people were inside each plane, but Hank Coates, president of the company that put on the airshow, said one of the planes, a B-17 Flying Fortress bomber, typically has a crew of four to five people. The other, a P-63 Kingcobra fighter plane, has a single pilot.No paying customers were on the aircraft, said Coates, of Commemorative Air Force, which also owned the planes. Their aircraft are flown by highly trained volunteers, often retired pilots, he said.Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson said the National Transportation Safety Board had taken control of the crash scene, with local police and fire providing support.“The videos are heartbreaking,” Johnson said on Twitter.The planes collided and crashed around 1:20 p.m., the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement. The collision occurred during the Commemorative Air Force Wings Over Dallas show.Victoria Yeager, the widow of famed Air Force test pilot Chuck Yeager and herself a pilot, was also at the show. She didn’t see the collision, but did see the burning wreckage.“It was pulverized,” said Yeager, 64, who lives in Fort Worth.“We were just hoping they had all gotten out, but we knew they didn’t,” she said of those on board.The B-17, a cornerstone of U.S. air power during World War II, is an immense four-engine bomber used in daylight raids against Germany. The Kingcobra, a U.S. fighter plane, was used mostly by Soviet forces during the war. Most B-17s were scrapped at the end of World War II and only a handful remain today, largely featured at museums and air shows, according to Boeing.Several videos posted on social media showed the fighter plane appearing to fly into the bomber, causing them to quickly crash to the ground and setting off a large ball of fire and smoke.“It was really horrific to see,” Aubrey Anne Young, 37, of Leander. Texas, who saw the crash. Her children were inside the hangar with their father when it occurred. “I’m still trying to make sense of it.”A woman next to Young can be heard crying and screaming hysterically on a video that Young uploaded to her Facebook page.Air show safety — particularly with older military aircraft — has been a concern for years. In 2011, 11 people were killed in Reno, Nevada, when a P-51 Mustang crashed into spectators. In 2019,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/connecticut-hartford-accidents-transportation-8d48d898ee86ee0395c8895b3d91daf4">a bomber crashed in Hartford, Connecticut,</a>&nbsp;killing seven people. The NTSB said then that it had investigated 21 accidents since 1982 involving World War II-era bombers, resulting in 23 deaths.Wings Over Dallas bills itself as “America’s Premier World War II Airshow,” according to a website advertising the event. The show was scheduled for Nov. 11-13, Veterans Day weekend, and guests were to see more than 40 World War II-era aircraft. Its Saturday afternoon schedule of flying demonstrations included the “bomber parade” and “fighter escorts” that featured the B-17 and P-63.Arthur Alan Wolk is a Philadelphia aviation attorney who flew in air shows for 12 years. After watching the air show video and hearing the maneuvers described as “bombers on parade,” Wolk told The Associated Press Sunday that the P-63 pilot violated the basic rule of formation flying.“He went belly up to the leader,” Wolk said. “That prevents him from gauging distance and position. The risk of collision is very high when you cannot see who you are supposed to be in formation with and that kind of join up is not permitted.”He added, “I am not blaming anyone and to the greatest extent possible air shows, the pilots and the aircraft that fly in them are safe. Air shows are one of the largest spectator events in America and it is rare that a tragedy like this occurs.”Wolk said it takes extensive training and discipline to fly in an air show setting. The air show qualifications of the P-63 pilot are not known.The FAA was also launching an investigation, officials said.-------DALLAS (AP) — Two historic military aircraft collided and crashed Saturday during an air show in Dallas, exploding into a ball of flames and sending black smoke billowing into the sky. It was not clear how many people were on board.Emergency crews raced to the crash scene at the Dallas Executive Airport, about 10 miles (16 kilometers) from the city’s downtown. News footage from the scene showed crumpled wreckage of the planes in a grassy area inside the airport perimeter. Dallas Fire-Rescue told The Dallas Morning News that there were no reported injuries among people on the ground.Anthony Montoya saw the two planes collide.“I just stood there. I was in complete shock and disbelief,” said Montoya, 27, who attended the air show with a friend. “Everybody around was gasping. Everybody was bursting into tears. Everybody was in shock.”Officials would not say how many people were on board the planes, but Hank Coates, president of the company that put on the airshow, said one of the planes, a B-17 Flying Fortress bomber, typically has a crew of four to five people. The other, a P-63 Kingcobra fighter plane, has a single pilot.No paying customers were on the aircraft, said Coates, of Commemorative Air Force, which also owned the planes. Their aircraft are flown by highly trained volunteers, often retired pilots, he said.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">The NTSB is launching a go-team to investigate Saturday’s mid-air collision between a Boeing B-17G and a Bell P-63F near Dallas, Texas. Member Michael Graham will serve as spokesperson on scene. Team expected to arrive tomorrow. Check Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/NTSB_Newsroom?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ntsb_newsroom</a> for updates.&mdash; NTSB Newsroom (@NTSB_Newsroom) <a href="https://twitter.com/NTSB_Newsroom/status/1591583319795408896?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 13, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>A team of National Transportation Safety Board investigators will arrive at the scene of the crash on Sunday.Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson said the NTSB had taken control of the crash scene, with local police and fire providing support.“The videos are heartbreaking,” Johnson said on Twitter.The planes collided and crashed around 1:20 p.m., the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement. The collision occurred during the Commemorative Air Force Wings Over Dallas show.Victoria Yeager, the widow of famed Air Force test pilot Chuck Yeager and herself a pilot, was also at the show. She didn't see the collision, but did see the burning wreckage.“It was pulverized," said Yeager, 64, who lives in Fort Worth."We were just hoping they had all gotten out, but we knew they didn’t,” she said of those on board.The B-17, a cornerstone of U.S. air power during World War II, is an immense four-engine bomber used in daylight raids against Germany. The Kingcobra, a U.S. fighter plane, was used mostly by Soviet forces during the war. Most B-17s were scrapped at the end of World War II and only a handful remain today, largely featured at museums and air shows, according to Boeing.Several videos posted on social media showed the fighter plane appearing to fly into the bomber, causing them to quickly crash to the ground and setting off a large ball of fire and smoke.“It was really horrific to see," Aubrey Anne Young, 37, of Leander. Texas, who saw the crash. Her children were inside the hangar with their father when it occurred. “I’m still trying to make sense of it."A woman next to Young can be heard crying and screaming hysterically on a video that Young uploaded to her Facebook page.Air show safety - particularly with older military aircraft -&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/connecticut-us-news-ap-top-news-world-war-ii-ct-state-wire-bd8a291db10e4885af369fbc6590b8f8">has been a concern for years</a>. In 2011, 11 people were killed in Reno, Nevada, when a P-51 Mustang crashed into spectators. In 2019, a bomber crashed in Hartford, Connecticut, killing seven people. The NTSB said then that it had investigated&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/303fbf50cb88445fbd298bc0b92fa84b">21 accidents</a>&nbsp;since 1982 involving World War II-era bombers, resulting in 23 deaths.Wings Over Dallas bills itself as “America’s Premier World War II Airshow,” according to a website advertising the event. The show was scheduled for Nov. 11-13, Veterans Day weekend, and guests were to see more than 40 World War II-era aircraft. Its Saturday afternoon schedule of flying demonstrations included the “bomber parade” and “fighter escorts” that featured the B-17 and P-63.Videos of previous Wings Over Dallas events depict vintage warplanes flying low, sometimes in close formation, on simulated strafing or bombing runs. The videos also show the planes performing aerobatic stunts.The FAA was also launching an investigation, officials said.

Update: 6 dead after 2 historic aircraft collide at Veterans Day show

The United Methodist Church moved toward becoming more progressive and<a href="https://westernjurisdictionumc.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/LGBTQIA-Caucus-Resolution-11.3.22-UPDATED.pdf"> LGBTQ-affirming during U.S. regional meetings</a> this month that included the election of its second openly gay bishop. Conservatives say the developments will only&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/religion-gay-rights-f3fc3ec9e1f39501495d227d5a0963f8">accelerate their exit from</a>&nbsp;one of the nation’s largest Protestant denominations.

Each of the UMC's five U.S. jurisdictions — meeting separately in early November — approved similarly worded measures aspiring to a future of church where “LGBTQIA+ people will be protected, affirmed, and empowered.”

They also passed non-binding measures asking anyone to withdraw from leadership roles if they're planning to leave the denomination soon — a category that almost entirely includes conservatives moving toward the exits.

The denomination still officially bans same-sex marriage and the ordination of any “self-avowed, practicing homosexual,” and only a legislative gathering called the General Conference can change that.

But this month's votes show growing momentum — at least in the American half of the global church — to defy these policies and seek to reverse them at the next legislative gathering in 2024.

Supporters and opponents of these measures drew from the same metaphor to say their church is either becoming more or less of a “big tent,” as the United Methodists have long been described as a theologically diverse, mainstream denomination.

“It demonstrates that the big tent has collapsed,” said the Rev. Jay Therrell, president of the conservative Wesleyan Covenant Association, which has been helping churches that want to leave the denomination.

“For years, bishops have told traditionalists that there is room for everyone in the United Methodist Church," he said. "Not one single traditionalist bishop was elected. Moreover, we now have the most progressive or liberal council of bishops in the history of Methodism, period.”

But Jan Lawrence, executive director of Reconciling Ministries Network, which works toward inclusion of Methodists of all sexual orientations and gender identities, applauded the regional jurisdictions. She cited their LGBTQ-affirming votes and their expansion of the racial, ethnic and gender diversity of bishops.

Jurisdictions elected the church's first Native American and Filipino American bishops, with other landmark votes within specific regions, according to United Methodist News Service.

“It is a big tent church,” Lawrence said. “One of the concerns that some folks expressed is that we don’t have leadership in the church that reflects the diversity of the church. So this episcopal election doesn’t fix that, but it’s a step in the right direction.”

Bishop Cedrick Bridgeforth, elected in the Western Jurisdiction meeting, agreed. He is the first openly gay African-American man to be elected bishop. The vote comes six years after the Western Jurisdiction elected the denomination's first openly lesbian bishop, Karen Oliveto of the Mountain Sky Episcopal Area.

The LGBTQ-affirming resolutions point "to the alignment of the denomination more with the mainstream of our country,” Bridgeforth said. “It can also help us begin to center our conversations where we have unity of purpose, rather than centering on divisions.”

Bridgeforth will lead churches in the Greater Northwest Area, which includes churches in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, and small parts of Montana and Canada. He said he has always worked across ideological lines in his administrative duties and would continue to do so.

“I have used our differences as an opportunity for us to come together,” he said. “It creates more space for a different kind of conversation than, ‘That’s different, that’s bad, we can’t be together.'” If some churches under his jurisdiction do choose to leave the United Methodist Church, Bridgeforth said he would help them make that transition.

“I would not want anybody to be where they don’t want to be,” he said.

Progressive groups have said the church should be open to appointing bishops and other clergy, regardless of sexual orientation, who show they have the gifts for ministry and a commitment to serve the church.

Conservatives, however, say the church needs to abide by its own rules.

“I am sure Bishop Bridgeforth is a person of sacred worth, but he does not meet the qualifications to hold the office of elder, much less bishop, and should not have been elected,” Therrell said.

At least 300 U.S. congregations have left the denomination this year, according to United Methodist News Service. Hundreds more are in the process of leaving, and Therrell predicted that number would be in the low thousands by the end of 2023. Overseas conferences in Bulgaria and Slovakia have ended their affiliation with the denomination, and churches in Africa are considering it, he said.

Many are bound for the newly formed conservative denomination,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/lifestyle-religion-marriage-b6a4ec4a28ce2674932573ba6c850f4a">the Global Methodist Church</a>.

The UMC is a worldwide denomination. American membership has declined to about 6.5 million, from a peak of 11 million in the 1960s. Overseas membership soared to match or exceed that of the U.S., fueled mostly by growth and mergers in Africa. Overseas delegates have historically allied with American conservatives to uphold the church's stances on sexuality.

Support for a compromise measure that would have amicably split the denomination,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ap-top-news-religion-sierra-leone-981b9b19d6d0983f91333974d54085b1">negotiated in 2020,</a>&nbsp;fell apart after that year's legislative General Conference was postponed three times due to the pandemic. The next General Conference is now scheduled to begin in April 2024 in Charlotte, North Carolina.

A vote by a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/north-america-us-news-ap-top-news-mi-state-wire-marriage-15f5b291512e4a39a6c93ad9eb1a3ee9">2019 General Conference</a>&nbsp;was the latest of several in recent decades that reinforced the church's ban on gay clergy and marriage. But that vote also prompted many local conferences to elect more liberal and centrist delegates, whose influence was felt in this month's regional votes.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/11/1668266869687.png" alt="Bishop Cedrick Bridgeforth, the first openly gay African-American man elected Bishop, at Battle Ground Community Methodist Church. The photo shows Bridgeforth and his husband&nbsp;Christopher Hucks-Ortiz.&nbsp; -image courtesy the BGCUMC YouTube page" />
 <figcaption>Bishop Cedrick Bridgeforth, the first openly gay African-American man elected Bishop, at Battle Ground Community Methodist Church. The photo shows Bridgeforth and his husband&nbsp;Christopher Hucks-Ortiz.&nbsp; -image courtesy the BGCUMC YouTube page</figcaption>
 </figure>By PETER SMITH Associated PressThe United Methodist Church moved toward becoming more progressive and<a href="https://westernjurisdictionumc.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/LGBTQIA-Caucus-Resolution-11.3.22-UPDATED.pdf"> LGBTQ-affirming during U.S. regional meetings</a> this month that included the election of its second openly gay bishop. Conservatives say the developments will only&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/religion-gay-rights-f3fc3ec9e1f39501495d227d5a0963f8">accelerate their exit from</a>&nbsp;one of the nation’s largest Protestant denominations.<div><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/abWgyO1C2nM?start=146" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>Each of the UMC's five U.S. jurisdictions — meeting separately in early November — approved similarly worded measures aspiring to a future of church where “LGBTQIA+ people will be protected, affirmed, and empowered.”They also passed non-binding measures asking anyone to withdraw from leadership roles if they're planning to leave the denomination soon — a category that almost entirely includes conservatives moving toward the exits.The denomination still officially bans same-sex marriage and the ordination of any “self-avowed, practicing homosexual,” and only a legislative gathering called the General Conference can change that.But this month's votes show growing momentum — at least in the American half of the global church — to defy these policies and seek to reverse them at the next legislative gathering in 2024.Supporters and opponents of these measures drew from the same metaphor to say their church is either becoming more or less of a “big tent,” as the United Methodists have long been described as a theologically diverse, mainstream denomination.“It demonstrates that the big tent has collapsed,” said the Rev. Jay Therrell, president of the conservative Wesleyan Covenant Association, which has been helping churches that want to leave the denomination.“For years, bishops have told traditionalists that there is room for everyone in the United Methodist Church," he said. "Not one single traditionalist bishop was elected. Moreover, we now have the most progressive or liberal council of bishops in the history of Methodism, period.”But Jan Lawrence, executive director of Reconciling Ministries Network, which works toward inclusion of Methodists of all sexual orientations and gender identities, applauded the regional jurisdictions. She cited their LGBTQ-affirming votes and their expansion of the racial, ethnic and gender diversity of bishops.Jurisdictions elected the church's first Native American and Filipino American bishops, with other landmark votes within specific regions, according to United Methodist News Service.“It is a big tent church,” Lawrence said. “One of the concerns that some folks expressed is that we don’t have leadership in the church that reflects the diversity of the church. So this episcopal election doesn’t fix that, but it’s a step in the right direction.”Bishop Cedrick Bridgeforth, elected in the Western Jurisdiction meeting, agreed. He is the first openly gay African-American man to be elected bishop. The vote comes six years after the Western Jurisdiction elected the denomination's first openly lesbian bishop, Karen Oliveto of the Mountain Sky Episcopal Area.The LGBTQ-affirming resolutions point "to the alignment of the denomination more with the mainstream of our country,” Bridgeforth said. “It can also help us begin to center our conversations where we have unity of purpose, rather than centering on divisions.”Bridgeforth will lead churches in the Greater Northwest Area, which includes churches in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, and small parts of Montana and Canada. He said he has always worked across ideological lines in his administrative duties and would continue to do so.“I have used our differences as an opportunity for us to come together,” he said. “It creates more space for a different kind of conversation than, ‘That’s different, that’s bad, we can’t be together.'” If some churches under his jurisdiction do choose to leave the United Methodist Church, Bridgeforth said he would help them make that transition.“I would not want anybody to be where they don’t want to be,” he said.Progressive groups have said the church should be open to appointing bishops and other clergy, regardless of sexual orientation, who show they have the gifts for ministry and a commitment to serve the church.Conservatives, however, say the church needs to abide by its own rules.“I am sure Bishop Bridgeforth is a person of sacred worth, but he does not meet the qualifications to hold the office of elder, much less bishop, and should not have been elected,” Therrell said.At least 300 U.S. congregations have left the denomination this year, according to United Methodist News Service. Hundreds more are in the process of leaving, and Therrell predicted that number would be in the low thousands by the end of 2023. Overseas conferences in Bulgaria and Slovakia have ended their affiliation with the denomination, and churches in Africa are considering it, he said.Many are bound for the newly formed conservative denomination,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/lifestyle-religion-marriage-b6a4ec4a28ce2674932573ba6c850f4a">the Global Methodist Church</a>.The UMC is a worldwide denomination. American membership has declined to about 6.5 million, from a peak of 11 million in the 1960s. Overseas membership soared to match or exceed that of the U.S., fueled mostly by growth and mergers in Africa. Overseas delegates have historically allied with American conservatives to uphold the church's stances on sexuality.Support for a compromise measure that would have amicably split the denomination,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ap-top-news-religion-sierra-leone-981b9b19d6d0983f91333974d54085b1">negotiated in 2020,</a>&nbsp;fell apart after that year's legislative General Conference was postponed three times due to the pandemic. The next General Conference is now scheduled to begin in April 2024 in Charlotte, North Carolina.A vote by a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/north-america-us-news-ap-top-news-mi-state-wire-marriage-15f5b291512e4a39a6c93ad9eb1a3ee9">2019 General Conference</a>&nbsp;was the latest of several in recent decades that reinforced the church's ban on gay clergy and marriage. But that vote also prompted many local conferences to elect more liberal and centrist delegates, whose influence was felt in this month's regional votes.

LGBTQ-friendly votes signal progressive shift for Methodists

KANSAS CITY, Kan. —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a fatal shooting.

Just after midnight Sunday morning, police were dispatched to report of a shooting near Kansas Avenue and Berger Avenue in Kansas City, Kansas, according to a media release.

At the scene, they found a man inside a vehicle with a life-threatening gunshot wound. EMS transported him to an area hospital where he later died.

Police released no additional details early Sunday.

KANSAS CITY, Kan. —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a fatal shooting.Just after midnight Sunday morning, police were dispatched to report of a shooting near Kansas Avenue and Berger Avenue in Kansas City, Kansas, according to a media release.At the scene, they found a man inside a vehicle with a life-threatening gunshot wound. EMS transported him to an area hospital where he later died.Police released no additional details early Sunday.

Police: Kan. man found in vehicle with gunshot wound has died

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats kept control of the Senate on Saturday, repelling Republican efforts to retake the chamber and making it harder for them to thwart President&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/joe-biden">Joe Biden's</a>&nbsp;agenda. The fate of the House was still uncertain as the GOP struggled to pull together a slim majority there.

Sen.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/catherine-cortez-masto">Catherine Cortez Masto's</a>&nbsp;victory in Nevada gave Democrats the 50 seats they needed to keep the Senate. Her win reflects the surprising strength of Democrats across the U.S. this&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/2022-midterm-elections">election year</a>. Seeking reelection in an economically challenged state that has some of the highest gas prices in the nation, Cortez Masto was considered the Senate's most vulnerable member, adding to the frustration of Republicans who were confident she could be defeated.

“We got a lot done and we'll do a lot more for the American people,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Saturday night. “The American people rejected — soundly rejected — the anti-democratic, authoritarian, nasty and divisive direction the MAGA Republicans wanted to take our country."

With the results in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/nevada">Nevada</a>&nbsp;now decided, Georgia is the only state where both parties are still competing for a Senate seat. Democratic incumbent Sen. Raphael Warnock faces GOP challenger Herschel Walker in a Dec. 6 runoff. Alaska's Senate race has advanced to ranked choice voting, though the seat will stay in Republican hands.

Democratic control of the Senate ensures a smoother process for Biden's Cabinet appointments and judicial picks, including those for potential Supreme Court openings. The party will also keep control over committees and have the power to conduct investigations or oversight of the Biden administration, and will be able to reject legislation sent over by the House if the GOP wins that chamber.

If Democrats manage to pull off a win in the House, it would mean full control of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/congress">Congress</a>&nbsp;for Democrats — and another chance to advance Biden priorities, which he has said include codifying abortion rights. The party still lacks the 60 votes in the Senate needed to move many kinds of major legislative changes.

The Senate fight had hinged on a handful of deeply contested seats. Both parties spent tens of millions of dollars in Pennsylvania, Arizona, Nevada and Georgia, the top battlegrounds where Democrats had hoped that Republicans’ decision to nominate untested candidates — many backed by former President Donald Trump — would help them defy national headwinds.

Democrats scored a big win in Pennsylvania, where Lt. Gov. John Fetterman&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/pennsylvania-senate-race-2022-midterm-elections-93709b5b7ab4cef658f45751cd76c090">defeated</a>&nbsp;celebrity heart surgeon Dr. Mehmet Oz, who was endorsed by Trump, to pick up a seat currently held by a Republican. Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly won reelection by about 5 percentage points.

A closely divided swing state, Nevada is one of the most racially diverse in the nation, a working-class state whose residents have been especially hard-hit by inflation and other economic turmoil. Roughly three-fourths of Nevada voters said the country is headed in the wrong direction, and about half called the economy the most important issue facing the country, according to AP VoteCast, a survey of 2,100 of the state’s voters.

Heading into the midterm election, Republicans focused relentlessly on the economy, a top concern for many voters amid stubborn inflation and high gas and food prices. The GOP also hit Democrats on crime, a message that sometimes overstated the threat but nonetheless tapped into anxiety, particularly among the suburban voters who turned away from the party in 2018 and 2020. And they highlighted illegal border crossings, accusing Biden and other Democrats of failing to protect the country.

But Democrats were buoyed by voters angry about the Supreme Court’s June decision overturning the constitutional right to an abortion. They also portrayed Republicans as too extreme and a threat to democracy, following the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol and Trump’s false claims — repeated by many GOP candidates — that the 2020 election was stolen from him.

Schumer said Democratic candidates' promises to defend abortion rights resonated with voters. He said the election results made him feel good about the country and its commitment to democracy.

“We knew that the negativity, the nastiness, the condoning of Donald Trump’s big lie — and saying that the elections were rigged when there’s no proof of that at all — would hurt Republicans, not help them,” Schumer said. “But too many of them, and their candidates, fell into those traps.”

Referring to Trump's “Make America Great Again” slogan, Schumer said voters had rejected "extremist MAGA Republicans.”

Nationally, VoteCast showed that 7 in 10 voters said the Supreme Court’s decision on Roe v. Wade was an important factor in their midterm decisions. It also showed the reversal was broadly unpopular. And roughly 6 in 10 said they favor a law guaranteeing access to legal abortion nationwide.

Half of voters said inflation factored significantly in their vote, while 44% said the future of democracy was their primary consideration.

Beyond Congress, Democrats won key governors’ races in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania — battlegrounds critical to Biden’s 2020 win over Trump. Republicans, though, held governors’ mansions in Florida, Texas and Georgia — another battleground state Biden narrowly won two years ago.

Though the midterms failed to deliver Republican romps, Trump remains a major factor in the national party and plans to announce his a third run for the presidency Tuesday at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida — setting up a potential rematch for the White House with Biden.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/7/1626283910947.png" alt="“We got a lot done and we'll do a lot more for the American people,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Saturday night.- file photo courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>“We got a lot done and we'll do a lot more for the American people,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Saturday night.- file photo courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats kept control of the Senate on Saturday, repelling Republican efforts to retake the chamber and making it harder for them to thwart President&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/joe-biden">Joe Biden's</a>&nbsp;agenda. The fate of the House was still uncertain as the GOP struggled to pull together a slim majority there.Sen.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/catherine-cortez-masto">Catherine Cortez Masto's</a>&nbsp;victory in Nevada gave Democrats the 50 seats they needed to keep the Senate. Her win reflects the surprising strength of Democrats across the U.S. this&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/2022-midterm-elections">election year</a>. Seeking reelection in an economically challenged state that has some of the highest gas prices in the nation, Cortez Masto was considered the Senate's most vulnerable member, adding to the frustration of Republicans who were confident she could be defeated.“We got a lot done and we'll do a lot more for the American people,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Saturday night. “The American people rejected — soundly rejected — the anti-democratic, authoritarian, nasty and divisive direction the MAGA Republicans wanted to take our country."With the results in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/nevada">Nevada</a>&nbsp;now decided, Georgia is the only state where both parties are still competing for a Senate seat. Democratic incumbent Sen. Raphael Warnock faces GOP challenger Herschel Walker in a Dec. 6 runoff. Alaska's Senate race has advanced to ranked choice voting, though the seat will stay in Republican hands.Democratic control of the Senate ensures a smoother process for Biden's Cabinet appointments and judicial picks, including those for potential Supreme Court openings. The party will also keep control over committees and have the power to conduct investigations or oversight of the Biden administration, and will be able to reject legislation sent over by the House if the GOP wins that chamber.If Democrats manage to pull off a win in the House, it would mean full control of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/congress">Congress</a>&nbsp;for Democrats — and another chance to advance Biden priorities, which he has said include codifying abortion rights. The party still lacks the 60 votes in the Senate needed to move many kinds of major legislative changes.The Senate fight had hinged on a handful of deeply contested seats. Both parties spent tens of millions of dollars in Pennsylvania, Arizona, Nevada and Georgia, the top battlegrounds where Democrats had hoped that Republicans’ decision to nominate untested candidates — many backed by former President Donald Trump — would help them defy national headwinds.Democrats scored a big win in Pennsylvania, where Lt. Gov. John Fetterman&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/pennsylvania-senate-race-2022-midterm-elections-93709b5b7ab4cef658f45751cd76c090">defeated</a>&nbsp;celebrity heart surgeon Dr. Mehmet Oz, who was endorsed by Trump, to pick up a seat currently held by a Republican. Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly won reelection by about 5 percentage points.A closely divided swing state, Nevada is one of the most racially diverse in the nation, a working-class state whose residents have been especially hard-hit by inflation and other economic turmoil. Roughly three-fourths of Nevada voters said the country is headed in the wrong direction, and about half called the economy the most important issue facing the country, according to AP VoteCast, a survey of 2,100 of the state’s voters.Heading into the midterm election, Republicans focused relentlessly on the economy, a top concern for many voters amid stubborn inflation and high gas and food prices. The GOP also hit Democrats on crime, a message that sometimes overstated the threat but nonetheless tapped into anxiety, particularly among the suburban voters who turned away from the party in 2018 and 2020. And they highlighted illegal border crossings, accusing Biden and other Democrats of failing to protect the country.But Democrats were buoyed by voters angry about the Supreme Court’s June decision overturning the constitutional right to an abortion. They also portrayed Republicans as too extreme and a threat to democracy, following the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol and Trump’s false claims — repeated by many GOP candidates — that the 2020 election was stolen from him.Schumer said Democratic candidates' promises to defend abortion rights resonated with voters. He said the election results made him feel good about the country and its commitment to democracy.“We knew that the negativity, the nastiness, the condoning of Donald Trump’s big lie — and saying that the elections were rigged when there’s no proof of that at all — would hurt Republicans, not help them,” Schumer said. “But too many of them, and their candidates, fell into those traps.”Referring to Trump's “Make America Great Again” slogan, Schumer said voters had rejected "extremist MAGA Republicans.”Nationally, VoteCast showed that 7 in 10 voters said the Supreme Court’s decision on Roe v. Wade was an important factor in their midterm decisions. It also showed the reversal was broadly unpopular. And roughly 6 in 10 said they favor a law guaranteeing access to legal abortion nationwide.Half of voters said inflation factored significantly in their vote, while 44% said the future of democracy was their primary consideration.Beyond Congress, Democrats won key governors’ races in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania — battlegrounds critical to Biden’s 2020 win over Trump. Republicans, though, held governors’ mansions in Florida, Texas and Georgia — another battleground state Biden narrowly won two years ago.Though the midterms failed to deliver Republican romps, Trump remains a major factor in the national party and plans to announce his a third run for the presidency Tuesday at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida — setting up a potential rematch for the White House with Biden.

Democrats keep Senate majority as GOP push falters in Nevada

SEDGWICK COUNTY —A Kansas man charged in the drive-shooting at a home in Wichita that critically injured an 11-year-old girl has been sentenced to over 14-years in prison, according to the Sedgwick County District Attorney. In October, Purcell pleaded guilty to aggravated battery in the case.

Just after 12:30 a.m. Oct. 12, 2021 officers responded to&nbsp;a shooting in the 1400 block of North Harding in Wichita. They found the girl laying in her bed with a gunshot wound. On Oct. 14., police arrested&nbsp;<a href="https://ssc.sedgwickcounty.org/sheriffinmates/SheriffInmateDetail.aspx?nameId=18777609">Purcell</a>&nbsp;and originally charged him with&nbsp;aggravated battery, criminal discharge of a firearm and criminal possession of a weapon by a felon.

Police reported an<a href="https://www.gofundme.com/f/victim-of-shooting-family-needs-help?member=14541373&amp;sharetype=teams&amp;utm_campaign=p_na+share-sheet&amp;utm_medium=more&amp;utm_source=customer">&nbsp;11-year-old girl&nbsp;</a>was in the house and asleep in her bed when she was hit by the gunfire. She was taken to a hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening. Police say four other people in the home at the time of the shooting were not injured.

Since Nov. 2017 Purcell was in one of several Kansas prisons following three convictions for aggravated robbery. The state also reported Purcell had over two dozen disciplinary violation during his time in prison. He was released in June, according to the Kansas Dept. of Corrections.

<figure>
 <img src="https://kake.images.worldnow.com/images/21546900_G.jpeg?auto=webp&amp;disable=upscale&amp;height=560&amp;fit=bounds&amp;lastEditedDate=1634302649000" alt="Purcell-photo Sedgwick Co." />
 <figcaption>Purcell-photo Sedgwick Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>SEDGWICK COUNTY —A Kansas man charged in the drive-shooting at a home in Wichita that critically injured an 11-year-old girl has been sentenced to over 14-years in prison, according to the Sedgwick County District Attorney. In October, Purcell pleaded guilty to aggravated battery in the case.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/10/1634162750977.png" alt="Image of the suspect vehicle driving by the home -Wichita Police" />
 <figcaption>Image of the suspect vehicle driving by the home -Wichita Police</figcaption>
 </figure>Just after 12:30 a.m. Oct. 12, 2021 officers responded to&nbsp;a shooting in the 1400 block of North Harding in Wichita. They found the girl laying in her bed with a gunshot wound. On Oct. 14., police arrested&nbsp;<a href="https://ssc.sedgwickcounty.org/sheriffinmates/SheriffInmateDetail.aspx?nameId=18777609">Purcell</a>&nbsp;and originally charged him with&nbsp;aggravated battery, criminal discharge of a firearm and criminal possession of a weapon by a felon.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/10/1634171148198.png" alt="A cousin established a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gofundme.com/f/victim-of-shooting-family-needs-help?member=14541373&amp;sharetype=teams&amp;utm_campaign=p_na+share-sheet&amp;utm_medium=more&amp;utm_source=customer">GoFundMe page&nbsp;</a>to help the girl's family with medical expenses.&nbsp;" />
 <figcaption>A cousin established a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gofundme.com/f/victim-of-shooting-family-needs-help?member=14541373&amp;sharetype=teams&amp;utm_campaign=p_na+share-sheet&amp;utm_medium=more&amp;utm_source=customer">GoFundMe page&nbsp;</a>to help the girl's family with medical expenses.&nbsp;</figcaption>
 </figure>Police reported an<a href="https://www.gofundme.com/f/victim-of-shooting-family-needs-help?member=14541373&amp;sharetype=teams&amp;utm_campaign=p_na+share-sheet&amp;utm_medium=more&amp;utm_source=customer">&nbsp;11-year-old girl&nbsp;</a>was in the house and asleep in her bed when she was hit by the gunfire. She was taken to a hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening. Police say four other people in the home at the time of the shooting were not injured.Since Nov. 2017 Purcell was in one of several Kansas prisons following three convictions for aggravated robbery. The state also reported Purcell had over two dozen disciplinary violation during his time in prison. He was released in June, according to the Kansas Dept. of Corrections.

Kan. felon sentenced for drive-by shooting that injured girl

GEARY COUNTY—Two people died in an accident just after 3a.m. Saturday in Geary County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2015 Ford F150 driven by John A.&nbsp;Wagnaar III, 34, Manhattan, was westbound in the eastbound passing lane of Interstate 70 at Deep Creek Road.

The pickup and an eastbound 2013 Honda Civic driven by Morgan L. Taylor, 31, Colorado Springs, collided head-on. After impact the Ford rolled into the median and caught fire. .

Wagnaar and Taylor were pronounced dead at the scene and transported to&nbsp;Johnson Cremations, Funerals and Receptions. The KHP had incomplete seat belt usage information.

GEARY COUNTY—Two people died in an accident just after 3a.m. Saturday in Geary County.The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2015 Ford F150 driven by John A.&nbsp;Wagnaar III, 34, Manhattan, was westbound in the eastbound passing lane of Interstate 70 at Deep Creek Road.The pickup and an eastbound 2013 Honda Civic driven by Morgan L. Taylor, 31, Colorado Springs, collided head-on. After impact the Ford rolled into the median and caught fire. .Wagnaar and Taylor were pronounced dead at the scene and transported to&nbsp;Johnson Cremations, Funerals and Receptions. The KHP had incomplete seat belt usage information.