SHAWNEE COUNTY —Law enforcement investigating a homicide in Topeka have identified the victim as 22-year-old&nbsp;Yancy Whitehead of Topeka, according to&nbsp;Police LT Donna Eubanks.&nbsp;

Police are also asking for help to locate a person of interest in the homicide. If you know the whereabouts of Robert Reyes, 49, of Topeka, or have any information about the incident, please call 911 or report anonymously to Shawnee County Crime Stoppers at 785-234-0007.

Just after 3a.m. Saturday police responded to a reported shooting in the 2900 block of SE Freemont Road in Topeka, according to Police&nbsp;LT Donna Eubanks. First responders located Whitehead with life-threatening injuries. He was&nbsp; pronounced deceased on scene by medical personnel.

Topeka Police were later notified of two other individuals that had arrived at an area hospital. One individual had life-threatening injuries and one a non-life-threatening injury.

This is the city’s 3rd homicide investigation of 2025.&nbsp; 

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/3/1741531482789.png" alt="Reyes photo Topeka Police" />
 <figcaption>Reyes photo Topeka Police</figcaption>
 </figure>SHAWNEE COUNTY —Law enforcement investigating a homicide in Topeka have identified the victim as 22-year-old&nbsp;Yancy Whitehead of Topeka, according to&nbsp;Police LT Donna Eubanks.&nbsp;Police are also asking for help to locate a person of interest in the homicide. If you know the whereabouts of Robert Reyes, 49, of Topeka, or have any information about the incident, please call 911 or report anonymously to Shawnee County Crime Stoppers at 785-234-0007.Just after 3a.m. Saturday police responded to a reported shooting in the 2900 block of SE Freemont Road in Topeka, according to Police&nbsp;LT Donna Eubanks. First responders located Whitehead with life-threatening injuries. He was&nbsp; pronounced deceased on scene by medical personnel.Topeka Police were later notified of two other individuals that had arrived at an area hospital. One individual had life-threatening injuries and one a non-life-threatening injury.This is the city’s 3rd homicide investigation of 2025.&nbsp;

Police ask for help to locate Kansas homicide suspect

BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://stateline.org/author/thenderson/">TIM HENDERSON</a> <a href="https://stateline.org/">Stateline</a>

As the Trump administration seeks more partners to help round up immigrants living in the United States illegally, some states and cities are eager to step up, despite risks of racial profiling.

Florida, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Texas, Virginia and even Arizona’s Democratic governor are pursuing statewide plans to help find immigrants for possible deportation.

And the number of state and local agencies planning “task force” agreements with the feds to do street-level immigration enforcement has reached 121 departments in 12 states: Florida, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma and Texas.

The sudden ramping up of the local task force agreements — which led to racial profiling lawsuits 20 years ago when they were common in Republican and Democratic states — is a sign that the Trump administration wants more deportations, said Tom Wong, an associate professor and director of the U.S. Immigration Policy Center at the University of California, San Diego.

“These agreements are intended to be the force multiplier they need in order to enact mass deportations. The Trump administration is using all the tools at its disposal to try to ramp up the identification and detention of undocumented immigrants,” Wong said.

President Donald Trump wants to move quickly: He recently&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/trump-administration-reassigning-acting-ice-director-rcna193225" target="_blank">reassigned</a>&nbsp;Caleb Vitello, the acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, to a different post because immigration arrests and deportations weren’t as robust as Trump wanted. The United States would&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/trump-angry-deportation-numbers-are-not-higher-rcna191273" target="_blank">need</a>&nbsp;to deport more than 2,700 people a day to meet his goal of 1 million a year.

Doris Meissner, who held top positions in the former Immigration and Naturalization Service in the Reagan and Clinton administrations, said the task force agreements had “basically disappeared in recent years” because of their reputation for leading to “racial profiling and over-policing in immigrant communities.” The agreements were discontinued in 2012 during the Obama administration.

“That has changed dramatically and quickly with the new Trump administration,” Meissner said in an interview. “[The agreements] are now on a list of ramping-up actions we’re seeing in pursuit of mass deportations.”

The administration is increasingly pressuring state and local authorities to help with immigration arrests traditionally reserved for federal agents, according to a February&nbsp;<a href="https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/trump-mass-deportation-priority?eType=EmailBlastContent&amp;eId=2043f21f-2eea-411a-a070-66d7ac706b02" target="_blank">report</a>&nbsp;by the Migration Policy Institute, a Washington, D.C., think tank where Meissner is now director of the U.S. immigration policy program.

Along with state and local law enforcement agencies, the Trump administration has enlisted federal agencies that have never before played a role in immigration enforcement: the Internal Revenue Service, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Migration Policy Institute report found.

One result of local involvement, according to a&nbsp;<a href="https://usipc.ucsd.edu/publications/usipc-working-paper-1.pdf" target="_blank">report</a>&nbsp;Wong authored in 2019, is that once residents know that local police could question and arrest them on immigration charges, they are less likely to report crimes when they are victims or witnesses.

The new task force agreements allow local law enforcement, after training, to investigate immigration violations during day-to-day patrol duties. Sheriff Larry Kendrick in Owyhee County, Idaho, said he opted for it because voters in the county want it.

“My constituents support President Trump,” Kendrick said. “And of course me. I support the president’s mission 100%. I will do anything in my power to assist him.”

Kendrick said he doesn’t expect non-criminal immigrants, such as those staffing local dairy farms, to get any trouble from his deputies.

“We haven’t had any crime, really, out of that,” Kendrick said. “The main thing that bothers me is fentanyl.”

Wong said it’s typical for counties such as Owyhee County, which&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Owyhee_County,_Idaho" target="_blank">voted</a>&nbsp;almost 83% for Trump last year, to be eager to join forces on immigration. But non-criminal immigrants are still likely to pay a price, he said.

“It is naïve for local officials to think they will only focus on things like fentanyl, when most of the immigration enforcement functions are going to identify undocumented immigrants, likely with no criminal history,” Wong said.

Most officials do stress the importance of removing criminals when calling for more task force agreements.

In announcing the revived task force program, border czar Tom Homan said he planned to “prioritize” criminals but also expected to deport people living here illegally even if they had no criminal record.

“We promised a mass deportation and that’s exactly what we’re going to do,” Homan told sheriffs at a February conference.

New Hampshire Gov. Kelly Ayotte, a Republican, said in a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.governor.nh.gov/news/governor-ayotte-statement-new-hampshire-law-enforcement-cooperating-ice" target="_blank">statement</a>&nbsp;she supports state and local law enforcement agencies applying for the new task force cooperation agreements. “Criminals who are in our country illegally and pose a danger should be apprehended and removed,” she wrote.

Some areas that made use of the agreements decades ago are not interested in trying it again. In&nbsp;<a href="https://www.migrationpolicy.org/sites/default/files/publications/287g-divergence.pdf" target="_blank">2010</a>&nbsp;there were 40 such agreements in 19 states, including nine in Virginia and seven in Arizona.

To date there are no agreements in Virginia or Arizona, though Arizona’s Democratic governor, Katie Hobbs, signed an&nbsp;<a href="https://azgovernor.gov/office-arizona-governor/news/2025/02/governor-katie-hobbs-signs-executive-order-secure-border" target="_blank">executive order</a>&nbsp;Feb. 25 calling for an unspecified partnership with federal authorities in the state’s four border counties. The goal is stopping more fentanyl and human trafficking and not to “indiscriminately round people up,” according to Hobbs’ statement.

Arizona sheriffs have not heard anything specific about the governor’s plan, said David Rhodes, the Republican sheriff of Yavapai County and president of the Arizona Sheriffs’ Association. Yavapai County voted&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yavapai_County,_Arizona" target="_blank">heavily for Trump</a>. And much of the nation’s fentanyl supply is smuggled over Arizona’s highways, Rhodes said, so he’s happy to cooperate with federal authorities on immigration.

But he’s not sure he wants the task force model if it means he and his deputies will have to single people out based on appearance to ask about immigration status.

“I don’t know how you could even tell from looking at somebody that they’re here illegally or not. So we don’t do that. That’s very risky, very close to racial profiling there,” Rhodes said.

ICE guidelines issued in February say “racial profiling is simply not something that will be tolerated” under the new task force agreements.

In Virginia, which had the most task force agreements of any state in 2010, no sheriff has yet shown interest, said John Jones, executive director of the Virginia Sheriffs’ Association. However Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed an executive order Feb. 27 requiring state police to sign a task force agreement and local jails to cooperate with the state task force.

In North Carolina, a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ncleg.gov/BillLookUp/2025/S153" target="_blank">bill</a>&nbsp;progressing in the state Senate would mandate state agencies cooperate with federal immigration authorities, but does not include specifics.

In Hudson County, New Jersey, one of the few urban, immigrant-friendly Democratic areas that had a task force agreement in 2010, leaders have no interest in trying it again, said county spokesperson Mark Cygan. Since 2018, the state has had an&nbsp;<a href="https://www.njoag.gov/trust/" target="_blank">“immigrant trust directive”</a>&nbsp;directing local authorities not to cooperate with federal immigration authorities or ask about immigration status during routine police work.

“With the sort of abuses there have been, and listening to our constituents and advocates that work on immigrant right here in Hudson County, we realized this policy just wasn’t going to work out for our county anymore. So we dropped out of the agreement,” Cygan said.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/2/1740147958319.png" alt="U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrest a man from Venezuela in Miami in February after a wire fraud conviction. As the Trump administration attacks local sanctuary policies, some states and local governments continue to do what little they can to protect some immigrants from deportation. (Courtesy of Miami ICE Enforcement &amp; Removal Operations office)" />
 <figcaption>U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrest a man from Venezuela in Miami in February after a wire fraud conviction. As the Trump administration attacks local sanctuary policies, some states and local governments continue to do what little they can to protect some immigrants from deportation. (Courtesy of Miami ICE Enforcement &amp; Removal Operations office)</figcaption>
 </figure>BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://stateline.org/author/thenderson/">TIM HENDERSON</a> <a href="https://stateline.org/">Stateline</a>As the Trump administration seeks more partners to help round up immigrants living in the United States illegally, some states and cities are eager to step up, despite risks of racial profiling.Florida, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Texas, Virginia and even Arizona’s Democratic governor are pursuing statewide plans to help find immigrants for possible deportation.And the number of state and local agencies planning “task force” agreements with the feds to do street-level immigration enforcement has reached 121 departments in 12 states: Florida, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma and Texas.The sudden ramping up of the local task force agreements — which led to racial profiling lawsuits 20 years ago when they were common in Republican and Democratic states — is a sign that the Trump administration wants more deportations, said Tom Wong, an associate professor and director of the U.S. Immigration Policy Center at the University of California, San Diego.“These agreements are intended to be the force multiplier they need in order to enact mass deportations. The Trump administration is using all the tools at its disposal to try to ramp up the identification and detention of undocumented immigrants,” Wong said.President Donald Trump wants to move quickly: He recently&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/trump-administration-reassigning-acting-ice-director-rcna193225" target="_blank">reassigned</a>&nbsp;Caleb Vitello, the acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, to a different post because immigration arrests and deportations weren’t as robust as Trump wanted. The United States would&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/trump-angry-deportation-numbers-are-not-higher-rcna191273" target="_blank">need</a>&nbsp;to deport more than 2,700 people a day to meet his goal of 1 million a year.Doris Meissner, who held top positions in the former Immigration and Naturalization Service in the Reagan and Clinton administrations, said the task force agreements had “basically disappeared in recent years” because of their reputation for leading to “racial profiling and over-policing in immigrant communities.” The agreements were discontinued in 2012 during the Obama administration.“That has changed dramatically and quickly with the new Trump administration,” Meissner said in an interview. “[The agreements] are now on a list of ramping-up actions we’re seeing in pursuit of mass deportations.”The administration is increasingly pressuring state and local authorities to help with immigration arrests traditionally reserved for federal agents, according to a February&nbsp;<a href="https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/trump-mass-deportation-priority?eType=EmailBlastContent&amp;eId=2043f21f-2eea-411a-a070-66d7ac706b02" target="_blank">report</a>&nbsp;by the Migration Policy Institute, a Washington, D.C., think tank where Meissner is now director of the U.S. immigration policy program.<h2>Focus on crime</h2>Along with state and local law enforcement agencies, the Trump administration has enlisted federal agencies that have never before played a role in immigration enforcement: the Internal Revenue Service, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Migration Policy Institute report found.One result of local involvement, according to a&nbsp;<a href="https://usipc.ucsd.edu/publications/usipc-working-paper-1.pdf" target="_blank">report</a>&nbsp;Wong authored in 2019, is that once residents know that local police could question and arrest them on immigration charges, they are less likely to report crimes when they are victims or witnesses.The new task force agreements allow local law enforcement, after training, to investigate immigration violations during day-to-day patrol duties. Sheriff Larry Kendrick in Owyhee County, Idaho, said he opted for it because voters in the county want it.“My constituents support President Trump,” Kendrick said. “And of course me. I support the president’s mission 100%. I will do anything in my power to assist him.”Kendrick said he doesn’t expect non-criminal immigrants, such as those staffing local dairy farms, to get any trouble from his deputies.“We haven’t had any crime, really, out of that,” Kendrick said. “The main thing that bothers me is fentanyl.”Wong said it’s typical for counties such as Owyhee County, which&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Owyhee_County,_Idaho" target="_blank">voted</a>&nbsp;almost 83% for Trump last year, to be eager to join forces on immigration. But non-criminal immigrants are still likely to pay a price, he said.“It is naïve for local officials to think they will only focus on things like fentanyl, when most of the immigration enforcement functions are going to identify undocumented immigrants, likely with no criminal history,” Wong said.Most officials do stress the importance of removing criminals when calling for more task force agreements.In announcing the revived task force program, border czar Tom Homan said he planned to “prioritize” criminals but also expected to deport people living here illegally even if they had no criminal record.“We promised a mass deportation and that’s exactly what we’re going to do,” Homan told sheriffs at a February conference.New Hampshire Gov. Kelly Ayotte, a Republican, said in a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.governor.nh.gov/news/governor-ayotte-statement-new-hampshire-law-enforcement-cooperating-ice" target="_blank">statement</a>&nbsp;she supports state and local law enforcement agencies applying for the new task force cooperation agreements. “Criminals who are in our country illegally and pose a danger should be apprehended and removed,” she wrote.<h2>No renewed interest</h2>Some areas that made use of the agreements decades ago are not interested in trying it again. In&nbsp;<a href="https://www.migrationpolicy.org/sites/default/files/publications/287g-divergence.pdf" target="_blank">2010</a>&nbsp;there were 40 such agreements in 19 states, including nine in Virginia and seven in Arizona.To date there are no agreements in Virginia or Arizona, though Arizona’s Democratic governor, Katie Hobbs, signed an&nbsp;<a href="https://azgovernor.gov/office-arizona-governor/news/2025/02/governor-katie-hobbs-signs-executive-order-secure-border" target="_blank">executive order</a>&nbsp;Feb. 25 calling for an unspecified partnership with federal authorities in the state’s four border counties. The goal is stopping more fentanyl and human trafficking and not to “indiscriminately round people up,” according to Hobbs’ statement.Arizona sheriffs have not heard anything specific about the governor’s plan, said David Rhodes, the Republican sheriff of Yavapai County and president of the Arizona Sheriffs’ Association. Yavapai County voted&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yavapai_County,_Arizona" target="_blank">heavily for Trump</a>. And much of the nation’s fentanyl supply is smuggled over Arizona’s highways, Rhodes said, so he’s happy to cooperate with federal authorities on immigration.But he’s not sure he wants the task force model if it means he and his deputies will have to single people out based on appearance to ask about immigration status.“I don’t know how you could even tell from looking at somebody that they’re here illegally or not. So we don’t do that. That’s very risky, very close to racial profiling there,” Rhodes said.ICE guidelines issued in February say “racial profiling is simply not something that will be tolerated” under the new task force agreements.In Virginia, which had the most task force agreements of any state in 2010, no sheriff has yet shown interest, said John Jones, executive director of the Virginia Sheriffs’ Association. However Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed an executive order Feb. 27 requiring state police to sign a task force agreement and local jails to cooperate with the state task force.In North Carolina, a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ncleg.gov/BillLookUp/2025/S153" target="_blank">bill</a>&nbsp;progressing in the state Senate would mandate state agencies cooperate with federal immigration authorities, but does not include specifics.In Hudson County, New Jersey, one of the few urban, immigrant-friendly Democratic areas that had a task force agreement in 2010, leaders have no interest in trying it again, said county spokesperson Mark Cygan. Since 2018, the state has had an&nbsp;<a href="https://www.njoag.gov/trust/" target="_blank">“immigrant trust directive”</a>&nbsp;directing local authorities not to cooperate with federal immigration authorities or ask about immigration status during routine police work.“With the sort of abuses there have been, and listening to our constituents and advocates that work on immigrant right here in Hudson County, we realized this policy just wasn’t going to work out for our county anymore. So we dropped out of the agreement,” Cygan said.

Despite profiling concerns, more law agencies are joining street-level immigration enforcement

WYANDOTTE COUNTY—Law enforcement are investigating a fatal incident on a&nbsp; construction site in Kansas City, Kansas.

Just after 9:30a., Saturday, Kansas City, Kansas Emergency Dispatch received a call regarding a possible vehicle-related fatality in the 11600 block of State Avenue, according to a media release. 

KCK Police and Fire Department were dispatched to a private construction site where, at the base of a large mound of dirt, they discovered a man pinned under an overturned four-wheel drive vehicle. 

He was pronounced deceased on scene. The initial investigation indicates the driver was trespassing on the construction site when he attempted to traverse the mound of dirt, lost control and flipped the vehicle. 

He was not wearing a seat belt. This incident is under investigation by the KCKPD Traffic Division.&nbsp;

WYANDOTTE COUNTY—Law enforcement are investigating a fatal incident on a&nbsp; construction site in Kansas City, Kansas.Just after 9:30a., Saturday, Kansas City, Kansas Emergency Dispatch received a call regarding a possible vehicle-related fatality in the 11600 block of State Avenue, according to a media release. KCK Police and Fire Department were dispatched to a private construction site where, at the base of a large mound of dirt, they discovered a man pinned under an overturned four-wheel drive vehicle. He was pronounced deceased on scene. The initial investigation indicates the driver was trespassing on the construction site when he attempted to traverse the mound of dirt, lost control and flipped the vehicle. He was not wearing a seat belt. This incident is under investigation by the KCKPD Traffic Division.&nbsp;

Police: Man trespassing on Kan. construction site dies when vehicle flips

BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/jennifer-shutt/">JENNIFER SHUTT</a>&nbsp;

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Food and Drug Administration refused to commit to keeping access to medication abortion as it is now, or changing prescribing guidelines, in response to questions from both Democrats and Republicans during his confirmation hearing Thursday.&nbsp;

Martin Makary testified that if confirmed as FDA commissioner, which appeared likely, he will review data on mifepristone and follow the research where it leads him.

“I have no preconceived plans on mifepristone policy except to take a solid, hard look at the data and to meet with the professional career scientists who have reviewed the data at the FDA,” Makary said.

Medication abortion is a two-drug regimen consisting of mifepristone and misoprostol that accounts for about 63% of all pregnancy terminations within the United States, according to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.guttmacher.org/2024/03/medication-abortion-accounted-63-all-us-abortions-2023-increase-53-2020" target="_blank">research&nbsp;</a>from the Guttmacher Institute.

The FDA originally approved mifepristone in 2000 and changed its prescribing guidelines in 2016 and 2021.

It is currently approved for use up to 10 weeks gestation and can be prescribed via telehealth and shipped to patients.

Trump&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/trump-unveils-his-lineup-fda-cdc-and-surgeon-general" target="_blank">announced in November</a>&nbsp;that he would nominate Makary, a surgeon at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Maryland, to run the FDA.

Makary’s biography says he “has published over 250 peer-reviewed scientific articles and has served on several editorial boards.”

“Dr. Makary served in leadership at the World Health Organization Patient Safety Program and has been elected to the National Academy of Medicine,” according to his biography. “Clinically, Dr. Makary is the chief of Islet Transplant Surgery at Johns Hopkins. He is the recipient of the Nobility in Science Award from the National Pancreas Foundation and has been a visiting professor at over 25 medical schools.”

Republican members of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, or HELP, Committee asked Makary questions that appeared to recommend he revert prescribing guidelines to what was in place before changes were made during the last decade.

Democrats seemed to suggest he should keep use as it is now during&nbsp;<a href="https://www.c-span.org/program/senate-committee/fda-commissioner-nominee-testifies-at-confirmation-hearing/656394" target="_blank">the nearly two-hour hearing.</a>

Chairman Bill Cassidy, R-La., asked if Makary would reinstate the in-person dispensing requirement that used to exist and require doctors to report all adverse events or medical complications to the FDA.

Missouri Republican Sen. Josh Hawley — whose wife, Erin Morrow Hawley,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/us-supreme-court-justices-seem-skeptical-limits-access-abortion-medication" target="_blank">argued a case over access to mifepristone before the U.S. Supreme Court</a>&nbsp;— asked Makary if he would require a return to the “pre-political protocol that requires in-person dispensing for chemical abortion drugs.”

Makary replied that he thinks “it makes sense to review the totality of data and ongoing data.”

“I know personally of OB doctors who prefer to insist, even though they have the option to prescribe otherwise, but they choose to insist that mifepristone be taken when necessary, in their office, as they observe the person taking it,” Makary said. “And I think their concern there is that if this drug is in the wrong hands, it could be used for coercion.”

New Hampshire Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan also asked Makary about his views on mifepristone and whether he would keep the current prescribing guidelines in place.

She said Democrats’ questions about access to the pharmaceuticals that are involved in medication abortion weren’t about him taking an analytical look at the data.

“The concern is whether you are going to unilaterally overrule the data that currently exists for political purposes and for political reasons, and that’s what we’re looking for your reassurance on,” Hassan said.&nbsp;

“You have told us you are an independent scientist. I believe that. You have a very distinguished career as a physician,” Hassan added. “But we need to know that when you say you’re an independent scientist, that’s really what you mean. And then with the politics get heated around abortion, that you won’t abandon that independence.”

Makary repeated his earlier comments that he had “no preconceived plans to make changes to the mifepristone policy” and that he planned to review the data, if confirmed.

Senators from both political parties asked Makary about the Trump administration firing probationary employees at the FDA and whether he would try to reinstate some of those former federal workers.

Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins told Makary that she expects any assessments about staffing at FDA are undertaken by him and not an “outside force.”

“In February, we learned that hundreds of probationary employees at FDA were dismissed. And this really concerns me, because we need a flow of young, new scientists and researchers, especially since we’re seeing retirements and resignations,” Collins said. “And ironically, more than half of the FDA employees are funded under various industry user fee agreements. So there is revenue coming into the FDA to pay for these employees.”

Makary testified he hasn’t been involved in any of the decisions on FDA staffing made so far during the Trump administration.

“But, if confirmed, you have my commitment that I will do an assessment,” he said.

In response to a question from Maryland Democratic Sen. Angela Alsobrooks later in the hearing, Makary said he welcomed “input on efficiencies at the agency.”

“At the same time, I want to make sure that the scientists and food inspectors and staff central to the core mission of the agency have all the resources they need to do their job well,” Makary said.

The food side of FDA didn’t come up often during Makary’s confirmation hearing Thursday, though he did talk about where he thinks the federal agency should focus those efforts during an exchange with Alabama Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville.

Makary committed to have the FDA look at preservatives and other additives in food, saying the country has to “reassess what we’re doing, because we’re not on a good path right now.”

The federal government, he said, should also ensure children’s school lunches are healthier.

“One thing I would like to work on is a school lunch program for some school districts on a pilot basis to transition to healthier foods,” Makary testified. “A lot of school districts want to, but they don’t know how, and they may not have the funds. I’ve been discussing this with Jay Bhattacharya and others in the administration, and I hope that’s something we can do.”

Bhattacharya is Trump’s nominee to lead the National Institutes of Health. He had&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/nominee-head-nih-probed-us-senate-panel-vaccine-autism-research" target="_blank">his confirmation hearing&nbsp;</a>on Wednesday and is awaiting a confirmation vote.

Alaska Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski asked about the FDA’s food inspections and pressed Makary not to cut federal funding for state and local governments, which she said “conduct about 60% of food processing facility inspections, 90% of produce safety inspections, 100% of retail food inspections.”

“This impacts us in the state of Alaska, when it comes to our seafood industry and in other areas,” Murkowski said. “So I’m looking for a commitment from you that under the Trump administration, the FDA is going to maintain funding for these contracts with state and local governments. They’ve proven that it’s more cost-effective, more efficient, and it also is what Congress has asked for.”

Makary said he would be “happy” to look at it.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/3/1741307657776.png" alt="Dr. Makary image courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>Dr. Makary image courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/jennifer-shutt/">JENNIFER SHUTT</a>&nbsp;WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Food and Drug Administration refused to commit to keeping access to medication abortion as it is now, or changing prescribing guidelines, in response to questions from both Democrats and Republicans during his confirmation hearing Thursday.&nbsp;Martin Makary testified that if confirmed as FDA commissioner, which appeared likely, he will review data on mifepristone and follow the research where it leads him.“I have no preconceived plans on mifepristone policy except to take a solid, hard look at the data and to meet with the professional career scientists who have reviewed the data at the FDA,” Makary said.Medication abortion is a two-drug regimen consisting of mifepristone and misoprostol that accounts for about 63% of all pregnancy terminations within the United States, according to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.guttmacher.org/2024/03/medication-abortion-accounted-63-all-us-abortions-2023-increase-53-2020" target="_blank">research&nbsp;</a>from the Guttmacher Institute.The FDA originally approved mifepristone in 2000 and changed its prescribing guidelines in 2016 and 2021.It is currently approved for use up to 10 weeks gestation and can be prescribed via telehealth and shipped to patients.Trump&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/trump-unveils-his-lineup-fda-cdc-and-surgeon-general" target="_blank">announced in November</a>&nbsp;that he would nominate Makary, a surgeon at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Maryland, to run the FDA.Makary’s biography says he “has published over 250 peer-reviewed scientific articles and has served on several editorial boards.”“Dr. Makary served in leadership at the World Health Organization Patient Safety Program and has been elected to the National Academy of Medicine,” according to his biography. “Clinically, Dr. Makary is the chief of Islet Transplant Surgery at Johns Hopkins. He is the recipient of the Nobility in Science Award from the National Pancreas Foundation and has been a visiting professor at over 25 medical schools.”<h2>Prescription changes?</h2>Republican members of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, or HELP, Committee asked Makary questions that appeared to recommend he revert prescribing guidelines to what was in place before changes were made during the last decade.Democrats seemed to suggest he should keep use as it is now during&nbsp;<a href="https://www.c-span.org/program/senate-committee/fda-commissioner-nominee-testifies-at-confirmation-hearing/656394" target="_blank">the nearly two-hour hearing.</a>Chairman Bill Cassidy, R-La., asked if Makary would reinstate the in-person dispensing requirement that used to exist and require doctors to report all adverse events or medical complications to the FDA.Missouri Republican Sen. Josh Hawley — whose wife, Erin Morrow Hawley,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/us-supreme-court-justices-seem-skeptical-limits-access-abortion-medication" target="_blank">argued a case over access to mifepristone before the U.S. Supreme Court</a>&nbsp;— asked Makary if he would require a return to the “pre-political protocol that requires in-person dispensing for chemical abortion drugs.”Makary replied that he thinks “it makes sense to review the totality of data and ongoing data.”“I know personally of OB doctors who prefer to insist, even though they have the option to prescribe otherwise, but they choose to insist that mifepristone be taken when necessary, in their office, as they observe the person taking it,” Makary said. “And I think their concern there is that if this drug is in the wrong hands, it could be used for coercion.”New Hampshire Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan also asked Makary about his views on mifepristone and whether he would keep the current prescribing guidelines in place.She said Democrats’ questions about access to the pharmaceuticals that are involved in medication abortion weren’t about him taking an analytical look at the data.“The concern is whether you are going to unilaterally overrule the data that currently exists for political purposes and for political reasons, and that’s what we’re looking for your reassurance on,” Hassan said.&nbsp;“You have told us you are an independent scientist. I believe that. You have a very distinguished career as a physician,” Hassan added. “But we need to know that when you say you’re an independent scientist, that’s really what you mean. And then with the politics get heated around abortion, that you won’t abandon that independence.”Makary repeated his earlier comments that he had “no preconceived plans to make changes to the mifepristone policy” and that he planned to review the data, if confirmed.<h2>FDA firings</h2>Senators from both political parties asked Makary about the Trump administration firing probationary employees at the FDA and whether he would try to reinstate some of those former federal workers.Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins told Makary that she expects any assessments about staffing at FDA are undertaken by him and not an “outside force.”“In February, we learned that hundreds of probationary employees at FDA were dismissed. And this really concerns me, because we need a flow of young, new scientists and researchers, especially since we’re seeing retirements and resignations,” Collins said. “And ironically, more than half of the FDA employees are funded under various industry user fee agreements. So there is revenue coming into the FDA to pay for these employees.”Makary testified he hasn’t been involved in any of the decisions on FDA staffing made so far during the Trump administration.“But, if confirmed, you have my commitment that I will do an assessment,” he said.In response to a question from Maryland Democratic Sen. Angela Alsobrooks later in the hearing, Makary said he welcomed “input on efficiencies at the agency.”“At the same time, I want to make sure that the scientists and food inspectors and staff central to the core mission of the agency have all the resources they need to do their job well,” Makary said.<h2>Food safety</h2>The food side of FDA didn’t come up often during Makary’s confirmation hearing Thursday, though he did talk about where he thinks the federal agency should focus those efforts during an exchange with Alabama Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville.Makary committed to have the FDA look at preservatives and other additives in food, saying the country has to “reassess what we’re doing, because we’re not on a good path right now.”The federal government, he said, should also ensure children’s school lunches are healthier.“One thing I would like to work on is a school lunch program for some school districts on a pilot basis to transition to healthier foods,” Makary testified. “A lot of school districts want to, but they don’t know how, and they may not have the funds. I’ve been discussing this with Jay Bhattacharya and others in the administration, and I hope that’s something we can do.”Bhattacharya is Trump’s nominee to lead the National Institutes of Health. He had&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/nominee-head-nih-probed-us-senate-panel-vaccine-autism-research" target="_blank">his confirmation hearing&nbsp;</a>on Wednesday and is awaiting a confirmation vote.Alaska Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski asked about the FDA’s food inspections and pressed Makary not to cut federal funding for state and local governments, which she said “conduct about 60% of food processing facility inspections, 90% of produce safety inspections, 100% of retail food inspections.”“This impacts us in the state of Alaska, when it comes to our seafood industry and in other areas,” Murkowski said. “So I’m looking for a commitment from you that under the Trump administration, the FDA is going to maintain funding for these contracts with state and local governments. They’ve proven that it’s more cost-effective, more efficient, and it also is what Congress has asked for.”Makary said he would be “happy” to look at it.&nbsp;

Trump nominee to head up FDA made no commitments on abortion pill access

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

Just after 3a.m. Saturday police responded to a reported shooting in the 2900 block of SE Freemont Road in Topeka, according to Police&nbsp;LT Donna Eubanks. First responders located one individual with life-threatening injuries who was pronounced deceased on scene by medical personnel.

This is the city’s 3rd homicide investigation of 2025.&nbsp; Police released no additional details early Saturday.

SHAWNEE COUNTY —Law enforcement are investigating a homicide in Topeka.Just after 3a.m. Saturday police responded to a reported shooting in the 2900 block of SE Freemont Road in Topeka, according to Police&nbsp;LT Donna Eubanks. First responders located one individual with life-threatening injuries who was pronounced deceased on scene by medical personnel.Topeka Police were later notified of two other individuals that had arrived at an area hospital. One individual had life-threatening injuries and one a non-life-threatening injury.This is the city’s 3rd homicide investigation of 2025.&nbsp; Police released no additional details early Saturday.

Police: 1 dead, 2 hospitalized after Kansas gunfight

BY:&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/sherman-smith/">SHERMAN SMITH</a> <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2025/01/03/kansas-state-garden-city-cc-striving-to-shrink-bachelors-degree-educational-desert/?emci=8e6f56cf-3bca-ef11-88d0-0022482a9b45&amp;emdi=a9416bb1-82ca-ef11-88d0-0022482a9b45&amp;ceid=115039">Kansas Reflector</a>

TOPEKA — Kansas Republicans returned from last year’s Republican National Convention dismayed by the party’s decision to&nbsp;<a href="https://rollcall.com/2024/07/08/rnc-softens-platform-stance-on-abortion/" target="_blank">soften its stance on abortion</a>.

The RNC platform would only go so far as to oppose late-term abortion.

Part of the problem, as Kansas House Majority Leader Chris Croft explained in a private video meeting with Republicans on July 26, was the ripple effect of Kansas voters overwhelmingly supporting abortion rights in the August 2022 election. Kansas Reflector obtained a recording from the meeting.

“Everybody was talking about how Kansas lost Value Them Both, and it affected the rest of the country,” Croft said during his weekly call with select Johnson County Republicans and invited guests.

For Croft, the issue underscored the need for Republicans to preserve their supermajorities in the Kansas House and Senate, which would allow them to overhaul the way Kansas Supreme Court justices are selected. He promised to “work on it” in the 2025 legislative session, but there was a catch.

“Remember, the problem last time was we could not agree amongst ourselves what the heck we wanted,” Croft said. “Do we want to use the federal selection process, or do we want to use election? And we got to get this thing figured out and move forward until we get it done.”

Kansas voters overwhelmingly supported anti-abortion candidates in November, expanding the GOP supermajorities in both chambers at the Statehouse and setting the stage for an overhaul of the judicial selection process.

On Thursday, the Kansas Senate adopted a resolution that calls for the election of justices to the Kansas Supreme Court by popular vote. The House now has a choice: Accept the Senate’s resolution, pass an alternative, or table the issue for another year.

The stakes, as Croft made clear last July, include abortion rights. Opponents also fear that elected justices could overturn rulings that require adequate and equitable funding of public schools.

Senate Republican leadership took a victory lap Thursday after&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kslegislature.gov/li/b2025_26/measures/scr1611/" target="_blank">Senate Concurrent Resolution 1611</a>&nbsp;passed by a 27-13 vote, with&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kslegislature.gov/li/b2025_26/measures/vote_view/je_20250306152736_842568/" target="_blank">four Republicans joining Democrats</a>&nbsp;in dissent. The resolution, which required 27 votes in the Senate and would require 84 votes in the House, would place a constitutional amendment on the ballot in August 2026 that asks voters to replace the decades-old merit-based selection of justices with direct elections.

Under the current system, the&nbsp;<a href="https://kscourts.gov/Judges/Become-a-Judge/Supreme-Court-Nominating-Commission" target="_blank">Supreme Court Nominating Commission</a>&nbsp;reviews applications for a vacancy and sends three finalists to the governor, who makes the appointment from those three finalists. The commission consists of five attorneys who are elected by attorneys, and four members appointed by the governor. Justices already are subjected to retention votes after they are appointed and again every six years.

“Rather than a system that consolidates authority in the hands of an elite society of super voters, it’s time to restore the power to all Kansans,” said Senate President Ty Masterson, an Andover Republican.

Before the vote, 17 organizations issued a joint statement opposing the resolution and supporting the current method for selecting justices. The organizations include the American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas, Planned Parenthood Great Plains Votes, Kansas National Education Association, Kansas AFL-CIO, and the Disability Rights Center of Kansas.

The statement warned of the likelihood, based on elections in other states, that dark money would dominate the judiciary.

“SCR 1611 shifts too much power over the selection of Kansas Supreme Court justices to special interests outside the state of Kansas who do not care about the rule of law in our state,” the statement read.

After the Senate vote, Rep. Rui Xu, a Westwood Democrat, wrote on X: “Republicans are mad that our Supreme Court wanted us to fully fund school and not ban abortions so now they want to change the Supreme Court.”

House Republican leadership has not publicly indicated whether it will take up the Senate’s resolution or produce its own. One alternative would be to require Senate confirmation of the governor’s appointments.

When Croft, an Overland Park Republican, brought the issue up in July, he lamented that “nobody in the Legislature gets a vote” on those appointments.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/3/1741385265690.png" alt=" House Majority Leader Chris Croft talks to colleagues during a Feb. 25, 2025, session of the House. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption> House Majority Leader Chris Croft talks to colleagues during a Feb. 25, 2025, session of the House. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure>BY:&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/sherman-smith/">SHERMAN SMITH</a> <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2025/01/03/kansas-state-garden-city-cc-striving-to-shrink-bachelors-degree-educational-desert/?emci=8e6f56cf-3bca-ef11-88d0-0022482a9b45&amp;emdi=a9416bb1-82ca-ef11-88d0-0022482a9b45&amp;ceid=115039">Kansas Reflector</a>TOPEKA — Kansas Republicans returned from last year’s Republican National Convention dismayed by the party’s decision to&nbsp;<a href="https://rollcall.com/2024/07/08/rnc-softens-platform-stance-on-abortion/" target="_blank">soften its stance on abortion</a>.The RNC platform would only go so far as to oppose late-term abortion.Part of the problem, as Kansas House Majority Leader Chris Croft explained in a private video meeting with Republicans on July 26, was the ripple effect of Kansas voters overwhelmingly supporting abortion rights in the August 2022 election. Kansas Reflector obtained a recording from the meeting.“Everybody was talking about how Kansas lost Value Them Both, and it affected the rest of the country,” Croft said during his weekly call with select Johnson County Republicans and invited guests.For Croft, the issue underscored the need for Republicans to preserve their supermajorities in the Kansas House and Senate, which would allow them to overhaul the way Kansas Supreme Court justices are selected. He promised to “work on it” in the 2025 legislative session, but there was a catch.“Remember, the problem last time was we could not agree amongst ourselves what the heck we wanted,” Croft said. “Do we want to use the federal selection process, or do we want to use election? And we got to get this thing figured out and move forward until we get it done.”Kansas voters overwhelmingly supported anti-abortion candidates in November, expanding the GOP supermajorities in both chambers at the Statehouse and setting the stage for an overhaul of the judicial selection process.On Thursday, the Kansas Senate adopted a resolution that calls for the election of justices to the Kansas Supreme Court by popular vote. The House now has a choice: Accept the Senate’s resolution, pass an alternative, or table the issue for another year.The stakes, as Croft made clear last July, include abortion rights. Opponents also fear that elected justices could overturn rulings that require adequate and equitable funding of public schools.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/3/1741385213225.png" alt=" Senate President Ty Masterson presides over the Senate on March 5, 2025, before debating a resolution to make the Kansas Supreme Court an elected office. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption> Senate President Ty Masterson presides over the Senate on March 5, 2025, before debating a resolution to make the Kansas Supreme Court an elected office. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure>Senate Republican leadership took a victory lap Thursday after&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kslegislature.gov/li/b2025_26/measures/scr1611/" target="_blank">Senate Concurrent Resolution 1611</a>&nbsp;passed by a 27-13 vote, with&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kslegislature.gov/li/b2025_26/measures/vote_view/je_20250306152736_842568/" target="_blank">four Republicans joining Democrats</a>&nbsp;in dissent. The resolution, which required 27 votes in the Senate and would require 84 votes in the House, would place a constitutional amendment on the ballot in August 2026 that asks voters to replace the decades-old merit-based selection of justices with direct elections.Under the current system, the&nbsp;<a href="https://kscourts.gov/Judges/Become-a-Judge/Supreme-Court-Nominating-Commission" target="_blank">Supreme Court Nominating Commission</a>&nbsp;reviews applications for a vacancy and sends three finalists to the governor, who makes the appointment from those three finalists. The commission consists of five attorneys who are elected by attorneys, and four members appointed by the governor. Justices already are subjected to retention votes after they are appointed and again every six years.“Rather than a system that consolidates authority in the hands of an elite society of super voters, it’s time to restore the power to all Kansans,” said Senate President Ty Masterson, an Andover Republican.Before the vote, 17 organizations issued a joint statement opposing the resolution and supporting the current method for selecting justices. The organizations include the American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas, Planned Parenthood Great Plains Votes, Kansas National Education Association, Kansas AFL-CIO, and the Disability Rights Center of Kansas.The statement warned of the likelihood, based on elections in other states, that dark money would dominate the judiciary.“SCR 1611 shifts too much power over the selection of Kansas Supreme Court justices to special interests outside the state of Kansas who do not care about the rule of law in our state,” the statement read.After the Senate vote, Rep. Rui Xu, a Westwood Democrat, wrote on X: “Republicans are mad that our Supreme Court wanted us to fully fund school and not ban abortions so now they want to change the Supreme Court.”House Republican leadership has not publicly indicated whether it will take up the Senate’s resolution or produce its own. One alternative would be to require Senate confirmation of the governor’s appointments.When Croft, an Overland Park Republican, brought the issue up in July, he lamented that “nobody in the Legislature gets a vote” on those appointments.“That’s gotta be fixed,” he said.

Kansas Senate adopts plan to elect Supreme Court justices, a step toward overturning abortion rights

State Rep. David Tyson Smith says the back-and-forth began because his staff was referring constituents upset with federal policies to U.S. Rep. Mark Alford’s office

BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/rudi-keller/">RUDI KELLER</a> <a href="https://missouriindependent.com/briefs/missouri-senate-committee-advances-bill-to-ban-texting-while-driving/">Missouri Independent</a>

A Missouri Republican congressman and a Democratic state legislator with overlapping districts are engaged in a social media battle over a staff visit to the state Capitol Building this week.

State Rep. David Tyson Smith, a Columbia Democrat, hit first, accusing U.S. Rep. Mark Alford, a Raymore Republican, of sending three staff members to his office to intimidate his legislative assistant.

The staff, Smith said, demanded his office stop giving out contact information for Alford’s official offices to people upset with federal policies since President Donald Trump resumed office.

“They said he was getting inundated with calls and was cornered in a coffee shop by angry people,” Smith&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1GMWW72j5Z/" target="_blank">wrote Thursday afternoon in his social media post</a>. “A VA employee came to my office and we sent her over as well. The staffers said the congressman doesn’t want to talk about the VA.”

On Friday morning, Alford&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/RepMarkAlford/status/1898040075805425911" target="_blank">posted his response</a>, saying the visit was not just to Smith’s office but to several lawmakers who have constituencies in the 4th District in order to build a better relationship. The subject of referring constituents never came up, he said, noting addresses and telephone numbers for his offices&nbsp;<a href="https://alford.house.gov/contact/" target="_blank">are posted online</a>.&nbsp;

“It is extremely unfortunate that an elected official feels the need to make up politically motivated lies about our team, who work tirelessly for the constituents of the Fourth District,” Alford wrote. “They do not deserve this.”

In an interview with The Independent, Smith said Alford was the liar, and he checked with other Democrats who represent the area and none received visits.

“If they were just making house calls why didn’t they visit the other Democrats?” Smith said. “You know, we’re the ones that are sending people to his office.”

William Barry, Alford’s communication director, said staff visited the offices of six lawmakers, including state Rep. Adrian Plank, a Columbia Democrat.

Alford is in his second term representing the 4th Congressional District, which covers all or part of 24 counties along and south of the Missouri River from Boone County southwest to the Kansas border. Smith is in his third term, and represents areas of Columbia generally north of Interstate 70 in the 46th Missouri House District.

The coffee shop incident Smith referred to occurred Feb. 25, when Alford encountered a large, angry crowd at a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kshb.com/news/local-news/this-is-democracy-crowd-overflows-belton-coffee-shop-during-event-with-u-s-rep-mark-alford" target="_blank">Belton coffee shop</a>&nbsp;who were upset with federal job losses since Trump took office.&nbsp;

Throughout the event, Alford defended the administration’s actions, saying at one point that “not all chaos is bad” and that “God has a plan” for federal workers who lost their jobs, KSHB reported.

In response to that angry crowd and others, U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson is advising Republican members of Congress to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/town-halls-musk-doge-trump-gop-749d91ea516284057e4c7bcb1615527e" target="_blank">skip town halls</a>, calling the people who attend “professional protesters.”

Smith said he thinks the visit by Alford’s staff was prompted by the referral of the Department of Veterans Affairs employee. The worker had been performing duties remotely and feared being told there was no space and no job upon returning to the office.

His legislative assistant helped set up an appointment with Alford’s staff, Smith said.

He’s not certain whether that person has kept her job, Smith said. The federal job cuts being implemented by Trump are creating anxiety among&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2025/02/05/nearly-30000-federal-workers-in-kansas-city-brace-for-layoffs/">30,000 employees in Kansas City</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ksdk.com/article/news/local/missouri-irs-agent-among-around-7000-laid-off-as-federal-cuts-reshape-workforce/63-a6b6d904-0483-43cd-9b13-5ca62b99a6ad" target="_blank">IRS agents</a>&nbsp;in St. Louis and several federal employees have&nbsp;<a href="https://www.columbiamissourian.com/news/local/fired-federal-employees-in-columbia-sent-termination-letter-with-errors/article_a09c7302-f2be-11ef-bac8-775c2ce482d4.html" target="_blank">reported losing their jobs</a>&nbsp;in Columbia.

“Obviously, we have federal offices all over the state,” Smith said. “But even bigger than that, it’s going to affect small businesses, because if people don’t have jobs, they’re not going to patronize small businesses. And so everyone is going to feel this.”

Alford included a photo of Smith’s legislative assistant in the social media post, standing next to his staffer. He is smiling broadly, while her mouth is closed.

Smith said his legislative assistant grumbled about the photo.

“That’s a form of intimidation,” he said. “She shouldn’t be thrown into the middle of this. They shouldn’t have taken her photo. They shouldn’t be posting on her website. They’re trying to intimidate her, and they’re trying to intimidate my staff, and they showed up to complain.”

In his social media post, Alford said the legislative assistant willingly posed for the photo.

“The truth is that Rep. David Tyson Smith’s legislative assistant welcomed my team with open arms, smiles and pleasant conversations,” Alford wrote. “The meeting was full of professionalism and constructive conversations, and nobody ever discussed our public phone number.”

The photo was not going to be published or posted “until Rep. Smith made baseless accusations on social media,” Barry said. “Our team has zero knowledge of any comments made to them about her being uncomfortable with the picture.”

Smith is seeking attention with the post, Alford wrote.

“Misleading voters for partisan political points is abhorrent,” Alford wrote. “But this is what radical progressive politics is about – no agenda, no vision, no leadership. Just performative outrage and shameless grandstanding. Missouri deserves better than this.”

Alford should have the courage to call him if he has a complaint, instead of sending the message through staff, Smith said.

“If Congressman Alford has an issue with what we’re doing,” Smith said, “he needs to pick up the phone and call me or come and see me, not come and complain to my staff.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/3/1741437346081.png" alt=" State Rep. David Tyson Smith, a Democrat from Columbia, speaks at a news conference March 5 with other members of the Legislative Black Caucus (Tim Bommel/Missouri House Communications)." />
 <figcaption> State Rep. David Tyson Smith, a Democrat from Columbia, speaks at a news conference March 5 with other members of the Legislative Black Caucus (Tim Bommel/Missouri House Communications).</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>State Rep. David Tyson Smith says the back-and-forth began because his staff was referring constituents upset with federal policies to U.S. Rep. Mark Alford’s office</h2>BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/rudi-keller/">RUDI KELLER</a> <a href="https://missouriindependent.com/briefs/missouri-senate-committee-advances-bill-to-ban-texting-while-driving/">Missouri Independent</a>A Missouri Republican congressman and a Democratic state legislator with overlapping districts are engaged in a social media battle over a staff visit to the state Capitol Building this week.State Rep. David Tyson Smith, a Columbia Democrat, hit first, accusing U.S. Rep. Mark Alford, a Raymore Republican, of sending three staff members to his office to intimidate his legislative assistant.The staff, Smith said, demanded his office stop giving out contact information for Alford’s official offices to people upset with federal policies since President Donald Trump resumed office.“They said he was getting inundated with calls and was cornered in a coffee shop by angry people,” Smith&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1GMWW72j5Z/" target="_blank">wrote Thursday afternoon in his social media post</a>. “A VA employee came to my office and we sent her over as well. The staffers said the congressman doesn’t want to talk about the VA.”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/3/1741437396746.png" alt=" U.S. Rep Mark Alford is interviewed in August outside the governor’s ham breakfast at the Missouri State Fair in Sedalia (Annelise Hanshaw/Missouri Independent)." />
 <figcaption> U.S. Rep Mark Alford is interviewed in August outside the governor’s ham breakfast at the Missouri State Fair in Sedalia (Annelise Hanshaw/Missouri Independent).</figcaption>
 </figure>On Friday morning, Alford&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/RepMarkAlford/status/1898040075805425911" target="_blank">posted his response</a>, saying the visit was not just to Smith’s office but to several lawmakers who have constituencies in the 4th District in order to build a better relationship. The subject of referring constituents never came up, he said, noting addresses and telephone numbers for his offices&nbsp;<a href="https://alford.house.gov/contact/" target="_blank">are posted online</a>.&nbsp;“It is extremely unfortunate that an elected official feels the need to make up politically motivated lies about our team, who work tirelessly for the constituents of the Fourth District,” Alford wrote. “They do not deserve this.”In an interview with The Independent, Smith said Alford was the liar, and he checked with other Democrats who represent the area and none received visits.“If they were just making house calls why didn’t they visit the other Democrats?” Smith said. “You know, we’re the ones that are sending people to his office.”William Barry, Alford’s communication director, said staff visited the offices of six lawmakers, including state Rep. Adrian Plank, a Columbia Democrat.Alford is in his second term representing the 4th Congressional District, which covers all or part of 24 counties along and south of the Missouri River from Boone County southwest to the Kansas border. Smith is in his third term, and represents areas of Columbia generally north of Interstate 70 in the 46th Missouri House District.The coffee shop incident Smith referred to occurred Feb. 25, when Alford encountered a large, angry crowd at a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kshb.com/news/local-news/this-is-democracy-crowd-overflows-belton-coffee-shop-during-event-with-u-s-rep-mark-alford" target="_blank">Belton coffee shop</a>&nbsp;who were upset with federal job losses since Trump took office.&nbsp;Throughout the event, Alford defended the administration’s actions, saying at one point that “not all chaos is bad” and that “God has a plan” for federal workers who lost their jobs, KSHB reported.In response to that angry crowd and others, U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson is advising Republican members of Congress to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/town-halls-musk-doge-trump-gop-749d91ea516284057e4c7bcb1615527e" target="_blank">skip town halls</a>, calling the people who attend “professional protesters.”Smith said he thinks the visit by Alford’s staff was prompted by the referral of the Department of Veterans Affairs employee. The worker had been performing duties remotely and feared being told there was no space and no job upon returning to the office.His legislative assistant helped set up an appointment with Alford’s staff, Smith said.He’s not certain whether that person has kept her job, Smith said. The federal job cuts being implemented by Trump are creating anxiety among&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2025/02/05/nearly-30000-federal-workers-in-kansas-city-brace-for-layoffs/">30,000 employees in Kansas City</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ksdk.com/article/news/local/missouri-irs-agent-among-around-7000-laid-off-as-federal-cuts-reshape-workforce/63-a6b6d904-0483-43cd-9b13-5ca62b99a6ad" target="_blank">IRS agents</a>&nbsp;in St. Louis and several federal employees have&nbsp;<a href="https://www.columbiamissourian.com/news/local/fired-federal-employees-in-columbia-sent-termination-letter-with-errors/article_a09c7302-f2be-11ef-bac8-775c2ce482d4.html" target="_blank">reported losing their jobs</a>&nbsp;in Columbia.“Obviously, we have federal offices all over the state,” Smith said. “But even bigger than that, it’s going to affect small businesses, because if people don’t have jobs, they’re not going to patronize small businesses. And so everyone is going to feel this.”Alford included a photo of Smith’s legislative assistant in the social media post, standing next to his staffer. He is smiling broadly, while her mouth is closed.Smith said his legislative assistant grumbled about the photo.“That’s a form of intimidation,” he said. “She shouldn’t be thrown into the middle of this. They shouldn’t have taken her photo. They shouldn’t be posting on her website. They’re trying to intimidate her, and they’re trying to intimidate my staff, and they showed up to complain.”In his social media post, Alford said the legislative assistant willingly posed for the photo.“The truth is that Rep. David Tyson Smith’s legislative assistant welcomed my team with open arms, smiles and pleasant conversations,” Alford wrote. “The meeting was full of professionalism and constructive conversations, and nobody ever discussed our public phone number.”The photo was not going to be published or posted “until Rep. Smith made baseless accusations on social media,” Barry said. “Our team has zero knowledge of any comments made to them about her being uncomfortable with the picture.”Smith is seeking attention with the post, Alford wrote.“Misleading voters for partisan political points is abhorrent,” Alford wrote. “But this is what radical progressive politics is about – no agenda, no vision, no leadership. Just performative outrage and shameless grandstanding. Missouri deserves better than this.”Alford should have the courage to call him if he has a complaint, instead of sending the message through staff, Smith said.“If Congressman Alford has an issue with what we’re doing,” Smith said, “he needs to pick up the phone and call me or come and see me, not come and complain to my staff.”

Missouri congressman accused by state lawmaker of trying to intimidate his staff

KANSAS CITY —A Kansas City is facing charges for stealing a Kansas City Area Transportation Authority city bus and then assaulting an officer, according to Jackson County Prosecutor Melesa Johnson.

<a href="https://www.jacksoncountyprosecutor.com/DocumentCenter/View/2524/PRATT-Complaint-Redacted">Shahid Pratt, 49, was charged</a>&nbsp;with Assault in the 2nd Degree, Stealing a Motor Vehicle, and Tampering in the 1st Degree.&nbsp;

<a href="https://www.jacksoncountyprosecutor.com/DocumentCenter/View/2525/Shahid-Pratt-PC">According to court records</a>, Kansas City police responded to the area of East 75th Street and Prospect Avenue regarding a stolen KCATA bus and observed Pratt in the driver’s seat. Officers gave Pratt multiple verbal commands to exit the bus, and he refused.

When officers attempted to unlock the bus doors, the defendant reached out of the driver’s window and struck an officer with a metal bar. Officers were able to use multiple less-lethal options to detain him.

Pratt has 11 prior felony convictions. He remains jailed on a $50,000 bond, according to the Johnson.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/3/1741383836374.png" alt="Pratt photo Jackson Co." />
 <figcaption>Pratt photo Jackson Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY —A Kansas City is facing charges for stealing a Kansas City Area Transportation Authority city bus and then assaulting an officer, according to Jackson County Prosecutor Melesa Johnson.<a href="https://www.jacksoncountyprosecutor.com/DocumentCenter/View/2524/PRATT-Complaint-Redacted">Shahid Pratt, 49, was charged</a>&nbsp;with Assault in the 2nd Degree, Stealing a Motor Vehicle, and Tampering in the 1st Degree.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.jacksoncountyprosecutor.com/DocumentCenter/View/2525/Shahid-Pratt-PC">According to court records</a>, Kansas City police responded to the area of East 75th Street and Prospect Avenue regarding a stolen KCATA bus and observed Pratt in the driver’s seat. Officers gave Pratt multiple verbal commands to exit the bus, and he refused. When officers attempted to unlock the bus doors, the defendant reached out of the driver’s window and struck an officer with a metal bar. Officers were able to use multiple less-lethal options to detain him.Pratt has 11 prior felony convictions. He remains jailed on a $50,000 bond, according to the Johnson.&nbsp;

Man accused of stealing a Kansas City public transit bus

Hutchinson, KAN. –&nbsp;Hutchinson Correctional Facility (HCF) resident Devon Malechi Stutesman, 24, died Monday, March 3, 2025. Stutesman was found unresponsive in his cell Saturday, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections.

Staff began life-saving measures immediately and continued after emergency medical services arrived. He was transported to a local hospital where he died Monday afternoon. The cause of death is pending the results of an independent autopsy.

Stutesman was serving a 122-month sentence for convictions of possession and distribution of heroin and attempt to traffic firearms into a correctional facility in Lyon County, Kansas.

Per protocol, when a resident dies in the custody of the KDOC, the death is under investigation by the KDOC and the Kansas Bureau of Investigation. The investigation is ongoing.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/3/1741376489351.png" alt="Stutesman photo KDOC" />
 <figcaption>Stutesman photo KDOC</figcaption>
 </figure>Hutchinson, KAN. –&nbsp;Hutchinson Correctional Facility (HCF) resident Devon Malechi Stutesman, 24, died Monday, March 3, 2025. Stutesman was found unresponsive in his cell Saturday, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections.Staff began life-saving measures immediately and continued after emergency medical services arrived. He was transported to a local hospital where he died Monday afternoon. The cause of death is pending the results of an independent autopsy.Stutesman was serving a 122-month sentence for convictions of possession and distribution of heroin and attempt to traffic firearms into a correctional facility in Lyon County, Kansas.Per protocol, when a resident dies in the custody of the KDOC, the death is under investigation by the KDOC and the Kansas Bureau of Investigation. The investigation is ongoing.

Kan. inmate serving time for selling heroin has died

NEWTON COUNTY —One person died in an accident just before 12:30p.m. Friday in Newton County.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 2005 Honda Trike driven by a 71-year-old Carthage man was westbound on U.S. 60 three miles west of Neosho.

The driver attempted to make a u-turn and pulled into the path of a westbound 2014 Ford Explorer driven by a 21-year-old Goodman man.

EMS transported the 71-year-old to Freeman Neosho Hospital where he was pronounced deceased. The SUV driver was not injured. The Trike driver was not wearing a helmet, according to the MSHP.&nbsp; &nbsp;The Patrol no longer releases names of accident victims.

NEWTON COUNTY —One person died in an accident just before 12:30p.m. Friday in Newton County.The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 2005 Honda Trike driven by a 71-year-old Carthage man was westbound on U.S. 60 three miles west of Neosho.The driver attempted to make a u-turn and pulled into the path of a westbound 2014 Ford Explorer driven by a 21-year-old Goodman man.EMS transported the 71-year-old to Freeman Neosho Hospital where he was pronounced deceased. The SUV driver was not injured. The Trike driver was not wearing a helmet, according to the MSHP.&nbsp; &nbsp;The Patrol no longer releases names of accident victims.

Mo. motorcyclist, making a u-turn, dies after struck by SUV

BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/akaminski/">ANNA KAMINSKI</a> <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2025/01/03/kansas-state-garden-city-cc-striving-to-shrink-bachelors-degree-educational-desert/?emci=8e6f56cf-3bca-ef11-88d0-0022482a9b45&amp;emdi=a9416bb1-82ca-ef11-88d0-0022482a9b45&amp;ceid=115039">Kansas Reflector</a>

TOPEKA — The lunch rush in downtown Topeka’s restaurants and cafés hasn’t been the same since the COVID-19 pandemic, said Seth Wagoner, an investment executive.

Thousands of state employees who once worked in office buildings in Kansas’ capital and frequented downtown businesses for lunch and happy hour now work from home all or part of the time. They could be called back to the office under proposed legislation.

At a Thursday hearing in the Senate Committee on Government Efficiency, legislators considered&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kslegislature.gov/li/b2025_26/measures/sb256/" target="_blank">Senate Bill 256</a>, or the “back to work act.” Wagoner, the CEO of private equity firm AIM Strategies, said in testimony that at some lunch hotspots in downtown Topeka, business is still down by 10% from pre-pandemic times, accounting for inflation.

He was the one proponent to speak, and five state employees, testifying as private citizens, spoke against the bill.

One employee, Frances Dewell, who works in the protection report center within Kansas Department for Children and Families, which fields calls related to suspected abuse and neglect, said mandating state workers back to the office full time risks losing at least a quarter of their staff.

“Yes, state workers could return to a pre-COVID office setting,” Dewell said. “However, the changes that have developed over the last five years have compelled us to evolve.”

A virtual work culture has developed in her workplace and allowed prioritization of employee growth and well-being, she said.

A 2023 report from the Kansas Legislative Division of Post Audit examining 81 state executive branch agencies found that 30% of state workers work from home all or part of the time.

Of the state’s roughly 18,000 employees, the estimated 5,500 who work remotely under a telework agreement, the state’s official term for working from home full-time or on a hybrid schedule involving remote and in-office work, would be required to return to office buildings full-time with some exceptions. Agency heads would be allowed to offer exemptions to employees with atypical work hours, positions that don’t reasonably require in-office work and if office space constraints would mean added costs to accommodate a return to work mandate.

In smaller agencies that have around 100 employees or fewer, most or all of them telework, according to the data from spring 2023. That includes the Kansas Water Office, the Kansas Sentencing Commission, the state board of optometry examiners and the board of mortuary arts. It also includes the Kansas Board of Regents, the Office of the State Fire Marshal and the Office of the State Bank Commissioner.

In the largest agencies, the popularity of remote work varies. In the Kansas Department for Children and Families, 85% of employees engaged in some form of remote work as of April 2023. At the Kansas Department of Transportation, which employed more than 2,100 people at the same time, around 14% had telework agreements. More than half of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment’s roughly 1,500 employees worked remotely.

“Telework is viewed as a benefit by many state employees,” said Adam Proffitt, speaking on behalf of the Department of Administration, which includes Gov. Laura Kelly’s office.

Proffitt, who shared that he often works from home one day a week usually when the Legislature is not in session, told legislators that the state offers a template for agencies that dictates the roles eligible for telework and the number of days employees can work remotely. He said telework can be a tool to attract and retain employees, and “can actually expand our radius of talent,” by hiring employees who don’t live in Topeka or cannot commute.

The department of administration will be required under the bill to create a report for the government efficiency committee listing state agencies granting exceptions to the mandate, the number of exceptions granted, the job descriptions or titles associated with each exception, the number and costs of buildings leased by each agency and the number of state employees assigned to a physical office space but working remotely.

However, concerns for state employees with disabilities arose in the Thursday hearing because of the job description or title reporting requirement. Employees with disabilities could be identifiable in smaller agencies, a violation of legal protections including the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Martha Gabehart, the executive director of the Kansas Commission on Disability Concerns, said in written testimony that the mandate would be out of sync with Kansas’ reputation as a model employer for people with disabilities.

“By creating a policy that would, if not implemented correctly, violate the rights of employees with disabilities, we would no longer be considered a model employer,” she said.

A back to work mandate would be costly to the state, according to a fiscal note attached to the bill. The health department estimates the change would cost the state a combined $1.3 million over the next two fiscal years. More than 160 of the department’s employees are fully remote, and office space for them does not currently exist. Several other agencies noted increased costs associated with finding new office space for returning employees and the possibility of employees resigning if the back to work act is implemented. Agencies including the Department of Corrections noted no or minimal cost increases because the majority of their employees have returned to in-person work.

The bill is awaiting final approval in the Senate committee and has yet to be introduced in the House.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/3/1741373059207.png" alt="Adam Proffitt, Secretary of the Department of Administration and the state budget director, addressing Kansas legislators on Jan. 16, 2025. (Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption>Adam Proffitt, Secretary of the Department of Administration and the state budget director, addressing Kansas legislators on Jan. 16, 2025. (Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure>BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/akaminski/">ANNA KAMINSKI</a> <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2025/01/03/kansas-state-garden-city-cc-striving-to-shrink-bachelors-degree-educational-desert/?emci=8e6f56cf-3bca-ef11-88d0-0022482a9b45&amp;emdi=a9416bb1-82ca-ef11-88d0-0022482a9b45&amp;ceid=115039">Kansas Reflector</a>TOPEKA — The lunch rush in downtown Topeka’s restaurants and cafés hasn’t been the same since the COVID-19 pandemic, said Seth Wagoner, an investment executive.Thousands of state employees who once worked in office buildings in Kansas’ capital and frequented downtown businesses for lunch and happy hour now work from home all or part of the time. They could be called back to the office under proposed legislation.At a Thursday hearing in the Senate Committee on Government Efficiency, legislators considered&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kslegislature.gov/li/b2025_26/measures/sb256/" target="_blank">Senate Bill 256</a>, or the “back to work act.” Wagoner, the CEO of private equity firm AIM Strategies, said in testimony that at some lunch hotspots in downtown Topeka, business is still down by 10% from pre-pandemic times, accounting for inflation.He was the one proponent to speak, and five state employees, testifying as private citizens, spoke against the bill.One employee, Frances Dewell, who works in the protection report center within Kansas Department for Children and Families, which fields calls related to suspected abuse and neglect, said mandating state workers back to the office full time risks losing at least a quarter of their staff.“Yes, state workers could return to a pre-COVID office setting,” Dewell said. “However, the changes that have developed over the last five years have compelled us to evolve.”A virtual work culture has developed in her workplace and allowed prioritization of employee growth and well-being, she said.A 2023 report from the Kansas Legislative Division of Post Audit examining 81 state executive branch agencies found that 30% of state workers work from home all or part of the time.Of the state’s roughly 18,000 employees, the estimated 5,500 who work remotely under a telework agreement, the state’s official term for working from home full-time or on a hybrid schedule involving remote and in-office work, would be required to return to office buildings full-time with some exceptions. Agency heads would be allowed to offer exemptions to employees with atypical work hours, positions that don’t reasonably require in-office work and if office space constraints would mean added costs to accommodate a return to work mandate.In smaller agencies that have around 100 employees or fewer, most or all of them telework, according to the data from spring 2023. That includes the Kansas Water Office, the Kansas Sentencing Commission, the state board of optometry examiners and the board of mortuary arts. It also includes the Kansas Board of Regents, the Office of the State Fire Marshal and the Office of the State Bank Commissioner.In the largest agencies, the popularity of remote work varies. In the Kansas Department for Children and Families, 85% of employees engaged in some form of remote work as of April 2023. At the Kansas Department of Transportation, which employed more than 2,100 people at the same time, around 14% had telework agreements. More than half of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment’s roughly 1,500 employees worked remotely.“Telework is viewed as a benefit by many state employees,” said Adam Proffitt, speaking on behalf of the Department of Administration, which includes Gov. Laura Kelly’s office.Proffitt, who shared that he often works from home one day a week usually when the Legislature is not in session, told legislators that the state offers a template for agencies that dictates the roles eligible for telework and the number of days employees can work remotely. He said telework can be a tool to attract and retain employees, and “can actually expand our radius of talent,” by hiring employees who don’t live in Topeka or cannot commute.The department of administration will be required under the bill to create a report for the government efficiency committee listing state agencies granting exceptions to the mandate, the number of exceptions granted, the job descriptions or titles associated with each exception, the number and costs of buildings leased by each agency and the number of state employees assigned to a physical office space but working remotely.However, concerns for state employees with disabilities arose in the Thursday hearing because of the job description or title reporting requirement. Employees with disabilities could be identifiable in smaller agencies, a violation of legal protections including the Americans with Disabilities Act.Martha Gabehart, the executive director of the Kansas Commission on Disability Concerns, said in written testimony that the mandate would be out of sync with Kansas’ reputation as a model employer for people with disabilities.“By creating a policy that would, if not implemented correctly, violate the rights of employees with disabilities, we would no longer be considered a model employer,” she said.A back to work mandate would be costly to the state, according to a fiscal note attached to the bill. The health department estimates the change would cost the state a combined $1.3 million over the next two fiscal years. More than 160 of the department’s employees are fully remote, and office space for them does not currently exist. Several other agencies noted increased costs associated with finding new office space for returning employees and the possibility of employees resigning if the back to work act is implemented. Agencies including the Department of Corrections noted no or minimal cost increases because the majority of their employees have returned to in-person work.The bill is awaiting final approval in the Senate committee and has yet to be introduced in the House.

Kansas ‘back to work act’ would force state employees to return to offices

WASHINGTON —The teen recognized by President Trump during the Address to Congress&nbsp; has a connection to Kansas.

On Tuesday night, at President Trump’s direction, Secret Service Director Sean Curran presented&nbsp;<a href="https://www.police1.com/police-heroes/articles/10-year-old-boy-with-terminal-cancer-to-be-sworn-into-668th-le-agency-Ewjl2Y7NbXDyCOgm/">Devarjaye “DJ” Daniel</a>&nbsp;with an honorary badge. Daniel, who has battled brain cancer since he was 6-year-old, became the youngest ever Secret Service agent

In 2022, McPherson Police Chief Mikel Golden and his FBI National Academy (Class #284) swore in DJ as an Honorary McPherson Police Officer.

"When DJ was diagnosed with brain cancer, doctors gave him just 6 months to live, but this warrior is finding a way to beat the odds!" Chief Golden wrote on the department social media page.&nbsp;"Congratulations DJ, we are very proud of you, keep fighting, our thoughts and prayers are always with you! "

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/3/1741354560810.png" alt="DJ and his father in the Oval Office Wednesday-image courtesy White House" />
 <figcaption>DJ and his father in the Oval Office Wednesday-image courtesy White House</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON —The teen recognized by President Trump during the Address to Congress&nbsp; has a connection to Kansas.On Tuesday night, at President Trump’s direction, Secret Service Director Sean Curran presented&nbsp;<a href="https://www.police1.com/police-heroes/articles/10-year-old-boy-with-terminal-cancer-to-be-sworn-into-668th-le-agency-Ewjl2Y7NbXDyCOgm/">Devarjaye “DJ” Daniel</a>&nbsp;with an honorary badge. Daniel, who has battled brain cancer since he was 6-year-old, became the youngest ever Secret Service agent<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/3/1741354457629.png" alt="Daniel and McPherson Police Chief Golden in 2022- courtesy photo" />
 <figcaption>Daniel and McPherson Police Chief Golden in 2022- courtesy photo</figcaption>
 </figure>In 2022, McPherson Police Chief Mikel Golden and his FBI National Academy (Class #284) swore in DJ as an Honorary McPherson Police Officer.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/3/1741354866643.png" alt="Image courtesy White House video" />
 <figcaption>Image courtesy White House video</figcaption>
 </figure><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">“Tonight, DJ Daniel, we are going to do you the biggest honor of them all. I am asking our new Secret Service director, Sean Curran, to officially make you an agent of the United States Secret Service.” –President Donald J. Trump 🇺🇸 <a href="https://t.co/JG38AUYMqj">pic.twitter.com/JG38AUYMqj</a>&mdash; The White House (@WhiteHouse) <a href="https://twitter.com/WhiteHouse/status/1897331345413820795?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 5, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>"When DJ was diagnosed with brain cancer, doctors gave him just 6 months to live, but this warrior is finding a way to beat the odds!" Chief Golden wrote on the department social media page.&nbsp;"Congratulations DJ, we are very proud of you, keep fighting, our thoughts and prayers are always with you! "

Teen recognized by President Trump has Kansas connection

KANSAS CITY —Law enforcement are investigating a homicide in Kansas City have identified the victims as 45-year-old Matthew Weimer and 44-year-old Holly Weimer, according to KCPD Sergeant Phil DiMartino.

Just before 4p.m. Tuesday, patrol officers were dispatched to the 6800 block of North Madison on a check the welfare call for service.

Officers were directed to a home on North Madison and located the victims suffering from a gunshot wounds. Both were pronounced deceased on scene.

This is now being investigated as murder, suicide according to DiMartino

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/3/1741348099683.png" alt="Police on the scene of the investigation -photo courtesy KMBC" />
 <figcaption>Police on the scene of the investigation -photo courtesy KMBC</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY —Law enforcement are investigating a homicide in Kansas City have identified the victims as 45-year-old Matthew Weimer and 44-year-old Holly Weimer, according to KCPD Sergeant Phil DiMartino.Just before 4p.m. Tuesday, patrol officers were dispatched to the 6800 block of North Madison on a check the welfare call for service.Officers were directed to a home on North Madison and located the victims suffering from a gunshot wounds. Both were pronounced deceased on scene.This is now being investigated as murder, suicide according to DiMartino

Police ID man and woman found dead in Kansas City home

BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/cbates/">CLARA BATES</a> <a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/cbates/"></a><a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2022/09/21/missouri-judge-once-again-delays-decision-on-closing-agape-boarding-school/">Missouri Independent</a>

Marriage would be banned for anyone under 18 under a law that advanced out of the Missouri Senate Thursday.&nbsp;

Under current Missouri law, anyone under 16 is prohibited from getting married. But 16 and 17 year olds can get married with parental consent to anyone under 21.&nbsp;

The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.senate.mo.gov/25info/bts_web/Bill.aspx?SessionType=R&amp;BillID=449" target="_blank">bill, sponsored by Democratic state Sen. Tracy McCreery</a>, would ban child marriage outright. State Sen. Rick&nbsp;<a href="https://www.senate.mo.gov/25info/bts_web/Bill.aspx?SessionType=R&amp;BillID=3171482" target="_blank">Brattin, a Republican from Harrisonville, filed similar legislation</a>.&nbsp;

“The current marriage laws incentivize and legalize the trafficking of minors under the guise of marriage,” McCreery said Thursday.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/3/1741350417008.png" alt="State Sen. Tracy McCreery, a Democrat from Olivette, prepares to introduce a bill (Annelise Hanshaw/Missouri Independent)." />
 <figcaption>State Sen. Tracy McCreery, a Democrat from Olivette, prepares to introduce a bill (Annelise Hanshaw/Missouri Independent).</figcaption>
 </figure>BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/cbates/">CLARA BATES</a> <a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/cbates/"></a><a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2022/09/21/missouri-judge-once-again-delays-decision-on-closing-agape-boarding-school/">Missouri Independent</a>Marriage would be banned for anyone under 18 under a law that advanced out of the Missouri Senate Thursday.&nbsp;Under current Missouri law, anyone under 16 is prohibited from getting married. But 16 and 17 year olds can get married with parental consent to anyone under 21.&nbsp;The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.senate.mo.gov/25info/bts_web/Bill.aspx?SessionType=R&amp;BillID=449" target="_blank">bill, sponsored by Democratic state Sen. Tracy McCreery</a>, would ban child marriage outright. State Sen. Rick&nbsp;<a href="https://www.senate.mo.gov/25info/bts_web/Bill.aspx?SessionType=R&amp;BillID=3171482" target="_blank">Brattin, a Republican from Harrisonville, filed similar legislation</a>.&nbsp;“The current marriage laws incentivize and legalize the trafficking of minors under the guise of marriage,” McCreery said Thursday.The vote Thursday was 32 to 1. The only no vote was state Sen. Mike Moon, a Republican from Ash Grove.&nbsp;In 2023, Moon garnered national attention when he&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article274244525.html#storylink=cpy" target="_blank">said</a>: “Do you know any kids who have been married at age 12? I do. And guess what? They’re still married.”There was no opposition voiced in the public hearing in January, or the Senate debates this week.&nbsp;The bill now heads to the House for consideration.Last year, the bill&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2024/04/10/missouri-senate-gives-initial-approval-to-complete-ban-on-child-marriage/">cleared the Senate</a>&nbsp;in April with only Moon in opposition.&nbsp; It was stalled by a small group of Republican critics in a House committee, who said it would constitute government overreach and infringe on parental rights. After the bill finally passed out of that committee, when several of those critics were not present for the vote, it was&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/briefs/legislation-enacting-total-ban-on-child-marriage-in-missouri-dies-in-the-house/">never brought up in the House for a vote.&nbsp;</a>“I’m&nbsp;honored to pick up where we left off last year and to get this legislation passed into law,” McCreery said during Monday’s Senate debate.Those in favor of the ban argue child marriage is coercive and can transform into forced marriage, especially because children lack the legal rights of adulthood.&nbsp;“This is not only a legislative imperative, but also a moral one,” McCreery said, pointing to data showing those married as children are at a higher risk of mental and physical health issues, isolation, poverty, and intimate partner abuse.Others in favor at the public hearing in January included women who had been forced into marriage as children and advocates against domestic violence and child abuse. No one testified in opposition.Until the legislature voted to raise the minimum marriage age to 16 in 2018, Missouri had among the most&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kansascity.com/news/state/missouri/article204329774.html" target="_blank">lenient</a>&nbsp;child marriage laws in the nation — making it&nbsp; an especially popular state for&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kansascity.com/news/state/missouri/article204287484.html" target="_blank">15-year-olds</a>&nbsp;to travel to be married.Despite the 2018 change, Missouri law still does not align with international human rights standards, which set the minimum age at 18.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article211345289.html" target="_blank">Activists argued at the time</a>&nbsp;Missouri’s new law would continue to leave 16 and 17-year-olds vulnerable to potential coercion.Brattin said Monday during Senate debate that initially he’d been against the ban because he knew family members who’d been married young and had long, successful marriages.“And it was difficult to kind of come to the realization that that’s not where we’re at any longer, that yesterday was yesterday, and this is today,” Brattin said. “…I’ve come around completely, so much so that I’ve even sponsored the parallel bill that you have.”&nbsp;