WRIGHT COUNTY —Troopers with the Missouri State Highway Patrol recovered two drowning victims in Beaver Creek flooding on Tuesday.

Just after 4:30a.m., the MSHP received reports of three vehicles that had been carried off the road by floodwaters from Beaver Creek. Emergency response teams including marine officers from the MSHP and agents from the Missouri Department of Conservation, initiated rescue operations.

Three individuals from two of the vehicles were able to escape the floodwaters by swimming to shore. Just before 9a.m., two residents, a 70-year-old man and a 73-year-old woman both from the Mane, Missouri area in the third vehicle were found deceased.

WRIGHT COUNTY —Troopers with the Missouri State Highway Patrol recovered two drowning victims in Beaver Creek flooding on Tuesday.Just after 4:30a.m., the MSHP received reports of three vehicles that had been carried off the road by floodwaters from Beaver Creek. Emergency response teams including marine officers from the MSHP and agents from the Missouri Department of Conservation, initiated rescue operations.Three individuals from two of the vehicles were able to escape the floodwaters by swimming to shore. Just before 9a.m., two residents, a 70-year-old man and a 73-year-old woman both from the Mane, Missouri area in the third vehicle were found deceased.

MSHP recovers two drowning victims from flooding

Balloting settles races for Kansas Legislature, Congress and municipal government

BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/tim-carpenter/">TIM CARPENTER</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/allison-kite/">ALLISON KITE</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/akaminski/">ANNA KAMINSKI</a>&nbsp;AND&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/max-mccoy/">MAX MCCOY</a> <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/">Kansas Reflector</a>

LECOMPTON — Paola resident Cameron Mott, a registered Republican for more than half a century, paid special attention to the 2024 election cycle.

His attentiveness wasn’t anchored in city council, county commission, state legislative or congressional contests dotting the Tuesday ballot. He was primarily invested in outcome of the presidential showdown between Republican Donald Trump, who prevailed in 2016 and lost in 2020, and Democrat Kamala Harris, the vice president who stepped into the void created when President Joe Biden withdrew under pressure.

“I voted for Harris, and I’m a registered Republican since 1972,” he said. “It’s just Trump. He was a total disaster. He wasn’t qualified and never should have been president. I never saw any behavior that was presidential.”

Mott voted by advance ballot and was relaxing on Election Day at a Lecompton playground with Spring Hill’s Martha Heavilin and her 2-year-old son, Rubin. Voters flowed in an out of the nearby polling station in Lecompton, just a stone’s throw from Constitution Hall that played a role in the Bleeding Kansas crisis over slavery.

Heavilin, a registered Democrat since 18 years of age, said she was dedicated to exercising her right to vote. That sentiment acknowledged every vote mattered regardless of outcome, she said. In this election, Heavilin said, she thought it was important to cast a vote for U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids, the Democrat who serves the 3rd District covering Johnson, Anderson, Franklin and Miami counties and half of Wyandotte County in the Kansas City area.

“I was keen to keep Sharice Davids in office,” Heavilin said. “I find her incredibly responsive to people. I tend to vote blue, but I have two children. The last pregnancy got a little scary at the end. For any woman to be pregnant and want to end that pregnancy for valid reasons and not be able to is scary.”

Abortion took center stage in the reelection campaign of Davids, an advocate for abortion rights. She was challenged by Republican Prasanth Reddy, a physician endorsed by the Kansans for Life PAC.

In the 2024 election cycle in Kansas, voters will determine the 125 members of the Kansas House and 40 members of the Kansas Senate. The state will elect four members to the U.S. House, including at least one newcomer because U.S. Rep. Jake LaTurner decided not to seek reelection in the 2nd District. In addition, Kansans were asked to make decisions on local ballot issues, city and county commission races and judicial retention decisions.

Brent Smith of Lenexa said he split his ticket by voting for Harris for president, but Republicans for Congress and the Legislature. Smith said he’s a fiscally conservative independent voter and has never cast a ballot for Trump. Smith said Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, are a “better fit.”

In Johnson County, the presidential election also loomed large as issues from abortion to border security and democracy itself were on voters’ minds.

Brittany Nicholson, 38, joined her son Darrius Comeaux, 20, as he voted for the first time. Nicholson cajoled Comeaux into posing for a photo as they left the Roeland Park Community Center, both having voted for Harris for president.

“Democracy,” Nicholson said. “That was really the most pressing issue for me.”

Nicholson said she also was concerned about Project 2025, a wide-ranging policy document published by a conservative think tank. While Trump has denied involvement in producing the document, many former Trump staffers contributed to it. Nicholson said she likes that Harris has proposed helping first-time homebuyers with up to $25,000 toward a down payment.

Calley Saye, 47, said she voted a straight Democratic ticket. She said she “can’t stand Donald Trump.”

“I think he is the worst thing that’s ever happened to our country,” Saye said, “and I would really like to see someone decent in office. And I’m excited about having a female president.”

Saye said while the presidential race was her biggest concern, she was excited to cast her vote for down-ballot Democrats, including U.S. Rep. Davids. Saye said she felt strongly that women should have the right to seek an abortion.

“It’s kind of sad that we’re going back in time,” Saye said.

In August 2022, Kansas voters unexpectedly rejected by a wide margin a proposed amendment to the Kansas Constitution that would have nullified a Kansas Supreme Court decision that identified a fundamental right in the state’s Bill of Rights granting women the right to end a pregnancy. This constitutional right remained in Kansas after repeal by the U.S. Supreme Court of the landmark precedent of Roe v. Wade that granted abortion rights nationally.

In Lawrence, Adela Solis took a break from work to outline reasons it was important for Kansans to express themselves at the ballot box. She took the opportunity to vote on local ballot questions about reforming the size and management structure of the city commissioner. She voted on a measure that would dedicate tax dollars to housing issues.

But it was the diminishing of abortion rights across the United States that served as a decisive motivator.

“The fact that women are moving backwards,” Solis said. “And that there are some men out there who think that’s okay. It’s so egregiously awful. I thought Puritanism ended.”

Abortion was similarly top-of-mind for voters who selected Trump for president.

Hannah Lackamp, 22, voted for Trump in Lenexa with abortion on her list of concerns. She voted for him four years ago in the first presidential election after she turned 18.

“I don’t want to kill babies,” Lackamp said. “That’s kind of like my biggest thing.”

Tiffany and Noah Strain, both 30, walked to the polls in Roeland Park with their four children and cast ballots for Trump and down-ballot Republicans, driven primarily by their opposition to abortion.

“We value life,” Noah Strain said. “… If you don’t value that sort of life at that level, then everything else just doesn’t really matter.”

Beyond that, they said, the former president was better for the economy. Tiffany Strain said it’s difficult to know what Harris’ policies are other than opposing Trump.

“Some things that really bother me about (Harris),” she said, “are that she’s really into the pathos arguments. It’s all about feelings. It’s all about how she sounds rather than the actual things she’s talking about.”

The couple said they voted for Evan McMullin in 2016, who waged a write-in campaign, because they were skeptical of Trump. But Trump’s four years in office persuaded them to vote for him in his first reelection bid in 2020.

In Emporia, after Sandy and Keith Carnes cast their votes at White Auditorium, Keith Carnes said he voted “Republican all the way.”

“I did it because I don’t want another four years like this,” Carnes said. “We need a change.”

Sandy Carnes said there was no disagreement in their household over politics and that she also turned out to vote for Trump. But, she said, she would accept the choice voters make, no matter who wins.

“Whatever the results, I will support them as best I can,” she said.

In Tonganoxie, voters left polling cubicles inside the Sacred Heart Catholic Church proud of doing their civic duty. There were expressions of anxiety and optimism about outcomes on Election Day.

Rezty Felty, 58, said this election felt particularly important. A regular voter and almost 30-year resident of Tonganoxie, Felty had a set of Kamala Harris-themed fingernails for the occasion.

“Because we had one side that seemed to be pulling for the whole country and another side that seemed to be dragging us into fascism,” Felty said.

Sue Hicks, 60, expects to retire soon and about worries about economic slippage. She said she voted for Trump “because I’m not better off than I was four years ago.” She said high property taxes and an income that doesn’t stretch as far as it used to were factors in her presidential decision, but would welcome a feeling of hope in American politics.

Nicole Martin, 51, felt similarly. She said the rising cost of living and illegal immigration informed her votes.

“I need my stocks to go up,” she said. “I need my food to go down. I need my gas to go down.”

Loren Harrell, 28, said reproductive rights and rights for fellow LGBTQ+ community members were top of mind when voting for president.

“Those were the kind of big things for me, but I know in this area I’m a bit of an outlier,” Harrell said.

Some of the voters in the Leavenworth County community of about 6,000 people said they voted to represent their conservative values while others voted to keep certain candidates out of office.

Sarah Dunkle, 21, is a first-time voter. She came to the polls with her mother, 63-year-old Robin Thompson, and she said she was proud to be able to represent a younger generation.

Thompson was most interested in the presidential race, but Dunkle said she made sure to pay attention to local races too.

“It’s important to me who’s going to be running the country,” Thompson said.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/11/1730846524398.png" alt="Cameron Mott and Martha Heavilin, with Rubin between them, said during a playground visit to Lecompton that both felt a strong commitment to participating in voting Tuesday. Mott, a Republican, voted for Democrat Kamala Harris for president. Heavilin, a Democrat, said it was important to stand up for abortion rights. (Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption>Cameron Mott and Martha Heavilin, with Rubin between them, said during a playground visit to Lecompton that both felt a strong commitment to participating in voting Tuesday. Mott, a Republican, voted for Democrat Kamala Harris for president. Heavilin, a Democrat, said it was important to stand up for abortion rights. (Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>Balloting settles races for Kansas Legislature, Congress and municipal government</h2>BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/tim-carpenter/">TIM CARPENTER</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/allison-kite/">ALLISON KITE</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/akaminski/">ANNA KAMINSKI</a>&nbsp;AND&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/max-mccoy/">MAX MCCOY</a> <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/">Kansas Reflector</a>LECOMPTON — Paola resident Cameron Mott, a registered Republican for more than half a century, paid special attention to the 2024 election cycle.His attentiveness wasn’t anchored in city council, county commission, state legislative or congressional contests dotting the Tuesday ballot. He was primarily invested in outcome of the presidential showdown between Republican Donald Trump, who prevailed in 2016 and lost in 2020, and Democrat Kamala Harris, the vice president who stepped into the void created when President Joe Biden withdrew under pressure.“I voted for Harris, and I’m a registered Republican since 1972,” he said. “It’s just Trump. He was a total disaster. He wasn’t qualified and never should have been president. I never saw any behavior that was presidential.”Mott voted by advance ballot and was relaxing on Election Day at a Lecompton playground with Spring Hill’s Martha Heavilin and her 2-year-old son, Rubin. Voters flowed in an out of the nearby polling station in Lecompton, just a stone’s throw from Constitution Hall that played a role in the Bleeding Kansas crisis over slavery.Heavilin, a registered Democrat since 18 years of age, said she was dedicated to exercising her right to vote. That sentiment acknowledged every vote mattered regardless of outcome, she said. In this election, Heavilin said, she thought it was important to cast a vote for U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids, the Democrat who serves the 3rd District covering Johnson, Anderson, Franklin and Miami counties and half of Wyandotte County in the Kansas City area.“I was keen to keep Sharice Davids in office,” Heavilin said. “I find her incredibly responsive to people. I tend to vote blue, but I have two children. The last pregnancy got a little scary at the end. For any woman to be pregnant and want to end that pregnancy for valid reasons and not be able to is scary.”Abortion took center stage in the reelection campaign of Davids, an advocate for abortion rights. She was challenged by Republican Prasanth Reddy, a physician endorsed by the Kansans for Life PAC.In the 2024 election cycle in Kansas, voters will determine the 125 members of the Kansas House and 40 members of the Kansas Senate. The state will elect four members to the U.S. House, including at least one newcomer because U.S. Rep. Jake LaTurner decided not to seek reelection in the 2nd District. In addition, Kansans were asked to make decisions on local ballot issues, city and county commission races and judicial retention decisions.Brent Smith of Lenexa said he split his ticket by voting for Harris for president, but Republicans for Congress and the Legislature. Smith said he’s a fiscally conservative independent voter and has never cast a ballot for Trump. Smith said Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, are a “better fit.”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/11/1730846475974.png" alt=" Brittany Nicholson and her son, Darrius Comeaux, cast their ballots for Kamala Harris for president Tuesday at the Roeland Park Community Center. (Allison Kite/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption> Brittany Nicholson and her son, Darrius Comeaux, cast their ballots for Kamala Harris for president Tuesday at the Roeland Park Community Center. (Allison Kite/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>Project 2025 and Trump</h2>In Johnson County, the presidential election also loomed large as issues from abortion to border security and democracy itself were on voters’ minds.Brittany Nicholson, 38, joined her son Darrius Comeaux, 20, as he voted for the first time. Nicholson cajoled Comeaux into posing for a photo as they left the Roeland Park Community Center, both having voted for Harris for president.“Democracy,” Nicholson said. “That was really the most pressing issue for me.”Nicholson said she also was concerned about Project 2025, a wide-ranging policy document published by a conservative think tank. While Trump has denied involvement in producing the document, many former Trump staffers contributed to it. Nicholson said she likes that Harris has proposed helping first-time homebuyers with up to $25,000 toward a down payment.Calley Saye, 47, said she voted a straight Democratic ticket. She said she “can’t stand Donald Trump.”“I think he is the worst thing that’s ever happened to our country,” Saye said, “and I would really like to see someone decent in office. And I’m excited about having a female president.”Saye said while the presidential race was her biggest concern, she was excited to cast her vote for down-ballot Democrats, including U.S. Rep. Davids. Saye said she felt strongly that women should have the right to seek an abortion.“It’s kind of sad that we’re going back in time,” Saye said.In August 2022, Kansas voters unexpectedly rejected by a wide margin a proposed amendment to the Kansas Constitution that would have nullified a Kansas Supreme Court decision that identified a fundamental right in the state’s Bill of Rights granting women the right to end a pregnancy. This constitutional right remained in Kansas after repeal by the U.S. Supreme Court of the landmark precedent of Roe v. Wade that granted abortion rights nationally.In Lawrence, Adela Solis took a break from work to outline reasons it was important for Kansans to express themselves at the ballot box. She took the opportunity to vote on local ballot questions about reforming the size and management structure of the city commissioner. She voted on a measure that would dedicate tax dollars to housing issues.But it was the diminishing of abortion rights across the United States that served as a decisive motivator.“The fact that women are moving backwards,” Solis said. “And that there are some men out there who think that’s okay. It’s so egregiously awful. I thought Puritanism ended.”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/11/1730846434621.png" alt="Tiffany and Noah Strain cast their ballots for Donald Trump for president Tuesday at the Roeland Park Community Center. (Allison Kite/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption>Tiffany and Noah Strain cast their ballots for Donald Trump for president Tuesday at the Roeland Park Community Center. (Allison Kite/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>Skepticism about Harris</h2>Abortion was similarly top-of-mind for voters who selected Trump for president.Hannah Lackamp, 22, voted for Trump in Lenexa with abortion on her list of concerns. She voted for him four years ago in the first presidential election after she turned 18.“I don’t want to kill babies,” Lackamp said. “That’s kind of like my biggest thing.”Tiffany and Noah Strain, both 30, walked to the polls in Roeland Park with their four children and cast ballots for Trump and down-ballot Republicans, driven primarily by their opposition to abortion.“We value life,” Noah Strain said. “… If you don’t value that sort of life at that level, then everything else just doesn’t really matter.”Beyond that, they said, the former president was better for the economy. Tiffany Strain said it’s difficult to know what Harris’ policies are other than opposing Trump.“Some things that really bother me about (Harris),” she said, “are that she’s really into the pathos arguments. It’s all about feelings. It’s all about how she sounds rather than the actual things she’s talking about.”The couple said they voted for Evan McMullin in 2016, who waged a write-in campaign, because they were skeptical of Trump. But Trump’s four years in office persuaded them to vote for him in his first reelection bid in 2020.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/11/1730846390542.png" alt="Keith and Sandy Carnes on Tuesday morning outside the White Auditorium in Emporia, where they had just cast their votes. Both said they were primarily interested in the presidential election rather than state or local races. (Max McCoy/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption>Keith and Sandy Carnes on Tuesday morning outside the White Auditorium in Emporia, where they had just cast their votes. Both said they were primarily interested in the presidential election rather than state or local races. (Max McCoy/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure>In Emporia, after Sandy and Keith Carnes cast their votes at White Auditorium, Keith Carnes said he voted “Republican all the way.”“I did it because I don’t want another four years like this,” Carnes said. “We need a change.”Sandy Carnes said there was no disagreement in their household over politics and that she also turned out to vote for Trump. But, she said, she would accept the choice voters make, no matter who wins.“Whatever the results, I will support them as best I can,” she said.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/11/1730846352287.png" alt=" Rezty Felty, a 58-year-old Tonganoxie resident, shows off Kamala Harris-themed nails after voting. (Anna Kaminski/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption> Rezty Felty, a 58-year-old Tonganoxie resident, shows off Kamala Harris-themed nails after voting. (Anna Kaminski/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>Leavenworth County vibe</h2>In Tonganoxie, voters left polling cubicles inside the Sacred Heart Catholic Church proud of doing their civic duty. There were expressions of anxiety and optimism about outcomes on Election Day.Rezty Felty, 58, said this election felt particularly important. A regular voter and almost 30-year resident of Tonganoxie, Felty had a set of Kamala Harris-themed fingernails for the occasion.“Because we had one side that seemed to be pulling for the whole country and another side that seemed to be dragging us into fascism,” Felty said.Sue Hicks, 60, expects to retire soon and about worries about economic slippage. She said she voted for Trump “because I’m not better off than I was four years ago.” She said high property taxes and an income that doesn’t stretch as far as it used to were factors in her presidential decision, but would welcome a feeling of hope in American politics.Nicole Martin, 51, felt similarly. She said the rising cost of living and illegal immigration informed her votes.“I need my stocks to go up,” she said. “I need my food to go down. I need my gas to go down.”Loren Harrell, 28, said reproductive rights and rights for fellow LGBTQ+ community members were top of mind when voting for president.“Those were the kind of big things for me, but I know in this area I’m a bit of an outlier,” Harrell said.Some of the voters in the Leavenworth County community of about 6,000 people said they voted to represent their conservative values while others voted to keep certain candidates out of office.Sarah Dunkle, 21, is a first-time voter. She came to the polls with her mother, 63-year-old Robin Thompson, and she said she was proud to be able to represent a younger generation.Thompson was most interested in the presidential race, but Dunkle said she made sure to pay attention to local races too.“It’s important to me who’s going to be running the country,” Thompson said.

Kansas voters swarm polling locations with presidential contest, policy issues at forefront

House Chief Clerk Dana Miller is suing over allegations Plocher tried to silence her during an ethics probe and circulated a letter asking House members to remove her from office

BY:&nbsp;&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>

Attorneys for House Speaker Dean Plocher argued Monday that a&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2024/05/31/missouri-house-chief-clerk-sues-dean-plocher-rod-jetton-alleging-whistleblower-retaliation/">whistleblower lawsuit</a>&nbsp;filed against him by the chamber’s chief clerk should be dismissed because he had no power to retaliate against her.&nbsp;

In a hearing before Cole County Associate Circuit Judge Brian Stumpe, attorneys for the House and Plocher said because Chief Clerk Dana Miller is elected by a majority vote of the 163-member House she is out of reach for Plocher — even if he wanted her fired.&nbsp;

The only way she could have been fired or demoted, they said, is by a majority vote of the 163-member House.

“This involves a power struggle between two co-equal elected officers of the House,” said Chuck Adamson, an assistant attorney general representing the House.

In response, Miller’s attorney argued that it was the threats of retaliation included in a letter circulated in the House that triggered the&nbsp;<a href="https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=105.055&amp;bid=35405&amp;hl=" target="_blank">state whistleblower statute</a>.

“They tried to get her removed,” said Kevin Baldwin, Miller’s attorney. “They tried to change and alter the conditions of her employment.”

At the end of the hearing, Stumpe gave both sides two weeks to file final pleadings before he decides whether to dismiss Plocher, end the case by dismissing the lawsuit outright or to let the case continue.

Miller in May sued Plocher, Rod Jetton, his chief of staff, and the Missouri House. The lawsuit was being filed, Miller and Baldwin said in May, because obstruction and intimidation by Plocher and Jetton scuttled an ethics inquiry into allegations of wrongdoing by Plocher.&nbsp;

Miller dismissed her case against Jetton earlier this month.

Plocher, who in August finished fourth in the&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2024/08/06/denny-hoskins-wins-republican-nomination-for-missouri-secretary-of-state/">GOP primary for secretary of state</a>, became embroiled in controversy last year when he was accused of engaging in “unethical and perhaps unlawful conduct” as part of his months-long push to get the House to award an $800,000 contract to a private company to manage constituent information.

A month later, The Independent reported Plocher had on numerous occasions over the last five years illegally sought taxpayer reimbursement from the Legislature for airfare, hotels and other travel costs already paid for by his campaign.

An investigator’s report detailed how some potential witnesses allegedly refused to speak out of fear Plocher would use his power as speaker to retaliate against them, while others did not appear because Plocher decided who the committee could compel to testify. And Plocher refused to cooperate with the attorney hired to collect evidence for the committee.

“This is a case about accountability,” Baldwin said to Stumpe on Monday.

In arguments to Stumpe, Lowell Pearson — Plocher’s attorney — said one of the key elements Miller would need to have a successful whistleblower case is that she was targeted for disclosing information not otherwise known to the public. Nothing Miller was concerned about wasn’t already being discussed in public, he said.

The case, he said, “reflects a weaponization of (the whistleblower law) in a manner that was never intended.”

The speaker and chief clerk of the House are the two officers of the chamber named in the Missouri Constitution. Both are elected by a majority vote as the chamber reorganizes after an election.

Miller has worked in state government for 31 years, with 23 years as a member of the House staff. She was elected chief clerk in 2018 and has held that post under four speakers. Miller is not seeking re-election as chief clerk.

In court filings&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/briefs/dean-plocher-asks-judge-to-dismiss-whistleblower-lawsuit-alleging-harassment-intimidation/">seeking dismissal</a>, Plocher claimed he, personally, was not Miller’s supervisor and that the dispute is a political question, not a personnel issue.

“There is no way an individual, Speaker Plocher, can be a public employer,” Pearson said Monday.

Miller claims in her lawsuit that problems with Plocher began before he was speaker, when she confronted him in May 2022 over several complaints about his treatment of female Republican lawmakers, including a woman who said she considered filing an ethics complaint against him.

When she raised those concerns with Plocher, Miller said he responded by saying: “stupid Republican women…they are an invasive species.”

In the motion to dismiss, Pearson argues that any alleged threats against her job were relayed to Miller by a third party — not Plocher — and are therefore hearsay.&nbsp;

The threats took the form of a letter being circulated to House members seeking to get Miller fired, Baldwin said. That amounts to adverse action and retaliation under the law, he said.

Baldwin also said the power of the speaker makes the letter a credible threat to her job.

Pearson, however, said the limitations on the speaker’s power means the threat was not credible. If Plocher couldn’t muster the votes to fire her, he said, the threat was meaningless.

“You can’t warn someone of an act you can’t perform,” he said.

The ethics investigation and whistleblower lawsuit have racked up big legal bills for Plocher but his political donors have covered at least some of the cost up to now. According to campaign disclosure forms filed in September, a PAC called Missouri United paid David Steelman and his law firm $21,000 on Aug. 23. The PAC paid Pearson’s law firm $52,000 on Aug. 28.

Steelman and Pearson defended Plocher while he was under investigation by the Missouri House Ethics Committee earlier this year. The committee has not paid any additional legal bills on Plocher’s behalf. It had about $56,000 on hand in late October, according to the latest filings with the Missouri Ethics Commission.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/10/1697056839654.png" alt=" Missouri House Speaker Dean Plocher, R-Des Peres (Tim Bommel/Missouri House Communications)." />
 <figcaption> Missouri House Speaker Dean Plocher, R-Des Peres (Tim Bommel/Missouri House Communications).</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>House Chief Clerk Dana Miller is suing over allegations Plocher tried to silence her during an ethics probe and circulated a letter asking House members to remove her from office</h2>BY:&nbsp;&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>Attorneys for House Speaker Dean Plocher argued Monday that a&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2024/05/31/missouri-house-chief-clerk-sues-dean-plocher-rod-jetton-alleging-whistleblower-retaliation/">whistleblower lawsuit</a>&nbsp;filed against him by the chamber’s chief clerk should be dismissed because he had no power to retaliate against her.&nbsp;In a hearing before Cole County Associate Circuit Judge Brian Stumpe, attorneys for the House and Plocher said because Chief Clerk Dana Miller is elected by a majority vote of the 163-member House she is out of reach for Plocher — even if he wanted her fired.&nbsp;The only way she could have been fired or demoted, they said, is by a majority vote of the 163-member House.“This involves a power struggle between two co-equal elected officers of the House,” said Chuck Adamson, an assistant attorney general representing the House.In response, Miller’s attorney argued that it was the threats of retaliation included in a letter circulated in the House that triggered the&nbsp;<a href="https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=105.055&amp;bid=35405&amp;hl=" target="_blank">state whistleblower statute</a>.“They tried to get her removed,” said Kevin Baldwin, Miller’s attorney. “They tried to change and alter the conditions of her employment.”At the end of the hearing, Stumpe gave both sides two weeks to file final pleadings before he decides whether to dismiss Plocher, end the case by dismissing the lawsuit outright or to let the case continue.Miller in May sued Plocher, Rod Jetton, his chief of staff, and the Missouri House. The lawsuit was being filed, Miller and Baldwin said in May, because obstruction and intimidation by Plocher and Jetton scuttled an ethics inquiry into allegations of wrongdoing by Plocher.&nbsp;Miller dismissed her case against Jetton earlier this month.Plocher, who in August finished fourth in the&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2024/08/06/denny-hoskins-wins-republican-nomination-for-missouri-secretary-of-state/">GOP primary for secretary of state</a>, became embroiled in controversy last year when he was accused of engaging in “unethical and perhaps unlawful conduct” as part of his months-long push to get the House to award an $800,000 contract to a private company to manage constituent information.A month later, The Independent reported Plocher had on numerous occasions over the last five years illegally sought taxpayer reimbursement from the Legislature for airfare, hotels and other travel costs already paid for by his campaign.An investigator’s report detailed how some potential witnesses allegedly refused to speak out of fear Plocher would use his power as speaker to retaliate against them, while others did not appear because Plocher decided who the committee could compel to testify. And Plocher refused to cooperate with the attorney hired to collect evidence for the committee.“This is a case about accountability,” Baldwin said to Stumpe on Monday.In arguments to Stumpe, Lowell Pearson — Plocher’s attorney — said one of the key elements Miller would need to have a successful whistleblower case is that she was targeted for disclosing information not otherwise known to the public. Nothing Miller was concerned about wasn’t already being discussed in public, he said.The case, he said, “reflects a weaponization of (the whistleblower law) in a manner that was never intended.”The speaker and chief clerk of the House are the two officers of the chamber named in the Missouri Constitution. Both are elected by a majority vote as the chamber reorganizes after an election.Miller has worked in state government for 31 years, with 23 years as a member of the House staff. She was elected chief clerk in 2018 and has held that post under four speakers. Miller is not seeking re-election as chief clerk.In court filings&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/briefs/dean-plocher-asks-judge-to-dismiss-whistleblower-lawsuit-alleging-harassment-intimidation/">seeking dismissal</a>, Plocher claimed he, personally, was not Miller’s supervisor and that the dispute is a political question, not a personnel issue.“There is no way an individual, Speaker Plocher, can be a public employer,” Pearson said Monday.Miller claims in her lawsuit that problems with Plocher began before he was speaker, when she confronted him in May 2022 over several complaints about his treatment of female Republican lawmakers, including a woman who said she considered filing an ethics complaint against him.When she raised those concerns with Plocher, Miller said he responded by saying: “stupid Republican women…they are an invasive species.”In the motion to dismiss, Pearson argues that any alleged threats against her job were relayed to Miller by a third party — not Plocher — and are therefore hearsay.&nbsp;The threats took the form of a letter being circulated to House members seeking to get Miller fired, Baldwin said. That amounts to adverse action and retaliation under the law, he said.Baldwin also said the power of the speaker makes the letter a credible threat to her job.Pearson, however, said the limitations on the speaker’s power means the threat was not credible. If Plocher couldn’t muster the votes to fire her, he said, the threat was meaningless.“You can’t warn someone of an act you can’t perform,” he said.The ethics investigation and whistleblower lawsuit have racked up big legal bills for Plocher but his political donors have covered at least some of the cost up to now. According to campaign disclosure forms filed in September, a PAC called Missouri United paid David Steelman and his law firm $21,000 on Aug. 23. The PAC paid Pearson’s law firm $52,000 on Aug. 28.Steelman and Pearson defended Plocher while he was under investigation by the Missouri House Ethics Committee earlier this year. The committee has not paid any additional legal bills on Plocher’s behalf. It had about $56,000 on hand in late October, according to the latest filings with the Missouri Ethics Commission.

Judge mulls whether to dismiss Dean Plocher from Missouri House whistleblower lawsuit

The FBI was made aware of two instances of its name and insignia being misused in promoting false narratives surrounding the election. The first is a fabricated news clip purporting to be a terrorist warning issued by the FBI. 

The fabricated news clip reports falsely that the FBI purportedly stated that Americans should “vote remotely” due to a high terror threat at polling stations. This video is not authentic and does not accurately represent the current threat posture or polling location safety.

Additionally, a fabricated video containing a fabricated FBI press release alleges that the management of five prisons in Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Arizona rigged inmate voting and colluded with a political party. This video is also not authentic, and its contents are false.

Election integrity is among our highest priorities, and the FBI is working closely with state and local law enforcement partners to respond to election threats and protect our communities as Americans exercise their right to vote. Attempts to deceive the public with false content about FBI threat assessments and activities aim to undermine our democratic process and erode trust in the electoral system. &nbsp;

The FBI encourages everyone to seek election and voting information from reliable sources, such as your local election office. And if you suspect criminal activity, we ask that you report that information to state or local law enforcement or by contacting the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324), or by submitting a tip online to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fbi.gov/tips">tips.fbi.gov</a>.

Federal Bureau of InvestigationThe FBI was made aware of two instances of its name and insignia being misused in promoting false narratives surrounding the election. The first is a fabricated news clip purporting to be a terrorist warning issued by the FBI. The fabricated news clip reports falsely that the FBI purportedly stated that Americans should “vote remotely” due to a high terror threat at polling stations. This video is not authentic and does not accurately represent the current threat posture or polling location safety.Additionally, a fabricated video containing a fabricated FBI press release alleges that the management of five prisons in Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Arizona rigged inmate voting and colluded with a political party. This video is also not authentic, and its contents are false.Election integrity is among our highest priorities, and the FBI is working closely with state and local law enforcement partners to respond to election threats and protect our communities as Americans exercise their right to vote. Attempts to deceive the public with false content about FBI threat assessments and activities aim to undermine our democratic process and erode trust in the electoral system. &nbsp;The FBI encourages everyone to seek election and voting information from reliable sources, such as your local election office. And if you suspect criminal activity, we ask that you report that information to state or local law enforcement or by contacting the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324), or by submitting a tip online to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fbi.gov/tips">tips.fbi.gov</a>.

FBI warns voters of fabricated videos misusing its name and insignia

TOPEKA– After a $47.1 million cryptocurrency scheme caused a Kansas bank to fail, a federal judge ordered during a restitution hearing today that millions of dollars seized by the government be divided among investors who suffered financial losses.

In August 2024, Shan Hanes, 53, of Elkhart was sentenced to 293 months in prison after pleading guilty to one count of embezzlement by a bank officer.

While the chief executive officer (CEO) of Heartland Tri-State Bank (HTSB), Hanes initiated outgoing wire transfers of bank funds to a cryptocurrency wallet belonging to third parties. This caused Heartland to collapse, and the bank investors to lose approximately $9 million.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was able to recover $8 million in funds associated with the fraud.

“The U.S. Attorney’s Office – District of Kansas thanks the FBI for its diligent investigations that led to the discovery and recovery of over $8 million in stolen funds. Through Hanes’ conviction and prison sentence, the Department of Justice obtained justice for the victims, and now with this court order, those victims will receive some financial relief,” said U.S. Attorney Kate E. Brubacher.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation – Office of Inspector General (FDIC-OIG), Federal Reserve Board - Office of Inspector General (FRB-OIG), and Federal Housing Finance Agency – Office of Inspector General ((FHFA-OIG) investigated the case.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/5/1716594323085.png" alt="-In August, former Kansas bank CEO Shan Hanes was sentenced to 24 years after stealing $47 million from customer accounts and wiring the money to cryptocurrency accounts run by scammers.-photo Morton County" />
 <figcaption>-In August, former Kansas bank CEO Shan Hanes was sentenced to 24 years after stealing $47 million from customer accounts and wiring the money to cryptocurrency accounts run by scammers.-photo Morton County</figcaption>
 </figure>TOPEKA– After a $47.1 million cryptocurrency scheme caused a Kansas bank to fail, a federal judge ordered during a restitution hearing today that millions of dollars seized by the government be divided among investors who suffered financial losses.In August 2024, Shan Hanes, 53, of Elkhart was sentenced to 293 months in prison after pleading guilty to one count of embezzlement by a bank officer.While the chief executive officer (CEO) of Heartland Tri-State Bank (HTSB), Hanes initiated outgoing wire transfers of bank funds to a cryptocurrency wallet belonging to third parties. This caused Heartland to collapse, and the bank investors to lose approximately $9 million.The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was able to recover $8 million in funds associated with the fraud.“The U.S. Attorney’s Office – District of Kansas thanks the FBI for its diligent investigations that led to the discovery and recovery of over $8 million in stolen funds. Through Hanes’ conviction and prison sentence, the Department of Justice obtained justice for the victims, and now with this court order, those victims will receive some financial relief,” said U.S. Attorney Kate E. Brubacher.The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation – Office of Inspector General (FDIC-OIG), Federal Reserve Board - Office of Inspector General (FRB-OIG), and Federal Housing Finance Agency – Office of Inspector General ((FHFA-OIG) investigated the case.

Feds recovers funds for victims of scammed Kan. banker

BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/ariana-figueroa/">ARIANA FIGUEROA</a>

WASHINGTON — Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump on Monday hopscotched across swing states and prepared for what could be an exceedingly tense election night watch as the 2024 presidential election sped to a close.

So far, more than 80.6 million Americans have voted, according to&nbsp;<a href="https://election.lab.ufl.edu/early-vote/2024-early-voting/" target="_blank">the University of Florida’s Election Lab.</a>

In a presidential contest that pollsters say is virtually a toss-up, seven battleground states likely will determine the outcome of the election. The results could take days, election officials repeatedly&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/article/final-results-may-lag-deadlocked-presidential-contest-anxious-election-officials-warn">have warned</a>&nbsp;and stressed again Monday. The 2020 presidential race was called for President Joe Biden the Saturday following Election Day.

“Election Day is not results day,” said&nbsp;Quentin Turner, the Common Cause Michigan executive director, during a Monday webinar.

Jen O’Malley Dillon, chair of the Harris-Walz campaign, made similar remarks during a Monday call with reporters, but still issued predictions as to when the campaign expects to know some results from key states.

She said the campaign understands that results could take a while based on each state’s law. Some states begin counting votes after the polls close, some as they come in.

O’Malley Dillon said because of that, the campaign expects on election night to have “near complete results” for North Carolina, Michigan and Georgia, “and then partial results from Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Arizona.”

She said the campaign expects by Wednesday morning to have most of the “results in from Wisconsin and additional results from Pennsylvania and potentially Michigan.”

“And then on Wednesday and beyond, we expect additional results from Pennsylvania, Arizona, Nevada,” she said. “So we think some of this stuff will trickle in, but keep in mind that some ballots will continue to be counted for many days.”

Democracy groups like Common Cause said during the webinar that they are prepared for high voter turnout on Election Day.

Bob Phillips, the Common Cause North Carolina executive director, said he expects about 1 to 1.5 million voters in his state on Election Day.

“For the most part, we’ve seen a lot of voter enthusiasm,” he said.

He added that there have been more calls on the voter help hotline than in the previous elections.

“There is definitely higher tension, more emotion, particularly among the electioneering that goes on outside the precincts, as well as some issues since this is our first major election where we’ve had the voter ID requirements,”&nbsp;Phillips said.

Harris is closing out her campaign in the battleground state of Pennsylvania, which offers the most electoral votes of the swing states at 19.

O’Malley Dillon said the campaign will have get-out-the-vote rallies late Monday night in the seven swing states with Harris and surrogates.&nbsp;

“We’ve believed all along this race is going to be incredibly close, and so it’s really going to come down to mobilization, and that’s why an event like tonight matters so much,” she said.

Harris will head to Scranton and then to Allentown, a city with a large Puerto Rican population that Democrats have courted following racist remarks by a comedian at a Trump rally that referred to the island of Puerto Rico as “garbage.” She’ll then rally in Philadelphia with musical performances from The Roots and Lady Gaga among others.

Trump will make four stops in three states — starting in Raleigh, North Carolina, stopping twice in Pennsylvania at&nbsp;Reading and Pittsburgh and finishing in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

<a href="https://ncnewsline.com/2024/11/04/trump-in-final-nc-rally-looks-for-a-third-straight-win-harris-barnstorms-pennsylvania/" target="_blank">While at his first campaign stop in North Carolina</a>&nbsp;on Monday, he told supporters that if he wins another term he will levy a 25% tariff on Mexico if migrants continue to head from that country to the U.S.-Mexico border.

“You’re the first I’ve told this to,” Trump told the crowd. “And if that doesn’t work, we’ll go up to 50. And if that doesn’t work, we’ll go to 75.”

Trump will hold his election night watch party at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida. Harris will have hers at her alma mater at Howard University in Washington, D.C.

Polls published over the weekend still showed a tight race, but one in Iowa&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/article/harris-takes-slim-lead-over-trump-final-iowa-poll-2024-election">rattled the Trump campaign</a>, showing that Harris had a lead in a state that the former president easily won in 2016 and 2020.

The highly regarded pollster — somewhat of a Midwestern oracle — showed that independent and women voters were breaking for Harris.

Both candidates are within the margin of error in all seven swing states meaning any of the states — Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin — could tip to either one.

Over the weekend, Harris appeared on NBC’s live sketch comedy show, “Saturday Night Live.”&nbsp;<a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/nbc-donald-trump-campaign-free-ad-time-nascar-race-kamala-harris-snl-sketch-1236052709/" target="_blank">Trump also appeared</a>&nbsp;on a free commercial during NBC’s broadcast of a Sunday NASCAR race in compliance with the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fcc.gov/sites/default/files/political_programming_fact_sheet.pdf" target="_blank">FCC’s Equal Time rule.</a>

<a href="https://michiganadvance.com/2024/11/04/harris-vows-to-end-war-in-gaza-during-final-michigan-rally-at-msu/" target="_blank">On Sunday, while at Michigan State University,</a>&nbsp;Harris pledged that she would do “everything in her power” to end the war in Gaza if she were to win the White House. Michigan has a high Arab American population that has been critical of Democrats’ handling of the Israel-Hamas war, where&nbsp;<a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/longform/2023/10/9/israel-hamas-war-in-maps-and-charts-live-tracker" target="_blank">more than 44,000 Palestinians have been killed.</a>

<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/article/harris-takes-slim-lead-over-trump-final-iowa-poll-2024-election">During a Sunday rally</a>&nbsp;in Pennsylvania, Trump told supporters that he shouldn’t have left the White House after losing the 2020 presidential race and then he joked about not minding if journalists were shot while covering his campaign event.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/11/1730773867298.png" alt="Vice President Harris knocked on doors in Pennsylvania Monday night-image courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>Vice President Harris knocked on doors in Pennsylvania Monday night-image courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/ariana-figueroa/">ARIANA FIGUEROA</a>WASHINGTON — Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump on Monday hopscotched across swing states and prepared for what could be an exceedingly tense election night watch as the 2024 presidential election sped to a close.So far, more than 80.6 million Americans have voted, according to&nbsp;<a href="https://election.lab.ufl.edu/early-vote/2024-early-voting/" target="_blank">the University of Florida’s Election Lab.</a><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/11/1730814909704.png" alt="Former President Donald Trump with his family on stage late Monday in Michigan. Image courtesy Margo Martin Deputy Director of Communications" />
 <figcaption>Former President Donald Trump with his family on stage late Monday in Michigan. Image courtesy Margo Martin Deputy Director of Communications</figcaption>
 </figure>In a presidential contest that pollsters say is virtually a toss-up, seven battleground states likely will determine the outcome of the election. The results could take days, election officials repeatedly&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/article/final-results-may-lag-deadlocked-presidential-contest-anxious-election-officials-warn">have warned</a>&nbsp;and stressed again Monday. The 2020 presidential race was called for President Joe Biden the Saturday following Election Day.“Election Day is not results day,” said&nbsp;Quentin Turner, the Common Cause Michigan executive director, during a Monday webinar.Jen O’Malley Dillon, chair of the Harris-Walz campaign, made similar remarks during a Monday call with reporters, but still issued predictions as to when the campaign expects to know some results from key states.She said the campaign understands that results could take a while based on each state’s law. Some states begin counting votes after the polls close, some as they come in.O’Malley Dillon said because of that, the campaign expects on election night to have “near complete results” for North Carolina, Michigan and Georgia, “and then partial results from Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Arizona.”She said the campaign expects by Wednesday morning to have most of the “results in from Wisconsin and additional results from Pennsylvania and potentially Michigan.”“And then on Wednesday and beyond, we expect additional results from Pennsylvania, Arizona, Nevada,” she said. “So we think some of this stuff will trickle in, but keep in mind that some ballots will continue to be counted for many days.”Democracy groups like Common Cause said during the webinar that they are prepared for high voter turnout on Election Day.Bob Phillips, the Common Cause North Carolina executive director, said he expects about 1 to 1.5 million voters in his state on Election Day.“For the most part, we’ve seen a lot of voter enthusiasm,” he said.He added that there have been more calls on the voter help hotline than in the previous elections.“There is definitely higher tension, more emotion, particularly among the electioneering that goes on outside the precincts, as well as some issues since this is our first major election where we’ve had the voter ID requirements,”&nbsp;Phillips said.<h2>It’s all about Pennsylvania (almost)</h2>Harris is closing out her campaign in the battleground state of Pennsylvania, which offers the most electoral votes of the swing states at 19.O’Malley Dillon said the campaign will have get-out-the-vote rallies late Monday night in the seven swing states with Harris and surrogates.&nbsp;“We’ve believed all along this race is going to be incredibly close, and so it’s really going to come down to mobilization, and that’s why an event like tonight matters so much,” she said.Harris will head to Scranton and then to Allentown, a city with a large Puerto Rican population that Democrats have courted following racist remarks by a comedian at a Trump rally that referred to the island of Puerto Rico as “garbage.” She’ll then rally in Philadelphia with musical performances from The Roots and Lady Gaga among others.Trump will make four stops in three states — starting in Raleigh, North Carolina, stopping twice in Pennsylvania at&nbsp;Reading and Pittsburgh and finishing in Grand Rapids, Michigan.<a href="https://ncnewsline.com/2024/11/04/trump-in-final-nc-rally-looks-for-a-third-straight-win-harris-barnstorms-pennsylvania/" target="_blank">While at his first campaign stop in North Carolina</a>&nbsp;on Monday, he told supporters that if he wins another term he will levy a 25% tariff on Mexico if migrants continue to head from that country to the U.S.-Mexico border.“You’re the first I’ve told this to,” Trump told the crowd. “And if that doesn’t work, we’ll go up to 50. And if that doesn’t work, we’ll go to 75.”Trump will hold his election night watch party at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida. Harris will have hers at her alma mater at Howard University in Washington, D.C.<h2>Polling puzzles</h2>Polls published over the weekend still showed a tight race, but one in Iowa&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/article/harris-takes-slim-lead-over-trump-final-iowa-poll-2024-election">rattled the Trump campaign</a>, showing that Harris had a lead in a state that the former president easily won in 2016 and 2020.The highly regarded pollster — somewhat of a Midwestern oracle — showed that independent and women voters were breaking for Harris.Both candidates are within the margin of error in all seven swing states meaning any of the states — Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin — could tip to either one.Over the weekend, Harris appeared on NBC’s live sketch comedy show, “Saturday Night Live.”&nbsp;<a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/nbc-donald-trump-campaign-free-ad-time-nascar-race-kamala-harris-snl-sketch-1236052709/" target="_blank">Trump also appeared</a>&nbsp;on a free commercial during NBC’s broadcast of a Sunday NASCAR race in compliance with the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fcc.gov/sites/default/files/political_programming_fact_sheet.pdf" target="_blank">FCC’s Equal Time rule.</a><a href="https://michiganadvance.com/2024/11/04/harris-vows-to-end-war-in-gaza-during-final-michigan-rally-at-msu/" target="_blank">On Sunday, while at Michigan State University,</a>&nbsp;Harris pledged that she would do “everything in her power” to end the war in Gaza if she were to win the White House. Michigan has a high Arab American population that has been critical of Democrats’ handling of the Israel-Hamas war, where&nbsp;<a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/longform/2023/10/9/israel-hamas-war-in-maps-and-charts-live-tracker" target="_blank">more than 44,000 Palestinians have been killed.</a><a href="https://kansasreflector.com/article/harris-takes-slim-lead-over-trump-final-iowa-poll-2024-election">During a Sunday rally</a>&nbsp;in Pennsylvania, Trump told supporters that he shouldn’t have left the White House after losing the 2020 presidential race and then he joked about not minding if journalists were shot while covering his campaign event.&nbsp;

‘Election Day is not results day’: Get ready for a wait to find out who’s president

KANSAS CITY —The Traffic Officer who was critically injured in a crash almost three weeks ago left the hospital Monday, according to Kansas City Police.

 He has a long road of recovery ahead and will rehab at an out-of-state hospital.

His fellow Traffic Officers and command staff escorted him and his family to the downtown airport in a show of support. "Please join us in wishing the officer strength, resilience, and a full recovery."

The crash occurred just after 9:30a.m. October 17, at the intersection of 72nd&nbsp;and Troost. Investigators determined the motorcycle officer was northbound when a southbound SUV turned left (east) in front of the officer causing a collision.

Responding officers and EMS administered aid and transported the officer to the hospital with what was reported to be Critical, life threatening injuries.&nbsp;

The other involved driver remained at the scene and cooperated with investigators.

KCPD was initially alerted to this crash thanks to some quick thinking by some nearby bystanders who rushed to the officer’s aid after hearing the crash. One person pushed the emergency button on the officer’s police radio while another person provided medical aid and CPR. Because of those citizen’s quick thinking first responders were alerted to the emergency, and able to locate the officer quickly, thanks to GPS on the police radio.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/11/1730756589616.png" alt="Photo KCPD" />
 <figcaption>Photo KCPD</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY —The Traffic Officer who was critically injured in a crash almost three weeks ago left the hospital Monday, according to Kansas City Police.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/11/1730756623275.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure> He has a long road of recovery ahead and will rehab at an out-of-state hospital.His fellow Traffic Officers and command staff escorted him and his family to the downtown airport in a show of support. "Please join us in wishing the officer strength, resilience, and a full recovery."The crash occurred just after 9:30a.m. October 17, at the intersection of 72nd&nbsp;and Troost. Investigators determined the motorcycle officer was northbound when a southbound SUV turned left (east) in front of the officer causing a collision.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1729105015166.png" alt="View of the crash scene -image courtesy KCTV" />
 <figcaption>View of the crash scene -image courtesy KCTV</figcaption>
 </figure>Responding officers and EMS administered aid and transported the officer to the hospital with what was reported to be Critical, life threatening injuries.&nbsp;The other involved driver remained at the scene and cooperated with investigators.KCPD was initially alerted to this crash thanks to some quick thinking by some nearby bystanders who rushed to the officer’s aid after hearing the crash. One person pushed the emergency button on the officer’s police radio while another person provided medical aid and CPR. Because of those citizen’s quick thinking first responders were alerted to the emergency, and able to locate the officer quickly, thanks to GPS on the police radio.

KC Officer injured in crash released from hospital

The FBI, in conjunction with key partners, is operating a 24/7 national election command post (NECP) from the Strategic Information and Operations Center (SIOC) at FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C., during the 2024 national election, according to a media release from the agency.

Numerous FBI Headquarters divisions are represented in the NECP, as well as federal partners from a variety of agencies,&nbsp;including the U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General, U.S. Secret Service, U.S. Capitol Police, Department of Homeland Security, Election Assistance Commission, and Federal Communications Commission.&nbsp;

The NECP's purpose is to ensure the FBI is well-positioned to respond to any election security issue that may arise, including federal election crimes, threats to election workers, foreign malign influence operations, cyber threats, and acts of domestic terrorism. The NECP will track significant complaints from all 55 FBI field offices through their respective command posts.

“The purpose of the command post is to ensure the FBI is well positioned to respond to threats that would come in or information that would come in that would affect our election security,” said James Barnacle, deputy assistant director of the Bureau’s Criminal Investigative Division. “Those threats include criminal threats such as threats to election workers, foreign malign influence, cyber threats and acts of domestic violence.”

About 80 personnel from the FBI and about a dozen partner agencies are staffing the command post in the FBI’s Strategic Information Operations Center. The command post opened on November 1 and will run through at least November 9.

“We feel like we're well positioned to handle and triage information that comes in,” Barnacle said. “We have the people in place. We've identified the right people at the different agencies. We've developed those partnerships over the last few years. We're going to take the information that comes in, and we're going to take it through our process, and we're going to share that information.”

Barnacle said that each of the FBI’s 55 field offices is also staffing a command post that is closely connected with their partner agencies and election officials. That way information or complaints that are fielded at the local level or though the FBI’s tip line,<a href="http://%20tips.fbi.gov/" target="_blank">&nbsp;tips.fbi.gov</a>, get to the people who can triage and best determine a response.

“We look at that threat information,” Barnacle said. “We run it through our indices. We engage with our partners. There's a lot of partner agencies here at the command post. So we triage that information. We also work with Department of Justice to ensure that we are staying within policy and taking the information and then sending it back out to the field or to state or local election officials.”

In the days leading up to Election Day, SIOC’s National Crisis Coordination Center (NC3) was humming with activity. The space hosts command posts for other high-profile events, such as presidential inaugurations and State of the Union speeches. Created in 1989, SIOC began with just seven employees and 3,000 square feet of space. Today, its footprint has grown to 40,000 square feet.

The FBI is mandated by National Security Presidential Memorandum 32 to provide timely information about national security incidents so leaders have the information to manage a crisis and support national security decision-making. SIOC is part of the FBI’s information flow under the NSPM-32 process.

Partner agencies in the election security command post include the United States Postal Inspection Service, the United States Secret Service, Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Capitol Police, the Election Assistance Commission, the Federal Communications Commission, and multiple components of the Department of Justice, including the Public Integrity Section.

“What all of these folks are doing is triaging information,” Barnacle said. “We've had information coming in to the FBI in the last few days. Some of it has been maybe state or local matters, and we're just making sure it gets to state and local officials.”

“When information is threatening and it rises to the violation of federal laws,” Barnacle added, “then we look to take action.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/11/1730748693468.png" alt="Photo FBI" />
 <figcaption>Photo FBI</figcaption>
 </figure>The FBI, in conjunction with key partners, is operating a 24/7 national election command post (NECP) from the Strategic Information and Operations Center (SIOC) at FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C., during the 2024 national election, according to a media release from the agency.Numerous FBI Headquarters divisions are represented in the NECP, as well as federal partners from a variety of agencies,&nbsp;including the U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General, U.S. Secret Service, U.S. Capitol Police, Department of Homeland Security, Election Assistance Commission, and Federal Communications Commission.&nbsp;The NECP's purpose is to ensure the FBI is well-positioned to respond to any election security issue that may arise, including federal election crimes, threats to election workers, foreign malign influence operations, cyber threats, and acts of domestic terrorism. The NECP will track significant complaints from all 55 FBI field offices through their respective command posts.“The purpose of the command post is to ensure the FBI is well positioned to respond to threats that would come in or information that would come in that would affect our election security,” said James Barnacle, deputy assistant director of the Bureau’s Criminal Investigative Division. “Those threats include criminal threats such as threats to election workers, foreign malign influence, cyber threats and acts of domestic violence.”About 80 personnel from the FBI and about a dozen partner agencies are staffing the command post in the FBI’s Strategic Information Operations Center. The command post opened on November 1 and will run through at least November 9.“We feel like we're well positioned to handle and triage information that comes in,” Barnacle said. “We have the people in place. We've identified the right people at the different agencies. We've developed those partnerships over the last few years. We're going to take the information that comes in, and we're going to take it through our process, and we're going to share that information.”Barnacle said that each of the FBI’s 55 field offices is also staffing a command post that is closely connected with their partner agencies and election officials. That way information or complaints that are fielded at the local level or though the FBI’s tip line,<a href="http://%20tips.fbi.gov/" target="_blank">&nbsp;tips.fbi.gov</a>, get to the people who can triage and best determine a response.“We look at that threat information,” Barnacle said. “We run it through our indices. We engage with our partners. There's a lot of partner agencies here at the command post. So we triage that information. We also work with Department of Justice to ensure that we are staying within policy and taking the information and then sending it back out to the field or to state or local election officials.”In the days leading up to Election Day, SIOC’s National Crisis Coordination Center (NC3) was humming with activity. The space hosts command posts for other high-profile events, such as presidential inaugurations and State of the Union speeches. Created in 1989, SIOC began with just seven employees and 3,000 square feet of space. Today, its footprint has grown to 40,000 square feet.The FBI is mandated by National Security Presidential Memorandum 32 to provide timely information about national security incidents so leaders have the information to manage a crisis and support national security decision-making. SIOC is part of the FBI’s information flow under the NSPM-32 process.Partner agencies in the election security command post include the United States Postal Inspection Service, the United States Secret Service, Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Capitol Police, the Election Assistance Commission, the Federal Communications Commission, and multiple components of the Department of Justice, including the Public Integrity Section.“What all of these folks are doing is triaging information,” Barnacle said. “We've had information coming in to the FBI in the last few days. Some of it has been maybe state or local matters, and we're just making sure it gets to state and local officials.”“When information is threatening and it rises to the violation of federal laws,” Barnacle added, “then we look to take action.”

FBI national command post monitoring election security threats

SEATTLE&nbsp;– 33,000 frontline workers at Boeing, members of International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) Districts 751 and W24 voted to ratify a new union contract with the company that has instantly set a new standard for compensation and wages for aerospace industry workers, according to a media release from the union.

The deal followed a vigorous strike lasting nearly two months by the workers in Washington state, Oregon and California that made international headlines and drew widespread public support and bipartisan political support.&nbsp;

The new contract includes a 43.65% compounded wage increase – 38% before compounding – over the four-year life of the contract. In recent weeks, acting U.S. Secretary of Labor Julie Su worked on behalf of the Biden-Harris administration to help restart and reach a positive resolution to negotiations that had previously stalled.

Jon Holden, President of IAM District 751 and Brandon Bryant, President of IAM District W24, issued the following joint statement following the votes being tallied:&nbsp;

“Working people know what it’s like when a company overreaches and takes away more than is fair. Through this strike and the resulting victory, frontline workers at Boeing have done their part to begin rebalancing the scales in favor of the middle class – and in doing so, we hope to inspire other workers in our industry and beyond to continue standing up for justice at work. Through this victory and the strike that made it possible, IAM members have taken a stand for respect and fair wages in the workplace. Our members perform high quality and flight critical work for the airplanes we build and deserve a return on their labor investment that provides for the quality of life worthy of that labor.

“This contract also creates a new foundation to build on for the future and that future begins today. We are ready to help Boeing change direction and return to building the highest quality and safest airplanes in the world. Our members are critical to that mission, and now have a stronger voice in the decision making process to ensure those needed improvements are made. ‘There is no Boeing without the IAM’ has been our battle cry, and we are ready, again, to do our part to bring this company back to the standard that it never should have strayed from.

“Livable wages and benefits that can support a family are essential – not optional – and this strike underscored that reality. This contract will have a positive and generational impact on the lives of workers at Boeing and their families. We hope these gains inspire other workers to organize and join a union. Frontline Boeing workers have used their voices, their collective power, and their solidarity to do what is right, to stand up for what is fair – and to win.”

Brian Bryant, IAM International President, issued the following statement:&nbsp;

“This agreement represents a new standard in the aerospace industry – one that sends a clear statement that aerospace jobs must be middle class careers in which workers can thrive. Workers in the aerospace industry, led by the IAM — the most powerful aerospace union in the world — will not settle for anything less than the respect and family-sustaining wages and benefits they need and deserve. This agreement reflects the positive results of workers sticking together, participating in workplace democracy, and demonstrating solidarity with each other and with the community during a necessary and effective strike.&nbsp;

“Nearly every worker in America knows what it’s like for a company to take too much and give too little. A contract like this sends an inspiring message to all workers in the United States who are seeking to join unions or who have been shortchanged by their employer. We remain very thankful to Acting U.S. Labor Secretary Julie Su, who on behalf of the Biden-Harris administration helped to bring the employer and the members together for productive talks to reach this agreement.”

Highlights of the latest tentative agreement approved Monday night by the union members include:

Further details of the negotiated resolution can be found at&nbsp;<a href="http://www.iam751.org/2024StrikeProposal">iam751.org/2024StrikeProposal</a>.&nbsp;

“For many frontline Boeing workers in the IAM Union, the terms of this contract will be life-changing,”&nbsp;said IAM Western Territory General Vice President Gary R. Allen. “It’s the most significant upgrade we’ve had to our collective bargaining agreement in a decade – and it will prove to be an example for the rest of the industry to live up to. Their strike was a great example of workers standing up for not just themselves, but also their families and communities.”

“Our members went on strike for better wages and better working conditions – and they won by staying united and exercising democracy in the workplace,”&nbsp;said IAM Resident General Vice President Jody Bennett. “They hit the streets, held strong, and have been rewarded with an excellent contract. These provisions are not just deserved by this dedicated frontline workforce — they are also overdue. This will set a new standard for aerospace across the region, the nation, and the industry.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/11/1730804690093.png" alt="Image courtesy IAM 571" />
 <figcaption>Image courtesy IAM 571</figcaption>
 </figure>SEATTLE&nbsp;– 33,000 frontline workers at Boeing, members of International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) Districts 751 and W24 voted to ratify a new union contract with the company that has instantly set a new standard for compensation and wages for aerospace industry workers, according to a media release from the union.The deal followed a vigorous strike lasting nearly two months by the workers in Washington state, Oregon and California that made international headlines and drew widespread public support and bipartisan political support.&nbsp;The new contract includes a 43.65% compounded wage increase – 38% before compounding – over the four-year life of the contract. In recent weeks, acting U.S. Secretary of Labor Julie Su worked on behalf of the Biden-Harris administration to help restart and reach a positive resolution to negotiations that had previously stalled.Jon Holden, President of IAM District 751 and Brandon Bryant, President of IAM District W24, issued the following joint statement following the votes being tallied:&nbsp;“Working people know what it’s like when a company overreaches and takes away more than is fair. Through this strike and the resulting victory, frontline workers at Boeing have done their part to begin rebalancing the scales in favor of the middle class – and in doing so, we hope to inspire other workers in our industry and beyond to continue standing up for justice at work. Through this victory and the strike that made it possible, IAM members have taken a stand for respect and fair wages in the workplace. Our members perform high quality and flight critical work for the airplanes we build and deserve a return on their labor investment that provides for the quality of life worthy of that labor.“This contract also creates a new foundation to build on for the future and that future begins today. We are ready to help Boeing change direction and return to building the highest quality and safest airplanes in the world. Our members are critical to that mission, and now have a stronger voice in the decision making process to ensure those needed improvements are made. ‘There is no Boeing without the IAM’ has been our battle cry, and we are ready, again, to do our part to bring this company back to the standard that it never should have strayed from.“Livable wages and benefits that can support a family are essential – not optional – and this strike underscored that reality. This contract will have a positive and generational impact on the lives of workers at Boeing and their families. We hope these gains inspire other workers to organize and join a union. Frontline Boeing workers have used their voices, their collective power, and their solidarity to do what is right, to stand up for what is fair – and to win.”Brian Bryant, IAM International President, issued the following statement:&nbsp;“This agreement represents a new standard in the aerospace industry – one that sends a clear statement that aerospace jobs must be middle class careers in which workers can thrive. Workers in the aerospace industry, led by the IAM — the most powerful aerospace union in the world — will not settle for anything less than the respect and family-sustaining wages and benefits they need and deserve. This agreement reflects the positive results of workers sticking together, participating in workplace democracy, and demonstrating solidarity with each other and with the community during a necessary and effective strike.&nbsp;“Nearly every worker in America knows what it’s like for a company to take too much and give too little. A contract like this sends an inspiring message to all workers in the United States who are seeking to join unions or who have been shortchanged by their employer. We remain very thankful to Acting U.S. Labor Secretary Julie Su, who on behalf of the Biden-Harris administration helped to bring the employer and the members together for productive talks to reach this agreement.”Highlights of the latest tentative agreement approved Monday night by the union members include:<ul>
 <li>38% general wage increase over four years – 13%, 9%, 9%, 7% which compounds to 43.65% over the life of the agreement&nbsp;</li>
 </ul><ul>
 <li>$12,000 Ratification Bonus: The ratification bonus combines the previous $7,000 ratification bonus and the $5,000 lump sum into the 401(k). Now, union members can choose how this total amount is received – in their paycheck, contribution to 401(k), or a combination of both.</li>
 </ul><ul>
 <li>AMPP incentive plan is reinstated, with a guaranteed minimum annual payout of 4%, including 2024 payout in February 2025</li>
 </ul><ul>
 <li>401(k) employer match of 100% up to 8%</li>
 </ul><ul>
 <li>Special company retirement contribution of 4% into 401(k) maintained</li>
 </ul><ul>
 <li>$105 pension multiplier per year for those vested in the pension plan</li>
 </ul><ul>
 <li>Call-in language back to current contract</li>
 </ul><ul>
 <li>New long-term disability plan and big improvement to short term disability plan</li>
 </ul><ul>
 <li>Health care cost containment</li>
 </ul><ul>
 <li>Improved overtime rules</li>
 </ul><ul>
 <li>Key job security provisions</li>
 </ul><ul>
 <li>Increased Minimum Rates that now increase with COLA increases.&nbsp;</li>
 </ul>Further details of the negotiated resolution can be found at&nbsp;<a href="http://www.iam751.org/2024StrikeProposal">iam751.org/2024StrikeProposal</a>.&nbsp;“For many frontline Boeing workers in the IAM Union, the terms of this contract will be life-changing,”&nbsp;said IAM Western Territory General Vice President Gary R. Allen. “It’s the most significant upgrade we’ve had to our collective bargaining agreement in a decade – and it will prove to be an example for the rest of the industry to live up to. Their strike was a great example of workers standing up for not just themselves, but also their families and communities.”“Our members went on strike for better wages and better working conditions – and they won by staying united and exercising democracy in the workplace,”&nbsp;said IAM Resident General Vice President Jody Bennett. “They hit the streets, held strong, and have been rewarded with an excellent contract. These provisions are not just deserved by this dedicated frontline workforce — they are also overdue. This will set a new standard for aerospace across the region, the nation, and the industry.”

Boeing factory strike ends as workers vote to accept contract

KANSAS CITY —A Jackson County judge on Friday convicted two Kansas City defendants of multiple felony and misdemeanor charges in connection with a gun battle on a January afternoon this year inside Crown Center, according to Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker.

The judge convicted Brian Favela, 23, and Joel Olivas, 24, identified by prosecutors as East Side gang members of two counts of Unlawful Use of a Weapon, Class B felonies, and two counts of Armed Criminal Action, as well as three misdemeanor counts of Harassment in the 2nd Degree. The judge dismissed one count of Unlawful Use of a Weapon and Armed Criminal Action finding not enough evidence was shown to overcome Missouri's self-defense laws on those two counts.

"The verdict points to a level of accountability that this office will seek for individuals who engage in this kind of insidious conduct, even when the defendants are armored with Missouri's very generous self-defense laws," Baker stated. "We will take every step possible to hold offenders accountable for their own criminal behavior. I'm grateful for this trial team who worked so hard and so quickly to get these offenders to trial. And I am so grateful for the management team at Crown Center and Hallmark and the KCPD, who helped in every possible way to get today's verdict."

Jackson County prosecutors Dion Sankar, Kristiane Bryant and Devon Tarantino prosecuted the case on behalf of the state of Missouri.

The judge set a sentencing hearing for Dec. 12 at 2 p.m.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/2/1709159745533.png" alt="Olivas photo Jackson Co." />
 <figcaption>Olivas photo Jackson Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY —A Jackson County judge on Friday convicted two Kansas City defendants of multiple felony and misdemeanor charges in connection with a gun battle on a January afternoon this year inside Crown Center, according to Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker.The judge convicted Brian Favela, 23, and Joel Olivas, 24, identified by prosecutors as East Side gang members of two counts of Unlawful Use of a Weapon, Class B felonies, and two counts of Armed Criminal Action, as well as three misdemeanor counts of Harassment in the 2nd Degree. The judge dismissed one count of Unlawful Use of a Weapon and Armed Criminal Action finding not enough evidence was shown to overcome Missouri's self-defense laws on those two counts.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/1/1705578003872.png" alt="File photo courtesy KMBC" />
 <figcaption>File photo courtesy KMBC</figcaption>
 </figure>"The verdict points to a level of accountability that this office will seek for individuals who engage in this kind of insidious conduct, even when the defendants are armored with Missouri's very generous self-defense laws," Baker stated. "We will take every step possible to hold offenders accountable for their own criminal behavior. I'm grateful for this trial team who worked so hard and so quickly to get these offenders to trial. And I am so grateful for the management team at Crown Center and Hallmark and the KCPD, who helped in every possible way to get today's verdict."<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/2/1709159804082.png" alt="Favela photo Jackson Co." />
 <figcaption>Favela photo Jackson Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>Jackson County prosecutors Dion Sankar, Kristiane Bryant and Devon Tarantino prosecuted the case on behalf of the state of Missouri.The judge set a sentencing hearing for Dec. 12 at 2 p.m.

Judge found KC gang members guilty in Crown Center gunfight

DOUGLAS COUNTY—A 56-year-old man is recovering after a disturbance resulted in him being stabbed, according to police in Lawrence.

Just after 3a.m. Monday, police were called to 3250 Michigan Street in Lawrence where the victim told police a 46-year-old man had slashed his arm with a knife. The victim was transported to the hospital with nonlife-threatening injuries, and he is expected to recover, according to police.

Police asked the public for help locating 46-year-old Rashidi "Rocky" McClelland in connection with the incident. 

If you know where he is, please call the Douglas County Emergency Communications Center at (785)832-7509. Anonymous tips can also be submitted to Crime Stoppers of Lawrence and Douglas County at (785)843-TIPS(8477).

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/11/1730743188862.png" alt="McClelland photo Lawrence Police" />
 <figcaption>McClelland photo Lawrence Police</figcaption>
 </figure>DOUGLAS COUNTY—A 56-year-old man is recovering after a disturbance resulted in him being stabbed, according to police in Lawrence.Just after 3a.m. Monday, police were called to 3250 Michigan Street in Lawrence where the victim told police a 46-year-old man had slashed his arm with a knife. The victim was transported to the hospital with nonlife-threatening injuries, and he is expected to recover, according to police.Police asked the public for help locating 46-year-old Rashidi "Rocky" McClelland in connection with the incident. If you know where he is, please call the Douglas County Emergency Communications Center at (785)832-7509. Anonymous tips can also be submitted to Crime Stoppers of Lawrence and Douglas County at (785)843-TIPS(8477).

Police ask for help to find suspect in Kan. knife attack

<a href="https://ago.mo.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024-11-4-DOJ-Poll-Monitor-Complaint.pdf">Click. here </a>to read the lawsuit

<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">🚨BREAKING: I filed suit against the Biden-Harris DOJ for sending unauthorized poll monitors to Missouri polling locations. The law is clear that <a href="https://twitter.com/KamalaHarris?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@KamalaHarris</a> can’t just send unvetted individuals into our polling places. It’s illegal and undermines trust in our elections.&mdash; Attorney General Andrew Bailey (@AGAndrewBailey) <a href="https://twitter.com/AGAndrewBailey/status/1853454846088659431?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 4, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><a href="https://ago.mo.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024-11-4-DOJ-Poll-Monitor-Complaint.pdf">Click. here </a>to read the lawsuit

Mo. AG refuses to let Justice Dept. monitors into Mo. polling places

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

WASHINGTON — Voters are determining whether the next president enters office with a friendly Congress or a hostile one set on blocking their policies and nominees — and as the election roars into its last moments it’s still very unclear what the makeup of the House and Senate might be.

Most House races are not competitive. But House leaders are closely watching about two dozen toss-up contests to see whether Democrats or Republicans end up with the magic 218 lawmakers needed to control the speaker’s gavel, the agenda and the floor schedule.

The GOP’s razor-thin majority during the last two years created significant obstacles for leadership’s legislative goals and ended Kevin McCarthy’s speakership.

Neither political party is expected to gain a large House majority during the next Congress, set to begin in January. There’s even a possibility the majority party has less wiggle room than the 220-212 split that currently exists, along with three vacancies. Experts warn it may not be known on election night or for some time who’s won the House.

Senate leaders have been equally focused on hard-fought and close campaigns in Arizona, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Any one of them could deliver control of the upper chamber.

Republicans are favored to turn over the West Virginia seat occupied by Joe Manchin III, potentially pushing them past the 50-member benchmark if they hold onto seats occupied by incumbents Ted Cruz in Texas, Deb Fischer in Nebraska and Rick Scott in Florida.

If Democrats keep 50 seats, that would mean whichever party holds the vice presidency controls the Senate, making even just one pickup in either direction a priority for both political parties.

The outcome in both the House and Senate will have sweeping implications for the country’s future, including whether the GOP overhauls Obamacare, how lawmakers address core aspects of Republicans’ 2017 tax law set to expire in the coming months and whether the country defaults on its debts for the first time in history.

The nonpartisan Cook Political Report with Amy Walter&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cookpolitical.com/ratings/senate-race-ratings" target="_blank">rates</a>&nbsp;four Senate races as toss-ups, meaning there’s a relatively even chance for Democrats or Republicans to win.

While the campaigns have shifted around a bit during the last few months, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin are all considered neck and neck heading into Election Day.

Arizona and Nevada are categorized as leaning toward Democrats and Montana is expected to lean toward a Republican pickup, potentially giving the GOP its 51st seat and a narrow majority.

It’s also possible there could be upsets in Republican-held states traditionally considered safer, like Florida, Nebraska and Texas.That could alter the math for both Democrats and Republicans, depending on how things shake out after all the votes are counted, recounts finalized and lawsuits settled in the days and weeks following Nov. 5.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/7/1720316487639.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/jennifer-shutt/">JENNIFER SHUTT</a>WASHINGTON — Voters are determining whether the next president enters office with a friendly Congress or a hostile one set on blocking their policies and nominees — and as the election roars into its last moments it’s still very unclear what the makeup of the House and Senate might be.Most House races are not competitive. But House leaders are closely watching about two dozen toss-up contests to see whether Democrats or Republicans end up with the magic 218 lawmakers needed to control the speaker’s gavel, the agenda and the floor schedule.The GOP’s razor-thin majority during the last two years created significant obstacles for leadership’s legislative goals and ended Kevin McCarthy’s speakership.Neither political party is expected to gain a large House majority during the next Congress, set to begin in January. There’s even a possibility the majority party has less wiggle room than the 220-212 split that currently exists, along with three vacancies. Experts warn it may not be known on election night or for some time who’s won the House.Senate leaders have been equally focused on hard-fought and close campaigns in Arizona, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Any one of them could deliver control of the upper chamber.Republicans are favored to turn over the West Virginia seat occupied by Joe Manchin III, potentially pushing them past the 50-member benchmark if they hold onto seats occupied by incumbents Ted Cruz in Texas, Deb Fischer in Nebraska and Rick Scott in Florida.If Democrats keep 50 seats, that would mean whichever party holds the vice presidency controls the Senate, making even just one pickup in either direction a priority for both political parties.The outcome in both the House and Senate will have sweeping implications for the country’s future, including whether the GOP overhauls Obamacare, how lawmakers address core aspects of Republicans’ 2017 tax law set to expire in the coming months and whether the country defaults on its debts for the first time in history.<h2>Four tense toss-ups in the Senate</h2>The nonpartisan Cook Political Report with Amy Walter&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cookpolitical.com/ratings/senate-race-ratings" target="_blank">rates</a>&nbsp;four Senate races as toss-ups, meaning there’s a relatively even chance for Democrats or Republicans to win.While the campaigns have shifted around a bit during the last few months, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin are all considered neck and neck heading into Election Day.Arizona and Nevada are categorized as leaning toward Democrats and Montana is expected to lean toward a Republican pickup, potentially giving the GOP its 51st seat and a narrow majority.It’s also possible there could be upsets in Republican-held states traditionally considered safer, like Florida, Nebraska and Texas.That could alter the math for both Democrats and Republicans, depending on how things shake out after all the votes are counted, recounts finalized and lawsuits settled in the days and weeks following Nov. 5.Jessica Taylor, editor for U.S. Senate and Governors at the Cook Political Report, said in a statement released Friday the “battle for the Senate fundamentally ends where the cycle began — with an overwhelmingly favorable map that very likely portends a GOP majority.”Her projections show the GOP picking up two to five seats, giving the party a majority between 51 and 54 members.A narrower majority, Taylor said, would allow “moderates like Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski and Maine Sen. Susan Collins to wield outsized influence in the next Congress.”<h2>Will some voters split their tickets?</h2>Michigan Sen. Gary Peters, chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, said during an&nbsp;<a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?539651-1/sen-gary-peters-discusses-senate-races" target="_blank">interview</a>&nbsp;with Washington Post Live in late October that he expects voters in Montana and Ohio will split their tickets.He acknowledged getting voters to support Democratic Sens. Jon Tester in Montana and Sherrod Brown in Ohio, while also voting for Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, will be much more challenging than in the past.“Certainly, it’s not easy if there’s a lot of political gravity,” Peters said. “I’m not going to sugarcoat that in any way.”But, he said, both Tester and Brown have been consistently polling within the margin of error against their GOP challengers.“It’s about who’s going to get their voters out and do the kind of ground campaign necessary to win,” Peters said. “We’re doing that in Montana. We’re doing that in Ohio as well.”The Senate is more important to the next president than the House, since the upper chamber is responsible for vetting and confirming the next commander-in-chief’s selections for their Cabinet as well as judicial nominees.A GOP Senate would be a gift for Trump but likely tough for Vice President Kamala Harris.The opposite could also be true — a Democratic majority in the Senate could put the brakes on many of Trump’s plans for a second term, while it would aid Harris in setting up her administration and potentially confirming a Supreme Court justice or two.The Senate is the more bipartisan of the two chambers, thanks to the legislative filibuster — the rule requiring at least 60 senators agree to advance legislation toward final passage.Without bipartisan support, bills and some nominees will be stuck in limbo, regardless of which party runs the Senate or controls the White House.<h2>Possible standoff</h2>Philip Wallach, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative-leaning think tank, said a Harris administration and a Republican Senate would need to work out an agreement quickly “or risk going into some kind of protracted standoff over executive branch nominations.”Both Trump and President Joe Biden had the luxury of same-party Senate control during their full terms and former President Barack Obama had a Democratic Senate during his first six years in office. Harris possibly having to work with the opposing party to establish her Cabinet would be especially challenging, Wallach said in an interview.“I would expect Republicans to try to come up with some pretty concrete asks as a conference: To say, ‘If we’re going to put any of your nominees up for a vote, here’s what we want in return, and here’s what kind of nominees we will accept.’ And, you know, I expect that would play out as a fairly heated public confrontation,” he said.Trump and a Republican Senate would likely agree on some nominees and policy goals, though there would be significant differences over issues like&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/trump-vows-levy-horrible-tariffs-imports-rejecting-fears-inflation-spike" target="_blank">tariffs</a>.“I think there are a lot of Republican senators who want to see some real limits to that, who still think of themselves as basically in favor of free trade and making sure that American businesses don’t find themselves on the wrong end of a trade war,” Wallach said. “Especially in the Senate, I just don’t think they’re that eager to just march to Trump’s tune.”A Trump administration, he said, could also disagree with GOP lawmakers on the specific details of how to address tax policy.“I think it’s a very live possibility that there could be a much more confrontational kind of dynamic this time around, in part, because Trump and some of the people right around him have this idea that playing nicely in 2017 was a big mistake,” Wallach said.<h2>House ‘as close as it’s ever been’</h2>Control of the 435-member House is more uncertain than the Senate, with 22 races&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cookpolitical.com/ratings/house-race-ratings" target="_blank">rated as toss-ups</a>&nbsp;by the Cook Political Report.Twelve of those are held by Republicans, while 10 are occupied by Democratic lawmakers. At the moment, 205 House seats are at least leaning toward a Democratic win, with 208 districts at least leaning toward Republicans.The Cook Political Report’s final projections range from Republicans adding five seats to their majority to Democrats picking up 10 seats and taking over the majority again.“The race for control of the U.S. House remains as close as it’s ever been,”Erin Covey, editor for the House at CPR, said in a written statement.“The battleground is confined to a few dozen seats, with neither party having a clear advantage in a majority of seats,” Covey added. “And with several competitive races in West Coast states that take longer to count their ballots, it’s highly possible we won’t know which party has control on election night.”The House is essential to turning bills into law, though it doesn’t have any role in confirming presidential nominees. And unlike the Senate, there’s no legislative filibuster, which means the majority party can approve any bills it wants without buy-in from the minority party, as long as the leaders in the majority have the votes from their own members.Republican control of at least one chamber of Congress and a Harris victory would force significant bipartisan compromise on must-pass legislation, like the dozen annual government funding bills and the defense policy bill known as the National Defense Authorization Act.It could also lead to the types of bipartisan legislation that Biden made a hallmark of his term in office, including the bipartisan infrastructure law.That type of divided government is unlikely to produce the sweeping changes to home ownership, prescription drug prices, price gouging and reproductive rights that Harris has highlighted throughout her campaign.But it could lead Republicans and Democrats to resurrect&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/bipartisan-border-bill-loses-support-fails-procedural-vote-us-senate" target="_blank">the bipartisan immigration and border security bill</a>&nbsp;that Oklahoma Republican Sen. James Lankford, Connecticut Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy and Arizona independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema agreed to earlier this year.Trump in the White House and Democrats holding onto at least one chamber in Congress could also force bipartisan compromise, though likely with a far different tone and approach than under a Harris-Republican Congress scenario.<h2>GOP trifecta?</h2>Trump regaining the presidency along with GOP control of Congress would give the party at least two chances to use the complex budget reconciliation process to pass certain legislation.The party would likely use one of those opportunities to address provisions in the 2017 Republican tax law that have expired or are about to.The budget reconciliation process, which has considerable rules and restrictions, is how Republicans passed the tax bill during Trump’s first term in office.It doesn’t require at least 60 senators to advance the bill. But it does include something known as a vote-a-rama, where the Senate holds dozens of votes on amendments to the bill. The process typically lasts throughout the night and gives the party not in power a chance to force their colleagues across the aisle to vote on tough issues.Budget reconciliation is the process Republicans used to try to repeal and replace the 2010 health care law that’s often referred to as the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, during Trump’s first term in office.Speaker Mike Jonson, R-La., said in late October on Fox Business that some of his<a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/speaker-johnson-criticizes-obamacare-promises-massive-reform-trump-win-rcna177853" target="_blank">&nbsp;prior comments</a>&nbsp;about overhauling the ACA were taken out of context and that he wants to make changes to the program, but not entirely end it.“I said the ACA, unfortunately, is deeply ingrained in our health care system now,” he said. “Do we need further improvements? Absolutely. We need to expand quality of care, access to care and obviously lower the cost of health care.”Johnson said during the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRGW9IVOaP4" target="_blank">interview</a>&nbsp;that he was “convinced” Republicans would gain unified control of government following the election and that he had compiled a “two-hour slide show presentation” detailing what the GOP would do with that power.“We will secure the border on day one with a President Trump executive order and then legislation to follow, and we will turn immediately to the economy,” Johnson said. “Energy policy will be the center of that as well.”Deeply conservative House bills might not garner the support needed to overcome the Senate’s legislative filibuster.Unified Republican control of Congress and the White House would challenge the GOP to address the nation’s debt limit mostly on its own during the first half of next year after&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/us-senate-sends-biden-debt-limit-legislation-ahead-monday-default-deadline" target="_blank">the current law</a>&nbsp;expires.A default on the nation’s debt is&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/us-hit-debt-limit-much-sooner-expected-thrusting-congress-showdown" target="_blank">vastly different from a partial government shutdown</a>, which takes place when Congress doesn’t pass an appropriations package on time.Failing to either raise or suspend the nation’s debt limit, before what’s known as extraordinary measures runs out, would likely cause a global financial crisis.The GOP has been extremely vocal about cutting government spending, but that is separate from addressing the nation’s debt limit, which gives the Treasury Department the borrowing authority to ensure all of the country’s bills are paid in full and on time.