FINNEY COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating two suspect on drug distribution allegations.

On Friday, the Garden City/Finney County Joint Drug Task Force (JDTF) completed an investigation and obtained a search warrant for 301 N. 12th Street in Garden City, according to Sgt. Lana Urteaga.

At 7a.m., the Garden City/Finney County S.W.A.T. team served the warrant and located Carlos Gonzalez-Rivera, 22, of Garden City, in the backyard and Victor Irigoyen, 23, of Garden City, hiding inside the residence and took both into custody without incident.

During a search of the residence, the JDTF seized approximately 567 grams of suspected methamphetamine, approximately 2 grams of suspected marijuana, scales, and several pieces of drug paraphernalia indicative of distribution of controlled substances

Gonzalez-Rivera was booked into the Finney County Jail on requested charges of Distribution of Methamphetamine, Possession of Paraphernalia and Possession of Paraphernalia.

Irigoyen was booked into jail on requested charges of Possession of Methamphetamine, Possession of Paraphernalia, Possession of Paraphernalia and Possession of Marijuana.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/1/1609965413145.png" alt="Irigoyen-photo Finney County" />
 <figcaption>Irigoyen-photo Finney County</figcaption>
 </figure>FINNEY COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating two suspect on drug distribution allegations.On Friday, the Garden City/Finney County Joint Drug Task Force (JDTF) completed an investigation and obtained a search warrant for 301 N. 12th Street in Garden City, according to Sgt. Lana Urteaga.At 7a.m., the Garden City/Finney County S.W.A.T. team served the warrant and located Carlos Gonzalez-Rivera, 22, of Garden City, in the backyard and Victor Irigoyen, 23, of Garden City, hiding inside the residence and took both into custody without incident.During a search of the residence, the JDTF seized approximately 567 grams of suspected methamphetamine, approximately 2 grams of suspected marijuana, scales, and several pieces of drug paraphernalia indicative of distribution of controlled substancesGonzalez-Rivera was booked into the Finney County Jail on requested charges of Distribution of Methamphetamine, Possession of Paraphernalia and Possession of Paraphernalia.Irigoyen was booked into jail on requested charges of Possession of Methamphetamine, Possession of Paraphernalia, Possession of Paraphernalia and Possession of Marijuana.

Task force busts SW Kan. drug distribution ring

NEWTON —The Harvey County Health Department, in conjunction with the Harvey County Sheriff’s Office, has confirmed a cluster of COVID-19 cases in the Sheriff’s Office facility.

The cluster includes five employees. Two additional test results are pending. The individuals confirmed to have COVID-19 are in isolation. The Health Department will regularly monitor the health of the individuals. Those identified as close contacts have been notified.

“Public safety is always our priority, and for some of our staff right now, that means being at home,” said Harvey County Sheriff Chad Gay. “We have excellent law enforcement agencies throughout Harvey County that help us ensure the same level of response will be maintained for our communities. I hope our staff has a safe and healthy recovery.”

The isolations are not anticipated to disrupt law enforcement services in the county. All individuals confirmed to have COVID-19 or identified as close contacts remain at home, away from interaction with the public.

“COVID-19 continues to challenge our communities, and that can include our health care professionals, first responders and other emergency services,” said Harvey County Health

Department Director Lynnette Redington. “It’s essential everyone takes appropriate precautions to reduce the spread of COVID-19.”

The cluster will be considered active until there are 28 consecutive days – two incubation periods – without positive cases.

NEWTON —The Harvey County Health Department, in conjunction with the Harvey County Sheriff’s Office, has confirmed a cluster of COVID-19 cases in the Sheriff’s Office facility.The cluster includes five employees. Two additional test results are pending. The individuals confirmed to have COVID-19 are in isolation. The Health Department will regularly monitor the health of the individuals. Those identified as close contacts have been notified.“Public safety is always our priority, and for some of our staff right now, that means being at home,” said Harvey County Sheriff Chad Gay. “We have excellent law enforcement agencies throughout Harvey County that help us ensure the same level of response will be maintained for our communities. I hope our staff has a safe and healthy recovery.”The isolations are not anticipated to disrupt law enforcement services in the county. All individuals confirmed to have COVID-19 or identified as close contacts remain at home, away from interaction with the public.“COVID-19 continues to challenge our communities, and that can include our health care professionals, first responders and other emergency services,” said Harvey County HealthDepartment Director Lynnette Redington. “It’s essential everyone takes appropriate precautions to reduce the spread of COVID-19.”The cluster will be considered active until there are 28 consecutive days – two incubation periods – without positive cases.

Harvey County confirms COVID-19 cluster at Sheriff’s Office

SHAWNEE COUNTY—Investigators are working to determine the cause of a Wednesday morning house fire in Topeka.

Just after 3a.m. Wednesday, responded to a fire at a home at 1234 SW Oakley Avenue in Topeka, according to Fire Marshal Todd Harrison. 

Upon arrival, fire crews found smoke and heavy flames coming from the two-story wood frame residential structure. Firefighters began an offensive fire attack, keeping it confined to the structure of fire origin. One adult escaped prior to the fire departments arrival. Firefighters were informed a woman was trapped inside the house.

Firefighters entered the home, located and rescued her. Firefighters initiated life saving efforts on her the until American Medical Response arrived and took over patient care.

AMR transported he woman and a man to a local hospital with life threatening injuries.

A Preliminary investigation indicates the fire cause to be undetermined until further investigation, according to Harrison.

The Estimated dollar loss – $60,000.00; of which $40,000.00 is associated with structural loss and $20,000.00 associated with contents loss. Working smoke detectors were not located within the home, according to Harrison

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/1/1609947318497.png" alt="Fire crews on the scene of Wednesday house fire photo courtesy WIBW TV" />
 <figcaption>Fire crews on the scene of Wednesday house fire photo courtesy WIBW TV</figcaption>
 </figure>SHAWNEE COUNTY—Investigators are working to determine the cause of a Wednesday morning house fire in Topeka.Just after 3a.m. Wednesday, responded to a fire at a home at 1234 SW Oakley Avenue in Topeka, according to Fire Marshal Todd Harrison. Upon arrival, fire crews found smoke and heavy flames coming from the two-story wood frame residential structure. Firefighters began an offensive fire attack, keeping it confined to the structure of fire origin. One adult escaped prior to the fire departments arrival. Firefighters were informed a woman was trapped inside the house.Firefighters entered the home, located and rescued her. Firefighters initiated life saving efforts on her the until American Medical Response arrived and took over patient care.AMR transported he woman and a man to a local hospital with life threatening injuries.A Preliminary investigation indicates the fire cause to be undetermined until further investigation, according to Harrison.The Estimated dollar loss – $60,000.00; of which $40,000.00 is associated with structural loss and $20,000.00 associated with contents loss. Working smoke detectors were not located within the home, according to Harrison.

Firefighters rescue victim trapped in Kan. house fire

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Members of the Kansas congressional delegation condemned Wednesday’s storming of the U.S. Capitol by supporters of President Donald Trump, including Republicans who objected to the certification of Trump’s election loss.

Republican Sen. Roger Marshall&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/RogerMarshallMD/status/1346925989276901377" target="_blank">tweeted a statement</a>&nbsp;calling the chaos at the U.S. Capitol that interrupted Congress’ counting of electoral votes “unreasonable and unacceptable.” Marshall had joined other Republican senators in backing a longshot effort to challenge Democratic President-elect Joe Biden’s victory.

GOP Sen. Jerry Moran, the only Republican in the state’s congressional delegation to support certifying Biden’s victory,&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/JerryMoran/status/1346925894003208194" target="_blank">called the violence</a>&nbsp;in Washington unacceptable and “unpatriotic.”

Republican Rep.&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/RepMann/status/1346918603271106561" target="_blank">Tracey Mann</a>&nbsp;also called the storming of the Capitol unacceptable, and GOP Rep.&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/RepRonEstes/status/1346913657121337344" target="_blank">Ron Estes</a>&nbsp;said, “Violence of any kind is unacceptable.”

Republican Rep. Jake LaTurner called the violence “un-American” and said it was an “utter betrayal” of the freedom to assemble peacefully.

The lone Democrat in the Kansas delegation, Rep. Sharice Davids, called Wednesday “a dark day for our country.”

“It’s unacceptable that we have a President who has repeatedly condoned and even encouraged this despicable behavior,” she tweeted.

In Kansas, the state Republican Party and GOP state Attorney General Derek Schmidt also condemned the violence, with Schmidt calling it “sickening” and “shameful.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/1/1609961884956.png" alt="Demonstrators swarmed into the U.S. Capitol forcing Congress to abruptly halt deliberations over Republican challenges to the Electoral College vote photo courtesy WUSA-TV" />
 <figcaption>Demonstrators swarmed into the U.S. Capitol forcing Congress to abruptly halt deliberations over Republican challenges to the Electoral College vote photo courtesy WUSA-TV</figcaption>
 </figure>TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Members of the Kansas congressional delegation condemned Wednesday’s storming of the U.S. Capitol by supporters of President Donald Trump, including Republicans who objected to the certification of Trump’s election loss.Republican Sen. Roger Marshall&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/RogerMarshallMD/status/1346925989276901377" target="_blank">tweeted a statement</a>&nbsp;calling the chaos at the U.S. Capitol that interrupted Congress’ counting of electoral votes “unreasonable and unacceptable.” Marshall had joined other Republican senators in backing a longshot effort to challenge Democratic President-elect Joe Biden’s victory.GOP Sen. Jerry Moran, the only Republican in the state’s congressional delegation to support certifying Biden’s victory,&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/JerryMoran/status/1346925894003208194" target="_blank">called the violence</a>&nbsp;in Washington unacceptable and “unpatriotic.”Republican Rep.&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/RepMann/status/1346918603271106561" target="_blank">Tracey Mann</a>&nbsp;also called the storming of the Capitol unacceptable, and GOP Rep.&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/RepRonEstes/status/1346913657121337344" target="_blank">Ron Estes</a>&nbsp;said, “Violence of any kind is unacceptable.”Republican Rep. Jake LaTurner called the violence “un-American” and said it was an “utter betrayal” of the freedom to assemble peacefully.The lone Democrat in the Kansas delegation, Rep. Sharice Davids, called Wednesday “a dark day for our country.”“It’s unacceptable that we have a President who has repeatedly condoned and even encouraged this despicable behavior,” she tweeted.In Kansas, the state Republican Party and GOP state Attorney General Derek Schmidt also condemned the violence, with Schmidt calling it “sickening” and “shameful.”

Kan. congressional delegation condemns storming of Capitol

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — About 200 supporters of President Donald Trump rallied Wednesday at the Kansas Statehouse to show their support for overturning President-elect Joe Biden’s victory.

Trump’s supporters listened to speeches promoting Trump’s claims about election fraud and suggesting that the COVID-19 pandemic has been exaggerated.

They chanted “stop the steal,” “four more years” and “no more masks,” a reference to many Trump supporters’ opposition to coronavirus restrictions such as requiring people to wear masks in public.

The protest was the same day Congress was supposed to certify the Democratic president-elect’s Electoral College. The count was interrupted when pro-Trump protesters stormed and occupied the U.S. Capitol in Washington.

After the rally in Topeka, dozens of Trump’s supporters entered the Statehouse peacefully, one by one or in small groups and milled around, glanced at historical exhibits and sat on benches. The building was open as it usually during the week.

The lights in the governor’s outer, ceremonial office were off and the door was locked, and the door to most of her staff’s office also was locked. Her office did not respond to texts seeking an explanation.

Trump carried Kansas easily in November to capture its six electoral votes.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/1/1609967102759.png" alt="After the rally in Topeka, dozens of Trump’s supporters entered the Statehouse peacefully photo courtesy WIBW-TV" />
 <figcaption>After the rally in Topeka, dozens of Trump’s supporters entered the Statehouse peacefully photo courtesy WIBW-TV</figcaption>
 </figure>TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — About 200 supporters of President Donald Trump rallied Wednesday at the Kansas Statehouse to show their support for overturning President-elect Joe Biden’s victory.Trump’s supporters listened to speeches promoting Trump’s claims about election fraud and suggesting that the COVID-19 pandemic has been exaggerated.They chanted “stop the steal,” “four more years” and “no more masks,” a reference to many Trump supporters’ opposition to coronavirus restrictions such as requiring people to wear masks in public.The protest was the same day Congress was supposed to certify the Democratic president-elect’s Electoral College. The count was interrupted when pro-Trump protesters stormed and occupied the U.S. Capitol in Washington.After the rally in Topeka, dozens of Trump’s supporters entered the Statehouse peacefully, one by one or in small groups and milled around, glanced at historical exhibits and sat on benches. The building was open as it usually during the week.The lights in the governor’s outer, ceremonial office were off and the door was locked, and the door to most of her staff’s office also was locked. Her office did not respond to texts seeking an explanation.Trump carried Kansas easily in November to capture its six electoral votes.

Trump supporters stage rally at Kansas Statehouse

ATLANTA (AP) — Democrats have won both Georgia Senate seats — and with them, the U.S. Senate majority. That's a stunning defeat for President Donald Trump in his final days in office and it dramatically improves the fate of President-elect Joe Biden’s progressive agenda. 

Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, Democratic challengers who represented the diversity of their party’s evolving coalition, defeated Republicans David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler. The twin victories Wednesday end nearly two decades in which Democrats have been shut out of statewide victories in Georgia. Biden became the first Democratic presidential candidate to carry the state since 1992.

ATLANTA (AP) — Democrat Raphael Warnock won one of Georgia’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/election-2020">two Senate runoffs</a>&nbsp;Wednesday, becoming the first Black senator in his state’s history and putting the Senate majority within the party’s reach.

A pastor who spent the past 15 years leading the Atlanta church where Martin Luther King Jr. preached, Warnock defeated Republican incumbent Kelly Loeffler. It was a stinging rebuke of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-joe-biden-donald-trump-race-and-ethnicity-elections-2f56a611445df15fb9640893bb9f7a93">outgoing President Donald Trump</a>, who made one of his final trips in office to Georgia to rally his loyal base behind Loeffler and the Republican running for the other seat, David Perdue.

Warnock said Wednesday he hadn’t yet heard from Loeffler but told CBS “This Morning” “I’m hearing from the people of Georgia. People are feeling a sense of hope this morning.”

He noted that he grew up in public housing as one of 12 children and was his family’s first college graduate. “That I am serving in the United States Senate in a few days pushes against the grain of so many expectations but this is America and I want some young person who’s watching this to know anything’s possible.”

“Georgia is in such an incredible place when you think of the arc of our history,” Warnock told ABC’s “Good Morning America.” He added: “This is the reversal of the old southern strategy that sought to divide people.”

The focus now shifts to the second race between Perdue and Democrat Jon Ossoff. The candidates were locked in a tight race and it was too early to call a winner. Under Georgia law, a trailing candidate may request a recount when the margin of an election is less than or equal to 0.5 percentage points.

If Ossoff wins, Democrats will have complete control of Congress, strengthening President-elect Joe Biden’s standing as he prepares to take office on Jan. 20.

Warnock’s victory is a symbol of a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/race-and-ethnicity-georgia-rev-raphael-warnock-elections-jon-ossoff-a0be02280fcaef22fa0e65b3a5fdb056">striking shift in Georgia’s politics</a>&nbsp;as the swelling number of diverse, college-educated voters flex their power in the heart of the Deep South. It follows Biden’s victory in November, when he became the first Democratic presidential candidate to carry the state since 1992.

Warnock, 51, acknowledged his improbable victory in a message to supporters early Wednesday, citing his family’s experience with poverty. His mother, he said, used to pick “somebody else’s cotton” as a teenager.

“The other day, because this is America, the 82-year-old hands that used to pick somebody else’s cotton picked her youngest son to be a United States senator,” he said. “Tonight, we proved with hope, hard work and the people by our side, anything is possible.”

The Associated Press declared Warnock the winner after an analysis of outstanding votes showed there was no way for Loeffler to catch up to his lead. Warnock’s edge is likely to grow as more ballots are counted, many of which were in Democratic-leaning areas.

Loeffler refused to concede in a brief message to supporters shortly after midnight.

“We’ve got some work to do here. This is a game of inches. We’re going to win this election,” insisted Loeffler, a 50-year-old former businesswoman who was appointed to the Senate less than a year ago by the state’s governor.

Loeffler, who remains a Georgia senator until the results of Tuesday’s election are finalized, said she would return to Washington on Wednesday morning to join a small group of senators planning to challenge&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-joe-biden-donald-trump-elections-electoral-college-78104aea082995bbd7412a6e6cd13818">Congress’ vote to certify Biden’s victory</a>.

“We are going to keep fighting for you,” Loeffler said, “This is about protecting the American dream.”

Georgia’s other runoff election pitted Perdue, a 71-year-old former business executive who held his Senate seat until his term expired on Sunday, against Ossoff, a former congressional aide and journalist. At just 33 years old, Ossoff would be the Senate’s youngest member.

Trump’s false claims of voter fraud cast a dark shadow over the runoff elections, which were held only because no candidate hit the 50% threshold in the general election. He attacked the state’s election chief on the eve of the election and raised the prospect that some votes might not be counted even as votes were being cast Tuesday afternoon.

Republican state officials on the ground reported no significant problems.

This week’s elections mark the formal finale to the turbulent 2020 election season more than two months after the rest of the nation finished voting. The unusually high stakes transformed Georgia, once a solidly Republican state, into one of the nation’s premier battlegrounds for the final days of Trump’s presidency — and likely beyond.

Both contests tested whether the political coalition that fueled Biden’s November victory was an anti-Trump anomaly or part of a new electoral landscape. To win in Tuesday’s elections — and in the future — Democrats needed strong African American support.

Drawing on his popularity with Black voters, among other groups, Biden won Georgia’s 16 electoral votes by about 12,000 votes out of 5 million cast in November.

Trump’s claims about voter fraud in the 2020 election, while meritless, resonated with Republican voters in Georgia. About 7 in 10 agreed with his false assertion that Biden was not the legitimately elected president, according to AP VoteCast, a survey of more than 3,600 voters in the runoff elections.

Election officials across the country, including the Republican governors in Arizona and Georgia, as well as Trump’s former attorney general, William Barr, have confirmed that there was no widespread fraud in the November election. Nearly all the legal challenges from Trump and his allies have been dismissed by judges, including two tossed by the Supreme Court, where three Trump-nominated justices preside.

Even with Trump’s claims, voters in both parties were drawn to the polls because of the high stakes. AP VoteCast found that 6 in 10 Georgia voters say Senate party control was the most important factor in their vote.

Even before Tuesday, Georgia had shattered its turnout record for a runoff with more than 3 million votes by mail or during in-person advance voting in December. Including Tuesday’s vote, more people ultimately cast ballots in the runoffs than voted in Georgia’s 2016 presidential election.

In Atlanta’s Buckhead neighborhood, 37-year-old Kari Callaghan said she voted “all Democrat” on Tuesday, an experience that was new for her.

“I’ve always been Republican, but I’ve been pretty disgusted by Trump and just the way the Republicans are working,” she said. “I feel like for the Republican candidates to still stand there with Trump and campaign with Trump feels pretty rotten. This isn’t the conservative values that I grew up with.”

But 56-year-old Will James said he voted “straight GOP.”

He said he was concerned by the Republican candidates’ recent support of Trump’s challenges of the presidential election results in Georgia, “but it didn’t really change the reasons I voted.”

ATLANTA (AP) — Democrat Raphael Warnock won one of Georgia’s two Senate runoffs Wednesday, becoming the first Black senator in his state’s history and putting the Senate majority within the party’s reach.

A pastor who spent the past 15 years leading the Atlanta church where Martin Luther King Jr. preached, Warnock defeated Republican incumbent Kelly Loeffler. It was a stinging rebuke of outgoing President Donald Trump, who made one of his final trips in office to Georgia to rally his loyal base behind Loeffler and the Republican running for the other seat, David Perdue.

Warnock’s victory is a symbol of a striking shift in Georgia’s politics as the swelling number of diverse, college-educated voters flex their power in the heart of the Deep South. It follows Biden’s victory in November, when he became the first Democratic presidential candidate to carry the state since 1992.

Loeffler, who remains a Georgia senator until the results of Tuesday’s election are finalized, said she would return to Washington on Wednesday morning to join a small group of senators planning to challenge Congress’ vote to certify Biden’s victory.

This week’s elections mark the formal finale to the turbulent 2020 election season more than two months after the rest of the nation finished voting. The unusually high stakes transformed Georgia, once a solidly Republican state, into one of the nation’s premier battlegrounds for the final days of Trump’

“I believe in balance of power, and I don’t want either party to have a referendum, basically,” he said.

ATLANTA (AP) — Democrats have won both Georgia Senate seats — and with them, the U.S. Senate majority. That's a stunning defeat for President Donald Trump in his final days in office and it dramatically improves the fate of President-elect Joe Biden’s progressive agenda. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, Democratic challengers who represented the diversity of their party’s evolving coalition, defeated Republicans David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler. The twin victories Wednesday end nearly two decades in which Democrats have been shut out of statewide victories in Georgia. Biden became the first Democratic presidential candidate to carry the state since 1992.--------ATLANTA (AP) — Democrat Raphael Warnock won one of Georgia’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/election-2020">two Senate runoffs</a>&nbsp;Wednesday, becoming the first Black senator in his state’s history and putting the Senate majority within the party’s reach.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">LIVE: Reverend Warnock Addresses Supporters on Election Night <a href="https://t.co/3AjHzC35qy">https://t.co/3AjHzC35qy</a>&mdash; Reverend Raphael Warnock (@ReverendWarnock) <a href="https://twitter.com/ReverendWarnock/status/1346690996839464961?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 6, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>A pastor who spent the past 15 years leading the Atlanta church where Martin Luther King Jr. preached, Warnock defeated Republican incumbent Kelly Loeffler. It was a stinging rebuke of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-joe-biden-donald-trump-race-and-ethnicity-elections-2f56a611445df15fb9640893bb9f7a93">outgoing President Donald Trump</a>, who made one of his final trips in office to Georgia to rally his loyal base behind Loeffler and the Republican running for the other seat, David Perdue.Warnock said Wednesday he hadn’t yet heard from Loeffler but told CBS “This Morning” “I’m hearing from the people of Georgia. People are feeling a sense of hope this morning.”He noted that he grew up in public housing as one of 12 children and was his family’s first college graduate. “That I am serving in the United States Senate in a few days pushes against the grain of so many expectations but this is America and I want some young person who’s watching this to know anything’s possible.”“Georgia is in such an incredible place when you think of the arc of our history,” Warnock told ABC’s “Good Morning America.” He added: “This is the reversal of the old southern strategy that sought to divide people.”The focus now shifts to the second race between Perdue and Democrat Jon Ossoff. The candidates were locked in a tight race and it was too early to call a winner. Under Georgia law, a trailing candidate may request a recount when the margin of an election is less than or equal to 0.5 percentage points.If Ossoff wins, Democrats will have complete control of Congress, strengthening President-elect Joe Biden’s standing as he prepares to take office on Jan. 20.Warnock’s victory is a symbol of a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/race-and-ethnicity-georgia-rev-raphael-warnock-elections-jon-ossoff-a0be02280fcaef22fa0e65b3a5fdb056">striking shift in Georgia’s politics</a>&nbsp;as the swelling number of diverse, college-educated voters flex their power in the heart of the Deep South. It follows Biden’s victory in November, when he became the first Democratic presidential candidate to carry the state since 1992.Warnock, 51, acknowledged his improbable victory in a message to supporters early Wednesday, citing his family’s experience with poverty. His mother, he said, used to pick “somebody else’s cotton” as a teenager.“The other day, because this is America, the 82-year-old hands that used to pick somebody else’s cotton picked her youngest son to be a United States senator,” he said. “Tonight, we proved with hope, hard work and the people by our side, anything is possible.”The Associated Press declared Warnock the winner after an analysis of outstanding votes showed there was no way for Loeffler to catch up to his lead. Warnock’s edge is likely to grow as more ballots are counted, many of which were in Democratic-leaning areas.Loeffler refused to concede in a brief message to supporters shortly after midnight.“We’ve got some work to do here. This is a game of inches. We’re going to win this election,” insisted Loeffler, a 50-year-old former businesswoman who was appointed to the Senate less than a year ago by the state’s governor.Loeffler, who remains a Georgia senator until the results of Tuesday’s election are finalized, said she would return to Washington on Wednesday morning to join a small group of senators planning to challenge&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-joe-biden-donald-trump-elections-electoral-college-78104aea082995bbd7412a6e6cd13818">Congress’ vote to certify Biden’s victory</a>.“We are going to keep fighting for you,” Loeffler said, “This is about protecting the American dream.”Georgia’s other runoff election pitted Perdue, a 71-year-old former business executive who held his Senate seat until his term expired on Sunday, against Ossoff, a former congressional aide and journalist. At just 33 years old, Ossoff would be the Senate’s youngest member.Trump’s false claims of voter fraud cast a dark shadow over the runoff elections, which were held only because no candidate hit the 50% threshold in the general election. He attacked the state’s election chief on the eve of the election and raised the prospect that some votes might not be counted even as votes were being cast Tuesday afternoon.Republican state officials on the ground reported no significant problems.This week’s elections mark the formal finale to the turbulent 2020 election season more than two months after the rest of the nation finished voting. The unusually high stakes transformed Georgia, once a solidly Republican state, into one of the nation’s premier battlegrounds for the final days of Trump’s presidency — and likely beyond.Both contests tested whether the political coalition that fueled Biden’s November victory was an anti-Trump anomaly or part of a new electoral landscape. To win in Tuesday’s elections — and in the future — Democrats needed strong African American support.Drawing on his popularity with Black voters, among other groups, Biden won Georgia’s 16 electoral votes by about 12,000 votes out of 5 million cast in November.Trump’s claims about voter fraud in the 2020 election, while meritless, resonated with Republican voters in Georgia. About 7 in 10 agreed with his false assertion that Biden was not the legitimately elected president, according to AP VoteCast, a survey of more than 3,600 voters in the runoff elections.Election officials across the country, including the Republican governors in Arizona and Georgia, as well as Trump’s former attorney general, William Barr, have confirmed that there was no widespread fraud in the November election. Nearly all the legal challenges from Trump and his allies have been dismissed by judges, including two tossed by the Supreme Court, where three Trump-nominated justices preside.Even with Trump’s claims, voters in both parties were drawn to the polls because of the high stakes. AP VoteCast found that 6 in 10 Georgia voters say Senate party control was the most important factor in their vote.Even before Tuesday, Georgia had shattered its turnout record for a runoff with more than 3 million votes by mail or during in-person advance voting in December. Including Tuesday’s vote, more people ultimately cast ballots in the runoffs than voted in Georgia’s 2016 presidential election.In Atlanta’s Buckhead neighborhood, 37-year-old Kari Callaghan said she voted “all Democrat” on Tuesday, an experience that was new for her.“I’ve always been Republican, but I’ve been pretty disgusted by Trump and just the way the Republicans are working,” she said. “I feel like for the Republican candidates to still stand there with Trump and campaign with Trump feels pretty rotten. This isn’t the conservative values that I grew up with.”But 56-year-old Will James said he voted “straight GOP.”He said he was concerned by the Republican candidates’ recent support of Trump’s challenges of the presidential election results in Georgia, “but it didn’t really change the reasons I voted.”___ATLANTA (AP) — Democrat Raphael Warnock won one of Georgia’s two Senate runoffs Wednesday, becoming the first Black senator in his state’s history and putting the Senate majority within the party’s reach.A pastor who spent the past 15 years leading the Atlanta church where Martin Luther King Jr. preached, Warnock defeated Republican incumbent Kelly Loeffler. It was a stinging rebuke of outgoing President Donald Trump, who made one of his final trips in office to Georgia to rally his loyal base behind Loeffler and the Republican running for the other seat, David Perdue.The focus now shifts to the second race between Perdue and Democrat Jon Ossoff. The candidates were locked in a tight race and it was too early to call a winner. Under Georgia law, a trailing candidate may request a recount when the margin of an election is less than or equal to 0.5 percentage points.If Ossoff wins, Democrats will have complete control of Congress, strengthening President-elect Joe Biden’s standing as he prepares to take office on Jan. 20.Warnock’s victory is a symbol of a striking shift in Georgia’s politics as the swelling number of diverse, college-educated voters flex their power in the heart of the Deep South. It follows Biden’s victory in November, when he became the first Democratic presidential candidate to carry the state since 1992.Warnock, 51, acknowledged his improbable victory in a message to supporters early Wednesday, citing his family’s experience with poverty. His mother, he said, used to pick “somebody else’s cotton” as a teenager.“The other day, because this is America, the 82-year-old hands that used to pick somebody else’s cotton picked her youngest son to be a United States senator,” he said. “Tonight, we proved with hope, hard work and the people by our side, anything is possible.”The Associated Press declared Warnock the winner after an analysis of outstanding votes showed there was no way for Loeffler to catch up to his lead. Warnock’s edge is likely to grow as more ballots are counted, many of which were in Democratic-leaning areas.Loeffler refused to concede in a brief message to supporters shortly after midnight.“We’ve got some work to do here. This is a game of inches. We’re going to win this election,” insisted Loeffler, a 50-year-old former businesswoman who was appointed to the Senate less than a year ago by the state’s governor.Loeffler, who remains a Georgia senator until the results of Tuesday’s election are finalized, said she would return to Washington on Wednesday morning to join a small group of senators planning to challenge Congress’ vote to certify Biden’s victory.“We are going to keep fighting for you,” Loeffler said, “This is about protecting the American dream.”Georgia’s other runoff election pitted Perdue, a 71-year-old former business executive who held his Senate seat until his term expired on Sunday, against Ossoff, a former congressional aide and journalist. At just 33 years old, Ossoff would be the Senate’s youngest member.Trump’s false claims of voter fraud cast a dark shadow over the runoff elections, which were held only because no candidate hit the 50% threshold in the general election. He attacked the state’s election chief on the eve of the election and raised the prospect that some votes might not be counted even as votes were being cast Tuesday afternoon.Republican state officials on the ground reported no significant problems.This week’s elections mark the formal finale to the turbulent 2020 election season more than two months after the rest of the nation finished voting. The unusually high stakes transformed Georgia, once a solidly Republican state, into one of the nation’s premier battlegrounds for the final days of Trump’Both contests tested whether the political coalition that fueled Biden’s November victory was an anti-Trump anomaly or part of a new electoral landscape. To win in Tuesday’s elections — and in the future — Democrats needed strong African American support.Drawing on his popularity with Black voters, among other groups, Biden won Georgia’s 16 electoral votes by about 12,000 votes out of 5 million cast in November.Trump’s claims about voter fraud in the 2020 election, while meritless, resonated with Republican voters in Georgia. About 7 in 10 agreed with his false assertion that Biden was not the legitimately elected president, according to AP VoteCast, a survey of more than 3,600 voters in the runoff elections.Election officials across the country, including the Republican governors in Arizona and Georgia, as well as Trump’s former attorney general, William Barr, have confirmed that there was no widespread fraud in the November election. Nearly all the legal challenges from Trump and his allies have been dismissed by judges, including two tossed by the Supreme Court, where three Trump-nominated justices preside.Even with Trump’s claims, voters in both parties were drawn to the polls because of the high stakes. AP VoteCast found that 6 in 10 Georgia voters say Senate party control was the most important factor in their vote.Even before Tuesday, Georgia had shattered its turnout record for a runoff with more than 3 million votes by mail or during in-person advance voting in December. Including Tuesday’s vote, more people ultimately cast ballots in the runoffs than voted in Georgia’s 2016 presidential election.In Atlanta’s Buckhead neighborhood, 37-year-old Kari Callaghan said she voted “all Democrat” on Tuesday, an experience that was new for her.“I’ve always been Republican, but I’ve been pretty disgusted by Trump and just the way the Republicans are working,” she said. “I feel like for the Republican candidates to still stand there with Trump and campaign with Trump feels pretty rotten. This isn’t the conservative values that I grew up with.”But 56-year-old Will James said he voted “straight GOP.”He said he was concerned by the Republican candidates’ recent support of Trump’s challenges of the presidential election results in Georgia, “but it didn’t really change the reasons I voted.”“I believe in balance of power, and I don’t want either party to have a referendum, basically,” he said.

Warnock, Ossoff win in Georgia, handing Dems Senate control

TOPEKA— The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Kansas increased by 5501 to a total of 236,818 the state health department reported Wednesday afternoon.&nbsp;

Coronavirus deaths were reported at 3027 an increase of 130

<a href="https://www.coronavirus.kdheks.gov/160/COVID-19-in-Kansas">Click here&nbsp;</a>for additional numbers from the KDHE.

TOPEKA— The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Kansas increased by 5501 to a total of 236,818 the state health department reported Wednesday afternoon.&nbsp;Coronavirus deaths were reported at 3027 an increase of 130<a href="https://www.coronavirus.kdheks.gov/160/COVID-19-in-Kansas">Click here&nbsp;</a>for additional numbers from the KDHE.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/1/1609956538515.png" alt="Wednesday Jan. 6, 2021 KDHE image" />
 <figcaption>Wednesday Jan. 6, 2021 KDHE image</figcaption>
 </figure>

KDHE: Latest coronavirus numbers in Kansas

Saline County —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect on multiple drug charges after a&nbsp;&nbsp;traffic stop on Interstate 70 in Salina Tuesday.

Just before 7:30a.m., an officer stopped a 2014 Nissan Altima that was eastbound I-70 milepost at Ohio Street in Salina, according to Police Captain Paul Forrester.

The officer made contact with the driver later identified as Tyler Walton, 22, of Georgia.

During the traffic stop, the Salina Police Department's K-9, Bennie, indicated the presence of illegal narcotics in the vehicle. During a search of the vehicle, police reported finding approximately two pounds of raw marijuana, marijuana oils, and marijuana candy.

Police arrested Walton on requested charges of possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, possession of drug paraphernalia and no drug tax stamp.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/1/1609943957822.jpeg" alt="Walton photo Saline Co." />
 <figcaption>Walton photo Saline Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>Saline County —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect on multiple drug charges after a&nbsp;&nbsp;traffic stop on Interstate 70 in Salina Tuesday.Just before 7:30a.m., an officer stopped a 2014 Nissan Altima that was eastbound I-70 milepost at Ohio Street in Salina, according to Police Captain Paul Forrester.The officer made contact with the driver later identified as Tyler Walton, 22, of Georgia.During the traffic stop, the Salina Police Department's K-9, Bennie, indicated the presence of illegal narcotics in the vehicle. During a search of the vehicle, police reported finding approximately two pounds of raw marijuana, marijuana oils, and marijuana candy.Police arrested Walton on requested charges of possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, possession of drug paraphernalia and no drug tax stamp.

Police find raw marijuana, candy during Kan. traffic stop

WASHINGTON (AP) — As&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-joe-biden-donald-trump-elections-electoral-college-78104aea082995bbd7412a6e6cd13818">Congress prepared to affirm</a>&nbsp;President-elect Joe Biden’s victory, thousands of people lined up before sunrise Wednesday to show their support for President Donald Trump and his claims of election fraud.

<a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?507744-1/rally-electoral-college-vote-certification&amp;live">Click here to</a>&nbsp;watch 10a.m. CDT

Trump was expected to address&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-donald-trump-race-and-ethnicity-elections-electoral-college-47cd4321645c92f0781005143601c607">his supporters</a>&nbsp; during the rally on the Ellipse, just south of the White House.

Lou Murray, a life insurance salesman from Boston, said he and many others still hoped Congress and Vice President Mike Pence would not certify the vote. “I hope Vice President Pence has courage today, and I hope any politician who thinks he has a future shows courage to stand up and do what’s right,” Murray said.

About an hour before Trump was set to speak, there were massive, dense lines at security checkpoints near the White House. At the Lincoln Memorial, dozens of Trump supporters stood on the steps with large Trump flags.

Nirav Peterson, who flew in from Seattle to attend the rally, said there would be a groundswell of anger and activism if Trump doesn’t serve another term and said Republicans who don’t back him should face primary challenges.

“People are angry. This isn’t going to go away,” Peterson said as she took video of the large crowd gathered beyond the steel barriers at the foot of the Washington Monument. “You have a huge, huge portion of the people who aren’t going to take it anymore.”

Like many others, Peterson was not wearing a mask. She said she opposes the shutdowns prompted by the pandemic and doesn’t believe anyone has died from COVID-19. More than 350,000 people have died from the virus in the U.S.

Organizers planned an afternoon march to the Capitol, where Congress will be voting to affirm the Electoral College results, which Trump continues to dispute.

A number of prominent Trump supporters were expected to attend the protest events, which began Tuesday with a rally at Freedom Plaza near the White House. They include Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and longtime Trump ally Roger Stone, the recipient of a pardon by the president.

As temperatures dropped to the low 40s Tuesday night and a steady rain swept onto the streets, hundreds of protesters remained in Freedom Plaza.

“I’m just here to support the president,” said David Wideman, a 45-year-old firefighter who traveled from Memphis, Tennessee. Wideman acknowledged he was “confused” by a string of losses from Trump’s legal team in their attempt to overturn the results of the election and didn’t know what options Trump had left.

“I not sure what he can do at this point, but I want to hear what he has to say,” Wideman said.

Trump tweeted his support for the protesters: “Washington is being inundated with people who don’t want to see an election victory stolen by emboldened Radical Left Democrats. Our Country has had enough, they won’t take it anymore! We hear you (and love you) from the Oval Office.”

In a Tuesday evening tweet, Trump called on Democrats and fellow Republicans to look at the “thousands of people pouring into D.C.” In another tweet, he warned that antifa, the umbrella term for leftist militant groups that Trump has said he wants to declare a terrorist organization, should stay out of Washington.

The rallies had local officials and law enforcement bracing for potential violent street clashes. Many businesses in downtown Washington boarded up their windows, fearful that the protest could devolve into the unrest seen in May and June when dozens of businesses were vandalized.

District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser called in National Guard troops to help bolster the city’s police force. She urged residents to stay away from downtown Washington and to avoid confrontations with anyone who is “looking for a fight.” But, she warned, “we will not allow people to incite violence, intimidate our residents or cause destruction in our city.”

Election officials from both political parties, governors in key battleground states and Trump’s former attorney general, William Barr, have said there was no widespread fraud in the election. Nearly all the legal challenges from Trump and his allies have been dismissed by judges, including two challenges rejected by the Supreme Court.

A pro-Trump rally Dec. 12 ended in violence as hundreds of Trump supporters, wearing the signature black and yellow of the Proud Boys, a far-right extremist group, sought out confrontations with a collective of local activists attempting to bar them from Black Lives Matter Plaza, an area near the White House. At least two local Black churches had Black Lives Matter banners torn down and set ablaze.

On Monday, police arrested the leader of the Proud Boys, Henry “Enrique” Tarrio, 36, after he arrived in Washington before this week’s protests. Tarrio was accused of burning one of the Black Lives Matter banners in December and was found with two high-capacity firearm magazines, police said. A judge signed an order Tuesday banning Tarrio from entering the District of Columbia, with very limited exceptions related to his criminal case.

In addition to the National Guard, federal agents were on standby, in case they were quickly needed in the city this week.

The federal Bureau of Prisons said about 100 “specially trained officers” were sent to the Justice Department headquarters to assist other security personnel but would remain “in a reserve capacity unless needed.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/1/1609951430041.png" alt="Large crowds at the "Save America Rally" Wednesday near the White House -image courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>Large crowds at the "Save America Rally" Wednesday near the White House -image courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — As&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-joe-biden-donald-trump-elections-electoral-college-78104aea082995bbd7412a6e6cd13818">Congress prepared to affirm</a>&nbsp;President-elect Joe Biden’s victory, thousands of people lined up before sunrise Wednesday to show their support for President Donald Trump and his claims of election fraud.<a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?507744-1/rally-electoral-college-vote-certification&amp;live">Click here to</a>&nbsp;watch 10a.m. CDTTrump was expected to address&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-donald-trump-race-and-ethnicity-elections-electoral-college-47cd4321645c92f0781005143601c607">his supporters</a>&nbsp; during the rally on the Ellipse, just south of the White House.Lou Murray, a life insurance salesman from Boston, said he and many others still hoped Congress and Vice President Mike Pence would not certify the vote. “I hope Vice President Pence has courage today, and I hope any politician who thinks he has a future shows courage to stand up and do what’s right,” Murray said.About an hour before Trump was set to speak, there were massive, dense lines at security checkpoints near the White House. At the Lincoln Memorial, dozens of Trump supporters stood on the steps with large Trump flags.Nirav Peterson, who flew in from Seattle to attend the rally, said there would be a groundswell of anger and activism if Trump doesn’t serve another term and said Republicans who don’t back him should face primary challenges.“People are angry. This isn’t going to go away,” Peterson said as she took video of the large crowd gathered beyond the steel barriers at the foot of the Washington Monument. “You have a huge, huge portion of the people who aren’t going to take it anymore.”Like many others, Peterson was not wearing a mask. She said she opposes the shutdowns prompted by the pandemic and doesn’t believe anyone has died from COVID-19. More than 350,000 people have died from the virus in the U.S.Organizers planned an afternoon march to the Capitol, where Congress will be voting to affirm the Electoral College results, which Trump continues to dispute.A number of prominent Trump supporters were expected to attend the protest events, which began Tuesday with a rally at Freedom Plaza near the White House. They include Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and longtime Trump ally Roger Stone, the recipient of a pardon by the president.As temperatures dropped to the low 40s Tuesday night and a steady rain swept onto the streets, hundreds of protesters remained in Freedom Plaza.“I’m just here to support the president,” said David Wideman, a 45-year-old firefighter who traveled from Memphis, Tennessee. Wideman acknowledged he was “confused” by a string of losses from Trump’s legal team in their attempt to overturn the results of the election and didn’t know what options Trump had left.“I not sure what he can do at this point, but I want to hear what he has to say,” Wideman said.Trump tweeted his support for the protesters: “Washington is being inundated with people who don’t want to see an election victory stolen by emboldened Radical Left Democrats. Our Country has had enough, they won’t take it anymore! We hear you (and love you) from the Oval Office.”In a Tuesday evening tweet, Trump called on Democrats and fellow Republicans to look at the “thousands of people pouring into D.C.” In another tweet, he warned that antifa, the umbrella term for leftist militant groups that Trump has said he wants to declare a terrorist organization, should stay out of Washington.The rallies had local officials and law enforcement bracing for potential violent street clashes. Many businesses in downtown Washington boarded up their windows, fearful that the protest could devolve into the unrest seen in May and June when dozens of businesses were vandalized.District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser called in National Guard troops to help bolster the city’s police force. She urged residents to stay away from downtown Washington and to avoid confrontations with anyone who is “looking for a fight.” But, she warned, “we will not allow people to incite violence, intimidate our residents or cause destruction in our city.”Election officials from both political parties, governors in key battleground states and Trump’s former attorney general, William Barr, have said there was no widespread fraud in the election. Nearly all the legal challenges from Trump and his allies have been dismissed by judges, including two challenges rejected by the Supreme Court.A pro-Trump rally Dec. 12 ended in violence as hundreds of Trump supporters, wearing the signature black and yellow of the Proud Boys, a far-right extremist group, sought out confrontations with a collective of local activists attempting to bar them from Black Lives Matter Plaza, an area near the White House. At least two local Black churches had Black Lives Matter banners torn down and set ablaze.On Monday, police arrested the leader of the Proud Boys, Henry “Enrique” Tarrio, 36, after he arrived in Washington before this week’s protests. Tarrio was accused of burning one of the Black Lives Matter banners in December and was found with two high-capacity firearm magazines, police said. A judge signed an order Tuesday banning Tarrio from entering the District of Columbia, with very limited exceptions related to his criminal case.In addition to the National Guard, federal agents were on standby, in case they were quickly needed in the city this week.The federal Bureau of Prisons said about 100 “specially trained officers” were sent to the Justice Department headquarters to assist other security personnel but would remain “in a reserve capacity unless needed.”

🎥  President Trump speaks to supporters at DC rally 

FINNEY COUNTY— Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect after a violent attack on a woman and fight with a police officer.

Just after 7a.m. Monday, police&nbsp; were dispatched to the northeast Garden City for a reported fight-in-progress. As the officer arrived at the location, a woman was observed about 20 feet away and she appeared to be in distress, according to Sgt. Lana Urteaga.

Just as the officer began to approach the woman, a man, later identified as Tuan Tran, 48, Garden City, ran out of his residence toward the woman. As the woman tried to flee from Tran, she fell to the ground. Tran had a large-blade knife in his hand as he ran toward the woman. Tran then jumped on top of the woman and stabbed her.

The officer ran to the woman, wrestled the knife away from Tran, and pulled Tran off of her. 

Officers arrested Tran after a struggle with the officer. 

The woman was transported to St. Catherine Hospital by Finney County EMS for minor injuries, where she was treated and released, according to Urteaga.

Tran was transported by Finney County EMS to St. Catherine Hospital, where he was treated for minor injuries and then transported to the Finney County Jail. 

The officer was also taken to St. Catherine Hospital and treated and released for minor injuries.

Tran remains jailed on requested charges of Attempted 1st Degree Murder and Aggravated Battery on a Law Enforcement Officer.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/1/1609933757553.png" alt="Tran photo Finney Co. Jail" />
 <figcaption>Tran photo Finney Co. Jail</figcaption>
 </figure>FINNEY COUNTY— Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect after a violent attack on a woman and fight with a police officer.Just after 7a.m. Monday, police&nbsp; were dispatched to the northeast Garden City for a reported fight-in-progress. As the officer arrived at the location, a woman was observed about 20 feet away and she appeared to be in distress, according to Sgt. Lana Urteaga.Just as the officer began to approach the woman, a man, later identified as Tuan Tran, 48, Garden City, ran out of his residence toward the woman. As the woman tried to flee from Tran, she fell to the ground. Tran had a large-blade knife in his hand as he ran toward the woman. Tran then jumped on top of the woman and stabbed her.The officer ran to the woman, wrestled the knife away from Tran, and pulled Tran off of her. Officers arrested Tran after a struggle with the officer. The woman was transported to St. Catherine Hospital by Finney County EMS for minor injuries, where she was treated and released, according to Urteaga.Tran was transported by Finney County EMS to St. Catherine Hospital, where he was treated for minor injuries and then transported to the Finney County Jail. The officer was also taken to St. Catherine Hospital and treated and released for minor injuries.Tran remains jailed on requested charges of Attempted 1st Degree Murder and Aggravated Battery on a Law Enforcement Officer.&nbsp;

SW Kan. man jailed after attack on woman, police officer

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Republican legislators and Kansas’ GOP attorney general said Tuesday that privacy is key, as lawmakers prepared to decide whether to rewrite a law that allows people exposed to COVID-19 to refuse to disclose their close contacts to health officials.

Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly wants legislators to rewrite the law enacted last year, arguing in a recent interview that provisions allowing people to opt out of contact tracing “served no purpose.” Some health officials say the law&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/1402959bab4ae0016d313fae13258c62" target="_blank">hinders efforts</a>&nbsp;to trace new coronavirus cases to their source and warn others who might have been infected.

Attorney General Derek Schmidt and Republicans in the GOP-controlled Legislature aren’t ruling out changes, but some said they want to make sure people’s privacy remains protected. The law was enacted for the COVID-19 pandemic and is set to expire May 1, forcing legislators to review it during the annual 90-day session opening Monday.

“The right to privacy is a constitutional right that we all hold, so I think any time that you do anything to impede or step on that, that you have to be very cautious,” Sen. Richard Hilderbrand, a Galena Republican and the incoming chair of the Senate health committee, said Tuesday.

The renewed debate over privacy, like a coming debate about whether local officials or the state control the pandemic response, comes as Republicans are gearing up to try to retake the governor’s office in 2022. Kelly plans to seek reelection; Schmidt is considered a potential Republican candidate, and the GOP already is trying to draw distinctions between its approach to the pandemic and Kelly’s.

Schmidt proposed the contact-tracing law and legislators included it in a package of measures governing the state’s coronavirus response. Kelly said she was forced to accept the whole package to preserve a state of emergency for the pandemic and called the contact-tracing law “not helpful.”

“Contact tracing is a 100-year-old, well-documented public health strategy,” she said. “It was absurd to play politics with it. It really didn’t need to happen. It served no purpose, other than to make a political point.”

But Schmidt spokesman John Milburn said: “From the attorney general’s standpoint, the act is working well, particularly its protections that ensure individuals control whether to divulge information about their movements and associations and that oblige the government to carefully safeguard any information it collects.”

Justin Beck, the CEO of California-based technology company Contakt World, said “very basic technology” can be used to contact people other than through phone calls and allow them to send information to public health agencies without revealing their names. His company, an affiliate member of the national group for local health officials, is planning this month to launch a platform for contact tracing by text, apps and interactive voice recording.

“In Kansas, in particular, there’s a lot of reticence to participate in the contact tracing process,” he said.

About 50% of people in Douglas County in northeast Kansas testing positive for COVID-19 refuse to cooperate with health officials, said Sonia Jordan, the local health department’s director of informatics. She said people typically decline when health officials ask for permission to call recent close contacts, including some who say they already notified friends and family.

Jordan said disease investigators used to be able to tell people that the state requires them to ask for contacts, but staff can no longer use that line. She isn’t sure whether she wants the law removed, but said she doesn’t think there would be a “negative effect on public health” if it were scrapped.

But other public health officials say the law hasn’t hurt contact tracing efforts. Ford County Health Department Administrator Angela Sowers estimates that fewer than 30 people declined to cooperate with contact tracers after the law went into effect.

Sowers said contact tracers have encountered difficulties when a person they reach by phone tells them that they are unavailable and don’t answer again.

“We try several times,” Sowers said. “Whenever it’s convenient for them, we try and find that out so we can talk to them.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/11/1605784708104.png" alt=""Contact tracing is a 100-year-old, well-documented public health strategy,” Governor Kelly said. “It was absurd to play politics with it."" />
 <figcaption>"Contact tracing is a 100-year-old, well-documented public health strategy,” Governor Kelly said. “It was absurd to play politics with it."</figcaption>
 </figure>TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Republican legislators and Kansas’ GOP attorney general said Tuesday that privacy is key, as lawmakers prepared to decide whether to rewrite a law that allows people exposed to COVID-19 to refuse to disclose their close contacts to health officials.Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly wants legislators to rewrite the law enacted last year, arguing in a recent interview that provisions allowing people to opt out of contact tracing “served no purpose.” Some health officials say the law&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/1402959bab4ae0016d313fae13258c62" target="_blank">hinders efforts</a>&nbsp;to trace new coronavirus cases to their source and warn others who might have been infected.Attorney General Derek Schmidt and Republicans in the GOP-controlled Legislature aren’t ruling out changes, but some said they want to make sure people’s privacy remains protected. The law was enacted for the COVID-19 pandemic and is set to expire May 1, forcing legislators to review it during the annual 90-day session opening Monday.“The right to privacy is a constitutional right that we all hold, so I think any time that you do anything to impede or step on that, that you have to be very cautious,” Sen. Richard Hilderbrand, a Galena Republican and the incoming chair of the Senate health committee, said Tuesday.The renewed debate over privacy, like a coming debate about whether local officials or the state control the pandemic response, comes as Republicans are gearing up to try to retake the governor’s office in 2022. Kelly plans to seek reelection; Schmidt is considered a potential Republican candidate, and the GOP already is trying to draw distinctions between its approach to the pandemic and Kelly’s.Schmidt proposed the contact-tracing law and legislators included it in a package of measures governing the state’s coronavirus response. Kelly said she was forced to accept the whole package to preserve a state of emergency for the pandemic and called the contact-tracing law “not helpful.”“Contact tracing is a 100-year-old, well-documented public health strategy,” she said. “It was absurd to play politics with it. It really didn’t need to happen. It served no purpose, other than to make a political point.”But Schmidt spokesman John Milburn said: “From the attorney general’s standpoint, the act is working well, particularly its protections that ensure individuals control whether to divulge information about their movements and associations and that oblige the government to carefully safeguard any information it collects.”Justin Beck, the CEO of California-based technology company Contakt World, said “very basic technology” can be used to contact people other than through phone calls and allow them to send information to public health agencies without revealing their names. His company, an affiliate member of the national group for local health officials, is planning this month to launch a platform for contact tracing by text, apps and interactive voice recording.“In Kansas, in particular, there’s a lot of reticence to participate in the contact tracing process,” he said.About 50% of people in Douglas County in northeast Kansas testing positive for COVID-19 refuse to cooperate with health officials, said Sonia Jordan, the local health department’s director of informatics. She said people typically decline when health officials ask for permission to call recent close contacts, including some who say they already notified friends and family.Jordan said disease investigators used to be able to tell people that the state requires them to ask for contacts, but staff can no longer use that line. She isn’t sure whether she wants the law removed, but said she doesn’t think there would be a “negative effect on public health” if it were scrapped.But other public health officials say the law hasn’t hurt contact tracing efforts. Ford County Health Department Administrator Angela Sowers estimates that fewer than 30 people declined to cooperate with contact tracers after the law went into effect.Sowers said contact tracers have encountered difficulties when a person they reach by phone tells them that they are unavailable and don’t answer again.“We try several times,” Sowers said. “Whenever it’s convenient for them, we try and find that out so we can talk to them.”___

Kansas debates contact tracing in battle over your privacy 

SHAWNEE COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities investigating a New Year's Eve murder are working to contact someone who left an anonymous tip about the crime.

Just after 5:30p.m. Dec. 31, police were in the area of SE 6th and Leland in Topeka as gunshots were heard, according to Lt. Jerry Monasmith.

Officers later were notified of an adult male victim later identified as&nbsp;25-year-old Jesus Noel Soto-Villareal of Topeka.  suffering from life-threatening injuries who arrived at a local hospital. He was later pronounced deceased by medical care personnel.

On January 4, 2021 Shawnee County Crime Stoppers received an anonymous tip about the homicide investigation.

After reviewing the tip, Crime Stoppers wants to communicate with the tipster anonymously. Law enforcement believes the tipster may have important information about the case and asked the tipster to login to the secure website, communicate with them through the P3 Tips App or call them at 785-234-0007.

SHAWNEE COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a fatal New Year's Eve shooting and have identified the victim as 25-year-old Jesus Noel Soto-Villareal of Topeka.&nbsp;

Just after 5:30p.m. Thursday, police were in the area of SE 6th and Leland in Topeka as gunshots were heard, according to Lt. Jerry Monasmith.

Officers later were notified of an adult male victim suffering from life-threatening injuries who arrived at a local hospital. The victim was later pronounced deceased by medical care personnel.

Officers and Detectives are continuing the ongoing investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/1/1609937789684.png" alt="Police on the scene of the New Year's Eve investigation -photo courtesy WIBW TV" />
 <figcaption>Police on the scene of the New Year's Eve investigation -photo courtesy WIBW TV</figcaption>
 </figure>SHAWNEE COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities investigating a New Year's Eve murder are working to contact someone who left an anonymous tip about the crime.Just after 5:30p.m. Dec. 31, police were in the area of SE 6th and Leland in Topeka as gunshots were heard, according to Lt. Jerry Monasmith.Officers later were notified of an adult male victim later identified as&nbsp;25-year-old Jesus Noel Soto-Villareal of Topeka. suffering from life-threatening injuries who arrived at a local hospital. He was later pronounced deceased by medical care personnel.On January 4, 2021 Shawnee County Crime Stoppers received an anonymous tip about the homicide investigation.After reviewing the tip, Crime Stoppers wants to communicate with the tipster anonymously. Law enforcement believes the tipster may have important information about the case and asked the tipster to login to the secure website, communicate with them through the P3 Tips App or call them at 785-234-0007.---------SHAWNEE COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a fatal New Year's Eve shooting and have identified the victim as 25-year-old Jesus Noel Soto-Villareal of Topeka.&nbsp;Just after 5:30p.m. Thursday, police were in the area of SE 6th and Leland in Topeka as gunshots were heard, according to Lt. Jerry Monasmith.Officers later were notified of an adult male victim suffering from life-threatening injuries who arrived at a local hospital. The victim was later pronounced deceased by medical care personnel.Officers and Detectives are continuing the ongoing investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident.Police have not reported an arrest.-----

Police attempt to contact tipster about Kansas murder

SEDGWICK COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating three teen in connection with a robbery.

Just after 4:00 p.m. Monday, police responded to a residential robbery in the 3000 block of East Orme in Wichita, according to Officer Kevin Wheeler.

&nbsp; At the home, an 82-year-old woman&nbsp; who had minor injuries from the incident reported that three unknown males came to her residence, and forcibly entered.&nbsp; They then demanded money and searched throughout the residence.&nbsp; The suspects pushed the 82-year-old, causing her to fall and hit her head, according to Wheeler.

They then took her cell phone and other property. One of the suspects took her keys to a gray Volkswagen Passat from her purse, and the three juveniles left the scene in her vehicle.&nbsp;

Officers entered the vehicle information into the FLOCK license plate reader and located the vehicle in the area of East 13th&nbsp;Street and Kansas Avenue in Wichita.

 Officers stopped the vehicle and arrested arrested a 15-year-old boy and a 14-year-old boy on requested charges of aggravated robbery and another a 14-year-old boy on requested charges of aggravated robbery and possession of marijuana, according to Wheeler.&nbsp; 

&nbsp;The suspects were also believed to have been involved in a hit and run accident at Morris and Bluff where a parked white Chevrolet Malibu was struck and damaged.

SEDGWICK COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating three teen in connection with a robbery.Just after 4:00 p.m. Monday, police responded to a residential robbery in the 3000 block of East Orme in Wichita, according to Officer Kevin Wheeler.&nbsp; At the home, an 82-year-old woman&nbsp; who had minor injuries from the incident reported that three unknown males came to her residence, and forcibly entered.&nbsp; They then demanded money and searched throughout the residence.&nbsp; The suspects pushed the 82-year-old, causing her to fall and hit her head, according to Wheeler.They then took her cell phone and other property. One of the suspects took her keys to a gray Volkswagen Passat from her purse, and the three juveniles left the scene in her vehicle.&nbsp;Officers entered the vehicle information into the FLOCK license plate reader and located the vehicle in the area of East 13th&nbsp;Street and Kansas Avenue in Wichita. Officers stopped the vehicle and arrested arrested a 15-year-old boy and a 14-year-old boy on requested charges of aggravated robbery and another a 14-year-old boy on requested charges of aggravated robbery and possession of marijuana, according to Wheeler.&nbsp; &nbsp;The suspects were also believed to have been involved in a hit and run accident at Morris and Bluff where a parked white Chevrolet Malibu was struck and damaged.

Police: Kan. woman injured during home-invasion robbery

WASHINGTON (AP) — Wednesday’s congressional joint session to count electoral votes has taken on added importance this year as congressional Republicans allied with President Donald Trump are pledging to try and undo Democrat Joe Biden’s victory.

The Republicans — a dozen senators and many more House members — are citing Trump’s repeated, charges of widespread fraud. They say they will officially object to the results, forcing votes in the Republican-run Senate and the Democratic-controlled House that will almost certainly fail.

The congressional meeting on Jan. 6 is the final step in reaffirming Biden’s win, after the Electoral College&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-270-electoral-college-vote-d429ef97af2bf574d16463384dc7cc1e">officially elected him</a>&nbsp;in December. The meeting is required by the Constitution and includes several distinct steps.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN CONGRESS MEETS WEDNESDAY?

Under federal law, Congress must meet Jan. 6 to open sealed certificates from each state that contain a record of their electoral votes. The votes are brought into the chamber in special mahogany boxes used for the occasion.

Bipartisan representatives of both chambers read the results out loud and do an official count. The president of the Senate, Vice President Mike Pence, presides over the session and declares the winner. The session begins at 1 p.m. EST.

The Constitution requires Congress to meet and count the electoral votes. If there is a tie, then the House decides the presidency, with each congressional delegation having one vote. That hasn’t happened since the 1800s, and Biden’s electoral&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-wins-white-house-ap-fd58df73aa677acb74fce2a69adb71f9">win over Trump</a>&nbsp;was decisive, 306-232.

The two chambers meet together midday to count the votes . If the vice president cannot preside, there is precedent for the Senate pro-tempore, or the longest-serving senator in the majority party, to lead the session. That’s currently Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa.

The presiding officer opens and presents the certificates of the electoral votes in alphabetical order of the states. The appointed “tellers” from the House and Senate, members of both parties, then read each certificate out loud and record and count the votes. At the end, the presiding officer announces who has won the majority votes for both president and vice president.

After a teller reads the certificate from a state, any member can stand up and object to that state’s vote on any grounds. But the presiding officer will not hear the objection unless it is in writing and signed by both a member of the House and a member of the Senate.

If there is such a request, then the joint session suspends and the House and Senate go into separate sessions to consider it. For the objection to be sustained, both chambers must agree to it by a simple majority vote. If they do not both agree, the original electoral votes are counted with no changes.

The last time such an objection was considered was 2005, when Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones of Ohio and Sen. Barbara Boxer of California, both Democrats, objected to Ohio’s electoral votes, claiming there were voting irregularities. Both the House and Senate debated the objection and easily rejected it. It was only the second time such a vote had occurred.

Dozens of House Republicans and a smaller group of GOP senators are expected to object to the count from some swing states where Trump has alleged fraud, despite the consensus of nonpartisan election officials and even Trump’s former attorney general that there was none. None of the members have presented detailed evidence and none of them objected to the swearing-in of congressional lawmakers who won election on the same ballots.

In the Senate, Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley was the first to say he would join with the House Republicans. On Saturday, Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas announced a coalition of 11 additional senators who vowed to vote against unspecified state electors on Wednesday unless Congress appoints an electoral commission to immediately conduct an audit of the election results. Hawley and Cruz are both among potential 2024 presidential contenders.

The challenges have split the party. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell has urged his colleagues not to object, saying last month on a private call that the vote would be “terrible.”

Several other Senate Republicans have criticized the effort as well, including Texas Sen. John Cornyn and South Dakota Sen. John Thune, the No. 2 Senate Republican. Thune said last month that any objections will go down “like a shot dog” in the Senate.

On Sunday, Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse said the challenge is “’bad for the country and bad for the party.”

Pence’s role is largely ceremonial and he has no power to affect the outcome, despite Trump’s wishes to the contrary.

The role of the vice president as presiding officer is often an awkward one, as it will be for Pence, who will be charged with announcing Biden’s victory — and his own defeat — once the electoral votes are counted.

Pence won’t be the first vice president put in an uncomfortable situation. In 2001, Vice President Al Gore presided over the counting of the 2000 presidential election he narrowly lost to Republican George W. Bush. Gore had to gavel several Democrats’ objections out of order. In 2017, Biden presided over the count that declared Trump the winner. Biden also shot down objections from House Democrats that did not have any Senate support.

ONCE CONGRESS COUNTS THE VOTES, WHAT’S NEXT?

The joint session is the last official chance for objections, beyond court cases that have so far proven ineffective for Trump and his team.

“I think there comes a time when you have to realize that, despite your best efforts you’ve been unsuccessful,” Cornyn said earlier this month.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/1/1609864889446.png" alt="The president of the Senate, Vice President Mike Pence, presides over Wednesday's session and declares the winner. Photo courtesy office of the Vice President" />
 <figcaption>The president of the Senate, Vice President Mike Pence, presides over Wednesday's session and declares the winner. Photo courtesy office of the Vice President</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — Wednesday’s congressional joint session to count electoral votes has taken on added importance this year as congressional Republicans allied with President Donald Trump are pledging to try and undo Democrat Joe Biden’s victory.The Republicans — a dozen senators and many more House members — are citing Trump’s repeated, charges of widespread fraud. They say they will officially object to the results, forcing votes in the Republican-run Senate and the Democratic-controlled House that will almost certainly fail.The congressional meeting on Jan. 6 is the final step in reaffirming Biden’s win, after the Electoral College&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-270-electoral-college-vote-d429ef97af2bf574d16463384dc7cc1e">officially elected him</a>&nbsp;in December. The meeting is required by the Constitution and includes several distinct steps.A look at the joint session:WHAT HAPPENS WHEN CONGRESS MEETS WEDNESDAY?Under federal law, Congress must meet Jan. 6 to open sealed certificates from each state that contain a record of their electoral votes. The votes are brought into the chamber in special mahogany boxes used for the occasion.Bipartisan representatives of both chambers read the results out loud and do an official count. The president of the Senate, Vice President Mike Pence, presides over the session and declares the winner. The session begins at 1 p.m. EST.WHAT DOES THE CONSTITUTION REQUIRE?The Constitution requires Congress to meet and count the electoral votes. If there is a tie, then the House decides the presidency, with each congressional delegation having one vote. That hasn’t happened since the 1800s, and Biden’s electoral&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-wins-white-house-ap-fd58df73aa677acb74fce2a69adb71f9">win over Trump</a>&nbsp;was decisive, 306-232.HOW DOES THE SESSION UNFOLD?The two chambers meet together midday to count the votes . If the vice president cannot preside, there is precedent for the Senate pro-tempore, or the longest-serving senator in the majority party, to lead the session. That’s currently Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa.The presiding officer opens and presents the certificates of the electoral votes in alphabetical order of the states. The appointed “tellers” from the House and Senate, members of both parties, then read each certificate out loud and record and count the votes. At the end, the presiding officer announces who has won the majority votes for both president and vice president.WHAT IF THERE’S AN OBJECTION?After a teller reads the certificate from a state, any member can stand up and object to that state’s vote on any grounds. But the presiding officer will not hear the objection unless it is in writing and signed by both a member of the House and a member of the Senate.If there is such a request, then the joint session suspends and the House and Senate go into separate sessions to consider it. For the objection to be sustained, both chambers must agree to it by a simple majority vote. If they do not both agree, the original electoral votes are counted with no changes.The last time such an objection was considered was 2005, when Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones of Ohio and Sen. Barbara Boxer of California, both Democrats, objected to Ohio’s electoral votes, claiming there were voting irregularities. Both the House and Senate debated the objection and easily rejected it. It was only the second time such a vote had occurred.WHO IS EXPECTED TO OBJECT?Dozens of House Republicans and a smaller group of GOP senators are expected to object to the count from some swing states where Trump has alleged fraud, despite the consensus of nonpartisan election officials and even Trump’s former attorney general that there was none. None of the members have presented detailed evidence and none of them objected to the swearing-in of congressional lawmakers who won election on the same ballots.In the Senate, Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley was the first to say he would join with the House Republicans. On Saturday, Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas announced a coalition of 11 additional senators who vowed to vote against unspecified state electors on Wednesday unless Congress appoints an electoral commission to immediately conduct an audit of the election results. Hawley and Cruz are both among potential 2024 presidential contenders.The challenges have split the party. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell has urged his colleagues not to object, saying last month on a private call that the vote would be “terrible.”Several other Senate Republicans have criticized the effort as well, including Texas Sen. John Cornyn and South Dakota Sen. John Thune, the No. 2 Senate Republican. Thune said last month that any objections will go down “like a shot dog” in the Senate.On Sunday, Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse said the challenge is “’bad for the country and bad for the party.”WHAT IS PENCE’S ROLE?Pence’s role is largely ceremonial and he has no power to affect the outcome, despite Trump’s wishes to the contrary.The role of the vice president as presiding officer is often an awkward one, as it will be for Pence, who will be charged with announcing Biden’s victory — and his own defeat — once the electoral votes are counted.Pence won’t be the first vice president put in an uncomfortable situation. In 2001, Vice President Al Gore presided over the counting of the 2000 presidential election he narrowly lost to Republican George W. Bush. Gore had to gavel several Democrats’ objections out of order. In 2017, Biden presided over the count that declared Trump the winner. Biden also shot down objections from House Democrats that did not have any Senate support.ONCE CONGRESS COUNTS THE VOTES, WHAT’S NEXT?The joint session is the last official chance for objections, beyond court cases that have so far proven ineffective for Trump and his team.“I think there comes a time when you have to realize that, despite your best efforts you’ve been unsuccessful,” Cornyn said earlier this month.___

How Congress will count Electoral College votes

SEDGWICK COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities have identified the victim of a manslaughter investigation as&nbsp; 26-year-old Sharrod Rollen of Wichita.

Just before 1 p.m. Saturday, police responded to an assist EMS call at an apartment complex in the 1000 block of South Woodlawn, in Wichita, according to officer Kevin Wheeler.

Upon arrival, officers learned that Rollen had been found deceased by acquaintances in an apartment.

The investigation revealed that Rollen and three other individuals had gone out to celebrate on New Year’s Eve. When they returned to the apartment, Rollen got into a physical fight.

During the fight, Rollen fell to the ground and lost consciousness. The Sedgwick County Forensic Science Center performed an autopsy on Rollen and he was found to have internal head trauma, according to Wheeler.

The incident was not random remains under investigation, according to Wheeler.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/1/1609869673648.png" alt="Rollen had previous convictions for burglary, theft, criminal damage to property, aggravated assault, domestic battery, criminal possession of a weapon by a felon, flee or elude law enforcement, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections." />
 <figcaption>Rollen had previous convictions for burglary, theft, criminal damage to property, aggravated assault, domestic battery, criminal possession of a weapon by a felon, flee or elude law enforcement, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections.</figcaption>
 </figure>SEDGWICK COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities have identified the victim of a manslaughter investigation as&nbsp; 26-year-old Sharrod Rollen of Wichita.Just before 1 p.m. Saturday, police responded to an assist EMS call at an apartment complex in the 1000 block of South Woodlawn, in Wichita, according to officer Kevin Wheeler.Upon arrival, officers learned that Rollen had been found deceased by acquaintances in an apartment.The investigation revealed that Rollen and three other individuals had gone out to celebrate on New Year’s Eve. When they returned to the apartment, Rollen got into a physical fight.During the fight, Rollen fell to the ground and lost consciousness. The Sedgwick County Forensic Science Center performed an autopsy on Rollen and he was found to have internal head trauma, according to Wheeler.The incident was not random remains under investigation, according to Wheeler.