ATCHISON COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating two suspects after a home invasion attack.

Just after 12:30a.m. on Saturday, police responded to a disturbance at a residence in the 400 block Atchison Street, according to Police Chief Mike Wilson.

When they arrived,&nbsp; they made contact with a 23-year-old man and a 20-year-old woman were at the residence. The two suspects had fled the scene. 

Officers began looking for a vehicle and the suspects, Gunner Ramey, 20, and Troy Grimm, 21, Leavenworth, were located a short time later and taken into custody a following a traffic stop. 

An investigation indicated the two suspects arrived at the residence where the two victims live, damaged a door where they entered the residence, and began to attack the 23-year-old man with fists and a piece of metal. 

EMS treated the victim at the scene for his injuries, according to Wilson. The woman at the home was not injured. The victims and suspects were known to each other prior to the disturbance.

&nbsp;Ramey is being held in the Atchison County Jail on requested charges of battery, criminal restraint, and criminal damage to property.

Grimm is being held on requested charges of aggravated assault, battery, criminal threat, criminal damage to property, and interference with law enforcement.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/9/1601289835400.png" alt="Ramey-photo Atchison Co.&nbsp;" />
 <figcaption>Ramey-photo Atchison Co.&nbsp;</figcaption>
 </figure>ATCHISON COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating two suspects after a home invasion attack.Just after 12:30a.m. on Saturday, police responded to a disturbance at a residence in the 400 block Atchison Street, according to Police Chief Mike Wilson.When they arrived,&nbsp; they made contact with a 23-year-old man and a 20-year-old woman were at the residence. The two suspects had fled the scene. <figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/9/1601289805784.png" alt="Grimm-photo Atchison Co." />
 <figcaption>Grimm-photo Atchison Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>Officers began looking for a vehicle and the suspects, Gunner Ramey, 20, and Troy Grimm, 21, Leavenworth, were located a short time later and taken into custody a following a traffic stop. An investigation indicated the two suspects arrived at the residence where the two victims live, damaged a door where they entered the residence, and began to attack the 23-year-old man with fists and a piece of metal. EMS treated the victim at the scene for his injuries, according to Wilson. The woman at the home was not injured. The victims and suspects were known to each other prior to the disturbance.&nbsp;Ramey is being held in the Atchison County Jail on requested charges of battery, criminal restraint, and criminal damage to property.Grimm is being held on requested charges of aggravated assault, battery, criminal threat, criminal damage to property, and interference with law enforcement.

Police: 2 arrested for Kansas home invasion attack

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A plan designed to help Wichita police monitor and control social equality protests in the city in early June cost the Wichita Police Department more than $1.5 million in overtime for officers and other employees.

The department implemented an “Emergency Mobilization Plan” from June 2 to 14 to ensure the demonstrations sparked by the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis in May did not escalate to violence.

Other than when officers cleared angry demonstrators from an area on June 2-3 after looting and gunshots were reported, protests in Wichita remained calm.

Wichita police employees claimed more than 30,000 in paid overtime hours and more than 5,500 hours of compensatory time during the emergency plan, the Eagle reported.

Police spokesman Officer Charley Davidson said in a statement the extra staffing helped keep demonstrations peaceful.

“Through these proactive measures and by diligently working to de-escalate potentially violent demonstrations, Wichita did not experience mass arrests of protestors or extensive property damage, which happened in many other American cities, ” Davidson wrote.

The city has sought federal funding under the CARES Act to cover the overtime costs.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1596375478117.png" alt="Black Live Matter Protesters in Wichita -photo courtesy Liberty ICT" />
 <figcaption>Black Live Matter Protesters in Wichita -photo courtesy Liberty ICT</figcaption>
 </figure>WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A plan designed to help Wichita police monitor and control social equality protests in the city in early June cost the Wichita Police Department more than $1.5 million in overtime for officers and other employees.The department implemented an “Emergency Mobilization Plan” from June 2 to 14 to ensure the demonstrations sparked by the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis in May did not escalate to violence.Other than when officers cleared angry demonstrators from an area on June 2-3 after looting and gunshots were reported, protests in Wichita remained calm.Wichita police employees claimed more than 30,000 in paid overtime hours and more than 5,500 hours of compensatory time during the emergency plan, the Eagle reported.Police spokesman Officer Charley Davidson said in a statement the extra staffing helped keep demonstrations peaceful.“Through these proactive measures and by diligently working to de-escalate potentially violent demonstrations, Wichita did not experience mass arrests of protestors or extensive property damage, which happened in many other American cities, ” Davidson wrote.The city has sought federal funding under the CARES Act to cover the overtime costs.

Protests cost Wichita police about $1.5 million in overtime

New York (AP) —President Donald Trump paid just $750 in federal income taxes the year he ran for president and in his first year in the White House, according to a report Sunday in The New York Times.

Trump, who has fiercely guarded his tax filings and is the only president in modern times not to make them public, paid no federal income taxes in 10 of the past 15 years.

The details of the tax filings complicate Trump’s description of himself as a shrewd and patriotic businessman, revealing instead a series of financial losses and income from abroad that could come into conflict with his responsibilities as president. The president’s financial disclosures indicated he earned at least $434.9 million in 2018, but the tax filings reported a $47.4 million loss.

The tax filings also illustrate how a reputed billionaire could pay little to nothing in taxes, while someone in the middle class could pay substantially more than him. Roughly half of Americans pay no income taxes, primarily because of how low their incomes are. But IRS figures indicate that the average tax filer paid roughly $12,200 in 2017, about 16 times more than what the president paid.

The disclosure, which the Times said comes from tax return data it obtained extending over two decades, comes at a pivotal moment ahead of the first presidential debate Tuesday and weeks before a divisive election against Democrat Joe Biden.

Speaking at a news conference Sunday at the White House, Trump dismissed the report as “fake news” and maintained he has paid taxes, though he gave no specifics. He also vowed that information about his taxes “will all be revealed,” but he offered no timeline for the disclosure and made similar promises during the 2016 campaign on which he never followed through.

In fact, the president has fielded court challenges against those seeking access to his returns, including the U.S. House, which is suing to get Trump’s tax returns as part of congressional oversight.

During his first two years as president, Trump received $73 million from foreign operations, which in addition to his golf properties in Scotland and Ireland included $3 million from the Philippines, $2.3 million from India and $1 million from Turkey, among other nations. The president in 2017 paid $145,400 in taxes in India and $156,824 in the Philippines, compared to just $750 in U.S. income taxes. The Times said the tax records did not reveal any unreported connections to Russia.

Trump found multiple ways to reduce his tax bills. He has taken tax deductions on personal expenses such as housing, aircraft and $70,000 to style his hair while he filmed “The Apprentice.” Losses in the property businesses solely owned and managed by Trump appear to have offset income from his stake in “The Apprentice” and other entities with multiple owners.

During the first two years of his presidency, Trump relied on business tax credits to reduce his tax obligations. The Times said $9.7 million worth of business investment credits that were submitted after Trump requested an extension to file his taxes allowed him to offset his obligations and pay just $750 each in 2016 and 2017.

Income tax payments help finance the military and domestic programs.

Trump, starting in 2010, claimed and received an income tax refund that totaled $72.9 million, which the Times said was at the core of an ongoing audit by the IRS. The Times said a ruling against Trump could cost him $100 million or more.

The president could also face mounting financial pressure in the years ahead. The tax records show he’s carrying a total of $421 million in loans and debt that are primarily due within four years. Most of that debt comes from the Doral golf resort in Florida ($125 million) and Trump’s Washington hotel ($160 million), two properties that the Times said are struggling financially.

Richard Neal, D-Mass., the chair of the House Ways and Means Committee who has tried unsuccessfully to obtain Trump’s tax records, said the Times report makes it even more essential for his committee to get the documents.

“It appears that the President has gamed the tax code to his advantage and used legal fights to delay or avoid paying what he owes,” Neal wrote in a statement. “Now, Donald Trump is the boss of the agency he considers an adversary. It is essential that the IRS’s presidential audit program remain free of interference.”

A lawyer for the Trump Organization, Alan Garten, and a spokesperson for the Trump Organization did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press on the report.

Garten told the Times that “most, if not all, of the facts appear to be inaccurate.”

He said in a statement to the news organization that the president “has paid tens of millions of dollars in personal taxes to the federal government, including paying millions in personal taxes since announcing his candidacy in 2015.”

The New York Times said it declined to provide Garten with the tax filings in order to protect its sources, but it said its sources had legal access to the records.

During his&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/f1bf2aef22d54f4fa7dd4b7ffe1c0ddc">first general election debate</a>&nbsp;against Democrat Hillary Clinton in 2016, Clinton said that perhaps Trump wasn’t releasing his tax returns because he had paid nothing in federal taxes.

Trump interrupted her to say, “That makes me smart.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/9/1601291509606.png" alt="President Trump addressed the New York Times report on his taxes during a Sunday afternoon news conference -photo courtesy White House." />
 <figcaption>President Trump addressed the New York Times report on his taxes during a Sunday afternoon news conference -photo courtesy White House.</figcaption>
 </figure>New York (AP) —President Donald Trump paid just $750 in federal income taxes the year he ran for president and in his first year in the White House, according to a report Sunday in The New York Times.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">FAKE NEWS!&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1310432401454235650?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 28, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Trump, who has fiercely guarded his tax filings and is the only president in modern times not to make them public, paid no federal income taxes in 10 of the past 15 years.The details of the tax filings complicate Trump’s description of himself as a shrewd and patriotic businessman, revealing instead a series of financial losses and income from abroad that could come into conflict with his responsibilities as president. The president’s financial disclosures indicated he earned at least $434.9 million in 2018, but the tax filings reported a $47.4 million loss.The tax filings also illustrate how a reputed billionaire could pay little to nothing in taxes, while someone in the middle class could pay substantially more than him. Roughly half of Americans pay no income taxes, primarily because of how low their incomes are. But IRS figures indicate that the average tax filer paid roughly $12,200 in 2017, about 16 times more than what the president paid.The disclosure, which the Times said comes from tax return data it obtained extending over two decades, comes at a pivotal moment ahead of the first presidential debate Tuesday and weeks before a divisive election against Democrat Joe Biden.Speaking at a news conference Sunday at the White House, Trump dismissed the report as “fake news” and maintained he has paid taxes, though he gave no specifics. He also vowed that information about his taxes “will all be revealed,” but he offered no timeline for the disclosure and made similar promises during the 2016 campaign on which he never followed through.In fact, the president has fielded court challenges against those seeking access to his returns, including the U.S. House, which is suing to get Trump’s tax returns as part of congressional oversight.During his first two years as president, Trump received $73 million from foreign operations, which in addition to his golf properties in Scotland and Ireland included $3 million from the Philippines, $2.3 million from India and $1 million from Turkey, among other nations. The president in 2017 paid $145,400 in taxes in India and $156,824 in the Philippines, compared to just $750 in U.S. income taxes. The Times said the tax records did not reveal any unreported connections to Russia.Trump found multiple ways to reduce his tax bills. He has taken tax deductions on personal expenses such as housing, aircraft and $70,000 to style his hair while he filmed “The Apprentice.” Losses in the property businesses solely owned and managed by Trump appear to have offset income from his stake in “The Apprentice” and other entities with multiple owners.During the first two years of his presidency, Trump relied on business tax credits to reduce his tax obligations. The Times said $9.7 million worth of business investment credits that were submitted after Trump requested an extension to file his taxes allowed him to offset his obligations and pay just $750 each in 2016 and 2017.Income tax payments help finance the military and domestic programs.Trump, starting in 2010, claimed and received an income tax refund that totaled $72.9 million, which the Times said was at the core of an ongoing audit by the IRS. The Times said a ruling against Trump could cost him $100 million or more.The president could also face mounting financial pressure in the years ahead. The tax records show he’s carrying a total of $421 million in loans and debt that are primarily due within four years. Most of that debt comes from the Doral golf resort in Florida ($125 million) and Trump’s Washington hotel ($160 million), two properties that the Times said are struggling financially.Richard Neal, D-Mass., the chair of the House Ways and Means Committee who has tried unsuccessfully to obtain Trump’s tax records, said the Times report makes it even more essential for his committee to get the documents.“It appears that the President has gamed the tax code to his advantage and used legal fights to delay or avoid paying what he owes,” Neal wrote in a statement. “Now, Donald Trump is the boss of the agency he considers an adversary. It is essential that the IRS’s presidential audit program remain free of interference.”A lawyer for the Trump Organization, Alan Garten, and a spokesperson for the Trump Organization did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press on the report.Garten told the Times that “most, if not all, of the facts appear to be inaccurate.”He said in a statement to the news organization that the president “has paid tens of millions of dollars in personal taxes to the federal government, including paying millions in personal taxes since announcing his candidacy in 2015.”The New York Times said it declined to provide Garten with the tax filings in order to protect its sources, but it said its sources had legal access to the records.During his&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/f1bf2aef22d54f4fa7dd4b7ffe1c0ddc">first general election debate</a>&nbsp;against Democrat Hillary Clinton in 2016, Clinton said that perhaps Trump wasn’t releasing his tax returns because he had paid nothing in federal taxes.Trump interrupted her to say, “That makes me smart.”

President Trump responds to New York Times report on his taxes

KANSAS CITY —A&nbsp; man who told an off-duty police officer that something had happened and someone was dead has been charged in the killing of his girlfriend, according to the Jackson County Attorney's office.

Kelshaun D. Moseley, 28, was charged with second-degree murder and armed criminal action in the in the fatal shooting of 34-year-old Keva Hill.

Hill’s mother told police that the two had been dating for about a month and that her daughter had just moved in with him about a week prior to her death.

On Thursday, Moseley told an off-duty police officer working at Research Medical Center that he was turning himself in.

Officers found Hill fatally shot about 4 a.m. Thursday inside a home near 59th and Agnes. Mosley is being held on a bond of $250,000.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/9/1601128141524.png" alt="Moseley-photo Jackson Co." />
 <figcaption>Moseley-photo Jackson Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY —A&nbsp; man who told an off-duty police officer that something had happened and someone was dead has been charged in the killing of his girlfriend, according to the Jackson County Attorney's office.Kelshaun D. Moseley, 28, was charged with second-degree murder and armed criminal action in the in the fatal shooting of 34-year-old Keva Hill.Hill’s mother told police that the two had been dating for about a month and that her daughter had just moved in with him about a week prior to her death.On Thursday, Moseley told an off-duty police officer working at Research Medical Center that he was turning himself in.Officers found Hill fatally shot about 4 a.m. Thursday inside a home near 59th and Agnes. Mosley is being held on a bond of $250,000.

KC man who turned himself in charged with killing girlfriend

LEAVENWORTH COUNTY— The Kansas Highway Patrol has released the name of the&nbsp; driver who died in a violent crash just before 2a.m. Friday in Leavenworth County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2010 Ford Taurus driven by Danielle Delores Wyatt, 26, Topeka, was&nbsp; westbound on Interstate 70 just east of the Tonganoxie&nbsp; exit in lane one.

The vehicle&nbsp; left the roadway to the left, traveled down the roadway into the ditch, returned to the road, drifted off the roadway again, collided with the ditch and vaulted multiple times into a roll.

Wyatt was ejected at an unknown point during the crash. The vehicle came to a stop on top of her and she was pinned under the car.&nbsp;

Wyatt was pronounced dead at the scene and was transported to Frontier Forensics. She was not wearing a seat belt, according to the KHP.

LEAVENWORTH COUNTY—One. person died in an accident just before 2a.m. Friday in Leavenworth County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a vehicle was&nbsp; westbound on Interstate 70 just east of the Tonganoxie&nbsp; exit in lane one.

The vehicle&nbsp; left the roadway to the left, traveled down the roadway into the ditch, returned to the road, drifted off the roadway again, collided with the ditch and vaulted multiple times into a roll. 

The driver was ejected at an unknown point during the collision. The vehicle came to a stop on top of the driver who was pinned under the vehicle.

The KHP released no additional details early Friday.

LEAVENWORTH COUNTY— The Kansas Highway Patrol has released the name of the&nbsp; driver who died in a violent crash just before 2a.m. Friday in Leavenworth County.The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2010 Ford Taurus driven by Danielle Delores Wyatt, 26, Topeka, was&nbsp; westbound on Interstate 70 just east of the Tonganoxie&nbsp; exit in lane one.The vehicle&nbsp; left the roadway to the left, traveled down the roadway into the ditch, returned to the road, drifted off the roadway again, collided with the ditch and vaulted multiple times into a roll.Wyatt was ejected at an unknown point during the crash. The vehicle came to a stop on top of her and she was pinned under the car.&nbsp;Wyatt was pronounced dead at the scene and was transported to Frontier Forensics. She was not wearing a seat belt, according to the KHP.---------LEAVENWORTH COUNTY—One. person died in an accident just before 2a.m. Friday in Leavenworth County.The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a vehicle was&nbsp; westbound on Interstate 70 just east of the Tonganoxie&nbsp; exit in lane one.The vehicle&nbsp; left the roadway to the left, traveled down the roadway into the ditch, returned to the road, drifted off the roadway again, collided with the ditch and vaulted multiple times into a roll. The driver was ejected at an unknown point during the collision. The vehicle came to a stop on top of the driver who was pinned under the vehicle.The KHP released no additional details early Friday.

KHP IDs Kan. woman who died after violent I-70 crash

SHAWNEE COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect for alleged child sex crimes.

On Sept. 23, the Shawnee County Sheriff’s Office received information regarding the online solicitation of a child by an adult male suspect, according to Deputy Abigail Christian.

Just before 3p.m. Thursday,&nbsp;detectives with the Criminal Investigations Division apprehended one man later identified as 43-year-old Jason S. Sandberg of Topeka, who attempted to coerce an individual, whom he believed to be a 15-year-old girl, to engage in sexual acts.

Deputies arrested Sandberg and booked him into the Shawnee County Department of Corrections on requested charged of electronic solicitation and sexual exploitation.

Sandberg has a previous conviction for electronic solicitation, according to the Kan. Dept. of Corrections.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/9/1601056840819.png" alt="Sandberg was convicted in 2006 for electronic solicitation, according to the Kansas Dept. of Corrections -photo Shawnee Co." />
 <figcaption>Sandberg was convicted in 2006 for electronic solicitation, according to the Kansas Dept. of Corrections -photo Shawnee Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>SHAWNEE COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect for alleged child sex crimes.On Sept. 23, the Shawnee County Sheriff’s Office received information regarding the online solicitation of a child by an adult male suspect, according to Deputy Abigail Christian.Just before 3p.m. Thursday,&nbsp;detectives with the Criminal Investigations Division apprehended one man later identified as 43-year-old Jason S. Sandberg of Topeka, who attempted to coerce an individual, whom he believed to be a 15-year-old girl, to engage in sexual acts.Deputies arrested Sandberg and booked him into the Shawnee County Department of Corrections on requested charged of electronic solicitation and sexual exploitation.Sandberg has a previous conviction for electronic solicitation, according to the Kan. Dept. of Corrections.

Sheriff: Kan. man tried to coerce teen to engage in sex acts

NEW YORK (AP) — A federal judge on Sunday postponed a Trump administration order that would have banned the popular video sharing app TikTok from U.S. smartphone app stores around midnight.

A more comprehensive ban remains scheduled for November, about a week after the presidential election. The judge, Carl Nichols of the U.S District Court for the District of Columbia, did not agree to postpone the later ban.

The ruling followed an emergency hearing Sunday morning in which lawyers for TikTok argued that the administration's app-store ban would infringe on First Amendment rights and do irreparable harm to the business.

Earlier this year, President Donald Trump declared that TikTok, owned by Chinese company ByteDance, was a threat to national security and that it must either sell its U.S. operations to American companies or be barred from the country.

TikTok is still scrambling to firm up a deal tentatively struck a week ago in which it would partner with Oracle, a huge database-software company, and Walmart in an effort to win the blessing of both the Chinese and American governments. In the meantime, it is fighting to keep the app available in the U.S.

TikTok said in a statement that it was pleased with the court ruling and continues to work to turn its deal proposal into an actual agreement. The Commerce Department, which is responsible for the specific orders banning TikTok, said it will comply with the judge's order but intends to vigorously defend the administration's efforts against the app.

Judge Nichols did not explain his reasoning publicly, and instead filed his judicial opinion under seal. Initially both the U.S. government's brief in the case and the entire Sunday morning hearing were also due to be sealed from the public, although the court later relented.

In arguments to Judge Nichols, TikTok lawyer John Hall said that TikTok is more than an app, since it functions as a “modern day version of a town square."

“If that prohibition goes into effect at midnight, the consequences immediately are grave,'" Hall said. “It would be no different than the government locking the doors to a public forum, roping off that town square" at a time when a free exchange of ideas is necessary heading into a polarized election.

TikTok lawyers also argued that a ban on the app would affect the ability of tens of thousands of potential viewers and content creators to express themselves every month and would also hurt its ability to hire new talent. In addition, Hall argued that a ban would prevent existing users from automatically receiving security updates, eroding national security.

Justice Department lawyer Daniel Schwei said that Chinese companies are not purely private and are subject to intrusive laws compelling their cooperation with intelligence agencies. The Justice Department has also argued that economic regulations of this nature generally are not subject to First Amendment scrutiny.

“This is the most immediate national security threat," argued Schwei. “It is a threat today. It is a risk today and therefore it deserves to be addressed today even while other things are ongoing and playing out."

Schwei also argued that TikTok lawyers failed to prove the company would suffer irreparable business harm.

The Justice Department laid out its objections to TikTok's motion for a temporary injunction in a brief under seal, but it was unsealed in redacted form to protect confidential business information.

Trump set the process in motion with executive orders in August that declared TikTok and another Chinese app, WeChat, threats to national security. The White House says the video service is a security risk because the personal information of its millions of U.S. users could be handed over to Chinese authorities.

Trump has given tentative approval to a proposed deal in which Oracle and Walmart could initially own a combined 20% of a new U.S. entity, TikTok Global. But Trump also said he could retract his approval if Oracle doesn’t have “total control" of the company; the president did not explain what he meant by that.

The deal remains unfinalized, and the two sides have also appeared at odds over the corporate structure of TikTok Global. ByteDance said last week that it will still own 80% of the U.S. entity after a financing round. Oracle, meanwhile, put out a statement saying that Americans “will be the majority and ByteDance will have no ownership in TikTok Global.”

Government-owned media in China have criticized the deal as bullying and extortion. ByteDance said Thursday it has applied for a Chinese technology export license after Beijing tightened control over exports last month in an effort to gain leverage over Washington’s attempt to force an outright sale of TikTok to U.S. owners.

China's foreign ministry has said the government will “take necessary measures” to safeguard its companies but gave no indication what steps it can take to affect TikTok’s fate in the United States.

TikTok is also asking a federal court to declare Trump’s Aug. 6 executive order unlawful.

The Chinese firm said the president doesn’t have the authority to take these actions under the national-security law he cited; that the ban violates TikTok’s First Amendment speech rights and Fifth Amendment due-process rights; and that there’s no authority for the restrictions because they are not based on a national emergency.

NEW YORK (AP) — A federal judge on Sunday postponed a Trump administration order that would have banned the popular video sharing app TikTok from U.S. smartphone app stores around midnight.A more comprehensive ban remains scheduled for November, about a week after the presidential election. The judge, Carl Nichols of the U.S District Court for the District of Columbia, did not agree to postpone the later ban.The ruling followed an emergency hearing Sunday morning in which lawyers for TikTok argued that the administration's app-store ban would infringe on First Amendment rights and do irreparable harm to the business.Earlier this year, President Donald Trump declared that TikTok, owned by Chinese company ByteDance, was a threat to national security and that it must either sell its U.S. operations to American companies or be barred from the country.TikTok is still scrambling to firm up a deal tentatively struck a week ago in which it would partner with Oracle, a huge database-software company, and Walmart in an effort to win the blessing of both the Chinese and American governments. In the meantime, it is fighting to keep the app available in the U.S.TikTok said in a statement that it was pleased with the court ruling and continues to work to turn its deal proposal into an actual agreement. The Commerce Department, which is responsible for the specific orders banning TikTok, said it will comply with the judge's order but intends to vigorously defend the administration's efforts against the app.Judge Nichols did not explain his reasoning publicly, and instead filed his judicial opinion under seal. Initially both the U.S. government's brief in the case and the entire Sunday morning hearing were also due to be sealed from the public, although the court later relented.In arguments to Judge Nichols, TikTok lawyer John Hall said that TikTok is more than an app, since it functions as a “modern day version of a town square."“If that prohibition goes into effect at midnight, the consequences immediately are grave,'" Hall said. “It would be no different than the government locking the doors to a public forum, roping off that town square" at a time when a free exchange of ideas is necessary heading into a polarized election.TikTok lawyers also argued that a ban on the app would affect the ability of tens of thousands of potential viewers and content creators to express themselves every month and would also hurt its ability to hire new talent. In addition, Hall argued that a ban would prevent existing users from automatically receiving security updates, eroding national security.Justice Department lawyer Daniel Schwei said that Chinese companies are not purely private and are subject to intrusive laws compelling their cooperation with intelligence agencies. The Justice Department has also argued that economic regulations of this nature generally are not subject to First Amendment scrutiny.“This is the most immediate national security threat," argued Schwei. “It is a threat today. It is a risk today and therefore it deserves to be addressed today even while other things are ongoing and playing out."Schwei also argued that TikTok lawyers failed to prove the company would suffer irreparable business harm.The Justice Department laid out its objections to TikTok's motion for a temporary injunction in a brief under seal, but it was unsealed in redacted form to protect confidential business information.Trump set the process in motion with executive orders in August that declared TikTok and another Chinese app, WeChat, threats to national security. The White House says the video service is a security risk because the personal information of its millions of U.S. users could be handed over to Chinese authorities.Trump has given tentative approval to a proposed deal in which Oracle and Walmart could initially own a combined 20% of a new U.S. entity, TikTok Global. But Trump also said he could retract his approval if Oracle doesn’t have “total control" of the company; the president did not explain what he meant by that.The deal remains unfinalized, and the two sides have also appeared at odds over the corporate structure of TikTok Global. ByteDance said last week that it will still own 80% of the U.S. entity after a financing round. Oracle, meanwhile, put out a statement saying that Americans “will be the majority and ByteDance will have no ownership in TikTok Global.”Government-owned media in China have criticized the deal as bullying and extortion. ByteDance said Thursday it has applied for a Chinese technology export license after Beijing tightened control over exports last month in an effort to gain leverage over Washington’s attempt to force an outright sale of TikTok to U.S. owners.China's foreign ministry has said the government will “take necessary measures” to safeguard its companies but gave no indication what steps it can take to affect TikTok’s fate in the United States.TikTok is also asking a federal court to declare Trump’s Aug. 6 executive order unlawful.The Chinese firm said the president doesn’t have the authority to take these actions under the national-security law he cited; that the ban violates TikTok’s First Amendment speech rights and Fifth Amendment due-process rights; and that there’s no authority for the restrictions because they are not based on a national emergency.

Federal judge postpones ban on popular app TikTok

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Supreme Court affirmed on Friday convictions for first-degree murder and battery stemming from a 2015 shooting at the Roxy bar in Overland Park.

The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kscourts.org/KSCourts/media/KsCourts/Opinions/117436.pdf?ext=.pdf" target="_blank">court ruled that Dale Willis’&nbsp;</a>claims of jury instruction errors were barred because he had requested and agreed to those jury instructions.

The state’s highest court also said none of the statements made by the state during the trial constituted prosecutorial error and the court properly admitted testimony from an agent with the bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

The case stems from dispute that erupted at the bar on Sept. 16, 2015 that ended with Jurl Carter being fatally shot multiple times in his car. Willis defenses at trial were that his brother acted alone in the shooting or that alternatively that if he had acted in concert with his brother, he did so in self-defense.

Willis got a hard-50 sentence for the murder conviction and a concurrent six-month sentence for the battery conviction following a jury trial.

The appeals court found no sentencing errors.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/9/1601121945371.png" alt="Willis photo KDOC" />
 <figcaption>Willis photo KDOC</figcaption>
 </figure>TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Supreme Court affirmed on Friday convictions for first-degree murder and battery stemming from a 2015 shooting at the Roxy bar in Overland Park.The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kscourts.org/KSCourts/media/KsCourts/Opinions/117436.pdf?ext=.pdf" target="_blank">court ruled that Dale Willis’&nbsp;</a>claims of jury instruction errors were barred because he had requested and agreed to those jury instructions.The state’s highest court also said none of the statements made by the state during the trial constituted prosecutorial error and the court properly admitted testimony from an agent with the bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.The case stems from dispute that erupted at the bar on Sept. 16, 2015 that ended with Jurl Carter being fatally shot multiple times in his car. Willis defenses at trial were that his brother acted alone in the shooting or that alternatively that if he had acted in concert with his brother, he did so in self-defense.Willis got a hard-50 sentence for the murder conviction and a concurrent six-month sentence for the battery conviction following a jury trial.The appeals court found no sentencing errors.

Court affirms convictions in fatal Kan. bar shooting

ATCHISON COUNTY, Kansas —One person died in an accident just before 4p.m. Saturday in Atchison County.

A 2014 Harley Davidson motorcycle driven by Jason Pelletier, 46, Kansas City, was northbound on U.S. 73 at Raven Hill Road, according to Atchison Police Chief Michael Wilson.

&nbsp;A westbound 2000 Chevrolet pickup truck driven by Melissa Parkison, 46, Leavenworth, entered U.S.73 and the motorcycle collided with the truck.

EMS transported Pelletier to the Atchison Hospital where he was pronounced dead, according to Wilson. They also transported his wife, Colleen Pelletier, a passenger on the motorcycle, to the hospital. Both were wearing helmets, according to Wilson. Police charged Melissa Parkison was&nbsp; with failure to yield.

ATCHISON COUNTY, Kansas —One person died in an accident just before 4p.m. Saturday in Atchison County.A 2014 Harley Davidson motorcycle driven by Jason Pelletier, 46, Kansas City, was northbound on U.S. 73 at Raven Hill Road, according to Atchison Police Chief Michael Wilson.&nbsp;A westbound 2000 Chevrolet pickup truck driven by Melissa Parkison, 46, Leavenworth, entered U.S.73 and the motorcycle collided with the truck.EMS transported Pelletier to the Atchison Hospital where he was pronounced dead, according to Wilson. They also transported his wife, Colleen Pelletier, a passenger on the motorcycle, to the hospital. Both were wearing helmets, according to Wilson. Police charged Melissa Parkison was&nbsp; with failure to yield.

Man dies, wife injured after Kan. motorcycle, pickup crash

MISSION, Kan. (AP) — Claire Reagan was feeling overwhelmed as her oldest child’s first day of kindergarten approached and with a baby on the way. The 5-year-old boy has autism, and she worried he would struggle with juggling in-person and virtual learning, and that she wouldn’t have enough time to give him the help he needs.

So she decided to wait a year before sending him to school.

“I was stressed about everything and then thought ‘Why does he need to start kindergarten?’ And it was like a weight was lifted,” said Reagan, a 36-year-old high school teacher in the Kansas City suburb of Olathe, Kansas.

Thousands of parents around the U.S. have made similar decisions, having their children delay or skip kindergarten because of the coronavirus pandemic. The opt outs, combined with huge declines in preschool enrollment, are raising worries about the long-term effects of so much lost early education.

“If there is a group for which you would be particularly concerned, it is these very young students who are not having these foundational experiences,” said Nate Schwartz, a professor at the Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University.

Kindergarten isn’t required in most states, and in normal times parents sometimes “red-shirt” children who would be young for their kindergarten class to given them an extra year of developmental readiness. But enrollment numbers have plunged in many places this fall as parents weigh health concerns and the prospect of helping young children to navigate distance learning while also holding onto their jobs.

In Los Angeles’ public schools, kindergarten enrollment is down about 6,000 students, or 14%. In Nashville, Tennessee, public kindergarten enrollment is down about 1,800 students, or 37%, from last year.

According to a University of Oregon survey conducted in early September with 1,000 parents from around the U.S., including 242 with a child who was supposed to start kindergarten this fall, 17% of respondents said they were delaying their children’s schooling. Among those, the most frequent reason cited was safety concerns, followed by concerns about managing virtual schooling and other responsibilities, according to Philip Fisher, a psychology professor at the university who is leading an effort to measure the effect of the pandemic on young children and their families.

Fisher said the vast majority of parents reported that they were making sure their kids were attending all of their virtual lessons and completing their coursework without the assistance of hired help or other adults, making juggling their own work a challenge. He said that parents are overwhelmed, particularly those in low-income communities where schools are more likely to be offering only remote instruction.

“We think young kids are likely getting lost in the shuffle,” he said.

Reagan, who is also keeping her 3-year-old daughter home from preschool, said she held off with kindergarten for many reasons, including her own pregnancy and instructions to quarantine for two weeks before she delivers in the fall. She said her job allows her to work from home and her family has insurance that will continue to pay for some of her son’s therapy.

For many young students, the delayed start of primary school follows a disrupted preschool experience. Among preschool-age children, participation rates plummeted in the spring, as programs closed and children stopped attending, according to a report from the National Institute for Early Education Research at Rutgers University. The group is planning a follow-up report, but all indications are that enrollment hasn’t fully rebounded, said Steven Barnett, senior co-director of the institute.

He said public preschool programs such as Head Start have been “substantial equalizers” for low-income families.

“When that falls apart, parents are not going to be able to fill the gap,” he said. “The people who are dependent on free public education as equalizers can’t make up the difference when left on their own.”

Some parents feel their children may be ready for in-person school but not for virtual school, said Anna Markowitz, an assistant professor of education at the University of California, Los Angeles.

“They are thinking I can’t work and monitor my child’s Zoom schooling. Parents are really in an impossible situation,” she said.

Only 17 states and Washington, D.C., require children to attend kindergarten, Markowitz said. Parents elsewhere can bypass kindergarten and just send their children to first grade next fall. In a typical year, only about 4% of children who are eligible to begin kindergarten are held back by their families, said Chloe Gibbs, a Notre Dame economist.

The National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine released a report in July focused on younger children. Its advice was to prioritize the reopening of schools for children in kindergarten through fifth grade with well-funded safety measures in place. But since the report was released, high rates of community spread have made in-person learning more risky in many communities, turning young learners into virtual learning guinea pigs.

“When you look at the distance learning research, very little has been carried out on young students, even below middle school,” said Brown University’s Schwartz, who is a member of the committee that wrote the report and is also running a project that provides research to school leaders who are trying to make decisions during the pandemic. “Few people were even considering that it could be considered with kids this young.”

MISSION, Kan. (AP) — Claire Reagan was feeling overwhelmed as her oldest child’s first day of kindergarten approached and with a baby on the way. The 5-year-old boy has autism, and she worried he would struggle with juggling in-person and virtual learning, and that she wouldn’t have enough time to give him the help he needs.So she decided to wait a year before sending him to school.“I was stressed about everything and then thought ‘Why does he need to start kindergarten?’ And it was like a weight was lifted,” said Reagan, a 36-year-old high school teacher in the Kansas City suburb of Olathe, Kansas.Thousands of parents around the U.S. have made similar decisions, having their children delay or skip kindergarten because of the coronavirus pandemic. The opt outs, combined with huge declines in preschool enrollment, are raising worries about the long-term effects of so much lost early education.“If there is a group for which you would be particularly concerned, it is these very young students who are not having these foundational experiences,” said Nate Schwartz, a professor at the Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University.Kindergarten isn’t required in most states, and in normal times parents sometimes “red-shirt” children who would be young for their kindergarten class to given them an extra year of developmental readiness. But enrollment numbers have plunged in many places this fall as parents weigh health concerns and the prospect of helping young children to navigate distance learning while also holding onto their jobs.In Los Angeles’ public schools, kindergarten enrollment is down about 6,000 students, or 14%. In Nashville, Tennessee, public kindergarten enrollment is down about 1,800 students, or 37%, from last year.According to a University of Oregon survey conducted in early September with 1,000 parents from around the U.S., including 242 with a child who was supposed to start kindergarten this fall, 17% of respondents said they were delaying their children’s schooling. Among those, the most frequent reason cited was safety concerns, followed by concerns about managing virtual schooling and other responsibilities, according to Philip Fisher, a psychology professor at the university who is leading an effort to measure the effect of the pandemic on young children and their families.Fisher said the vast majority of parents reported that they were making sure their kids were attending all of their virtual lessons and completing their coursework without the assistance of hired help or other adults, making juggling their own work a challenge. He said that parents are overwhelmed, particularly those in low-income communities where schools are more likely to be offering only remote instruction.“We think young kids are likely getting lost in the shuffle,” he said.Reagan, who is also keeping her 3-year-old daughter home from preschool, said she held off with kindergarten for many reasons, including her own pregnancy and instructions to quarantine for two weeks before she delivers in the fall. She said her job allows her to work from home and her family has insurance that will continue to pay for some of her son’s therapy.For many young students, the delayed start of primary school follows a disrupted preschool experience. Among preschool-age children, participation rates plummeted in the spring, as programs closed and children stopped attending, according to a report from the National Institute for Early Education Research at Rutgers University. The group is planning a follow-up report, but all indications are that enrollment hasn’t fully rebounded, said Steven Barnett, senior co-director of the institute.He said public preschool programs such as Head Start have been “substantial equalizers” for low-income families.“When that falls apart, parents are not going to be able to fill the gap,” he said. “The people who are dependent on free public education as equalizers can’t make up the difference when left on their own.”Some parents feel their children may be ready for in-person school but not for virtual school, said Anna Markowitz, an assistant professor of education at the University of California, Los Angeles.“They are thinking I can’t work and monitor my child’s Zoom schooling. Parents are really in an impossible situation,” she said.Only 17 states and Washington, D.C., require children to attend kindergarten, Markowitz said. Parents elsewhere can bypass kindergarten and just send their children to first grade next fall. In a typical year, only about 4% of children who are eligible to begin kindergarten are held back by their families, said Chloe Gibbs, a Notre Dame economist.The National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine released a report in July focused on younger children. Its advice was to prioritize the reopening of schools for children in kindergarten through fifth grade with well-funded safety measures in place. But since the report was released, high rates of community spread have made in-person learning more risky in many communities, turning young learners into virtual learning guinea pigs.“When you look at the distance learning research, very little has been carried out on young students, even below middle school,” said Brown University’s Schwartz, who is a member of the committee that wrote the report and is also running a project that provides research to school leaders who are trying to make decisions during the pandemic. “Few people were even considering that it could be considered with kids this young.”

US parents delaying preschool and kindergarten amid pandemic

CASS COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities are&nbsp; investigating an officer involved shooting after two officers with the Peculiar Police Department were shot Saturday night responding to a call of an armed subject on the SE Outer Road near S. Hedgewood Hills Road south of Kansas City, according to a media release from police.

Just after 8:30p.m. Saturday, two officers with the Peculiar Police Department were dispatched to the area and located a male subject armed with a shotgun. 

 During the encounter, the suspect and officers exchanged gunfire.  Both officers were struck and sustained minor injuries.  The suspect was not struck.  Numerous law enforcement from Cass County and Kansas City responded to the scene.

A negotiator with the Cass County Sheriff’s Office talked with the subject while a Kansas City Police Department Helicopter and tactical units contained and monitored the armed subject as he stood on the SE Outer Road for nearly 2 hours.  Around 10:30 pm, KCPD Swat took the subject into custody.

Both officers were treated and released from an area hospital.  The subject arrested was transported to an area hospital for evaluation. His name is not being released until formal charges are filed.

The Cass County Sheriff’s Office Critical Incident Investigation Team is conducting the investigation.

CASS COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities are&nbsp; investigating an officer involved shooting after two officers with the Peculiar Police Department were shot Saturday night responding to a call of an armed subject on the SE Outer Road near S. Hedgewood Hills Road south of Kansas City, according to a media release from police.Just after 8:30p.m. Saturday, two officers with the Peculiar Police Department were dispatched to the area and located a male subject armed with a shotgun. During the encounter, the suspect and officers exchanged gunfire. Both officers were struck and sustained minor injuries. The suspect was not struck. Numerous law enforcement from Cass County and Kansas City responded to the scene.A negotiator with the Cass County Sheriff’s Office talked with the subject while a Kansas City Police Department Helicopter and tactical units contained and monitored the armed subject as he stood on the SE Outer Road for nearly 2 hours. Around 10:30 pm, KCPD Swat took the subject into custody.Both officers were treated and released from an area hospital. The subject arrested was transported to an area hospital for evaluation. His name is not being released until formal charges are filed.The Cass County Sheriff’s Office Critical Incident Investigation Team is conducting the investigation.

2 Missouri police officers shot, suspect in custody

WASHINGTON (AP) — Many American workers applying for unemployment benefits after being thrown out of a job by the coronavirus face a new complication: States’ efforts to prevent fraud have delayed or disrupted their payments.

California has said it will stop processing new applications for two weeks as it seeks to reduce backlogs and stop phony claims. Pennsylvania has found that up to 10,000 inmates are improperly collecting aid.

The biggest threat is posed by sophisticated international fraud rings that often use stolen identities to apply for benefits, filling out the forms with a wealth of accurate information that enables their applications to “sail through the system,” said Michele Evermore, an expert on jobless aid at the National Employment Law Project.

The bogus applications have combined with large backlogs and miscounts to make unemployment benefit data, a key economic indicator, a less-reliable measure of the nation’s job market.

On Thursday, the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dol.gov/ui/data.pdf" target="_blank">Labor Department said</a>&nbsp;the number of people applying for unemployment rose slightly last week to 870,000, a historically high figure that shows the outbreak is still forcing many companies to cut jobs, six months into the crisis that has killed more than 200,000 people in the U.S.

The overall number of people collecting jobless aid in the U.S. fell slightly to 12.6 million. The steady decline in recent weeks indicates some of the unemployed are getting re-hired. Yet it also means others have exhausted their benefits, which last six months in most states.

About 105,000 people who have used up their regular aid were added to an extended jobless benefit program, created in the economic relief package approved by Congress this spring. That program is now paying benefits to 1.6 million people.

Applications for jobless aid soared in March after the outbreak suddenly shut down businesses across the U.S., throwing tens of millions out of work and triggering a deep recession. Since then, as states have slowly reopened their economies, about half the jobs that were initially lost have been recovered.

Yet job growth&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/3b986be61c960c484a274837c5791909">has been slowing</a>, and unemployment remains elevated at 8.4%. Many employers appear reluctant to hire in the face of deep uncertainty about the course of the virus.

Most economists say it will be hard for the job market or the economy to sustain a recovery unless Congress enacts another rescue package. The economy may not fully recover until a vaccine becomes available.

The concerns about fraud have focused mainly on a new program, Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, which made self-employed people, gig workers and contractors eligible for jobless aid for the first time.

The program has been targeted for fraud in many states and has also double-counted beneficiaries. Last week, California cut nearly in half the number of people receiving benefits under PUA, apparently after purging double-counts. It now says 3.4 million people are collecting the aid.

Sharon Hilliard, director of California’s Employment Development Department, said her agency has stopped accepting applications for aid for two weeks while it adopts reforms. The department will try to clear a backlog of nearly 600,000 first-time applications and review about 1 million people who have received benefits but whose cases have come under scrutiny.

Kimberly Maldonado, a 31-year-old out-of-work music instructor, is among the thousands of Californians whose benefits are tied up by bureaucratic snags and the suspension.

Maldonado applied four weeks ago. She said she calls daily to check on the status yet reaches only a recording that says the department is overwhelmed. For her, the wait is growing critical.

“It’s literally the difference between food on my table or not,” says Maldonado, who lives in Placentia. “I’ve got a 2-year-old, and I’m not really sure how I pay for anything in the coming weeks.”

Christopher Thornberg, a founder of Beacon Economics, an economic consulting firm, said all the new programs have taxed most states’ unemployment agencies and made the economic data less reliable.

“It’s kind of the Wild West,” Thornberg said. “I have just largely dismissed this data.”

Other state unemployment agencies have been bedeviled by fraud during the crisis.

Washington was the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/0527a08454bf406e56805c55a5f208c0">first state to be hit</a>&nbsp;as an international fraud ring based in Nigeria managed to steal up to $650 million in benefit payments, though at least half that money has been recovered. Texas, Florida and Oklahoma have also been affected.

On Wednesday, Pennsylvania officials announced that 18 inmates and two girlfriends on the outside were charged in a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/e144440159e3268c6821b7c0ff245325">scheme to fraudulently obtain</a>&nbsp;jobless benefits. The 20 defendants were accused of seeking a combined $300,00 from PUA.

Pennsylvania this summer began requiring applicants to upload two forms of identification, a challenge for poor people and immigrants who may not have a driver’s license or passport.

“Any time you try to do fraud prevention or fraud detection, it is often over-inclusive, and the people who are hurt are often the most vulnerable workers,” said Julia Simon-Mishel, supervising attorney at Philadelphia Legal Assistance. “I don’t have a single client who hasn’t had a benefit interrupted at some point.”

The new requirements have halted benefit payments for Angela Grimley, 38, who lives in Voorhees, New Jersey, but worked in Pennsylvania as a hotel events planner. She hasn’t received money for nearly six weeks, despite regular calls and emails to Pennsylvania’s unemployment agency.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Many American workers applying for unemployment benefits after being thrown out of a job by the coronavirus face a new complication: States’ efforts to prevent fraud have delayed or disrupted their payments.California has said it will stop processing new applications for two weeks as it seeks to reduce backlogs and stop phony claims. Pennsylvania has found that up to 10,000 inmates are improperly collecting aid.The biggest threat is posed by sophisticated international fraud rings that often use stolen identities to apply for benefits, filling out the forms with a wealth of accurate information that enables their applications to “sail through the system,” said Michele Evermore, an expert on jobless aid at the National Employment Law Project.The bogus applications have combined with large backlogs and miscounts to make unemployment benefit data, a key economic indicator, a less-reliable measure of the nation’s job market.On Thursday, the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dol.gov/ui/data.pdf" target="_blank">Labor Department said</a>&nbsp;the number of people applying for unemployment rose slightly last week to 870,000, a historically high figure that shows the outbreak is still forcing many companies to cut jobs, six months into the crisis that has killed more than 200,000 people in the U.S.The overall number of people collecting jobless aid in the U.S. fell slightly to 12.6 million. The steady decline in recent weeks indicates some of the unemployed are getting re-hired. Yet it also means others have exhausted their benefits, which last six months in most states.About 105,000 people who have used up their regular aid were added to an extended jobless benefit program, created in the economic relief package approved by Congress this spring. That program is now paying benefits to 1.6 million people.Applications for jobless aid soared in March after the outbreak suddenly shut down businesses across the U.S., throwing tens of millions out of work and triggering a deep recession. Since then, as states have slowly reopened their economies, about half the jobs that were initially lost have been recovered.Yet job growth&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/3b986be61c960c484a274837c5791909">has been slowing</a>, and unemployment remains elevated at 8.4%. Many employers appear reluctant to hire in the face of deep uncertainty about the course of the virus.Most economists say it will be hard for the job market or the economy to sustain a recovery unless Congress enacts another rescue package. The economy may not fully recover until a vaccine becomes available.The concerns about fraud have focused mainly on a new program, Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, which made self-employed people, gig workers and contractors eligible for jobless aid for the first time.The program has been targeted for fraud in many states and has also double-counted beneficiaries. Last week, California cut nearly in half the number of people receiving benefits under PUA, apparently after purging double-counts. It now says 3.4 million people are collecting the aid.Sharon Hilliard, director of California’s Employment Development Department, said her agency has stopped accepting applications for aid for two weeks while it adopts reforms. The department will try to clear a backlog of nearly 600,000 first-time applications and review about 1 million people who have received benefits but whose cases have come under scrutiny.Kimberly Maldonado, a 31-year-old out-of-work music instructor, is among the thousands of Californians whose benefits are tied up by bureaucratic snags and the suspension.Maldonado applied four weeks ago. She said she calls daily to check on the status yet reaches only a recording that says the department is overwhelmed. For her, the wait is growing critical.“It’s literally the difference between food on my table or not,” says Maldonado, who lives in Placentia. “I’ve got a 2-year-old, and I’m not really sure how I pay for anything in the coming weeks.”Christopher Thornberg, a founder of Beacon Economics, an economic consulting firm, said all the new programs have taxed most states’ unemployment agencies and made the economic data less reliable.“It’s kind of the Wild West,” Thornberg said. “I have just largely dismissed this data.”Other state unemployment agencies have been bedeviled by fraud during the crisis.Washington was the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/0527a08454bf406e56805c55a5f208c0">first state to be hit</a>&nbsp;as an international fraud ring based in Nigeria managed to steal up to $650 million in benefit payments, though at least half that money has been recovered. Texas, Florida and Oklahoma have also been affected.On Wednesday, Pennsylvania officials announced that 18 inmates and two girlfriends on the outside were charged in a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/e144440159e3268c6821b7c0ff245325">scheme to fraudulently obtain</a>&nbsp;jobless benefits. The 20 defendants were accused of seeking a combined $300,00 from PUA.Pennsylvania this summer began requiring applicants to upload two forms of identification, a challenge for poor people and immigrants who may not have a driver’s license or passport.“Any time you try to do fraud prevention or fraud detection, it is often over-inclusive, and the people who are hurt are often the most vulnerable workers,” said Julia Simon-Mishel, supervising attorney at Philadelphia Legal Assistance. “I don’t have a single client who hasn’t had a benefit interrupted at some point.”The new requirements have halted benefit payments for Angela Grimley, 38, who lives in Voorhees, New Jersey, but worked in Pennsylvania as a hotel events planner. She hasn’t received money for nearly six weeks, despite regular calls and emails to Pennsylvania’s unemployment agency.“It’s a hot mess,” she said.

Fraud, backlogs disrupt US unemployment benefit payments

By TIM CARPENTER <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2020/09/22/heartbroken-grandparents-make-emotional-appeals-for-kansas-foster-care-reform/">Kansas Reflector</a>

TOPEKA — Kathy Winters had
 responsibility for care of two of her grandchildren for 16 months, but 
eventually learned from caseworkers, child advocates and her attorney 
that adoption of the boys would be impossible unless she offered court 
testimony denouncing her daughter.

Winters, who is now 
retired from the Lenexa Police Department, said Monday she refused to 
play along with the people who advised her to offer false testimony 
against the boys’ mother.

“If I did not say bad 
things about my daughter in court, which I did not believe, I would lose
 my grandsons and not be allowed to adopt them,” Winters told a 
committee of the Kansas Legislature studying foster care. “I told them I
 could not lie under oath and under God.”

She said the boys were 
subsequently ordered into foster care. They were transferred to a home 
that within one month became the subject of a substantiated allegation 
of child abuse. Her supervised visits with the two children were limited
 to one hour each month.

“They would scream for me 
not to leave them,” Winters said. “I still have nightmares of this and 
cannot bear to hear a child cry.”

Winters, who co-founded Kansas Family Rights Coalition in 2008, said she had not seen her grandsons in 12 years.

Cindy Poe, who lived in 
Topeka when her three grandchildren were placed in foster care, shared 
another perspective with lawmakers. The maternal grandmother said her 
anxiety about being separated from the children was transformed into 
heartbreak in 2014 when one of them, 10-month-old Kadillak Marie, died 
after left in a sweltering vehicle by her foster parents in Wichita.

She alleged the couple 
caring for the girl were in the house eating pizza and smoking marijuana
 while the infant was perished in a car amid 90-degree heat.

“I want to know why this 
foster system is so poorly (managed),” she said. “That’s all it took, a 
child’s death, to get peoples’ attention. The foster parents got crap on
 jail time.”

The Legislature’s foster 
care oversight committee opened two days of meetings by inviting Kansans
 and organizations with an interest in foster care to share insight into
 the state’s privatized system responsible for more than 7,000 children.
 Their testimony came before comments by officials of the Kansas 
Department for Children and Families.

Kansas has a history of 
struggle regarding children in state custody. They are legally removed 
from homes due to neglect and abuse. The children know what it feels 
like to be rejected, traumatized and marginalized. In recent years, DCF 
has allowed foster children to be bounced among temporary homes and 
compelled to sleep in office buildings. DCF has been criticized for 
losing track of dozens of children in foster care and for death of 
children in the system.

Jason Drahota, a former 
foster parent, told legislators that he and his wife welcomed a 
2-year-old boy into their home in 2015. The child’s parental rights were
 terminated in 2016 and the boy “was dearly loved and he absolutely knew
 it,” Drahota said.

Eventually, one of the 
child’s half-brothers turned 17 and sought custody. The initial decision
 in 2018 was to allow the boy to remain with the Drahotas and for the 
family to proceed with adoption.

On appeal to DCF, the boy was ordered into his step-brother’s custody.

“We asked for clarity on 
why this was reversed,” Drahota said. “Why was this in the child’s best 
interest now? We received absolutely no clarity.”

He said the 5-year-old boy
 became hysterical when informed of DCF’s decision. His wailing carried 
through office walls to the waiting room where his foster parents were 
seated.

“It was a sound that still plays in our head and hurts us to this day,” he said. “The little boy never got to see us again.”

Abbey Dohm, a foster 
parent for 10 years and volunteer director of foster care at City Life 
Church in Wichita, said Kansas children would be better served if state 
officials, private contractors and the legal system took seriously input
 from foster parents.

“Foster parents are with 
the children 24/7. We see the children at their best and at their 
worst,” Dohm said. “We interact with schools and churches and sports. 
Foster parents are advocates for the children in their home. They are 
family.”

She said Kansas’ system of
 foster care had been in crisis for a long time. The number of children 
in foster care vastly exceeds availability of foster homes, she said.

“In some cases,” she said,
 “it is in the best interest of children to return home to family. But 
there are also cases where this is not appropriate. Foster parents 
deserve and need a bigger voice within the system.”

Gordon Hibbard, a 
Manhattan resident and former president of the Kansas 4-H Foundation, 
said he was drawn into the foster care issue after his son and 
daughter-in-law committed to become foster parents.

He said the Legislature 
and Gov. Laura Kelly lacked the “money or the will” to implement changes
 to address the state’s ill-equipped, underfunded system.

He said legislators ought 
to remove all incentives, quotas or financial awards available to 
private agencies that could cloud decisions regarding what was best for a
 foster child. Kansas should appoint an ombudsman — someone outside DCF —
 to investigate violation or inconsistent application of policy on 
foster care. Compensation and training of caseworkers must be increased,
 he said.

“We need psychiatric 
residential treatment facilities to help build a framework for healing 
and restoration,” Hibbard said. “I have been told currently that we have
 more than 80 children on the wait list to receive these services.”

Jared Broyles, executive 
director of Foster the Cause, said the organization has focused in the 
Topeka area on recruiting, training and supporting new Christian foster 
and adoptive families through collaborations with churches.

“Let me say how very sorry
 I am that we as the church in Kansas have left the state to do the work
 alone for far too long. We were wrong. But we are here now,” Broyles 
said.

Tim Carpenter has reported on Kansas for 35 years. He covered the Capitol for 16 years at the Topeka Capital-Journal and previously worked for the Lawrence Journal-World and United Press International.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/9/1600877254585.png" alt="Kathy Winters, right, comforts Cindy Poe following Poe's testimony Tuesday about the death of her grandchild within the foster care system. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector) " />
 <figcaption>Kathy Winters, right, comforts Cindy Poe following Poe's testimony Tuesday about the death of her grandchild within the foster care system. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector) </figcaption>
 </figure>By TIM CARPENTER <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2020/09/22/heartbroken-grandparents-make-emotional-appeals-for-kansas-foster-care-reform/">Kansas Reflector</a>TOPEKA — Kathy Winters had
 responsibility for care of two of her grandchildren for 16 months, but 
eventually learned from caseworkers, child advocates and her attorney 
that adoption of the boys would be impossible unless she offered court 
testimony denouncing her daughter.Winters, who is now 
retired from the Lenexa Police Department, said Monday she refused to 
play along with the people who advised her to offer false testimony 
against the boys’ mother.“If I did not say bad 
things about my daughter in court, which I did not believe, I would lose
 my grandsons and not be allowed to adopt them,” Winters told a 
committee of the Kansas Legislature studying foster care. “I told them I
 could not lie under oath and under God.”She said the boys were 
subsequently ordered into foster care. They were transferred to a home 
that within one month became the subject of a substantiated allegation 
of child abuse. Her supervised visits with the two children were limited
 to one hour each month.“They would scream for me 
not to leave them,” Winters said. “I still have nightmares of this and 
cannot bear to hear a child cry.”Winters, who co-founded Kansas Family Rights Coalition in 2008, said she had not seen her grandsons in 12 years.<h2>A child’s death</h2>Cindy Poe, who lived in 
Topeka when her three grandchildren were placed in foster care, shared 
another perspective with lawmakers. The maternal grandmother said her 
anxiety about being separated from the children was transformed into 
heartbreak in 2014 when one of them, 10-month-old Kadillak Marie, died 
after left in a sweltering vehicle by her foster parents in Wichita.She alleged the couple 
caring for the girl were in the house eating pizza and smoking marijuana
 while the infant was perished in a car amid 90-degree heat.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/9/1600877319793.png" alt="Cindy Poe shared with a Kansas legislative committee with oversight of the foster care the agony of having three grandchildren removed from her after declining to make disparaging remarks about her daughter in court. One of those grandchildren, a girl, died when left unattended in a vehicle by her new foster family. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption>Cindy Poe shared with a Kansas legislative committee with oversight of the foster care the agony of having three grandchildren removed from her after declining to make disparaging remarks about her daughter in court. One of those grandchildren, a girl, died when left unattended in a vehicle by her new foster family. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure>“I want to know why this 
foster system is so poorly (managed),” she said. “That’s all it took, a 
child’s death, to get peoples’ attention. The foster parents got crap on
 jail time.”The Legislature’s foster 
care oversight committee opened two days of meetings by inviting Kansans
 and organizations with an interest in foster care to share insight into
 the state’s privatized system responsible for more than 7,000 children.
 Their testimony came before comments by officials of the Kansas 
Department for Children and Families.Kansas has a history of 
struggle regarding children in state custody. They are legally removed 
from homes due to neglect and abuse. The children know what it feels 
like to be rejected, traumatized and marginalized. In recent years, DCF 
has allowed foster children to be bounced among temporary homes and 
compelled to sleep in office buildings. DCF has been criticized for 
losing track of dozens of children in foster care and for death of 
children in the system.<h2>Hysterical wailing</h2>Jason Drahota, a former 
foster parent, told legislators that he and his wife welcomed a 
2-year-old boy into their home in 2015. The child’s parental rights were
 terminated in 2016 and the boy “was dearly loved and he absolutely knew
 it,” Drahota said.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/9/1600877352383.png" alt="Jason Drahota outlined in testimony to a committee of the Kansas Legislature the decision by a state agency to overturn a decision to allow a 5-year-old boy to remain with his family for purposes of adoption. Taking the boy from them after nearly three years was traumatizing. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption>Jason Drahota outlined in testimony to a committee of the Kansas Legislature the decision by a state agency to overturn a decision to allow a 5-year-old boy to remain with his family for purposes of adoption. Taking the boy from them after nearly three years was traumatizing. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure>Eventually, one of the 
child’s half-brothers turned 17 and sought custody. The initial decision
 in 2018 was to allow the boy to remain with the Drahotas and for the 
family to proceed with adoption.On appeal to DCF, the boy was ordered into his step-brother’s custody.“We asked for clarity on 
why this was reversed,” Drahota said. “Why was this in the child’s best 
interest now? We received absolutely no clarity.”He said the 5-year-old boy
 became hysterical when informed of DCF’s decision. His wailing carried 
through office walls to the waiting room where his foster parents were 
seated.“It was a sound that still plays in our head and hurts us to this day,” he said. “The little boy never got to see us again.”<h2>Listening</h2>Abbey Dohm, a foster 
parent for 10 years and volunteer director of foster care at City Life 
Church in Wichita, said Kansas children would be better served if state 
officials, private contractors and the legal system took seriously input
 from foster parents.“Foster parents are with 
the children 24/7. We see the children at their best and at their 
worst,” Dohm said. “We interact with schools and churches and sports. 
Foster parents are advocates for the children in their home. They are 
family.”She said Kansas’ system of
 foster care had been in crisis for a long time. The number of children 
in foster care vastly exceeds availability of foster homes, she said.“In some cases,” she said,
 “it is in the best interest of children to return home to family. But 
there are also cases where this is not appropriate. Foster parents 
deserve and need a bigger voice within the system.”<h2>Reform ideas</h2>Gordon Hibbard, a 
Manhattan resident and former president of the Kansas 4-H Foundation, 
said he was drawn into the foster care issue after his son and 
daughter-in-law committed to become foster parents.He said the Legislature 
and Gov. Laura Kelly lacked the “money or the will” to implement changes
 to address the state’s ill-equipped, underfunded system.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/9/1600877386402.png" alt="Jared Broyles, executive director of Foster the Cause, says he’s leading an organization based in Topeka that recruits and trains Christians to serve as foster parents. He apologized for past indifference of some churches to the state’s foster care crisis. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption>Jared Broyles, executive director of Foster the Cause, says he’s leading an organization based in Topeka that recruits and trains Christians to serve as foster parents. He apologized for past indifference of some churches to the state’s foster care crisis. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure>He said legislators ought 
to remove all incentives, quotas or financial awards available to 
private agencies that could cloud decisions regarding what was best for a
 foster child. Kansas should appoint an ombudsman — someone outside DCF —
 to investigate violation or inconsistent application of policy on 
foster care. Compensation and training of caseworkers must be increased,
 he said.“We need psychiatric 
residential treatment facilities to help build a framework for healing 
and restoration,” Hibbard said. “I have been told currently that we have
 more than 80 children on the wait list to receive these services.”Jared Broyles, executive 
director of Foster the Cause, said the organization has focused in the 
Topeka area on recruiting, training and supporting new Christian foster 
and adoptive families through collaborations with churches.“Let me say how very sorry
 I am that we as the church in Kansas have left the state to do the work
 alone for far too long. We were wrong. But we are here now,” Broyles 
said.Tim Carpenter has reported on Kansas for 35 years. He covered the Capitol for 16 years at the Topeka Capital-Journal and previously worked for the Lawrence Journal-World and United Press International.&nbsp;

Heartbroken grandparents plead for Kan. foster care reform

LAWRENCE — A University of Kansas astronomer played a key role on the team that today announced the first-ever discovery of a planet orbiting a white dwarf star. The finding, published in Nature, shows the likely presence of a Jupiter-sized planet, named WD 1856 b, orbiting the smaller star remnant every 34 hours.

“This planet is roughly the size of Jupiter, but it also has a very short orbital period — a year on this planet is only 1.4 days, so it’s quickly whipping around its white dwarf star,” said Ian Crossfield,&nbsp;<a href="https://crossfield.ku.edu/">assistant professor of physics &amp; astronomy at KU</a>, who is a co-author on the paper.&nbsp;

A white dwarf is the vestige of a star, like our sun, that has ballooned into a red giant then collapsed back into a dense, dim core that’s often about the size of Earth; so this planet is much larger than what’s left of its star. The process usually devours orbiting planets — but not in the case of WD 1856 b, which appears somehow to have avoided destruction.

“This tells us white dwarfs can have planets, which is something we didn’t know before,” Crossfield said. “There are people who now are looking for transiting planets around white dwarfs that could be potentially habitable. It’d be a pretty weird system, and you’d have to think about how the planets actually survived all that time. But it’s a big universe. Now we at least know some kinds of planets can survive and be found there, so that gives greater support and greater interest in continuing the search for even smaller planets around these white dwarfs.”

At first, WD 1856 b captured astronomers’ interest when they noticed a possible transiting object with&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nasa.gov/tess-transiting-exoplanet-survey-satellite">NASA’s TESS Space Telescope</a>&nbsp;survey.

“TESS finds a planet by looking at a star, and it measures how bright the star is continuously for weeks,” he said. “If a planet is orbiting the star, and if the planet passes between you and the star, some of that star’s light is going to be blocked. Then the star will get brighter again as the planet passes — we call this the ‘transit’ of the planet. And so, TESS looks for transiting exoplanet satellites. It tells you that something is there — but it doesn’t necessarily tell you what it is because it could be another dim star passing in front instead of a planet.”

To help the international team of scientists confirm if WD 1856 b indeed was a planet orbiting the white dwarf, Crossfield studied the object’s infrared emissions with NASA’s now-defunct&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/spitzer/main/index.html">Spitzer Space Telescope</a>&nbsp;in the months leading up to the satellite telescope’s decommission.

“For this white dwarf object, it’s tough to measure the mass of it — so we knew how big it was, but not how heavy it was,” he said. “This new object could have been a small star or a big planet. The way we could tell the difference was to look and see — is this thing emitting infrared light as well? If it’s a star, stars are generally hotter than planets and it should be glowing in the infrared. But if it’s just a planet, planets are generally colder than stars and so there should be a little or no infrared light. What our Spitzer data showed is there’s basically no infrared light at all. And the depths of these transits are identical between the TESS data and our Spitzer datasets. That really put the final nail in the coffin that this thing is almost certainly a planet, rather than a star.”

WD 1856 b is located about 80 light years away in the northern constellation Draco. The team behind the paper believes the gaseous planet was pulled in by the white dwarf’s gravity long after the star had dwindled down from its red giant phase — otherwise the planet would have been obliterated in its current orbit.

Asked if the discovery of the first planet orbiting a white dwarf meant the Earth stood a chance of surviving the sun’s red-giant phase in the distant future, Crossfield said it remained unlikely.

KU News Service<figure>
 <iframe width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/fDhG0ppvQ2g"></iframe>
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>LAWRENCE — A University of Kansas astronomer played a key role on the team that today announced the first-ever discovery of a planet orbiting a white dwarf star. The finding, published in Nature, shows the likely presence of a Jupiter-sized planet, named WD 1856 b, orbiting the smaller star remnant every 34 hours.“This planet is roughly the size of Jupiter, but it also has a very short orbital period — a year on this planet is only 1.4 days, so it’s quickly whipping around its white dwarf star,” said Ian Crossfield,&nbsp;<a href="https://crossfield.ku.edu/">assistant professor of physics &amp; astronomy at KU</a>, who is a co-author on the paper.&nbsp;A white dwarf is the vestige of a star, like our sun, that has ballooned into a red giant then collapsed back into a dense, dim core that’s often about the size of Earth; so this planet is much larger than what’s left of its star. The process usually devours orbiting planets — but not in the case of WD 1856 b, which appears somehow to have avoided destruction.<figure>
 <img src="https://news.ku.edu/sites/news.ku.edu/files/images/general/faculty_portraits/ian%20crossfield%20172.jpg" alt="Ian Crossfield,&nbsp;<a href="https://crossfield.ku.edu/">assistant professor of physics &amp; astronomy at KU</a>, who helped confirm the planetary nature of&nbsp;WD 1856 b by using the Spitzer Space Telescope.&nbsp; (Photo credit: Ian Crossfield)&nbsp; &nbsp;" />
 <figcaption>Ian Crossfield,&nbsp;<a href="https://crossfield.ku.edu/">assistant professor of physics &amp; astronomy at KU</a>, who helped confirm the planetary nature of&nbsp;WD 1856 b by using the Spitzer Space Telescope.&nbsp; (Photo credit: Ian Crossfield)&nbsp; &nbsp;</figcaption>
 </figure>“This tells us white dwarfs can have planets, which is something we didn’t know before,” Crossfield said. “There are people who now are looking for transiting planets around white dwarfs that could be potentially habitable. It’d be a pretty weird system, and you’d have to think about how the planets actually survived all that time. But it’s a big universe. Now we at least know some kinds of planets can survive and be found there, so that gives greater support and greater interest in continuing the search for even smaller planets around these white dwarfs.”At first, WD 1856 b captured astronomers’ interest when they noticed a possible transiting object with&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nasa.gov/tess-transiting-exoplanet-survey-satellite">NASA’s TESS Space Telescope</a>&nbsp;survey.“TESS finds a planet by looking at a star, and it measures how bright the star is continuously for weeks,” he said. “If a planet is orbiting the star, and if the planet passes between you and the star, some of that star’s light is going to be blocked. Then the star will get brighter again as the planet passes — we call this the ‘transit’ of the planet. And so, TESS looks for transiting exoplanet satellites. It tells you that something is there — but it doesn’t necessarily tell you what it is because it could be another dim star passing in front instead of a planet.”To help the international team of scientists confirm if WD 1856 b indeed was a planet orbiting the white dwarf, Crossfield studied the object’s infrared emissions with NASA’s now-defunct&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/spitzer/main/index.html">Spitzer Space Telescope</a>&nbsp;in the months leading up to the satellite telescope’s decommission.“For this white dwarf object, it’s tough to measure the mass of it — so we knew how big it was, but not how heavy it was,” he said. “This new object could have been a small star or a big planet. The way we could tell the difference was to look and see — is this thing emitting infrared light as well? If it’s a star, stars are generally hotter than planets and it should be glowing in the infrared. But if it’s just a planet, planets are generally colder than stars and so there should be a little or no infrared light. What our Spitzer data showed is there’s basically no infrared light at all. And the depths of these transits are identical between the TESS data and our Spitzer datasets. That really put the final nail in the coffin that this thing is almost certainly a planet, rather than a star.”<figure>
 <img src="https://news.ku.edu/sites/news.ku.edu/files/images/general/2020_news/september/Dwarf_news1_BL.jpg" alt="NASA rendering of WD 1856 b, the first-ever plant discovered orbiting a white-dwarf star. (Photo by NASA)" />
 <figcaption>NASA rendering of WD 1856 b, the first-ever plant discovered orbiting a white-dwarf star. (Photo by NASA)</figcaption>
 </figure>WD 1856 b is located about 80 light years away in the northern constellation Draco. The team behind the paper believes the gaseous planet was pulled in by the white dwarf’s gravity long after the star had dwindled down from its red giant phase — otherwise the planet would have been obliterated in its current orbit.Asked if the discovery of the first planet orbiting a white dwarf meant the Earth stood a chance of surviving the sun’s red-giant phase in the distant future, Crossfield said it remained unlikely.“In around five billion years our sun will become a white dwarf. There’s a lot of open questions about whether planets can survive the process of a star inflating up to become a red giant, swallowing up some of the inner planets, and then shrinking back down and just being left over as the white dwarf again. Can planets actually survive that — or is that impossible? And until now, there weren’t any known planets around white dwarfs.”