By LESLIE EIKLEBERRY Salina Post

SALINE COUNTY —Rural firefighters responded to two controlled burns that got out of control within a matter of minutes of each other Thursday afternoon in Saline County.

Just before 4p.m., Sheriff's deputies and personnel from Rural Fire District No. 2 were sent to the 400 block of E. Water Well Road after a control burn reignited, according to Saline County Undersheriff Brent Melander.

A 53-year-old Saline County man who had a burn permit had burned a pile of brush and thought he had put everything out afterward.

After the man left the property, the fire rekindled, setting some nearby grass on fire, Melander said. The fire spread to two wood piles, destroying them. The reignited fire was reported by neighbors.

Melander said that although the fire came close, no buildings were damaged. There was no damage estimate provided for the fire.

At 3:58 p.m. Thursday, a 45-year-old man who was conducting a controlled burn on some grass in the 9500 block of Forsse Road south of Falun called for help after the wind shifted, blowing embers onto a nearby wooden barn. Although the man had a water hose on hand, the water stream did not reach the top of the barn, Melander said.

Personnel from Rural Fire District No. 6 responded to the blaze and requested assistance from Rural Fire District No. 2 and the Marquette Fire Department. By the time they arrived, the fire had spread to a stubble field. The fire was extinguished, but not before the barn was destroyed and 100 yards of stubble had burned, Melander said. Additionally, a nearby Ford F150 had some fire damage.

Loss of the barn, which had some miscellaneous tools inside, was estimated at $15,000.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/4/1680883701718.jpeg" alt="The blaze in 400 block of E. Water Well Road south of Salina. Photos courtesy Saline County Sheriff's Office" />
 <figcaption>The blaze in 400 block of E. Water Well Road south of Salina. Photos courtesy Saline County Sheriff's Office</figcaption>
 </figure>By LESLIE EIKLEBERRY Salina PostSALINE COUNTY —Rural firefighters responded to two controlled burns that got out of control within a matter of minutes of each other Thursday afternoon in Saline County.Just before 4p.m., Sheriff's deputies and personnel from Rural Fire District No. 2 were sent to the 400 block of E. Water Well Road after a control burn reignited, according to Saline County Undersheriff Brent Melander.A 53-year-old Saline County man who had a burn permit had burned a pile of brush and thought he had put everything out afterward.After the man left the property, the fire rekindled, setting some nearby grass on fire, Melander said. The fire spread to two wood piles, destroying them. The reignited fire was reported by neighbors.Melander said that although the fire came close, no buildings were damaged. There was no damage estimate provided for the fire.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/4/1680884064582.jpeg" alt="The fire destroyed this barn in the 9500 block of Forsse Road." />
 <figcaption>The fire destroyed this barn in the 9500 block of Forsse Road.</figcaption>
 </figure>At 3:58 p.m. Thursday, a 45-year-old man who was conducting a controlled burn on some grass in the 9500 block of Forsse Road south of Falun called for help after the wind shifted, blowing embers onto a nearby wooden barn. Although the man had a water hose on hand, the water stream did not reach the top of the barn, Melander said.Personnel from Rural Fire District No. 6 responded to the blaze and requested assistance from Rural Fire District No. 2 and the Marquette Fire Department. By the time they arrived, the fire had spread to a stubble field. The fire was extinguished, but not before the barn was destroyed and 100 yards of stubble had burned, Melander said. Additionally, a nearby Ford F150 had some fire damage.Loss of the barn, which had some miscellaneous tools inside, was estimated at $15,000.

Sheriff: Controlled burns cause damage in central Kansas

DOUGLAS COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities, as part of a traffic stop&nbsp; in western Douglas County recovered more than 1,000 suspected fentanyl pills, 2.5 pounds of methamphetamine and a suspected stolen firearm, according to sheriff's department spokesperson George Diepenbrock.

The arrest and subsequent investigation led to a search warrant being served in Shawnee County where the Shawnee County Sheriff’s Office recovered additional methamphetamine and suspected fentanyl pills.

“The arrest and recovery of about 1,000 pills headed for Lawrence and marked with an M match the description of pills that are dressed up to look like legitimate Oxycodone pills, though they are laced with fentanyl,” Sheriff Jay Armbrister said.

 “These pills are sold to kids and community members as something they are not, in order to get people addicted – deadly consequences aside. Cases like this show why it’s critical for law enforcement to disrupt the supply of these dangerous substances, while also educating our community and especially our youth about the dangers of taking what appears to be a legitimate prescription pill when something much more sinister and fatal lurks just beneath its surface.”

Armbrister added: “In addressing the opioid crisis, the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office is committed not only to education and enforcement but we will continue to advocate for policy-level changes like making and keeping Fentanyl testing supplies and Narcan legal and available to our community members.”

A DGSO deputy stopped an eastbound gray Chevrolet Tahoe for a traffic infraction just before 5 p.m. Wednesday on U.S. Highway 40 near the Shawnee County line. The DGSO K-9 unit was deployed and alerted to the presence of narcotics.

After searching the vehicle, deputies recovered 2.5 pounds of suspected methamphetamine and 1,002 suspected pressed fentanyl pills, the handgun and other property. 

Deputies have sent the suspected narcotics to the Kansas Bureau of Investigation for formal identification and analysis.

The driver of the vehicle in Douglas County, a 32-year-old Topeka man, was arrested and booked into the Douglas County Correctional Facility on requested charges of two counts of felony drug distribution and one count of possession of stolen property related to the recovered handgun.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/4/1680810732040.png" alt="Photo Douglas Co. Sheriff" />
 <figcaption>Photo Douglas Co. Sheriff</figcaption>
 </figure>DOUGLAS COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities, as part of a traffic stop&nbsp; in western Douglas County recovered more than 1,000 suspected fentanyl pills, 2.5 pounds of methamphetamine and a suspected stolen firearm, according to sheriff's department spokesperson George Diepenbrock.The arrest and subsequent investigation led to a search warrant being served in Shawnee County where the Shawnee County Sheriff’s Office recovered additional methamphetamine and suspected fentanyl pills.“The arrest and recovery of about 1,000 pills headed for Lawrence and marked with an M match the description of pills that are dressed up to look like legitimate Oxycodone pills, though they are laced with fentanyl,” Sheriff Jay Armbrister said. “These pills are sold to kids and community members as something they are not, in order to get people addicted – deadly consequences aside. Cases like this show why it’s critical for law enforcement to disrupt the supply of these dangerous substances, while also educating our community and especially our youth about the dangers of taking what appears to be a legitimate prescription pill when something much more sinister and fatal lurks just beneath its surface.”Armbrister added: “In addressing the opioid crisis, the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office is committed not only to education and enforcement but we will continue to advocate for policy-level changes like making and keeping Fentanyl testing supplies and Narcan legal and available to our community members.”A DGSO deputy stopped an eastbound gray Chevrolet Tahoe for a traffic infraction just before 5 p.m. Wednesday on U.S. Highway 40 near the Shawnee County line. The DGSO K-9 unit was deployed and alerted to the presence of narcotics.After searching the vehicle, deputies recovered 2.5 pounds of suspected methamphetamine and 1,002 suspected pressed fentanyl pills, the handgun and other property. Deputies have sent the suspected narcotics to the Kansas Bureau of Investigation for formal identification and analysis.The driver of the vehicle in Douglas County, a 32-year-old Topeka man, was arrested and booked into the Douglas County Correctional Facility on requested charges of two counts of felony drug distribution and one count of possession of stolen property related to the recovered handgun.&nbsp;

Kan. deputies recover more than 1,000 suspected fentanyl pills

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Abortion opponents pushed a bill through the Kansas Legislature early Friday to require providers to tell patients that a medication abortion can be “reversed” once it's started — a measure that could face a state court challenge if its supporters can overcome the governor's expected veto.

Republican lawmakers pursued the bill even though experts dispute abortion opponents' claims about medication abortions. Democrats argue the measure defies a decisive statewide vote in August affirming abortion rights. Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly vetoed a similar measure in 2019.

Kansas has been an outlier on abortion among states with GOP-controlled legislatures because its legal and political climate won't allow a ban on abortion, despite the U.S. Supreme Court's&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-supreme-court-decision-854f60302f21c2c35129e58cf8d8a7b0">ruling in June 2022</a>&nbsp;that states can outlaw abortion. The Kansas Supreme Court&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/3f479b218a6140719e1694fcfcdb8036">ruled in 2019</a>&nbsp;that access to abortion is a matter of bodily autonomy and a “fundamental” right under the state constitution, and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-primary-elections-kansas-abortion-b6d62a852c2ce4617f2c03589fbb523e">last year's vote was to reject</a>&nbsp;stripping out that protection.

“The people of Kansas have spoken,” state Rep. Christina Haswood, a Democrat from the liberal northeastern Kansas community of Lawrence, home to the main University of Kansas campus, said during Friday's brief debate. “They do not want us touching anything on abortion.”

Republican lawmakers and anti-abortion groups contend the vote last year doesn't preclude “reasonable” restrictions. They contend that the “abortion pill reversal” measure only ensures that patients have information.

“They need to be knowledgeable about what can happen,” Republican state Rep. Susan Humphries, of Wichita, during a debate on the issue last week.

The votes for the final version of the bill were&nbsp;<a href="http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2023_24/measures/vote_view/je_20230407042712_286375/">80-38</a>&nbsp;in the House and&nbsp;<a href="http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2023_24/measures/vote_view/je_20230406233228_497570/">26-11</a>&nbsp;in the Senate. In both chambers, abortion opponents were short of the two-thirds majorities needed to override a veto but enough absent lawmakers might have voted “yes” for an override to be possible.

But even then, the measure still could be challenged in court by providers who believe it would force them to give patients inaccurate information. Lawsuits have&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-restrictions-lawsuits-kansas-3eb09cbcdfb18e06aee024e557f9814c">prevented Kansas from enforcing</a>&nbsp;a 2015 ban on a common second-trimester abortion procedure and a 2011 law imposing extra health and safety rules for abortion providers.

Meanwhile, legislators this week also approved&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/born-alive-abortion-bill-kansas-legislature-45f8c977187656d8340eae5a44d87de0">a bill dealing with live deliveries</a>&nbsp;during certain types of abortion procedures. Doctors could face criminal charges or lawsuits for monetary damages if they are accused of not providing reasonable care to an infant delivered alive during certain types of abortion procedures.

And lawmakers have included $2 million in state tax dollars in the next state budget for centers that provide free prenatal and post-birth counseling and other services as they seek to discourage women from having abortions. Abortion opponents also are pursuing creation of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-politics-united-states-government-kansas-health-c0c8a6cbe211ca4970e3a38b3aa7faf9">an income tax credit</a>&nbsp;for donors to those centers, allowing up to $10 million total a year.

“This is not about abortion and it's not about a ban. We heard the vote. We get that,” House health committee Chair Brenda Landwehr, a Wichita Republican, told colleagues during a debate on the issue last week. “We also heard you say we don't care and now we're trying to step up to the plate.”

The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology says there is no scientific evidence that the “reversal” method, involving using the hormone progesterone in place of the second abortion medication, is safe or effective.

Two physicians started using the “reversal” method more than 15 years ago, and abortion opponents note that progesterone is often used to try to prevent women from miscarrying a pregnancy. One of the doctors who participated in a 2018 study said doctors followed more than 750 women who'd sought to reverse medication abortions and said a sizeable majority were successful.

Critics have said the study was flawed and couldn't show whether the women would have carried their pregnancies to term without progesterone.

“Kansas deserves providers who are free to stick to fact-based health care and not forced to spread scientific myths,” Democratic state Rep. Melissa Oropeza, a Kansas City nurse practioner, said during Friday's debate.

But abortion opponents said it's not improper to promote what is essentially an off-label use for progesterone.

“Heck, we use a lot of things off label,” state Rep. John Eplee, a northeastern Kansas doctor, said during last week's debate. "Viagra — sildenafil — was used as a medication for pulmonary hypertension for five years until they found all the male patients woke up with complications, quote-unquote, from it.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/4/1680876787570.png" alt="“The people of Kansas have spoken,” state Rep. Christina Haswood, a Democrat from Lawrence during Friday's brief debate. “They do not want us touching anything on abortion.”- courtesy photo" />
 <figcaption>“The people of Kansas have spoken,” state Rep. Christina Haswood, a Democrat from Lawrence during Friday's brief debate. “They do not want us touching anything on abortion.”- courtesy photo</figcaption>
 </figure>TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Abortion opponents pushed a bill through the Kansas Legislature early Friday to require providers to tell patients that a medication abortion can be “reversed” once it's started — a measure that could face a state court challenge if its supporters can overcome the governor's expected veto.Republican lawmakers pursued the bill even though experts dispute abortion opponents' claims about medication abortions. Democrats argue the measure defies a decisive statewide vote in August affirming abortion rights. Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly vetoed a similar measure in 2019.Kansas has been an outlier on abortion among states with GOP-controlled legislatures because its legal and political climate won't allow a ban on abortion, despite the U.S. Supreme Court's&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-supreme-court-decision-854f60302f21c2c35129e58cf8d8a7b0">ruling in June 2022</a>&nbsp;that states can outlaw abortion. The Kansas Supreme Court&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/3f479b218a6140719e1694fcfcdb8036">ruled in 2019</a>&nbsp;that access to abortion is a matter of bodily autonomy and a “fundamental” right under the state constitution, and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-primary-elections-kansas-abortion-b6d62a852c2ce4617f2c03589fbb523e">last year's vote was to reject</a>&nbsp;stripping out that protection.“The people of Kansas have spoken,” state Rep. Christina Haswood, a Democrat from the liberal northeastern Kansas community of Lawrence, home to the main University of Kansas campus, said during Friday's brief debate. “They do not want us touching anything on abortion.”Republican lawmakers and anti-abortion groups contend the vote last year doesn't preclude “reasonable” restrictions. They contend that the “abortion pill reversal” measure only ensures that patients have information.“They need to be knowledgeable about what can happen,” Republican state Rep. Susan Humphries, of Wichita, during a debate on the issue last week.The votes for the final version of the bill were&nbsp;<a href="http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2023_24/measures/vote_view/je_20230407042712_286375/">80-38</a>&nbsp;in the House and&nbsp;<a href="http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2023_24/measures/vote_view/je_20230406233228_497570/">26-11</a>&nbsp;in the Senate. In both chambers, abortion opponents were short of the two-thirds majorities needed to override a veto but enough absent lawmakers might have voted “yes” for an override to be possible.But even then, the measure still could be challenged in court by providers who believe it would force them to give patients inaccurate information. Lawsuits have&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-restrictions-lawsuits-kansas-3eb09cbcdfb18e06aee024e557f9814c">prevented Kansas from enforcing</a>&nbsp;a 2015 ban on a common second-trimester abortion procedure and a 2011 law imposing extra health and safety rules for abortion providers.Meanwhile, legislators this week also approved&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/born-alive-abortion-bill-kansas-legislature-45f8c977187656d8340eae5a44d87de0">a bill dealing with live deliveries</a>&nbsp;during certain types of abortion procedures. Doctors could face criminal charges or lawsuits for monetary damages if they are accused of not providing reasonable care to an infant delivered alive during certain types of abortion procedures.And lawmakers have included $2 million in state tax dollars in the next state budget for centers that provide free prenatal and post-birth counseling and other services as they seek to discourage women from having abortions. Abortion opponents also are pursuing creation of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-politics-united-states-government-kansas-health-c0c8a6cbe211ca4970e3a38b3aa7faf9">an income tax credit</a>&nbsp;for donors to those centers, allowing up to $10 million total a year.“This is not about abortion and it's not about a ban. We heard the vote. We get that,” House health committee Chair Brenda Landwehr, a Wichita Republican, told colleagues during a debate on the issue last week. “We also heard you say we don't care and now we're trying to step up to the plate.”The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology says there is no scientific evidence that the “reversal” method, involving using the hormone progesterone in place of the second abortion medication, is safe or effective.Two physicians started using the “reversal” method more than 15 years ago, and abortion opponents note that progesterone is often used to try to prevent women from miscarrying a pregnancy. One of the doctors who participated in a 2018 study said doctors followed more than 750 women who'd sought to reverse medication abortions and said a sizeable majority were successful.Critics have said the study was flawed and couldn't show whether the women would have carried their pregnancies to term without progesterone.“Kansas deserves providers who are free to stick to fact-based health care and not forced to spread scientific myths,” Democratic state Rep. Melissa Oropeza, a Kansas City nurse practioner, said during Friday's debate.But abortion opponents said it's not improper to promote what is essentially an off-label use for progesterone.“Heck, we use a lot of things off label,” state Rep. John Eplee, a northeastern Kansas doctor, said during last week's debate. "Viagra — sildenafil — was used as a medication for pulmonary hypertension for five years until they found all the male patients woke up with complications, quote-unquote, from it.”

Abortion pill plan clears Kansas Legislature

TOPEKA —Minimum-custody inmate Kyler K. Milbrandt turned himself in to the Wichita Work Release Facility several hours after being placed on escape status Thursday night, according to Kansas Department of Corrections spokesperson David Thompson.

Milbrandt, a 29-year-old American Indian male serving a sentence for a convictions of drug possession, theft and aggravated assault  out of Reno County, was reported missing when he did not return to the facility after work. He returned to the facility at 1:30am and was placed under arrest and will be charged with one count of escape.

TOPEKA, Kansas. –&nbsp;Minimum-custody inmate Kyler K. Milbrandt was placed on escape status at approximately 8:50 p.m. Thursday after it was reported that he walked away from Wichita Work Release Facility, according to a media release from the Kansas Dept. of Corrections.

Milbrandt, is a 29-year-old American Indian male serving a sentence for a convictions of drug possession, theft and aggravated assault &nbsp;out of Reno County.

Milbrandt is described as 6 feet tall, 209 pounds with brown eyes and brown hair.

Anyone with information on Milbrandt can call the Kansas Department of Corrections at 316-779-5814, the Kansas Bureau of Investigation at (800) 572-7463 or local law enforcement at 911.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/4/1680861490922.png" alt="Milbrandt-photo KDOC" />
 <figcaption>Milbrandt-photo KDOC</figcaption>
 </figure>TOPEKA —Minimum-custody inmate Kyler K. Milbrandt turned himself in to the Wichita Work Release Facility several hours after being placed on escape status Thursday night, according to Kansas Department of Corrections spokesperson David Thompson.Milbrandt, a 29-year-old American Indian male serving a sentence for a convictions of drug possession, theft and aggravated assault out of Reno County, was reported missing when he did not return to the facility after work. He returned to the facility at 1:30am and was placed under arrest and will be charged with one count of escape.-------TOPEKA, Kansas. –&nbsp;Minimum-custody inmate Kyler K. Milbrandt was placed on escape status at approximately 8:50 p.m. Thursday after it was reported that he walked away from Wichita Work Release Facility, according to a media release from the Kansas Dept. of Corrections.Milbrandt, is a 29-year-old American Indian male serving a sentence for a convictions of drug possession, theft and aggravated assault &nbsp;out of Reno County.Milbrandt is described as 6 feet tall, 209 pounds with brown eyes and brown hair.Anyone with information on Milbrandt can call the Kansas Department of Corrections at 316-779-5814, the Kansas Bureau of Investigation at (800) 572-7463 or local law enforcement at 911.

Kan. Inmate who walked away from work release turns himself in

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas lawmakers approved a bill Thursday aimed at helping parents opt their children out of public school lessons with LGBTQ-themed materials, as a Democratic lawmaker whose vote was crucial to banning transgender female athletes from girls' and women's sports faced calls to resign.

GOP conservatives also hadn’t given up on trying to pass a bill aimed at ending gender-affirming care for minors. They were working on a measure late Thursday night.

The Republican-controlled Kansas House&nbsp;<a href="http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2023_24/measures/vote_view/je_20230406112108_845512/">voted 76-46</a>&nbsp;to approve&nbsp;<a href="http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2023_24/measures/documents/hb2236_02_0000.pdf">a “parental rights” measure</a>&nbsp;that would allow a parent to place their child in an alternative to a public K-12 school lesson or activity that “impairs the parent’s sincerely held beliefs, values or principles.” The GOP-dominated Senate approved the measure last week, so it goes next to Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly.

“If there is one family who are denied their rights, we need to address it,” said Republican state Rep. Susan Estes, of Wichita.

While the measure covers lessons and materials dealing with race and possibly even evolution, it also is in line with the push by Republicans in statehouses across the U.S. to roll back LGBTQ rights, particularly transgender rights. State Rep. Heather Meyer, a Kansas City-area Democrat, called the measure a “perfect vehicle” for anti-LGBTQ discrimination.

“We can see what’s been done in other states across the country where they have used this as a vehicle to attack the LGBTQ community,” said Meyer, who is bisexual and has a 13-year-old transgender son.

The Legislature on Tuesday&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/transgender-rights-bathroom-bill-kansas-cbdc14be5bf1fb6e1a0749cad52e8ebc">approved a broad bathroom bill</a>&nbsp;and on Wednesday voted to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/transgender-athletes-ban-kansas-08604c663518fb2538565f3e1ac3d4ba">override Kelly's veto</a>&nbsp;of the measure on transgender athletes. Kansas is the 20th state to enact such a sports ban, and its law applies to club and school sports from kindergarten through college starting July 1.

GOP lawmakers also hoped to pass&nbsp;<a href="http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2023_24/measures/documents/hb2138_03_0000.pdf">a bill</a>&nbsp;Thursday that would require Kansas public schools to keep transgender girls from rooming with cisgendered girls and transgender boys, with cisgendered boys, on overnight school trips.

Kelly&nbsp;<a href="http://www.kslegislature.org/li_2022/b2021_22/measures/documents/sb58_enrolled.pdf">vetoed a bill last year</a>&nbsp;that would have made it easier for parents to try to remove classroom or library materials. Supporters of this year's bill still were short of the two-thirds majorities in both chambers necessary to override a veto.

“What we heard in committee were parents who not only went to their teacher, they went to their principal and higher up in their school district and did not have their concerns addressed,” Estes said.

Meanwhile, conservative Republicans were able to override Kelly's&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/transgender-rights-athletes-ban-kansas-711e121ea0ab00653d61f9dadf9b9c0e">third veto</a>&nbsp;of a bill on transgender athletes in three years because of the “yes” vote from a single Democrat, freshman Rep. Marvin Robinson, of Kansas City.

That Kansas vote came a day before President Joe Biden's administration&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trans-athletes-sports-ban-2f6cf412d306e73e68efa2377fb5081a">announced a proposal</a>&nbsp;to bar schools and colleges from enacting outright bans on transgender athletes but allow them to set some limits to preserve fairness.

Robinson represents a heavily Democratic district and replaced a retiring lawmaker who voted against overriding Kelly's veto in 2022. Kansas Young Democrats and the state Democratic Party's LGBTQ+ and Progressive caucuses demanded that he step down after Wednesday's vote.

Robinson also supported the parents' rights measure. Kansas House Democratic Leader Vic Miller said he would be “pleased” if Robinson resigned.

“Right now, he’s voting more with the other party than he is with ours," Miller said. “He ran as a Democrat, but he doesn’t seem to be serving as a Democrat.”

Robinson told a conservative Kansas City radio talk show Thursday morning that he thought he was “on the same page” as Kelly because of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-education-legislature-gay-rights-kansas-e32307ef93c0c64056e34f2d8a51efe2">a television commercial</a>&nbsp;she aired during her reelection campaign. In that ad, Kelly looked into the camera and said: “Of course men should not play girls’ sports. OK, we all agree there.”

At the time, Republicans accused Kelly of lying about her record. LGBTQ-rights advocates interpreted her comment as saying men playing girl's sports wasn't an issue because transgender girls and women are female.

Robinson told The Associated Press that no one in the Democratic Party told him last year that he was expected to vote against bills on transgender athletes. He also said a female Democratic colleague that he declined to name “told me I should die.”

He rejected criticism that his vote is "hurting people’s kids.”

“Who could mistreat and look down on anybody?” he said. “You know, everybody is God’s creation.”

He told the radio host that friends told him: “Man, you're up there with a bunch of demons.”

Meyer said “absolutely none" of Robinson's fellow Democrats would have told him after the vote that he should die.

“We care about mental health and we care about our colleagues, even if we disagree,” Meyer said.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/4/1680815563129.png" alt="Rep. Susan Estes carried a bill that would allow parents to withdraw their students from learning material they objected to. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption>Rep. Susan Estes carried a bill that would allow parents to withdraw their students from learning material they objected to. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure>By JOHN HANNA&nbsp;TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas lawmakers approved a bill Thursday aimed at helping parents opt their children out of public school lessons with LGBTQ-themed materials, as a Democratic lawmaker whose vote was crucial to banning transgender female athletes from girls' and women's sports faced calls to resign.GOP conservatives also hadn’t given up on trying to pass a bill aimed at ending gender-affirming care for minors. They were working on a measure late Thursday night.The Republican-controlled Kansas House&nbsp;<a href="http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2023_24/measures/vote_view/je_20230406112108_845512/">voted 76-46</a>&nbsp;to approve&nbsp;<a href="http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2023_24/measures/documents/hb2236_02_0000.pdf">a “parental rights” measure</a>&nbsp;that would allow a parent to place their child in an alternative to a public K-12 school lesson or activity that “impairs the parent’s sincerely held beliefs, values or principles.” The GOP-dominated Senate approved the measure last week, so it goes next to Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly.“If there is one family who are denied their rights, we need to address it,” said Republican state Rep. Susan Estes, of Wichita.While the measure covers lessons and materials dealing with race and possibly even evolution, it also is in line with the push by Republicans in statehouses across the U.S. to roll back LGBTQ rights, particularly transgender rights. State Rep. Heather Meyer, a Kansas City-area Democrat, called the measure a “perfect vehicle” for anti-LGBTQ discrimination.“We can see what’s been done in other states across the country where they have used this as a vehicle to attack the LGBTQ community,” said Meyer, who is bisexual and has a 13-year-old transgender son.The Legislature on Tuesday&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/transgender-rights-bathroom-bill-kansas-cbdc14be5bf1fb6e1a0749cad52e8ebc">approved a broad bathroom bill</a>&nbsp;and on Wednesday voted to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/transgender-athletes-ban-kansas-08604c663518fb2538565f3e1ac3d4ba">override Kelly's veto</a>&nbsp;of the measure on transgender athletes. Kansas is the 20th state to enact such a sports ban, and its law applies to club and school sports from kindergarten through college starting July 1.GOP lawmakers also hoped to pass&nbsp;<a href="http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2023_24/measures/documents/hb2138_03_0000.pdf">a bill</a>&nbsp;Thursday that would require Kansas public schools to keep transgender girls from rooming with cisgendered girls and transgender boys, with cisgendered boys, on overnight school trips.Kelly&nbsp;<a href="http://www.kslegislature.org/li_2022/b2021_22/measures/documents/sb58_enrolled.pdf">vetoed a bill last year</a>&nbsp;that would have made it easier for parents to try to remove classroom or library materials. Supporters of this year's bill still were short of the two-thirds majorities in both chambers necessary to override a veto.“What we heard in committee were parents who not only went to their teacher, they went to their principal and higher up in their school district and did not have their concerns addressed,” Estes said.Meanwhile, conservative Republicans were able to override Kelly's&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/transgender-rights-athletes-ban-kansas-711e121ea0ab00653d61f9dadf9b9c0e">third veto</a>&nbsp;of a bill on transgender athletes in three years because of the “yes” vote from a single Democrat, freshman Rep. Marvin Robinson, of Kansas City.That Kansas vote came a day before President Joe Biden's administration&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trans-athletes-sports-ban-2f6cf412d306e73e68efa2377fb5081a">announced a proposal</a>&nbsp;to bar schools and colleges from enacting outright bans on transgender athletes but allow them to set some limits to preserve fairness.Robinson represents a heavily Democratic district and replaced a retiring lawmaker who voted against overriding Kelly's veto in 2022. Kansas Young Democrats and the state Democratic Party's LGBTQ+ and Progressive caucuses demanded that he step down after Wednesday's vote.Robinson also supported the parents' rights measure. Kansas House Democratic Leader Vic Miller said he would be “pleased” if Robinson resigned.“Right now, he’s voting more with the other party than he is with ours," Miller said. “He ran as a Democrat, but he doesn’t seem to be serving as a Democrat.”Robinson told a conservative Kansas City radio talk show Thursday morning that he thought he was “on the same page” as Kelly because of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-education-legislature-gay-rights-kansas-e32307ef93c0c64056e34f2d8a51efe2">a television commercial</a>&nbsp;she aired during her reelection campaign. In that ad, Kelly looked into the camera and said: “Of course men should not play girls’ sports. OK, we all agree there.”At the time, Republicans accused Kelly of lying about her record. LGBTQ-rights advocates interpreted her comment as saying men playing girl's sports wasn't an issue because transgender girls and women are female.Robinson told The Associated Press that no one in the Democratic Party told him last year that he was expected to vote against bills on transgender athletes. He also said a female Democratic colleague that he declined to name “told me I should die.”He rejected criticism that his vote is "hurting people’s kids.”“Who could mistreat and look down on anybody?” he said. “You know, everybody is God’s creation.”He told the radio host that friends told him: “Man, you're up there with a bunch of demons.”Meyer said “absolutely none" of Robinson's fellow Democrats would have told him after the vote that he should die.“We care about mental health and we care about our colleagues, even if we disagree,” Meyer said.

Kansas OKs bill on opting kids out of LGBTQ-themed lessons

WASHINGTON (AP) — A U.S. review led by the National Security Council of the chaotic 2021 withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan largely lays the blame on former President Donald Trump, saying President Joe Biden was “severely constrained" by the decisions of his predecessor.

<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/US-Withdrawal-from-Afghanistan.pdf">CLICK here</a> to read the report

(Click below watch National Security Council spokesman John Kirby on the report.)

The White House on Thursday publicly released a 12-page summary of the results of the so-called “&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/afghanistan-military-withdrawal-biden-government-review-f64d6ef65b1b892b00f0d830e5c11ddd">hotwash</a>&nbsp;” of U.S. policies around the ending of the nation's longest war, taking little responsibility for its own actions during some of the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/inflation-afghanistan-biden-al-qaida-ayman-zawahri-92a61266ea72b54aeefe14fe2450792b">darkest moments of Biden's presidency</a>.

The administration said most of the after-action reviews, which were transmitted privately to Congress on Thursday, were highly classified and would not be released publicly.

“President Biden’s choices for how to execute a withdrawal from Afghanistan were severely constrained by conditions created by his predecessor,” the White House summary states, noting that when Biden entered office, “the Taliban were in the strongest military position that they had been in since 2001, controlling or contesting nearly half of the country.”

The report does fault overly optimistic intelligence community assessments about the Afghan army's willingness to fight, and says Biden followed military commanders' recommendations for the pacing of the drawdown of U.S. forces.

The White House asserts the mistakes of Afghanistan informed its handling of Ukraine, where the Biden administration has been credited for supporting Kyiv’s defense against Russia’s invasion. The White House says it simulated worst-case scenarios prior to the February 2022 invasion and moved to release intelligence about Moscow’s intentions months beforehand.

“We now prioritize earlier evacuations when faced with a degrading security situation,” the White House said.

In an apparent attempt to defend its national security decision-making, the Biden administration also notes that it released pre-war warnings over “strong objections from senior officials in the Ukrainian government.”

Republicans in Congress have sharply criticized the Afghanistan withdrawal, focusing on the deaths of 13 service members in a suicide bombing at Kabul’s airport.

Former Marine Sgt. Tyler Vargas-Andrews, who was badly wounded in the explosion, told a congressional hearing last month that the withdrawal “was a catastrophe” and “there was an inexcusable lack of accountability.”

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby credited U.S. forces for their actions in running the largest airborne evacuation of noncombatants in history during the chaos of Kabul's fall.

“They ended our nation’s longest war," he told reporters. “That was never going to be an easy thing to do. And as the president himself has said, it was never going to be low grade or low risk or low cost.”

Since the U.S. withdrawal, Biden has blamed the February 2020 agreement Trump reached with the Taliban in Doha, Qatar, saying it boxed the U.S. into leaving the country. The agreement gave the Taliban significant legitimacy and has been blamed by analysts for undercutting the U.S.-backed government, which would collapse so quickly a year later.

But the agreement also gave the U.S. the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-middle-east-taliban-doha-e6f48507848aef2ee849154604aa11be">right to withdraw</a>&nbsp;from the accord if Afghan peace talks failed — which they did.

The agreement required the U.S. to remove all forces by May 1, 2021. Biden pushed a full withdrawal to September but declined to delay further, saying it would prolong a war that had long needed to end.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/9/1630691600635.png" alt="U.S. Army soldiers with the 82nd Airborne Division escort evacuees to buses at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan in 2021. -photo courtesy U.S. Dept. of Defense" />
 <figcaption>U.S. Army soldiers with the 82nd Airborne Division escort evacuees to buses at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan in 2021. -photo courtesy U.S. Dept. of Defense</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — A U.S. review led by the National Security Council of the chaotic 2021 withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan largely lays the blame on former President Donald Trump, saying President Joe Biden was “severely constrained" by the decisions of his predecessor.<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/US-Withdrawal-from-Afghanistan.pdf">CLICK here</a> to read the report(Click below watch National Security Council spokesman John Kirby on the report.)<div><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?height=314&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FWhiteHouse%2Fvideos%2F1869887000041300%2F&show_text=false&width=560&t=466" width="560" height="314" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowFullScreen="true"></iframe></div>The White House on Thursday publicly released a 12-page summary of the results of the so-called “&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/afghanistan-military-withdrawal-biden-government-review-f64d6ef65b1b892b00f0d830e5c11ddd">hotwash</a>&nbsp;” of U.S. policies around the ending of the nation's longest war, taking little responsibility for its own actions during some of the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/inflation-afghanistan-biden-al-qaida-ayman-zawahri-92a61266ea72b54aeefe14fe2450792b">darkest moments of Biden's presidency</a>.The administration said most of the after-action reviews, which were transmitted privately to Congress on Thursday, were highly classified and would not be released publicly.“President Biden’s choices for how to execute a withdrawal from Afghanistan were severely constrained by conditions created by his predecessor,” the White House summary states, noting that when Biden entered office, “the Taliban were in the strongest military position that they had been in since 2001, controlling or contesting nearly half of the country.”The report does fault overly optimistic intelligence community assessments about the Afghan army's willingness to fight, and says Biden followed military commanders' recommendations for the pacing of the drawdown of U.S. forces.The White House asserts the mistakes of Afghanistan informed its handling of Ukraine, where the Biden administration has been credited for supporting Kyiv’s defense against Russia’s invasion. The White House says it simulated worst-case scenarios prior to the February 2022 invasion and moved to release intelligence about Moscow’s intentions months beforehand.“We now prioritize earlier evacuations when faced with a degrading security situation,” the White House said.In an apparent attempt to defend its national security decision-making, the Biden administration also notes that it released pre-war warnings over “strong objections from senior officials in the Ukrainian government.”Republicans in Congress have sharply criticized the Afghanistan withdrawal, focusing on the deaths of 13 service members in a suicide bombing at Kabul’s airport.Former Marine Sgt. Tyler Vargas-Andrews, who was badly wounded in the explosion, told a congressional hearing last month that the withdrawal “was a catastrophe” and “there was an inexcusable lack of accountability.”National Security Council spokesman John Kirby credited U.S. forces for their actions in running the largest airborne evacuation of noncombatants in history during the chaos of Kabul's fall.“They ended our nation’s longest war," he told reporters. “That was never going to be an easy thing to do. And as the president himself has said, it was never going to be low grade or low risk or low cost.”Since the U.S. withdrawal, Biden has blamed the February 2020 agreement Trump reached with the Taliban in Doha, Qatar, saying it boxed the U.S. into leaving the country. The agreement gave the Taliban significant legitimacy and has been blamed by analysts for undercutting the U.S.-backed government, which would collapse so quickly a year later.But the agreement also gave the U.S. the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-middle-east-taliban-doha-e6f48507848aef2ee849154604aa11be">right to withdraw</a>&nbsp;from the accord if Afghan peace talks failed — which they did.The agreement required the U.S. to remove all forces by May 1, 2021. Biden pushed a full withdrawal to September but declined to delay further, saying it would prolong a war that had long needed to end.—

🎥Read Biden's report on Afghan withdrawal that blames Trump

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Republican legislators in Kansas approved a plan early Friday to end gender-affirming care for transgender youth, capping a week of intensifying efforts to rolling back LGBTQ rights like other states with GOP-controlled legislatures.

The Kansas House&nbsp;<a href="http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2023_24/measures/vote_view/je_20230407023107_767743/">voted 70-52</a>&nbsp;to pass&nbsp;<a href="http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2023_24/measures/documents/ccrb_sb26_02_040623.pdf">a bill</a>&nbsp;requiring the state's medical board to revoke the licenses of doctors who provide gender-affirming care to minors, even though many professionals who deal with transgender youth see such care as vital to preserving their mental health and preventing suicides. The Senate then voted 23-12 to approve the measure, sending it to Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly.

The governor is expected to veto it, having promised LGBTQ youth during a Statehouse lobbying day last month that she would protect their rights and reject any measure "that aims to harm or discriminate against you.” Supporters were well short of the two-thirds majorities in both chambers needed to override a veto.

LGBTQ-rights advocates believe they're seeing a national effort to erase transgender, non-binary, gender non-conforming and gender fluid people from American society, at least legally. Dr. Beth Oller, a family physician in a small northwestern Kansas town who provides gender-affirming care, saw GOP lawmakers going “in search of a dog whistle” to unite their party.

“This one was a winner because they found it palatable to strip rights from a population that was small and did not affect most of them,” she said in an email Thursday night. “They delude themselves with groupthink so that they can pretend this isn’t about hate but about protection, but we know the truth.”

Thirteen other states have enacted laws against gender-affirming care for minors, though federal judges have blocked enforcement of them in Alabama and Arkansas. Republican lawmakers across the U.S. have pursued several hundred proposals this year pushing back on LGBTQ rights.

Supporters of the Kansas ban argue it’s about protecting children medical care that comes with side effects or cannot be reversed later. They contend that only an adult — and not a minor’s parent — can consent to the treatments.

“We all now children change their minds,” Republican state Rep. Susan Humphries of Wichita said. “How many children know what they want to be when they grow up?”

The care falling under the bill would include puberty-blocking drugs and hormone therapy. While the bill would not keep transgender youth from receiving counseling or psychiatric therapy, the measure applies to acts performed or “causing” acts “to affirm the child’s perception of the child’s sex” if it differs from gender assigned at birth.

“Where I kind of part ways with some of this is with surgical procedures,” said state Rep. Steve Howe, a Republican from central Kansas. “I do agree that all kids have value, and that's why I'm going to support the bill.”

The Kansas vote came after its lawmakers on Thursday passed&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/transgender-children-kansas-schools-b249b1eb36409931a75eab1fbc80c15d">a “parents’ rights” bill</a>&nbsp;allowing families to pull their children out of lessons and activities involving LGBTQ-themed materials and another measure restricting rooming arrangements for transgender students on school trips.

Republicans on Tuesday approved&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/transgender-rights-bathroom-bill-kansas-cbdc14be5bf1fb6e1a0749cad52e8ebc">a broad bathroom bill</a>&nbsp;that would prevent transgender people from changing the gender on their driver’s licenses. On Wednesday they overrode Kelly’s veto of a bill banning transgender female athletes from girls’ and women’s sports.

“People are finally getting tired of this push toward trying to push our kids in the wrong direction, and I think that this is a pushback from parents, from people who see this as a big problem," said state Sen. Mike Thompson, a conservative, Kansas City-area Republican who backed all of the measures. “For hundreds and hundreds and thousands of years, I think that this has not been a problem. Then all of a sudden it seems like it is."

Humphries suggested “a social contagion” driven by social media is helping increase “confused” young people's desire to transition do a different gender, repeating an idea that's been debunked by multiple studies.

Transgender medical treatments&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/science-health-mental-ce8f5a9ee53768af03c3c65d5331045b">for children and teens</a>&nbsp;have been available in the U.S. for more than a decade and are endorsed by major medical associations.

“Gender-affirming medicine is lifesaving,” Jordan Smith, a Kansas City-area resident who identifies as gender fluid and is the Kansas chapter leader for Parasol Patrol, a group advocating for LGBTQ youth, said after a transgender-rights rally at the Statehouse last week.

“You know, the kids are trying to understand who they are and they’re supposed to look to the adults to have that guidance," they added, "and the adults are wanting to say, ‘No, you can’t be that way. No, that’s not right. You’re just confused.’"

After last week's transgender rights rally, Ian Benalcazar, a 13-year-old transgender northeastern Kansas boy, said his decision to socially transition to male was “one of the greatest decisions of my life.”

“I feel so much more free and so much more myself, and it’s allowed me to make so many great connections with people and just be authentically me,” he said.

Oller, the northwestern Kansas doctor, said she has patients who are “terrified” they won't be able to access care and she's worried enactment of a law against gender-affirming care could force her to leave her small town.

But she also said she would probably sue the state, “because I'm not going to take this lying down.” ___

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/4/1680642960114.png" alt=" Ian Benalcázar delivers a speech March 31, at the Statehouse as part of the March for Queer and Trans Youth Autonomy. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption> Ian Benalcázar delivers a speech March 31, at the Statehouse as part of the March for Queer and Trans Youth Autonomy. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure>By JOHN HANNA&nbsp;TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Republican legislators in Kansas approved a plan early Friday to end gender-affirming care for transgender youth, capping a week of intensifying efforts to rolling back LGBTQ rights like other states with GOP-controlled legislatures.The Kansas House&nbsp;<a href="http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2023_24/measures/vote_view/je_20230407023107_767743/">voted 70-52</a>&nbsp;to pass&nbsp;<a href="http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2023_24/measures/documents/ccrb_sb26_02_040623.pdf">a bill</a>&nbsp;requiring the state's medical board to revoke the licenses of doctors who provide gender-affirming care to minors, even though many professionals who deal with transgender youth see such care as vital to preserving their mental health and preventing suicides. The Senate then voted 23-12 to approve the measure, sending it to Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/4/1680363628831.png" alt=" A crowd passes March 31, in front of the Kansas Statehouse as part of the National March for Queer and Trans Youth Autonomy. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption> A crowd passes March 31, in front of the Kansas Statehouse as part of the National March for Queer and Trans Youth Autonomy. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure>The governor is expected to veto it, having promised LGBTQ youth during a Statehouse lobbying day last month that she would protect their rights and reject any measure "that aims to harm or discriminate against you.” Supporters were well short of the two-thirds majorities in both chambers needed to override a veto.LGBTQ-rights advocates believe they're seeing a national effort to erase transgender, non-binary, gender non-conforming and gender fluid people from American society, at least legally. Dr. Beth Oller, a family physician in a small northwestern Kansas town who provides gender-affirming care, saw GOP lawmakers going “in search of a dog whistle” to unite their party.“This one was a winner because they found it palatable to strip rights from a population that was small and did not affect most of them,” she said in an email Thursday night. “They delude themselves with groupthink so that they can pretend this isn’t about hate but about protection, but we know the truth.”Thirteen other states have enacted laws against gender-affirming care for minors, though federal judges have blocked enforcement of them in Alabama and Arkansas. Republican lawmakers across the U.S. have pursued several hundred proposals this year pushing back on LGBTQ rights.Supporters of the Kansas ban argue it’s about protecting children medical care that comes with side effects or cannot be reversed later. They contend that only an adult — and not a minor’s parent — can consent to the treatments.“We all now children change their minds,” Republican state Rep. Susan Humphries of Wichita said. “How many children know what they want to be when they grow up?”The care falling under the bill would include puberty-blocking drugs and hormone therapy. While the bill would not keep transgender youth from receiving counseling or psychiatric therapy, the measure applies to acts performed or “causing” acts “to affirm the child’s perception of the child’s sex” if it differs from gender assigned at birth.“Where I kind of part ways with some of this is with surgical procedures,” said state Rep. Steve Howe, a Republican from central Kansas. “I do agree that all kids have value, and that's why I'm going to support the bill.”The Kansas vote came after its lawmakers on Thursday passed&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/transgender-children-kansas-schools-b249b1eb36409931a75eab1fbc80c15d">a “parents’ rights” bill</a>&nbsp;allowing families to pull their children out of lessons and activities involving LGBTQ-themed materials and another measure restricting rooming arrangements for transgender students on school trips.Republicans on Tuesday approved&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/transgender-rights-bathroom-bill-kansas-cbdc14be5bf1fb6e1a0749cad52e8ebc">a broad bathroom bill</a>&nbsp;that would prevent transgender people from changing the gender on their driver’s licenses. On Wednesday they overrode Kelly’s veto of a bill banning transgender female athletes from girls’ and women’s sports.“People are finally getting tired of this push toward trying to push our kids in the wrong direction, and I think that this is a pushback from parents, from people who see this as a big problem," said state Sen. Mike Thompson, a conservative, Kansas City-area Republican who backed all of the measures. “For hundreds and hundreds and thousands of years, I think that this has not been a problem. Then all of a sudden it seems like it is."Humphries suggested “a social contagion” driven by social media is helping increase “confused” young people's desire to transition do a different gender, repeating an idea that's been debunked by multiple studies.Transgender medical treatments&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/science-health-mental-ce8f5a9ee53768af03c3c65d5331045b">for children and teens</a>&nbsp;have been available in the U.S. for more than a decade and are endorsed by major medical associations.“Gender-affirming medicine is lifesaving,” Jordan Smith, a Kansas City-area resident who identifies as gender fluid and is the Kansas chapter leader for Parasol Patrol, a group advocating for LGBTQ youth, said after a transgender-rights rally at the Statehouse last week.“You know, the kids are trying to understand who they are and they’re supposed to look to the adults to have that guidance," they added, "and the adults are wanting to say, ‘No, you can’t be that way. No, that’s not right. You’re just confused.’"After last week's transgender rights rally, Ian Benalcazar, a 13-year-old transgender northeastern Kansas boy, said his decision to socially transition to male was “one of the greatest decisions of my life.”“I feel so much more free and so much more myself, and it’s allowed me to make so many great connections with people and just be authentically me,” he said.Oller, the northwestern Kansas doctor, said she has patients who are “terrified” they won't be able to access care and she's worried enactment of a law against gender-affirming care could force her to leave her small town.But she also said she would probably sue the state, “because I'm not going to take this lying down.” ___

Kansas approves bill to end gender-affirming care for minors

HUTCHINSON — As of Thursday, Reno County was one of the final places in Kansas where you could still get gas for under $3 a gallon, and that is likely to not continue for long.

"We've started to see gas prices again on the rise, fueled by a couple of things," said Shawn Steward with AAA Kansas. "First of all is robust demand. Demand seems to be rebounding, as is typical. This time of the year, we start seeing more people out driving as the weather improves, but then there's also an unexpected event that happened in the last few days that caused crude oil prices to rise. On Sunday, OPEC and other major oil producers, including Russia, known as OPEC+, announced a voluntary agreement to slash their output by just over 1 million barrels per day, through the end of 2023."

"We've seen oil prices rise about $6 a barrel from where we were a week ago, popping over the $80 mark," Steward said. "That's part of the ongoing equation. Oil prices directly impact the prices we see in gasoline at the pumps."

Over half of the price of a gallon of gas is set by the price of the oil it was made from.

"Traditionally, this is a more high demand season that we're starting to head into," Steward said. " With higher demand, typically, the prices do rise. The summer blend gasoline is coming into the system, which is a little bit more expensive, so adds a few additional cents to the gas price."

The one thing that could lower pump prices is if worldwide demand remains sluggish due to fears of a potential recession.

NICK GOSNELL Hutch PostHUTCHINSON — As of Thursday, Reno County was one of the final places in Kansas where you could still get gas for under $3 a gallon, and that is likely to not continue for long."We've started to see gas prices again on the rise, fueled by a couple of things," said Shawn Steward with AAA Kansas. "First of all is robust demand. Demand seems to be rebounding, as is typical. This time of the year, we start seeing more people out driving as the weather improves, but then there's also an unexpected event that happened in the last few days that caused crude oil prices to rise. On Sunday, OPEC and other major oil producers, including Russia, known as OPEC+, announced a voluntary agreement to slash their output by just over 1 million barrels per day, through the end of 2023.""We've seen oil prices rise about $6 a barrel from where we were a week ago, popping over the $80 mark," Steward said. "That's part of the ongoing equation. Oil prices directly impact the prices we see in gasoline at the pumps."Over half of the price of a gallon of gas is set by the price of the oil it was made from."Traditionally, this is a more high demand season that we're starting to head into," Steward said. " With higher demand, typically, the prices do rise. The summer blend gasoline is coming into the system, which is a little bit more expensive, so adds a few additional cents to the gas price."The one thing that could lower pump prices is if worldwide demand remains sluggish due to fears of a potential recession.

AAA: Gas prices likely to top $3 and stay there

KANSAS CITY —A Kansas City man faces felony charges for the fatal shooting of Carl Stewart on Tuesday night in a hotel room on Hillcrest in south Kansas City, according to Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker.

Makail L. Rogers, 28, faces Murder 2nd Degree and Armed Criminal Action charges.

According to court documents filed Wednesday, Kansas City police responded early Tuesday to a reported shooting in a Hillcrest Road hotel. 

Officers made entry into a hotel room and found the male victim. He had been shot multiple times and was confirmed deceased. Officers pursued a suspect in the shooting outside the hotel. He was reportedly armed with a handgun. 

Officers and the suspect exchanged gunfire at E. 87th Street underneath the Interstate 435 bridge overpass. The suspect was taken into custody and officers found a .40 caliber gun and spent shell casings under him. Surveillance video showed the defendant going out and attempting to go back in a window to the hotel room where the victim was found.

 A witness saw the defendant struggling with the victim inside the room when the door was open, then shots were heard.

A separate investigation of an exchange of gunfire between the suspect and police is under investigation. Prosecutors requested a $250,000 bond.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/4/1680725917368.png" alt="Rogers-photo Jackson Co." />
 <figcaption>Rogers-photo Jackson Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY —A Kansas City man faces felony charges for the fatal shooting of Carl Stewart on Tuesday night in a hotel room on Hillcrest in south Kansas City, according to Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker.Makail L. Rogers, 28, faces Murder 2nd Degree and Armed Criminal Action charges.According to court documents filed Wednesday, Kansas City police responded early Tuesday to a reported shooting in a Hillcrest Road hotel. Officers made entry into a hotel room and found the male victim. He had been shot multiple times and was confirmed deceased. Officers pursued a suspect in the shooting outside the hotel. He was reportedly armed with a handgun. <figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/4/1680626757214.png" alt="Police on the scene of the gun fire -photo courtesy KCTV" />
 <figcaption>Police on the scene of the gun fire -photo courtesy KCTV</figcaption>
 </figure>Officers and the suspect exchanged gunfire at E. 87th Street underneath the Interstate 435 bridge overpass. The suspect was taken into custody and officers found a .40 caliber gun and spent shell casings under him. Surveillance video showed the defendant going out and attempting to go back in a window to the hotel room where the victim was found. A witness saw the defendant struggling with the victim inside the room when the door was open, then shots were heard.A separate investigation of an exchange of gunfire between the suspect and police is under investigation. Prosecutors requested a $250,000 bond.

KC man charged for motel murder, gun battle with police

JACKSON COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a Kansas man after a high-speed chase in a reported stolen car.

Just after 11p.m. April 4, sheriff's deputies were notified of the theft of a 2018 Nissan Sentra from the Casey’s General Store in Hiawatha, according to Sheriff Tim Morse.&nbsp;

Approximately 25 minutes later Jackson County Deputies located the vehicle inside Jackson County where a pursuit ensued from Holton southbound. 

The pursuit ended stopping near 150th Road where the driver identified as 42-year-old Jeffery Erwin Primeaux of Hutchinson, surrendered to deputies and was taken into custody. 

&nbsp;Primeaux is being held on requested charges of felony flee and eluding law enforcement, according to Morse. Additional charges are also possible.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/4/1680794737381.png" alt="Primeaux-photo Jackson Co." />
 <figcaption>Primeaux-photo Jackson Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>JACKSON COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a Kansas man after a high-speed chase in a reported stolen car.Just after 11p.m. April 4, sheriff's deputies were notified of the theft of a 2018 Nissan Sentra from the Casey’s General Store in Hiawatha, according to Sheriff Tim Morse.&nbsp;Approximately 25 minutes later Jackson County Deputies located the vehicle inside Jackson County where a pursuit ensued from Holton southbound. The pursuit ended stopping near 150th Road where the driver identified as 42-year-old Jeffery Erwin Primeaux of Hutchinson, surrendered to deputies and was taken into custody. &nbsp;Primeaux is being held on requested charges of felony flee and eluding law enforcement, according to Morse. Additional charges are also possible.

Kansas man caught driving reported stolen car

WASHINGTON (AP) — The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/us-supreme-court">Supreme Court</a>&nbsp;on Thursday allowed a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/sports-west-virginia-patrick-morrisey-education-f8e1afd51c2729f31ce7d59bf1bc5d89">12-year-old transgender girl in West Virginia</a>&nbsp;to continue competing on her middle school’s girls sports teams while a lawsuit over a state ban continues.

The Kansas Legislature on Wednesday overrode Gov. Laura Kelly’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/transgender-rights-athletes-ban-kansas-711e121ea0ab00653d61f9dadf9b9c0e">third veto in three years</a>&nbsp;of a bill to ban transgender athletes.

Supreme Court Justices refused to disturb an appeals court order that made it possible for the girl, Becky Pepper-Jackson, to continue playing on her school’s track and cross-country teams, where she regularly finishes near the back of the pack.

Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas would have allowed West Virginia to enforce its law against Pepper-Jackson.

Pepper-Jackson is in the middle of the outdoor track season. She had filed a lawsuit challenging the law, the Save Women’s Sports Act, which&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/sports-legislature-west-virginia-college-sports-bills-2424d3b8aaeabed7840f2d2e25458847">West Virginia lawmakers adopted in 2021</a>. A federal appeals court had allowed her to compete while she appealed a lower court ruling that upheld the West Virginia law.

Two weeks ago, track and field banned transgender athletes from international competitions. West Virginia is among 20 states that ban transgender athletes from participating in sports consistent with their gender identity, according to Movement Advancement Project, a pro-LGBTQ rights think tank.

West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice, a Republican, also recently signed legislation banning gender-affirming care for minors, part of an effort in Republican-led states across the country to curb LGBTQ+ rights this year.

West Virginia’s law on schools sports competition bars transgender athletes from female teams. Signed by Justice, the law defines male and female by looking to the student’s “reproductive biology and genetics at birth.” It applies to middle and high schools, as well as colleges.

Under the law, male athletes can play on male or co-ed teams and female athletes can play on all teams.

Tennis great Martina Navratilova was among dozens of female athletes backing West Virginia at the Supreme Court, along with Republican attorneys general in 21 states.

U.S. District Court Judge Joseph Goodwin initially barred West Virginia from enforcing its law and allowed Pepper-Jackson to compete on the girls’ teams while the case continued.

But Goodwin ultimately found that the law does not violate the Constitution or Title IX, the landmark 1972 gender equity legislation. Goodwin, an appointee of former President Bill Clinton, ruled the law could remain in place as appeals continued.

Lawyers for the girl, known in the lawsuit by the initials B.P.J., appealed. A three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals voted 2-1, without issuing any opinion, to put the law on hold while it considers the case.

The two appeals court judges who voted to put the law on hold were Pamela A. Harris, an appointee of former President Barack Obama’s, and Toby J. Heytens, an appointee of President Joe Biden’s. Judge G. Steven Agee, an appointee of former President George W. Bush, dissented.

The Supreme Court provided no justification for its action Thursday.

In dissent, Alito wrote, "I would grant the State’s application. Among other things, enforcement of the law at issue should not be forbidden by the federal courts without any explanation." Thomas joined the dissent.

In asking the high court to allow the law to take effect while the case plays out, West Virginia told the justices that: “This case implicates a question fraught with emotions and differing perspectives. That is all the more reason to defer to state lawmakers pending appeal. ... The decision was the West Virginia Legislature’s to make. The end of this litigation will confirm that it made a valid one.”

Pepper-Jackson is identified in court documents by her initials because of federal rules that prohibit identifying minors. But Pepper-Jackson and her mother have spoken out repeatedly about the issue.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/us-supreme-court">Supreme Court</a>&nbsp;on Thursday allowed a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/sports-west-virginia-patrick-morrisey-education-f8e1afd51c2729f31ce7d59bf1bc5d89">12-year-old transgender girl in West Virginia</a>&nbsp;to continue competing on her middle school’s girls sports teams while a lawsuit over a state ban continues.The Kansas Legislature on Wednesday overrode Gov. Laura Kelly’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/transgender-rights-athletes-ban-kansas-711e121ea0ab00653d61f9dadf9b9c0e">third veto in three years</a>&nbsp;of a bill to ban transgender athletes.Supreme Court Justices refused to disturb an appeals court order that made it possible for the girl, Becky Pepper-Jackson, to continue playing on her school’s track and cross-country teams, where she regularly finishes near the back of the pack.Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas would have allowed West Virginia to enforce its law against Pepper-Jackson.Pepper-Jackson is in the middle of the outdoor track season. She had filed a lawsuit challenging the law, the Save Women’s Sports Act, which&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/sports-legislature-west-virginia-college-sports-bills-2424d3b8aaeabed7840f2d2e25458847">West Virginia lawmakers adopted in 2021</a>. A federal appeals court had allowed her to compete while she appealed a lower court ruling that upheld the West Virginia law.Two weeks ago, track and field banned transgender athletes from international competitions. West Virginia is among 20 states that ban transgender athletes from participating in sports consistent with their gender identity, according to Movement Advancement Project, a pro-LGBTQ rights think tank.West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice, a Republican, also recently signed legislation banning gender-affirming care for minors, part of an effort in Republican-led states across the country to curb LGBTQ+ rights this year.West Virginia’s law on schools sports competition bars transgender athletes from female teams. Signed by Justice, the law defines male and female by looking to the student’s “reproductive biology and genetics at birth.” It applies to middle and high schools, as well as colleges.Under the law, male athletes can play on male or co-ed teams and female athletes can play on all teams.Tennis great Martina Navratilova was among dozens of female athletes backing West Virginia at the Supreme Court, along with Republican attorneys general in 21 states.U.S. District Court Judge Joseph Goodwin initially barred West Virginia from enforcing its law and allowed Pepper-Jackson to compete on the girls’ teams while the case continued.But Goodwin ultimately found that the law does not violate the Constitution or Title IX, the landmark 1972 gender equity legislation. Goodwin, an appointee of former President Bill Clinton, ruled the law could remain in place as appeals continued.Lawyers for the girl, known in the lawsuit by the initials B.P.J., appealed. A three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals voted 2-1, without issuing any opinion, to put the law on hold while it considers the case.The two appeals court judges who voted to put the law on hold were Pamela A. Harris, an appointee of former President Barack Obama’s, and Toby J. Heytens, an appointee of President Joe Biden’s. Judge G. Steven Agee, an appointee of former President George W. Bush, dissented.The Supreme Court provided no justification for its action Thursday.In dissent, Alito wrote, "I would grant the State’s application. Among other things, enforcement of the law at issue should not be forbidden by the federal courts without any explanation." Thomas joined the dissent.In asking the high court to allow the law to take effect while the case plays out, West Virginia told the justices that: “This case implicates a question fraught with emotions and differing perspectives. That is all the more reason to defer to state lawmakers pending appeal. ... The decision was the West Virginia Legislature’s to make. The end of this litigation will confirm that it made a valid one.”Pepper-Jackson is identified in court documents by her initials because of federal rules that prohibit identifying minors. But Pepper-Jackson and her mother have spoken out repeatedly about the issue.

After Kan. vote, Supremes deny request to enforce transgender sports ban 

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Three men were charged Thursday with attempted capital murder after a shootout with Kansas City, Kansas, police officers during an attempted undercover drug buy, officials said.

Wyandotte County District Attorney Mark Dupree said Cornell Lance Jones Jr.; Samarion Ardel England; and Jaeveon Mitchell-Locke face possible life sentences if they are convicted. They range in age from 18 to 22.

Three officers were shot and two others were wounded by shrapnel in the shootout Wednesday in front of convenience store in Kansas City, Kansas. The three suspects were also shot.

Kansas City, Kansas, Police Chief Karl Oakman said only one officer remained hospitalized Thursday and he was expected to be released soon. It was not clear if the suspects were hospitalized but their injuries were not considered life-threatening.

Oakman said undercover officers were trying to buy fentanyl from the defendants when the drug buy fell through. The officers who were injured responded to help arrest the men.

The men are also charged with aggravated assault against an officer, aggravated child endangerment and fentanyl distribution, Dupree said. They are in custody on $250,000 bond.

Dupree said three children and other adults were inside the store when the shooting occurred. None of them were injured although bullets did enter the store, he said.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/4/1680812877141.png" alt="Cornell Jones-photo Wyandotte Co." />
 <figcaption>Cornell Jones-photo Wyandotte Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Three men were charged Thursday with attempted capital murder after a shootout with Kansas City, Kansas, police officers during an attempted undercover drug buy, officials said.Wyandotte County District Attorney Mark Dupree said Cornell Lance Jones Jr.; Samarion Ardel England; and Jaeveon Mitchell-Locke face possible life sentences if they are convicted. They range in age from 18 to 22.Three officers were shot and two others were wounded by shrapnel in the shootout Wednesday in front of convenience store in Kansas City, Kansas. The three suspects were also shot.Kansas City, Kansas, Police Chief Karl Oakman said only one officer remained hospitalized Thursday and he was expected to be released soon. It was not clear if the suspects were hospitalized but their injuries were not considered life-threatening.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/4/1680733406803.png" alt="Police on the scene of the gun fight investigation -photo courtesy KCTV" />
 <figcaption>Police on the scene of the gun fight investigation -photo courtesy KCTV</figcaption>
 </figure>Oakman said undercover officers were trying to buy fentanyl from the defendants when the drug buy fell through. The officers who were injured responded to help arrest the men.The men are also charged with aggravated assault against an officer, aggravated child endangerment and fentanyl distribution, Dupree said. They are in custody on $250,000 bond.Dupree said three children and other adults were inside the store when the shooting occurred. None of them were injured although bullets did enter the store, he said.

1 of 5 Kan. officers injured in fentanyl bust remains hospitalized

SEDGWICK COUNTY — A woman injured in an accident on Wednesday has died. 

Just after 7p.m., a car driven by 51-year-old&nbsp;Christene Traina was northbound&nbsp; on Meridian Avenue at Main Street in Valley Center, acording to Valley Center Director of Public Safety Director/Police Chief Lloyd Newman.

The vehicle crossed the center line and struck a southbound van.&nbsp; EMS transported Traina to a local hospital where she died, according to Newman. Police reported no other injuries.

&nbsp;The case is still under investigation and the cause of death is pending an autopsy and toxicology results, according to Newman.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/4/1680802058552.png" alt="First responders at the scene of the crash-photo courtesy KWCH" />
 <figcaption>First responders at the scene of the crash-photo courtesy KWCH</figcaption>
 </figure>SEDGWICK COUNTY — A woman injured in an accident on Wednesday has died. Just after 7p.m., a car driven by 51-year-old&nbsp;Christene Traina was northbound&nbsp; on Meridian Avenue at Main Street in Valley Center, acording to Valley Center Director of Public Safety Director/Police Chief Lloyd Newman.The vehicle crossed the center line and struck a southbound van.&nbsp; EMS transported Traina to a local hospital where she died, according to Newman. Police reported no other injuries.&nbsp;The case is still under investigation and the cause of death is pending an autopsy and toxicology results, according to Newman.

Police investigate Kansas woman's death in crash

Bollinger County, Mo. (AP) —The five people who were killed when a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/midwest-south-storms-tornadoes-2783b74e077740b3c253ce30632ff04d">tornado barreled through their Missouri village</a>&nbsp;were inside a mobile home or adjacent camper that were obliterated, authorities said Thursday.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol released the names of the victims. Glenn Burcks, 62, lived in the mobile home. Susan Sullivan, 57, also lived there along with her 37-year-old nephew, James Skaggs. Also killed were Sullivan's 16-year-old granddaughter, Destinee Nicole Koenig of Sikeston, Missouri, and 18-year-old Michael McCoy. Koenig's obituary said McCoy was her boyfriend.

The tornado strafed a 22-mile (35-kilometer) stretch of southeastern Missouri, including Glenallen, starting shortly after 3:30 a.m. Wednesday. It came during&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/tornado-arkansas-storm-concert-79fe2da8a6b8bd92970032530b760d20">a week of violent storms</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/tornado-storms-deaths-damage-tennessee-arkansas-1931cb7510deab7ad26890d033fb32e1">tornadoes</a>&nbsp;in the central and southern U.S., including Kentucky, where National Weather Service said Thursday that it was surveying damage from three EF-1 twisters that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/kentucky-tornado-louisville-storm-damage-db19a3320a1674cf4900026c035c51dc">touched down</a>.

Glenallen, which is home to only about 60 people and sits in a hilly and isolated area of southeastern Missouri, got the worst of Wednesday's tornado, which the weather service characterized as an EF-2, with winds of 130 mph (209 kph). A fire station and church were destroyed, and dozens of homes were damaged, many beyond repair. The mobile home and camper where the five people were smashed beyond recognition.

Highway Patrol Sgt. Clark Parrott said investigators aren't sure if any of the victims were in the camper when the tornado hit.

The mobile home essentially exploded, leaving only scattered debris and a rusted metal chassis. Some shards of metal stuck to tree limbs. Tattered remains of furniture sat in a field. A few old photos, videotapes and even baseball cards dotted the mud near the home's concrete pad.

Koenig was a sophomore at New Madrid High School and loved animals, especially cats and dogs. A message seeking comment from the school district wasn’t immediately returned.

Sullivan worked as a teacher for Head Start for about 15 years, according to her obituary. She had a fondness for her dog, “Baby,” and for pigs.

Skaggs “loved to take pictures, have fun and be the life of the party,” his obituary stated.

Obituaries for Burcks and McCoy had not been posted as of midday Thursday.

In Kentucky, preliminary findings on Thursday indicated that tornadoes struck the Pleasure Ridge Park and Newburg sections of Louisville, meteorologist Brian Neudorff said. The storm toppled trees and power lines and tore the roof off an apartment building.

A separate tornado with maximum winds of 110 mph (177 kph) touched down in the Brandonburg area of Mead County, less than an hour southwest of Louisville, Neudorff said. There were no immediate reports of injuries.

Bob Oravec, a lead weather service forecaster, said more severe weather was possible Thursday in an area stretching from eastern Texas to the mid-Atlantic states.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/4/1680804825268.png" alt="Photo Missouri State Highway Patrol" />
 <figcaption>Photo Missouri State Highway Patrol</figcaption>
 </figure>Bollinger County, Mo. (AP) —The five people who were killed when a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/midwest-south-storms-tornadoes-2783b74e077740b3c253ce30632ff04d">tornado barreled through their Missouri village</a>&nbsp;were inside a mobile home or adjacent camper that were obliterated, authorities said Thursday.The Missouri State Highway Patrol released the names of the victims. Glenn Burcks, 62, lived in the mobile home. Susan Sullivan, 57, also lived there along with her 37-year-old nephew, James Skaggs. Also killed were Sullivan's 16-year-old granddaughter, Destinee Nicole Koenig of Sikeston, Missouri, and 18-year-old Michael McCoy. Koenig's obituary said McCoy was her boyfriend.The tornado strafed a 22-mile (35-kilometer) stretch of southeastern Missouri, including Glenallen, starting shortly after 3:30 a.m. Wednesday. It came during&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/tornado-arkansas-storm-concert-79fe2da8a6b8bd92970032530b760d20">a week of violent storms</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/tornado-storms-deaths-damage-tennessee-arkansas-1931cb7510deab7ad26890d033fb32e1">tornadoes</a>&nbsp;in the central and southern U.S., including Kentucky, where National Weather Service said Thursday that it was surveying damage from three EF-1 twisters that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/kentucky-tornado-louisville-storm-damage-db19a3320a1674cf4900026c035c51dc">touched down</a>.Glenallen, which is home to only about 60 people and sits in a hilly and isolated area of southeastern Missouri, got the worst of Wednesday's tornado, which the weather service characterized as an EF-2, with winds of 130 mph (209 kph). A fire station and church were destroyed, and dozens of homes were damaged, many beyond repair. The mobile home and camper where the five people were smashed beyond recognition.Highway Patrol Sgt. Clark Parrott said investigators aren't sure if any of the victims were in the camper when the tornado hit.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/4/1680702085941.jpeg" alt="Photo Missouri State Highway Patrol" />
 <figcaption>Photo Missouri State Highway Patrol</figcaption>
 </figure>The mobile home essentially exploded, leaving only scattered debris and a rusted metal chassis. Some shards of metal stuck to tree limbs. Tattered remains of furniture sat in a field. A few old photos, videotapes and even baseball cards dotted the mud near the home's concrete pad.Koenig was a sophomore at New Madrid High School and loved animals, especially cats and dogs. A message seeking comment from the school district wasn’t immediately returned.Sullivan worked as a teacher for Head Start for about 15 years, according to her obituary. She had a fondness for her dog, “Baby,” and for pigs.Skaggs “loved to take pictures, have fun and be the life of the party,” his obituary stated.Obituaries for Burcks and McCoy had not been posted as of midday Thursday.In Kentucky, preliminary findings on Thursday indicated that tornadoes struck the Pleasure Ridge Park and Newburg sections of Louisville, meteorologist Brian Neudorff said. The storm toppled trees and power lines and tore the roof off an apartment building.A separate tornado with maximum winds of 110 mph (177 kph) touched down in the Brandonburg area of Mead County, less than an hour southwest of Louisville, Neudorff said. There were no immediate reports of injuries.Bob Oravec, a lead weather service forecaster, said more severe weather was possible Thursday in an area stretching from eastern Texas to the mid-Atlantic states.

Patrol IDs 2 teens, 3 adults who died in Missouri tornado

By RACHEL MIPRO <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/04/05/kansas-lawmakers-debate-definition-of-female-and-male-for-county-jails/">Kansas Reflector</a>

TOPEKA
 — A bill meant to help overburdened county jails is still under debate 
after lawmakers rolled portions of a “women’s bill of rights” into the 
legislation.

Sheriffs and elected officials from Sedgwick and Finney Counties <a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2022/10/03/kansas-inmates-wait-months-for-treatment-due-to-shortage-of-mental-health-hospital-beds/">repeatedly asked lawmakers</a>
 to help with ongoing county jail workforce shortages and mental health 
crises. In many cases, people deemed a danger to themselves or others 
are reviewed by the district attorney’s office, and are sent to the 
county jail until a hospital bed is ready. Because
 of shortages of mental health care workers and beds for patients, 
community hospitals and jails in western Kansas have had to pick up the 
slack, housing mentally unstable patients without state reimbursement.

<a target="_blank" href="http://kslegislature.org/li/b2023_24/measures/SB228/">The legislation</a>
 provides reimbursement to counties for the costs of&nbsp; housing people 
awaiting examination, evaluation or treatment for competency, giving a 
rate of $100 per day for each person. The bill also has other provisions
 modifying antiquated county jail procedures and contracts.

In negotiations between the two 
chambers, senators amended the bill to clarify men and women should 
always be kept in separate rooms and defined these classifications as 
the “biological state of being female or male based on the individual’s 
sex organs, chromosomes, and endogenous hormone profiles.”&nbsp;

Rep. Boog Highberger, a Lawrence 
Democrat, called the changes “problematic” and said senators essentially
 took the definition of sex from <a target="_blank" href="http://kslegislature.org/li/b2023_24/measures/sb180/">Senate Bill 180</a>.
 That bill uses a politically charged definition of “women” to exclude 
transgender women from gender-specific public spaces. Under the bill, 
only those with female reproductive systems are classified as women.

Highberger said this language would 
require chromosome checking, along with other procedures that jails 
aren’t equipped to handle.

“It doesn’t address the question of 
intersex people, who don’t fall into either category,” Highberger said. 
“This bill amendment is going to create problems where there aren’t any 
now. Our county jails all across the state are dealing with this. They 
didn’t ask for this change, this came from the Senate.”

Republicans executed a procedural move to exclude Democrats from 
working out a compromise on the bill. Negotiations on a final product 
were underway Wednesday night.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/4/1680803222688.png" alt="Rep. Boog Highberger, right, says definitions of "female" and "male" that were inserted into proposed legislation are problematic and will cause problems for county jails. (Rachel Mipro/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption>Rep. Boog Highberger, right, says definitions of "female" and "male" that were inserted into proposed legislation are problematic and will cause problems for county jails. (Rachel Mipro/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure>By RACHEL MIPRO <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/04/05/kansas-lawmakers-debate-definition-of-female-and-male-for-county-jails/">Kansas Reflector</a>TOPEKA
 — A bill meant to help overburdened county jails is still under debate 
after lawmakers rolled portions of a “women’s bill of rights” into the 
legislation.Sheriffs and elected officials from Sedgwick and Finney Counties <a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2022/10/03/kansas-inmates-wait-months-for-treatment-due-to-shortage-of-mental-health-hospital-beds/">repeatedly asked lawmakers</a>
 to help with ongoing county jail workforce shortages and mental health 
crises. In many cases, people deemed a danger to themselves or others 
are reviewed by the district attorney’s office, and are sent to the 
county jail until a hospital bed is ready. Because
 of shortages of mental health care workers and beds for patients, 
community hospitals and jails in western Kansas have had to pick up the 
slack, housing mentally unstable patients without state reimbursement.<a target="_blank" href="http://kslegislature.org/li/b2023_24/measures/SB228/">The legislation</a>
 provides reimbursement to counties for the costs of&nbsp; housing people 
awaiting examination, evaluation or treatment for competency, giving a 
rate of $100 per day for each person. The bill also has other provisions
 modifying antiquated county jail procedures and contracts.In negotiations between the two 
chambers, senators amended the bill to clarify men and women should 
always be kept in separate rooms and defined these classifications as 
the “biological state of being female or male based on the individual’s 
sex organs, chromosomes, and endogenous hormone profiles.”&nbsp;Rep. Boog Highberger, a Lawrence 
Democrat, called the changes “problematic” and said senators essentially
 took the definition of sex from <a target="_blank" href="http://kslegislature.org/li/b2023_24/measures/sb180/">Senate Bill 180</a>.
 That bill uses a politically charged definition of “women” to exclude 
transgender women from gender-specific public spaces. Under the bill, 
only those with female reproductive systems are classified as women.Highberger said this language would 
require chromosome checking, along with other procedures that jails 
aren’t equipped to handle.“It doesn’t address the question of 
intersex people, who don’t fall into either category,” Highberger said. 
“This bill amendment is going to create problems where there aren’t any 
now. Our county jails all across the state are dealing with this. They 
didn’t ask for this change, this came from the Senate.”Republicans executed a procedural move to exclude Democrats from 
working out a compromise on the bill. Negotiations on a final product 
were underway Wednesday night.