OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The Federal Railroad Administration recently completed a review of Norfolk Southern's safety culture in the wake of the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/pennsylvania-ohio-evacuations-fires-5d399dc745f51ef746e22828083d8591">February's fiery derailment</a>&nbsp;in Ohio, and officials plan to follow up with similar investigations of all the major freight railroads over the next year.

A report will be released soon on what&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ohio-train-derailment-norfolk-southern-safety-investigation-2c819f2c469102332d4b1abf4c6e8923">investigators found</a>&nbsp;at Norfolk Southern after the Feb. 3 derailment — which prompted the evacuation of half of East Palestine, Ohio — and several other recent derailments. That crash near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/railroad-safety-derailments-tank-car-ohio-minnesota-c60f33b64e9c7dc05768a78ae20f3ce5">sparked intense interest</a>&nbsp;in railroad safety nationwide and prompted&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ohio-train-derailment-congress-6288cdfb0b4381de4c9bfb05199b8ba6">proposed reforms in Congress</a>.

The head of the FRA, Administrator Amit Bose, said in a letter to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer recently that in addition to individual reports on Union Pacific, BNSF, CSX, Canadian National and Canadian Pacific Kansas City, the agency will also produce an industrywide report on common issues and trends.

Railroad unions have been raising concerns that operating changes the railroads have made over the past six years have made the trains that haul hazardous materials and goods of all kinds across the country more dangerous.

The unions say the deep staff cuts railroads have made, combined with their increasing reliance on&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/railroad-crossing-elimination-grants-transportation-department-dce25564812f3a550bde46b5b2976c1e">longer trains</a>, have increased the chance of safety problems. They say inspections are being rushed, preventative maintenance may be neglected and overworked employees are more likely to be fatigued.

The railroads&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-aab7d3084a8d17d8d721d2cb750be323">have defended their practices</a>&nbsp;and said they haven't sacrificed safety to become more efficient. The industry also emphasizes that it remains the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/palestinian-territories-ohio-canada-business-accidents-d57651e17b2f9e0163c50298106950a3">safest way</a>&nbsp;to transport hazardous materials over land.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/derailment-ohio-safety-norfolk-southern-railroad-171b7d3f8e0dbced1336efafb098badf">Norfolk Southern</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/railroad-safety-ohio-derailment-hazardous-materials-74d7aec638500c52d1eb9fda0acf9f26">all the major railroads</a>&nbsp;have announced a number of steps they are taking to improve safety though&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/rail-accidents-transportation-pete-buttigieg-ohio-pennsylvania-f1cd9d79cdd66b1f45d1dcdf1e53ff58">regulators</a>, and lawmakers have called for them to do more.

Federal regulators have said that safety data hasn't changed enough to show that the railroads' new operating model is unsafe. The figures do show that the rate of accidents per every million miles freight trains travel increased from 15.572 to 16.695 over the past decade even though the total number of incidents declined as railroads hauled less freight. The rate of accidents inside railyards also worsened from 11.044 in 2013 to 15.517 last year.

There have also been concerns raised about the safety of today's long trains that routinely stretch more than two miles. Bose said that the FRA&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/railroad-safety-derailments-long-trains-fra-ceaf4f56fedbdba6ce9374166b41b895">recently warned</a>&nbsp;railroads to be careful about the way they assemble long trains to reduce the risk of derailments.

The freight railroads favor longer trains because they allow them to deliver the same amount of freight with fewer crews and locomotives.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/3/1678141665059.png" alt="&nbsp;Union Pacific train derailment on March 4 in Sumner County, Kansas -photo courtesy KWCH" />
 <figcaption>&nbsp;Union Pacific train derailment on March 4 in Sumner County, Kansas -photo courtesy KWCH</figcaption>
 </figure>OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The Federal Railroad Administration recently completed a review of Norfolk Southern's safety culture in the wake of the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/pennsylvania-ohio-evacuations-fires-5d399dc745f51ef746e22828083d8591">February's fiery derailment</a>&nbsp;in Ohio, and officials plan to follow up with similar investigations of all the major freight railroads over the next year.A report will be released soon on what&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ohio-train-derailment-norfolk-southern-safety-investigation-2c819f2c469102332d4b1abf4c6e8923">investigators found</a>&nbsp;at Norfolk Southern after the Feb. 3 derailment — which prompted the evacuation of half of East Palestine, Ohio — and several other recent derailments. That crash near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/railroad-safety-derailments-tank-car-ohio-minnesota-c60f33b64e9c7dc05768a78ae20f3ce5">sparked intense interest</a>&nbsp;in railroad safety nationwide and prompted&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ohio-train-derailment-congress-6288cdfb0b4381de4c9bfb05199b8ba6">proposed reforms in Congress</a>.The head of the FRA, Administrator Amit Bose, said in a letter to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer recently that in addition to individual reports on Union Pacific, BNSF, CSX, Canadian National and Canadian Pacific Kansas City, the agency will also produce an industrywide report on common issues and trends.Railroad unions have been raising concerns that operating changes the railroads have made over the past six years have made the trains that haul hazardous materials and goods of all kinds across the country more dangerous.The unions say the deep staff cuts railroads have made, combined with their increasing reliance on&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/railroad-crossing-elimination-grants-transportation-department-dce25564812f3a550bde46b5b2976c1e">longer trains</a>, have increased the chance of safety problems. They say inspections are being rushed, preventative maintenance may be neglected and overworked employees are more likely to be fatigued.The railroads&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-aab7d3084a8d17d8d721d2cb750be323">have defended their practices</a>&nbsp;and said they haven't sacrificed safety to become more efficient. The industry also emphasizes that it remains the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/palestinian-territories-ohio-canada-business-accidents-d57651e17b2f9e0163c50298106950a3">safest way</a>&nbsp;to transport hazardous materials over land.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/derailment-ohio-safety-norfolk-southern-railroad-171b7d3f8e0dbced1336efafb098badf">Norfolk Southern</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/railroad-safety-ohio-derailment-hazardous-materials-74d7aec638500c52d1eb9fda0acf9f26">all the major railroads</a>&nbsp;have announced a number of steps they are taking to improve safety though&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/rail-accidents-transportation-pete-buttigieg-ohio-pennsylvania-f1cd9d79cdd66b1f45d1dcdf1e53ff58">regulators</a>, and lawmakers have called for them to do more.Federal regulators have said that safety data hasn't changed enough to show that the railroads' new operating model is unsafe. The figures do show that the rate of accidents per every million miles freight trains travel increased from 15.572 to 16.695 over the past decade even though the total number of incidents declined as railroads hauled less freight. The rate of accidents inside railyards also worsened from 11.044 in 2013 to 15.517 last year.There have also been concerns raised about the safety of today's long trains that routinely stretch more than two miles. Bose said that the FRA&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/railroad-safety-derailments-long-trains-fra-ceaf4f56fedbdba6ce9374166b41b895">recently warned</a>&nbsp;railroads to be careful about the way they assemble long trains to reduce the risk of derailments.The freight railroads favor longer trains because they allow them to deliver the same amount of freight with fewer crews and locomotives.

Federal regulators promise safety review at all major freight railroads

COLUMBUS, Kan. (AP) — Students spread out in their rural Kansas classroom, answering questions with a partner about invaders atop elephants attempting to sack Rome more than 2,000 years ago.

“Do you want to read?” one of the third graders, Parker, asked his partner after the lesson on the Punic Wars. “Because I’m not really good.”

Bekah Noel told her students to jot down answers for their partners if they needed extra help writing or spelling. Halfway through the school year, with some of her students reading nearly 200 words per minute and others struggling to sound out around 10, she has had to make a lot of tweaks like this.

Exiting from the pandemic, the assumption might be that Noel’s students should be among the least scathed. The tiny, 900-student school system in Columbus pivoted to remote learning briefly in March 2020 before going back in person that fall, initially without masks. While some U.S. students spent&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-education-covid-46cb725e08110f8ad3c1b303ec9eefad">a year or more learning online</a>, pandemic school in rural Kansas was as normal as it got.

But the upheaval still took a toll. Students and teachers got sick, social distancing made it hard to teach kids in small groups, and the pace of teaching ground to a crawl. Three years later, Noel has&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/school-reading-test-science-1fc4a95538b6b5c72b447a2935ee0f87">more third graders than ever</a>&nbsp;who are reading below grade level. That’s the true elephant in the room.

“I have kids,” Noel said midway through the year, “that legitimately cannot read.”

Noel is used to adapting to students’ needs, and she has been pulling out all the strategies in her toolkit. She pairs strong and struggling students, reads questions aloud and jots down dictated answers for students to rewrite in their own handwriting.

As the pandemic was raging, the district also adopted a new strategy: a reading curriculum that is heavy on phonics — a stressful gamble that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/phonics-science-reading-c715dea43f338f163715b01b83bb1066">the science-backed curriculum</a>&nbsp;might help kids catch up.

There are signs the changes are helping, particularly for older students. Educators from other schools have been coming to observe the changes. But this is third grade, the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/reading-third-grade-phonics-d0f7143c1a09bff3cf9a89a15d00ca09">last year students are typically taught to read</a>.

AS VIRUS SPREAD, ‘EVERYBODY WAS STRESSED OUT'

During a group session in October, third grader Emmett Mayfield and a classmate dismantled the word “athletic” with paraprofessional Jessica Seitz. Columbus used federal pandemic relief money to double the number of paraprofessionals assigned to help its small groups of struggling students.

“How many syllables do we have?” she asked. Emmett answered: “Three.”

It was part of a lesson on closed syllables, a term that refers to a vowel being followed by a consonant. This matters because it creates a short vowel sound, meaning the letter “A” in the word is pronounced as “ah.” If it was a long vowel, it would sound more like the name of the letter.

“Make a fist,” Seitz instructed. “We are closing that door. The consonant is stopping that vowel from saying its name.”

This type of lesson is a common one now that the district emphasizes the so-called science of reading that is&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/reading-scores-phonics-mississippi-alabama-louisiana-5bdd5d6ff719b23faa37db2fb95d5004">gaining momentum nationwide</a>. Schools piloted two new reading curriculums for a few weeks in November and December of 2020, as COVID-19 case levels soared.

Spared initially, small towns in rural Kansas were&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/technology-kansas-coronavirus-pandemic-c924f4f1ecc5f561e9b4fd6e6bdd0e33">so overwhelmed</a>&nbsp;that hospitals had to fly patients hundreds of miles away for treatment. Parker’s mom, Chelsea Brinson, a medical assistant, was testing droves of COVID samples at a clinic. “Everybody was stressed out,” said Brinson, who now works as a nurse’s assistant in the district.

Students started masking. But that meant mask breaks were added to the already disrupted schedule.

Reading specialist Kelly Walters asked the overwhelmed teachers whether they wanted to put the reading pilot on hold.

“One hundred percent of our staff said, ‘No, we want to move forward,’” recalled Walters, who struggled so much to learn to read herself that she suspects an undiagnosed case of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/reading-adhd-dyslexia-learning-disability-8636d7537cb25b8df1faf135301f9d92">dyslexia</a>&nbsp;was to blame.

The program they picked weaves phonics and other reading changes throughout the curriculum. No longer are those elements mostly isolated to worksheets. Staff praised it, which was encouraging to Walters, who tested the materials on her youngest child, just 3 at the time, while&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/reading-adhd-dyslexia-learning-disability-8636d7537cb25b8df1faf135301f9d92">stuck at home early in the pandemic</a>.

“As a mom, who was a struggling reader, to give that gift —” she said, and then stopped and corrected herself. “I shouldn’t have said it was a gift, because it’s not a gift. It’s a right.”

THIRD GRADERS WERE READING LIKE FIRST GRADERS

In late November, Noel taught a science lesson on the skeletal system. Like the rest of the curriculum, it also incorporated reading instruction, with “structure” among the vocabulary words she highlighted.

“Have you ever seen a house being built before?” Noel asked. The students blurted out examples before she continued: “And they’ll have the wood up first, and it will be like beams.”

She then asked whether the word “structure” was a noun, verb, adjective or adverb. Why, she then asked, was it one of the vocabulary words in a lesson on the skeletal system?

Parker shared his answer: “Because our spine holds up the rest of our body.” Noel rewarded him with a fist bump.

Parker started the year reading at the level of a first grader. He was, Noel, said, “embarrassed.” Midway through the year he seemed stuck, learning new skills and then seeming to forget it all. Staff were worried. He was flagged for a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/special-education-disability-depression-adhd-82c09d1d97b05c63cff195077d0c4fb9">special education assessment</a>.

When the pandemic first closed schools in 2020, Parker was a kindergartener. His mom recalled “freaking out,” trying to figure out what to do with him. To get him to do schoolwork, his grandmother or someone else had to sit beside him at all times. Otherwise, Parker said, he would “squirrel off.”

Columbus and many other rural school systems reopened that fall. With strong opposition to masks locally, the district instead added “sneeze guards” to desks. But in-person school was far from normal. The pandemic had hobbled one of teachers’ most effective tools: small groups.

Typically, they would pull kids from different classes to create groups targeting specific skills, Noel said. But with COVID, they were trying to keep each of the classes separated to limit the spread of disease. And then there was COVID itself. Between illnesses and quarantines, students and staff were missing two weeks or more of school multiple times throughout the year.

“It was taking us two days to do something that would have taken us one,” Noel said.

Noel was infected twice, forced to miss school again just this past fall&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/covid-flu-rsv-child-care-guidelines-4ca836af42cf3bbee4ac6e101c467a71">because of a COVID-sickened child</a>. Parker caught COVID in first grade, missing two weeks of school.

Across the country, federal data show, the disruptions wrought by the pandemic were accompanied by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/science-health-government-and-politics-covid-education-39e01a570b560c685b5340078c8dcdee">widespread learning setbacks</a>, even in states that saw students return quickly to in-person learning. Among those showing the largest learning losses are this year’s crop of third graders, who were in kindergarten when the pandemic hit, a foundational year for learning to read.

Now Noel’s students and other third graders are under pressure to master reading ahead of later grades, where literacy is key to learning everything else.

By late January, it was time to show off at “Books and Breakfast,” with parents, grandparents, preschool-age siblings and friends visiting Highland School to see what the children were learning. The students sprawled around the school building, eating doughnuts and reading books to their special guests.

As Emmett read aloud from “Grumpy Monkey,” he got some help with the word “discovery” and plowed ahead, reading clearly how the bananas were “too sweet.”

“I used to didn’t like to read,” said Emmett, who started the year reading more like an early second grader, “but I just started reading.”

At home, though, he is still resisting reading, said his mother, Jessica Mayfield, a 39-year-old hospital lab technician. She blames it in part on those “awful” days of virtual learning. There were meltdowns, and she fretted even then that he would fall behind, with those early years of school so “crucial.”

Mayfield, herself an avid reader, doesn’t know what more the district could have done. “I think,” she said, “it’s just to be expected.”

Assessments showed 13 of Noel’s 24 students are reading below grade level. Many of them are kids who moved to the district in the middle of this school year. Nine have been getting the most intensive so-called tier-three level of support. Some of her students scored so highly they were evaluated for the gifted program. In a rarity, none fell in the middle tier group of kids needing just a little extra help.

It’s a trend seen elsewhere around the country as the pandemic&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/school-reading-test-science-1fc4a95538b6b5c72b447a2935ee0f87">widened the gap between higher- and lower-performing students</a>.

Noel is working harder than ever to keep her advanced students from getting bored, assigning them special projects. Grace Epler, an advanced reader who is prone to finishing assignments early, sometimes spends her free time making up math problems, helping her classmates or playing educational games on her iPad.

State tests are looming, and it weighs heavily on Grace.

“They compare this school to all the other elementary schools in Kansas, and it scares me,” she said at lunchtime, her wrist in a pink splint after a swing mishap. “I might get, like, five wrong.”

This even though she reads nearly anything put in front of her. She is particularly partial to a book the kids wrote and illustrated themselves that documented what they will miss most about their soon-to-close school, a building filled with quirks like a toilet in an old shower stall.

Many kids in Noel’s class are progressing, but not as much as she would like.

“Those highs grew even more,” Noel said. “And the lows, they grew, but they’re still quite a bit lower.”

One day in April, Emmett and Parker were taking a turn in the small group getting extra reading help. After talk of the basketball and softball seasons, the small group took turns reading a book called “A Prince Among Donkeys,” with lots of words and spelling patterns they’ve seen before.

Parker rested his hand on his forehead, reading: “To Adam’s surprise, Emma smelled.” Then, a quick correction: “smelled” to “smiled.”

Imperfect though it was, something had happened over these months of phonics drills and small-group work. When the special education testing came back, not only did it show he didn’t qualify, but he also made so much progress he was close to reading at the level of a beginning third grader.

“I actually do like reading now,” Parker explained. He described evenings spent on the couch with his mother, practicing. He and Emmett are now obsessed with the same book series about a superhero cat. “It’s just fun to do.”

When Parker finished his turn reading, he had the choice of picking who would go next. But he didn’t choose Emmett or any of the other kids.

“Can I pick myself?” he asked. And he kept reading.

By HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTHCOLUMBUS, Kan. (AP) — Students spread out in their rural Kansas classroom, answering questions with a partner about invaders atop elephants attempting to sack Rome more than 2,000 years ago.“Do you want to read?” one of the third graders, Parker, asked his partner after the lesson on the Punic Wars. “Because I’m not really good.”Bekah Noel told her students to jot down answers for their partners if they needed extra help writing or spelling. Halfway through the school year, with some of her students reading nearly 200 words per minute and others struggling to sound out around 10, she has had to make a lot of tweaks like this.Exiting from the pandemic, the assumption might be that Noel’s students should be among the least scathed. The tiny, 900-student school system in Columbus pivoted to remote learning briefly in March 2020 before going back in person that fall, initially without masks. While some U.S. students spent&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-education-covid-46cb725e08110f8ad3c1b303ec9eefad">a year or more learning online</a>, pandemic school in rural Kansas was as normal as it got.But the upheaval still took a toll. Students and teachers got sick, social distancing made it hard to teach kids in small groups, and the pace of teaching ground to a crawl. Three years later, Noel has&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/school-reading-test-science-1fc4a95538b6b5c72b447a2935ee0f87">more third graders than ever</a>&nbsp;who are reading below grade level. That’s the true elephant in the room.“I have kids,” Noel said midway through the year, “that legitimately cannot read.”Noel is used to adapting to students’ needs, and she has been pulling out all the strategies in her toolkit. She pairs strong and struggling students, reads questions aloud and jots down dictated answers for students to rewrite in their own handwriting.As the pandemic was raging, the district also adopted a new strategy: a reading curriculum that is heavy on phonics — a stressful gamble that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/phonics-science-reading-c715dea43f338f163715b01b83bb1066">the science-backed curriculum</a>&nbsp;might help kids catch up.There are signs the changes are helping, particularly for older students. Educators from other schools have been coming to observe the changes. But this is third grade, the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/reading-third-grade-phonics-d0f7143c1a09bff3cf9a89a15d00ca09">last year students are typically taught to read</a>.And time is running out.___AS VIRUS SPREAD, ‘EVERYBODY WAS STRESSED OUT' During a group session in October, third grader Emmett Mayfield and a classmate dismantled the word “athletic” with paraprofessional Jessica Seitz. Columbus used federal pandemic relief money to double the number of paraprofessionals assigned to help its small groups of struggling students.“How many syllables do we have?” she asked. Emmett answered: “Three.”It was part of a lesson on closed syllables, a term that refers to a vowel being followed by a consonant. This matters because it creates a short vowel sound, meaning the letter “A” in the word is pronounced as “ah.” If it was a long vowel, it would sound more like the name of the letter.“Make a fist,” Seitz instructed. “We are closing that door. The consonant is stopping that vowel from saying its name.”This type of lesson is a common one now that the district emphasizes the so-called science of reading that is&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/reading-scores-phonics-mississippi-alabama-louisiana-5bdd5d6ff719b23faa37db2fb95d5004">gaining momentum nationwide</a>. Schools piloted two new reading curriculums for a few weeks in November and December of 2020, as COVID-19 case levels soared.Spared initially, small towns in rural Kansas were&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/technology-kansas-coronavirus-pandemic-c924f4f1ecc5f561e9b4fd6e6bdd0e33">so overwhelmed</a>&nbsp;that hospitals had to fly patients hundreds of miles away for treatment. Parker’s mom, Chelsea Brinson, a medical assistant, was testing droves of COVID samples at a clinic. “Everybody was stressed out,” said Brinson, who now works as a nurse’s assistant in the district.Students started masking. But that meant mask breaks were added to the already disrupted schedule.Reading specialist Kelly Walters asked the overwhelmed teachers whether they wanted to put the reading pilot on hold.“One hundred percent of our staff said, ‘No, we want to move forward,’” recalled Walters, who struggled so much to learn to read herself that she suspects an undiagnosed case of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/reading-adhd-dyslexia-learning-disability-8636d7537cb25b8df1faf135301f9d92">dyslexia</a>&nbsp;was to blame.The program they picked weaves phonics and other reading changes throughout the curriculum. No longer are those elements mostly isolated to worksheets. Staff praised it, which was encouraging to Walters, who tested the materials on her youngest child, just 3 at the time, while&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/reading-adhd-dyslexia-learning-disability-8636d7537cb25b8df1faf135301f9d92">stuck at home early in the pandemic</a>.“As a mom, who was a struggling reader, to give that gift —” she said, and then stopped and corrected herself. “I shouldn’t have said it was a gift, because it’s not a gift. It’s a right.”___THIRD GRADERS WERE READING LIKE FIRST GRADERS In late November, Noel taught a science lesson on the skeletal system. Like the rest of the curriculum, it also incorporated reading instruction, with “structure” among the vocabulary words she highlighted.“Have you ever seen a house being built before?” Noel asked. The students blurted out examples before she continued: “And they’ll have the wood up first, and it will be like beams.”She then asked whether the word “structure” was a noun, verb, adjective or adverb. Why, she then asked, was it one of the vocabulary words in a lesson on the skeletal system?Parker shared his answer: “Because our spine holds up the rest of our body.” Noel rewarded him with a fist bump.Parker started the year reading at the level of a first grader. He was, Noel, said, “embarrassed.” Midway through the year he seemed stuck, learning new skills and then seeming to forget it all. Staff were worried. He was flagged for a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/special-education-disability-depression-adhd-82c09d1d97b05c63cff195077d0c4fb9">special education assessment</a>.When the pandemic first closed schools in 2020, Parker was a kindergartener. His mom recalled “freaking out,” trying to figure out what to do with him. To get him to do schoolwork, his grandmother or someone else had to sit beside him at all times. Otherwise, Parker said, he would “squirrel off.”Columbus and many other rural school systems reopened that fall. With strong opposition to masks locally, the district instead added “sneeze guards” to desks. But in-person school was far from normal. The pandemic had hobbled one of teachers’ most effective tools: small groups.Typically, they would pull kids from different classes to create groups targeting specific skills, Noel said. But with COVID, they were trying to keep each of the classes separated to limit the spread of disease. And then there was COVID itself. Between illnesses and quarantines, students and staff were missing two weeks or more of school multiple times throughout the year.“It was taking us two days to do something that would have taken us one,” Noel said.Noel was infected twice, forced to miss school again just this past fall&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/covid-flu-rsv-child-care-guidelines-4ca836af42cf3bbee4ac6e101c467a71">because of a COVID-sickened child</a>. Parker caught COVID in first grade, missing two weeks of school.Across the country, federal data show, the disruptions wrought by the pandemic were accompanied by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/science-health-government-and-politics-covid-education-39e01a570b560c685b5340078c8dcdee">widespread learning setbacks</a>, even in states that saw students return quickly to in-person learning. Among those showing the largest learning losses are this year’s crop of third graders, who were in kindergarten when the pandemic hit, a foundational year for learning to read.Now Noel’s students and other third graders are under pressure to master reading ahead of later grades, where literacy is key to learning everything else.___KIDS START CATCHING UP, BUT SLOWLY By late January, it was time to show off at “Books and Breakfast,” with parents, grandparents, preschool-age siblings and friends visiting Highland School to see what the children were learning. The students sprawled around the school building, eating doughnuts and reading books to their special guests.As Emmett read aloud from “Grumpy Monkey,” he got some help with the word “discovery” and plowed ahead, reading clearly how the bananas were “too sweet.”“I used to didn’t like to read,” said Emmett, who started the year reading more like an early second grader, “but I just started reading.”At home, though, he is still resisting reading, said his mother, Jessica Mayfield, a 39-year-old hospital lab technician. She blames it in part on those “awful” days of virtual learning. There were meltdowns, and she fretted even then that he would fall behind, with those early years of school so “crucial.”Mayfield, herself an avid reader, doesn’t know what more the district could have done. “I think,” she said, “it’s just to be expected.”Assessments showed 13 of Noel’s 24 students are reading below grade level. Many of them are kids who moved to the district in the middle of this school year. Nine have been getting the most intensive so-called tier-three level of support. Some of her students scored so highly they were evaluated for the gifted program. In a rarity, none fell in the middle tier group of kids needing just a little extra help.It’s a trend seen elsewhere around the country as the pandemic&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/school-reading-test-science-1fc4a95538b6b5c72b447a2935ee0f87">widened the gap between higher- and lower-performing students</a>.Noel is working harder than ever to keep her advanced students from getting bored, assigning them special projects. Grace Epler, an advanced reader who is prone to finishing assignments early, sometimes spends her free time making up math problems, helping her classmates or playing educational games on her iPad.State tests are looming, and it weighs heavily on Grace.“They compare this school to all the other elementary schools in Kansas, and it scares me,” she said at lunchtime, her wrist in a pink splint after a swing mishap. “I might get, like, five wrong.”This even though she reads nearly anything put in front of her. She is particularly partial to a book the kids wrote and illustrated themselves that documented what they will miss most about their soon-to-close school, a building filled with quirks like a toilet in an old shower stall.Many kids in Noel’s class are progressing, but not as much as she would like.“Those highs grew even more,” Noel said. “And the lows, they grew, but they’re still quite a bit lower.”___READING ‘ACTUALLY’ BECOMES FUN One day in April, Emmett and Parker were taking a turn in the small group getting extra reading help. After talk of the basketball and softball seasons, the small group took turns reading a book called “A Prince Among Donkeys,” with lots of words and spelling patterns they’ve seen before.Parker rested his hand on his forehead, reading: “To Adam’s surprise, Emma smelled.” Then, a quick correction: “smelled” to “smiled.”Imperfect though it was, something had happened over these months of phonics drills and small-group work. When the special education testing came back, not only did it show he didn’t qualify, but he also made so much progress he was close to reading at the level of a beginning third grader.“I actually do like reading now,” Parker explained. He described evenings spent on the couch with his mother, practicing. He and Emmett are now obsessed with the same book series about a superhero cat. “It’s just fun to do.”When Parker finished his turn reading, he had the choice of picking who would go next. But he didn’t choose Emmett or any of the other kids.“Can I pick myself?” he asked. And he kept reading.___

This Kan. school reopened quickly after COVID. Kids' reading was still behind

BARRY COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating after several inmates escaped the Barry County jail in Cassville June 1, according to the Sheriff's Department.

Two correctional officers were assaulted during the escape. At least three of the escapees have been captured. Deputies, the Missouri State Highway Patrol and U.S. Marshal's service continue to search for 34-year-old Mario Che-Tiul who is considered armed and dangerous.

He was being held on a $100,000 bond on requested charges of child molestation, incest, kidnapping and assault and was also being held for officials with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to online jail records.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/6/1685726414366.png" alt="Mario Che-Tiul-photo Barry Co." />
 <figcaption>Mario Che-Tiul-photo Barry Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>BARRY COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating after several inmates escaped the Barry County jail in Cassville June 1, according to the Sheriff's Department.Two correctional officers were assaulted during the escape. At least three of the escapees have been captured. Deputies, the Missouri State Highway Patrol and U.S. Marshal's service continue to search for 34-year-old Mario Che-Tiul who is considered armed and dangerous.He was being held on a $100,000 bond on requested charges of child molestation, incest, kidnapping and assault and was also being held for officials with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to online jail records.

Man accused of sex crimes still missing after escape from jail

By TIM CARPENTER <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/04/06/grieving-moms-plea-to-kansas-lawmakers-do-something-this-epidemic-is-killing-our-kids/">Kansas Reflector</a>

TOPEKA — The Kansas Democratic Party hired a new executive director to fill the void left by resignation in January of an administrative leader of the state party mired in controversy based on allegations he fomented a toxic workplace.

Democratic Party chair Jeanna Repass said Tuesday a national search resulted in selection of Andy Bilyk, who worked for the direct mail and communications consulting firm Deliver Strategies in Washington, D.C. The company collaborated with left-of-center candidates, political action committees and labor organizations.

“When I was elected chair, I knew that finding the right executive director was going to be critical to growing the&nbsp;Democratic&nbsp;Party across Kansas,” Repass said.

Repass, selected chair by party members in February after losing the November election for secretary of state, said the goal was hiring the individual best suited to support election of more&nbsp;Democratic candidates.

Kansas Democrats want to erode Republican supermajorities in the Kansas Senate and Kansas House during the 2024 election cycle. Two-thirds GOP majorities in both chambers has made it easier to override vetoes of Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly.

Republicans in Kansas control nine of 12 state executive and federal legislative offices. Exceptions are the 3rd District congressional seat held by U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids and the offices of governor and lieutenant governor.

Repass’ statement said Bilyk had election experience in states “where Republicans have used their legislative power to undercut working families, defund schools and attack individual freedoms.”

“I look forward to working with the chair in helping to build the party infrastructure that will help reelect Congresswoman Sharice Davids and elect more&nbsp;Democrats&nbsp;to work with Governor Laura Kelly to stop Republicans in the statehouse from standing in the way of her work on behalf of everyday Kansans,” Bilyk said.

Bilyk replaced Ben Meers, who was accused by former colleagues of crafting a forbidding work environment at Democratic Party headquarters. The Kansas City Star reported in 2022 that former employees said Meers was verbally abusive and engaged in bullying following his hiring in 2019.

Bilyk, who began his duties Monday in Topeka, has taken part in campaigns from the municipal to presidential levels. He worked with Wisconsin Democrats to pick up seats in the Assembly during the 2020 elections. He earned a degree in political science at Xavier University.

Richard Nobles, Democratic Party chair of the 3rd District in the Kansas City area, participated in the hiring process that led to Bilyk. He said a point of emphasis would be next year’s legislative races. All 40 members of the Senate and the 125 members of the House would be up for reelection.

“I look forward to seeing the organization grow and continue in such a positive direction as the KDP recruits and builds the infrastructure for the 2024 elections so that we can break the Republican supermajority in the Kansas state Legislature,” Nobles said.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/6/1686495912847.png" alt=" Kansas Democratic Party chair Jeanna Repass says the organization's new executive director would be Andy Bilyk, who was hired away from Deliver Strategies, a consulting firm in Washington, D.C. Bilyk replaced Ben Meers, who resigned in January. (Kansas Reflector screen capture from Repass campaign image)" />
 <figcaption> Kansas Democratic Party chair Jeanna Repass says the organization's new executive director would be Andy Bilyk, who was hired away from Deliver Strategies, a consulting firm in Washington, D.C. Bilyk replaced Ben Meers, who resigned in January. (Kansas Reflector screen capture from Repass campaign image)</figcaption>
 </figure>By TIM CARPENTER <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/04/06/grieving-moms-plea-to-kansas-lawmakers-do-something-this-epidemic-is-killing-our-kids/">Kansas Reflector</a>TOPEKA — The Kansas Democratic Party hired a new executive director to fill the void left by resignation in January of an administrative leader of the state party mired in controversy based on allegations he fomented a toxic workplace.Democratic Party chair Jeanna Repass said Tuesday a national search resulted in selection of Andy Bilyk, who worked for the direct mail and communications consulting firm Deliver Strategies in Washington, D.C. The company collaborated with left-of-center candidates, political action committees and labor organizations.“When I was elected chair, I knew that finding the right executive director was going to be critical to growing the&nbsp;Democratic&nbsp;Party across Kansas,” Repass said.Repass, selected chair by party members in February after losing the November election for secretary of state, said the goal was hiring the individual best suited to support election of more&nbsp;Democratic candidates.Kansas Democrats want to erode Republican supermajorities in the Kansas Senate and Kansas House during the 2024 election cycle. Two-thirds GOP majorities in both chambers has made it easier to override vetoes of Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly.Republicans in Kansas control nine of 12 state executive and federal legislative offices. Exceptions are the 3rd District congressional seat held by U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids and the offices of governor and lieutenant governor.Repass’ statement said Bilyk had election experience in states “where Republicans have used their legislative power to undercut working families, defund schools and attack individual freedoms.”“I look forward to working with the chair in helping to build the party infrastructure that will help reelect Congresswoman Sharice Davids and elect more&nbsp;Democrats&nbsp;to work with Governor Laura Kelly to stop Republicans in the statehouse from standing in the way of her work on behalf of everyday Kansans,” Bilyk said.Bilyk replaced Ben Meers, who was accused by former colleagues of crafting a forbidding work environment at Democratic Party headquarters. The Kansas City Star reported in 2022 that former employees said Meers was verbally abusive and engaged in bullying following his hiring in 2019.Bilyk, who began his duties Monday in Topeka, has taken part in campaigns from the municipal to presidential levels. He worked with Wisconsin Democrats to pick up seats in the Assembly during the 2020 elections. He earned a degree in political science at Xavier University.Richard Nobles, Democratic Party chair of the 3rd District in the Kansas City area, participated in the hiring process that led to Bilyk. He said a point of emphasis would be next year’s legislative races. All 40 members of the Senate and the 125 members of the House would be up for reelection.“I look forward to seeing the organization grow and continue in such a positive direction as the KDP recruits and builds the infrastructure for the 2024 elections so that we can break the Republican supermajority in the Kansas state Legislature,” Nobles said.

Kansas Dems hire executive director to replace official accused of forging toxic workplace

WASHINGTON — A Missouri man pleaded guilty to a felony charge for his actions during the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. His actions and the actions of others disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress convened to ascertain and count the electoral votes related to the 2020 presidential election, according to the United State's Attorney.

On Friday, Jerod Thomas Bargar, 37, of Centralia, Missouri, pleaded guilty in the District of Columbia, to entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds with a deadly or dangerous weapon, a felony. U.S. District Court Judge Reggie Walton scheduled a sentencing hearing for Nov. 3, 2023. &nbsp;

&nbsp;According to court documents, Bargar illegally brought a 9-millimeter semi-automatic pistol across state lines and into the District of Columbia. Bargar took the firearm to a rally near the Ellipse and then onto restricted grounds of the U.S. Capitol. Bargar was not licensed to carry a firearm in the District of Columbia. Law enforcement officers recovered the weapon at approximately 2:30 p.m. on Jan. 6, 2021, on the west side of the Capitol Building. The firearm was on the ground, in a distinctive holster that displayed an image of the American flag and the words: “We The People” written on it. The firearm contained one 9-millimeter cartridge in the chamber and approximately 15 additional cartridges in the magazine. Bargar was later linked to the gun in a law enforcement investigation.

&nbsp;The charge of entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds with a deadly or dangerous weapon carries a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, as well as financial penalties.&nbsp; A federal district court judge will determine an appropriate sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/6/1686425397898.png" alt="Barger as shown in court documents provided by the U.S. Dept. of Justice" />
 <figcaption>Barger as shown in court documents provided by the U.S. Dept. of Justice</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON — A Missouri man pleaded guilty to a felony charge for his actions during the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. His actions and the actions of others disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress convened to ascertain and count the electoral votes related to the 2020 presidential election, according to the United State's Attorney.On Friday, Jerod Thomas Bargar, 37, of Centralia, Missouri, pleaded guilty in the District of Columbia, to entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds with a deadly or dangerous weapon, a felony. U.S. District Court Judge Reggie Walton scheduled a sentencing hearing for Nov. 3, 2023. &nbsp;&nbsp;According to court documents, Bargar illegally brought a 9-millimeter semi-automatic pistol across state lines and into the District of Columbia. Bargar took the firearm to a rally near the Ellipse and then onto restricted grounds of the U.S. Capitol. Bargar was not licensed to carry a firearm in the District of Columbia. Law enforcement officers recovered the weapon at approximately 2:30 p.m. on Jan. 6, 2021, on the west side of the Capitol Building. The firearm was on the ground, in a distinctive holster that displayed an image of the American flag and the words: “We The People” written on it. The firearm contained one 9-millimeter cartridge in the chamber and approximately 15 additional cartridges in the magazine. Bargar was later linked to the gun in a law enforcement investigation.&nbsp;The charge of entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds with a deadly or dangerous weapon carries a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, as well as financial penalties.&nbsp; A federal district court judge will determine an appropriate sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors.

Man admits carrying a gun during Jan. 6 Capitol breach

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden welcomed hundreds to the White House for a Pride Month celebration. The event was aimed at showing LGBTQ+ people that his administration has their back at a time when advocates are warning of a spike in discriminatory legislation, particularly aimed at the transgender community, sweeping through statehouses.

Kansas&nbsp; Senator Roger Marshall was critical of the administration's flag display at the event. On social media he wrote, "This is a disgrace. Not only is it in breach of US Flag Code, but it’s a glaring example of this White Houses’ incompetence and insistence on putting their social agenda ahead of patriotism."

During the party, President Biden said, "I want to send a message to the entire community — especially to transgender children: You are loved. You are heard. You're understood. And you belong.”

Pride Month is being celebrated this year as state lawmakers have introduced at least 525 bills and enacted 78 bills that whittle away at LGBTQ+ rights, according to the Human Rights Campaign, a group that advocates for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer rights.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden welcomed hundreds to the White House for a Pride Month celebration. The event was aimed at showing LGBTQ+ people that his administration has their back at a time when advocates are warning of a spike in discriminatory legislation, particularly aimed at the transgender community, sweeping through statehouses.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">This is a disgrace. Not only is it in breach of US Flag Code, but it’s a glaring example of this White Houses’ incompetence and insistence on putting their social agenda ahead of patriotism. <a href="https://t.co/Hn2jART16m">pic.twitter.com/Hn2jART16m</a>&mdash; Dr. Roger Marshall (@RogerMarshallMD) <a href="https://twitter.com/RogerMarshallMD/status/1667942869519269890?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 11, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Kansas&nbsp; Senator Roger Marshall was critical of the administration's flag display at the event. On social media he wrote, "This is a disgrace. Not only is it in breach of US Flag Code, but it’s a glaring example of this White Houses’ incompetence and insistence on putting their social agenda ahead of patriotism."(Click to watch a replay of the party)<div><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?height=314&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FWhiteHouse%2Fvideos%2F291855209850412%2F&show_text=false&width=560&t=28" 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>During the party, President Biden said, "I want to send a message to the entire community — especially to transgender children: You are loved. You are heard. You're understood. And you belong.”Pride Month is being celebrated this year as state lawmakers have introduced at least 525 bills and enacted 78 bills that whittle away at LGBTQ+ rights, according to the Human Rights Campaign, a group that advocates for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer rights.

Kansas Senator critical of flag display at the White House

SEDGWICK COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities investigating a fatal shooting have&nbsp; identified the man who died.

Just before 2:30a.m. Saturday, police responded to a shooting inside a home in the&nbsp; 1700 block of E. 69th Court North in Park City, according to a media release from police.

Police found one person inside the home later identified as David Pomeroy who had been shot. EMS transported him to an area hospital where he was pronounced deceased.

&nbsp;Investigators determined Pomeroy had entered a home without permission and threatened at least one person in the home before he was shot.&nbsp;

Police will present the case to the Sedgwick County District attorney's office for possible charges.

SEDGWICK COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities investigating a fatal shooting have&nbsp; identified the man who died.Just before 2:30a.m. Saturday, police responded to a shooting inside a home in the&nbsp; 1700 block of E. 69th Court North in Park City, according to a media release from police.Police found one person inside the home later identified as David Pomeroy who had been shot. EMS transported him to an area hospital where he was pronounced deceased.&nbsp;Investigators determined Pomeroy had entered a home without permission and threatened at least one person in the home before he was shot.&nbsp;Police will present the case to the Sedgwick County District attorney's office for possible charges.

Police: Man shot at Kansas home has died

On Friday, the Department of Defense (DoD) announced a new security assistance package, according to a statement from the agency.

This package, which totals up to $2.1 billion and includes critical air defense and ammunition capabilities, is being provided under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI).

<a href="https://media.defense.gov/2023/Jun/09/2003238573/-1/-1/0/UKRAINE-FACT-SHEET-JUNE-9.PDF">Click here to </a>see the $40 billion list of security assistance.

This&nbsp;USAI&nbsp;package&nbsp;illustrates the continued commitment to both&nbsp;Ukraine’s critical near-term&nbsp;capabilities as well as&nbsp;the&nbsp;enduring&nbsp;capacity of Ukraine’s Armed Forces to defend its&nbsp;territory and deter Russian aggression&nbsp;over the long&nbsp;term.

Unlike Presidential Drawdown authority, which DoD has continued to leverage to deliver equipment to Ukraine from DoD stocks at a historic pace, USAI is an authority under which the United States procures capabilities from industry or partners. This announcement represents the beginning of a contracting process to provide additional priority capabilities to Ukraine.

The capabilities in this announcement include:

The United States will continue to work with its Allies and partners to provide Ukraine with capabilities to meet its immediate battlefield needs and longer-term security assistance requirements.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/6/1686400612176.png" alt="Airmen load weapons cargo bound for Ukraine onto a C-17 Globemaster III during a security assistance mission at Dover Air Force Base, Del., Sept. 14, 2022.-Photo By:Air Force Staff Sgt. Marco A. Gomez" />
 <figcaption>Airmen load weapons cargo bound for Ukraine onto a C-17 Globemaster III during a security assistance mission at Dover Air Force Base, Del., Sept. 14, 2022.-Photo By:Air Force Staff Sgt. Marco A. Gomez</figcaption>
 </figure>On Friday, the Department of Defense (DoD) announced a new security assistance package, according to a statement from the agency.This package, which totals up to $2.1 billion and includes critical air defense and ammunition capabilities, is being provided under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI).<a href="https://media.defense.gov/2023/Jun/09/2003238573/-1/-1/0/UKRAINE-FACT-SHEET-JUNE-9.PDF">Click here to </a>see the $40 billion list of security assistance.This&nbsp;USAI&nbsp;package&nbsp;illustrates the continued commitment to both&nbsp;Ukraine’s critical near-term&nbsp;capabilities as well as&nbsp;the&nbsp;enduring&nbsp;capacity of Ukraine’s Armed Forces to defend its&nbsp;territory and deter Russian aggression&nbsp;over the long&nbsp;term.Unlike Presidential Drawdown authority, which DoD has continued to leverage to deliver equipment to Ukraine from DoD stocks at a historic pace, USAI is an authority under which the United States procures capabilities from industry or partners. This announcement represents the beginning of a contracting process to provide additional priority capabilities to Ukraine.The capabilities in this announcement include:<ul>
 <li>Additional munitions for Patriot air defense systems;</li><li>HAWK air defense systems and missiles;</li><li>105mm and 203mm artillery rounds;</li><li>Puma Unmanned Aerial Systems;</li><li>Laser-guided rocket system munitions;</li><li>Support for training, maintenance, and sustainment activities.</li>
 </ul>The United States will continue to work with its Allies and partners to provide Ukraine with capabilities to meet its immediate battlefield needs and longer-term security assistance requirements.

U.S. sending Ukraine another $2.1 billion in additional military aid

KANSAS CITY—Law enforcement authorities investigating a fatal officer involved shooting in Kansas City have identified the two who died as 42-year-old Kristen Fairchild of Gardner, Kansas and 42-year-old Marcell T. Nelson of Kansas City, Missouri.

Just before 9p.m. Friday, a Kansas City Police officer called for officer assistance at 31st and Van Brunt Blvd in Kansas City, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

Responding officers were then informed shots had been fired. Upon arrival of the responding officers, they observed one officer and five individuals.

Three of the individuals had apparent gunshot wounds. Nelson was critically injured and officers provided first aid but he succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced deceased at the scene. EMS transported the remaining wounded individuals to a area hospitals where Fairchild died&nbsp; No officers were injured.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol is in charge of the investigation.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/6/1686399119468.png" alt="Police on the scene of the fatal officer shooting -photo courtesy KCTV" />
 <figcaption>Police on the scene of the fatal officer shooting -photo courtesy KCTV</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY—Law enforcement authorities investigating a fatal officer involved shooting in Kansas City have identified the two who died as 42-year-old Kristen Fairchild of Gardner, Kansas and 42-year-old Marcell T. Nelson of Kansas City, Missouri.Just before 9p.m. Friday, a Kansas City Police officer called for officer assistance at 31st and Van Brunt Blvd in Kansas City, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol.Responding officers were then informed shots had been fired. Upon arrival of the responding officers, they observed one officer and five individuals.Three of the individuals had apparent gunshot wounds. Nelson was critically injured and officers provided first aid but he succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced deceased at the scene. EMS transported the remaining wounded individuals to a area hospitals where Fairchild died&nbsp; No officers were injured.The Missouri State Highway Patrol is in charge of the investigation.

Kansas woman among 2 dead in KCPD officer-involved shooting

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump">Donald Trump’s</a>&nbsp;indictment on charges of mishandling classified documents is set to play out in a federal court in Florida. But hundred of miles away, part of Trump’s defense is well underway in a different venue — the halls of Congress, where Republicans have been preparing for months to wage an aggressive counter-offensive against the Justice Department.

<a href="https://judiciary.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/republicans-judiciary.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/2023-06-09-jdj-to-garland-re-mal.pdf">Click here to read the</a>&nbsp;House Judiciary Committee response

The federal indictment against Trump, unsealed Friday, includes&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-florida-indictment-highlights-857476c71e98e91521212a826efc8816">37 counts</a>, including allegations that the former president intentionally possessed classified documents, showed them off to visitors, willfully defied Justice Department demands to return them and made false statements to federal authorities about them. The evidence details Trump's own words and actions as recounted by lawyers, close aides and other witnesses.

The Republican campaign to discredit federal prosecutors skims over the substance of those charges, which were brought by a grand jury in Florida. GOP lawmakers are instead working, as they have for several years, to foster a broader argument that law enforcement — and President Joe Biden — are conspiring against the former president and possible Republican nominee for president in 2024.

“Today is indeed a dark day for the United States of America,” tweeted House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, soon after Trump said on his social media platform Thursday night that an indictment was coming. McCarthy blamed Biden, who has declined to comment on the case and said he is not at all involved in the Justice Department’s decisions.

McCarthy called it a “grave injustice” and said that House Republicans “will hold this brazen weaponization of power accountable.”

Republican lawmakers in the House have already laid extensive groundwork for the effort to defend Trump since taking the majority in January. A near constant string of hearings featuring former&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/fbi-republicans-security-clearance-congress-3c061c936425c735a3eac12f431b0386">FBI agents</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/technology-politics-united-states-government-us-republican-party-business-6e34ad121a1e52892b782b0b7c0e59c3">Twitter executives</a>&nbsp;and federal officials have sought to paint the narrative of a corrupt government using its powers against Trump and the right. A GOP-led House subcommittee on the “weaponization” of government is probing the Justice Department and other government agencies, while at the same time Republicans are investigating Biden’s son Hunter Biden.

“It’s a sad day for America,” Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan of Ohio, a leading Trump defender and ally in the House, said in a statement on Thursday evening. “God bless President Trump.”

Arizona Rep. Andy Biggs was more strident. “We have now reached a war phase,” he tweeted. “Eye for an eye.”

Democrats say the Republicans are trafficking in conspiracy theories, with potentially dangerous consequences. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, both Democrats from New York, issued a joint statement Friday urging calm around the Trump case, saying everyone should “let this case proceed peacefully in court.”

Recent Republicans rhetoric “not only undermines the Department of Justice but betrays the essential principle of justice that no one is above the commands of law, not even a former President or a self-proclaimed billionaire,” said Rep. Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee.

Key elements of the GOP strategy are to discredit the prosecutors and investigate the investigators — a playbook that Republicans employed during Trump’s presidency as his own Justice Department probed his connections to Russia, and also used in April when Trump was charged in a hush money investigation in New York.

In the days leading to the New York indictment, House Republicans laid out a full-on campaign against Alvin Bragg, the Democratic district attorney in Manhattan who brought the case against the former president.

Charging that the prosecution was “pure politics,” Jordan held a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-bragg-house-judiciary-hearing-indictment-8447027e482d30c94550daeb13b6dc12">field hearing</a>&nbsp;near Bragg’s New York offices to examine what they said were his “pro-crime, anti-victim” policies. Jordan is also the top Republican on the weaponization subcommittee.

As special counsel Jack Smith was preparing this week to release the indictment, Trump's allies on Capitol Hill were working overtime to prepare the defense of the former president. Jordan issued a series of letters to the Justice Department, demanding documents related to his investigation into Trump’s handling of classified records. Jordan cited the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/durham-report-fbi-trump-clinton-2016-campaign-f3039e651eeb35a09091c363419e6766">recent report</a>&nbsp;by special counsel John Durham that found that the FBI rushed into its investigation of ties between Russia and Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign and routinely ignored or rationalized evidence that undercut its premise.

In the June 1 letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland, Jordan requested information about the ongoing investigation in order to “ensure any ongoing investigations are not poisoned by this same politicization.”

Just as the indictment was unsealed on Friday, Jordan sent another letter to Garland, this time laying out testimony from a former FBI official who testified to the committee about the raid at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate. The Ohio Republican wrote that Steven D’Antuono, a former assistant director at the FBI’s Washington Field Office, told the committee the Justice Department “was not following the same principles” as previous raids.

Defending Trump also has the potential to ease tensions among House Republicans as they face their own troubles on Capitol Hill, after a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/gas-stoves-republican-revolt-freedom-caucus-1952006c4f6fa7a727cf635208d851d1">conservative-led revolt</a>&nbsp;over the recent debt ceiling deal divided the party this week and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/house-republicans-speaker-mccarthy-gas-stoves-efe22cb525349daf704828ad777b403e">halted most legislation</a>&nbsp;from passing on the floor.

But even if Republicans are able to shape public perception of the probes, there is one thing they cannot do — control the outcome of Trump's trial. The former president is at great legal risk, no matter what the public believes, under two indictments — and potentially more as prosecutors in Georgia and Washington investigate his actions leading up to the Jan. 6 insurrection.

Still, some Republicans maintain that the multiple indictments could help Trump improve his standing in polls of Republican voters and solidify the impression that the government is conspiring against him.

Republican Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina told CNN she believes the indictment “handed Donald Trump the nomination” in the 2024 GOP primary.

And as the House panel has ramped up its efforts to defend the former president, the word “weaponization” has taken root among Trump’s Republican allies. Nearly every GOP lawmaker used the term — as did a member of Trump's legal team hours before the charges were unsealed to the public.

“It puts a stamp of reality on something that really is unreal in terms of the weaponization of the Department of Justice,” said James Trusty, one of Trump’s lawyers, on ABC Friday morning. Trump announced later in the day that Trusty was leaving his team.

Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas tweeted that “the weaponization of our Department of Justice against enemies of the Biden admin. will do enormous damage to the rule of law &amp; have a lasting impact.”

Cruz’s GOP colleagues in the Senate were more muted, with Republican Leader Mitch McConnell and others who have criticized the former president declining to weigh in on the indictment.

Republican Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah, the only GOP senator to vote to convict Trump in both of his impeachment trials, was a rare voice of criticism. While Romney stressed that Trump is entitled to presumption of innocence, he said he believes the charges are serious and Trump brought them on himself.

“These allegations are serious and if proven, would be consistent with his other actions offensive to the national interest,” Romney said.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump">Donald Trump’s</a>&nbsp;indictment on charges of mishandling classified documents is set to play out in a federal court in Florida. But hundred of miles away, part of Trump’s defense is well underway in a different venue — the halls of Congress, where Republicans have been preparing for months to wage an aggressive counter-offensive against the Justice Department.<a href="https://judiciary.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/republicans-judiciary.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/2023-06-09-jdj-to-garland-re-mal.pdf">Click here to read the</a>&nbsp;House Judiciary Committee responseThe federal indictment against Trump, unsealed Friday, includes&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-florida-indictment-highlights-857476c71e98e91521212a826efc8816">37 counts</a>, including allegations that the former president intentionally possessed classified documents, showed them off to visitors, willfully defied Justice Department demands to return them and made false statements to federal authorities about them. The evidence details Trump's own words and actions as recounted by lawyers, close aides and other witnesses.The Republican campaign to discredit federal prosecutors skims over the substance of those charges, which were brought by a grand jury in Florida. GOP lawmakers are instead working, as they have for several years, to foster a broader argument that law enforcement — and President Joe Biden — are conspiring against the former president and possible Republican nominee for president in 2024.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">My statement on the unprecedented indictment of President Trump by Biden&#39;s DOJ: <a href="https://t.co/NtSd8hwqqy">pic.twitter.com/NtSd8hwqqy</a>&mdash; Dr. Roger Marshall (@RogerMarshallMD) <a href="https://twitter.com/RogerMarshallMD/status/1666988328523034624?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 9, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Joe Biden has used his Justice Department to go after parents as “domestic terrorists,” to spy on Catholic parishes, to terrorize &amp; harass prolife Christians - and tonight to indict his top political opponent, Trump. He has trampled the rule of law to benefit himself. He has led…&mdash; Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) <a href="https://twitter.com/HawleyMO/status/1666958453225529378?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 9, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Joe Biden has now indicted his top political opponent. Full on Banana Republic stuff.&mdash; Eric Schmitt (@Eric_Schmitt) <a href="https://twitter.com/Eric_Schmitt/status/1666981314572984320?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 9, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Most Republicans believe we live in a country where Hillary Clinton did very similar things and nothing happened to her.&mdash; Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) <a href="https://twitter.com/LindseyGrahamSC/status/1667892656184127488?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 11, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>“Today is indeed a dark day for the United States of America,” tweeted House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, soon after Trump said on his social media platform Thursday night that an indictment was coming. McCarthy blamed Biden, who has declined to comment on the case and said he is not at all involved in the Justice Department’s decisions.McCarthy called it a “grave injustice” and said that House Republicans “will hold this brazen weaponization of power accountable.”Republican lawmakers in the House have already laid extensive groundwork for the effort to defend Trump since taking the majority in January. A near constant string of hearings featuring former&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/fbi-republicans-security-clearance-congress-3c061c936425c735a3eac12f431b0386">FBI agents</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/technology-politics-united-states-government-us-republican-party-business-6e34ad121a1e52892b782b0b7c0e59c3">Twitter executives</a>&nbsp;and federal officials have sought to paint the narrative of a corrupt government using its powers against Trump and the right. A GOP-led House subcommittee on the “weaponization” of government is probing the Justice Department and other government agencies, while at the same time Republicans are investigating Biden’s son Hunter Biden.“It’s a sad day for America,” Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan of Ohio, a leading Trump defender and ally in the House, said in a statement on Thursday evening. “God bless President Trump.”Arizona Rep. Andy Biggs was more strident. “We have now reached a war phase,” he tweeted. “Eye for an eye.”Democrats say the Republicans are trafficking in conspiracy theories, with potentially dangerous consequences. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, both Democrats from New York, issued a joint statement Friday urging calm around the Trump case, saying everyone should “let this case proceed peacefully in court.”Recent Republicans rhetoric “not only undermines the Department of Justice but betrays the essential principle of justice that no one is above the commands of law, not even a former President or a self-proclaimed billionaire,” said Rep. Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee.Key elements of the GOP strategy are to discredit the prosecutors and investigate the investigators — a playbook that Republicans employed during Trump’s presidency as his own Justice Department probed his connections to Russia, and also used in April when Trump was charged in a hush money investigation in New York.In the days leading to the New York indictment, House Republicans laid out a full-on campaign against Alvin Bragg, the Democratic district attorney in Manhattan who brought the case against the former president.Charging that the prosecution was “pure politics,” Jordan held a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-bragg-house-judiciary-hearing-indictment-8447027e482d30c94550daeb13b6dc12">field hearing</a>&nbsp;near Bragg’s New York offices to examine what they said were his “pro-crime, anti-victim” policies. Jordan is also the top Republican on the weaponization subcommittee.As special counsel Jack Smith was preparing this week to release the indictment, Trump's allies on Capitol Hill were working overtime to prepare the defense of the former president. Jordan issued a series of letters to the Justice Department, demanding documents related to his investigation into Trump’s handling of classified records. Jordan cited the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/durham-report-fbi-trump-clinton-2016-campaign-f3039e651eeb35a09091c363419e6766">recent report</a>&nbsp;by special counsel John Durham that found that the FBI rushed into its investigation of ties between Russia and Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign and routinely ignored or rationalized evidence that undercut its premise.In the June 1 letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland, Jordan requested information about the ongoing investigation in order to “ensure any ongoing investigations are not poisoned by this same politicization.”Just as the indictment was unsealed on Friday, Jordan sent another letter to Garland, this time laying out testimony from a former FBI official who testified to the committee about the raid at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate. The Ohio Republican wrote that Steven D’Antuono, a former assistant director at the FBI’s Washington Field Office, told the committee the Justice Department “was not following the same principles” as previous raids.Defending Trump also has the potential to ease tensions among House Republicans as they face their own troubles on Capitol Hill, after a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/gas-stoves-republican-revolt-freedom-caucus-1952006c4f6fa7a727cf635208d851d1">conservative-led revolt</a>&nbsp;over the recent debt ceiling deal divided the party this week and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/house-republicans-speaker-mccarthy-gas-stoves-efe22cb525349daf704828ad777b403e">halted most legislation</a>&nbsp;from passing on the floor.But even if Republicans are able to shape public perception of the probes, there is one thing they cannot do — control the outcome of Trump's trial. The former president is at great legal risk, no matter what the public believes, under two indictments — and potentially more as prosecutors in Georgia and Washington investigate his actions leading up to the Jan. 6 insurrection.Still, some Republicans maintain that the multiple indictments could help Trump improve his standing in polls of Republican voters and solidify the impression that the government is conspiring against him.Republican Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina told CNN she believes the indictment “handed Donald Trump the nomination” in the 2024 GOP primary.And as the House panel has ramped up its efforts to defend the former president, the word “weaponization” has taken root among Trump’s Republican allies. Nearly every GOP lawmaker used the term — as did a member of Trump's legal team hours before the charges were unsealed to the public.“It puts a stamp of reality on something that really is unreal in terms of the weaponization of the Department of Justice,” said James Trusty, one of Trump’s lawyers, on ABC Friday morning. Trump announced later in the day that Trusty was leaving his team.Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas tweeted that “the weaponization of our Department of Justice against enemies of the Biden admin. will do enormous damage to the rule of law &amp; have a lasting impact.”Cruz’s GOP colleagues in the Senate were more muted, with Republican Leader Mitch McConnell and others who have criticized the former president declining to weigh in on the indictment.Republican Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah, the only GOP senator to vote to convict Trump in both of his impeachment trials, was a rare voice of criticism. While Romney stressed that Trump is entitled to presumption of innocence, he said he believes the charges are serious and Trump brought them on himself.“These allegations are serious and if proven, would be consistent with his other actions offensive to the national interest,” Romney said.

Trump's GOP defenders in Congress leap into action after indictment

&nbsp;BROWN COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect on multiple drug allegations.

Just before 9:30 p.m. June 6, a Brown county deputy initiated a traffic stop on Kestrel Road near Oregon Street on the west side of Hiawatha, according to Sheriff John Merchant.

K-9 Carla indicated on the passenger side of the vehicle,&nbsp; and after the investigation was complete deputies arrested the passenger Jennifer Courtney, 51, of Topeka on requested charges of&nbsp; Possession of Meth, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia and Felony Interference of a Law Enforcement Officer.&nbsp; Deputies also&nbsp;discovered that Courtney was&nbsp; hiding a small plastic&nbsp; bag of Methamphetamines in her mouth.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/6/1686343436926.png" alt="Courtney-photo Brown County" />
 <figcaption>Courtney-photo Brown County</figcaption>
 </figure>&nbsp;BROWN COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect on multiple drug allegations.Just before 9:30 p.m. June 6, a Brown county deputy initiated a traffic stop on Kestrel Road near Oregon Street on the west side of Hiawatha, according to Sheriff John Merchant.K-9 Carla indicated on the passenger side of the vehicle,&nbsp; and after the investigation was complete deputies arrested the passenger Jennifer Courtney, 51, of Topeka on requested charges of&nbsp; Possession of Meth, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia and Felony Interference of a Law Enforcement Officer.&nbsp; Deputies also&nbsp;discovered that Courtney was&nbsp; hiding a small plastic&nbsp; bag of Methamphetamines in her mouth.

Sheriff: Kan. woman hid small bag of meth in her mouth

PRATT COUNTY —Two people were injured in an accident just after 2p.m. Sunday in Pratt County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 1972 Bell 206B Helicopter piloted by Nathaniel Taylor Brown, 38, Georgetown, Kansas,&nbsp;was starting to land when it ran out of fuel and the engine to shut off. The helicopter came to rest in a wheat field near&nbsp;SW 50th Avenue and SW 10th Street or five miles southwest of Pratt.

EMS transported Brown and a passenger Andrei&nbsp; Cherushnikov, 36, Renton, Washington, to Pratt Regional Medical Center.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/7/1658863845669.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>PRATT COUNTY —Two people were injured in an accident just after 2p.m. Sunday in Pratt County.The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 1972 Bell 206B Helicopter piloted by Nathaniel Taylor Brown, 38, Georgetown, Kansas,&nbsp;was starting to land when it ran out of fuel and the engine to shut off. The helicopter came to rest in a wheat field near&nbsp;SW 50th Avenue and SW 10th Street or five miles southwest of Pratt.EMS transported Brown and a passenger Andrei&nbsp; Cherushnikov, 36, Renton, Washington, to Pratt Regional Medical Center.&nbsp;

2 hospitalized after helicopter crash in Kansas wheat field

ELLSWORTH COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a drowning at Kanopolis State Lake.

Just before 6:30 p.m. Saturday, deputies and other first responders arrived at the lake on report of a potential kayak-related drowning, according to Ellsworth County Sheriff Murray Marston.

Authorities recovered the body of 47-year-old Brannon Curiel. The&nbsp; Ellsworth County Coroner pronounced him deceased.

In addition to deputies from the Ellsworth County, the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; Marquette EMS; McPherson Fire Department-Swift Water Rescue; and the Saline County Sheriff’s Office Mounted Patrol &amp; Rescue Squad responded to the lake.

Authorities released no additional details on Sunday.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/6/1624299843082.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>ELLSWORTH COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a drowning at Kanopolis State Lake.Just before 6:30 p.m. Saturday, deputies and other first responders arrived at the lake on report of a potential kayak-related drowning, according to Ellsworth County Sheriff Murray Marston.Authorities recovered the body of 47-year-old Brannon Curiel. The&nbsp; Ellsworth County Coroner pronounced him deceased.In addition to deputies from the Ellsworth County, the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; Marquette EMS; McPherson Fire Department-Swift Water Rescue; and the Saline County Sheriff’s Office Mounted Patrol &amp; Rescue Squad responded to the lake. Authorities released no additional details on Sunday.

Kansas man drowns at Kanopolis Lake

KANSAS CITY– An employee of the Jackson County Detention Center, along with three associates of an inmate detained at the center, have been indicted by a federal grand jury for their roles in a conspiracy to smuggle papers laced with K2 to jail inmates, according to the United State's Attorney.

Aaron D. Copes, 42, of Grandview, Mo., Deanna K. Clark, also known as “Nina,” 32, and Stephanie McDaniel, 31, both of Kansas City, Mo., and James A. Booker, Jr., 37, of Raytown, Mo., were charged in a single-count indictment returned under seal by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Mo., on May 31, 2023. That indictment has been unsealed and made public following the arrests of Copes, Clark, and Booker this week.

Copes was employed as a case manager at the Jackson County Detention Center. His duties included interviewing inmates daily, providing counseling and mediation for inmates, and providing training to correctional officers. Clark and Booker were close associates of an inmate at the Jackson County Detention Center, who is identified in court documents as unindicted co-conspirator CC1. McDaniel was the girlfriend of CC1. The indictment also refers to another inmate, identified as unindicted co-conspirator CC2.

Copes, Clark, Booker, and McDaniel are charged with participating in a conspiracy from March 2020 to October 2021 to smuggle contraband into the Jackson County Detention Center.

Copes allegedly took bribe money and sexual favors in exchange for smuggling contraband into the Jackson County Detention Center and delivering it to inmates, including CC1 and CC2. Conspirators allegedly smuggled in K2, a controlled substance, which was soaked onto sheets of paper that were smoked by inmates.

KANSAS CITY– An employee of the Jackson County Detention Center, along with three associates of an inmate detained at the center, have been indicted by a federal grand jury for their roles in a conspiracy to smuggle papers laced with K2 to jail inmates, according to the United State's Attorney.Aaron D. Copes, 42, of Grandview, Mo., Deanna K. Clark, also known as “Nina,” 32, and Stephanie McDaniel, 31, both of Kansas City, Mo., and James A. Booker, Jr., 37, of Raytown, Mo., were charged in a single-count indictment returned under seal by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Mo., on May 31, 2023. That indictment has been unsealed and made public following the arrests of Copes, Clark, and Booker this week.Copes was employed as a case manager at the Jackson County Detention Center. His duties included interviewing inmates daily, providing counseling and mediation for inmates, and providing training to correctional officers. Clark and Booker were close associates of an inmate at the Jackson County Detention Center, who is identified in court documents as unindicted co-conspirator CC1. McDaniel was the girlfriend of CC1. The indictment also refers to another inmate, identified as unindicted co-conspirator CC2.Copes, Clark, Booker, and McDaniel are charged with participating in a conspiracy from March 2020 to October 2021 to smuggle contraband into the Jackson County Detention Center.Copes allegedly took bribe money and sexual favors in exchange for smuggling contraband into the Jackson County Detention Center and delivering it to inmates, including CC1 and CC2. Conspirators allegedly smuggled in K2, a controlled substance, which was soaked onto sheets of paper that were smoked by inmates.

KC jail employee accused of smuggling K2-laced papers to inmates

By ERIN SOCHA <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/04/06/grieving-moms-plea-to-kansas-lawmakers-do-something-this-epidemic-is-killing-our-kids/">Kansas Reflector</a>

OSAWATOMIE — In a unanimous vote by the city council, the city of Osawatomie has agreed to sell its city-owned pound to&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.alwaysandfurever.org/">Always and Furever Midwest Animal Sanctuary</a>, a nonprofit animal rescue in Miami county.

<a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/06/06/osawatomie-pound-may-revert-to-killing-animals-if-city-declines-aid/">Tensions had flared</a>&nbsp;between the two entities after a popular social media post instigated community outrage over a dysfunctional air conditioner and a state inspection that found the kennels in disrepair. The city had considered cutting ties with the nonprofit, which would have meant the shelter would start euthanizing animals.

City manager Michael Scanlon recommended the agreement to the city council on Thursday.

“We believe Always &amp; Furever has the financial capabilities and operational know-how to make our animal shelter one of the best in Kansas and throughout the Midwest,” Scanlon said in a&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.kctv5.com/2023/06/09/kansas-town-considers-future-local-animal-shelter/">statement to KCTV5</a>. “It’s time for us to step out of their way and lead our community in supporting a no-kill shelter for Miami County.”

The purchase price will be decided after an appraisal. Always and Furever has agreed to purchase the property “as-is.”

“Always and Furever has earned the confidence of this city,” Scanlon said at the meeting.

Volunteers and supporters of Always and Furever breathed a collective sigh of relief on Thursday after the deal was reported and&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.facebook.com/nevertoolateforhappilyeverafter/posts/632626125559729">shared on Always and Furever’s Facebook page</a>.

“We cannot thank the City enough for first placing their faith and trust in us four years ago to be the sole caretakers of the pound animals (which included Miami County and Paola animals) and for again tonight putting their faith in our promise to always protect and serve their community animals,” said Jennifer Dulski, founder of the nonprofit, in a Facebook post.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/6/1686447595505.png" alt=" Always and Furever Midwest Animal Sanctuary will buy the Osawatomie Pound following approval of the sale by the city council. (Erin Socha)" />
 <figcaption> Always and Furever Midwest Animal Sanctuary will buy the Osawatomie Pound following approval of the sale by the city council. (Erin Socha)</figcaption>
 </figure>By ERIN SOCHA <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/04/06/grieving-moms-plea-to-kansas-lawmakers-do-something-this-epidemic-is-killing-our-kids/">Kansas Reflector</a>OSAWATOMIE — In a unanimous vote by the city council, the city of Osawatomie has agreed to sell its city-owned pound to&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.alwaysandfurever.org/">Always and Furever Midwest Animal Sanctuary</a>, a nonprofit animal rescue in Miami county.<a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/06/06/osawatomie-pound-may-revert-to-killing-animals-if-city-declines-aid/">Tensions had flared</a>&nbsp;between the two entities after a popular social media post instigated community outrage over a dysfunctional air conditioner and a state inspection that found the kennels in disrepair. The city had considered cutting ties with the nonprofit, which would have meant the shelter would start euthanizing animals.City manager Michael Scanlon recommended the agreement to the city council on Thursday.“We believe Always &amp; Furever has the financial capabilities and operational know-how to make our animal shelter one of the best in Kansas and throughout the Midwest,” Scanlon said in a&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.kctv5.com/2023/06/09/kansas-town-considers-future-local-animal-shelter/">statement to KCTV5</a>. “It’s time for us to step out of their way and lead our community in supporting a no-kill shelter for Miami County.”The purchase price will be decided after an appraisal. Always and Furever has agreed to purchase the property “as-is.”“Always and Furever has earned the confidence of this city,” Scanlon said at the meeting.Volunteers and supporters of Always and Furever breathed a collective sigh of relief on Thursday after the deal was reported and&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.facebook.com/nevertoolateforhappilyeverafter/posts/632626125559729">shared on Always and Furever’s Facebook page</a>.“We cannot thank the City enough for first placing their faith and trust in us four years ago to be the sole caretakers of the pound animals (which included Miami County and Paola animals) and for again tonight putting their faith in our promise to always protect and serve their community animals,” said Jennifer Dulski, founder of the nonprofit, in a Facebook post.

Kan. community resolves conflict with animal rescue group, agrees to sell pound

KANSAS CITY (AP) — After years of criticizing mail voting and so-called ballot harvesting as ripe for fraud, Republicans at the top of the party want to change course.

They are poised to launch aggressive get-out-the-vote campaigns for 2024 that employ just those strategies, attempting to match the emphasis on early voting Democrats have used for years to lock in many of their supporters well ahead of Election Day. The goal is to to persuade voters who support GOP candidates that early voting techniques are secure and to make sure they are able to return their ballots in time to be counted, thus putting less pressure on Election Day turnout efforts.

It marks a notable shift from the party's rhetoric since 2020, when then-President Donald Trump was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/virus-outbreak-election-2020-ap-fact-check-elections-voting-fraud-and-irregularities-8c5db90960815f91f39fe115579570b4">routinely sowing doubt about mail voting</a>&nbsp;and encouraging his voters to wait and vote in-person on Election Day. As recently as last year, Republican activists peddling the stolen election narrative were&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-health-government-and-politics-election-2020-55f4744b484919cd20d4d5e8d72e444e?utm_source=homepage&amp;utm_medium=TopNews&amp;utm_campaign=position_03">telling GOP voters</a>&nbsp;who received mail ballots to hold onto them and turn them in at their polling place on Election Day rather than use mail or drop boxes.

Now Trump is asking donors to chip in for his “ballot harvesting fund” – saying in a fundraising email, “Either we ballot harvest where we can, or you can say goodbye to America!”

Republicans say&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-donald-trump-georgia-31624728042effd17f6ced32dfbf188d">the shift is needed</a>&nbsp;to ensure GOP victories up and down the 2024 ballot, arguing they cannot afford to give Democrats any advantage. At the same time, they acknowledge skepticism from many of their own voters conditioned by false claims of widespread voter fraud from Trump and others.

Across the country,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-indiana-ebba330c4a46c81b77b7feb564f03737">Republican-controlled legislatures</a>&nbsp;have acted against&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-coronavirus-pandemic-voting-rights-election-2020-2caf9b85bec73c807ecea15775f6da63">early voting</a>&nbsp;—&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-donald-trump-ohio-fraud-ad6eaaca489d39aa4b6e63c2ce413bf8">shortening windows</a>&nbsp;for returning mail ballots, banning or limiting&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-kansas-state-government-6b1315110a7cc5c09055793581ee4ac2">the use of drop boxes</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/mississippi-elections-absentee-ballot-harvesting-91c4e5d67f9169e1a2104813b1fe133f">criminalizing third-party ballot collection</a>.

In announcing a “Bank Your Vote” initiative for 2024, Republican National Committee Chairwoman&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-republican-national-convention-united-states-government-2022-midterm-elections-donald-trump-ab2a2c94ff0f110e3c45c37cdf695695">Ronna McDaniel</a>&nbsp;said the party “has never said ‘don’t vote early,'” but acknowledged the GOP will have to work to shift voters' perceptions.

“That certainly is a challenge if you have people in your ecosystem saying, ‘Don’t vote early or don’t vote by mail,’ and those cross messages do have an impact,” McDaniel told reporters Wednesday. “I don’t think you’re seeing that heading into 2024. I think you’re seeing all of us singing from the same songbook.”

The nationwide GOP plan emphasizes “in-person early voting, absentee voting, and ballot harvesting where legal,” while also pledging “to fight against bad ballot harvesting laws.” Republicans use the term to describe when someone else returns a mailed ballot on behalf of another voter, especially third parties that gather multiple ballots.

McDaniel emphasized she remains opposed to ballot collection, and she said the party would deploy an army of poll watchers and election monitors to reassure Republican voters that their ballots will be protected.

“Do I think it’s the most secure way of voting? No,” McDaniel said. “But if it’s the law, we’re going to have to do it just like the Democrats are.”

The challenge will be providing a consistent message that reassures GOP voters.

The same day McDaniel announced her initiative, Republicans in Congress were&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/district-of-columbia-voting-elections-republicans-ca212cd42f2f4186a53cd6630e63db49">holding a hearing</a>&nbsp;considering legislation that, among other things, would ban ballot collection in the District of Columbia. GOP state lawmakers around the country have chipped away at advanced voting opportunities since 2020. Some state and local election Republicans have gone further, advocating for just a single day of voting.

After the 2020 presidential election, the movie “2000 Mules” was a popular video that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-covid-technology-health-arizona-e1b49d2311bf900f44fa5c6dac406762">made various debunked claims</a>&nbsp;about mail ballots, drop boxes and ballot collection. Even the co-chair of the new GOP strategy, U. S. Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., has been a critic. In November, he issued a call on social media to “End ballot harvesting.”

Nonetheless, McDaniel noted that Republican presidential candidates,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/capitol-riot-trump-election-lies-explainer-816a43ed964e6d35f03b0930e6e56c82?utm_source=homepage&amp;utm_medium=RelatedStories&amp;utm_campaign=position_03">including Trump</a>, have been talking about the importance of advance voting and ballot collection.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a high-profile GOP contender, recently told a voter he planned to launch his own “ballot harvesting” effort, according to video posted online by a Washington Post reporter. DeSantis said he wasn’t going to “fight with one hand tied behind my back.”

KANSAS CITY (AP) — After years of criticizing mail voting and so-called ballot harvesting as ripe for fraud, Republicans at the top of the party want to change course.They are poised to launch aggressive get-out-the-vote campaigns for 2024 that employ just those strategies, attempting to match the emphasis on early voting Democrats have used for years to lock in many of their supporters well ahead of Election Day. The goal is to to persuade voters who support GOP candidates that early voting techniques are secure and to make sure they are able to return their ballots in time to be counted, thus putting less pressure on Election Day turnout efforts.It marks a notable shift from the party's rhetoric since 2020, when then-President Donald Trump was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/virus-outbreak-election-2020-ap-fact-check-elections-voting-fraud-and-irregularities-8c5db90960815f91f39fe115579570b4">routinely sowing doubt about mail voting</a>&nbsp;and encouraging his voters to wait and vote in-person on Election Day. As recently as last year, Republican activists peddling the stolen election narrative were&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-health-government-and-politics-election-2020-55f4744b484919cd20d4d5e8d72e444e?utm_source=homepage&amp;utm_medium=TopNews&amp;utm_campaign=position_03">telling GOP voters</a>&nbsp;who received mail ballots to hold onto them and turn them in at their polling place on Election Day rather than use mail or drop boxes.Now Trump is asking donors to chip in for his “ballot harvesting fund” – saying in a fundraising email, “Either we ballot harvest where we can, or you can say goodbye to America!”Republicans say&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-donald-trump-georgia-31624728042effd17f6ced32dfbf188d">the shift is needed</a>&nbsp;to ensure GOP victories up and down the 2024 ballot, arguing they cannot afford to give Democrats any advantage. At the same time, they acknowledge skepticism from many of their own voters conditioned by false claims of widespread voter fraud from Trump and others.Across the country,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-indiana-ebba330c4a46c81b77b7feb564f03737">Republican-controlled legislatures</a>&nbsp;have acted against&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-coronavirus-pandemic-voting-rights-election-2020-2caf9b85bec73c807ecea15775f6da63">early voting</a>&nbsp;—&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-donald-trump-ohio-fraud-ad6eaaca489d39aa4b6e63c2ce413bf8">shortening windows</a>&nbsp;for returning mail ballots, banning or limiting&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-kansas-state-government-6b1315110a7cc5c09055793581ee4ac2">the use of drop boxes</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/mississippi-elections-absentee-ballot-harvesting-91c4e5d67f9169e1a2104813b1fe133f">criminalizing third-party ballot collection</a>.In announcing a “Bank Your Vote” initiative for 2024, Republican National Committee Chairwoman&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-republican-national-convention-united-states-government-2022-midterm-elections-donald-trump-ab2a2c94ff0f110e3c45c37cdf695695">Ronna McDaniel</a>&nbsp;said the party “has never said ‘don’t vote early,'” but acknowledged the GOP will have to work to shift voters' perceptions.“That certainly is a challenge if you have people in your ecosystem saying, ‘Don’t vote early or don’t vote by mail,’ and those cross messages do have an impact,” McDaniel told reporters Wednesday. “I don’t think you’re seeing that heading into 2024. I think you’re seeing all of us singing from the same songbook.”The nationwide GOP plan emphasizes “in-person early voting, absentee voting, and ballot harvesting where legal,” while also pledging “to fight against bad ballot harvesting laws.” Republicans use the term to describe when someone else returns a mailed ballot on behalf of another voter, especially third parties that gather multiple ballots.McDaniel emphasized she remains opposed to ballot collection, and she said the party would deploy an army of poll watchers and election monitors to reassure Republican voters that their ballots will be protected.“Do I think it’s the most secure way of voting? No,” McDaniel said. “But if it’s the law, we’re going to have to do it just like the Democrats are.”The challenge will be providing a consistent message that reassures GOP voters.The same day McDaniel announced her initiative, Republicans in Congress were&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/district-of-columbia-voting-elections-republicans-ca212cd42f2f4186a53cd6630e63db49">holding a hearing</a>&nbsp;considering legislation that, among other things, would ban ballot collection in the District of Columbia. GOP state lawmakers around the country have chipped away at advanced voting opportunities since 2020. Some state and local election Republicans have gone further, advocating for just a single day of voting.After the 2020 presidential election, the movie “2000 Mules” was a popular video that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-covid-technology-health-arizona-e1b49d2311bf900f44fa5c6dac406762">made various debunked claims</a>&nbsp;about mail ballots, drop boxes and ballot collection. Even the co-chair of the new GOP strategy, U. S. Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., has been a critic. In November, he issued a call on social media to “End ballot harvesting.”Nonetheless, McDaniel noted that Republican presidential candidates,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/capitol-riot-trump-election-lies-explainer-816a43ed964e6d35f03b0930e6e56c82?utm_source=homepage&amp;utm_medium=RelatedStories&amp;utm_campaign=position_03">including Trump</a>, have been talking about the importance of advance voting and ballot collection.Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a high-profile GOP contender, recently told a voter he planned to launch his own “ballot harvesting” effort, according to video posted online by a Washington Post reporter. DeSantis said he wasn’t going to “fight with one hand tied behind my back.”The Trump and DeSantis campaigns did not respond to messages seeking details about ballot collection plans.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-ron-desantis-legislation-florida-elections-a9737fcc3eab5aedc572fbcc7c19b984">Florida</a>&nbsp;is among the mostly Republican-led states that have sought to ban or limit the practice in recent years, despite the GOP's reliance there on older, more conservative voters who prefer voting methods other than casting Election Day ballots.Since the 2020 election, lawmakers in 31 states have introduced 124 bills that would restrict third-party ballot returns, according to data collected by the Voting Rights Lab, which tracks voting-related legislation in the states. Of those, 14 bills in 11 states have been enacted. That includes&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-covid-health-crime-florida-5fad57fac85e0944b6e8eeb423b195b7">one DeSantis himself signed</a>&nbsp;that makes it a felony for an individual to collect more than two mail ballots other than the person’s own or one belonging to an immediate family member.While some states are silent on the issue, 31 states allow someone other than the voter to return a ballot on behalf of another voter. Nine limit how many ballots one person can return, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Many states limit ballot handling to a family member, household member or caregiver.In California, efforts to lock in the early vote could be decisive next year in a string of U.S. House districts, most of them in the southern California suburbs, that are expected to play a pivotal role in determining control of the chamber. California is a Democratic stronghold, but Republicans retain pockets of strength across rural and small-town areas and the Central Valley farm belt, while the state's suburban congressional districts have yielded many tights races in recent election cycles.As many as nine congressional seats are considered competitive, and several races will play out in districts won by President Joe Biden but where the seat is held by a Republican. Each of California’s 22 million registered voters is mailed a ballot one month before Election Day.“In any close election, the ability to capture absentee votes becomes extremely important, especially in a state like ours, where every single voter has a ballot in their home,” conservative activist Jon Fleishman said.Democrats were critical of the new GOP effort after years of messaging by Republicans against mail voting.“Donald Trump and extremist Republicans have spent years telling lies about elections to justify their losses. That includes demonizing mail ballots and ballot collection,” said Jena Griswold, Colorado’s secretary of state and head of the Democratic Association of Secretaries of State. “These hypocritical extremists are only interested in spreading chaos and trying to gain power at any cost.”Top Republicans must make the case within their own ranks, said Rep. Richard Hudson, R-N.C.“We’ve got to have a change of culture among Republican voters,” said Hudson, who chairs the House GOP’s national campaign committee. “And it’s going to require us all on the same page.”___