SHAWNEE COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a fatal accident and have identified 2-year-old&nbsp;as Ximena Perez of Topeka as the child who died.&nbsp;

The accident occurred Tuesday afternoon in the 3100 block of SE California Avenue, according to Police Spokesperson Rosie Nichols. 

A vehicle struck the girl and she died from the injuries.&nbsp;&nbsp;

The Topeka Police Department made contact with all individuals involved and no arrests have been made. Upon conclusion of the investigation, police will present the accident findings to the District Attorney’s office for any charging consideration.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/3/1679425013324.png" alt="First responders near the fatal accident scene-photo courtesy WIBW TV" />
 <figcaption>First responders near the fatal accident scene-photo courtesy WIBW TV</figcaption>
 </figure>SHAWNEE COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a fatal accident and have identified 2-year-old&nbsp;as Ximena Perez of Topeka as the child who died.&nbsp;The accident occurred Tuesday afternoon in the 3100 block of SE California Avenue, according to Police Spokesperson Rosie Nichols. A vehicle struck the girl and she died from the injuries.&nbsp;&nbsp;The Topeka Police Department made contact with all individuals involved and no arrests have been made. Upon conclusion of the investigation, police will present the accident findings to the District Attorney’s office for any charging consideration.

Investigation of accident that killed 2-year-old Kan. girl continues

MIAMI &amp; LINN COUNTY&nbsp;–&nbsp;On Wednesday morning, the Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI), the Miami County Sheriff’s Office, the Linn County Sheriff’s Office, the Osawatomie Police Department, and the Pleasanton Police Department arrested six individuals in Miami and Linn counties for distribution of methamphetamine and other charges, according to a media release from the KBI.

The investigation began in December of 2022, when the Osawatomie Police Department developed information about area drug sales. Then, on Wednesday, March 22, between 6 a.m. and 8:30 a.m., KBI agents and investigators executed search warrants and arrest warrants at a residence in rural Osawatomie, Kansas, and at two residences in La Cygne, Kansas. 

During the searches, law enforcement located methamphetamine and over $12,000 in cash. During the joint investigation, over 1.5 pounds of methamphetamine was seized, some of which is believed to contain fentanyl.

Bernie E. Stuteville, 60, of La Cygne, was arrested on a requested charge of distribution of a controlled substance, conspiracy, and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Charles Eslick Jr., 49, of Osawatomie, was arrested on a requested charge of distribution of a controlled substance, conspiracy, unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia, and distribution or possession of a controlled substance using a communication facility.

Deanne Burkhart, 55, of Osawatomie, was arrested on a requested charge of distribution of a controlled substance, and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Julia R. Spears, 50, of Osawatomie, was arrested on a requested charge of distribution of a controlled substance, conspiracy, and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Danny R. Harper, 58, of Osawatomie, was arrested&nbsp;on a requested charge of of controlled substance, and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Cindy M. Ballou, 45, of Osawatomie, was arrested during the search warrant for having outstanding warrants for driving while suspended with no proof of insurance.

Following their arrests, the subjects were each booked into the Miami County Jail. Formal charges are pending. All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

Also assisting in this investigation were Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Kansas Highway Patrol (KHP), the La Cygne Police Department, the Ottawa Police Department, and the Paola Police Department. The investigation is ongoing.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/3/1679566267770.png" alt="Stuteville has four previous drug conviction, according to the Kansas Dept. of Corrections" />
 <figcaption>Stuteville has four previous drug conviction, according to the Kansas Dept. of Corrections</figcaption>
 </figure>MIAMI &amp; LINN COUNTY&nbsp;–&nbsp;On Wednesday morning, the Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI), the Miami County Sheriff’s Office, the Linn County Sheriff’s Office, the Osawatomie Police Department, and the Pleasanton Police Department arrested six individuals in Miami and Linn counties for distribution of methamphetamine and other charges, according to a media release from the KBI.The investigation began in December of 2022, when the Osawatomie Police Department developed information about area drug sales. Then, on Wednesday, March 22, between 6 a.m. and 8:30 a.m., KBI agents and investigators executed search warrants and arrest warrants at a residence in rural Osawatomie, Kansas, and at two residences in La Cygne, Kansas. During the searches, law enforcement located methamphetamine and over $12,000 in cash. During the joint investigation, over 1.5 pounds of methamphetamine was seized, some of which is believed to contain fentanyl.Six subjects were arrested.Bernie E. Stuteville, 60, of La Cygne, was arrested on a requested charge of distribution of a controlled substance, conspiracy, and possession of drug paraphernalia.Charles Eslick Jr., 49, of Osawatomie, was arrested on a requested charge of distribution of a controlled substance, conspiracy, unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia, and distribution or possession of a controlled substance using a communication facility.Deanne Burkhart, 55, of Osawatomie, was arrested on a requested charge of distribution of a controlled substance, and possession of drug paraphernalia.Julia R. Spears, 50, of Osawatomie, was arrested on a requested charge of distribution of a controlled substance, conspiracy, and possession of drug paraphernalia.Danny R. Harper, 58, of Osawatomie, was arrested&nbsp;on a requested charge of of controlled substance, and possession of drug paraphernalia.Cindy M. Ballou, 45, of Osawatomie, was arrested during the search warrant for having outstanding warrants for driving while suspended with no proof of insurance.Following their arrests, the subjects were each booked into the Miami County Jail. Formal charges are pending. All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.Also assisting in this investigation were Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Kansas Highway Patrol (KHP), the La Cygne Police Department, the Ottawa Police Department, and the Paola Police Department. The investigation is ongoing.

KBI: Drug operation finds meth with fentanyl, $12,000 cash

DENVER (AP) — A body found in the Colorado woods near an abandoned car was that of a 17-year-old student accused of wounding two administrators in a shooting at his Denver high school, a coroner's office said.

Park County Sheriff Tom McGraw said the body was discovered Wednesday not far from the student's car in a remote mountain area about 50 miles (80 kilometers) southwest of Denver, near the small town of Bailey, in Park County. The town had been ordered to shelter in place while while officers from a number of agencies including the FBI combed the forest.

Earlier in the day, Denver police identified the suspect as Austin Lyle. The Park County coroner's office confirmed in a Facebook post that the body was that of Lyle's. Cause of death wasn't released, pending the completion of an autopsy.

The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/shooting-east-high-school-denver-b7db159105dcaea44a816a8841ffd965">shooting occurred at East High School</a>&nbsp;in Denver, not far from downtown, while two administrators searched Lyle for weapons, a daily requirement because of the boy’s behavioral issues, authorities said. Lyle fled after the shooting.

It occurred at a school shaken by frequent lockdowns and violence, including the recent killing outside the school of a classmate that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/teen-gun-violence-denver-march-20b6acfd88edbc6e5c949a08aba45941">prompted East High School students to march</a>&nbsp;on the Colorado Capitol earlier this month. Parents who converged on the 2,500-student campus on Wednesday voiced frustration that officials had not done enough to protect their children.

“I am sick of it,” said Jesse Haase, who planned to talk with her daughter about taking her out of classes for the rest of the school year.

Amid the flurry of criticism over lax security, Denver school officials said after the shooting that they would once again put armed officers into the city’s public high schools.

There were no school resource officers on campus at the time of Wednesday’s shooting, said Denver Police Chief Ron Thomas.

The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/school-shootings">shooting</a>&nbsp;happened just before 10 a.m. in an office area as Lyle was undergoing a search as part of a “safety plan" that required him to be patted down daily, officials said.

The gun used in the shooting was not immediately recovered, Thomas said.

One of the wounded administrators was released from the hospital Wednesday afternoon and the second was in serious condition, said Heather Burke, a spokesperson for Denver Health hospital.

Hundreds of students on March 3 skipped class and marched in support of stricter gun laws following the death of Luis Garcia, 16, who was shot while sitting in a car near East High School.

In June 2020, amid a summer of protests over racial injustice following the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/virus-outbreak-us-news-ap-top-news-hip-hop-and-rap-houston-a55d2662f200ead0da4fed9e923b60a7">murder of George Floyd</a>, Denver Public Schools became one of the districts around the US that decided to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/us-news-ap-top-news-wisconsin-az-state-wire-racial-injustice-bc5b750085a89e03e132d7d3dda09a99">phase out its use of police officers in school buildings</a>. That push was fueled by criticism that school resource officers disproportionately arrested Black students, sweeping them into the criminal justice system.

After Wednesday’s shooting, two armed officers will be posted at East High School through the end of the school year, and other city high schools also will each get an officer, said Denver Public Schools Superintendent Alex Marrero.

In a Wednesday letter to the city's Board of Education, Marrero said his decision violated district's policies but added he “can no longer stand on the sidelines.”

“I am the leader of this district who is charged with keeping our scholars and staff safe every day,” he wrote. The school board said it supported the decision.

Gun violence at schools has become&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/uvalde-school-shooting-health-texas-violence-928c177ee8e09b59507c88d9c5b6ce51">increasingly common</a>&nbsp;in the U.S. with more than 1,300 shooting incidents recorded between 2000 and June 2022, according to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.chds.us/sssc/data-map/">government researchers</a>. Those shootings killed 377 people and wounded 1,025, according to a database maintained by the researchers.

Students from East High School had been scheduled to testify Wednesday afternoon before the Colorado Legislature on gun safety bills.

“This is the reality of being young in America: sitting through a shooting and waiting for information just hours before you’re scheduled to testify in support of gun safety bills,” said Gracie Taub, a 16-year-old East High School sophomore and volunteer with Students Demand Action in Colorado.

Lyle transferred to East High School after being disciplined and removed from a high school in nearby Aurora last school year because of unspecified violations of school policies, said Cherry Creek School District spokesperson Lauren Snell.

Marrero said safety plans for students are enacted in response to “past educational and also behavioral experiences,” adding that it’s a common practice throughout Colorado’s public schools. Officials did not give further details on why Lyle was searched daily.

But daily pat downs are rare, said Franci Crepeau-Hobson, a University of Colorado Denver professor specializing in school violence prevention.

“Clearly they were concerned,” said Crepeau-Hobson. “I can’t imagine they’d do that if there wasn’t a history of the kid carrying a weapon.”

Safety plans often follow threatening or suicidal behavior from a student, said Christine Harms with the Colorado School Safety Resource Center.

In response to the shooting, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre repeated&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-guns-mass-shooting-monterey-park-uvalde-489c236fd6ed12ab5d74a67ce5ecd501">President Joe Biden’s calls for stricter gun laws</a>, including bans on assault-style weapons and high-capacity magazines, and for Congress to “do something” on gun control.

Wednesday was also the second anniversary of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/boulder-supermarket-shooting">10 people being shot and killed</a>&nbsp;at a supermarket in Boulder, Colorado.

DENVER (AP) — A body was found Wednesday night in the Colorado woods near the abandoned car that belonged to a 17-year-old student accused of shooting two administrators at his Denver high school earlier in the day, a sheriff said.

Park County Sheriff Tom McGraw said the body was discovered not far from the car in a remote mountain area about 50 miles (80 kilometers) southwest of Denver, near the small town of Bailey, in Park County. The town had been ordered to shelter in place while while officers from a number of agencies including the FBI combed the forest.

But, authorities said they have not yet identified who it was and McGraw declined to say if it was a man or reveal the cause of death.

Earlier in the day, Denver police identified the suspect as Austin Lyle.

The shooting occurred at East High School in Denver while two administrators searched Lyle for weapons, a daily requirement because of the boy’s behavioral issues, authorities said. Lyle fled after the shooting.

It occurred at a school shaken by frequent lockdowns and violence, including the recent killing outside the school of a classmate that prompted East High School students to march on the Colorado Capitol earlier this month. Parents who converged on the 2,500-student campus on Wednesday voiced frustration that officials had not done enough to protect their children.

One of the wounded administrators was released from the hospital Wednesday afternoon and the second remained in serious condition, said Heather Burke, a spokesperson for Denver Health hospital.

East High School, not far from downtown, was locked down as police investigated the shooting, and hundreds of parents lined up along a road outside the school.

Some parents and students vented frustration over violence at the school as they surrounded the police chief. Thomas listened quietly, nodding and promising to engage with the school board.

At the edge of the crowd, a man said the city's school board members should be recalled for getting rid of police in school, telling a nearby officer “I just want you to be able to do your job.”

In response to the shooting, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre repeated President Joe Biden’s called for stricter gun laws, including bans on assault-style weapons and high-capacity magazines, and for Congress to “do something” on gun control.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/3/1679508065013.png" alt="The school, not far from downtown near a busy street that cuts through the city, was placed on lockdown as police investigated the shooting.-photo courtesy KMGH-TV" />
 <figcaption>The school, not far from downtown near a busy street that cuts through the city, was placed on lockdown as police investigated the shooting.-photo courtesy KMGH-TV</figcaption>
 </figure>DENVER (AP) — A body found in the Colorado woods near an abandoned car was that of a 17-year-old student accused of wounding two administrators in a shooting at his Denver high school, a coroner's office said.Park County Sheriff Tom McGraw said the body was discovered Wednesday not far from the student's car in a remote mountain area about 50 miles (80 kilometers) southwest of Denver, near the small town of Bailey, in Park County. The town had been ordered to shelter in place while while officers from a number of agencies including the FBI combed the forest.Earlier in the day, Denver police identified the suspect as Austin Lyle. The Park County coroner's office confirmed in a Facebook post that the body was that of Lyle's. Cause of death wasn't released, pending the completion of an autopsy.The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/shooting-east-high-school-denver-b7db159105dcaea44a816a8841ffd965">shooting occurred at East High School</a>&nbsp;in Denver, not far from downtown, while two administrators searched Lyle for weapons, a daily requirement because of the boy’s behavioral issues, authorities said. Lyle fled after the shooting.It occurred at a school shaken by frequent lockdowns and violence, including the recent killing outside the school of a classmate that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/teen-gun-violence-denver-march-20b6acfd88edbc6e5c949a08aba45941">prompted East High School students to march</a>&nbsp;on the Colorado Capitol earlier this month. Parents who converged on the 2,500-student campus on Wednesday voiced frustration that officials had not done enough to protect their children.“I am sick of it,” said Jesse Haase, who planned to talk with her daughter about taking her out of classes for the rest of the school year.Amid the flurry of criticism over lax security, Denver school officials said after the shooting that they would once again put armed officers into the city’s public high schools.There were no school resource officers on campus at the time of Wednesday’s shooting, said Denver Police Chief Ron Thomas.The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/school-shootings">shooting</a>&nbsp;happened just before 10 a.m. in an office area as Lyle was undergoing a search as part of a “safety plan" that required him to be patted down daily, officials said.The gun used in the shooting was not immediately recovered, Thomas said.One of the wounded administrators was released from the hospital Wednesday afternoon and the second was in serious condition, said Heather Burke, a spokesperson for Denver Health hospital.Hundreds of students on March 3 skipped class and marched in support of stricter gun laws following the death of Luis Garcia, 16, who was shot while sitting in a car near East High School.In June 2020, amid a summer of protests over racial injustice following the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/virus-outbreak-us-news-ap-top-news-hip-hop-and-rap-houston-a55d2662f200ead0da4fed9e923b60a7">murder of George Floyd</a>, Denver Public Schools became one of the districts around the US that decided to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/us-news-ap-top-news-wisconsin-az-state-wire-racial-injustice-bc5b750085a89e03e132d7d3dda09a99">phase out its use of police officers in school buildings</a>. That push was fueled by criticism that school resource officers disproportionately arrested Black students, sweeping them into the criminal justice system.After Wednesday’s shooting, two armed officers will be posted at East High School through the end of the school year, and other city high schools also will each get an officer, said Denver Public Schools Superintendent Alex Marrero.In a Wednesday letter to the city's Board of Education, Marrero said his decision violated district's policies but added he “can no longer stand on the sidelines.”“I am the leader of this district who is charged with keeping our scholars and staff safe every day,” he wrote. The school board said it supported the decision.Gun violence at schools has become&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/uvalde-school-shooting-health-texas-violence-928c177ee8e09b59507c88d9c5b6ce51">increasingly common</a>&nbsp;in the U.S. with more than 1,300 shooting incidents recorded between 2000 and June 2022, according to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.chds.us/sssc/data-map/">government researchers</a>. Those shootings killed 377 people and wounded 1,025, according to a database maintained by the researchers.Students from East High School had been scheduled to testify Wednesday afternoon before the Colorado Legislature on gun safety bills.“This is the reality of being young in America: sitting through a shooting and waiting for information just hours before you’re scheduled to testify in support of gun safety bills,” said Gracie Taub, a 16-year-old East High School sophomore and volunteer with Students Demand Action in Colorado.Lyle transferred to East High School after being disciplined and removed from a high school in nearby Aurora last school year because of unspecified violations of school policies, said Cherry Creek School District spokesperson Lauren Snell.Marrero said safety plans for students are enacted in response to “past educational and also behavioral experiences,” adding that it’s a common practice throughout Colorado’s public schools. Officials did not give further details on why Lyle was searched daily.But daily pat downs are rare, said Franci Crepeau-Hobson, a University of Colorado Denver professor specializing in school violence prevention.“Clearly they were concerned,” said Crepeau-Hobson. “I can’t imagine they’d do that if there wasn’t a history of the kid carrying a weapon.”Safety plans often follow threatening or suicidal behavior from a student, said Christine Harms with the Colorado School Safety Resource Center.In response to the shooting, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre repeated&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-guns-mass-shooting-monterey-park-uvalde-489c236fd6ed12ab5d74a67ce5ecd501">President Joe Biden’s calls for stricter gun laws</a>, including bans on assault-style weapons and high-capacity magazines, and for Congress to “do something” on gun control.Wednesday was also the second anniversary of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/boulder-supermarket-shooting">10 people being shot and killed</a>&nbsp;at a supermarket in Boulder, Colorado.---------------DENVER (AP) — A body was found Wednesday night in the Colorado woods near the abandoned car that belonged to a 17-year-old student accused of shooting two administrators at his Denver high school earlier in the day, a sheriff said.Park County Sheriff Tom McGraw said the body was discovered not far from the car in a remote mountain area about 50 miles (80 kilometers) southwest of Denver, near the small town of Bailey, in Park County. The town had been ordered to shelter in place while while officers from a number of agencies including the FBI combed the forest.But, authorities said they have not yet identified who it was and McGraw declined to say if it was a man or reveal the cause of death.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/3/1679518079688.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Earlier in the day, Denver police identified the suspect as Austin Lyle.The shooting occurred at East High School in Denver while two administrators searched Lyle for weapons, a daily requirement because of the boy’s behavioral issues, authorities said. Lyle fled after the shooting.It occurred at a school shaken by frequent lockdowns and violence, including the recent killing outside the school of a classmate that prompted East High School students to march on the Colorado Capitol earlier this month. Parents who converged on the 2,500-student campus on Wednesday voiced frustration that officials had not done enough to protect their children.“I am sick of it,” said Jesse Haase, who planned to talk with her daughter about taking her out of classes for the rest of the school year.Amid the flurry of criticism over lax security, Denver school officials said after the shooting that they would once again put armed officers into the city’s public high schools.There were no school resource officers on campus at the time of Wednesday’s shooting, said Denver Police Chief Ron Thomas.The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/school-shootings">shooting</a>&nbsp;happened just before 10 a.m. in an office area as Lyle was undergoing a search as part of a “safety plan" that required him to be patted down daily, officials said.The gun used in the shooting was not immediately recovered, Thomas said.One of the wounded administrators was released from the hospital Wednesday afternoon and the second remained in serious condition, said Heather Burke, a spokesperson for Denver Health hospital.Hundreds of students on March 3 skipped class and marched in support of stricter gun laws following the death of Luis Garcia, 16, who was shot while sitting in a car near East High School.In June 2020, amid a summer of protests over racial injustice following the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/virus-outbreak-us-news-ap-top-news-hip-hop-and-rap-houston-a55d2662f200ead0da4fed9e923b60a7">murder of George Floyd</a>, Denver Public Schools became one of the districts around the US that decided to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/us-news-ap-top-news-wisconsin-az-state-wire-racial-injustice-bc5b750085a89e03e132d7d3dda09a99">phase out its use of police officers in school buildings</a>. That push was fueled by criticism that school resource officers disproportionately arrested Black students, sweeping them into the criminal justice system.After Wednesday’s shooting, two armed officers will be posted at East High School through the end of the school year, and other city high schools also will each get an officer, said Denver Public Schools Superintendent Alex Marrero.In a Wednesday letter to the city's Board of Education, Marrero said his decision violated district's policies but added he “can no longer stand on the sidelines.”“I am the leader of this district who is charged with keeping our scholars and staff safe every day,” he wrote. The school board said it supported the decision.Gun violence at schools has become&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/uvalde-school-shooting-health-texas-violence-928c177ee8e09b59507c88d9c5b6ce51">increasingly common</a>&nbsp;in the U.S. with more than 1,300 shooting incidents recorded between 2000 and June 2022, according to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.chds.us/sssc/data-map/">government researchers</a>. Those shootings killed 377 people and wounded 1,025, according to a database maintained by the researchers.Students from East High School had been scheduled to testify Wednesday afternoon before the Colorado Legislature on gun safety bills.“This is the reality of being young in America: sitting through a shooting and waiting for information just hours before you’re scheduled to testify in support of gun safety bills,” said Gracie Taub, a 16-year-old East High School sophomore and volunteer with Students Demand Action in Colorado.Lyle transferred to East High School after being disciplined and removed from a high school in nearby Aurora last school year because of unspecified violations of school policies, said Cherry Creek School District spokesperson Lauren Snell.Marrero said safety plans for students are enacted in response to “past educational and also behavioral experiences,” adding that it’s a common practice throughout Colorado’s public schools. Officials did not give further details on why Lyle was searched daily.But daily pat downs are rare, said Franci Crepeau-Hobson, a University of Colorado Denver professor specializing in school violence prevention.“Clearly they were concerned,” said Crepeau-Hobson. “I can’t imagine they’d do that if there wasn’t a history of the kid carrying a weapon.”Safety plans often follow threatening or suicidal behavior from a student, said Christine Harms with the Colorado School Safety Resource Center.East High School, not far from downtown, was locked down as police investigated the shooting, and hundreds of parents lined up along a road outside the school.Some parents and students vented frustration over violence at the school as they surrounded the police chief. Thomas listened quietly, nodding and promising to engage with the school board.At the edge of the crowd, a man said the city's school board members should be recalled for getting rid of police in school, telling a nearby officer “I just want you to be able to do your job.”In response to the shooting, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre repeated President Joe Biden’s called for stricter gun laws, including bans on assault-style weapons and high-capacity magazines, and for Congress to “do something” on gun control.Wednesday was also the second anniversary of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/boulder-supermarket-shooting">10 people being shot and killed</a>&nbsp;at a supermarket in Boulder, Colorado.__

Denver high school shooting suspect dead, coroner confirms

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. officials are reporting two more deaths and additional cases of vision loss linked to eyedrops tainted with a drug-resistant bacteria.

The eyedrops from EzriCare and Delsam Phama were&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/4572be6da44f4fab4e0f691f5e37e3ed">recalled</a>&nbsp;in February and health authorities are continuing to track infections as they&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/2320289a358e9fe6fa7d38a1fc5f19f7">investigate the outbreak.</a>

In the latest government tally, 68 people were diagnosed with infections from the bacteria, which has now caused a total of three deaths and eight cases of people losing their vision, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported on Tuesday. That's up from one death and five cases of permanent vision loss reported last month.

The CDC said four people have undergone surgery to remove an eyeball due to the infections.

The outbreak is considered particularly worrisome because the bacteria driving it is resistant to standard antibiotics.

The CDC has now identified cases in 16 states, including California, New York, Illinois, Texas and Pennsylvania. Most of the cases have been linked to four regional clusters and Ezricare's drops are the only product used by patients in each of those groups.

The recalled drops were manufactured by Global Pharma Healthcare in India, where the bacteria — Pseudomonas aeruginosa — is commonly linked to outbreaks in hospitals. It can spread through contaminated hands or medical equipment.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/2/1675357768410.png" alt="Photo -Ezri care" />
 <figcaption>Photo -Ezri care</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. officials are reporting two more deaths and additional cases of vision loss linked to eyedrops tainted with a drug-resistant bacteria.The eyedrops from EzriCare and Delsam Phama were&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/4572be6da44f4fab4e0f691f5e37e3ed">recalled</a>&nbsp;in February and health authorities are continuing to track infections as they&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/2320289a358e9fe6fa7d38a1fc5f19f7">investigate the outbreak.</a>In the latest government tally, 68 people were diagnosed with infections from the bacteria, which has now caused a total of three deaths and eight cases of people losing their vision, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported on Tuesday. That's up from one death and five cases of permanent vision loss reported last month.The CDC said four people have undergone surgery to remove an eyeball due to the infections.The outbreak is considered particularly worrisome because the bacteria driving it is resistant to standard antibiotics.The CDC has now identified cases in 16 states, including California, New York, Illinois, Texas and Pennsylvania. Most of the cases have been linked to four regional clusters and Ezricare's drops are the only product used by patients in each of those groups.The recalled drops were manufactured by Global Pharma Healthcare in India, where the bacteria — Pseudomonas aeruginosa — is commonly linked to outbreaks in hospitals. It can spread through contaminated hands or medical equipment.___

CDC: More deaths, injuries linked to recalled eyedrops

WASHINGTON (AP) — The CEO of TikTok made a rare public appearance Thursday before a U.S. Congressional committee, where he faced a grilling on data security and user safety while he makes his own case for why the hugely popular video-sharing app shouldn't be banned.

<a href="https://fb.watch/js6hfEAuaY/">Click here to&nbsp;</a>watch a replay of the hearing

Shou Zi Chew's testimony comes at a crucial time for the company, which has acquired 150 million American users but is under increasing pressure from U.S. officials. TikTok and its parent company ByteDance have been swept up in a wider geopolitical battle between Beijing and Washington over trade and technology.

In her opening statement, Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, a Republican, assailed the social platform's trustworthiness because of its close ties to Beijing.

“Mr. Chew, you are here because the American people need the truth about the threat TikTok poses to our national and personal security,” McMorris Rodgers said. "TikTok has repeatedly chosen a path for more control, more surveillance and more manipulation.”

Chew, a 40-year-old Singapore native, will tell the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce that TikTok prioritizes the safety of its young users and deny&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/tiktok-ban-bytedance-china-biden-administration-14ef5f93dc2114e4ade110b2e85433fd">allegations that the app is a national security risk</a>, according to his prepared remarks released ahead of the hearing.

“There are many misconceptions about our company and I’m very proud to come here and represent them and all our users in this country,” Chew told reporters before entering the hearing.

On Wednesday, the company sent dozens of popular TikTokers to Capitol Hill to lobby lawmakers to preserve the platform. It has also been putting up ads all over Washington that tout promises of securing users data and privacy and creating a safe platform for its young users.

TikTok has been dogged by claims that its Chinese ownership means user data could end up in the hands of the Chinese government or that it could be used to promote narratives favorable to the country's Communist leaders.

“We understand the popularity of Tiktok, we get that,” said White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre at a press conference Wednesday afternoon. “But the President’s job is to make sure again that the Americans, national security is protected as well. ”

For its part, TikTok has been trying to distance itself from its Chinese origins, saying that 60% percent of its parent company ByteDance is owned by global institutional investors such as Carlyle Group. ByteDance was founded by Chinese entrepreneurs in Beijing in 2012.

“Let me state this unequivocally: ByteDance is not an agent of China or any other country,” Chew said.

A U.S. ban on an app would be unprecedented and it’s unclear how the government would go about enforcing it.

Experts says officials could try to force Apple and Google to remove TikTok from their app stores, preventing new users from downloading it as well as preventing existing users from updating it, ultimately rendering it useless.

The U.S. could also block access to TikTok’s infrastructure and data, seize its domain names or force internet service providers like Comcast and Verizon to filter TikTok data traffic, said Ahmed Ghappour, a criminal law and computer security expert who teachers at Boston University School of Law.

But a tech savvy user could still get around restrictions by using a virtual private network to make it appear the user is in another country where it's not blocked, he said.

To avoid a ban, TikTok has been trying to sell officials on a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/technology-us-news-business-ap-top-news-hong-kong-4eab38c608901de16e92facc1ed5debd">$1.5 billion plan called Project Texas</a>, which routes all U.S. user data to domestic servers owned and maintained by software giant Oracle. Under the project, access to U.S. data is managed by U.S. employees through a separate entity called TikTok U.S. Data Security, which employs 1,500 people, is run independently of ByteDance and would be monitored by outside observers.

As of October, all new U.S. user data was being stored inside the country. The company started deleting all historic U.S. user data from non-Oracle servers this month, in a process expected to be completed later this year, Chew said.

Generally, researchers have said TikTok behaves like other social media companies when it comes to data collection. In an analysis released in 2021, the University of Toronto’s nonprofit Citizen Lab found TikTok and Facebook collect similar amounts of user data, including device identifiers that can be used to track a user and other information that can piece together a user’s behavior, all valuable information for advertisers.

To block such tracking, Congress, the White House, U.S. armed forces and more than half of U.S. states have banned the use of the app from official devices.

But wiping away all the data tracking associated with the platform might prove to be difficult. In a report released this month, the Cybersecurity company Feroot said so-called tracking pixels from ByteDance, which collect user information, were found on 30 U.S state websites, including some where the app has been banned for official use.

Other countries including Denmark, Canada, and New Zealand, along with the European Union, have already banned TikTok from devices issued to government employees, citing cybersecurity concerns.

David Kennedy, a former government intelligence officer who runs the cybersecurity company TrustedSec, agrees with restricting TikTok access on government-issued phones because they might contain sensitive military information or other confidential material. A nationwide ban, however, might be too extreme, he said. He also wondered where it might lead.

“We have Tesla in China, we have Microsoft in China, we have Apple in China. Are they going to start banning us now?" Kennedy said. “It could escalate very quickly.”

WASHINGTON (AP) — The CEO of TikTok will make a high-profile appearance Thursday before a U.S. Congressional committee, where he'll face a grilling on data security and user safety while he makes his own case for why the hugely popular video-sharing app shouldn't be banned.

<a href="https://fb.watch/js6hfEAuaY/">Click here to </a>watch the hearing

<a href="https://d1dth6e84htgma.cloudfront.net/Shou_Chew_Bio_fd1abc17e1.pdf?updated_at=2023-03-21T23:58:13.616Z">Shou Zi Chew</a>'s testimony comes at a crucial time for the company, which has acquired 150 million American users but is under increasing pressure from U.S. officials. TikTok and its parent company ByteDance have been swept up in a wider geopolitical battle between Beijing and Washington over trade and technology.

Chew, a 40-year-old Singapore native, is making a rare public appearance to counter the volley of accusations that TikTok has been facing. On Wednesday, the company sent dozens of popular TikTokers to Capitol Hill&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/tiktok-china-62ebef6be3c10e66d7f69f7f6d254700">to lobby lawmakers</a>&nbsp;to preserve the platform. It has also been putting up ads all over Washington that tout promises of securing users data and privacy and creating a safe platform for its young users.

<a href="https://d1dth6e84htgma.cloudfront.net/Written_Testimony_of_Shou_Chew_c07504eccf_084e8683f3.pdf?updated_at=2023-03-22T03:10:22.760Z">Chew plans to tell </a>the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce that TikTok prioritizes the safety of its young users and deny&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/tiktok-ban-bytedance-china-biden-administration-14ef5f93dc2114e4ade110b2e85433fd">allegations that the app is a national security risk</a>, according to his prepared remarks released ahead of the hearing.

A number of Western countries including Denmark, Canada, and New Zealand, along with the European Union,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/why-is-tiktok-being-banned-7d2de01d3ac5ab2b8ec2239dc7f2b20d">have already banned TikTok from devices</a>&nbsp;issued to government employees, citing cybersecurity concerns.

In the U.S., the federal government, Congress, the armed forces and more than half of states have banned the app from official devices.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/3/1679580195331.png" alt="Shou Zi Chew during Thursday's hearing -image courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>Shou Zi Chew during Thursday's hearing -image courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — The CEO of TikTok made a rare public appearance Thursday before a U.S. Congressional committee, where he faced a grilling on data security and user safety while he makes his own case for why the hugely popular video-sharing app shouldn't be banned.<div><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?height=314&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FCSPAN%2Fvideos%2F212799924761754%2F&show_text=true&width=560&t=0" width="560" height="429" 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><a href="https://fb.watch/js6hfEAuaY/">Click here to&nbsp;</a>watch a replay of the hearingShou Zi Chew's testimony comes at a crucial time for the company, which has acquired 150 million American users but is under increasing pressure from U.S. officials. TikTok and its parent company ByteDance have been swept up in a wider geopolitical battle between Beijing and Washington over trade and technology.In her opening statement, Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, a Republican, assailed the social platform's trustworthiness because of its close ties to Beijing.“Mr. Chew, you are here because the American people need the truth about the threat TikTok poses to our national and personal security,” McMorris Rodgers said. "TikTok has repeatedly chosen a path for more control, more surveillance and more manipulation.”Chew, a 40-year-old Singapore native, will tell the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce that TikTok prioritizes the safety of its young users and deny&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/tiktok-ban-bytedance-china-biden-administration-14ef5f93dc2114e4ade110b2e85433fd">allegations that the app is a national security risk</a>, according to his prepared remarks released ahead of the hearing.“There are many misconceptions about our company and I’m very proud to come here and represent them and all our users in this country,” Chew told reporters before entering the hearing.On Wednesday, the company sent dozens of popular TikTokers to Capitol Hill to lobby lawmakers to preserve the platform. It has also been putting up ads all over Washington that tout promises of securing users data and privacy and creating a safe platform for its young users.TikTok has been dogged by claims that its Chinese ownership means user data could end up in the hands of the Chinese government or that it could be used to promote narratives favorable to the country's Communist leaders.“We understand the popularity of Tiktok, we get that,” said White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre at a press conference Wednesday afternoon. “But the President’s job is to make sure again that the Americans, national security is protected as well. ”For its part, TikTok has been trying to distance itself from its Chinese origins, saying that 60% percent of its parent company ByteDance is owned by global institutional investors such as Carlyle Group. ByteDance was founded by Chinese entrepreneurs in Beijing in 2012.“Let me state this unequivocally: ByteDance is not an agent of China or any other country,” Chew said.A U.S. ban on an app would be unprecedented and it’s unclear how the government would go about enforcing it.Experts says officials could try to force Apple and Google to remove TikTok from their app stores, preventing new users from downloading it as well as preventing existing users from updating it, ultimately rendering it useless.The U.S. could also block access to TikTok’s infrastructure and data, seize its domain names or force internet service providers like Comcast and Verizon to filter TikTok data traffic, said Ahmed Ghappour, a criminal law and computer security expert who teachers at Boston University School of Law.But a tech savvy user could still get around restrictions by using a virtual private network to make it appear the user is in another country where it's not blocked, he said.To avoid a ban, TikTok has been trying to sell officials on a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/technology-us-news-business-ap-top-news-hong-kong-4eab38c608901de16e92facc1ed5debd">$1.5 billion plan called Project Texas</a>, which routes all U.S. user data to domestic servers owned and maintained by software giant Oracle. Under the project, access to U.S. data is managed by U.S. employees through a separate entity called TikTok U.S. Data Security, which employs 1,500 people, is run independently of ByteDance and would be monitored by outside observers.As of October, all new U.S. user data was being stored inside the country. The company started deleting all historic U.S. user data from non-Oracle servers this month, in a process expected to be completed later this year, Chew said.Generally, researchers have said TikTok behaves like other social media companies when it comes to data collection. In an analysis released in 2021, the University of Toronto’s nonprofit Citizen Lab found TikTok and Facebook collect similar amounts of user data, including device identifiers that can be used to track a user and other information that can piece together a user’s behavior, all valuable information for advertisers.To block such tracking, Congress, the White House, U.S. armed forces and more than half of U.S. states have banned the use of the app from official devices.But wiping away all the data tracking associated with the platform might prove to be difficult. In a report released this month, the Cybersecurity company Feroot said so-called tracking pixels from ByteDance, which collect user information, were found on 30 U.S state websites, including some where the app has been banned for official use.Other countries including Denmark, Canada, and New Zealand, along with the European Union, have already banned TikTok from devices issued to government employees, citing cybersecurity concerns.David Kennedy, a former government intelligence officer who runs the cybersecurity company TrustedSec, agrees with restricting TikTok access on government-issued phones because they might contain sensitive military information or other confidential material. A nationwide ban, however, might be too extreme, he said. He also wondered where it might lead.“We have Tesla in China, we have Microsoft in China, we have Apple in China. Are they going to start banning us now?" Kennedy said. “It could escalate very quickly.”-------WASHINGTON (AP) — The CEO of TikTok will make a high-profile appearance Thursday before a U.S. Congressional committee, where he'll face a grilling on data security and user safety while he makes his own case for why the hugely popular video-sharing app shouldn't be banned.<a href="https://fb.watch/js6hfEAuaY/">Click here to </a>watch the hearing<a href="https://d1dth6e84htgma.cloudfront.net/Shou_Chew_Bio_fd1abc17e1.pdf?updated_at=2023-03-21T23:58:13.616Z">Shou Zi Chew</a>'s testimony comes at a crucial time for the company, which has acquired 150 million American users but is under increasing pressure from U.S. officials. TikTok and its parent company ByteDance have been swept up in a wider geopolitical battle between Beijing and Washington over trade and technology.Chew, a 40-year-old Singapore native, is making a rare public appearance to counter the volley of accusations that TikTok has been facing. On Wednesday, the company sent dozens of popular TikTokers to Capitol Hill&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/tiktok-china-62ebef6be3c10e66d7f69f7f6d254700">to lobby lawmakers</a>&nbsp;to preserve the platform. It has also been putting up ads all over Washington that tout promises of securing users data and privacy and creating a safe platform for its young users.<a href="https://d1dth6e84htgma.cloudfront.net/Written_Testimony_of_Shou_Chew_c07504eccf_084e8683f3.pdf?updated_at=2023-03-22T03:10:22.760Z">Chew plans to tell </a>the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce that TikTok prioritizes the safety of its young users and deny&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/tiktok-ban-bytedance-china-biden-administration-14ef5f93dc2114e4ade110b2e85433fd">allegations that the app is a national security risk</a>, according to his prepared remarks released ahead of the hearing.TikTok has been dogged by claims that its Chinese ownership means user data could end up in the hands of the Chinese government or that it could be used to promote narratives favorable to the country's Communist leaders.“We understand the popularity of Tiktok, we get that,” said White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre at a press conference Wednesday afternoon. “But the President’s job is to make sure again that the Americans, national security is protected as well. ”For its part, TikTok has been trying to distance itself from its Chinese origins, saying that 60% percent of its parent company ByteDance is owned by global institutional investors such as Carlyle Group. ByteDance was founded by Chinese entrepreneurs in Beijing in 2012.“Let me state this unequivocally: ByteDance is not an agent of China or any other country,” Chew said.A U.S. ban on an app would be unprecedented and it’s unclear how the government would go about enforcing it.Experts says officials could try to force Apple and Google to remove TikTok from their app stores, preventing new users from downloading it as well as preventing existing users from updating it, ultimately rendering it useless.The U.S. could also block access to TikTok’s infrastructure and data, seize its domain names or force internet service providers like Comcast and Verizon to filter TikTok data traffic, said Ahmed Ghappour, a criminal law and computer security expert who teachers at Boston University School of Law.But a tech savvy user could still get around restrictions by using a virtual private network to make it appear the user is in another country where it's not blocked, he said.To avoid a ban, TikTok has been trying to sell officials on a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/technology-us-news-business-ap-top-news-hong-kong-4eab38c608901de16e92facc1ed5debd">$1.5 billion plan called Project Texas</a>, which routes all U.S. user data to domestic servers owned and maintained by software giant Oracle. Under the project, access to U.S. data is managed by U.S. employees through a separate entity called TikTok U.S. Data Security, which employs 1,500 people, is run independently of ByteDance and would be monitored by outside observers.As of October, all new U.S. user data was being stored inside the country. The company started deleting all historic U.S. user data from non-Oracle servers this month, in a process expected to be completed later this year, Chew said.A number of Western countries including Denmark, Canada, and New Zealand, along with the European Union,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/why-is-tiktok-being-banned-7d2de01d3ac5ab2b8ec2239dc7f2b20d">have already banned TikTok from devices</a>&nbsp;issued to government employees, citing cybersecurity concerns.In the U.S., the federal government, Congress, the armed forces and more than half of states have banned the app from official devices.David Kennedy, a former government intelligence officer who runs the cybersecurity company TrustedSec, agrees with restricting TikTok access on government-issued phones because they might contain sensitive military information or other confidential material. A nationwide ban, however, might be too extreme, he said. He also wondered where it might lead.“We have Tesla in China, we have Microsoft in China, we have Apple in China. Are they going to start banning us now?" Kennedy said. “It could escalate very quickly.”

🎥TikTok CEO faces off with Congress; social media giant faces U.S. ban 

SEDGWICK COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a motorcycle, pickup crash and fire.

Just before 7:30a.m. Wednesday, police responded to an injury accident at the intersection of Pawnee and Hiram in Wichita, according to Officer Juan Rebolledo. 

First responders located the motorcycle rider who had been ejected from his motorcycle after colliding with a Dodge Ram, driven by a 15-year-old male.

EMS and Wichita Fire rendered emergency medical aid to the motorcycle rider and transported him to a local hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries. The rider sustained burns to a large portion of his body after the pickup caught on fire due to the impact.

Investigators learned that the victim was westbound on Pawnee when he collided with the Dodge Ram, which was attempting to make a left turn from southbound Hiram onto eastbound Pawnee. The driver of the pickup truck was able to exit the vehicle unharmed. Police did not release names of those involved.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/3/1679507570746.png" alt="First responders at the crash scene -photo courtesy KWCH" />
 <figcaption>First responders at the crash scene -photo courtesy KWCH</figcaption>
 </figure>SEDGWICK COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a motorcycle, pickup crash and fire.Just before 7:30a.m. Wednesday, police responded to an injury accident at the intersection of Pawnee and Hiram in Wichita, according to Officer Juan Rebolledo. First responders located the motorcycle rider who had been ejected from his motorcycle after colliding with a Dodge Ram, driven by a 15-year-old male.EMS and Wichita Fire rendered emergency medical aid to the motorcycle rider and transported him to a local hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries. The rider sustained burns to a large portion of his body after the pickup caught on fire due to the impact.Investigators learned that the victim was westbound on Pawnee when he collided with the Dodge Ram, which was attempting to make a left turn from southbound Hiram onto eastbound Pawnee. The driver of the pickup truck was able to exit the vehicle unharmed. Police did not release names of those involved.

Kan. man critically burned in motorcycle, pickup crash and fire

WILSON COUNTY –&nbsp;The Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) and the Wilson County Sheriff’s Office have identified the woman whose remains were discovered by hunters on March 16, in rural Wilson County.

The woman has been identified as Stephanie M. Willard, 43, of Fredonia, Kansas, according to a media release from the KBI.

On March 16, out-of-state hunters called 911 after encountering human remains in a pasture. Deputies from the Wilson County Sheriff’s Office responded to the location, approximately a mile south of Coyville, Kansas, near Decatur Road. Upon arriving, deputies observed the human skeletal remains.

If you have information about this investigation, please contact the KBI at 1-800-KS-CRIME, or the Wilson County Sheriff’s Office at (620) 378-3622. Tips can also be submitted anonymously online at https://www.kbi.ks.gov/sar.

WILSON COUNTY –&nbsp;The Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) and the Wilson County Sheriff’s Office have identified the woman whose remains were discovered by hunters on March 16, in rural Wilson County.The woman has been identified as Stephanie M. Willard, 43, of Fredonia, Kansas, according to a media release from the KBI.On March 16, out-of-state hunters called 911 after encountering human remains in a pasture. Deputies from the Wilson County Sheriff’s Office responded to the location, approximately a mile south of Coyville, Kansas, near Decatur Road. Upon arriving, deputies observed the human skeletal remains.If you have information about this investigation, please contact the KBI at 1-800-KS-CRIME, or the Wilson County Sheriff’s Office at (620) 378-3622. Tips can also be submitted anonymously online at https://www.kbi.ks.gov/sar.

Human remains found by hunters identified as Kan. woman

MONTGOMERY COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a large quantity of fentanyl pills found in rural Kansas.

On Wednesday, Montgomery County Sheriff Ron Wade reported sheriff's detectives were informed earlier this month that an individual located a PVC pipe full of blue pills at their place of work in the Coffeyville, Kansas area.

 Detectives contacted the individual and made arrangements to take custody of the PVC pipe containing the blue pills. After careful examination, detectives determined the pills to be fentanyl.  These pills are commonly referred to as “Dirty-Thirty” pills.  These pills are made to look like oxycodone pills.  Detectives, along with Kansas Bureau of Investigations counted a total of 5,354 fentanyl pills. 

 The rough street value of these pills is estimated at $321,240.00.  Further testing will be conducted on the fentanyl pills.  Sheriff&nbsp; Wade said, “I want to thank the individual that located this PVC pipe laying on the ground, and calling the Sheriff’s Office.  This individual probably saved multiple lives and definitely hurt someone’s illegal business.” 

 Wade said, “We have roughly 31,000 citizens in Montgomery County.  We just took possession of 5,354 fentanyl pills, which potentially could have killed almost 18% of our population in Montgomery County, if it had ended up in the wrong hands.”  Wade said, 

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/3/1679505541603.png" alt="photo Montgomery County Sheriff" />
 <figcaption>photo Montgomery County Sheriff</figcaption>
 </figure>MONTGOMERY COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a large quantity of fentanyl pills found in rural Kansas.On Wednesday, Montgomery County Sheriff Ron Wade reported sheriff's detectives were informed earlier this month that an individual located a PVC pipe full of blue pills at their place of work in the Coffeyville, Kansas area. Detectives contacted the individual and made arrangements to take custody of the PVC pipe containing the blue pills. After careful examination, detectives determined the pills to be fentanyl. These pills are commonly referred to as “Dirty-Thirty” pills. These pills are made to look like oxycodone pills. Detectives, along with Kansas Bureau of Investigations counted a total of 5,354 fentanyl pills. The rough street value of these pills is estimated at $321,240.00. Further testing will be conducted on the fentanyl pills. Sheriff&nbsp; Wade said, “I want to thank the individual that located this PVC pipe laying on the ground, and calling the Sheriff’s Office. This individual probably saved multiple lives and definitely hurt someone’s illegal business.” Wade said, “We have roughly 31,000 citizens in Montgomery County. We just took possession of 5,354 fentanyl pills, which potentially could have killed almost 18% of our population in Montgomery County, if it had ended up in the wrong hands.” Wade said, ”

Sheriff: 5,354 fentanyl pills found in PVC pipe in rural Kansas

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas proposal based on the disputed claim that providers leave infants to die after they're born during certain types of abortions is nearing legislative approval, as Republicans&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-restrictions-pushback-kansas-b5c0aaabf00ed50763824e04cf8fa6c6">pursue limited anti-abortion measures</a>&nbsp;following a decisive statewide vote last year protecting abortion rights.

The Kansas House&nbsp;<a href="http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2023_24/measures/vote_view/je_20230322112750_777056/">voted 88-34</a>&nbsp;on Wednesday to approve&nbsp;<a href="http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2023_24/measures/documents/hb2313_00_0000.pdf">a bill</a>&nbsp;declaring that when there's a live birth during an abortion procedure, medical personnel must take the same steps to preserve the newborn’s life as “a reasonably diligent and conscientious” provider would with other live births. The law would apply to any “complete expulsion or extraction” of a fetus from the mother, including labor and delivery abortions during which a doctor induces labor. The measure is similar to a proposed Montana law that voters there&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-health-business-montana-a99111675c40301d1940addca098d599">rejected in November</a>&nbsp;and laws in 18 states, including Arizona, Florida, Ohio and Texas.

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-supreme-court-decision-854f60302f21c2c35129e58cf8d8a7b0">The U.S. Supreme Court declared in June</a>&nbsp;that states can ban abortion, and the Republican-controlled Kansas Legislature has long had strong anti-abortion majorities in both chambers. But&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/3f479b218a6140719e1694fcfcdb8036">a 2019 Kansas Supreme Court decision</a>&nbsp;protected abortion rights and in August 2022,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-primary-elections-kansas-abortion-b6d62a852c2ce4617f2c03589fbb523e">voters rejected</a>&nbsp;a proposed change to the state constitution to overturn that decision and give lawmakers the power to greatly restrict or ban abortion.

Supporters of the “born-alive infants protection” bill argued during a House debate Tuesday that the measure would survive a court challenge because it doesn't limit abortion itself. But a few Republicans touched on their moral opposition to abortion as a reason for backing the bill.

“If you truly want to hold effective conversations about the indiscriminate and brutal acts of violence in our society today, we must teach others to hold life as precious and sacred," state Rep. Rebecca Schmoe, a Republican from northeastern Kansas, said during a debate Tuesday before voting for the bill Wednesday.

Abortion providers and abortion rights advocates contend measures like the ones in Kansas and Montana are designed only to give abortion care a false and negative public image. They also argue that current state laws against homicide and child neglect, as well as laws on doctors’ duties, are sufficient to address any real problems.

House passage sent the measure to the Senate, where GOP leaders have also signaled that they see it as a priority.

“I pray for the day where we would stop killing our own children and ask God for forgiveness and mercy,” said southeastern Kansas Rep. Trevor Jacobs, explaining his “yes” vote along with six other GOP conservatives.

Supporters of the bill portrayed it as saving infants born during unsuccessful or botched abortions. But it would apply to cases in which doctors induce labor to deliver a fetus that won't survive outside the womb, often because of a severe medical issue, with the expectation that the newborn will die within minutes or even seconds.

Like the laws in the 18 other states, the Kansas measure would require the hospitalization of infants born during unsuccessful abortions and impose criminal penalties for doctors who don’t try to save them. In Kansas, failing to attempt to save such a newborn would be a felony, punishable by a year's probation for a first-time offender.

“This bill takes away the right of a mother to make her own private medical decisions in the most complicated and heartbreaking of cases,” state Rep. Lindsay Vaughn, a Kansas City-area Democrat, said, explaining her “no” vote Wednesday. “This is a right the overwhelming majority of Kansans voted to protect.”

Like most states, Kansas doesn’t collect data on births during induced abortion procedures.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, less than 1% of the more than 600,000 abortions a year occur after the 21st week of pregnancy. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists says almost no fetuses are viable before the 23rd week of pregnancy.

Kansas law bans most abortions after the 22nd week of pregnancy, and no abortions after that point have been reported since at least 2016.

Zack Gingrich-Gaylord, a spokesperson for Wichita abortion clinic operator Trust Women, said the facility has never seen an abortion result in a live birth in the nearly 10 years the clinic has been open.

“This is just this fantasy,” Gingrich-Gaylord said. “It’s simply not true that there’s any kind of danger of this happening.”

Not providing this care after unsuccessful abortions was already outlawed under a 2002 U.S. law, but it doesn't contain criminal penalties. The Republican-led U.S. House&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-politics-us-republican-party-united-states-senate-cb608d31f591fd06ec2fd753f122f6cb">passed a measure</a>&nbsp;in January to add penalties, but it's not expected to pass the Democrat-controlled U.S. Senate.

Opponents also said if the legislation passes, doctors would be forced into futile and expensive attempts to prolong dying infants' lives, and those medical interventions would deny parents opportunities to hold dying babies and to say goodbye. The same argument was made ahead of Montana's vote.

Such laws also don't tell doctors when they are allowed to stop medical interventions for a dying infant, said Hillary-Anne Crosby, who coordinated the campaign against Montana's proposed law. She said doctors would be forced to choose between medically appropriate care in line with a family's wishes and “safe” actions that avoid legal problems.

Supporters of the Kansas bill rejected such arguments.

State Rep. Leah Howell, a Wichita-area Republican who voted for the bill, said she had a baby die in the 20th week of pregnancy.

“Believe me, when this bill came to my attention, the very first thing I checked for was that this law would allow moms to hold their dying babies in their arms and tell them they loved them and to say goodbye,” she said, her voice wavering.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/2/1676472736553.png" alt="“This is government entering the patient room with you and your physician,” said Rep. Christina Haswood, a Democrat from Lawrence.-photo by Rachel Mipro" />
 <figcaption>“This is government entering the patient room with you and your physician,” said Rep. Christina Haswood, a Democrat from Lawrence.-photo by Rachel Mipro</figcaption>
 </figure>By JOHN HANNA&nbsp;TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas proposal based on the disputed claim that providers leave infants to die after they're born during certain types of abortions is nearing legislative approval, as Republicans&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-restrictions-pushback-kansas-b5c0aaabf00ed50763824e04cf8fa6c6">pursue limited anti-abortion measures</a>&nbsp;following a decisive statewide vote last year protecting abortion rights.The Kansas House&nbsp;<a href="http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2023_24/measures/vote_view/je_20230322112750_777056/">voted 88-34</a>&nbsp;on Wednesday to approve&nbsp;<a href="http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2023_24/measures/documents/hb2313_00_0000.pdf">a bill</a>&nbsp;declaring that when there's a live birth during an abortion procedure, medical personnel must take the same steps to preserve the newborn’s life as “a reasonably diligent and conscientious” provider would with other live births. The law would apply to any “complete expulsion or extraction” of a fetus from the mother, including labor and delivery abortions during which a doctor induces labor. The measure is similar to a proposed Montana law that voters there&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-health-business-montana-a99111675c40301d1940addca098d599">rejected in November</a>&nbsp;and laws in 18 states, including Arizona, Florida, Ohio and Texas.<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-supreme-court-decision-854f60302f21c2c35129e58cf8d8a7b0">The U.S. Supreme Court declared in June</a>&nbsp;that states can ban abortion, and the Republican-controlled Kansas Legislature has long had strong anti-abortion majorities in both chambers. But&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/3f479b218a6140719e1694fcfcdb8036">a 2019 Kansas Supreme Court decision</a>&nbsp;protected abortion rights and in August 2022,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-primary-elections-kansas-abortion-b6d62a852c2ce4617f2c03589fbb523e">voters rejected</a>&nbsp;a proposed change to the state constitution to overturn that decision and give lawmakers the power to greatly restrict or ban abortion.Supporters of the “born-alive infants protection” bill argued during a House debate Tuesday that the measure would survive a court challenge because it doesn't limit abortion itself. But a few Republicans touched on their moral opposition to abortion as a reason for backing the bill.“If you truly want to hold effective conversations about the indiscriminate and brutal acts of violence in our society today, we must teach others to hold life as precious and sacred," state Rep. Rebecca Schmoe, a Republican from northeastern Kansas, said during a debate Tuesday before voting for the bill Wednesday.Abortion providers and abortion rights advocates contend measures like the ones in Kansas and Montana are designed only to give abortion care a false and negative public image. They also argue that current state laws against homicide and child neglect, as well as laws on doctors’ duties, are sufficient to address any real problems.House passage sent the measure to the Senate, where GOP leaders have also signaled that they see it as a priority.“I pray for the day where we would stop killing our own children and ask God for forgiveness and mercy,” said southeastern Kansas Rep. Trevor Jacobs, explaining his “yes” vote along with six other GOP conservatives.Supporters of the bill portrayed it as saving infants born during unsuccessful or botched abortions. But it would apply to cases in which doctors induce labor to deliver a fetus that won't survive outside the womb, often because of a severe medical issue, with the expectation that the newborn will die within minutes or even seconds.Like the laws in the 18 other states, the Kansas measure would require the hospitalization of infants born during unsuccessful abortions and impose criminal penalties for doctors who don’t try to save them. In Kansas, failing to attempt to save such a newborn would be a felony, punishable by a year's probation for a first-time offender.“This bill takes away the right of a mother to make her own private medical decisions in the most complicated and heartbreaking of cases,” state Rep. Lindsay Vaughn, a Kansas City-area Democrat, said, explaining her “no” vote Wednesday. “This is a right the overwhelming majority of Kansans voted to protect.”Like most states, Kansas doesn’t collect data on births during induced abortion procedures.According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, less than 1% of the more than 600,000 abortions a year occur after the 21st week of pregnancy. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists says almost no fetuses are viable before the 23rd week of pregnancy.Kansas law bans most abortions after the 22nd week of pregnancy, and no abortions after that point have been reported since at least 2016.Zack Gingrich-Gaylord, a spokesperson for Wichita abortion clinic operator Trust Women, said the facility has never seen an abortion result in a live birth in the nearly 10 years the clinic has been open.“This is just this fantasy,” Gingrich-Gaylord said. “It’s simply not true that there’s any kind of danger of this happening.”Not providing this care after unsuccessful abortions was already outlawed under a 2002 U.S. law, but it doesn't contain criminal penalties. The Republican-led U.S. House&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-politics-us-republican-party-united-states-senate-cb608d31f591fd06ec2fd753f122f6cb">passed a measure</a>&nbsp;in January to add penalties, but it's not expected to pass the Democrat-controlled U.S. Senate.Opponents also said if the legislation passes, doctors would be forced into futile and expensive attempts to prolong dying infants' lives, and those medical interventions would deny parents opportunities to hold dying babies and to say goodbye. The same argument was made ahead of Montana's vote.Such laws also don't tell doctors when they are allowed to stop medical interventions for a dying infant, said Hillary-Anne Crosby, who coordinated the campaign against Montana's proposed law. She said doctors would be forced to choose between medically appropriate care in line with a family's wishes and “safe” actions that avoid legal problems.Supporters of the Kansas bill rejected such arguments.State Rep. Leah Howell, a Wichita-area Republican who voted for the bill, said she had a baby die in the 20th week of pregnancy.“Believe me, when this bill came to my attention, the very first thing I checked for was that this law would allow moms to hold their dying babies in their arms and tell them they loved them and to say goodbye,” she said, her voice wavering.___

Kansas lawmakers near approval of 'born alive' abortion bill

ELLSWORTH COUNTY—One person died in an accident just after 9:30a.m. Wednesday in Ellsworth County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2004 Toyota Highlander driven by&nbsp; Donald J. Svita, 70, Pueblo, Colorado, was eastbound on Kansas 140 at Kansas 156, a mile and a half south of Ellsworth.

The driver failed to stop at the stop sign. A southbound 2006 Peterbilt semi driven by Luke W. Johnson, 39, Randolph, struck the SUV.

EMS transported both drivers to Ellsworth Medical Center where Svita was pronounced deceased. The drivers were not wearing seat belts, according to the KHP.

ELLSWORTH COUNTY—One person died in an accident just after 9:30a.m. Wednesday in Ellsworth County.The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2004 Toyota Highlander driven by&nbsp; Donald J. Svita, 70, Pueblo, Colorado, was eastbound on Kansas 140 at Kansas 156, a mile and a half south of Ellsworth.The driver failed to stop at the stop sign. A southbound 2006 Peterbilt semi driven by Luke W. Johnson, 39, Randolph, struck the SUV.EMS transported both drivers to Ellsworth Medical Center where Svita was pronounced deceased. The drivers were not wearing seat belts, according to the KHP.

Driver missed stop sign, dies after 2-vehicle Kan. crash

By RACHEL MIPRO <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/03/21/kansas-lawmaker-asks-for-security-during-anti-vaccination-bill-hearing-i-dont-feel-comfortable/">Kansas Reflector</a>

TOPEKA
 —&nbsp; A lawmaker asked for security during a hearing on anti-vaccination 
legislation after one of the speakers asked Republicans to “follow their
 hearts.”

During a crowded Tuesday Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee hearing, audience members applauded proponents of a <a target="_blank" href="http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2023_24/measures/sb315/">wide-ranging vaccination exemption bill</a>,
 despite Committee chairwoman Sen. Beverly Gossage, R-Eudora, repeatedly
 reminding the audience they weren’t allowed to clap during testimony. 
Sen. Kristen O’Shea, a Topeka Republican, at one point said she didn’t 
feel comfortable in the room, which prompted outbursts and laughter.

&nbsp;The hearing lasted about half
 an hour, with Gossage asking speakers and lawmakers to keep comments 
brief.&nbsp; Several of the speakers, who said the bill would allow personal 
freedom and stop excessive governmental regulations,&nbsp; tried to speak 
over Gossage when she told them their testimony time had ended.

Lenexa resident Lauren Shiffman, who spoke in favor of the bill,&nbsp; 
said she had almost lost her job due to her anti-vaccination stance.

“I speak to the Republicans in this room, especially one over here, 
please follow your party,” Shiffman said, urging lawmakers to approve 
the bill.

“Let’s not do that,” Gossage said, telling the audience again to stop
 clapping after Shiffman’s speech. O’Shea then spoke up about her safety
 concerns.

Gossage tried to move on to the next proponent, but O’Shea interrupted the testimony to ask for security.

“We just don’t have time,” Gossage said, before having a reporter 
bring the security guard standing outside of the door inside the room.

<a target="_blank" href="http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2023_24/measures/sb315/">The bill in question </a>would
 require employers to grant exemptions from vaccine requirements without
 questioning the need for the exemption. Any immunization, vaccination, 
injection or series of injections meant to provide immunity against 
diseases would be included in the exemption list.&nbsp;

Kansas vaccine requirements are 
controlled at the state level. Despite a rising anti-vaccination 
movement, COVID-19 vaccines and other vaccines have been repeatedly 
proven safe and effective.&nbsp;

Vaccine r<a target="_blank" href="https://www.kdhe.ks.gov/DocumentCenter/View/21272/2022-2023-School-Requirement-K-12-PDF">equirements in Kansas</a> for children attending school include shots for polio, hepatitis A and B, measles, mumps and rubella, among others.&nbsp;

Opponents of the legislation said the
 broadened vaccine exemption could have a damaging effect on Kansans’ 
health and cause an increase in infectious diseases. Geovannie Goné, who
 spoke on behalf of the Immunize Kansas Coalition, highlighted those who
 work with vulnerable populations, such as hospitalized people and young
 children.&nbsp;

“Consider the impacts on hospitals, 
long-term care, and our most vulnerable Kansans, especially for those at
 high risk for contracting and having complications from 
vaccine-preventable diseases,” Goné said.&nbsp;

Another part of the bill would repeal
 the meningitis vaccine requirement for students living in campus 
housing. Maternity centers, child care facilities and schools would also
 have to accept vaccine exemptions on the basis of religious beliefs 
without questioning the sincerity of the request.&nbsp;

When asked about security concerns in
 an interview following the hearing, Gossage said one of the speakers 
had come up to her in tears after the meeting, apologizing for not being
 calm. Gossage said she told the woman to apologize to O’Shea.&nbsp;

“She said ‘I lost my cool, I’m sorry,
 I should not have done that, I’m not like that.’ I said, ‘You need to 
go say that to Sen. O’Shea,’ ” Gossage said. 

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/3/1679496768844.png" alt="Sen. Beverly Gossage, committee chairwoman, commented on security concerns after a Tuesday, March 21, Senate committee hearing. (Rachel Mipro/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption>Sen. Beverly Gossage, committee chairwoman, commented on security concerns after a Tuesday, March 21, Senate committee hearing. (Rachel Mipro/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure>By RACHEL MIPRO <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/03/21/kansas-lawmaker-asks-for-security-during-anti-vaccination-bill-hearing-i-dont-feel-comfortable/">Kansas Reflector</a>TOPEKA
 —&nbsp; A lawmaker asked for security during a hearing on anti-vaccination 
legislation after one of the speakers asked Republicans to “follow their
 hearts.”During a crowded Tuesday Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee hearing, audience members applauded proponents of a <a target="_blank" href="http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2023_24/measures/sb315/">wide-ranging vaccination exemption bill</a>,
 despite Committee chairwoman Sen. Beverly Gossage, R-Eudora, repeatedly
 reminding the audience they weren’t allowed to clap during testimony. 
Sen. Kristen O’Shea, a Topeka Republican, at one point said she didn’t 
feel comfortable in the room, which prompted outbursts and laughter.&nbsp;The hearing lasted about half
 an hour, with Gossage asking speakers and lawmakers to keep comments 
brief.&nbsp; Several of the speakers, who said the bill would allow personal 
freedom and stop excessive governmental regulations,&nbsp; tried to speak 
over Gossage when she told them their testimony time had ended.Lenexa resident Lauren Shiffman, who spoke in favor of the bill,&nbsp; 
said she had almost lost her job due to her anti-vaccination stance.“I speak to the Republicans in this room, especially one over here, 
please follow your party,” Shiffman said, urging lawmakers to approve 
the bill.“Let’s not do that,” Gossage said, telling the audience again to stop
 clapping after Shiffman’s speech. O’Shea then spoke up about her safety
 concerns.Gossage tried to move on to the next proponent, but O’Shea interrupted the testimony to ask for security.“We just don’t have time,” Gossage said, before having a reporter 
bring the security guard standing outside of the door inside the room.<a target="_blank" href="http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2023_24/measures/sb315/">The bill in question </a>would
 require employers to grant exemptions from vaccine requirements without
 questioning the need for the exemption. Any immunization, vaccination, 
injection or series of injections meant to provide immunity against 
diseases would be included in the exemption list.&nbsp;Kansas vaccine requirements are 
controlled at the state level. Despite a rising anti-vaccination 
movement, COVID-19 vaccines and other vaccines have been repeatedly 
proven safe and effective.&nbsp;Vaccine r<a target="_blank" href="https://www.kdhe.ks.gov/DocumentCenter/View/21272/2022-2023-School-Requirement-K-12-PDF">equirements in Kansas</a> for children attending school include shots for polio, hepatitis A and B, measles, mumps and rubella, among others.&nbsp;Opponents of the legislation said the
 broadened vaccine exemption could have a damaging effect on Kansans’ 
health and cause an increase in infectious diseases. Geovannie Goné, who
 spoke on behalf of the Immunize Kansas Coalition, highlighted those who
 work with vulnerable populations, such as hospitalized people and young
 children.&nbsp;“Consider the impacts on hospitals, 
long-term care, and our most vulnerable Kansans, especially for those at
 high risk for contracting and having complications from 
vaccine-preventable diseases,” Goné said.&nbsp;Another part of the bill would repeal
 the meningitis vaccine requirement for students living in campus 
housing. Maternity centers, child care facilities and schools would also
 have to accept vaccine exemptions on the basis of religious beliefs 
without questioning the sincerity of the request.&nbsp;When asked about security concerns in
 an interview following the hearing, Gossage said one of the speakers 
had come up to her in tears after the meeting, apologizing for not being
 calm. Gossage said she told the woman to apologize to O’Shea.&nbsp;“She said ‘I lost my cool, I’m sorry,
 I should not have done that, I’m not like that.’ I said, ‘You need to 
go say that to Sen. O’Shea,’ ” Gossage said.

Kan. senator asks for security during anti-vax bill hearing

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve extended its year-long fight against high inflation Wednesday by raising its key interest rate by a quarter-point despite concerns that higher borrowing rates could worsen the turmoil that has gripped the banking system.

“The U.S. banking system is sound and resilient,” the Fed said in a statement after its latest policy meeting ended.

At the same time, the Fed warned that the financial upheaval stemming from the collapse of two major banks is “likely to result in tighter credit conditions” and “weigh on economic activity, hiring and inflation.”

The central bank also signaled that it's likely nearing the end of its aggressive streak of rate hikes. In its statement, it removed language that had previously said it would keep raising rates at upcoming meetings. The statement now says “some additional policy firming may be appropriate” — a weaker commitment to future hikes.

And in a series of quarterly projections, the policymakers forecast that they expect to raise their key rate just once more — from its new level Wednesday of about 4.9% to 5.1%, the same peak level they had projected in December.

Still, in its latest statement, the Fed included some language that indicated its inflation fight remains far from complete. It noted that hiring is “running at a robust pace” and “inflation remains elevated.” It removed a phrase, “inflation has eased somewhat,” that it had included in its statement in February.

Speaking at a news conference Wednesday, Chair Jerome Powell said, “The process of getting inflation back down to 2% has a long way to go and is likely to be bumpy.”

The latest rate hike suggests that Powell is confident that the Fed can manage a dual challenge: Cool still-high inflation through higher loan rates&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/inflation-interest-rates-federal-reserve-banks-recession-232be412196916317f583f73445bd149">while defusing</a>&nbsp;turmoil in the banking sector through emergency lending programs and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/silicon-valley-bank-failure-deposits-fdic-8011ea377d8f9941032790ce1d704c5a">the Biden administration’s decision</a>&nbsp;to cover uninsured deposits at the two failed banks.

The Fed's signal that the end of its rate-hiking campaign is in sight may also soothe financial markets as they digest the consequences of the U.S. banking turmoil and the takeover last weekend of Credit Suisse by its larger rival UBS.

The central bank’s benchmark short-term rate has now reached its highest level in 16 years. The new level will likely lead to higher costs for many loans, from mortgages and auto purchases to credit cards and corporate borrowing. The succession of Fed rate hikes have also heightened the risk of a recession.

The Fed’s latest decision reflects an abrupt shift. Early this month, Powell had&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/inflation-federal-reserve-interest-rates-powell-unemployment-79b7ead4530ab381a17638a6c9df2d90">told a Senate panel that the Fed was considering</a>&nbsp;raising its rate by a substantial half-point. At the time, hiring and consumer spending had strengthened more than expected. Inflation data had also been revised higher.

The troubles that suddenly erupted in the banking sector two weeks ago likely led to the Fed’s decision to raise its benchmark rate by a quarter-point rather than a half-point. Some economists have cautioned that even a modest quarter-point rise in the Fed’s key rate, on top of its previous hikes, could imperil weaker banks whose nervous customers may decide to withdraw significant deposits.

Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank were both brought down, indirectly, by higher rates, which pummeled the value of the Treasurys and other bonds they owned. As depositors withdrew money en masse, the banks had to sell the bonds at a loss to pay the depositors. They couldn't raise enough cash to do so.

After the fall of the two banks, Credit Suisse was taken over by UBS. Another struggling bank, First Republic, has received large deposits from its rivals in a show of support, though its share price plunged Monday before stabilizing.

The Fed is deciding, in effect, to treat inflation and financial turmoil as distinct problems, to be managed simultaneously by separate tools: Higher rates to tame inflation and greater Fed lending to banks to calm financial turmoil.

The Fed, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and Treasury Department agreed to insure all the deposits at Silicon Valley and Signature, including accounts that exceed the $250,000 limit. The Fed also created a new lending program to ensure that banks can access cash to repay depositors, if needed.

But economists warn that many mid-size and small banks, to conserve capital, will likely become more cautious in their lending. A tightening of bank credit could, in turn, reduce business spending on new software, equipment and buildings. It could make it harder for consumers to obtain auto or other loans.

Some economists worry that such a slowdown in lending could be enough to tip the economy into recession. Wall Street traders are betting that a weaker economy will force the Fed to start cutting rates this summer.

The Fed would likely welcome slower growth, which would help cool inflation. But few economists are sure what the effects would be of a pullback in bank lending.

Other major central banks are also seeking to tame high inflation without worsening the financial instability caused by the two U.S. bank collapses and the hasty sale of Credit Suisse to UBS. Even with the anxieties surrounding the global banking system, for instance, the Bank of England faces pressure to approve an 11th straight rate hike Thursday with annual inflation having reached 10.4%.

And the European Central Bank, saying Europe’s banking sector was resilient, last week raised its benchmark rate by a half point to combat inflation of 8.5%. At the same time, the ECB president, Christine Lagarde, has shifted to an open-ended stance regarding further rate increases

In the United States, most recent data still points to a solid economy and strong hiring. Employers added a robust 311,000 jobs in February. And while the unemployment rate rose, from 3.4% to a still-low 3.6%, that mostly reflected an influx of new job-seekers who were not immediately hired. In its latest quarterly projections, the Fed predicts that the unemployment rate will rise from its current 3.6% to 4.5% by year's end.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve extended its year-long fight against high inflation Wednesday by raising its key interest rate by a quarter-point despite concerns that higher borrowing rates could worsen the turmoil that has gripped the banking system.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">.<a href="https://twitter.com/colbyLsmith?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@colbyLsmith</a>: &quot;Given all of the stress and the uncertainty that you&#39;ve also alluded to in this statement, how seriously was a pause considered for this meeting?&quot; Fed Chair Powell: &quot;We did consider that in the days running up to the meeting...&quot; <a href="https://t.co/H6OunkQKW5">pic.twitter.com/H6OunkQKW5</a>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1638614903610126336?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 22, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>“The U.S. banking system is sound and resilient,” the Fed said in a statement after its latest policy meeting ended.At the same time, the Fed warned that the financial upheaval stemming from the collapse of two major banks is “likely to result in tighter credit conditions” and “weigh on economic activity, hiring and inflation.”The central bank also signaled that it's likely nearing the end of its aggressive streak of rate hikes. In its statement, it removed language that had previously said it would keep raising rates at upcoming meetings. The statement now says “some additional policy firming may be appropriate” — a weaker commitment to future hikes.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Fed Chair Powell: &quot;Inflation remains too high and the labor market continues to be very tight...The process of getting inflation back down to 2% has a long way to go and is likely to be bumpy...&quot; <a href="https://t.co/GCtWbhvQ5j">pic.twitter.com/GCtWbhvQ5j</a>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1638614837369380876?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 22, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>And in a series of quarterly projections, the policymakers forecast that they expect to raise their key rate just once more — from its new level Wednesday of about 4.9% to 5.1%, the same peak level they had projected in December.Still, in its latest statement, the Fed included some language that indicated its inflation fight remains far from complete. It noted that hiring is “running at a robust pace” and “inflation remains elevated.” It removed a phrase, “inflation has eased somewhat,” that it had included in its statement in February.Speaking at a news conference Wednesday, Chair Jerome Powell said, “The process of getting inflation back down to 2% has a long way to go and is likely to be bumpy.”The latest rate hike suggests that Powell is confident that the Fed can manage a dual challenge: Cool still-high inflation through higher loan rates&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/inflation-interest-rates-federal-reserve-banks-recession-232be412196916317f583f73445bd149">while defusing</a>&nbsp;turmoil in the banking sector through emergency lending programs and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/silicon-valley-bank-failure-deposits-fdic-8011ea377d8f9941032790ce1d704c5a">the Biden administration’s decision</a>&nbsp;to cover uninsured deposits at the two failed banks.The Fed's signal that the end of its rate-hiking campaign is in sight may also soothe financial markets as they digest the consequences of the U.S. banking turmoil and the takeover last weekend of Credit Suisse by its larger rival UBS.The central bank’s benchmark short-term rate has now reached its highest level in 16 years. The new level will likely lead to higher costs for many loans, from mortgages and auto purchases to credit cards and corporate borrowing. The succession of Fed rate hikes have also heightened the risk of a recession.The Fed’s latest decision reflects an abrupt shift. Early this month, Powell had&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/inflation-federal-reserve-interest-rates-powell-unemployment-79b7ead4530ab381a17638a6c9df2d90">told a Senate panel that the Fed was considering</a>&nbsp;raising its rate by a substantial half-point. At the time, hiring and consumer spending had strengthened more than expected. Inflation data had also been revised higher.The troubles that suddenly erupted in the banking sector two weeks ago likely led to the Fed’s decision to raise its benchmark rate by a quarter-point rather than a half-point. Some economists have cautioned that even a modest quarter-point rise in the Fed’s key rate, on top of its previous hikes, could imperil weaker banks whose nervous customers may decide to withdraw significant deposits.Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank were both brought down, indirectly, by higher rates, which pummeled the value of the Treasurys and other bonds they owned. As depositors withdrew money en masse, the banks had to sell the bonds at a loss to pay the depositors. They couldn't raise enough cash to do so.After the fall of the two banks, Credit Suisse was taken over by UBS. Another struggling bank, First Republic, has received large deposits from its rivals in a show of support, though its share price plunged Monday before stabilizing.The Fed is deciding, in effect, to treat inflation and financial turmoil as distinct problems, to be managed simultaneously by separate tools: Higher rates to tame inflation and greater Fed lending to banks to calm financial turmoil.The Fed, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and Treasury Department agreed to insure all the deposits at Silicon Valley and Signature, including accounts that exceed the $250,000 limit. The Fed also created a new lending program to ensure that banks can access cash to repay depositors, if needed.But economists warn that many mid-size and small banks, to conserve capital, will likely become more cautious in their lending. A tightening of bank credit could, in turn, reduce business spending on new software, equipment and buildings. It could make it harder for consumers to obtain auto or other loans.Some economists worry that such a slowdown in lending could be enough to tip the economy into recession. Wall Street traders are betting that a weaker economy will force the Fed to start cutting rates this summer.The Fed would likely welcome slower growth, which would help cool inflation. But few economists are sure what the effects would be of a pullback in bank lending.Other major central banks are also seeking to tame high inflation without worsening the financial instability caused by the two U.S. bank collapses and the hasty sale of Credit Suisse to UBS. Even with the anxieties surrounding the global banking system, for instance, the Bank of England faces pressure to approve an 11th straight rate hike Thursday with annual inflation having reached 10.4%.And the European Central Bank, saying Europe’s banking sector was resilient, last week raised its benchmark rate by a half point to combat inflation of 8.5%. At the same time, the ECB president, Christine Lagarde, has shifted to an open-ended stance regarding further rate increasesIn the United States, most recent data still points to a solid economy and strong hiring. Employers added a robust 311,000 jobs in February. And while the unemployment rate rose, from 3.4% to a still-low 3.6%, that mostly reflected an influx of new job-seekers who were not immediately hired. In its latest quarterly projections, the Fed predicts that the unemployment rate will rise from its current 3.6% to 4.5% by year's end.

🎥 Fed raises key interest rate again despite bank turmoil

DENVER (AP) — A student shot and wounded two administrators at a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/teen-gun-violence-denver-march-20b6acfd88edbc6e5c949a08aba45941">Denver high school</a>&nbsp;Wednesday morning, after a handgun was found during a daily search of the boy that was being conducted because of behavioral issues, authorities said.

The 17-year-old suspect remained at large. Denver school officials, facing criticism over lax security, said they would put armed officers into the city's public high schools.

The shooting occurred at a school shaken by frequent lockdowns and violence, including the killing of a classmate that prompted East High School students to march on the Colorado Capitol earlier this month. Parents who converged on the 2,500-student campus on Wednesday faulted officials for not doing enough to protect their children.

Police were searching for Austin Lyle for attempted homicide. The gun used in the shooting was not immediately recovered, Denver Police Chief Ron Thomas said.

Police issued an alert linking Lyle to a red 2005 Volvo X90 with Colorado plates and offered a reward up to $2,000 for information on the case.

The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/school-shootings">shooting</a>&nbsp;happened just before 10 a.m. in an office area as the student was undergoing a search as part of a “safety plan" that required him to be patted down daily, officials said.

One of the wounded administrators was released from the hospital Wednesday afternoon and the second remained in serious condition, said Heather Burke, a spokesperson for Denver Health hospital. Both victims are male.

Thomas said police know where Lyle lives and believed they would apprehend him.