HARVEY COUNTY—One person was injured in an apartment fire Sunday in Newton.

The fire at Fox Meadows Apartments,&nbsp; 720 West 12th Street, included 12 units and was isolated to one fourplex building, according to Newton Fire and Rescue. 

EMS transported one person in critical condition to a Wichita hospital. The Kansas State Fire Marshal’s Office was on the scene to investigate the fire the cause.&nbsp; Departments from Hesston, Halstead and Walton&nbsp; &nbsp;assisted.&nbsp; Authorities released no additional details Sunday afternoon.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/9/1664137891279.png" alt="Crews on the scene of the apartment building fire Sunday in Newton-photo courtesy KWCH" />
 <figcaption>Crews on the scene of the apartment building fire Sunday in Newton-photo courtesy KWCH</figcaption>
 </figure>HARVEY COUNTY—One person was injured in an apartment fire Sunday in Newton.The fire at Fox Meadows Apartments,&nbsp; 720 West 12th Street, included 12 units and was isolated to one fourplex building, according to Newton Fire and Rescue. EMS transported one person in critical condition to a Wichita hospital. The Kansas State Fire Marshal’s Office was on the scene to investigate the fire the cause.&nbsp; Departments from Hesston, Halstead and Walton&nbsp; &nbsp;assisted.&nbsp; Authorities released no additional details Sunday afternoon.

One critically injured after Kansas  apartment fire 

SEDGWICK COUNTY— Wichita Police K9 Major and his handler Officer Kevin Dykstra assisted U.S. Marshals this week in apprehending a violent and dangerous fugitive from Texas who was staying in a Wichita hotel, according to a media release from police.

U.S. Marshal's requested Dykstra and K9 Major assist with apprehending 48-year-old Demetrius T. Carter of Lancaster, TX. Demetrius was wanted on an outstanding Texas warrant for Aggravated Assault. 

He was also found to have a Sedgwick County Warrant for distribution of cocaine in addition to an extensive criminal history in Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas involving robbery, aggravated assault of a law enforcement officer and multiple firearm offenses.

Officers located Carter at a hotel in the 300 block of S. Webb in Wichita and attempted to take him into custody. After seeing the officers, Carter tried to run back into his hotel room but was quickly apprehended by K9 Major.

EMS transported Carter to an area hospital for treatment of minor injuries prior to being booked into the Sedgwick County Jail for his outstanding warrants. Officers also located an AR-style rifle inside his hotel room, which he is prohibited from carrying due to his status as a convicted felon.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/9/1663933488824.png" alt="K-9 Major -photo Wichita Police" />
 <figcaption>K-9 Major -photo Wichita Police</figcaption>
 </figure>SEDGWICK COUNTY— Wichita Police K9 Major and his handler Officer Kevin Dykstra assisted U.S. Marshals this week in apprehending a violent and dangerous fugitive from Texas who was staying in a Wichita hotel, according to a media release from police.U.S. Marshal's requested Dykstra and K9 Major assist with apprehending 48-year-old Demetrius T. Carter of Lancaster, TX. Demetrius was wanted on an outstanding Texas warrant for Aggravated Assault. He was also found to have a Sedgwick County Warrant for distribution of cocaine in addition to an extensive criminal history in Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas involving robbery, aggravated assault of a law enforcement officer and multiple firearm offenses.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/9/1663933438858.png" alt="Carter-photo Sedgwick County" />
 <figcaption>Carter-photo Sedgwick County</figcaption>
 </figure>Officers located Carter at a hotel in the 300 block of S. Webb in Wichita and attempted to take him into custody. After seeing the officers, Carter tried to run back into his hotel room but was quickly apprehended by K9 Major.EMS transported Carter to an area hospital for treatment of minor injuries prior to being booked into the Sedgwick County Jail for his outstanding warrants. Officers also located an AR-style rifle inside his hotel room, which he is prohibited from carrying due to his status as a convicted felon.

Kan. police K9 helps U.S. Marshals catch wanted cocaine dealer 

NEW YORK (AP) — Sharply rising cases of some sexually transmitted diseases — including a 26% rise in new syphilis infections reported last year — are prompting U.S. health officials to call for new prevention and treatment efforts.

“It is imperative that we ... work to rebuild, innovate, and expand (STD) prevention in the U.S.,” said Dr. Leandro Mena of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in a speech Monday at a medical conference on sexually transmitted diseases.

Infections rates for some STDs, including gonorrhea and syphilis, have been rising for years. Last year the rate of syphilis cases reached its highest since 1991 and the total number of cases hit its highest since 1948. HIV cases are also on the rise, up 16% last year.

And an international outbreak of monkeypox, which is being spread mainly between men who have sex with other men, has further highlighted the nation's worsening problem with diseases spread mostly through sex.

David Harvey, executive director of the National Coalition of STD Directors, called the situation “out of control.”

Officials are working on new approaches to the problem, such as home-test kits for some STDs that will make it easier for people to learn they are infected and to take steps to prevent spreading it to others, Mena said.

Another expert said a core part of any effort must work to increase the use of condoms.

“It's pretty simple. More sexually transmitted infections occur when people are having more unprotected sex,” said Dr. Mike Saag, an infectious disease expert at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Syphilis is a bacterial disease that surfaces as genital sores but can ultimately lead to severe symptoms and death if left untreated.

New syphilis infections plummeted in the U.S. starting in the 1940s when antibiotics became widely available. They fell to their lowest ever by 1998, when fewer than 7,000 new cases were reported nationwide. The CDC was so encouraged by the progress it launched a plan to eliminate syphilis in the U.S.

But by 2002 cases began rising again, largely among gay and bisexual men, and they kept going. In late 2013, CDC ended its elimination campaign in the face of limited funding and escalating cases, which that year surpassed 17,000.

By 2020 cases had reached nearly 41,700 and they spiked even further last year, to more than 52,000.

The rate of cases has been rising, too, hitting about 16 per 100,000 people last year. That's the highest in three decades.

Rates are highest in men who have sex with men, and among Black and Hispanic Americans and Native Americans. While the rate for women is lower than it is for men, officials noted that it's has been rising more dramatically — up about 50% last year.

That ties to another problem — the rise in congenital syphilis, in which infected moms pass the virus on to their babies, potentially leading to death of the child or health problems like deafness and blindness. Annual congenital syphilis cases numbered only about 300 a decade ago; they surged to nearly 2,700 last year. Of last year's tally, 211 were stillbirths or infant deaths, Mena said.

The increases in syphilis and other STDs may have several causes, experts say. Testing and prevention efforts have been hobbled by years of inadequate funding, and spread may have gotten worse — especially during the pandemic — as a result of delayed diagnosis and treatment. Drug and alcohol use may have contributed to risky sexual behavior. Condom use has been declining.

And there may have been a surge in sexual activity as people emerged from COVID-19 lockdowns. “People are feeling liberated,” Saag said.

The arrival of monkeypox added a large additional burden. CDC recently sent a letter to state and local health departments saying that their HIV and STD resources could be used to fight the monkeypox outbreak. But some experts say the government needs to provide more funding for STD work, not divert it.

Harvey's group and some other public health organizations are pushing a proposal for more federal funding, including at least $500 million for STD clinics.

Mena, who last year became director of the CDC's Division of STD Prevention, called for reducing stigma, broadening screening and treatment services, and supporting the development and accessibility of at-home testing. “I envision one day where getting tested (for STDs) can be as simple and as affordable as doing a home pregnancy test,” he said.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/9/1663639233225.png" alt="Gonorrhea CDC image" />
 <figcaption>Gonorrhea CDC image</figcaption>
 </figure>NEW YORK (AP) — Sharply rising cases of some sexually transmitted diseases — including a 26% rise in new syphilis infections reported last year — are prompting U.S. health officials to call for new prevention and treatment efforts.“It is imperative that we ... work to rebuild, innovate, and expand (STD) prevention in the U.S.,” said Dr. Leandro Mena of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in a speech Monday at a medical conference on sexually transmitted diseases.Infections rates for some STDs, including gonorrhea and syphilis, have been rising for years. Last year the rate of syphilis cases reached its highest since 1991 and the total number of cases hit its highest since 1948. HIV cases are also on the rise, up 16% last year.And an international outbreak of monkeypox, which is being spread mainly between men who have sex with other men, has further highlighted the nation's worsening problem with diseases spread mostly through sex.David Harvey, executive director of the National Coalition of STD Directors, called the situation “out of control.”Officials are working on new approaches to the problem, such as home-test kits for some STDs that will make it easier for people to learn they are infected and to take steps to prevent spreading it to others, Mena said.Another expert said a core part of any effort must work to increase the use of condoms.“It's pretty simple. More sexually transmitted infections occur when people are having more unprotected sex,” said Dr. Mike Saag, an infectious disease expert at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.Syphilis is a bacterial disease that surfaces as genital sores but can ultimately lead to severe symptoms and death if left untreated.New syphilis infections plummeted in the U.S. starting in the 1940s when antibiotics became widely available. They fell to their lowest ever by 1998, when fewer than 7,000 new cases were reported nationwide. The CDC was so encouraged by the progress it launched a plan to eliminate syphilis in the U.S.But by 2002 cases began rising again, largely among gay and bisexual men, and they kept going. In late 2013, CDC ended its elimination campaign in the face of limited funding and escalating cases, which that year surpassed 17,000.By 2020 cases had reached nearly 41,700 and they spiked even further last year, to more than 52,000.The rate of cases has been rising, too, hitting about 16 per 100,000 people last year. That's the highest in three decades.Rates are highest in men who have sex with men, and among Black and Hispanic Americans and Native Americans. While the rate for women is lower than it is for men, officials noted that it's has been rising more dramatically — up about 50% last year.That ties to another problem — the rise in congenital syphilis, in which infected moms pass the virus on to their babies, potentially leading to death of the child or health problems like deafness and blindness. Annual congenital syphilis cases numbered only about 300 a decade ago; they surged to nearly 2,700 last year. Of last year's tally, 211 were stillbirths or infant deaths, Mena said.The increases in syphilis and other STDs may have several causes, experts say. Testing and prevention efforts have been hobbled by years of inadequate funding, and spread may have gotten worse — especially during the pandemic — as a result of delayed diagnosis and treatment. Drug and alcohol use may have contributed to risky sexual behavior. Condom use has been declining.And there may have been a surge in sexual activity as people emerged from COVID-19 lockdowns. “People are feeling liberated,” Saag said.The arrival of monkeypox added a large additional burden. CDC recently sent a letter to state and local health departments saying that their HIV and STD resources could be used to fight the monkeypox outbreak. But some experts say the government needs to provide more funding for STD work, not divert it.Harvey's group and some other public health organizations are pushing a proposal for more federal funding, including at least $500 million for STD clinics.Mena, who last year became director of the CDC's Division of STD Prevention, called for reducing stigma, broadening screening and treatment services, and supporting the development and accessibility of at-home testing. “I envision one day where getting tested (for STDs) can be as simple and as affordable as doing a home pregnancy test,” he said.

CDC: Sexually transmitted diseases are out of control

NEW YORK (AP) — When President Joe Biden announced a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/student-loan-forgiveness-program-explained-d248f3b049c292856bb1c74be6aedef2">plan to forgive student loan debt</a>, many borrowers who kept making payments during the pandemic wondered if they'd made the right choice

Borrowers who paid down their debt during a pandemic freeze that started in March 2020 can in fact get a refund — and&nbsp;<a href="https://studentaid.gov/debt-relief-announcement/one-time-cancellation">then apply for forgiveness</a>&nbsp;– but the process for doing that hasn’t always been clear.

If you think you’re eligible, here’s what you need to know:

Borrowers who hold eligible federal student loans and have made voluntary payments since March 13, 2020, can get a refund, according to the Department of Education.

For some people, that refund will be automatic. You can get a refund without applying if your payments brought your loan balance below the maximum debt relief amount: $10,000 for all borrowers, and $20,000 for Pell Grant recipients. Borrowers can check their balance in their&nbsp;<a href="https://studentaid.gov/fsa-id/sign-in/landing">studentaid.gov account</a>.

For example, if a borrower paid $100 a month for 10 months of the pandemic and their balance is now $8,000, that $1,000 will automatically be refunded. Then they can apply to get the rest of their debt forgiven.

But if a borrower paid throughout the pandemic and still owes $14,000, they won’t get an automatic refund. They can, however, apply to have $10,000 of that debt erased.

Another group of people that has to apply for a refund is those who completely paid off their loan balance during the pandemic. If that’s you, you’re eligible for loan forgiveness, but you’ll have to request a refund prior to applying for debt relief. Borrowers should confirm their eligibility for the loan forgiveness program prior to requesting a refund.

For example, if a borrower had $5,000 in debt at the start of the pandemic and paid it all back during the freeze, but is eligible for up to $10,000 in forgiveness, they would apply for a $5,000 refund, then apply to have their debt forgiven.

“Borrowers who paid off their loans during the pause will need to request a refund first, then request cancellation,” said a spokesperson from the Department

The refund is not available for private student loans.

—Direct Loans (defaulted and non defaulted)

—Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program loans held by ED (defaulted and non defaulted)

—Federal Perkins Loans held by ED (defaulted and non defaulted)

—Defaulted FFEL Program loans not held by ED

If you are not sure which loan you have, visit your&nbsp;<a href="https://studentaid.gov/fsa-id/sign-in/landing">dashboard at studentaid.gov</a>&nbsp;and find the “my loan servicers” section. If you can’t access your dashboard, you can call the Federal Student Aid office at 1-800-433-3243 to ask for loan servicer information.

Borrowers who want a specific amount refunded can apply by calling their loan service provider. Right now, refunds are only being done via phone and not through any website or email.

When the Biden Administration announced the forgiveness,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/mygreatlakes/posts/pfbid0h5Z1LyJ6u8qPYvGarnxeogUk97jEJLBKf84yz9TjRnkdP65P4c9uhzFkB1VQEfmil">loan servicers found themselves inundated with calls</a>. But many borrowers now say they’re not waiting long when calling.

“I was on hold for about five minutes,” said Megan McParland, of New Jersey, who graduated in 2018 and made several payments during the payment freeze.

McParland requested a refund the first week of September. At first, she felt the servicer tried to dissuade her from making the request. But after confirming that she wanted to proceed, she was told that she would see her refund in about a month.

Sierra Tibbs, a 47-year-old resident of Casselberry, Florida, had a similar experience. The entire phone call with her loan servicer took around 20 minutes.

Tibbs applied for a refund after seeing a video online informing her that she could get back money she paid during the pandemic.

If you are unsure who services your loan, or if the servicer changed during the pandemic, visit your&nbsp;<a href="https://studentaid.gov/fsa-id/sign-in/landing?redirectTo=%2F">student aid account dashboard</a>&nbsp;and scroll to “my loan servicers” or call 1-800-433-3243.

Before calling your loan provider to request your refund, you need to know your account number and the amount you want refunded.

<a href="https://myfedloan.org/">FedLoan Servicing</a>: 1-800-699-2908

<a href="https://mygreatlakes.org/">Great Lakes Educational Loan Services, Inc.</a>: 1-800-236-4300

<a href="https://edfinancial.com/home">Edfinancial</a>: 1-855-337-6884

<a href="https://www.mohela.com/">MOHELA</a>: 1-888-866-4352

<a href="https://aidvantage.com/">Aidvantage</a>: 1-800-722-1300

<a href="https://www.nelnet.com/account/login/">Nelnet</a>: 1-888-486-4722

<a href="https://public.osla.org/">OSLA Servicing</a>: 1-866-264-9762

<a href="https://efpls.ed.gov/">ECSI</a>: 1-866-313-3797

<a href="https://myeddebt.ed.gov/">Default Resolution Group</a>: 1-800-621-3115 (1-877-825-9923 for the deaf or hard of hearing)

HOW WILL THE REFUND WORK — AND WHEN WILL MY LOANS BE FORGIVEN?

When you request a refund, the amount that you have paid during the payment freeze will be added back to your student loan balance, said Katherine Welbeck, Civil Rights Counsel for the Student Borrower Protection Center.

That amount is still eligible for cancellation and can be eliminated after you&nbsp;<a href="https://studentaid.gov/debt-relief-announcement/one-time-cancellation">apply for forgiveness</a>.

You're&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/student-loan-forgiveness-program-explained-d248f3b049c292856bb1c74be6aedef2">eligible for debt relief</a>&nbsp;if you had an annual federal income below $125,000 individually or $250,000 if you're married or head of household in 2020 or 2021. The application is expected to open in early October and you can apply until Dec. 31, 2023.

It is unclear when borrowers will see debt relief. So far,&nbsp;<a href="https://studentaid.gov/debt-relief-announcement/one-time-cancellation">the plan only mentions</a>&nbsp;borrowers will be notified by their loan servicer when their debt is forgiven. There is also a possibility that forgiveness could be delayed if the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-covid-health-education-0fea030a0875c0e4e1a39b0c098bd48a">Biden administration faces legal challenges</a>.

Laura Baum, a 30-year-old resident of Chicago, paid $5,000 during the payment freeze toward her $15,000 remaining debt. She is eligible to have $20,000 canceled since she was a Pell grant recipient when she was an undergraduate. At the beginning of September, Baum called her loan servicer and asked for a refund.

But because of the uncertainty, she is planning to save that money until the Department of Education confirms her debt has been canceled.

“I’m going to hold on to that refund until I absolutely see $0 in my student loans,” Baum said.

The&nbsp;<a href="https://studentaid.gov/debt-relief-announcement/one-time-cancellation">deadline to apply for a refund</a>&nbsp;is December 31, 2023. However, Welbeck recommends that you apply for a refund before you apply for debt forgiveness.

“If you apply first, you can process the refund to get your money back, and then that balance in your account is canceled,” Welbeck said.

The application process for loan forgiveness is expected to take four to six weeks.

The Department of Education is offering a subscription page&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ed.gov/subscriptions">where you can sign up to be notified</a>&nbsp;when the application is open.

You can get a refund for the entire amount you paid during the payment freeze, according to the Department of Education. However, you can choose a lower amount.

You might pick this option if, during the pandemic, you paid enough to get your debt below the maximum amount of forgiveness. You could get a partial refund, then apply to have your remaining debt wiped out.

Say you had $15,000 worth of debt remaining at the beginning of the payment freeze and have since paid $8,000, but qualify for $10,000 in debt relief. You might decide to ask for a refund of just $3,000. Then, your debt balance will be exactly $10,000, and you can apply for maximum loan forgiveness.

Borrowers should expect to receive their refund six to 12 weeks after requesting it, according to the Department of Education. But you might want to double-check with your loan servicer.

McParland’s loan servicer told her that she should see her refunded amount in 30 to 45 business days, but Baum was told that it would take 60 to 70 business days to see her money back in her bank account.

It is not yet clear if the refunded money will be considered taxable income. Welbeck recommends borrowers check with financial advisers from their own state.

Some states,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-education-indiana-pell-grant-1a20d161073a073f8d5ed0f954188462">such as Indiana</a>, have already said they will tax debt relief for people who have their student loans canceled. Policies vary from state to state.

Since the Department of Education has not yet announced how the cancellation or refunds will be reported to the credit bureaus, it is still uncertain if these amounts will affect borrowers’ credit scores, said Welbeck.

SHOULD I START PAYING AGAIN WHEN THE PAYMENT FREEZE ENDS?

The pandemic payment freeze is set to end Dec. 31. If you have not seen debt relief by then, you are still expected to start making payments. Welbeck recommends that borrowers enroll in income-driven repayment plans before the end of the payment freeze.

Income-driven repayment plans allow you to set an affordable payment amount based on income and family size.

You can find more information about the four types of income-driven repayment plans&nbsp;<a href="https://studentaid.gov/manage-loans/repayment/plans/income-driven#eligibility">here</a>.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/8/1661356712793.png" alt="Image White House" />
 <figcaption>Image White House</figcaption>
 </figure>NEW YORK (AP) — When President Joe Biden announced a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/student-loan-forgiveness-program-explained-d248f3b049c292856bb1c74be6aedef2">plan to forgive student loan debt</a>, many borrowers who kept making payments during the pandemic wondered if they'd made the right choiceBorrowers who paid down their debt during a pandemic freeze that started in March 2020 can in fact get a refund — and&nbsp;<a href="https://studentaid.gov/debt-relief-announcement/one-time-cancellation">then apply for forgiveness</a>&nbsp;– but the process for doing that hasn’t always been clear.If you think you’re eligible, here’s what you need to know:___WHO IS ELIGIBLE FOR A REFUND?Borrowers who hold eligible federal student loans and have made voluntary payments since March 13, 2020, can get a refund, according to the Department of Education.For some people, that refund will be automatic. You can get a refund without applying if your payments brought your loan balance below the maximum debt relief amount: $10,000 for all borrowers, and $20,000 for Pell Grant recipients. Borrowers can check their balance in their&nbsp;<a href="https://studentaid.gov/fsa-id/sign-in/landing">studentaid.gov account</a>.For example, if a borrower paid $100 a month for 10 months of the pandemic and their balance is now $8,000, that $1,000 will automatically be refunded. Then they can apply to get the rest of their debt forgiven.But if a borrower paid throughout the pandemic and still owes $14,000, they won’t get an automatic refund. They can, however, apply to have $10,000 of that debt erased.Another group of people that has to apply for a refund is those who completely paid off their loan balance during the pandemic. If that’s you, you’re eligible for loan forgiveness, but you’ll have to request a refund prior to applying for debt relief. Borrowers should confirm their eligibility for the loan forgiveness program prior to requesting a refund.For example, if a borrower had $5,000 in debt at the start of the pandemic and paid it all back during the freeze, but is eligible for up to $10,000 in forgiveness, they would apply for a $5,000 refund, then apply to have their debt forgiven.“Borrowers who paid off their loans during the pause will need to request a refund first, then request cancellation,” said a spokesperson from the Departmentof Education.The refund is not available for private student loans.Eligible federal student loans:—Direct Loans (defaulted and non defaulted)—Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program loans held by ED (defaulted and non defaulted)—Federal Perkins Loans held by ED (defaulted and non defaulted)—Defaulted FFEL Program loans not held by ED—Defaulted HEAL loansIf you are not sure which loan you have, visit your&nbsp;<a href="https://studentaid.gov/fsa-id/sign-in/landing">dashboard at studentaid.gov</a>&nbsp;and find the “my loan servicers” section. If you can’t access your dashboard, you can call the Federal Student Aid office at 1-800-433-3243 to ask for loan servicer information.HOW CAN I APPLY FOR A REFUND?Borrowers who want a specific amount refunded can apply by calling their loan service provider. Right now, refunds are only being done via phone and not through any website or email.When the Biden Administration announced the forgiveness,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/mygreatlakes/posts/pfbid0h5Z1LyJ6u8qPYvGarnxeogUk97jEJLBKf84yz9TjRnkdP65P4c9uhzFkB1VQEfmil">loan servicers found themselves inundated with calls</a>. But many borrowers now say they’re not waiting long when calling.“I was on hold for about five minutes,” said Megan McParland, of New Jersey, who graduated in 2018 and made several payments during the payment freeze.McParland requested a refund the first week of September. At first, she felt the servicer tried to dissuade her from making the request. But after confirming that she wanted to proceed, she was told that she would see her refund in about a month.Sierra Tibbs, a 47-year-old resident of Casselberry, Florida, had a similar experience. The entire phone call with her loan servicer took around 20 minutes.Tibbs applied for a refund after seeing a video online informing her that she could get back money she paid during the pandemic.If you are unsure who services your loan, or if the servicer changed during the pandemic, visit your&nbsp;<a href="https://studentaid.gov/fsa-id/sign-in/landing?redirectTo=%2F">student aid account dashboard</a>&nbsp;and scroll to “my loan servicers” or call 1-800-433-3243.Before calling your loan provider to request your refund, you need to know your account number and the amount you want refunded.—Loan servicers’ phone numbers:<a href="https://myfedloan.org/">FedLoan Servicing</a>: 1-800-699-2908<a href="https://mygreatlakes.org/">Great Lakes Educational Loan Services, Inc.</a>: 1-800-236-4300<a href="https://edfinancial.com/home">Edfinancial</a>: 1-855-337-6884<a href="https://www.mohela.com/">MOHELA</a>: 1-888-866-4352<a href="https://aidvantage.com/">Aidvantage</a>: 1-800-722-1300<a href="https://www.nelnet.com/account/login/">Nelnet</a>: 1-888-486-4722<a href="https://public.osla.org/">OSLA Servicing</a>: 1-866-264-9762<a href="https://efpls.ed.gov/">ECSI</a>: 1-866-313-3797<a href="https://myeddebt.ed.gov/">Default Resolution Group</a>: 1-800-621-3115 (1-877-825-9923 for the deaf or hard of hearing)HOW WILL THE REFUND WORK — AND WHEN WILL MY LOANS BE FORGIVEN?When you request a refund, the amount that you have paid during the payment freeze will be added back to your student loan balance, said Katherine Welbeck, Civil Rights Counsel for the Student Borrower Protection Center.That amount is still eligible for cancellation and can be eliminated after you&nbsp;<a href="https://studentaid.gov/debt-relief-announcement/one-time-cancellation">apply for forgiveness</a>.You're&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/student-loan-forgiveness-program-explained-d248f3b049c292856bb1c74be6aedef2">eligible for debt relief</a>&nbsp;if you had an annual federal income below $125,000 individually or $250,000 if you're married or head of household in 2020 or 2021. The application is expected to open in early October and you can apply until Dec. 31, 2023.It is unclear when borrowers will see debt relief. So far,&nbsp;<a href="https://studentaid.gov/debt-relief-announcement/one-time-cancellation">the plan only mentions</a>&nbsp;borrowers will be notified by their loan servicer when their debt is forgiven. There is also a possibility that forgiveness could be delayed if the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-covid-health-education-0fea030a0875c0e4e1a39b0c098bd48a">Biden administration faces legal challenges</a>.Laura Baum, a 30-year-old resident of Chicago, paid $5,000 during the payment freeze toward her $15,000 remaining debt. She is eligible to have $20,000 canceled since she was a Pell grant recipient when she was an undergraduate. At the beginning of September, Baum called her loan servicer and asked for a refund.But because of the uncertainty, she is planning to save that money until the Department of Education confirms her debt has been canceled.“I’m going to hold on to that refund until I absolutely see $0 in my student loans,” Baum said.WHEN IS THE DEADLINE TO APPLY?The&nbsp;<a href="https://studentaid.gov/debt-relief-announcement/one-time-cancellation">deadline to apply for a refund</a>&nbsp;is December 31, 2023. However, Welbeck recommends that you apply for a refund before you apply for debt forgiveness.“If you apply first, you can process the refund to get your money back, and then that balance in your account is canceled,” Welbeck said.The application process for loan forgiveness is expected to take four to six weeks.The Department of Education is offering a subscription page&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ed.gov/subscriptions">where you can sign up to be notified</a>&nbsp;when the application is open.HOW MUCH CAN I GET REFUNDED?You can get a refund for the entire amount you paid during the payment freeze, according to the Department of Education. However, you can choose a lower amount.You might pick this option if, during the pandemic, you paid enough to get your debt below the maximum amount of forgiveness. You could get a partial refund, then apply to have your remaining debt wiped out.Say you had $15,000 worth of debt remaining at the beginning of the payment freeze and have since paid $8,000, but qualify for $10,000 in debt relief. You might decide to ask for a refund of just $3,000. Then, your debt balance will be exactly $10,000, and you can apply for maximum loan forgiveness.WHEN WILL I GET MY REFUND?Borrowers should expect to receive their refund six to 12 weeks after requesting it, according to the Department of Education. But you might want to double-check with your loan servicer.McParland’s loan servicer told her that she should see her refunded amount in 30 to 45 business days, but Baum was told that it would take 60 to 70 business days to see her money back in her bank account.IS THE REFUND TAXABLE INCOME?It is not yet clear if the refunded money will be considered taxable income. Welbeck recommends borrowers check with financial advisers from their own state.Some states,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-education-indiana-pell-grant-1a20d161073a073f8d5ed0f954188462">such as Indiana</a>, have already said they will tax debt relief for people who have their student loans canceled. Policies vary from state to state.DOES THE REFUND AFFECT MY CREDIT SCORE?Since the Department of Education has not yet announced how the cancellation or refunds will be reported to the credit bureaus, it is still uncertain if these amounts will affect borrowers’ credit scores, said Welbeck.SHOULD I START PAYING AGAIN WHEN THE PAYMENT FREEZE ENDS?The pandemic payment freeze is set to end Dec. 31. If you have not seen debt relief by then, you are still expected to start making payments. Welbeck recommends that borrowers enroll in income-driven repayment plans before the end of the payment freeze.Income-driven repayment plans allow you to set an affordable payment amount based on income and family size.You can find more information about the four types of income-driven repayment plans&nbsp;<a href="https://studentaid.gov/manage-loans/repayment/plans/income-driven#eligibility">here</a>.___

How to get a student loan refund if you paid during pandemic

By CLARK KAUFFMAN <a href="https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2022/09/23/two-iowa-care-facility-residents-freeze-to-death-one-worker-faces-a-murder-charge/">Iowa Capital Dispatch</a>

Two Iowa caregivers accused of 
failing to protect elderly Iowans who froze to death on their watch are 
now facing very different consequences.

One of the workers has been criminally charged with second-degree 
murder and faces up to 50 years of imprisonment if convicted, while the 
other is facing no criminal charges and has been allowed to keep her 
nursing license.

The murder charge is highly unusual for a case involving a care-facility worker accused of neglect.

“I can’t say definitively that the state has never charged anyone 
with second-degree murder in these circumstances, but if they have, I am
 not aware of it,” said Matthew S. Sheeley, an assistant state public 
defender who is working the case.

“The two resident deaths were tragic and avoidable,” said Toby 
Edelman, senior policy attorney for the nonprofit Center for Medicare 
Advocacy and a nationally recognized expert in senior care. “Many people
 in each facility are responsible and should be held accountable for 
their obvious failures to keep the residents safe.”

“Every Iowan should be concerned about these tragic deaths,” said 
John Hale, a consultant and advocate for older Iowans. He said while 
Iowans should insist on justice for the families involved, “all too 
often, it’s the direct-care staff members that get blamed for these 
tragedies — and in some cases, that may be warranted if they failed to 
act when they could have.”

He said in many cases, facilities have a lack of sufficient staff, 
provide scant training, or use temporary workers who are not familiar 
with residents or the facility’s procedures. “When those additional 
factors exist, the responsibility for tragedies goes beyond the direct 
care staff on duty – it also goes to supervisory staff, facility 
management, facility owners and corporate directors,” he said.

The first of the two cases involves 95-year-old Elaine Creasey, who 
on Dec. 9, 2021, froze to death outside Keelson Harbour assisted living 
center in Spirit Lake. The second case involves 77-year-old Lynne 
Harriet Stewart, a former state social worker who froze to death on Jan.
 21, 2022, outside Courtyard Estates at Hawthrone Crossing in Bondurant.

According to state records, Creasey wandered from her room at Keelson
 Harbour and exited the building shortly after 10 p.m. on Dec. 8, 2021. 
Because Creasey was known to wander, the staff was instructed to perform
 hourly, visual checks on her, and the exit door was equipped with an 
alarm to alert the staff in case someone left the building.

But, according to state records, the temp-agency worker who was 
assigned to check on Creasey during the night – identified in Board of 
Nursing records as registered nurse Brooke Arndt of Lake Park – 
repeatedly failed to confirm Arndt was in her room and didn’t 
investigate the cause of the door alarm.

With Creasey outside, a short distance from the exit door that had 
locked behind her, the temperature dropped to a wind chill of 14 
degrees.

About 7 a.m. the next day, a worker went to Creasey’s room to check 
on her and noticed she was not in her apartment. A search was initiated 
and within a half-hour, employees found her unresponsive, lying on the 
ground outside the facility’s memory care unit.

The staff summoned an ambulance that transported Creasey to a nearby 
hospital where she was pronounced dead on arrival. The medical examiner 
later reported that his findings of hypothermia due to exposure were 
consistent with Creasey having exited the building about 10 p.m. the 
previous day.

According to state inspectors, Arndt told investigators she had 
performed all of the required visual safety checks on Creasey between 
midnight and 5 a.m., although, she added, she had not been trained on 
how to perform such checks.

She reportedly told the inspectors that when she performed bed 
checks, she would open the door to a resident’s room, leave the light 
off, walk in a few steps and look for a silhouette of the resident in 
bed. She allegedly reported that she thought she had seen Creasey in bed
 each time she checked her room that night.

A review of the door-alarm system at Keelson Harbour allegedly showed
 the alarm had sounded at 10:07 p.m., indicating someone had exited the 
building, and was shut off and reset by the staff nine minutes later.

When interviewed, Arndt allegedly told inspectors that she had 
silenced the door alarm without checking on the residents or searching 
the area to see who might have left the building. Another worker at the 
home had told her not to worry about it, she said.

Arndt also stated she was not sure what the door alarm signified or 
what had triggered it, inspectors later reported, and alleged she had 
not received any training on emergencies and door alarms.

The state inspections department fined Keelson Harbour $10,000 for 
staff-training violations.&nbsp;Arndt was not criminally charged, but the 
Iowa Board of Nursing charged her with committing an act that “causes 
injury” to a patient and with failure to properly assess, evaluate or 
accurately document a patient’s status.

As part of a settlement agreement, the board placed Arndt’s license 
on one year of probation and required her to complete 30 hours of 
additional professional education.

Creasey’s family is now suing both Keelson Harbour and the temp 
agency that employed Arndt, accusing them of negligence and reckless 
disregard for another’s safety. The two companies deny any wrongdoing, 
and a trial is scheduled for Aug. 15, 2023.

The family has alleged Creasey’s hands and knees were covered in 
abrasions when she was found, indicating “that she had been crawling 
around in the cold outside for some time.” They say Creasey “suffered 
immensely, both physically and mentally, before she passed away.”

Video shows worker ‘walking around’ facility

A few weeks after Creasey died, 200 miles east of Spirit Lake, Lynne 
Stewart froze to death outside the Courtyard Estates assisted living 
center in Bondurant.

As with Creasey, Stewart was known to wander and was supposed to have been checked every hour.

State inspection records indicate a worker at the home — identified 
in court records as Catherine Forkpa, 31, of Ankeny — was assigned to 
check on Stewart throughout the night.

The center’s records showed that Stewart exited the building about 
9:40 p.m., triggering an alarm. By that time, a separate alarm attached 
to the door of Stewart’s room had already been tripped. The two alarms 
triggered a series of alerts that appeared on a desktop computer used by
 the care facility’s staff, and on the portable devices carried by each 
of the workers.

But on the night in question, Forkpa was the only person working 
Stewart’s area of the building and surveillance video allegedly showed 
that instead of responding to the alarms, she “walked around” the 
memory-care unit for hours.

The temperature outside, meanwhile, was dropping and eventually 
dipped to 11 degrees below zero, state inspectors later reported.

For three hours of her shift, Forkpa was allegedly off-camera and 
unaccounted for, although police would later say the cameras trained on 
Stewart’s room showed that during her entire shift, Forkpa made no 
effort to enter Stewart’s room and check on her.

Executive director slept through phone alerts

At 5:30 a.m, the video showed Forkpa grabbing some breakfast for 
herself and walking to the dining room where she sat and ate. At 6:10 
a.m., a worker who had been assigned to another area of the building 
looked at the nursing staff’s desktop computer and saw the door-alarm 
alerts for both Stewart’s room and the exit door at the end of Stewart’s
 hallway.

She immediately alerted Forkpa and the two quickly located Stewart 
outside, on the ground, with her body wedged against the exit door. An 
ambulance was summoned and paramedics rushed Stewart to a nearby 
hospital. Stewart, they later reported, was so stiff and cold they 
initially couldn’t record a body temperature. She had “ice freezing on 
her,” the paramedics reported, and there were abrasions on her head and 
hands.

Before the ambulance reached the hospital, Stewart went into cardiac 
arrest. Paramedic Tim Huff and his crew tried to restart her heart, but 
they were unsuccessful. Stewart was pronounced dead at the hospital.

Forkpa, who had worked at Courtyard Estates for seven months, was 
fired and four other employees were given written warnings for their 
failure to respond to the door alarms, according to state records.

During the subsequent state investigation, the facility’s executive 
director told inspectors that when she is at home, she receives 
text-message alerts when doors alarms are triggered at the facility. She
 said that on the night in question, she received a long series of 
alerts triggered by the two door alarms, but she didn’t hear them as she
 slept.

Screenshots of the executive director’s phone indicate she received 
the first alert on her phone at 9:44 p.m., and continued to receive them
 every five minutes throughout the night, inspectors alleged.

The facility’s on-call registered nurse received a similar series of 
alerts on her phone. She allegedly told inspectors she had noticed the 
recurring alerts but failed to respond to them because she was at home 
with her family, and because she went to bed around 9:30 p.m.

The nurse reportedly told inspectors that in the past, she had 
ignored alerts that were specific to Stewart’s room because of 
mechanical defects that caused that particular alarm to trigger 
constantly. Other employees, including Forkpa, reported the same problem
 to inspectors.

The state fined Couryard Estates $10,000 and cited it for having 
failed to give Forkpa the required 8 hours of dementia training during 
her first month on the job, instead giving her only 4.75 hours of 
training. Courtyard Estates acknowledged the problem and later reported 
to the state that the training issue was corrected by having Forkpa 
fired.

Forkpa now faces a charge of second-degree murder by dependent adult 
abuse. If convicted on that charge, she faces a term of imprisonment not
 to exceed 50 years and would have to serve 35 years before becoming 
eligible for parole.

Forkpa, who immigrated to the United States from Africa in 2004, said
 she doesn’t believe the criminal charge is warranted. “I know in my 
heart I would never do anything to hurt anyone,” she told the Iowa 
Capital Dispatch.

Polk County Attorney John Sarcone declined to comment on the case. A trial is scheduled for Nov. 14.

Police reports indicate that even before Stewart exited the building 
that night, there were signs, unnoticed by the staff, she was preparing 
to leave.

According to the police, Stewart appeared to have spent some time 
collecting her clothing and other belongings and carrying them down the 
hallway to the exit. She set a bag of personal items next to the door 
and draped some clothes over a nearby railing before walking out into 
the cold night air, with the door locking behind her.

She had done this sort of thing in the past, according to state 
inspectors, telling the staff at Courtyard Estates that she was packing 
up her things and “going home.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/9/1664125004269.png" alt="Catherine Forkpa, a former caregiver at Bondurant’s Courtyard Estates at Hawthrone Crossing, is charged with second-degree in the death of a resident at the assisted living center. (Photo illustration by Iowa Capital Dispatch. Photos by Polk County Jail and Clark Kauffman/Iowa Capital Dispatch)" />
 <figcaption>Catherine Forkpa, a former caregiver at Bondurant’s Courtyard Estates at Hawthrone Crossing, is charged with second-degree in the death of a resident at the assisted living center. (Photo illustration by Iowa Capital Dispatch. Photos by Polk County Jail and Clark Kauffman/Iowa Capital Dispatch)</figcaption>
 </figure>By CLARK KAUFFMAN <a href="https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2022/09/23/two-iowa-care-facility-residents-freeze-to-death-one-worker-faces-a-murder-charge/">Iowa Capital Dispatch</a>Two Iowa caregivers accused of 
failing to protect elderly Iowans who froze to death on their watch are 
now facing very different consequences.One of the workers has been criminally charged with second-degree 
murder and faces up to 50 years of imprisonment if convicted, while the 
other is facing no criminal charges and has been allowed to keep her 
nursing license.The murder charge is highly unusual for a case involving a care-facility worker accused of neglect.“I can’t say definitively that the state has never charged anyone 
with second-degree murder in these circumstances, but if they have, I am
 not aware of it,” said Matthew S. Sheeley, an assistant state public 
defender who is working the case.“The two resident deaths were tragic and avoidable,” said Toby 
Edelman, senior policy attorney for the nonprofit Center for Medicare 
Advocacy and a nationally recognized expert in senior care. “Many people
 in each facility are responsible and should be held accountable for 
their obvious failures to keep the residents safe.”“Every Iowan should be concerned about these tragic deaths,” said 
John Hale, a consultant and advocate for older Iowans. He said while 
Iowans should insist on justice for the families involved, “all too 
often, it’s the direct-care staff members that get blamed for these 
tragedies — and in some cases, that may be warranted if they failed to 
act when they could have.”He said in many cases, facilities have a lack of sufficient staff, 
provide scant training, or use temporary workers who are not familiar 
with residents or the facility’s procedures. “When those additional 
factors exist, the responsibility for tragedies goes beyond the direct 
care staff on duty – it also goes to supervisory staff, facility 
management, facility owners and corporate directors,” he said.The first of the two cases involves 95-year-old Elaine Creasey, who 
on Dec. 9, 2021, froze to death outside Keelson Harbour assisted living 
center in Spirit Lake. The second case involves 77-year-old Lynne 
Harriet Stewart, a former state social worker who froze to death on Jan.
 21, 2022, outside Courtyard Estates at Hawthrone Crossing in Bondurant.According to state records, Creasey wandered from her room at Keelson
 Harbour and exited the building shortly after 10 p.m. on Dec. 8, 2021. 
Because Creasey was known to wander, the staff was instructed to perform
 hourly, visual checks on her, and the exit door was equipped with an 
alarm to alert the staff in case someone left the building.But, according to state records, the temp-agency worker who was 
assigned to check on Creasey during the night – identified in Board of 
Nursing records as registered nurse Brooke Arndt of Lake Park – 
repeatedly failed to confirm Arndt was in her room and didn’t 
investigate the cause of the door alarm.With Creasey outside, a short distance from the exit door that had 
locked behind her, the temperature dropped to a wind chill of 14 
degrees.About 7 a.m. the next day, a worker went to Creasey’s room to check 
on her and noticed she was not in her apartment. A search was initiated 
and within a half-hour, employees found her unresponsive, lying on the 
ground outside the facility’s memory care unit.The staff summoned an ambulance that transported Creasey to a nearby 
hospital where she was pronounced dead on arrival. The medical examiner 
later reported that his findings of hypothermia due to exposure were 
consistent with Creasey having exited the building about 10 p.m. the 
previous day.<h2>Nurse: I wasn’t trained on bed checks</h2>According to state inspectors, Arndt told investigators she had 
performed all of the required visual safety checks on Creasey between 
midnight and 5 a.m., although, she added, she had not been trained on 
how to perform such checks.She reportedly told the inspectors that when she performed bed 
checks, she would open the door to a resident’s room, leave the light 
off, walk in a few steps and look for a silhouette of the resident in 
bed. She allegedly reported that she thought she had seen Creasey in bed
 each time she checked her room that night.A review of the door-alarm system at Keelson Harbour allegedly showed
 the alarm had sounded at 10:07 p.m., indicating someone had exited the 
building, and was shut off and reset by the staff nine minutes later.When interviewed, Arndt allegedly told inspectors that she had 
silenced the door alarm without checking on the residents or searching 
the area to see who might have left the building. Another worker at the 
home had told her not to worry about it, she said.Arndt also stated she was not sure what the door alarm signified or 
what had triggered it, inspectors later reported, and alleged she had 
not received any training on emergencies and door alarms.The state inspections department fined Keelson Harbour $10,000 for 
staff-training violations.&nbsp;Arndt was not criminally charged, but the 
Iowa Board of Nursing charged her with committing an act that “causes 
injury” to a patient and with failure to properly assess, evaluate or 
accurately document a patient’s status.As part of a settlement agreement, the board placed Arndt’s license 
on one year of probation and required her to complete 30 hours of 
additional professional education.Creasey’s family is now suing both Keelson Harbour and the temp 
agency that employed Arndt, accusing them of negligence and reckless 
disregard for another’s safety. The two companies deny any wrongdoing, 
and a trial is scheduled for Aug. 15, 2023.The family has alleged Creasey’s hands and knees were covered in 
abrasions when she was found, indicating “that she had been crawling 
around in the cold outside for some time.” They say Creasey “suffered 
immensely, both physically and mentally, before she passed away.”<h2>Video shows worker ‘walking around’ facility</h2>A few weeks after Creasey died, 200 miles east of Spirit Lake, Lynne 
Stewart froze to death outside the Courtyard Estates assisted living 
center in Bondurant.As with Creasey, Stewart was known to wander and was supposed to have been checked every hour.State inspection records indicate a worker at the home — identified 
in court records as Catherine Forkpa, 31, of Ankeny — was assigned to 
check on Stewart throughout the night.The center’s records showed that Stewart exited the building about 
9:40 p.m., triggering an alarm. By that time, a separate alarm attached 
to the door of Stewart’s room had already been tripped. The two alarms 
triggered a series of alerts that appeared on a desktop computer used by
 the care facility’s staff, and on the portable devices carried by each 
of the workers.But on the night in question, Forkpa was the only person working 
Stewart’s area of the building and surveillance video allegedly showed 
that instead of responding to the alarms, she “walked around” the 
memory-care unit for hours.The temperature outside, meanwhile, was dropping and eventually 
dipped to 11 degrees below zero, state inspectors later reported.For three hours of her shift, Forkpa was allegedly off-camera and 
unaccounted for, although police would later say the cameras trained on 
Stewart’s room showed that during her entire shift, Forkpa made no 
effort to enter Stewart’s room and check on her.<h2>Executive director slept through phone alerts</h2>At 5:30 a.m, the video showed Forkpa grabbing some breakfast for 
herself and walking to the dining room where she sat and ate. At 6:10 
a.m., a worker who had been assigned to another area of the building 
looked at the nursing staff’s desktop computer and saw the door-alarm 
alerts for both Stewart’s room and the exit door at the end of Stewart’s
 hallway.She immediately alerted Forkpa and the two quickly located Stewart 
outside, on the ground, with her body wedged against the exit door. An 
ambulance was summoned and paramedics rushed Stewart to a nearby 
hospital. Stewart, they later reported, was so stiff and cold they 
initially couldn’t record a body temperature. She had “ice freezing on 
her,” the paramedics reported, and there were abrasions on her head and 
hands.Before the ambulance reached the hospital, Stewart went into cardiac 
arrest. Paramedic Tim Huff and his crew tried to restart her heart, but 
they were unsuccessful. Stewart was pronounced dead at the hospital.Forkpa, who had worked at Courtyard Estates for seven months, was 
fired and four other employees were given written warnings for their 
failure to respond to the door alarms, according to state records.During the subsequent state investigation, the facility’s executive 
director told inspectors that when she is at home, she receives 
text-message alerts when doors alarms are triggered at the facility. She
 said that on the night in question, she received a long series of 
alerts triggered by the two door alarms, but she didn’t hear them as she
 slept.Screenshots of the executive director’s phone indicate she received 
the first alert on her phone at 9:44 p.m., and continued to receive them
 every five minutes throughout the night, inspectors alleged.The facility’s on-call registered nurse received a similar series of 
alerts on her phone. She allegedly told inspectors she had noticed the 
recurring alerts but failed to respond to them because she was at home 
with her family, and because she went to bed around 9:30 p.m.The nurse reportedly told inspectors that in the past, she had 
ignored alerts that were specific to Stewart’s room because of 
mechanical defects that caused that particular alarm to trigger 
constantly. Other employees, including Forkpa, reported the same problem
 to inspectors.<h2>Caregiver charged with murder&nbsp;</h2>The state fined Couryard Estates $10,000 and cited it for having 
failed to give Forkpa the required 8 hours of dementia training during 
her first month on the job, instead giving her only 4.75 hours of 
training. Courtyard Estates acknowledged the problem and later reported 
to the state that the training issue was corrected by having Forkpa 
fired.Forkpa now faces a charge of second-degree murder by dependent adult 
abuse. If convicted on that charge, she faces a term of imprisonment not
 to exceed 50 years and would have to serve 35 years before becoming 
eligible for parole.Forkpa, who immigrated to the United States from Africa in 2004, said
 she doesn’t believe the criminal charge is warranted. “I know in my 
heart I would never do anything to hurt anyone,” she told the Iowa 
Capital Dispatch.Polk County Attorney John Sarcone declined to comment on the case. A trial is scheduled for Nov. 14.Police reports indicate that even before Stewart exited the building 
that night, there were signs, unnoticed by the staff, she was preparing 
to leave.According to the police, Stewart appeared to have spent some time 
collecting her clothing and other belongings and carrying them down the 
hallway to the exit. She set a bag of personal items next to the door 
and draped some clothes over a nearby railing before walking out into 
the cold night air, with the door locking behind her.She had done this sort of thing in the past, according to state 
inspectors, telling the staff at Courtyard Estates that she was packing 
up her things and “going home.”

Murder charge filed after care-facility residents freeze to death

TOPEKA&nbsp;–&nbsp;Governor Laura Kelly Friday honored Kansas Gold Star Families with the unveiling of the permanent monument on the grounds of the Kansas State Capitol Visitors Center. A Gold Star Family is the immediate family of a fallen service member who died while serving in a time of conflict. The monument honors the families of the more than 6,500 Kansas heroes.&nbsp;

“For Gold Star families – the families of our fallen service members – the pain of their loved one’s absence never, ever goes away,”&nbsp;Governor Laura Kelly said. “That’s why it is so important to honor the families of those we’ve lost, the families who have also made the ultimate sacrifice. They are a reminder of the tremendous price of our freedom.”&nbsp;

Governor Kelly asked Lieutenant General Perry Wiggins, Executive Director of the Governor’s Military Council, to explore the process to install a permanent monument after Hershel “Woody” Williams, a retired Marine Corps warrant officer and a Medal of Honor recipient from World War II, personally challenged her to add a Gold Star Families Monument on Statehouse grounds. Williams passed away in June.&nbsp;

“I want to thank the Kansas Legislature for passing Senate Bill 330, which allowed for this permanent memorial to be placed on Capitol Grounds,”&nbsp;Governor Kelly said. “Woody would be so pleased to know that Kansas has fulfilled its obligation to have a place to pay respect to the families whose loved ones made the ultimate sacrifice in service to our country.”&nbsp;

“Today’s dedication of the Kansas Gold Star Families Memorial was made possible by the Herculean and collective efforts of many Kansans,”&nbsp;Lieutenant General Perry Wiggins, Executive Director of the Governor’s Military Council, said. “The Kansas Gold Star Memorial Monument stands as a symbol of the grateful citizens of the State of Kansas wrapping their arms around and honoring our Gold Star Families who sacrificed a loved one for our liberties and freedom.”&nbsp;

“I’m honored to have played a small part in establishing the Gold Star Memorial on the Capitol Grounds,”&nbsp;Senator Jeff Longbine, Kansas Senate District 17, said.&nbsp;“These families deserve to be honored forever for the sacrifice their loved ones made in defending our freedom and liberties. We are forever grateful.”&nbsp;

“The Kansas Gold Star Families Memorial honors unsung heroes— the families of service members fallen during military conflict— for their service to the U.S. military,”&nbsp;Senator Tom Hawk, Kansas Senate District 22, said.&nbsp;“Thanks to the leadership of Governor Kelly and General Perry Wiggins, Kansans can now pay tribute along the Veterans Memorial Walk at the Statehouse.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/9/1663971986481.png" alt="courtesy photo" />
 <figcaption>courtesy photo</figcaption>
 </figure>TOPEKA&nbsp;–&nbsp;Governor Laura Kelly Friday honored Kansas Gold Star Families with the unveiling of the permanent monument on the grounds of the Kansas State Capitol Visitors Center. A Gold Star Family is the immediate family of a fallen service member who died while serving in a time of conflict. The monument honors the families of the more than 6,500 Kansas heroes.&nbsp;“For Gold Star families – the families of our fallen service members – the pain of their loved one’s absence never, ever goes away,”&nbsp;Governor Laura Kelly said. “That’s why it is so important to honor the families of those we’ve lost, the families who have also made the ultimate sacrifice. They are a reminder of the tremendous price of our freedom.”&nbsp;Governor Kelly asked Lieutenant General Perry Wiggins, Executive Director of the Governor’s Military Council, to explore the process to install a permanent monument after Hershel “Woody” Williams, a retired Marine Corps warrant officer and a Medal of Honor recipient from World War II, personally challenged her to add a Gold Star Families Monument on Statehouse grounds. Williams passed away in June.&nbsp;“I want to thank the Kansas Legislature for passing Senate Bill 330, which allowed for this permanent memorial to be placed on Capitol Grounds,”&nbsp;Governor Kelly said. “Woody would be so pleased to know that Kansas has fulfilled its obligation to have a place to pay respect to the families whose loved ones made the ultimate sacrifice in service to our country.”&nbsp;“Today’s dedication of the Kansas Gold Star Families Memorial was made possible by the Herculean and collective efforts of many Kansans,”&nbsp;Lieutenant General Perry Wiggins, Executive Director of the Governor’s Military Council, said. “The Kansas Gold Star Memorial Monument stands as a symbol of the grateful citizens of the State of Kansas wrapping their arms around and honoring our Gold Star Families who sacrificed a loved one for our liberties and freedom.”&nbsp;“I’m honored to have played a small part in establishing the Gold Star Memorial on the Capitol Grounds,”&nbsp;Senator Jeff Longbine, Kansas Senate District 17, said.&nbsp;“These families deserve to be honored forever for the sacrifice their loved ones made in defending our freedom and liberties. We are forever grateful.”&nbsp;“The Kansas Gold Star Families Memorial honors unsung heroes— the families of service members fallen during military conflict— for their service to the U.S. military,”&nbsp;Senator Tom Hawk, Kansas Senate District 22, said.&nbsp;“Thanks to the leadership of Governor Kelly and General Perry Wiggins, Kansans can now pay tribute along the Veterans Memorial Walk at the Statehouse.”

New memorial at Kansas Statehouse honors Gold Star families

By ARIANA FIGUEROA <a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2022/09/20/an-unprecedented-flood-of-book-bans-engulfs-u-s-school-districts-pen-report-says/">States Newsroom</a>

WASHINGTON — More than 1,600 book
 titles across 32 states were banned from public schools during the 
2021-2022 school year, with the bulk of the ban requests coming from a 
handful of right-wing groups pushing for censorship of books that 
feature LGBTQ+ characters and characters of color, a new report issued 
Monday said.

“What I want to be really clear about is the books are a 
pretext,”&nbsp;Ashley Hope Pérez, an author of a banned book, said.&nbsp;“(Book 
banning) is a proxy war on students who share the marginalized 
identities of the authors and characters in the books under attack.”

In 2015, Pérez wrote “Out of Darkness,” a young adult romance about&nbsp;a
 Mexican American girl and an African American boy set in the 1930s, but
 the book was banned from school districts last year.

The states with the most incidents of banning are Texas, Florida, Pennsylvania and Tennessee, according to an updated report&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://pen.org/report/banned-usa-growing-movement-to-censor-books-in-schools/">released Monday</a>&nbsp;by
 PEN America, a group that is dedicated to fighting book bans and 
advocates for the First Amendment.&nbsp;Overall, there were 2,532 incidents 
of banning across the United States.

“(T)he scope of such censorship has expanded drastically and in 
unprecedented fashion since the beginning of the 2021–22 school year,” 
the report found.

In total, there are 1,648 unique book titles that were banned in 2021-2022. PEN previously published&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://pen.org/banned-in-the-usa/">a report in April&nbsp;</a>that found&nbsp;1,586 instances of individual books banned, affecting 1,145 titles, in 86 school districts across 26 states.

The new report found that 50 groups at the state, national and local 
level, with as many as 300 chapters, “have played a role in at least 
half of the book bans enacted across the country during the 2021–22 
school year.” Of those groups, 73% were formed in 2021, according to the
 report.

“Those who are advocating on this issue are within their rights, 
their freedom of assembly, mobilization, using their voices, and that’s 
perfectly appropriate,” Suzanne Nossel, chief executive officer of PEN 
America, said during a news briefing with reporters Monday.

“But when the end goal is censorship, as a free expression 
organization, it’s our obligation to call that out and to point out that
 even the use of legitimate tactics of expression can sometimes lead to a
 spurious and speech-defeating result,” she said.

Some of the states with book bans, according to the PEN report, 
include Idaho, Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Georgia, North 
Carolina, Virginia, Missouri, Iowa, Kansas, Arkansas, Minnesota and New 
Jersey, among others.

“The unprecedented flood of book bans in the 2021-22 school year 
reflects the increasing organization of groups involved in advocating 
for such bans, the increased involvement of state officials in 
book-banning debates, and the introduction of new laws and policies,” 
according to the report.

“More often than not, current challenges to books originate not from 
concerned parents acting individually but from political and advocacy 
groups working in concert to achieve the goal of limiting what books 
students can access and read in public schools.”

The report was released in connection with Book Ban Week, an annual 
campaign by the ​​American Library Association and Amnesty International
 to celebrate the freedom to read and to push back against censorship.

The ALA also<a target="_blank" href="https://www.ala.org/news/press-releases/2022/09/ala-releases-preliminary-data-2022-book-bans">&nbsp;released its own report&nbsp;</a>that
 found from Jan. 1 to Aug. 31 of this year, there were 681 attempts to 
“ban or restrict library resources, and 1,651 unique titles were 
targeted.”

Some of those groups that have challenged school boards include Moms 
for Liberty, an organization formed in 2021 that has strong GOP ties and
 local chapters that “target local school board meetings, school board 
members, administrators, and teachers” to push right-wing policies,&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.mediamatters.org/critical-race-theory/unmasking-moms-liberty">as reported by Media Matters.</a>&nbsp;Moms for Liberty has about 200 local chapters across 37 states.

Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.momsforliberty.org/news/ron-desantis-parental-rights/">spoke at a Moms for Liberty convention in the summer</a>,
 where he touted “parental rights,” and praised the group for its 
efforts to get books banned from public schools. In Florida, there 
are&nbsp;566&nbsp;books that are banned, according to the report by PEN.

<a target="_blank" href="https://newjerseymonitor.com/2022/04/18/lgbtq-community-people-of-color-in-the-crosshairs-of-banned-book-movement/">Republican lawmakers at the state level</a>&nbsp;are also&nbsp;joining the movement to ban books from public schools and libraries.

Nossel said this idea of “parental rights” is “sort of the rubric that gets used to promote these movements.”

She said it’s beneficial for parents to be involved in their 
children’s education, but “that is not what this is about when parents 
are mobilized in an orchestrated campaign to intimidate teachers and 
librarians to dictate (to) them certain books be pulled off shelves even
 before they’ve been read or reviewed.”

“The trends are very clear that this is a targeted effort,” said 
Jonathan Friedman, director of free expression and education programs at
 PEN America and lead writer of the report.

Friedman said that book bans occurred in 138 school districts, 
representing 5,049 schools, across 32 states. He added that the bans 
affect nearly 4 million students.

“Overwhelmingly we are seeing people Google what books have LGBTQ 
content whatsoever. Even just a book that has an illustration of a 
same-sex interracial couple gets thrown onto one of these lists and ends
 up banned in some districts,” he said during the press call.

PEN found that 41%, or 74 of the&nbsp;1,648 unique&nbsp;titles that addressed 
LGBTQ+ themes or featured main or secondary characters who are LGBTQ+, 
were banned.

Cheryl Lewis Hudson, an author and publisher&nbsp;specializing&nbsp;in 
children’s books celebrating Black culture and Black history, said that 
book bans are about power and that they are nothing new. She said the 
trend of book bans is not only censorship, but erasure of marginalized 
communities.

“We can recall historically that in the United States, enslaved 
persons were prohibited by law from learning to read or write, and slave
 masters really understood that this special control of slaves was a 
sense of power — if you couldn’t control slaves’ bodies, you could 
control their minds by denying them access (to knowledge,” she said.

Hudson said Jim Crow laws prevented her from accessing public 
libraries, and she was not able to get her first library card until she 
was 13. She added that the segregated school she attended did not have a
 library for students.

“So banned books is not new, nor is the access to knowledge, and the 
data that PEN is providing reveals really alarming trends in terms of 
access to ideas,” she said.

She and her husband founded a publishing company that published more 
than 50 books featuring Black historical figures and culture.

Hudson said the common theme in books that are being banned is not 
the content of the books, but because “the authors of those books are 
African American, the contributors of those books are from multicultural
 or non-white backgrounds.”

PEN found that 40%, or 659 of&nbsp;1,648 unique&nbsp;titles, that were banned 
had main or secondary characters of color, and also found 20%, or 338 
titles, that addressed race and racism were also banned.

“So there is a trend and an underlying pattern of white supremacy, 
really that is challenging the actual existence of people of color in a 
democracy,” Hudson said.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/9/1663702458990.png" alt=" Toni Morrison’s “The Bluest Eye” is among the books being targeted nationwide by public school book bans (Max McCoy/Kansas Reflector)." />
 <figcaption> Toni Morrison’s “The Bluest Eye” is among the books being targeted nationwide by public school book bans (Max McCoy/Kansas Reflector).</figcaption>
 </figure>By ARIANA FIGUEROA <a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2022/09/20/an-unprecedented-flood-of-book-bans-engulfs-u-s-school-districts-pen-report-says/">States Newsroom</a>WASHINGTON — More than 1,600 book
 titles across 32 states were banned from public schools during the 
2021-2022 school year, with the bulk of the ban requests coming from a 
handful of right-wing groups pushing for censorship of books that 
feature LGBTQ+ characters and characters of color, a new report issued 
Monday said.“What I want to be really clear about is the books are a 
pretext,”&nbsp;Ashley Hope Pérez, an author of a banned book, said.&nbsp;“(Book 
banning) is a proxy war on students who share the marginalized 
identities of the authors and characters in the books under attack.”In 2015, Pérez wrote “Out of Darkness,” a young adult romance about&nbsp;a
 Mexican American girl and an African American boy set in the 1930s, but
 the book was banned from school districts last year.The states with the most incidents of banning are Texas, Florida, Pennsylvania and Tennessee, according to an updated report&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://pen.org/report/banned-usa-growing-movement-to-censor-books-in-schools/">released Monday</a>&nbsp;by
 PEN America, a group that is dedicated to fighting book bans and 
advocates for the First Amendment.&nbsp;Overall, there were 2,532 incidents 
of banning across the United States.“(T)he scope of such censorship has expanded drastically and in 
unprecedented fashion since the beginning of the 2021–22 school year,” 
the report found.In total, there are 1,648 unique book titles that were banned in 2021-2022. PEN previously published&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://pen.org/banned-in-the-usa/">a report in April&nbsp;</a>that found&nbsp;1,586 instances of individual books banned, affecting 1,145 titles, in 86 school districts across 26 states.<h2>Groups demand bans</h2>The new report found that 50 groups at the state, national and local 
level, with as many as 300 chapters, “have played a role in at least 
half of the book bans enacted across the country during the 2021–22 
school year.” Of those groups, 73% were formed in 2021, according to the
 report.“Those who are advocating on this issue are within their rights, 
their freedom of assembly, mobilization, using their voices, and that’s 
perfectly appropriate,” Suzanne Nossel, chief executive officer of PEN 
America, said during a news briefing with reporters Monday.“But when the end goal is censorship, as a free expression 
organization, it’s our obligation to call that out and to point out that
 even the use of legitimate tactics of expression can sometimes lead to a
 spurious and speech-defeating result,” she said.Some of the states with book bans, according to the PEN report, 
include Idaho, Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Georgia, North 
Carolina, Virginia, Missouri, Iowa, Kansas, Arkansas, Minnesota and New 
Jersey, among others.“The unprecedented flood of book bans in the 2021-22 school year 
reflects the increasing organization of groups involved in advocating 
for such bans, the increased involvement of state officials in 
book-banning debates, and the introduction of new laws and policies,” 
according to the report.“More often than not, current challenges to books originate not from 
concerned parents acting individually but from political and advocacy 
groups working in concert to achieve the goal of limiting what books 
students can access and read in public schools.”<h2>Book Ban Week</h2>The report was released in connection with Book Ban Week, an annual 
campaign by the ​​American Library Association and Amnesty International
 to celebrate the freedom to read and to push back against censorship.The ALA also<a target="_blank" href="https://www.ala.org/news/press-releases/2022/09/ala-releases-preliminary-data-2022-book-bans">&nbsp;released its own report&nbsp;</a>that
 found from Jan. 1 to Aug. 31 of this year, there were 681 attempts to 
“ban or restrict library resources, and 1,651 unique titles were 
targeted.”Some of those groups that have challenged school boards include Moms 
for Liberty, an organization formed in 2021 that has strong GOP ties and
 local chapters that “target local school board meetings, school board 
members, administrators, and teachers” to push right-wing policies,&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.mediamatters.org/critical-race-theory/unmasking-moms-liberty">as reported by Media Matters.</a>&nbsp;Moms for Liberty has about 200 local chapters across 37 states.Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.momsforliberty.org/news/ron-desantis-parental-rights/">spoke at a Moms for Liberty convention in the summer</a>,
 where he touted “parental rights,” and praised the group for its 
efforts to get books banned from public schools. In Florida, there 
are&nbsp;566&nbsp;books that are banned, according to the report by PEN.<a target="_blank" href="https://newjerseymonitor.com/2022/04/18/lgbtq-community-people-of-color-in-the-crosshairs-of-banned-book-movement/">Republican lawmakers at the state level</a>&nbsp;are also&nbsp;joining the movement to ban books from public schools and libraries.Nossel said this idea of “parental rights” is “sort of the rubric that gets used to promote these movements.”She said it’s beneficial for parents to be involved in their 
children’s education, but “that is not what this is about when parents 
are mobilized in an orchestrated campaign to intimidate teachers and 
librarians to dictate (to) them certain books be pulled off shelves even
 before they’ve been read or reviewed.”“The trends are very clear that this is a targeted effort,” said 
Jonathan Friedman, director of free expression and education programs at
 PEN America and lead writer of the report.Friedman said that book bans occurred in 138 school districts, 
representing 5,049 schools, across 32 states. He added that the bans 
affect nearly 4 million students.“Overwhelmingly we are seeing people Google what books have LGBTQ 
content whatsoever. Even just a book that has an illustration of a 
same-sex interracial couple gets thrown onto one of these lists and ends
 up banned in some districts,” he said during the press call.PEN found that 41%, or 74 of the&nbsp;1,648 unique&nbsp;titles that addressed 
LGBTQ+ themes or featured main or secondary characters who are LGBTQ+, 
were banned.<h2>Bans tied to ‘sense of power’</h2>Cheryl Lewis Hudson, an author and publisher&nbsp;specializing&nbsp;in 
children’s books celebrating Black culture and Black history, said that 
book bans are about power and that they are nothing new. She said the 
trend of book bans is not only censorship, but erasure of marginalized 
communities.“We can recall historically that in the United States, enslaved 
persons were prohibited by law from learning to read or write, and slave
 masters really understood that this special control of slaves was a 
sense of power — if you couldn’t control slaves’ bodies, you could 
control their minds by denying them access (to knowledge,” she said.Hudson said Jim Crow laws prevented her from accessing public 
libraries, and she was not able to get her first library card until she 
was 13. She added that the segregated school she attended did not have a
 library for students.“So banned books is not new, nor is the access to knowledge, and the 
data that PEN is providing reveals really alarming trends in terms of 
access to ideas,” she said.She and her husband founded a publishing company that published more 
than 50 books featuring Black historical figures and culture.Hudson said the common theme in books that are being banned is not 
the content of the books, but because “the authors of those books are 
African American, the contributors of those books are from multicultural
 or non-white backgrounds.”PEN found that 40%, or 659 of&nbsp;1,648 unique&nbsp;titles, that were banned 
had main or secondary characters of color, and also found 20%, or 338 
titles, that addressed race and racism were also banned.“So there is a trend and an underlying pattern of white supremacy, 
really that is challenging the actual existence of people of color in a 
democracy,” Hudson said.

Report: 'Unprecedented flood’ of book bans engulfs U.S. schools

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats are pumping an unprecedented amount of money into advertising related to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/abortion">abortion</a>&nbsp;rights, underscoring how central the message is to the party in the final weeks before the November&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/2022-midterm-elections">midterm elections</a>.

With the most intense period of campaigning only just beginning, Democrats have already invested more than an estimated $124 million this year in television advertising referencing abortion. That's more than twice as much money as the Democrats' next top issue this year, “character," and almost 20 times more than Democrats spent on abortion-related ads in the 2018 midterms.

The estimated spending figures, based on an Associated Press analysis of data provided by the nonpartisan research firm AdImpact, reveal the extent to which Democrats are betting their majorities in Congress and key governorships on one issue. That’s even as large majorities of Americans think the country is heading in the wrong direction and the economy is in poor condition.

The advertising numbers also reveal just how sharply Republicans have shied away from abortion in their paid advertising in the weeks since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, a decades-long goal of the GOP. (The AdImpact data captures every single time a campaign ad is aired on TV, and estimates a cost associated with those airings.)

Since the high court’s decision in June to eliminate the constitutional right to abortion, roughly 1 in 3 television advertising dollars spent by Democrats and their allies have focused on abortion. Much of the spending is designed to attack Republicans on the ballot this fall who have long opposed abortion rights and are currently engaged in a state-by-state push to restrict abortion rights or outlaw the practice altogether.

The Democrats' unprecedented investment in abortion messaging on TV this year through Sept. 18 is larger than the Republican Party's combined national investment in ads relating to the economy, crime and immigration.

“With less than 60 days until the election, we refuse to stand by while out-of-step, anti-choice Republicans try to control our bodies and our futures and simultaneously lie about it to voters,” said Melissa Williams, executive director of Women Vote!, EMILY’s List’s independent expenditure program which has invested more than $4 million in abortion-related ads this year. “We are ensuring that each voter knows the candidates that stand with them and against them in protecting this right."

The Democrats' overwhelming focus on abortion may not be surprising given the reversal of Roe v. Wade and the wave of Republican-backed abortion bans in more than a dozen states that followed. But the strategy still marks a sharp departure from the party's focus in recent years on former President Donald Trump and other issues like the economy, education and health care.

In the 2018 midterm elections, for example, Democrats spent less than $6 million on abortion-related television advertising. That's compared to the $51 million that Democrats invested in Trump-related ads, $49 million on health care and $46 million on education, according to AdImpact.

Jessica Floyd, president of American Bridge, a Democrat-allied super PAC running abortion-related advertising in Arizona, Georgia, Nevada and Pennsylvania, described abortion as “the ultimate health care issue” for women and families. The Supreme Court decision and the subsequent Republican push to ban abortion in some states, she said, represent “an actual rolling back of rights, which is unprecedented."

“It's a very powerful motivator,” Floyd said. "It flies in the face of everything we know voters care about — especially the voters who will decide this election.”

Television advertising data reveals that Republicans, too, have invested millions of dollars in abortion messaging. But most of those ads ran during the primary phase of the campaign this spring and summer as Republican candidates touted their anti-abortion credentials. The number of Republican ads aired referencing abortion has gone down each month since May.

As the calendar has shifted to the fall general election, the gulf between Democratic and Republican spending on abortion ads has grown even wider. So far this month, for example, Democrats and their allies have aired more than 68,000 ads on TV referencing abortion — more than 15 times as many as their Republican counterparts. They've spent an estimated $31 million on such ads compared with the GOP's outlay of only $2.8 million. That's even as Republican leaders such as GOP Chair Ronna McDaniel acknowledged in a recent interview that her party cannot allow Democrats to control the narrative on abortion.

"It’s very clear that that’s the only thing that Democrats have to run on, right? They don’t run on a good economy. They can’t run on community being safer. They can’t run on education," McDaniel said. “So what are they going to do? They’re going to make everything about abortion, which means we’re going to have to talk about it as Republicans do.”

Sen.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/lindsey-graham">Lindsey Graham</a>, R-S.C.,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-abortion-south-carolina-general-lindsey-graham-d81ce581ab1a4c1e4af0ed3991796fdd">irked Republican leaders</a>&nbsp;last week by proposing a national ban on abortions at 15 weeks of pregnancy. It was the kind of legislation Republicans on Capitol Hill have supported for several years. But this year, it was viewed as an unwelcome reminder to voters just eight weeks before Election Day that some Republicans in Congress hope to adopt national abortion restrictions if given the chance.

McDaniel encouraged Republicans instead to go on offense on abortion by highlighting Democrats' resistance to any limitations, a position she argued is out of step with most voters. And while Republican leaders and candidates are increasingly making that argument when asked, the party has yet to devote many resources to the issue in the one place most voters hear from GOP candidates: their screens.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/6/1656087288784.png" alt="Protests outside the U.S. Supreme Court in June-photo courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>Protests outside the U.S. Supreme Court in June-photo courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats are pumping an unprecedented amount of money into advertising related to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/abortion">abortion</a>&nbsp;rights, underscoring how central the message is to the party in the final weeks before the November&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/2022-midterm-elections">midterm elections</a>.With the most intense period of campaigning only just beginning, Democrats have already invested more than an estimated $124 million this year in television advertising referencing abortion. That's more than twice as much money as the Democrats' next top issue this year, “character," and almost 20 times more than Democrats spent on abortion-related ads in the 2018 midterms.The estimated spending figures, based on an Associated Press analysis of data provided by the nonpartisan research firm AdImpact, reveal the extent to which Democrats are betting their majorities in Congress and key governorships on one issue. That’s even as large majorities of Americans think the country is heading in the wrong direction and the economy is in poor condition.The advertising numbers also reveal just how sharply Republicans have shied away from abortion in their paid advertising in the weeks since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, a decades-long goal of the GOP. (The AdImpact data captures every single time a campaign ad is aired on TV, and estimates a cost associated with those airings.)Since the high court’s decision in June to eliminate the constitutional right to abortion, roughly 1 in 3 television advertising dollars spent by Democrats and their allies have focused on abortion. Much of the spending is designed to attack Republicans on the ballot this fall who have long opposed abortion rights and are currently engaged in a state-by-state push to restrict abortion rights or outlaw the practice altogether.The Democrats' unprecedented investment in abortion messaging on TV this year through Sept. 18 is larger than the Republican Party's combined national investment in ads relating to the economy, crime and immigration.“With less than 60 days until the election, we refuse to stand by while out-of-step, anti-choice Republicans try to control our bodies and our futures and simultaneously lie about it to voters,” said Melissa Williams, executive director of Women Vote!, EMILY’s List’s independent expenditure program which has invested more than $4 million in abortion-related ads this year. “We are ensuring that each voter knows the candidates that stand with them and against them in protecting this right."The Democrats' overwhelming focus on abortion may not be surprising given the reversal of Roe v. Wade and the wave of Republican-backed abortion bans in more than a dozen states that followed. But the strategy still marks a sharp departure from the party's focus in recent years on former President Donald Trump and other issues like the economy, education and health care.In the 2018 midterm elections, for example, Democrats spent less than $6 million on abortion-related television advertising. That's compared to the $51 million that Democrats invested in Trump-related ads, $49 million on health care and $46 million on education, according to AdImpact.Jessica Floyd, president of American Bridge, a Democrat-allied super PAC running abortion-related advertising in Arizona, Georgia, Nevada and Pennsylvania, described abortion as “the ultimate health care issue” for women and families. The Supreme Court decision and the subsequent Republican push to ban abortion in some states, she said, represent “an actual rolling back of rights, which is unprecedented."“It's a very powerful motivator,” Floyd said. "It flies in the face of everything we know voters care about — especially the voters who will decide this election.”Television advertising data reveals that Republicans, too, have invested millions of dollars in abortion messaging. But most of those ads ran during the primary phase of the campaign this spring and summer as Republican candidates touted their anti-abortion credentials. The number of Republican ads aired referencing abortion has gone down each month since May.As the calendar has shifted to the fall general election, the gulf between Democratic and Republican spending on abortion ads has grown even wider. So far this month, for example, Democrats and their allies have aired more than 68,000 ads on TV referencing abortion — more than 15 times as many as their Republican counterparts. They've spent an estimated $31 million on such ads compared with the GOP's outlay of only $2.8 million. That's even as Republican leaders such as GOP Chair Ronna McDaniel acknowledged in a recent interview that her party cannot allow Democrats to control the narrative on abortion."It’s very clear that that’s the only thing that Democrats have to run on, right? They don’t run on a good economy. They can’t run on community being safer. They can’t run on education," McDaniel said. “So what are they going to do? They’re going to make everything about abortion, which means we’re going to have to talk about it as Republicans do.”Sen.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/lindsey-graham">Lindsey Graham</a>, R-S.C.,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-abortion-south-carolina-general-lindsey-graham-d81ce581ab1a4c1e4af0ed3991796fdd">irked Republican leaders</a>&nbsp;last week by proposing a national ban on abortions at 15 weeks of pregnancy. It was the kind of legislation Republicans on Capitol Hill have supported for several years. But this year, it was viewed as an unwelcome reminder to voters just eight weeks before Election Day that some Republicans in Congress hope to adopt national abortion restrictions if given the chance.McDaniel encouraged Republicans instead to go on offense on abortion by highlighting Democrats' resistance to any limitations, a position she argued is out of step with most voters. And while Republican leaders and candidates are increasingly making that argument when asked, the party has yet to devote many resources to the issue in the one place most voters hear from GOP candidates: their screens.Democrats, meanwhile, have released a new wave of abortion-related ads targeting statewide Republican candidates across North Carolina, New Mexico, Minnesota, Arizona, Colorado and Florida. Abortion is also a regular topic for state legislative candidates in competitive districts in California and Florida. Republican House candidates are under attack for opposing abortion rights in congressional districts in upstate New York, Connecticut, Michigan and Indiana.In some cases, Republican candidates are being hit with multiple abortion-related ads running simultaneously on their local television stations.One of them is Wisconsin's Republican candidate for governor, Tim Michels, who has been the focus of abortion-related attack ads from three groups so far this month, including his opponent, Democratic Gov. Tony Evers. Each of the three ad campaigns features Michels confirming that he opposes abortion rights even in cases of rape or incest.“Is that the divisive radical you want as your governor?” the narrator asks in one ad produced by the Evers campaign.Michels' campaign did not respond to a request for comment.It's much the same in Nevada, where Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto is considered one of the most vulnerable Democratic incumbents in the nation. This month, at least two anti-Republican groups and the Cortez Masto campaign itself were running abortion-related ads against GOP challenger Adam Laxalt.Cortez Masto's campaign featured a doctor saying that Republicans are trying to interfere with women's health care decisions.“For doctors like me, it is our job to make sure women have the support they need to make decisions that are right for them. But Adam Laxalt disagrees,” the doctor says on one ad.In an op-ed last month, Laxalt tried to push back against the flood of abortion-related advertising against him.“Cortez Masto and her allies are spending millions of dollars in campaign ads trying to ... make you believe in a falsehood that I would support a federal ban on abortion as a U.S. senator, or that I am somehow 'anti-woman’ because I value, support and defend life at all stages,” he wrote. “For my entire adult life, I have held the view that the Supreme Court should return the issue of abortion to the people and let them decide the issue on a state-by-state basis.”Abortion has been a big focus in Nevada's Senate contest so far, but other elections have seen far more abortion-related advertising.The AdImpact data shows that the most TV ads aired this year referencing abortion took place in the Pennsylvania and Arizona Senate races, followed by gubernatorial contests for Illinois, Georgia and Wisconsin. (The now-defeated Kansas constitutional amendment ballot measure, while a unique election, also saw some of the most ads.)Georgia's Democratic nominee for governor, Stacey Abrams, ran an ad campaign for much of August into September attacking Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, using the words of several women speaking directly to the camera.“He supports a total ban, even if I’m raped, a victim of incest,” the women say. Another woman is almost crying when she says, “Under Kemp, I could be investigated and imprisoned for a miscarriage.”Kemp spokesperson Tate Mitchell pushed back against the accuracy of the ads, charging that “Stacey Abrams and her campaign are lying in an effort to scare people and distract voters from her dangerous agenda for Georgia.”Democrats in several swing states are aggressively leaning in to some leading Republicans' opposition to abortion exceptions in cases of rape, incest or the life of the mother at risk.Cliff Schecter, a veteran Democratic ad maker and founder of Blue Amp Strategies, said Democrats are "messaging much better around abortion” this year.“It’s not just liberal women anymore, or even moderate women. It’s conservative women who are horrified by this,” Schecter said of the new abortion restrictions being implemented across the country. “It'd be malpractice not to focus on it.”