SEDGWICK COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a shooting and have arrested a teen.

At approximately 10:30 p.m. Friday, police were dispatched to a shooting in the 4200 block of North Dellrose, in Wichita, according to Officer Chad Ditch.

At the scene, police located an 18-year-old man with multiple gunshot wounds to his upper body. Officers and the Fire Department began providing life-saving measures and he was transported to a local hospital with critical injuries.

The investigation revealed that the 18-year-old boy and a 16-year-old boy were involved in a disturbance outside the residence when the 16-year-old shot the 18-year-old multiple times in the upper body.

At 3a.m. Saturday, police located the 16-year-old in the 1300 block of East Kemper in Wichita and arrested him on requested charges of&nbsp; aggravated battery, according to Ditch. Police believe the teens knew each other and this was not a random incident.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/12/1671291842845.png" alt="Police on the scene of the shooting investigation -photo courtesy KWCH" />
 <figcaption>Police on the scene of the shooting investigation -photo courtesy KWCH</figcaption>
 </figure>SEDGWICK COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a shooting and have arrested a teen.At approximately 10:30 p.m. Friday, police were dispatched to a shooting in the 4200 block of North Dellrose, in Wichita, according to Officer Chad Ditch.At the scene, police located an 18-year-old man with multiple gunshot wounds to his upper body. Officers and the Fire Department began providing life-saving measures and he was transported to a local hospital with critical injuries.The investigation revealed that the 18-year-old boy and a 16-year-old boy were involved in a disturbance outside the residence when the 16-year-old shot the 18-year-old multiple times in the upper body.At 3a.m. Saturday, police located the 16-year-old in the 1300 block of East Kemper in Wichita and arrested him on requested charges of&nbsp; aggravated battery, according to Ditch. Police believe the teens knew each other and this was not a random incident.

Kansas boy accused in shooting that critically injured teen

KINGMAN COUNTY—A Kansas man died in an accident Saturday in Kingman County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol&nbsp; reported a 2016 Ford Fiesta driven by Karson B. Becker, 30, Pretty Prairie,&nbsp;was northbound on NE 150 Avenue at NE 50th Street.

The driver ran the stop sign at the intersection and lost control of the car. It entered the west ditch and rolled.

Becker was pronounced dead at the scene and was transported to&nbsp;Livingston's Funeral Home. He was not wearing a seat belt, according to the KHP. The actual time of of the accident is unknown.

KINGMAN COUNTY—A Kansas man died in an accident Saturday in Kingman County.The Kansas Highway Patrol&nbsp; reported a 2016 Ford Fiesta driven by Karson B. Becker, 30, Pretty Prairie,&nbsp;was northbound on NE 150 Avenue at NE 50th Street.The driver ran the stop sign at the intersection and lost control of the car. It entered the west ditch and rolled.Becker was pronounced dead at the scene and was transported to&nbsp;Livingston's Funeral Home. He was not wearing a seat belt, according to the KHP. The actual time of of the accident is unknown.

Kansas man dies after car rolls into ditch

WASHINGTON&nbsp;– U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-KS) announced he sponsored the&nbsp;Afghan Adjustment Act.

“The withdrawal from Afghanistan was a dark day in American history,”&nbsp;said Sen. Moran. “The rushed and chaotic evacuation from Kabul resulted in the deaths of American servicemembers and stranded thousands of our Afghan allies behind enemy lines. For two decades countless Afghans stood by our servicemembers and risked their lives and their families’ lives to support our troops in Afghanistan. Veterans of the Afghan War are now calling for Congress to provide safety and certainty for their allies and friends who assisted them in battle. We must answer that call and establish a pathway for our Afghan partners to begin a new life. This legislation will put a program in place to protect our national security while also keeping our promise to those who risked their lives for America.”

“As a constituent and Afghan veteran, I applaud Sen.&nbsp;Moran for endorsing the Afghan Adjustment Act,”&nbsp;said 1SG (ret.) Slade Deister,&nbsp;from&nbsp;Leavenworth, Kan. “I am grateful that he has listened to veterans, and this is a critical piece of legislation that supports our nation's veterans and warfighters by ensuring that we honor our allies during America’s longest war. If Congress does not act to support its allies by passing the Afghan&nbsp;Adjustment&nbsp;Act, potential allies in future combat zones are going to be less likely to support the U.S. mission after seeing our Afghan partners abandoned.”

After U.S. troops were pulled out of Afghanistan, Afghanistan fell to the Taliban on August 15, 2021, resulting in a humanitarian and global security crisis. In the months following the collapse of Afghanistan, thousands of Americans, Afghans and foreign nationals sought refuge from the Taliban. The U.S. assisted in the evacuation of thousands of Afghans to the U.S. and other countries.

The&nbsp;Afghan Adjustment Act&nbsp;would:

1.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Establish a task force to develop and implement a strategy for supporting Afghans who were left behind or outside of the United States who are eligible for SIV status and require the Department of State to respond to congressional inquiries about SIV applications;

2.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Allow Afghans on humanitarian status who submit to additional vetting to apply for permanent legal status. For these Afghans, the primary options under current law to gain permanent status are through our asylum system or the burdensome SIV process;

3.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Expand the SIV program to include previously omitted groups, including the Female Tactical Teams of Afghanistan, the Afghan National Army Special Operations Command, the Afghan Air Force, and the Special Mission Wing of Afghanistan.

The legislation has received the endorsement of organizations including the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), Veterans for Foreign Wars, the American Legion, Veterans for American Ideals, With Honor Action and the Association of Wartime Allies

This legislation is also sponsored by Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Chris Coons (D-DE), Roy Blunt (R-MO), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK).

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/8/1629403212055.png" alt="-Afghan evacuees boarding a military transport plane in Kabul last month-photo U.S. Dept. of Defense." />
 <figcaption>-Afghan evacuees boarding a military transport plane in Kabul last month-photo U.S. Dept. of Defense.</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON&nbsp;– U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-KS) announced he sponsored the&nbsp;Afghan Adjustment Act.“The withdrawal from Afghanistan was a dark day in American history,”&nbsp;said Sen. Moran. “The rushed and chaotic evacuation from Kabul resulted in the deaths of American servicemembers and stranded thousands of our Afghan allies behind enemy lines. For two decades countless Afghans stood by our servicemembers and risked their lives and their families’ lives to support our troops in Afghanistan. Veterans of the Afghan War are now calling for Congress to provide safety and certainty for their allies and friends who assisted them in battle. We must answer that call and establish a pathway for our Afghan partners to begin a new life. This legislation will put a program in place to protect our national security while also keeping our promise to those who risked their lives for America.”“As a constituent and Afghan veteran, I applaud Sen.&nbsp;Moran for endorsing the Afghan Adjustment Act,”&nbsp;said 1SG (ret.) Slade Deister,&nbsp;from&nbsp;Leavenworth, Kan. “I am grateful that he has listened to veterans, and this is a critical piece of legislation that supports our nation's veterans and warfighters by ensuring that we honor our allies during America’s longest war. If Congress does not act to support its allies by passing the Afghan&nbsp;Adjustment&nbsp;Act, potential allies in future combat zones are going to be less likely to support the U.S. mission after seeing our Afghan partners abandoned.”After U.S. troops were pulled out of Afghanistan, Afghanistan fell to the Taliban on August 15, 2021, resulting in a humanitarian and global security crisis. In the months following the collapse of Afghanistan, thousands of Americans, Afghans and foreign nationals sought refuge from the Taliban. The U.S. assisted in the evacuation of thousands of Afghans to the U.S. and other countries.The&nbsp;Afghan Adjustment Act&nbsp;would:1.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Establish a task force to develop and implement a strategy for supporting Afghans who were left behind or outside of the United States who are eligible for SIV status and require the Department of State to respond to congressional inquiries about SIV applications;2.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Allow Afghans on humanitarian status who submit to additional vetting to apply for permanent legal status. For these Afghans, the primary options under current law to gain permanent status are through our asylum system or the burdensome SIV process;3.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Expand the SIV program to include previously omitted groups, including the Female Tactical Teams of Afghanistan, the Afghan National Army Special Operations Command, the Afghan Air Force, and the Special Mission Wing of Afghanistan.The legislation has received the endorsement of organizations including the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), Veterans for Foreign Wars, the American Legion, Veterans for American Ideals, With Honor Action and the Association of Wartime AlliesThis legislation is also sponsored by Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Chris Coons (D-DE), Roy Blunt (R-MO), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK).

Moran sponsors bill to help resettle Afghanistan refugees

By LAURA SPENCER <a href="https://www.kcur.org/arts-life/2022-12-02/meet-the-union-station-volunteers-who-keep-these-tiny-trains-on-track-during-the-holidays">Kansas News Service</a>

<a href="https://unionstation.org/" target="_blank">Union Station</a>
 has one of the largest model rail exhibits in the United States, with 
more than 80 trains of all sizes. When decorating for the holidays 
starts in October, the display gets even bigger.

Oversized wreaths
 can be viewed from outside, hanging in the Grand Hall’s massive 
windows, and inside are dozens of decorated Christmas trees, including 
one that’s about 40 feet tall.

“This is considered Kansas City's 
lobby — its front door. More importantly, it is our home,” says 
president and CEO George Guastello. “So, when you have to decorate and 
welcome people to your home for the holidays, ours just takes a little 
bit longer.”

The expanded model train exhibit features 
snow-covered villages complete with tiny, plastic ice skaters on a pond,
 dramatic terrain and thousands of sparkling lights.

“All the 
layouts have multiple levels,” says Guastello, “so little kids can get 
down, up close and personal, a little bit larger kids can experience, 
and then the parents can live through the experience and just feel (a) 
part of it.”

About 50 volunteers design, maintain and build the model train 
exhibit year-round. During the holiday season, 8,000 square feet of 
model trains expand to 10,000 square feet, and more than 100 trains.

“I try to come in once a week or every other week,” says Bob Crown. “During the holidays, it’s pretty much every day.”

Crown
 has volunteered at the model train display since 2005 and drives in 
from Lawrence. He says some volunteers repair engines and others paint 
snowy mountain scenes, but his main job is to make sure the trains are 
running.

Using an app on his iPad, Crown starts a train and blows 
the horn. “That's a horn sounding to go across the crossing, warn the 
cars.”

When he was 7 or 8 years old, Crown got an American Flyer model train for Christmas. Trains still bring him a lot of joy.

“It's
 a coming together, and when you see the children that come through,” he
 says, “and if you're here running your trains and letting them run your
 trains with you — just the joy and their smile and the happiness and 
the parents and the whole holiday tradition.”

“That’s our pat on the back, and that's our ‘thank you,’” Crown says.

Sandra
 Clayman stands next to a village scene where she’s been placing small 
houses. Clayman’s dad, Richard Mettle, collected trains. Every year for 
Christmas, he and her mom, Frances, would bring them up from the 
basement.

“And it was a three, three-and-a-half-week process,” she
 says. “He constructed a platform. The Christmas tree went on it, and it
 had tunnels.”

Mettle grew up in Kansas City and left by train to 
serve in the Army during World War II. He died in April, and Clayman’s 
mom, who lives in Longview, Texas, decided to donate his train set to 
Union Station.

Clayman says it’s her turn to set up the trains this year.

“I'm
 learning a little more about setting up the track and, you know, how to
 change stuff on the trains,” she says. “So it's fun to do it.”

Inside a workshop space just off the Great Hall, Ted Tschirhart wears
 a blue and white striped engineer’s cap. He’s surrounded by boxes of 
Lionel trains, wires and tools.

Tschirhart was a tool designer and
 an engineer. He's volunteered for Union Station for more than 20 years,
 and since 2005, he's headed up the model train display. In those early 
years, volunteers were learning from trial and error, taking things 
apart and putting them back together.

“We would start Labor Day 
weekend, and we would build and get it ready by Thanksgiving — it would 
take us that long,” he says. “And then all this had to have wires — 
everything had to be wired, and transformers, and we had all this 
stuff.”

These days, the installation process goes a little bit 
faster. This year, Tschirhart started working with other volunteers on 
Oct. 21 to get the holiday display ready to open before Thanksgiving.

“I've
 got plenty of space for them to work,” he says with a laugh. “So we 
just need the volunteers to agree to come, and we'll keep you busy.”

With
 an influx of donations, and volunteers with lots of their own ideas, 
Tschirhart says every year brings something new to see.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/12/1670265943042.png" alt="Volunteers Dick Cooper, left, and Karl Bitter work to fix a derailment inside Union Station's model train gallery. Carlos Moreno / KCUR 89.3" />
 <figcaption>Volunteers Dick Cooper, left, and Karl Bitter work to fix a derailment inside Union Station's model train gallery. Carlos Moreno / KCUR 89.3</figcaption>
 </figure>By LAURA SPENCER <a href="https://www.kcur.org/arts-life/2022-12-02/meet-the-union-station-volunteers-who-keep-these-tiny-trains-on-track-during-the-holidays">Kansas News Service</a><a href="https://unionstation.org/" target="_blank">Union Station</a>
 has one of the largest model rail exhibits in the United States, with 
more than 80 trains of all sizes. When decorating for the holidays 
starts in October, the display gets even bigger.Oversized wreaths
 can be viewed from outside, hanging in the Grand Hall’s massive 
windows, and inside are dozens of decorated Christmas trees, including 
one that’s about 40 feet tall.“This is considered Kansas City's 
lobby — its front door. More importantly, it is our home,” says 
president and CEO George Guastello. “So, when you have to decorate and 
welcome people to your home for the holidays, ours just takes a little 
bit longer.”The expanded model train exhibit features 
snow-covered villages complete with tiny, plastic ice skaters on a pond,
 dramatic terrain and thousands of sparkling lights.“All the 
layouts have multiple levels,” says Guastello, “so little kids can get 
down, up close and personal, a little bit larger kids can experience, 
and then the parents can live through the experience and just feel (a) 
part of it.”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/12/1670266019747.png" alt="Visitors at Union Station tour through the holiday model train display inside the Grand Hall. Carlos Moreno / KCUR 89.3" />
 <figcaption>Visitors at Union Station tour through the holiday model train display inside the Grand Hall. Carlos Moreno / KCUR 89.3</figcaption>
 </figure>About 50 volunteers design, maintain and build the model train 
exhibit year-round. During the holiday season, 8,000 square feet of 
model trains expand to 10,000 square feet, and more than 100 trains.“I try to come in once a week or every other week,” says Bob Crown. “During the holidays, it’s pretty much every day.”Crown
 has volunteered at the model train display since 2005 and drives in 
from Lawrence. He says some volunteers repair engines and others paint 
snowy mountain scenes, but his main job is to make sure the trains are 
running.Using an app on his iPad, Crown starts a train and blows 
the horn. “That's a horn sounding to go across the crossing, warn the 
cars.”When he was 7 or 8 years old, Crown got an American Flyer model train for Christmas. Trains still bring him a lot of joy.“It's
 a coming together, and when you see the children that come through,” he
 says, “and if you're here running your trains and letting them run your
 trains with you — just the joy and their smile and the happiness and 
the parents and the whole holiday tradition.”“That’s our pat on the back, and that's our ‘thank you,’” Crown says.Sandra
 Clayman stands next to a village scene where she’s been placing small 
houses. Clayman’s dad, Richard Mettle, collected trains. Every year for 
Christmas, he and her mom, Frances, would bring them up from the 
basement.“And it was a three, three-and-a-half-week process,” she
 says. “He constructed a platform. The Christmas tree went on it, and it
 had tunnels.”Mettle grew up in Kansas City and left by train to 
serve in the Army during World War II. He died in April, and Clayman’s 
mom, who lives in Longview, Texas, decided to donate his train set to 
Union Station.Clayman says it’s her turn to set up the trains this year.“I'm
 learning a little more about setting up the track and, you know, how to
 change stuff on the trains,” she says. “So it's fun to do it.”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/12/1670266073481.png" alt="A miniature version of the Polar Express rumbles through the Christmas model train exhibit at Union Station. Carlos Moreno / KCUR 89.3" />
 <figcaption>A miniature version of the Polar Express rumbles through the Christmas model train exhibit at Union Station. Carlos Moreno / KCUR 89.3</figcaption>
 </figure>Inside a workshop space just off the Great Hall, Ted Tschirhart wears
 a blue and white striped engineer’s cap. He’s surrounded by boxes of 
Lionel trains, wires and tools.Tschirhart was a tool designer and
 an engineer. He's volunteered for Union Station for more than 20 years,
 and since 2005, he's headed up the model train display. In those early 
years, volunteers were learning from trial and error, taking things 
apart and putting them back together.“We would start Labor Day 
weekend, and we would build and get it ready by Thanksgiving — it would 
take us that long,” he says. “And then all this had to have wires — 
everything had to be wired, and transformers, and we had all this 
stuff.”These days, the installation process goes a little bit 
faster. This year, Tschirhart started working with other volunteers on 
Oct. 21 to get the holiday display ready to open before Thanksgiving.“I've
 got plenty of space for them to work,” he says with a laugh. “So we 
just need the volunteers to agree to come, and we'll keep you busy.”With
 an influx of donations, and volunteers with lots of their own ideas, 
Tschirhart says every year brings something new to see.

Union Station volunteers keep tiny trains on track during the holidays

REYNOSA, Mexico (AP) — Restrictions that have prevented hundreds of thousands of migrants from seeking asylum in the U.S. in recent years remained on track to expire in a matter of days after an appeals court ruling Friday, as thousands more migrants packed shelters on Mexico’s border with the U.S.

The ruling from the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals means the restrictions known as Title 42 are&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/public-health-immigration-asylum-54c11e091d464fe8d9272d607f6778f8">still set to be lifted Wednesday,</a>&nbsp;unless further appeals are filed.

A coalition of 19 Republican-leaning states were pushing&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-united-states-public-immigration-covid-5d5f77e27cba4a8063d36d0f384aa893">to keep the asylum restrictions</a>&nbsp;put in place by former President Donald Trump at the start of the coronavirus pandemic. Migrants have been denied rights to seek asylum under U.S. and international law 2.5 million times since March 2020 on grounds of preventing the spread of COVID-19. The public-health has left some migrants biding time in Mexico.

Advocates for immigrants had argued that the U.S. was abandoning its longstanding history and commitments to offer refuge to people around the world fleeing persecution, and sued to end the use of Title 42. They’ve also argued the restrictions were a pretext by Trump for restricting migration, and in any case, vaccines and other treatments make that argument outdated.

A judge last month sided with them and set Dec. 21 as the deadline for the federal government to end the practice. Conservative states trying to keep Title 42 in place had pushed to intervene in the case. But a three-judge panel on Friday night rejected their efforts, saying the states had waited too long. Louisiana's Attorney General expressed disappointment with the decision and said they would appeal to the Supreme Court.

Border cities, most notably El Paso, Texas,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-immigration-el-paso-d0a9ab87492fd4e9e3061ebefc6e1094">are facing a daily migrant influx</a>&nbsp;that the Biden administration&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/government-and-politics-28ce8e9b1cb7b99d73c8043badbbe270">expects to grow</a>&nbsp;if asylum restrictions are lifted. Tijuana, the largest Mexican border city, has an estimated 5,000 people in more than 30 shelters, Enrique Lucero, the city’s director of migrant affairs said this week.

In Reynosa, Mexico, near McAllen, Texas, nearly 300 migrants — mostly families — crammed into the Casa del Migrante, sleeping on bunk beds and even on the floor.

Rose, a 32-year-old Haitian, has been in the shelter for three weeks with her daughter and 1-year-old son. Rose, who did not provide her last name because she fears it could jeopardize her safety and her attempts to seek asylum, said she learned on her journey of possible changes to U.S. policies. She said she was happy to wait a little longer in Mexico for the lifting of restrictions that were enacted at the outset of the pandemic and that have become a cornerstone of U.S. border enforcement.

“We’re very scared, because the Haitians are deported,” said Rose, who is worried any mistakes in trying to get her family to the U.S. could get her sent back to Haiti.

Inside Senda de Vida 2, a Reynosa shelter opened by an evangelical Christian pastor when his first one reached capacity, about 3,000 migrants are living in tents pitched on concrete slabs and gravel. Flies swarm everywhere under a hot sun beating down even in mid-December.

For the many fleeing violence in Haiti, Venezuela and elsewhere, such shelters offer at least some safety from the cartels that control passage through the Rio Grande and prey on migrants.

In McAllen, about 100 migrants who avoided asylum restrictions rested on floor mats Thursday in a large hall run by Catholic Charities, waiting for transportation to families and friends across the U.S.

Gloria, a 22-year-old from Honduras who is eight months pregnant with her first child, held onto a printed sheet that read: “Please help me. I do not speak English.” Gloria also did not want her last name used out of fear for her safety. She expressed concerns about navigating the airport alone and making it to Florida, where she has a family acquaintance.

Andrea Rudnik, co-founder of an all-volunteer migrant welcome association in Brownsville, Texas, across the border from Matamoros, Mexico, was worried about having enough winter coats for migrants coming from warmer climates.

“We don’t have enough supplies,” she said Friday, noting donations to Team Brownsville are down.

Title 42, which is part of a 1944 public health law, applies to all nationalities but has fallen unevenly on those whom Mexico agrees to take back — Guatemalans, Hondurans, El Salvadorans and, more recently, Venezuelans, in addition to Mexicans. Illegal border crossings of single adults dipped in November, according to a Justice Department court filing released Friday, though it gave no explanation for why. It also did not account for families traveling with young children and children traveling alone.

According to the filing, Border Patrol agents stopped single adults 143,903 times along the Mexican border in November, down 9% from 158,639 times in October and the lowest level since August. Nicaraguans became the second-largest nationality at the border among single adults after Mexicans, surpassing Cubans.

Venezuelan single adults were stopped 3,513 times by Border Patrol agents in November, plunging from 14,697 a month earlier, demonstrating the impact of Mexico's decision on Oct. 12 to accept migrants from the South American country who are expelled from the U.S.

Mexican single adults were stopped 43,504 times, down from 56,088 times in October, more than any other nationality. Nicaraguan adults were stopped 27,369 times, up from 16,497. Cuban adults were stopped 24,690 times, up from 20,744.

In a related development, a federal judge in Amarillo, Texas, ruled Thursday that the Biden administration wrongly ended a Trump-era policy to make asylum-seekers wait in Mexico for hearings in U.S. immigration court. The ruling had no immediate impact but could prove a longer-term setback for the White House.

White House spokesman Abdullah Hasan said immigration laws would continue to be enforced at the border and the Biden administration would work to expand legal pathways for migrants but discourage “disorderly and unsafe migration.”

“To be clear: the lifting of the Title 42 public health order does not mean the border is open,” he said. “Anyone who suggests otherwise is doing the work of smugglers spreading misinformation to make a quick buck off of vulnerable migrants.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/9/1632317742720.png" alt="A coalition of 19 Republican-leaning states were pushing&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-united-states-public-immigration-covid-5d5f77e27cba4a8063d36d0f384aa893">to keep the asylum restrictions</a>&nbsp;put in place by former President Donald Trump at the start of the coronavirus pandemic.-photo Rep. Tony Gonzales" />
 <figcaption>A coalition of 19 Republican-leaning states were pushing&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-united-states-public-immigration-covid-5d5f77e27cba4a8063d36d0f384aa893">to keep the asylum restrictions</a>&nbsp;put in place by former President Donald Trump at the start of the coronavirus pandemic.-photo Rep. Tony Gonzales</figcaption>
 </figure>REYNOSA, Mexico (AP) — Restrictions that have prevented hundreds of thousands of migrants from seeking asylum in the U.S. in recent years remained on track to expire in a matter of days after an appeals court ruling Friday, as thousands more migrants packed shelters on Mexico’s border with the U.S.The ruling from the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals means the restrictions known as Title 42 are&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/public-health-immigration-asylum-54c11e091d464fe8d9272d607f6778f8">still set to be lifted Wednesday,</a>&nbsp;unless further appeals are filed.A coalition of 19 Republican-leaning states were pushing&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-united-states-public-immigration-covid-5d5f77e27cba4a8063d36d0f384aa893">to keep the asylum restrictions</a>&nbsp;put in place by former President Donald Trump at the start of the coronavirus pandemic. Migrants have been denied rights to seek asylum under U.S. and international law 2.5 million times since March 2020 on grounds of preventing the spread of COVID-19. The public-health has left some migrants biding time in Mexico.Advocates for immigrants had argued that the U.S. was abandoning its longstanding history and commitments to offer refuge to people around the world fleeing persecution, and sued to end the use of Title 42. They’ve also argued the restrictions were a pretext by Trump for restricting migration, and in any case, vaccines and other treatments make that argument outdated.A judge last month sided with them and set Dec. 21 as the deadline for the federal government to end the practice. Conservative states trying to keep Title 42 in place had pushed to intervene in the case. But a three-judge panel on Friday night rejected their efforts, saying the states had waited too long. Louisiana's Attorney General expressed disappointment with the decision and said they would appeal to the Supreme Court.Border cities, most notably El Paso, Texas,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-immigration-el-paso-d0a9ab87492fd4e9e3061ebefc6e1094">are facing a daily migrant influx</a>&nbsp;that the Biden administration&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/government-and-politics-28ce8e9b1cb7b99d73c8043badbbe270">expects to grow</a>&nbsp;if asylum restrictions are lifted. Tijuana, the largest Mexican border city, has an estimated 5,000 people in more than 30 shelters, Enrique Lucero, the city’s director of migrant affairs said this week.In Reynosa, Mexico, near McAllen, Texas, nearly 300 migrants — mostly families — crammed into the Casa del Migrante, sleeping on bunk beds and even on the floor.Rose, a 32-year-old Haitian, has been in the shelter for three weeks with her daughter and 1-year-old son. Rose, who did not provide her last name because she fears it could jeopardize her safety and her attempts to seek asylum, said she learned on her journey of possible changes to U.S. policies. She said she was happy to wait a little longer in Mexico for the lifting of restrictions that were enacted at the outset of the pandemic and that have become a cornerstone of U.S. border enforcement.“We’re very scared, because the Haitians are deported,” said Rose, who is worried any mistakes in trying to get her family to the U.S. could get her sent back to Haiti.Inside Senda de Vida 2, a Reynosa shelter opened by an evangelical Christian pastor when his first one reached capacity, about 3,000 migrants are living in tents pitched on concrete slabs and gravel. Flies swarm everywhere under a hot sun beating down even in mid-December.For the many fleeing violence in Haiti, Venezuela and elsewhere, such shelters offer at least some safety from the cartels that control passage through the Rio Grande and prey on migrants.In McAllen, about 100 migrants who avoided asylum restrictions rested on floor mats Thursday in a large hall run by Catholic Charities, waiting for transportation to families and friends across the U.S.Gloria, a 22-year-old from Honduras who is eight months pregnant with her first child, held onto a printed sheet that read: “Please help me. I do not speak English.” Gloria also did not want her last name used out of fear for her safety. She expressed concerns about navigating the airport alone and making it to Florida, where she has a family acquaintance.Andrea Rudnik, co-founder of an all-volunteer migrant welcome association in Brownsville, Texas, across the border from Matamoros, Mexico, was worried about having enough winter coats for migrants coming from warmer climates.“We don’t have enough supplies,” she said Friday, noting donations to Team Brownsville are down.Title 42, which is part of a 1944 public health law, applies to all nationalities but has fallen unevenly on those whom Mexico agrees to take back — Guatemalans, Hondurans, El Salvadorans and, more recently, Venezuelans, in addition to Mexicans. Illegal border crossings of single adults dipped in November, according to a Justice Department court filing released Friday, though it gave no explanation for why. It also did not account for families traveling with young children and children traveling alone.According to the filing, Border Patrol agents stopped single adults 143,903 times along the Mexican border in November, down 9% from 158,639 times in October and the lowest level since August. Nicaraguans became the second-largest nationality at the border among single adults after Mexicans, surpassing Cubans.Venezuelan single adults were stopped 3,513 times by Border Patrol agents in November, plunging from 14,697 a month earlier, demonstrating the impact of Mexico's decision on Oct. 12 to accept migrants from the South American country who are expelled from the U.S.Mexican single adults were stopped 43,504 times, down from 56,088 times in October, more than any other nationality. Nicaraguan adults were stopped 27,369 times, up from 16,497. Cuban adults were stopped 24,690 times, up from 20,744.In a related development, a federal judge in Amarillo, Texas, ruled Thursday that the Biden administration wrongly ended a Trump-era policy to make asylum-seekers wait in Mexico for hearings in U.S. immigration court. The ruling had no immediate impact but could prove a longer-term setback for the White House.White House spokesman Abdullah Hasan said immigration laws would continue to be enforced at the border and the Biden administration would work to expand legal pathways for migrants but discourage “disorderly and unsafe migration.”“To be clear: the lifting of the Title 42 public health order does not mean the border is open,” he said. “Anyone who suggests otherwise is doing the work of smugglers spreading misinformation to make a quick buck off of vulnerable migrants.”

Border crisis: U.S. court rejects maintaining asylum restrictions

SEDGWICK COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a Kansas man in connection with the abduction of a girl from Arkansas.

Just after midnight Dec. 14, a detective with the White County, Arkansas Sheriff’s Office contacted Wichita Police requesting assistance locating a missing child from their jurisdiction, according to Officer Chad Ditch.

&nbsp; A 14-year-old girl had left her home in Arkansas in early November and not returned.&nbsp; A follow-up investigation by White County detectives revealed she had been <a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=466582265583859&amp;set=pcb.461551719420247">seen in a convenience store</a> with a man before leaving in a vehicle with the same man later identified as 35-year-old&nbsp;David E. Roark of Wichita. Police also learned Roark was wanted on two warrants from the state of Kentucky.

Additional information provided by White County suggested that Roark was possibly in the Wichita area. 

The Wichita Police Exploited and Missing Child Unit and the Internet Crimes Against Children Unit began investigating and located an address in the 1800 block of N. Litchfield in Wichita, where they believed Roark was staying. 

Police observed Roark leaving the home and took him into custody. Officers then found the missing girl in a closet inside the house. Police took both of them for additional interviews, where it was discovered further crimes had occurred in Wichita.

A search warrant for the residence was completed, and David Roark was <a href="https://ssc.sedgwickcounty.org/sheriffinmates/SheriffInmateDetail.aspx?nameId=20080133">booked into the Sedgwick County Jail </a>on local requested charges of criminal restraint, aggravated indecent liberties with a child, abuse of a child and the two Kentucky warrants. The girl has been reunited with her family, according to Ditch.&nbsp;

Police presented the case to the District Attorney’s Office Friday morning. Roark is expected to make a first appearance in court on Monday. <a href="https://ssc.sedgwickcounty.org/sheriffinmates/SheriffInmateDetail.aspx?nameId=20080133">He is being held on </a>a $1.5 million dollar bond, according to online jail records.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/12/1671221717558.png" alt="Roark-photo Sedgwick County" />
 <figcaption>Roark-photo Sedgwick County</figcaption>
 </figure>SEDGWICK COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a Kansas man in connection with the abduction of a girl from Arkansas.Just after midnight Dec. 14, a detective with the White County, Arkansas Sheriff’s Office contacted Wichita Police requesting assistance locating a missing child from their jurisdiction, according to Officer Chad Ditch.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/12/1671287383491.png" alt="Security camera image White County, Arkansas sheriff" />
 <figcaption>Security camera image White County, Arkansas sheriff</figcaption>
 </figure>&nbsp; A 14-year-old girl had left her home in Arkansas in early November and not returned.&nbsp; A follow-up investigation by White County detectives revealed she had been <a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=466582265583859&amp;set=pcb.461551719420247">seen in a convenience store</a> with a man before leaving in a vehicle with the same man later identified as 35-year-old&nbsp;David E. Roark of Wichita. Police also learned Roark was wanted on two warrants from the state of Kentucky.Additional information provided by White County suggested that Roark was possibly in the Wichita area. The Wichita Police Exploited and Missing Child Unit and the Internet Crimes Against Children Unit began investigating and located an address in the 1800 block of N. Litchfield in Wichita, where they believed Roark was staying. Police observed Roark leaving the home and took him into custody. Officers then found the missing girl in a closet inside the house. Police took both of them for additional interviews, where it was discovered further crimes had occurred in Wichita.A search warrant for the residence was completed, and David Roark was <a href="https://ssc.sedgwickcounty.org/sheriffinmates/SheriffInmateDetail.aspx?nameId=20080133">booked into the Sedgwick County Jail </a>on local requested charges of criminal restraint, aggravated indecent liberties with a child, abuse of a child and the two Kentucky warrants. The girl has been reunited with her family, according to Ditch.&nbsp;Police presented the case to the District Attorney’s Office Friday morning. Roark is expected to make a first appearance in court on Monday. <a href="https://ssc.sedgwickcounty.org/sheriffinmates/SheriffInmateDetail.aspx?nameId=20080133">He is being held on </a>a $1.5 million dollar bond, according to online jail records.

Missing 14-year-old Arkansas girl found in closet in Kansas

Branson, Mo. (AP) — A bill requiring stricter safety rules in response to the 2018 sinking of a Missouri tourist boat that killed 17 people passed the Senate on Thursday.

The legislation, headed to President Joe Biden for approval, directs the U.S. Coast Guard to draft new requirements for amphibious vehicles such as the tourist attraction that sank during a storm on Table Rock Lake near Branson.

Lawmakers included the new regulations in a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-china-covid-lloyd-austin-12e622d1f07a9fec6ef230114386a6f8">defense funding bill</a>.

The measure calls for design changes to ensure the crafts stay upright. The Missouri vessel flooded through an air intake hatch on the bow that was not weather tight.

Many of the changes included in the measure were&nbsp;<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/f584e91ff0896296ac07bb011303c555">recommended by the the National Transportation Safety Board after its investigation</a>&nbsp;into the July 2018 tragedy.

The agency has said Ride the Ducks should have suspended water operations that day because of the severe weather forecast.

Operators of amphibious vehicles would be required to seek refuge if a weather watch or warning is issued for high wind speeds under the proposal.

The legislation also calls for immediate removal of canopies, side curtains and associated framing from the duck boats to improve passengers’ chances of escape during emergencies.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/7/1563393605763.png" alt="First responders at the scene of the tragedy in 2018- photo courtesy KYTV" />
 <figcaption>First responders at the scene of the tragedy in 2018- photo courtesy KYTV</figcaption>
 </figure>Branson, Mo. (AP) — A bill requiring stricter safety rules in response to the 2018 sinking of a Missouri tourist boat that killed 17 people passed the Senate on Thursday.The legislation, headed to President Joe Biden for approval, directs the U.S. Coast Guard to draft new requirements for amphibious vehicles such as the tourist attraction that sank during a storm on Table Rock Lake near Branson.Lawmakers included the new regulations in a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-china-covid-lloyd-austin-12e622d1f07a9fec6ef230114386a6f8">defense funding bill</a>.The measure calls for design changes to ensure the crafts stay upright. The Missouri vessel flooded through an air intake hatch on the bow that was not weather tight.Many of the changes included in the measure were&nbsp;<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/f584e91ff0896296ac07bb011303c555">recommended by the the National Transportation Safety Board after its investigation</a>&nbsp;into the July 2018 tragedy.The agency has said Ride the Ducks should have suspended water operations that day because of the severe weather forecast.Operators of amphibious vehicles would be required to seek refuge if a weather watch or warning is issued for high wind speeds under the proposal.The legislation also calls for immediate removal of canopies, side curtains and associated framing from the duck boats to improve passengers’ chances of escape during emergencies.

Congress OKs new law on tourist boats after Branson tragedy

LYON COUNTY—A Kansas man died in an accident just before 4:30p.m. Friday in Lyon County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2004 Ford Explorer driven by&nbsp;Wayne F. Segenhagen, 79, Wetmore, was southbound on Interstate 335 just north of the Emporia Service area.

The driver made an evasive maneuver to the left to avoid a slow moving vehicle in the right lane. The driver overcorrected, lost control of the SUV and it rolled.

Segenhagen was pronounced dead at the scene and was transported to&nbsp;Roberts-Blue Funeral Home in Emporia. EMS transported a passenger&nbsp;Anna M. Segenhagen, 76, Wetmore, to Stormont Vail. They were properly restrained at the time of the accident, according to the KHP.

LYON COUNTY—A Kansas man died in an accident just before 4:30p.m. Friday in Lyon County.The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2004 Ford Explorer driven by&nbsp;Wayne F. Segenhagen, 79, Wetmore, was southbound on Interstate 335 just north of the Emporia Service area.The driver made an evasive maneuver to the left to avoid a slow moving vehicle in the right lane. The driver overcorrected, lost control of the SUV and it rolled.Segenhagen was pronounced dead at the scene and was transported to&nbsp;Roberts-Blue Funeral Home in Emporia. EMS transported a passenger&nbsp;Anna M. Segenhagen, 76, Wetmore, to Stormont Vail. They were properly restrained at the time of the accident, according to the KHP.

Kansas man dies after rollover crash on the Kansas Turnpike

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Four new cases of bird flu at Iowa turkey farms in the past few days pushed the number of birds slaughtered nationwide this month to limit the spread of the virus up to nearly 700,000.

The latest cases announced by the Iowa Department of Agriculture only add to the toll of this year's ongoing outbreak that has prompted officials to kill more than 53 million birds in 47 states. Anytime the virus is found, the entire flock is&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-business-bird-flu-flu-animals-189a7c08d848047f00b3f7b5bec39e67">killed</a>&nbsp;to help control the disease.

Iowa officials said the latest cases found involved 240,000 birds on turkey farms in Sac, Buena Vista, Cherokee and Ida counties all in the northwest corner of the state.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-iowa-des-moines-flu-us-department-of-agriculture-822360c4db84ca9917ac615b760b2b53">Iowa</a>&nbsp;leads all states with nearly 16 million chickens and turkeys slaughtered this year — more than double the next closest state of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-animals-nebraska-agriculture-omaha-ca8f94677d828d5838ecaff894403388">Nebraska</a>&nbsp;— largely because it is the nation's largest egg producer and egg farms can include millions of chickens.

Several other bird flu cases have been confirmed this month at other turkey farms in Iowa, South Dakota, Minnesota and Missouri. An upland gamebird producer in Colorado also had to slaughter 18,000 birds to limit the spread of the virus.

Experts believe the virus that causes bird flu is spread primarily by wild birds as they migrate across the country. The virus spreads easily through droppings or the nasal discharge of an infected bird, which can contaminate dust and soil and be carried onto farms on boots and clothing or on truck tires. Even though wild birds can often carry avian influenza without developing symptoms, the virus has&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-business-minnesota-environment-0ec6d3f11b09ddd023d7d5d50ab7f8c1">killed a large number</a>&nbsp;of eagles, vultures, ducks and other wild birds.

Farmers take measures like requiring workers to change clothes before entering barns and sanitizing trucks as they enter the farm, but the disease is&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/science-health-business-iowa-agriculture-f5a5c6fbf1d6b551413fb249086fdbec">difficult to control</a>.

This year's outbreak is different than most past ones because the virus&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-flu-prices-animals-1ec0f5a8e5485300fe117f87f8470f06">found a way to linger</a>&nbsp;throughout the summer when warmer temperatures usually largely kill off the virus. The U.S. Department of Agriculture&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-minnesota-animals-flu-animal-2f02b2d35e82feb05273d9a72e898170">resumed reporting</a>&nbsp;large numbers of birds infected in September when more than 6 million birds had to be killed. That was followed by another 2 million in October and nearly 4 million more in November.

Bird flu doesn’t represent a significant threat to human health because human cases are extremely rare and none of the infected birds are allowed into the nation’s food supply. And properly cooking poultry to 165 degrees Fahrenheit will kill any viruses.

But the bird flu outbreak — combined with the soaring cost of fuel and feed — has driven up the prices of eggs, chicken and turkey.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/10/1666346539753.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Four new cases of bird flu at Iowa turkey farms in the past few days pushed the number of birds slaughtered nationwide this month to limit the spread of the virus up to nearly 700,000.The latest cases announced by the Iowa Department of Agriculture only add to the toll of this year's ongoing outbreak that has prompted officials to kill more than 53 million birds in 47 states. Anytime the virus is found, the entire flock is&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-business-bird-flu-flu-animals-189a7c08d848047f00b3f7b5bec39e67">killed</a>&nbsp;to help control the disease.Iowa officials said the latest cases found involved 240,000 birds on turkey farms in Sac, Buena Vista, Cherokee and Ida counties all in the northwest corner of the state.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-iowa-des-moines-flu-us-department-of-agriculture-822360c4db84ca9917ac615b760b2b53">Iowa</a>&nbsp;leads all states with nearly 16 million chickens and turkeys slaughtered this year — more than double the next closest state of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-animals-nebraska-agriculture-omaha-ca8f94677d828d5838ecaff894403388">Nebraska</a>&nbsp;— largely because it is the nation's largest egg producer and egg farms can include millions of chickens.Several other bird flu cases have been confirmed this month at other turkey farms in Iowa, South Dakota, Minnesota and Missouri. An upland gamebird producer in Colorado also had to slaughter 18,000 birds to limit the spread of the virus.Experts believe the virus that causes bird flu is spread primarily by wild birds as they migrate across the country. The virus spreads easily through droppings or the nasal discharge of an infected bird, which can contaminate dust and soil and be carried onto farms on boots and clothing or on truck tires. Even though wild birds can often carry avian influenza without developing symptoms, the virus has&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-business-minnesota-environment-0ec6d3f11b09ddd023d7d5d50ab7f8c1">killed a large number</a>&nbsp;of eagles, vultures, ducks and other wild birds.Farmers take measures like requiring workers to change clothes before entering barns and sanitizing trucks as they enter the farm, but the disease is&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/science-health-business-iowa-agriculture-f5a5c6fbf1d6b551413fb249086fdbec">difficult to control</a>.This year's outbreak is different than most past ones because the virus&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-flu-prices-animals-1ec0f5a8e5485300fe117f87f8470f06">found a way to linger</a>&nbsp;throughout the summer when warmer temperatures usually largely kill off the virus. The U.S. Department of Agriculture&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-minnesota-animals-flu-animal-2f02b2d35e82feb05273d9a72e898170">resumed reporting</a>&nbsp;large numbers of birds infected in September when more than 6 million birds had to be killed. That was followed by another 2 million in October and nearly 4 million more in November.Bird flu doesn’t represent a significant threat to human health because human cases are extremely rare and none of the infected birds are allowed into the nation’s food supply. And properly cooking poultry to 165 degrees Fahrenheit will kill any viruses.But the bird flu outbreak — combined with the soaring cost of fuel and feed — has driven up the prices of eggs, chicken and turkey.

Bird flu: 700,000 birds slaughtered nationwide in December

By JUDD WEIL&nbsp; Hutch Post

RENO COUNTY –&nbsp;Former Hutchinson police officer Todd Allen’s case has been pushed to next year.&nbsp; The formal charges filed against Allen include 17 felonies and seven misdemeanors.&nbsp;

Allen was arrested August 17&nbsp;and is charged with two counts of rape or alternative counts of aggravated sexual battery. &nbsp;

Hutchinson Police Chief Jeff Hooper said that when Allen was arrested on sex crime charges in August, that was hard on him and on his department.

The charges include three counts of attempted rape or alternative counts of aggravated sexual battery, two more counts of aggravated sexual battery, aggravated indecent liberties with a child, two counts of kidnapping and two counts of attempted aggravated sexual battery. &nbsp;

The two counts of rape are level one person felonies.&nbsp;

Allen also faces five counts of breach of privacy and two misdemeanor counts of sexual battery. &nbsp;

He is currently free on a $250,000 bond. &nbsp;A status conference for Todd Allen will take place Jan. 11 at 3 p.m. at Reno County District Court. &nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/12/1671205140580.png" alt="Allen-photo Reno Co." />
 <figcaption>Allen-photo Reno Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>By JUDD WEIL&nbsp; Hutch PostRENO COUNTY –&nbsp;Former Hutchinson police officer Todd Allen’s case has been pushed to next year.&nbsp; The formal charges filed against Allen include 17 felonies and seven misdemeanors.&nbsp;Allen was arrested August 17&nbsp;and is charged with two counts of rape or alternative counts of aggravated sexual battery. &nbsp;Hutchinson Police Chief Jeff Hooper said that when Allen was arrested on sex crime charges in August, that was hard on him and on his department.The charges include three counts of attempted rape or alternative counts of aggravated sexual battery, two more counts of aggravated sexual battery, aggravated indecent liberties with a child, two counts of kidnapping and two counts of attempted aggravated sexual battery. &nbsp;The two counts of rape are level one person felonies.&nbsp;Allen also faces five counts of breach of privacy and two misdemeanor counts of sexual battery. &nbsp;He is currently free on a $250,000 bond. &nbsp;A status conference for Todd Allen will take place Jan. 11 at 3 p.m. at Reno County District Court. &nbsp;

Trial of former Kan. officer accused of serial sex assault continued

CHEROKEE COUNTY—A Kansas man died in an accident just after 9:30a.m. Friday in Cherokee County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2000 Nissan Quest driven by James M. Snow, 57, Galena, was northbound on South Wood Street one half mile south of Kansas 66 in Galena.

The Nissan rear-ended a 2010 Honda Insight driven by Justin Holt, 48, Galena. After impact the Nissan left the road to the right. The driver overcorrected to the left crossing South Wood Street and struck a southbound 2010 Ford Edge driven by Jacob Laster, 30, Joplin.

EMS transported Snow to Freeman West Hospital where he died.&nbsp; A passenger in the Nissan identified as William J. Reagan, 63, Joplin, was transported to Mercy Hospital in Joplin. The other drivers were not injured.&nbsp; Snow was not wearing a seat belt, according to the KHP.

CHEROKEE COUNTY—A Kansas man died in an accident just after 9:30a.m. Friday in Cherokee County.The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2000 Nissan Quest driven by James M. Snow, 57, Galena, was northbound on South Wood Street one half mile south of Kansas 66 in Galena.The Nissan rear-ended a 2010 Honda Insight driven by Justin Holt, 48, Galena. After impact the Nissan left the road to the right. The driver overcorrected to the left crossing South Wood Street and struck a southbound 2010 Ford Edge driven by Jacob Laster, 30, Joplin.EMS transported Snow to Freeman West Hospital where he died.&nbsp; A passenger in the Nissan identified as William J. Reagan, 63, Joplin, was transported to Mercy Hospital in Joplin. The other drivers were not injured.&nbsp; Snow was not wearing a seat belt, according to the KHP.

Kansas man dies after 3-vehicle crash

By BECKY GOFF Little Apple Post

MANHATTAN - A Manhattan man was arrested on Friday morning after attempting to cash a fraudulent check.

According to the Riley County Police Department, 24-year-old Dale Corbin of Manhattan was at Commerce Bank on Poyntz Avenue around 9:00 am when he attempted to cash a fraudulent check.

Employees at the bank realized the check was fraudulent and contacted RCPD for assistance.

When officers made contact with Corbin, he ran away from them, and officers followed on-foot.

Corbin was arrested near the intersection of of Poyntz and 16th Street for interference with LEO, and forgery in connection with the attempt to cash the fraudulent check. He was also charged with possession of a stimulant at the time of his arrest and on a warrant for failure to appear for a Manhattan Municipal Court date.

Corbin is being held in the Riley County Jail on a total bond of $13,205.

USD 383 schools on Poyntz Avenue were placed on secure campus for a short time on Friday morning until officers were able to locate Corbin. There was no threat to the schools at any time, this was done as a precaution.

By BECKY GOFF Little Apple PostMANHATTAN - A Manhattan man was arrested on Friday morning after attempting to cash a fraudulent check.According to the Riley County Police Department, 24-year-old Dale Corbin of Manhattan was at Commerce Bank on Poyntz Avenue around 9:00 am when he attempted to cash a fraudulent check.Employees at the bank realized the check was fraudulent and contacted RCPD for assistance.When officers made contact with Corbin, he ran away from them, and officers followed on-foot.Corbin was arrested near the intersection of of Poyntz and 16th Street for interference with LEO, and forgery in connection with the attempt to cash the fraudulent check. He was also charged with possession of a stimulant at the time of his arrest and on a warrant for failure to appear for a Manhattan Municipal Court date.Corbin is being held in the Riley County Jail on a total bond of $13,205.USD 383 schools on Poyntz Avenue were placed on secure campus for a short time on Friday morning until officers were able to locate Corbin. There was no threat to the schools at any time, this was done as a precaution.

Kan. man tried to cash fraudulent check, ran from police

LYON COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a fatal hit and run crash and asking for help to locate a suspect identified as 29-year-old&nbsp;Angel Manuel Alvarado of Emporia.

Just before 7:30p.m. Thursday the Lyon County Emergency Communications Center received a report of a car striking a pedestrian at 6th Ave and Constitution Street, according to Captain Lisa Hayes. 

The driver put the pedestrian into the vehicle and then drove to 4th Ave. and Congress Street. The driver got out of the vehicle and fled on foot leaving the victim pedestrian in the vehicle.

Emporia Police and Fire responded to the scenes and the victim was transported to Newman Regional Health where he was pronounced dead.

The suspected driver and registered owner of the vehicle Alvarado is described as&nbsp; 4-foot-11 and weights approximately 145 pounds. He has black hair and brown eyes.

After some investigation, police have determined there was a dark colored SUV, possibly a Chevy Suburban, in the immediate area at the time of the collision.

If you have any information about Alvarado’s location or this crash, please contact the Emporia Police Department at 620 343-4225.&nbsp; Police have not released the name of the victim.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/12/1671221075834.png" alt="Alvarado-photo Lyon Co.&nbsp;" />
 <figcaption>Alvarado-photo Lyon Co.&nbsp;</figcaption>
 </figure>LYON COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a fatal hit and run crash and asking for help to locate a suspect identified as 29-year-old&nbsp;Angel Manuel Alvarado of Emporia.Just before 7:30p.m. Thursday the Lyon County Emergency Communications Center received a report of a car striking a pedestrian at 6th Ave and Constitution Street, according to Captain Lisa Hayes. The driver put the pedestrian into the vehicle and then drove to 4th Ave. and Congress Street. The driver got out of the vehicle and fled on foot leaving the victim pedestrian in the vehicle.Emporia Police and Fire responded to the scenes and the victim was transported to Newman Regional Health where he was pronounced dead.The suspected driver and registered owner of the vehicle Alvarado is described as&nbsp; 4-foot-11 and weights approximately 145 pounds. He has black hair and brown eyes.After some investigation, police have determined there was a dark colored SUV, possibly a Chevy Suburban, in the immediate area at the time of the collision.If you have any information about Alvarado’s location or this crash, please contact the Emporia Police Department at 620 343-4225.&nbsp; Police have not released the name of the victim.

Fatal Kan. hit-and-run driver put victim in his vehicle, fled 

KANSAS CITY (AP) — A police officer shot and killed a 25-year-old man after he pointed a weapon at officers during a confrontation, authorities said.

The shooting occurred Thursday night in Belton, about 22 miles south of Kansas City. The man was identified Friday as William Blakely, of Belton.

Belton police said in a release that officers responding to a call of a disturbance found a man armed with a handgun. When the man refused to drop the weapon, officers used a stun gun on him, police said.

Blakely continued to hold the gun and raised it toward officers, prompting one officer to fire, police said. He later died at a hospital.

No officers were injured. The Missouri State Highway Patrol will investigate the shooting.

KANSAS CITY (AP) — A police officer shot and killed a 25-year-old man after he pointed a weapon at officers during a confrontation, authorities said.The shooting occurred Thursday night in Belton, about 22 miles south of Kansas City. The man was identified Friday as William Blakely, of Belton.Belton police said in a release that officers responding to a call of a disturbance found a man armed with a handgun. When the man refused to drop the weapon, officers used a stun gun on him, police said.Blakely continued to hold the gun and raised it toward officers, prompting one officer to fire, police said. He later died at a hospital.No officers were injured. The Missouri State Highway Patrol will investigate the shooting.

Police ID suspect shot, killed by suburban KC officer

By SHERMAN SMITH <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2022/12/14/kansas-share-of-federal-broadband-cash-in-jeopardy-because-of-grossly-inadequate-map/">Kansas Reflector</a>

TOPEKA — Kansas officials worry the state will lose part of its share
 of a $42.5 billion federal investment in broadband expansion because 
the Federal Communications Commission commissioned a “grossly 
inadequate” map of existing services.

The map, released in late November, shows broadband is available 
everywhere in Kansas.&nbsp;The state faces a Jan. 13 deadline to challenge 
the map by encouraging residents to self-report discrepancies with it.

The federal broadband investment is part of the massive 
infrastructure package Congress passed last year. Grant money will be 
allocated to states based on the need for broadband services.

Staff members from the state broadband office explained the challenge
 during a forum Monday at the Kansas Health Institute about broadband 
access and telehealth.

Kimberlyn Jones, digital equity program manager for the state, said 
the FCC map is “somewhat grossly inadequate, and based on the 
information on that mapping, that determines how much the state can 
get.”

Brandon Hutton, the state’s broadband program manager, said hundreds of millions of dollars could be at stake.

Hutton said the FCC map was based on information reported by internet
 service providers who “weren’t completely truthful in that, because 
they wanted to stake out their territory.”

Jones and Hutton presented an example from the FCC map that showed 
broadband service was available at a rural barn behind a house. They 
were certain the barn didn’t have internet service because it is owned 
by an employee at the Kansas Department of Commerce.

Speaking to a room full of health care professionals, they emphasized
 the need for residents to compare their actual service speed and 
provider options against the data presented at <a target="_blank" href="https://broadbandmap.fcc.gov/home">broadbandmap.fcc.gov</a>.

“If you have a rural home and you know that you’re not getting 
internet out there, and you check the map and it says you’re receiving 
Cox Communications, and you know that that’s wrong, you need to 
challenge that,” Hutton said. “That is an example of what an ISP does to
 stake their territory. The more territory they have, the less grant 
money for another competitor to come in.”

After Kansas Reflector asked the governor’s office and Cox for 
comment, Hutton sent an email asking to retract his comments about Cox.

Mandy Wilbert, a spokeswoman for Cox, said the company provided accurate information to the FCC.

“Ensuring that all Kansans have access to services is important to us
 and all providers, and these maps are key in making sure that happens,”
 Wilbert said.

Jade Piros de Carvalho, the state’s broadband director, said Hutton 
was mistaken about ISPs reporting inaccurate information. Jones and 
Hutton delivered the presentation in her place because she was sick.

She blamed the federal vendor, CostQuest, for producing the 
inaccurate maps. The FCC paid the company $50 million, de Carvalho said,
 but the mapping data wasn’t open sourced. As a result, she said, the 
U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and 
Information Administration, which administers the grants, had to pay an 
additional $40 million to access the data.

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly, whose office didn’t respond to inquiries for
 this story, signed a letter with 14 other governors to ask for a 60-day
 extension to challenge the map. However, several other governors who 
signed the letter decided to back out, and the letter was never sent, de
 Carvalho said.

Federal authorities don’t want to hold up the launch of projects that would expand broadband access, de Carvalho said.

“There are competing priorities,” de Carvalho said. “We want to get 
this money out the door as quickly as possible and put it to work for 
people who do not have broadband.”

In November,&nbsp;Republican U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall encouraged Kansans 
to challenge the location-specific information in the map and provide 
corrections.

“Unfortunately, we still have too many Kansans without adequate 
broadband access,” Marshall said. “Much of that can be attributed to the
 outdated and inaccurate broadband maps, which prevent our broadband 
providers from receiving funding for homes and businesses they know are 
not being sufficiently served. I encourage Kansans in all corners of the
 state to check the map and follow the steps to provide updated 
information so that we can continue to close the digital divide.”

Residents can submit a challenge <a target="_blank" href="https://help.bdc.fcc.gov/hc/en-us">through the FCC website</a>.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/12/1671049628544.png" alt="Kimberlyn Jones and Brandon Hutton, from the state broadband office, deliver a presentation on broadband access during a forum Monday at the Kansas Health Institute. They said hundreds of millions of dollars in federal grant money is at stake because of a flawed map that shows all of Kansas has access to broadband internet. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption>Kimberlyn Jones and Brandon Hutton, from the state broadband office, deliver a presentation on broadband access during a forum Monday at the Kansas Health Institute. They said hundreds of millions of dollars in federal grant money is at stake because of a flawed map that shows all of Kansas has access to broadband internet. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure>By SHERMAN SMITH <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2022/12/14/kansas-share-of-federal-broadband-cash-in-jeopardy-because-of-grossly-inadequate-map/">Kansas Reflector</a>TOPEKA — Kansas officials worry the state will lose part of its share
 of a $42.5 billion federal investment in broadband expansion because 
the Federal Communications Commission commissioned a “grossly 
inadequate” map of existing services.The map, released in late November, shows broadband is available 
everywhere in Kansas.&nbsp;The state faces a Jan. 13 deadline to challenge 
the map by encouraging residents to self-report discrepancies with it.The federal broadband investment is part of the massive 
infrastructure package Congress passed last year. Grant money will be 
allocated to states based on the need for broadband services.Staff members from the state broadband office explained the challenge
 during a forum Monday at the Kansas Health Institute about broadband 
access and telehealth.Kimberlyn Jones, digital equity program manager for the state, said 
the FCC map is “somewhat grossly inadequate, and based on the 
information on that mapping, that determines how much the state can 
get.”Brandon Hutton, the state’s broadband program manager, said hundreds of millions of dollars could be at stake.Hutton said the FCC map was based on information reported by internet
 service providers who “weren’t completely truthful in that, because 
they wanted to stake out their territory.”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/12/1671049693115.png" alt="Kimberlyn Jones, digital equity program manager for the state broadband office, points to an image from the FCC map that shows a rural Kansas barn has access to broadband internet. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption>Kimberlyn Jones, digital equity program manager for the state broadband office, points to an image from the FCC map that shows a rural Kansas barn has access to broadband internet. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure>Jones and Hutton presented an example from the FCC map that showed 
broadband service was available at a rural barn behind a house. They 
were certain the barn didn’t have internet service because it is owned 
by an employee at the Kansas Department of Commerce.Speaking to a room full of health care professionals, they emphasized
 the need for residents to compare their actual service speed and 
provider options against the data presented at <a target="_blank" href="https://broadbandmap.fcc.gov/home">broadbandmap.fcc.gov</a>.“If you have a rural home and you know that you’re not getting 
internet out there, and you check the map and it says you’re receiving 
Cox Communications, and you know that that’s wrong, you need to 
challenge that,” Hutton said. “That is an example of what an ISP does to
 stake their territory. The more territory they have, the less grant 
money for another competitor to come in.”After Kansas Reflector asked the governor’s office and Cox for 
comment, Hutton sent an email asking to retract his comments about Cox.Mandy Wilbert, a spokeswoman for Cox, said the company provided accurate information to the FCC.“Ensuring that all Kansans have access to services is important to us
 and all providers, and these maps are key in making sure that happens,”
 Wilbert said.Jade Piros de Carvalho, the state’s broadband director, said Hutton 
was mistaken about ISPs reporting inaccurate information. Jones and 
Hutton delivered the presentation in her place because she was sick.She blamed the federal vendor, CostQuest, for producing the 
inaccurate maps. The FCC paid the company $50 million, de Carvalho said,
 but the mapping data wasn’t open sourced. As a result, she said, the 
U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and 
Information Administration, which administers the grants, had to pay an 
additional $40 million to access the data.Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly, whose office didn’t respond to inquiries for
 this story, signed a letter with 14 other governors to ask for a 60-day
 extension to challenge the map. However, several other governors who 
signed the letter decided to back out, and the letter was never sent, de
 Carvalho said.Federal authorities don’t want to hold up the launch of projects that would expand broadband access, de Carvalho said.“There are competing priorities,” de Carvalho said. “We want to get 
this money out the door as quickly as possible and put it to work for 
people who do not have broadband.”In November,&nbsp;Republican U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall encouraged Kansans 
to challenge the location-specific information in the map and provide 
corrections.“Unfortunately, we still have too many Kansans without adequate 
broadband access,” Marshall said. “Much of that can be attributed to the
 outdated and inaccurate broadband maps, which prevent our broadband 
providers from receiving funding for homes and businesses they know are 
not being sufficiently served. I encourage Kansans in all corners of the
 state to check the map and follow the steps to provide updated 
information so that we can continue to close the digital divide.”Residents can submit a challenge <a target="_blank" href="https://help.bdc.fcc.gov/hc/en-us">through the FCC website</a>.

'Grossly inadequate’ map could jeopardize Kan. broadband funds

BERLIN (AP) — A huge aquarium in Berlin burst, spilling debris, water and hundreds of tropical fish out of the AquaDom tourist attraction in the heart of the German capital early Friday.

Police said parts of the building, which also contains a hotel, cafes and a chocolate store, were damaged as 1 million liters (264,000 gallons) of water poured from the aquarium shortly before 6 a.m. (0500 GMT). Berlin's fire service said two people were slightly injured.

The company that owns the AquaDom, Union Investment Real Estate, said in a statement Friday afternoon that the reasons for the incident were “still unclear.”

Mayor Franziska Giffey said the tank had unleashed a “veritable tsunami” of water but the early morning timing had prevented far more injuries.

“Despite all the destruction, we were still very lucky,” she said. “We would have had terrible human damage” had the aquarium burst even an hour later, once more people were awake and in the hotel and the surrounding area, she said.

The website of the AquaDom described it as the biggest cylindrical tank in the world at 25 meters tall (82 feet tall), although Union Investment Real Estate clarified Friday that the tank portion of the attraction had a height of 14 meters (46 feet).

There was speculation freezing temperatures that got down to minus 10 degrees Celsius (14 degrees Fahrenheit) overnight caused a crack in the acrylic glass tank, which then exploded under the weight of the water. Police said they found no evidence of a malicious act.

Nearly all of the 1,500 fish that were inside at the time of the rupture died, the Berlin Mitte district government confirmed via Twitter, adding “a few fish at the bottom of the tank” could still be saved. Among the 80 types of fish it housed were blue tang and clownfish, two colorful species known from the popular animated movie “Finding Nemo.”

Veterinarians, fire service officers and other officials spent the afternoon working to rescue 400 to 500 smaller fish from a separate set of aquariums housed under the hotel lobby. Without electricity, their tanks were not receiving the necessary oxygen for them to survive, officials said. They were evacuated to other tanks in the neighboring Sea Life aquarium that were unaffected.

“It's a great tragedy that for 1,500 fish there was no chance of survival,” said Almut Neumann, a city official in charge of environmental issues for Berlin's Mitte district. “The focus in the afternoon was clearly on saving the fish in the remaining tanks.”

Various organizations, including the Berlin Zoo, offered to take in the surviving fish.

Aquarium operator Sea Life said it was saddened by the incident and trying to get more information from the owners of the AquaDom. It said what happened with the AquaDom was “unique and unprecedented” and that Sea Life's exhibits were not in danger of similar damage.

Sea Life Berlin is located in the same building and visitors can tour it and the AquaDom on a single ticket.

About 300 guests and employees had to be evacuated from the hotel surrounding the aquarium, police said.

Sandra Weeser, a German lawmaker who was staying in the hotel, said she was woken up by a large bang and thought there might have been an earthquake.

“There are shards (of glass) everywhere. The furniture, everything has been flooded with water," she said. "It looks a bit like a war zone.”

Police said a Lindt chocolate store and several restaurants in the same building complex, as well as an underground parking garage next to the hotel, sustained damage. A fire service spokesman said building safety experts were assessing the extent to which the hotel had sustained structural damage.

Hours after the incident, trucks began clearing away the debris that had spilled out onto the street in front of the hotel. Brightly colored Lindt chocolate wrappers were scattered in front of the building where the chocolate shop was damaged. A small crowd of tourists and onlookers snapped photos from behind the police line across the street.

Animal rights group PETA tweeted Friday that the aquarium became a “death trap” for the fish housed in it. “This man-made tragedy shows that aquariums are not a safe place for fish and other marine life," the group wrote.

The aquarium, which was last modernized in 2020, is a major tourist magnet in Berlin. The 10-minute elevator ride through the tropical tank was one of the highlights of the attraction.

Iva Yudinski, a tourist from Israel who was staying at the hotel, said she was shocked by the incident

“Just yesterday we watched it and we were so amazed (by) its beauty," she said. "Suddenly it’s all gone. Everything is a mess, a total mess.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/12/1671220116399.png" alt="Mayor Franziska Giffey said the tank had unleashed a “veritable tsunami” of water but the early morning timing had prevented far more injuries.Associated Press" />
 <figcaption>Mayor Franziska Giffey said the tank had unleashed a “veritable tsunami” of water but the early morning timing had prevented far more injuries.Associated Press</figcaption>
 </figure>BERLIN (AP) — A huge aquarium in Berlin burst, spilling debris, water and hundreds of tropical fish out of the AquaDom tourist attraction in the heart of the German capital early Friday.<div><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fsealifeberlin1%2Fphotos%2Fa.2144091485815577%2F2157834637774595%2F%3Ftype%3D3&show_text=true&width=500" width="500" height="333" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share"></iframe></div>Police said parts of the building, which also contains a hotel, cafes and a chocolate store, were damaged as 1 million liters (264,000 gallons) of water poured from the aquarium shortly before 6 a.m. (0500 GMT). Berlin's fire service said two people were slightly injured.The company that owns the AquaDom, Union Investment Real Estate, said in a statement Friday afternoon that the reasons for the incident were “still unclear.”Mayor Franziska Giffey said the tank had unleashed a “veritable tsunami” of water but the early morning timing had prevented far more injuries.“Despite all the destruction, we were still very lucky,” she said. “We would have had terrible human damage” had the aquarium burst even an hour later, once more people were awake and in the hotel and the surrounding area, she said.The website of the AquaDom described it as the biggest cylindrical tank in the world at 25 meters tall (82 feet tall), although Union Investment Real Estate clarified Friday that the tank portion of the attraction had a height of 14 meters (46 feet).There was speculation freezing temperatures that got down to minus 10 degrees Celsius (14 degrees Fahrenheit) overnight caused a crack in the acrylic glass tank, which then exploded under the weight of the water. Police said they found no evidence of a malicious act.Nearly all of the 1,500 fish that were inside at the time of the rupture died, the Berlin Mitte district government confirmed via Twitter, adding “a few fish at the bottom of the tank” could still be saved. Among the 80 types of fish it housed were blue tang and clownfish, two colorful species known from the popular animated movie “Finding Nemo.”Veterinarians, fire service officers and other officials spent the afternoon working to rescue 400 to 500 smaller fish from a separate set of aquariums housed under the hotel lobby. Without electricity, their tanks were not receiving the necessary oxygen for them to survive, officials said. They were evacuated to other tanks in the neighboring Sea Life aquarium that were unaffected.“It's a great tragedy that for 1,500 fish there was no chance of survival,” said Almut Neumann, a city official in charge of environmental issues for Berlin's Mitte district. “The focus in the afternoon was clearly on saving the fish in the remaining tanks.”Various organizations, including the Berlin Zoo, offered to take in the surviving fish.Aquarium operator Sea Life said it was saddened by the incident and trying to get more information from the owners of the AquaDom. It said what happened with the AquaDom was “unique and unprecedented” and that Sea Life's exhibits were not in danger of similar damage.Sea Life Berlin is located in the same building and visitors can tour it and the AquaDom on a single ticket.About 300 guests and employees had to be evacuated from the hotel surrounding the aquarium, police said.Sandra Weeser, a German lawmaker who was staying in the hotel, said she was woken up by a large bang and thought there might have been an earthquake.“There are shards (of glass) everywhere. The furniture, everything has been flooded with water," she said. "It looks a bit like a war zone.”Police said a Lindt chocolate store and several restaurants in the same building complex, as well as an underground parking garage next to the hotel, sustained damage. A fire service spokesman said building safety experts were assessing the extent to which the hotel had sustained structural damage.Hours after the incident, trucks began clearing away the debris that had spilled out onto the street in front of the hotel. Brightly colored Lindt chocolate wrappers were scattered in front of the building where the chocolate shop was damaged. A small crowd of tourists and onlookers snapped photos from behind the police line across the street.Animal rights group PETA tweeted Friday that the aquarium became a “death trap” for the fish housed in it. “This man-made tragedy shows that aquariums are not a safe place for fish and other marine life," the group wrote.The aquarium, which was last modernized in 2020, is a major tourist magnet in Berlin. The 10-minute elevator ride through the tropical tank was one of the highlights of the attraction.Iva Yudinski, a tourist from Israel who was staying at the hotel, said she was shocked by the incident“Just yesterday we watched it and we were so amazed (by) its beauty," she said. "Suddenly it’s all gone. Everything is a mess, a total mess.”