RILEY COUNTY—A Kansas man died in an accident just after 7 p.m. Sunday in Riley County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2008 Ford F250 driven by Sean M. Warner, 36, Manhattan, was eastbound in the 1200 Block of Deep Creek Road four miles southeast of Manhattan.

The driver failed to negotiate the curve. The pickup left the roadway to the right and the driver overcorrected back onto the roadway. The pickup then entered the south ditch, struck a power pole and overturned.

Warner was pronounced dead at the scene and transported to&nbsp; Irving Fairview Funeral Home. The KHP did not have seat belt usage information.

RILEY COUNTY—A Kansas man died in an accident just after 7 p.m. Sunday in Riley County.The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2008 Ford F250 driven by Sean M. Warner, 36, Manhattan, was eastbound in the 1200 Block of Deep Creek Road four miles southeast of Manhattan.The driver failed to negotiate the curve. The pickup left the roadway to the right and the driver overcorrected back onto the roadway. The pickup then entered the south ditch, struck a power pole and overturned.Warner was pronounced dead at the scene and transported to&nbsp; Irving Fairview Funeral Home. The KHP did not have seat belt usage information.

Kansas man dies after pickup strikes power pole, overturns

WASHINGTON (AP) — Pfizer's COVID-19 pill appears to provide little or no benefit for younger adults, while still reducing the risk of hospitalization and death for high-risk seniors, according to a large study recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

The results from a 109,000-patient Israeli study are likely to renew questions about the U.S. government's use of Paxlovid, which has become the go-to treatment for COVID-19 due to its at-home convenience. The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-covid-business-health-medication-a5adf6c2e7894e479e795b5a6d1aeb84">Biden administration</a>&nbsp;has spent more than $10 billion purchasing the drug and making it available at thousands of pharmacies through its test-and-treat initiative.

The researchers found that Paxlovid reduced hospitalizations among people 65 and older by roughly 75% when given shortly after infection. That's consistent with earlier results used to authorize the drug in the U.S. and other nations.

But people between the ages of 40 and 65 saw no measurable benefit, according to the analysis of medical records.

The study has limitations due to its design, which compiled data from a large Israeli health system rather than enrolling patients in a randomized study with a control group — the gold-standard for medical research.

The findings reflect the changing nature of the pandemic, in which the vast majority of people already have some protection against the virus due to vaccination or prior infection. For younger adults, in particular, that greatly reduces their risks of severe COVID-19 complications. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/covid-science-health-pandemics-public-ace8870b5e4ac4500aa06964db0544b8">recently estimated</a>&nbsp;that 95% of Americans 16 and older have acquired some level of immunity against the virus.

“Paxlovid will remain important for people at the highest risk of severe COVID-19, such as seniors and those with compromised immune systems,” said Dr. David Boulware, a University of Minnesota researcher and physician, who was not involved in the study. “But for the vast majority of Americans who are now eligible, this really doesn’t have a lot of benefit."

A spokesman for Pfizer declined to comment on the results.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-pfizer-medication-f5f65e7e61d6aa9c7dfa193053e8878a">authorized Paxlovid</a>&nbsp;late last year for adults and children 12 and older who are considered high risk due to conditions like obesity, diabetes and heart disease. More than 42% of U.S. adults are considered obese, representing 138 million Americans, according to the CDC.

At the time of the FDA decision there were no options for treating COVID-19 at home, and Paxlovid was considered critical to curbing hospitalizations and deaths during the pandemic's second winter surge. The drug's results were also far stronger than a competing pill from Merck.

The FDA made its decision based on a Pfizer study in high-risk patients who hadn't been vaccinated or treated for prior COVID-19 infection.

“Those people do exist but they’re relatively rare because most people now have either gotten vaccinated or they’ve gotten infected,” Boulware said.

Pfizer reported earlier this summer that a separate study of Paxlovid in healthy adults — vaccinated and unvaccinated — failed to show a significant benefit. Those results have not yet been published in a medical journal.

More than 3.9 million prescriptions for Paxlovid have been filled since the drug was authorized, according to federal records. A&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/covid-science-business-health-a0fabeb7a6134381cd497acfb45424a6">treatment course</a>&nbsp;is three pills twice a day for five days.

A White House spokesman pointed to several recent papers suggesting Paxlovid helps reduce hospitalizations among people 50 and older. The studies have not been published in peer-reviewed journals.

“Risk for severe outcomes from COVID is along a gradient, and the growing body of evidence is showing that individuals between the ages of 50 and 64 can also benefit from Paxlovid,” Kevin Munoz said in an emailed statement.

Administration officials have been working for months to increase use of Paxlovid, opening thousands of sites where patients who test positive can fill a prescription. Last month, U.S. officials&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/covid-science-health-medication-2a5d69812947d7fa939e87d9feaa27af">further expanded access</a>&nbsp;by allowing pharmacists to prescribe the drug.

The White House recently signaled that it may soon stop purchasing COVID-19 vaccines, drugs and tests, shifting responsibility to the private insurance market. Under that scenario, insurers could set new criteria for when they would pay for patients to receive Paxlovid.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Pfizer's COVID-19 pill appears to provide little or no benefit for younger adults, while still reducing the risk of hospitalization and death for high-risk seniors, according to a large study recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine.The results from a 109,000-patient Israeli study are likely to renew questions about the U.S. government's use of Paxlovid, which has become the go-to treatment for COVID-19 due to its at-home convenience. The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-covid-business-health-medication-a5adf6c2e7894e479e795b5a6d1aeb84">Biden administration</a>&nbsp;has spent more than $10 billion purchasing the drug and making it available at thousands of pharmacies through its test-and-treat initiative.The researchers found that Paxlovid reduced hospitalizations among people 65 and older by roughly 75% when given shortly after infection. That's consistent with earlier results used to authorize the drug in the U.S. and other nations.But people between the ages of 40 and 65 saw no measurable benefit, according to the analysis of medical records.The study has limitations due to its design, which compiled data from a large Israeli health system rather than enrolling patients in a randomized study with a control group — the gold-standard for medical research.The findings reflect the changing nature of the pandemic, in which the vast majority of people already have some protection against the virus due to vaccination or prior infection. For younger adults, in particular, that greatly reduces their risks of severe COVID-19 complications. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/covid-science-health-pandemics-public-ace8870b5e4ac4500aa06964db0544b8">recently estimated</a>&nbsp;that 95% of Americans 16 and older have acquired some level of immunity against the virus.“Paxlovid will remain important for people at the highest risk of severe COVID-19, such as seniors and those with compromised immune systems,” said Dr. David Boulware, a University of Minnesota researcher and physician, who was not involved in the study. “But for the vast majority of Americans who are now eligible, this really doesn’t have a lot of benefit."A spokesman for Pfizer declined to comment on the results.The U.S. Food and Drug Administration&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-pfizer-medication-f5f65e7e61d6aa9c7dfa193053e8878a">authorized Paxlovid</a>&nbsp;late last year for adults and children 12 and older who are considered high risk due to conditions like obesity, diabetes and heart disease. More than 42% of U.S. adults are considered obese, representing 138 million Americans, according to the CDC.At the time of the FDA decision there were no options for treating COVID-19 at home, and Paxlovid was considered critical to curbing hospitalizations and deaths during the pandemic's second winter surge. The drug's results were also far stronger than a competing pill from Merck.The FDA made its decision based on a Pfizer study in high-risk patients who hadn't been vaccinated or treated for prior COVID-19 infection.“Those people do exist but they’re relatively rare because most people now have either gotten vaccinated or they’ve gotten infected,” Boulware said.Pfizer reported earlier this summer that a separate study of Paxlovid in healthy adults — vaccinated and unvaccinated — failed to show a significant benefit. Those results have not yet been published in a medical journal.More than 3.9 million prescriptions for Paxlovid have been filled since the drug was authorized, according to federal records. A&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/covid-science-business-health-a0fabeb7a6134381cd497acfb45424a6">treatment course</a>&nbsp;is three pills twice a day for five days.A White House spokesman pointed to several recent papers suggesting Paxlovid helps reduce hospitalizations among people 50 and older. The studies have not been published in peer-reviewed journals.“Risk for severe outcomes from COVID is along a gradient, and the growing body of evidence is showing that individuals between the ages of 50 and 64 can also benefit from Paxlovid,” Kevin Munoz said in an emailed statement.Administration officials have been working for months to increase use of Paxlovid, opening thousands of sites where patients who test positive can fill a prescription. Last month, U.S. officials&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/covid-science-health-medication-2a5d69812947d7fa939e87d9feaa27af">further expanded access</a>&nbsp;by allowing pharmacists to prescribe the drug.The White House recently signaled that it may soon stop purchasing COVID-19 vaccines, drugs and tests, shifting responsibility to the private insurance market. Under that scenario, insurers could set new criteria for when they would pay for patients to receive Paxlovid.

Study raises questions about billions U.S. spent on COVID pill

By IAN ANSON <a href="https://theconversation.com/americans-think-they-know-a-lot-about-politics-and-its-bad-for-democracy-that-theyre-so-often-wrong-in-their-confidence-187524">The Conversation</a>

As statewide primaries <a href="https://www.ncsl.org/research/elections-and-campaigns/2022-state-primary-election-dates-and-filing-deadlines.aspx">continue through the summer</a>, many Americans are beginning to think about which candidates they will support in the 2022 general election.

This decision-making process is <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1467-9221.2004.00389.x">fraught with difficulties</a>, especially for inexperienced voters.

Voters must navigate angry, emotion-laden <a href="https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/full/10.1086/718979?casa_token=ymdmvuFxNIYAAAAA:z1z3MKSdl3idlKSTX3zDO3d4uv0aoZCJMROMCQuHPK2k2fsYRJYYC1nIiKEjWyZtkJmKxS_pLvgc">conversations about politics</a> when trying to sort out whom to vote for. Americans are more likely than ever to view politics in <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/ajps.12448?casa_token=F2UjJp6yBzEAAAAA:s2iseAJ6C9nBkDGJRGM-62ud9L3khqJbDGV4zV-RUJxgM1TUyGpcKzpVy3W24gd8vuc2GO8Thi-a_tg">moral terms</a>, meaning their political conversations sometimes feel like epic battles between <a href="https://theconversation.com/liz-cheney-trounced-black-sheep-effect-and-gop-partisan-identity-explain-her-decisive-defeat-after-criticizing-trump-188635">good and evil</a>.

But political conversations are also shaped by, obviously, <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0093650219866357?casa_token=6GnhyVTa1fQAAAAA:5hawVbLeJesH5B4pkEjTQG0GzN0aXJtN-JvxPADq4uFSWy6P2m8yd8ZaD9bcgnPwUUpd1eRq5imFxQ">what Americans know</a> – and, less obviously, what they think they know – about politics.

<a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=RG_vffMAAAAJ&amp;hl=en">In recent research</a>,
 I studied how Americans’ perceptions of their own political knowledge 
shape their political attitudes. My results show that many Americans 
think they know much more about politics than they really do.

Over the past five years, I have studied the phenomenon of what I 
call “political overconfidence.” My work, in tandem with other 
researchers’ studies, reveals the ways it thwarts democratic politics.

Political overconfidence can make people <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/20531680221107869">more defensive</a> of factually wrong beliefs about politics. It also causes Americans to <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/pops.12490">underestimate</a> the political skill of their peers. And those who believe themselves to be political experts often <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/pops.12490">dismiss the guidance</a> of real experts.

Political overconfidence also interacts with <a href="https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/aer.20130921">political partisanship</a>, making partisans less willing to listen to peers across the aisle.

The result is a breakdown in the ability to learn from one another about political issues and events.

In my most <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/20531680221107869">recent study</a>
 on the subject, I tried to find out what would happen when politically 
overconfident people found out they were mistaken about political facts.

To do this, I recruited a sample of Americans to participate in a survey experiment via the <a href="https://luc.id/log-in/">Lucid</a>
 recruitment platform. In the experiment, some respondents were shown a 
series of statements that taught them to avoid common political 
falsehoods. For instance, one statement explained that while many people
 believe that Social Security will soon run out of money, the reality is
 <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/07/06/many-fear-social-security-will-run-out-of-money-why-that-wont-happen.html">less dire</a> than it seems.

My hypothesis was that most people would learn from the statements, 
and become more wary of repeating common political falsehoods. However, 
as I have found in my <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/pops.12490">previous studies</a>, a problem quickly emerged.

First, I asked respondents a series of basic questions about American
 politics. This quiz included topics like which party controls the House
 of Representatives – the Democrats – and who the current Secretary of 
Energy is – Jennifer Granholm. Then, I asked them how well they thought 
they did on the quiz.

Many respondents who believed they were top performers were actually 
among those who scored the worst. Much akin to the results of a famous 
study by <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/dunning-kruger-effect">Dunning and Kruger</a>, the poorest performers did not generally realize that they lagged behind their peers.

Of the 1,209 people who participated, around 70% were overconfident 
about their knowledge of politics. But this basic pattern was not the 
most worrying part of the results. 

The overconfident respondents failed to change their attitudes in 
response to my warnings about political falsehoods. My investigation 
showed that they did read the statements, and could report details about
 what they said. But their attitudes toward falsehoods remained 
inflexible, likely because they – wrongly – considered themselves 
political experts.

But if I could make overconfident respondents more humble, would they
 actually take my warnings about political falsehoods to heart?

My experiment sought to examine what happens when overconfident 
people are told their political knowledge is lacking. To do this, I 
randomly assigned respondents to receive one of three experimental 
treatments after taking the political knowledge quiz. These were as 
follows:

For example, respondents who thought they had aced the quiz might 
have learned that they got one out of five questions right, and that 
they scored worse than 82% of their peers. For many overconfident 
respondents, this “reality check” treatment brought them down to earth. 
They reported much less overconfidence on average when I followed up 
with them.

Finally, I asked all the respondents in the study to report their 
levels of skepticism toward five statements. These statements are all 
common political falsehoods. One statement, for example, asserted that 
violent crime had risen over the prior decade – <a href="https://bjs.ojp.gov/library/publications/nations-two-crime-measures-2011-2020">it hadn’t</a>. Another claimed the U.S. spent 18% of the federal budget on foreign aid – the real number was <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/opinions/what-every-american-should-know-about-u-s-foreign-aid/">less than 1%</a>.

I expected most respondents who had received my cautionary statements
 to become more skeptical of these misinformed statements. On average, 
they did. But did overconfident respondents learn this lesson too?

The results of the study showed that overconfident respondents began 
to take political falsehoods seriously only if they had experienced my 
“reality check” treatment first. 

While overconfident respondents in other conditions showed no 
reaction, the humbling nature of the “reality check,” when they realized
 how wrong they had been, led overconfident participants in that 
condition to revise their beliefs. They increased their skepticism of 
political falsehoods by a statistically significant margin.

Overall, this “reality check” experiment was a success. But it 
reveals that outside of the experiment, political overconfidence stands 
in the way of many Americans’ ability to accurately perceive political 
reality.

What, if anything, can be done about the widespread phenomenon of political overconfidence?

While my research cannot determine whether political overconfidence 
is increasing over time, it makes intuitive sense that this problem 
would be growing in importance in an era of <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2053168018816189">online political discourse</a>. In the online realm, it is often difficult to <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17512786.2015.1102607">appraise the credibility</a> of anonymous users. This means that false claims are easily spread by uninformed people who merely sound confident.

To combat this problem, social media companies and opinion leaders 
could seek ways to promote discourse that emphasizes humility and 
self-correction. Because confident, mistaken self-expression can easily 
drown out more credible voices in the online realm, social media apps 
could consider promoting humility by reminding posters to reconsider the
 <a href="https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/text.1.1989.9.1.93/html">“stance</a>,” or assertiveness, of their posts.

While this may seem far-fetched, recent developments show that small 
nudges can lead to powerful shifts in social media users’ online 
behavior. 

For example, <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2020/9/25/21455635/twitter-read-before-you-tweet-article-prompt-rolling-out-globally-soon">Twitter’s recent inclusion</a>
 of a pop-up message that asks would-be posters of news articles to 
“read before tweeting” caused users to rethink their willingness to 
share potentially misleading content.

A gentle reminder to avoid posting bold claims without evidence is 
just one possible way that social media companies could encourage good 
online behavior. With another election season soon upon us, such a 
corrective is urgently needed.

Ian Anson is an Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/9/1662153189315.jpg" alt="Image courtesy of Pixabay" />
 <figcaption>Image courtesy of Pixabay</figcaption>
 </figure>By IAN ANSON <a href="https://theconversation.com/americans-think-they-know-a-lot-about-politics-and-its-bad-for-democracy-that-theyre-so-often-wrong-in-their-confidence-187524">The Conversation</a>As statewide primaries <a href="https://www.ncsl.org/research/elections-and-campaigns/2022-state-primary-election-dates-and-filing-deadlines.aspx">continue through the summer</a>, many Americans are beginning to think about which candidates they will support in the 2022 general election. This decision-making process is <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1467-9221.2004.00389.x">fraught with difficulties</a>, especially for inexperienced voters. Voters must navigate angry, emotion-laden <a href="https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/full/10.1086/718979?casa_token=ymdmvuFxNIYAAAAA:z1z3MKSdl3idlKSTX3zDO3d4uv0aoZCJMROMCQuHPK2k2fsYRJYYC1nIiKEjWyZtkJmKxS_pLvgc">conversations about politics</a> when trying to sort out whom to vote for. Americans are more likely than ever to view politics in <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/ajps.12448?casa_token=F2UjJp6yBzEAAAAA:s2iseAJ6C9nBkDGJRGM-62ud9L3khqJbDGV4zV-RUJxgM1TUyGpcKzpVy3W24gd8vuc2GO8Thi-a_tg">moral terms</a>, meaning their political conversations sometimes feel like epic battles between <a href="https://theconversation.com/liz-cheney-trounced-black-sheep-effect-and-gop-partisan-identity-explain-her-decisive-defeat-after-criticizing-trump-188635">good and evil</a>.But political conversations are also shaped by, obviously, <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0093650219866357?casa_token=6GnhyVTa1fQAAAAA:5hawVbLeJesH5B4pkEjTQG0GzN0aXJtN-JvxPADq4uFSWy6P2m8yd8ZaD9bcgnPwUUpd1eRq5imFxQ">what Americans know</a> – and, less obviously, what they think they know – about politics. <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=RG_vffMAAAAJ&amp;hl=en">In recent research</a>,
 I studied how Americans’ perceptions of their own political knowledge 
shape their political attitudes. My results show that many Americans 
think they know much more about politics than they really do.<h2>Knowledge deficit, confidence surplus</h2>Over the past five years, I have studied the phenomenon of what I 
call “political overconfidence.” My work, in tandem with other 
researchers’ studies, reveals the ways it thwarts democratic politics.Political overconfidence can make people <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/20531680221107869">more defensive</a> of factually wrong beliefs about politics. It also causes Americans to <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/pops.12490">underestimate</a> the political skill of their peers. And those who believe themselves to be political experts often <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/pops.12490">dismiss the guidance</a> of real experts.Political overconfidence also interacts with <a href="https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/aer.20130921">political partisanship</a>, making partisans less willing to listen to peers across the aisle. The result is a breakdown in the ability to learn from one another about political issues and events.<h2>A ‘reality check’ experiment</h2>In my most <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/20531680221107869">recent study</a>
 on the subject, I tried to find out what would happen when politically 
overconfident people found out they were mistaken about political facts.
 To do this, I recruited a sample of Americans to participate in a survey experiment via the <a href="https://luc.id/log-in/">Lucid</a>
 recruitment platform. In the experiment, some respondents were shown a 
series of statements that taught them to avoid common political 
falsehoods. For instance, one statement explained that while many people
 believe that Social Security will soon run out of money, the reality is
 <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/07/06/many-fear-social-security-will-run-out-of-money-why-that-wont-happen.html">less dire</a> than it seems.My hypothesis was that most people would learn from the statements, 
and become more wary of repeating common political falsehoods. However, 
as I have found in my <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/pops.12490">previous studies</a>, a problem quickly emerged. <h2>The problem</h2>First, I asked respondents a series of basic questions about American
 politics. This quiz included topics like which party controls the House
 of Representatives – the Democrats – and who the current Secretary of 
Energy is – Jennifer Granholm. Then, I asked them how well they thought 
they did on the quiz.Many respondents who believed they were top performers were actually 
among those who scored the worst. Much akin to the results of a famous 
study by <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/dunning-kruger-effect">Dunning and Kruger</a>, the poorest performers did not generally realize that they lagged behind their peers.Of the 1,209 people who participated, around 70% were overconfident 
about their knowledge of politics. But this basic pattern was not the 
most worrying part of the results. The overconfident respondents failed to change their attitudes in 
response to my warnings about political falsehoods. My investigation 
showed that they did read the statements, and could report details about
 what they said. But their attitudes toward falsehoods remained 
inflexible, likely because they – wrongly – considered themselves 
political experts.But if I could make overconfident respondents more humble, would they
 actually take my warnings about political falsehoods to heart?<h2>Poor self-assessment</h2>My experiment sought to examine what happens when overconfident 
people are told their political knowledge is lacking. To do this, I 
randomly assigned respondents to receive one of three experimental 
treatments after taking the political knowledge quiz. These were as 
follows:<ol>
 <li>Respondents received statements teaching them to avoid political falsehoods.</li><li>Respondents did not receive the statements.</li><li>Respondents received both the statements and a “reality check” 
treatment. The reality check showed how respondents fared on the 
political quiz they took at the beginning of the survey. Along with 
their raw score, the report showed how respondents ranked among 1,000 of
 their peers. </li>
 </ol>For example, respondents who thought they had aced the quiz might 
have learned that they got one out of five questions right, and that 
they scored worse than 82% of their peers. For many overconfident 
respondents, this “reality check” treatment brought them down to earth. 
They reported much less overconfidence on average when I followed up 
with them.Finally, I asked all the respondents in the study to report their 
levels of skepticism toward five statements. These statements are all 
common political falsehoods. One statement, for example, asserted that 
violent crime had risen over the prior decade – <a href="https://bjs.ojp.gov/library/publications/nations-two-crime-measures-2011-2020">it hadn’t</a>. Another claimed the U.S. spent 18% of the federal budget on foreign aid – the real number was <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/opinions/what-every-american-should-know-about-u-s-foreign-aid/">less than 1%</a>.I expected most respondents who had received my cautionary statements
 to become more skeptical of these misinformed statements. On average, 
they did. But did overconfident respondents learn this lesson too?<h2>Reality check: Mission accomplished</h2>The results of the study showed that overconfident respondents began 
to take political falsehoods seriously only if they had experienced my 
“reality check” treatment first. While overconfident respondents in other conditions showed no 
reaction, the humbling nature of the “reality check,” when they realized
 how wrong they had been, led overconfident participants in that 
condition to revise their beliefs. They increased their skepticism of 
political falsehoods by a statistically significant margin.Overall, this “reality check” experiment was a success. But it 
reveals that outside of the experiment, political overconfidence stands 
in the way of many Americans’ ability to accurately perceive political 
reality.<h2>The problem of political overconfidence</h2>What, if anything, can be done about the widespread phenomenon of political overconfidence?While my research cannot determine whether political overconfidence 
is increasing over time, it makes intuitive sense that this problem 
would be growing in importance in an era of <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2053168018816189">online political discourse</a>. In the online realm, it is often difficult to <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17512786.2015.1102607">appraise the credibility</a> of anonymous users. This means that false claims are easily spread by uninformed people who merely sound confident.To combat this problem, social media companies and opinion leaders 
could seek ways to promote discourse that emphasizes humility and 
self-correction. Because confident, mistaken self-expression can easily 
drown out more credible voices in the online realm, social media apps 
could consider promoting humility by reminding posters to reconsider the
 <a href="https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/text.1.1989.9.1.93/html">“stance</a>,” or assertiveness, of their posts.While this may seem far-fetched, recent developments show that small 
nudges can lead to powerful shifts in social media users’ online 
behavior. For example, <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2020/9/25/21455635/twitter-read-before-you-tweet-article-prompt-rolling-out-globally-soon">Twitter’s recent inclusion</a>
 of a pop-up message that asks would-be posters of news articles to 
“read before tweeting” caused users to rethink their willingness to 
share potentially misleading content. A gentle reminder to avoid posting bold claims without evidence is 
just one possible way that social media companies could encourage good 
online behavior. With another election season soon upon us, such a 
corrective is urgently needed.Ian Anson is an Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.<div><iframe src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/187524/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-advanced" width="1" height="1"></iframe></div>Cover image courtesy Pixabay

Why it's not always a good thing to be so confident in political opinion

KANSAS CITY—A Kansas City-area man has been charged in the fatal shooting of his father on Wednesday at a Lee's Summit residence, according to Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker.

Michael E. Hamilton, 23,&nbsp; Lee's Summit, faces Murder 2nd Degree and Armed Criminal Action charges.

According to court records filed Friday, Lee's Summit police were dispatched to the 1100 block of SW Arborfair Drive on a reported death. 

Officers found the victim, Robert Hamilton, on the kitchen floor. A family member was crying on top of him. Another family member told police that Hamilton&nbsp; had been living in the residence recently. She had driven to the residence and had found the victim inside on the floor in blood. 

She could not find Hamilton. Lee's Summit police pinged the Hamilton's phone. He was eventually located in Cooper County, Missouri. 

Officers took him into custody and found weapons, including a 9 mm handgun. The Kansas City Police Department's crime lab quickly concluded that a spent bullet recovered from the victim was fired from the 9 mm handgun recovered from the defendant.&nbsp;

Hamilton is being held on a $300,000 bond.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/9/1662234543988.png" alt="Hamilton-photo Jackson Co." />
 <figcaption>Hamilton-photo Jackson Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY—A Kansas City-area man has been charged in the fatal shooting of his father on Wednesday at a Lee's Summit residence, according to Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker.Michael E. Hamilton, 23,&nbsp; Lee's Summit, faces Murder 2nd Degree and Armed Criminal Action charges.According to court records filed Friday, Lee's Summit police were dispatched to the 1100 block of SW Arborfair Drive on a reported death. Officers found the victim, Robert Hamilton, on the kitchen floor. A family member was crying on top of him. Another family member told police that Hamilton&nbsp; had been living in the residence recently. She had driven to the residence and had found the victim inside on the floor in blood. She could not find Hamilton. Lee's Summit police pinged the Hamilton's phone. He was eventually located in Cooper County, Missouri. Officers took him into custody and found weapons, including a 9 mm handgun. The Kansas City Police Department's crime lab quickly concluded that a spent bullet recovered from the victim was fired from the 9 mm handgun recovered from the defendant.&nbsp;Hamilton is being held on a $300,000 bond.

Police find murder weapon during Kansas City-area traffic stop

SHAWNEE COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a Kansas man for alleged child sex crimes. On Friday, September 2, 2022, the Shawnee County Sheriff’s Office conducted a human trafficking operation in the City of Topeka. The goal of the operation was to identify and arrest persons seeking to sexually exploit underage children within Shawnee County, according to Sheriff Brian Hill. During the course of this operation, an individual in a blue Dodge Ram pickup truck arrived in the 1900 block of SW 10th Street with the intentions of meeting a 14-year-old girl.

Law enforcement officers with the Criminal Investigations Division attempted to stop the man in the parking lot of the Dollar Tree. The man individual quickly fled the scene westbound on SW 10th Street. Officers did not pursue the vehicle since the identity of the individual was known. Moments later, the individual’s truck was located near SW 7th Street and SW MacVicar Avenue, with the suspect still in the driver’s seat. The suspect's vehicle struck multiple vehicles and driven through several yards after fleeing the area. The truck was inoperable following the collision. Officers quickly responded to the accident and placed 45-year-old Todd A. Bighamof Meriden under arrest. Bigham is being held on requested charges of electronic solicitation, sexual exploitation of a child, flee or attempt to elude, driving with a suspended driver’s license, violating a lane control signal, failure to yield at a stop sign and reckless driving.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/9/1662233745485.png" alt="BIgham-photo Shawnee Co." />
 <figcaption>BIgham-photo Shawnee Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>SHAWNEE COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a Kansas man for alleged child sex crimes. On Friday, September 2, 2022, the Shawnee County Sheriff’s Office conducted a human trafficking operation in the City of Topeka. The goal of the operation was to identify and arrest persons seeking to sexually exploit underage children within Shawnee County, according to Sheriff Brian Hill. During the course of this operation, an individual in a blue Dodge Ram pickup truck arrived in the 1900 block of SW 10th Street with the intentions of meeting a 14-year-old girl. Law enforcement officers with the Criminal Investigations Division attempted to stop the man in the parking lot of the Dollar Tree. The man individual quickly fled the scene westbound on SW 10th Street. Officers did not pursue the vehicle since the identity of the individual was known. Moments later, the individual’s truck was located near SW 7th Street and SW MacVicar Avenue, with the suspect still in the driver’s seat. The suspect's vehicle struck multiple vehicles and driven through several yards after fleeing the area. The truck was inoperable following the collision. Officers quickly responded to the accident and placed 45-year-old Todd A. Bighamof Meriden under arrest. Bigham is being held on requested charges of electronic solicitation, sexual exploitation of a child, flee or attempt to elude, driving with a suspended driver’s license, violating a lane control signal, failure to yield at a stop sign and reckless driving.

Sheriff: Kan. man accused of attempt to meet 14-year-old for sex

SHAWNEE COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating three suspect on drug charges.&nbsp;

On Sept. 2, members of the Topeka Police Department Narcotics Unit and the Shawnee County Drug Task Force&nbsp; Force served a search warrant at a home in the the 2700 Block SE Jefferson St. related to an ongoing investigation, according to Lt. Edward Stanley.

While conducting the search warrant, officers located Cocaine, Marijuana and drug paraphernalia&nbsp;

As a result, officers arrested 61-year-old James C. Booker Sr., 71-year-old&nbsp; Larry D. Hines and and 24-year-ood Dezaray D. West and&nbsp; &nbsp;transported to the Shawnee County Department of Corrections.

Dezaray D. West remains jailed on requested charges of Possession of Cocaine and Possession of Marijuana.

James C. Booker Sr. is being held on requested charges of&nbsp;Possession of Cocaine, Possession of drug paraphernalia and Possession of Marijuana.

Larry D. Hines was booked on requested charges of Possession of Cocaine and Possession of drug paraphernalia.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/9/1662037137476.png" alt="Booker-photo Shawnee Co." />
 <figcaption>Booker-photo Shawnee Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>SHAWNEE COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating three suspect on drug charges.&nbsp;On Sept. 2, members of the Topeka Police Department Narcotics Unit and the Shawnee County Drug Task Force&nbsp; Force served a search warrant at a home in the the 2700 Block SE Jefferson St. related to an ongoing investigation, according to Lt. Edward Stanley.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/9/1662037197921.png" alt="West-photo Shawnee Co." />
 <figcaption>West-photo Shawnee Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>While conducting the search warrant, officers located Cocaine, Marijuana and drug paraphernalia&nbsp;As a result, officers arrested 61-year-old James C. Booker Sr., 71-year-old&nbsp; Larry D. Hines and and 24-year-ood Dezaray D. West and&nbsp; &nbsp;transported to the Shawnee County Department of Corrections.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/9/1662037081587.png" alt="Hines-photo Shawnee Co." />
 <figcaption>Hines-photo Shawnee Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>Dezaray D. West remains jailed on requested charges of Possession of Cocaine and Possession of Marijuana.James C. Booker Sr. is being held on requested charges of&nbsp;Possession of Cocaine, Possession of drug paraphernalia and Possession of Marijuana.Larry D. Hines was booked on requested charges of Possession of Cocaine and Possession of drug paraphernalia.

3 arrested after drug task force finds cocaine at Kansas home 

By DAVID CONDOS <a href="https://www.hppr.org/hppr-news/2022-09-01/how-weather-in-outer-space-could-cost-midwestern-farmers-1-billion">Kansas News Service</a>

HAYS, Kan. — Kansas farmers battered by drought and heat now have more weather to worry about — in outer space.

An
 expected surge in solar flares over the next several years will likely 
send massive bursts of radiation hurtling toward our atmosphere. And 
that would threaten satellite signals.

That matters to farmers 
because much of the technology that has made modern farms increasingly 
efficient relies on those satellites, particularly global positioning 
systems, or GPS.

So even just a short time without GPS could come with a <a href="https://www.ksre.k-state.edu/news/stories/2022/08/agriculture-gps-and-space-weather.html" target="_blank">steep cost</a> for Midwestern farmers.

“It
 could be, easily, a billion-dollar loss of efficiency even for two 
days,” Kansas State University agricultural economist Terry Griffin 
said. “The likelihood of that occurring is fairly good enough to where 
really smart people are concerned about it.”

A <a href="https://agmanager.info/news/recent-videos/global-cost-assessment-gnss-outage-agricultural-productivity" target="_blank">new study</a>
 from Griffin and a team of other researchers from institutions such as 
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Weather 
Prediction Center came up with that $1 billion figure based on a 
potential widespread GPS outage that would hit farming at a critical 
time — such as corn planting season in the spring — across the Midwest.

On a smaller scale, solar energy from 90 million miles away already <a href="https://hesperia.gsfc.nasa.gov/rhessi3/mission/science/the-impact-of-flares/index.html" target="_blank">degrades satellite signals</a> on a regular basis.

Weston
 McCary, technology projects coordinator for the Kansas Water Office 
based in Colby, Kansas, said he has commonly seen solar radiation 
disable satellites for 20 minutes to an hour.

“These systems are vulnerable to this solar activity,” McCary said. “It’s not if. It’s when.”

A geomagnetic storm in our atmosphere caused by a solar flare took out <a href="https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/science/solar-storm-disables-40-newly-launched-spacex-satellites-2022-02-09/" target="_blank">40 Starlink satellites</a> earlier this year. Increased solar activity this summer has <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/satellites-forced-sky-raging-sun-orbit-solar-cycle-flares-spacex-1721639" target="_blank">sped the downfall</a> of some European Space Agency satellites.

And as scientists expect solar activity to ramp up in the coming years, those outages could become longer and more frequent.

“You
 can’t predict if it’s going to be 20 minutes or 20 days,” McCary said. 
“(But) we should expect it to happen, because it’s just fact.”

So why are experts worried about space weather impacting farm technology now? Timing.

Centuries
 of astronomical records show that solar flares happen in a cyclical 
pattern, with the intensity and frequency peaking roughly every 11 
years.

Solar activity is now ramping up toward its next peak. And the current solar cycle is already looking <a href="https://cosmos.isas.jaxa.jp/our-sun-is-going-through-a-highly-energetic-phase-a-look-at-the-25th-solar-activity-cycle/" target="_blank">more intense</a> than the previous 11-year period.

The
 other piece of timing that concerns experts is how much more GPS has 
been integrated into the lives of farmers — and people in general — 
since the last time solar activity peaked several years ago.

More than two-thirds of Kansas grain farms now use GPS to steer their
 tractors. That helps farmers plant expensive seed in exact rows without
 unintentionally overlapping them.

About half of farms use GPS to 
map their harvest yields, which gives them valuable data about what they
 should plant in future seasons. Another quarter of farms use GPS 
mapping to pinpoint the amount of fertilizer they apply to each part of 
their land.

And the loss of those efficient practices multiplied across <a href="https://www.icip.iastate.edu/tables/agriculture/farms-by-state" target="_blank">hundreds of thousands</a> of Midwestern farms would quickly add up.

“When
 you’re looking at how much money goes into an ag operation on a daily 
basis,” McCary said, “when the wheels stop turning, things get expensive
 real fast.”

Integrating GPS into farming isn’t a bad thing, 
McCary said. It’s an essential element of the precision agriculture 
movement — farmers using satellite guidance, data and maps to conserve 
resources and save money. GPS can also help western Kansas farmers <a href="https://www.hppr.org/hppr-news/2021-05-05/farmers-trying-to-save-the-ogallala-aquifer-face-tension-from-peers-but-their-profits-are-improving" target="_blank">avoid wasting water</a> from the dwindling Ogallala Aquifer when they irrigate.

But the more integrated technology becomes with farming, the more the sudden loss of that technology would hurt.

“Could
 it still be done manually? Absolutely,” McCary said. “Would it be as 
efficient? No. Would it cost us some money as an economy of scale? 
Absolutely.”

Agriculture wouldn’t be the 
only part of life impacted by this type of celestial event. If GPS goes 
down on the farm, chances are it’ll go down in people’s cars too. It 
could even potentially disable <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/new-updates/nasa-warns-of-more-dangerous-solar-flares-that-can-hit-mobile-and-power-on-earth/articleshow/93269215.cms" target="_blank">cell phones and power grids</a>.

And satellites’ impact on the farm goes well beyond GPS-guided tractors. 

The
 U.S. agriculture industry relies on the overhead photos they take of 
cropland to assess the impact of insects and drought. Ranchers can use <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2022-06-21/how-satellite-guided-cows-might-save-the-kansas-prairie-and-make-ranchers-more-money" target="_blank">collars</a>
 fitted with transmitters and sensors to track their livestock’s 
movements. Some farmers in remote areas without broadband depend on 
satellites for their internet connection.

But even in a worst-case scenario where farmers lose access to GPS 
for a long period, McCary said, it doesn’t mean agriculture would 
automatically go back to the stone age.

He’s optimistic that farmers could fall back on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loran-C" target="_blank">ground-based radio positioning technology</a> they used a couple of decades ago. Or just eyeball it.

“That’s
 how we’ve been planting corn for the better part of 100 years,” McCary 
said. “So the average farmer, especially the older gentlemen … they 
would have no problem getting right back out there.”

But the 
reality is that a lot of people — not just farmers — aren’t even aware 
of the possibility of a cosmic event disrupting the technology they’ve 
grown to depend on.

Griffin, the K-State farm economist, has 
traveled the state talking with farmers about this issue for more than a
 decade. He said most folks are hearing about it for the first time. But
 farmers have been receptive when he presents the science, he said, so 
there’s some momentum for building awareness.

The first step for 
farmers, Griffin said, is to figure out how they could keep their 
operation running temporarily without GPS so they aren’t caught off 
guard. Maybe talk with their financial advisors and equipment dealers to
 discuss back-up options.

It’s like keeping a spare tire and jack 
in the back of your car. Even if you don’t anticipate getting a flat 
tire each time you go for a drive, you know it’ll happen eventually. And
 when it does, you want to be ready.

“We cannot control solar activity as humans,” Griffin said. “But what we can do is try to make a plan.”

David Condos covers western Kansas for High Plains Public Radio and the Kansas News Service. You can follow him on Twitter <a href="http://twitter.com/davidcondos" target="_blank">@davidcondos</a>.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/9/1662043735309.png" alt="As solar flares ramp up in the coming years, increases in radiation could cause longer and more frequent GPS outages for farmers. Chris Neal / Kansas News Service" />
 <figcaption>As solar flares ramp up in the coming years, increases in radiation could cause longer and more frequent GPS outages for farmers. Chris Neal / Kansas News Service</figcaption>
 </figure>By DAVID CONDOS <a href="https://www.hppr.org/hppr-news/2022-09-01/how-weather-in-outer-space-could-cost-midwestern-farmers-1-billion">Kansas News Service</a>HAYS, Kan. — Kansas farmers battered by drought and heat now have more weather to worry about — in outer space.An
 expected surge in solar flares over the next several years will likely 
send massive bursts of radiation hurtling toward our atmosphere. And 
that would threaten satellite signals.That matters to farmers 
because much of the technology that has made modern farms increasingly 
efficient relies on those satellites, particularly global positioning 
systems, or GPS.So even just a short time without GPS could come with a <a href="https://www.ksre.k-state.edu/news/stories/2022/08/agriculture-gps-and-space-weather.html" target="_blank">steep cost</a> for Midwestern farmers.“It
 could be, easily, a billion-dollar loss of efficiency even for two 
days,” Kansas State University agricultural economist Terry Griffin 
said. “The likelihood of that occurring is fairly good enough to where 
really smart people are concerned about it.”A <a href="https://agmanager.info/news/recent-videos/global-cost-assessment-gnss-outage-agricultural-productivity" target="_blank">new study</a>
 from Griffin and a team of other researchers from institutions such as 
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Weather 
Prediction Center came up with that $1 billion figure based on a 
potential widespread GPS outage that would hit farming at a critical 
time — such as corn planting season in the spring — across the Midwest.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/9/1662043826373.png" alt="This 2012 image from NASA shows an example of a coronal mass ejection, which can release billions of tons of material from the sun's atmosphere into space and carry its own magnetic field. NASA" />
 <figcaption>This 2012 image from NASA shows an example of a coronal mass ejection, which can release billions of tons of material from the sun's atmosphere into space and carry its own magnetic field. NASA</figcaption>
 </figure>On a smaller scale, solar energy from 90 million miles away already <a href="https://hesperia.gsfc.nasa.gov/rhessi3/mission/science/the-impact-of-flares/index.html" target="_blank">degrades satellite signals</a> on a regular basis.Weston
 McCary, technology projects coordinator for the Kansas Water Office 
based in Colby, Kansas, said he has commonly seen solar radiation 
disable satellites for 20 minutes to an hour.“These systems are vulnerable to this solar activity,” McCary said. “It’s not if. It’s when.”A geomagnetic storm in our atmosphere caused by a solar flare took out <a href="https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/science/solar-storm-disables-40-newly-launched-spacex-satellites-2022-02-09/" target="_blank">40 Starlink satellites</a> earlier this year. Increased solar activity this summer has <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/satellites-forced-sky-raging-sun-orbit-solar-cycle-flares-spacex-1721639" target="_blank">sped the downfall</a> of some European Space Agency satellites.And as scientists expect solar activity to ramp up in the coming years, those outages could become longer and more frequent.“You
 can’t predict if it’s going to be 20 minutes or 20 days,” McCary said. 
“(But) we should expect it to happen, because it’s just fact.”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/9/1662043878984.png" alt="This graph illustrates the historical cycles of solar activity as the number of sunspots has increased and decreased over hundreds of years. Royal Observatory of Belgium" />
 <figcaption>This graph illustrates the historical cycles of solar activity as the number of sunspots has increased and decreased over hundreds of years. Royal Observatory of Belgium</figcaption>
 </figure>Staring at the sunSo why are experts worried about space weather impacting farm technology now? Timing.Centuries
 of astronomical records show that solar flares happen in a cyclical 
pattern, with the intensity and frequency peaking roughly every 11 
years.Solar activity is now ramping up toward its next peak. And the current solar cycle is already looking <a href="https://cosmos.isas.jaxa.jp/our-sun-is-going-through-a-highly-energetic-phase-a-look-at-the-25th-solar-activity-cycle/" target="_blank">more intense</a> than the previous 11-year period.The
 other piece of timing that concerns experts is how much more GPS has 
been integrated into the lives of farmers — and people in general — 
since the last time solar activity peaked several years ago.More than two-thirds of Kansas grain farms now use GPS to steer their
 tractors. That helps farmers plant expensive seed in exact rows without
 unintentionally overlapping them.About half of farms use GPS to 
map their harvest yields, which gives them valuable data about what they
 should plant in future seasons. Another quarter of farms use GPS 
mapping to pinpoint the amount of fertilizer they apply to each part of 
their land.And the loss of those efficient practices multiplied across <a href="https://www.icip.iastate.edu/tables/agriculture/farms-by-state" target="_blank">hundreds of thousands</a> of Midwestern farms would quickly add up.“When
 you’re looking at how much money goes into an ag operation on a daily 
basis,” McCary said, “when the wheels stop turning, things get expensive
 real fast.”Integrating GPS into farming isn’t a bad thing, 
McCary said. It’s an essential element of the precision agriculture 
movement — farmers using satellite guidance, data and maps to conserve 
resources and save money. GPS can also help western Kansas farmers <a href="https://www.hppr.org/hppr-news/2021-05-05/farmers-trying-to-save-the-ogallala-aquifer-face-tension-from-peers-but-their-profits-are-improving" target="_blank">avoid wasting water</a> from the dwindling Ogallala Aquifer when they irrigate.But the more integrated technology becomes with farming, the more the sudden loss of that technology would hurt.“Could
 it still be done manually? Absolutely,” McCary said. “Would it be as 
efficient? No. Would it cost us some money as an economy of scale? 
Absolutely.”<h2>Plan B</h2>Agriculture wouldn’t be the 
only part of life impacted by this type of celestial event. If GPS goes 
down on the farm, chances are it’ll go down in people’s cars too. It 
could even potentially disable <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/new-updates/nasa-warns-of-more-dangerous-solar-flares-that-can-hit-mobile-and-power-on-earth/articleshow/93269215.cms" target="_blank">cell phones and power grids</a>.And satellites’ impact on the farm goes well beyond GPS-guided tractors. The
 U.S. agriculture industry relies on the overhead photos they take of 
cropland to assess the impact of insects and drought. Ranchers can use <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2022-06-21/how-satellite-guided-cows-might-save-the-kansas-prairie-and-make-ranchers-more-money" target="_blank">collars</a>
 fitted with transmitters and sensors to track their livestock’s 
movements. Some farmers in remote areas without broadband depend on 
satellites for their internet connection.But even in a worst-case scenario where farmers lose access to GPS 
for a long period, McCary said, it doesn’t mean agriculture would 
automatically go back to the stone age.He’s optimistic that farmers could fall back on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loran-C" target="_blank">ground-based radio positioning technology</a> they used a couple of decades ago. Or just eyeball it.“That’s
 how we’ve been planting corn for the better part of 100 years,” McCary 
said. “So the average farmer, especially the older gentlemen … they 
would have no problem getting right back out there.”But the 
reality is that a lot of people — not just farmers — aren’t even aware 
of the possibility of a cosmic event disrupting the technology they’ve 
grown to depend on.Griffin, the K-State farm economist, has 
traveled the state talking with farmers about this issue for more than a
 decade. He said most folks are hearing about it for the first time. But
 farmers have been receptive when he presents the science, he said, so 
there’s some momentum for building awareness.The first step for 
farmers, Griffin said, is to figure out how they could keep their 
operation running temporarily without GPS so they aren’t caught off 
guard. Maybe talk with their financial advisors and equipment dealers to
 discuss back-up options.It’s like keeping a spare tire and jack 
in the back of your car. Even if you don’t anticipate getting a flat 
tire each time you go for a drive, you know it’ll happen eventually. And
 when it does, you want to be ready.“We cannot control solar activity as humans,” Griffin said. “But what we can do is try to make a plan.”David Condos covers western Kansas for High Plains Public Radio and the Kansas News Service. You can follow him on Twitter <a href="http://twitter.com/davidcondos" target="_blank">@davidcondos</a>.

How weather in outer space could cost Midwest farmers $1B

FINNEY COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a violent attack on a woman.

Just after 3:30a.m. Sept. 2, police&nbsp;responded to the 1200 block of E. Chestnut Street in Garden City for an Emergency Medical Services assist, according to a media release.

When they arrived, Officers found a woman had been stabbed multiple times. EMS transported the woman to St. Catherine Hospital for treatment of her injuries.

Police detained 52-year-old Juan Carlos Vazquez-Osoria of Garden City at the scene and later arrested him.

He Vazquez-Osoria is being held on requested charges of Attempted Second-Degree Murder. The initial investigation has determined the incident is domestic violence related.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/9/1662141402154.png" alt="Vazquez-Osoria-photo Finney Co." />
 <figcaption>Vazquez-Osoria-photo Finney Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>FINNEY COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a violent attack on a woman.Just after 3:30a.m. Sept. 2, police&nbsp;responded to the 1200 block of E. Chestnut Street in Garden City for an Emergency Medical Services assist, according to a media release.When they arrived, Officers found a woman had been stabbed multiple times. EMS transported the woman to St. Catherine Hospital for treatment of her injuries.Police detained 52-year-old Juan Carlos Vazquez-Osoria of Garden City at the scene and later arrested him.He Vazquez-Osoria is being held on requested charges of Attempted Second-Degree Murder. The initial investigation has determined the incident is domestic violence related.&nbsp;

SW Kansas man jailed for alleged violent attack on a woman

<a href="https://kansaslivingmagazine.com/articles/2022/08/09/keeping-the-kansas-workforce-in-kansas">Kansas Living</a>

Zoe Alba, a freshman at Garden City Achieve High School, stood 
outside Hy-Plains Feedyard in Montezuma, while owner Tom Jones explained
 the different genetic traits of cattle. Alba and the other students 
listening to Jones all had one thing in common — a passion for cattle 
and ranching.

It’s those kinds of passions Jones and other business owners and 
educators hope anchor students to the area to become vital pieces of the
 southwest Kansas economy.

“We want them to know what kinds of opportunities there are and what 
kind of a life they can make right in or near their hometowns,” Jones 
says.

Alba was one of 100 students from eight schools in southwest Kansas 
and Tyron, Okla., who attended the event aimed at showcasing 
opportunities in western Kansas, which was held in late April at the 
feedyard.

“I’m interested in the cattle industry, so I thought today would be a good chance to see what’s out there for jobs,” Alba says.

Since Alba is a freshman, she says her exact career path isn’t known,
 but a showcase like this could help her decide and point her in the 
right direction.

“With the right chance, I would stick around southwest Kansas,” she says.

Alba and other students were part of the spring Hy-Plains Western 
Showcase, a summit designed to educate students on southwest Kansas 
industries and attract them to opportunities in the area.

Two other showcases have been held at Hy-Plains, and one at the 
Southwest Plains Regional Service Center in Sublette. The next one is 
slated for September. The events have reached more than 500 students.

Jones has been instrumental in forming the showcase and serves on the
 Advantage Kansas Coordinating Council. The council was established in 
2021 to help align education with state agencies and business needs, 
including workforce development.

Joe Coles from Coles Consulting serves as an educational consultant and has assisted Jones in the development of the showcase.

“Tom really got things going when he started having a leadership day 
where he taught students about agriculture,” Coles says. “That got the 
ball rolling on this. He started this in Gray County as an effort to try
 to keep students around to help the economy there.”

Since then, the showcases have grown to include informational days for school counselors and educational days for students.

“The reason we do this is to show students what kind of work is right here in southwest Kansas,” Coles says. “We have smaller, shrinking communities, and we want to keep these communities vibrant. There is opportunity for them here to make a good living.”

In addition to Coles and Jones, the showcase in Montezuma featured speakers from the Kansas Principals Association, Trane, Foley Equipment, Davis Electric, Hutton Construction, MJE Livestock Equipment, Weber Heating and Cooling, Dodge City Community College, Garden City Community College, Seward Community College and Tatro Plumbing. Rep. Boyd Orr was also featured as a speaker during the showcase.

Jones says he hopes the showcases impact students and influence the kind
 of future they see for themselves. He provided tours of the Hy-Plains 
facility and urged students to stick around southwest Kansas.

“There is so much going on here in the state, and so many plans and options for the students,” Jones says.

Dan Whisler, educator in residence for Trane, works with school 
districts across Kansas to lead the BTU Crew PBL energy education 
program, which is a K-12 STEM education program that takes a 
project-based learning (PBL) approach to help students learn about 
energy while increasing their analytical and problem-solving skills and 
exploring future careers.

Whisler told students about the opportunities with energy-related 
jobs like wind turbine technicians and energy analysts. These types of 
technical jobs are available, no matter where you are.

“We want to give everyone the same opportunity despite school size and location,” Whisler says. “And technology can do that.

Kansas builds its talent but sees issues in retaining what it builds.

“We are 47th in the nation at keeping students in the state,” Clayton
 Tatro, vice president for workforce development at Dodge City Community
 College, says. “What’s the biggest export of Kansas? Our talent.”

Tatro says 25 percent of jobs in the current economy require a 
four-year degree, while 65 percent of jobs right now require a technical
 degree.

“We’ve spent the last two generations telling students to go get a 
four-year degree,” he says. “Then we sent the last 30 years of 
manufacturing overseas.”

Tatro says there are plenty of opportunities for students who want to
 earn two-year or four-year degrees, but the focus during the showcase 
is on technical careers and opportunities.

“This is such a cool opportunity,” Tatro says. “My passion is 
getting kids involved in tech ed. These students are passionate about 
things like construction, welding, diesel, farming and ranching. We 
specialize in hands on learning and putting students directly to work.”

Bob Kreutzer, who is retired from Tatro Plumbing but is part of the 
Advantage Kansas Coordinating Council, said students should learn about 
opportunities, meet employers and be a team player. He talked about why 
high school classes are important, even if students don’t plan to go to a
 four-year university, and what skills are needed to succeed in the 
workforce.

“As you go away from here today, look at your possible careers and 
think about it,” Kreutzer told the students attending the showcase in 
Montezuma. “Talk to other people who aren’t here today. Bounce ideas off
 them. Help them help you decide.

“You should love what you do,” Kreutzer continued. “It won’t be easy, but it can be an absolute joy when you figure it out.”

Success can be measured in several ways, but for Coles, it’s learning
 about students who are making connections to businesses they’re 
interested in.

“In all my years of doing what we do, when we can help one person, 
it’s a success,” Coles says. “We’ve already gotten direct feedback that 
students are reaching out to businesses.”

Coles says despite what the future brings for southwest Kansas 
students, he hopes those with correlating interests consider remaining 
in that corner of the state.

“We want them to find a career they would do for free, but they get 
to make a living and have a life they are passionate about. We hope they
 find that here,” Coles says. “We believe what makes this more than just
 a career day is how it’s a process. The leadership skills and training 
integrated into the experience for the students make these events more 
than just learning about careers — they also learn how to be successful 
in their chosen career and community,” Coles says.

Alba is considering staying in southwest Kansas and will choose an 
educational path as it aligns with potential future careers and 
opportunities.

“It was good to see what kind of jobs are here in southwest Kansas,”
 Alba says after the showcase. “It definitely got me thinking about my 
future and the kinds of jobs available to me.”&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/8/1661873475120.png" alt="Courtesy Kansas Living Magazine" />
 <figcaption>Courtesy Kansas Living Magazine</figcaption>
 </figure><a href="https://kansaslivingmagazine.com/articles/2022/08/09/keeping-the-kansas-workforce-in-kansas">Kansas Living</a>Zoe Alba, a freshman at Garden City Achieve High School, stood 
outside Hy-Plains Feedyard in Montezuma, while owner Tom Jones explained
 the different genetic traits of cattle. Alba and the other students 
listening to Jones all had one thing in common — a passion for cattle 
and ranching.It’s those kinds of passions Jones and other business owners and 
educators hope anchor students to the area to become vital pieces of the
 southwest Kansas economy.“We want them to know what kinds of opportunities there are and what 
kind of a life they can make right in or near their hometowns,” Jones 
says.Alba was one of 100 students from eight schools in southwest Kansas 
and Tyron, Okla., who attended the event aimed at showcasing 
opportunities in western Kansas, which was held in late April at the 
feedyard.“I’m interested in the cattle industry, so I thought today would be a good chance to see what’s out there for jobs,” Alba says.Since Alba is a freshman, she says her exact career path isn’t known,
 but a showcase like this could help her decide and point her in the 
right direction.“With the right chance, I would stick around southwest Kansas,” she says.<h2>SHOWCASING WESTERN KANSAS TO STUDENTS</h2>Alba and other students were part of the spring Hy-Plains Western 
Showcase, a summit designed to educate students on southwest Kansas 
industries and attract them to opportunities in the area.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/8/1661873554401.png" alt="Courtesy Kansas Living Magazine" />
 <figcaption>Courtesy Kansas Living Magazine</figcaption>
 </figure>Two other showcases have been held at Hy-Plains, and one at the 
Southwest Plains Regional Service Center in Sublette. The next one is 
slated for September. The events have reached more than 500 students.Jones has been instrumental in forming the showcase and serves on the
 Advantage Kansas Coordinating Council. The council was established in 
2021 to help align education with state agencies and business needs, 
including workforce development.Joe Coles from Coles Consulting serves as an educational consultant and has assisted Jones in the development of the showcase.“Tom really got things going when he started having a leadership day 
where he taught students about agriculture,” Coles says. “That got the 
ball rolling on this. He started this in Gray County as an effort to try
 to keep students around to help the economy there.”Since then, the showcases have grown to include informational days for school counselors and educational days for students.“The reason we do this is to show students what kind of work is right here in southwest Kansas,” Coles says. “We have smaller, shrinking communities, and we want to keep these communities vibrant. There is opportunity for them here to make a good living.”In addition to Coles and Jones, the showcase in Montezuma featured speakers from the Kansas Principals Association, Trane, Foley Equipment, Davis Electric, Hutton Construction, MJE Livestock Equipment, Weber Heating and Cooling, Dodge City Community College, Garden City Community College, Seward Community College and Tatro Plumbing. Rep. Boyd Orr was also featured as a speaker during the showcase.Jones says he hopes the showcases impact students and influence the kind
 of future they see for themselves. He provided tours of the Hy-Plains 
facility and urged students to stick around southwest Kansas.“There is so much going on here in the state, and so many plans and options for the students,” Jones says.Dan Whisler, educator in residence for Trane, works with school 
districts across Kansas to lead the BTU Crew PBL energy education 
program, which is a K-12 STEM education program that takes a 
project-based learning (PBL) approach to help students learn about 
energy while increasing their analytical and problem-solving skills and 
exploring future careers.Whisler told students about the opportunities with energy-related 
jobs like wind turbine technicians and energy analysts. These types of 
technical jobs are available, no matter where you are.“We want to give everyone the same opportunity despite school size and location,” Whisler says. “And technology can do that.<h2>KEEPING TALENT IN KANSAS</h2>Kansas builds its talent but sees issues in retaining what it builds.“We are 47th in the nation at keeping students in the state,” Clayton
 Tatro, vice president for workforce development at Dodge City Community
 College, says. “What’s the biggest export of Kansas? Our talent.”Tatro says 25 percent of jobs in the current economy require a 
four-year degree, while 65 percent of jobs right now require a technical
 degree.“We’ve spent the last two generations telling students to go get a 
four-year degree,” he says. “Then we sent the last 30 years of 
manufacturing overseas.”Tatro says there are plenty of opportunities for students who want to
 earn two-year or four-year degrees, but the focus during the showcase 
is on technical careers and opportunities.“This is such a cool opportunity,” Tatro says. “My passion is 
getting kids involved in tech ed. These students are passionate about 
things like construction, welding, diesel, farming and ranching. We 
specialize in hands on learning and putting students directly to work.”<h2>LEARNING WHAT MATTERS</h2>Bob Kreutzer, who is retired from Tatro Plumbing but is part of the 
Advantage Kansas Coordinating Council, said students should learn about 
opportunities, meet employers and be a team player. He talked about why 
high school classes are important, even if students don’t plan to go to a
 four-year university, and what skills are needed to succeed in the 
workforce.“As you go away from here today, look at your possible careers and 
think about it,” Kreutzer told the students attending the showcase in 
Montezuma. “Talk to other people who aren’t here today. Bounce ideas off
 them. Help them help you decide.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/8/1661873626454.png" alt="Courtesy Kansas Living Magazine" />
 <figcaption>Courtesy Kansas Living Magazine</figcaption>
 </figure>“You should love what you do,” Kreutzer continued. “It won’t be easy, but it can be an absolute joy when you figure it out.”<h2>DISCOVERING THEIR INTERESTS</h2>Success can be measured in several ways, but for Coles, it’s learning
 about students who are making connections to businesses they’re 
interested in.“In all my years of doing what we do, when we can help one person, 
it’s a success,” Coles says. “We’ve already gotten direct feedback that 
students are reaching out to businesses.”Coles says despite what the future brings for southwest Kansas 
students, he hopes those with correlating interests consider remaining 
in that corner of the state.“We want them to find a career they would do for free, but they get 
to make a living and have a life they are passionate about. We hope they
 find that here,” Coles says. “We believe what makes this more than just
 a career day is how it’s a process. The leadership skills and training 
integrated into the experience for the students make these events more 
than just learning about careers — they also learn how to be successful 
in their chosen career and community,” Coles says.Alba is considering staying in southwest Kansas and will choose an 
educational path as it aligns with potential future careers and 
opportunities.“It was good to see what kind of jobs are here in southwest Kansas,”
 Alba says after the showcase. “It definitely got me thinking about my 
future and the kinds of jobs available to me.”&nbsp;

Showcase aims to keep the Kansas workforce in Kansas

WASHINGTON (AP) — Math and reading scores for America’s 9-year-olds fell dramatically during the first two years of the pandemic, according to a new federal study — offering an early glimpse of the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/covid-technology-health-education-1d2f79e2c242d2212ff47983050e5330">sheer magnitude of the learning setbacks</a>&nbsp;dealt to the nation's children.

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/science-education-race-and-ethnicity-atlanta-ff46418c59af90132998817731fe166a">Reading scores</a>&nbsp;saw their largest decrease in 30 years, while math scores had their first decrease in the history of the testing regimen behind the study, according to the National Center for Education Statistics, a branch of the U.S. Education Department.

The dramatic setbacks, which erased two decades of progress in American test scores, reflect years of upheaval for the country's education system. Schools shut down for months at a time amid COVID-19 outbreaks. Many children spent a year or more learning from home. Virus outbreaks among staff and students continued the disruption even after kids returned to the classroom.

The declines hit all regions of the country and affected students of most races. But they were most dramatic for the country's most vulnerable kids. Students of color saw some of the steepest decreases, widening the racial achievement gap.

Much of the nation's standardized testing didn't happen during the early days of the pandemic, so the findings released Thursday gave an early look at the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/covid-science-health-race-and-ethnicity-milwaukee-5ab5394b2513e7136b9b854355770a1a">impact of pandemic learning disruptions</a>. Broader data is expected to be released later this year as part of the National Assessment of Educational Progress, also known as the Nation’s Report Card.

“These are some of the largest declines we have observed in a single assessment cycle in 50 years of the NAEP program,” said Daniel McGrath, the acting associate commissioner of NCES. “Students in 2022 are performing at a level last seen two decades ago.”

In math, the average score for 9-year-old students fell 7 percentage points between 2020 and 2022, according to the study. The average reading score fell 5 points.

The pandemic's upheaval especially hurt students of color. Math scores dropped by 5 percentage points for white students, compared with 13 points for Black students and 8 points for Hispanic students. The divide between Black and white students widened by 8 percentage points during the pandemic.

Decreases were more uniform in reading: Scores dropped 6 points for white, Black and Hispanic students.

For Asian American students, Native American students and students of two or more races, there was little change in reading or math between 2020 and 2022, the study found.

The setbacks, especially among underprivileged kids, raised alarms in the education world. Denise Forte, interim CEO of the Education Trust think tank, called it “deeply disturbing.”

“Due to inequitable and unjust school systems, students who are the most underserved continue to struggle academically both before and during the pandemic," Forte said. “Decision-makers at all levels have not done nearly enough to address the long-standing resource inequities that prohibit Black, Latino and students from low-income backgrounds from reaching their full academic potential."

A national association of superintendents said the findings are disappointing but not surprising.

Dan Domenech, executive director of AASA, said there's encouraging evidence that schools are now investing in summer learning, mental health counselors and reading specialist. But experts have questioned&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/science-education-race-and-ethnicity-atlanta-ff46418c59af90132998817731fe166a">whether schools are taking actions that are sweeping enough</a>&nbsp;to address the magnitude of academic losses.

Geographically, all regions saw decreases in math, but declines were slightly worse in the Northeast and Midwest compared with the West and South. Outcomes were similar for reading, except that the West had no measurable difference compared with 2020.

Although it marks a sharp drop since 2020, the average reading score was 7 points higher than it was in 1971, and the average math score was 15 points higher than in 1978, the study found.

Overall, the results paint a “sobering picture” of schooling during the pandemic, said Peggy Carr, commissioner of the NCES.

Federal officials say this is the first nationally representative study to compare student achievement before the pandemic and in 2022, when most students had returned to in-person learning. Testing was completed in early 2020, soon before the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic, and in early 2022.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Math and reading scores for America’s 9-year-olds fell dramatically during the first two years of the pandemic, according to a new federal study — offering an early glimpse of the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/covid-technology-health-education-1d2f79e2c242d2212ff47983050e5330">sheer magnitude of the learning setbacks</a>&nbsp;dealt to the nation's children.<a href="https://apnews.com/article/science-education-race-and-ethnicity-atlanta-ff46418c59af90132998817731fe166a">Reading scores</a>&nbsp;saw their largest decrease in 30 years, while math scores had their first decrease in the history of the testing regimen behind the study, according to the National Center for Education Statistics, a branch of the U.S. Education Department.The dramatic setbacks, which erased two decades of progress in American test scores, reflect years of upheaval for the country's education system. Schools shut down for months at a time amid COVID-19 outbreaks. Many children spent a year or more learning from home. Virus outbreaks among staff and students continued the disruption even after kids returned to the classroom.The declines hit all regions of the country and affected students of most races. But they were most dramatic for the country's most vulnerable kids. Students of color saw some of the steepest decreases, widening the racial achievement gap.Much of the nation's standardized testing didn't happen during the early days of the pandemic, so the findings released Thursday gave an early look at the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/covid-science-health-race-and-ethnicity-milwaukee-5ab5394b2513e7136b9b854355770a1a">impact of pandemic learning disruptions</a>. Broader data is expected to be released later this year as part of the National Assessment of Educational Progress, also known as the Nation’s Report Card.“These are some of the largest declines we have observed in a single assessment cycle in 50 years of the NAEP program,” said Daniel McGrath, the acting associate commissioner of NCES. “Students in 2022 are performing at a level last seen two decades ago.”In math, the average score for 9-year-old students fell 7 percentage points between 2020 and 2022, according to the study. The average reading score fell 5 points.The pandemic's upheaval especially hurt students of color. Math scores dropped by 5 percentage points for white students, compared with 13 points for Black students and 8 points for Hispanic students. The divide between Black and white students widened by 8 percentage points during the pandemic.Decreases were more uniform in reading: Scores dropped 6 points for white, Black and Hispanic students.For Asian American students, Native American students and students of two or more races, there was little change in reading or math between 2020 and 2022, the study found.The setbacks, especially among underprivileged kids, raised alarms in the education world. Denise Forte, interim CEO of the Education Trust think tank, called it “deeply disturbing.”“Due to inequitable and unjust school systems, students who are the most underserved continue to struggle academically both before and during the pandemic," Forte said. “Decision-makers at all levels have not done nearly enough to address the long-standing resource inequities that prohibit Black, Latino and students from low-income backgrounds from reaching their full academic potential."A national association of superintendents said the findings are disappointing but not surprising.Dan Domenech, executive director of AASA, said there's encouraging evidence that schools are now investing in summer learning, mental health counselors and reading specialist. But experts have questioned&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/science-education-race-and-ethnicity-atlanta-ff46418c59af90132998817731fe166a">whether schools are taking actions that are sweeping enough</a>&nbsp;to address the magnitude of academic losses.Geographically, all regions saw decreases in math, but declines were slightly worse in the Northeast and Midwest compared with the West and South. Outcomes were similar for reading, except that the West had no measurable difference compared with 2020.Although it marks a sharp drop since 2020, the average reading score was 7 points higher than it was in 1971, and the average math score was 15 points higher than in 1978, the study found.Overall, the results paint a “sobering picture” of schooling during the pandemic, said Peggy Carr, commissioner of the NCES.Federal officials say this is the first nationally representative study to compare student achievement before the pandemic and in 2022, when most students had returned to in-person learning. Testing was completed in early 2020, soon before the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic, and in early 2022.___

Report: Reading, math scores fell sharply during pandemic

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday endorsed&nbsp;updated COIVD-19 boosters, opening the way for a fall vaccination campaign that could blunt a winter surge if enough Americans roll up their sleeves.

The new booster shots – one by Moderna and another from Pfizer-BioNTech – come as more than <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/us/covid-cases.html">450 people are still dying of COVID-19 every day in the U.S</a>.

As of Aug. 31, 2022, only <a href="https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#vaccinations_vacc-people-additional-dose-totalpop">48.5% of booster-eligible people in the U.S. have received their first booster shot</a>, and just under 34% of those eligible have received their second. These low numbers may in part be influenced by <a href="https://theconversation.com/should-you-get-a-covid-19-booster-shot-now-or-wait-until-fall-two-immunologists-help-weigh-the-options-184809">people waiting for the newer versions of the vaccines</a> to provide better protection. But booster shots have proven to be an <a href="https://theconversation.com/low-vaccine-booster-rates-are-now-a-key-factor-in-covid-19-deaths-and-racial-disparities-in-booster-rates-persist-187272">essential layer of protection against COVID-19</a>.

<a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=jJVj3sUAAAAJ&amp;hl=en">Prakash Nagarkatti</a> and <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=af7TahQAAAAJ&amp;hl=en">Mitzi Nagarkatti</a>
 are immunologists who study infectious disorders and how vaccines 
trigger different aspects of the immune system to fight infection. They 
weigh in on how the updated booster shots train the immune system and 
how protective they might be against COVID-19.

By PRAKASH NAGARKATTI and MITZI&nbsp;NAGARKATTI <a href="https://theconversation.com/will-omicron-specific-booster-shots-be-more-effective-at-combating-covid-19-5-questions-answered-189610">The Conversation</a>

1. What is different about the updated booster shots?

The newly authorized shots are the first updates to the original 
COVID-19 vaccines that were introduced in late 2020. They use the same <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-mrna-vaccines-from-pfizer-and-moderna-work-why-theyre-a-breakthrough-and-why-they-need-to-be-kept-so-cold-150238">mRNA technology as the original vaccines</a>.
 The key difference between the original COVID-19 shots and the new 
“bivalent” version is that the latter consists of a mixture of mRNA that
 encodes the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41401-020-0485-4">spike proteins</a> of both the original SARS-CoV-2 virus and the more <a href="https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.o1969">recent omicron subvariants, BA.4 and BA.5</a>.

As of late August 2022, the BA.4 and BA.5 omicron subvariants are dominant worldwide. <a href="https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#variant-proportions">In the U.S., currently</a> 89% of COVID-19 infections are caused by BA.5 and 11% are caused by BA.4.

The inability of the original vaccine strains to prevent reinfection and <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-long-does-protective-immunity-against-covid-19-last-after-infection-or-vaccination-two-immunologists-explain-177309">to trigger long-term protective immunity</a> prompted the need for the reformulated vaccines.

2. How does a bivalent vaccine trigger an immune response?

In an actual COVID-19 infection, the SARS-CoV-2 virus uses its protruding <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2003138117">spike protein to latch onto human cells</a> and gain entry into cells. The spike protein triggers the production of so-called <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abd7728">neutralizing antibodies</a>, which bind to the spike protein and prevent the virus from invading other cells.

But <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390%2Fv14030640">when the virus mutates</a>,
 as we know that it does, the antibodies that were previously produced 
in response to the virus can no longer effectively bind to the newly 
mutated spike protein. In this respect, the SARS-CoV-2 virus acts like a
 chameleon – a master of disguise – by changing its body configuration 
and escaping recognition by the immune system.

The ongoing viral mutations are why antibodies produced in response 
to the original vaccine strains have over time become less effective at 
fending off infections by new variants.

The concept of bivalent vaccines aimed at protecting against two different strains of a virus is not new. For instance, <a href="https://www.fda.gov/vaccines-blood-biologics/vaccines/cervarix">Cervarix is an FDA-approved bivalent vaccine</a> that provides protection against two different types of human papillomaviruses that cause cancer.

3. How protective will the new shots be against infection?

There are as of yet no human studies on the efficacy of the new 
bivalent vaccine at preventing reinfections and providing long-term 
immune protection.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/9/1662130237578.jpg" alt="Image courtesy of Pixabay" />
 <figcaption>Image courtesy of Pixabay</figcaption>
 </figure>The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday endorsed&nbsp;updated COIVD-19 boosters, opening the way for a fall vaccination campaign that could blunt a winter surge if enough Americans roll up their sleeves.The new booster shots – one by Moderna and another from Pfizer-BioNTech – come as more than <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/us/covid-cases.html">450 people are still dying of COVID-19 every day in the U.S</a>. As of Aug. 31, 2022, only <a href="https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#vaccinations_vacc-people-additional-dose-totalpop">48.5% of booster-eligible people in the U.S. have received their first booster shot</a>, and just under 34% of those eligible have received their second. These low numbers may in part be influenced by <a href="https://theconversation.com/should-you-get-a-covid-19-booster-shot-now-or-wait-until-fall-two-immunologists-help-weigh-the-options-184809">people waiting for the newer versions of the vaccines</a> to provide better protection. But booster shots have proven to be an <a href="https://theconversation.com/low-vaccine-booster-rates-are-now-a-key-factor-in-covid-19-deaths-and-racial-disparities-in-booster-rates-persist-187272">essential layer of protection against COVID-19</a>. <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=jJVj3sUAAAAJ&amp;hl=en">Prakash Nagarkatti</a> and <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=af7TahQAAAAJ&amp;hl=en">Mitzi Nagarkatti</a>
 are immunologists who study infectious disorders and how vaccines 
trigger different aspects of the immune system to fight infection. They 
weigh in on how the updated booster shots train the immune system and 
how protective they might be against COVID-19. By PRAKASH NAGARKATTI and MITZI&nbsp;NAGARKATTI <a href="https://theconversation.com/will-omicron-specific-booster-shots-be-more-effective-at-combating-covid-19-5-questions-answered-189610">The Conversation</a><h2>1. What is different about the updated booster shots?</h2>The newly authorized shots are the first updates to the original 
COVID-19 vaccines that were introduced in late 2020. They use the same <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-mrna-vaccines-from-pfizer-and-moderna-work-why-theyre-a-breakthrough-and-why-they-need-to-be-kept-so-cold-150238">mRNA technology as the original vaccines</a>.
 The key difference between the original COVID-19 shots and the new 
“bivalent” version is that the latter consists of a mixture of mRNA that
 encodes the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41401-020-0485-4">spike proteins</a> of both the original SARS-CoV-2 virus and the more <a href="https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.o1969">recent omicron subvariants, BA.4 and BA.5</a>.As of late August 2022, the BA.4 and BA.5 omicron subvariants are dominant worldwide. <a href="https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#variant-proportions">In the U.S., currently</a> 89% of COVID-19 infections are caused by BA.5 and 11% are caused by BA.4.The inability of the original vaccine strains to prevent reinfection and <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-long-does-protective-immunity-against-covid-19-last-after-infection-or-vaccination-two-immunologists-explain-177309">to trigger long-term protective immunity</a> prompted the need for the reformulated vaccines.<figure>
 <iframe width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vZeTs9-rgPU"></iframe>
 <figcaption>The booster shots target the BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants of the omicron variant, as well as the original version of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>2. How does a bivalent vaccine trigger an immune response?</h2>In an actual COVID-19 infection, the SARS-CoV-2 virus uses its protruding <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2003138117">spike protein to latch onto human cells</a> and gain entry into cells. The spike protein triggers the production of so-called <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abd7728">neutralizing antibodies</a>, which bind to the spike protein and prevent the virus from invading other cells.But <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390%2Fv14030640">when the virus mutates</a>,
 as we know that it does, the antibodies that were previously produced 
in response to the virus can no longer effectively bind to the newly 
mutated spike protein. In this respect, the SARS-CoV-2 virus acts like a
 chameleon – a master of disguise – by changing its body configuration 
and escaping recognition by the immune system. The ongoing viral mutations are why antibodies produced in response 
to the original vaccine strains have over time become less effective at 
fending off infections by new variants.The concept of bivalent vaccines aimed at protecting against two different strains of a virus is not new. For instance, <a href="https://www.fda.gov/vaccines-blood-biologics/vaccines/cervarix">Cervarix is an FDA-approved bivalent vaccine</a> that provides protection against two different types of human papillomaviruses that cause cancer.<h2>3. How protective will the new shots be against infection?</h2>There are as of yet no human studies on the efficacy of the new 
bivalent vaccine at preventing reinfections and providing long-term 
immune protection.However, in human clinical trials and laboratory studies, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.ade6584">both Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna found</a>
 that their initial version of the bivalent vaccine, which was directed 
against the original SARS-CoV-2 virus and an earlier omicron strain, 
BA.1, induced a strong immune response and longer protection against 
both the original strain and the BA.1 variant. In addition, the 
companies reported that the same early combination generated a 
significant antibody response against the newest omicron subvariants, 
BA.4 and BA.5, though this antibody response was lower than that seen 
against subvariant BA.1.Based on those results, in spring 2022 the <a href="https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/coronavirus-covid-19-update-fda-recommends-inclusion-omicron-ba45-component-covid-19-vaccine-booster">FDA rejected</a>
 the BA.1 bivalent boosters because the agency felt the boosters may 
fall short of providing sufficient protection against the newest 
strains, BA.4 and BA.5, which were by then spreading quickly throughout 
the U.S. and the world. So the FDA asked Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/fda-recommends-inclusion-ba4-ba5-subvariants-covid-boosters-2022-06-30/">to develop bivalent vaccines specifically targeting BA.4 and BA.5</a>, instead of BA.1. <div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">On <a href="https://twitter.com/ASOpodcast?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@asopodcast</a>, hear from White House <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Covid19?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Covid19</a> Response Coordinator Dr. <a href="https://twitter.com/AshishKJha46?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AshishKJha46</a>, where we talk next generation <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/vaccines?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#vaccines</a>, when to get your booster, &amp; what’s behind <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Paxlovid?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Paxlovid</a> rebound. Listen now: <a href="https://t.co/7zPSjU2SnO">https://t.co/7zPSjU2SnO</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/medtwitter?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#medtwitter</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/pandemic?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#pandemic</a> <a href="https://t.co/yZnvRJryMq">pic.twitter.com/yZnvRJryMq</a>&mdash; Bill Frist, M.D. (@bfrist) <a href="https://twitter.com/bfrist/status/1561732830211735553?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 22, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> </div>Because clinical trials are time-consuming, the <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2022/08/18/1117778748/whats-behind-the-fdas-controversial-strategy-for-evaluating-new-covid-boosters">FDA was willing to consider animal studies</a>
 and other laboratory findings, such as the ability of antibodies to 
neutralize the virus, to decide whether to authorize the bivalent 
boosters. This decision <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2022/08/18/1117778748/whats-behind-the-fdas-controversial-strategy-for-evaluating-new-covid-boosters">has stirred up controversy</a>
 over whether it is appropriate for the FDA to approve a booster without
 direct human data to support it. However, the FDA has stated that 
millions of people have safely received the mRNA vaccines – which were 
originally tested in humans – and that the changes in the mRNA sequences
 in the vaccines <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Health/fall-covid-19-boosters-roll-pending-green-light/story?id=88973334">do not affect vaccine safety</a>. Thus, it concluded that the bivalent vaccines are safe and that there is no need to wait for human clinical trials.It is also noteworthy that influenza vaccines are introduced each 
year based on prediction of the strain that is likely to be dominant, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.ade6584">and such formulations do not undergo new clinical trials</a>. Based on available evidence from the previous COVID-19 vaccines, we 
believe it is very likely that the new boosters will continue to offer 
strong protection from <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2022/s0318-COVID-19-vaccines-protect.html">severe COVID-19 leading to hospitalization and death</a>.
But whether they will protect against reinfection and breakthrough infections remains to be seen. <h2>4. Will it only be a booster shot?</h2>The bivalent vaccines <a href="https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/coronavirus-covid-19-update-fda-authorizes-moderna-pfizer-biontech-bivalent-covid-19-vaccines-use">can only be used</a>
 as a booster shot at least two months after the completion of the 
primary series – or initial required shots – or following a previous 
booster shot. The Moderna bivalent vaccine is authorized for use in 
people 18 years of age, while the Pfizer bivalent vaccine is authorized 
for those 12 years of age and older. Because of the superiority of the bivalent vaccines, the FDA has also
 removed the use authorization for the original monovalent Moderna and 
Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines for booster purposes in individuals 18 years of
 age and older and 12 years of age and older, respectively. The new <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.ade6584">bivalent vaccines contain a lower dose of mRNA</a>, and as such are meant to be used only as boosters and not in people who have never received a COVID-19 vaccination. <h2>5. Will the new shots protect against future variants?</h2>How well the bivalent vaccines will perform in the face of new 
variants that might arise will depend on the nature of future spike 
protein mutations. If it is a minor mutation or set of mutations when compared to the 
original strain or to omicron variants BA.4 and BA.5, the new shots will
 provide good protection. However, if a hypothetical new strain were to 
possess highly unique mutations in its spike protein, then it’s likely 
that it could once again dodge immune protection. On the flip side, the successful development of the updated vaccines 
demonstrates that the mRNA vaccine technology is nimble and innovative 
enough that – within a couple of months of the emergence of a new 
variant – it is now likely possible to develop and distribute new 
vaccines that are tailor-made to fight an emerging variant.<div><iframe src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/189610/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-advanced" width="1" height="1"></iframe></div>