ELLSWORTH COUNTY - Human remains found in rural Ellsworth County on Tuesday have been identified as those of a Salina man missing for more than a month.

On Tuesday, July 19, 2022, the Ellsworth County Sheriff’s Office was dispatched to a rural area in Ellsworth County for a report of a body being found in a field., according to a statement from the. Kansas Bureau of Investigation. 

The Ellsworth County Sheriff’s Office responded and located human remains in an extreme state of decomposition. The Kansas Bureau of Investigation was notified and responded to investigate the scene.

On Thursday, an autopsy was performed, and the medical examiner determined the manner of death as a homicide.

On Friday, July 22, 2022, a forensic odontologist was able to compare the dental records of Nathan Philip Thompson and the deceased remains and confirm the body's identity as that of Thompson. Next of kin have been notified of these developments.

The case will be reclassified as a homicide, and the investigation is still ongoing. Anyone with information on the van and/or its driver is encouraged to contact the Salina Police Department, Crime Stoppers, or the Tip line below.

If you have had contact with Nathan Thompson since June 1, 2022, have information concerning his disappearance, or have information relative to the fire at 1635 Elgin please contact the Salina Police Department at 785-826-7210. You may also call Crimestoppers at 785-825-TIPS or make an online tip at: https://www.p3tips.com/tipform.aspx?ID=950#. Tipsters may also contact the Salina Police Department at (785) 826-7210 and ask to speak to Detective Lemon, case 2022-17281.

In a statement released Saturday morning, the Salina Police Department reported that on Friday, "a forensic odontologist was able to compare the dental records of Nathan Philip Thompson and the deceased remains and confirm the body's identity as that of Thompson."

Additionally, based on the autopsy performed, the medical examiner has determined that Thompson's death was a homicide.

On June 18, Salina police announced that they were investigating the disappearance of Thompson, 44, who hadn't been seen in more than a week. In information released on June 18, police reported that on June 13, the Salina Fire Department responded to a trailer home fire at 1635 Elgin in west Salina. No one was in the trailer at the time the blaze was extinguished, however the fire was classified as an arson.

At the time of the fire, neighbors told police that Thompson had been living in the trailer, but had not been seen for approximately a week.

On June 22, Salina police released photos of a Chevrolet Express van that police believe was used in Thompson's disappearance. Salina police continue to seek information about the van.

"The Salina Police Department has the van in its possession. We are asking the public for any information they can provide with regards to the van since June 9th, 2022, especially any sightings in rural areas," the Salina Police Department noted in the June 22 statement.

If you have had contact with Nathan Thompson since June 1, 2022, have information concerning his disappearance or have information relative to the fire at 1635 Elgin please contact the Salina Police Department at 785-826-7210. You may also call Crimestoppers at 785-825-TIPS or make an online tip at:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.p3tips.com/tipform.aspx?ID=950#">https://www.p3tips.com/tipform.aspx?ID=950#</a>. Tipsters may also contact the Salina Police Department at (785) 826-7210 and ask to speak to Detective Lemon, case 2022-17281.

ELLSWORTH COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating are investigating after human remains were found in rural Ellsworth County.

Just before 11:30a.m. on July 19, the Ellsworth County Sheriff's office asked the Kansas Bureau of Investigation to to assist them, according to KBI spokesperson Melissa Underwood.

The Crime Scene Response Team processed the scene where the body was found, and an autopsy was conducted. Authorities are are working to positively identify the deceased subject.&nbsp;

The KBI released no additional details. Check the Post for more information as it becomes available.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/6/1655577117894.jpeg" alt="-Nathan Thompson-Photo Salina Police Department" />
 <figcaption>-Nathan Thompson-Photo Salina Police Department</figcaption>
 </figure>ELLSWORTH COUNTY - Human remains found in rural Ellsworth County on Tuesday have been identified as those of a Salina man missing for more than a month.On Tuesday, July 19, 2022, the Ellsworth County Sheriff’s Office was dispatched to a rural area in Ellsworth County for a report of a body being found in a field., according to a statement from the. Kansas Bureau of Investigation. The Ellsworth County Sheriff’s Office responded and located human remains in an extreme state of decomposition. The Kansas Bureau of Investigation was notified and responded to investigate the scene.On Thursday, an autopsy was performed, and the medical examiner determined the manner of death as a homicide.On Friday, July 22, 2022, a forensic odontologist was able to compare the dental records of Nathan Philip Thompson and the deceased remains and confirm the body's identity as that of Thompson. Next of kin have been notified of these developments.The case will be reclassified as a homicide, and the investigation is still ongoing. Anyone with information on the van and/or its driver is encouraged to contact the Salina Police Department, Crime Stoppers, or the Tip line below.If you have had contact with Nathan Thompson since June 1, 2022, have information concerning his disappearance, or have information relative to the fire at 1635 Elgin please contact the Salina Police Department at 785-826-7210. You may also call Crimestoppers at 785-825-TIPS or make an online tip at: https://www.p3tips.com/tipform.aspx?ID=950#. Tipsters may also contact the Salina Police Department at (785) 826-7210 and ask to speak to Detective Lemon, case 2022-17281.-----ELLSWORTH COUNTY - Human remains found in rural Ellsworth County on Tuesday have been identified as those of a Salina man missing for more than a month.In a statement released Saturday morning, the Salina Police Department reported that on Friday, "a forensic odontologist was able to compare the dental records of Nathan Philip Thompson and the deceased remains and confirm the body's identity as that of Thompson."Additionally, based on the autopsy performed, the medical examiner has determined that Thompson's death was a homicide.On June 18, Salina police announced that they were investigating the disappearance of Thompson, 44, who hadn't been seen in more than a week. In information released on June 18, police reported that on June 13, the Salina Fire Department responded to a trailer home fire at 1635 Elgin in west Salina. No one was in the trailer at the time the blaze was extinguished, however the fire was classified as an arson.At the time of the fire, neighbors told police that Thompson had been living in the trailer, but had not been seen for approximately a week.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/6/1655917461520.png" alt="-The van believed to be connected to Thompson's disappearance and murder. Photos courtesy Salina Police Department" />
 <figcaption>-The van believed to be connected to Thompson's disappearance and murder. Photos courtesy Salina Police Department</figcaption>
 </figure>On June 22, Salina police released photos of a Chevrolet Express van that police believe was used in Thompson's disappearance. Salina police continue to seek information about the van."The Salina Police Department has the van in its possession. We are asking the public for any information they can provide with regards to the van since June 9th, 2022, especially any sightings in rural areas," the Salina Police Department noted in the June 22 statement.If you have had contact with Nathan Thompson since June 1, 2022, have information concerning his disappearance or have information relative to the fire at 1635 Elgin please contact the Salina Police Department at 785-826-7210. You may also call Crimestoppers at 785-825-TIPS or make an online tip at:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.p3tips.com/tipform.aspx?ID=950#">https://www.p3tips.com/tipform.aspx?ID=950#</a>. Tipsters may also contact the Salina Police Department at (785) 826-7210 and ask to speak to Detective Lemon, case 2022-17281.------ELLSWORTH COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating are investigating after human remains were found in rural Ellsworth County.Just before 11:30a.m. on July 19, the Ellsworth County Sheriff's office asked the Kansas Bureau of Investigation to to assist them, according to KBI spokesperson Melissa Underwood.The Crime Scene Response Team processed the scene where the body was found, and an autopsy was conducted. Authorities are are working to positively identify the deceased subject.&nbsp;The KBI released no additional details. Check the Post for more information as it becomes available.

Homicide: Police ID remains found in rural Ellsworth County

LONDON (AP) — The World Health Organization said the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/science-health-096f3625c4c14a18e2d5f813241d83bf">expanding monkeypox outbreak</a>&nbsp;in more than 70 countries is an “extraordinary” situation that now qualifies as a global emergency, a declaration Saturday that could spur further investment in treating the once-rare disease and worsen the scramble for&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-animals-primates-european-union-853ed8fa9967823f7b24570d1e5b9a0e">scarce vaccines</a>.

<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/poxvirus/monkeypox/response/2022/us-map.html">Click here for additional details</a> on monkeypox cases in the U.S.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus made the decision to issue the declaration despite a lack of consensus among members of WHO's emergency committee. It was the first time the chief of the U.N. health agency has taken such an action.

“In short, we have an outbreak that has spread around the world rapidly through new modes of transmission about which we understand too little and which meets the criteria in the international health regulations,” Tedros said.

“I know this has not been an easy or straightforward process and that there are divergent views among the members" of the committee, he added.

Although monkeypox has been established in parts of central and west Africa for decades, it was not known to spark large outbreaks beyond the continent or to spread widely among people until May, when authorities detected dozens of epidemics in Europe, North America and elsewhere.

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/covid-health-united-nations-epidemics-north-america-c5284aabf79d9ecb816975dc249abffd">Declaring a global emergency</a>&nbsp;means the monkeypox outbreak is an “extraordinary event” that could spill over into more countries and requires a coordinated global response. WHO previously declared emergencies for public health crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2014 West African Ebola outbreak, the Zika virus in Latin America in 2016 and the ongoing effort to eradicate polio.

The emergency declaration mostly serves as a plea to draw more global resources and attention to an outbreak. Past announcements had mixed impact, given that the U.N. health agency is largely powerless in getting countries to act.

Last month, WHO’s expert committee said the worldwide monkeypox outbreak did not yet amount to an international emergency, but the panel convened this week to reevaluate the situation.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 16,000 cases of monkeypox have been reported in 74 countries since about May. To date, monkeypox deaths have only been reported in Africa, where a more dangerous version of the virus is spreading, mainly in Nigeria and Congo.

In Africa, monkeypox mainly spreads to people from infected wild animals like rodents, in limited outbreaks that typically have not crossed borders. In Europe, North America and elsewhere, however, monkeypox is spreading among people with no links to animals or recent travel to Africa.

WHO’s top monkeypox expert, Dr. Rosamund Lewis, said this week that 99% of all the monkeypox cases beyond Africa were in men and that of those, 98% involved men who have sex with men. Experts suspect the monkeypox outbreaks in Europe and North America were spread via sex at two raves in Belgium and Spain.

Michael Head, a senior research fellow in global health at Southampton University, said it was surprising WHO hadn’t already declared monkeypox a global emergency, explaining that the conditions were arguably met weeks ago.

Some experts have questioned whether such a declaration would help, arguing the disease isn’t severe enough to warrant the attention and that rich countries battling monkeypox already have the funds to do so; most people recover without needing medical attention, although the lesions may be painful.

“I think it would be better to be proactive and overreact to the problem instead of waiting to react when it’s too late," Head said. He added that WHO’s emergency declaration could help donors like the World Bank make funds available to stop the outbreaks both in the West and in Africa, where animals are the likely natural reservoir of monkeypox.

In the U.S., some experts have speculated whether monkeypox might be on the verge of becoming an&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/monkeypox-the-next-std-3266fd0ae451578c989605f430cd3897">entrenched sexually transmitted disease</a>&nbsp;in the country, like gonorrhea, herpes and HIV.

“The bottom line is we’ve seen a shift in the epidemiology of monkeypox where there’s now widespread, unexpected transmission,” said Dr. Albert Ko, a professor of public health and epidemiology at Yale University. “There are some genetic mutations in the virus that suggest why that may be happening, but we do need a globally-coordinated response to get it under control,” he said.

Ko called for testing to be immediately scaled up rapidly, saying that similar to the early days of COVID-19, that there were significant gaps in surveillance.

“The cases we are seeing are just the tip of the iceberg,” he said. “The window has probably closed for us to quickly stop the outbreaks in Europe and the U.S., but it’s not too late to stop monkeypox from causing huge damage to poorer countries without the resources to handle it.”

In the U.S., some experts have speculated that monkeypox might become entrenched there as the newest sexually transmitted disease, with officials estimating that 1.5 million men are at high risk of being infected.

Dr. Placide Mbala, a virologist who directs the global health department at Congo’s Institute of National Biomedical Research, said he hoped any global efforts to stop monkeypox would be equitable. Although countries including Britain, Canada, Germany and the U.S. have ordered millions of vaccine doses, none have gone to Africa.

“The solution needs to be global,” Mbala said, adding that any vaccines sent to Africa would be used to target those at highest risk, like hunters in rural areas.

“Vaccination in the West might help stop the outbreak there, but there will still be cases in Africa,” he said. “Unless the problem is solved here, the risk to the rest of the world will remain.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/7/1658586348383.png" alt="CDC image July 22, 2022- Total confirmed monkeypox/orthopoxvirus cases: 2,891" />
 <figcaption>CDC image July 22, 2022- Total confirmed monkeypox/orthopoxvirus cases: 2,891</figcaption>
 </figure>LONDON (AP) — The World Health Organization said the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/science-health-096f3625c4c14a18e2d5f813241d83bf">expanding monkeypox outbreak</a>&nbsp;in more than 70 countries is an “extraordinary” situation that now qualifies as a global emergency, a declaration Saturday that could spur further investment in treating the once-rare disease and worsen the scramble for&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-animals-primates-european-union-853ed8fa9967823f7b24570d1e5b9a0e">scarce vaccines</a>.<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/poxvirus/monkeypox/response/2022/us-map.html">Click here for additional details</a> on monkeypox cases in the U.S.WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus made the decision to issue the declaration despite a lack of consensus among members of WHO's emergency committee. It was the first time the chief of the U.N. health agency has taken such an action.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">🚨 BREAKING: &quot;For all of these reasons, I have decided that the global <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/monkeypox?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#monkeypox</a> outbreak represents a public health emergency of international concern.&quot;-<a href="https://twitter.com/DrTedros?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DrTedros</a> <a href="https://t.co/qvmYX1ZBAL">pic.twitter.com/qvmYX1ZBAL</a>&mdash; World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) <a href="https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1550847224963371010?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 23, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>“In short, we have an outbreak that has spread around the world rapidly through new modes of transmission about which we understand too little and which meets the criteria in the international health regulations,” Tedros said.“I know this has not been an easy or straightforward process and that there are divergent views among the members" of the committee, he added.Although monkeypox has been established in parts of central and west Africa for decades, it was not known to spark large outbreaks beyond the continent or to spread widely among people until May, when authorities detected dozens of epidemics in Europe, North America and elsewhere.<a href="https://apnews.com/article/covid-health-united-nations-epidemics-north-america-c5284aabf79d9ecb816975dc249abffd">Declaring a global emergency</a>&nbsp;means the monkeypox outbreak is an “extraordinary event” that could spill over into more countries and requires a coordinated global response. WHO previously declared emergencies for public health crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2014 West African Ebola outbreak, the Zika virus in Latin America in 2016 and the ongoing effort to eradicate polio.The emergency declaration mostly serves as a plea to draw more global resources and attention to an outbreak. Past announcements had mixed impact, given that the U.N. health agency is largely powerless in getting countries to act.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/6/1655678482994.png" alt="Monkeypox Photo Credit: NHS England High Consequence Infectious Diseases Network-CDC" />
 <figcaption>Monkeypox Photo Credit: NHS England High Consequence Infectious Diseases Network-CDC</figcaption>
 </figure>Last month, WHO’s expert committee said the worldwide monkeypox outbreak did not yet amount to an international emergency, but the panel convened this week to reevaluate the situation.According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 16,000 cases of monkeypox have been reported in 74 countries since about May. To date, monkeypox deaths have only been reported in Africa, where a more dangerous version of the virus is spreading, mainly in Nigeria and Congo.In Africa, monkeypox mainly spreads to people from infected wild animals like rodents, in limited outbreaks that typically have not crossed borders. In Europe, North America and elsewhere, however, monkeypox is spreading among people with no links to animals or recent travel to Africa.WHO’s top monkeypox expert, Dr. Rosamund Lewis, said this week that 99% of all the monkeypox cases beyond Africa were in men and that of those, 98% involved men who have sex with men. Experts suspect the monkeypox outbreaks in Europe and North America were spread via sex at two raves in Belgium and Spain.Michael Head, a senior research fellow in global health at Southampton University, said it was surprising WHO hadn’t already declared monkeypox a global emergency, explaining that the conditions were arguably met weeks ago.Some experts have questioned whether such a declaration would help, arguing the disease isn’t severe enough to warrant the attention and that rich countries battling monkeypox already have the funds to do so; most people recover without needing medical attention, although the lesions may be painful.“I think it would be better to be proactive and overreact to the problem instead of waiting to react when it’s too late," Head said. He added that WHO’s emergency declaration could help donors like the World Bank make funds available to stop the outbreaks both in the West and in Africa, where animals are the likely natural reservoir of monkeypox.In the U.S., some experts have speculated whether monkeypox might be on the verge of becoming an&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/monkeypox-the-next-std-3266fd0ae451578c989605f430cd3897">entrenched sexually transmitted disease</a>&nbsp;in the country, like gonorrhea, herpes and HIV.“The bottom line is we’ve seen a shift in the epidemiology of monkeypox where there’s now widespread, unexpected transmission,” said Dr. Albert Ko, a professor of public health and epidemiology at Yale University. “There are some genetic mutations in the virus that suggest why that may be happening, but we do need a globally-coordinated response to get it under control,” he said.Ko called for testing to be immediately scaled up rapidly, saying that similar to the early days of COVID-19, that there were significant gaps in surveillance.“The cases we are seeing are just the tip of the iceberg,” he said. “The window has probably closed for us to quickly stop the outbreaks in Europe and the U.S., but it’s not too late to stop monkeypox from causing huge damage to poorer countries without the resources to handle it.”In the U.S., some experts have speculated that monkeypox might become entrenched there as the newest sexually transmitted disease, with officials estimating that 1.5 million men are at high risk of being infected.Dr. Placide Mbala, a virologist who directs the global health department at Congo’s Institute of National Biomedical Research, said he hoped any global efforts to stop monkeypox would be equitable. Although countries including Britain, Canada, Germany and the U.S. have ordered millions of vaccine doses, none have gone to Africa.“The solution needs to be global,” Mbala said, adding that any vaccines sent to Africa would be used to target those at highest risk, like hunters in rural areas.“Vaccination in the West might help stop the outbreak there, but there will still be cases in Africa,” he said. “Unless the problem is solved here, the risk to the rest of the world will remain.”

WHO: Monkeypox a global emergency

WASHINGTON —Family Dollar is initiating a voluntary retail level product recall of certain products regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that were stored and inadvertently shipped to certain stores on or around May 1, 2022 through June 10, 2022 due to product being stored outside of labeled temperature requirements, according to a media release from the agency.

To date, Family Dollar has not received any consumer complaints or reports of illness related to this recall.

Family Dollar has notified its affected stores asking them to check their stock immediately and to quarantine and discontinue the sale of any affected product. Customers that may have bought affected product may return such product to the Family Dollar store where they were purchased without receipt.&nbsp;

<a href="https://www.fda.gov/media/160146/download">Click here to</a> see the 11-page list of recalled products.

Customers with questions regarding this recall may contact Family Dollar Customer Service at 844-636-7687 between 9am and 5pm EST. Customers should contact their physician or health care provider if they have experienced any problems that may be related to using these products.

Adverse reactions or quality problems experienced with the use of this product may be reported to the FDA's MedWatch Adverse Event Reporting program either online, by regular mail or by fax.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/7/1658512118386.png" alt="Google image" />
 <figcaption>Google image</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON —Family Dollar is initiating a voluntary retail level product recall of certain products regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that were stored and inadvertently shipped to certain stores on or around May 1, 2022 through June 10, 2022 due to product being stored outside of labeled temperature requirements, according to a media release from the agency.To date, Family Dollar has not received any consumer complaints or reports of illness related to this recall.Family Dollar has notified its affected stores asking them to check their stock immediately and to quarantine and discontinue the sale of any affected product. Customers that may have bought affected product may return such product to the Family Dollar store where they were purchased without receipt.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fda.gov/media/160146/download">Click here to</a> see the 11-page list of recalled products.Customers with questions regarding this recall may contact Family Dollar Customer Service at 844-636-7687 between 9am and 5pm EST. Customers should contact their physician or health care provider if they have experienced any problems that may be related to using these products.Adverse reactions or quality problems experienced with the use of this product may be reported to the FDA's MedWatch Adverse Event Reporting program either online, by regular mail or by fax.<ul>
 <li>Complete and submit the report&nbsp;Online:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fda.gov/safety/medwatch-fda-safety-information-and-adverse-event-reporting-program/reporting-serious-problems-fda">www.fda.gov/medwatch/report.htm</a></li><li>Regular Mail or Fax:&nbsp;Download form&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fda.gov/safety/medical-product-safety-information/medwatch-forms-fda-safety-reporting">www.fda.gov/MedWatch/getforms.htm</a>&nbsp;or call 1-800-332-1088 to request a reporting form, then complete and return to the address on the pre-addressed form, or submit by fax to 1-800-FDA-0178</li><li><a href="https://www.fda.gov/safety/report-problem-fda">https://www.fda.gov/safety/report-problem-fda</a></li>
 </ul>

FDA: Family Dollar recalling hundreds of over-the-counter products

SEWARD COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a homicide and have made an arrest.

just before midnight Monday, police responded to report of a shooting the 1100 Block of South Grant in Liberal, according to a media release.

First responders found a 30-year-old man who had been shot in the chest. EMS transported the victim to Southwest Medical Center where he was pronounced dead.

Investigators learned the suspect who allegedly shot the victim was 28-year-old Ricardo<a href="https://ssc.sedgwickcounty.org/sheriffinmates/SheriffInmateDetail.aspx?nameId=411860"> Viveros-Magana</a> fled the scene in a stolen 2008 Chevy Silverado 1500.

On Friday night police reported U.S. Marshals assisted police in taking Viveros-Magana into custody. He is being held on a $260,000 bond on a felony warrant and requested charges of interference with law enforcement and obstruction, according to online jail records.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/7/1658576237739.png" alt="Viveros-Magana-photo Sedgwick County" />
 <figcaption>Viveros-Magana-photo Sedgwick County</figcaption>
 </figure>SEWARD COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a homicide and have made an arrest.just before midnight Monday, police responded to report of a shooting the 1100 Block of South Grant in Liberal, according to a media release.First responders found a 30-year-old man who had been shot in the chest. EMS transported the victim to Southwest Medical Center where he was pronounced dead.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/7/1658576541420.png" alt="Police on the scene of the arrest on Friday -photo courtesy KWCH" />
 <figcaption>Police on the scene of the arrest on Friday -photo courtesy KWCH</figcaption>
 </figure>Investigators learned the suspect who allegedly shot the victim was 28-year-old Ricardo<a href="https://ssc.sedgwickcounty.org/sheriffinmates/SheriffInmateDetail.aspx?nameId=411860"> Viveros-Magana</a> fled the scene in a stolen 2008 Chevy Silverado 1500.On Friday night police reported U.S. Marshals assisted police in taking Viveros-Magana into custody. He is being held on a $260,000 bond on a felony warrant and requested charges of interference with law enforcement and obstruction, according to online jail records.

U.S. Marshals help capture SW Kansas murder suspect 

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House announced Friday that the U.S. is sending an additional $270 million in security assistance to Ukraine,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-army-lloyd-austin-government-and-politics-8083b97c8f6cf237538c22e67c3f7aaa">a package</a>&nbsp;that will include additional medium range rocket systems and tactical drones.

The latest tranche brings the total U.S. security assistance committed to Ukraine by the Biden administration to $8.2 billion, and is being paid for through&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-seoul-asia-31f17af1605313f6f563d405052e3de7">$40 billion in economic and security aid f</a>&nbsp;or Ukraine approved. by Congress in May.

The new package includes four&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-zelenskyy-nato-sergey-lavrov-dd7bc9324e465a15209940c146a859b3">High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS</a>&nbsp;and will allow Kyiv to acquire up to 580&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-biden-announces-new-military-aid-e78a7db76215a84f86586bb56122cd04">Phoenix Ghost drones</a>, both crucial weapon systems that have allowed the Ukrainians to stay in the fight despite Russian artillery supremacy, according to John Kirby, the White House National Security Council’s coordinator for strategic communications. The latest assistance also includes some 36,000 rounds of artillery ammunition and additional ammunition for the HIMARS.

“The president has been clear that we’re going to continue to support the government of Ukraine and its people for as long as it takes,” Kirby said.

Ukrainian forces have used U.S.-made rocket launchers and tactical drones to destroy dozens of Russian targets and hold at bay Russia’s larger and more heavily equipped forces.

Russia can fire far more ammunition but has sustained huge losses of troops and equipment as Ukrainian forces have been equipped with precision weaponry from the U.S. and other Western allies. CIA Director William Burns on Wednesday said the U.S. estimates roughly 15,000 Russian forces have been killed. That death toll would be equivalent to the Soviet Union's military losses in its 1980s war in Afghanistan, which lasted nearly a decade.

To try to equalize the conflict, Ukraine has made ample use of Western-supplied technologies as it defends its eastern lines.

Ukraine has long sought more HIMARS launchers, which fire medium-range rockets and also can be quickly moved before Russia can target them. On Wednesday, Ukrainian forces reportedly used a HIMARS to hit a strategic bridge in the Russia-occupied southern region of Kherson. One military expert told The Associated Press that the systems have “hardly had any rest during the day or at night.”

U.S. authorities also are providing Ukraine with more guided rockets known as GMLRS. The Pentagon continues to rule out sending longer-range rockets that Ukraine could potentially use to strike deep into Russian territory. That's a nod to the U.S. trying to manage the risk of Russia instigating a broader war.

The U.S. has already sent 12 truck-mounted HIMARS to Ukraine. The United Kingdom has also provided three launchers of a different kind with GMLRS rockets as well.

Both sides in the war have made ample use of drones. The U.S. had previously committed to sending 121 Phoenix Ghosts to Ukraine. Pentagon officials have not fully disclosed the capabilities of those drones, which were developed by the U.S. Air Force and produced by Aevex Aerospace, which describes itself as a leader in “full-spectrum airborne intelligence solutions.” The drones have onboard cameras and can be used to attack targets.

The U.S. disclosed earlier this month that it believes Russia is planning to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/white-house-says-russian-officials-visited-iran-for-drones-ef42c30747220d3e499f9c8b116fefa6">obtain several hundred drones from Iran</a>. Iranian drones have previously penetrated Saudi and Emirati air defense systems in the Middle East that were supplied by the U.S. Biden administration officials have tried to publicly discourage Iran from moving forward with the transfer.

The White House released satellite imagery that indicates Russian officials twice visited Iran in June or July for a showcase of weapons-capable drones it is looking to acquire.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House announced Friday that the U.S. is sending an additional $270 million in security assistance to Ukraine,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-army-lloyd-austin-government-and-politics-8083b97c8f6cf237538c22e67c3f7aaa">a package</a>&nbsp;that will include additional medium range rocket systems and tactical drones.The latest tranche brings the total U.S. security assistance committed to Ukraine by the Biden administration to $8.2 billion, and is being paid for through&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-seoul-asia-31f17af1605313f6f563d405052e3de7">$40 billion in economic and security aid f</a>&nbsp;or Ukraine approved. by Congress in May.The new package includes four&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-zelenskyy-nato-sergey-lavrov-dd7bc9324e465a15209940c146a859b3">High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS</a>&nbsp;and will allow Kyiv to acquire up to 580&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-biden-announces-new-military-aid-e78a7db76215a84f86586bb56122cd04">Phoenix Ghost drones</a>, both crucial weapon systems that have allowed the Ukrainians to stay in the fight despite Russian artillery supremacy, according to John Kirby, the White House National Security Council’s coordinator for strategic communications. The latest assistance also includes some 36,000 rounds of artillery ammunition and additional ammunition for the HIMARS.“The president has been clear that we’re going to continue to support the government of Ukraine and its people for as long as it takes,” Kirby said.Ukrainian forces have used U.S.-made rocket launchers and tactical drones to destroy dozens of Russian targets and hold at bay Russia’s larger and more heavily equipped forces.Russia can fire far more ammunition but has sustained huge losses of troops and equipment as Ukrainian forces have been equipped with precision weaponry from the U.S. and other Western allies. CIA Director William Burns on Wednesday said the U.S. estimates roughly 15,000 Russian forces have been killed. That death toll would be equivalent to the Soviet Union's military losses in its 1980s war in Afghanistan, which lasted nearly a decade.To try to equalize the conflict, Ukraine has made ample use of Western-supplied technologies as it defends its eastern lines.Ukraine has long sought more HIMARS launchers, which fire medium-range rockets and also can be quickly moved before Russia can target them. On Wednesday, Ukrainian forces reportedly used a HIMARS to hit a strategic bridge in the Russia-occupied southern region of Kherson. One military expert told The Associated Press that the systems have “hardly had any rest during the day or at night.”U.S. authorities also are providing Ukraine with more guided rockets known as GMLRS. The Pentagon continues to rule out sending longer-range rockets that Ukraine could potentially use to strike deep into Russian territory. That's a nod to the U.S. trying to manage the risk of Russia instigating a broader war.The U.S. has already sent 12 truck-mounted HIMARS to Ukraine. The United Kingdom has also provided three launchers of a different kind with GMLRS rockets as well.Both sides in the war have made ample use of drones. The U.S. had previously committed to sending 121 Phoenix Ghosts to Ukraine. Pentagon officials have not fully disclosed the capabilities of those drones, which were developed by the U.S. Air Force and produced by Aevex Aerospace, which describes itself as a leader in “full-spectrum airborne intelligence solutions.” The drones have onboard cameras and can be used to attack targets.The U.S. disclosed earlier this month that it believes Russia is planning to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/white-house-says-russian-officials-visited-iran-for-drones-ef42c30747220d3e499f9c8b116fefa6">obtain several hundred drones from Iran</a>. Iranian drones have previously penetrated Saudi and Emirati air defense systems in the Middle East that were supplied by the U.S. Biden administration officials have tried to publicly discourage Iran from moving forward with the transfer.The White House released satellite imagery that indicates Russian officials twice visited Iran in June or July for a showcase of weapons-capable drones it is looking to acquire.

White House spending another $270M for Ukraine military

By PETER KRAPP <a href="https://theconversation.com/surveillance-is-pervasive-yes-you-are-being-watched-even-if-no-one-is-looking-for-you-187139">The Conversation</a>

The U.S. has the <a href="https://www.techspot.com/news/83061-report-finds-us-has-largest-number-surveillance-cameras.html">largest number of surveillance cameras per person</a> in the world. Cameras are omnipresent on city streets and in hotels, restaurants, malls and offices. They’re also used to <a href="https://www.mordorintelligence.com/industry-reports/united-states-video-surveillance-market">screen passengers</a> for the Transportation Security Administration. And then there are <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/23207072/amazon-ring-privacy-police-footage">smart doorbells</a> and other home security cameras.

Most Americans are aware of video surveillance of public spaces. Likewise, most people know about online tracking – and <a href="https://morningconsult.com/2021/04/27/state-privacy-congress-priority-poll/">want Congress to do something about it</a>. But as a researcher who <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&amp;user=tMOMmqsAAAAJ&amp;view_op=list_works&amp;sortby=pubdate">studies digital culture and secret communications</a>,
 I believe that to understand how pervasive surveillance is, it’s 
important to recognize how physical and digital tracking work together.

Databases can correlate <a href="https://theconversation.com/impending-demise-of-roe-v-wade-puts-a-spotlight-on-a-major-privacy-risk-your-phone-reveals-more-about-you-than-you-think-182504">location data from smartphones</a>, the growing number of private cameras, <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/license-plate-reader-alpr-surveillance-abortion/">license plate readers</a> on police cruisers and toll roads, and <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2019/12/9/21002515/surveillance-cameras-globally-us-china-amount-citizens">facial recognition technology</a>, so if law enforcement wants to track where you are and where you’ve been, they can. They need a warrant to use <a href="https://www.upturn.org/work/mass-extraction/">cellphone search</a> equipment: Connecting your device to a <a href="https://csrc.nist.gov/Projects/Mobile-Security-and-Forensics/Mobile-Forensics">mobile device forensic tool</a> lets them extract and <a href="https://www.forensicmag.com/518341-Digital-Forensics-Window-Into-the-Soul/">analyze all your data</a> <a href="https://casetext.com/case/people-v-riley-263">if they have a warrant</a>.

However, private <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/opinion-data-brokers-know-where-you-are-and-want-to-sell-that-intel/">data brokers</a> also track this kind of data and <a href="https://issues.org/data-brokers-police-surveillance/">help surveil citizens</a>
 – without a warrant. There is a large market for personal data, 
compiled from information people volunteer, information people 
unwittingly yield – for example, <a href="https://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/how-to-control-which-apps-access-your-location-on-ios-and-android/">via mobile apps</a> – and information that is stolen in data breaches. Among the customers for this largely unregulated data are <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/22565926/police-law-enforcement-data-warrant">federal, state and local law enforcement agencies</a>.

Whether or not you pass under the gaze of a surveillance camera or 
license plate reader, you are tracked by your mobile phone. GPS tells 
weather apps or maps your location, Wi-Fi uses your location, and <a href="https://cyberforensics.com/services/cellular-triangulation/">cell-tower triangulation</a> tracks your phone. <a href="https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/955287">Bluetooth</a>
 can identify and track your smartphone, and not just for COVID-19 
contact tracing, Apple’s “Find My” service, or to connect headphones.

People volunteer their locations for <a href="https://us.norton.com/internetsecurity-privacy-ridesharing-privacy-ride.html">ride-sharing</a> or for games like <a href="https://www.pokemon.com/us/app/pokemon-go/">Pokemon Go</a> or <a href="https://www.ingress.com">Ingress</a>, but apps can also <a href="https://research.checkpoint.com/2021/mobile-app-developers-misconfiguration-of-third-party-services-leave-personal-data-of-over-100-million-exposed/">collect and share location</a> without your knowledge. Many late-model cars feature telematics that track locations – for example, <a href="https://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/how-to/a7469/your-car-is-spying-on-you-but-whom-is-it-spying-for/">OnStar or Bluelink</a>. All this makes opting out impractical.

The same thing is true online. Most websites feature <a href="https://themarkup.org/blacklight">ad trackers and third-party cookies</a>,
 which are stored in your browser whenever you visit a site. They 
identify you when you visit other sites so advertisers can follow you 
around. Some websites also use <a href="https://www.malwarebytes.com/keylogger">key logging</a>,
 which monitors what you type into a page before hitting submit. 
Similarly, session recording monitors mouse movements, clicks, scrolling
 and typing, even if you don’t click “submit.”

Ad trackers know when you browsed where, which browser you used, and what your device’s internet address is. <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2022/07/18/google-data-states-track-abortions-00045906">Google</a> and Facebook are among the main beneficiaries, but there are many <a href="https://privacybee.com/blog/these-are-the-largest-data-brokers-in-america/">data brokers</a> <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-data-brokers-selling-your-personal-information/">slicing and dicing such information</a> by religion, ethnicity, political affiliations, social media profiles, income and medical history for profit.

People may implicitly consent to some loss of privacy in the interest
 of perceived or real security – for example, in stadiums, on the road 
and at airports, or in return for cheaper online services. But these 
trade-offs benefit individuals far less than the companies aggregating 
data. <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-some-americans-dont-trust-the-census-130109">Many Americans</a> are suspicious of government <a href="https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/reports/2010/01/20/most-view-census-positively-but-some-have-doubts">censuses</a>, yet they willingly share their jogging routines on apps like <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jan/28/fitness-tracking-app-gives-away-location-of-secret-us-army-bases">Strava</a>, which has <a href="https://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/apps/a15912407/strava-app-military-bases-fitbit-jogging/">revealed</a> sensitive and secret <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/a-map-showing-the-users-of-fitness-devices-lets-the-world-see-where-us-soldiers-are-and-what-they-are-doing/2018/01/28/86915662-0441-11e8-aa61-f3391373867e_story.html">military data</a>.

In the <a href="https://scholarworks.law.ubalt.edu/ublr/vol50/iss1/2/">post-Roe v. Wade legal environment</a>, there are <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/19/opinion/privacy-technology-data.html">concerns</a> not only about <a href="https://www.stopspying.org/pregnancy-panopticon">period tracking</a> apps but about <a href="https://www.techdirt.com/2022/05/04/data-brokers-selling-location-data-of-americans-who-visit-abortion-clinics/">correlating data</a> on physical movements with online searches and <a href="https://theconversation.com/impending-demise-of-roe-v-wade-puts-a-spotlight-on-a-major-privacy-risk-your-phone-reveals-more-about-you-than-you-think-182504">phone data</a>. Legislation like the recent <a href="https://legiscan.com/TX/bill/SB8/2021">Texas Senate Bill 8</a> anti-abortion law invokes “private individual enforcement mechanisms,” raising questions about who gets <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2022/07/18/google-data-states-track-abortions-00045906">access to tracking data</a>.

In 2019, the <a href="https://www.vox.com/platform/amp/2019/10/31/20939890/missouri-abortion-clinic-hearing-periods-roe-wade">Missouri Department of Health</a>
 stored data about the periods of patients at the state’s lone Planned 
Parenthood clinic, correlated with state medical records. Communications
 <a href="https://www.icij.org/inside-icij/2015/05/be-paranoid-how-one-reporter-learned-danger-metadata/">metadata</a> can reveal who you are in touch with, when you were where, and who else was there – whether they are in your contacts or not.

Location data from apps on hundreds of millions of phones lets the <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2022/07/18/dhs-location-data-aclu-00046208">Department of Homeland Security</a> track people. Health <a href="https://www.democraticmedia.org/CDD-Wearable-Devices-Big-Data-Report">wearables</a> pose similar risks, and medical experts note a <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31146589/">lack of awareness</a>
 about the security of data they collect. Note the resemblance of your 
Fitbit or smartwatch to ankle bracelets people wear during court-ordered
 monitoring.

The most pervasive user of tracking in the U.S. is Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which <a href="https://americandragnet.org/">amassed a vast amount of information</a> without judicial, legislative or public oversight. Georgetown University Law Center’s Center on Privacy and Technology <a href="https://americandragnet.org/">reported on how ICE searched</a>
 the driver’s license photographs of 32% of all adults in the U.S., 
tracked cars in cities home to 70% of adults, and updated address 
records for 74% of adults when those people activated new utility 
accounts.

Nobody expects to be invisible on streets, at borders, or in shopping
 centers. But who has access to all that surveillance data, and how long
 it is stored? There is <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/blog/state-of-privacy-laws-in-us/">no single U.S. privacy law</a>
 at the federal level, and states cope with a regulatory patchwork; only
 five states – California, Colorado, Connecticut, Utah and Virginia – <a href="https://www.natlawreview.com/article/state-us-state-privacy-laws-comparison">have privacy laws</a>.

It is possible to <a href="https://www.consumerreports.org/privacy/how-to-turn-off-location-services-on-your-smartphone-a8219252827/">limit location tracking</a> on your phone, but not to avoid it completely. Data brokers are supposed to mask your <a href="https://dataprivacymanager.net/what-is-personally-identifiable-information-pii/">personally identifiable data</a> before selling it. But this “<a href="https://www.techdirt.com/2021/11/22/anonymized-data-is-gibberish-term-rampant-location-data-sales-is-still-problem/">anonymization</a>” is meaningless since individuals are easily identified by cross-referencing additional data sets. This makes it easy for <a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/panvkz/stalkers-debt-collectors-bounty-hunters-impersonate-cops-phone-location-data">bounty hunters and stalkers</a> to abuse the system.

The biggest risk to most people arises when there is a <a href="https://www.tripwire.com/state-of-security/security-data-protection/4-credit-bureau-data-breaches-predate-2017-equifax-hack/">data breach</a>, which is happening more often – whether it is a <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/ajdellinger/2019/06/07/many-popular-android-apps-leak-sensitive-data-leaving-millions-of-consumers-at-risk/?sh=367a2418521e">leaky app</a> or careless <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2022/7/6/23196805/marriott-hotels-maryland-data-breach-credit-cards">hotel chain</a>, a <a href="https://www.techdirt.com/2019/11/26/california-makes-50-million-annually-selling-your-dmv-data/">DMV data sale</a> or a compromised <a href="https://www.securityweek.com/massive-credit-bureau-hack-raises-troubling-questions">credit bureau</a>, or indeed a <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/22/tech/equifax-hack-ftc/index.html">data brokering</a> middleman whose <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/03/02/cloud-hack-problems/">cloud storage</a> is hacked.

This illicit flow of data not only puts <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2017/06/online-data-brokers/529281/">fuzzy notions</a>
 of privacy in peril, but may put your addresses and passport numbers, 
biometric data and social media profiles, credit card numbers and dating
 profiles, health and insurance information, and more <a href="https://epic.org/issues/consumer-privacy/data-brokers/">on sale</a>.

Peter Krapp is a Professor of Film &amp; Media Studies, University of California, Irvine.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/7/1658509184318.jpg" alt="Image courtesy of Pixabay" />
 <figcaption>Image courtesy of Pixabay</figcaption>
 </figure>By PETER KRAPP <a href="https://theconversation.com/surveillance-is-pervasive-yes-you-are-being-watched-even-if-no-one-is-looking-for-you-187139">The Conversation</a>The U.S. has the <a href="https://www.techspot.com/news/83061-report-finds-us-has-largest-number-surveillance-cameras.html">largest number of surveillance cameras per person</a> in the world. Cameras are omnipresent on city streets and in hotels, restaurants, malls and offices. They’re also used to <a href="https://www.mordorintelligence.com/industry-reports/united-states-video-surveillance-market">screen passengers</a> for the Transportation Security Administration. And then there are <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/23207072/amazon-ring-privacy-police-footage">smart doorbells</a> and other home security cameras. Most Americans are aware of video surveillance of public spaces. Likewise, most people know about online tracking – and <a href="https://morningconsult.com/2021/04/27/state-privacy-congress-priority-poll/">want Congress to do something about it</a>. But as a researcher who <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&amp;user=tMOMmqsAAAAJ&amp;view_op=list_works&amp;sortby=pubdate">studies digital culture and secret communications</a>,
 I believe that to understand how pervasive surveillance is, it’s 
important to recognize how physical and digital tracking work together. Databases can correlate <a href="https://theconversation.com/impending-demise-of-roe-v-wade-puts-a-spotlight-on-a-major-privacy-risk-your-phone-reveals-more-about-you-than-you-think-182504">location data from smartphones</a>, the growing number of private cameras, <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/license-plate-reader-alpr-surveillance-abortion/">license plate readers</a> on police cruisers and toll roads, and <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2019/12/9/21002515/surveillance-cameras-globally-us-china-amount-citizens">facial recognition technology</a>, so if law enforcement wants to track where you are and where you’ve been, they can. They need a warrant to use <a href="https://www.upturn.org/work/mass-extraction/">cellphone search</a> equipment: Connecting your device to a <a href="https://csrc.nist.gov/Projects/Mobile-Security-and-Forensics/Mobile-Forensics">mobile device forensic tool</a> lets them extract and <a href="https://www.forensicmag.com/518341-Digital-Forensics-Window-Into-the-Soul/">analyze all your data</a> <a href="https://casetext.com/case/people-v-riley-263">if they have a warrant</a>. However, private <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/opinion-data-brokers-know-where-you-are-and-want-to-sell-that-intel/">data brokers</a> also track this kind of data and <a href="https://issues.org/data-brokers-police-surveillance/">help surveil citizens</a>
 – without a warrant. There is a large market for personal data, 
compiled from information people volunteer, information people 
unwittingly yield – for example, <a href="https://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/how-to-control-which-apps-access-your-location-on-ios-and-android/">via mobile apps</a> – and information that is stolen in data breaches. Among the customers for this largely unregulated data are <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/22565926/police-law-enforcement-data-warrant">federal, state and local law enforcement agencies</a>.<h2>How you are tracked</h2>Whether or not you pass under the gaze of a surveillance camera or 
license plate reader, you are tracked by your mobile phone. GPS tells 
weather apps or maps your location, Wi-Fi uses your location, and <a href="https://cyberforensics.com/services/cellular-triangulation/">cell-tower triangulation</a> tracks your phone. <a href="https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/955287">Bluetooth</a>
 can identify and track your smartphone, and not just for COVID-19 
contact tracing, Apple’s “Find My” service, or to connect headphones.People volunteer their locations for <a href="https://us.norton.com/internetsecurity-privacy-ridesharing-privacy-ride.html">ride-sharing</a> or for games like <a href="https://www.pokemon.com/us/app/pokemon-go/">Pokemon Go</a> or <a href="https://www.ingress.com">Ingress</a>, but apps can also <a href="https://research.checkpoint.com/2021/mobile-app-developers-misconfiguration-of-third-party-services-leave-personal-data-of-over-100-million-exposed/">collect and share location</a> without your knowledge. Many late-model cars feature telematics that track locations – for example, <a href="https://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/how-to/a7469/your-car-is-spying-on-you-but-whom-is-it-spying-for/">OnStar or Bluelink</a>. All this makes opting out impractical.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/7/1658509244085.jpg" alt="Image courtesy of Pixabay" />
 <figcaption>Image courtesy of Pixabay</figcaption>
 </figure>The same thing is true online. Most websites feature <a href="https://themarkup.org/blacklight">ad trackers and third-party cookies</a>,
 which are stored in your browser whenever you visit a site. They 
identify you when you visit other sites so advertisers can follow you 
around. Some websites also use <a href="https://www.malwarebytes.com/keylogger">key logging</a>,
 which monitors what you type into a page before hitting submit. 
Similarly, session recording monitors mouse movements, clicks, scrolling
 and typing, even if you don’t click “submit.” Ad trackers know when you browsed where, which browser you used, and what your device’s internet address is. <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2022/07/18/google-data-states-track-abortions-00045906">Google</a> and Facebook are among the main beneficiaries, but there are many <a href="https://privacybee.com/blog/these-are-the-largest-data-brokers-in-america/">data brokers</a> <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-data-brokers-selling-your-personal-information/">slicing and dicing such information</a> by religion, ethnicity, political affiliations, social media profiles, income and medical history for profit.<h2>Big Brother in the 21st century</h2>People may implicitly consent to some loss of privacy in the interest
 of perceived or real security – for example, in stadiums, on the road 
and at airports, or in return for cheaper online services. But these 
trade-offs benefit individuals far less than the companies aggregating 
data. <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-some-americans-dont-trust-the-census-130109">Many Americans</a> are suspicious of government <a href="https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/reports/2010/01/20/most-view-census-positively-but-some-have-doubts">censuses</a>, yet they willingly share their jogging routines on apps like <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jan/28/fitness-tracking-app-gives-away-location-of-secret-us-army-bases">Strava</a>, which has <a href="https://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/apps/a15912407/strava-app-military-bases-fitbit-jogging/">revealed</a> sensitive and secret <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/a-map-showing-the-users-of-fitness-devices-lets-the-world-see-where-us-soldiers-are-and-what-they-are-doing/2018/01/28/86915662-0441-11e8-aa61-f3391373867e_story.html">military data</a>. In the <a href="https://scholarworks.law.ubalt.edu/ublr/vol50/iss1/2/">post-Roe v. Wade legal environment</a>, there are <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/19/opinion/privacy-technology-data.html">concerns</a> not only about <a href="https://www.stopspying.org/pregnancy-panopticon">period tracking</a> apps but about <a href="https://www.techdirt.com/2022/05/04/data-brokers-selling-location-data-of-americans-who-visit-abortion-clinics/">correlating data</a> on physical movements with online searches and <a href="https://theconversation.com/impending-demise-of-roe-v-wade-puts-a-spotlight-on-a-major-privacy-risk-your-phone-reveals-more-about-you-than-you-think-182504">phone data</a>. Legislation like the recent <a href="https://legiscan.com/TX/bill/SB8/2021">Texas Senate Bill 8</a> anti-abortion law invokes “private individual enforcement mechanisms,” raising questions about who gets <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2022/07/18/google-data-states-track-abortions-00045906">access to tracking data</a>. In 2019, the <a href="https://www.vox.com/platform/amp/2019/10/31/20939890/missouri-abortion-clinic-hearing-periods-roe-wade">Missouri Department of Health</a>
 stored data about the periods of patients at the state’s lone Planned 
Parenthood clinic, correlated with state medical records. Communications
 <a href="https://www.icij.org/inside-icij/2015/05/be-paranoid-how-one-reporter-learned-danger-metadata/">metadata</a> can reveal who you are in touch with, when you were where, and who else was there – whether they are in your contacts or not.Location data from apps on hundreds of millions of phones lets the <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2022/07/18/dhs-location-data-aclu-00046208">Department of Homeland Security</a> track people. Health <a href="https://www.democraticmedia.org/CDD-Wearable-Devices-Big-Data-Report">wearables</a> pose similar risks, and medical experts note a <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31146589/">lack of awareness</a>
 about the security of data they collect. Note the resemblance of your 
Fitbit or smartwatch to ankle bracelets people wear during court-ordered
 monitoring.The most pervasive user of tracking in the U.S. is Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which <a href="https://americandragnet.org/">amassed a vast amount of information</a> without judicial, legislative or public oversight. Georgetown University Law Center’s Center on Privacy and Technology <a href="https://americandragnet.org/">reported on how ICE searched</a>
 the driver’s license photographs of 32% of all adults in the U.S., 
tracked cars in cities home to 70% of adults, and updated address 
records for 74% of adults when those people activated new utility 
accounts.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/7/1658509302201.jpg" alt="Image courtesy of Pixabay" />
 <figcaption>Image courtesy of Pixabay</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>No one is watching the watchers</h2>Nobody expects to be invisible on streets, at borders, or in shopping
 centers. But who has access to all that surveillance data, and how long
 it is stored? There is <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/blog/state-of-privacy-laws-in-us/">no single U.S. privacy law</a>
 at the federal level, and states cope with a regulatory patchwork; only
 five states – California, Colorado, Connecticut, Utah and Virginia – <a href="https://www.natlawreview.com/article/state-us-state-privacy-laws-comparison">have privacy laws</a>. It is possible to <a href="https://www.consumerreports.org/privacy/how-to-turn-off-location-services-on-your-smartphone-a8219252827/">limit location tracking</a> on your phone, but not to avoid it completely. Data brokers are supposed to mask your <a href="https://dataprivacymanager.net/what-is-personally-identifiable-information-pii/">personally identifiable data</a> before selling it. But this “<a href="https://www.techdirt.com/2021/11/22/anonymized-data-is-gibberish-term-rampant-location-data-sales-is-still-problem/">anonymization</a>” is meaningless since individuals are easily identified by cross-referencing additional data sets. This makes it easy for <a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/panvkz/stalkers-debt-collectors-bounty-hunters-impersonate-cops-phone-location-data">bounty hunters and stalkers</a> to abuse the system. The biggest risk to most people arises when there is a <a href="https://www.tripwire.com/state-of-security/security-data-protection/4-credit-bureau-data-breaches-predate-2017-equifax-hack/">data breach</a>, which is happening more often – whether it is a <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/ajdellinger/2019/06/07/many-popular-android-apps-leak-sensitive-data-leaving-millions-of-consumers-at-risk/?sh=367a2418521e">leaky app</a> or careless <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2022/7/6/23196805/marriott-hotels-maryland-data-breach-credit-cards">hotel chain</a>, a <a href="https://www.techdirt.com/2019/11/26/california-makes-50-million-annually-selling-your-dmv-data/">DMV data sale</a> or a compromised <a href="https://www.securityweek.com/massive-credit-bureau-hack-raises-troubling-questions">credit bureau</a>, or indeed a <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/22/tech/equifax-hack-ftc/index.html">data brokering</a> middleman whose <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/03/02/cloud-hack-problems/">cloud storage</a> is hacked. This illicit flow of data not only puts <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2017/06/online-data-brokers/529281/">fuzzy notions</a>
 of privacy in peril, but may put your addresses and passport numbers, 
biometric data and social media profiles, credit card numbers and dating
 profiles, health and insurance information, and more <a href="https://epic.org/issues/consumer-privacy/data-brokers/">on sale</a>.<div><iframe src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/187139/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-advanced" width="1" height="1"></iframe></div>Peter Krapp is a Professor of Film &amp; Media Studies, University of California, Irvine.

Yes, you are being watched, even if no one is looking for you

BROWN COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a woman on drug charges after the search of her residence.

On July 17 while on official duty, a sheriff's deputy identified the odor of&nbsp; burnt marijuana coming from inside a residence in Horton, according to Brown County Sheriff John Merchant.

The resident granted a consent search which resulted in the arrest of Anna Kaler, 35 Horton on requested charges of Possession of Meth, Possession of Marijuana and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/7/1658349196221.png" alt="Kaler-photo Brown Co." />
 <figcaption>Kaler-photo Brown Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>BROWN COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a woman on drug charges after the search of her residence.On July 17 while on official duty, a sheriff's deputy identified the odor of&nbsp; burnt marijuana coming from inside a residence in Horton, according to Brown County Sheriff John Merchant.The resident granted a consent search which resulted in the arrest of Anna Kaler, 35 Horton on requested charges of Possession of Meth, Possession of Marijuana and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. .

Kan. woman jailed after deputy smells marijuana coming from home

MOSCOW (AP) — The spokesperson for Russia’s Foreign Ministry lashed out Thursday at the United States characterizing basketball star Brittney Griner’s jailing on drug charges as “wrongful detention,” saying it shows disrespect for Russian law.

Griner has been jailed since she was arrested in mid-February at a Moscow airport after vape canisters containing cannabis oil were found in her luggage. The Phoenix Mercury standout and two-time Olympic gold medalist acknowledged in court this month that she had the canisters, but said she had&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/brittney-griner-russia-trial-live-updates-bc4c1d9efd490eed0eb522c8c59e9197">no intent to break the law</a>.

She faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/brittney-griner-russian-trial-1db9fad8b028b0158e46625b1a4af1bd">Her trial</a>&nbsp;is scheduled to resume Tuesday.

The State Department in May designated Griner as wrongfully detained, moving her case under the supervision of its special presidential envoy for hostage affairs - effectively, the government’s chief hostage negotiator.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Thursday that the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/brittney-griner-trial-updates-142a994fb4067c2b48029e4566169f04">legalization of cannabis</a>&nbsp;for medical and recreational use in parts of the U.S. has no bearing on what happens in Russia.

“If a U.S. citizen was taken in connection with the fact that she was smuggling drugs, and she does not deny this, then this should be commensurate with our Russian, local laws, and not with those adopted in San Francisco, New York and Washington,” Zakharova said.

“You understand, if drugs are legalized in the United States, in a number of states, and this is done for a long time, and now the whole country will become drug-addicted, this does not mean that all other countries are following the same path,” she added.

Russian media have persistently speculated that Griner could be exchanged for prominent Russian arms trader Viktor Bout, who is imprisoned in the United States, and that Paul Whelan, an American imprisoned in Russia for espionage, may also figure in an exchange.

U.S. officials have not commented on the prospects for such a trade. Russian officials have said no exchange could be discussed until the conclusion of the legal proceedings against Griner. It is unclear how long the trial will last, but a court has authorized Griner’s detention until Dec. 20.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/3/1646510097872.png" alt="The 31-year-old Griner, one of the most recognizable players in women’s basketball, has won two Olympic gold medals with the U.S., a WNBA championship with the Phoenix Mercury and a national championship at Baylor. She is a seven-time All-Star and three-time Big 12 Player of the year at Baylor-photo courtesy Phoenix Mercury" />
 <figcaption>The 31-year-old Griner, one of the most recognizable players in women’s basketball, has won two Olympic gold medals with the U.S., a WNBA championship with the Phoenix Mercury and a national championship at Baylor. She is a seven-time All-Star and three-time Big 12 Player of the year at Baylor-photo courtesy Phoenix Mercury</figcaption>
 </figure>MOSCOW (AP) — The spokesperson for Russia’s Foreign Ministry lashed out Thursday at the United States characterizing basketball star Brittney Griner’s jailing on drug charges as “wrongful detention,” saying it shows disrespect for Russian law.Griner has been jailed since she was arrested in mid-February at a Moscow airport after vape canisters containing cannabis oil were found in her luggage. The Phoenix Mercury standout and two-time Olympic gold medalist acknowledged in court this month that she had the canisters, but said she had&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/brittney-griner-russia-trial-live-updates-bc4c1d9efd490eed0eb522c8c59e9197">no intent to break the law</a>.She faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/brittney-griner-russian-trial-1db9fad8b028b0158e46625b1a4af1bd">Her trial</a>&nbsp;is scheduled to resume Tuesday.The State Department in May designated Griner as wrongfully detained, moving her case under the supervision of its special presidential envoy for hostage affairs - effectively, the government’s chief hostage negotiator.Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Thursday that the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/brittney-griner-trial-updates-142a994fb4067c2b48029e4566169f04">legalization of cannabis</a>&nbsp;for medical and recreational use in parts of the U.S. has no bearing on what happens in Russia.“If a U.S. citizen was taken in connection with the fact that she was smuggling drugs, and she does not deny this, then this should be commensurate with our Russian, local laws, and not with those adopted in San Francisco, New York and Washington,” Zakharova said.“You understand, if drugs are legalized in the United States, in a number of states, and this is done for a long time, and now the whole country will become drug-addicted, this does not mean that all other countries are following the same path,” she added.Russian media have persistently speculated that Griner could be exchanged for prominent Russian arms trader Viktor Bout, who is imprisoned in the United States, and that Paul Whelan, an American imprisoned in Russia for espionage, may also figure in an exchange.U.S. officials have not commented on the prospects for such a trade. Russian officials have said no exchange could be discussed until the conclusion of the legal proceedings against Griner. It is unclear how long the trial will last, but a court has authorized Griner’s detention until Dec. 20.

Moscow: US must respect Russian law in Griner case

SHAWNEE COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities investigating a fatal July 16 shooting are asking the public to help locate Kansas felon.

Just after 9:30 p.m. Saturday, police were dispatched to report of a shooting in the 900 Block of SW 8th Street in Topeka, according to Police LT Ronnie Connell.

First responders found 34-year-old&nbsp; Kirk Sexton suffering from a gunshot wound. He was pronounced deceased at the scene.

The Topeka Police Department is looking to speak with Emmanuel Rashad Walker, 35, of Topeka in reference to this homicide investigation.

 Walker has previous convictions for aggravated assault in 2009 and for, obstruction and drug possession in 2019, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections

Anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of Emmanuel Rashad Walker should call police or 911.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/7/1658512386623.png" alt="&nbsp;Emmanuel Rashad Walker has previous convictions for aggravated assault, obstruction and for drugs, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections -photo Topeka Police" />
 <figcaption>&nbsp;Emmanuel Rashad Walker has previous convictions for aggravated assault, obstruction and for drugs, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections -photo Topeka Police</figcaption>
 </figure>SHAWNEE COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities investigating a fatal July 16 shooting are asking the public to help locate Kansas felon.Just after 9:30 p.m. Saturday, police were dispatched to report of a shooting in the 900 Block of SW 8th Street in Topeka, according to Police LT Ronnie Connell.First responders found 34-year-old&nbsp; Kirk Sexton suffering from a gunshot wound. He was pronounced deceased at the scene.The Topeka Police Department is looking to speak with Emmanuel Rashad Walker, 35, of Topeka in reference to this homicide investigation. Walker has previous convictions for aggravated assault in 2009 and for, obstruction and drug possession in 2019, according to the Kansas Department of CorrectionsAnyone with information regarding the whereabouts of Emmanuel Rashad Walker should call police or 911.

Police: Kansas felon wanted for man's murder

&nbsp;By ASHRAF KHALIL Associated Press

WASHINGTON — Steve Bannon, a longtime ally of former President 
Donald Trump was convicted on Friday of contempt charges for defying a 
congressional subpoena from the House committee investigating the Jan. 6
 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

Bannon, 68, was convicted after
 a four-day trial in federal court in Washington on two counts: one for 
refusing to appear for a deposition and the other for refusing to 
provide documents in response to the committee’s subpoena. The jury of 8
 men and 4 women deliberated just under three hours.

He faces up 
to two years in federal prison when he’s sentenced on Oct. 21. Each 
count carries a minimum sentence of 30 days in jail.

The committee
 sought Bannon’s testimony over his involvement in Trump’s efforts to 
overturn the 2020 presidential election. Bannon had initially argued 
that his testimony was protected by Trump’s claim of executive 
privilege. But the House panel and the Justice Department contend such a
 claim is dubious because Trump had fired Bannon from the White House in
 2017 and Bannon was thus a private citizen when he was consulting with 
the then-president in the run-up to the riot on Jan. 6, 2021.

Bannon’s
 lawyers tried to argue during the trial that he didn’t refuse to 
cooperate and that the dates “were in flux.” They pointed to the fact 
that Bannon had reversed course shortly before the trial kicked off — 
after Trump waived his objection — and had offered to testify before the
 committee.

In closing arguments Friday morning, both sides 
re-emphasized their primary positions from the trial. The prosecution 
maintained that Bannon willfully ignored clear and explicit deadlines, 
and the defense claimed Bannon believed those deadlines were flexible 
and subject to negotiation.

Bannon was served with a subpoena on 
Sept. 23 last year ordering him to provide requested documents to the 
committee by Oct. 7 and appear in person by Oct. 14. Bannon was indicted
 in November on two counts of criminal contempt of Congress, a month 
after the Justice Department received the House panel’s referral.

Bannon’s
 attorney Evan Corcoran told jurors Friday in his closing arguments that
 those deadlines were mere “placeholders” while lawyers on each side 
negotiated terms.

Corcoran said the committee “rushed to judgment” because it “wanted to make an example of Steve Bannon.”

Corcoran
 also hinted that the government’s main witness, Jan. 6 committee chief 
counsel Kristin Amerling, was personally biased. Amerling admitted on 
the stand that she is a lifelong Democrat and has been friends with one 
of the prosecutors for years. Corcoran also vaguely hinted that the 
signature of Jan. 6 committee chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss) 
looked different on the subpoena than on other letters but dropped that 
topic when the prosecution objected.

Prosecutors focused on the 
series of letters exchanged between the Jan. 6 committee and Bannon’s 
lawyers. The correspondence shows Thompson immediately dismissing 
Bannon’s claim that he was exempted by Trump’s claim of executive 
privilege and explicitly threatening Bannon with criminal prosecution.

“The
 defense wants to make this hard, difficult and confusing,” said 
Assistant U.S. Attorney Amanda Vaughn in her closing statement. “This is
 not difficult. This is not hard. There were only two witnesses because 
it’s as simple as it seems.”

The defense Thursday motioned for an 
acquittal, saying the prosecution had not proved it’s case. In making 
his motion for acquittal before U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols, Bannon
 attorney Evan Corcoran said that “no reasonable juror could conclude 
that Mr. Bannon refused to comply.”

Once the motion was made the 
defense rested its case without putting on any witnesses, telling 
Nichols that Bannon saw no point in testifying since the judge’s 
previous rulings had gutted his planned avenues of defense. Among other 
things, Bannon’s team was barred from calling as witnesses House Speaker
 Nancy Pelosi or members of the House panel. David Schoen said Bannon 
“understands that he would be barred from telling the true facts.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/7/1658518117885.jpeg" alt="Former White House strategist Steve Bannon arrives at the federal court in Washington on Friday (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)" />
 <figcaption>Former White House strategist Steve Bannon arrives at the federal court in Washington on Friday (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)</figcaption>
 </figure>&nbsp;By ASHRAF KHALIL Associated Press WASHINGTON — Steve Bannon, a longtime ally of former President 
Donald Trump was convicted on Friday of contempt charges for defying a 
congressional subpoena from the House committee investigating the Jan. 6
 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.Bannon, 68, was convicted after
 a four-day trial in federal court in Washington on two counts: one for 
refusing to appear for a deposition and the other for refusing to 
provide documents in response to the committee’s subpoena. The jury of 8
 men and 4 women deliberated just under three hours.He faces up 
to two years in federal prison when he’s sentenced on Oct. 21. Each 
count carries a minimum sentence of 30 days in jail.The committee
 sought Bannon’s testimony over his involvement in Trump’s efforts to 
overturn the 2020 presidential election. Bannon had initially argued 
that his testimony was protected by Trump’s claim of executive 
privilege. But the House panel and the Justice Department contend such a
 claim is dubious because Trump had fired Bannon from the White House in
 2017 and Bannon was thus a private citizen when he was consulting with 
the then-president in the run-up to the riot on Jan. 6, 2021.Bannon’s
 lawyers tried to argue during the trial that he didn’t refuse to 
cooperate and that the dates “were in flux.” They pointed to the fact 
that Bannon had reversed course shortly before the trial kicked off — 
after Trump waived his objection — and had offered to testify before the
 committee.In closing arguments Friday morning, both sides 
re-emphasized their primary positions from the trial. The prosecution 
maintained that Bannon willfully ignored clear and explicit deadlines, 
and the defense claimed Bannon believed those deadlines were flexible 
and subject to negotiation.Bannon was served with a subpoena on 
Sept. 23 last year ordering him to provide requested documents to the 
committee by Oct. 7 and appear in person by Oct. 14. Bannon was indicted
 in November on two counts of criminal contempt of Congress, a month 
after the Justice Department received the House panel’s referral.Bannon’s
 attorney Evan Corcoran told jurors Friday in his closing arguments that
 those deadlines were mere “placeholders” while lawyers on each side 
negotiated terms.Corcoran said the committee “rushed to judgment” because it “wanted to make an example of Steve Bannon.”Corcoran
 also hinted that the government’s main witness, Jan. 6 committee chief 
counsel Kristin Amerling, was personally biased. Amerling admitted on 
the stand that she is a lifelong Democrat and has been friends with one 
of the prosecutors for years. Corcoran also vaguely hinted that the 
signature of Jan. 6 committee chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss) 
looked different on the subpoena than on other letters but dropped that 
topic when the prosecution objected.Prosecutors focused on the 
series of letters exchanged between the Jan. 6 committee and Bannon’s 
lawyers. The correspondence shows Thompson immediately dismissing 
Bannon’s claim that he was exempted by Trump’s claim of executive 
privilege and explicitly threatening Bannon with criminal prosecution.“The
 defense wants to make this hard, difficult and confusing,” said 
Assistant U.S. Attorney Amanda Vaughn in her closing statement. “This is
 not difficult. This is not hard. There were only two witnesses because 
it’s as simple as it seems.”The defense Thursday motioned for an 
acquittal, saying the prosecution had not proved it’s case. In making 
his motion for acquittal before U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols, Bannon
 attorney Evan Corcoran said that “no reasonable juror could conclude 
that Mr. Bannon refused to comply.”Once the motion was made the 
defense rested its case without putting on any witnesses, telling 
Nichols that Bannon saw no point in testifying since the judge’s 
previous rulings had gutted his planned avenues of defense. Among other 
things, Bannon’s team was barred from calling as witnesses House Speaker
 Nancy Pelosi or members of the House panel. David Schoen said Bannon 
“understands that he would be barred from telling the true facts.”

Steve Bannon convicted of contempt for defying 1/6 subpoena

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden's COVID symptoms improved Friday and he responded well to treatment, his doctor said, as the White House worked to portray the image of a president still on the job despite his illness.

Biden had an elevated temperature of 99.4 F on Thursday, but that went down with Tylenol, according to a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/22111883-biden-paxlovid">new note from Dr. Kevin O'Connor,</a>&nbsp;the president's personal physician. Other metrics, such as pulse, blood pressure, respiratory rate and oxygen saturation were normal, O'Connor said, although the White House did not release specific figures.

The president completed his first full day of Paxlovid, the antiviral therapy treatment meant to reduce the severity of COVID, and Biden's primary symptoms were a runny noise, fatigue and a loose cough, O'Connor said. Biden's voice was also deeper Friday morning.

But O'Connor emphasized that the president — who is fully vaccinated and twice boosted — continued to have a good prognosis.

“There has been nothing in the course of his illness thus far which gives me cause to alter that initial expectation," he wrote.

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/boris-johnson-biden-covid-health-government-and-politics-fec6b4a56384b1f2bf7582aecb46aa36">Once Biden tested positive Thursday</a>&nbsp;— after more than two years of successfully dodging the virus — the White House sprung into action, aiming to turn his diagnosis into a “teachable moment” and dispel any notion of a crisis.

Those efforts continued Friday, when the White House released a photo of Biden, masked and tieless, in the Treaty Room of the president's residence, on the phone with his national security advisers. He was also scheduled to meet remotely with his economic team in a meeting focused on gas prices and then, separately, senior White House advisers to discuss legislative priorities.

It was part of an administration effort to shift the narrative from a health scare to a display of Biden as the personification of the idea that most Americans can get COVID and recover without too much suffering and disruption if they’ve gotten their shots and taken other important steps to protect themselves.

The message was crafted to alleviate voters’ concerns about Biden’s health — at 79,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-donald-trump-health-ronald-reagan-coronavirus-pandemic-b43ea0d0049ae2cd72aead6e1816f6d5">he’s the oldest person ever to be president</a>. And it was aimed at demonstrating to the country that the pandemic is far less of a threat than it was before Biden took office, thanks to widespread vaccines and new therapeutic drugs.

Conveying that sentiment on Day 1 of Biden’s coronavirus experience virus wasn’t always easy, though.

In a lengthy briefing with reporters, White House press secretary&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-karine-jean-pierre-donald-trump-government-and-politics-14ee65c1a268db4a7faa452eeac600e6">Karine Jean-Pierre</a>&nbsp;said repeatedly that the White House had been as transparent as possible about the president’s health. But she parried with reporters over specifics. And when pressed about where Biden might have contracted the virus, she responded, “I don’t think that that matters, right? I think what matters is we prepared for this moment.”

Jean-Pierre and White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-covid-health-congress-a05afb7ebfa102992c354c99619fa944">Dr. Ashish Jha</a>&nbsp;didn’t fully answer questions about whether Biden began isolating as soon as he started experiencing symptoms on Wednesday night, as federal guidelines suggest, or did so following his positive test the next day. Jha declined to speculate on some aspects of the president’s prognosis, characterizing the questions as hypotheticals.

Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, said it’s important for Americans to know they must remain careful about the virus, which continues to kill hundreds of people daily.

“That’s the balance that we have to strike,” Osterholm said. “The president of the United States will do very well. But that may not be true for everyone.”

Jha said Biden’s case was being prioritized, meaning it will likely take less than a week for sequencing to determine which variant of the virus Biden contracted. Omicron’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/covid-health-rochelle-walensky-centers-for-disease-control-and-prevention-government-politics-0bd2ccf19f1c27379f312b9edf5f3634">highly contagious BA.5 substrain</a>&nbsp;is responsible for 78% of new COVID-19 infections reported in the U.S. last week, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s latest data released Tuesday.

Jean-Pierre said first lady Jill Biden was in close contact with the president, but she declined to discuss others who also might have been exposed, citing privacy reasons. Biden had&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-middle-east-emergency-management-climate-and-environment-febdf09a5251f6b4fea9c4e7d9cdf006">traveled to Massachusetts</a>&nbsp;a day earlier to promote efforts to combat climate change and flew on Air Force One with several Democratic leaders, including Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren.

A White House official confirmed that Vice President Kamala Harris was also in close contact with Biden, and chief of staff Ron Klain said he was too. Klain said the White House wasn’t aware of any positive COVID results linked to the president’s case.

During her briefing, Jean-Pierre bristled at suggestions the Biden administration wasn’t being much more forthcoming with information about the president’s illness than that of his predecessor, Donald Trump. The former president&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-donald-trump-ap-top-news-elections-virus-outbreak-7fece2838ff7a9bd91ccf5ac287348b3">contracted COVID-19 in the fall of 2020</a>, before vaccines were available, and was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/virus-outbreak-donald-trump-elections-melania-trump-michael-pence-f6ba3a16ab9b74b161a3a7211248e97e">hospitalized at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center</a>&nbsp;for three nights.

“I wholeheartedly disagree,” Jean-Pierre said of comparison. “We are doing this very differently — very differently — than the last administration.”

Dr. Leana Wen, a public health professor at George Washington University, said it was good for the White House to send the message that Biden can keep working even after testing positive.

“That shows that it’s business as usual,” Wen said.

Jean-Pierre’s predecessor, Jen Psaki, noted that White House officials have “been preparing for this probably for several months now, given the percentage of people in the country who have tested positive.”

“What they need to do over the next couple of days is show him working and show him still active and serving as president and I’m certain they’ll likely do that,” Psaki, who left her post as White House press secretary in May, said on MSNBC,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/jen-psaki-msnbc-46ef9b47120f971de7a48fb93c8c9412">where she’s becoming a commentator</a>.

Biden will isolate until he tests negative, the White House said.

Dr. Eric Topol, head of Scripps Research Translational Institute, said that could mean he’s “out of commission from interacting with people for at least eight to 10 days.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/7/1658515578163.png" alt="President Biden continued working from the White House this morning, including speaking by phone with his national security team-White House photo" />
 <figcaption>President Biden continued working from the White House this morning, including speaking by phone with his national security team-White House photo</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden's COVID symptoms improved Friday and he responded well to treatment, his doctor said, as the White House worked to portray the image of a president still on the job despite his illness.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/7/1658515456047.png" alt="Letter from Dr. Kevin O'Connor: President Biden COVID update" />
 <figcaption>Letter from Dr. Kevin O'Connor: President Biden COVID update</figcaption>
 </figure>Biden had an elevated temperature of 99.4 F on Thursday, but that went down with Tylenol, according to a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/22111883-biden-paxlovid">new note from Dr. Kevin O'Connor,</a>&nbsp;the president's personal physician. Other metrics, such as pulse, blood pressure, respiratory rate and oxygen saturation were normal, O'Connor said, although the White House did not release specific figures.The president completed his first full day of Paxlovid, the antiviral therapy treatment meant to reduce the severity of COVID, and Biden's primary symptoms were a runny noise, fatigue and a loose cough, O'Connor said. Biden's voice was also deeper Friday morning.But O'Connor emphasized that the president — who is fully vaccinated and twice boosted — continued to have a good prognosis.“There has been nothing in the course of his illness thus far which gives me cause to alter that initial expectation," he wrote.<a href="https://apnews.com/article/boris-johnson-biden-covid-health-government-and-politics-fec6b4a56384b1f2bf7582aecb46aa36">Once Biden tested positive Thursday</a>&nbsp;— after more than two years of successfully dodging the virus — the White House sprung into action, aiming to turn his diagnosis into a “teachable moment” and dispel any notion of a crisis.Those efforts continued Friday, when the White House released a photo of Biden, masked and tieless, in the Treaty Room of the president's residence, on the phone with his national security advisers. He was also scheduled to meet remotely with his economic team in a meeting focused on gas prices and then, separately, senior White House advisers to discuss legislative priorities.It was part of an administration effort to shift the narrative from a health scare to a display of Biden as the personification of the idea that most Americans can get COVID and recover without too much suffering and disruption if they’ve gotten their shots and taken other important steps to protect themselves.The message was crafted to alleviate voters’ concerns about Biden’s health — at 79,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-donald-trump-health-ronald-reagan-coronavirus-pandemic-b43ea0d0049ae2cd72aead6e1816f6d5">he’s the oldest person ever to be president</a>. And it was aimed at demonstrating to the country that the pandemic is far less of a threat than it was before Biden took office, thanks to widespread vaccines and new therapeutic drugs.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">An update from me: <a href="https://t.co/L2oCR0uUTu">pic.twitter.com/L2oCR0uUTu</a>&mdash; President Biden (@POTUS) <a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1550179049598861314?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 21, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Conveying that sentiment on Day 1 of Biden’s coronavirus experience virus wasn’t always easy, though.In a lengthy briefing with reporters, White House press secretary&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-karine-jean-pierre-donald-trump-government-and-politics-14ee65c1a268db4a7faa452eeac600e6">Karine Jean-Pierre</a>&nbsp;said repeatedly that the White House had been as transparent as possible about the president’s health. But she parried with reporters over specifics. And when pressed about where Biden might have contracted the virus, she responded, “I don’t think that that matters, right? I think what matters is we prepared for this moment.”Jean-Pierre and White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-covid-health-congress-a05afb7ebfa102992c354c99619fa944">Dr. Ashish Jha</a>&nbsp;didn’t fully answer questions about whether Biden began isolating as soon as he started experiencing symptoms on Wednesday night, as federal guidelines suggest, or did so following his positive test the next day. Jha declined to speculate on some aspects of the president’s prognosis, characterizing the questions as hypotheticals.Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, said it’s important for Americans to know they must remain careful about the virus, which continues to kill hundreds of people daily.“That’s the balance that we have to strike,” Osterholm said. “The president of the United States will do very well. But that may not be true for everyone.”Jha said Biden’s case was being prioritized, meaning it will likely take less than a week for sequencing to determine which variant of the virus Biden contracted. Omicron’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/covid-health-rochelle-walensky-centers-for-disease-control-and-prevention-government-politics-0bd2ccf19f1c27379f312b9edf5f3634">highly contagious BA.5 substrain</a>&nbsp;is responsible for 78% of new COVID-19 infections reported in the U.S. last week, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s latest data released Tuesday.Jean-Pierre said first lady Jill Biden was in close contact with the president, but she declined to discuss others who also might have been exposed, citing privacy reasons. Biden had&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-middle-east-emergency-management-climate-and-environment-febdf09a5251f6b4fea9c4e7d9cdf006">traveled to Massachusetts</a>&nbsp;a day earlier to promote efforts to combat climate change and flew on Air Force One with several Democratic leaders, including Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren.A White House official confirmed that Vice President Kamala Harris was also in close contact with Biden, and chief of staff Ron Klain said he was too. Klain said the White House wasn’t aware of any positive COVID results linked to the president’s case.During her briefing, Jean-Pierre bristled at suggestions the Biden administration wasn’t being much more forthcoming with information about the president’s illness than that of his predecessor, Donald Trump. The former president&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-donald-trump-ap-top-news-elections-virus-outbreak-7fece2838ff7a9bd91ccf5ac287348b3">contracted COVID-19 in the fall of 2020</a>, before vaccines were available, and was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/virus-outbreak-donald-trump-elections-melania-trump-michael-pence-f6ba3a16ab9b74b161a3a7211248e97e">hospitalized at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center</a>&nbsp;for three nights.“I wholeheartedly disagree,” Jean-Pierre said of comparison. “We are doing this very differently — very differently — than the last administration.”Dr. Leana Wen, a public health professor at George Washington University, said it was good for the White House to send the message that Biden can keep working even after testing positive.“That shows that it’s business as usual,” Wen said.Jean-Pierre’s predecessor, Jen Psaki, noted that White House officials have “been preparing for this probably for several months now, given the percentage of people in the country who have tested positive.”“What they need to do over the next couple of days is show him working and show him still active and serving as president and I’m certain they’ll likely do that,” Psaki, who left her post as White House press secretary in May, said on MSNBC,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/jen-psaki-msnbc-46ef9b47120f971de7a48fb93c8c9412">where she’s becoming a commentator</a>.Biden will isolate until he tests negative, the White House said.Dr. Eric Topol, head of Scripps Research Translational Institute, said that could mean he’s “out of commission from interacting with people for at least eight to 10 days.”

Biden's doctor: President's COVID symptoms 'have improved'

SEDGWICK COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a major security breach at the Sedgwick County Jail.

On July 17, authorities learned that inmates had removed a pipe from a&nbsp; sink&nbsp; in a day room. They used the pipe to pound on a window in a cell to create a fist sized hole in the window, according to Sedgwick County Sheriff Jeff Easter.

The inmates later lowered a sheet through the hole to a person outside the jail who was contacted through the facility's phone system. That person delivered&nbsp; cell phones and marijuana to the inmates.

&nbsp;Through additional investigation, the sheriff's office learned the inmates expected three more deliveries that day. The deliveries included the introduction of a handgun into the jail, according to Easter.

Investigators also learned that almost twenty shanks, or improvised weapons, had been created inside the jail this month. Much of the activity was in conjunction with violence that prompted the lockdown of the Lansing Correctional Facility on July 15, according to Easter. The incident sent one prisoner to the hospital and left at least three corrections employees injured. Two leaders of a gang at&nbsp;Lansing, the state's largest and oldest prison for adult men, used to be in the Sedgwick County Jail.

Several inmates, affiliated with the same gang and still housed in Sedgwick County were planning similar violence, according to Easter.

While investigating the incident in Sedgwick County, the on-duty deputy in that area of the jail observed inmates break the window, bring the contraband into the facility and didn't stop it or inform anyone it occurred. He also did not give investigators the full story about the incident when confronted about it, according to Easter.&nbsp;

After further investigation of the jail deputy identified as 22-year-old Dustin Burnett, he was arrested on requested charges of official misconduct and conspiracy to traffic contraband into a penal institution. Burnett had been employed by the jail since January and was terminated upon his arrest.

On Wednesday, the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office conducted a mass search of the entire 1,226 bed Adult Detention Facility after receiving creditable information about the contraband being introduced to the facility.​ A team comprised of 169 members of the Sheriff’s Office took over six hours to complete the search.

During the search deputies found fentanyl pills, shanks or items that could be made into dangerous weapons, a handcuff key, possible K2 and a butane lighter.

Also during the search,&nbsp;a medical emergency occurred in one of the housing units where an inmate was found unresponsive in the housing unit gymnasium.​ Medical staff responded quickly and was able to revive the inmate after administering four doses of Narcan.​ As a precaution the inmate was transported to a local area hospital for treatment, but has since been returned to the Detention Facility.​

While the inmate was being treated in the housing unit he was found in possession of the six pills believed to be fentanyl. ​ The 26-year-old white male is being held on Aggravated Assault, Criminal Poss of a Firearm, Flee and Elude Law Enforcement and Drug Charges​

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/7/1658430090733.png" alt="Suspected Fentanyl Laced Pills found during a search -photo Sedgwick Co. Sheriff" />
 <figcaption>Suspected Fentanyl Laced Pills found during a search -photo Sedgwick Co. Sheriff</figcaption>
 </figure>SEDGWICK COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a major security breach at the Sedgwick County Jail.On July 17, authorities learned that inmates had removed a pipe from a&nbsp; sink&nbsp; in a day room. They used the pipe to pound on a window in a cell to create a fist sized hole in the window, according to Sedgwick County Sheriff Jeff Easter.The inmates later lowered a sheet through the hole to a person outside the jail who was contacted through the facility's phone system. That person delivered&nbsp; cell phones and marijuana to the inmates.&nbsp;Through additional investigation, the sheriff's office learned the inmates expected three more deliveries that day. The deliveries included the introduction of a handgun into the jail, according to Easter.Investigators also learned that almost twenty shanks, or improvised weapons, had been created inside the jail this month. Much of the activity was in conjunction with violence that prompted the lockdown of the Lansing Correctional Facility on July 15, according to Easter. The incident sent one prisoner to the hospital and left at least three corrections employees injured. Two leaders of a gang at&nbsp;Lansing, the state's largest and oldest prison for adult men, used to be in the Sedgwick County Jail.Several inmates, affiliated with the same gang and still housed in Sedgwick County were planning similar violence, according to Easter.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/7/1658430002977.png" alt="Outlet cover sharpened into a shank​" />
 <figcaption>Outlet cover sharpened into a shank​</figcaption>
 </figure>While investigating the incident in Sedgwick County, the on-duty deputy in that area of the jail observed inmates break the window, bring the contraband into the facility and didn't stop it or inform anyone it occurred. He also did not give investigators the full story about the incident when confronted about it, according to Easter.&nbsp;<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/7/1658429257903.png" alt="Burnett-photo Sedgwick County" />
 <figcaption>Burnett-photo Sedgwick County</figcaption>
 </figure>After further investigation of the jail deputy identified as 22-year-old Dustin Burnett, he was arrested on requested charges of official misconduct and conspiracy to traffic contraband into a penal institution. Burnett had been employed by the jail since January and was terminated upon his arrest.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/7/1658429970384.png" alt="Pen sharpened down into a shank" />
 <figcaption>Pen sharpened down into a shank</figcaption>
 </figure>On Wednesday, the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office conducted a mass search of the entire 1,226 bed Adult Detention Facility after receiving creditable information about the contraband being introduced to the facility.​ A team comprised of 169 members of the Sheriff’s Office took over six hours to complete the search.During the search deputies found fentanyl pills, shanks or items that could be made into dangerous weapons, a handcuff key, possible K2 and a butane lighter.Also during the search,&nbsp;a medical emergency occurred in one of the housing units where an inmate was found unresponsive in the housing unit gymnasium.​ Medical staff responded quickly and was able to revive the inmate after administering four doses of Narcan.​ As a precaution the inmate was transported to a local area hospital for treatment, but has since been returned to the Detention Facility.​While the inmate was being treated in the housing unit he was found in possession of the six pills believed to be fentanyl. ​ The 26-year-old white male is being held on Aggravated Assault, Criminal Poss of a Firearm, Flee and Elude Law Enforcement and Drug Charges​

Security breach: Weapons, drugs found at Kansas jail

SALINA — Salina Mayor Trent Davis and the Salina City Commission this morning released via the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/salina.ks.gov">City of Salina Facebook page</a> the following statement concerning yard signs.

Courtesy Salina PostSALINA — Salina Mayor Trent Davis and the Salina City Commission this morning released via the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/salina.ks.gov">City of Salina Facebook page</a> the following statement concerning yard signs.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/7/1658511053258.jpeg" alt="Image courtesy the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/salina.ks.gov">City of Salina Facebook page</a>" />
 <figcaption>Image courtesy the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/salina.ks.gov">City of Salina Facebook page</a></figcaption>
 </figure>

Salina mayor, city commission scold yard-sign vandals 

By LESLIE EIKLEBERRY Salina Post

A 26-year-old Salina woman was stopped before she lost money to a scammer.

The woman was notified via text that her Amazon account had been hacked, according to Salina Police Captain Paul Forrester.

When she called the phone number in the text, she was told that Amazon was working with law enforcement in Texas, and that there was a warrant out for her arrest for identity theft.

The woman was told to put $10,000 into the crypto coin machine in the mall, which she started to do before her father stopped her. Forrester said she was able to cancel the transaction before losing any money.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/1/1610470843065.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>By LESLIE EIKLEBERRY Salina PostA 26-year-old Salina woman was stopped before she lost money to a scammer.The woman was notified via text that her Amazon account had been hacked, according to Salina Police Captain Paul Forrester.When she called the phone number in the text, she was told that Amazon was working with law enforcement in Texas, and that there was a warrant out for her arrest for identity theft.The woman was told to put $10,000 into the crypto coin machine in the mall, which she started to do before her father stopped her. Forrester said she was able to cancel the transaction before losing any money.

Police: Dad saves Kan. woman from text scam involving crypto

TOPEKA —Former Secretary of State and Congressman from Kansas Mike Pompeo&nbsp;has announced his support for  state Senator Kellie Warren in the GOP primary for Kansas Attorney General.

Warren is running against Kris Kobach and Tony Mattivi in the Republican primary.

On social media Pompeo wrote, "Warren is an experienced attorney and proven conservative policy leader who knows how to fight the tough battles and win. I'm excited to endorse her for Kansas Attorney General."

&nbsp;On Tuesday, Senator Roger Marshall announced his support for Warren.

TOPEKA —Former Secretary of State and Congressman from Kansas Mike Pompeo&nbsp;has announced his support for state Senator Kellie Warren in the GOP primary for Kansas Attorney General.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/7/1658496723962.png" alt="Warren, Kobach and Mattivi during the Sedgwick County GOP Attorney General Debate Thursday-photo courtesy KWCH" />
 <figcaption>Warren, Kobach and Mattivi during the Sedgwick County GOP Attorney General Debate Thursday-photo courtesy KWCH</figcaption>
 </figure>Warren is running against Kris Kobach and Tony Mattivi in the Republican primary.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><a href="https://twitter.com/KellieWarren4AG?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@KellieWarren4AG</a> is an experienced attorney and proven conservative policy leader who knows how to fight the tough battles and win. I&#39;m excited to endorse her for Kansas Attorney General! <a href="https://t.co/HP2DYoT785">pic.twitter.com/HP2DYoT785</a>&mdash; Mike Pompeo (@mikepompeo) <a href="https://twitter.com/mikepompeo/status/1550208832411951104?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 21, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>On social media Pompeo wrote, "Warren is an experienced attorney and proven conservative policy leader who knows how to fight the tough battles and win. I'm excited to endorse her for Kansas Attorney General."&nbsp;On Tuesday, Senator Roger Marshall announced his support for Warren.

Pompeo endorses Warren in primary for Kan. attorney general

By AARON SANDERFORD <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2022/07/21/former-state-sen-mike-groene-says-he-feels-vindicated-after-ag-declines-to-prosecute-him-for-pictures-of-staffer/">Nebraska Examiner</a>

OMAHA — State Sen. Mike Groene of North Platte will not be prosecuted for taking photos of a female staffer without her knowledge, the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office said Thursday.&nbsp;

Attorney General Doug Peterson’s spokeswoman, Suzanne Gage, said a Nebraska State Patrol investigation found “insufficient evidence to warrant a criminal prosecution.”

Groene, reached Thursday, said he has been “vindicated.” He said his ordeal was “trumped up, over-exaggerated” and the result of a rush to judgment “because of pictures I took in public.”&nbsp;

“It was a kangaroo court,” Groene said. “I was like Jesus Christ. I couldn’t fight it. You asked if I regret anything. I regret resigning. I should’ve stood toe-to-toe.”

The staffer has said that while she was working on the senator’s laptop, she discovered about 50 photos of herself in his email. One was labeled “legs.” Another was labeled “rear tight.”&nbsp;&nbsp;

Groene has said in previous interviews that he had apologized to his then-aide, Kristina Konecko, for taking pictures of her without her permission. He also said he had deleted the photos.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/7/1658497597293.png" alt="State Sen. Mike Groene of North Platte. (Courtesy of the Unicameral Information Office)" />
 <figcaption>State Sen. Mike Groene of North Platte. (Courtesy of the Unicameral Information Office)</figcaption>
 </figure>By AARON SANDERFORD <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2022/07/21/former-state-sen-mike-groene-says-he-feels-vindicated-after-ag-declines-to-prosecute-him-for-pictures-of-staffer/">Nebraska Examiner</a>OMAHA — State Sen. Mike Groene of North Platte will not be prosecuted for taking photos of a female staffer without her knowledge, the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office said Thursday.&nbsp;Attorney General Doug Peterson’s spokeswoman, Suzanne Gage, said a Nebraska State Patrol investigation found “insufficient evidence to warrant a criminal prosecution.”Groene, reached Thursday, said he has been “vindicated.” He said his ordeal was “trumped up, over-exaggerated” and the result of a rush to judgment “because of pictures I took in public.”&nbsp;“It was a kangaroo court,” Groene said. “I was like Jesus Christ. I couldn’t fight it. You asked if I regret anything. I regret resigning. I should’ve stood toe-to-toe.”The staffer has said that while she was working on the senator’s laptop, she discovered about 50 photos of herself in his email. One was labeled “legs.” Another was labeled “rear tight.”&nbsp;&nbsp;Groene has said in previous interviews that he had apologized to his then-aide, Kristina Konecko, for taking pictures of her without her permission. He also said he had deleted the photos.&nbsp;On Thursday, he said he hopes Konecko loses her job in the Legislature. He argued that she went through his private email without permission, although Groene and Konecko have previously told the Nebraska Examiner that she did have his permission.&nbsp;She did not immediately respond to requests for comment Thursday. Human resources professionals from the private sector have told state senators the staffer was right to report the photos.A report written for the Legislature by a lawyer found no clear violation of legislative policy on sexual harassment, but it described Groene’s behavior as unprofessional and inappropriate.Groene, asked whether he thought he had done anything wrong, responded, “Why? It’s a free country. I can take a picture of somebody walking down the street. I didn’t take any pictures to harass somebody.”&nbsp;Groene said he was waiting for an apology from State Sen. Megan Hunt of Omaha for accusing him of wrongdoing. Hunt had requested an investigation of the incident to determine&nbsp; whether any laws were broken.Hunt offered no comment Thursday on the decision by the Attorney General’s Office. She said Groene’s actions did help many in the Legislature realize that senators need to update their policies.Lawmakers need to work proactively to “ensure safety for Nebraskans here in the Capitol, whether they are staff or visitors or members,” Hunt said.&nbsp;&nbsp;“There is an opportunity here for staff and members … to share their experiences with workplace harassment, adopt best practices, hold ourselves to a better standard,” she said.Groene said Hunt and many of his other colleagues politically assassinated his character. But he saved his sharpest criticism for Gov. Pete Ricketts, whom he said pressured him to quit.Groene said the governor and other Republicans were looking for excuses to oust him because he’s a “populist.” The governor, he said, knew Groene didn’t support an income tax cut.&nbsp;The governor has said the reason he called for Groene to resign is because of the senator’s behavior.Groene criticized his legislative colleagues for lacking courage.He said he is finished with politics. He said he went to Lincoln “like Mr. Smith going to Washington.” He left knowing he’d never go back into that “evil arena” again.“The cowards I called my friends wouldn’t help me,” he said. “(Sens. Dan) Hughes and (Mike) Hilgers just wanted it gone. That man (Hilgers) shouldn’t be AG. I had no defense.”Hilgers declined to comment.