ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A 14-year-old Missouri boy who&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/florida-orlando-d03a753b6ac928a86222c0f3b1134619">fell to his death from a 430-foot drop-tower ride</a>&nbsp;in central Florida's tourist district appeared to slip out of his seat at the halfway mark of its plunge to the ground, according to a law enforcement report released Tuesday.

The father of a friend of Tyre Sampson who witnessed the March 24 accident told deputies that the teen appeared to fall out of his seat when plunging passengers on the Free Fall ride passed a yellow reflective tape halfway down the tower. The ride reaches speeds of 75 mph according to an Orange County Sheriff's Office incident report released through a public records request.

When the teen hit the ground, he appeared to be breathing but was unresponsive, Leon Howard told deputies.

Howard's son, also named Leon Howard, was friends with Sampson from a travel football team and was also on the ride at the time of the accident. Sampson, who was 6 feet, 2 inches tall (1.9 meters) and weighed more than 300 pounds (136 kilograms), had traveled to Orlando with his friend's family for vacation.

The younger Leon Howard told deputies that at the top of the ride, which is taller than the Statue of Liberty, he became nervous and closed his eyes until the ride stopped.

The incident report said nobody touched Sampson on the ground until deputies arrived. According to 911 calls released Tuesday, dispatchers asked witnesses who had called in the accident if they could perform CPR on Sampson.

One man told the dispatcher that Sampson was face down, “and he's about 300 pounds." The dispatcher started asking him to have someone help him move Sampson onto his back, but then deputies arrived at the scene.

A section of the incident report was redacted. The Orange County Sheriff's Office didn't immediately return an emailed inquiry about where their investigation stood. Homicide investigators participated in the probe, according to the report.

An initial report by outside engineers hired by the Florida Department of Agriculture said&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/florida-orlando-e9470b0e84a8c59e1bdb1fb06314f170">sensors on the ride had been adjusted manually</a>&nbsp;to double the size of the opening for restraints on two seats, resulting in Sampson not being properly secured before he slipped out and fell to his death.

The Department of Agriculture report said there were many other “potential contributions” to the accident and that a full review of the ride’s design and operations was needed.

Last week,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-lawsuits-florida-orlando-9b95f3f27e54da9b7e527304816562ae">Sampson's parents sued the ride’s owner, manufacturer and landlord</a>, saying they were negligent and failed to provide a safe amusement ride. The lawsuit said the defendants failed to warn Sampson about the risks of someone of his size going on the ride and that they did not provide an appropriate restraint system.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/3/1648251123999.png" alt="An initial report by outside engineers hired by the Florida Department of Agriculture said&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/florida-orlando-e9470b0e84a8c59e1bdb1fb06314f170">sensors on the ride had been adjusted manually</a>&nbsp;to double the size of the opening for restraints on two seats, resulting in Sampson not being properly secured before he slipped out and fell to his death- photo courtesy WFTV" />
 <figcaption>An initial report by outside engineers hired by the Florida Department of Agriculture said&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/florida-orlando-e9470b0e84a8c59e1bdb1fb06314f170">sensors on the ride had been adjusted manually</a>&nbsp;to double the size of the opening for restraints on two seats, resulting in Sampson not being properly secured before he slipped out and fell to his death- photo courtesy WFTV</figcaption>
 </figure>ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A 14-year-old Missouri boy who&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/florida-orlando-d03a753b6ac928a86222c0f3b1134619">fell to his death from a 430-foot drop-tower ride</a>&nbsp;in central Florida's tourist district appeared to slip out of his seat at the halfway mark of its plunge to the ground, according to a law enforcement report released Tuesday.The father of a friend of Tyre Sampson who witnessed the March 24 accident told deputies that the teen appeared to fall out of his seat when plunging passengers on the Free Fall ride passed a yellow reflective tape halfway down the tower. The ride reaches speeds of 75 mph according to an Orange County Sheriff's Office incident report released through a public records request.When the teen hit the ground, he appeared to be breathing but was unresponsive, Leon Howard told deputies.Howard's son, also named Leon Howard, was friends with Sampson from a travel football team and was also on the ride at the time of the accident. Sampson, who was 6 feet, 2 inches tall (1.9 meters) and weighed more than 300 pounds (136 kilograms), had traveled to Orlando with his friend's family for vacation.The younger Leon Howard told deputies that at the top of the ride, which is taller than the Statue of Liberty, he became nervous and closed his eyes until the ride stopped.The incident report said nobody touched Sampson on the ground until deputies arrived. According to 911 calls released Tuesday, dispatchers asked witnesses who had called in the accident if they could perform CPR on Sampson.One man told the dispatcher that Sampson was face down, “and he's about 300 pounds." The dispatcher started asking him to have someone help him move Sampson onto his back, but then deputies arrived at the scene.A section of the incident report was redacted. The Orange County Sheriff's Office didn't immediately return an emailed inquiry about where their investigation stood. Homicide investigators participated in the probe, according to the report.An initial report by outside engineers hired by the Florida Department of Agriculture said&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/florida-orlando-e9470b0e84a8c59e1bdb1fb06314f170">sensors on the ride had been adjusted manually</a>&nbsp;to double the size of the opening for restraints on two seats, resulting in Sampson not being properly secured before he slipped out and fell to his death.The Department of Agriculture report said there were many other “potential contributions” to the accident and that a full review of the ride’s design and operations was needed.Last week,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-lawsuits-florida-orlando-9b95f3f27e54da9b7e527304816562ae">Sampson's parents sued the ride’s owner, manufacturer and landlord</a>, saying they were negligent and failed to provide a safe amusement ride. The lawsuit said the defendants failed to warn Sampson about the risks of someone of his size going on the ride and that they did not provide an appropriate restraint system.

Teen appeared to fall out of ride halfway in fatal plunge

TOPEKA — The Kansas Supreme Court is seeking comment on the new Kansas House and Kansas Senate maps.&nbsp; The Kansas Constitution requires the Supreme Court to determine the validity of reapportioned state legislative districts within 30 days of the attorney filing a petition making that request. Attorney General Derek Schmidt filed the petition April 25.

Now, the Court is requesting public comments. Written comments are due to the Court no later 5 p.m. on Monday, May 9.

The general public can submit statements via email to&nbsp;<a href="http://reapportionmentviews@kscourts.org/">reapportionmentviews@kscourts.org</a>&nbsp; or click&nbsp;<a href="https://theeisenhowerseries.us17.list-manage.com/track/click?u=2de8bfd1285fda271044afedc&amp;id=64c1ab4f22&amp;e=1e3a0d00dc" target="_blank">here</a>&nbsp;for specific instructions for submitting comments.&nbsp;&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/1/1643147273216.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>TOPEKA — The Kansas Supreme Court is seeking comment on the new Kansas House and Kansas Senate maps.&nbsp; The Kansas Constitution requires the Supreme Court to determine the validity of reapportioned state legislative districts within 30 days of the attorney filing a petition making that request. Attorney General Derek Schmidt filed the petition April 25.Now, the Court is requesting public comments. Written comments are due to the Court no later 5 p.m. on Monday, May 9.The general public can submit statements via email to&nbsp;<a href="http://reapportionmentviews@kscourts.org/">reapportionmentviews@kscourts.org</a>&nbsp; or click&nbsp;<a href="https://theeisenhowerseries.us17.list-manage.com/track/click?u=2de8bfd1285fda271044afedc&amp;id=64c1ab4f22&amp;e=1e3a0d00dc" target="_blank">here</a>&nbsp;for specific instructions for submitting comments.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Court wants your comment on Kan. redistricting maps

WICHITA, KAN – A federal grand jury returned an indictment charging two men with various drug trafficking related offenses, according to the United State's Attorney.

Jose Rodriguez-Cardenas, 46, and Felix Rodriguez-Flores, 42, of Wichita, are both charged with one count of heroin conspiracy, one count of fentanyl conspiracy, and one count of possession of heroin with intent to distribute.

Rodriguez-Cardenas is also charged four counts of distribution of a controlled substance, one count of possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, and one count of possession of fentanyl with intention to distribute.

Rodriguez-Flores is charged with six counts of distribution of a controlled substance and one count of possession of fentanyl with intention to distribute.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/5/1651527840734.png" alt="Rodriguez-Cardenas-photo Harvey Co. Jail" />
 <figcaption>Rodriguez-Cardenas-photo Harvey Co. Jail</figcaption>
 </figure>WICHITA, KAN – A federal grand jury returned an indictment charging two men with various drug trafficking related offenses, according to the United State's Attorney.Jose Rodriguez-Cardenas, 46, and Felix Rodriguez-Flores, 42, of Wichita, are both charged with one count of heroin conspiracy, one count of fentanyl conspiracy, and one count of possession of heroin with intent to distribute.Rodriguez-Cardenas is also charged four counts of distribution of a controlled substance, one count of possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, and one count of possession of fentanyl with intention to distribute.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/5/1651528082331.png" alt="Rodriguez-Flores is being held in Butler Co." />
 <figcaption>Rodriguez-Flores is being held in Butler Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>Rodriguez-Flores is charged with six counts of distribution of a controlled substance and one count of possession of fentanyl with intention to distribute.

Suspects indicted in Kansas for heroin, fentanyl distribution

KANSAS CITY (AP)—A man who killed a couple during a robbery at their rural home more than a quarter of a century ago was put to death Tuesday, becoming just the fifth person executed in the United States this year.

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/executions-sentencing-missouri-8b1099a050b86c4a98c6fd0da5e0e3ed">Carman Deck</a>, 56, died by injection at the state prison in Bonne Terre. He was pronounced dead at 6:10 p.m. His fate was sealed a day earlier when neither the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/us-supreme-court-executions-missouri-4d6d9cf622713c2f79a8d577ccb13520">U.S. Supreme Court</a>&nbsp;nor Republican Gov. Mike Parson stepped in to halt the execution. Deck’s death sentence was overturned three times before for procedural issues.

Deck mouthed a few inaudible words as the 5 grams of pentobarbital were administered, then puffed out a couple of breaths before all movement stopped, the process lasting just a few seconds.

“My hope is that one day the world will find peace and that we all will learn to be kind and loving to one another,” Deck said in a written final statement. “We all are a part of this journey through life, connected in every way. Please give love, show love, BE LOVE!”

Parson, in a statement, said the couple killed, James and Zelma Long, “were innocent victims of Carman Deck’s heinous violence. Tonight, justice was served.”

Just four other people have been executed in the U.S. in 2022 —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/crime-oklahoma-oklahoma-city-robbery-mcalester-3693d1a245878cc773aa6bdbbad56ab4">Donald Anthony Grant</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/executions-oklahoma-mcalester-24d25f6c178c5b0852ccae3ba03214f1">Gilbert Ray Postelle&nbsp;</a>in Oklahoma,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/us-supreme-court-health-alabama-executions-b9b6c18d2d0f1833329d09091998b14a">Matthew Reeves</a>&nbsp;in Alabama and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/crime-shootings-texas-executions-houston-74e25cf0325008b48a21619d257c69d0">Carl Wayne Buntio</a>&nbsp;n last month in Texas. Eleven people were executed in the U.S. last year, the fewest since 1988.

Court records show that Deck, of the St. Louis area, was a friend of the grandson of the Longs, who lived in De Soto, about 45 miles (72 kilometers) southwest of St. Louis. He knew the couple, in their late 60s, kept a safe in their home.

In July 1996, Deck and his sister stopped at the home under the guise of asking directions. Deck wasn’t surprised the couple let them in.

“They’re country folks,” Deck told a detective, according to court records. “They always do.”

Once inside, Deck pulled a gun from his waistband. At Deck’s command, Zelma Long opened the safe and removed jewelry, then got $200 from her purse and more money hidden in a canister.

Deck ordered the couple to lie on their stomachs on their bed. Court records said Deck stood there for 10 minutes deciding what to do, then shot James Long twice in the head before doing the same thing to Zelma Long.

A tip alerted police to Deck, and he was arrested later that night outside his sister’s apartment building in St. Louis County. The decorative tin canister from the Long home was on the floorboard of his car.

Prosecutors said Deck later gave a full account of the killings in oral, written and audiotaped statements. He was sentenced to death in 1998, but the Missouri Supreme Court tossed the sentence due to errors by Deck’s trial lawyer.

The U.S. Supreme Court threw out his second sentence in 2005, citing the prejudice caused by Deck being shackled in front of the sentencing jury.

He was sentenced to death for a third time in 2008.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/59b0d23c85d04ed7b8374ce433393748">Nine years later</a>, U.S. District Judge Catherine Perry determined that “substantial” evidence arguing against the death penalty in Deck’s first two penalty phases was unavailable for the third because witnesses had died, couldn’t be found or declined to cooperate.

In October 2020, a three-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals restored the death penalty, ruling that Deck should have raised his concern first in state court, not federal court. Appeals of that ruling were unsuccessful.

The clemency petition on behalf of Deck cited abuse he suffered as a child, including beatings that left welts and sexual abuse. It said he and his siblings often were left alone without food. Deck's attorney, Elizabeth Unger Carlyle, said in a statement that Deck also was raped while in prison for theft at age 19.

“This experience transformed him from a non-violent thief into the person who committed two terrible murders,” Carlyle said. She called his execution “unjust and immoral.”

The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-executions-f32c014193ac2fdc77c15e7c3db4ec6c">number of executions</a>&nbsp;in the U.S. has declined significantly since peaking at 98 in 1998. The drop has coincided with declining support, falling from a high of 80% in 1994 to 54% in 2021 according to Gallup polls. Since the mid-1990s, opposition has risen from under 20% to around 45%.

Use of the death penalty has become concentrated mostly in a few Southern and Plains states. Last year, Texas executed three inmates, Oklahoma executed two, and one each were put to death in Alabama, Mississippi and Missouri. Three federal inmates were executed in January 2021, toward the end of President Donald Trump’s administration.

On Monday, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/crime-executions-tennessee-nashville-e143acccdd34b46b346c0e1fb02fe823">paused executions</a>&nbsp;in his state for the rest of the year to enable a review of lethal injection procedures after a testing oversight forced the state to call off the execution of Oscar Smith an hour before he was to die on April 21.

KANSAS CITY (AP) —A man whose death sentence for killing a Missouri couple while robbing their home was overturned three times was scheduled to be executed on Tuesday.

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/executions-sentencing-missouri-8b1099a050b86c4a98c6fd0da5e0e3ed">Carman Deck</a>, 56, would be just the fifth U.S. inmate to be executed this year if his lethal injection goes ahead. His hopes for a reprieve were all but dashed on Monday when&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/us-supreme-court-executions-missouri-4d6d9cf622713c2f79a8d577ccb13520">the U.S. Supreme Court turned aside an appeal</a>&nbsp;and Republican Gov. Mike Parson declined Deck’s clemency request, though he could file new appeals.

Deck, who was from the St. Louis area, was a friend of the grandson of James and Zelma Long and knew they kept a safe in their home De Soto, about 45 miles southwest of St. Louis, according to court records.

In July 1996, Deck and his sister stopped at the home under the guise of asking for directions. Deck told a detective that he wasn’t surprised to be invited inside by the couple, who were in their late 60s.

“They’re country folks,” Deck said, according to court records. “They always do.”

A tip alerted police to Deck and he was arrested later that night outside his sister’s apartment building in St. Louis County. The decorative tin canister from the Long home was in his car.

Prosecutors said Deck later gave a full account of the killings. He was sentenced to death in 1998, but the Missouri Supreme Court tossed the sentence due to errors by Deck’s trial lawyer.

He was condemned to death a second time, but the U.S. Supreme Court threw out the sentence in 2005, citing the prejudice caused by Deck being shackled in front of the jury.

He was sentenced to death for a third time in 2008, but U.S. District Judge Catherine Perry overturned that sentence&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/59b0d23c85d04ed7b8374ce433393748">nine years later</a>&nbsp;after she determined that “substantial” evidence arguing against the death penalty during Deck’s first two penalty phases was unavailable for the third because witnesses had died, couldn’t be found or declined to cooperate.

Deck’s clemency petition said he suffered sexual abuse and beatings as a child, and that he and his siblings were often left alone without food.

But Parson wasn’t swayed, explaining his rationale for rejecting the petition in a news release: “Mr. Deck has received due process, and three separate juries of his peers have recommended sentences of death for the brutal murders he committed.”

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-executions-f32c014193ac2fdc77c15e7c3db4ec6c">The number of executions</a>&nbsp;in the U.S. has declined significantly since peaking at 98 in 1998. The drop has coincided with a decline in public support for capital punishment that has fallen from a high of 80% in 1994 to 54% in 2021, according to Gallup polls. Since the mid-1990s, opposition to capital punishment has risen from under 20% to about 45%.

Just four people have been executed in 2022 —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/crime-oklahoma-oklahoma-city-robbery-mcalester-3693d1a245878cc773aa6bdbbad56ab4">Donald Anthony Grant</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/executions-oklahoma-mcalester-24d25f6c178c5b0852ccae3ba03214f1">Gilbert Ray Postelle</a>&nbsp;in Oklahoma,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/us-supreme-court-health-alabama-executions-b9b6c18d2d0f1833329d09091998b14a">Matthew Reeves</a>&nbsp;in Alabama and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/crime-shootings-texas-executions-houston-74e25cf0325008b48a21619d257c69d0">Carl Wayne Buntion</a>&nbsp;last month in Texas. All four were convicted killers who were put to death by injection. Eleven people were executed in the U.S. last year, which was the country’s fewest executions since 1988.

On Monday, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/crime-executions-tennessee-nashville-e143acccdd34b46b346c0e1fb02fe823">paused executions</a>&nbsp;for the rest of the year to enable a review of lethal injection procedures after a testing oversight forced the state to call off the execution of Oscar Smith an hour before he was to die on April 21.

WASHINGTON (AP) —The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to halt the upcoming execution of Missouri inmate Carman Deck, and Republican Gov. Mike Parson said he will not grant clemency.

Deck, 56, is scheduled to die by injection at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the state prison in Bonne Terre for killing a couple while robbing their rural home in July 1996.

"Mr. Deck has received due process, and three separate juries of his peers have recommended sentences of death for the brutal murders he committed,” Parson said in a statement. “The State of Missouri will carry out Mr. Deck’s sentence according to the Court’s order and deliver justice.”

Deck's attorney didn't immediately respond to a message seeking comment.

Only four executions have been carried out in the U.S. so far in 2022, and the 11 last year were the fewest since 1988. Earlier Monday, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/crime-executions-tennessee-nashville-e143acccdd34b46b346c0e1fb02fe823">paused executions</a>&nbsp;for the rest of the year to enable a review of the state's lethal injection procedures. That decision came after a testing oversight forced the state to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/covid-health-crime-executions-tennessee-c35f2cf35a7791617bd4e24555d13a2c">call off the execution</a>&nbsp;of Oscar Smith an hour before he was to die on April 21.

Deck, of the St. Louis area, admitted that he killed James Long, 69, and his 67-year-old wife, Zelma, while robbing them at their home in the eastern Missouri town of De Soto in July 1996.

Deck's death sentence was thrown out three times due to procedural errors before a federal appeals court panel restored it in 2020.

The clemency petition on behalf of Deck cited abuse he suffered as a child, including sexual abuse and beatings. It also said he and his siblings often were left alone without food.

The number of executions in the U.S. has declined significantly since peaking at 98 in 1998. The drop has coincided with a decline in public support for capital punishment that has fallen from a high of 80% in 1994 to 54% in 2021, according to Gallup polls. Since the mid-1990s, opposition to capital punishment has risen from under 20% to about 45%.

JEFFERSON CITY—On Monday, Governor Mike Parson confirmed that the State of Missouri will carry out the sentence of 56-year-old Carmen Deck on Tuesday, May 3, 2022, as ordered by the Supreme Court of Missouri, according to a statement from Parson's office.

"Mr. Deck has received due process, and three separate juries of his peers have recommended sentences of death for the brutal murders he committed,"&nbsp;Governor Parson&nbsp;said. "The State of Missouri will carry out Mr. Deck's sentence according to the Court's order and&nbsp;deliver justice."

Deck was tried and convicted for the heinous execution-style murders of two innocent elderly victims during a robbery in 1996. Mr. Deck fully admitted to his callous offenses in verbal, written, and recorded statements to law enforcement.

Court records said Deck and his sister went to the Long home under the guise of asking for directions, but with the intent to rob them. Deck pulled a pistol from his waistband and ordered them to lie facedown on their bed. He shot them in the head.

 In three different proceedings, separate juries have recommended Mr. Deck’s death sentences. Deck's case has been reviewed in the state trial court, Missouri Supreme Court, federal district court, Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, and United States Supreme Court.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/2/1643738665139.png" alt="Deck photo MODOC" />
 <figcaption>Deck photo MODOC</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY (AP)—A man who killed a couple during a robbery at their rural home more than a quarter of a century ago was put to death Tuesday, becoming just the fifth person executed in the United States this year.<a href="https://apnews.com/article/executions-sentencing-missouri-8b1099a050b86c4a98c6fd0da5e0e3ed">Carman Deck</a>, 56, died by injection at the state prison in Bonne Terre. He was pronounced dead at 6:10 p.m. His fate was sealed a day earlier when neither the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/us-supreme-court-executions-missouri-4d6d9cf622713c2f79a8d577ccb13520">U.S. Supreme Court</a>&nbsp;nor Republican Gov. Mike Parson stepped in to halt the execution. Deck’s death sentence was overturned three times before for procedural issues.Deck mouthed a few inaudible words as the 5 grams of pentobarbital were administered, then puffed out a couple of breaths before all movement stopped, the process lasting just a few seconds.“My hope is that one day the world will find peace and that we all will learn to be kind and loving to one another,” Deck said in a written final statement. “We all are a part of this journey through life, connected in every way. Please give love, show love, BE LOVE!”Parson, in a statement, said the couple killed, James and Zelma Long, “were innocent victims of Carman Deck’s heinous violence. Tonight, justice was served.”Just four other people have been executed in the U.S. in 2022 —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/crime-oklahoma-oklahoma-city-robbery-mcalester-3693d1a245878cc773aa6bdbbad56ab4">Donald Anthony Grant</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/executions-oklahoma-mcalester-24d25f6c178c5b0852ccae3ba03214f1">Gilbert Ray Postelle&nbsp;</a>in Oklahoma,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/us-supreme-court-health-alabama-executions-b9b6c18d2d0f1833329d09091998b14a">Matthew Reeves</a>&nbsp;in Alabama and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/crime-shootings-texas-executions-houston-74e25cf0325008b48a21619d257c69d0">Carl Wayne Buntio</a>&nbsp;n last month in Texas. Eleven people were executed in the U.S. last year, the fewest since 1988.Court records show that Deck, of the St. Louis area, was a friend of the grandson of the Longs, who lived in De Soto, about 45 miles (72 kilometers) southwest of St. Louis. He knew the couple, in their late 60s, kept a safe in their home.In July 1996, Deck and his sister stopped at the home under the guise of asking directions. Deck wasn’t surprised the couple let them in.“They’re country folks,” Deck told a detective, according to court records. “They always do.”Once inside, Deck pulled a gun from his waistband. At Deck’s command, Zelma Long opened the safe and removed jewelry, then got $200 from her purse and more money hidden in a canister.Deck ordered the couple to lie on their stomachs on their bed. Court records said Deck stood there for 10 minutes deciding what to do, then shot James Long twice in the head before doing the same thing to Zelma Long.A tip alerted police to Deck, and he was arrested later that night outside his sister’s apartment building in St. Louis County. The decorative tin canister from the Long home was on the floorboard of his car.Prosecutors said Deck later gave a full account of the killings in oral, written and audiotaped statements. He was sentenced to death in 1998, but the Missouri Supreme Court tossed the sentence due to errors by Deck’s trial lawyer.The U.S. Supreme Court threw out his second sentence in 2005, citing the prejudice caused by Deck being shackled in front of the sentencing jury.He was sentenced to death for a third time in 2008.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/59b0d23c85d04ed7b8374ce433393748">Nine years later</a>, U.S. District Judge Catherine Perry determined that “substantial” evidence arguing against the death penalty in Deck’s first two penalty phases was unavailable for the third because witnesses had died, couldn’t be found or declined to cooperate.In October 2020, a three-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals restored the death penalty, ruling that Deck should have raised his concern first in state court, not federal court. Appeals of that ruling were unsuccessful.The clemency petition on behalf of Deck cited abuse he suffered as a child, including beatings that left welts and sexual abuse. It said he and his siblings often were left alone without food. Deck's attorney, Elizabeth Unger Carlyle, said in a statement that Deck also was raped while in prison for theft at age 19.“This experience transformed him from a non-violent thief into the person who committed two terrible murders,” Carlyle said. She called his execution “unjust and immoral.”The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-executions-f32c014193ac2fdc77c15e7c3db4ec6c">number of executions</a>&nbsp;in the U.S. has declined significantly since peaking at 98 in 1998. The drop has coincided with declining support, falling from a high of 80% in 1994 to 54% in 2021 according to Gallup polls. Since the mid-1990s, opposition has risen from under 20% to around 45%.Use of the death penalty has become concentrated mostly in a few Southern and Plains states. Last year, Texas executed three inmates, Oklahoma executed two, and one each were put to death in Alabama, Mississippi and Missouri. Three federal inmates were executed in January 2021, toward the end of President Donald Trump’s administration.On Monday, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/crime-executions-tennessee-nashville-e143acccdd34b46b346c0e1fb02fe823">paused executions</a>&nbsp;in his state for the rest of the year to enable a review of lethal injection procedures after a testing oversight forced the state to call off the execution of Oscar Smith an hour before he was to die on April 21.----------KANSAS CITY (AP) —A man whose death sentence for killing a Missouri couple while robbing their home was overturned three times was scheduled to be executed on Tuesday.<a href="https://apnews.com/article/executions-sentencing-missouri-8b1099a050b86c4a98c6fd0da5e0e3ed">Carman Deck</a>, 56, would be just the fifth U.S. inmate to be executed this year if his lethal injection goes ahead. His hopes for a reprieve were all but dashed on Monday when&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/us-supreme-court-executions-missouri-4d6d9cf622713c2f79a8d577ccb13520">the U.S. Supreme Court turned aside an appeal</a>&nbsp;and Republican Gov. Mike Parson declined Deck’s clemency request, though he could file new appeals.Deck, who was from the St. Louis area, was a friend of the grandson of James and Zelma Long and knew they kept a safe in their home De Soto, about 45 miles southwest of St. Louis, according to court records.In July 1996, Deck and his sister stopped at the home under the guise of asking for directions. Deck told a detective that he wasn’t surprised to be invited inside by the couple, who were in their late 60s.“They’re country folks,” Deck said, according to court records. “They always do.”Once inside, Deck pulled a gun from his waistband. At Deck’s command, Zelma Long opened the safe and removed jewelry, then got $200 from her purse and more money hidden in a canister.Deck ordered the couple to lie on their stomachs on their bed. Court records said Deck stood there for 10 minutes deciding what to do, then shot James Long twice in the head before doing the same thing to Zelma Long.A tip alerted police to Deck and he was arrested later that night outside his sister’s apartment building in St. Louis County. The decorative tin canister from the Long home was in his car.Prosecutors said Deck later gave a full account of the killings. He was sentenced to death in 1998, but the Missouri Supreme Court tossed the sentence due to errors by Deck’s trial lawyer.He was condemned to death a second time, but the U.S. Supreme Court threw out the sentence in 2005, citing the prejudice caused by Deck being shackled in front of the jury.He was sentenced to death for a third time in 2008, but U.S. District Judge Catherine Perry overturned that sentence&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/59b0d23c85d04ed7b8374ce433393748">nine years later</a>&nbsp;after she determined that “substantial” evidence arguing against the death penalty during Deck’s first two penalty phases was unavailable for the third because witnesses had died, couldn’t be found or declined to cooperate.In October 2020, a three-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals restored the death penalty, ruling that Deck should have raised his concern first in state court, not federal court. Appeals of that ruling were unsuccessful.Deck’s clemency petition said he suffered sexual abuse and beatings as a child, and that he and his siblings were often left alone without food.But Parson wasn’t swayed, explaining his rationale for rejecting the petition in a news release: “Mr. Deck has received due process, and three separate juries of his peers have recommended sentences of death for the brutal murders he committed.”<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-executions-f32c014193ac2fdc77c15e7c3db4ec6c">The number of executions</a>&nbsp;in the U.S. has declined significantly since peaking at 98 in 1998. The drop has coincided with a decline in public support for capital punishment that has fallen from a high of 80% in 1994 to 54% in 2021, according to Gallup polls. Since the mid-1990s, opposition to capital punishment has risen from under 20% to about 45%.Just four people have been executed in 2022 —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/crime-oklahoma-oklahoma-city-robbery-mcalester-3693d1a245878cc773aa6bdbbad56ab4">Donald Anthony Grant</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/executions-oklahoma-mcalester-24d25f6c178c5b0852ccae3ba03214f1">Gilbert Ray Postelle</a>&nbsp;in Oklahoma,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/us-supreme-court-health-alabama-executions-b9b6c18d2d0f1833329d09091998b14a">Matthew Reeves</a>&nbsp;in Alabama and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/crime-shootings-texas-executions-houston-74e25cf0325008b48a21619d257c69d0">Carl Wayne Buntion</a>&nbsp;last month in Texas. All four were convicted killers who were put to death by injection. Eleven people were executed in the U.S. last year, which was the country’s fewest executions since 1988.Use of the death penalty has become concentrated mostly in a few Southern and Plains states. Last year, Texas executed three inmates, Oklahoma executed two, and one each were put to death in Alabama, Mississippi and Missouri. Three federal inmates were executed in January 2021, toward the end of President Donald Trump’s administration.On Monday, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/crime-executions-tennessee-nashville-e143acccdd34b46b346c0e1fb02fe823">paused executions</a>&nbsp;for the rest of the year to enable a review of lethal injection procedures after a testing oversight forced the state to call off the execution of Oscar Smith an hour before he was to die on April 21.---------------WASHINGTON (AP) —The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to halt the upcoming execution of Missouri inmate Carman Deck, and Republican Gov. Mike Parson said he will not grant clemency.Deck, 56, is scheduled to die by injection at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the state prison in Bonne Terre for killing a couple while robbing their rural home in July 1996."Mr. Deck has received due process, and three separate juries of his peers have recommended sentences of death for the brutal murders he committed,” Parson said in a statement. “The State of Missouri will carry out Mr. Deck’s sentence according to the Court’s order and deliver justice.”Deck's attorney didn't immediately respond to a message seeking comment.Only four executions have been carried out in the U.S. so far in 2022, and the 11 last year were the fewest since 1988. Earlier Monday, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/crime-executions-tennessee-nashville-e143acccdd34b46b346c0e1fb02fe823">paused executions</a>&nbsp;for the rest of the year to enable a review of the state's lethal injection procedures. That decision came after a testing oversight forced the state to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/covid-health-crime-executions-tennessee-c35f2cf35a7791617bd4e24555d13a2c">call off the execution</a>&nbsp;of Oscar Smith an hour before he was to die on April 21.Deck, of the St. Louis area, admitted that he killed James Long, 69, and his 67-year-old wife, Zelma, while robbing them at their home in the eastern Missouri town of De Soto in July 1996.Deck's death sentence was thrown out three times due to procedural errors before a federal appeals court panel restored it in 2020.The clemency petition on behalf of Deck cited abuse he suffered as a child, including sexual abuse and beatings. It also said he and his siblings often were left alone without food.The number of executions in the U.S. has declined significantly since peaking at 98 in 1998. The drop has coincided with a decline in public support for capital punishment that has fallen from a high of 80% in 1994 to 54% in 2021, according to Gallup polls. Since the mid-1990s, opposition to capital punishment has risen from under 20% to about 45%.------------JEFFERSON CITY—On Monday, Governor Mike Parson confirmed that the State of Missouri will carry out the sentence of 56-year-old Carmen Deck on Tuesday, May 3, 2022, as ordered by the Supreme Court of Missouri, according to a statement from Parson's office."Mr. Deck has received due process, and three separate juries of his peers have recommended sentences of death for the brutal murders he committed,"&nbsp;Governor Parson&nbsp;said. "The State of Missouri will carry out Mr. Deck's sentence according to the Court's order and&nbsp;deliver justice."Deck was tried and convicted for the heinous execution-style murders of two innocent elderly victims during a robbery in 1996. Mr. Deck fully admitted to his callous offenses in verbal, written, and recorded statements to law enforcement.Court records said Deck and his sister went to the Long home under the guise of asking for directions, but with the intent to rob them. Deck pulled a pistol from his waistband and ordered them to lie facedown on their bed. He shot them in the head. In three different proceedings, separate juries have recommended Mr. Deck’s death sentences. Deck's case has been reviewed in the state trial court, Missouri Supreme Court, federal district court, Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, and United States Supreme Court.

Execution: Convicted killer put to death for 1996 murder of couple

GEARY COUNTY —Three days of searching have not produced any results, but authorities have identified the suspected drowning victim that they have been searching for at Milford Lake, as Jesse Paul Sockness (white man, 41,&nbsp; brown hair, brown eyes) of Lawrence, Kansas. He was last seen swimming to shore in Milford Lake on Saturday

According to Captain David Gilbert of the Sheriff's Department the search continued Tuesday as boats from the Geary County Sheriff’s Office Marine Unit, Wildlife and Parks/Milford State Park, and Wild Life and Parks Law Enforcement Division took to the waters.&nbsp; The area where the subject was last seen was thoroughly searched with side scan and live view sonar east across the lake to the area of Milford State park where a makeshift water vessel was located along with the female passenger who had ridden on it with the suspected drowning victim. A couple articles of clothing believed to belong to her and Sockness were located.&nbsp;&nbsp;

The Geary County Sheriff/Junction City Fire Department Dive Team deployed into the area where Sockness was last seen and conducted several large area grid searches.&nbsp; All searches to this point have been met with negative results.&nbsp; Moving forward the Sheriff’s Office will continue to search the area throughout the coming days by land and by water multiple times each day/night.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/5/1651611657234.png" alt="photo courtesy WIBW TV" />
 <figcaption>photo courtesy WIBW TV</figcaption>
 </figure>GEARY COUNTY —Three days of searching have not produced any results, but authorities have identified the suspected drowning victim that they have been searching for at Milford Lake, as Jesse Paul Sockness (white man, 41,&nbsp; brown hair, brown eyes) of Lawrence, Kansas. He was last seen swimming to shore in Milford Lake on SaturdayAccording to Captain David Gilbert of the Sheriff's Department the search continued Tuesday as boats from the Geary County Sheriff’s Office Marine Unit, Wildlife and Parks/Milford State Park, and Wild Life and Parks Law Enforcement Division took to the waters.&nbsp; The area where the subject was last seen was thoroughly searched with side scan and live view sonar east across the lake to the area of Milford State park where a makeshift water vessel was located along with the female passenger who had ridden on it with the suspected drowning victim. A couple articles of clothing believed to belong to her and Sockness were located.&nbsp;&nbsp;The Geary County Sheriff/Junction City Fire Department Dive Team deployed into the area where Sockness was last seen and conducted several large area grid searches.&nbsp; All searches to this point have been met with negative results.&nbsp; Moving forward the Sheriff’s Office will continue to search the area throughout the coming days by land and by water multiple times each day/night.

Sheriff IDs suspected drowning victim at Kansas lake 

By BLAISE MESA and DYLAN LYSEN <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2022-05-03/roe-v-wade-decision-will-mean-kansas-abortion-rights-hinge-on-a-state-vote-in-august">Kansas News Service</a>

TOPEKA, Kansas — A leaked draft of a U.S. Supreme Court 
opinion shows the justices are preparing to overturn federal abortion 
rights protections, and that raises the stakes for a constitutional 
amendment vote on abortion rights in Kansas this August.

Losing 
federal protections would mean the state constitution would be the only 
protections for abortion rights in Kansas. A Kansas Supreme Court <a href="https://www.kcur.org/2019-04-26/kansas-supreme-court-rules-state-constitution-protects-right-to-abortion" target="_blank">ruling in 2019</a> said there is a right to abortion in the Kansas Constitution.

“Roe was egregiously wrong from the start,” wrote U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, according to a <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2022/05/02/supreme-court-abortion-draft-opinion-00029473" target="_blank">POLITICO article</a>
 reporting on the leaked documents. “Its reasoning was exceptionally 
weak, and the decision has had damaging consequences. And far from 
bringing about a national settlement of the abortion issue, Roe and Casey have enflamed debate and deepened division.”

On
 Aug. 2, Kansans will vote on an amendment that would say there is no 
right to abortion in the state constitution. If approved, and if Roe v. 
Wade is overturned, the state’s Republican lawmakers — who currently 
hold a supermajority in the Legislature — are likely to pursue abortion 
bans similar to Oklahoma, Texas and other Republican-led states.

Mackenzie
 Haddix, spokesperson for the Value Them Both Coalition supporting the 
change to eliminate abortion rights from the state constitution, said 
Kansas is already a destination for late-term abortions and its laws are
 “among the most extreme states in the nation.”

“If Kansans want to stop this, they must vote YES on Value Them Both,” she said in a statement.

If the amendment fails, abortion will remain legal in Kansas no matter what the Supreme Court decides.

“We
 have seen a dramatic acceleration of anti-abortion legislation over the
 past year — a culmination of the decades-long maneuvering by the right 
towards this moment,” said the Wichita-based group Trust Woman in a 
statement. “We have seen hundreds of women traveling thousands of miles 
for medical care that should have been available in their own 
communities.”

<a href="http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2021_22/measures/documents/hb2746_00_0000.pdf" target="_blank">One bill banning abortion</a> has already been introduced in the Kansas Legislature, and does not appear to allow exceptions even in cases of rape or incest.

If
 the nation’s high court does overturn the decades-old precedent, the 
country would then be covered with a state-by-state patchwork of 
differing abortion laws. That, in turn, could lead even more women to 
travel from their home states for places where it remains legal, 
including Kansas.

Several states have enacted abortion bans in 
anticipation of the ruling. Arizona and Wyoming approved laws that will 
go into effect only if the Supreme Court reverses the ruling that’s 
protected abortion rights since 1973.

Meanwhile, neighboring 
states have approved significant bans on abortion that have led to 
residents looking for abortion services in Kansas. Oklahoma <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2022-04-14/more-women-are-expected-to-come-to-kansas-clinics-because-of-oklahomas-abortion-ban" target="_blank">approved a near-total ban</a>
 on abortion earlier this year, and Texas enacted significant abortion 
restrictions in 2021. Kansas saw an increase of women seeking service 
then, <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2021-12-21/women-across-the-midwest-and-south-are-coming-to-kansas-for-abortions-that-could-end-next-year" target="_blank">making it an unlikely abortion refuge</a>.

Blaise
 Mesa reports on criminal justice and social services for the Kansas 
News Service in Topeka. You can follow him on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/blaise_mesa" target="_blank">@Blaise_Mesa</a> or email him at <a href="mailto:blaise@kcur.org" target="_blank">blaise@kcur.org</a>.&nbsp;Dylan Lysen reports on politics for the Kansas News Service. You can follow him on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/DylanLysen" target="_blank">@DylanLysen</a> or email him at dlysen@kcur.org.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/5/1651593742878.png" alt="The Kansas Constitution gives people the right to an abortion, a judge said in 2019. Chris Neal / Shooter Imaging" />
 <figcaption>The Kansas Constitution gives people the right to an abortion, a judge said in 2019. Chris Neal / Shooter Imaging</figcaption>
 </figure>By BLAISE MESA and DYLAN LYSEN <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2022-05-03/roe-v-wade-decision-will-mean-kansas-abortion-rights-hinge-on-a-state-vote-in-august">Kansas News Service</a>TOPEKA, Kansas — A leaked draft of a U.S. Supreme Court 
opinion shows the justices are preparing to overturn federal abortion 
rights protections, and that raises the stakes for a constitutional 
amendment vote on abortion rights in Kansas this August.Losing 
federal protections would mean the state constitution would be the only 
protections for abortion rights in Kansas. A Kansas Supreme Court <a href="https://www.kcur.org/2019-04-26/kansas-supreme-court-rules-state-constitution-protects-right-to-abortion" target="_blank">ruling in 2019</a> said there is a right to abortion in the Kansas Constitution.“Roe was egregiously wrong from the start,” wrote U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, according to a <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2022/05/02/supreme-court-abortion-draft-opinion-00029473" target="_blank">POLITICO article</a>
 reporting on the leaked documents. “Its reasoning was exceptionally 
weak, and the decision has had damaging consequences. And far from 
bringing about a national settlement of the abortion issue, Roe and Casey have enflamed debate and deepened division.”On
 Aug. 2, Kansans will vote on an amendment that would say there is no 
right to abortion in the state constitution. If approved, and if Roe v. 
Wade is overturned, the state’s Republican lawmakers — who currently 
hold a supermajority in the Legislature — are likely to pursue abortion 
bans similar to Oklahoma, Texas and other Republican-led states.Mackenzie
 Haddix, spokesperson for the Value Them Both Coalition supporting the 
change to eliminate abortion rights from the state constitution, said 
Kansas is already a destination for late-term abortions and its laws are
 “among the most extreme states in the nation.”“If Kansans want to stop this, they must vote YES on Value Them Both,” she said in a statement.If the amendment fails, abortion will remain legal in Kansas no matter what the Supreme Court decides.“We
 have seen a dramatic acceleration of anti-abortion legislation over the
 past year — a culmination of the decades-long maneuvering by the right 
towards this moment,” said the Wichita-based group Trust Woman in a 
statement. “We have seen hundreds of women traveling thousands of miles 
for medical care that should have been available in their own 
communities.”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/5/1651593865137.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure><a href="http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2021_22/measures/documents/hb2746_00_0000.pdf" target="_blank">One bill banning abortion</a> has already been introduced in the Kansas Legislature, and does not appear to allow exceptions even in cases of rape or incest.If
 the nation’s high court does overturn the decades-old precedent, the 
country would then be covered with a state-by-state patchwork of 
differing abortion laws. That, in turn, could lead even more women to 
travel from their home states for places where it remains legal, 
including Kansas.Several states have enacted abortion bans in 
anticipation of the ruling. Arizona and Wyoming approved laws that will 
go into effect only if the Supreme Court reverses the ruling that’s 
protected abortion rights since 1973.Meanwhile, neighboring 
states have approved significant bans on abortion that have led to 
residents looking for abortion services in Kansas. Oklahoma <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2022-04-14/more-women-are-expected-to-come-to-kansas-clinics-because-of-oklahomas-abortion-ban" target="_blank">approved a near-total ban</a>
 on abortion earlier this year, and Texas enacted significant abortion 
restrictions in 2021. Kansas saw an increase of women seeking service 
then, <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2021-12-21/women-across-the-midwest-and-south-are-coming-to-kansas-for-abortions-that-could-end-next-year" target="_blank">making it an unlikely abortion refuge</a>.Blaise
 Mesa reports on criminal justice and social services for the Kansas 
News Service in Topeka. You can follow him on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/blaise_mesa" target="_blank">@Blaise_Mesa</a> or email him at <a href="mailto:blaise@kcur.org" target="_blank">blaise@kcur.org</a>.&nbsp;Dylan Lysen reports on politics for the Kansas News Service. You can follow him on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/DylanLysen" target="_blank">@DylanLysen</a> or email him at dlysen@kcur.org.

Roe v. Wade decision will mean Kan. abortion rights hinge on August vote

SEDGWICK COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating the death of 49-year-old Kurt Krueger and released the security camera image of a vehicle that may be connected to the death.

Police found Krueger's body in the 7900 block of West Cottontail in Wichita just after 2a.m. Sunday, according to Officer Chad Ditch.

Officers responded to the report of a man down in the roadway and located Krueger unconscious and not breathing. He would be pronounced deceased on the scene.

The investigation revealed that Krueger was walking in the neighborhood where he lives, approximately 20-30 minutes before his body was found.&nbsp; Police have not reported the cause of death.

Investigators are asking the public for&nbsp; information on the vehicle and driver. Any witnesses or anyone with information is asked to contact Det. T.J. Nelson at 316-350-3686 or Crime Stoppers at 316-267-2111.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/5/1651519978529.png" alt="Photo Wichita Police" />
 <figcaption>Photo Wichita Police</figcaption>
 </figure>SEDGWICK COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating the death of 49-year-old Kurt Krueger and released the security camera image of a vehicle that may be connected to the death.Police found Krueger's body in the 7900 block of West Cottontail in Wichita just after 2a.m. Sunday, according to Officer Chad Ditch.Officers responded to the report of a man down in the roadway and located Krueger unconscious and not breathing. He would be pronounced deceased on the scene.The investigation revealed that Krueger was walking in the neighborhood where he lives, approximately 20-30 minutes before his body was found.&nbsp; Police have not reported the cause of death.Investigators are asking the public for&nbsp; information on the vehicle and driver. Any witnesses or anyone with information is asked to contact Det. T.J. Nelson at 316-350-3686 or Crime Stoppers at 316-267-2111.

Police: Search continues for vehicle in death of Kansas man

WASHINGTON—Members of the Kansas congressional delegation are responding to the Supreme Court’s leaked draft decision that would overturn the nation’s landmark Roe v. Wade ruling.

Chief Justice John Roberts on Tuesday confirmed the authenticity of the leaked draft opinion suggesting the Supreme Court may be be poised to overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade case that legalized abortion nationwide.

Roberts also ordered an investigation into what he called an “egregious breach of trust.”

If the U.S. Supreme Court follows through on overturning the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade case that legalized abortion nationwide, it would immediately split the country into states with abortion access and those that outlaw it.

Some states&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/roe-wade-supreme-court-state-fight-e53b2b46d9606dc9468b8044a0b42ed0">had already been preparing</a>&nbsp;for the potential that the high court could weaken or overturn Roe, but the bombshell leak of the draft opinion appeared to accelerate that drive Tuesday, setting the country on course for an even more jumbled landscape of abortion rights even before the court actually issues its ruling.

Almost immediately after Politico released the draft Monday night, Republicans who had fostered a decades-long push to end abortion rights cheered the prospect while Democrats vowed to fight the possible overturning of a constitutional right that has been in place for nearly a half-century.

WASHINGTON—Members of the Kansas congressional delegation are responding to the Supreme Court’s leaked draft decision that would overturn the nation’s landmark Roe v. Wade ruling.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">As we await the official ruling, I will continue to defend the unborn and give them a voice in the legislative process. The work to protect the unborn must be determined by the democratic process and not unelected judges.&mdash; Senator Jerry Moran (@JerryMoran) <a href="https://twitter.com/JerryMoran/status/1521530967395086338?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 3, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">If this opinion holds true, it will be a monumental step backwards. And when Kansas votes on a constitutional amendment in August, we will be the first state to decide if we agree that the government has control over women’s health care choices. I’ll tell you this: I don’t.&mdash; Sharice Davids (@sharicedavids) <a href="https://twitter.com/sharicedavids/status/1521499299858821125?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 3, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">🧵on the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SCOTUS?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SCOTUS</a> leak. This is an egregious attack on the institution of the Supreme Court. For someone to leak this document and the press to be complicit in the leak undermines the legitimacy of the Supreme Court. 1/4&mdash; Dr. Roger Marshall (@RogerMarshallMD) <a href="https://twitter.com/RogerMarshallMD/status/1521515881477648384?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 3, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">My full statement on the unprecedented leak that revealed the Supreme Court&#39;s intention to overturn Roe v. Wade ⤵️ <a href="https://t.co/APaGT29Y4v">pic.twitter.com/APaGT29Y4v</a>&mdash; Rep. Jake LaTurner (@RepLaTurner) <a href="https://twitter.com/RepLaTurner/status/1521554482571759617?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 3, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Chief Justice John Roberts on Tuesday confirmed the authenticity of the leaked draft opinion suggesting the Supreme Court may be be poised to overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade case that legalized abortion nationwide.Roberts also ordered an investigation into what he called an “egregious breach of trust.”If the U.S. Supreme Court follows through on overturning the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade case that legalized abortion nationwide, it would immediately split the country into states with abortion access and those that outlaw it.Some states&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/roe-wade-supreme-court-state-fight-e53b2b46d9606dc9468b8044a0b42ed0">had already been preparing</a>&nbsp;for the potential that the high court could weaken or overturn Roe, but the bombshell leak of the draft opinion appeared to accelerate that drive Tuesday, setting the country on course for an even more jumbled landscape of abortion rights even before the court actually issues its ruling.Almost immediately after Politico released the draft Monday night, Republicans who had fostered a decades-long push to end abortion rights cheered the prospect while Democrats vowed to fight the possible overturning of a constitutional right that has been in place for nearly a half-century.

Kan. delegation on Supreme Court abortion opinion leak

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. health officials on Tuesday restated their recommendation that Americans wear masks on planes, trains and buses, despite a court ruling last month that struck down a national mask mandate on public transportation.

Americans age 2 and older&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2022/s0503-covid-19-travel.html" target="_blank">should wear</a>&nbsp;a well-fitting masks while on public transportation, including in airports and train stations, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended, citing the current spread of coronavirus and projections of future COVID-19 trends.

For months, the Transportation Security Administration had been enforcing a requirement that passengers and workers wear masks.

The government had repeatedly extended the mandate, and the latest one had been set to expire May 3. But a federal judge in Florida&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-health-business-travel-tampa-3408cc825582126fbda5fbedd3a49dd3">struck down</a>&nbsp;the rule on April 18. The same day, the TSA said it would no longer enforce the mandate.

The CDC asked the Justice Department to appeal the decision, which the department did. On Tuesday, CDC officials declined to comment on the status of the appeal. DOJ officials did not immediately respond to a request for information.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/12/1640348737573.png" alt="Photo courtesy Wichita Eisenhower National Airport" />
 <figcaption>Photo courtesy Wichita Eisenhower National Airport</figcaption>
 </figure>NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. health officials on Tuesday restated their recommendation that Americans wear masks on planes, trains and buses, despite a court ruling last month that struck down a national mask mandate on public transportation.Americans age 2 and older&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2022/s0503-covid-19-travel.html" target="_blank">should wear</a>&nbsp;a well-fitting masks while on public transportation, including in airports and train stations, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended, citing the current spread of coronavirus and projections of future COVID-19 trends.For months, the Transportation Security Administration had been enforcing a requirement that passengers and workers wear masks.The government had repeatedly extended the mandate, and the latest one had been set to expire May 3. But a federal judge in Florida&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-health-business-travel-tampa-3408cc825582126fbda5fbedd3a49dd3">struck down</a>&nbsp;the rule on April 18. The same day, the TSA said it would no longer enforce the mandate.The CDC asked the Justice Department to appeal the decision, which the department did. On Tuesday, CDC officials declined to comment on the status of the appeal. DOJ officials did not immediately respond to a request for information.

CDC restates recommendation for masks on planes, trains

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Tuesday blasted a “radical” draft Supreme Court opinion that would throw out the landmark Roe v. Wade abortion rights ruling that has stood for a half century and warned that other rights including same-sex marriage and birth control are at risk if the court follows through.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/publicinfo/press/pressreleases/pr_05-03-22" target="_blank">Across the nation, Americans grappled</a>&nbsp;with what might come next.

The court confirmed the authenticity of the leaked draft, which was dated to February, and Chief Justice John&nbsp;<a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/publicinfo/press/pressreleases/pr_05-03-22" target="_blank">Roberts said he had ordered an investigation</a>&nbsp;into what he called an “egregious breach of trust.” A court statement emphasized that the draft is not the justices’ final word.

Opinions often change in ways big and small in the drafting process, and a final ruling has not been expected until the end of the court’s term in late June or early July.

A decision to overrule Roe would lead to abortion bans in roughly half the states, spark new efforts in Democratic-leaning states to protect access to abortion, and potentially reshape the contours of this year’s hotly contested midterm elections.

The draft was published by the news outlet Politico late Monday.

Speaking to reporters before boarding Air Force One, Biden said he hoped the draft wouldn’t be finalized by justices, contending it reflects a “fundamental shift in American jurisprudence” that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/roe-wade-supreme-court-state-fight-e53b2b46d9606dc9468b8044a0b42ed0">threatens “other basic rights” like access to birth control and marriage.</a>

He added: “If this decision holds, it’s really quite a radical decision.” He said the “basic fairness and the stability of our law demand” that the court not overturn Roe.

“If the court does overturn Roe, it will fall on our nation’s elected officials at all levels of government to protect a woman’s right to choose,” Biden said. “And it will fall on voters to elect pro-choice officials this November. At the federal level, we will need more pro-choice Senators and a pro-choice majority in the House to adopt legislation that codifies Roe, which I will work to pass and sign into law.”

Though past efforts have failed, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said he intended to hold a vote.

“This is as urgent and real as it gets,” Schumer said on the Senate floor Tuesday. “Every American is going to see on which side every senator stands.”

Whatever the outcome, the Politico report late Monday represented an extremely rare&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/stephen-breyer-us-supreme-court-c6a923f6e370672f4a5ccfd3be325786">breach of the court’s secretive deliberation process</a>, and on a case of surpassing importance.

“Roe was egregiously wrong from the start,” the draft opinion states. It was signed by Justice Samuel Alito, a member of the court’s 6-3 conservative majority who was appointed by former President George W. Bush.

The document was labeled a “1st Draft” of the “Opinion of the Court” in a case challenging Mississippi’s ban on abortion after 15 weeks, a case known as Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.

The draft opinion in effect states there is no constitutional right to abortion services. It would allow individual states to more heavily regulate or outright ban the procedure.

“We hold that Roe and Casey must be overruled,” it states, referencing the 1992 case Planned Parenthood v. Casey that affirmed Roe’s finding of a constitutional right to abortion services but allowed states to place some constraints on the practice. “It is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives.”

The draft opinion strongly suggests that when the justices met in private shortly after arguments in the case on Dec. 1, at least five — all the conservatives except perhaps Chief Justice John Roberts — voted to overrule Roe and Casey, and Alito was assigned the task of writing the court’s majority opinion.

Votes and opinions in a case aren’t final until a decision is announced or, in a change wrought by the coronavirus pandemic, posted on the court’s website.

Politico said only that it received “a copy of the draft opinion from a person familiar with the court’s proceedings in the Mississippi case along with other details supporting the authenticity of the document.”

The report comes amid a legislative push to restrict abortion in several Republican-led states — Oklahoma being the most recent — even before the court issues its decision. Critics of those measures have said&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-laws-raising-children-e620ca2a871bfd9ce5b6d6c76e092c31">low-income and minority women will disproportionately bear the burden</a>&nbsp;of the new restrictions.

The leak jumpstarted the intense political reverberations that the high court’s ultimate decision was expected to have in the midterm election year. Already, politicians on both sides of the aisle were seizing on the report to fundraise and energize their supporters on both sides of the issue.

Democrats contended that several&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/us-supreme-court-election-2020-amy-coney-barrett-brett-kavanaugh-confirmation-hearings-084bd8c246cce2418f7cc49a1cd31cd5">conservative justices misled senators</a>&nbsp;about their feelings.x

And Maine Republican Susan Collins, who supports abortion rights but was a pivotal GOP vote for the confirmations of Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, said if the draft reflects the final opinion of the court, “it would be completely inconsistent with what Justice Gorsuch and Justice Kavanaugh said in their hearings and in our meetings in my office.”

Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, told reporters on Capitol Hill that “my confidence in the court has been rocked,” and said her proposal with Collins to legislate abortion rights should be reinvigorated.

An&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-health-reproductive-rights-bd86cf1c8ddbfd09c5e221c7a9d41e01">AP-NORC poll</a>&nbsp;in December found that Democrats increasingly see protecting abortion rights as a high priority for the government.

Other polling shows relatively few Americans want to see Roe overturned. In 2020, AP VoteCast found that 69% of voters in the presidential election said the Supreme Court should leave the Roe v. Wade decision as is; just 29% said the court should overturn the decision. In general, AP-NORC polling finds a majority of the public favors abortion being legal in most or all cases.

Still, when asked about abortion policy generally, Americans have nuanced attitudes on the issue, and many don’t think that abortion should be possible after the first trimester or that women should be able to obtain a legal abortion for any reason.

Alito, in the draft, said the court can’t predict how the public might react and shouldn’t try. “We cannot allow our decisions to be affected by any extraneous influences such as concern about the public’s reaction to our work,” Alito wrote in the draft opinion, according to Politico.

Police in Washington prepared for the potential of large demonstrations outside the Supreme Court and U.S. Capitol. People on both sides of the issue gathered outside the curt waving signs and chanting on a balmy Monday night following the release of the Politico report, and again on Tuesday.

Outside Washington, Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said people seeking abortions could head to her state. “For anyone who needs access to care, our state will welcome you with open arms. Abortion will always be safe &amp; accessible in New York,” Hochul said in a tweet.

Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch said in a statement, “We will let the Supreme Court speak for itself and wait for the Court’s official opinion.” But local officials were praising the draft.

“This puts the decision making back into the hands of the states, which is where it should have always been,” said Mississippi state Rep. Becky Currie.

At Supreme Court arguments in December, all six conservative justices signaled that they would uphold the Mississippi law, and five asked questions that suggested that overruling Roe and Casey was a possibility.

Only Roberts seemed prepared to take the smaller step of upholding the 15-week ban, though that too would be a significant weakening of abortion rights.

Until now, the court has allowed states to regulate but not ban abortion before the point of viability, around 24 weeks.

Twenty-six states are certain or likely to ban abortion if Roe v. Wade is overturned, according to the pro-abortion rights think tank the Guttmacher Institute. Of those, 22 states already have total or near-total bans on the books that are currently blocked by Roe, aside from Texas. The Texas law banning it after six weeks has been allowed to go into effect by the Supreme Court due to its unusual civil enforcement structure. Four more states are considered likely to quickly pass bans if Roe is overturned.

Sixteen states and the District of Columbia, meanwhile, have protected access to abortion in state law.

The Supreme Court justices generally spend May and June finishing their writing in cases that have been argued and then issuing the remaining opinions before going on a summer break. On the court’s calendar, the next day opinions might normally be expected is May 16.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/5/1651593955487.png" alt="President Joe Biden said Tuesday that the “basic fairness and the stability of our law demand” that the court not overturn Roe-photo courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>President Joe Biden said Tuesday that the “basic fairness and the stability of our law demand” that the court not overturn Roe-photo courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Tuesday blasted a “radical” draft Supreme Court opinion that would throw out the landmark Roe v. Wade abortion rights ruling that has stood for a half century and warned that other rights including same-sex marriage and birth control are at risk if the court follows through.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/publicinfo/press/pressreleases/pr_05-03-22" target="_blank">Across the nation, Americans grappled</a>&nbsp;with what might come next.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">President Biden: &quot;If this decision holds, it&#39;s really quite a radical decision...I think the codification of Roe makes a lot of sense.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/LN9NEB1T1k">pic.twitter.com/LN9NEB1T1k</a>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1521516325851615232?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 3, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">My statement on the reported Supreme Court decision draft. <a href="https://t.co/Kt3bP0kzqU">pic.twitter.com/Kt3bP0kzqU</a>&mdash; President Biden (@POTUS) <a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1521485987133771782?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 3, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>The court confirmed the authenticity of the leaked draft, which was dated to February, and Chief Justice John&nbsp;<a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/publicinfo/press/pressreleases/pr_05-03-22" target="_blank">Roberts said he had ordered an investigation</a>&nbsp;into what he called an “egregious breach of trust.” A court statement emphasized that the draft is not the justices’ final word.Opinions often change in ways big and small in the drafting process, and a final ruling has not been expected until the end of the court’s term in late June or early July.A decision to overrule Roe would lead to abortion bans in roughly half the states, spark new efforts in Democratic-leaning states to protect access to abortion, and potentially reshape the contours of this year’s hotly contested midterm elections.The draft was published by the news outlet Politico late Monday.Speaking to reporters before boarding Air Force One, Biden said he hoped the draft wouldn’t be finalized by justices, contending it reflects a “fundamental shift in American jurisprudence” that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/roe-wade-supreme-court-state-fight-e53b2b46d9606dc9468b8044a0b42ed0">threatens “other basic rights” like access to birth control and marriage.</a>He added: “If this decision holds, it’s really quite a radical decision.” He said the “basic fairness and the stability of our law demand” that the court not overturn Roe.“If the court does overturn Roe, it will fall on our nation’s elected officials at all levels of government to protect a woman’s right to choose,” Biden said. “And it will fall on voters to elect pro-choice officials this November. At the federal level, we will need more pro-choice Senators and a pro-choice majority in the House to adopt legislation that codifies Roe, which I will work to pass and sign into law.”<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">This is the time to fight for women and our country with everything we have. My statement on the Supreme Court decision draft on Roe v. Wade. <a href="https://t.co/5tvjOUTmZ2">pic.twitter.com/5tvjOUTmZ2</a>&mdash; Vice President Kamala Harris (@VP) <a href="https://twitter.com/VP/status/1521532537083813888?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 3, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Though past efforts have failed, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said he intended to hold a vote.“This is as urgent and real as it gets,” Schumer said on the Senate floor Tuesday. “Every American is going to see on which side every senator stands.”Whatever the outcome, the Politico report late Monday represented an extremely rare&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/stephen-breyer-us-supreme-court-c6a923f6e370672f4a5ccfd3be325786">breach of the court’s secretive deliberation process</a>, and on a case of surpassing importance.“Roe was egregiously wrong from the start,” the draft opinion states. It was signed by Justice Samuel Alito, a member of the court’s 6-3 conservative majority who was appointed by former President George W. Bush.The document was labeled a “1st Draft” of the “Opinion of the Court” in a case challenging Mississippi’s ban on abortion after 15 weeks, a case known as Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.The draft opinion in effect states there is no constitutional right to abortion services. It would allow individual states to more heavily regulate or outright ban the procedure.“We hold that Roe and Casey must be overruled,” it states, referencing the 1992 case Planned Parenthood v. Casey that affirmed Roe’s finding of a constitutional right to abortion services but allowed states to place some constraints on the practice. “It is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives.”The draft opinion strongly suggests that when the justices met in private shortly after arguments in the case on Dec. 1, at least five — all the conservatives except perhaps Chief Justice John Roberts — voted to overrule Roe and Casey, and Alito was assigned the task of writing the court’s majority opinion.Votes and opinions in a case aren’t final until a decision is announced or, in a change wrought by the coronavirus pandemic, posted on the court’s website.Politico said only that it received “a copy of the draft opinion from a person familiar with the court’s proceedings in the Mississippi case along with other details supporting the authenticity of the document.”The report comes amid a legislative push to restrict abortion in several Republican-led states — Oklahoma being the most recent — even before the court issues its decision. Critics of those measures have said&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-laws-raising-children-e620ca2a871bfd9ce5b6d6c76e092c31">low-income and minority women will disproportionately bear the burden</a>&nbsp;of the new restrictions.The leak jumpstarted the intense political reverberations that the high court’s ultimate decision was expected to have in the midterm election year. Already, politicians on both sides of the aisle were seizing on the report to fundraise and energize their supporters on both sides of the issue.Democrats contended that several&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/us-supreme-court-election-2020-amy-coney-barrett-brett-kavanaugh-confirmation-hearings-084bd8c246cce2418f7cc49a1cd31cd5">conservative justices misled senators</a>&nbsp;about their feelings.xAnd Maine Republican Susan Collins, who supports abortion rights but was a pivotal GOP vote for the confirmations of Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, said if the draft reflects the final opinion of the court, “it would be completely inconsistent with what Justice Gorsuch and Justice Kavanaugh said in their hearings and in our meetings in my office.”Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, told reporters on Capitol Hill that “my confidence in the court has been rocked,” and said her proposal with Collins to legislate abortion rights should be reinvigorated.An&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-health-reproductive-rights-bd86cf1c8ddbfd09c5e221c7a9d41e01">AP-NORC poll</a>&nbsp;in December found that Democrats increasingly see protecting abortion rights as a high priority for the government.Other polling shows relatively few Americans want to see Roe overturned. In 2020, AP VoteCast found that 69% of voters in the presidential election said the Supreme Court should leave the Roe v. Wade decision as is; just 29% said the court should overturn the decision. In general, AP-NORC polling finds a majority of the public favors abortion being legal in most or all cases.Still, when asked about abortion policy generally, Americans have nuanced attitudes on the issue, and many don’t think that abortion should be possible after the first trimester or that women should be able to obtain a legal abortion for any reason.Alito, in the draft, said the court can’t predict how the public might react and shouldn’t try. “We cannot allow our decisions to be affected by any extraneous influences such as concern about the public’s reaction to our work,” Alito wrote in the draft opinion, according to Politico.Police in Washington prepared for the potential of large demonstrations outside the Supreme Court and U.S. Capitol. People on both sides of the issue gathered outside the curt waving signs and chanting on a balmy Monday night following the release of the Politico report, and again on Tuesday.Outside Washington, Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said people seeking abortions could head to her state. “For anyone who needs access to care, our state will welcome you with open arms. Abortion will always be safe &amp; accessible in New York,” Hochul said in a tweet.Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch said in a statement, “We will let the Supreme Court speak for itself and wait for the Court’s official opinion.” But local officials were praising the draft.“This puts the decision making back into the hands of the states, which is where it should have always been,” said Mississippi state Rep. Becky Currie.At Supreme Court arguments in December, all six conservative justices signaled that they would uphold the Mississippi law, and five asked questions that suggested that overruling Roe and Casey was a possibility.Only Roberts seemed prepared to take the smaller step of upholding the 15-week ban, though that too would be a significant weakening of abortion rights.Until now, the court has allowed states to regulate but not ban abortion before the point of viability, around 24 weeks.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/5/1651593821281.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Twenty-six states are certain or likely to ban abortion if Roe v. Wade is overturned, according to the pro-abortion rights think tank the Guttmacher Institute. Of those, 22 states already have total or near-total bans on the books that are currently blocked by Roe, aside from Texas. The Texas law banning it after six weeks has been allowed to go into effect by the Supreme Court due to its unusual civil enforcement structure. Four more states are considered likely to quickly pass bans if Roe is overturned.Sixteen states and the District of Columbia, meanwhile, have protected access to abortion in state law.The Supreme Court justices generally spend May and June finishing their writing in cases that have been argued and then issuing the remaining opinions before going on a summer break. On the court’s calendar, the next day opinions might normally be expected is May 16.

🎥Biden blasts 'radical' abortion ruling draft, warns other rights at risk

SHAWNEE COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a Kansas felon on new charges after an early morning traffic stop.

Just after 12:30a.m. Monday, a deputy sheriff conducted a traffic stop on a 2005 Chevrolet Suburban near NW Topeka Boulevard and NW Independence Avenue for speeding, according to Shawnee County Deputy Abigail Christian.

 During the investigation, deputies found illegal narcotics and arrested 50-year-old Richard L. Stang of Topeka was arrested and booked him into the Shawnee County Department of Corrections. He is being held on requested charge of possession of methamphetamine, driving under the influence, possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, failure to wear a seat belt, driving without a valid driver’s license, operating a vehicle without proper registration and speeding.

Stang has previous convictions for robbery, burglary and use of a false name on a drivers license, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/5/1651575259185.png" alt="Stang has previous convictions for robbery, burglary and use of a false name on a drivers license, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections -photo Shawnee Co." />
 <figcaption>Stang has previous convictions for robbery, burglary and use of a false name on a drivers license, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections -photo Shawnee Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>SHAWNEE COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a Kansas felon on new charges after an early morning traffic stop.Just after 12:30a.m. Monday, a deputy sheriff conducted a traffic stop on a 2005 Chevrolet Suburban near NW Topeka Boulevard and NW Independence Avenue for speeding, according to Shawnee County Deputy Abigail Christian. During the investigation, deputies found illegal narcotics and arrested 50-year-old Richard L. Stang of Topeka was arrested and booked him into the Shawnee County Department of Corrections. He is being held on requested charge of possession of methamphetamine, driving under the influence, possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, failure to wear a seat belt, driving without a valid driver’s license, operating a vehicle without proper registration and speeding.Stang has previous convictions for robbery, burglary and use of a false name on a drivers license, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections.

Kansas felon jailed for alleged DUI, meth possession

WASHINGTON — (AP) — Chief Justice John Roberts on Tuesday confirmed the authenticity of a leaked draft opinion suggesting the Supreme Court may be be poised to overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade case that legalized abortion nationwide. He ordered an investigation into what he called an “egregious breach of trust.”

In the high court's first public comment since the draft was published late Tuesday, Roberts said “Although the document described in yesterday’s reports is authentic, it does not represent a decision by the Court or the final position of any member on the issues in the case.”

In a statement, he said, “To the extent this betrayal of the confidences of the Court was intended to undermine the integrity of our operations, it will not succeed.”

He added: “I have directed the Marshal of the Court to launch an investigation into the source of the leak.”

U.S. Senator Roger Marshall of Kansas said, “This is an egregious attack on the institution of the Supreme Court. For someone to leak this document and the press to be complicit in the leak undermines the legitimacy of the Supreme Court,”&nbsp;

“But, we shouldn’t be surprised because that’s what Democrats do all of the time when they don’t like the outcome: They don’t like the outcome of votes in the Senate so they want to get rid of the filibuster; they don’t like the outcome of the balance of power in the Senate so they want to make Puerto Rico and D.C. states; they don’t like the way the elections go so they want to federalize them and deny states’ rights to run their own elections. All the while, the media is complicit – they help them do their bidding.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/5/1651591949777.png" alt="Chief Justice John Roberts-photo courtesy U.S. Supreme Court" />
 <figcaption>Chief Justice John Roberts-photo courtesy U.S. Supreme Court</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON — (AP) — Chief Justice John Roberts on Tuesday confirmed the authenticity of a leaked draft opinion suggesting the Supreme Court may be be poised to overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade case that legalized abortion nationwide. He ordered an investigation into what he called an “egregious breach of trust.”In the high court's first public comment since the draft was published late Tuesday, Roberts said “Although the document described in yesterday’s reports is authentic, it does not represent a decision by the Court or the final position of any member on the issues in the case.”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/5/1651601641368.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>In a statement, he said, “To the extent this betrayal of the confidences of the Court was intended to undermine the integrity of our operations, it will not succeed.”He added: “I have directed the Marshal of the Court to launch an investigation into the source of the leak.”U.S. Senator Roger Marshall of Kansas said, “This is an egregious attack on the institution of the Supreme Court. For someone to leak this document and the press to be complicit in the leak undermines the legitimacy of the Supreme Court,”&nbsp;“But, we shouldn’t be surprised because that’s what Democrats do all of the time when they don’t like the outcome: They don’t like the outcome of votes in the Senate so they want to get rid of the filibuster; they don’t like the outcome of the balance of power in the Senate so they want to make Puerto Rico and D.C. states; they don’t like the way the elections go so they want to federalize them and deny states’ rights to run their own elections. All the while, the media is complicit – they help them do their bidding.”

Chief Justice orders probe into 'egregious' leak of abortion draft

RENO COUNTY — As part of the Haven City Council meeting Monday night, council member Sandra Williams voiced concerns to Haven Police Chief Stephen Schaffer regarding “In God We Trust” decals on Haven’s police vehicles and the quoting of scripture on the Haven Police Department<a href="https://www.facebook.com/HavenPoliceDepartment"> Facebook page.</a>

Williams advised Schaffer that the Council does not feel it is the forum to be talking about God.

Chief Schaffer asked if that was a directive from the Council. Mayor Adam Wright nodded and said, “Yes.” Williams moved to eliminate the quoting of scripture from Haven Police Department’s Facebook page and to remove “In God We Trust” from the police vehicles.

Kylie Rush seconded, and the motion passed unanimously.

RENO COUNTY — As part of the Haven City Council meeting Monday night, council member Sandra Williams voiced concerns to Haven Police Chief Stephen Schaffer regarding “In God We Trust” decals on Haven’s police vehicles and the quoting of scripture on the Haven Police Department<a href="https://www.facebook.com/HavenPoliceDepartment"> Facebook page.</a>Williams advised Schaffer that the Council does not feel it is the forum to be talking about God.Chief Schaffer asked if that was a directive from the Council. Mayor Adam Wright nodded and said, “Yes.” Williams moved to eliminate the quoting of scripture from Haven Police Department’s Facebook page and to remove “In God We Trust” from the police vehicles.Kylie Rush seconded, and the motion passed unanimously.

Council votes to remove "In God We Trust" from police vehicles

Do you have any advice on how to start a car wash and detailing business? What things should I consider first, and what do I keep in mind over the long run?

I’m excited for you, man! And I love your ambitious spirit. Working for yourself is one of the toughest&nbsp;and&nbsp;most rewarding things anyone can do. It’ll take a lot of blood, sweat and tears to be successful, and you’ll experience some of the highest highs and lowest lows in the process.

But, if you don’t absolutely love cars and everything that goes into keeping them clean and looking great, I’d advise looking into another line of work. In other words, if you’re thinking about this kind of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ramseysolutions.com/career-advice/career-clarity-guide">business</a>&nbsp;just because it’s plausible or a way to make money, chances are you’re not going to be happy or stick with it very long. In that case, it’s really more of a side job than a business.

Is this something you’d want to be doing every day five years from now? Think about possibly having a team to lead and work with, too, at some point. Then, lay out a smart business plan, and write up everything from your marketing strategies to the cost of start-up equipment and supplies, to what your projected revenues are, and the per unit charges for all your services and widgets. Work this up like you had to prepare a report for a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ramseysolutions.com/saving/avoiding-the-traps-of-higher-education">college</a>&nbsp;class, and that’s what a business plan looks like.

You’ll always do a better job, and have more fun, when you’re part of something you love. And when it comes to running the business, stay away from&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ramseysolutions.com/debt/debt-calculator">debt</a>, pay cash and don’t be afraid to grow slowly. Be patient, be smart and give people a quality, reasonably-priced product and friendly, professional service. If you do all these things, there’s a good chance you’ll be successful.

<a href="https://www.ramseysolutions.com/">Dave Ramsey&nbsp;</a>is a seven-time #1 national best-selling author, personal finance expert, and host of&nbsp;The Ramsey Show, heard by more than 18 million listeners each week. He&nbsp;has appeared on Good Morning America, CBS This Morning, Today Show, Fox News, CNN, Fox Business, and many more. Since 1992, Dave has helped people regain control of their money, build wealth and enhance their lives. He also serves as CEO for Ramsey Solutions.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/3/1648177011035.png" alt="Dave Ramsey&nbsp;" />
 <figcaption>Dave Ramsey&nbsp;</figcaption>
 </figure>Dear Dave,Do you have any advice on how to start a car wash and detailing business? What things should I consider first, and what do I keep in mind over the long run?AndrewDear Andrew,I’m excited for you, man! And I love your ambitious spirit. Working for yourself is one of the toughest&nbsp;and&nbsp;most rewarding things anyone can do. It’ll take a lot of blood, sweat and tears to be successful, and you’ll experience some of the highest highs and lowest lows in the process.But, if you don’t absolutely love cars and everything that goes into keeping them clean and looking great, I’d advise looking into another line of work. In other words, if you’re thinking about this kind of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ramseysolutions.com/career-advice/career-clarity-guide">business</a>&nbsp;just because it’s plausible or a way to make money, chances are you’re not going to be happy or stick with it very long. In that case, it’s really more of a side job than a business.Is this something you’d want to be doing every day five years from now? Think about possibly having a team to lead and work with, too, at some point. Then, lay out a smart business plan, and write up everything from your marketing strategies to the cost of start-up equipment and supplies, to what your projected revenues are, and the per unit charges for all your services and widgets. Work this up like you had to prepare a report for a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ramseysolutions.com/saving/avoiding-the-traps-of-higher-education">college</a>&nbsp;class, and that’s what a business plan looks like.You’ll always do a better job, and have more fun, when you’re part of something you love. And when it comes to running the business, stay away from&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ramseysolutions.com/debt/debt-calculator">debt</a>, pay cash and don’t be afraid to grow slowly. Be patient, be smart and give people a quality, reasonably-priced product and friendly, professional service. If you do all these things, there’s a good chance you’ll be successful.Best of luck, Andrew!<a href="https://www.ramseysolutions.com/">Dave Ramsey&nbsp;</a>is a seven-time #1 national best-selling author, personal finance expert, and host of&nbsp;The Ramsey Show, heard by more than 18 million listeners each week. He&nbsp;has appeared on Good Morning America, CBS This Morning, Today Show, Fox News, CNN, Fox Business, and many more. Since 1992, Dave has helped people regain control of their money, build wealth and enhance their lives. He also serves as CEO for Ramsey Solutions.

Dave Says: Simple keys to small business success

MISSION, Kan. (AP) — A school system in suburban Kansas City is eliminating over 100 jobs, including kindergarten aides and library clerks. Oakland, California, is closing seven schools. Other districts around the country are merging classrooms, selling buildings and leaving teaching positions unfilled in order to close budget gaps.

Public school systems are beginning to feel the pinch from enrollment losses tied to the coronavirus pandemic.

Money for schools is driven partly by student headcounts, and emergency provisions in many states allowed schools to maintain funding at pre-pandemic levels. But like the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/pandemic-aid-public-school-funding-346d3d4b86f904184e357c34c9754800">billions of dollars of federal relief money&nbsp;</a>that have helped schools weather the crisis, those measures were not meant to last forever.

In Olathe, Kansas, where the school system is cutting 140 jobs, Deputy Superintendent John Hutchison said the extra federal money merely put off the inevitable.

Now it is trimming millions of dollars from its budgets because enrollment, having peaked at more than 30,000 students in fall 2019, fell by around 900 in the first full school year of the pandemic. Less than 100 of those students have returned.

“Where did those kids go?” Hutchison asked during a recent public meeting. “Where are they? They didn’t come back this year. That’s what’s laying on that additional reduction in our funding.”

Families opting for homeschooling, private schools and other options sent enrollment down sharply in the first full school year of the pandemic, and generally it has been&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-coronavirus-pandemic-race-and-ethnicity-education-e4f3faca4dffec641b11df6dd8259a23">slow to recover</a>.

In Houston, the largest district in Texas, enrollment tumbled by more than 22,000 to around 183,000 in fall 2021 and only about half of those students have returned. The district was shielded from making cuts in the first two years of the pandemic by what are known as “hold harmless” provisions, but those protections are expected to end. Superintendent Millard House has asked departments to cut $60 million from next year’s budget.

Among other states that took steps to protect school budgets, Delaware provided $9.3 million in one-time funding in the fiscal year that ended in summer 2021 to school districts and charter schools to prevent layoffs over enrollment declines, and North Carolina lawmakers decided to allow schools to use pre-pandemic attendance levels.

More districts will be making cuts in coming years, said Alex Spurrier, an associate partner at Bellwether Education Partners, a think tank. The last of the federal aid must be spent by 2024.

“Once the federal funding dries up, it will put a lot more districts in a lot more difficult position if they’re kind of kicking the can down the road of making the adjustments that they’ll need if they are going to be serving smaller student populations in the years to come,” he said.

Some districts have struggled to explain the need for cuts. Albuquerque Public Schools announced this spring that it anticipates a budget shortfall of about $25 million.

“That might sound crazy,” the district wrote in a blog post, acknowledging the influx of federal aid. But it explained that enrollment declines have accelerated amid the pandemic, with the student population falling to 73,000 from 85,000 in just six years. The district hasn’t released a cost-cutting plan but legislative analysts say it will require layoffs and school closures.

Amid the upheaval, some states have gained students. Florida was among the leaders, according to the data-tracking site Burbio. And some districts’ headcounts benefited from new families, including some who moved to less costly areas as work went virtual.

In California, which announced this month that enrollment had fallen by an additional 110,283 students, Oakland's planned school closures are leading to protests. The ACLU filed a complaint this month alleging that they disproportionately affect Black students and families.

Further complicating the situation is a tight labor market and demands for teacher and staff raises.

MISSION, Kan. (AP) — A school system in suburban Kansas City is eliminating over 100 jobs, including kindergarten aides and library clerks. Oakland, California, is closing seven schools. Other districts around the country are merging classrooms, selling buildings and leaving teaching positions unfilled in order to close budget gaps.Public school systems are beginning to feel the pinch from enrollment losses tied to the coronavirus pandemic.Money for schools is driven partly by student headcounts, and emergency provisions in many states allowed schools to maintain funding at pre-pandemic levels. But like the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/pandemic-aid-public-school-funding-346d3d4b86f904184e357c34c9754800">billions of dollars of federal relief money&nbsp;</a>that have helped schools weather the crisis, those measures were not meant to last forever.In Olathe, Kansas, where the school system is cutting 140 jobs, Deputy Superintendent John Hutchison said the extra federal money merely put off the inevitable.Now it is trimming millions of dollars from its budgets because enrollment, having peaked at more than 30,000 students in fall 2019, fell by around 900 in the first full school year of the pandemic. Less than 100 of those students have returned.“Where did those kids go?” Hutchison asked during a recent public meeting. “Where are they? They didn’t come back this year. That’s what’s laying on that additional reduction in our funding.”Families opting for homeschooling, private schools and other options sent enrollment down sharply in the first full school year of the pandemic, and generally it has been&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-coronavirus-pandemic-race-and-ethnicity-education-e4f3faca4dffec641b11df6dd8259a23">slow to recover</a>.In Houston, the largest district in Texas, enrollment tumbled by more than 22,000 to around 183,000 in fall 2021 and only about half of those students have returned. The district was shielded from making cuts in the first two years of the pandemic by what are known as “hold harmless” provisions, but those protections are expected to end. Superintendent Millard House has asked departments to cut $60 million from next year’s budget.Among other states that took steps to protect school budgets, Delaware provided $9.3 million in one-time funding in the fiscal year that ended in summer 2021 to school districts and charter schools to prevent layoffs over enrollment declines, and North Carolina lawmakers decided to allow schools to use pre-pandemic attendance levels.More districts will be making cuts in coming years, said Alex Spurrier, an associate partner at Bellwether Education Partners, a think tank. The last of the federal aid must be spent by 2024.“Once the federal funding dries up, it will put a lot more districts in a lot more difficult position if they’re kind of kicking the can down the road of making the adjustments that they’ll need if they are going to be serving smaller student populations in the years to come,” he said.Some districts have struggled to explain the need for cuts. Albuquerque Public Schools announced this spring that it anticipates a budget shortfall of about $25 million.“That might sound crazy,” the district wrote in a blog post, acknowledging the influx of federal aid. But it explained that enrollment declines have accelerated amid the pandemic, with the student population falling to 73,000 from 85,000 in just six years. The district hasn’t released a cost-cutting plan but legislative analysts say it will require layoffs and school closures.Amid the upheaval, some states have gained students. Florida was among the leaders, according to the data-tracking site Burbio. And some districts’ headcounts benefited from new families, including some who moved to less costly areas as work went virtual.In California, which announced this month that enrollment had fallen by an additional 110,283 students, Oakland's planned school closures are leading to protests. The ACLU filed a complaint this month alleging that they disproportionately affect Black students and families.Further complicating the situation is a tight labor market and demands for teacher and staff raises.In Minneapolis Public Schools, where a nearly three-week long teacher strike ended with a new contract, the district said it needed to make $27.1 million in budget cuts in the upcoming school year to pay for it. Federal relief money helped cover the $53.5 million price tag for the more lucrative contract for teachers and support staff for the current school year. Since the pandemic began, the district also has lost more than 4,000 students, along with the state funding they generate.School officials in the city of Lawrence — home to the main University of Kansas campus — are creating multi-grade level elementary classrooms, which will allow the district to get by with fewer teachers. It is part of an effort to close a budget shortfall brought on by declining enrollment and to free up money for raises.“You can’t cut close to $7 million and not change how you do business,” Lawrence Superintendent Anthony Lewis acknowledged at a meeting this month.In Iowa, the Des Moines district canceled a conference, sold a building and isn’t replacing some retiring teachers as it cuts $9.4 million in spending for the upcoming school year. The cuts were needed partially because the district’s enrollment has fallen by 1,600 students since the pandemic began.The district, which is the state’s largest with 31,000 students, anticipates that it will need to make even deeper cuts next year.“I think it’s fair to say, the federal aid helped offset some of the financial challenges,” said Phil Roeder, a spokesman for the district. “It did help to get us through what’s been a historically bad moment in history. But it was a temporary, stopgap, not a long-term solution for school districts.”