WASHINGTON (AP) — The House approved a $1 trillion package of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-technology-business-broadband-internet-congress-d89d6bb1b39cd9c67ae9fc91f5eb4c0d">road and other infrastructure projects</a>&nbsp;after Democrats resolved a months-long standoff between progressives and moderates, notching a victory that President Joe Biden and his party had become increasingly anxious to claim.

The House passed the measure 228-206 late Friday, prompting prolonged cheers from the relieved Democratic side of the chamber. Thirteen Republicans, mostly moderates, supported the legislation while six of Democrats’ farthest left members — including Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Cori Bush of Missouri — opposed it.

Approval of the bill, which would create legions of jobs and improve broadband, water supplies and other public works, whisked it to the desk of a president whose approval ratings have dropped and whose nervous party got a cold shoulder from voters in this week’s off-year elections.

Democratic gubernatorial candidates were defeated in Virginia and squeaked through in New Jersey, two blue-leaning states. Those setbacks made party leaders — and moderates and progressives alike — impatient to produce impactful legislation and demonstrate they know how to govern. Democrats can ill afford to seem in disarray a year before midterm elections that could result in Republicans regaining congressional control.

Simply freeing up the infrastructure measure for final congressional approval was a like a burst of adrenaline for Democrats. Yet despite the win, Democrats endured a setback when they postponed a vote on a second, even larger bill until later this month.

That 10-year, $1.85 trillion measure bolstering health, family and climate change programs was sidetracked after moderates demanded a cost estimate on the sprawling measure from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. The postponement dashed hopes that the day would produce a double-barreled win for Biden with passage of both bills.

But in an evening breakthrough brokered by Biden and House leaders, five moderates later agreed to back that bill if CBO’s estimates are consistent with preliminary numbers that White House and congressional tax analysts have provided. The agreement, in which lawmakers promised to vote on the social and environment bill by the week of Nov. 15, stood as a significant step toward a House vote that could ultimately ship it to the Senate.

“Generations from now, people will look back and know this is when America won the economic competition for the 21st Century,” Biden said in a written statement early Saturday.

The president and first lady Jill Biden delayed plans to travel Friday evening to their house in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. Instead, Biden spoke to House leaders, moderates and progressives, said a White House official who described the conversations on condition of anonymity.

Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., leader of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said Biden even called her mother in India, though it was unclear why.

“This was not to bribe me, this is when it was all done,” Jayapal told reporters. The lawmaker said her mother told her she “just kept screaming like a little girl.”

In a two-sentence statement, the five moderates said that if the fiscal estimates on the social and environment bill raise problems, “we remain committed to working to resolve any discrepancies” to pass it. The five included Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., leader of a group of centrists who this summer repeatedly pressured House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., to schedule earlier votes on the infrastructure bill.

In exchange, progressives agreed to back the infrastructure measure, which they’d spent months holding hostage in an effort to pressure moderates to back the larger bill.

The day marked a rare detente between Democrats’ moderate and progressive wings that party leaders hope will continue this fall. The rival factions have spent recent weeks accusing each other of jeopardizing Biden’s and the party’s success by overplaying their hands and expressed a deep distrust of each other.

But Friday night, Jayapal suggested they would work together moving forward.

“Let me tell you, we’re going to trust each other because the Democratic Party is together on this. We are united that it is important for us to get both bills done,” she said.

The agreement came together after the White House issued a statement from Biden explicitly urging Democrats to support both bills. “I am confident that during the week of November 15, the House will pass the Build Back Better Act,” he said.

When party leaders announced early in the day that the social and environment measure would be delayed, the scrambled plans cast a fresh pall over the party.

Democrats have struggled for months to take advantage of their control of the White House and Congress by advancing their top priorities. That’s been hard, in part because of Democrats’ slender majorities, with bitter internal divisions forcing House leaders to miss several self-imposed deadlines for votes.

“Welcome to my world,” Pelosi told reporters, adding, “We are not a lockstep party.”

Progressives had long demanded that the two massive bills be voted on together to pressure moderates to support the larger, more expansive social measure.

Democrats’ day turned tumultuous early after a half-dozen moderates demanded the CBO cost estimate of the sprawling package of health, education, family and climate change initiatives before they would vote for it.

Party leaders said that would take days or more. But with Friday’s delayed vote and lawmakers leaving town for a week’s break, those budget estimates should be ready by the time a vote is held.

The infrastructure measure cleared the Senate in August with bipartisan support. The package would provide huge sums for highway, mass transit, broadband, airport, drinking and waste water, power grids and other projects.

But it became a pawn in the long struggle for power between progressives and moderates. Early Friday, Jayapal said the White House and Congress’ nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation had provided all the fiscal information lawmakers needed for the broad bill. She suggested that progressives would oppose the infrastructure bill unless the two measures were voted on together.

But that changed after the two Democratic factions reached their agreement.

House passage of the social and environment package would send it to the Senate, where it faces certain changes and more Democratic drama. That’s chiefly because of demands by Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona to contain the measure’s costs and curb or drop some of its initiatives.

Moderates have forced leaders to slash the roughly 2,100-page measure to around half its original $3.5 trillion size. Republicans oppose it as too expensive and damaging to the economy.

The package would provide large numbers of Americans with assistance to pay for health care, raising children and caring for elderly people at home. The package would provide $555 billion in tax breaks encouraging cleaner energy and electric vehicles. Democrats added provisions in recent days restoring a new paid family leave program and work permits for millions of immigrants.

Much of the package’s cost would be covered with higher taxes on wealthier Americans and large corporations.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House approved a $1 trillion package of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-technology-business-broadband-internet-congress-d89d6bb1b39cd9c67ae9fc91f5eb4c0d">road and other infrastructure projects</a>&nbsp;after Democrats resolved a months-long standoff between progressives and moderates, notching a victory that President Joe Biden and his party had become increasingly anxious to claim.The House passed the measure 228-206 late Friday, prompting prolonged cheers from the relieved Democratic side of the chamber. Thirteen Republicans, mostly moderates, supported the legislation while six of Democrats’ farthest left members — including Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Cori Bush of Missouri — opposed it.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/11/1636200567081.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Approval of the bill, which would create legions of jobs and improve broadband, water supplies and other public works, whisked it to the desk of a president whose approval ratings have dropped and whose nervous party got a cold shoulder from voters in this week’s off-year elections.Democratic gubernatorial candidates were defeated in Virginia and squeaked through in New Jersey, two blue-leaning states. Those setbacks made party leaders — and moderates and progressives alike — impatient to produce impactful legislation and demonstrate they know how to govern. Democrats can ill afford to seem in disarray a year before midterm elections that could result in Republicans regaining congressional control.Simply freeing up the infrastructure measure for final congressional approval was a like a burst of adrenaline for Democrats. Yet despite the win, Democrats endured a setback when they postponed a vote on a second, even larger bill until later this month.That 10-year, $1.85 trillion measure bolstering health, family and climate change programs was sidetracked after moderates demanded a cost estimate on the sprawling measure from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. The postponement dashed hopes that the day would produce a double-barreled win for Biden with passage of both bills.But in an evening breakthrough brokered by Biden and House leaders, five moderates later agreed to back that bill if CBO’s estimates are consistent with preliminary numbers that White House and congressional tax analysts have provided. The agreement, in which lawmakers promised to vote on the social and environment bill by the week of Nov. 15, stood as a significant step toward a House vote that could ultimately ship it to the Senate.“Generations from now, people will look back and know this is when America won the economic competition for the 21st Century,” Biden said in a written statement early Saturday.The president and first lady Jill Biden delayed plans to travel Friday evening to their house in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. Instead, Biden spoke to House leaders, moderates and progressives, said a White House official who described the conversations on condition of anonymity.Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., leader of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said Biden even called her mother in India, though it was unclear why.“This was not to bribe me, this is when it was all done,” Jayapal told reporters. The lawmaker said her mother told her she “just kept screaming like a little girl.”In a two-sentence statement, the five moderates said that if the fiscal estimates on the social and environment bill raise problems, “we remain committed to working to resolve any discrepancies” to pass it. The five included Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., leader of a group of centrists who this summer repeatedly pressured House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., to schedule earlier votes on the infrastructure bill.In exchange, progressives agreed to back the infrastructure measure, which they’d spent months holding hostage in an effort to pressure moderates to back the larger bill.The day marked a rare detente between Democrats’ moderate and progressive wings that party leaders hope will continue this fall. The rival factions have spent recent weeks accusing each other of jeopardizing Biden’s and the party’s success by overplaying their hands and expressed a deep distrust of each other.But Friday night, Jayapal suggested they would work together moving forward.“Let me tell you, we’re going to trust each other because the Democratic Party is together on this. We are united that it is important for us to get both bills done,” she said.The agreement came together after the White House issued a statement from Biden explicitly urging Democrats to support both bills. “I am confident that during the week of November 15, the House will pass the Build Back Better Act,” he said.When party leaders announced early in the day that the social and environment measure would be delayed, the scrambled plans cast a fresh pall over the party.Democrats have struggled for months to take advantage of their control of the White House and Congress by advancing their top priorities. That’s been hard, in part because of Democrats’ slender majorities, with bitter internal divisions forcing House leaders to miss several self-imposed deadlines for votes.“Welcome to my world,” Pelosi told reporters, adding, “We are not a lockstep party.”Progressives had long demanded that the two massive bills be voted on together to pressure moderates to support the larger, more expansive social measure.Democrats’ day turned tumultuous early after a half-dozen moderates demanded the CBO cost estimate of the sprawling package of health, education, family and climate change initiatives before they would vote for it.Party leaders said that would take days or more. But with Friday’s delayed vote and lawmakers leaving town for a week’s break, those budget estimates should be ready by the time a vote is held.The infrastructure measure cleared the Senate in August with bipartisan support. The package would provide huge sums for highway, mass transit, broadband, airport, drinking and waste water, power grids and other projects.But it became a pawn in the long struggle for power between progressives and moderates. Early Friday, Jayapal said the White House and Congress’ nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation had provided all the fiscal information lawmakers needed for the broad bill. She suggested that progressives would oppose the infrastructure bill unless the two measures were voted on together.But that changed after the two Democratic factions reached their agreement.House passage of the social and environment package would send it to the Senate, where it faces certain changes and more Democratic drama. That’s chiefly because of demands by Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona to contain the measure’s costs and curb or drop some of its initiatives.Moderates have forced leaders to slash the roughly 2,100-page measure to around half its original $3.5 trillion size. Republicans oppose it as too expensive and damaging to the economy.The package would provide large numbers of Americans with assistance to pay for health care, raising children and caring for elderly people at home. The package would provide $555 billion in tax breaks encouraging cleaner energy and electric vehicles. Democrats added provisions in recent days restoring a new paid family leave program and work permits for millions of immigrants.Much of the package’s cost would be covered with higher taxes on wealthier Americans and large corporations.___

Dems end deadlock, House approves $1T infrastructure plan

STANTON COUNTY–A Kansas man died in an accident just after 11:30p.m. Friday in Stanton County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2001 Chevy Tahoe driven by Bryce L. Stude, 28, Eudora, was eastbound on U.S. 160 just west of Kansas Highway 27.

The SUV left the roadway to the north. The driver overcorrected. The vehicle re-entered the roadway and rolled into the north ditch.

Stude was pronounced dead at the scene and was transported to Garnand&nbsp; Funeral Home. He was not wearing a seat belt, according to the KHP.

STANTON COUNTY–A Kansas man died in an accident just after 11:30p.m. Friday in Stanton County.The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2001 Chevy Tahoe driven by Bryce L. Stude, 28, Eudora, was eastbound on U.S. 160 just west of Kansas Highway 27.The SUV left the roadway to the north. The driver overcorrected. The vehicle re-entered the roadway and rolled into the north ditch.Stude was pronounced dead at the scene and was transported to Garnand&nbsp; Funeral Home. He was not wearing a seat belt, according to the KHP.

Kansas man dies after SUV rolls into ditch

WASHINGTON (AP) — America’s employers accelerated their hiring last month, adding a solid 531,000 jobs, the most since July and a sign that the recovery from the pandemic recession is overcoming a virus-induced slowdown.

Friday’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/empsit.pdf" target="_blank">report from the Labor Department</a>&nbsp;also showed that the unemployment rate fell to 4.6% last month from 4.8% in September. That is a comparatively low level though still well above the pre-pandemic jobless rate of 3.5%. And the job gains in August and September weren’t as weak as initially reported: The government increased its estimate of hiring for those two months by a hefty combined 235,000 jobs.

&nbsp;The Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics said that <a href="https://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm">100,450,000 people in this </a>country were not in the labor force in October, up 38,000 from the 100,412,000 in September.

All told, the figures point to an economy that is steadily recovering from the pandemic recession, with healthy consumer spending prompting companies in nearly every industry to add workers. Though the effects of COVID-19 are still causing severe supply shortages, heightening inflation and keeping many people out of the workforce, employers are finding gradually more success in filling near&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-health-coronavirus-pandemic-economy-67a34a2e9c416155bab6af1b0e3cfcf1">record-high job postings</a>.

“This is the kind of recovery we can get when we are not sidelined by a surge in COVID cases,” said Nick Bunker, director of economic research at the employment website Indeed. “The speed of employment gains has faltered at times this year, but the underlying momentum of the U.S. labor market is quite clear.”

The better-than-expected jobs report was welcomed on Wall Street, where investors sent stocks further into record territory. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up nearly 200 points, or roughly 0.5%, in early-afternoon trading. Short-term Treasury yields rose as some investors moved up their expectations for when the Federal Reserve will begin raising interest rates. But longer-term yields dipped amid muted expectations for inflation over the long term.

By most barometers, the economic recovery appears solidly on track. Services companies in such areas as retail, banking and warehousing&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-eed8d8bc81c9af0e696f80b3a4b3a68a">have reported a sharp jump in sales</a>. Sales of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/home-sales">new and existing homes surged last month</a>. And consumer confidence&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-economy-prices-inflation-consumer-confidence-661bf08bc8f529fd0ea42fbe5ebbcd77">rose in October after three straight declines</a>.

At the same time, though, the nation remains 4.2 million jobs short of the number it had before the pandemic flattened the economy in March 2020. The effects of the virus are still discouraging some people from traveling, shopping, eating out and attending entertainment venues.

In October, the pickup in hiring was spread across nearly every major industry, with only government employers reporting a job loss, mostly in education. Shipping and warehousing companies added 54,000 jobs. The battered leisure and hospitality sector, which includes, restaurants, bars, hotels and entertainment venues, gained 164,000. Manufacturers, despite their struggles with supply shortages, added 60,000, the most since June 2020.

And employers, who have been competing to fill jobs from a diminished pool of applicants, raised wages at a solid clip: Average hourly pay jumped 4.9% in October compared with a year earlier, up from 4.6% the previous month. Even a gain that strong, though, is barely keeping pace with recent surges in consumer inflation.

Those price increases pose a headwind for the economy. Higher costs for food, heating oil, rents and furniture have burdened millions of families. Prices&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-economy-consumer-spending-prices-inflation-14980a4c7cfeafe5ba9b65c577578156">rose 4.4% in September compared with 12 months earlier</a>, the sharpest such jump in three decades.

Among people who are receiving pay raises, some of the biggest beneficiaries are the record-high number of people who have been quitting jobs to take new ones. One of them is Christian Frink, who has begun work as a business analyst at a digital consulting firm. In his new job, Frink, 27, of Ferndale, Michigan, helps business clients determine the technologies they need.

Earlier this year, Frink held a marketing job but left it because, like many people during COVID, he felt burnt out. He then worked for Door Dash during the spring and summer to earn money and searched for new work. Although employers were complaining about a labor shortage, several told him they wouldn’t hire anyone without a college degree. (Frink attended college but didn’t graduate.)

This past summer, Frink took coding classes at Tech Elevator, a boot camp, and then landed his new position. Now, he’s earning 35% more than in his previous job and says he’s “blown away” that he already has health care coverage and doesn’t have to wait months to become eligible.

Yet it isn’t only job-switchers who are receiving pay raises. Chad Leibundguth, a regional director in Tampa for the Robert Half staffing agency, said the job market is the strongest for workers he has seen in his 22-year career. Before the pandemic, he said, you could fill a customer service job in Florida for $14 an hour.

“Nowadays,” he said, “you’ve got to be closer to $20 an hour, because people have options.”

Job prospects are brightening even for people who have been out of work for prolonged periods. The number of long-term unemployed — people who have been jobless for six months or more — has fallen sharply in recent months, to 2.3 million in October from 4.2 million in April. That’s still double the pre-recession total. But it’s an encouraging sign because employers are typically wary of hiring people who haven’t held jobs for an extended time.

At the same time, disparities in the job market have persisted. The Black unemployment rate was unchanged in October at 7.9%, for example, while for white workers, it fell to 4% from 4.2%. The Latino jobless rate dropped to 5.9% from 6.3%.

And though white-collar jobs in professional services like information technology, engineering and architecture are nearly back to their pre-pandemic employment levels, leisure and hospitality still has 1.4 million fewer jobs.

Hari Ravichandran, CEO of digital security provider Aura in Boston, says his 800-person company has 140 positions open, mostly in software development, and has raised pay 25% in just the past nine months.

Ravichandran is willing to hire remote workers; 170 of his staffers have never regularly worked in any of the company’s buildings. Still, hiring remains as tough as he’s ever experienced.

One disappointing note in Friday’s report is that the workforce — the number of people either working or looking for a job — was unchanged in October. That suggested that the reopening of schools in September, the waning of the virus, and the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-business-lifestyle-health-indiana-d3acd668eaf6343aada03cd660055bbc">expiration of a $300-a-week federal unemployment supplement&nbsp;</a>have yet to coax many people off the sidelines of the job market in large numbers.

Drawing many people back into the workforce after recessions is typically a prolonged process. There are now 7.4 million people officially out of work — just 1.7 million more than in February 2020, before the pandemic struck the economy. Yet millions more who lost jobs during the recession have given up their job hunts, and employers might have to raise pay and benefits to draw them back in, said Aaron Sojourner, a labor economist at the University of Minnesota.

Even so, some companies still can’t find enough workers.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-business-lifestyle-health-careers-075d3b0ab89baffc5e2b9a80e11dcf34">Many parents, particularly mothers, haven’t returned to the workforce</a>&nbsp;after having left jobs during the pandemic to care for children or other relatives. Yet there was evidence of a small rebound last month: The proportion of women who were either working or looking for work rose after two months of declines.

Kourtni Graves of Detroit has been in and out of work during the pandemic because of her parenting duties. She quit an administrative assistant job a year ago because her day care had shut down, and she had to look after her 5-year old twin girls.

Graves, 27, looked for work-from-home jobs, but many employers didn’t want to provide the flexibility she needed.

“They don’t want you to have to pick up your kids from school,” particularly during a training, she said. “For me as their mom, I can’t do that.” She said the father of her children, who works in the auto industry, helps financially.

But with the girls now in kindergarten, Graves broadened her job search and this week accepted a job at a clothing store. She feels overqualified, given her seven years working in administrative jobs. But she is happy to be working.

“They’re paying pretty decent for retail,” she said. “It’s definitely been a struggle and a journey.”

WASHINGTON (AP) — America’s employers accelerated their hiring last month, adding a solid 531,000 jobs, the most since July and a sign that the recovery from the pandemic recession is overcoming a virus-induced slowdown.Friday’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/empsit.pdf" target="_blank">report from the Labor Department</a>&nbsp;also showed that the unemployment rate fell to 4.6% last month from 4.8% in September. That is a comparatively low level though still well above the pre-pandemic jobless rate of 3.5%. And the job gains in August and September weren’t as weak as initially reported: The government increased its estimate of hiring for those two months by a hefty combined 235,000 jobs.&nbsp;The Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics said that <a href="https://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm">100,450,000 people in this </a>country were not in the labor force in October, up 38,000 from the 100,412,000 in September.All told, the figures point to an economy that is steadily recovering from the pandemic recession, with healthy consumer spending prompting companies in nearly every industry to add workers. Though the effects of COVID-19 are still causing severe supply shortages, heightening inflation and keeping many people out of the workforce, employers are finding gradually more success in filling near&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-health-coronavirus-pandemic-economy-67a34a2e9c416155bab6af1b0e3cfcf1">record-high job postings</a>.“This is the kind of recovery we can get when we are not sidelined by a surge in COVID cases,” said Nick Bunker, director of economic research at the employment website Indeed. “The speed of employment gains has faltered at times this year, but the underlying momentum of the U.S. labor market is quite clear.”The better-than-expected jobs report was welcomed on Wall Street, where investors sent stocks further into record territory. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up nearly 200 points, or roughly 0.5%, in early-afternoon trading. Short-term Treasury yields rose as some investors moved up their expectations for when the Federal Reserve will begin raising interest rates. But longer-term yields dipped amid muted expectations for inflation over the long term.By most barometers, the economic recovery appears solidly on track. Services companies in such areas as retail, banking and warehousing&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-eed8d8bc81c9af0e696f80b3a4b3a68a">have reported a sharp jump in sales</a>. Sales of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/home-sales">new and existing homes surged last month</a>. And consumer confidence&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-economy-prices-inflation-consumer-confidence-661bf08bc8f529fd0ea42fbe5ebbcd77">rose in October after three straight declines</a>.At the same time, though, the nation remains 4.2 million jobs short of the number it had before the pandemic flattened the economy in March 2020. The effects of the virus are still discouraging some people from traveling, shopping, eating out and attending entertainment venues.In October, the pickup in hiring was spread across nearly every major industry, with only government employers reporting a job loss, mostly in education. Shipping and warehousing companies added 54,000 jobs. The battered leisure and hospitality sector, which includes, restaurants, bars, hotels and entertainment venues, gained 164,000. Manufacturers, despite their struggles with supply shortages, added 60,000, the most since June 2020.And employers, who have been competing to fill jobs from a diminished pool of applicants, raised wages at a solid clip: Average hourly pay jumped 4.9% in October compared with a year earlier, up from 4.6% the previous month. Even a gain that strong, though, is barely keeping pace with recent surges in consumer inflation.Those price increases pose a headwind for the economy. Higher costs for food, heating oil, rents and furniture have burdened millions of families. Prices&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-economy-consumer-spending-prices-inflation-14980a4c7cfeafe5ba9b65c577578156">rose 4.4% in September compared with 12 months earlier</a>, the sharpest such jump in three decades.Among people who are receiving pay raises, some of the biggest beneficiaries are the record-high number of people who have been quitting jobs to take new ones. One of them is Christian Frink, who has begun work as a business analyst at a digital consulting firm. In his new job, Frink, 27, of Ferndale, Michigan, helps business clients determine the technologies they need.Earlier this year, Frink held a marketing job but left it because, like many people during COVID, he felt burnt out. He then worked for Door Dash during the spring and summer to earn money and searched for new work. Although employers were complaining about a labor shortage, several told him they wouldn’t hire anyone without a college degree. (Frink attended college but didn’t graduate.)This past summer, Frink took coding classes at Tech Elevator, a boot camp, and then landed his new position. Now, he’s earning 35% more than in his previous job and says he’s “blown away” that he already has health care coverage and doesn’t have to wait months to become eligible.Yet it isn’t only job-switchers who are receiving pay raises. Chad Leibundguth, a regional director in Tampa for the Robert Half staffing agency, said the job market is the strongest for workers he has seen in his 22-year career. Before the pandemic, he said, you could fill a customer service job in Florida for $14 an hour.“Nowadays,” he said, “you’ve got to be closer to $20 an hour, because people have options.”Job prospects are brightening even for people who have been out of work for prolonged periods. The number of long-term unemployed — people who have been jobless for six months or more — has fallen sharply in recent months, to 2.3 million in October from 4.2 million in April. That’s still double the pre-recession total. But it’s an encouraging sign because employers are typically wary of hiring people who haven’t held jobs for an extended time.At the same time, disparities in the job market have persisted. The Black unemployment rate was unchanged in October at 7.9%, for example, while for white workers, it fell to 4% from 4.2%. The Latino jobless rate dropped to 5.9% from 6.3%.And though white-collar jobs in professional services like information technology, engineering and architecture are nearly back to their pre-pandemic employment levels, leisure and hospitality still has 1.4 million fewer jobs.Hari Ravichandran, CEO of digital security provider Aura in Boston, says his 800-person company has 140 positions open, mostly in software development, and has raised pay 25% in just the past nine months.Ravichandran is willing to hire remote workers; 170 of his staffers have never regularly worked in any of the company’s buildings. Still, hiring remains as tough as he’s ever experienced.One disappointing note in Friday’s report is that the workforce — the number of people either working or looking for a job — was unchanged in October. That suggested that the reopening of schools in September, the waning of the virus, and the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-business-lifestyle-health-indiana-d3acd668eaf6343aada03cd660055bbc">expiration of a $300-a-week federal unemployment supplement&nbsp;</a>have yet to coax many people off the sidelines of the job market in large numbers.Drawing many people back into the workforce after recessions is typically a prolonged process. There are now 7.4 million people officially out of work — just 1.7 million more than in February 2020, before the pandemic struck the economy. Yet millions more who lost jobs during the recession have given up their job hunts, and employers might have to raise pay and benefits to draw them back in, said Aaron Sojourner, a labor economist at the University of Minnesota.Even so, some companies still can’t find enough workers.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-business-lifestyle-health-careers-075d3b0ab89baffc5e2b9a80e11dcf34">Many parents, particularly mothers, haven’t returned to the workforce</a>&nbsp;after having left jobs during the pandemic to care for children or other relatives. Yet there was evidence of a small rebound last month: The proportion of women who were either working or looking for work rose after two months of declines.Kourtni Graves of Detroit has been in and out of work during the pandemic because of her parenting duties. She quit an administrative assistant job a year ago because her day care had shut down, and she had to look after her 5-year old twin girls.Graves, 27, looked for work-from-home jobs, but many employers didn’t want to provide the flexibility she needed.“They don’t want you to have to pick up your kids from school,” particularly during a training, she said. “For me as their mom, I can’t do that.” She said the father of her children, who works in the auto industry, helps financially.But with the girls now in kindergarten, Graves broadened her job search and this week accepted a job at a clothing store. She feels overqualified, given her seven years working in administrative jobs. But she is happy to be working.“They’re paying pretty decent for retail,” she said. “It’s definitely been a struggle and a journey.”

Report: Job creation roars back; 100 million in the U.S. not working

KANSAS CITY (AP) — Two women face charges after a man’s body was found in a wooded area of Kansas City, Missouri. The Kansas City Star reports that officers were initially called Oct. 26 after a city worker discovered a body while looking into illegal dumping activity. In federal court records, a detective said the body was found in a plastic container, “wrapped in black tape.”

 The death was ruled a homicide. The victim was later identified as 56-year-old Malvin Wallace. Michele Props, of Gardner, Kansas, was charged Oct. 29 with abandonment of a corpse and tampering with physical evidence in felony prosecution. Two days later, Kaitlyn Andes of Kansas City faced the same charges.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/11/1636121224466.png" alt="Andes photo KCPD" />
 <figcaption>Andes photo KCPD</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY (AP) — Two women face charges after a man’s body was found in a wooded area of Kansas City, Missouri. The Kansas City Star reports that officers were initially called Oct. 26 after a city worker discovered a body while looking into illegal dumping activity. In federal court records, a detective said the body was found in a plastic container, “wrapped in black tape.”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/11/1636120352170.png" alt="Props-photo Jackson County" />
 <figcaption>Props-photo Jackson County</figcaption>
 </figure> The death was ruled a homicide. The victim was later identified as 56-year-old Malvin Wallace. Michele Props, of Gardner, Kansas, was charged Oct. 29 with abandonment of a corpse and tampering with physical evidence in felony prosecution. Two days later, Kaitlyn Andes of Kansas City faced the same charges.

KC women charged after man's body found in illegal dumping area

SEDGWICK COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating&nbsp; a suspect for alleged porch theft from a home.

Just after 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, a woman reported an unknown suspect taking a package from the front porch of her home, according to Officer Charley Davidson.

Through the examination of video, Flock Safety License Plate Readers, and police records investigators learned of 35-year-old Adam Quick’s involvement in the theft.&nbsp; Police located Quick on Friday and arrested him without incident.&nbsp;

Police will present the case to the City of Wichita prosecutor’s office.&nbsp; Additionally, Quick has been arrested and convicted on previous felony charges that include burglary and theft, according to the Kansas Dept. of Corrections.

An increase in package thefts is generally seen during this time of year.&nbsp; Here are some tips you can do to help keep your property safe:

·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Have packages delivered to your home only during hours that you are there;

·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;If you are not home or out of town, have packages delivered to a trusted neighbor or have that neighbor pick up the package for you;

·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Have packages delivered to a store you’ve ordered from, or you can have that package delivered to the carrier facility for pick-up;

·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Check with your employer and have packages delivered to your place of work during the day;

·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Consider purchasing surveillance cameras and motion sensor lights; and If you are a victim of a theft, call 911 or (316) 268-4221 file a police report.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/11/1636146736916.png" alt="Quick has previous convictions for burglary, theft and drugs, according to the Kan. Dept of Corrections -photo Sedgwick Co." />
 <figcaption>Quick has previous convictions for burglary, theft and drugs, according to the Kan. Dept of Corrections -photo Sedgwick Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>SEDGWICK COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating&nbsp; a suspect for alleged porch theft from a home.Just after 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, a woman reported an unknown suspect taking a package from the front porch of her home, according to Officer Charley Davidson.Through the examination of video, Flock Safety License Plate Readers, and police records investigators learned of 35-year-old Adam Quick’s involvement in the theft.&nbsp; Police located Quick on Friday and arrested him without incident.&nbsp;Police will present the case to the City of Wichita prosecutor’s office.&nbsp; Additionally, Quick has been arrested and convicted on previous felony charges that include burglary and theft, according to the Kansas Dept. of Corrections.An increase in package thefts is generally seen during this time of year.&nbsp; Here are some tips you can do to help keep your property safe:·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Have packages delivered to your home only during hours that you are there;·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;If you are not home or out of town, have packages delivered to a trusted neighbor or have that neighbor pick up the package for you;·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Have packages delivered to a store you’ve ordered from, or you can have that package delivered to the carrier facility for pick-up;·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Check with your employer and have packages delivered to your place of work during the day;·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Consider purchasing surveillance cameras and motion sensor lights; and If you are a victim of a theft, call 911 or (316) 268-4221 file a police report.

Kan. man out of prison caught taking package from woman's porch

FINNEY COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect in connection with an incident that temporarily forced a southwest Kansas school into lockdown, according to a media release from Garden City Police.

Just before 11a.m. Thursday, police were dispatched to&nbsp; St. Mary's School, 503 St. John Street in Garden City for a report of disorderly conduct, according to a media release. Officers were notified of an individual yelling at the school’s priest.

The investigation revealed that the priest observed a Dodge Grand Caravan in the school’s parking lot and approached the van to check the driver’s welfare. 

The driver, identified as 24-year-old Abdiweli Aden 24 of Garden City,&nbsp; became upset and made threatening comments toward the priest before leaving the property. 

St. Mary’s School was placed on lockdown as a precaution until the man could be located by law enforcement. The school was in lockdown for approximately 30 minutes.

During this incident, Officers were at the 600 block of Labrador Boulevard investigating a prior criminal threat involving Aden and his family, where Aden allegedly threatened harm against a family member. The Officers observed Aden arrive on scene after leaving St. Mary’s School and took Aden into custody without incident. 

Aden is being held in the Finney County Jail on two charges of Criminal Threat. The case is being forwarded to the Finney County Attorney’s Office for further review.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/11/1636131324639.png" alt="Aden photo Finney County" />
 <figcaption>Aden photo Finney County</figcaption>
 </figure>FINNEY COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect in connection with an incident that temporarily forced a southwest Kansas school into lockdown, according to a media release from Garden City Police.Just before 11a.m. Thursday, police were dispatched to&nbsp; St. Mary's School, 503 St. John Street in Garden City for a report of disorderly conduct, according to a media release. Officers were notified of an individual yelling at the school’s priest.The investigation revealed that the priest observed a Dodge Grand Caravan in the school’s parking lot and approached the van to check the driver’s welfare. The driver, identified as 24-year-old Abdiweli Aden 24 of Garden City,&nbsp; became upset and made threatening comments toward the priest before leaving the property. St. Mary’s School was placed on lockdown as a precaution until the man could be located by law enforcement. The school was in lockdown for approximately 30 minutes.During this incident, Officers were at the 600 block of Labrador Boulevard investigating a prior criminal threat involving Aden and his family, where Aden allegedly threatened harm against a family member. The Officers observed Aden arrive on scene after leaving St. Mary’s School and took Aden into custody without incident. Aden is being held in the Finney County Jail on two charges of Criminal Threat. The case is being forwarded to the Finney County Attorney’s Office for further review.

Police: SW Kan. school locked down after man threatens priest

WASHINGTON (AP) — Friends, family and former colleagues gathered Friday at Washington National Cathedral to honor Colin L. Powell, the trailblazing soldier-diplomat who rose from humble Bronx beginnings to become the first Black chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and later served as the first Black secretary of state.

<a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?515554-1/colin-powell-funeral-service-national-cathedral&amp;live&amp;vod">CLICK here to watch</a> the funeral service

The funeral on a sunny and chilly day drew dignitaries and friends from across a wide political and military spectrum. They included former presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, former secretary of states James Baker, Condoleezza Rice and Hillary Clinton, former Defense Secretary Robert Gates, and the current chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Army Gen. Mark Milley, as well as other service chiefs.

As guests gathered in the cavernous cathedral that has hosted the funerals of several past presidents, including Dwight D. Eisenhower, the U.S. Army Brass Quintet played a range of tunes, including “Dancing Queen” by Abba, a favorite of Powell's. As Powell's wife, Alma, and other family members were seated, the quintet played a hymn called “Mansions of the Lord.”

President Joe Biden attended but was not scheduled to speak. Two recent presidents did not attend — Bill Clinton, who is recovering from an infection, and Donald Trump, who Powell had criticized.

Eulogists were Madeleine Albright, who was Powell's immediate predecessor as the nation's top diplomat; Richard Armitage, who was deputy secretary under Powell and had known him since they served together in the Pentagon during the Reagan administration; and Powell's son Michael.

During her tenure as ambassador to the United Nations during the Clinton administration, Albright sometimes clashed with Powell, although they became good friends. Both have recalled the time, during his final months as Joint Chiefs chairman, when she argued for a U.S. military intervention in the Balkans, asking why the United States had built a superb military if it couldn’t be used in such circumstances. Powell recalled being so irritated by her statement, “I thought I would have an aneurysm.”

Powell’s view was that the United States should commit its military only when it had a clear and achievable political objective, a key element of what became known as the Powell Doctrine, which embodied lessons to took from the U.S. failure in Vietnam.

Powell died Oct. 18 of complications from COVID-19 at age 84. He had been vaccinated against the coronavirus, but his family said his immune system had been compromised by multiple myeloma, a blood cancer for which he had been undergoing treatment.

Funeral attendees Friday were required to wear masks, although not all did.

The story of Powell's rise to prominence in American life is a historic example to many.

In his autobiography, “My American Journey,” Powell recalled a post-Depression Era childhood in the Hunts Point section of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/new-york">New York</a>&nbsp;City's South Bronx, where he was a mediocre student — happy-go-lucky but aimless.

He caught the military bug during his first year at the City College of New York in 1954. Powell was inspired by seeing fellow students in uniform, and he enrolled in the school's Reserve Officer Training Corps.

“I felt distinctive” in uniform, he wrote. He would go on to achieve distinction in a pioneering Army career.

Although he was only 4 when the United States entered World War II, he had vivid memories of the war years. “I deployed legions of lead soldiers and directed battles on the living room rug,” he wrote — a fantasy forerunner of his Army years.

Powell would serve 35 years in uniform. Commissioned in 1958 as a second lieutenant, he served as a platoon leader in what was then called West Germany, and in 1962 was deployed to Vietnam for a year as an adviser to a South Vietnamese infantry battalion. During that tour he was wounded; he served a second tour in Vietnam in 1968 and afterward held a variety of assignments at home and abroad.

He distinguished himself at the Pentagon even before he attained flag officer rank. In the late 1970s he worked in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, and in 1983 as a brigadier general he became the senior military assistant to Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger. He later served in the White House as President Ronald Reagan's national security adviser, and in 1989 he was promoted to four-star general. Later that year, President George H.W. Bush selected him to be chairman of the Joint Chiefs.

“He was such a favorite of presidents that he earned the Presidential Medal of Freedom – twice,” former President George W. Bush said when Powell's death was announced.

It was a trailblazing American dream journey that won him international acclaim and trust.

He put that credibility on the line in February 2003 when, appearing before the United Nations as secretary of state, he made the case for war against Iraq. When it turned out that the intelligence he cited was faulty and the Iraq War became a bloody, chaotic nightmare, Powell’s stellar reputation was damaged.

Still, it wasn’t destroyed. After leaving government, he became an elder statesman on the global stage and the founder of an organization aimed at helping young disadvantaged Americans. Republicans wanted him to run for president. After becoming disillusioned with his party, he ended up endorsing the last three Democratic presidential candidates, who welcomed his support.

Powell's influence was felt at the highest levels of the U.S. defense establishment long after he retired from public life. Lloyd Austin, who in January became the first Black secretary of defense, called Powell a friend and professional mentor. Like Powell, Austin rose through the ranks of the Army to become a four-star general.

On the day of Powell's death, Austin called him “one of the greatest leaders that we have ever witnessed.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/11/1636131597805.png" alt="President Biden with hand over his heart during the military honors at the National Cathedral Friday afternoon-photo courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>President Biden with hand over his heart during the military honors at the National Cathedral Friday afternoon-photo courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — Friends, family and former colleagues gathered Friday at Washington National Cathedral to honor Colin L. Powell, the trailblazing soldier-diplomat who rose from humble Bronx beginnings to become the first Black chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and later served as the first Black secretary of state.<a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?515554-1/colin-powell-funeral-service-national-cathedral&amp;live&amp;vod">CLICK here to watch</a> the funeral serviceThe funeral on a sunny and chilly day drew dignitaries and friends from across a wide political and military spectrum. They included former presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, former secretary of states James Baker, Condoleezza Rice and Hillary Clinton, former Defense Secretary Robert Gates, and the current chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Army Gen. Mark Milley, as well as other service chiefs.As guests gathered in the cavernous cathedral that has hosted the funerals of several past presidents, including Dwight D. Eisenhower, the U.S. Army Brass Quintet played a range of tunes, including “Dancing Queen” by Abba, a favorite of Powell's. As Powell's wife, Alma, and other family members were seated, the quintet played a hymn called “Mansions of the Lord.”President Joe Biden attended but was not scheduled to speak. Two recent presidents did not attend — Bill Clinton, who is recovering from an infection, and Donald Trump, who Powell had criticized.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/11/1636131987495.png" alt="Photo courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>Photo courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>Eulogists were Madeleine Albright, who was Powell's immediate predecessor as the nation's top diplomat; Richard Armitage, who was deputy secretary under Powell and had known him since they served together in the Pentagon during the Reagan administration; and Powell's son Michael.During her tenure as ambassador to the United Nations during the Clinton administration, Albright sometimes clashed with Powell, although they became good friends. Both have recalled the time, during his final months as Joint Chiefs chairman, when she argued for a U.S. military intervention in the Balkans, asking why the United States had built a superb military if it couldn’t be used in such circumstances. Powell recalled being so irritated by her statement, “I thought I would have an aneurysm.”Powell’s view was that the United States should commit its military only when it had a clear and achievable political objective, a key element of what became known as the Powell Doctrine, which embodied lessons to took from the U.S. failure in Vietnam.Powell died Oct. 18 of complications from COVID-19 at age 84. He had been vaccinated against the coronavirus, but his family said his immune system had been compromised by multiple myeloma, a blood cancer for which he had been undergoing treatment.Funeral attendees Friday were required to wear masks, although not all did.The story of Powell's rise to prominence in American life is a historic example to many.In his autobiography, “My American Journey,” Powell recalled a post-Depression Era childhood in the Hunts Point section of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/new-york">New York</a>&nbsp;City's South Bronx, where he was a mediocre student — happy-go-lucky but aimless.He caught the military bug during his first year at the City College of New York in 1954. Powell was inspired by seeing fellow students in uniform, and he enrolled in the school's Reserve Officer Training Corps.“I felt distinctive” in uniform, he wrote. He would go on to achieve distinction in a pioneering Army career.Although he was only 4 when the United States entered World War II, he had vivid memories of the war years. “I deployed legions of lead soldiers and directed battles on the living room rug,” he wrote — a fantasy forerunner of his Army years.Powell would serve 35 years in uniform. Commissioned in 1958 as a second lieutenant, he served as a platoon leader in what was then called West Germany, and in 1962 was deployed to Vietnam for a year as an adviser to a South Vietnamese infantry battalion. During that tour he was wounded; he served a second tour in Vietnam in 1968 and afterward held a variety of assignments at home and abroad.He distinguished himself at the Pentagon even before he attained flag officer rank. In the late 1970s he worked in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, and in 1983 as a brigadier general he became the senior military assistant to Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger. He later served in the White House as President Ronald Reagan's national security adviser, and in 1989 he was promoted to four-star general. Later that year, President George H.W. Bush selected him to be chairman of the Joint Chiefs.“He was such a favorite of presidents that he earned the Presidential Medal of Freedom – twice,” former President George W. Bush said when Powell's death was announced.It was a trailblazing American dream journey that won him international acclaim and trust.He put that credibility on the line in February 2003 when, appearing before the United Nations as secretary of state, he made the case for war against Iraq. When it turned out that the intelligence he cited was faulty and the Iraq War became a bloody, chaotic nightmare, Powell’s stellar reputation was damaged.Still, it wasn’t destroyed. After leaving government, he became an elder statesman on the global stage and the founder of an organization aimed at helping young disadvantaged Americans. Republicans wanted him to run for president. After becoming disillusioned with his party, he ended up endorsing the last three Democratic presidential candidates, who welcomed his support.Powell's influence was felt at the highest levels of the U.S. defense establishment long after he retired from public life. Lloyd Austin, who in January became the first Black secretary of defense, called Powell a friend and professional mentor. Like Powell, Austin rose through the ranks of the Army to become a four-star general.On the day of Powell's death, Austin called him “one of the greatest leaders that we have ever witnessed.”

🎥 Family, friends gather to honor soldier-diplomat Colin Powell

TOPEKA— The number of confirmed coronavirus cases* (see below) in Kansas increased by 2,107 to a total of 440,303, the state health department reported Friday afternoon.&nbsp;

The state reported 47 new COVID-19 deaths.&nbsp; The state reported seven deaths Monday and 26 virus deaths Wednesday for a total of 6,495.&nbsp;

<a href="https://www.kansasvaccine.gov/158/Data">Click here for Data</a> about the COVID-19 vaccine.

<a href="https://www.coronavirus.kdheks.gov/160/COVID-19-in-Kansas">Click here&nbsp;</a>for additional virus numbers from the KDHE.

As of August 1, 2021, in accordance with an&nbsp;<a href="https://ndc.services.cdc.gov/conditions/coronavirus-disease-2019-covid-19/" target="_blank">updated CDC/CSTE surveillance case definition</a>, a confirmed case is defined as a person who tested positive by molecular detection (e.g., PCR, NAA) or identification of SARS-CoV-2 through genetic sequencing. A probable case is defined as a person with: a) presumptive lab evidence (antigen) or b) no lab testing but meeting clinical case criteria and is epi-linked. A person will be counted as a new surveillance case (e.g. reinfection) if they test positive for SARS-CoV-2 by a diagnostic test (i.e., molecular, antigen) and it has been greater than 90 days since the previous positive diagnostic test. In addition, a person with sequencing results identifying different SARS-CoV-2 lineages regardless of the time since the previous specimen sequenced will be counted as a new surveillance case.&nbsp;

Cases occurring between&nbsp;September 1, 2020&nbsp;and July 29, 2021 were classified by&nbsp;<a href="https://ndc.services.cdc.gov/conditions/coronavirus-disease-2019-covid-19/" target="_blank">previous CDC/CSTE case definition,&nbsp;</a>and cases prior to September 1, 2020 were classified by the&nbsp;<a href="https://ndc.services.cdc.gov/case-definitions/coronavirus-disease-2019-2020/" target="_blank">original case definition</a>.

TOPEKA— The number of confirmed coronavirus cases* (see below) in Kansas increased by 2,107 to a total of 440,303, the state health department reported Friday afternoon.&nbsp;The state reported 47 new COVID-19 deaths.&nbsp; The state reported seven deaths Monday and 26 virus deaths Wednesday for a total of 6,495.&nbsp;<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/11/1636134201337.png" alt="Friday November 5, 2021 KDHE image" />
 <figcaption>Friday November 5, 2021 KDHE image</figcaption>
 </figure><a href="https://www.kansasvaccine.gov/158/Data">Click here for Data</a> about the COVID-19 vaccine.<a href="https://www.coronavirus.kdheks.gov/160/COVID-19-in-Kansas">Click here&nbsp;</a>for additional virus numbers from the KDHE.As of August 1, 2021, in accordance with an&nbsp;<a href="https://ndc.services.cdc.gov/conditions/coronavirus-disease-2019-covid-19/" target="_blank">updated CDC/CSTE surveillance case definition</a>, a confirmed case is defined as a person who tested positive by molecular detection (e.g., PCR, NAA) or identification of SARS-CoV-2 through genetic sequencing. A probable case is defined as a person with: a) presumptive lab evidence (antigen) or b) no lab testing but meeting clinical case criteria and is epi-linked. A person will be counted as a new surveillance case (e.g. reinfection) if they test positive for SARS-CoV-2 by a diagnostic test (i.e., molecular, antigen) and it has been greater than 90 days since the previous positive diagnostic test. In addition, a person with sequencing results identifying different SARS-CoV-2 lineages regardless of the time since the previous specimen sequenced will be counted as a new surveillance case.&nbsp;Cases occurring between&nbsp;September 1, 2020&nbsp;and July 29, 2021 were classified by&nbsp;<a href="https://ndc.services.cdc.gov/conditions/coronavirus-disease-2019-covid-19/" target="_blank">previous CDC/CSTE case definition,&nbsp;</a>and cases prior to September 1, 2020 were classified by the&nbsp;<a href="https://ndc.services.cdc.gov/case-definitions/coronavirus-disease-2019-2020/" target="_blank">original case definition</a>.

KDHE reports 80 COVID deaths in Kansas since last Friday

TOPEKA — Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt Friday filed a federal lawsuit challenging the new federal vaccine mandate for private employers with more than 100 employees, which was announced by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, according to a statement from the AG's office.

<a href="https://ag.ks.gov/docs/default-source/documents/osha-vaccine-mandate-petition-final.pdf?sfvrsn=27aba51a_2">Click here to </a>read the lawsuit

The new mandate, issued as an “emergency temporary standard,” requires that employees either be vaccinated or receive frequent testing for COVID-19 and would apply to all private-sector employers with 100 or more employees, affecting thousands of Kansas workers and businesses.

Schmidt joined six other state attorneys general in filing a petition with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th&nbsp;Circuit, following through on his previous warnings about the doubtful legality of using OSHA emergency powers to mandate employee vaccinations or testing. Today’s filing asks the court to review the legality of the new mandate, arguing that OSHA lacks the statutory and constitutional authority to issue it. The attorneys general also plan to file a motion asking the court to stay the mandate pending the outcome of the case.

“Nothing in federal law gives OSHA this kind of far-reaching authority,” Schmidt said. “Businesses that do not comply would be subject to steep fines. And to make matters worse, state and federal governments have just announced they will stop paying the cost of testing for businesses, shifting that cost onto businesses themselves. The net effect of this overreaching federal mandate is to discourage private businesses from employ unvaccinated workers by making it more costly, once again threatening the livelihood of many Kansas workers and businesses and promising more disruptions to supply chains nationwide.”

The power to issue emergency temporary standards was delegated to OSHA by Congress for the express purpose of protecting employees from grave dangers posed by exposure to substances or physically harmful toxins encountered at work. The attorneys general argue that authority does not extend to risks that are equally prevalent at work and in society at large. They point out that as recently as last year OSHA agreed with their assessment, noting in the lawsuit that just last year “OSHA refused to issue a nationwide emergency temporary standard for COVID-19 because ‘COVID-19 is a community-wide hazard that is not unique to the workplace.’”

The coalition also points out that each state “has enacted its own laws and policies — or declined to issue certain mandates — in a way that balances the need for public health with the right of its citizens.”&nbsp;OSHA’s nationwide mandate takes away that power from the states and adopts a one-size-fits-all national vaccination requirement, which is beyond the federal government’s authority.

“As I have said many times, I encourage Kansans to be vaccinated, but that personal health care decision should be made by each individual and not mandated by the federal government,” Schmidt said. “At a time when Kansas employers and employees are desperately seeking a return to normalcy, this mandate would further disrupt and impede their efforts in private workplaces all across Kansas.”

This case is the second filed by Schmidt challenging the federal government’s recent attempts to mandate vaccination. Last week, Schmidt joined six other attorneys general in filing a lawsuit asking a federal court to declare illegal a different federal vaccination mandate – one applying to businesses and universities that participate in federal contracts – and to block its implementation. That suit is pending in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia, Augusta Division.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/3/1583409290272.jpeg" alt="Kansas AG Derek Schmidt" />
 <figcaption>Kansas AG Derek Schmidt</figcaption>
 </figure>TOPEKA — Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt Friday filed a federal lawsuit challenging the new federal vaccine mandate for private employers with more than 100 employees, which was announced by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, according to a statement from the AG's office.<a href="https://ag.ks.gov/docs/default-source/documents/osha-vaccine-mandate-petition-final.pdf?sfvrsn=27aba51a_2">Click here to </a>read the lawsuitThe new mandate, issued as an “emergency temporary standard,” requires that employees either be vaccinated or receive frequent testing for COVID-19 and would apply to all private-sector employers with 100 or more employees, affecting thousands of Kansas workers and businesses.Schmidt joined six other state attorneys general in filing a petition with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th&nbsp;Circuit, following through on his previous warnings about the doubtful legality of using OSHA emergency powers to mandate employee vaccinations or testing. Today’s filing asks the court to review the legality of the new mandate, arguing that OSHA lacks the statutory and constitutional authority to issue it. The attorneys general also plan to file a motion asking the court to stay the mandate pending the outcome of the case.“Nothing in federal law gives OSHA this kind of far-reaching authority,” Schmidt said. “Businesses that do not comply would be subject to steep fines. And to make matters worse, state and federal governments have just announced they will stop paying the cost of testing for businesses, shifting that cost onto businesses themselves. The net effect of this overreaching federal mandate is to discourage private businesses from employ unvaccinated workers by making it more costly, once again threatening the livelihood of many Kansas workers and businesses and promising more disruptions to supply chains nationwide.”The power to issue emergency temporary standards was delegated to OSHA by Congress for the express purpose of protecting employees from grave dangers posed by exposure to substances or physically harmful toxins encountered at work. The attorneys general argue that authority does not extend to risks that are equally prevalent at work and in society at large. They point out that as recently as last year OSHA agreed with their assessment, noting in the lawsuit that just last year “OSHA refused to issue a nationwide emergency temporary standard for COVID-19 because ‘COVID-19 is a community-wide hazard that is not unique to the workplace.’”The coalition also points out that each state “has enacted its own laws and policies — or declined to issue certain mandates — in a way that balances the need for public health with the right of its citizens.”&nbsp;OSHA’s nationwide mandate takes away that power from the states and adopts a one-size-fits-all national vaccination requirement, which is beyond the federal government’s authority.“As I have said many times, I encourage Kansans to be vaccinated, but that personal health care decision should be made by each individual and not mandated by the federal government,” Schmidt said. “At a time when Kansas employers and employees are desperately seeking a return to normalcy, this mandate would further disrupt and impede their efforts in private workplaces all across Kansas.”This case is the second filed by Schmidt challenging the federal government’s recent attempts to mandate vaccination. Last week, Schmidt joined six other attorneys general in filing a lawsuit asking a federal court to declare illegal a different federal vaccination mandate – one applying to businesses and universities that participate in federal contracts – and to block its implementation. That suit is pending in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia, Augusta Division.

 Kansas Attorney General sues Biden over OSHA vaccine mandate 

WASHINGTON (AP) — Top Democrats abruptly postponed an expected House vote Friday on a 10-year, $1.85 trillion social and environment measure, as leaders’ long struggle to balance demands from progressives and moderates once again dogged the pillar of President Joe Biden’s domestic agenda.

In a bid to hand him a needed victory, leaders prepared to try pushing an accompanying $1 trillion package of road and other infrastructure projects through the chamber and to his desk.

With lawmakers set to leave town for a week’s break, the scrambled legislative plans cast a fresh pall over a party that has tried futilely for weeks to find middle ground on its massive package of health, education, family and climate change initiatives. That’s been hard, in part because the Democrats’ slender majorities mean they need the support of every Senate Democrat and can have no more than three defectors in the House.

The party’s congressional leaders had hoped for House approval of both that measure and the infrastructure bill on Friday. That would have produced twin triumphs for a president and party eager to rebound from this week’s deflating off-year elections and show they can govern.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats in the House appear on the verge of advancing President Joe Biden’s $1.85 trillion-and-growing&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-congress-democrats-budget-framework-60a1bc276d0ab8eb3e0347fc54ee8c2c">domestic policy package&nbsp;</a>alongside a companion $1 trillion infrastructure bill in what would be a dramatic political accomplishment — if they can push it to passage.

The House scrapped votes late Thursday but will be back at it early Friday, and White House officials worked the phones to lock in support for the president’s signature proposal. After months of negotiations, House passage of the big bill would be a crucial step, sending to the Senate Biden’s ambitious effort to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/congress-health-care-69c7bb592f8d73232bec1d8e15be82e3">expand health care</a>, child care and other social services for countless Americans and deliver the nation’s biggest investment yet to fight climate change.

Alongside the slimmer roads-bridges-and-broadband package, it adds up to Biden’s answer to his campaign promise to rebuild the country from the COVID-19 crisis and confront a changing economy.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi worked furiously into the night at the Capitol Thursday and kept the House late to shore up votes. The party has been here before, another politically messy day like many before that are being blamed for the Democrats’ dismal showing in this week’s elections. On and off Capitol Hill, party leaders declared it’s time for Congress to deliver on Biden’s agenda.

“We’re going to pass both bills,” Pelosi insisted at a midday press briefing.

Her strategy now seems focused on passing the most robust bill possible in her chamber and then leaving the Senate to adjust or strip out the portions its members won’t agree to. The House Rules Committee processed final revisions including to a state-and-local tax deduction in a brief meeting late Thursday in preparation for floor votes.

Half the size of Biden’s initial $3.5 trillion package, the now sprawling 2,135-page bill has won over most of the progressive Democratic lawmakers, even though it is smaller than they wanted. But the chamber’s more centrist and fiscally conservative Democrats continued to mount objections.

Overall the package remains more far-reaching than any other in decades. Republicans are fully opposed to Biden’s bill, which is called the “Build Back Better Act” after the president’s 2020 campaign slogan.

The big package would provide large numbers of Americans with assistance to pay for health care, raising children and caring for elderly people at home.

There would be&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/climate-joe-biden-business-prices-health-88d4b4fff842e6248157276e73ec097b">lower prescription drug costs</a>, limiting the price of insulin to $35 a dose, and Medicare for the first time would be able to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies for prices of some other drugs, a long-sought Democratic priority.

Medicare would have a new hearing aid benefit for older Americans, and those with Medicare Part D would see their out-of-pocket prescription drug costs capped at $2,000.

The package would provide&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/cop26-climate-summit-joe-biden-13931475c10187f6d0d1d0cddabcbb53">some $555 billion in tax breaks encouraging cleaner energy</a>&nbsp;and electric vehicles, the nation’s largest commitment to tackling climate change.

With&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/climate-joe-biden-business-prices-health-88d4b4fff842e6248157276e73ec097b">a flurry of late adjustments</a>, the Democrats added key provisions in recent days — adding back a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-joe-biden-business-health-joe-manchin-2cfe30f02824d3f05797d3563e7bd189">new paid family leave program</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/immigration-joe-biden-business-congress-8ea0a7d0f4385e6fd28696e39b68a393">work permits for immigrants.&nbsp;</a>Late changes Thursday would lift a $10,000 cap on state-and-local tax deductions to $80,000.

Much of the package’s cost would be covered with higher taxes on wealthier Americans, those earning more than $400,000 a year, and a 5% surtax would be added on those making over $10 million annually. Large corporations would face a new 15% minimum tax in an effort to stop big businesses from claiming so many deductions that they end up paying zero in taxes.

From the White House, “the president has been very clear, he wants to get this moving,” said principal deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.

As night fell, Democratic leaders struggled to resolve a catalog of remaining issues as lawmakers balanced the promise of Biden’s sweeping vision with the realities of their home-district politics.

Biden has few votes to spare in the narrowly divided House and none when the bill ultimately arrives for consideration in the evenly split 50-50 Senate.

Five centrist Democratic lawmakers want a full budgetary assessment before they vote. Others from more Republican-leaning regions are objecting to a new state-and-local tax deduction that favors New York, California and other high-tax states. Another group wants changes to the immigration-related provisions.

In recent days, both the overall price tag and the revenue to pay for it have grown. A new White House assessment Thursday said revenue from the taxes on corporations and the wealthy and other changes are estimated to bring in $2.1 trillion over 10 years, according to a summary obtained by The Associated Press. That’s up from what had been $1.9 trillion in earlier estimates.

Pelosi noted a similar assessment Thursday by the bipartisan Joint Committee on Taxation, and she echoed Biden’s frequent comment that the overall package will be fully paid for.

But another model from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania suggested a shortfall in revenue for covering the cost, breeding fresh doubts among some of the Democratic lawmakers.

Still, the Democrats in the House are anxious to finish up this week, eager to deliver on the president’s agenda and, as some lawmakers prepare to depart for a global climate change summit in Scotland, show the U.S. taking the environmental issue seriously.

Democrats have been working to resolve their differences, particularly with holdout Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, who forced cutbacks to Biden’s bill but championed the slimmer infrastructure package that had stalled amid deliberations.

Manchin has panned the new family and medical leave program, which is expected to provide four weeks of paid time off after childbirth, for recovery from major illness or for caring for family members, less than the 12-week program once envisioned.

Senators are also likely to strip out a just-added immigration provision that would create a new program for some 7 million immigrants who are in the country without legal standing, allowing them to apply for permits to work and travel in the U.S. for five years. It’s not clear that addition would pass muster with the Senate parliamentarian under special budget rules being used to process the package.

On another remaining issue, Democrats are still arguing over a plan partly to do away with the $10,000 limit on state and local tax deductions that particularly hits high-tax states and was enacted as part of the Trump-era 2017 tax plan.

While repeal of the so-called SALT deduction cap is a priority for several Northeastern state lawmakers, progressives wanted to prevent the super-wealthy from benefiting. Under the revised plan, the $10,000 deduction cap would be lifted to $80,000 for nine years, starting with the 2021 tax year.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/11/1636142738967.jpeg" alt="House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the broader legislation is historic “and hence, challenging.” photo courtesy House Speaker's office" />
 <figcaption>House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the broader legislation is historic “and hence, challenging.” photo courtesy House Speaker's office</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — Top Democrats abruptly postponed an expected House vote Friday on a 10-year, $1.85 trillion social and environment measure, as leaders’ long struggle to balance demands from progressives and moderates once again dogged the pillar of President Joe Biden’s domestic agenda.In a bid to hand him a needed victory, leaders prepared to try pushing an accompanying $1 trillion package of road and other infrastructure projects through the chamber and to his desk.With lawmakers set to leave town for a week’s break, the scrambled legislative plans cast a fresh pall over a party that has tried futilely for weeks to find middle ground on its massive package of health, education, family and climate change initiatives. That’s been hard, in part because the Democrats’ slender majorities mean they need the support of every Senate Democrat and can have no more than three defectors in the House.The party’s congressional leaders had hoped for House approval of both that measure and the infrastructure bill on Friday. That would have produced twin triumphs for a president and party eager to rebound from this week’s deflating off-year elections and show they can govern.---------------WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats in the House appear on the verge of advancing President Joe Biden’s $1.85 trillion-and-growing&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-congress-democrats-budget-framework-60a1bc276d0ab8eb3e0347fc54ee8c2c">domestic policy package&nbsp;</a>alongside a companion $1 trillion infrastructure bill in what would be a dramatic political accomplishment — if they can push it to passage.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/11/1636109284153.png" alt="“We’re going to pass both bills,” Pelosi insisted at a midday press briefing.-photo courtesy House Speaker's office" />
 <figcaption>“We’re going to pass both bills,” Pelosi insisted at a midday press briefing.-photo courtesy House Speaker's office</figcaption>
 </figure>The House scrapped votes late Thursday but will be back at it early Friday, and White House officials worked the phones to lock in support for the president’s signature proposal. After months of negotiations, House passage of the big bill would be a crucial step, sending to the Senate Biden’s ambitious effort to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/congress-health-care-69c7bb592f8d73232bec1d8e15be82e3">expand health care</a>, child care and other social services for countless Americans and deliver the nation’s biggest investment yet to fight climate change.Alongside the slimmer roads-bridges-and-broadband package, it adds up to Biden’s answer to his campaign promise to rebuild the country from the COVID-19 crisis and confront a changing economy.But they’re not there yet.House Speaker Nancy Pelosi worked furiously into the night at the Capitol Thursday and kept the House late to shore up votes. The party has been here before, another politically messy day like many before that are being blamed for the Democrats’ dismal showing in this week’s elections. On and off Capitol Hill, party leaders declared it’s time for Congress to deliver on Biden’s agenda.“We’re going to pass both bills,” Pelosi insisted at a midday press briefing.Her strategy now seems focused on passing the most robust bill possible in her chamber and then leaving the Senate to adjust or strip out the portions its members won’t agree to. The House Rules Committee processed final revisions including to a state-and-local tax deduction in a brief meeting late Thursday in preparation for floor votes.Half the size of Biden’s initial $3.5 trillion package, the now sprawling 2,135-page bill has won over most of the progressive Democratic lawmakers, even though it is smaller than they wanted. But the chamber’s more centrist and fiscally conservative Democrats continued to mount objections.Overall the package remains more far-reaching than any other in decades. Republicans are fully opposed to Biden’s bill, which is called the “Build Back Better Act” after the president’s 2020 campaign slogan.The big package would provide large numbers of Americans with assistance to pay for health care, raising children and caring for elderly people at home.There would be&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/climate-joe-biden-business-prices-health-88d4b4fff842e6248157276e73ec097b">lower prescription drug costs</a>, limiting the price of insulin to $35 a dose, and Medicare for the first time would be able to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies for prices of some other drugs, a long-sought Democratic priority.Medicare would have a new hearing aid benefit for older Americans, and those with Medicare Part D would see their out-of-pocket prescription drug costs capped at $2,000.The package would provide&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/cop26-climate-summit-joe-biden-13931475c10187f6d0d1d0cddabcbb53">some $555 billion in tax breaks encouraging cleaner energy</a>&nbsp;and electric vehicles, the nation’s largest commitment to tackling climate change.With&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/climate-joe-biden-business-prices-health-88d4b4fff842e6248157276e73ec097b">a flurry of late adjustments</a>, the Democrats added key provisions in recent days — adding back a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-joe-biden-business-health-joe-manchin-2cfe30f02824d3f05797d3563e7bd189">new paid family leave program</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/immigration-joe-biden-business-congress-8ea0a7d0f4385e6fd28696e39b68a393">work permits for immigrants.&nbsp;</a>Late changes Thursday would lift a $10,000 cap on state-and-local tax deductions to $80,000.Much of the package’s cost would be covered with higher taxes on wealthier Americans, those earning more than $400,000 a year, and a 5% surtax would be added on those making over $10 million annually. Large corporations would face a new 15% minimum tax in an effort to stop big businesses from claiming so many deductions that they end up paying zero in taxes.From the White House, “the president has been very clear, he wants to get this moving,” said principal deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.As night fell, Democratic leaders struggled to resolve a catalog of remaining issues as lawmakers balanced the promise of Biden’s sweeping vision with the realities of their home-district politics.Biden has few votes to spare in the narrowly divided House and none when the bill ultimately arrives for consideration in the evenly split 50-50 Senate.Five centrist Democratic lawmakers want a full budgetary assessment before they vote. Others from more Republican-leaning regions are objecting to a new state-and-local tax deduction that favors New York, California and other high-tax states. Another group wants changes to the immigration-related provisions.In recent days, both the overall price tag and the revenue to pay for it have grown. A new White House assessment Thursday said revenue from the taxes on corporations and the wealthy and other changes are estimated to bring in $2.1 trillion over 10 years, according to a summary obtained by The Associated Press. That’s up from what had been $1.9 trillion in earlier estimates.Pelosi noted a similar assessment Thursday by the bipartisan Joint Committee on Taxation, and she echoed Biden’s frequent comment that the overall package will be fully paid for.But another model from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania suggested a shortfall in revenue for covering the cost, breeding fresh doubts among some of the Democratic lawmakers.Still, the Democrats in the House are anxious to finish up this week, eager to deliver on the president’s agenda and, as some lawmakers prepare to depart for a global climate change summit in Scotland, show the U.S. taking the environmental issue seriously.Democrats have been working to resolve their differences, particularly with holdout Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, who forced cutbacks to Biden’s bill but championed the slimmer infrastructure package that had stalled amid deliberations.Manchin has panned the new family and medical leave program, which is expected to provide four weeks of paid time off after childbirth, for recovery from major illness or for caring for family members, less than the 12-week program once envisioned.Senators are also likely to strip out a just-added immigration provision that would create a new program for some 7 million immigrants who are in the country without legal standing, allowing them to apply for permits to work and travel in the U.S. for five years. It’s not clear that addition would pass muster with the Senate parliamentarian under special budget rules being used to process the package.On another remaining issue, Democrats are still arguing over a plan partly to do away with the $10,000 limit on state and local tax deductions that particularly hits high-tax states and was enacted as part of the Trump-era 2017 tax plan.While repeal of the so-called SALT deduction cap is a priority for several Northeastern state lawmakers, progressives wanted to prevent the super-wealthy from benefiting. Under the revised plan, the $10,000 deduction cap would be lifted to $80,000 for nine years, starting with the 2021 tax year.___

House Dems delay vote on Biden's $1.85T spending plan again

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A homeless man will be sentenced in December for killing a 72-year-old Wichita woman who had sometimes provided him with food and a place to stay. 

Sedgwick County court records show 57-year-old John Darwin Pepper was convicted last week of first-degree murder and criminal sodomy in the July 2019 death of Rita Golden. 

Prosecutors said Pepper killed Golden during the commission of a sex crime. Police said Golden let Pepper stay in her backyard and sometimes let him take naps and eat insider her home. An autopsy determined Golden died from a heart condition but she also had injuries associated with smothering and sexual assault.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/12/1577734968737.png" alt="John Pepper-photo Sedgwick County" />
 <figcaption>John Pepper-photo Sedgwick County</figcaption>
 </figure>WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A homeless man will be sentenced in December for killing a 72-year-old Wichita woman who had sometimes provided him with food and a place to stay. Sedgwick County court records show 57-year-old John Darwin Pepper was convicted last week of first-degree murder and criminal sodomy in the July 2019 death of Rita Golden. Prosecutors said Pepper killed Golden during the commission of a sex crime. Police said Golden let Pepper stay in her backyard and sometimes let him take naps and eat insider her home. An autopsy determined Golden died from a heart condition but she also had injuries associated with smothering and sexual assault.

Kan. man convicted in sex assault killing of woman who helped him

KANSAS CITY (AP) — Republican state officials reacted with swift rebukes Thursday to President Joe Biden's newly detailed mandate for private employers to require workers to be vaccinated against COVID-19, threatening a wave of lawsuits and other actions to thwart a requirement they see as a stark example of government overreach.

At least two conservative groups moved quickly to file lawsuits against the workplace safety mandate, and a growing roster of GOP governors and attorneys general said more lawsuits were on the way as soon as Friday. Some Republican-led states had already passed laws or executive orders intended to protect employers that may not want to comply.

“This rule is garbage,” South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson, a Republican, said Thursday through a spokesperson. “It’s unconstitutional and we will fight it.” His state's governor, Republican Henry McMaster, said he is planning to issue an executive order keeping state agencies from enforcing the rule.

States have been&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-joe-biden-nba-sports-business-aa6c30fa6270b735acafc69e2ce26766">preparing for the requirement</a>&nbsp;since Biden previewed it in September. The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/covid-employer-mandates-us-29c2262c336bcfc38da2d14b251daf51">Occupational Safety and Health Administration requirements released Thursday</a>&nbsp;call for companies with 100 or more employees to be vaccinated by Jan. 4 or be tested weekly. Failure to comply could result in penalties of nearly $14,000 per violation. Federal officials also left open the possibility of expanding the mandate to smaller employers.

The White House said the administration has the authority to take actions designed to protect workers and expects the rule to withstand legal challenges.

Republican governors or attorneys general in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Oklahoma and South Dakota said Thursday they would file lawsuits against the mandate. The Daily Wire, a conservative media company, filed a challenge in federal court on Thursday. So did companies in Michigan and Ohio represented by a conservative advocacy law firm.

Robert Alt, a lawyer representing the Midwest companies suing— manufacturer Phillips Manufacturing &amp; Tower Company and packaging firm Sixarp — said both companies are already facing staffing shortages amid the pandemic. The mandate will make things worse, he said.

“It adds insult to injury and forces them potentially to fire trained employees," said Alt, president and CEO of The Buckeye Institute, a conservative advocacy group.

States say they are focusing on the role of the federal government in the lawsuits they're preparing.

"While I agree that the vaccine is the tool that will best protect against COVID-19, this federal government approach is unprecedented and will bring about harmful, unintended consequences in the supply chain and the workforce,” Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb said in a statement.

At a news conference, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis criticized what he called an “executive fiat” for the private sector. Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds characterized the mandate as an imposition on personal choice, saying people should be able to make their own health care decisions. She recently signed a bill guaranteeing that people who are fired for refusing a vaccine can qualify for unemployment benefits.

At least 19 Republican-led states previously&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-joe-biden-health-lawsuits-missouri-99fb3b040661c71ddde1ded37a2f5b87">sued the Biden administration</a>&nbsp;over a separate mandate requiring vaccines for employees who work for federal contractors. Several more filed similar lawsuits Thursday.

Biden, in a statement Thursday, dismissed the argument from many GOP governors and lawmakers that a mandate for employers will hurt businesses' ability to keep workers on the job.

“There have been no ‘mass firings’ and worker shortages because of vaccination requirements,” he said. “Despite what some predicted and falsely assert, vaccination requirements have broad public support.”

The administration has been encouraging widespread vaccinations as the quickest way out of the pandemic. A White House spokeswoman, Karine Jean-Pierre, said during a briefing Thursday that the mandate was intended to halt the spread of a disease that has claimed more than 750,000 lives in the U.S.

“So you know, the question that we always have and that we ask to the Republicans is, why are they getting in the way?" Jean-Pierre said. “Why are they getting in the way of trying to protect and save lives? That’s all we’re trying to do.”

Challenges to the workplace mandate from Republicans and conservative groups are expected to be broad-based and quick, reflecting yet another aspect of the COVID-19 response — from mask requirements to social-distancing guidelines — that has fallen into a partisan divide. Democratic governors and attorneys general were relatively quiet after the OSHA rules were announced on Thursday. From California, Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a simple Twitter message: “The right move.” Another Democrat, North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein, defended mandates in an emailed statement to The Associated Press.

Laura Kelly, the Democratic governor in Republican-dominated Kansas, was trying to walk a fine line on the new workplace rules. She said after a chamber of commerce event Thursday that federal mandates “tend not to work” and that she wanted a “Kansas-focused” way to meet, them but did not give details.

All 26 Republican state attorneys general have previously said they would fight the requirements, and most of them signed a letter to Biden saying as much.

Key to their objection is whether OSHA has the legal authority to require vaccines or virus testing.

In the letter to Biden, the top state government lawyers argued that the agency can regulate only health risks that are specific to jobs — not ones that are in the world generally. Seema Nanda, the top legal official for the U.S. Department of Labor, which includes OSHA, says established legal precedent allows rules that keep workplaces safe and that those rules pre-empt state laws.

That hasn't stopped state lawmakers and governors for taking a variety of actions aimed at undercutting federal mandates.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott last month issued an executive order prohibiting private companies or any other entity from requiring vaccines. An Ohio lawmaker has proposed a bill barring schools and colleges from expelling students who refuse vaccines and preventing employers from firing workers who do so.

Arkansas has adopted a law creating a vaccine-mandate exemption for workers who can prove they have COVID-19 antibodies, although a broader measure banning employers from asking about vaccination status failed in the Legislature. The OSHA rule does include a religious exemption, as well as one for people who work exclusively outdoors or away from others — such as from home.

Lawmakers or governors in states including Kansas, South Dakota and Wyoming have called for special legislative sessions to counter vaccine mandates. In Nebraska, not enough state lawmakers agreed to a special session to get one on the calendar, but Gov. Pete Ricketts, a Republican in a GOP-dominated state, has been pushing them to keep trying.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/11/1636108813855.png" alt="The White House said the administration has the authority to take actions designed to protect workers and expects the rule to withstand legal challenges-photo courtesy White House" />
 <figcaption>The White House said the administration has the authority to take actions designed to protect workers and expects the rule to withstand legal challenges-photo courtesy White House</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY (AP) — Republican state officials reacted with swift rebukes Thursday to President Joe Biden's newly detailed mandate for private employers to require workers to be vaccinated against COVID-19, threatening a wave of lawsuits and other actions to thwart a requirement they see as a stark example of government overreach.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Governor Laura Kelly&#39;s statement addressing the new federal vaccine mandate: <a href="https://t.co/lAFAs3pQLK">pic.twitter.com/lAFAs3pQLK</a>&mdash; Governor Laura Kelly (@GovLauraKelly) <a href="https://twitter.com/GovLauraKelly/status/1456627100593659906?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 5, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>At least two conservative groups moved quickly to file lawsuits against the workplace safety mandate, and a growing roster of GOP governors and attorneys general said more lawsuits were on the way as soon as Friday. Some Republican-led states had already passed laws or executive orders intended to protect employers that may not want to comply.“This rule is garbage,” South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson, a Republican, said Thursday through a spokesperson. “It’s unconstitutional and we will fight it.” His state's governor, Republican Henry McMaster, said he is planning to issue an executive order keeping state agencies from enforcing the rule.States have been&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-joe-biden-nba-sports-business-aa6c30fa6270b735acafc69e2ce26766">preparing for the requirement</a>&nbsp;since Biden previewed it in September. The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/covid-employer-mandates-us-29c2262c336bcfc38da2d14b251daf51">Occupational Safety and Health Administration requirements released Thursday</a>&nbsp;call for companies with 100 or more employees to be vaccinated by Jan. 4 or be tested weekly. Failure to comply could result in penalties of nearly $14,000 per violation. Federal officials also left open the possibility of expanding the mandate to smaller employers.The White House said the administration has the authority to take actions designed to protect workers and expects the rule to withstand legal challenges.Republican governors or attorneys general in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Oklahoma and South Dakota said Thursday they would file lawsuits against the mandate. The Daily Wire, a conservative media company, filed a challenge in federal court on Thursday. So did companies in Michigan and Ohio represented by a conservative advocacy law firm.Robert Alt, a lawyer representing the Midwest companies suing— manufacturer Phillips Manufacturing &amp; Tower Company and packaging firm Sixarp — said both companies are already facing staffing shortages amid the pandemic. The mandate will make things worse, he said.“It adds insult to injury and forces them potentially to fire trained employees," said Alt, president and CEO of The Buckeye Institute, a conservative advocacy group.States say they are focusing on the role of the federal government in the lawsuits they're preparing."While I agree that the vaccine is the tool that will best protect against COVID-19, this federal government approach is unprecedented and will bring about harmful, unintended consequences in the supply chain and the workforce,” Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb said in a statement.At a news conference, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis criticized what he called an “executive fiat” for the private sector. Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds characterized the mandate as an imposition on personal choice, saying people should be able to make their own health care decisions. She recently signed a bill guaranteeing that people who are fired for refusing a vaccine can qualify for unemployment benefits.At least 19 Republican-led states previously&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-joe-biden-health-lawsuits-missouri-99fb3b040661c71ddde1ded37a2f5b87">sued the Biden administration</a>&nbsp;over a separate mandate requiring vaccines for employees who work for federal contractors. Several more filed similar lawsuits Thursday.Biden, in a statement Thursday, dismissed the argument from many GOP governors and lawmakers that a mandate for employers will hurt businesses' ability to keep workers on the job.“There have been no ‘mass firings’ and worker shortages because of vaccination requirements,” he said. “Despite what some predicted and falsely assert, vaccination requirements have broad public support.”The administration has been encouraging widespread vaccinations as the quickest way out of the pandemic. A White House spokeswoman, Karine Jean-Pierre, said during a briefing Thursday that the mandate was intended to halt the spread of a disease that has claimed more than 750,000 lives in the U.S.“So you know, the question that we always have and that we ask to the Republicans is, why are they getting in the way?" Jean-Pierre said. “Why are they getting in the way of trying to protect and save lives? That’s all we’re trying to do.”Challenges to the workplace mandate from Republicans and conservative groups are expected to be broad-based and quick, reflecting yet another aspect of the COVID-19 response — from mask requirements to social-distancing guidelines — that has fallen into a partisan divide. Democratic governors and attorneys general were relatively quiet after the OSHA rules were announced on Thursday. From California, Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a simple Twitter message: “The right move.” Another Democrat, North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein, defended mandates in an emailed statement to The Associated Press.Laura Kelly, the Democratic governor in Republican-dominated Kansas, was trying to walk a fine line on the new workplace rules. She said after a chamber of commerce event Thursday that federal mandates “tend not to work” and that she wanted a “Kansas-focused” way to meet, them but did not give details.All 26 Republican state attorneys general have previously said they would fight the requirements, and most of them signed a letter to Biden saying as much.Key to their objection is whether OSHA has the legal authority to require vaccines or virus testing.In the letter to Biden, the top state government lawyers argued that the agency can regulate only health risks that are specific to jobs — not ones that are in the world generally. Seema Nanda, the top legal official for the U.S. Department of Labor, which includes OSHA, says established legal precedent allows rules that keep workplaces safe and that those rules pre-empt state laws.That hasn't stopped state lawmakers and governors for taking a variety of actions aimed at undercutting federal mandates.Texas Gov. Greg Abbott last month issued an executive order prohibiting private companies or any other entity from requiring vaccines. An Ohio lawmaker has proposed a bill barring schools and colleges from expelling students who refuse vaccines and preventing employers from firing workers who do so.Arkansas has adopted a law creating a vaccine-mandate exemption for workers who can prove they have COVID-19 antibodies, although a broader measure banning employers from asking about vaccination status failed in the Legislature. The OSHA rule does include a religious exemption, as well as one for people who work exclusively outdoors or away from others — such as from home.Lawmakers or governors in states including Kansas, South Dakota and Wyoming have called for special legislative sessions to counter vaccine mandates. In Nebraska, not enough state lawmakers agreed to a special session to get one on the calendar, but Gov. Pete Ricketts, a Republican in a GOP-dominated state, has been pushing them to keep trying.In Ohio, factory owner Ross McGregor said he will follow the rules as he would any federal workplace mandate, but not because he agrees with them. McGregor, who said he is vaccinated, is opposed to the new requirement, just as he has publicly opposed efforts by Ohio Republican lawmakers to prevent him from mandating the coronavirus vaccine for his workers.“At the end of the day, every employer, and every employment situation, dictates what is best,” said McGregor, a former Republican state lawmaker and owner of axle and brake component manufacturer Pentaflex, where he estimates that about half the 115 or so employees are vaccinated. “Having either a ban on mandates or an imposition of mandates goes against that”___