By CELIA LLOPIS-JEPSEN <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2021-10-01/kansas-hid-parts-of-a-100k-audit-of-drug-spending-experts-say-the-state-went-too-far">Kansas News Service</a>

Editor’s note: This article is about Kansas’ decision to redact a 
recent report on drug spending related to its state employee health 
plan. You can read more detail about the content of the redacted report <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2021-10-01/kansas-audited-its-80-million-cvs-prescription-plan-but-its-still-shrouded-in-mystery" target="_blank">here</a>.

TOPEKA&nbsp;— Kansas blacked out large swaths of an audit on prescription drug spending in response to a public records request.

But
 because the state botched its redactions, leaving much of the concealed
 text accessible, the Kansas News Service was able to show several 
lawyers what the state intended to obscure.

Those experts consider
 it highly likely that many of the redactions weren’t allowed under 
state law. That’s particularly the case because so many of the details 
appear in other public documents, including on the state’s own website.

That
 undermines the Kansas Department of Administration’s argument that it 
needed to redact the $100,000 watchdog report on how one of the 
wealthiest companies in the nation — CVS — handles prescription drug 
coverage for Kansas employees, their families and retirees.

The agency said it needed to protect trade secrets.

But the redacted details go to the heart of the state health plan, such as how many prescriptions it covered in 2018 and 2019.

“There
 is no strong argument in my mind for why those specific pieces of data 
are trade secrets,” said Amy Kristin Sanders, a University of 
Texas-Austin professor of journalism and law.

She studies government transparency in situations where private corporations are involved in public work.

Sanders
 and other lawyers reviewed the document and the legal justification for
 redaction provided by the Department of Administration. They found the 
state’s logic weak.

“Across almost all 50 states,” she said, 
“‘Let’s just cite something and hope it scares the requester off’ … is a
 universal approach to dealing with public records requests.”

The 
Kansas Department of Administration declined the Kansas News Service’s 
request to interview the agency’s attorney about the redactions.

The Kansas Department of 
Administration struck whole paragraphs, charts and even entire pages 
from the report, which includes a 16-page audit and four-page response 
from CVS.

“Given what I saw,” said Mike Kautsch, professor 
emeritus of the University of Kansas School of Law, “it would really be 
hard to justify (the redactions) under the Kansas trade secret law.”

“My
 guess is that the audit in question here probably could have been 
disclosed without any redactions,” he said, “or with very few.”

The Department of Administration redacted the number of prescriptions covered over a two-year period — just over 2 million.

And
 it hid fee details, such as the 45 cents Kansas agreed to pay 
pharmacies each time an employee picked up a prescription in 2019.

“This is so Orwellian,” said John Francis, an antitrust attorney and professor of health law at the University of Colorado.

If
 states could shield their spending from public scrutiny simply by 
running it through a third-party auditor that considers its work 
confidential, Francis said, that would give them an easy cloak for all 
government business.

“This would allow every state agency to create a trade secret out of all information,” he said. “It gives them an opportunity to make otherwise non-confidential information, confidential.”

Francis
 isn’t licensed to practice law in Kansas. Rather, he based his analysis
 on Colorado trade secret law and says the Kansas trade secret law is 
almost word-for-word identical.

The auditor, PillarRx, labeled its report “proprietary and confidential” and for the state’s “internal” use only.

The
 audit offers a mixed picture of CVS’ work for Kansas. It concludes CVS 
largely handled the Kansas state employee plan’s money appropriately, 
but didn’t always deliver on contracted discounts and fees. Auditors say
 it overcharged the health plan by about $1.2 million in 2018 and 2019 
combined. CVS repaid almost all of that before the audit was completed, 
and was anticipated to pay back the rest after the audit.

The 
state health plan is funded by taxpayers and the people it covers. It 
spends about $80 million a year on prescription drugs. And that doesn’t 
include the more than $20 million that the employees and retirees shell 
out directly in coinsurance.

Legal experts say that by deciding to
 cloak much of the audit, Kansas put industry secrecy ahead of the 
public’s right to know about government business and how their tax dollars are spent, and employees’ right to know whether they pay too much.

CVS
 functions as the state health plan’s pharmacy benefit manager — a kind 
of pharmacy middleman that has come under scrutiny in recent years by 
Congress, state attorneys general and state lawmakers probing the 
nation’s high drug costs.

Americans pay <a href="https://www.rand.org/news/press/2021/01/28.html" target="_blank">more than twice</a> as much as people in other developed countries for their medications, with little understanding of where the money goes.

Government
 agencies should give particular weight to the clear public interest 
involved in shedding light on the industry, Francis said.

“And that means the less redactions and the more information out there, the better for everyone,” he said.

“This
 is bipartisan — both the Trump administration and the Biden 
administration have tried hard to improve health care transparency,” he 
said. “Almost anyone who looks seriously at health care reform would 
consider transparency of this kind of information to be critically 
important.”

Parts of the redacted audit remain inaccessible to the
 Kansas News Service, and conceal from public view details of PillarRx’s
 assessment of how CVS spends tax dollars.

Many
 of the pricing and other details in the 2018-2019 audit that Kansas 
argues are trade secrets appear in an audit summary that it provided to 
the Kansas News Service in August. It handed over the summary without 
redactions, and the summary also appears <a href="https://healthbenefitsprogram.ks.gov/docs/default-source/site-documents/audit-reports/2020-audit-reports/executive-summary-final-2021-03-26.pdf?sfvrsn=91ca7984_4" target="_blank">on the state’s website</a> unredacted.

The same pricing specifics are also revealed in CVS contract documents obtained through an open records request.

And the same details appear in PillarRx’s previous work — its <a href="https://healthbenefitsprogram.ks.gov/docs/default-source/site-documents/audit-reports/state-of-kansas-caremark-specific-findings-final.pdf?sfvrsn=fb968e31_2" target="_blank">2017 audit</a> — which the state also posted unredacted to its website.

Under state law, though, the definition of “<a href="http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2021_22/statute/060_000_0000_chapter/060_033_0000_article/060_033_0020_section/060_033_0020_k/" target="_blank">trade secret</a>”
 hinges on secrecy. If there hasn’t been a substantial effort to keep 
information secret, it doesn’t fit the legal definition of a trade 
secret.

Trade secrets also need to be something valuable — think, 
the recipe for Coca Cola — that a company cashes in on by keeping it 
hidden from competitors.

But the lawyers who reviewed Kansas’ 
redactions struggled to see why many of the details should be treated 
like a heavily branded and protected soda formula.

For instance, 
Kansas blacked out the names of seven major drugmakers (Abbvie, 
AstraZeneca, Novo Nordisk, GlaxoSmithKline, Johnson &amp; Johnson, Eli 
Lilly and Merck &amp; Co.) whose interactions with CVS were scrutinized 
to ensure CVS hadn’t profited inappropriately from them.

And it blacked out the identities of 10 pharmacies included in the audit.

“I don’t think that’s a trade secret,” Sanders said. “We deserve to know whose contracts you reviewed.”

The
 redactions also concealed sample sizes related to various portions of 
the audit, including the number of claims PillarRx used to check CVS’ 
payments to pharmacies.

The audit concludes CVS stuck to the 
letter of its contract with Kansas when dealing with the manufacturers. 
And that its payments to pharmacies were appropriate.

However, pharmacy benefit experts <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2021-10-01/kansas-audited-its-80-million-cvs-prescription-plan-but-its-still-shrouded-in-mystery" target="_blank">question the quality of the audit</a>.

Here are a few more examples of redactions:

The
 negotiated discount rates, the dispensing fees and the identities of 
manufacturers are among the details that appear in the unredacted audit 
summary provided back in August. And the same level of detail appears 
unredacted in the 2017 audit. In one instance, the state blacked out a
 paragraph reflecting concern from pharmacists about payments from CVS. 
The redacted note reads:

“It is to be noted that a couple 
pharmacies made comments that the reimbursement amount that they 
received, while it was accurate based on the adjudication of the claim, 
was less that (sic) what they expected it to be based on their own 
independent pharmacy research based on the tools they had available to 
them.”

The Department of Administration also withheld the audit’s 
supplementary exhibits, even though the Kansas News Service submitted an
 open records request for all attachments and addendums.

Asked
 to justify its redactions, the Kansas Department of Administration 
first cited two entire state laws — “the Kansas Uniform Trade Secret Act
 (K.S.A. 60-3320 et seq) and the Kansas Open Records Act (K.S.A. 45-215 
et seq)” — but would not explain which particular portions applied.

But
 legal experts say the state can’t deny records without specific reasons
 any more than a court can declare an action unconstitutional without 
pointing to a specific part of the Constitution.

Pressed for its legal reasoning, Kansas responded with citations that included <a href="http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2021_22/statute/060_000_0000_chapter/060_033_0000_article/060_033_0020_section/060_033_0020_k/" target="_blank">an entire page of statutory definitions</a> — without clarifying which it believed were relevant.

That raised eyebrows among law professors interviewed by the Kansas News Service.

“An agency that decides not to fully disclose a record really has a burden” to get specific, Kautsch said.

The
 agency also cited a provision of the Kansas law that governs court 
proceedings, but he struggled to see why the provision would apply.

The Kansas <a href="http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2021_22/statute/060_000_0000_chapter/060_033_0000_article/060_033_0020_section/060_033_0020_k/" target="_blank">trade secret law</a>
 dates to 1981, and it didn’t take long before questions arose about 
what the government could hide from public view under the new law.

In 1988, Kansas Attorney General Robert Stephan tackled that question in the context of public meetings. <a href="https://ksag.washburnlaw.edu/opinions/1988/1988-148.pdf" target="_blank">He issued an opinion</a>
 clarifying that public bodies couldn’t simply retreat behind closed 
doors each time they wanted to discuss matters involving private 
companies.

At the time, an economic development commission in 
Geary County wanted to talk privately about businesses considering 
relocating to the area, and about possible financial incentives and 
local wages.

“We believe these items do not qualify” as trade 
secrets that justify shutting out the public, the attorney general 
wrote. He made clear the commission must think carefully whenever it’s 
tempted to retreat from public scrutiny.

“When in doubt,” the 
attorney general’s opinion says, “members of the Commission should 
remember that exceptions to the open meetings law are interpreted 
narrowly.”

Gov. Laura Kelly’s office didn’t respond to a request for comment on the redactions.

The
 Kansas Department of Administration’s decision to redact so much of 
PillarRx’s audit makes it hard for journalists and the public to 
scrutinize the work of the auditors and CVS, Sanders said.

“It’s 
not enough for a state to hire the auditor of its choice to sign off and
 say everything is OK,” she said. “There needs to be some ability to 
replicate this audit or to be able to look at the steps taken in this 
audit and make sure that all of the i's are dotted and all the t's are 
crossed.”

Celia Llopis-Jepsen reports on consumer health for 
the Kansas News Service. You can follow her on Twitter @celia_LJ or 
email her at celia@kcur.org.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/10/1633102309584.png" alt="Carlos Moreno / KCUR 89.3" />
 <figcaption>Carlos Moreno / KCUR 89.3</figcaption>
 </figure>By CELIA LLOPIS-JEPSEN <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2021-10-01/kansas-hid-parts-of-a-100k-audit-of-drug-spending-experts-say-the-state-went-too-far">Kansas News Service</a>Editor’s note: This article is about Kansas’ decision to redact a 
recent report on drug spending related to its state employee health 
plan. You can read more detail about the content of the redacted report <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2021-10-01/kansas-audited-its-80-million-cvs-prescription-plan-but-its-still-shrouded-in-mystery" target="_blank">here</a>.TOPEKA&nbsp;— Kansas blacked out large swaths of an audit on prescription drug spending in response to a public records request.But
 because the state botched its redactions, leaving much of the concealed
 text accessible, the Kansas News Service was able to show several 
lawyers what the state intended to obscure.Those experts consider
 it highly likely that many of the redactions weren’t allowed under 
state law. That’s particularly the case because so many of the details 
appear in other public documents, including on the state’s own website.That
 undermines the Kansas Department of Administration’s argument that it 
needed to redact the $100,000 watchdog report on how one of the 
wealthiest companies in the nation — CVS — handles prescription drug 
coverage for Kansas employees, their families and retirees.The agency said it needed to protect trade secrets.But the redacted details go to the heart of the state health plan, such as how many prescriptions it covered in 2018 and 2019.“There
 is no strong argument in my mind for why those specific pieces of data 
are trade secrets,” said Amy Kristin Sanders, a University of 
Texas-Austin professor of journalism and law.She studies government transparency in situations where private corporations are involved in public work.Sanders
 and other lawyers reviewed the document and the legal justification for
 redaction provided by the Department of Administration. They found the 
state’s logic weak.“Across almost all 50 states,” she said, 
“‘Let’s just cite something and hope it scares the requester off’ … is a
 universal approach to dealing with public records requests.”The 
Kansas Department of Administration declined the Kansas News Service’s 
request to interview the agency’s attorney about the redactions.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/10/1633102387545.png" alt="Crysta Henthorne" />
 <figcaption>Crysta Henthorne</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>‘Orwellian’ implications</h2>The Kansas Department of 
Administration struck whole paragraphs, charts and even entire pages 
from the report, which includes a 16-page audit and four-page response 
from CVS.“Given what I saw,” said Mike Kautsch, professor 
emeritus of the University of Kansas School of Law, “it would really be 
hard to justify (the redactions) under the Kansas trade secret law.”“My
 guess is that the audit in question here probably could have been 
disclosed without any redactions,” he said, “or with very few.”The Department of Administration redacted the number of prescriptions covered over a two-year period — just over 2 million.And
 it hid fee details, such as the 45 cents Kansas agreed to pay 
pharmacies each time an employee picked up a prescription in 2019.“This is so Orwellian,” said John Francis, an antitrust attorney and professor of health law at the University of Colorado.If
 states could shield their spending from public scrutiny simply by 
running it through a third-party auditor that considers its work 
confidential, Francis said, that would give them an easy cloak for all 
government business.“This would allow every state agency to create a trade secret out of all information,” he said. “It gives them an opportunity to make otherwise non-confidential information, confidential.”Francis
 isn’t licensed to practice law in Kansas. Rather, he based his analysis
 on Colorado trade secret law and says the Kansas trade secret law is 
almost word-for-word identical.The auditor, PillarRx, labeled its report “proprietary and confidential” and for the state’s “internal” use only.<h2>Pharmaceutical industry in focus</h2>The
 audit offers a mixed picture of CVS’ work for Kansas. It concludes CVS 
largely handled the Kansas state employee plan’s money appropriately, 
but didn’t always deliver on contracted discounts and fees. Auditors say
 it overcharged the health plan by about $1.2 million in 2018 and 2019 
combined. CVS repaid almost all of that before the audit was completed, 
and was anticipated to pay back the rest after the audit.The 
state health plan is funded by taxpayers and the people it covers. It 
spends about $80 million a year on prescription drugs. And that doesn’t 
include the more than $20 million that the employees and retirees shell 
out directly in coinsurance.Legal experts say that by deciding to
 cloak much of the audit, Kansas put industry secrecy ahead of the 
public’s right to know about government business and how their tax dollars are spent, and employees’ right to know whether they pay too much.CVS
 functions as the state health plan’s pharmacy benefit manager — a kind 
of pharmacy middleman that has come under scrutiny in recent years by 
Congress, state attorneys general and state lawmakers probing the 
nation’s high drug costs.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/10/1633102422579.png" alt="Crysta Henthorne" />
 <figcaption>Crysta Henthorne</figcaption>
 </figure>Americans pay <a href="https://www.rand.org/news/press/2021/01/28.html" target="_blank">more than twice</a> as much as people in other developed countries for their medications, with little understanding of where the money goes.Government
 agencies should give particular weight to the clear public interest 
involved in shedding light on the industry, Francis said.“And that means the less redactions and the more information out there, the better for everyone,” he said.“This
 is bipartisan — both the Trump administration and the Biden 
administration have tried hard to improve health care transparency,” he 
said. “Almost anyone who looks seriously at health care reform would 
consider transparency of this kind of information to be critically 
important.”Parts of the redacted audit remain inaccessible to the
 Kansas News Service, and conceal from public view details of PillarRx’s
 assessment of how CVS spends tax dollars.<h2>What’s a trade secret?</h2>Many
 of the pricing and other details in the 2018-2019 audit that Kansas 
argues are trade secrets appear in an audit summary that it provided to 
the Kansas News Service in August. It handed over the summary without 
redactions, and the summary also appears <a href="https://healthbenefitsprogram.ks.gov/docs/default-source/site-documents/audit-reports/2020-audit-reports/executive-summary-final-2021-03-26.pdf?sfvrsn=91ca7984_4" target="_blank">on the state’s website</a> unredacted.The same pricing specifics are also revealed in CVS contract documents obtained through an open records request.And the same details appear in PillarRx’s previous work — its <a href="https://healthbenefitsprogram.ks.gov/docs/default-source/site-documents/audit-reports/state-of-kansas-caremark-specific-findings-final.pdf?sfvrsn=fb968e31_2" target="_blank">2017 audit</a> — which the state also posted unredacted to its website.Under state law, though, the definition of “<a href="http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2021_22/statute/060_000_0000_chapter/060_033_0000_article/060_033_0020_section/060_033_0020_k/" target="_blank">trade secret</a>”
 hinges on secrecy. If there hasn’t been a substantial effort to keep 
information secret, it doesn’t fit the legal definition of a trade 
secret.Trade secrets also need to be something valuable — think, 
the recipe for Coca Cola — that a company cashes in on by keeping it 
hidden from competitors.But the lawyers who reviewed Kansas’ 
redactions struggled to see why many of the details should be treated 
like a heavily branded and protected soda formula.For instance, 
Kansas blacked out the names of seven major drugmakers (Abbvie, 
AstraZeneca, Novo Nordisk, GlaxoSmithKline, Johnson &amp; Johnson, Eli 
Lilly and Merck &amp; Co.) whose interactions with CVS were scrutinized 
to ensure CVS hadn’t profited inappropriately from them.And it blacked out the identities of 10 pharmacies included in the audit.“I don’t think that’s a trade secret,” Sanders said. “We deserve to know whose contracts you reviewed.”The
 redactions also concealed sample sizes related to various portions of 
the audit, including the number of claims PillarRx used to check CVS’ 
payments to pharmacies.The audit concludes CVS stuck to the 
letter of its contract with Kansas when dealing with the manufacturers. 
And that its payments to pharmacies were appropriate.However, pharmacy benefit experts <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2021-10-01/kansas-audited-its-80-million-cvs-prescription-plan-but-its-still-shrouded-in-mystery" target="_blank">question the quality of the audit</a>.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/10/1633102454340.png" alt="Crysta Henthorne" />
 <figcaption>Crysta Henthorne</figcaption>
 </figure>Here are a few more examples of redactions:<ul>
 <li>Kansas concealed the number of pharmacies that auditors included in their probe.</li><li>Kansas concealed discounts promised by CVS, such as 17% off of retail brands.</li><li>And it redacted method details that shed light on how auditors checked whether CVS had handled claims and charges appropriately.</li>
 </ul>The
 negotiated discount rates, the dispensing fees and the identities of 
manufacturers are among the details that appear in the unredacted audit 
summary provided back in August. And the same level of detail appears 
unredacted in the 2017 audit. In one instance, the state blacked out a
 paragraph reflecting concern from pharmacists about payments from CVS. 
The redacted note reads:“It is to be noted that a couple 
pharmacies made comments that the reimbursement amount that they 
received, while it was accurate based on the adjudication of the claim, 
was less that (sic) what they expected it to be based on their own 
independent pharmacy research based on the tools they had available to 
them.”The Department of Administration also withheld the audit’s 
supplementary exhibits, even though the Kansas News Service submitted an
 open records request for all attachments and addendums.<h2>1980s AG opinion</h2>Asked
 to justify its redactions, the Kansas Department of Administration 
first cited two entire state laws — “the Kansas Uniform Trade Secret Act
 (K.S.A. 60-3320 et seq) and the Kansas Open Records Act (K.S.A. 45-215 
et seq)” — but would not explain which particular portions applied.But
 legal experts say the state can’t deny records without specific reasons
 any more than a court can declare an action unconstitutional without 
pointing to a specific part of the Constitution.Pressed for its legal reasoning, Kansas responded with citations that included <a href="http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2021_22/statute/060_000_0000_chapter/060_033_0000_article/060_033_0020_section/060_033_0020_k/" target="_blank">an entire page of statutory definitions</a> — without clarifying which it believed were relevant.That raised eyebrows among law professors interviewed by the Kansas News Service.“An agency that decides not to fully disclose a record really has a burden” to get specific, Kautsch said.The
 agency also cited a provision of the Kansas law that governs court 
proceedings, but he struggled to see why the provision would apply.The Kansas <a href="http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2021_22/statute/060_000_0000_chapter/060_033_0000_article/060_033_0020_section/060_033_0020_k/" target="_blank">trade secret law</a>
 dates to 1981, and it didn’t take long before questions arose about 
what the government could hide from public view under the new law.In 1988, Kansas Attorney General Robert Stephan tackled that question in the context of public meetings. <a href="https://ksag.washburnlaw.edu/opinions/1988/1988-148.pdf" target="_blank">He issued an opinion</a>
 clarifying that public bodies couldn’t simply retreat behind closed 
doors each time they wanted to discuss matters involving private 
companies.At the time, an economic development commission in 
Geary County wanted to talk privately about businesses considering 
relocating to the area, and about possible financial incentives and 
local wages.“We believe these items do not qualify” as trade 
secrets that justify shutting out the public, the attorney general 
wrote. He made clear the commission must think carefully whenever it’s 
tempted to retreat from public scrutiny.“When in doubt,” the 
attorney general’s opinion says, “members of the Commission should 
remember that exceptions to the open meetings law are interpreted 
narrowly.”Gov. Laura Kelly’s office didn’t respond to a request for comment on the redactions.The
 Kansas Department of Administration’s decision to redact so much of 
PillarRx’s audit makes it hard for journalists and the public to 
scrutinize the work of the auditors and CVS, Sanders said.“It’s 
not enough for a state to hire the auditor of its choice to sign off and
 say everything is OK,” she said. “There needs to be some ability to 
replicate this audit or to be able to look at the steps taken in this 
audit and make sure that all of the i's are dotted and all the t's are 
crossed.”Celia Llopis-Jepsen reports on consumer health for 
the Kansas News Service. You can follow her on Twitter @celia_LJ or 
email her at celia@kcur.org.

Kansas hid parts of a drug spending audit; experts say state went too far

GREELEY COUNTY—Authorities investigating a fatal Kansas crash that occurred just after 5p.m. Wednesday in Greeley County, Kansas have identified the victims.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2013 Chevy Silverado driven by&nbsp;:&nbsp; Robert Michael Vogt, 61, Tribune, Kansas, was northbound on County Road 14 just north of Road F

The Silverado and a southbound 2015 Mercury Mountaineer driven by Joshua Delene Sailor, 48, Bismark, North Dakota, collided head-on.&nbsp;

Vogt, Sailor and passengers in the Mercury identified as Joshua Jamie James Sailor, Jr., 20, Ramsey, North Dakota, and&nbsp; Jessie Renee Mason, 38, St. Michael, North Dakota, all died in the crash.&nbsp; None of of those involved were wearing seat belts, according to the KHP.

GREELEY COUNTY—Authorities investigating a fatal Kansas crash that occurred just after 5p.m. Wednesday in Greeley County, Kansas have identified the victims.The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2013 Chevy Silverado driven by&nbsp;:&nbsp; Robert Michael Vogt, 61, Tribune, Kansas, was northbound on County Road 14 just north of Road FThe Silverado and a southbound 2015 Mercury Mountaineer driven by Joshua Delene Sailor, 48, Bismark, North Dakota, collided head-on.&nbsp;Vogt, Sailor and passengers in the Mercury identified as Joshua Jamie James Sailor, Jr., 20, Ramsey, North Dakota, and&nbsp; Jessie Renee Mason, 38, St. Michael, North Dakota, all died in the crash.&nbsp; None of of those involved were wearing seat belts, according to the KHP.

KHP IDs 4 who died in Kansas head-on crash

The Federal Trade Commission is returning more than $1.1 million to consumers who paid for an allegedly bogus money-making opportunity that called itself “8 Figure Dream Lifestyle.”<a href="https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/federal.trade.commission/viz/Refunds_15797958402020/RefundsbyCase"></a>

The <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2019/06/ftc-law-enforcement-partners-announce-new-crackdown-illegal">FTC sued 8 Figure Dream Lifestyle LLC</a>
 and nine co-defendants in 2019 as part of a crackdown on robocallers 
across the country. In its complaint, the FTC alleged that the 
defendants used a combination of illegal robocalls, live telephone 
calls, text messaging, internet ads, emails, social media, and live 
events to market and sell consumers fraudulent money-making 
opportunities.

According to the FTC’s lawsuit, the defendants consistently made 
false or unsubstantiated claims in their marketing about how much 
consumers could earn using their programs. In reality, the lawsuit says,
 consumers who bought the programs rarely earned substantial income, 
typically lost their entire investment, and often incurred significant 
loans and credit card debt—tens of thousands of dollars, in some cases.

Under two stipulated court orders, the defendants <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2020/12/scammers-leverage-pandemic-fears-ftc-law-enforcement-partners">agreed to settle the FTC charges last year</a>.
 As a result, they are banned from selling money-making or business 
coaching programs, and nine of the defendants are banned from using 
robocalls for most purposes, including marketing or advertising. In 
addition, three defendants are banned from selling any investment 
opportunities. The defendants also surrendered funds to the FTC, which 
the agency is using to provide these refund payments to consumers.

Payments averaging $460 will be sent to 2,506 consumers, including 
1,498 checks and 1,008 PayPal payments. People who receive checks should
 deposit or cash them within 90 days, as indicated on the check. 
Recipients who have questions about their checks or the refund program 
can call JND Legal Administration at 1-888-691-3551. The FTC never 
requires people to pay money or provide account information to cash a 
refund check.

The FTC’s <a href="https://public.tableau.com/profile/federal.trade.commission#!/vizhome/Refunds_15797958402020/RefundsbyCase">interactive dashboards for refund data(link is external)</a>
 provide a state-by-state breakdown of FTC refunds. In 2020, FTC actions
 led to more than $483 million in refunds to consumers across the 
country, but the United States Supreme Court ruled earlier this year 
that the FTC lacks authority under Section 13(b) to seek monetary relief
 in federal court going forward. The <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2021/04/ftc-asks-congress-pass-legislation-reviving-agencys-authority">Commission has urged Congress</a> to restore the FTC’s ability to get money back for consumers.

The FTC’s <a href="https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/federal.trade.commission/viz/Refunds_15797958402020/RefundsbyCase">interactive dashboards for refund data(link is external)</a>
 provide a state-by-state breakdown of FTC refunds. In 2020, FTC actions
 led to more than $483 million in refunds to consumers across the 
country, but recently the United States Supreme Court ruled the FTC 
lacks authority under Section 13(b) to seek monetary relief in federal 
court going forward. The <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2021/04/ftc-asks-congress-pass-legislation-reviving-agencys-authority">Commission has urged Congress</a> to restore the FTC’s ability to get money back for consumers.

The Federal Trade Commission works to promote competition and to <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/about-ftc/bureaus-offices/bureau-consumer-protection">protect and educate consumers</a>. You can <a href="https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/">learn more about consumer topics</a> and file a <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/complaint">consumer complaint online</a> or by calling 1-877-FTC-HELP (382-4357).&nbsp;For the latest news and resources, <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/social-media">follow the FTC on social media</a>, <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/stay-connected">subscribe to press releases</a> and read our <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/blogs">blogs</a>.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/4/1619632629588.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>FTCThe Federal Trade Commission is returning more than $1.1 million to consumers who paid for an allegedly bogus money-making opportunity that called itself “8 Figure Dream Lifestyle.”<a href="https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/federal.trade.commission/viz/Refunds_15797958402020/RefundsbyCase"></a>The <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2019/06/ftc-law-enforcement-partners-announce-new-crackdown-illegal">FTC sued 8 Figure Dream Lifestyle LLC</a>
 and nine co-defendants in 2019 as part of a crackdown on robocallers 
across the country. In its complaint, the FTC alleged that the 
defendants used a combination of illegal robocalls, live telephone 
calls, text messaging, internet ads, emails, social media, and live 
events to market and sell consumers fraudulent money-making 
opportunities.According to the FTC’s lawsuit, the defendants consistently made 
false or unsubstantiated claims in their marketing about how much 
consumers could earn using their programs. In reality, the lawsuit says,
 consumers who bought the programs rarely earned substantial income, 
typically lost their entire investment, and often incurred significant 
loans and credit card debt—tens of thousands of dollars, in some cases.Under two stipulated court orders, the defendants <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2020/12/scammers-leverage-pandemic-fears-ftc-law-enforcement-partners">agreed to settle the FTC charges last year</a>.
 As a result, they are banned from selling money-making or business 
coaching programs, and nine of the defendants are banned from using 
robocalls for most purposes, including marketing or advertising. In 
addition, three defendants are banned from selling any investment 
opportunities. The defendants also surrendered funds to the FTC, which 
the agency is using to provide these refund payments to consumers.Payments averaging $460 will be sent to 2,506 consumers, including 
1,498 checks and 1,008 PayPal payments. People who receive checks should
 deposit or cash them within 90 days, as indicated on the check. 
Recipients who have questions about their checks or the refund program 
can call JND Legal Administration at 1-888-691-3551. The FTC never 
requires people to pay money or provide account information to cash a 
refund check.The FTC’s <a href="https://public.tableau.com/profile/federal.trade.commission#!/vizhome/Refunds_15797958402020/RefundsbyCase">interactive dashboards for refund data(link is external)</a>
 provide a state-by-state breakdown of FTC refunds. In 2020, FTC actions
 led to more than $483 million in refunds to consumers across the 
country, but the United States Supreme Court ruled earlier this year 
that the FTC lacks authority under Section 13(b) to seek monetary relief
 in federal court going forward. The <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2021/04/ftc-asks-congress-pass-legislation-reviving-agencys-authority">Commission has urged Congress</a> to restore the FTC’s ability to get money back for consumers.The FTC’s <a href="https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/federal.trade.commission/viz/Refunds_15797958402020/RefundsbyCase">interactive dashboards for refund data(link is external)</a>
 provide a state-by-state breakdown of FTC refunds. In 2020, FTC actions
 led to more than $483 million in refunds to consumers across the 
country, but recently the United States Supreme Court ruled the FTC 
lacks authority under Section 13(b) to seek monetary relief in federal 
court going forward. The <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2021/04/ftc-asks-congress-pass-legislation-reviving-agencys-authority">Commission has urged Congress</a> to restore the FTC’s ability to get money back for consumers.The Federal Trade Commission works to promote competition and to <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/about-ftc/bureaus-offices/bureau-consumer-protection">protect and educate consumers</a>. You can <a href="https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/">learn more about consumer topics</a> and file a <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/complaint">consumer complaint online</a> or by calling 1-877-FTC-HELP (382-4357).&nbsp;For the latest news and resources, <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/social-media">follow the FTC on social media</a>, <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/stay-connected">subscribe to press releases</a> and read our <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/blogs">blogs</a>.

FTC: $1.1M returned to alleged victims of '8 Figure Dream Lifestyle' 

NEW YORK (AP) — Former President Donald Trump has asked a federal judge in Florida to force Twitter to restore his account, which the company&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-donald-trump-media-michael-flynn-social-media-f41b11060d7703e3a3136ddb5eefa055">suspended in January</a>&nbsp;following the deadly storming of the U.S. Capitol.

Trump’s attorneys on Friday filed a motion in U.S. District Court in Miami seeking a preliminary injunction against Twitter and its CEO, Jack Dorsey. They argue that Twitter is censoring Trump in violation of his First Amendment rights, according to the motion.

Twitter declined to comment Saturday on Trump’s filing.

The company permanently&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.twitter.com/en_us/topics/company/2020/suspension" target="_blank">banned Trump</a>&nbsp;from its platform days after his followers violently stormed the Capitol building to try to block Congress from certifying Joe Biden’s presidential win. Twitter cited concerns that Trump would incite further violence. Prior to the ban, Trump had roughly 89 million followers on Twitter.

Trump was also suspended from&nbsp;<a href="https://about.fb.com/news/2021/06/facebook-response-to-oversight-board-recommendations-trump/" target="_blank">Facebook</a>&nbsp;and Google’s YouTube over similar concerns that he would provoke violence. Facebook’s ban will last two years, until Jan. 7, 2023, after which the company will review his suspension. YouTube’s ban is indefinite.

In July, Trump&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/lawsuits-business-government-and-politics-c7e26858dcb553f92d98706d12ad510c">filed lawsuits</a>&nbsp;in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida against all three tech companies and their CEOs, claiming that he and other conservatives have been wrongfully censored. The motion for a preliminary injunction was filed as part of Trump’s case against Twitter.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/1/1610197339702.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>NEW YORK (AP) — Former President Donald Trump has asked a federal judge in Florida to force Twitter to restore his account, which the company&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-donald-trump-media-michael-flynn-social-media-f41b11060d7703e3a3136ddb5eefa055">suspended in January</a>&nbsp;following the deadly storming of the U.S. Capitol.Trump’s attorneys on Friday filed a motion in U.S. District Court in Miami seeking a preliminary injunction against Twitter and its CEO, Jack Dorsey. They argue that Twitter is censoring Trump in violation of his First Amendment rights, according to the motion.Twitter declined to comment Saturday on Trump’s filing.The company permanently&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.twitter.com/en_us/topics/company/2020/suspension" target="_blank">banned Trump</a>&nbsp;from its platform days after his followers violently stormed the Capitol building to try to block Congress from certifying Joe Biden’s presidential win. Twitter cited concerns that Trump would incite further violence. Prior to the ban, Trump had roughly 89 million followers on Twitter.Trump was also suspended from&nbsp;<a href="https://about.fb.com/news/2021/06/facebook-response-to-oversight-board-recommendations-trump/" target="_blank">Facebook</a>&nbsp;and Google’s YouTube over similar concerns that he would provoke violence. Facebook’s ban will last two years, until Jan. 7, 2023, after which the company will review his suspension. YouTube’s ban is indefinite.In July, Trump&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/lawsuits-business-government-and-politics-c7e26858dcb553f92d98706d12ad510c">filed lawsuits</a>&nbsp;in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida against all three tech companies and their CEOs, claiming that he and other conservatives have been wrongfully censored. The motion for a preliminary injunction was filed as part of Trump’s case against Twitter.

Trump asks US judge to force Twitter to restore his account

SEDGWICK COUNTY—A Kansas man jailed for a fatal shooting made his first court appearance This week.&nbsp; Teviaun Sebastian, 19, is charged with&nbsp;1st degree murder, attempted 1st degree murder, aggravated battery, and criminal discharge of a firearm, according to the Sedgwick County District Attorney's office.

Just before 6:30p.m. Sept. 24, police responded to a shooting in the 900 block of South Mission in Wichita, according to Officer Charley Davidson.

Upon arrival, officers found a 37-year-old man with gunshot wounds and a 5-year-old boy who was grazed by a bullet on his back shoulder.&nbsp;

EMS transported another 66-year-old victim to a hospital where he died.

EMS transported the 37-year-old to a Wichita hospital for non-life-threatening injuries and the 5-year-old boy was treated on the scene.&nbsp;

An investigation determined 19-year-old Teviaun Sebastian, of Wichita, went to a home on South Mission and asked for the 37-year-old man. 

When the man came to the door, Sebastian reportedly fired multiple rounds at the man and grazed the boy on the front porch as well. Sebastian then ran on foot to the south and shot the victim who was standing outside.&nbsp;

Several shots struck a neighboring house and although witnesses were outside at the time of the shooting, they were not injured.&nbsp;

Officers located Sebastian on foot in the 1000 block of South Woodlawn armed with two handguns. Police say Sebastian put down both guns and was arrested without further incident.&nbsp;

He is scheduled to return to court on October 7. He remains jailed on a bond of $1,000,000, according to the district attorney office.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/9/1632949043363.png" alt="Teviaun Sebastian-photo Sedgwick Co." />
 <figcaption>Teviaun Sebastian-photo Sedgwick Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>SEDGWICK COUNTY—A Kansas man jailed for a fatal shooting made his first court appearance This week.&nbsp; Teviaun Sebastian, 19, is charged with&nbsp;1st degree murder, attempted 1st degree murder, aggravated battery, and criminal discharge of a firearm, according to the Sedgwick County District Attorney's office.Just before 6:30p.m. Sept. 24, police responded to a shooting in the 900 block of South Mission in Wichita, according to Officer Charley Davidson.Upon arrival, officers found a 37-year-old man with gunshot wounds and a 5-year-old boy who was grazed by a bullet on his back shoulder.&nbsp;EMS transported another 66-year-old victim to a hospital where he died.EMS transported the 37-year-old to a Wichita hospital for non-life-threatening injuries and the 5-year-old boy was treated on the scene.&nbsp;An investigation determined 19-year-old Teviaun Sebastian, of Wichita, went to a home on South Mission and asked for the 37-year-old man. When the man came to the door, Sebastian reportedly fired multiple rounds at the man and grazed the boy on the front porch as well. Sebastian then ran on foot to the south and shot the victim who was standing outside.&nbsp;Several shots struck a neighboring house and although witnesses were outside at the time of the shooting, they were not injured.&nbsp;Officers located Sebastian on foot in the 1000 block of South Woodlawn armed with two handguns. Police say Sebastian put down both guns and was arrested without further incident.&nbsp;He is scheduled to return to court on October 7. He remains jailed on a bond of $1,000,000, according to the district attorney office.

Teen held on $1 million bond after charged in Kansas killing 

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Police in Kansas City, Kansas, are asking for the public’s helping in solving the fatal shooting of a woman as she was driving away from church. WDAF-TV reports that police still have no leads in the Sept. 18 death of <a href="https://www.thatcherfuneralhome.com/obituary/Lillian-Jackson">62-year-old Lillian Jackson. </a>

Police say she was the unintended victim of shots fired between people in two vehicles. 

Jackson was driving home from Mt. Zion Baptist Church to her home in Shawnee when a bullet struck her in the temple. Her pastor says she was on the phone with her daughter when she was shot.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/10/1633207338009.png" alt="Lillian Jackson-photo courtesy Thatcher Funeral Home" />
 <figcaption>Lillian Jackson-photo courtesy Thatcher Funeral Home</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Police in Kansas City, Kansas, are asking for the public’s helping in solving the fatal shooting of a woman as she was driving away from church. WDAF-TV reports that police still have no leads in the Sept. 18 death of <a href="https://www.thatcherfuneralhome.com/obituary/Lillian-Jackson">62-year-old Lillian Jackson. </a>Police say she was the unintended victim of shots fired between people in two vehicles. Jackson was driving home from Mt. Zion Baptist Church to her home in Shawnee when a bullet struck her in the temple. Her pastor says she was on the phone with her daughter when she was shot.

Police: Woman killed in shooting as she drove from Kansas church

DONIPHAN COUNTY —A Kansas man died in an accident just after 12:30a.m. Saturday in Doniphan County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2008 Cadillac CTS driven by Keith B. Terry, 62, Highland,&nbsp; was eastbound on 240th just south of Castleton Road and approximately one mile south of Highland.

The driver failed to negotiate the curve. The Cadillac traveled off the roadway onto the right shoulder.&nbsp; When the car came back onto the roadway, the driver overcorrected. The vehicle traveled off the roadway,&nbsp; over guardrail, down the embankment and rolled.

Terry was pronounced dead at the scene and was transported to Chapel Oaks. He was not wearing a seat belt, according to the KHP.

DONIPHAN COUNTY —A Kansas man died in an accident just after 12:30a.m. Saturday in Doniphan County.The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2008 Cadillac CTS driven by Keith B. Terry, 62, Highland,&nbsp; was eastbound on 240th just south of Castleton Road and approximately one mile south of Highland.The driver failed to negotiate the curve. The Cadillac traveled off the roadway onto the right shoulder.&nbsp; When the car came back onto the roadway, the driver overcorrected. The vehicle traveled off the roadway,&nbsp; over guardrail, down the embankment and rolled.Terry was pronounced dead at the scene and was transported to Chapel Oaks. He was not wearing a seat belt, according to the KHP.

Kansas man dies after violent rollover crash

By STEVE VOCKRODT and DANIEL WHEATON <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2021-09-28/midwesterners-are-breathing-smoky-air-from-california-wildfires-new-research-shows">Kansas News Service</a>

Blood-red sunsets in the Midwest are striking but ominous 
illustrations of new data: Parts of the Midwest are being exposed to 
more wildfire smoke from the West Coast and Canada compared to more than
 a decade ago. Experts say the impact of the smoke on health in the 
region is a concern.

Meteorological patterns — weather, air 
currents, fronts — sweep wildfire smoke hundreds of miles across the 
country. Nowhere in the Midwest is this increased exposure to wildfire 
smoke more pronounced than in western Nebraska.

Take the case of 
Scottsbluff, a city of about 15,000 in Nebraska’s panhandle. From 2016 
to 2020, residents of Scottsbluff breathed smoke 52 days a year on 
average. That’s a 45% increase from just a few years earlier, 2009 to 
2013, when California wildfires were less common.

On Sept. 17, 
2020, Scottsbluff exceeded the concentration of the Environmental 
Protection Agency’s (EPA) air quality standards for particulate matter —
 tiny pieces of debris from smoke and combustion that’s suspended in the
 air. That was a result of smoke sweeping into western Nebraska from 
wildfires in the western U.S.

Western and central Kansas also saw meaningful increases in smoke days, according to a data <a href="https://www.kcrw.com/news/shows/kcrw-features/smoke-story" target="_blank">analysis conducted by NPR California Newsroom</a> and the Stanford University Environmental Change and Human Outcomes Lab.

“Although
 we see variability from year to year, the trend appears to be 
increasing impacts of smoke across Kansas over the last several years,” 
said Matt Lara, a spokesman with the Kansas Department of Health and 
Environment in an email.

Lara said the effect from smoke may be mostly in the upper 
atmosphere, causing hazy skies and dramatic sunsets. He added that 
sometimes, such as late July and early August this year, federal air 
standards for daily particulate matter are exceeded.

Health
 and meteorology experts say the growing presence of wildfire smoke in 
parts of Kansas and Nebraska could pose health risks to those who 
breathe it in. That concern is compounded, given the likelihood that 
vast and intense fires from California and surrounding areas will 
persist.

“All the science — and there’s a lot of science on this —
 suggests if we don’t change our game on this, people should expect this
 to get worse,” said Marshall Burke, associate professor in Stanford 
University’s Department of Earth System Science, who helped NPR’s 
California Newsroom assemble its smoke data. “It’s going to be worse in 
the West, but it’s certainly going to get worse in the Midwest as well 
as more people are exposed to smoke from fires in the West.”

The analysis relied on satellite images captured every few hours by 
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) that showed 
plumes of smoke billowing into the atmosphere from western wildfires. 
Those images were then plotted over nearly every zip code across the 
continental United States to show the areas where the wildfire smoke 
reaches.

In California and more broadly along the West Coast, the 
growing frequency and intensity of wildfire pose clear air quality and 
health risks.

The NPR California Newsroom analysis also examined 
data from state health facilities and found there were 30,000 more 
hospitalizations from cardiac and respiratory conditions in 2018, then a
 record year for wildfires, than just two years before.

Shawn 
Jacobs, the warning coordination meteorologist at the North Platte 
National Weather Service office, said that the climate in central and 
western Nebraska may play a role in how smoke is distributed in the 
region. The state’s climate becomes more arid west of Kearney, Nebraska,
 and the lack of moisture allows for greater temperature swings. More 
fluctuation means more movement, preventing the smoke from settling, 
Jacobs said. These trends are being noticed by western Nebraskans.

“So
 much so that there are times when people have called us and asked, ‘Is 
there a fire nearby?’ because we’re seeing this smoke,” Jacobs said.

Colleen
 Reid, an assistant professor of geography at the University of Colorado
 who studies the health impacts of wildfire smoke, said the health 
effects are clear when there are high concentrations of smoke in the 
air.

That risk arises from tiny particles that are so small they 
get deep into the lungs of those who breathe it in and some can pass 
into the bloodstream.

The particulate matter can lead to asthma, cardiovascular problems and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

“In
 terms of the Midwest where you’re getting the smoke transmitted long 
distances, there needs to be more research to understand whether the 
long-range transport changes the way it affects health,” Reid said.

Iowa and Missouri have not experienced the type of increase in smoke days seen in Kansas and Nebraska.

That’s
 not to say that there hasn’t been wildfire smoke over Iowa and 
Missouri. In Iowa, there are on average 57 smoke days a year from 2016 
to 2020, about even from the 2009 to 2013 time period. In Missouri, the 
average number of smoke days a year actually dropped slightly, from 52 
in the initial period to 51 from 2016 to 2020.

Wide swaths of 
northwest Missouri had modest increases in exposure to smoke, but many 
areas of the state — including St. Louis and most of St. Louis County — 
had decreases in smoke days during the two periods analyzed by the NPR 
California Newsroom and Stanford.

Iowa’s western edge, particularly in border cities like Mondamin and 
Blencoe, saw an increase in smoke days between 7% and 12% from the 
2009-2013 time period and 2016-2020.

But further east, in cities like Ames and most of Des Moines, saw decreases in smoke days.

The presence of wildfire smoke does not often exceed EPA standards 
for air quality in the Midwest, and it has never been enough to result 
in a violation of the Clean Air Act's National Ambient Air Quality 
Standards. Even so, EPA officials keep an eye on wildfire smoke 
migrating from the west to the Midwest.

“It is something that is 
on our radar; it’s a concern,” said Lance Avey, an air and radiation 
division meteorologist for the EPA’s Region 7, which covers Kansas, 
Nebraska, Iowa and Missouri.

Doug Norsby, air quality planner with
 the Mid-America Regional Council (MARC), said that while the occurrence
 of poor air quality days in the Kansas City region from wildfire smoke 
are infrequent, the presence of particulate matter from smoke is an 
issue that has captured the organization’s attention.

“I would say it’s a flashing warning light on our mental dashboard,” said Norsby.

In
 early August, MARC warned Kansas City residents to limit outdoor 
activity. That’s after wildfire smoke from Canada swept into the region.

The
 EPA is currently evaluating particulate matter from wildfire smoke and 
other sources to determine whether it should change its air quality 
standards. That review happens every five years.

Experts said two main 
causes have triggered the increase in wildfires along the West Coast, 
Canada and the Rockies. One is the tendency to extinguish small fires 
that, if allowed to burn, would clear acres of leaf litter and dead 
wood. Without those smaller fires, dry leaves and wood ignites and leads
 to the more intense and out-of-control fires that have plagued 
California and other western states in recent years.

“The <a href="https://smokeybear.com/" target="_blank">Smokey The Bear</a>
 campaign has been really successful,” said Marshall Burke, associate 
professor in Stanford University’s Department of Earth System Science. 
“What do we do when a fire starts? We put them out.”

In much of the Southeastern United States, where academic research shows prescribed burns are <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2571-6255/2/2/30/htm?dom=prime&amp;src=syn" target="_blank">far more common</a>, NPR California Newsroom’s investigation shows a substantial decline in wildfire smoke over the past decade.

Burke
 said California should carry out prescribed burns — also known as 
controlled burns — on more than 1 million acres of land in California 
each year.

“We’re not doing anything close to that,” Burke said.

Reduced rainfall and rising temperatures from climate change also make for stronger wildfires.

Those blood-red sunsets are a telltale sign of smoke in the air.

Eric James, a University of Colorado scientist working at NOAA's Global Systems Lab, said
 large fires from the west pump smoke into the upper atmosphere that 
enters the jet stream and can travel across the continental United 
States.

“We see this most years, this long-range transport of 
smoke,” James said “It has gotten more intense in the last few years 
from what we’ve seen.”

The Midwest has the occasional wildfire, as
 well as controlled burns in places like the Flint Hills in Kansas. But 
James said most of the wildfire smoke in the Midwest is attributed to 
western blazes.

“I think the majority of the impact is from these 
large forest fires in the Pacific coastal states, Colorado and the 
intermountain west,” James said.

This article is the result of a collaboration with the NPR 
California Newsroom, which conducted an analysis of federal satellite 
imagery, and Stanford University’s Environmental Change and Human 
Outcomes Lab. Based at St. Louis Public Radio, Steve 
Vockrodt is the Midwest Newsroom’s investigative editor. You can follow 
him on Twitter @stevevockrodt.&nbsp;Based at Nebraska Public 
Media, Daniel Wheaton is the Midwest Newsroom’s data journalist. You can
 follow him on Twitter @theheroofthyme.&nbsp;The Midwest 
Newsroom is an investigative journalism collaboration including KCUR, 
IPR, Nebraska Public Media and St. Louis Public Radio and NPR.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/9/1632930612817.png" alt="Wildfires in California are on the rise. Now a new investigation shows how those blazes are affecting the air in the Midwest. Crysta Henthorne / KCUR 89.3" />
 <figcaption>Wildfires in California are on the rise. Now a new investigation shows how those blazes are affecting the air in the Midwest. Crysta Henthorne / KCUR 89.3</figcaption>
 </figure>By STEVE VOCKRODT and DANIEL WHEATON <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2021-09-28/midwesterners-are-breathing-smoky-air-from-california-wildfires-new-research-shows">Kansas News Service</a>Blood-red sunsets in the Midwest are striking but ominous 
illustrations of new data: Parts of the Midwest are being exposed to 
more wildfire smoke from the West Coast and Canada compared to more than
 a decade ago. Experts say the impact of the smoke on health in the 
region is a concern.Meteorological patterns — weather, air 
currents, fronts — sweep wildfire smoke hundreds of miles across the 
country. Nowhere in the Midwest is this increased exposure to wildfire 
smoke more pronounced than in western Nebraska.Take the case of 
Scottsbluff, a city of about 15,000 in Nebraska’s panhandle. From 2016 
to 2020, residents of Scottsbluff breathed smoke 52 days a year on 
average. That’s a 45% increase from just a few years earlier, 2009 to 
2013, when California wildfires were less common.On Sept. 17, 
2020, Scottsbluff exceeded the concentration of the Environmental 
Protection Agency’s (EPA) air quality standards for particulate matter —
 tiny pieces of debris from smoke and combustion that’s suspended in the
 air. That was a result of smoke sweeping into western Nebraska from 
wildfires in the western U.S.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/9/1632930839522.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Western and central Kansas also saw meaningful increases in smoke days, according to a data <a href="https://www.kcrw.com/news/shows/kcrw-features/smoke-story" target="_blank">analysis conducted by NPR California Newsroom</a> and the Stanford University Environmental Change and Human Outcomes Lab.“Although
 we see variability from year to year, the trend appears to be 
increasing impacts of smoke across Kansas over the last several years,” 
said Matt Lara, a spokesman with the Kansas Department of Health and 
Environment in an email.Lara said the effect from smoke may be mostly in the upper 
atmosphere, causing hazy skies and dramatic sunsets. He added that 
sometimes, such as late July and early August this year, federal air 
standards for daily particulate matter are exceeded. <h2>‘Expect this to get worse’</h2>Health
 and meteorology experts say the growing presence of wildfire smoke in 
parts of Kansas and Nebraska could pose health risks to those who 
breathe it in. That concern is compounded, given the likelihood that 
vast and intense fires from California and surrounding areas will 
persist.“All the science — and there’s a lot of science on this —
 suggests if we don’t change our game on this, people should expect this
 to get worse,” said Marshall Burke, associate professor in Stanford 
University’s Department of Earth System Science, who helped NPR’s 
California Newsroom assemble its smoke data. “It’s going to be worse in 
the West, but it’s certainly going to get worse in the Midwest as well 
as more people are exposed to smoke from fires in the West.”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/9/1632930887221.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>The analysis relied on satellite images captured every few hours by 
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) that showed 
plumes of smoke billowing into the atmosphere from western wildfires. 
Those images were then plotted over nearly every zip code across the 
continental United States to show the areas where the wildfire smoke 
reaches.In California and more broadly along the West Coast, the 
growing frequency and intensity of wildfire pose clear air quality and 
health risks.The NPR California Newsroom analysis also examined 
data from state health facilities and found there were 30,000 more 
hospitalizations from cardiac and respiratory conditions in 2018, then a
 record year for wildfires, than just two years before.Shawn 
Jacobs, the warning coordination meteorologist at the North Platte 
National Weather Service office, said that the climate in central and 
western Nebraska may play a role in how smoke is distributed in the 
region. The state’s climate becomes more arid west of Kearney, Nebraska,
 and the lack of moisture allows for greater temperature swings. More 
fluctuation means more movement, preventing the smoke from settling, 
Jacobs said. These trends are being noticed by western Nebraskans.“So
 much so that there are times when people have called us and asked, ‘Is 
there a fire nearby?’ because we’re seeing this smoke,” Jacobs said.Colleen
 Reid, an assistant professor of geography at the University of Colorado
 who studies the health impacts of wildfire smoke, said the health 
effects are clear when there are high concentrations of smoke in the 
air.That risk arises from tiny particles that are so small they 
get deep into the lungs of those who breathe it in and some can pass 
into the bloodstream.The particulate matter can lead to asthma, cardiovascular problems and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.“In
 terms of the Midwest where you’re getting the smoke transmitted long 
distances, there needs to be more research to understand whether the 
long-range transport changes the way it affects health,” Reid said.<h2>Where skies are clearer</h2>Iowa and Missouri have not experienced the type of increase in smoke days seen in Kansas and Nebraska.That’s
 not to say that there hasn’t been wildfire smoke over Iowa and 
Missouri. In Iowa, there are on average 57 smoke days a year from 2016 
to 2020, about even from the 2009 to 2013 time period. In Missouri, the 
average number of smoke days a year actually dropped slightly, from 52 
in the initial period to 51 from 2016 to 2020.Wide swaths of 
northwest Missouri had modest increases in exposure to smoke, but many 
areas of the state — including St. Louis and most of St. Louis County — 
had decreases in smoke days during the two periods analyzed by the NPR 
California Newsroom and Stanford.Iowa’s western edge, particularly in border cities like Mondamin and 
Blencoe, saw an increase in smoke days between 7% and 12% from the 
2009-2013 time period and 2016-2020.But further east, in cities like Ames and most of Des Moines, saw decreases in smoke days.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/9/1632930937321.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>The presence of wildfire smoke does not often exceed EPA standards 
for air quality in the Midwest, and it has never been enough to result 
in a violation of the Clean Air Act's National Ambient Air Quality 
Standards. Even so, EPA officials keep an eye on wildfire smoke 
migrating from the west to the Midwest.“It is something that is 
on our radar; it’s a concern,” said Lance Avey, an air and radiation 
division meteorologist for the EPA’s Region 7, which covers Kansas, 
Nebraska, Iowa and Missouri.Doug Norsby, air quality planner with
 the Mid-America Regional Council (MARC), said that while the occurrence
 of poor air quality days in the Kansas City region from wildfire smoke 
are infrequent, the presence of particulate matter from smoke is an 
issue that has captured the organization’s attention.“I would say it’s a flashing warning light on our mental dashboard,” said Norsby.In
 early August, MARC warned Kansas City residents to limit outdoor 
activity. That’s after wildfire smoke from Canada swept into the region.The
 EPA is currently evaluating particulate matter from wildfire smoke and 
other sources to determine whether it should change its air quality 
standards. That review happens every five years.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/9/1632930973891.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure><h2>Why wildfires?</h2>Experts said two main 
causes have triggered the increase in wildfires along the West Coast, 
Canada and the Rockies. One is the tendency to extinguish small fires 
that, if allowed to burn, would clear acres of leaf litter and dead 
wood. Without those smaller fires, dry leaves and wood ignites and leads
 to the more intense and out-of-control fires that have plagued 
California and other western states in recent years.“The <a href="https://smokeybear.com/" target="_blank">Smokey The Bear</a>
 campaign has been really successful,” said Marshall Burke, associate 
professor in Stanford University’s Department of Earth System Science. 
“What do we do when a fire starts? We put them out.”In much of the Southeastern United States, where academic research shows prescribed burns are <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2571-6255/2/2/30/htm?dom=prime&amp;src=syn" target="_blank">far more common</a>, NPR California Newsroom’s investigation shows a substantial decline in wildfire smoke over the past decade.Burke
 said California should carry out prescribed burns — also known as 
controlled burns — on more than 1 million acres of land in California 
each year.“We’re not doing anything close to that,” Burke said.Reduced rainfall and rising temperatures from climate change also make for stronger wildfires.Those blood-red sunsets are a telltale sign of smoke in the air.Eric James, a University of Colorado scientist working at NOAA's Global Systems Lab, said
 large fires from the west pump smoke into the upper atmosphere that 
enters the jet stream and can travel across the continental United 
States.“We see this most years, this long-range transport of 
smoke,” James said “It has gotten more intense in the last few years 
from what we’ve seen.”The Midwest has the occasional wildfire, as
 well as controlled burns in places like the Flint Hills in Kansas. But 
James said most of the wildfire smoke in the Midwest is attributed to 
western blazes.“I think the majority of the impact is from these 
large forest fires in the Pacific coastal states, Colorado and the 
intermountain west,” James said.This article is the result of a collaboration with the NPR 
California Newsroom, which conducted an analysis of federal satellite 
imagery, and Stanford University’s Environmental Change and Human 
Outcomes Lab. Based at St. Louis Public Radio, Steve 
Vockrodt is the Midwest Newsroom’s investigative editor. You can follow 
him on Twitter @stevevockrodt.&nbsp;Based at Nebraska Public 
Media, Daniel Wheaton is the Midwest Newsroom’s data journalist. You can
 follow him on Twitter @theheroofthyme.&nbsp;The Midwest 
Newsroom is an investigative journalism collaboration including KCUR, 
IPR, Nebraska Public Media and St. Louis Public Radio and NPR.

Study: Midwesterners breathing smoky air from Calif. wildfires

It’s a milestone that by all accounts didn’t have to happen this soon.

The U.S. death toll from COVID-19 eclipsed 700,000 late Friday — a number greater than the population of Boston. The last 100,000 deaths occurred during a time when vaccines — which overwhelmingly prevent deaths, hospitalizations and serious illness — were available to any American over the age of 12.

The milestone is deeply frustrating to doctors, public health officials and the American public, who watched a pandemic that had been easing earlier in the summer take a dark turn. Tens of millions of Americans have refused to get vaccinated, allowing the highly contagious delta variant to tear through the country and send the death toll from 600,000 to 700,000 in 3 1/2 months.

Florida suffered by far the most death of any state during that period, with the virus killing about 17,000 residents since the middle of June. Texas was second with 13,000 deaths. The two states account for 15% of the country’s population, but more than 30% of the nation’s deaths&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-600k-deaths-us-1ef14a0b998e6ce99281edf6e996dfbe">since the nation crossed the 600,000 threshold.</a>

Dr. David Dowdy, an infectious disease epidemiologist at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health who has analyzed publicly reported state data, said it’s safe to say at least 70,000 of the last 100,000 deaths were in unvaccinated people. And of those vaccinated people who died with breakthrough infections, most caught the virus from an unvaccinated person, he said.

“If we had been more effective in our vaccination, then I think it’s fair to say, we could have prevented 90% of those deaths,” since mid-June, Dowdy said.

“It’s not just a number on a screen,” Dowdy said. “It’s tens of thousands of these tragic stories of people whose families have lost someone who means the world to them.”

The 28-year-old seed hauler from Riley, Kansas, contracted COVID-19 over the summer, spent more than a month in the hospital and died Sept. 14. He left behind a wife and a 7-month-old baby girl.

“This thing has taken a grown man, 28-year-old young man, 6′2″, 300-pound man, and took him down like it was nothing,” said his father, 56-year-old J.D. Baker, of Milford, Kansas. “And so if young people think that they’re still ... protected because of their youth and their strength, it’s not there anymore.”

In the early days of the pandemic, Danny Baker, who was a championship trap shooter in high school and loved hunting and fishing, insisted he would be first in line for a vaccine, recalled his mother.

But just as vaccinations opened up to his age group, the U.S. recommended a pause in use of the Johnson &amp; Johnson vaccine to investigate reports of rare but potentially dangerous blood clots. The news frightened him, as did information swirling online that the vaccine could harm fertility, though medical experts say there’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-coronavirus-pandemic-b081234cad2adcd0a5fb063434effe71">no biological reason the shots would affect fertility</a>.

His wife also was breastfeeding, so they decided to wait. Health experts now say breastfeeding mothers should get the vaccine for their own protection and that it may even provide some protection for their babies through antibodies passed along in breastmilk.

“There’s just a lot of miscommunication about the vaccine,” said his wife, 27-year-old Aubrea Baker, a labor and delivery nurse, adding that her husband’s death inspired a Facebook page and at least 100 people to get vaccinated. “It’s not that we weren’t going to get it. We just hadn’t gotten it yet.”

When deaths surpassed 600,000 in mid-June, vaccinations already were driving down caseloads, restrictions were being lifted and people looked forward to life returning to normal over the summer. Deaths per day in the U.S. had plummeted to an average of around 340, from a high of over 3,000 in mid-January. Soon afterward, health officials declared it a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-health-941fcf43d9731c76c16e7354f5d5e187">pandemic of the unvaccinated.</a>

But as the delta variant swept the country, caseloads and deaths soared — especially among the unvaccinated and younger people, with hospitals around the country reporting dramatic increases in admissions and deaths among people under 65. They also reported breakthrough infections and deaths, though at far lower rates, prompting efforts to provide booster shots to vulnerable Americans.

Now, daily deaths are averaging about 1,900 a day.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-business-health-minnesota-pandemics-a16a5ffc1771fb2e5aedcc3096de7d6e">Cases have started to fall&nbsp;</a>from their highs in September but there is fear that the situation could worsen in the winter months when colder weather drives people inside.

Almost 65% of Americans have had at least one dose of vaccine, while about 56% are fully vaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

But millions are either refusing or still on the fence because of fear, misinformation and political beliefs.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-business-health-idaho-misinformation-ccef8a30babfa4a40c68d701a09e59f3">Health care workers report being threatened&nbsp;</a>by patients and community members who don’t believe COVID-19 is real.

The first known deaths from the virus in the U.S. were in early February 2020. It took four months to reach the first 100,000 deaths. During the most lethal phase of the disaster, in the winter of 2020-21, it took just over a month to go from 300,000 to 400,000 deaths.

The U.S. reached 500,000 deaths in mid-February, when the country was still in the midst of the winter surge and vaccines were only available to a limited number of people. The death toll stood about 570,000 in April when every adult American became eligible for shots.

“I remember when we broke that 100,000-death mark, people just shook their heads and said ‘Oh, my god,’” said Dr. Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association. “Then we said, ‘Are we going to get to 200,000?’ Then we kept looking at 100,000-death marks,” and finally surpassed the estimated 675,000 American deaths from the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/science-health-pandemics-united-states-coronavirus-pandemic-c15d5c6dd7ece88d0832993f11279fbb">1918-19 flu pandemic.</a>

“And we’re not done yet,” Benjamin said.

The deaths during the delta surge have been unrelenting in hotspots in the South. Almost 79 people out of every 100,000 people in Florida have died of COVID since mid-June, the highest rate in the nation.

Amanda Alexander, a COVID-19 ICU nurse at Georgia’s Augusta University Medical Center, said Thursday that she’d had a patient die on each of her previous three shifts.

“I’ve watched a 20-year-old die. I’ve watched 30-year-olds, 40-year-olds,” with no pre-existing conditions that would have put them at greater risk, she said. “Ninety-nine percent of our patients are unvaccinated. And it’s just so frustrating because the facts just don’t lie and we’re seeing it every day.”

It’s a milestone that by all accounts didn’t have to happen this soon.The U.S. death toll from COVID-19 eclipsed 700,000 late Friday — a number greater than the population of Boston. The last 100,000 deaths occurred during a time when vaccines — which overwhelmingly prevent deaths, hospitalizations and serious illness — were available to any American over the age of 12.The milestone is deeply frustrating to doctors, public health officials and the American public, who watched a pandemic that had been easing earlier in the summer take a dark turn. Tens of millions of Americans have refused to get vaccinated, allowing the highly contagious delta variant to tear through the country and send the death toll from 600,000 to 700,000 in 3 1/2 months.Florida suffered by far the most death of any state during that period, with the virus killing about 17,000 residents since the middle of June. Texas was second with 13,000 deaths. The two states account for 15% of the country’s population, but more than 30% of the nation’s deaths&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-600k-deaths-us-1ef14a0b998e6ce99281edf6e996dfbe">since the nation crossed the 600,000 threshold.</a>Dr. David Dowdy, an infectious disease epidemiologist at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health who has analyzed publicly reported state data, said it’s safe to say at least 70,000 of the last 100,000 deaths were in unvaccinated people. And of those vaccinated people who died with breakthrough infections, most caught the virus from an unvaccinated person, he said.“If we had been more effective in our vaccination, then I think it’s fair to say, we could have prevented 90% of those deaths,” since mid-June, Dowdy said.MAP: Cumulative deaths by county“It’s not just a number on a screen,” Dowdy said. “It’s tens of thousands of these tragic stories of people whose families have lost someone who means the world to them.”Danny Baker is one of them.The 28-year-old seed hauler from Riley, Kansas, contracted COVID-19 over the summer, spent more than a month in the hospital and died Sept. 14. He left behind a wife and a 7-month-old baby girl.“This thing has taken a grown man, 28-year-old young man, 6′2″, 300-pound man, and took him down like it was nothing,” said his father, 56-year-old J.D. Baker, of Milford, Kansas. “And so if young people think that they’re still ... protected because of their youth and their strength, it’s not there anymore.”In the early days of the pandemic, Danny Baker, who was a championship trap shooter in high school and loved hunting and fishing, insisted he would be first in line for a vaccine, recalled his mother.But just as vaccinations opened up to his age group, the U.S. recommended a pause in use of the Johnson &amp; Johnson vaccine to investigate reports of rare but potentially dangerous blood clots. The news frightened him, as did information swirling online that the vaccine could harm fertility, though medical experts say there’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-coronavirus-pandemic-b081234cad2adcd0a5fb063434effe71">no biological reason the shots would affect fertility</a>.His wife also was breastfeeding, so they decided to wait. Health experts now say breastfeeding mothers should get the vaccine for their own protection and that it may even provide some protection for their babies through antibodies passed along in breastmilk.“There’s just a lot of miscommunication about the vaccine,” said his wife, 27-year-old Aubrea Baker, a labor and delivery nurse, adding that her husband’s death inspired a Facebook page and at least 100 people to get vaccinated. “It’s not that we weren’t going to get it. We just hadn’t gotten it yet.”When deaths surpassed 600,000 in mid-June, vaccinations already were driving down caseloads, restrictions were being lifted and people looked forward to life returning to normal over the summer. Deaths per day in the U.S. had plummeted to an average of around 340, from a high of over 3,000 in mid-January. Soon afterward, health officials declared it a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-health-941fcf43d9731c76c16e7354f5d5e187">pandemic of the unvaccinated.</a>But as the delta variant swept the country, caseloads and deaths soared — especially among the unvaccinated and younger people, with hospitals around the country reporting dramatic increases in admissions and deaths among people under 65. They also reported breakthrough infections and deaths, though at far lower rates, prompting efforts to provide booster shots to vulnerable Americans.Now, daily deaths are averaging about 1,900 a day.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-business-health-minnesota-pandemics-a16a5ffc1771fb2e5aedcc3096de7d6e">Cases have started to fall&nbsp;</a>from their highs in September but there is fear that the situation could worsen in the winter months when colder weather drives people inside.Almost 65% of Americans have had at least one dose of vaccine, while about 56% are fully vaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.But millions are either refusing or still on the fence because of fear, misinformation and political beliefs.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-business-health-idaho-misinformation-ccef8a30babfa4a40c68d701a09e59f3">Health care workers report being threatened&nbsp;</a>by patients and community members who don’t believe COVID-19 is real.The first known deaths from the virus in the U.S. were in early February 2020. It took four months to reach the first 100,000 deaths. During the most lethal phase of the disaster, in the winter of 2020-21, it took just over a month to go from 300,000 to 400,000 deaths.The U.S. reached 500,000 deaths in mid-February, when the country was still in the midst of the winter surge and vaccines were only available to a limited number of people. The death toll stood about 570,000 in April when every adult American became eligible for shots.“I remember when we broke that 100,000-death mark, people just shook their heads and said ‘Oh, my god,’” said Dr. Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association. “Then we said, ‘Are we going to get to 200,000?’ Then we kept looking at 100,000-death marks,” and finally surpassed the estimated 675,000 American deaths from the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/science-health-pandemics-united-states-coronavirus-pandemic-c15d5c6dd7ece88d0832993f11279fbb">1918-19 flu pandemic.</a>“And we’re not done yet,” Benjamin said.The deaths during the delta surge have been unrelenting in hotspots in the South. Almost 79 people out of every 100,000 people in Florida have died of COVID since mid-June, the highest rate in the nation.Amanda Alexander, a COVID-19 ICU nurse at Georgia’s Augusta University Medical Center, said Thursday that she’d had a patient die on each of her previous three shifts.“I’ve watched a 20-year-old die. I’ve watched 30-year-olds, 40-year-olds,” with no pre-existing conditions that would have put them at greater risk, she said. “Ninety-nine percent of our patients are unvaccinated. And it’s just so frustrating because the facts just don’t lie and we’re seeing it every day.”___

COVID-19 deaths eclipse 700,000 in US as delta variant rages

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden has pledged at the Capitol to “get it done” as Democrats strained to rescue a scaled-back version&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-business-bills-11f832cdc6f9808bdc0cfdcfe399a0a6">of his $3.5 trillion government-overhaul plan</a>&nbsp;and salvage a related public works bill after days of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-business-financial-markets-nancy-pelosi-3b591443b048d2fbfb7a9f9b6f646f7a">frantic negotiations</a>.

Biden huddled with House Democrats on their home ground in a private meeting Friday that was part instructional, part morale booster for the tattered caucus of lawmakers, telling them he wanted both bills passed regardless of the time it takes. He discussed a compromise topline of $1.9 trillion to more than $2 trillion for his bigger vision, according to lawmakers in the room.

But it was clear they are all now in it for the long haul as the White House and its allies in Congress prepared for protracted negotiations.

“It doesn’t matter whether it’s six minutes, six days or six weeks — we’re going to get it done,” Biden declared to reporters as he left his late-afternoon meeting at the Capitol.

It’s a pivotal time for both president and party, as Biden’s approval ratings have dropped and Democrats are restless, eager to deliver on his signature campaign promise of rebuilding the country. His ideas go beyond roads-and-bridges infrastructure to delivering dental, vision and hearing care for seniors, free pre-kindergarten for youngsters, major efforts to tackle climate change and other investments that would touch countless American lives.

Biden’s sudden excursion to Capitol Hill was aimed at giving the legislation a needed boost toward the finish line. Holdout Democratic&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/joe-manchin">Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia</a>&nbsp;had sunk hopes for a swift compromise on a framework when he refused to budge late Thursday on his demands for a smaller overall package, around $1.5 trillion, despite hours of shuttle diplomacy with White House aides.

Without a broader deal, prospects for a Friday vote on the companion public works bill stalled out, progressives refusing to lend their votes until senators reach agreement. Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a late-evening letter to colleagues that “more time is needed” as they shape the broader package.

Instead the House passed a 30-day stopgap measure to keep transportation programs running during the stalemate, essentially setting a new deadline for talks, Oct. 31. The Senate was set to follow with a vote Saturday, to halt the furloughs of more than 3,500 federal transportation workers, a byproduct of the political impasse.

With Republicans solidly opposed to Biden’s sweeping vision, the president and his party are reaching for a giant legislative accomplishment on their own — all to be paid for by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/technology-joe-biden-business-personal-taxes-137e00b41f113f85cc241438c780785b">rewriting federal balance sheets&nbsp;</a>with tax hikes on corporations and the wealthy, those earning more than $400,000 a year.

As action ground to a halt Friday in Congress, Biden appeared to offer no particular new legislative strategy. Keeping her promise to centrists, Pelosi had insisted there would be a “vote today” on the $1 trillion infrastructure bill that is popular but is snared in the debate over Biden’s broader measure.

With Democratic progressives refusing to give their support for that slimmer roads-and-bridges bill unless advances are made on the president’s big bill, Pelosi — with an oh-so-slim House majority — was unwilling to call for a vote.

Biden, by insisting that both bills pass, gave a nod to the progressives’ strategy, while floating the lower numbers meant acknowledging the compromise with centrists to come.

“He was really clear that we need to get both bills done,” said Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., a leader of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.

Attention returned to Manchin and to some extent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, two centrist Democrats who helped steer the $1 trillion public works bill to Senate passage but have concerns that Biden’s overall bill is too big. The two senators have infuriated colleagues with their close-to-the-vest negotiations that could tank Biden’s effort — and their own campaign promises.

After hours of negotiations that stretched near midnight Thursday, Manchin said he could not yet compromise beyond his $1.5 trillion offer.

Biden, a former six-term senator making his first in-person visit to a House Democratic caucus, told the lawmakers Friday that “I know a little bit about the legislative process,” according to a person familiar with the private remarks and granted anonymity to discuss them. Even a smaller bill can make historic investments in such areas as childcare, daycare and clean energy, he said.

Biden also relayed a story that seemed to mark the moment.

The president told them that when his White House office was renovated, it was hung with pictures of Abraham Lincoln and Franklin Roosevelt, presidents who led a “deeply divided country and the biggest economic transformation — and that’s just the kind of moment we’re in,” said Rep. David Cicilline, D-R.I.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/10/1633173132637.png" alt="President Biden’s sudden excursion to Capitol Hill was aimed at giving the legislation a needed boost toward the finish line-photo courtesy House Speaker" />
 <figcaption>President Biden’s sudden excursion to Capitol Hill was aimed at giving the legislation a needed boost toward the finish line-photo courtesy House Speaker</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden has pledged at the Capitol to “get it done” as Democrats strained to rescue a scaled-back version&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-business-bills-11f832cdc6f9808bdc0cfdcfe399a0a6">of his $3.5 trillion government-overhaul plan</a>&nbsp;and salvage a related public works bill after days of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-business-financial-markets-nancy-pelosi-3b591443b048d2fbfb7a9f9b6f646f7a">frantic negotiations</a>.But it’s not getting done right now.Biden huddled with House Democrats on their home ground in a private meeting Friday that was part instructional, part morale booster for the tattered caucus of lawmakers, telling them he wanted both bills passed regardless of the time it takes. He discussed a compromise topline of $1.9 trillion to more than $2 trillion for his bigger vision, according to lawmakers in the room.But it was clear they are all now in it for the long haul as the White House and its allies in Congress prepared for protracted negotiations.“It doesn’t matter whether it’s six minutes, six days or six weeks — we’re going to get it done,” Biden declared to reporters as he left his late-afternoon meeting at the Capitol.It’s a pivotal time for both president and party, as Biden’s approval ratings have dropped and Democrats are restless, eager to deliver on his signature campaign promise of rebuilding the country. His ideas go beyond roads-and-bridges infrastructure to delivering dental, vision and hearing care for seniors, free pre-kindergarten for youngsters, major efforts to tackle climate change and other investments that would touch countless American lives.Biden’s sudden excursion to Capitol Hill was aimed at giving the legislation a needed boost toward the finish line. Holdout Democratic&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/joe-manchin">Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia</a>&nbsp;had sunk hopes for a swift compromise on a framework when he refused to budge late Thursday on his demands for a smaller overall package, around $1.5 trillion, despite hours of shuttle diplomacy with White House aides.Without a broader deal, prospects for a Friday vote on the companion public works bill stalled out, progressives refusing to lend their votes until senators reach agreement. Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a late-evening letter to colleagues that “more time is needed” as they shape the broader package.Instead the House passed a 30-day stopgap measure to keep transportation programs running during the stalemate, essentially setting a new deadline for talks, Oct. 31. The Senate was set to follow with a vote Saturday, to halt the furloughs of more than 3,500 federal transportation workers, a byproduct of the political impasse.With Republicans solidly opposed to Biden’s sweeping vision, the president and his party are reaching for a giant legislative accomplishment on their own — all to be paid for by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/technology-joe-biden-business-personal-taxes-137e00b41f113f85cc241438c780785b">rewriting federal balance sheets&nbsp;</a>with tax hikes on corporations and the wealthy, those earning more than $400,000 a year.As action ground to a halt Friday in Congress, Biden appeared to offer no particular new legislative strategy. Keeping her promise to centrists, Pelosi had insisted there would be a “vote today” on the $1 trillion infrastructure bill that is popular but is snared in the debate over Biden’s broader measure.With Democratic progressives refusing to give their support for that slimmer roads-and-bridges bill unless advances are made on the president’s big bill, Pelosi — with an oh-so-slim House majority — was unwilling to call for a vote.Biden, by insisting that both bills pass, gave a nod to the progressives’ strategy, while floating the lower numbers meant acknowledging the compromise with centrists to come.“He was really clear that we need to get both bills done,” said Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., a leader of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.Attention returned to Manchin and to some extent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, two centrist Democrats who helped steer the $1 trillion public works bill to Senate passage but have concerns that Biden’s overall bill is too big. The two senators have infuriated colleagues with their close-to-the-vest negotiations that could tank Biden’s effort — and their own campaign promises.After hours of negotiations that stretched near midnight Thursday, Manchin said he could not yet compromise beyond his $1.5 trillion offer.Biden, a former six-term senator making his first in-person visit to a House Democratic caucus, told the lawmakers Friday that “I know a little bit about the legislative process,” according to a person familiar with the private remarks and granted anonymity to discuss them. Even a smaller bill can make historic investments in such areas as childcare, daycare and clean energy, he said.Biden also relayed a story that seemed to mark the moment.The president told them that when his White House office was renovated, it was hung with pictures of Abraham Lincoln and Franklin Roosevelt, presidents who led a “deeply divided country and the biggest economic transformation — and that’s just the kind of moment we’re in,” said Rep. David Cicilline, D-R.I.The White House said the president plans to travel next week to other cities to make his case that his historic measures would help the American people.Biden’s bigger proposal is a years-in-the-making collection of Democratic priorities with an ultimate&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-congress-budget-08d7ca3ffc7f438148570b04bc61ded0">price tag he says is zero</a>, because the tax revenue would cover the spending costs — higher rates on businesses earning more than $5 million a year, and individuals earning more than $400,000 a year, or $450,000 for couples.Tensions spiked late Wednesday when Manchin sent out a fiery statement, decrying the broad spending as “fiscal insanity.”It’s not just Manchin’s demands to reduce the overall size, but the conditions he is insisting on that are riling his more liberal colleagues. For example, he wants to ensure the aid goes only to lower-income people, rather than broader swaths of Americans. And he’s resisting some of the bolder efforts to tackle climate change.Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., another progressive leader, shot back: “Trying to kill your party’s agenda is insanity,” she said.The total legislative effort is testing not just Biden, but Pelosi and some of the leading figures in the Democratic Party whose legacies will be shaped by whether they succeed or fail.“We’ve been fighting for transformative legislation as all of you know; these discussions have gone on for month after month after month,” said Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., the chairman of the Budget Committee and a leading progressive lawmaker. “This is not a baseball game. This is the most significant piece of legislation in 70 years.”___