Reports of athletes, lawmakers and others getting the coronavirus despite vaccination may sound alarming but top health experts point to overwhelming evidence that the shots are doing exactly what they are supposed to: dramatically reducing severe illness and death.

The best indicator: U.S. hospitalizations and deaths are nearly all among the unvaccinated, and real-world data from Britain and Israel support that protection against the worst cases remains strong. What scientists call “breakthrough” infections in people who are fully vaccinated make up a small fraction of cases.

“When you hear about a breakthrough infection, that doesn’t necessarily mean the vaccine is failing,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, the U.S. government’s top infectious disease specialist, told a worried Senate panel this week. The shots are holding up, he said, even in the face of the highly contagious delta variant that is burning through unvaccinated communities

Health authorities have warned that even though the COVID-19 vaccines are incredibly effective -- the Pfizer and Moderna ones about 95% against symptomatic infection in studies -- they’re not perfect. No vaccine is.

But it wasn’t until delta variant began spreading that the risk of breakthroughs started getting much public attention. The barrage of headlines is disconcerting for vaccinated people wondering how to balance getting back to normal with more exposure to unvaccinated strangers — especially if they have vulnerable family members, such as children too young to qualify for the shots.

Sports fans are seeing daily reports about infected athletes, from the New York&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/new-york-yankees-science-mlb-baseball-coronavirus-pandemic-60d860682e6c2253f800a39da550c2ca">Yankees</a>&nbsp;to the Summer Olympics. With the Games soon to start, Kara Eaker, a member of the U.S. women’s gymnastic team who said she was vaccinated, tested&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/gymnast-covid-2020-tokyo-olympics-44e21e98694b6c82cb57429bf8af4644">positive</a>&nbsp;in a training camp just outside Tokyo. WNBA player Katie Lou Samuelson pulled out of the Olympics and the 3-on-3 basketball competition after testing&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/sports-2020-tokyo-olympics-basketball-health-coronavirus-pandemic-84a6a4e504c6cf9fa754256495351a29">positive</a>&nbsp;despite being vaccinated.

And politicians in the nation’s capital are being rattled by reports of breakthrough cases, including from a congressman, Florida Republican Vern Buchanan; some Texas Democratic&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-government-and-politics-texas-health-coronavirus-pandemic-d6f7396d3507ed629ecc58c530b0cda7">lawmakers</a>&nbsp;visiting Washington as a political protest; at least two people in the White House and several congressional staff members.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Wednesday that with 2,000 people on the White House campus each day some breakthrough cases are inevitable, but that the administration will release information if doctors determine any staffer had close contact with the president, vice president or their spouses.

One critical question about breakthrough cases is whether the person actually had symptoms, Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, told The Associated Press. “Or is this somebody just being sampled out of an abundance of caution because they had to go into some place like the Congress?” he added.

Indeed, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said for months that vaccinated people don’t even need to get tested after a virus exposure unless they develop symptoms. The agency cites limited evidence that they’re less likely to infect others than unvaccinated people who get an asymptomatic infection.

But different places have different rules. In Britain, Prime Minister Boris Johnson -- who survived COVID-19 early in the pandemic and now is fully vaccinated -- began&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/europe-business-health-government-and-politics-coronavirus-pandemic-cc5f64eb13bf363534cd905cfcef343f">quarantining</a>&nbsp;over the weekend after contact with someone experiencing mild symptoms from a breakthrough infection.

And rigorous testing is required as thousands of athletes, coaches, officials and media -- not all of whom are vaccinated -- descend on Tokyo for the pandemic-delayed Olympics.

While there’s not a specific count, it’s clear breakthrough infections are rare. As of July 12, the CDC had tallied 5,492 vaccinated people who were hospitalized or died and also tested positive for coronavirus — out of more than 159 million fully vaccinated Americans. CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky has said 99.5% of all deaths from COVID-19 are in the unvaccinated.

There isn’t a separate count of mild or asymptomatic breakthroughs, although CDC is tracking those through studies such as one that gives weekly virus tests to more than 5,000 essential workers, she told senators.

Breakthroughs tend to be mild because a vaccinated person’s immune system doesn’t have to start from scratch to fight the coronavirus. Even if the virus sneaks past vaccine-spurred antibodies and starts replicating in your nose or throat, secondary defenses jump into action and usually, “the virus is stopped in its tracks within a few days,” said University of Pennsylvania immunologist Scott Hensley.

There are caveats. The vaccines don’t work as well in people with severely weak immune systems, such as organ transplant recipients.

And the government is watching closely for signs that breakthrough cases, especially serious ones, are rising, because that might signal the need for booster vaccinations.

But meanwhile White House officials want to “normalize” the concept of breakthrough infections for the public, because they’re worried that these rare, inevitable events could play into the misinformation wars that have helped to keep millions from rolling up their sleeves.

“The vaccines were developed to keep us out of those terrible institutions we call hospitals,” said Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt University. “We have to keep coming back to that.”

By LAURAN NEERGAARD, Associated PressReports of athletes, lawmakers and others getting the coronavirus despite vaccination may sound alarming but top health experts point to overwhelming evidence that the shots are doing exactly what they are supposed to: dramatically reducing severe illness and death.The best indicator: U.S. hospitalizations and deaths are nearly all among the unvaccinated, and real-world data from Britain and Israel support that protection against the worst cases remains strong. What scientists call “breakthrough” infections in people who are fully vaccinated make up a small fraction of cases.“When you hear about a breakthrough infection, that doesn’t necessarily mean the vaccine is failing,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, the U.S. government’s top infectious disease specialist, told a worried Senate panel this week. The shots are holding up, he said, even in the face of the highly contagious delta variant that is burning through unvaccinated communitiesHealth authorities have warned that even though the COVID-19 vaccines are incredibly effective -- the Pfizer and Moderna ones about 95% against symptomatic infection in studies -- they’re not perfect. No vaccine is.But it wasn’t until delta variant began spreading that the risk of breakthroughs started getting much public attention. The barrage of headlines is disconcerting for vaccinated people wondering how to balance getting back to normal with more exposure to unvaccinated strangers — especially if they have vulnerable family members, such as children too young to qualify for the shots.Sports fans are seeing daily reports about infected athletes, from the New York&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/new-york-yankees-science-mlb-baseball-coronavirus-pandemic-60d860682e6c2253f800a39da550c2ca">Yankees</a>&nbsp;to the Summer Olympics. With the Games soon to start, Kara Eaker, a member of the U.S. women’s gymnastic team who said she was vaccinated, tested&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/gymnast-covid-2020-tokyo-olympics-44e21e98694b6c82cb57429bf8af4644">positive</a>&nbsp;in a training camp just outside Tokyo. WNBA player Katie Lou Samuelson pulled out of the Olympics and the 3-on-3 basketball competition after testing&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/sports-2020-tokyo-olympics-basketball-health-coronavirus-pandemic-84a6a4e504c6cf9fa754256495351a29">positive</a>&nbsp;despite being vaccinated.And politicians in the nation’s capital are being rattled by reports of breakthrough cases, including from a congressman, Florida Republican Vern Buchanan; some Texas Democratic&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-government-and-politics-texas-health-coronavirus-pandemic-d6f7396d3507ed629ecc58c530b0cda7">lawmakers</a>&nbsp;visiting Washington as a political protest; at least two people in the White House and several congressional staff members.White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Wednesday that with 2,000 people on the White House campus each day some breakthrough cases are inevitable, but that the administration will release information if doctors determine any staffer had close contact with the president, vice president or their spouses.One critical question about breakthrough cases is whether the person actually had symptoms, Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, told The Associated Press. “Or is this somebody just being sampled out of an abundance of caution because they had to go into some place like the Congress?” he added.Indeed, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said for months that vaccinated people don’t even need to get tested after a virus exposure unless they develop symptoms. The agency cites limited evidence that they’re less likely to infect others than unvaccinated people who get an asymptomatic infection.But different places have different rules. In Britain, Prime Minister Boris Johnson -- who survived COVID-19 early in the pandemic and now is fully vaccinated -- began&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/europe-business-health-government-and-politics-coronavirus-pandemic-cc5f64eb13bf363534cd905cfcef343f">quarantining</a>&nbsp;over the weekend after contact with someone experiencing mild symptoms from a breakthrough infection.And rigorous testing is required as thousands of athletes, coaches, officials and media -- not all of whom are vaccinated -- descend on Tokyo for the pandemic-delayed Olympics.While there’s not a specific count, it’s clear breakthrough infections are rare. As of July 12, the CDC had tallied 5,492 vaccinated people who were hospitalized or died and also tested positive for coronavirus — out of more than 159 million fully vaccinated Americans. CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky has said 99.5% of all deaths from COVID-19 are in the unvaccinated.There isn’t a separate count of mild or asymptomatic breakthroughs, although CDC is tracking those through studies such as one that gives weekly virus tests to more than 5,000 essential workers, she told senators.Breakthroughs tend to be mild because a vaccinated person’s immune system doesn’t have to start from scratch to fight the coronavirus. Even if the virus sneaks past vaccine-spurred antibodies and starts replicating in your nose or throat, secondary defenses jump into action and usually, “the virus is stopped in its tracks within a few days,” said University of Pennsylvania immunologist Scott Hensley.There are caveats. The vaccines don’t work as well in people with severely weak immune systems, such as organ transplant recipients.And the government is watching closely for signs that breakthrough cases, especially serious ones, are rising, because that might signal the need for booster vaccinations.But meanwhile White House officials want to “normalize” the concept of breakthrough infections for the public, because they’re worried that these rare, inevitable events could play into the misinformation wars that have helped to keep millions from rolling up their sleeves.“The vaccines were developed to keep us out of those terrible institutions we call hospitals,” said Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt University. “We have to keep coming back to that.”___

'Breakthrough' COVID cases are causing alarm, confusion

TOPEKA— The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Kansas increased by 1539 to a total of 327,267, the state health department reported Friday afternoon.&nbsp;

The state reported 21 new COVID-19 deaths for a total of 5239.

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

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

TOPEKA— The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Kansas increased by 1539 to a total of 327,267, the state health department reported Friday afternoon.&nbsp;The state reported 21 new COVID-19 deaths for a total of 5239.<a href="https://www.kansasvaccine.gov/158/Data">Click here for Data</a> about the COVID-19 vaccine.<a href="https://www.coronavirus.kdheks.gov/160/COVID-19-in-Kansas">Click here&nbsp;</a>for additional virus numbers from the KDHE.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/7/1627064396131.png" alt="Friday July 23, 2021 KDHE image" />
 <figcaption>Friday July 23, 2021 KDHE image</figcaption>
 </figure>

KDHE: Latest coronavirus numbers in Kansas

By LESLIE EIKLEBERRY Salina Post

SALINE COUNTY - A tractor-trailer rig driver got more than he bargained for when he attempted to turn his rig around in Kipp Thursday afternoon.

Joseph Koehn, 38, of Galva, had been to the Great Plains Manufacturing facility in Kipp and was attempting to turn around a tractor-trailer rig owned by Unruh Transport of Galva, when the trailer snagged a guy wire on an Evergy power pole near the elevator, Saline County Sheriff Roger Soldan said this morning. The pole snapped and electrical wires fell on top of the cab of the tractor and across E. Schilling Road.

Koehn, who was not injured, stayed in the cab of the 2021 Peterbilt tractor until Evergy personnel were able to remove the wires, Soldan said.

A spokesperson from Evergy said the outage caused by the accident, which was reported at 2:04 p.m. Thursday, affected 70 customers. Power was restored at 7:36 p.m., she said

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/7/1627059537403.jpeg" alt="Power lines can be seen on the tractor of this rig in Kipp Thursday afternoon. An Evergy spokesperson said 70 customers lost power for several hours because of the incident.Photo Saline County Sheriff's Office" />
 <figcaption>Power lines can be seen on the tractor of this rig in Kipp Thursday afternoon. An Evergy spokesperson said 70 customers lost power for several hours because of the incident.Photo Saline County Sheriff's Office</figcaption>
 </figure>By LESLIE EIKLEBERRY Salina PostSALINE COUNTY - A tractor-trailer rig driver got more than he bargained for when he attempted to turn his rig around in Kipp Thursday afternoon.Joseph Koehn, 38, of Galva, had been to the Great Plains Manufacturing facility in Kipp and was attempting to turn around a tractor-trailer rig owned by Unruh Transport of Galva, when the trailer snagged a guy wire on an Evergy power pole near the elevator, Saline County Sheriff Roger Soldan said this morning. The pole snapped and electrical wires fell on top of the cab of the tractor and across E. Schilling Road.Koehn, who was not injured, stayed in the cab of the 2021 Peterbilt tractor until Evergy personnel were able to remove the wires, Soldan said.A spokesperson from Evergy said the outage caused by the accident, which was reported at 2:04 p.m. Thursday, affected 70 customers. Power was restored at 7:36 p.m., she said

Trailer snags guy wire, snaps Evergy pole; 70 lose power

ATCHISON COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a Kansas teen on multiple charges after he was injured in a police chase and crash Thursday in Atchison.

Just after 11:30p.m. Thursday, an officer attempted to stop a GMC pick up truck driven by&nbsp;Christopher Horton, 15, Atchison at 10th and U.S.59 in Atchison for traffic violations, according to Police Chief Mike Wilson.

 The truck fled from the officer northbound on 10th Street and because of the reckless driving of the fleeing vehicle police terminated the pursuit.

A short time later officers observed the pickup eastbound on Harper Drive at 8th Street. 

Officers deployed Stop Sticks at 3rd and Harper Drive.&nbsp; After running over the Stop Sticks, the vehicle still continued southbound on 2nd Street to Main and then westbound on Main where the pickup struck a building and the driver was ejected.

EMS transported Horton to Amberwell and then he was taken to a KU Medical Center.

When he is released from the hospital, the teen faces requested charges of fleeing and attempting to elude as well as reckless driving. Police believe alcohol to be a factor in the crash, according to Wilson.

Reports on the case are being submitted to the Atchison County Attorney’s Office.

ATCHISON COUNTY, Kan. —A Kansas teen was injured in an accident just after 12a.m. Friday in Atchison County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 1998 GMC pickup driven by Christopher Horton, 15, Atchison, was westbound in the 1100 Block of Main Street fleeing law enforcement. 

The pickup left the roadway to the north, struck a building, and driver was ejected from the vehicle.

EMS transported Horton to KU Medical Center. He was not wearing a seat belt, according to the KHP. Police have not released details on what prompted the chase.

ATCHISON COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a Kansas teen on multiple charges after he was injured in a police chase and crash Thursday in Atchison.Just after 11:30p.m. Thursday, an officer attempted to stop a GMC pick up truck driven by&nbsp;Christopher Horton, 15, Atchison at 10th and U.S.59 in Atchison for traffic violations, according to Police Chief Mike Wilson. The truck fled from the officer northbound on 10th Street and because of the reckless driving of the fleeing vehicle police terminated the pursuit.A short time later officers observed the pickup eastbound on Harper Drive at 8th Street. Officers deployed Stop Sticks at 3rd and Harper Drive.&nbsp; After running over the Stop Sticks, the vehicle still continued southbound on 2nd Street to Main and then westbound on Main where the pickup struck a building and the driver was ejected.EMS transported Horton to Amberwell and then he was taken to a KU Medical Center.When he is released from the hospital, the teen faces requested charges of fleeing and attempting to elude as well as reckless driving. Police believe alcohol to be a factor in the crash, according to Wilson.Reports on the case are being submitted to the Atchison County Attorney’s Office.-------ATCHISON COUNTY, Kan. —A Kansas teen was injured in an accident just after 12a.m. Friday in Atchison County.The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 1998 GMC pickup driven by Christopher Horton, 15, Atchison, was westbound in the 1100 Block of Main Street fleeing law enforcement. The pickup left the roadway to the north, struck a building, and driver was ejected from the vehicle.EMS transported Horton to KU Medical Center. He was not wearing a seat belt, according to the KHP. Police have not released details on what prompted the chase.

Police: Alcohol a factor in Kan. teen crash during police chase

ELLSWORTH COUNTY— Authorities continue their investigation of Thursday's natural gas pipeline explosion and fire in an Ellsworth County pasture, according to North Natural Gas spokesperson Johanna Dewald.

The explosion ignited a large fire along Interstate 70 northeast of Ellsworth. Northern Natural shut off the gas to the pipeline and that helped crews extinguish the fire about 3:30p.m.

Northern Natural is working with local officials to learn what caused the explosion. In addition, the company will do their own investigation and the outcome will take several weeks, according to Dewald.

This is the company's second incident in just over a week. On July 16,&nbsp; Northern Natural crews were doing&nbsp; work at an underground storage facility southeast of Lyons when something happened with a valve that caused a release of natural gas.

The company evacuated residents within a one-mile radius of the area and closed all access to roads until they repaired damage.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/7/1627051243941.png" alt="Damage left from the pipeline explosion in rural Ellsworth County-photo courtesy KWCH" />
 <figcaption>Damage left from the pipeline explosion in rural Ellsworth County-photo courtesy KWCH</figcaption>
 </figure>ELLSWORTH COUNTY— Authorities continue their investigation of Thursday's natural gas pipeline explosion and fire in an Ellsworth County pasture, according to North Natural Gas spokesperson Johanna Dewald.The explosion ignited a large fire along Interstate 70 northeast of Ellsworth. Northern Natural shut off the gas to the pipeline and that helped crews extinguish the fire about 3:30p.m.Northern Natural is working with local officials to learn what caused the explosion. In addition, the company will do their own investigation and the outcome will take several weeks, according to Dewald.This is the company's second incident in just over a week. On July 16,&nbsp; Northern Natural crews were doing&nbsp; work at an underground storage facility southeast of Lyons when something happened with a valve that caused a release of natural gas.The company evacuated residents within a one-mile radius of the area and closed all access to roads until they repaired damage.

Company: Weeks to learn cause of Kan. pipeline explosion

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Police are investigating Kansas City’s latest homicide after being called early Friday to a neighborhood on the south end of the city.

Officers were called around 3 a.m. Friday to an area just blocks north of Noble Park, police said in a news release. Arriving officers found a man with gunshot wounds outside a house. The man was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police did not immediately release the victim’s name and said they had no suspects in the case.

The killing marked the city’s 85 homicide so far this year. That compares with 112 homicides by this time in 2020, according to data kept by the Kansas City Star.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Police are investigating Kansas City’s latest homicide after being called early Friday to a neighborhood on the south end of the city.Officers were called around 3 a.m. Friday to an area just blocks north of Noble Park, police said in a news release. Arriving officers found a man with gunshot wounds outside a house. The man was pronounced dead at the scene.Police did not immediately release the victim’s name and said they had no suspects in the case.The killing marked the city’s 85 homicide so far this year. That compares with 112 homicides by this time in 2020, according to data kept by the Kansas City Star.

Police investigate Kansas City's 85th homicide of 2021

SALINA —The Saline County Health Department is investigating&nbsp; a COVID-19 spreader event and alerting the public.

At least seven individuals who recently tested positive for COVID-19 were in attendance at Outlaws Bar, 1676 State Street in Salina on the evening of July 10, according to information attained by contact tracers at the Saline County Health Department.

Individuals present at Outlaws on July 10 should monitor themselves for symptoms. If they develop symptoms should get tested for COVID-19.

This is an active outbreak investigation. Additional details including the vaccination status of the individuals, variant sequencing, and the like are not currently available.

The Saline County Health Department will release more details as they become available.&nbsp;&nbsp;

SALINA —The Saline County Health Department is investigating&nbsp; a COVID-19 spreader event and alerting the public.At least seven individuals who recently tested positive for COVID-19 were in attendance at Outlaws Bar, 1676 State Street in Salina on the evening of July 10, according to information attained by contact tracers at the Saline County Health Department. Individuals present at Outlaws on July 10 should monitor themselves for symptoms. If they develop symptoms should get tested for COVID-19. This is an active outbreak investigation. Additional details including the vaccination status of the individuals, variant sequencing, and the like are not currently available. The Saline County Health Department will release more details as they become available.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Health Department: COVID spreader event at Salina Bar

By KEN CARPENTER Great Bend Post

On Monday evening, authorities arrested 36-year-old Elias Trejo as a person of interest in the murder of 39-year-old Micah Merryman-Scifres&nbsp;Sunday night at a hotel in Great Bend.&nbsp;Trejo is being held at the Barton County&nbsp;jail&nbsp;on a $500,000 bond.&nbsp;&nbsp;

County prosecutor Levi Morris is in charge of prosecuting&nbsp;the&nbsp;murder&nbsp;case and has contacted&nbsp;the State Attorney General’s Office&nbsp;for help.&nbsp;

"I did make a request for assistance, and the Attorney General’s&nbsp;Office did accept it. Essentially, this case will be tried by one of the&nbsp;attorneys in&nbsp;that office and myself.&nbsp;But essentially, they are going to prosecute the case.”&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Morris explained&nbsp;how&nbsp;Barton County,&nbsp;which has a relatively small population, can benefit from the help&nbsp;the Attorney General can provide&nbsp;in a homicide case.&nbsp;&nbsp;

“If you live in one of the bigger cities, they jot down X number of homicides a year, and the resources to investigate, the resources to&nbsp;prosecute&nbsp;are&nbsp;in&nbsp;the budget,” Morris said. “Fortunately, we don’t have a lot. We have enough, but&nbsp;they don’t happen frequently enough that they are essentially a part of our budget. 

From my point of&nbsp;view, the Attorney General’s Office wants to be a resource for smaller counties. The attorneys there have done it before&nbsp;and they’ve done it a lot and they’re rather good at it.”&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Morris said charges&nbsp;in the case&nbsp;were filed&nbsp;on Wednesday evening&nbsp;within 48 hours of the arrest.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/7/1626800745537.jpeg" alt="Trejo photo Barton Co." />
 <figcaption>Trejo photo Barton Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>By KEN CARPENTER Great Bend PostOn Monday evening, authorities arrested 36-year-old Elias Trejo as a person of interest in the murder of 39-year-old Micah Merryman-Scifres&nbsp;Sunday night at a hotel in Great Bend.&nbsp;Trejo is being held at the Barton County&nbsp;jail&nbsp;on a $500,000 bond.&nbsp;&nbsp;County prosecutor Levi Morris is in charge of prosecuting&nbsp;the&nbsp;murder&nbsp;case and has contacted&nbsp;the State Attorney General’s Office&nbsp;for help.&nbsp;"I did make a request for assistance, and the Attorney General’s&nbsp;Office did accept it. Essentially, this case will be tried by one of the&nbsp;attorneys in&nbsp;that office and myself.&nbsp;But essentially, they are going to prosecute the case.”&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Morris explained&nbsp;how&nbsp;Barton County,&nbsp;which has a relatively small population, can benefit from the help&nbsp;the Attorney General can provide&nbsp;in a homicide case.&nbsp;&nbsp;“If you live in one of the bigger cities, they jot down X number of homicides a year, and the resources to investigate, the resources to&nbsp;prosecute&nbsp;are&nbsp;in&nbsp;the budget,” Morris said. “Fortunately, we don’t have a lot. We have enough, but&nbsp;they don’t happen frequently enough that they are essentially a part of our budget. From my point of&nbsp;view, the Attorney General’s Office wants to be a resource for smaller counties. The attorneys there have done it before&nbsp;and they’ve done it a lot and they’re rather good at it.”&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Morris said charges&nbsp;in the case&nbsp;were filed&nbsp;on Wednesday evening&nbsp;within 48 hours of the arrest.&nbsp;

Kan. attorney general's staff to assist in Barton Co. murder case

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden’s administration is beginning to make $3 billion in economic development grants available to communities — a tenfold increase in the program paid for by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/house-vote-coronavirus-relief-package-33f4902ca9a2aed4e76274af6bb2ea5c">this year’s COVID-19 relief bill</a>.

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said her agency on Thursday will begin accepting applications for the competitive grants, which officials hope will create hundreds of thousands of jobs and help struggling cities and towns make long-term investments to drive development for years to come. Applications for the grants are available at the website for Commerce Department’s Economic Development Administration.

“This is about real help for communities across the country as they rebuild,” Raimondo said Wednesday in an interview with The Associated Press. “It’s about longer-term investments to help communities build themselves back from the bottom up in the ways that work best for them.”

The grants will be targeted at supporting local infrastructure, job training programs and developing new industries. Recipients will be selected on the basis of the anticipated return on investment to taxpayers, which Raimondo said at Thursday’s White House briefing would involve job creation and racial and gender equity goals. She estimated that 300,000 jobs would be created by the grants in the near term.

“Our number one investment priority is equity,” Raimondo said. “In order to qualify to get the money, you’ll have to prove to us that you’ll have an equity lens.”

The administration hopes that the competitive nature of the program will also coax private businesses and philanthropies to focus on rehabilitating their communities by making their own development commitments. There will be $1 billion available for 20 to 30 regions to spend on projects that would rebuild their economies, as well as $750 million in grants targeted for travel, tourism and outdoor recreation.

Fully 10% of the total will be earmarked for&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/environment-and-nature-business-government-and-politics-joe-biden-climate-change-4384bc4e6c09fee9185ef089e65537e3">coal communities</a>, which have struggled for decades amid the nation’s shift away from fossil fuels and are set to bear the economic brunt of the Biden administration’s even more aggressive efforts to move toward clean energy technologies.

“We know that it will enable these communities to recover, diversify their economies and grow,” Raimondo said.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/7/1627036493350.png" alt="According to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, the grants will be targeted at supporting local infrastructure, job training programs and developing new industries." />
 <figcaption>According to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, the grants will be targeted at supporting local infrastructure, job training programs and developing new industries.</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden’s administration is beginning to make $3 billion in economic development grants available to communities — a tenfold increase in the program paid for by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/house-vote-coronavirus-relief-package-33f4902ca9a2aed4e76274af6bb2ea5c">this year’s COVID-19 relief bill</a>.Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said her agency on Thursday will begin accepting applications for the competitive grants, which officials hope will create hundreds of thousands of jobs and help struggling cities and towns make long-term investments to drive development for years to come. Applications for the grants are available at the website for Commerce Department’s Economic Development Administration.“This is about real help for communities across the country as they rebuild,” Raimondo said Wednesday in an interview with The Associated Press. “It’s about longer-term investments to help communities build themselves back from the bottom up in the ways that work best for them.”The grants will be targeted at supporting local infrastructure, job training programs and developing new industries. Recipients will be selected on the basis of the anticipated return on investment to taxpayers, which Raimondo said at Thursday’s White House briefing would involve job creation and racial and gender equity goals. She estimated that 300,000 jobs would be created by the grants in the near term.“Our number one investment priority is equity,” Raimondo said. “In order to qualify to get the money, you’ll have to prove to us that you’ll have an equity lens.”The administration hopes that the competitive nature of the program will also coax private businesses and philanthropies to focus on rehabilitating their communities by making their own development commitments. There will be $1 billion available for 20 to 30 regions to spend on projects that would rebuild their economies, as well as $750 million in grants targeted for travel, tourism and outdoor recreation.Fully 10% of the total will be earmarked for&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/environment-and-nature-business-government-and-politics-joe-biden-climate-change-4384bc4e6c09fee9185ef089e65537e3">coal communities</a>, which have struggled for decades amid the nation’s shift away from fossil fuels and are set to bear the economic brunt of the Biden administration’s even more aggressive efforts to move toward clean energy technologies.“We know that it will enable these communities to recover, diversify their economies and grow,” Raimondo said.

Biden Admin: $3B in community grants from COVID bill available 

CHEROKEE COUNTY—A Kansas man died in an accident just after 4p.m. Thursday in Cherokee County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 1997 motorcycle driven by Theodore G. Lane III, 20, Galena, was southbound on State Line Road and 21st Street in Galena.

The vehicle left the roadway, struck a telephone pole and the driver was ejected from the motorcycle.

Lane was pronounced dead at the scene and was transported to Frontier Forensics by Derfelt Funeral Home. He was wearing a helmet, according to the KHP.

CHEROKEE COUNTY—A Kansas man died in an accident just after 4p.m. Thursday in Cherokee County.The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 1997 motorcycle driven by Theodore G. Lane III, 20, Galena, was southbound on State Line Road and 21st Street in Galena.The vehicle left the roadway, struck a telephone pole and the driver was ejected from the motorcycle.Lane was pronounced dead at the scene and was transported to Frontier Forensics by Derfelt Funeral Home. He was wearing a helmet, according to the KHP.

Kan. man dies after motorcycle strikes a telephone pole

BEIJING (AP) — China cannot accept the World Health Organization’s plan for the second phase of a study into the origins of COVID-19, a senior Chinese health official said Thursday.

Zeng Yixin, the vice minister of the National Health Commission, said he was “rather taken aback” that the plan includes further investigation of the theory that the virus might have leaked from a Chinese lab.

He dismissed the lab leak idea as a rumor that runs counter to common sense and science.

“It is impossible for us to accept such an origin-tracing plan,” he said at a news conference called to address the COVID-19 origins issue.

The search for where the virus came from has become a diplomatic issue that has fueled China’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/government-and-politics-joe-biden-pandemics-health-coronavirus-pandemic-c0bd15235531b31fc506ed578afbf62e">deteriorating relations with the U.S.</a>&nbsp;and many American allies. The U.S. and others say that China has not been transparent about what happened in the early days of the pandemic. China accuses critics of seeking to blame it for the pandemic and politicizing an issue that should be left to scientists.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director-general of WHO,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-world-news-health-science-coronavirus-pandemic-c0c594f9060f676c0ea48c2d1c69daec">acknowledged last week&nbsp;</a>that there had been a “premature push” after the first phase of the study to rule out the theory that the virus might have escaped from a Chinese government lab in Wuhan, the city where the disease was first detected in late 2019.

Most experts don’t think a lab leak is the likely cause. The question is whether the possibility is so remote that it should be dropped, or whether it merits further study.

The first phase was conducted earlier this year by an international team of scientists who came to Wuhan to work with their Chinese counterparts. The team was accused of bowing to demands from the Chinese side after it&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/who-virus-unlikley-leaked-china-lab-7a739e01f0713ebcc031d7ca81c51345">initially indicated</a>&nbsp;that further study wasn’t necessary.

Zeng said the Wuhan lab has no virus that can directly infect humans and noted that the WHO team concluded that a lab leak was highly unlikely. He added that speculation that staff and graduate students at the lab had been infected and might have started the spread of the virus in the city was untrue.

Yuan Zhiming, the director of the biosafety lab at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, said they had not stored or studied the new coronavirus before the outbreak. “I want to emphasize that .... the Wuhan Institute of Virology has never designed, made or leaked the novel coronavirus,” he said.

The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/who-report-animals-source-covid-19-coronavirus-8a839c179c330c56fa46a763b7286a7f">WHO team concluded&nbsp;</a>that the virus most likely jumped from animals to humans, probably from bats to an intermediate animal. The experts visited markets in Wuhan that had sold live animals, and recommended further study of the farms that supplied the market.

“In the next step, I think animal tracing should still be the priority direction. It is the most valuable field for our efforts,” Liang Wannian, who headed the Chinese side, said at Thursday’s news conference.

Tedros said last week that he hoped for better cooperation and access to data from China. “We are asking China to be transparent, open and cooperate, especially on the information, raw data that we asked for in the early days of the pandemic,” he said.

His words were echoed at the same virtual news conference by Germany’s health minister, Jens Spahn, who called on China to intensify cooperation in the search for the origin of the virus.

Zeng said China has always supported “scientific virus tracing” and wants to see the study extended to other countries and regions. “However, we are opposed to politicizing the tracing work,” he said.

China has frequently sought to deflect accusations that the pandemic originated in Wuhan and was allowed to spread by early bureaucratic missteps and an attempted coverup.

Government spokespersons have called for an investigation into whether the virus might have been produced in a U.S. military laboratory, a theory not widely shared in the scientific community.

China has largely ended local transmission of COVID through lockdowns and mask-wearing requirements, and has now administered more than 1.4 billion doses of Chinese vaccines. Just 12 new domestically spread cases were reported Thursday and China’s death toll from the virus has remained unchanged for months at 4,636.

BEIJING (AP) — China cannot accept the World Health Organization’s plan for the second phase of a study into the origins of COVID-19, a senior Chinese health official said Thursday.Zeng Yixin, the vice minister of the National Health Commission, said he was “rather taken aback” that the plan includes further investigation of the theory that the virus might have leaked from a Chinese lab.He dismissed the lab leak idea as a rumor that runs counter to common sense and science.“It is impossible for us to accept such an origin-tracing plan,” he said at a news conference called to address the COVID-19 origins issue.The search for where the virus came from has become a diplomatic issue that has fueled China’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/government-and-politics-joe-biden-pandemics-health-coronavirus-pandemic-c0bd15235531b31fc506ed578afbf62e">deteriorating relations with the U.S.</a>&nbsp;and many American allies. The U.S. and others say that China has not been transparent about what happened in the early days of the pandemic. China accuses critics of seeking to blame it for the pandemic and politicizing an issue that should be left to scientists.Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director-general of WHO,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-world-news-health-science-coronavirus-pandemic-c0c594f9060f676c0ea48c2d1c69daec">acknowledged last week&nbsp;</a>that there had been a “premature push” after the first phase of the study to rule out the theory that the virus might have escaped from a Chinese government lab in Wuhan, the city where the disease was first detected in late 2019.Most experts don’t think a lab leak is the likely cause. The question is whether the possibility is so remote that it should be dropped, or whether it merits further study.The first phase was conducted earlier this year by an international team of scientists who came to Wuhan to work with their Chinese counterparts. The team was accused of bowing to demands from the Chinese side after it&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/who-virus-unlikley-leaked-china-lab-7a739e01f0713ebcc031d7ca81c51345">initially indicated</a>&nbsp;that further study wasn’t necessary.Zeng said the Wuhan lab has no virus that can directly infect humans and noted that the WHO team concluded that a lab leak was highly unlikely. He added that speculation that staff and graduate students at the lab had been infected and might have started the spread of the virus in the city was untrue.Yuan Zhiming, the director of the biosafety lab at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, said they had not stored or studied the new coronavirus before the outbreak. “I want to emphasize that .... the Wuhan Institute of Virology has never designed, made or leaked the novel coronavirus,” he said.The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/who-report-animals-source-covid-19-coronavirus-8a839c179c330c56fa46a763b7286a7f">WHO team concluded&nbsp;</a>that the virus most likely jumped from animals to humans, probably from bats to an intermediate animal. The experts visited markets in Wuhan that had sold live animals, and recommended further study of the farms that supplied the market.“In the next step, I think animal tracing should still be the priority direction. It is the most valuable field for our efforts,” Liang Wannian, who headed the Chinese side, said at Thursday’s news conference.Tedros said last week that he hoped for better cooperation and access to data from China. “We are asking China to be transparent, open and cooperate, especially on the information, raw data that we asked for in the early days of the pandemic,” he said.His words were echoed at the same virtual news conference by Germany’s health minister, Jens Spahn, who called on China to intensify cooperation in the search for the origin of the virus.Zeng said China has always supported “scientific virus tracing” and wants to see the study extended to other countries and regions. “However, we are opposed to politicizing the tracing work,” he said.China has frequently sought to deflect accusations that the pandemic originated in Wuhan and was allowed to spread by early bureaucratic missteps and an attempted coverup.Government spokespersons have called for an investigation into whether the virus might have been produced in a U.S. military laboratory, a theory not widely shared in the scientific community.China has largely ended local transmission of COVID through lockdowns and mask-wearing requirements, and has now administered more than 1.4 billion doses of Chinese vaccines. Just 12 new domestically spread cases were reported Thursday and China’s death toll from the virus has remained unchanged for months at 4,636.

China rejects plan for 2nd phase of COVID-19 origins probe

SALINE COUNTY —A Kansas man avoided injury after a small plane accident just after noon Thursday in Saline County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 1968 Beech Fixed Wing Multi-Engine Aircraft piloted by Joseph P&nbsp;Pinkley, 62, DeSoto,&nbsp; was landing at Salina Regional Airport on a southbound runway.

The right side landing gear failed causing aircraft to strike the ground on the right side. The aircraft then left the runway&nbsp; spun around coming to rest facing north.

Pinkley was not injured. The accident remains under investigation.

SALINE COUNTY —A Kansas man avoided injury after a small plane accident just after noon Thursday in Saline County.The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 1968 Beech Fixed Wing Multi-Engine Aircraft piloted by Joseph P&nbsp;Pinkley, 62, DeSoto,&nbsp; was landing at Salina Regional Airport on a southbound runway.The right side landing gear failed causing aircraft to strike the ground on the right side. The aircraft then left the runway&nbsp; spun around coming to rest facing north.Pinkley was not injured. The accident remains under investigation.

Pilot avoids injury after small plane mishap at Kan. airport 

SHAWNEE COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating two suspect on drug charges.

On Wednesay, members of the Topeka Police Department Narcotics Unit and the Shawnee County Drug Task Force served a search warrant in the 1000 block SW Polk Avenue in Topeka in related to an ongoing investigation. 

While conducting the search warrant, the officers located methamphetamine, marijuana, drug paraphernalia, and firearms.

As a result, Jennifer Christie, 35 years of age, and Wren Graves, 48 years of age, both of Topeka, were transported to the Shawnee County Department of Corrections. 

Christie is being held on requested charges of Possession of methamphetamine with the intent of distribution within 1000 feet of a school, Possession of marijuana with the intent of distribution within 1000 feet of a school, Possession of drug paraphernalia with the intent of distribution within 1000 feet of a school, Taxation; Drugs; No drug tax stamp for marijuana or control substance. Graves remains jailed on requested charges for Possession of methamphetamine and Possession of drug paraphernalia 

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/7/1626955707737.png" alt="Christie photo Shawnee Co." />
 <figcaption>Christie photo Shawnee Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>SHAWNEE COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating two suspect on drug charges.On Wednesay, members of the Topeka Police Department Narcotics Unit and the Shawnee County Drug Task Force served a search warrant in the 1000 block SW Polk Avenue in Topeka in related to an ongoing investigation. While conducting the search warrant, the officers located methamphetamine, marijuana, drug paraphernalia, and firearms.As a result, Jennifer Christie, 35 years of age, and Wren Graves, 48 years of age, both of Topeka, were transported to the Shawnee County Department of Corrections. <figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/7/1626955755273.png" alt="Graves photo Shawnee Co." />
 <figcaption>Graves photo Shawnee Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>Christie is being held on requested charges of Possession of methamphetamine with the intent of distribution within 1000 feet of a school, Possession of marijuana with the intent of distribution within 1000 feet of a school, Possession of drug paraphernalia with the intent of distribution within 1000 feet of a school, Taxation; Drugs; No drug tax stamp for marijuana or control substance. Graves remains jailed on requested charges for Possession of methamphetamine and Possession of drug paraphernalia

Drug task force finds meth at Kan. home near a school

New York (AP) - NFL teams have been warned they could forfeit a game due to a COVID-19 outbreak among non-vaccinated players, and players on both teams wouldn’t get paid that week.

“As we learned last year, we can play a full season if we maintain a firm commitment to adhering to our health and safety protocols and to making needed adjustments in response to changing conditions,” Commissioner Roger Goodell said Thursday in a memo sent to clubs that was obtained by The Associated Press.

Goodell says the league doesn’t anticipate adding a 19th week to accommodate games that can’t be rescheduled within 18-week regular season.

However, forfeits are among the consequences.

“If a game can’t be rescheduled and is canceled due to a COVID outbreak among non-vaccinated players on one of the competing teams, the team with the outbreak will forfeit and will be deemed to have played 16 games for purposes of draft, waiver priority, etc,” Goodell says in the memo.

For purposes of playoff seeding, the forfeiting team will be credited with a loss and the other team will be credited with a win.

The league says more than half its teams have COVID-19 vaccination rates greater than 80% of their players, and more than 75% of players are in the process of being vaccinated.

Nearly all clubs have vaccinated 100% of their Tier 1 and 2 staffs. Teams have appropriate protocols set up for staffers who have not been vaccinated, consistent with the guidance given last April.

— If a vaccinated person tests positive and is asymptomatic, he or she will be isolated and contact tracing will promptly occur. The positive individual will be permitted to return to duty after two negative tests at least 24 hours apart, and will thereafter be tested every two weeks or as directed by the medical staffs. Vaccinated individuals will not be subject to quarantine as a result of close contact with an infected person.

— If an unvaccinated person tests positive, the protocols from 2020 will remain in effect. The person will be isolated for a period of 10 days and will then be permitted to return to duty if asymptomatic. Unvaccinated individuals will continue to be subject to a five-day quarantine period if they have close contact with an infected individual.

— Anyone who had a previous COVID-19 infection will be considered fully vaccinated 14 days after they have had at least one dose of an approved vaccine.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/1/1578051322956.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>New York (AP) - NFL teams have been warned they could forfeit a game due to a COVID-19 outbreak among non-vaccinated players, and players on both teams wouldn’t get paid that week.“As we learned last year, we can play a full season if we maintain a firm commitment to adhering to our health and safety protocols and to making needed adjustments in response to changing conditions,” Commissioner Roger Goodell said Thursday in a memo sent to clubs that was obtained by The Associated Press.Goodell says the league doesn’t anticipate adding a 19th week to accommodate games that can’t be rescheduled within 18-week regular season.However, forfeits are among the consequences.“If a game can’t be rescheduled and is canceled due to a COVID outbreak among non-vaccinated players on one of the competing teams, the team with the outbreak will forfeit and will be deemed to have played 16 games for purposes of draft, waiver priority, etc,” Goodell says in the memo.For purposes of playoff seeding, the forfeiting team will be credited with a loss and the other team will be credited with a win.The league says more than half its teams have COVID-19 vaccination rates greater than 80% of their players, and more than 75% of players are in the process of being vaccinated.Nearly all clubs have vaccinated 100% of their Tier 1 and 2 staffs. Teams have appropriate protocols set up for staffers who have not been vaccinated, consistent with the guidance given last April.Among the other key points in the memo:— If a vaccinated person tests positive and is asymptomatic, he or she will be isolated and contact tracing will promptly occur. The positive individual will be permitted to return to duty after two negative tests at least 24 hours apart, and will thereafter be tested every two weeks or as directed by the medical staffs. Vaccinated individuals will not be subject to quarantine as a result of close contact with an infected person.— If an unvaccinated person tests positive, the protocols from 2020 will remain in effect. The person will be isolated for a period of 10 days and will then be permitted to return to duty if asymptomatic. Unvaccinated individuals will continue to be subject to a five-day quarantine period if they have close contact with an infected individual.— Anyone who had a previous COVID-19 infection will be considered fully vaccinated 14 days after they have had at least one dose of an approved vaccine.

NFL warning teams with strict COVID vaccination rules

ELLSWORTH, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say a natural gas pipeline has exploded in a rural western Kansas cattle pasture, igniting a large plume of fire seen by motorists on nearby Interstate 70 in Ellsworth County. 

No one was injured in Thursday’s explosion about 15 miles northeast of the city of Ellsworth. Emergency manager Keith Haberer says pipeline owner Northern Natural Gas shut off gas to the pipeline to put out the flames.  A grass fire ignited by the explosion also was brought under control.

ELLSWORTH COUNTY—Emergency responders are working a gas line explosion near 23rd Road and Avenue C in Ellsworth County, according to the Ellsworth County Sheriff's office.

They asked the public to avoid the area. Authorities provided few additional details. There are no reports of injury and no threat to the public.

Check the Post for additional information as it becomes available.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/7/1626983763322.png" alt="Approximate location of the gas pipeline explosion -Google map" />
 <figcaption>Approximate location of the gas pipeline explosion -Google map</figcaption>
 </figure>ELLSWORTH, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say a natural gas pipeline has exploded in a rural western Kansas cattle pasture, igniting a large plume of fire seen by motorists on nearby Interstate 70 in Ellsworth County. <div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">View from the KICT radar and satellite at 115 pm CDT, picking up the intense heat of the pipeline explosion in northern Ellsworth county. Satellite temperature of 127 degrees celsius. (correction to time of earlier tweet). <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/kswx?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#kswx</a> <a href="https://t.co/cuOfjyA75h">pic.twitter.com/cuOfjyA75h</a>&mdash; NWS Wichita (@NWSWichita) <a href="https://twitter.com/NWSWichita/status/1418300887982743552?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 22, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>No one was injured in Thursday’s explosion about 15 miles northeast of the city of Ellsworth. Emergency manager Keith Haberer says pipeline owner Northern Natural Gas shut off gas to the pipeline to put out the flames. A grass fire ignited by the explosion also was brought under control.--------ELLSWORTH COUNTY—Emergency responders are working a gas line explosion near 23rd Road and Avenue C in Ellsworth County, according to the Ellsworth County Sheriff's office.They asked the public to avoid the area. Authorities provided few additional details. There are no reports of injury and no threat to the public.Check the Post for additional information as it becomes available.

Update: Gas pipeline explodes in Ellsworth County

HUTCHINSON — A Kansas man was arrested on drug charges after a package containing drugs was intercepted on its way through the mail.

Luis Gutierrez, 20, Hutchinson, is facing potential charges of possession of marijuana with intent to distribute and possession of drug paraphernalia with intent to distribute. His bond has been set at $250,000.

The arrests happened after members of the Reno County Criminal Interdiction Unit along with members of the United States Postal Service Inspectors Division, Hutchinson Police Department's Special Operations Unit, and South Hutchinson Police Department executed two drug related search warrants simultaneously at two neighboring houses in the south part of Hutchinson as part of a controlled delivery. A total of approximately 40 pounds of marijuana was seized from the two residences.&nbsp;

Members of the Criminal Interdiction Unit have seen an increase of drugs entering the Reno County area through different avenues of the mail service.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/7/1626993712818.png" alt="Luis Gutierrez has 3 previous drug convictions, according to the Kansas Dept. of Corrections" />
 <figcaption>Luis Gutierrez has 3 previous drug convictions, according to the Kansas Dept. of Corrections</figcaption>
 </figure>HUTCHINSON — A Kansas man was arrested on drug charges after a package containing drugs was intercepted on its way through the mail.Luis Gutierrez, 20, Hutchinson, is facing potential charges of possession of marijuana with intent to distribute and possession of drug paraphernalia with intent to distribute. His bond has been set at $250,000.The arrests happened after members of the Reno County Criminal Interdiction Unit along with members of the United States Postal Service Inspectors Division, Hutchinson Police Department's Special Operations Unit, and South Hutchinson Police Department executed two drug related search warrants simultaneously at two neighboring houses in the south part of Hutchinson as part of a controlled delivery. A total of approximately 40 pounds of marijuana was seized from the two residences.&nbsp;Members of the Criminal Interdiction Unit have seen an increase of drugs entering the Reno County area through different avenues of the mail service.&nbsp;

Kansas man jailed after marijuana sent in the mail

DETROIT (AP) — U.S. highway safety regulators have opened an investigation into about a half-million semis with brakes that can catch fire.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says in documents posted on its website this week that it has 11 complaints about brakes made by Haldex Commercial Vehicle Systems, including seven fires. No injuries were reported. Haldex has its U.S. headquarters in Kansas City.

The complaints say problems occurred mostly on Kenworth and Peterbilt semis. The agency is investigating brakes from the 2015 through 2020 model years.

NHTSA says the investigation covers certain Haldex Gold Seal brake chambers, which convert compressed air into a mechanical force that stops the trucks. It says a spring can fracture, puncturing a diaphragm and causing air loss. That can make the brakes drag without warning to the driver and eventually cause fires.

The fires caused extensive damage to the trucks and in some cases the cargo, the agency says. NHTSA says it has learned that multiple truck fleets were having issues with the brake chambers. It says Haldex has replaced brake chambers on some vehicles in the fleets.

NHTSA says it will determine how often the problem happens and what models it affects. An investigation can lead to a recall.

Messages were left seeking comment from Haldex.

DETROIT (AP) — U.S. highway safety regulators have opened an investigation into about a half-million semis with brakes that can catch fire.The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says in documents posted on its website this week that it has 11 complaints about brakes made by Haldex Commercial Vehicle Systems, including seven fires. No injuries were reported. Haldex has its U.S. headquarters in Kansas City.The complaints say problems occurred mostly on Kenworth and Peterbilt semis. The agency is investigating brakes from the 2015 through 2020 model years.NHTSA says the investigation covers certain Haldex Gold Seal brake chambers, which convert compressed air into a mechanical force that stops the trucks. It says a spring can fracture, puncturing a diaphragm and causing air loss. That can make the brakes drag without warning to the driver and eventually cause fires.The fires caused extensive damage to the trucks and in some cases the cargo, the agency says. NHTSA says it has learned that multiple truck fleets were having issues with the brake chambers. It says Haldex has replaced brake chambers on some vehicles in the fleets.NHTSA says it will determine how often the problem happens and what models it affects. An investigation can lead to a recall.Messages were left seeking comment from Haldex.

US probes overheating brakes that cause fires in 500K semis

BELLE PLAINE, Kan. (AP) — A judge is considering whether Kansas’ Republican secretary of state ran afoul of the state’s open records law by ordering the removal of an election database function that generates a statewide report showing which provisional ballots were not counted — a decision civil rights advocates say will have far-reaching implications for government transparency.

Shawnee County District Judge Teresa Watson heard arguments last week in a lawsuit filed by voting rights activist Davis Hammet, who is the president of Loud Light, a nonprofit that strives to increase voter turnout. The group helps voters fix any issues that led them to cast provisional ballots so that their votes are counted.

Voters are given provisional ballots if they don’t appear to be registered, if they fail to present the required identification or if they are trying to vote at the wrong polling place.

“We know there are deficiencies... where they aren’t counting votes that they should be counting and I think on some level there may be a resistance from the secretary of state to provide that data because it means we can highlight these deficiencies,” Hammet said in a phone interview Wednesday. “We can prove how there are votes that should have been counted that are not being counted.”

That information can raise public awareness about problems in the elections system, leading to changes in state law. He noted the political outcry over the hundreds of discarded mail-in ballots statewide in the 2018 primary led to legislation a year later that requires election officials to notify voters before their mail-in ballots are thrown out because of problems with signatures.

Hammet won a lawsuit last year against Secretary of State Scott Schwab that forced him to turn over to him the names of voters who cast provisional ballots in the 2018 general election, including whether their votes were counted.

Schwab complied with the court’s order for the 2018 data, then instructed the outside firm that manages the database the end the secretary of state’s access to the statewide provisional ballot detail report. The state’s 105 counties can still run those reports, but only for their own local data.

When Hammet tried to get the same information for the 2020 primary election, the secretary of state’s office informed him that it no longer had the ability to provide the statewide report. Court filings show he was told the technology firm that manages the database could manually pull the data for $522, but could not guarantee he would get it in time for the general election.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas again sued Schwab on behalf of Hammet.

“The Kansas Open Records Act exists for a reason: to provide members of the public some measure of transparency and accountability of government agencies,” Sharon Brett, legal director for the ACLU of Kansas, said in a written statement. “What Secretary Schwab did here was first to deny that right of access, and then when he lost that battle, he took affirmative steps to make access exceedingly difficult. Secretary Schwab’s actions run counter to the very purpose of having an open records law in the first place.”

Schwab’s office declined Wednesday to comment on the ongoing litigation. But in court documents, his attorneys argue that the provisional ballot detail report serves “no functional purpose” to the secretary of state’s office and that no statute requires his office to maintain it or collect information about individual provisional ballots,

They also contend Schwab has “no obligation to maintain this database function in perpetuity” and noted his office offered to contact the database vendor so they could write a script to manually pull the information Hammet sought if he paid for the cost. They also noted Hammet could obtain the data he wanted from county election officials.

“Government is supposed to be by the people, for the people,” Brett said. “A ruling against our client in this case would mean that government in Kansas is for the people, but only when the government feels like it and has nothing it wants to hide.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/4/1586715324051.jpeg" alt="Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab - Credit Stephen Koranda / Kansas News Service" />
 <figcaption>Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab - Credit Stephen Koranda / Kansas News Service</figcaption>
 </figure>BELLE PLAINE, Kan. (AP) — A judge is considering whether Kansas’ Republican secretary of state ran afoul of the state’s open records law by ordering the removal of an election database function that generates a statewide report showing which provisional ballots were not counted — a decision civil rights advocates say will have far-reaching implications for government transparency.Shawnee County District Judge Teresa Watson heard arguments last week in a lawsuit filed by voting rights activist Davis Hammet, who is the president of Loud Light, a nonprofit that strives to increase voter turnout. The group helps voters fix any issues that led them to cast provisional ballots so that their votes are counted.Voters are given provisional ballots if they don’t appear to be registered, if they fail to present the required identification or if they are trying to vote at the wrong polling place.“We know there are deficiencies... where they aren’t counting votes that they should be counting and I think on some level there may be a resistance from the secretary of state to provide that data because it means we can highlight these deficiencies,” Hammet said in a phone interview Wednesday. “We can prove how there are votes that should have been counted that are not being counted.”That information can raise public awareness about problems in the elections system, leading to changes in state law. He noted the political outcry over the hundreds of discarded mail-in ballots statewide in the 2018 primary led to legislation a year later that requires election officials to notify voters before their mail-in ballots are thrown out because of problems with signatures.Hammet won a lawsuit last year against Secretary of State Scott Schwab that forced him to turn over to him the names of voters who cast provisional ballots in the 2018 general election, including whether their votes were counted.Schwab complied with the court’s order for the 2018 data, then instructed the outside firm that manages the database the end the secretary of state’s access to the statewide provisional ballot detail report. The state’s 105 counties can still run those reports, but only for their own local data.When Hammet tried to get the same information for the 2020 primary election, the secretary of state’s office informed him that it no longer had the ability to provide the statewide report. Court filings show he was told the technology firm that manages the database could manually pull the data for $522, but could not guarantee he would get it in time for the general election.The American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas again sued Schwab on behalf of Hammet.“The Kansas Open Records Act exists for a reason: to provide members of the public some measure of transparency and accountability of government agencies,” Sharon Brett, legal director for the ACLU of Kansas, said in a written statement. “What Secretary Schwab did here was first to deny that right of access, and then when he lost that battle, he took affirmative steps to make access exceedingly difficult. Secretary Schwab’s actions run counter to the very purpose of having an open records law in the first place.”Schwab’s office declined Wednesday to comment on the ongoing litigation. But in court documents, his attorneys argue that the provisional ballot detail report serves “no functional purpose” to the secretary of state’s office and that no statute requires his office to maintain it or collect information about individual provisional ballots,They also contend Schwab has “no obligation to maintain this database function in perpetuity” and noted his office offered to contact the database vendor so they could write a script to manually pull the information Hammet sought if he paid for the cost. They also noted Hammet could obtain the data he wanted from county election officials.“Government is supposed to be by the people, for the people,” Brett said. “A ruling against our client in this case would mean that government in Kansas is for the people, but only when the government feels like it and has nothing it wants to hide.”

Lawsuit: Kansas altered software to hide election records

SALINA —Police are looking for the person who shot a teenage boy with a pellet or BB gun Tuesday evening.

Just after 7p.m. Tuesday, a 15-year-old Salina boy told police that he was walking in the 900 block of W. Republic Avenue when a black SUV pulled up and someone inside fired multiple rounds from a pellet or BB gun at the boy, according to Salina Police Captain Paul Forrester.

The boy said he wasn't sure of how many rounds were fired, but three struck him in the right waist area, right leg, and left ankle hard enough to break the skin, Forrester said.

The only description of the vehicle that the boy was able to give was that it was a black SUV with taillights that went all the way to the roof of the vehicle. The boy reported the incident Wednesday night, Forrester said. Police are trying to obtain video surveillance from the area, he said.

By LESLIE EIKLEBERRY Salina PostSALINA —Police are looking for the person who shot a teenage boy with a pellet or BB gun Tuesday evening.Just after 7p.m. Tuesday, a 15-year-old Salina boy told police that he was walking in the 900 block of W. Republic Avenue when a black SUV pulled up and someone inside fired multiple rounds from a pellet or BB gun at the boy, according to Salina Police Captain Paul Forrester.The boy said he wasn't sure of how many rounds were fired, but three struck him in the right waist area, right leg, and left ankle hard enough to break the skin, Forrester said.The only description of the vehicle that the boy was able to give was that it was a black SUV with taillights that went all the way to the roof of the vehicle. The boy reported the incident Wednesday night, Forrester said. Police are trying to obtain video surveillance from the area, he said.

Police: Kan. teen injured in drive-by pellet gun shooting 

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — A man was hit on his bicycle in Hutchinson Tuesday night and a dirt bike rider was arrested.

According to Hutchinson Police Lt. Dustin Loepp, a man was riding his bicycle north in the 2600 block of Hendricks around 6 p.m. Tuesday when a dirt bike rider, later identified as Mykle Mitchell of Hutchinson, swerved and hit the man on the bike.

The bicyclist had a broken wrist and fractured ribs. Mitchell had road rash, but initially ran from the scene and was caught on foot about a block away. Mitchell was booked into jail for No Drivers License; Leave the scene of an accident, resulting in great bodily harm; Registration Violation and No/Expired License Plate.

As of Thursday, Mitchell was still listed as in the Reno County jail with a bond of $2,650

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/7/1626970430610.png" alt="Mitchell photo Reno Co." />
 <figcaption>Mitchell photo Reno Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>By NICK GOSNELLHutch PostHUTCHINSON, Kan. — A man was hit on his bicycle in Hutchinson Tuesday night and a dirt bike rider was arrested.According to Hutchinson Police Lt. Dustin Loepp, a man was riding his bicycle north in the 2600 block of Hendricks around 6 p.m. Tuesday when a dirt bike rider, later identified as Mykle Mitchell of Hutchinson, swerved and hit the man on the bike.The bicyclist had a broken wrist and fractured ribs. Mitchell had road rash, but initially ran from the scene and was caught on foot about a block away. Mitchell was booked into jail for No Drivers License; Leave the scene of an accident, resulting in great bodily harm; Registration Violation and No/Expired License Plate.As of Thursday, Mitchell was still listed as in the Reno County jail with a bond of $2,650

Kansas man jailed after dirtbike, bicycle accident 

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. life expectancy fell by a year and a half in 2020, the largest one-year decline since World War II, public health officials said Wednesday. The decrease for both Black Americans and Hispanic Americans was even worse: three years.

The drop <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/vsrr/vsrr015-508.pdf">spelled out by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention </a>is due mainly to the COVID-19 pandemic, which health officials said is responsible for close to 74% of the overall life expectancy decline. More than 3.3 million Americans died last year, far more than any other year in U.S. history, with COVID-19 accounting for about 11% of those deaths.

Black life expectancy has not fallen so much in one year since the mid-1930s, during the Great Depression. Health officials have not tracked Hispanic life expectancy for nearly as long, but the 2020 decline was the largest recorded one-year drop.

The abrupt fall is “basically catastrophic,” said Mark Hayward, a University of Texas sociology professor who studies changes in U.S. mortality.

Killers other than COVID-19 played a role. Drug overdoses pushed life expectancy down, particularly for whites. And rising homicides were a small but significant reason for the decline for Black Americans, said Elizabeth Arias, the report’s lead author.

Other problems affected Black and Hispanic people, including lack of access to quality health care, more crowded living conditions, and a greater share of the population in lower-paying jobs that required them to keep working when the pandemic was at its worst, experts said.

Life expectancy is an estimate of the average number of years a baby born in a given year might expect to live. It’s an important statistical snapshot of a country’s health that can be influenced both by sustained trends such as obesity as well as more temporary threats like pandemics or war that might not endanger those newborns in their lifetimes.

For decades, U.S. life expectancy was on the upswing. But that trend stalled in 2015, for several years, before hitting 78 years, 10 months in 2019. Last year, the CDC said, it dropped to about 77 years, 4 months.

—Hispanic Americans have longer life expectancy than white or Black Americans, but had the largest decline in 2020. The three-year drop was the largest since the CDC started tracking Hispanic life expectancy 15 years ago.

—Black life expectancy dropped nearly three years, to 71 years, 10 months. It has not been that low since 2000.

—White life expectancy fell by roughly 14 months to about 77 years, 7 months. That was the lowest the lowest life expectancy for that population since 2002.

—COVID-19′s role varied by race and ethnicity. The coronavirus was responsible for 90% of the decline in life expectancy among Hispanics, 68% among white people and 59% among Black Americans.

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. life expectancy fell by a year and a half in 2020, the largest one-year decline since World War II, public health officials said Wednesday. The decrease for both Black Americans and Hispanic Americans was even worse: three years.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">U.S. life expectancy declined by 1.5 years from 2019 to 2020 – the lowest level since 2003, according to new provisional data. Among the causes of death that contributed to the decline, <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/COVID19?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#COVID19</a> contributed 73.8%. See more from <a href="https://twitter.com/NCHStats?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NCHStats</a>.<a href="https://t.co/pmiYVtmY4f">https://t.co/pmiYVtmY4f</a> <a href="https://t.co/BQFayQ174p">pic.twitter.com/BQFayQ174p</a>&mdash; CDC (@CDCgov) <a href="https://twitter.com/CDCgov/status/1417874526310965248?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 21, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>The drop <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/vsrr/vsrr015-508.pdf">spelled out by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention </a>is due mainly to the COVID-19 pandemic, which health officials said is responsible for close to 74% of the overall life expectancy decline. More than 3.3 million Americans died last year, far more than any other year in U.S. history, with COVID-19 accounting for about 11% of those deaths.Black life expectancy has not fallen so much in one year since the mid-1930s, during the Great Depression. Health officials have not tracked Hispanic life expectancy for nearly as long, but the 2020 decline was the largest recorded one-year drop.The abrupt fall is “basically catastrophic,” said Mark Hayward, a University of Texas sociology professor who studies changes in U.S. mortality.Killers other than COVID-19 played a role. Drug overdoses pushed life expectancy down, particularly for whites. And rising homicides were a small but significant reason for the decline for Black Americans, said Elizabeth Arias, the report’s lead author.Other problems affected Black and Hispanic people, including lack of access to quality health care, more crowded living conditions, and a greater share of the population in lower-paying jobs that required them to keep working when the pandemic was at its worst, experts said.Life expectancy is an estimate of the average number of years a baby born in a given year might expect to live. It’s an important statistical snapshot of a country’s health that can be influenced both by sustained trends such as obesity as well as more temporary threats like pandemics or war that might not endanger those newborns in their lifetimes.For decades, U.S. life expectancy was on the upswing. But that trend stalled in 2015, for several years, before hitting 78 years, 10 months in 2019. Last year, the CDC said, it dropped to about 77 years, 4 months.Other findings in the new CDC report:—Hispanic Americans have longer life expectancy than white or Black Americans, but had the largest decline in 2020. The three-year drop was the largest since the CDC started tracking Hispanic life expectancy 15 years ago.—Black life expectancy dropped nearly three years, to 71 years, 10 months. It has not been that low since 2000.—White life expectancy fell by roughly 14 months to about 77 years, 7 months. That was the lowest the lowest life expectancy for that population since 2002.—COVID-19′s role varied by race and ethnicity. The coronavirus was responsible for 90% of the decline in life expectancy among Hispanics, 68% among white people and 59% among Black Americans.—Life expectancy fell nearly two years for men, but about one year for women, widening a longstanding gap. The CDC estimated life expectancy of 74 years, 6 months for boys vs. 80 years, 2 months for girls.More than 80% of last year’s COVID deaths were people 65 and older, CDC data shows. That actually diminished the pandemic’s toll on life expectancy at birth, which is swayed more by deaths of younger adults and children than those among seniors.That’s why last year’s decline was just half as much as the three-year drop between 1942 and 1943, when young soldiers were dying in World War II. And it was just a fraction of the drop between 1917 and 1918, when World War I and a Spanish flu pandemic devastated younger generations.Life expectancy bounced back after those drops, and experts believe it will this time, too. But some said it could take years.Too many people have already died from COVID-19 this year, while variants of the coronavirus are spreading among unvaccinated Americans — many of them younger adults, some experts said.“We can’t. In 2021, we can’t get back to pre-pandemic” life expectancy, said Noreen Goldman, a Princeton University researcher.