WASHINGTON (AP) — Security screeners confiscated guns at airport checkpoints at a record pace last year although the total number of guns dropped along with the steep plunge in travelers because of the pandemic.

The Transportation Security Administration said this week that screeners found 3,257 firearms on passengers or in their carry-on bags in 2020, or about 10 for every million travelers. About 83% of the guns were loaded.

The rate was double that in 2019, when screeners found 5 guns for every million passengers. However, with 500 million more travelers screened in 2019, TSA officers found a record 4,432 guns that year.

Screeners found 220 guns at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, followed by 176 at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, 126 at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, 126 at Phoenix’s Sky Harbor International Airport, and 104 at Denver International Airport.

Federal law prohibits passengers other than certain law enforcement officers from bringing guns or ammunition into the cabin. Federal law allows passengers to put guns in checked bags that go into the cargo hold if they are unloaded and in a locked case.

Airlines don’t have to permit guns even in checked bags. All leading U.S. carriers temporarily banned guns in checked bags on flights to Washington, D.C.-area airports for a week after the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol by supporters of former President Donald Trump. Those bans lapsed last weekend, three days after the inauguration of President Joe Biden.

&nbsp;Visit the TSA website for details on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.tsa.gov/travel/transporting-firearms-and-ammunition">how to properly travel with a firearm</a>.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Security screeners confiscated guns at airport checkpoints at a record pace last year although the total number of guns dropped along with the steep plunge in travelers because of the pandemic.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TSAofficer?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TSAofficer</a> vigilance never stops. Despite reduced passenger volume, travelers continue to be stopped with firearms in their carry-on bag, like this one <a href="https://twitter.com/Reagan_Airport?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@reagan_airport</a>. Remember, firearms are a <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/prohibiteditem?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#prohibiteditem</a>. Learn more: <a href="https://t.co/s6SDKT4iO1">https://t.co/s6SDKT4iO1</a>. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NotOnOurWatch?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NotOnOurWatch</a> <a href="https://t.co/WuhKICseIL">pic.twitter.com/WuhKICseIL</a>&mdash; TSA (@TSA) <a href="https://twitter.com/TSA/status/1346489131942068224?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 5, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>The Transportation Security Administration said this week that screeners found 3,257 firearms on passengers or in their carry-on bags in 2020, or about 10 for every million travelers. About 83% of the guns were loaded.<figure>
 <img src="https://www.tsa.gov/sites/default/files/firearms-pr_0.png" alt="Firearms discovered at TSA checkpoints in 2020 (TSA Photo)​​​ " />
 <figcaption>Firearms discovered at TSA checkpoints in 2020 (TSA Photo)​​​ </figcaption>
 </figure>The rate was double that in 2019, when screeners found 5 guns for every million passengers. However, with 500 million more travelers screened in 2019, TSA officers found a record 4,432 guns that year.Screeners found 220 guns at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, followed by 176 at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, 126 at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, 126 at Phoenix’s Sky Harbor International Airport, and 104 at Denver International Airport.Federal law prohibits passengers other than certain law enforcement officers from bringing guns or ammunition into the cabin. Federal law allows passengers to put guns in checked bags that go into the cargo hold if they are unloaded and in a locked case.Airlines don’t have to permit guns even in checked bags. All leading U.S. carriers temporarily banned guns in checked bags on flights to Washington, D.C.-area airports for a week after the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol by supporters of former President Donald Trump. Those bans lapsed last weekend, three days after the inauguration of President Joe Biden.&nbsp;Visit the TSA website for details on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.tsa.gov/travel/transporting-firearms-and-ammunition">how to properly travel with a firearm</a>.

Report: Rate of guns seized at US airports doubled 

SHAWNEE COUNTY–Law enforcement authorities are investigating a Kansas woman on multiple charges after traffic accident in northeast Kansas.

Just after 3a.m. Friday,&nbsp;deputies were dispatched to the 8000 block of SW Topeka Boulevard on a report of an accident involving one vehicle, according to Deputy Abigail Christian.

Deputies located a maroon 2002 Hyundai Elantra in the west ditch. 

Following an investigation, deputies arrested the driver identified as Elise N. Shea, 30, of Prairie Village, and booked her into the Shawnee County Department of Corrections on requested charges of possession of methamphetamine, possession of drug paraphernalia, driving under the influence, interference with law enforcement, trafficking in contraband in a correctional institution, improper driving on laned roadway and transporting an open container, according to Christian.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/1/1611954311286.png" alt="Shea photo Shawnee County" />
 <figcaption>Shea photo Shawnee County</figcaption>
 </figure>SHAWNEE COUNTY–Law enforcement authorities are investigating a Kansas woman on multiple charges after traffic accident in northeast Kansas.Just after 3a.m. Friday,&nbsp;deputies were dispatched to the 8000 block of SW Topeka Boulevard on a report of an accident involving one vehicle, according to Deputy Abigail Christian.Deputies located a maroon 2002 Hyundai Elantra in the west ditch. Following an investigation, deputies arrested the driver identified as Elise N. Shea, 30, of Prairie Village, and booked her into the Shawnee County Department of Corrections on requested charges of possession of methamphetamine, possession of drug paraphernalia, driving under the influence, interference with law enforcement, trafficking in contraband in a correctional institution, improper driving on laned roadway and transporting an open container, according to Christian.

Deputies arrest Kan. woman after car lands in ditch

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska has agreed to pay millions more to a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/salina-kansas-topeka-1b3b0e420e470e18a7dec207441ad8f7">troubled</a>&nbsp;Kansas-based foster care contractor that was rapidly&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/kansas-omaha-nebraska-4081f394b3b66965af10a148643c188a">running out of money&nbsp;</a>after significantly underbidding the company that used to provide child welfare services in the Omaha area.

The total cost of the new 25-month contract with St. Francis Ministries totals more than $147 million.

St. Francis won the Nebraska job in 2019 by offering to do it for less than 60% of the bid from PromiseShip, the Omaha-based agency that held the previous contract.

At the time, PromiseShip executives and some state lawmakers questioned how St. Francis could provide care in Douglas and Sarpy Counties for that much less money. As it turned out, they couldn’t.

St. Francis said it was in the hole by nearly $35 million over the time it took over services from PromiseShip. State officials say it needs to continue working with St. Francis to ensure continuity of services for the children, families and caseworkers involved in the two counties’ foster care and child welfare system.

The yearly cost for services from St. Francis will now exceed what it would have cost if PromiseShip had been given a renewed contract.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/1/1611946908688.jpeg" alt="Photo by Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector" />
 <figcaption>Photo by Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector</figcaption>
 </figure>OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska has agreed to pay millions more to a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/salina-kansas-topeka-1b3b0e420e470e18a7dec207441ad8f7">troubled</a>&nbsp;Kansas-based foster care contractor that was rapidly&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/kansas-omaha-nebraska-4081f394b3b66965af10a148643c188a">running out of money&nbsp;</a>after significantly underbidding the company that used to provide child welfare services in the Omaha area.The total cost of the new 25-month contract with St. Francis Ministries totals more than $147 million.St. Francis won the Nebraska job in 2019 by offering to do it for less than 60% of the bid from PromiseShip, the Omaha-based agency that held the previous contract.At the time, PromiseShip executives and some state lawmakers questioned how St. Francis could provide care in Douglas and Sarpy Counties for that much less money. As it turned out, they couldn’t.St. Francis said it was in the hole by nearly $35 million over the time it took over services from PromiseShip. State officials say it needs to continue working with St. Francis to ensure continuity of services for the children, families and caseworkers involved in the two counties’ foster care and child welfare system.The yearly cost for services from St. Francis will now exceed what it would have cost if PromiseShip had been given a renewed contract.

Troubled Kansas foster care agency gets big boost from Nebraska

KANSAS CITY (AP) — A 29-year-old Kansas City man has been charged in the stabbing deaths of his aunt and uncle in Raytown, Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker announced Friday.

Desmond C. Richardson, was charged with two counts each of first-degree murder and armed criminal action.

Raytown police were called to the home of Kenneth and Etta McKenzie on Jan. 13. Officers found a naked man inside suffering from several gunshot wounds and covered in blood.

Officers then found the McKenzies' bodies. Blood and multiple knives were found throughout the house. The victims several stab wounds, investigators said.

On Jan. 12, Richardson committed a carjacking in Kansas City, prosecutors said, and drove that car to his aunt's and uncle's home.

Prosecutors requested a bond of $500,000 cash.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/1/1611974206726.png" alt="Richardson-photo Jackson County" />
 <figcaption>Richardson-photo Jackson County</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY (AP) — A 29-year-old Kansas City man has been charged in the stabbing deaths of his aunt and uncle in Raytown, Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker announced Friday.Desmond C. Richardson, was charged with two counts each of first-degree murder and armed criminal action.Raytown police were called to the home of Kenneth and Etta McKenzie on Jan. 13. Officers found a naked man inside suffering from several gunshot wounds and covered in blood.Officers then found the McKenzies' bodies. Blood and multiple knives were found throughout the house. The victims several stab wounds, investigators said.On Jan. 12, Richardson committed a carjacking in Kansas City, prosecutors said, and drove that car to his aunt's and uncle's home.Prosecutors requested a bond of $500,000 cash.

Kansas City man charged in murder of his aunt and uncle

By NOMIN UJIYEDIIN <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2021-01-26/the-emotional-strain-of-the-pandemic-is-taking-its-toll-on-kansas-health-care-workers">Kansas News Service</a>

Sometimes, Becky Angell doesn’t even realize she’s started crying.

She’s
 been a nurse for seven years, and worked in an intensive care unit in 
Olathe for the past two. She loves her job and is used to seeing people 
die.

But the past months of caring for one desperately ill 
COVID-19 patient after another have left her overwhelmed and in tears at
 the dinner table and on the drive home from work.

“It’s this 
helpless, worthless feeling that you’re doing everything you can do and 
this patient is still not thriving,” Angell said. “It’s like endlessly 
treading water with no land in sight.”

As the <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2020-11-18/with-hospitals-reeling-kansas-gov-kelly-makes-second-push-to-tame-coronavirus-with-masks" target="_blank">pandemic’s worst months</a>
 have stretched on in Kansas, many people who treat coronavirus patients
 have continued to feel the strain. The stress of watching so many 
people die, the fear of bringing the virus home to loved ones and the 
frustration of seeing people without masks have left health care 
workers, a group that already struggles with mental health, frazzled and
 emotionally drained.

Angell has trouble sleeping and sometimes 
loses her train of thought during conversations. She’s considering 
asking her doctor for antidepressants. She used to relieve stress by 
hanging out with her friends and coworkers. Lately, they’ve talked on 
social media and through group chats, but it’s not the same.

Usually,
 patients in an ICU get better and move on to other units. But the 
coronavirus has changed that. Now, when Angell sees elderly, 
COVID-positive people enter her unit, she assumes they won’t leave 
alive.

She went through a two-day stretch where only one of
 her patients survived. Meanwhile, she still comes across people who 
don’t wear masks or believe in science, including one couple she treated
 who tested positive for COVID but still didn’t believe in the virus.

“You’re
 kind of like, ‘What am I busting my buns at work for to keep people 
alive, if they’re just going to keep going out and making silly choices 
that put everybody in danger?’” she said. “You just kind of feel like 
you’re screaming into the wind.”

The stress of seeing patients die
 is getting to Dr. Hazen Short, too. He’s a family medicine physician 
who works in Kansas City, Kansas, and moonlights as an emergency room 
doctor in south-central and southeastern Kansas. Usually, small, rural 
ER shifts are calmer than those in larger hospitals. But not during the 
pandemic. Short has seen a few patients die as soon as they come into 
the ER. He’s noticed fewer people in rural parts of Kansas wear masks, 
even though some of those areas have been hit hard by the virus. And 
he’s worried about bringing the virus home to his wife and child.

“The
 hardest thing is the days before the shift. Because I know I have to go
 and I don’t know what I’m going to see,” he said. “I get very anxious 
before my shifts start and then I have trouble unwinding after.”

Short has tried relaxation techniques, and is thinking of going to 
therapy for the first time. His anxiety feels like a buzzing in his 
chest and head that sometimes he can’t get rid of. It can be hard to 
stop thinking about the family members who are told about their loved 
ones’ deaths over the phone. Or thinking: what he could have done 
differently to save someone’s life?

“You think about the patients 
that were really sick, and then, ‘Well, maybe I could have started this 
antibiotic or done this test instead of that,’” he said. “It’s 
impossible to be perfect, and I understand that. But it’s something that
 most physicians go through.”

Physicians have long had <a href="https://psychiatryonline.org/doi/full/10.1176/appi.ajp-rj.2018.131101" target="_blank">worse mental health</a>
 than the general public, said Dr. Srijan Sen, a professor at the 
University of Michigan. High-pressure training, long hours and an 
increasing administrative workload have contributed to higher rates of 
depression, anxiety and suicide among doctors, even before the pandemic.

<a href="https://1329574c-75a7-ab97-2a46-2b33890df3e6.filesusr.com/ugd/3fdf20_20ac720c01474568a62a9724ada86876.pdf" target="_blank">Research suggests</a> the pandemic has taken its toll, Sen said, especially now that early efforts to praise health care workers have faded.

“Fatigue has set in,” Sen said. “We’re seeing probably worse mental health among physicians than we’ve ever seen before.”

Health care workers often worry about a <a href="https://www.bmj.com/content/369/bmj.m1815.long" target="_blank">stigma</a> about getting mental health treatment, both feelings that they internalize and that they feel colleagues might harbor.

“We
 care for others much more than we care for ourselves,” said Dr. Jessi 
Gold, a psychiatrist at Washington University in St. Louis who 
specializes in treating health care workers. “We don’t go get care 
because asking for help for that is a weakness.”

Gold thinks that 
hospitals and other employers could combat that perception by 
automatically signing up all employees for counseling, and letting 
people cancel if they don’t need it. Employers could also offer grants 
to cover the costs of mental health treatment, she said. Custodians, 
social workers, respiratory therapists, administrative staff and others 
are exposed to COVID at work, but aren’t paid as highly as doctors and 
nurses. There’s also not as much research about those groups.

“Health care workers come from a spectrum of financial backgrounds,” she said.

The
 Midwest saw its surge in cases later than some other parts of the 
country, meaning that many health care workers in the region experienced
 the anxiety of anticipation before COVID hit, Gold said.

Now that
 the virus has become so widespread, she’s worried the mental health 
system won’t be able to handle the flood of traumatized people likely to
 seek help after the pandemic is over.

“It’s like, if there was a 
storm and everybody walked outside and surveyed the damage, and then 
after surveying the damage, they took a deep breath and looked at 
themselves — that’s what's going to happen,” she said. “And then we’re 
going to see a huge influx of people.”

Nomin Ujiyediin reports 
on criminal justice and social welfare for the Kansas News Service. You 
can email her at nomin@kcur.org and follow her on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/nominuj" target="_blank">@NominUJ</a>.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/1/1611758677381.png" alt="Months of constant patient deaths and people refusing to believe in the virus have worn out health care workers. Nomin Ujiyediin / Kansas News Service" />
 <figcaption>Months of constant patient deaths and people refusing to believe in the virus have worn out health care workers. Nomin Ujiyediin / Kansas News Service</figcaption>
 </figure>By NOMIN UJIYEDIIN <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2021-01-26/the-emotional-strain-of-the-pandemic-is-taking-its-toll-on-kansas-health-care-workers">Kansas News Service</a>Sometimes, Becky Angell doesn’t even realize she’s started crying.She’s
 been a nurse for seven years, and worked in an intensive care unit in 
Olathe for the past two. She loves her job and is used to seeing people 
die.But the past months of caring for one desperately ill 
COVID-19 patient after another have left her overwhelmed and in tears at
 the dinner table and on the drive home from work.“It’s this 
helpless, worthless feeling that you’re doing everything you can do and 
this patient is still not thriving,” Angell said. “It’s like endlessly 
treading water with no land in sight.”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/1/1611758747763.png" alt="Olathe ICU nurse Becky Angell says she's had trouble sleeping during the pandemic. Courtesy photo" />
 <figcaption>Olathe ICU nurse Becky Angell says she's had trouble sleeping during the pandemic. Courtesy photo</figcaption>
 </figure>As the <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2020-11-18/with-hospitals-reeling-kansas-gov-kelly-makes-second-push-to-tame-coronavirus-with-masks" target="_blank">pandemic’s worst months</a>
 have stretched on in Kansas, many people who treat coronavirus patients
 have continued to feel the strain. The stress of watching so many 
people die, the fear of bringing the virus home to loved ones and the 
frustration of seeing people without masks have left health care 
workers, a group that already struggles with mental health, frazzled and
 emotionally drained.Angell has trouble sleeping and sometimes 
loses her train of thought during conversations. She’s considering 
asking her doctor for antidepressants. She used to relieve stress by 
hanging out with her friends and coworkers. Lately, they’ve talked on 
social media and through group chats, but it’s not the same.Usually,
 patients in an ICU get better and move on to other units. But the 
coronavirus has changed that. Now, when Angell sees elderly, 
COVID-positive people enter her unit, she assumes they won’t leave 
alive.She went through a two-day stretch where only one of
 her patients survived. Meanwhile, she still comes across people who 
don’t wear masks or believe in science, including one couple she treated
 who tested positive for COVID but still didn’t believe in the virus.“You’re
 kind of like, ‘What am I busting my buns at work for to keep people 
alive, if they’re just going to keep going out and making silly choices 
that put everybody in danger?’” she said. “You just kind of feel like 
you’re screaming into the wind.”The stress of seeing patients die
 is getting to Dr. Hazen Short, too. He’s a family medicine physician 
who works in Kansas City, Kansas, and moonlights as an emergency room 
doctor in south-central and southeastern Kansas. Usually, small, rural 
ER shifts are calmer than those in larger hospitals. But not during the 
pandemic. Short has seen a few patients die as soon as they come into 
the ER. He’s noticed fewer people in rural parts of Kansas wear masks, 
even though some of those areas have been hit hard by the virus. And 
he’s worried about bringing the virus home to his wife and child.“The
 hardest thing is the days before the shift. Because I know I have to go
 and I don’t know what I’m going to see,” he said. “I get very anxious 
before my shifts start and then I have trouble unwinding after.”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/1/1611758783538.png" alt="Dr. Hazen Short works in emergency rooms in rural parts of Kansas, where he sees many people not wearing masks. Courtesy photo" />
 <figcaption>Dr. Hazen Short works in emergency rooms in rural parts of Kansas, where he sees many people not wearing masks. Courtesy photo</figcaption>
 </figure>Short has tried relaxation techniques, and is thinking of going to 
therapy for the first time. His anxiety feels like a buzzing in his 
chest and head that sometimes he can’t get rid of. It can be hard to 
stop thinking about the family members who are told about their loved 
ones’ deaths over the phone. Or thinking: what he could have done 
differently to save someone’s life?“You think about the patients 
that were really sick, and then, ‘Well, maybe I could have started this 
antibiotic or done this test instead of that,’” he said. “It’s 
impossible to be perfect, and I understand that. But it’s something that
 most physicians go through.”Physicians have long had <a href="https://psychiatryonline.org/doi/full/10.1176/appi.ajp-rj.2018.131101" target="_blank">worse mental health</a>
 than the general public, said Dr. Srijan Sen, a professor at the 
University of Michigan. High-pressure training, long hours and an 
increasing administrative workload have contributed to higher rates of 
depression, anxiety and suicide among doctors, even before the pandemic.<a href="https://1329574c-75a7-ab97-2a46-2b33890df3e6.filesusr.com/ugd/3fdf20_20ac720c01474568a62a9724ada86876.pdf" target="_blank">Research suggests</a> the pandemic has taken its toll, Sen said, especially now that early efforts to praise health care workers have faded.“Fatigue has set in,” Sen said. “We’re seeing probably worse mental health among physicians than we’ve ever seen before.”Health care workers often worry about a <a href="https://www.bmj.com/content/369/bmj.m1815.long" target="_blank">stigma</a> about getting mental health treatment, both feelings that they internalize and that they feel colleagues might harbor.“We
 care for others much more than we care for ourselves,” said Dr. Jessi 
Gold, a psychiatrist at Washington University in St. Louis who 
specializes in treating health care workers. “We don’t go get care 
because asking for help for that is a weakness.”Gold thinks that 
hospitals and other employers could combat that perception by 
automatically signing up all employees for counseling, and letting 
people cancel if they don’t need it. Employers could also offer grants 
to cover the costs of mental health treatment, she said. Custodians, 
social workers, respiratory therapists, administrative staff and others 
are exposed to COVID at work, but aren’t paid as highly as doctors and 
nurses. There’s also not as much research about those groups.“Health care workers come from a spectrum of financial backgrounds,” she said.The
 Midwest saw its surge in cases later than some other parts of the 
country, meaning that many health care workers in the region experienced
 the anxiety of anticipation before COVID hit, Gold said.Now that
 the virus has become so widespread, she’s worried the mental health 
system won’t be able to handle the flood of traumatized people likely to
 seek help after the pandemic is over.“It’s like, if there was a 
storm and everybody walked outside and surveyed the damage, and then 
after surveying the damage, they took a deep breath and looked at 
themselves — that’s what's going to happen,” she said. “And then we’re 
going to see a huge influx of people.”Nomin Ujiyediin reports 
on criminal justice and social welfare for the Kansas News Service. You 
can email her at nomin@kcur.org and follow her on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/nominuj" target="_blank">@NominUJ</a>.

Pandemic takes an emotional toll on Kansas health care workers

FRANKLIN COUNTY — Two people died in an accident just after midnight Saturday in Franklin County.

The Kansas State Highway Patrol reported a 2011 Jeep Patriot driven by Samuel D. Caldwell, 20, Overland Park, was southbound in the northbound lanes of Interstate 135 two and one half miles east of Ottawa.

The Jeep stuck a northbound 2007 Volkswagen New Beetle driven by Kaitlen E. Riley, 19, Concordia, head-on in the northbound lanes

Caldwell and Riley were pronounced dead at the scene and were transported to Frontier Forensics. Riley was properly restrained at the time of the accident. The KHP did not have seat belt usage information for Caldwell.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/7/1563104261595.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>FRANKLIN COUNTY — Two people died in an accident just after midnight Saturday in Franklin County.The Kansas State Highway Patrol reported a 2011 Jeep Patriot driven by Samuel D. Caldwell, 20, Overland Park, was southbound in the northbound lanes of Interstate 135 two and one half miles east of Ottawa.The Jeep stuck a northbound 2007 Volkswagen New Beetle driven by Kaitlen E. Riley, 19, Concordia, head-on in the northbound lanesCaldwell and Riley were pronounced dead at the scene and were transported to Frontier Forensics. Riley was properly restrained at the time of the accident. The KHP did not have seat belt usage information for Caldwell.

Kan. man, woman dead after wrong-way, head-on crash

By&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kcur.org/people/stephen-koranda">Stephen Koranda</a>,

<a href="https://www.kcur.org/tags/kansas-news-service">Kansas News Service</a>

The Kansas Legislature has approved a constitutional that voters will now decide on. It comes in response to a Kansas Supreme Court ruling and would declare the state constitution does not protect abortion rights.

TOPEKA, Kansas&nbsp;— Lawmakers sent voters a state constitutional amendment Thursday that anti-abortion forces say Kansas needs to keep existing laws intact and that their opponents say could ultimately make abortions unattainable in the state.

<a href="http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2021_22/measures/hcr5003/" target="_blank">The amendment</a>, which supporters call Value Them Both, comes in response to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.npr.org/2019/04/26/717449336/kansas-supreme-court-rules-state-constitution-protects-right-to-abortion" target="_blank">a 2019 court ruling</a>&nbsp;that said there is a right to abortion in the state constitution. The amendment would overturn that by changing the constitution to specifically say that it does not include a right to abortion and that lawmakers can regulate the procedure.

The Senate passage triggers a statewide vote in the August 2022 primary election. Approval by a simple majority of voters would put the language into the Kansas Constitution.

The House approved the amendment last week. The governor does not play a role in amending the Kansas Constitution, so Gov. Laura Kelly will not be able to block it. She has criticized the amendment because she said it will drive economic growth away from Kansas.

Supporters said voters should decide if the Supreme Court ruling was correct.

“Do you believe that the Kansas Supreme Court got it right when they said that our bill of rights, our Kansas Constitution, does provide a constitutional right to an abortion?” Republican Sen. Virgil Peck said during debate. “I, of course, think it does not.”

Debate over rewriting the constitution has either side speculating about what amending the constitution, or leaving it as is, might mean for abortion law in the state.

Supporters of the amendment, like the powerful advocacy group Kansans for Life, say the 2019 court ruling could be used to overturn abortion restrictions already in state law. That includes regulations on abortion providers, a ban on most abortions after 22 weeks and a requirement for parental consent if a minor seeks to end a pregnancy.

“Kansas has over 20 (laws regulating abortion) and we could lose all of them due to this ruling,” Republican Rep. Tory Marie Arnberger said during a debate in the House.

Republican Rep. Susan Humphries said it would even block lawmakers from approving health and safety regulations for abortion providers, such as requirements over sterilizing instruments.

“All those good regulations that protect women and babies,” she said, “when they’re challenged, they will be found to be unconstitutional.”

Abortion rights groups reject the idea that lawmakers somehow don’t have the power to regulate a clinic’s safety standards. Rather, they see danger in adding an anti-abortion amendment to the Kansas Constitution. They argue it would open a path to an all-out abortion ban if the U.S. Supreme Court ever reversed the landmark Roe v. Wade decision that promises a federal right to abortion.

Democratic Rep. Stephanie Clayton points to Tennessee. It adopted a similar amendment and passed&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/cf78053d48a1801fbcb44b9b6aaa1a10" target="_blank">an abortion ban</a>&nbsp;after six weeks of pregnancy, although a court put that on hold.

“They’re saying it’s not a ban,” she said in an interview, “but if you look at other states that’s exactly where we’re headed.”

To Democratic Rep. Lindsay Vaughn, the entire effort is a misguided attempt to strip women of a right through the Legislature and a statewide ballot vote.

“Human rights should not be put to a popular vote,” Vaughn said

The constitutional amendment would not directly ban abortion. The concern from people like Clayton is that it would eliminate state protections for abortion rights. That means if federal protections for abortion rights are overturned, the state would be free to consider stricter requirements than currently allowed.

Last year, the amendment&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kcur.org/government/2020-02-07/four-kansas-republicans-stopped-their-partys-anti-abortion-bill-but-gop-says-its-not-over" target="_blank">narrowly failed</a>&nbsp;to get the two-thirds vote needed in the House. Advocates made a new push this year after conservative gains in the last election.

There’s also been a fight over when the public vote on the amendment should happen.

Democrats contend putting it on the primary ballot is a strategy to make approval more likely — by asking a smaller group of voters to decide. Primaries traditionally draw far fewer voters, frequently the most devoted party members.

House Democratic Leader Tom Sawyer said any vote on the amendment should come in the November election when turnout will be higher.

“Putting this constitutional amendment on the August ballot will absolutely deny the rights of all Kansans to voice their opinion,” Sawyer said during a debate in the House. “This is purely a political maneuver.”

Arnberger said all Kansans have the ability to vote in the primary, so they’ll have a chance to weigh in on the amendment.

“This could, and most probably will, increase voter turnout,” she said. “Isn’t that something that we want?”

Stephen Koranda is the Statehouse reporter for Kansas Public Radio and the Kansas News Service. You can follow him on Twitter<a href="https://twitter.com/kprkoranda" target="_blank">&nbsp;@kprkoranda</a>.

The Kansas News Service is a collaboration of KCUR, Kansas Public Radio, KMUW and High Plains Public Radio focused on health, the social determinants of health and their connection to public policy. Kansas News Service stories and photos may be republished by news media at no cost with proper attribution and a link to&nbsp;<a href="https://ksnewsservice.org/" target="_blank">ksnewsservice.org</a>.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/1/1611918125368.png" alt="Pro Life rally&nbsp; at the Kansas Statehouse in 2020 photo Kansas News Service" />
 <figcaption>Pro Life rally&nbsp; at the Kansas Statehouse in 2020 photo Kansas News Service</figcaption>
 </figure>By&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kcur.org/people/stephen-koranda">Stephen Koranda</a>, <a href="https://www.kcur.org/tags/kansas-news-service">Kansas News Service</a><h2>The Kansas Legislature has approved a constitutional that voters will now decide on. It comes in response to a Kansas Supreme Court ruling and would declare the state constitution does not protect abortion rights.</h2>TOPEKA, Kansas&nbsp;— Lawmakers sent voters a state constitutional amendment Thursday that anti-abortion forces say Kansas needs to keep existing laws intact and that their opponents say could ultimately make abortions unattainable in the state.<a href="http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2021_22/measures/hcr5003/" target="_blank">The amendment</a>, which supporters call Value Them Both, comes in response to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.npr.org/2019/04/26/717449336/kansas-supreme-court-rules-state-constitution-protects-right-to-abortion" target="_blank">a 2019 court ruling</a>&nbsp;that said there is a right to abortion in the state constitution. The amendment would overturn that by changing the constitution to specifically say that it does not include a right to abortion and that lawmakers can regulate the procedure.The Senate passage triggers a statewide vote in the August 2022 primary election. Approval by a simple majority of voters would put the language into the Kansas Constitution.The House approved the amendment last week. The governor does not play a role in amending the Kansas Constitution, so Gov. Laura Kelly will not be able to block it. She has criticized the amendment because she said it will drive economic growth away from Kansas.Supporters said voters should decide if the Supreme Court ruling was correct.“Do you believe that the Kansas Supreme Court got it right when they said that our bill of rights, our Kansas Constitution, does provide a constitutional right to an abortion?” Republican Sen. Virgil Peck said during debate. “I, of course, think it does not.”Debate over rewriting the constitution has either side speculating about what amending the constitution, or leaving it as is, might mean for abortion law in the state.Supporters of the amendment, like the powerful advocacy group Kansans for Life, say the 2019 court ruling could be used to overturn abortion restrictions already in state law. That includes regulations on abortion providers, a ban on most abortions after 22 weeks and a requirement for parental consent if a minor seeks to end a pregnancy.“Kansas has over 20 (laws regulating abortion) and we could lose all of them due to this ruling,” Republican Rep. Tory Marie Arnberger said during a debate in the House.Republican Rep. Susan Humphries said it would even block lawmakers from approving health and safety regulations for abortion providers, such as requirements over sterilizing instruments.“All those good regulations that protect women and babies,” she said, “when they’re challenged, they will be found to be unconstitutional.”Abortion rights groups reject the idea that lawmakers somehow don’t have the power to regulate a clinic’s safety standards. Rather, they see danger in adding an anti-abortion amendment to the Kansas Constitution. They argue it would open a path to an all-out abortion ban if the U.S. Supreme Court ever reversed the landmark Roe v. Wade decision that promises a federal right to abortion.Democratic Rep. Stephanie Clayton points to Tennessee. It adopted a similar amendment and passed&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/cf78053d48a1801fbcb44b9b6aaa1a10" target="_blank">an abortion ban</a>&nbsp;after six weeks of pregnancy, although a court put that on hold.“They’re saying it’s not a ban,” she said in an interview, “but if you look at other states that’s exactly where we’re headed.”To Democratic Rep. Lindsay Vaughn, the entire effort is a misguided attempt to strip women of a right through the Legislature and a statewide ballot vote.“Human rights should not be put to a popular vote,” Vaughn saidThe constitutional amendment would not directly ban abortion. The concern from people like Clayton is that it would eliminate state protections for abortion rights. That means if federal protections for abortion rights are overturned, the state would be free to consider stricter requirements than currently allowed.Last year, the amendment&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kcur.org/government/2020-02-07/four-kansas-republicans-stopped-their-partys-anti-abortion-bill-but-gop-says-its-not-over" target="_blank">narrowly failed</a>&nbsp;to get the two-thirds vote needed in the House. Advocates made a new push this year after conservative gains in the last election.There’s also been a fight over when the public vote on the amendment should happen.Democrats contend putting it on the primary ballot is a strategy to make approval more likely — by asking a smaller group of voters to decide. Primaries traditionally draw far fewer voters, frequently the most devoted party members.House Democratic Leader Tom Sawyer said any vote on the amendment should come in the November election when turnout will be higher.“Putting this constitutional amendment on the August ballot will absolutely deny the rights of all Kansans to voice their opinion,” Sawyer said during a debate in the House. “This is purely a political maneuver.”Arnberger said all Kansans have the ability to vote in the primary, so they’ll have a chance to weigh in on the amendment.“This could, and most probably will, increase voter turnout,” she said. “Isn’t that something that we want?”Stephen Koranda is the Statehouse reporter for Kansas Public Radio and the Kansas News Service. You can follow him on Twitter<a href="https://twitter.com/kprkoranda" target="_blank">&nbsp;@kprkoranda</a>.The Kansas News Service is a collaboration of KCUR, Kansas Public Radio, KMUW and High Plains Public Radio focused on health, the social determinants of health and their connection to public policy. Kansas News Service stories and photos may be republished by news media at no cost with proper attribution and a link to&nbsp;<a href="https://ksnewsservice.org/" target="_blank">ksnewsservice.org</a>.

Voters will decide right to abortion in the Kan. constitution 

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden warned Friday of a steep and growing “cost of inaction” on his $1.9 trillion COVID relief plan as the White House searched for “creative” ways to win public support for a package that is getting a cold shoulder from Senate Republicans.

In the age of COVID, it’s not as simple as jumping on a plane to travel the country and try to gin up a groundswell. And at a time of deep polarization, Biden may struggle to convince Republican voters of the urgency when Congress already has approved $4 trillion in aid, including $900 billion last month.

Biden signaled on Friday for the first time that he’s willing to move ahead without Republicans.

“I support passing COVID relief with support from Republicans if we can get it,” he told reporters. “But the COVID relief has to pass. No ifs, ands or buts.”

His message so far has been that a fresh $1.9 trillion in aid would be a bargain compared to the potential damage to the world’s largest economy if it doesn’t pass.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/j-and-j-coronavirus-vaccine-a7d254f0299d846062bf6195031880a3">An aggressive push for vaccinations&nbsp;</a>and generous aid to individuals would help put parents back to work and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/lifestyle-anthony-fauci-coronavirus-pandemic-infectious-diseases-coronavirus-vaccine-47af1ca6b75a2cedaac7923b7b084404">let children return to school&nbsp;</a>and improve their lifetime earnings, Biden said at a Friday meeting with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. They met in the Oval Office, where the fireplace was lit to protect against the chill in Washington.

“We have learned from past crises that the risk is not doing too much,” he said. “The risk is not doing enough.”

Only a week into his presidency, Biden is confronting the challenge of selling his first major piece of legislation to a country he has pledged to unite. Private calls with Republican lawmakers have yet to produce any progress on reaching a deal, while Senate Democrats are now preparing to pass the measure strictly on partisan lines as soon as next week.

Some Biden allies have expressed frustration that the administration has not more clearly defined what the massive legislation would actually accomplish. The new president instead has largely focused his first nine days in office on signing executive orders rolling back his predecessor’s policies.

In particular, Biden, for whom the widespread distribution of coronavirus vaccines will be a defining test, has not explained what the increased money for testing and vaccination would achieve -- including how much quicker the White House believes it would help bring about an end to the pandemic.

Biden’s outreach to senators has largely brought criticism that the plan should be more targeted and that the country can afford to wait to see the effects of the stimulus dollars that were approved in December.

Republican lawmakers see a need for speeding vaccinations, but one Senate aide said their offices are not being bombarded with calls for an additional aid package. Constituents are more focused on the looming impeachment trial, said the aide, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations.

This has left the Biden team trying to expand its outreach beyond Capitol Hill.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Biden recognizes the importance of speaking directly to the American people about his plan for vaccinations and supporting the economy, but the pandemic has limited his ability to safely travel to drum up support. The administration is relying on TV interviews by White House officials and allies with local media and national shows like “The View,” as well as calls with governors, local officials and progressive and civic groups.

“We’re taking a number of creative steps, a little outside of the box,” Psaki said. “Certainly, his preference would be to get on a plane and fly around the country.”

Part of the challenge is that Biden must convince the public how different components of his proposal would work together. His plan allots $400 billion to spearhead a national vaccination program and the reopening of schools. It also includes $1,400 in direct payments to individuals, which critics say should be more targeted. And it includes a raise in the the minimum wage to $15 and aid for state and local governments, a nonstarter for most Republicans.

Many Republicans are under more political pressure from donors and activists back home to rein in spending than to approve more. Some Republicans particularly object to what are still seen by many as bailouts for cash-strapped state and local governments.

Some do support a deal, just not what Biden is offering. Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, a member of a bipartisan group of legislators contacted by the administration, said he supports funds for vaccine distribution and even potentially extra jobless benefits, but he wants a full accounting of what funding remains from previous aid packages.

“Unemployment insurance, they think it’s an emergency, well we have unemployment insurance in place until mid March. Where’s the emergency?” Portman said. “Am I against extending it, no I’m not. I think we should, based on some economic factors. But it just doesn’t make sense.”

Recent economic reports show the economy is still under severe strain, yet there is also the potential for the strongest growth in more than two decades once the coronavirus is contained.

The Commerce Department said Thursday&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/us-economy-shrink-in-2020-b59f9be06dcf1da924f64afde2ce094c">the U.S. economy shrank 3.5% last year</a>, and on Friday it reported that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ap-top-news-consumer-spending-coronavirus-pandemic-economy-088b1827e27203cb018f3d5d99eb3289">consumer spending — the main driver of growth — had slumped 0.2% in December.</a>&nbsp;But the consumer spending report also suggested that the expanded unemployment benefits from the $900 billion aid package passed that same month had managed to boost incomes.

Gregory Daco, an economist at Oxford Economics, said, “The COVID relief bill of December essentially addressed the past, the dwindling aid at the end of 2020,” Now the administration must sell the public on what lies ahead.

He said, “The American Rescue Plan — it’s a plan geared toward the future, bridging the gap between January and September, when people will be able to spend more freely.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/1/1611954809362.png" alt="President Biden expressed the importance of passing the White House’s proposed COVID-19 relief package during a Friday meeting -photo courtesy White House" />
 <figcaption>President Biden expressed the importance of passing the White House’s proposed COVID-19 relief package during a Friday meeting -photo courtesy White House</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden warned Friday of a steep and growing “cost of inaction” on his $1.9 trillion COVID relief plan as the White House searched for “creative” ways to win public support for a package that is getting a cold shoulder from Senate Republicans.In the age of COVID, it’s not as simple as jumping on a plane to travel the country and try to gin up a groundswell. And at a time of deep polarization, Biden may struggle to convince Republican voters of the urgency when Congress already has approved $4 trillion in aid, including $900 billion last month.Biden signaled on Friday for the first time that he’s willing to move ahead without Republicans.“I support passing COVID relief with support from Republicans if we can get it,” he told reporters. “But the COVID relief has to pass. No ifs, ands or buts.”His message so far has been that a fresh $1.9 trillion in aid would be a bargain compared to the potential damage to the world’s largest economy if it doesn’t pass.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/j-and-j-coronavirus-vaccine-a7d254f0299d846062bf6195031880a3">An aggressive push for vaccinations&nbsp;</a>and generous aid to individuals would help put parents back to work and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/lifestyle-anthony-fauci-coronavirus-pandemic-infectious-diseases-coronavirus-vaccine-47af1ca6b75a2cedaac7923b7b084404">let children return to school&nbsp;</a>and improve their lifetime earnings, Biden said at a Friday meeting with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. They met in the Oval Office, where the fireplace was lit to protect against the chill in Washington.“We have learned from past crises that the risk is not doing too much,” he said. “The risk is not doing enough.”Only a week into his presidency, Biden is confronting the challenge of selling his first major piece of legislation to a country he has pledged to unite. Private calls with Republican lawmakers have yet to produce any progress on reaching a deal, while Senate Democrats are now preparing to pass the measure strictly on partisan lines as soon as next week.Some Biden allies have expressed frustration that the administration has not more clearly defined what the massive legislation would actually accomplish. The new president instead has largely focused his first nine days in office on signing executive orders rolling back his predecessor’s policies.In particular, Biden, for whom the widespread distribution of coronavirus vaccines will be a defining test, has not explained what the increased money for testing and vaccination would achieve -- including how much quicker the White House believes it would help bring about an end to the pandemic.Biden’s outreach to senators has largely brought criticism that the plan should be more targeted and that the country can afford to wait to see the effects of the stimulus dollars that were approved in December.Republican lawmakers see a need for speeding vaccinations, but one Senate aide said their offices are not being bombarded with calls for an additional aid package. Constituents are more focused on the looming impeachment trial, said the aide, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations.This has left the Biden team trying to expand its outreach beyond Capitol Hill.White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Biden recognizes the importance of speaking directly to the American people about his plan for vaccinations and supporting the economy, but the pandemic has limited his ability to safely travel to drum up support. The administration is relying on TV interviews by White House officials and allies with local media and national shows like “The View,” as well as calls with governors, local officials and progressive and civic groups.“We’re taking a number of creative steps, a little outside of the box,” Psaki said. “Certainly, his preference would be to get on a plane and fly around the country.”Part of the challenge is that Biden must convince the public how different components of his proposal would work together. His plan allots $400 billion to spearhead a national vaccination program and the reopening of schools. It also includes $1,400 in direct payments to individuals, which critics say should be more targeted. And it includes a raise in the the minimum wage to $15 and aid for state and local governments, a nonstarter for most Republicans.Many Republicans are under more political pressure from donors and activists back home to rein in spending than to approve more. Some Republicans particularly object to what are still seen by many as bailouts for cash-strapped state and local governments.Some do support a deal, just not what Biden is offering. Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, a member of a bipartisan group of legislators contacted by the administration, said he supports funds for vaccine distribution and even potentially extra jobless benefits, but he wants a full accounting of what funding remains from previous aid packages.“Unemployment insurance, they think it’s an emergency, well we have unemployment insurance in place until mid March. Where’s the emergency?” Portman said. “Am I against extending it, no I’m not. I think we should, based on some economic factors. But it just doesn’t make sense.”Recent economic reports show the economy is still under severe strain, yet there is also the potential for the strongest growth in more than two decades once the coronavirus is contained.The Commerce Department said Thursday&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/us-economy-shrink-in-2020-b59f9be06dcf1da924f64afde2ce094c">the U.S. economy shrank 3.5% last year</a>, and on Friday it reported that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ap-top-news-consumer-spending-coronavirus-pandemic-economy-088b1827e27203cb018f3d5d99eb3289">consumer spending — the main driver of growth — had slumped 0.2% in December.</a>&nbsp;But the consumer spending report also suggested that the expanded unemployment benefits from the $900 billion aid package passed that same month had managed to boost incomes.Gregory Daco, an economist at Oxford Economics, said, “The COVID relief bill of December essentially addressed the past, the dwindling aid at the end of 2020,” Now the administration must sell the public on what lies ahead.He said, “The American Rescue Plan — it’s a plan geared toward the future, bridging the gap between January and September, when people will be able to spend more freely.”

Biden warns of growing cost of delay on $1.9T virus relief plan

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas sheriff’s deputy caught on dashcam video running over a Black man who was fleeing shirtless across a field said in a court filing Thursday that he accidently struck the man with his patrol truck.

Kiowa County Sheriff’s Deputy Jeremy Rodriguez, in response to a federal civil rights lawsuit, denied he intentionally swerved his truck to run over Lionel Womack on Aug. 15. The deputy said he learned later that Womack did not possess a weapon.

Womack, a 35-year-old former police detective from Kansas City, Kansas,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/federal-lawsuit-kansas-deputy-run-over-b2ed9f2cde9e1cf22c56968969ca9db1">alleges in the lawsuit&nbsp;</a>filed last month that he sustained serious injuries when Rodriguez intentionally drove over him.

The&nbsp;<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mc3k_qzTNTfo-oNX6qaRwpugkgBIgBKC/view" target="_blank">graphic video</a>&nbsp;is at the crux of the case against Rodriguez in U.S. District Court in Kansas. The lawsuit argues that he used excessive force and was “callously indifferent” to Womack’s civil rights.

Rodriguez generally denied the allegations, and disputes the nature and extent of the damages. He also asserted he is entitled to qualified immunity from all claims in the lawsuit.

He acknowledged he was a part-time sheriff’s deputy with the Kiowa County Sheriffs Office at the time, but is now on administrative leave.

BELLE PLAINE, Kan. (AP) — The dashcam video captured a horrific scene: a Kansas sheriff’s deputy in a patrol truck mowing down a Black man who was running, shirtless, across a field in the summer darkness after fleeing a traffic stop.

Lionel Womack — a 35-year-old former police detective from Kansas City, Kansas — alleges in a excessive force lawsuit filed Thursday that he sustained serious injuries when Kiowa County Sheriff’s Deputy Jeremy Rodriguez intentionally drove over him during the Aug. 15 encounter.

Womack said in a statement that he hadn’t been speeding nor was he under the influence of anything when he was initially pulled over. His driver’s license, insurance and registration were up to date.

“When the first officer turned his lights on, I pulled over and complied ... exactly as you’re supposed to. But when three additional vehicles pulled up quickly and started to surround my car, I freaked out. That’s when I took off, it was a ‘fight or flight’ moment and I was going to live,” he said. “I felt like I was in danger. This was out in the country, late at night, and it was dark. So I ran for my life. That’s what you see in the dashcam video. I’m running in an open field, and I’m scared.”

The graphic video is at the crux of the federal civil rights case filed by attorney Michael Kuckelman against the deputy in U.S. District Court in Kansas. The lawsuit argues that Rodriguez used excessive force and was “callously indifferent” to Womack’s civil rights.

Womack had left the police department earlier in August with hopes of growing his own security business. He was on his way back home from a business trip to California when a Kansas Highway Patrol officer in western Kansas initiated a chase over “an alleged traffic violation,” according to the lawsuit. Sheriff’s deputies from Pratt County and Kiowa County joined in the chase.

The car chase eventually ended on a dirt road, and Womack took off on foot across a nearby farm field.

The dashcam footage from a Pratt County sheriff’s deputy’s vehicle shows Rodriguez using his patrol truck to catch up to Womack, who was unarmed.

Rodriguez swerves his truck to hit Womack, knocking him to the ground and running over him. Womack rolls out from under the truck, his arms and legs flailing on the ground as someone on the video shouts, “lie down, lie down.” A deputy in the second patrol truck can be heard uttering an expletive as he watches what is happening.

Womack alleges in his lawsuit that he sustained serious injuries to his back, pelvis and thigh as well as to his right knee, ankle and foot.

“The dashcam video is disturbing,” Kuckelman said. “It is impossible to watch a video of a deputy driving his truck over Mr. Womack without feeling sick. There was nowhere for Mr. Womack to go. It was an open field, and he was trapped, yet the deputy drove his truck over him anyway.”

Neither Kiowa County Sheriff Chris Tedder nor his attorney has responded to Associated Press requests for comment. No one has explained why Rodriguez chose to run Womack down. The deputy’s race is unclear.

Kuckelman urged Tedder in person and in letters to fire Rodriguez, and the sheriff has refused. Rodriguez remains on patrol. Kuckelman also wants Rodriguez charged criminally and has accused the sheriff of engaging in a coverup of the deputy’s conduct.

Four months later, Womack remains jailed on felony charges of attempting to elude a law enforcement officer by engaging in reckless driving and interference with a law enforcement officer. Court records show he is also charged with several misdemeanor traffic citations, including failure to drive in the right lane on a four-lane highway, improper signal and driving without headlights.

Zee Womack said her husband is still in jail because of an unrelated extradition request from Oklahoma. Online court records show Lionel Womack was charged in Texas County, Oklahoma, with endangering others while eluding or attempting to elude police on Aug. 12, just days before his encounter with law enforcement officers in Kansas.

The records show Womack was arrested by a police officer in the town of Tyrone, less than five miles south of the Kansas state line.

Womack comes from a law enforcement family. His wife and his mother are police officers with the Kansas City, Kansas Police Department. His stepfather retired from police work as a sergeant there. Two aunts are police dispatchers.

Zee Womack watched the video of her husband being run over for the first time on Wednesday, replaying it four times as she struggled to understand why the deputy felt justified in using such force. Her husband is lucky to be alive, she said.

“I am a police officer as well, and I feel like especially right now it is a really difficult time to be a police officer. We don’t always get the support, I guess, that would be helpful in this occupation,” she said shortly after watching the video. “And this makes it a lot more difficult to be an officer.”

An officer who is capable of making decisions like that, she said, should not have a badge.

“To me it showed a blatant disregard for human life,” she said. Zee Womack filed a federal lawsuit last year alleging “rampant racism and sexism” in the Kansas City, Kansas Police Department.

Lionel Womack said in his statement that most police officers are good and that he believes in the “blue brotherhood.”

“But we have to hold law enforcement accountable when they cross the line,” he said “These rogue law enforcement officers give a bad name to the good officers, and we have to stop them. I never imagined that I would someday be the victim of excessive force by a fellow law enforcement officer. He could have easily killed me.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/12/1608224627585.png" alt="Image from the dashcam video / courtesy Attorney Michael Kuckelman" />
 <figcaption>Image from the dashcam video / courtesy Attorney Michael Kuckelman</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas sheriff’s deputy caught on dashcam video running over a Black man who was fleeing shirtless across a field said in a court filing Thursday that he accidently struck the man with his patrol truck.Kiowa County Sheriff’s Deputy Jeremy Rodriguez, in response to a federal civil rights lawsuit, denied he intentionally swerved his truck to run over Lionel Womack on Aug. 15. The deputy said he learned later that Womack did not possess a weapon.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/12/1608219106986.png" alt="Womack-photo Pratt Co." />
 <figcaption>Womack-photo Pratt Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>Womack, a 35-year-old former police detective from Kansas City, Kansas,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/federal-lawsuit-kansas-deputy-run-over-b2ed9f2cde9e1cf22c56968969ca9db1">alleges in the lawsuit&nbsp;</a>filed last month that he sustained serious injuries when Rodriguez intentionally drove over him.The&nbsp;<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mc3k_qzTNTfo-oNX6qaRwpugkgBIgBKC/view" target="_blank">graphic video</a>&nbsp;is at the crux of the case against Rodriguez in U.S. District Court in Kansas. The lawsuit argues that he used excessive force and was “callously indifferent” to Womack’s civil rights.Rodriguez generally denied the allegations, and disputes the nature and extent of the damages. He also asserted he is entitled to qualified immunity from all claims in the lawsuit.He acknowledged he was a part-time sheriff’s deputy with the Kiowa County Sheriffs Office at the time, but is now on administrative leave.-------------BELLE PLAINE, Kan. (AP) — The dashcam video captured a horrific scene: a Kansas sheriff’s deputy in a patrol truck mowing down a Black man who was running, shirtless, across a field in the summer darkness after fleeing a traffic stop.Lionel Womack — a 35-year-old former police detective from Kansas City, Kansas — alleges in a excessive force lawsuit filed Thursday that he sustained serious injuries when Kiowa County Sheriff’s Deputy Jeremy Rodriguez intentionally drove over him during the Aug. 15 encounter.Womack said in a statement that he hadn’t been speeding nor was he under the influence of anything when he was initially pulled over. His driver’s license, insurance and registration were up to date.“When the first officer turned his lights on, I pulled over and complied ... exactly as you’re supposed to. But when three additional vehicles pulled up quickly and started to surround my car, I freaked out. That’s when I took off, it was a ‘fight or flight’ moment and I was going to live,” he said. “I felt like I was in danger. This was out in the country, late at night, and it was dark. So I ran for my life. That’s what you see in the dashcam video. I’m running in an open field, and I’m scared.”The graphic video is at the crux of the federal civil rights case filed by attorney Michael Kuckelman against the deputy in U.S. District Court in Kansas. The lawsuit argues that Rodriguez used excessive force and was “callously indifferent” to Womack’s civil rights.Womack had left the police department earlier in August with hopes of growing his own security business. He was on his way back home from a business trip to California when a Kansas Highway Patrol officer in western Kansas initiated a chase over “an alleged traffic violation,” according to the lawsuit. Sheriff’s deputies from Pratt County and Kiowa County joined in the chase.The car chase eventually ended on a dirt road, and Womack took off on foot across a nearby farm field.The dashcam footage from a Pratt County sheriff’s deputy’s vehicle shows Rodriguez using his patrol truck to catch up to Womack, who was unarmed.Rodriguez swerves his truck to hit Womack, knocking him to the ground and running over him. Womack rolls out from under the truck, his arms and legs flailing on the ground as someone on the video shouts, “lie down, lie down.” A deputy in the second patrol truck can be heard uttering an expletive as he watches what is happening.Womack alleges in his lawsuit that he sustained serious injuries to his back, pelvis and thigh as well as to his right knee, ankle and foot.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/12/1608219106986.png" alt="Womack photo Pratt Co. jail" />
 <figcaption>Womack photo Pratt Co. jail</figcaption>
 </figure>“The dashcam video is disturbing,” Kuckelman said. “It is impossible to watch a video of a deputy driving his truck over Mr. Womack without feeling sick. There was nowhere for Mr. Womack to go. It was an open field, and he was trapped, yet the deputy drove his truck over him anyway.”Neither Kiowa County Sheriff Chris Tedder nor his attorney has responded to Associated Press requests for comment. No one has explained why Rodriguez chose to run Womack down. The deputy’s race is unclear.Kuckelman urged Tedder in person and in letters to fire Rodriguez, and the sheriff has refused. Rodriguez remains on patrol. Kuckelman also wants Rodriguez charged criminally and has accused the sheriff of engaging in a coverup of the deputy’s conduct.Four months later, Womack remains jailed on felony charges of attempting to elude a law enforcement officer by engaging in reckless driving and interference with a law enforcement officer. Court records show he is also charged with several misdemeanor traffic citations, including failure to drive in the right lane on a four-lane highway, improper signal and driving without headlights.Zee Womack said her husband is still in jail because of an unrelated extradition request from Oklahoma. Online court records show Lionel Womack was charged in Texas County, Oklahoma, with endangering others while eluding or attempting to elude police on Aug. 12, just days before his encounter with law enforcement officers in Kansas.The records show Womack was arrested by a police officer in the town of Tyrone, less than five miles south of the Kansas state line.Womack comes from a law enforcement family. His wife and his mother are police officers with the Kansas City, Kansas Police Department. His stepfather retired from police work as a sergeant there. Two aunts are police dispatchers.Zee Womack watched the video of her husband being run over for the first time on Wednesday, replaying it four times as she struggled to understand why the deputy felt justified in using such force. Her husband is lucky to be alive, she said.“I am a police officer as well, and I feel like especially right now it is a really difficult time to be a police officer. We don’t always get the support, I guess, that would be helpful in this occupation,” she said shortly after watching the video. “And this makes it a lot more difficult to be an officer.”An officer who is capable of making decisions like that, she said, should not have a badge.“To me it showed a blatant disregard for human life,” she said. Zee Womack filed a federal lawsuit last year alleging “rampant racism and sexism” in the Kansas City, Kansas Police Department.Lionel Womack said in his statement that most police officers are good and that he believes in the “blue brotherhood.”“But we have to hold law enforcement accountable when they cross the line,” he said “These rogue law enforcement officers give a bad name to the good officers, and we have to stop them. I never imagined that I would someday be the victim of excessive force by a fellow law enforcement officer. He could have easily killed me.”

Kan. deputy denies intentionally driving over black man

BELLE PLAINE, Kan. (AP) — Kansas could be on the hook for nearly $3.3 million in attorney fees and expenses after losing a lawsuit that challenged a state law requiring documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote.

The law was championed by former Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, who led former President Donald Trump’s now-defunct voter fraud commission. Kobach was a leading source for Trump’s unsubstantiated claim that millions of immigrants living in the U.S. illegally may have voted in the 2016 election.

The latest filing in the case asked the U.S. Court for the District of Kansas to award the plaintiffs’ attorneys fees of more than $2.9 million and non-taxable expenses of nearly $383,000 in litigation that spanned almost five years.

The American Civil Liberties Union said in the court filing late Thursday that the case was necessary to remedy a “mass denial of a fundamental constitutional right” and an erosion of confidence in the electoral system caused by the Kansas law.

A total of 31,089 Kansans, or about 12% of voter registration applicants, were prevented from registering to vote during the three years the law was in effect. The state’s own expert estimated that almost all of those were U.S. citizens who were eligible to vote.

The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-kansas-voting-rights-elections-us-supreme-court-f12295c7870a94eb7749d94fa5e7019b">U.S. Supreme Court last month rejected&nbsp;</a>an appeal from Kansas that sought to revive the law after a federal appeals court affirmed a trial court ruling that declared it unconstitutional.

Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab, who supported the law when he was in the state Legislature, pursued the Supreme Court appeal over the objection of Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly.

Schwab’s office declined to immediately comment and Kobach has not responded to a message left on his cellphone.

The ACLU filing noted that plaintiffs’ attorneys had spent 9,678 hours on the case, not counting the time spent on a contempt motion against Kobach that was subject to a separate fee petition. The filing said the number of hours was exacerbated by Kobach’s “recalcitrance” in litigating the case.

Kobach represented himself in proceedings at the district court level and on appeal of the preliminary injunction. The lawyers emphasized that Kobach’s conduct unnecessarily multiplied proceedings throughout the litigation. They cited his unprofessional conduct that triggered contempt proceedings on two occasions and discovery sanctions as well as repeated rule violations throughout the trial that also resulted in sanctions.

Kansas had been the only state to require people to show a physical document such as a birth certificate or passport when applying to register to vote. The issue is distinct from state laws that call for people to produce driver licenses or other photo IDs to cast a vote in person.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/4/1588187805638.png" alt="Former Kansas Sec. of State Kris Kobach Scott Canon / Kansas News Service" />
 <figcaption>Former Kansas Sec. of State Kris Kobach Scott Canon / Kansas News Service</figcaption>
 </figure>BELLE PLAINE, Kan. (AP) — Kansas could be on the hook for nearly $3.3 million in attorney fees and expenses after losing a lawsuit that challenged a state law requiring documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote.The law was championed by former Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, who led former President Donald Trump’s now-defunct voter fraud commission. Kobach was a leading source for Trump’s unsubstantiated claim that millions of immigrants living in the U.S. illegally may have voted in the 2016 election.The latest filing in the case asked the U.S. Court for the District of Kansas to award the plaintiffs’ attorneys fees of more than $2.9 million and non-taxable expenses of nearly $383,000 in litigation that spanned almost five years.The American Civil Liberties Union said in the court filing late Thursday that the case was necessary to remedy a “mass denial of a fundamental constitutional right” and an erosion of confidence in the electoral system caused by the Kansas law.A total of 31,089 Kansans, or about 12% of voter registration applicants, were prevented from registering to vote during the three years the law was in effect. The state’s own expert estimated that almost all of those were U.S. citizens who were eligible to vote.The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-kansas-voting-rights-elections-us-supreme-court-f12295c7870a94eb7749d94fa5e7019b">U.S. Supreme Court last month rejected&nbsp;</a>an appeal from Kansas that sought to revive the law after a federal appeals court affirmed a trial court ruling that declared it unconstitutional.Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab, who supported the law when he was in the state Legislature, pursued the Supreme Court appeal over the objection of Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly.Schwab’s office declined to immediately comment and Kobach has not responded to a message left on his cellphone.The ACLU filing noted that plaintiffs’ attorneys had spent 9,678 hours on the case, not counting the time spent on a contempt motion against Kobach that was subject to a separate fee petition. The filing said the number of hours was exacerbated by Kobach’s “recalcitrance” in litigating the case.Kobach represented himself in proceedings at the district court level and on appeal of the preliminary injunction. The lawyers emphasized that Kobach’s conduct unnecessarily multiplied proceedings throughout the litigation. They cited his unprofessional conduct that triggered contempt proceedings on two occasions and discovery sanctions as well as repeated rule violations throughout the trial that also resulted in sanctions.Kansas had been the only state to require people to show a physical document such as a birth certificate or passport when applying to register to vote. The issue is distinct from state laws that call for people to produce driver licenses or other photo IDs to cast a vote in person.

Attorneys seek nearly $3.3M in Kansas voting rights suit

MCPHERSON—Police in McPherson are investigating a stabbing and have a suspect in custody.

Just before 3 p.m. Friday, McPherson County Emergency Communications/911 dispatched McPherson Police Officers, EMS, and Fire Rescue to a report of a 28-year-old woman with a stab wound at a residence in the 300 block of East Allison Street in McPherson, according to a media release.

McPherson EMS transported the woman from the residence to McPherson Center for Health in stable condition.

A person of interest has been identified and is in custody on an unrelated warrant.

MCPHERSON—Police in McPherson are investigating a stabbing and have a suspect in custody.Just before 3 p.m. Friday, McPherson County Emergency Communications/911 dispatched McPherson Police Officers, EMS, and Fire Rescue to a report of a 28-year-old woman with a stab wound at a residence in the 300 block of East Allison Street in McPherson, according to a media release.McPherson EMS transported the woman from the residence to McPherson Center for Health in stable condition.A person of interest has been identified and is in custody on an unrelated warrant.

Police: Woman stabbed, suspect arrested in McPherson

WAYNOKA, Okla. (AP) — Two Oklahoma firefighters were among four people killed early Friday in a house fire in northwestern Oklahoma, a fire official said.

Assistant Oklahoma State Fire Marshal James Fullingim said the blaze was reported just after 3 a.m. Friday in Waynoka, about 110 miles (180 kilometers) northwest of Oklahoma City.

The fire was reported by a person reportedly trapped in a bedroom of the home, Fullingim said, and two firefighters who arrived at the scene entered the home and found a man and woman in the bedroom.

The four died as the firefighters tried to remove the occupants from the home.

“We don’t know exactly what happened,” Fullingim said. “One firefighter was trying to locate an exit route out of the house.”

The names of the four were not immediately released. Fullingim said both firefighters were male and the two inside the home were a male and a female.

The cause of the fire has not been determined, Fullingim said.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/1/1611956281136.png" alt="The four died as the firefighters tried to remove the occupants from the home. -photo courtesy KOCO TV" />
 <figcaption>The four died as the firefighters tried to remove the occupants from the home. -photo courtesy KOCO TV</figcaption>
 </figure>WAYNOKA, Okla. (AP) — Two Oklahoma firefighters were among four people killed early Friday in a house fire in northwestern Oklahoma, a fire official said.Assistant Oklahoma State Fire Marshal James Fullingim said the blaze was reported just after 3 a.m. Friday in Waynoka, about 110 miles (180 kilometers) northwest of Oklahoma City.The fire was reported by a person reportedly trapped in a bedroom of the home, Fullingim said, and two firefighters who arrived at the scene entered the home and found a man and woman in the bedroom.The four died as the firefighters tried to remove the occupants from the home.“We don’t know exactly what happened,” Fullingim said. “One firefighter was trying to locate an exit route out of the house.”The names of the four were not immediately released. Fullingim said both firefighters were male and the two inside the home were a male and a female.The cause of the fire has not been determined, Fullingim said.

2 firefighters among 4 killed in NW Okla. fire

WASHINGTON — Dr. Anthony Fauci says the Biden administration hopes to begin vaccinating younger children by late spring or early summer.

The government’s top public health expert says clinical studies to determine whether approved coronavirus vaccines are safe for younger children will begin in the “next couple of months.”

The results could influence the debate over how to safely reopen public schools.

The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines currently given to health care workers, nursing home residents and older Americans weren’t tested on younger children.

Biden has set a goal of reopening most schools in his first 100 days in office or near the end of April.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/1/1611941719034.png" alt="Dr. Fauci during Friday's virtual White House virus briefing" />
 <figcaption>Dr. Fauci during Friday's virtual White House virus briefing</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON — Dr. Anthony Fauci says the Biden administration hopes to begin vaccinating younger children by late spring or early summer.The government’s top public health expert says clinical studies to determine whether approved coronavirus vaccines are safe for younger children will begin in the “next couple of months.”The results could influence the debate over how to safely reopen public schools.The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines currently given to health care workers, nursing home residents and older Americans weren’t tested on younger children.Biden has set a goal of reopening most schools in his first 100 days in office or near the end of April.

Dr. Fauci: May start vaccinating children by summer

TOPEKA&nbsp;– Governor Laura Kelly named Amber Shultz, Lawrence, as the new Secretary of the Kansas Department of Labor (KDOL).&nbsp;Shultz will serve in an acting capacity until the Kansas Senate confirms her as the new head of the agency.

“When we began the search for the permanent Secretary of the Kansas Department of Labor, we knew we needed someone who could both lead the agency in its continued efforts to improve services for unemployed Kansans and oversee a complete overhaul of the out-of-date IT system,”&nbsp;Governor Kelly said.&nbsp;“Amber has a wealth of leadership experience when it comes to technology and innovation, and I have no doubt she will hit the ground running at the Department of Labor as we work to modernize the unemployment insurance system.”

Shultz has 25 years of experience in technology and innovation, with an emphasis on creating value, strengthening community, and leading with purpose.&nbsp;

Amber began her professional career as a Research Assistant at the Kansas Data Access &amp; Support Center at the Kansas Geological Survey, and has since held many positions in Kansas and Missouri related to data and asset management, systems administration, and technical innovation.&nbsp;

Most recently, she worked as the General Manager of Municipal Services &amp; Operations Department for the City of Lawrence. During her time there, she worked to rebuild the city's enterprise and operational services, facilitate efficient data management, and cultivate superior public service for Lawrence community members.&nbsp;&nbsp;

She has a Master of Business Administration and Bachelor of Arts, all from the University of Kansas.&nbsp;

“I am honored and excited that Governor Kelly&nbsp;has provided me this opportunity to serve,”&nbsp;Shultz said.&nbsp;“I value public service along with utilizing innovation and technology to solve problems,&nbsp;and I will use this experience along with our team to address the challenges ahead.”&nbsp;

“I want to extend my thanks and appreciation to Ryan Wright and Brett Flachsbarth, who both served as Acting Secretaries of Labor while we searched for the right candidate to fill the position permanently,”&nbsp;Governor Kelly said.&nbsp;“Under their leadership, and with the dedication of many hardworking KDOL employees, the agency made important progress in stabilizing the antiquated unemployment system, reducing the claim backlog and getting funds to Kansans who need it most.”&nbsp;

Governor Kelly announced as part of her proposed budget that the state would allocate $37.5 million to resume the process of modernizing KDOL’s 40-year-old IT system, that had been paused since the beginning of the pandemic. The Kansas Department of Labor has made significant progress addressing unemployment claims this year in spite of a record number of claimants, including:&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/1/1611950427571.png" alt="Amber Schultz" />
 <figcaption>Amber Schultz</figcaption>
 </figure>TOPEKA&nbsp;– Governor Laura Kelly named Amber Shultz, Lawrence, as the new Secretary of the Kansas Department of Labor (KDOL).&nbsp;Shultz will serve in an acting capacity until the Kansas Senate confirms her as the new head of the agency.“When we began the search for the permanent Secretary of the Kansas Department of Labor, we knew we needed someone who could both lead the agency in its continued efforts to improve services for unemployed Kansans and oversee a complete overhaul of the out-of-date IT system,”&nbsp;Governor Kelly said.&nbsp;“Amber has a wealth of leadership experience when it comes to technology and innovation, and I have no doubt she will hit the ground running at the Department of Labor as we work to modernize the unemployment insurance system.”Shultz has 25 years of experience in technology and innovation, with an emphasis on creating value, strengthening community, and leading with purpose.&nbsp;Amber began her professional career as a Research Assistant at the Kansas Data Access &amp; Support Center at the Kansas Geological Survey, and has since held many positions in Kansas and Missouri related to data and asset management, systems administration, and technical innovation.&nbsp;Most recently, she worked as the General Manager of Municipal Services &amp; Operations Department for the City of Lawrence. During her time there, she worked to rebuild the city's enterprise and operational services, facilitate efficient data management, and cultivate superior public service for Lawrence community members.&nbsp;&nbsp;She has a Master of Business Administration and Bachelor of Arts, all from the University of Kansas.&nbsp;“I am honored and excited that Governor Kelly&nbsp;has provided me this opportunity to serve,”&nbsp;Shultz said.&nbsp;“I value public service along with utilizing innovation and technology to solve problems,&nbsp;and I will use this experience along with our team to address the challenges ahead.”&nbsp;“I want to extend my thanks and appreciation to Ryan Wright and Brett Flachsbarth, who both served as Acting Secretaries of Labor while we searched for the right candidate to fill the position permanently,”&nbsp;Governor Kelly said.&nbsp;“Under their leadership, and with the dedication of many hardworking KDOL employees, the agency made important progress in stabilizing the antiquated unemployment system, reducing the claim backlog and getting funds to Kansans who need it most.”&nbsp;Governor Kelly announced as part of her proposed budget that the state would allocate $37.5 million to resume the process of modernizing KDOL’s 40-year-old IT system, that had been paused since the beginning of the pandemic. The Kansas Department of Labor has made significant progress addressing unemployment claims this year in spite of a record number of claimants, including:&nbsp;<ul>
 <li>Returning the agency to normal operations in all program areas, including workers' compensation and industrial safety and health.</li><li>Instituted a fraud program that has stopped over 250,000 fraudulent claims:&nbsp;<a href="https://lnks.gd/l/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.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.Qq3T08K7RCNlLBJqxLLndu5Nzw5XVb6nasowOl2iIcY/s/1303160919/br/94675621618-l" target="_blank">www.ReportFraud.ks.gov</a>.</li><li>Implementing an enhanced LexisNexis identity verification security system with multifactor authentication for the unemployment benefits system. Once the system is live on February 2, the new system will greatly reduce or eliminate fraudulent claim notices from being sent to identity theft victims and employers.</li><li>Since March 15, paying out more than 3.9 million weekly claims totaling over $2.6 billion in unemployment. Previously, it took 8 years to reach $2 billion in unemployment payments.</li><li>Today, KDOL has eliminated the backlog of regular unemployment claims, which totaled approximately 25,000 at the height of the pandemic in June, 2020.</li><li>Made significant progress on the buildout of the PUA Unemployment System, including a critical component that allows the agency to address the PUA backlog.&nbsp;Since completing a system upgrade at the end of November, the department has reduced the PUA backlog from 25,000 claims to approximately 9,900 claimants. Now claimants can more easily provide required documentation and KDOL can make determinations in a more timely manner.</li><li>Improved call center customer service, added hundreds of new operators and streamlined operations. Now, once a caller enters an initial call queue they can speak to a customer service representative within 15 minutes. If the call queues are full they are not able to connect to the system, which prevents callers from remaining on hold for hours.</li>
 </ul>

Gov. appoints new leader for Kan. Department of Labor

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Former Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback said he plans to make promoting racial reconciliation a focus of his life as a private citizen after more than a quarter century in politics.

Brownback, 64, stepped down as the country’s ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom last week after Democrat Joe Biden took office. In&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article248779685.html" target="_blank">an interview</a>&nbsp;with the Kansas City Star, Brownback declined to discuss any political plans he may still have but said he’ll now focus on racial reconciliation while continuing to promote religious freedom.

“I think my side, conservatives, need to put forward a racial reconciliation agenda and how we would address it,” he said.

Brownback promoted racial reconciliation during his stints in Congress and as governor, when he sponsored or signed government apologies to Blacks and Native Americans who had been wronged historically.

Some are skeptical about Brownback’s stated intentions. As governor, he enacted significant restrictions on public assistance and left the position of executive director for the Kansas African American Affairs Commission open for seven months in 2015.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/4/1586052372246.png" alt="Former Kansas governor Sam Brownback, served as President Trump’s special envoy for religious freedom-photo courtesy U.S. State Department" />
 <figcaption>Former Kansas governor Sam Brownback, served as President Trump’s special envoy for religious freedom-photo courtesy U.S. State Department</figcaption>
 </figure>TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Former Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback said he plans to make promoting racial reconciliation a focus of his life as a private citizen after more than a quarter century in politics.Brownback, 64, stepped down as the country’s ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom last week after Democrat Joe Biden took office. In&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article248779685.html" target="_blank">an interview</a>&nbsp;with the Kansas City Star, Brownback declined to discuss any political plans he may still have but said he’ll now focus on racial reconciliation while continuing to promote religious freedom.“I think my side, conservatives, need to put forward a racial reconciliation agenda and how we would address it,” he said.Brownback promoted racial reconciliation during his stints in Congress and as governor, when he sponsored or signed government apologies to Blacks and Native Americans who had been wronged historically.Some are skeptical about Brownback’s stated intentions. As governor, he enacted significant restrictions on public assistance and left the position of executive director for the Kansas African American Affairs Commission open for seven months in 2015.Anthony Hensley, the Democratic leader in the state Senate during Brownback’s tenure as governor, also questioned the diversity of Brownback’s cabinet.“I don’t know if I saw or experienced Sam Brownback going out of his way to try to bring about racial reconciliation in his seven years as governor,” he said.Brownback said protests over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody last May “intensified the conversation” around reconciliation and galvanized another generation to move forward.Brownback wasn’t specific about his racial reconciliation work, but he said a conservative agenda must begin by discussing historical wrongs. As an example, he cited Georgetown University, which apologized for its role in the sale of nearly 300 slaves and is giving admissions preferences to their descendants.“We really need to do it to get the healing we need in the land,” he said.Brownback stepped down as Kansas governor in 2018 to take the new ambassadorship created by President Donald Trump. He was deeply unpopular with Kansas voters at the time because of the impact of income tax cuts that he had pushed through.His nomination for the ambassador role was stalled for several months after criticism of his record on gay rights and Islam, and he was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/4626e11a24c1415195cc4774b23961de">finally confirmed</a>&nbsp;on a 50-49 vote, with Vice President Mike Pence breaking the tie.