When Westminster United Methodist Church in Houston resumed in-person services late last year, after a seven-month halt due to COVID-19, there were Sundays when only three worshippers showed up, according to the pastor, Meredith Mills.

Since then, attendance has inched back up, but it’s still only about half the pre-pandemic turnout of 160 or 170, Mills estimates.

“It’s frustrating,” she said. “People just seem to want to leave home less these days.”

Some houses of worship are faring better than Mills’ church, some worse. Polls by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows how dramatically church attendance fell during the worst of the pandemic last year, even as many say they are now returning to regular service attendance.

Among mainline Protestants, just 1% said in a May 2020 poll that they were attending in-person services at least once a week. In the new poll, 14% say they’re doing so now, compared to 16% who say they did in 2019.

Among evangelical Protestants, 37% now say they are attending services in person at least weekly, while 42% said they did that in 2019. In the May 2020 poll, just 11% said they were attending services in person that often.

Among Catholics, 26% attend in person at least weekly now, compared with 30% in 2019. In the 2020 poll, conducted as many bishops temporarily waived the obligation for weekly Mass attendance, just 5% were worshipping in person at least weekly.

At St. Ambrose Catholic Parish in Brunswick, Ohio, the six services each weekend drew a total of about 3,800 worshippers before the pandemic, according to the pastor, Bob Stec. Current weekend attendance is about 2,800, Stec says, with 1,600 or more households joining online worship.

Elsewhere, churches large and small have taken hits in attendance.

John Elkins, teaching pastor at Sovereign Grace Fellowship in Brazoria, Texas, says 25 to 30 people have attended services recently, down from around 50 before the pandemic.

“For some, I was not political enough,” he said via email. “Some wanted more activities, some just stopped going to church.”

Sovereign Grace, a Southern Baptist church, had never offered online worship before the pandemic. When in-person worship was halted for a month in 2020, leaving online worship as the only option, Elkins said he did more crisis counseling for congregation members than ever before.

At the much larger First Church of God in Columbus, Ohio, there was a near-total halt to in-person worship between March 2020 and September of this year. On two Sundays in September 2020, worshippers were invited back to the church to test the feasibility of in-person services.

“But it was obvious they were still uncomfortable -- they came dressed like they were working at Chernobyl,” said the senior pastor, Bishop Timothy Clarke, evoking hazmat suits appropriate for confronting a nuclear disaster.

Pre-pandemic, the predominantly African American church held three services each weekend, including one on Saturday evenings, with average total attendance of 2,500. Now there’s a single service on Sunday, and only 500 worshippers – with masks and proof of vaccination -- are allowed into a sanctuary that can seat more than 1,500.

The return to in-person worship “gives us a sense of connection and community,” Clarke said. “But you also have safety.”

At All Saints’ Episcopal Church in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, average Sunday attendance dropped from about 140 pre-pandemic to as low as 30 before climbing back, reaching 120 earlier this month. The Rev. Steven Paulikas credits a mandatory mask policy.

“Mask wearing puts people at ease about their health and allows them to do what people come to church to do -- worship God,” he said.

Attendance is down sharply from pre-pandemic levels at St. Barnabas Lutheran Church in Cary, Illinois, which halted in-person, indoor worship for more than six months in 2020. Instead it held drive-in services in the parking lot.

Before the pandemic, about 115 people would attend one of two services offered on Sundays, said the pastor, Sarah Wilson. Now there’s one service, and attendance is down by more than half.

“Some families are still nervous about being in a room with others, even though most people attending are vaccinated and we require masks,” she said. “Other people have re-ordered their priorities and worship isn’t one of them.”

Friendswood United Methodist Church, in the Houston suburbs, has endured not only COVID-19 disruptions but also flooding during a winter storm last February that rendered the sanctuary unusable. It just reopened for services this month, said the pastor, Jim Bass.

Pre-pandemic, Friendswoods’ Sunday services would draw about 900 worshippers; Bass was pleased that about 650 gathered when the sanctuary reopened for high-energy, music-filled services on Dec. 5.

However, he said average attendance has been only half of that during most of the pandemic, creating a $400,000 shortfall in expected giving.

Like many houses of worship, Friendswood offered online services as an alternative to in-person attendance. He considers them a mixed blessing -- a plus for elderly congregation members worried about their health, but a disincentive for others who are increasingly disconnected from the church.

“They’ve become spectators,” Bass said.

At Temple Beth El in Charlotte, North Carolina, Rabbi Asher Knight was elated that recent Hannukah celebrations drew about 300 people in person. Overall, attendance now is roughly half of pre-pandemic levels, but an improvement over periods earlier this year when only a handful of worshippers appeared.

“It was demoralizing and painful to lead worship with virtually no one present,” he said. “But in October and November, people got the booster and their children got vaccinated and they slowly started coming back.”

In September, amid a surge in COVID cases, Temple Judea in Coral Gables, Florida, observed the Jewish High Holy Days with no in-person services. So the sanctuary wouldn’t look so empty for online services, Rabbi Judith Siegal and her staff filled it with cardboard cutouts of congregation members, including children and pets.

In-person worship has now resumed, and the range of weekly attendance – 75 to 125 people – is close to pre-pandemic levels.

“We’re still wearing masks, and the seating is still spread out,” Siegal said. “But our members love it.”

Among Christians, the option of worshipping online has been embraced by many evangelical Protestants, according to the AP-NORC poll. About 3 in 10 have livestreamed services at least weekly in recent months, compared with about 1 in 10 Catholics or mainline Protestants.

Three-quarters of evangelical Protestants say they pray privately at least weekly, compared with roughly half of mainline Protestants and Catholics, the poll found.

Roughly a quarter of evangelical Protestants say they’ve recently talked by phone or video conference with a religious or spiritual leader at least a few times a month, compared with about 1 in 10 mainline Protestants and Catholics.

Some faith leaders, such as Meredith Mills, see some positives, such as more energy in the church, even with fewer worshippers.

“The ones showing up right now are the people who really want to be there,” she said. “There’s a lot of joy in the room Sunday mornings. It’s one of the reasons that, despite everything, I still love my job.”

By DAVID CRARY, Associated PressWhen Westminster United Methodist Church in Houston resumed in-person services late last year, after a seven-month halt due to COVID-19, there were Sundays when only three worshippers showed up, according to the pastor, Meredith Mills.Since then, attendance has inched back up, but it’s still only about half the pre-pandemic turnout of 160 or 170, Mills estimates.“It’s frustrating,” she said. “People just seem to want to leave home less these days.”Some houses of worship are faring better than Mills’ church, some worse. Polls by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows how dramatically church attendance fell during the worst of the pandemic last year, even as many say they are now returning to regular service attendance.Among mainline Protestants, just 1% said in a May 2020 poll that they were attending in-person services at least once a week. In the new poll, 14% say they’re doing so now, compared to 16% who say they did in 2019.Among evangelical Protestants, 37% now say they are attending services in person at least weekly, while 42% said they did that in 2019. In the May 2020 poll, just 11% said they were attending services in person that often.Among Catholics, 26% attend in person at least weekly now, compared with 30% in 2019. In the 2020 poll, conducted as many bishops temporarily waived the obligation for weekly Mass attendance, just 5% were worshipping in person at least weekly.At St. Ambrose Catholic Parish in Brunswick, Ohio, the six services each weekend drew a total of about 3,800 worshippers before the pandemic, according to the pastor, Bob Stec. Current weekend attendance is about 2,800, Stec says, with 1,600 or more households joining online worship.Elsewhere, churches large and small have taken hits in attendance.John Elkins, teaching pastor at Sovereign Grace Fellowship in Brazoria, Texas, says 25 to 30 people have attended services recently, down from around 50 before the pandemic.“For some, I was not political enough,” he said via email. “Some wanted more activities, some just stopped going to church.”Sovereign Grace, a Southern Baptist church, had never offered online worship before the pandemic. When in-person worship was halted for a month in 2020, leaving online worship as the only option, Elkins said he did more crisis counseling for congregation members than ever before.At the much larger First Church of God in Columbus, Ohio, there was a near-total halt to in-person worship between March 2020 and September of this year. On two Sundays in September 2020, worshippers were invited back to the church to test the feasibility of in-person services.“But it was obvious they were still uncomfortable -- they came dressed like they were working at Chernobyl,” said the senior pastor, Bishop Timothy Clarke, evoking hazmat suits appropriate for confronting a nuclear disaster.Pre-pandemic, the predominantly African American church held three services each weekend, including one on Saturday evenings, with average total attendance of 2,500. Now there’s a single service on Sunday, and only 500 worshippers – with masks and proof of vaccination -- are allowed into a sanctuary that can seat more than 1,500.The return to in-person worship “gives us a sense of connection and community,” Clarke said. “But you also have safety.”At All Saints’ Episcopal Church in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, average Sunday attendance dropped from about 140 pre-pandemic to as low as 30 before climbing back, reaching 120 earlier this month. The Rev. Steven Paulikas credits a mandatory mask policy.“Mask wearing puts people at ease about their health and allows them to do what people come to church to do -- worship God,” he said.Attendance is down sharply from pre-pandemic levels at St. Barnabas Lutheran Church in Cary, Illinois, which halted in-person, indoor worship for more than six months in 2020. Instead it held drive-in services in the parking lot.Before the pandemic, about 115 people would attend one of two services offered on Sundays, said the pastor, Sarah Wilson. Now there’s one service, and attendance is down by more than half.“Some families are still nervous about being in a room with others, even though most people attending are vaccinated and we require masks,” she said. “Other people have re-ordered their priorities and worship isn’t one of them.”Friendswood United Methodist Church, in the Houston suburbs, has endured not only COVID-19 disruptions but also flooding during a winter storm last February that rendered the sanctuary unusable. It just reopened for services this month, said the pastor, Jim Bass.Pre-pandemic, Friendswoods’ Sunday services would draw about 900 worshippers; Bass was pleased that about 650 gathered when the sanctuary reopened for high-energy, music-filled services on Dec. 5.However, he said average attendance has been only half of that during most of the pandemic, creating a $400,000 shortfall in expected giving.Like many houses of worship, Friendswood offered online services as an alternative to in-person attendance. He considers them a mixed blessing -- a plus for elderly congregation members worried about their health, but a disincentive for others who are increasingly disconnected from the church.“They’ve become spectators,” Bass said.At Temple Beth El in Charlotte, North Carolina, Rabbi Asher Knight was elated that recent Hannukah celebrations drew about 300 people in person. Overall, attendance now is roughly half of pre-pandemic levels, but an improvement over periods earlier this year when only a handful of worshippers appeared.“It was demoralizing and painful to lead worship with virtually no one present,” he said. “But in October and November, people got the booster and their children got vaccinated and they slowly started coming back.”In September, amid a surge in COVID cases, Temple Judea in Coral Gables, Florida, observed the Jewish High Holy Days with no in-person services. So the sanctuary wouldn’t look so empty for online services, Rabbi Judith Siegal and her staff filled it with cardboard cutouts of congregation members, including children and pets.In-person worship has now resumed, and the range of weekly attendance – 75 to 125 people – is close to pre-pandemic levels.“We’re still wearing masks, and the seating is still spread out,” Siegal said. “But our members love it.”Among Christians, the option of worshipping online has been embraced by many evangelical Protestants, according to the AP-NORC poll. About 3 in 10 have livestreamed services at least weekly in recent months, compared with about 1 in 10 Catholics or mainline Protestants.Three-quarters of evangelical Protestants say they pray privately at least weekly, compared with roughly half of mainline Protestants and Catholics, the poll found.Roughly a quarter of evangelical Protestants say they’ve recently talked by phone or video conference with a religious or spiritual leader at least a few times a month, compared with about 1 in 10 mainline Protestants and Catholics.Some faith leaders, such as Meredith Mills, see some positives, such as more energy in the church, even with fewer worshippers.“The ones showing up right now are the people who really want to be there,” she said. “There’s a lot of joy in the room Sunday mornings. It’s one of the reasons that, despite everything, I still love my job.”___

Across US, houses of worship struggle to rebuild attendance

KANSAS CITY (AP) —Just as Americans and Europeans were eagerly awaiting their most normal holiday season in a couple of years, the omicron variant has unleashed a fresh round of fear and uncertainty — for travelers, shoppers, party-goers and their economies as a whole.

The Rockettes have canceled their Christmas show in New York. Some London restaurants have emptied out as commuters avoid the downtown. Broadway shows are canceling some performances. The National Hockey League suspended its games until after Christmas. Boston plans to require diners, revelers and shoppers to show proof of vaccination to enter restaurants, bars and stores.

A heightened sense of anxiety has begun to erode the willingness of some people and some businesses to carry on as usual in the face of the extraordinarily contagious omicron variant, which has fast become the dominant version of the virus in the United States.

Other people are still traveling, spending and congregating as they normally do, though often with more caution. Holiday air travel remains robust. Many stores and restaurants are still enjoying solid sales. And omicron has yet to keep audiences away from movie theaters in significant numbers. This past weekend, record audiences across all demographics flocked to theaters for the new “Spider-Man” movie.

“The movie theater has not yet been hindered by omicron,” said Steve Buck, the chief strategy officer of EntTelligence.

At the same time, no one knows yet what omicron will ultimately mean for the health of the Western economies, which have endured a wild ride of downturns and recoveries since early 2020.

“These mutations keep coming,” said Robin Brooks, chief economist at the Institute of International Finance. “What is the probability that sometime we get a really nasty one? No one has any idea. This thing is mutating, and it’s very, very hard to say.’’

Will omicron cause outbreaks at factories and ports, disrupt operations and worsen supply chain bottlenecks that have forced up prices and contributed to the hottest U.S. inflation in decades?

Will it mean people will hunker down at home again and spend less on services — restaurant meals, concerts, hotel stays — which could weaken the economy but potentially defuse inflationary pressures?

Will return-to-office plans for white collar workers be put on hold indefinitely, deepening the hit to many cities’ downtown businesses?

Or will omicron prove a blip that scarcely slows what has become a surprisingly strong recovery from the short but intense pandemic recession?

Spooked by uncertainty and fear of the worst-case scenarios, stock markets around the world sold off for three days before rebounding Tuesday.

“We don’t know whether this is good or bad for growth or inflation in the medium term,” said Megan Greene, global chief economist at the Kroll Institute. “We just don’t have enough data yet.’’

Unable to assess its longer-term consequences, businesses, consumers and policymakers have struggled to respond to the omicron threat.

Danielle Ballantyne, a Chicago dietitian, had planned to visit some stores and seek inspiration for holiday gifts. But as omicron spread, she scrapped that idea in favor of staying home and shopping online.

“From what I have been hearing in the news,” Ballantyne said, “omicron is more contagious. So I am trying to be more selective in where I go in terms of big public spaces.”

At its stores in big cities like New York and Chicago, the clothier Untuckit is reporting a 15% drop in traffic, similar to what it experienced when the delta variant started spreading last summer.

“It impacts people’s perception of comfort and safety and their willingness to go out,” said Aaron Sanandres, CEO of the company.

As infections have spread, European countries have so far gone further than the United States, with restrictions ranging from a full lockdown in the Netherlands to indoor mask mandates in the United Kingdom.

A theater in western England refunded $240,000 in tickets. The Advantage Travel Group, which represents U.K. travel agents, said that business — flights, cruises and package holidays — plummeted fell 40% in mid-December from a month earlier. A diner in central Madrid absorbed cancellations for about half its booked space one week recently.

In London, downtown restaurants are suffering as office workers stay home.

“As soon as they said work from home, it’s completely emptied,” said Sally Abe, a chef at the Conrad Hotel in central London.

On Tuesday, Britain&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-business-health-europe-public-health-518704a0a2cc3aa95b32284b52dac6bf">announced that it would provide</a>&nbsp;1 billion pounds ($1.3 billion) in grants and other aid to help the hospitality industry survive omicron. The government bowed to pressure from pubs, restaurants and other businesses whose income has plunged in the aftermath of public health warnings.

Since the pandemic hit nearly two years ago, it has imposed one economic challenge after another. Economies all but shut down when the virus struck early last year. More than 22 million people in the United States alone lost jobs. Bars, restaurants and hotels were particularly devastated.

But record-high infusions of government spending and, eventually, the rollout of vaccines triggered an unexpectedly powerful recovery, giving many households the confidence and financial wherewithal to resume shopping. And it sparked optimism for the 2021 holiday season: In an updated forecast shortly before omicron emerged as a serious threat, the National Retail Federation said U.S. holiday sales were on track for a record-breaking year.

One fear now is that omicron infections will further disrupt manufacturing and shipping, worsen the supply chain backlogs and keep inflation simmering. It could also increase consumers’ already intensified demand for goods, which would magnify the supply shortages.

“If everybody is freaked out that going to a bar or restaurant is going to land them in a hospital, they may continue to buy goods,” said Greene, the Kroll Institute economist. “So that could exacerbate the short-term trend and make inflation worse.’’

On the other hand, she said, “if growth is really dampened (by omicron), that should take the heat off inflation.”

There are other reasons to think the recovery could decelerate. In the United States, economic aid from federal spending and relief checks is fading. The Federal Reserve is reducing its economic support. China’s economy, the world’s second-biggest after the United States, is slowing.

For now, the U.S. bond market is signaling more concern about economic weakness than about runaway inflation: The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note remains at historically low levels, below 1.5%.

Citing omicron and other factors, Oxford Economics has downgraded its estimate of U.S. economic growth for the October-December quarter to a 7.3% annual pace, down from an earlier 7.8% estimate.

“Omicron has been so rampant,” said Kathy Bostjancic, Oxford’s chief U.S. financial economist. “And it is hitting in high-density areas of the Northeast. We think it is going to take a pretty big toll on economic activity.’’

That said, it’s also possible that the economy will prove resilient against the latest challenge COVID has thrown at it. One measure of retail traffic shows that the new variant has made little difference — at least so far. For the week that ended Dec. 18, store traffic was up nearly 20% from a year earlier, though down 23% from the same week in the pre-pandemic year of 2019, according to Sensormatic Solutions. For the Black Friday that ended Nov. 27, sales were up 30% from last year.

Peter McCall, Sensormatic’s senior manager of retail consulting, noted that shoppers are still going to retail stores but are now favoring open-air shopping centers and outlet malls more than enclosed shopping centers.

Arnold Donald, CEO of Carnival Corp., the world’s leading cruise company, said this week that Carnival had experienced “a little spike” in cancellations but predicted that it would prove just a short term blip.

“The booking patterns are strong,” Donald said.

So is the traffic at some big retailers. Several hundred people lined up for the opening of the Toys R Us flagship store Sunday at the American Dream mall in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

“We were prepared for a big day, but it was even bigger than we thought,” said Yehuda Shmidman, co-founder of WHP Global, which owns Toys R Us.

Abt Electronics in Chicago says it’s enjoying a strong holiday season so far, with sales up 10% from a year ago. But Jon Abt, co-president and a grandson of the company’s founder, said he’s noticed that omicron is changing how some people shop. Though fewer customers are entering stores, there’s increasing demand for curbside pickup.

He’s also made changes for workers designed to prevent the spread of COVID: He’s requiring them to stay at the counters or warehouses where they work instead of jumping back and forth to different workplaces.

“I am an optimist,” Abt said. “I am not a worrier. This is life. And you have got to roll with the punches.’’

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/11/1638148803210.png" alt="3D structure of spike with amino acid changes in Omicron -photo courtesy GISAID" />
 <figcaption>3D structure of spike with amino acid changes in Omicron -photo courtesy GISAID</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY (AP) —Just as Americans and Europeans were eagerly awaiting their most normal holiday season in a couple of years, the omicron variant has unleashed a fresh round of fear and uncertainty — for travelers, shoppers, party-goers and their economies as a whole.The Rockettes have canceled their Christmas show in New York. Some London restaurants have emptied out as commuters avoid the downtown. Broadway shows are canceling some performances. The National Hockey League suspended its games until after Christmas. Boston plans to require diners, revelers and shoppers to show proof of vaccination to enter restaurants, bars and stores.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/12/1640259572943.png" alt="Omicron found in most of the United States-map GISAID" />
 <figcaption>Omicron found in most of the United States-map GISAID</figcaption>
 </figure>A heightened sense of anxiety has begun to erode the willingness of some people and some businesses to carry on as usual in the face of the extraordinarily contagious omicron variant, which has fast become the dominant version of the virus in the United States.Other people are still traveling, spending and congregating as they normally do, though often with more caution. Holiday air travel remains robust. Many stores and restaurants are still enjoying solid sales. And omicron has yet to keep audiences away from movie theaters in significant numbers. This past weekend, record audiences across all demographics flocked to theaters for the new “Spider-Man” movie.“The movie theater has not yet been hindered by omicron,” said Steve Buck, the chief strategy officer of EntTelligence.At the same time, no one knows yet what omicron will ultimately mean for the health of the Western economies, which have endured a wild ride of downturns and recoveries since early 2020.“These mutations keep coming,” said Robin Brooks, chief economist at the Institute of International Finance. “What is the probability that sometime we get a really nasty one? No one has any idea. This thing is mutating, and it’s very, very hard to say.’’Will omicron cause outbreaks at factories and ports, disrupt operations and worsen supply chain bottlenecks that have forced up prices and contributed to the hottest U.S. inflation in decades?Will it mean people will hunker down at home again and spend less on services — restaurant meals, concerts, hotel stays — which could weaken the economy but potentially defuse inflationary pressures?Will return-to-office plans for white collar workers be put on hold indefinitely, deepening the hit to many cities’ downtown businesses?Or will omicron prove a blip that scarcely slows what has become a surprisingly strong recovery from the short but intense pandemic recession?Spooked by uncertainty and fear of the worst-case scenarios, stock markets around the world sold off for three days before rebounding Tuesday.“We don’t know whether this is good or bad for growth or inflation in the medium term,” said Megan Greene, global chief economist at the Kroll Institute. “We just don’t have enough data yet.’’Unable to assess its longer-term consequences, businesses, consumers and policymakers have struggled to respond to the omicron threat.Danielle Ballantyne, a Chicago dietitian, had planned to visit some stores and seek inspiration for holiday gifts. But as omicron spread, she scrapped that idea in favor of staying home and shopping online.“From what I have been hearing in the news,” Ballantyne said, “omicron is more contagious. So I am trying to be more selective in where I go in terms of big public spaces.”At its stores in big cities like New York and Chicago, the clothier Untuckit is reporting a 15% drop in traffic, similar to what it experienced when the delta variant started spreading last summer.“It impacts people’s perception of comfort and safety and their willingness to go out,” said Aaron Sanandres, CEO of the company.As infections have spread, European countries have so far gone further than the United States, with restrictions ranging from a full lockdown in the Netherlands to indoor mask mandates in the United Kingdom.A theater in western England refunded $240,000 in tickets. The Advantage Travel Group, which represents U.K. travel agents, said that business — flights, cruises and package holidays — plummeted fell 40% in mid-December from a month earlier. A diner in central Madrid absorbed cancellations for about half its booked space one week recently.In London, downtown restaurants are suffering as office workers stay home.“As soon as they said work from home, it’s completely emptied,” said Sally Abe, a chef at the Conrad Hotel in central London.On Tuesday, Britain&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-business-health-europe-public-health-518704a0a2cc3aa95b32284b52dac6bf">announced that it would provide</a>&nbsp;1 billion pounds ($1.3 billion) in grants and other aid to help the hospitality industry survive omicron. The government bowed to pressure from pubs, restaurants and other businesses whose income has plunged in the aftermath of public health warnings.Since the pandemic hit nearly two years ago, it has imposed one economic challenge after another. Economies all but shut down when the virus struck early last year. More than 22 million people in the United States alone lost jobs. Bars, restaurants and hotels were particularly devastated.But record-high infusions of government spending and, eventually, the rollout of vaccines triggered an unexpectedly powerful recovery, giving many households the confidence and financial wherewithal to resume shopping. And it sparked optimism for the 2021 holiday season: In an updated forecast shortly before omicron emerged as a serious threat, the National Retail Federation said U.S. holiday sales were on track for a record-breaking year.One fear now is that omicron infections will further disrupt manufacturing and shipping, worsen the supply chain backlogs and keep inflation simmering. It could also increase consumers’ already intensified demand for goods, which would magnify the supply shortages.“If everybody is freaked out that going to a bar or restaurant is going to land them in a hospital, they may continue to buy goods,” said Greene, the Kroll Institute economist. “So that could exacerbate the short-term trend and make inflation worse.’’On the other hand, she said, “if growth is really dampened (by omicron), that should take the heat off inflation.”There are other reasons to think the recovery could decelerate. In the United States, economic aid from federal spending and relief checks is fading. The Federal Reserve is reducing its economic support. China’s economy, the world’s second-biggest after the United States, is slowing.For now, the U.S. bond market is signaling more concern about economic weakness than about runaway inflation: The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note remains at historically low levels, below 1.5%.Citing omicron and other factors, Oxford Economics has downgraded its estimate of U.S. economic growth for the October-December quarter to a 7.3% annual pace, down from an earlier 7.8% estimate.“Omicron has been so rampant,” said Kathy Bostjancic, Oxford’s chief U.S. financial economist. “And it is hitting in high-density areas of the Northeast. We think it is going to take a pretty big toll on economic activity.’’That said, it’s also possible that the economy will prove resilient against the latest challenge COVID has thrown at it. One measure of retail traffic shows that the new variant has made little difference — at least so far. For the week that ended Dec. 18, store traffic was up nearly 20% from a year earlier, though down 23% from the same week in the pre-pandemic year of 2019, according to Sensormatic Solutions. For the Black Friday that ended Nov. 27, sales were up 30% from last year.Peter McCall, Sensormatic’s senior manager of retail consulting, noted that shoppers are still going to retail stores but are now favoring open-air shopping centers and outlet malls more than enclosed shopping centers.Arnold Donald, CEO of Carnival Corp., the world’s leading cruise company, said this week that Carnival had experienced “a little spike” in cancellations but predicted that it would prove just a short term blip.“The booking patterns are strong,” Donald said.So is the traffic at some big retailers. Several hundred people lined up for the opening of the Toys R Us flagship store Sunday at the American Dream mall in East Rutherford, New Jersey.“We were prepared for a big day, but it was even bigger than we thought,” said Yehuda Shmidman, co-founder of WHP Global, which owns Toys R Us.Abt Electronics in Chicago says it’s enjoying a strong holiday season so far, with sales up 10% from a year ago. But Jon Abt, co-president and a grandson of the company’s founder, said he’s noticed that omicron is changing how some people shop. Though fewer customers are entering stores, there’s increasing demand for curbside pickup.He’s also made changes for workers designed to prevent the spread of COVID: He’s requiring them to stay at the counters or warehouses where they work instead of jumping back and forth to different workplaces.“I am an optimist,” Abt said. “I am not a worrier. This is life. And you have got to roll with the punches.’’

Omicron casts a new shadow over economy's pandemic recovery

OLATHE, Kan. (AP) — Kansas prosecutors argued Wednesday that a 21-year-old state lawmaker who is charged with domestic battery in a disturbance involving his brother is no longer eligible for diversion.

Johnson County Assistant District Attorney Samantha Shannon said in a Zoom hearing that the issue is that a warrant was issued for Aaron Coleman after a motion to revoke his bond was filed in the wake of his arrest late last month&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/crime-arrests-kansas-city-kansas-lawrence-c876d564826fdfeebc29b002a3298492">on suspicion of drunken driving.</a>

But Coleman’s attorney, David Bell, said that he didn’t know what had changed to prevent diversion.

Magistrate Judge James Phelan set a hearing for Jan. 7 to consider the issue and hear the results of a mental health evaluation that he previously ordered. Phelan said Coleman could remain free on bond until the hearing.

The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/crime-arrests-kansas-city-kansas-cad353ffd3afe3583df3d267ebb535a5">affidavit</a>&nbsp;in the domestic battery case said that the Kansas City, Kansas, Democrat pushed and hit his 18-year-old brother in an Oct. 30 fight. The sergeant said Coleman, who has acknowledged past abuses against girls and young women, was “uncooperative” with police and “extremely erratic.”

Several lawmakers have called for Coleman to resign, but no formal action has been taken yet.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/11/1635804497310.png" alt="Coleman from his October booking photo in Johnson County" />
 <figcaption>Coleman from his October booking photo in Johnson County</figcaption>
 </figure>OLATHE, Kan. (AP) — Kansas prosecutors argued Wednesday that a 21-year-old state lawmaker who is charged with domestic battery in a disturbance involving his brother is no longer eligible for diversion.Johnson County Assistant District Attorney Samantha Shannon said in a Zoom hearing that the issue is that a warrant was issued for Aaron Coleman after a motion to revoke his bond was filed in the wake of his arrest late last month&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/crime-arrests-kansas-city-kansas-lawrence-c876d564826fdfeebc29b002a3298492">on suspicion of drunken driving.</a>But Coleman’s attorney, David Bell, said that he didn’t know what had changed to prevent diversion.Magistrate Judge James Phelan set a hearing for Jan. 7 to consider the issue and hear the results of a mental health evaluation that he previously ordered. Phelan said Coleman could remain free on bond until the hearing.The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/crime-arrests-kansas-city-kansas-cad353ffd3afe3583df3d267ebb535a5">affidavit</a>&nbsp;in the domestic battery case said that the Kansas City, Kansas, Democrat pushed and hit his 18-year-old brother in an Oct. 30 fight. The sergeant said Coleman, who has acknowledged past abuses against girls and young women, was “uncooperative” with police and “extremely erratic.”Several lawmakers have called for Coleman to resign, but no formal action has been taken yet.

Prosecutors: Kansas lawmaker shouldn't get diversion

By JOHN P. TRETBAR Kansas crude prices rose and fell last week, winding up a dollar-per-barrel lower than a week ago but nearly five dollars higher than at the first of the month. Kansas Common crude at CHS in McPherson dropped a $1.75 on Friday and will start the week at $61 per barrel. That's up from $55.75 a barrel Dec. 1, and $23 per barrel higher than a year ago. The Rig Count in Kansas is up slightly from last week. Independent Oil &amp; Gas Service reports 17 active drilling rigs in eastern Kansas, up two for the week, and 27 west of Wichita, which is down one. At 579, the Rotary Rig Count from Baker Hughes was up four oil rigs and down one seeking natural gas. The count in Texas was up three, Oklahoma was up two, and New Mexico was down one. Kansas regulators approved 31 new drilling permits for the week ending December 16. That's 1,146 new drilling locations across the state so far this year. There were 19 new permits east of Wichita and 12 in Western Kansas. Kansas operators completed 34 wells across Kansas last week, 899 so far this year. Independent Oil &amp; Gas Service reports 15 newly-completed wells east of Wichita and 19 in Western Kansas, including one in Ellis County and one in Stafford County The number of wells spudded is up 89 percent from a year ago. The number of active operators searching for oil and gas in Kansas this year now totals 237, compared with 168 a year ago, an increase of just over 41 percent. &nbsp; The Energy Information Administration says U.S. commercial crude inventories dropped by 4.6 million barrels from the previous week. At 428.3 million barrels, U.S. crude oil inventories are about 7% below the five year average for this time of year.&nbsp; Total motor gasoline inventories decreased by 700,000 barrels last week and are about 6% below the five year average for this time of year.&nbsp;

U.S. operators pumped over&nbsp;11.7&nbsp;million barrels per day of crude oil last week, up nearly 100,000 barrels per day over the previous week. U.S. crude oil imports averaged 6.5 million barrels per day last week, down by 28,000 barrels per day from the previous week. Imports over the last four weeks are 15% higher than the same four weeks a year ago. Over the past four weeks, crude oil imports averaged about 6.5 million barrels per day, 15.4% more than the same four-week period last year.&nbsp; Oil-by-rail traffic is up for the week but down from a year ago. The Association of American Railroads reports 11,086 tanker cars hauling petroleum or petroleum products across the U.S. during the week through December 11th. That's up 372 carloads from the week before, but down more than three percent from a year ago. AAR says Canadian traffic was up for the week by 644 carloads, but down 1.6% from last year at this time. Crude production in North Dakota rose by about a million barrels in October compared to the month before. The number-three producing state reached 34.4 million barrels, or 1.11 million barrels per day. That's down about 100,000 barrels per day from a year earlier. North Dakota keeps improving on what were once controversial levels of natural gas flaring at oil wells. The Department of Mineral Resources reports operators in October captured 94% of that gas, flaring only 5.7%. Most of the nation's coal-fired power plants were built in the 1970s and 1980s, and the government says operators are planning on retiring many of them, even though there is no requirement to do so. The &nbsp;Owners and operators tell the Energy Information Administration about 28% of the coal-fired capacity will go offline within the next 15 years, creating a possible market opening for oil and natural gas as well as renewable energy sources. An EIA report suggests rising costs or diminishing reliability are the chief drivers of those shutdowns, especially when lower-cost or more efficient technologies enter the market, when fuel prices change, or when new regulations require additional investment. The average operating coal-fired generating unit in the United States is 45 years old.&nbsp; The Biden Administration last week said a crude-oil export ban is not under consideration. Bloomberg reports Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm took a conciliatory tone with members of the oil industry in an online meeting of an outside advisory group . Biden Administration energy policies are coming under fire, including its temporary halt to federal oil leases and the termination of the Keystone Pipeline permit. Secretary Granholm &nbsp;said the administration is not considering reinstating a ban on the export of crude oil. Bloomberg called that the administration’s most definitive statement yet regarding any plans for an export ban. The White house had previously considered such a move as it tried to address spiking gasoline prices.&nbsp;

By JOHN P. TRETBAR Kansas crude prices rose and fell last week, winding up a dollar-per-barrel lower than a week ago but nearly five dollars higher than at the first of the month. Kansas Common crude at CHS in McPherson dropped a $1.75 on Friday and will start the week at $61 per barrel. That's up from $55.75 a barrel Dec. 1, and $23 per barrel higher than a year ago. The Rig Count in Kansas is up slightly from last week. Independent Oil &amp; Gas Service reports 17 active drilling rigs in eastern Kansas, up two for the week, and 27 west of Wichita, which is down one. At 579, the Rotary Rig Count from Baker Hughes was up four oil rigs and down one seeking natural gas. The count in Texas was up three, Oklahoma was up two, and New Mexico was down one. Kansas regulators approved 31 new drilling permits for the week ending December 16. That's 1,146 new drilling locations across the state so far this year. There were 19 new permits east of Wichita and 12 in Western Kansas. Kansas operators completed 34 wells across Kansas last week, 899 so far this year. Independent Oil &amp; Gas Service reports 15 newly-completed wells east of Wichita and 19 in Western Kansas, including one in Ellis County and one in Stafford County The number of wells spudded is up 89 percent from a year ago. The number of active operators searching for oil and gas in Kansas this year now totals 237, compared with 168 a year ago, an increase of just over 41 percent. &nbsp; The Energy Information Administration says U.S. commercial crude inventories dropped by 4.6 million barrels from the previous week. At 428.3 million barrels, U.S. crude oil inventories are about 7% below the five year average for this time of year.&nbsp; Total motor gasoline inventories decreased by 700,000 barrels last week and are about 6% below the five year average for this time of year.&nbsp;U.S. operators pumped over&nbsp;11.7&nbsp;million barrels per day of crude oil last week, up nearly 100,000 barrels per day over the previous week. U.S. crude oil imports averaged 6.5 million barrels per day last week, down by 28,000 barrels per day from the previous week. Imports over the last four weeks are 15% higher than the same four weeks a year ago. Over the past four weeks, crude oil imports averaged about 6.5 million barrels per day, 15.4% more than the same four-week period last year.&nbsp; Oil-by-rail traffic is up for the week but down from a year ago. The Association of American Railroads reports 11,086 tanker cars hauling petroleum or petroleum products across the U.S. during the week through December 11th. That's up 372 carloads from the week before, but down more than three percent from a year ago. AAR says Canadian traffic was up for the week by 644 carloads, but down 1.6% from last year at this time. Crude production in North Dakota rose by about a million barrels in October compared to the month before. The number-three producing state reached 34.4 million barrels, or 1.11 million barrels per day. That's down about 100,000 barrels per day from a year earlier. North Dakota keeps improving on what were once controversial levels of natural gas flaring at oil wells. The Department of Mineral Resources reports operators in October captured 94% of that gas, flaring only 5.7%. Most of the nation's coal-fired power plants were built in the 1970s and 1980s, and the government says operators are planning on retiring many of them, even though there is no requirement to do so. The &nbsp;Owners and operators tell the Energy Information Administration about 28% of the coal-fired capacity will go offline within the next 15 years, creating a possible market opening for oil and natural gas as well as renewable energy sources. An EIA report suggests rising costs or diminishing reliability are the chief drivers of those shutdowns, especially when lower-cost or more efficient technologies enter the market, when fuel prices change, or when new regulations require additional investment. The average operating coal-fired generating unit in the United States is 45 years old.&nbsp; The Biden Administration last week said a crude-oil export ban is not under consideration. Bloomberg reports Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm took a conciliatory tone with members of the oil industry in an online meeting of an outside advisory group . Biden Administration energy policies are coming under fire, including its temporary halt to federal oil leases and the termination of the Keystone Pipeline permit. Secretary Granholm &nbsp;said the administration is not considering reinstating a ban on the export of crude oil. Bloomberg called that the administration’s most definitive statement yet regarding any plans for an export ban. The White house had previously considered such a move as it tried to address spiking gasoline prices.&nbsp;

News From the Oil Patch: Administration not considering export ban

Sunday, October 6th, 1946-Saturday, December 18th, 2021

A full obituary is pending with <a href="https://memorials.baalmannmortuary.com/Wallsmith-Thomas/4806760/">Baalmann Mortuary</a>.

<h2>Thomas David Wallsmith</h2>Sunday, October 6th, 1946-Saturday, December 18th, 2021A full obituary is pending with <a href="https://memorials.baalmannmortuary.com/Wallsmith-Thomas/4806760/">Baalmann Mortuary</a>.

Thomas David Wallsmith

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin said Sunday he cannot back his party’s signature&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/climate-joe-biden-business-health-congress-44c43fab00aa95a268a2cba420713d22">$2 trillion social and environment bill,</a>&nbsp;dealing a potentially fatal blow to President Joe Biden’s leading domestic initiative heading into an election year when Democrats’ narrow hold on Congress was already in peril.

Manchin told “Fox News Sunday” that after&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-business-environment-wv-state-wire-joe-manchin-316cb4a4919960cabae88d1e965d3f97">five-and-half months of negotiations</a>&nbsp;among Democrats in which he was his party’s chief obstacle to passage, “I cannot vote to continue with this piece of legislation. I just can’t. I’ve tried everything humanly possible. I can’t get there.”

Manchin’s choice of words seemed to crack the door open to continued talks with Biden and top congressional Democrats over reshaping the legislation. But the West Virginia senator all but said the bill would die unless it met his demands for a smaller, less sweeping package — something that would be hard for many Democrats in the narrowly divided Congress to accept.

The bill would provide hundreds of billions of dollars to help millions of families with children by extending a more generous child tax credit, creating free preschool and bolstering child care aid. There is more than $500 billion for tax breaks and spending aimed at curbing carbon emissions, which experts consider the largest federal expenditure ever to combat climate change.

Other provisions would limit prescription drug price increases, create hearing benefits for Medicare recipients and bolster aid for the elderly, housing and job training. Nearly all of it would be paid for with higher taxes on the wealthy and large corporations.

In an unusually hardball response to a lawmaker whose vote is crucial in the 50-50 Senate, White House press secretary Jen Psaki called Manchin’s announcement “a sudden and inexplicable reversal in his position” and “a breach of his commitments” to Biden and congressional Democrats. She pointedly said that Manchin, whose state is among the nation’s poorest, “will have to explain” why many families will have to cope with higher health and child care costs the bill is intended to address.

Psaki said in a statement that Manchin had “in person” given Biden a written proposal last Tuesday that was “the same size and scope” of a framework for the bill that Democrats rallied behind in October, and agreed he’d continue talks. That framework had a 10-year cost of $1.85 trillion. Officials hadn’t previously disclosed that Tuesday meeting.

“We will continue to. press him to see if he will reverse his position yet again, to honor his prior commitments and be true to his word,” Psaki said.

A Manchin aide gave the White House about a 20-minute notice before the lawmaker announced his position on national television, said a person familiar with the senator’s actions who described them only on condition of anonymity.

The legislation’s collapse would deepen bitter ideological divisions between progressive and moderate Democrats. That would imperil the party’s ability to get behind any substantial legislation before the November congressional elections, when their control of Congress seems in doubt. And it would add a note of chaos just as Democrats need to demonstrate accomplishments and show a united front to voters.

Manchin’s declaration was a stunning repudiation of Biden’s and his party’s top goal, and its delivery — a last-minute heads up from a staffer — seemed little short of a slap in the face to Biden. A rejection of the legislation has been seen by many as unthinkable because of the political damage it could inflict on Democrats.

It is rare for a member of a president’s own party to administer a fatal blow to their paramount legislative objective. Manchin’s decision called to mind the famous thumbs-down vote by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., that killed President Donald Trump’s 2017 effort to repeal the health care law enacted under President Barack Obama.

Manchin’s comments, as Congress was on a holiday recess, drew fury from Democratic colleagues he already has enraged and frustrated for months. Other problems have arisen, caused by another moderate Democrat, Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, and bickering between progressives and centrists, but none has approached the magnitude of Manchin’s stands.

Senate Budget Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., said in a written statement that if Manchin wants to oppose the legislation, “He should have the opportunity to do so with a floor vote as soon as the Senate returns.” Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington state, a leader of House progressives, said Manchin can no longer say “he is a man of his word.”

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said it would be “extremely disappointing” to abandon top priorities but that a package helping families, containing health care costs and creating clean energy jobs “would go a long way toward addressing our challenges.”

Rep. Suzan DelBene, D-Wash., reiterated moderates’ desire to see the bill refocused on fewer programs. “Failure is not an option,” she said.

South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, top Republican on the Senate Budget Committee, had spent weeks trying to turn Manchin against the bill by saying it was too expensive. “I very much appreciate” Manchin’s opposition, Graham said.

Manchin said he was opposing the 10-year, roughly $2 trillion bill because of his concerns about inflation, growing federal debt and a need to focus on the omicron COVID-19 variant. He accused Democrats in a written statement later of trying to “dramatically reshape our society in a way that leaves our country even more vulnerable to the threats we face,” seemingly delineating an ideological gap between himself and his party.

He also wants the bill’s initiatives to last the measure’s full 10-year duration. Democrats made many of them temporary to limit the bill’s cost, which Manchin says is misleading.

The bill’s extension of enhanced child tax credit benefits, including monthly checks to millions of families, would only be extended one year. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office projected the credit’s full 10-year cost at $1.6 trillion, nearly the size of the entire package Manchin says he’d accept. To fit, any compromise would likely have to reduce the tax credit’s benefits and deeply cut many other proposals.

Democrats dismiss Manchin’s assertions that the bill would fuel inflation and worsen budget deficits.

They say its annual spending would be a tiny percentage of the country’s $23 trillion economy and have little impact on prices. Its job training, education and other initiatives would spur economic growth and curb inflation long-term, they say.

Democrats note that CBO estimated the bill’s savings would leave it adding $200 billion to federal deficits over the coming decade, small compared to the $12 trillion in red ink already projected.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/12/1608550263779.png" alt="It is rare for a member of a president’s own party to administer a fatal blow to their paramount legislative objective-photo courtesy Architect of the Capitol" />
 <figcaption>It is rare for a member of a president’s own party to administer a fatal blow to their paramount legislative objective-photo courtesy Architect of the Capitol</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin said Sunday he cannot back his party’s signature&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/climate-joe-biden-business-health-congress-44c43fab00aa95a268a2cba420713d22">$2 trillion social and environment bill,</a>&nbsp;dealing a potentially fatal blow to President Joe Biden’s leading domestic initiative heading into an election year when Democrats’ narrow hold on Congress was already in peril.Manchin told “Fox News Sunday” that after&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-business-environment-wv-state-wire-joe-manchin-316cb4a4919960cabae88d1e965d3f97">five-and-half months of negotiations</a>&nbsp;among Democrats in which he was his party’s chief obstacle to passage, “I cannot vote to continue with this piece of legislation. I just can’t. I’ve tried everything humanly possible. I can’t get there.”Manchin’s choice of words seemed to crack the door open to continued talks with Biden and top congressional Democrats over reshaping the legislation. But the West Virginia senator all but said the bill would die unless it met his demands for a smaller, less sweeping package — something that would be hard for many Democrats in the narrowly divided Congress to accept.The bill would provide hundreds of billions of dollars to help millions of families with children by extending a more generous child tax credit, creating free preschool and bolstering child care aid. There is more than $500 billion for tax breaks and spending aimed at curbing carbon emissions, which experts consider the largest federal expenditure ever to combat climate change.Other provisions would limit prescription drug price increases, create hearing benefits for Medicare recipients and bolster aid for the elderly, housing and job training. Nearly all of it would be paid for with higher taxes on the wealthy and large corporations.In an unusually hardball response to a lawmaker whose vote is crucial in the 50-50 Senate, White House press secretary Jen Psaki called Manchin’s announcement “a sudden and inexplicable reversal in his position” and “a breach of his commitments” to Biden and congressional Democrats. She pointedly said that Manchin, whose state is among the nation’s poorest, “will have to explain” why many families will have to cope with higher health and child care costs the bill is intended to address.Psaki said in a statement that Manchin had “in person” given Biden a written proposal last Tuesday that was “the same size and scope” of a framework for the bill that Democrats rallied behind in October, and agreed he’d continue talks. That framework had a 10-year cost of $1.85 trillion. Officials hadn’t previously disclosed that Tuesday meeting.“We will continue to. press him to see if he will reverse his position yet again, to honor his prior commitments and be true to his word,” Psaki said.A Manchin aide gave the White House about a 20-minute notice before the lawmaker announced his position on national television, said a person familiar with the senator’s actions who described them only on condition of anonymity.The legislation’s collapse would deepen bitter ideological divisions between progressive and moderate Democrats. That would imperil the party’s ability to get behind any substantial legislation before the November congressional elections, when their control of Congress seems in doubt. And it would add a note of chaos just as Democrats need to demonstrate accomplishments and show a united front to voters.Manchin’s declaration was a stunning repudiation of Biden’s and his party’s top goal, and its delivery — a last-minute heads up from a staffer — seemed little short of a slap in the face to Biden. A rejection of the legislation has been seen by many as unthinkable because of the political damage it could inflict on Democrats.It is rare for a member of a president’s own party to administer a fatal blow to their paramount legislative objective. Manchin’s decision called to mind the famous thumbs-down vote by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., that killed President Donald Trump’s 2017 effort to repeal the health care law enacted under President Barack Obama.Manchin’s comments, as Congress was on a holiday recess, drew fury from Democratic colleagues he already has enraged and frustrated for months. Other problems have arisen, caused by another moderate Democrat, Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, and bickering between progressives and centrists, but none has approached the magnitude of Manchin’s stands.Senate Budget Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., said in a written statement that if Manchin wants to oppose the legislation, “He should have the opportunity to do so with a floor vote as soon as the Senate returns.” Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington state, a leader of House progressives, said Manchin can no longer say “he is a man of his word.”Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said it would be “extremely disappointing” to abandon top priorities but that a package helping families, containing health care costs and creating clean energy jobs “would go a long way toward addressing our challenges.”Rep. Suzan DelBene, D-Wash., reiterated moderates’ desire to see the bill refocused on fewer programs. “Failure is not an option,” she said.South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, top Republican on the Senate Budget Committee, had spent weeks trying to turn Manchin against the bill by saying it was too expensive. “I very much appreciate” Manchin’s opposition, Graham said.Manchin said he was opposing the 10-year, roughly $2 trillion bill because of his concerns about inflation, growing federal debt and a need to focus on the omicron COVID-19 variant. He accused Democrats in a written statement later of trying to “dramatically reshape our society in a way that leaves our country even more vulnerable to the threats we face,” seemingly delineating an ideological gap between himself and his party.He also wants the bill’s initiatives to last the measure’s full 10-year duration. Democrats made many of them temporary to limit the bill’s cost, which Manchin says is misleading.The bill’s extension of enhanced child tax credit benefits, including monthly checks to millions of families, would only be extended one year. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office projected the credit’s full 10-year cost at $1.6 trillion, nearly the size of the entire package Manchin says he’d accept. To fit, any compromise would likely have to reduce the tax credit’s benefits and deeply cut many other proposals.Democrats dismiss Manchin’s assertions that the bill would fuel inflation and worsen budget deficits.They say its annual spending would be a tiny percentage of the country’s $23 trillion economy and have little impact on prices. Its job training, education and other initiatives would spur economic growth and curb inflation long-term, they say.Democrats note that CBO estimated the bill’s savings would leave it adding $200 billion to federal deficits over the coming decade, small compared to the $12 trillion in red ink already projected.

President won't get his $2 trillion spending plan for Christmas

Doyle Eugene Kauk, 78, lost his life helping others in a tragic accident
 on Wednesday, Dec. 15th, 2021, in rural Grant County, Kansas.
 Doyle was born on a small farm South of Alma, Nebraska to Harry Kauk
 and Opal Vahle on October 24, 1943. At the age of eleven, his father 
died leaving Doyle, his older brother Stan, younger brothers Don &amp; 
Bruce, and sister Carolyn to help their mother continue the work on 
their small farm south of Alma. They milked cows in the morning before 
school and completed other chores after school. Their mother took a job
 in town at a doctor’s office to supplement their income to support the 
farm. When work was all done, he and his siblings enjoyed boating and 
skiing on the Harlan County Reservoir. Scouting was an activity he 
enjoyed and achieved the honor of Eagle Scout.
 Doyle was valedictorian of his high school class in 1961 and 
graduated with high honors from the University of Nebraska in 1965 with a
 BS in Ag Economics &amp; Accounting. He was a member of the Alpha 
Gamma Rho Fraternity and a huge supporter of Huskers Football.
 During his Junior year, Doyle was lined up for a blind date by a 
fraternity brother whose girlfriend lived in Love Hall and knew a 
freshman girl named Veronica (Ronnie) Bausch who lived down the hall 
from her. Doyle and Ronnie would share different impressions about that 
first date in March 1963, on Friday the 13th. However, many dates and 
conversations later they became pinned in the fall of 1964 and married 
on June 24th, 1966.
 In 1966, Doyle earned his Master’s degree at the University of 
California Davis and began teaching at Pomona State Polytechnic College 
in the Los Angeles area. Zachary and Liza were born at the Kaiser 
Foundation hospital in Fontana. The family returned to the Midwest in 
1968 where Kim was born on July 20th, 1969. 
 Doyle held a number of jobs in agriculture including manager of the 
Hoxie Feedlot, manager and part owner of the Halford Feedlot, and 
nutritionist for ADM, and as a private beef nutritionist. 
 Doyle also served as a Sheridan County Commissioner from 2010 to 
2016. He has always enjoyed spending time with family, friends and as a
 consultant to people within the cattle industry. Hobbies included 
skiing, snowmobiling, reading, and spending time designing, building, 
and equipping his train room with the newest and most modern interactive
 Lionel trains
 Doyle is survived by his wife Veronica, three children, Zachary 
(Katherine), Liza Blanc, and Kimberly (Pat) Brown. Grandchildren Cole, 
Jacob, &amp; Karly Kauk; Jordan, Cassandra, Alisha, &amp; Angelina 
Blanc; Kali Riley; Samantha, Bethany, &amp; Carter Brown. 
Great-Grandchildren Ember &amp; Stella Blanc; Meredith Riley. Siblings 
Stan Kauk, Don Kauk, Bruce Kauk, &amp; Caroline Bloomfield.
 Doyle was preceded in death by his parents and his grand-daughter Geena Brown.
 Funeral services will be at 10:30am on Tuesday, December 21st, 2021 at St. Francis Cabrina Catholic Church in Hoxie, Kansas.
 In lieu of flowers the family asks that memorials be made to the 
Doyle Kauk Memorial Scholarship fund at 
www.doylekaukmemorialscholarship.org.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/12/1639964200221.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Doyle Eugene Kauk, 78, lost his life helping others in a tragic accident
 on Wednesday, Dec. 15th, 2021, in rural Grant County, Kansas.
 Doyle was born on a small farm South of Alma, Nebraska to Harry Kauk
 and Opal Vahle on October 24, 1943. At the age of eleven, his father 
died leaving Doyle, his older brother Stan, younger brothers Don &amp; 
Bruce, and sister Carolyn to help their mother continue the work on 
their small farm south of Alma. They milked cows in the morning before 
school and completed other chores after school. Their mother took a job
 in town at a doctor’s office to supplement their income to support the 
farm. When work was all done, he and his siblings enjoyed boating and 
skiing on the Harlan County Reservoir. Scouting was an activity he 
enjoyed and achieved the honor of Eagle Scout.
 Doyle was valedictorian of his high school class in 1961 and 
graduated with high honors from the University of Nebraska in 1965 with a
 BS in Ag Economics &amp; Accounting. He was a member of the Alpha 
Gamma Rho Fraternity and a huge supporter of Huskers Football.
 During his Junior year, Doyle was lined up for a blind date by a 
fraternity brother whose girlfriend lived in Love Hall and knew a 
freshman girl named Veronica (Ronnie) Bausch who lived down the hall 
from her. Doyle and Ronnie would share different impressions about that 
first date in March 1963, on Friday the 13th. However, many dates and 
conversations later they became pinned in the fall of 1964 and married 
on June 24th, 1966.
 In 1966, Doyle earned his Master’s degree at the University of 
California Davis and began teaching at Pomona State Polytechnic College 
in the Los Angeles area. Zachary and Liza were born at the Kaiser 
Foundation hospital in Fontana. The family returned to the Midwest in 
1968 where Kim was born on July 20th, 1969. 
 Doyle held a number of jobs in agriculture including manager of the 
Hoxie Feedlot, manager and part owner of the Halford Feedlot, and 
nutritionist for ADM, and as a private beef nutritionist. 
 Doyle also served as a Sheridan County Commissioner from 2010 to 
2016. He has always enjoyed spending time with family, friends and as a
 consultant to people within the cattle industry. Hobbies included 
skiing, snowmobiling, reading, and spending time designing, building, 
and equipping his train room with the newest and most modern interactive
 Lionel trains
 Doyle is survived by his wife Veronica, three children, Zachary 
(Katherine), Liza Blanc, and Kimberly (Pat) Brown. Grandchildren Cole, 
Jacob, &amp; Karly Kauk; Jordan, Cassandra, Alisha, &amp; Angelina 
Blanc; Kali Riley; Samantha, Bethany, &amp; Carter Brown. 
Great-Grandchildren Ember &amp; Stella Blanc; Meredith Riley. Siblings 
Stan Kauk, Don Kauk, Bruce Kauk, &amp; Caroline Bloomfield.
 Doyle was preceded in death by his parents and his grand-daughter Geena Brown.
 Funeral services will be at 10:30am on Tuesday, December 21st, 2021 at St. Francis Cabrina Catholic Church in Hoxie, Kansas.
 In lieu of flowers the family asks that memorials be made to the 
Doyle Kauk Memorial Scholarship fund at 
www.doylekaukmemorialscholarship.org.

Doyle E. Kauk

KANSAS CITY(AP) — Soon after losing his trucking job amid the pandemic, Freddie Davis got another blow: His landlord in Miami was almost doubling the rent on his Miami apartment.

Davis girded for what he feared would come next. In September he was evicted — just over a month after a federal eviction moratorium ended. He’s now languishing in a hotel, aided by a nonprofit that helps homeless people.

The 51-year-old desperately wants to find a new apartment. But it’s proving impossible on his $1,000-a-month disability check.

“We live in America, and the thing is, people like me, we got to go to the street if we don’t have no other place to go because we can’t afford rent,” said Davis, who lost a leg to diabetes, suffers congestive heart failure and is recovering from multiple wounds on his other leg and foot. “I really can’t do nothing.”

The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-coronavirus-pandemic-f0085d9d4547b897a27323bb95cc890c">federal ban</a>, along with a mix of state and federal moratoriums, is credited with keeping Davis and millions of others in their homes during the pandemic and preventing the spread of the coronavirus.

There was a brief&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/evictions-moratorium-ends-pandemic-5ea6a36efe4e5e7d169fcefbd1dd298a">lull</a>&nbsp;in evictions filings after the ban ended. But housing advocates say they’re on the rise in many parts of the country —- though numbers remain below pre-pandemic levels due to the infusion of federal rental assistance and other pandemic-related assistance like expanded child tax credit payments that are also set to end.

Part of the increase is due to courts catching up on the backlog of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/evictions-moratorium-ends-pandemic-5ea6a36efe4e5e7d169fcefbd1dd298a">eviction cases</a>. But advocates say the upsurge also shows the limits of federal emergency rental assistance in places where distribution remains slow and tenant protections are weak. Rising housing prices in many markets also are playing a role.

According to the latest data from the&nbsp;<a href="https://evictionlab.org/eviction-tracking/" target="_blank">Eviction Lab</a>&nbsp;at Princeton University, eviction filings have been rising in most of the 31 cities and six states where it collects data. They increased 10.4% from the first half of August to the first half of September. In the first half of October, numbers were 38% above August levels and 25% higher than in September. Filings fell around 7% from the first half of October to November and now remain about 48% below pre-pandemic levels.

Among places where eviction filings are returning to normal are Connecticut as well as Houston, Indianapolis, and Cincinnati and Columbus, Ohio, according to the Eviction Lab. Florida, too, has seen a significant rise, with filings in Tampa and Gainesville returning to near pre-pandemic levels.

“There was a batch of initial commentary coming out when the moratorium ended and the tone ... was, well, there wasn’t a tsunami so we don’t have an eviction crisis on our hands,” said Ben Martin, senior researcher at Texas Housers, a nonprofit focused on housing issues.

“That initial narrative was somewhat misleading. What we are seeing is a reflection of reality, which is that evictions take time to work their way into and through the court system.”

Among the concerns is that some landlords who got federal assistance are still evicting tenants. A&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nhlp.org/covid/survey/" target="_blank">survey</a>&nbsp;of nearly 120 attorneys nationwide from the National Housing Law Project found 86% had seen cases like this. They also saw increasing instances of landlords lying in court to evict tenants and illegally locking out tenants.

“In many states, landlord tenant law is antiquated and designed to provide results for landlords,” said Shamus Roller, executive director of the National Housing Law Project. “Instead of adjudicating the facts, courts function as conveyor belts, moving tenants toward eviction.”

Among those who contend they were illegally evicted is Faye Moore. The 72-year-old returned home from work in October to find her life spread out on the sidewalk.

Behind several thousand dollars rent on her two-bedroom townhouse in an Atlanta suburb, Moore figured she would get the chance to present her case to a judge, including that management refused to take her rent money for months and that she was given no notice before she was evicted.

“I’m devastated. It was a house full of furniture. Everything,” said Moore, a retired mental health therapist who is now staying in a hotel with her 61-year-old partner, Garry Betared. “It was like a storm came in and devastated everything. I can’t find my important papers or anything.”

Cicely Murray, a HUD housing counselor with the Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America who is working with Moore, was most upset that the couple was evicted without a court hearing and forced to fend for themselves.

“I’m angry that anyone would put an elderly couple out without trying to figure out what resources are there,” Murray said. “We are still in a pandemic. ... You are putting people in precarious situations who are some of the most fragile.”

As Christmas approaches, there are plenty of signs that eviction cases will keep rising.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey, those saying they weren’t confident of paying next month’s rent increased from about 5 million at the end of September to 6.3 million in the latest data.

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/lifestyle-business-health-coronavirus-pandemic-5f1a2b734a06eacad423298c1f0f6f3f">Landlords, especially smaller ones&nbsp;</a>who own a handful of apartments, have also struggled. They believed the moratorium was illegal and saddled them with months of back rent they may never get back. Others were forced to lay off maintenance staff or sell units as they awaited federal rental assistance that was slow to be distributed.

Some localities have lagged behind in getting out their portion of the $46.5 billion in federal Emergency Rental Assistance. According to a November&nbsp;<a href="https://nlihc.org/sites/default/files/ERA-Spending-and-Performance-Trends.pdf" target="_blank">report&nbsp;</a>from the National Low Income Housing Coalition, 28% of grantees — 32 states and 80 localities — spent less than 30% of their first allocation of money and risk losing those funds.

Among them is Nebraska, which spent only 6% of its funding through September and just 7% through October. Some landlords are refusing to take part in the program, said Caitlin Cedfeldt, a staff attorney at Legal Aid of Nebraska, while others have grown tired of waiting and are moving to evict. Tenants, some of whom got initial help but still face economic hardship, are being told they can’t yet reapply for additional help.

Missouri only spent 18% of its funding through September but has since improved.

“We have so much more work to do,” U.S. Rep. Cori Bush, a St. Louis Democrat, said, citing data showing that evictions during the pandemic “have taken lives.”

There are some states and local governments that “feel, ’We don’t want this money. We don’t want this federal aid,” she said. “And, we have some landlords who say that they don’t want the money as well. So that makes it harder for the money to be dispersed.”

Gene Sperling, who is charged with overseeing implementation of President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus rescue package, said some increase in evictions was inevitable after the ban ended. “But fortunately because the Emergency Rental Assistance program is now paying full back-rent to about 500,000 renters each month, the eviction tsunami that experts feared has not occurred,” he said.

On the flip side are states and cities running out of rental assistance. The Treasury Department expects that upwards of $30 billion, or about two-thirds of the money, will have been spent or allocated by the end of the year. As the law dictates, Treasury is expected to begin reallocating funds from places not spending it to those in need.

Texas has stopped accepting new applicants because it has allocated all its funds, though it continues to process applications received before the deadline. Oregon has stopped taking new applicants for now.

The state of New York has spent or committed nearly all of its money, as has Philadelphia. California will soon exhaust its funds, while Atlanta has closed its program to new applicants. Austin, Texas, also stopped taking applications.

“It’s particularly concerning that a number of these programs are now shutting down because all funds have been expended or obligated,” said Peter Hepburn, research fellow at the Eviction Lab.

“If that funding gets removed, landlords may have less incentive to work with tenants.”

KANSAS CITY(AP) — Soon after losing his trucking job amid the pandemic, Freddie Davis got another blow: His landlord in Miami was almost doubling the rent on his Miami apartment.Davis girded for what he feared would come next. In September he was evicted — just over a month after a federal eviction moratorium ended. He’s now languishing in a hotel, aided by a nonprofit that helps homeless people.The 51-year-old desperately wants to find a new apartment. But it’s proving impossible on his $1,000-a-month disability check.“We live in America, and the thing is, people like me, we got to go to the street if we don’t have no other place to go because we can’t afford rent,” said Davis, who lost a leg to diabetes, suffers congestive heart failure and is recovering from multiple wounds on his other leg and foot. “I really can’t do nothing.”The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-coronavirus-pandemic-f0085d9d4547b897a27323bb95cc890c">federal ban</a>, along with a mix of state and federal moratoriums, is credited with keeping Davis and millions of others in their homes during the pandemic and preventing the spread of the coronavirus.There was a brief&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/evictions-moratorium-ends-pandemic-5ea6a36efe4e5e7d169fcefbd1dd298a">lull</a>&nbsp;in evictions filings after the ban ended. But housing advocates say they’re on the rise in many parts of the country —- though numbers remain below pre-pandemic levels due to the infusion of federal rental assistance and other pandemic-related assistance like expanded child tax credit payments that are also set to end.Part of the increase is due to courts catching up on the backlog of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/evictions-moratorium-ends-pandemic-5ea6a36efe4e5e7d169fcefbd1dd298a">eviction cases</a>. But advocates say the upsurge also shows the limits of federal emergency rental assistance in places where distribution remains slow and tenant protections are weak. Rising housing prices in many markets also are playing a role.According to the latest data from the&nbsp;<a href="https://evictionlab.org/eviction-tracking/" target="_blank">Eviction Lab</a>&nbsp;at Princeton University, eviction filings have been rising in most of the 31 cities and six states where it collects data. They increased 10.4% from the first half of August to the first half of September. In the first half of October, numbers were 38% above August levels and 25% higher than in September. Filings fell around 7% from the first half of October to November and now remain about 48% below pre-pandemic levels.Among places where eviction filings are returning to normal are Connecticut as well as Houston, Indianapolis, and Cincinnati and Columbus, Ohio, according to the Eviction Lab. Florida, too, has seen a significant rise, with filings in Tampa and Gainesville returning to near pre-pandemic levels.ADVERTISEMENT“There was a batch of initial commentary coming out when the moratorium ended and the tone ... was, well, there wasn’t a tsunami so we don’t have an eviction crisis on our hands,” said Ben Martin, senior researcher at Texas Housers, a nonprofit focused on housing issues.“That initial narrative was somewhat misleading. What we are seeing is a reflection of reality, which is that evictions take time to work their way into and through the court system.”Among the concerns is that some landlords who got federal assistance are still evicting tenants. A&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nhlp.org/covid/survey/" target="_blank">survey</a>&nbsp;of nearly 120 attorneys nationwide from the National Housing Law Project found 86% had seen cases like this. They also saw increasing instances of landlords lying in court to evict tenants and illegally locking out tenants.“In many states, landlord tenant law is antiquated and designed to provide results for landlords,” said Shamus Roller, executive director of the National Housing Law Project. “Instead of adjudicating the facts, courts function as conveyor belts, moving tenants toward eviction.”Among those who contend they were illegally evicted is Faye Moore. The 72-year-old returned home from work in October to find her life spread out on the sidewalk.Behind several thousand dollars rent on her two-bedroom townhouse in an Atlanta suburb, Moore figured she would get the chance to present her case to a judge, including that management refused to take her rent money for months and that she was given no notice before she was evicted.“I’m devastated. It was a house full of furniture. Everything,” said Moore, a retired mental health therapist who is now staying in a hotel with her 61-year-old partner, Garry Betared. “It was like a storm came in and devastated everything. I can’t find my important papers or anything.”Cicely Murray, a HUD housing counselor with the Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America who is working with Moore, was most upset that the couple was evicted without a court hearing and forced to fend for themselves.“I’m angry that anyone would put an elderly couple out without trying to figure out what resources are there,” Murray said. “We are still in a pandemic. ... You are putting people in precarious situations who are some of the most fragile.”As Christmas approaches, there are plenty of signs that eviction cases will keep rising.According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey, those saying they weren’t confident of paying next month’s rent increased from about 5 million at the end of September to 6.3 million in the latest data.<a href="https://apnews.com/article/lifestyle-business-health-coronavirus-pandemic-5f1a2b734a06eacad423298c1f0f6f3f">Landlords, especially smaller ones&nbsp;</a>who own a handful of apartments, have also struggled. They believed the moratorium was illegal and saddled them with months of back rent they may never get back. Others were forced to lay off maintenance staff or sell units as they awaited federal rental assistance that was slow to be distributed.Some localities have lagged behind in getting out their portion of the $46.5 billion in federal Emergency Rental Assistance. According to a November&nbsp;<a href="https://nlihc.org/sites/default/files/ERA-Spending-and-Performance-Trends.pdf" target="_blank">report&nbsp;</a>from the National Low Income Housing Coalition, 28% of grantees — 32 states and 80 localities — spent less than 30% of their first allocation of money and risk losing those funds.Among them is Nebraska, which spent only 6% of its funding through September and just 7% through October. Some landlords are refusing to take part in the program, said Caitlin Cedfeldt, a staff attorney at Legal Aid of Nebraska, while others have grown tired of waiting and are moving to evict. Tenants, some of whom got initial help but still face economic hardship, are being told they can’t yet reapply for additional help.Missouri only spent 18% of its funding through September but has since improved.“We have so much more work to do,” U.S. Rep. Cori Bush, a St. Louis Democrat, said, citing data showing that evictions during the pandemic “have taken lives.”There are some states and local governments that “feel, ’We don’t want this money. We don’t want this federal aid,” she said. “And, we have some landlords who say that they don’t want the money as well. So that makes it harder for the money to be dispersed.”Gene Sperling, who is charged with overseeing implementation of President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus rescue package, said some increase in evictions was inevitable after the ban ended. “But fortunately because the Emergency Rental Assistance program is now paying full back-rent to about 500,000 renters each month, the eviction tsunami that experts feared has not occurred,” he said.On the flip side are states and cities running out of rental assistance. The Treasury Department expects that upwards of $30 billion, or about two-thirds of the money, will have been spent or allocated by the end of the year. As the law dictates, Treasury is expected to begin reallocating funds from places not spending it to those in need.Texas has stopped accepting new applicants because it has allocated all its funds, though it continues to process applications received before the deadline. Oregon has stopped taking new applicants for now.The state of New York has spent or committed nearly all of its money, as has Philadelphia. California will soon exhaust its funds, while Atlanta has closed its program to new applicants. Austin, Texas, also stopped taking applications.“It’s particularly concerning that a number of these programs are now shutting down because all funds have been expended or obligated,” said Peter Hepburn, research fellow at the Eviction Lab.“If that funding gets removed, landlords may have less incentive to work with tenants.”___

Evictions on the rise months after federal moratorium ends

Keith R. Wilborn, 73, passed away December 16, 2021, surrounded by 
his family.&nbsp; He was born February 4, 1948, in Hoisington, to Emerett and
 Vera (Harzman) Wilborn.&nbsp; Keith married Miriam Schremmer July 20, 1968, 
in Hoisington.&nbsp; They shared over 50 years of marriage before Miriam 
passed away on Nov. 4, 2018.

Survivors include children, Brian (Cindy) Wilborn of Hoisington, 
Krista (Ben) Brewer of Hoisington and Kari (Chad) Bloomer of Ottawa; 
nine grandchildren, Hannah (Colton) Lagerman of Atlanta, GA, Madison 
(Hunter) Hanzlick of Inman, Nolan Wilborn of Hoisington, Avery Brewer 
and Livvy Brewer of Hoisington, Chandler Bloomer, Chase Bloomer and 
Boston Bloomer of Ottawa; and one brother, Rick (Pam) Wilborn of 
McPherson.&nbsp; He was preceded in death by his parents, wife, two nephews, 
and in-laws.

Keith attended a one-room schoolhouse in Verbeck District, Susank 
elementary school, Hoisington High School graduating with the class of 
1966.&nbsp; Keith went on to attend Fort Hays State from 1966 to 1968.&nbsp;

Keith enlisted in the United States Navy Reserves in March 1968.&nbsp; He 
became active-duty status July 1968 and attended boot camp at USN 
recruit depot in San Diego, CA from July to October 1968.&nbsp; First Duty 
station was at the Balboa Naval Hospital in San Diego, CA as a hospital 
corpsman from October 1968 to September 1969.&nbsp; His second service duty 
assignment was to Commander in Chief of the Pacific under the command of
 Admiral John S. McCain, Sr. and to the 3rd Marine Division, 
Fleet Marine Force Pacific Headquarters.&nbsp; This was started after 
completion of Field Medical School at Camp Pendleton, CA from September 
1969 until being honorably discharged from the United Stated Navy in 
July 1972.

He then attended Wichita State University and was a graduate in the first Physician Assistant class in January 1975.

Keith and Miriam then moved to Oberlin, KS where Keith worked as a 
Physician’s Assistant for Decatur County Hospital from 1975 until 1982.&nbsp;
 They then moved back home to Hoisington in June 1982.&nbsp; Keith began 
working for Mutual of New York Insurance and eventually worked for Clara
 Barton Clinic as Vice President of Clinic Operations until his 
retirement in 2013.

Keith’s civic and community interests included Lions Club, Jaycees, 
Hoisington Chamber volunteer, Clara Barton Hospital Board member, and 
Smokey Hills Public TV Board of Directors member.&nbsp; He enjoyed hunting, 
fishing, spending time in the country and his daily ag tours.&nbsp; Keith was
 also a big supporter of his grandchildren in both their academic and 
athletic accomplishments.

Friends may call 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday, December 21, 2021, with 
family to greet friends from 6 to 7 p.m., and Vigil and Rosary at 7 
p.m., all at Nicholson-Ricke Funeral Home.&nbsp; Mass of Christian Burial 
will be 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, December 22, at St. John the Evangelist 
Catholic Church, celebrated by Father Anselm Eke. Burial will follow in 
St. John Catholic Cemetery, Hoisington.&nbsp;&nbsp;

In lieu of flowers, memorials 
can be made to Kans for Kids, The Clara Barton Hospital Foundation, or 
St John Catholic Cemetery, c/o Nicholson-Ricke Funeral Home, PO Box 146,
 Hoisington, KS 67544.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/12/1639793366678.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Keith R. Wilborn, 73, passed away December 16, 2021, surrounded by 
his family.&nbsp; He was born February 4, 1948, in Hoisington, to Emerett and
 Vera (Harzman) Wilborn.&nbsp; Keith married Miriam Schremmer July 20, 1968, 
in Hoisington.&nbsp; They shared over 50 years of marriage before Miriam 
passed away on Nov. 4, 2018.Survivors include children, Brian (Cindy) Wilborn of Hoisington, 
Krista (Ben) Brewer of Hoisington and Kari (Chad) Bloomer of Ottawa; 
nine grandchildren, Hannah (Colton) Lagerman of Atlanta, GA, Madison 
(Hunter) Hanzlick of Inman, Nolan Wilborn of Hoisington, Avery Brewer 
and Livvy Brewer of Hoisington, Chandler Bloomer, Chase Bloomer and 
Boston Bloomer of Ottawa; and one brother, Rick (Pam) Wilborn of 
McPherson.&nbsp; He was preceded in death by his parents, wife, two nephews, 
and in-laws.Keith attended a one-room schoolhouse in Verbeck District, Susank 
elementary school, Hoisington High School graduating with the class of 
1966.&nbsp; Keith went on to attend Fort Hays State from 1966 to 1968.&nbsp;Keith enlisted in the United States Navy Reserves in March 1968.&nbsp; He 
became active-duty status July 1968 and attended boot camp at USN 
recruit depot in San Diego, CA from July to October 1968.&nbsp; First Duty 
station was at the Balboa Naval Hospital in San Diego, CA as a hospital 
corpsman from October 1968 to September 1969.&nbsp; His second service duty 
assignment was to Commander in Chief of the Pacific under the command of
 Admiral John S. McCain, Sr. and to the 3rd Marine Division, 
Fleet Marine Force Pacific Headquarters.&nbsp; This was started after 
completion of Field Medical School at Camp Pendleton, CA from September 
1969 until being honorably discharged from the United Stated Navy in 
July 1972.He then attended Wichita State University and was a graduate in the first Physician Assistant class in January 1975.Keith and Miriam then moved to Oberlin, KS where Keith worked as a 
Physician’s Assistant for Decatur County Hospital from 1975 until 1982.&nbsp;
 They then moved back home to Hoisington in June 1982.&nbsp; Keith began 
working for Mutual of New York Insurance and eventually worked for Clara
 Barton Clinic as Vice President of Clinic Operations until his 
retirement in 2013.Keith’s civic and community interests included Lions Club, Jaycees, 
Hoisington Chamber volunteer, Clara Barton Hospital Board member, and 
Smokey Hills Public TV Board of Directors member.&nbsp; He enjoyed hunting, 
fishing, spending time in the country and his daily ag tours.&nbsp; Keith was
 also a big supporter of his grandchildren in both their academic and 
athletic accomplishments.Friends may call 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday, December 21, 2021, with 
family to greet friends from 6 to 7 p.m., and Vigil and Rosary at 7 
p.m., all at Nicholson-Ricke Funeral Home.&nbsp; Mass of Christian Burial 
will be 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, December 22, at St. John the Evangelist 
Catholic Church, celebrated by Father Anselm Eke. Burial will follow in 
St. John Catholic Cemetery, Hoisington.&nbsp;&nbsp;In lieu of flowers, memorials 
can be made to Kans for Kids, The Clara Barton Hospital Foundation, or 
St John Catholic Cemetery, c/o Nicholson-Ricke Funeral Home, PO Box 146,
 Hoisington, KS 67544.

Keith R. Wilborn

Preliminary estimates reported by the Labor Market Information Services division of the Kansas Department of Labor and the Bureau of Labor Statistics show a seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of 3.6 percent in November. This was a decrease from 3.9 percent in October and a decrease from 4.7 percent in November 2020.

“In November, the Kansas labor market saw the unemployment rate decline to 3.6 percent.  Nonfarm job estimates increased by 2,700 jobs over the month,” said Secretary Amber Shultz. “The labor force participation rate did decrease in November, but is still at pre-pandemic levels.” 

Several counties in northwest Kansas fell below 2 percent unemployment, with Ellis County falling from 2 percent in October to just 1.4 percent in November. The jobless rate in Wallace County was just 0.8 percent.

No county west of Wichita had an unemployment rate higher than Grant County's 2.7 percent in November.

Seasonally adjusted job estimates indicate total Kansas nonfarm jobs increased by 2,700 from October. Private sector jobs, a subset of total nonfarm jobs, increased by 2,400 from the previous month, while government increased by 300.

“The largest over-the-month job gains in November were in trade, transportation, and utilities, as well as leisure and hospitality,” said Labor Economist Emilie Doerksen. “Both of these industries experienced significant declines early in the pandemic, but have seen a steady recovery since April 2020.  Trade, transportation, and utilities have seen relatively strong growth and is now 3.3 percent above pre-pandemic levels.”

Since November 2020, Kansas seasonally adjusted total nonfarm jobs have increased by 35,400. This change is due to an increase of 33,000 private sector jobs and 2,400 government jobs.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/12/1639758482446.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Preliminary estimates reported by the Labor Market Information Services division of the Kansas Department of Labor and the Bureau of Labor Statistics show a seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of 3.6 percent in November. This was a decrease from 3.9 percent in October and a decrease from 4.7 percent in November 2020.“In November, the Kansas labor market saw the unemployment rate decline to 3.6 percent. Nonfarm job estimates increased by 2,700 jobs over the month,” said Secretary Amber Shultz. “The labor force participation rate did decrease in November, but is still at pre-pandemic levels.” Several counties in northwest Kansas fell below 2 percent unemployment, with Ellis County falling from 2 percent in October to just 1.4 percent in November. The jobless rate in Wallace County was just 0.8 percent.No county west of Wichita had an unemployment rate higher than Grant County's 2.7 percent in November.Seasonally adjusted job estimates indicate total Kansas nonfarm jobs increased by 2,700 from October. Private sector jobs, a subset of total nonfarm jobs, increased by 2,400 from the previous month, while government increased by 300.“The largest over-the-month job gains in November were in trade, transportation, and utilities, as well as leisure and hospitality,” said Labor Economist Emilie Doerksen. “Both of these industries experienced significant declines early in the pandemic, but have seen a steady recovery since April 2020. Trade, transportation, and utilities have seen relatively strong growth and is now 3.3 percent above pre-pandemic levels.”Since November 2020, Kansas seasonally adjusted total nonfarm jobs have increased by 35,400. This change is due to an increase of 33,000 private sector jobs and 2,400 government jobs.

Most NW Kan. counties fall below 2% unemployment in November

WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service and the Treasury Department
 announced today that millions of American families will soon receive 
their final advance Child Tax Credit (CTC) payment for the month of 
December. Eligible families who did not receive advance payments can 
claim the Child Tax Credit on their 2021 federal tax return to receive 
missed payments and the other half of the credit.

This final batch of advance monthly payments for 2021, totaling about
 $16 billion, will reach more than 36 million families across the 
country.&nbsp;Most payments are being made by direct deposit.

Under the American Rescue Plan, eligible families have received more 
than 200 million payments totaling more than $93 billion. Most eligible 
families received payments dated July 15, August 13, September 15, 
October 15, November 15 and December 15. For eligible families, 
each&nbsp;payment is up to $300 per month for each child under age 6 and up 
to $250 per month for each child ages 6 through 17.

Here are more details on the December payments:

Claim the full Child Tax Credit on the 2021 tax return

Eligible families who did not receive any <a href="https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/advance-child-tax-credit-payments-in-2021">advance Child Tax Credit payments</a>
 can claim the full amount of the Child Tax Credit on their 2021 federal
 tax return, filed in 2022. This includes families who don't normally 
need to file a return.

Families who received advance payments will need to file a 2021 tax 
return and compare the advance Child Tax Credit payments they received 
in 2021 with the amount of the Child Tax Credit they can properly claim 
on their 2021 tax return.

To help taxpayers reconcile the advance payments, the IRS will send 
Letter 6419 in January 2022 with the total amount of advance Child Tax 
Credit payments taxpayers received in 2021 and the number of qualifying 
children used to calculate the advance payments. People should keep this
 and any other IRS letters about advance Child Tax Credit payments with 
their tax records.

See <a href="https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/2021-child-tax-credit-and-advance-child-tax-credit-payments-topic-h-reconciling-your-advance-child-tax-credit-payments-on-your-2021-tax-return">Reconciling Your Advance Child Tax Credit Payments on Your 2021 Tax Return</a> for more information.

Links to online tools, answers to frequently asked questions and other helpful resources are available on the <a href="https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/advance-child-tax-credit-payments-in-2021">IRS's special advance CTC 2021 page</a>.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/9/1599869632873.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>IRSWASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service and the Treasury Department
 announced today that millions of American families will soon receive 
their final advance Child Tax Credit (CTC) payment for the month of 
December. Eligible families who did not receive advance payments can 
claim the Child Tax Credit on their 2021 federal tax return to receive 
missed payments and the other half of the credit.This final batch of advance monthly payments for 2021, totaling about
 $16 billion, will reach more than 36 million families across the 
country.&nbsp;Most payments are being made by direct deposit.Under the American Rescue Plan, eligible families have received more 
than 200 million payments totaling more than $93 billion. Most eligible 
families received payments dated July 15, August 13, September 15, 
October 15, November 15 and December 15. For eligible families, 
each&nbsp;payment is up to $300 per month for each child under age 6 and up 
to $250 per month for each child ages 6 through 17.Here are more details on the December payments:<ul>
 <li>Families will see the direct deposit payments in their accounts 
starting December 15. Like the prior payments, the vast majority of 
families will receive them by direct deposit.</li><li>For those receiving payments by paper check, be sure to allow extra time, through the end of December, for delivery by mail.</li><li>Payments are going to eligible families who filed a 2019 or 2020 
federal income tax return. Returns processed by December 1 are reflected
 in these payments. This includes people who don't typically file a 
return but either during 2020 successfully filed a return to register 
for Economic Impact Payments using the IRS Non-Filers tool on IRS.gov, 
or in 2021 successfully filed a return by using the <a href="https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/child-tax-credit-non-filer-sign-up-tool">Non-filer Sign-up Tool for advance CTC</a>.</li><li>Families who did not get a July, August, September, October or 
November payment and are getting their first monthly payment this month 
will still receive their total advance payment amount for the year 
(which is half of their total Child Tax Credit). This means that the 
total advance payment amount will be made in one December payment.</li>
 </ul><h2>Claim the full Child Tax Credit on the 2021 tax return</h2>Eligible families who did not receive any <a href="https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/advance-child-tax-credit-payments-in-2021">advance Child Tax Credit payments</a>
 can claim the full amount of the Child Tax Credit on their 2021 federal
 tax return, filed in 2022. This includes families who don't normally 
need to file a return.Families who received advance payments will need to file a 2021 tax 
return and compare the advance Child Tax Credit payments they received 
in 2021 with the amount of the Child Tax Credit they can properly claim 
on their 2021 tax return.To help taxpayers reconcile the advance payments, the IRS will send 
Letter 6419 in January 2022 with the total amount of advance Child Tax 
Credit payments taxpayers received in 2021 and the number of qualifying 
children used to calculate the advance payments. People should keep this
 and any other IRS letters about advance Child Tax Credit payments with 
their tax records.See <a href="https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/2021-child-tax-credit-and-advance-child-tax-credit-payments-topic-h-reconciling-your-advance-child-tax-credit-payments-on-your-2021-tax-return">Reconciling Your Advance Child Tax Credit Payments on Your 2021 Tax Return</a> for more information.Links to online tools, answers to frequently asked questions and other helpful resources are available on the <a href="https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/advance-child-tax-credit-payments-in-2021">IRS's special advance CTC 2021 page</a>.

Miss a Child Tax Credit payment? Claim  it on 2021 tax return

WASHINGTON (AP) — The National Archives on Wednesday made public nearly 1,500 documents related to the U.S. government’s investigation into the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.archives.gov/research/jfk/release2021" target="_blank">disclosure&nbsp;</a>of secret cables, internal memos and other documents satisfies a deadline set in October by President Joe Biden and is in keeping with a federal statute that calls for the government to release records in its possession concerning the Kennedy assassination. Additional documents are expected to be made public next year.

There was no immediate indication that the records contained new revelations that could radically reshape the public’s understanding of the events surrounding the Nov. 22, 1963, assassination of Kennedy in Dallas at the hands of gunman Lee Harvey Oswald.

But the latest tranche of documents was nonetheless eagerly anticipated by historians and others who, decades after the Kennedy killing, remain skeptical that at the height of the Cold War, a troubled young man with a mail-order rifle was solely responsible for an assassination that changed the course of American history.

The documents include CIA cables and memos discussing Oswald’s previously disclosed but never fully explained visits to the Soviet and Cuban embassies in Mexico City as well as discussion, in the days after the assassination, of the potential for Cuban involvement in the killing of Kennedy.

One CIA memo describes how Oswald phoned the Soviet embassy while in Mexico City to ask for a visa to visit the Soviet Union. He also visited the Cuban embassy, apparently interested in a travel visa that would permit him to visit Cuba and wait there for a Soviet visa. On Oct. 3, more than one month before the assassination, he drove back into the United States through a crossing point at the Texas border.

Another memo, dated the day after Kennedy’s assassination, says that according to an intercepted phone call in Mexico City, Oswald communicated with a KGB officer while at the Soviet embassy that September.

After Kennedy was killed, Mexican authorities arrested a Mexican employee of the Cuban embassy with whom Oswald had communicated, and she said Oswald had “professed to be a Communist and an admirer of Castro,” according to the memo. That’s a reference to Fidel Castro, the Cuban leader at the time and an adversary of the Kennedy White House.

One CIA document marked “Secret Eyes Only” details what it says were U.S. government plots to assassinate Castro, including a 1960 scheme “that involved the use of the criminal underworld with contacts inside Cuba.”

Another document made public Wednesday shows the U.S. government evaluating whether Oswald, while living in New Orleans, may have been swayed or affected in any way by the publication in the local newspaper of an interview an Associated Press correspondent conducted with Castro in which Castro warned of retribution if the U.S. were to try to help take out Cuban leaders.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/12/1639658580146.png" alt="Image courtesy National Archives" />
 <figcaption>Image courtesy National Archives</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — The National Archives on Wednesday made public nearly 1,500 documents related to the U.S. government’s investigation into the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy.The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.archives.gov/research/jfk/release2021" target="_blank">disclosure&nbsp;</a>of secret cables, internal memos and other documents satisfies a deadline set in October by President Joe Biden and is in keeping with a federal statute that calls for the government to release records in its possession concerning the Kennedy assassination. Additional documents are expected to be made public next year.There was no immediate indication that the records contained new revelations that could radically reshape the public’s understanding of the events surrounding the Nov. 22, 1963, assassination of Kennedy in Dallas at the hands of gunman Lee Harvey Oswald.But the latest tranche of documents was nonetheless eagerly anticipated by historians and others who, decades after the Kennedy killing, remain skeptical that at the height of the Cold War, a troubled young man with a mail-order rifle was solely responsible for an assassination that changed the course of American history.The documents include CIA cables and memos discussing Oswald’s previously disclosed but never fully explained visits to the Soviet and Cuban embassies in Mexico City as well as discussion, in the days after the assassination, of the potential for Cuban involvement in the killing of Kennedy.One CIA memo describes how Oswald phoned the Soviet embassy while in Mexico City to ask for a visa to visit the Soviet Union. He also visited the Cuban embassy, apparently interested in a travel visa that would permit him to visit Cuba and wait there for a Soviet visa. On Oct. 3, more than one month before the assassination, he drove back into the United States through a crossing point at the Texas border.Another memo, dated the day after Kennedy’s assassination, says that according to an intercepted phone call in Mexico City, Oswald communicated with a KGB officer while at the Soviet embassy that September.After Kennedy was killed, Mexican authorities arrested a Mexican employee of the Cuban embassy with whom Oswald had communicated, and she said Oswald had “professed to be a Communist and an admirer of Castro,” according to the memo. That’s a reference to Fidel Castro, the Cuban leader at the time and an adversary of the Kennedy White House.One CIA document marked “Secret Eyes Only” details what it says were U.S. government plots to assassinate Castro, including a 1960 scheme “that involved the use of the criminal underworld with contacts inside Cuba.”Another document made public Wednesday shows the U.S. government evaluating whether Oswald, while living in New Orleans, may have been swayed or affected in any way by the publication in the local newspaper of an interview an Associated Press correspondent conducted with Castro in which Castro warned of retribution if the U.S. were to try to help take out Cuban leaders.The new files include several FBI reports on the bureau’s efforts to investigate and surveil major mafia figures like Santo Trafficante Jr. and Sam Giancana, who are often mentioned in conspiracy theories surrounding Kennedy’s assassination. The files also include several FBI reports showing the bureau kept regular tabs on anti-Castro groups operating in southern Florida and Puerto Rico in the 1960s.Apart from the Kennedy investigation, some of the material would be of interest to scholars or anyone interested in the minutiae of 1960s counterespionage, with pages and pages of arcane details on such things as the methods, equipment and personnel used to surveil the Cuban and Soviet embassies in Mexico City.In blocking the release of hundreds of records in 2017 because of concerns from the FBI and the CIA, President Donald Trump cited “potentially irreversible harm.” Even so, about 2,800 other records were released at that time.The Warren Commission in 1964 concluded that Oswald had been the lone gunman, and another congressional probe in 1979 found no evidence to support the theory that the CIA had been involved. But other interpretations have persisted._____