LIBERTY, Mo. (AP) — A mostly Republican state council voted Friday to extend Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s emergency declaration providing services to combat the coronavirus in Kansas, but only after language was added clarifying that the governor doesn’t intend to use her authority to close businesses as she did in the spring.

The State Finance Council’s unanimous vote came after a lengthy, contentious meeting during which Kelly, a Democrat, and the GOP members accused each other of playing politics with the declaration.

The resolution, which had been scheduled to expire Tuesday, will now be in effect until at least Oct. 31, when Kelly could seek another extension.

Kelly and Adjutant General David Weishaar warned before the vote that letting the declaration expire would stop the state from providing many services, including the delivery of personal protective equipment and assistance with community-based testing.

Republican members insisted on stipulating that the extension had to clarify that Kelly would not close businesses as she did in April.

Senate Majority Leader Jim Denning, a Republican from Overland Park, said conditions have changed since the early days of the pandemic and that residents need to know the governor’s and lawmakers’ intentions to “calm everything down.”

“We need to let the folks back home, the businesses, know that we have no intention of shutting down and if there’s a hot spot, the local folks will handle that hot spot. ... They’re not comfortable right now, they’ve lived through a nightmare. And we need to give the some common sense assurance,” he said.

Kelly said repeatedly during the meeting that she would not order businesses to close again because state and health officials have better data, information and procedures than they did in the spring and most businesses had cooperated with efforts to slow the virus.

When GOP members continued to push for new language in the resolution, Kelly accused them of using the issue for political gain in an election year, rather than ensuring the state can continue to provide services without interruption.

“There is so much at stake here,” she said. “Please do not let your ideology or your dislike for me as governor or the fact that I’m a Democrat (affect the vote). Please, let’s vote for the people, let’s not vote for politics.”

At a news conference after the meeting, House Speaker Ron Ryckman Jr. said the inserted language was important.

“We’ve got to a situation where we’re picking winners and losers, determined who was essential and who wasn’t, allowing a lot of our large stores remain open when our small ones couldn’t. We couldn’t have that repeated,” Ryckman said.

Some Republicans accused Kelly of breaking rules by vetoing a motion that sought to add different language to the declaration.

Republican Attorney General Derek Schmidt, who attended the news conference, said he’s “sure there will be a large group of lawyers” looking into whether Kelly’s veto was legal.

As of Friday, Kansas health officials had reported 48,386 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 511 deaths from the disease since the start of the pandemic.

Topeka — The two hour State Finance Council meeting lasted much longer than expected. The republican members of the committee forced the governor to include language in the declaration that confirms she would not close businesses again.

&nbsp;The language written during a recess by the governor's attorney Clay Britton said, "Any restrictions regarding closure of businesses in the Kansas Emergency Management Act remain in place to the extent described in the Kansas Emergency Management Act and it is the governors intention not to use her authority to close businesses."

With that language, the council voted unanimously to extend the declaration until October 15.&nbsp; It was set to expire on Tuesday.

 When asked for her vote, Senator Susan Wagle criticized the governor on how she chaired the meeting and "broke rules."

Topeka —&nbsp;The State Finance Council meeting on whether to extend the current COVID-19 emergency declaration is in its third hour. The issue involves including language in the declaration that assures the republican members of the committee the governor won't shut down businesses again.

<a href="http://sg001-harmony.sliq.net/00287/Harmony/en/View/Calendar/">Click here to listen&nbsp;</a>to the meeting that resumed at 1p.m.

Republican Senator Jim Denning asked the governor's attorney if there is language they can agree on that says Kelly absolutely won't exercise power to close businesses. 

Despite refusing the suggestion earlier Friday, Kelly said she is comfortable including such language. The committee went into recess until just after 1p.m. to give the state's chief counsel time to draft language for consideration.

Topeka —The State Finance Council meeting on whether to extend the current COVID-19 emergency declaration lasted&nbsp; longer than the original scheduled two hours.

<a href="http://sg001-harmony.sliq.net/00287/Harmony/en/View/Calendar/">Click here to listen&nbsp;</a>to the meeting that resumes at noon.

The discussion centered around asking the governor to include language in the declaration that would prevent Kelly from shutting down business again. The governor said she does not intend to shut down businesses again and refused to include the language.&nbsp;

Senate president Susan Wagle wanted to delay the vote until the council could meet in person on Monday afternoon. Not all members of the council were able to fit that meeting into their schedules. Wagle then suggested the council return at 3p.m. Friday after getting legal assistance on the discussion.

After several attempts to vote on various motions, the governor asked the council to&nbsp; vote for the people and not play politics.&nbsp; She then asked for a 30 minute recess and return at noon.

Kelly warned Thursday that if the extension isn't granted, Kansans will not be able to access services they need to ensure their health and safety.

Topeka, Kan. (AP) — Kansas will face a dramatic reduction in coronavirus-related services that would put residents’ lives at risk if a state council does not approve extending a state disaster declaration, Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly said Thursday.

The State Finance Council, which is dominated by Republicans, is scheduled to meet Friday to discuss extending the declaration before it expires on Tuesday.

<a href="http://sg001-harmony.sliq.net/00287/Harmony/en/View/Calendar/">Click here to listen </a>to the meeting that begins at 10a.m.

Failure to extend the declaration will prevent the state from leveraging critical resources, Kelly said at a news conference.

“In other words, these nine members of the State Finance Council will effectively decide if the nearly 3 million people living in our state will be able to access the tools they need to stay healthy, stay fed, stay in their homes as the virus continues to rage around us,” the Democratic governor said.

Kansas Adjutant General David Weishaar, who oversees the state’s emergency response, detailed how several emergency agencies have provided services throughout the pandemic, which he said would end if the declaration is not extended.

He said extending the declaration would ensure “uninterrupted deployment” of several services, such personal protective equipment, meals packed for food banks, and community-based testing. And the state emergency command center, which is currently staffed seven days a week, would be cut back to a staff duty officer answering calls if the declaration is not extended, he said

Kelly said Deborah Birx, a top coronavirus advisor for the White House, told her and several local health and elected officials Thursday that Kansas remains a red zone for coronavirus cases and is eighth in the nation in positivity in COVID-19 cases. Birx urged the officials to impose mitigation efforts, which she said is the only way to contain the virus until a vaccine is approved.

A spokeswoman for Kansas Senate President Susan Wagle, a Republican, said she would not respond to the governor’s comment until Friday’s meeting.

Kelly said forcing state and local governments to further reduce their budgets when revenue has already dropped will hamper the state’s coronavirus response and make Kansas more vulnerable in future crises.

“We will need significantly more support from our federal partners to protect our institutions from drastic and damaging cuts,” Kelly said.

Earlier Thursday, Kelly testified remotely before the U.S. House Financial Services Committee that the state faces “drastic and damaging” cuts if the federal government does not provide more funds in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Kansas has already received $1.2 billion in aid, which generally must be used for pandemic-related needs, not to help overall budgets.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/9/1599772905858.png" alt="Gov. Laura Kelly as she finished her Thursday news conference." />
 <figcaption>Gov. Laura Kelly as she finished her Thursday news conference.</figcaption>
 </figure>LIBERTY, Mo. (AP) — A mostly Republican state council voted Friday to extend Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s emergency declaration providing services to combat the coronavirus in Kansas, but only after language was added clarifying that the governor doesn’t intend to use her authority to close businesses as she did in the spring.The State Finance Council’s unanimous vote came after a lengthy, contentious meeting during which Kelly, a Democrat, and the GOP members accused each other of playing politics with the declaration.The resolution, which had been scheduled to expire Tuesday, will now be in effect until at least Oct. 31, when Kelly could seek another extension.Kelly and Adjutant General David Weishaar warned before the vote that letting the declaration expire would stop the state from providing many services, including the delivery of personal protective equipment and assistance with community-based testing.Republican members insisted on stipulating that the extension had to clarify that Kelly would not close businesses as she did in April.Senate Majority Leader Jim Denning, a Republican from Overland Park, said conditions have changed since the early days of the pandemic and that residents need to know the governor’s and lawmakers’ intentions to “calm everything down.”“We need to let the folks back home, the businesses, know that we have no intention of shutting down and if there’s a hot spot, the local folks will handle that hot spot. ... They’re not comfortable right now, they’ve lived through a nightmare. And we need to give the some common sense assurance,” he said.Kelly said repeatedly during the meeting that she would not order businesses to close again because state and health officials have better data, information and procedures than they did in the spring and most businesses had cooperated with efforts to slow the virus.When GOP members continued to push for new language in the resolution, Kelly accused them of using the issue for political gain in an election year, rather than ensuring the state can continue to provide services without interruption.“There is so much at stake here,” she said. “Please do not let your ideology or your dislike for me as governor or the fact that I’m a Democrat (affect the vote). Please, let’s vote for the people, let’s not vote for politics.”At a news conference after the meeting, House Speaker Ron Ryckman Jr. said the inserted language was important.“We’ve got to a situation where we’re picking winners and losers, determined who was essential and who wasn’t, allowing a lot of our large stores remain open when our small ones couldn’t. We couldn’t have that repeated,” Ryckman said.Some Republicans accused Kelly of breaking rules by vetoing a motion that sought to add different language to the declaration.Republican Attorney General Derek Schmidt, who attended the news conference, said he’s “sure there will be a large group of lawyers” looking into whether Kelly’s veto was legal.As of Friday, Kansas health officials had reported 48,386 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 511 deaths from the disease since the start of the pandemic.——-Topeka — The two hour State Finance Council meeting lasted much longer than expected. The republican members of the committee forced the governor to include language in the declaration that confirms she would not close businesses again.&nbsp;The language written during a recess by the governor's attorney Clay Britton said, "Any restrictions regarding closure of businesses in the Kansas Emergency Management Act remain in place to the extent described in the Kansas Emergency Management Act and it is the governors intention not to use her authority to close businesses."With that language, the council voted unanimously to extend the declaration until October 15.&nbsp; It was set to expire on Tuesday. When asked for her vote, Senator Susan Wagle criticized the governor on how she chaired the meeting and "broke rules."Kelly did not respond.--------------Topeka —&nbsp;The State Finance Council meeting on whether to extend the current COVID-19 emergency declaration is in its third hour. The issue involves including language in the declaration that assures the republican members of the committee the governor won't shut down businesses again.<a href="http://sg001-harmony.sliq.net/00287/Harmony/en/View/Calendar/">Click here to listen&nbsp;</a>to the meeting that resumed at 1p.m.Republican Senator Jim Denning asked the governor's attorney if there is language they can agree on that says Kelly absolutely won't exercise power to close businesses. Despite refusing the suggestion earlier Friday, Kelly said she is comfortable including such language. The committee went into recess until just after 1p.m. to give the state's chief counsel time to draft language for consideration.------Topeka —The State Finance Council meeting on whether to extend the current COVID-19 emergency declaration lasted&nbsp; longer than the original scheduled two hours.<a href="http://sg001-harmony.sliq.net/00287/Harmony/en/View/Calendar/">Click here to listen&nbsp;</a>to the meeting that resumes at noon.The discussion centered around asking the governor to include language in the declaration that would prevent Kelly from shutting down business again. The governor said she does not intend to shut down businesses again and refused to include the language.&nbsp;Senate president Susan Wagle wanted to delay the vote until the council could meet in person on Monday afternoon. Not all members of the council were able to fit that meeting into their schedules. Wagle then suggested the council return at 3p.m. Friday after getting legal assistance on the discussion.After several attempts to vote on various motions, the governor asked the council to&nbsp; vote for the people and not play politics.&nbsp; She then asked for a 30 minute recess and return at noon.Kelly warned Thursday that if the extension isn't granted, Kansans will not be able to access services they need to ensure their health and safety.--------Topeka, Kan. (AP) — Kansas will face a dramatic reduction in coronavirus-related services that would put residents’ lives at risk if a state council does not approve extending a state disaster declaration, Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly said Thursday.The State Finance Council, which is dominated by Republicans, is scheduled to meet Friday to discuss extending the declaration before it expires on Tuesday.<a href="http://sg001-harmony.sliq.net/00287/Harmony/en/View/Calendar/">Click here to listen </a>to the meeting that begins at 10a.m.Failure to extend the declaration will prevent the state from leveraging critical resources, Kelly said at a news conference.“In other words, these nine members of the State Finance Council will effectively decide if the nearly 3 million people living in our state will be able to access the tools they need to stay healthy, stay fed, stay in their homes as the virus continues to rage around us,” the Democratic governor said.<div><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FGovLauraKelly%2Fvideos%2F551726892300694%2F&show_text=0&width=560" width="560" height="315" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowTransparency="true" allowFullScreen="true"></iframe></div>Kansas Adjutant General David Weishaar, who oversees the state’s emergency response, detailed how several emergency agencies have provided services throughout the pandemic, which he said would end if the declaration is not extended.He said extending the declaration would ensure “uninterrupted deployment” of several services, such personal protective equipment, meals packed for food banks, and community-based testing. And the state emergency command center, which is currently staffed seven days a week, would be cut back to a staff duty officer answering calls if the declaration is not extended, he saidKelly said Deborah Birx, a top coronavirus advisor for the White House, told her and several local health and elected officials Thursday that Kansas remains a red zone for coronavirus cases and is eighth in the nation in positivity in COVID-19 cases. Birx urged the officials to impose mitigation efforts, which she said is the only way to contain the virus until a vaccine is approved.A spokeswoman for Kansas Senate President Susan Wagle, a Republican, said she would not respond to the governor’s comment until Friday’s meeting.Kelly said forcing state and local governments to further reduce their budgets when revenue has already dropped will hamper the state’s coronavirus response and make Kansas more vulnerable in future crises.“We will need significantly more support from our federal partners to protect our institutions from drastic and damaging cuts,” Kelly said.Earlier Thursday, Kelly testified remotely before the U.S. House Financial Services Committee that the state faces “drastic and damaging” cuts if the federal government does not provide more funds in response to the coronavirus pandemic.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/9/1599755208571.png" alt="Governor Laura Kelly during her virtual testimony Thursday" />
 <figcaption>Governor Laura Kelly during her virtual testimony Thursday</figcaption>
 </figure>Kansas has already received $1.2 billion in aid, which generally must be used for pandemic-related needs, not to help overall budgets.

Kan. emergency declaration will continue for another month

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Supreme Court on Friday threw out a first-degree premeditated murder conviction after finding that a Grant County judge erred in refusing to give jurors the requested instructions of self-defense and involuntary manslaughter.

The court sent the case of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kscourts.org/KSCourts/media/KsCourts/Opinions/118894.pdf?ext=.pdf" target="_blank">Michael Alan Keyes</a>&nbsp;back to Grant County District Court. In its ruling, the Supreme Court said whether Keyes used self-defense boils down to a “credibility question.”

“Without the jury making this credibility determination, we cannot be sure that the court’s failure to instruct the jury on self-defense did not affect the outcome of this trial,” according to the ruling.

Keyes was serving a life sentence with no possibility of parole for 50 years after his conviction in the 2016 death of Jimmy Martin.

Keyes testified at his trial that he believed it was necessary to kill Martin in order to defend himself. He told jurors he feared for his life when Martin came at him with a knife threatening to kill him.

His testimony, if believed, could demonstrate that a reasonable person would have perceived the use of deadly force in self-defense as necessary, the court said.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/9/1599855045647.png" alt="Keyes photo KDOC" />
 <figcaption>Keyes photo KDOC</figcaption>
 </figure>TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Supreme Court on Friday threw out a first-degree premeditated murder conviction after finding that a Grant County judge erred in refusing to give jurors the requested instructions of self-defense and involuntary manslaughter.The court sent the case of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kscourts.org/KSCourts/media/KsCourts/Opinions/118894.pdf?ext=.pdf" target="_blank">Michael Alan Keyes</a>&nbsp;back to Grant County District Court. In its ruling, the Supreme Court said whether Keyes used self-defense boils down to a “credibility question.”“Without the jury making this credibility determination, we cannot be sure that the court’s failure to instruct the jury on self-defense did not affect the outcome of this trial,” according to the ruling.Keyes was serving a life sentence with no possibility of parole for 50 years after his conviction in the 2016 death of Jimmy Martin.Keyes testified at his trial that he believed it was necessary to kill Martin in order to defend himself. He told jurors he feared for his life when Martin came at him with a knife threatening to kill him.His testimony, if believed, could demonstrate that a reasonable person would have perceived the use of deadly force in self-defense as necessary, the court said.

Kansas Supreme Court tosses man's 2016 murder conviction

TOPEKA— The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Kansas increased by 976 to a total of 48,386 the state health department reported Friday afternoon.&nbsp;

Coronavirus deaths were reported at 511, an increase of 16.

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

TOPEKA— The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Kansas increased by 976 to a total of 48,386 the state health department reported Friday afternoon.&nbsp;Coronavirus deaths were reported at 511, an increase of 16.<a href="https://www.coronavirus.kdheks.gov/160/COVID-19-in-Kansas">Click here&nbsp;</a>for additional numbers from the KDHE.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/9/1599843927147.png" alt="Friday Sept. 11, 2020 KDHE image" />
 <figcaption>Friday Sept. 11, 2020 KDHE image</figcaption>
 </figure>

KDHE: Latest coronavirus numbers in Kansas

KANSAS CITY&nbsp; (AP) — A Kansas City teenager has been charged with murder and other counts in a June shooting that killed one person and injured two others, police said.

Alvin Muldrew III, 17, is charged in Jackson County Circuit Court with second-degree murder, four counts of armed criminal action, two counts of assault and unlawful use of a weapon.

The charges involve a June 17 shooting in Kansas City that killed Deveon Edward and injured two women. Police say all three were in a car when they were shot. Investigators believe the shooting stemmed from a marijuana deal.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/9/1599835628002.png" alt="Muldrew" />
 <figcaption>Muldrew</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY&nbsp; (AP) — A Kansas City teenager has been charged with murder and other counts in a June shooting that killed one person and injured two others, police said.Alvin Muldrew III, 17, is charged in Jackson County Circuit Court with second-degree murder, four counts of armed criminal action, two counts of assault and unlawful use of a weapon.The charges involve a June 17 shooting in Kansas City that killed Deveon Edward and injured two women. Police say all three were in a car when they were shot. Investigators believe the shooting stemmed from a marijuana deal.

Kansas City teen charged in fatal marijuana deal shooting

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The National Weather Service says several low temperature and a snow record across Kansas have been broken this week as unseasonably cold weather moved across the region. National Weather Service meteorologist Andy Kleinsasser say that a large weather system over the Rockies this week pushed an unprecedented cold front into Kansas.

Among new records were a low of 47 degrees in Wichita on Tuesday, where the previous record had been 48 in 1890, and low of 41 degrees in Russell, where the previous record was 44 in 1962.

 Goodland also saw its earliest measurable snow on record Wednesday with about a half-inch.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The National Weather Service says several low temperature and a snow record across Kansas have been broken this week as unseasonably cold weather moved across the region. National Weather Service meteorologist Andy Kleinsasser say that a large weather system over the Rockies this week pushed an unprecedented cold front into Kansas.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">The Tri-State area set some records today with the lowest maximum temperatures for the date of Sept. 9th. Here is a list of today&#39;s maximum temperatures thus far as some locations may not have reached their high just yet. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/COwx?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#COwx</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/KSwx?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#KSwx</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NEwx?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NEwx</a> <a href="https://t.co/nDqc7bcrOU">pic.twitter.com/nDqc7bcrOU</a>&mdash; NWS Goodland (@NWSGoodland) <a href="https://twitter.com/NWSGoodland/status/1303881954530525190?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 10, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Among new records were a low of 47 degrees in Wichita on Tuesday, where the previous record had been 48 in 1890, and low of 41 degrees in Russell, where the previous record was 44 in 1962.<div><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FNWSGoodland%2Fposts%2F3324095384341557&width=500" width="500" height="510" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowTransparency="true" allow="encrypted-media"></iframe></div> Goodland also saw its earliest measurable snow on record Wednesday with about a half-inch.

Several low temp, snow records broken across Kansas

NEW YORK (AP) — Americans are commemorating 9/11 with tributes that have been altered by coronavirus precautions and woven into the presidential campaign, drawing both President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden to pay respects at the same memorial without crossing paths.

in recognition of Patriot Day and in accordance with a proclamation from the White House, Governor Laura Kelly has ordered flags throughout the State of Kansas to be flown at half-staff for the entire day on Friday.

In New York, a dispute over coronavirus-safety precautions is leading to split-screen remembrances Friday, one at the Sept. 11 memorial plaza at the World Trade Center and another on a nearby corner. The Pentagon’s observance will be so restricted that not even victims’ families can attend, though small groups can visit the memorial there later in the day.

Trump and Biden are both headed — at different times — to the Flight 93 National Memorial near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

Trump is speaking at the morning ceremony, the White House said. Biden plans to pay respects there in the afternoon after attending the observance at the 9/11 memorial in New York.

Meanwhile, Vice President Mike Pence is also due at ground zero — and then at the alternate ceremony a few blocks away.

In short, the anniversary of 9/11 is a complicated occasion in a maelstrom of a year, as the U.S. grapples with a health crisis, searches its soul over racial injustice and prepares to choose a leader to chart a path forward.

Still, 9/11 families say it’s important for the nation to pause and remember the hijacked-plane attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people at the trade center, at the Pentagon and near Shanksville on Sept. 11, 2001, shaping American policy, perceptions of safety and daily life in places from airports to office buildings.

“I know that the heart of America beats on 9/11 and, of course, thinks about that tragic day. I don’t think that people forget,” says Anthoula Katsimatides, who lost her brother John and is now on the board of the National Sept. 11 Memorial &amp; Museum.

Friday will mark Trump’s second time observing the 9/11 anniversary at the Flight 93 memorial, where he made remarks in 2018. Biden spoke at the memorial’s dedication in 2011, when he was vice president.

The ground zero ceremony in New York has a longstanding custom of not allowing politicians to speak, though they can attend. Biden did so as vice president in 2010, and Trump as a candidate in 2016.

Though the candidates will be focused on the commemorations, the political significance of their focus on Shanksville is hard to ignore: Pennsylvania is a must-win state for both. Trump won it by less than a percentage point in 2016.

Around the country, some communities have canceled 9/11 commemorations because of the pandemic, while others are going ahead, sometimes with modifications.

The New York memorial is changing one of its ceremony’s central traditions: having relatives read the names of the dead, often adding poignant tributes.

Thousands of family members are still invited. But they’ll hear a recording of the names from speakers spread around the vast plaza, a plan that memorial leaders felt would avoid close contact at a stage but still allow families to remember their loved ones at the place where they died.

But some victims’ relatives felt the change robbed the observance of its emotional impact. A different 9/11-related group, the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation, set up its own, simultaneous ceremony a few blocks away, saying there’s no reason that people can’t recite names while keeping a safe distance.

The two organizations also tussled over the Tribute in Light, a pair of powerful beams that shine into the night sky near the trade center and evoke its fallen twin towers. The 9/11 memorial initially canceled the display, citing virus-safety concerns for the installation crew. After the Tunnel to Towers Foundation vowed to put up the lights instead, the memorial changed course with help from its chairman, former Mayor Mike Bloomberg, and Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

Tunnel to Towers, meanwhile, arranged to display single beams for the first time at the Shanksville memorial and the Pentagon.

Over the years, the anniversary also has become a day for volunteering. Because of the pandemic, the&nbsp;<a href="https://911day.org/" target="_blank">9/11 National Day of Service and Remembrance&nbsp;</a>organization is encouraging people this year to make donations or take other actions that can be accomplished at home.

NEW YORK (AP) — Americans are commemorating 9/11 with tributes that have been altered by coronavirus precautions and woven into the presidential campaign, drawing both President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden to pay respects at the same memorial without crossing paths.in recognition of Patriot Day and in accordance with a proclamation from the White House, Governor Laura Kelly has ordered flags throughout the State of Kansas to be flown at half-staff for the entire day on Friday.In New York, a dispute over coronavirus-safety precautions is leading to split-screen remembrances Friday, one at the Sept. 11 memorial plaza at the World Trade Center and another on a nearby corner. The Pentagon’s observance will be so restricted that not even victims’ families can attend, though small groups can visit the memorial there later in the day.Trump and Biden are both headed — at different times — to the Flight 93 National Memorial near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.Trump is speaking at the morning ceremony, the White House said. Biden plans to pay respects there in the afternoon after attending the observance at the 9/11 memorial in New York.Meanwhile, Vice President Mike Pence is also due at ground zero — and then at the alternate ceremony a few blocks away.In short, the anniversary of 9/11 is a complicated occasion in a maelstrom of a year, as the U.S. grapples with a health crisis, searches its soul over racial injustice and prepares to choose a leader to chart a path forward.Still, 9/11 families say it’s important for the nation to pause and remember the hijacked-plane attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people at the trade center, at the Pentagon and near Shanksville on Sept. 11, 2001, shaping American policy, perceptions of safety and daily life in places from airports to office buildings.“I know that the heart of America beats on 9/11 and, of course, thinks about that tragic day. I don’t think that people forget,” says Anthoula Katsimatides, who lost her brother John and is now on the board of the National Sept. 11 Memorial &amp; Museum.Friday will mark Trump’s second time observing the 9/11 anniversary at the Flight 93 memorial, where he made remarks in 2018. Biden spoke at the memorial’s dedication in 2011, when he was vice president.The ground zero ceremony in New York has a longstanding custom of not allowing politicians to speak, though they can attend. Biden did so as vice president in 2010, and Trump as a candidate in 2016.Though the candidates will be focused on the commemorations, the political significance of their focus on Shanksville is hard to ignore: Pennsylvania is a must-win state for both. Trump won it by less than a percentage point in 2016.Around the country, some communities have canceled 9/11 commemorations because of the pandemic, while others are going ahead, sometimes with modifications.The New York memorial is changing one of its ceremony’s central traditions: having relatives read the names of the dead, often adding poignant tributes.Thousands of family members are still invited. But they’ll hear a recording of the names from speakers spread around the vast plaza, a plan that memorial leaders felt would avoid close contact at a stage but still allow families to remember their loved ones at the place where they died.But some victims’ relatives felt the change robbed the observance of its emotional impact. A different 9/11-related group, the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation, set up its own, simultaneous ceremony a few blocks away, saying there’s no reason that people can’t recite names while keeping a safe distance.The two organizations also tussled over the Tribute in Light, a pair of powerful beams that shine into the night sky near the trade center and evoke its fallen twin towers. The 9/11 memorial initially canceled the display, citing virus-safety concerns for the installation crew. After the Tunnel to Towers Foundation vowed to put up the lights instead, the memorial changed course with help from its chairman, former Mayor Mike Bloomberg, and Gov. Andrew Cuomo.Tunnel to Towers, meanwhile, arranged to display single beams for the first time at the Shanksville memorial and the Pentagon.Over the years, the anniversary also has become a day for volunteering. Because of the pandemic, the&nbsp;<a href="https://911day.org/" target="_blank">9/11 National Day of Service and Remembrance&nbsp;</a>organization is encouraging people this year to make donations or take other actions that can be accomplished at home.___

US remembers 9/11 as pandemic changes tribute traditions

SHAWNEE COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a wanted Kansas felon on multiple charges after a high-speed chase.

Just after 11:30 a.m. Thursday, the Shawnee County Sheriff’s Office assisted the Kansas Highway Patrol and Topeka Police Department with taking a suspect into custody following a pursuit. The pursuit was initiated when the suspect, Richard W. Meier II, 26 of Topeka, was driving a stolen white Ford F250 pickup truck from the 1600 block of SW Central Part Avenue, according to Deputy Abigail Christian.

The pursuit continued through the south part of Topeka and into rural Shawnee County.

Multiple law enforcement officers assisted in the termination of the pursuit near Interstate 470 and SW Burlingame Road.

Meier was taken into custody by the Sheriff’s Office and booked into the Shawnee County Department of Corrections for two felony warrants and one misdemeanor warrant out of Shawnee County along with a felony warrant through the United States Marshal’s Service. 

Meier is facing multiple charges from the Kansas Highway Patrol, including aggravated assault, possession of methamphetamine, driving under the influence and more, according to Christian.

Meier has numerous previous convictions that include theft, criminal threat, battery on a university/campus police officer, robbery, making false writing, obstruction, assault on a law enforcement officer, criminal threat, flee or attempt to elude law enforcement and for drugs, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections.

If anyone sustained damage to their vehicles or was nearly struck during this pursuit, please contact Trooper Dobler at Justin.Dobler@KS.GOV. 

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/9/1599821374958.png" alt="Meier photo Shawnee County" />
 <figcaption>Meier photo Shawnee County</figcaption>
 </figure>SHAWNEE COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a wanted Kansas felon on multiple charges after a high-speed chase.Just after 11:30 a.m. Thursday, the Shawnee County Sheriff’s Office assisted the Kansas Highway Patrol and Topeka Police Department with taking a suspect into custody following a pursuit. The pursuit was initiated when the suspect, Richard W. Meier II, 26 of Topeka, was driving a stolen white Ford F250 pickup truck from the 1600 block of SW Central Part Avenue, according to Deputy Abigail Christian.The pursuit continued through the south part of Topeka and into rural Shawnee County.Multiple law enforcement officers assisted in the termination of the pursuit near Interstate 470 and SW Burlingame Road.Meier was taken into custody by the Sheriff’s Office and booked into the Shawnee County Department of Corrections for two felony warrants and one misdemeanor warrant out of Shawnee County along with a felony warrant through the United States Marshal’s Service. Meier is facing multiple charges from the Kansas Highway Patrol, including aggravated assault, possession of methamphetamine, driving under the influence and more, according to Christian.Meier has numerous previous convictions that include theft, criminal threat, battery on a university/campus police officer, robbery, making false writing, obstruction, assault on a law enforcement officer, criminal threat, flee or attempt to elude law enforcement and for drugs, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections.If anyone sustained damage to their vehicles or was nearly struck during this pursuit, please contact Trooper Dobler at Justin.Dobler@KS.GOV.

Kan. man wanted by US Marshals captured driving stolen pickup

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — Federal regulators said Thursday they have cited Smithfield Foods for failing to protect employees from exposure to the coronavirus at the company’s Sioux Falls plant, an early hot spot for virus infections that hobbled American meatpacking plants.

The nature and timing of the violation wasn’t immediately clear from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, but the announcement included the latest assessment of the virus’ impact in Sioux Falls. Four plant workers were killed by the virus during the spring and at least 1,294 workers were sickened. Only two deaths among employees had been previously known.

Smithfield Foods, which is based in Virginia, said it planned to contest the citation and $13,494 fine. Keira Lombardo, a spokeswoman for the company, called the citation “wholly without merit” in a statement and argued the company had taken “extraordinary measures” to protect employees from infections.

OSHA conducted an investigation that spanned months as it conducted 60 interviews and reviewed over 20,000 pages of documents, according to Lombardo. She blamed coronavirus infections in Sioux Falls for causing the outbreak at the plant

Employees at the plant have&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/26bf8fc20f2873d9701fd2ea95f87be4">said Smithfield did not do enoug</a>&nbsp;h to prevent inspections in the plant, where workers labored elbow-to-elbow as they processed nearly 5% of the country’s pork. The union at the plant, the United Food and Commercial Workers, has said that it had been attempting to negotiate for more coronavirus protections leading up to the outbreak. After cases kept accumulating, Smithfield shuttered its plant for nearly three weeks.

But large outbreaks at meatpacking plants across the nation soon followed. Meatpackers have aggressively defended their role in providing the nation’s food supply, warning that if plants closed because of the pandemic, grocery stores shelves would see shortages of meat.

After President Donald Trump&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/fb38a5a53ac1a92039bc0a4b545b19d7">signed an executive order in Apri</a>&nbsp;l deeming meatpacking plants as critical infrastructure, they mostly stayed open. The country’s slaughterhouses rebounded, and commercial red meat and pork production for this year has even exceeded last year, according to the latest data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

OSHA began investigating Smithfield’s Sioux Falls plant on April 20, shortly after a team from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention toured the facility to offer recommendations on how meatpacking plants could operate during the pandemic.

Smithfield CEO Kenneth Sullivan has defended how the company handled the virus outbreak, sending a blistering, 14-page letter to Senate Democrats Elizabeth Warren and Cory Booker after they inquired into how meatpackers have protected workers. Hundreds of employees signed on to Sullivan’s response. The company has asked its employees to sign onto&nbsp;<a href="https://smithfield.checkboxonline.com/employee-pledge" target="_blank">a statement</a>&nbsp;saying it took “aggressive measures” to protect their health.

But Nancy Reynoza, who runs a Latino community organization in Sioux Falls and organized protests for better conditions at Smithfield, said the company could still do more to keep its facilities such as bathrooms and locker rooms clean, though she acknowledged conditions have improved since the April outbreak.

She said the fine from OSHA was a “joke if you think of the people that got sick.”

Marc Perrone, the president of United Food and Commercial Workers, said, “This so-called ‘fine’ is a slap on the wrist for Smithfield, and a slap in the face of the thousands of American meatpacking workers who have been putting their lives on the line to help feed America since the beginning of this pandemic.”

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — Federal regulators said Thursday they have cited Smithfield Foods for failing to protect employees from exposure to the coronavirus at the company’s Sioux Falls plant, an early hot spot for virus infections that hobbled American meatpacking plants.The nature and timing of the violation wasn’t immediately clear from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, but the announcement included the latest assessment of the virus’ impact in Sioux Falls. Four plant workers were killed by the virus during the spring and at least 1,294 workers were sickened. Only two deaths among employees had been previously known.Smithfield Foods, which is based in Virginia, said it planned to contest the citation and $13,494 fine. Keira Lombardo, a spokeswoman for the company, called the citation “wholly without merit” in a statement and argued the company had taken “extraordinary measures” to protect employees from infections.OSHA conducted an investigation that spanned months as it conducted 60 interviews and reviewed over 20,000 pages of documents, according to Lombardo. She blamed coronavirus infections in Sioux Falls for causing the outbreak at the plantEmployees at the plant have&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/26bf8fc20f2873d9701fd2ea95f87be4">said Smithfield did not do enoug</a>&nbsp;h to prevent inspections in the plant, where workers labored elbow-to-elbow as they processed nearly 5% of the country’s pork. The union at the plant, the United Food and Commercial Workers, has said that it had been attempting to negotiate for more coronavirus protections leading up to the outbreak. After cases kept accumulating, Smithfield shuttered its plant for nearly three weeks.But large outbreaks at meatpacking plants across the nation soon followed. Meatpackers have aggressively defended their role in providing the nation’s food supply, warning that if plants closed because of the pandemic, grocery stores shelves would see shortages of meat.After President Donald Trump&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/fb38a5a53ac1a92039bc0a4b545b19d7">signed an executive order in Apri</a>&nbsp;l deeming meatpacking plants as critical infrastructure, they mostly stayed open. The country’s slaughterhouses rebounded, and commercial red meat and pork production for this year has even exceeded last year, according to the latest data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.OSHA began investigating Smithfield’s Sioux Falls plant on April 20, shortly after a team from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention toured the facility to offer recommendations on how meatpacking plants could operate during the pandemic.Smithfield CEO Kenneth Sullivan has defended how the company handled the virus outbreak, sending a blistering, 14-page letter to Senate Democrats Elizabeth Warren and Cory Booker after they inquired into how meatpackers have protected workers. Hundreds of employees signed on to Sullivan’s response. The company has asked its employees to sign onto&nbsp;<a href="https://smithfield.checkboxonline.com/employee-pledge" target="_blank">a statement</a>&nbsp;saying it took “aggressive measures” to protect their health.But Nancy Reynoza, who runs a Latino community organization in Sioux Falls and organized protests for better conditions at Smithfield, said the company could still do more to keep its facilities such as bathrooms and locker rooms clean, though she acknowledged conditions have improved since the April outbreak.She said the fine from OSHA was a “joke if you think of the people that got sick.”Marc Perrone, the president of United Food and Commercial Workers, said, “This so-called ‘fine’ is a slap on the wrist for Smithfield, and a slap in the face of the thousands of American meatpacking workers who have been putting their lives on the line to help feed America since the beginning of this pandemic.”

Smithfield pork plant faces OSHA fine from virus outbreak

WASHINGTON (AP) — The George Washington University history professor who confessed to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/6b628f0618b5ac01bb329a88f2d9905e">posing as a Black woman</a>&nbsp;for her entire career has resigned, according to the university.

Jessica Krug “has resigned her position, effective immediately,” the university announced on Twitter. “Her classes for this semester will be taught by other faculty members, and students in those courses will receive additional information this week.”

Krug, who taught African American history and specialized in issues of African culture and diaspora,&nbsp;<a href="https://medium.com/@jessakrug/the-truth-and-the-anti-black-violence-of-my-lies-9a9621401f85">admitted last week in a blog post</a>&nbsp;that she had presented herself as Afro Caribbean from New York when she is in fact a white Jewish woman from suburban Kansas City.

She expressed deep remorse and blamed her years-long deception on “unaddressed mental health demons” dating back to childhood.

Krug has not spoken publicly since the blog post and did not respond to a request for comment.

Her revelation stoked an online storm of criticism as well as a debate about the validity of her scholarly body of work. Duke University Press, which published Krug's 2018 book “Fugitive Modernities,” announced that any proceeds from the book would be routed toward “a fund that will support the work of Black and Latinx scholars.”

Gisela Fosado, editorial director for Duke University Press,&nbsp;<a href="https://dukeupress.wordpress.com/2020/09/10/editorial-director-gisela-fosado-speaks-out-about-jessica-a-krug/?fbclid=IwAR1_z7jXhzBjTSJkz1WRlcH9MaLTl47GmYX04hYAyBE9lKXunKCwz7H2neQ">wrote in an online statement</a>&nbsp;that, “Those of us who are connected to Krug and her scholarship, and especially those of us who are people of color, are grappling with several layers of anger and hurt.”

Fosado wrote that she was one of the many people who were personally deceived by Krug over the years, and said Krug insisted that her last named was actually pronounced “Cruz.”

Krug's long-term identity fraud, “took funding and other opportunities that were earmarked for non-white scholars," Fosado wrote. “Krug’s scholarship may not have ever existed without the funding that was inseparable from her two decades of lies.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/9/1599776157865.png" alt="Jessica Krug -photo GWU" />
 <figcaption>Jessica Krug -photo GWU</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — The George Washington University history professor who confessed to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/6b628f0618b5ac01bb329a88f2d9905e">posing as a Black woman</a>&nbsp;for her entire career has resigned, according to the university.Jessica Krug “has resigned her position, effective immediately,” the university announced on Twitter. “Her classes for this semester will be taught by other faculty members, and students in those courses will receive additional information this week.”Krug, who taught African American history and specialized in issues of African culture and diaspora,&nbsp;<a href="https://medium.com/@jessakrug/the-truth-and-the-anti-black-violence-of-my-lies-9a9621401f85">admitted last week in a blog post</a>&nbsp;that she had presented herself as Afro Caribbean from New York when she is in fact a white Jewish woman from suburban Kansas City.She expressed deep remorse and blamed her years-long deception on “unaddressed mental health demons” dating back to childhood.Krug has not spoken publicly since the blog post and did not respond to a request for comment.Her revelation stoked an online storm of criticism as well as a debate about the validity of her scholarly body of work. Duke University Press, which published Krug's 2018 book “Fugitive Modernities,” announced that any proceeds from the book would be routed toward “a fund that will support the work of Black and Latinx scholars.”Gisela Fosado, editorial director for Duke University Press,&nbsp;<a href="https://dukeupress.wordpress.com/2020/09/10/editorial-director-gisela-fosado-speaks-out-about-jessica-a-krug/?fbclid=IwAR1_z7jXhzBjTSJkz1WRlcH9MaLTl47GmYX04hYAyBE9lKXunKCwz7H2neQ">wrote in an online statement</a>&nbsp;that, “Those of us who are connected to Krug and her scholarship, and especially those of us who are people of color, are grappling with several layers of anger and hurt.”Fosado wrote that she was one of the many people who were personally deceived by Krug over the years, and said Krug insisted that her last named was actually pronounced “Cruz.”Krug's long-term identity fraud, “took funding and other opportunities that were earmarked for non-white scholars," Fosado wrote. “Krug’s scholarship may not have ever existed without the funding that was inseparable from her two decades of lies.”

Professor from Kansas City who posed as Black resigns

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — A former southwestern Missouri high school teacher has been sentenced to six years in prison on a federal child porn charge.

Matthew McCroskey, 51, was sentenced Wednesday. Prosecutors said McCroskey admitted to searching out and downloading child pornography from the internet. Investigators found at least 96 images and one video of child pornography on McCroskey’s computer.

Evidence was also presented at his sentencing that McCroskey set up a hidden camera and secretly recorded young women as they used the bathroom at his house.

McCroskey had worked at Logan-Rogersville schools starting in 2004, teaching English and sponsoring the yearbook. He was fired following his arrest in January 2019.

At his sentencing, a judge ordered McCroskey's sentence credited for the two years he has already served in jail awaiting trial and sentencing. He also was ordered to pay $5,000 in restitution ot one of the child pornography victims.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/9/1599745552116.png" alt="McCroskey photo Greene Co. Jail" />
 <figcaption>McCroskey photo Greene Co. Jail</figcaption>
 </figure>SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — A former southwestern Missouri high school teacher has been sentenced to six years in prison on a federal child porn charge.Matthew McCroskey, 51, was sentenced Wednesday. Prosecutors said McCroskey admitted to searching out and downloading child pornography from the internet. Investigators found at least 96 images and one video of child pornography on McCroskey’s computer.Evidence was also presented at his sentencing that McCroskey set up a hidden camera and secretly recorded young women as they used the bathroom at his house.McCroskey had worked at Logan-Rogersville schools starting in 2004, teaching English and sponsoring the yearbook. He was fired following his arrest in January 2019.At his sentencing, a judge ordered McCroskey's sentence credited for the two years he has already served in jail awaiting trial and sentencing. He also was ordered to pay $5,000 in restitution ot one of the child pornography victims.

Former teacher had secret camera in his bathroom

WASHINGTON (AP) — The suspension of a huge COVID-19 vaccine study over an illness in a single participant shows there will be “no compromises” on safety in the race to develop the shot, the chief of the National Institutes of Health told Congress on Wednesday.

AstraZeneca has put on hold studies of its vaccine candidate in the U.S. and other countries while it investigates whether a British volunteer’s illness is a side effect or a coincidence.

“This ought to be reassuring,” NIH Director Dr. Francis Collins said before a Senate committee. “When we say we are going to focus first on safety and make no compromises, here is Exhibit A of how that is happening in practice.”

Scientists have been scrambling to develop a vaccine against the coronavirus since the outbreak began, and the U.S. has launched the world’s largest studies — final-stage testing of three leading candidates, with three more trials set to come soon that will each recruit 30,000 test subjects.

Public health experts are worried that President Donald Trump will pressure the Food and Drug Administration to approve a vaccine before it is proven to be safe and effective, a concern senator after senator echoed on Wednesday.

“When it comes to a COVID-19 vaccine, we can’t allow President Trump to repeat his alarming pattern of putting politics ahead of science and public health,” said Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, the committee’s ranking Democrat.

The U.S. has invested billions of dollars in efforts to quickly develop multiple vaccines against COVID-19. But public fears that a vaccine is unsafe or ineffective could be disastrous, derailing the effort to vaccinate millions of Americans.

Collins said the public needs to understand the process behind telling when any vaccine candidate is ready for widespread use — one that by design is keeping both manufacturers and politicians in the dark until the evidence gels.

About 150 COVID-19 infections in a study of 30,000 people should be enough to tell if that candidate really is working — and an independent group of experts, not the FDA, gets to do the counting.

Every vaccine trial is overseen by a “data and safety monitoring board,” or DSMB. These boards include scientists and statisticians who are experts in their fields but have no ties to either the government or the vaccine makers.

The top priority: watching for safety concerns, like the one that sparked a DSMB in Britain to pause AstraZeneca’s vaccinations and alert its U.S. counterpart.

But this is the group that also will decide when each vaccine is ready to be evaluated by regulators.

In each 30,000-person study, about half the participants are given the real vaccine and half get dummy shots, and neither they nor their doctors know which is which. Only the DSMB has the power to unlock the code of who got which shot and peek at how the volunteers are faring before a study is finished.

The FDA can’t even begin to consider approving a vaccine until the DSMB says the data is good enough for that debate, Collins stressed. Once that happens, the FDA has pledged to bring each candidate before a public vaccine advisory committee.

The FDA already has told manufacturers it won’t consider any vaccine that’s less than 50% effective.

Say one vaccine trial records that 150 volunteers have gotten sick. The DSMB finds that 100 had received dummy shots and 50 had received the real vaccine. The expert group might decide that’s a promising enough vaccine to stop the study early so that the FDA can debate its merits, even before getting final outcomes from all 30,000 volunteers, said Dr. Larry Corey of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Institute, who is overseeing the U.S. government’s vaccine studies.

On the other hand, if equal numbers from the vaccine and placebo groups got infected, the DSMB might declare a vaccine futile, he told The Associated Press. These panels also can calculate infections even before that 150 threshold is met, at set time points in each study.

“If your vaccine is at least 50% effective, you’re going to know it because you’re going to see a big skewing” of infections, NIH’s Collins told the Senate’s health, education, labor and pensions committee. “You count those events and you know whether it worked or not.”

ANSWERS UNLIKELY BEFORE THE U.S. ELECTION

Getting the right math before November, as Trump has promised, is “incredibly unlikely,” Corey said.

Collins expressed “cautious optimism” that one of the vaccines being tested will pan out by the end of the year but warned: “Certainly to try to predict whether it happens on a particular week before or after a particular date in early November is well beyond anything that any scientist right now could tell you.”

And even if a study has a spate of infections large enough to prove the effectiveness question, the DSMB also must be comfortable that there’s enough evidence of safety before opening the books to the FDA. Generally, the FDA is requiring safety data from at least 3,000 people, Surgeon General Jerome Adams told the Senate panel.

This process isn’t new — Phase 3 studies of vaccines and therapies are always done this way, though rarely in so bright a spotlight.

It’s not uncommon for pauses in research to investigate whether an unexpected health complaint is really related to a vaccine or not, Collins told senators worried about what the AstraZeneca suspension means for the nation’s year-end goal.

“The reason we’re investing not in one but six different vaccines is because of the expectation that they won’t all work,” Collins said.

AstraZeneca gave no details on the illness, but Collins said it involved a “spinal cord problem.” Earlier-stage studies hadn’t revealed any serious side effects, but that’s a key reason for doing ever-larger phases of research — to widen the search for any reactions.

Final testing of two other vaccines is continuing, one created by the NIH and manufactured by Moderna Inc., the other made by Pfizer and Germany’s BioNTech. Those two vaccines work differently than AstraZeneca’s, which was developed by Oxford University, and the studies already have recruited about two-thirds of the needed volunteers.

Several vaccine candidates made by Chinese companies are in late stages of testing in various countries, but with smaller numbers of volunteers. Most health authorities are skeptical about a claim of vaccine success by Russia, which has test results from just a few dozen people.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/9/1599740291602.png" alt="During a Senate HELP Committee hearing Wednesday, NIH Director Dr. Francis Collins talks about the pause in AstraZeneca's vaccine trial&nbsp;" />
 <figcaption>During a Senate HELP Committee hearing Wednesday, NIH Director Dr. Francis Collins talks about the pause in AstraZeneca's vaccine trial&nbsp;</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — The suspension of a huge COVID-19 vaccine study over an illness in a single participant shows there will be “no compromises” on safety in the race to develop the shot, the chief of the National Institutes of Health told Congress on Wednesday.AstraZeneca has put on hold studies of its vaccine candidate in the U.S. and other countries while it investigates whether a British volunteer’s illness is a side effect or a coincidence.“This ought to be reassuring,” NIH Director Dr. Francis Collins said before a Senate committee. “When we say we are going to focus first on safety and make no compromises, here is Exhibit A of how that is happening in practice.”Scientists have been scrambling to develop a vaccine against the coronavirus since the outbreak began, and the U.S. has launched the world’s largest studies — final-stage testing of three leading candidates, with three more trials set to come soon that will each recruit 30,000 test subjects.Public health experts are worried that President Donald Trump will pressure the Food and Drug Administration to approve a vaccine before it is proven to be safe and effective, a concern senator after senator echoed on Wednesday.“When it comes to a COVID-19 vaccine, we can’t allow President Trump to repeat his alarming pattern of putting politics ahead of science and public health,” said Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, the committee’s ranking Democrat.The U.S. has invested billions of dollars in efforts to quickly develop multiple vaccines against COVID-19. But public fears that a vaccine is unsafe or ineffective could be disastrous, derailing the effort to vaccinate millions of Americans.Collins said the public needs to understand the process behind telling when any vaccine candidate is ready for widespread use — one that by design is keeping both manufacturers and politicians in the dark until the evidence gels.About 150 COVID-19 infections in a study of 30,000 people should be enough to tell if that candidate really is working — and an independent group of experts, not the FDA, gets to do the counting.WHO MONITORS THE STUDIES?Every vaccine trial is overseen by a “data and safety monitoring board,” or DSMB. These boards include scientists and statisticians who are experts in their fields but have no ties to either the government or the vaccine makers.The top priority: watching for safety concerns, like the one that sparked a DSMB in Britain to pause AstraZeneca’s vaccinations and alert its U.S. counterpart.But this is the group that also will decide when each vaccine is ready to be evaluated by regulators.In each 30,000-person study, about half the participants are given the real vaccine and half get dummy shots, and neither they nor their doctors know which is which. Only the DSMB has the power to unlock the code of who got which shot and peek at how the volunteers are faring before a study is finished.The FDA can’t even begin to consider approving a vaccine until the DSMB says the data is good enough for that debate, Collins stressed. Once that happens, the FDA has pledged to bring each candidate before a public vaccine advisory committee.DOING THE MATHThe FDA already has told manufacturers it won’t consider any vaccine that’s less than 50% effective.Say one vaccine trial records that 150 volunteers have gotten sick. The DSMB finds that 100 had received dummy shots and 50 had received the real vaccine. The expert group might decide that’s a promising enough vaccine to stop the study early so that the FDA can debate its merits, even before getting final outcomes from all 30,000 volunteers, said Dr. Larry Corey of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Institute, who is overseeing the U.S. government’s vaccine studies.On the other hand, if equal numbers from the vaccine and placebo groups got infected, the DSMB might declare a vaccine futile, he told The Associated Press. These panels also can calculate infections even before that 150 threshold is met, at set time points in each study.“If your vaccine is at least 50% effective, you’re going to know it because you’re going to see a big skewing” of infections, NIH’s Collins told the Senate’s health, education, labor and pensions committee. “You count those events and you know whether it worked or not.”ANSWERS UNLIKELY BEFORE THE U.S. ELECTIONGetting the right math before November, as Trump has promised, is “incredibly unlikely,” Corey said.Collins expressed “cautious optimism” that one of the vaccines being tested will pan out by the end of the year but warned: “Certainly to try to predict whether it happens on a particular week before or after a particular date in early November is well beyond anything that any scientist right now could tell you.”And even if a study has a spate of infections large enough to prove the effectiveness question, the DSMB also must be comfortable that there’s enough evidence of safety before opening the books to the FDA. Generally, the FDA is requiring safety data from at least 3,000 people, Surgeon General Jerome Adams told the Senate panel.This process isn’t new — Phase 3 studies of vaccines and therapies are always done this way, though rarely in so bright a spotlight.SUSPENDING A STUDY NOT THAT RAREIt’s not uncommon for pauses in research to investigate whether an unexpected health complaint is really related to a vaccine or not, Collins told senators worried about what the AstraZeneca suspension means for the nation’s year-end goal.“The reason we’re investing not in one but six different vaccines is because of the expectation that they won’t all work,” Collins said.AstraZeneca gave no details on the illness, but Collins said it involved a “spinal cord problem.” Earlier-stage studies hadn’t revealed any serious side effects, but that’s a key reason for doing ever-larger phases of research — to widen the search for any reactions.Final testing of two other vaccines is continuing, one created by the NIH and manufactured by Moderna Inc., the other made by Pfizer and Germany’s BioNTech. Those two vaccines work differently than AstraZeneca’s, which was developed by Oxford University, and the studies already have recruited about two-thirds of the needed volunteers.Several vaccine candidates made by Chinese companies are in late stages of testing in various countries, but with smaller numbers of volunteers. Most health authorities are skeptical about a claim of vaccine success by Russia, which has test results from just a few dozen people.___

Vaccine by Election Day? Halted study explains how unlikely

The Salina Police Department is seeking assistance in locating Jack Rex Mildfelt.&nbsp;

He was reported missing Thursday and was last seen in Salina on the afternoon of Sept. 3.&nbsp; Family members and a friend are offering a $4,000 reward to whoever finds her brother.

Mildfelt, a 52-year-old white male, is&nbsp;6 feet tall, weighs 190 pounds, and has brown hair and hazel eyes. He was&nbsp;last seen in his white 2010 Hyundai Santa Fe with Kansas tag 119ECF.

If the public has information about Mildfelt’s whereabouts, they are encouraged to contact the Salina Police Department at (785) 826-7210, call Crimestoppers at (785) 825-TIPS (8477), or text SATIPS to CRIMES (274637). Salina Police Department case # 2020-26077

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/9/1599772381818.jpeg" alt="Jack Rex Mildfelt -photo Salina PD" />
 <figcaption>Jack Rex Mildfelt -photo Salina PD</figcaption>
 </figure>The Salina Police Department is seeking assistance in locating Jack Rex Mildfelt.&nbsp;He was reported missing Thursday and was last seen in Salina on the afternoon of Sept. 3.&nbsp; Family members and a friend are offering a $4,000 reward to whoever finds her brother.Mildfelt, a 52-year-old white male, is&nbsp;6 feet tall, weighs 190 pounds, and has brown hair and hazel eyes. He was&nbsp;last seen in his white 2010 Hyundai Santa Fe with Kansas tag 119ECF.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/9/1599772468157.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>If the public has information about Mildfelt’s whereabouts, they are encouraged to contact the Salina Police Department at (785) 826-7210, call Crimestoppers at (785) 825-TIPS (8477), or text SATIPS to CRIMES (274637). Salina Police Department case # 2020-26077

Reward offered: Police ask for help to find missing Salina man

TOPEKA – The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) has amended its travel quarantine list. 

It removes mandatory quarantine following attendance at out-of-state mass gatherings of 500 or more provided people wear masks and maintain social distancing (6 feet). Those who do not wear masks or who do not maintain social distancing, as well as anyone notified by public health they are a close contact, still are mandated to quarantine.

The list also no longer includes travel to Aruba.

“We do not recommend attendance at any type of mass gathering event but recognize that some larger events may take appropriate precautions,” Dr. Lee Norman, KDHE Secretary, said. “If choosing to attend, people must practice social distancing and wear masks.”

Mass gatherings are defined as any event or convening that brings together 500 or more persons in a single room or space at the same time such as an auditorium, stadium, arena, large conference room, meeting hall, theater or any other confined indoor or outdoor space. This includes parades, fairs and festivals. Mass gatherings does not include normal operations of airports, bus and train stations, medical facilities, libraries, shopping malls and centers, or other spaces where 500 or more persons may be in transit. It also does not include typical office environments, schools, restaurants, factories or retail/grocery stores where large numbers of people are present, but it is unusual for them to be within 6 feet of one another for more than 10 minutes.

A comprehensive list of those individuals needing to quarantine for 14 days includes visitors and Kansans who have:

For more information on COVID-19, please visit the KDHE website at&nbsp;<a href="https://gcc01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.kdhe.ks.gov%2Fcoronavirus&amp;data=02%7C01%7C%7C7c0b323fa3124e9ce58708d855a410e5%7Cdcae8101c92d480cbc43c6761ccccc5a%7C0%7C0%7C637353510430682667&amp;sdata=Hw6X06fjc2TlYFq4zeZjeX4g15T2McrgLgt3HEf12Bo%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">www.kdhe.ks.gov/coronavirus</a>.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/3/1584111668151.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>TOPEKA – The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) has amended its travel quarantine list. It removes mandatory quarantine following attendance at out-of-state mass gatherings of 500 or more provided people wear masks and maintain social distancing (6 feet). Those who do not wear masks or who do not maintain social distancing, as well as anyone notified by public health they are a close contact, still are mandated to quarantine.The list also no longer includes travel to Aruba.“We do not recommend attendance at any type of mass gathering event but recognize that some larger events may take appropriate precautions,” Dr. Lee Norman, KDHE Secretary, said. “If choosing to attend, people must practice social distancing and wear masks.”Mass gatherings are defined as any event or convening that brings together 500 or more persons in a single room or space at the same time such as an auditorium, stadium, arena, large conference room, meeting hall, theater or any other confined indoor or outdoor space. This includes parades, fairs and festivals. Mass gatherings does not include normal operations of airports, bus and train stations, medical facilities, libraries, shopping malls and centers, or other spaces where 500 or more persons may be in transit. It also does not include typical office environments, schools, restaurants, factories or retail/grocery stores where large numbers of people are present, but it is unusual for them to be within 6 feet of one another for more than 10 minutes.A comprehensive list of those individuals needing to quarantine for 14 days includes visitors and Kansans who have:<ol>
 <li><a>Attendance at any out-of-state mass gatherings of 500 or more where individuals do not socially distance (6 feet)&nbsp;and&nbsp;wear a mask.</a></li><li>Traveled to Aruba August 27-September 10.</li><li>Traveled July 14 – August 27 to countries with a&nbsp;CDC Level 3 Travel Health Notice and restrictions on entry into the United States, including China, Iran, European Schengen area, United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, and Brazil.</li><li>Been on a cruise ship or river cruise on or after March 15.</li>
 </ol>For more information on COVID-19, please visit the KDHE website at&nbsp;<a href="https://gcc01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.kdhe.ks.gov%2Fcoronavirus&amp;data=02%7C01%7C%7C7c0b323fa3124e9ce58708d855a410e5%7Cdcae8101c92d480cbc43c6761ccccc5a%7C0%7C0%7C637353510430682667&amp;sdata=Hw6X06fjc2TlYFq4zeZjeX4g15T2McrgLgt3HEf12Bo%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">www.kdhe.ks.gov/coronavirus</a>.

KDHE amends mass gatherings from travel quarantine list

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Democrats scuttled a scaled-back GOP coronavirus rescue package on Thursday as the parties argued to a standstill over the size and scope of the aid, likely ending hopes for coronavirus relief before the November election.

The mostly party-line vote capped weeks of wrangling that gave way to election-season political combat and name-calling over a fifth relief bill that all sides say they want but are unable to deliver. The bipartisan spirit that powered earlier aid measures is all but gone.

Democrats said the measure shortchanged too many pressing needs. Republicans argued it was targeted to areas of widespread agreement, but the 52-47 vote fell well short of what was needed to overcome a filibuster. All the present Democrats opposed it, while conservative Rand Paul, R-Ky., cast the only GOP “nay” vote. The Democratic vice presidential nominee, Kamala Harris, was campaigning in Miami and missed the vote.

“It’s a sort of a dead end street, and very unfortunate,” said Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan. “But it is what it is.”

The $500 billion measure is roughly half the size of legislation promoted by Republican leaders this summer. But that version was too big for most conservatives, so the GOP bill was instead stripped back to focus on school aid, jobless benefits and help for small businesses. That maximized Republican support even as it alienated Democrats, who say such a piecemeal approach would leave out far too many vulnerable people.

The result was a predictable impasse and partisan tit-for tat as the congressional session limps to its pre-election close. The panicked atmosphere that drove passage of the $2 trillion landmark CARES Act in March has dissipated as the nation powers through the pandemic with partial reopenings of businesses and schools, though the economy lags and the virus continues to badly disrupt life in the U.S.

It’s becoming plain that all Congress will do before the Nov. 3 election is pass legislation to avert a government shutdown. The outcome of the election promises to have an outsize impact on what might be possible in a postelection lame-duck session, with Democrats sure to press for a better deal if Democrat Joe Biden unseats President Donald Trump.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., predicted that Thursday’s GOP defeat would prompt Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., back to the negotiating table, as an earlier filibuster in March helped make the $2 trillion rescue bill more generous.

“But (Thursday’s) bill is not going to happen because it is so emaciated, so filled with poison pills, so partisanly designed,” Schumer said.

McConnell crafted the measure to permit his GOP colleagues to go on record in favor of popular provisions such as another round of “paycheck protection” help for smaller businesses, help for schools to reopen and supplemental jobless benefits. He again blasted Democrats on Thursday, saying they are still pushing a liberal wish list and are willing to scuttle provisions with widespread backing to deny Trump a victory.

“Today every senator will either say they want to send families the relief we can agree to or they can send families nothing,” McConnell said.

There’s no indication yet that bipartisan talks that crumbled last month will restart. Top lawmakers and aides offered glum assessments both publicly and privately.

Veteran Iowa Republican Chuck Grassley said it’s “sad” there will be no virus aid deal, though he also said the outlook for the economy may not be as bleak as he once thought.

“If you’d asked me, two or three weeks ago I’d say very, very negative,” Grassley said. But with the job market improving and “the whole world kind of getting out of this pandemic, depression, we’re in” Grassley said, there’s “a lot less of an impact than I would have thought two weeks ago.”

The stalemate is politically risky for all sides heading into the fall election, and both sides accused the other of acting primarily with political calculations in mind. Democrats said GOP senators need to “check a box” and vote on any kind of relief bill before exiting Washington to campaign while Republicans said Democrats were intent on denying Republicans a political win.

“What is of overwhelming importance to Democrats is keeping coronavirus alive as a political issue,” said Sen. John Thune, R-S.D. “They’d rather have no bill, zero funding and a political weapon than have a bill and allow Republicans to say that we helped Americans.”

All that’s left — barring a breakthrough that looks unlikely now — is to pass a government-wide short-term spending measure that would avert a shutdown at month’s end and set up a postelection lame-duck session to deal with any unfinished Capitol Hill legislation, which could include coronavirus relief.

The scaled-back GOP virus plan is roughly one-seventh the size of a whopping Democratic package that passed the house in May and about one-fourth of the $2.2 trillion set by Pelosi last month. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin mentioned a $1.5 trillion figure in testimony last week.

The failed measure would have provide $105 billion to help schools reopen, created a scaled-back $300-per-week supplemental jobless benefit, and devoted $258 billion for a second round of paycheck protection subsidies for smaller businesses. Lesser amounts would have furthered vaccine research and development and funded the Postal Service, farmers, and child care.

It did not contain a new round of $1,200 direct payments to Americans, and the new $300 weekly jobless benefit would expire just after Christmas, on Dec. 27. The GOP bill also lacked money for election costs that lawmakers from both parties have supported to accommodate a huge influx of mail-in ballots.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Democrats scuttled a scaled-back GOP coronavirus rescue package on Thursday, saying the measure shortchanged too many pressing needs as the pandemic continues its assault on the country.

The mostly party-line vote capped weeks of wrangling over a fifth relief bill that all sides say they want but are unable to deliver. The bipartisan spirit that powered earlier aid measures has given way to election-season political combat and name-calling. The 52-47 vote fell well short of what was needed to overcome a filibuster and seems likely to end hopes for coronavirus relief before the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/election-2020">November election.</a>

The $500 billion measure is roughly half the size of legislation promoted by GOP leaders this summer, but was too big for most conservatives. Instead, the GOP bill was stripped back to focus on school aid, jobless benefits and help for small businesses. That maximized Republican support even as it alienated Democrats, who say such a piecemeal approach would leave out far too many vulnerable people.

The result was a predictable impasse and partisan tit for tat as the congressional session limps to its preelection close. It’s becoming plain that all Congress will do before the Nov. 3 election is pass legislation to avert a government shutdown. The outcome of the election promises to have an outsize impact on what might be possible in a postelection lame-duck session, with Democrats sure to press for a better deal if Democrat Joe Biden unseats President Donald Trump.

The stalemate is politically risky for all sides heading into the fall election, which will decide not only the presidency, but also&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/7ede31313f4988e76dc220bc5302afca">control of Congress</a>.

While nationwide coronavirus cases appear to be at a plateau, there is still widespread economic hardship and social unease in homes, schools and businesses affected by closures. Experts warn that infections are expected to spike again if Americans fail to abide by public health guidelines for mask-wearing and social distancing, especially amid colder weather and flu season.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/9/1599761070590.png" alt="Senate Democrat leader Chuck Schumer during a Thursday news conference." />
 <figcaption>Senate Democrat leader Chuck Schumer during a Thursday news conference.</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Democrats scuttled a scaled-back GOP coronavirus rescue package on Thursday as the parties argued to a standstill over the size and scope of the aid, likely ending hopes for coronavirus relief before the November election.The mostly party-line vote capped weeks of wrangling that gave way to election-season political combat and name-calling over a fifth relief bill that all sides say they want but are unable to deliver. The bipartisan spirit that powered earlier aid measures is all but gone.Democrats said the measure shortchanged too many pressing needs. Republicans argued it was targeted to areas of widespread agreement, but the 52-47 vote fell well short of what was needed to overcome a filibuster. All the present Democrats opposed it, while conservative Rand Paul, R-Ky., cast the only GOP “nay” vote. The Democratic vice presidential nominee, Kamala Harris, was campaigning in Miami and missed the vote.“It’s a sort of a dead end street, and very unfortunate,” said Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan. “But it is what it is.”The $500 billion measure is roughly half the size of legislation promoted by Republican leaders this summer. But that version was too big for most conservatives, so the GOP bill was instead stripped back to focus on school aid, jobless benefits and help for small businesses. That maximized Republican support even as it alienated Democrats, who say such a piecemeal approach would leave out far too many vulnerable people.The result was a predictable impasse and partisan tit-for tat as the congressional session limps to its pre-election close. The panicked atmosphere that drove passage of the $2 trillion landmark CARES Act in March has dissipated as the nation powers through the pandemic with partial reopenings of businesses and schools, though the economy lags and the virus continues to badly disrupt life in the U.S.It’s becoming plain that all Congress will do before the Nov. 3 election is pass legislation to avert a government shutdown. The outcome of the election promises to have an outsize impact on what might be possible in a postelection lame-duck session, with Democrats sure to press for a better deal if Democrat Joe Biden unseats President Donald Trump.Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., predicted that Thursday’s GOP defeat would prompt Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., back to the negotiating table, as an earlier filibuster in March helped make the $2 trillion rescue bill more generous.“But (Thursday’s) bill is not going to happen because it is so emaciated, so filled with poison pills, so partisanly designed,” Schumer said.McConnell crafted the measure to permit his GOP colleagues to go on record in favor of popular provisions such as another round of “paycheck protection” help for smaller businesses, help for schools to reopen and supplemental jobless benefits. He again blasted Democrats on Thursday, saying they are still pushing a liberal wish list and are willing to scuttle provisions with widespread backing to deny Trump a victory.“Today every senator will either say they want to send families the relief we can agree to or they can send families nothing,” McConnell said.There’s no indication yet that bipartisan talks that crumbled last month will restart. Top lawmakers and aides offered glum assessments both publicly and privately.Veteran Iowa Republican Chuck Grassley said it’s “sad” there will be no virus aid deal, though he also said the outlook for the economy may not be as bleak as he once thought.“If you’d asked me, two or three weeks ago I’d say very, very negative,” Grassley said. But with the job market improving and “the whole world kind of getting out of this pandemic, depression, we’re in” Grassley said, there’s “a lot less of an impact than I would have thought two weeks ago.”The stalemate is politically risky for all sides heading into the fall election, and both sides accused the other of acting primarily with political calculations in mind. Democrats said GOP senators need to “check a box” and vote on any kind of relief bill before exiting Washington to campaign while Republicans said Democrats were intent on denying Republicans a political win.“What is of overwhelming importance to Democrats is keeping coronavirus alive as a political issue,” said Sen. John Thune, R-S.D. “They’d rather have no bill, zero funding and a political weapon than have a bill and allow Republicans to say that we helped Americans.”All that’s left — barring a breakthrough that looks unlikely now — is to pass a government-wide short-term spending measure that would avert a shutdown at month’s end and set up a postelection lame-duck session to deal with any unfinished Capitol Hill legislation, which could include coronavirus relief.The scaled-back GOP virus plan is roughly one-seventh the size of a whopping Democratic package that passed the house in May and about one-fourth of the $2.2 trillion set by Pelosi last month. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin mentioned a $1.5 trillion figure in testimony last week.The failed measure would have provide $105 billion to help schools reopen, created a scaled-back $300-per-week supplemental jobless benefit, and devoted $258 billion for a second round of paycheck protection subsidies for smaller businesses. Lesser amounts would have furthered vaccine research and development and funded the Postal Service, farmers, and child care.It did not contain a new round of $1,200 direct payments to Americans, and the new $300 weekly jobless benefit would expire just after Christmas, on Dec. 27. The GOP bill also lacked money for election costs that lawmakers from both parties have supported to accommodate a huge influx of mail-in ballots.---------WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Democrats scuttled a scaled-back GOP coronavirus rescue package on Thursday, saying the measure shortchanged too many pressing needs as the pandemic continues its assault on the country.The mostly party-line vote capped weeks of wrangling over a fifth relief bill that all sides say they want but are unable to deliver. The bipartisan spirit that powered earlier aid measures has given way to election-season political combat and name-calling. The 52-47 vote fell well short of what was needed to overcome a filibuster and seems likely to end hopes for coronavirus relief before the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/election-2020">November election.</a>The $500 billion measure is roughly half the size of legislation promoted by GOP leaders this summer, but was too big for most conservatives. Instead, the GOP bill was stripped back to focus on school aid, jobless benefits and help for small businesses. That maximized Republican support even as it alienated Democrats, who say such a piecemeal approach would leave out far too many vulnerable people.The result was a predictable impasse and partisan tit for tat as the congressional session limps to its preelection close. It’s becoming plain that all Congress will do before the Nov. 3 election is pass legislation to avert a government shutdown. The outcome of the election promises to have an outsize impact on what might be possible in a postelection lame-duck session, with Democrats sure to press for a better deal if Democrat Joe Biden unseats President Donald Trump.Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., predicted that Thursday’s GOP defeat would prompt Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., back to the negotiating table, as an earlier filibuster in March helped make the $2 trillion rescue bill more generous.“But (Thursday’s) bill is not going to happen because it is so emaciated, so filled with poison pills, so partisanly designed,” Schumer said.McConnell crafted the measure to permit his GOP colleagues to go on record in favor of popular provisions such as another round of “paycheck protection” help for smaller businesses, help for schools to reopen and supplemental jobless benefits. He again blasted Democrats on Thursday, saying they are still pushing a liberal wish list and are willing to scuttle provisions with widespread backing to deny Trump a victory.“Today every senator will either say they want to send families the relief we can agree to or they can send families nothing,” McConnell said.There’s no indication yet that bipartisan talks that crumbled last month will restart. Top lawmakers and aides offered glum assessments both publicly and privately.The stalemate is politically risky for all sides heading into the fall election, which will decide not only the presidency, but also&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/7ede31313f4988e76dc220bc5302afca">control of Congress</a>.While nationwide coronavirus cases appear to be at a plateau, there is still widespread economic hardship and social unease in homes, schools and businesses affected by closures. Experts warn that infections are expected to spike again if Americans fail to abide by public health guidelines for mask-wearing and social distancing, especially amid colder weather and flu season.McConnell said Democrats have not backed off what he said were unreasonable demands. He accused Democrats of acting as though it is to their political advantage to deny Republicans and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/c9f35842f7bb355be72842d15a8f7c02">Trump&nbsp;</a>a victory on the virus so close to Election Day.Schumer said Republicans are “so out of touch.” He predicted Republicans and the White House “may yet be forced to come back to the table because COVID is the major issue that’s facing the American people.”The stalemate has left McConnell and Republicans to say that they support a short-term spending measure, called a continuing resolution, or CR, that would avert a government shutdown at month’s end and set up a postelection lame-duck session to deal with any unfinished Capitol Hill legislation, which could include coronavirus relief.The Republican measure in Thursday’s test vote would:—provide $105 billion to help schools reopen.—enact a shield against lawsuits for businesses and others moving ahead to reopen.—create a scaled-back $300-per-week supplemental jobless benefit.—write off $10 billion in earlier debt at the U.S. Postal Service.— set aside $31 billion for a coronavirus vaccine, $16 billion for virus testing and $15 billion to help child care providers reopen.— provide $20 billion for farmers.— devote $258 billion for a second round of paycheck protection subsidies.It did not contain a new round of $1,200 direct payments going out under Trump’s name, and the new $300 weekly jobless benefit would expire just after Christmas, on Dec. 27. The GOP bill also lacked money for election security that lawmakers from both parties have supported.Democrats say the GOP bill is far too small and leaves out important priorities, including hundreds of billions of dollars for state and local governments, more generous jobless benefits, and help for renters and homeowners, along with other provisions in the House Democrats’ $3.5 trillion relief bill that passed in May.--------WASHINGTON (AP) — Top Republican senators made pessimistic predictions Wednesday about securing a bipartisan coronavirus relief package before the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/election-2020">November election</a>, signaling instead they will just try to pass legislation that would avoid a federal shutdown as lawmakers head home to campaign.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/9/1599741277934.png" alt="Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Missouri Senator Roy Blunt walk to a GOP news conference Wednesday -photo courtesy CSPAN&nbsp;" />
 <figcaption>Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Missouri Senator Roy Blunt walk to a GOP news conference Wednesday -photo courtesy CSPAN&nbsp;</figcaption>
 </figure>There’s no indication yet that bipartisan talks that crumbled last month will restart. Lawmakers closely tracking recent efforts to strike a deal that could pass before the November election said they saw little reason for hope.The stalemate is politically risky for all sides heading into the fall election that will decide not only the presidency, but also&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/7ede31313f4988e76dc220bc5302afca">control of Congress</a>.“Unless something really broke through, it’s not going to happen,” said Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee.While nationwide coronavirus cases appear to be at a plateau, there is still widespread economic hardship and social unease in homes, schools and businesses affected by closures. Experts warn that infections are expected to spike again if Americans fail to abide by public health guidelines for mask-wearing and social distancing, especially with colder weather and flu season.McConnell said Democrats have not backed off what he said were unreasonable demands. He accused Democrats of acting as though it is to their political advantage to deny Republicans and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/c9f35842f7bb355be72842d15a8f7c02">President Donald Trump&nbsp;</a>a victory on the virus so close to Election Day. Without Democratic votes, the GOP bill cannot reach the threshold needed to advance the aid plan. “They do not want any bipartisan relief,” he said.House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said the GOP bill leaves out too many people, especially the vulnerable.“It does nothing. There are millions of kids who are food insecure, millions, maybe 14 million in our country, food insecure. He has nothing for that,” Pelosi said Wednesday on MSNBC. “There are millions of families, victims of evictions because they can’t pay the rent. They don’t care about that. “He predicted Republicans and the White House “may yet be forced to come back to the table because COVID is the major issue that’s facing the American people.”The stalemate has left McConnell and Republicans to say that they support a short-term spending measure, called a continuing resolution, or CR, that would avert a government shutdown at month’s end and set up a postelection lame-duck session to deal with any unfinished Capitol Hill legislation, which could include coronavirus relief.“My guess would be that if we leave in September with a CR, we will not come back to do anything before the election,” said Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo.Shelby said lawmakers from both parties want to return home to campaign rather than stick around Washington.Schumer said he has not decided whether to support a December date for a stopgap measure. Some Democrats, confident about presidential nominee Joe Biden’s prospects in November, want to push unfinished spending bills into next year and therefore avoid dealing with Trump in December. The nation’s longest ever government shutdown unfolded as 2018 turned into 2019.The Republican measure headed for a test vote Thursday would:— Provide $105 billion to help schools reopen.— Enact a shield against lawsuits for businesses and others moving ahead to reopen.— Create a scaled-back $300-per-week supplemental jobless benefit.— Write off $10 billion in earlier debt at the U.S. Postal Service.— Set aside $31 billion for a coronavirus vaccine, $16 billion for virus testing and $15 billion to help child care providers reopen.— Provide $20 billion for farmers.— Devote $258 billion for a second round of paycheck protection subsidies.But it does not contain a new round of $1,200 direct payments going out under Trump’s name, and the new $300 weekly jobless benefit would expire just after Christmas, on Dec. 27. The GOP bill also lacks money for election security that lawmakers from both parties have supported.Democrats say the GOP bill is far too small and leaves out important priorities, including hundreds of billions of dollars for state and local governments, more generous jobless benefits, and help for renters and homeowners, along with other provisions in the House Democrats’ $3.5 trillion relief bill that passed in May.