LAWRENCE — The 6-year-old boy injured in a shooting in Lawrence remains hospitalized in critical condition, according to police spokesperson Patrick Compton late Thursday afternoon.

Just after 9:30p.m. Wednesday, police responded to report of a medical emergency at a residence in the 700 Block of West 25th Street in Lawrence, according to police spokesperson Patrick Compton

First responders found the boy suffering from a gunshot wound and immediately began rendering aid. EMS transported him to a hospital, according to Compton.

Authorities continue the investigation of the incident&nbsp; but&nbsp;police do not currently believe foul play was involved.

LAWRENCE —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a shooting that sent a child to the hospital in Lawrence.

First responders found a boy suffering from a gunshot wound and immediately began rendering aid. EMS transported him to a hospital with serious injuries, according to Compton.

Police did not release the child's age or additional details.

LAWRENCE — The 6-year-old boy injured in a shooting in Lawrence remains hospitalized in critical condition, according to police spokesperson Patrick Compton late Thursday afternoon.Just after 9:30p.m. Wednesday, police responded to report of a medical emergency at a residence in the 700 Block of West 25th Street in Lawrence, according to police spokesperson Patrick ComptonFirst responders found the boy suffering from a gunshot wound and immediately began rendering aid. EMS transported him to a hospital, according to Compton.Authorities continue the investigation of the incident&nbsp; but&nbsp;police do not currently believe foul play was involved.----------LAWRENCE —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a shooting that sent a child to the hospital in Lawrence.Just after 9:30p.m. Wednesday, police responded to report of a medical emergency at a residence in the 700 Block of West 25th Street in Lawrence, according to police spokesperson Patrick ComptonFirst responders found a boy suffering from a gunshot wound and immediately began rendering aid. EMS transported him to a hospital with serious injuries, according to Compton.Police did not release the child's age or additional details.

Update: 6-year-old Kan. boy wounded in shooting 

BELLE PLAINE, Kan. (AP) — Kansas counties that have mask mandates in place have seen a rapid drop in cases, while counties that only recommend their use have seen no decrease in cases, the state’s top health official said Wednesday.

Dr. Lee Norman, the state health department’s top administrator, said Wednesday that overall statewide the numbers of new cases is favorable, but that the reduction of new cases is entirely in the counties that require masks be worn in public spaces.

After Gov. Laura Kelly put a mask mandate in place last month, 15 counties stayed with the mandate while 90 counties abandoned it, Norman said at a news conference Wednesday.

Norman pointed to a graph showing the seven-day rolling average of cases per 100,000 people comparing counties with the mask mandates with those counties that abandoned it. The favorable trend line down was entirely in the counties that required the use of masks, while the trend line for those without one was flat, he said.

“Do masks work? Here in this natural experiment called Kansas where we have essentially — not due to any great design, but it has worked out that way — some counties have been the control group with a no mask mandate and some have been the experimental group with masks,” Norman said. “The experimental group is winning the battle. All improvements in case development comes from those counties wearing masks.”

It is important to understand, he noted, that the 15 counties with mask mandates represent two-thirds of the state’s population and include the more urban cities with greater population densities. People in those counties rely more on mass transit there and tend to have more racial and ethnic minority populations that are more likely to be infected by COVID-19.

The declining coronavirus cases per capita in those more urban counties suggest the improvement in the trend lines could be even steeper in rural counties if they had mask mandates in place, he said.

The state health department on Wednesday reported that Kansas has confirmed 29,717 cases since the outbreak began, a 841 increase since the last update on Monday. The state reported 368 deaths, up three from Monday.

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment identified on its website Wednesday 370 outbreaks which have infected 7,853 people and led to 247 of the state’s 368 deaths.

Of particular concern was the 63 coronavirus cases tied to nine sports clusters because there have been a lot fewer sports this summer than there will be in the fall and winter when schools reopen, Norman said.

“Interestingly, we thought there would be a natural protection, if you will, in softball and baseball because you are out in the wide, open air for the most part, but we have had them essentially in all ... sports,” Norman said.

Other large clusters reported Wednesday include 136 at private businesses, 98 at long-term care facilities. Another 55 outbreaks were from gatherings, nine outbreaks tied to restaurants and bars that resulted in 221 coronavirus infections.

On Wednesday, the Shawnee County Health Department said they have multiple cases linked to Jeremiah Bullfrog Bar and Grille in Topeka, and warned people who were at the establishment July 24-25 and July 27-28 were at risk of exposure.

In Chanute, Kansas, 11 school administrators who attended a leadership retreat last week in Branson are in quarantine after six of them tested positive for the virus, the Kansas City-Star reported. Superintendent Kellen Adams said their symptoms range from minor to severe, with one being treated in a hospital ICU.

He defended the retreat, saying it was necessary to discuss details of how to operate schools during a global pandemic.

Chanute schools are scheduled to open to teachers on Aug. 10 and to students on Aug. 24. Adams said the outbreak among administrators has not, so far, changed that.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/4/1586545924801.png" alt="Lee Norman demonstrates how to wear a face mask during a press conference in April." />
 <figcaption>Lee Norman demonstrates how to wear a face mask during a press conference in April.</figcaption>
 </figure>By ROXANA HEGEMANBELLE PLAINE, Kan. (AP) — Kansas counties that have mask mandates in place have seen a rapid drop in cases, while counties that only recommend their use have seen no decrease in cases, the state’s top health official said Wednesday.<div><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FKDHEnews%2Fvideos%2F3181624445282231%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>Dr. Lee Norman, the state health department’s top administrator, said Wednesday that overall statewide the numbers of new cases is favorable, but that the reduction of new cases is entirely in the counties that require masks be worn in public spaces.After Gov. Laura Kelly put a mask mandate in place last month, 15 counties stayed with the mandate while 90 counties abandoned it, Norman said at a news conference Wednesday.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1596718264258.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Norman pointed to a graph showing the seven-day rolling average of cases per 100,000 people comparing counties with the mask mandates with those counties that abandoned it. The favorable trend line down was entirely in the counties that required the use of masks, while the trend line for those without one was flat, he said.“Do masks work? Here in this natural experiment called Kansas where we have essentially — not due to any great design, but it has worked out that way — some counties have been the control group with a no mask mandate and some have been the experimental group with masks,” Norman said. “The experimental group is winning the battle. All improvements in case development comes from those counties wearing masks.”It is important to understand, he noted, that the 15 counties with mask mandates represent two-thirds of the state’s population and include the more urban cities with greater population densities. People in those counties rely more on mass transit there and tend to have more racial and ethnic minority populations that are more likely to be infected by COVID-19.The declining coronavirus cases per capita in those more urban counties suggest the improvement in the trend lines could be even steeper in rural counties if they had mask mandates in place, he said.The state health department on Wednesday reported that Kansas has confirmed 29,717 cases since the outbreak began, a 841 increase since the last update on Monday. The state reported 368 deaths, up three from Monday.The Kansas Department of Health and Environment identified on its website Wednesday 370 outbreaks which have infected 7,853 people and led to 247 of the state’s 368 deaths.Of particular concern was the 63 coronavirus cases tied to nine sports clusters because there have been a lot fewer sports this summer than there will be in the fall and winter when schools reopen, Norman said.“Interestingly, we thought there would be a natural protection, if you will, in softball and baseball because you are out in the wide, open air for the most part, but we have had them essentially in all ... sports,” Norman said.Other large clusters reported Wednesday include 136 at private businesses, 98 at long-term care facilities. Another 55 outbreaks were from gatherings, nine outbreaks tied to restaurants and bars that resulted in 221 coronavirus infections.On Wednesday, the Shawnee County Health Department said they have multiple cases linked to Jeremiah Bullfrog Bar and Grille in Topeka, and warned people who were at the establishment July 24-25 and July 27-28 were at risk of exposure.In Chanute, Kansas, 11 school administrators who attended a leadership retreat last week in Branson are in quarantine after six of them tested positive for the virus, the Kansas City-Star reported. Superintendent Kellen Adams said their symptoms range from minor to severe, with one being treated in a hospital ICU.He defended the retreat, saying it was necessary to discuss details of how to operate schools during a global pandemic.Chanute schools are scheduled to open to teachers on Aug. 10 and to students on Aug. 24. Adams said the outbreak among administrators has not, so far, changed that.

Kansas counties with mask mandate show steep COVID-19 drop

ST. CLAIR, Mo. (AP) — Authorities have determined that human remains found in March in Missouri are those of a woman who was reported missing 10 years ago.

The remains of 64-year-old Margaret Unger were found March 22 in St. Clair, near her home. She had been missing since April 19, 2010.

The FBI said Unger's husband reported her missing. He told authorities at the time that he watched her walk away from the house and into the woods. He said he tried to follow her but lost her.

Unger's husband said she had a history of mental illness and had not been taking her medicine.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1596741215210.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>ST. CLAIR, Mo. (AP) — Authorities have determined that human remains found in March in Missouri are those of a woman who was reported missing 10 years ago.The remains of 64-year-old Margaret Unger were found March 22 in St. Clair, near her home. She had been missing since April 19, 2010.The FBI said Unger's husband reported her missing. He told authorities at the time that he watched her walk away from the house and into the woods. He said he tried to follow her but lost her.Unger's husband said she had a history of mental illness and had not been taking her medicine.

Remains found are of woman missing for 10 years

NEW YORK – New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a lawsuit Thursday seeking to dissolve the National Rifle Association (NRA), the largest and most influential pro-gun organization in the nation. 

Attorney General James charges the organization with illegal conduct because of their diversion of millions of dollars away from the charitable mission of the organization for personal use by senior leadership, awarding contracts to the financial gain of close associates and family, and appearing to dole out lucrative no-show contracts to former employees in order to buy their silence and continued loyalty. The&nbsp;<a href="https://ag.ny.gov/sites/default/files/final_nra_summons_complaint_08.06.20.pdf" target="_blank">suit specifically charges the NRA as a whole, as well as Executive Vice-President Wayne LaPierre, former Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Wilson “Woody” Phillips, former Chief of Staff and the Executive Director of General Operations Joshua Powell, and Corporate Secretary and General Counsel John Frazer with failing to manage the NRA’s funds and failing to follow numerous state and federal laws, contributing to the loss of more than $64 million in just three years for the NRA</a>.

In the complaint, Attorney General James lays out dozens of examples where the four individual defendants failed to fulfill their fiduciary duty to the NRA and used millions upon millions from NRA reserves for personal use, including trips for them and their families to the Bahamas, private jets, expensive meals, and other private travel. In addition to shuttering the NRA’s doors, Attorney General James seeks to recoup millions in lost assets and to stop the four individual defendants from serving on the board of any not-for-profit charitable organization in the state of New York again.

“The NRA’s influence has been so powerful that the organization went unchecked for decades while top executives funneled millions into their own pockets,” said&nbsp;Attorney General James. “The NRA is fraught with fraud and abuse, which is why, today, we seek to dissolve the NRA, because no organization is above the law.”

Since 1871, the NRA has operated as a New York-registered 501(c)(4) not-for-profit, charitable corporation. Under state law not-for-profit, charitable corporations are required to register and file annual financial reports with the Charities Bureau in the Office of the Attorney General (OAG). The assets are required to be used in a way that serves the interests of NRA membership and that advance the organization’s charitable mission. However, as today’s complaint lays out, the NRA is alleged to have fostered a culture of noncompliance and disregard for internal controls that led to the waste and loss of millions in assets and contributed to the NRA reaching its current deteriorated financial state. The NRA’s internal policies were repeatedly not followed and were even blatantly ignored by senior leaders. Furthermore, the NRA board’s audit committee was negligent in its duty to ensure appropriate, competent, and judicious stewardship of assets by NRA leadership. Specifically, the committee failed to assure standard fiscal controls, failed to respond adequately to whistleblowers, affirmatively took steps to conceal the nature and scope of whistleblower concerns from external auditors, and failed to review potential conflicts of interest for employees.

NRA’s Culture of Self-Dealing, Mismanagement, and Negligence

The lawsuit alleges that the four men instituted a culture of self-dealing, mismanagement, and negligent oversight at the NRA that was illegal, oppressive, and fraudulent. They overrode and evaded internal controls to allow themselves, their families, favored board members, employees, and vendors to benefit through reimbursed expenses, related party transactions, excess compensation, side deals, and waste of charitable assets without regard to the NRA’s best interests.

When board members challenged LaPierre and others over their financial governance and leadership of the NRA, LaPierre retaliated and turned the board against those who attempted to challenge the illegal behavior.

The complaint lays out numerous other instances in which LaPierre, Phillips, Powell, Frazer, and other executives and board members at the NRA abused their power and illegally diverted or facilitated the diversion of tens of millions of dollars from the NRA. These funds were in addition to millions of dollars the four individual defendants were already receiving in grossly excessive salaries and bonuses that were not in line with the best practices and prudent standards for evaluating and determining compensation.

Wayne LaPierre – Executive Vice-President

In his nearly three decades as executive vice-president, Wayne LaPierre ran the day-to-day operations of the NRA and exploited the organization for his and his family’s financial benefit, and the benefit of a close circle of NRA staff, board members, and vendors. Of note, LaPierre:

The complaint alleges that as executive vice-president, LaPierre handpicked individuals in senior staff positions at the NRA that have shown themselves to be loyal to LaPierre as an individual, rather than to the organization. Time and time again, LaPierre has shown that loyalty, more than competence and responsibility, is integral to his staffing picks, which led him to personally hire Phillips, Powell, and Frazer — some chosen despite failing to meet the necessary skills or experience for their respective roles and responsibilities.

Wilson “Woody” Phillips – Former Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer

Woody Phillips — the former treasurer and CFO, who was responsible for managing the books and financial operations of the NRA — engaged in practices that violated NRA policy, lied on financial disclosure forms, and set up a deal worth more than $1 million that benefitted his girlfriend. Just before his retirement in 2018, Phillips obtained a contract for himself worth $1.8 million, purportedly for monthly consulting services to the incoming treasurer, even though the current treasurer knew nothing about this contract and has confirmed that “Woody [Phillips] never consulted for me.” Phillips, having served in the capacity as the chief steward of the organization's finances, also oversaw the financial practices that allowed millions of dollars in entertainment and travel expenses incurred by NRA executives to be fraudulently billed to the NRA as disbursements by the NRA’s largest vendor: Ackerman McQueen, an Oklahoma-based advertising and public relations firm. Furthermore, the complaint asserts that Phillips consistently eschewed his fiduciary duties time and time again, as evidenced by his failure to seriously respond to whistleblower complaints about alleged fiscal improprieties and his readiness to unilaterally authorize payments and contracts outside of the NRA adopted purchasing and contracting policies and procedures.

Joshua Powell – Former Chief of Staff and Executive Director of General Operations

Joshua Powell, the chief of staff to LaPierre, was terminated after just 3.5 years for, among other things, misappropriating NRA funds during his tenure. Powell, who is known as a LaPierre loyalist, received sudden and substantial salary increases almost immediately after starting his position. Within a month, his salary was doubled retroactively to the beginning of his tenure with the NRA to $500,000. After less than a year, Powell’s salary increased to $650,000. A little over two years into the job, Powell’s salary more than tripled from the original $250,000 to $800,000, despite numerous complaints of abusive behavior and evidence of illegal conduct and inappropriate spending. Further, Powell abused the NRA’s policy on housing and relocation reimbursements, pocketing in excess of $100,000 more than NRA rules allowed.

Powell’s tenure was marked by nepotism. LaPierre, Phillips, and Powell also signed off on the hiring of fundraising consultant McKenna &amp; Associates outside of the NRA’s contract process and without going through any approval process. The NRA paid the company more than $5 million over the course of five years. For all of 2018, Powell’s wife was hired as a consultant by McKenna &amp; Associates, and her entire $30,000 monthly consulting fee was passed through the NRA. The hiring of Powell’s wife was hidden from the NRA’s general counsel, in an effort to not draw attention to and affirmatively hide the conflict of interest, and her role was not pre-approved by the NRA board, as the organization’s policy requires. Additionally, Powell requested an NRA vendor to add his father to a rotation of paid photographers, resulting in more than $90,000 in compensation for his father, an expense which was completely passed through to the NRA.

John Frazer – Corporate Secretary and General Counsel

John Frazer was chosen by LaPierre to serve as general counsel and also served as corporate secretary at the NRA. Between 2014 and 2018, Frazer repeatedly failed to comply with board governance procedures, make necessary changes, or advise others that governance changes needed to be made; failed to ensure that financial transactions were being addressed by NRA officers and directors in accordance with law; failed to enforce compliance with the NRA’s conflict of interest policy; and failed to ensure that the NRA was in compliance with laws and policies governing whistleblowers. Additionally, Frazer repeatedly certified false or misleading annual statements.

Ackerman McQueen – NRA’s Public Relations and Advertising Firm

A practice decades-old between LaPierre and Ackerman McQueen’s co-founder — that would continue until the two companies severed ties in 2019 — ensured that Ackerman McQueen would pay for a variety of non-contractual, out-of-pocket expenses for LaPierre and other NRA executives and pass those expenses through to the NRA. The NRA leadership regularly used this pass-through arrangement — where expenses would be paid for by the NRA without written approvals, receipts, or supporting business purpose documentation — to conceal private travel and other costs that were largely personal in nature. Ackerman McQueen would aggregate the expenses into a lump sum amount and provide no details on the nature or purpose of the expenses when billing the NRA for them. The invoices only typically included a one-line description that read “out-of-pocket expenses” and included an invoice total amount. The expenses billed to the NRA for out-of-pocket expenses did not comply with IRS requirements, and, as a result, all such expenses should have been included by the NRA in taxable personal income for LaPierre and other recipients.

Ackerman McQueen was paid more than $70 million in just 2017 and 2018 for “public relations and advertising” services and for “out-of-pocket expenditures” that really went to entertainment and travel incurred by NRA executives and associates without scrutiny from within the organization, including millions for private planes, luxury hotels, memberships to private clubs, special events, fancy meals, and even personal hair and makeup services for LaPierre’s wife.

Under New York law, the NRA’s audit committee is responsible for overseeing the accounting and financial reporting processes of the organization and the audit of its financial statements, but the culture of noncompliance and disregard for the internal controls is evident within the audit committee. The committee failed to serve as an independent check on LaPierre, his senior staff, and the NRA as a whole, and basically served as a rubber stamp for the organization’s illicit behavior, when it did review finances.

For example, the audit committee is charged with reviewing any contract that has the appearance of a conflict of interest, such as a contracts with insiders referred to as related-party transactions, and must not only perform certain considerations, but also document its deliberations. The committee routinely approved related-party transactions after LaPierre or senior staff entered into such agreements. In fact, in 2018, the audit committee approved seven related-party transactions after the fact, including a contract between the NRA’s then incoming president and Ackerman McQueen. At the time this contract was executed, the terms were known to LaPierre and Phillips, but the audit committee had no knowledge of it. Then, again in 2019 and 2020, the audit committee purportedly approved, retroactively, many other existing NRA contracts, some of which dated back 15 years.

The audit committee’s chair testified during a deposition with the OAG that he had no knowledge of New York law governing audit committees, whistleblowers, or conflicts of interest, and that he could not recall the last time he had seen the audit committee charter that specifically states the audit committee “overs[ees] the integrity of financial information” at the NRA. In fact, the committee chair testified that, in his view and contrary to the charter, the audit committee had no role in oversight of internal controls and that “there is no internal auditing” within the NRA and there hadn’t been one in the whole 19 years he served on the NRA board.

Unsurprisingly, during numerous occasions, the audit committee failed to respond adequately to whistleblowers, failed to appropriately review and approve related-party transactions and conflicts of interest, and failed to adequately oversee external auditors.

Extensive Violations of Fundamental Not-for-Profit Law

Attorney General James alleges in her complaint that the NRA violated multiple laws, including the laws governing the NRA’s charitable status, false reporting on annual filings with the IRS and with the OAG’s Charities Bureau, improper expense documentation, improper wage reporting, improper income tax withholding, failure to make required excise tax reporting and payments, payments in excess of reasonable compensation to disqualified persons, and waste of NRA assets; in direct violation of New York’s Estates, Powers &amp; Trusts Laws; New York’s Not-for-Profit Corporation Law; the New York Prudent Management of Institutional Funds Act; and New York’s Executive Law. The illegal nature of the four individual defendants’ action also violated multiple rules of the NRA’s bylaws, the NRA’s employee handbook, and the NRA’s policy manual.

The failure of the NRA to comply with multiple fiduciary responsibilities and state and federal laws resulted in the NRA seeing substantial losses on its balance sheet: going from a surplus of $27,802,714 in 2015 to a net deficit of $36,276,779 in 2018 — contributing to a total loss of more than $64 million in just three years.

As a result of all the allegations mentioned above, Attorney General James seeks to dissolve the NRA; asks the court to order LaPierre, Phillips, Powell, and Frazer to make full restitution for funds they unlawfully profited and salaries earned while employees; pay penalties; recover illegal and unauthorized payments to the four individuals; remove LaPierre and Frazer from the NRA’s leadership (Phillips and Powell are no longer employed by the NRA); and ensure none of the four individual defendants can ever again serve on the board of a charity in New York.

Attorney General James began her inquiry into the NRA in February 2019.

The matter was led by Bureau Chief James Sheehan and Bureau Co-Chief of the Enforcement Section Emily Stern, with a team of attorneys, legal assistants, and accountants, including Assistant Attorney General and Special Counsel of the Litigation Bureau Monica Connell; Assistant Attorneys General William Wang, Sharon Sash, Jonathan Conley, Stephen Thompson, and Erica James — all of the Charities Bureau; with additional assistance from Chief Accountant Judith Welsh-Liebross, Associate Accountant Darren Beauchamp, and Associate Accountant Charles Aganu; in addition to numerous other individuals at the OAG.&nbsp;The Charities Bureau is part of the Division for Social Justice, which is supervised by Chief Deputy Attorney General Meghan Faux and First Deputy Attorney General Jennifer Levy.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1596729533353.png" alt="New York Attorney General Letitia James during Thursday's announcement&nbsp;" />
 <figcaption>New York Attorney General Letitia James during Thursday's announcement&nbsp;</figcaption>
 </figure>NEW YORK – New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a lawsuit Thursday seeking to dissolve the National Rifle Association (NRA), the largest and most influential pro-gun organization in the nation. Attorney General James charges the organization with illegal conduct because of their diversion of millions of dollars away from the charitable mission of the organization for personal use by senior leadership, awarding contracts to the financial gain of close associates and family, and appearing to dole out lucrative no-show contracts to former employees in order to buy their silence and continued loyalty. The&nbsp;<a href="https://ag.ny.gov/sites/default/files/final_nra_summons_complaint_08.06.20.pdf" target="_blank">suit specifically charges the NRA as a whole, as well as Executive Vice-President Wayne LaPierre, former Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Wilson “Woody” Phillips, former Chief of Staff and the Executive Director of General Operations Joshua Powell, and Corporate Secretary and General Counsel John Frazer with failing to manage the NRA’s funds and failing to follow numerous state and federal laws, contributing to the loss of more than $64 million in just three years for the NRA</a>.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BREAKING?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BREAKING</a>: I filed a lawsuit to dissolve the National Rifle Association for years of self-dealing and illegal conduct. The <a href="https://twitter.com/NRA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NRA</a> is fraught with fraud and abuse. No organization is above the law.&mdash; NY AG James (@NewYorkStateAG) <a href="https://twitter.com/NewYorkStateAG/status/1291397976200548353?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 6, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>In the complaint, Attorney General James lays out dozens of examples where the four individual defendants failed to fulfill their fiduciary duty to the NRA and used millions upon millions from NRA reserves for personal use, including trips for them and their families to the Bahamas, private jets, expensive meals, and other private travel. In addition to shuttering the NRA’s doors, Attorney General James seeks to recoup millions in lost assets and to stop the four individual defendants from serving on the board of any not-for-profit charitable organization in the state of New York again.“The NRA’s influence has been so powerful that the organization went unchecked for decades while top executives funneled millions into their own pockets,” said&nbsp;Attorney General James. “The NRA is fraught with fraud and abuse, which is why, today, we seek to dissolve the NRA, because no organization is above the law.”Since 1871, the NRA has operated as a New York-registered 501(c)(4) not-for-profit, charitable corporation. Under state law not-for-profit, charitable corporations are required to register and file annual financial reports with the Charities Bureau in the Office of the Attorney General (OAG). The assets are required to be used in a way that serves the interests of NRA membership and that advance the organization’s charitable mission. However, as today’s complaint lays out, the NRA is alleged to have fostered a culture of noncompliance and disregard for internal controls that led to the waste and loss of millions in assets and contributed to the NRA reaching its current deteriorated financial state. The NRA’s internal policies were repeatedly not followed and were even blatantly ignored by senior leaders. Furthermore, the NRA board’s audit committee was negligent in its duty to ensure appropriate, competent, and judicious stewardship of assets by NRA leadership. Specifically, the committee failed to assure standard fiscal controls, failed to respond adequately to whistleblowers, affirmatively took steps to conceal the nature and scope of whistleblower concerns from external auditors, and failed to review potential conflicts of interest for employees.NRA’s Culture of Self-Dealing, Mismanagement, and NegligenceThe lawsuit alleges that the four men instituted a culture of self-dealing, mismanagement, and negligent oversight at the NRA that was illegal, oppressive, and fraudulent. They overrode and evaded internal controls to allow themselves, their families, favored board members, employees, and vendors to benefit through reimbursed expenses, related party transactions, excess compensation, side deals, and waste of charitable assets without regard to the NRA’s best interests.When board members challenged LaPierre and others over their financial governance and leadership of the NRA, LaPierre retaliated and turned the board against those who attempted to challenge the illegal behavior.The complaint lays out numerous other instances in which LaPierre, Phillips, Powell, Frazer, and other executives and board members at the NRA abused their power and illegally diverted or facilitated the diversion of tens of millions of dollars from the NRA. These funds were in addition to millions of dollars the four individual defendants were already receiving in grossly excessive salaries and bonuses that were not in line with the best practices and prudent standards for evaluating and determining compensation.Wayne LaPierre – Executive Vice-PresidentIn his nearly three decades as executive vice-president, Wayne LaPierre ran the day-to-day operations of the NRA and exploited the organization for his and his family’s financial benefit, and the benefit of a close circle of NRA staff, board members, and vendors. Of note, LaPierre:<ul>
 <li>Spent hundreds of thousands of dollars of the NRA’s charitable assets for private plane trips for himself and his family, including extended family when he was not present.</li><li>Visited the Bahamas by private air charter at least eight times in an approximate three-year period with his family, at a cost of more than $500,000 to the NRA. On many of those trips, LaPierre and his family were gifted the use of a 107-foot yacht owned by an NRA vendor.</li><li>Traveled to Africa with his wife for all-expense paid safaris, gifted by an NRA vendor.</li><li>Spent millions on unwarranted travel consultants for decades, including for the booking of luxury black car services — spending more than $3.6 million in the last two years alone.</li><li>Secured a post-employment contract for himself with the NRA, without board approval, currently valued at more than $17 million.</li><li>Allotted several millions of dollars annually in NRA funds for private security costs for himself and his family without sufficient oversight on their use.</li><li>Received more than $1.2 million in expense reimbursements in just a four-year period for expenditures that included gifts for favored friends and vendors; travel expenses for himself and his family; and membership fees at golf clubs, hotels, and other member clubs.</li><li>Secured lucrative consulting contracts for ex-employees and board members worth millions.</li>
 </ul>The complaint alleges that as executive vice-president, LaPierre handpicked individuals in senior staff positions at the NRA that have shown themselves to be loyal to LaPierre as an individual, rather than to the organization. Time and time again, LaPierre has shown that loyalty, more than competence and responsibility, is integral to his staffing picks, which led him to personally hire Phillips, Powell, and Frazer — some chosen despite failing to meet the necessary skills or experience for their respective roles and responsibilities.Wilson “Woody” Phillips – Former Treasurer and Chief Financial OfficerWoody Phillips — the former treasurer and CFO, who was responsible for managing the books and financial operations of the NRA — engaged in practices that violated NRA policy, lied on financial disclosure forms, and set up a deal worth more than $1 million that benefitted his girlfriend. Just before his retirement in 2018, Phillips obtained a contract for himself worth $1.8 million, purportedly for monthly consulting services to the incoming treasurer, even though the current treasurer knew nothing about this contract and has confirmed that “Woody [Phillips] never consulted for me.” Phillips, having served in the capacity as the chief steward of the organization's finances, also oversaw the financial practices that allowed millions of dollars in entertainment and travel expenses incurred by NRA executives to be fraudulently billed to the NRA as disbursements by the NRA’s largest vendor: Ackerman McQueen, an Oklahoma-based advertising and public relations firm. Furthermore, the complaint asserts that Phillips consistently eschewed his fiduciary duties time and time again, as evidenced by his failure to seriously respond to whistleblower complaints about alleged fiscal improprieties and his readiness to unilaterally authorize payments and contracts outside of the NRA adopted purchasing and contracting policies and procedures.Joshua Powell – Former Chief of Staff and Executive Director of General OperationsJoshua Powell, the chief of staff to LaPierre, was terminated after just 3.5 years for, among other things, misappropriating NRA funds during his tenure. Powell, who is known as a LaPierre loyalist, received sudden and substantial salary increases almost immediately after starting his position. Within a month, his salary was doubled retroactively to the beginning of his tenure with the NRA to $500,000. After less than a year, Powell’s salary increased to $650,000. A little over two years into the job, Powell’s salary more than tripled from the original $250,000 to $800,000, despite numerous complaints of abusive behavior and evidence of illegal conduct and inappropriate spending. Further, Powell abused the NRA’s policy on housing and relocation reimbursements, pocketing in excess of $100,000 more than NRA rules allowed.Powell’s tenure was marked by nepotism. LaPierre, Phillips, and Powell also signed off on the hiring of fundraising consultant McKenna &amp; Associates outside of the NRA’s contract process and without going through any approval process. The NRA paid the company more than $5 million over the course of five years. For all of 2018, Powell’s wife was hired as a consultant by McKenna &amp; Associates, and her entire $30,000 monthly consulting fee was passed through the NRA. The hiring of Powell’s wife was hidden from the NRA’s general counsel, in an effort to not draw attention to and affirmatively hide the conflict of interest, and her role was not pre-approved by the NRA board, as the organization’s policy requires. Additionally, Powell requested an NRA vendor to add his father to a rotation of paid photographers, resulting in more than $90,000 in compensation for his father, an expense which was completely passed through to the NRA.John Frazer – Corporate Secretary and General CounselJohn Frazer was chosen by LaPierre to serve as general counsel and also served as corporate secretary at the NRA. Between 2014 and 2018, Frazer repeatedly failed to comply with board governance procedures, make necessary changes, or advise others that governance changes needed to be made; failed to ensure that financial transactions were being addressed by NRA officers and directors in accordance with law; failed to enforce compliance with the NRA’s conflict of interest policy; and failed to ensure that the NRA was in compliance with laws and policies governing whistleblowers. Additionally, Frazer repeatedly certified false or misleading annual statements.Ackerman McQueen – NRA’s Public Relations and Advertising FirmA practice decades-old between LaPierre and Ackerman McQueen’s co-founder — that would continue until the two companies severed ties in 2019 — ensured that Ackerman McQueen would pay for a variety of non-contractual, out-of-pocket expenses for LaPierre and other NRA executives and pass those expenses through to the NRA. The NRA leadership regularly used this pass-through arrangement — where expenses would be paid for by the NRA without written approvals, receipts, or supporting business purpose documentation — to conceal private travel and other costs that were largely personal in nature. Ackerman McQueen would aggregate the expenses into a lump sum amount and provide no details on the nature or purpose of the expenses when billing the NRA for them. The invoices only typically included a one-line description that read “out-of-pocket expenses” and included an invoice total amount. The expenses billed to the NRA for out-of-pocket expenses did not comply with IRS requirements, and, as a result, all such expenses should have been included by the NRA in taxable personal income for LaPierre and other recipients.Ackerman McQueen was paid more than $70 million in just 2017 and 2018 for “public relations and advertising” services and for “out-of-pocket expenditures” that really went to entertainment and travel incurred by NRA executives and associates without scrutiny from within the organization, including millions for private planes, luxury hotels, memberships to private clubs, special events, fancy meals, and even personal hair and makeup services for LaPierre’s wife.NRA Audit Committee’s Failure to AuditUnder New York law, the NRA’s audit committee is responsible for overseeing the accounting and financial reporting processes of the organization and the audit of its financial statements, but the culture of noncompliance and disregard for the internal controls is evident within the audit committee. The committee failed to serve as an independent check on LaPierre, his senior staff, and the NRA as a whole, and basically served as a rubber stamp for the organization’s illicit behavior, when it did review finances.For example, the audit committee is charged with reviewing any contract that has the appearance of a conflict of interest, such as a contracts with insiders referred to as related-party transactions, and must not only perform certain considerations, but also document its deliberations. The committee routinely approved related-party transactions after LaPierre or senior staff entered into such agreements. In fact, in 2018, the audit committee approved seven related-party transactions after the fact, including a contract between the NRA’s then incoming president and Ackerman McQueen. At the time this contract was executed, the terms were known to LaPierre and Phillips, but the audit committee had no knowledge of it. Then, again in 2019 and 2020, the audit committee purportedly approved, retroactively, many other existing NRA contracts, some of which dated back 15 years.The audit committee’s chair testified during a deposition with the OAG that he had no knowledge of New York law governing audit committees, whistleblowers, or conflicts of interest, and that he could not recall the last time he had seen the audit committee charter that specifically states the audit committee “overs[ees] the integrity of financial information” at the NRA. In fact, the committee chair testified that, in his view and contrary to the charter, the audit committee had no role in oversight of internal controls and that “there is no internal auditing” within the NRA and there hadn’t been one in the whole 19 years he served on the NRA board.Unsurprisingly, during numerous occasions, the audit committee failed to respond adequately to whistleblowers, failed to appropriately review and approve related-party transactions and conflicts of interest, and failed to adequately oversee external auditors.Extensive Violations of Fundamental Not-for-Profit LawAttorney General James alleges in her complaint that the NRA violated multiple laws, including the laws governing the NRA’s charitable status, false reporting on annual filings with the IRS and with the OAG’s Charities Bureau, improper expense documentation, improper wage reporting, improper income tax withholding, failure to make required excise tax reporting and payments, payments in excess of reasonable compensation to disqualified persons, and waste of NRA assets; in direct violation of New York’s Estates, Powers &amp; Trusts Laws; New York’s Not-for-Profit Corporation Law; the New York Prudent Management of Institutional Funds Act; and New York’s Executive Law. The illegal nature of the four individual defendants’ action also violated multiple rules of the NRA’s bylaws, the NRA’s employee handbook, and the NRA’s policy manual.The failure of the NRA to comply with multiple fiduciary responsibilities and state and federal laws resulted in the NRA seeing substantial losses on its balance sheet: going from a surplus of $27,802,714 in 2015 to a net deficit of $36,276,779 in 2018 — contributing to a total loss of more than $64 million in just three years.Proposed ResolutionAs a result of all the allegations mentioned above, Attorney General James seeks to dissolve the NRA; asks the court to order LaPierre, Phillips, Powell, and Frazer to make full restitution for funds they unlawfully profited and salaries earned while employees; pay penalties; recover illegal and unauthorized payments to the four individuals; remove LaPierre and Frazer from the NRA’s leadership (Phillips and Powell are no longer employed by the NRA); and ensure none of the four individual defendants can ever again serve on the board of a charity in New York.Attorney General James began her inquiry into the NRA in February 2019.The matter was led by Bureau Chief James Sheehan and Bureau Co-Chief of the Enforcement Section Emily Stern, with a team of attorneys, legal assistants, and accountants, including Assistant Attorney General and Special Counsel of the Litigation Bureau Monica Connell; Assistant Attorneys General William Wang, Sharon Sash, Jonathan Conley, Stephen Thompson, and Erica James — all of the Charities Bureau; with additional assistance from Chief Accountant Judith Welsh-Liebross, Associate Accountant Darren Beauchamp, and Associate Accountant Charles Aganu; in addition to numerous other individuals at the OAG.&nbsp;The Charities Bureau is part of the Division for Social Justice, which is supervised by Chief Deputy Attorney General Meghan Faux and First Deputy Attorney General Jennifer Levy.

NY attorney general files lawsuit to dissolve NRA

CAMDEN COUNTY —A man died just after 5p.m. Wednesday in an accident on Lake of the Ozarks.

According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, Craig Gathmann, 55, of Manito, Illinois, was operating a 1994 Four Winns 240 Horizon with the anchor still in the water.&nbsp; 

Once the anchor released, the tension in the rope caused it to catapult out of the water and hit Gathmann.

Lake West ambulance transported Gathmann to Lake Regional Hospital where he was pronounced dead. 

The incident was the second boating death on the lake in 2020, according to the MSHP.

CAMDEN COUNTY —A man died just after 5p.m. Wednesday in an accident on Lake of the Ozarks.According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, Craig Gathmann, 55, of Manito, Illinois, was operating a 1994 Four Winns 240 Horizon with the anchor still in the water.&nbsp; Once the anchor released, the tension in the rope caused it to catapult out of the water and hit Gathmann.Lake West ambulance transported Gathmann to Lake Regional Hospital where he was pronounced dead. The incident was the second boating death on the lake in 2020, according to the MSHP.

Man dies after hit by anchor in Lake Of The Ozarks

By NOAH TABORDA <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2020/08/05/coronavirus-trends-testimonials-humble-and-educate-kansas-top-health-official/">Kansas Reflector</a>

Kansas Department of 
Health and Environment secretary Lee Norman said rural counties lacking 
mask mandates have struggled more than their urban counterparts to 
contain COVID-19 in recent weeks.

In the 15 counties with 
mask ordinances, Norman reported a rapid dropoff in cases per 100,000 
people over a four week period. He said in the 90 counties where masks 
aren’t required there has been no change from July 12 to Aug. 3, despite
 being less populated.

“These areas with masks 
tend to be more the more urban areas of the state, but even with higher 
concentrations of people their numbers are decreasing,” Norman said. “I 
believe if the counties with smaller populations were to do the same, we
 would see their cases drop below that of the urban counties.”

During a briefing 
Wednesday, Norman equated Kansas to an experiment where the control 
group is those without masks and the variable group is those with mask 
mandates.

“Do masks work? The bottom
 line in this natural experiment is the group wearing the mask is 
winning the battle,” Norman said. “When we see improvements in our cases
 it comes from those counties wearing masks.”

Norman said he has 
recently been speaking directly with people who have been infected by 
COVID-19 to learn more and to be able to share vital real-life 
testimonies.

From these conversations, Norman emphasized the lasting damage the virus can cause.

“We’ve spoken with 
patients who run the whole gambit from asymptomatic to being put on a 
ventilator,” Norman said. “A lot of these people have symptoms for 
months after having ‘recovered.’”

Often asked about the 
number of recoveries in Kansas, Norman said it’s difficult to formulate a
 number when there are patients like these who haven’t truly recovered 
but simply gotten over the acute phase of the infection.

He recalled speaking with a
 19-year-old in Dodge City who had mild symptoms in May and was never 
hospitalized. This past weekend he was bedridden with a severe headache 
and fatigue, symptoms which had lingered since he was diagnosed.

“This served as a humbling
 experience in many regards and a reminder of how little we know about 
the virus and its impact on the body in both short term and long term,” 
Norman said before again urging people to wear masks.

Norman also reported 841 new cases of COVID-19 and three new deaths in Kansas since Monday. In total,<a href="https://www.coronavirus.kdheks.gov/160/COVID-19-in-Kansas"> KDHE has recorded</a> 26,870 cases, 1,700 hospitalizations and 349 deaths.

He said health officials 
in Kansas were monitoring active clusters connected to team sports, 
childcare, schools and correctional facilities — where Norman has seen 
improvement. Larger outbreaks, like the one in Lansing Correctional 
Facility when case numbers surged past 150 and certain wings showed 75% 
positivity rates, aren’t happening anymore, he said.

“We still see frequent 
smaller outbreaks in corrections but what is different is how we are 
much quicker at identifying it and getting testing done,” Norman said.

Norman said thorough testing means they are able to mitigate the risk before another major outbreak occurs.

“We are testing not only 
the ill person but everyone in the facility, coming back five days later
 and testing again and then one more time at a later date,” Norman said.
 “We aren’t seeing those large numbers anymore because of the rapid 
deployment.”

Noah Taborda started his journalism career in public radio at KBIA in Columbia, Missouri, covering local government and producing an episode of the podcast Show Me The State while earning his bachelor’s degree in radio broadcasting at the University of Missouri School of Journalism. Noah then made a short move to Kansas City, Missouri, to work at KCUR as an intern on the talk show Central Standard and then in the newsroom, reporting on daily news and feature stories.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1596722168062.jpeg" alt="Dr. Lee Norman, secretary of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. (July 29, 2020, photo by Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption>Dr. Lee Norman, secretary of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. (July 29, 2020, photo by Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure>By NOAH TABORDA <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2020/08/05/coronavirus-trends-testimonials-humble-and-educate-kansas-top-health-official/">Kansas Reflector</a>Kansas Department of 
Health and Environment secretary Lee Norman said rural counties lacking 
mask mandates have struggled more than their urban counterparts to 
contain COVID-19 in recent weeks.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1596718264258.png" alt="KDHE image" />
 <figcaption>KDHE image</figcaption>
 </figure>In the 15 counties with 
mask ordinances, Norman reported a rapid dropoff in cases per 100,000 
people over a four week period. He said in the 90 counties where masks 
aren’t required there has been no change from July 12 to Aug. 3, despite
 being less populated.“These areas with masks 
tend to be more the more urban areas of the state, but even with higher 
concentrations of people their numbers are decreasing,” Norman said. “I 
believe if the counties with smaller populations were to do the same, we
 would see their cases drop below that of the urban counties.”During a briefing 
Wednesday, Norman equated Kansas to an experiment where the control 
group is those without masks and the variable group is those with mask 
mandates.“Do masks work? The bottom
 line in this natural experiment is the group wearing the mask is 
winning the battle,” Norman said. “When we see improvements in our cases
 it comes from those counties wearing masks.”Norman said he has 
recently been speaking directly with people who have been infected by 
COVID-19 to learn more and to be able to share vital real-life 
testimonies.From these conversations, Norman emphasized the lasting damage the virus can cause.“We’ve spoken with 
patients who run the whole gambit from asymptomatic to being put on a 
ventilator,” Norman said. “A lot of these people have symptoms for 
months after having ‘recovered.’”Often asked about the 
number of recoveries in Kansas, Norman said it’s difficult to formulate a
 number when there are patients like these who haven’t truly recovered 
but simply gotten over the acute phase of the infection.He recalled speaking with a
 19-year-old in Dodge City who had mild symptoms in May and was never 
hospitalized. This past weekend he was bedridden with a severe headache 
and fatigue, symptoms which had lingered since he was diagnosed.“This served as a humbling
 experience in many regards and a reminder of how little we know about 
the virus and its impact on the body in both short term and long term,” 
Norman said before again urging people to wear masks.Norman also reported 841 new cases of COVID-19 and three new deaths in Kansas since Monday. In total,<a href="https://www.coronavirus.kdheks.gov/160/COVID-19-in-Kansas"> KDHE has recorded</a> 26,870 cases, 1,700 hospitalizations and 349 deaths.He said health officials 
in Kansas were monitoring active clusters connected to team sports, 
childcare, schools and correctional facilities — where Norman has seen 
improvement. Larger outbreaks, like the one in Lansing Correctional 
Facility when case numbers surged past 150 and certain wings showed 75% 
positivity rates, aren’t happening anymore, he said.“We still see frequent 
smaller outbreaks in corrections but what is different is how we are 
much quicker at identifying it and getting testing done,” Norman said.Norman said thorough testing means they are able to mitigate the risk before another major outbreak occurs.“We are testing not only 
the ill person but everyone in the facility, coming back five days later
 and testing again and then one more time at a later date,” Norman said.
 “We aren’t seeing those large numbers anymore because of the rapid 
deployment.”Noah Taborda started his journalism career in public radio at KBIA in Columbia, Missouri, covering local government and producing an episode of the podcast Show Me The State while earning his bachelor’s degree in radio broadcasting at the University of Missouri School of Journalism. Noah then made a short move to Kansas City, Missouri, to work at KCUR as an intern on the talk show Central Standard and then in the newsroom, reporting on daily news and feature stories.

Virus trends, testimonials humble and educate top Kan. health official

By MATTHEW PERRONE, NICKY FORSTER and MICHELLE LIU

U.S. testing for the coronavirus is dropping even as infections remain high and the death toll rises by more than 1,000 a day, a worrisome trend that officials attribute largely to Americans getting discouraged over having to wait hours to get a test and days or weeks to learn the results.

An Associated Press analysis found that the number of tests per day slid 3.6% over the past two weeks to 750,000, with the count falling in 22 states. That includes places like Alabama, Mississippi, Missouri and Iowa where the percentage of positive tests is high and continuing to climb, an indicator that the virus is still spreading uncontrolled.

Amid the crisis, some health experts are calling for the introduction of a different type of test that would yield results in a matter of minutes and would be cheap and simple enough for millions of Americans to test themselves — but would also be less accurate.

“There’s a sense of desperation that we need to do something else,” said Dr. Ashish Jha, director of Harvard’s Global Health Institute.

Widespread testing is considered essential to managing the outbreak as the U.S. approaches a mammoth 5 million confirmed infections and more than 157,000 deaths out of over 700,000 worldwide.

Testing demand is expected to surge again this fall, when schools reopen and flu season hits, most likely outstripping supplies and leading to new delays and bottlenecks.

Some of the decline in testing over the past few weeks was expected after backlogged commercial labs urged doctors to concentrate on their highest-risk patients. But some health and government officials are seeing growing public frustration and waning demand.

In Iowa, state officials are reporting less interest in testing, despite ample supplies. The state’s daily testing rate peaked in mid-July but has declined 20% in the last two weeks.

“We have the capacity. Iowans just need to test,” Gov. Kim Reynolds said last week.

Jessica Moore of rural Newberry, South Carolina, said that after a private lab lost her COVID-19 test results in mid-July, she had to get re-tested at a pop-up site organized by the state.

Moore and her husband arrived early on a Saturday morning at the site, a community center, where they waited for two hours for her test. Moore watched in the rear-view mirror as people drove up, saw the long line of cars, and then turned around and left.

“If people have something to do on a Saturday and they want to get tested, they’re not going to wait for two hours in the South Carolina heat for a test, especially if they’re not symptomatic,” Moore said.

Before traveling from Florida to Delaware last month, Laura DuBose Schumacher signed up to go to a drive-up testing site in Orlando with her husband. They were given a one-hour window in which to arrive.

They got there at the start of the window, but after 50 minutes it looked as if the wait would be another hour. Others who had gone through the line told them that they wouldn’t get their results until five days later, a Monday, at the earliest. They were planning to travel the next day, so they gave up.

“Monday would have been pointless, so we left the line,” Schumacher said.

The number of confirmed infections in the U.S. has topped 4.7 million, with new cases running at nearly 60,000 a day on average, down from more than 70,000 in the second half of July.

U.S. testing is built primarily on highly sensitive molecular tests that detect the genetic code of the coronavirus. Although the test is considered the gold standard for accuracy, experts increasingly say the country’s overburdened lab system is incapable of keeping pace with the outbreak and producing results within two or three days, the time frame crucial to isolating patients and containing the virus.

“They’re doing as good a job as they possibly can do, but the current system will not allow them to keep up with the demand,” said Mara Aspinall of Arizona State University’s College of Health Solutions.

Testing delays have led researchers at Harvard and elsewhere to propose a new approach using so-called antigen tests — rapid technology already used to screen for flu, strep throat and other common infections. Instead of detecting the virus itself, such tests look for viral proteins, or antigens, which are generally considered a less accurate measure of infection.

A number of companies are studying COVID-19 antigen tests in which you spit on a specially coated strip of paper, and if you are infected, it changes color. Experts say the speed and widespread availability of such tests would more than make up for their lower precision.

While no such tests for the coronavirus are on the U.S. market, experts say the technology is simple and the hurdles are more regulatory than technical. The Harvard researchers say production could quickly be scaled into the millions.

A proposal from the Harvard researchers calls for the federal government to distribute $1 saliva-based antigen tests to all Americans so that they can test themselves regularly, perhaps even daily.

Even with accuracy as low as 50%, researchers estimate the paper strip tests would uncover five times more COVID-19 cases than the current laboratory-based approach, which federal officials estimate catches just 1 in 10 infections.

But the approach faces resistance in Washington, where federal regulators have required at least 80% accuracy for new COVID-19 tests.

To date, the Food and Drug Administration has allowed only two COVID-19 antigen tests to enter the market. Those tests require a nasal swab supervised by a health professional and can only be run on specialized machines found at hospitals, doctor’s offices, nursing homes and clinics.

Also, because of the risk of false negatives, doctors may need to confirm a negative result with a genetic test when patients have possible symptoms of COVID-19.

On Tuesday, the governors of Maryland, Virginia, Louisiana and three other states announced an agreement with the Rockefeller Foundation to purchase more than 3 million of the FDA-cleared antigen tests, underscoring the growing interest in the technology.

When asked about introducing cheaper, paper-based tests, the government’s “testing czar,” Adm. Brett Giroir, warned that their accuracy could fall as low as 20% to 30%.

“I don’t think that would do a service to the American public of having something that is wrong seven out of 10 times,” Giroir said last week. “I think that could be catastrophic.”

By MATTHEW PERRONE, NICKY FORSTER and MICHELLE LIUAssociated PressU.S. testing for the coronavirus is dropping even as infections remain high and the death toll rises by more than 1,000 a day, a worrisome trend that officials attribute largely to Americans getting discouraged over having to wait hours to get a test and days or weeks to learn the results.An Associated Press analysis found that the number of tests per day slid 3.6% over the past two weeks to 750,000, with the count falling in 22 states. That includes places like Alabama, Mississippi, Missouri and Iowa where the percentage of positive tests is high and continuing to climb, an indicator that the virus is still spreading uncontrolled.Amid the crisis, some health experts are calling for the introduction of a different type of test that would yield results in a matter of minutes and would be cheap and simple enough for millions of Americans to test themselves — but would also be less accurate.“There’s a sense of desperation that we need to do something else,” said Dr. Ashish Jha, director of Harvard’s Global Health Institute.Widespread testing is considered essential to managing the outbreak as the U.S. approaches a mammoth 5 million confirmed infections and more than 157,000 deaths out of over 700,000 worldwide.Testing demand is expected to surge again this fall, when schools reopen and flu season hits, most likely outstripping supplies and leading to new delays and bottlenecks.Some of the decline in testing over the past few weeks was expected after backlogged commercial labs urged doctors to concentrate on their highest-risk patients. But some health and government officials are seeing growing public frustration and waning demand.In Iowa, state officials are reporting less interest in testing, despite ample supplies. The state’s daily testing rate peaked in mid-July but has declined 20% in the last two weeks.“We have the capacity. Iowans just need to test,” Gov. Kim Reynolds said last week.Jessica Moore of rural Newberry, South Carolina, said that after a private lab lost her COVID-19 test results in mid-July, she had to get re-tested at a pop-up site organized by the state.Moore and her husband arrived early on a Saturday morning at the site, a community center, where they waited for two hours for her test. Moore watched in the rear-view mirror as people drove up, saw the long line of cars, and then turned around and left.“If people have something to do on a Saturday and they want to get tested, they’re not going to wait for two hours in the South Carolina heat for a test, especially if they’re not symptomatic,” Moore said.Before traveling from Florida to Delaware last month, Laura DuBose Schumacher signed up to go to a drive-up testing site in Orlando with her husband. They were given a one-hour window in which to arrive.They got there at the start of the window, but after 50 minutes it looked as if the wait would be another hour. Others who had gone through the line told them that they wouldn’t get their results until five days later, a Monday, at the earliest. They were planning to travel the next day, so they gave up.“Monday would have been pointless, so we left the line,” Schumacher said.The number of confirmed infections in the U.S. has topped 4.7 million, with new cases running at nearly 60,000 a day on average, down from more than 70,000 in the second half of July.U.S. testing is built primarily on highly sensitive molecular tests that detect the genetic code of the coronavirus. Although the test is considered the gold standard for accuracy, experts increasingly say the country’s overburdened lab system is incapable of keeping pace with the outbreak and producing results within two or three days, the time frame crucial to isolating patients and containing the virus.“They’re doing as good a job as they possibly can do, but the current system will not allow them to keep up with the demand,” said Mara Aspinall of Arizona State University’s College of Health Solutions.Testing delays have led researchers at Harvard and elsewhere to propose a new approach using so-called antigen tests — rapid technology already used to screen for flu, strep throat and other common infections. Instead of detecting the virus itself, such tests look for viral proteins, or antigens, which are generally considered a less accurate measure of infection.A number of companies are studying COVID-19 antigen tests in which you spit on a specially coated strip of paper, and if you are infected, it changes color. Experts say the speed and widespread availability of such tests would more than make up for their lower precision.While no such tests for the coronavirus are on the U.S. market, experts say the technology is simple and the hurdles are more regulatory than technical. The Harvard researchers say production could quickly be scaled into the millions.A proposal from the Harvard researchers calls for the federal government to distribute $1 saliva-based antigen tests to all Americans so that they can test themselves regularly, perhaps even daily.Even with accuracy as low as 50%, researchers estimate the paper strip tests would uncover five times more COVID-19 cases than the current laboratory-based approach, which federal officials estimate catches just 1 in 10 infections.But the approach faces resistance in Washington, where federal regulators have required at least 80% accuracy for new COVID-19 tests.To date, the Food and Drug Administration has allowed only two COVID-19 antigen tests to enter the market. Those tests require a nasal swab supervised by a health professional and can only be run on specialized machines found at hospitals, doctor’s offices, nursing homes and clinics.Also, because of the risk of false negatives, doctors may need to confirm a negative result with a genetic test when patients have possible symptoms of COVID-19.On Tuesday, the governors of Maryland, Virginia, Louisiana and three other states announced an agreement with the Rockefeller Foundation to purchase more than 3 million of the FDA-cleared antigen tests, underscoring the growing interest in the technology.When asked about introducing cheaper, paper-based tests, the government’s “testing czar,” Adm. Brett Giroir, warned that their accuracy could fall as low as 20% to 30%.“I don’t think that would do a service to the American public of having something that is wrong seven out of 10 times,” Giroir said last week. “I think that could be catastrophic.”___

Virus testing in the US is dropping, even as deaths mount

KIOWA COUNTY—A little excitement in a small Kansas town Wednesday afternoon was nothing serious.

Just before 5p.m. Wednesday, the Greensburg Police Department, Kiowa County Sheriff’s Office, and Greensburg Fire Department were dispatched to the report of dynamite attached to the dash of a vehicle parked in front of a business on West Kansas Avenue in Greensburg, according to the police department's social media account.

Upon units arriving and securing the area it was discovered that the item in question was a beef stick, still in its wrapper. 

There were no explosives in the vehicle and there were not any threats to the public. The vehicle owner removed the suspicious beef stick from the dash.

KIOWA COUNTY—A little excitement in a small Kansas town Wednesday afternoon was nothing serious.Just before 5p.m. Wednesday, the Greensburg Police Department, Kiowa County Sheriff’s Office, and Greensburg Fire Department were dispatched to the report of dynamite attached to the dash of a vehicle parked in front of a business on West Kansas Avenue in Greensburg, according to the police department's social media account.Upon units arriving and securing the area it was discovered that the item in question was a beef stick, still in its wrapper. There were no explosives in the vehicle and there were not any threats to the public. The vehicle owner removed the suspicious beef stick from the dash.

Police: No dynamite in vehicle, just a beef stick

SHAWNEE COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating two men on felony charges after a traffic stop

Just after 6p.m. Tuesday,&nbsp; a deputy conducted a traffic stop in the 5400 block of SW Topeka Boulevard, according to a deputy Abigail Christian.

 During the traffic stop, a K9 unit was deployed and located a loaded firearm inside the vehicle. Deputies determined the firearm belonged to Jeremy W. Taylor, 31, of Burlingame. He is a multi-convicted felon. 

Taylor was booked into the Shawnee County Department of Corrections on requested charges of aggravated felon in possession of a firearm, possession of methamphetamine and possession of drug paraphernalia.

The driver of the vehicle, Lance E. Fox, 42, of Topeka, was booked into the Shawnee County Department of Corrections on&nbsp; requested charges of driving while license revoked, insurance violation and vehicle registration violations.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1596710075148.png" alt="Jeremy Taylor&nbsp; has previous convictions that include theft, forgery, flee or attempt to elude law enforcement and an aggravated weapons violation-photo Shawnee County" />
 <figcaption>Jeremy Taylor&nbsp; has previous convictions that include theft, forgery, flee or attempt to elude law enforcement and an aggravated weapons violation-photo Shawnee County</figcaption>
 </figure>SHAWNEE COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating two men on felony charges after a traffic stopJust after 6p.m. Tuesday,&nbsp; a deputy conducted a traffic stop in the 5400 block of SW Topeka Boulevard, according to a deputy Abigail Christian. During the traffic stop, a K9 unit was deployed and located a loaded firearm inside the vehicle. Deputies determined the firearm belonged to Jeremy W. Taylor, 31, of Burlingame. He is a multi-convicted felon. Taylor was booked into the Shawnee County Department of Corrections on requested charges of aggravated felon in possession of a firearm, possession of methamphetamine and possession of drug paraphernalia.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1596710176691.png" alt="Fox-photo Shawnee County" />
 <figcaption>Fox-photo Shawnee County</figcaption>
 </figure>The driver of the vehicle, Lance E. Fox, 42, of Topeka, was booked into the Shawnee County Department of Corrections on&nbsp; requested charges of driving while license revoked, insurance violation and vehicle registration violations.

K9 unit helps deputies catch Kan. felon with gun, drugs

TOPEKA&nbsp;– Governor Laura Kelly announced Wednesday that Urban Outfitters’ Inc. (URBN) new 880,000-square-foot omni-channel distribution center will be located on ancillary land at Kansas Speedway in Wyandotte County. 

The partnership between the State of Kansas and Philadelphia-based URBN will create up to 2,000 new jobs and invest approximately $350 million in Kansas over several years, according to a statement from the governor's office.

“I’m excited to announce our new partnership with URBN and to welcome them to Kansas,”&nbsp;Governor Laura Kelly said.&nbsp;“This is a transformational project for our state, bringing a new, high-profile corporate partner and as many as 2,000 good-paying jobs. This was a true collaboration to generate an economic development success story that will deliver benefits in Wyandotte County and beyond in our state.”

URBN cited Kansas’ central location, transportation infrastructure and skilled workforce as key factors in choosing Kansas for its distribution operation, acknowledging the location as critical to its distribution network.

The Governor praised the efforts of the Kansas Department of Commerce in securing this move, and reiterated the importance of focusing on economic development efforts during Kansas’ growth and recovery in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Rebuilding our economic development efforts has been one of my administration’s top priorities, and it’s good that we did,”&nbsp;Governor Kelly said. “Our path to economic recovery will be through the investments we make to our economic development, infrastructure, education, and health care. Our new foundation will encourage more companies like URBN to bring their business to Kansas.”

Commerce Secretary David Toland said URBN is an ideal fit for Kansas.

“This project not only reflects the type of company our state is poised to recruit, it’s also a testament to how we want to work,”&nbsp;Secretary David Toland said.&nbsp;“Like the creative folks at URBN, our team was constantly thinking outside the box, considering many angles, remaining flexible, collaborating and putting great minds together to make this work.”

“URBN is incredibly excited for the opportunity to become a part of the Kansas community,”&nbsp;URBN Chief Development Officer Dave Ziel said.&nbsp;“Our priorities in identifying the home for our new omni-channel distribution center focused on people, and it was the quality of the local workforce and the commitment of their representatives in the state that convinced us this is the right place to be. This facility will enable us to support continued digital growth at all our brands, and it will allow us to reach our digital customers faster and more efficiently than ever before. As the center of our distribution network this facility makes Kansas a home for us for the long-term, and we look forward to building relationships across the state as we grow together.”

“This decision to locate URBN’s new distribution center in Wyandotte County was months in the making, and I’m pleased they selected Kansas to be their new home,”&nbsp;U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) said. “This partnership will bring good-paying jobs to our state and be beneficial for both URBN and the Kansas economy. I’m confident more businesses will continue to partner with our state as we work to bring more jobs and industries to Kansas.”

“I’m thrilled to welcome Urban Outfitters to Kansas, and I’m glad that they selected Wyandotte County as the location for their new distribution center,”&nbsp;Representative Sharice Davids (KS-03) said. “Our region is strategically positioned in America’s heartland as a major transportation hub, so this decision makes all the sense in the world. This partnership will bring thousands of jobs and much needed investments to our community, and in turn benefit our entire state. I look forward to working with Urban Outfitters to ensure it is a smooth transition.”

The Department of Commerce worked closely with KC SmartPort, the Kansas City Area Development Council, the Wyandotte County Economic Development Council and Unified Government of Wyandotte County.

“We are excited to welcome URBN to Wyandotte County, reaffirming our role in attracting new development and investment to the region,”&nbsp;Dave Alvey,&nbsp;Mayor/CEO of the Wyandotte County, Kansas City, KS said. “URBN’s community-centric mission, with a continued commitment to reducing employment barriers, good wages and benefits, and local and minority hiring preferences sets them apart. While our region continues to feel the economic impact of COVID, it is new investment and economic development efforts like this that will allow our community to rebound quicker by creating new jobs, additional revenue, and future growth.”

“We have been proud to be a part of Wyandotte County and Kansas City for two decades,”&nbsp;Lesa Kennedy, Executive Vice Chair, NASCAR said.&nbsp;“We know URBN will be a great community partner and we look forward to working with their team to create an outstanding facility that will generate opportunity for years to come.”

“This is an exciting opportunity in Hillwood’s partnership with NASCAR and with URBN,”&nbsp;Ross Perot, Chairman of Perot Companies and Hillwood said. “Kansas’ workforce and infrastructure make it an ideal location for URBN’s new fulfillment center, and we look forward to working with them to develop their new state-of-the-art facility.”

“URBN’s selection of Kansas City is significant, and our region’s central location, robust infrastructure and access to a skilled workforce position the company for continued growth,”&nbsp;Tim Cowden, president and CEO, Kansas City Area Development Council said.&nbsp;“As a company that is socially conscious and has a mission to ‘do better every day,’ the presence of URBN will be a strong addition to our business community as we all continue to ensure KC is a welcoming, equitable and collaborative place to live and work.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1596719844455.png" alt="Governor Kelly, Senator Moran and others on the zoom announcement by Urban Outfitters" />
 <figcaption>Governor Kelly, Senator Moran and others on the zoom announcement by Urban Outfitters</figcaption>
 </figure>TOPEKA&nbsp;– Governor Laura Kelly announced Wednesday that Urban Outfitters’ Inc. (URBN) new 880,000-square-foot omni-channel distribution center will be located on ancillary land at Kansas Speedway in Wyandotte County. <figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1596709240041.png" alt="Urban Outfitters on the Country Club Plaza in Kansas City" />
 <figcaption>Urban Outfitters on the Country Club Plaza in Kansas City</figcaption>
 </figure>The partnership between the State of Kansas and Philadelphia-based URBN will create up to 2,000 new jobs and invest approximately $350 million in Kansas over several years, according to a statement from the governor's office.“I’m excited to announce our new partnership with URBN and to welcome them to Kansas,”&nbsp;Governor Laura Kelly said.&nbsp;“This is a transformational project for our state, bringing a new, high-profile corporate partner and as many as 2,000 good-paying jobs. This was a true collaboration to generate an economic development success story that will deliver benefits in Wyandotte County and beyond in our state.”URBN cited Kansas’ central location, transportation infrastructure and skilled workforce as key factors in choosing Kansas for its distribution operation, acknowledging the location as critical to its distribution network.The Governor praised the efforts of the Kansas Department of Commerce in securing this move, and reiterated the importance of focusing on economic development efforts during Kansas’ growth and recovery in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.“Rebuilding our economic development efforts has been one of my administration’s top priorities, and it’s good that we did,”&nbsp;Governor Kelly said. “Our path to economic recovery will be through the investments we make to our economic development, infrastructure, education, and health care. Our new foundation will encourage more companies like URBN to bring their business to Kansas.”Commerce Secretary David Toland said URBN is an ideal fit for Kansas.“This project not only reflects the type of company our state is poised to recruit, it’s also a testament to how we want to work,”&nbsp;Secretary David Toland said.&nbsp;“Like the creative folks at URBN, our team was constantly thinking outside the box, considering many angles, remaining flexible, collaborating and putting great minds together to make this work.”“URBN is incredibly excited for the opportunity to become a part of the Kansas community,”&nbsp;URBN Chief Development Officer Dave Ziel said.&nbsp;“Our priorities in identifying the home for our new omni-channel distribution center focused on people, and it was the quality of the local workforce and the commitment of their representatives in the state that convinced us this is the right place to be. This facility will enable us to support continued digital growth at all our brands, and it will allow us to reach our digital customers faster and more efficiently than ever before. As the center of our distribution network this facility makes Kansas a home for us for the long-term, and we look forward to building relationships across the state as we grow together.”“This decision to locate URBN’s new distribution center in Wyandotte County was months in the making, and I’m pleased they selected Kansas to be their new home,”&nbsp;U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) said. “This partnership will bring good-paying jobs to our state and be beneficial for both URBN and the Kansas economy. I’m confident more businesses will continue to partner with our state as we work to bring more jobs and industries to Kansas.”“I’m thrilled to welcome Urban Outfitters to Kansas, and I’m glad that they selected Wyandotte County as the location for their new distribution center,”&nbsp;Representative Sharice Davids (KS-03) said. “Our region is strategically positioned in America’s heartland as a major transportation hub, so this decision makes all the sense in the world. This partnership will bring thousands of jobs and much needed investments to our community, and in turn benefit our entire state. I look forward to working with Urban Outfitters to ensure it is a smooth transition.”The Department of Commerce worked closely with KC SmartPort, the Kansas City Area Development Council, the Wyandotte County Economic Development Council and Unified Government of Wyandotte County.“We are excited to welcome URBN to Wyandotte County, reaffirming our role in attracting new development and investment to the region,”&nbsp;Dave Alvey,&nbsp;Mayor/CEO of the Wyandotte County, Kansas City, KS said. “URBN’s community-centric mission, with a continued commitment to reducing employment barriers, good wages and benefits, and local and minority hiring preferences sets them apart. While our region continues to feel the economic impact of COVID, it is new investment and economic development efforts like this that will allow our community to rebound quicker by creating new jobs, additional revenue, and future growth.”“We have been proud to be a part of Wyandotte County and Kansas City for two decades,”&nbsp;Lesa Kennedy, Executive Vice Chair, NASCAR said.&nbsp;“We know URBN will be a great community partner and we look forward to working with their team to create an outstanding facility that will generate opportunity for years to come.”“This is an exciting opportunity in Hillwood’s partnership with NASCAR and with URBN,”&nbsp;Ross Perot, Chairman of Perot Companies and Hillwood said. “Kansas’ workforce and infrastructure make it an ideal location for URBN’s new fulfillment center, and we look forward to working with them to develop their new state-of-the-art facility.”“URBN’s selection of Kansas City is significant, and our region’s central location, robust infrastructure and access to a skilled workforce position the company for continued growth,”&nbsp;Tim Cowden, president and CEO, Kansas City Area Development Council said.&nbsp;“As a company that is socially conscious and has a mission to ‘do better every day,’ the presence of URBN will be a strong addition to our business community as we all continue to ensure KC is a welcoming, equitable and collaborative place to live and work.”

Jobs: Urban Outfitters opening distribution center in Kansas 

KANSAS CITY (AP) — A Kansas City man tracked down and fatally shot his girlfriend at her friend’s house over the weekend, prosecutors have said in court filings.

DeCarlos Carrell, 27, is charged with second-degree murder and other counts for the Sunday shooting death of 25-year-old Briana Johnson.

Three people who were with Johnson at the home told investigators that Carrell showed up at the home around 4 a.m. holding a gun and yelling for Johnson, police said. As he turned away from the home, he fired a shot that broke a window and hit Johnson, killing her, investigators said. He also fired six rounds into Johnson’s car, police said.

Video obtained from a neighbor showed a man ring his doorbell, identify himself as “Carlos” and say he was looking for “Briana,” according to court documents. A witness also identified Carrell out of a lineup as the man who came to the door, police said.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1596633421655.png" alt="Carrell photo Jackson County" />
 <figcaption>Carrell photo Jackson County</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY (AP) — A Kansas City man tracked down and fatally shot his girlfriend at her friend’s house over the weekend, prosecutors have said in court filings.DeCarlos Carrell, 27, is charged with second-degree murder and other counts for the Sunday shooting death of 25-year-old Briana Johnson.Three people who were with Johnson at the home told investigators that Carrell showed up at the home around 4 a.m. holding a gun and yelling for Johnson, police said. As he turned away from the home, he fired a shot that broke a window and hit Johnson, killing her, investigators said. He also fired six rounds into Johnson’s car, police said.Video obtained from a neighbor showed a man ring his doorbell, identify himself as “Carlos” and say he was looking for “Briana,” according to court documents. A witness also identified Carrell out of a lineup as the man who came to the door, police said.

Police: Kansas City man tracked down, killed girlfriend

Topeka, Kan.&nbsp;– The Shawnee County Health Department (SCHD) has identified multiple COVID-19 cases linked to&nbsp;Jeremiah Bullfrogs Bar and Grille located at&nbsp;2827 SW Wanamaker Road in Topeka, according to a media release.

Anyone who attended <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pg/JEREMIAH-BULLFROGS-BAR-AND-GRILLE-157353776246/photos/?tab=album&amp;album_id=10151519043351247&amp;ref=page_internal">Jeremiah Bullfrogs Bar and Grille</a> on July 24th, 25th, 27th&nbsp;and 28th&nbsp;is at risk for potential exposure and should self-monitor for symptoms for 14 days from the date of attendance. Individuals are recommended to contact their primary care provider IF they develop any of the following symptoms: fever of 100.4 F or higher, chills, rigors,&nbsp;&nbsp;myalgia (muscle pain or aches), malaise,&nbsp;headache, sore throat,&nbsp;lower respiratory illness (cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing), new olfactory and taste disorders,&nbsp;diarrhea,&nbsp;congestion or runny nose and nausea or vomiting

“The Health Department appreciates the cooperation of the management staff at Bullfrogs Bar and Grille,” said Linda Ochs Shawnee County Health Department Director. “We encourage any individuals to contact their healthcare provider if they begin to exhibit any symptoms related to COVID-19”.

Jeremiah Bullfrogs ownership voluntarily closed their establishment over the weekend, Friday July 31st&nbsp;through Monday August 3rd, to conduct deep cleaning and to provide the opportunity for all staff to be tested. They reopened Tuesday August 4th&nbsp;for curbside pick-up and patio dining only.

“We have been following the guidance and recommendations set forth by the Shawnee County Health Department regarding social distancing and mask wear,” said General Manager Faith Pearson. “Once notified of the exposures we were proactive in protecting the health and safety of our staff and patrons by notifying the public and have been in communication with the Shawnee County Health Department regarding next steps”.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1596670699188.png" alt="photo courtesy Jeremiah Bullfrogs . They are now open for carryout and patio service only following the outbreak" />
 <figcaption>photo courtesy Jeremiah Bullfrogs . They are now open for carryout and patio service only following the outbreak</figcaption>
 </figure>Topeka, Kan.&nbsp;– The Shawnee County Health Department (SCHD) has identified multiple COVID-19 cases linked to&nbsp;Jeremiah Bullfrogs Bar and Grille located at&nbsp;2827 SW Wanamaker Road in Topeka, according to a media release. Anyone who attended <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pg/JEREMIAH-BULLFROGS-BAR-AND-GRILLE-157353776246/photos/?tab=album&amp;album_id=10151519043351247&amp;ref=page_internal">Jeremiah Bullfrogs Bar and Grille</a> on July 24th, 25th, 27th&nbsp;and 28th&nbsp;is at risk for potential exposure and should self-monitor for symptoms for 14 days from the date of attendance. Individuals are recommended to contact their primary care provider IF they develop any of the following symptoms: fever of 100.4 F or higher, chills, rigors,&nbsp;&nbsp;myalgia (muscle pain or aches), malaise,&nbsp;headache, sore throat,&nbsp;lower respiratory illness (cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing), new olfactory and taste disorders,&nbsp;diarrhea,&nbsp;congestion or runny nose and nausea or vomiting“The Health Department appreciates the cooperation of the management staff at Bullfrogs Bar and Grille,” said Linda Ochs Shawnee County Health Department Director. “We encourage any individuals to contact their healthcare provider if they begin to exhibit any symptoms related to COVID-19”.Jeremiah Bullfrogs ownership voluntarily closed their establishment over the weekend, Friday July 31st&nbsp;through Monday August 3rd, to conduct deep cleaning and to provide the opportunity for all staff to be tested. They reopened Tuesday August 4th&nbsp;for curbside pick-up and patio dining only.“We have been following the guidance and recommendations set forth by the Shawnee County Health Department regarding social distancing and mask wear,” said General Manager Faith Pearson. “Once notified of the exposures we were proactive in protecting the health and safety of our staff and patrons by notifying the public and have been in communication with the Shawnee County Health Department regarding next steps”.

Multiple COVID-19 cases linked to Topeka bar and grill

SEDGWICK COUNTY —The mayor of Goddard who resigned on Monday was charged Wednesday with counterfeiting, a class A nonperson misdemeanor, according to the Sedgwick County District Attorney's office.

Jamey Blubaugh and his wife, Elizabeth, were charged Wednesday with one count of counterfeiting, which is a misdemeanor. The Sedgwick County District Attorney's office said the couple is accused of using counterfeit tickets to attend last year's Zoobilee at the Sedgwick County Zoo. The tickets were $165 each.

According to the city of Goddard, "We understand that the former Mayor, who resigned Monday, August 3, 2020, is facing serious criminal charges. We also understand that these charges have no connection with any official&nbsp;action of the former Mayor. 

The City has no role in any decision to make these charges, and it&nbsp;has not conducted any investigation of these charges. Former Mayor Jamey Blubaugh, like any&nbsp;other individual, is entitled to the presumption of innocence.

We fully support law enforcement officials, and have expressed our commitment to cooperate&nbsp;with the District Attorney’s office to find the truth of the allegations.

We recognize that Goddard City officials expect to be held accountable for any actions that&nbsp;reflect badly on the City. These charges serve as an important reminder that no one is above&nbsp;the law. The citizens of Goddard deserve public servants acting with integrity. We look&nbsp;forward to justice being served in all cases where the public’s trust has been betrayed.

We are disappointed that this event may overshadow the number of positive developments&nbsp;that are happening in the community. We are hopeful that the distraction will not obscure the&nbsp;growth and vitality of the community.

These issues are entirely unconnected to the City, representing charges brought by the District&nbsp;Attorney against the former Mayor."

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1596655385041.png" alt="Jamey Blubaugh photo city of Goddard" />
 <figcaption>Jamey Blubaugh photo city of Goddard</figcaption>
 </figure>SEDGWICK COUNTY —The mayor of Goddard who resigned on Monday was charged Wednesday with counterfeiting, a class A nonperson misdemeanor, according to the Sedgwick County District Attorney's office.Jamey Blubaugh and his wife, Elizabeth, were charged Wednesday with one count of counterfeiting, which is a misdemeanor. The Sedgwick County District Attorney's office said the couple is accused of using counterfeit tickets to attend last year's Zoobilee at the Sedgwick County Zoo. The tickets were $165 each.According to the city of Goddard, "We understand that the former Mayor, who resigned Monday, August 3, 2020, is facing serious criminal charges. We also understand that these charges have no connection with any official&nbsp;action of the former Mayor. The City has no role in any decision to make these charges, and it&nbsp;has not conducted any investigation of these charges. Former Mayor Jamey Blubaugh, like any&nbsp;other individual, is entitled to the presumption of innocence.We fully support law enforcement officials, and have expressed our commitment to cooperate&nbsp;with the District Attorney’s office to find the truth of the allegations.We recognize that Goddard City officials expect to be held accountable for any actions that&nbsp;reflect badly on the City. These charges serve as an important reminder that no one is above&nbsp;the law. The citizens of Goddard deserve public servants acting with integrity. We look&nbsp;forward to justice being served in all cases where the public’s trust has been betrayed.We are disappointed that this event may overshadow the number of positive developments&nbsp;that are happening in the community. We are hopeful that the distraction will not obscure the&nbsp;growth and vitality of the community.These issues are entirely unconnected to the City, representing charges brought by the District&nbsp;Attorney against the former Mayor."

Kan. mayor charged with counterfeiting tickets for fundraiser

SEDGWICK —Four suspects arrested in connection with a fatal motel room gun fight have that left two men dead made their first appearance in court Tuesday.

Braxton Cooley, 23; Akakia Farbes, 23; Koby Fisher, 23, all of Wichita and 43-year-old Eugene Donnald of O’Fallon, Illinois were charged with attempted aggravated battery, according to the Sedgwick County District Attorney's office

Just before 1a.m. July 30, police responded to a shooting at the Scotsman Hotel, 5922 W. Kellogg in Wichita, according to Captain Jason Stephens.&nbsp; Upon arrival, officers located 40-year-old William Pottorff with multiple gunshot wounds to his body.&nbsp; He was pronounced deceased on the scene.&nbsp; 

Shortly after arriving on the scene, Keion Whyte, 23, arrived at an area hospital in critical condition with multiple gunshot wounds.&nbsp;

The investigation revealed, a woman has been staying at the motel for approximately one month and was being visited by Pottorff, who is an acquaintance,&nbsp;according to Captain Stephens.

While in the room, Whyte and four others later identified as&nbsp; Cooley, Farbes, Fisher and Donnald forced themselves into the room, and a physical altercation ensued between Pottorff and Whyte.

During the physical altercation, both men pulled out handguns, and there was an exchange of gunfire, leading to Pottorff’s&nbsp; fatal injuries.&nbsp;

&nbsp;Cooley, Farbes, Donald, Fisher, and an additional person that was in a vehicle during the incident took Whyte to an area hospital, according to Stephens. He died on August 1, according to police.

Following the investigation, police originally arrested Cooley, Farbes, Fisher and Donnald&nbsp; on requested charges of felony murder and aggravated burglary, according to Stephens.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/7/1596107513157.png" alt="Police on the scene of the fatal shooting investigation July 30 -photo courtesy KWCH" />
 <figcaption>Police on the scene of the fatal shooting investigation July 30 -photo courtesy KWCH</figcaption>
 </figure>SEDGWICK —Four suspects arrested in connection with a fatal motel room gun fight have that left two men dead made their first appearance in court Tuesday.Braxton Cooley, 23; Akakia Farbes, 23; Koby Fisher, 23, all of Wichita and 43-year-old Eugene Donnald of O’Fallon, Illinois were charged with attempted aggravated battery, according to the Sedgwick County District Attorney's officeJust before 1a.m. July 30, police responded to a shooting at the Scotsman Hotel, 5922 W. Kellogg in Wichita, according to Captain Jason Stephens.&nbsp; Upon arrival, officers located 40-year-old William Pottorff with multiple gunshot wounds to his body.&nbsp; He was pronounced deceased on the scene.&nbsp; Shortly after arriving on the scene, Keion Whyte, 23, arrived at an area hospital in critical condition with multiple gunshot wounds.&nbsp;The investigation revealed, a woman has been staying at the motel for approximately one month and was being visited by Pottorff, who is an acquaintance,&nbsp;according to Captain Stephens.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/7/1596146101791.png" alt="Cooley photo Sedgwick County" />
 <figcaption>Cooley photo Sedgwick County</figcaption>
 </figure>While in the room, Whyte and four others later identified as&nbsp; Cooley, Farbes, Fisher and Donnald forced themselves into the room, and a physical altercation ensued between Pottorff and Whyte.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/7/1596159011888.png" alt="Farbes photo Sedgwick Co." />
 <figcaption>Farbes photo Sedgwick Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>During the physical altercation, both men pulled out handguns, and there was an exchange of gunfire, leading to Pottorff’s&nbsp; fatal injuries.&nbsp;<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/7/1596146211661.png" alt="Fisher photo Sedgwick Co." />
 <figcaption>Fisher photo Sedgwick Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>&nbsp;Cooley, Farbes, Donald, Fisher, and an additional person that was in a vehicle during the incident took Whyte to an area hospital, according to Stephens. He died on August 1, according to police.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/7/1596206388150.png" alt="Donnald- photo Sedgwick Co." />
 <figcaption>Donnald- photo Sedgwick Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>Following the investigation, police originally arrested Cooley, Farbes, Fisher and Donnald&nbsp; on requested charges of felony murder and aggravated burglary, according to Stephens.--------

4 who survived fatal Kan. motel gun fight charged

By TIM CARPENTER <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2020/08/05/kansas-primary-undercuts-gop-moderates-rogue-democrat-clings-to-victory/">Kansas Reflector</a>

TOPEKA — Enough dust 
settled on the Kansas primary election Wednesday to reveal Democrats 
bemoaning the ouster of moderate Republican lawmakers by conservative 
challengers and the political universe’s dismay at the one-vote lead by a
 Wyandotte County Democrat who campaigned by calling on Republicans to 
drop dead of COVID-19.

Centrist Republicans in 
the Kansas House and Senate fell in the primary as the Kansas Chamber, 
Kansans for Life and other political action committees helped carry a 
majority of their conservative preferences across the finish line.

Unless Democrats surge in 
November, the Kansas Legislature could trend to the right and opposition
 to Gov. Laura Kelly’s vision of tax reform and Medicaid expansion could
 deepen.

“Last night’s election 
results affirmed Kansans want to thrive in a culture of limited 
government, opportunity and self-determination, all the while respecting
 life, neighbors, law and order,” said Senate President Susan Wagle, a 
Wichita Republican who didn’t seek re-election. “My focus now is to 
preserve our veto-proof majority in the Kansas Senate to keep a check on
 Laura Kelly’s liberal policies, and stabilize and grow our economy in 
the midst of a historical pandemic.”

She also urged moderate 
and conservative Republicans to unify behind the GOP’s nominees in 
November to defeat “the extreme liberal agenda.”

The August primary results
 suggested statehouse politics could in the future more precisely follow
 party lines rather than operate with essentially a three-party model of
 conservative Republicans, moderate Republicans and Democrats. The House
 and Senate could become more ideological and accentuate policy 
gridlock.

A pair of Democratic 
legislators, both former Republicans, were struck by defeat of centrist 
GOP lawmakers in the same election cycle that prompted Democrats to 
nominate women in the state’s four U.S. House districts and the open 
U.S. Senate seat.

“If you still believe 
there is room for moderates in the GOP, take another look at the primary
 results,” said Lenexa Sen. Dinah Sykes, who was among four Republicans 
who switched allegiances after the 2018 elections.

Rep. Stephanie Clayton, an
 Overland Park Democrat who defected along with Sykes, said the state’s 
moderate Republicans deserved “representation, respect and time to 
process things.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1596661242872.jpeg" alt="Salina Rep. J.R. Claeys, right, defeated in Tuesday's Republican Party primary incumbent Sen. Randall Hardy by nearly 3,000 votes as part of a conservative surge against moderates. No Democrat filed in District 24. (Nick Krug for Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption>Salina Rep. J.R. Claeys, right, defeated in Tuesday's Republican Party primary incumbent Sen. Randall Hardy by nearly 3,000 votes as part of a conservative surge against moderates. No Democrat filed in District 24. (Nick Krug for Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure>By TIM CARPENTER <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2020/08/05/kansas-primary-undercuts-gop-moderates-rogue-democrat-clings-to-victory/">Kansas Reflector</a>TOPEKA — Enough dust 
settled on the Kansas primary election Wednesday to reveal Democrats 
bemoaning the ouster of moderate Republican lawmakers by conservative 
challengers and the political universe’s dismay at the one-vote lead by a
 Wyandotte County Democrat who campaigned by calling on Republicans to 
drop dead of COVID-19.Centrist Republicans in 
the Kansas House and Senate fell in the primary as the Kansas Chamber, 
Kansans for Life and other political action committees helped carry a 
majority of their conservative preferences across the finish line.Unless Democrats surge in 
November, the Kansas Legislature could trend to the right and opposition
 to Gov. Laura Kelly’s vision of tax reform and Medicaid expansion could
 deepen.“Last night’s election 
results affirmed Kansans want to thrive in a culture of limited 
government, opportunity and self-determination, all the while respecting
 life, neighbors, law and order,” said Senate President Susan Wagle, a 
Wichita Republican who didn’t seek re-election. “My focus now is to 
preserve our veto-proof majority in the Kansas Senate to keep a check on
 Laura Kelly’s liberal policies, and stabilize and grow our economy in 
the midst of a historical pandemic.”She also urged moderate 
and conservative Republicans to unify behind the GOP’s nominees in 
November to defeat “the extreme liberal agenda.”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1596661306941.jpeg" alt="Senate President Susan Wagle, a Wichita Republican not seeking re-election, says her top priority is maintaining a veto-proof GOP majority in the Senate to thwart the agenda of Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly. (Nick Krug for Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption>Senate President Susan Wagle, a Wichita Republican not seeking re-election, says her top priority is maintaining a veto-proof GOP majority in the Senate to thwart the agenda of Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly. (Nick Krug for Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure>The August primary results
 suggested statehouse politics could in the future more precisely follow
 party lines rather than operate with essentially a three-party model of
 conservative Republicans, moderate Republicans and Democrats. The House
 and Senate could become more ideological and accentuate policy 
gridlock.A pair of Democratic 
legislators, both former Republicans, were struck by defeat of centrist 
GOP lawmakers in the same election cycle that prompted Democrats to 
nominate women in the state’s four U.S. House districts and the open 
U.S. Senate seat.“If you still believe 
there is room for moderates in the GOP, take another look at the primary
 results,” said Lenexa Sen. Dinah Sykes, who was among four Republicans 
who switched allegiances after the 2018 elections.Rep. Stephanie Clayton, an
 Overland Park Democrat who defected along with Sykes, said the state’s 
moderate Republicans deserved “representation, respect and time to 
process things.”<h2>The defeated</h2>Incumbent Republican 
senators taking a licking in the Tuesday primary included John Skubal, 
of Overland Park; Bruce Givens, of El Dorado; Dan Goddard, of Parsons; 
Eric Rucker, of Topeka; Randall Hardy, of Salina; Mary Jo Taylor, of 
Stafford; and Ed Berger, of Hutchinson. Over in the House, the GOP 
members falling out of favor were Jan Kessinger, of Overland Park; Jim 
Karleskint, of Tonganoxie; Diana Dierks, of Salina; Michael Capps, of 
Wichita; and J.C. Moore, of Clearwater.The District 15 contest in
 southeast Kansas between Goddard and former Rep. Virgil Peck remained 
close with late advance and provisional ballots left to be counted. As 
of Tuesday night, Peck had 4,927 votes to Goddard’s 4,886 votes.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1596661343495.jpeg" alt="Former state Rep. Virgil Peck, a Havana Republican, holds a 41-vote lead with nearly 10,000 ballots cast over GOP Sen. Dan Goddard of Parsons. Peck’s campaign is part of a strategy to root out moderate GOP senators. (Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption>Former state Rep. Virgil Peck, a Havana Republican, holds a 41-vote lead with nearly 10,000 ballots cast over GOP Sen. Dan Goddard of Parsons. Peck’s campaign is part of a strategy to root out moderate GOP senators. (Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure>Overland Park Republican 
Jane Dirks took 58% of the vote in District 20 of Johnson County in a 
campaign that amplified Kessinger’s refusal to support a proposed 
constitutional amendment that would have declared the Kansas 
Constitution didn’t afford women the right to abortion. Kessinger was 
among four Republicans who didn’t back the amendment, and it fell short 
of the two-thirds majority required to put it on statewide ballots.Leawood Democrat Mari-Lynn
 Poskin, who will go up against Dirks in the general election, said 
Dirks’ campaign showed the GOP wasn’t interested in the contribution of 
cross-aisle consensus builders.“GOP extremists proved they have no appetite for bipartisan, common sense approaches to governing our state,” Poskin said.Three House primary 
contests — one Democrat, two Republican — were closer than 50 votes 
after Tuesday’s count. In the three-person Democratic race to replace 
Rep. Jeff Pittman, a Leavenworth Democrat, candidates Mike Griswold and 
Whitney Moulder were separated by 37 votes from more than 1,000 cast.In the state’s only 
four-candidate primary, the Kansas Chamber and KFL-backed candidate 
Kathy Valentine of Newton was trailing fellow Republican Avery Anderson 
by 39 votes. Anderson had 1,263, while Valentine was at 1,224. That seat
 is held by Rep. Tim Hodge, a North Newton Democrat and top target of 
Republicans.The other 
too-early-to-call race had Marysville Republican Jon Ungerer with 2,622 
votes to Wheaton Republican Lisa Moser’s 2,610. They’re competing for 
the GOP nomination for the District 106 seat to be vacated by Rep. Bill 
Pannbacker, a Washington Republican.<h2>The Coleman thing</h2>The lone incumbent 
Democrat facing the uncomfortable reality of a potential primary loss is
 Rep. Stan Frownfelter, who has served the Kansas City, Kan., district 
since 2007. He was trailing — 768-767 — to challenger Aaron Coleman, a 
19-year-old who said on social media Republicans who refuse to wear a 
mask during the COVID-19 pandemic deserved to fall ill or die. He later 
apologized.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1596661373194.jpeg" alt="Moderate Rep. Tom Cox of Shawnee fell far short Tuesday in a challenge of conservative Sen. Mike Thompson, the Shawnee former TV weather forecaster. Thompson gathered 73% of the vote in the primary race. (Nick Krug for Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption>Moderate Rep. Tom Cox of Shawnee fell far short Tuesday in a challenge of conservative Sen. Mike Thompson, the Shawnee former TV weather forecaster. Thompson gathered 73% of the vote in the primary race. (Nick Krug for Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure>Bob Beatty, a Washburn 
University political science professor, said he doubted most 
participants in the Frownfelter-Coleman primary, many of whom could be 
considered “low-information voters,” were familiar with attributes or 
complexities of these Democratic candidates. It’s much easier for voters
 to focus on top-of-the-ballot candidates, he said.Gadfly candidates 
typically suffer overwhelming defeat at the ballot box but it is 
possible for someone to gain an advantage by leaning into red-meat 
rhetoric to invigorate their political base, said Patrick Miller, a 
political science professor at the University of Kansas.He also said it was 
possible Frownfelter underestimated the attraction of a new, younger 
candidate who bashed the GOP without reservation.“To have incumbency work for you, you have to take advantage of it,” Miller said.<h2>Missouri model</h2>Kelly, the Democrat 
elected governor in 2018, said she was intrigued Missouri joined Kansas’
 neighboring states of Colorado, Nebraska and Oklahoma to expand 
eligibility for Medicaid under the law signed by President Barack Obama a
 decade ago. Voters in red-state Missouri endorsed Medicaid expansion 
despite a campaign by Republican state leaders to derail the initiative.
 The measure was adopted 53% to 46%.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1596661403774.jpeg" alt="Gov. Laura Kelly says passage by Missouri voters of Medicaid expansion leaves Kansas in a five-state group with Colorado, Nebraska and Oklahoma still resisting a federal program extending health care to low- and moderate-income people. (Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption>Gov. Laura Kelly says passage by Missouri voters of Medicaid expansion leaves Kansas in a five-state group with Colorado, Nebraska and Oklahoma still resisting a federal program extending health care to low- and moderate-income people. (Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure>For 
years, GOP Govs. Sam Brownback and Jeff Colyer successfully collaborated
 with Republican-majority legislators to stiff-arm Medicaid reform in 
Kansas.“Every 
single Kansas voter must ask themselves why, year after year, Republican
 leadership in the Legislature has blocked expansion,” Kelly said. 
“Their obstruction has left 150,000 Kansans without access to healthcare
 during a global health crisis. They have forfeited $4 billion Kansas 
taxpayer dollars. They have rejected 13,000 new jobs that we could bring
 to Kansas.”“Republican
 leadership in the Legislature must stop playing politics with Kansans’ 
lives and support Medicaid expansion,” she said.Tim Carpenter has reported on Kansas for 35 years. He covered the Capitol for 16 years at the Topeka Capital-Journal and previously worked for the Lawrence Journal-World and United Press International.&nbsp;