TOPEKA, KS – Veterinary staff at the Topeka Zoo and Conservation Center made the difficult decision to euthanize a 16-year-old African Lion named Avus Friday morning, according to a media release.

 “Avus had been experiencing agerelated issues for some time.” said Zoo Director Brendan Wiley. “Earlier this week we noticed a significant decline in his well-being. We did a comprehensive exam and tried new medication but did not see an improvement in his condition. Today is a sad day for our extended zoo family. Avus led an impactful life at our zoo, inspiring guests to care more about wildlife and conservation.”

Avus was born at the Henry Vilas Zoo on October 14, 2004. Following a recommendation from the AZA’s Species Survival Plan, Avus came to Topeka in the summer of 2006 to pair with lionesses Zuri and Asante. In 2007 Avus and Asante had one offspring, Adia, who in turn provided the pair with two grandsons that live in other AZA zoos. Avus was able to see his home at the Topeka Zoo transform with the opening of Camp Cowabunga in 2018. Zuri and Asante are also classified as geriatric at the ages of sixteen years as well. In the wild, the lifespan of lions is a range between 12-15 years of age.

Avus was an easy favorite to staff and guests alike. He had the most amazing eyes and a face framing mane. He was very laid back and known for pretending he didn't hear zookeepers when it was time to go inside so he could get a few more minutes of sleep. Avus enjoyed enrichment like cologne and taco seasoning, and was excited about participating in training sessions. 

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/10/1603478794227.png" alt="Avus -Photo courtesy Topeka Zoo" />
 <figcaption>Avus -Photo courtesy Topeka Zoo</figcaption>
 </figure>TOPEKA, KS – Veterinary staff at the Topeka Zoo and Conservation Center made the difficult decision to euthanize a 16-year-old African Lion named Avus Friday morning, according to a media release. “Avus had been experiencing agerelated issues for some time.” said Zoo Director Brendan Wiley. “Earlier this week we noticed a significant decline in his well-being. We did a comprehensive exam and tried new medication but did not see an improvement in his condition. Today is a sad day for our extended zoo family. Avus led an impactful life at our zoo, inspiring guests to care more about wildlife and conservation.”Avus was born at the Henry Vilas Zoo on October 14, 2004. Following a recommendation from the AZA’s Species Survival Plan, Avus came to Topeka in the summer of 2006 to pair with lionesses Zuri and Asante. In 2007 Avus and Asante had one offspring, Adia, who in turn provided the pair with two grandsons that live in other AZA zoos. Avus was able to see his home at the Topeka Zoo transform with the opening of Camp Cowabunga in 2018. Zuri and Asante are also classified as geriatric at the ages of sixteen years as well. In the wild, the lifespan of lions is a range between 12-15 years of age.Avus was an easy favorite to staff and guests alike. He had the most amazing eyes and a face framing mane. He was very laid back and known for pretending he didn't hear zookeepers when it was time to go inside so he could get a few more minutes of sleep. Avus enjoyed enrichment like cologne and taco seasoning, and was excited about participating in training sessions.

 16-year-old African lion euthanized at Kansas zoo

About 4,000 small businesses across the state applied for but did not receive a working capital grant

By NOAH TABORDA <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2020/10/22/kansas-small-businesses-still-in-need-after-depletion-of-cares-act-aid/">Kansas Reflector</a>

TOPEKA — Thousands
 of Kansas small businesses lack desperately needed support after fewer 
than a third of those seeking federal relief funds were awarded grants 
for critical pandemic costs.

Nearly 6,000 businesses 
applied for help, but the Kansas Department of Commerce was only able to
 award grants to 1,900 before the <a href="https://www.salina.com/business/20200813/businesses-can-apply-for-cares-act-grants-next-week">$32.5 million allotted</a>
 ran out. Some members of the Strengthening People and Revitalizing 
Kansas, or SPARK, task force want to tap into a portion of the $75 
million in unused reserves to bolster the grant program.

The small business working
 capital grants were available to any business with fewer than 500 
employees. The goal was to help businesses pay working capital expenses,
 such as rent, utilities and mortgage insurance.

David Harwood, a member of
 the SPARK task force responsible for determining where to allocate 
CARES Act funding, said his wife was directly affected when grant 
recipients were announced last month.

“The small business my 
wife is employed by closed their doors two weeks ago because they were 
unable to get one of the small business loans,” Harwood said. “The 
people who are in the most need for the dollars aren’t getting it.”

Harwood and other members 
of Gov. Laura Kelly’s SPARK task force expressed concern for small 
businesses Thursday during a progress update on CARES Act funding 
distribution.

Bob North, of the Kansas Department of Commerce, said the small business working capital grant was greatly “oversubscribed.”

“We recognize there is a 
lot of unmet need out there for some of these programs,” North said. “We
 are not thrilled to tell 4,000 business no, but if there are additional
 funds over the next few weeks as pending grants process, we do have a 
list of those who were unsuccessful, so they are in a position to fairly
 rapidly work that list.”

Small business support was
 among the top priorities the task force identified during previous 
meetings for CARES Act funding allocation.

Neelima Parasker, 
president and CEO of SnapIT Solution in Overland Park, said given the 
consensus that small businesses aid is of importance, action should be 
taken now with reserve funds.

“I think there is a great 
opportunity for us to reconsider providing some of this grant money that
 is on our waitlist to these small businesses,” Parasker said. “When 
these programs opened, the demand was highest in that bucket. I want to 
reemphasize how we can support our small businesses.”

Julie Lorenz, executive 
director for the Office of Recovery, said there will be time for the 
State Finance Council to distribute reserve funding to small businesses 
as remaining funds from the first three phases of spending are awarded 
and paid.

Through September, about 
$203 million of the total $1.34 billion available to the state in CARES 
Act funding has been awarded and paid out. $293 million has been 
awarded, but not yet paid and nearly $463 million is unawarded or 
planned to be spent soon.

In the interest of 
transparency, the Office of Recovery will launch a dashboard on its 
website next week with information about where all CARES Act funding is 
going, Lorenz said.

Chuck Mageral, owner of 
Free State Brewing Company in Lawrence, said his business was among the 
4,000 not to receive a small business grant.

“I have no doubt that we 
would be able to quickly meet any timeframe that has been part of this 
program, and that money would not come back on the state if we receive 
those funds,” Mageral said. “Let’s do everything we can to buttress up 
that small business need. We have the opportunity to do it. We just need
 to make it happen.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/10/1603474586200.png" alt="The SPARK task force on Thursday discussed progress made in in CARES Act funding distribution and areas still in need, like small businesses. (Noah Taborda/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption>The SPARK task force on Thursday discussed progress made in in CARES Act funding distribution and areas still in need, like small businesses. (Noah Taborda/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>About 4,000 small businesses across the state applied for but did not receive a working capital grant</h2>By NOAH TABORDA <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2020/10/22/kansas-small-businesses-still-in-need-after-depletion-of-cares-act-aid/">Kansas Reflector</a>TOPEKA — Thousands
 of Kansas small businesses lack desperately needed support after fewer 
than a third of those seeking federal relief funds were awarded grants 
for critical pandemic costs.Nearly 6,000 businesses 
applied for help, but the Kansas Department of Commerce was only able to
 award grants to 1,900 before the <a href="https://www.salina.com/business/20200813/businesses-can-apply-for-cares-act-grants-next-week">$32.5 million allotted</a>
 ran out. Some members of the Strengthening People and Revitalizing 
Kansas, or SPARK, task force want to tap into a portion of the $75 
million in unused reserves to bolster the grant program.The small business working
 capital grants were available to any business with fewer than 500 
employees. The goal was to help businesses pay working capital expenses,
 such as rent, utilities and mortgage insurance.David Harwood, a member of
 the SPARK task force responsible for determining where to allocate 
CARES Act funding, said his wife was directly affected when grant 
recipients were announced last month.“The small business my 
wife is employed by closed their doors two weeks ago because they were 
unable to get one of the small business loans,” Harwood said. “The 
people who are in the most need for the dollars aren’t getting it.”Harwood and other members 
of Gov. Laura Kelly’s SPARK task force expressed concern for small 
businesses Thursday during a progress update on CARES Act funding 
distribution.Bob North, of the Kansas Department of Commerce, said the small business working capital grant was greatly “oversubscribed.”“We recognize there is a 
lot of unmet need out there for some of these programs,” North said. “We
 are not thrilled to tell 4,000 business no, but if there are additional
 funds over the next few weeks as pending grants process, we do have a 
list of those who were unsuccessful, so they are in a position to fairly
 rapidly work that list.”Small business support was
 among the top priorities the task force identified during previous 
meetings for CARES Act funding allocation.Neelima Parasker, 
president and CEO of SnapIT Solution in Overland Park, said given the 
consensus that small businesses aid is of importance, action should be 
taken now with reserve funds.“I think there is a great 
opportunity for us to reconsider providing some of this grant money that
 is on our waitlist to these small businesses,” Parasker said. “When 
these programs opened, the demand was highest in that bucket. I want to 
reemphasize how we can support our small businesses.”Julie Lorenz, executive 
director for the Office of Recovery, said there will be time for the 
State Finance Council to distribute reserve funding to small businesses 
as remaining funds from the first three phases of spending are awarded 
and paid.Through September, about 
$203 million of the total $1.34 billion available to the state in CARES 
Act funding has been awarded and paid out. $293 million has been 
awarded, but not yet paid and nearly $463 million is unawarded or 
planned to be spent soon.In the interest of 
transparency, the Office of Recovery will launch a dashboard on its 
website next week with information about where all CARES Act funding is 
going, Lorenz said.Chuck Mageral, owner of 
Free State Brewing Company in Lawrence, said his business was among the 
4,000 not to receive a small business grant.“I have no doubt that we 
would be able to quickly meet any timeframe that has been part of this 
program, and that money would not come back on the state if we receive 
those funds,” Mageral said. “Let’s do everything we can to buttress up 
that small business need. We have the opportunity to do it. We just need
 to make it happen.”

Kan. small businesses still in need after depletion of CARES Act aid

TOPEKA— The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Kansas increased by 1,774 to a total of 76,230 the state health department reported Friday afternoon.&nbsp;

Coronavirus deaths were reported at 975, an increase of 23.

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

TOPEKA— The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Kansas increased by 1,774 to a total of 76,230 the state health department reported Friday afternoon.&nbsp;Coronavirus deaths were reported at 975, an increase of 23.<a href="https://www.coronavirus.kdheks.gov/160/COVID-19-in-Kansas">Click here&nbsp;</a>for additional numbers from the KDHE.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/10/1603472813108.png" alt="Friday Oct. 23, 2020 KDHE image" />
 <figcaption>Friday Oct. 23, 2020 KDHE image</figcaption>
 </figure>

KDHE: Latest coronavirus numbers in Kansas

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Democrat Barbara Bollier said Thursday that she wouldn’t support adding additional justices to the U.S. Supreme Court or vote for Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden’s plan to raise taxes on high-income earners if she’s elected to Kansas’ open U.S. Senate seat.

Bollier made the comments during a televised debate with Republican nominee Roger Marshall as he described her as too extreme for their GOP-leaning state. Bollier is a state senator and former lifelong moderate Republican who switched parties at the end of 2018, and Marshall is a two-term congressman representing central and western Kansas.

Marshall and other Republicans have been trying to undercut Bollier’s pitch to voters that she is a sensible centrist by saying her election would help Democrats recapture a Senate majority and she’d vote with the party’s liberals.

Some liberals want to add additional justices to the U.S. Supreme Court because conservative Judge Amy Coney Barrett’s likely confirmation would give conservatives a 6-3 majority.

“The Supreme Court should not be politicized, and I have no interest in expanding the number of judges on the court,” Bollier said.

Marshall strongly supports Barrett’s appointment and said Bollier’s fellow Democrats are “extreme” in favoring “packing” the court.

Bollier said she opposes Biden’s plan to increase taxes on people earning more than $400,000 a year. She also said she would keep increases in standard income tax deductions that were part of tax legislation championed by President Donald Trump — after struggling initially to remember the policy and saying, “I’m blanking.” Marshall praised the Trump tax cuts.

Marshall also pressed Bollier aggressively on gun rights, saying she favors confiscating firearms. Bollier said he was misrepresenting her views, but he pointed to recordings of comments she made Oct. 3 at a Kansas City-area event in which she praised a 1990s Australian law passed after a mass shooting that forced the owners of 700,000 guns to sell them to the government.

The congressman, a strong abortion opponent, criticized Bollier as “extreme on this issue” because of her strong support of abortion rights.

“She believes in abortion at any time, and I assume that she would even use federal funds for abortion as well,” Marshall said after Bollier said she trusts women to make their own decisions.

Bollier didn’t have a chance during the debate to reply to Marshall’s comments. After the debate, Bollier spokeswoman Alexandra De Luca noted that federal law generally bars U.S. government funding for most abortions and later texted, “She would not vote for that.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/10/1603449511714.png" alt="Bollier with Republican nominee Roger Marshall&nbsp; during Thursday's debate -photo courtesy KWCH" />
 <figcaption>Bollier with Republican nominee Roger Marshall&nbsp; during Thursday's debate -photo courtesy KWCH</figcaption>
 </figure>TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Democrat Barbara Bollier said Thursday that she wouldn’t support adding additional justices to the U.S. Supreme Court or vote for Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden’s plan to raise taxes on high-income earners if she’s elected to Kansas’ open U.S. Senate seat.Bollier made the comments during a televised debate with Republican nominee Roger Marshall as he described her as too extreme for their GOP-leaning state. Bollier is a state senator and former lifelong moderate Republican who switched parties at the end of 2018, and Marshall is a two-term congressman representing central and western Kansas.Marshall and other Republicans have been trying to undercut Bollier’s pitch to voters that she is a sensible centrist by saying her election would help Democrats recapture a Senate majority and she’d vote with the party’s liberals.Some liberals want to add additional justices to the U.S. Supreme Court because conservative Judge Amy Coney Barrett’s likely confirmation would give conservatives a 6-3 majority.“The Supreme Court should not be politicized, and I have no interest in expanding the number of judges on the court,” Bollier said.Marshall strongly supports Barrett’s appointment and said Bollier’s fellow Democrats are “extreme” in favoring “packing” the court.Bollier said she opposes Biden’s plan to increase taxes on people earning more than $400,000 a year. She also said she would keep increases in standard income tax deductions that were part of tax legislation championed by President Donald Trump — after struggling initially to remember the policy and saying, “I’m blanking.” Marshall praised the Trump tax cuts.Marshall also pressed Bollier aggressively on gun rights, saying she favors confiscating firearms. Bollier said he was misrepresenting her views, but he pointed to recordings of comments she made Oct. 3 at a Kansas City-area event in which she praised a 1990s Australian law passed after a mass shooting that forced the owners of 700,000 guns to sell them to the government.The congressman, a strong abortion opponent, criticized Bollier as “extreme on this issue” because of her strong support of abortion rights.“She believes in abortion at any time, and I assume that she would even use federal funds for abortion as well,” Marshall said after Bollier said she trusts women to make their own decisions.Bollier didn’t have a chance during the debate to reply to Marshall’s comments. After the debate, Bollier spokeswoman Alexandra De Luca noted that federal law generally bars U.S. government funding for most abortions and later texted, “She would not vote for that.”___

Bollier says she opposes expanding court in Senate debate

BARTON COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a violent attack on a woman in Great Bend and have made an arrest.

On October 19, the Barton County Sheriff’s Office became aware of an alleged battery and rape case that occurred October 17, in the southeast part of Great Bend and involved a 42-year-old woman, according to Sheriff Brian Bellendir. The victim did not report the alleged crime until October 19.

After conducting numerous interviews and follow-up investigations, detectives identified a suspect as Tanner J. Cox&nbsp; 32, of Hoisington.

Just after midnight Friday, deputies arrested Cox in a business parking lot on E. 10th Street in Great Bend

&nbsp;He is being held on requested charges of attempted murder in the 2nd degree, rape and violation of a protective order. Cox is being held in lieu of a $500,000 bond, according to Bellendir.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/10/1603466955064.png" alt="Cox-photo Barton Co." />
 <figcaption>Cox-photo Barton Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>BARTON COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a violent attack on a woman in Great Bend and have made an arrest.On October 19, the Barton County Sheriff’s Office became aware of an alleged battery and rape case that occurred October 17, in the southeast part of Great Bend and involved a 42-year-old woman, according to Sheriff Brian Bellendir. The victim did not report the alleged crime until October 19.After conducting numerous interviews and follow-up investigations, detectives identified a suspect as Tanner J. Cox&nbsp; 32, of Hoisington.Just after midnight Friday, deputies arrested Cox in a business parking lot on E. 10th Street in Great Bend&nbsp;He is being held on requested charges of attempted murder in the 2nd degree, rape and violation of a protective order. Cox is being held in lieu of a $500,000 bond, according to Bellendir.

Sheriff: Kan. man arrested for alleged violent attack on woman

WICHITA— Pope Francis has become the first pontiff to endorse same-sex civil unions. The comments drew cheers from gay Catholics and demands for clarification from conservatives, given the Vatican’s official teaching on the issue.

Bishop Carl Kemme of the Catholic Diocese of Wichita issued a statement on the Diocese website regarding Pope Francis' remarks.&nbsp;

"As reported October 21, 2020, Pope Francis is being reported to have expressed support of same-sex civil unions in a documentary entitled “Francesco,” in order to express pastoral concern for individuals and groups who experience discrimination as a result of sexual orientation. 

I have not seen that documentary nor the full text of what Pope Francis reportedly said and in the absence of clarification from the Vatican, I encourage the people of God to prayerful serenity. 

While the Pope’s comments may engender a certain degree of alarm and confusion, it is good to &nbsp;point our attention to the Catechism of the Catholic Church which clearly proclaims that marriage is between one man and one woman, as indicated by natural law and biblical truth. 

The Pope is not altering doctrine, nor is he legitimizing homosexual acts, which also the Catechism teaches are gravely sinful. I believe that Pope Francis is reminding us of the respect and dignity all people deserve, including those with same sex attraction."

Bishop&nbsp;Gerald Vincke of Salina Diocese <a href="https://salinadiocese.org/news-and-updates/statement-on-pope-francis-comments-on-same-sex-civil-unions/">issued a similar statement.</a>&nbsp; The Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph did not <a href="https://kcsjcatholic.org/2020/10/francis-comments/">issue a statement </a>except to write on their web site, "We are aware of Pope Francis’ recent comments on same-sex civil unions. Since the comments were in the context of a documentary and not in the form of expressing an official teaching of the Catholic Church, we will await an official response and clarification from the Vatican before offering further comment from the diocese."

The Pope's remarks came in the documentary which premiered at the Rome Film Festival. In the documentary, the pope says: “Homosexual people have the right to be in a family. 

They are children of God." Francis says a civil union law is needed because "that way they are legally covered.” While archbishop of Buenos Aires, Francis endorsed civil unions for gay couples as an alternative to same-sex marriages but had never come out publicly in favor of civil unions as pope.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/11/1573140970645.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>WICHITA— Pope Francis has become the first pontiff to endorse same-sex civil unions. The comments drew cheers from gay Catholics and demands for clarification from conservatives, given the Vatican’s official teaching on the issue.Bishop Carl Kemme of the Catholic Diocese of Wichita issued a statement on the Diocese website regarding Pope Francis' remarks.&nbsp;"As reported October 21, 2020, Pope Francis is being reported to have expressed support of same-sex civil unions in a documentary entitled “Francesco,” in order to express pastoral concern for individuals and groups who experience discrimination as a result of sexual orientation. I have not seen that documentary nor the full text of what Pope Francis reportedly said and in the absence of clarification from the Vatican, I encourage the people of God to prayerful serenity. While the Pope’s comments may engender a certain degree of alarm and confusion, it is good to &nbsp;point our attention to the Catechism of the Catholic Church which clearly proclaims that marriage is between one man and one woman, as indicated by natural law and biblical truth. The Pope is not altering doctrine, nor is he legitimizing homosexual acts, which also the Catechism teaches are gravely sinful. I believe that Pope Francis is reminding us of the respect and dignity all people deserve, including those with same sex attraction."Bishop&nbsp;Gerald Vincke of Salina Diocese <a href="https://salinadiocese.org/news-and-updates/statement-on-pope-francis-comments-on-same-sex-civil-unions/">issued a similar statement.</a>&nbsp; The Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph did not <a href="https://kcsjcatholic.org/2020/10/francis-comments/">issue a statement </a>except to write on their web site, "We are aware of Pope Francis’ recent comments on same-sex civil unions. Since the comments were in the context of a documentary and not in the form of expressing an official teaching of the Catholic Church, we will await an official response and clarification from the Vatican before offering further comment from the diocese."The Pope's remarks came in the documentary which premiered at the Rome Film Festival. In the documentary, the pope says: “Homosexual people have the right to be in a family. They are children of God." Francis says a civil union law is needed because "that way they are legally covered.” While archbishop of Buenos Aires, Francis endorsed civil unions for gay couples as an alternative to same-sex marriages but had never come out publicly in favor of civil unions as pope.

Kan. Bishops respond to Pope's same-sex civil union comments

MISSION, Kan. (AP) — Kansas’ coronavirus case count continued to climb, even as one GOP lawmaker pushed back against Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s call for a statewide mask mandate.

“I’ve stated all along, and still believe, a one-size-fits-all COVID solution doesn’t work for our diverse state,” Kansas Senate President Susan Wagle, a Wichita Republican, said Thursday in a written statement. “Local leaders have done a great job in dictating local responses after public hearings and discussions with their constituents.”

More than 90 of the state’s 105 counties have opted out of the current mask order. That’s why Kelly&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/virus-outbreak-topeka-phil-griffin-kansas-1d391dc693eed0754c33ab83624dad8b">said</a>&nbsp;Wednesday that she plans to speak with House and Senate leadership to work toward a bipartisan mask requirement with more teeth.

Her announcement came as the seven-day rolling average of the positivity rate in Kansas rose from 15.04% on Oct. 7 to 20.64% on Wednesday, according to data from The COVID Tracking Project. The seven-day average for new cases also set another record of 757 on Wednesday. And from Monday to Wednesday, the state also added 80 more COVID-19-related deaths, most of them stemming from a review of death certificates, bringing the state’s fatality toll to 952.

“Yes, Kansas has been experiencing an increase in cases recently, specifically in the rural parts of our state,” said Kristi Zears, a spokeswoman for the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, in an email. “It’s more important now than ever to wear masks, continue to practice social distancing, stay home when sick and avoid large groups of people.”

But many lawmakers are resistant to imposing statewide restrictions, wanting the decisions left to local officials. Kelly said during a news conference that there would be legislative challenges but that the research was clear: masks work.

“People don’t have time for us to wait around for an election to be over with,” Kelly said. “We need to start these conversations. We need to come to a resolution as soon as we can. We know we have a problem, and that’s why we need a solution.”

Even in Wichita, the state’s largest city, restrictions have been weakened. An ordinance there requiring protective face masks was quietly allowed to expire by the City Council this week. That means control over masks now shifts to Sedgwick County. The county commission has twice rejected mask orders from Kelly, though orders from county health officer have been allowed to stay in place.

But police cannot write tickets for violations of the county’s public health order, as they could under the city’s stronger ordinance. The county version can only be enforced through the lengthy procedure of filing a civil lawsuit and obtaining a court order, The Wichita Eagle&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kansas.com/news/coronavirus/article246562573.html" target="_blank">reports</a>.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/9/1599772905858.png" alt="Governor Laura Kelly wears a mask to a press conference in August." />
 <figcaption>Governor Laura Kelly wears a mask to a press conference in August.</figcaption>
 </figure>MISSION, Kan. (AP) — Kansas’ coronavirus case count continued to climb, even as one GOP lawmaker pushed back against Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s call for a statewide mask mandate.“I’ve stated all along, and still believe, a one-size-fits-all COVID solution doesn’t work for our diverse state,” Kansas Senate President Susan Wagle, a Wichita Republican, said Thursday in a written statement. “Local leaders have done a great job in dictating local responses after public hearings and discussions with their constituents.”More than 90 of the state’s 105 counties have opted out of the current mask order. That’s why Kelly&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/virus-outbreak-topeka-phil-griffin-kansas-1d391dc693eed0754c33ab83624dad8b">said</a>&nbsp;Wednesday that she plans to speak with House and Senate leadership to work toward a bipartisan mask requirement with more teeth.Her announcement came as the seven-day rolling average of the positivity rate in Kansas rose from 15.04% on Oct. 7 to 20.64% on Wednesday, according to data from The COVID Tracking Project. The seven-day average for new cases also set another record of 757 on Wednesday. And from Monday to Wednesday, the state also added 80 more COVID-19-related deaths, most of them stemming from a review of death certificates, bringing the state’s fatality toll to 952.“Yes, Kansas has been experiencing an increase in cases recently, specifically in the rural parts of our state,” said Kristi Zears, a spokeswoman for the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, in an email. “It’s more important now than ever to wear masks, continue to practice social distancing, stay home when sick and avoid large groups of people.”But many lawmakers are resistant to imposing statewide restrictions, wanting the decisions left to local officials. Kelly said during a news conference that there would be legislative challenges but that the research was clear: masks work.“People don’t have time for us to wait around for an election to be over with,” Kelly said. “We need to start these conversations. We need to come to a resolution as soon as we can. We know we have a problem, and that’s why we need a solution.”Even in Wichita, the state’s largest city, restrictions have been weakened. An ordinance there requiring protective face masks was quietly allowed to expire by the City Council this week. That means control over masks now shifts to Sedgwick County. The county commission has twice rejected mask orders from Kelly, though orders from county health officer have been allowed to stay in place.But police cannot write tickets for violations of the county’s public health order, as they could under the city’s stronger ordinance. The county version can only be enforced through the lengthy procedure of filing a civil lawsuit and obtaining a court order, The Wichita Eagle&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kansas.com/news/coronavirus/article246562573.html" target="_blank">reports</a>.

Officials prepare to faceoff over masks as Kansas cases rise

<a href="https://www.c-span.org/debates/?debate=second#past-debates">Click here </a>to watch a replay of the debate&nbsp;

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden fought over how to tame&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/virus-outbreak">the raging coronavirus</a>&nbsp;during the campaign’s closing debate, largely shelving the rancor that overshadowed their previous face-off in favor of a more substantive exchange that highlighted their vastly different approaches to the major domestic and foreign challenges facing the nation.

The Republican president declared the virus, which&nbsp;<a href="https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html" target="_blank">killed more than 1,000 Americans on Thursday</a>&nbsp;alone, will “go away.” Biden countered that the nation was heading toward “a dark winter.”

“Anyone who is responsible for that many deaths should not remain as president of the United States of America,” Biden said.

With less than two weeks until the election, Trump portrayed himself as the same outsider he first pitched to voters four years ago, repeatedly saying he wasn’t a politician. Biden, meanwhile, argued that Trump was an incompetent leader of a country facing multiple crises and tried to connect what he saw as the president’s failures to the everyday lives of Americans, especially when it comes to the pandemic.

The president, who promised a vaccine within weeks, said the worst problems are in states with Democratic governors, a contention at odds with rising cases in states that voted for Trump in 2016. Biden, meanwhile, vowed that his administration would defer to scientists on battling the pandemic and said that Trump’s divisive approach on suffering states hindered the nation’s response.

“I don’t look at this in terms of the way he does — blue states and red states,” Biden said. “They’re all the United States. And look at all the states that are having such a spike in the coronavirus — they’re the red states.”

After&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-joe-biden-race-and-ethnicity-virus-outbreak-donald-trump-d8dd75752a0eef8c0311c6360d5d566a">a first debate defined by angry interruptions</a>, the Thursday event featured a mostly milder tone. And in a campaign defined by ugly personal attacks, the night featured a surprising amount of substantive policy debate as the two broke sharply on the environment, foreign policy, immigration and racial justice.

When Trump repeatedly asked Biden if he would “close down the oil industry,” the Democratic standardbearer said he “would transition from the oil industry, yes,” and that he would replace it by renewable energy “over time.” Trump, making a direct appeal to voters in energy producing states like Texas and the vital battleground of Pennsylvania, seized upon the remark as “a big statement.”

Perhaps sensing that the comment could soon appear in Trump campaign ads, Biden did a little clean-up boarding his plane after the debate, declaring, “We’re not going to ban fossil fuels. We’ll get rid of the subsidies of fossil fuels but not going to get rid of fossil fuels for a long time.”

As the debate swept to climate change, Trump explained his decision to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/0cafd1e56b124f5b9cf17ace7031d6d0">pull the U.S. out of the Paris climate accord</a>&nbsp;negotiated in 2015, declaring it was an unfair pact that would have cost the country trillions of dollars and hurt businesses.

Trump repeatedly claimed Biden’s plan to tackle climate change and invest in green industries was developed by “AOC plus three,” referring to New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Biden chuckled during much of Trump’s answer and said, “I don’t know where he comes from.”

On race, Biden called out Trump’s previous&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-virus-outbreak-race-and-ethnicity-joe-biden-donald-trump-3f4d31aed98ca5080fb428d7cdc0c223">refusals to condemn white supremacists</a>&nbsp;and his attacks on the Black Lives Matter movement, declaring that the president “pours fuel on every single racist fire.”

“You know who I am. You know who he is. You know his character. You know my character,” Biden said. The rivals’ reputations for “honor and for telling to truth” are clear, he said.

Trump countered by pointing out&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/b59668424ae246bca00107943361ba79">his efforts on criminal justice reform</a>&nbsp;and blasting Biden’s support of a 1990s Crime Bill that many feel disproportionately incarcerated Black men. Staring into the crowd, he declared himself “the least racist person in this room.”

Turning to foreign policy, Biden accused Trump of dealing with a “thug” while holding summits with the leader of North Korea, Kim Jong Un. And closer to home, the former vice president laced into the Trump administration’s policy of separating children from their parents trying to illegally cross the southern border.

Biden said that America has learned from a New York Times report that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/archive-personal-taxes-donald-trump-f0e2af5f9f99de9d30dc6b9097121188">Trump paid only $750 a year in federal taxes</a>&nbsp;while holding&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-tax-records-china-f086bba3b691acdc51535412f77f2c8e">“a secret bank account” in China</a>. The former vice president then noted he’s released all of his tax returns going back 22 years and challenged the president to release his returns, saying, “What are you hiding?”

Trump said he closed his former account in China and claimed his accountants told him he “prepaid tens of millions of dollars” in taxes. However, as he has for the past four years after promising to release his taxes, he declined to say when he might do so.

Trump said that when it comes to health care, he would like “to terminate” the Obama-era Affordable Care Act, even amid a pandemic, and come up “with a brand new beautiful health care,” that protects coverage for preexisting conditions. Biden said the president has been talking about making such a move for years but “he’s never come up with a plan.”

He also denounced Trump’s claim that Biden wanted to socialize medicine, creating daylight between himself and the more liberal members of his party whom he defeated in the Democratic primaries.

“He thinks he’s running against somebody else,” the former vice president said. “He’s running against Joe Biden. I beat all those other people because I disagreed with them.”

It remained to be seen if Trump, who is trailing in the race, managed to change the trajectory of the campaign. More than 47 million votes already have been cast, and there are fewer undecided voters than at this point in previous election years.

The debate, moderated by NBC’s Kristen Welker, was a final chance for each man to make his case to a television audience of tens of millions. And questions swirled beforehand as to how Trump, whose hectoring performance at the first debate was viewed by aides as a mistake that turned off viewers, would perform amid a stretch of the campaign in which he has taken angry aim at the news media and unleashed deeply personal attacks on Biden and his adult son.

When he feels cornered, Trump has often lashed out, going as negative as possible. In one stunning moment during the 2016 campaign, in an effort to deflect from&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/5906910b70224c62b8013100d8749d3e">the release of the “Access Hollywood” tape</a>&nbsp;in which he is heard boasting about groping women, Trump held a press conference just before a debate with Hillary Clinton during which he appeared with women who had accused Bill Clinton of sexual assault. He then invited them to watch as audience members.

In a similar move, Trump’s campaign held another surprise pre-debate news conference, this time featuring Tony Bobulinski, a man who said he was Hunter Biden’s former business partner and made unproven allegations that the vice president’s son consulted with his father on China-related business dealings.

Trump made similar, if vague, accusations from the debate stage, but exchanges about Hunter Biden did not dominate the night as aides on both campaigns thought might happen. Biden declared the discussion about family entanglements “malarkey” and accused Trump of not wanting to talk about the substantive issues.

Turning to the camera and the millions of people watching at home, Biden said, “It’s not about his family and my family. It’s about your family, and your family is hurting badly.”

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden offered sharply different visions of how to handle the surging pandemic and fought over how much Trump pays in taxes during their final debate of a tumultuous campaign.

With Trump trailing and needing to change the campaign’s trajectory, the debate could prove pivotal though more than 46 million votes already have been cast and there are fewer undecided voters than at this point in previous election years. The the debate did not feature the repeated angry interruptions of the candidates’ other showdown, the men engaged in a series of clashes.

With two weeks until the election’s conclusion, the night in Nashville began with a battle over the president’s handling of the pandemic, which has killed more than 225,000 Americans and cost millions of jobs. Trump declared that the virus will go away while Biden warned that the nation was heading toward “a dark winter.” Polling suggests it is the campaign’s defining issue for voters, and Biden declared, “Anyone responsible for that many deaths should not remain president of the United States of America.”

Trump defended his management of the nation’s most deadly health crisis in a century, dismissing Biden’s warning that the nation had a dire stretch ahead due to spikes in infections. And he promised that a vaccine would be ready in weeks.

“It will go away,” said Trump, staying with his optimistic assessment of the pandemic. “We’re rounding the turn. We’re rounding the corner. It’s going away.”

“We can’t keep this country closed. This is a massive country with a massive economy,” Trump said. “There’s depression, alcohol, drugs at a level nobody’s ever seen before. The cure cannot be worse than the problem itself.”

But Biden vowed that his administration would defer to the scientists and said that Trump’s divisive approach hindered the nation’s response.

“I don’t look at this in the way he does--blue states and red states,” Biden said. “They’re all the United States. And look at all the states that are having a spike in he coronavirus--they’re the red states.”

Biden said that America has learned from a New York Times report that Trump only paid $750 a year in federal taxes while holding “a secret bank account” in China. The former vice president then noted he’s released all of his tax returns going back 22 years and challenged the president to release his returns, saying, “What are you hiding?”

Trump claimed his accountants told him he “prepaid tens of millions of dollars” in taxes. However, as he has for the past four years, after promising to release his taxes, he declined to say when he might do so.

In a visual reminder of the pandemic that has rewritten the norms of American society and fundamentally changed the campaign,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-joe-biden-donald-trump-virus-outbreak-nashville-ec5be595b624d894d1d5d8b2c5eb062e">sheets of plexiglass had been installed onstage Wednesday</a>&nbsp;between the two men. But in the hours before the debate, they were removed.

The debate, moderated by NBC’s Kristen Welker, was a final chance for each man to make his case to a television audience of tens of millions of voters. And questions swirled beforehand as to how Trump, whose hectoring performance at the first debate was viewed by aides as a mistake that turned off viewers, would perform amid a stretch of the campaign in which he has taken angry aim at the news media and unleashed deeply personal attacks on Biden and his adult son.

When he feels cornered, Trump has often lashed out, going as negative as possible. In one stunning moment during the 2016 campaign, in an effort to deflect from the release of the Access Hollywood tape in which he is heard boasting about groping women, Trump held a press conference just before a debate with Hillary Clinton during which he appeared with women who had accused Bill Clinton of sexual assault. He then invited them to watch as audience members.

Biden declared the discussion about family entanglements “malarkey” and accused Trump of not wanting to talk about the substantive issues.

Turning to the camera and the millions watching at home, he said, “It’s not about his family and my family. It’s about your family, and your family is hurting badly.”

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden hurtled toward Thursday night’s final debate, which could be the trailing incumbent’s best chance to change the race’s trajectory with just 12 days left until the election.

The Nashville debate offered their final national stage to outline starkly different visions for a country in the grips of a surging pandemic that has killed more than 225,000 Americans and cost millions of jobs. Despite historic tumult, the race has remained largely unchanged with Biden holding advantages in many battleground states while Trump faces a shortage of campaign cash and, crucially, time.

Worried that Trump could lose the White House and cost Republicans the Senate, some advisers urged him to trade his aggressive demeanor from the first debate for a lower-key style and put the spotlight on Biden, whom he derides as “Sleepy Joe.” But Trump made no such promise.

Biden,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/barack-obama-joe-biden-campaign-event-d66623baa009686300d3ba7e1ae05df8">who has stepped off the campaign trail</a>&nbsp;for several days in favor of debate prep, expects Trump to get intensely personal. The former vice president and his inner circle&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-joe-biden-donald-trump-virus-outbreak-elections-7cf6f0889ec03a2fa858eb2f46fd47d1">see the president’s approach chiefly as an effort to distract&nbsp;</a>from the coronavirus, its economic fallout and other crises of Trump’s term.

“Hopefully he’ll play by the rules,” Biden said as he boarded his plane for Tennessee. “I’m looking forward to this.”

Final debates often play an outsized role in electoral outcomes. But Thursday night’s showdown will be different from those past.

More than 46 million people have already cast their ballots as part of a pandemic-era rise in early voting. In an election dominated by a polarizing president, far fewer undecided voters remain than at this point in 2016.

The debate, moderated by NBC’s Kristen Welker, is a final chance for each man to make his case to a television audience of tens of millions of voters. And questions swirled as to how Trump, whose hectoring performance at the first debate was viewed by aides as a mistake that turned off viewers, would perform amid a stretch of the campaign in which he has taken angry aim at the news media and unleashed deeply personal attacks on Biden and his adult son.

In an effort to curtail interruptions this time, the Commission on Presidential Debates announced that Trump and Biden would each have his microphone cut off while his rival delivered an opening two-minute answer to each of six debate topics.

The mute button won’t figure in the open discussion portion of the debate.

Trump — who has urged Attorney General William Barr to investigate the Bidens — has been promoting an unconfirmed New York Post report from last week that cites an email in which an official from the Ukrainian gas company Burisma apparently thanks Hunter Biden, who served on the company’s board, for arranging for him to meet Joe Biden during a 2015 visit to Washington. The Biden campaign has rejected Trump’s assertion of wrongdoing and notes that Biden’s schedule did not show a meeting with the Burisma official.

As for the pandemic, Biden and Trump were both tested for COVID-19 on Thursday and the results came back negative.

Trump announced just two days after the first debate that he had tested positive for the virus. He spent three nights in Walter Reed National Military Medical Center before returning to the White House.

The initial debate’s belligerent tone was somehow fitting for what has been an extraordinarily ugly campaign. Amid heated clashes over the pandemic,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-donald-trump-virus-outbreak-senate-elections-boycotts-de2972aa47e2eb081178389f818e6cff">the Supreme Court</a>&nbsp;and the integrity of the election itself, Trump refused to condemn white supremacists who have supported him, telling one such group known as the Proud Boys to “stand back and stand by.”

After Trump’s COVID diagnosis, the debate commission ruled that the second debate, which was to have been held last week, be virtual. Trump balked, and the two men holding dueling town halls instead, speaking at the same time more than 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) apart.

Biden could also expect questions about his comments in a CBS interview, released Thursday, in which he wouldn’t rule out trying to add justices to the Supreme Court. The issue has followed him since the Sept. 18 death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and the GOP-controlled Senate’s rush to confirm Trump’s nominee to succeed her, Judge Amy Coney Barrett.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — While millions of people will be watching on television, only around 200 will be allowed inside the massive college arena in Nashville where President Donald Trump and his Democratic challenger, Joe Biden, meet Thursday night for the final presidential debate of the 2020 election.

A representative of the Commission on Presidential Debates — not the moderator — will ensure each candidate has two full minutes uninterrupted to deliver opening answers to six major topics, according to debate commission chair Frank Fahrenkopf. A member of the Trump and Biden campaigns is expected to monitor the person who controls the mute button backstage, Fahrenkopf said, noting that the button would not be used beyond the first four minutes of each topic.

The mute button is among a handful of changes implemented by the nonpartisan debate commission to help ensure a better sense of safety and order following the raucous opening debate 23 days ago. Trump was diagnosed with COVID-19 two days after that first meeting.

Trump and Biden will be separated on stage by plexiglass barriers — despite objections from the Trump campaign. Additionally, any audience member who refuses to wear a mask will be removed, organizers report. Last month, several members of the Trump family removed their masks once seated in the debate hall.

The plexiglass alone is not enough to protect the candidates from the coronavirus, but the barrier combined with universal mask usage from the other people in the hall will help, said Fahrenkopf, acknowledging that the Trump campaign opposed the use of plexiglass for Thursday’s event, just as they did ahead of last week’s vice presidential debate.

“The Trump campaign’s attitude was that the president was not contagious anymore, but we’re going to go with our medical advisers,” he said.

The primetime affair is playing out inside a 90,000-square-foot arena at Belmont University, a picturesque institution of more than 8,200 students just a mile from Nashville’s music row. The university also hosted a town hall-style debate between Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain in 2008.

There will be a far smaller audience this time around.

The debate commission says that only around 200 people will be inside the arena, a mix of invited guests of the campaigns and the debate commission, students, the commission’s production team, security, and health and safety personnel. Audience members will be seated in accordance with social distancing recommendations; several empty seats separated each person or small group.T

All audience members and support staff were required to undergo coronavirus testing onsite within three days of the event. They wore colored wrist bands as evidence of their negative tests.

There were several layers of security protecting the attendees, but only a handful of protesters on campus beyond the security perimeter early in the day. One of them held a large white sign: “220,000 DEAD... Trump FAILED US.”

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — President Donald Trump and his Democratic challenger, Joe Biden, are set to square off in their final debate Thursday, one of the last high-profile opportunities for the trailing incumbent to change the trajectory of an increasingly contentious campaign.

Worried about losing the White House, some advisers are urging Trump to trade his aggressive demeanor from the first debate for a lower-key style that puts Biden more squarely in the spotlight. But it’s unclear whether the president will listen.

Biden,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/barack-obama-joe-biden-campaign-event-d66623baa009686300d3ba7e1ae05df8">who has stepped off the campaign trail</a>&nbsp;in favor of debate prep, expects Trump to get intensely personal. The former vice president and his inner circle&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-joe-biden-donald-trump-virus-outbreak-elections-7cf6f0889ec03a2fa858eb2f46fd47d1">see the president’s approach chiefly as an effort to distract&nbsp;</a>from the coronavirus, its economic fallout and other crises.

With less than two weeks until Election Day, Biden is leading most national polls and has a narrower advantage in the battleground states that could decide the race. More than 42 million people have already cast their ballots. The debate, moderated by NBC’s Kristen Welker, is a final chance for both men to make their case to a television audience of tens of millions of voters.

“The rule is that last debates before the election have a big impact,” said presidential historian Michael Beschloss, who made clear the legacy of the candidates’ first faceoff: “That was the most out-of-control presidential debate we have seen.”

Trump, who staged a remarkable comeback in the closing days of the 2016 campaign, believes he can do it again by using the power of the presidency to attack his rival.

Trump on Tuesday&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-donald-trump-russia-elections-voting-fraud-and-irregularities-c0c78784bdf639013fcf453817b27816">called on Attorney General William Barr to immediately launch an investigation</a>&nbsp;into unverified claims about Biden and his son Hunter, effectively demanding that the Justice Department muddy his political opponent and abandon its historic resistance to getting involved in elections.

The president has promoted an unconfirmed New York Post report published last week that cites an email in which an official from Ukrainian gas company Burisma thanked Hunter Biden, who served on the company’s board, for arranging for him to meet Joe Biden during a 2015 visit to Washington. The Biden campaign has rejected Trump’s assertion of wrongdoing and noted that Biden’s schedule did not show a meeting with the Burisma official.

Some former national security officials and other experts said the episode raised multiple red flags of a possible foreign disinformation effort, especially given the involvement of Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s personal attorney, and Giuliani’s active role in promoting an anti-Biden narrative on Ukraine.

But John Ratcliffe, the director of national intelligence, dismissed that disinformation theory. And the FBI appeared to endorse Ratcliffe’s position in a letter to a Senate committee that had requested information on a laptop purportedly belonging to Hunter Biden.

Trump’s attacks on the Biden family have been relentless, including his efforts to get Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden, which led to Trump’s impeachment. It’s part of a determined, yet so-far-unsuccessful effort to drive up his opponent’s negatives, as he did with Hillary Clinton four years ago.

Trump campaign communications director Tim Murtaugh said, “Trump is still the political outsider, while Biden is the ultimate insider. We now know that Biden allowed his son to sell access to him while he was vice president.”

While Biden will defend his own record and his son, aides have said,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-virus-outbreak-joe-biden-donald-trump-erie-013f03e6898f004c306316b0d81cc96f">he hopes to focus on making the case that Trump is unfit for office</a>&nbsp;and let the nation down during a confluence of crises.

“He knows that people want to hear about how we’re going to help working families get through the end of the month and pay the rent,” his running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris, said Wednesday in North Carolina. “That’s what people care about, and one of the things I love about Joe Biden — he doesn’t take on or talk about other people’s kids.”

The one-two punch of the first debate and the president’s three-day hospital stint after contracting COVID-19 rattled his base of support and triggered alarm among Republicans who fear the White House and Senate could be slipping away.

The initial debate was the most tumultuous in modern history, with a belligerent tone that was persistent and somehow fitting for what has been an extraordinarily ugly campaign. Amid heated clashes over the pandemic, the Supreme Court and the integrity of the election itself, Trump refused to condemn white supremacists who have supported him, telling one such group known as the Proud Boys to “stand back and stand by.”

The two men frequently talked over each other with Trump interrupting, nearly shouting, so often that Biden eventually snapped at him, “Will you shut up, man?”

Aides have urged Trump, who has skipped debate prep, to show some restraint this time, allowing Biden to speak more and get himself in trouble with verbal gaffes and lapses. But the president has made no promises.

“Some people think, ‘Let him talk,’ because he loses his train (of thought), he just loses it and he doesn’t speak the train of thought,” Trump said in a town hall discussion taped at the White House Rose Garden and aired by Sinclair Broadcast Group on Wednesday evening. “But we’ll see what happens. I mean, you will have to be there.”

It was two days after the first debate in Cleveland when Trump tested positive for the coronavirus. The White House has refused to reveal when the president had last tested negative before the debate, raising questions as to whether he was already infected when he took the stage.

🎥 Trump, Biden fight over the raging virus, climate and race

PONCA CITY, Okla. (AP) — A magnitude 3.2 earthquake shook an area on the Kansas-Oklahoma line Thursday night. 

The U.S. Geological Survey reported the tremor struck at 8:17 p.m. and was centered in a remote area 22 miles northwest of Ponca City, Oklahoma, at a depth of almost 5 miles. A Kay County, Oklahoa, sheriff's dispatcher said there were no reports of damage. 

Thousands of earthquakes have been recorded in Oklahoma in recent years, with many linked to the underground injection of wastewater from oil and gas production. Regulators have directed producers to close some injection wells

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/10/1603448176447.png" alt="The quake was centered near the state line -USGS image&nbsp;" />
 <figcaption>The quake was centered near the state line -USGS image&nbsp;</figcaption>
 </figure>PONCA CITY, Okla. (AP) — A magnitude 3.2 earthquake shook an area on the Kansas-Oklahoma line Thursday night. The U.S. Geological Survey reported the tremor struck at 8:17 p.m. and was centered in a remote area 22 miles northwest of Ponca City, Oklahoma, at a depth of almost 5 miles. A Kay County, Oklahoa, sheriff's dispatcher said there were no reports of damage. Thousands of earthquakes have been recorded in Oklahoma in recent years, with many linked to the underground injection of wastewater from oil and gas production. Regulators have directed producers to close some injection wells

3.2-magnitude quake rattles area on Kansas-Oklahoma line

WASHINGTON (AP) —U.S. regulators on Thursday approved the first drug to treat COVID-19: remdesivir, an antiviral medicine given to hospitalized patients through an IV.

The drug, which California-based Gilead Sciences Inc. is calling Veklury, cut the time to recovery by five days — from 15 days to 10 on average — in a large study led by the U.S. National Institutes of Health.

It had been authorized for use on an emergency basis since spring, and now becomes the first drug to win full Food and Drug Administration approval for treating COVID-19. President Donald Trump received it when he was sickened earlier this month.

Veklury is approved for people at least 12 years old and weighing at least 88 pounds (40 kilograms) who are hospitalized for a coronavirus infection. For patients younger than 12, the FDA will still allow the drug’s use in certain cases under its previous emergency authorization.

The drug works by inhibiting a substance the virus uses to make copies of itself. Certain kidney and liver tests are required before starting patients on it to ensure it’s safe for them and to monitor for any possible side effects. And the label warns against using it with the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine, because that can curb its effectiveness.

“We now have enough knowledge and a growing set of tools to help fight COVID-19,” Gilead’s chief medical officer, Dr. Merdad Parsey, said in a statement.

The drug is either approved or has temporary authorization in about 50 countries, he noted.

Its price has been controversial, given that no studies have found it improves survival. Last week, a large study led by the World Health Organization found the drug did not help hospitalized COVID-19 patients, but that study did not include a placebo group and was less rigorous than previous ones that found a benefit. The FDA’s approval statement noted that, besides the NIH-led one, two other studies found the drug beneficial.

Gilead charges $2,340 for a typical treatment course for people covered by government health programs in the United States and other developed countries, and $3,120 for patients with private insurance. The amount that patients pay out of pocket depends on insurance, income and other factors.

So far, only steroids such as dexamethasone have been shown to cut the risk of dying of COVID-19. The FDA also has given emergency authorization to using the blood of survivors, and two companies are currently seeking similar authorization for experimental antibody drugs.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/10/1603450089080.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) —U.S. regulators on Thursday approved the first drug to treat COVID-19: remdesivir, an antiviral medicine given to hospitalized patients through an IV.The drug, which California-based Gilead Sciences Inc. is calling Veklury, cut the time to recovery by five days — from 15 days to 10 on average — in a large study led by the U.S. National Institutes of Health.It had been authorized for use on an emergency basis since spring, and now becomes the first drug to win full Food and Drug Administration approval for treating COVID-19. President Donald Trump received it when he was sickened earlier this month.Veklury is approved for people at least 12 years old and weighing at least 88 pounds (40 kilograms) who are hospitalized for a coronavirus infection. For patients younger than 12, the FDA will still allow the drug’s use in certain cases under its previous emergency authorization.The drug works by inhibiting a substance the virus uses to make copies of itself. Certain kidney and liver tests are required before starting patients on it to ensure it’s safe for them and to monitor for any possible side effects. And the label warns against using it with the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine, because that can curb its effectiveness.“We now have enough knowledge and a growing set of tools to help fight COVID-19,” Gilead’s chief medical officer, Dr. Merdad Parsey, said in a statement.The drug is either approved or has temporary authorization in about 50 countries, he noted.Its price has been controversial, given that no studies have found it improves survival. Last week, a large study led by the World Health Organization found the drug did not help hospitalized COVID-19 patients, but that study did not include a placebo group and was less rigorous than previous ones that found a benefit. The FDA’s approval statement noted that, besides the NIH-led one, two other studies found the drug beneficial.Gilead charges $2,340 for a typical treatment course for people covered by government health programs in the United States and other developed countries, and $3,120 for patients with private insurance. The amount that patients pay out of pocket depends on insurance, income and other factors.So far, only steroids such as dexamethasone have been shown to cut the risk of dying of COVID-19. The FDA also has given emergency authorization to using the blood of survivors, and two companies are currently seeking similar authorization for experimental antibody drugs.___

FDA approves the first drug for treating COVID-19

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) The former president and CEO of Blue Bell Creameries has been charged with wire fraud for allegedly trying to cover up a 2015 listeria outbreak linked to the company’s ice cream that killed three people in Kansas and sickened several others, federal prosecutors announced Wednesday.

A federal grand jury in Austin returned a seven-count indictment charging Paul Kruse with six counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, according to a Justice Department statement.

Health officials notified Blue Bell in February 2015 that two ice cream products from the company’s flagship factory in the central Texas city of Brenham and its Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, plant tested positive for listeria. The bacterium can cause severe illness or even death in vulnerable groups such as pregnant women, newborns, the elderly and the immuno-compromised.

Blue Bell recalled products after its ice cream was linked to 10 listeria cases in four states, including three deaths in Kansas.

Prosecutors allege that Kruse schemed to deceive Blue Bell customers by directing employees to remove potentially contaminated products from store freezers without alerting grocers and consumers as to why. They say he also directed employees to tell customers who asked that there was an unspecified issue with a manufacturing machine. The company did not immediately recall the products or issue a formal warning to customers about potential contamination.

“American consumers trust that the individuals who lead food manufacturing companies will put the public safety before profits,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey Bossert Clark of the Justice Department’s Civil Division.

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) The former president and CEO of Blue Bell Creameries has been charged with wire fraud for allegedly trying to cover up a 2015 listeria outbreak linked to the company’s ice cream that killed three people in Kansas and sickened several others, federal prosecutors announced Wednesday.A federal grand jury in Austin returned a seven-count indictment charging Paul Kruse with six counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, according to a Justice Department statement.Health officials notified Blue Bell in February 2015 that two ice cream products from the company’s flagship factory in the central Texas city of Brenham and its Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, plant tested positive for listeria. The bacterium can cause severe illness or even death in vulnerable groups such as pregnant women, newborns, the elderly and the immuno-compromised.Blue Bell recalled products after its ice cream was linked to 10 listeria cases in four states, including three deaths in Kansas.Prosecutors allege that Kruse schemed to deceive Blue Bell customers by directing employees to remove potentially contaminated products from store freezers without alerting grocers and consumers as to why. They say he also directed employees to tell customers who asked that there was an unspecified issue with a manufacturing machine. The company did not immediately recall the products or issue a formal warning to customers about potential contamination.“American consumers trust that the individuals who lead food manufacturing companies will put the public safety before profits,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey Bossert Clark of the Justice Department’s Civil Division.

New charges in listeria outbreak that killed 3 in Kansas

MISSION, Kan. (AP) — Kansas’ coronavirus positivity rate has climbed above 20%, even as one top GOP lawmaker pushed back against Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s call for a statewide mask mandate to curb the spread of COVID-19.

Her announcement came as the seven-day rolling average of the positivity rate in Kansas rose from 15.04% on Oct. 7 to 20.64% on Wednesday, according to data from The COVID Tracking Project. Only three states fared worse. The seven-day average for new cases also set another record of 757 on Wednesday, with many of the new cases coming from rural parts of the state.

Earlier this month, the state’s top public health official, Dr. Lee Norman, blamed the state’s worsening numbers on residents’ refusal to consistently follow public health guidelines for mask-wearing, social distancing and avoiding large public gatherings.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/10/1603360957118.png" alt="Kansas Governor Laura Kelly puts on her face mask following a press briefing Wednesday in Topeka." />
 <figcaption>Kansas Governor Laura Kelly puts on her face mask following a press briefing Wednesday in Topeka.</figcaption>
 </figure>MISSION, Kan. (AP) — Kansas’ coronavirus positivity rate has climbed above 20%, even as one top GOP lawmaker pushed back against Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s call for a statewide mask mandate to curb the spread of COVID-19.“I’ve stated all along, and still believe, a one-size-fits-all COVID solution doesn’t work for our diverse state,” Kansas Senate President Susan Wagle, a Wichita Republican, said Thursday in a written statement. “Local leaders have done a great job in dictating local responses after public hearings and discussions with their constituents.”More than 90 of the state’s 105 counties have opted out of the current mask order. That’s why Kelly&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/virus-outbreak-topeka-phil-griffin-kansas-1d391dc693eed0754c33ab83624dad8b">said</a>&nbsp;Wednesday that she plans to speak with House and Senate leadership to work toward a bipartisan mask requirement with more teeth.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/10/1603300066901.png" alt="Wednesday Oct. 21, 2020 KDHE image" />
 <figcaption>Wednesday Oct. 21, 2020 KDHE image</figcaption>
 </figure>Her announcement came as the seven-day rolling average of the positivity rate in Kansas rose from 15.04% on Oct. 7 to 20.64% on Wednesday, according to data from The COVID Tracking Project. Only three states fared worse. The seven-day average for new cases also set another record of 757 on Wednesday, with many of the new cases coming from rural parts of the state.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/9/1599689971178.png" alt="KDHE Secretary Dr. Lee Norman during a Sept. press conference in Topeka." />
 <figcaption>KDHE Secretary Dr. Lee Norman during a Sept. press conference in Topeka.</figcaption>
 </figure>Earlier this month, the state’s top public health official, Dr. Lee Norman, blamed the state’s worsening numbers on residents’ refusal to consistently follow public health guidelines for mask-wearing, social distancing and avoiding large public gatherings.But many lawmakers are resistant to imposing statewide restrictions, wanting the decisions left to local officials. Kelly said during a news conference that there would be legislative challenges but that the research was clear: masks work.“People don’t have time for us to wait around for an election to be over with,” Kelly said. “We need to start these conversations. We need to come to a resolution as soon as we can. We know we have a problem, and that’s why we need a solution.”Even in Wichita, the state’s largest city, restrictions have been weakened. An ordinance there requiring protective face masks was quietly allowed to expire by the City Council this week. That means control over masks now shifts to Sedgwick County. The county commission has twice rejected mask orders from Kelly, though orders from county health officer have been allowed to stay in place.But police cannot write tickets for violations of the county’s public health order, as they could under the city’s stronger ordinance. The county version can only be enforced through the lengthy procedure of filing a civil lawsuit and obtaining a court order, The Wichita Eagle&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kansas.com/news/coronavirus/article246562573.html" target="_blank">reports</a>.

Kansas coronavirus positivity rate climbs above 20%

KANSAS CITY(AP) — Health officials are monitoring a nursing facility in Kansas City that has reported three deaths and more than 140 cases of COVID-19 among patients and staff.

Ninety-eight residents and 44 employees have tested positive for COVID-19 at the Garden Valley Healthcare Center, the Kansas City Health Center said Wednesday. The 156-bed skilled nursing facility offers rehabilitation and care for memory problems, Alzheimer’s and other long term care.

State health officials have been requiring regular testing and infection control measures since the outbreak began about Sept. 15, department spokeswoman Michelle Pekarsky said.

Garden Valley has had COVID-19 protocols in place since March, including restricted visits and regular screening of staff, said Fred Stratmann, a spokesman for Garden Valley’s parent company, CommuniCare.

The facility also has an isolation wing for patients who test positive and observation units for those awaiting test results.

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Kansas increased by 1488 to a total of 74,456, the state health department reported Wednesday afternoon.&nbsp;

Statewide, Missouri reported 1,854 more confirmed COVID-19 cases on Thursday, bringing the total to 162,723. The state has reported 2,657 deaths, up 16 from Wednesday.

Prisons in central Missouri are also reporting increases in confirmed cases, with 115 inmates and 42 staff at the Jefferson City Correctional Center as of Wednesday, which is an increase from a total of 51 cases since Oct. 13.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/10/1603391790576.png" alt="Google image" />
 <figcaption>Google image</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY(AP) — Health officials are monitoring a nursing facility in Kansas City that has reported three deaths and more than 140 cases of COVID-19 among patients and staff.Ninety-eight residents and 44 employees have tested positive for COVID-19 at the Garden Valley Healthcare Center, the Kansas City Health Center said Wednesday. The 156-bed skilled nursing facility offers rehabilitation and care for memory problems, Alzheimer’s and other long term care.State health officials have been requiring regular testing and infection control measures since the outbreak began about Sept. 15, department spokeswoman Michelle Pekarsky said.Garden Valley has had COVID-19 protocols in place since March, including restricted visits and regular screening of staff, said Fred Stratmann, a spokesman for Garden Valley’s parent company, CommuniCare.The facility also has an isolation wing for patients who test positive and observation units for those awaiting test results.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/10/1603300066901.png" alt="Wednesday Oct. 21, 2020 KDHE image" />
 <figcaption>Wednesday Oct. 21, 2020 KDHE image</figcaption>
 </figure>The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Kansas increased by 1488 to a total of 74,456, the state health department reported Wednesday afternoon.&nbsp;Statewide, Missouri reported 1,854 more confirmed COVID-19 cases on Thursday, bringing the total to 162,723. The state has reported 2,657 deaths, up 16 from Wednesday.Prisons in central Missouri are also reporting increases in confirmed cases, with 115 inmates and 42 staff at the Jefferson City Correctional Center as of Wednesday, which is an increase from a total of 51 cases since Oct. 13.The growth comes after the state expanded testing after finding more evidence of the coronavirus in wastewater from the prisons in Jefferson City, said Karen Pojmann, a spokeswoman for the state corrections department.The Algoa Correctional Center reported 86 inmates and 24 staff had tested positive as of Wednesday, with another 13 inmates and 11 staff having recovered, according to Missouri Department of Corrections data.The Fulton Reception and Diagnostic Center reported 109 active cases among inmates and 11 staff cases after testing Oct. 13-15, Pojmann said.Two corrections department staff members have died after testing positive for COVID-19 in recent weeks, but Pojmann declined to release any information about them.