KANSAS CITY —The Kansas Highway Patrol shared two examples of how seat belts save lives.

Just after midnight Tuesday morning, Master Trooper Zeller,&nbsp;Kansas Turnpike Authority, arrived at the scene of a crash on Interstate 70 just before 38th Street in the Kansas City area, according to a social media report from the patrol.

The the driver of a pickup lost control of the vehicle. It struck a guardrail, and rolled multiple times landing on its roof in a ditch. The driver&nbsp; walked away to look for help. He had his seatbelt on and it saved his life.

The Patrol also reported a driver on Tuesday was traveling southbound on Interstate 435 near Midland Drive. The driver lost control of the vehicle. It rolled and the driver was kept safe inside the vehicle due to wearing their seatbelt.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/2/1739902427601.png" alt="Photo KHP" />
 <figcaption>Photo KHP</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY —The Kansas Highway Patrol shared two examples of how seat belts save lives.Just after midnight Tuesday morning, Master Trooper Zeller,&nbsp;Kansas Turnpike Authority, arrived at the scene of a crash on Interstate 70 just before 38th Street in the Kansas City area, according to a social media report from the patrol.The the driver of a pickup lost control of the vehicle. It struck a guardrail, and rolled multiple times landing on its roof in a ditch. The driver&nbsp; walked away to look for help. He had his seatbelt on and it saved his life.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/2/1739904867718.png" alt="Photo KHP" />
 <figcaption>Photo KHP</figcaption>
 </figure>The Patrol also reported a driver on Tuesday was traveling southbound on Interstate 435 near Midland Drive. The driver lost control of the vehicle. It rolled and the driver was kept safe inside the vehicle due to wearing their seatbelt.

KHP reminder: Seat belts save lives

BROWN COUNTY —Law enforcement captured a wanted suspect after a chase across two counties.

Just after 7:30p.m. Feb. 14, sheriff's&nbsp;deputies identified a driver of a 2011 Dodge Charger as Andrew Davis.&nbsp; Davis had a Felony Failure to Appear Warrant out of Doniphon County, according to Brown County Sheriff John Merchant.

When the deputy got out of his vehicle to approach Davis, he immediately&nbsp; fled the area hitting&nbsp; an occupied&nbsp; Brown County Deputy's vehicle and&nbsp; nearly striking the approaching officer.&nbsp;&nbsp; 

Brown County Deputies&nbsp; as well as Horton Police pursued Davis east on Highway 73.&nbsp; While nearing Atchison, their police department was&nbsp; successful in deploying stop sticks which disabled one of the tires on the Davis vehicle.&nbsp; 

The pursuit continued east over the Missouri River bridge and continued through Weston and ended on Interstate 70 near 63rd Road in Kansas.&nbsp; At that time, a Kansas Highway Patrol Trooper initiated a TBI Pit Maneuver which pushed the Davis vehicle off of the roadway.&nbsp; 

Davis was arrested and transported to the Brown County Sheriff's office on charges of the $15,000 Doniphon County Felony Falure to Appear Warrant and requested charges of Felony Flee to Elude; Aggravated Assault on a Law Enforcement Officer; Possession of Meth; Possession of Marijuana; Possession of Drug Paraphernalia and Drive While License Cancelled, Suspended or Revoked.

There were&nbsp; no serious injuries reported as a result of the chase and arrest, according to Merchant.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/2/1739909188341.png" alt="Davis photo Brown Co." />
 <figcaption>Davis photo Brown Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>BROWN COUNTY —Law enforcement captured a wanted suspect after a chase across two counties.Just after 7:30p.m. Feb. 14, sheriff's&nbsp;deputies identified a driver of a 2011 Dodge Charger as Andrew Davis.&nbsp; Davis had a Felony Failure to Appear Warrant out of Doniphon County, according to Brown County Sheriff John Merchant.When the deputy got out of his vehicle to approach Davis, he immediately&nbsp; fled the area hitting&nbsp; an occupied&nbsp; Brown County Deputy's vehicle and&nbsp; nearly striking the approaching officer.&nbsp;&nbsp; Brown County Deputies&nbsp; as well as Horton Police pursued Davis east on Highway 73.&nbsp; While nearing Atchison, their police department was&nbsp; successful in deploying stop sticks which disabled one of the tires on the Davis vehicle.&nbsp; The pursuit continued east over the Missouri River bridge and continued through Weston and ended on Interstate 70 near 63rd Road in Kansas.&nbsp; At that time, a Kansas Highway Patrol Trooper initiated a TBI Pit Maneuver which pushed the Davis vehicle off of the roadway.&nbsp; Davis was arrested and transported to the Brown County Sheriff's office on charges of the $15,000 Doniphon County Felony Falure to Appear Warrant and requested charges of Felony Flee to Elude; Aggravated Assault on a Law Enforcement Officer; Possession of Meth; Possession of Marijuana; Possession of Drug Paraphernalia and Drive While License Cancelled, Suspended or Revoked.There were&nbsp; no serious injuries reported as a result of the chase and arrest, according to Merchant.

Suspect rammed Kan. deputy's vehicle before high-speed chase

OSAGE COUNTY– Law enforcement are investigating a suspect on drug allegations. 

Just before 9a.m. Feb. 15, a Sheriff’s Office K-9 unit conducted a traffic stop on I-35 in Osage County for a traffic violation, according to Sheriff Chris Wells.

 During the stop, illegal narcotics were located. Brenda L. Prell, 63, of Hanover was taken into custody and transported to the Osage County Jail Facility on requested charges of&nbsp; Possession of methamphetamine, Possession of marijuana and Possession of drug paraphernalia

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/2/1739746729896.png" alt="Prell photo Osage Co." />
 <figcaption>Prell photo Osage Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>OSAGE COUNTY– Law enforcement are investigating a suspect on drug allegations. Just before 9a.m. Feb. 15, a Sheriff’s Office K-9 unit conducted a traffic stop on I-35 in Osage County for a traffic violation, according to Sheriff Chris Wells. During the stop, illegal narcotics were located. Brenda L. Prell, 63, of Hanover was taken into custody and transported to the Osage County Jail Facility on requested charges of&nbsp; Possession of methamphetamine, Possession of marijuana and Possession of drug paraphernalia

Kansas woman caught transporting meth, marijuana

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a>&nbsp;on Tuesday signed an executive order meant to expand access to and reduce costs of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ivf-vitro-fertilization-trump-executive-order-65972cc1b10151bf1a0d9390fe5754d9">in vitro fertilization</a>&nbsp;and issued a presidential memorandum calling for “radical transparency requirements” from the government, which he suggested could reduce wasteful spending.

On the campaign trail, Trump&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ap.org/news-highlights/elections/2024/trump-calls-for-universal-coverage-of-ivf-treatment-with-no-specifics-on-how-his-plan-would-work/">called for universal coverage of IVF treatment</a>&nbsp;after his Supreme Court nominees helped to overturn Roe v. Wade, leading to a wave of restrictions in Republican-led states, including some that have threatened access to IVF by trying to define life as beginning at conception.

Trump, who was at his Florida residence and club Mar-a-Lago, also signed another executive order as well as a presidential memorandum. The second executive order outlined the oversight functions of the Office of Management and Budget, while the memo requires the government to detail the “waste, fraud and abuse” that’s found as the Department of Government Efficiency, overseen by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/elon-musk-doge-white-house-layoffs-0fcdbb692717c63203ef971cb9807b35">Elon Musk</a>, looks to cut government spending.

DOGE has often fallen short of the administration’s promises of transparency. Musk has taken questions from journalists only once since becoming Trump’s most powerful adviser, and he’s claimed it’s illegal to name people who are working for him. Sometimes DOGE staff members have demanded access to sensitive government databases with little explanation.

Trump took more than 30 minutes of questions Tuesday on a range of topics and bashed the Biden administration throughout, highlighting issues such as its handling of the U.S.-Mexico border, Venezuela policy and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/world-news/russia-ukraine-war-timeline-territorial-shifts-0000018f7d2fdca2afaf7fbf9a2f0000">Russia’s war in Ukraine</a>.

Trump said he thought he had a “good chance” to end Russia’s war in Ukraine but bristled at suggestions that the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/us-russia-rubio-lavrov-ukraine-saudi-arabia-94bc4de5ecc86922d6ea4376e38f1cfd">U.S. and Russia had begun negotiations</a>&nbsp;to end fighting without Ukraine playing a role. He even seemed to suggest that Ukraine was to blame for a war that began only after Russia invaded that country.

“Today I heard, ‘Well, we weren’t invited.’ Well, you’ve been there for three years,” Trump said of Ukraine’s leaders. “You should have never started it.”

In anticipation of questions about his administration’s efforts to slash federal spending, the president said he wrote down examples of government programs around the world which he then listed off at length. They included funding to promote voter turnout in India and social cohesion initiatives in Mali — all of which Trump suggested collectively amounted to fraud.

Asked about the White House’s arguing in a court filing that Musk wasn’t the head of Trump’s government efficiency efforts, Trump said: “You could call him an employee, you could call him a consultant, you could call him whatever you want. But he’s a patriot.”

Trump said he thinks “women and families, husbands, are very appreciative” of his executive order on IVF, which offers a possible solution when a woman has trouble getting pregnant. The procedure involves retrieving her eggs and combining them in a lab dish with a man’s sperm to create a fertilized embryo, which is then transferred into the woman’s uterus in an attempt to create a pregnancy. IVF is done in cycles, and more than one may be required.

Barbara Collura, president and CEO of RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association, said that what the White House put out “looks extremely promising.”

“The biggest barriers for people to building their families are the out-of-pocket costs, the lack of insurance coverage for this care,” she said.

Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth, a Democrat, said: “Donald Trump’s executive order does nothing to expand access to IVF. In fact, he’s the reason IVF is at risk in the first place.”

Duckworth said if Trump is going to follow through on his campaign promise to provide free IVF, he can start by supporting her legislation that would require insurance plans to cover IVF.

Trump, who spent the morning at his golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida, spoke to reporters hours before his first joint TV interview with Musk airs in prime time on Fox News.

Musk has drawn criticism from Democrats in Congress and others for the methods he and his team at DOGE are using to cut spending, including foreign aid, and eliminate jobs across the bureaucracy.

The Fox News interview also follows Musk’s appearance with Trump in the Oval Office last week, when both&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-downsizing-federal-workers-doge-00683abc4de44a151f26aaa6cb0d0f30">defended Musk’s approach</a>&nbsp;to federal cost-cutting.

Mar-a-Lago was the setting Tuesday night for an awards program by America’s Future, a conservative group led by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-pardon-michael-flynn-russia-aeef585b08ba6f2c763c8c37bfd678ed">Mike Flynn</a>, who briefly served as national security adviser in the Republican president’s first term. The program aims to preserve individual rights and promote American values and traditions, according to its website. The event, celebrating American exceptionalism, honored one member each from the Army, the Navy, the Marines, the Air Force and the Space Force.

The event included a poolside reception, musical performances and dinner in Mar-a-Lago’s Grand Ballroom. The lineup included such names as Russell Brand, Ted Nugent and Mike Tyson.

Trump made an appearance at the event, according to video posted on social media Tuesday night, addressing the crowd on the patio as he stood near Tyson, Flynn and Nugent and declaring, “This is very, very friendly territory.”

Trump praised the men, including Flynn, who was one of the leading proponents of Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. The president called him “the real deal” and indicated he wanted to bring Flynn into his administration, saying he offered him “about 10 jobs."

“Anytime you want to come in, you know that, Mike, OK?” Trump said.

Flynn&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/0795b34ac17f4681934e31c07b442696">resigned from the first Trump administration</a>&nbsp;less than a month after Trump’s inauguration. He was charged in 2017 with lying to the FBI about conservations he had with the Russians on Trump’s behalf. He twice pleaded guilty, but Trump&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-pardon-michael-flynn-russia-aeef585b08ba6f2c763c8c37bfd678ed">pardoned him</a>&nbsp;in the final weeks of his presidency.

Price reported from New York. Associated Press writers Will Weissert and Chris Megerian in Washington and Laura Ungar in Louisville, Kentucky, contributed to this report. Follow the AP's coverage of President Donald Trump at&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump">https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump</a>.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a>&nbsp;on Tuesday signed an executive order meant to expand access to and reduce costs of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ivf-vitro-fertilization-trump-executive-order-65972cc1b10151bf1a0d9390fe5754d9">in vitro fertilization</a>&nbsp;and issued a presidential memorandum calling for “radical transparency requirements” from the government, which he suggested could reduce wasteful spending.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">🇺🇸MAKE FAMILIES GREAT AGAIN: President Trump has taken bold action to expand access to IVF! His Executive Order directs policy recommendations to safeguard IVF treatments and lower costs—making fertility care more affordable for American families! <a href="https://t.co/65ofNMcGfT">pic.twitter.com/65ofNMcGfT</a>&mdash; The White House (@WhiteHouse) <a href="https://twitter.com/WhiteHouse/status/1891962340796448980?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 18, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>On the campaign trail, Trump&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ap.org/news-highlights/elections/2024/trump-calls-for-universal-coverage-of-ivf-treatment-with-no-specifics-on-how-his-plan-would-work/">called for universal coverage of IVF treatment</a>&nbsp;after his Supreme Court nominees helped to overturn Roe v. Wade, leading to a wave of restrictions in Republican-led states, including some that have threatened access to IVF by trying to define life as beginning at conception.Trump, who was at his Florida residence and club Mar-a-Lago, also signed another executive order as well as a presidential memorandum. The second executive order outlined the oversight functions of the Office of Management and Budget, while the memo requires the government to detail the “waste, fraud and abuse” that’s found as the Department of Government Efficiency, overseen by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/elon-musk-doge-white-house-layoffs-0fcdbb692717c63203ef971cb9807b35">Elon Musk</a>, looks to cut government spending.DOGE has often fallen short of the administration’s promises of transparency. Musk has taken questions from journalists only once since becoming Trump’s most powerful adviser, and he’s claimed it’s illegal to name people who are working for him. Sometimes DOGE staff members have demanded access to sensitive government databases with little explanation.Trump took more than 30 minutes of questions Tuesday on a range of topics and bashed the Biden administration throughout, highlighting issues such as its handling of the U.S.-Mexico border, Venezuela policy and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/world-news/russia-ukraine-war-timeline-territorial-shifts-0000018f7d2fdca2afaf7fbf9a2f0000">Russia’s war in Ukraine</a>.Trump said he thought he had a “good chance” to end Russia’s war in Ukraine but bristled at suggestions that the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/us-russia-rubio-lavrov-ukraine-saudi-arabia-94bc4de5ecc86922d6ea4376e38f1cfd">U.S. and Russia had begun negotiations</a>&nbsp;to end fighting without Ukraine playing a role. He even seemed to suggest that Ukraine was to blame for a war that began only after Russia invaded that country.“Today I heard, ‘Well, we weren’t invited.’ Well, you’ve been there for three years,” Trump said of Ukraine’s leaders. “You should have never started it.”In anticipation of questions about his administration’s efforts to slash federal spending, the president said he wrote down examples of government programs around the world which he then listed off at length. They included funding to promote voter turnout in India and social cohesion initiatives in Mali — all of which Trump suggested collectively amounted to fraud.Asked about the White House’s arguing in a court filing that Musk wasn’t the head of Trump’s government efficiency efforts, Trump said: “You could call him an employee, you could call him a consultant, you could call him whatever you want. But he’s a patriot.”Trump said he thinks “women and families, husbands, are very appreciative” of his executive order on IVF, which offers a possible solution when a woman has trouble getting pregnant. The procedure involves retrieving her eggs and combining them in a lab dish with a man’s sperm to create a fertilized embryo, which is then transferred into the woman’s uterus in an attempt to create a pregnancy. IVF is done in cycles, and more than one may be required.Barbara Collura, president and CEO of RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association, said that what the White House put out “looks extremely promising.”“The biggest barriers for people to building their families are the out-of-pocket costs, the lack of insurance coverage for this care,” she said.Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth, a Democrat, said: “Donald Trump’s executive order does nothing to expand access to IVF. In fact, he’s the reason IVF is at risk in the first place.”Duckworth said if Trump is going to follow through on his campaign promise to provide free IVF, he can start by supporting her legislation that would require insurance plans to cover IVF.Trump, who spent the morning at his golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida, spoke to reporters hours before his first joint TV interview with Musk airs in prime time on Fox News.Musk has drawn criticism from Democrats in Congress and others for the methods he and his team at DOGE are using to cut spending, including foreign aid, and eliminate jobs across the bureaucracy.The Fox News interview also follows Musk’s appearance with Trump in the Oval Office last week, when both&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-downsizing-federal-workers-doge-00683abc4de44a151f26aaa6cb0d0f30">defended Musk’s approach</a>&nbsp;to federal cost-cutting.Mar-a-Lago was the setting Tuesday night for an awards program by America’s Future, a conservative group led by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-pardon-michael-flynn-russia-aeef585b08ba6f2c763c8c37bfd678ed">Mike Flynn</a>, who briefly served as national security adviser in the Republican president’s first term. The program aims to preserve individual rights and promote American values and traditions, according to its website. The event, celebrating American exceptionalism, honored one member each from the Army, the Navy, the Marines, the Air Force and the Space Force.The event included a poolside reception, musical performances and dinner in Mar-a-Lago’s Grand Ballroom. The lineup included such names as Russell Brand, Ted Nugent and Mike Tyson.Trump made an appearance at the event, according to video posted on social media Tuesday night, addressing the crowd on the patio as he stood near Tyson, Flynn and Nugent and declaring, “This is very, very friendly territory.”Trump praised the men, including Flynn, who was one of the leading proponents of Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. The president called him “the real deal” and indicated he wanted to bring Flynn into his administration, saying he offered him “about 10 jobs."“Anytime you want to come in, you know that, Mike, OK?” Trump said.Flynn&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/0795b34ac17f4681934e31c07b442696">resigned from the first Trump administration</a>&nbsp;less than a month after Trump’s inauguration. He was charged in 2017 with lying to the FBI about conservations he had with the Russians on Trump’s behalf. He twice pleaded guilty, but Trump&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-pardon-michael-flynn-russia-aeef585b08ba6f2c763c8c37bfd678ed">pardoned him</a>&nbsp;in the final weeks of his presidency.___Price reported from New York. Associated Press writers Will Weissert and Chris Megerian in Washington and Laura Ungar in Louisville, Kentucky, contributed to this report. Follow the AP's coverage of President Donald Trump at&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump">https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump</a>.

Trump signs order to study how to expand IVF 

SUMTERVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Native American activist Leonard Peltier was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/leonard-peltier-biden-pardons-eba525b713f2ec739b84aa4426366775">released from a Florida prison</a>&nbsp;on Tuesday, weeks after then-President Joe Biden angered law enforcement officials by commuting his life sentence in the 1975 killings of two FBI agents.

For nearly half a century, Peltier’s imprisonment has symbolized&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/leonard-peltier">systemic injustice</a>&nbsp;for Native Americans across the country who believe in his innocence. The decision to release the 80-year-old to home confinement was celebrated by supporters.

“He represents every person who’s been roughed up by a cop, profiled, had their children harassed at school,” said Nick Estes, a professor of American Indian Studies at the University of Minnesota and a member of the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe who advocated for Peltier’s release.

But the move just before Biden left office also prompted criticism from those who say Peltier is guilty, including&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/chris-wray-fbi-farewell-trump-patel-partisanship-afe159a6e112e68dd5319ceac905d517">former FBI Director Christopher Wray</a>, who called him “a remorseless killer” in a private letter to Biden obtained by The Associated Press.

“Granting Peltier any relief from his conviction or sentence is wholly unjustified and would be an affront to the rule of law,” Wray wrote.

The commutation was not a pardon for crimes committed, something Peltier’s advocates have hoped for since he has always maintained his innocence.

Peltier left the prison Tuesday morning in an SUV, according to a prison official. He didn't stop to speak with reporters or his supporters outside the gates.

One of his attorneys, Jenipher Jones, said Peltier was looking forward to going home.

“We’re so excited for this moment,” Jones said. “He is in good spirits. He has the soul of a warrior.”

After being released from USP Coleman, a high-security prison, Peltier planned to return to North Dakota, where he is expected to celebrate with friends and family on Wednesday.

Biden commuted Peltier’s sentence Jan. 20, noting he had spent most of his life in prison and was now in poor health.

“We never thought he would get out,” Ray St. Clair, a member of the White Earth Band of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, said shortly before Peltier's release. “It shows you should never give up hope. We can take this repairing the damage that was done. This is a start.”

Peltier, an enrolled member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians in North Dakota, was active in the American Indian Movement, which beginning in the 1960s fought for Native American treaty rights and tribal self-determination.

The group&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/protests-and-demonstrations-united-states-government-south-dakota-religion-b3b62b1e89e713160ee0051c8b760459">grabbed headlines</a>&nbsp;in 1969 when activists occupied the former prison island of Alcatraz in the San Francisco Bay, and again in 1972, when they presented presidential candidates with a list of demands including the restoration of tribal land. After they were ignored, they seized the headquarters of the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

From then on, the group was subject to FBI surveillance and harassment under a covert program that sought to disrupt activism and was exposed in 1975.

Peltier's conviction stemmed from a confrontation that year on the Oglala Sioux Indian Reservation in Pine Ridge, South Dakota, in which FBI agents Jack Coler and Ronald Williams were killed. According to the FBI, the agents were there to serve arrest warrants for robbery and assault with a dangerous weapon.

Prosecutors maintained at trial that Peltier shot both agents in the head at point-blank range. Peltier acknowledged being present and firing a gun at a distance, but he said he fired in self-defense. A woman who claimed to have seen Peltier shoot the agents later recanted her testimony, saying it had been coerced.

He was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder and given two consecutive life sentences.

Two other movement members, co-defendants Robert Robideau and Dino Butler, were acquitted on the grounds of self-defense.

Peltier was denied parole&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/leonard-peltier-parole-hearing-2d0df4e4997d988ec229b05de9dba648">as recently as July</a>&nbsp;and was not eligible to be considered for it again until 2026.

“Leonard Peltier’s release is the right thing to do given the serious and ongoing human rights concerns about the fairness of his trial, his nearly 50 years behind bars, his health and his age," Paul O’Brien, executive director with Amnesty International USA, said in a statement before Peltier's release. "While we welcome his release from prison, he should not be restricted to home confinement.”

Prominent Native American groups like the National Congress of the American Indian have called for Peltier's release for decades, and Amnesty International considered him a political prisoner. Prominent supporters over the years included South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu, civil rights icon Coretta Scott King, actor and director Robert Redford and musicians Pete Seeger, Harry Belafonte and Jackson Browne.

Generations of Indigenous activists and leaders lobbied multiple presidents to pardon Peltier. Former Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, a member of the Pueblo of Laguna and the first Native American to hold the secretary's position, praised Biden's decision.

“I am grateful that Leonard can now go home to his family,” she said Jan. 20 in a post on X. “I applaud President Biden for this action and understanding what this means to Indian Country.”

As a young child, Peltier was taken from his family and sent to a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-indian-country-harris-arizona-election-0ac697174d60f8481924a09cbc0c6d51">boarding school</a>. Thousands of Indigenous children over decades faced the same fate, and were in many cases subjected to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/indian-boarding-schools-biden-apology-3e5376d10406e21c25eee35fc6be7510">systemic physical, psychological and sexual abuse</a>.

“He hasn’t really had a home since he was taken away to boarding school,” said Nick Tilsen, who has been advocating for Peltier's release since he was a teen and is CEO of NDN Collective, an Indigenous-led advocacy group based in South Dakota. “So he is excited to be at home and paint and have grandkids running around.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/2/1739893159547.png" alt="FILE - American Indian activist Leonard Peltier speaks during an interview at the U.S. Penitentiary at Leavenworth, Kan., April 29, 1999. (Joe Ledford/The Kansas City Star via AP, File)" />
 <figcaption>FILE - American Indian activist Leonard Peltier speaks during an interview at the U.S. Penitentiary at Leavenworth, Kan., April 29, 1999. (Joe Ledford/The Kansas City Star via AP, File)</figcaption>
 </figure>SUMTERVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Native American activist Leonard Peltier was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/leonard-peltier-biden-pardons-eba525b713f2ec739b84aa4426366775">released from a Florida prison</a>&nbsp;on Tuesday, weeks after then-President Joe Biden angered law enforcement officials by commuting his life sentence in the 1975 killings of two FBI agents.For nearly half a century, Peltier’s imprisonment has symbolized&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/leonard-peltier">systemic injustice</a>&nbsp;for Native Americans across the country who believe in his innocence. The decision to release the 80-year-old to home confinement was celebrated by supporters.“He represents every person who’s been roughed up by a cop, profiled, had their children harassed at school,” said Nick Estes, a professor of American Indian Studies at the University of Minnesota and a member of the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe who advocated for Peltier’s release.But the move just before Biden left office also prompted criticism from those who say Peltier is guilty, including&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/chris-wray-fbi-farewell-trump-patel-partisanship-afe159a6e112e68dd5319ceac905d517">former FBI Director Christopher Wray</a>, who called him “a remorseless killer” in a private letter to Biden obtained by The Associated Press.“Granting Peltier any relief from his conviction or sentence is wholly unjustified and would be an affront to the rule of law,” Wray wrote.The commutation was not a pardon for crimes committed, something Peltier’s advocates have hoped for since he has always maintained his innocence.Peltier left the prison Tuesday morning in an SUV, according to a prison official. He didn't stop to speak with reporters or his supporters outside the gates.One of his attorneys, Jenipher Jones, said Peltier was looking forward to going home.“We’re so excited for this moment,” Jones said. “He is in good spirits. He has the soul of a warrior.”After being released from USP Coleman, a high-security prison, Peltier planned to return to North Dakota, where he is expected to celebrate with friends and family on Wednesday.Biden commuted Peltier’s sentence Jan. 20, noting he had spent most of his life in prison and was now in poor health.“We never thought he would get out,” Ray St. Clair, a member of the White Earth Band of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, said shortly before Peltier's release. “It shows you should never give up hope. We can take this repairing the damage that was done. This is a start.”Peltier, an enrolled member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians in North Dakota, was active in the American Indian Movement, which beginning in the 1960s fought for Native American treaty rights and tribal self-determination.The group&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/protests-and-demonstrations-united-states-government-south-dakota-religion-b3b62b1e89e713160ee0051c8b760459">grabbed headlines</a>&nbsp;in 1969 when activists occupied the former prison island of Alcatraz in the San Francisco Bay, and again in 1972, when they presented presidential candidates with a list of demands including the restoration of tribal land. After they were ignored, they seized the headquarters of the Bureau of Indian Affairs.From then on, the group was subject to FBI surveillance and harassment under a covert program that sought to disrupt activism and was exposed in 1975.Peltier's conviction stemmed from a confrontation that year on the Oglala Sioux Indian Reservation in Pine Ridge, South Dakota, in which FBI agents Jack Coler and Ronald Williams were killed. According to the FBI, the agents were there to serve arrest warrants for robbery and assault with a dangerous weapon.Prosecutors maintained at trial that Peltier shot both agents in the head at point-blank range. Peltier acknowledged being present and firing a gun at a distance, but he said he fired in self-defense. A woman who claimed to have seen Peltier shoot the agents later recanted her testimony, saying it had been coerced.He was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder and given two consecutive life sentences.Two other movement members, co-defendants Robert Robideau and Dino Butler, were acquitted on the grounds of self-defense.Peltier was denied parole&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/leonard-peltier-parole-hearing-2d0df4e4997d988ec229b05de9dba648">as recently as July</a>&nbsp;and was not eligible to be considered for it again until 2026.“Leonard Peltier’s release is the right thing to do given the serious and ongoing human rights concerns about the fairness of his trial, his nearly 50 years behind bars, his health and his age," Paul O’Brien, executive director with Amnesty International USA, said in a statement before Peltier's release. "While we welcome his release from prison, he should not be restricted to home confinement.”Prominent Native American groups like the National Congress of the American Indian have called for Peltier's release for decades, and Amnesty International considered him a political prisoner. Prominent supporters over the years included South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu, civil rights icon Coretta Scott King, actor and director Robert Redford and musicians Pete Seeger, Harry Belafonte and Jackson Browne.Generations of Indigenous activists and leaders lobbied multiple presidents to pardon Peltier. Former Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, a member of the Pueblo of Laguna and the first Native American to hold the secretary's position, praised Biden's decision.“I am grateful that Leonard can now go home to his family,” she said Jan. 20 in a post on X. “I applaud President Biden for this action and understanding what this means to Indian Country.”As a young child, Peltier was taken from his family and sent to a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-indian-country-harris-arizona-election-0ac697174d60f8481924a09cbc0c6d51">boarding school</a>. Thousands of Indigenous children over decades faced the same fate, and were in many cases subjected to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/indian-boarding-schools-biden-apology-3e5376d10406e21c25eee35fc6be7510">systemic physical, psychological and sexual abuse</a>.“He hasn’t really had a home since he was taken away to boarding school,” said Nick Tilsen, who has been advocating for Peltier's release since he was a teen and is CEO of NDN Collective, an Indigenous-led advocacy group based in South Dakota. “So he is excited to be at home and paint and have grandkids running around.”___Brewer reported from Norman, Oklahoma.

Man who killed 2 FBI agents is free after Biden commuted his sentence

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge refused Tuesday to immediately block billionaire&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/elon-musk">Elon Musk</a>&nbsp;and the Department of Government Efficiency from accessing government data systems or participating in worker layoffs.

U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan found that there are legitimate questions about Musk's authority but said there isn't enough evidence of grave legal harm to justify a temporary restraining order.

The decision came in a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/doge-musk-trump-lawsuit-states-fbb9695bcffaa96470752d56da20da57">lawsuit filed by 14 Democratic states</a>&nbsp;challenging DOGE’s authority to access sensitive government data. The attorneys general argued that Musk is wielding the kind of power that the Constitution says can be held only by those elected or confirmed by the Senate.

The Trump administration has maintained that layoffs are coming from agency heads and asserted that despite his public cheering of the effort, Musk isn't running&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/elon-musk-doge-white-house-layoffs-0fcdbb692717c63203ef971cb9807b35">DOGE's day-to-day operations himself</a>.

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/doge-musk-trump-budget-cuts-eb39b3bd737c5b75bd4eecf4ebf187f4">DOGE has</a>&nbsp;tapped into computer systems across multiple agencies with the blessing of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump">President Donald Trump</a>, digging into budgets and searching for what he calls waste, fraud and abuse, even as a growing number of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-usaid-court-lawsuit-constitutional-crisis-2ee3374100720d093588e2234e8be601">lawsuits</a>&nbsp;allege DOGE is violating the law.

Chutkan recognized the concerns of the states, which include New Mexico and Arizona.

“DOGE’s unpredictable actions have resulted in considerable uncertainty and confusion," she wrote. Their questions about Musk's apparent “unchecked authority” and lack of congressional oversight for DOGE are legitimate and they may be able to successfully argue them later, she found.

Still, at this point, it remains unclear exactly how DOGE's work will affect the states, and judges can only issue orders to block specific, immediate harms, she found.

Chutkan, who was nominated by Democratic President Barack Obama, previously oversaw the now-dismissed criminal election interference case against Trump in Washington, D.C.

The states' lawsuit seeks to bar DOGE from the federal Office of Personnel Management and the departments of Education, Labor, Health and Human Services, Energy, Transportation and Commerce.

In other DOGE lawsuits, two other judges in Washington have similarly&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/doge-elon-musk-trump-labor-department-de7e6f872fab70082447631887c7e27e">declined</a>&nbsp;to immediately block DOGE from access to agency systems. A federal&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/elon-musk-doge-lawsuit-attorneys-general-trump-29d61aa2d668691bb6ec970575c62057">judge in New York</a>&nbsp;has blocked DOGE’s access to Treasury Department data for now.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/2/1739454851223.png" alt="File photo Elon Musk during his address to the World Government's Summit last week" />
 <figcaption>File photo Elon Musk during his address to the World Government's Summit last week</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge refused Tuesday to immediately block billionaire&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/elon-musk">Elon Musk</a>&nbsp;and the Department of Government Efficiency from accessing government data systems or participating in worker layoffs.U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan found that there are legitimate questions about Musk's authority but said there isn't enough evidence of grave legal harm to justify a temporary restraining order.The decision came in a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/doge-musk-trump-lawsuit-states-fbb9695bcffaa96470752d56da20da57">lawsuit filed by 14 Democratic states</a>&nbsp;challenging DOGE’s authority to access sensitive government data. The attorneys general argued that Musk is wielding the kind of power that the Constitution says can be held only by those elected or confirmed by the Senate.The Trump administration has maintained that layoffs are coming from agency heads and asserted that despite his public cheering of the effort, Musk isn't running&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/elon-musk-doge-white-house-layoffs-0fcdbb692717c63203ef971cb9807b35">DOGE's day-to-day operations himself</a>.<a href="https://apnews.com/article/doge-musk-trump-budget-cuts-eb39b3bd737c5b75bd4eecf4ebf187f4">DOGE has</a>&nbsp;tapped into computer systems across multiple agencies with the blessing of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump">President Donald Trump</a>, digging into budgets and searching for what he calls waste, fraud and abuse, even as a growing number of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-usaid-court-lawsuit-constitutional-crisis-2ee3374100720d093588e2234e8be601">lawsuits</a>&nbsp;allege DOGE is violating the law.Chutkan recognized the concerns of the states, which include New Mexico and Arizona.“DOGE’s unpredictable actions have resulted in considerable uncertainty and confusion," she wrote. Their questions about Musk's apparent “unchecked authority” and lack of congressional oversight for DOGE are legitimate and they may be able to successfully argue them later, she found.Still, at this point, it remains unclear exactly how DOGE's work will affect the states, and judges can only issue orders to block specific, immediate harms, she found.Chutkan, who was nominated by Democratic President Barack Obama, previously oversaw the now-dismissed criminal election interference case against Trump in Washington, D.C.The states' lawsuit seeks to bar DOGE from the federal Office of Personnel Management and the departments of Education, Labor, Health and Human Services, Energy, Transportation and Commerce.In other DOGE lawsuits, two other judges in Washington have similarly&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/doge-elon-musk-trump-labor-department-de7e6f872fab70082447631887c7e27e">declined</a>&nbsp;to immediately block DOGE from access to agency systems. A federal&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/elon-musk-doge-lawsuit-attorneys-general-trump-29d61aa2d668691bb6ec970575c62057">judge in New York</a>&nbsp;has blocked DOGE’s access to Treasury Department data for now.__

Judge declines to block Elon Musk or DOGE from federal data or layoffs

BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/sherman-smith/">SHERMAN SMITH</a> <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/sherman-smith/"></a><a href="https://kansasreflector.com/">Kansas Reflector</a>

TOPEKA — Senate and House Republicans voted Tuesday to override Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto of legislation that bans gender-affirming care for minors, rejecting pleas from Democrats to turn attention instead to issues that would help Kansas families.

Republicans used their dominance in both chambers to summon the two-thirds majorities needed to override the veto with votes of 31-9 in the Senate and 84-35 in the House. The unscheduled votes caught Democrats off-guard.

<a href="https://www.kslegislature.gov/li/b2025_26/measures/sb63/" target="_blank">Senate Bill 63</a>&nbsp;prohibits health care providers from providing surgery, hormones or puberty blockers to children who identify as a gender that is different from the sex they were assigned at birth. Health care providers who break the law will be stripped of their license.

It also prohibits the use of state funds for psychological treatment for transgender children, bans state employees from promoting “social transitioning,” and outlaws liability insurance for damages related to gender-affirming care.

A national anti-LGBTQ+ group called Do Not Harm drafted the model legislation, which is billed as the “Help Not Harm Act.”

In brief debates Tuesday in the House and Senate, Democrats echoed remarks made by the governor when she&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2025/02/11/kansas-governor-vetoes-gender-affirming-care-ban-for-minors-republicans-ready-for-override/">vetoed the bill earlier this month</a>. The governor directed the Legislature to focus “on ways to help Kansans cope with rising prices.”

House Democrats complained about not being given advance notice that they would debate and vote on the veto. When Rep. Susan Ruiz, a Shawnee Democrat, called the move “cowardly,” she was reprimanded by Rep. Blake Carpenter, a Derby Republican, not to impugn other members of the House.

Ruiz called the bill “egregious and cruel,” and said it wouldn’t help kids or families.

“We should all be enraged about this,” Ruiz said. “This is wrong on so, so many levels. I know certain people don’t care. They don’t care about these kids. All they care about is control — that somehow the Legislature has the right to interfere in people’s bodies.”

Only two Republicans —&nbsp;Rep. Mark Schreiber, of Emporia, and Rep. Bob Lewis, of Garden City — voted with Democrats to support the governor’s veto.

Schreiber said he had received feedback from families who were thankful that he previously&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2025/01/30/kansas-house-a-step-closer-to-sending-anti-transgender-bill-to-democratic-governor/">voted against the bill</a>.

“They’re frustrated, they’re scared, and they were amazed that somebody stood up and recognized them,” Schreiber said.

He also had a request for his colleagues. Schreiber said he was concerned the term “radical gender ideology” had been used “quite a bit” during earlier debate on the bill.

“When we use that, we kind of imply that this is a choice that these kids have or have made,” Schreiber said. “But you know, ideologies are taught. We’ve taught capitalism, we teach communism, we teach Catholicism — these are all ideologies. But we don’t teach kids to have cancer, we don’t teach them to have birth defects, and we don’t teach them to have a medical condition called gender dysphoria.

“So if you can refrain from using that, I’d appreciate it. Of course, you don’t have to, but I think it would show some kindness toward those families and those children that have that medical condition.”

Four Democrats and two Republicans were absent from the House vote.

The Senate overrode the veto on a strictly party-line vote.

Sen. Cindy Holscher, an Overland Park Democrat, referenced testimony from supporters of the bill who described gender-affirming care as a means of “destroying God’s most basic plans.”

“I would contend that millions of people destroy those plans daily,” Holscher said. “Individuals who wear glasses or contacts destroy God’s plan to be vision impaired. Individuals who color their hair or get treatment for baldness destroy God’s plans to be, let’s say, publicly challenged. Males who use forms of erectile dysfunction treatment are destroying God’s plans for them to not be sexually active.”

She drew a comparison between gender dysphoria and children born with a cleft palate, and questioned the ignorance of Sen. Beverly Gossage, a Eudora Republican who championed the bill.

Gossage’s response: “Cleft palate is not a mental disorder. It’s a medical condition.”

Holscher also said the bill “does nothing to address the concerns of Kansans.”

“Our constituents want us to make life more affordable for them,” Holscher said. “This bill does nothing in that regard. It doesn’t make child care more affordable, it doesn’t make wages better, it doesn’t lower property taxes or make health care more affordable. This bill just divides and distracts.”

Sen. David Haley, who supported the attack on trans kids when the Senate passed the bill last month, hemmed and hawed about his override vote until Senate President Ty Masterson, an Andover Republican, ordered him to make a decision. Haley pleaded for more time than the rules allow to explain his vote.

“You will cast your vote or you will shut your mic off,” Masterson said.

Haley joined the other Democrats in the failed attempt to sustain the governor’s veto.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/2/1739915422538.jpeg" alt="Sen. Beverly Gossage, seen during a Jan. 17, 2024, Senate session, defended legislation to ban gender-affirming care for children. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption>Sen. Beverly Gossage, seen during a Jan. 17, 2024, Senate session, defended legislation to ban gender-affirming care for children. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure>BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/sherman-smith/">SHERMAN SMITH</a> <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/sherman-smith/"></a><a href="https://kansasreflector.com/">Kansas Reflector</a>TOPEKA — Senate and House Republicans voted Tuesday to override Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto of legislation that bans gender-affirming care for minors, rejecting pleas from Democrats to turn attention instead to issues that would help Kansas families.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/2/1739917960601.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Republicans used their dominance in both chambers to summon the two-thirds majorities needed to override the veto with votes of 31-9 in the Senate and 84-35 in the House. The unscheduled votes caught Democrats off-guard.<a href="https://www.kslegislature.gov/li/b2025_26/measures/sb63/" target="_blank">Senate Bill 63</a>&nbsp;prohibits health care providers from providing surgery, hormones or puberty blockers to children who identify as a gender that is different from the sex they were assigned at birth. Health care providers who break the law will be stripped of their license.It also prohibits the use of state funds for psychological treatment for transgender children, bans state employees from promoting “social transitioning,” and outlaws liability insurance for damages related to gender-affirming care.A national anti-LGBTQ+ group called Do Not Harm drafted the model legislation, which is billed as the “Help Not Harm Act.”In brief debates Tuesday in the House and Senate, Democrats echoed remarks made by the governor when she&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2025/02/11/kansas-governor-vetoes-gender-affirming-care-ban-for-minors-republicans-ready-for-override/">vetoed the bill earlier this month</a>. The governor directed the Legislature to focus “on ways to help Kansans cope with rising prices.”House Democrats complained about not being given advance notice that they would debate and vote on the veto. When Rep. Susan Ruiz, a Shawnee Democrat, called the move “cowardly,” she was reprimanded by Rep. Blake Carpenter, a Derby Republican, not to impugn other members of the House.Ruiz called the bill “egregious and cruel,” and said it wouldn’t help kids or families.“We should all be enraged about this,” Ruiz said. “This is wrong on so, so many levels. I know certain people don’t care. They don’t care about these kids. All they care about is control — that somehow the Legislature has the right to interfere in people’s bodies.”Only two Republicans —&nbsp;Rep. Mark Schreiber, of Emporia, and Rep. Bob Lewis, of Garden City — voted with Democrats to support the governor’s veto.Schreiber said he had received feedback from families who were thankful that he previously&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2025/01/30/kansas-house-a-step-closer-to-sending-anti-transgender-bill-to-democratic-governor/">voted against the bill</a>.“They’re frustrated, they’re scared, and they were amazed that somebody stood up and recognized them,” Schreiber said.He also had a request for his colleagues. Schreiber said he was concerned the term “radical gender ideology” had been used “quite a bit” during earlier debate on the bill.“When we use that, we kind of imply that this is a choice that these kids have or have made,” Schreiber said. “But you know, ideologies are taught. We’ve taught capitalism, we teach communism, we teach Catholicism — these are all ideologies. But we don’t teach kids to have cancer, we don’t teach them to have birth defects, and we don’t teach them to have a medical condition called gender dysphoria.“So if you can refrain from using that, I’d appreciate it. Of course, you don’t have to, but I think it would show some kindness toward those families and those children that have that medical condition.”Four Democrats and two Republicans were absent from the House vote.The Senate overrode the veto on a strictly party-line vote.Sen. Cindy Holscher, an Overland Park Democrat, referenced testimony from supporters of the bill who described gender-affirming care as a means of “destroying God’s most basic plans.”“I would contend that millions of people destroy those plans daily,” Holscher said. “Individuals who wear glasses or contacts destroy God’s plan to be vision impaired. Individuals who color their hair or get treatment for baldness destroy God’s plans to be, let’s say, publicly challenged. Males who use forms of erectile dysfunction treatment are destroying God’s plans for them to not be sexually active.”She drew a comparison between gender dysphoria and children born with a cleft palate, and questioned the ignorance of Sen. Beverly Gossage, a Eudora Republican who championed the bill.Gossage’s response: “Cleft palate is not a mental disorder. It’s a medical condition.”Holscher also said the bill “does nothing to address the concerns of Kansans.”“Our constituents want us to make life more affordable for them,” Holscher said. “This bill does nothing in that regard. It doesn’t make child care more affordable, it doesn’t make wages better, it doesn’t lower property taxes or make health care more affordable. This bill just divides and distracts.”Sen. David Haley, who supported the attack on trans kids when the Senate passed the bill last month, hemmed and hawed about his override vote until Senate President Ty Masterson, an Andover Republican, ordered him to make a decision. Haley pleaded for more time than the rules allow to explain his vote.“You will cast your vote or you will shut your mic off,” Masterson said.Haley joined the other Democrats in the failed attempt to sustain the governor’s veto.

Kan. Legislature overrides governor's veto of legislation that targets trans kids

WASHINGTON (AP) — To earn the vote he needed to become the nation's top health official,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/robert-f-kennedy-jr">Robert F. Kennedy Jr.</a>&nbsp;made a special&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/cassidy-kennedy-trump-health-secretary-e826bc40fddf90829f6438681c5d9275">promise</a>&nbsp;to a U.S. senator: He would not change the nation's current vaccination schedule.

But on Tuesday, speaking for the first time to thousands of U.S. Health and Human Services agency employees, he vowed to investigate the childhood vaccine schedule that prevents measles, polio and other dangerous diseases.

“Nothing is going to be off limits,” Kennedy said, adding that pesticides, food additives, microplastics, antidepressants and the electromagnetic waves emitted by cellphones and microwaves also would be studied.

Kennedy's remarks, which circulated on social media, were delivered during a welcome ceremony for the new health secretary at the agency's headquarters in Washington as&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/measles-texas-new-mexico-mmr-outbreak-vaccines-408371700e3ab548777bf0354e586549">a measles outbreak</a>&nbsp;among mostly unvaccinated people raged in West Texas. The event was held after a weekend of mass firings of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-job-cuts-health-cdc-0d002fd6f528a7b91ced79628bf68196">thousands of HHS employees</a>. More dismissals are expected.

In his comments Tuesday, Kennedy promised that a new “Make America Healthy Again” commission would investigate vaccines, pesticides and antidepressants to see if they have contributed to a rise in chronic illnesses such as&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/eli-lilly-fourth-quarter-mounjaro-zepbound-ca026922525a9e3abb1b75d329628bef">diabetes</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/how-common-is-obesity-us-5663c0388b19009eae3834d695710bc4">obesity</a>&nbsp;that have plagued the American public. The commission was formed last week in an executive order by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/pence-2025-interview-trump-lobbying-agenda-relationship-c035c2d4a235ec685eb5e8bfb4170f7b">Donald Trump</a>&nbsp;immediately after&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/rfk-trump-health-secretary-vote-5dbefeef0537dc241e6fb33b8f2a748b">Kennedy</a>&nbsp;was sworn in as the president’s new health secretary.

That directive said the commission will be made up of cabinet members and other officials from the administration and will develop a strategy around children’s health within the next six months. Kennedy said it will investigate issues, including childhood vaccinations, that “were formally taboo or insufficiently scrutinized."

His call to examine the vaccination schedule raises questions about his commitment to Republican Sen.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-cabinet-kennedy-rfk-health-secretary-vote-842455e48b1f9b79fb2312937dff29f6">Bill Cassidy</a>, a Louisiana physician who harbored deep misgivings over the health secretary's&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/rfk-jr-vaccine-trump-science-autism-9b99621b01f11b7f0bdc81e5a0b82d2b">anti-vaccine advocacy</a>. Cassidy ultimately voted to send Kennedy's nomination to the Senate floor after he said Kennedy gave him assurances that he would not alter the federal vaccine schedule.

“On this topic, the science is good, the science is credible," Cassidy said during a Senate floor speech earlier this month explaining his vote. "Vaccines save lives. They are safe.”

Rigorous studies of thousands of people followed by decades of real-world use have proven that the vaccines approved by the Food and Drug Administration for both children and adults safely and effectively prevent diseases.

Cassidy said during his Senate speech last month that Kennedy had made a number of promises that stemmed from “intense conversations" to garner his support. Specifically, Cassidy said Kennedy would "maintain the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices' recommendations without changes.”

Those recommendations are what pediatricians around the country use to decide the safest and most effective ages at which to offer vaccinations to children. The committee meets every year to review the latest data on both old and new vaccines to ensure there are no red flags for safety or other issues before publishing its annual schedule.

When contacted about Kennedy's remarks, Cassidy's office did not comment.

Kennedy gained&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/rfk-kennedy-election-2024-president-campaign-621c9e9641381a1b2677df9de5a09731">a loyal following for his nonprofit</a>&nbsp;by raising objections to COVID-19 protocols and doubts around the COVID-19 vaccine. Despite his work, Kennedy repeatedly told senators that he was not “anti-vaccine" during his confirmation hearings.

Dr. Paul Offit, an infectious-disease expert at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia who sits on a federal vaccine panel, didn't believe him.

“I think he will do everything he can to make vaccines less available and less affordable because he’s an anti-vaccine activist,” Offit, who developed the rotavirus vaccine that is on the CDC's childhood immunization schedule, said last week.

Kennedy promised staffers on Tuesday during his speech that he would keep an open mind in his new job and asked them to return the favor.

“A lot of times when I read these articles characterizing myself, I think I wouldn’t want to work for that guy, either,” Kennedy said, eliciting some laughs from the crowd. “Let's start a relationship by letting go of any preconceived perceptions you may have of me.”

Associated Press writers Matthew Perrone and Lauran Neergaard in Washington contributed to this report.

— The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

WASHINGTON (AP) —After thousands of the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-job-cuts-health-cdc-0d002fd6f528a7b91ced79628bf68196">agency’s</a>&nbsp;employees were shown the exit door over the weekend, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. held a welcome ceremony on Tuesday.

He called for a close study of vaccination recommendations, which calls for infants to be inoculated against deadly diseases like measles and polio. Despite years of safe, real-world use Kennedy suggested vaccinations could be to blame for a rise in chronic diseases.

Along with vaccines, a new commission will also scrutinize pesticides, microplastics, ultra-processed foods, anti-depressants and the electromagnetic radiation emitted by radios, TVs and cell phones, Kennedy said.

“Some of the possible factors we will investigate were formerly taboo or insufficiently scrutinized,” Kennedy told staffers on Tuesday.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/2/1739932142600.png" alt="Kennedy from his opening address at HHS on Tuesday" />
 <figcaption>Kennedy from his opening address at HHS on Tuesday</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — To earn the vote he needed to become the nation's top health official,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/robert-f-kennedy-jr">Robert F. Kennedy Jr.</a>&nbsp;made a special&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/cassidy-kennedy-trump-health-secretary-e826bc40fddf90829f6438681c5d9275">promise</a>&nbsp;to a U.S. senator: He would not change the nation's current vaccination schedule.But on Tuesday, speaking for the first time to thousands of U.S. Health and Human Services agency employees, he vowed to investigate the childhood vaccine schedule that prevents measles, polio and other dangerous diseases.“Nothing is going to be off limits,” Kennedy said, adding that pesticides, food additives, microplastics, antidepressants and the electromagnetic waves emitted by cellphones and microwaves also would be studied.Kennedy's remarks, which circulated on social media, were delivered during a welcome ceremony for the new health secretary at the agency's headquarters in Washington as&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/measles-texas-new-mexico-mmr-outbreak-vaccines-408371700e3ab548777bf0354e586549">a measles outbreak</a>&nbsp;among mostly unvaccinated people raged in West Texas. The event was held after a weekend of mass firings of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-job-cuts-health-cdc-0d002fd6f528a7b91ced79628bf68196">thousands of HHS employees</a>. More dismissals are expected.In his comments Tuesday, Kennedy promised that a new “Make America Healthy Again” commission would investigate vaccines, pesticides and antidepressants to see if they have contributed to a rise in chronic illnesses such as&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/eli-lilly-fourth-quarter-mounjaro-zepbound-ca026922525a9e3abb1b75d329628bef">diabetes</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/how-common-is-obesity-us-5663c0388b19009eae3834d695710bc4">obesity</a>&nbsp;that have plagued the American public. The commission was formed last week in an executive order by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/pence-2025-interview-trump-lobbying-agenda-relationship-c035c2d4a235ec685eb5e8bfb4170f7b">Donald Trump</a>&nbsp;immediately after&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/rfk-trump-health-secretary-vote-5dbefeef0537dc241e6fb33b8f2a748b">Kennedy</a>&nbsp;was sworn in as the president’s new health secretary.That directive said the commission will be made up of cabinet members and other officials from the administration and will develop a strategy around children’s health within the next six months. Kennedy said it will investigate issues, including childhood vaccinations, that “were formally taboo or insufficiently scrutinized."His call to examine the vaccination schedule raises questions about his commitment to Republican Sen.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-cabinet-kennedy-rfk-health-secretary-vote-842455e48b1f9b79fb2312937dff29f6">Bill Cassidy</a>, a Louisiana physician who harbored deep misgivings over the health secretary's&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/rfk-jr-vaccine-trump-science-autism-9b99621b01f11b7f0bdc81e5a0b82d2b">anti-vaccine advocacy</a>. Cassidy ultimately voted to send Kennedy's nomination to the Senate floor after he said Kennedy gave him assurances that he would not alter the federal vaccine schedule.“On this topic, the science is good, the science is credible," Cassidy said during a Senate floor speech earlier this month explaining his vote. "Vaccines save lives. They are safe.”Rigorous studies of thousands of people followed by decades of real-world use have proven that the vaccines approved by the Food and Drug Administration for both children and adults safely and effectively prevent diseases.Cassidy said during his Senate speech last month that Kennedy had made a number of promises that stemmed from “intense conversations" to garner his support. Specifically, Cassidy said Kennedy would "maintain the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices' recommendations without changes.”Those recommendations are what pediatricians around the country use to decide the safest and most effective ages at which to offer vaccinations to children. The committee meets every year to review the latest data on both old and new vaccines to ensure there are no red flags for safety or other issues before publishing its annual schedule.When contacted about Kennedy's remarks, Cassidy's office did not comment.Kennedy gained&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/rfk-kennedy-election-2024-president-campaign-621c9e9641381a1b2677df9de5a09731">a loyal following for his nonprofit</a>&nbsp;by raising objections to COVID-19 protocols and doubts around the COVID-19 vaccine. Despite his work, Kennedy repeatedly told senators that he was not “anti-vaccine" during his confirmation hearings.Dr. Paul Offit, an infectious-disease expert at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia who sits on a federal vaccine panel, didn't believe him.“I think he will do everything he can to make vaccines less available and less affordable because he’s an anti-vaccine activist,” Offit, who developed the rotavirus vaccine that is on the CDC's childhood immunization schedule, said last week.Kennedy promised staffers on Tuesday during his speech that he would keep an open mind in his new job and asked them to return the favor.“A lot of times when I read these articles characterizing myself, I think I wouldn’t want to work for that guy, either,” Kennedy said, eliciting some laughs from the crowd. “Let's start a relationship by letting go of any preconceived perceptions you may have of me.”___Associated Press writers Matthew Perrone and Lauran Neergaard in Washington contributed to this report.— The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.---------------WASHINGTON (AP) —After thousands of the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-job-cuts-health-cdc-0d002fd6f528a7b91ced79628bf68196">agency’s</a>&nbsp;employees were shown the exit door over the weekend, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. held a welcome ceremony on Tuesday.He called for a close study of vaccination recommendations, which calls for infants to be inoculated against deadly diseases like measles and polio. Despite years of safe, real-world use Kennedy suggested vaccinations could be to blame for a rise in chronic diseases.Along with vaccines, a new commission will also scrutinize pesticides, microplastics, ultra-processed foods, anti-depressants and the electromagnetic radiation emitted by radios, TVs and cell phones, Kennedy said.“Some of the possible factors we will investigate were formerly taboo or insufficiently scrutinized,” Kennedy told staffers on Tuesday.

RFK Jr. kicks off new position at HHS with a call to ‘scrutinize’ vaccines

TORONTO (AP) — The Delta Air Lines jet&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/delta-plane-flip-toronto-canada-airport-minneapolis-6d064bbc7a3bb8595183d6765d61a0ee">came down fast,</a>&nbsp;landing so hard that it lost its right wing, then burst into flames on a runway in Toronto. The aircraft slid to a stop, upside down, a trail of black smoke in its wake and passengers scrambling to escape the wreckage.

Miraculously, all 80 people on board the flight from Minneapolis to Toronto’s Pearson International Airport&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/delta-toronto-airport-minneapolis-4ab235ef49b2d3757c9bd5fd8c6606ce">survived the crash Monday afternoon</a>. All but two of the 21 people injured on the flight have been released from hospitals, the airport CEO said Tuesday.

”How grateful we are there was no loss of life or life threatening injuries," Deborah Flint, CEO of Greater Toronto Airports Authority, said during a news conference. “The crew heroically led passengers to safety. I thank each and everyone one of those heroes.”

Authorities said the cause of the crash remains under investigation. Communications between the tower and pilot were normal on approach and it’s not clear what went wrong when the plane touched down.

“This would not be a time for us to have theory or to speculate on what caused the crash,” Flint said.

At the time of the flight's arrival, Pearson was experiencing blowing snow and winds of 32 mph (51 kph) gusting to 40 mph (65 kph), according to the Meteorological Service of Canada. The temperature was about 16.5 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 8.6 degrees Celsius).

Peter Carlson, a passenger traveling to Toronto for a paramedics conference, said the landing was “very forceful.”

“All the sudden everything just kind of went sideways and the next thing I know, it’s kind of a blink and I’m upside down still strapped in,” he told&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/toronto-pearson-overturned-airplane-1.7461227">CBC News</a>.

Canadian authorities held two brief news conferences Monday but provided few details. The aircraft was a Mitsubishi CRJ-900 made by the Canadian company Bombardier.

“We are very grateful there was no loss of life and relatively minor injuries,” Deborah Flint, CEO of Greater Toronto Airports Authority, told reporters.

Delta CEO Ed Bastian said in a statement that “the hearts of the entire global Delta family are with those affected."

The crash was the fourth&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/aviation-safety-crash-close-call-fire-faa-fe26b6cf0a4857f9b9336c3f5680e97b">major aviation accident</a>&nbsp;in North America in recent weeks. A commercial jetliner and an Army helicopter&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/plane-helicopter-collision-timeline-washington-crash-c7c6adc6c26d057aebbc6979e0aea3d7">collided near Reagan National Airport</a>&nbsp;in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 29,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/washington-plane-collision-victims-ee829891574aa35a30d8262b7e07e638">killing 67 people</a>. A&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/philadelphia-pa-plane-crash-incident-9f5cfa83125137bf523558cc3738a370">medical transportation plane crashed</a>&nbsp;in Philadelphia on Jan. 31, killing the six people on board and another person on the ground. And on Feb. 6, 10 people were killed in a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/missing-aircraft-alaska-search-10-people-eb496188285ed54c9a527f658d4ff70a">plane crash in Alaska</a>.

The last major crash at Pearson was on Aug. 2, 2005, when an Airbus A340 from Paris skidded off the runway and burst into flames in stormy weather. All 309 passengers and crew aboard Air France Flight 358 survived.

The Delta flight was cleared to land at about 2:10 p.m. Audio recordings show the control tower warned the pilots of a possible air flow “bump” on approach.

“It was windy, but the airplanes are designed and certified to handle that,” said John Cox, CEO of aviation safety consulting firm Safety Operating Systems in St. Petersburg, Florida. “The pilots are trained and experienced to handle that.”

The plane came to a rest at the intersection of Runways 23 and 15L.

Carlson said when he took off his seat belt he crashed onto the ceiling, which had become the floor. He smelled gas, saw aviation fuel cascading down the cabin windows and knew he needed to get out, but his paramedic skills kicked in and he looked for those he could help.

Carlson and another man assisted a mother and her young son out of the plane and then Carlson dropped onto the tarmac. He said snow was blowing but “I didn’t care how cold it was, didn’t care how far I had to walk, how long I had to stand — all of us just wanted to be out of the aircraft.”

Cox, who flew for U.S. Air for 25 years and has worked on U.S. National Transportation Safety Board investigations, said the CRJ-900 has been in service for decades and does a good job of handling inclement weather, but that it's unusual for any plane to end up on its roof.

“We’ve seen a couple of cases of takeoffs where airplanes have ended up inverted, but it’s pretty rare,” Cox said.

Among the questions that need to be answered, Cox said, is why the crashed plane was missing its right wing. He said the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder will be imperative to understanding what actually occurred.

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement that the Transportation Safety Board of Canada would head up the investigation and provide any updates. The NTSB in the U.S. said it was sending a team to assist.

Endeavor Air, based in Minneapolis, is a subsidiary of Delta Air Lines and the world’s largest operator of CRJ-900 aircraft. The airline operates 130 regional jets on 700 daily flights to over 126 cities in the U.S., Canada and the Caribbean, according to the company’s website.

Casey reported from Concord, New Hampshire. Associated Press journalists Michael Sisak in New York, Jack Dura in Bismarck, North Dakota, Alex Veiga in Los Angeles, and Jim Morris in Vancouver, British Columbia, contributed reporting.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/2/1739827893796.png" alt="The Delta Airlines CRJ-900 departed from Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport. Image courtesy CBC" />
 <figcaption>The Delta Airlines CRJ-900 departed from Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport. Image courtesy CBC</figcaption>
 </figure>TORONTO (AP) — The Delta Air Lines jet&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/delta-plane-flip-toronto-canada-airport-minneapolis-6d064bbc7a3bb8595183d6765d61a0ee">came down fast,</a>&nbsp;landing so hard that it lost its right wing, then burst into flames on a runway in Toronto. The aircraft slid to a stop, upside down, a trail of black smoke in its wake and passengers scrambling to escape the wreckage.Miraculously, all 80 people on board the flight from Minneapolis to Toronto’s Pearson International Airport&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/delta-toronto-airport-minneapolis-4ab235ef49b2d3757c9bd5fd8c6606ce">survived the crash Monday afternoon</a>. All but two of the 21 people injured on the flight have been released from hospitals, the airport CEO said Tuesday.”How grateful we are there was no loss of life or life threatening injuries," Deborah Flint, CEO of Greater Toronto Airports Authority, said during a news conference. “The crew heroically led passengers to safety. I thank each and everyone one of those heroes.”Authorities said the cause of the crash remains under investigation. Communications between the tower and pilot were normal on approach and it’s not clear what went wrong when the plane touched down.“This would not be a time for us to have theory or to speculate on what caused the crash,” Flint said.At the time of the flight's arrival, Pearson was experiencing blowing snow and winds of 32 mph (51 kph) gusting to 40 mph (65 kph), according to the Meteorological Service of Canada. The temperature was about 16.5 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 8.6 degrees Celsius).Peter Carlson, a passenger traveling to Toronto for a paramedics conference, said the landing was “very forceful.”“All the sudden everything just kind of went sideways and the next thing I know, it’s kind of a blink and I’m upside down still strapped in,” he told&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/toronto-pearson-overturned-airplane-1.7461227">CBC News</a>.Canadian authorities held two brief news conferences Monday but provided few details. The aircraft was a Mitsubishi CRJ-900 made by the Canadian company Bombardier.“We are very grateful there was no loss of life and relatively minor injuries,” Deborah Flint, CEO of Greater Toronto Airports Authority, told reporters.Delta CEO Ed Bastian said in a statement that “the hearts of the entire global Delta family are with those affected."The crash was the fourth&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/aviation-safety-crash-close-call-fire-faa-fe26b6cf0a4857f9b9336c3f5680e97b">major aviation accident</a>&nbsp;in North America in recent weeks. A commercial jetliner and an Army helicopter&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/plane-helicopter-collision-timeline-washington-crash-c7c6adc6c26d057aebbc6979e0aea3d7">collided near Reagan National Airport</a>&nbsp;in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 29,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/washington-plane-collision-victims-ee829891574aa35a30d8262b7e07e638">killing 67 people</a>. A&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/philadelphia-pa-plane-crash-incident-9f5cfa83125137bf523558cc3738a370">medical transportation plane crashed</a>&nbsp;in Philadelphia on Jan. 31, killing the six people on board and another person on the ground. And on Feb. 6, 10 people were killed in a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/missing-aircraft-alaska-search-10-people-eb496188285ed54c9a527f658d4ff70a">plane crash in Alaska</a>.The last major crash at Pearson was on Aug. 2, 2005, when an Airbus A340 from Paris skidded off the runway and burst into flames in stormy weather. All 309 passengers and crew aboard Air France Flight 358 survived.The Delta flight was cleared to land at about 2:10 p.m. Audio recordings show the control tower warned the pilots of a possible air flow “bump” on approach.“It was windy, but the airplanes are designed and certified to handle that,” said John Cox, CEO of aviation safety consulting firm Safety Operating Systems in St. Petersburg, Florida. “The pilots are trained and experienced to handle that.”The plane came to a rest at the intersection of Runways 23 and 15L.Carlson said when he took off his seat belt he crashed onto the ceiling, which had become the floor. He smelled gas, saw aviation fuel cascading down the cabin windows and knew he needed to get out, but his paramedic skills kicked in and he looked for those he could help.Carlson and another man assisted a mother and her young son out of the plane and then Carlson dropped onto the tarmac. He said snow was blowing but “I didn’t care how cold it was, didn’t care how far I had to walk, how long I had to stand — all of us just wanted to be out of the aircraft.”Cox, who flew for U.S. Air for 25 years and has worked on U.S. National Transportation Safety Board investigations, said the CRJ-900 has been in service for decades and does a good job of handling inclement weather, but that it's unusual for any plane to end up on its roof.“We’ve seen a couple of cases of takeoffs where airplanes have ended up inverted, but it’s pretty rare,” Cox said.Among the questions that need to be answered, Cox said, is why the crashed plane was missing its right wing. He said the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder will be imperative to understanding what actually occurred.The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement that the Transportation Safety Board of Canada would head up the investigation and provide any updates. The NTSB in the U.S. said it was sending a team to assist.Endeavor Air, based in Minneapolis, is a subsidiary of Delta Air Lines and the world’s largest operator of CRJ-900 aircraft. The airline operates 130 regional jets on 700 daily flights to over 126 cities in the U.S., Canada and the Caribbean, according to the company’s website.___Casey reported from Concord, New Hampshire. Associated Press journalists Michael Sisak in New York, Jack Dura in Bismarck, North Dakota, Alex Veiga in Los Angeles, and Jim Morris in Vancouver, British Columbia, contributed reporting.

Miracle: Officials update details of Delta jet that caught fire, overturned

&nbsp;FINNEY COUNTY —Kansas U.S. Senator Roger Marshall and First District Congressman Tracey Mann welcome new U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins to Kansas on Monday.

Last Thursday, the Senate voted 72-28 to confirm Rollins, a&nbsp; a close ally of President&nbsp;Donald Trump, into the key Cabinet position&nbsp;

On her social media page Rollins wrote, "So good to be in Southwest Kansas to tour Finney County Feedyard, High Plains Ponderosa Dairy, National Beef in Liberal, and have a roundtable with the farmers and ranchers from across the state. LOVED BEING IN KANSAS!"

On social media, Marshall wrote, "with Secretary Rollins leading the USDA and President Trump in the White House, I look forward to working together to Make Agriculture Great Again."

&nbsp;FINNEY COUNTY —Kansas U.S. Senator Roger Marshall and First District Congressman Tracey Mann welcome new U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins to Kansas on Monday.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/2/1739884497351.png" alt="Photos Senator Roger Marshall" />
 <figcaption>Photos Senator Roger Marshall</figcaption>
 </figure>Last Thursday, the Senate voted 72-28 to confirm Rollins, a&nbsp; a close ally of President&nbsp;Donald Trump, into the key Cabinet position&nbsp;On her social media page Rollins wrote, "So good to be in Southwest Kansas to tour Finney County Feedyard, High Plains Ponderosa Dairy, National Beef in Liberal, and have a roundtable with the farmers and ranchers from across the state. LOVED BEING IN KANSAS!"On social media, Marshall wrote, "with Secretary Rollins leading the USDA and President Trump in the White House, I look forward to working together to Make Agriculture Great Again."

New Agriculture Secretary makes first stop in Kansas

WASHINGTON (AP) — His group spent nearly $1 million on ads opposing Robert F. Kennedy Jr.,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump">Donald Trump's</a>&nbsp;pick to lead the nation's health agencies. He's delivering speeches urging the president to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-us-marc-fogel-prisoner-swap-98418693957b1fa0189ee8ac4e8b4f2d">stand with longstanding foreign allies</a>&nbsp;and lobbying members of Congress while aides write letters and opinion columns.

This weekend,&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/Mike_Pence/status/1890887398461948057">he posted an article he penned more than a decade ago</a>&nbsp;on the limits of presidential power after&nbsp;<a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114009179225169296">Trump claimed</a>&nbsp;that, “He who saves his Country does not violate any Law.”

<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/michael-pence">Mike Pence</a>&nbsp;is emerging as one of the last Republicans in Washington willing to publicly criticize the new administration.

It's an especially jarring role for the former vice president, whose refusal to break with Trump defined their time together in office until the two had a falling out over Trump’s refusal to accept the results of the 2020 election and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-donald-trump-virus-outbreak-elections-voting-fraud-and-irregularities-2d39186996f69de245e59c966d4d140f">his efforts to remain in power</a>.

Pence and those who work with him at Advancing American Freedom, his political advocacy group, stress they are not looking to take on the “Never Trump" mantle. They intend to praise the administration when they agree with it, while raising concerns when they don't, advocating for longtime conservative principles that have fallen out of favor as Trump's “Make America Great Again” brand of populism has taken hold.

“We’re calling balls and strikes here,” Pence told The Associated Press.

Pence opposed Kennedy — who has since been confirmed as secretary of health and human services — due to Kennedy’s past comments voicing support for abortion rights. His group is now lobbying against&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-cabinet-labor-secretary-lori-chavez-deremer-decd9cff41794205bd06223f939f9e7b">Lori Chavez-DeRemer</a>, Trump's pick for labor secretary,&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/AmericanFreedom/status/1889826692493091262">accusing her of being pro-union</a>, and plans to spend the coming months pushing to increase military spending, shrink the deficit, and make permanent 2017 tax cuts, as well as trying to convince Trump to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-tariffs-reciprocal-imports-tax-trade-economy-54c0a26687dc96157d96229068894720">stop slapping tariffs</a>&nbsp;on allies.

The AP recently sat down with Pence to discuss his efforts and his relationship with Trump — including a closely watched handshake at the funeral of President Jimmy Carter and his wife's lack of reaction as the 45th and 47th president took his seat.

Here is a transcript of that conversation, which has been lightly edited for space and clarity:

Q: What do you see as your role and the role of AAF over the next four years?

Pence: “To be an anchor to windward ... I came across that line I think in a Herman Melville book a long time ago.”

“The wind blows in the direction of more government. And I think it’s a role of conservatives to anchor the party so that when the wind blows, you put the anchor to windward so you stay grounded and hopefully do some small part to hold, you know, hold the ship of state on the principles that really minted my career in this movement.”

“A strong defense, to American leadership of the free world, limited government, fiscal responsibility, growth, the right to life, traditional values — those were the values that drew me to the Republican Party. And I still think that they are the timeless ideals of the party of Lincoln. And so I want to do my part, even as a former elected official, to use whatever remains of my bully pulpit to be a champion for those principles.”

Pence: “Well, for me, it’s always principles first. It’s not personal. I went to the inauguration last month and I was very moved in the outpouring of kind words and expressions of appreciation from former colleagues, including many members of the new administration who I encountered in hallways. And I saw Secretary of State (Marco) Rubio. I gave him a hug, told him how proud I was of him. We had praised him from here when he was selected. I must have seen about or interacted with about half the incoming Cabinet."

“We went to the Carter funeral. And the president and I had a very cordial exchange. You know, he was coming down the row in front of us at the National Cathedral and he said, ‘Hi, Mike.’ And I was standing up, extended my hand, and I said, ‘Congratulations, Mr. President.’ And I could see his countenance softened. And he said, ‘Thanks.’ And Melania reached out and I said, ‘Congratulations, Melania.’ And it was, you know, the people that know me know it’s not personal. I’ve long since forgiven the president for any differences that we had at the end of our administration. We still have those differences as the president still holds the view that, to my knowledge, that I had some authority that I did not have under the Constitution or laws of the country. But from my heart, I've prayed often for the president."

“And so, to answer your question, I think that the way we want to approach this is with integrity to principle. And I’m very encouraged. I think the Trump administration is off to a great start ... I’m very pleased about the president undoing Biden’s border policies and putting back into place the policies that we had negotiated and established that secured the border. But you know, with regard to the nomination of RFK ... for me, it would begin and end with the right to life ... I saw the nomination of an abortion rights supporter to be secretary of HHS to be a dramatic departure from 50 years of strong pro-life leadership at HHS under Republican administrations. So we thought it was important to speak out. And we got a lot of quiet encouragement about that."

“Well, we got a lot of quiet encouragement from people that, for whatever reason, didn't feel compelled to join us in that chorus. But I thought it was an important point for us to make. And, you know, we'll continue to be a champion."

Q: Why are Republicans so reluctant to speak out publicly?

Pence: “I never speculate on motives. You know, I’m not new to town. I’ve waged lonely battles before.”

“But you know, you have to be willing to step out and lead. And my hope is that even in the wake of this fight that, you know, the Senate has worked its will, the president will get his choice at HHS. My hope is that when the next issue of life comes up, that people will have been encouraged, emboldened to know that they’re not alone.”

Q: Is there support in the party for moving back in the direction that you'd like to see versus the populist, MAGA wing of the party that's ascendant?

Pence: “Well now you hit it. Now you're on it. I don’t think — look, I think some of the prominent voices in the party have embraced a more populist thinking. I don’t believe the overwhelming majority of people that ever vote Republican think any differently than they thought during our administration when we hewed to a conservative agenda or the years before or since."

"Let me give you one anecdote. So I'm at a town hall meeting when I’m running for president. And at the end of the town hall meeting — it was well-attended, it was in Iowa — a farmer walked up to me and he said, ‘It was a great town hall meeting. I agree with everything you say.’ You know, and I argued for — this was literally in the wake of the Oct. 7 attack. And I argued for strong American support for Israel, strong American leadership in the world, continued support for Ukraine in their fight and limited government and bringing about reforms to put our fiscal house in order and right to life.

And this farmer says to me, he said, ‘I agree with absolutely everything you said.’ So I said, ‘Well, can I count on your vote?’ And he said, ‘No, I got to be for Trump this time.’ And he goes, ‘But I’ll see you in four years. You’re going to be a great president someday.’ I said, ‘Would you mind telling me, you know, why?’ And he said words I never forgot, which was in effect: He lamented Biden’s failed record. And I saw that he was drawn to the need for a rematch. And then he said, ‘Plus, if they can do that to a former president, they can do that to me.’ And the ‘lawfare’ stuff went into higher relief.

“So I didn’t see in this last election a Republican Party that was embracing big government or a vision to pull back from America’s commitments on the world stage or marginalizing the right to life. I didn’t see that traveling all over the country and I still don’t see it. I think there were other factors that gave the former president a decided advantage in the election. He’d earned it. He’d won it. And then he won it in the fall. But I don’t think the party’s changed."

Q: You mentioned the Carter funeral earlier. Tell me about your wife's reaction to the Trumps that day.

(At the funeral, former second lady Karen Pence refused to acknowledge the then-president elect or shake Melania Trump’s hands — footage that ended up going viral online.)

Pence: “My wife loves her husband. And I love my wife and I have great respect for her. And so — but I’ve been really moved at how many people around the country have thanked us both for that day.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1736435328583.png" alt="As Trump went to his seat before the Jimmy Carter memorial service began, he shook hands with Mike Pence in a rare interaction with his former vice president. The two men had a falling out over Pence’s refusal to help Trump overturn his election defeat to Biden four years ago. -image courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>As Trump went to his seat before the Jimmy Carter memorial service began, he shook hands with Mike Pence in a rare interaction with his former vice president. The two men had a falling out over Pence’s refusal to help Trump overturn his election defeat to Biden four years ago. -image courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — His group spent nearly $1 million on ads opposing Robert F. Kennedy Jr.,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump">Donald Trump's</a>&nbsp;pick to lead the nation's health agencies. He's delivering speeches urging the president to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-us-marc-fogel-prisoner-swap-98418693957b1fa0189ee8ac4e8b4f2d">stand with longstanding foreign allies</a>&nbsp;and lobbying members of Congress while aides write letters and opinion columns.This weekend,&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/Mike_Pence/status/1890887398461948057">he posted an article he penned more than a decade ago</a>&nbsp;on the limits of presidential power after&nbsp;<a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114009179225169296">Trump claimed</a>&nbsp;that, “He who saves his Country does not violate any Law.”<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/michael-pence">Mike Pence</a>&nbsp;is emerging as one of the last Republicans in Washington willing to publicly criticize the new administration.It's an especially jarring role for the former vice president, whose refusal to break with Trump defined their time together in office until the two had a falling out over Trump’s refusal to accept the results of the 2020 election and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-donald-trump-virus-outbreak-elections-voting-fraud-and-irregularities-2d39186996f69de245e59c966d4d140f">his efforts to remain in power</a>.Pence and those who work with him at Advancing American Freedom, his political advocacy group, stress they are not looking to take on the “Never Trump" mantle. They intend to praise the administration when they agree with it, while raising concerns when they don't, advocating for longtime conservative principles that have fallen out of favor as Trump's “Make America Great Again” brand of populism has taken hold.“We’re calling balls and strikes here,” Pence told The Associated Press.Pence opposed Kennedy — who has since been confirmed as secretary of health and human services — due to Kennedy’s past comments voicing support for abortion rights. His group is now lobbying against&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-cabinet-labor-secretary-lori-chavez-deremer-decd9cff41794205bd06223f939f9e7b">Lori Chavez-DeRemer</a>, Trump's pick for labor secretary,&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/AmericanFreedom/status/1889826692493091262">accusing her of being pro-union</a>, and plans to spend the coming months pushing to increase military spending, shrink the deficit, and make permanent 2017 tax cuts, as well as trying to convince Trump to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-tariffs-reciprocal-imports-tax-trade-economy-54c0a26687dc96157d96229068894720">stop slapping tariffs</a>&nbsp;on allies.The AP recently sat down with Pence to discuss his efforts and his relationship with Trump — including a closely watched handshake at the funeral of President Jimmy Carter and his wife's lack of reaction as the 45th and 47th president took his seat.Here is a transcript of that conversation, which has been lightly edited for space and clarity:<h2>Q: What do you see as your role and the role of AAF over the next four years?</h2>Pence: “To be an anchor to windward ... I came across that line I think in a Herman Melville book a long time ago.”“The wind blows in the direction of more government. And I think it’s a role of conservatives to anchor the party so that when the wind blows, you put the anchor to windward so you stay grounded and hopefully do some small part to hold, you know, hold the ship of state on the principles that really minted my career in this movement.”“A strong defense, to American leadership of the free world, limited government, fiscal responsibility, growth, the right to life, traditional values — those were the values that drew me to the Republican Party. And I still think that they are the timeless ideals of the party of Lincoln. And so I want to do my part, even as a former elected official, to use whatever remains of my bully pulpit to be a champion for those principles.”<h2>Q: How are you picking your battles?</h2>Pence: “Well, for me, it’s always principles first. It’s not personal. I went to the inauguration last month and I was very moved in the outpouring of kind words and expressions of appreciation from former colleagues, including many members of the new administration who I encountered in hallways. And I saw Secretary of State (Marco) Rubio. I gave him a hug, told him how proud I was of him. We had praised him from here when he was selected. I must have seen about or interacted with about half the incoming Cabinet."“We went to the Carter funeral. And the president and I had a very cordial exchange. You know, he was coming down the row in front of us at the National Cathedral and he said, ‘Hi, Mike.’ And I was standing up, extended my hand, and I said, ‘Congratulations, Mr. President.’ And I could see his countenance softened. And he said, ‘Thanks.’ And Melania reached out and I said, ‘Congratulations, Melania.’ And it was, you know, the people that know me know it’s not personal. I’ve long since forgiven the president for any differences that we had at the end of our administration. We still have those differences as the president still holds the view that, to my knowledge, that I had some authority that I did not have under the Constitution or laws of the country. But from my heart, I've prayed often for the president."“And so, to answer your question, I think that the way we want to approach this is with integrity to principle. And I’m very encouraged. I think the Trump administration is off to a great start ... I’m very pleased about the president undoing Biden’s border policies and putting back into place the policies that we had negotiated and established that secured the border. But you know, with regard to the nomination of RFK ... for me, it would begin and end with the right to life ... I saw the nomination of an abortion rights supporter to be secretary of HHS to be a dramatic departure from 50 years of strong pro-life leadership at HHS under Republican administrations. So we thought it was important to speak out. And we got a lot of quiet encouragement about that."<h2>Q: Quiet encouragement?</h2>“Well, we got a lot of quiet encouragement from people that, for whatever reason, didn't feel compelled to join us in that chorus. But I thought it was an important point for us to make. And, you know, we'll continue to be a champion."<h2>Q: Why are Republicans so reluctant to speak out publicly?</h2>Pence: “I never speculate on motives. You know, I’m not new to town. I’ve waged lonely battles before.”“But you know, you have to be willing to step out and lead. And my hope is that even in the wake of this fight that, you know, the Senate has worked its will, the president will get his choice at HHS. My hope is that when the next issue of life comes up, that people will have been encouraged, emboldened to know that they’re not alone.”<h2>Q: Is there support in the party for moving back in the direction that you'd like to see versus the populist, MAGA wing of the party that's ascendant?</h2>Pence: “Well now you hit it. Now you're on it. I don’t think — look, I think some of the prominent voices in the party have embraced a more populist thinking. I don’t believe the overwhelming majority of people that ever vote Republican think any differently than they thought during our administration when we hewed to a conservative agenda or the years before or since.""Let me give you one anecdote. So I'm at a town hall meeting when I’m running for president. And at the end of the town hall meeting — it was well-attended, it was in Iowa — a farmer walked up to me and he said, ‘It was a great town hall meeting. I agree with everything you say.’ You know, and I argued for — this was literally in the wake of the Oct. 7 attack. And I argued for strong American support for Israel, strong American leadership in the world, continued support for Ukraine in their fight and limited government and bringing about reforms to put our fiscal house in order and right to life.And this farmer says to me, he said, ‘I agree with absolutely everything you said.’ So I said, ‘Well, can I count on your vote?’ And he said, ‘No, I got to be for Trump this time.’ And he goes, ‘But I’ll see you in four years. You’re going to be a great president someday.’ I said, ‘Would you mind telling me, you know, why?’ And he said words I never forgot, which was in effect: He lamented Biden’s failed record. And I saw that he was drawn to the need for a rematch. And then he said, ‘Plus, if they can do that to a former president, they can do that to me.’ And the ‘lawfare’ stuff went into higher relief.“So I didn’t see in this last election a Republican Party that was embracing big government or a vision to pull back from America’s commitments on the world stage or marginalizing the right to life. I didn’t see that traveling all over the country and I still don’t see it. I think there were other factors that gave the former president a decided advantage in the election. He’d earned it. He’d won it. And then he won it in the fall. But I don’t think the party’s changed."<h2>Q: You mentioned the Carter funeral earlier. Tell me about your wife's reaction to the Trumps that day.</h2>(At the funeral, former second lady Karen Pence refused to acknowledge the then-president elect or shake Melania Trump’s hands — footage that ended up going viral online.)Pence: “My wife loves her husband. And I love my wife and I have great respect for her. And so — but I’ve been really moved at how many people around the country have thanked us both for that day."But again, you know, I want to emphasize, we’re eyes forward here. You know, I’d always thought the president was going to come around on the position he took on Jan. 6. If you read the end of my book, which I’d be flattered if you did, you’ll read we actually parted on very amicable terms, very good terms. But in the spring, when he returned to the rhetoric about how I could have done something that neither the Constitution nor the law would ever permit any vice president to do, then I just decided it was important to go our separate ways. But hope springs eternal. And we want to be a constructive force for the conservative agenda. I think that’s good for the administration. It’s good for the Congress. More importantly, it’s good for America.”