WASHINGTON (AP) — The Republican chairman of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee issued a subpoena Wednesday to the Secret Service director compelling her to appear before the committee on Monday for what is scheduled to be the first congressional hearing into the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump.

And even before the first hearing Republican calls for Director&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-donald-trump-government-and-politics-f3d1e4308d7e2d367d91d9ab037e2229">Kimberly Cheatle</a>&nbsp;to resign intensified Wednesday with top Republican leaders from both the House and the Senate saying she should step down. The director has said she has no intention of resigning.

Rep. James Comer said initially that the Secret Service committed to her attendance but that Homeland Security officials appeared to intervene and there has been no “meaningful updates or information” shared with the committee.

Comer said the “lack of transparency and failure to cooperate” with the committee called into question Cheatle's ability to lead the Secret Service and necessitated the subpoena.

Cheatle has said the agency understands the importance of a review ordered by Democratic President Joe Biden and would fully participate in it as well as with congressional committees looking into the shooting.

In response to the subpoena and an earlier letter from Comer, Zephranie Buetow, an assistant secretary at Homeland Security, said that while the department was “disappointed that the Committee rushed to issue a subpoena,” Cheatle welcomes the chance to testify. The official said that given Cheatle's focus on securing the ongoing Republican National Convention, the department would appreciate if she could appear on July 25 or July 26, or the following week, instead of Monday.

The Oversight panel rejected that request for a change of date and committee spokesperson Jessica Collins said, “Director Cheatle has agreed to comply with Chairman Comer's subpoena and the hearing will take place as scheduled.”

“Americans demand and deserve answers from the director about the attempted assassination of President Trump and the Secret Service's egregious failures,” Collins said.

The subpoena was just one of a series of developments that occurred Wednesday in the wake of the Saturday assassination attempt.

The fact that a shooter was able to get so close to the former president while he's supposed to be closely guarded has raised questions about what security plans the agency tasked with taking a bullet for its protectees put in place and who is ultimately responsible for allowing the 20-year-old gunman to climb a roof where he had a clear line of sight to a former president.

House Speaker Mike Johnson announced he would be setting up a task force to investigate security failures that occurred during the assassination attempt. He also said he would be calling on Cheatle to resign from her post as director of the Secret Service, saying on Fox News Channel without elaborating, “I think she’s shown what her priorities are.”

He said the task force would be made up of Republicans and Democrats and its formation would speed up the investigative process.

“We must have accountability for this. It was inexcusable,” Johnson said. “Obviously, there were security lapses. You don’t have to be a special ops expert to understand that. And we’re going to get down to the bottom of it quickly.”

Sen. Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader in the Senate, added his name to the list of lawmakers calling for Cheatle to step down. He said on the social media platform X that the near assassination was a “grave attack on American democracy.”

“The nation deserves answers and accountability,” McConnell tweeted. New leadership at the Secret Service would be an important step in that direction.”

The House Homeland Security Committee also invited several state and local law enforcement officials from Pennsylvania to testify at a hearing in the coming days with Rep. Mark Green, the committee’s chairman, saying their accounts of events were critical to the investigation.

A key issue in the unfolding aftermath of the shooting is how security responsibilities were divided between Secret Service and local law enforcement at the rally and what breakdowns occurred that eventually allowed the gunman onto the roof.

Cheatle said during an interview Monday with ABC News that the shooting should never have happened, but also said she has no plans to resign.

When asked who bears the most responsibility for the shooting happening, she said: “What I would say is the Secret Service is responsible for the protection of the former president."

“The buck stops with me. I am the director of the Secret Service," she said.

Anthony Guglielmi, a spokesman for the U.S. Secret Service, on Wednesday said: “Director Kimberly Cheatle is proud to work alongside the dedicated men and women of the U.S. Secret Service and has no intention to resign.”

So far, she has the support of the administration.

“I have 100% confidence in the director of the United States Secret Service. I have 100% confidence in the United States Secret Service,” Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said Monday.

But in addition to the Congressional inquiries, Cheatle and the Secret Service are also facing an inquiry by the Department of Homeland Security's inspector general.

In a brief notice posted to the inspector general’s website Tuesday, the agency said the objective of the probe is to “Evaluate the United States Secret Service’s (Secret Service) process for securing former President Trump’s July 13, 2024 campaign event.”

The agency also said Wednesday it is launching a review of the agency's Counter Sniper Team's “preparedness and operations.”

“Our objective is to determine the extent to which the Secret Service Counter Sniper Team is prepared for, and responds to, threats at events attended by designated protectees,” the inspector general's office said.

Biden on Sunday said he was ordering an independent review of the security at the rally. No one has yet been named to lead that inquiry.

Since the shooting, Cheatle and the Security Service have come under intense scrutiny over how a gunman could get in position to fire at a former president.

The shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks, was able to get within 135 meters (157 yards) of the stage where the Republican former president was speaking when he opened fire. That’s despite&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-attempted-assassination-iran-threat-secret-service-87f9a1e6e74c2ac18636334e9b2e03a3">a threat on Trump’s life from Iran leading to additional security</a>&nbsp;for the former president in the days before the Saturday rally.

A bloodied Trump was quickly escorted off the stage by Secret Service agents, and agency snipers&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-assassination-attempt-thomas-matthew-crooks-shooter-881581c46c07025898027143fc9132e5">killed the shooter</a>. Trump said the upper part of his right ear was pierced in the shooting. One rallygoer was killed, and two others critically wounded.

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-donald-trump-government-and-politics-f3d1e4308d7e2d367d91d9ab037e2229">Cheatle</a>&nbsp;said her agency was working to understand how Saturday’s shooting happened and to make sure something like it never does again.

Cheatle and FBI Director Christopher Wray participated in a telephone briefing Wednesday afternoon with senators. Republicans came away critical.

Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., tweeted on X that it was a “100% cover-your-ass briefing.” Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., called for administration officials to hold a daily press conference to share updates with the public, and Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., said “they are so disjointed that they don’t have their own facts together yet.”

The Secret Service has roughly 7,800 staff members and is responsible for protecting presidents, vice presidents, their families, former presidents, their spouses and their minor children under the age of 16 and a few other high-level Cabinet officials such as the Homeland Security secretary.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/7/1720975879185.jpeg" alt="Former President Donald Trump gestures while surrounded by U.S. Secret Service agents as he is helped off the stage at a campaign rally in Butler, Pa., Saturday, July 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)" />
 <figcaption>Former President Donald Trump gestures while surrounded by U.S. Secret Service agents as he is helped off the stage at a campaign rally in Butler, Pa., Saturday, July 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — The Republican chairman of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee issued a subpoena Wednesday to the Secret Service director compelling her to appear before the committee on Monday for what is scheduled to be the first congressional hearing into the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump.And even before the first hearing Republican calls for Director&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-donald-trump-government-and-politics-f3d1e4308d7e2d367d91d9ab037e2229">Kimberly Cheatle</a>&nbsp;to resign intensified Wednesday with top Republican leaders from both the House and the Senate saying she should step down. The director has said she has no intention of resigning.Rep. James Comer said initially that the Secret Service committed to her attendance but that Homeland Security officials appeared to intervene and there has been no “meaningful updates or information” shared with the committee.Comer said the “lack of transparency and failure to cooperate” with the committee called into question Cheatle's ability to lead the Secret Service and necessitated the subpoena.Cheatle has said the agency understands the importance of a review ordered by Democratic President Joe Biden and would fully participate in it as well as with congressional committees looking into the shooting.In response to the subpoena and an earlier letter from Comer, Zephranie Buetow, an assistant secretary at Homeland Security, said that while the department was “disappointed that the Committee rushed to issue a subpoena,” Cheatle welcomes the chance to testify. The official said that given Cheatle's focus on securing the ongoing Republican National Convention, the department would appreciate if she could appear on July 25 or July 26, or the following week, instead of Monday.The Oversight panel rejected that request for a change of date and committee spokesperson Jessica Collins said, “Director Cheatle has agreed to comply with Chairman Comer's subpoena and the hearing will take place as scheduled.”“Americans demand and deserve answers from the director about the attempted assassination of President Trump and the Secret Service's egregious failures,” Collins said.The subpoena was just one of a series of developments that occurred Wednesday in the wake of the Saturday assassination attempt.The fact that a shooter was able to get so close to the former president while he's supposed to be closely guarded has raised questions about what security plans the agency tasked with taking a bullet for its protectees put in place and who is ultimately responsible for allowing the 20-year-old gunman to climb a roof where he had a clear line of sight to a former president.House Speaker Mike Johnson announced he would be setting up a task force to investigate security failures that occurred during the assassination attempt. He also said he would be calling on Cheatle to resign from her post as director of the Secret Service, saying on Fox News Channel without elaborating, “I think she’s shown what her priorities are.”He said the task force would be made up of Republicans and Democrats and its formation would speed up the investigative process.“We must have accountability for this. It was inexcusable,” Johnson said. “Obviously, there were security lapses. You don’t have to be a special ops expert to understand that. And we’re going to get down to the bottom of it quickly.”Sen. Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader in the Senate, added his name to the list of lawmakers calling for Cheatle to step down. He said on the social media platform X that the near assassination was a “grave attack on American democracy.”“The nation deserves answers and accountability,” McConnell tweeted. New leadership at the Secret Service would be an important step in that direction.”The House Homeland Security Committee also invited several state and local law enforcement officials from Pennsylvania to testify at a hearing in the coming days with Rep. Mark Green, the committee’s chairman, saying their accounts of events were critical to the investigation.A key issue in the unfolding aftermath of the shooting is how security responsibilities were divided between Secret Service and local law enforcement at the rally and what breakdowns occurred that eventually allowed the gunman onto the roof.Cheatle said during an interview Monday with ABC News that the shooting should never have happened, but also said she has no plans to resign.When asked who bears the most responsibility for the shooting happening, she said: “What I would say is the Secret Service is responsible for the protection of the former president."“The buck stops with me. I am the director of the Secret Service," she said.Anthony Guglielmi, a spokesman for the U.S. Secret Service, on Wednesday said: “Director Kimberly Cheatle is proud to work alongside the dedicated men and women of the U.S. Secret Service and has no intention to resign.”So far, she has the support of the administration.“I have 100% confidence in the director of the United States Secret Service. I have 100% confidence in the United States Secret Service,” Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said Monday.But in addition to the Congressional inquiries, Cheatle and the Secret Service are also facing an inquiry by the Department of Homeland Security's inspector general.In a brief notice posted to the inspector general’s website Tuesday, the agency said the objective of the probe is to “Evaluate the United States Secret Service’s (Secret Service) process for securing former President Trump’s July 13, 2024 campaign event.”The agency also said Wednesday it is launching a review of the agency's Counter Sniper Team's “preparedness and operations.”“Our objective is to determine the extent to which the Secret Service Counter Sniper Team is prepared for, and responds to, threats at events attended by designated protectees,” the inspector general's office said.Biden on Sunday said he was ordering an independent review of the security at the rally. No one has yet been named to lead that inquiry.Since the shooting, Cheatle and the Security Service have come under intense scrutiny over how a gunman could get in position to fire at a former president.The shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks, was able to get within 135 meters (157 yards) of the stage where the Republican former president was speaking when he opened fire. That’s despite&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-attempted-assassination-iran-threat-secret-service-87f9a1e6e74c2ac18636334e9b2e03a3">a threat on Trump’s life from Iran leading to additional security</a>&nbsp;for the former president in the days before the Saturday rally.A bloodied Trump was quickly escorted off the stage by Secret Service agents, and agency snipers&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-assassination-attempt-thomas-matthew-crooks-shooter-881581c46c07025898027143fc9132e5">killed the shooter</a>. Trump said the upper part of his right ear was pierced in the shooting. One rallygoer was killed, and two others critically wounded.<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-donald-trump-government-and-politics-f3d1e4308d7e2d367d91d9ab037e2229">Cheatle</a>&nbsp;said her agency was working to understand how Saturday’s shooting happened and to make sure something like it never does again.Cheatle and FBI Director Christopher Wray participated in a telephone briefing Wednesday afternoon with senators. Republicans came away critical.Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., tweeted on X that it was a “100% cover-your-ass briefing.” Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., called for administration officials to hold a daily press conference to share updates with the public, and Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., said “they are so disjointed that they don’t have their own facts together yet.”The Secret Service has roughly 7,800 staff members and is responsible for protecting presidents, vice presidents, their families, former presidents, their spouses and their minor children under the age of 16 and a few other high-level Cabinet officials such as the Homeland Security secretary.

Secret Service director to testify on Trump assassination attempt

KANSAS CITY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a fatal carjacking in Kansas City.

Just after 1p.m. Wednesday,&nbsp;a suspect was attempting to steal a white Ford F350 in the&nbsp;2900 Block of Paseo in Kansas City, according to KCPD Sergeant Phil DiMartino.

 The owner attempted to stop the suspect from stealing the truck.&nbsp; The suspect drove away while dragging the owner with the vehicle. The victim was dislodged from the vehicle. and thrown to the pavement. The suspect left the scene in the stolen Ford without stopping. The victim was pronounced deceased at the scene, according to DiMaratino.

 This is fatality crash #51 compared to #46 at this time last year.&nbsp; Police released no additional details.

KANSAS CITY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a fatal carjacking in Kansas City.Just after 1p.m. Wednesday,&nbsp;a suspect was attempting to steal a white Ford F350 in the&nbsp;2900 Block of Paseo in Kansas City, according to KCPD Sergeant Phil DiMartino. The owner attempted to stop the suspect from stealing the truck.&nbsp; The suspect drove away while dragging the owner with the vehicle. The victim was dislodged from the vehicle. and thrown to the pavement. The suspect left the scene in the stolen Ford without stopping. The victim was pronounced deceased at the scene, according to DiMaratino. This is fatality crash #51 compared to #46 at this time last year.&nbsp; Police released no additional details.

KCPD: Victim dies when dragged by suspect in carjacking 

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Newly minted vice presidential nominee JD Vance built his Wednesday night speech to the Republican National Convention around his own Appalachian roots, but it wasn't the first time he had&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-vance-rnc-2024-67880a3003a69938aebd3ac8a586dc65#:~:text=MILWAUKEE%20(AP)%20%E2%80%94%20Introducing%20himself,best%20understands%20the%20challenges%20facing">shared his personal story</a>.

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8TlBHRtrvM">Click here </a>to watch his full acceptance speech

Long before he was a U.S. senator from Ohio, Vance rose to prominence on the wings of “Hillbilly Elegy,” a bestselling memoir that many thought&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-business-arts-and-ohio-8c7a70bad96c48df9544049a38584cb8">captured the essence of Donald Trump's political resonance</a>&nbsp;in a rural white America ravaged by joblessness, opioid addiction and poverty.

The 2016 book set off a fierce debate in the region. Many Appalachian scholars thought it trafficked in stereotypes and blamed working-class people for their own struggles, without giving enough weight to the decades of exploitation by coal and pharmaceutical companies that figure prominently in Appalachia's story.

Some of the resentment sparked by the book crossed party lines.

“A lot of us born and raised natives of Appalachia are just highly sensitive to the fact that knocking hillbillies is the final frontier of accepted prejudice in America," said TJ Litafik, an eastern Kentucky Republican political consultant and Trump supporter.

Litafik said he would vote for Trump no matter whom he chose as vice president, but Vance was not anywhere near the top of his list. That's in part because Vance had strong words to say against Trump around the time the book was published, even suggesting once that he might be “America’s Hitler” in a text to a former roommate that later became public.

Litafik, who read “Hillbilly Elegy,” subtitled “A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis,” and saw the 2020 film adaptation, said Vance might come off as condescending to some voters. But he called the senator “dynamic and intelligent” and said Vance’s accomplishments are undeniably impressive.

“I think to me and to a lot of my friends, JD Vance is something of an enigma,” Litafik said. “We appreciate some of his recent convictions, but based on past history, there’s a hesitancy there.”

He said he's open to giving Vance a chance if he's willing to show his commitment to rural and blue-collar Americans by protecting them from policy proposals like those that would roll back expanded Medicaid, especially for drug treatment.

Vance was raised by his grandparents in Middletown, in southwestern Ohio, while his mother, whom he introduced during his speech Wednesday, battled an addiction he said she put behind her 10 years ago. He spent a significant amount of time traveling to Kentucky with his grandparents to visit family and said he hoped to be buried in a small mountain cemetery there.

He vowed in the speech to be “a vice president who never forgets where he came from.”

Many conservatives loved the book. Among them were some who lobbied for Vance to be Trump's vice presidential pick. They include Donald Trump Jr.; Kevin Roberts, who leads the Heritage Foundation; and Turning Point USA’s Charlie Kirk.

In an interview before Vance was selected, Illinois native Kirk said he thought both the book and movie were excellent.

“It’s incredibly persuasive, and he’s lived the experience that many Trump voters have," he said. "So it’s not talking down to Trump voters, or people in the Midwest. He grew up in southwestern Ohio, in Appalachia, you know, raised by his Mamaw, and understands kind of how that part of the world stopped working. And he also now, of course, has an agenda and a vision and a passion to try to bring it back to prominence and greatness.”

Roberts, a native of Lafayette, Louisiana, said he couldn’t put the book down after discovering it, so true was it to his own life story.

“I think it’s one of the most important books written in the past 20 years,” he told The Associated Press before Vance’s selection. “Not because he’s in the Senate. It’s just such an authentic portrayal of an experience that tens of millions of Americans have had.”

Some critics acknowledge Vance's right to tell his own story. Where they have trouble is when he makes sweeping generalizations.

At one point, for example, Vance describes his grandmother’s violent reaction to his grandfather coming home drunk after she had threatened to kill him if it happened again. In another scene, his grandparents curse out a store employee and smash a toy after one of their children was told not to play with it without paying.

“Destroying store merchandise and threatening a sales clerk were normal to Mamaw and Papaw,” Vance wrote. “That’s what Scots-Irish Appalachians do when people mess with your kid.”

Ray Jones, the judge-executive of Pike County, Kentucky, and a former Democratic state senator, said he recognized nothing about his family’s experience in “Hillbilly Elegy.”

“Maybe that’s his life story, but I thought the overall depiction of the people in eastern Kentucky was offensive,” said Jones, whose grandfathers were both union coal miners. “I don’t think that book is a fair depiction of the people of this region, and most certainly not the hard-working men and women here."

“The book paints the people of this region as white trash, and that’s just not true,” he said, before adding, “His story is obviously compelling to people who aren’t from here.”

Neema Avashia, a public educator and author from West Virginia who now lives in Boston, said she was unsettled by the book’s tone, by its lack of representation of Appalachia’s nonwhite residents and by what she called “sweeping generalizations” about working-class white people.

Avashia responded with her own memoir, “Another Appalachia,” about growing up Indian-American and queer in a West Virginia chemical plant community.

“People are allowed to write memoirs about whatever they want — it’s their life," Avashia said. "I think where I really started to struggle was with the attempt to draw lines in terms of claiming sort of expertise around culture and characterizing like, entire groups of people.”

“I would never claim to say that my Appalachian story is the Appalachian story. It is an Appalachian story. It's called ‘Another Appalachia’ for a reason. It’s ‘another’ because there are many.”

Avashia said the book's popularity “is rooted in a desire to have your biases confirmed.”

Vance, whose office didn't return a request for comment Wednesday, has acknowledged some criticism. He recently told The New York Times he’d distanced himself from “Hillbilly Elegy,” in order not to “wake up in 10 years and really hate everything that I’ve become.”

Sam Workman, a professor of political science at West Virginia University, called the book “poverty porn.” He said the reception to it has more to say about the disconnect between intellectual pundits in academics, politics, the media and rural working-class people than anything else.

“‘Hillbilly Elegy’ was so popular at the start, and all of a sudden everyone now dislikes it, because they realize the rabbit’s out of the hat in a way,” said Workman, who runs WVU's Institute for Policy Research and Public Affairs. “This is really about a lot of liberal intellectuals being caught off guard as to what the real purposes of ‘Hillbilly Elegy’ were. It was the first foray into a really potent, conservative political career.”

On the heels of the book's popularity, Vance started a charity called “Our Ohio Renewal” that he said he would use as a vehicle for helping solve the scourge of opioid addiction that he had lamented in the book. He&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-entertainment-health-175153d8a80d93b2c9c6654a6a730de9">shuttered the nonprofit</a>&nbsp;shortly after clinching the Senate nomination in 2022.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Newly minted vice presidential nominee JD Vance built his Wednesday night speech to the Republican National Convention around his own Appalachian roots, but it wasn't the first time he had&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-vance-rnc-2024-67880a3003a69938aebd3ac8a586dc65#:~:text=MILWAUKEE%20(AP)%20%E2%80%94%20Introducing%20himself,best%20understands%20the%20challenges%20facing">shared his personal story</a>.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">JD Vance: &quot;Our movement is about single moms like mine, who struggled with money and addiction, but never gave up. I&#39;m proud to say that tonight my my mom is here, 10 years, clean and sober. I love you mom.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/sl2P0hDk5i">pic.twitter.com/sl2P0hDk5i</a>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1813783939099828705?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 18, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">JD Vance: &quot;I stand here humbled and I&#39;m overwhelmed with gratitude to say I officially accept your nomination to be Vice President of the United States of America.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/xSq3U4sLeR">pic.twitter.com/xSq3U4sLeR</a>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1813770852082860461?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 18, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8TlBHRtrvM">Click here </a>to watch his full acceptance speechLong before he was a U.S. senator from Ohio, Vance rose to prominence on the wings of “Hillbilly Elegy,” a bestselling memoir that many thought&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-business-arts-and-ohio-8c7a70bad96c48df9544049a38584cb8">captured the essence of Donald Trump's political resonance</a>&nbsp;in a rural white America ravaged by joblessness, opioid addiction and poverty.The 2016 book set off a fierce debate in the region. Many Appalachian scholars thought it trafficked in stereotypes and blamed working-class people for their own struggles, without giving enough weight to the decades of exploitation by coal and pharmaceutical companies that figure prominently in Appalachia's story.Some of the resentment sparked by the book crossed party lines.“A lot of us born and raised natives of Appalachia are just highly sensitive to the fact that knocking hillbillies is the final frontier of accepted prejudice in America," said TJ Litafik, an eastern Kentucky Republican political consultant and Trump supporter.Litafik said he would vote for Trump no matter whom he chose as vice president, but Vance was not anywhere near the top of his list. That's in part because Vance had strong words to say against Trump around the time the book was published, even suggesting once that he might be “America’s Hitler” in a text to a former roommate that later became public.Litafik, who read “Hillbilly Elegy,” subtitled “A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis,” and saw the 2020 film adaptation, said Vance might come off as condescending to some voters. But he called the senator “dynamic and intelligent” and said Vance’s accomplishments are undeniably impressive.“I think to me and to a lot of my friends, JD Vance is something of an enigma,” Litafik said. “We appreciate some of his recent convictions, but based on past history, there’s a hesitancy there.”He said he's open to giving Vance a chance if he's willing to show his commitment to rural and blue-collar Americans by protecting them from policy proposals like those that would roll back expanded Medicaid, especially for drug treatment.Vance was raised by his grandparents in Middletown, in southwestern Ohio, while his mother, whom he introduced during his speech Wednesday, battled an addiction he said she put behind her 10 years ago. He spent a significant amount of time traveling to Kentucky with his grandparents to visit family and said he hoped to be buried in a small mountain cemetery there.He vowed in the speech to be “a vice president who never forgets where he came from.”Many conservatives loved the book. Among them were some who lobbied for Vance to be Trump's vice presidential pick. They include Donald Trump Jr.; Kevin Roberts, who leads the Heritage Foundation; and Turning Point USA’s Charlie Kirk.In an interview before Vance was selected, Illinois native Kirk said he thought both the book and movie were excellent.“It’s incredibly persuasive, and he’s lived the experience that many Trump voters have," he said. "So it’s not talking down to Trump voters, or people in the Midwest. He grew up in southwestern Ohio, in Appalachia, you know, raised by his Mamaw, and understands kind of how that part of the world stopped working. And he also now, of course, has an agenda and a vision and a passion to try to bring it back to prominence and greatness.”Roberts, a native of Lafayette, Louisiana, said he couldn’t put the book down after discovering it, so true was it to his own life story.“I think it’s one of the most important books written in the past 20 years,” he told The Associated Press before Vance’s selection. “Not because he’s in the Senate. It’s just such an authentic portrayal of an experience that tens of millions of Americans have had.”Some critics acknowledge Vance's right to tell his own story. Where they have trouble is when he makes sweeping generalizations.At one point, for example, Vance describes his grandmother’s violent reaction to his grandfather coming home drunk after she had threatened to kill him if it happened again. In another scene, his grandparents curse out a store employee and smash a toy after one of their children was told not to play with it without paying.“Destroying store merchandise and threatening a sales clerk were normal to Mamaw and Papaw,” Vance wrote. “That’s what Scots-Irish Appalachians do when people mess with your kid.”Ray Jones, the judge-executive of Pike County, Kentucky, and a former Democratic state senator, said he recognized nothing about his family’s experience in “Hillbilly Elegy.”“Maybe that’s his life story, but I thought the overall depiction of the people in eastern Kentucky was offensive,” said Jones, whose grandfathers were both union coal miners. “I don’t think that book is a fair depiction of the people of this region, and most certainly not the hard-working men and women here."“The book paints the people of this region as white trash, and that’s just not true,” he said, before adding, “His story is obviously compelling to people who aren’t from here.”Neema Avashia, a public educator and author from West Virginia who now lives in Boston, said she was unsettled by the book’s tone, by its lack of representation of Appalachia’s nonwhite residents and by what she called “sweeping generalizations” about working-class white people.Avashia responded with her own memoir, “Another Appalachia,” about growing up Indian-American and queer in a West Virginia chemical plant community.“People are allowed to write memoirs about whatever they want — it’s their life," Avashia said. "I think where I really started to struggle was with the attempt to draw lines in terms of claiming sort of expertise around culture and characterizing like, entire groups of people.”“I would never claim to say that my Appalachian story is the Appalachian story. It is an Appalachian story. It's called ‘Another Appalachia’ for a reason. It’s ‘another’ because there are many.”Avashia said the book's popularity “is rooted in a desire to have your biases confirmed.”Vance, whose office didn't return a request for comment Wednesday, has acknowledged some criticism. He recently told The New York Times he’d distanced himself from “Hillbilly Elegy,” in order not to “wake up in 10 years and really hate everything that I’ve become.”Sam Workman, a professor of political science at West Virginia University, called the book “poverty porn.” He said the reception to it has more to say about the disconnect between intellectual pundits in academics, politics, the media and rural working-class people than anything else.“‘Hillbilly Elegy’ was so popular at the start, and all of a sudden everyone now dislikes it, because they realize the rabbit’s out of the hat in a way,” said Workman, who runs WVU's Institute for Policy Research and Public Affairs. “This is really about a lot of liberal intellectuals being caught off guard as to what the real purposes of ‘Hillbilly Elegy’ were. It was the first foray into a really potent, conservative political career.”On the heels of the book's popularity, Vance started a charity called “Our Ohio Renewal” that he said he would use as a vehicle for helping solve the scourge of opioid addiction that he had lamented in the book. He&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-entertainment-health-175153d8a80d93b2c9c6654a6a730de9">shuttered the nonprofit</a>&nbsp;shortly after clinching the Senate nomination in 2022.___

🎥Trump vice presidential pick talks Appalachian ties in speech at RNC

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military-built pier to carry humanitarian aid to Gaza will be dismantled and brought home, ending a mission that has been fraught with&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/us-gaza-aid-pier-project-dea570c577272f945cdcbfffab0ac34c">repeated weather and security problems</a>&nbsp;that limited how much food and other supplies could get to starving Palestinians.

Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, deputy commander at U.S. Central Command, told reporters in a Pentagon briefing on Wednesday that the pier achieved its intended effect in what he called an “unprecedented operation.”

As the U.S. military steps away from the sea route for humanitarian aid, questions swirl about Israel’s new plan to use the port at Ashdod as a substitute. There are few details on how it will work and lingering concerns about whether aid groups will have enough viable land crossings to get assistance into the territory besieged by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war">war between Israel and Hamas</a>. But Cooper said the Ashdod corridor will be more sustainable.

Critics call the pier a $230 million boondoggle that failed to bring in the level of aid needed to stem a looming famine. The U.S. military, however, has maintained that it&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-gaza-pier-us-military-aid-hunger-1dedd321e2a4e5fdba5a26cbbc51df77">served as the best hope</a>&nbsp;as aid only trickled in during a critical time of near-famine in Gaza and that it got close to 20 million pounds (9 million kilograms) of desperately needed supplies to the Palestinians.

President Joe Biden, who announced the building of the pier during his State of the Union speech in March, expressed&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/military-pier-gaza-israel-humanitarian-aid-c4d464cb01bdf86e71c38519fb635cde">disappointment that it didn’t do as well as hoped</a>.

“I’ve been disappointed that some of the things that I put forward have not succeeded as well — like the port we attached from Cyprus,” Biden, a Democrat, said during a news conference last week. “I was hopeful that would be more successful.”

Planned as a temporary fix to get aid to starving Palestinians, the project was panned from the start by aid groups that condemned it as a waste of time and money. While U.S. defense officials acknowledged that the weather was worse than expected and limited the days the pier could operate, they also expressed frustration with&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/pier-humanitarian-aid-gaza-israel-un-2465291ca9308f9d97e3cc51a8cab6c7">humanitarian groups for being unable and unwilling</a>&nbsp;to distribute the aid that got through the system, only to have it pile up onshore.

A critical element that neither the aid groups nor the U.S. military could control, however, was the Israeli defense forces whose military operation into Gaza put humanitarian workers in persistent danger and in a number of cases&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/world-central-kitchen-jose-andres-gaza-israel-a21b62edbfa1150d0eb78ed5597a03c8">cost them their lives</a>.

As a result, the pier operated for fewer than 25 days after its installation May 16, and aid agencies used it only about half that time due to security concerns.

Stuck in the middle were the more than 1,000 U.S. soldiers and sailors who largely lived on boats off the Gaza shore and struggled to keep the pier working but spent many days repairing it or detaching it, moving it and reinstalling it due to the bad weather.

The tensions played out until the final moments, as senior Biden administration officials signaled the end of the pier project days ago but U.S. Central Command balked,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-war-latest-07-09-2024-15ff481cbd52e8cbe1ffa17dc78e094f">holding out hope the military could reinstall it</a>&nbsp;one last time to move any final pallets of aid ashore.

Most would agree that use of the maritime route and what is known as the Army’s Joint Logistics Over the Shore capability, or JLOTS, fell short of early expectations. Even at the start, officials warned of challenges because the sea is shallow, the weather is unpredictable and it was an active war zone.

The U.S. also had to train Israeli troops and others on how to anchor the pier to the shore because no U.S. troops could step foot on Gaza soil, a condition Biden has had since the beginning of the Hamas-Israel conflict in October.

However, enough aid to feed 450,000 people for a month flowed through the pier, according to the United States Agency for International Development, which coordinated with the United Nations and others to get supplies to people in need. As important, humanitarian leaders say, the pier operation laid the groundwork for a coordination system with the Israeli government and military that they can expand on.

The one place where deconfliction with the Israeli military worked well was at the pier, which came online at a time of some of the greatest despair and food shortages, USAID Administrator&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-gaza-war-power-usaid-humanitarian-afc82e5a17d939bd284194b0b64289d5">Samantha Power</a>&nbsp;said. She said Israel and the military have now agreed to extend that coordination plan to “all of Gaza.”

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Tuesday that a new Pier 28 will soon be established at Israel’s Ashdod port for delivering aid to the Gaza Strip as a replacement for the U.S. military-built pier. He did not say when it would start operating.

Other aid groups, however, slammed the U.S. military pier as a distraction, saying the U.S. should have instead pressured Israel to open more land crossings and allow the aid to flow more quickly and efficiently through them.

Everyone has agreed all along that land crossings are the most productive way to get aid into Gaza, but the Israeli military routinely has&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-gaza-rafah-aid-us-senators-2bc2a3c5e5f8af8e2d3f0b7242c1a885">blocked routes and slowed deliveries</a>&nbsp;due to inspections. Aid groups also were terrorized by attacks, from Hamas,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/cyprus-israel-gaza-aid-0925eb0de9a5a315b9c21e045d1e3a95">gunmen who stripped convoys of supplies</a>&nbsp;and the Israeli military. More than 278 workers have been killed in the conflict, Power said.

As the Pentagon and the Army take stock of how the pier did, questions will loom about whether officials underestimated the persistent weather challenges and security hurdles that hindered the operation.

The system is run by the Army's 7th Transportation Brigade (Expeditionary) at Joint Base Langley-Eustis in Virginia. And it's like a huge LEGO system — an array of 40-foot-long (12-meter-long) pieces of steel that can be locked together to form a pier and causeway.

It's unclear if U.S. forces were adequately prepared for the unpredictable and turbulent weather in the Gaza region. Nine days after the pier was installed on the Gaza shore, bad weather broke it, forcing troops to dismantle it and take it to the Israeli port at Ashdod for more than two weeks for repairs.

Weather forced troops to detach the pier from the shore two more times and move it to Ashdod. It was detached for the final time on June 28, and poor weather prevented the U.S. from reinstalling it.

Aid groups struggled to distribute the supplies from the pier into Gaza, and their efforts came to an abrupt halt after a June 8 Israeli military raid that rescued four hostages but killed hundreds of Palestinians.

Troops used an area near the pier to land a helicopter and fly out the hostages. To have even a small part of an Israeli military operation so close to the pier creates problems for aid groups who rely on being independent and separate from troops to remain safe.

As a result, the U.N. suspended all World Food Program deliveries while it conducted a review, which has not been released. WFP personnel have not distributed aid from the pier since but hired contractors to move aid that piled up on shore to warehouses so it would not spoil.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/6/1717793045172.png" alt="Photo U.S. Central Command" />
 <figcaption>Photo U.S. Central Command</figcaption>
 </figure>By LOLITA C. BALDOR and TARA COPP&nbsp;WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military-built pier to carry humanitarian aid to Gaza will be dismantled and brought home, ending a mission that has been fraught with&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/us-gaza-aid-pier-project-dea570c577272f945cdcbfffab0ac34c">repeated weather and security problems</a>&nbsp;that limited how much food and other supplies could get to starving Palestinians.Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, deputy commander at U.S. Central Command, told reporters in a Pentagon briefing on Wednesday that the pier achieved its intended effect in what he called an “unprecedented operation.”As the U.S. military steps away from the sea route for humanitarian aid, questions swirl about Israel’s new plan to use the port at Ashdod as a substitute. There are few details on how it will work and lingering concerns about whether aid groups will have enough viable land crossings to get assistance into the territory besieged by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war">war between Israel and Hamas</a>. But Cooper said the Ashdod corridor will be more sustainable.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/4/1714471004272.png" alt="Photo U.S. Central Command" />
 <figcaption>Photo U.S. Central Command</figcaption>
 </figure>Critics call the pier a $230 million boondoggle that failed to bring in the level of aid needed to stem a looming famine. The U.S. military, however, has maintained that it&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-gaza-pier-us-military-aid-hunger-1dedd321e2a4e5fdba5a26cbbc51df77">served as the best hope</a>&nbsp;as aid only trickled in during a critical time of near-famine in Gaza and that it got close to 20 million pounds (9 million kilograms) of desperately needed supplies to the Palestinians.President Joe Biden, who announced the building of the pier during his State of the Union speech in March, expressed&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/military-pier-gaza-israel-humanitarian-aid-c4d464cb01bdf86e71c38519fb635cde">disappointment that it didn’t do as well as hoped</a>.“I’ve been disappointed that some of the things that I put forward have not succeeded as well — like the port we attached from Cyprus,” Biden, a Democrat, said during a news conference last week. “I was hopeful that would be more successful.”Planned as a temporary fix to get aid to starving Palestinians, the project was panned from the start by aid groups that condemned it as a waste of time and money. While U.S. defense officials acknowledged that the weather was worse than expected and limited the days the pier could operate, they also expressed frustration with&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/pier-humanitarian-aid-gaza-israel-un-2465291ca9308f9d97e3cc51a8cab6c7">humanitarian groups for being unable and unwilling</a>&nbsp;to distribute the aid that got through the system, only to have it pile up onshore.A critical element that neither the aid groups nor the U.S. military could control, however, was the Israeli defense forces whose military operation into Gaza put humanitarian workers in persistent danger and in a number of cases&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/world-central-kitchen-jose-andres-gaza-israel-a21b62edbfa1150d0eb78ed5597a03c8">cost them their lives</a>.As a result, the pier operated for fewer than 25 days after its installation May 16, and aid agencies used it only about half that time due to security concerns.Stuck in the middle were the more than 1,000 U.S. soldiers and sailors who largely lived on boats off the Gaza shore and struggled to keep the pier working but spent many days repairing it or detaching it, moving it and reinstalling it due to the bad weather.The tensions played out until the final moments, as senior Biden administration officials signaled the end of the pier project days ago but U.S. Central Command balked,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-war-latest-07-09-2024-15ff481cbd52e8cbe1ffa17dc78e094f">holding out hope the military could reinstall it</a>&nbsp;one last time to move any final pallets of aid ashore.Most would agree that use of the maritime route and what is known as the Army’s Joint Logistics Over the Shore capability, or JLOTS, fell short of early expectations. Even at the start, officials warned of challenges because the sea is shallow, the weather is unpredictable and it was an active war zone.The U.S. also had to train Israeli troops and others on how to anchor the pier to the shore because no U.S. troops could step foot on Gaza soil, a condition Biden has had since the beginning of the Hamas-Israel conflict in October.However, enough aid to feed 450,000 people for a month flowed through the pier, according to the United States Agency for International Development, which coordinated with the United Nations and others to get supplies to people in need. As important, humanitarian leaders say, the pier operation laid the groundwork for a coordination system with the Israeli government and military that they can expand on.The one place where deconfliction with the Israeli military worked well was at the pier, which came online at a time of some of the greatest despair and food shortages, USAID Administrator&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-gaza-war-power-usaid-humanitarian-afc82e5a17d939bd284194b0b64289d5">Samantha Power</a>&nbsp;said. She said Israel and the military have now agreed to extend that coordination plan to “all of Gaza.”Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Tuesday that a new Pier 28 will soon be established at Israel’s Ashdod port for delivering aid to the Gaza Strip as a replacement for the U.S. military-built pier. He did not say when it would start operating.Other aid groups, however, slammed the U.S. military pier as a distraction, saying the U.S. should have instead pressured Israel to open more land crossings and allow the aid to flow more quickly and efficiently through them.Everyone has agreed all along that land crossings are the most productive way to get aid into Gaza, but the Israeli military routinely has&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-gaza-rafah-aid-us-senators-2bc2a3c5e5f8af8e2d3f0b7242c1a885">blocked routes and slowed deliveries</a>&nbsp;due to inspections. Aid groups also were terrorized by attacks, from Hamas,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/cyprus-israel-gaza-aid-0925eb0de9a5a315b9c21e045d1e3a95">gunmen who stripped convoys of supplies</a>&nbsp;and the Israeli military. More than 278 workers have been killed in the conflict, Power said.As the Pentagon and the Army take stock of how the pier did, questions will loom about whether officials underestimated the persistent weather challenges and security hurdles that hindered the operation.The system is run by the Army's 7th Transportation Brigade (Expeditionary) at Joint Base Langley-Eustis in Virginia. And it's like a huge LEGO system — an array of 40-foot-long (12-meter-long) pieces of steel that can be locked together to form a pier and causeway.It's unclear if U.S. forces were adequately prepared for the unpredictable and turbulent weather in the Gaza region. Nine days after the pier was installed on the Gaza shore, bad weather broke it, forcing troops to dismantle it and take it to the Israeli port at Ashdod for more than two weeks for repairs.Weather forced troops to detach the pier from the shore two more times and move it to Ashdod. It was detached for the final time on June 28, and poor weather prevented the U.S. from reinstalling it.Aid groups struggled to distribute the supplies from the pier into Gaza, and their efforts came to an abrupt halt after a June 8 Israeli military raid that rescued four hostages but killed hundreds of Palestinians.Troops used an area near the pier to land a helicopter and fly out the hostages. To have even a small part of an Israeli military operation so close to the pier creates problems for aid groups who rely on being independent and separate from troops to remain safe.As a result, the U.N. suspended all World Food Program deliveries while it conducted a review, which has not been released. WFP personnel have not distributed aid from the pier since but hired contractors to move aid that piled up on shore to warehouses so it would not spoil.

 $230M U.S. military built Gaza pier is permanently shut down

KANSAS CITY — The Amber Alert for a missing Kansas boy is canceled, according to the Kansas Bureau of Investigation.

At 8:06 p.m., law enforcement confirmed 2-year-old Jaxon was found safe in Missouri. Darryl Livingston Jr. is now in custody, according to Kansas City, Kansas police.

KANSAS CITY, Kan. —The KBI has issued an AMBER ALERT and are&nbsp;looking for Darryl Livingston, Jr., who is likely driving a silver 2016 Kia Forte, that may be displaying a temporary Missouri tag, according to the KBI.

 Livingston is a black male, 39, with black hair and brown eyes. He is 5 foot 8 inches tall and weighs around 185 pounds. 

He was last known wearing a multi-colored pink, purple and white basketball jersey with black jean shorts.

Just before 1:30 pm Wednesday, 2-year-old Jaxon Halley and his mother were forcibly taken at gunpoint by Darryl Livingston, Jr. during a domestic incident at their home, according to Kansas City Kansas Police.

 Jaxon and his mother were driven into Missouri where the mother escaped from the suspect at around 3:28 p.m. However, the suspect kept the child and left in an unknown direction in Kansas City, Missouri.

Livingston reportedly made statements to the mother that he would kill her and the child. They were last seen near the intersection of Myer and Wyandotte in Kansas City, Missouri.

.Jaxon is around 2 feet tall and weighs 40 pounds. He has black hair, brown eyes and was last wearing a gray Nike hoodie and jeans with blue patches.

Call 911 immediately if you have seen a missing child, suspect, or a suspect vehicle. If you have other information on a missing child, call 911 or the Kansas City Kansas Police Department at 913-596-3000.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/7/1721262323288.png" alt="Image KBI" />
 <figcaption>Image KBI</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY — The Amber Alert for a missing Kansas boy is canceled, according to the Kansas Bureau of Investigation.At 8:06 p.m., law enforcement confirmed 2-year-old Jaxon was found safe in Missouri. Darryl Livingston Jr. is now in custody, according to Kansas City, Kansas police.--------------KANSAS CITY, Kan. —The KBI has issued an AMBER ALERT and are&nbsp;looking for Darryl Livingston, Jr., who is likely driving a silver 2016 Kia Forte, that may be displaying a temporary Missouri tag, according to the KBI. Livingston is a black male, 39, with black hair and brown eyes. He is 5 foot 8 inches tall and weighs around 185 pounds. He was last known wearing a multi-colored pink, purple and white basketball jersey with black jean shorts.Just before 1:30 pm Wednesday, 2-year-old Jaxon Halley and his mother were forcibly taken at gunpoint by Darryl Livingston, Jr. during a domestic incident at their home, according to Kansas City Kansas Police. Jaxon and his mother were driven into Missouri where the mother escaped from the suspect at around 3:28 p.m. However, the suspect kept the child and left in an unknown direction in Kansas City, Missouri.Livingston reportedly made statements to the mother that he would kill her and the child. They were last seen near the intersection of Myer and Wyandotte in Kansas City, Missouri..Jaxon is around 2 feet tall and weighs 40 pounds. He has black hair, brown eyes and was last wearing a gray Nike hoodie and jeans with blue patches.Call 911 immediately if you have seen a missing child, suspect, or a suspect vehicle. If you have other information on a missing child, call 911 or the Kansas City Kansas Police Department at 913-596-3000.

Amber Alert canceled:  2-year-old Kan. boy safe, suspect in custody

By ZEKE MILLER, WILL WEISSERT and LISA MASCARO&nbsp;

WASHINGTON (AP) — California Rep.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/adam-schiff">Adam Schiff</a>&nbsp;on Wednesday became the highest-profile Democrat to call for President&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/joe-biden">Joe Biden</a>&nbsp;to drop his reelection bid, even as the party pushed ahead with plans for a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ohio-ballot-biden-access-3bf359cce8e73714be45cb99a6e31546">virtual vote to formally make Biden its nominee</a>&nbsp;in the first week of August.

The move to schedule the roll call, which would come weeks before the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/democratic-national-convention">Democratic National Convention</a>&nbsp;opens in Chicago on Aug. 19, follows nearly 20 Democratic members of Congress calling on Biden to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-democrats-president-trump-d5fb136a643edb020745336ff9709923">withdraw from the presidential race</a>&nbsp;in the wake of his&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/debate-trump-biden-presidential-campaign-44e71c900a1c4af2bed93041fdfe923d">dismal debate performance</a>&nbsp;against Republican former President Donald Trump last month.

Among Democrats nationwide, nearly two-thirds say Biden should step aside and let his party nominate a different candidate, according to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnorc.org/">a new AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll</a>&nbsp;— sharply undercutting Biden's post-debate claim that “average Democrats” are still with him even if some “big names” are turning on him.

“While the choice to withdraw from the campaign is President Biden’s alone, I believe it is time for him to pass the torch,” Schiff said in a statement. “And in doing so, secure his legacy of leadership by allowing us to defeat Donald Trump in the upcoming election.”

Schiff is a prominent Democrat on his own, and his statement will also be watched because of his proximity to Speaker Emerita&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/nancy-pelosi">Nancy Pelosi</a>.

It was Pelosi who&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-pelosi-project-2025-trump-28ca690455cc04a6faccda9daad1a22a">revived questions about Biden</a>&nbsp;post-debate, when she said recently that “it’s up to the president” to decide what to do — even though Biden had fully stated he had no intention of stepping aside. The former House speaker publicly supports the president, but has fielded calls from Democrats since debate night questioning what’s next.

In response to Schiff's comments, the Biden campaign pointed to what it called “extensive support” for him and his reelection bid from members of Congress in key swing states, as well as from the Congressional Black and Hispanic caucuses. Biden is traveling in Nevada this week, and the campaign noted that he's been joined on the trip by “nearly a dozen” Congressional Black Caucus members.

Still, Schiff's announcement came after Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries encouraged the party to delay for a week plans to hold the virtual vote to renominate Biden, which could have taken place as soon as Sunday, according to two people familiar with the situation who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations.

The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/dnc-15-million-state-investment-republican-convention-f5387e9771ceb22aa6ad6e2d283160d8">Democratic National Committee'</a>&nbsp;s rulemaking arm is set to meet on Friday to discuss how the virtual vote plans will work and to finalize them next week.

“We will not be implementing a rushed virtual voting process, though we will begin our important consideration of how a virtual voting process would work,” Bishop Leah D. Daughtry and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, co-chairs of the rules committee for the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/democratic-national-convention">Democratic National Convention</a>&nbsp;wrote in a letter Wednesday.

The letter also said that the virtual roll call vote won’t take place before Aug. 1, but that the party is still committed to holding a vote before Aug. 7, which had been the filing deadline to get on Ohio's presidential ballot.

The Democratic convention runs in person from Aug. 19-22, but the party announced in May that it would hold&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ohio-ballot-biden-access-3bf359cce8e73714be45cb99a6e31546">an early roll call</a>&nbsp;to ensure Biden would qualify for the ballot in Ohio. That state originally had an Aug. 7 deadline but has since changed its rules.

The Biden campaign insists that the party must operate under Ohio’s initial rules to ensure Republican lawmakers can’t mount legal challenges to keep&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/joe-biden">the president</a>&nbsp;off the ballot.

Even if Democrats conduct a virtual roll call vote ahead of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/democratic-national-convention">their convention</a>, though, it wouldn’t necessarily lock Biden into the nomination. The DNC rulemaking arm could vote to hold an in-person roll call in Chicago, said Elaine Kamarck, a longtime member of the party's rules committee and expert on the party’s nominating process. But since the Ohio law doesn’t go into effect until Sept. 1, Biden appearing on the state’s ballot remains a real concern, Kamarck said.

“This is a failsafe for the Democrats,” Kamarck said, adding that “the convention is the highest authority” in the nominating process.

The AP-NORC poll, conducted as Biden works to salvage his candidacy two weeks after&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-panic-performance-democrats-debate-trump-cnn-fe6546f2c9762e80e6067ba10abedea8">his debate flop</a>, also found that only about 3 in 10 Democrats are extremely or very confident that he has the mental capability to serve effectively as president, down slightly from 40% in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnorc.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/February-2024-topline-Biden.pdf">an AP-NORC poll</a>&nbsp;in February.

The letter from Daughtry and Walz comes a day after a contingent of House Democrats wary of swiftly nominating Biden as the party’s pick for reelection circulated another letter raising “serious concerns” about plans for a virtual roll call. Their letter to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/dnc-15-million-state-investment-republican-convention-f5387e9771ceb22aa6ad6e2d283160d8">the</a><a href="https://apnews.com/article/dnc-15-million-state-investment-republican-convention-f5387e9771ceb22aa6ad6e2d283160d8">DNC</a>, which has not been sent, says it would be a “terrible idea” to stifle debate about the party’s nominee with the early roll call vote.

“It could deeply undermine the morale and unity of Democrats,” said the letter obtained by the AP.

A spokesperson said that Huffman was pleased with the decision to delay and would hold off sending the letter from House Democrats as they continue monitoring the situation.

Associated Press writers Mary Clare Jalonick and Leah Askarinam contributed to this report.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/7/1721241095342.png" alt="File photo Rep. Adam Schiff -courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>File photo Rep. Adam Schiff -courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>By ZEKE MILLER, WILL WEISSERT and LISA MASCARO&nbsp;WASHINGTON (AP) — California Rep.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/adam-schiff">Adam Schiff</a>&nbsp;on Wednesday became the highest-profile Democrat to call for President&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/joe-biden">Joe Biden</a>&nbsp;to drop his reelection bid, even as the party pushed ahead with plans for a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ohio-ballot-biden-access-3bf359cce8e73714be45cb99a6e31546">virtual vote to formally make Biden its nominee</a>&nbsp;in the first week of August.The move to schedule the roll call, which would come weeks before the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/democratic-national-convention">Democratic National Convention</a>&nbsp;opens in Chicago on Aug. 19, follows nearly 20 Democratic members of Congress calling on Biden to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-democrats-president-trump-d5fb136a643edb020745336ff9709923">withdraw from the presidential race</a>&nbsp;in the wake of his&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/debate-trump-biden-presidential-campaign-44e71c900a1c4af2bed93041fdfe923d">dismal debate performance</a>&nbsp;against Republican former President Donald Trump last month.Among Democrats nationwide, nearly two-thirds say Biden should step aside and let his party nominate a different candidate, according to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnorc.org/">a new AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll</a>&nbsp;— sharply undercutting Biden's post-debate claim that “average Democrats” are still with him even if some “big names” are turning on him.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/6/1719799862306.png" alt="File photo President Biden and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden following the June 30 debate-image courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>File photo President Biden and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden following the June 30 debate-image courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>“While the choice to withdraw from the campaign is President Biden’s alone, I believe it is time for him to pass the torch,” Schiff said in a statement. “And in doing so, secure his legacy of leadership by allowing us to defeat Donald Trump in the upcoming election.”Schiff is a prominent Democrat on his own, and his statement will also be watched because of his proximity to Speaker Emerita&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/nancy-pelosi">Nancy Pelosi</a>.It was Pelosi who&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-pelosi-project-2025-trump-28ca690455cc04a6faccda9daad1a22a">revived questions about Biden</a>&nbsp;post-debate, when she said recently that “it’s up to the president” to decide what to do — even though Biden had fully stated he had no intention of stepping aside. The former House speaker publicly supports the president, but has fielded calls from Democrats since debate night questioning what’s next.In response to Schiff's comments, the Biden campaign pointed to what it called “extensive support” for him and his reelection bid from members of Congress in key swing states, as well as from the Congressional Black and Hispanic caucuses. Biden is traveling in Nevada this week, and the campaign noted that he's been joined on the trip by “nearly a dozen” Congressional Black Caucus members.Still, Schiff's announcement came after Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries encouraged the party to delay for a week plans to hold the virtual vote to renominate Biden, which could have taken place as soon as Sunday, according to two people familiar with the situation who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations.The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/dnc-15-million-state-investment-republican-convention-f5387e9771ceb22aa6ad6e2d283160d8">Democratic National Committee'</a>&nbsp;s rulemaking arm is set to meet on Friday to discuss how the virtual vote plans will work and to finalize them next week.“We will not be implementing a rushed virtual voting process, though we will begin our important consideration of how a virtual voting process would work,” Bishop Leah D. Daughtry and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, co-chairs of the rules committee for the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/democratic-national-convention">Democratic National Convention</a>&nbsp;wrote in a letter Wednesday.The letter also said that the virtual roll call vote won’t take place before Aug. 1, but that the party is still committed to holding a vote before Aug. 7, which had been the filing deadline to get on Ohio's presidential ballot.The Democratic convention runs in person from Aug. 19-22, but the party announced in May that it would hold&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ohio-ballot-biden-access-3bf359cce8e73714be45cb99a6e31546">an early roll call</a>&nbsp;to ensure Biden would qualify for the ballot in Ohio. That state originally had an Aug. 7 deadline but has since changed its rules.The Biden campaign insists that the party must operate under Ohio’s initial rules to ensure Republican lawmakers can’t mount legal challenges to keep&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/joe-biden">the president</a>&nbsp;off the ballot.Even if Democrats conduct a virtual roll call vote ahead of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/democratic-national-convention">their convention</a>, though, it wouldn’t necessarily lock Biden into the nomination. The DNC rulemaking arm could vote to hold an in-person roll call in Chicago, said Elaine Kamarck, a longtime member of the party's rules committee and expert on the party’s nominating process. But since the Ohio law doesn’t go into effect until Sept. 1, Biden appearing on the state’s ballot remains a real concern, Kamarck said.“This is a failsafe for the Democrats,” Kamarck said, adding that “the convention is the highest authority” in the nominating process.The AP-NORC poll, conducted as Biden works to salvage his candidacy two weeks after&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-panic-performance-democrats-debate-trump-cnn-fe6546f2c9762e80e6067ba10abedea8">his debate flop</a>, also found that only about 3 in 10 Democrats are extremely or very confident that he has the mental capability to serve effectively as president, down slightly from 40% in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnorc.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/February-2024-topline-Biden.pdf">an AP-NORC poll</a>&nbsp;in February.The letter from Daughtry and Walz comes a day after a contingent of House Democrats wary of swiftly nominating Biden as the party’s pick for reelection circulated another letter raising “serious concerns” about plans for a virtual roll call. Their letter to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/dnc-15-million-state-investment-republican-convention-f5387e9771ceb22aa6ad6e2d283160d8">the</a><a href="https://apnews.com/article/dnc-15-million-state-investment-republican-convention-f5387e9771ceb22aa6ad6e2d283160d8">DNC</a>, which has not been sent, says it would be a “terrible idea” to stifle debate about the party’s nominee with the early roll call vote.“It could deeply undermine the morale and unity of Democrats,” said the letter obtained by the AP.A spokesperson said that Huffman was pleased with the decision to delay and would hold off sending the letter from House Democrats as they continue monitoring the situation.___Associated Press writers Mary Clare Jalonick and Leah Askarinam contributed to this report.___

Prominent House Democrat calls for Biden to withdraw

KANSAS CITY —A Kansas City man faces felony Assault in the 1st Degree and other charges as a result of the stabbings this week of two juveniles in a Kansas City residence, according to Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker.

Gabriel Martinez, 26, faces Assault 1st Degree, an A felony, and Assault 1st Degree, a B felony, and two counts of Armed Criminal Action.

According to court records, Kansas City police officers were dispatched to a Kansas City residence on a disturbance in the early morning of July 9. At the scene, officers were told by a woman that her boyfriend, identified as Martinez, was inside with three juveniles, ages 5, 10 and 15, and he was threatening to harm them. When officers heard a child screaming inside, officers kicked the door open. The defendant surrendered and was placed in cuffs. Officers determined two children were assaulted with a deadly weapon.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/7/1720886897863.png" alt="Martinez-photo Jackson Co." />
 <figcaption>Martinez-photo Jackson Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY —A Kansas City man faces felony Assault in the 1st Degree and other charges as a result of the stabbings this week of two juveniles in a Kansas City residence, according to Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker.Gabriel Martinez, 26, faces Assault 1st Degree, an A felony, and Assault 1st Degree, a B felony, and two counts of Armed Criminal Action.According to court records, Kansas City police officers were dispatched to a Kansas City residence on a disturbance in the early morning of July 9. At the scene, officers were told by a woman that her boyfriend, identified as Martinez, was inside with three juveniles, ages 5, 10 and 15, and he was threatening to harm them. When officers heard a child screaming inside, officers kicked the door open. The defendant surrendered and was placed in cuffs. Officers determined two children were assaulted with a deadly weapon.Martinez is being held without bond.

Kansas City man charged in attack on his girlfriend's children

TOPEKA, KAN. – A Kansas man was sentenced Tuesday to 25 years in prison for charges related to drug trafficking and illegal firearms, according to the United State's Attorney.

According to court documents, Christian Michael Woodruff, 33, of Topeka pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

In February 2023, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) received information that Woodruff was selling meth from his home in Topeka. Following an investigation, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Woodruff’s residence while he was there. Agents found 1,190.1 grams of meth that lab tests later revealed to be 98 percent pure as well as multiple guns, ammunition, and a silencer.

“This case is another example of the connection between drug trafficking and illegal possession of firearms. ATF will continue to prioritize keeping repeat violent offenders off our streets because it is a critical component of keeping our communities safe,” stated Gordon N. Mallory, Acting, Special Agent in Charge, ATF Kansas City. “It is illegal for convicted felons to possess guns, and we will vigorously investigate repeat offenders who continue to arm themselves. I’m grateful for the work our agents and partners put into this case. I hope with this sentence today the community will be a little bit safer.”

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and

Explosives (ATF), and Shawnee County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/7/1721161418518.png" alt="Photo Topeka Police" />
 <figcaption>Photo Topeka Police</figcaption>
 </figure>TOPEKA, KAN. – A Kansas man was sentenced Tuesday to 25 years in prison for charges related to drug trafficking and illegal firearms, according to the United State's Attorney.According to court documents, Christian Michael Woodruff, 33, of Topeka pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/7/1721162164201.png" alt="Woodruff from a Feb. 2023 arrest in Topeka" />
 <figcaption>Woodruff from a Feb. 2023 arrest in Topeka</figcaption>
 </figure>In February 2023, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) received information that Woodruff was selling meth from his home in Topeka. Following an investigation, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Woodruff’s residence while he was there. Agents found 1,190.1 grams of meth that lab tests later revealed to be 98 percent pure as well as multiple guns, ammunition, and a silencer.“This case is another example of the connection between drug trafficking and illegal possession of firearms. ATF will continue to prioritize keeping repeat violent offenders off our streets because it is a critical component of keeping our communities safe,” stated Gordon N. Mallory, Acting, Special Agent in Charge, ATF Kansas City. “It is illegal for convicted felons to possess guns, and we will vigorously investigate repeat offenders who continue to arm themselves. I’m grateful for the work our agents and partners put into this case. I hope with this sentence today the community will be a little bit safer.”The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, andExplosives (ATF), and Shawnee County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case.

Kansas felon was selling meth from his home

LAS VEGAS (AP) — President Joe Biden tested positive for COVID-19 while traveling Wednesday in Las Vegas and is experiencing “mild symptoms” including “general malaise” from the infection, the White House said.

Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Biden will fly to his home in Delaware, where he will “self-isolate and will continue to carry out all of his duties fully during that time.” The news had first been shared by Unidos US President and CEO Janet Murguía, who told guests at the group’s convention in Las Vegas that president had sent his regrets and could not appear because he tested positive for the virus.

Dr. Kevin O’Connor, the president’s physician, said in a note

Biden was slated to speak at the Unidos event in Las Vegas Wednesday afternoon as part of an effort to rally Hispanic voters ahead of the November election. Instead, he departed for the airport to fly to Delaware, where he had already been planning to spend a long weekend at his home in Rehoboth Beach.

Biden gingerly boarded Air Force One and told reporters traveling with him, “I feel good.” The president was not wearing a mask as he walked onto Air Force One.

The president had previously been at the Original Lindo Michoacan restaurant in Las Vegas, where he was greeting diners and sat for an interview with Univision.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/7/1721298336544.png" alt="Biden gingerly boarded Air Force One-photo courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>Biden gingerly boarded Air Force One-photo courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>LAS VEGAS (AP) — President Joe Biden tested positive for COVID-19 while traveling Wednesday in Las Vegas and is experiencing “mild symptoms” including “general malaise” from the infection, the White House said.Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Biden will fly to his home in Delaware, where he will “self-isolate and will continue to carry out all of his duties fully during that time.” The news had first been shared by Unidos US President and CEO Janet Murguía, who told guests at the group’s convention in Las Vegas that president had sent his regrets and could not appear because he tested positive for the virus.Dr. Kevin O’Connor, the president’s physician, said in a note<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/7/1721256037259.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/7/1721256304473.png" alt="President Biden during a campaign stop Tuesday-image from Biden for President video" />
 <figcaption>President Biden during a campaign stop Tuesday-image from Biden for President video</figcaption>
 </figure>Biden was slated to speak at the Unidos event in Las Vegas Wednesday afternoon as part of an effort to rally Hispanic voters ahead of the November election. Instead, he departed for the airport to fly to Delaware, where he had already been planning to spend a long weekend at his home in Rehoboth Beach.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">I tested positive for COVID-19 this afternoon, but I am feeling good and thank everyone for the well wishes. I will be isolating as I recover, and during this time I will continue to work to get the job done for the American people.&mdash; President Biden (@POTUS) <a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1813715823053193685?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 17, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Biden gingerly boarded Air Force One and told reporters traveling with him, “I feel good.” The president was not wearing a mask as he walked onto Air Force One.The president had previously been at the Original Lindo Michoacan restaurant in Las Vegas, where he was greeting diners and sat for an interview with Univision.

Read note from Biden's doctor: President tests positive for COVID 

THOMAS COUNTY—On Tuesday, the Thomas County Sheriff's Office and the Colby Police Department both received reports of an attempted abduction of two juvenile girls playing together in Colby, according to a media release from the sheriff's department.

Information gathered from the reporting parties indicates that on Tuesday evening between 4 and 6:30 p.m., a white male driving a black and red SUV, possibly an early 2000's model Suburban, approached two two young girls in the area of 800 South Garfield and 500 West Ash.

The vehicle was described as having a Kansas License plate with unknown digits. The perpetrator was described as a white male about 30 years old with blue eyes and no visible facial hair. The male was wearing a black hoodie with the hood up, blue or dark blue jeans, and a partial face covering.

According to reports and evidence gathered, the male attempted to lure the young girls into his vehicle to take them for ice cream. As the juvenile ran away, the suspect followed them eastbound in his vehicle for about two blocks toward a park in the 700 block of South Mission Ridge.

Witnesses alleged the suspect watched where the juveniles went and then quickly left the area and headed north on Mission Ridge. It is believed the male entered the area in his vehicle off Pine Street through an alley and potentially utilized alleys to exit the residential area.

The investigation is currently ongoing. As a result, Thomas County will be increasing the presence of law enforcement personnel in residential areas and areas frequented by younger kids in our community.

Parents and guardians, it is extremely important to have discussions with your children about the dangers of speaking with strangers and your child's need to be vigilant.

It is common for child predators to find ways to relate to children and quickly gain their trust. A predator may mention knowing a child's guardians or siblings. They may state they were told to pick them up and give them a ride or take them home.

Please take the time to speak to your children about what to do in these situations, as they can be very dangerous. Children should know the risks posed by a 'friendly' stranger and not go with anyone they do not know.

Without the quick thinking of these young individuals, this situation could very well have been a tragedy. If you see anything suspicious in your community, if your children report anything out of the ordinary or simply something they feel concerned about, please contact the Colby Police Department at 785-460-4460 or the Thomas County Sheriff's Office at 785-460- 4570.

Even seemingly minor or insignificant information could lead to or prevent a similar tragedy from occurring.

THOMAS COUNTY—On Tuesday, the Thomas County Sheriff's Office and the Colby Police Department both received reports of an attempted abduction of two juvenile girls playing together in Colby, according to a media release from the sheriff's department.Information gathered from the reporting parties indicates that on Tuesday evening between 4 and 6:30 p.m., a white male driving a black and red SUV, possibly an early 2000's model Suburban, approached two two young girls in the area of 800 South Garfield and 500 West Ash.The vehicle was described as having a Kansas License plate with unknown digits. The perpetrator was described as a white male about 30 years old with blue eyes and no visible facial hair. The male was wearing a black hoodie with the hood up, blue or dark blue jeans, and a partial face covering.According to reports and evidence gathered, the male attempted to lure the young girls into his vehicle to take them for ice cream. As the juvenile ran away, the suspect followed them eastbound in his vehicle for about two blocks toward a park in the 700 block of South Mission Ridge.Witnesses alleged the suspect watched where the juveniles went and then quickly left the area and headed north on Mission Ridge. It is believed the male entered the area in his vehicle off Pine Street through an alley and potentially utilized alleys to exit the residential area.The investigation is currently ongoing. As a result, Thomas County will be increasing the presence of law enforcement personnel in residential areas and areas frequented by younger kids in our community.Parents and guardians, it is extremely important to have discussions with your children about the dangers of speaking with strangers and your child's need to be vigilant.It is common for child predators to find ways to relate to children and quickly gain their trust. A predator may mention knowing a child's guardians or siblings. They may state they were told to pick them up and give them a ride or take them home.Please take the time to speak to your children about what to do in these situations, as they can be very dangerous. Children should know the risks posed by a 'friendly' stranger and not go with anyone they do not know.Without the quick thinking of these young individuals, this situation could very well have been a tragedy. If you see anything suspicious in your community, if your children report anything out of the ordinary or simply something they feel concerned about, please contact the Colby Police Department at 785-460-4460 or the Thomas County Sheriff's Office at 785-460- 4570.Even seemingly minor or insignificant information could lead to or prevent a similar tragedy from occurring.

Sheriff reports alleged attempted abduction of girls in NW Kansas

WYANDOTTE COUNTY —A reward of $6,000 is being offered for the tip that will lead detectives to identifying the individual responsible for a vicious attack on a Kansas City, Kansas Police Officer.

Just after 10p.m. July 7, a uniformed KCKPD officer was exiting his patrol vehicle at the East Patrol Station, 849 N. 47th Street, when an individual, who without warning or provocation, produced a screwdriver and stabbed the officer on the head and face.

  After a short struggle, the suspect ran north into a wooded area near 47th and State Avenue. The officer sustained cuts to his face, head and neck. He was transported to an area hospital for treatment and was released the following day. 

 The suspect is described as a black male in his 30s, approximately 5-foot-8 inches tall with a thin build. He has a full beard and receding hairline at his temples, forming a point, widow’s peak, in the middle of his forehead. 

He was wearing dark athletic shorts, a multicolored tank top and black Nike slide sandals.

A cash reward of $5,000 from the Kansas City Metropolitan Crime Commission and $1,000 from the Kansas City, Kansas Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #4 - is currently being offered for any tip that leads to the arrest of the suspect in this case. 

Anyone with information on this case is urged to call the Crime Stoppers TIPS hotline at 816-474-TIPS (8477). All tips remain anonymous.

WYANDOTTE COUNTY —A reward of $6,000 is being offered for the tip that will lead detectives to identifying the individual responsible for a vicious attack on a Kansas City, Kansas Police Officer.Just after 10p.m. July 7, a uniformed KCKPD officer was exiting his patrol vehicle at the East Patrol Station, 849 N. 47th Street, when an individual, who without warning or provocation, produced a screwdriver and stabbed the officer on the head and face. After a short struggle, the suspect ran north into a wooded area near 47th and State Avenue. The officer sustained cuts to his face, head and neck. He was transported to an area hospital for treatment and was released the following day. The suspect is described as a black male in his 30s, approximately 5-foot-8 inches tall with a thin build. He has a full beard and receding hairline at his temples, forming a point, widow’s peak, in the middle of his forehead. He was wearing dark athletic shorts, a multicolored tank top and black Nike slide sandals.A cash reward of $5,000 from the Kansas City Metropolitan Crime Commission and $1,000 from the Kansas City, Kansas Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #4 - is currently being offered for any tip that leads to the arrest of the suspect in this case. Anyone with information on this case is urged to call the Crime Stoppers TIPS hotline at 816-474-TIPS (8477). All tips remain anonymous.

Reward offered in attack on Kansas police officer

Cases raise questions about alleged violations of state, federal constitutions

BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/tim-carpenter/">TIM CARPENTER</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/">Kansas Reflector</a>

TOPEKA — The Kansas Legislature and Gov. Laura Kelly adopted a potentially unconstitutional budget provision forbidding pharmaceutical manufacturers from inhibiting the sale of discounted medications to pharmacies such as CVS and Walgreens under contract with hospitals or clinics.

Two drugmakers have challenged a proviso tucked into&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2023_24/measures/sb28/" target="_blank">Senate Bill 28</a>&nbsp;— signed by the governor in April — that said the companies couldn’t limit the ability of pharmacies working with eligible health providers from acquiring outpatient prescription drugs at discounts of 25% or more through a federal cost-cutting program.

The objective of the federal 340B program has been to offer indirect financial benefits to the country’s safety-net health providers by lowering drug prices. Many of Kansas’ financially strapped rural hospitals take part in the program.

“Unfortunately, drug manufacturers have recently started decimating the 340B drug discount program by limiting the number of pharmacies a hospital may contract with,” said Chad Austin, president of the Kansas Hospital Association. “These actions are jeopardizing Kansans’ ability to access needed prescriptions and other vital health services. Fortunately, Kansas lawmakers recognized the drug manufacturers’ harmful actions and have appropriately responded to ensure the further reduction of the 340B drug discount program is paused.”

After adopting SB 28 during this year’s session, however, the Legislature had second thoughts about leveraging the Kansas Consumer Protection Act against drug manufacturers at this time. Under&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2023_24/measures/hb2551/" target="_blank">House Bill 2551</a>, in an apparent victory for drugmakers, the Legislature told Attorney General Kris Kobach to delay enforcement of SB 28 until the U.S. Supreme Court settled questions about obligations of drug manufacturers in the 340B program.

Kelly, however, line-item vetoed that part of HB 2551 in May. She said the Legislature’s follow-up maneuver was “premature and contradictory to the protections” in SB 28.

In early July, pharmaceutical companies AstraZeneca and AbbVie filed lawsuits against the state of Kansas.

The companies asserted SB 28 enabled off-site, for-profit pharmacy chains operating under contract with Kansas clinics and hospitals to buy the manufacturers’ drugs at discounted prices. The plaintiffs claimed Congress didn’t intend for these pharmacies to be covered by the low-cost program.

Wichita attorney Michael Jones, who was among at least seven lawyers working for plaintiffs in the AstraZeneca suit, said the budget provision in SB 28 was in conflict with the supremacy clause of the U.S. Constitution. Jones and his colleagues said prior rulings in federal court made clear the federal 340B statute “does not obligate manufacturers to deliver discounted drugs to unlimited contract pharmacies.”

“No state may engraft new, costly obligations under state law onto an existing federal benefits program, especially not one like the 340B program that involves nationally uniform standards and exclusive enforcement by federal agencies,” the AstraZeneca’s attorneys said.

The company’s lawyers claimed SB 28 was contrary to federal patent law, violated the contracts and takings clauses of the U.S. Constitution and broke the “one-subject rule” in the Kansas Constitution. The single-subject mandate was designed to prevent legislators from “logrolling” unrelated matters into a single bill. In terms of drug manufacturers, AstraZeneca said, SB 28 created new substantive requirements “not purely a matter of appropriations.”

A spokesperson for the Kansas attorney general didn’t respond to a request for comment on the lawsuits seeking to nullify the prescription drug portion of SB 28.

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment says the federal program has been an instrumental tool of health clinics and hospitals seeking to stretch resources as far as possible by providing outpatient medications at reduced prices.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/1/1580161711151.png" alt="Two pharmaceutical companies filed lawsuits in Kansas against Attorney General Kris Kobach in his official capacity to challenge a new state law altering the federal scope of a program designed&nbsp;&nbsp;to reduce prescription medicine costs. " />
 <figcaption>Two pharmaceutical companies filed lawsuits in Kansas against Attorney General Kris Kobach in his official capacity to challenge a new state law altering the federal scope of a program designed&nbsp;&nbsp;to reduce prescription medicine costs. </figcaption>
 </figure><h2>Cases raise questions about alleged violations of state, federal constitutions</h2>BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/tim-carpenter/">TIM CARPENTER</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/">Kansas Reflector</a>TOPEKA — The Kansas Legislature and Gov. Laura Kelly adopted a potentially unconstitutional budget provision forbidding pharmaceutical manufacturers from inhibiting the sale of discounted medications to pharmacies such as CVS and Walgreens under contract with hospitals or clinics.Two drugmakers have challenged a proviso tucked into&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2023_24/measures/sb28/" target="_blank">Senate Bill 28</a>&nbsp;— signed by the governor in April — that said the companies couldn’t limit the ability of pharmacies working with eligible health providers from acquiring outpatient prescription drugs at discounts of 25% or more through a federal cost-cutting program.The objective of the federal 340B program has been to offer indirect financial benefits to the country’s safety-net health providers by lowering drug prices. Many of Kansas’ financially strapped rural hospitals take part in the program.“Unfortunately, drug manufacturers have recently started decimating the 340B drug discount program by limiting the number of pharmacies a hospital may contract with,” said Chad Austin, president of the Kansas Hospital Association. “These actions are jeopardizing Kansans’ ability to access needed prescriptions and other vital health services. Fortunately, Kansas lawmakers recognized the drug manufacturers’ harmful actions and have appropriately responded to ensure the further reduction of the 340B drug discount program is paused.”After adopting SB 28 during this year’s session, however, the Legislature had second thoughts about leveraging the Kansas Consumer Protection Act against drug manufacturers at this time. Under&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2023_24/measures/hb2551/" target="_blank">House Bill 2551</a>, in an apparent victory for drugmakers, the Legislature told Attorney General Kris Kobach to delay enforcement of SB 28 until the U.S. Supreme Court settled questions about obligations of drug manufacturers in the 340B program.Kelly, however, line-item vetoed that part of HB 2551 in May. She said the Legislature’s follow-up maneuver was “premature and contradictory to the protections” in SB 28.In early July, pharmaceutical companies AstraZeneca and AbbVie filed lawsuits against the state of Kansas.The companies asserted SB 28 enabled off-site, for-profit pharmacy chains operating under contract with Kansas clinics and hospitals to buy the manufacturers’ drugs at discounted prices. The plaintiffs claimed Congress didn’t intend for these pharmacies to be covered by the low-cost program.Wichita attorney Michael Jones, who was among at least seven lawyers working for plaintiffs in the AstraZeneca suit, said the budget provision in SB 28 was in conflict with the supremacy clause of the U.S. Constitution. Jones and his colleagues said prior rulings in federal court made clear the federal 340B statute “does not obligate manufacturers to deliver discounted drugs to unlimited contract pharmacies.”“No state may engraft new, costly obligations under state law onto an existing federal benefits program, especially not one like the 340B program that involves nationally uniform standards and exclusive enforcement by federal agencies,” the AstraZeneca’s attorneys said.The company’s lawyers claimed SB 28 was contrary to federal patent law, violated the contracts and takings clauses of the U.S. Constitution and broke the “one-subject rule” in the Kansas Constitution. The single-subject mandate was designed to prevent legislators from “logrolling” unrelated matters into a single bill. In terms of drug manufacturers, AstraZeneca said, SB 28 created new substantive requirements “not purely a matter of appropriations.”A spokesperson for the Kansas attorney general didn’t respond to a request for comment on the lawsuits seeking to nullify the prescription drug portion of SB 28.The Kansas Department of Health and Environment says the federal program has been an instrumental tool of health clinics and hospitals seeking to stretch resources as far as possible by providing outpatient medications at reduced prices.

Drugmakers file lawsuits to block Kansas’ attempt to tinker with discount drug program

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is seriously considering proposals to establish term limits for U.S. Supreme Court justices, and an ethics code that would be enforceable under law amid growing concerns that the justices are not held accountable, according to three people briefed on the plans.

It&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-biden-election-student-loans-abortion-37aa38ed8582047b1be5c54261ab02d2">would mark a major shift for Biden</a>, the former head of the Senate Judiciary Committee, who has long resisted calls to reform the high court, though since taking office he has been increasingly vocal about his belief that the court is abandoning mainstream constitutional interpretation. The details were first reported by The Washington Post.

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 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/7/1721180391047.png" alt="File photo White House" />
 <figcaption>File photo White House</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is seriously considering proposals to establish term limits for U.S. Supreme Court justices, and an ethics code that would be enforceable under law amid growing concerns that the justices are not held accountable, according to three people briefed on the plans.It&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-biden-election-student-loans-abortion-37aa38ed8582047b1be5c54261ab02d2">would mark a major shift for Biden</a>, the former head of the Senate Judiciary Committee, who has long resisted calls to reform the high court, though since taking office he has been increasingly vocal about his belief that the court is abandoning mainstream constitutional interpretation. The details were first reported by The Washington Post.Any changes would require congressional approval, which would be unlikely in a divided Congress. But with Republican nominee Donald Trump bragging about putting the three justices on the high court who are now part of the conservative majority, Biden's call for major changes could help animate his voters.Biden is also considering calling for a constitutional amendment that would eliminate the broad immunity for presidents granted by the court in its most recent term, after Donald Trump claimed he was immune from prosecution&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/2021-united-states-capitol-riot">for his actions on Jan. 6, 2021</a>, when a mob of his supporters violently descended on the U.S. Capitol.The people were not authorized to speak publicly about proposals that have not been finalized and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/7/1594250864250.png" alt="Image courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>Image courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>The consideration of such proposals comes in response to growing outrage among Democrats about high court opinions that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-trump-biden-election-2024-dobbs-498d14f6e2bbfe1f313f006ad089de4e">overturned landmark decisions</a>&nbsp;on abortion rights&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-chevron-regulations-environment-5173bc83d3961a7aaabe415ceaf8d665">and federal regulatory powers</a>&nbsp;that had stood for decades. There have also been increasing questions surrounding the ethics of the court after revelations about some of the justices,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/clarence-thomas-supreme-court-senate-harlan-crow-f538d244f148065de8c52fb13e2f9853">including that Clarence Thomas had accepted</a>&nbsp;luxury trips from a GOP megadonor.Biden in an interview with BET on Tuesday predicted “there are probably going to be two more appointments" in the coming four years when justices retire and blamed Trump for nominating three conservative justices who helped overturn Roe v. Wade. “Just imagine if he has two more appointments, what that means," he said.The Supreme Court did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the proposal.Biden, speaking in a weekend call with the Congressional Progressive Caucus, talked about the possibility, the people said. Biden often tells voters they need more Democrats in Congress and a Democrat in the White House to counter the impact of the conservative-leaning court, but these proposals would go much further.“And by the way, I’m going to need your help on the Supreme Court, because I’m about to come out. I don’t want to prematurely announce it, but I’m about to come out with a major initiative on limiting the court and what we do and — I’ve been working with constitutional scholars for the last three months, and I need some help,” he said, according to a transcript of the call.About 2 in 3 Americans say they favor term limits or a mandatory retirement age for&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/us-supreme-court">Supreme Court</a>&nbsp;justices, according to a 2022 poll from&nbsp;<a href="https://apnorc.org/">the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.</a>According to June survey on the court, confidence remains low: 4 in 10 U.S. adults say they have hardly any confidence in the people running the Supreme Court.<a href="https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-trump-presidential-immunity-abortion-gun-2918d3af5e37e44bbad9c3526506c66d">The survey found that 7 in 10 Americans think</a>&nbsp;the high court’s justices are more influenced by ideology, while only about 3 in 10 U.S. adults think the justices are more likely to provide an independent check on other branches of government by being fair and impartial.<a href="https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-ethics-code-conflicts-clarence-thomas-64d393ceb6f05402d762dca06f0f4187">In November, the court</a>&nbsp;adopted its first code of ethics.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/24164533-supreme-court-code-of-conduct">The policy</a>, agreed to by all nine justices, does not appear to impose any significant new requirements and leaves compliance entirely to each justice.Republicans have focused for years on remaking the federal judiciary and Supreme Court. When Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., was the majority leader, he refused to even meet in 2016 with Obama’s pick for the high court — current Attorney General Merrick Garland, a federal judge at that time. The nomination stalled until a Republican president, Trump, took over.Establishment GOP operatives backed Trump because of his pledge to name as many judges to the bench as possible. Their gamble worked. Trump ended up with three Supreme Court nominees and 54 federal appeals court judges, reshaping the courts for a generation.Democrats are now finally understanding the power of judges as a voting tool, and Biden has made judicial nominations a priority, appointing a record number of judges for a president at this point in his first term, including some of the most diverse picks yet to the judiciary. Biden often speaks about those accomplishments during his reelection campaign, but Democrats have pushed him to go further.Trump, in a post on his Truth Social platform, panned the possible Biden move, saying: “The Democrats are attempting to interfere in the Presidential Election, and destroy our Justice System, by attacking their Political Opponent, ME, and our Honorable Supreme Court. We have to fight for our Fair and Independent Courts, and protect our Country."