FINNEY COUNTY—Law enforcement and USD 457 officials are investigating a bomb threat and have made an arrest.

On February 20, Garden City High School received a phone call from an unknown individual indicating there was a bomb inside the school, according to Garden City Police. All students and staff were immediately evacuated, and local law enforcement and first responders responded accordingly and searched the school.

After a thorough investigation by law enforcement, no threats to the students, staff, or school were discovered, and no explosives were located. Through further investigation, Officers were able to determine that 16-year-old Villegas of Syracuse, Kansas, was the individual who made the bomb threat.

On April 26, police located Villegas at his residence and took him into custody without incident. A search of the residence was conducted, where Officers located evidence of the crime.

 The Hamilton County Sheriff's Office also assisted with the arrest. Villegas has no direct ties to Garden City Public Schools.

Villegas is being held in the Southwest Kansas Regional Juvenile Detention Center on requested charges of Aggravated Criminal Threat and Unlawful Use of a Communication Device.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/4/1714428332065.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>FINNEY COUNTY—Law enforcement and USD 457 officials are investigating a bomb threat and have made an arrest.On February 20, Garden City High School received a phone call from an unknown individual indicating there was a bomb inside the school, according to Garden City Police. All students and staff were immediately evacuated, and local law enforcement and first responders responded accordingly and searched the school.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/2/1708478304551.png" alt="First responders at the school the day of the phone threat-photo Garden City Police." />
 <figcaption>First responders at the school the day of the phone threat-photo Garden City Police.</figcaption>
 </figure>After a thorough investigation by law enforcement, no threats to the students, staff, or school were discovered, and no explosives were located. Through further investigation, Officers were able to determine that 16-year-old Villegas of Syracuse, Kansas, was the individual who made the bomb threat.On April 26, police located Villegas at his residence and took him into custody without incident. A search of the residence was conducted, where Officers located evidence of the crime. The Hamilton County Sheriff's Office also assisted with the arrest. Villegas has no direct ties to Garden City Public Schools.Villegas is being held in the Southwest Kansas Regional Juvenile Detention Center on requested charges of Aggravated Criminal Threat and Unlawful Use of a Communication Device.

16-year-old accused of calling in bomb threat to SW Kansas school

KANSAS CITY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a deadly shooting in Kansas City.

Just after 8:30a.m. Monday, police were dispatched to report of a shooting at 11th and Washington, according to KCPD Captain Jake Becchina.

Officers were directed to a shooting victim later identified as 33-year-old&nbsp;Shamra Whitney. She was unresponsive in the street near a vehicle. Officers rendered aid to her and called for EMS to the scene.&nbsp; EMS declared Whitney deceased at the scene.

Responding officers also detained an adult female subject of interest at the scene for further investigation. The shooting was in close proximity to an elementary school nearby. 

Responding officers advised that school was placed on lockdown as a preventive measure. However there was never any active threat to the school or the surrounding neighborhood.

Preliminary investigation indicates that Whitney and the subject of interest had an interaction near the intersection of 11th and Washington. 

That interaction escalated and shots were fired and Whitney was struck. Detectives spoke&nbsp; with people who were at the scene when officers arrived and have canvassed for witnesses. Additionally crime scene investigators processed the scene for evidence.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/4/1714419543166.png" alt="View at the scene of the investigation - photo Sheriff Daryl Forte'" />
 <figcaption>View at the scene of the investigation - photo Sheriff Daryl Forte'</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a deadly shooting in Kansas City.Just after 8:30a.m. Monday, police were dispatched to report of a shooting at 11th and Washington, according to KCPD Captain Jake Becchina.Officers were directed to a shooting victim later identified as 33-year-old&nbsp;Shamra Whitney. She was unresponsive in the street near a vehicle. Officers rendered aid to her and called for EMS to the scene.&nbsp; EMS declared Whitney deceased at the scene.Responding officers also detained an adult female subject of interest at the scene for further investigation. The shooting was in close proximity to an elementary school nearby. Responding officers advised that school was placed on lockdown as a preventive measure. However there was never any active threat to the school or the surrounding neighborhood.Preliminary investigation indicates that Whitney and the subject of interest had an interaction near the intersection of 11th and Washington. That interaction escalated and shots were fired and Whitney was struck. Detectives spoke&nbsp; with people who were at the scene when officers arrived and have canvassed for witnesses. Additionally crime scene investigators processed the scene for evidence.&nbsp;

KCPD: Suspect in custody after woman found dead in street

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Republican legislators in Kansas failed Monday to override the Democratic governor's veto of a proposed ban on gender-affirming care for transgender minors.

The vote was 82-43 in the state House to reverse Gov. Laura Kelly's veto, but that was two votes shy of the necessary two-thirds majority.

Two Republicans who'd backed the bill earlier voted against overriding the veto, citing their concerns about provisions that included one that would have barred state employees from advocating social transitioning for transgender youth.

The House's vote came after the Senate voted 27-13 to override the veto, with the exact two-thirds majority required in that chamber.

Under the bill, social transitioning includes “the changing of an individual’s preferred pronouns or manner of dress,” and the rule against promoting it would have applied to state workers who care for children. The measure doesn’t spell out what constitutes promoting it.

The vote in the House was expected to be close after LGBTQ+ rights advocates raised questions about whether&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/gender-affirming-care-ban-minors-kansas-8c7492f64136d90d830f97ace98a138b">the provision against promoting social transitioning</a>&nbsp;is written broadly enough to apply to public school teachers who show empathy for transgender students.

The bill is part of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/transgender-care-sports-courts-idaho-4bbba11d7cd60916715ba230fa986c88">a broader push</a>&nbsp;to roll back transgender rights from Republican lawmakers in statehouses across the U.S. Kansas would have been the 25th state to restrict or ban such care for minors, and this week the South Carolina Senate expected to debate&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/south-carolina-missouri-transgender-bills-9f58b8678da99e5a340faf8a2896b23d">a similar measure</a>&nbsp;that already has passed the state House.

“Unfortunately, in today’s society, the predator in particular is a woke health care system,” said Republican state Sen. Mark Steffen, a central Kansas anesthesiologist and pain management specialist.

Like other Republicans across the U.S., Steffen and other GOP lawmakers in Kansas argued that they're protecting children struggling with their gender identities from being pushed into health care that the lawmakers see as experimental and potentially harmful. But that puts them at odds with the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics and other major U.S. medical groups.

LGBTQ+ rights groups such as Lambda Legal, the American Civil Liberties Union and Equality Kansas have stopped short of saying they would challenge the new law in court, but they've said they believe the provisions preventing state employees from advocating social transitioning violates their free speech rights. They've said that provision makes the Kansas law more sweeping than laws in other states.

Other critics argued that enacting such a ban sends a message that transgender residents aren't welcome. When Kelly vetoed a similar ban last year,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2023_24/measures/documents/sb26_enrolled.pdf">she suggested</a>&nbsp;that it would hurt the state's business climate.

“This is not the message we want to send to Americans about the welcoming opportunities that Kansas has,” said state Sen. Tom Holland, a northeastern Kansas Democrat.

About 300,000 youths ages 13 to 17 identify as transgender in the U.S., according to estimates by the Williams Institute, an LGBTQ+ research center at UCLA Law. It estimates that in Kansas, about 2,100 youths in that age group identify as transgender.

Republican lawmakers last year enacted laws&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/transgender-athletes-ban-kansas-08604c663518fb2538565f3e1ac3d4ba">barring transgender girls and women</a>&nbsp;from female college and K-12 sports teams and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/states-define-sex-transgender-dc8c48669aef760c68d2fb7abde10e8c">ending legal recognition</a>&nbsp;of transgender residents' gender identities. Transgender residents&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/transgender-birth-certificates-kansas-8424f36613c05d03b7d4eb8f82229ee6">no longer can change</a>&nbsp;the listing for “sex” on their driver's licenses or birth certificates to match their gender identities, something Kelly's administration had allowed.

“I do feel like there’s a genuine fear about me and what my body means, when I’m very happy,” Issac Johnson, who is transgender and just finished a social work internship in Topeka’s public schools, said during a recent Statehouse news conference.

Transgender youth, parents of transgender children and dozens of medical and mental health providers all described gender-affirming care as life-saving and argued that it lessens severe depression and suicidal tendencies among transgender youth. At least 200 health care providers signed&nbsp;<a href="https://neartail.com/public/112018621399901727788/all/form/1FAIpQLSf1w14R3ppyupWRBiaMbwQT1e4Y8TzLR0Xz0mjXp2o-yRz7lA">a letter to lawmakers</a>&nbsp;opposing a veto override.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/4/1618325105640.jpeg" alt="“This is not the message we want to send to Americans about the welcoming opportunities that Kansas has,” said state Sen. Tom Holland, a northeastern Kansas Democrat.&nbsp; -photo by Sherman Smith" />
 <figcaption>“This is not the message we want to send to Americans about the welcoming opportunities that Kansas has,” said state Sen. Tom Holland, a northeastern Kansas Democrat.&nbsp; -photo by Sherman Smith</figcaption>
 </figure>By JOHN HANNA&nbsp;TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Republican legislators in Kansas failed Monday to override the Democratic governor's veto of a proposed ban on gender-affirming care for transgender minors.The vote was 82-43 in the state House to reverse Gov. Laura Kelly's veto, but that was two votes shy of the necessary two-thirds majority.Two Republicans who'd backed the bill earlier voted against overriding the veto, citing their concerns about provisions that included one that would have barred state employees from advocating social transitioning for transgender youth.The House's vote came after the Senate voted 27-13 to override the veto, with the exact two-thirds majority required in that chamber.Under the bill, social transitioning includes “the changing of an individual’s preferred pronouns or manner of dress,” and the rule against promoting it would have applied to state workers who care for children. The measure doesn’t spell out what constitutes promoting it.The vote in the House was expected to be close after LGBTQ+ rights advocates raised questions about whether&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/gender-affirming-care-ban-minors-kansas-8c7492f64136d90d830f97ace98a138b">the provision against promoting social transitioning</a>&nbsp;is written broadly enough to apply to public school teachers who show empathy for transgender students.The bill is part of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/transgender-care-sports-courts-idaho-4bbba11d7cd60916715ba230fa986c88">a broader push</a>&nbsp;to roll back transgender rights from Republican lawmakers in statehouses across the U.S. Kansas would have been the 25th state to restrict or ban such care for minors, and this week the South Carolina Senate expected to debate&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/south-carolina-missouri-transgender-bills-9f58b8678da99e5a340faf8a2896b23d">a similar measure</a>&nbsp;that already has passed the state House.“Unfortunately, in today’s society, the predator in particular is a woke health care system,” said Republican state Sen. Mark Steffen, a central Kansas anesthesiologist and pain management specialist.Like other Republicans across the U.S., Steffen and other GOP lawmakers in Kansas argued that they're protecting children struggling with their gender identities from being pushed into health care that the lawmakers see as experimental and potentially harmful. But that puts them at odds with the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics and other major U.S. medical groups.LGBTQ+ rights groups such as Lambda Legal, the American Civil Liberties Union and Equality Kansas have stopped short of saying they would challenge the new law in court, but they've said they believe the provisions preventing state employees from advocating social transitioning violates their free speech rights. They've said that provision makes the Kansas law more sweeping than laws in other states.Other critics argued that enacting such a ban sends a message that transgender residents aren't welcome. When Kelly vetoed a similar ban last year,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2023_24/measures/documents/sb26_enrolled.pdf">she suggested</a>&nbsp;that it would hurt the state's business climate.“This is not the message we want to send to Americans about the welcoming opportunities that Kansas has,” said state Sen. Tom Holland, a northeastern Kansas Democrat.About 300,000 youths ages 13 to 17 identify as transgender in the U.S., according to estimates by the Williams Institute, an LGBTQ+ research center at UCLA Law. It estimates that in Kansas, about 2,100 youths in that age group identify as transgender.Republican lawmakers last year enacted laws&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/transgender-athletes-ban-kansas-08604c663518fb2538565f3e1ac3d4ba">barring transgender girls and women</a>&nbsp;from female college and K-12 sports teams and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/states-define-sex-transgender-dc8c48669aef760c68d2fb7abde10e8c">ending legal recognition</a>&nbsp;of transgender residents' gender identities. Transgender residents&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/transgender-birth-certificates-kansas-8424f36613c05d03b7d4eb8f82229ee6">no longer can change</a>&nbsp;the listing for “sex” on their driver's licenses or birth certificates to match their gender identities, something Kelly's administration had allowed.“I do feel like there’s a genuine fear about me and what my body means, when I’m very happy,” Issac Johnson, who is transgender and just finished a social work internship in Topeka’s public schools, said during a recent Statehouse news conference.Transgender youth, parents of transgender children and dozens of medical and mental health providers all described gender-affirming care as life-saving and argued that it lessens severe depression and suicidal tendencies among transgender youth. At least 200 health care providers signed&nbsp;<a href="https://neartail.com/public/112018621399901727788/all/form/1FAIpQLSf1w14R3ppyupWRBiaMbwQT1e4Y8TzLR0Xz0mjXp2o-yRz7lA">a letter to lawmakers</a>&nbsp;opposing a veto override.

Backers of a ban on gender care for minors in Kansas fail to override the governor's veto

JERUSALEM (AP) — A U.S. Navy ship and several Army vessels involved in an American-led effort to bring more aid into&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-gaza-aid-port-eb8a701b3a7dc8f946422c04323ff913">the besieged Gaza Strip are offshore</a>&nbsp;of the enclave and building out a floating platform for the operation that the Pentagon has said will cost at least $320 million.

Sabrina Singh, Pentagon spokeswoman, told reporters the cost is a rough estimate for the project and includes the transportation of the equipment and pier sections from the United States to the coast of Gaza, as well as the construction and aid delivery operations.

Satellite photos analyzed by The Associated Press on Tuesday show the USNS Roy P. Benavidez about 11 kilometers (6.8 miles) from the port on shore, where the base of operations for the project is being built by the Israeli military. The USAV General Frank S. Besson Jr., an Army logistics vessel, and several other Army boats are with the Benavidez and working on the construction of what the military calls the Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore, or JLOTS, system.

Satellite images from Sunday and Monday by Planet Labs PBC showed pieces of the floating pier in the Mediterranean Sea, alongside the Benavidez. Measurements of the vessel match known features of the Benavidez, a Bob Hope-class vehicle cargo ship operated by the Military Sealift Command.

A U.S. military official confirmed late last week that the Benavidez had begun construction and that it was far enough off shore to ensure that the troops building the platform would be safe. Singh said on Monday that next will come the construction of the causeway, which will then be anchored to the beach.

The U.S. military’s Central Command early Tuesday published images of the floating pier’s construction online, after the AP’s publication of the satellite photos.

“The pier will support USAID and humanitarian partners to receive and deliver humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza,” the statement on the social platform X said.

U.S. and Israeli officials have said they hope to have the floating pier in place, the causeway attached to the shore and operations underway by early May. The Pentagon said on Monday the operation will cost at least $320 million. The cost was first reported by Reuters.

Under the plan by the U.S. military, aid will be loaded onto commercial ships in Cyprus to sail to the floating platform now under construction off Gaza. The pallets will be loaded onto trucks, which will be loaded onto smaller ships that will travel to a metal, floating two-lane causeway. The 550-meter (1,800-foot) causeway will be attached to the shore by the Israeli Defense Forces.

The U.S. military official said an American Army engineering unit has teamed with an Israeli military engineering unit in recent weeks to practice the installation of the causeway, training on an Israeli beach just up the coast.

The new port sits southwest of Gaza City and a bit north of a road bisecting Gaza that the Israeli military built during the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war">current war against Hamas</a>. The area was the territory’s most populous before the Israeli ground offensive rolled through and pushed more than 1 million people south toward the city of Rafah on the border with Egypt.

Now Israeli military positions are on either side of the port, which initially had been built — as part of an effort led by World Central Kitchen — out of the rubble of buildings leveled by Israel. That effort halted after&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/world-central-kitchen-jose-andres-gaza-israel-a21b62edbfa1150d0eb78ed5597a03c8">an Israeli airstrike killed seven World Central Kitchen aid workers</a>&nbsp;on April 1 as they traveled in clearly marked vehicles on a delivery mission authorized by Israel. The organization says it is resuming its work in Gaza.

Aid has been slow to get into Gaza, with long backups of trucks awaiting Israeli inspections. The U.S. and other nations also have used air drops to send food into Gaza. The U.S. military official said deliveries on the sea route initially will total about 90 trucks a day and could quickly increase to about 150 trucks daily.

Aid organizations have said several hundred such trucks are needed to enter Gaza every day.

In the aftermath of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel, which killed 1,200 people and saw 250 others taken hostage, Israel cut off or heavily restricted food, water, medicine, electricity and other aid from entering the Gaza Strip. Under&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/blinken-israel-hamas-war-gaza-saudi-arabia-c0425791dc59e745021d3dd726dc8f09">pressure from the U.S. and others</a>, Israel says the situation is improving, though United Nations agencies have said much more aid needs to enter.

Gaza, slightly more than twice the size of the city of Washington and home to 2.3 million people, has found itself on the brink of famine. More than 34,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the fighting began, local health authorities say.

On Sunday, Israeli military spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said the amount of aid going into Gaza would continue to scale up.

“This temporary pier will provide a ship-to-shore distribution system that will further increase the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza,” he said in a statement.

However, high-ranking Hamas political official&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/hamas-khalil-alhayya-qatar-ceasefire-1967-borders-4912532b11a9cec29464eab234045438">Khalil al-Hayya told the AP</a>&nbsp;last week that the group would consider Israeli forces — or forces from any other country — stationed by the pier to guard it as “an occupying force and aggression,” and that the militant group would resist it.

On Wednesday, a mortar attack targeted the port site, though no one was hurt.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/4/1714471004272.png" alt="Photos U.S. Central Command" />
 <figcaption>Photos U.S. Central Command</figcaption>
 </figure>JERUSALEM (AP) — A U.S. Navy ship and several Army vessels involved in an American-led effort to bring more aid into&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-gaza-aid-port-eb8a701b3a7dc8f946422c04323ff913">the besieged Gaza Strip are offshore</a>&nbsp;of the enclave and building out a floating platform for the operation that the Pentagon has said will cost at least $320 million.Sabrina Singh, Pentagon spokeswoman, told reporters the cost is a rough estimate for the project and includes the transportation of the equipment and pier sections from the United States to the coast of Gaza, as well as the construction and aid delivery operations.Satellite photos analyzed by The Associated Press on Tuesday show the USNS Roy P. Benavidez about 11 kilometers (6.8 miles) from the port on shore, where the base of operations for the project is being built by the Israeli military. The USAV General Frank S. Besson Jr., an Army logistics vessel, and several other Army boats are with the Benavidez and working on the construction of what the military calls the Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore, or JLOTS, system.Satellite images from Sunday and Monday by Planet Labs PBC showed pieces of the floating pier in the Mediterranean Sea, alongside the Benavidez. Measurements of the vessel match known features of the Benavidez, a Bob Hope-class vehicle cargo ship operated by the Military Sealift Command.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/4/1714471132275.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>A U.S. military official confirmed late last week that the Benavidez had begun construction and that it was far enough off shore to ensure that the troops building the platform would be safe. Singh said on Monday that next will come the construction of the causeway, which will then be anchored to the beach.The U.S. military’s Central Command early Tuesday published images of the floating pier’s construction online, after the AP’s publication of the satellite photos.“The pier will support USAID and humanitarian partners to receive and deliver humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza,” the statement on the social platform X said.U.S. and Israeli officials have said they hope to have the floating pier in place, the causeway attached to the shore and operations underway by early May. The Pentagon said on Monday the operation will cost at least $320 million. The cost was first reported by Reuters.Under the plan by the U.S. military, aid will be loaded onto commercial ships in Cyprus to sail to the floating platform now under construction off Gaza. The pallets will be loaded onto trucks, which will be loaded onto smaller ships that will travel to a metal, floating two-lane causeway. The 550-meter (1,800-foot) causeway will be attached to the shore by the Israeli Defense Forces.The U.S. military official said an American Army engineering unit has teamed with an Israeli military engineering unit in recent weeks to practice the installation of the causeway, training on an Israeli beach just up the coast.The new port sits southwest of Gaza City and a bit north of a road bisecting Gaza that the Israeli military built during the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war">current war against Hamas</a>. The area was the territory’s most populous before the Israeli ground offensive rolled through and pushed more than 1 million people south toward the city of Rafah on the border with Egypt.Now Israeli military positions are on either side of the port, which initially had been built — as part of an effort led by World Central Kitchen — out of the rubble of buildings leveled by Israel. That effort halted after&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/world-central-kitchen-jose-andres-gaza-israel-a21b62edbfa1150d0eb78ed5597a03c8">an Israeli airstrike killed seven World Central Kitchen aid workers</a>&nbsp;on April 1 as they traveled in clearly marked vehicles on a delivery mission authorized by Israel. The organization says it is resuming its work in Gaza.Aid has been slow to get into Gaza, with long backups of trucks awaiting Israeli inspections. The U.S. and other nations also have used air drops to send food into Gaza. The U.S. military official said deliveries on the sea route initially will total about 90 trucks a day and could quickly increase to about 150 trucks daily.Aid organizations have said several hundred such trucks are needed to enter Gaza every day.In the aftermath of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel, which killed 1,200 people and saw 250 others taken hostage, Israel cut off or heavily restricted food, water, medicine, electricity and other aid from entering the Gaza Strip. Under&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/blinken-israel-hamas-war-gaza-saudi-arabia-c0425791dc59e745021d3dd726dc8f09">pressure from the U.S. and others</a>, Israel says the situation is improving, though United Nations agencies have said much more aid needs to enter.Gaza, slightly more than twice the size of the city of Washington and home to 2.3 million people, has found itself on the brink of famine. More than 34,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the fighting began, local health authorities say.On Sunday, Israeli military spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said the amount of aid going into Gaza would continue to scale up.“This temporary pier will provide a ship-to-shore distribution system that will further increase the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza,” he said in a statement.However, high-ranking Hamas political official&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/hamas-khalil-alhayya-qatar-ceasefire-1967-borders-4912532b11a9cec29464eab234045438">Khalil al-Hayya told the AP</a>&nbsp;last week that the group would consider Israeli forces — or forces from any other country — stationed by the pier to guard it as “an occupying force and aggression,” and that the militant group would resist it.On Wednesday, a mortar attack targeted the port site, though no one was hurt.

US military working to build $320M pier for Gaza aid

LYON COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a former city of Emporia employee on multiple allegations.

On April 16, a&nbsp;criminal investigation began after Emporia Police were notified of suspicious activity on City property, according to Emporia Police Captain Lisa Hayes.

 The case led detectives to other parts of Kansas and as far away as Iowa. Ultimately, detectives found probable cause to believe Wiggins engaged in Felony Theft against the City of Emporia.

Following Wiggins' arrest, Emporia Police were notified Wiggins was no longer employed with the City of Emporia.&nbsp; He had been the city Public Works Department Underground Utilities supervisor since 2020, according to the city website.

The City of Emporia has cooperated with the investigation. Wiggins remains jailed with no bond, according to online jail records.

Formal charges are pending review by the Lyon County Attorney's Office. 

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/4/1714408877416.png" alt="Wiggins-photo Lyon County" />
 <figcaption>Wiggins-photo Lyon County</figcaption>
 </figure>LYON COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a former city of Emporia employee on multiple allegations.On April 16, a&nbsp;criminal investigation began after Emporia Police were notified of suspicious activity on City property, according to Emporia Police Captain Lisa Hayes. The case led detectives to other parts of Kansas and as far away as Iowa. Ultimately, detectives found probable cause to believe Wiggins engaged in Felony Theft against the City of Emporia.Following Wiggins' arrest, Emporia Police were notified Wiggins was no longer employed with the City of Emporia.&nbsp; He had been the city Public Works Department Underground Utilities supervisor since 2020, according to the city website.The City of Emporia has cooperated with the investigation. Wiggins remains jailed with no bond, according to online jail records.Formal charges are pending review by the Lyon County Attorney's Office.

Alleged theft from city of Emporia led detectives beyond Kansas

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

TOPEKA — Three Senate Republicans joined with Democrats on Monday to sustain Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto of a massive tax cut package over concerns about reshaping income tax brackets and the state’s long-term fiscal vitality.

The 26-14 override attempt on&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2023_24/measures/hb2036/">House Bill 2036</a>&nbsp;failed by one vote because two-thirds of the chamber’s 40 members are needed to override a veto.

The legislation includes a number of provisions that have bipartisan support — eliminating the sales tax on food by July 1, exempting Social Security from income taxes, raising the standard deduction on income tax returns and raising the residential property tax emption for the statewide mill levy from $40,000 to $100,000.

But the centerpiece of the legislation is an alteration to the state’s three-tier income tax system. The bill would lower the top bracket’s rate from 5.7% to 5.5% and the middle bracket’s rate from 5.25% to 5.15%. The lowest bracket’s rate, currently at 3.1%, would move into the middle bracket — but increases in standard deductions would ensure those in the lowest bracket still see a net tax reduction.

Sen. Rob Olson, R-Olathe, said his concerns with the bill were primarily about the income tax cuts. Lower wage earners were going to end up paying more, he said, so the top wage earners could pay less.

“I’m tired of the trickle-down economics,” Olson said. “It doesn’t work. You guys want to keep giving the people at the top these big tax cuts and hope they trickle down to us.”

Kelly has proposed a plan that would lower the rates for each of the three existing income tax brackets, and she promised to bring the Legislature back for a special session if lawmakers failed to provide tax relief.

The House, which had passed the bill 119-0 on April 5, voted 104-15 on Friday to&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2024/04/26/kansas-house-overrides-governors-veto-of-tax-cut-bills-despite-gloomy-five-year-forecast/">override the governor’s veto</a>.

Talking to reporters Monday, Kelly warned against the Legislature’s push to override her veto of tax legislation. Kelly said the plan, which would lower state tax collections by $2.5 billion over five years, would hurt state finances and halt attempts to move forward on addressing the state’s drought issues, along with future funding of state services for disabled Kansans, because there’s not going to “be any money.”

“There would go any prospect of developing a comprehensive water plan,” Kelly said. “We are going to need money to be able to set up dedicated funding sources specifically to look at our critical water crisis. If that bill becomes law, if they override, we’re not going to have that. In the long run, we’re going to have a hard time sustaining our current level of funding.”

During debate Monday, opponents to the tax plan questioned whether the state could afford to fully fund public schools, highway projects or other state services. Financial projections showed the tax plan would burn through a $3 billion surplus and leave the state with a deficit by 2029.

“The income tax portion of this piece is just too rich,” said Sen. Tom Holland, D-Baldwin City. “And when you line this thing up to the budget out years, it sinks like a rock.”

Sen. Caryn Tyson, R-Parker, rejected that assessment. Instead of sinking the the state, she said, the tax cuts would do the opposite — lift the state into prosperity.

“This is very elementary, but I would ask that you close your eyes,” Tyson said. “Close your eyes for a minute. Don’t think about the people in the building, or sitting next to you, or the politics. Think about being at home. Think about being at the grocery store, or going to a movie or a ballgame, talking to your friends, your neighbors, your families. That’s who you’re casting this vote for. You’re casting it for Kansans. Please hear me. Please hear your constituents. Please hear all Kansans and send them a tax cut.”

Olson, Sen. Dennis Pyle, R-Hiawatha, and Sen. John Doll, R-Garden City, voted with Democrats to send the Legislature back to the drawing board.

Pyle said the Legislature has made progress with its proposed tax cut packages following past vetoes by the governor. If the Legislature has to come back for a special session, Pyle said, “I believe we’ll get a better tax plan.”

He also said there was still time for lawmakers to produce a last-minute plan. The Legislature was expected to finish work by Tuesday but could continue through Wednesday night.

“We don’t have to come back for a special session, but we will,” Pyle said. “The governor said she’d call us back for a tax cut, and I’m taking her at her word.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/4/1714432820656.png" alt=" Sen. Rob Olson, R-Olathe, middle, says trickle-down economics doesn't work. He joined Democrats and two other Republicans in sustaining the governor's veto of a tax cut package. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption> Sen. Rob Olson, R-Olathe, middle, says trickle-down economics doesn't work. He joined Democrats and two other Republicans in sustaining the governor's veto of a tax cut package. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure>BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/sherman-smith/">SHERMAN SMITH</a>&nbsp;AND&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/rmipro/">RACHEL MIPRO</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/">Kansas Reflector</a>TOPEKA — Three Senate Republicans joined with Democrats on Monday to sustain Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto of a massive tax cut package over concerns about reshaping income tax brackets and the state’s long-term fiscal vitality.The 26-14 override attempt on&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2023_24/measures/hb2036/">House Bill 2036</a>&nbsp;failed by one vote because two-thirds of the chamber’s 40 members are needed to override a veto.The legislation includes a number of provisions that have bipartisan support — eliminating the sales tax on food by July 1, exempting Social Security from income taxes, raising the standard deduction on income tax returns and raising the residential property tax emption for the statewide mill levy from $40,000 to $100,000.But the centerpiece of the legislation is an alteration to the state’s three-tier income tax system. The bill would lower the top bracket’s rate from 5.7% to 5.5% and the middle bracket’s rate from 5.25% to 5.15%. The lowest bracket’s rate, currently at 3.1%, would move into the middle bracket — but increases in standard deductions would ensure those in the lowest bracket still see a net tax reduction.Sen. Rob Olson, R-Olathe, said his concerns with the bill were primarily about the income tax cuts. Lower wage earners were going to end up paying more, he said, so the top wage earners could pay less.“I’m tired of the trickle-down economics,” Olson said. “It doesn’t work. You guys want to keep giving the people at the top these big tax cuts and hope they trickle down to us.”Kelly has proposed a plan that would lower the rates for each of the three existing income tax brackets, and she promised to bring the Legislature back for a special session if lawmakers failed to provide tax relief.The House, which had passed the bill 119-0 on April 5, voted 104-15 on Friday to&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2024/04/26/kansas-house-overrides-governors-veto-of-tax-cut-bills-despite-gloomy-five-year-forecast/">override the governor’s veto</a>.Talking to reporters Monday, Kelly warned against the Legislature’s push to override her veto of tax legislation. Kelly said the plan, which would lower state tax collections by $2.5 billion over five years, would hurt state finances and halt attempts to move forward on addressing the state’s drought issues, along with future funding of state services for disabled Kansans, because there’s not going to “be any money.”“There would go any prospect of developing a comprehensive water plan,” Kelly said. “We are going to need money to be able to set up dedicated funding sources specifically to look at our critical water crisis. If that bill becomes law, if they override, we’re not going to have that. In the long run, we’re going to have a hard time sustaining our current level of funding.”During debate Monday, opponents to the tax plan questioned whether the state could afford to fully fund public schools, highway projects or other state services. Financial projections showed the tax plan would burn through a $3 billion surplus and leave the state with a deficit by 2029.“The income tax portion of this piece is just too rich,” said Sen. Tom Holland, D-Baldwin City. “And when you line this thing up to the budget out years, it sinks like a rock.”Sen. Caryn Tyson, R-Parker, rejected that assessment. Instead of sinking the the state, she said, the tax cuts would do the opposite — lift the state into prosperity.“This is very elementary, but I would ask that you close your eyes,” Tyson said. “Close your eyes for a minute. Don’t think about the people in the building, or sitting next to you, or the politics. Think about being at home. Think about being at the grocery store, or going to a movie or a ballgame, talking to your friends, your neighbors, your families. That’s who you’re casting this vote for. You’re casting it for Kansans. Please hear me. Please hear your constituents. Please hear all Kansans and send them a tax cut.”Olson, Sen. Dennis Pyle, R-Hiawatha, and Sen. John Doll, R-Garden City, voted with Democrats to send the Legislature back to the drawing board.Pyle said the Legislature has made progress with its proposed tax cut packages following past vetoes by the governor. If the Legislature has to come back for a special session, Pyle said, “I believe we’ll get a better tax plan.”He also said there was still time for lawmakers to produce a last-minute plan. The Legislature was expected to finish work by Tuesday but could continue through Wednesday night.“We don’t have to come back for a special session, but we will,” Pyle said. “The governor said she’d call us back for a tax cut, and I’m taking her at her word.”

Kansas Senate fails to override governor’s veto of tax cut package

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Three women who were diagnosed with HIV after getting “vampire facial” procedures at an unlicensed New Mexico medical spa are believed to be the first documented cases of people contracting the virus through a cosmetic procedure using needles, federal health officials said.

The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/73/wr/mm7316a3.htm">Centers for Disease Control and Prevention</a>&nbsp;said in its Morbidity and Mortality Report last week that an investigation into the clinic from 2018 through 2023 showed it apparently reused disposable equipment intended for one-time use.

Although HIV transmission from contaminated blood through unsterile injection is a well-known risk, the report said this is the first documentation of probable infections involving cosmetic services.

Many popular cosmetic treatments are delivered with needles, such as Botox to iron out wrinkles and fillers to plump lips. A “vampire facial,” or platelet-rich plasma microneedling procedure, involves drawing a client's own blood, separating its components, then using tiny needles to inject plasma into the face to rejuvenate the skin. Tattoos also require needles.

The New Mexico Department of Health began&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/28bcd83bc954401baba3446f56022668">investigating</a>&nbsp;the spa in the summer of 2018 after it was notified that a woman in her 40s had tested positive for HIV even though she had no known risk factors. The woman reported exposure to needles through the procedure at the clinic that spring.

The spa closed in fall 2018 after the investigation was launched, and its owner was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/new-mexico-albuquerque-spas-hector-balderas-7c890ba01b8d373f0de952b5258e2c96">prosecuted</a>&nbsp;for practicing medicine without a license.

The report said the investigation showed how important it is to require infection control practices at businesses that offer cosmetic procedures involving needles.

It also noted that the investigation was slowed by poor record keeping and said businesses providing such services should keep better records in case clients need to be contacted later.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/4/1714401990327.png" alt="-This electron microscope image made available by the U.S. National Institutes of Health shows a human T cell, in blue, under attack by HIV, in yellow, the virus that causes AIDS.&nbsp; -Credit: Seth Pincus, Elizabeth Fischer and Austin Athman, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases/NIH" />
 <figcaption>-This electron microscope image made available by the U.S. National Institutes of Health shows a human T cell, in blue, under attack by HIV, in yellow, the virus that causes AIDS.&nbsp; -Credit: Seth Pincus, Elizabeth Fischer and Austin Athman, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases/NIH</figcaption>
 </figure>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Three women who were diagnosed with HIV after getting “vampire facial” procedures at an unlicensed New Mexico medical spa are believed to be the first documented cases of people contracting the virus through a cosmetic procedure using needles, federal health officials said.The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/73/wr/mm7316a3.htm">Centers for Disease Control and Prevention</a>&nbsp;said in its Morbidity and Mortality Report last week that an investigation into the clinic from 2018 through 2023 showed it apparently reused disposable equipment intended for one-time use.Although HIV transmission from contaminated blood through unsterile injection is a well-known risk, the report said this is the first documentation of probable infections involving cosmetic services.Many popular cosmetic treatments are delivered with needles, such as Botox to iron out wrinkles and fillers to plump lips. A “vampire facial,” or platelet-rich plasma microneedling procedure, involves drawing a client's own blood, separating its components, then using tiny needles to inject plasma into the face to rejuvenate the skin. Tattoos also require needles.The New Mexico Department of Health began&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/28bcd83bc954401baba3446f56022668">investigating</a>&nbsp;the spa in the summer of 2018 after it was notified that a woman in her 40s had tested positive for HIV even though she had no known risk factors. The woman reported exposure to needles through the procedure at the clinic that spring.The spa closed in fall 2018 after the investigation was launched, and its owner was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/new-mexico-albuquerque-spas-hector-balderas-7c890ba01b8d373f0de952b5258e2c96">prosecuted</a>&nbsp;for practicing medicine without a license.The report said the investigation showed how important it is to require infection control practices at businesses that offer cosmetic procedures involving needles.It also noted that the investigation was slowed by poor record keeping and said businesses providing such services should keep better records in case clients need to be contacted later.

CDC: 1st cases of HIV transmitted through cosmetic needles

MONTGOMERY COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect on drug allegations.

Just before 1p.m. April 23, detectives and deputies from the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office executed a narcotics search warrant at 633 W. Beech in Independence, Kansas, according to Sheriff Ron Wade.

 During the search, authorities took 39-year-old Crystal Blex into custody after discovering evidence of fentanyl use at the location. Upon completion of the search warrant, Blex was transported to the Montgomery County Department of Corrections, where she remains jailed on requested charges of possession of an opiate (fentanyl) and possession of drug paraphernalia.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/4/1714356128391.png" alt="Blex-photo Montgomery County" />
 <figcaption>Blex-photo Montgomery County</figcaption>
 </figure>MONTGOMERY COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect on drug allegations.Just before 1p.m. April 23, detectives and deputies from the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office executed a narcotics search warrant at 633 W. Beech in Independence, Kansas, according to Sheriff Ron Wade. During the search, authorities took 39-year-old Crystal Blex into custody after discovering evidence of fentanyl use at the location. Upon completion of the search warrant, Blex was transported to the Montgomery County Department of Corrections, where she remains jailed on requested charges of possession of an opiate (fentanyl) and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Sheriff found evidence of fentanyl use at Kansas home

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

TOPEKA — The Senate provided the two-thirds majority Monday to override Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto of $15.7 million for deploying Kansas National Guard troops in support of the Texas Republican governor’s campaign to deter undocumented immigrants from crossing the Rio Grande.

The vote in the Senate was 28-12, but the House had not yet taken up the measure. House GOP leaders would need 84 votes to complete the override.

Kelly line-item vetoed the provision in a budget bill that was originally approved based on assertions the state’s investment in national security could help prevent unauthorized entry, including movement north of people intent on harming the United States. Other southern-border threats raised by override supporters were human trafficking, gang violence, foreign acquisition of farmland and importation of fentanyl, a drug linked to the spike in U.S. overdose deaths.

In Kansas, the governor serves as commander in chief of the Air and Army National Guard forces. Kelly, not the Legislature, has authority to deploy men and women in the Kansas Guard.

“When a governor deploys soldiers as part of a federal mission, it is done intentionally and in a manner that ensures we are able to protect our communities and that we do not threaten Guard readiness or limit our ability to respond to natural disasters at home,” Kelly said.

Senate President Ty Masterson, the Andover Republican who made the override motion in the Senate, said he recently visited the city of Eagle Pass where Texas Gov. Greg Abbott ordered the Texas National Guard to oust the U.S. Border Patrol from a migrant processing center in Shelby Park. The state converted into a military installation the 47-acre city park on the Rio Grande named for a Confederal general.

Masterson said he accepted the invitation of a Texas state senator to go to the border to better assess whether the $15.7 million was a reasonable expenditure and not “kind of a political game.” Critics of the budget provision, including Democratic Rep. Henry Helgerson of Wichita, had accused Republicans of delving into this border security issue to undermine Kelly or embarrass President Joe Biden.

“Every state in the nation is a border state at this point,” Masterson said. “Let Kansas be a part of it. It’s not much short of an invasion. We’re a little isolated up here, but it’s coming.”

Democrats questioned whether the $15.7 million would make a difference in Texas and reminded their Republican brethren passage of the budget measure was a “pointless exercise” because constitutional authority to deploy the Kansas Guard rested with the Kansas governor.

“I hope that folks get whatever messaging points they want to get out of it,” said Sen. Ethan Corson, a Johnson County Democrat. “No matter what we do, it’s really going to have little effect. This is, to me, all about just a political stunt. It does not change the fact that, as much as the Senate president, as much as the speaker of the House, might want to be commander in chief of the National Guard, the fact is, they are not.”

Sen. Tom Holland, D-Baldwin City, said funding to support Texas’ effort to turn away immigrants was an indication the quality of work done by the Legislature on the state budget during his 22 years as a legislator had “gotten more and more suspect.”

“I do not understand the reality in which certain people in this chamber reside,” the senator said. “Given the untold needs that our citizens have in this state, the mere idea that we would take millions of dollars and send it to another state — for what gain?”

Sen. Usha Reddi, a Manhattan Democrat, said the expenditure by Kansas wouldn’t resolve border problems that had simmered for decades. She warned that next year the Legislature could end of throwing $15 million, $30 million or more at the federal immigration stalemate.

Sen. Mark Steffen, a Reno County Republican who supported the override and blasted Biden for undermining former President Donald Trump’s executive orders on immigration, asked the Senate president for an assurance there would accountability for expenditure of Kansas tax dollars.

“Help me understand how we can take Kansas money and use it effectively in Texas — just to make sure we feel good … that money is not being squandered like so much of it is by our federal government in foreign countries?” Steffen said.

Masterson said the funding “can’t be squandered” because it would be tied directly to deployed Kansas Guard troops. “If there’s no boot on the ground, there’s no money spent,” he said.

While GOP lawmakers pointed a finger at Biden, none mentioned Trump’s role in scuttling in February a bipartisan congressional deal for tougher immigration laws. It was argued Republicans could leverage inaction on immigration to their advantage in the 2024 election cycle.

Goodland Sen. Rick Billinger, the Republican chair of the Senate Ways and Means Committee, said skeptics of the state’s contribution to Texas’ anti-immigration action should “open your eyes.” He said an estimated 300 people on terrorist watch lists had slipped across the southern border before their identity could be determined. People pouring into the United States weren’t parents with children keen to start a new life, he said.

“I seen the videos,” Billinger said. “These weren’t men, women and children. These were young men.”

Sen. Jeff Longbine, a Republican from Emporia, said immigration was the policy and financial domain of the federal government and Congress had repeatedly failed to deliver. It wasn’t clear the governor would send Kansas Guard troops to the border or whether that would make a difference in Texas, he said.

“I do know that our immigration laws are a mess,” Longbine said. “Our federal delegation, or Congress, has failed to act.”

He said more than half the students in K-12 public schools in Emporia were Hispanic. He voted for the override on behalf of immigrants who took the time and effort to gain legal status in the United States. “These people are friends. They are neighbors. They are relatives,” he said.

Sen. Alicia Straub, R-Ellinwood, said a letter drafted in September by GOP Rep. Trevor Jacobs of Fort Scott called on the governor to send military forces to Texas. It was signed by about 20 of the state’s 165 legislators. Straub asked Masterson whether it took a trip to the border for him to realize there was a problem.

“I got tired of writing letters,” Masterson said. “It was time to do something real.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/4/1714068086083.jpeg" alt="Photo Texas Governor Greg Abbott-Texas Department of Public Safety" />
 <figcaption>Photo Texas Governor Greg Abbott-Texas Department of Public Safety</figcaption>
 </figure>BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/tim-carpenter/">TIM CARPENTER</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/">Kansas Reflector</a>TOPEKA — The Senate provided the two-thirds majority Monday to override Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto of $15.7 million for deploying Kansas National Guard troops in support of the Texas Republican governor’s campaign to deter undocumented immigrants from crossing the Rio Grande.The vote in the Senate was 28-12, but the House had not yet taken up the measure. House GOP leaders would need 84 votes to complete the override.Kelly line-item vetoed the provision in a budget bill that was originally approved based on assertions the state’s investment in national security could help prevent unauthorized entry, including movement north of people intent on harming the United States. Other southern-border threats raised by override supporters were human trafficking, gang violence, foreign acquisition of farmland and importation of fentanyl, a drug linked to the spike in U.S. overdose deaths.In Kansas, the governor serves as commander in chief of the Air and Army National Guard forces. Kelly, not the Legislature, has authority to deploy men and women in the Kansas Guard.“When a governor deploys soldiers as part of a federal mission, it is done intentionally and in a manner that ensures we are able to protect our communities and that we do not threaten Guard readiness or limit our ability to respond to natural disasters at home,” Kelly said.Senate President Ty Masterson, the Andover Republican who made the override motion in the Senate, said he recently visited the city of Eagle Pass where Texas Gov. Greg Abbott ordered the Texas National Guard to oust the U.S. Border Patrol from a migrant processing center in Shelby Park. The state converted into a military installation the 47-acre city park on the Rio Grande named for a Confederal general.Masterson said he accepted the invitation of a Texas state senator to go to the border to better assess whether the $15.7 million was a reasonable expenditure and not “kind of a political game.” Critics of the budget provision, including Democratic Rep. Henry Helgerson of Wichita, had accused Republicans of delving into this border security issue to undermine Kelly or embarrass President Joe Biden.“Every state in the nation is a border state at this point,” Masterson said. “Let Kansas be a part of it. It’s not much short of an invasion. We’re a little isolated up here, but it’s coming.”<h2>‘A political stunt’</h2>Democrats questioned whether the $15.7 million would make a difference in Texas and reminded their Republican brethren passage of the budget measure was a “pointless exercise” because constitutional authority to deploy the Kansas Guard rested with the Kansas governor.“I hope that folks get whatever messaging points they want to get out of it,” said Sen. Ethan Corson, a Johnson County Democrat. “No matter what we do, it’s really going to have little effect. This is, to me, all about just a political stunt. It does not change the fact that, as much as the Senate president, as much as the speaker of the House, might want to be commander in chief of the National Guard, the fact is, they are not.”Sen. Tom Holland, D-Baldwin City, said funding to support Texas’ effort to turn away immigrants was an indication the quality of work done by the Legislature on the state budget during his 22 years as a legislator had “gotten more and more suspect.”“I do not understand the reality in which certain people in this chamber reside,” the senator said. “Given the untold needs that our citizens have in this state, the mere idea that we would take millions of dollars and send it to another state — for what gain?”Sen. Usha Reddi, a Manhattan Democrat, said the expenditure by Kansas wouldn’t resolve border problems that had simmered for decades. She warned that next year the Legislature could end of throwing $15 million, $30 million or more at the federal immigration stalemate.<h2>‘Can’t be squandered’</h2>Sen. Mark Steffen, a Reno County Republican who supported the override and blasted Biden for undermining former President Donald Trump’s executive orders on immigration, asked the Senate president for an assurance there would accountability for expenditure of Kansas tax dollars.“Help me understand how we can take Kansas money and use it effectively in Texas — just to make sure we feel good … that money is not being squandered like so much of it is by our federal government in foreign countries?” Steffen said.Masterson said the funding “can’t be squandered” because it would be tied directly to deployed Kansas Guard troops. “If there’s no boot on the ground, there’s no money spent,” he said.While GOP lawmakers pointed a finger at Biden, none mentioned Trump’s role in scuttling in February a bipartisan congressional deal for tougher immigration laws. It was argued Republicans could leverage inaction on immigration to their advantage in the 2024 election cycle.Goodland Sen. Rick Billinger, the Republican chair of the Senate Ways and Means Committee, said skeptics of the state’s contribution to Texas’ anti-immigration action should “open your eyes.” He said an estimated 300 people on terrorist watch lists had slipped across the southern border before their identity could be determined. People pouring into the United States weren’t parents with children keen to start a new life, he said.“I seen the videos,” Billinger said. “These weren’t men, women and children. These were young men.”<h2>What took so long?</h2>Sen. Jeff Longbine, a Republican from Emporia, said immigration was the policy and financial domain of the federal government and Congress had repeatedly failed to deliver. It wasn’t clear the governor would send Kansas Guard troops to the border or whether that would make a difference in Texas, he said.“I do know that our immigration laws are a mess,” Longbine said. “Our federal delegation, or Congress, has failed to act.”He said more than half the students in K-12 public schools in Emporia were Hispanic. He voted for the override on behalf of immigrants who took the time and effort to gain legal status in the United States. “These people are friends. They are neighbors. They are relatives,” he said.Sen. Alicia Straub, R-Ellinwood, said a letter drafted in September by GOP Rep. Trevor Jacobs of Fort Scott called on the governor to send military forces to Texas. It was signed by about 20 of the state’s 165 legislators. Straub asked Masterson whether it took a trip to the border for him to realize there was a problem.“I got tired of writing letters,” Masterson said. “It was time to do something real.”

Senate rebuffs Kan. governor, affirms $15.7 million contribution to Texas border security

SHAWNEE COUNTY —One person died in an accident just after 1a.m.&nbsp; Monday on the Kansas Turnpike in Shawnee County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2022 Freightliner semi driven by Harsh Batish, 22, Winnipeg, Manitoba, was southbound&nbsp; on Interstate 335 and struck a 2015 Mercedes M-Class driven by Michael Goering, 72, Topeka, who was northbound in the southbound lanes of the turnpike.&nbsp; After impact both vehicles caught fire.&nbsp;

Goering was pronounced dead at the scene. Batish and a passenger in the semi were not injured.&nbsp; The drivers were properly restrained, according to the KHP.

SHAWNEE COUNTY —One person died in an accident just after 1a.m.&nbsp; Monday on the Kansas Turnpike in Shawnee County.The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2022 Freightliner semi driven by Harsh Batish, 22, Winnipeg, Manitoba, was southbound&nbsp; on Interstate 335 and struck a 2015 Mercedes M-Class driven by Michael Goering, 72, Topeka, who was northbound in the southbound lanes of the turnpike.&nbsp; After impact both vehicles caught fire.&nbsp;Goering was pronounced dead at the scene. Batish and a passenger in the semi were not injured.&nbsp; The drivers were properly restrained, according to the KHP.

Kan. man dead after wrong-way crash, fire on Kan. Turnpike

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — United Methodist delegates are heading into the homestretch of their first legislative gathering in five years — one that appears on track to make historic changes in lifting their church's longstanding bans on same-sex marriage and the ordination of LGBTQ clergy.

After a day off on Sunday, delegates to the General Conference of the United Methodist Church resumed their work Monday and will be meeting all this week before wrapping up their 11-day session on Friday

They've already begun making historic changes: On Thursday,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/united-methodist-disaffiliation-lgbtq-regionalization-samesex-marriage-d429bb838c31f1899dbc48fbddb03197">delegates overwhelmingly endorsed</a>&nbsp;a policy shift that would restructure the worldwide denomination into regional conferences and give the U.S. region, for the first time, the same right as international bodies to modify church rules to fit local situations.

That measure — subject to local ratification votes — is seen as a way the U.S. churches could have LGBTQ ordination and same-sex marriage while the more conservative overseas areas, particularly the large and fast-growing churches of Africa, could maintain those bans.

But whether that measure maintains church unity remains to be seen. The General Conference comes as the American portion of the United Methodist Church, long the nation's third-largest denomination, has shrunk considerably.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/united-methodist-congregations-leaving-lgbtq-bans-dbd315f329e4cfec4ba78916668ab50b">One-quarter of its U.S. churches left</a>&nbsp;between 2019 and 2023 amid conservative dismay over the church's failure to enforce its LGBTQ bans amid widespread defiance.

A proposal to overturn those bans is headed to the delegates this week, and progressives are optimistic that they have the votes to realize their long-held dream.

Bishop Karen Oliveto of the Mountain Sky Episcopal Area, the first openly lesbian bishop ordained in the church, said the tenor of the current conference is positive.

“The delegates are listening to each other, learning from each other, really providing a foundation for the work this week,” she said. “There have been hard conversations, but again this tone that we’re in this together. And we have a witness to make to the world that’s unified even in the midst of cultural differences.”

The denomination has debated homosexuality for more than half a century. Its Book of Discipline bans “self-avowed practicing homosexuals” from the clergy and forbids clergy from presiding at same-sex marriages. It also forbids church funding of any advocacy for the “acceptance of homosexuality.”

But legislative committees last week overwhelmingly approved several proposals liberalizing the church’s stance on sexuality. They included one committee that voted 43-9 to overturn the ban on LGBTQ clergy.

The delegates will also vote on a new set of Social Principles — a wholesale revision of an existing set of non-binding statements — which also received overwhelming committee approval last week. The new version omits the previous version's declaration that homosexuality is “incompatible with Christian teaching." And it defines marriage as a sacred covenant between “two people of faith,” without specifying gender.

Such changes could portend a further fragmentation of the international church. Delegates last week approved the departure of a small but notable part of the body — about 30 churches in Russia and other former Soviet countries, where conservative views on LGBTQ issues are strong.

Some are proposing that African and other churches be given the same chance that U.S. churches recently had to disaffiliate under favorable terms, including U.S. churches that missed the earlier deadline to do so, but a committee vote recommended against such measures.

Opponents say they already have mechanisms to depart, as some have recently done, but proponents say existing rules are burdensome.

Jerry Kulah of the advocacy group Africa Initiative said that while it will be up to individual conferences in Africa to decide whether to stay or leave the denomination, he believes it's time to leave.

“We cannot remain in this marriage,” he said. “We can’t be one church preaching different gospels.”

A large majority of African bishops, while affirming their opposition to LGBTQ ordination or marriage, have said in a joint statement they are committed to remaining in the United Methodist Church.

The denomination had until recently been the third largest in the United States, present in almost every county. But its 5.4 million U.S. membership in 2022 is expected to drop once the 2023 departures are factored in.

The denomination also counts 4.6 million members in other countries, mainly in Africa, though earlier estimates have been higher.

Conservative advocacy groups say U.S. churches that didn't meet the 2023 deadline should have the option of disaffiliating, too — along with the more than 7,000 that have already done so.

The denomination also will be debating policy stances regarding fossil fuels and other issues as well as voting on major budget cuts to denominational programs, reflective of losing thousands of congregations.

The Rev. Tracy Cox, lead pastor of First United Methodist Church in Pittsburgh, said she’s cautiously hopeful for changes to the rules on ordination and marriage. The congregation, which has long been LGBTQ-affirming, held a commissioning service on April 14 for those attending the General Conference.

“If you are called by God to be an ordained elder or deacon, no church, no institution should step in that way,” Cox said. “And as far as marriage goes, when somebody falls in love with someone, we need to be able to help them to raise a family or to be a family in the community where they’re going to serve.”

Added Tracy Merrick, a member of the congregation and a delegate: “It will say to the world about us that we really stand behind our statement that we are a church of open hearts, open minds, and open doors.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/4/1714416591781.png" alt="View inside the General Conference from the livestream&nbsp;" />
 <figcaption>View inside the General Conference from the livestream&nbsp;</figcaption>
 </figure>By PETER SMITHCHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — United Methodist delegates are heading into the homestretch of their first legislative gathering in five years — one that appears on track to make historic changes in lifting their church's longstanding bans on same-sex marriage and the ordination of LGBTQ clergy.After a day off on Sunday, delegates to the General Conference of the United Methodist Church resumed their work Monday and will be meeting all this week before wrapping up their 11-day session on FridayThey've already begun making historic changes: On Thursday,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/united-methodist-disaffiliation-lgbtq-regionalization-samesex-marriage-d429bb838c31f1899dbc48fbddb03197">delegates overwhelmingly endorsed</a>&nbsp;a policy shift that would restructure the worldwide denomination into regional conferences and give the U.S. region, for the first time, the same right as international bodies to modify church rules to fit local situations.That measure — subject to local ratification votes — is seen as a way the U.S. churches could have LGBTQ ordination and same-sex marriage while the more conservative overseas areas, particularly the large and fast-growing churches of Africa, could maintain those bans.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/4/1714417373989.png" alt="View of the.delegates from the United Methodist General Conference live stream" />
 <figcaption>View of the.delegates from the United Methodist General Conference live stream</figcaption>
 </figure>But whether that measure maintains church unity remains to be seen. The General Conference comes as the American portion of the United Methodist Church, long the nation's third-largest denomination, has shrunk considerably.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/united-methodist-congregations-leaving-lgbtq-bans-dbd315f329e4cfec4ba78916668ab50b">One-quarter of its U.S. churches left</a>&nbsp;between 2019 and 2023 amid conservative dismay over the church's failure to enforce its LGBTQ bans amid widespread defiance.A proposal to overturn those bans is headed to the delegates this week, and progressives are optimistic that they have the votes to realize their long-held dream.Bishop Karen Oliveto of the Mountain Sky Episcopal Area, the first openly lesbian bishop ordained in the church, said the tenor of the current conference is positive.“The delegates are listening to each other, learning from each other, really providing a foundation for the work this week,” she said. “There have been hard conversations, but again this tone that we’re in this together. And we have a witness to make to the world that’s unified even in the midst of cultural differences.”The denomination has debated homosexuality for more than half a century. Its Book of Discipline bans “self-avowed practicing homosexuals” from the clergy and forbids clergy from presiding at same-sex marriages. It also forbids church funding of any advocacy for the “acceptance of homosexuality.”But legislative committees last week overwhelmingly approved several proposals liberalizing the church’s stance on sexuality. They included one committee that voted 43-9 to overturn the ban on LGBTQ clergy.The delegates will also vote on a new set of Social Principles — a wholesale revision of an existing set of non-binding statements — which also received overwhelming committee approval last week. The new version omits the previous version's declaration that homosexuality is “incompatible with Christian teaching." And it defines marriage as a sacred covenant between “two people of faith,” without specifying gender.Such changes could portend a further fragmentation of the international church. Delegates last week approved the departure of a small but notable part of the body — about 30 churches in Russia and other former Soviet countries, where conservative views on LGBTQ issues are strong.Some are proposing that African and other churches be given the same chance that U.S. churches recently had to disaffiliate under favorable terms, including U.S. churches that missed the earlier deadline to do so, but a committee vote recommended against such measures.Opponents say they already have mechanisms to depart, as some have recently done, but proponents say existing rules are burdensome.Jerry Kulah of the advocacy group Africa Initiative said that while it will be up to individual conferences in Africa to decide whether to stay or leave the denomination, he believes it's time to leave.“We cannot remain in this marriage,” he said. “We can’t be one church preaching different gospels.”A large majority of African bishops, while affirming their opposition to LGBTQ ordination or marriage, have said in a joint statement they are committed to remaining in the United Methodist Church.The denomination had until recently been the third largest in the United States, present in almost every county. But its 5.4 million U.S. membership in 2022 is expected to drop once the 2023 departures are factored in.The denomination also counts 4.6 million members in other countries, mainly in Africa, though earlier estimates have been higher.Conservative advocacy groups say U.S. churches that didn't meet the 2023 deadline should have the option of disaffiliating, too — along with the more than 7,000 that have already done so.The denomination also will be debating policy stances regarding fossil fuels and other issues as well as voting on major budget cuts to denominational programs, reflective of losing thousands of congregations.The Rev. Tracy Cox, lead pastor of First United Methodist Church in Pittsburgh, said she’s cautiously hopeful for changes to the rules on ordination and marriage. The congregation, which has long been LGBTQ-affirming, held a commissioning service on April 14 for those attending the General Conference.“If you are called by God to be an ordained elder or deacon, no church, no institution should step in that way,” Cox said. “And as far as marriage goes, when somebody falls in love with someone, we need to be able to help them to raise a family or to be a family in the community where they’re going to serve.”Added Tracy Merrick, a member of the congregation and a delegate: “It will say to the world about us that we really stand behind our statement that we are a church of open hearts, open minds, and open doors.”___

General Conference: United Methodists prepare for votes on lifting LGBTQ bans 

By&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/rmipro/">RACHEL MIPRO</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/">Kansas Reflector</a>

TOPEKA — Kansas lawmakers have sent a bipartisan school finance bill that will shape state education funding for the next three years to the governor’s desk, packaging a $75 million increase in special education funding into the bill.&nbsp;

Lawmakers passed<a target="_blank" href="https://kslegislature.org/li/b2023_24/measures/sb387/">&nbsp;Senate Bill 387</a>&nbsp;out of the House by a 115-2 vote and out of the Senate by 35-2 on Friday. Rep. Kristey Williams, R-Augusta, one of the chief lawmakers tasked with crafting education policy, stressed the importance of funding public schools in a Friday discussion of the bill.&nbsp;

“Outcomes really do matter,” Williams said. “Making sure we support our public schools really does matter.”

The bill marked a welcome turnaround for Kansas public school advocates, who warned that previous versions of the bill could have left special education in the state<a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2024/04/03/education-advocate-kansas-school-finance-bill-would-permanently-underfund-special-education/">&nbsp;“permanently underfunded</a>” due to changes in the special education funding formula that would have counted local option budget funds, which use local taxpayer revenue to bolster district budgets, as part of the state’s mandated funding for special education.&nbsp;

An earlier iteration of the bill containing this change, which was criticized by&nbsp;public education advocacy groups Kansas Association of School Boards and the Kansas National Educators Association,&nbsp;passed the House on a 65-58 vote but failed in the Senate in a 12-26&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2024/04/05/kansas-senators-shoot-down-voodoo-math-public-education-bill/">late night vote April 5, with lawmakers citing the special education provision in their opposition</a>.&nbsp;

The Legislature adjourned for its scheduled three-week break without voting on the newest compromise piece.&nbsp;

That bill passed out Friday, after the Legislature returned, still contains several LOB provisions, such as mandating districts transfer LOB funds allocated for special education into the districts’ special education fund and use these funds specifically for that purpose, but it will not count those funds as part of the state’s mandated special education aid.&nbsp;

“I want to thank you for rejecting the other versions because this version, as the chairperson described, addresses the funding that is fair and impacts all school districts,” said Kansas City Democrat Rep. Valdenia Winn Friday. She added: “What was removed was the poison pill.”&nbsp;

Sen. Molly Baumgardner, R-Louisburg, emphasized oversight of the $75 million special education increase. Baumgardner said legislators will put a provision in&nbsp;the omnibus budget directing “explicitly how that money will be distributed.”

“The last thing we want to serve our kids, to serve our teachers and those families with special ed children, is to have $75 million sitting there and not being used,” Baumgardner said.&nbsp;

Among other budget provisions, in fiscal year 2025 the bill sets aside $65.5 million for special education services aid, $2.5 million for school food assistance, $29.6 million for state foundation aid and $2 million for a virtual math education program.

In fiscal year 2026,&nbsp; $3 billion is set aside for state foundation aid, along with $601.8 million for supplemental state aid and $601 million for special education state aid.&nbsp;

The bill would also establish a task force to review the current school finance system, academic reporting and achievement goals. The task force would provide recommendations to the governor and the Legislature by January 2027 to establish a new school finance formula, after the current funding formula expires July 1, 2027.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/4/1714413662421.png" alt="Rep. Kristey Williams explained the newest version of a school finance bill to House colleagues Friday. The legislation was passed out of both chambers and now awaits final approval from the governor. (Rachel Mipro/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption>Rep. Kristey Williams explained the newest version of a school finance bill to House colleagues Friday. The legislation was passed out of both chambers and now awaits final approval from the governor. (Rachel Mipro/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure>By&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/rmipro/">RACHEL MIPRO</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/">Kansas Reflector</a>TOPEKA — Kansas lawmakers have sent a bipartisan school finance bill that will shape state education funding for the next three years to the governor’s desk, packaging a $75 million increase in special education funding into the bill.&nbsp;Lawmakers passed<a target="_blank" href="https://kslegislature.org/li/b2023_24/measures/sb387/">&nbsp;Senate Bill 387</a>&nbsp;out of the House by a 115-2 vote and out of the Senate by 35-2 on Friday. Rep. Kristey Williams, R-Augusta, one of the chief lawmakers tasked with crafting education policy, stressed the importance of funding public schools in a Friday discussion of the bill.&nbsp;“Outcomes really do matter,” Williams said. “Making sure we support our public schools really does matter.”The bill marked a welcome turnaround for Kansas public school advocates, who warned that previous versions of the bill could have left special education in the state<a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2024/04/03/education-advocate-kansas-school-finance-bill-would-permanently-underfund-special-education/">&nbsp;“permanently underfunded</a>” due to changes in the special education funding formula that would have counted local option budget funds, which use local taxpayer revenue to bolster district budgets, as part of the state’s mandated funding for special education.&nbsp;An earlier iteration of the bill containing this change, which was criticized by&nbsp;public education advocacy groups Kansas Association of School Boards and the Kansas National Educators Association,&nbsp;passed the House on a 65-58 vote but failed in the Senate in a 12-26&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2024/04/05/kansas-senators-shoot-down-voodoo-math-public-education-bill/">late night vote April 5, with lawmakers citing the special education provision in their opposition</a>.&nbsp;The Legislature adjourned for its scheduled three-week break without voting on the newest compromise piece.&nbsp;That bill passed out Friday, after the Legislature returned, still contains several LOB provisions, such as mandating districts transfer LOB funds allocated for special education into the districts’ special education fund and use these funds specifically for that purpose, but it will not count those funds as part of the state’s mandated special education aid.&nbsp;“I want to thank you for rejecting the other versions because this version, as the chairperson described, addresses the funding that is fair and impacts all school districts,” said Kansas City Democrat Rep. Valdenia Winn Friday. She added: “What was removed was the poison pill.”&nbsp;Sen. Molly Baumgardner, R-Louisburg, emphasized oversight of the $75 million special education increase. Baumgardner said legislators will put a provision in&nbsp;the omnibus budget directing “explicitly how that money will be distributed.”“The last thing we want to serve our kids, to serve our teachers and those families with special ed children, is to have $75 million sitting there and not being used,” Baumgardner said.&nbsp;Among other budget provisions, in fiscal year 2025 the bill sets aside $65.5 million for special education services aid, $2.5 million for school food assistance, $29.6 million for state foundation aid and $2 million for a virtual math education program.In fiscal year 2026,&nbsp; $3 billion is set aside for state foundation aid, along with $601.8 million for supplemental state aid and $601 million for special education state aid.&nbsp;The bill would also establish a task force to review the current school finance system, academic reporting and achievement goals. The task force would provide recommendations to the governor and the Legislature by January 2027 to establish a new school finance formula, after the current funding formula expires July 1, 2027.

Kansas school finance bill, passed without ‘poison pill,’ on its way to governor

KANSAS CITY —The cause of a Kansas City area train derailment remains under investigation.

Just before 1 a.m. Sunday, the locomotive and roughly 20 cars on a Union Pacific train derailed at 87th street, near Colbern, near Lee’s Summit, Missouri.

 One crew member was taken to the hospital and has been released, the other was not hurt, according to&nbsp;Kristen South Union Pacific&nbsp;Sr. Director&nbsp; Corporate Communications.

Some sand was spilled from the rail cars.&nbsp; There were no hazardous materials in box cars, according to Sheriff Daryl Forte'.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/4/1714356431119.png" alt="Photos Sheriff Daryl Forte'" />
 <figcaption>Photos Sheriff Daryl Forte'</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY —The cause of a Kansas City area train derailment remains under investigation.Just before 1 a.m. Sunday, the locomotive and roughly 20 cars on a Union Pacific train derailed at 87th street, near Colbern, near Lee’s Summit, Missouri. One crew member was taken to the hospital and has been released, the other was not hurt, according to&nbsp;Kristen South Union Pacific&nbsp;Sr. Director&nbsp; Corporate Communications.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/4/1714306883511.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Some sand was spilled from the rail cars.&nbsp; There were no hazardous materials in box cars, according to Sheriff Daryl Forte'.

Crew member recovering after Kansas City train derailment

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Colleges around the country implored pro-Palestinian student protesters to clear out tent encampments with rising levels of urgency Monday as classes wrap up for the semester and campuses prepare for graduation ceremonies.

Students and others have been sparing over the Israel-Hamas war and its mounting death toll. Many students are demanding their universities&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/college-protests-israel-divestment-palestinians-3f37f96f7be8e1124f266842d9caa627">cut financial ties</a>&nbsp;with Israel.

Protests were still active at a number of campuses. Near George Washington University, protesters at an encampment breached and dismantled the barriers Monday morning used to secure University Yard, the university said in a statement. The yard had been closed since last week.

At Columbia University, the site of the first protests, dialogue since last week between academic leaders and student organizers to dismantle encampments has not progressed, the university president said Monday. Protesters at Yale University set up a new encampment with dozens of tents Sunday afternoon, nearly a week after police arrested nearly 50 demonstrators and cleared a similar camp.

At least one school, the University of Southern California, canceled its main graduation ceremony this spring. Others are asking the protests to resolve peacefully so they can hold their ceremonies.

Protesters on both sides of the rancorous debate shouted and shoved each other during dueling demonstrations Sunday at the University of California, Los Angeles. The university stepped up security after “some physical altercations broke out among demonstrators,” Mary Osako, vice chancellor for UCLA Strategic Communications, said in a statement. There were no reports of arrests or injuries.

About 275 people were arrested Saturday at various campuses including Indiana University at Bloomington, Arizona State University and Washington University in St. Louis. The number of arrests nationwide has surpassed 900 since New York police removed a pro-Palestinian protest encampment at Columbia University and arrested&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/columbia-protests-israel-palestinian-hirsi-cd80372939c7c08a40346e8b7d546da1">more than 100 demonstrators</a>&nbsp;on April 18.

The plight of students who have been arrested has become&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/student-protest-gaza-war-arrest-amnesty-ae235703d6a9b99114078fca13a530a0">a central part of protests</a>, with the students and a growing number of faculty demanding amnesty for protesters. At issue is whether the suspensions and legal records will follow students through their adult lives.

The nationwide campus protests began as a response by some students to Israel’s offensive in Gaza after Hamas launched a deadly attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7.

Militants killed about 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and took roughly 250 hostages. Vowing to stamp out Hamas, Israel has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, according to the local health ministry.

Israel and its supporters have branded the university protests as antisemitic, while critics of Israel say it uses such allegations to silence opponents. Although some protesters have been caught on camera making antisemitic remarks or violent threats, organizers of the protests, some of whom are Jewish, say it is a peaceful movement aimed at defending Palestinian rights and protesting the war.

Student demonstrations have sprung up across the U.S. in various locations including New York, California, Missouri, Indiana, Massachusetts, Vermont and Virginia.

Washington University in St. Louis locked some campus buildings and arrested protesters Saturday. Photos showed uniformed police attempting to remove masked protesters as others, also wearing masks, linked arms to thwart the efforts.

The university said in a statement that more than 100 people, including 23 students and four university employees, were arrested on suspicion of trespassing. Megan Green, president of the St. Louis Board of Aldermen, said in a social media post that she was present and the protest remained calm “until the police came in like an ambush.”

Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein said in a social media post that she and two of her campaign managers were among those arrested.

The university’s statement defended the action and said protesters “did not have good intentions on our campus and that this demonstration had the potential to get out of control and become dangerous.”

Early protests at Columbia University in New York City, where demonstrators set up tents in the center of the campus, sparked&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/inside-columbia-protest-movement-0b35ff55f18d0bf4b2c8c0a27b1dbe04">pro-Palestinian demonstrations</a>&nbsp;across the country. The demonstrations have caused the school to hold remote classes.

Columbia set a series of deadlines for protesters to leave the encampment, which they have missed, but the school said in an email to students that bringing back police “at this time” would be counterproductive. The students and administrators have engaged in negotiations to end the disruptions, but the sides have not come to an agreement, university President Minouche Shafik said in a statement Monday.

On Sunday, students walked among dozens of colorful tents in front of Low Library, where rows of chairs already have been set up in preparation for commencement in May.

At UCLA, police set up barricades before hundreds of demonstrators on both sides joined a growing crowd Sunday near tents where pro-Palestinian students have been staying around-the-clock.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/4/1714403040726.png" alt="Image of Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein's arrest at Washington University in St. Louis from the video" />
 <figcaption>Image of Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein's arrest at Washington University in St. Louis from the video</figcaption>
 </figure>LOS ANGELES (AP) — Colleges around the country implored pro-Palestinian student protesters to clear out tent encampments with rising levels of urgency Monday as classes wrap up for the semester and campuses prepare for graduation ceremonies.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">BREAKING: Jill Stein and her Campaign Manager and Deputy Campaign Manager, Jason Call and Kelly Merrill-Cayer, have been arrested at Washington University in St. Louis while supporting a protest against WashU’s ties to the war on Gaza. Video from <a href="https://twitter.com/KallieECox?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@KallieECox</a> <a href="https://t.co/rkUYC9b5Qx">pic.twitter.com/rkUYC9b5Qx</a>&mdash; Dr. Jill Stein🌻 (@DrJillStein) <a href="https://twitter.com/DrJillStein/status/1784411081340809348?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 28, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Students and others have been sparing over the Israel-Hamas war and its mounting death toll. Many students are demanding their universities&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/college-protests-israel-divestment-palestinians-3f37f96f7be8e1124f266842d9caa627">cut financial ties</a>&nbsp;with Israel.Protests were still active at a number of campuses. Near George Washington University, protesters at an encampment breached and dismantled the barriers Monday morning used to secure University Yard, the university said in a statement. The yard had been closed since last week.At Columbia University, the site of the first protests, dialogue since last week between academic leaders and student organizers to dismantle encampments has not progressed, the university president said Monday. Protesters at Yale University set up a new encampment with dozens of tents Sunday afternoon, nearly a week after police arrested nearly 50 demonstrators and cleared a similar camp.At least one school, the University of Southern California, canceled its main graduation ceremony this spring. Others are asking the protests to resolve peacefully so they can hold their ceremonies.Protesters on both sides of the rancorous debate shouted and shoved each other during dueling demonstrations Sunday at the University of California, Los Angeles. The university stepped up security after “some physical altercations broke out among demonstrators,” Mary Osako, vice chancellor for UCLA Strategic Communications, said in a statement. There were no reports of arrests or injuries.About 275 people were arrested Saturday at various campuses including Indiana University at Bloomington, Arizona State University and Washington University in St. Louis. The number of arrests nationwide has surpassed 900 since New York police removed a pro-Palestinian protest encampment at Columbia University and arrested&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/columbia-protests-israel-palestinian-hirsi-cd80372939c7c08a40346e8b7d546da1">more than 100 demonstrators</a>&nbsp;on April 18.The plight of students who have been arrested has become&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/student-protest-gaza-war-arrest-amnesty-ae235703d6a9b99114078fca13a530a0">a central part of protests</a>, with the students and a growing number of faculty demanding amnesty for protesters. At issue is whether the suspensions and legal records will follow students through their adult lives.HOW IT STARTEDThe nationwide campus protests began as a response by some students to Israel’s offensive in Gaza after Hamas launched a deadly attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7.Militants killed about 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and took roughly 250 hostages. Vowing to stamp out Hamas, Israel has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, according to the local health ministry.Israel and its supporters have branded the university protests as antisemitic, while critics of Israel say it uses such allegations to silence opponents. Although some protesters have been caught on camera making antisemitic remarks or violent threats, organizers of the protests, some of whom are Jewish, say it is a peaceful movement aimed at defending Palestinian rights and protesting the war.Student demonstrations have sprung up across the U.S. in various locations including New York, California, Missouri, Indiana, Massachusetts, Vermont and Virginia.MISSOURIWashington University in St. Louis locked some campus buildings and arrested protesters Saturday. Photos showed uniformed police attempting to remove masked protesters as others, also wearing masks, linked arms to thwart the efforts.The university said in a statement that more than 100 people, including 23 students and four university employees, were arrested on suspicion of trespassing. Megan Green, president of the St. Louis Board of Aldermen, said in a social media post that she was present and the protest remained calm “until the police came in like an ambush.”Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein said in a social media post that she and two of her campaign managers were among those arrested.The university’s statement defended the action and said protesters “did not have good intentions on our campus and that this demonstration had the potential to get out of control and become dangerous.”NEW YORKEarly protests at Columbia University in New York City, where demonstrators set up tents in the center of the campus, sparked&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/inside-columbia-protest-movement-0b35ff55f18d0bf4b2c8c0a27b1dbe04">pro-Palestinian demonstrations</a>&nbsp;across the country. The demonstrations have caused the school to hold remote classes.Columbia set a series of deadlines for protesters to leave the encampment, which they have missed, but the school said in an email to students that bringing back police “at this time” would be counterproductive. The students and administrators have engaged in negotiations to end the disruptions, but the sides have not come to an agreement, university President Minouche Shafik said in a statement Monday.On Sunday, students walked among dozens of colorful tents in front of Low Library, where rows of chairs already have been set up in preparation for commencement in May.CALIFORNIAAt UCLA, police set up barricades before hundreds of demonstrators on both sides joined a growing crowd Sunday near tents where pro-Palestinian students have been staying around-the-clock.Pro-Israel demonstrators who arrived for a “Stand in Support of Jewish Students” rally said their goal was to “stand up against hatred and antisemitism.” The counterprotest was organized by the Israeli-American Council, whose leader Elan Carr urged marchers to remain peaceful,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-04-28/gaza-ucla-usc-protests">the Los Angeles Times reported</a>.Across town, the University of Southern California said it was open Sunday after administrators shut down the campus a day earlier because of what the school called vandalism and disruptions.USC drew criticism after refusing to allow this year's class valedictorian, who has publicly supported the Palestinian cause, to make a commencement speech. Administrators then scrapped the keynote speech by filmmaker Jon M. Chu. Last week the school announced the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/university-of-southern-california-commencement-speech-canceled-125cb8db93f2247ca3e45f782b7fcb2a">cancellation of its main graduation event</a>, a day after more than 90 protesters were arrested by police in riot gear.In the northern part of the state, officials Saturday ordered an “enforced hard closure” of California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt. Two halls remained occupied by pro-Palestinian demonstrators.MASSACHUSETTSPolice in riot gear cleared an encampment at Northeastern University in Boston on Saturday. About 100 protesters were arrested and will be charged with trespassing and disorderly conduct, the Massachusetts State Police said.Boston's Emerson College said in a statement Sunday that it will not bring disciplinary charges against over 100 protesters who were arrested last week and will encourage prosecutors not to issue charges for encampment-related violations.At Boston's Tufts University, the school said in a statement that staffers would reach out to protesters Monday to plan for the end of an encampment in coming days.VIRGINIAThere were an unknown number of arrests over the weekend at a protest at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, a university spokesperson said Monday.Protesters began occupying the lawn of the graduate life center Friday, the university said in a statement. The gathering violated university policy, the school said, but there was a “safe and peaceful environment” over much of the weekend.___