By&nbsp; JOHN HANNA and&nbsp;&nbsp;SAM METZ&nbsp;

TOPEKA (AP) — State courts in Kansas and Utah are set to hear arguments Tuesday in legal challenges to new laws on abortion as judges tussle with legislatures over how to regulate the medical procedure and its providers after the overturning of Roe v. Wade.

Those and other state courts have become key venues in the fight over abortion since last year, when the U.S. Supreme Court&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-supreme-court-decision-854f60302f21c2c35129e58cf8d8a7b0">reversed the constitutional right to abortion</a>&nbsp;and made the rules governing it a matter of state laws.

In Utah, the state Supreme Court is expected to weigh a lower court's decision to put a law banning most abortions on hold more than a year ago.

In Kansas, providers are&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-kansas-waiting-period-medication-reversal-1f0f5fad64b4180997d0f32a32d047dd">asking a district court judge to block</a>&nbsp;a new restriction on how they dispense abortion medications as well as older rules governing what doctors must tell patients and a required 24-hour wait between the first in-person consultation and the procedure.

In both states, the impact of the overturning of Roe remains unsettled as GOP-controlled legislatures push to tighten laws surrounding abortion and the doctors and clinics who provide them wage fierce court battles.

Utah is one of at least five states in which laws restricting abortion have been put on hold amid litigation. The state's Planned Parenthood affiliate sued last year over a 2020 “trigger law" — passed by state lawmakers — that banned abortion with exceptions for maternal health threats or rape and incest reported to the police.

Since a judge put that law on hold last summer, another law — a 2019 ban on abortion after 18 weeks of pregnancy — took effect in Utah. Lawmakers subsequently passed additional legislation striking licensing provisions for abortion clinics from state code in an effort to phase them out and make it more difficult for courts to put laws on hold that sponsors described as a response to the trigger law.

While Judge Andrew Stone&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/utah-abortion-clinic-ban-b568ddfab7c9bd2c9fdbf9a36e03668f">takes more time</a>&nbsp;to weigh the merits of last year's&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-clinic-utah-roe-v-wade-9a7ae89da6040ed886891d7b07854368">lawsuit</a>&nbsp;from the Planned Parenthood Association of Utah, the state Supreme Court is expected to hear arguments about the extent of his court's power to keep it on hold. If the law is allowed to take effect, Utah could join 15 states enforcing bans on abortion at all stages of pregnancy.

Judges have struck down only a few such bans in the year since Roe's overturning, including in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-politics-health-south-carolina-state-government-6cd1469dbb550c70b64a30f183be203c">permanently blocking a ban in South Carolina</a>&nbsp;on abortions after cardiac activity can be detected and, in Arizona, preventing the enforcement of a ban&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-us-supreme-court-politics-health-arizona-196bc22e414051e780018f88564788f3">against doctors</a>&nbsp;that pre-dated Roe v. Wade.

Like in Arizona, the June 2022 Supreme Court decision has put longstanding laws under new scrutiny. The waiting period and other requirements that Judge K. Christopher Jayaram will consider Tuesday in his courtroom in the Kansas City area have been in place for more than a quarter century.

But Kansas has become an outlier on abortion among states with Republican-controlled Legislatures because of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/general-news-3f479b218a6140719e1694fcfcdb8036">a 2019 decision</a>&nbsp;by the state Supreme Court declaring access a matter of bodily autonomy and a “fundamental” right under the state constitution. Voters in 2022&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-primary-elections-kansas-abortion-b6d62a852c2ce4617f2c03589fbb523e">decisively affirmed</a>&nbsp;that abortion rights would remain protected — after anti-abortion groups warned that many of the state’s existing restrictions could fall.

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-pill-reversal-culture-war-kansas-b4f1ab2b807eaa36fe11756248cc08ea">The new law,</a>&nbsp;which took effect July 1, requires providers to tell patients that a medication abortion can be stopped once it is started with a regimen that major medical groups call unproven and potentially dangerous. The state and the providers mutually agreed that the new law&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-kansas-medication-reversal-waiting-period-5e0fbd27fdd1e2937ea68b7dc1fbeec0">wouldn’t be enforced</a>&nbsp;at least until the state court could decide the matter.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/3/1678911159638.png" alt="Lindsay London holds protest sign in front of federal court building in support of access to abortion medication outside&nbsp; (AP Photo/David Erickson)" />
 <figcaption>Lindsay London holds protest sign in front of federal court building in support of access to abortion medication outside&nbsp; (AP Photo/David Erickson)</figcaption>
 </figure>By&nbsp; JOHN HANNA and&nbsp;&nbsp;SAM METZ&nbsp;TOPEKA (AP) — State courts in Kansas and Utah are set to hear arguments Tuesday in legal challenges to new laws on abortion as judges tussle with legislatures over how to regulate the medical procedure and its providers after the overturning of Roe v. Wade.Those and other state courts have become key venues in the fight over abortion since last year, when the U.S. Supreme Court&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-supreme-court-decision-854f60302f21c2c35129e58cf8d8a7b0">reversed the constitutional right to abortion</a>&nbsp;and made the rules governing it a matter of state laws.In Utah, the state Supreme Court is expected to weigh a lower court's decision to put a law banning most abortions on hold more than a year ago.In Kansas, providers are&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-kansas-waiting-period-medication-reversal-1f0f5fad64b4180997d0f32a32d047dd">asking a district court judge to block</a>&nbsp;a new restriction on how they dispense abortion medications as well as older rules governing what doctors must tell patients and a required 24-hour wait between the first in-person consultation and the procedure.In both states, the impact of the overturning of Roe remains unsettled as GOP-controlled legislatures push to tighten laws surrounding abortion and the doctors and clinics who provide them wage fierce court battles.Utah is one of at least five states in which laws restricting abortion have been put on hold amid litigation. The state's Planned Parenthood affiliate sued last year over a 2020 “trigger law" — passed by state lawmakers — that banned abortion with exceptions for maternal health threats or rape and incest reported to the police.Since a judge put that law on hold last summer, another law — a 2019 ban on abortion after 18 weeks of pregnancy — took effect in Utah. Lawmakers subsequently passed additional legislation striking licensing provisions for abortion clinics from state code in an effort to phase them out and make it more difficult for courts to put laws on hold that sponsors described as a response to the trigger law.While Judge Andrew Stone&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/utah-abortion-clinic-ban-b568ddfab7c9bd2c9fdbf9a36e03668f">takes more time</a>&nbsp;to weigh the merits of last year's&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-clinic-utah-roe-v-wade-9a7ae89da6040ed886891d7b07854368">lawsuit</a>&nbsp;from the Planned Parenthood Association of Utah, the state Supreme Court is expected to hear arguments about the extent of his court's power to keep it on hold. If the law is allowed to take effect, Utah could join 15 states enforcing bans on abortion at all stages of pregnancy.Judges have struck down only a few such bans in the year since Roe's overturning, including in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-politics-health-south-carolina-state-government-6cd1469dbb550c70b64a30f183be203c">permanently blocking a ban in South Carolina</a>&nbsp;on abortions after cardiac activity can be detected and, in Arizona, preventing the enforcement of a ban&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-us-supreme-court-politics-health-arizona-196bc22e414051e780018f88564788f3">against doctors</a>&nbsp;that pre-dated Roe v. Wade.Like in Arizona, the June 2022 Supreme Court decision has put longstanding laws under new scrutiny. The waiting period and other requirements that Judge K. Christopher Jayaram will consider Tuesday in his courtroom in the Kansas City area have been in place for more than a quarter century.But Kansas has become an outlier on abortion among states with Republican-controlled Legislatures because of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/general-news-3f479b218a6140719e1694fcfcdb8036">a 2019 decision</a>&nbsp;by the state Supreme Court declaring access a matter of bodily autonomy and a “fundamental” right under the state constitution. Voters in 2022&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-primary-elections-kansas-abortion-b6d62a852c2ce4617f2c03589fbb523e">decisively affirmed</a>&nbsp;that abortion rights would remain protected — after anti-abortion groups warned that many of the state’s existing restrictions could fall.<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-pill-reversal-culture-war-kansas-b4f1ab2b807eaa36fe11756248cc08ea">The new law,</a>&nbsp;which took effect July 1, requires providers to tell patients that a medication abortion can be stopped once it is started with a regimen that major medical groups call unproven and potentially dangerous. The state and the providers mutually agreed that the new law&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-kansas-medication-reversal-waiting-period-5e0fbd27fdd1e2937ea68b7dc1fbeec0">wouldn’t be enforced</a>&nbsp;at least until the state court could decide the matter.

Kansas court to hear challenge on new laws regulating abortion 

JOHNSON COUNTY — Fairway Police Officer 29-year-old Jonah Oswald died Monday as a result of injuries sustained in the Sunday shooting with a car theft suspect from Tennessee, according to a statement from

 Officer Oswald was a 4-year veteran of the Fairway Police Department, according to a statement from the department.

Fairway Chief J.P. Thurlo issued the following statement about Officer Oswald's death.

“I am heartbroken at the tragic loss of Officer Jonah Oswald, who made the ultimate sacrifice while carrying out his oath to serve and protect. Officer Oswald was an integral part of our team and made significant contributions to our department and to the Fairway community. We will remember him as a warm-hearted individual whose hard work and passion touched the lives of many."

"On behalf of the entire Fairway Police Department, and the City of Fairway, I extend our deepest sympathies and heartfelt condolences to Officer Oswald’s family and friends. We recognize that their loss is immeasurable, and our thoughts and prayers are with them."

"Officer Oswald leaves behind a wife and two young children. The Oswald family has asked for privacy at this time and is appreciative of the support being shown to them."

Just after 7:30 a.m. Sunday, police responded to a stolen vehicle call at the QuikTrip at 95th Street and Interstate 35, according to a media release from Lenexa Police.

 Officers located that car and the suspect in the stolen vehicle struck one of Lenexa police department's patrol vehicles and drove away.

Police pursued the suspect northbound on Interstate 35 until the suspects left the vehicle and ran to a QuikTrip in the 4700 Block of Lamar Avenue in Mission.

Police from multiple agencies were trying to arrest the suspects when gunfire broke out. A suspect later identified as 40-year-old&nbsp;Shannon Wayne Marshall of Ashland City, Tennessee was shot and killed and&nbsp; Fairway Kansas police officer Jonah Oswald was shot and hospitalized. 

The other suspect was arrested and later identified as 32-year-old Andrea Cothran of Portland Tennesee.

Cothran, a registered sex offender, is being held in Johnson County on&nbsp; requested charges of aggravated assault of a law enforcement officer, according to online jail records.

She is listed on the Tennessee sex offender registry for a July 2019 conviction for solicitation to commit sexual exploitation of a minor.  She has three previous convictions for child abuse and a probation violation for drugs, according to the Tennessee offender registry. She was scheduled for a court appearance in the case at 1:30p.m. Tuesday, according to online jail records.

&nbsp;A Johnson County law enforcement team is investigating the officer-involved shooting.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/8/1691459277146.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>JOHNSON COUNTY — Fairway Police Officer 29-year-old Jonah Oswald died Monday as a result of injuries sustained in the Sunday shooting with a car theft suspect from Tennessee, according to a statement from Officer Oswald was a 4-year veteran of the Fairway Police Department, according to a statement from the department.Fairway Chief J.P. Thurlo issued the following statement about Officer Oswald's death.“I am heartbroken at the tragic loss of Officer Jonah Oswald, who made the ultimate sacrifice while carrying out his oath to serve and protect. Officer Oswald was an integral part of our team and made significant contributions to our department and to the Fairway community. We will remember him as a warm-hearted individual whose hard work and passion touched the lives of many.""On behalf of the entire Fairway Police Department, and the City of Fairway, I extend our deepest sympathies and heartfelt condolences to Officer Oswald’s family and friends. We recognize that their loss is immeasurable, and our thoughts and prayers are with them.""Officer Oswald leaves behind a wife and two young children. The Oswald family has asked for privacy at this time and is appreciative of the support being shown to them."<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/8/1691356366635.png" alt="Police on the scene near the shooting&nbsp; on Sunday-photo courtesy KCTV" />
 <figcaption>Police on the scene near the shooting&nbsp; on Sunday-photo courtesy KCTV</figcaption>
 </figure>Just after 7:30 a.m. Sunday, police responded to a stolen vehicle call at the QuikTrip at 95th Street and Interstate 35, according to a media release from Lenexa Police. Officers located that car and the suspect in the stolen vehicle struck one of Lenexa police department's patrol vehicles and drove away.Police pursued the suspect northbound on Interstate 35 until the suspects left the vehicle and ran to a QuikTrip in the 4700 Block of Lamar Avenue in Mission.Police from multiple agencies were trying to arrest the suspects when gunfire broke out. A suspect later identified as 40-year-old&nbsp;Shannon Wayne Marshall of Ashland City, Tennessee was shot and killed and&nbsp; Fairway Kansas police officer Jonah Oswald was shot and hospitalized. The other suspect was arrested and later identified as 32-year-old Andrea Cothran of Portland Tennesee.Cothran, a registered sex offender, is being held in Johnson County on&nbsp; requested charges of aggravated assault of a law enforcement officer, according to online jail records.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/8/1691373333169.png" alt="Cothran is listed on the Tennessee sex offender registry for a July 2019 conviction for solicitation to commit sexual exploitation of a minor.&nbsp; She has three previous convictions for child abuse and a probation violation for drugs, according to the Tennessee offender registry." />
 <figcaption>Cothran is listed on the Tennessee sex offender registry for a July 2019 conviction for solicitation to commit sexual exploitation of a minor.&nbsp; She has three previous convictions for child abuse and a probation violation for drugs, according to the Tennessee offender registry.</figcaption>
 </figure>She is listed on the Tennessee sex offender registry for a July 2019 conviction for solicitation to commit sexual exploitation of a minor. She has three previous convictions for child abuse and a probation violation for drugs, according to the Tennessee offender registry. She was scheduled for a court appearance in the case at 1:30p.m. Tuesday, according to online jail records.&nbsp;A Johnson County law enforcement team is investigating the officer-involved shooting.---------------------

Kansas officer injured in exchange of gunfire has died

WASHINGTON (AP) —Donald Trump’s legal team told a judge overseeing the election conspiracy case against him on Monday that prosecutors'&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-election-capitol-riot-indictment-protective-order-71cd642e876c47fff4e1283c15f8ca01">proposed protective order</a>&nbsp;aimed at preventing the public disclosure of evidence is too broad and would restrict his First Amendment rights.

Lawyers for the early 2024 Republican presidential primary front-runner said the judge should impose a more limited order that would bar the public release only of materials deemed “sensitive" — such as grand jury documents — rather than all evidence handed over by the government in the case accusing Trump of conspiring to overturn his 2020 election loss.

Prosecutors have said a protective order — not unusual in criminal cases — is particularly important in Trump's case because of his penchant for using social media. They have expressed concern that Trump could improperly share sensitive case information online that could have a “harmful chilling effect on witnesses.”

In their filing Friday seeking the order, prosecutors included a screenshot of a post from Trump’s Truth Social platform that same day in which he wrote, in all capital letters, “If you go after me, I’m coming after you!”

Trump’s lawyers said that citing that post to claim there’s a danger Trump might publish grand jury information was “a provocative claim when searching for headlines, perhaps, but one that falters under minimal scrutiny.”

The former president’s legal team said his post was “generalized political speech” and had nothing to do with the case. A Trump spokesperson said last week that the post was in response to “dishonest special interest groups and Super PACs.”

Trump's lawyers, who have characterized the case brought by special counsel Jack Smith as an attack on his right to free speech, told the judge that the need to protect sensitive information about the case “does not require a blanket gag order over all documents produced by the government.”

“In a trial about First Amendment rights, the government seeks to restrict First Amendment rights,” Trump's lawyers wrote. “Worse, it does so against its administration’s primary political opponent, during an election season in which the administration, prominent party members and media allies have campaigned on the indictment and proliferated its false allegations.”

Trump's lawyers accused President Joe Biden of trying to capitalize on the indictment in posting what they called a “thinly veiled reference” to Trump's prosecution just hours before Trump's court appearance last week. They included a screenshot in their court filing of a tweet from from Biden's campaign account, which included a video of the president drinking from a mug emblazoned with&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-fundraising-2024-reelection-campaign-democrats-5b8d97914118bb4ad6ccce5fece43ee4">“Dark Brandon”</a>&nbsp;— a meme featuring Biden with lasers for eyes — and the caption: "A cup of Joe never tasted better."

The defense filing was in response to the request Friday from Smith's team for the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-election-capitol-riot-indictment-protective-order-71cd642e876c47fff4e1283c15f8ca01">protective order</a>, which would impose rules on what Trump and his defense team can do with evidence shared with them by the government as they prepare for trial in the case unsealed last week.

Trump’s lawyers on Saturday had asked for an extra three days to respond to prosecutors’ request for the protective order, saying they needed more time for discussion. But&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-indictment-judge-tanya-chutkan-capitol-riot-9ba5c18d315697d759521425ea203012">Judge Tanya Chutkan,</a>&nbsp;who was nominated to the bench by former President Barack Obama, swiftly denied that request.

Prosecutors said that they are ready to hand over a substantial amount of evidence to Trump’s legal team and that much of it includes sensitive and confidential information.

The prosecutors’ proposed order seeks to prevent Trump and his lawyers from disclosing materials provided by the government to anyone other than people on his legal team, possible witnesses, the witnesses’ lawyers or others approved by the court. It would put stricter limits on “sensitive materials,” which prosecutors said would include grand jury witness testimony and materials obtained through sealed search warrants.

Trump has denied any wrongdoing in the case, as well as another prosecution brought by Smith that accuses him of illegally&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-classified-documents-indictment-c15a5f36e4e83417805718d81a035441">hoarding classified documents</a>&nbsp;at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida.

He has has characterized all the cases against him as an effort to take down his 2024 campaign. His legal team has indicated that it will argue that he had relied on the advice of attorneys around him in 2020 and that Trump had a right to challenge an election that he believed had been stolen.

Trump pleaded not guilty last week to four felony counts, including conspiracy to defraud the U.S. and conspiracy to obstruct Congress’ certification of Biden’s electoral victory. The charges could lead to a lengthy prison sentence in the event of a conviction, with the most serious counts calling for up to 20 years.

It’s the third criminal case brought this year against the the early front-runner in the 2024 Republican presidential primary. But it’s the first case to try to hold him responsible for his efforts to remain in power during the chaotic weeks between his election loss and the attack by his supporters on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Smith also charged Trump in June with dozens of felony counts alleging the former president illegally kept classified records after he left the White House and obstructed government efforts to get them back. A new indictment recently unsealed in that case accuses Trump of scheming with Mar-a-Lago staffers to try to delete security footage sought by investigators.

Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart in that case imposed a similar protective order in June that prohibits Trump and his legal team from publicly disclosing evidence turned over to them by prosecutors without prior approval.

WASHINGTON (AP) —Donald Trump’s legal team told a judge overseeing the election conspiracy case against him on Monday that prosecutors'&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-election-capitol-riot-indictment-protective-order-71cd642e876c47fff4e1283c15f8ca01">proposed protective order</a>&nbsp;aimed at preventing the public disclosure of evidence is too broad and would restrict his First Amendment rights.Lawyers for the early 2024 Republican presidential primary front-runner said the judge should impose a more limited order that would bar the public release only of materials deemed “sensitive" — such as grand jury documents — rather than all evidence handed over by the government in the case accusing Trump of conspiring to overturn his 2020 election loss.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/8/1691447857769.png" alt="On August 3, Donald Trump’s signed acknowledgment of conditions for his release and penalties for violating them-image CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>On August 3, Donald Trump’s signed acknowledgment of conditions for his release and penalties for violating them-image CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>Prosecutors have said a protective order — not unusual in criminal cases — is particularly important in Trump's case because of his penchant for using social media. They have expressed concern that Trump could improperly share sensitive case information online that could have a “harmful chilling effect on witnesses.”In their filing Friday seeking the order, prosecutors included a screenshot of a post from Trump’s Truth Social platform that same day in which he wrote, in all capital letters, “If you go after me, I’m coming after you!”Trump’s lawyers said that citing that post to claim there’s a danger Trump might publish grand jury information was “a provocative claim when searching for headlines, perhaps, but one that falters under minimal scrutiny.”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/8/1691329048946.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>The former president’s legal team said his post was “generalized political speech” and had nothing to do with the case. A Trump spokesperson said last week that the post was in response to “dishonest special interest groups and Super PACs.”Trump's lawyers, who have characterized the case brought by special counsel Jack Smith as an attack on his right to free speech, told the judge that the need to protect sensitive information about the case “does not require a blanket gag order over all documents produced by the government.”“In a trial about First Amendment rights, the government seeks to restrict First Amendment rights,” Trump's lawyers wrote. “Worse, it does so against its administration’s primary political opponent, during an election season in which the administration, prominent party members and media allies have campaigned on the indictment and proliferated its false allegations.”Trump's lawyers accused President Joe Biden of trying to capitalize on the indictment in posting what they called a “thinly veiled reference” to Trump's prosecution just hours before Trump's court appearance last week. They included a screenshot in their court filing of a tweet from from Biden's campaign account, which included a video of the president drinking from a mug emblazoned with&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-fundraising-2024-reelection-campaign-democrats-5b8d97914118bb4ad6ccce5fece43ee4">“Dark Brandon”</a>&nbsp;— a meme featuring Biden with lasers for eyes — and the caption: "A cup of Joe never tasted better."The defense filing was in response to the request Friday from Smith's team for the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-election-capitol-riot-indictment-protective-order-71cd642e876c47fff4e1283c15f8ca01">protective order</a>, which would impose rules on what Trump and his defense team can do with evidence shared with them by the government as they prepare for trial in the case unsealed last week.Trump’s lawyers on Saturday had asked for an extra three days to respond to prosecutors’ request for the protective order, saying they needed more time for discussion. But&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-indictment-judge-tanya-chutkan-capitol-riot-9ba5c18d315697d759521425ea203012">Judge Tanya Chutkan,</a>&nbsp;who was nominated to the bench by former President Barack Obama, swiftly denied that request.Prosecutors said that they are ready to hand over a substantial amount of evidence to Trump’s legal team and that much of it includes sensitive and confidential information.The prosecutors’ proposed order seeks to prevent Trump and his lawyers from disclosing materials provided by the government to anyone other than people on his legal team, possible witnesses, the witnesses’ lawyers or others approved by the court. It would put stricter limits on “sensitive materials,” which prosecutors said would include grand jury witness testimony and materials obtained through sealed search warrants.Trump has denied any wrongdoing in the case, as well as another prosecution brought by Smith that accuses him of illegally&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-classified-documents-indictment-c15a5f36e4e83417805718d81a035441">hoarding classified documents</a>&nbsp;at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida.He has has characterized all the cases against him as an effort to take down his 2024 campaign. His legal team has indicated that it will argue that he had relied on the advice of attorneys around him in 2020 and that Trump had a right to challenge an election that he believed had been stolen.Trump pleaded not guilty last week to four felony counts, including conspiracy to defraud the U.S. and conspiracy to obstruct Congress’ certification of Biden’s electoral victory. The charges could lead to a lengthy prison sentence in the event of a conviction, with the most serious counts calling for up to 20 years.It’s the third criminal case brought this year against the the early front-runner in the 2024 Republican presidential primary. But it’s the first case to try to hold him responsible for his efforts to remain in power during the chaotic weeks between his election loss and the attack by his supporters on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.Smith also charged Trump in June with dozens of felony counts alleging the former president illegally kept classified records after he left the White House and obstructed government efforts to get them back. A new indictment recently unsealed in that case accuses Trump of scheming with Mar-a-Lago staffers to try to delete security footage sought by investigators.Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart in that case imposed a similar protective order in June that prohibits Trump and his legal team from publicly disclosing evidence turned over to them by prosecutors without prior approval.

Trump's legal team offer more lax rules for a proposed protective order 

Des Moines (AP) —Lottery players will have another shot Tuesday night at a massive Mega Millions prize that ranks as the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/top-10-us-lottery-jackpots-b24950a388d0a0f6544d2276956ff220">third-largest jackpot</a>&nbsp;in U.S. history.

The estimated $1.55 billion prize has been gradually building for months thanks to 31 straight drawings without a jackpot winner. The last time someone won the game’s top prize was April 18.

Each drawing without a winner pushes the prize closer to the record $2.04 billion Powerball jackpot that someone in California won last year.

Mega Millions jackpot winners are&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/north-america-lottery-us-news-ap-top-news-ia-state-wire-b5572da1e5d74f6e974bea45c707b5cb">so rare thanks to odds</a>&nbsp;of 1 in 302.6 million.

The $1.55 billion payout would go to a winner who opts for an annuity, doled out over 30 years. But people usually prefer a lump sum option, which for Tuesday's jackpot would be an estimated $757.2 million.

The money would be subject to federal taxes. Many states also tax lottery winnings.

Mega Millions&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/religion-alabama-alaska-lotteries-business-86424cf8e2b7cccf8ae9d06f6652d559">is played in 45 states</a>, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Des Moines (AP) —Lottery players will have another shot Tuesday night at a massive Mega Millions prize that ranks as the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/top-10-us-lottery-jackpots-b24950a388d0a0f6544d2276956ff220">third-largest jackpot</a>&nbsp;in U.S. history.The estimated $1.55 billion prize has been gradually building for months thanks to 31 straight drawings without a jackpot winner. The last time someone won the game’s top prize was April 18.Each drawing without a winner pushes the prize closer to the record $2.04 billion Powerball jackpot that someone in California won last year.Mega Millions jackpot winners are&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/north-america-lottery-us-news-ap-top-news-ia-state-wire-b5572da1e5d74f6e974bea45c707b5cb">so rare thanks to odds</a>&nbsp;of 1 in 302.6 million.The $1.55 billion payout would go to a winner who opts for an annuity, doled out over 30 years. But people usually prefer a lump sum option, which for Tuesday's jackpot would be an estimated $757.2 million.The money would be subject to federal taxes. Many states also tax lottery winnings.Mega Millions&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/religion-alabama-alaska-lotteries-business-86424cf8e2b7cccf8ae9d06f6652d559">is played in 45 states</a>, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

$1.55 billion Mega Millions jackpot is the 3rd largest in US history

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Kansas State Fair General Manager Bryan Schulz let Hutch Post know that there will be something special at the Kansas State Fair this year.

"We have the Lombardi Trophy coming to the Kansas State Fair on the Kansas Lottery's Chief Red Friday," Schulz said. "People will be able to come out there, have their picture taken with the Super Bowl Trophy from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. on the last Friday. This is going to be huge. They only go to certain places. When they said they want to bring it, we were, thumbs up, let's get it done."

There's also a free concert that night for Chiefs fans as Blane Howard, KC Wolf and Rumble, the Kansas City Chiefs drumline will all be at the fair again. Blane will perform at Peoples Bank and Trust Arena at 7 p.m. on Friday, September 15, sponsored by The Sleep Shoppe and Furniture Gallery.

NICK GOSNELL Hutch PostHUTCHINSON, Kan. — Kansas State Fair General Manager Bryan Schulz let Hutch Post know that there will be something special at the Kansas State Fair this year."We have the Lombardi Trophy coming to the Kansas State Fair on the Kansas Lottery's Chief Red Friday," Schulz said. "People will be able to come out there, have their picture taken with the Super Bowl Trophy from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. on the last Friday. This is going to be huge. They only go to certain places. When they said they want to bring it, we were, thumbs up, let's get it done."There's also a free concert that night for Chiefs fans as Blane Howard, KC Wolf and Rumble, the Kansas City Chiefs drumline will all be at the fair again. Blane will perform at Peoples Bank and Trust Arena at 7 p.m. on Friday, September 15, sponsored by The Sleep Shoppe and Furniture Gallery.

Chiefs' Super Bowl trophy will be at Kansas State Fair

UNION, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison, nearly four decades after a woman was strangled with her body dumped in the woods.

Kirby R. King, now in his late 60s,&nbsp;<a href="https://fox2now.com/news/missouri/man-pleads-guilty-to-strangling-and-dumping-body-of-missouri-woman-3-decades-ago/">pleaded guilty in June</a>&nbsp;to involuntary manslaughter and felonious restraint in the 1987 death of 22-year-old Karla Jane Delcour. He was sentenced Thursday.

Investigators believe Delcour was killed at a home in the eastern Missouri town of Union on June 21, 1987. Her body was found about four days later near neighboring St. Clair, where she was living. Her wrists and neck were bound by a cord.

King was questioned in 1987 but not charged.

The Franklin County Sheriff’s Office reopened the case in 2018 and King was arrested in 2019, initially charged with second-degree murder. Investigators have not said what new evidence led to his arrest and conviction.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/6/1686080026775.png" alt="King photo Franklin Co." />
 <figcaption>King photo Franklin Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>UNION, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison, nearly four decades after a woman was strangled with her body dumped in the woods.Kirby R. King, now in his late 60s,&nbsp;<a href="https://fox2now.com/news/missouri/man-pleads-guilty-to-strangling-and-dumping-body-of-missouri-woman-3-decades-ago/">pleaded guilty in June</a>&nbsp;to involuntary manslaughter and felonious restraint in the 1987 death of 22-year-old Karla Jane Delcour. He was sentenced Thursday.Investigators believe Delcour was killed at a home in the eastern Missouri town of Union on June 21, 1987. Her body was found about four days later near neighboring St. Clair, where she was living. Her wrists and neck were bound by a cord.King was questioned in 1987 but not charged.The Franklin County Sheriff’s Office reopened the case in 2018 and King was arrested in 2019, initially charged with second-degree murder. Investigators have not said what new evidence led to his arrest and conviction.

Man sentenced for killing that went unsolved for decades

KANSAS CITY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a highway shooting Sunday night that left a teen dead and a man injured.

Just after 11:p.m. Sunday, police found a car stopped on northbound U.S. 71 just south 22nd Street and found two shooting victims, according to KCPD.

EMS transported&nbsp; 15-year-old Diego Almeda to a hospital where he died from his injuries.The man was shot and listed in critical condition.

Anyone with information has been asked to contact police at 816-234-5043 or the TIPS Hotline anonymously at 816-474-TIPS. A reward of up to $25,000 has been offered for information submitted anonymously to the TIPS hotline.

KANSAS CITY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a highway shooting Sunday night that left a teen dead and a man injured.Just after 11:p.m. Sunday, police found a car stopped on northbound U.S. 71 just south 22nd Street and found two shooting victims, according to KCPD.EMS transported&nbsp; 15-year-old Diego Almeda to a hospital where he died from his injuries.The man was shot and listed in critical condition.Anyone with information has been asked to contact police at 816-234-5043 or the TIPS Hotline anonymously at 816-474-TIPS. A reward of up to $25,000 has been offered for information submitted anonymously to the TIPS hotline.

15-year-old wounded in KC highway shooting has died

SHAWNEE COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating two teens for violent robberies.

Just after 5:00 a.m. Sunday, police responded to the 1000 block of NE Atchison in Topeka on a report of a man yelling for help, according to Police Lt. Ron Ekis.

First responders located him and determined that he was a victim of Aggravated Assault and Aggravated Robbery.&nbsp; The victim have police a vehicle and suspect description.

Just after 5:30 a.m., officers responded to a similar call in the 2300 block of SE California in Topeka and located a second victim who gave a similar account of having been victimized, as well as similar suspect and vehicle descriptions.

Just before 6a.m. police located a vehicle matching the description of the suspects, and conducted a traffic stop near SE 10th and SE Swygart. The occupants of the vehicle were arrested, and officers located evidence related to the crimes.

As a result of the investigation, police&nbsp; booked a 16-year-old juvenile&nbsp; into the Shawnee County Juvenile Department of Corrections on requested charges of Aggravated Robbery, Aggravated Assault X 2, Criminal Discharge of a Firearm, Juvenile in Possession of a Firearm and Possession of Marijuana.

Enrique Bocardo, 18, of Topeka, was also&nbsp; booked into the Shawnee County Department of Corrections on requested charges of&nbsp; Aggravated Assault and Possession of Marijuana

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/8/1691410549890.png" alt="Bocardo-photo Shawnee Co." />
 <figcaption>Bocardo-photo Shawnee Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>SHAWNEE COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating two teens for violent robberies.Just after 5:00 a.m. Sunday, police responded to the 1000 block of NE Atchison in Topeka on a report of a man yelling for help, according to Police Lt. Ron Ekis.First responders located him and determined that he was a victim of Aggravated Assault and Aggravated Robbery.&nbsp; The victim have police a vehicle and suspect description.Just after 5:30 a.m., officers responded to a similar call in the 2300 block of SE California in Topeka and located a second victim who gave a similar account of having been victimized, as well as similar suspect and vehicle descriptions.Just before 6a.m. police located a vehicle matching the description of the suspects, and conducted a traffic stop near SE 10th and SE Swygart. The occupants of the vehicle were arrested, and officers located evidence related to the crimes.As a result of the investigation, police&nbsp; booked a 16-year-old juvenile&nbsp; into the Shawnee County Juvenile Department of Corrections on requested charges of Aggravated Robbery, Aggravated Assault X 2, Criminal Discharge of a Firearm, Juvenile in Possession of a Firearm and Possession of Marijuana.Enrique Bocardo, 18, of Topeka, was also&nbsp; booked into the Shawnee County Department of Corrections on requested charges of&nbsp; Aggravated Assault and Possession of Marijuana

2 Kansas teens accused of violent armed robberies 

KANSAS CITY (AP) — Trucking company&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/yellow-corp-trucking-company-bankruptcy-d489652b6acd63dbb046047da9e2a074">Yellow Corp. has declared bankruptcy</a>&nbsp;after years of financial struggles and growing debt, marking a significant shift for the U.S. transportation industry and shippers nationwide.

The Chapter 11 bankruptcy, which was filed Sunday, comes just three years after Yellow received $700 million in pandemic-era loans from the federal government. While a Chapter 11 filing is used to restructure debt while operations continue, Yellow, like other trucking companies in recent years, will liquidate and the U.S. will join other creditors unlikely to recover funds extended to the company.

Yellow fell into severe financial stress after a long stretch of poor management and strategic decisions dating back decades.

In 2019 two trucking companies,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/c0becf88c3ed43c075e6d1216648551e">Celadon</a>&nbsp;and New England Motor Freight, file for bankruptcy protection and liquidated.

Former Yellow customers and shippers may face higher prices as they take their business to competitors, including FedEx or ABF Freight, experts say — noting Yellow historically offered the cheapest price points in the industry.

“It is with profound disappointment that Yellow announces that it is closing after nearly 100 years in business,” CEO Darren Hawkins said in a news release late Sunday. “For generations, Yellow provided hundreds of thousands of Americans with solid, good-paying jobs and fulfilling careers.”

Yellow, formerly known as YRC Worldwide Inc., is one of the nation’s largest less-than-truckload carriers. The Nashville, Tennessee-based company had 30,000 employees across the country.

The Teamsters, which represented Yellow’s 22,000 unionized workers, said last week that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/yellow-trucking-bankruptcy-teamsters-freight-378048eb09cb8d497ff5fcec359c45b2">the company gave legal notice for a bankruptcy filing and shut down operations</a>&nbsp;in late July following layoffs of hundreds of nonunion employees.

Teamsters general president Sean O’Brien called the news “unfortunate but not surprising” in a July 31 statement — pointing to the financial chaos at Yellow. “This is a sad day for workers and the American freight industry,” he said.

The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/trucker-yellow-prepares-to-file-for-bankruptcy-as-customers-flee-281151a6">Wall Street Journal</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.freightwaves.com/news/yellow-executive-tells-sales-employees-company-will-file-bankruptcy-on-july-31">FreightWaves</a>&nbsp;reported in late July that the bankruptcy was coming — noting that customers had already started to leave the carrier in large numbers and that the company had stopped freight pickups.

Those reports arrived just days after Yellow averted a strike from the Teamsters amid heated contract negotiations. A pension fund agreed to extend health benefits for workers at two Yellow Corp. operating companies, avoiding a planned walkout — and giving Yellow "30 days to pay its bills,” notably a total of $50 million owed to the Central States Health and Welfare Fund. A Yellow spokesperson said Tuesday that the company previously request a short-term deferral of the pension contributions plus interest, but the funds denied that request.

Yellow blamed the nine-month talks for the demise of the company, saying it was unable to institute a new business plan to modernize operations and make it more competitive during that time.

The company said it has asked the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware for permission to make payments, including for employee wages and benefits, taxes and certain vendors essential to its businesses.

Yellow has racked up hefty bills over the years. As of late March, Yellow had an outstanding debt of about $1.5 billion. Of that, $729.2 million was owed to the federal government.

In 2020, under the Trump administration, the Treasury Department granted the company a $700 million pandemic-era loan on national security grounds. The Teamsters supported the $700 million loan when it was first announced.

A congressional probe recently concluded that the Treasury and Defense departments “made missteps” in the decision and noted that Yellow’s “precarious financial position at the time of the loan, and continued struggles, expose taxpayers to a significant risk of loss.”

As of June 30, Yellow had paid $67 million in cash interest on the loan, which is due in 2024, the company said.

The financial chaos at Yellow “is probably two decades in the making,” Stifel research director Bruce Chan said ahead of the filing late last month, pointing to poor management and strategic decisions dating back to the early 2000s. “At this point, after each party has bailed them out so many times, there is a limited appetite to do that anymore.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/7/1690827382488.jpeg" alt="Yellow Corp. trucks are seen at a YRC Freight terminal Friday, July 28, 2023, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)" />
 <figcaption>Yellow Corp. trucks are seen at a YRC Freight terminal Friday, July 28, 2023, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY (AP) — Trucking company&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/yellow-corp-trucking-company-bankruptcy-d489652b6acd63dbb046047da9e2a074">Yellow Corp. has declared bankruptcy</a>&nbsp;after years of financial struggles and growing debt, marking a significant shift for the U.S. transportation industry and shippers nationwide.The Chapter 11 bankruptcy, which was filed Sunday, comes just three years after Yellow received $700 million in pandemic-era loans from the federal government. While a Chapter 11 filing is used to restructure debt while operations continue, Yellow, like other trucking companies in recent years, will liquidate and the U.S. will join other creditors unlikely to recover funds extended to the company.Yellow fell into severe financial stress after a long stretch of poor management and strategic decisions dating back decades.In 2019 two trucking companies,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/c0becf88c3ed43c075e6d1216648551e">Celadon</a>&nbsp;and New England Motor Freight, file for bankruptcy protection and liquidated.Former Yellow customers and shippers may face higher prices as they take their business to competitors, including FedEx or ABF Freight, experts say — noting Yellow historically offered the cheapest price points in the industry.“It is with profound disappointment that Yellow announces that it is closing after nearly 100 years in business,” CEO Darren Hawkins said in a news release late Sunday. “For generations, Yellow provided hundreds of thousands of Americans with solid, good-paying jobs and fulfilling careers.”Yellow, formerly known as YRC Worldwide Inc., is one of the nation’s largest less-than-truckload carriers. The Nashville, Tennessee-based company had 30,000 employees across the country.The Teamsters, which represented Yellow’s 22,000 unionized workers, said last week that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/yellow-trucking-bankruptcy-teamsters-freight-378048eb09cb8d497ff5fcec359c45b2">the company gave legal notice for a bankruptcy filing and shut down operations</a>&nbsp;in late July following layoffs of hundreds of nonunion employees.Teamsters general president Sean O’Brien called the news “unfortunate but not surprising” in a July 31 statement — pointing to the financial chaos at Yellow. “This is a sad day for workers and the American freight industry,” he said.The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/trucker-yellow-prepares-to-file-for-bankruptcy-as-customers-flee-281151a6">Wall Street Journal</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.freightwaves.com/news/yellow-executive-tells-sales-employees-company-will-file-bankruptcy-on-july-31">FreightWaves</a>&nbsp;reported in late July that the bankruptcy was coming — noting that customers had already started to leave the carrier in large numbers and that the company had stopped freight pickups.Those reports arrived just days after Yellow averted a strike from the Teamsters amid heated contract negotiations. A pension fund agreed to extend health benefits for workers at two Yellow Corp. operating companies, avoiding a planned walkout — and giving Yellow "30 days to pay its bills,” notably a total of $50 million owed to the Central States Health and Welfare Fund. A Yellow spokesperson said Tuesday that the company previously request a short-term deferral of the pension contributions plus interest, but the funds denied that request.Yellow blamed the nine-month talks for the demise of the company, saying it was unable to institute a new business plan to modernize operations and make it more competitive during that time.The company said it has asked the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware for permission to make payments, including for employee wages and benefits, taxes and certain vendors essential to its businesses.Yellow has racked up hefty bills over the years. As of late March, Yellow had an outstanding debt of about $1.5 billion. Of that, $729.2 million was owed to the federal government.In 2020, under the Trump administration, the Treasury Department granted the company a $700 million pandemic-era loan on national security grounds. The Teamsters supported the $700 million loan when it was first announced.A congressional probe recently concluded that the Treasury and Defense departments “made missteps” in the decision and noted that Yellow’s “precarious financial position at the time of the loan, and continued struggles, expose taxpayers to a significant risk of loss.”As of June 30, Yellow had paid $67 million in cash interest on the loan, which is due in 2024, the company said.The financial chaos at Yellow “is probably two decades in the making,” Stifel research director Bruce Chan said ahead of the filing late last month, pointing to poor management and strategic decisions dating back to the early 2000s. “At this point, after each party has bailed them out so many times, there is a limited appetite to do that anymore.”

30,000 out of work: U.S. trucking giant officially declares bankruptcy 

NORTON COUNTY—A high end supercell thunderstorm moved over&nbsp; the city of Almena in Norton County just before 8p.m. Saturday.

 The storm produced wind gusts up to an estimated 110 miles per hour along with hail ranging from golf ball to tennis ball in size, according to a report from the National Weather Service in Goodland.

 The wind caused damage to trees ranging from limbs being blown down to tree trunks being snapped.

The National Weather Service service said the thunderstorm began near Norton, where it quickly intensified east of town and moved northeast toward Almena, intensifying as it approached.

 As the thunderstorm moved over Almena, it continued to intensify, reaching a peak intensity as it moved over the community.  The worst of the wind occurred when the hail was the largest in size.  As the storm moved east of Almena it began to weaken.  The only damage that was visible northeast of town were two road block signs that had been bent to the northeast. There are no reports of injury.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/8/1691427486461.jpeg" alt="Part of a trunk from a mature Hackberry tree broken off.Photo courtesy National Weather Service Goodland" />
 <figcaption>Part of a trunk from a mature Hackberry tree broken off.Photo courtesy National Weather Service Goodland</figcaption>
 </figure>NORTON COUNTY—A high end supercell thunderstorm moved over&nbsp; the city of Almena in Norton County just before 8p.m. Saturday. The storm produced wind gusts up to an estimated 110 miles per hour along with hail ranging from golf ball to tennis ball in size, according to a report from the National Weather Service in Goodland.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/8/1691427755520.png" alt="Tree trunk of mature ash tree snapped.-photo NWS Goodland" />
 <figcaption>Tree trunk of mature ash tree snapped.-photo NWS Goodland</figcaption>
 </figure> The wind caused damage to trees ranging from limbs being blown down to tree trunks being snapped.The National Weather Service service said the thunderstorm began near Norton, where it quickly intensified east of town and moved northeast toward Almena, intensifying as it approached.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/8/1691427939057.png" alt="Track of Storm from NWS Survey" />
 <figcaption>Track of Storm from NWS Survey</figcaption>
 </figure> As the thunderstorm moved over Almena, it continued to intensify, reaching a peak intensity as it moved over the community. The worst of the wind occurred when the hail was the largest in size. As the storm moved east of Almena it began to weaken. The only damage that was visible northeast of town were two road block signs that had been bent to the northeast. There are no reports of injury.

NWS: Weekend storm brought 110mph winds to Kansas

SHAWNEE COUNTY—Authorities are investigating the cause of a Kansas house fire that injured a firefighter.

just before 2 a.m., crews responded to a house fire at 930 SW Jewell Avenue in Topeka, according to fire department spokesperson Rosie Nichols.

First responders&nbsp; found smoke and flames coming from the single-story house and two adults outside who advised they were the only occupants. 

One firefighter was transported by American Medical Response to a local hospital with non life-threatening injuries sustained in the fire.&nbsp; He has been released. One adult male occupant was treated at the scene by AMR for non life-threatening injuries.

The total estimated loss is $62,000, with $52,000 associated with structural loss and $10,000 associated with content loss.

The home did not have working smoke detectors, according to Nichols.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/8/1691416411554.png" alt="Monday morning house fire in Topeka -photo by Phil Anderson courtesy WIBW TV" />
 <figcaption>Monday morning house fire in Topeka -photo by Phil Anderson courtesy WIBW TV</figcaption>
 </figure>SHAWNEE COUNTY—Authorities are investigating the cause of a Kansas house fire that injured a firefighter.just before 2 a.m., crews responded to a house fire at 930 SW Jewell Avenue in Topeka, according to fire department spokesperson Rosie Nichols.First responders&nbsp; found smoke and flames coming from the single-story house and two adults outside who advised they were the only occupants. One firefighter was transported by American Medical Response to a local hospital with non life-threatening injuries sustained in the fire.&nbsp; He has been released. One adult male occupant was treated at the scene by AMR for non life-threatening injuries.The total estimated loss is $62,000, with $52,000 associated with structural loss and $10,000 associated with content loss.The home did not have working smoke detectors, according to Nichols.

Firefighter injured fighting Kansas house fire

JOHNSON COUNTY —A Kansas police officer remains hospitalized in critical condition after a deadly exchange of gunfire.

City of Fairway, Kansas Chief of Police J.P. Thurlo has issued the following statement about the officer who was shot.

“As you are aware, one of our police officers was shot and critically wounded Sunday morning while trying to make an arrest in a neighboring community. Upon hearing the call for assistance, our officer courageously and without hesitation responded to help. These brave actions are reflective of the men and women in law enforcement in our community, and throughout this country, who put on the badge knowing the potential dangers they may face in the course of their duties. At this time, the officers condition remains critical."

"We will have more information about the officer in the coming days. I ask for thoughts and prayers for the officer and his family, and request privacy for the officer’s family and for the Fairway Police Department. We are grateful for those who have already expressed their support for our department, and who will in the days ahead.”

Just after 7:30 a.m., police responded to a stolen vehicle call at the QuikTrip at 95th Street and Interstate 35, according to a media release.

Police from multiple agencies were trying to arrest the suspects when gunfire broke out. A suspect later identified as 40-year-old&nbsp;Shannon Wayne Marshall of Ashland City, Tennessee was shot and killed and a Fairway Kansas police officer was shot and hospitalized. 

She is listed on the Tennessee sex offender registry for a July 2019 conviction for solicitation to commit sexual exploitation of a minor.  She has three previous convictions for child abuse and a probation violation for drugs, according to the Tennessee offender registry. She is scheduled for a court appearance in the case at 1:30p.m. Monday, according to online jail records.

Police have identified the officer who was wounded. A Johnson County law enforcement team is investigating the officer-involved shooting.

JOHNSON COUNTY — A shooting early Sunday at a convenience store left a suspect dead and a Kansas police officer hospitalized after an exchange of gunfire, according to Lenexa police.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/8/1691356366635.png" alt="Police on the scene near the exchange of gunfire -photo courtesy KCTV" />
 <figcaption>Police on the scene near the exchange of gunfire -photo courtesy KCTV</figcaption>
 </figure>JOHNSON COUNTY —A Kansas police officer remains hospitalized in critical condition after a deadly exchange of gunfire.City of Fairway, Kansas Chief of Police J.P. Thurlo has issued the following statement about the officer who was shot.“As you are aware, one of our police officers was shot and critically wounded Sunday morning while trying to make an arrest in a neighboring community. Upon hearing the call for assistance, our officer courageously and without hesitation responded to help. These brave actions are reflective of the men and women in law enforcement in our community, and throughout this country, who put on the badge knowing the potential dangers they may face in the course of their duties. At this time, the officers condition remains critical.""We will have more information about the officer in the coming days. I ask for thoughts and prayers for the officer and his family, and request privacy for the officer’s family and for the Fairway Police Department. We are grateful for those who have already expressed their support for our department, and who will in the days ahead.”Just after 7:30 a.m., police responded to a stolen vehicle call at the QuikTrip at 95th Street and Interstate 35, according to a media release. Officers located that car and the suspect in the stolen vehicle struck one of Lenexa police department's patrol vehicles and drove away.Police pursued the suspect northbound on Interstate 35 until the suspects left the vehicle and ran to a QuikTrip in the 4700 Block of Lamar Avenue in Mission.Police from multiple agencies were trying to arrest the suspects when gunfire broke out. A suspect later identified as 40-year-old&nbsp;Shannon Wayne Marshall of Ashland City, Tennessee was shot and killed and a Fairway Kansas police officer was shot and hospitalized. The other suspect was arrested and later identified as 32-year-old Andrea Cothran of Portland Tennesee.Cothran, a registered sex offender, is being held in Johnson County on&nbsp; requested charges of aggravated assault of a law enforcement officer, according to online jail records.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/8/1691373333169.png" alt="Cothran is listed on the Tennessee sex offender registry for a July 2019 conviction for solicitation to commit sexual exploitation of a minor.&nbsp; She has three previous convictions for child abuse and a probation violation for drugs, according to the Tennessee offender registry." />
 <figcaption>Cothran is listed on the Tennessee sex offender registry for a July 2019 conviction for solicitation to commit sexual exploitation of a minor.&nbsp; She has three previous convictions for child abuse and a probation violation for drugs, according to the Tennessee offender registry.</figcaption>
 </figure>She is listed on the Tennessee sex offender registry for a July 2019 conviction for solicitation to commit sexual exploitation of a minor. She has three previous convictions for child abuse and a probation violation for drugs, according to the Tennessee offender registry. She is scheduled for a court appearance in the case at 1:30p.m. Monday, according to online jail records.Police have identified the officer who was wounded. A Johnson County law enforcement team is investigating the officer-involved shooting.---------------------JOHNSON COUNTY — A shooting early Sunday at a convenience store left a suspect dead and a Kansas police officer hospitalized after an exchange of gunfire, according to Lenexa police.Just after 7:30 a.m., police responded to a stolen vehicle call at the QuikTrip at 95th Street and Interstate 35, according to a media release. Officers located that car and the suspect in the stolen vehicle struck one of Lenexa police department's patrol vehicles and drove away.Police pursued the suspect northbound on Interstate 35 until the suspects left the vehicle and ran to a QuikTrip in the 4700 Block of Lamar Avenue in Mission.Police from multiple agencies were trying to arrest the suspects when gunfire broke out. A suspect later identified as 40-year-old&nbsp;Shannon Wayne Marshall of Ashland City, Tennessee was shot and killed and a Fairway Kansas police officer was shot and hospitalized. The other suspect was arrested and later identified as 32-year-old Andrea Cothran of Portland Tennesee.Cothran, a registered sex offender, is being held in Johnson County on&nbsp; requested charges of aggravated assault of a law enforcement officer, according to online jail records.She is listed on the Tennessee sex offender registry for a July 2019 conviction for solicitation to commit sexual exploitation of a minor. She has three previous convictions for child abuse and a probation violation for drugs, according to the Tennessee offender registry. She is scheduled for a court appearance in the case at 1:30p.m. Monday, according to online jail records.Police have identified the officer who was wounded. A Johnson County law enforcement team is investigating the officer-involved shooting.

Police Chief asks for prayer for Kan. officer wounded in gun fight

More than 30 states prohibit cities from enacting rent control, but several states considered repeals.

By&nbsp;ROBBIE SEQUEIRA&nbsp; <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/03/30/u-s-judge-rules-insurers-dont-have-to-cover-many-free-preventive-health-services/">States Newsroom</a>

With rents soaring&nbsp;since the COVID-19 pandemic tightened the housing supply, more local governments are considering rent control to keep increases in check and, ideally, protect struggling tenants whose incomes haven’t&nbsp;kept pace.

At the same time, some states are enacting measures to prohibit cities from adopting rent control, a policy that has long divided economists and housing experts.

Some policy analysts say restrictions exacerbate the housing crunch by keeping tenants in place longer than they’d otherwise stay. And some research has raised questions about whether the true beneficiaries are renters with low incomes or those with high incomes.

Rent regulation policies — known as rent control or rent stabilization — dictate how often and by how much a landlord can increase rents. More than&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.naahq.org/rent-control-policy#:~:text=Currently%2C%2033%20states%20preempt%20local,the%20state%20or%20local%20level.">200 local governments</a>&nbsp;have a rent control policy in place, according to the National Apartment Association, an industry group.

More local governments are working to join the list.

Late last month,&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www2.montgomerycountymd.gov/mcgportalapps/Press_Detail.aspx?Item_ID=42953&amp;Dept=1">Maryland’s Montgomery County</a>&nbsp;— one of three Maryland counties to adopt rent control ordinances this year and the state’s largest at&nbsp;more than&nbsp;a million residents —&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://apps.montgomerycountymd.gov/ccllims/DownloadFilePage?FileName=2790_1_25174_Bill_15-23_Signed_20230724.pdf">capped annual rent increases</a>&nbsp;at 6%.

In Massachusetts, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and the City Council are struggling to push&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://malegislature.gov/Bills/193/H3744">legislation</a>&nbsp;that would exempt the city from the state’s 30-year-old rent control ban.

And in Seattle, the City Council in July debated a rent control proposal; but at an Aug. 1 meeting — amid chants of “housing is a human right” — the proposal failed on a 6-2 vote.

The bill would have created a trigger law that would go into effect in the event that Washington state’s 42-year ban on local rent control is overturned. Councilmember Kshama Sawant, the bill’s main sponsor, said during the vote that the bill was necessary to prompt the state legislature to repeal the law.

In 2020, Montgomery County responded to the pandemic by passing an emergency rent control act that&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/council/Resources/Files/agenda/col/2022/20220726/20220726_24.pdf">capped</a>&nbsp;annual rent increases at 4%. When regular rent increases resumed in August 2022, rents in the county —&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/OLO/Resources/Files/2023_reports/OLOReport2023-5.pdf">where 40% of residents are renters</a>&nbsp;—&nbsp;skyrocketed and more people were evicted, said Natali Fani-Gonzalez, a Democratic member of the Montgomery County council who introduced the rent control measure.

“This huge push for rent stabilization across city government is one of the consequences of the pandemic,” Fani-Gonzalez said.

The measure approved in July, which passed on a 7-4 vote, takes effect in October.

Fani-Gonzalez told Stateline that the new ordinance was “controversial” and contentious among the 11-person board but that she believes it will help ensure short- and long-term housing affordability.

“The heart of the whole piece of legislation is the cap for renting prices. … But managing to do so — that was a happy medium for renters and investment in our real estate,” she said.

“I saw this as an anti-rent-gouging effort, and during the pandemic, we had a measure in place that acted as rent control,” she added. “But it was temporary and when it ended, rent rose, and it put a burden on our residents.”

But Councilmember Gabe Albornoz, a Democrat who voted no, said he worried that it would disrupt the housing marketplace. Democratic Councilmember Marilyn Balcombe feared the bill would end up reducing the housing supply, pushing up prices.

In 2019, Oregon became the first to pass a statewide rent control law, capping increases at 7% a year plus inflation. Later that year,&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201920200AB1482">California followed by capping rent increases at 10%</a>&nbsp;per year.

Both states have seen actions to expand rent control.

In Oregon, renters were stunned when last year’s high inflation led to legal rent increases of more than 14%. In response, lawmakers this year amended the law to cap rent&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://oregoncapitalchronicle.com/2023/05/04/watered-down-rent-control-bill-clears-oregon-senate-panel/">increases</a>&nbsp;at either 10% or 7% plus inflation, whichever is lower.

In California, voters could change the scope of rent control if they pass the Justice for Renters Act&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://oag.ca.gov/system/files/initiatives/pdfs/22-0008%20%28%20%26quot%3BJustice%20for%20Renters%20Act%26quot%3B%20%29.pdf">proposal</a>&nbsp;in 2024. The ballot initiative would repeal the<a target="_blank" href="https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displayText.xhtml?lawCode=CIV&amp;division=3.&amp;title=5.&amp;part=4.&amp;chapter=2.7.&amp;article=">&nbsp;Costa-Hawkins Rental Act</a>, a 1995 law that exempts single-family homes and condominiums, plus post-1995 construction, from rent control.

Dan Yukelson, executive director of the Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles, said California’s rent regulation policies are “oppressive” on the rental industry, with many mom-and-pop landlords hamstrung by rising costs of managing properties.

Yukelson said one of the harms in a possible repeal of the Costa-Hawkins Act is the elimination of vacancy decontrol, which sets the rent amount at market or near market levels when the unit is vacant. He says the act helps smaller landlords compete in a tight California housing market.

“Smaller owners who just can’t deal with these layers of regulation are getting out of the [rental] business,” Yukelson told Stateline. “There’s a complete misunderstanding on the side of elected officials on what it takes to operate rental housing. So, either the government needs to run all the rental housing, or there needs to be some easing up on these regulations.”

At least 30 states&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.naahq.org/rent-control-policy#:~:text=Currently%2C%2033%20states%20preempt%20local,the%20state%20or%20local%20level.">preempt local governments</a>&nbsp;from adopting rent control laws. Five states without statewide rent regulations — Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey and New York, along with Washington, D.C. — allow rent control at the local level.

The National Multifamily Housing Council tracked 23 states that had measures related to rent control enactment in the works heading into 2023, but none has led to a statewide measure or repeal.

However, a few states were successful in strengthening preemption laws this year.

In March, Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed off on a bill&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2023/102/ByCategory">preventing local rent control.</a>

Montana enacted a&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://laws.leg.mt.gov/legprd/LAW0210W$BSIV.ActionQuery?P_BILL_NO1=105&amp;P_BLTP_BILL_TYP_CD=SB&amp;Z_ACTION=Find&amp;P_SESS=20231">rent control ban</a>&nbsp;on private and commercial property. State Sen. Steve Fitzpatrick, a high-ranking Republican in the legislature, told Stateline that rent control measures could discourage landlords from investing in the state’s real estate market.

“This was a way for us to fill some of the gaps in our previous laws, where a particular cap measure could be implemented on certain property,” Fitzpatrick said.

So far this year, efforts to repeal these preemptions have fallen short.

<a target="_blank" href="https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/hb23-1115">Legislation</a>&nbsp;that would have repealed Colorado’s 4-decade-old ban on local rent control died in a committee. Similar bills&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/legislation/document/20232024/214154">in Georgia</a>,&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.nmlegis.gov/Sessions/23%20Regular/bills/senate/SB0099.pdf">New Mexico</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://webservices.ncleg.gov/ViewBillDocument/2023/1419/0/DRS15099-NK-56B">North Carolina</a>&nbsp;also failed to advance.

Economists and housing experts disagree on whether rent control is effective. One challenge is that rent regulation differs so greatly from city to city, according to Jen Butler, a spokesperson for the National Low Income Housing Coalition, an advocacy group.

“This diversity in rent stabilization policies has resulted in mixed evidence as to the impact of them on the rental housing supply and rents,” Butler said in an interview. “These policies protect renters currently in homes covered by the policy from unaffordable rent increases — but they can also encourage these same renters to remain in place longer than they typically would, while renters in homes not covered by the policy are left without similar protections.”

Proponents of rent control, among them Rutgers University economist Mark Paul, say arguments against rent control lack empirical evidence.

“I think it’s important to note that rent control does not say landlords can’t profit off their property. That’s not the point of rent control,” said Paul. “Rent control is limiting the ability of landlords, or corporately owned property owners from raising the rent by 6, 8 or 12% a year and pricing people out of their homes.”

A&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.cura.umn.edu/research/minneapolis-rent-stabilization-study">2021 University of Minnesota study</a>&nbsp;published by the university’s Center for Urban and Regional Affairs suggests that rent control policies increased housing stability, and there is little evidence that those policies negatively impacted new construction — which is dependent on localized economic cycles and credit markets.

That same study, which reviewed rent control policies of four cities (Oakland, California; Newark, New Jersey; Sacramento, California; and Portland, Oregon) pointed out that there is debate on whether most rent regulation benefits are going to the neediest renters.

When Minneapolis floated the possibility of rent stabilization earlier this year, a study requested by the city council advised against it, suggesting it would not offer much help to city residents.

The No. 1 driver of long-term U.S. homelessness, housing policy experts and advocates said recently&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RJYszWSs2A&amp;feature=youtu.be">during a joint press call with media members</a>, is rising rents.

“For 75 years, the long-term trend has been that the cost of modest rental housing has been going up faster than modest income,” said Steve Berg, chief policy officer for the National Alliance to End Homelessness.

Between 2019 and 2021,&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.cbpp.org/among-lowest-income-renters-latine-and-black-renters-experienced-greatest-rent-increase">median rents</a>&nbsp;went up by 12% for renters in households making less than $15,000, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a left-leaning think tank.

Those increases, said Peggy Bailey, vice president of housing and income security for the center, “were not met with corresponding increases in income” and<a target="_blank" href="https://www.cbpp.org/among-lowest-income-renters-latine-and-black-renters-experienced-greatest-rent-increase">&nbsp;disproportionately affected Black and Latino renters</a>.

According to 2017-2021 census data, more than 19 million renters in the United States are considered rent-burdened, spending more than 30% of their income on rent. In New York City, renters on average spend more than 68% of their income on rent, according to a January Moody’s Analytics&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://cre.moodysanalytics.com/insights/market-insights/q4-2022-housing-affordability-update/">report</a>.

There also is a dearth of affordable rental housing. Low-cost rentals fell by 3.9 million units over the past decade, according to the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies’ State of the Nation’s Housing&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.jchs.harvard.edu/sites/default/files/reports/files/Harvard_JCHS_The_State_of_the_Nations_Housing_2023.pdf">report</a>.

In Indiana, which&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://iga.in.gov/laws/2022/ic/titles/32#32-31-1-20">prohibits local rent control</a>, Indiana University McKinney School of Law professor Fran Quigley has had his law students working closely with tenants in Indiana’s eviction court. Rent control, Quigley believes, could change housing outcomes in the Hoosier State, where&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://evictionresearch.net/indiana/">evictions</a>&nbsp;surpassed historical average levels in March 2022.

“I think rent control momentum is going to continue to build, because we have 44 million rental households in this nation and that’s a really powerful political block,” said Quigley. “Folks get mobilized, speak out, and rent control on the ballot does very well. … That works in the favor of momentum going forward.”

This story was produced by&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://stateline.org/">Stateline</a>, an affiliate of States Newsroom.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/8/1691426453470.png" alt="Residents of Montgomery County, Maryland, show up at council chambers in support of a rent control ordinance. In July, the county passed rent control measures, capping rent increases at 6%. (Montgomery County)" />
 <figcaption>Residents of Montgomery County, Maryland, show up at council chambers in support of a rent control ordinance. In July, the county passed rent control measures, capping rent increases at 6%. (Montgomery County)</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>More than 30 states prohibit cities from enacting rent control, but several states considered repeals.</h2>By&nbsp;ROBBIE SEQUEIRA&nbsp; <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/03/30/u-s-judge-rules-insurers-dont-have-to-cover-many-free-preventive-health-services/">States Newsroom</a>With rents soaring&nbsp;since the COVID-19 pandemic tightened the housing supply, more local governments are considering rent control to keep increases in check and, ideally, protect struggling tenants whose incomes haven’t&nbsp;kept pace.At the same time, some states are enacting measures to prohibit cities from adopting rent control, a policy that has long divided economists and housing experts.Some policy analysts say restrictions exacerbate the housing crunch by keeping tenants in place longer than they’d otherwise stay. And some research has raised questions about whether the true beneficiaries are renters with low incomes or those with high incomes.Rent regulation policies — known as rent control or rent stabilization — dictate how often and by how much a landlord can increase rents. More than&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.naahq.org/rent-control-policy#:~:text=Currently%2C%2033%20states%20preempt%20local,the%20state%20or%20local%20level.">200 local governments</a>&nbsp;have a rent control policy in place, according to the National Apartment Association, an industry group.More local governments are working to join the list.Late last month,&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www2.montgomerycountymd.gov/mcgportalapps/Press_Detail.aspx?Item_ID=42953&amp;Dept=1">Maryland’s Montgomery County</a>&nbsp;— one of three Maryland counties to adopt rent control ordinances this year and the state’s largest at&nbsp;more than&nbsp;a million residents —&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://apps.montgomerycountymd.gov/ccllims/DownloadFilePage?FileName=2790_1_25174_Bill_15-23_Signed_20230724.pdf">capped annual rent increases</a>&nbsp;at 6%.In Massachusetts, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and the City Council are struggling to push&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://malegislature.gov/Bills/193/H3744">legislation</a>&nbsp;that would exempt the city from the state’s 30-year-old rent control ban.And in Seattle, the City Council in July debated a rent control proposal; but at an Aug. 1 meeting — amid chants of “housing is a human right” — the proposal failed on a 6-2 vote.The bill would have created a trigger law that would go into effect in the event that Washington state’s 42-year ban on local rent control is overturned. Councilmember Kshama Sawant, the bill’s main sponsor, said during the vote that the bill was necessary to prompt the state legislature to repeal the law.<h2>Housing shortages</h2>In 2020, Montgomery County responded to the pandemic by passing an emergency rent control act that&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/council/Resources/Files/agenda/col/2022/20220726/20220726_24.pdf">capped</a>&nbsp;annual rent increases at 4%. When regular rent increases resumed in August 2022, rents in the county —&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/OLO/Resources/Files/2023_reports/OLOReport2023-5.pdf">where 40% of residents are renters</a>&nbsp;—&nbsp;skyrocketed and more people were evicted, said Natali Fani-Gonzalez, a Democratic member of the Montgomery County council who introduced the rent control measure.“This huge push for rent stabilization across city government is one of the consequences of the pandemic,” Fani-Gonzalez said.The measure approved in July, which passed on a 7-4 vote, takes effect in October.Fani-Gonzalez told Stateline that the new ordinance was “controversial” and contentious among the 11-person board but that she believes it will help ensure short- and long-term housing affordability.“The heart of the whole piece of legislation is the cap for renting prices. … But managing to do so — that was a happy medium for renters and investment in our real estate,” she said.“I saw this as an anti-rent-gouging effort, and during the pandemic, we had a measure in place that acted as rent control,” she added. “But it was temporary and when it ended, rent rose, and it put a burden on our residents.”But Councilmember Gabe Albornoz, a Democrat who voted no, said he worried that it would disrupt the housing marketplace. Democratic Councilmember Marilyn Balcombe feared the bill would end up reducing the housing supply, pushing up prices.<h2>State laws</h2>In 2019, Oregon became the first to pass a statewide rent control law, capping increases at 7% a year plus inflation. Later that year,&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201920200AB1482">California followed by capping rent increases at 10%</a>&nbsp;per year.Both states have seen actions to expand rent control.In Oregon, renters were stunned when last year’s high inflation led to legal rent increases of more than 14%. In response, lawmakers this year amended the law to cap rent&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://oregoncapitalchronicle.com/2023/05/04/watered-down-rent-control-bill-clears-oregon-senate-panel/">increases</a>&nbsp;at either 10% or 7% plus inflation, whichever is lower.In California, voters could change the scope of rent control if they pass the Justice for Renters Act&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://oag.ca.gov/system/files/initiatives/pdfs/22-0008%20%28%20%26quot%3BJustice%20for%20Renters%20Act%26quot%3B%20%29.pdf">proposal</a>&nbsp;in 2024. The ballot initiative would repeal the<a target="_blank" href="https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displayText.xhtml?lawCode=CIV&amp;division=3.&amp;title=5.&amp;part=4.&amp;chapter=2.7.&amp;article=">&nbsp;Costa-Hawkins Rental Act</a>, a 1995 law that exempts single-family homes and condominiums, plus post-1995 construction, from rent control.Dan Yukelson, executive director of the Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles, said California’s rent regulation policies are “oppressive” on the rental industry, with many mom-and-pop landlords hamstrung by rising costs of managing properties.Yukelson said one of the harms in a possible repeal of the Costa-Hawkins Act is the elimination of vacancy decontrol, which sets the rent amount at market or near market levels when the unit is vacant. He says the act helps smaller landlords compete in a tight California housing market.“Smaller owners who just can’t deal with these layers of regulation are getting out of the [rental] business,” Yukelson told Stateline. “There’s a complete misunderstanding on the side of elected officials on what it takes to operate rental housing. So, either the government needs to run all the rental housing, or there needs to be some easing up on these regulations.”At least 30 states&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.naahq.org/rent-control-policy#:~:text=Currently%2C%2033%20states%20preempt%20local,the%20state%20or%20local%20level.">preempt local governments</a>&nbsp;from adopting rent control laws. Five states without statewide rent regulations — Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey and New York, along with Washington, D.C. — allow rent control at the local level.The National Multifamily Housing Council tracked 23 states that had measures related to rent control enactment in the works heading into 2023, but none has led to a statewide measure or repeal.However, a few states were successful in strengthening preemption laws this year.In March, Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed off on a bill&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2023/102/ByCategory">preventing local rent control.</a>Montana enacted a&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://laws.leg.mt.gov/legprd/LAW0210W$BSIV.ActionQuery?P_BILL_NO1=105&amp;P_BLTP_BILL_TYP_CD=SB&amp;Z_ACTION=Find&amp;P_SESS=20231">rent control ban</a>&nbsp;on private and commercial property. State Sen. Steve Fitzpatrick, a high-ranking Republican in the legislature, told Stateline that rent control measures could discourage landlords from investing in the state’s real estate market.“This was a way for us to fill some of the gaps in our previous laws, where a particular cap measure could be implemented on certain property,” Fitzpatrick said.So far this year, efforts to repeal these preemptions have fallen short.<a target="_blank" href="https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/hb23-1115">Legislation</a>&nbsp;that would have repealed Colorado’s 4-decade-old ban on local rent control died in a committee. Similar bills&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/legislation/document/20232024/214154">in Georgia</a>,&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.nmlegis.gov/Sessions/23%20Regular/bills/senate/SB0099.pdf">New Mexico</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://webservices.ncleg.gov/ViewBillDocument/2023/1419/0/DRS15099-NK-56B">North Carolina</a>&nbsp;also failed to advance.<h2>Little consensus on rent regulation</h2>Economists and housing experts disagree on whether rent control is effective. One challenge is that rent regulation differs so greatly from city to city, according to Jen Butler, a spokesperson for the National Low Income Housing Coalition, an advocacy group.“This diversity in rent stabilization policies has resulted in mixed evidence as to the impact of them on the rental housing supply and rents,” Butler said in an interview. “These policies protect renters currently in homes covered by the policy from unaffordable rent increases — but they can also encourage these same renters to remain in place longer than they typically would, while renters in homes not covered by the policy are left without similar protections.”Proponents of rent control, among them Rutgers University economist Mark Paul, say arguments against rent control lack empirical evidence.“I think it’s important to note that rent control does not say landlords can’t profit off their property. That’s not the point of rent control,” said Paul. “Rent control is limiting the ability of landlords, or corporately owned property owners from raising the rent by 6, 8 or 12% a year and pricing people out of their homes.”A&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.cura.umn.edu/research/minneapolis-rent-stabilization-study">2021 University of Minnesota study</a>&nbsp;published by the university’s Center for Urban and Regional Affairs suggests that rent control policies increased housing stability, and there is little evidence that those policies negatively impacted new construction — which is dependent on localized economic cycles and credit markets.That same study, which reviewed rent control policies of four cities (Oakland, California; Newark, New Jersey; Sacramento, California; and Portland, Oregon) pointed out that there is debate on whether most rent regulation benefits are going to the neediest renters.When Minneapolis floated the possibility of rent stabilization earlier this year, a study requested by the city council advised against it, suggesting it would not offer much help to city residents.<h2>Rising rents</h2>The No. 1 driver of long-term U.S. homelessness, housing policy experts and advocates said recently&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RJYszWSs2A&amp;feature=youtu.be">during a joint press call with media members</a>, is rising rents.“For 75 years, the long-term trend has been that the cost of modest rental housing has been going up faster than modest income,” said Steve Berg, chief policy officer for the National Alliance to End Homelessness.Between 2019 and 2021,&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.cbpp.org/among-lowest-income-renters-latine-and-black-renters-experienced-greatest-rent-increase">median rents</a>&nbsp;went up by 12% for renters in households making less than $15,000, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a left-leaning think tank.Those increases, said Peggy Bailey, vice president of housing and income security for the center, “were not met with corresponding increases in income” and<a target="_blank" href="https://www.cbpp.org/among-lowest-income-renters-latine-and-black-renters-experienced-greatest-rent-increase">&nbsp;disproportionately affected Black and Latino renters</a>.According to 2017-2021 census data, more than 19 million renters in the United States are considered rent-burdened, spending more than 30% of their income on rent. In New York City, renters on average spend more than 68% of their income on rent, according to a January Moody’s Analytics&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://cre.moodysanalytics.com/insights/market-insights/q4-2022-housing-affordability-update/">report</a>.There also is a dearth of affordable rental housing. Low-cost rentals fell by 3.9 million units over the past decade, according to the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies’ State of the Nation’s Housing&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.jchs.harvard.edu/sites/default/files/reports/files/Harvard_JCHS_The_State_of_the_Nations_Housing_2023.pdf">report</a>.In Indiana, which&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://iga.in.gov/laws/2022/ic/titles/32#32-31-1-20">prohibits local rent control</a>, Indiana University McKinney School of Law professor Fran Quigley has had his law students working closely with tenants in Indiana’s eviction court. Rent control, Quigley believes, could change housing outcomes in the Hoosier State, where&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://evictionresearch.net/indiana/">evictions</a>&nbsp;surpassed historical average levels in March 2022.“I think rent control momentum is going to continue to build, because we have 44 million rental households in this nation and that’s a really powerful political block,” said Quigley. “Folks get mobilized, speak out, and rent control on the ballot does very well. … That works in the favor of momentum going forward.”This story was produced by&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://stateline.org/">Stateline</a>, an affiliate of States Newsroom.

Some cities are pushing for rent control. They’re meeting resistance

LOS ANGELES (AP) — William Friedkin, the Oscar winning director who became a top filmmaker in his 30s with the gripping “The French Connection” and the horrifying “The Exorcist” and struggled in the following decades to match his early success has died. He was 87.

Friedkin, who won the best director Oscar for “The French Connection,” died Monday in Los Angeles, Marcia Franklin, his executive assistant for 24 years, told The Associated Press on behalf of his family and wife, former studio head Sherry Lansing.

“The French Connection,” based on a true story, deals with the efforts of maverick New York City police Detective James “Popeye” Doyle to track down Frenchman Fernando Rey, mastermind of a large drug pipeline funneling heroin into the United States. It contains one of the most thrilling chase scenes ever filmed.

Doyle, played by Gene Hackman in an Oscar-winning performance, barely misses making the arrest on a subway train, then hurries to his police car to follow the train as it emerges on an elevated railway. He races underneath, dodging cars, trucks and pedestrians, including a woman pushing a baby buggy, before abandoning the pursuit.

The movie also won Academy Awards for best picture, screenplay and film editing and led critics to hail Friedkin, then just 32, as a leading member of a new generation of filmmakers.

He followed with an even bigger blockbuster, “The Exorcist,” based on William Peter Blatty’s best-selling novel about a 12-year-old girl possessed by the devil.

The harrowing scenes of the girl’s possession and a splendid cast, including Linda Blair as the girl, Ellen Burstyn as her mother and Max Von Sydow and Jason Miller as the priests who try to exorcise the devil from her, helped make the film a box-office sensation. It was so scary for its era that many viewers fled the theater before it was over and some reported being unable to sleep for days afterward.

It received 10 Oscar nominations, including one for Friedkin as director, and won two, for Blatty’s script and for sound.

With that second success, Friedkin would go on to direct movies and TV shows well into the 21st century. But he would never again come close to matching the success of those early works.

Other film credits included “To Live and Die in L.A.,” “Cruising,” “Rules of Engagement” and a TV remake of the classic play and Sidney Lumet movie “12 Angry Men.” Friedkin also directed episodes for such TV shows as “The Twilight Zone,” “Rebel Highway” and “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.”

Born in Chicago on Aug. 29, 1939, he began working in local TV productions as a teenager. By age 16 he was directing live shows.

“My main influence was dramatic radio when I was a kid,” he said in a 2001 interview. “I remember listening to it in the dark, Everything was left to the imagination. It was just sound. I think of the sounds first and then the images.”

He moved from live shows to documentaries, making “The People Versus Paul Crump,” in 1962. It was the story of a prison inmate who rehabilitates himself on Death Row after being sentenced for the murder of a guard during a botched robbery at a Chicago food plant.

Producer David Wolper was so impressed with it that he brought Friedkin to Hollywood to direct network TV shows.

After working on such shows as “The Bold Ones,” “The Alfred Hitchcock Hour” and the documentary “The Thin Blue Line,” Friedkin landed his first film, 1967’s “Good Times.” It was a lighthearted musical romp headlined by the pop duo Sonny and Cher in what would be their only movie appearance together.

He followed that with “The Night They Raided Minsky’s,” about backstage life at a burlesque theater, and “The Birthday Party,” from a Harold Pinter play. He then gained critical attention with 1970’s “The Boys in the Band,” a landmark film about gay men.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/8/1691432511273.png" alt="“The Exorcist,” based on William Peter Blatty’s best-selling novel about a 12-year-old girl possessed by the devil." />
 <figcaption>“The Exorcist,” based on William Peter Blatty’s best-selling novel about a 12-year-old girl possessed by the devil.</figcaption>
 </figure>LOS ANGELES (AP) — William Friedkin, the Oscar winning director who became a top filmmaker in his 30s with the gripping “The French Connection” and the horrifying “The Exorcist” and struggled in the following decades to match his early success has died. He was 87.Friedkin, who won the best director Oscar for “The French Connection,” died Monday in Los Angeles, Marcia Franklin, his executive assistant for 24 years, told The Associated Press on behalf of his family and wife, former studio head Sherry Lansing.“The French Connection,” based on a true story, deals with the efforts of maverick New York City police Detective James “Popeye” Doyle to track down Frenchman Fernando Rey, mastermind of a large drug pipeline funneling heroin into the United States. It contains one of the most thrilling chase scenes ever filmed.Doyle, played by Gene Hackman in an Oscar-winning performance, barely misses making the arrest on a subway train, then hurries to his police car to follow the train as it emerges on an elevated railway. He races underneath, dodging cars, trucks and pedestrians, including a woman pushing a baby buggy, before abandoning the pursuit.The movie also won Academy Awards for best picture, screenplay and film editing and led critics to hail Friedkin, then just 32, as a leading member of a new generation of filmmakers.He followed with an even bigger blockbuster, “The Exorcist,” based on William Peter Blatty’s best-selling novel about a 12-year-old girl possessed by the devil.The harrowing scenes of the girl’s possession and a splendid cast, including Linda Blair as the girl, Ellen Burstyn as her mother and Max Von Sydow and Jason Miller as the priests who try to exorcise the devil from her, helped make the film a box-office sensation. It was so scary for its era that many viewers fled the theater before it was over and some reported being unable to sleep for days afterward.It received 10 Oscar nominations, including one for Friedkin as director, and won two, for Blatty’s script and for sound.With that second success, Friedkin would go on to direct movies and TV shows well into the 21st century. But he would never again come close to matching the success of those early works.Other film credits included “To Live and Die in L.A.,” “Cruising,” “Rules of Engagement” and a TV remake of the classic play and Sidney Lumet movie “12 Angry Men.” Friedkin also directed episodes for such TV shows as “The Twilight Zone,” “Rebel Highway” and “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.”Born in Chicago on Aug. 29, 1939, he began working in local TV productions as a teenager. By age 16 he was directing live shows.“My main influence was dramatic radio when I was a kid,” he said in a 2001 interview. “I remember listening to it in the dark, Everything was left to the imagination. It was just sound. I think of the sounds first and then the images.”He moved from live shows to documentaries, making “The People Versus Paul Crump,” in 1962. It was the story of a prison inmate who rehabilitates himself on Death Row after being sentenced for the murder of a guard during a botched robbery at a Chicago food plant.Producer David Wolper was so impressed with it that he brought Friedkin to Hollywood to direct network TV shows.After working on such shows as “The Bold Ones,” “The Alfred Hitchcock Hour” and the documentary “The Thin Blue Line,” Friedkin landed his first film, 1967’s “Good Times.” It was a lighthearted musical romp headlined by the pop duo Sonny and Cher in what would be their only movie appearance together.He followed that with “The Night They Raided Minsky’s,” about backstage life at a burlesque theater, and “The Birthday Party,” from a Harold Pinter play. He then gained critical attention with 1970’s “The Boys in the Band,” a landmark film about gay men.Friedkin had three brief marriages in the 1970s and ’80s, to French actress Jeanne Moreau; British actress Lesley-Anne Down, with whom he had a son; and longtime Los Angeles TV news anchor Kelly Lange. In 1991 he married Paramount studio executive Lansing.In recent years, Friedkin was often called on to reflect on his career around the 50th anniversaries of his classics and was always candid. He also wrote a memoir, “The Friedkin Connection,” which came out in 2012. And he wasn't done working yet: A new film, “The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial,” starring Kiefer Sutherland, is set to premiere at the Venice Film Festival next month.Thinking back to the iconic car chase sequence in “The French Connection,” Friedkin told NBC News in 2021 that it was legitimately life-threatening and that he'd never do it again.“Everything you see, we actually did. There was no CGI then. There was no way to fake it. I just put the pedal to the metal, and we went 90 miles an hour in city traffic,” he said. “The fact that nobody got hurt is a miracle. The fact that I didn’t get killed, the fact that some of the crew members didn’t get hurt or killed. That’s a chance I would never take again. I was young and I didn’t give a damn. I just went out and did it. I set out to make a great chase scene and I didn’t care about the consequences, and now I do.”