KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The death toll from Russian missile strikes on eastern Ukraine's city of Sloviansk rose to 11 as rescue crews tried to reach people trapped in the rubble of an apartment building, Ukrainian authorities said.

Ukraine's air force said the country would soon have weapons with which to try to prevent attacks like the one on Friday. The delivery of the Patriot air defense system&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-zelenskyy-b90ce5a55b1f6b820d03da96612b3796">promised by the U.S.</a>&nbsp;was expected in Ukraine sometime after Easter, Ukrainian air force spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat said.

The primarily Orthodox Christian country observed Easter on Sunday. Speaking Saturday on Ukrainian state TV, Ihnat declined to give a precise timeline for the arrival of the defensive missile system but said the public would know “as soon as the first Russian aircraft is shot down.”

A group of 65 Ukrainian soldiers&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ukraine-russia-war-patriot-missiles-fort-sill-8afb4a17cae52cb19428c5a5adcacb7f">completed their training</a>&nbsp;last month at Fort Sill, a U.S. Army post in Oklahoma, and returned to Europe to learn more about using the defensive missile system to track and shoot down enemy aircraft.

Officials said at the time that the Ukrainians would then go back to their country with a Patriot missile battery, which typically includes six mobile launchers, a mobile radar, a power generator and an engagement control center.

Germany and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-biden-politics-netherlands-government-united-states-03128d7faeb04340cc8a1421cf6ae42e">the Netherlands</a>&nbsp;also have pledged to provide a Patriot system each to Ukraine. In addition, a SAMP/T anti-missile system pledged by France and Italy “should enter Ukraine in the near future,” Ihnat said this week.

The Ukrainian military is looking to beef up its ability to intercept missiles as it prepares for an expected spring counter-offensive to retake Russian-occupied areas of the country. Although more than a year of fighting has depleted weapons supplies on both sides, Russian forces have intensified their 8 1/2-month campaign to seize the city of Bakhmut, the focus of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-bakhmut-3036cdd95c89ae2df31ded0ba80bb7c8">the war's longest battle</a>&nbsp;so far.

Bakhmut and Sloviansk are located about 45 kilometers (28 miles) apart in eastern Ukraine's Donetsk province.

Rescue teams in Sloviansk recovered the bodies of two people from under the rubble of a house hit in Friday's missile strikes, according to the State Emergency Service. They also searched Saturday for five people who remained in the wreckage of the apartment building, as well as the residents of three units who were reported missing, Vadym Liakh, the head of the local government, said.

Separately, a 48-year-old woman and her 28-year-old daughter died Saturday after Russian forces shelled a neighborhood of the city of Kherson, the regional administration said on Telegram. The southern port city was occupied by Russian forces in the early months of the war, but Ukrainian forces regained control of it in November, one of the most notable battlefield defeats for Moscow.

A new law&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-draft-mobilization-conscription-notices-bf18ad64dd08c9d11aab2e222cabfee9">signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin</a>&nbsp;on Friday that allows military offices to send draft notices electronically instead of delivering them in person is part of Russia’s preparation for a protracted war in Ukraine, the U.K. Defense Ministry said in a Saturday morning assessment.

According to British intelligence, a “unified registry of individuals eligible for military service” will be digitally linked to other government services, allowing Russian authorities to “punish draft-dodgers by automatically limiting employment rights and restricting foreign travel.”

Since the law does not come into force until later in the year, the U.K. Defense Ministry said the e-notices do not automatically point to a “major new wave of enforced mobilization” but rather form part of a “longer-term approach to provide personnel as Russia anticipates a lengthy conflict in Ukraine.”

Meanwhile, 52,000 young Russian men already have received draft orders as part of the country's regular spring call-up, and 21,000 of them qualified for military service, Col. Andrey Biryukov, who is in charge of mobilization, said Saturday.

Biryukov addressed concerns that the new electronic conscription law presaged a broader mobilization of reservists, like one Putin ordered in September.

“I’d like to stress that all army deferrals for citizens will still be valid. And e-draft orders will not be mailed in bulk,” Biryukov said.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/1/1673396092973.png" alt="-Ukrainian troops trained at Oklahoma’s Fort Sill Army base operating and maintaining the Patriot missile defense system-Photo U.S. Defense Department" />
 <figcaption>-Ukrainian troops trained at Oklahoma’s Fort Sill Army base operating and maintaining the Patriot missile defense system-Photo U.S. Defense Department</figcaption>
 </figure>KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The death toll from Russian missile strikes on eastern Ukraine's city of Sloviansk rose to 11 as rescue crews tried to reach people trapped in the rubble of an apartment building, Ukrainian authorities said.Ukraine's air force said the country would soon have weapons with which to try to prevent attacks like the one on Friday. The delivery of the Patriot air defense system&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-zelenskyy-b90ce5a55b1f6b820d03da96612b3796">promised by the U.S.</a>&nbsp;was expected in Ukraine sometime after Easter, Ukrainian air force spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat said.The primarily Orthodox Christian country observed Easter on Sunday. Speaking Saturday on Ukrainian state TV, Ihnat declined to give a precise timeline for the arrival of the defensive missile system but said the public would know “as soon as the first Russian aircraft is shot down.”A group of 65 Ukrainian soldiers&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ukraine-russia-war-patriot-missiles-fort-sill-8afb4a17cae52cb19428c5a5adcacb7f">completed their training</a>&nbsp;last month at Fort Sill, a U.S. Army post in Oklahoma, and returned to Europe to learn more about using the defensive missile system to track and shoot down enemy aircraft.Officials said at the time that the Ukrainians would then go back to their country with a Patriot missile battery, which typically includes six mobile launchers, a mobile radar, a power generator and an engagement control center.Germany and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-biden-politics-netherlands-government-united-states-03128d7faeb04340cc8a1421cf6ae42e">the Netherlands</a>&nbsp;also have pledged to provide a Patriot system each to Ukraine. In addition, a SAMP/T anti-missile system pledged by France and Italy “should enter Ukraine in the near future,” Ihnat said this week.The Ukrainian military is looking to beef up its ability to intercept missiles as it prepares for an expected spring counter-offensive to retake Russian-occupied areas of the country. Although more than a year of fighting has depleted weapons supplies on both sides, Russian forces have intensified their 8 1/2-month campaign to seize the city of Bakhmut, the focus of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-bakhmut-3036cdd95c89ae2df31ded0ba80bb7c8">the war's longest battle</a>&nbsp;so far.Bakhmut and Sloviansk are located about 45 kilometers (28 miles) apart in eastern Ukraine's Donetsk province.Rescue teams in Sloviansk recovered the bodies of two people from under the rubble of a house hit in Friday's missile strikes, according to the State Emergency Service. They also searched Saturday for five people who remained in the wreckage of the apartment building, as well as the residents of three units who were reported missing, Vadym Liakh, the head of the local government, said.Separately, a 48-year-old woman and her 28-year-old daughter died Saturday after Russian forces shelled a neighborhood of the city of Kherson, the regional administration said on Telegram. The southern port city was occupied by Russian forces in the early months of the war, but Ukrainian forces regained control of it in November, one of the most notable battlefield defeats for Moscow.A new law&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-draft-mobilization-conscription-notices-bf18ad64dd08c9d11aab2e222cabfee9">signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin</a>&nbsp;on Friday that allows military offices to send draft notices electronically instead of delivering them in person is part of Russia’s preparation for a protracted war in Ukraine, the U.K. Defense Ministry said in a Saturday morning assessment.According to British intelligence, a “unified registry of individuals eligible for military service” will be digitally linked to other government services, allowing Russian authorities to “punish draft-dodgers by automatically limiting employment rights and restricting foreign travel.”Since the law does not come into force until later in the year, the U.K. Defense Ministry said the e-notices do not automatically point to a “major new wave of enforced mobilization” but rather form part of a “longer-term approach to provide personnel as Russia anticipates a lengthy conflict in Ukraine.”Meanwhile, 52,000 young Russian men already have received draft orders as part of the country's regular spring call-up, and 21,000 of them qualified for military service, Col. Andrey Biryukov, who is in charge of mobilization, said Saturday.Biryukov addressed concerns that the new electronic conscription law presaged a broader mobilization of reservists, like one Putin ordered in September.“I’d like to stress that all army deferrals for citizens will still be valid. And e-draft orders will not be mailed in bulk,” Biryukov said.

Ukraine anxious for US missile system after latest Russian strike

ATCHISON COUNTY —One person was injured in an accident just after 8p.m. Saturday in Atchison.

According to Police Chief Mike Wilson, a Toyota Tacoma driven by Bryan Barraza, 23, Atchison, turned westbound into the 1400 Block of Country Club Road.

The pickup left the roadway on the south side and struck a residence. EMS transported Barraza was to a hospital for treatment of injuries. The accident remains under investigation.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/4/1681652399050.png" alt="photo Atchison Police" />
 <figcaption>photo Atchison Police</figcaption>
 </figure>ATCHISON COUNTY —One person was injured in an accident just after 8p.m. Saturday in Atchison.According to Police Chief Mike Wilson, a Toyota Tacoma driven by Bryan Barraza, 23, Atchison, turned westbound into the 1400 Block of Country Club Road.The pickup left the roadway on the south side and struck a residence. EMS transported Barraza was to a hospital for treatment of injuries. The accident remains under investigation.

Kansas man hospitalized after pickup crash into home

SEDGWICK COUNTY—One person died in an accident just after 12:30a.m. Sunday in Sedgwick County.

A Pontiac G6 driven by 18-year-old Madison Dahl of Haysville was northbound in the 1200 Block of Seneca from Harry in Wichita, according to Officer Trevor Macy.&nbsp; The driver lost control shortly after crossing the railroad tracks and collided with a tree.

Dahl was trapped in the vehicle. Wichita Fire Department personnel&nbsp; extricated her and transported her to an area hospital, where she was later pronounced deceased, according to Macy.

EMS also transported a 19-year-old male passenger to an area hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

This is the fifth fatality crash in 2023 and the fifth traffic fatality.

SEDGWICK COUNTY—One person died in an accident just after 12:30a.m. Sunday in Sedgwick County.A Pontiac G6 driven by 18-year-old Madison Dahl of Haysville was northbound in the 1200 Block of Seneca from Harry in Wichita, according to Officer Trevor Macy.&nbsp; The driver lost control shortly after crossing the railroad tracks and collided with a tree.Dahl was trapped in the vehicle. Wichita Fire Department personnel&nbsp; extricated her and transported her to an area hospital, where she was later pronounced deceased, according to Macy.EMS also transported a 19-year-old male passenger to an area hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.This is the fifth fatality crash in 2023 and the fifth traffic fatality.

18-year-old Kansas woman dies after car strikes a tree

SHAWNEE COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities investigating a shooting and have a suspect in custody.

Just before midnight Friday, police responded to report of gunshots in the area of the 700 Block . of SW Taylor Street in Topeka, according to Police Lt. Edward Stanley.&nbsp;

First responders found three individuals suffering from gunshot wounds. Two of these victims’ injuries were considered non-life threatening. One of the victim’s injuries was considered life-threatening. All three were transported to a local area hospital.

As a result of the investigation, police arrested Marcus D. Kindle, 42, of Topeka on requested charges of Aggravated Battery, Aggravated Burglary, Aggravated Assault, Aggravated Child Endangerment, Possession of Marijuana, according to Stanley.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/4/1681650123035.png" alt="Kindle-photo Shawnee Co." />
 <figcaption>Kindle-photo Shawnee Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>SHAWNEE COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities investigating a shooting and have a suspect in custody.Just before midnight Friday, police responded to report of gunshots in the area of the 700 Block . of SW Taylor Street in Topeka, according to Police Lt. Edward Stanley.&nbsp;First responders found three individuals suffering from gunshot wounds. Two of these victims’ injuries were considered non-life threatening. One of the victim’s injuries was considered life-threatening. All three were transported to a local area hospital.As a result of the investigation, police arrested Marcus D. Kindle, 42, of Topeka on requested charges of Aggravated Battery, Aggravated Burglary, Aggravated Assault, Aggravated Child Endangerment, Possession of Marijuana, according to Stanley.

Kan. man accused in shooting that sent three to the hospital

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Montana's House gave final passage Friday to a bill banning the social media app TikTok from operating in the state, a move that's bound to face legal challenges but also serve as a testing ground for the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/tiktok-ban-ceo-congressional-hearing-bytedance-china-44d948c5b0ba18e2a714e0fa62d52779">TikTok-free America many national lawmakers envision</a>&nbsp;due to concerns over potential Chinese spying.

The House voted 54-43 in favor of the measure, which would make Montana the first state with a total ban on the app. It goes further than prohibitions already put in place by nearly half the states — including Montana — and the U.S. federal government that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/why-is-tiktok-being-banned-7d2de01d3ac5ab2b8ec2239dc7f2b20d">prohibit TikTok on government-owned devices</a>.

The measure now goes to Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte, who declined to say Friday if he plans to sign it into law. A statement provided by spokesperson Brooke Metrione said the governor “will carefully consider” all bills the Legislature sends to his desk.

Gianforte banned TikTok on state government devices last year, saying at the time that the app posed a “significant risk” to sensitive state data.

TikTok spokesperson Brooke Oberwetter promised a legal challenge over the measure's constitutionality, saying the bill's supporters “have admitted that they have no feasible plan” to enforce “this attempt to censor American voices.”

The company "will continue to fight for TikTok users and creators in Montana whose livelihoods and First Amendment rights are threatened by this egregious government overreach,” Oberwetter said.

TikTok, which is owned by the Chinese tech company ByteDance, has been under intense scrutiny over&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/tiktok-bytedance-shou-zi-chew-8d8a6a9694357040d484670b7f4833be">worries it could hand over user data</a>&nbsp;to the Chinese government or push pro-Beijing propaganda and misinformation on the platform. Leaders at the FBI and the CIA and numerous lawmakers, both Democrats and Republicans, have raised such concerns but have not presented any evidence that it has happened.

Ban supporters point to two Chinese laws that compel companies in the country to cooperate with the government on state intelligence work. They also cite troubling episodes such as a disclosure by ByteDance in December that it fired four employees who accessed the IP addresses and other data of two journalists while attempting to uncover the source of a leaked report about the company.

Congress is considering legislation that does not single out TikTok specifically but gives the Commerce Department the ability more broadly to restrict foreign threats on tech platforms. That bill is being backed by the White House, but it has received pushback from privacy advocates, right-wing commentators and others who say the language is too expansive.

TikTok has said it has a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/tiktok-ban-china-biden-bytedance-data-misinformation-02b59e4a6611ce97c775da19de31d7ad">plan to protect U.S. user data</a>.

Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen, whose office drafted the state’s legislation, said in a social media post Friday that the bill “is a critical step to ensuring we are protecting Montanans’ privacy,” even as he acknowledged that a court battle looms.

The measure would prohibit downloads of TikTok in the state and would fine any “entity” — an app store or TikTok — $10,000 per day for each time someone “is offered the ability” to access or download the app. There would not be penalties for users.

The ban would not take effect until January 2024 and would become void if Congress passes a national measure or if TikTok severs its connections with China.

The bill was introduced in February, just weeks after a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/chinese-surveillance-balloon-united-states-montana-47248b0ef2b085620fcd866c105054be">Chinese spy balloon</a>&nbsp;drifted over Montana, but had been drafted prior to that.

A representative from the tech trade group TechNet told state lawmakers that app stores do not have the ability to geofence apps on a state-by-state basis, so the Apple App Store and Google Play Store could not enforce the law.

Ashley Sutton, TechNet’s executive director for Washington state and the northwest, said Thursday that the “responsibility should be on an app to determine where it can operate, not an app store.”

Knudsen, the attorney general, has said that apps for online gambling can be disabled in states that do not allow it, so the same should be possible for TikTok.

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Montana lawmakers moved one step closer Thursday to passing a bill to ban TikTok from operating in the state, a move that’s bound to face legal challenges but also serve as a testing ground for the TikTok-free America that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/tiktok-ban-ceo-congressional-hearing-bytedance-china-44d948c5b0ba18e2a714e0fa62d52779">many national lawmakers have envisioned</a>.

Montana's proposal, which has backing from the state's GOP-controlled legislature, is more sweeping than bans in place in nearly half the states and the U.S. federal government that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/why-is-tiktok-being-banned-7d2de01d3ac5ab2b8ec2239dc7f2b20d">prohibit TikTok on government devices</a>.

The House endorsed the bill 60-39 on Thursday. A final House vote will likely take place Friday before the bill goes to Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte. He has banned TikTok on government devices in Montana. The Senate passed the bill 30-20 in March.

TikTok, which is owned by the Chinese tech company ByteDance, has been under intense scrutiny over&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/tiktok-bytedance-shou-zi-chew-8d8a6a9694357040d484670b7f4833be">concerns it could hand over user data</a>&nbsp;to the Chinese government or push pro-Beijing propaganda and misinformation on the platform. Leaders at the FBI, CIA and numerous lawmakers of both parties have raised those concerns but haven’t presented any evidence to prove it has happened.

Supporters of a ban point to two Chinese laws that compel companies in the country to cooperate with the government on state intelligence work. They also point out other troubling episodes, such as a disclosure by ByteDance in December that it fired four employees who accessed the IP addresses and other data of two journalists while attempting to uncover the source of a leaked report about the company.

Congress is considering legislation that doesn't call out TikTok, but gives the Commerce Department the ability to restrict foreign threats on tech platforms. That bill is being backed by the White House, but it has received pushback from privacy advocates, right-wing commentators and others who say the language is too broad.

Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen urged state lawmakers to pass the bill because he wasn't sure Congress would act quickly on a federal ban.

“I think Montana’s got an opportunity here to be a leader,” Knudsen, a Republican, told a House committee in March. He says the app is a tool used by the Chinese government to spy on Montanans.

Montana's ban would not take effect until January 2024 and would be void if Congress passes a ban or if TikTok severs its Chinese connections.

The bill would prohibit downloads of TikTok in Montana and would fine any “entity” — an app store or TikTok — $10,000 per day for each time someone “is offered the ability” to access the social media platform or download the app. The penalties would not apply to users.

Opponents argued the bill amounted to government overreach and that residents could easily circumvent the proposed ban by using a Virtual Private Network. A VPN encrypts internet traffic and makes it more difficult for third parties to track online activities, steal data and determine a person's location.

At a hearing for the bill in March, a representative from the tech trade group TechNet said app stores also “do not have the ability to geofence” apps on a state by state basis and that it would be impossible for its members, like Apple and Google, to prevent TikTok from being downloaded in Montana.

Knudsen said Thursday the geofencing technology is used with online sports gambling apps, which he said are deactivated in states where online gambling is illegal. Ashley Sutton, TechNet’s executive director for Washington state and the northwest, said in a statement Thursday that the "responsibility should be on an app to determine where it can operate, not an app store."

“We’ve expressed these concerns to lawmakers. We hope the governor will work with lawmakers to amend the legislation to ensure companies that aren’t intended targets of the legislation" aren't affected, Sutton said.

TikTok said in a statement it will “continue to fight for TikTok users and creators in Montana whose livelihoods and First Amendment rights are threatened by this egregious government overreach.”

Some opponents of the bill have argued the state wasn't looking to ban other social media apps that collect similar types of data from their users.

“We also believe this is a blatant exercise of censorship and is an egregious violation of Montanans' free speech rights,” said Keegan Medrano with the ACLU of Montana.

Democratic Rep. Katie Sullivan offered an amendment Thursday to broaden the ban to include any social media app that collected personal information and transferred it to a foreign adversary, such as Russia, Iran, Cuba, North Korea and Venezuela, along with China. The amendment was narrowly rejected 48-51.

Supporters of the bill said it made sense to target TikTok first because of specific concerns with China and that it was a step in the right direction even if it doesn't address challenges related to other social media companies.

TikTok has been pushing back against the bill. The company, which has 150 million users in the U.S., has encouraged users in the state to speak out against the bill and hired lobbyists to do so as well. It has also purchased billboards, run full-page newspaper ads and has a website opposing Montana’s legislation. Some ads placed in local newspapers highlight how local businesses were able to use the app to drive sales.

The bill would “show Montana doesn’t support entrepreneurs in our own state,” Shauna White Bear, who owns White Bear Moccasins, said during a March 28 hearing. She noted her business receives much more engagement on TikTok than on other social media sites.

Knudsen, the attorney general whose office drafted the bill, said he expects the bill to face legal challenges if it passes.

“Frankly, I think it probably needs the courts to step in here,” he said. “This is a really interesting, novel legal question that I think is ripe for some new jurisprudence.”

The Montana bill isn't the first blanket ban the company has faced. In 2020, then-President Donald Trump issued executive orders that banned the use of TikTok and the Chinese messaging platform WeChat. Those efforts were nixed by the courts and shelved by the Biden administration.

TikTok continued&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/tiktok-ban-china-cfius-national-security-a7f59032a6a68c67470a0746d560e411">negotiations with the administration</a>&nbsp;on the security concerns tied to the app. Amid rising geopolitical tensions with China, the Biden administration more recently has threatened it could ban the app if the company's Chinese owners don't sell their stakes. To avoid either outcome, TikTok has been trying to sell a data safety proposal called “Project Texas” that would route all its U.S. user data to servers operated by the software giant Oracle.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/12/1670097767255.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Montana's House gave final passage Friday to a bill banning the social media app TikTok from operating in the state, a move that's bound to face legal challenges but also serve as a testing ground for the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/tiktok-ban-ceo-congressional-hearing-bytedance-china-44d948c5b0ba18e2a714e0fa62d52779">TikTok-free America many national lawmakers envision</a>&nbsp;due to concerns over potential Chinese spying.The House voted 54-43 in favor of the measure, which would make Montana the first state with a total ban on the app. It goes further than prohibitions already put in place by nearly half the states — including Montana — and the U.S. federal government that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/why-is-tiktok-being-banned-7d2de01d3ac5ab2b8ec2239dc7f2b20d">prohibit TikTok on government-owned devices</a>.The measure now goes to Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte, who declined to say Friday if he plans to sign it into law. A statement provided by spokesperson Brooke Metrione said the governor “will carefully consider” all bills the Legislature sends to his desk.Gianforte banned TikTok on state government devices last year, saying at the time that the app posed a “significant risk” to sensitive state data.TikTok spokesperson Brooke Oberwetter promised a legal challenge over the measure's constitutionality, saying the bill's supporters “have admitted that they have no feasible plan” to enforce “this attempt to censor American voices.”The company "will continue to fight for TikTok users and creators in Montana whose livelihoods and First Amendment rights are threatened by this egregious government overreach,” Oberwetter said.TikTok, which is owned by the Chinese tech company ByteDance, has been under intense scrutiny over&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/tiktok-bytedance-shou-zi-chew-8d8a6a9694357040d484670b7f4833be">worries it could hand over user data</a>&nbsp;to the Chinese government or push pro-Beijing propaganda and misinformation on the platform. Leaders at the FBI and the CIA and numerous lawmakers, both Democrats and Republicans, have raised such concerns but have not presented any evidence that it has happened.Ban supporters point to two Chinese laws that compel companies in the country to cooperate with the government on state intelligence work. They also cite troubling episodes such as a disclosure by ByteDance in December that it fired four employees who accessed the IP addresses and other data of two journalists while attempting to uncover the source of a leaked report about the company.Congress is considering legislation that does not single out TikTok specifically but gives the Commerce Department the ability more broadly to restrict foreign threats on tech platforms. That bill is being backed by the White House, but it has received pushback from privacy advocates, right-wing commentators and others who say the language is too expansive.TikTok has said it has a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/tiktok-ban-china-biden-bytedance-data-misinformation-02b59e4a6611ce97c775da19de31d7ad">plan to protect U.S. user data</a>.Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen, whose office drafted the state’s legislation, said in a social media post Friday that the bill “is a critical step to ensuring we are protecting Montanans’ privacy,” even as he acknowledged that a court battle looms.The measure would prohibit downloads of TikTok in the state and would fine any “entity” — an app store or TikTok — $10,000 per day for each time someone “is offered the ability” to access or download the app. There would not be penalties for users.The ban would not take effect until January 2024 and would become void if Congress passes a national measure or if TikTok severs its connections with China.The bill was introduced in February, just weeks after a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/chinese-surveillance-balloon-united-states-montana-47248b0ef2b085620fcd866c105054be">Chinese spy balloon</a>&nbsp;drifted over Montana, but had been drafted prior to that.A representative from the tech trade group TechNet told state lawmakers that app stores do not have the ability to geofence apps on a state-by-state basis, so the Apple App Store and Google Play Store could not enforce the law.Ashley Sutton, TechNet’s executive director for Washington state and the northwest, said Thursday that the “responsibility should be on an app to determine where it can operate, not an app store.”Knudsen, the attorney general, has said that apps for online gambling can be disabled in states that do not allow it, so the same should be possible for TikTok.-----------HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Montana lawmakers moved one step closer Thursday to passing a bill to ban TikTok from operating in the state, a move that’s bound to face legal challenges but also serve as a testing ground for the TikTok-free America that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/tiktok-ban-ceo-congressional-hearing-bytedance-china-44d948c5b0ba18e2a714e0fa62d52779">many national lawmakers have envisioned</a>.Montana's proposal, which has backing from the state's GOP-controlled legislature, is more sweeping than bans in place in nearly half the states and the U.S. federal government that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/why-is-tiktok-being-banned-7d2de01d3ac5ab2b8ec2239dc7f2b20d">prohibit TikTok on government devices</a>.The House endorsed the bill 60-39 on Thursday. A final House vote will likely take place Friday before the bill goes to Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte. He has banned TikTok on government devices in Montana. The Senate passed the bill 30-20 in March.TikTok, which is owned by the Chinese tech company ByteDance, has been under intense scrutiny over&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/tiktok-bytedance-shou-zi-chew-8d8a6a9694357040d484670b7f4833be">concerns it could hand over user data</a>&nbsp;to the Chinese government or push pro-Beijing propaganda and misinformation on the platform. Leaders at the FBI, CIA and numerous lawmakers of both parties have raised those concerns but haven’t presented any evidence to prove it has happened.Supporters of a ban point to two Chinese laws that compel companies in the country to cooperate with the government on state intelligence work. They also point out other troubling episodes, such as a disclosure by ByteDance in December that it fired four employees who accessed the IP addresses and other data of two journalists while attempting to uncover the source of a leaked report about the company.Congress is considering legislation that doesn't call out TikTok, but gives the Commerce Department the ability to restrict foreign threats on tech platforms. That bill is being backed by the White House, but it has received pushback from privacy advocates, right-wing commentators and others who say the language is too broad.Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen urged state lawmakers to pass the bill because he wasn't sure Congress would act quickly on a federal ban.“I think Montana’s got an opportunity here to be a leader,” Knudsen, a Republican, told a House committee in March. He says the app is a tool used by the Chinese government to spy on Montanans.Montana's ban would not take effect until January 2024 and would be void if Congress passes a ban or if TikTok severs its Chinese connections.The bill would prohibit downloads of TikTok in Montana and would fine any “entity” — an app store or TikTok — $10,000 per day for each time someone “is offered the ability” to access the social media platform or download the app. The penalties would not apply to users.Opponents argued the bill amounted to government overreach and that residents could easily circumvent the proposed ban by using a Virtual Private Network. A VPN encrypts internet traffic and makes it more difficult for third parties to track online activities, steal data and determine a person's location.At a hearing for the bill in March, a representative from the tech trade group TechNet said app stores also “do not have the ability to geofence” apps on a state by state basis and that it would be impossible for its members, like Apple and Google, to prevent TikTok from being downloaded in Montana.Knudsen said Thursday the geofencing technology is used with online sports gambling apps, which he said are deactivated in states where online gambling is illegal. Ashley Sutton, TechNet’s executive director for Washington state and the northwest, said in a statement Thursday that the "responsibility should be on an app to determine where it can operate, not an app store."“We’ve expressed these concerns to lawmakers. We hope the governor will work with lawmakers to amend the legislation to ensure companies that aren’t intended targets of the legislation" aren't affected, Sutton said.TikTok said in a statement it will “continue to fight for TikTok users and creators in Montana whose livelihoods and First Amendment rights are threatened by this egregious government overreach.”Some opponents of the bill have argued the state wasn't looking to ban other social media apps that collect similar types of data from their users.“We also believe this is a blatant exercise of censorship and is an egregious violation of Montanans' free speech rights,” said Keegan Medrano with the ACLU of Montana.Democratic Rep. Katie Sullivan offered an amendment Thursday to broaden the ban to include any social media app that collected personal information and transferred it to a foreign adversary, such as Russia, Iran, Cuba, North Korea and Venezuela, along with China. The amendment was narrowly rejected 48-51.Supporters of the bill said it made sense to target TikTok first because of specific concerns with China and that it was a step in the right direction even if it doesn't address challenges related to other social media companies.TikTok has been pushing back against the bill. The company, which has 150 million users in the U.S., has encouraged users in the state to speak out against the bill and hired lobbyists to do so as well. It has also purchased billboards, run full-page newspaper ads and has a website opposing Montana’s legislation. Some ads placed in local newspapers highlight how local businesses were able to use the app to drive sales.The bill would “show Montana doesn’t support entrepreneurs in our own state,” Shauna White Bear, who owns White Bear Moccasins, said during a March 28 hearing. She noted her business receives much more engagement on TikTok than on other social media sites.Knudsen, the attorney general whose office drafted the bill, said he expects the bill to face legal challenges if it passes.“Frankly, I think it probably needs the courts to step in here,” he said. “This is a really interesting, novel legal question that I think is ripe for some new jurisprudence.”The Montana bill isn't the first blanket ban the company has faced. In 2020, then-President Donald Trump issued executive orders that banned the use of TikTok and the Chinese messaging platform WeChat. Those efforts were nixed by the courts and shelved by the Biden administration.TikTok continued&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/tiktok-ban-china-cfius-national-security-a7f59032a6a68c67470a0746d560e411">negotiations with the administration</a>&nbsp;on the security concerns tied to the app. Amid rising geopolitical tensions with China, the Biden administration more recently has threatened it could ban the app if the company's Chinese owners don't sell their stakes. To avoid either outcome, TikTok has been trying to sell a data safety proposal called “Project Texas” that would route all its U.S. user data to servers operated by the software giant Oracle.

1st U.S. state is a signature away from total TikTok ban

WASHINGTON (AP) — A senior Federal Reserve official said Friday that there has been little progress on inflation for more than a year and that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/federal-reserve-inflation-banks-rates-economy-jobs-c13abd4ebcd42c13bdf5ebe8299e6a48">more interest rate hikes are needed</a>&nbsp;to get prices under control.

Christopher Waller, a member of the Fed's governing board, did not specify how many more increases he supports, but said in written remarks that inflation “is still much too high and so my job is not done.”

Last month,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/inflation-federal-reserve-interest-rates-recession-prices-d933973089cce63f07cceb6da1e5dbc9">inflation slowed as food and gas prices fell</a>, but excluding those volatile categories, “core” prices kept rising and are 5.6% higher than a year ago. Waller pointed out that core prices have risen at about that same pace, or higher, since December 2021.

Waller's comments expressing support for more rate hikes follow a forecast by the Fed's staff economists, revealed in Fed minutes Wednesday, for a “mild recession" later this year.

Waller said that, like most of his colleagues, he is closely watching whether the collapse of two large banks last month will lead to a broad cut back in lending by the banking system, which could slow the economy.

But so far it's not clear how large the impact will be, he said, and job growth remains strong and inflation is far above the Fed's 2% target, “so monetary policy needs to be tightened further."

His comments, to be delivered in San Antonio, Texas, echo those of several of his colleagues, who have said in recent weeks that they support at least one more rate hike. That would put the Fed's benchmark rate at about 5.1%, the highest in 16 years.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/1/1642689710083.jpeg" alt="Photo by Cole Reif" />
 <figcaption>Photo by Cole Reif</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — A senior Federal Reserve official said Friday that there has been little progress on inflation for more than a year and that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/federal-reserve-inflation-banks-rates-economy-jobs-c13abd4ebcd42c13bdf5ebe8299e6a48">more interest rate hikes are needed</a>&nbsp;to get prices under control.Christopher Waller, a member of the Fed's governing board, did not specify how many more increases he supports, but said in written remarks that inflation “is still much too high and so my job is not done.”Last month,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/inflation-federal-reserve-interest-rates-recession-prices-d933973089cce63f07cceb6da1e5dbc9">inflation slowed as food and gas prices fell</a>, but excluding those volatile categories, “core” prices kept rising and are 5.6% higher than a year ago. Waller pointed out that core prices have risen at about that same pace, or higher, since December 2021.Waller's comments expressing support for more rate hikes follow a forecast by the Fed's staff economists, revealed in Fed minutes Wednesday, for a “mild recession" later this year.Waller said that, like most of his colleagues, he is closely watching whether the collapse of two large banks last month will lead to a broad cut back in lending by the banking system, which could slow the economy.But so far it's not clear how large the impact will be, he said, and job growth remains strong and inflation is far above the Fed's 2% target, “so monetary policy needs to be tightened further."His comments, to be delivered in San Antonio, Texas, echo those of several of his colleagues, who have said in recent weeks that they support at least one more rate hike. That would put the Fed's benchmark rate at about 5.1%, the highest in 16 years.

Top Fed official sees need for more interest rate increases

KANSAS CITY – A man who used his business to steal customers’ identity information in a scheme to obtain hundreds of thousands of dollars in fraudulent car loans was sentenced in federal court Friday, according to the United State's Attorney.

Chris R. King, 48, Nixa, Mo., was sentenced by U.S. Chief District Judge Beth Phillips to four years in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered King to pay $646,597 in restitution to his victims and to forfeit the same amount to the government.

On Nov. 20, 2021, King pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, one count of wire fraud, and one count of aggravated identity theft.

King, formerly the co-owner of Queen City Motors, a used car business in Springfield, Mo., admitted that he stole the identity information of individuals who were interested in obtaining loans to purchase vehicles from him. King used that information, without the knowledge or authorization of the potential customers, to fraudulently submit loan applications and receive funds wired to his bank account from Credit Acceptance, a company that dealt specifically in the approval of subprime loans for individuals with poor credit ratings.

King fraudulently submitted at least 30 automobile loan applications and received cash deposits of approximately $783,475 between Nov. 1, 2018, and Nov. 8, 2020.

KANSAS CITY – A man who used his business to steal customers’ identity information in a scheme to obtain hundreds of thousands of dollars in fraudulent car loans was sentenced in federal court Friday, according to the United State's Attorney.Chris R. King, 48, Nixa, Mo., was sentenced by U.S. Chief District Judge Beth Phillips to four years in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered King to pay $646,597 in restitution to his victims and to forfeit the same amount to the government.On Nov. 20, 2021, King pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, one count of wire fraud, and one count of aggravated identity theft.King, formerly the co-owner of Queen City Motors, a used car business in Springfield, Mo., admitted that he stole the identity information of individuals who were interested in obtaining loans to purchase vehicles from him. King used that information, without the knowledge or authorization of the potential customers, to fraudulently submit loan applications and receive funds wired to his bank account from Credit Acceptance, a company that dealt specifically in the approval of subprime loans for individuals with poor credit ratings.King fraudulently submitted at least 30 automobile loan applications and received cash deposits of approximately $783,475 between Nov. 1, 2018, and Nov. 8, 2020.

Used car dealer sentenced for $783,000 fraud scheme

KANSAS CITY (AP) — A Kansas City hospital is suing Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey over what it calls his “burdensome” requests for records on gender-affirming care.

In a lawsuit filed Friday in Jackson County, attorneys for Children's Mercy Hospital asked a judge to deny Bailey's 54 investigative demands for records and testimony despite the hospital facing no allegations of wrongdoing, The Kansas City Star&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article274345295.html#storylink=cpy">reported</a>.

Bailey has demanded that the hospital provide records on any prescriptions for hormone blockers as well as surgeries for transgender patients, the lawsuit said. He's also asking for information on when the hospital has reported child abuse.

Bailey's spokeswoman, Madeline Sieren, questioned the hospital's contention that its gender transition practices are evidence-based and said the facility is refusing to provide “even a single document” to explain its practices.

“That is very concerning," Sieren said. "We look forward to prevailing in this request for information and learning what is truly going on with Children’s Mercy in connection with gender transition issues.”

In February, Bailey, a Republican who was appointed attorney general in November, announced he was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/josh-hawley-jamie-reed-st-louis-missouri-health-83953afb898dff7caa2b542c91480069">investigating</a>&nbsp;the Washington University Transgender Center at St. Louis Children’s Hospital after an employee alleged the center was providing children with gender-affirming care without informed consent.

Bailey has since expanded the investigation to other health care providers in Missouri.

On Thursday, Bailey introduced&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/missouri-transgender-health-care-andrew-baily-65c388ae85f610a2a885e2dff486bfe8">an emergency rule</a>&nbsp;that will impose several restrictions before adults and children can receive drugs, hormones or surgeries “for the purpose of transitioning gender.”

Republican lawmakers across the country, including Missouri, have proposed&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/transgender-lgbtq-gender-affirming-care-missouri-dd87f8682099f9073538c9c2ee544749">hundreds of laws</a>&nbsp;aimed at transgender people, with a particular emphasis on health care.

At least 13 states have enacted laws restricting or banning gender-affirming care for minors.

Children's Mercy argues in its lawsuit that releasing the information sought by Bailey would violate state and federal laws, including those involving private medical decisions made between patients and doctors.

The hospital also contends Bailey doesn't have the jurisdiction to investigate health care companies and physicians, which are regulated by the Missouri Board of Healing Arts.

The lawsuit also argues many of Bailey's requests are “poorly disguised interrogatories” that have nothing to do with gender-affirming care.

The hospital acknowledges the attorney general has the authority to investigate deceptive business practices under the state’s merchandise protection act but said the authority to use the law as an investigative tool has its limits.

The demand letter sent to Children’s Mercy “far exceeds those limits,” the lawsuit said. The facility also contends that hospitals are not regulated under that law, and said the hospital “cannot in good faith attempt to comply.”

Earlier this month, Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region and Southwest Missouri&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/transgender-health-planned-parenthood-missouri-a26bddc0a5658ba60c9ed8c23606917f">sued</a>&nbsp;over Bailey's document demands to that organization as part of its investigation.

Planned Parenthood also argued in its lawsuit that Bailey has no authority to investigate its clinic, which is inspected by the state health department.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/4/1681466878038.png" alt="Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey-courtesy photo" />
 <figcaption>Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey-courtesy photo</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY (AP) — A Kansas City hospital is suing Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey over what it calls his “burdensome” requests for records on gender-affirming care.In a lawsuit filed Friday in Jackson County, attorneys for Children's Mercy Hospital asked a judge to deny Bailey's 54 investigative demands for records and testimony despite the hospital facing no allegations of wrongdoing, The Kansas City Star&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article274345295.html#storylink=cpy">reported</a>.Bailey has demanded that the hospital provide records on any prescriptions for hormone blockers as well as surgeries for transgender patients, the lawsuit said. He's also asking for information on when the hospital has reported child abuse.Bailey's spokeswoman, Madeline Sieren, questioned the hospital's contention that its gender transition practices are evidence-based and said the facility is refusing to provide “even a single document” to explain its practices.“That is very concerning," Sieren said. "We look forward to prevailing in this request for information and learning what is truly going on with Children’s Mercy in connection with gender transition issues.”<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">We’re injecting an ounce of common sense into the conversation on gender transition intervention procedures because we believe everyone is entitled to informed consent.&mdash; Attorney General Andrew Bailey (@AGAndrewBailey) <a href="https://twitter.com/AGAndrewBailey/status/1647314873833881602?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 15, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>In February, Bailey, a Republican who was appointed attorney general in November, announced he was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/josh-hawley-jamie-reed-st-louis-missouri-health-83953afb898dff7caa2b542c91480069">investigating</a>&nbsp;the Washington University Transgender Center at St. Louis Children’s Hospital after an employee alleged the center was providing children with gender-affirming care without informed consent.Bailey has since expanded the investigation to other health care providers in Missouri.On Thursday, Bailey introduced&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/missouri-transgender-health-care-andrew-baily-65c388ae85f610a2a885e2dff486bfe8">an emergency rule</a>&nbsp;that will impose several restrictions before adults and children can receive drugs, hormones or surgeries “for the purpose of transitioning gender.”Republican lawmakers across the country, including Missouri, have proposed&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/transgender-lgbtq-gender-affirming-care-missouri-dd87f8682099f9073538c9c2ee544749">hundreds of laws</a>&nbsp;aimed at transgender people, with a particular emphasis on health care.At least 13 states have enacted laws restricting or banning gender-affirming care for minors.Children's Mercy argues in its lawsuit that releasing the information sought by Bailey would violate state and federal laws, including those involving private medical decisions made between patients and doctors.The hospital also contends Bailey doesn't have the jurisdiction to investigate health care companies and physicians, which are regulated by the Missouri Board of Healing Arts.The lawsuit also argues many of Bailey's requests are “poorly disguised interrogatories” that have nothing to do with gender-affirming care.The hospital acknowledges the attorney general has the authority to investigate deceptive business practices under the state’s merchandise protection act but said the authority to use the law as an investigative tool has its limits.The demand letter sent to Children’s Mercy “far exceeds those limits,” the lawsuit said. The facility also contends that hospitals are not regulated under that law, and said the hospital “cannot in good faith attempt to comply.”Earlier this month, Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region and Southwest Missouri&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/transgender-health-planned-parenthood-missouri-a26bddc0a5658ba60c9ed8c23606917f">sued</a>&nbsp;over Bailey's document demands to that organization as part of its investigation.Planned Parenthood also argued in its lawsuit that Bailey has no authority to investigate its clinic, which is inspected by the state health department.The hospital also contends Bailey doesn't have the jurisdiction to investigate health care companies and physicians, which are regulated by the Missouri Board of Healing Arts.The lawsuit also argues many of Bailey's requests are “poorly disguised interrogatories” that have nothing to do with gender-affirming care.The hospital acknowledges the attorney general has the authority to investigate deceptive business practices under the state’s merchandise protection act but said the authority to use the law as an investigative tool has its limits.The demand letter sent to Children’s Mercy “far exceeds those limits,” the lawsuit said. The facility also contends that hospitals are not regulated under that law, and said the hospital “cannot in good faith attempt to comply.”Earlier this month, Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region and Southwest Missouri&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/transgender-health-planned-parenthood-missouri-a26bddc0a5658ba60c9ed8c23606917f">sued</a>&nbsp;over Bailey's document demands to that organization as part of its investigation.Planned Parenthood also argued in its lawsuit that Bailey has no authority to investigate its clinic, which is inspected by the state health department.

Kansas City hospital sues prosecutor over transgender care data

JOHNSON COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a shooting that left one dead.

Just before 5p.m. Saturday, police were dispatched to a homicide at North Rogers Road and West 126th&nbsp;Street in Olathe, according to police.

Officers located, a woman with apparent gunshot wounds, deceased at the scene. EMS transported a man to a local hospital with apparent gunshot wounds. He later died.

Police reported no suspect information and released no additional details early Sunday.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/4/1681644967813.png" alt="Police on the scene of the homicide investigation -photo courtesy KMBC" />
 <figcaption>Police on the scene of the homicide investigation -photo courtesy KMBC</figcaption>
 </figure>JOHNSON COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a shooting that left one dead.Just before 5p.m. Saturday, police were dispatched to a homicide at North Rogers Road and West 126th&nbsp;Street in Olathe, according to police.Officers located, a woman with apparent gunshot wounds, deceased at the scene. EMS transported a man to a local hospital with apparent gunshot wounds. He later died.Police reported no suspect information and released no additional details early Sunday.

Double homicide: Man, woman victims in Kansas shooting

By RACHEL MIPRO <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/04/05/kansas-lawmakers-debate-definition-of-female-and-male-for-county-jails/">Kansas Reflector</a>

TOPEKA — Lawmakers moved forward with a baby box drop-off system meant to make child relinquishment safer and easier, as part of a legislative bundle that incorporates three child welfare bills.

<a target="_blank" href="http://kslegislature.org/li/b2023_24/measures/hb2024/">An amended form of the legislation</a>&nbsp;passed the Senate 36-1 and the House 116-0. The bill bundle, which includes a foster care bill of rights and provisions for child abuse evaluations, has been sent to the governor for a final decision.

The bill legalizes “newborn safety devices” for baby drop-offs. People who drop off infants to these devices within the legal window for relinquishment would be immune to criminal and civil liabilities.

Current law allows anyone who has legal custody of an infant 60 days old or younger and has not physically harmed the infant to give custody of the child to any on-duty employees at certain locations.

The devices would be equipped with locks, temperature control and alarm systems and installed in facilities designated for infant drop-offs, in an easily visible location.

The locations include police stations, sheriff’s offices, law enforcement centers, city or county health departments, fire stations or any county health department without criminal or civil liability. Installation of the devices would be voluntary.

Bill proponents say the legislation will help people too frightened to do in-person infant drop-offs, and would help promote safe anonymous infant relinquishments. Rep. Tim Johnson, a Bonner Springs Republican, said during&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/02/22/house-passes-kansas-bill-creating-method-of-anonymously-surrendering-an-infant/">a bill hearing</a>&nbsp;that 18 children had been surrendered to officials since 2017.

Included in the bill bundle were provisions to create a Kansas Department of Health and Environment program for child abuse review and evaluation referrals. The program would provide regulations and training for these evaluation processes. DCF would be required to make a CARE referral for a child ages 5 or younger when there is an allegation of physical abuse or physical neglect.

Under the bill, the results of the CARE exam would have to be considered by the Kansas Department for Children and Families secretary when making recommendations for the child’s care and placement.

In March 8 testimony in support of the provision, Rachel Marsh, CEO of the Children’s Alliance of Kansas, said properly investigating child abuse allegations is important.

“In child welfare, there is the risk of a false positive — determining a child has been abused when he has not; and a false negative — determining a child has not been abused when he has,” Marsh said. “Avoiding either of these errors is critically important to the wellbeing of children and their families.”

Another portion of the bill establishes&nbsp;a foster care bill of rights named in memorial to former Rep. Gail Finney, an advocate for reform to the foster care system. The Wichita Democrat&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2022/09/01/kansas-rep-gail-finney-fought-for-you-now-its-time-to-fight-for-her/">died last year</a>.

Rep. Susan Concannon, a Beloit Republican, spoke in favor of the bill bundle on the House floor for an April 6 vote. Concannon said the bill of rights was included in the bundle because the Senate didn’t have time to rule on it.

“The Senate didn’t have an opportunity, but they took a look at it and agreed to include it in this package,” Concannon said.

The bill of rights would&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/01/30/support-emerges-for-naming-kansas-foster-care-bill-of-rights-for-late-rep-gail-finney/">inform children about their right</a>&nbsp;to a stable environment, experience the least number of placements possible, have access to adequate clothing and other belongings, conduct family visits, attend school and participate in court proceedings, among other things.

Supporters of the legislation said foster youths and foster parents needed to have a clear understanding of their rights in order to navigate the child welfare system successfully.

<figure>
 <img src="https://kansasreflector.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/SC6-1024x683.jpg" alt="Rep. Susan Concannon urged lawmakers to approve a bundle of child welfare bills on the House floor before adjourning last week. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption>Rep. Susan Concannon urged lawmakers to approve a bundle of child welfare bills on the House floor before adjourning last week. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure>By RACHEL MIPRO <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/04/05/kansas-lawmakers-debate-definition-of-female-and-male-for-county-jails/">Kansas Reflector</a>TOPEKA — Lawmakers moved forward with a baby box drop-off system meant to make child relinquishment safer and easier, as part of a legislative bundle that incorporates three child welfare bills.<a target="_blank" href="http://kslegislature.org/li/b2023_24/measures/hb2024/">An amended form of the legislation</a>&nbsp;passed the Senate 36-1 and the House 116-0. The bill bundle, which includes a foster care bill of rights and provisions for child abuse evaluations, has been sent to the governor for a final decision.The bill legalizes “newborn safety devices” for baby drop-offs. People who drop off infants to these devices within the legal window for relinquishment would be immune to criminal and civil liabilities.Current law allows anyone who has legal custody of an infant 60 days old or younger and has not physically harmed the infant to give custody of the child to any on-duty employees at certain locations.The devices would be equipped with locks, temperature control and alarm systems and installed in facilities designated for infant drop-offs, in an easily visible location.The locations include police stations, sheriff’s offices, law enforcement centers, city or county health departments, fire stations or any county health department without criminal or civil liability. Installation of the devices would be voluntary.Bill proponents say the legislation will help people too frightened to do in-person infant drop-offs, and would help promote safe anonymous infant relinquishments. Rep. Tim Johnson, a Bonner Springs Republican, said during&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/02/22/house-passes-kansas-bill-creating-method-of-anonymously-surrendering-an-infant/">a bill hearing</a>&nbsp;that 18 children had been surrendered to officials since 2017.Included in the bill bundle were provisions to create a Kansas Department of Health and Environment program for child abuse review and evaluation referrals. The program would provide regulations and training for these evaluation processes. DCF would be required to make a CARE referral for a child ages 5 or younger when there is an allegation of physical abuse or physical neglect.Under the bill, the results of the CARE exam would have to be considered by the Kansas Department for Children and Families secretary when making recommendations for the child’s care and placement.In March 8 testimony in support of the provision, Rachel Marsh, CEO of the Children’s Alliance of Kansas, said properly investigating child abuse allegations is important.“In child welfare, there is the risk of a false positive — determining a child has been abused when he has not; and a false negative — determining a child has not been abused when he has,” Marsh said. “Avoiding either of these errors is critically important to the wellbeing of children and their families.”Another portion of the bill establishes&nbsp;a foster care bill of rights named in memorial to former Rep. Gail Finney, an advocate for reform to the foster care system. The Wichita Democrat&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2022/09/01/kansas-rep-gail-finney-fought-for-you-now-its-time-to-fight-for-her/">died last year</a>.Rep. Susan Concannon, a Beloit Republican, spoke in favor of the bill bundle on the House floor for an April 6 vote. Concannon said the bill of rights was included in the bundle because the Senate didn’t have time to rule on it.“The Senate didn’t have an opportunity, but they took a look at it and agreed to include it in this package,” Concannon said.The bill of rights would&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/01/30/support-emerges-for-naming-kansas-foster-care-bill-of-rights-for-late-rep-gail-finney/">inform children about their right</a>&nbsp;to a stable environment, experience the least number of placements possible, have access to adequate clothing and other belongings, conduct family visits, attend school and participate in court proceedings, among other things.Supporters of the legislation said foster youths and foster parents needed to have a clear understanding of their rights in order to navigate the child welfare system successfully.

Kansas lawmakers approve baby box drop-offs, foster care bill of rights

GOVE COUNTY —One person died in an accident just after 4p.m. Saturday in Gove County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2006 Ford F250 driven by Charles Daniel Groshong, 71, Page, Arizona, was westbound on Interstate 70 at the Kansas 23.

The pickup entered the median and the driver overcorrected. The pickup crossed the westbound lanes, rolled and come to rest on its side in the north ditch.

Groshong was pronounced dead at the scene and was transported to&nbsp;Kennedy Koster Funeral Home. He was properly restrained, according to the KHP.

GOVE COUNTY —One person died in an accident just after 4p.m. Saturday in Gove County.The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2006 Ford F250 driven by Charles Daniel Groshong, 71, Page, Arizona, was westbound on Interstate 70 at the Kansas 23.The pickup entered the median and the driver overcorrected. The pickup crossed the westbound lanes, rolled and come to rest on its side in the north ditch.Groshong was pronounced dead at the scene and was transported to&nbsp;Kennedy Koster Funeral Home. He was properly restrained, according to the KHP.

Man dies after pickup rollover crash on I-70

KANSAS CITY —A judge on Thursday sentenced 47-year-old Gene Birdsong to life in prison without the possibility of parole -- plus 17 years more -- for the fatal stabbing in November 2018 of his wife Tabitha, according to Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker.

In February, a jury found Birdsong guity of 1st Degree Murder and Armed Criminal Action charges. The jury recommended 17 years, at the prosecutor's suggestion, for the Armed Criminal Action conviction. The Murder 1st Degree convictions carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.

According to court records, on Nov. 6, 2018, officers from the Kansas City Police responded to Roanoke and Madison in Kansas City on a report of a dead body. They found the victim's body. She had obvious head injuries. They also found in her pocket an order of protection with her and the defendant's name on it. 

Witnesses told police they were seen or heard together hours before her death. A witness also saw the &nbsp;defendant with bloody pants. Police found bloody clothing in a room where the defendant had been staying.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/4/1681586343552.png" alt="Birdsong-photo Wyandotte Co." />
 <figcaption>Birdsong-photo Wyandotte Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY —A judge on Thursday sentenced 47-year-old Gene Birdsong to life in prison without the possibility of parole -- plus 17 years more -- for the fatal stabbing in November 2018 of his wife Tabitha, according to Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker.In February, a jury found Birdsong guity of 1st Degree Murder and Armed Criminal Action charges. The jury recommended 17 years, at the prosecutor's suggestion, for the Armed Criminal Action conviction. The Murder 1st Degree convictions carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.According to court records, on Nov. 6, 2018, officers from the Kansas City Police responded to Roanoke and Madison in Kansas City on a report of a dead body. They found the victim's body. She had obvious head injuries. They also found in her pocket an order of protection with her and the defendant's name on it. Witnesses told police they were seen or heard together hours before her death. A witness also saw the &nbsp;defendant with bloody pants. Police found bloody clothing in a room where the defendant had been staying.

Kansas man sentenced for stabbing his wife to death

SEDGWICK COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating two suspects on multiple charges after a crime spree in February.

According to police spokesman Officer Chad Ditch, 7 officers and 2 sergeants from Patrol West in Wichita coordinated 9 cases, 4 victims and 9 witnesses from a crime spree that occurred on Feb 21.

The larceny investigation led to the arrest of 49-year-old Harold Deloach and 39-year-old Princess Karibo on the requested charges of Burglary to Auto, Unlawful Use of a Financial Card, Possession of Methamphetamine and Possession of Paraphernalia/

This case has been presented to the District Attorney’s Office.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/4/1681409703672.png" alt="Deloach-photo Sedgwick Co." />
 <figcaption>Deloach-photo Sedgwick Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>SEDGWICK COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating two suspects on multiple charges after a crime spree in February.According to police spokesman Officer Chad Ditch, 7 officers and 2 sergeants from Patrol West in Wichita coordinated 9 cases, 4 victims and 9 witnesses from a crime spree that occurred on Feb 21.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/4/1681409536968.png" alt="Karibo-photo Sedgwick Co." />
 <figcaption>Karibo-photo Sedgwick Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>The larceny investigation led to the arrest of 49-year-old Harold Deloach and 39-year-old Princess Karibo on the requested charges of Burglary to Auto, Unlawful Use of a Financial Card, Possession of Methamphetamine and Possession of Paraphernalia/This case has been presented to the District Attorney’s Office.

Police: Suspects in Kansas crime spree face felony charges

By ROBERT ZULLO <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/04/10/inside-the-battle-over-who-gets-to-build-the-grid-of-the-future/">States Newsroom</a>

The U.S. Department of Energy issued a
 draft report in February that found a “pressing need” for new electric 
transmission infrastructure across the country to improve reliability, 
connect a rapidly growing number of solar, wind and battery storage 
projects, supply increasing electric demand and alleviate scattered 
pockets of consistently high prices across the country.

To meet the future envisioned by the 
federal infrastructure act and the Inflation Reduction Act, which both 
contain major provisions to boost clean energy, the country needs to 
increase its current transmission system by an eye-popping 57% by 2035, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.energy.gov/sites/default/files/2023-02/022423-DRAFTNeedsStudyforPublicComment.pdf">the report says</a>. Princeton University’s <a target="_blank" href="https://netzeroamerica.princeton.edu/?explorer=year&amp;state=national&amp;table=2020&amp;limit=200">Net-Zero America</a>
 study estimates expanding transmission capacity by 60% by 2030 will 
cost $330 billion and tripling it by 2050 will cost $2.2 trillion.

But in Kansas and other states, bills
 that have been pushed by utilities to give them exclusive or 
preferential treatment for building regional transmission lines, called 
“right-of-first-refusal” laws, mean customers might pay more than they 
should for all those wires and towers, critics say.

“What’s important to note is that the
 clean energy transition is going to require a significant amount of new
 transmission. Because of that, that’s why you have these protectionist 
battles going on across the country,” said Sharon Segner, senior vice 
president of transmission policy at LS Power, a company that owns about 
680 miles of transmission lines and has been awarded more than $4 
billion worth of competitively bid transmission projects.

“The incumbent utilities are trying to obtain a monopoly for the clean energy transition.”

The Edison Electric Institute, which represents investor-owned electric utilities and<a target="_blank" href="https://www.utilitydive.com/news/utilities-ferc-transmission-eei-rates-consumers-rofr-refusal-peg/608370/"> has pushed the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission</a>
 to grant utilities rights of first refusal for regional transmission 
lines, did not respond to a request for comment on the rationale for 
right-of-first refusal laws. However, in statehouses across the country,
 <a target="_blank" href="https://missouriindependent.com/2023/03/20/missouri-kansas-utilities-back-bills-to-reestablish-monopoly-on-transmission-projects/">proponents have argued</a>
 that such laws actually benefit consumers because they remove the 
incentive to offer unrealistic lowball bids to win solicitations, avoid 
delays dealing with procurement, preserve state regulatory oversight and
 result in streamlined, more efficient projects because local utilities 
know their communities better.

But they also represent a potential windfall for utilities.

“The more capital they spend, the 
more profit they make under government-guaranteed rates of return,” said
 Josiah Neeley, a senior fellow at the R Street Institute, a 
right-leaning free market think tank, in <a target="_blank" href="https://www.rstreet.org/outreach/opposition-to-anti-competitive-right-of-first-refusal-rorf-laws-for-electric-transmission/">testimony</a> on a <a target="_blank" href="https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/2021/proposals/sb838#:~:text=An%20Act%20to%20create%20196.485,and%20maintain%20certain%20transmission%20facilities.">failed </a>right-of-first refusal<a target="_blank" href="https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/2021/proposals/sb838#:~:text=An%20Act%20to%20create%20196.485,and%20maintain%20certain%20transmission%20facilities."> bill</a>
 in Wisconsin last year. “Historically, the absence of transmission 
competition has resulted in a severe lack of economic discipline — 
leading to cost overruns, with captive consumers footing the bill.”

Last month, after a lawsuit by LS Power and another company, the Iowa Supreme Court <a target="_blank" href="https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2023/03/29/citing-crony-capitalism-iowa-supreme-court-blasts-late-night-legislative-logrolling/">halted legislation</a>
 from 2020 that gave a right of first refusal for transmission projects 
to utilities operating in Iowa. The court, which ruled based on the 
manner in which the bill was passed, not its substance, nevertheless 
called it “quintessentially crony capitalism” and “rent-seeking, 
protectionist legislation” that will “impose higher costs on Iowans.”

That ruling comes as the U.S. Supreme Court <a target="_blank" href="https://www.reuters.com/legal/justices-ask-government-input-texas-electric-grid-dispute-2023-03-06/">weighs</a>
 whether to take up a case involving Texas’ even more extreme 2019 law, 
which says the ability to build, own and operate new transmission lines 
that connect directly to an existing utility facility “may be granted 
only to the owner of that existing facility.” The U.S. Court of Appeals 
for the 5th Circuit<a target="_blank" href="https://ecf.ca5.uscourts.gov/n/beam/servlet/TransportRoom?servlet=ShowDocMulti&amp;incPdfHeader=Y&amp;pacer=t&amp;CSRF=csrf_-2846796520857721805&amp;incPdfHeaderDisp=Y&amp;caseId=193949&amp;dktType=dktPublic&amp;outputType=doc&amp;d=9928280&amp;outputForm=view&amp;incPdfFooter=&amp;dls=6452772%252C6452777"> held in August</a>
 that the Texas law may violate the Commerce Clause of the U.S. 
Constitution, reversing a lower court ruling that upheld the law. The 
5th Circuit, calling the law a “ban on new entrants in a market” 
remanded the case to the district court to consider whether Texas 
regulators can show they have “no other means to advance a legitimate 
local purpose.’’

Writing for the conservative Cato 
Institute, Vanderbilt University law professor Jim Rossi called 
right-of-first-refusal laws (ROFR) “constitutionally suspect” and noted 
that of more than $10 billion in transmission projects recently approved
 by the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.misoenergy.org/about/">Midcontinent Independent System Operator</a>,
 which operates the electric grid in all or part of 15 states, more than
 90% will be built by incumbent utilities rather than competitively bid.

“State transmission ROFR laws reflect
 bad policy choices that thwart reliability in competitive regional 
power supply markets and, at bottom, are harmful to customers,” <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cato.org/regulation/winter-2022-2023/promoting-cost-effective-grid-modernization#how-state-rofr-laws-harm-customers">Rossi wrote.</a>
 “Transmission ROFRs pose a barrier to a coordinated approach to grid 
expansion, making it more difficult to promote reliability and new 
technological approaches that enable the lowest‐​cost power supply 
options for customers.”

According to the National Conference 
of State Legislatures, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, North 
Dakota, Oklahoma and South Dakota have laws on the books that grant 
utilities right-of-first-refusal privileges to build local or regional 
transmission lines. <a target="_blank" href="https://legiscan.com/MS/text/SB2341/2023">Mississippi</a> passed similar legislation this year. Bills to add new ROFR rights or expand existing ones have been <a target="_blank" href="https://dailyenergyinsider.com/policy/33837-two-more-states-consider-bills-giving-utilities-first-go-on-transmission-projects/">introduced</a> in <a target="_blank" href="https://missouriindependent.com/2023/03/20/missouri-kansas-utilities-back-bills-to-reestablish-monopoly-on-transmission-projects/">Missouri</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://electricitytransmissioncompetitioncoalition.org/montana-right-of-first-refusal-law/">Montana</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.minnpost.com/other-nonprofit-media/2022/02/wisconsin-bill-would-grant-utilities-a-monopoly-on-building-transmission-projects/">Wisconsin</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.oklahoman.com/story/opinion/2023/02/24/oklahoma-law-on-electricity-should-be-based-on-whats-good-for-consumers/69925284007/">Oklahoma</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/03/20/missouri-kansas-utilities-back-bills-to-reestablish-monopoly-on-transmission-projects/">Kansas</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://iga.in.gov/legislative/2023/bills/house/1420#digest-heading">Indiana</a>.

“If you want to see more clean energy
 we need more transmission and you want to keep all the options on the 
table for who’s going to develop those projects,” said Ari Peskoe, 
director of the Electricity Law Initiative at the Harvard Law School.

Current right-of-first-refusal laws at the state level have their origins in reaction to a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.powermag.com/ferc-rule-1000-what-does-it-mean/">FERC order in 2011</a>
 that sought to promote more competition in regional electric 
transmission projects in part by removing federal rights of first 
refusal for certain transmission projects.

“The agency reasoned that federal 
rights of first refusal might ‘be leading to rates … that are unjust and
 unreasonable,’ in large part because ‘it is not in the economic 
self-interest of incumbent[s] to permit new entrants to develop 
transmission facilities,’ even if those facilities ‘would result in a 
more efficient or cost-effective solution,’” the 5th Circuit judges 
wrote in their opinion.

Utilities, Peskoe said, “saw it coming and went to their legislatures and said ‘please protect us from this competition.’ ”

Just 3% of today’s projects are competitively bid, according to the<a target="_blank" href="https://electricitytransmissioncompetitioncoalition.org/"> Electricity Transmission Competition Coalition</a>,
 which includes 70 companies and organizations from 48 states, including
 manufacturers, consumer advocates, transmission developers, retail 
electric customers and public power representatives.

The legal battles over right-of-first
 refusal laws come as the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission grapples 
with a suite of issues surrounding transmission planning and 
construction, including whether to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.utilitydive.com/news/justice-doj-ftc-ferc-transmission-competition-utilities-rofr/629966/">reinstate</a> a federal right of first refusal for utilities, a move that is <a target="_blank" href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-and-federal-trade-commission-issue-joint-comment-federal-energy-regulatory">opposed</a> by the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission.

“American consumers and businesses 
should not be denied the benefits of competition when paying for this 
significant transmission investment,” the agencies said.

FERC, which regulates interstate electric transmission, is also exploring the concept of an <a target="_blank" href="https://dailyenergyinsider.com/policy/33837-two-more-states-consider-bills-giving-utilities-first-go-on-transmission-projects/">independent transmission monitor</a>.
 That’s because some state regulators and consumer advocates say that as
 transmission spending by utilities is becoming an increasing portion of
 electric customers’ bills, projects are escaping rigorous oversight 
because of varying regulatory regimes, a lack of expertise at the state 
level and too little transparency. FERC also has a <a target="_blank" href="https://ferc.gov/news-events/news/ferc-issues-transmission-nopr-addressing-planning-cost-allocation">draft rule</a> out that would alter how regional transmission projects are planned and costs allocated.

And what’s more, some critics argue, 
many utilities aren’t incentivized to build the types of interregional 
transmission projects that the Department of Energy <a target="_blank" href="https://youtu.be/L-7MEMlf-zk">reported</a> have the best benefits for customers.

The Texas case, they contend, is a textbook example of what’s wrong with the status quo.

Building power plants, Peskoe said, 
has always been the major source of profit for utilities. New 
transmission lines that might bring in cheaper power from elsewhere 
reduce the need for those pricey new facilities.

“You’re sort of cutting yourself off 
at the knees because you’re reducing the opportunity to build power 
plants in the future,” he said. “Bringing in energy from elsewhere may 
be good for the consumers but maybe bad for utility shareholders.”

‘They ran to their state legislature’

The Texas right-of-first-refusal law 
is being challenged by NextEra Energy Transmission, a subsidiary of 
utility giant NextEra Energy, which owns Florida Power &amp; Light, the 
nation’s <a target="_blank" href="https://www.fpl.com/about/company-profile.html#:~:text=As%20America's%20largest%20electric%20utility,more%20than%2012%20million%20people.">largest utility</a>.

NextEra had won a competitive bidding
 process in 2018 held by MISO to build, own and operate a 500-kilovolt 
line to be sited in a portion of east Texas covered by MISO but in <a target="_blank" href="https://www.entergy-texas.com/userfiles/content/energy_efficiency/documents/Map_EntergyServiceAres.pdf">Entergy Texas’ service area</a>.
 The estimated cost at the time was $115 million. The next year, the 
Texas legislature passed the right of first refusal law, effectively 
allowing Entergy, which has three million electric customers in 
Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas, to take over construction of
 the line.

“The Texas utilities lost a 
legitimate competitive bidding process so they ran to their state 
legislature and passed a right of first refusal,” said Segner, the LS 
Power executive.

Then, in 2020, Entergy issued a request for proposals for a 1,200-megawatt combined cycle gas power plant in the same “<a target="_blank" href="https://www.iso-ne.com/participate/support/glossary-acronyms/#j">load pocket</a>”
 (a term for a part of the electric grid where the transmission system 
doesn’t have enough capacity to meet demand and requires local power 
generation) that would have been served by the transmission line. 
Entergy later decided it would “self build” the project, which is 
expected to cost about <a target="_blank" href="https://www.powermag.com/entergy-picks-epc-team-for-massive-hydrogen-capable-ccgt-project-in-texas/#:~:text=Construction%20of%20the%20%241.19%20billion,slated%20to%20begin%20this%20year.">$1.2 billion</a>.

“If you don’t build transmission, you
 end up with load pockets. Entergy’s now using those load pockets to 
justify *billions* in gas unit installations instead of spending 
*millions* on transmission,” tweeted Simon Mahan, executive director of 
the Southern Renewable Energy Association, a nonprofit trade association
 that unsuccessfully urged FERC to deny <a target="_blank" href="https://cdn.misoenergy.org/20220829%20HSJ%20-%20Public%20Notice%20of%20Outcome%20-%20rvFinal626143.pdf">MISO’s request</a> to terminate the transmission line project.&nbsp;

SREA sees a disturbing trend, noting 
that a similar transmission project in Entergy’s Louisiana service 
territory, the Waterford-Churchill line, was also canceled after its 
cost-benefit analysis was “eradicated by local bottom-up transmission 
projects as well as the $870 million <a target="_blank" href="https://www.entergynewsroom.com/news/st-charles-power-station-connected-serving-customers/">Entergy-built St. Charles </a>(gas power plant).”

SREA said Entergy “appears to be 
using an anti-competitive strategy of capturing, delaying, and/or 
canceling transmission projects with local generation assets at 
significant cost to local ratepayers, while at the same time, not 
resolving underlying load pocket problems.”

The Orange County, Texas, plant “was 
needed to address a large and growing shortfall of generation for 
Entergy Texas,” said company spokeswoman Kendra James, adding that 
growing electric demand and the retirement of older power plants from 
the 1970s were also factors.

“The OCAPS plant will address issues 
that the Hartburg-Sabine Junction Project could not, even under the most
 favorable assumptions for that transmission line,”&nbsp; James said. “There 
is no reasonable argument that Hartburg-Sabine was a substitute for 
OCAPS.”

Entergy, James added, has more than 
doubled its capital investment in transmission since 2014 to improve 
reliability, connect new customers and reduce congestion on its system.

“To provide reliable and affordable 
electric service, public utilities such as Entergy must invest in 
electric generation, transmission, distribution, and other aspects of 
the utility’s business,” she said. “Every investment decision we make is
 based on what we think is in our customers’ best interests.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/4/1681249872508.jpg" alt="Image courtesy of Pixabay" />
 <figcaption>Image courtesy of Pixabay</figcaption>
 </figure>By ROBERT ZULLO <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/04/10/inside-the-battle-over-who-gets-to-build-the-grid-of-the-future/">States Newsroom</a>The U.S. Department of Energy issued a
 draft report in February that found a “pressing need” for new electric 
transmission infrastructure across the country to improve reliability, 
connect a rapidly growing number of solar, wind and battery storage 
projects, supply increasing electric demand and alleviate scattered 
pockets of consistently high prices across the country.To meet the future envisioned by the 
federal infrastructure act and the Inflation Reduction Act, which both 
contain major provisions to boost clean energy, the country needs to 
increase its current transmission system by an eye-popping 57% by 2035, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.energy.gov/sites/default/files/2023-02/022423-DRAFTNeedsStudyforPublicComment.pdf">the report says</a>. Princeton University’s <a target="_blank" href="https://netzeroamerica.princeton.edu/?explorer=year&amp;state=national&amp;table=2020&amp;limit=200">Net-Zero America</a>
 study estimates expanding transmission capacity by 60% by 2030 will 
cost $330 billion and tripling it by 2050 will cost $2.2 trillion.But in Kansas and other states, bills
 that have been pushed by utilities to give them exclusive or 
preferential treatment for building regional transmission lines, called 
“right-of-first-refusal” laws, mean customers might pay more than they 
should for all those wires and towers, critics say.“What’s important to note is that the
 clean energy transition is going to require a significant amount of new
 transmission. Because of that, that’s why you have these protectionist 
battles going on across the country,” said Sharon Segner, senior vice 
president of transmission policy at LS Power, a company that owns about 
680 miles of transmission lines and has been awarded more than $4 
billion worth of competitively bid transmission projects.“The incumbent utilities are trying to obtain a monopoly for the clean energy transition.”The Edison Electric Institute, which represents investor-owned electric utilities and<a target="_blank" href="https://www.utilitydive.com/news/utilities-ferc-transmission-eei-rates-consumers-rofr-refusal-peg/608370/"> has pushed the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission</a>
 to grant utilities rights of first refusal for regional transmission 
lines, did not respond to a request for comment on the rationale for 
right-of-first refusal laws. However, in statehouses across the country,
 <a target="_blank" href="https://missouriindependent.com/2023/03/20/missouri-kansas-utilities-back-bills-to-reestablish-monopoly-on-transmission-projects/">proponents have argued</a>
 that such laws actually benefit consumers because they remove the 
incentive to offer unrealistic lowball bids to win solicitations, avoid 
delays dealing with procurement, preserve state regulatory oversight and
 result in streamlined, more efficient projects because local utilities 
know their communities better.But they also represent a potential windfall for utilities.“The more capital they spend, the 
more profit they make under government-guaranteed rates of return,” said
 Josiah Neeley, a senior fellow at the R Street Institute, a 
right-leaning free market think tank, in <a target="_blank" href="https://www.rstreet.org/outreach/opposition-to-anti-competitive-right-of-first-refusal-rorf-laws-for-electric-transmission/">testimony</a> on a <a target="_blank" href="https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/2021/proposals/sb838#:~:text=An%20Act%20to%20create%20196.485,and%20maintain%20certain%20transmission%20facilities.">failed </a>right-of-first refusal<a target="_blank" href="https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/2021/proposals/sb838#:~:text=An%20Act%20to%20create%20196.485,and%20maintain%20certain%20transmission%20facilities."> bill</a>
 in Wisconsin last year. “Historically, the absence of transmission 
competition has resulted in a severe lack of economic discipline — 
leading to cost overruns, with captive consumers footing the bill.”<h2>‘Crony capitalism’</h2>Last month, after a lawsuit by LS Power and another company, the Iowa Supreme Court <a target="_blank" href="https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2023/03/29/citing-crony-capitalism-iowa-supreme-court-blasts-late-night-legislative-logrolling/">halted legislation</a>
 from 2020 that gave a right of first refusal for transmission projects 
to utilities operating in Iowa. The court, which ruled based on the 
manner in which the bill was passed, not its substance, nevertheless 
called it “quintessentially crony capitalism” and “rent-seeking, 
protectionist legislation” that will “impose higher costs on Iowans.”That ruling comes as the U.S. Supreme Court <a target="_blank" href="https://www.reuters.com/legal/justices-ask-government-input-texas-electric-grid-dispute-2023-03-06/">weighs</a>
 whether to take up a case involving Texas’ even more extreme 2019 law, 
which says the ability to build, own and operate new transmission lines 
that connect directly to an existing utility facility “may be granted 
only to the owner of that existing facility.” The U.S. Court of Appeals 
for the 5th Circuit<a target="_blank" href="https://ecf.ca5.uscourts.gov/n/beam/servlet/TransportRoom?servlet=ShowDocMulti&amp;incPdfHeader=Y&amp;pacer=t&amp;CSRF=csrf_-2846796520857721805&amp;incPdfHeaderDisp=Y&amp;caseId=193949&amp;dktType=dktPublic&amp;outputType=doc&amp;d=9928280&amp;outputForm=view&amp;incPdfFooter=&amp;dls=6452772%252C6452777"> held in August</a>
 that the Texas law may violate the Commerce Clause of the U.S. 
Constitution, reversing a lower court ruling that upheld the law. The 
5th Circuit, calling the law a “ban on new entrants in a market” 
remanded the case to the district court to consider whether Texas 
regulators can show they have “no other means to advance a legitimate 
local purpose.’’Writing for the conservative Cato 
Institute, Vanderbilt University law professor Jim Rossi called 
right-of-first-refusal laws (ROFR) “constitutionally suspect” and noted 
that of more than $10 billion in transmission projects recently approved
 by the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.misoenergy.org/about/">Midcontinent Independent System Operator</a>,
 which operates the electric grid in all or part of 15 states, more than
 90% will be built by incumbent utilities rather than competitively bid.“State transmission ROFR laws reflect
 bad policy choices that thwart reliability in competitive regional 
power supply markets and, at bottom, are harmful to customers,” <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cato.org/regulation/winter-2022-2023/promoting-cost-effective-grid-modernization#how-state-rofr-laws-harm-customers">Rossi wrote.</a>
 “Transmission ROFRs pose a barrier to a coordinated approach to grid 
expansion, making it more difficult to promote reliability and new 
technological approaches that enable the lowest‐​cost power supply 
options for customers.”According to the National Conference 
of State Legislatures, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, North 
Dakota, Oklahoma and South Dakota have laws on the books that grant 
utilities right-of-first-refusal privileges to build local or regional 
transmission lines. <a target="_blank" href="https://legiscan.com/MS/text/SB2341/2023">Mississippi</a> passed similar legislation this year. Bills to add new ROFR rights or expand existing ones have been <a target="_blank" href="https://dailyenergyinsider.com/policy/33837-two-more-states-consider-bills-giving-utilities-first-go-on-transmission-projects/">introduced</a> in <a target="_blank" href="https://missouriindependent.com/2023/03/20/missouri-kansas-utilities-back-bills-to-reestablish-monopoly-on-transmission-projects/">Missouri</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://electricitytransmissioncompetitioncoalition.org/montana-right-of-first-refusal-law/">Montana</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.minnpost.com/other-nonprofit-media/2022/02/wisconsin-bill-would-grant-utilities-a-monopoly-on-building-transmission-projects/">Wisconsin</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.oklahoman.com/story/opinion/2023/02/24/oklahoma-law-on-electricity-should-be-based-on-whats-good-for-consumers/69925284007/">Oklahoma</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/03/20/missouri-kansas-utilities-back-bills-to-reestablish-monopoly-on-transmission-projects/">Kansas</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://iga.in.gov/legislative/2023/bills/house/1420#digest-heading">Indiana</a>.“If you want to see more clean energy
 we need more transmission and you want to keep all the options on the 
table for who’s going to develop those projects,” said Ari Peskoe, 
director of the Electricity Law Initiative at the Harvard Law School.Current right-of-first-refusal laws at the state level have their origins in reaction to a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.powermag.com/ferc-rule-1000-what-does-it-mean/">FERC order in 2011</a>
 that sought to promote more competition in regional electric 
transmission projects in part by removing federal rights of first 
refusal for certain transmission projects.“The agency reasoned that federal 
rights of first refusal might ‘be leading to rates … that are unjust and
 unreasonable,’ in large part because ‘it is not in the economic 
self-interest of incumbent[s] to permit new entrants to develop 
transmission facilities,’ even if those facilities ‘would result in a 
more efficient or cost-effective solution,’” the 5th Circuit judges 
wrote in their opinion.Utilities, Peskoe said, “saw it coming and went to their legislatures and said ‘please protect us from this competition.’ ”Just 3% of today’s projects are competitively bid, according to the<a target="_blank" href="https://electricitytransmissioncompetitioncoalition.org/"> Electricity Transmission Competition Coalition</a>,
 which includes 70 companies and organizations from 48 states, including
 manufacturers, consumer advocates, transmission developers, retail 
electric customers and public power representatives.<h2>Transmission tension</h2>The legal battles over right-of-first
 refusal laws come as the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission grapples 
with a suite of issues surrounding transmission planning and 
construction, including whether to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.utilitydive.com/news/justice-doj-ftc-ferc-transmission-competition-utilities-rofr/629966/">reinstate</a> a federal right of first refusal for utilities, a move that is <a target="_blank" href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-and-federal-trade-commission-issue-joint-comment-federal-energy-regulatory">opposed</a> by the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission.“American consumers and businesses 
should not be denied the benefits of competition when paying for this 
significant transmission investment,” the agencies said.FERC, which regulates interstate electric transmission, is also exploring the concept of an <a target="_blank" href="https://dailyenergyinsider.com/policy/33837-two-more-states-consider-bills-giving-utilities-first-go-on-transmission-projects/">independent transmission monitor</a>.
 That’s because some state regulators and consumer advocates say that as
 transmission spending by utilities is becoming an increasing portion of
 electric customers’ bills, projects are escaping rigorous oversight 
because of varying regulatory regimes, a lack of expertise at the state 
level and too little transparency. FERC also has a <a target="_blank" href="https://ferc.gov/news-events/news/ferc-issues-transmission-nopr-addressing-planning-cost-allocation">draft rule</a> out that would alter how regional transmission projects are planned and costs allocated.And what’s more, some critics argue, 
many utilities aren’t incentivized to build the types of interregional 
transmission projects that the Department of Energy <a target="_blank" href="https://youtu.be/L-7MEMlf-zk">reported</a> have the best benefits for customers.The Texas case, they contend, is a textbook example of what’s wrong with the status quo.Building power plants, Peskoe said, 
has always been the major source of profit for utilities. New 
transmission lines that might bring in cheaper power from elsewhere 
reduce the need for those pricey new facilities.“You’re sort of cutting yourself off 
at the knees because you’re reducing the opportunity to build power 
plants in the future,” he said. “Bringing in energy from elsewhere may 
be good for the consumers but maybe bad for utility shareholders.”<h2>‘They ran to their state legislature’</h2>The Texas right-of-first-refusal law 
is being challenged by NextEra Energy Transmission, a subsidiary of 
utility giant NextEra Energy, which owns Florida Power &amp; Light, the 
nation’s <a target="_blank" href="https://www.fpl.com/about/company-profile.html#:~:text=As%20America's%20largest%20electric%20utility,more%20than%2012%20million%20people.">largest utility</a>.NextEra had won a competitive bidding
 process in 2018 held by MISO to build, own and operate a 500-kilovolt 
line to be sited in a portion of east Texas covered by MISO but in <a target="_blank" href="https://www.entergy-texas.com/userfiles/content/energy_efficiency/documents/Map_EntergyServiceAres.pdf">Entergy Texas’ service area</a>.
 The estimated cost at the time was $115 million. The next year, the 
Texas legislature passed the right of first refusal law, effectively 
allowing Entergy, which has three million electric customers in 
Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas, to take over construction of
 the line.“The Texas utilities lost a 
legitimate competitive bidding process so they ran to their state 
legislature and passed a right of first refusal,” said Segner, the LS 
Power executive.Then, in 2020, Entergy issued a request for proposals for a 1,200-megawatt combined cycle gas power plant in the same “<a target="_blank" href="https://www.iso-ne.com/participate/support/glossary-acronyms/#j">load pocket</a>”
 (a term for a part of the electric grid where the transmission system 
doesn’t have enough capacity to meet demand and requires local power 
generation) that would have been served by the transmission line. 
Entergy later decided it would “self build” the project, which is 
expected to cost about <a target="_blank" href="https://www.powermag.com/entergy-picks-epc-team-for-massive-hydrogen-capable-ccgt-project-in-texas/#:~:text=Construction%20of%20the%20%241.19%20billion,slated%20to%20begin%20this%20year.">$1.2 billion</a>.“If you don’t build transmission, you
 end up with load pockets. Entergy’s now using those load pockets to 
justify *billions* in gas unit installations instead of spending 
*millions* on transmission,” tweeted Simon Mahan, executive director of 
the Southern Renewable Energy Association, a nonprofit trade association
 that unsuccessfully urged FERC to deny <a target="_blank" href="https://cdn.misoenergy.org/20220829%20HSJ%20-%20Public%20Notice%20of%20Outcome%20-%20rvFinal626143.pdf">MISO’s request</a> to terminate the transmission line project.&nbsp;SREA sees a disturbing trend, noting 
that a similar transmission project in Entergy’s Louisiana service 
territory, the Waterford-Churchill line, was also canceled after its 
cost-benefit analysis was “eradicated by local bottom-up transmission 
projects as well as the $870 million <a target="_blank" href="https://www.entergynewsroom.com/news/st-charles-power-station-connected-serving-customers/">Entergy-built St. Charles </a>(gas power plant).”SREA said Entergy “appears to be 
using an anti-competitive strategy of capturing, delaying, and/or 
canceling transmission projects with local generation assets at 
significant cost to local ratepayers, while at the same time, not 
resolving underlying load pocket problems.”Entergy rejects that argument.The Orange County, Texas, plant “was 
needed to address a large and growing shortfall of generation for 
Entergy Texas,” said company spokeswoman Kendra James, adding that 
growing electric demand and the retirement of older power plants from 
the 1970s were also factors.“The OCAPS plant will address issues 
that the Hartburg-Sabine Junction Project could not, even under the most
 favorable assumptions for that transmission line,”&nbsp; James said. “There 
is no reasonable argument that Hartburg-Sabine was a substitute for 
OCAPS.”Entergy, James added, has more than 
doubled its capital investment in transmission since 2014 to improve 
reliability, connect new customers and reduce congestion on its system.“To provide reliable and affordable 
electric service, public utilities such as Entergy must invest in 
electric generation, transmission, distribution, and other aspects of 
the utility’s business,” she said. “Every investment decision we make is
 based on what we think is in our customers’ best interests.”

Inside the battle over who gets to build power grid of the future

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Top Republican hopefuls for the 2024 presidential race vowed Friday at the National Rifle Association's annual convention to defend the Second Amendment at all costs, suggesting that new firearms restrictions in the wake of mass shootings around the country would only hurt law-abiding gun owners.

The three-day gathering with thousands of the organization’s most active members at Indianapolis’ convention center came mere days after mass shootings at a school in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/nashville-school-shooting-covenant-school-5da45b469ccb6c9533bbddf20c1bfe16">Nashville</a>&nbsp;and a bank in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/louisville-bank-shooting-9826ea39f24ff9dcf3cb5390c04be47b">Louisville</a>, Kentucky. Last year's NRA convention followed the massacre at a school in Uvalde, Texas.

That illustrated the stark reality that such shootings have become enough of the fabric of American life that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/uvalde-school-shooting-nra-convention-212dfd1b57474f1ab208d4a72521a010">the NRA can no longer schedule around them</a>. Nor does it really want to: The convention also fell on the second anniversary of the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/fedex-indianapolis-mass-shooting-e92ad3117c56357b3b2c71a2903e68a8">mass shooting at a FedEx facility in Indianapolis</a>&nbsp;that killed nine people.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Top Republican hopefuls for the 2024 presidential race vowed Friday at the National Rifle Association's annual convention to defend the Second Amendment at all costs, suggesting that new firearms restrictions in the wake of mass shootings around the country would only hurt law-abiding gun owners.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">“If we can send 120 billion dollars to Ukraine, then we can afford 1/10th of that amount to protect American children in American schools.” - <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@realDonaldTrump</a> at the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NRAConvention?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NRAConvention</a> <a href="https://t.co/uOL7xC9GNs">pic.twitter.com/uOL7xC9GNs</a>&mdash; NRA (@NRA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NRA/status/1647040792853196801?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 15, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>The three-day gathering with thousands of the organization’s most active members at Indianapolis’ convention center came mere days after mass shootings at a school in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/nashville-school-shooting-covenant-school-5da45b469ccb6c9533bbddf20c1bfe16">Nashville</a>&nbsp;and a bank in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/louisville-bank-shooting-9826ea39f24ff9dcf3cb5390c04be47b">Louisville</a>, Kentucky. Last year's NRA convention followed the massacre at a school in Uvalde, Texas.That illustrated the stark reality that such shootings have become enough of the fabric of American life that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/uvalde-school-shooting-nra-convention-212dfd1b57474f1ab208d4a72521a010">the NRA can no longer schedule around them</a>. Nor does it really want to: The convention also fell on the second anniversary of the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/fedex-indianapolis-mass-shooting-e92ad3117c56357b3b2c71a2903e68a8">mass shooting at a FedEx facility in Indianapolis</a>&nbsp;that killed nine people.None of that stopped top Republicans from flocking to the event, underscoring the political power of the NRA.“Gun-hating politicians should never go to bed unafraid of what this association, and all of our millions of members, can do to their political careers,” said NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre, suggesting that his group could play a dominant role in the 2024 election after&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/shootings-gun-politics-barack-obama-houston-violence-62765e5b208e74c0b109678bb46d31ed">turmoil in recent years</a>&nbsp;over a failed bankruptcy effort, a class action lawsuit and a fraud investigation.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">NRA Life Member Donald J. Trump 🇺🇸 <a href="https://t.co/m9RqcEzOpw">pic.twitter.com/m9RqcEzOpw</a>&mdash; NRA (@NRA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NRA/status/1646990622794940419?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 14, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Instead of fewer guns, former Vice President Mike Pence called for federal funding for armed school officers and more institutions for the mentally ill, though&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/gun-politics-shootings-health-donald-trump-crime-b8ce29d88543479bbd4894f5a39cc686">mental illness is not the main driver of mass shootings</a>. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said he had resisted implementing any gun restrictions in his state despite that stance being unpopular.Former President Donald Trump crowned himself as “the most pro-gun, pro-Second Amendment president” in the nation’s history. “I will be your loyal friend and fearless champion once again as the 47th president of the United States,” he told the crowd, pledging to create a new tax credit to reimburse teachers “for the full cost of a concealed-carry firearm,” as well as gun training “from highly-qualified experts.”Some of the Republican politicians speaking at the event said they were saddened by the recent shootings, but most spent more time criticizing Democrats, slamming COVID-19 restrictions and vaccines, and discussing security along the U.S.-Mexico border. That was fine with many attendees, who don't think gun restrictions are the answer to mass shootings.“No one wants to see the violence you see in schools and stuff today,” said Randy Conner, a pistol and rifle instructor for the NRA from Waynesburg, Pennsylvania. “But I don’t think taking the guns away from ordinary citizens is going to change any of that at all.”Trump's appearance was his first public event since being&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-arraignment-hush-money-81225510ef7638494852816878f612f0#:~:text=NEW%20YORK%20(AP)%20%E2%80%94%20A,his%20first%20White%20House%20campaign.">arrested and arraigned in New York last week</a>&nbsp;on felony charges stemming from a hush money payment to porn actor Stormy Daniels during his 2016 campaign. His Secret Service protection meant attendees couldn't carry guns at the convention.The former president made a few references to the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/what-else-is-trump-being-investigated-for-bbc926171b5bdf91eabd76db93411b8b">numerous investigations he's facing</a>. Instead of the government going after hardened criminals, he complained, “The only one they want to prosecute is Donald Trump.”Friday's appearance was the first time he and Pence have addressed the same campaign event on the same day since their estrangement following the Jan. 6, 2021,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/capitol-siege">insurrection at the U.S. Capitol</a>. Pence is considering his own 2024 bid.A former Indiana governor, Pence drew scattered boos as he started speaking, despite it being his home turf. The former vice president had skipped a number of conservative gatherings in recent years after he was booed and heckled during their previous meetings.Taking the stage later, Trump said sarcastically that he hoped the crowd had given his former vice president a warm introduction.Pence noted the two recent mass shootings and said his heart and prayers were with the families of the victims, who included three 9-year-old students. But he said, “We don’t need gun control. We need crime control.”Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, a Trump critic who&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/asa-hutchinson-president-2024-election-3a55855b1914d6e61338d1c8576a817f">announced his 2024 campaign</a>&nbsp;after news of the former president's indictment broke, drew at least one yelled obscenity from the Trump-friendly crowd after he suggested President Joe Biden was "praying” for a rematch with Trump in 2024 and declared, “We don’t need a rerun of 2020."Others offering video messages were former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, who&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/nikki-haley-running-for-president-f28052019e8ac3846cd125b3d9614d4f">began her 2024 campaign in February</a>, and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, who announced a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/exploratory-committee-president-tim-scott-2024-b129664cb44862100e43e2930e75efb3">presidential exploratory committee</a>&nbsp;this week. DeSantis, seen as a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/desantis-florida-trump-president-2024-election-00b8335b1a2dd4d08fb216e4b609f6a3">top rival to Trump</a>&nbsp;even though he’s yet to jump into the race, also spoke briefly in virtual remarks.“I’ve resisted calls to take up gun control, even when such a stand is superficially unpopular,” DeSantis said, a reference to calls for stricter Florida laws in the wake of the 2018 Parkland school shooting that killed 17 people.Pain over the Louisville and Nashville shooting rampages has crossed party lines. Kentucky Democratic Gov.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-health-covid-kentucky-steve-beshear-e6dd4d00c92502d4814451d6e9995ed8">Andy Beshear</a>&nbsp;talked about having a friend killed in the Louisville shooting, while Republican Tennessee Gov.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-abortion-health-covid-6e6d211ca65d625eef90d91ee8f4567d">Bill Lee</a>&nbsp;said he had friends killed during the Nashville school attack.Yet the NRA convention's tone was as defiant as last year, when the group held its convention in Houston just three days after the massacre of 19 students and two teachers at a Uvalde elementary school.Further overlapping with recent tragedy, Pence and some of the other speakers were following up their NRA speeches by traveling to Nashville to meet with top GOP donors gathered there.“Every significant national Republican, every Republican that’s thrown their hat in the ring to run for president, is showing up this weekend to pledge their undying loyalty to the NRA and the gun lobby,” said Democratic Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy, who championed&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-signs-gun-violence-bill-c21249287f976c2c164d8753205c2e6d">bipartisan legislation</a>&nbsp;that passed last year and imposed some new federal gun restrictions after the Uvalde shooting. “Our kids are being hunted, and the NRA’s business model is to give aid to the hunters.”Indeed, support for gun rights among Republican voters remains higher than for voters overall. Some 56% of voters in last fall’s midterm elections said they want to see stricter nationwide gun laws, compared with just 28% of Republicans, according to AP VoteCast, a wide-ranging survey of the electorate. About half of Republicans said gun laws should be left as they are.Trump, meanwhile, has a contradictory history on guns.The NRA was a key backer of his 2016 campaign, spending some $30 million to support a candidate who sometimes mentioned carrying his own gun and vowed to eliminate gun-free zones in schools and on military bases. Trump also pledged to establish a national right to carry.But, as the country reeled from a series of mass shootings,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/shootings-north-america-us-news-ap-top-news-las-vegas-6c1af80fb290472c89fb930e223505af">Trump’s administration banned bump stocks</a>, which were used in a 2017 attack on a Las Vegas country music concert that killed 60 people and injured hundreds more. After the Parkland school shooting in Florida the following year,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ap-top-news-donald-trump-violence-gun-politics-politics-75db363bc4fb4779b92d4582f5d5bb70">Trump urged congressional Republicans to expand background checks</a>&nbsp;and proposed seizing guns from mentally ill people.He also suggested raising the minimum age to buy assault rifles from 18 to 21, and suggested he was open to a conversation about reviving assault weapons bans. After later meeting with the NRA, however, Trump abandoned his push.Friday's convention largely belonged to Trump, who drew the loudest cheers from the crowd.Donna Alberts, who traveled around 600 miles (965 kilometers) from Greenbriar, Arkansas, for the convention, said nothing could sway her vote for Trump in 2024.“He’s a good man," Alberts said, “and he does what he says he’s going to do, and he loves this country.”___