DOUGLAS COUNTY — Lawrence police spent Wednesday searching for a homeless man accused of a violent attack downtown in the 1000 block of Massachusetts Street, according to police spokesperson Laura McCabe.

(Click below to watch security camera video of the attack)

Just after 9:30p.m. first responders found a man and a woman with head injuries following an encounter with a suspect. The two victims were walking on the sidewalk when the suspect approached them and, without warning, began striking them with his fists before he left the area.

Just before 8a.m. Thursday officers were called to 12th and Pennsylvania Street about a man armed with a knife who matched the description of the Wednesday night suspect. Officers arrested&nbsp;34-year-old Deonte Darrell Jackson in a nearby backyard and took him to the Douglas County Correctional Facility, where he was booked on requested charges of aggravated battery, criminal damage, and disorderly conduct.

After concerns about downtown were raised last fall, Chief Rich Lockhart directed officers to conduct foot patrols beginning in November, and in light of the recent event is committed to increasing efforts to keep the downtown Lawrence safe and secure. “Our department is outraged by this event. As an agency and a city, we cannot tolerate this type of behavior," said&nbsp; Lockhart.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/5/1685051396261.png" alt="Image of the attack in a video released by Lawrence Police" />
 <figcaption>Image of the attack in a video released by Lawrence Police</figcaption>
 </figure>DOUGLAS COUNTY — Lawrence police spent Wednesday searching for a homeless man accused of a violent attack downtown in the 1000 block of Massachusetts Street, according to police spokesperson Laura McCabe.(Click below to watch security camera video of the attack)<div><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?height=314&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FLawrenceKansasPolice%2Fvideos%2F195898716730187%2F&show_text=false&width=560&t=9" width="560" height="314" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowFullScreen="true"></iframe></div>Just after 9:30p.m. first responders found a man and a woman with head injuries following an encounter with a suspect. The two victims were walking on the sidewalk when the suspect approached them and, without warning, began striking them with his fists before he left the area.Just before 8a.m. Thursday officers were called to 12th and Pennsylvania Street about a man armed with a knife who matched the description of the Wednesday night suspect. Officers arrested&nbsp;34-year-old Deonte Darrell Jackson in a nearby backyard and took him to the Douglas County Correctional Facility, where he was booked on requested charges of aggravated battery, criminal damage, and disorderly conduct.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/5/1685051382759.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>After concerns about downtown were raised last fall, Chief Rich Lockhart directed officers to conduct foot patrols beginning in November, and in light of the recent event is committed to increasing efforts to keep the downtown Lawrence safe and secure. “Our department is outraged by this event. As an agency and a city, we cannot tolerate this type of behavior," said&nbsp; Lockhart.

🎥Homeless man jailed after violence in downtown Lawrence

SEDGWICK COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a shooting that critically injured a 16-year-old boy from Texas.

Just after 9:30 pm, Thursday, police were dispatched to a shooting call in the 2400 block of North Market Street in Wichita, according to Officer Juan Rebolledo.&nbsp;

First responders located the victim outside a home. He had several gunshot wounds to his upper body. EMS transported the 16- year-old victim to a local hospital with critical but non-life-threatening injuries.

Police released no additional details Friday afternoon.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/5/1685130814524.png" alt="First responders on the scene of the shooting investigation -photo courtesy KWCH" />
 <figcaption>First responders on the scene of the shooting investigation -photo courtesy KWCH</figcaption>
 </figure>SEDGWICK COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a shooting that critically injured a 16-year-old boy from Texas.Just after 9:30 pm, Thursday, police were dispatched to a shooting call in the 2400 block of North Market Street in Wichita, according to Officer Juan Rebolledo.&nbsp;First responders located the victim outside a home. He had several gunshot wounds to his upper body. EMS transported the 16- year-old victim to a local hospital with critical but non-life-threatening injuries.Police released no additional details Friday afternoon.

16-year-old injured in shooting outside Kansas home

LYON COUNTY—A Kansas man died in an accident just after 11:30a.m. Friday in Lyon County.

Deputies were dispatched to the 100 Block of Road U in Lyon County for a bicycle accident involving one rider, according to Deputy Chuck Moore. First responders found 82-year-old Michael Welch of McPherson, unresponsive.&nbsp; CPR was started and he was declared deceased at the scene.&nbsp;

The sheriff's office said Welch was traveling downhill and entered a ditch. He was participating in the <a href="https://www.unboundgravel.com/about/">Unbound Gravel event </a>in Lyon County. There were no other vehicles involved.

LYON COUNTY—A Kansas man died in an accident just after 11:30a.m. Friday in Lyon County.Deputies were dispatched to the 100 Block of Road U in Lyon County for a bicycle accident involving one rider, according to Deputy Chuck Moore. First responders found 82-year-old Michael Welch of McPherson, unresponsive.&nbsp; CPR was started and he was declared deceased at the scene.&nbsp;The sheriff's office said Welch was traveling downhill and entered a ditch. He was participating in the <a href="https://www.unboundgravel.com/about/">Unbound Gravel event </a>in Lyon County. There were no other vehicles involved.

Kansas man dies in bicycle accident

WASHINGTON (AP) — Two Army veterans who stormed the U.S. Capitol in a military-style formation with fellow members of the Oath Keepers were sentenced Friday to prison terms, a day after the far-right extremist group's founder received&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/stewart-rhodes-oath-keepers-seditious-conspiracy-sentencing-b3ed4556a3dec577539c4181639f666c">a record-setting 18-years behind bars</a>&nbsp;in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack.

U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta sentenced Jessica Watkins, of Woodstock, Ohio, to eight years and six months behind bars and sentenced Kenneth Harrelson, of Titusville, Florida, to four years in prison.

A federal jury acquitted Watkins and Harrelson of the seditious conspiracy charge that Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/oath-keepers-founder-guilty-of-seditious-conspiracy-42affe1614425c6820f7cbe8fd18ba96">found guilty of in November</a>. But jurors convicted Watkins and Harrelson of other Jan. 6 charges, including obstructing Congress’ certification of President Joe Biden’s victory.

Rhodes' 18-year term is the longest prison sentence that has been handed down so far in the hundreds of Capitol riot cases. The charges against leaders of the Oath Keepers and another extremist group, the Proud Boys, are among the most serious brought in the Justice Department's massive investigation of the riot.

Mehta agreed with the Justice Department that Rhodes and the other Oath Keepers' actions could be punished as “terrorism,” increasing the recommended sentence under federal guidelines.

But the judge ultimately gave Watkins and Harrelson far less time than prosecutors were seeking. The Justice Department had requested 18 years for Watkins and 15 for Harrelson.

Watkins and Harrelson marched toward the Capitol with other Oath Keepers members in “stack” formations as a mob of Trump supporters clashed with outnumbered police officers. Harrelson was the group’s “ground team lead” on Jan. 6. Watkins, who formed a separate Ohio-based militia group, recruited others to join the Oath Keepers in Washington that day.

Mehta said that while Watkins was not a top leader, like Rhodes, she was more than just a "foot soldier,” noting that at least three others charged in the riot wouldn’t have been there if she hadn’t recruited them to join.

“Your role that day was more aggressive, more assaultive, more purposeful than perhaps others," he told her.

Watkins tearfully apologized for her actions before the judge handed down her sentence. She condemned the violence by rioters who assaulted police, but conceded that her presence at the Capitol “probably inspired those people to a degree." She described herself as “just another idiot running around the Capitol” on Jan. 6.

“And today you’re going to hold this idiot responsible,” she told the judge.

The judge said Watkins' personal story of struggling for years to come to terms with her identity as a transgender woman made it especially difficult for him to understand why she has shown “a lack of empathy for those who suffered” on Jan. 6. Watkins&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/capitol-siege-ohio-veterans-government-and-politics-20f5b6007d9363bcf70ecf3e78bd7fd4">testified at trial</a>&nbsp;about hiding her identity from her parents during a strict Christian upbringing and going AWOL in the Army after a fellow soldier found evidence of her contact with a support group for transgender people.

Harrelson told the judge he went to Washington after another Oath Keeper offered him a “security job," but said he has never voted for a president in his life and doesn’t care about politics. Some of the Oath Keepers provided security for Trump ally Roger Stone and other right-wing figures at events before the riot.

“I have totally demolished my life,” he said as he broke down in tears. “I am responsible, and my foolish actions have caused immense pain to my wife and our children.”

Mehta said he doesn’t agree with the government’s portrayal of Harrelson as a “mid-level organizer” for the Oath Keepers. Unlike many other group members charged in the attack, Harrelson didn’t send any messages “that anyone would consider extremist,” the judge said.

But the judge said he was struck by an image of Harrelson patting down a police officer on his way out of the Capitol.

“You weren’t just there that day because you got swept in,” the judge told him.

During a nearly two-month trial in Washington's federal court, lawyers for Watkins and the other Oath Keepers argued there was no plan to attack the Capitol. On the witness stand, Watkins told jurors she never intended to interfere with the certification and never heard any commands for her and other Oath Keepers to enter the building.

Evidence shown to jurors showed Watkins after the 2020 election messaging with people who expressed interest in joining her Ohio militia group about “military-style basic” training. She told one recruit, “I need you fighting fit” by the inauguration, which was Jan. 20, 2021.

On Jan. 6, Watkins and other Oath Keepers wearing helmets and other paramilitary gear were seen shouldering their way through the crowd and up the Capitol stairs in military-style stack formation. She communicated with others during the riot over a channel called “Stop the Steal J6" on the walkie-talkie app Zello, declaring, “We are in the main dome right now.”

Harrelson screamed “Treason!” — an epithet directed at members of Congress — as he entered the Capitol on Jan. 6, a prosecutor said.

One of their other co-defendants, Florida chapter leader Kelly Meggs, was sentenced Thursday to 12 years behind bars for seditious conspiracy and other charges.

Rhodes, 58, of Granbury, Texas, was the first Jan. 6 defendant convicted of seditious conspiracy to receive his punishment for what prosecutors said was a weekslong plot to forcibly block the transfer of power from former President Donald Trump to Biden.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/oath-keepers-seditious-conspiracy-conviction-2b9fb724c9839524d00ee389959e0e62">Four other Oath Keepers convicted</a>&nbsp;of the sedition charge during a second trial in January will be sentenced next week.

During his sentencing Thursday, Rhodes defiantly claimed to be a “political prisoner,” criticized prosecutors and the Biden administration and tried to play down his actions on Jan. 6. The judge described Rhodes as a continued threat to the United States who clearly “wants democracy in this country to devolve into violence.”

The Oath Keepers' sentences this week could serve as a guide for prosecutors in a separate Jan. 6 case against leaders of the Proud Boys. Earlier this month,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/jan-6-enrique-tarrio-seditious-conspiracy-trial-f8738f17552cda21eef6d89504da2a0e">a different jury convicted former Proud Boys national chairman Enrique Tarrio</a>&nbsp;and three other group leaders of seditious conspiracy for what prosecutors said was another plot to keep Trump in the White House.

Before Thursday, the longest sentence in the more than 1,000 Capitol riot cases was 14 years and two months for a man with a long criminal record who attacked police officers with pepper spray and a chair as he stormed the Capitol.&nbsp;<a href="https://interactives.ap.org/jan-6-prosecutions/">Just over 500 of the defendants have been sentenced, with more than half receiving prison time.</a>

WASHINGTON (AP) — An Army veteran who stormed the U.S. Capitol in a military-style formation with fellow members of the Oath Keepers was sentenced Friday to more than eight years in prison, a day after the far-right extremist group's founder received&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/stewart-rhodes-oath-keepers-seditious-conspiracy-sentencing-b3ed4556a3dec577539c4181639f666c">an 18-year prison term</a>&nbsp;in the Jan. 6, 2021 attack.

Jessica Watkins, of Woodstock, Ohio, was acquitted of the seditious conspiracy charge that Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/oath-keepers-founder-guilty-of-seditious-conspiracy-42affe1614425c6820f7cbe8fd18ba96">found guilty of in November</a>, but jurors convicted her of obstruction and conspiracy to impede Congress' certification of President Joe Biden's victory.

She is the third member of the antigovernment group to receive her punishment this week in one of the most serious cases the Justice Department has brought in the riot. 

Rhodes' 18 year-term is the longest sentence that has been handed down so far in the hundreds of Capitol riot cases.

U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta said that while Watkins was not a top leader, like Rhodes, she was more than “just foot soldier,” noting that at least three others charged in the riot wouldn’t have been there if she hadn’t recruited them to join. He sentenced her to 8 1/2 years behind bars.

Watkins tearfully apologized for her actions before the judge handed down her sentence. She condemned the violence by rioters who assaulted police, but said she knows her presence at the Capitol “probably inspired those people to a degree." She described herself as “just another idiot running around the Capitol” on Jan. 6.

During the nearly two-month trial in Washington's federal court, lawyers for Watkins and the other Oath Keepers argued there was no plan to attack the Capitol. On the witness stand, Watkins testified she never intended to interfere with the certification and never heard any commands for her and other Oath Keepers to enter the building.

Evidence shown to jurors showed Watkins after the 2020 election messaging with people who expressed interest in joining her Ohio militia group about “military-style basic” training. She told one recruit: “I need you fighting fit” by the inauguration, which was Jan. 20, 2021.

On Jan. 6, Watkins and other Oath Keepers wearing helmets and other paramilitary gear were seen shouldering their way through the crowd and up the Capitol stairs in military-style “stack” formation. She communicated with others during the riot over a channel called “Stop the Steal J6" on the walkie-talkie app Zello, declaring “we are in the main dome right now.”

Another Oath Keeper and fellow Army veteran — Kenneth Harrelson — will be sentenced later Friday. One of their other co-defendants, Florida chapter leader Kelly Meggs, was sentenced Thursday to 12 years behind bars for seditious conspiracy and other charges.

The Oath Keepers' sentences this week could serve as a guide for prosecutors in a separate Jan. 6 case against leaders of the Proud Boys extremist group. Earlier this month,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/jan-6-enrique-tarrio-seditious-conspiracy-trial-f8738f17552cda21eef6d89504da2a0e">a different jury convicted former Proud Boys national chairman Enrique Tarrio</a>&nbsp;and three other group leaders of seditious conspiracy for what prosecutors said was another plot to keep Trump in the White House.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/5/1685119740032.png" alt="Watkins (Left) as seen on Jan. 6-photo U.S. Dept. of Justice" />
 <figcaption>Watkins (Left) as seen on Jan. 6-photo U.S. Dept. of Justice</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — Two Army veterans who stormed the U.S. Capitol in a military-style formation with fellow members of the Oath Keepers were sentenced Friday to prison terms, a day after the far-right extremist group's founder received&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/stewart-rhodes-oath-keepers-seditious-conspiracy-sentencing-b3ed4556a3dec577539c4181639f666c">a record-setting 18-years behind bars</a>&nbsp;in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/5/1685119703731.png" alt="Watkins-photo Montgomery Co." />
 <figcaption>Watkins-photo Montgomery Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta sentenced Jessica Watkins, of Woodstock, Ohio, to eight years and six months behind bars and sentenced Kenneth Harrelson, of Titusville, Florida, to four years in prison.A federal jury acquitted Watkins and Harrelson of the seditious conspiracy charge that Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/oath-keepers-founder-guilty-of-seditious-conspiracy-42affe1614425c6820f7cbe8fd18ba96">found guilty of in November</a>. But jurors convicted Watkins and Harrelson of other Jan. 6 charges, including obstructing Congress’ certification of President Joe Biden’s victory.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/11/1669760612209.png" alt="-Rhodes from his Jan. 2022 arrest-photo Collin County Sheriff" />
 <figcaption>-Rhodes from his Jan. 2022 arrest-photo Collin County Sheriff</figcaption>
 </figure>Rhodes' 18-year term is the longest prison sentence that has been handed down so far in the hundreds of Capitol riot cases. The charges against leaders of the Oath Keepers and another extremist group, the Proud Boys, are among the most serious brought in the Justice Department's massive investigation of the riot.Mehta agreed with the Justice Department that Rhodes and the other Oath Keepers' actions could be punished as “terrorism,” increasing the recommended sentence under federal guidelines.But the judge ultimately gave Watkins and Harrelson far less time than prosecutors were seeking. The Justice Department had requested 18 years for Watkins and 15 for Harrelson.Watkins and Harrelson marched toward the Capitol with other Oath Keepers members in “stack” formations as a mob of Trump supporters clashed with outnumbered police officers. Harrelson was the group’s “ground team lead” on Jan. 6. Watkins, who formed a separate Ohio-based militia group, recruited others to join the Oath Keepers in Washington that day.Mehta said that while Watkins was not a top leader, like Rhodes, she was more than just a "foot soldier,” noting that at least three others charged in the riot wouldn’t have been there if she hadn’t recruited them to join.“Your role that day was more aggressive, more assaultive, more purposeful than perhaps others," he told her.Watkins tearfully apologized for her actions before the judge handed down her sentence. She condemned the violence by rioters who assaulted police, but conceded that her presence at the Capitol “probably inspired those people to a degree." She described herself as “just another idiot running around the Capitol” on Jan. 6.“And today you’re going to hold this idiot responsible,” she told the judge.The judge said Watkins' personal story of struggling for years to come to terms with her identity as a transgender woman made it especially difficult for him to understand why she has shown “a lack of empathy for those who suffered” on Jan. 6. Watkins&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/capitol-siege-ohio-veterans-government-and-politics-20f5b6007d9363bcf70ecf3e78bd7fd4">testified at trial</a>&nbsp;about hiding her identity from her parents during a strict Christian upbringing and going AWOL in the Army after a fellow soldier found evidence of her contact with a support group for transgender people.Harrelson told the judge he went to Washington after another Oath Keeper offered him a “security job," but said he has never voted for a president in his life and doesn’t care about politics. Some of the Oath Keepers provided security for Trump ally Roger Stone and other right-wing figures at events before the riot.“I have totally demolished my life,” he said as he broke down in tears. “I am responsible, and my foolish actions have caused immense pain to my wife and our children.”Mehta said he doesn’t agree with the government’s portrayal of Harrelson as a “mid-level organizer” for the Oath Keepers. Unlike many other group members charged in the attack, Harrelson didn’t send any messages “that anyone would consider extremist,” the judge said.But the judge said he was struck by an image of Harrelson patting down a police officer on his way out of the Capitol.“You weren’t just there that day because you got swept in,” the judge told him.During a nearly two-month trial in Washington's federal court, lawyers for Watkins and the other Oath Keepers argued there was no plan to attack the Capitol. On the witness stand, Watkins told jurors she never intended to interfere with the certification and never heard any commands for her and other Oath Keepers to enter the building.Evidence shown to jurors showed Watkins after the 2020 election messaging with people who expressed interest in joining her Ohio militia group about “military-style basic” training. She told one recruit, “I need you fighting fit” by the inauguration, which was Jan. 20, 2021.On Jan. 6, Watkins and other Oath Keepers wearing helmets and other paramilitary gear were seen shouldering their way through the crowd and up the Capitol stairs in military-style stack formation. She communicated with others during the riot over a channel called “Stop the Steal J6" on the walkie-talkie app Zello, declaring, “We are in the main dome right now.”Harrelson screamed “Treason!” — an epithet directed at members of Congress — as he entered the Capitol on Jan. 6, a prosecutor said.One of their other co-defendants, Florida chapter leader Kelly Meggs, was sentenced Thursday to 12 years behind bars for seditious conspiracy and other charges.Rhodes, 58, of Granbury, Texas, was the first Jan. 6 defendant convicted of seditious conspiracy to receive his punishment for what prosecutors said was a weekslong plot to forcibly block the transfer of power from former President Donald Trump to Biden.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/oath-keepers-seditious-conspiracy-conviction-2b9fb724c9839524d00ee389959e0e62">Four other Oath Keepers convicted</a>&nbsp;of the sedition charge during a second trial in January will be sentenced next week.During his sentencing Thursday, Rhodes defiantly claimed to be a “political prisoner,” criticized prosecutors and the Biden administration and tried to play down his actions on Jan. 6. The judge described Rhodes as a continued threat to the United States who clearly “wants democracy in this country to devolve into violence.”The Oath Keepers' sentences this week could serve as a guide for prosecutors in a separate Jan. 6 case against leaders of the Proud Boys. Earlier this month,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/jan-6-enrique-tarrio-seditious-conspiracy-trial-f8738f17552cda21eef6d89504da2a0e">a different jury convicted former Proud Boys national chairman Enrique Tarrio</a>&nbsp;and three other group leaders of seditious conspiracy for what prosecutors said was another plot to keep Trump in the White House.Before Thursday, the longest sentence in the more than 1,000 Capitol riot cases was 14 years and two months for a man with a long criminal record who attacked police officers with pepper spray and a chair as he stormed the Capitol.&nbsp;<a href="https://interactives.ap.org/jan-6-prosecutions/">Just over 500 of the defendants have been sentenced, with more than half receiving prison time.</a>---------------WASHINGTON (AP) — An Army veteran who stormed the U.S. Capitol in a military-style formation with fellow members of the Oath Keepers was sentenced Friday to more than eight years in prison, a day after the far-right extremist group's founder received&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/stewart-rhodes-oath-keepers-seditious-conspiracy-sentencing-b3ed4556a3dec577539c4181639f666c">an 18-year prison term</a>&nbsp;in the Jan. 6, 2021 attack.Jessica Watkins, of Woodstock, Ohio, was acquitted of the seditious conspiracy charge that Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/oath-keepers-founder-guilty-of-seditious-conspiracy-42affe1614425c6820f7cbe8fd18ba96">found guilty of in November</a>, but jurors convicted her of obstruction and conspiracy to impede Congress' certification of President Joe Biden's victory.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/5/1685119703731.png" alt="Watkins photo Montgomery County Jail" />
 <figcaption>Watkins photo Montgomery County Jail</figcaption>
 </figure>She is the third member of the antigovernment group to receive her punishment this week in one of the most serious cases the Justice Department has brought in the riot. Rhodes' 18 year-term is the longest sentence that has been handed down so far in the hundreds of Capitol riot cases.U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta said that while Watkins was not a top leader, like Rhodes, she was more than “just foot soldier,” noting that at least three others charged in the riot wouldn’t have been there if she hadn’t recruited them to join. He sentenced her to 8 1/2 years behind bars.“Your role that day was more aggressive, more assaultive, more purposeful than perhaps others," he told her.Watkins tearfully apologized for her actions before the judge handed down her sentence. She condemned the violence by rioters who assaulted police, but said she knows her presence at the Capitol “probably inspired those people to a degree." She described herself as “just another idiot running around the Capitol” on Jan. 6.“And today you’re going to hold this idiot responsible,” she told the judge.During the nearly two-month trial in Washington's federal court, lawyers for Watkins and the other Oath Keepers argued there was no plan to attack the Capitol. On the witness stand, Watkins testified she never intended to interfere with the certification and never heard any commands for her and other Oath Keepers to enter the building.Evidence shown to jurors showed Watkins after the 2020 election messaging with people who expressed interest in joining her Ohio militia group about “military-style basic” training. She told one recruit: “I need you fighting fit” by the inauguration, which was Jan. 20, 2021.On Jan. 6, Watkins and other Oath Keepers wearing helmets and other paramilitary gear were seen shouldering their way through the crowd and up the Capitol stairs in military-style “stack” formation. She communicated with others during the riot over a channel called “Stop the Steal J6" on the walkie-talkie app Zello, declaring “we are in the main dome right now.”Another Oath Keeper and fellow Army veteran — Kenneth Harrelson — will be sentenced later Friday. One of their other co-defendants, Florida chapter leader Kelly Meggs, was sentenced Thursday to 12 years behind bars for seditious conspiracy and other charges.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/11/1669760612209.png" alt="-Rhodes from his Jan. 2022 arrest-photo Collin County Sheriff" />
 <figcaption>-Rhodes from his Jan. 2022 arrest-photo Collin County Sheriff</figcaption>
 </figure>Rhodes, 58, of Granbury, Texas, was the first Jan. 6 defendant convicted of seditious conspiracy to receive his punishment for what prosecutors said was a weekslong plot to forcibly block the transfer of power from former President Donald Trump to Biden.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/oath-keepers-seditious-conspiracy-conviction-2b9fb724c9839524d00ee389959e0e62">Four other Oath Keepers convicted</a>&nbsp;of the sedition charge during a second trial in January will be sentenced next week.During his sentencing Thursday, Rhodes defiantly claimed to be a “political prisoner,” criticized prosecutors and the Biden administration and tried to play down his actions on Jan. 6. The judge described Rhodes as a continued threat to the United States who clearly “wants democracy in this country to devolve into violence.”The Oath Keepers' sentences this week could serve as a guide for prosecutors in a separate Jan. 6 case against leaders of the Proud Boys extremist group. Earlier this month,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/jan-6-enrique-tarrio-seditious-conspiracy-trial-f8738f17552cda21eef6d89504da2a0e">a different jury convicted former Proud Boys national chairman Enrique Tarrio</a>&nbsp;and three other group leaders of seditious conspiracy for what prosecutors said was another plot to keep Trump in the White House.Before Thursday, the longest sentence in the more than 1,000 Capitol riot cases was 14 years and two months for a man with a long criminal record who attacked police officers with pepper spray and a chair as he stormed the Capitol.&nbsp;<a href="https://interactives.ap.org/jan-6-prosecutions/">Just over 500 of the defendants have been sentenced, with more than half receiving prison time.</a>

2 more Oath Keepers sentenced to prison for Jan. 6 Capitol attack

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

WASHINGTON — Progressives are pushing hard for President Joe Biden to take the unprecedented step of invoking the 14th Amendment as a way to avoid financial calamity if the White House and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy do not strike a deal on the debt ceiling in the coming days.

The lawmakers and legal scholars argue that the Reconstruction-era amendment — to ensure debts were paid after the Civil War — trumps the&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/IF/IF10292">debt limit statute</a>, or the law that sets the dollar amount of how much the U.S. government can borrow to pay its bills.

Section 4 of the amendment states: “the validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred … shall not be questioned.”

“The text of the 14th Amendment, which says that the debt of the United States ‘shall not be questioned,’ … nothing questions that more than a default, or frankly, a debt limit that may make it impossible practically to pay the debt of the United States,” Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island said Monday on a call with reporters hosted by the left-leaning Roosevelt Institute.

A unilateral action by the president to proceed as though the U.S. has not run out of borrowing authority would not bypass Congress, the chair of the Senate Committee on the Budget and others argue.&nbsp;

Rather, it would be a choice by the U.S. leader to follow the letter of the 14th Amendment and continue abiding by the numerous spending laws passed by Congress, they argue.

“It’s not ‘How can the Biden administration go around Congress?’ The problem is Congress has legislated contradictory things. They’ve said you must spend this money and also, these are the taxes that you must collect. And also, here’s the debt ceiling,” UCLA law professor Joseph Fishkin argued on the call.&nbsp;

“A lot of people seem to be assuming that if the administration is kind of stuck in that dilemma where you have to violate one of those statutes, for some reason, the one that has to be violated is the one on spending money,” he continued.

Biden and McCarthy&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.nevadacurrent.com/2023/05/23/biden-and-mccarthy-strike-positive-tone-after-debt-limit-talks-but-no-deal-yet/">met</a>&nbsp;Monday to continue negotiations but still hadn’t reached an agreement to raise the nation’s borrowing limit.

Biden said Sunday that he’s “looking at the 14th Amendment, as to whether or not we have the authority.”

“I think we have the authority. The question is: Could it be done and invoked in time that it could not — would not be appealed and, as a consequence, pass the date in question and still default on the debt. That’s a question that I think is unresolved,” he&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?528183-1/presidential-closing-news-conference-7-summit">said</a>&nbsp;during remarks from the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen hours later on NBC’s “Meet the Press” also&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/meet-press-may-21-2023-n1305244">expressed</a>&nbsp;concern about whether the administration had time to invoke the amendment as a solution.

“It doesn’t seem like something that could be appropriately used in these circumstances, given the legal uncertainty around it, and given the tight time frame we’re on. So my devout hope is that Congress will raise the debt ceiling,” she told host Chuck Todd.

<a target="_blank" href="https://www.nevadacurrent.com/2023/05/09/biden-and-congressional-leaders-fail-to-reach-a-debt-limit-deal-but-will-meet-again-friday/">Weeks earlier</a>&nbsp;at the White House, the president said he was “considering” the amendment but “the problem is, it would have to be litigated, and in the meantime without an extension, the (situation) would still end up in the same place.”

Proponents of using the amendment said they responded “quizzically” to the administration’s concern about time.

“You know, really, it doesn’t take any time. You actually just keep going with spending the money Congress has appropriated, and then there will be fights and litigation after that,” Fishkin said, adding that the quicker a decision is made, the better chances are for any “cloud” over the market to be “lifted.”

But a question remains over how the stock market would react to even a whiff of the courts being the ultimate decider on the 14th Amendment.

“Some people assume that the president’s power to issue new debt would be resolved legally by the Supreme Court, but it would be resolved, for practical purposes, by the bond markets before the courts could even act. And the resolution would not be a happy one,” Michael McConnell, director of the Constitutional Law Center at Stanford Law School, argued in a New York Times&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/14/opinion/debt-limit-constitution.html">op-ed</a>&nbsp;this month.

McConnell wrote that the idea that the president could preempt Congress’s power of the purse as “far-fetched.”

“(Section 4) does not make it unconstitutional for the United States to run out of money. Nice idea, but impossible. Section 4 prevents the only institution of government that could deny the validity of the debt — namely, Congress — from doing so,” McConnell wrote. “For the United States to fail to pay interest or principal on its debt would be financially catastrophic, but it would not affect the validity of the debt.”

Another question proponents of the 14th Amendment are asking: Who could challenge the president in court for continuing to pay the nation’s bills?

“No one really has standing to challenge spending money that was appropriated (for) other people,” Fishkin argued.

However, he predicts a flood of lawsuits would follow a default, which would have&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.marylandmatters.org/2023/05/19/a-default-on-the-u-s-debt-would-be-far-worse-than-a-government-shutdown-heres-how/">wide-ranging consequences</a>&nbsp;for anyone who relies on the federal government for income, including Social Security recipients, disabled veterans, military contractors and so on.

The National Association of Government Employees, which represents 75,000 federal employees under the umbrella Service Employees International Union, has&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.mad.256722/gov.uscourts.mad.256722.1.0.pdf">already filed suit</a>&nbsp;in a Massachusetts federal court on behalf of members who will lose income and not be able to pay union dues as a result of a default.

The group filed suit, in part, on the grounds that allowing the Treasury to prioritize certain payments over others during a default violates the separation of powers. In other words, Congress makes the spending decisions, not the president.

A federal judge has&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.law360.com/employment/articles/1680684/debt-limit-suit-races-to-hearing-as-catastrophe-looms">scheduled</a>&nbsp;a hearing for May 31.

Dozens of progressive House Democrats sent a&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://progressives.house.gov/_cache/files/b/d/bd03b58a-965d-4af8-9902-9acd070ea71f/40864F2E443B71B11BE64733172C450C.cpc-letter-on-14th-amendment-and-debt-ceiling-5-19-23.pdf">letter</a>&nbsp;to Biden May 19 urging him to invoke the 14th Amendment.

“If the options are either agreeing to major cuts to domestic priorities under the Republican threat of destroying the economy and moving forward to honor America’s debts, we join prominent legal scholars, economists, former budget officials, and a former president in advocating for invoking the 14th Amendment of the Constitution,” lawmakers wrote.&nbsp;

“Not only does the debt ceiling run counter to the Constitution’s mandate that the validity of America’s public debt shall not be questioned, it contradicts the appropriations law that requires the Treasury to issue debt for the funding you are obligated to administer at Congress’s direction,” the letter continued.

Independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and 10 Senate Democrats also sent a&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.sanders.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/POTUS-14th-Amendment-Letter.pdf">letter</a>&nbsp;to the president advocating for unilateral action. Those who signed it included Whitehouse and Tina Smith of Minnesota, Jeff Merkley of Oregon, Jack Reed of Rhode Island and John Fetterman of Pennsylvania.

“Republicans’ unwillingness to consider one penny in new revenue from the wealthy and large corporations, along with their diminishment of the disastrous consequences of default, have made it seemingly impossible to enact a bipartisan budget deal at this time,” wrote the senators, who sent the letter May 18. “We write to urgently request that you prepare to exercise your authority under the 14th Amendment of the Constitution.”

Discussion of invoking the 14th Amendment has entered the national conversation in prior years as Congress and previous administrations edged toward the fiscal cliff.

Following the U.S. nearly defaulting in 2011, the idea escalated when Cornell Law professor Michael Dorf and University of&nbsp; Florida Levin College of Law professor Neil Buchanan&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://scholarship.law.cornell.edu/facpub/591/">argued</a>&nbsp;that the president “ignoring” the debt ceiling is the “least unconstitutional” course of action.

However, previous administrations and legal scholars have&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/IF/IF10292">rejected</a>&nbsp;the idea.

Biden&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.nevadacurrent.com/2023/05/09/biden-and-congressional-leaders-fail-to-reach-a-debt-limit-deal-but-will-meet-again-friday/">said</a>&nbsp;on May 9 once the current debt situation is addressed, he wants to take a look “months down the road” at what a court would say on whether a president can use those provisions to address the debt ceiling without action by Congress.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/5/1684802104463.png" alt="President Biden and Speaker McCarthy last met on Monday.- White House photo" />
 <figcaption>President Biden and Speaker McCarthy last met on Monday.- White House photo</figcaption>
 </figure>By ASHLEY MURRAY&nbsp; <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/03/30/u-s-judge-rules-insurers-dont-have-to-cover-many-free-preventive-health-services/">States Newsroom</a>WASHINGTON — Progressives are pushing hard for President Joe Biden to take the unprecedented step of invoking the 14th Amendment as a way to avoid financial calamity if the White House and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy do not strike a deal on the debt ceiling in the coming days.The lawmakers and legal scholars argue that the Reconstruction-era amendment — to ensure debts were paid after the Civil War — trumps the&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/IF/IF10292">debt limit statute</a>, or the law that sets the dollar amount of how much the U.S. government can borrow to pay its bills.Section 4 of the amendment states: “the validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred … shall not be questioned.”“The text of the 14th Amendment, which says that the debt of the United States ‘shall not be questioned,’ … nothing questions that more than a default, or frankly, a debt limit that may make it impossible practically to pay the debt of the United States,” Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island said Monday on a call with reporters hosted by the left-leaning Roosevelt Institute.A unilateral action by the president to proceed as though the U.S. has not run out of borrowing authority would not bypass Congress, the chair of the Senate Committee on the Budget and others argue.&nbsp;Rather, it would be a choice by the U.S. leader to follow the letter of the 14th Amendment and continue abiding by the numerous spending laws passed by Congress, they argue.“It’s not ‘How can the Biden administration go around Congress?’ The problem is Congress has legislated contradictory things. They’ve said you must spend this money and also, these are the taxes that you must collect. And also, here’s the debt ceiling,” UCLA law professor Joseph Fishkin argued on the call.&nbsp;“A lot of people seem to be assuming that if the administration is kind of stuck in that dilemma where you have to violate one of those statutes, for some reason, the one that has to be violated is the one on spending money,” he continued.Biden and McCarthy&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.nevadacurrent.com/2023/05/23/biden-and-mccarthy-strike-positive-tone-after-debt-limit-talks-but-no-deal-yet/">met</a>&nbsp;Monday to continue negotiations but still hadn’t reached an agreement to raise the nation’s borrowing limit.<h2>Administration’s stance</h2>Biden said Sunday that he’s “looking at the 14th Amendment, as to whether or not we have the authority.”“I think we have the authority. The question is: Could it be done and invoked in time that it could not — would not be appealed and, as a consequence, pass the date in question and still default on the debt. That’s a question that I think is unresolved,” he&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?528183-1/presidential-closing-news-conference-7-summit">said</a>&nbsp;during remarks from the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan.Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen hours later on NBC’s “Meet the Press” also&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/meet-press-may-21-2023-n1305244">expressed</a>&nbsp;concern about whether the administration had time to invoke the amendment as a solution.“It doesn’t seem like something that could be appropriately used in these circumstances, given the legal uncertainty around it, and given the tight time frame we’re on. So my devout hope is that Congress will raise the debt ceiling,” she told host Chuck Todd.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.nevadacurrent.com/2023/05/09/biden-and-congressional-leaders-fail-to-reach-a-debt-limit-deal-but-will-meet-again-friday/">Weeks earlier</a>&nbsp;at the White House, the president said he was “considering” the amendment but “the problem is, it would have to be litigated, and in the meantime without an extension, the (situation) would still end up in the same place.”Proponents of using the amendment said they responded “quizzically” to the administration’s concern about time.“You know, really, it doesn’t take any time. You actually just keep going with spending the money Congress has appropriated, and then there will be fights and litigation after that,” Fishkin said, adding that the quicker a decision is made, the better chances are for any “cloud” over the market to be “lifted.”<h2>Legal questions</h2>But a question remains over how the stock market would react to even a whiff of the courts being the ultimate decider on the 14th Amendment.“Some people assume that the president’s power to issue new debt would be resolved legally by the Supreme Court, but it would be resolved, for practical purposes, by the bond markets before the courts could even act. And the resolution would not be a happy one,” Michael McConnell, director of the Constitutional Law Center at Stanford Law School, argued in a New York Times&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/14/opinion/debt-limit-constitution.html">op-ed</a>&nbsp;this month.McConnell wrote that the idea that the president could preempt Congress’s power of the purse as “far-fetched.”“(Section 4) does not make it unconstitutional for the United States to run out of money. Nice idea, but impossible. Section 4 prevents the only institution of government that could deny the validity of the debt — namely, Congress — from doing so,” McConnell wrote. “For the United States to fail to pay interest or principal on its debt would be financially catastrophic, but it would not affect the validity of the debt.”Another question proponents of the 14th Amendment are asking: Who could challenge the president in court for continuing to pay the nation’s bills?“No one really has standing to challenge spending money that was appropriated (for) other people,” Fishkin argued.However, he predicts a flood of lawsuits would follow a default, which would have&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.marylandmatters.org/2023/05/19/a-default-on-the-u-s-debt-would-be-far-worse-than-a-government-shutdown-heres-how/">wide-ranging consequences</a>&nbsp;for anyone who relies on the federal government for income, including Social Security recipients, disabled veterans, military contractors and so on.The National Association of Government Employees, which represents 75,000 federal employees under the umbrella Service Employees International Union, has&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.mad.256722/gov.uscourts.mad.256722.1.0.pdf">already filed suit</a>&nbsp;in a Massachusetts federal court on behalf of members who will lose income and not be able to pay union dues as a result of a default.The group filed suit, in part, on the grounds that allowing the Treasury to prioritize certain payments over others during a default violates the separation of powers. In other words, Congress makes the spending decisions, not the president.A federal judge has&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.law360.com/employment/articles/1680684/debt-limit-suit-races-to-hearing-as-catastrophe-looms">scheduled</a>&nbsp;a hearing for May 31.<h2>Progressives’ push</h2>Dozens of progressive House Democrats sent a&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://progressives.house.gov/_cache/files/b/d/bd03b58a-965d-4af8-9902-9acd070ea71f/40864F2E443B71B11BE64733172C450C.cpc-letter-on-14th-amendment-and-debt-ceiling-5-19-23.pdf">letter</a>&nbsp;to Biden May 19 urging him to invoke the 14th Amendment.“If the options are either agreeing to major cuts to domestic priorities under the Republican threat of destroying the economy and moving forward to honor America’s debts, we join prominent legal scholars, economists, former budget officials, and a former president in advocating for invoking the 14th Amendment of the Constitution,” lawmakers wrote.&nbsp;“Not only does the debt ceiling run counter to the Constitution’s mandate that the validity of America’s public debt shall not be questioned, it contradicts the appropriations law that requires the Treasury to issue debt for the funding you are obligated to administer at Congress’s direction,” the letter continued.Independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and 10 Senate Democrats also sent a&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.sanders.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/POTUS-14th-Amendment-Letter.pdf">letter</a>&nbsp;to the president advocating for unilateral action. Those who signed it included Whitehouse and Tina Smith of Minnesota, Jeff Merkley of Oregon, Jack Reed of Rhode Island and John Fetterman of Pennsylvania.“Republicans’ unwillingness to consider one penny in new revenue from the wealthy and large corporations, along with their diminishment of the disastrous consequences of default, have made it seemingly impossible to enact a bipartisan budget deal at this time,” wrote the senators, who sent the letter May 18. “We write to urgently request that you prepare to exercise your authority under the 14th Amendment of the Constitution.”<h2>Not a new idea</h2>Discussion of invoking the 14th Amendment has entered the national conversation in prior years as Congress and previous administrations edged toward the fiscal cliff.Following the U.S. nearly defaulting in 2011, the idea escalated when Cornell Law professor Michael Dorf and University of&nbsp; Florida Levin College of Law professor Neil Buchanan&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://scholarship.law.cornell.edu/facpub/591/">argued</a>&nbsp;that the president “ignoring” the debt ceiling is the “least unconstitutional” course of action.However, previous administrations and legal scholars have&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/IF/IF10292">rejected</a>&nbsp;the idea.Biden&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.nevadacurrent.com/2023/05/09/biden-and-congressional-leaders-fail-to-reach-a-debt-limit-deal-but-will-meet-again-friday/">said</a>&nbsp;on May 9 once the current debt situation is addressed, he wants to take a look “months down the road” at what a court would say on whether a president can use those provisions to address the debt ceiling without action by Congress.

Progressives want Biden to use the 14th Amendment to resolve debt crisis 

By TIM CARPENTER <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/04/06/grieving-moms-plea-to-kansas-lawmakers-do-something-this-epidemic-is-killing-our-kids/">Kansas Reflector</a>

TOPEKA — Gov. Laura Kelly joined activists and legislators Thursday who reflected on a four-year journey to adoption of a Kansas law ending the statute of limitations on criminal prosecution for alleged child sexual abuse and extending opportunity to file lawsuits in those cases.

The legislation had been discussed off and on for years before&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://lnks.gd/l/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJidWxsZXRpbl9saW5rX2lkIjoxMDEsInVyaSI6ImJwMjpjbGljayIsInVybCI6Imh0dHA6Ly93d3cua3NsZWdpc2xhdHVyZS5vcmcvbGkvYjIwMjNfMjQvbWVhc3VyZXMvaGIyMTI3LyIsImJ1bGxldGluX2lkIjoiMjAyMzA1MjUuNzczMDMyNDEifQ.f3_o_-oiC9kTU3aFL9gV79ti5QZrGhbOVOoS43fglGI/s/1303160910/br/203748011522-l">Senate Substitute for House Bill 2127</a>&nbsp;gained traction during the 2023 session and was unanimously passed 120-0 in the House and 40-0 by the Senate. Kelly executed a ceremonial signing of the bill in the Capitol rotunda, which followed official signing of the legislation in April.

“It goes to show this is an issue that transcends partisan politics,” Kelly said. “This will help get child predators off the streets, make our communities safer and protect other children from becoming victims.”

Senate President Ty Masterson, a Republican from Andover, said negotiations led to a bill that struck the right balance within the legal system.

“It was time to create some openings. It was about bringing help to the victims,” he said.

Under the new Kansas law, criminal prosecution for sexual abuse of a person under 18 years of age could occur at any time. A statute of limitations would no longer apply, which would bring those crimes in line with cases of murder, terrorism or rape.

The reform bill also extended the timeframe for filing civil actions to recover damages. Going forward a lawsuit could be brought within 13 years of a victim’s 18th birthday or no more than three years after the date of a criminal conviction for a crime related to the alleged abuse.

Under the old Kansas law, civil actions had to be filed within three years of the victim turning 18 or no more than three years after the person could have reasonably discovered injury or illness was caused by sexual abuse.

Sen. Cindy Holscher, D-Overland Park, said she appreciated the commitment of lawmakers and victims of childhood trauma who wouldn’t give up on creating change.

“It has been a tough and long-fought battle,” Holsher said. “I would say there are a lot of people to thank for getting us to this important day. This is how the legislative process is supposed to work. Not outside interests for companies with six-figure lobbyists before the people. This has been one of the purest grassroots efforts and it gives me great hope for the future of our state.”

Questions were raised by House and Senate members about the capacity of law enforcement to investigate incidents that purportedly transpired years earlier. Some lawmakers were wary of the bill’s financial implications for the Catholic church and other organizations. There were discussions among legislators about potential of individuals to level false allegations.

Rep. Mark Schreiber, R-Emporia, said it was heartening to see a group of first-year legislators bring expertise and experience to the debate. He lauded the steady presence at the Capitol of a coalition of women victims who personalized the issue.

“The combined force of all these legislators was no match for the commitment and courage exhibited by the survivors who showed up each week at the Capitol here to push for this legislation,” he said.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/5/1685123377592.png" alt="Gov. Laura Kelly celebrated with legislators and activists a new Kansas law eliminating the statute of limitations on criminal prosecution of child sexual abuse and expansion of the statute of limitations on filing lawsuits to seek damages in abuse cases. -courtesy photo" />
 <figcaption>Gov. Laura Kelly celebrated with legislators and activists a new Kansas law eliminating the statute of limitations on criminal prosecution of child sexual abuse and expansion of the statute of limitations on filing lawsuits to seek damages in abuse cases. -courtesy photo</figcaption>
 </figure>By TIM CARPENTER <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/04/06/grieving-moms-plea-to-kansas-lawmakers-do-something-this-epidemic-is-killing-our-kids/">Kansas Reflector</a>TOPEKA — Gov. Laura Kelly joined activists and legislators Thursday who reflected on a four-year journey to adoption of a Kansas law ending the statute of limitations on criminal prosecution for alleged child sexual abuse and extending opportunity to file lawsuits in those cases.The legislation had been discussed off and on for years before&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://lnks.gd/l/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJidWxsZXRpbl9saW5rX2lkIjoxMDEsInVyaSI6ImJwMjpjbGljayIsInVybCI6Imh0dHA6Ly93d3cua3NsZWdpc2xhdHVyZS5vcmcvbGkvYjIwMjNfMjQvbWVhc3VyZXMvaGIyMTI3LyIsImJ1bGxldGluX2lkIjoiMjAyMzA1MjUuNzczMDMyNDEifQ.f3_o_-oiC9kTU3aFL9gV79ti5QZrGhbOVOoS43fglGI/s/1303160910/br/203748011522-l">Senate Substitute for House Bill 2127</a>&nbsp;gained traction during the 2023 session and was unanimously passed 120-0 in the House and 40-0 by the Senate. Kelly executed a ceremonial signing of the bill in the Capitol rotunda, which followed official signing of the legislation in April.“It goes to show this is an issue that transcends partisan politics,” Kelly said. “This will help get child predators off the streets, make our communities safer and protect other children from becoming victims.”Senate President Ty Masterson, a Republican from Andover, said negotiations led to a bill that struck the right balance within the legal system.“It was time to create some openings. It was about bringing help to the victims,” he said.Under the new Kansas law, criminal prosecution for sexual abuse of a person under 18 years of age could occur at any time. A statute of limitations would no longer apply, which would bring those crimes in line with cases of murder, terrorism or rape.The reform bill also extended the timeframe for filing civil actions to recover damages. Going forward a lawsuit could be brought within 13 years of a victim’s 18th birthday or no more than three years after the date of a criminal conviction for a crime related to the alleged abuse.Under the old Kansas law, civil actions had to be filed within three years of the victim turning 18 or no more than three years after the person could have reasonably discovered injury or illness was caused by sexual abuse.Sen. Cindy Holscher, D-Overland Park, said she appreciated the commitment of lawmakers and victims of childhood trauma who wouldn’t give up on creating change.“It has been a tough and long-fought battle,” Holsher said. “I would say there are a lot of people to thank for getting us to this important day. This is how the legislative process is supposed to work. Not outside interests for companies with six-figure lobbyists before the people. This has been one of the purest grassroots efforts and it gives me great hope for the future of our state.”Questions were raised by House and Senate members about the capacity of law enforcement to investigate incidents that purportedly transpired years earlier. Some lawmakers were wary of the bill’s financial implications for the Catholic church and other organizations. There were discussions among legislators about potential of individuals to level false allegations.Rep. Mark Schreiber, R-Emporia, said it was heartening to see a group of first-year legislators bring expertise and experience to the debate. He lauded the steady presence at the Capitol of a coalition of women victims who personalized the issue.“The combined force of all these legislators was no match for the commitment and courage exhibited by the survivors who showed up each week at the Capitol here to push for this legislation,” he said.

Gov., legislators honor bipartisan reform of Kansas law on sexual abuse claims

CLINTON COUNTY —Clinton County Missouri Sheriff Larry Fish says residents should expect a significant increase in traffic as hundreds travel to see a nun’s exhumed, “incorrupt” body.

Hundreds of Catholics are traveling to to Gower, Missouri, 38 miles north of Kansas City, to witness what many <a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/254384/a-miracle-in-missouri-body-of-benedictine-sisters-foundress-thought-to-be-incorrupt?fbclid=IwAR0j-YvHmyzF6W4GUVCv5IkwvfpWPyu0iOGh5tZQUroq1HW1UEiWXkC802I">are calling a miracle.&nbsp; &nbsp;</a>

After Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster, founder of the Benedictine Sisters of Mary in Gower, passed away in May of 2019 she was buried on the grounds of the chapel. Four years later the sisters decided to dig up her remains to place them under an altar in the chapel.&nbsp; &nbsp;

They found cracks in her tomb and her body intact and appearing to be incorrupt.&nbsp; &nbsp;Sister Lancaster's body is on display until Monday, May 29

Bishop James Johnston of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph released the following statement regarding Sr. Wilhemina:&nbsp;

“The condition of the remains of Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster has understandably generated widespread interest and raised important questions. At the same time, it is important to protect the integrity of the mortal remains of Sister Wilhelmina to allow for a thorough investigation.&nbsp;

I invite all the Faithful to continue praying during this time of investigation for God’s will in the lives of the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles; for all women religious; and all the baptized in our common vocation to holiness, with hope and trust in the Lord.”&nbsp;

CLINTON COUNTY —Clinton County Missouri Sheriff Larry Fish says residents should expect a significant increase in traffic as hundreds travel to see a nun’s exhumed, “incorrupt” body.<div><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?height=476&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FClintoncosheriff%2Fvideos%2F201765475615353%2F&show_text=false&width=267&t=8" width="267" height="476" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowFullScreen="true"></iframe></div>Hundreds of Catholics are traveling to to Gower, Missouri, 38 miles north of Kansas City, to witness what many <a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/254384/a-miracle-in-missouri-body-of-benedictine-sisters-foundress-thought-to-be-incorrupt?fbclid=IwAR0j-YvHmyzF6W4GUVCv5IkwvfpWPyu0iOGh5tZQUroq1HW1UEiWXkC802I">are calling a miracle.&nbsp; &nbsp;</a>After Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster, founder of the Benedictine Sisters of Mary in Gower, passed away in May of 2019 she was buried on the grounds of the chapel. Four years later the sisters decided to dig up her remains to place them under an altar in the chapel.&nbsp; &nbsp;They found cracks in her tomb and her body intact and appearing to be incorrupt.&nbsp; &nbsp;Sister Lancaster's body is on display until Monday, May 29Bishop James Johnston of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph released the following statement regarding Sr. Wilhemina:&nbsp;“The condition of the remains of Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster has understandably generated widespread interest and raised important questions. At the same time, it is important to protect the integrity of the mortal remains of Sister Wilhelmina to allow for a thorough investigation.&nbsp;I invite all the Faithful to continue praying during this time of investigation for God’s will in the lives of the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles; for all women religious; and all the baptized in our common vocation to holiness, with hope and trust in the Lord.”&nbsp;

🎥 Sheriff warns of traffic issues as people travel to see exhumed nun

SEDGWICK COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a shooting in Wichita and have made an arrest.

Just before 8 pm, Wednesday, police were dispatched to a Wichita hospital for a walk-in victim with a gunshot wound to his chest, according to Officer Juan Rebolledo.&nbsp; The 50-year-old man had serious but non-life-threatening injuries. He underwent surgery and is in stable condition.

The investigation revealed the incident took place in the 2400 block of North Minnesota in Wichita. Officers learned that the victim had a verbal altercation with 56-year-old Kenneth James over an outstanding issue and after a brief physical altercation, James produced a gun and shot him.

Police arrested James on a <a href="https://ssc.sedgwickcounty.org/InmateSearch/Details.aspx?Id=55632">requested charge of aggravated battery</a>.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/5/1685037545285.png" alt="James-photo Sedgwick Co." />
 <figcaption>James-photo Sedgwick Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>SEDGWICK COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a shooting in Wichita and have made an arrest.Just before 8 pm, Wednesday, police were dispatched to a Wichita hospital for a walk-in victim with a gunshot wound to his chest, according to Officer Juan Rebolledo.&nbsp; The 50-year-old man had serious but non-life-threatening injuries. He underwent surgery and is in stable condition.The investigation revealed the incident took place in the 2400 block of North Minnesota in Wichita. Officers learned that the victim had a verbal altercation with 56-year-old Kenneth James over an outstanding issue and after a brief physical altercation, James produced a gun and shot him.Police arrested James on a <a href="https://ssc.sedgwickcounty.org/InmateSearch/Details.aspx?Id=55632">requested charge of aggravated battery</a>.

Police: Kansas man shot victim during fight

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Leaders of Kansas' Republican-controlled Legislature backed off a threat to sue the state's Democratic governor for vetoing parts of a GOP education funding bill, saying Thursday that they still doubt the legality of her actions but now question whether a court challenge would be worth it.

Gov. Laura Kelly&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/kansas-school-funding-kelly-veto-fd51c6022b6983f8758a836ac3be9e5e">nixed items</a>&nbsp;in a $6 billion measure that provides the bulk of the funding for public K-12 schools for the 2023-24 school year. The vetoes changed how state funds are distributed to protect rural schools, though the move helped a majority of the state's 286 local districts and took funds away from only 25 of them, according to State Department of Education data.

Kelly also didn't touch the only school choice initiative that divided Republicans were able to pass this year, expanding an existing program for private school scholarships of up to $8,000 a year for low-income public school students. While public education groups strongly opposed it, some GOP conservatives had hoped to pass the kind of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/school-vouchers-public-education-funding-kansas-88f7d2a5793c100e732d5ec38278da26">sweeping plan</a>&nbsp;to use state education dollars to help parents pay for private or home schooling that states such as&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-florida-nebraska-kim-reynolds-iowa-1fdab7c898730873b8c3b880223c5306">Iowa,</a><a href="https://apnews.com/article/education-vouchers-south-carolina-bill-signing-cf089d5b3fc42bd74a54f93abb1bf131">South Carolina</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/utah-state-government-arizona-iowa-south-carolina-kansas-091e6094fcea2852ec279fedf11759d8">Utah</a>&nbsp;enacted.

Republican leaders contend that Kelly exceeded the power granted to governors under the Kansas Constitution to veto individual spending items in budget bills. The education funding bill mixed spending with policy, and Kelly deleted six pages of language and also made a technical adjustment at the end of the bill.

Senate President Ty Masterson, a Wichita-area Republican, told reporters Thursday at the Statehouse that GOP leaders initially feared she would go after more parts of the bill.

“I don’t know that it’s worth the fight now,” Masterson said. “I don’t think we’re going to do anything with this one.”

When Kelly announced her vetoes last week, Masterson and House Speaker Dan Hawkins, a Wichita Republican, called on GOP Attorney General Kris Kobach to review them, suggesting they were poised for a lawsuit.

Kelly's actions rejected a GOP-backed change for local school districts with declining student numbers — more than half of them. The state distributes its dollars with a per-student formula, so funding drops as enrollments decline, but the state phases in the decrease over several years.

The GOP change would have allowed less time for districts to adjust to a funding loss, and top Republicans contend the move would have helped growing districts. But Hawkins said in a statement that the issue “can probably be addressed in a more efficient way” than suing Kelly.

The governor told reporters Thursday after a Statehouse event that she believes the six pages she vetoed “clearly” represented a budget item.

She said she wasn't sure she could go after other parts of the bill, "and I didn’t want to test it out.”

Kelly's vetoes benefitted more than 150 districts, giving them more state funds than they would have received otherwise, according to State Department of Education data. More than 100 others saw no difference.

Kansas has boosted aid to public schools over the past decade, with an increase of about 3% coming for 2023-24. Even with fewer students across much of the state, only 10 districts will receive less aid overall than they did in 2022-23. All of those have fewer than 500 students, and four have fewer than 100.

Without Kelly's vetoes, 29 districts would have received less money overall than in 2022-23.

“If they continue to put really bad policy in appropriations bills, you know, I probably will continue to line-item (veto them),” the governor said.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/5/1684436202687.png" alt="Gov. Laura Kelly&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/kansas-school-funding-kelly-veto-fd51c6022b6983f8758a836ac3be9e5e">nixed items</a>&nbsp;in a $6 billion measure that provides the bulk of the funding for public K-12 schools for the 2023-24 school year.photo Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector" />
 <figcaption>Gov. Laura Kelly&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/kansas-school-funding-kelly-veto-fd51c6022b6983f8758a836ac3be9e5e">nixed items</a>&nbsp;in a $6 billion measure that provides the bulk of the funding for public K-12 schools for the 2023-24 school year.photo Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector</figcaption>
 </figure>By JOHN HANNA&nbsp;TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Leaders of Kansas' Republican-controlled Legislature backed off a threat to sue the state's Democratic governor for vetoing parts of a GOP education funding bill, saying Thursday that they still doubt the legality of her actions but now question whether a court challenge would be worth it.Gov. Laura Kelly&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/kansas-school-funding-kelly-veto-fd51c6022b6983f8758a836ac3be9e5e">nixed items</a>&nbsp;in a $6 billion measure that provides the bulk of the funding for public K-12 schools for the 2023-24 school year. The vetoes changed how state funds are distributed to protect rural schools, though the move helped a majority of the state's 286 local districts and took funds away from only 25 of them, according to State Department of Education data.Kelly also didn't touch the only school choice initiative that divided Republicans were able to pass this year, expanding an existing program for private school scholarships of up to $8,000 a year for low-income public school students. While public education groups strongly opposed it, some GOP conservatives had hoped to pass the kind of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/school-vouchers-public-education-funding-kansas-88f7d2a5793c100e732d5ec38278da26">sweeping plan</a>&nbsp;to use state education dollars to help parents pay for private or home schooling that states such as&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-florida-nebraska-kim-reynolds-iowa-1fdab7c898730873b8c3b880223c5306">Iowa,</a><a href="https://apnews.com/article/education-vouchers-south-carolina-bill-signing-cf089d5b3fc42bd74a54f93abb1bf131">South Carolina</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/utah-state-government-arizona-iowa-south-carolina-kansas-091e6094fcea2852ec279fedf11759d8">Utah</a>&nbsp;enacted.Republican leaders contend that Kelly exceeded the power granted to governors under the Kansas Constitution to veto individual spending items in budget bills. The education funding bill mixed spending with policy, and Kelly deleted six pages of language and also made a technical adjustment at the end of the bill.Senate President Ty Masterson, a Wichita-area Republican, told reporters Thursday at the Statehouse that GOP leaders initially feared she would go after more parts of the bill.“I don’t know that it’s worth the fight now,” Masterson said. “I don’t think we’re going to do anything with this one.”When Kelly announced her vetoes last week, Masterson and House Speaker Dan Hawkins, a Wichita Republican, called on GOP Attorney General Kris Kobach to review them, suggesting they were poised for a lawsuit.Kelly's actions rejected a GOP-backed change for local school districts with declining student numbers — more than half of them. The state distributes its dollars with a per-student formula, so funding drops as enrollments decline, but the state phases in the decrease over several years.The GOP change would have allowed less time for districts to adjust to a funding loss, and top Republicans contend the move would have helped growing districts. But Hawkins said in a statement that the issue “can probably be addressed in a more efficient way” than suing Kelly.The governor told reporters Thursday after a Statehouse event that she believes the six pages she vetoed “clearly” represented a budget item.She said she wasn't sure she could go after other parts of the bill, "and I didn’t want to test it out.”Kelly's vetoes benefitted more than 150 districts, giving them more state funds than they would have received otherwise, according to State Department of Education data. More than 100 others saw no difference.Kansas has boosted aid to public schools over the past decade, with an increase of about 3% coming for 2023-24. Even with fewer students across much of the state, only 10 districts will receive less aid overall than they did in 2022-23. All of those have fewer than 500 students, and four have fewer than 100.Without Kelly's vetoes, 29 districts would have received less money overall than in 2022-23.“If they continue to put really bad policy in appropriations bills, you know, I probably will continue to line-item (veto them),” the governor said.

GOP leaders in Kan. back off threat to sue governor over education funding

KANSAS CITY —The Federal Bureau of Investigation has issued a warning about a suspect now on the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/topten" target="_blank">Top Ten Most Wanted list&nbsp;</a>who is believed to be in Missouri.

On Thursday, Donald Eugene Fields II, 58, wanted for the alleged sex trafficking of at least one child in Missouri, was added to the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, according to a statement from the agency.

The crimes occurred between 2013 and 2017. A federal arrest warrant was issued for Fields on December 8, 2022, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri after he was charged with sex trafficking of children.

According to a special agent in the FBI’s St. Louis Division, “Fields has allegedly demonstrated a pattern of abusing minor females in his circle that are entrusted to his care, manipulating them to earn their trust quickly and using their own resources to take advantage of them.”

The FBI is offering a reward of up to $250,000 for information leading to Fields’ arrest. This amount reflects the FBI’s decision in May 2023 to increase the reward from up to $100,000 to up to $250,000 to aid in capturing individuals on the the Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list.

Fields is 58 years old and has brown hair and hazel eyes. He is between 6’0” and 6’4” tall and weighs about 235 pounds. He is a white male with scars on his chest, his groin, his left calf, both legs, and both knees. Fields has worked as a tree trimmer, a resale shop owner, and an independent used car dealer.&nbsp;

Fields was last known to reside in Missouri; he has family there and in Kentucky. He is known to visit casinos and has traveled to Florida in the past.

If you have any information concerning Fields, call 1-800-CALL-FBI, submit a tip online at&nbsp;<a href="https://tips.fbi.gov/" target="_blank">tips.fbi.gov</a>, or&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us">contact your&nbsp;local FBI office</a>. If you are outside of the United States, you can contact the&nbsp;nearest American Embassy or Consulate.

<a href="https://tips.fbi.gov/" target="_blank">Submit an anonymous Tip online</a>

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/5/1685097640185.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY —The Federal Bureau of Investigation has issued a warning about a suspect now on the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/topten" target="_blank">Top Ten Most Wanted list&nbsp;</a>who is believed to be in Missouri.On Thursday, Donald Eugene Fields II, 58, wanted for the alleged sex trafficking of at least one child in Missouri, was added to the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, according to a statement from the agency.The crimes occurred between 2013 and 2017. A federal arrest warrant was issued for Fields on December 8, 2022, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri after he was charged with sex trafficking of children.According to a special agent in the FBI’s St. Louis Division, “Fields has allegedly demonstrated a pattern of abusing minor females in his circle that are entrusted to his care, manipulating them to earn their trust quickly and using their own resources to take advantage of them.”The FBI is offering a reward of up to $250,000 for information leading to Fields’ arrest. This amount reflects the FBI’s decision in May 2023 to increase the reward from up to $100,000 to up to $250,000 to aid in capturing individuals on the the Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/5/1685098186464.png" alt="Fields -photo FBI" />
 <figcaption>Fields -photo FBI</figcaption>
 </figure>Fields is 58 years old and has brown hair and hazel eyes. He is between 6’0” and 6’4” tall and weighs about 235 pounds. He is a white male with scars on his chest, his groin, his left calf, both legs, and both knees. Fields has worked as a tree trimmer, a resale shop owner, and an independent used car dealer.&nbsp;Fields was last known to reside in Missouri; he has family there and in Kentucky. He is known to visit casinos and has traveled to Florida in the past.If you have any information concerning Fields, call 1-800-CALL-FBI, submit a tip online at&nbsp;<a href="https://tips.fbi.gov/" target="_blank">tips.fbi.gov</a>, or&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us">contact your&nbsp;local FBI office</a>. If you are outside of the United States, you can contact the&nbsp;nearest American Embassy or Consulate.<a href="https://tips.fbi.gov/" target="_blank">Submit an anonymous Tip online</a>

FBI warning: Top 10 most wanted fugitive believed to be in Missouri

DOUGLAS COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities and fire investigators are working to determine the cause of a fire that

Just after 2 p.m. Wednesday, the Douglas County Emergency Communications Center (911) received several calls reporting smoke and fire from a wooded area near the Kansas River levy, according to a media release.

 The initial call to 911 reported dogs fighting and shots fired in a wooded area near the levy. A short time later, Lawrence Douglas County Fire Medical (LDCFM) was dispatched after black smoke was seen coming from the area. One of the Lawrence Kansas Police Department’s Unoccupied Aerial Vehicles was in the area with a training team and reported the smoke. 

Fire crews found a tent shelter that was consumed by fire.&nbsp; First responders used&nbsp; an off-road utility vehicle with a water tank and hose&nbsp; to extinguish the flames, which were ultimately found just south of the 700 block of Ash in the woods off the riverbank. 

Two dogs perished during the fire. A third dog escaped and was transported to a veterinary office for evaluation. No people were harmed. 

LDCFM is working this ongoing investigation to find the person or people responsible. 

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/5/1685047344069.png" alt="Photo Lawrence-Douglas County Fire and Medical" />
 <figcaption>Photo Lawrence-Douglas County Fire and Medical</figcaption>
 </figure>DOUGLAS COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities and fire investigators are working to determine the cause of a fire thatJust after 2 p.m. Wednesday, the Douglas County Emergency Communications Center (911) received several calls reporting smoke and fire from a wooded area near the Kansas River levy, according to a media release. The initial call to 911 reported dogs fighting and shots fired in a wooded area near the levy. A short time later, Lawrence Douglas County Fire Medical (LDCFM) was dispatched after black smoke was seen coming from the area. One of the Lawrence Kansas Police Department’s Unoccupied Aerial Vehicles was in the area with a training team and reported the smoke. Fire crews found a tent shelter that was consumed by fire.&nbsp; First responders used&nbsp; an off-road utility vehicle with a water tank and hose&nbsp; to extinguish the flames, which were ultimately found just south of the 700 block of Ash in the woods off the riverbank. Two dogs perished during the fire. A third dog escaped and was transported to a veterinary office for evaluation. No people were harmed. LDCFM is working this ongoing investigation to find the person or people responsible.

Arson investigation: Dogs die in rural fire near Kansas River

WASHINGTON (AP) — Days from a deadline, President&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/president-joe-biden-kevin-mccarthy-debt-limit-fac74a8804c619f8db69bf3a8a4a69b1">Joe Biden</a>&nbsp;and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy are narrowing in on a two-year budget deal aiming to curb federal deficits in exchange for lifting the nation's&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/debt-ceiling-biden-mccarthy-default-negotiations-cb0646c6301f1df97211896897df3723">debt ceiling</a>&nbsp;and staving off an economically devastating&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/default-yellen-biden-debt-ceiling-republicans-416a2fad74db0cb4535655ef26c9f845">government default</a>.

The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/president-joe-biden-kevin-mccarthy-debt-limit-fac74a8804c619f8db69bf3a8a4a69b1?utm_source=ForYou&amp;utm_medium=HomePage&amp;utm_id=Taboola">Democratic president and Republican speaker</a>&nbsp;hope to strike a budget compromise this weekend. With Republicans driving for steep cuts, the two sides have been unable to agree to spending levels for 2024 and 2025. Any deal would need to be a political compromise, with support from both Democrats and Republicans to pass the divided Congress.

But the budget flow isn't the only hang-up.

A person familiar with the talks said the two sides are “dug in” on whether or not to agree to Republican demands to impose stiffer&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/debt-limit-work-requirements-snap-medicaid-biden-66270829cfc0009ddb5f59eb12a6ba7a">work requirements</a>&nbsp;on people who receive government food stamps, cash assistance and health care aid, some of the most vulnerable Americans.

Yet both Biden and McCarthy expressed optimism heading into the weekend that the gulf between their positions could be bridged. A two-year deal would raise the debt limit for that time, past the 2024 presidential election.

“We knew this would not be easy," McCarthy, R-Calif., said as he left the Capitol for the evening Thursday.

McCarthy said, "It’s hard, but we’re working and we’re going to continue to work until we get this done.”

House Republicans have pushed the issue to the brink, displaying risky political bravado in leaving town for the Memorial Day holiday. The U.S. could face an unprecedented default as soon as June 1, hurling the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/debt-limit-congress-world-economy-recession-biden-52df635e9b89f4b1677176fc8d59eff0">global economy into chaos</a>.

In remarks at the White House, Biden said, “It’s about competing versions of America.”

“The only way to move forward is with a bipartisan agreement,” Biden said Thursday. “And I believe we’ll come to an agreement that allows us to move forward and protects the hardworking Americans of this country.”

Lawmakers are tentatively not expected back at work until Tuesday, just two days from the early June deadline when Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has said the U.S. could start running out of cash to pay its bills and face a federal default.

Biden will also be away this weekend, departing Friday for the presidential retreat at Camp David, Maryland, and Sunday for his home in Wilmington, Delaware. The Senate is on recess and will be until after Memorial Day.

Meanwhile, Fitch Ratings agency placed the United States’ AAA credit on&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/debt-limit-credit-rating-downgrade-warning-default-b906c014ed2b8124917f4a107a543964">“ratings watch negative,”</a>&nbsp;warning of a possible downgrade.

Weeks of negotiations between Republicans and the White House have failed to produce a deal — in part because the Biden administration resisted negotiating with McCarthy over the debt limit, arguing that the country's full faith and credit should not be used as leverage to extract other partisan priorities.

The White House has offered to freeze next year's 2024 spending at current levels and restrict 2025 spending, but the Republican leader says that's not enough.

“We have to spend less than we spent last year. That is the starting point,” said McCarthy.

One idea is to set those topline budget numbers but then add a “snap-back” provision that enforces the cuts if Congress is unable during its annual appropriations process to meet the new goals.

On work requirements for the aid recipients, the White House is particularly resisting measures that would drive Americans into poverty or take their health care, said the person familiar with the talks, who was granted anonymity to describe behind-closed-door discussions.

On the Republican demand to rescind money for the Internal Revenue Service, it's still an “open issue” whether the sides will compromise by allowing the funding to be pushed back into other domestic programs, the person said.

Pressure is bearing down on McCarthy from the House's right flank not to give in to any deal, even if it means blowing past the June 1 deadline.

“Let’s hold the line,” said Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, a Freedom Caucus member.

McCarthy said Donald Trump, the former president who is again running for office, told him, “Make sure you get a good agreement.”

Failure to raise the nation’s debt ceiling, now at $31 trillion, to pay America's already incurred bills would risk a potentially chaotic federal default. Anxious retirees and social service groups are among those already&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/default-yellen-biden-debt-ceiling-republicans-416a2fad74db0cb4535655ef26c9f845">making default contingency</a>&nbsp;plans.

Even if negotiators strike a deal in coming days, McCarthy has promised lawmakers he will abide by the rule to post any bill for 72 hours before voting — now likely Tuesday or even Wednesday. The Democratic-held Senate has vowed to move quickly to send the package to Biden’s desk, right before next Thursday's possible deadline.

In one potential development, Republicans may be easing their demand to boost defense spending, instead offering to keep it at levels the Biden administration proposed, according to another person familiar with the talks.

The teams are also eyeing a proposal to boost energy transmission line development from Sen. John Hickenlooper, D-Colo., that would facilitate the buildout of an interregional power grid, according to a person familiar with that draft. Those two people were also granted anonymity to discuss the private negotiations.

The White House has continued to argue that deficits can be reduced by ending tax breaks for wealthier households and some corporations, but McCarthy said he told the president as early as their February meeting that raising revenue from tax hikes was off the table.

While Biden has ruled out, for now,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/14th-amendment-biden-debt-ceiling-explained-92ebc0db703d49eab2c91d4d4a354cdf">invoking the 14th Amendment</a>&nbsp;to raise the debt limit on his own, Democrats in the House announced they have all signed on to a legislative “discharge” process that would force a debt ceiling vote. But they need five Republicans to break with their party and tip the majority to set the plan forward.

They are all but certain to claw back some $30 billion in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/debt-limit-coronavirus-relief-funds-9c60de5ad51a922bae1c2cf2fa284be3">unspent COVID-19 funds</a>&nbsp;now that the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-covid19-coronavirus-national-emergency-e3a52722b57a6b4f24187426c27b3b39">pandemic emergency has officially been lifted</a>.

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans pushed&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/debt-ceiling-biden-mccarthy-default-negotiations-cb0646c6301f1df97211896897df3723">debt ceiling talks</a>&nbsp;to the brink Thursday, displaying risky political bravado in leaving town for the holiday weekend just days before the U.S. could face an unprecedented default hurling the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/debt-limit-congress-world-economy-recession-biden-52df635e9b89f4b1677176fc8d59eff0">global economy into chaos</a>.

At the Capitol, Speaker Kevin McCarthy said “every hour matters” in talks with&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/president-joe-biden-kevin-mccarthy-debt-limit-fac74a8804c619f8db69bf3a8a4a69b1">President Joe Biden's</a>&nbsp;team as they try to work out a budget agreement. Republican are demanding spending cuts the Democrats oppose as their price for raising the legal debt limit.

“We’ve been taking to the White House all day,” McCarthy, R-Calif., told reporters as he left the Capitol for the evening, with his top negotiators soon to follow. “We're working hard to make it happen.”

In remarks at the White House, Biden said, “It’s about competing versions of America.” Yet both men expressed optimism that the gulf between their positions could be bridged.

The White House said discussions with the Republicans have been productive, including by video conference Thursday, though serious disagreements remained as the president fights for his priorities.

“The only way to move forward is with a bipartisan agreement,” Biden said. “And I believe we’ll come to an agreement that allows us to move forward and protects the hardworking Americans of this country.”

As the deadline nears, it's clear the Republican speaker — who leads a Donald Trump-aligned party whose hard-right flank lifted him to power, and who spoke to the former president this week — is now staring down a potential crisis.

Lawmakers are tentatively not expected back at work until Tuesday, just two days from June 1, when Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has said the U.S. could start running out of cash to pay its bills and face a federal default. Biden will also be away, departing Friday for the presidential retreat at Camp David, Maryland, and Sunday for his home in Wilmington, Delaware. The Senate is on recess and will be until after Memorial Day.

Meanwhile, Fitch Ratings agency placed the United States’ AAA credit on “ratings watch negative,” warning of a possible downgrade.

Democratic lawmakers lined up on the House floor as the workday ended to blame “extreme” Republicans for the risky potential default. “Republicans have chosen to get out of town before sundown,” said House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/5/1685061622873.png" alt="President Joe Biden during a Rose Garden event at the White House Thursday- White House photo" />
 <figcaption>President Joe Biden during a Rose Garden event at the White House Thursday- White House photo</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — Days from a deadline, President&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/president-joe-biden-kevin-mccarthy-debt-limit-fac74a8804c619f8db69bf3a8a4a69b1">Joe Biden</a>&nbsp;and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy are narrowing in on a two-year budget deal aiming to curb federal deficits in exchange for lifting the nation's&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/debt-ceiling-biden-mccarthy-default-negotiations-cb0646c6301f1df97211896897df3723">debt ceiling</a>&nbsp;and staving off an economically devastating&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/default-yellen-biden-debt-ceiling-republicans-416a2fad74db0cb4535655ef26c9f845">government default</a>.The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/president-joe-biden-kevin-mccarthy-debt-limit-fac74a8804c619f8db69bf3a8a4a69b1?utm_source=ForYou&amp;utm_medium=HomePage&amp;utm_id=Taboola">Democratic president and Republican speaker</a>&nbsp;hope to strike a budget compromise this weekend. With Republicans driving for steep cuts, the two sides have been unable to agree to spending levels for 2024 and 2025. Any deal would need to be a political compromise, with support from both Democrats and Republicans to pass the divided Congress.But the budget flow isn't the only hang-up.A person familiar with the talks said the two sides are “dug in” on whether or not to agree to Republican demands to impose stiffer&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/debt-limit-work-requirements-snap-medicaid-biden-66270829cfc0009ddb5f59eb12a6ba7a">work requirements</a>&nbsp;on people who receive government food stamps, cash assistance and health care aid, some of the most vulnerable Americans.Yet both Biden and McCarthy expressed optimism heading into the weekend that the gulf between their positions could be bridged. A two-year deal would raise the debt limit for that time, past the 2024 presidential election.“We knew this would not be easy," McCarthy, R-Calif., said as he left the Capitol for the evening Thursday.McCarthy said, "It’s hard, but we’re working and we’re going to continue to work until we get this done.”House Republicans have pushed the issue to the brink, displaying risky political bravado in leaving town for the Memorial Day holiday. The U.S. could face an unprecedented default as soon as June 1, hurling the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/debt-limit-congress-world-economy-recession-biden-52df635e9b89f4b1677176fc8d59eff0">global economy into chaos</a>.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">I’m staying in DC to fight for an agreement that’s worthy of the American people—for as long as it takes. I will continue the fight to curb inflation, stop reckless spending, make our economy stronger, and end our dependence on China.&mdash; Kevin McCarthy (@SpeakerMcCarthy) <a href="https://twitter.com/SpeakerMcCarthy/status/1661896460839837697?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 26, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>In remarks at the White House, Biden said, “It’s about competing versions of America.”“The only way to move forward is with a bipartisan agreement,” Biden said Thursday. “And I believe we’ll come to an agreement that allows us to move forward and protects the hardworking Americans of this country.”Lawmakers are tentatively not expected back at work until Tuesday, just two days from the early June deadline when Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has said the U.S. could start running out of cash to pay its bills and face a federal default.Biden will also be away this weekend, departing Friday for the presidential retreat at Camp David, Maryland, and Sunday for his home in Wilmington, Delaware. The Senate is on recess and will be until after Memorial Day.Meanwhile, Fitch Ratings agency placed the United States’ AAA credit on&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/debt-limit-credit-rating-downgrade-warning-default-b906c014ed2b8124917f4a107a543964">“ratings watch negative,”</a>&nbsp;warning of a possible downgrade.Weeks of negotiations between Republicans and the White House have failed to produce a deal — in part because the Biden administration resisted negotiating with McCarthy over the debt limit, arguing that the country's full faith and credit should not be used as leverage to extract other partisan priorities.The White House has offered to freeze next year's 2024 spending at current levels and restrict 2025 spending, but the Republican leader says that's not enough.“We have to spend less than we spent last year. That is the starting point,” said McCarthy.One idea is to set those topline budget numbers but then add a “snap-back” provision that enforces the cuts if Congress is unable during its annual appropriations process to meet the new goals.On work requirements for the aid recipients, the White House is particularly resisting measures that would drive Americans into poverty or take their health care, said the person familiar with the talks, who was granted anonymity to describe behind-closed-door discussions.On the Republican demand to rescind money for the Internal Revenue Service, it's still an “open issue” whether the sides will compromise by allowing the funding to be pushed back into other domestic programs, the person said.Pressure is bearing down on McCarthy from the House's right flank not to give in to any deal, even if it means blowing past the June 1 deadline.“Let’s hold the line,” said Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, a Freedom Caucus member.McCarthy said Donald Trump, the former president who is again running for office, told him, “Make sure you get a good agreement.”Failure to raise the nation’s debt ceiling, now at $31 trillion, to pay America's already incurred bills would risk a potentially chaotic federal default. Anxious retirees and social service groups are among those already&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/default-yellen-biden-debt-ceiling-republicans-416a2fad74db0cb4535655ef26c9f845">making default contingency</a>&nbsp;plans.Even if negotiators strike a deal in coming days, McCarthy has promised lawmakers he will abide by the rule to post any bill for 72 hours before voting — now likely Tuesday or even Wednesday. The Democratic-held Senate has vowed to move quickly to send the package to Biden’s desk, right before next Thursday's possible deadline.In one potential development, Republicans may be easing their demand to boost defense spending, instead offering to keep it at levels the Biden administration proposed, according to another person familiar with the talks.The teams are also eyeing a proposal to boost energy transmission line development from Sen. John Hickenlooper, D-Colo., that would facilitate the buildout of an interregional power grid, according to a person familiar with that draft. Those two people were also granted anonymity to discuss the private negotiations.The White House has continued to argue that deficits can be reduced by ending tax breaks for wealthier households and some corporations, but McCarthy said he told the president as early as their February meeting that raising revenue from tax hikes was off the table.While Biden has ruled out, for now,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/14th-amendment-biden-debt-ceiling-explained-92ebc0db703d49eab2c91d4d4a354cdf">invoking the 14th Amendment</a>&nbsp;to raise the debt limit on his own, Democrats in the House announced they have all signed on to a legislative “discharge” process that would force a debt ceiling vote. But they need five Republicans to break with their party and tip the majority to set the plan forward.They are all but certain to claw back some $30 billion in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/debt-limit-coronavirus-relief-funds-9c60de5ad51a922bae1c2cf2fa284be3">unspent COVID-19 funds</a>&nbsp;now that the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-covid19-coronavirus-national-emergency-e3a52722b57a6b4f24187426c27b3b39">pandemic emergency has officially been lifted</a>.___WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans pushed&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/debt-ceiling-biden-mccarthy-default-negotiations-cb0646c6301f1df97211896897df3723">debt ceiling talks</a>&nbsp;to the brink Thursday, displaying risky political bravado in leaving town for the holiday weekend just days before the U.S. could face an unprecedented default hurling the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/debt-limit-congress-world-economy-recession-biden-52df635e9b89f4b1677176fc8d59eff0">global economy into chaos</a>.At the Capitol, Speaker Kevin McCarthy said “every hour matters” in talks with&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/president-joe-biden-kevin-mccarthy-debt-limit-fac74a8804c619f8db69bf3a8a4a69b1">President Joe Biden's</a>&nbsp;team as they try to work out a budget agreement. Republican are demanding spending cuts the Democrats oppose as their price for raising the legal debt limit.“We’ve been taking to the White House all day,” McCarthy, R-Calif., told reporters as he left the Capitol for the evening, with his top negotiators soon to follow. “We're working hard to make it happen.”In remarks at the White House, Biden said, “It’s about competing versions of America.” Yet both men expressed optimism that the gulf between their positions could be bridged.The White House said discussions with the Republicans have been productive, including by video conference Thursday, though serious disagreements remained as the president fights for his priorities.“The only way to move forward is with a bipartisan agreement,” Biden said. “And I believe we’ll come to an agreement that allows us to move forward and protects the hardworking Americans of this country.”As the deadline nears, it's clear the Republican speaker — who leads a Donald Trump-aligned party whose hard-right flank lifted him to power, and who spoke to the former president this week — is now staring down a potential crisis.Lawmakers are tentatively not expected back at work until Tuesday, just two days from June 1, when Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has said the U.S. could start running out of cash to pay its bills and face a federal default. Biden will also be away, departing Friday for the presidential retreat at Camp David, Maryland, and Sunday for his home in Wilmington, Delaware. The Senate is on recess and will be until after Memorial Day.Meanwhile, Fitch Ratings agency placed the United States’ AAA credit on “ratings watch negative,” warning of a possible downgrade.Democratic lawmakers lined up on the House floor as the workday ended to blame “extreme” Republicans for the risky potential default. “Republicans have chosen to get out of town before sundown,” said House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York.Weeks of negotiations between Republicans and the White House have failed to produce a deal — in part because the Biden administration has resisted negotiating with McCarthy over the debt limit, arguing that the country's full faith and credit should not be used as leverage to extract other partisan priorities.McCarthy is holding out for steep spending cuts that Republicans are demanding in exchange for their vote to raise the nation's borrowing limit. The White House has offered to freeze next year's 2024 spending at current levels and restrict 2025 spending, but the Republican leader says that's not enough.One idea is to set those topline budget numbers but then add a “snap-back” provision that enforces the cuts if Congress is unable during its annual appropriations process to meet the new goals.“We have to spend less than we spent last year. That is the starting point,” said McCarthy.Pressure is bearing down on McCarthy from the House's right flank not to give in to any deal, even if it means blowing past the June 1 deadline.“Don’t take an exit ramp five exits too early,” said Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, a Freedom Caucus member. “Let’s hold the line.”Trump, the former president who is again running for office, has encouraged Republicans to “do a default” if they don’t get the deal they want from the White House.McCarthy said Trump told him, “Make sure you get a good agreement.”Failure to raise the nation’s debt ceiling, now at $31 trillion, to pay America's already incurred bills would risk a potentially chaotic federal default. Anxious retirees and social service groups are among those already&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/default-yellen-biden-debt-ceiling-republicans-416a2fad74db0cb4535655ef26c9f845">making default contingency</a>&nbsp;plans.Even if negotiators strike a deal in coming days, McCarthy has promised lawmakers he will abide by the rule to post any bill for 72 hours before voting — now likely Tuesday or even Wednesday. The Democratic-held Senate has vowed to move quickly to send the package to Biden’s desk, right before next Thursday's possible deadline.Pushing a debt ceiling increase to the last minute is not uncommon for Congress, but it leaves little room for error in a volatile political environment. Both Democrats and Republicans will be needed to pass the final package in the split Congress.“We still have a ways to go,” said top Republican negotiator Rep. Garret Graves of Louisiana as he juggled leading a Capitol tour for players and supporters of the championship Louisiana State University women's basketball team.The contours of a deal have been within reach for days, but Republicans are unsatisfied as they press the White House team for more.In one potential development, Republicans may be easing their demand to boost defense spending, instead offering to keep it at levels the Biden administration proposed, according to one person familiar with the talks and granted anonymity to discuss them.The Republicans may achieve their goal of of rolling back bolstered funding for the Internal Revenue Service if they agree to instead allow the White House to push that money into other domestic accounts, the person said.The teams are also eyeing a proposal to boost energy transmission line development from Sen. John Hickenlooper, D-Colo., that would facilitate the buildout of an interregional power grid, according to a person familiar with the draft.The White House has continued to argue that deficits can be reduced by ending tax breaks for wealthier households and some corporations, but McCarthy said he told the president as early as their February meeting that raising revenue from tax hikes was off the table.While Biden has ruled out, for now,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/14th-amendment-biden-debt-ceiling-explained-92ebc0db703d49eab2c91d4d4a354cdf">invoking the 14th Amendment</a>&nbsp;to raise the debt limit on his own, Democrats in the House announced they have all signed on to a legislative “discharge” process that would force a debt ceiling vote. But they need five Republicans to break with their party and tip the majority to set the plan forward.Other issues remain unresolved. Republicans also want to beef up work requirements for government aid to recipients of food stamps, cash assistance and the Medicaid health care program that Democrats say are a nonstarter. It remains an issue where both sides have "dug in,” according to another person familiar with the talks and granted anonymity to discuss them.They are all but certain to claw back some $30 billion in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/debt-limit-coronavirus-relief-funds-9c60de5ad51a922bae1c2cf2fa284be3">unspent COVID-19 funds</a>&nbsp;now that the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-covid19-coronavirus-national-emergency-e3a52722b57a6b4f24187426c27b3b39">pandemic emergency has officially been lifted</a>.The White House has countered by proposing to keep defense and nondefense spending flat next year, which would save $90 billion in the 2024 budget year and $1 trillion over 10 years.