KANSAS CITY —A Kansas City man has been charged in a fatal New Year's Day, according to Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker.&nbsp;

Daqunne E. Green, 24, faces Murder 2nd Degree Unlawful Use of a Weapon and two counts of Armed Criminal Action.

According to court records, police were dispatched New Years Day to the Short Stop convenience store on US 40 Highway on reports of shots being fired and a victim inside the store. 

Officers found the victim, Chris Wright, with a gunshot wound. Emergency personnel pronounced him deceased. Video showed the Green entering the passenger side of Wright's vehicle in the store parking lot. Then a struggle ensued and Green exited the vehicle holding a handgun. 

The vehicle reversed out of a parking space and Green fires several shots into the victim's vehicle. Green then fled from the scene in his vehicle and the victim walked into the store where he later is pronounced deceased..

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/1/1673905052419.png" alt="Green-photo Jackson Co." />
 <figcaption>Green-photo Jackson Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY —A Kansas City man has been charged in a fatal New Year's Day, according to Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker.&nbsp;Daqunne E. Green, 24, faces Murder 2nd Degree Unlawful Use of a Weapon and two counts of Armed Criminal Action.According to court records, police were dispatched New Years Day to the Short Stop convenience store on US 40 Highway on reports of shots being fired and a victim inside the store. Officers found the victim, Chris Wright, with a gunshot wound. Emergency personnel pronounced him deceased. Video showed the Green entering the passenger side of Wright's vehicle in the store parking lot. Then a struggle ensued and Green exited the vehicle holding a handgun. The vehicle reversed out of a parking space and Green fires several shots into the victim's vehicle. Green then fled from the scene in his vehicle and the victim walked into the store where he later is pronounced deceased..

Video shows KC man at scene of New Year's Day killing

CLARK COUNTY—A Kansas man died in an accident just after 11a.m. Monday in Clark County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2019 Freightliner semi driven by&nbsp; Rene O. Figueroa Jr., 47, Dodge City, was eastbound on U.S. 160 two and one half miles&nbsp; east of U.S. 283.

The semi left the roadway, entered the south ditch and the driver over corrected.&nbsp; The vehicle crossed the roadway, entering the north ditch, and rolled.

Fugueroa was pronounced dead at the scene. He was not wearing a seat belt, according to the KHP.

CLARK COUNTY—A Kansas man died in an accident just after 11a.m. Monday in Clark County.The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2019 Freightliner semi driven by&nbsp; Rene O. Figueroa Jr., 47, Dodge City, was eastbound on U.S. 160 two and one half miles&nbsp; east of U.S. 283.The semi left the roadway, entered the south ditch and the driver over corrected.&nbsp; The vehicle crossed the roadway, entering the north ditch, and rolled.Fugueroa was pronounced dead at the scene. He was not wearing a seat belt, according to the KHP.

Kansas man dies after semi rollover crash

CADDO COUNTY, Okla.— The search for missing four-year-old Athena Brownfield is now considered a recovery operation, according to a Monday afternoon statement from the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation.

Special Agents from the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, along with&nbsp; partners at the Oklahoma Highway Patrol (OHP), have been searching areas of Caddo County for the toddler’s remains.

Athena and her five-year-old sister are related to Alysia Adams and had been in the Adams’ care for at least a year. It was discovered that Athena was missing when a postal carrier found the five-year-old outside the Adams’ home with no adult supervision on January 10, 2023. The postal carrier notified the Cyril Police Department and that’s when the investigation into Athena’s whereabouts began.

Alysia Adams is facing two counts of Child Neglect and Ivon Adams is facing one count of First Degree Murder and one count of Child Neglect.

Ivon Adams was arrested in Phoenix on January 12 and is awaiting extradition to Oklahoma. Alysia was also arrested on January 12, 2023 and is currently in the Caddo County Jail. At this time, these are accusations and neither party has been convicted of any crime related to this investigation. The parties are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. The girls biological parents have been interviewed by agents and are cooperating with the investigation. The OSBI is asking that the public not self-deploy to search for Athena. Individuals who search for Athena on their own could be trespassing or worse, interfering with the investigation by contaminating potential evidence. Please refrain from speculation regarding what the investigation has revealed to this point. Rumors on social media will not help the investigation and may instead hinder progress. If you have information about this case, please contact the OSBI tipline at (800) 522-8017 or email&nbsp;tips@osbi.ok.gov.&nbsp;You can remain anonymous.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/1/1673643845430.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>CADDO COUNTY, Okla.— The search for missing four-year-old Athena Brownfield is now considered a recovery operation, according to a Monday afternoon statement from the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation. Special Agents from the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, along with&nbsp; partners at the Oklahoma Highway Patrol (OHP), have been searching areas of Caddo County for the toddler’s remains. Athena and her five-year-old sister are related to Alysia Adams and had been in the Adams’ care for at least a year. It was discovered that Athena was missing when a postal carrier found the five-year-old outside the Adams’ home with no adult supervision on January 10, 2023. The postal carrier notified the Cyril Police Department and that’s when the investigation into Athena’s whereabouts began.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/1/1673617381405.png" alt="Ayysia Adams-photo Caddo Co." />
 <figcaption>Ayysia Adams-photo Caddo Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>Alysia Adams is facing two counts of Child Neglect and Ivon Adams is facing one count of First Degree Murder and one count of Child Neglect.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/1/1673636085787.png" alt="Adams-photo Maricopa County" />
 <figcaption>Adams-photo Maricopa County</figcaption>
 </figure>Ivon Adams was arrested in Phoenix on January 12 and is awaiting extradition to Oklahoma. Alysia was also arrested on January 12, 2023 and is currently in the Caddo County Jail. At this time, these are accusations and neither party has been convicted of any crime related to this investigation. The parties are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. The girls biological parents have been interviewed by agents and are cooperating with the investigation. The OSBI is asking that the public not self-deploy to search for Athena. Individuals who search for Athena on their own could be trespassing or worse, interfering with the investigation by contaminating potential evidence. Please refrain from speculation regarding what the investigation has revealed to this point. Rumors on social media will not help the investigation and may instead hinder progress. If you have information about this case, please contact the OSBI tipline at (800) 522-8017 or email&nbsp;tips@osbi.ok.gov.&nbsp;You can remain anonymous.

Search for missing 4-year-old now a recovery operation

GREAT BEND — Our four grizzly bears have been bedded down and spending the winter in their stalls since mid-November. During this time, they slow down and spend much of their time sleeping and are not very active. We check them daily and offer food and they constantly have access to water. 

On Saturday, keepers noticed Winnie, one of our 10-year-old male bears, was not as interested in his food as he normally is. Because it’s winter, that is not something that is abnormal from time to time. On Sunday, he appeared to still not be interested in food and was more lethargic, so staff tried to give him some electrolytes and some other types of food and he did consume a small amount.

Unfortunately, during our morning rounds Monday, he was discovered to have passed away sometime overnight. Our veterinarians performed a necropsy, and preliminary results indicate that he suffered from gastric torsion. 

This is a life-threatening and often fatal condition in which the stomach becomes overstretched and rotated and can cut off the blood supply to the gastrointestinal tract. An exploratory surgery would have been the only way to discover this condition and is not something easily accomplished in an animal as large as a grizzly bear. We did come across a few other abnormal findings and samples and tissues were sent to K-State for further evaluation.

Our staff is absolutely devastated by this unexpected loss and would appreciate your respect during their grieving process. We consider these animals to be a part of our family and losing one of our family members takes a significant toll on our staff. Winnie’s siblings, Piglet and Pooh, appear to be handling it as expected and will have each other and their keepers during their grieving process.

Courtesy Brit Spaugh ZooGREAT BEND — Our four grizzly bears have been bedded down and spending the winter in their stalls since mid-November. During this time, they slow down and spend much of their time sleeping and are not very active. We check them daily and offer food and they constantly have access to water. On Saturday, keepers noticed Winnie, one of our 10-year-old male bears, was not as interested in his food as he normally is. Because it’s winter, that is not something that is abnormal from time to time. On Sunday, he appeared to still not be interested in food and was more lethargic, so staff tried to give him some electrolytes and some other types of food and he did consume a small amount. Unfortunately, during our morning rounds Monday, he was discovered to have passed away sometime overnight. Our veterinarians performed a necropsy, and preliminary results indicate that he suffered from gastric torsion. This is a life-threatening and often fatal condition in which the stomach becomes overstretched and rotated and can cut off the blood supply to the gastrointestinal tract. An exploratory surgery would have been the only way to discover this condition and is not something easily accomplished in an animal as large as a grizzly bear. We did come across a few other abnormal findings and samples and tissues were sent to K-State for further evaluation.Our staff is absolutely devastated by this unexpected loss and would appreciate your respect during their grieving process. We consider these animals to be a part of our family and losing one of our family members takes a significant toll on our staff. Winnie’s siblings, Piglet and Pooh, appear to be handling it as expected and will have each other and their keepers during their grieving process.

Winnie the grizzly dies at Kansas zoo

WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service's Free File Guided Tax 
Preparation service is live and ready for taxpayers to use. Free File 
went live January 13, 2023, 10 days prior to the 2023 filing season 
start date. The IRS starts accepting individual tax returns on January 
23.

<a href="https://www.irs.gov/filing/free-file-do-your-federal-taxes-for-free">IRS Free File</a>
 marks its 21st filing season this year and is one of many free options 
available to taxpayers for filing their taxes either online or in 
person. IRS Free File is offered via a public-private partnership 
between the IRS and the Free File Inc., formerly the Free File Alliance.
 Through this partnership, leading tax software providers make their 
online products available in both English and Spanish for free.

Seven partners will provide IRS Free File online products this year 
to any taxpayer or family who earned $73,000 or less in 2022.

Because the filing season does not start until January 23, IRS Free 
File providers will accept completed tax returns and hold them until 
they can be filed electronically on that date.

Those who make over $73,000 can use the IRS's Free File Fillable 
Forms (FFFF), the electronic version of IRS paper forms beginning 
January 23. This product is best for people comfortable preparing their 
own taxes.

Each IRS Free File provider sets its own eligibility rules for products based on age, income and state residency.

Taxpayers that made $73,000 or less in 2022 will likely find a 
product that matches their needs. Some providers also offer free state 
return preparation. Active-duty military can use any IRS Free File 
products if their adjusted gross income was $73,000 in 2022 or less.

To find the right IRS Free File product taxpayers can:

No computer? No problem. IRS Free File products support mobile 
phone access. Taxpayers can do their taxes on their smart phone or 
tablet.

For 2023, the following providers are participating in IRS Free File:

For 2023, ezTaxReturn.com will provide an IRS Free File product in Spanish.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/9/1599869632873.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>IRSWASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service's Free File Guided Tax 
Preparation service is live and ready for taxpayers to use. Free File 
went live January 13, 2023, 10 days prior to the 2023 filing season 
start date. The IRS starts accepting individual tax returns on January 
23.<a href="https://www.irs.gov/filing/free-file-do-your-federal-taxes-for-free">IRS Free File</a>
 marks its 21st filing season this year and is one of many free options 
available to taxpayers for filing their taxes either online or in 
person. IRS Free File is offered via a public-private partnership 
between the IRS and the Free File Inc., formerly the Free File Alliance.
 Through this partnership, leading tax software providers make their 
online products available in both English and Spanish for free.Seven partners will provide IRS Free File online products this year 
to any taxpayer or family who earned $73,000 or less in 2022.Because the filing season does not start until January 23, IRS Free 
File providers will accept completed tax returns and hold them until 
they can be filed electronically on that date.Those who make over $73,000 can use the IRS's Free File Fillable 
Forms (FFFF), the electronic version of IRS paper forms beginning 
January 23. This product is best for people comfortable preparing their 
own taxes.<h2>How IRS Free File online works</h2>Each IRS Free File provider sets its own eligibility rules for products based on age, income and state residency.Taxpayers that made $73,000 or less in 2022 will likely find a 
product that matches their needs. Some providers also offer free state 
return preparation. Active-duty military can use any IRS Free File 
products if their adjusted gross income was $73,000 in 2022 or less.To find the right IRS Free File product taxpayers can:<ol>
 <li>Go to <a href="https://www.irs.gov/filing/free-file-do-your-federal-taxes-for-free">IRS.gov/freefile</a>,</li><li>Click on Use Free Guided Tax Preparation. Then select IRS Free File Online Lookup Tool for help in finding the right product, or</li><li>Use the Browse All Offers tool to review each offer,</li><li>Select the best product for them, and</li><li>Follow the links to the provider's website to begin their tax return.</li>
 </ol>No computer? No problem. IRS Free File products support mobile 
phone access. Taxpayers can do their taxes on their smart phone or 
tablet.<h2>IRS Free File participants</h2>For 2023, the following providers are participating in IRS Free File:<ul>
 <li>1040Now</li><li>ezTaxReturn.com</li><li>FileYourTaxes.com</li><li>On-Line Taxes</li><li>TaxAct</li><li>FreeTaxUSA</li><li>TaxSlayer</li>
 </ul>For 2023, ezTaxReturn.com will provide an IRS Free File product in Spanish.

IRS Free File launched, aims to save taxpayers hard-earned dollars

WASHINGTON (AP) —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/jill-biden">Jill Biden'</a>&nbsp;s advocacy for curing cancer didn't start with her&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/d8f69eb645d74b7886387f713981b739">son's death in 2015 from brain cancer</a>. It began decades earlier, long before she came into the national spotlight, and could now be further energized by her own brush with a common form of skin cancer.

The first lady often says the worst three words anyone will ever hear are, “You have cancer." She heard a version of that phrase for herself this past week.

A lesion that doctors had found above her right eye during a routine screening late last year was removed on Wednesday and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-health-maryland-mexico-city-surgery-545cac7c3ddca1f095e84383fdf8cd2d">confirmed to be basal cell carcinoma</a>&nbsp;— a highly treatable form of skin cancer. While Biden was being prepped to remove the lesion, doctors found and removed another one from the left side of her chest, also confirmed to be basal cell carcinoma. A third lesion from her left eyelid was being examined.

While it's too early to know when and how Biden might address her situation publicly, her experience could inject new purpose into what has become part of her life's work highlighting research into curing cancer and urging people to get regular screenings.

Personal experiences can add potency to a public figure's advocacy.

“Nothing like ‘I’ve been there, done that' and being personally involved," said Myra Gutin, a first lady scholar at Rider University.

Biden's spokesperson, Vanessa Valdivia, said “the first lady's fight against cancer has always been personal. She knows that cancer touches us all.”

Biden's advocacy dates to 1993, when four girlfriends were diagnosed with breast cancer, including her pal Winnie, who succumbed to the disease. She said last year in a speech that “Winnie inspired me to take up the cause of prevention and education.”

That experience led her to create the Biden Breast Health Initiative, one of the first breast health programs in the United States, to teach 16-to 18-year-old girls about caring for their breasts. Biden was among staffers who went into Delaware's high schools to conduct lectures and demonstrations.

Her mother, Bonny Jean Jacobs, and father, Donald Jacobs, died of cancer, in 2008 and 1999, respectively. A few years ago, one of her four sisters needed an auto-stem cell transplant to treat her cancer.

In May 2015,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/beau-biden">Beau Biden</a>, President Joe Biden's son with his late first wife, died of a rare and aggressive brain cancer, leaving behind a wife and two young kids. Joe Biden was vice president at the time and the blow from Beau's loss led him to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-entertainment-stephen-colbert-campaign-2016-beau-biden-37fed6382cc84756929b48eaef4be9ff">decide against running for president in 2016</a>. Jill Biden, who had helped raise Beau from a young age after she married his dad, was convinced he would survive the disease and later described feeling “blinded by the darkness” when he died.

After their son's death, the Bidens helped push for a national commitment to “end cancer as we know it.” Then-President Barack Obama — Biden's boss — put the vice president in charge of what the White House named the Cancer Moonshot.

The Bidens resurrected the initiative after Joe Biden became president and added a new goal of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-cancer-initiative-122f2d0782a30d7cf766f2892fc5962a">cutting cancer death rates by at least 50% over the next 25 years</a>, and improving the experience of living with and surviving cancer for patients and their families.

“We’re ensuring that all of our government is ready to get to work,” Jill Biden said at the relaunch announcement at the White House last February. “We’re going to break down the walls that hold research back. We’re going to bring the best of our nation together — patients, survivors, caregivers, researchers, doctors, and advocates — all of you — so that we can get this done.”

In the years between Biden serving as vice president and running for president, the Bidens headed up the Biden Cancer Initiative, a charity.

Jill Biden, 71, has been using her first lady platform to highlight research into a cancer cure, along with other issues she has long championed, including education and military families.

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-race-and-ethnicity-health-disparities-cancer-virginia-2d2b44953030216aeee380b4b64295b4">Her first trip outside of Washington</a>&nbsp;after the January 2021 inauguration was to Virginia Commonwealth University's Massey Cancer Center in Richmond to call for an end to disparities in health care that she said have hurt communities of color.

She has toured cancer centers, including those for children, in New York City, South Carolina, Tennessee, Costa Rica, San Francisco and Florida, among others. She joined the Philadelphia Eagles and Phillies — two of her favorite professional sports teams — for events, including during the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/mlb-health-sports-jill-biden-baseball-976bb1c829fcb1284ae40ce5759038e5">World Series</a>, to highlight efforts to fight cancer through early detection and to honor patients.

For Breast Cancer Awareness Month last October, Jill Biden hosted a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-entertainment-health-jill-government-and-politics-a662294f8cdb930e5b8a26c42b07dba1">White House event with the American Cancer Society and singer Mary J. Blige,</a>&nbsp;who became an advocate for cancer screening after losing aunts and other relatives to various forms of cancer.

The first lady also partnered with the Lifetime cable channel to encourage women to get mammograms. A Democrat, she gave&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-health-jill-covid-government-and-politics-a5391541e8cf5323668dde873758916c">an interview last year to Newsmax</a>, the conservative cable news channel, to discuss the federal investment in accelerating the cancer fight.

She regularly encourages audiences to schedule cancer screening appointments they skipped during the pandemic out of fear of visiting doctor's offices.

Asked on Friday how the first lady was doing, the president flashed a thumbs-up to reporters.

<a href="https://www.cancer.org/cancer/basal-and-squamous-cell-skin-cancer.html">Basal cell carcinoma</a>, for which the first lady was treated with the procedure known as Mohs surgery, is the most common type of skin cancer, but also the most curable form. It’s considered highly treatable, especially when caught early. It is a slow-growing cancer that doesn't usually spread and seldom causes serious complications or becomes life-threatening.

The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.skincancer.org/blog/first-lady-jill-biden-undergoes-mohs-surgery/">Skin Cancer Foundation</a>&nbsp;says the delicate skin around the eyes is especially vulnerable to damage from the sun’s ultraviolet rays, which makes basal cell carcinoma on and around the eyelids particularly common.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/1/1673893202587.png" alt="A lesion that doctors had found above her right eye during a routine screening late last year was removed on Wednesday and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-health-maryland-mexico-city-surgery-545cac7c3ddca1f095e84383fdf8cd2d">confirmed to be basal cell carcinoma</a>&nbsp;— a highly treatable form of skin cancer.-White House photo" />
 <figcaption>A lesion that doctors had found above her right eye during a routine screening late last year was removed on Wednesday and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-health-maryland-mexico-city-surgery-545cac7c3ddca1f095e84383fdf8cd2d">confirmed to be basal cell carcinoma</a>&nbsp;— a highly treatable form of skin cancer.-White House photo</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/jill-biden">Jill Biden'</a>&nbsp;s advocacy for curing cancer didn't start with her&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/d8f69eb645d74b7886387f713981b739">son's death in 2015 from brain cancer</a>. It began decades earlier, long before she came into the national spotlight, and could now be further energized by her own brush with a common form of skin cancer.The first lady often says the worst three words anyone will ever hear are, “You have cancer." She heard a version of that phrase for herself this past week.A lesion that doctors had found above her right eye during a routine screening late last year was removed on Wednesday and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-health-maryland-mexico-city-surgery-545cac7c3ddca1f095e84383fdf8cd2d">confirmed to be basal cell carcinoma</a>&nbsp;— a highly treatable form of skin cancer. While Biden was being prepped to remove the lesion, doctors found and removed another one from the left side of her chest, also confirmed to be basal cell carcinoma. A third lesion from her left eyelid was being examined.While it's too early to know when and how Biden might address her situation publicly, her experience could inject new purpose into what has become part of her life's work highlighting research into curing cancer and urging people to get regular screenings.Personal experiences can add potency to a public figure's advocacy.“Nothing like ‘I’ve been there, done that' and being personally involved," said Myra Gutin, a first lady scholar at Rider University.Biden's spokesperson, Vanessa Valdivia, said “the first lady's fight against cancer has always been personal. She knows that cancer touches us all.”Biden's advocacy dates to 1993, when four girlfriends were diagnosed with breast cancer, including her pal Winnie, who succumbed to the disease. She said last year in a speech that “Winnie inspired me to take up the cause of prevention and education.”That experience led her to create the Biden Breast Health Initiative, one of the first breast health programs in the United States, to teach 16-to 18-year-old girls about caring for their breasts. Biden was among staffers who went into Delaware's high schools to conduct lectures and demonstrations.Her mother, Bonny Jean Jacobs, and father, Donald Jacobs, died of cancer, in 2008 and 1999, respectively. A few years ago, one of her four sisters needed an auto-stem cell transplant to treat her cancer.In May 2015,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/beau-biden">Beau Biden</a>, President Joe Biden's son with his late first wife, died of a rare and aggressive brain cancer, leaving behind a wife and two young kids. Joe Biden was vice president at the time and the blow from Beau's loss led him to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-entertainment-stephen-colbert-campaign-2016-beau-biden-37fed6382cc84756929b48eaef4be9ff">decide against running for president in 2016</a>. Jill Biden, who had helped raise Beau from a young age after she married his dad, was convinced he would survive the disease and later described feeling “blinded by the darkness” when he died.After their son's death, the Bidens helped push for a national commitment to “end cancer as we know it.” Then-President Barack Obama — Biden's boss — put the vice president in charge of what the White House named the Cancer Moonshot.The Bidens resurrected the initiative after Joe Biden became president and added a new goal of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-cancer-initiative-122f2d0782a30d7cf766f2892fc5962a">cutting cancer death rates by at least 50% over the next 25 years</a>, and improving the experience of living with and surviving cancer for patients and their families.“We’re ensuring that all of our government is ready to get to work,” Jill Biden said at the relaunch announcement at the White House last February. “We’re going to break down the walls that hold research back. We’re going to bring the best of our nation together — patients, survivors, caregivers, researchers, doctors, and advocates — all of you — so that we can get this done.”In the years between Biden serving as vice president and running for president, the Bidens headed up the Biden Cancer Initiative, a charity.Jill Biden, 71, has been using her first lady platform to highlight research into a cancer cure, along with other issues she has long championed, including education and military families.<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-race-and-ethnicity-health-disparities-cancer-virginia-2d2b44953030216aeee380b4b64295b4">Her first trip outside of Washington</a>&nbsp;after the January 2021 inauguration was to Virginia Commonwealth University's Massey Cancer Center in Richmond to call for an end to disparities in health care that she said have hurt communities of color.She has toured cancer centers, including those for children, in New York City, South Carolina, Tennessee, Costa Rica, San Francisco and Florida, among others. She joined the Philadelphia Eagles and Phillies — two of her favorite professional sports teams — for events, including during the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/mlb-health-sports-jill-biden-baseball-976bb1c829fcb1284ae40ce5759038e5">World Series</a>, to highlight efforts to fight cancer through early detection and to honor patients.For Breast Cancer Awareness Month last October, Jill Biden hosted a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-entertainment-health-jill-government-and-politics-a662294f8cdb930e5b8a26c42b07dba1">White House event with the American Cancer Society and singer Mary J. Blige,</a>&nbsp;who became an advocate for cancer screening after losing aunts and other relatives to various forms of cancer.The first lady also partnered with the Lifetime cable channel to encourage women to get mammograms. A Democrat, she gave&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-health-jill-covid-government-and-politics-a5391541e8cf5323668dde873758916c">an interview last year to Newsmax</a>, the conservative cable news channel, to discuss the federal investment in accelerating the cancer fight.She regularly encourages audiences to schedule cancer screening appointments they skipped during the pandemic out of fear of visiting doctor's offices.Asked on Friday how the first lady was doing, the president flashed a thumbs-up to reporters.<a href="https://www.cancer.org/cancer/basal-and-squamous-cell-skin-cancer.html">Basal cell carcinoma</a>, for which the first lady was treated with the procedure known as Mohs surgery, is the most common type of skin cancer, but also the most curable form. It’s considered highly treatable, especially when caught early. It is a slow-growing cancer that doesn't usually spread and seldom causes serious complications or becomes life-threatening.The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.skincancer.org/blog/first-lady-jill-biden-undergoes-mohs-surgery/">Skin Cancer Foundation</a>&nbsp;says the delicate skin around the eyes is especially vulnerable to damage from the sun’s ultraviolet rays, which makes basal cell carcinoma on and around the eyelids particularly common.

Jill Biden's skin cancer could fuel advocacy in cancer fight

FORD COUNTY—A Kansas woman died in an accident just before 9:30a.m. Monday in Ford County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2015 Cadillac SUV driven by Marca L. Berger, 56, Ensign, was northbound at&nbsp; 12076 105 Road just south of Upland Road.

The SUV traveled into the north ditch and the driver overcorrected. The Cadillac crossed the roadway into the south ditch, rolled and the driver was ejected.&nbsp;

&nbsp;Berger was pronounced dead at the scene and was transported&nbsp; Ziegler Funeral Chapel. She was not wearing a seat belt, according to the KHP.

FORD COUNTY—A Kansas woman died in an accident just before 9:30a.m. Monday in Ford County.The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2015 Cadillac SUV driven by Marca L. Berger, 56, Ensign, was northbound at&nbsp; 12076 105 Road just south of Upland Road.The SUV traveled into the north ditch and the driver overcorrected. The Cadillac crossed the roadway into the south ditch, rolled and the driver was ejected.&nbsp;&nbsp;Berger was pronounced dead at the scene and was transported&nbsp; Ziegler Funeral Chapel. She was not wearing a seat belt, according to the KHP.

Kansas woman dies after ejected in SUV rollover crash

BRUSSELS (AP) — The U.S. military's new, expanded combat training of Ukrainian forces began in Germany on Sunday, with a goal of getting a battalion of about 500 troops back on the battlefield to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-putin-politics-government-moscow-f2e3f238c9d8ea294e0ed8b1905caba4?utm_source=homepage&amp;utm_medium=TopNews&amp;utm_campaign=position_05">fight the Russians</a>&nbsp;in the next five to eight weeks, said Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Milley, who plans to visit the Grafenwoehr training area on Monday to get a first-hand look at the program, said the troops being trained left Ukraine a few days ago. In Germany is a full set of weapons and equipment for them to use.

Until now the Pentagon had declined to say exactly when the training would start.

The so-called combined arms training is aimed at honing the skills of the Ukrainian forces so they will be better prepared to launch an offensive or counter any surge in Russian attacks. They will learn how to better move and coordinate their company- and battalion-size units in battle, using combined artillery, armor and ground forces.

Speaking to two reporters traveling with him to Europe on Sunday, Milley said the complex training — combined with an array of new weapons, artillery, tanks and other vehicles heading to Ukraine — will be key to helping the country's forces take back territory that has been captured by Russia in the nearly 11-month-old war.

“This support is really important for Ukraine to be able to defend itself,” Milley said. “And we’re hoping to be able to pull this together here in short order.”

The goal, he said, is for all the incoming weapons and equipment to be delivered to Ukraine so that the newly trained forces will be able to use it “sometime before the spring rains show up. That would be ideal.”

The new instruction comes as Ukrainian forces face fierce fighting in the eastern Donetsk province, where the Russian military has claimed it has control of the small salt-mining town of Soledar. Ukraine asserts that its troops are still fighting, but if Moscow’s troops take control of Soledar it would allow them to inch closer to the bigger city of Bakhmut, where fighting has raged for months.

Russia also launched a widespread barrage of missile strikes,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-world-news-7226af5e8d9ce80db42c87222b195bd4">including in Kyiv</a>, the northeastern city of Kharkiv and the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-kyiv-government-united-kingdom-57dc26750d98b0451c6578df8f679953">southeastern city of Dnipro</a>, where the death toll in one apartment building rose to 30.

Milley said he wants to make sure the training is on track and whether anything else is needed, and also ensure that it will line up well with the equipment deliveries.

The program will include classroom instruction and field work that will begin with small squads and gradually grow to involve larger units. It would culminate with a more complex combat exercise bringing an entire battalion and a headquarters unit together.

Until now, the U.S. focus has been on providing Ukrainian forces with more immediate battlefield needs, particularly on how to use the wide array of Western weapons systems pouring into the country.

The U.S. has already trained more than 3,100 Ukrainian troops on how to use and maintain certain weapons and other equipment, including howitzers, armored vehicles and the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, known as HIMARS. Other nations are also conducting training on the weapons they provide.

In announcing the new program last month, Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, Pentagon press secretary, said the idea “is to be able to give them this advanced level of collective training that enables them to conduct effective combined arms operations and maneuver on the battlefield.”

Milley said the U.S. was doing this type of training prior to the Russian invasion last February. But once the war began, U.S. National Guard and special operations forces that were doing training inside Ukraine all left the country. This new effort, which is being done by U.S. Army Europe Africa’s 7th Army Training Command, will be a continuation of what they had been doing prior to the invasion. Other European allies are also providing training.

BRUSSELS (AP) — The U.S. military's new, expanded combat training of Ukrainian forces began in Germany on Sunday, with a goal of getting a battalion of about 500 troops back on the battlefield to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-putin-politics-government-moscow-f2e3f238c9d8ea294e0ed8b1905caba4?utm_source=homepage&amp;utm_medium=TopNews&amp;utm_campaign=position_05">fight the Russians</a>&nbsp;in the next five to eight weeks, said Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.Milley, who plans to visit the Grafenwoehr training area on Monday to get a first-hand look at the program, said the troops being trained left Ukraine a few days ago. In Germany is a full set of weapons and equipment for them to use.Until now the Pentagon had declined to say exactly when the training would start.The so-called combined arms training is aimed at honing the skills of the Ukrainian forces so they will be better prepared to launch an offensive or counter any surge in Russian attacks. They will learn how to better move and coordinate their company- and battalion-size units in battle, using combined artillery, armor and ground forces.Speaking to two reporters traveling with him to Europe on Sunday, Milley said the complex training — combined with an array of new weapons, artillery, tanks and other vehicles heading to Ukraine — will be key to helping the country's forces take back territory that has been captured by Russia in the nearly 11-month-old war.“This support is really important for Ukraine to be able to defend itself,” Milley said. “And we’re hoping to be able to pull this together here in short order.”The goal, he said, is for all the incoming weapons and equipment to be delivered to Ukraine so that the newly trained forces will be able to use it “sometime before the spring rains show up. That would be ideal.”The new instruction comes as Ukrainian forces face fierce fighting in the eastern Donetsk province, where the Russian military has claimed it has control of the small salt-mining town of Soledar. Ukraine asserts that its troops are still fighting, but if Moscow’s troops take control of Soledar it would allow them to inch closer to the bigger city of Bakhmut, where fighting has raged for months.Russia also launched a widespread barrage of missile strikes,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-world-news-7226af5e8d9ce80db42c87222b195bd4">including in Kyiv</a>, the northeastern city of Kharkiv and the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-kyiv-government-united-kingdom-57dc26750d98b0451c6578df8f679953">southeastern city of Dnipro</a>, where the death toll in one apartment building rose to 30.Milley said he wants to make sure the training is on track and whether anything else is needed, and also ensure that it will line up well with the equipment deliveries.The program will include classroom instruction and field work that will begin with small squads and gradually grow to involve larger units. It would culminate with a more complex combat exercise bringing an entire battalion and a headquarters unit together.Until now, the U.S. focus has been on providing Ukrainian forces with more immediate battlefield needs, particularly on how to use the wide array of Western weapons systems pouring into the country.The U.S. has already trained more than 3,100 Ukrainian troops on how to use and maintain certain weapons and other equipment, including howitzers, armored vehicles and the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, known as HIMARS. Other nations are also conducting training on the weapons they provide.In announcing the new program last month, Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, Pentagon press secretary, said the idea “is to be able to give them this advanced level of collective training that enables them to conduct effective combined arms operations and maneuver on the battlefield.”Milley said the U.S. was doing this type of training prior to the Russian invasion last February. But once the war began, U.S. National Guard and special operations forces that were doing training inside Ukraine all left the country. This new effort, which is being done by U.S. Army Europe Africa’s 7th Army Training Command, will be a continuation of what they had been doing prior to the invasion. Other European allies are also providing training.

Expanded US training for Ukraine forces underway in Germany

MISSION, Kan. (AP) — When Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick asked Texas colleges to disavow critical race theory, the University of Texas faculty approved a resolution defending their freedom to decide for themselves how to teach about race.

Patrick said he took it as a message to “go to hell.”

In turn, Patrick, a Republican, said it was time to consider holding the faculty accountable, by targeting one of the top perks of their jobs.

“Maybe we need to look at tenure,” Patrick said at a news conference in November.

It’s a sentiment being echoed by conservative officials in red states across the country. The indefinite academic appointments that come with tenure — the holy grail of university employment — have faced review from lawmakers or state oversight boards in at least half a dozen states, often presented as bids to rein in academics with liberal views.

Tenure advocates are bracing for the possibility of new threats as lawmakers are back at statehouses around the country.

The trend reflects how&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-health-ohio-education-elections-9ff6cfd34f811e91335db2b1a20e7754">conservative scrutiny</a>&nbsp;of instruction related to race, gender and sexuality has extended from schools to higher education. But budget considerations also play a role. Tenured faculty numbers have been declining even in more liberal states. Universities are hiring more part-time, adjunct instructors amid declines in financial support from state governments.

Traditionally, tenured professors can be terminated only under extreme circumstances, such as professional misconduct or a financial emergency. Advocates for tenure say it is a crucial component of academic freedom — especially as controversy grows over scholarly discussions about history and identity.

Without tenure, faculty are “liable to play it safe when it comes time to have a classroom discussion about a difficult topic,” said Irene Mulvey, president of the American Association of University Professors.

But in difficult financial and political times, even tenured professors may not be guaranteed employment.

In Kansas, Emporia State University recently cut 33 faculty — most of them tenured — using an emergency pandemic measure that allowed universities to bypass policies on staff terminations to balance budgets.

Max McCoy, Emporia State’s sole journalism professor, penned a column that began,&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2022/09/13/emporia-state-university-is-about-to-suspend-tenure-heres-why-you-should-care/">“I may be fired for writing this”</a>&nbsp;— before learning this would be his last year teaching at the school.

“This is a purge,” he said. He said all the fired professors were “Democrats or liberal in our thinking.”

University spokesperson Gwen Larson said individual professors were not targeted for dismissal. She said the cuts followed a review of how demand for academic programs is changing and “where we needed to move in the future.

Attacks on higher education have been fueled by a shift in how conservatives see colleges and universities, said Jeremy Young, of the free-expression group PEN America. The share of Republicans and independent-leaning Republicans who said higher education was having a negative effect on the country grew from 37% to 59% from 2015 to 2019 in Pew Research Center polling.

In Texas, university administrators are working behind the scenes to squash anticipated legislation that would target tenure, fearful it will hurt recruitment, said Jeff Blodgett, president of the Texas Conference of AAUP.

Some people already aren’t applying for university jobs because of the discussions, said Pat Heintzelman, president of the Texas Faculty Association.

In Florida, a federal judge in November blocked the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ron-desantis-florida-discrimination-business-racial-injustice-a6f340a48989e67669418e85f2986ebf">“Stop-WOKE" Act</a>, a law pushed by Gov. Ron DeSantis that restricts certain race-based conversations and analysis in colleges. The governor’s office is appealing the injunction. Compliance with the law would be part of the criteria for evaluating tenured professors under a review process that the university system’s Board of Governors is weighing.

“They’ve latched onto the idea that many totalitarian regimes have done over the years, which is if you can stop students from learning about ideas that a political party in power disagrees with, that is one way to stop those ideas from existing in the society at all,” said Andrew Gothard, president of United Faculty of Florida.

DeSantis, though, has questioned the argument that tenure provides academic freedom.

“If anything, it’s created more of an intellectual orthodoxy where people that have dissenting views, it's harder for them to be tenured in the first place," he said at a news conference in April.

In Louisiana, lawmakers set up a task force to study tenure with the Republican-backed resolution noting that students should be confident that courses are free of “political, ideological, religious, or antireligious indoctrination.” Professors raised concerns until they learned the task force’s members were mostly tenure supporters.

In Georgia, the state’s Board of Regents&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/georgia-education-27eaf233e573c0f8ace42244dff79bed">approved</a>&nbsp;a policy that made it easier to remove tenured faculty who have had a negative performance review. Elsewhere, legislation to ban or restrict tenure also has been introduced in recent years in Iowa, South Carolina and Mississippi, but failed to win passage.

The pushback follows decades of declining rates of tenured faculty. According to the AAUP, 24% of faculty members held full-time tenured appointments in fall 2020, compared with 39% in fall 1987, the first year for which directly comparable information is available.

Part-time college instructors rarely receive benefits. They frequently must travel from campus to campus to cobble together a living.

“It’s a nightmare,” said Caprice Lawless, who wrote the “Adjunct Cookbook,” replete with recipes that poorly compensated Ph.D.s can cobble together with food pantry staples.

“I’ve taken Ph.D.s to foodbanks and watched them cry because they can’t get enough food for their family,” said Lawless, who said she served as a social worker of sorts before retiring two years ago from Front Range Community College in Westminster, Colorado.

The opposition to tenure has united conservatives for different reasons: Not all share the same concerns about “woke higher education,” said Marc Stein, a San Francisco State University history professor, who has written about the shift to part-time faculty.

“But,” he said, “if you attack the ‘wokeness’ of higher education and that leads to declining funding for higher education, then economic conservatives are happy.”

Tenure exploded after World War II when it helped with recruitment as the GI Bill sent enrollment soaring, said Sol Gittleman, a former provost of Tufts University who has written on the issue. Lately, the country has overproduced Ph.D.s, said Gittleman, who predicts tenure will largely disappear in the coming decades outside the top 100 colleges and universities.

“Critical race theory — that's an excuse,” he said. “If there was a shortage of faculty, you wouldn’t hear that.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/1/1673215622068.png" alt="In Kansas, Emporia State University last fall cut 33 faculty — most of them tenured- Google image&nbsp;" />
 <figcaption>In Kansas, Emporia State University last fall cut 33 faculty — most of them tenured- Google image&nbsp;</figcaption>
 </figure>MISSION, Kan. (AP) — When Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick asked Texas colleges to disavow critical race theory, the University of Texas faculty approved a resolution defending their freedom to decide for themselves how to teach about race.Patrick said he took it as a message to “go to hell.”In turn, Patrick, a Republican, said it was time to consider holding the faculty accountable, by targeting one of the top perks of their jobs.“Maybe we need to look at tenure,” Patrick said at a news conference in November.It’s a sentiment being echoed by conservative officials in red states across the country. The indefinite academic appointments that come with tenure — the holy grail of university employment — have faced review from lawmakers or state oversight boards in at least half a dozen states, often presented as bids to rein in academics with liberal views.Tenure advocates are bracing for the possibility of new threats as lawmakers are back at statehouses around the country.The trend reflects how&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-health-ohio-education-elections-9ff6cfd34f811e91335db2b1a20e7754">conservative scrutiny</a>&nbsp;of instruction related to race, gender and sexuality has extended from schools to higher education. But budget considerations also play a role. Tenured faculty numbers have been declining even in more liberal states. Universities are hiring more part-time, adjunct instructors amid declines in financial support from state governments.Traditionally, tenured professors can be terminated only under extreme circumstances, such as professional misconduct or a financial emergency. Advocates for tenure say it is a crucial component of academic freedom — especially as controversy grows over scholarly discussions about history and identity.Without tenure, faculty are “liable to play it safe when it comes time to have a classroom discussion about a difficult topic,” said Irene Mulvey, president of the American Association of University Professors.But in difficult financial and political times, even tenured professors may not be guaranteed employment.In Kansas, Emporia State University recently cut 33 faculty — most of them tenured — using an emergency pandemic measure that allowed universities to bypass policies on staff terminations to balance budgets.Max McCoy, Emporia State’s sole journalism professor, penned a column that began,&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2022/09/13/emporia-state-university-is-about-to-suspend-tenure-heres-why-you-should-care/">“I may be fired for writing this”</a>&nbsp;— before learning this would be his last year teaching at the school.“This is a purge,” he said. He said all the fired professors were “Democrats or liberal in our thinking.”University spokesperson Gwen Larson said individual professors were not targeted for dismissal. She said the cuts followed a review of how demand for academic programs is changing and “where we needed to move in the future.Attacks on higher education have been fueled by a shift in how conservatives see colleges and universities, said Jeremy Young, of the free-expression group PEN America. The share of Republicans and independent-leaning Republicans who said higher education was having a negative effect on the country grew from 37% to 59% from 2015 to 2019 in Pew Research Center polling.In Texas, university administrators are working behind the scenes to squash anticipated legislation that would target tenure, fearful it will hurt recruitment, said Jeff Blodgett, president of the Texas Conference of AAUP.Some people already aren’t applying for university jobs because of the discussions, said Pat Heintzelman, president of the Texas Faculty Association.In Florida, a federal judge in November blocked the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ron-desantis-florida-discrimination-business-racial-injustice-a6f340a48989e67669418e85f2986ebf">“Stop-WOKE" Act</a>, a law pushed by Gov. Ron DeSantis that restricts certain race-based conversations and analysis in colleges. The governor’s office is appealing the injunction. Compliance with the law would be part of the criteria for evaluating tenured professors under a review process that the university system’s Board of Governors is weighing.“They’ve latched onto the idea that many totalitarian regimes have done over the years, which is if you can stop students from learning about ideas that a political party in power disagrees with, that is one way to stop those ideas from existing in the society at all,” said Andrew Gothard, president of United Faculty of Florida.DeSantis, though, has questioned the argument that tenure provides academic freedom.“If anything, it’s created more of an intellectual orthodoxy where people that have dissenting views, it's harder for them to be tenured in the first place," he said at a news conference in April.In Louisiana, lawmakers set up a task force to study tenure with the Republican-backed resolution noting that students should be confident that courses are free of “political, ideological, religious, or antireligious indoctrination.” Professors raised concerns until they learned the task force’s members were mostly tenure supporters.In Georgia, the state’s Board of Regents&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/georgia-education-27eaf233e573c0f8ace42244dff79bed">approved</a>&nbsp;a policy that made it easier to remove tenured faculty who have had a negative performance review. Elsewhere, legislation to ban or restrict tenure also has been introduced in recent years in Iowa, South Carolina and Mississippi, but failed to win passage.The pushback follows decades of declining rates of tenured faculty. According to the AAUP, 24% of faculty members held full-time tenured appointments in fall 2020, compared with 39% in fall 1987, the first year for which directly comparable information is available.Part-time college instructors rarely receive benefits. They frequently must travel from campus to campus to cobble together a living.“It’s a nightmare,” said Caprice Lawless, who wrote the “Adjunct Cookbook,” replete with recipes that poorly compensated Ph.D.s can cobble together with food pantry staples.“I’ve taken Ph.D.s to foodbanks and watched them cry because they can’t get enough food for their family,” said Lawless, who said she served as a social worker of sorts before retiring two years ago from Front Range Community College in Westminster, Colorado.The opposition to tenure has united conservatives for different reasons: Not all share the same concerns about “woke higher education,” said Marc Stein, a San Francisco State University history professor, who has written about the shift to part-time faculty.“But,” he said, “if you attack the ‘wokeness’ of higher education and that leads to declining funding for higher education, then economic conservatives are happy.”Tenure exploded after World War II when it helped with recruitment as the GI Bill sent enrollment soaring, said Sol Gittleman, a former provost of Tufts University who has written on the issue. Lately, the country has overproduced Ph.D.s, said Gittleman, who predicts tenure will largely disappear in the coming decades outside the top 100 colleges and universities.“Critical race theory — that's an excuse,” he said. “If there was a shortage of faculty, you wouldn’t hear that.”

Conservatives take aim at tenure for university professors

SEDGWICK COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a shooting that seriously injured a 28-year-old man.

Just before 1:30a.m. Sunday, police were dispatched to a shooting at gas station in the&nbsp; the 700 block of North Broadway in Wichita, according to Officer Juan Rebolledo.

First responders found an employee of the business rendering aid to the suspect. The man had two gunshot wounds to his upper body. EMS transported the suspect to an area hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries.&nbsp;

The investigation revealed the suspect had a verbal altercation with two employees of the business after he was asked to leave the premises. The suspect refused to leave and began physically attacking the two employees.

One of the employees produced a handgun and fired at the suspect after the suspect begin to attack him a second time. The victims are fully cooperating with the detectives, according to Rebolledo.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/1/1673874976910.png" alt="First responders on the scene of the shooting-photo courtesy KWCH" />
 <figcaption>First responders on the scene of the shooting-photo courtesy KWCH</figcaption>
 </figure>SEDGWICK COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a shooting that seriously injured a 28-year-old man.Just before 1:30a.m. Sunday, police were dispatched to a shooting at gas station in the&nbsp; the 700 block of North Broadway in Wichita, according to Officer Juan Rebolledo.First responders found an employee of the business rendering aid to the suspect. The man had two gunshot wounds to his upper body. EMS transported the suspect to an area hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries.&nbsp;The investigation revealed the suspect had a verbal altercation with two employees of the business after he was asked to leave the premises. The suspect refused to leave and began physically attacking the two employees.One of the employees produced a handgun and fired at the suspect after the suspect begin to attack him a second time. The victims are fully cooperating with the detectives, according to Rebolledo.

Kansas gas station employee shot man after altercation, attack

JEFFERSON CITY (AP) —Women who serve in the Missouri House will face a tougher dress code when they return to the floor this week after a debate that Democrats panned as a pointless distraction from the issues facing the state.

The new rules require female legislators and staff members to wear a jacket such as a cardigan or blazer. The Republican lawmaker who introduced the change said it was done to ensure decorum and mirror the men’s dress code. Democrats called it ridiculous, saying women shouldn’t be policed for their fashion choices.

Republican Rep. Ann Kelley, who introduced the amendment, said it cleans up language in current House rules so that the dress code for women will mirror the dress code for men.

“It is essential to always maintain a formal and professional atmosphere on House floor and to ensure this happens, I have felt compelled to offer this amendment,” she said during Wednesday’s floor debate.

Her initial amendment said women would be required to wear business attire – specifically a “jacket,” which would include “blazers and knit blazers.” After spirited debate, a revised amendment was adopted to clarify that a cardigan could also be worn.

Men in the Missouri House of Representatives were already required to wear a jacket, shirt and a tie. Under the previous dress code, women were required to wear “dresses or skirts or slacks worn with a blazer or sweater and appropriate dress shoes or boots.” A second layer of clothing was not required.

Kelley said ensuring decorum was a key reason behind her proposal –- an idea Democrats seized on.

“I’ve seen a lot of lack of decorum in this room in my two years here and not once has that lack of decorum spurred from someone’s blazer or lack thereof,” said Rep. Ashley Aune, a Democrat. “There are a lot of ways we could break decorum in this room. But a woman, what she’s wearing, that is ridiculous.”

Aune went on to say she has personally been asked about her attire, even though she was following the rules.

“Do you know what it feels like to have a bunch of men in this room looking at your top trying to determine if it’s appropriate or not?” she said.

Virginia Ramseyer Winter, an associate professor at the University of Missouri School of Health Professions and director of the Center for Body Image Research and Policy, said lawmakers shouldn’t have even debated this because it unnecessarily put the focus on the way women look instead of the issues.

“I think it reinforces the idea that we value women more for their appearance above other more important things like their intelligence and their contributions,” she said.

Ramseyer Winter and other critics of the measure said the debate echoed the one over abortion restrictions lawmakers approved last summer after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.

“I do think that it also sends the message that we have to police women’s bodies,” she said.

Rep. Raychel Proudie, a Democrat, took issue with the amendment before it was amended to include “cardigan.” She pointed out that it wouldn’t be easy for pregnant women to comply because “they don’t make jackets or blazers for women who are pregnant. That could be very uncomfortable, particularly in a pro-life state.”

The dress code was a small part of a package of rules that state lawmakers ultimately approved last Wednesday.

“There are some very serious things that are in this rule package that I think we should be debating, but instead we are fighting, again, for a women’s right to choose something. And this time it is how she covers herself,” Proudie said.

Lawmakers in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/lawmakers-fight-dress-codes-be10024e8e9039d7d4c209c8954f5ec6">other states</a>&nbsp;have pushed back against dress code rules as&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/legislature-dress-codes-montana-coronavirus-pandemic-a79c316464706fd5bef1480b221b2e41">sexist</a>&nbsp;and culturally insensitive. Congress' longstanding ban on sleeveless tops and open-toes shoes&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/f4e7b3fe726941ae840c56b1955da2bb">generated a fight</a>&nbsp;in 2017 before those rules were updated.

Missouri Republicans said the criticism of the dress code was overdone when all the rules did was clarify what is required.

“It’s a normal process for any entity regarding a professional work environment,” Republican state Rep. Doug Richey said. “We just happen to have a political context that we have to navigate and, because of that, it is ripe for some members to grandstand and try to make it into something that it’s not.”

Still Rep. Peter Merideth, a Democrat, declined to vote on the dress code amendment because he didn't want to dare say what was appropriate or inappropriate for women to wear. In the House, there are 43 women and 116 men.

“This is ridiculous,” he said. “Our people sent us here to pass laws … not fight about mandates and rules on women’s clothing.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/1/1673825460971.png" alt="-Missouri State Rep. Ashley Aune said, “I’ve seen a lot of lack of decorum in this room in my two years here and not once has that lack of decorum spurred from someone’s blazer or lack thereof."- courtesy photo" />
 <figcaption>-Missouri State Rep. Ashley Aune said, “I’ve seen a lot of lack of decorum in this room in my two years here and not once has that lack of decorum spurred from someone’s blazer or lack thereof."- courtesy photo</figcaption>
 </figure>JEFFERSON CITY (AP) —Women who serve in the Missouri House will face a tougher dress code when they return to the floor this week after a debate that Democrats panned as a pointless distraction from the issues facing the state.The new rules require female legislators and staff members to wear a jacket such as a cardigan or blazer. The Republican lawmaker who introduced the change said it was done to ensure decorum and mirror the men’s dress code. Democrats called it ridiculous, saying women shouldn’t be policed for their fashion choices.Republican Rep. Ann Kelley, who introduced the amendment, said it cleans up language in current House rules so that the dress code for women will mirror the dress code for men.“It is essential to always maintain a formal and professional atmosphere on House floor and to ensure this happens, I have felt compelled to offer this amendment,” she said during Wednesday’s floor debate.Her initial amendment said women would be required to wear business attire – specifically a “jacket,” which would include “blazers and knit blazers.” After spirited debate, a revised amendment was adopted to clarify that a cardigan could also be worn.Men in the Missouri House of Representatives were already required to wear a jacket, shirt and a tie. Under the previous dress code, women were required to wear “dresses or skirts or slacks worn with a blazer or sweater and appropriate dress shoes or boots.” A second layer of clothing was not required.Kelley said ensuring decorum was a key reason behind her proposal –- an idea Democrats seized on.“I’ve seen a lot of lack of decorum in this room in my two years here and not once has that lack of decorum spurred from someone’s blazer or lack thereof,” said Rep. Ashley Aune, a Democrat. “There are a lot of ways we could break decorum in this room. But a woman, what she’s wearing, that is ridiculous.”Aune went on to say she has personally been asked about her attire, even though she was following the rules.“Do you know what it feels like to have a bunch of men in this room looking at your top trying to determine if it’s appropriate or not?” she said.Virginia Ramseyer Winter, an associate professor at the University of Missouri School of Health Professions and director of the Center for Body Image Research and Policy, said lawmakers shouldn’t have even debated this because it unnecessarily put the focus on the way women look instead of the issues.“I think it reinforces the idea that we value women more for their appearance above other more important things like their intelligence and their contributions,” she said.Ramseyer Winter and other critics of the measure said the debate echoed the one over abortion restrictions lawmakers approved last summer after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.“I do think that it also sends the message that we have to police women’s bodies,” she said.Rep. Raychel Proudie, a Democrat, took issue with the amendment before it was amended to include “cardigan.” She pointed out that it wouldn’t be easy for pregnant women to comply because “they don’t make jackets or blazers for women who are pregnant. That could be very uncomfortable, particularly in a pro-life state.”The dress code was a small part of a package of rules that state lawmakers ultimately approved last Wednesday.“There are some very serious things that are in this rule package that I think we should be debating, but instead we are fighting, again, for a women’s right to choose something. And this time it is how she covers herself,” Proudie said.Lawmakers in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/lawmakers-fight-dress-codes-be10024e8e9039d7d4c209c8954f5ec6">other states</a>&nbsp;have pushed back against dress code rules as&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/legislature-dress-codes-montana-coronavirus-pandemic-a79c316464706fd5bef1480b221b2e41">sexist</a>&nbsp;and culturally insensitive. Congress' longstanding ban on sleeveless tops and open-toes shoes&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/f4e7b3fe726941ae840c56b1955da2bb">generated a fight</a>&nbsp;in 2017 before those rules were updated.Missouri Republicans said the criticism of the dress code was overdone when all the rules did was clarify what is required.“It’s a normal process for any entity regarding a professional work environment,” Republican state Rep. Doug Richey said. “We just happen to have a political context that we have to navigate and, because of that, it is ripe for some members to grandstand and try to make it into something that it’s not.”Still Rep. Peter Merideth, a Democrat, declined to vote on the dress code amendment because he didn't want to dare say what was appropriate or inappropriate for women to wear. In the House, there are 43 women and 116 men.“This is ridiculous,” he said. “Our people sent us here to pass laws … not fight about mandates and rules on women’s clothing.”

Dems: Debate over Mo. House dress code for women a distraction

MCPHERSON — Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly’s budget plan was released this past week and education, including early childhood,&nbsp; remains a priority. The plan includes full funding of K-12 education with appropriate inflationary adjustments, as well as a five-year plan to phase in additional Special Education dollars. John Wilson with Kansas Action for Children is in support of those ideas.

"We've been advocating for increasing funding for special education," Wilson said. "Kansas is very fortunate right now to have a strong budget surplus, in addition to strong reserves. This is the time that we need to invest those dollars into education. We've done that in response to lawsuits in public education. Who we've left behind so far have been special education students. We are joining with other education partners to make sure that the Governor's recommendation of phased in funding to meet those obligations for special education happens."

Also a priority for KAC this session is fixing the wording of the state's CHIP legislation for kids who are low income, but do not qualify for Medicaid. The eligibility wording needs updated to account for inflation.

That has political problems for those who don't want to see Medicaid expanded, because an amendment to a CHIP bill that actually sought Medicaid expansion would end up in what is called a germaneness challenge, where the body would have to take a vote on whether or not such an amendment applied to the statute at hand and leadership can't necessarily control how a vote goes on that and process has been the way that Medicaid expansion has been held up for the last several sessions.

"Kansas is one of just 11 states that still hasn't expanded their health insurance programs to support families," Wilson said. "That's not to say there aren't paths forward, they are just a little more narrow path to get this CHIP issue resolved."

In addition, KAC is interested in what comes out of the newly created early childhood task force, as the governor attempts to create the framework for a new cabinet-level position in that arena.

"There are, I think, four state agencies with touchpoints with early childhood programs in Kansas," Wilson said. "You have the Department of Education, the Department of Health and Environment, the Department for Children and Families and the Kansas Children's Cabinet. I think, currently, those agencies do a nice job collaborating, given the various funding streams that they are working with and programs that they have oversight of, but I think we can have an even stronger early childhood system in Kansas if there was a single agency to bring that all together."

For more information on Kansas Action for Children and their priorities for this legislative session, go online to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kac.org/lawmakers_can_make_the_2023_session_a_win_for_kids">kac.org</a>.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/1/1673435553935.png" alt="Governor Laura Kelly on Tuesday signed the first executive order of her second term to establish the Early Childhood Transition Task Force-courtesy photo" />
 <figcaption>Governor Laura Kelly on Tuesday signed the first executive order of her second term to establish the Early Childhood Transition Task Force-courtesy photo</figcaption>
 </figure>NICK GOSNELL Hutch PostMCPHERSON — Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly’s budget plan was released this past week and education, including early childhood,&nbsp; remains a priority. The plan includes full funding of K-12 education with appropriate inflationary adjustments, as well as a five-year plan to phase in additional Special Education dollars. John Wilson with Kansas Action for Children is in support of those ideas."We've been advocating for increasing funding for special education," Wilson said. "Kansas is very fortunate right now to have a strong budget surplus, in addition to strong reserves. This is the time that we need to invest those dollars into education. We've done that in response to lawsuits in public education. Who we've left behind so far have been special education students. We are joining with other education partners to make sure that the Governor's recommendation of phased in funding to meet those obligations for special education happens."Also a priority for KAC this session is fixing the wording of the state's CHIP legislation for kids who are low income, but do not qualify for Medicaid. The eligibility wording needs updated to account for inflation.That has political problems for those who don't want to see Medicaid expanded, because an amendment to a CHIP bill that actually sought Medicaid expansion would end up in what is called a germaneness challenge, where the body would have to take a vote on whether or not such an amendment applied to the statute at hand and leadership can't necessarily control how a vote goes on that and process has been the way that Medicaid expansion has been held up for the last several sessions."Kansas is one of just 11 states that still hasn't expanded their health insurance programs to support families," Wilson said. "That's not to say there aren't paths forward, they are just a little more narrow path to get this CHIP issue resolved."In addition, KAC is interested in what comes out of the newly created early childhood task force, as the governor attempts to create the framework for a new cabinet-level position in that arena."There are, I think, four state agencies with touchpoints with early childhood programs in Kansas," Wilson said. "You have the Department of Education, the Department of Health and Environment, the Department for Children and Families and the Kansas Children's Cabinet. I think, currently, those agencies do a nice job collaborating, given the various funding streams that they are working with and programs that they have oversight of, but I think we can have an even stronger early childhood system in Kansas if there was a single agency to bring that all together."For more information on Kansas Action for Children and their priorities for this legislative session, go online to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kac.org/lawmakers_can_make_the_2023_session_a_win_for_kids">kac.org</a>.

Kan. Action for Children supports Kelly budget priorities in education

ELLIS COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a Kansas felon on new charges

Just after 7&nbsp;p.m. Sunday, police were alerted to a possible erratic driver that was reported to be driving at high rates of speed through residential areas in the city of Ellis, according to a media release.

Officers located the vehicle in question, a 1999 Chevrolet Silverado 1500, driving northbound in the 1500 block of Monroe Street and attempted to initiate a traffic stop on the vehicle, but the driver, later identified as Clinton Evans, 40, of Ellis failed to yield to law enforcement and a pursuit ensued.

Evans led officers on a brief pursuit that lasted approximately 8 minutes. An Ellis County Sheriff’s Deputy was successful in deploying a tire deflation device that deflated all four tires on the suspect vehicle, ultimately bringing it to a stop in the 900 block of Old Highway 40.

A felony stop was initiated where officers attempted to take Evans into custody. He further failed to comply with lawful orders from Law Enforcement and a standoff occurred.

Law Enforcement attempted to negotiate a peaceful resolution but negotiations failed. Making use of an armored vehicle as cover, officers were able to force entry into the suspect vehicle and deploy a chemical agent to attempt to gain compliance.

When that failed, Law Enforcement formed an arrest team that was successful in taking Evans into custody without further incident.

Evans is being held in the Ellis County Jail on requested charges of Felony Fleeing or Attempting to Elude, Felony Interference with Law Enforcement, Criminal Carrying of a Weapon, and numerous traffic offenses. Clinton is innocent until proven guilty by a court of law.

Evans has previous convictions that include burglary, theft, aggravated assault, battery against city/county Corrections officer/employee and for drugs, according to the Kansas Dept. of Corrections.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/1/1673878386830.png" alt="Evans has previous convictions that include burglary, theft, aggravated assault, battery against city/county Corrections officer/employee and for drugs, according to the Kansas Dept. of Corrections" />
 <figcaption>Evans has previous convictions that include burglary, theft, aggravated assault, battery against city/county Corrections officer/employee and for drugs, according to the Kansas Dept. of Corrections</figcaption>
 </figure>ELLIS COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a Kansas felon on new chargesJust after 7&nbsp;p.m. Sunday, police were alerted to a possible erratic driver that was reported to be driving at high rates of speed through residential areas in the city of Ellis, according to a media release.Officers located the vehicle in question, a 1999 Chevrolet Silverado 1500, driving northbound in the 1500 block of Monroe Street and attempted to initiate a traffic stop on the vehicle, but the driver, later identified as Clinton Evans, 40, of Ellis failed to yield to law enforcement and a pursuit ensued.Evans led officers on a brief pursuit that lasted approximately 8 minutes. An Ellis County Sheriff’s Deputy was successful in deploying a tire deflation device that deflated all four tires on the suspect vehicle, ultimately bringing it to a stop in the 900 block of Old Highway 40.A felony stop was initiated where officers attempted to take Evans into custody. He further failed to comply with lawful orders from Law Enforcement and a standoff occurred.Law Enforcement attempted to negotiate a peaceful resolution but negotiations failed. Making use of an armored vehicle as cover, officers were able to force entry into the suspect vehicle and deploy a chemical agent to attempt to gain compliance.When that failed, Law Enforcement formed an arrest team that was successful in taking Evans into custody without further incident.Evans is being held in the Ellis County Jail on requested charges of Felony Fleeing or Attempting to Elude, Felony Interference with Law Enforcement, Criminal Carrying of a Weapon, and numerous traffic offenses. Clinton is innocent until proven guilty by a court of law.Evans has previous convictions that include burglary, theft, aggravated assault, battery against city/county Corrections officer/employee and for drugs, according to the Kansas Dept. of Corrections.

Kansas felon jailed after chase, standoff in western Kansas

ATLANTA (AP) — President Joe Biden made a historical pilgrimage Sunday to “America's freedom church” to mark&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/district-of-columbia-boston-united-states-government-atlanta-civil-rights-cb6609246b1817bbe6ce1e6dcf2f01a6">Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday</a>, saying democracy was at a perilous moment and that the civil rights leader's life and legacy "show us the way and we should pay attention.”

(Click below to watch the President's sermon)

As the first sitting president to deliver a Sunday morning sermon at King's&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/race-and-ethnicity-georgia-senate-2563753b703f7a46af9a0e75565b84db">Ebenezer Baptist Church</a>, Biden cited the telling question that King himself once asked of the nation.

“He said, 'Where do we go from here?’” Biden said from the pulpit. ”Well, my message to this nation on this day is we go forward, we go together, when we choose democracy over autocracy, a beloved community over chaos, when we choose believers and the dreams, to be doers, to be unafraid, always keeping the faith.”

In a divided country only two years removed from a violent insurrection, Biden told congregants, elected officials and dignitaries that “the battle for the soul of this nation is perennial. It’s a constant struggle ... between hope and fear, kindness and cruelty, justice and injustice."

He spoke out against those who “traffic in racism, extremism, insurrection” and said the struggle to safeguard democracy was playing out in courthouses and ballot boxes, protests and other ways. ”At our best, the American promise wins out. … But I don’t need to tell you that we’re not always at our best. We’re fallible. We fail and fall.’’

The stop at Ebenezer came at a delicate moment for Biden after Attorney General Merrick Garland on Thursday announced the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/classified-documents-biden-home-wilmington-33479d12c7cf0a822adb2f44c32b88fd">appointment of a special counsel</a>&nbsp;to investigate how the president handled classified documents after leaving the vice presidency in 2017.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-united-states-government-district-of-columbia-0574fd762159e8cb5f31c85205df3dc0">The White House on Saturday</a>&nbsp;revealed that additional classified records were found at&nbsp;<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/Biden's%20home%20near%20Wilmington,%20Delaware.">Biden’s home near Wilmington, Delaware</a>.

In introducing Biden, the church's senior pastor, Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock noted that the president was “a devout Catholic” for whom "this Baptist service might be a little bit rambunctious and animated. But I saw him over there clapping his hands.”

King, “the greatest American prophet of the 20th century," as Warnock put it, served as co-pastor from 1960 until he was assassinated in 1968.

Warnock, like many battleground state Democrats who won reelection in 2022,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/rev-raphael-warnock-biden-voting-rights-politics-georgia-state-government-4ab203d49a120aae1eb07d248c0579a4">kept his distance during the campaign from Biden</a>&nbsp;as the president's approval rating lagged and the inflation rate climbed.

But with the election behind him and a full six-year term ahead, Warnock fully embraced Biden at the service. Near the close, he asked Biden to come to the front of the church and asked Ebenezer's congregants to pray for the president as he listed several of Biden's legislative achievements.

“That, my friends, is God’s work,” said Warnock, adding that Biden “had a little something to do with it.”

As Biden begins to turn his attention toward an expected 2024 reelection effort, Georgia is going to get plenty of his attention.

In 2020, Biden managed to win Georgia as well as closely contested Michigan and Pennsylvania, where Black votes made up a disproportionate share of the Democratic electorate. Turning out Black voters in those states will be essential to Biden's 2024 hopes.

The White House has tried to promote Biden's agenda in minority communities. The White House has cited efforts to encourage states&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/race-and-ethnicity-racial-injustice-transportation-pete-buttigieg-48e09f253781c89359d875f19fc70f9d">to take equity into account for public works projects</a>&nbsp;as they spend money from the administration's&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-congress-infrastructure-bill-signing-b5b8cca843133de060778f049861b144">$1 trillion infrastructure bill.</a>&nbsp;The administration also has acted to end&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/merrick-garland-5d6ca72c3620e0ef3ecd55ec60f590a4">sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine offenses</a>, scrapping a policy widely seen as racist.

The administration also highlights Biden's work to diversify the federal judiciary, including his appointment of Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson as&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ketanji-brown-jackson-swearing-in-5a5115f58e163789dfda5a8af0b14221">the first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court</a>&nbsp;and the confirmation of 11 Black women judges to federal appeals courts —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ketanji-brown-jackson-biden-politics-wisconsin-state-government-united-states-8e2e4f826096e431fcc7b1605426ec0a">more than those installed to those powerful courts under all previous presidents combined.</a>

Biden’s failure to win passage of a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-voting-rights-bill-collapses-27c888b4f9bf876520913d7036a942b0">measure that would have bolstered voting right protections</a>, a central campaign pledge, is one of his biggest disappointments of his first two years in office. The task is even steeper now that Republicans control the House.

In his remarks, the president said that for all the progress the United States has made, the country had now reached a critical point in its history. He said democracies can backslide, noting the collapse of the institutional structures of democracy in places such as Brazil.

"Progress is never easy, but it’s always possible and things do get better in our march to a more perfect union,” he said. “But at this inflection point, we know a lot of work that has to continue on economic justice civil rights, voting rights, protecting our democracy. And I’m remembering our job is to redeem the soul of America.”

This moment, he said, “is the time of choosing. … Are we a people who will choose democracy over autocracy? Couldn't ask that question 15 years ago because everybody thought democracy was settled. ... But it's not." Americans, he said, " have to choose a community over chaos. ... These are the vital questions of our time and the reason why I’m here as your president. I believe Dr. King’s life and legacy show us the way and we should pay attention.”

King, who was born on Jan. 15, 1929, was killed at age 39. He helped drive passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965. Members of King's family attended the service, including his 95-year-old sister, Christine King Farris.

``I’ve spoken before parliaments, kings, queens, leaders of the world ... but this is intimidating,” Biden said in opening his sermon.

The president plans to be in Washington on Monday to speak at the National Action Network’s annual breakfast on the King holiday.

ATLANTA (AP) — President Joe Biden made a historical pilgrimage Sunday to “America's freedom church” to mark&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/district-of-columbia-boston-united-states-government-atlanta-civil-rights-cb6609246b1817bbe6ce1e6dcf2f01a6">Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday</a>, saying democracy was at a perilous moment and that the civil rights leader's life and legacy "show us the way and we should pay attention.” (Click below to watch the President's sermon)<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Tune in as I deliver remarks at Ebenezer Baptist Church, honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. <a href="https://t.co/ffRVfHTjsU">https://t.co/ffRVfHTjsU</a>&mdash; President Biden (@POTUS) <a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1614665198086008835?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 15, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>As the first sitting president to deliver a Sunday morning sermon at King's&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/race-and-ethnicity-georgia-senate-2563753b703f7a46af9a0e75565b84db">Ebenezer Baptist Church</a>, Biden cited the telling question that King himself once asked of the nation.“He said, 'Where do we go from here?’” Biden said from the pulpit. ”Well, my message to this nation on this day is we go forward, we go together, when we choose democracy over autocracy, a beloved community over chaos, when we choose believers and the dreams, to be doers, to be unafraid, always keeping the faith.”In a divided country only two years removed from a violent insurrection, Biden told congregants, elected officials and dignitaries that “the battle for the soul of this nation is perennial. It’s a constant struggle ... between hope and fear, kindness and cruelty, justice and injustice."He spoke out against those who “traffic in racism, extremism, insurrection” and said the struggle to safeguard democracy was playing out in courthouses and ballot boxes, protests and other ways. ”At our best, the American promise wins out. … But I don’t need to tell you that we’re not always at our best. We’re fallible. We fail and fall.’’The stop at Ebenezer came at a delicate moment for Biden after Attorney General Merrick Garland on Thursday announced the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/classified-documents-biden-home-wilmington-33479d12c7cf0a822adb2f44c32b88fd">appointment of a special counsel</a>&nbsp;to investigate how the president handled classified documents after leaving the vice presidency in 2017.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-united-states-government-district-of-columbia-0574fd762159e8cb5f31c85205df3dc0">The White House on Saturday</a>&nbsp;revealed that additional classified records were found at&nbsp;<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/Biden's%20home%20near%20Wilmington,%20Delaware.">Biden’s home near Wilmington, Delaware</a>.In introducing Biden, the church's senior pastor, Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock noted that the president was “a devout Catholic” for whom "this Baptist service might be a little bit rambunctious and animated. But I saw him over there clapping his hands.”King, “the greatest American prophet of the 20th century," as Warnock put it, served as co-pastor from 1960 until he was assassinated in 1968.Warnock, like many battleground state Democrats who won reelection in 2022,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/rev-raphael-warnock-biden-voting-rights-politics-georgia-state-government-4ab203d49a120aae1eb07d248c0579a4">kept his distance during the campaign from Biden</a>&nbsp;as the president's approval rating lagged and the inflation rate climbed.But with the election behind him and a full six-year term ahead, Warnock fully embraced Biden at the service. Near the close, he asked Biden to come to the front of the church and asked Ebenezer's congregants to pray for the president as he listed several of Biden's legislative achievements.“That, my friends, is God’s work,” said Warnock, adding that Biden “had a little something to do with it.”As Biden begins to turn his attention toward an expected 2024 reelection effort, Georgia is going to get plenty of his attention.In 2020, Biden managed to win Georgia as well as closely contested Michigan and Pennsylvania, where Black votes made up a disproportionate share of the Democratic electorate. Turning out Black voters in those states will be essential to Biden's 2024 hopes.The White House has tried to promote Biden's agenda in minority communities. The White House has cited efforts to encourage states&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/race-and-ethnicity-racial-injustice-transportation-pete-buttigieg-48e09f253781c89359d875f19fc70f9d">to take equity into account for public works projects</a>&nbsp;as they spend money from the administration's&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-congress-infrastructure-bill-signing-b5b8cca843133de060778f049861b144">$1 trillion infrastructure bill.</a>&nbsp;The administration also has acted to end&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/merrick-garland-5d6ca72c3620e0ef3ecd55ec60f590a4">sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine offenses</a>, scrapping a policy widely seen as racist.The administration also highlights Biden's work to diversify the federal judiciary, including his appointment of Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson as&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ketanji-brown-jackson-swearing-in-5a5115f58e163789dfda5a8af0b14221">the first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court</a>&nbsp;and the confirmation of 11 Black women judges to federal appeals courts —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ketanji-brown-jackson-biden-politics-wisconsin-state-government-united-states-8e2e4f826096e431fcc7b1605426ec0a">more than those installed to those powerful courts under all previous presidents combined.</a>Biden’s failure to win passage of a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-voting-rights-bill-collapses-27c888b4f9bf876520913d7036a942b0">measure that would have bolstered voting right protections</a>, a central campaign pledge, is one of his biggest disappointments of his first two years in office. The task is even steeper now that Republicans control the House.In his remarks, the president said that for all the progress the United States has made, the country had now reached a critical point in its history. He said democracies can backslide, noting the collapse of the institutional structures of democracy in places such as Brazil."Progress is never easy, but it’s always possible and things do get better in our march to a more perfect union,” he said. “But at this inflection point, we know a lot of work that has to continue on economic justice civil rights, voting rights, protecting our democracy. And I’m remembering our job is to redeem the soul of America.”This moment, he said, “is the time of choosing. … Are we a people who will choose democracy over autocracy? Couldn't ask that question 15 years ago because everybody thought democracy was settled. ... But it's not." Americans, he said, " have to choose a community over chaos. ... These are the vital questions of our time and the reason why I’m here as your president. I believe Dr. King’s life and legacy show us the way and we should pay attention.”King, who was born on Jan. 15, 1929, was killed at age 39. He helped drive passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965. Members of King's family attended the service, including his 95-year-old sister, Christine King Farris.``I’ve spoken before parliaments, kings, queens, leaders of the world ... but this is intimidating,” Biden said in opening his sermon.The president plans to be in Washington on Monday to speak at the National Action Network’s annual breakfast on the King holiday.

🎥Biden: Americans should 'pay attention' to MLK's legacy

SEDGWICK COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a fatal shooting involving teens.

Just after&nbsp;8:30 p.m. Friday, police responded to a shooting call at the 2200 block of South Millwood Street in Wichita, according to Officer Juan Rebolledo.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/1/1673721077526.png" alt="First responders on the scene of the shooting" />
 <figcaption>First responders on the scene of the shooting</figcaption>
 </figure>SEDGWICK COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a fatal shooting involving teens.Just after&nbsp;8:30 p.m. Friday, police responded to a shooting call at the 2200 block of South Millwood Street in Wichita, according to Officer Juan Rebolledo.Officers located&nbsp; 16-year-old Seaquori Smith of Wichita inside the residence with a single gunshot wound to his upper body.&nbsp; EMS transported the boy to a local hospital where he was pronounced deceased.The investigation revealed Smith was hanging out inside the residence with a 15-year-old boy. The 15-year-old was recklessly manipulating a firearm when a single shot was fired striking Smith in the upper body.The 15-year-old called 911 and reported the incident. This is not a random incident, according to police. The boys are not related but did know each other, according to Rebolledo.&nbsp; Police will present the case to the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s office.