ADANA, Turkey (AP) — Rescuers raced Tuesday to find survivors in the rubble of thousands of buildings brought down by a 7.8 magnitude earthquake and multiple aftershocks that struck eastern Turkey and neighboring Syria, with the discovery of more bodies raising the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/turkey-earthquake-live-updates-19e7d84fefdeed4c8a355dedf23d914f">death toll</a>&nbsp;to more than 5,000.

Countries around the world dispatched teams to assist in the rescue efforts, and Turkey's disaster management agency said more than 24,400 emergency personnel were now on the ground. But with such a wide swath of territory hit by Monday’s earthquake and nearly 6,000 buildings confirmed to have collapsed in Turkey alone, their efforts were spread thin.

Attempts to reach survivors were also impeded by temperatures below freezing and close to 200 aftershocks, which made the search through unstable structures perilous.

Nurgul Atay told The Associated Press she could hear her mother's voice beneath the rubble of a collapsed building in the city of Antakya, the capital of Hatay province, but that her and others efforts to get into the ruins had been futile without any rescue crews and heavy equipment to help.

“If only we could lift the concrete slab we'd be able to reach her,” she said. “My mother is 70-years-old, she won't be able to withstand this for long.”

Across Hatay province, just southwest of the earthquake's epicenter, officials say as many as 1,500 buildings were destroyed and many people reported relatives being trapped under the rubble with no aid or rescue teams arriving.

In areas where teams worked, occasional cheers broke out through the night as survivors were brought out of the rubble.

The quake, which was centered in Turkey’s southeastern province of Kahramanmaras, sent residents of Damascus and Beirut rushing into the street and was felt as far away as Cairo.

Sebastien Gay, the head of mission in Syria for Doctors Without Borders, said health facilities in northern Syria were overwhelmed with medical personnel working around “around the clock to respond to the huge numbers of wounded.”

In Turkey's Hatay province, thousands of people sheltered in sports centers or fair halls, while others spent the night outside, huddled in blankets around fires.

Turkey has large numbers of troops in the border region with Syria and has tasked the military to aid in the rescue efforts, including setting up tents for the homeless and a field hospital in Hatay province. Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said a humanitarian aid brigade based in Ankara and eight military search and rescue teams had also been deployed.

A navy ship docked on Tuesday at the province's port of Iskenderun, where a hospital collapsed, to transport survivors in need of medical care to the nearby city of Mersin. Thick, black smoke rose from another area of the port, where firefighters have not yet been able to douse a fire that broke out among shipping containers that were toppled by the earthquake.

In the Turkish city of Gaziantep, a provincial capital about 33 kilometers (20 miles) from the epicenter, people took refuge in shopping malls, stadiums, mosques and community centers.

Turkey’s Vice President Fuat Oktay said the total number of deaths in Turkey had passed 3,400, with some 21,000 people injured.

The death toll in government-held areas of Syria climbed over 800 people, with some 1,400 injured, according to the Health Ministry. In the country’s rebel-held northwest, the opposition’s Syrian Civil Defense, or White Helmets, the paramedic group leading rescue operations, said that at least 790 were killed and more than 2,200 injured.

Authorities fear the death toll will keep climbing as the rescuers look for survivors among tangles of metal and concrete spread across the region beset by Syria’s 12-year civil war and refugee crisis.

In the latest&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/turkey-syria-earthquake-dispatching-aid-6648f53ed5f33371b253d077e85fc1c3">pledges of international help</a>, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said he was preparing to swiftly dispatch a 60-person search and rescue team as well as medical supplies and 50 soldiers. Pakistan's government sent a flight carrying relief supplies and a 50-member search and rescue team early Tuesday, and said there will be daily aid flights to Syria and Turkey from Wednesday. India said it would send two search and rescue teams, including specially trained dogs and medical personnel.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will travel to Ankara Wednesday to express his condolences and solidarity, according to a statement from Islamabad.

U.S. President Joe Biden called Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to express condolences and offer assistance to the NATO ally. The White House said it was sending search-and-rescue teams to support Turkey’s efforts.

The quake piled more misery on&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/syria-middle-east-earthquakes-health-605a1b38b5d054ac944ae91335d008cb">a region that has seen tremendous suffering</a>&nbsp;over the past decade. On the Syrian side, the affected area is divided between government-controlled territory and the country’s last opposition-held enclave, which is surrounded by Russian-backed government forces. Turkey is home to millions of refugees from the Syrian civil war.

In the rebel-held enclave, hundreds of families remained trapped in rubble, the opposition emergency organization known as the White Helmets said in a statement. The area is packed with some 4 million people displaced from other parts of the country by the war. Many live in buildings that are were already damaged by military bombardments.

Strained medical centers quickly filled with injured people, rescue workers said. Some facilities had to be emptied, including a maternity hospital, according to the SAMS medical organization.

More than 7,800 people were rescued across 10 provinces, according to Orhan Tatar, an official with Turkey’s disaster management authority.

The region sits on top of major fault lines and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/turkey-earthquake-science-explainer-67ca711fbed2c39b1ca37d1bd9c4fd27">is frequently shaken by earthquakes</a>. Some 18,000 were killed in similarly powerful earthquakes that hit northwest Turkey in 1999.

The U.S. Geological Survey measured Monday’s quake at 7.8, with a depth of 18 kilometers (11 miles). Hours later, another quake, likely triggered by the first, struck more than 100 kilometers (60 miles) away with 7.5 magnitude.

The second jolt caused a multistory apartment building in the Turkish city of Sanliurfa to topple onto the street in a cloud of dust as bystanders screamed, according to video of the scene.

Thousands of buildings were reported collapsed in a wide area extending from Syria’s cities of Aleppo and Hama to Turkey’s Diyarbakir, more than 330 kilometers (200 miles) to the northeast.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/2/1675651936627.png" alt="-The quake, which was centered in Turkey’s southeastern province of Kahramanmaras, sent residents of Damascus and Beirut rushing into the street and was felt as far away as Cairo. USGS image" />
 <figcaption>-The quake, which was centered in Turkey’s southeastern province of Kahramanmaras, sent residents of Damascus and Beirut rushing into the street and was felt as far away as Cairo. USGS image</figcaption>
 </figure>ADANA, Turkey (AP) — Rescuers raced Tuesday to find survivors in the rubble of thousands of buildings brought down by a 7.8 magnitude earthquake and multiple aftershocks that struck eastern Turkey and neighboring Syria, with the discovery of more bodies raising the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/turkey-earthquake-live-updates-19e7d84fefdeed4c8a355dedf23d914f">death toll</a>&nbsp;to more than 5,000.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">A little girl who was pulled out from under the concrete in the earthquake. Urfa Turkey <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Gaziantep?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Gaziantep</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Tsunamialert?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Tsunamialert</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Turkey?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Turkey</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TurkeyEarthquake?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TurkeyEarthquake</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Turkiye?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Turkiye</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Turkish?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Turkish</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TurkeyQuake?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TurkeyQuake</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/turkeyhelp?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#turkeyhelp</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/turkifsa?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#turkifsa</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Turquia?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Turquia</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Syria?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Syria</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/syriaearthquake?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#syriaearthquake</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Syria_earthquake?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Syria_earthquake</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Syrian?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Syrian</a> <a href="https://t.co/U5C5TP0QBa">pic.twitter.com/U5C5TP0QBa</a>&mdash; PANKAJ KUMAR (@Headlineznow) <a href="https://twitter.com/Headlineznow/status/1622581374325768193?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 6, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Countries around the world dispatched teams to assist in the rescue efforts, and Turkey's disaster management agency said more than 24,400 emergency personnel were now on the ground. But with such a wide swath of territory hit by Monday’s earthquake and nearly 6,000 buildings confirmed to have collapsed in Turkey alone, their efforts were spread thin.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Second Quake 7.5-magnitude Hit A building in Türkiye’s Sanliurfa collapsed after a major 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck Türkiye<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Turkey?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Turkey</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TurkeyEarthquake?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TurkeyEarthquake</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Turkiye?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Turkiye</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Turkish?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Turkish</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TurkeyQuake?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TurkeyQuake</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/turkeyhelp?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#turkeyhelp</a> <a href="https://t.co/njmODYGKuQ">pic.twitter.com/njmODYGKuQ</a>&mdash; PANKAJ KUMAR (@Headlineznow) <a href="https://twitter.com/Headlineznow/status/1622554166706204672?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 6, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Attempts to reach survivors were also impeded by temperatures below freezing and close to 200 aftershocks, which made the search through unstable structures perilous.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Tsunami?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Tsunami</a> and Earthquake in Turkey. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/earthquake?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#earthquake</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/earthquakeinturkey?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#earthquakeinturkey</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/%D8%B2%D9%84%D8%B2%D8%A7%D9%84_%D8%AA%D8%B1%DA%A9%DB%8C%D8%A7?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#زلزال_ترکیا</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/%C4%B0stanbul?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#İstanbul</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Syria?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Syria</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Lebanon?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Lebanon</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Deprem?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Deprem</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Gaziantep?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Gaziantep</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/iskenderun?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#iskenderun</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/sanliurfa?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#sanliurfa</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Enkaz?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Enkaz</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AC%C4%B0L?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ACİL</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/DEPREMOLDU?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#DEPREMOLDU</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/%D8%B2%D9%84%D8%B2%D8%A7%D9%84?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#زلزال</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/%D8%AA%D8%B1%D9%83%D9%8A%D8%A7?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#تركيا</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/%D9%84%D8%A8%D9%86%D8%A7%D9%86?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#لبنان</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BreakingNews?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BreakingNews</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/%C5%9Eanl%C4%B1urfa?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Şanlıurfa</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Syrian?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Syrian</a> <a href="https://t.co/11ilFA36KQ">pic.twitter.com/11ilFA36KQ</a>&mdash; PANKAJ KUMAR (@Headlineznow) <a href="https://twitter.com/Headlineznow/status/1622569752723099649?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 6, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Nurgul Atay told The Associated Press she could hear her mother's voice beneath the rubble of a collapsed building in the city of Antakya, the capital of Hatay province, but that her and others efforts to get into the ruins had been futile without any rescue crews and heavy equipment to help.“If only we could lift the concrete slab we'd be able to reach her,” she said. “My mother is 70-years-old, she won't be able to withstand this for long.”Across Hatay province, just southwest of the earthquake's epicenter, officials say as many as 1,500 buildings were destroyed and many people reported relatives being trapped under the rubble with no aid or rescue teams arriving.In areas where teams worked, occasional cheers broke out through the night as survivors were brought out of the rubble.The quake, which was centered in Turkey’s southeastern province of Kahramanmaras, sent residents of Damascus and Beirut rushing into the street and was felt as far away as Cairo.Sebastien Gay, the head of mission in Syria for Doctors Without Borders, said health facilities in northern Syria were overwhelmed with medical personnel working around “around the clock to respond to the huge numbers of wounded.”In Turkey's Hatay province, thousands of people sheltered in sports centers or fair halls, while others spent the night outside, huddled in blankets around fires.Turkey has large numbers of troops in the border region with Syria and has tasked the military to aid in the rescue efforts, including setting up tents for the homeless and a field hospital in Hatay province. Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said a humanitarian aid brigade based in Ankara and eight military search and rescue teams had also been deployed.A navy ship docked on Tuesday at the province's port of Iskenderun, where a hospital collapsed, to transport survivors in need of medical care to the nearby city of Mersin. Thick, black smoke rose from another area of the port, where firefighters have not yet been able to douse a fire that broke out among shipping containers that were toppled by the earthquake.In the Turkish city of Gaziantep, a provincial capital about 33 kilometers (20 miles) from the epicenter, people took refuge in shopping malls, stadiums, mosques and community centers.Turkey’s Vice President Fuat Oktay said the total number of deaths in Turkey had passed 3,400, with some 21,000 people injured.The death toll in government-held areas of Syria climbed over 800 people, with some 1,400 injured, according to the Health Ministry. In the country’s rebel-held northwest, the opposition’s Syrian Civil Defense, or White Helmets, the paramedic group leading rescue operations, said that at least 790 were killed and more than 2,200 injured.Authorities fear the death toll will keep climbing as the rescuers look for survivors among tangles of metal and concrete spread across the region beset by Syria’s 12-year civil war and refugee crisis.In the latest&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/turkey-syria-earthquake-dispatching-aid-6648f53ed5f33371b253d077e85fc1c3">pledges of international help</a>, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said he was preparing to swiftly dispatch a 60-person search and rescue team as well as medical supplies and 50 soldiers. Pakistan's government sent a flight carrying relief supplies and a 50-member search and rescue team early Tuesday, and said there will be daily aid flights to Syria and Turkey from Wednesday. India said it would send two search and rescue teams, including specially trained dogs and medical personnel.Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will travel to Ankara Wednesday to express his condolences and solidarity, according to a statement from Islamabad.U.S. President Joe Biden called Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to express condolences and offer assistance to the NATO ally. The White House said it was sending search-and-rescue teams to support Turkey’s efforts.The quake piled more misery on&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/syria-middle-east-earthquakes-health-605a1b38b5d054ac944ae91335d008cb">a region that has seen tremendous suffering</a>&nbsp;over the past decade. On the Syrian side, the affected area is divided between government-controlled territory and the country’s last opposition-held enclave, which is surrounded by Russian-backed government forces. Turkey is home to millions of refugees from the Syrian civil war.In the rebel-held enclave, hundreds of families remained trapped in rubble, the opposition emergency organization known as the White Helmets said in a statement. The area is packed with some 4 million people displaced from other parts of the country by the war. Many live in buildings that are were already damaged by military bombardments.Strained medical centers quickly filled with injured people, rescue workers said. Some facilities had to be emptied, including a maternity hospital, according to the SAMS medical organization.More than 7,800 people were rescued across 10 provinces, according to Orhan Tatar, an official with Turkey’s disaster management authority.The region sits on top of major fault lines and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/turkey-earthquake-science-explainer-67ca711fbed2c39b1ca37d1bd9c4fd27">is frequently shaken by earthquakes</a>. Some 18,000 were killed in similarly powerful earthquakes that hit northwest Turkey in 1999.The U.S. Geological Survey measured Monday’s quake at 7.8, with a depth of 18 kilometers (11 miles). Hours later, another quake, likely triggered by the first, struck more than 100 kilometers (60 miles) away with 7.5 magnitude.The second jolt caused a multistory apartment building in the Turkish city of Sanliurfa to topple onto the street in a cloud of dust as bystanders screamed, according to video of the scene.Thousands of buildings were reported collapsed in a wide area extending from Syria’s cities of Aleppo and Hama to Turkey’s Diyarbakir, more than 330 kilometers (200 miles) to the northeast.___

🎥 Rescuers race against time; massive quake kills thousands

WICHITA, KAN. – A man has been sentenced in connection with the sexual abuse of two little girls.

According to the Sedgwick County District Attorney's office, Judge Bruce Brown sentenced Anthony Raya, 63 of Wichita, to life in prison after Raya admitted his contact with the children under the age of 10. 

On December 23, Raya pled guilty to two counts of aggravated indecent liberties with a child.

During sentencing last Friday, Judge Brown sentenced Raya to two life sentences. He will be eligible for parole in 25 years.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/2/1675697932064.png" alt="Raya-photo KBI offender registry" />
 <figcaption>Raya-photo KBI offender registry</figcaption>
 </figure>WICHITA, KAN. – A man has been sentenced in connection with the sexual abuse of two little girls.According to the Sedgwick County District Attorney's office, Judge Bruce Brown sentenced Anthony Raya, 63 of Wichita, to life in prison after Raya admitted his contact with the children under the age of 10. On December 23, Raya pled guilty to two counts of aggravated indecent liberties with a child.During sentencing last Friday, Judge Brown sentenced Raya to two life sentences. He will be eligible for parole in 25 years.

Kansas man sentenced for sex abuse of two small children

ATCHISON COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a burglary and have a suspect in custody.

On Feb. 3,&nbsp; a 57-year-old victim reported that a burglary had occurred that morning at a residence in the 400 block North 2nd Street in Atchison, according to Police Chief Mike Wilson.&nbsp;The suspect allegedly took&nbsp;several firearms and several knives. 

Just after 1:30a.m. Saturday and following an investigation, police arrested 35-year-old James Gilliland who was taken into custody on requested charges of burglary and theft. Police also recovered the stolen weapons, according to Wilson.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/2/1675692167095.png" alt="Gilliland-photo Atchison Co." />
 <figcaption>Gilliland-photo Atchison Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>ATCHISON COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a burglary and have a suspect in custody.On Feb. 3,&nbsp; a 57-year-old victim reported that a burglary had occurred that morning at a residence in the 400 block North 2nd Street in Atchison, according to Police Chief Mike Wilson.&nbsp;The suspect allegedly took&nbsp;several firearms and several knives. Just after 1:30a.m. Saturday and following an investigation, police arrested 35-year-old James Gilliland who was taken into custody on requested charges of burglary and theft. Police also recovered the stolen weapons, according to Wilson.

Police recover firearms, knives taken in Kan. home burglary

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Missouri Gov. Mike Parson said Monday he will not grant clemency and halt the execution of Raheem Taylor, who faces lethal injection for the deaths his girlfriend and her three children.

Taylor, 58, is scheduled to be put to death Tuesday evening at the state prison in Bonne Terre.

“Despite his self-serving claim of innocence, the facts of his guilt in this gruesome quadruple homicide remain," Parson, a Republican, said in a statement. "The State of Missouri will carry out Taylor’s sentences according to the Court’s order and deliver justice for the four innocent lives he stole.”

Parson's decision came despite a letter from Derrick Johnson, president of the national NAACP, asking Parson to grant a stay of execution. Johnson wrote that “evidence presented at trial does not support Mr. Taylor's conviction.”

Separately, nearly three dozen civil rights and religious groups asked St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell to reconsider his&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/missouri-state-government-california-st-louis-crime-f527565eb092ff8f1df97db3f216c37c">decision not to ask a judge for a new hearing</a>&nbsp;on Taylor's claim that he was not even in Missouri when the killings occurred.

The letter said Bell has a “clear opportunity here to free an innocent Black man whose case was riddled with prosecutorial misconduct, police coercion and brutality, and ineffective assistance of counsel.”

But Bell said in a statement Monday that although his office would not have sought the death penalty, “we believe the jury got the verdict right" in finding Taylor guilty, and that he wouldn't seek a new hearing.

Meanwhile, former St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Bob McCulloch, whose office prosecuted the 2004 case, told The Associated Press that Taylor's claims of innocence are “nonsense," and that the evidence against him is overwhelming.

Taylor himself called into the church service Sunday at Greater Fairfax Missionary Baptist Church in St. Louis. He thanked those who support him.

“Please continue to let God use you, to work through you, as a vessel because time is one of my most valuable commodities and we only have a small amount of that time, and none of it can be replaced,” Taylor told the congregation as the Rev. Darryl Gray held the cellphone to the microphone.

Taylor, who previously went by the first name Leonard, shared a house in the St. Louis suburb of Jennings with Angela Rowe and her children — 10-year-old daughter Alexus Conley, 6-year-old daughter AcQreya Conley, and 5-year-old son Tyrese Conley. Taylor boarded a flight to California on Nov. 26, 2004.

On Dec. 3, 2004, police were sent to the home after worried relatives said they hadn’t heard from Rowe. Officers found the bodies of Rowe and her children. All four had been shot.

Authorities first believed the killings happened only a few days before the bodies were discovered, at the time when Taylor was in California. But at Taylor’s trial, Medical Examiner Phillip Burch said the killings could have happened two or three weeks before the bodies were discovered.

Kent Gipson, one of Taylor's attorneys, said several people, including relatives of Rowe and a neighbor, saw Rowe alive in the days after Taylor left St. Louis. Meanwhile, Taylor’s daughter in California, Deja Taylor, claimed in a court filing that she and her father spoke by phone with Angela Rowe and one of the children during his visit. The court filing said Deja Taylor’s mother and sister corroborated her story.

McCulloch said those alibis provided by Taylor's daughter and her relatives were “completely made up.”

McCulloch said evidence suggested that Rowe and the kids were killed on the night of Nov. 22 or on Nov. 23, 2004, when Taylor was still in St. Louis County. He noted that Rowe typically made around 70 outgoing calls or texts each day. Starting Nov. 23, she made none.

Meanwhile, DNA from Rowe’s blood was found on Taylor’s glasses when he was arrested, and a relative taking him to the airport saw Taylor toss a gun into the sewer, McCulloch said. Authorities believe Taylor shot Rowe during a violent argument, then killed the children because they were witnesses.

The execution would be the third in Missouri in three months, following those of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/oklahoma-state-government-missouri-legal-proceedings-religion-dbc253bef85af688a63a42a836e00028">Kevin Johnson and Amber McLaughlin.</a>&nbsp;Johnson was executed Nov. 29 for killing a Kirkwood, Missouri, police officer. McLaughlin was executed Jan. 3 for fatally stabbing a woman in St. Louis County.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — The president of the national NAACP is urging Missouri Gov. Mike Parson to halt the execution of Raheem Taylor, who is scheduled to die by injection Tuesday for the deaths of his girlfriend and her three children.

“There are many reasons to spare Mr. Taylor’s life, but they all come down to one: the State of Missouri has the life of a man in its hands, and, in this life and death decision, lies the weight of moral responsibility,” NAACP President Derrick Johnson wrote to the Republican governor. “The evidence presented at trial does not support Mr. Taylor’s conviction.”

Bell said in his Jan. 30 decision that the “facts are not there to support a credible case of innocence.” Meanwhile, former St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Bob McCulloch, whose office prosecuted the 2004 case, told The Associated Press that Taylor's claims of innocence are “nonsense," and that the evidence against him was overwhelming.

Spokespeople for Parson and Bell both said they'll have updates later Monday.

Taylor, 58, who previously went by the first name Leonard, shared a house in the St. Louis suburb of Jennings with Angela Rowe and her children — 10-year-old daughter Alexus Conley, 6-year-old daughter AcQreya Conley, and 5-year-old son Tyrese Conley. Taylor boarded a flight to California on Nov. 26, 2004.

The execution would be the third in Missouri in three months, following those of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/oklahoma-state-government-missouri-legal-proceedings-religion-dbc253bef85af688a63a42a836e00028">Kevin Johnson and Amber McLaughlin.</a>&nbsp;Johnson was executed Nov. 29 for killing a Kirkwood, Missouri, police officer. McLaughlin was executed Jan. 3 for fatally stabbing a woman in St. Louis County

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/1/1673437071153.png" alt="Leonard Taylor, 58, is scheduled to die by injection Feb. 7 for the 2004 killings of Angela Rowe, 28, along with her 10-year-old daughter Alexus Conley, 6-year-old daughter AcQreya Conley, and 5-year-old son Tyrese Conley.-photo MODOC" />
 <figcaption>Leonard Taylor, 58, is scheduled to die by injection Feb. 7 for the 2004 killings of Angela Rowe, 28, along with her 10-year-old daughter Alexus Conley, 6-year-old daughter AcQreya Conley, and 5-year-old son Tyrese Conley.-photo MODOC</figcaption>
 </figure>ST. LOUIS (AP) — Missouri Gov. Mike Parson said Monday he will not grant clemency and halt the execution of Raheem Taylor, who faces lethal injection for the deaths his girlfriend and her three children.Taylor, 58, is scheduled to be put to death Tuesday evening at the state prison in Bonne Terre.“Despite his self-serving claim of innocence, the facts of his guilt in this gruesome quadruple homicide remain," Parson, a Republican, said in a statement. "The State of Missouri will carry out Taylor’s sentences according to the Court’s order and deliver justice for the four innocent lives he stole.”Parson's decision came despite a letter from Derrick Johnson, president of the national NAACP, asking Parson to grant a stay of execution. Johnson wrote that “evidence presented at trial does not support Mr. Taylor's conviction.”Separately, nearly three dozen civil rights and religious groups asked St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell to reconsider his&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/missouri-state-government-california-st-louis-crime-f527565eb092ff8f1df97db3f216c37c">decision not to ask a judge for a new hearing</a>&nbsp;on Taylor's claim that he was not even in Missouri when the killings occurred.The letter said Bell has a “clear opportunity here to free an innocent Black man whose case was riddled with prosecutorial misconduct, police coercion and brutality, and ineffective assistance of counsel.”But Bell said in a statement Monday that although his office would not have sought the death penalty, “we believe the jury got the verdict right" in finding Taylor guilty, and that he wouldn't seek a new hearing.Meanwhile, former St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Bob McCulloch, whose office prosecuted the 2004 case, told The Associated Press that Taylor's claims of innocence are “nonsense," and that the evidence against him is overwhelming.Taylor himself called into the church service Sunday at Greater Fairfax Missionary Baptist Church in St. Louis. He thanked those who support him.“Please continue to let God use you, to work through you, as a vessel because time is one of my most valuable commodities and we only have a small amount of that time, and none of it can be replaced,” Taylor told the congregation as the Rev. Darryl Gray held the cellphone to the microphone.Taylor, who previously went by the first name Leonard, shared a house in the St. Louis suburb of Jennings with Angela Rowe and her children — 10-year-old daughter Alexus Conley, 6-year-old daughter AcQreya Conley, and 5-year-old son Tyrese Conley. Taylor boarded a flight to California on Nov. 26, 2004.On Dec. 3, 2004, police were sent to the home after worried relatives said they hadn’t heard from Rowe. Officers found the bodies of Rowe and her children. All four had been shot.Authorities first believed the killings happened only a few days before the bodies were discovered, at the time when Taylor was in California. But at Taylor’s trial, Medical Examiner Phillip Burch said the killings could have happened two or three weeks before the bodies were discovered.Kent Gipson, one of Taylor's attorneys, said several people, including relatives of Rowe and a neighbor, saw Rowe alive in the days after Taylor left St. Louis. Meanwhile, Taylor’s daughter in California, Deja Taylor, claimed in a court filing that she and her father spoke by phone with Angela Rowe and one of the children during his visit. The court filing said Deja Taylor’s mother and sister corroborated her story.McCulloch said those alibis provided by Taylor's daughter and her relatives were “completely made up.”McCulloch said evidence suggested that Rowe and the kids were killed on the night of Nov. 22 or on Nov. 23, 2004, when Taylor was still in St. Louis County. He noted that Rowe typically made around 70 outgoing calls or texts each day. Starting Nov. 23, she made none.Meanwhile, DNA from Rowe’s blood was found on Taylor’s glasses when he was arrested, and a relative taking him to the airport saw Taylor toss a gun into the sewer, McCulloch said. Authorities believe Taylor shot Rowe during a violent argument, then killed the children because they were witnesses.The execution would be the third in Missouri in three months, following those of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/oklahoma-state-government-missouri-legal-proceedings-religion-dbc253bef85af688a63a42a836e00028">Kevin Johnson and Amber McLaughlin.</a>&nbsp;Johnson was executed Nov. 29 for killing a Kirkwood, Missouri, police officer. McLaughlin was executed Jan. 3 for fatally stabbing a woman in St. Louis County.------------ST. LOUIS (AP) — The president of the national NAACP is urging Missouri Gov. Mike Parson to halt the execution of Raheem Taylor, who is scheduled to die by injection Tuesday for the deaths of his girlfriend and her three children.“There are many reasons to spare Mr. Taylor’s life, but they all come down to one: the State of Missouri has the life of a man in its hands, and, in this life and death decision, lies the weight of moral responsibility,” NAACP President Derrick Johnson wrote to the Republican governor. “The evidence presented at trial does not support Mr. Taylor’s conviction.”Separately, nearly three dozen civil rights and religious groups asked St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell to reconsider his&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/missouri-state-government-california-st-louis-crime-f527565eb092ff8f1df97db3f216c37c">decision not to ask a judge for a new hearing</a>&nbsp;on Taylor's claim that he was not even in Missouri when the killings occurred.The letter said Bell has a “clear opportunity here to free an innocent Black man whose case was riddled with prosecutorial misconduct, police coercion and brutality, and ineffective assistance of counsel.”Bell said in his Jan. 30 decision that the “facts are not there to support a credible case of innocence.” Meanwhile, former St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Bob McCulloch, whose office prosecuted the 2004 case, told The Associated Press that Taylor's claims of innocence are “nonsense," and that the evidence against him was overwhelming.Spokespeople for Parson and Bell both said they'll have updates later Monday.Taylor himself called into the church service Sunday at Greater Fairfax Missionary Baptist Church in St. Louis. He thanked those who support him.“Please continue to let God use you, to work through you, as a vessel because time is one of my most valuable commodities and we only have a small amount of that time, and none of it can be replaced,” Taylor told the congregation as the Rev. Darryl Gray held the cellphone to the microphone.Taylor, 58, who previously went by the first name Leonard, shared a house in the St. Louis suburb of Jennings with Angela Rowe and her children — 10-year-old daughter Alexus Conley, 6-year-old daughter AcQreya Conley, and 5-year-old son Tyrese Conley. Taylor boarded a flight to California on Nov. 26, 2004.On Dec. 3, 2004, police were sent to the home after worried relatives said they hadn’t heard from Rowe. Officers found the bodies of Rowe and her children. All four had been shot.Authorities first believed the killings happened only a few days before the bodies were discovered, at the time when Taylor was in California. But at Taylor’s trial, Medical Examiner Phillip Burch said the killings could have happened two or three weeks before the bodies were discovered.Kent Gipson, one of Taylor's attorneys, said several people, including relatives of Rowe and a neighbor, saw Rowe alive in the days after Taylor left St. Louis. Meanwhile, Taylor’s daughter in California, Deja Taylor, claimed in a court filing that she and her father spoke by phone with Angela Rowe and one of the children during his visit. The court filing said Deja Taylor’s mother and sister corroborated her story.McCulloch said those alibis provided by Taylor's daughter and her relatives were “completely made up.”McCulloch said evidence suggested that Rowe and the kids were killed on the night of Nov. 22 or on Nov. 23, 2004, when Taylor was still in St. Louis County. He noted that Rowe typically made around 70 outgoing calls or texts each day. Starting Nov. 23, she made none.Meanwhile, DNA from Rowe’s blood was found on Taylor’s glasses when he was arrested, and a relative taking him to the airport saw Taylor toss a gun into the sewer, McCulloch said. Authorities believe Taylor shot Rowe during a violent argument, then killed the children because they were witnesses.The execution would be the third in Missouri in three months, following those of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/oklahoma-state-government-missouri-legal-proceedings-religion-dbc253bef85af688a63a42a836e00028">Kevin Johnson and Amber McLaughlin.</a>&nbsp;Johnson was executed Nov. 29 for killing a Kirkwood, Missouri, police officer. McLaughlin was executed Jan. 3 for fatally stabbing a woman in St. Louis County

Gov. denies clemency; execution Tues. for killer of girlfriend, 3 kids

By RACHEL MIPRO <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/02/05/educators-say-attacking-kansas-teachers-is-gop-strategy-to-push-private-schools/">Kansas Reflector</a>

TOPEKA
 — Buhler teacher Sam Neill worked late into the night Sunday, Jan. 29, 
networking with fellow teachers to sculpt a testimony that would 
adequately describe the issues educators are facing statewide.

After making the two and half hour 
drive into Topeka to give lawmakers her opinion on educational issues in
 the state on Monday, she was told by a lawmaker that people like her 
were the reason no one wanted to become teachers.

“It really took me off guard,” Neill 
said during an interview. “I was not expecting to have that kind of a 
response at the end of a very long day. I was asked to come up and share
 reasons why teachers are leaving the profession, and that’s what I did.
 And just because some of those reasons are not what wants to be heard, 
we can’t assume that that means they’re invalid.”

Neill has been teaching for 20 years. She was the 2018 Kansas Teacher of the Year and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.usd313.org/article/483208">a 2021 Lowell Milken Center fellow</a>, a prestigious national honor.

During the Monday House K-12 
Education Budget Committee hearing, Neill asked lawmakers to support 
teachers by implementing better pay, giving teachers more of a voice in 
public education policy, and fully funding schools.

She also asked lawmakers to stop using harmful rhetoric, such as the “sexualized woke agenda,” and promoting false ideas.

“Here are some of the words that we 
hear every day as educators: Groomers, indoctrinators, indoctrination 
camps, agenda pushers, radicals, leftists, socialist, communist, 
government schools,” Neill said during the committee hearing. “None of 
them are positive. They all have negative connotations. There’s also a 
false narrative that we supply kitty litter boxes for students, one that
 representatives in this House have shared and never retracted. Recent 
reference to a sexualized woke agenda that is supposedly being taught in
 our classrooms was made.”

Rep. Joe Seiwert, R-Pretty Prairie, made the false claim during <a target="_blank" href="https://www.facebook.com/HutchChamber/videos/706196440791728">a March 5, 2022, legislative forum</a> in Hutchinson that teachers were advised by mental health professionals to put litter boxes in school bathrooms.

“The mental health people are telling
 them to go ahead and put sandboxes in the restroom for these kids, 
encouraging them to express themselves,” Seiwert said.

Politicians have claimed public schools are providing litter boxes 
for children who identify as cats, despite a lack of evidence of 
this.&nbsp;Some politicians have used the claim as an argument against LGBTQ 
student accommodations, saying allowing people to express their 
identities could lead to this sort of scenario.

Nationwide, false claims about schools accommodating students who 
identify as “furries” have been routinely debunked, and the stories are 
viewed as <a target="_blank" href="https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2022/02/14/silly-school-litter-box-rumors-front-a-darker-agenda/">an attack on the LGBTQ community</a>.

Republicans in the House and Senate have made fighting the <a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/01/10/kansas-gop-rails-against-woke-agenda-will-work-toward-stricter-abortion-rules/">“sexualized woke agenda”</a>
 a legislative priority this session, with a common sentiment that 
Kansas students are struggling with mental health as a result of being 
taught an unnecessary and radical curriculum.

Republicans also promoted the idea of
 parental rights, trying to pass legislation that would give parents 
authority over what is being taught in schools. Several lawmakers, 
including Rep. Brenda Landwehr, a Wichita Republican who serves as the 
K-12 Education Budget Committee’s vice chairwoman, have criticized 
public schools, saying kids were graduating without the ability to 
properly read and write.

Landwehr said the negativity of teachers like Neill discourages others from joining the profession.

“I find it ironic that the very 
people that come up here and say that they’re the advocates for our 
education and our teachers are actually the ones that’s doing the 
fearmongering, and it’s making people not want to become teachers,” 
Landwehr said.

Landwehr said educators who testified
 before the committee were stirring up trouble for personal gain, 
including people like Neill, who testified against expansion of <a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/01/26/holy-tax-scams-kansas-lawmakers-fight-over-plan-to-fund-private-schools-with-tax-write-offs/">a private school tax credit program</a> in <a target="_blank" href="http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2023_24/measures/hb2048/">House Bill 2048</a>.

“All those people want is more money,” Landwehr said. “And to protect a system.”

Program critics say the bill would 
incentivize the privatization of Kansas education, ultimately taking 
funds away from Kansas public schools. Under the program, organizations 
and taxpayers currently can write off 70% of scholarships they provide 
to private schools, with a maximum allowable credit of $500,000 per 
year. HB2048 would expand student eligibility for the program and allow a
 100% tax write-off.

A hearing for <a target="_blank" href="http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2023_24/measures/documents/hb2218_00_0000.pdf">House Bill 2218</a>,
 which would establish a full-blown private school voucher program, is 
scheduled for Monday in the House. The Senate Education Committee will 
have a Tuesday hearing on <a target="_blank" href="http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2023_24/measures/documents/sb83_00_0000.pdf">Senate Bill 83</a>, which would
 expand student eligibility for the tax credit scholarship program and 
increase tax credit reimbursement for program contributions.

Marcus Baltzell, director of 
communications for the Kansas National Education Association, said he 
was concerned about lawmakers’ attitudes toward teachers.

“When a former teacher of the year, a
 Milken fellow, gets up to give testimony about what’s going on in terms
 of teacher recruitment and retention or what’s going on in a classroom,
 and that person is vilified openly, or ridiculed or denigrated, that 
tells you everything about where their attitude is on teachers,” 
Baltzell said.

Baltzell said he believes rhetoric 
vilifying teachers and programs like the tax credit program are meant to
 reduce parents’ confidence in public schools and push students into 
private education.

“Their game is to weaken public 
schools, to make incentives around people leaving public schools. And 
then to point to the schools and say, ‘See, you’re failing,’ ” Baltzell 
said.

Neill said she was concerned about 
the public vs. private school narrative and distrust promoted by 
lawmakers, saying people looked to the Legislature for guidance.

Between poor pay, long hours and 
increasing hostility toward teachers, Neill said some days were a 
struggle for her. She also mentioned feeling unsafe, referencing the 
time Rep. Paul Waggoner, a Hutchinson Republican, <a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2022/11/07/teacher-alarmed-by-kansas-house-republican-taking-photos-of-her-house/">took pictures of her house last year</a> and refused to tell her why.

“On some days I feel like I’m a 
violinist going down on the Titanic,” Neill said to lawmakers during the
 hearing. “I’ll be honest. I’m playing that violin and trying to bring a
 sense of direction and a sense of calm and purpose to my students.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/2/1675700537623.png" alt="Rep. Brenda Landwehr scolded a high school teacher during an Monday education committee hearing, saying public school educators were protecting a system instead of children. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption>Rep. Brenda Landwehr scolded a high school teacher during an Monday education committee hearing, saying public school educators were protecting a system instead of children. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure>By RACHEL MIPRO <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/02/05/educators-say-attacking-kansas-teachers-is-gop-strategy-to-push-private-schools/">Kansas Reflector</a>TOPEKA
 — Buhler teacher Sam Neill worked late into the night Sunday, Jan. 29, 
networking with fellow teachers to sculpt a testimony that would 
adequately describe the issues educators are facing statewide.After making the two and half hour 
drive into Topeka to give lawmakers her opinion on educational issues in
 the state on Monday, she was told by a lawmaker that people like her 
were the reason no one wanted to become teachers.“It really took me off guard,” Neill 
said during an interview. “I was not expecting to have that kind of a 
response at the end of a very long day. I was asked to come up and share
 reasons why teachers are leaving the profession, and that’s what I did.
 And just because some of those reasons are not what wants to be heard, 
we can’t assume that that means they’re invalid.”Neill has been teaching for 20 years. She was the 2018 Kansas Teacher of the Year and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.usd313.org/article/483208">a 2021 Lowell Milken Center fellow</a>, a prestigious national honor.During the Monday House K-12 
Education Budget Committee hearing, Neill asked lawmakers to support 
teachers by implementing better pay, giving teachers more of a voice in 
public education policy, and fully funding schools.She also asked lawmakers to stop using harmful rhetoric, such as the “sexualized woke agenda,” and promoting false ideas.“Here are some of the words that we 
hear every day as educators: Groomers, indoctrinators, indoctrination 
camps, agenda pushers, radicals, leftists, socialist, communist, 
government schools,” Neill said during the committee hearing. “None of 
them are positive. They all have negative connotations. There’s also a 
false narrative that we supply kitty litter boxes for students, one that
 representatives in this House have shared and never retracted. Recent 
reference to a sexualized woke agenda that is supposedly being taught in
 our classrooms was made.”Rep. Joe Seiwert, R-Pretty Prairie, made the false claim during <a target="_blank" href="https://www.facebook.com/HutchChamber/videos/706196440791728">a March 5, 2022, legislative forum</a> in Hutchinson that teachers were advised by mental health professionals to put litter boxes in school bathrooms.“The mental health people are telling
 them to go ahead and put sandboxes in the restroom for these kids, 
encouraging them to express themselves,” Seiwert said.Politicians have claimed public schools are providing litter boxes 
for children who identify as cats, despite a lack of evidence of 
this.&nbsp;Some politicians have used the claim as an argument against LGBTQ 
student accommodations, saying allowing people to express their 
identities could lead to this sort of scenario.Nationwide, false claims about schools accommodating students who 
identify as “furries” have been routinely debunked, and the stories are 
viewed as <a target="_blank" href="https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2022/02/14/silly-school-litter-box-rumors-front-a-darker-agenda/">an attack on the LGBTQ community</a>.Republicans in the House and Senate have made fighting the <a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/01/10/kansas-gop-rails-against-woke-agenda-will-work-toward-stricter-abortion-rules/">“sexualized woke agenda”</a>
 a legislative priority this session, with a common sentiment that 
Kansas students are struggling with mental health as a result of being 
taught an unnecessary and radical curriculum.Republicans also promoted the idea of
 parental rights, trying to pass legislation that would give parents 
authority over what is being taught in schools. Several lawmakers, 
including Rep. Brenda Landwehr, a Wichita Republican who serves as the 
K-12 Education Budget Committee’s vice chairwoman, have criticized 
public schools, saying kids were graduating without the ability to 
properly read and write.Landwehr said the negativity of teachers like Neill discourages others from joining the profession.“I find it ironic that the very 
people that come up here and say that they’re the advocates for our 
education and our teachers are actually the ones that’s doing the 
fearmongering, and it’s making people not want to become teachers,” 
Landwehr said.Landwehr said educators who testified
 before the committee were stirring up trouble for personal gain, 
including people like Neill, who testified against expansion of <a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/01/26/holy-tax-scams-kansas-lawmakers-fight-over-plan-to-fund-private-schools-with-tax-write-offs/">a private school tax credit program</a> in <a target="_blank" href="http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2023_24/measures/hb2048/">House Bill 2048</a>.“All those people want is more money,” Landwehr said. “And to protect a system.”Program critics say the bill would 
incentivize the privatization of Kansas education, ultimately taking 
funds away from Kansas public schools. Under the program, organizations 
and taxpayers currently can write off 70% of scholarships they provide 
to private schools, with a maximum allowable credit of $500,000 per 
year. HB2048 would expand student eligibility for the program and allow a
 100% tax write-off.A hearing for <a target="_blank" href="http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2023_24/measures/documents/hb2218_00_0000.pdf">House Bill 2218</a>,
 which would establish a full-blown private school voucher program, is 
scheduled for Monday in the House. The Senate Education Committee will 
have a Tuesday hearing on <a target="_blank" href="http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2023_24/measures/documents/sb83_00_0000.pdf">Senate Bill 83</a>, which would
 expand student eligibility for the tax credit scholarship program and 
increase tax credit reimbursement for program contributions. Marcus Baltzell, director of 
communications for the Kansas National Education Association, said he 
was concerned about lawmakers’ attitudes toward teachers.“When a former teacher of the year, a
 Milken fellow, gets up to give testimony about what’s going on in terms
 of teacher recruitment and retention or what’s going on in a classroom,
 and that person is vilified openly, or ridiculed or denigrated, that 
tells you everything about where their attitude is on teachers,” 
Baltzell said.Baltzell said he believes rhetoric 
vilifying teachers and programs like the tax credit program are meant to
 reduce parents’ confidence in public schools and push students into 
private education.“Their game is to weaken public 
schools, to make incentives around people leaving public schools. And 
then to point to the schools and say, ‘See, you’re failing,’ ” Baltzell 
said.Neill said she was concerned about 
the public vs. private school narrative and distrust promoted by 
lawmakers, saying people looked to the Legislature for guidance.Between poor pay, long hours and 
increasing hostility toward teachers, Neill said some days were a 
struggle for her. She also mentioned feeling unsafe, referencing the 
time Rep. Paul Waggoner, a Hutchinson Republican, <a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2022/11/07/teacher-alarmed-by-kansas-house-republican-taking-photos-of-her-house/">took pictures of her house last year</a> and refused to tell her why.“On some days I feel like I’m a 
violinist going down on the Titanic,” Neill said to lawmakers during the
 hearing. “I’ll be honest. I’m playing that violin and trying to bring a
 sense of direction and a sense of calm and purpose to my students.”

Kan. educators: Attacking teachers a GOP strategy to push private schools

SEDGWICK COUNTY—A Kansas felon accused in a high speed chase and crash that killed a woman passenger made a court appearance in the case Feb. 2.

Harry Rediker, 22 of Wichita, was charged with 2nd degree murder, fleeing or attempting to elude an officer, and drive while suspended or canceled, according to the Sedgwick County District attorney's office. 

Just before 5:30 a.m. Jan. 29, deputies attempted to stop a Hyundia Elantra for alleged traffic infractions on Kellogg Drive, according to Sheriff's Lt. Nathan Gibbs. The driver of the vehicle <a href="https://ssc.sedgwickcounty.org/sheriffinmates/SheriffInmateDetail.aspx?nameId=20054606">Harry Rediker 22,</a> Wichita,&nbsp; failed to stop and fled from deputies.

The Preliminary Investigation shows Rediker’s vehicle left the roadway at Hoover and Taft and struck a utility pole ending the pursuit.

EMS transported Rediker to a local hospital for treatment of minor injuries. EMS also transported the passenger in the vehicle identified as 38-year-old Lindsey Garmon of Wellington to a local hospital with serious injuries. Gamon later died at the hospital, according to Gibbs.

Rediker being held on a $250,000 bond. His next court date is February 13, according to the district attorney's office.

Rediker has previous convictions for theft, criminal possession of a weapon and flee or attempt to elude law enforcement had had been reported as absconder on Jan. 9, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections. The agency issued a warrant for his arrest on Jan. 28.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/1/1675092662469.png" alt="Rediker has previous convictions for theft, criminal possession of a weapon and flee or attempt to elude law enforcement, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections-photo Sedgwick County" />
 <figcaption>Rediker has previous convictions for theft, criminal possession of a weapon and flee or attempt to elude law enforcement, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections-photo Sedgwick County</figcaption>
 </figure>SEDGWICK COUNTY—A Kansas felon accused in a high speed chase and crash that killed a woman passenger made a court appearance in the case Feb. 2.Harry Rediker, 22 of Wichita, was charged with 2nd degree murder, fleeing or attempting to elude an officer, and drive while suspended or canceled, according to the Sedgwick County District attorney's office. Just before 5:30 a.m. Jan. 29, deputies attempted to stop a Hyundia Elantra for alleged traffic infractions on Kellogg Drive, according to Sheriff's Lt. Nathan Gibbs. The driver of the vehicle <a href="https://ssc.sedgwickcounty.org/sheriffinmates/SheriffInmateDetail.aspx?nameId=20054606">Harry Rediker 22,</a> Wichita,&nbsp; failed to stop and fled from deputies. The Preliminary Investigation shows Rediker’s vehicle left the roadway at Hoover and Taft and struck a utility pole ending the pursuit.EMS transported Rediker to a local hospital for treatment of minor injuries. EMS also transported the passenger in the vehicle identified as 38-year-old Lindsey Garmon of Wellington to a local hospital with serious injuries. Gamon later died at the hospital, according to Gibbs.Rediker being held on a $250,000 bond. His next court date is February 13, according to the district attorney's office.Rediker has previous convictions for theft, criminal possession of a weapon and flee or attempt to elude law enforcement had had been reported as absconder on Jan. 9, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections. The agency issued a warrant for his arrest on Jan. 28.

Kan. felon charged with murder for chase, crash that killed woman

By IAIN BOYD <a href="https://theconversation.com/chinese-spy-balloon-over-the-us-an-aerospace-expert-explains-how-the-balloons-work-and-what-they-can-see-199245">The Conversation</a>

The U.S. military <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/02/04/chinese-balloon-shoot-down/">shot down</a>
 what U.S. officials called a Chinese surveillance balloon off the coast
 of South Carolina on Feb. 4, 2023. Officials said that the U.S. Navy <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/live/2023/02/04/us/china-spy-balloon">planned to recover the debris</a>, which is in shallow water.

The U.S. and Canada tracked the balloon as it crossed the 
Aleutian Islands, passed over Western Canada and entered U.S. airspace 
over Idaho. Officials of the U.S. Department of Defense confirmed on 
Feb. 2, 2023, that the military was <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/suspected-chinese-spy-balloon-found-northern-us-rcna68879">tracking the balloon</a>
 as it flew over the continental U.S. at an altitude of about 60,000 
feet, including over Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana. The base 
houses the 341st Missile Wing, which operates nuclear intercontinental 
ballistic missiles.

The next day, Chinese officials <a href="https://www.mfa.gov.cn/eng/xwfw_665399/s2510_665401/202302/t20230203_11019484.html">acknowledged that the balloon was theirs</a>
 but denied it was intended for spying or meant to enter U.S. airspace. 
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the balloon’s incursion
 led him to <a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-antony-blinken-china-314302278a5f05bdc2df146ed5b35ec6">cancel his trip to Beijing</a>. He had been scheduled to meet with Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang on Feb. 5 and 6.

The Pentagon has reported that a <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/02/03/second-chinese-spy-balloon-pentagon/">second suspected Chinese balloon</a>
 was seen over Latin America. On Feb. 4, officials told reporters that a
 third Chinese surveillance balloon was operating somewhere else in the 
world, and that the balloons are <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/02/04/chinese-balloon-shoot-down/">part of a Chinese military surveillance program</a>.

Monitoring an adversary from a balloon dates back to 1794, when the French <a href="https://www.centennialofflight.net/essay/Lighter_than_air/Napoleon%27s_wars/LTA3.htm">used a hot air balloon</a> to track Austrian and Dutch troops in the Battle of Fleurus. We asked aerospace engineer <a href="https://scholar.google.co.uk/citations?hl=en&amp;user=0vO6w7MAAAAJ&amp;view_op=list_works&amp;sortby=pubdate">Iain Boyd</a> of the University of Colorado Boulder to explain how spy balloons work and why anyone would use one in the 21st century.

A spy balloon is literally a gas-filled balloon that is flying quite 
high in the sky, more or less where we fly commercial airplanes. It has 
some sophisticated cameras and imaging technology on it, and it’s 
pointing all of those instruments down at the ground. It’s collecting 
information through photography and other imaging of whatever is going 
on down on the ground below it.

Why would someone want to use a spy balloon instead of just using spy satellites?

Satellites are the preferred method of spying from overhead. Spy satellites are above us today, typically at one of two <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/features/OrbitsCatalog">different types of orbit</a>.

The first is called <a href="https://www.space.com/low-earth-orbit">low Earth orbit</a>,
 and, as the name suggests, those satellites are relatively close to the
 ground. But they’re still several hundred miles above us. For imaging 
and taking photographs, the closer you are to something, the more 
clearly you can see it, and this applies to spying as well. The 
satellites that are in low Earth orbit have the advantage that they’re 
closer to the Earth so they’re able to see things more clearly than 
satellites that are farther away.

The disadvantage these low Earth orbit satellites have is that they 
are continually moving around the Earth. It takes them about 90 minutes 
to do one orbit around the Earth. That turns out to be pretty fast in 
terms of taking clear photographs of what’s going on below. 

The second type of satellite orbit is called <a href="https://www.space.com/29222-geosynchronous-orbit.html">geosynchronous orbit</a>,
 and that’s much farther away. It has the disadvantage that it’s harder 
to see things clearly when you’re very, very far away. But they have the
 advantage of what we call persistence, allowing satellites <a href="https://satelliteobservation.net/2016/10/17/persistent-surveillance/">to capture images continuously</a>.
 In those orbits, you’re essentially overlooking the exact same piece of
 ground on the Earth’s surface all the time because the satellite moves 
in exactly the same way the earth rotates – it rotates at the exact same
 speed.

A balloon in some ways gets the best of those. These balloons are 
much, much closer to the ground than any of the satellites, so they can 
see even more clearly. And then, of course, balloons are moving, but 
they’re moving relatively slowly, so they also have a degree of 
persistence. However, spying is not usually done these days with 
balloons because they are a relatively easy target and are not 
completely controllable.

What types of surveillance are spy balloons capable of?

I don’t know what’s on this particular spy balloon, but it’s likely 
to be different kinds of cameras collecting different types of 
information.

These days, imaging is conducted across different regions of the <a href="https://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/science/toolbox/emspectrum1.html">electromagnetic spectrum</a>.
 Humans see in a certain range of this spectrum, the visible spectrum. 
And so if you have a camera and you take a photograph of your dog, 
that’s a visible photograph. That’s one of the things spy aircraft do. 
They take regular photographs, although they have very good zoom 
capabilities to be able to magnify what they’re seeing quite a lot.

But you can also gather different kinds of information in other parts
 of the electromagnetic spectrum. Another fairly well-known one is 
infrared. If it’s nighttime, a camera operating in the visible part of 
the spectrum is not going to show you anything. It’s all going to be 
dark. But an infrared camera can pick up things from heat in the dark.

Most of these balloons literally go where the wind blows. There can 
be a little bit of navigation, but there are certainly not people aboard
 them. They are at the mercy of whatever the weather is. They sometimes 
have guiding apparatus on them that change a balloon’s altitude to catch
 winds going in particular directions. According to reports, U.S. 
officials said the Chinese surveillance balloon <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/02/04/chinese-balloon-shoot-down/">had propellers to help steer it</a>. If this is confirmed, it means that its operator would have much more control over the path of the balloon.

What are the limits to a nation’s airspace? At what altitude does it become space and anybody’s right to be there?

There is an internationally accepted boundary called the <a href="https://astronomy.com/news/2021/03/the-krmn-line-where-does-space-begin">Kármán Line</a> at 62 miles (100 kilometers) altitude. This balloon is well below that, so it is absolutely, definitely in U.S. airspace.

Which countries are known to be using spy balloons?

The Pentagon has had programs over the last few decades studying what
 can be done with balloons that couldn’t be done in the past. Maybe 
they’re bigger, maybe they can go higher in the atmosphere so they’re 
more difficult to shoot down or disable. Maybe they could be more 
persistent. 

The broad interest in this incident illustrates its unusual nature. Few people <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/84ca852e-8653-43ac-ae76-023f8829229c">would expect any country to be actively using spy balloons</a> these days.

The U.S. flew many balloons over the Soviet Union in the 1940s and 
1950s, and those were eventually replaced by the high-altitude spy 
airplanes, the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/technology/U-2">U-2s</a>, and they were subsequently replaced by satellites.

I’m sure a number of countries around the world have periodically 
gone back to reevaluate: Are there other things we could do now with 
balloons that we couldn’t do before? Do they close some gaps we have 
from satellites and airplanes? 

What does that say about the nature of this balloon, which China confirmed is theirs?

China has complained for many years <a href="https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3153916/us-ships-and-planes-conducted-2000-spying-missions-aimed-china">about the U.S. spying</a> on China through satellites, through ships. And China is also well known for engaging in <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/china/us-accuses-china-increased-south-china-sea-provocations-2022-07-26/">somewhat provocative behavior</a>,
 like in the South China Sea, sailing close to other nations’ boundaries
 and saber-rattling. I think it falls into that category.

The balloon doesn’t pose any real threat to the U.S. I think 
sometimes China is just experimenting to see how far they can push 
things. This isn’t really very advanced technology. It’s not serving any
 real military purpose. I think it’s much more likely some kind of 
political message.

<figure>
 <iframe width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/WglPIjZeC58"></iframe>
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>By IAIN BOYD <a href="https://theconversation.com/chinese-spy-balloon-over-the-us-an-aerospace-expert-explains-how-the-balloons-work-and-what-they-can-see-199245">The Conversation</a>The U.S. military <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/02/04/chinese-balloon-shoot-down/">shot down</a>
 what U.S. officials called a Chinese surveillance balloon off the coast
 of South Carolina on Feb. 4, 2023. Officials said that the U.S. Navy <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/live/2023/02/04/us/china-spy-balloon">planned to recover the debris</a>, which is in shallow water.The U.S. and Canada tracked the balloon as it crossed the 
Aleutian Islands, passed over Western Canada and entered U.S. airspace 
over Idaho. Officials of the U.S. Department of Defense confirmed on 
Feb. 2, 2023, that the military was <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/suspected-chinese-spy-balloon-found-northern-us-rcna68879">tracking the balloon</a>
 as it flew over the continental U.S. at an altitude of about 60,000 
feet, including over Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana. The base 
houses the 341st Missile Wing, which operates nuclear intercontinental 
ballistic missiles.The next day, Chinese officials <a href="https://www.mfa.gov.cn/eng/xwfw_665399/s2510_665401/202302/t20230203_11019484.html">acknowledged that the balloon was theirs</a>
 but denied it was intended for spying or meant to enter U.S. airspace. 
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the balloon’s incursion
 led him to <a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-antony-blinken-china-314302278a5f05bdc2df146ed5b35ec6">cancel his trip to Beijing</a>. He had been scheduled to meet with Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang on Feb. 5 and 6. The Pentagon has reported that a <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/02/03/second-chinese-spy-balloon-pentagon/">second suspected Chinese balloon</a>
 was seen over Latin America. On Feb. 4, officials told reporters that a
 third Chinese surveillance balloon was operating somewhere else in the 
world, and that the balloons are <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/02/04/chinese-balloon-shoot-down/">part of a Chinese military surveillance program</a>.Monitoring an adversary from a balloon dates back to 1794, when the French <a href="https://www.centennialofflight.net/essay/Lighter_than_air/Napoleon%27s_wars/LTA3.htm">used a hot air balloon</a> to track Austrian and Dutch troops in the Battle of Fleurus. We asked aerospace engineer <a href="https://scholar.google.co.uk/citations?hl=en&amp;user=0vO6w7MAAAAJ&amp;view_op=list_works&amp;sortby=pubdate">Iain Boyd</a> of the University of Colorado Boulder to explain how spy balloons work and why anyone would use one in the 21st century.<h2>What is a spy balloon?</h2>A spy balloon is literally a gas-filled balloon that is flying quite 
high in the sky, more or less where we fly commercial airplanes. It has 
some sophisticated cameras and imaging technology on it, and it’s 
pointing all of those instruments down at the ground. It’s collecting 
information through photography and other imaging of whatever is going 
on down on the ground below it.<h2>Why would someone want to use a spy balloon instead of just using spy satellites?</h2>Satellites are the preferred method of spying from overhead. Spy satellites are above us today, typically at one of two <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/features/OrbitsCatalog">different types of orbit</a>.The first is called <a href="https://www.space.com/low-earth-orbit">low Earth orbit</a>,
 and, as the name suggests, those satellites are relatively close to the
 ground. But they’re still several hundred miles above us. For imaging 
and taking photographs, the closer you are to something, the more 
clearly you can see it, and this applies to spying as well. The 
satellites that are in low Earth orbit have the advantage that they’re 
closer to the Earth so they’re able to see things more clearly than 
satellites that are farther away. The disadvantage these low Earth orbit satellites have is that they 
are continually moving around the Earth. It takes them about 90 minutes 
to do one orbit around the Earth. That turns out to be pretty fast in 
terms of taking clear photographs of what’s going on below. The second type of satellite orbit is called <a href="https://www.space.com/29222-geosynchronous-orbit.html">geosynchronous orbit</a>,
 and that’s much farther away. It has the disadvantage that it’s harder 
to see things clearly when you’re very, very far away. But they have the
 advantage of what we call persistence, allowing satellites <a href="https://satelliteobservation.net/2016/10/17/persistent-surveillance/">to capture images continuously</a>.
 In those orbits, you’re essentially overlooking the exact same piece of
 ground on the Earth’s surface all the time because the satellite moves 
in exactly the same way the earth rotates – it rotates at the exact same
 speed.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/2/1675706952787.png" alt=" A U.S. satellite photo showing a Soviet submarine in port in 1982. National Reconnaissance Office " />
 <figcaption> A U.S. satellite photo showing a Soviet submarine in port in 1982. National Reconnaissance Office </figcaption>
 </figure>A balloon in some ways gets the best of those. These balloons are 
much, much closer to the ground than any of the satellites, so they can 
see even more clearly. And then, of course, balloons are moving, but 
they’re moving relatively slowly, so they also have a degree of 
persistence. However, spying is not usually done these days with 
balloons because they are a relatively easy target and are not 
completely controllable.<h2>What types of surveillance are spy balloons capable of?</h2>I don’t know what’s on this particular spy balloon, but it’s likely 
to be different kinds of cameras collecting different types of 
information.These days, imaging is conducted across different regions of the <a href="https://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/science/toolbox/emspectrum1.html">electromagnetic spectrum</a>.
 Humans see in a certain range of this spectrum, the visible spectrum. 
And so if you have a camera and you take a photograph of your dog, 
that’s a visible photograph. That’s one of the things spy aircraft do. 
They take regular photographs, although they have very good zoom 
capabilities to be able to magnify what they’re seeing quite a lot. But you can also gather different kinds of information in other parts
 of the electromagnetic spectrum. Another fairly well-known one is 
infrared. If it’s nighttime, a camera operating in the visible part of 
the spectrum is not going to show you anything. It’s all going to be 
dark. But an infrared camera can pick up things from heat in the dark.<h2>How do these balloons navigate?</h2>Most of these balloons literally go where the wind blows. There can 
be a little bit of navigation, but there are certainly not people aboard
 them. They are at the mercy of whatever the weather is. They sometimes 
have guiding apparatus on them that change a balloon’s altitude to catch
 winds going in particular directions. According to reports, U.S. 
officials said the Chinese surveillance balloon <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/02/04/chinese-balloon-shoot-down/">had propellers to help steer it</a>. If this is confirmed, it means that its operator would have much more control over the path of the balloon.<h2>What are the limits to a nation’s airspace? At what altitude does it become space and anybody’s right to be there?</h2>There is an internationally accepted boundary called the <a href="https://astronomy.com/news/2021/03/the-krmn-line-where-does-space-begin">Kármán Line</a> at 62 miles (100 kilometers) altitude. This balloon is well below that, so it is absolutely, definitely in U.S. airspace.<h2>Which countries are known to be using spy balloons?</h2>The Pentagon has had programs over the last few decades studying what
 can be done with balloons that couldn’t be done in the past. Maybe 
they’re bigger, maybe they can go higher in the atmosphere so they’re 
more difficult to shoot down or disable. Maybe they could be more 
persistent. The broad interest in this incident illustrates its unusual nature. Few people <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/84ca852e-8653-43ac-ae76-023f8829229c">would expect any country to be actively using spy balloons</a> these days.The U.S. flew many balloons over the Soviet Union in the 1940s and 
1950s, and those were eventually replaced by the high-altitude spy 
airplanes, the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/technology/U-2">U-2s</a>, and they were subsequently replaced by satellites. <figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/2/1675707001950.png" alt=" Project Moby Dick was an early Cold War-era effort by the U.S. to monitor the Soviet Union using high-altitude balloons. United States Air Force Public Affairs " />
 <figcaption> Project Moby Dick was an early Cold War-era effort by the U.S. to monitor the Soviet Union using high-altitude balloons. United States Air Force Public Affairs </figcaption>
 </figure>I’m sure a number of countries around the world have periodically 
gone back to reevaluate: Are there other things we could do now with 
balloons that we couldn’t do before? Do they close some gaps we have 
from satellites and airplanes? <h2>What does that say about the nature of this balloon, which China confirmed is theirs?</h2>China has complained for many years <a href="https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3153916/us-ships-and-planes-conducted-2000-spying-missions-aimed-china">about the U.S. spying</a> on China through satellites, through ships. And China is also well known for engaging in <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/china/us-accuses-china-increased-south-china-sea-provocations-2022-07-26/">somewhat provocative behavior</a>,
 like in the South China Sea, sailing close to other nations’ boundaries
 and saber-rattling. I think it falls into that category. The balloon doesn’t pose any real threat to the U.S. I think 
sometimes China is just experimenting to see how far they can push 
things. This isn’t really very advanced technology. It’s not serving any
 real military purpose. I think it’s much more likely some kind of 
political message.<div><iframe src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/199245/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-advanced" width="1" height="1" style="border: none !important" referrerpolicy="no-referrer-when-downgrade"></iframe></div>

🎥 Aerospace expert explains how spy balloons work, what they see

NEW YORK (AP) — The Federal Reserve raised its key rate by a quarter point last week, bringing it to the highest level in 15 years as part of an ongoing effort to ease inflation by making borrowing more expensive.

The rate increase will likely make it even costlier to borrow for homes, autos and other purchases. But if you have money to save, you'll probably earn a bit more interest on it.

The latest rate increase is smaller than the Fed's half-point rate hike in December and its four straight three-quarter-point increases earlier last year. The slowdown reflects the fact that inflation, while still high, is easing, and some parts of the economy seem to be cooling.

But it's still an increase, to a range of 4.5% to 4.75%. And many economists say they still fear that a recession remains possible — and with it, job losses that could cause hardship for households already hurt by inflation.

The short answer: Inflation. Over the past year, consumer inflation in the United States has clocked in at 6.5% — a figure that reflects a sixth straight monthly slowdown but still uncomfortably high.

The Fed's goal is to slow consumer spending, thereby reducing demand for homes, cars and other goods and services, eventually cooling the economy and lowering prices.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell has acknowledged in the past that aggressively raising rates would bring "some pain" for households but said that doing so is necessary to crush high inflation.

Anyone borrowing money to make a large purchase, such as a home, car or large appliance, will likely take a hit. The new rate will also increase monthly payments and costs for any consumer who is already paying interest on credit card debt.

"It's already been a really rough year with folks with credit card debt, and it's only going to get worse," said credit analyst Matt Schulz of LendingTree. "The immediacy of the increase is what's hard — that it affects not just future purchases but current balances."

That said, Scott Hoyt, an analyst with Moody's Analytics, noted that household debt payments, as a proportion of income, remain relatively low, though they have risen lately. So even as borrowing rates steadily rise, many households might not feel a much heavier debt burden immediately.

Even before the Fed's latest move, credit card borrowing rates had reached their highest level since 1996, according to Bankrate.com, and these will likely continue to rise.

There are also signs that Americans are increasingly relying on credit cards to help maintain their spending. Total credit card balances have topped $900 billion, according to the Fed, a record high, though that amount isn't adjusted for inflation.

"Right now, most people may have jobs and rising incomes, but they're looking to the horizon and seeing storm clouds start to build," said Nationwide Senior Economist Ben Ayers. "It's really an inflection point for the economy."

As rates have risen, zero percent loans marketed as "Buy Now, Pay Later" have become popular with consumers. But longer-term loans of more than four payments that these companies offer are subject to the same increased borrowing rates as credit cards.

For those who don't qualify for low-rate credit cards because of weak credit scores, the higher interest rates are already affecting their balances.

John Leer, chief economist at Morning Consult, a survey research firm, said its polling suggests that more Americans are spending down the savings they accumulated during the pandemic and are using credit instead. Eventually, rising rates could make it harder for those households to pay off their debts.

For those who have home equity lines of credit or other variable-interest debt, rates will increase by roughly the same amount as the Fed hike, usually within one or two billing cycles. That's because those rates are based in part on banks' prime rate, which follow the Fed's.

The rising returns on high-yield savings accounts and certificates of deposit (CDs) have put them at levels not seen since 2009, which means that households may want to boost savings if possible. You can also now earn more on bonds and other fixed-income investments.

Though savings, CDs, and money market accounts don't typically track the Fed's changes, online banks and others that offer high-yield savings accounts can be exceptions. These institutions typically compete aggressively for depositors. (The catch: They sometimes require significantly high deposits.)

In general, banks tend to capitalize on a higher-rate environment to boost their profits by imposing higher rates on borrowers, without necessarily offering juicer rates to savers.

Last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac reported that the average rate on the benchmark 30-year mortgage dipped to 6.13% from 6.15% the week prior. A year ago, the average rate was much lower: 3.55%. That means the rate on a typical home loan is still almost twice as expensive as it was a year ago.

Mortgage rates don't always move in tandem with the Fed's benchmark rate. They instead tend to track the yield on the 10-year Treasury note.

Sales of existing homes have declined for 11 straight months as borrowing costs have become too high a hurdle for many Americans who are already paying much more for food, gas and other necessities.

WILL IT BE EASIER TO FIND A HOUSE IF I'M STILL LOOKING TO BUY?

If you're financially able to proceed with a home purchase, you're likely to have more options now.

With shortages of computer chips and other parts easing, automakers are producing more vehicles. Many are even reducing prices or offering limited discounts. But rising loan rates and lower used-vehicle trade-in values have erased much of the savings on monthly payments.

"With the interest that you're going to pay, those payments might not look too dissimilar to what they were a few months ago," said Ivan Drury, director of insights for Edmunds.com. "It's like every single time we hear one piece of good news, it's being offset by pieces of bad news."

Since the Fed began raising rates in March, the average new vehicle loan has jumped from 4.5% to 6.9%, according to Edmunds data. Used vehicle loans are up 2.5 percentage points to 10.6%. Loan durations are averaging roughly 70 months — nearly six years — for both new and used vehicles.

Edmunds says that since March, monthly payments have risen by an average of $71 to $728 for new vehicles. For used vehicles, it's up just $3 a month to $546.

Financing a new vehicle, with an average price of $48,516 as of December, now costs $8,769 in interest, Drury said. That's enough to chase many out of the auto market.

Any Fed rate increase is typically passed through to auto borrowers, though it will be slightly offset by subsidized rates from manufacturers.

HOW HAVE THE RATE HIKES INFLUENCED CRYPTO?

Cryptocurrencies like bitcoin have dropped in value since the Fed began raising rates. So have many previously high-valued technology stocks.

Higher rates mean that safe assets like Treasuries become more attractive to investors because their yields have increased. That makes risky assets like technology stocks and cryptocurrencies less attractive.

Still, bitcoin continues to suffer from problems separate from economic policy. Three major crypto firms have failed, most recently the high-profile FTX exchange, shaking the confidence of crypto investors.

The nation's employers kept hiring in December, adding a healthy 223,000 jobs. The unemployment rate fell from 3.6% to 3.5%, matching a 53-year low. At the same time, the jobs gain was the smallest in two months, suggesting a slowdown, with pay growth also easing.

"Things are moderating and slowing down, but the labor market is still relatively strong," said Nick Bunker, Economic Research Director at hiring site Indeed. "One of the reasons the Fed continues to raise rates is that it thinks the labor market is too strong."

Some economists argue that layoffs could slow rising prices, and that a tight labor market fuels wage growth and higher inflation.

While layoffs are now historically low, there's also the possibility there will simply be fewer job openings in coming months.

"I think a lot of the hikes are behind us," Bunker said. "But there's the potential the labor market is going to deteriorate for some people, so people should be alert to a continued slowdown."

Borrowers who take out new private student loans should prepare to pay more as as rates increase. The current range for federal loans is between about 5% and 7.5%.

That said, payments on federal student loans are suspended with zero interest until summer 2023 as part of an emergency measure put in place early in the pandemic. President Joe Biden has also announced some loan forgiveness, of up to $10,000 for most borrowers, and up to $20,000 for Pell Grant recipients — a policy that's now being challenged in the courts.

IS THERE A CHANCE THE RATE HIKES WILL BE REVERSED?

It looks increasingly unlikely that rates will come down anytime soon.

"We're expecting inflation will still be too hot for the Fed even by the end of the year," said Nationwide's Ayers. "We predict it won't be until next year that they begin to lower rates."

AP Business Writers Christopher Rugaber in Washington, Tom Krisher in Detroit and Damian Troise and Ken Sweet in New York contributed to this report.

The Associated Press receives support from Charles Schwab Foundation for educational and explanatory reporting to improve financial literacy. The independent foundation is separate from Charles Schwab and Co. Inc. The AP is solely responsible for its journalism.

By CORA LEWIS Associated PressNEW YORK (AP) — The Federal Reserve raised its key rate by a quarter point last week, bringing it to the highest level in 15 years as part of an ongoing effort to ease inflation by making borrowing more expensive.The rate increase will likely make it even costlier to borrow for homes, autos and other purchases. But if you have money to save, you'll probably earn a bit more interest on it.The latest rate increase is smaller than the Fed's half-point rate hike in December and its four straight three-quarter-point increases earlier last year. The slowdown reflects the fact that inflation, while still high, is easing, and some parts of the economy seem to be cooling.But it's still an increase, to a range of 4.5% to 4.75%. And many economists say they still fear that a recession remains possible — and with it, job losses that could cause hardship for households already hurt by inflation.Here's what to know:WHAT'S PROMPTING THE RATE INCREASES?The short answer: Inflation. Over the past year, consumer inflation in the United States has clocked in at 6.5% — a figure that reflects a sixth straight monthly slowdown but still uncomfortably high.The Fed's goal is to slow consumer spending, thereby reducing demand for homes, cars and other goods and services, eventually cooling the economy and lowering prices.Fed Chair Jerome Powell has acknowledged in the past that aggressively raising rates would bring "some pain" for households but said that doing so is necessary to crush high inflation.WHICH CONSUMERS ARE MOST AFFECTED?Anyone borrowing money to make a large purchase, such as a home, car or large appliance, will likely take a hit. The new rate will also increase monthly payments and costs for any consumer who is already paying interest on credit card debt."It's already been a really rough year with folks with credit card debt, and it's only going to get worse," said credit analyst Matt Schulz of LendingTree. "The immediacy of the increase is what's hard — that it affects not just future purchases but current balances."That said, Scott Hoyt, an analyst with Moody's Analytics, noted that household debt payments, as a proportion of income, remain relatively low, though they have risen lately. So even as borrowing rates steadily rise, many households might not feel a much heavier debt burden immediately.HOW WILL THIS AFFECT CREDIT CARD RATES?Even before the Fed's latest move, credit card borrowing rates had reached their highest level since 1996, according to Bankrate.com, and these will likely continue to rise.There are also signs that Americans are increasingly relying on credit cards to help maintain their spending. Total credit card balances have topped $900 billion, according to the Fed, a record high, though that amount isn't adjusted for inflation."Right now, most people may have jobs and rising incomes, but they're looking to the horizon and seeing storm clouds start to build," said Nationwide Senior Economist Ben Ayers. "It's really an inflection point for the economy."As rates have risen, zero percent loans marketed as "Buy Now, Pay Later" have become popular with consumers. But longer-term loans of more than four payments that these companies offer are subject to the same increased borrowing rates as credit cards.For those who don't qualify for low-rate credit cards because of weak credit scores, the higher interest rates are already affecting their balances.John Leer, chief economist at Morning Consult, a survey research firm, said its polling suggests that more Americans are spending down the savings they accumulated during the pandemic and are using credit instead. Eventually, rising rates could make it harder for those households to pay off their debts.For those who have home equity lines of credit or other variable-interest debt, rates will increase by roughly the same amount as the Fed hike, usually within one or two billing cycles. That's because those rates are based in part on banks' prime rate, which follow the Fed's.HOW ARE SAVERS AFFECTED?The rising returns on high-yield savings accounts and certificates of deposit (CDs) have put them at levels not seen since 2009, which means that households may want to boost savings if possible. You can also now earn more on bonds and other fixed-income investments.Though savings, CDs, and money market accounts don't typically track the Fed's changes, online banks and others that offer high-yield savings accounts can be exceptions. These institutions typically compete aggressively for depositors. (The catch: They sometimes require significantly high deposits.)In general, banks tend to capitalize on a higher-rate environment to boost their profits by imposing higher rates on borrowers, without necessarily offering juicer rates to savers.WILL THIS AFFECT HOME OWNERSHIP?Last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac reported that the average rate on the benchmark 30-year mortgage dipped to 6.13% from 6.15% the week prior. A year ago, the average rate was much lower: 3.55%. That means the rate on a typical home loan is still almost twice as expensive as it was a year ago.Mortgage rates don't always move in tandem with the Fed's benchmark rate. They instead tend to track the yield on the 10-year Treasury note.Sales of existing homes have declined for 11 straight months as borrowing costs have become too high a hurdle for many Americans who are already paying much more for food, gas and other necessities.WILL IT BE EASIER TO FIND A HOUSE IF I'M STILL LOOKING TO BUY?If you're financially able to proceed with a home purchase, you're likely to have more options now.WHAT IF I WANT TO BUY A CAR?With shortages of computer chips and other parts easing, automakers are producing more vehicles. Many are even reducing prices or offering limited discounts. But rising loan rates and lower used-vehicle trade-in values have erased much of the savings on monthly payments."With the interest that you're going to pay, those payments might not look too dissimilar to what they were a few months ago," said Ivan Drury, director of insights for Edmunds.com. "It's like every single time we hear one piece of good news, it's being offset by pieces of bad news."Since the Fed began raising rates in March, the average new vehicle loan has jumped from 4.5% to 6.9%, according to Edmunds data. Used vehicle loans are up 2.5 percentage points to 10.6%. Loan durations are averaging roughly 70 months — nearly six years — for both new and used vehicles.Edmunds says that since March, monthly payments have risen by an average of $71 to $728 for new vehicles. For used vehicles, it's up just $3 a month to $546.Financing a new vehicle, with an average price of $48,516 as of December, now costs $8,769 in interest, Drury said. That's enough to chase many out of the auto market.Any Fed rate increase is typically passed through to auto borrowers, though it will be slightly offset by subsidized rates from manufacturers.HOW HAVE THE RATE HIKES INFLUENCED CRYPTO?Cryptocurrencies like bitcoin have dropped in value since the Fed began raising rates. So have many previously high-valued technology stocks.Higher rates mean that safe assets like Treasuries become more attractive to investors because their yields have increased. That makes risky assets like technology stocks and cryptocurrencies less attractive.Still, bitcoin continues to suffer from problems separate from economic policy. Three major crypto firms have failed, most recently the high-profile FTX exchange, shaking the confidence of crypto investors.WHAT ABOUT MY JOB?The nation's employers kept hiring in December, adding a healthy 223,000 jobs. The unemployment rate fell from 3.6% to 3.5%, matching a 53-year low. At the same time, the jobs gain was the smallest in two months, suggesting a slowdown, with pay growth also easing."Things are moderating and slowing down, but the labor market is still relatively strong," said Nick Bunker, Economic Research Director at hiring site Indeed. "One of the reasons the Fed continues to raise rates is that it thinks the labor market is too strong."Some economists argue that layoffs could slow rising prices, and that a tight labor market fuels wage growth and higher inflation.While layoffs are now historically low, there's also the possibility there will simply be fewer job openings in coming months."I think a lot of the hikes are behind us," Bunker said. "But there's the potential the labor market is going to deteriorate for some people, so people should be alert to a continued slowdown."WILL THIS AFFECT STUDENT LOANS?Borrowers who take out new private student loans should prepare to pay more as as rates increase. The current range for federal loans is between about 5% and 7.5%.That said, payments on federal student loans are suspended with zero interest until summer 2023 as part of an emergency measure put in place early in the pandemic. President Joe Biden has also announced some loan forgiveness, of up to $10,000 for most borrowers, and up to $20,000 for Pell Grant recipients — a policy that's now being challenged in the courts.IS THERE A CHANCE THE RATE HIKES WILL BE REVERSED?It looks increasingly unlikely that rates will come down anytime soon."We're expecting inflation will still be too hot for the Fed even by the end of the year," said Nationwide's Ayers. "We predict it won't be until next year that they begin to lower rates."___AP Business Writers Christopher Rugaber in Washington, Tom Krisher in Detroit and Damian Troise and Ken Sweet in New York contributed to this report.___The Associated Press receives support from Charles Schwab Foundation for educational and explanatory reporting to improve financial literacy. The independent foundation is separate from Charles Schwab and Co. Inc. The AP is solely responsible for its journalism.

What the latest interest rate increase means for you

KBI: 22,500 reported instances of domestic violence in 2021

By TIM CARPENTER <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/02/06/sedgwick-county-judge-offers-kansas-legislators-package-of-bills-to-stem-domestic-violence/">Kansas Reflector</a>

TOPEKA — District Judge Phil Journey knows the grim statistics on 
domestic violence and regularly comes face-to-face with perpetrators and
 victims of violence in the home.

His vantage point from a courthouse in Sedgwick County — epicenter of
 the state’s domestic violence caseload — led to development of a 
package of reform bills he wants the 2023 Kansas Legislature to 
consider. Improving the state’s response to 22,500 reported incidents of
 domestic violence annually, he said, could put downward pressure on 
3,000 aggravated assaults, 900 kidnappings and the rapes, strangulations
 and homicides tied to those incidents.

Journey, a former Republican state senator and Wichita Municipal 
Court judge, said on the Kansas Reflector podcast not a day went by in 
district court that he didn’t address some facet of domestic violence.

“I’m in the family law department,” he said. “I have the equivalent of 100,000 people’s divorces, and paternity cases and child support enforcement. And once&nbsp;once every five weeks, I get to do protection from abuse and protection from stalking restraining orders, too.”

He said convincing the minimum 63 of 125 representatives, 21 of 40 
senators and Gov. Laura Kelly to transform a piece of legislation into 
law wasn’t easy.

“Things are really complicated, especially when you start messing with people’s lives — thousands of people and thousands of court cases. So, I expect that there will certainly be a learning curve,” Journey said.

Under his first bill, Journey would propose all law enforcement 
agencies provide supplemental training so officers were equipped to 
provide information to victims about securing protection from abuse 
orders from the court as well as helping to identify temporary housing 
and financial assistance.

“It’s something that’s proven to work,” he said. “Often victims of domestic violence, they don’t have any experience. They’ve never been in the court system except maybe for a speeding ticket. They have no idea what resources might be available to them and often they feel trapped, and unnecessarily so.”

Journey said officers should be required to complete a 10-question 
assessment at the scene of domestic violence to better inform victims 
about the level of danger they faced and to serve as a reference for 
judges handling the related court case.

Another piece of legislation recommended by Journey would prepare 
officers to determine the most-likely primary aggressor in a domestic 
violence case. The assessment would include an evaluation of what could 
be defensive and offensive injuries. Arresting the aggressor for 
disorderly conduct or another offense, rather than simply taking 
everyone into custody, would be beneficial, Journey said.

He said policies requiring arrest of everyone in a dispute could 
result in victims not reaching out to law enforcement when attacked 
later.

“The victim learns,&nbsp;when they’re simply trying to defend themselves and protect their kids, is that: ‘If I call the police, I’m going to jail.’ Guess what happens the next time an incident comes. The police don’t get called.”

He said the evaluations could be difficult because offenders 
sometimes inflicted wounds on themselves, called 911 before the victim 
or met officers at the curb to better influence interpretation of 
events.

Another piece of Journey’s reform package would require staggered 
sentencing in domestic violence perpetrators. It’s borrowed from laws 
applicable to third and fourth convictions for driving under the 
influence. While the sentence for domestic violence might be 90 days in 
county jail, a judge would be given the option of ordering incarceration
 in 30-day increments to encourage offenders to work on changing their 
behavior.

Offering a person the opportunity to improve their approach to 
personal relationships was more useful than automatically locking 
someone up for three months, he said. A judge could offer leniency if a 
person avoided probation violations, didn’t harass victims and sought 
behavioral health treatment.

Journey said the penalty in state law for violating a protection from
 abuse order should be increased by the Legislature, especially for 
those breaking a second or third such order. For example, instead of the
 second offense being a misdemeanor it would be raised to a low-grade 
felony. The third violation of a protective order would become a high 
felony more likely to require prison time, he said.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/2/1675700352036.png" alt="Sedgwick County District Judge Phil Journey says on the Kansas Reflector podcast the Legislature should consider a package of bills aimed at cutting domestic violence. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption>Sedgwick County District Judge Phil Journey says on the Kansas Reflector podcast the Legislature should consider a package of bills aimed at cutting domestic violence. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>KBI: 22,500 reported instances of domestic violence in 2021</h2>By TIM CARPENTER <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/02/06/sedgwick-county-judge-offers-kansas-legislators-package-of-bills-to-stem-domestic-violence/">Kansas Reflector</a>TOPEKA — District Judge Phil Journey knows the grim statistics on 
domestic violence and regularly comes face-to-face with perpetrators and
 victims of violence in the home.His vantage point from a courthouse in Sedgwick County — epicenter of
 the state’s domestic violence caseload — led to development of a 
package of reform bills he wants the 2023 Kansas Legislature to 
consider. Improving the state’s response to 22,500 reported incidents of
 domestic violence annually, he said, could put downward pressure on 
3,000 aggravated assaults, 900 kidnappings and the rapes, strangulations
 and homicides tied to those incidents.Journey, a former Republican state senator and Wichita Municipal 
Court judge, said on the Kansas Reflector podcast not a day went by in 
district court that he didn’t address some facet of domestic violence.<div><iframe width="100%" height="300" scrolling="no" frameborder="no" allow="autoplay" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/1438782727&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true&visual=true"></iframe><div style="font-size: 10px; color: #cccccc;line-break: anywhere;word-break: normal;overflow: hidden;white-space: nowrap;text-overflow: ellipsis; font-family: Interstate,Lucida Grande,Lucida Sans Unicode,Lucida Sans,Garuda,Verdana,Tahoma,sans-serif;font-weight: 100;"><a href="https://soundcloud.com/kansas-reflector-podcast" title="Reflector Podcast" target="_blank" style="color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;">Reflector Podcast</a> · <a href="https://soundcloud.com/kansas-reflector-podcast/2023-02-06-podcast" title="Kansas judge wants lawmakers to tackle domestic violence" target="_blank" style="color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;">Kansas judge wants lawmakers to tackle domestic violence</a></div></div>“I’m in the family law department,” he said. “I have the equivalent of 100,000 people’s divorces, and paternity cases and child support enforcement. And once&nbsp;once every five weeks, I get to do protection from abuse and protection from stalking restraining orders, too.”He said convincing the minimum 63 of 125 representatives, 21 of 40 
senators and Gov. Laura Kelly to transform a piece of legislation into 
law wasn’t easy.“Things are really complicated, especially when you start messing with people’s lives — thousands of people and thousands of court cases. So, I expect that there will certainly be a learning curve,” Journey said.<h2>More officer training</h2>Under his first bill, Journey would propose all law enforcement 
agencies provide supplemental training so officers were equipped to 
provide information to victims about securing protection from abuse 
orders from the court as well as helping to identify temporary housing 
and financial assistance.“It’s something that’s proven to work,” he said. “Often victims of domestic violence, they don’t have any experience. They’ve never been in the court system except maybe for a speeding ticket. They have no idea what resources might be available to them and often they feel trapped, and unnecessarily so.”Journey said officers should be required to complete a 10-question 
assessment at the scene of domestic violence to better inform victims 
about the level of danger they faced and to serve as a reference for 
judges handling the related court case.Another piece of legislation recommended by Journey would prepare 
officers to determine the most-likely primary aggressor in a domestic 
violence case. The assessment would include an evaluation of what could 
be defensive and offensive injuries. Arresting the aggressor for 
disorderly conduct or another offense, rather than simply taking 
everyone into custody, would be beneficial, Journey said.He said policies requiring arrest of everyone in a dispute could 
result in victims not reaching out to law enforcement when attacked 
later.“The victim learns,&nbsp;when they’re simply trying to defend themselves and protect their kids, is that: ‘If I call the police, I’m going to jail.’ Guess what happens the next time an incident comes. The police don’t get called.”He said the evaluations could be difficult because offenders 
sometimes inflicted wounds on themselves, called 911 before the victim 
or met officers at the curb to better influence interpretation of 
events.<h2>Staggered sentencing?</h2>Another piece of Journey’s reform package would require staggered 
sentencing in domestic violence perpetrators. It’s borrowed from laws 
applicable to third and fourth convictions for driving under the 
influence. While the sentence for domestic violence might be 90 days in 
county jail, a judge would be given the option of ordering incarceration
 in 30-day increments to encourage offenders to work on changing their 
behavior.Offering a person the opportunity to improve their approach to 
personal relationships was more useful than automatically locking 
someone up for three months, he said. A judge could offer leniency if a 
person avoided probation violations, didn’t harass victims and sought 
behavioral health treatment.Journey said the penalty in state law for violating a protection from
 abuse order should be increased by the Legislature, especially for 
those breaking a second or third such order. For example, instead of the
 second offense being a misdemeanor it would be raised to a low-grade 
felony. The third violation of a protective order would become a high 
felony more likely to require prison time, he said.“I have seen people that have been harassed for decades, and see what it does to them. It changes the way they react in their life,” the judge said.