TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas’ elections director says the state will go along with a request for a hand recount of votes from every county after last week’s decisive statewide vote affirming abortion rights, even though there was a 165,000-vote difference and a recount won’t change the result.

Melissa Leavitt, of Colby in far western Kansas, requested the recount and declined to comment to reporters Friday evening, citing work obligations. But she said on an online site raising funds for a recount that she had “seen data” about the election. Her post was not more specific, and there is no evidence of significant problems with the election.

Baseless election conspiracies have circulated widely in the U.S., particularly among supporters of former President Donald Trump, who has repeated false claims that he lost the 2020 election through fraud.

Kansas law requires Leavitt to post a bond to cover the entire cost of the recount. Bryan Caskey, state elections director for the Kansas secretary of state’s office, said it would be the first recount of the votes on a statewide ballot question in at least 30 years.

Caskey said the work won’t begin without a guarantee that Leavitt can cover the cost.

“Normally, they reinforce the Election Day results,” Caskey said about recounts. “We stand by the results and will do the recount.”

Also seeking a recount is state Sen. Caryn Tyson, who is trailing state Rep. Steven Johnson in the Republican primary for state treasurer by about 400 votes out of nearly 434,000 cast. She is asking for a hand recount in about half the state’s 105 counties.

Voters last week&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-primary-elections-kansas-abortion-b6d62a852c2ce4617f2c03589fbb523e">rejected a proposed amendment</a>&nbsp;to the Kansas Constitution that would have allowed the conservative, Republican-controlled Legislature to further restrict or ban abortion. It failed by 18 percentage points.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/8/1659494980922.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>By JOHN HANNA&nbsp;TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas’ elections director says the state will go along with a request for a hand recount of votes from every county after last week’s decisive statewide vote affirming abortion rights, even though there was a 165,000-vote difference and a recount won’t change the result.Melissa Leavitt, of Colby in far western Kansas, requested the recount and declined to comment to reporters Friday evening, citing work obligations. But she said on an online site raising funds for a recount that she had “seen data” about the election. Her post was not more specific, and there is no evidence of significant problems with the election.Baseless election conspiracies have circulated widely in the U.S., particularly among supporters of former President Donald Trump, who has repeated false claims that he lost the 2020 election through fraud.Kansas law requires Leavitt to post a bond to cover the entire cost of the recount. Bryan Caskey, state elections director for the Kansas secretary of state’s office, said it would be the first recount of the votes on a statewide ballot question in at least 30 years.Caskey said the work won’t begin without a guarantee that Leavitt can cover the cost.“Normally, they reinforce the Election Day results,” Caskey said about recounts. “We stand by the results and will do the recount.”Also seeking a recount is state Sen. Caryn Tyson, who is trailing state Rep. Steven Johnson in the Republican primary for state treasurer by about 400 votes out of nearly 434,000 cast. She is asking for a hand recount in about half the state’s 105 counties.Voters last week&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-primary-elections-kansas-abortion-b6d62a852c2ce4617f2c03589fbb523e">rejected a proposed amendment</a>&nbsp;to the Kansas Constitution that would have allowed the conservative, Republican-controlled Legislature to further restrict or ban abortion. It failed by 18 percentage points.___

Kansas to recount abortion vote by hand, despite big margin

SHAWNEE COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities investigating an attempted ATM theft have made one arrest and are asking the public for help to locate a second suspect identified as 43-year-old Michael Frink.

Just after 5a.m. Thursday, the Shawnee County Emergency Communications Center received a burglary alarm at a bank in the 1700 block of North Washington Street in Auburn, Kansas, according to Deputy Abigail Christian.

Deputies learned there was an attempted theft of an ATM. A K9 Unit located the suspect vehicle that refused to stop and a pursuit was initiated. The vehicle pursuit ended in the 5700 block of Southwest Urish Road and suspects fled.

The Shawnee County Sheriff's office asked residents from SW Fairlawn Road to Southwest Urish Road and Southwest 41st Street to Southwest 77th street, to be aware of any suspicious activity or individuals.

Just after 6p.m. Thursday , the sheriff's office reported they had arrested one suspect.&nbsp; Trimaine Munroe Baker, 35, is being held on requested charges of&nbsp;Agg criminal damage &gt;$5K; intent to obtain currency from automated cash dispenser/ATM, theft, burglary and&nbsp; Criminal damage to property; Without consent value $1000 to $25,000, according to online jail records.

"Thanks to assistance from citizens reporting timely information to deputies, the suspect was apprehended near Southwest&nbsp; 53rd Street and Southwest Wanamaker Road, " according to Christian.&nbsp; The sheriff's&nbsp; office K9 units and drone operators assisted in this search, along with the Kansas Highway Patrol’s Aircraft Unit and the Topeka Police Department.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/8/1660265229824.png" alt="The damaged ATM at Landmark Bank 1741 N. Washington in Auburn, Kansas --photo courtesy WIBW TV" />
 <figcaption>The damaged ATM at Landmark Bank 1741 N. Washington in Auburn, Kansas --photo courtesy WIBW TV</figcaption>
 </figure>SHAWNEE COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities investigating an attempted ATM theft have made one arrest and are asking the public for help to locate a second suspect identified as 43-year-old Michael Frink.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/8/1660335348360.png" alt="Frink-photo Shawnee Co." />
 <figcaption>Frink-photo Shawnee Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>Just after 5a.m. Thursday, the Shawnee County Emergency Communications Center received a burglary alarm at a bank in the 1700 block of North Washington Street in Auburn, Kansas, according to Deputy Abigail Christian.Deputies learned there was an attempted theft of an ATM. A K9 Unit located the suspect vehicle that refused to stop and a pursuit was initiated. The vehicle pursuit ended in the 5700 block of Southwest Urish Road and suspects fled.The Shawnee County Sheriff's office asked residents from SW Fairlawn Road to Southwest Urish Road and Southwest 41st Street to Southwest 77th street, to be aware of any suspicious activity or individuals.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/8/1660304454814.png" alt="Baker-photo Shawnee County" />
 <figcaption>Baker-photo Shawnee County</figcaption>
 </figure>Just after 6p.m. Thursday , the sheriff's office reported they had arrested one suspect.&nbsp; Trimaine Munroe Baker, 35, is being held on requested charges of&nbsp;Agg criminal damage &gt;$5K; intent to obtain currency from automated cash dispenser/ATM, theft, burglary and&nbsp; Criminal damage to property; Without consent value $1000 to $25,000, according to online jail records."Thanks to assistance from citizens reporting timely information to deputies, the suspect was apprehended near Southwest&nbsp; 53rd Street and Southwest Wanamaker Road, " according to Christian.&nbsp; The sheriff's&nbsp; office K9 units and drone operators assisted in this search, along with the Kansas Highway Patrol’s Aircraft Unit and the Topeka Police Department.

Suspect wanted for attempted Kansas bank ATM theft

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Len Dawson, the 87-year-old Hall of Fame quarterback who led the Kansas City Chiefs to their first Super Bowl title, has entered hospice care in Kansas City.

KMBC-TV, the Kansas City station where Dawson began his broadcasting career in 1966,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl/kmbc-confirms-hall-of-fame-chiefs-quarterback-len-dawson-in-hospice/ar-AA10BTg2">confirmed Dawson is in hospice care</a>&nbsp;through his wife, Linda.

The MVP of the Chiefs’ 23-7 Super Bowl victory over Minnesota in January 1970, Dawson was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1987 and received the Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award in 2012.

From Alliance, Ohio, Dawson starred at Purdue and was selected fifth overall by Pittsburgh in the 1957 NFL draft. After seeing limited time in the NFL in three seasons with the Steelers and two with Cleveland, he joined the Dallas Texans in the American Football League in 1962, reuniting with former Purdue assistant coach Hank Stram.

Dawson moved with the team to Kansas City the following season and remained the Chiefs' starting quarterback until retiring in 1975.

In addition to his work at KMBC where he was the station's first sports anchor, Dawson was a game analyst for NBC and the Chiefs' radio network and hosted HBO's “Inside the NFL” show.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/8/1660354181481.jpeg" alt="Len Dawson U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Joel Pfiester/Released, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.jpg" />
 <figcaption>Len Dawson U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Joel Pfiester/Released, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.jpg</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Len Dawson, the 87-year-old Hall of Fame quarterback who led the Kansas City Chiefs to their first Super Bowl title, has entered hospice care in Kansas City.KMBC-TV, the Kansas City station where Dawson began his broadcasting career in 1966,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl/kmbc-confirms-hall-of-fame-chiefs-quarterback-len-dawson-in-hospice/ar-AA10BTg2">confirmed Dawson is in hospice care</a>&nbsp;through his wife, Linda.The MVP of the Chiefs’ 23-7 Super Bowl victory over Minnesota in January 1970, Dawson was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1987 and received the Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award in 2012.From Alliance, Ohio, Dawson starred at Purdue and was selected fifth overall by Pittsburgh in the 1957 NFL draft. After seeing limited time in the NFL in three seasons with the Steelers and two with Cleveland, he joined the Dallas Texans in the American Football League in 1962, reuniting with former Purdue assistant coach Hank Stram.Dawson moved with the team to Kansas City the following season and remained the Chiefs' starting quarterback until retiring in 1975.In addition to his work at KMBC where he was the station's first sports anchor, Dawson was a game analyst for NBC and the Chiefs' radio network and hosted HBO's “Inside the NFL” show.

Len Dawson, MVP of Chiefs' first Super Bowl win, in hospice

SEDGWICK COUNTY— Two suspects accused in the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/kansas/name/german-clerici-obituary?id=14196667">the death</a> of a Kansas man whose body was found in a culvert in 2010 made their first court appearance Thursday.

&nbsp;Kristopher Valadez, 32,&nbsp; Simpsonville, South Carolina is charged with 2nd degree murder, according to the Sedgwick County District Attorney. Candace Valadez, 32 of Simpsonville, S. Carolina, is charged with aiding a felon. 

Both are former Wichita residents and are free on bond, according to the district attorney.&nbsp; Their next court hearing is August 22.&nbsp;

The couple were extradited from South Carolina to Kansas on Tuesday and booked into the Sedgwick County Jail.

In February of 2010, 19-year-old&nbsp;<a href="https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/kansas/name/german-clerici-obituary?id=14196667">German Clerici's </a>mother reported him missing after she had not heard from him since late January, according to a statement from the Butler County Sheriff's office.&nbsp; Clerici's car was also missing.

Several days later, investigators found <a href="https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/kansas/name/german-clerici-obituary?id=14196667">Clerici </a>shot to death in a culvert east of Augusta. Four months later, deputies found his car in the 3000 Block of East 21st North in Wichita.

In 2021, Butler County Sheriff Monty Hughey had investigators take a fresh look at the case.&nbsp; They discovered information that prompted investigators to conduct follow-up interviews and learned more information and new evidence in the case.&nbsp;

&nbsp;In July,&nbsp; investigators from the Butler County Sheriff's officials traveled to South Carolina. With the assistance of the Greenville South Carolina County Sheriff's Office and Wichita police, deputies arrested the couple. Both are former Wichita residents.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/8/1660137633434.png" alt="Kristopher Valadez-photo Sedgwick Co." />
 <figcaption>Kristopher Valadez-photo Sedgwick Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>SEDGWICK COUNTY— Two suspects accused in the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/kansas/name/german-clerici-obituary?id=14196667">the death</a> of a Kansas man whose body was found in a culvert in 2010 made their first court appearance Thursday.&nbsp;Kristopher Valadez, 32,&nbsp; Simpsonville, South Carolina is charged with 2nd degree murder, according to the Sedgwick County District Attorney. Candace Valadez, 32 of Simpsonville, S. Carolina, is charged with aiding a felon. Both are former Wichita residents and are free on bond, according to the district attorney.&nbsp; Their next court hearing is August 22.&nbsp;The couple were extradited from South Carolina to Kansas on Tuesday and booked into the Sedgwick County Jail.In February of 2010, 19-year-old&nbsp;<a href="https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/kansas/name/german-clerici-obituary?id=14196667">German Clerici's </a>mother reported him missing after she had not heard from him since late January, according to a statement from the Butler County Sheriff's office.&nbsp; Clerici's car was also missing.Several days later, investigators found <a href="https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/kansas/name/german-clerici-obituary?id=14196667">Clerici </a>shot to death in a culvert east of Augusta. Four months later, deputies found his car in the 3000 Block of East 21st North in Wichita.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/8/1660137611719.png" alt="Candace Valadez-photo Sedgwick County" />
 <figcaption>Candace Valadez-photo Sedgwick County</figcaption>
 </figure>In 2021, Butler County Sheriff Monty Hughey had investigators take a fresh look at the case.&nbsp; They discovered information that prompted investigators to conduct follow-up interviews and learned more information and new evidence in the case.&nbsp;&nbsp;In July,&nbsp; investigators from the Butler County Sheriff's officials traveled to South Carolina. With the assistance of the Greenville South Carolina County Sheriff's Office and Wichita police, deputies arrested the couple. Both are former Wichita residents.

Kan. murder suspects who fled to South Carolina remain free on bond

WASHINGTON (AP) — The FBI recovered documents that were labeled “top secret” from former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, according to court papers released Friday after a federal judge unsealed the warrant that authorized&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump?utm_source=apnewsnav&amp;utm_medium=featured">the unprecedented search this week</a>.

A&nbsp;<a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/22131425-mar-a-lago-search-documents">property receipt unsealed by the court</a>&nbsp;shows FBI agents took&nbsp;<a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/22131425-mar-a-lago-search-documents">11 sets of classified records</a>&nbsp;from the estate during a search on Monday.

The seized records include some marked not only top secret but also “sensitive compartmented information,” a special category meant to protect the nation's most important secrets that if revealed publicly could cause “exceptionally grave” damage to U.S. interests. The court records did not provide specific details about information the documents might contain.

The warrant says federal agents were investigating potential violations of three different federal laws, including one that governs gathering, transmitting or losing defense information under the Espionage Act. The other statutes address the concealment, mutilation or removal of records and the destruction, alteration or falsification of records in federal investigations.

The property receipt also shows federal agents collected other potential presidential records, including the order pardoning Trump ally Roger Stone, a “leatherbound box of documents,” and information about the “President of France.” A binder of photos, a handwritten note, “miscellaneous secret documents” and “miscellaneous confidential documents” were also seized in the search.

Trump’s attorney, Christina Bobb, who was present at Mar-a-Lago when the agents conducted the search, signed two property receipts — one that was two pages long and another that is a single page.

In a statement earlier Friday, Trump claimed that the documents seized by agents were “all declassified,” and argued that he would have turned them over if the Justice Department had asked.

While incumbent presidents generally have the power to declassify information, that authority lapses as soon as they leave office and it was not clear if the documents in question have ever been declassified. And even an incumbent's powers to declassify may be limited regarding secrets dealing with nuclear weapons programs, covert operations and operatives, and some data shared with allies.

Trump kept possession of the documents despite multiple requests from agencies, including the National Archives, to turn over presidential records in accordance with federal law.

The Mar-a-Lago search warrant served Monday was part of an ongoing Justice Department investigation into the discovery of classified White House records recovered from Trump’s home earlier this year. The Archives had asked the department to investigate after saying 15 boxes of records it retrieved from the estate included classified records.

It remains unclear whether the Justice Department moved forward with the warrant simply as a means to retrieve the records or as part of a wider criminal investigation. Multiple federal laws govern the handling of classified information, with both criminal and civil penalties, as well as presidential records.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart, the same judge who signed off on the search warrant, unsealed the warrant and property receipt Friday at the request of the Justice Department after Attorney General Merrick Garland declared there was “substantial public interest in this matter,” and Trump said he backed the warrant’s “immediate” release. The Justice Department told the judge Friday afternoon that Trump’s lawyers did not object to the proposal to make it public.

In messages posted on his Truth Social platform, Trump wrote, “Not only will I not oppose the release of documents ... I am going a step further by ENCOURAGING the immediate release of those documents.”

The Justice Department's request was striking because such warrants traditionally remain sealed during a pending investigation. But the department appeared to recognize that its silence since the search had created a vacuum for bitter verbal attacks by Trump and his allies, and felt that the public was entitled to the FBI’s side about what prompted Monday’s action at the former president’s home.

“The public’s clear and powerful interest in understanding what occurred under these circumstances weighs heavily in favor of unsealing,” said a motion filed in federal court in Florida on Thursday.

The information was released as( Trump prepares for another run for the White House. During his 2016 campaign, he pointed frequently to an FBI investigation into his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/b1f8075d21964477b9deae6134f8d022">over whether she mishandled classified information</a>.

To obtain a search warrant, federal authorities must prove to a judge that probable cause exists to believe that a crime was committed. Garland said he personally approved the warrant, a decision he said the department did not take lightly given that standard practice where possible is to select less intrusive tactics than a search of one's home.

In this case, according to a person familiar with the matter, there was substantial engagement with Trump and his representatives prior to the search warrant, including a subpoena for records and a visit to Mar-a-Lago a couple of months ago by FBI and Justice Department officials to assess how the documents were stored. The person was not authorized to discuss the matter by name and spoke on condition of anonymity.

FBI and Justice Department policy cautions against discussing ongoing investigations, both to protect the integrity of the inquiries and to avoid unfairly maligning someone who is being scrutinized but winds up ultimately not being charged. That’s especially true in the case of search warrants, where supporting court papers are routinely kept secret as the investigation proceeds.

In this case, though, Garland cited the fact that Trump himself had provided the first public confirmation of the FBI search, “as is his right." The Justice Department, in its new filing, also said that disclosing information about it now would not harm the court's functions.

The Justice Department under Garland has been leery of public statements about politically charged investigations, or of confirming to what extent it might be investigating Trump as part of a broader probe into the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol and efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

The department has tried to avoid being seen as injecting itself into presidential politics, as happened in 2016 when then-FBI Director James Comey made an unusual public statement announcing that the FBI would not be recommending criminal charges against Clinton regarding her handling of email — and when he spoke up again just over a week before the election to notify Congress that the probe was being effectively reopened because of the discovery of new emails.

The attorney general also condemned verbal attacks on FBI and Justice Department personnel over the search. Some Republican allies of Trump have called for the FBI to be defunded. Large numbers of Trump supporters have called for the warrant to be released hoping they it will show that Trump was unfairly targeted.

“I will not stand by silently when their integrity is unfairly attacked,” Garland said of federal law enforcement agents, calling them “dedicated, patriotic public servants.”

Earlier Thursday, an armed man wearing body armor&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/fbi-cincinnati-armed-man-b4701596a0eb9770e3b29e95328f5704">tried to breach a security screening area</a>&nbsp;at an FBI field office in Ohio, then fled and was later killed after a standoff with law enforcement. A law enforcement official briefed on the matter identified the man as Ricky Shiffer and said he is believed to have been in Washington in the days leading up to the attack on the Capitol and may have been there on the day it took place.

Associated Press writers Lindsay Whitehurst and Meg Kinnard contributed to this report.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/8/1660337904040.jpeg" alt="The receipt for property that was seized during the execution of a search warrant by the FBI at former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla., is photographed Friday, Aug. 12, 2022. (AP Photo/Jon Elswick)" />
 <figcaption>The receipt for property that was seized during the execution of a search warrant by the FBI at former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla., is photographed Friday, Aug. 12, 2022. (AP Photo/Jon Elswick)</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — The FBI recovered documents that were labeled “top secret” from former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, according to court papers released Friday after a federal judge unsealed the warrant that authorized&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump?utm_source=apnewsnav&amp;utm_medium=featured">the unprecedented search this week</a>.A&nbsp;<a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/22131425-mar-a-lago-search-documents">property receipt unsealed by the court</a>&nbsp;shows FBI agents took&nbsp;<a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/22131425-mar-a-lago-search-documents">11 sets of classified records</a>&nbsp;from the estate during a search on Monday.The seized records include some marked not only top secret but also “sensitive compartmented information,” a special category meant to protect the nation's most important secrets that if revealed publicly could cause “exceptionally grave” damage to U.S. interests. The court records did not provide specific details about information the documents might contain.The warrant says federal agents were investigating potential violations of three different federal laws, including one that governs gathering, transmitting or losing defense information under the Espionage Act. The other statutes address the concealment, mutilation or removal of records and the destruction, alteration or falsification of records in federal investigations.The property receipt also shows federal agents collected other potential presidential records, including the order pardoning Trump ally Roger Stone, a “leatherbound box of documents,” and information about the “President of France.” A binder of photos, a handwritten note, “miscellaneous secret documents” and “miscellaneous confidential documents” were also seized in the search.Trump’s attorney, Christina Bobb, who was present at Mar-a-Lago when the agents conducted the search, signed two property receipts — one that was two pages long and another that is a single page.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/8/1660334468726.jpeg" alt="The notice filed by the Justice Department to the U.S. District Court South District of Florida informing the judge that lawyers for former President Donald Trump did not object to the government's motion to unseal the search warrant for Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate, is photographed Friday, Aug. 12, 2022. (AP Photo/Jon Elswick)" />
 <figcaption>The notice filed by the Justice Department to the U.S. District Court South District of Florida informing the judge that lawyers for former President Donald Trump did not object to the government's motion to unseal the search warrant for Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate, is photographed Friday, Aug. 12, 2022. (AP Photo/Jon Elswick)</figcaption>
 </figure>In a statement earlier Friday, Trump claimed that the documents seized by agents were “all declassified,” and argued that he would have turned them over if the Justice Department had asked.While incumbent presidents generally have the power to declassify information, that authority lapses as soon as they leave office and it was not clear if the documents in question have ever been declassified. And even an incumbent's powers to declassify may be limited regarding secrets dealing with nuclear weapons programs, covert operations and operatives, and some data shared with allies.Trump kept possession of the documents despite multiple requests from agencies, including the National Archives, to turn over presidential records in accordance with federal law.The Mar-a-Lago search warrant served Monday was part of an ongoing Justice Department investigation into the discovery of classified White House records recovered from Trump’s home earlier this year. The Archives had asked the department to investigate after saying 15 boxes of records it retrieved from the estate included classified records.It remains unclear whether the Justice Department moved forward with the warrant simply as a means to retrieve the records or as part of a wider criminal investigation. Multiple federal laws govern the handling of classified information, with both criminal and civil penalties, as well as presidential records.U.S. Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart, the same judge who signed off on the search warrant, unsealed the warrant and property receipt Friday at the request of the Justice Department after Attorney General Merrick Garland declared there was “substantial public interest in this matter,” and Trump said he backed the warrant’s “immediate” release. The Justice Department told the judge Friday afternoon that Trump’s lawyers did not object to the proposal to make it public.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/8/1660299491275.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>In messages posted on his Truth Social platform, Trump wrote, “Not only will I not oppose the release of documents ... I am going a step further by ENCOURAGING the immediate release of those documents.”The Justice Department's request was striking because such warrants traditionally remain sealed during a pending investigation. But the department appeared to recognize that its silence since the search had created a vacuum for bitter verbal attacks by Trump and his allies, and felt that the public was entitled to the FBI’s side about what prompted Monday’s action at the former president’s home.“The public’s clear and powerful interest in understanding what occurred under these circumstances weighs heavily in favor of unsealing,” said a motion filed in federal court in Florida on Thursday.The information was released as( Trump prepares for another run for the White House. During his 2016 campaign, he pointed frequently to an FBI investigation into his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/b1f8075d21964477b9deae6134f8d022">over whether she mishandled classified information</a>.To obtain a search warrant, federal authorities must prove to a judge that probable cause exists to believe that a crime was committed. Garland said he personally approved the warrant, a decision he said the department did not take lightly given that standard practice where possible is to select less intrusive tactics than a search of one's home.In this case, according to a person familiar with the matter, there was substantial engagement with Trump and his representatives prior to the search warrant, including a subpoena for records and a visit to Mar-a-Lago a couple of months ago by FBI and Justice Department officials to assess how the documents were stored. The person was not authorized to discuss the matter by name and spoke on condition of anonymity.FBI and Justice Department policy cautions against discussing ongoing investigations, both to protect the integrity of the inquiries and to avoid unfairly maligning someone who is being scrutinized but winds up ultimately not being charged. That’s especially true in the case of search warrants, where supporting court papers are routinely kept secret as the investigation proceeds.<div><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/I2w26ecbq-Q?start=3" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>In this case, though, Garland cited the fact that Trump himself had provided the first public confirmation of the FBI search, “as is his right." The Justice Department, in its new filing, also said that disclosing information about it now would not harm the court's functions.The Justice Department under Garland has been leery of public statements about politically charged investigations, or of confirming to what extent it might be investigating Trump as part of a broader probe into the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol and efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.The department has tried to avoid being seen as injecting itself into presidential politics, as happened in 2016 when then-FBI Director James Comey made an unusual public statement announcing that the FBI would not be recommending criminal charges against Clinton regarding her handling of email — and when he spoke up again just over a week before the election to notify Congress that the probe was being effectively reopened because of the discovery of new emails.The attorney general also condemned verbal attacks on FBI and Justice Department personnel over the search. Some Republican allies of Trump have called for the FBI to be defunded. Large numbers of Trump supporters have called for the warrant to be released hoping they it will show that Trump was unfairly targeted.“I will not stand by silently when their integrity is unfairly attacked,” Garland said of federal law enforcement agents, calling them “dedicated, patriotic public servants.”Earlier Thursday, an armed man wearing body armor&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/fbi-cincinnati-armed-man-b4701596a0eb9770e3b29e95328f5704">tried to breach a security screening area</a>&nbsp;at an FBI field office in Ohio, then fled and was later killed after a standoff with law enforcement. A law enforcement official briefed on the matter identified the man as Ricky Shiffer and said he is believed to have been in Washington in the days leading up to the attack on the Capitol and may have been there on the day it took place._____Associated Press writers Lindsay Whitehurst and Meg Kinnard contributed to this report.

🎥 Warrant: FBI seized 'top secret' documents from Trump home

RENO COUNTY—One person has died after a car fire in Reno County.

Just before 2:30p.m. Friday, deputies were dispatched to the area of the 2000 Block of east Parallel Road for a vehicle that was driving in and out of the ditch, according to a media release.

 While Deputies were responding to the scene dispatch advised that the vehicle was stuck in the ditch and a female passenger was able to get out of the car but the driver was trying to get the vehicle out of the ditch. 

 The vehicle then caught fire while the driver was still inside. At this time others who were on scene attempted to pull the driver out of the car but they were unable to get him out. 

 As the vehicle fire grew there was then an explosion from the vehicle and it became fully involved with fire.  The driver was still inside of the vehicle and was ultimately consumed by the fire. 

A&nbsp;passerby who attempted to remove the driver from the vehicle received injuries from the fire and is being treated for these injuries.

The sheriff's department has not released the identity of the driver until investigators make a positive identification.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/8/1660347092853.png" alt="Photo courtesy KWCH" />
 <figcaption>Photo courtesy KWCH</figcaption>
 </figure>RENO COUNTY—One person has died after a car fire in Reno County.Just before 2:30p.m. Friday, deputies were dispatched to the area of the 2000 Block of east Parallel Road for a vehicle that was driving in and out of the ditch, according to a media release. While Deputies were responding to the scene dispatch advised that the vehicle was stuck in the ditch and a female passenger was able to get out of the car but the driver was trying to get the vehicle out of the ditch. The vehicle then caught fire while the driver was still inside. At this time others who were on scene attempted to pull the driver out of the car but they were unable to get him out. As the vehicle fire grew there was then an explosion from the vehicle and it became fully involved with fire. The driver was still inside of the vehicle and was ultimately consumed by the fire. A&nbsp;passerby who attempted to remove the driver from the vehicle received injuries from the fire and is being treated for these injuries.The sheriff's department has not released the identity of the driver until investigators make a positive identification.

Sheriff: One dead after Kansas car fire, explosion 

WASHINGTON (AP) — A divided Congress gave final approval Friday to Democrats'&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/inflation-health-seniors-medicare-economy-68f2df858de98487e82e236ab31fab7e">flagship climate and health care bill</a>, handing President Joe Biden a back-from-the-dead triumph on coveted priorities that the party hopes will bolster their prospects for keeping their hold on Congress in November's elections.

The House used a party-line 220-207 vote to pass the legislation, which is but a shadow of the larger, more ambitious plan to supercharge environment and social programs that Biden and his party envisioned early last year. Even so, Democrats happily declared victory on top-tier goals like providing Congress’ largest ever investment in curbing carbon emissions, reining in pharmaceutical costs and taxing large companies, a vote they believe will show they can wring accomplishments from a routinely gridlocked Washington that often disillusions voters.

“Today is a day of celebration, a day we take another giant step in our momentous agenda," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. She said the measure “meets the moment, ensuring that our families thrive and that our planet survives.”

Republicans solidly opposed the legislation, calling it a cornucopia of wasteful liberal daydreams that would raise taxes and families' living costs. They did the same Sunday but Senate Democrats banded together and used Vice President Kamala Harris’ tiebreaking vote t&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/senate-climate-tax-deal-vote-dbdb3107c4c5e3e0e5af8a58d56c7bc1">o power the measure</a>&nbsp;through that 50-50 chamber.

“Democrats, more than any other majority in history, are addicted to spending other people’s money, regardless of what we as a country can afford,” said House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. “I can almost see glee in their eyes.”

Biden's initial 10-year, $3.5 trillion proposal also envisioned free prekindergarten, paid family and medical leave, expanded Medicare benefits and eased immigration restrictions.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/manchin-rejects-biden-spending-bill-democrats-election-e7a0ca4c25c686e91cb21e166c44821b">That crashed</a>&nbsp;after centrist Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., said it was too costly, using the leverage every Democrat has in the evenly-divided Senate.

Still, the final legislation remained substantive. Its pillar is about $375 billion over 10 years to encourage industry and consumers to shift from carbon-emitting to cleaner forms of energy. That includes $4 billion to cope with the West's catastrophic drought.

Spending, tax credits and loans would bolster technology like solar panels, consumer efforts to improve home energy efficiency, emission-reducing equipment for coal- and gas-powered power plants and air pollution controls for farms, ports and low-income communities.

Another $64 billion would help 13 million people pay premiums over the next three years for privately bought health insurance. Medicare would gain the power to negotiate its costs for pharmaceuticals, initially in 2026 for only 10 drugs. Medicare beneficiaries' out-of-pocket prescription costs would be limited to $2,000 starting in 2025, and beginning next year would pay no more than $35 monthly for insulin, the costly diabetes drug.

The bill would raise around $740 billion in revenue over the decade, over a third from government savings from lower drug prices. More would flow from higher taxes on some $1 billion corporations, levies on companies that repurchase their own stock and stronger IRS tax collections. About $300 billion would remain to defray budget deficits, a sliver of the period's projected $16 trillion total.

Against the backdrop of GOP attacks on the FBI for its court-empowered search of former President Donald Trump's Florida estate for sensitive documents, Republicans repeatedly savaged the bill's boost to the IRS budget. That is aimed at collecting an estimated $120 billion in unpaid taxes over the coming decade, and Republicans have&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/inflation-ap-fact-check-congress-government-and-politics-11eae023a3dc3a04584371843234cab7">misleadingly claimed</a>&nbsp;that the IRS will hire 87,000 agents to target average families.

Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., said Democrats would also “weaponize” the IRS with agents, “many of whom will be trained in the use of deadly force, to go after any American citizen.” Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, asked Thursday on “Fox and Friends" if there would be an IRS “strike force that goes in with AK-15s already loaded, ready to shoot some small business person."

Few IRS personnel are armed, and Democrats say the bill's $80 billion, 10-year budget increase would be to replace waves of retirees, not just agents, and modernize equipment. They have said typical families and small businesses would not be targeted, with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen directing the IRS this week to not “increase the share of small business or households below the $400,000 threshold" that would be audited.

Republicans say the legislation’s new business taxes will increase prices, worsening the nation’s bout with its worst inflation since 1981. Though Democrats have labeled the measure the Inflation Reduction Act, nonpartisan analysts say it will have a barely perceptible impact on prices.

The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/inflation-ap-fact-check-congress-government-and-politics-11eae023a3dc3a04584371843234cab7">GOP also says the bill would raise taxes on lower- and middle-income families</a>. An analysis by Congress' nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation, which didn't include the bill's tax breaks for health care and energy, estimated that the corporate tax boosts would marginally affect those taxpayers but indirectly, partly due to lower stock prices and wages.

The bill caps three months in which Congress has approved legislation on veterans' benefits, the semiconductor industry, gun checks for young buyers and Ukraine's invasion by Russia and adding Sweden and Finland to NATO. All passed with bipartisan support, suggesting Republicans also want to display their productive side.

It's unclear whether voters will reward Democrats for the legislation after months of painfully high inflation dominating voters' attention and Biden's dangerously low popularity with the public and a steady history of midterm elections that batter the party holding the White House.

The bill had its roots in early 2021, after Congress approved a $1.9 trillion measure over GOP opposition to combat the pandemic-induced economic downturn. Emboldened, the new president and his party reached further.

They called their $3.5 trillion plan Build Back Better. Besides social and environment initiatives, it proposed rolling back Trump-era tax breaks for the rich and corporations and $555 billion for climate efforts, well above the resources in Friday's legislation.

With Manchin opposing those amounts, it was sliced to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/climate-immigration-joe-biden-health-lifestyle-bff841da156cb12cd47a564f9e0267eb">a roughly $2 trillion measure that Democrats moved through the House in November</a>. He unexpectedly sank that bill too, earning scorn from exasperated fellow Democrats from Capitol Hill and the White House.

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-joe-manchin-congress-government-and-politics-29a6a2cca519d402a54652d12881787f">Last gasp talks between Manchin and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.,</a>&nbsp;seemed fruitless until&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/inflation-biden-sports-congress-e499871130fa9881beb0618ebddfe88c">the two unexpectedly</a>&nbsp;announced agreement last month on the new package.

Manchin won billions for carbon capture technology for the fossil fuel industries he champions, plus procedures for more oil drilling on federal lands and promises for faster energy project permitting.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-politics-kyrsten-sinema-joe-manchin-congress-c0d40a6f2490b2613a690995daca7e11">Centrist Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz.,</a>&nbsp;also won concessions, eliminating planned higher taxes on hedge fund managers and helping win the drought funds.

WASHINGTON (AP) —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/inflation-health-seniors-medicare-economy-68f2df858de98487e82e236ab31fab7e">A flagship Democratic economic bill</a>&nbsp;perched on the edge of House passage Friday, placing President Joe Biden on the brink of a back-from-the-dead triumph on goals for&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/technology-science-congress-climate-and-environment-f084d23d61ebb068068d4aa92c82fdbb?taid=62f52f2bdcbb3b0001bb2286&amp;utm_campaign=TrueAnthem&amp;utm_medium=AP&amp;utm_source=Twitter">the climate</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-seniors-medicare-prescription-drug-costs-drugs-8aaa8fd3959c1da5fba5b5a352b6afb0">health care</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-manchin-congress-internal-revenue-service-government-and-politics-dd2e6eaeb914eea553615e231332f3fb">taxes</a>&nbsp;that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/technology-united-states-trending-news-climate-and-environment-385328acb81f3bd07f225b73db748cab">could energize his party</a>&nbsp;ahead of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-abortion-biden-us-supreme-court-health-dc870c873aec72e5c266133a01694aa3">November’s elections</a>.

Democrats were poised to muscle the measure through the narrowly divided House Friday over solid Republican opposition. They employed similar party unity and Vice President Kamala Harris' tiebreaking vote Sunday to power the measure through the 50-50 Senate.

The package is but a shadow of Biden's initial vision and was produced only after a year of often bitter infighting between party leaders, progressives and centrists led by Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., empowered by that chamber's even split. Ultimately, Democrats thirsty to declare victory forged a compromise on abiding goals like reining in pharmaceutical costs,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/inflation-biden-kyrsten-sinema-congress-399fcec95d37d5b0b9a197ed4c8d33fa">taxing large companies</a>&nbsp;and, especially, curbing carbon emissions. They are hoping to show they can wring accomplishments from an often fractiously gridlocked Washington that alienates many voters.

“Climate is a health issue. It’s a jobs issue. It’s a security issue. And it’s a values issue for us," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., told reporters this week. “I want more, of course, we always want more, but this is a great deal.”

The bill's pillar is about $375 billion over 10 years to encourage industry and consumers to shift from carbon-emitting to cleaner forms of energy, hailed by experts as Congress' biggest climate investment ever. That includes $4 billion added to cope with the West's catastrophic drought.

In a pair of top Democratic health priorities, another $64 billion would help 13 million people pay premiums over the next three years for privately bought health insurance. Medicare would gain the power to negotiate its costs for pharmaceuticals, initially in 2026 for only 10 drugs. Medicare beneficiaries' out-of-pocket prescription costs would be limited to $2,000 starting in 2025, and starting next year they would pay no more than $35 monthly for insulin, the costly diabetes drug.

The bill would raise around $740 billion in revenue over the decade, over a third from government savings from lower drug prices. More would flow from higher taxes on some $1 billion corporations, levies on companies that repurchase their own stock and stronger IRS tax collections. About $300 billion would remain to defray budget deficits, a fraction of the period's projected total of $16 trillion.

Republicans say the legislation's tax increases will force companies to raise prices, worsening the nation's bout with its worst inflation since 1981 that is wounding Democrats' election prospects. Nonpartisan analysts say the measure will have negligible inflation impact one way or the other.

Echoing other culture war themes, the GOP has criticized initiatives like tax breaks for clean energy and electric vehicles as wasteful liberal daydreams. “If the Green New Deal and corporate welfare had a baby, it would look like this,” said Rep. Kevin Brady of Texas, the House Ways and Means Committee's top Republican.

Republicans say Democrats' plan to expand the IRS budget, aimed at collecting about $120 billion in unpaid taxes, envisions 87,000 agents who'd be coming after families. Democrats called foul, saying their $80 billion IRS budget boost would be to replace waves of retirees, not just agents, and to modernize equipment, and say families and small businesses earning below $400,000 annually would not be targeted.

The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/inflation-ap-fact-check-congress-government-and-politics-11eae023a3dc3a04584371843234cab7">GOP also says the bill would raise taxes on lower- and middle-income families</a>. An analysis by Congress' nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation, which didn't include the bill's tax breaks for health care and energy, estimated that the corporate tax boosts would marginally affect those taxpayers, partly due to lower stock prices and wages.

The bill caps a fertile three months in which Congress has voted to improve veterans’ health benefits, gird the semiconductor industry, moderately strengthen gun restrictions for younger buyers, finance Ukraine's war with Russia and add Finland and Sweden to NATO. All passed with bipartisan support, suggesting Republicans also want to display their productive side.

It's unclear voters will reward Democrats for the legislation after months of painfully high inflation dominating voters' attention. Though record gasoline prices have dipped, Biden's popularity dangles damagingly low and midterm elections have a consistent history of ending careers of lawmakers from the party that holds the White House.

Democrats' economic bill had its roots in early 2021, after Congress approved a $1.9 trillion measure over GOP opposition to combat the pandemic-induced economic downturn. Emboldened, the new president and his party reached further.

They initially produced an ambitious 10-year, $3.5 trillion environment and social plan they called Build Back Better. It featured free prekindergarten, paid family and medical leave, expanded Medicare benefits, increases for education and housing and an easing of immigration restrictions. It sought to roll back Trump-era tax breaks for the rich and corporations and proposed $555 billion for climate efforts, well above the resources in Friday's legislation.

With Manchin opposing those amounts, it was sliced to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/climate-immigration-joe-biden-health-lifestyle-bff841da156cb12cd47a564f9e0267eb">a roughly $2 trillion measure that Democrats moved through the House in November</a>. Just before Christmas, Manchin unexpectedly sank that bill, citing fears of inflation and international uncertainty and earning brickbats from exasperated fellow Democrats from Capitol Hill and the White House.

With&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-joe-manchin-congress-government-and-politics-29a6a2cca519d402a54652d12881787f">on-and-off closed-door talks between Manchin and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.,</a>&nbsp;seemingly dying, the two lawmakers shocked Washington and announced agreement last month on the new, pared-down package.

Manchin won billions for carbon capture technology for the fossil fuel industries he champions, plus procedures for more oil drilling on federal lands and promises for faster energy project permitting.

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-politics-kyrsten-sinema-joe-manchin-congress-c0d40a6f2490b2613a690995daca7e11">Centrist Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz.,</a>&nbsp;also used her leverage for late concessions, eliminating planned higher taxes on hedge fund managers and helping win the drought funds.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/8/1660327472444.png" alt=""By reducing the cost of prescription drugs and health care, while taking bold action on climate, House Democrats passing this bill today puts people over politics," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi-courtesy photo" />
 <figcaption>"By reducing the cost of prescription drugs and health care, while taking bold action on climate, House Democrats passing this bill today puts people over politics," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi-courtesy photo</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — A divided Congress gave final approval Friday to Democrats'&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/inflation-health-seniors-medicare-economy-68f2df858de98487e82e236ab31fab7e">flagship climate and health care bill</a>, handing President Joe Biden a back-from-the-dead triumph on coveted priorities that the party hopes will bolster their prospects for keeping their hold on Congress in November's elections.The House used a party-line 220-207 vote to pass the legislation, which is but a shadow of the larger, more ambitious plan to supercharge environment and social programs that Biden and his party envisioned early last year. Even so, Democrats happily declared victory on top-tier goals like providing Congress’ largest ever investment in curbing carbon emissions, reining in pharmaceutical costs and taxing large companies, a vote they believe will show they can wring accomplishments from a routinely gridlocked Washington that often disillusions voters.“Today is a day of celebration, a day we take another giant step in our momentous agenda," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. She said the measure “meets the moment, ensuring that our families thrive and that our planet survives.”Republicans solidly opposed the legislation, calling it a cornucopia of wasteful liberal daydreams that would raise taxes and families' living costs. They did the same Sunday but Senate Democrats banded together and used Vice President Kamala Harris’ tiebreaking vote t&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/senate-climate-tax-deal-vote-dbdb3107c4c5e3e0e5af8a58d56c7bc1">o power the measure</a>&nbsp;through that 50-50 chamber.“Democrats, more than any other majority in history, are addicted to spending other people’s money, regardless of what we as a country can afford,” said House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. “I can almost see glee in their eyes.”Biden's initial 10-year, $3.5 trillion proposal also envisioned free prekindergarten, paid family and medical leave, expanded Medicare benefits and eased immigration restrictions.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/manchin-rejects-biden-spending-bill-democrats-election-e7a0ca4c25c686e91cb21e166c44821b">That crashed</a>&nbsp;after centrist Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., said it was too costly, using the leverage every Democrat has in the evenly-divided Senate.Still, the final legislation remained substantive. Its pillar is about $375 billion over 10 years to encourage industry and consumers to shift from carbon-emitting to cleaner forms of energy. That includes $4 billion to cope with the West's catastrophic drought.Spending, tax credits and loans would bolster technology like solar panels, consumer efforts to improve home energy efficiency, emission-reducing equipment for coal- and gas-powered power plants and air pollution controls for farms, ports and low-income communities.Another $64 billion would help 13 million people pay premiums over the next three years for privately bought health insurance. Medicare would gain the power to negotiate its costs for pharmaceuticals, initially in 2026 for only 10 drugs. Medicare beneficiaries' out-of-pocket prescription costs would be limited to $2,000 starting in 2025, and beginning next year would pay no more than $35 monthly for insulin, the costly diabetes drug.The bill would raise around $740 billion in revenue over the decade, over a third from government savings from lower drug prices. More would flow from higher taxes on some $1 billion corporations, levies on companies that repurchase their own stock and stronger IRS tax collections. About $300 billion would remain to defray budget deficits, a sliver of the period's projected $16 trillion total.Against the backdrop of GOP attacks on the FBI for its court-empowered search of former President Donald Trump's Florida estate for sensitive documents, Republicans repeatedly savaged the bill's boost to the IRS budget. That is aimed at collecting an estimated $120 billion in unpaid taxes over the coming decade, and Republicans have&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/inflation-ap-fact-check-congress-government-and-politics-11eae023a3dc3a04584371843234cab7">misleadingly claimed</a>&nbsp;that the IRS will hire 87,000 agents to target average families.Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., said Democrats would also “weaponize” the IRS with agents, “many of whom will be trained in the use of deadly force, to go after any American citizen.” Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, asked Thursday on “Fox and Friends" if there would be an IRS “strike force that goes in with AK-15s already loaded, ready to shoot some small business person."Few IRS personnel are armed, and Democrats say the bill's $80 billion, 10-year budget increase would be to replace waves of retirees, not just agents, and modernize equipment. They have said typical families and small businesses would not be targeted, with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen directing the IRS this week to not “increase the share of small business or households below the $400,000 threshold" that would be audited.Republicans say the legislation’s new business taxes will increase prices, worsening the nation’s bout with its worst inflation since 1981. Though Democrats have labeled the measure the Inflation Reduction Act, nonpartisan analysts say it will have a barely perceptible impact on prices.The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/inflation-ap-fact-check-congress-government-and-politics-11eae023a3dc3a04584371843234cab7">GOP also says the bill would raise taxes on lower- and middle-income families</a>. An analysis by Congress' nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation, which didn't include the bill's tax breaks for health care and energy, estimated that the corporate tax boosts would marginally affect those taxpayers but indirectly, partly due to lower stock prices and wages.The bill caps three months in which Congress has approved legislation on veterans' benefits, the semiconductor industry, gun checks for young buyers and Ukraine's invasion by Russia and adding Sweden and Finland to NATO. All passed with bipartisan support, suggesting Republicans also want to display their productive side.It's unclear whether voters will reward Democrats for the legislation after months of painfully high inflation dominating voters' attention and Biden's dangerously low popularity with the public and a steady history of midterm elections that batter the party holding the White House.The bill had its roots in early 2021, after Congress approved a $1.9 trillion measure over GOP opposition to combat the pandemic-induced economic downturn. Emboldened, the new president and his party reached further.They called their $3.5 trillion plan Build Back Better. Besides social and environment initiatives, it proposed rolling back Trump-era tax breaks for the rich and corporations and $555 billion for climate efforts, well above the resources in Friday's legislation.With Manchin opposing those amounts, it was sliced to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/climate-immigration-joe-biden-health-lifestyle-bff841da156cb12cd47a564f9e0267eb">a roughly $2 trillion measure that Democrats moved through the House in November</a>. He unexpectedly sank that bill too, earning scorn from exasperated fellow Democrats from Capitol Hill and the White House.<a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-joe-manchin-congress-government-and-politics-29a6a2cca519d402a54652d12881787f">Last gasp talks between Manchin and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.,</a>&nbsp;seemed fruitless until&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/inflation-biden-sports-congress-e499871130fa9881beb0618ebddfe88c">the two unexpectedly</a>&nbsp;announced agreement last month on the new package.Manchin won billions for carbon capture technology for the fossil fuel industries he champions, plus procedures for more oil drilling on federal lands and promises for faster energy project permitting.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-politics-kyrsten-sinema-joe-manchin-congress-c0d40a6f2490b2613a690995daca7e11">Centrist Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz.,</a>&nbsp;also won concessions, eliminating planned higher taxes on hedge fund managers and helping win the drought funds.-----WASHINGTON (AP) —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/inflation-health-seniors-medicare-economy-68f2df858de98487e82e236ab31fab7e">A flagship Democratic economic bill</a>&nbsp;perched on the edge of House passage Friday, placing President Joe Biden on the brink of a back-from-the-dead triumph on goals for&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/technology-science-congress-climate-and-environment-f084d23d61ebb068068d4aa92c82fdbb?taid=62f52f2bdcbb3b0001bb2286&amp;utm_campaign=TrueAnthem&amp;utm_medium=AP&amp;utm_source=Twitter">the climate</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-seniors-medicare-prescription-drug-costs-drugs-8aaa8fd3959c1da5fba5b5a352b6afb0">health care</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-manchin-congress-internal-revenue-service-government-and-politics-dd2e6eaeb914eea553615e231332f3fb">taxes</a>&nbsp;that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/technology-united-states-trending-news-climate-and-environment-385328acb81f3bd07f225b73db748cab">could energize his party</a>&nbsp;ahead of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-abortion-biden-us-supreme-court-health-dc870c873aec72e5c266133a01694aa3">November’s elections</a>.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/8/1660308855735.png" alt="House Speaker Nancy Pelosi enters her news conference on Capitol Hill, Thursday-photo courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>House Speaker Nancy Pelosi enters her news conference on Capitol Hill, Thursday-photo courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>Democrats were poised to muscle the measure through the narrowly divided House Friday over solid Republican opposition. They employed similar party unity and Vice President Kamala Harris' tiebreaking vote Sunday to power the measure through the 50-50 Senate.The package is but a shadow of Biden's initial vision and was produced only after a year of often bitter infighting between party leaders, progressives and centrists led by Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., empowered by that chamber's even split. Ultimately, Democrats thirsty to declare victory forged a compromise on abiding goals like reining in pharmaceutical costs,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/inflation-biden-kyrsten-sinema-congress-399fcec95d37d5b0b9a197ed4c8d33fa">taxing large companies</a>&nbsp;and, especially, curbing carbon emissions. They are hoping to show they can wring accomplishments from an often fractiously gridlocked Washington that alienates many voters.“Climate is a health issue. It’s a jobs issue. It’s a security issue. And it’s a values issue for us," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., told reporters this week. “I want more, of course, we always want more, but this is a great deal.”The bill's pillar is about $375 billion over 10 years to encourage industry and consumers to shift from carbon-emitting to cleaner forms of energy, hailed by experts as Congress' biggest climate investment ever. That includes $4 billion added to cope with the West's catastrophic drought.Spending, tax credits and loans would bolster technology like solar panels, consumer efforts to improve home energy efficiency, emission-reducing equipment for coal- and gas-powered power plants and air pollution controls for farms, ports and low-income communities.In a pair of top Democratic health priorities, another $64 billion would help 13 million people pay premiums over the next three years for privately bought health insurance. Medicare would gain the power to negotiate its costs for pharmaceuticals, initially in 2026 for only 10 drugs. Medicare beneficiaries' out-of-pocket prescription costs would be limited to $2,000 starting in 2025, and starting next year they would pay no more than $35 monthly for insulin, the costly diabetes drug.The bill would raise around $740 billion in revenue over the decade, over a third from government savings from lower drug prices. More would flow from higher taxes on some $1 billion corporations, levies on companies that repurchase their own stock and stronger IRS tax collections. About $300 billion would remain to defray budget deficits, a fraction of the period's projected total of $16 trillion.Republicans say the legislation's tax increases will force companies to raise prices, worsening the nation's bout with its worst inflation since 1981 that is wounding Democrats' election prospects. Nonpartisan analysts say the measure will have negligible inflation impact one way or the other.Echoing other culture war themes, the GOP has criticized initiatives like tax breaks for clean energy and electric vehicles as wasteful liberal daydreams. “If the Green New Deal and corporate welfare had a baby, it would look like this,” said Rep. Kevin Brady of Texas, the House Ways and Means Committee's top Republican.Republicans say Democrats' plan to expand the IRS budget, aimed at collecting about $120 billion in unpaid taxes, envisions 87,000 agents who'd be coming after families. Democrats called foul, saying their $80 billion IRS budget boost would be to replace waves of retirees, not just agents, and to modernize equipment, and say families and small businesses earning below $400,000 annually would not be targeted.The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/inflation-ap-fact-check-congress-government-and-politics-11eae023a3dc3a04584371843234cab7">GOP also says the bill would raise taxes on lower- and middle-income families</a>. An analysis by Congress' nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation, which didn't include the bill's tax breaks for health care and energy, estimated that the corporate tax boosts would marginally affect those taxpayers, partly due to lower stock prices and wages.The bill caps a fertile three months in which Congress has voted to improve veterans’ health benefits, gird the semiconductor industry, moderately strengthen gun restrictions for younger buyers, finance Ukraine's war with Russia and add Finland and Sweden to NATO. All passed with bipartisan support, suggesting Republicans also want to display their productive side.It's unclear voters will reward Democrats for the legislation after months of painfully high inflation dominating voters' attention. Though record gasoline prices have dipped, Biden's popularity dangles damagingly low and midterm elections have a consistent history of ending careers of lawmakers from the party that holds the White House.Democrats' economic bill had its roots in early 2021, after Congress approved a $1.9 trillion measure over GOP opposition to combat the pandemic-induced economic downturn. Emboldened, the new president and his party reached further.They initially produced an ambitious 10-year, $3.5 trillion environment and social plan they called Build Back Better. It featured free prekindergarten, paid family and medical leave, expanded Medicare benefits, increases for education and housing and an easing of immigration restrictions. It sought to roll back Trump-era tax breaks for the rich and corporations and proposed $555 billion for climate efforts, well above the resources in Friday's legislation.With Manchin opposing those amounts, it was sliced to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/climate-immigration-joe-biden-health-lifestyle-bff841da156cb12cd47a564f9e0267eb">a roughly $2 trillion measure that Democrats moved through the House in November</a>. Just before Christmas, Manchin unexpectedly sank that bill, citing fears of inflation and international uncertainty and earning brickbats from exasperated fellow Democrats from Capitol Hill and the White House.With&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-joe-manchin-congress-government-and-politics-29a6a2cca519d402a54652d12881787f">on-and-off closed-door talks between Manchin and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.,</a>&nbsp;seemingly dying, the two lawmakers shocked Washington and announced agreement last month on the new, pared-down package.Manchin won billions for carbon capture technology for the fossil fuel industries he champions, plus procedures for more oil drilling on federal lands and promises for faster energy project permitting.<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-politics-kyrsten-sinema-joe-manchin-congress-c0d40a6f2490b2613a690995daca7e11">Centrist Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz.,</a>&nbsp;also used her leverage for late concessions, eliminating planned higher taxes on hedge fund managers and helping win the drought funds.

Congress OKs controversial $740B climate, health bill

By LESLIE EIKLEBERRY Salina Post

SALINE COUNTY —A Kansas teen was injured in an accident just before 4:30p.m. Thursday in Saline County.

A 2001 Ford Explorer Sport Trac driven by a 15-year-old Saline County boy was northbound on S. Whitmore Road, just south of E. Cloud Street, according to Sheriff Roger Soldan.&nbsp;

The boy&nbsp; lost control of the pickup. It traveled&nbsp; into the east ditch and then rolled up over E. Cloud Street, coming to rest on the passenger side of the vehicle.

EMS transported the boy to Salina Regional Health Center. The sheriff's office released no additional details.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/8/1660333260725.jpeg" alt="What's left of the pickup in the north ditch of E. Cloud Street. Photos courtesy Saline County Sheriff's Office" />
 <figcaption>What's left of the pickup in the north ditch of E. Cloud Street. Photos courtesy Saline County Sheriff's Office</figcaption>
 </figure>By LESLIE EIKLEBERRY Salina PostSALINE COUNTY —A Kansas teen was injured in an accident just before 4:30p.m. Thursday in Saline County.A 2001 Ford Explorer Sport Trac driven by a 15-year-old Saline County boy was northbound on S. Whitmore Road, just south of E. Cloud Street, according to Sheriff Roger Soldan.&nbsp; The boy&nbsp; lost control of the pickup. It traveled&nbsp; into the east ditch and then rolled up over E. Cloud Street, coming to rest on the passenger side of the vehicle.EMS transported the boy to Salina Regional Health Center. The sheriff's office released no additional details.

15-year-old Kansas boy injured after pickup rollover accident

By CELIA LLOPIS-JEPSEN <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2022-08-10/kansas-has-taken-in-a-green-industry-with-its-own-pollution-problems">Kansas News Service</a>

Panasonic’s decision to build a $4 billion factory for electric 
vehicle batteries in Johnson County could help an industry struggling to
 ramp up while reeling from an ailing supply chain.

The plant also
 underscores how an industry marketed as green comes with its own 
tough-to-solve environmental problems — like how to build a more easily 
recycled battery with a lower pollution footprint.

For now, 
salvaging the most valuable ingredients in electric batteries usually 
means shredding them and burning off certain ingredients or drenching 
them in acid.

“Nobody has come up with a good design that would be
 easily recyclable,” said Linda Gaines, a chemical physicist and 
transportation system analyst at the Argonne National Laboratory.

The
 fact that each manufacturer designs its batteries differently further 
complicates the chore of salvaging the remains of an old battery, she 
said.

“If you can actually recover the materials without breaking 
them down that far,” Gaines said, “you get a more valuable product with 
less energy use and less environmental impacts along the way.”

Argonne’s <a href="https://recellcenter.org/" target="_blank">ReCell Center</a> is among those looking for ways to achieve this.

The
 urgency to find an efficient and environmentally sound solution will 
grow as electric vehicles gobble up a bigger share of the auto market 
and today’s fleet ages.

“EV (electric vehicle) batteries haven’t 
been in service that long and they’re lasting quite well,” she said. “So
 there isn’t a huge waste stream yet.”

Knowing
 that scientists at institutions such as Argonne are racing to crack the
 riddle gives hope to Dorothy Barnett, executive director of the Climate
 + Energy Project based in Hutchinson, Kansas.

The group wants 
Kansas to grow its economy through environmentally friendly jobs. Kansas
 is already one of the nation’s top five producers of <a href="https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/wind/where-wind-power-is-harnessed.php" target="_blank">wind power</a>. The Panasonic plant will propel the state into another section of the green economy.

But even this industry will need to minimize its own environmental toll, Barnett said.

“For environmentalists, that’s a dilemma,” she said. “For all of us, it’s a dilemma.”

Much
 of the mining, smelting, manufacturing and battery recycling related to
 electric vehicles occurs far from Kansas, in other countries. These 
processes <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/02/climate/electric-vehicles-environment.html" target="_blank">use groundwater and produce pollution</a>.

Increasingly, the U.S. may see more of the supply chain move closer to home.

<a href="https://www.reuters.com/technology/panasonic-build-ev-battery-plant-tesla-kansas-nikkei-2022-07-13/" target="_blank">Reuters says</a> Panasonic intends to at least triple its global battery output this decade, mainly by ramping up facilities in North America.

Lewis Fulton, an expert on energy policy at the University of California, Davis, sees a trend.

The
 federal climate bill that passed the Senate on Sunday presses carmakers
 eager to qualify for tax credits to assemble cars in North America and 
to source or recycle certain components here.

“We were already 
seeing more announced investments in the United States, both for vehicle
 production and for battery supply,” said Fulton, director of the 
university’s Sustainable Transportation Energy Pathways program. “We 
might just see that continuing to increase all the way up the supply 
chain.”

Manufacturers seem convinced it’s worth the investment.

“That’s
 all part of an expectation now on the part of the automobile industry 
that electric vehicles are here to stay,” Fulton said. “Their sales are 
growing rapidly. They’re booming right now in the second quarter of 
2022.”

Even when fossil fuels are involved in electricity 
generation, electric vehicles generally produce fewer emissions than 
their gas-burning counterparts. And as renewable energy — like all those
 wind farms across Kansas — fuels more of our electricity, the 
advantages of switching from gasoline-powered to electric cars will only
 increase.

After months of speculation, news became official last month that Panasonic would build its plant in De Soto.

Gov.
 Laura Kelly’s administration, with support from the Kansas Legislature,
 offered more than $800 million in incentives to the Japanese company. 
State leaders say the plant will bring thousands of jobs and $4 billion 
worth of investment.

Panasonic hasn’t divulged specifics — 
such as how many batteries the factory will churn out per year. It will 
supply batteries to Tesla Inc.

This spring, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/musk-says-teslas-new-car-factories-losing-billions-dollars-2022-06-22/" target="_blank">Tesla CEO Elon Musk said</a> battery shortages and other supply chain woes threw a wrench into his company’s operations, turning car factories into “gigantic money furnaces” burning through cash.

Reuters <a href="https://www.reuters.com/technology/panasonic-build-ev-battery-plant-tesla-kansas-nikkei-2022-07-13/" target="_blank">reported last month</a>
 that the Kansas plant could produce batteries for other carmakers, too,
 and would include a research wing focused on improving battery 
technology.

Celia Llopis-Jepsen is a reporter for the Kansas News Service. You 
can follow her on Twitter @celia_LJ or email her at celia@kcur.org.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/8/1660142440560.png" alt="Plastics and other materials from shredded lithium-ion batteries lie in piles. Argonne National Lab is trying to solve the puzzle of how best to recycle electric vehicle batteries. Mark Lopez / Argonne National Laboratory" />
 <figcaption>Plastics and other materials from shredded lithium-ion batteries lie in piles. Argonne National Lab is trying to solve the puzzle of how best to recycle electric vehicle batteries. Mark Lopez / Argonne National Laboratory</figcaption>
 </figure>By CELIA LLOPIS-JEPSEN <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2022-08-10/kansas-has-taken-in-a-green-industry-with-its-own-pollution-problems">Kansas News Service</a>Panasonic’s decision to build a $4 billion factory for electric 
vehicle batteries in Johnson County could help an industry struggling to
 ramp up while reeling from an ailing supply chain.The plant also
 underscores how an industry marketed as green comes with its own 
tough-to-solve environmental problems — like how to build a more easily 
recycled battery with a lower pollution footprint.For now, 
salvaging the most valuable ingredients in electric batteries usually 
means shredding them and burning off certain ingredients or drenching 
them in acid.“Nobody has come up with a good design that would be
 easily recyclable,” said Linda Gaines, a chemical physicist and 
transportation system analyst at the Argonne National Laboratory.The
 fact that each manufacturer designs its batteries differently further 
complicates the chore of salvaging the remains of an old battery, she 
said.“If you can actually recover the materials without breaking 
them down that far,” Gaines said, “you get a more valuable product with 
less energy use and less environmental impacts along the way.”Argonne’s <a href="https://recellcenter.org/" target="_blank">ReCell Center</a> is among those looking for ways to achieve this.The
 urgency to find an efficient and environmentally sound solution will 
grow as electric vehicles gobble up a bigger share of the auto market 
and today’s fleet ages.“EV (electric vehicle) batteries haven’t 
been in service that long and they’re lasting quite well,” she said. “So
 there isn’t a huge waste stream yet.”The supply chainKnowing
 that scientists at institutions such as Argonne are racing to crack the
 riddle gives hope to Dorothy Barnett, executive director of the Climate
 + Energy Project based in Hutchinson, Kansas.The group wants 
Kansas to grow its economy through environmentally friendly jobs. Kansas
 is already one of the nation’s top five producers of <a href="https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/wind/where-wind-power-is-harnessed.php" target="_blank">wind power</a>. The Panasonic plant will propel the state into another section of the green economy.But even this industry will need to minimize its own environmental toll, Barnett said.“For environmentalists, that’s a dilemma,” she said. “For all of us, it’s a dilemma.”Much
 of the mining, smelting, manufacturing and battery recycling related to
 electric vehicles occurs far from Kansas, in other countries. These 
processes <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/02/climate/electric-vehicles-environment.html" target="_blank">use groundwater and produce pollution</a>.Increasingly, the U.S. may see more of the supply chain move closer to home.<a href="https://www.reuters.com/technology/panasonic-build-ev-battery-plant-tesla-kansas-nikkei-2022-07-13/" target="_blank">Reuters says</a> Panasonic intends to at least triple its global battery output this decade, mainly by ramping up facilities in North America.Lewis Fulton, an expert on energy policy at the University of California, Davis, sees a trend.The
 federal climate bill that passed the Senate on Sunday presses carmakers
 eager to qualify for tax credits to assemble cars in North America and 
to source or recycle certain components here.“We were already 
seeing more announced investments in the United States, both for vehicle
 production and for battery supply,” said Fulton, director of the 
university’s Sustainable Transportation Energy Pathways program. “We 
might just see that continuing to increase all the way up the supply 
chain.”Manufacturers seem convinced it’s worth the investment.“That’s
 all part of an expectation now on the part of the automobile industry 
that electric vehicles are here to stay,” Fulton said. “Their sales are 
growing rapidly. They’re booming right now in the second quarter of 
2022.”Even when fossil fuels are involved in electricity 
generation, electric vehicles generally produce fewer emissions than 
their gas-burning counterparts. And as renewable energy — like all those
 wind farms across Kansas — fuels more of our electricity, the 
advantages of switching from gasoline-powered to electric cars will only
 increase.Battery shortagesAfter months of speculation, news became official last month that Panasonic would build its plant in De Soto.Gov.
 Laura Kelly’s administration, with support from the Kansas Legislature,
 offered more than $800 million in incentives to the Japanese company. 
State leaders say the plant will bring thousands of jobs and $4 billion 
worth of investment.Panasonic hasn’t divulged specifics — 
such as how many batteries the factory will churn out per year. It will 
supply batteries to Tesla Inc.This spring, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/musk-says-teslas-new-car-factories-losing-billions-dollars-2022-06-22/" target="_blank">Tesla CEO Elon Musk said</a> battery shortages and other supply chain woes threw a wrench into his company’s operations, turning car factories into “gigantic money furnaces” burning through cash.Reuters <a href="https://www.reuters.com/technology/panasonic-build-ev-battery-plant-tesla-kansas-nikkei-2022-07-13/" target="_blank">reported last month</a>
 that the Kansas plant could produce batteries for other carmakers, too,
 and would include a research wing focused on improving battery 
technology.Celia Llopis-Jepsen is a reporter for the Kansas News Service. You 
can follow her on Twitter @celia_LJ or email her at celia@kcur.org.

Kansas takes in a green industry with its own pollution problems

PHOENIX (AP) — U.S. transportation officials announced $2.2 billion for local infrastructure projects on Thursday, paving the way for new bridges, roads, bike lanes, railways and ports in scores of communities across the country.

The competitive grants are more than double the amount awarded the previous year under the same program. The influx comes from a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-congress-infrastructure-bill-signing-b5b8cca843133de060778f049861b144">$1 trillion infrastructure law</a>&nbsp;backed by President Joe Biden, which provided an additional $7.5 billion over five years for the grants.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said the projects would help modernize America's transportation systems.

“This is a program that recognizes many of the most interesting and compelling ideas and designs and plans aren’t going to come from Washington, but more of the funding should,” Buttigieg said. “That’s what we’re delivering here.”

Buttigieg traveled to Arizona to highlight projects in Phoenix and Tucson, each of which are receiving the maximum $25 million. In Phoenix, the money will help build a new bike and pedestrian bridge over the Rio Salado, connecting the city's southern area with downtown.

In Tucson, the money will revamp a prominent street and replace a 1960s-era vehicle bridge that's in poor condition. It also will add a separate bicycle and pedestrian bridge as part of what Mayor Regina Romero called “a transformative investment in Tucson's infrastructure."

While the Tucson project will expand the number lanes for motorists, some projects elsewhere will reduce them. For example, a $17 million grant will help narrow a five-lane road to three lanes in the Chicago suburb of Munster, Indiana, in an effort to decrease traffic crashes. The money also will fund a 10-foot-wide multi-purpose path along the street and plant more than 250 trees.

For many road improvement grants, “we’re doing it in mind of also benefitting the bike and pedestrian side,” Buttigieg said.

Other&nbsp;<a href="https://www.transportation.gov/sites/dot.gov/files/2022-08/RAISE%202022%20Award%20Fact%20Sheets.pdf">newly announced projects</a>&nbsp;in the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity program also provide funding for bicycle and pedestrian paths.

Texas and Kansas are each receiving about $25 million for hiking and biking trails. Huntsville, Alabama, is getting $20 million to improve a pedestrian corridor linking downtown to isolated neighborhoods. Another $20 million is helping finance a new bike and pedestrian bridge over the Potomac River between Arlington, Virginia, and Washington, D.C.

Buttigieg said the U.S. Department of Transportation received about $13 billion in grant applications.

A total of 166 projects across the country are getting a slice of the $2.2 billion. The funding marks a significant increase from the $983 million distributed among 90 projects in 2021. The allotment is the largest dating to 2009 for a program that has undergone multiple name and emphasis changes during the presidential administrations of Barack Obama and Donald Trump.

Though still substantial, the funding doesn't have quite the buying power as anticipated when the infrastructure legislation passed Congress last year. That's because&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/inflation-us-infrastructure-projects-e89dcd5f3e623e532353f087265f9a63">inflation has driven up the cost of key transportation construction materials</a>, such as steel plates for bridges and asphalt for paving roads.

This year's projects range from a new seawall and port improvements in Sitka, Alaska, to the construction of a four-lane parkway in the Virgin Islands.

Among other projects, New Jersey is getting $20 million to elevate a roadway that serves as a main evacuation route for Atlantic City and its casino industry. In Louisiana, $20 million will go toward the design and construction of two train stations along a planned route between Baton Rouge and New Orleans. Whatcom County, Washington, will get $25 million to replace a 60-year-old ferry serving rural Lummi Island with an electric hybrid model.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/8/1660301423353.png" alt="Secretary Pete Buttigieg said the U.S. Department of Transportation received about $13 billion in grant applications.-photo courtesy city of Phoenix" />
 <figcaption>Secretary Pete Buttigieg said the U.S. Department of Transportation received about $13 billion in grant applications.-photo courtesy city of Phoenix</figcaption>
 </figure>PHOENIX (AP) — U.S. transportation officials announced $2.2 billion for local infrastructure projects on Thursday, paving the way for new bridges, roads, bike lanes, railways and ports in scores of communities across the country.The competitive grants are more than double the amount awarded the previous year under the same program. The influx comes from a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-congress-infrastructure-bill-signing-b5b8cca843133de060778f049861b144">$1 trillion infrastructure law</a>&nbsp;backed by President Joe Biden, which provided an additional $7.5 billion over five years for the grants.Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said the projects would help modernize America's transportation systems.“This is a program that recognizes many of the most interesting and compelling ideas and designs and plans aren’t going to come from Washington, but more of the funding should,” Buttigieg said. “That’s what we’re delivering here.”Buttigieg traveled to Arizona to highlight projects in Phoenix and Tucson, each of which are receiving the maximum $25 million. In Phoenix, the money will help build a new bike and pedestrian bridge over the Rio Salado, connecting the city's southern area with downtown.In Tucson, the money will revamp a prominent street and replace a 1960s-era vehicle bridge that's in poor condition. It also will add a separate bicycle and pedestrian bridge as part of what Mayor Regina Romero called “a transformative investment in Tucson's infrastructure."While the Tucson project will expand the number lanes for motorists, some projects elsewhere will reduce them. For example, a $17 million grant will help narrow a five-lane road to three lanes in the Chicago suburb of Munster, Indiana, in an effort to decrease traffic crashes. The money also will fund a 10-foot-wide multi-purpose path along the street and plant more than 250 trees.For many road improvement grants, “we’re doing it in mind of also benefitting the bike and pedestrian side,” Buttigieg said.Other&nbsp;<a href="https://www.transportation.gov/sites/dot.gov/files/2022-08/RAISE%202022%20Award%20Fact%20Sheets.pdf">newly announced projects</a>&nbsp;in the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity program also provide funding for bicycle and pedestrian paths.Texas and Kansas are each receiving about $25 million for hiking and biking trails. Huntsville, Alabama, is getting $20 million to improve a pedestrian corridor linking downtown to isolated neighborhoods. Another $20 million is helping finance a new bike and pedestrian bridge over the Potomac River between Arlington, Virginia, and Washington, D.C.Buttigieg said the U.S. Department of Transportation received about $13 billion in grant applications.A total of 166 projects across the country are getting a slice of the $2.2 billion. The funding marks a significant increase from the $983 million distributed among 90 projects in 2021. The allotment is the largest dating to 2009 for a program that has undergone multiple name and emphasis changes during the presidential administrations of Barack Obama and Donald Trump.Though still substantial, the funding doesn't have quite the buying power as anticipated when the infrastructure legislation passed Congress last year. That's because&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/inflation-us-infrastructure-projects-e89dcd5f3e623e532353f087265f9a63">inflation has driven up the cost of key transportation construction materials</a>, such as steel plates for bridges and asphalt for paving roads.This year's projects range from a new seawall and port improvements in Sitka, Alaska, to the construction of a four-lane parkway in the Virgin Islands.Among other projects, New Jersey is getting $20 million to elevate a roadway that serves as a main evacuation route for Atlantic City and its casino industry. In Louisiana, $20 million will go toward the design and construction of two train stations along a planned route between Baton Rouge and New Orleans. Whatcom County, Washington, will get $25 million to replace a 60-year-old ferry serving rural Lummi Island with an electric hybrid model.

Kansas receiving $25M from USDOT for hiking, biking trails 

By CRISTINA JANNEY Hays Post

The Hays school board voted 6-1 Friday morning to reverse its prohibition on Satanism in the schools' dress code.

The school board met in executive session for 45 minutes in consultation with its attorney and an attorney from the Kansas Association of School Boards.

About two dozen community members were present at the meeting, but there was no public comment session during the special meeting.

The revised policy unifies all the school dress code policies in the district to match board and KASB policy. It says ...

"Students must dress in a manner that is not obscene, offensive or substantially or materially disruptive to the learning environment. Apparel that is sexually suggestive or that promotes violence, illegal activities, drugs, alcohol or tobacco or that is determined to be gang related is prohibited."

Board member Tammy Wellbrock said the changes allows for consistency across the district. Board member Meagan Zampieri-Lillpopp said the consistency will help families.

The former policy in the elementary and middle school handbooks specially prohibited apparel that promoted satanism.&nbsp;<a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/e153a0fc-fe06-4de4-b5c7-d6f0d57fa59b">At the board's July meeting, a parent, who said she was a longtime member of the Satanic Temple, opposed the policy because she said it infringed on her children's expression of their religion.</a>

The handbooks were brought back to the board with the word satanism removed from the elementary and middle school handbooks. The high school handbook never specifically addressed satanism.

<a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/232ef2ef-ffa2-4666-9afa-3fe0993b01bb">The board Aug. 5 on a vote of 5-2 added a prohibition to satanic apparel to all of the schools' handbooks.</a>

The board's attorney at that Aug. 5 meeting told members they might be opening the district to a lawsuit based on that action.

The board Friday did not specifically address if the district had been threatened with a lawsuit. However, Hays Post received a copy of an open records request that had been submitted to the district on materials related to the satanism issue filed by Adam Steinbaugh, a First Amendment attorney.

Board member Curt Vajnar, who had initially made the motion on Aug. 5 to add the prohibition of satanic apparel to all school handbooks, referenced the threat of lawsuits prior to his vote to support the removal of the reference to satanism in the handbooks on Friday.

"I will vote yes for this," Vajnar said. "I don't like it. The liability of teachers and administrators does concern me. If we are going to lose millions of dollars in a lawsuit, and we have no way to win, we're caught."

Board Member Allen Park, who also&nbsp;initially voted for the prohibition of satanic apparel, also backpedaled Friday.

"I appreciate all the interests and concerns of our citizens," Park said. "I think we need to have that information. I think we can all agree there is a reason there is a separation of church and state in there, and this is what we have been practicing for almost a decade."

Board President Craig Pallister also reversed his stance on the issue.

"It has been hard on all the people who have been in this discussion," Pallister said, "because you have your heart. You have your head, and you have your position on the school board. I have had to really look at my heart, my head and my position on the school board and, as Curt said, the legal liability."

Pallister, who is a former district middle school principal, said the change will allow administrators to quell any disruption to the school day.

Board Ken Brooks was the lone board member who voted to oppose the removal of satanism as a prohibited part of the dress code.

By CRISTINA JANNEY Hays PostThe Hays school board voted 6-1 Friday morning to reverse its prohibition on Satanism in the schools' dress code.The school board met in executive session for 45 minutes in consultation with its attorney and an attorney from the Kansas Association of School Boards.About two dozen community members were present at the meeting, but there was no public comment session during the special meeting.The revised policy unifies all the school dress code policies in the district to match board and KASB policy. It says ..."Students must dress in a manner that is not obscene, offensive or substantially or materially disruptive to the learning environment. Apparel that is sexually suggestive or that promotes violence, illegal activities, drugs, alcohol or tobacco or that is determined to be gang related is prohibited."Board member Tammy Wellbrock said the changes allows for consistency across the district. Board member Meagan Zampieri-Lillpopp said the consistency will help families. The former policy in the elementary and middle school handbooks specially prohibited apparel that promoted satanism.&nbsp;<a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/e153a0fc-fe06-4de4-b5c7-d6f0d57fa59b">At the board's July meeting, a parent, who said she was a longtime member of the Satanic Temple, opposed the policy because she said it infringed on her children's expression of their religion.</a>The handbooks were brought back to the board with the word satanism removed from the elementary and middle school handbooks. The high school handbook never specifically addressed satanism.<a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/232ef2ef-ffa2-4666-9afa-3fe0993b01bb">The board Aug. 5 on a vote of 5-2 added a prohibition to satanic apparel to all of the schools' handbooks.</a>The board's attorney at that Aug. 5 meeting told members they might be opening the district to a lawsuit based on that action.The board Friday did not specifically address if the district had been threatened with a lawsuit. However, Hays Post received a copy of an open records request that had been submitted to the district on materials related to the satanism issue filed by Adam Steinbaugh, a First Amendment attorney.Board member Curt Vajnar, who had initially made the motion on Aug. 5 to add the prohibition of satanic apparel to all school handbooks, referenced the threat of lawsuits prior to his vote to support the removal of the reference to satanism in the handbooks on Friday."I will vote yes for this," Vajnar said. "I don't like it. The liability of teachers and administrators does concern me. If we are going to lose millions of dollars in a lawsuit, and we have no way to win, we're caught." Board Member Allen Park, who also&nbsp;initially voted for the prohibition of satanic apparel, also backpedaled Friday."I appreciate all the interests and concerns of our citizens," Park said. "I think we need to have that information. I think we can all agree there is a reason there is a separation of church and state in there, and this is what we have been practicing for almost a decade."Board President Craig Pallister also reversed his stance on the issue."It has been hard on all the people who have been in this discussion," Pallister said, "because you have your heart. You have your head, and you have your position on the school board. I have had to really look at my heart, my head and my position on the school board and, as Curt said, the legal liability."Pallister, who is a former district middle school principal, said the change will allow administrators to quell any disruption to the school day. Board Ken Brooks was the lone board member who voted to oppose the removal of satanism as a prohibited part of the dress code.

Hays school board reverses decision on satanism in dress code

SALINA —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a burglary at a Salina pizza restaurant and asking the public for help to find suspects.

On Thursday, police&nbsp;responded to report of a burglary at Little Caesars Pizza, 645 E. Crawford Street in Salina, according to a media release.

An employee arrived to open the business and discovered the front door was unlocked. The employee discovered unknown suspects entered the closed business overnight and gained access to the safe. Cash and the store’s surveillance system were stolen.

If you have any information concerning this incident or identification of the individuals involved, call Crimestoppers at 825-TIPS. You can also make an online tip at: <a href="https://www.p3tips.com/tipform.aspx?ID=950#">https://www.p3tips.com/tipform.aspx?ID=950#</a>. You may receive a cash reward of up to $1,000. Tipsters may also contact the Salina Police Department at (785) 826-7210, or Det. Jones, case 2022-23195.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/8/1660306193735.jpeg" alt="Little Caesars in Salina-&nbsp;Photo Crimestoppers" />
 <figcaption>Little Caesars in Salina-&nbsp;Photo Crimestoppers</figcaption>
 </figure>SALINA —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a burglary at a Salina pizza restaurant and asking the public for help to find suspects.On Thursday, police&nbsp;responded to report of a burglary at Little Caesars Pizza, 645 E. Crawford Street in Salina, according to a media release.An employee arrived to open the business and discovered the front door was unlocked. The employee discovered unknown suspects entered the closed business overnight and gained access to the safe. Cash and the store’s surveillance system were stolen.If you have any information concerning this incident or identification of the individuals involved, call Crimestoppers at 825-TIPS. You can also make an online tip at: <a href="https://www.p3tips.com/tipform.aspx?ID=950#">https://www.p3tips.com/tipform.aspx?ID=950#</a>. You may receive a cash reward of up to $1,000. Tipsters may also contact the Salina Police Department at (785) 826-7210, or Det. Jones, case 2022-23195.

Police: Cash, security system taken from Salina restaurant

By SHERMAN SMITH <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2022/08/12/kansas-foster-care-provider-suing-former-leaders-for-alleged-financial-misconduct/">Kansas Reflector</a>

TOPEKA — The former CEO, chief 
counsel and IT director for Saint Francis Ministries used their 
positions to enrich themselves and their friends as the charity neared 
financial insolvency, according to allegations made in state and federal
 lawsuits.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/8/1660312960289.png" alt="The Salina-based Saint Francis Ministries, which provides foster care services, sued its former leadership in January for alleged legal malpractice and breach of fiduciary duties. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption>The Salina-based Saint Francis Ministries, which provides foster care services, sued its former leadership in January for alleged legal malpractice and breach of fiduciary duties. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure>By SHERMAN SMITH <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2022/08/12/kansas-foster-care-provider-suing-former-leaders-for-alleged-financial-misconduct/">Kansas Reflector</a>TOPEKA — The former CEO, chief 
counsel and IT director for Saint Francis Ministries used their 
positions to enrich themselves and their friends as the charity neared 
financial insolvency, according to allegations made in state and federal
 lawsuits.The Salina-based foster care provider in court documents accused the 
trinity of overbilling for IT and legal services and misusing company 
funds to support a lavish lifestyle. <a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2022/08/11/fbi-seizing-bank-deposits-in-alleged-10-million-fraud-of-kansas-foster-care-provider-saint-francis-ministries/">Federal authorities identified $10.73 million in fraudulent billing</a> for IT services and moved to seize bank accounts.Meanwhile, the former CEO filed a counterclaim against Saint Francis 
officials for alleged defamation based on quotes and documented evidence
 reported by Kansas Reflector.The legal fallout raises questions about the level of care the 
organization provides to foster children, as well as renewed interest in
 examining whether taxpayer funds should be repaid to state agencies in 
Kansas and Nebraska.Teresa Woody, litigation director for Kansas Appleseed, said it was 
appalling that millions of dollars meant to provide foster care went out
 the door and were not accounted for. Kansas Appleseed <a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2021/08/20/judge-orders-kansas-to-pay-nearly-2-3-million-in-legal-fees-and-expenses-in-child-welfare-lawsuit/">settled a lawsuit last year</a> to require improvements in the foster care system, which is administered by the Kansas Department for Children and Families.“I think DCF should look at all this and take a very hard look at 
whether they’re an appropriate entity to be trying to help foster 
children in Kansas,” Woody said.Saint Francis Ministries quietly filed a civil lawsuit in January in 
Saline County District Court against its former CEO, Robert “Father 
Bobby” Smith, IT director William Whymark, chief counsel David Schaffer,
 and the law firm where Schaffer worked in Chicago. The lawsuit 
identifies Schaffer as Smith’s friend and Whymark’s brother. Saint 
Francis is seeking repayment for legal malpractice and breach of 
fiduciary duties.<h2>The accusations</h2>The former Saint Francis leadership resigned in November 2020 after a
 newly hired financial officer alerted the board to alleged financial 
misconduct.They worked together to place their own financial interests above the
 nonprofit, failed to disclose conflicts of interest, misappropriated 
resources, overbilled for services, and concealed material facts, Saint 
Francis claimed in an amended complaint filed Aug. 5.Accusations made in state and federal court documents are consistent with an internal investigation, <a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2020/12/20/kansas-foster-care-leader-charged-469k-to-credit-cards-hid-financial-losses/">first reported by Kansas Reflector in December 2020</a>, and <a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2021/12/23/audit-of-kansas-foster-care-provider-scrutinizes-financial-controls-it-costs-ceo-travel-ppp-loan/">an audit released by DCF</a> in December 2021.Smith, an Episcopal priest, began working as CEO for Saint Francis in
 July 2014. Smith hired Schaffer as chief counsel in October 2014. 
Schaffer, according to the lawsuit filed in Saline County, urged Saint 
Francis to hire his brother to provide IT services, even though Schaffer
 knew Whymark wasn’t qualified for the job.Smith charged $442,276.17 to Saint Francis credit cards between 2017 
and 2020, mostly funding “lavish meals, entertainment, travel and gifts 
for him and his family,” the lawsuit said. He also spent $57,125.42 in 
Saint Francis funds to pay for travel, “the majority of which had no 
legitimate business purpose or was grossly excessive.”The lawsuit reveals previously undisclosed allegations against Schaffer.The attorney billed Saint Francis for more than $1 million in legal 
fees between June 2015 and June 2019 through his law firm. He billed 
Saint Francis for an additional $500,000 between February 2018 and 
October 2020 that was paid to him personally. There were at least eight 
months in which Schaffer billed Saint Francis both through his law firm 
and as an individual.According to the lawsuit, the legal fees were “grossly excessive for 
the services they allegedly performed, but Schaffer knew the invoices 
would be approved and paid by his friend.” The state audit last year 
said Smith approved expenses within minutes of receiving them.Schaffer allegedly outsourced hundreds of thousands of dollars in 
legal work to friends and lawyers at other firms that should have been 
performed by him.Schaffer allegedly billed Saint Francis for legal fees on matters 
unrelated to his job as general counsel. When Schaffer gave a deposition
 in May 2019 in a case brought against his former law firm by its former
 landlord, he directed his attorneys to bill Saint Francis for $6,000. 
Schaffer then approved the payment in his capacity as general counsel 
for Saint Francis.Schaffer allegedly billed Saint Francis nearly $4,000 for moving and 
storage expenses for office furniture in his Chicago law practice.Between June 2019 and October 2020, Schaffer allegedly charged about 
$60,000 on a Saint Francis company credit card. Many of the charges, 
Saint Francis said in its lawsuit, served no legitimate business 
purpose.<h2>IT problems</h2>Saint Francis employed Schaffer’s brother, Whymark, as its chief 
information officer and paid Whymark’s company, WMK Research, more than 
$11 million between January 2018 and February 2021.“WMK’s services were grossly deficient and overpriced,” Saint Francis said in its lawsuit.Saint Francis paid WMK more than $6 million to build a software 
system that failed to function. Whymark outsourced most of the work 
without telling Saint Francis, according to federal and state court 
documents, while inflating the cost of actual services. When the IT 
system crashed in the fall of 2019, Whymark wiped the hard drives on the
 crashed server, claiming it was necessary to reuse the server. At the 
time, Saint Francis was in the middle of a financial audit.“The crash halted the audit for months and delayed the discovery of 
defendants’ self-dealing,” Saint Francis said in its lawsuit.Saint Francis estimated it overpaid in excess of $7 million to WMK, 
and the cost to repair WMK’s work was estimated at $3.2 million.Federal authorities, in a court filing Aug. 1, moved to seize more 
than $700,000 in cash held in three bank accounts controlled by Whymark.
 The action was based on an FBI investigation that found probable cause 
to believe Whymark, of Mount Kisco, New York, ripped off Saint Francis 
for $10.73 million.<h2>Financial ruin</h2>An interim financial officer warned Smith and Schaffer in January 
2020 that Saint Francis was in dire financial condition and could be 
completely out of cash by March 2020.The Saint Francis lawsuit said Smith and Schaffer never disclosed the financial condition to their board of directors.The organization avoided financial collapse because it received the 
maximum $10 million loan through the federal Paycheck Protection 
Program. A state auditor later discovered the organization wasn’t 
eligible for the loan, although it was forgiven anyway by the Small 
Business Administration.The lawsuit said Smith and Schaffer were advised to reserve funds 
from the PPP loan to gain liquidity. Instead, Schaffer allegedly said 
the obligations to his brother’s company would be taken care of first.The organization’s financial hardships were complicated by winning <a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2021/01/25/kansas-foster-care-provider-asks-nebraska-for-immediate-funding-boost-to-maintain-services/">a severely underbid contract</a> in 2019 to provide foster care services in the Omaha, Nebraska, area. The state of Nebraska <a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2021/12/14/kansas-foster-care-provider-agrees-to-leave-nebraska-after-months-of-scrutiny/">severed ties with Saint Francis</a> earlier this year because of extensive performance problems.<h2>Nebraska impact</h2>Nebraska Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh, who <a target="_blank" href="https://www.noiseomaha.com/news-now/2021/3/24/investigative-committee-approved-to-review-foster-care-management-group-and-involved-nebraska-state-government-departmentsnbspnbspnbsp?rq=cavanaugh">spearheaded an investigation</a> into her state’s dealings with Saint Francis, said the revelations in court filings were upsetting.“I think you can draw a correlation between defrauding the 
organization and the outcomes that are coming out,” Cavanaugh said. “I 
mean, any organization is only as good as its weakest link, as people 
say, and if you have this toxic, corrupt mentality at the very top of 
the organization, then you’re not going to be a high-performing, 
high-quality organization. It doesn’t matter how many wonderful people 
you hire underneath that person. That’s where you’re starting from. 
That’s the cornerstone of the organization, and that toxicity and that 
lack of integrity in the work that you’re doing will trickle down.”Cavanaugh said Saint Francis was short staffed in Nebraska and had a 
high turnover rate. Employees didn’t receive adequate training. As a 
result, children ended up in the system longer than they should have, 
and there were concerns about the accuracy of caseworker reports.Cavanaugh also said it was time to “revisit the conversation” about 
whether Nebraska should recoup money the state invested in Saint 
Francis.“We clearly were defrauded, and I think the children of Nebraska 
deserve us to advocate on their behalf,” Cavanaugh said. “By not going 
after the money, not going after the people that ultimately hurt these 
children, I think it’s us just continuing to fail these children.”<h2>Counterclaim</h2>In March of this year, Smith filed a counterclaim for defamation by 
current Saint Francis leadership for “numerous false and defamatory 
statements” made about Smith and his wife in reports published by Kansas
 Reflector.Smith said his former employer “knowingly and/or recklessly provided”
 an internal investigation report to Kansas Reflector, which published 
articles based on “unsubstantiated, false and defamatory statements” 
made within the investigation report.“Smith has been suffered economic, reputational damages, personal 
humiliation, mental anguish, and loss of consortium damages,” the 
counterclaim said.