By JOHN HANNA and MARGARET STAFFORD&nbsp;

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas on Tuesday will hold the nation's first test of voter feelings about the recent Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade, with people throughout the state deciding whether to allow their conservative Legislature to further restrict or ban abortion.

The referendum on&nbsp;<a href="http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2021_22/measures/documents/hcr5003_00_0000.pdf">the proposed anti-abortion amendment</a>&nbsp;to the Kansas Constitution is being closely watched as a barometer of liberal and moderate voters' anger over the June ruling overturning the nationwide right to abortion. But the outcome might not reflect broader sentiments about the issue in the country as a whole, given how conservative Kansas is and how twice as many Republicans as Democrats have voted in its August primaries over the past decade.

Supporters of the measure&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-2022-midterm-elections-us-supreme-court-health-government-and-politics-ee885ee70503518fa02f982a7ffff464">wouldn't say before the vote</a>&nbsp;whether they intend to pursue a ban if it passes, but they've spent decades pushing for new restrictions on a nearly annual basis and many other states in the Midwest and South have banned abortion in recent weeks. By not stating their position, they were seeking to win over voters who favored some restrictions but not an outright ban.

Abortion rights advocates expect the Legislature to ban abortion if the ballot measure passes, and the state saw a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-2022-midterm-elections-health-legislature-constitutions-d392517230052d220daed9e2eb2a2734">surge in early voting</a>&nbsp;with an electorate more Democratic than usual.

“At what level does the insanity stop?” said Eric Sheffler, a 60-year-old retired Army officer and Democrat who cast a “no” vote early in the Kansas City suburbs. "What will they try to control next?”

The Kansas measure would add language to the state constitution saying that it doesn't grant a right to abortion, which would allow lawmakers to regulate it as they see fit. Kentucky will vote in November on adding similar language to its constitution.

Meanwhile, Vermont will decide in November whether to add an abortion rights provision to its constitution. A similar question is likely headed to the November ballot in Michigan.

The Kansas measure is a response to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/3f479b218a6140719e1694fcfcdb8036">a state Supreme Court decision in 2019</a>&nbsp;declaring that access to abortion is a matter of bodily autonomy and a “fundamental” right under the state's Bill of Rights.

Both sides together have spent more than $14 million on their campaigns. Abortion providers and abortion rights groups were key donors for the “no” side, while Catholic dioceses heavily funded the “yes” campaign.

“I just feel like people have become so nonchalant about abortion, like it’s just another method of birth control,” said Michelle Mulford, a 50-year-old Kansas City-area teacher and Republican who voted early for the proposed amendment, adding that she supports exceptions to an abortion ban for cases of rape, incest or life-threatening pregnancies.

Even though some early voters favor banning nearly all abortions, the vote yes campaign pitched its measure as a way to restore lawmakers' power to set “reasonable” abortion limits and preserve existing restrictions.

Kansas doesn't ban most abortions until the 22nd week of pregnancy. But a law that would prohibit the most common second-trimester procedure and another that would set special health regulations for abortion providers remain on hold because of legal challenges.

Stan Ellsworth, a 69-year-old Republican retiree in the Kansas City area, said the argument that voting yes means an abortion ban is “crap.”

“I haven’t talked to a single person who wants that,” he said after voting yes early in the Kansas City suburbs. "Most will accept reasonable exceptions and I think the other side knows that’s true.”

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre weighed in on the Kansas vote Monday, saying: “If it passes, tomorrow’s vote in Kansas could lead to another state eliminating the right to choose and eviscerating access to health care."

The Republican-controlled Legislature has had anti-abortion majorities since the early 1990s. Kansas hasn't gone further in restricting abortion because abortion opponents have felt constrained either by past federal court decisions or because the governor was a Democrat, like Gov. Laura Kelly, who was elected in 2018.

Kelli Kolich, a 35-year-old Kansas City-area pizza restaurant operator and unaffiliated voter, said she voted no because she believes people have a fundamental right to make their own health care choices and expects a yes vote to “eliminate that right.”

“Women would not have the ability to determine the best choices for themselves,” she said after voting early, as she played with her 18-month-old son.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/6/1656082532826.png" alt="Photo Dylan Lysen / Kansas News Service" />
 <figcaption>Photo Dylan Lysen / Kansas News Service</figcaption>
 </figure>By JOHN HANNA and MARGARET STAFFORD&nbsp;TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas on Tuesday will hold the nation's first test of voter feelings about the recent Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade, with people throughout the state deciding whether to allow their conservative Legislature to further restrict or ban abortion.The referendum on&nbsp;<a href="http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2021_22/measures/documents/hcr5003_00_0000.pdf">the proposed anti-abortion amendment</a>&nbsp;to the Kansas Constitution is being closely watched as a barometer of liberal and moderate voters' anger over the June ruling overturning the nationwide right to abortion. But the outcome might not reflect broader sentiments about the issue in the country as a whole, given how conservative Kansas is and how twice as many Republicans as Democrats have voted in its August primaries over the past decade.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/6/1656082391177.png" alt="Photo by Dylan Lysen / Kansas News Service" />
 <figcaption>Photo by Dylan Lysen / Kansas News Service</figcaption>
 </figure>Supporters of the measure&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-2022-midterm-elections-us-supreme-court-health-government-and-politics-ee885ee70503518fa02f982a7ffff464">wouldn't say before the vote</a>&nbsp;whether they intend to pursue a ban if it passes, but they've spent decades pushing for new restrictions on a nearly annual basis and many other states in the Midwest and South have banned abortion in recent weeks. By not stating their position, they were seeking to win over voters who favored some restrictions but not an outright ban.Abortion rights advocates expect the Legislature to ban abortion if the ballot measure passes, and the state saw a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-2022-midterm-elections-health-legislature-constitutions-d392517230052d220daed9e2eb2a2734">surge in early voting</a>&nbsp;with an electorate more Democratic than usual.“At what level does the insanity stop?” said Eric Sheffler, a 60-year-old retired Army officer and Democrat who cast a “no” vote early in the Kansas City suburbs. "What will they try to control next?”The Kansas measure would add language to the state constitution saying that it doesn't grant a right to abortion, which would allow lawmakers to regulate it as they see fit. Kentucky will vote in November on adding similar language to its constitution.Meanwhile, Vermont will decide in November whether to add an abortion rights provision to its constitution. A similar question is likely headed to the November ballot in Michigan.The Kansas measure is a response to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/3f479b218a6140719e1694fcfcdb8036">a state Supreme Court decision in 2019</a>&nbsp;declaring that access to abortion is a matter of bodily autonomy and a “fundamental” right under the state's Bill of Rights.Both sides together have spent more than $14 million on their campaigns. Abortion providers and abortion rights groups were key donors for the “no” side, while Catholic dioceses heavily funded the “yes” campaign.“I just feel like people have become so nonchalant about abortion, like it’s just another method of birth control,” said Michelle Mulford, a 50-year-old Kansas City-area teacher and Republican who voted early for the proposed amendment, adding that she supports exceptions to an abortion ban for cases of rape, incest or life-threatening pregnancies.Even though some early voters favor banning nearly all abortions, the vote yes campaign pitched its measure as a way to restore lawmakers' power to set “reasonable” abortion limits and preserve existing restrictions.Kansas doesn't ban most abortions until the 22nd week of pregnancy. But a law that would prohibit the most common second-trimester procedure and another that would set special health regulations for abortion providers remain on hold because of legal challenges.Stan Ellsworth, a 69-year-old Republican retiree in the Kansas City area, said the argument that voting yes means an abortion ban is “crap.”“I haven’t talked to a single person who wants that,” he said after voting yes early in the Kansas City suburbs. "Most will accept reasonable exceptions and I think the other side knows that’s true.”White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre weighed in on the Kansas vote Monday, saying: “If it passes, tomorrow’s vote in Kansas could lead to another state eliminating the right to choose and eviscerating access to health care."The Republican-controlled Legislature has had anti-abortion majorities since the early 1990s. Kansas hasn't gone further in restricting abortion because abortion opponents have felt constrained either by past federal court decisions or because the governor was a Democrat, like Gov. Laura Kelly, who was elected in 2018.Kelli Kolich, a 35-year-old Kansas City-area pizza restaurant operator and unaffiliated voter, said she voted no because she believes people have a fundamental right to make their own health care choices and expects a yes vote to “eliminate that right.”“Women would not have the ability to determine the best choices for themselves,” she said after voting early, as she played with her 18-month-old son.

Kansas first state to vote on abortion since Roe’s demise

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A hard-right Kansas lawmaker who has clashed with Republican leaders was poised Monday to win a spot on the November ballot as an independent candidate for governor, helped by allies of Democratic incumbent Laura Kelly.

State Sen. Dennis Pyle, of Hiawatha, a Republican until June, submitted petitions with nearly 8,900 signatures to the Kansas secretary of state's office for verification that the signers are registered voters, as required. State law requires 5,000 valid signatures, and typically exceeding that number by several thousand gets someone on the ballot.

Pyle’s bid would complicate presumed GOP nominee and state Attorney General Derek Schmidt's efforts to unseat Kelly. Some Democrats hope Pyle and Schmidt would split conservative Republican votes just enough for Kelly to win a second four-year term.

Pyle said he went door-to-door to gather signatures, but Kelly allies played an important role in the signature-gathering as well. Democratic state Rep. Vic Miller, of Topeka, confirmed last month that he was circulating petitions, and so did a union that endorsed Kelly in 2018 and this year.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cjonline.com/story/news/politics/elections/2022/07/30/kansas-abortion-rights-activists-hold-rally-outside-statehouse-amendment-voting-2022/10184329002/">The Topeka Capital-Journal reported</a>&nbsp;that organizers of an abortion rights rally Saturday also circulated petitions for Pyle.

“Politics make strange bedfellows, and so you’re seeing that here," Pyle told reporters after turning in his petitions. “There were people at the door that told me that they wanted to sign my petition because they thought we would split the vote.”

Both Pyle and Schmidt describe themselves as conservatives, and both support&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-2022-midterm-elections-us-supreme-court-health-government-and-politics-ee885ee70503518fa02f982a7ffff464">a proposed amendment to the Kansas Constitution</a>&nbsp;on the ballot Tuesday that would allow the GOP-controlled Legislature to further restrict or ban abortion. Pyle has raised the integrity of the 2020 election as an issue, opposing ballot drop boxes. Schmidt brought Kansas into a lawsuit with Texas meant to overturn election results in battleground states lost by former President Donald Trump.

But Pyle opposed plans from the state Senate's top Republicans for redrawing congressional and legislative boundaries — and was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-health-congress-kansas-topeka-eaaad4bdc84fa35fe39749aa3f5b9017">stripped of most of his committee assignments</a>&nbsp;as a result. He once brought a container of fishing&nbsp;<a href="https://goneoutdoors.com/163814-what-is-stink-bait.html">stink bait</a>&nbsp;to a debate, using it as a prop in protesting a tax bill.

He sought Monday to tap into some far-right Republicans' doubts about whether Schmidt is a committed conservative, partly because Schmidt worked for GOP moderates before first running for elected office. Pyle called Schmidt a liberal.

Schmidt's campaign manager and spokesman silently watched as Pyle delivered his petitions, but they didn't comment immediately afterward. Schmidt's campaign previously called Pyle a “fake conservative.”

The International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Union gathered signatures for Pyle, Kansas Chair Ty Dragoo said Monday. The union backed Kelly in 2018 and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.laurakellyforkansas.com/2022/06/international-association-of-sheet-metal-air-rail-and-transportation-union-of-kansas-endorses-governor-laura-kelly-for-re-election/">endorsed her reelection</a>&nbsp;in June — with Dragoo saying she “always made sure we had a seat at the table.”

But Dragoo said Pyle also has been “labor friendly,” siding with the union on issues dealing with automated vehicles and railroad safety.

“We support candidates that support us, so we’re never going to tell a candidate, 'Hey, because it may hurt or help another candidate, we’re not going to support you,” Dragoo said.

Miller served two years in the Senate, appointed to the seat Kelly once held, before returning to his old House seat in 2021. Asked two weeks ago about his efforts to help Pyle, Miller called Pyle a friend and “a man of principle."

“You know, I don’t know why you can’t help a friend regardless of what party they are, or if they are of no party at all,” Miller said.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/6/1654614859108.png" alt="Sen. Dennis Pyle, R-Hiawatha- Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector" />
 <figcaption>Sen. Dennis Pyle, R-Hiawatha- Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector</figcaption>
 </figure>TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A hard-right Kansas lawmaker who has clashed with Republican leaders was poised Monday to win a spot on the November ballot as an independent candidate for governor, helped by allies of Democratic incumbent Laura Kelly.State Sen. Dennis Pyle, of Hiawatha, a Republican until June, submitted petitions with nearly 8,900 signatures to the Kansas secretary of state's office for verification that the signers are registered voters, as required. State law requires 5,000 valid signatures, and typically exceeding that number by several thousand gets someone on the ballot.Pyle’s bid would complicate presumed GOP nominee and state Attorney General Derek Schmidt's efforts to unseat Kelly. Some Democrats hope Pyle and Schmidt would split conservative Republican votes just enough for Kelly to win a second four-year term.Pyle said he went door-to-door to gather signatures, but Kelly allies played an important role in the signature-gathering as well. Democratic state Rep. Vic Miller, of Topeka, confirmed last month that he was circulating petitions, and so did a union that endorsed Kelly in 2018 and this year.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cjonline.com/story/news/politics/elections/2022/07/30/kansas-abortion-rights-activists-hold-rally-outside-statehouse-amendment-voting-2022/10184329002/">The Topeka Capital-Journal reported</a>&nbsp;that organizers of an abortion rights rally Saturday also circulated petitions for Pyle.“Politics make strange bedfellows, and so you’re seeing that here," Pyle told reporters after turning in his petitions. “There were people at the door that told me that they wanted to sign my petition because they thought we would split the vote.”Both Pyle and Schmidt describe themselves as conservatives, and both support&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-2022-midterm-elections-us-supreme-court-health-government-and-politics-ee885ee70503518fa02f982a7ffff464">a proposed amendment to the Kansas Constitution</a>&nbsp;on the ballot Tuesday that would allow the GOP-controlled Legislature to further restrict or ban abortion. Pyle has raised the integrity of the 2020 election as an issue, opposing ballot drop boxes. Schmidt brought Kansas into a lawsuit with Texas meant to overturn election results in battleground states lost by former President Donald Trump.But Pyle opposed plans from the state Senate's top Republicans for redrawing congressional and legislative boundaries — and was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-health-congress-kansas-topeka-eaaad4bdc84fa35fe39749aa3f5b9017">stripped of most of his committee assignments</a>&nbsp;as a result. He once brought a container of fishing&nbsp;<a href="https://goneoutdoors.com/163814-what-is-stink-bait.html">stink bait</a>&nbsp;to a debate, using it as a prop in protesting a tax bill.He sought Monday to tap into some far-right Republicans' doubts about whether Schmidt is a committed conservative, partly because Schmidt worked for GOP moderates before first running for elected office. Pyle called Schmidt a liberal.Schmidt's campaign manager and spokesman silently watched as Pyle delivered his petitions, but they didn't comment immediately afterward. Schmidt's campaign previously called Pyle a “fake conservative.”The International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Union gathered signatures for Pyle, Kansas Chair Ty Dragoo said Monday. The union backed Kelly in 2018 and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.laurakellyforkansas.com/2022/06/international-association-of-sheet-metal-air-rail-and-transportation-union-of-kansas-endorses-governor-laura-kelly-for-re-election/">endorsed her reelection</a>&nbsp;in June — with Dragoo saying she “always made sure we had a seat at the table.”But Dragoo said Pyle also has been “labor friendly,” siding with the union on issues dealing with automated vehicles and railroad safety.“We support candidates that support us, so we’re never going to tell a candidate, 'Hey, because it may hurt or help another candidate, we’re not going to support you,” Dragoo said.Miller served two years in the Senate, appointed to the seat Kelly once held, before returning to his old House seat in 2021. Asked two weeks ago about his efforts to help Pyle, Miller called Pyle a friend and “a man of principle."“You know, I don’t know why you can’t help a friend regardless of what party they are, or if they are of no party at all,” Miller said.

GOP headache: Kansas poised for independent bid for governor

TOPEKA&nbsp;– Governor Laura Kelly announced on Monday the Kansas July tax receipts. In total, Kansas saw its total tax receipts for July exceed the estimate by $127.6 million with $586.2 million collected, according to a statement from her office.

<a href="https://lnks.gd/l/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJidWxsZXRpbl9saW5rX2lkIjoxMDEsInVyaSI6ImJwMjpjbGljayIsImJ1bGxldGluX2lkIjoiMjAyMjA4MDEuNjE2MjE0MjEiLCJ1cmwiOiJodHRwczovL2NvbnRlbnQuZ292ZGVsaXZlcnkuY29tL2F0dGFjaG1lbnRzL0tTT0cvMjAyMi8wOC8wMS9maWxlX2F0dGFjaG1lbnRzLzIyMzM2MTEvMDFfSnVseV9SZXZlbnVlX0ZZMjAyM18wOC0wMS0yMDIyX0ZpbmFsLnhsc3gifQ.FKaiqoYzaX42QoRtFwhmM0UKyu1gg-Be4MG_DtbVVcQ/s/1303160919/br/141904472742-l" target="_blank">Click here</a>&nbsp;to see the complete July 2022 Revenue Report.

“Due to my administration’s record-setting economic development successes over the last three and a half years, July marks the 24th&nbsp;month in a row that Kansas tax receipts have surpassed expectations,”&nbsp;said Governor Kelly. “That represents more money our state can use to continue fully funding our schools, improving our roads, investing in law enforcement, and expanding health care.”

Individual income tax receipts were $300.5 million, or 15.6%, over the $260.0 million estimate. Corporate income tax collections were $36.6 million, or 66.4%, over the estimate. Higher-than-expected corporate tax receipts reflect continued optimism that corporate profits will remain stable in the new fiscal year.

A comparison of July’s receipts to those of July of 2021 is not meaningful because a statutory change during the 2022 Legislative Session had the effect of deferring the collection of certain sales and use tax receipts from July to August beginning this fiscal year.

Retail sales tax collections were $174.2 million, or 39.4%, over the estimate.&nbsp; Compensating use tax collections were $21.0 million, or 65.7%, over the estimate with $53.0 million collected.&nbsp; Actual receipts for the two tax types were less than July 2021 due to a change in the timing for remittances by large retailers resulting from the enactment of 2022 H.B. 2136.

TOPEKA&nbsp;– Governor Laura Kelly announced on Monday the Kansas July tax receipts. In total, Kansas saw its total tax receipts for July exceed the estimate by $127.6 million with $586.2 million collected, according to a statement from her office.<a href="https://lnks.gd/l/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJidWxsZXRpbl9saW5rX2lkIjoxMDEsInVyaSI6ImJwMjpjbGljayIsImJ1bGxldGluX2lkIjoiMjAyMjA4MDEuNjE2MjE0MjEiLCJ1cmwiOiJodHRwczovL2NvbnRlbnQuZ292ZGVsaXZlcnkuY29tL2F0dGFjaG1lbnRzL0tTT0cvMjAyMi8wOC8wMS9maWxlX2F0dGFjaG1lbnRzLzIyMzM2MTEvMDFfSnVseV9SZXZlbnVlX0ZZMjAyM18wOC0wMS0yMDIyX0ZpbmFsLnhsc3gifQ.FKaiqoYzaX42QoRtFwhmM0UKyu1gg-Be4MG_DtbVVcQ/s/1303160919/br/141904472742-l" target="_blank">Click here</a>&nbsp;to see the complete July 2022 Revenue Report.“Due to my administration’s record-setting economic development successes over the last three and a half years, July marks the 24th&nbsp;month in a row that Kansas tax receipts have surpassed expectations,”&nbsp;said Governor Kelly. “That represents more money our state can use to continue fully funding our schools, improving our roads, investing in law enforcement, and expanding health care.”Individual income tax receipts were $300.5 million, or 15.6%, over the $260.0 million estimate. Corporate income tax collections were $36.6 million, or 66.4%, over the estimate. Higher-than-expected corporate tax receipts reflect continued optimism that corporate profits will remain stable in the new fiscal year.A comparison of July’s receipts to those of July of 2021 is not meaningful because a statutory change during the 2022 Legislative Session had the effect of deferring the collection of certain sales and use tax receipts from July to August beginning this fiscal year.Retail sales tax collections were $174.2 million, or 39.4%, over the estimate.&nbsp; Compensating use tax collections were $21.0 million, or 65.7%, over the estimate with $53.0 million collected.&nbsp; Actual receipts for the two tax types were less than July 2021 due to a change in the timing for remittances by large retailers resulting from the enactment of 2022 H.B. 2136.

Kan. begins fiscal year 2023 with tax receipts ahead of estimates

KANSAS CITY—Former President Donald Trump finally endorsed a candidate in the tight U.S. Senate Race in Missouri.

A statement from Trump late Monday afternoon said he endorsed “ERIC” without saying whether it was Attorney General Eric Schmitt or former Missouri Governor Eric Greitens.&nbsp;

Greitens later wrote on his social media page that Trump endorsed him.

In June Facebook removed a campaign video by the Republican Missouri U.S. Senate candidate&nbsp; Greitens that showed him brandishing a shotgun and declaring that he’s hunting RINOs, or Republicans In Name Only.

KANSAS CITY—Former President Donald Trump finally endorsed a candidate in the tight U.S. Senate Race in Missouri.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/8/1659392719738.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>A statement from Trump late Monday afternoon said he endorsed “ERIC” without saying whether it was Attorney General Eric Schmitt or former Missouri Governor Eric Greitens.&nbsp;<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Honored to have the support of President Trump! We will MAGA! 🇺🇸 <a href="https://t.co/NljSJqEQG5">pic.twitter.com/NljSJqEQG5</a>&mdash; Eric Greitens (@EricGreitens) <a href="https://twitter.com/EricGreitens/status/1554229225862864899?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 1, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Greitens later wrote on his social media page that Trump endorsed him.A short time later Schmitt did the same.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Let’s go!🇺🇸 <a href="https://t.co/CtgXuAWYlj">https://t.co/CtgXuAWYlj</a>&mdash; Eric Schmitt (@Eric_Schmitt) <a href="https://twitter.com/Eric_Schmitt/status/1554245233541529603?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 1, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>In June Facebook removed a campaign video by the Republican Missouri U.S. Senate candidate&nbsp; Greitens that showed him brandishing a shotgun and declaring that he’s hunting RINOs, or Republicans In Name Only.

Trump endorsed 'Eric' in race for U.S. Senate in Missouri

SEDGWICK COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities arrested a Kansas woman whose dog attacked a Wichita Police officer.

Shortly after 12:30 a.m. Sunday, police responded to a disturbance in the 800 block of S. Terrace in Wichita, according to Officer Trevor Macey. 

Officers contacted individuals who reported that their female neighbor had damaged their property during an altercation. As officers went to contact the suspect, identified as&nbsp;29-year-old Hailee Lefler of Wichita, she opened her front door, and a large dog ran out and began attacking one of the responding officers.

The officer fell to the ground and attempted to stop the dog from attacking him, but the dog continued biting. The officer fired three rounds from his department-issued handgun, striking the dog and causing it to retreat into the home. 

After the shots were fired, Lefler moved toward the officers threateningly but retreated toward the house.

The officer was transported to an area hospital for treatment of multiple bite wounds to both legs. He was treated at the hospital and later released. The dog was still alive and taken by Animal Control.

Additional officers arrived and arrested Lefler, who was booked into the Sedgwick County Jail on requested charges of Assault of a Law Enforcement Officer, one count of criminal threat, one count of criminal damage to property, one count of interference with a law enforcement officer and an outstanding federal warrant.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/8/1659387950543.png" alt="Lefler-photo Sedgwick County" />
 <figcaption>Lefler-photo Sedgwick County</figcaption>
 </figure>SEDGWICK COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities arrested a Kansas woman whose dog attacked a Wichita Police officer.Shortly after 12:30 a.m. Sunday, police responded to a disturbance in the 800 block of S. Terrace in Wichita, according to Officer Trevor Macey. Officers contacted individuals who reported that their female neighbor had damaged their property during an altercation. As officers went to contact the suspect, identified as&nbsp;29-year-old Hailee Lefler of Wichita, she opened her front door, and a large dog ran out and began attacking one of the responding officers.The officer fell to the ground and attempted to stop the dog from attacking him, but the dog continued biting. The officer fired three rounds from his department-issued handgun, striking the dog and causing it to retreat into the home. After the shots were fired, Lefler moved toward the officers threateningly but retreated toward the house.The officer was transported to an area hospital for treatment of multiple bite wounds to both legs. He was treated at the hospital and later released. The dog was still alive and taken by Animal Control.Additional officers arrived and arrested Lefler, who was booked into the Sedgwick County Jail on requested charges of Assault of a Law Enforcement Officer, one count of criminal threat, one count of criminal damage to property, one count of interference with a law enforcement officer and an outstanding federal warrant.

Kansas woman arrested after her dog attacks police officer

MONTGOMERY COUNTY —An Oklahoma man died in an accident just after 5p.m. Monday in Montgomery County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2011 Harley Davidson FLF driven by Secrest, Claude E. Secrest, 77, Ponca City, Oklahoma, was northbound in the 3600 Block of County Road 1350. 

The motorcycle traveled off the roadway to the east, struck the north embankment of the dry creek bed and the driver&nbsp; was ejected off the motorcycle.

Secrest was pronounced dead at the scene and transported to Frontier Forensics. He was not wearing a helmet, according to the KHP.

MONTGOMERY COUNTY —An Oklahoma man died in an accident just after 5p.m. Monday in Montgomery County.The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2011 Harley Davidson FLF driven by Secrest, Claude E. Secrest, 77, Ponca City, Oklahoma, was northbound in the 3600 Block of County Road 1350. The motorcycle traveled off the roadway to the east, struck the north embankment of the dry creek bed and the driver&nbsp; was ejected off the motorcycle.Secrest was pronounced dead at the scene and transported to Frontier Forensics. He was not wearing a helmet, according to the KHP.

Man dies after motorcycle crash on Kansas highway

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Monday confirmed that a U.S. drone strike in Afghanistan this weekend killed al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahri, declaring “justice has been delivered.”

(click below to watch the President's statement)

“This terrorist leader is no more,” Biden said in an evening speech from the White House.

Biden said U.S. intelligence officials tracked al-Zawahri to a home in downtown Kabul where he was hiding out with his family. The president approved the operation last week and it was carried out on Sunday.

CAIRO, Egypt (AP) — Ayman al-Zawahri, an Egyptian surgeon who became a mastermind of jihad against the West and who took over as al-Qaida leader after Osama bin Laden’s death in a U.S. raid, has been killed. He was 71.

Five people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press that a CIA drone strike killed al-Zawahri over the weekend in Afghanistan. They spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the matter.

His death is likely to lead to greater disarray within the organization than bin Laden’s death in May 2011 did, since it is far less clear who his successor at the head of the terror network would be.

Al-Zawahri more than anyone shaped al-Qaida, first as bin Laden’s deputy since 1998, then as his successor. Together, he and bin Laden turned the jihadi movement’s guns to target the United States, carrying out the deadliest attack ever on American soil — the Sept. 11, 2001, suicide hijackings.

The attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon made bin Laden America’s Enemy No. 1. But he likely could never have carried it out without his deputy. Bin Laden provided al-Qaida with charisma and money, but al-Zawahri brought tactics and organizational skills needed to forge militants into a network of cells in countries around the world.

Their bond was forged in the late 1980s, when al-Zawahri reportedly treated the Saudi millionaire bin Laden in the caves of Afghanistan as Soviet bombardment shook the mountains around them.

“Al-Zawahri was always bin Laden’s mentor, bin Laden always looked up to him,” says terrorism expert Bruce Hoffman of Georgetown University. Al-Zawahri “spent time in an Egyptian prison, he was tortured. He was a jihadi from the time he was a teenager.”

When the 2001 U.S. invasion of Afghanistan demolished al-Qaida’s safe haven and scattered, killed and captured its members, al-Zawahri ensured al-Qaida’s survival. He rebuilt its leadership in the Afghan-Pakistan border region and installed allies as lieutenants in key positions.

He also reshaped the organization from a centralized planner of terror attacks into the head of a franchise chain. He led the assembling of a network of autonomous branches around the region, including in Iraq, Saudi Arabia, North Africa, Somalia, Yemen and Asia. Over the next decade, al-Qaida inspired or had a direct hand in attacks in all those areas as well as Europe, Pakistan and Turkey, including the 2004 train bombings in Madrid and the 2005 transit bombings in London. Twice, the al-Qaida affiliate in Yemen tried to attack on U.S. soil with an attempted 2009 bombing of an American passenger jet and an attempted package bomb the following year.

But even before bin Laden’s death, al-Zawahri was struggling to maintain al-Qaida’s relevance in a changing Middle East.

He tried with little success to coopt the wave of uprisings that spread across the Arab world starting in 2011, urging Islamic hard-liners to take over in the nations where leaders had fallen. But while Islamists gained prominence in many places, they have stark ideological differences with al-Qaida and reject its agenda and leadership.

As al-Qaida's leader, al-Zawahri also faced the challenge of the explosive rise of the Islamic State group, an even more radical rival that drew away recruits with its dramatic capture of much of Syria and Iraq. IS's “caliphate” was brought down by a U.S.-led campaign after years of fighting, but the jihadist movement was irrevocably splintered and al-Qaida lost much of its luster in radicals' eyes.

Al-Zawahri was also a more divisive figure than his predecessor. Many militants described the soft-spoken bin Laden in adoring and almost spiritual terms.

In contrast, al-Zawahri was notoriously prickly and pedantic. He picked ideological fights with critics within the jihadi camp, wagging his finger scoldingly in his videos. Even some key figures in al-Qaida’s central leadership were put off, calling him overly controlling, secretive and divisive.

Some militants whose association with bin Laden predated al-Zawahri’s always saw him as an arrogant intruder.

“I have never taken orders from al-Zawahri,” Fazul Abdullah Mohammed, one of the network’s top figures in East Africa until his 2011 death, sneered in a memoir posted on line in 2009. “We don’t take orders from anyone but our historical leadership.”

It was during his years leading Egypt’s Islamic Jihad militant group in the 1990s that al-Zawahri honed the skills he would bring to al-Qaida.

He was born June 19, 1951, the son of an upper-middle-class family of doctors and scholars in the Cairo suburb of Maadi. His father was a pharmacology professor at Cairo University’s medical school and his grandfather, Rabia al-Zawahri, was the grand imam of Al-Azhar University, a premier center of religious study.

From an early age, al-Zawahri was enflamed by the radical writings of Sayed Qutb, the Egyptian Islamist who taught that Arab regimes were “infidel” and should be replaced by Islamic rule. He began his life of militancy at age 15, when he created an underground cell of high school students to oppose the government.

In the 1970s, as he earned his medical degree as a surgeon, he was active in militant circles. He and others formed Islamic Jihad and began trying to infiltrate the military. At one point, he even stored weapons in his private medical clinic.

As he has told it in his writings, his first trip to Afghanistan in 1980 to treat Islamic fighters battling Soviet forces opened his eyes to new possibilities.

He called that Afghan war “the training course preparing Muslim mujahedeen youth to launch their upcoming battle with the great power that would rule the world: America.”

Then came the 1981 assassination of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat by Islamic Jihad militants. The slaying was carried out by a different cell in the group — and al-Zawahri has written that he learned of the plot only hours before the assassination.

But he was arrested along with hundreds of other militants and served three years in prison. During his imprisonment, he was reportedly tortured heavily, a factor some cite as turning him more violently radical.

After his release in 1984, al-Zawahri returned to Afghanistan and joined militants from across the Middle East fighting alongside the Afghans against the Soviets. He courted bin Laden, who became a heroic figure for his financial support of the mujahedeen.

Al-Zawahri followed bin Laden to his new base in Sudan, and from there he led a reassembled Islamic Jihad in a violent campaign of bombing attacks aimed at toppling Egypt’s U.S.-allied government.

In the most daring attack, Jihad and other militants tried to assassinate Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak during a 1995 visit to Ethiopia. Mubarak escaped the hail of gunfire on his motorcade, and his security forces all but crushed the militant movement in Egypt in the crackdown that followed.

Although the Egyptian movement failed, its tactics lived on in al-Zawahri.

He promoted the use of suicide bombings, to become al-Qaida’s hallmark. He plotted a 1995 suicide car bombing of Egypt’s embassy in Islamabad that killed 16 people — presaging the more devastating 1998 al-Qaida bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania that killed more than 200, an attack al-Zawahri was indicted for in the United States.

In 1996, Sudan expelled bin Laden, who took his fighters back to Afghanistan, where they found a safe haven under the radical Taliban regime. Once more, al-Zawahri followed.

Their bond was sealed when bin Laden, al-Zawahri and other militant leaders issued the “Declaration of Jihad against Jews and Crusaders,” announcing the United States was Islam’s top enemy and instructing Muslims it was their religious duty to “kill the Americans and their allies.”

A series of spectacular attacks followed: the bombings of U.S. embassies in Africa, the 2000 suicide bombing of the USS Cole off Yemen, and finally the 9/11 attacks.

When the U.S. invaded Afghanistan in retaliation, al-Zawahri and bin Laden fled into Pakistan. A U.S. airstrike killed al-Zawahri’s wife and at least two of their six children in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar. The CIA came tantalizingly close to possibly capturing al-Zawahri in 2003 and killing him in 2004. The CIA thought it finally had al-Zawahri in its sights in 2009, only to be tricked by a double agent who blew himself up, killing seven agency employees and wounding six more in Khost, Afghanistan.

But ultimately, al-Zawahri never reached his long-term goals for jihad that he outlined in his writings — to hurt the U.S. with “as many casualties as possible” while seizing control of a country from which to establish a “caliphate” across the Muslim world.

Al-Qaida attacks that killed Muslims turned off many in the Arab world, attacks that killed Americans never gained it deep popularity, and the group never gained widespread popular support beyond a fringe of radical sympathizers.

Still, he vowed to continue hitting Americans in the video eulogy to his slain boss.

Bin Laden “terrified America in his life,” he said, and “will continue to terrify it after his death.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/8/1659397002084.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Monday confirmed that a U.S. drone strike in Afghanistan this weekend killed al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahri, declaring “justice has been delivered.”(click below to watch the President's statement)<div><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1iahTXDhpI8?start=1112" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>“This terrorist leader is no more,” Biden said in an evening speech from the White House.Biden said U.S. intelligence officials tracked al-Zawahri to a home in downtown Kabul where he was hiding out with his family. The president approved the operation last week and it was carried out on Sunday.------------CAIRO, Egypt (AP) — Ayman al-Zawahri, an Egyptian surgeon who became a mastermind of jihad against the West and who took over as al-Qaida leader after Osama bin Laden’s death in a U.S. raid, has been killed. He was 71.Five people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press that a CIA drone strike killed al-Zawahri over the weekend in Afghanistan. They spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the matter.His death is likely to lead to greater disarray within the organization than bin Laden’s death in May 2011 did, since it is far less clear who his successor at the head of the terror network would be.Al-Zawahri more than anyone shaped al-Qaida, first as bin Laden’s deputy since 1998, then as his successor. Together, he and bin Laden turned the jihadi movement’s guns to target the United States, carrying out the deadliest attack ever on American soil — the Sept. 11, 2001, suicide hijackings.The attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon made bin Laden America’s Enemy No. 1. But he likely could never have carried it out without his deputy. Bin Laden provided al-Qaida with charisma and money, but al-Zawahri brought tactics and organizational skills needed to forge militants into a network of cells in countries around the world.Their bond was forged in the late 1980s, when al-Zawahri reportedly treated the Saudi millionaire bin Laden in the caves of Afghanistan as Soviet bombardment shook the mountains around them.“Al-Zawahri was always bin Laden’s mentor, bin Laden always looked up to him,” says terrorism expert Bruce Hoffman of Georgetown University. Al-Zawahri “spent time in an Egyptian prison, he was tortured. He was a jihadi from the time he was a teenager.”When the 2001 U.S. invasion of Afghanistan demolished al-Qaida’s safe haven and scattered, killed and captured its members, al-Zawahri ensured al-Qaida’s survival. He rebuilt its leadership in the Afghan-Pakistan border region and installed allies as lieutenants in key positions.He also reshaped the organization from a centralized planner of terror attacks into the head of a franchise chain. He led the assembling of a network of autonomous branches around the region, including in Iraq, Saudi Arabia, North Africa, Somalia, Yemen and Asia. Over the next decade, al-Qaida inspired or had a direct hand in attacks in all those areas as well as Europe, Pakistan and Turkey, including the 2004 train bombings in Madrid and the 2005 transit bombings in London. Twice, the al-Qaida affiliate in Yemen tried to attack on U.S. soil with an attempted 2009 bombing of an American passenger jet and an attempted package bomb the following year.But even before bin Laden’s death, al-Zawahri was struggling to maintain al-Qaida’s relevance in a changing Middle East.He tried with little success to coopt the wave of uprisings that spread across the Arab world starting in 2011, urging Islamic hard-liners to take over in the nations where leaders had fallen. But while Islamists gained prominence in many places, they have stark ideological differences with al-Qaida and reject its agenda and leadership.As al-Qaida's leader, al-Zawahri also faced the challenge of the explosive rise of the Islamic State group, an even more radical rival that drew away recruits with its dramatic capture of much of Syria and Iraq. IS's “caliphate” was brought down by a U.S.-led campaign after years of fighting, but the jihadist movement was irrevocably splintered and al-Qaida lost much of its luster in radicals' eyes.Al-Zawahri was also a more divisive figure than his predecessor. Many militants described the soft-spoken bin Laden in adoring and almost spiritual terms.In contrast, al-Zawahri was notoriously prickly and pedantic. He picked ideological fights with critics within the jihadi camp, wagging his finger scoldingly in his videos. Even some key figures in al-Qaida’s central leadership were put off, calling him overly controlling, secretive and divisive.Some militants whose association with bin Laden predated al-Zawahri’s always saw him as an arrogant intruder.“I have never taken orders from al-Zawahri,” Fazul Abdullah Mohammed, one of the network’s top figures in East Africa until his 2011 death, sneered in a memoir posted on line in 2009. “We don’t take orders from anyone but our historical leadership.”It was during his years leading Egypt’s Islamic Jihad militant group in the 1990s that al-Zawahri honed the skills he would bring to al-Qaida.He was born June 19, 1951, the son of an upper-middle-class family of doctors and scholars in the Cairo suburb of Maadi. His father was a pharmacology professor at Cairo University’s medical school and his grandfather, Rabia al-Zawahri, was the grand imam of Al-Azhar University, a premier center of religious study.From an early age, al-Zawahri was enflamed by the radical writings of Sayed Qutb, the Egyptian Islamist who taught that Arab regimes were “infidel” and should be replaced by Islamic rule. He began his life of militancy at age 15, when he created an underground cell of high school students to oppose the government.In the 1970s, as he earned his medical degree as a surgeon, he was active in militant circles. He and others formed Islamic Jihad and began trying to infiltrate the military. At one point, he even stored weapons in his private medical clinic.As he has told it in his writings, his first trip to Afghanistan in 1980 to treat Islamic fighters battling Soviet forces opened his eyes to new possibilities.He called that Afghan war “the training course preparing Muslim mujahedeen youth to launch their upcoming battle with the great power that would rule the world: America.”Then came the 1981 assassination of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat by Islamic Jihad militants. The slaying was carried out by a different cell in the group — and al-Zawahri has written that he learned of the plot only hours before the assassination.But he was arrested along with hundreds of other militants and served three years in prison. During his imprisonment, he was reportedly tortured heavily, a factor some cite as turning him more violently radical.After his release in 1984, al-Zawahri returned to Afghanistan and joined militants from across the Middle East fighting alongside the Afghans against the Soviets. He courted bin Laden, who became a heroic figure for his financial support of the mujahedeen.Al-Zawahri followed bin Laden to his new base in Sudan, and from there he led a reassembled Islamic Jihad in a violent campaign of bombing attacks aimed at toppling Egypt’s U.S.-allied government.In the most daring attack, Jihad and other militants tried to assassinate Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak during a 1995 visit to Ethiopia. Mubarak escaped the hail of gunfire on his motorcade, and his security forces all but crushed the militant movement in Egypt in the crackdown that followed.Although the Egyptian movement failed, its tactics lived on in al-Zawahri.He promoted the use of suicide bombings, to become al-Qaida’s hallmark. He plotted a 1995 suicide car bombing of Egypt’s embassy in Islamabad that killed 16 people — presaging the more devastating 1998 al-Qaida bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania that killed more than 200, an attack al-Zawahri was indicted for in the United States.In 1996, Sudan expelled bin Laden, who took his fighters back to Afghanistan, where they found a safe haven under the radical Taliban regime. Once more, al-Zawahri followed.Their bond was sealed when bin Laden, al-Zawahri and other militant leaders issued the “Declaration of Jihad against Jews and Crusaders,” announcing the United States was Islam’s top enemy and instructing Muslims it was their religious duty to “kill the Americans and their allies.”A series of spectacular attacks followed: the bombings of U.S. embassies in Africa, the 2000 suicide bombing of the USS Cole off Yemen, and finally the 9/11 attacks.When the U.S. invaded Afghanistan in retaliation, al-Zawahri and bin Laden fled into Pakistan. A U.S. airstrike killed al-Zawahri’s wife and at least two of their six children in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar. The CIA came tantalizingly close to possibly capturing al-Zawahri in 2003 and killing him in 2004. The CIA thought it finally had al-Zawahri in its sights in 2009, only to be tricked by a double agent who blew himself up, killing seven agency employees and wounding six more in Khost, Afghanistan.But ultimately, al-Zawahri never reached his long-term goals for jihad that he outlined in his writings — to hurt the U.S. with “as many casualties as possible” while seizing control of a country from which to establish a “caliphate” across the Muslim world.Al-Qaida attacks that killed Muslims turned off many in the Arab world, attacks that killed Americans never gained it deep popularity, and the group never gained widespread popular support beyond a fringe of radical sympathizers.Still, he vowed to continue hitting Americans in the video eulogy to his slain boss.Bin Laden “terrified America in his life,” he said, and “will continue to terrify it after his death.”

🎥Biden: Justice delivered, Al-Qaida mastermind is no more

GREENVILLE COUNTY, South Carolina—Law enforcement authorities investigating <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 have two suspects in custody.

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 County Sheriff's Office and Wichita police, deputies arrested 32-year-old Kristopher Valadez and 32-year-old Candace Valadez.

Both are former Wichita residents and are expected to be extradited to Sedgwick County to face charges in Clerici's murder.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/8/1659367037070.png" alt="Valadez-photo Greenville Co." />
 <figcaption>Valadez-photo Greenville Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>GREENVILLE COUNTY, South Carolina—Law enforcement authorities investigating <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 have two suspects in custody.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/2022/8/1659367010988.png" alt="Valadez-photo Greeneville Co." />
 <figcaption>Valadez-photo Greeneville Co.</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 County Sheriff's Office and Wichita police, deputies arrested 32-year-old Kristopher Valadez and 32-year-old Candace Valadez.Both are former Wichita residents and are expected to be extradited to Sedgwick County to face charges in Clerici's murder.

Suspects in Kansas 2010 killing arrested in South Carolina

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House on Monday decried Beijing's rhetoric over an expected visit by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan, vowing the United States “will not take the bait or engage in saber rattling” and has no interest in increasing tensions with China.

White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby underscored that the decision on whether to visit the self-ruled island that China claims as its own was ultimately Pelosi's. He noted that members of Congress have routinely visited Taiwan over the years.

Kirby said administration officials are concerned that Beijing could use the visit as an excuse to take provocative retaliatory steps, including military action such as firing missiles in the Taiwan Strait or around Taiwan, flying sorties into Taiwan's airspace and carrying out large-scale naval exercises in the strait.

“Put simply, there is no reason for Beijing to turn a potential visit consistent with long-standing U.S. policy into some sort of crisis or use it as a pretext to increase aggressive military activity in or around the Taiwan Strait,” Kirby said.

The Biden administration pushed back on Beijing as Pelosi held talks with officials in Singapore on Monday at the start of her Asian tour.

While there have been no official announcements, local media in Taiwan reported that Pelosi will arrive Tuesday night, making her the highest-ranking elected U.S. official to visit in more than 25 years. The United Daily News, Liberty Times and China Times — Taiwan's three largest national newspapers — cited unidentified sources as saying she would arrive in Taipei after visiting Malaysia and spend the night.

Talk of such a visit is sparking fury in Beijing, which regards Taiwan as its own territory and has repeatedly warned of “serious consequences" if the reported trip goes ahead.

“If Pelosi insists on visiting Taiwan, China will take resolute and strong measures to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said in Beijing, without giving details.

“Those who play with fire will perish by it,” Zhao said. “We would like to once again admonish the U.S. that we are fully prepared for any eventuality and the PLA will never sit idly by.” The People's Liberation Army is China's military.

Chinese President Xi Jinping also warned the U.S. against meddling in Beijing’s dealings with the island in a phone call last week with President Joe Biden.

China has been steadily ratcheting up diplomatic and military pressure on Taiwan. Threats of retaliation for a visit by Pelosi have driven concerns of a new crisis in the Taiwan Strait, which separates the two sides, that could roil global markets and supply chains.

Beijing sees official American contact with Taiwan as encouragement to make the island's decades-old de facto independence permanent, a step U.S. leaders say they don’t support. Pelosi, head of one of three branches of the U.S. government, would be the highest-ranking elected American official to visit Taiwan since then-Speaker Newt Gingrich in 1997.

The Biden administration has tried to assure Beijing there was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/china-asia-nancy-pelosi-taiwan-john-kirby-364d56ced8e6a51f8fb302c215f675c5">no reason to “come to blows”</a>&nbsp;and that if such a visit occurred, it would signal no change in U.S. policy. Administration officials on Monday called on China to tone down the rhetoric, underscoring that there was no reason for Beijing to escalate tensions in the Taiwan Strait over the potential visit. Members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee were to receive a classified briefing on Taiwan from senior Pentagon and State Department officials on Monday evening.

“What I can say is this: this is very much precedent in the sense that previous speakers have visited Taiwan, many members of Congress go to Taiwan, including this year,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said. “And so, if the speaker does decide to visit and China tries to create some kind of crisis or otherwise escalate tensions, that would be entirely on Beijing.”

Taiwan and China split in 1949 after the Communists won a civil war on the mainland. Both sides say they are one country but disagree over which government is entitled to national leadership. They have no official relations but are linked by billions of dollars of trade and investment.

The United States switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979, but maintains informal relations with the island. Washington is obligated by the Taiwan Relations Act, a federal law, to see that Taiwan has the means to defend itself.

Washington’s “One China policy” says it takes no position on the status of the two sides but wants their dispute resolved peacefully. Beijing promotes an alternative “One China principle” that says they are one country and the Communist Party is its leader.

“We expect to see Beijing continue to use inflammatory rhetoric and disinformation in the coming days,” Kirby said. “The United States, by contrast, will act with transparency.”

On Monday, Pelosi met with Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, President Halimah Yacob and other Cabinet members.

Singapore's Foreign Ministry said Lee welcomed a U.S. commitment to strong engagement with the region, and the two sides discussed ways to deepen U.S. economic involvement through initiatives such as the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework.

Lee and Pelosi also discussed the war in Ukraine, tensions surrounding Taiwan and mainland China, and climate change, it said in a statement. Lee “highlighted the importance of stable U.S.-China relations for regional peace and security,” it added, in an apparent allusion to reports of Pelosi's visit to Taiwan.

Pelosi has said she is visiting Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea and Japan in a tour to discuss trade, the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, security and “democratic governance.”

On Thursday, Pelosi is to meet with South Korean National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin Pyo in Seoul for talks on security in the Indo-Pacific region, economic cooperation and the climate crisis, Kim’s office said in a statement.

It declined to provide further details about her itinerary, including when she is arriving in South Korea and how long she’ll stay. Pelosi’s schedule for Wednesday remains unclear and there were no details on when she will head to Japan.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House on Monday decried Beijing's rhetoric over an expected visit by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan, vowing the United States “will not take the bait or engage in saber rattling” and has no interest in increasing tensions with China.<div><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?height=314&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FWhiteHouse%2Fvideos%2F786259825841593%2F&show_text=false&width=560&t=373" width="560" height="314" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowFullScreen="true"></iframe></div>White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby underscored that the decision on whether to visit the self-ruled island that China claims as its own was ultimately Pelosi's. He noted that members of Congress have routinely visited Taiwan over the years.Kirby said administration officials are concerned that Beijing could use the visit as an excuse to take provocative retaliatory steps, including military action such as firing missiles in the Taiwan Strait or around Taiwan, flying sorties into Taiwan's airspace and carrying out large-scale naval exercises in the strait.“Put simply, there is no reason for Beijing to turn a potential visit consistent with long-standing U.S. policy into some sort of crisis or use it as a pretext to increase aggressive military activity in or around the Taiwan Strait,” Kirby said.The Biden administration pushed back on Beijing as Pelosi held talks with officials in Singapore on Monday at the start of her Asian tour.While there have been no official announcements, local media in Taiwan reported that Pelosi will arrive Tuesday night, making her the highest-ranking elected U.S. official to visit in more than 25 years. The United Daily News, Liberty Times and China Times — Taiwan's three largest national newspapers — cited unidentified sources as saying she would arrive in Taipei after visiting Malaysia and spend the night.Talk of such a visit is sparking fury in Beijing, which regards Taiwan as its own territory and has repeatedly warned of “serious consequences" if the reported trip goes ahead.“If Pelosi insists on visiting Taiwan, China will take resolute and strong measures to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said in Beijing, without giving details.“Those who play with fire will perish by it,” Zhao said. “We would like to once again admonish the U.S. that we are fully prepared for any eventuality and the PLA will never sit idly by.” The People's Liberation Army is China's military.Chinese President Xi Jinping also warned the U.S. against meddling in Beijing’s dealings with the island in a phone call last week with President Joe Biden.China has been steadily ratcheting up diplomatic and military pressure on Taiwan. Threats of retaliation for a visit by Pelosi have driven concerns of a new crisis in the Taiwan Strait, which separates the two sides, that could roil global markets and supply chains.Beijing sees official American contact with Taiwan as encouragement to make the island's decades-old de facto independence permanent, a step U.S. leaders say they don’t support. Pelosi, head of one of three branches of the U.S. government, would be the highest-ranking elected American official to visit Taiwan since then-Speaker Newt Gingrich in 1997.The Biden administration has tried to assure Beijing there was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/china-asia-nancy-pelosi-taiwan-john-kirby-364d56ced8e6a51f8fb302c215f675c5">no reason to “come to blows”</a>&nbsp;and that if such a visit occurred, it would signal no change in U.S. policy. Administration officials on Monday called on China to tone down the rhetoric, underscoring that there was no reason for Beijing to escalate tensions in the Taiwan Strait over the potential visit. Members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee were to receive a classified briefing on Taiwan from senior Pentagon and State Department officials on Monday evening.“What I can say is this: this is very much precedent in the sense that previous speakers have visited Taiwan, many members of Congress go to Taiwan, including this year,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said. “And so, if the speaker does decide to visit and China tries to create some kind of crisis or otherwise escalate tensions, that would be entirely on Beijing.”Taiwan and China split in 1949 after the Communists won a civil war on the mainland. Both sides say they are one country but disagree over which government is entitled to national leadership. They have no official relations but are linked by billions of dollars of trade and investment.The United States switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979, but maintains informal relations with the island. Washington is obligated by the Taiwan Relations Act, a federal law, to see that Taiwan has the means to defend itself.Washington’s “One China policy” says it takes no position on the status of the two sides but wants their dispute resolved peacefully. Beijing promotes an alternative “One China principle” that says they are one country and the Communist Party is its leader.“We expect to see Beijing continue to use inflammatory rhetoric and disinformation in the coming days,” Kirby said. “The United States, by contrast, will act with transparency.”<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Our delegation met with Singapore’s Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean. In our meeting, our Members saluted Singapore’s commitment to a free &amp; open Indo-Pacific &amp; advancing security &amp; stability in the region. We also learned about Singapore’s efforts to address the climate crisis. <a href="https://t.co/bhLoqrEtjw">pic.twitter.com/bhLoqrEtjw</a>&mdash; Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) <a href="https://twitter.com/SpeakerPelosi/status/1554149967882862595?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 1, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>On Monday, Pelosi met with Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, President Halimah Yacob and other Cabinet members.Singapore's Foreign Ministry said Lee welcomed a U.S. commitment to strong engagement with the region, and the two sides discussed ways to deepen U.S. economic involvement through initiatives such as the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework.Lee and Pelosi also discussed the war in Ukraine, tensions surrounding Taiwan and mainland China, and climate change, it said in a statement. Lee “highlighted the importance of stable U.S.-China relations for regional peace and security,” it added, in an apparent allusion to reports of Pelosi's visit to Taiwan.Pelosi has said she is visiting Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea and Japan in a tour to discuss trade, the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, security and “democratic governance.”On Thursday, Pelosi is to meet with South Korean National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin Pyo in Seoul for talks on security in the Indo-Pacific region, economic cooperation and the climate crisis, Kim’s office said in a statement.It declined to provide further details about her itinerary, including when she is arriving in South Korea and how long she’ll stay. Pelosi’s schedule for Wednesday remains unclear and there were no details on when she will head to Japan.

🎥Taiwan expects visit from Pelosi despite warning from China

WASHINGTON (AP) — When asked if he’d support legislation to protect same-sex marriage, one conservative Republican senator was almost nonchalant.

“I see no reason to oppose it,” Ron Johnson of Wisconsin told reporters, bringing Democrats one vote closer to an unexpected victory as they move to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-race-and-ethnicity-gay-rights-marriage-social-issues-77ec6e2a60b5990ceaf7c396fee42016">safeguard same-sex marriage</a>&nbsp;and other rights after the Supreme Court&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-supreme-court-decision-854f60302f21c2c35129e58cf8d8a7b0">overturned Roe v. Wade</a>, which legalized abortion nationwide.

Johnson’s answer, which came after 47 Republicans voted for the bill in the House last week, was reflective of a stark shift in GOP positioning after decades of fighting same-sex marriage. Ten years ago, most Republicans proudly espoused that marriage could only be between a man and a woman. Now, a federal law protecting same-sex marriage is within reach in an election year, with some Republican backing.

The signal of possible support from Johnson — arguably the most vulnerable Republican senator up for reelection this year — comes as Wisconsin’s other senator, Tammy Baldwin, is the lead Democrat&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-us-supreme-court-marriage-congress-government-and-politics-b500cb024ea5776c4e8ebca228c22480">charged with persuading</a>&nbsp;the necessary 10 Republicans to vote for the bill. Baldwin, who is the first openly gay senator and has been working on gay rights issues since she first entered state politics in 1986, says the “world has changed,” especially since the Supreme Court’s 2015&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/lifestyle-courts-marriage-supreme-court-of-the-united-states-united-states-government-9e1933cd1e1a4e969ab45f5952bbb45f">Obergefell v. Hodges decision upholding gay marriage</a>.

A Gallup poll conducted in May showed broad support for same-sex marriage, with 71% of U.S. adults saying they think such unions should be recognized by law, including 55% of Republicans. Polling in Wisconsin mirrors that national survey, with 54% of Republicans in the state saying that they favor same-sex marriage in a Marquette Law School poll from April. In May 2014, the state poll found support from only 23% of Republicans.

“People began to see that the sky has not fallen," Baldwin said in an interview, and that the 2015 decision gave legal protections to families who did not previously have them. She says every member of Congress now has friends, family or staff who are openly gay.

“That probably has the biggest impact on where people land,” she said. “This is a vote of conscience.”

The bill pending in the Senate would repeal the Clinton-era Defense of Marriage Act that allowed states to refuse to recognize same-sex marriages and instead require states to recognize all marriages that were legal where they were performed. The new Respect for Marriage Act would also protect interracial marriages by requiring states to recognize legal marriages regardless of “sex, race, ethnicity, or national origin.”

A vote could come as soon as next week, but it will more likely be in September when Congress returns from the August recess.

Republican Sens. Rob Portman of Ohio, Susan Collins of Maine and Thom Tillis of North Carolina have also said they will vote for the legislation; Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski has also supported same-sex marriage in the past. Several other Republicans have said they are undecided, including Utah Sen. Mitt Romney, Missouri Sen. Roy Blunt, Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst and Indiana Sen. Mike Braun.

Notably silent is Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, who has declined to comment until Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer holds a vote.

Baldwin and other advocates say more GOP senators are quietly contemplating the bill. Democrats need 10 Republican votes to overcome a filibuster and get a bill through the 50-50 Senate.

A range of Republicans voted for the bill in the House, including New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, the No. 3 House Republican; Pennsylvania Rep. Scott Perry, the chair of the conservative House Freedom Caucus; and all four Republican members of Utah’s congressional delegation.

Still, the majority of House Republicans voted against it, and a similar dynamic is expected in the Senate.

Republicans opposing the bill give a variety of reasons, with most arguing that the Supreme Court is unlikely to overturn Obergefell and that Senate Democrats are playing politics by putting the bill on the floor. Democrats point to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-us-supreme-court-gun-politics-gay-rights-marriage-b9062feb4f80c49de088c36b0f17aa7c">Justice Clarence Thomas</a>&nbsp;’ concurring opinion to the June ruling overturning Roe in which he said that high court rulings protecting same-sex marriage and the right for couples to use contraception should also be reconsidered.

Asked about their opposition, many Republicans have focused on the process rather than the substance.

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who is up for reelection this year, told CNN last week that he thinks the bill is a “stupid waste of time.” He said later that he believes “there is zero chance, below zero chance, that the Supreme Court or anyone is going to outlaw gay marriage in this country."

Even Johnson blamed Democrats as he said he was unlikely to oppose it, arguing that it was settled law and the vote is unnecessary. He said he still believes that marriage should be between a man and a woman. But “society has pretty well accepted it and moved on,” he said.

Other Republicans have made similar arguments, shifting from the more ideologically rigid statements of years past.

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who will vote against the bill, said he recognizes that “reasonable people can disagree" with him that marriage should be between a man and a woman, “and there is room for a diversity of views on that question.”

North Dakota Sen. Kevin Cramer says he will vote against it “unless I can be compelled somehow." He says he believes because of his evangelical Christian faith that marriage is between a man and a woman, but “it’s not like I feel super strongly about it, either.”

Cramer said he thinks the Senate will get the 60 votes needed to pass the bill. “It’s more that people are ambivalent about it,” he said.

Portman, who is pushing to get more votes from his party, notes that public opinion has changed substantially over the years. He has supported same-sex marriage since 2013,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/bf4088a3b84a4d3888724f2ffd92875e">when he announced that one of his sons is gay</a>&nbsp;and that he believes people should be respected for who they are.

He faced criticism from some fellow Republicans at the time, but he says people now come up to him frequently to thank him for his support.

It’s not just Republicans who have evolved on the issue. Former President Barack Obama didn’t&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/63f51fcd69bb4ce18ed6b7306d1b3c89">publicly support same-sex marriage</a>&nbsp;until 2012, pushed in part by then-Vice President Joe Biden, who had come out in support a few days earlier. When the Defense of Marriage Act passed the Senate in 1996, only 14 Democrats opposed it.

David Stacy, a lead lobbyist for the Human Rights Campaign, says advocates for same-sex marriage faced many setbacks in the early 2000s, including state ballot measures to ban gay marriages. But he says he believes Republicans created a backlash of sorts by trying to use the issue against Democrats.

While the advocates lost many of those fights, “we were educating the public and moving public opinion,” Stacy says.

WASHINGTON (AP) — When asked if he’d support legislation to protect same-sex marriage, one conservative Republican senator was almost nonchalant.“I see no reason to oppose it,” Ron Johnson of Wisconsin told reporters, bringing Democrats one vote closer to an unexpected victory as they move to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-race-and-ethnicity-gay-rights-marriage-social-issues-77ec6e2a60b5990ceaf7c396fee42016">safeguard same-sex marriage</a>&nbsp;and other rights after the Supreme Court&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-supreme-court-decision-854f60302f21c2c35129e58cf8d8a7b0">overturned Roe v. Wade</a>, which legalized abortion nationwide.Johnson’s answer, which came after 47 Republicans voted for the bill in the House last week, was reflective of a stark shift in GOP positioning after decades of fighting same-sex marriage. Ten years ago, most Republicans proudly espoused that marriage could only be between a man and a woman. Now, a federal law protecting same-sex marriage is within reach in an election year, with some Republican backing.The signal of possible support from Johnson — arguably the most vulnerable Republican senator up for reelection this year — comes as Wisconsin’s other senator, Tammy Baldwin, is the lead Democrat&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-us-supreme-court-marriage-congress-government-and-politics-b500cb024ea5776c4e8ebca228c22480">charged with persuading</a>&nbsp;the necessary 10 Republicans to vote for the bill. Baldwin, who is the first openly gay senator and has been working on gay rights issues since she first entered state politics in 1986, says the “world has changed,” especially since the Supreme Court’s 2015&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/lifestyle-courts-marriage-supreme-court-of-the-united-states-united-states-government-9e1933cd1e1a4e969ab45f5952bbb45f">Obergefell v. Hodges decision upholding gay marriage</a>.A Gallup poll conducted in May showed broad support for same-sex marriage, with 71% of U.S. adults saying they think such unions should be recognized by law, including 55% of Republicans. Polling in Wisconsin mirrors that national survey, with 54% of Republicans in the state saying that they favor same-sex marriage in a Marquette Law School poll from April. In May 2014, the state poll found support from only 23% of Republicans.“People began to see that the sky has not fallen," Baldwin said in an interview, and that the 2015 decision gave legal protections to families who did not previously have them. She says every member of Congress now has friends, family or staff who are openly gay.“That probably has the biggest impact on where people land,” she said. “This is a vote of conscience.”The bill pending in the Senate would repeal the Clinton-era Defense of Marriage Act that allowed states to refuse to recognize same-sex marriages and instead require states to recognize all marriages that were legal where they were performed. The new Respect for Marriage Act would also protect interracial marriages by requiring states to recognize legal marriages regardless of “sex, race, ethnicity, or national origin.”A vote could come as soon as next week, but it will more likely be in September when Congress returns from the August recess.Republican Sens. Rob Portman of Ohio, Susan Collins of Maine and Thom Tillis of North Carolina have also said they will vote for the legislation; Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski has also supported same-sex marriage in the past. Several other Republicans have said they are undecided, including Utah Sen. Mitt Romney, Missouri Sen. Roy Blunt, Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst and Indiana Sen. Mike Braun.Notably silent is Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, who has declined to comment until Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer holds a vote.Baldwin and other advocates say more GOP senators are quietly contemplating the bill. Democrats need 10 Republican votes to overcome a filibuster and get a bill through the 50-50 Senate.A range of Republicans voted for the bill in the House, including New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, the No. 3 House Republican; Pennsylvania Rep. Scott Perry, the chair of the conservative House Freedom Caucus; and all four Republican members of Utah’s congressional delegation.Still, the majority of House Republicans voted against it, and a similar dynamic is expected in the Senate.Republicans opposing the bill give a variety of reasons, with most arguing that the Supreme Court is unlikely to overturn Obergefell and that Senate Democrats are playing politics by putting the bill on the floor. Democrats point to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-us-supreme-court-gun-politics-gay-rights-marriage-b9062feb4f80c49de088c36b0f17aa7c">Justice Clarence Thomas</a>&nbsp;’ concurring opinion to the June ruling overturning Roe in which he said that high court rulings protecting same-sex marriage and the right for couples to use contraception should also be reconsidered.Asked about their opposition, many Republicans have focused on the process rather than the substance.Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who is up for reelection this year, told CNN last week that he thinks the bill is a “stupid waste of time.” He said later that he believes “there is zero chance, below zero chance, that the Supreme Court or anyone is going to outlaw gay marriage in this country."Even Johnson blamed Democrats as he said he was unlikely to oppose it, arguing that it was settled law and the vote is unnecessary. He said he still believes that marriage should be between a man and a woman. But “society has pretty well accepted it and moved on,” he said.Other Republicans have made similar arguments, shifting from the more ideologically rigid statements of years past.Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who will vote against the bill, said he recognizes that “reasonable people can disagree" with him that marriage should be between a man and a woman, “and there is room for a diversity of views on that question.”North Dakota Sen. Kevin Cramer says he will vote against it “unless I can be compelled somehow." He says he believes because of his evangelical Christian faith that marriage is between a man and a woman, but “it’s not like I feel super strongly about it, either.”Cramer said he thinks the Senate will get the 60 votes needed to pass the bill. “It’s more that people are ambivalent about it,” he said.Portman, who is pushing to get more votes from his party, notes that public opinion has changed substantially over the years. He has supported same-sex marriage since 2013,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/bf4088a3b84a4d3888724f2ffd92875e">when he announced that one of his sons is gay</a>&nbsp;and that he believes people should be respected for who they are.He faced criticism from some fellow Republicans at the time, but he says people now come up to him frequently to thank him for his support.It’s not just Republicans who have evolved on the issue. Former President Barack Obama didn’t&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/63f51fcd69bb4ce18ed6b7306d1b3c89">publicly support same-sex marriage</a>&nbsp;until 2012, pushed in part by then-Vice President Joe Biden, who had come out in support a few days earlier. When the Defense of Marriage Act passed the Senate in 1996, only 14 Democrats opposed it.David Stacy, a lead lobbyist for the Human Rights Campaign, says advocates for same-sex marriage faced many setbacks in the early 2000s, including state ballot measures to ban gay marriages. But he says he believes Republicans created a backlash of sorts by trying to use the issue against Democrats.While the advocates lost many of those fights, “we were educating the public and moving public opinion,” Stacy says.

Some Republicans see good politics in same-sex marriage bill

OSAGE COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating the death of a child found unresponsive inside a vehicle in Scranton on Sunday.

Just after 3:30p.m. Sunday, a family member found the 2-year-old child unresponsive,&nbsp; according to the Osage County Sheriff’s Office.

First responders began life-saving measures immediately and transported the child to a Topeka hospital. The child was pronounced dead late Sunday afternoon. An autopsy is scheduled to determine the cause of death, according to the sheriff's office.

Scranton is located 30 minutes south of Topeka.

OSAGE COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating the death of a child found unresponsive inside a vehicle in Scranton on Sunday.Just after 3:30p.m. Sunday, a family member found the 2-year-old child unresponsive,&nbsp; according to the Osage County Sheriff’s Office.First responders began life-saving measures immediately and transported the child to a Topeka hospital. The child was pronounced dead late Sunday afternoon. An autopsy is scheduled to determine the cause of death, according to the sheriff's office.Scranton is located 30 minutes south of Topeka.

Sheriff: 2-year-old Kan. child dies after found in vehicle

KANSAS CITY (AP) —Now that Roe v. Wade has been toppled, abortion opponents are taking a multifaceted approach in their quest to end abortions nationwide, targeting their strategies to the dynamics of each state as they attempt to create new laws and defend bans in courts.

One anti-abortion group has proposed model legislation that would ban all abortions except to prevent the death of a pregnant woman. New legal frontiers could include prosecuting doctors who defy bans, and skirmishes over access to medication abortions already are underway. Others hope to get more conservatives elected in November to advance an anti-abortion agenda.

“For Republicans, the post-Roe world will be significantly different, from a legal perspective,” said Jonathan Turley, a professor at George Washington University Law School. “For the last 50 years, Republicans have been on the offense by chipping away on the edges of Roe. Now they are going to be playing defense in all 50 states.”

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-supreme-court-decision-854f60302f21c2c35129e58cf8d8a7b0">The U.S. Supreme Court's decision overturning Roe v. Wade</a>&nbsp;said abortion is not a right under the Constitution, creating an opening for states pushing to get more restrictions on the books. Most recently,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-us-supreme-court-health-west-virginia-charleston-792346e76179351718fcd771b7d8e1ca">lawmakers in West Virginia</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-health-indiana-indianapolis-legislature-3be0e2a10d9de57b16e2968c5473681a">Indiana</a>&nbsp;have pushed ahead with new restrictions, with varying success.

James Bopp Jr., general counsel for National Right to Life, has worked on model legislation for states, but said with few legislatures in session “the process of adopting new laws is really just beginning.”

It recommends banning all abortions except to prevent the death of a pregnant woman, though it provides language for states that want to make exceptions in cases of rape or incest. It also recommends criminal penalties for any person, including a doctor, who knowingly or intentionally causes or aids an “unlawful abortion.”

The model law would not criminalize a woman who gets an abortion.

A memo attached to the model language suggests anyone who aids and abets or conspires to cause an “unlawful abortion” also could be prosecuted, including those who provide instructions on how to self-administer or get an abortion deemed unlawful under the law. That person would have to know the woman was seeking an abortion and intentionally help her to get one.

“General providing of information is protected by the First Amendment,” Bopp said.

It also has language that allows for prosecution of a person — other than a pharmacist or drug manufacturer — who knows a woman plans to use an abortion-inducing drug to cause an unlawful abortion, and intentionally delivers the drug or advertises such a drug for sale.

But in the meantime, Bopp said abortion opponents are looking to November, when they hope to elect anti-abortion candidates who will enact such laws.

With that goal in mind, many conservatives are taking a “cautious pause” on the abortion issue, according to Larry Jacobs, a politics professor at the University of Minnesota.

“Republicans have a much better chance of winning competitive races around the country talking about inflation, crime and Joe Biden,” Jacobs said. “When they are talking about abortion, they are doing Democrats a favor.”

Conservatives also see new courtroom battles on the horizon.

Jonathan Mitchell, the former Texas solicitor general who is now a private practice attorney, came up with some of the key components of a Texas law that bans abortions after fetal cardiac activity is detected. His innovation was to make violations enforceable through lawsuits filed by citizens, rather than the government.

Mitchell, who represents Texas and South Dakota in abortion lawsuits and has helped lawmakers in multiple states develop abortion bans and restrictions, said future legal fights could center around those who pay for abortions for people living in states with bans that are not being enforced due to court injunctions.

“Abortion is still a criminal offense in every state with a trigger law or pre-Roe ban, regardless of whether a state-court injunction is in effect,” Mitchell said in an email to The Associated Press. He said an injunction doesn’t actually block a law as many believe, but temporarily keeps it from being enforced.

He said&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-us-supreme-court-health-de9e1e2c764bf61b95aeef756a66f8a5">employers or those who help fund abortions</a>&nbsp;in states such as Utah, Kentucky, Louisiana, or West Virginia are violating the law and could be prosecuted. He said if bans exist but are on hold, abortion providers could be prosecuted retroactively.

“And the mere risk of potential lawsuits may be enough to deter abortion providers from offering abortions to out-of-state residents, especially when these lawsuits can be brought,” he wrote, “not only against the physician but everyone else involved.”

Melissa Murray, a professor at New York University School of Law, said the question of whether those who pay for out-of-state abortions could be charged is “uncharted ground.” Employers and funds could argue they’re exercising their free speech rights, she said in an email. “That said, a state could argue that (the groups) are facilitating the violation of a criminal law — essentially, they’re functioning as accomplices.”

The fear of prosecution has already led to victories of sorts for abortion foes; some clinics have shut down over the confusion, reopened, then shut down again. It has also led doctors&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-science-health-medication-lupus-e4042947e4cc0c45e38837d394199033">to withhold emergency treatment</a>&nbsp;until it became clear that a fetus was dead or a woman’s life was at stake.

Erin Hawley, a lawyer at the conservative Alliance Defending Freedom and the wife of Republican U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri, expects continuing litigation over medication abortions.

She pointed to a court battle underway in Mississippi, where drugmaker GenBioPro is suing the state over its provisions that make it harder to get a prescription for mifepristone, a drug that can induce abortion. The state's policies are at odds with U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulations, which courts have generally found take precedence over state law.

KANSAS CITY (AP) —Now that Roe v. Wade has been toppled, abortion opponents are taking a multifaceted approach in their quest to end abortions nationwide, targeting their strategies to the dynamics of each state as they attempt to create new laws and defend bans in courts.One anti-abortion group has proposed model legislation that would ban all abortions except to prevent the death of a pregnant woman. New legal frontiers could include prosecuting doctors who defy bans, and skirmishes over access to medication abortions already are underway. Others hope to get more conservatives elected in November to advance an anti-abortion agenda.“For Republicans, the post-Roe world will be significantly different, from a legal perspective,” said Jonathan Turley, a professor at George Washington University Law School. “For the last 50 years, Republicans have been on the offense by chipping away on the edges of Roe. Now they are going to be playing defense in all 50 states.”<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-supreme-court-decision-854f60302f21c2c35129e58cf8d8a7b0">The U.S. Supreme Court's decision overturning Roe v. Wade</a>&nbsp;said abortion is not a right under the Constitution, creating an opening for states pushing to get more restrictions on the books. Most recently,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-us-supreme-court-health-west-virginia-charleston-792346e76179351718fcd771b7d8e1ca">lawmakers in West Virginia</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-health-indiana-indianapolis-legislature-3be0e2a10d9de57b16e2968c5473681a">Indiana</a>&nbsp;have pushed ahead with new restrictions, with varying success.James Bopp Jr., general counsel for National Right to Life, has worked on model legislation for states, but said with few legislatures in session “the process of adopting new laws is really just beginning.”It recommends banning all abortions except to prevent the death of a pregnant woman, though it provides language for states that want to make exceptions in cases of rape or incest. It also recommends criminal penalties for any person, including a doctor, who knowingly or intentionally causes or aids an “unlawful abortion.”The model law would not criminalize a woman who gets an abortion.A memo attached to the model language suggests anyone who aids and abets or conspires to cause an “unlawful abortion” also could be prosecuted, including those who provide instructions on how to self-administer or get an abortion deemed unlawful under the law. That person would have to know the woman was seeking an abortion and intentionally help her to get one.“General providing of information is protected by the First Amendment,” Bopp said.It also has language that allows for prosecution of a person — other than a pharmacist or drug manufacturer — who knows a woman plans to use an abortion-inducing drug to cause an unlawful abortion, and intentionally delivers the drug or advertises such a drug for sale.But in the meantime, Bopp said abortion opponents are looking to November, when they hope to elect anti-abortion candidates who will enact such laws.With that goal in mind, many conservatives are taking a “cautious pause” on the abortion issue, according to Larry Jacobs, a politics professor at the University of Minnesota.“Republicans have a much better chance of winning competitive races around the country talking about inflation, crime and Joe Biden,” Jacobs said. “When they are talking about abortion, they are doing Democrats a favor.”Conservatives also see new courtroom battles on the horizon.Jonathan Mitchell, the former Texas solicitor general who is now a private practice attorney, came up with some of the key components of a Texas law that bans abortions after fetal cardiac activity is detected. His innovation was to make violations enforceable through lawsuits filed by citizens, rather than the government.Mitchell, who represents Texas and South Dakota in abortion lawsuits and has helped lawmakers in multiple states develop abortion bans and restrictions, said future legal fights could center around those who pay for abortions for people living in states with bans that are not being enforced due to court injunctions.“Abortion is still a criminal offense in every state with a trigger law or pre-Roe ban, regardless of whether a state-court injunction is in effect,” Mitchell said in an email to The Associated Press. He said an injunction doesn’t actually block a law as many believe, but temporarily keeps it from being enforced.He said&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-us-supreme-court-health-de9e1e2c764bf61b95aeef756a66f8a5">employers or those who help fund abortions</a>&nbsp;in states such as Utah, Kentucky, Louisiana, or West Virginia are violating the law and could be prosecuted. He said if bans exist but are on hold, abortion providers could be prosecuted retroactively.“And the mere risk of potential lawsuits may be enough to deter abortion providers from offering abortions to out-of-state residents, especially when these lawsuits can be brought,” he wrote, “not only against the physician but everyone else involved.”Melissa Murray, a professor at New York University School of Law, said the question of whether those who pay for out-of-state abortions could be charged is “uncharted ground.” Employers and funds could argue they’re exercising their free speech rights, she said in an email. “That said, a state could argue that (the groups) are facilitating the violation of a criminal law — essentially, they’re functioning as accomplices.”The fear of prosecution has already led to victories of sorts for abortion foes; some clinics have shut down over the confusion, reopened, then shut down again. It has also led doctors&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-science-health-medication-lupus-e4042947e4cc0c45e38837d394199033">to withhold emergency treatment</a>&nbsp;until it became clear that a fetus was dead or a woman’s life was at stake.Erin Hawley, a lawyer at the conservative Alliance Defending Freedom and the wife of Republican U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri, expects continuing litigation over medication abortions.She pointed to a court battle underway in Mississippi, where drugmaker GenBioPro is suing the state over its provisions that make it harder to get a prescription for mifepristone, a drug that can induce abortion. The state's policies are at odds with U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulations, which courts have generally found take precedence over state law.But Hawley said that might not apply here.“It’s always a big deal for a federal agency or law to trump state law,” Hawley said.Some states are taking different approaches.In Louisiana, the State Bond Commission voted last week&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-us-supreme-court-health-louisiana-lawsuits-939142833577eadb8d73d4bf31f62f82">to withhold a $39 million line of credit</a>&nbsp;for a New Orleans sewer and water project to “send a message” after city and local officials said they would not enforce that state’s abortion ban. The law is currently blocked by a court and not enforceable anyway.<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-health-lawsuits-xavier-becerra-ken-paxton-79b4db553df2d9f757e105eb7a64ada4">Texas sued the federal government</a>&nbsp;in mid-July after the Biden administration issued guidance that stated hospitals are required to provide abortions if necessary to save a mother’s life.On Tuesday, Kansas voters will consider&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-2022-midterm-elections-us-supreme-court-health-government-and-politics-ee885ee70503518fa02f982a7ffff464">the first statewide referendum on abortion since Roe was overturned</a>. If approved, it could make Kansas the fifth state to declare its constitution doesn’t grant the right to abortion and would open the door for the Legislature to further restrict or ban abortion.Bopp said while court battles and midterm elections are the current focus, abortion opponents would eventually like to see federal and state constitutional amendments that would explicitly protect the unborn, though he acknowledged that would be a challenge.“A constitutional amendment has been one of our goals. But this requires a hell of a consensus,” he said.