WASHINGTON (AP) — Higher mortgage rates have sent&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/housing-market-cools-6618d543a9c0ac4ff6562b586cf96c9f">home sales tumbling</a>. Credit card rates have grown more burdensome, and so have auto loans. Savers are finally receiving yields that are actually visible, while crypto assets are reeling.

The Federal Reserve's move Wednesday to further tighten credit raised its benchmark interest rate by a sizable 0.75 percentage point for a second straight time. The Fed's latest hike, its fourth since March, will further magnify borrowing costs for homes, cars and credit cards, though many borrowers may not feel the impact immediately.

The central bank is aggressively raising borrowing costs to try to slow spending, cool the economy and defeat the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/inflation-economy-prices-consumer-74e1a5c9bced40460e4079f62e980095">worst outbreak of inflation</a>&nbsp;in two generations.

The Fed's actions have ended, for now, an era of ultra-low rates that arose from the 2008-2009 Great Recession to help rescue the economy — and then re-emerged during the brutal pandemic recession, when the Fed slashed its benchmark rate back to near zero.

Chair Jerome Powell hopes that by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/fed-interest-rates-inflation-be1b698e48327d3a33847be25aba3e3d">making borrowing more expensive</a>, the Fed will succeed in slowing demand for homes, cars and other goods and services. Reduced spending could then help bring inflation,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/inflation-economy-prices-consumer-74e1a5c9bced40460e4079f62e980095">most recently measured at a four-decade high of 9.1%</a>, back to the Fed's 2% target.

Yet the risks are high. A series of higher rates could tip&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/inflation-covid-health-gross-domestic-product-economy-89cbfc145ad34a91679ffa43e617c896">the U.S. economy into recession</a>. That would mean higher unemployment, rising layoffs and further downward pressure on stock prices.

How will it all affect your finances? Here are some of the most common questions being asked about the impact of the rate hike:

I’M CONSIDERING BUYING A HOUSE. WHAT'S HAPPENING WITH MORTGAGE RATES?

Higher interest rates have&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/housing-market-cools-6618d543a9c0ac4ff6562b586cf96c9f">torpedoed the housing market</a>. Rates on home loans have nearly doubled from a year ago to 5.5%, though they've leveled off in recent weeks even as the Fed has signaled that more credit tightening is likely.

That's because mortgage rates don’t necessarily move in tandem with the Fed’s increases. Sometimes, they even move in the opposite direction. Long-term mortgages tend to track the yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which, in turn, is influenced by a variety of factors. These factors include investors’ expectations for future inflation and global demand for U.S. Treasurys.

Investors expect a recession to hit the U.S. economy later this year or early next year. This would force the Fed to eventually cut its benchmark rate in response. The expectation that the Fed will have to reverse some of its hikes next year has helped reduce the 10-year yield, from 3.5% in mid-June to roughly 2.8%.

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/home-sales-prices-mortgages-05b7ad48a6c13727ed160bae415d3baa">Sales of existing homes</a>&nbsp;have dropped for five straight months, while&nbsp;<a href="https://www.census.gov/construction/nrs/pdf/newressales.pdf">new home sales</a>&nbsp;plunged in June. If you're financially able to go ahead with a home purchase, you're likely to have more choices than you did a few months ago.

In many cities, the options are few. But the number of available houses nationwide has started to rise after falling to rock-bottom levels at the end of last year. There are now 1.26 million homes for sale, according to the National Association of Realtors, up 2.4% from a year ago.

The Fed's rate hikes typically make auto loans more expensive. But other factors also affect these rates, including competition among car makers, which can sometimes lower borrowing costs.

Rates for buyers with lower credit ratings are most likely to rise as a result of the Fed’s hikes. Because used vehicle prices, on average, are rising, monthly payments will rise too.

For users of credit cards, home equity lines of credit and other variable-interest debt, rates would rise by roughly the same amount as the Fed hike, usually within one or two billing cycles. That’s because those rates are based in part on banks’ prime rate, which moves in tandem with the Fed.

Those who don’t qualify for low-rate credit cards might be stuck paying higher interest on their balances. The rates on their cards would rise as the prime rate does.

The Fed's rate increases have already sent credit card borrowing rates above 20% for the first time in at least four years, according to LendingTree, which has tracked the data since 2018.

You can now earn more on bonds, CDs, and other fixed income investments. And it depends on where your savings, if you have any, are parked.

Savings, certificates of deposit and money market accounts don’t typically track the Fed’s changes. Instead, banks tend to capitalize on a higher-rate environment to try to boost their profits. They do so by imposing higher rates on borrowers, without necessarily offering any juicer rates to savers.

But online banks and others with high-yield savings accounts are often an exception. These accounts are known for aggressively competing for depositors. The only catch is that they typically require significant deposits.

HOW HAVE THE RATE HIKES INFLUENCED CRYPTO?

Like many highly valued technology stocks, cryptocurrencies like bitcoin have sunk in value since the Fed began raising rates. Bitcoin has plunged from a peak at about $68,000 to $21,000.

Higher rates mean that safe assets like bonds and Treasuries become more attractive to investors because their yields are now higher. That, in turn, makes risky assets like technology stocks and cryptocurrencies less attractive.

All that said, bitcoin is suffering from its own problems that are separate from economic policy. Two major crypto firms have failed. The shaken confidence of crypto investors is not being helped by the fact that the safest place you can park money now — bonds — seems like a safer move.

Right now, payments on federal student loans are suspended until Aug. 31 as part of an emergency measure that was put in place early in the pandemic. Inflation means that loan-holders have less disposable income to make payments. Still, a slowed economy that reduces inflation could bring some relief by fall.

Depending on the state of the economy, the government may choose at the end of summer to extend the emergency measure that's deferring the loan payments. President Joe Biden is also considering some form of loan forgiveness. Borrowers who take out new private student loans should prepare to pay more. Rates vary by lender but are expected to increase.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Higher mortgage rates have sent&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/housing-market-cools-6618d543a9c0ac4ff6562b586cf96c9f">home sales tumbling</a>. Credit card rates have grown more burdensome, and so have auto loans. Savers are finally receiving yields that are actually visible, while crypto assets are reeling.The Federal Reserve's move Wednesday to further tighten credit raised its benchmark interest rate by a sizable 0.75 percentage point for a second straight time. The Fed's latest hike, its fourth since March, will further magnify borrowing costs for homes, cars and credit cards, though many borrowers may not feel the impact immediately.The central bank is aggressively raising borrowing costs to try to slow spending, cool the economy and defeat the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/inflation-economy-prices-consumer-74e1a5c9bced40460e4079f62e980095">worst outbreak of inflation</a>&nbsp;in two generations.The Fed's actions have ended, for now, an era of ultra-low rates that arose from the 2008-2009 Great Recession to help rescue the economy — and then re-emerged during the brutal pandemic recession, when the Fed slashed its benchmark rate back to near zero.Chair Jerome Powell hopes that by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/fed-interest-rates-inflation-be1b698e48327d3a33847be25aba3e3d">making borrowing more expensive</a>, the Fed will succeed in slowing demand for homes, cars and other goods and services. Reduced spending could then help bring inflation,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/inflation-economy-prices-consumer-74e1a5c9bced40460e4079f62e980095">most recently measured at a four-decade high of 9.1%</a>, back to the Fed's 2% target.Yet the risks are high. A series of higher rates could tip&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/inflation-covid-health-gross-domestic-product-economy-89cbfc145ad34a91679ffa43e617c896">the U.S. economy into recession</a>. That would mean higher unemployment, rising layoffs and further downward pressure on stock prices.How will it all affect your finances? Here are some of the most common questions being asked about the impact of the rate hike:___I’M CONSIDERING BUYING A HOUSE. WHAT'S HAPPENING WITH MORTGAGE RATES?Higher interest rates have&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/housing-market-cools-6618d543a9c0ac4ff6562b586cf96c9f">torpedoed the housing market</a>. Rates on home loans have nearly doubled from a year ago to 5.5%, though they've leveled off in recent weeks even as the Fed has signaled that more credit tightening is likely.That's because mortgage rates don’t necessarily move in tandem with the Fed’s increases. Sometimes, they even move in the opposite direction. Long-term mortgages tend to track the yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which, in turn, is influenced by a variety of factors. These factors include investors’ expectations for future inflation and global demand for U.S. Treasurys.Investors expect a recession to hit the U.S. economy later this year or early next year. This would force the Fed to eventually cut its benchmark rate in response. The expectation that the Fed will have to reverse some of its hikes next year has helped reduce the 10-year yield, from 3.5% in mid-June to roughly 2.8%.WILL IT BE EASIER TO FIND A HOUSE?<a href="https://apnews.com/article/home-sales-prices-mortgages-05b7ad48a6c13727ed160bae415d3baa">Sales of existing homes</a>&nbsp;have dropped for five straight months, while&nbsp;<a href="https://www.census.gov/construction/nrs/pdf/newressales.pdf">new home sales</a>&nbsp;plunged in June. If you're financially able to go ahead with a home purchase, you're likely to have more choices than you did a few months ago.In many cities, the options are few. But the number of available houses nationwide has started to rise after falling to rock-bottom levels at the end of last year. There are now 1.26 million homes for sale, according to the National Association of Realtors, up 2.4% from a year ago.I NEED A NEW CAR. SHOULD I BUY ONE NOW?The Fed's rate hikes typically make auto loans more expensive. But other factors also affect these rates, including competition among car makers, which can sometimes lower borrowing costs.Rates for buyers with lower credit ratings are most likely to rise as a result of the Fed’s hikes. Because used vehicle prices, on average, are rising, monthly payments will rise too.WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO MY CREDIT CARD?For users of credit cards, home equity lines of credit and other variable-interest debt, rates would rise by roughly the same amount as the Fed hike, usually within one or two billing cycles. That’s because those rates are based in part on banks’ prime rate, which moves in tandem with the Fed.Those who don’t qualify for low-rate credit cards might be stuck paying higher interest on their balances. The rates on their cards would rise as the prime rate does.The Fed's rate increases have already sent credit card borrowing rates above 20% for the first time in at least four years, according to LendingTree, which has tracked the data since 2018.HOW WILL THIS AFFECT MY SAVINGS?You can now earn more on bonds, CDs, and other fixed income investments. And it depends on where your savings, if you have any, are parked.Savings, certificates of deposit and money market accounts don’t typically track the Fed’s changes. Instead, banks tend to capitalize on a higher-rate environment to try to boost their profits. They do so by imposing higher rates on borrowers, without necessarily offering any juicer rates to savers.But online banks and others with high-yield savings accounts are often an exception. These accounts are known for aggressively competing for depositors. The only catch is that they typically require significant deposits.HOW HAVE THE RATE HIKES INFLUENCED CRYPTO?Like many highly valued technology stocks, cryptocurrencies like bitcoin have sunk in value since the Fed began raising rates. Bitcoin has plunged from a peak at about $68,000 to $21,000.Higher rates mean that safe assets like bonds and Treasuries become more attractive to investors because their yields are now higher. That, in turn, makes risky assets like technology stocks and cryptocurrencies less attractive.All that said, bitcoin is suffering from its own problems that are separate from economic policy. Two major crypto firms have failed. The shaken confidence of crypto investors is not being helped by the fact that the safest place you can park money now — bonds — seems like a safer move.WILL MY STUDENT LOAN PAYMENT GO UP?Right now, payments on federal student loans are suspended until Aug. 31 as part of an emergency measure that was put in place early in the pandemic. Inflation means that loan-holders have less disposable income to make payments. Still, a slowed economy that reduces inflation could bring some relief by fall.Depending on the state of the economy, the government may choose at the end of summer to extend the emergency measure that's deferring the loan payments. President Joe Biden is also considering some form of loan forgiveness. Borrowers who take out new private student loans should prepare to pay more. Rates vary by lender but are expected to increase.

How the latest interest rate hike will affect your finances

WASHINGTON (AP) — When a 10-year-old Ohio girl traveled to Indiana last month to end a pregnancy allegedly forced onto her by a rapist, several conservative politicians and TV pundits&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-biden-indiana-newspapers-938874e6b63b13e17f9d6f153915ec08">called the report a hoax</a>.

After horrific details confirmed the case was real, some tried a new tact: claiming, without evidence, that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-us-supreme-court-health-indiana-indianapolis-8708e35d637dd9aa83681113250e0875">the child could have still legally obtained an abortion in Ohio</a>&nbsp;under a near-total abortion ban that exempts only mothers whose lives or major bodily functions are at risk once&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-us-supreme-court-health-ohio-tennessee-0056dcfb4e5fe1590f07b5993c52078a">fetal cardiac activity</a>&nbsp;is detected.

Catherine Glenn Foster, president of the anti-abortion Americans United for Life, added another defense for young rape victims: She told the House Judiciary Committee that a 10-year-old's pregnancy “would probably impact her life and so, therefore, it would fall under any exception and would not be an abortion.”

In televised statements and interviews, anti-abortion advocates have used misleading rhetoric about abortion access to downplay fallout and complications from restrictive abortion laws as doctors, struggling to interpret laws that have largely been untested in courts,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-us-supreme-court-politics-health-2f5af9e786ecc1cc9613bafabf8d20ad">turn away pregnant patients</a>&nbsp;for care.

Those efforts have had an immediate impact, casting a narrative about&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-state-governments-idaho-afa15cab32e3f46524997e0255fe8c8f">a post-Roe v. Wade world</a>&nbsp;that overlooks how abortion laws enacted in recent weeks have complicated the way doctors treat rape victims, miscarriages and ectopic pregnancies.

More than half a dozen doctors interviewed by The Associated Press said they feel compromised and uncertain operating in an abortion landscape fundamentally changed by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-supreme-court-decision-854f60302f21c2c35129e58cf8d8a7b0">a U.S. Supreme Court ruling</a>&nbsp;that rejected&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-abortion-timeline-25f379808fff516ff2a28eae9abb973a">nearly 50 years of precedent</a>&nbsp;that abortion was a protected constitutional right.

“It’s a horrible position for health care providers to be in, to be unsure about what’s legal and what's not legal, and to be questioning the care that they know that they should provide,” said Dr. Jennifer Kerns, an associate professor in the department of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences at the University of California, San Francisco.

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, who initially&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-health-indiana-indianapolis-patient-privacy-62ff581984a33e86ee29302ce8e44120">questioned reporting of the 10-year-old girl's rape case</a>, said in a Fox News Channel interview that she did not have to leave Ohio for abortion treatment, citing the state’s exemptions. Last week, Ohio Right to Life President Mike Gonidakis repeated the claim during a public forum: “She could have had that abortion here.” The law’s Republican sponsor said the same in a newspaper column published Thursday.

But it’s not as clear cut as they’ve suggested.

The state’s nonpartisan Legislative Service Commission confirmed in an analysis that the age of a mother, alone, would not allow a girl to legally access the procedure in the state. Doctors in Ohio are required to document a medical condition and rationale if they administer an abortion to provide life-saving treatment.

Yost’s office did not return a request for additional comment. Gonidakis laid out “different scenarios” to the AP under which the girl might have been able to access the abortion in Ohio, such as if a doctor agreed her life was at risk because of her age, while noting that he had not reviewed her medical records.

Across social media, some conservatives have also minimized concerns about access to treatment for ectopic pregnancies, calling it “still legal in every state.” An ectopic pregnancy is defined as one in which a fertilized egg grows outside the uterus, where it has no chance of survival.

Earlier this month, abortion opponent Erin Morrow Hawley told the House Reform and Oversight Committee that ectopic pregnancies had become the subject of “misinformation.”

“There have been social media posts suggesting that women won’t get treated for an ectopic pregnancy because doctors might be afraid of performing the procedure, but that’s absolutely false,” said Hawley, an attorney at the religious nonprofit Alliance Defending Freedom. “Treatment for an ectopic pregnancy is not, in fact, an abortion.”

State abortion laws, however, have fueled confusion.

Doctors generally agree that the procedure to an end an ectopic pregnancy, which typically includes medication or surgery to remove the pregnancy, is not the same as an abortion.

But women reportedly&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-science-health-medication-lupus-e4042947e4cc0c45e38837d394199033?taid=62d2c2d4f9fbcc0001977758&amp;utm_campaign=TrueAnthem&amp;utm_medium=AP&amp;utm_source=Twitter">have been declined care</a>&nbsp;in states that have severely restricted abortion access, like Ohio, where an abortion is banned once fetal cardiac activity is detected. Fetal heartbeats can still be present in ectopic pregnancies. In one case, a central Texas hospital&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-health-texas-government-and-politics-da85c82bf3e9ced09ad499e350ae5ee3">told a physician not to treat an ectopic pregnancy</a>&nbsp;until it ruptured, per a letter from the Texas Medical Association.

In an email to the AP, Hawley said that doctors who have turned away ectopic pregnancy patients because of abortion bans are misinterpreting the laws.

Still, before Roe v. Wade was even overturned by the Supreme Court in June, some religious hospitals had policies against treating women for ectopic pregnancies.

And many states have not specified in their newly enacted abortion bans that an ectopic pregnancy can be treated as an exception. That's left doctors in some states leery of ending the pregnancy, said Dr. Kate White, an associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Boston University School of Medicine. Lawmakers in West Virginia, for example, are considering an abortion ban that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-health-west-virginia-charleston-government-and-politics-684060ec1f67e97ae57f567317379b1b">would carve out an exception for ectopic pregnancies</a>.

“Clinicians may be afraid to treat it if the abortion law in their state does not explicitly carve out ectopic pregnancy. You can see their worry, ‘Hey, growing pregnancy, can’t interrupt it ever,'” White said. “They are afraid that the law is too broad.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/7/1659091495689.png" alt="Photo courtesy WTTY TV" />
 <figcaption>Photo courtesy WTTY TV</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — When a 10-year-old Ohio girl traveled to Indiana last month to end a pregnancy allegedly forced onto her by a rapist, several conservative politicians and TV pundits&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-biden-indiana-newspapers-938874e6b63b13e17f9d6f153915ec08">called the report a hoax</a>.After horrific details confirmed the case was real, some tried a new tact: claiming, without evidence, that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-us-supreme-court-health-indiana-indianapolis-8708e35d637dd9aa83681113250e0875">the child could have still legally obtained an abortion in Ohio</a>&nbsp;under a near-total abortion ban that exempts only mothers whose lives or major bodily functions are at risk once&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-us-supreme-court-health-ohio-tennessee-0056dcfb4e5fe1590f07b5993c52078a">fetal cardiac activity</a>&nbsp;is detected.Catherine Glenn Foster, president of the anti-abortion Americans United for Life, added another defense for young rape victims: She told the House Judiciary Committee that a 10-year-old's pregnancy “would probably impact her life and so, therefore, it would fall under any exception and would not be an abortion.”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/7/1659091701134.png" alt="Photo courtesy WTTY&nbsp; TV" />
 <figcaption>Photo courtesy WTTY&nbsp; TV</figcaption>
 </figure>In televised statements and interviews, anti-abortion advocates have used misleading rhetoric about abortion access to downplay fallout and complications from restrictive abortion laws as doctors, struggling to interpret laws that have largely been untested in courts,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-us-supreme-court-politics-health-2f5af9e786ecc1cc9613bafabf8d20ad">turn away pregnant patients</a>&nbsp;for care.Those efforts have had an immediate impact, casting a narrative about&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-state-governments-idaho-afa15cab32e3f46524997e0255fe8c8f">a post-Roe v. Wade world</a>&nbsp;that overlooks how abortion laws enacted in recent weeks have complicated the way doctors treat rape victims, miscarriages and ectopic pregnancies.More than half a dozen doctors interviewed by The Associated Press said they feel compromised and uncertain operating in an abortion landscape fundamentally changed by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-supreme-court-decision-854f60302f21c2c35129e58cf8d8a7b0">a U.S. Supreme Court ruling</a>&nbsp;that rejected&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-abortion-timeline-25f379808fff516ff2a28eae9abb973a">nearly 50 years of precedent</a>&nbsp;that abortion was a protected constitutional right.“It’s a horrible position for health care providers to be in, to be unsure about what’s legal and what's not legal, and to be questioning the care that they know that they should provide,” said Dr. Jennifer Kerns, an associate professor in the department of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences at the University of California, San Francisco.Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, who initially&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-health-indiana-indianapolis-patient-privacy-62ff581984a33e86ee29302ce8e44120">questioned reporting of the 10-year-old girl's rape case</a>, said in a Fox News Channel interview that she did not have to leave Ohio for abortion treatment, citing the state’s exemptions. Last week, Ohio Right to Life President Mike Gonidakis repeated the claim during a public forum: “She could have had that abortion here.” The law’s Republican sponsor said the same in a newspaper column published Thursday.But it’s not as clear cut as they’ve suggested.The state’s nonpartisan Legislative Service Commission confirmed in an analysis that the age of a mother, alone, would not allow a girl to legally access the procedure in the state. Doctors in Ohio are required to document a medical condition and rationale if they administer an abortion to provide life-saving treatment.Yost’s office did not return a request for additional comment. Gonidakis laid out “different scenarios” to the AP under which the girl might have been able to access the abortion in Ohio, such as if a doctor agreed her life was at risk because of her age, while noting that he had not reviewed her medical records.Across social media, some conservatives have also minimized concerns about access to treatment for ectopic pregnancies, calling it “still legal in every state.” An ectopic pregnancy is defined as one in which a fertilized egg grows outside the uterus, where it has no chance of survival.Earlier this month, abortion opponent Erin Morrow Hawley told the House Reform and Oversight Committee that ectopic pregnancies had become the subject of “misinformation.”“There have been social media posts suggesting that women won’t get treated for an ectopic pregnancy because doctors might be afraid of performing the procedure, but that’s absolutely false,” said Hawley, an attorney at the religious nonprofit Alliance Defending Freedom. “Treatment for an ectopic pregnancy is not, in fact, an abortion.”State abortion laws, however, have fueled confusion.Doctors generally agree that the procedure to an end an ectopic pregnancy, which typically includes medication or surgery to remove the pregnancy, is not the same as an abortion.But women reportedly&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-science-health-medication-lupus-e4042947e4cc0c45e38837d394199033?taid=62d2c2d4f9fbcc0001977758&amp;utm_campaign=TrueAnthem&amp;utm_medium=AP&amp;utm_source=Twitter">have been declined care</a>&nbsp;in states that have severely restricted abortion access, like Ohio, where an abortion is banned once fetal cardiac activity is detected. Fetal heartbeats can still be present in ectopic pregnancies. In one case, a central Texas hospital&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-health-texas-government-and-politics-da85c82bf3e9ced09ad499e350ae5ee3">told a physician not to treat an ectopic pregnancy</a>&nbsp;until it ruptured, per a letter from the Texas Medical Association.In an email to the AP, Hawley said that doctors who have turned away ectopic pregnancy patients because of abortion bans are misinterpreting the laws.Still, before Roe v. Wade was even overturned by the Supreme Court in June, some religious hospitals had policies against treating women for ectopic pregnancies.And many states have not specified in their newly enacted abortion bans that an ectopic pregnancy can be treated as an exception. That's left doctors in some states leery of ending the pregnancy, said Dr. Kate White, an associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Boston University School of Medicine. Lawmakers in West Virginia, for example, are considering an abortion ban that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-health-west-virginia-charleston-government-and-politics-684060ec1f67e97ae57f567317379b1b">would carve out an exception for ectopic pregnancies</a>.“Clinicians may be afraid to treat it if the abortion law in their state does not explicitly carve out ectopic pregnancy. You can see their worry, ‘Hey, growing pregnancy, can’t interrupt it ever,'” White said. “They are afraid that the law is too broad.”

Abortion foes downplay complex post-Roe v. Wade realities

DOVER, Del. (AP) — A Delaware bankruptcy judge has approved parts of the Boy Scouts of America’s reorganization plan but has rejected other provisions, saying in a ruling Friday that the organization has “decisions to make” regarding the plan.

Judge Laurie Selber Silverstein issued her 281-page ruling, months after concluding a trial in the case. She indicated that she is willing to hold a status conference upon a request by attorneys for the Boy Scouts.

The BSA’s plan proposed the creation of a $2.6 billion fund to compensate tens of thousands of men who say they were sexually abused as children involved in Scouting, while maintaining the organization’s financial ability to continue operating.

The ruling is the just latest example of uncertainty in a case that has seen myriad twists and turns since the Boy Scouts sought bankruptcy protection more than two years ago to stave off a flood of lawsuits alleging child sexual abuse by Scout leaders and volunteers.

In the meantime, the cash-strapped BSA has spent more than $327 million in fees and expenses in the bankruptcy and continues to bleed money, with no end in sight. It also remains unclear when any of the 82,000 sexual abuse claimants in the bankruptcy might receive any compensation for their abuse.

The plan called for the Irving, Texas-based BSA and its local councils, along with settling insurance companies and troop sponsoring organizations, to contribute some $2.6 billion in cash and property to a fund for abuse claimants. In return for those contributions, those entities would be shielded from future lawsuits over Scout-related abuse.

When it filed for bankruptcy, the BSA faced about 275 filed lawsuits and was aware of roughly another 1,400 potential cases, but more than 82,200 abuse claims were filed in the bankruptcy. Attorneys for BSA insurers argued early on that the sheer volume of claims was an indication of fraud and the result of aggressive client solicitation by attorneys and for-profit claims aggregators.

While some of those insurers later negotiated settlements for a fraction of the billions of dollars in liability exposure they potentially faced, other insurers continued to oppose the plan. They argued that the procedures for distributing funds from the compensation trust would violate their contractual rights to contest claims, set a dangerous precedent for mass tort litigation, and result in grossly inflated payments of abuse claims, including tens of thousands that would otherwise be barred by the passage of time.

Under the reorganization plan, the BSA and its 250 local councils, along with settling insurance companies and troop sponsoring organizations, would contribute some $2.6 billion in cash and property to a fund for victims of child sexual abuse. In return for those contributions, those entities would be released from further liability, meaning they could not be sued for Scout-related abuse claims. The plan also would allow abuse claimants to sue insurance companies and local troop sponsoring organizations that do not enter into their own settlements within one year.

In addition to the arguments by opposing insurers, the case presented Silverstein with one of the most contentious issues for bankruptcy judges — whether third parties that are not bankruptcy debtors themselves can escape future liability in the tort system by contributing to a Chapter 11 debtor’s reorganization plan.

Such third-party releases, spawned by asbestos and product-liability cases, have been criticized as an unconstitutional form of “bankruptcy grifting,” where non-debtor entities obtain benefits by joining with a debtor to resolve mass-tort litigation in bankruptcy.

Federal courts in some jurisdictions, including Delaware, have allowed third-party releases in certain circumstances, while courts in other jurisdictions have rejected them.

Under the plan proposed by the Boy Scouts, insurance companies, local BSA councils and troop sponsoring organizations would receive broad liability releases protecting them from future sex abuse lawsuits in exchange for contributing to the victims compensation fund — or even for just not objecting to the plan.

Some abuse survivors argued that releasing their claims against non-debtor third parties without their consent would violate their due process rights. The U.S. bankruptcy trustee, the government’s “watchdog” in Chapter 11 bankruptcies, argued that such releases are not allowed under the bankruptcy code, and that the scope of the proposed releases in the BSA plan, potentially extending to tens of thousands of entities, was unprecedented.

The plan called for the BSA itself to contribute less than 10% of the proposed settlement fund, consisting of property valued at about $80 million, an $80 million promissory note, and roughly $20 million cash.

The local BSA councils, which run day-to-day operations for troops, offered to contribute at least $515 million in cash and property, and an interest-bearing note of at least $100 million. That contribution was conditioned on certain protections for local troop sponsoring organizations, known as “chartered organizations.” Those organizations, numbering in the tens of thousands, include religious entities, civic associations and community groups.

The bulk of the compensation fund would come from the BSA’s two largest insurers, Century Indemnity and The Hartford, which reached settlements calling for them to contribute $800 million and $787 million, respectively. Other insurers agreed to contribute about $69 million. The BSA’s former largest troop sponsor, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, would contribute $250 million for abuse claims involving the Mormon church, while congregations affiliated with the United Methodist Church would contribute $30 million.

DOVER, Del. (AP) — A Delaware bankruptcy judge has approved parts of the Boy Scouts of America’s reorganization plan but has rejected other provisions, saying in a ruling Friday that the organization has “decisions to make” regarding the plan.Judge Laurie Selber Silverstein issued her 281-page ruling, months after concluding a trial in the case. She indicated that she is willing to hold a status conference upon a request by attorneys for the Boy Scouts.The BSA’s plan proposed the creation of a $2.6 billion fund to compensate tens of thousands of men who say they were sexually abused as children involved in Scouting, while maintaining the organization’s financial ability to continue operating.The ruling is the just latest example of uncertainty in a case that has seen myriad twists and turns since the Boy Scouts sought bankruptcy protection more than two years ago to stave off a flood of lawsuits alleging child sexual abuse by Scout leaders and volunteers.In the meantime, the cash-strapped BSA has spent more than $327 million in fees and expenses in the bankruptcy and continues to bleed money, with no end in sight. It also remains unclear when any of the 82,000 sexual abuse claimants in the bankruptcy might receive any compensation for their abuse.The plan called for the Irving, Texas-based BSA and its local councils, along with settling insurance companies and troop sponsoring organizations, to contribute some $2.6 billion in cash and property to a fund for abuse claimants. In return for those contributions, those entities would be shielded from future lawsuits over Scout-related abuse.When it filed for bankruptcy, the BSA faced about 275 filed lawsuits and was aware of roughly another 1,400 potential cases, but more than 82,200 abuse claims were filed in the bankruptcy. Attorneys for BSA insurers argued early on that the sheer volume of claims was an indication of fraud and the result of aggressive client solicitation by attorneys and for-profit claims aggregators.While some of those insurers later negotiated settlements for a fraction of the billions of dollars in liability exposure they potentially faced, other insurers continued to oppose the plan. They argued that the procedures for distributing funds from the compensation trust would violate their contractual rights to contest claims, set a dangerous precedent for mass tort litigation, and result in grossly inflated payments of abuse claims, including tens of thousands that would otherwise be barred by the passage of time.Under the reorganization plan, the BSA and its 250 local councils, along with settling insurance companies and troop sponsoring organizations, would contribute some $2.6 billion in cash and property to a fund for victims of child sexual abuse. In return for those contributions, those entities would be released from further liability, meaning they could not be sued for Scout-related abuse claims. The plan also would allow abuse claimants to sue insurance companies and local troop sponsoring organizations that do not enter into their own settlements within one year.In addition to the arguments by opposing insurers, the case presented Silverstein with one of the most contentious issues for bankruptcy judges — whether third parties that are not bankruptcy debtors themselves can escape future liability in the tort system by contributing to a Chapter 11 debtor’s reorganization plan.Such third-party releases, spawned by asbestos and product-liability cases, have been criticized as an unconstitutional form of “bankruptcy grifting,” where non-debtor entities obtain benefits by joining with a debtor to resolve mass-tort litigation in bankruptcy.Federal courts in some jurisdictions, including Delaware, have allowed third-party releases in certain circumstances, while courts in other jurisdictions have rejected them.Under the plan proposed by the Boy Scouts, insurance companies, local BSA councils and troop sponsoring organizations would receive broad liability releases protecting them from future sex abuse lawsuits in exchange for contributing to the victims compensation fund — or even for just not objecting to the plan.Some abuse survivors argued that releasing their claims against non-debtor third parties without their consent would violate their due process rights. The U.S. bankruptcy trustee, the government’s “watchdog” in Chapter 11 bankruptcies, argued that such releases are not allowed under the bankruptcy code, and that the scope of the proposed releases in the BSA plan, potentially extending to tens of thousands of entities, was unprecedented.The plan called for the BSA itself to contribute less than 10% of the proposed settlement fund, consisting of property valued at about $80 million, an $80 million promissory note, and roughly $20 million cash.The local BSA councils, which run day-to-day operations for troops, offered to contribute at least $515 million in cash and property, and an interest-bearing note of at least $100 million. That contribution was conditioned on certain protections for local troop sponsoring organizations, known as “chartered organizations.” Those organizations, numbering in the tens of thousands, include religious entities, civic associations and community groups.The bulk of the compensation fund would come from the BSA’s two largest insurers, Century Indemnity and The Hartford, which reached settlements calling for them to contribute $800 million and $787 million, respectively. Other insurers agreed to contribute about $69 million. The BSA’s former largest troop sponsor, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, would contribute $250 million for abuse claims involving the Mormon church, while congregations affiliated with the United Methodist Church would contribute $30 million.

Sex abuse settlement: Ruling leaves questions about Boy Scouts plan

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden tested positive for COVID-19 for the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-covid-health-government-and-politics-6ffc64aa1d8d67b074dd8beb67d7cf6f">second straight day</a>, in what appears to be in a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/covid-science-health-2e843a971be751e8b8b25575c8bfc60a">rare case</a>&nbsp;of “rebound” following treatment with an anti-viral drug.

<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Update-7.31.pdf">In a letter noting the positive test</a>, Dr. Kevin O'Connor, the White House physician, said Sunday that the president “continues to feel well” and will keep on working from the executive residence while he isolates.

Biden tested positive on Saturday, requiring him to cancel travel and in-person events as he isolates for at least five days in accordance with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines.

After initially testing positive on July 21, Biden, 79, was treated with the anti-viral drug Paxlovid. He tested negative for the virus on this past Tuesday and Wednesday,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-covid-health-government-and-politics-7842dd2e606bb9f6aeb15d4a8c856c97">clearing him to leave isolation</a>&nbsp;while wearing a mask indoors.

<a href="https://emergency.cdc.gov/han/2022/pdf/CDC_HAN_467.pdf">Research suggests</a>&nbsp;that a minority of those prescribed&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/covid-science-health-medication-2a5d69812947d7fa939e87d9feaa27af">Paxlovid</a>&nbsp;to experience a rebound case of the virus. The fact that a rebound rather than a reinfection possibly occurred is a positive sign for Biden's health once he's clear of the disease.

“The fact that the president has cleared his illness and doesn’t have symptoms is a good sign and makes it less likely he will develop long COVID,” said Dr. Albert Ho, an infectious disease specialist at Yale University's school of public health.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/7/1659293907044.png" alt="Biden planned to stop by the Capitol and visit families fighting to pass burn pits legislation on Sunday. COVID got in the way, so he FaceTimed them and sent some pizza-White House photo" />
 <figcaption>Biden planned to stop by the Capitol and visit families fighting to pass burn pits legislation on Sunday. COVID got in the way, so he FaceTimed them and sent some pizza-White House photo</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden tested positive for COVID-19 for the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-covid-health-government-and-politics-6ffc64aa1d8d67b074dd8beb67d7cf6f">second straight day</a>, in what appears to be in a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/covid-science-health-2e843a971be751e8b8b25575c8bfc60a">rare case</a>&nbsp;of “rebound” following treatment with an anti-viral drug.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/7/1659293701222.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure><a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Update-7.31.pdf">In a letter noting the positive test</a>, Dr. Kevin O'Connor, the White House physician, said Sunday that the president “continues to feel well” and will keep on working from the executive residence while he isolates.Biden tested positive on Saturday, requiring him to cancel travel and in-person events as he isolates for at least five days in accordance with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines.After initially testing positive on July 21, Biden, 79, was treated with the anti-viral drug Paxlovid. He tested negative for the virus on this past Tuesday and Wednesday,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-covid-health-government-and-politics-7842dd2e606bb9f6aeb15d4a8c856c97">clearing him to leave isolation</a>&nbsp;while wearing a mask indoors.<a href="https://emergency.cdc.gov/han/2022/pdf/CDC_HAN_467.pdf">Research suggests</a>&nbsp;that a minority of those prescribed&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/covid-science-health-medication-2a5d69812947d7fa939e87d9feaa27af">Paxlovid</a>&nbsp;to experience a rebound case of the virus. The fact that a rebound rather than a reinfection possibly occurred is a positive sign for Biden's health once he's clear of the disease.“The fact that the president has cleared his illness and doesn’t have symptoms is a good sign and makes it less likely he will develop long COVID,” said Dr. Albert Ho, an infectious disease specialist at Yale University's school of public health.

Doctor: Biden tests positive for COVID for 2nd day in a row

DODGE CITY&nbsp;– Governor Laura Kelly continued her ‘Prosperity on the Plains’ statewide economic development tour in Dodge City Saturday, according to a media release from her office. \

She met with leaders from Nor-Am Cold Storage, a freezer and production company that opened a 148,000-square-foot Dodge City facility in October 2020. Governor Kelly and Nor-Am leaders discussed how the facility has evolved since opening, how the company partners with producers and processors like National Beef, and how the arrival of businesses like Hilmar Cheese is lifting the entire Ford County region economically.

“I’m visiting with businesses big and small across Kansas to learn how my Administration can continue our record-breaking economic success,”&nbsp;Governor Laura Kelly said.&nbsp;“It was great to return to Dodge City today to see how Nor-Am's facility has developed since I cut the ribbon on it two years ago. Thank you to Nor-Am’s leadership for taking the time to show me around one of our many successful Kansas businesses.”&nbsp;

Nor-Am Cold Storage opened its Dodge City location just three years after opening its first location in Elwood. The combined investment of the Dodge City and Elwood locations is nearly $60 million and represents 170 full-time jobs.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/7/1659269176692.png" alt="Gov. Kelly met with leaders from Nor-Am Cold Storage, a freezer and production company that opened a 148,000-square-foot Dodge City facility in October 2020.-courtesy photo" />
 <figcaption>Gov. Kelly met with leaders from Nor-Am Cold Storage, a freezer and production company that opened a 148,000-square-foot Dodge City facility in October 2020.-courtesy photo</figcaption>
 </figure>DODGE CITY&nbsp;– Governor Laura Kelly continued her ‘Prosperity on the Plains’ statewide economic development tour in Dodge City Saturday, according to a media release from her office. \She met with leaders from Nor-Am Cold Storage, a freezer and production company that opened a 148,000-square-foot Dodge City facility in October 2020. Governor Kelly and Nor-Am leaders discussed how the facility has evolved since opening, how the company partners with producers and processors like National Beef, and how the arrival of businesses like Hilmar Cheese is lifting the entire Ford County region economically.“I’m visiting with businesses big and small across Kansas to learn how my Administration can continue our record-breaking economic success,”&nbsp;Governor Laura Kelly said.&nbsp;“It was great to return to Dodge City today to see how Nor-Am's facility has developed since I cut the ribbon on it two years ago. Thank you to Nor-Am’s leadership for taking the time to show me around one of our many successful Kansas businesses.”&nbsp;Nor-Am Cold Storage opened its Dodge City location just three years after opening its first location in Elwood. The combined investment of the Dodge City and Elwood locations is nearly $60 million and represents 170 full-time jobs.

Governor's 'Prosperity on the Plains' tour stops in SW Kansas

ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE (AP) — Pope Francis acknowledged Saturday that he can no longer travel like he used to because of his strained knee ligaments, saying his&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/pope-francis-canada-religion-986583f86f7dff1589d56ffca79835ec">weeklong Canadian pilgrimage</a>&nbsp;was “a bit of a test” that showed he needs to slow down and one day possibly retire.

Speaking to reporters while traveling home from northern Nunavut, the 85-year-old Francis stressed that he hadn’t thought about resigning but said “the door is open” and there was nothing wrong with&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/pope-francis-religion-rome-argentina-6a3f9a4aa7d93b43b5788968e6155031">a pope stepping down</a>.

“It’s not strange. It’s not a catastrophe. You can change the pope,” he said while sitting in an airplane wheelchair during a 45-minute news conference.

Francis said that while he hadn't considered resigning until now, he realizes he has to at least slow down.

“I think at my age and with these limitations, I have to save (my energy) to be able to serve the church, or on the contrary, think about the possibility of stepping aside,” he said.

Francis was peppered with questions about the future of his pontificate following the first trip in which he used a wheelchair, walker and cane to get around, sharply limiting his program and ability to mingle with crowds.

He strained his right knee ligaments earlier this year, and continuing laser and magnetic therapy forced him to cancel a trip to Africa that was scheduled for the first week of July.

The Canada trip was difficult, and featured several moments when Francis was clearly in pain as he maneuvered getting up and down from chairs.

At the end of his six-day tour, he appeared in good spirits and energetic, despite a long day traveling to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/pope-francis-religion-sexual-abuse-by-clergy-quebec-1edac33a4b04788cf1f5c2cc77078fe1">the edge of the Arctic</a>&nbsp;on Friday to again apologize to Indigenous peoples for the injustices they suffered in Canada’s church-run residential schools.

Francis ruled out having surgery on his knee, saying it would not necessarily help and noting “there are still traces” from the effects of having undergone more than six hours of anesthesia in July 2021 to remove 33 centimeters (13 inches) of his large intestine.

“I’ll try to continue to do the trips and be close to people because I think it’s a way of servicing, being close. But more than this, I can’t say,” he said Saturday.

In other comments aboard the papal plane, Francis:

— Agreed that the attempt to eliminate Indigenous culture in Canada through a church-run residential school system&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/pope-francis-religion-f0a5b44114856bb52d02b794c95c524c">amounted to a cultural “genocide.”</a>&nbsp;Francis said he didn't use the term during his Canada trip because it didn't come to mind. Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission determined in 2015 that the forced removal of Indigenous children from their homes and placement in church-run residential schools to assimilate them into Christian, Canadian constituted a “cultural genocide.”

“It’s true I didn’t use the word because it didn’t come to mind, but I described genocide, no?” Francis said. “I apologized, I asked forgiveness for this work, which was genocide.”

— Suggested he was not opposed to a development of Catholic doctrine on the use of contraception. Church teaching prohibits artificial contraception. Francis noted that a Vatican think tank recently published the acts of a congress where a modification to the church’s absolute “no” was discussed. He stressed that doctrine can develop over time and that it was the job of theologians to pursue such developments, with the pope ultimately deciding.

Francis noted that church teaching on atomic weapons was modified during his pontificate to consider not only the use but the mere possession of atomic weapons as immoral and to consider the death penalty immoral in all cases.

— Confirmed he hoped to travel to Kazakhstan in mid-September for an interfaith conference where he might meet with Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill, who has justified the war in Ukraine. Francis also said he wants to go to Kyiv, Ukraine's capital, though no trip has yet been confirmed. He said he hoped to reschedule the trip to South Sudan he canceled because of his knee problems. He said the Congo leg of that trip would probably have to be put off until next year because of the rainy season.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/10/1603292366279.png" alt="Pope Francis image courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>Pope Francis image courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE (AP) — Pope Francis acknowledged Saturday that he can no longer travel like he used to because of his strained knee ligaments, saying his&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/pope-francis-canada-religion-986583f86f7dff1589d56ffca79835ec">weeklong Canadian pilgrimage</a>&nbsp;was “a bit of a test” that showed he needs to slow down and one day possibly retire.Speaking to reporters while traveling home from northern Nunavut, the 85-year-old Francis stressed that he hadn’t thought about resigning but said “the door is open” and there was nothing wrong with&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/pope-francis-religion-rome-argentina-6a3f9a4aa7d93b43b5788968e6155031">a pope stepping down</a>.“It’s not strange. It’s not a catastrophe. You can change the pope,” he said while sitting in an airplane wheelchair during a 45-minute news conference.Francis said that while he hadn't considered resigning until now, he realizes he has to at least slow down.“I think at my age and with these limitations, I have to save (my energy) to be able to serve the church, or on the contrary, think about the possibility of stepping aside,” he said.Francis was peppered with questions about the future of his pontificate following the first trip in which he used a wheelchair, walker and cane to get around, sharply limiting his program and ability to mingle with crowds.He strained his right knee ligaments earlier this year, and continuing laser and magnetic therapy forced him to cancel a trip to Africa that was scheduled for the first week of July.The Canada trip was difficult, and featured several moments when Francis was clearly in pain as he maneuvered getting up and down from chairs.At the end of his six-day tour, he appeared in good spirits and energetic, despite a long day traveling to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/pope-francis-religion-sexual-abuse-by-clergy-quebec-1edac33a4b04788cf1f5c2cc77078fe1">the edge of the Arctic</a>&nbsp;on Friday to again apologize to Indigenous peoples for the injustices they suffered in Canada’s church-run residential schools.Francis ruled out having surgery on his knee, saying it would not necessarily help and noting “there are still traces” from the effects of having undergone more than six hours of anesthesia in July 2021 to remove 33 centimeters (13 inches) of his large intestine.“I’ll try to continue to do the trips and be close to people because I think it’s a way of servicing, being close. But more than this, I can’t say,” he said Saturday.In other comments aboard the papal plane, Francis:— Agreed that the attempt to eliminate Indigenous culture in Canada through a church-run residential school system&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/pope-francis-religion-f0a5b44114856bb52d02b794c95c524c">amounted to a cultural “genocide.”</a>&nbsp;Francis said he didn't use the term during his Canada trip because it didn't come to mind. Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission determined in 2015 that the forced removal of Indigenous children from their homes and placement in church-run residential schools to assimilate them into Christian, Canadian constituted a “cultural genocide.”“It’s true I didn’t use the word because it didn’t come to mind, but I described genocide, no?” Francis said. “I apologized, I asked forgiveness for this work, which was genocide.”— Suggested he was not opposed to a development of Catholic doctrine on the use of contraception. Church teaching prohibits artificial contraception. Francis noted that a Vatican think tank recently published the acts of a congress where a modification to the church’s absolute “no” was discussed. He stressed that doctrine can develop over time and that it was the job of theologians to pursue such developments, with the pope ultimately deciding.Francis noted that church teaching on atomic weapons was modified during his pontificate to consider not only the use but the mere possession of atomic weapons as immoral and to consider the death penalty immoral in all cases.— Confirmed he hoped to travel to Kazakhstan in mid-September for an interfaith conference where he might meet with Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill, who has justified the war in Ukraine. Francis also said he wants to go to Kyiv, Ukraine's capital, though no trip has yet been confirmed. He said he hoped to reschedule the trip to South Sudan he canceled because of his knee problems. He said the Congo leg of that trip would probably have to be put off until next year because of the rainy season.___

Pope says he'll slow down or retire: 'You can change a pope'

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — A judge on Friday acquitted a southwestern Missouri woman on murder and two other felony charges in the death of the autistic teenage daughter that she gave up for adoption as a baby.

Greene County Circuit Court Judge Calvin Holden found Rebecca Ruud not guilty of first- and second-degree murder, tampering with evidence and felony abuse or neglect of a child but found her guilty on the remaining charge, illegally abandoning a corpse.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/cfa016e4712e454dbd1957fe8c4d6fb5">The charges</a>&nbsp;stemmed from the July 2017 death of 16-year-old Savannah Leckie, whose remains were found in a burn pit on Ruud's remote property near the Arkansas-Missouri border.

Ruud is scheduled to be sentenced on the last charge Sept. 15 by Holden, who heard the case instead of a jury in Springfield after a change of venue from Ozark County to the southwest. Ruud could get up to four years in prison.

Prosecutors described Savannah as the victim of severe abuse after she left her adoptive family in Minnesota and moved to Missouri to be with her biological mother. Ruud said the girl disappeared after running away because she blamed herself for starting a fire on the family's property.

Attorney General Eric Schmitt's office declined to comment about the judge's decision. A public defender representing Ruud did not immediately respond to a phone message seeking comment.

Ruud lived outside Theodosia, a village about 250 people roughly 45 miles east of Branson, a popular vacation destination. According to a probable cause statement filed along with the charges against Ruud in 2017, the girl's adoptive mother asked Ruud to take her because Savannah did not get along with her adoptive mother's fiancé.

Authorities said that after the girl moved to Missouri, she was home-schooled and had “almost no social contacts.”

Ruud reported Savannah missing two days after the fire on the family's remote property, authorities said. Several searches turned up human teeth, a meat grinder, a knife and 26 bottles of lye, which can be used to accelerate the breakdown of bodily tissue, according to court documents. Human bone fragments were found in a field about 400 yards (365 meters) from Ruud's home, about two weeks after Savannah's reported disappearance.

An ex-boyfriend of Ruud's told investigators that he had seen her discipline Savannah by forcing the teen to crawl through a hog pen and making her bathe in a pond, authorities said. Ruud acknowledged that this was true and told investigators that when Savannah cut her arm “in a suicidal gesture,” she forced the girl to scrub the wound daily with alcohol and salt as punishment.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/7/1659219812433.png" alt="Ruud-photo Greene Co." />
 <figcaption>Ruud-photo Greene Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — A judge on Friday acquitted a southwestern Missouri woman on murder and two other felony charges in the death of the autistic teenage daughter that she gave up for adoption as a baby.Greene County Circuit Court Judge Calvin Holden found Rebecca Ruud not guilty of first- and second-degree murder, tampering with evidence and felony abuse or neglect of a child but found her guilty on the remaining charge, illegally abandoning a corpse.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/cfa016e4712e454dbd1957fe8c4d6fb5">The charges</a>&nbsp;stemmed from the July 2017 death of 16-year-old Savannah Leckie, whose remains were found in a burn pit on Ruud's remote property near the Arkansas-Missouri border.Ruud is scheduled to be sentenced on the last charge Sept. 15 by Holden, who heard the case instead of a jury in Springfield after a change of venue from Ozark County to the southwest. Ruud could get up to four years in prison.Prosecutors described Savannah as the victim of severe abuse after she left her adoptive family in Minnesota and moved to Missouri to be with her biological mother. Ruud said the girl disappeared after running away because she blamed herself for starting a fire on the family's property.Attorney General Eric Schmitt's office declined to comment about the judge's decision. A public defender representing Ruud did not immediately respond to a phone message seeking comment.Ruud lived outside Theodosia, a village about 250 people roughly 45 miles east of Branson, a popular vacation destination. According to a probable cause statement filed along with the charges against Ruud in 2017, the girl's adoptive mother asked Ruud to take her because Savannah did not get along with her adoptive mother's fiancé.Authorities said that after the girl moved to Missouri, she was home-schooled and had “almost no social contacts.”Ruud reported Savannah missing two days after the fire on the family's remote property, authorities said. Several searches turned up human teeth, a meat grinder, a knife and 26 bottles of lye, which can be used to accelerate the breakdown of bodily tissue, according to court documents. Human bone fragments were found in a field about 400 yards (365 meters) from Ruud's home, about two weeks after Savannah's reported disappearance.An ex-boyfriend of Ruud's told investigators that he had seen her discipline Savannah by forcing the teen to crawl through a hog pen and making her bathe in a pond, authorities said. Ruud acknowledged that this was true and told investigators that when Savannah cut her arm “in a suicidal gesture,” she forced the girl to scrub the wound daily with alcohol and salt as punishment.

Woman acquitted of murder in autistic daughter's death

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden tested positive for COVID-19 again Saturday, slightly more than three days after he was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-covid-health-government-and-politics-7842dd2e606bb9f6aeb15d4a8c856c97">cleared to exit coronavirus isolation</a>, the White House said, in a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/covid-science-health-2e843a971be751e8b8b25575c8bfc60a">rare case</a>&nbsp;of “rebound” following treatment with an anti-viral drug.

White House physician Dr. Kevin O'Connor&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Update-7.30.pdf">said in a letter</a>&nbsp;that Biden “has experienced no reemergence of symptoms, and continues to feel quite well.” O'Connor said “there is no reason to reinitiate treatment at this time.”

In accordance with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, Biden will reenter isolation for at least five days. He will isolate at the White House until he tests negative. The agency says most rebound cases remain mild and that severe disease during that period has not been reported.

Just as when Biden first tested positive, the White House sought to show he was still working. The president sent out a picture of himself masked and tieless on Twitter, which showed him signing a declaration that added individual assistance for&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/floods-storms-kentucky-211cfd992341efe964ca996051916796">flood survivors in Kentucky</a>.

The president followed up by tweeting out a 12-second video of him on a White House balcony with his dog, Commander.

“I'm feeling fine, everything is good,” said Biden, a pair of aviator sunglasses in his hand. “But Commander and I got a little work to do.”

Word of Biden’s positive test came — he had been negative Friday morning — just two hours after the White House announced a presidential visit to Michigan this coming Tuesday to highlight the passage of a bill to promote domestic high-tech manufacturing. Biden had also been scheduled to visit his home in Wilmington, Delaware, on Sunday morning, where first lady Jill Biden has been staying while the president was positive. Both trips have been canceled as Biden has returned to isolation.

Biden, 79, was treated with the anti-viral drug&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/covid-science-health-medication-2a5d69812947d7fa939e87d9feaa27af">Paxlovid</a>&nbsp;after he&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-covid-health-karine-jean-pierre-government-and-politics-d9dbee6cc390f648396c46dd504c31c3">first tested positive on July 21</a>. He tested negative for the virus on this past Tuesday and Wednesday. He was then cleared to leave isolation while wearing a mask indoors. His positive tests puts him among the minority of those prescribed the drug to experience a rebound case of the virus.

White House COVID-19 coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha told reporters on Monday that data "suggests that between 5 and 8 percent of people have rebound” after Paxlovid treatment.

“Acknowledging the potential for so-called ‘rebound’ COVID positivity observed in a small percentage of patients treated with Paxlovid, the President increased his tested cadence, to protect people around him and to assure early detection of any return of viral replication,” O'Connor wrote in his letter.

O'Connor cited negative tests for Biden from Tuesday evening, Wednesday morning, Thursday morning and Friday morning, before Saturday morning's positive result by antigen testing. “This in fact represents ‘rebound' positivity," he wrote.

<a href="https://emergency.cdc.gov/han/2022/pdf/CDC_HAN_467.pdf">According to the CDC</a>, those with rebound COVID should isolate for at least five days, ending that if a fever has resolved itself for 24 hours without medication and symptoms have improved. The patient “should wear a mask for a total of 10 days after rebound symptoms started. Some people continue to test positive after day 10 but are considerably less likely to shed infectious virus.”

Both the Food and Drug Administration and Pfizer point out that 1% to 2% of people in Pfizer’s original study on Paxlovid saw their virus levels rebound after 10 days. The rate was about the same among people taking the drug or dummy pills, “so it is unclear at this point that this is related to drug treatment,” according to the FDA.

While Biden was testing negative, he returned to holding in-person indoor events and meetings with staff at the White House and was wearing a mask, in accordance with CDC guidelines. But the president removed his mask indoors when delivering remarks on Thursday and during a meeting with CEOs on the White House complex.

Asked why Biden appeared to be breaching CDC protocols, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said, “They were socially distanced. They were far enough apart. So we made it safe for them to be together, to be on that stage.”

Regulators are still studying the prevalence and virulence of rebound cases, but the CDC in May warned doctors that it has been reported to occur within two days to eight days after initially testing negative for the virus.

“Limited information currently available from case reports suggests that persons treated with Paxlovid who experience COVID-19 rebound have had mild illness; there are no reports of severe disease,” the agency said at the time.

When Biden was initially released from isolation on Wednesday, O’Connor said the president would “increase his testing cadence” to catch any potential rebound of the virus.

Paxlovid has been proven to significantly reduce severe disease and death among those most vulnerable to COVID-19. U.S. health officials have encouraged those who test positive to consult their doctors or pharmacists to see if they should be prescribed the treatment, despite the rebound risk.

Biden is fully vaccinated, after getting two doses of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine shortly before taking office, a first booster shot in September and an additional dose March 30.

While patients who have recovered from earlier variants of COVID-19 have tended to have high levels of immunity to future reinfection for 90 days, Jha said that the BA.5 subvariant that infected Biden has proven to be more “immune-evasive.”

“We have seen lots of people get reinfected within 90 days,” he said, adding that officials don’t yet have data on how long those who have recovered from the BA.5 strain have protection from reinfection.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/7/1659205419560.png" alt="Vice President Kamala Harris welcomed President Biden back to work on Wednesday-White House photo" />
 <figcaption>Vice President Kamala Harris welcomed President Biden back to work on Wednesday-White House photo</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden tested positive for COVID-19 again Saturday, slightly more than three days after he was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-covid-health-government-and-politics-7842dd2e606bb9f6aeb15d4a8c856c97">cleared to exit coronavirus isolation</a>, the White House said, in a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/covid-science-health-2e843a971be751e8b8b25575c8bfc60a">rare case</a>&nbsp;of “rebound” following treatment with an anti-viral drug.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/7/1659207519836.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>White House physician Dr. Kevin O'Connor&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Update-7.30.pdf">said in a letter</a>&nbsp;that Biden “has experienced no reemergence of symptoms, and continues to feel quite well.” O'Connor said “there is no reason to reinitiate treatment at this time.”<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">A quick update. <a href="https://t.co/FgT1sGlZCY">pic.twitter.com/FgT1sGlZCY</a>&mdash; President Biden (@POTUS) <a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1553479370383171584?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 30, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>In accordance with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, Biden will reenter isolation for at least five days. He will isolate at the White House until he tests negative. The agency says most rebound cases remain mild and that severe disease during that period has not been reported.Just as when Biden first tested positive, the White House sought to show he was still working. The president sent out a picture of himself masked and tieless on Twitter, which showed him signing a declaration that added individual assistance for&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/floods-storms-kentucky-211cfd992341efe964ca996051916796">flood survivors in Kentucky</a>.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Folks, today I tested positive for COVID again. This happens with a small minority of folks. I’ve got no symptoms but I am going to isolate for the safety of everyone around me. I’m still at work, and will be back on the road soon.&mdash; President Biden (@POTUS) <a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1553451657748512768?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 30, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>The president followed up by tweeting out a 12-second video of him on a White House balcony with his dog, Commander.“I'm feeling fine, everything is good,” said Biden, a pair of aviator sunglasses in his hand. “But Commander and I got a little work to do.”Word of Biden’s positive test came — he had been negative Friday morning — just two hours after the White House announced a presidential visit to Michigan this coming Tuesday to highlight the passage of a bill to promote domestic high-tech manufacturing. Biden had also been scheduled to visit his home in Wilmington, Delaware, on Sunday morning, where first lady Jill Biden has been staying while the president was positive. Both trips have been canceled as Biden has returned to isolation.Biden, 79, was treated with the anti-viral drug&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/covid-science-health-medication-2a5d69812947d7fa939e87d9feaa27af">Paxlovid</a>&nbsp;after he&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-covid-health-karine-jean-pierre-government-and-politics-d9dbee6cc390f648396c46dd504c31c3">first tested positive on July 21</a>. He tested negative for the virus on this past Tuesday and Wednesday. He was then cleared to leave isolation while wearing a mask indoors. His positive tests puts him among the minority of those prescribed the drug to experience a rebound case of the virus.White House COVID-19 coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha told reporters on Monday that data "suggests that between 5 and 8 percent of people have rebound” after Paxlovid treatment.“Acknowledging the potential for so-called ‘rebound’ COVID positivity observed in a small percentage of patients treated with Paxlovid, the President increased his tested cadence, to protect people around him and to assure early detection of any return of viral replication,” O'Connor wrote in his letter.O'Connor cited negative tests for Biden from Tuesday evening, Wednesday morning, Thursday morning and Friday morning, before Saturday morning's positive result by antigen testing. “This in fact represents ‘rebound' positivity," he wrote.<a href="https://emergency.cdc.gov/han/2022/pdf/CDC_HAN_467.pdf">According to the CDC</a>, those with rebound COVID should isolate for at least five days, ending that if a fever has resolved itself for 24 hours without medication and symptoms have improved. The patient “should wear a mask for a total of 10 days after rebound symptoms started. Some people continue to test positive after day 10 but are considerably less likely to shed infectious virus.”Both the Food and Drug Administration and Pfizer point out that 1% to 2% of people in Pfizer’s original study on Paxlovid saw their virus levels rebound after 10 days. The rate was about the same among people taking the drug or dummy pills, “so it is unclear at this point that this is related to drug treatment,” according to the FDA.While Biden was testing negative, he returned to holding in-person indoor events and meetings with staff at the White House and was wearing a mask, in accordance with CDC guidelines. But the president removed his mask indoors when delivering remarks on Thursday and during a meeting with CEOs on the White House complex.Asked why Biden appeared to be breaching CDC protocols, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said, “They were socially distanced. They were far enough apart. So we made it safe for them to be together, to be on that stage.”Regulators are still studying the prevalence and virulence of rebound cases, but the CDC in May warned doctors that it has been reported to occur within two days to eight days after initially testing negative for the virus.“Limited information currently available from case reports suggests that persons treated with Paxlovid who experience COVID-19 rebound have had mild illness; there are no reports of severe disease,” the agency said at the time.When Biden was initially released from isolation on Wednesday, O’Connor said the president would “increase his testing cadence” to catch any potential rebound of the virus.Paxlovid has been proven to significantly reduce severe disease and death among those most vulnerable to COVID-19. U.S. health officials have encouraged those who test positive to consult their doctors or pharmacists to see if they should be prescribed the treatment, despite the rebound risk.Biden is fully vaccinated, after getting two doses of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine shortly before taking office, a first booster shot in September and an additional dose March 30.While patients who have recovered from earlier variants of COVID-19 have tended to have high levels of immunity to future reinfection for 90 days, Jha said that the BA.5 subvariant that infected Biden has proven to be more “immune-evasive.”“We have seen lots of people get reinfected within 90 days,” he said, adding that officials don’t yet have data on how long those who have recovered from the BA.5 strain have protection from reinfection.

🎥Biden positive for COVID again, returns to isolation

RICHARDSON COUNTY, NE —Law enforcement authorities are investigating two suspects on drug distribution allegations.

A lengthy investigation revealed that 34-year-old Kimberly Hoagland and 37-year-old Rickey Long both of Humboldt and others conspired to distribute several pounds of methamphetamine over the last three years. 

It also revealed they were acquiring as much as 112 grams of methamphetamine at a time from co-conspirators in Topeka, according to the Richardson County Sheriff's office.

On July 22, 2022, Richardson County Deputies arrested Hoagland and Long in Humboldt. Their arrest is the result of a lengthy investigation into the distribution of methamphetamine in Humboldt, and the surrounding area, over the last three years. 

They were booked into the Richardson County Jail on requested charges of distribution of 140 grams or more of methamphetamine, according to the sheriff's department.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/7/1659011231527.png" alt="Long-photo Richardson Co." />
 <figcaption>Long-photo Richardson Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>RICHARDSON COUNTY, NE —Law enforcement authorities are investigating two suspects on drug distribution allegations.A lengthy investigation revealed that 34-year-old Kimberly Hoagland and 37-year-old Rickey Long both of Humboldt and others conspired to distribute several pounds of methamphetamine over the last three years. It also revealed they were acquiring as much as 112 grams of methamphetamine at a time from co-conspirators in Topeka, according to the Richardson County Sheriff's office.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/7/1659011211828.png" alt="Hoagland-photo Richardson Co." />
 <figcaption>Hoagland-photo Richardson Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>On July 22, 2022, Richardson County Deputies arrested Hoagland and Long in Humboldt. Their arrest is the result of a lengthy investigation into the distribution of methamphetamine in Humboldt, and the surrounding area, over the last three years. They were booked into the Richardson County Jail on requested charges of distribution of 140 grams or more of methamphetamine, according to the sheriff's department.

Suspects accused of selling meth they purchased in Kansas

DOUGLAS COUNTY —Some utility billing customers have reported receiving a call offering a $25 discount on City utility services, according to the city of Lawrence social media page.

The city warned residents, "This is not an offer from the City of Lawrence. It is a scam to get your credit card information."

 Please be aware and be careful with who you share your credit card information.

DOUGLAS COUNTY —Some utility billing customers have reported receiving a call offering a $25 discount on City utility services, according to the city of Lawrence social media page.The city warned residents, "This is not an offer from the City of Lawrence. It is a scam to get your credit card information." Please be aware and be careful with who you share your credit card information.

Residents warned: Another scam in Kansas; no discount on utilities

KANSAS CITY (AP) — For as long as anyone can remember, rent increases rarely happened at Ridgeview Homes, a family-owned mobile home park in upstate New York.

That changed in 2018 when corporate owners took over the 65-year-old park located amid farmland and down the road from a fast food joint and grocery store about 30 miles northeast of Buffalo.

Residents, about half of whom are seniors or disabled people on fixed incomes, put up with the first two increases. They hoped the latest owner, Cook Properties, would address the bourbon-colored drinking water, sewage bubbling into their bathtubs and the pothole-filled roads.

When that didn't happen and a new lease with a 6% increase was imposed this year, they formed an association. About half the residents launched a rent strike in May, prompting Cook Properties to send out about 30 eviction notices.

“All they care about is raising the rent because they only care about the money,” said Jeremy Ward, 49, who gets by on just over $1,000 a month in disability payments after his legs suffered nerve damage in a car accident.

He was recently fined $10 for using a leaf blower. “I’m disabled," he said. "You guys aren’t doing your job and I get a violation?”

The plight of residents at Ridgeview is playing out nationwide as&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/us-news-aurora-denver-parked-half-the-american-dream-boulder-de31aa729f514f48b934bf23ebd3f641">institutional investors,</a>&nbsp;led by private equity firms and real estate investment trusts and sometimes funded by pension funds, swoop in to buy mobile home parks. Critics contend mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are fueling the problem by backing a growing number of investor loans.

The purchases are putting residents in a bind, since most mobile homes — despite the name — cannot be moved easily or cheaply. Owners are forced to either accept unaffordable rent increases, spend thousands of dollars to move their home, or abandon it and lose tens of thousands of dollars they invested.

“These industries, including mobile home park manufacturing industry, keep touting these parks, these mobile homes, as affordable housing. But it’s not affordable,” said Benjamin Bellus, an assistant attorney general in Iowa, who said complaints have gone up “100-fold” since out-of-state investors started buying up parks a few years ago.

“You’re putting people in a snare and a trap, where they have no ability to defend themselves," he added.

Driven by some of the strongest returns in real estate, investors have shaken up a once-sleepy sector that's home to more than 22 million mostly low-income Americans in 43,000 communities. Many aggressively promote the parks as ensuring a steady return — by repeatedly raising rent.

There's also a growing industry, featuring how-to books, webinars and even a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mobilehomeuniversity.com/hosted/landing/mhu-hawk/index.html?gclid=CjwKCAjwrNmWBhA4EiwAHbjEQMeQxW5KzxWraB0LTII_r3CfXtKZC9M25M0df7PhaWKrPRT0MrfcbxoCLb8QAvD_BwE">mobile home university</a>, that offers tips to attract small investors.

“You went from an environment where you had a local owner or manager who took care of things as they needed fixing, to where you had people who were looking at a cost-benefit analysis for how to get the penny squeezed lowest,” Bellus said. “You combine it with an idea that we can just keep raising the rent, and these people can’t leave.”

George McCarthy, president and CEO of the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, a Cambridge, Massachusetts-based think tank, said parks containing about a fifth of mobile home lots nationwide have been purchased by institutional investors over the past eight years.

McCarthy singled out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac for guaranteeing the loans as part of a what the lending giants bill as expanding affordable housing. Since 2014, the Lincoln Institute estimates Freddie Mac alone provided $9.6 billion in financing for the purchase of more than 950 communities across 44 states.

A spokesman for Freddie Mac countered that it had purchased loans for less than 3% of the mobile home communities nationwide, and about 60% of those were refinances.

Soon after investors started buying up parks in 2015, the complaints of double-digit rent increases followed.

In Iowa, Matt Chapman, a mobile home resident at a park purchased by Utah-based Havenpark Communities, said his rent and fees had almost doubled since 2019. Iowa Legal Aid’s Alex Kornya said another park purchased by Impact Communities saw rent and fees increase 87% between 2017 and 2020.

“Many of the folks living in the park were on fixed incomes, disability, Social Security, and simply were not going to be able to keep pace,” said Kornya, who met with about 300 angry mobile home owners at a mega-church. “It led almost to a political awakening.”

In Minnesota, park purchases by out-of-state buyers grew from 46% in 2015 to 81% in 2021, with rent increases as much as 30%, according to All Parks Alliance For Change, a state association.

U.S. Sen. Jon Tester of Montana, speaking at a Senate hearing this year, recalled tenants complaining of repeated rent increases at a Havenpark development in Great Falls. One resident, Cindy Newman, told The Associated Press her monthly rent and fees went up $117 to nearly $400 over a year and eight months — equal to the increase over the previous 20 years. The company says the increase was $95 over a three-year period.

On top of rent increases, residents complained of being inundated with fees for everything from pets to maintenance and fines for clutter and speeding — all tucked into leases that can run upwards of 50 pages.

Josh Weiss, a Havenpark spokesperson, said the company must charge prevailing market rates when it purchases a park at fair market price. That said, the company has moved since 2020 to limit its rent increases to $50-a-month.

“We understand the anxiety that any rent increase has on residents, especially those on fixed incomes,” Weiss said. “While we try to minimize the impact, the financial realities do not change.”

The mobile home industry argues the communities are the most affordable housing option, noting that average rent increases across parks nationwide were just over 4% in 2021. Spending on improvements was around 11%. Significant investments are needed, they said, to make improvements at older parks and avoid them being sold off.

“You have some people coming into the space that give us all a bad name but those are isolated examples and those practices are not common,” said Lesli Gooch, chief executive officer of the Manufactured Housing Institute, the industry’s trade association.

Both sides said the government could do more to help.

The industry wants Federal Housing Administration financing made available to residents, many of whom rely on high-interest loans to purchase homes that cost on average $81,900. They also want the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to allow housing vouchers to be used for mobile homes.

Advocates for residents, including&nbsp;<a href="https://mhaction.org/">MHAction</a>, want lawmakers to put a cap on rent or require a reason for an increase or eviction — state legislation that succeeded in Delaware this year but failed in Iowa,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-lifestyle-colorado-618b9fb2ba93e13b651d6e51d408a7e2">Colorado</a>&nbsp;and Montana.

They also want Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to stipulate in loans they back that rents remain affordable. And they support residents&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-lifestyle-colorado-618b9fb2ba93e13b651d6e51d408a7e2">purchasing their communities,</a>&nbsp;which started in New Hampshire and has reached almost&nbsp;<a href="https://www.rocusa.org/">300 parks</a>&nbsp;in 20 states.

A Freddie Mac spokesperson said it has created a new loan offering that incentivizes tenant protections and last year made those mandatory for all future mobile home community transactions.

At Ridgeview, it's unclear how the rent strike will be resolved.

Cook, which claims to be the largest operator of mobile home parks in New York and has a slogan “Exceptional Opportunities. Exceptional Returns,” declined to comment. The company closed a $26 million private-equity fund in 2021 that purchased 12 parks in New York, but it was unclear if one of them was Ridgeview.

Residents, meanwhile, soldier on. Joyce Bayles, an 85-year-old resident has taken to mowing her own lawn because crews show up only monthly. Gerald Korb, a 78-year-old retiree, said he's still waiting for the company to move an electric pole and transformer he fears could topple onto his home during a storm.

“I bought a place and now they are forcing all this on us,” said Korb, who stopped paying rent in protest. “They are absentee landlords is what they are.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/7/1659204493765.png" alt="Google image" />
 <figcaption>Google image</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY (AP) — For as long as anyone can remember, rent increases rarely happened at Ridgeview Homes, a family-owned mobile home park in upstate New York.That changed in 2018 when corporate owners took over the 65-year-old park located amid farmland and down the road from a fast food joint and grocery store about 30 miles northeast of Buffalo.Residents, about half of whom are seniors or disabled people on fixed incomes, put up with the first two increases. They hoped the latest owner, Cook Properties, would address the bourbon-colored drinking water, sewage bubbling into their bathtubs and the pothole-filled roads.When that didn't happen and a new lease with a 6% increase was imposed this year, they formed an association. About half the residents launched a rent strike in May, prompting Cook Properties to send out about 30 eviction notices.“All they care about is raising the rent because they only care about the money,” said Jeremy Ward, 49, who gets by on just over $1,000 a month in disability payments after his legs suffered nerve damage in a car accident.He was recently fined $10 for using a leaf blower. “I’m disabled," he said. "You guys aren’t doing your job and I get a violation?”The plight of residents at Ridgeview is playing out nationwide as&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/us-news-aurora-denver-parked-half-the-american-dream-boulder-de31aa729f514f48b934bf23ebd3f641">institutional investors,</a>&nbsp;led by private equity firms and real estate investment trusts and sometimes funded by pension funds, swoop in to buy mobile home parks. Critics contend mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are fueling the problem by backing a growing number of investor loans.The purchases are putting residents in a bind, since most mobile homes — despite the name — cannot be moved easily or cheaply. Owners are forced to either accept unaffordable rent increases, spend thousands of dollars to move their home, or abandon it and lose tens of thousands of dollars they invested.“These industries, including mobile home park manufacturing industry, keep touting these parks, these mobile homes, as affordable housing. But it’s not affordable,” said Benjamin Bellus, an assistant attorney general in Iowa, who said complaints have gone up “100-fold” since out-of-state investors started buying up parks a few years ago.“You’re putting people in a snare and a trap, where they have no ability to defend themselves," he added.Driven by some of the strongest returns in real estate, investors have shaken up a once-sleepy sector that's home to more than 22 million mostly low-income Americans in 43,000 communities. Many aggressively promote the parks as ensuring a steady return — by repeatedly raising rent.There's also a growing industry, featuring how-to books, webinars and even a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mobilehomeuniversity.com/hosted/landing/mhu-hawk/index.html?gclid=CjwKCAjwrNmWBhA4EiwAHbjEQMeQxW5KzxWraB0LTII_r3CfXtKZC9M25M0df7PhaWKrPRT0MrfcbxoCLb8QAvD_BwE">mobile home university</a>, that offers tips to attract small investors.“You went from an environment where you had a local owner or manager who took care of things as they needed fixing, to where you had people who were looking at a cost-benefit analysis for how to get the penny squeezed lowest,” Bellus said. “You combine it with an idea that we can just keep raising the rent, and these people can’t leave.”George McCarthy, president and CEO of the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, a Cambridge, Massachusetts-based think tank, said parks containing about a fifth of mobile home lots nationwide have been purchased by institutional investors over the past eight years.McCarthy singled out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac for guaranteeing the loans as part of a what the lending giants bill as expanding affordable housing. Since 2014, the Lincoln Institute estimates Freddie Mac alone provided $9.6 billion in financing for the purchase of more than 950 communities across 44 states.A spokesman for Freddie Mac countered that it had purchased loans for less than 3% of the mobile home communities nationwide, and about 60% of those were refinances.Soon after investors started buying up parks in 2015, the complaints of double-digit rent increases followed.In Iowa, Matt Chapman, a mobile home resident at a park purchased by Utah-based Havenpark Communities, said his rent and fees had almost doubled since 2019. Iowa Legal Aid’s Alex Kornya said another park purchased by Impact Communities saw rent and fees increase 87% between 2017 and 2020.“Many of the folks living in the park were on fixed incomes, disability, Social Security, and simply were not going to be able to keep pace,” said Kornya, who met with about 300 angry mobile home owners at a mega-church. “It led almost to a political awakening.”In Minnesota, park purchases by out-of-state buyers grew from 46% in 2015 to 81% in 2021, with rent increases as much as 30%, according to All Parks Alliance For Change, a state association.U.S. Sen. Jon Tester of Montana, speaking at a Senate hearing this year, recalled tenants complaining of repeated rent increases at a Havenpark development in Great Falls. One resident, Cindy Newman, told The Associated Press her monthly rent and fees went up $117 to nearly $400 over a year and eight months — equal to the increase over the previous 20 years. The company says the increase was $95 over a three-year period.On top of rent increases, residents complained of being inundated with fees for everything from pets to maintenance and fines for clutter and speeding — all tucked into leases that can run upwards of 50 pages.Josh Weiss, a Havenpark spokesperson, said the company must charge prevailing market rates when it purchases a park at fair market price. That said, the company has moved since 2020 to limit its rent increases to $50-a-month.“We understand the anxiety that any rent increase has on residents, especially those on fixed incomes,” Weiss said. “While we try to minimize the impact, the financial realities do not change.”The mobile home industry argues the communities are the most affordable housing option, noting that average rent increases across parks nationwide were just over 4% in 2021. Spending on improvements was around 11%. Significant investments are needed, they said, to make improvements at older parks and avoid them being sold off.“You have some people coming into the space that give us all a bad name but those are isolated examples and those practices are not common,” said Lesli Gooch, chief executive officer of the Manufactured Housing Institute, the industry’s trade association.Both sides said the government could do more to help.The industry wants Federal Housing Administration financing made available to residents, many of whom rely on high-interest loans to purchase homes that cost on average $81,900. They also want the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to allow housing vouchers to be used for mobile homes.Advocates for residents, including&nbsp;<a href="https://mhaction.org/">MHAction</a>, want lawmakers to put a cap on rent or require a reason for an increase or eviction — state legislation that succeeded in Delaware this year but failed in Iowa,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-lifestyle-colorado-618b9fb2ba93e13b651d6e51d408a7e2">Colorado</a>&nbsp;and Montana.They also want Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to stipulate in loans they back that rents remain affordable. And they support residents&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-lifestyle-colorado-618b9fb2ba93e13b651d6e51d408a7e2">purchasing their communities,</a>&nbsp;which started in New Hampshire and has reached almost&nbsp;<a href="https://www.rocusa.org/">300 parks</a>&nbsp;in 20 states.A Freddie Mac spokesperson said it has created a new loan offering that incentivizes tenant protections and last year made those mandatory for all future mobile home community transactions.At Ridgeview, it's unclear how the rent strike will be resolved.Cook, which claims to be the largest operator of mobile home parks in New York and has a slogan “Exceptional Opportunities. Exceptional Returns,” declined to comment. The company closed a $26 million private-equity fund in 2021 that purchased 12 parks in New York, but it was unclear if one of them was Ridgeview.Residents, meanwhile, soldier on. Joyce Bayles, an 85-year-old resident has taken to mowing her own lawn because crews show up only monthly. Gerald Korb, a 78-year-old retiree, said he's still waiting for the company to move an electric pole and transformer he fears could topple onto his home during a storm.“I bought a place and now they are forcing all this on us,” said Korb, who stopped paying rent in protest. “They are absentee landlords is what they are.”

Rents spike as big-pocketed investors buy mobile home parks

TOPEKA —Lansing Correctional Facility (LCF) resident Patrick William T. Unrein died Thursday after being transported to St. John’s Hospital, Leavenworth where he was pronounced deceased by hospital staff. 

The cause of death is pending the results of an independent autopsy. Preliminary assessment indicates the death was not related to COVID-19.

Unrein, 45, was serving a 281-month sentence for two Sedgwick County convictions Voluntary Manslaughter; Aggravated Robbery.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/7/1659130854115.png" alt="Unrein-photo KDOC" />
 <figcaption>Unrein-photo KDOC</figcaption>
 </figure>TOPEKA —Lansing Correctional Facility (LCF) resident Patrick William T. Unrein died Thursday after being transported to St. John’s Hospital, Leavenworth where he was pronounced deceased by hospital staff. The cause of death is pending the results of an independent autopsy. Preliminary assessment indicates the death was not related to COVID-19.Unrein, 45, was serving a 281-month sentence for two Sedgwick County convictions Voluntary Manslaughter; Aggravated Robbery.

Death of Kan. inmate serving time for manslaughter under investigation

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. regulators said Friday they are no longer considering authorizing a second COVID-19 booster shot for all adults under 50 this summer, focusing instead on revamped vaccines for the fall that will target the newest viral subvariants.

Pfizer and Moderna expect to have updated versions of their shots available as early as September, the Food and Drug Administration said in a statement. That would set the stage for a fall booster campaign to strengthen protection against the latest versions of omicron.

The announcement means the U.S. won’t pursue a summer round of boosters using the current vaccines for adults under 50, as some Biden administration officials and outside experts previously suggested. They had argued that another round of shots now could help head off rising cases and hospitalizations caused by the highly transmissible omicron strains.

Currently, all Americans age 5 and over are eligible for a booster shot five months after their initial primary series. Fourth doses of the Pfizer or Moderna shots — a second booster — are recommended for Americans 50 and older and for younger people with serious health issues that make them more vulnerable to COVID-19.

The FDA urged eligible adults who haven’t been boosted to get their extra shot now: “You can still benefit from existing booster options and leave time to receive an updated booster in the fall,” the agency said in a statement.

The White House has also emphasized that getting a fourth dose now won’t impact anyone’s ability to get omicron-targeted shots once they’re made available — although how long its been since their last dose will play a role in how soon they’re eligible.

Two&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/covid-science-health-united-states-pandemics-72462053f8d60fd548cf34377864100b">omicron subvariants</a>, BA.4 and BA.5, are even more contagious than their predecessors and have pushed new daily cases above 125,000 and hospitalizations to 6,300. Those are the highest levels since February, though deaths have remained low at about 360 per day, thanks to widespread immunity and improved treatments against the virus.

The subvariants are offshoots of the strain responsible for nearly all of the virus spread in the U.S. this year.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/4/1617326081667.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. regulators said Friday they are no longer considering authorizing a second COVID-19 booster shot for all adults under 50 this summer, focusing instead on revamped vaccines for the fall that will target the newest viral subvariants.Pfizer and Moderna expect to have updated versions of their shots available as early as September, the Food and Drug Administration said in a statement. That would set the stage for a fall booster campaign to strengthen protection against the latest versions of omicron.The announcement means the U.S. won’t pursue a summer round of boosters using the current vaccines for adults under 50, as some Biden administration officials and outside experts previously suggested. They had argued that another round of shots now could help head off rising cases and hospitalizations caused by the highly transmissible omicron strains.Currently, all Americans age 5 and over are eligible for a booster shot five months after their initial primary series. Fourth doses of the Pfizer or Moderna shots — a second booster — are recommended for Americans 50 and older and for younger people with serious health issues that make them more vulnerable to COVID-19.The FDA urged eligible adults who haven’t been boosted to get their extra shot now: “You can still benefit from existing booster options and leave time to receive an updated booster in the fall,” the agency said in a statement.The White House has also emphasized that getting a fourth dose now won’t impact anyone’s ability to get omicron-targeted shots once they’re made available — although how long its been since their last dose will play a role in how soon they’re eligible.Two&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/covid-science-health-united-states-pandemics-72462053f8d60fd548cf34377864100b">omicron subvariants</a>, BA.4 and BA.5, are even more contagious than their predecessors and have pushed new daily cases above 125,000 and hospitalizations to 6,300. Those are the highest levels since February, though deaths have remained low at about 360 per day, thanks to widespread immunity and improved treatments against the virus.The subvariants are offshoots of the strain responsible for nearly all of the virus spread in the U.S. this year.All the COVID-19 vaccines given in the U.S. until now have been based on the original version of the virus that began spreading across the country in early 2020.In June, the FDA told the vaccine makers that any boosters for the fall would have to combine protection against omicron BA.4 and BA.5 and the original coronavirus strain. Both manufacturers have been speeding their production and data gathering to have those so-called bivalent vaccines ready for the fall.The FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would have to sign off on revamped shots before their launch.The U.S. has a contract to buy 105 million doses of the Pfizer combination shots once they’re ready, and 66 million of Moderna’s version. But how soon large amounts would become available isn’t clear. The government contracts include options to purchase 300 million doses each, but reaching that total will require more funding from Congress, the Biden administration said.As for timing, getting a booster too soon after the previous dose means missing out on its full benefit — something policymakers will have to take into consideration when rolling out revamped shots.The White House has at times been frustrated by the pace of decision-making at the FDA and CDC, most notably last summer, when the regulators took weeks to decide whether to authorize the first booster dose for U.S. adults. Privately, West Wing officials believe the delay cost lives, preventing optimum protection amid the delta and omicron surges, but also fed into doubts about vaccine and booster effectiveness that impacted their uptake.In recent weeks, some of those frustrations have bubbled up again, as regulators considered whether to recommend a fourth shot for all adults, not just those at highest risk from the virus. Some in the White House believe that the additional dose would have helped somewhat with the rapidly spreading BA.5 subvariant, and also lift the confidence of anyone worried that their protection had waned.Still, officials across the government have acknowledged the risks of vaccine fatigue among Americans, including tens of millions who still haven’t received their first booster. Government figures show less than half of those eligible for a booster have gotten that third shot.