By IMTIAZ RANGWALA <a href="https://theconversation.com/grim-2022-drought-outlook-for-western-us-offers-warnings-for-the-future-as-climate-change-brings-a-hotter-thirstier-atmosphere-182640">The Conversation</a>

Much of the western U.S. has been in the grip of an <a href="https://www.climate.gov/news-features/event-tracker/noaa-led-drought-task-force-concludes-current-southwest-drought-preview">unrelenting drought</a> since early 2020. The dryness has coincided with record-breaking <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/may/01/us-new-mexico-drought-wildfire-southwest">wildfires</a>, intense and long-lasting <a href="https://www.worldweatherattribution.org/western-north-american-extreme-heat-virtually-impossible-without-human-caused-climate-change/">heat waves</a>, <a href="https://phys.org/news/2022-04-drought-western-scrambling.html">low stream flows</a> and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/03/climate/lake-powell-mead-water-drought.html">dwindling water supplies in reservoirs</a> that millions of people across the region rely on.

Heading into summer, the <a href="https://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/expert_assessment/sdo_summary.php">outlook</a> is pretty grim. The National Weather Service’s <a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/464284/original/file-20220519-11-igtk3o.png">latest seasonal outlook</a>, issued May 19, 2022, described drought persisting across most of the West and parts of the Great Plains.

One driver of the Western drought has been <a href="https://www.pe.com/2021/09/24/la-nina-is-about-to-take-the-southwest-drought-from-bad-to-worse/">persistent La Niña conditions</a> in the tropical Pacific since the <a href="https://psl.noaa.gov/enso/mei/">summer of 2020</a>. During La Niña, cooler tropical Pacific waters help nudge the jet stream northward. That tends to bring <a href="https://www.climate.gov/news-features/understanding-climate/el-ni%C3%B1o-and-la-ni%C3%B1a-frequently-asked-questions">fewer storms to the southern tier of the U.S.</a> and produce pronounced drought impacts in the Southwest.

The <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/the-drought-in-the-western-us-could-last-until-2030">other</a> and perhaps more important part of the story is the <a href="https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/warming-is-making-the-west-thirstier-researchers-say-and-its-stressing-water-supplies-%EF%BF%BC">hotter and thirstier atmosphere, caused by a rapidly warming climate</a>.

As a <a href="https://cires.colorado.edu/researcher/imtiaz-rangwala">climate scientist</a>,
 I’ve watched how climate change is making drought conditions 
increasingly worse – particularly in the western and central U.S. The 
last two years have been more than 2 degrees Fahrenheit (1.1 Celsius) 
warmer than normal in these regions. Large swaths of the Southwest have 
been even hotter, with temperatures more than 3 F (1.7 C) higher. <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/western-megadrought-is-the-worst-in-1-200-years/">Studies suggest the Southwest’s ongoing 20-year drought</a> is the most severe in at least 1,200 years, based on how dry the soils are.

A hotter atmosphere sucks more moisture from the soil

A thristier atmosphere tends to extract more water out of the land. It exacerbates <a href="https://www.drought.gov/data-maps-tools/evaporative-stress-index-esi">evaporative stress</a>
 on the land, particularly when a region is experiencing below-normal 
precipitation. High evaporative stress can rapidly deplete soil moisture
 and lead to hotter temperatures, as the <a href="https://coolcalifornia.arb.ca.gov/how-cool-vegetation-works">evaporative cooling effect</a> is diminished. All this creates hydroclimatic stress for plants, causing restricted growth, drying and even death.

As a consequence of a warming climate, the U.S. Southwest has seen an
 8% increase in this evaporative demand since the 1980s. This trend is 
generally <a href="https://cpo.noaa.gov/News/ArtMID/7875/ArticleID/2523/NIDIS-Funded-Project-Finds-That-Evaporative-Demand-Increase-Across-Lower-48-Means-Less-Water-Supplies-Drier-Vegetation-and-Higher-Fire-Risk">happening across other parts of the country</a>.

The <a href="https://www.climate.gov/news-features/feed/evaporative-demand-increase-across-lower-48-means-less-water-supplies-drier">thistier atmosphere</a>
 is turning what would otherwise be near-normal or moderately dry 
conditions into droughts that are more severe or extreme. As the climate
 heats up further, the increasing atmospheric thirst will continue to 
intensify drought stress, with consequences for water availability, 
long-lasting and intense heat stress, and large-scale ecosystem 
transformation.

Climate models project ominous prospects of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2006323117">a more arid climate and more severe droughts</a> in the Southwest and southern Great Plains in the coming decades.

In addition to direct impacts of increasing temperatures on future droughts, these regions are also expected to see <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-017-0001-8">fewer storms</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1175/JHM-D-21-0017.1">more days without precipitation</a>. Climate models consistently project a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-017-0001-8">poleward shift in the midlatitude storm tracks</a> during this century as the planet heats up, which is expected to result in fewer storms in the southern tier of the country.

Expect flash droughts even in wetter areas

The changing nature of droughts is a concern <a href="https://nca2018.globalchange.gov/">even in parts of the U.S. that are expected to have a net increase</a>
 in annual precipitation during the 21st century. In a hotter future, 
because of the high evaporative demand on the land, prolonged periods 
with weeks to months of below normal precipitation in these areas can 
lead to significant drought, even if the overall trend is for more 
precipitation.

Large parts of the northern Plains, for example, have seen precipitation <a href="https://toolkit.climate.gov/regions/northern-great-plains">increase by 10% or more</a> in the last three decades. However, the region is not immune to severe drought conditions in a hotter climate.

At the tail end of what was the <a href="https://www.drought.gov/sites/default/files/2020-07/NorthernPlains_2017DroughtEvolution.pdf">wettest decade</a> on record in the region, the northern Plains experienced <a href="https://www.drought.gov/news/flash-drought-new-reports-examine-2017-northern-plains-drought">an intense flash drought in the summer of 2017</a> that resulted in agricultural losses in excess of $2.6 billion and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/sep/07/flash-drought-north-dakota-montana-wildfires">wildfires</a> across millions of acres. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-815998-9.00025-7">Record evaporative demand</a>
 contributed to the severity of the flash drought, in addition to a 
severe short-term precipitation deficit. A flash drought is a drought 
that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-17-0149.1">intensifies rapidly over a period of a few weeks</a> and often catches forecasters by surprise. The likelihood of flash droughts that can <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-26692-z/07/flash-drought-north-dakota-montana-wildfires">cause severe impacts to agriculture and ecosystems and promote large wildfires</a> is expected to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-28752-4">increase</a> with a warmer and thirstier atmosphere.

Flash droughts are also emerging as a growing concern in the Northeast. In 2020, much of New England experienced an <a href="https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2020/1148/ofr20201148.pdf">extreme hydrologic drought</a>,
 with low stream flows and groundwater levels and widespread crop losses
 between May and September. Aided by very warm and dry atmospheric 
conditions, the drought developed very rapidly over that period from 
what had been above-normal wet conditions.

As humanity enters a hotter future, prolonged periods of weeks to 
months of below-normal precipitation are going to be of a greater 
concern almost everywhere. 

Other forms of droughts are also emerging.

Atmospheric heating is causing <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/snow-droughts-coming-to-winters-western-us-california-water">snow droughts</a>
 as more precipitation falls as rain rather than snow and snow melts 
earlier. Shorter snow seasons and longer growing seasons because of 
warmer temperatures are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.13727">changing the timing of ecological responses</a>.

Land is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.13224">greening up earlier</a> and causing an earlier loss of water from the land surface through <a href="https://www.usgs.gov/special-topics/water-science-school/science/evapotranspiration-and-water-cycle">evapotranspiration</a>
 – the loss of water from plants and soil. This could result in drier 
soils in the latter half of the growing season. As a result, parts of 
the central and western U.S. could see <a href="https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-17-0213.1">both increased greening and drying in the future</a> that are seasonally separated across the growing season.

With a rapidly changing climate, we are entering <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oneear.2020.08.019">unfamiliar territory</a>. The world will need new ways <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oneear.2020.08.019">to better anticipate future droughts</a> that could transform <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abj6777">natural</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/transformational-change-is-coming-to-how-people-live-on-earth-un-climate-adaptation-report-warns-which-path-will-humanity-choose-177604">human</a> systems.

Imtiaz Rangwala is a Research Scientist in Climate at the Cooperative Institute for Research 
in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder.

<div><iframe src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/182640/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-advanced" width="1" height="1"></iframe></div>By IMTIAZ RANGWALA <a href="https://theconversation.com/grim-2022-drought-outlook-for-western-us-offers-warnings-for-the-future-as-climate-change-brings-a-hotter-thirstier-atmosphere-182640">The Conversation</a>Much of the western U.S. has been in the grip of an <a href="https://www.climate.gov/news-features/event-tracker/noaa-led-drought-task-force-concludes-current-southwest-drought-preview">unrelenting drought</a> since early 2020. The dryness has coincided with record-breaking <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/may/01/us-new-mexico-drought-wildfire-southwest">wildfires</a>, intense and long-lasting <a href="https://www.worldweatherattribution.org/western-north-american-extreme-heat-virtually-impossible-without-human-caused-climate-change/">heat waves</a>, <a href="https://phys.org/news/2022-04-drought-western-scrambling.html">low stream flows</a> and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/03/climate/lake-powell-mead-water-drought.html">dwindling water supplies in reservoirs</a> that millions of people across the region rely on. Heading into summer, the <a href="https://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/expert_assessment/sdo_summary.php">outlook</a> is pretty grim. The National Weather Service’s <a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/464284/original/file-20220519-11-igtk3o.png">latest seasonal outlook</a>, issued May 19, 2022, described drought persisting across most of the West and parts of the Great Plains. One driver of the Western drought has been <a href="https://www.pe.com/2021/09/24/la-nina-is-about-to-take-the-southwest-drought-from-bad-to-worse/">persistent La Niña conditions</a> in the tropical Pacific since the <a href="https://psl.noaa.gov/enso/mei/">summer of 2020</a>. During La Niña, cooler tropical Pacific waters help nudge the jet stream northward. That tends to bring <a href="https://www.climate.gov/news-features/understanding-climate/el-ni%C3%B1o-and-la-ni%C3%B1a-frequently-asked-questions">fewer storms to the southern tier of the U.S.</a> and produce pronounced drought impacts in the Southwest.The <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/the-drought-in-the-western-us-could-last-until-2030">other</a> and perhaps more important part of the story is the <a href="https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/warming-is-making-the-west-thirstier-researchers-say-and-its-stressing-water-supplies-%EF%BF%BC">hotter and thirstier atmosphere, caused by a rapidly warming climate</a>.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/5/1652996192218.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>As a <a href="https://cires.colorado.edu/researcher/imtiaz-rangwala">climate scientist</a>,
 I’ve watched how climate change is making drought conditions 
increasingly worse – particularly in the western and central U.S. The 
last two years have been more than 2 degrees Fahrenheit (1.1 Celsius) 
warmer than normal in these regions. Large swaths of the Southwest have 
been even hotter, with temperatures more than 3 F (1.7 C) higher. <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/western-megadrought-is-the-worst-in-1-200-years/">Studies suggest the Southwest’s ongoing 20-year drought</a> is the most severe in at least 1,200 years, based on how dry the soils are.<h2>A hotter atmosphere sucks more moisture from the soil</h2>A thristier atmosphere tends to extract more water out of the land. It exacerbates <a href="https://www.drought.gov/data-maps-tools/evaporative-stress-index-esi">evaporative stress</a>
 on the land, particularly when a region is experiencing below-normal 
precipitation. High evaporative stress can rapidly deplete soil moisture
 and lead to hotter temperatures, as the <a href="https://coolcalifornia.arb.ca.gov/how-cool-vegetation-works">evaporative cooling effect</a> is diminished. All this creates hydroclimatic stress for plants, causing restricted growth, drying and even death.As a consequence of a warming climate, the U.S. Southwest has seen an
 8% increase in this evaporative demand since the 1980s. This trend is 
generally <a href="https://cpo.noaa.gov/News/ArtMID/7875/ArticleID/2523/NIDIS-Funded-Project-Finds-That-Evaporative-Demand-Increase-Across-Lower-48-Means-Less-Water-Supplies-Drier-Vegetation-and-Higher-Fire-Risk">happening across other parts of the country</a>.The <a href="https://www.climate.gov/news-features/feed/evaporative-demand-increase-across-lower-48-means-less-water-supplies-drier">thistier atmosphere</a>
 is turning what would otherwise be near-normal or moderately dry 
conditions into droughts that are more severe or extreme. As the climate
 heats up further, the increasing atmospheric thirst will continue to 
intensify drought stress, with consequences for water availability, 
long-lasting and intense heat stress, and large-scale ecosystem 
transformation.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/5/1652996232299.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Climate models project ominous prospects of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2006323117">a more arid climate and more severe droughts</a> in the Southwest and southern Great Plains in the coming decades.In addition to direct impacts of increasing temperatures on future droughts, these regions are also expected to see <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-017-0001-8">fewer storms</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1175/JHM-D-21-0017.1">more days without precipitation</a>. Climate models consistently project a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-017-0001-8">poleward shift in the midlatitude storm tracks</a> during this century as the planet heats up, which is expected to result in fewer storms in the southern tier of the country.<h2>Expect flash droughts even in wetter areas</h2>The changing nature of droughts is a concern <a href="https://nca2018.globalchange.gov/">even in parts of the U.S. that are expected to have a net increase</a>
 in annual precipitation during the 21st century. In a hotter future, 
because of the high evaporative demand on the land, prolonged periods 
with weeks to months of below normal precipitation in these areas can 
lead to significant drought, even if the overall trend is for more 
precipitation.Large parts of the northern Plains, for example, have seen precipitation <a href="https://toolkit.climate.gov/regions/northern-great-plains">increase by 10% or more</a> in the last three decades. However, the region is not immune to severe drought conditions in a hotter climate.At the tail end of what was the <a href="https://www.drought.gov/sites/default/files/2020-07/NorthernPlains_2017DroughtEvolution.pdf">wettest decade</a> on record in the region, the northern Plains experienced <a href="https://www.drought.gov/news/flash-drought-new-reports-examine-2017-northern-plains-drought">an intense flash drought in the summer of 2017</a> that resulted in agricultural losses in excess of $2.6 billion and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/sep/07/flash-drought-north-dakota-montana-wildfires">wildfires</a> across millions of acres. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-815998-9.00025-7">Record evaporative demand</a>
 contributed to the severity of the flash drought, in addition to a 
severe short-term precipitation deficit. A flash drought is a drought 
that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-17-0149.1">intensifies rapidly over a period of a few weeks</a> and often catches forecasters by surprise. The likelihood of flash droughts that can <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-26692-z/07/flash-drought-north-dakota-montana-wildfires">cause severe impacts to agriculture and ecosystems and promote large wildfires</a> is expected to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-28752-4">increase</a> with a warmer and thirstier atmosphere.Flash droughts are also emerging as a growing concern in the Northeast. In 2020, much of New England experienced an <a href="https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2020/1148/ofr20201148.pdf">extreme hydrologic drought</a>,
 with low stream flows and groundwater levels and widespread crop losses
 between May and September. Aided by very warm and dry atmospheric 
conditions, the drought developed very rapidly over that period from 
what had been above-normal wet conditions.As humanity enters a hotter future, prolonged periods of weeks to 
months of below-normal precipitation are going to be of a greater 
concern almost everywhere. <h2>Heading into unfamiliar territory</h2>Other forms of droughts are also emerging.Atmospheric heating is causing <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/snow-droughts-coming-to-winters-western-us-california-water">snow droughts</a>
 as more precipitation falls as rain rather than snow and snow melts 
earlier. Shorter snow seasons and longer growing seasons because of 
warmer temperatures are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.13727">changing the timing of ecological responses</a>.Land is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.13224">greening up earlier</a> and causing an earlier loss of water from the land surface through <a href="https://www.usgs.gov/special-topics/water-science-school/science/evapotranspiration-and-water-cycle">evapotranspiration</a>
 – the loss of water from plants and soil. This could result in drier 
soils in the latter half of the growing season. As a result, parts of 
the central and western U.S. could see <a href="https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-17-0213.1">both increased greening and drying in the future</a> that are seasonally separated across the growing season.With a rapidly changing climate, we are entering <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oneear.2020.08.019">unfamiliar territory</a>. The world will need new ways <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oneear.2020.08.019">to better anticipate future droughts</a> that could transform <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abj6777">natural</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/transformational-change-is-coming-to-how-people-live-on-earth-un-climate-adaptation-report-warns-which-path-will-humanity-choose-177604">human</a> systems.Imtiaz Rangwala is a Research Scientist in Climate at the Cooperative Institute for Research 
in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder.

Grim drought outlook for Western US offers warnings

By TIM CARPENTER <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2022/05/19/kansas-prepares-to-distribute-69-million-in-federal-small-business-economic-aid/">Kansas Reflector</a>

TOPEKA — Kansas is in line to 
receive as much as $69 million in additional federal support for small 
business development and entrepreneurship through a U.S. Treasury 
Department program used to support companies through the pandemic.

The American Rescue Plan expanded the State Small Business Credit 
Initiative, or SSBCI, established in 2010 to assist businesses following
 the Great Recession from 2007 to 2009. The goal is to improve access to
 capital in rural and other traditionally underserved communities.

States participating in SSBCI operate under the expectation each 
would generate business lending at least 10 times the amount of federal 
aid.

“Treasury will continue working with Kansas to help make sure that 
this funding is having the maximum impact across the state to promote 
economic growth,” said Wally Adeyemo, deputy secretary of the federal 
agency.

The federal legislation provided about $10 billion to states, the 
District of Columbia, tribal governments and U.S. territories in support
 of businesses emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic. Treasury officials 
said Thursday that Kansas was among five states in the latest round of 
allocations.

Under the federal legislation, Kansas’ neighboring states would 
receive from $64 million to $104 million to support small businesses. 
The amounts: Colorado, $104 million; Missouri, $94 million; Oklahoma, 
$81 million; and Nebraska, $64 million.

The American Rescue Plan narrowly passed the House and Senate in 
2021. Kansas House Republicans Tracey Mann, Ron Estes and Jake LaTurner 
voted against the bill, while House Democrat Sharice Davids support it. 
In the Senate, Republicans Jerry Moran and Roger Marshall voted “no” on 
the bill.

Treasury department officials recommended states support industries 
important to the U.S. economy, including companies involved with 
manufacturing, supply chains and renewable energy. In addition, the 
federal agency urged recipients to support businesses providing 
living-wage jobs.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/5/1652968724073.png" alt="Kansas is set to receive $69 million in small business investment aid through the federal American Rescue Plan. Republican U.S. Rep. Jake LaTurner, left, and U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran, right, voted against the bill. Democratic U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids, center, voted for it. (Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption>Kansas is set to receive $69 million in small business investment aid through the federal American Rescue Plan. Republican U.S. Rep. Jake LaTurner, left, and U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran, right, voted against the bill. Democratic U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids, center, voted for it. (Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure>By TIM CARPENTER <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2022/05/19/kansas-prepares-to-distribute-69-million-in-federal-small-business-economic-aid/">Kansas Reflector</a>TOPEKA — Kansas is in line to 
receive as much as $69 million in additional federal support for small 
business development and entrepreneurship through a U.S. Treasury 
Department program used to support companies through the pandemic.The American Rescue Plan expanded the State Small Business Credit 
Initiative, or SSBCI, established in 2010 to assist businesses following
 the Great Recession from 2007 to 2009. The goal is to improve access to
 capital in rural and other traditionally underserved communities.States participating in SSBCI operate under the expectation each 
would generate business lending at least 10 times the amount of federal 
aid.“Treasury will continue working with Kansas to help make sure that 
this funding is having the maximum impact across the state to promote 
economic growth,” said Wally Adeyemo, deputy secretary of the federal 
agency.The federal legislation provided about $10 billion to states, the 
District of Columbia, tribal governments and U.S. territories in support
 of businesses emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic. Treasury officials 
said Thursday that Kansas was among five states in the latest round of 
allocations.Under the federal legislation, Kansas’ neighboring states would 
receive from $64 million to $104 million to support small businesses. 
The amounts: Colorado, $104 million; Missouri, $94 million; Oklahoma, 
$81 million; and Nebraska, $64 million.The American Rescue Plan narrowly passed the House and Senate in 
2021. Kansas House Republicans Tracey Mann, Ron Estes and Jake LaTurner 
voted against the bill, while House Democrat Sharice Davids support it. 
In the Senate, Republicans Jerry Moran and Roger Marshall voted “no” on 
the bill.Treasury department officials recommended states support industries 
important to the U.S. economy, including companies involved with 
manufacturing, supply chains and renewable energy. In addition, the 
federal agency urged recipients to support businesses providing 
living-wage jobs.

Kansas set to distribute $69M in federal small business economic aid

ELLSWORTH COUNTY—A Kansas man died in an accident just before 10p.m. Wednesday in Ellsworth County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2002 Chevy Silverado driven by Richard Albert Saunders, 62, Marquette, was northbound on Kansas 141 just north of Avenue Q.

The vehicle struck the east guardrail and the driver overcorrected. The pickup struck the eastguard rail again, overturned, struck the east guard rail a third time, traveled over the guardrail and rolled down the embankment.

Saunders was pronounced dead at the scene and transported to Parsons Funeral Home. He was properly restrained, according to the KHP.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/6/1592389654778.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>ELLSWORTH COUNTY—A Kansas man died in an accident just before 10p.m. Wednesday in Ellsworth County.The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2002 Chevy Silverado driven by Richard Albert Saunders, 62, Marquette, was northbound on Kansas 141 just north of Avenue Q.The vehicle struck the east guardrail and the driver overcorrected. The pickup struck the eastguard rail again, overturned, struck the east guard rail a third time, traveled over the guardrail and rolled down the embankment.Saunders was pronounced dead at the scene and transported to Parsons Funeral Home. He was properly restrained, according to the KHP.

Kansas man dies after pickup strikes guardrail, rolls

WASHINGTON (AP) — The government website for people to request free COVID-19 at-home tests from the U.S. government is now accepting a third round of orders.

The White House announced this week that U.S. households can request an additional eight free at-home tests to be shipped by the U.S. Postal Service.

The announcement comes as coronavirus cases are rising again in some areas of the country.

President Joe Biden committed in January to making 1 billion tests available to the public free of charge, including 500 million available through&nbsp;<a href="https://www.covid.gov/tests" target="_blank">covidtests.gov.</a>&nbsp;But just 350 million of the amount available for ordering online have been shipped to date to addresses across the continental U.S., its territories and overseas military bases, the White House said.

People who have difficulty getting online or need help placing an order can call 1-800-232-0233 for assistance,

The third round brings to 16 the total number of free tests available to each U.S. household since the program started earlier this year. Households were eligible to receive four tests during each of two earlier rounds of ordering through the website.

Biden has requested an additional $22 billion from Congress to buy vaccines and therapeutics to prepare for a fall spike in COVID-19 cases, but lawmakers have balked at the price tag.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/1/1642104330616.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — The government website for people to request free COVID-19 at-home tests from the U.S. government is now accepting a third round of orders.The White House announced this week that U.S. households can request an additional eight free at-home tests to be shipped by the U.S. Postal Service.The announcement comes as coronavirus cases are rising again in some areas of the country.President Joe Biden committed in January to making 1 billion tests available to the public free of charge, including 500 million available through&nbsp;<a href="https://www.covid.gov/tests" target="_blank">covidtests.gov.</a>&nbsp;But just 350 million of the amount available for ordering online have been shipped to date to addresses across the continental U.S., its territories and overseas military bases, the White House said.People who have difficulty getting online or need help placing an order can call 1-800-232-0233 for assistance,The third round brings to 16 the total number of free tests available to each U.S. household since the program started earlier this year. Households were eligible to receive four tests during each of two earlier rounds of ordering through the website.Biden has requested an additional $22 billion from Congress to buy vaccines and therapeutics to prepare for a fall spike in COVID-19 cases, but lawmakers have balked at the price tag.

Biden offering to send you additional 8 free COVID-19 tests 

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate overwhelmingly approved&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-putin-biden-europe-0ac5c758d32dbea64c437b50e829bbb2">a $40 billion infusion of military and economic aid for Ukraine</a>&nbsp;and its allies on Thursday as both parties rallied behind America’s latest, and quite possibly not last, financial salvo against&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-government-and-politics-turkey-middle-east-f12a77ed2842d9fa25f7f7f80b2a7a2f">Russia’s invasion.</a>

The 86-11 vote gave final congressional approval to the package, three weeks after President Joe Biden requested a smaller&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-biden-business-europe-economy-5656f58ae48cb3cf37da0d0c431a15b8">$33 billion version</a>&nbsp;and after a lone Republican opponent delayed Senate passage for a week. Every Democrat and all but 11 Republicans backed the measure including Roger Marshall of Kansas and Josh Hawley of Missouri.

Kansas Senator Jerry Moran and retiring Missouri Senator Roy Blunt voted for the bill.

Rand Paul of Kentucky, John Boozman of Arkansas, Mike Braun of Indiana, Mike Crapo of Idaho, Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty of Tennessee, Mike Lee of Utah, Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming and Tommy Tuberville of Alabama also voted against the funding package.

Biden’s quick signature was certain as Russia’s attack, which has&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-crimes-schools-d1e52368aced8b3359f4436ca7180811">mauled Ukraine’s forces and cities</a>, slogs into a fourth month with&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-europe-western-nato-a990adcad47a34764d64b03bdcd69f7b">no obvious end ahead.</a>&nbsp;That means more casualties and destruction in Ukraine, which has relied heavily on U.S. and Western assistance for its survival, especially advanced arms, with requests for more aid potentially looming.

“Help is on the way, really significant help. Help that could make sure that the Ukrainians are victorious,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., underscoring a goal by Ukraine and its allies that seemed nearly unthinkable when Russia launched its brutal assault three months ago.

The vote was a glaring exception to the partisan divisions that have hindered work on other issues under Biden and that promise to become only less bridgeable as November’s elections for control of Congress draw closer. That includes Republicans blocking Democrats from including billions to combat the relentless pandemic in the measure, leaving their efforts to battle COVID-19 in limbo.

Last week the House approved the Ukraine bill 368-57, with all of those opposed Republicans. Though support in both chambers was unmistakably bipartisan, the GOP defections were noteworthy after Trump, still a potent force in the party, complained that such sums should first be targeted at domestic problems.

Schumer called it “beyond troubling” that Republicans were opposing the Ukraine assistance. “It appears more and more that MAGA Republicans are on the same soft-on-Putin playbook that we saw used by former President Trump,” said Schumer, using the Make America Great Again acronym Democrats have been using to cast those Republicans as extremists.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., a strong backer of the measure, addressed concerns by his GOP colleagues. He said Ukraine’s defeat would jeopardize America’s European trading partners, increase U.S. security costs there and embolden autocrats in China and elsewhere to grab territory in their regions.

“The most expensive and painful thing America could possibly do in the long run would be to stop investing in sovereignty, stability and deterrence before it’s too late,” McConnell said.

On Wednesday, Schumer said he was not confident this would be the final measure to help Ukraine. “They’re doing the fighting, they’re the ones getting killed, they’re the ones struggling and suffering. The least we can do is give them the weaponry they need,” he said.

The legislation contains around $24 billion for weapons, equipment and military financing for Ukraine, restoring Pentagon stocks of arms sent to the region and paying for U.S. reinforcements sent there. The rest includes economic aid to keep Zelenskyy’s government functioning,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-canada-turkey-middle-east-0ccf0b942ba0f199f4730f3e84a69626">food programs</a>&nbsp;for countries that rely on&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-business-canada-lifestyle-middle-east-1c8918d4734f0974eefe09121d2090ed">Ukraine’s diminished crop production</a>, refugee assistance and funds for Kyiv to investigate&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-kyiv-moscow-war-crimes-61c89e6c73541f3fa2364dde1498df72">Russian war crimes</a>.

Congress approved&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-putin-business-sports-elections-c6797784424afd3d597410cc388f206f">an initial $13.6 billion measure</a>&nbsp;in March. The combined price tag of nearly $54 billion exceeds what the U.S. spent on all its foreign and military aid in 2019, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service.

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who’s long had non-interventionist views, used procedural tactics last week to thwart Schumer and McConnell from moving the measure through the Senate then, citing Ukraine’s urgent need for the assistance.

In a personal criticism seen seldom on the Senate floor, Schumer on Wednesday called Paul’s move “repugnant” and said the delay, with passage inevitable, would “strengthen Putin’s hand.” McConnell, who last Saturday met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a surprise visit to Kyiv, did not speak up in his fellow Kentucky Republican’s defense.

In a brief interview, Paul responded that it would be “repugnant” to disparage “the democratic process” as embodied in Senate rules that he was using.

That spending concerned some Trump-friendly Republicans in Congress on Wednesday.

“It’s, you know, the world’s going to end if you don’t do anything here,” Sen. Mike Braun, R-Ind., who said he would oppose the Ukraine measure. “I’m more worried about the trust fund going broke” that finances Medicare and another that pays for Social Security.

Braun said he’s long pushed for bills that pay for themselves. Asked why saving $40 billion in this instance outweighed stopping Russia, he said, “Number one, it’s going to pass.”

Another conservative, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said that as costly as the measure is, the aid will protect U.S. national security and said, “If Putin wins, the consequences for America and American taxpayers will be hundreds of billions of dollars.”

Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, a moderate who has clashed with Trump, said in an interview that helping Ukraine defend itself ”is about as smart an investment as we could possibly make.” He added, “What does America First mean? It means that we should first be concerned about the interests of America. I totally agree.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/5/1652792332905.png" alt="Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a strong backer of the measure, addressed concerns by his GOP colleagues. He said Ukraine’s defeat would jeopardize America’s European trading partners, increase U.S. security costs there and embolden autocrats in China and elsewhere to grab territory in their regions - The photo shows McConnell and Senate leaders during last weekend's meeting with&nbsp;Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy- courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a strong backer of the measure, addressed concerns by his GOP colleagues. He said Ukraine’s defeat would jeopardize America’s European trading partners, increase U.S. security costs there and embolden autocrats in China and elsewhere to grab territory in their regions - The photo shows McConnell and Senate leaders during last weekend's meeting with&nbsp;Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy- courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate overwhelmingly approved&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-putin-biden-europe-0ac5c758d32dbea64c437b50e829bbb2">a $40 billion infusion of military and economic aid for Ukraine</a>&nbsp;and its allies on Thursday as both parties rallied behind America’s latest, and quite possibly not last, financial salvo against&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-government-and-politics-turkey-middle-east-f12a77ed2842d9fa25f7f7f80b2a7a2f">Russia’s invasion.</a>The 86-11 vote gave final congressional approval to the package, three weeks after President Joe Biden requested a smaller&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-biden-business-europe-economy-5656f58ae48cb3cf37da0d0c431a15b8">$33 billion version</a>&nbsp;and after a lone Republican opponent delayed Senate passage for a week. Every Democrat and all but 11 Republicans backed the measure including Roger Marshall of Kansas and Josh Hawley of Missouri.Kansas Senator Jerry Moran and retiring Missouri Senator Roy Blunt voted for the bill.Rand Paul of Kentucky, John Boozman of Arkansas, Mike Braun of Indiana, Mike Crapo of Idaho, Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty of Tennessee, Mike Lee of Utah, Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming and Tommy Tuberville of Alabama also voted against the funding package.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Providing weapons, valuable intelligence, medical supplies and humanitarian assistance will bolster Ukraine and send a message to authoritarian regimes that attacks against democracy will not go unanswered. My full statement:&mdash; Senator Jerry Moran (@JerryMoran) <a href="https://twitter.com/JerryMoran/status/1527342642308476929?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 19, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Biden’s quick signature was certain as Russia’s attack, which has&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-crimes-schools-d1e52368aced8b3359f4436ca7180811">mauled Ukraine’s forces and cities</a>, slogs into a fourth month with&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-europe-western-nato-a990adcad47a34764d64b03bdcd69f7b">no obvious end ahead.</a>&nbsp;That means more casualties and destruction in Ukraine, which has relied heavily on U.S. and Western assistance for its survival, especially advanced arms, with requests for more aid potentially looming.“Help is on the way, really significant help. Help that could make sure that the Ukrainians are victorious,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., underscoring a goal by Ukraine and its allies that seemed nearly unthinkable when Russia launched its brutal assault three months ago.The vote was a glaring exception to the partisan divisions that have hindered work on other issues under Biden and that promise to become only less bridgeable as November’s elections for control of Congress draw closer. That includes Republicans blocking Democrats from including billions to combat the relentless pandemic in the measure, leaving their efforts to battle COVID-19 in limbo.Last week the House approved the Ukraine bill 368-57, with all of those opposed Republicans. Though support in both chambers was unmistakably bipartisan, the GOP defections were noteworthy after Trump, still a potent force in the party, complained that such sums should first be targeted at domestic problems.Schumer called it “beyond troubling” that Republicans were opposing the Ukraine assistance. “It appears more and more that MAGA Republicans are on the same soft-on-Putin playbook that we saw used by former President Trump,” said Schumer, using the Make America Great Again acronym Democrats have been using to cast those Republicans as extremists.Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., a strong backer of the measure, addressed concerns by his GOP colleagues. He said Ukraine’s defeat would jeopardize America’s European trading partners, increase U.S. security costs there and embolden autocrats in China and elsewhere to grab territory in their regions.“The most expensive and painful thing America could possibly do in the long run would be to stop investing in sovereignty, stability and deterrence before it’s too late,” McConnell said.On Wednesday, Schumer said he was not confident this would be the final measure to help Ukraine. “They’re doing the fighting, they’re the ones getting killed, they’re the ones struggling and suffering. The least we can do is give them the weaponry they need,” he said.The legislation contains around $24 billion for weapons, equipment and military financing for Ukraine, restoring Pentagon stocks of arms sent to the region and paying for U.S. reinforcements sent there. The rest includes economic aid to keep Zelenskyy’s government functioning,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-canada-turkey-middle-east-0ccf0b942ba0f199f4730f3e84a69626">food programs</a>&nbsp;for countries that rely on&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-business-canada-lifestyle-middle-east-1c8918d4734f0974eefe09121d2090ed">Ukraine’s diminished crop production</a>, refugee assistance and funds for Kyiv to investigate&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-kyiv-moscow-war-crimes-61c89e6c73541f3fa2364dde1498df72">Russian war crimes</a>.Congress approved&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-putin-business-sports-elections-c6797784424afd3d597410cc388f206f">an initial $13.6 billion measure</a>&nbsp;in March. The combined price tag of nearly $54 billion exceeds what the U.S. spent on all its foreign and military aid in 2019, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service.Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who’s long had non-interventionist views, used procedural tactics last week to thwart Schumer and McConnell from moving the measure through the Senate then, citing Ukraine’s urgent need for the assistance.In a personal criticism seen seldom on the Senate floor, Schumer on Wednesday called Paul’s move “repugnant” and said the delay, with passage inevitable, would “strengthen Putin’s hand.” McConnell, who last Saturday met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a surprise visit to Kyiv, did not speak up in his fellow Kentucky Republican’s defense.In a brief interview, Paul responded that it would be “repugnant” to disparage “the democratic process” as embodied in Senate rules that he was using.That spending concerned some Trump-friendly Republicans in Congress on Wednesday.“It’s, you know, the world’s going to end if you don’t do anything here,” Sen. Mike Braun, R-Ind., who said he would oppose the Ukraine measure. “I’m more worried about the trust fund going broke” that finances Medicare and another that pays for Social Security.Braun said he’s long pushed for bills that pay for themselves. Asked why saving $40 billion in this instance outweighed stopping Russia, he said, “Number one, it’s going to pass.”Another conservative, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said that as costly as the measure is, the aid will protect U.S. national security and said, “If Putin wins, the consequences for America and American taxpayers will be hundreds of billions of dollars.”Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, a moderate who has clashed with Trump, said in an interview that helping Ukraine defend itself ”is about as smart an investment as we could possibly make.” He added, “What does America First mean? It means that we should first be concerned about the interests of America. I totally agree.”

Moran Yes, Marshall No: Senate OKs another $40B for Ukraine

HARVEY COUNTY—A fire in Harvey County destroyed a barn and contents including a golf cart and skid steer.

Just before 9:30 a.m. Thursday, Newton Fire/EMS was dispatched to a barn fire on S Kansas Rd. Crews arrived to find the structure fully involved with fire. 

After the bulk of the fire was extinguished, several hours were spent overhauling the structure, including the use of heavy equipment. No occupants, pets, or firefighters were injured in this incident. The cause of the fire was determined to be accidental. Whitewater, Sedgwick, Walton and Valley Center, crews assisted.

HARVEY COUNTY —Crews are working on a house fire in the 5800 block of South Kansas Avenue in Newton, according to a social media report from Newton Fire and EMS.

Authorities closed northbound lanes of Kansas Avenue. Officials asked the public to avoid southbound lanes due to traffic concerns and a water tender operation with trucks coming and going.

Authorities have not reported injuries or additional details.

Check the Post for more information as it becomes available.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/5/1652978717260.png" alt="Photo courtesy Newton Fire and EMS" />
 <figcaption>Photo courtesy Newton Fire and EMS</figcaption>
 </figure>HARVEY COUNTY—A fire in Harvey County destroyed a barn and contents including a golf cart and skid steer.Just before 9:30 a.m. Thursday, Newton Fire/EMS was dispatched to a barn fire on S Kansas Rd. Crews arrived to find the structure fully involved with fire. After the bulk of the fire was extinguished, several hours were spent overhauling the structure, including the use of heavy equipment. No occupants, pets, or firefighters were injured in this incident. The cause of the fire was determined to be accidental. Whitewater, Sedgwick, Walton and Valley Center, crews assisted.---------HARVEY COUNTY —Crews are working on a house fire in the 5800 block of South Kansas Avenue in Newton, according to a social media report from Newton Fire and EMS.Authorities closed northbound lanes of Kansas Avenue. Officials asked the public to avoid southbound lanes due to traffic concerns and a water tender operation with trucks coming and going.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/5/1652978846595.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Authorities have not reported injuries or additional details.Check the Post for more information as it becomes available.

Update: Crews fighting large barn fire in Newton

TOPEKA&nbsp;–&nbsp;Governor Laura Kelly announced on Thursday actions her administration has taken to ease the burden on Kansas families affected by the nationwide infant formula shortage, according to a statement from her office.

Since February, the Kelly Administration has been working with state agencies and federal partners to address the issue.&nbsp;

“I have directed all state agencies to do everything in their power to help Kansans access vital infant formula,”&nbsp;Governor Laura Kelly said.&nbsp;“From increasing flexibility to helping eliminate barriers at check-out, my Administration is doing what is within our power to ease the impact of the national infant formula shortage on Kansas Families.”&nbsp;

Governor Kelly has instructed agencies to work with their federal counterparts to expedite relief. To that end, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) has taken a leading role in working with the White House, the National Governors Association, the United States Department of Agriculture, the Food and Drug Administration, and the National Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Association, and private industry to help coordinate efforts and eliminate red tape.&nbsp;

KDHE has implemented a series of waivers to provide the maximum flexibility in making more infant formula products – including Ready to Feed (RTF) formulas – available to Kansans and has approved additional formula products for use by Kansas WIC families. The agency is also working with the Kansas Department for Children and Families on increased communication efforts to inform the public of possible alternatives.&nbsp;

The Kelly Administration, including KDHE, recommends the following to families struggling to find the formula they need to feed their child:&nbsp;&nbsp;

“KDHE is committed to ensuring infants in Kansas have access to formula,” Secretary Janet Stanek said. “Since February, we have been working to do what is possible, within our authority, to provide relief for Kansans. We urge all impacted families to follow these recommendations and stay up-to-date with information to care for their family’s needs.”&nbsp;

Families are strongly encouraged not to unnecessarily stockpile formula in such a way that would cause further strain on the supply chain.&nbsp;&nbsp;

KDHE strongly discourages the use of toddler formula to feed infants or watering down formula or trying to make infant formula at home.&nbsp;

The Kelly Administration will continue to monitor the situation and provide further updates as they become available. For more information about WIC eligibility, visit the <a href="https://lnks.gd/l/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJidWxsZXRpbl9saW5rX2lkIjoxMDMsInVyaSI6ImJwMjpjbGljayIsImJ1bGxldGluX2lkIjoiMjAyMjA1MTkuNTgxNDMzODEiLCJ1cmwiOiJodHRwczovL3d3dy5rZGhlLmtzLmdvdi8xMDE3L0luZm9ybWF0aW9uLWZvci1GYW1pbGllcyJ9.tgH-V4OSWri7lJZ0EUdA9QknPq80AiAuaiq3_ukgDUo/s/1303160919/br/131574045721-l" target="_blank">KDHE WIC website</a>. Find the approved substitution formula list for WIC families&nbsp;<a href="https://lnks.gd/l/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJidWxsZXRpbl9saW5rX2lkIjoxMDQsInVyaSI6ImJwMjpjbGljayIsImJ1bGxldGluX2lkIjoiMjAyMjA1MTkuNTgxNDMzODEiLCJ1cmwiOiJodHRwczovL3d3dy5rZGhlLmtzLmdvdi9Eb2N1bWVudENlbnRlci9WaWV3LzIzMjIzIn0.aTjKXGqrwDLgQu0hGknd3kQ67_MJ4N5XdC0JPsWy_a4/s/1303160919/br/131574045721-l" target="_blank">here</a>.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/3/1648164055231.png" alt="In February Abbott, one of the country’s largest infant formula makers announced a recall of Similac-FDA image" />
 <figcaption>In February Abbott, one of the country’s largest infant formula makers announced a recall of Similac-FDA image</figcaption>
 </figure>TOPEKA&nbsp;–&nbsp;Governor Laura Kelly announced on Thursday actions her administration has taken to ease the burden on Kansas families affected by the nationwide infant formula shortage, according to a statement from her office.Since February, the Kelly Administration has been working with state agencies and federal partners to address the issue.&nbsp;“I have directed all state agencies to do everything in their power to help Kansans access vital infant formula,”&nbsp;Governor Laura Kelly said.&nbsp;“From increasing flexibility to helping eliminate barriers at check-out, my Administration is doing what is within our power to ease the impact of the national infant formula shortage on Kansas Families.”&nbsp;Governor Kelly has instructed agencies to work with their federal counterparts to expedite relief. To that end, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) has taken a leading role in working with the White House, the National Governors Association, the United States Department of Agriculture, the Food and Drug Administration, and the National Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Association, and private industry to help coordinate efforts and eliminate red tape.&nbsp;KDHE has implemented a series of waivers to provide the maximum flexibility in making more infant formula products – including Ready to Feed (RTF) formulas – available to Kansans and has approved additional formula products for use by Kansas WIC families. The agency is also working with the Kansas Department for Children and Families on increased communication efforts to inform the public of possible alternatives.&nbsp;The Kelly Administration, including KDHE, recommends the following to families struggling to find the formula they need to feed their child:&nbsp;&nbsp;<ul>
 <li>Call your OBGYN or pediatrician to see if they can provide any resources to access formula or for suggestions on an alternative formula to meet their infant's health needs.&nbsp;</li><li>Switch to another brand or type of formula that is available if recommended by the infant's physician.&nbsp;</li><li>Contact their <a href="https://lnks.gd/l/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJidWxsZXRpbl9saW5rX2lkIjoxMDEsInVyaSI6ImJwMjpjbGljayIsImJ1bGxldGluX2lkIjoiMjAyMjA1MTkuNTgxNDMzODEiLCJ1cmwiOiJodHRwczovL3d3dy5rZGhlLmtzLmdvdi9CdXNpbmVzc0RpcmVjdG9yeUlJLmFzcHg_bG5nQnVzaW5lc3NDYXRlZ29yeUlEPTQyIn0.V8PBL62me4yy6ypSqopkLhbZ459PPFmpGPeF1wdrV_k/s/1303160919/br/131574045721-l" target="_blank">local WIC agency</a> to see if the infant is eligible for WIC benefits.&nbsp;</li>
 </ul><ul>
 <li>Contact smaller stores and drugstores that carry formula to see if they have products in stock.&nbsp;</li><li>Kansas WIC families should contact their <a href="https://lnks.gd/l/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJidWxsZXRpbl9saW5rX2lkIjoxMDIsInVyaSI6ImJwMjpjbGljayIsImJ1bGxldGluX2lkIjoiMjAyMjA1MTkuNTgxNDMzODEiLCJ1cmwiOiJodHRwczovL3d3dy5rZGhlLmtzLmdvdi9CdXNpbmVzc0RpcmVjdG9yeUlJLmFzcHg_bG5nQnVzaW5lc3NDYXRlZ29yeUlEPTQyIn0.l5XOxnTBQxO3ckEsebfhISdZtT9vLkcVdRqtu3LoxXw/s/1303160919/br/131574045721-l" target="_blank">local health department or health agency for assistance</a> in receiving substitute products when needed.&nbsp;</li>
 </ul>“KDHE is committed to ensuring infants in Kansas have access to formula,” Secretary Janet Stanek said. “Since February, we have been working to do what is possible, within our authority, to provide relief for Kansans. We urge all impacted families to follow these recommendations and stay up-to-date with information to care for their family’s needs.”&nbsp;Families are strongly encouraged not to unnecessarily stockpile formula in such a way that would cause further strain on the supply chain.&nbsp;&nbsp;KDHE strongly discourages the use of toddler formula to feed infants or watering down formula or trying to make infant formula at home.&nbsp;The Kelly Administration will continue to monitor the situation and provide further updates as they become available. For more information about WIC eligibility, visit the <a href="https://lnks.gd/l/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJidWxsZXRpbl9saW5rX2lkIjoxMDMsInVyaSI6ImJwMjpjbGljayIsImJ1bGxldGluX2lkIjoiMjAyMjA1MTkuNTgxNDMzODEiLCJ1cmwiOiJodHRwczovL3d3dy5rZGhlLmtzLmdvdi8xMDE3L0luZm9ybWF0aW9uLWZvci1GYW1pbGllcyJ9.tgH-V4OSWri7lJZ0EUdA9QknPq80AiAuaiq3_ukgDUo/s/1303160919/br/131574045721-l" target="_blank">KDHE WIC website</a>. Find the approved substitution formula list for WIC families&nbsp;<a href="https://lnks.gd/l/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJidWxsZXRpbl9saW5rX2lkIjoxMDQsInVyaSI6ImJwMjpjbGljayIsImJ1bGxldGluX2lkIjoiMjAyMjA1MTkuNTgxNDMzODEiLCJ1cmwiOiJodHRwczovL3d3dy5rZGhlLmtzLmdvdi9Eb2N1bWVudENlbnRlci9WaWV3LzIzMjIzIn0.aTjKXGqrwDLgQu0hGknd3kQ67_MJ4N5XdC0JPsWy_a4/s/1303160919/br/131574045721-l" target="_blank">here</a>.&nbsp;

Gov. takes actions to assist Kansans affected by baby formula shortage

By HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH, Associated Press

KANSAS CITY (AP) —Administrators at a Kansas City-area school district that is the subject of a federal civil rights investigation failed to protect a Black teen from repeated racial taunts that culminated with him being threatened with a lynching, a lawsuit alleges.

The suit filed this month in state court described what happened as “outrageous” and sought unspecified damages against the 3,500-student Kearney school district, which is just north of Kansas City. The situation got so bad that the teen, identified as K.W., called his parents in tears, saying the white students were trying to “incite violence against him" and that he “could not take it anymore.” The teen's parents pulled him from the school.

The district said in a statement that it doesn’t respond to pending litigation but is committed to “fully to ensuring that every student can learn in an environment free of discrimination in any form.”

Online U.S. Department of Education records show there are two open racial harassment investigations involving the district. The department's Office for Civil Rights does not discuss the details of its pending investigations. Dozens of other districts around the country also are under investigation, the records show.

The lawsuit alleges that issues arose during the 2018-19 and 2019-20 school year when the student was attending Kearney High School. The suit says fewer than 2% of its students are Black and 92% are white.

When K.W. joined the swim team, white swimmers told him that he needed to “shave his hair short and dye it blonde," the suit said. The student's sister, who according to the suit also had been tormented when she was in junior high, reported what had happened to the coach.

In one instance, she went to a teacher and a principal to report that she had been called a racial slur in class and was told the situation would be dealt with at a “future date” because the student had a football game and his dad was a coach, the suit said.

Another time, a white high school classmate took a picture of K.W. and superimposed a racial slur over the top of it. The situation was reported to administrators.

In January of 2019, two white Kearney high school students began to send K.W. pictures of themselves posing with a confederate flag, with messages such as “Heritage but mostly hate brotha.” The teen's mother told administrators.

The suit said that one of K.W.'s harassers was a girl, who told him that he couldn't do “nothing about" the racist comments she made on social media because if he tried she would have all the white people in town beat him. An algebra teacher who overheard the conversation escorted K.W. to the office, where the principal told him to ignore the girl because she was poorer than he was, the suit said.

The situation only got worse, with white students tormenting him with monkey sounds, the suit said.

K.W. also received anonymous messages condemning him for the way he treated the white girl. One message said: “I hope I see your black ass in tree. Alabama wind chime style.” The messages to K.W. continued: “I hope you and your monkey family gets jumped by all the whites in Kearney.”

The suit described the harassment as “terrifying at times” and said the district “tacitly condoned and tolerated” what happened because it was was slow to act and then took only “ineffective remedial action.”

The family's attorney, Dan Curry, said in a statement that K.W., transferred to a different area district, where he “thrived and graduated."

“But," Curry added, “no child should have to experience sustained racial harassment at school, and it affected my client immediately and viscerally."

By HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH, Associated PressKANSAS CITY (AP) —Administrators at a Kansas City-area school district that is the subject of a federal civil rights investigation failed to protect a Black teen from repeated racial taunts that culminated with him being threatened with a lynching, a lawsuit alleges.The suit filed this month in state court described what happened as “outrageous” and sought unspecified damages against the 3,500-student Kearney school district, which is just north of Kansas City. The situation got so bad that the teen, identified as K.W., called his parents in tears, saying the white students were trying to “incite violence against him" and that he “could not take it anymore.” The teen's parents pulled him from the school.The district said in a statement that it doesn’t respond to pending litigation but is committed to “fully to ensuring that every student can learn in an environment free of discrimination in any form.”Online U.S. Department of Education records show there are two open racial harassment investigations involving the district. The department's Office for Civil Rights does not discuss the details of its pending investigations. Dozens of other districts around the country also are under investigation, the records show.The lawsuit alleges that issues arose during the 2018-19 and 2019-20 school year when the student was attending Kearney High School. The suit says fewer than 2% of its students are Black and 92% are white.When K.W. joined the swim team, white swimmers told him that he needed to “shave his hair short and dye it blonde," the suit said. The student's sister, who according to the suit also had been tormented when she was in junior high, reported what had happened to the coach.In one instance, she went to a teacher and a principal to report that she had been called a racial slur in class and was told the situation would be dealt with at a “future date” because the student had a football game and his dad was a coach, the suit said.Another time, a white high school classmate took a picture of K.W. and superimposed a racial slur over the top of it. The situation was reported to administrators.In January of 2019, two white Kearney high school students began to send K.W. pictures of themselves posing with a confederate flag, with messages such as “Heritage but mostly hate brotha.” The teen's mother told administrators.The suit said that one of K.W.'s harassers was a girl, who told him that he couldn't do “nothing about" the racist comments she made on social media because if he tried she would have all the white people in town beat him. An algebra teacher who overheard the conversation escorted K.W. to the office, where the principal told him to ignore the girl because she was poorer than he was, the suit said.The situation only got worse, with white students tormenting him with monkey sounds, the suit said.K.W. also received anonymous messages condemning him for the way he treated the white girl. One message said: “I hope I see your black ass in tree. Alabama wind chime style.” The messages to K.W. continued: “I hope you and your monkey family gets jumped by all the whites in Kearney.”The suit described the harassment as “terrifying at times” and said the district “tacitly condoned and tolerated” what happened because it was was slow to act and then took only “ineffective remedial action.”The family's attorney, Dan Curry, said in a statement that K.W., transferred to a different area district, where he “thrived and graduated."“But," Curry added, “no child should have to experience sustained racial harassment at school, and it affected my client immediately and viscerally."

Lawsuit: Students at KC-area school taunted black student, threatened lynching

By BLAISE MESA <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2022-05-18/kansas-is-taking-a-nationally-unprecedented-move-to-let-foster-teens-pick-their-families">Kansas News Service</a>

TOPEKA — Kansas will be the first state to let foster 
children pick their foster parents. The goal of the one-of-a-kind 
program is to let older foster children create strong connections that 
could help them as they age out of the state’s care.

Foster 
children can find permanent homes either through adoption, being 
reunited with family or guardianship, but this new option gives foster 
youth more say.

Foster children age 16 and older would be able to 
pick up to two adults to serve as their legal, permanent family. Those 
people could include caregivers or people close to the child.

“It 
would be an unprecedented change,” said Scott Henricks, director of 
permanency at the Kansas Department for Children and Families. “It would
 be a change of direction on really how the system works.”

This program doesn’t cut ties with children’s biological parents unlike other placement options, Henricks said.

It’s
 designed to connect youth with a strong support system that’ll help 
them from teenage years to early adulthood. It also recognizes that 
family is not just about who you’re related to, Henricks said.

DCF couldn’t yet say how people will be eligible to become these guardians.

The
 Annie E. Casey Foundation estimates 20,000 people age out of foster 
care each year without a permanent family supporting them, and those 
children need help finding stable housing, getting a job or finishing 
college.

“Just imagine if you or I didn't have anyone at that 
age,” Henricks said. “We all need those supports. We all need some 
connections and this would legally recognize that.”

The Annie E. 
Casey Foundation selected Kansas as the first state to launch this 
program because of its “active and robust Kansas Youth Advisory Council”
 and commitment to expanding placement options for older children.

Patricia Duh, a permanency consultant for <a href="https://www.aecf.org/blog/soul-family-permanency-option-for-older-youth-in-foster-care" target="_blank">SOUL Fam­i­ly</a>, said in a blog post announcing the partnership that some children’s needs just aren’t met with the current options.

Duh
 was responsible for her basic needs once her time in extended foster 
care ran out, and she said having a program like SOUL would have made it
 easier to become self-sufficient.

“There is no one shoe, one size, that fits all youth when they age out," Duh said. "We have to begin to develop other options."

It
 isn’t clear when this program could start because details about it 
still need to be figured out. State law also needs to be updated to 
reflect the new placement option. The state Legislature is still 
technically in session, but any bills on the topic would likely wait 
until the 2023 session to be considered.

Henricks is excited by 
the change because he said too many children are aging out of Kansas 
foster care without a support system to help them succeed as adults. In 
March, 583 children are about to age out of care with none of the other 
placement options available. 

Letting a person pick their foster parent lets them make an important choice that could impact their lives for years.

“That
 could really change the trajectory of a young person's life,” Henricks 
said. “But more so, it will legally recognize their own voice.”

Blaise
 Mesa reports on criminal justice and social services for the Kansas 
News Service in Topeka. You can follow him on Twitter @Blaise_Mesa or 
email him at blaise@kcur.org.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/5/1652892215321.png" alt="The SOUL Family discusses the new program that promises "unprecedented change." Kansas Department for Children and Families" />
 <figcaption>The SOUL Family discusses the new program that promises "unprecedented change." Kansas Department for Children and Families</figcaption>
 </figure>By BLAISE MESA <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2022-05-18/kansas-is-taking-a-nationally-unprecedented-move-to-let-foster-teens-pick-their-families">Kansas News Service</a>TOPEKA — Kansas will be the first state to let foster 
children pick their foster parents. The goal of the one-of-a-kind 
program is to let older foster children create strong connections that 
could help them as they age out of the state’s care.Foster 
children can find permanent homes either through adoption, being 
reunited with family or guardianship, but this new option gives foster 
youth more say.Foster children age 16 and older would be able to 
pick up to two adults to serve as their legal, permanent family. Those 
people could include caregivers or people close to the child.“It 
would be an unprecedented change,” said Scott Henricks, director of 
permanency at the Kansas Department for Children and Families. “It would
 be a change of direction on really how the system works.”This program doesn’t cut ties with children’s biological parents unlike other placement options, Henricks said.It’s
 designed to connect youth with a strong support system that’ll help 
them from teenage years to early adulthood. It also recognizes that 
family is not just about who you’re related to, Henricks said.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/5/1652892272349.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>DCF couldn’t yet say how people will be eligible to become these guardians.The
 Annie E. Casey Foundation estimates 20,000 people age out of foster 
care each year without a permanent family supporting them, and those 
children need help finding stable housing, getting a job or finishing 
college.“Just imagine if you or I didn't have anyone at that 
age,” Henricks said. “We all need those supports. We all need some 
connections and this would legally recognize that.”The Annie E. 
Casey Foundation selected Kansas as the first state to launch this 
program because of its “active and robust Kansas Youth Advisory Council”
 and commitment to expanding placement options for older children.Patricia Duh, a permanency consultant for <a href="https://www.aecf.org/blog/soul-family-permanency-option-for-older-youth-in-foster-care" target="_blank">SOUL Fam­i­ly</a>, said in a blog post announcing the partnership that some children’s needs just aren’t met with the current options.Duh
 was responsible for her basic needs once her time in extended foster 
care ran out, and she said having a program like SOUL would have made it
 easier to become self-sufficient.“There is no one shoe, one size, that fits all youth when they age out," Duh said. "We have to begin to develop other options."It
 isn’t clear when this program could start because details about it 
still need to be figured out. State law also needs to be updated to 
reflect the new placement option. The state Legislature is still 
technically in session, but any bills on the topic would likely wait 
until the 2023 session to be considered.Henricks is excited by 
the change because he said too many children are aging out of Kansas 
foster care without a support system to help them succeed as adults. In 
March, 583 children are about to age out of care with none of the other 
placement options available. Letting a person pick their foster parent lets them make an important choice that could impact their lives for years.“That
 could really change the trajectory of a young person's life,” Henricks 
said. “But more so, it will legally recognize their own voice.”Blaise
 Mesa reports on criminal justice and social services for the Kansas 
News Service in Topeka. You can follow him on Twitter @Blaise_Mesa or 
email him at blaise@kcur.org.

Kan. taking unprecedented step to let foster teens pick their families

WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris will speak Thursday with abortion providers from states with some of the nation’s strictest restrictions to thank them for their work, the White House said.

Harris’ virtual meeting with medical professionals practicing in Kansas,&nbsp; Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas and Montana comes weeks after the leaks of a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-abortion-draft-opinion-07439f9fc4542f1500ab78dfd34036b1">draft Supreme Court opinion</a>&nbsp;suggesting that justices are on the brink of overturning the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized abortion nationwide. Justices are expected to issue their final ruling in the next six weeks, but those states and others are already laying the groundwork to ban abortion outright if the court allows individual states to set their own rules for the procedure.

“The Vice President will hear stories from abortion providers who are working in states with some of the most extreme abortion restrictions, and she will thank them for fighting to protect reproductive health care, despite personal risk,” the White House said in a statement. She will “emphasize that the Administration will continue to defend women’s constitutional rights and protect access to abortion,” it said.

In fact, the Biden administration has few options available in bitterly divided Washington. A&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-biden-us-supreme-court-filibusters-congress-759beeba80ac56aa95271711a8e915da">Senate bill to expand abortion access failed</a>&nbsp;due to bipartisan opposition last week.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/5/1652963399521.png" alt="Vice President Harris after a&nbsp;Senate bill to expand abortion access failed&nbsp;last week.-White House photo" />
 <figcaption>Vice President Harris after a&nbsp;Senate bill to expand abortion access failed&nbsp;last week.-White House photo</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris will speak Thursday with abortion providers from states with some of the nation’s strictest restrictions to thank them for their work, the White House said.Harris’ virtual meeting with medical professionals practicing in Kansas,&nbsp; Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas and Montana comes weeks after the leaks of a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-abortion-draft-opinion-07439f9fc4542f1500ab78dfd34036b1">draft Supreme Court opinion</a>&nbsp;suggesting that justices are on the brink of overturning the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized abortion nationwide. Justices are expected to issue their final ruling in the next six weeks, but those states and others are already laying the groundwork to ban abortion outright if the court allows individual states to set their own rules for the procedure.“The Vice President will hear stories from abortion providers who are working in states with some of the most extreme abortion restrictions, and she will thank them for fighting to protect reproductive health care, despite personal risk,” the White House said in a statement. She will “emphasize that the Administration will continue to defend women’s constitutional rights and protect access to abortion,” it said.In fact, the Biden administration has few options available in bitterly divided Washington. A&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-biden-us-supreme-court-filibusters-congress-759beeba80ac56aa95271711a8e915da">Senate bill to expand abortion access failed</a>&nbsp;due to bipartisan opposition last week.

VP Harris to speak with abortion providers in Kan., Mo. as court ruling looms

A Ukrainian agricultural education organizer is touring the
United States, raising money to rebuild rural villages ravaged by the war.

Roman Grynyshyn has worked with his partners throughout the
West to create the fundraising project:&nbsp;
World to Rebuild Rural Ukraine.

“We are trying to replace what was ruthlessly damaged or stolen
from the least protected stratum of rural society,” Grynyshyn tells host Barry
Birr on the KFEQ Hotline.

Grynyshyn says Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has been
devastating to rural Ukraine and its farms, cutting off agricultural production
and preventing grain shipments. While the war rages and ruins much of his home
country, Grynyshyn expresses confidence in the ultimate outcome.

“And there is not doubt that we will win,” Grynyshyn says. “The
only thing is how long will it take us to return to this beauty as it was
before.”

Grynyshyn says he has been impressed and encouraged by the
reception he has received while touring the United States, especially with the
reception he receives from cities with ties to agriculture such as St. Joseph.

Grynshyn spoke to the St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce while in
town. He has been speaking to several groups in the United States, making
addresses to groups in Washington, D.C., Ohio State University, Michigan State
University, the University of Nebraska, among others. He is speaking to Missouri
and Kansas groups now before traveling to the state of Washington.

Grynyshyn has been coordinating tours and conferences for Ukrainian
farmers the past 13 years. He had a conference set up for Costa Rica in late
February, but as he prepared to leave the next day, the bombs started falling.
Over the next two days, February 23rd and 24th, he
gathered friends and family to flee the country. Grynyshyn says his large
contingent waited for 34 hours to cross over into Poland, eventually taking
refuge at a friend’s farm in Germany.

Then began the speaking tour in the United States.

Grynyshyn is also keeping those he speaks with abreast of the
latest news from the war front.

“My information that I’m getting is not coming from some sources
of media that can be biased or something like that,” Grynyshyn says. “I talk to
the actual farmers, to actual agricultural business representatives and they
say what they see, almost first hand.”

Grynyshyn charges that the Russian army has been ruthless in
devastating rural Ukraine, both to intimidate Ukrainians and destroy the
country’s agricultural industry.

Grynyshyn says many with ties to both Ukraine and Russia never
suspected Russia would follow through with its threats against Ukraine.

“I had a lot of clients, Russian speaking clients, who said
Roman, come on, they will never attack. They are our comrades,” Grynshyn says “And
when the war started, I called them. They were literally speechless.”

Grynyshyn says a saying by his father doesn’t seem as humorous
as it once did.

“My father always told me you need to learn as a priority two
subjects at school. First, is the military, to be able to shoot, to know how to
shoot and second is history, to know who to shoot.”

Despite the devastation of the war, Grynyshyn remains
optimistic Ukraine will prevail.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/5/1652908707392.jpeg" alt="Roman Grynyshyn/Photo by Brent Martin" />
 <figcaption>Roman Grynyshyn/Photo by Brent Martin</figcaption>
 </figure>By BRENT MARTINSt. Joseph PostA Ukrainian agricultural education organizer is touring the
United States, raising money to rebuild rural villages ravaged by the war.Roman Grynyshyn has worked with his partners throughout the
West to create the fundraising project:&nbsp;
World to Rebuild Rural Ukraine.“We are trying to replace what was ruthlessly damaged or stolen
from the least protected stratum of rural society,” Grynyshyn tells host Barry
Birr on the KFEQ Hotline.Grynyshyn says Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has been
devastating to rural Ukraine and its farms, cutting off agricultural production
and preventing grain shipments. While the war rages and ruins much of his home
country, Grynyshyn expresses confidence in the ultimate outcome.“And there is not doubt that we will win,” Grynyshyn says. “The
only thing is how long will it take us to return to this beauty as it was
before.”Grynyshyn says he has been impressed and encouraged by the
reception he has received while touring the United States, especially with the
reception he receives from cities with ties to agriculture such as St. Joseph.Grynshyn spoke to the St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce while in
town. He has been speaking to several groups in the United States, making
addresses to groups in Washington, D.C., Ohio State University, Michigan State
University, the University of Nebraska, among others. He is speaking to Missouri
and Kansas groups now before traveling to the state of Washington.Grynyshyn has been coordinating tours and conferences for Ukrainian
farmers the past 13 years. He had a conference set up for Costa Rica in late
February, but as he prepared to leave the next day, the bombs started falling.
Over the next two days, February 23rd and 24th, he
gathered friends and family to flee the country. Grynyshyn says his large
contingent waited for 34 hours to cross over into Poland, eventually taking
refuge at a friend’s farm in Germany.Then began the speaking tour in the United States.Grynyshyn is also keeping those he speaks with abreast of the
latest news from the war front.“My information that I’m getting is not coming from some sources
of media that can be biased or something like that,” Grynyshyn says. “I talk to
the actual farmers, to actual agricultural business representatives and they
say what they see, almost first hand.”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/5/1652908749523.jpeg" alt="Grynyshyn speaks with host Barry Birr on the KFEQ Hotline/Photo by Brent Martin" />
 <figcaption>Grynyshyn speaks with host Barry Birr on the KFEQ Hotline/Photo by Brent Martin</figcaption>
 </figure>Grynyshyn charges that the Russian army has been ruthless in
devastating rural Ukraine, both to intimidate Ukrainians and destroy the
country’s agricultural industry.Grynyshyn says many with ties to both Ukraine and Russia never
suspected Russia would follow through with its threats against Ukraine.“I had a lot of clients, Russian speaking clients, who said
Roman, come on, they will never attack. They are our comrades,” Grynshyn says “And
when the war started, I called them. They were literally speechless.”Grynyshyn says a saying by his father doesn’t seem as humorous
as it once did.“My father always told me you need to learn as a priority two
subjects at school. First, is the military, to be able to shoot, to know how to
shoot and second is history, to know who to shoot.”Despite the devastation of the war, Grynyshyn remains
optimistic Ukraine will prevail.

Ukrainian farmer tours US, raising money to rebuild villages devastated by war

DETROIT (AP)&nbsp; — Ford is asking the owners of 350,000 vehicles in the United States to take them to dealers for repairs in three recalls, including about 39,000 that should be parked outdoors because the engines can catch fire.

Ford says in government documents posted Thursday that it doesn't know what's causing fires in certain 2021 Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator SUVs.

But the company says fires can happen even while the engines are off. Ford has reports of 16 fires under the hood, 14 in rental company vehicles. One person was burned. It's recommending that the SUVs be parked outdoors and away from buildings. So far it hasn't developed a repair for the fires, which appear to start at the back of the engine compartment on the passenger side.

The automaker also is recalling about 310,000 heavy-duty trucks because the driver's air bag may not inflate in a crash.

The recall covers certain 2016 F-250, 350, 450 and 550 trucks. Dust can get into the air bag wiring in the steering wheel, disconnecting the electricity.

And the company is recalling 464 electric Mustang Mach-E SUVs from 2021. A software problem can cause unintended acceleration, deceleration or a loss of drive power.

DETROIT (AP)&nbsp; — Ford is asking the owners of 350,000 vehicles in the United States to take them to dealers for repairs in three recalls, including about 39,000 that should be parked outdoors because the engines can catch fire.Ford says in government documents posted Thursday that it doesn't know what's causing fires in certain 2021 Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator SUVs.But the company says fires can happen even while the engines are off. Ford has reports of 16 fires under the hood, 14 in rental company vehicles. One person was burned. It's recommending that the SUVs be parked outdoors and away from buildings. So far it hasn't developed a repair for the fires, which appear to start at the back of the engine compartment on the passenger side.The automaker also is recalling about 310,000 heavy-duty trucks because the driver's air bag may not inflate in a crash.The recall covers certain 2016 F-250, 350, 450 and 550 trucks. Dust can get into the air bag wiring in the steering wheel, disconnecting the electricity.And the company is recalling 464 electric Mustang Mach-E SUVs from 2021. A software problem can cause unintended acceleration, deceleration or a loss of drive power.

Park outdoors: Ford recalls SUVs due to engine fire risk

By ZEKE MILLER and MIKE STOBBE, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — COVID-19 cases are increasing in the United States – and could get even worse over the coming months, federal health officials warned Wednesday in urging areas hardest hit to consider reissuing calls for indoor masking.

Increasing numbers of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic">COVID-19</a>&nbsp;infections and hospitalizations are putting more of the country under guidelines issued by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that call for masking and other infection precautions.

Right now, about a third of the U.S. population lives in areas that are considered at higher risk — mostly in the Northeast and Midwest. Those are areas where people should already be considering wearing masks indoors — but Americans elsewhere should also take notice, officials said.

“Prior increases of infections, in different waves of infection, have demonstrated that this travels across the country,” said Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the CDC director, said at a White House briefing with reporters.

For an increasing number of areas, “we urge local leaders to encourage use of prevention strategies like masks in public indoor settings and increasing access to testing and treatment,” she said.

However, officials were cautious about making concrete predictions, saying how much worse the pandemic gets will depend on several factors, including to what degree previous infections will protect against new variants.

Last week, White House COVID-19 coordinator&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-covid-health-congress-a05afb7ebfa102992c354c99619fa944">Dr. Ashish Jha warned</a>&nbsp;in an interview with The Associated Press the U.S. will be increasingly vulnerable to the coronavirus this fall and winter if Congress doesn’t swiftly approve new funding for more vaccines and treatments.

Jha warned that without additional funding from Congress for the virus would cause “unnecessary loss of life” in the fall and winter, when the U.S. runs out of treatments.

He added the U.S. was already falling behind other nations in securing supplies of the next generation of COVID-19 vaccines and said that the domestic manufacturing base of at-home tests is already drying up as demand drops off.

Jha said domestic test manufactures have started shuttering lines and laying off workers, and in the coming weeks will begin to sell off equipment and prepare to exit the business of producing tests entirely unless the U.S. government has money to purchase more tests, like the hundreds of millions it has sent out for free to requesting households this year.

That would leave the U.S. reliant on other countries for testing supplies, risking shortages during a surge, Jha warned. About 8.5 million households placed orders for the latest tranche of 8 free tests since ordering opened on Monday, Jha added.

The pandemic is now 2 1/2 years old. And the U.S. has seen — depending how you count them — five waves of COVID-19 during that time, with the later surges driven by mutated versions of the coronavirus. A fifth wave occurred mainly in December and January, caused by the omicron variant.

The omicron variant spread much more easily than earlier versions.

Some experts are worried the country now is seeing signs of a sixth wave, driven by an omicron subvariant. On Wednesday, Walensky noted a steady increase in COVID-19 cases in the past five weeks, including a 26% increase nationally in the last week.

Hospitalizations also are rising, up 19% in the past week, though they remain much lower than during the omicron wave, she said.

In late February, as that wave was ebbing, the CDC released a new set of measures for communities where COVID-19 was easing its grip, with less of a focus on positive test results and more on what’s happening at hospitals.

Walensky said more than 32% of the country currently live in an area with medium or high COVID-19 community levels, including more than 9% in the highest level, where CDC recommends that masks and other mitigation efforts be used.

In the last week, an additional 8% of Americans were living in a county in medium or high COVID-19 community levels.

Officials said they are concerned that waning immunity and relaxed mitigation measures across the country may contribute to a continued rise in infections and illnesses across the country. They encouraged people — particularly older adults — to get boosters.

Some health experts say the government should be taking clearer and bolder steps.

The CDC community level guidelines are confusing to the public, and don’t give a clear picture of how much virus transmission is occurring in a community, said Dr. Lakshmi Ganapathi, an infectious diseases specialist at Harvard University.

When the government officials make recommendations but do not set rules, “it ultimately rests on every single individual picking and choosing the public health that works for them. But that’s not what is effective. If you’re talking about stemming hospitalizations and even deaths, all of these interventions work better when people do it collectively,” she said.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (AP) — The COVID-19 pandemic could get worse in the U.S. in the weeks ahead, officials said Wednesday, and more people could be advised to again wear masks indoors.

Increasing numbers of COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations are putting more of the country under guidelines issued by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that call for masking and other infection precautions.

For an increasing number of areas "we urge local leaders to encourage use of prevention strategies like masks in public indoor settings and increasing access to testing and treatment,” Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the CDC director, said at a White House briefing with reporters.

Last week, White House COVID-19 coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha warned in an interview with The Associated Press the U.S. will be increasingly vulnerable to the coronavirus this fall and winter if Congress doesn’t swiftly approve new funding for more vaccines and treatments..

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/5/1652901529032.png" alt="For an increasing number of areas, “we urge local leaders to encourage use of prevention strategies like masks in public indoor settings and increasing access to testing and treatment,” said CDC Director Rochelle Walensky-White House photo" />
 <figcaption>For an increasing number of areas, “we urge local leaders to encourage use of prevention strategies like masks in public indoor settings and increasing access to testing and treatment,” said CDC Director Rochelle Walensky-White House photo</figcaption>
 </figure>By ZEKE MILLER and MIKE STOBBE, Associated PressWASHINGTON (AP) — COVID-19 cases are increasing in the United States – and could get even worse over the coming months, federal health officials warned Wednesday in urging areas hardest hit to consider reissuing calls for indoor masking.Increasing numbers of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic">COVID-19</a>&nbsp;infections and hospitalizations are putting more of the country under guidelines issued by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that call for masking and other infection precautions.Right now, about a third of the U.S. population lives in areas that are considered at higher risk — mostly in the Northeast and Midwest. Those are areas where people should already be considering wearing masks indoors — but Americans elsewhere should also take notice, officials said.“Prior increases of infections, in different waves of infection, have demonstrated that this travels across the country,” said Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the CDC director, said at a White House briefing with reporters.For an increasing number of areas, “we urge local leaders to encourage use of prevention strategies like masks in public indoor settings and increasing access to testing and treatment,” she said.However, officials were cautious about making concrete predictions, saying how much worse the pandemic gets will depend on several factors, including to what degree previous infections will protect against new variants.Last week, White House COVID-19 coordinator&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-covid-health-congress-a05afb7ebfa102992c354c99619fa944">Dr. Ashish Jha warned</a>&nbsp;in an interview with The Associated Press the U.S. will be increasingly vulnerable to the coronavirus this fall and winter if Congress doesn’t swiftly approve new funding for more vaccines and treatments.Jha warned that without additional funding from Congress for the virus would cause “unnecessary loss of life” in the fall and winter, when the U.S. runs out of treatments.He added the U.S. was already falling behind other nations in securing supplies of the next generation of COVID-19 vaccines and said that the domestic manufacturing base of at-home tests is already drying up as demand drops off.Jha said domestic test manufactures have started shuttering lines and laying off workers, and in the coming weeks will begin to sell off equipment and prepare to exit the business of producing tests entirely unless the U.S. government has money to purchase more tests, like the hundreds of millions it has sent out for free to requesting households this year.That would leave the U.S. reliant on other countries for testing supplies, risking shortages during a surge, Jha warned. About 8.5 million households placed orders for the latest tranche of 8 free tests since ordering opened on Monday, Jha added.The pandemic is now 2 1/2 years old. And the U.S. has seen — depending how you count them — five waves of COVID-19 during that time, with the later surges driven by mutated versions of the coronavirus. A fifth wave occurred mainly in December and January, caused by the omicron variant.The omicron variant spread much more easily than earlier versions.Some experts are worried the country now is seeing signs of a sixth wave, driven by an omicron subvariant. On Wednesday, Walensky noted a steady increase in COVID-19 cases in the past five weeks, including a 26% increase nationally in the last week.Hospitalizations also are rising, up 19% in the past week, though they remain much lower than during the omicron wave, she said.In late February, as that wave was ebbing, the CDC released a new set of measures for communities where COVID-19 was easing its grip, with less of a focus on positive test results and more on what’s happening at hospitals.Walensky said more than 32% of the country currently live in an area with medium or high COVID-19 community levels, including more than 9% in the highest level, where CDC recommends that masks and other mitigation efforts be used.In the last week, an additional 8% of Americans were living in a county in medium or high COVID-19 community levels.Officials said they are concerned that waning immunity and relaxed mitigation measures across the country may contribute to a continued rise in infections and illnesses across the country. They encouraged people — particularly older adults — to get boosters.Some health experts say the government should be taking clearer and bolder steps.The CDC community level guidelines are confusing to the public, and don’t give a clear picture of how much virus transmission is occurring in a community, said Dr. Lakshmi Ganapathi, an infectious diseases specialist at Harvard University.When the government officials make recommendations but do not set rules, “it ultimately rests on every single individual picking and choosing the public health that works for them. But that’s not what is effective. If you’re talking about stemming hospitalizations and even deaths, all of these interventions work better when people do it collectively,” she said.___-------WASHINGTON, D.C. (AP) — The COVID-19 pandemic could get worse in the U.S. in the weeks ahead, officials said Wednesday, and more people could be advised to again wear masks indoors.Increasing numbers of COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations are putting more of the country under guidelines issued by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that call for masking and other infection precautions.For an increasing number of areas "we urge local leaders to encourage use of prevention strategies like masks in public indoor settings and increasing access to testing and treatment,” Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the CDC director, said at a White House briefing with reporters.However, officials were cautious about making concrete predictions, saying how much worse the pandemic gets will depend on several factors, including to what degree previous infections will protect against new variants.Last week, White House COVID-19 coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha warned in an interview with The Associated Press the U.S. will be increasingly vulnerable to the coronavirus this fall and winter if Congress doesn’t swiftly approve new funding for more vaccines and treatments..The pandemic is now 2 1/2 years old. And the U.S. has seen — depending how you count them — five waves of COVID-19 during that time, with the later surges driven by mutated versions of the coronavirus. A fifth wave occurred mainly in December and January, caused by the omicron variant.The omicron variant spread much more easily than earlier versions.Some experts are worried the country now is seeing signs of a sixth wave, driven by an omicron subvariant. On Wednesday, Walensky noted a steady increase in COVID-19 cases in the past five weeks, including a 26% increase nationally in the last week.Hospitalizations also are rising, up 19% in the past week, though they remain much lower than during the omicron wave, she said.In late February, as that wave was ebbing, the CDC released a new set of measures for communities where COVID-19 was easing its grip, with less of a focus on positive test results and more on what’s happening at hospitals.Walensky said more than 32% of the country currently live in an area with medium or high COVID-19 community levels, including more than 9% in the highest level, where CDC recommends that masks and other mitigation efforts be used.In the last week, an additional 8% of Americans were living in a county in medium or high COVID-19 community levels.Officials said they are concerned that waning immunity and relaxed mitigation measures across the country may contribute to a continued rise in infections and illnesses across the country. They encouraged people — particularly older adults — to get boosters.___

Feds call for indoor masks as COVID cases increase across U.S.

DOUGLAS COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities investigating a fatal weekend hit and run accident reported Monday they have located a vehicle in the Kansas City area they suspect to be the transit van involved in the crash, according to a media release from the Douglas County Sheriff's office.

Investigators are working to identify the driver of the vehicle and asking anyone who might have information to contact law enforcement. The vehicle would have been eastbound on Kansas 10 highway just after 5p.m. on Saturday.

Brooklyn Brouhard, 9, of Eudora died from injuries suffered in the crash. She was passenger on a motorcycle driven by her grandfather 54-year-old Barry Larson who was also injured.

Larson was driving a motorcycle northbound on East 1900 Road with Brooklyn as a passenger. As the motorcycle approached the overpass, the transit van moved forward from the stop sign and the top of the eastbound off ramp from K-10 and into the intersection and struck the motorcycle.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/5/1652731134056.png" alt="Image Douglas Co. Sheriff" />
 <figcaption>Image Douglas Co. Sheriff</figcaption>
 </figure>DOUGLAS COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities investigating a fatal weekend hit and run accident reported Monday they have located a vehicle in the Kansas City area they suspect to be the transit van involved in the crash, according to a media release from the Douglas County Sheriff's office.Investigators are working to identify the driver of the vehicle and asking anyone who might have information to contact law enforcement. The vehicle would have been eastbound on Kansas 10 highway just after 5p.m. on Saturday.Brooklyn Brouhard, 9, of Eudora died from injuries suffered in the crash. She was passenger on a motorcycle driven by her grandfather 54-year-old Barry Larson who was also injured.Larson was driving a motorcycle northbound on East 1900 Road with Brooklyn as a passenger. As the motorcycle approached the overpass, the transit van moved forward from the stop sign and the top of the eastbound off ramp from K-10 and into the intersection and struck the motorcycle.Witnesses reported that after the collision, the driver of the white van proceeded down the ramp leaving its black front bumper cover behind and returned to eastbound K-10.&nbsp;EMS transported Larson and his granddaughter to an area hospital.-------------DOUGLAS COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a fatal hit and run accident and asking the public for help to locate a van and driver that fled the scene.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">EAST 1900 Road Fatality Accident After further investigation, Sheriff&#39;s Office detectives now believe the vehicle that left the scene yesterday was a Ford Transit Connect XL Model 2013-2019, more likely a 2018-19. Anyone with info is asked to call the DGSO, 785-843-0250. <a href="https://t.co/NazzZWkS2O">pic.twitter.com/NazzZWkS2O</a>&mdash; Douglas Co. Sheriff (@DGSOSheriff) <a href="https://twitter.com/DGSOSheriff/status/1525963802629505037?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 15, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Just after 5p.m. Saturday, police responded to a two-vehicle crash in the 1300 Block of East 1900 Road on the ramp over Kansas 10 Highway between Lawrence and Eudora, according to the Douglas County Sheriff.According to a preliminary investigation, a 54-year-old man was driving a motorcycle northbound on East 1900 Road with a 9-year-old girl as passenger. As the approached the overpass, an unknown possibly a 2013-19 white Ford Transit van moved forward from the stop sign and the top of the eastbound off ramp from K-10 and into the intersection.The van struck the motorcycle which overturned. EMS transported the man and the girl to Overland Park Regional Medical Center. He had serious but non life threatening injuries. The girl, who was wearing a helmet suffered critical injuries and died Sunday morning, according the sheriff's department.Witnesses reported that after the collision, the driver of the white van proceeded down the ramp leaving its black front bumper cover behind and returned to eastbound K-10.&nbsp;Anyone with information is asked to contact the Douglas Co. Sheriff.