Hays —Allegations of sexual misconduct against a longtime Hays Capuchin friar have been found to be unsubstantiated, according to a news release issued to&nbsp;dioceses&nbsp;by the Capuchin Province of Mid-America.

Father Mike Scully, who served at St. Joseph’s parish and Thomas More Prep-Marian High School during his time in Hays, had been suspended from the ministry during the investigation, which began in late February. He most recently served in the Lawrence area.

"After a thorough investigation of the allegation by an independent investigator and review by the Province’s Independent Review Board the allegation was found to be 'unsubstantiated,' which means the allegation was not credible based on investigative findings," the release stated. "As a result, Fr. Scully is cleared of this allegation."

Scully strongly denied the allegation, which dated back to the 1970s, from the outset.

"The province treats any allegation with great respect and concern," the release said. "Upon notice of the allegation, the province immediately notified law enforcement of the accusation and commenced a thorough investigation and review in accordance with the province’s standard procedures.

"When an allegation of sexual abuse is brought to our attention, we recognize the pain experienced by the victims and their families, the accused, the entire church community, and our own community of brothers. We continue to hold in our prayers all those involved in this case."

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/5/1651776765846.png" alt="www.frmikescully.com" />
 <figcaption>www.frmikescully.com</figcaption>
 </figure>Hays —Allegations of sexual misconduct against a longtime Hays Capuchin friar have been found to be unsubstantiated, according to a news release issued to&nbsp;dioceses&nbsp;by the Capuchin Province of Mid-America.Father Mike Scully, who served at St. Joseph’s parish and Thomas More Prep-Marian High School during his time in Hays, had been suspended from the ministry during the investigation, which began in late February. He most recently served in the Lawrence area."After a thorough investigation of the allegation by an independent investigator and review by the Province’s Independent Review Board the allegation was found to be 'unsubstantiated,' which means the allegation was not credible based on investigative findings," the release stated. "As a result, Fr. Scully is cleared of this allegation."Scully strongly denied the allegation, which dated back to the 1970s, from the outset.<div><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FStNicksHays%2Fposts%2F5153196171383677&show_text=true&width=500" width="500" height="216" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share"></iframe></div>"The province treats any allegation with great respect and concern," the release said. "Upon notice of the allegation, the province immediately notified law enforcement of the accusation and commenced a thorough investigation and review in accordance with the province’s standard procedures."When an allegation of sexual abuse is brought to our attention, we recognize the pain experienced by the victims and their families, the accused, the entire church community, and our own community of brothers. We continue to hold in our prayers all those involved in this case."

Accusation against longtime Kan. priest unsubstantiated

WASHINGTON (AP) — Little doubt remains about what the Supreme Court plans to do with Roe v. Wade. But uncertainty abounds about ripple effects as the court nears a final opinion expected to overturn the landmark 1973 case that created a nationwide right to abortion.

(click below to listen to the President's comments)

A leaked first draft of the majority opinion in the case, authenticated Tuesday by the Supreme Court,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/us-supreme-court-samuel-alito-da04e9a762148eca89bfb198efa86b7b">suggests that a majority of justices are poised to toss out Roe.</a>&nbsp;The draft’s provocative rhetoric also is generating concern that LGTBQ advances and other matters based on the right to privacy&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-us-supreme-court-business-health-lifestyle-6cd65e467da1e0786968adf6b1e9078b">could be vulnerable in a newly hostile political environment.</a>

“This is about a lot more than abortion,” President Joe Biden warned Wednesday, saying the court’s draft opinion could jeopardize same-sex marriage, access to contraception and LGBTQ rights.

“What are the next things that are going to be attacked? Because this MAGA crowd is really the most extreme political organization that’s existed in recent American history,” Biden said.

Court opinions can change in ways big and small throughout the drafting process. So while the eventual ruling in the abortion case appears all but assured, the written rationale — and its implications — may still be a hotly debated subject inside the court’s private chambers.

The draft’s potentially sweeping impact could be tempered by the other justices, or it could emerge largely unchanged — with what advocates and Biden say could bring even more severe consequences.

The draft opinion, written by Justice Samuel Alito, a member of the court’s 6-3 conservative majority, argues that unenumerated constitutional rights — those not explicitly mentioned in the document — must be “deeply rooted in the Nation’s history and traditions.” And it says abortion doesn’t meet that standard.

Biden and others are sounding alarms that the same logic could be used to toss out other protections.

The president said he believed the conservative justices on today’s court would, like failed Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork in 1987, disagree with the court’s ruling in Griswold v. Connecticut, which said that a right to privacy exists that bars states from interfering in married couples’ right to buy and use contraceptives.

Cases like Lawrence v. Texas, which struck down sodomy laws criminalizing same-sex intimacy, and Obergefell v. Hodges, which legalized gay marriage, are based at least in part on that same right to privacy.

Alito, in the draft opinion, explicitly states that the court is only targeting the right to abortion, not those other matters.

“We emphasize that our decision concerns the constitutional right to abortion and no other right,” the draft states. “Nothing in this opinion should be understood to cast doubt on precedents that do not concern abortion.”

Obergefell is different from Roe in that hundreds of thousands of same-sex couples have relied on it to wed and created legal bonds, like shared property, inheritance rights and “settled expectations about the future,” said Teresa Collett, a professor at the University of St. Thomas School of Law and director of its Prolife Center.

Courts are usually loath to undo that kind of precedent. It stands in contrast to abortion, which is usually “a response to unplanned circumstances,” Collett said.

Obergefell, moreover, relies on the Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause as well as the right to privacy.

The current Supreme Court abortion case specifically concerns a Mississippi law that bans abortion after 15 weeks — before the “viability” standard set in the 1992 case Planned Parenthood v. Casey, which itself moved beyond Roe’s initial trimester framework for regulating abortion.

At arguments in December, all six conservative justices signaled they would uphold the Mississippi law, and five asked questions suggesting they supported overturning the right to abortion nationwide, leaving the issue up to individual states.

Only Chief Justice John Roberts seemed prepared to take the smaller step of upholding the 15-week ban, in essence overturning the court’s ruling in Casey, while leaving in place the right to an abortion in Roe.

Until now, the court has allowed states to regulate but not ban abortion before the point of viability, around 24 weeks. The court’s three liberal justices appeared certain to be in dissent.

Still, the language and tone Alito uses overall could encourage more challenges, said Jason Pierceson, professor of political science at the University of Illinois, Springfield. “If the right to privacy is deconstructed or is hollowed out, or is minimized, then those cases in particular have less standing,” Pierceson said.

A challenge to same-sex marriage could come before the high court on religious liberty grounds, for example, such as someone arguing their religious faith prevents them from recognizing same-sex marriage. Cases along those lines have been mostly about exceptions to anti-discrimination laws so far, Pierceson said, “but one could see potentially a broadening of the argument to the fact that maybe same-sex marriage laws are unconstitutional in the first place.”

LGBTQ rights have made rapid progress over the past decade, and public opinion overall has become much more supportive. But especially over the past year there has been a wave of bills in state legislatures aimed at transgender youth sports and healthcare, as well as talking about LGBTQ issues in certain classrooms. Backers of those bills generally argue they’re needed to protect kids and the rights of parents.

Against that backdrop, the draft opinion, if finalized, could “send up a flare” to conservative activists, said Sharon McGowan, legal director at Lambda Legal.

“Overturning Roe will be most dangerous because of the signal it will send lower courts to disregard all the other precedents that exist,” she said.

“It’s starting with abortion. It’s not going to end with abortion,” said Mini Timmaraju, the president of NARAL Pro-Choice America. “So everyone needs to be very vigilant.”

Critics could also take a page from the anti-abortion playbook, which involved multiple measures over the decades that tackled the issue from different angles, imposed limits rather than sweeping prohibitions and employed unusual strategies like the civil-enforcement mechanism that’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-us-supreme-court-health-texas-oklahoma-528aede70223d68dd5ed09160098445f">already essentially allowed Texas to ban abortion,&nbsp;</a>said Alison Gash, a professor at the University of Oregon.

“It opens the door for all sorts of stuff that I think we’re probably going to see now that we’ve got a court that seems willing to support that kind of creativity,” she said. “It’s all speculation, but it seems perfectly plausible for us to see Republican experimentation on a whole bunch of policies that could be affected by this.”

Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, said that “what comes through loud and clear in the draft” is that the agenda “is not just to get rid of abortion but to ban contraception, to eliminate all the important progress that we’ve made about LGBTQ rights, about the rights of trans children, and also about racial equality.”

WASHINGTON (AP) — Little doubt remains about what the Supreme Court plans to do with Roe v. Wade. But uncertainty abounds about ripple effects as the court nears a final opinion expected to overturn the landmark 1973 case that created a nationwide right to abortion.(click below to listen to the President's comments)<div><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?height=314&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FWhiteHouse%2Fvideos%2F1022615965085674%2F&show_text=false&width=560&t=584" width="560" height="314" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowFullScreen="true"></iframe></div>A leaked first draft of the majority opinion in the case, authenticated Tuesday by the Supreme Court,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/us-supreme-court-samuel-alito-da04e9a762148eca89bfb198efa86b7b">suggests that a majority of justices are poised to toss out Roe.</a>&nbsp;The draft’s provocative rhetoric also is generating concern that LGTBQ advances and other matters based on the right to privacy&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-us-supreme-court-business-health-lifestyle-6cd65e467da1e0786968adf6b1e9078b">could be vulnerable in a newly hostile political environment.</a>“This is about a lot more than abortion,” President Joe Biden warned Wednesday, saying the court’s draft opinion could jeopardize same-sex marriage, access to contraception and LGBTQ rights.“What are the next things that are going to be attacked? Because this MAGA crowd is really the most extreme political organization that’s existed in recent American history,” Biden said.Court opinions can change in ways big and small throughout the drafting process. So while the eventual ruling in the abortion case appears all but assured, the written rationale — and its implications — may still be a hotly debated subject inside the court’s private chambers.The draft’s potentially sweeping impact could be tempered by the other justices, or it could emerge largely unchanged — with what advocates and Biden say could bring even more severe consequences.The draft opinion, written by Justice Samuel Alito, a member of the court’s 6-3 conservative majority, argues that unenumerated constitutional rights — those not explicitly mentioned in the document — must be “deeply rooted in the Nation’s history and traditions.” And it says abortion doesn’t meet that standard.Biden and others are sounding alarms that the same logic could be used to toss out other protections.The president said he believed the conservative justices on today’s court would, like failed Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork in 1987, disagree with the court’s ruling in Griswold v. Connecticut, which said that a right to privacy exists that bars states from interfering in married couples’ right to buy and use contraceptives.Cases like Lawrence v. Texas, which struck down sodomy laws criminalizing same-sex intimacy, and Obergefell v. Hodges, which legalized gay marriage, are based at least in part on that same right to privacy.Alito, in the draft opinion, explicitly states that the court is only targeting the right to abortion, not those other matters.“We emphasize that our decision concerns the constitutional right to abortion and no other right,” the draft states. “Nothing in this opinion should be understood to cast doubt on precedents that do not concern abortion.”Obergefell is different from Roe in that hundreds of thousands of same-sex couples have relied on it to wed and created legal bonds, like shared property, inheritance rights and “settled expectations about the future,” said Teresa Collett, a professor at the University of St. Thomas School of Law and director of its Prolife Center.Courts are usually loath to undo that kind of precedent. It stands in contrast to abortion, which is usually “a response to unplanned circumstances,” Collett said.Obergefell, moreover, relies on the Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause as well as the right to privacy.The current Supreme Court abortion case specifically concerns a Mississippi law that bans abortion after 15 weeks — before the “viability” standard set in the 1992 case Planned Parenthood v. Casey, which itself moved beyond Roe’s initial trimester framework for regulating abortion.At arguments in December, all six conservative justices signaled they would uphold the Mississippi law, and five asked questions suggesting they supported overturning the right to abortion nationwide, leaving the issue up to individual states.Only Chief Justice John Roberts seemed prepared to take the smaller step of upholding the 15-week ban, in essence overturning the court’s ruling in Casey, while leaving in place the right to an abortion in Roe.Until now, the court has allowed states to regulate but not ban abortion before the point of viability, around 24 weeks. The court’s three liberal justices appeared certain to be in dissent.Still, the language and tone Alito uses overall could encourage more challenges, said Jason Pierceson, professor of political science at the University of Illinois, Springfield. “If the right to privacy is deconstructed or is hollowed out, or is minimized, then those cases in particular have less standing,” Pierceson said.A challenge to same-sex marriage could come before the high court on religious liberty grounds, for example, such as someone arguing their religious faith prevents them from recognizing same-sex marriage. Cases along those lines have been mostly about exceptions to anti-discrimination laws so far, Pierceson said, “but one could see potentially a broadening of the argument to the fact that maybe same-sex marriage laws are unconstitutional in the first place.”LGBTQ rights have made rapid progress over the past decade, and public opinion overall has become much more supportive. But especially over the past year there has been a wave of bills in state legislatures aimed at transgender youth sports and healthcare, as well as talking about LGBTQ issues in certain classrooms. Backers of those bills generally argue they’re needed to protect kids and the rights of parents.Against that backdrop, the draft opinion, if finalized, could “send up a flare” to conservative activists, said Sharon McGowan, legal director at Lambda Legal.“Overturning Roe will be most dangerous because of the signal it will send lower courts to disregard all the other precedents that exist,” she said.“It’s starting with abortion. It’s not going to end with abortion,” said Mini Timmaraju, the president of NARAL Pro-Choice America. “So everyone needs to be very vigilant.”Critics could also take a page from the anti-abortion playbook, which involved multiple measures over the decades that tackled the issue from different angles, imposed limits rather than sweeping prohibitions and employed unusual strategies like the civil-enforcement mechanism that’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-us-supreme-court-health-texas-oklahoma-528aede70223d68dd5ed09160098445f">already essentially allowed Texas to ban abortion,&nbsp;</a>said Alison Gash, a professor at the University of Oregon.“It opens the door for all sorts of stuff that I think we’re probably going to see now that we’ve got a court that seems willing to support that kind of creativity,” she said. “It’s all speculation, but it seems perfectly plausible for us to see Republican experimentation on a whole bunch of policies that could be affected by this.”Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, said that “what comes through loud and clear in the draft” is that the agenda “is not just to get rid of abortion but to ban contraception, to eliminate all the important progress that we’ve made about LGBTQ rights, about the rights of trans children, and also about racial equality.”

🎥President Biden: Other rights at risk if court overturns Roe

WASHINGTON (AP) — Average long-term U.S. mortgage rates resumed their ascent this week, as the key 30-year loan reached its highest point since 2009.

The increases came in the week preceding the widely anticipated action by the Federal Reserve, announced Wednesday, to intensify its fight against the worst inflation in 40 years by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/federal-reserve-interest-rate-inflation-8d5e20882cdfd7975ebb3bb48a437f11">raising its benchmark interest rate</a>&nbsp;by a half-percentage point and signaling further large rate hikes to come. The Fed’s move, its most aggressive since 2000, will bring higher costs for mortgages as well as credit cards, auto loans and other borrowing for individuals and businesses.

Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac reported Thursday that the 30-year rate rose to 5.27% from 5.1% last week, when it edged down after seven weeks of increases. By contrast, the average rate stood at 2.96% a year ago.

The average rate on 15-year, fixed-rate mortgages, popular among those refinancing their homes, jumped to 4.52% from 4.4% last week.

With inflation at a four-decade high, rising mortgage rates, elevated home prices and tight supply of homes for sale, homeownership has become less attainable, especially for first-time buyers.

Some economists suggest that home sales this year could decline as much as 10% from 2021 levels.

In a statement Wednesday following their two-day meeting, Fed policymakers noted that Russia’s invasion and war on Ukraine is worsening inflation pressures by raising oil and food prices. Inflation, according to the Fed’s preferred gauge, reached 6.6% last month, the highest in four decades. It has been accelerated by a combination of robust consumer spending, chronic supply bottlenecks and sharply higher gas and food prices.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/6/1624025620777.png" alt="Photo David Condos / Kansas News Service" />
 <figcaption>Photo David Condos / Kansas News Service</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — Average long-term U.S. mortgage rates resumed their ascent this week, as the key 30-year loan reached its highest point since 2009.The increases came in the week preceding the widely anticipated action by the Federal Reserve, announced Wednesday, to intensify its fight against the worst inflation in 40 years by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/federal-reserve-interest-rate-inflation-8d5e20882cdfd7975ebb3bb48a437f11">raising its benchmark interest rate</a>&nbsp;by a half-percentage point and signaling further large rate hikes to come. The Fed’s move, its most aggressive since 2000, will bring higher costs for mortgages as well as credit cards, auto loans and other borrowing for individuals and businesses.Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac reported Thursday that the 30-year rate rose to 5.27% from 5.1% last week, when it edged down after seven weeks of increases. By contrast, the average rate stood at 2.96% a year ago.The average rate on 15-year, fixed-rate mortgages, popular among those refinancing their homes, jumped to 4.52% from 4.4% last week.With inflation at a four-decade high, rising mortgage rates, elevated home prices and tight supply of homes for sale, homeownership has become less attainable, especially for first-time buyers.Some economists suggest that home sales this year could decline as much as 10% from 2021 levels.In a statement Wednesday following their two-day meeting, Fed policymakers noted that Russia’s invasion and war on Ukraine is worsening inflation pressures by raising oil and food prices. Inflation, according to the Fed’s preferred gauge, reached 6.6% last month, the highest in four decades. It has been accelerated by a combination of robust consumer spending, chronic supply bottlenecks and sharply higher gas and food prices.

US mortgage rates surge to highest level since 2009

SHAWNEE COUNTY—Authorities say lightning is to blame for a house fire in Topeka.

Just after 1:30p.m. on Wednesday, fire crews were advised there had been a lightning strike at&nbsp;2933 SW Foxcroft Court in Topeka, according to Fire Marshal Alan Stahl. Upon arrival fire crews found light smoke showing from the roofline.

Upon further investigation fire was found throughout the attic space and spreading rapidly. Crews were able to contain the fire and extinguish it.

Investigators determined the cause of the fire to be natural, associated with a lightning strike. The estimated dollar loss –$769,310 with $519,310 associated with structure loss and $250,000 associated with content loss, according to Stahl.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/5/1651767150150.png" alt=" The estimated dollar loss from the fire –$769,310-Photo courtesy WIBW TV" />
 <figcaption> The estimated dollar loss from the fire –$769,310-Photo courtesy WIBW TV</figcaption>
 </figure>SHAWNEE COUNTY—Authorities say lightning is to blame for a house fire in Topeka.Just after 1:30p.m. on Wednesday, fire crews were advised there had been a lightning strike at&nbsp;2933 SW Foxcroft Court in Topeka, according to Fire Marshal Alan Stahl. Upon arrival fire crews found light smoke showing from the roofline.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/5/1651766841740.png" alt="Photo courtesy WIBW TV" />
 <figcaption>Photo courtesy WIBW TV</figcaption>
 </figure>Upon further investigation fire was found throughout the attic space and spreading rapidly. Crews were able to contain the fire and extinguish it.Investigators determined the cause of the fire to be natural, associated with a lightning strike. The estimated dollar loss –$769,310 with $519,310 associated with structure loss and $250,000 associated with content loss, according to Stahl.There were no injuries reported.

Lightning strike blamed for fire at Kansas home

BARTON COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect on drug charges after a traffic stop.

Just before 10 a.m. Wednesday, police initiated a traffic stop with a man later identified as 43-year-old Marcus Murphy who was on a bicycle at the intersection of Adams Street and Lakin Avenue in Great Bend for a traffic infraction, according to a media release.

The officer was advised by Barton County Dispatch that Murphy had two outstanding felony warrants for drug related charges out of Barton County.

Murphy was placed under arrest and transported to the Barton County Detention Center. Upon arrival to the Barton County Detention Center, a small bag containing a white powdery substance was located on Murphy. The powdery substance field tested positive for methamphetamine.

Murphy was booked and held on both outstanding warrants and on requested charges of possession of methamphetamine.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/5/1651747741709.png" alt="Murphy-photo Barton Co." />
 <figcaption>Murphy-photo Barton Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>BARTON COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect on drug charges after a traffic stop.Just before 10 a.m. Wednesday, police initiated a traffic stop with a man later identified as 43-year-old Marcus Murphy who was on a bicycle at the intersection of Adams Street and Lakin Avenue in Great Bend for a traffic infraction, according to a media release.The officer was advised by Barton County Dispatch that Murphy had two outstanding felony warrants for drug related charges out of Barton County.Murphy was placed under arrest and transported to the Barton County Detention Center. Upon arrival to the Barton County Detention Center, a small bag containing a white powdery substance was located on Murphy. The powdery substance field tested positive for methamphetamine.Murphy was booked and held on both outstanding warrants and on requested charges of possession of methamphetamine.

Police catch wanted Kan. man due to bicycle riding infraction

LONDON (AP) — The World Health Organization is estimating that nearly 15 million people were killed either by the coronavirus or by its impact on overwhelmed health systems in the past two years, more than double the official death toll of 6 million. Most of the fatalities were in Southeast Asia, Europe and the Americas.

In a report released on Thursday, the U.N. agency’s chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus described the figure as “sobering,” saying it should prompt countries to invest more in their capacities to quell future health emergencies.

Scientists tasked by WHO with calculating the actual number of COVID-19 deaths between January 2020 and the end of last year estimated there were between 13.3 million and 16.6 million deaths that were either caused directly by the coronavirus or were somehow attributed to the pandemic’s impact on health systems, like people with cancer unable to seek treatment when hospitals were full of COVID patients.

The figures are based on country-reported data and statistical modelling. WHO did not immediately break down the figures to distinguish between direct deaths from COVID-19 and others caused by the pandemic.

“This may seem like just a bean-counting exercise, but having these WHO numbers is so critical to understanding how we should combat future pandemics and continue to respond to this one,” said Albert Ko, an infectious diseases specialist at the Yale School of Public Health who was not linked to the WHO research. For example, Ko said, South Korea’s decision to invest heavily in public health after it suffered a severe outbreak of MERS allowed it to escape COVID-19 with a per-capita death rate around a 20th of that of the U.S.

Accurate numbers on COVID-19 deaths have been problematic throughout the pandemic, as the figures are only a fraction of the devastation wrought by the virus, largely because of limited testing and differences in how countries count COVID-19 deaths. According to government figures reported to WHO and to a separate count kept by Johns Hopkins University, there have been more than&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-coronavirus-pandemic-science-business-health-69e8cbaebb653a0f1cb65ffe33d9afbd">6 million&nbsp;</a>reported coronavirus deaths to date.

Scientists at the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington guessed there were more than 18 million COVID deaths from January 2020 to December 2021 in a recent study published in the journal Lancet, and a team led by Canadian researchers estimated there were more than 3 million uncounted coronavirus deaths in India alone.

Some countries, including India, have disputed WHO’s methodology for calculating COVID deaths, resisting the idea that there were many more deaths than officially counted. Earlier this week, the Indian government released new figures showing there were 474,806 more deaths in 2020 compared to the previous year, but did not say how many were tied to the pandemic. India did not release any death estimates for 2021, when the highly infectious&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/india-new-delhi-coronavirus-health-f2a4d130a41944720d9f687f7c5e53ce">delta variant</a>&nbsp;swept through the country, killing many thousands.

Yale’s Ko said better figures from WHO might also explain some lingering mysteries about the pandemic, like why&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-science-health-pandemics-united-nations-fcf28a83c9352a67e50aa2172eb01a2f">Africa&nbsp;</a>appears to have been one of the least affected by the virus, despite its low vaccination rates. “Were the mortality rates so low because we couldn’t count the deaths or was there some other factor to explain that?” he said, adding that the crush of deaths in rich countries like Britain and the U.S. proved that resources alone were insufficient to contain a global outbreak.

Dr. Bharat Pankhania, a public health specialist at Britain’s University of Exeter, said we may never get close to the true toll of COVID-19, particularly in poor countries.

“When you have a massive outbreak where people are dying in the streets because of a lack of oxygen, bodies were abandoned or people had to be&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-india-religion-coronavirus-c644fc9eb09beb04e16d0215a6693886">cremated quickly</a>&nbsp;because of cultural beliefs, we end up never knowing just how many people died,” he explained.

Although Pankhania said the currently estimated COVID-19 death toll still pales in comparison to the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic — when experts estimate up to 100 million people died — he said the fact that so many people died despite the advances of modern medicine, including vaccines, is shameful.

He also warned the cost of COVID-19 could be far more damaging in the long term, given the increasing burden of long COVID.

“With the Spanish flu, there was the flu and then there were some (lung) illnesses people suffered, but that was it,” he said. “There was not an enduring immunological condition that we’re seeing right now with COVID,” he said.

“We do not know the extent to which people with long COVID will have their lives cut short and if they will have repeated infections that will cause them even more problems.”

LONDON (AP) — The World Health Organization is estimating that nearly 15 million people were killed either by the coronavirus or by its impact on overwhelmed health systems in the past two years, more than double the official death toll of 6 million. Most of the fatalities were in Southeast Asia, Europe and the Americas.In a report released on Thursday, the U.N. agency’s chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus described the figure as “sobering,” saying it should prompt countries to invest more in their capacities to quell future health emergencies.Scientists tasked by WHO with calculating the actual number of COVID-19 deaths between January 2020 and the end of last year estimated there were between 13.3 million and 16.6 million deaths that were either caused directly by the coronavirus or were somehow attributed to the pandemic’s impact on health systems, like people with cancer unable to seek treatment when hospitals were full of COVID patients.The figures are based on country-reported data and statistical modelling. WHO did not immediately break down the figures to distinguish between direct deaths from COVID-19 and others caused by the pandemic.“This may seem like just a bean-counting exercise, but having these WHO numbers is so critical to understanding how we should combat future pandemics and continue to respond to this one,” said Albert Ko, an infectious diseases specialist at the Yale School of Public Health who was not linked to the WHO research. For example, Ko said, South Korea’s decision to invest heavily in public health after it suffered a severe outbreak of MERS allowed it to escape COVID-19 with a per-capita death rate around a 20th of that of the U.S.Accurate numbers on COVID-19 deaths have been problematic throughout the pandemic, as the figures are only a fraction of the devastation wrought by the virus, largely because of limited testing and differences in how countries count COVID-19 deaths. According to government figures reported to WHO and to a separate count kept by Johns Hopkins University, there have been more than&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-coronavirus-pandemic-science-business-health-69e8cbaebb653a0f1cb65ffe33d9afbd">6 million&nbsp;</a>reported coronavirus deaths to date.Scientists at the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington guessed there were more than 18 million COVID deaths from January 2020 to December 2021 in a recent study published in the journal Lancet, and a team led by Canadian researchers estimated there were more than 3 million uncounted coronavirus deaths in India alone.Some countries, including India, have disputed WHO’s methodology for calculating COVID deaths, resisting the idea that there were many more deaths than officially counted. Earlier this week, the Indian government released new figures showing there were 474,806 more deaths in 2020 compared to the previous year, but did not say how many were tied to the pandemic. India did not release any death estimates for 2021, when the highly infectious&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/india-new-delhi-coronavirus-health-f2a4d130a41944720d9f687f7c5e53ce">delta variant</a>&nbsp;swept through the country, killing many thousands.Yale’s Ko said better figures from WHO might also explain some lingering mysteries about the pandemic, like why&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-science-health-pandemics-united-nations-fcf28a83c9352a67e50aa2172eb01a2f">Africa&nbsp;</a>appears to have been one of the least affected by the virus, despite its low vaccination rates. “Were the mortality rates so low because we couldn’t count the deaths or was there some other factor to explain that?” he said, adding that the crush of deaths in rich countries like Britain and the U.S. proved that resources alone were insufficient to contain a global outbreak.Dr. Bharat Pankhania, a public health specialist at Britain’s University of Exeter, said we may never get close to the true toll of COVID-19, particularly in poor countries.“When you have a massive outbreak where people are dying in the streets because of a lack of oxygen, bodies were abandoned or people had to be&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-india-religion-coronavirus-c644fc9eb09beb04e16d0215a6693886">cremated quickly</a>&nbsp;because of cultural beliefs, we end up never knowing just how many people died,” he explained.Although Pankhania said the currently estimated COVID-19 death toll still pales in comparison to the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic — when experts estimate up to 100 million people died — he said the fact that so many people died despite the advances of modern medicine, including vaccines, is shameful.He also warned the cost of COVID-19 could be far more damaging in the long term, given the increasing burden of long COVID.“With the Spanish flu, there was the flu and then there were some (lung) illnesses people suffered, but that was it,” he said. “There was not an enduring immunological condition that we’re seeing right now with COVID,” he said.“We do not know the extent to which people with long COVID will have their lives cut short and if they will have repeated infections that will cause them even more problems.”____

WHO: Nearly 15M deaths associated with COVID-19

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Oklahoma joined Texas this week to form a region that parts of a nation divided over abortion care might look like if the U.S. Supreme Court strikes down its landmark Roe v. Wade ruling.

While abortion providers across the country have been bracing for the possibility that the high court’s new conservative majority&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/roe-wade-supreme-court-state-fight-e53b2b46d9606dc9468b8044a0b42ed0">might further restrict abortion</a>, that has especially been the case in Oklahoma, where lawmakers have passed a half-dozen anti-abortion measures this year.

A bill signed into law on Tuesday by Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt is&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-abortion-business-lawsuits-laws-8690c15ea5de5c6ed695003b7a533cb1">similar to the law passed in Texas</a>&nbsp;last year that led to a marked&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-health-business-texas-oklahoma-65225decf918b820801d162f14b09b80">increase in women</a>&nbsp;going to neighboring states, including Oklahoma, to get abortions. It prohibits doctors from performing an abortion after fetal activity is detected in the embryo, which experts say is typically after about six weeks and before many women even know they are pregnant. And like Texas’ law, it is enforced through civil, not criminal, courts and relies on civilians to inform on one another.

Abortion providers in Oklahoma said they are prepared for the law to take effect and have been helping women get appointments at clinics in neighboring states.

“I think something we realized in September (when the Texas law took effect) is that we are already living in a virtual post-Roe world in our region,” said Dr. Iman Alsaden, the medical director of Planned Parenthood Great Plains, which operates clinics in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma.

“We have seen people go to extreme lengths to access abortion care: driving all night, doing whatever they can to get the basic health care they need for them and their families. We have been seeing what a post-Roe future looks like in this region of the country already, and it’s unbelievable.”

The Oklahoma Supreme Court declined to temporarily stop the law from taking effect, although the court is still considering a legal challenge.

Stitt’s signing of the bill, along with the leaked draft opinion suggesting the U.S. Supreme Court is considering weakening or overturning its Roe v. Wade decision, led more than 100 people to protest on Tuesday at the Oklahoma Capitol.

“I honestly and truly never thought we would actually get here,” said Sophia Fults, 22, a University of Oklahoma student from Tulsa who held a sign that read: “Keep abortion safe, legal and accessible.”

“Honestly, I was just shocked and I’m still kind of shocked and disgusted. So many women are going to be harmed because of this. It’s just horrendous.”

The new law authorizes abortions if they are performed as the result of a medical emergency, but there are no exceptions for if the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest.

Like the Texas law, the Oklahoma bill would allow private citizens to sue abortion providers or anyone who helps a woman obtain an abortion. After the U.S. Supreme Court&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-health-texas-0b4ed1808ed44d176bf6c86e6646a718">allowed that mechanism to remain in place</a>, other Republican-led states sought to copy Texas’ ban.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/idaho-abortion-ban-law-6eec10650b51c2b9dc98607d13cd8f40">Idaho’s governor</a>&nbsp;signed the first copycat measure in March, although it has been temporarily blocked by the state’s Supreme Court.

Stitt earlier this year signed a bill to make performing an&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-oklahoma-law-87880e9f3c7bde2ae634cb2f02839e6e">abortion a felony</a>&nbsp;in Oklahoma, but that measure is not set to take effect until this summer, and legal experts say it’s likely to be blocked because Roe still remains the law of the land.

“One of our main responsibilities in government is to protect life, and that has been our deliberate intention,” said state Sen. Nathan Dahm, a Republican who wrote the bill to make abortion illegal. “I believe here in Oklahoma we’ll do everything we can to protect life from conception.”

The number of abortions performed each year in Oklahoma, which has four abortion clinics, has declined steadily over the last two decades, from more than 6,200 in 2002 to 3,737 in 2020, which were the fewest in more than 20 years, according to data from the Oklahoma State Department of Health. In 2020, before the Texas law was passed, about 9% of the abortions performed in Oklahoma involved women from Texas.

Before the Texas ban took effect on Sept. 1, about 40 women from Texas had abortions performed in Oklahoma each month, the data shows. That number jumped to 222 in September and 243 in October, according to the most recent data available.

Clinic operators in Texas saw about a 40% decrease in the number of abortions performed there after the law took effect, and Oklahoma operators say they expect similar declines, said Zachary Gingrich-Gaylord, a spokesman for Trust Women, which operates clinics in Oklahoma City and Wichita, Kansas.

“In Texas, we’ve seen that many clinics were able to retain around 60% of their pre-SB 8 patient volume, and it seems reasonable to expect something similar in Oklahoma,” Gingrich-Gaylord said, referring to the Texas law by its state Senate bill name. “The primary reason to think that we may see far less volume than that is the chilling effect caused by the (Supreme Court) leak that may add to confusion for patients seeking abortions.”

According to state health department data, about 47% of abortions performed in Oklahoma in 2020 were for women who were less than six weeks pregnant.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/4/1649779268364.png" alt="“We want to outlaw abortion in the state of Oklahoma,”&nbsp; Gov. Kevin Stitt said during a bill signing ceremony in April.-photo courtesy Oklahoma Governor's office&nbsp;" />
 <figcaption>“We want to outlaw abortion in the state of Oklahoma,”&nbsp; Gov. Kevin Stitt said during a bill signing ceremony in April.-photo courtesy Oklahoma Governor's office&nbsp;</figcaption>
 </figure>OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Oklahoma joined Texas this week to form a region that parts of a nation divided over abortion care might look like if the U.S. Supreme Court strikes down its landmark Roe v. Wade ruling.While abortion providers across the country have been bracing for the possibility that the high court’s new conservative majority&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/roe-wade-supreme-court-state-fight-e53b2b46d9606dc9468b8044a0b42ed0">might further restrict abortion</a>, that has especially been the case in Oklahoma, where lawmakers have passed a half-dozen anti-abortion measures this year.A bill signed into law on Tuesday by Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt is&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-abortion-business-lawsuits-laws-8690c15ea5de5c6ed695003b7a533cb1">similar to the law passed in Texas</a>&nbsp;last year that led to a marked&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-health-business-texas-oklahoma-65225decf918b820801d162f14b09b80">increase in women</a>&nbsp;going to neighboring states, including Oklahoma, to get abortions. It prohibits doctors from performing an abortion after fetal activity is detected in the embryo, which experts say is typically after about six weeks and before many women even know they are pregnant. And like Texas’ law, it is enforced through civil, not criminal, courts and relies on civilians to inform on one another.Abortion providers in Oklahoma said they are prepared for the law to take effect and have been helping women get appointments at clinics in neighboring states.“I think something we realized in September (when the Texas law took effect) is that we are already living in a virtual post-Roe world in our region,” said Dr. Iman Alsaden, the medical director of Planned Parenthood Great Plains, which operates clinics in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma.“We have seen people go to extreme lengths to access abortion care: driving all night, doing whatever they can to get the basic health care they need for them and their families. We have been seeing what a post-Roe future looks like in this region of the country already, and it’s unbelievable.”The Oklahoma Supreme Court declined to temporarily stop the law from taking effect, although the court is still considering a legal challenge.Stitt’s signing of the bill, along with the leaked draft opinion suggesting the U.S. Supreme Court is considering weakening or overturning its Roe v. Wade decision, led more than 100 people to protest on Tuesday at the Oklahoma Capitol.“I honestly and truly never thought we would actually get here,” said Sophia Fults, 22, a University of Oklahoma student from Tulsa who held a sign that read: “Keep abortion safe, legal and accessible.”“Honestly, I was just shocked and I’m still kind of shocked and disgusted. So many women are going to be harmed because of this. It’s just horrendous.”The new law authorizes abortions if they are performed as the result of a medical emergency, but there are no exceptions for if the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest.Like the Texas law, the Oklahoma bill would allow private citizens to sue abortion providers or anyone who helps a woman obtain an abortion. After the U.S. Supreme Court&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-health-texas-0b4ed1808ed44d176bf6c86e6646a718">allowed that mechanism to remain in place</a>, other Republican-led states sought to copy Texas’ ban.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/idaho-abortion-ban-law-6eec10650b51c2b9dc98607d13cd8f40">Idaho’s governor</a>&nbsp;signed the first copycat measure in March, although it has been temporarily blocked by the state’s Supreme Court.Stitt earlier this year signed a bill to make performing an&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-oklahoma-law-87880e9f3c7bde2ae634cb2f02839e6e">abortion a felony</a>&nbsp;in Oklahoma, but that measure is not set to take effect until this summer, and legal experts say it’s likely to be blocked because Roe still remains the law of the land.“One of our main responsibilities in government is to protect life, and that has been our deliberate intention,” said state Sen. Nathan Dahm, a Republican who wrote the bill to make abortion illegal. “I believe here in Oklahoma we’ll do everything we can to protect life from conception.”The number of abortions performed each year in Oklahoma, which has four abortion clinics, has declined steadily over the last two decades, from more than 6,200 in 2002 to 3,737 in 2020, which were the fewest in more than 20 years, according to data from the Oklahoma State Department of Health. In 2020, before the Texas law was passed, about 9% of the abortions performed in Oklahoma involved women from Texas.Before the Texas ban took effect on Sept. 1, about 40 women from Texas had abortions performed in Oklahoma each month, the data shows. That number jumped to 222 in September and 243 in October, according to the most recent data available.Clinic operators in Texas saw about a 40% decrease in the number of abortions performed there after the law took effect, and Oklahoma operators say they expect similar declines, said Zachary Gingrich-Gaylord, a spokesman for Trust Women, which operates clinics in Oklahoma City and Wichita, Kansas.“In Texas, we’ve seen that many clinics were able to retain around 60% of their pre-SB 8 patient volume, and it seems reasonable to expect something similar in Oklahoma,” Gingrich-Gaylord said, referring to the Texas law by its state Senate bill name. “The primary reason to think that we may see far less volume than that is the chilling effect caused by the (Supreme Court) leak that may add to confusion for patients seeking abortions.”According to state health department data, about 47% of abortions performed in Oklahoma in 2020 were for women who were less than six weeks pregnant.

Oklahoma joins Texas in offering glimpse of 'post-Roe' world

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Wednesday highlighted new figures showing the government’s red ink will grow less than expected this year and the national debt will shrink this quarter as he tried to counter criticism of his economic leadership amid growing dismay over inflation going into&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/2022-midterm-elections">midterm elections</a>&nbsp;that will decide control of Congress.

Biden, embracing deficit reduction as a way to fight inflation, stressed that the dip in the national debt would be the first in six years, an achievement that eluded former President Donald Trump despite his promises to improve the federal balance sheet.

“The bottom line is the deficit went up every year under my predecessor before the pandemic and during the pandemic. It has gone down both years since I’ve been here,” Biden said. “Why is it important? Because bringing down the deficit is one way to ease inflationary pressures.”

The president is placing a renewed emphasis on reducing the deficit — which is the gap between what the nation spends and what it takes in — in order to blunt Republican criticism that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/house-vote-coronavirus-relief-package-33f4902ca9a2aed4e76274af6bb2ea5c">the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package</a>&nbsp;has left the U.S. economy worse off. It’s an attempt to burnish his credentials as a responsible steward of the economy while trying to fend off criticism about&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/consumer-prices-inflation-c1bfd93ed1719cf0135420f4fd0270f9">inflation at a 40-year high</a>. The reopening of the economy coming out of the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic">coronavirus pandemic</a>&nbsp;and the commodity squeeze resulting from the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine">Russia-Ukraine war&nbsp;</a>has made high prices a key political risk for Democrats.

But it is unclear if greater fiscal responsibility can deliver politically for Biden as Democrats try to defend their control of the House and Senate. His two most recent Democratic predecessors, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, also cut budget deficits, only to leave office and see their Republican successors use the savings on tax cuts.

When reporters tried to question Biden about other topics after his remarks, the president prodded, “You don’t want to ask about deficits?”

Bidden is making a nuanced argument about how the financial outlook has improved: Strong job gains over the past 16 months have increased total incomes and led to additional tax revenues. That means that this fiscal year’s budget deficit will decline $1.5 trillion, much better than the $1.3 trillion that was initially forecast. Less government borrowing will, in turn, limit the financial sources of inflation.

But the expected $26 billion drop this quarter in the national debt — which is money the U.S. owes due to accumulated deficits over time — will be short-lived, as the debt already totals $23.9 trillion and will continue to rise in the second half of this year. And while Biden expects his plans will improve the outlook for budget deficits over the next decade, the national debt would continue to climb. The Biden administration believes that the cost of servicing the debt is low enough to sustain the borrowing, while critics say structural changes are needed to improve the long-term outlook.

“There needs to be a real fiscal restructuring because we continue to see these trillion-dollar deficits as far as the eye can see,” said Douglas Holtz-Eakin, a former director of the Congressional Budget Office who now leads the center-right American Action Forum.

Holtz-Eakin said the Biden administration is taking credit for lower deficits over the past two years that largely occurred&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-biden-covid-health-business-772e1eb45fb5981f3a2b6f2a4b0d201f">due to the end of coronavirus-related spending</a>, rather than fixing the finances of Medicare and Social Security that will determine the long-term budget outlook.

“That doesn’t seem to be the right aspiration for a great country,” Holtz-Eakin said. “What they’re doing is essentially deferring the need to do anything real and genuinely fix the programs that are important to people.”

Deficit reduction also matches a priority of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/joe-manchin">Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia</a>, the key Democratic vote in the evenly split Senate who&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-business-environment-and-nature-environment-joe-manchin-c2e743dbb3978a9e780779fa4fec09b7">blocked the passage of Biden’s domestic and environmental agenda</a>&nbsp;in December. The reduction also occurs amid&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-economy-prices-inflation-52cf6f08017a0d5d32b2d7e4a4e8179a">rising interest rates</a>&nbsp;on U.S. Treasury notes, a consequence of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/us-inflation-rate-historic-high-4ba3435cc3730198e299690a9d968038">inflation running at 8.5%</a>&nbsp;and the Federal Reserve’s efforts to reduce price pressures.

Within an hour of Biden’s remarks, Senate Republicans gathered to challenge Biden’s economic policies. Their core critique is that overspending in response to COVID-19 was paired with restrictions on domestic oil and natural gas production, leading to higher gasoline prices than under Trump.

’The biggest drag on the U.S. economy right now involves the rising energy costs,” said Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska. “This is purely a self-inflicted wound by the Biden administration.”

One of the challenges for Biden is that voters have largely shrugged off deficit increases and seldom rewarded deficit cuts. Voters might discuss the idea of reducing deficits with pollsters, yet health care, incomes and inflation are often top of mind when casting their ballots.

Norman Ornstein, an emeritus scholar at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, noted that deficits are often “abstract” for voters. The recent low interest rates have also muted any potential economic drags from higher deficits, which have risen following&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic">the COVID-19 pandemic</a>&nbsp;and, separately, the 2008 financial crisis, to help the economy recover.

“They’re more likely to respond to things that are in their wheelhouse or that they believe will have a more direct effect on their lives,” Ornstein said. Deficits are “a step removed for most voters, and we’ve been through periods where we’ve had the big deficits and debt and it’s not like it devastated directly people’s lives.”

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Wednesday highlighted new figures showing the government’s red ink will grow less than expected this year and the national debt will shrink this quarter as he tried to counter criticism of his economic leadership amid growing dismay over inflation going into&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/2022-midterm-elections">midterm elections</a>&nbsp;that will decide control of Congress.<div><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?height=314&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FWhiteHouse%2Fvideos%2F1022615965085674%2F&show_text=false&width=560&t=12" width="560" height="314" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowFullScreen="true"></iframe></div>Biden, embracing deficit reduction as a way to fight inflation, stressed that the dip in the national debt would be the first in six years, an achievement that eluded former President Donald Trump despite his promises to improve the federal balance sheet.“The bottom line is the deficit went up every year under my predecessor before the pandemic and during the pandemic. It has gone down both years since I’ve been here,” Biden said. “Why is it important? Because bringing down the deficit is one way to ease inflationary pressures.”The president is placing a renewed emphasis on reducing the deficit — which is the gap between what the nation spends and what it takes in — in order to blunt Republican criticism that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/house-vote-coronavirus-relief-package-33f4902ca9a2aed4e76274af6bb2ea5c">the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package</a>&nbsp;has left the U.S. economy worse off. It’s an attempt to burnish his credentials as a responsible steward of the economy while trying to fend off criticism about&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/consumer-prices-inflation-c1bfd93ed1719cf0135420f4fd0270f9">inflation at a 40-year high</a>. The reopening of the economy coming out of the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic">coronavirus pandemic</a>&nbsp;and the commodity squeeze resulting from the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine">Russia-Ukraine war&nbsp;</a>has made high prices a key political risk for Democrats.But it is unclear if greater fiscal responsibility can deliver politically for Biden as Democrats try to defend their control of the House and Senate. His two most recent Democratic predecessors, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, also cut budget deficits, only to leave office and see their Republican successors use the savings on tax cuts.When reporters tried to question Biden about other topics after his remarks, the president prodded, “You don’t want to ask about deficits?”Bidden is making a nuanced argument about how the financial outlook has improved: Strong job gains over the past 16 months have increased total incomes and led to additional tax revenues. That means that this fiscal year’s budget deficit will decline $1.5 trillion, much better than the $1.3 trillion that was initially forecast. Less government borrowing will, in turn, limit the financial sources of inflation.But the expected $26 billion drop this quarter in the national debt — which is money the U.S. owes due to accumulated deficits over time — will be short-lived, as the debt already totals $23.9 trillion and will continue to rise in the second half of this year. And while Biden expects his plans will improve the outlook for budget deficits over the next decade, the national debt would continue to climb. The Biden administration believes that the cost of servicing the debt is low enough to sustain the borrowing, while critics say structural changes are needed to improve the long-term outlook.“There needs to be a real fiscal restructuring because we continue to see these trillion-dollar deficits as far as the eye can see,” said Douglas Holtz-Eakin, a former director of the Congressional Budget Office who now leads the center-right American Action Forum.Holtz-Eakin said the Biden administration is taking credit for lower deficits over the past two years that largely occurred&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-biden-covid-health-business-772e1eb45fb5981f3a2b6f2a4b0d201f">due to the end of coronavirus-related spending</a>, rather than fixing the finances of Medicare and Social Security that will determine the long-term budget outlook.“That doesn’t seem to be the right aspiration for a great country,” Holtz-Eakin said. “What they’re doing is essentially deferring the need to do anything real and genuinely fix the programs that are important to people.”Deficit reduction also matches a priority of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/joe-manchin">Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia</a>, the key Democratic vote in the evenly split Senate who&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-business-environment-and-nature-environment-joe-manchin-c2e743dbb3978a9e780779fa4fec09b7">blocked the passage of Biden’s domestic and environmental agenda</a>&nbsp;in December. The reduction also occurs amid&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-economy-prices-inflation-52cf6f08017a0d5d32b2d7e4a4e8179a">rising interest rates</a>&nbsp;on U.S. Treasury notes, a consequence of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/us-inflation-rate-historic-high-4ba3435cc3730198e299690a9d968038">inflation running at 8.5%</a>&nbsp;and the Federal Reserve’s efforts to reduce price pressures.Within an hour of Biden’s remarks, Senate Republicans gathered to challenge Biden’s economic policies. Their core critique is that overspending in response to COVID-19 was paired with restrictions on domestic oil and natural gas production, leading to higher gasoline prices than under Trump.’The biggest drag on the U.S. economy right now involves the rising energy costs,” said Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska. “This is purely a self-inflicted wound by the Biden administration.”One of the challenges for Biden is that voters have largely shrugged off deficit increases and seldom rewarded deficit cuts. Voters might discuss the idea of reducing deficits with pollsters, yet health care, incomes and inflation are often top of mind when casting their ballots.Norman Ornstein, an emeritus scholar at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, noted that deficits are often “abstract” for voters. The recent low interest rates have also muted any potential economic drags from higher deficits, which have risen following&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic">the COVID-19 pandemic</a>&nbsp;and, separately, the 2008 financial crisis, to help the economy recover.“They’re more likely to respond to things that are in their wheelhouse or that they believe will have a more direct effect on their lives,” Ornstein said. Deficits are “a step removed for most voters, and we’ve been through periods where we’ve had the big deficits and debt and it’s not like it devastated directly people’s lives.”

🎥Biden showcases deficit progress; U.S. owes $23.9 Trillion

SALINE COUNTY —Salina Public Schools has again determined a library book recently challenged,&nbsp;All Boys Aren’t Blue, by George M. Johnson, will remain on the shelf, according to a statement from USD 305.

At a special meeting on Wednesday, the board of education voted to keep the book in the school library and adopt the findings of committees convened at the building and district levels.

A process so that parents and guardians can notify the school of their oversight preference has been developed and will be included in handbooks. This would allow a concerned parent or guardian to put “parental permission” in place prior to their student checking out a book. The district’s process to manage any challenges to textbooks and instructional materials is clear*. The first step is a meeting between the concerned individual, the school principal and the library media specialist. The next steps are a building review committee and then a district-level review committee. The final step is a review of the reports by the board of education and a hearing for the complainants. This third level of appeal is the final level and the decision of the board of education is final.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/2/1644244121019.png" alt=""All Boys Aren't Blue," a memoir by LGBTQ author George M. Johnson, has been the target of book challenges nationwide. photo credit Suzanne Perez&nbsp;" />
 <figcaption>"All Boys Aren't Blue," a memoir by LGBTQ author George M. Johnson, has been the target of book challenges nationwide. photo credit Suzanne Perez&nbsp;</figcaption>
 </figure>SALINE COUNTY —Salina Public Schools has again determined a library book recently challenged,&nbsp;All Boys Aren’t Blue, by George M. Johnson, will remain on the shelf, according to a statement from USD 305.At a special meeting on Wednesday, the board of education voted to keep the book in the school library and adopt the findings of committees convened at the building and district levels. A process so that parents and guardians can notify the school of their oversight preference has been developed and will be included in handbooks. This would allow a concerned parent or guardian to put “parental permission” in place prior to their student checking out a book. The district’s process to manage any challenges to textbooks and instructional materials is clear*. The first step is a meeting between the concerned individual, the school principal and the library media specialist. The next steps are a building review committee and then a district-level review committee. The final step is a review of the reports by the board of education and a hearing for the complainants. This third level of appeal is the final level and the decision of the board of education is final.

Salina school board: Challenged book will remain in the library

SHAWNEE COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect drug allegations after a tip from&nbsp;mobile platform for collectively improving towns and cities.

Just after 3:30 p.m. Monday, Community Policing Unit officers executed a search warrant at 1110 SW Washburn in Topeka.&nbsp; The CPOs had been following up on a See Click Fix complaint and follow up from Code Enforcement, according to Police Lt. Manuel Munoz.

Follow up by the CPOs and further investigation revealed that unauthorized individuals had been staying at the home. The officers made contact with the individuals at the home and were able to apply for a search warrant.

Officers arrested and transported, Christen Hollis, 42, of Topeka to Shawnee County Department of Corrections on requested charges of Possession of Methamphetamine with intent within 1000 ft. of a school, Possession of Marijuana, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, Possession of PCP and a City Warrant, according to Munoz.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/5/1651664404430.png" alt="Hollis-photo Shawnee Co." />
 <figcaption>Hollis-photo Shawnee Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>SHAWNEE COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect drug allegations after a tip from&nbsp;mobile platform for collectively improving towns and cities.Just after 3:30 p.m. Monday, Community Policing Unit officers executed a search warrant at 1110 SW Washburn in Topeka.&nbsp; The CPOs had been following up on a See Click Fix complaint and follow up from Code Enforcement, according to Police Lt. Manuel Munoz.Follow up by the CPOs and further investigation revealed that unauthorized individuals had been staying at the home. The officers made contact with the individuals at the home and were able to apply for a search warrant.Officers arrested and transported, Christen Hollis, 42, of Topeka to Shawnee County Department of Corrections on requested charges of Possession of Methamphetamine with intent within 1000 ft. of a school, Possession of Marijuana, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, Possession of PCP and a City Warrant, according to Munoz.

SeeClickFix complaint leads to Kansas drug arrest

MCPHERSON—&nbsp;Advance voting began Tuesday for the recall of three USD 418 board members Ann Elliott, Emily Greer and Jeff Johnson.&nbsp;

The petition in the recall effort states that board members violated open meeting laws by creating a quorum outside of official board meetings. It also says the board members failed to maintain healthy safe places for students to learn and had a total lack of transparency, creating a lack of trust among patrons of the district. That includes the failure of the recent bond campaign.

The petition also mentions the district's handling of the mask mandate, which resulted in student isolation, segregation and divisions, creating a threatening and abusive environment for teachers and students.&nbsp;

The recall vote will take place in a special vote Tuesday, May 24.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/5/1651696398787.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>MCPHERSON—&nbsp;Advance voting began Tuesday for the recall of three USD 418 board members Ann Elliott, Emily Greer and Jeff Johnson.&nbsp;The petition in the recall effort states that board members violated open meeting laws by creating a quorum outside of official board meetings. It also says the board members failed to maintain healthy safe places for students to learn and had a total lack of transparency, creating a lack of trust among patrons of the district. That includes the failure of the recent bond campaign.The petition also mentions the district's handling of the mask mandate, which resulted in student isolation, segregation and divisions, creating a threatening and abusive environment for teachers and students.&nbsp;The recall vote will take place in a special vote Tuesday, May 24.

Advance voting in McPherson USD 418 recall underway

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — Police are investigating after mushroom hunters discovered a body in a rural, hand-dug water well in south-central Missouri.

The discovery was made Sunday afternoon near the unincorporated community of Long Lane, about 35 miles northeast of Springfield.

The mushroom hunters came upon the well and were using a long limb to stick into the well to determine its depth when "to their surprise, what appeared to be a human body emerged," the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post.

Authorities have removed the body, drained the well and searched the bottom of it for any evidence, officials said. An autopsy was scheduled for Thursday to try to determine a cause of death and the person’s identity.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — Police are investigating after mushroom hunters discovered a body in a rural, hand-dug water well in south-central Missouri.The discovery was made Sunday afternoon near the unincorporated community of Long Lane, about 35 miles northeast of Springfield.The mushroom hunters came upon the well and were using a long limb to stick into the well to determine its depth when "to their surprise, what appeared to be a human body emerged," the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post.Authorities have removed the body, drained the well and searched the bottom of it for any evidence, officials said. An autopsy was scheduled for Thursday to try to determine a cause of death and the person’s identity.

Mushroom hunters find body in rural water well

ALLEN COUNTY –&nbsp;The Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) and the Allen County Sheriff’s Office are investigating after a man was found dead in the shop outside of his home in rural La Harpe, Kansas.

The investigation indicates that just before 10a.m. Tuesday, the Allen County Sheriff’s Office received a call from a subject who had located a deceased family member,&nbsp;according to a media release from the KBI.

When deputies arrived at 1255 2400th St. in La Harpe, they discovered the body of 68-year-old Richard Diehl, of La Harpe. He was pronounced deceased at the scene.

An autopsy was performed. The preliminary autopsy results indicated that the manner of Diehl’s death was homicide.

Anyone with information about this crime is asked to call the KBI at 1-800-KS-CRIME. Tips can also be submitted online at&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kbi.ks.gov/sar" target="_blank">https://www.kbi.ks.gov/sar</a>.

The investigation is ongoing. Authorities do not believe a threat to the public exists related to this crime.

ALLEN COUNTY –&nbsp;The Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) and the Allen County Sheriff’s Office are investigating after a man was found dead in the shop outside of his home in rural La Harpe, Kansas.The investigation indicates that just before 10a.m. Tuesday, the Allen County Sheriff’s Office received a call from a subject who had located a deceased family member,&nbsp;according to a media release from the KBI.When deputies arrived at 1255 2400th St. in La Harpe, they discovered the body of 68-year-old Richard Diehl, of La Harpe. He was pronounced deceased at the scene.An autopsy was performed. The preliminary autopsy results indicated that the manner of Diehl’s death was homicide.Anyone with information about this crime is asked to call the KBI at 1-800-KS-CRIME. Tips can also be submitted online at&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kbi.ks.gov/sar" target="_blank">https://www.kbi.ks.gov/sar</a>.The investigation is ongoing. Authorities do not believe a threat to the public exists related to this crime.

KBI: 68-year-old man found dead in shop outside his home

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas City man has been charged in the shooting death of two teenagers in Kansas City, Kansas, authorities said.

Patrick Howard, 24, was charged with two counts of second-degree murder in the deaths of Samuel Guess and Antonio Johnson, who were both 14.

They were found shot to death on Feb. 18 inside an apartment across from Argentine Middle School in Kansas City, Kansas.

Howard was arrested Monday by U.S. Marshals. He's being held on $250,000 bond in the Wyandotte County Jail, said Nancy Chartrand, a spokeswoman for Kansas City, Kansas, police.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/5/1651664134761.png" alt="Howard-photo Wyandotte Co." />
 <figcaption>Howard-photo Wyandotte Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas City man has been charged in the shooting death of two teenagers in Kansas City, Kansas, authorities said.Patrick Howard, 24, was charged with two counts of second-degree murder in the deaths of Samuel Guess and Antonio Johnson, who were both 14.They were found shot to death on Feb. 18 inside an apartment across from Argentine Middle School in Kansas City, Kansas.Howard was arrested Monday by U.S. Marshals. He's being held on $250,000 bond in the Wyandotte County Jail, said Nancy Chartrand, a spokeswoman for Kansas City, Kansas, police.

Man charged in killing of 2 teens near Kansas middle school

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas man will be sentenced in July for his role in a hoax call that led to a fatal police shooting in 2017. Shane Gaskill pleaded guilty Tuesday to wire fraud related to a “swatting" call that ended with Wichita police shooting and killing 28-year-old Andrew Finch. 

In his plea agreement, Gaskill said he taunted another online gamer and gave him an old address in Wichita. Another gamer in Los Angeles called Wichita police and falsely reported a shooting and kidnapping at the address.

Finch, who had nothing to do with the online dispute, was shot when he opened the door to his home. The other two gamers are serving prison sentences.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/6/1591210545859.png" alt="Police body camera image the night of the fatal swatting call shooting -image Wichita Police" />
 <figcaption>Police body camera image the night of the fatal swatting call shooting -image Wichita Police</figcaption>
 </figure>WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas man will be sentenced in July for his role in a hoax call that led to a fatal police shooting in 2017. Shane Gaskill pleaded guilty Tuesday to wire fraud related to a “swatting" call that ended with Wichita police shooting and killing 28-year-old Andrew Finch. In his plea agreement, Gaskill said he taunted another online gamer and gave him an old address in Wichita. Another gamer in Los Angeles called Wichita police and falsely reported a shooting and kidnapping at the address.Finch, who had nothing to do with the online dispute, was shot when he opened the door to his home. The other two gamers are serving prison sentences.

Kansas gamer pleads guilty for role in fatal 'swatting' case

BARTON COUNTY —Law enforcement are investigating a suspect on out of state charges after a wild chase in Barton County.

Just before 12:30pm Tuesday, a man&nbsp;later identified as Kris Hanson, 57 of Wichita, came to the Barton County Sheriff’s Office to get a VIN inspection for an out-of-state title, according to the Sheriff Brian Bellendir.

In order to get an inspection, identification is required. The man provided the records clerk with a driver’s license, as is customary, the clerk ran a check for wants and warrants. The records officer discovered Hanson had outstanding warrants from Benton County, Arkansas for failing to appear on a larceny case.

The records clerk contacted detention officers and advised them of the situation. When deputies came to the lobby to arrest Hanson, he bolted and ran south on Kansas Street. Deputies gave chase.

At least two attempts to incapacitate the suspect with tasers failed. Hanson continued running south on Kansas Street, running between houses and at some point entered and ran through the Barton County Health Department and out an alley door.

Another deputy spotted Hanson in the alley and again gave chase. A third taser deployment was attempted, this time it was successful causing Hanson to fall to the ground. The suspect continued to resist arrest. After a short struggle the deputies were able to subdue Hanson and he was taken into custody.

Hanson was taken back to the Barton County Jail where he was booked on the Arkansas charges which carry no bond. Hanson was also booked on charges of resisting arrest with a bond of $2,500. One deputy was slightly injured in the altercation as was Hanson who fell while running and being tased.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/5/1651676508592.jpeg" alt="Hanson-photo Barton Co." />
 <figcaption>Hanson-photo Barton Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>BARTON COUNTY —Law enforcement are investigating a suspect on out of state charges after a wild chase in Barton County.Just before 12:30pm Tuesday, a man&nbsp;later identified as Kris Hanson, 57 of Wichita, came to the Barton County Sheriff’s Office to get a VIN inspection for an out-of-state title, according to the Sheriff Brian Bellendir.In order to get an inspection, identification is required. The man provided the records clerk with a driver’s license, as is customary, the clerk ran a check for wants and warrants. The records officer discovered Hanson had outstanding warrants from Benton County, Arkansas for failing to appear on a larceny case.The records clerk contacted detention officers and advised them of the situation. When deputies came to the lobby to arrest Hanson, he bolted and ran south on Kansas Street. Deputies gave chase.At least two attempts to incapacitate the suspect with tasers failed. Hanson continued running south on Kansas Street, running between houses and at some point entered and ran through the Barton County Health Department and out an alley door.Another deputy spotted Hanson in the alley and again gave chase. A third taser deployment was attempted, this time it was successful causing Hanson to fall to the ground. The suspect continued to resist arrest. After a short struggle the deputies were able to subdue Hanson and he was taken into custody.Hanson was taken back to the Barton County Jail where he was booked on the Arkansas charges which carry no bond. Hanson was also booked on charges of resisting arrest with a bond of $2,500. One deputy was slightly injured in the altercation as was Hanson who fell while running and being tased.

Kan. deputies chase wanted man through health department

By CELIA LLOPIS-JEPSEN <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2022-05-04/a-kansas-sheriffs-office-is-raiding-shops-that-sell-thc-and-seizing-the-products">Kansas News Service</a>

Law enforcement officers are carrying out raids in Topeka on shops selling cannabis products.

The
 Shawnee County Sheriff’s Office won’t answer questions about how many 
stores it has raided, on what dates or how much it seized.

Cannabis
 advocacy groups in Topeka say officers seized goods from several 
sellers on April 20 — a date celebrated by cannabis enthusiasts — and 
April 28, and continued their campaign over the past few days.

The
 move frustrates advocates holding out hope that the Kansas Legislature 
will take final steps later this month to seal a deal that would 
legalize medical marijuana.

The raids also frustrate advocates because some cannabis products already count as legal under state law.

“This
 ongoing persecution of Kansas citizens, retailers, distributors and 
ancillary business owners is detrimental to our state and its future, 
and it must end,” several groups said in a collective statement.

The
 groups — including Kansans for Hemp, the Kansas Cannabis Chamber of 
Commerce and the Kansas Cannabis Coalition — urged the hundreds of shops
 across Kansas that sell products containing THC to ensure their goods 
are legal and to keep detailed documentation of their origin to gird 
themselves against prosecution.

THC is the key psychoactive 
compound in cannabis plants. Kansas law allows products with very small 
amounts of it. To be legal, the small amounts of THC need to come from 
industrial hemp plants — cannabis plants that naturally contain low 
levels of the stuff.

In December, <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2022-01-06/these-cannabis-products-sold-in-kansas-could-get-you-high-and-maybe-arrested" target="_blank">Attorney General Derek Schmidt concluded</a>
 these rules apply to delta-8 products, too. Delta-8 really only sells 
well in states like Kansas, where full-blown recreational cannabis 
remains illegal. It is a molecular variation on standard THC with 
similar psychoactive effects.

The Shawnee County Sheriff’s Office 
says it found stores selling illegal goods — some with standard THC and 
some with molecular variations. It won’t answer questions about how it 
determined, or will determine, which of the products broke state law. To
 be legal, the products must contain less than 0.3% of THC or THC 
variations, and the substances must come from industrial hemp plants.

Earlier this year, the Ellis County county attorney <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2022-01-06/these-cannabis-products-sold-in-kansas-could-get-you-high-and-maybe-arrested" target="_blank">told shops</a> selling delta-8 in Hays that they wouldn’t face prosecution if they handed the products over to police voluntarily.

That
 county also successfully prosecuted what may be the first criminal case
 in Kansas that involved delta-8. Prosecutors relied on manufacturer 
documentation that indicated the products contained more than 0.3% of 
the delta-8 THC variety.

Kansans for Hemp says it knows of at 
least four stores in Topeka that were visited by law enforcement last 
month and this month. Officers went in and confiscated goods.

Store owners were told that their products were unlawful unless the Kansas Legislature changes state law.

Thirty-seven states now allow medical marijuana, <a href="https://www.ncsl.org/research/health/state-medical-marijuana-laws.aspx" target="_blank">the National Conference of State Legislatures says</a>. Eighteen of them also allow recreational use.

In its most recent annual survey of Kansas public opinion, <a href="https://www.fhsu.edu/docking/Kansas-Speaks/" target="_blank">Fort Hays State University</a> found 70% of respondents favored legalizing marijuana so the state can tax it.

Social
 media posts on the Shawnee County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page 
normally draw few public comments. But when the agency announced that it
 had executed warrants against an unspecified number of shops and seized
 products containing THC, it attracted nearly 160 comments, almost all 
of which criticized the action.

“You wasted tax money on this? Low
 hanging fruit much?” one commenter wrote. “Aren’t there real criminals 
out there you should be worried about?”

Another likened the raids to a “countywide crackdown on jaywalkers.”

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

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/5/1651691094505.png" alt="These industrial hemp plants being cultivated legally in Kansas contain very low amounts of THC. Brian Grimmett / Kansas News Service" />
 <figcaption>These industrial hemp plants being cultivated legally in Kansas contain very low amounts of THC. Brian Grimmett / Kansas News Service</figcaption>
 </figure>By CELIA LLOPIS-JEPSEN <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2022-05-04/a-kansas-sheriffs-office-is-raiding-shops-that-sell-thc-and-seizing-the-products">Kansas News Service</a>Law enforcement officers are carrying out raids in Topeka on shops selling cannabis products.The
 Shawnee County Sheriff’s Office won’t answer questions about how many 
stores it has raided, on what dates or how much it seized.Cannabis
 advocacy groups in Topeka say officers seized goods from several 
sellers on April 20 — a date celebrated by cannabis enthusiasts — and 
April 28, and continued their campaign over the past few days.The
 move frustrates advocates holding out hope that the Kansas Legislature 
will take final steps later this month to seal a deal that would 
legalize medical marijuana.The raids also frustrate advocates because some cannabis products already count as legal under state law.“This
 ongoing persecution of Kansas citizens, retailers, distributors and 
ancillary business owners is detrimental to our state and its future, 
and it must end,” several groups said in a collective statement.The
 groups — including Kansans for Hemp, the Kansas Cannabis Chamber of 
Commerce and the Kansas Cannabis Coalition — urged the hundreds of shops
 across Kansas that sell products containing THC to ensure their goods 
are legal and to keep detailed documentation of their origin to gird 
themselves against prosecution.THC is the key psychoactive 
compound in cannabis plants. Kansas law allows products with very small 
amounts of it. To be legal, the small amounts of THC need to come from 
industrial hemp plants — cannabis plants that naturally contain low 
levels of the stuff.In December, <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2022-01-06/these-cannabis-products-sold-in-kansas-could-get-you-high-and-maybe-arrested" target="_blank">Attorney General Derek Schmidt concluded</a>
 these rules apply to delta-8 products, too. Delta-8 really only sells 
well in states like Kansas, where full-blown recreational cannabis 
remains illegal. It is a molecular variation on standard THC with 
similar psychoactive effects.The Shawnee County Sheriff’s Office 
says it found stores selling illegal goods — some with standard THC and 
some with molecular variations. It won’t answer questions about how it 
determined, or will determine, which of the products broke state law. To
 be legal, the products must contain less than 0.3% of THC or THC 
variations, and the substances must come from industrial hemp plants.Earlier this year, the Ellis County county attorney <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2022-01-06/these-cannabis-products-sold-in-kansas-could-get-you-high-and-maybe-arrested" target="_blank">told shops</a> selling delta-8 in Hays that they wouldn’t face prosecution if they handed the products over to police voluntarily.That
 county also successfully prosecuted what may be the first criminal case
 in Kansas that involved delta-8. Prosecutors relied on manufacturer 
documentation that indicated the products contained more than 0.3% of 
the delta-8 THC variety.Kansans for Hemp says it knows of at 
least four stores in Topeka that were visited by law enforcement last 
month and this month. Officers went in and confiscated goods.Store owners were told that their products were unlawful unless the Kansas Legislature changes state law.Thirty-seven states now allow medical marijuana, <a href="https://www.ncsl.org/research/health/state-medical-marijuana-laws.aspx" target="_blank">the National Conference of State Legislatures says</a>. Eighteen of them also allow recreational use.In its most recent annual survey of Kansas public opinion, <a href="https://www.fhsu.edu/docking/Kansas-Speaks/" target="_blank">Fort Hays State University</a> found 70% of respondents favored legalizing marijuana so the state can tax it.Social
 media posts on the Shawnee County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page 
normally draw few public comments. But when the agency announced that it
 had executed warrants against an unspecified number of shops and seized
 products containing THC, it attracted nearly 160 comments, almost all 
of which criticized the action.“You wasted tax money on this? Low
 hanging fruit much?” one commenter wrote. “Aren’t there real criminals 
out there you should be worried about?”Another likened the raids to a “countywide crackdown on jaywalkers.”Celia
 Llopis-Jepsen reports on consumer health for the Kansas News Service. 
You can follow her on Twitter @celia_LJ or email her at celia@kcur.org.

Kan. sheriff's office raiding shops that sell THC, seizing products 

KANSAS CITY —Law enforcement authorities have confirmed that the individual killed overnight in Platte City by police after a multi-county pursuit and standoff, was the suspect in an early-morning homicide Sunday at a tavern in Kansas City Kansas, according to a media release from police.

On Tuesday morning, Wyandotte County Police issued a warrant for first-degree murder and aggravated battery for 27-year-old Mekiah D. Harris of KCK. The victim in the homicide Michael Rehard, also a resident of KCK, died on the scene. Two other shooting victims were transported to a local hospital. They remain hospitalized but are expected to recover, according to police.

The Platte Co. Sheriff's office will lead the investigation into the officer-shooting.

PLATTE COUNTY (AP) — Authorities in Kansas City say a man suspected of leading police on a high-speed chase over two states has been fatally shot by officers. 

Police in Kansas City say the shooting happened late Tuesday night near Platte City after officers in Kansas City, Kansas, attempted to stop a car driven by a 26-year-old man as part of a homicide investigation. Police say the man sped off, leading to a high-speed chase into Missouri. 

Police say the man was armed when he bailed out of the car and ran into a wooded area south of Platte City. Police and Missouri State Highway Patrol troopers soon surrounded the area and confronted the man, who was fatally shot. Police have not released the man's name or other details about the shooting.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/5/1651670903405.png" alt="Police say the man was armed when he bailed out of the car and ran into a wooded area south of Platte City.KCTV" />
 <figcaption>Police say the man was armed when he bailed out of the car and ran into a wooded area south of Platte City.KCTV</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY —Law enforcement authorities have confirmed that the individual killed overnight in Platte City by police after a multi-county pursuit and standoff, was the suspect in an early-morning homicide Sunday at a tavern in Kansas City Kansas, according to a media release from police.On Tuesday morning, Wyandotte County Police issued a warrant for first-degree murder and aggravated battery for 27-year-old Mekiah D. Harris of KCK. The victim in the homicide Michael Rehard, also a resident of KCK, died on the scene. Two other shooting victims were transported to a local hospital. They remain hospitalized but are expected to recover, according to police.The Platte Co. Sheriff's office will lead the investigation into the officer-shooting.-----------PLATTE COUNTY (AP) — Authorities in Kansas City say a man suspected of leading police on a high-speed chase over two states has been fatally shot by officers. Police in Kansas City say the shooting happened late Tuesday night near Platte City after officers in Kansas City, Kansas, attempted to stop a car driven by a 26-year-old man as part of a homicide investigation. Police say the man sped off, leading to a high-speed chase into Missouri. Police say the man was armed when he bailed out of the car and ran into a wooded area south of Platte City. Police and Missouri State Highway Patrol troopers soon surrounded the area and confronted the man, who was fatally shot. Police have not released the man's name or other details about the shooting.

Update: Kan. man fatally shot by police was homicide suspect 

WICHITA —Wichita State University parted ways with Athletic Director Darron Boatright Wednesday.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/5/1651690010771.jpeg" alt="Darron Boatright -photo courtesy WSU" />
 <figcaption>Darron Boatright -photo courtesy WSU</figcaption>
 </figure>WICHITA —Wichita State University parted ways with Athletic Director Darron Boatright Wednesday.&nbsp;University President Richard Muma issued a statement "I write to let you know of a transition in our Department of Athletics.""Earlier today, I informed Director of Athletics Darron Boatright, who has served the Shockers for 12 years, six as the full-time director, that we are making a change in the leadership of the department."&nbsp;"While there were certainly achievements and successes during Darron’s tenure, there were significant, ongoing concerns that became acute in recent weeks, ones that I did not believe could be addressed. This decision is in the best interests of Wichita State, our coaches and staff, and our student-athletes."<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/5/1651694508428.png" alt="Sarah Adams came to WSU from Eastern Washington University where she served as Senior Associate Athletic Director and Senior Woman Administrator from October 2018 until November of 2019. She was promoted to Deputy Athletic Director in December of 2019 and served in that role until June of 2021.-photo courtesy WSIU" />
 <figcaption>Sarah Adams came to WSU from Eastern Washington University where she served as Senior Associate Athletic Director and Senior Woman Administrator from October 2018 until November of 2019. She was promoted to Deputy Athletic Director in December of 2019 and served in that role until June of 2021.-photo courtesy WSIU</figcaption>
 </figure>"I have asked <a href="https://goshockers.com/staff-directory/sarah-adams/1425">Senior Associate Athletic Director </a>/ SWA Sarah Adams to serve as our Interim Director of Athletics and I am confident that she will provide us with the leadership, stability and compassion needed during the transition. ""As all of you know, Wichita State University is on the rise, and our athletics program plays an important role in our institutional momentum. With incredible fans and supporters, talented coaches and support staff, a campus committed to excellence and, most importantly, hard-working student-athletes, we are poised for great success. With the assistance of an experienced search firm, we will immediately launch a national search for a new Director of Athletics who shares our values, our vision and our passion for Shocker sports and will work expediently but diligently to identify a new leader of our athletics program. I look forward to introducing our new leader of our Department of Athletics, who will elevate us to unprecedented heights." &nbsp;