WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A Wichita man has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and two counts of attempted robbery in the 2020 shooting death of an AutoZone store employee. 

Television station KAKE reports that Lamonte Lucas entered the pleas last week and will be sentenced on July 22 for the killing of 40-year-old Nick Blue inside the store. Lucas was 18 when police say he went into the store to rob it and shot Blue.

Police have said three employees also were inside the business at the time of the shooting, but were in other areas of the building and were not injured. Police say surveillance video showed Lucas walk into the store, up to the counter and shoot Blue in the forehead before running out.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A Wichita man has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and two counts of attempted robbery in the 2020 shooting death of an AutoZone store employee. <figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/7/1596032625997.png" alt="Lucas photo Sedgwick County" />
 <figcaption>Lucas photo Sedgwick County</figcaption>
 </figure>Television station KAKE reports that Lamonte Lucas entered the pleas last week and will be sentenced on July 22 for the killing of 40-year-old Nick Blue inside the store. Lucas was 18 when police say he went into the store to rob it and shot Blue.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/7/1595873499101.png" alt="Security camera image of Lucas outside the store -courtesy Wichita Police" />
 <figcaption>Security camera image of Lucas outside the store -courtesy Wichita Police</figcaption>
 </figure>Police have said three employees also were inside the business at the time of the shooting, but were in other areas of the building and were not injured. Police say surveillance video showed Lucas walk into the store, up to the counter and shoot Blue in the forehead before running out.

Kan. man pleads guilty to killing AutoZone store employee

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate bargainers reached agreement Tuesday on a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/5caad0ccca61ac3d308a3735f10628fc" target="_blank">bipartisan gun violence bill</a>, potentially teeing up final passage by week’s end on an incremental but landmark package that would stand as Congress’ response to mass shootings in Texas and New York that shook the nation.

Lawmakers released the 80-page bill&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/gun-laws-senate-bipartisan-agreement-59d553f3d1e35fdbe4930e4341e74efb">nine days after agreeing to a framework for the plan</a>&nbsp;and 29 years after Congress last enacted major firearms curbs. It cleared an initial procedural hurdle by 64-34, with 14 Republicans including Missouri Senator Roy Blunt joining all 48 Democrats and two allied independents in voting yes. Kansas Senators Jerry Moran and Roger Marshall voted against the measure.

That strongly supported a prediction by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., of approval later this week. Passage by the Democratic-led House could follow quickly.

Though Republicans blocked tougher restrictions sought by Democrats, the accord marks&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/congress-parkland-florida-school-shooting-gun-violence-shootings-public-opinion-06cd760edf8977716dba0c2b157a1a91">an election-year breakthrough</a>&nbsp;on an issue that pits the GOP’s staunch gun-owning and rural voters against Democrats’ urban-centered backers of firearms curbs. That makes it one of the most incendiary culture war battlefields in politics and a sensitive vote for some lawmakers, particularly Republicans who might alienate Second Amendment stalwarts.

The legislation would toughen background checks for the youngest firearms buyers, require more sellers to conduct background checks and beef up penalties on gun traffickers. It also would disburse money to states and communities to improve school safety and mental health initiatives.

Aides estimated the measure would cost around $15 billion, which Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut, the lead Democratic bargainer, said would be fully paid for.

Resolving one final hurdle that delayed the accord, the bill would prohibit romantic partners convicted of domestic violence and not married to their victims from getting firearms. Convicted abusers who are married to, live with or had children with their victims are already barred from having guns.

The compromise prohibits guns for a person who has “a current or recent former dating relationship with the victim.” That is defined in part as one between people ”who have or have recently had a continuing serious relationship of a romantic or intimate nature.” An offender’s ability to own a gun could be restored after five years if they’ve not committed another serious crime.

On another late dispute, the bill would provide $750 million to the 19 states and the District of Columbia that have “red flag” laws making it easier to temporarily take firearms from people adjudged dangerous, and to other states with violence prevention programs. States with “red flag” laws that receive the funds would have to have legal processes for the gun owner to fight the firearm’s removal.

Momentum in Congress for gun legislation has a history of waning quickly after mass shootings. Lawmakers are scheduled to begin a two-week July 4th recess by this weekend.

The legislation lacks far more potent proposals that President Joe Biden supports and Democrats have pushed unsuccessfully for years, derailed by GOP opposition. These include banning assault-type weapons or raising the minimum age for buying them, prohibiting high-capacity magazines and requiring background checks for virtually all gun sales.

Yet after 10 Black shoppers were killed last month in Buffalo, New York, and 19 children and two teachers died days later in Uvalde, Texas, Democrats and some Republicans decided that this time, measured steps were preferable to Congress’ usual reaction to such horrors — gridlock.

Murphy said that after Buffalo and Uvalde, “I saw a level of fear on the faces of the parents and the children that I spoke to that I’ve never seen before.” He said his colleagues also encountered anxiety among voters “not just for the safety of their children, but also a fear about the ability of government to rise to this moment and do something, and do something meaningful.”

This bill, Murphy said, would “save thousands of lives.” Before entering the Senate, his House district included Newtown, Connecticut, where 20 children and six staff members perished in a 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

Top GOP bargainer Sen. John Cornyn of Texas said of the pact, “Some think it goes too far, others think it doesn’t go far enough. And I get it. It’s the nature of compromise.”

But he added, “I believe that the same people who are telling us to do something are sending us a clear message, to do what we can to keep our children and communities safe. I’m confident this legislation moves us in a positive direction.”

In a positive sign about its fate, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., voiced his support, calling it “a commonsense package of popular steps that will help make these horrifying incidents less likely while fully upholding the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens.”

The National Rifle Association, which has spent decades derailing gun control legislation, expressed opposition. “It falls short at every level. It does little to truly address violent crime while opening the door to unnecessary burdens on the exercise of Second Amendment freedom by law-abiding gun owners,” the gun lobby group said.

It seemed likely a majority of Republicans — especially in the House — would oppose the legislation.

Underscoring the backlash GOP lawmakers supporting the pact would face from the most hard-right voters, delegates booed Cornyn at his state’s Republican convention in Houston Saturday as he described the proposal.

In another measure of conservative sentiment, Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri, a potential 2024 Republican presidential candidate, tweeted that the bill “ignores the national crime wave &amp; chips away instead at the fundamental rights of law abiding citizens.” Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., a possible White House contender, said it would “restrict the freedoms of law-abiding Americans and put too much power in the hands of politicians and political officials.”

The measure will need at least 10 GOP votes to reach the 60-vote threshold major bills often need in the 50-50 Senate. Cornyn told reporters that he expected at least 10 GOP votes for the measure.

What’s uncertain is whether passage would mark the beginning of slow but gradual action to curb gun violence, or the high water mark on the issue. Until Buffalo and Uvalde, a numbing parade of mass slayings — at sites including elementary and high schools, houses of worship, military facilities, bars and the Las Vegas Strip — have yielded only stalemate in Washington.

“Thirty years, murder after murder, suicide after suicide, mass shooting after mass shooting, Congress did nothing,” Murphy said. “This week we have a chance to break this 30-year period of silence with a bill that changes our laws in a way that will save thousands of lives.”

The bill would require that federal background checks for gun buyers age 18 to 20 include examination of the purchaser’s juvenile record. That could add up to seven more days to the current three-day limit on background checks.

The suspects in the Buffalo and Uvalde shootings were both 18 years old, a profile that matches many recent mass shooters.

There would be hundreds of millions of dollars to expand community behavioral health centers, telemedicine visits for mental specialists and train first responders to handle people with mental health issues. More than $2 billion would be provided to hire and train staff for school mental health services, including $300 million to improve school safety.

Congress’ prohibited assault-type firearms in 1993 in a ban that expired after a decade, lawmakers’ last sweeping legislation addressing gun violence.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/5/1652568426409.png" alt="Ten black shoppers were killed last month in Buffalo, New York&nbsp; -photo courtesy WKBW TV" />
 <figcaption>Ten black shoppers were killed last month in Buffalo, New York&nbsp; -photo courtesy WKBW TV</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate bargainers reached agreement Tuesday on a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/5caad0ccca61ac3d308a3735f10628fc" target="_blank">bipartisan gun violence bill</a>, potentially teeing up final passage by week’s end on an incremental but landmark package that would stand as Congress’ response to mass shootings in Texas and New York that shook the nation.Lawmakers released the 80-page bill&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/gun-laws-senate-bipartisan-agreement-59d553f3d1e35fdbe4930e4341e74efb">nine days after agreeing to a framework for the plan</a>&nbsp;and 29 years after Congress last enacted major firearms curbs. It cleared an initial procedural hurdle by 64-34, with 14 Republicans including Missouri Senator Roy Blunt joining all 48 Democrats and two allied independents in voting yes. Kansas Senators Jerry Moran and Roger Marshall voted against the measure.That strongly supported a prediction by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., of approval later this week. Passage by the Democratic-led House could follow quickly.Though Republicans blocked tougher restrictions sought by Democrats, the accord marks&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/congress-parkland-florida-school-shooting-gun-violence-shootings-public-opinion-06cd760edf8977716dba0c2b157a1a91">an election-year breakthrough</a>&nbsp;on an issue that pits the GOP’s staunch gun-owning and rural voters against Democrats’ urban-centered backers of firearms curbs. That makes it one of the most incendiary culture war battlefields in politics and a sensitive vote for some lawmakers, particularly Republicans who might alienate Second Amendment stalwarts.The legislation would toughen background checks for the youngest firearms buyers, require more sellers to conduct background checks and beef up penalties on gun traffickers. It also would disburse money to states and communities to improve school safety and mental health initiatives.Aides estimated the measure would cost around $15 billion, which Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut, the lead Democratic bargainer, said would be fully paid for.Resolving one final hurdle that delayed the accord, the bill would prohibit romantic partners convicted of domestic violence and not married to their victims from getting firearms. Convicted abusers who are married to, live with or had children with their victims are already barred from having guns.The compromise prohibits guns for a person who has “a current or recent former dating relationship with the victim.” That is defined in part as one between people ”who have or have recently had a continuing serious relationship of a romantic or intimate nature.” An offender’s ability to own a gun could be restored after five years if they’ve not committed another serious crime.On another late dispute, the bill would provide $750 million to the 19 states and the District of Columbia that have “red flag” laws making it easier to temporarily take firearms from people adjudged dangerous, and to other states with violence prevention programs. States with “red flag” laws that receive the funds would have to have legal processes for the gun owner to fight the firearm’s removal.Momentum in Congress for gun legislation has a history of waning quickly after mass shootings. Lawmakers are scheduled to begin a two-week July 4th recess by this weekend.The legislation lacks far more potent proposals that President Joe Biden supports and Democrats have pushed unsuccessfully for years, derailed by GOP opposition. These include banning assault-type weapons or raising the minimum age for buying them, prohibiting high-capacity magazines and requiring background checks for virtually all gun sales.Yet after 10 Black shoppers were killed last month in Buffalo, New York, and 19 children and two teachers died days later in Uvalde, Texas, Democrats and some Republicans decided that this time, measured steps were preferable to Congress’ usual reaction to such horrors — gridlock.Murphy said that after Buffalo and Uvalde, “I saw a level of fear on the faces of the parents and the children that I spoke to that I’ve never seen before.” He said his colleagues also encountered anxiety among voters “not just for the safety of their children, but also a fear about the ability of government to rise to this moment and do something, and do something meaningful.”This bill, Murphy said, would “save thousands of lives.” Before entering the Senate, his House district included Newtown, Connecticut, where 20 children and six staff members perished in a 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School.Top GOP bargainer Sen. John Cornyn of Texas said of the pact, “Some think it goes too far, others think it doesn’t go far enough. And I get it. It’s the nature of compromise.”But he added, “I believe that the same people who are telling us to do something are sending us a clear message, to do what we can to keep our children and communities safe. I’m confident this legislation moves us in a positive direction.”In a positive sign about its fate, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., voiced his support, calling it “a commonsense package of popular steps that will help make these horrifying incidents less likely while fully upholding the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens.”The National Rifle Association, which has spent decades derailing gun control legislation, expressed opposition. “It falls short at every level. It does little to truly address violent crime while opening the door to unnecessary burdens on the exercise of Second Amendment freedom by law-abiding gun owners,” the gun lobby group said.It seemed likely a majority of Republicans — especially in the House — would oppose the legislation.Underscoring the backlash GOP lawmakers supporting the pact would face from the most hard-right voters, delegates booed Cornyn at his state’s Republican convention in Houston Saturday as he described the proposal.In another measure of conservative sentiment, Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri, a potential 2024 Republican presidential candidate, tweeted that the bill “ignores the national crime wave &amp; chips away instead at the fundamental rights of law abiding citizens.” Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., a possible White House contender, said it would “restrict the freedoms of law-abiding Americans and put too much power in the hands of politicians and political officials.”The measure will need at least 10 GOP votes to reach the 60-vote threshold major bills often need in the 50-50 Senate. Cornyn told reporters that he expected at least 10 GOP votes for the measure.What’s uncertain is whether passage would mark the beginning of slow but gradual action to curb gun violence, or the high water mark on the issue. Until Buffalo and Uvalde, a numbing parade of mass slayings — at sites including elementary and high schools, houses of worship, military facilities, bars and the Las Vegas Strip — have yielded only stalemate in Washington.“Thirty years, murder after murder, suicide after suicide, mass shooting after mass shooting, Congress did nothing,” Murphy said. “This week we have a chance to break this 30-year period of silence with a bill that changes our laws in a way that will save thousands of lives.”The bill would require that federal background checks for gun buyers age 18 to 20 include examination of the purchaser’s juvenile record. That could add up to seven more days to the current three-day limit on background checks.The suspects in the Buffalo and Uvalde shootings were both 18 years old, a profile that matches many recent mass shooters.There would be hundreds of millions of dollars to expand community behavioral health centers, telemedicine visits for mental specialists and train first responders to handle people with mental health issues. More than $2 billion would be provided to hire and train staff for school mental health services, including $300 million to improve school safety.Congress’ prohibited assault-type firearms in 1993 in a ban that expired after a decade, lawmakers’ last sweeping legislation addressing gun violence.

Senators compromise on gun violence bill; Moran, Marshall vote no

OSAGE COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect on drug charges after an arrest.

Just after 3p.m. Monday, an Osage County Sheriff’s Deputy conducted a traffic stop at 341st and K-31 Highway, near Melvern, for a traffic violation, according to Sheriff Chris Wells. During the stop, the deputy located illegal narcotics.

The driver of the vehicle, Julie D. Davis, 42, of Brooklyn, Michigan, was taken into custody and transported to the Osage County Jail Facility on requested charges of possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute and possession of drug paraphernalia, according to Wells.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/6/1655768157866.png" alt="Davis-photo Osage County" />
 <figcaption>Davis-photo Osage County</figcaption>
 </figure>OSAGE COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect on drug charges after an arrest.Just after 3p.m. Monday, an Osage County Sheriff’s Deputy conducted a traffic stop at 341st and K-31 Highway, near Melvern, for a traffic violation, according to Sheriff Chris Wells. During the stop, the deputy located illegal narcotics.The driver of the vehicle, Julie D. Davis, 42, of Brooklyn, Michigan, was taken into custody and transported to the Osage County Jail Facility on requested charges of possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute and possession of drug paraphernalia, according to Wells.

Michigan woman accused of meth distribution in Kansas

LEAVENWORTH, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas teenager has been sentenced to life in prison in the shooting death of a 12-year-old boy during a botched gun deal. WDAF-TV reports that a jury convicted 18-year-old Jaylen LaRon Johnson of Kansas City, Kansas, of first-degree murder last month. 

Sentencing was Friday. Prosecutors say Johnson and two other men drove to Leavenworth to purchase a gun on April 14, 2021. 

The sellers allegedly sold a BB gun to one of Johnson’s friends. Authorities say Johnson began shooting when he realized it wasn’t the gun they wanted. Eleven bullets struck the seller’s car. Twelve-year-old Brian Henderson Jr. was in the backseat and died in the shooting.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/6/1655569171944.png" alt="Johnson-photo Leavenworth Co." />
 <figcaption>Johnson-photo Leavenworth Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>LEAVENWORTH, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas teenager has been sentenced to life in prison in the shooting death of a 12-year-old boy during a botched gun deal. WDAF-TV reports that a jury convicted 18-year-old Jaylen LaRon Johnson of Kansas City, Kansas, of first-degree murder last month. Sentencing was Friday. Prosecutors say Johnson and two other men drove to Leavenworth to purchase a gun on April 14, 2021. The sellers allegedly sold a BB gun to one of Johnson’s friends. Authorities say Johnson began shooting when he realized it wasn’t the gun they wanted. Eleven bullets struck the seller’s car. Twelve-year-old Brian Henderson Jr. was in the backseat and died in the shooting.

Kan. teen sentenced in botched gun deal killing of 12-year-old

MARION COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect on drug charges.

Just after midnight early Tuesday, police conducted a&nbsp;traffic stop on Highway 56 near Ridge Road for a vehicle traveling over the posted speed limit, according to a social media report.

While speaking with the driver, later identified as 37-year-old Joshua Bradley of Downs, he indicated the presence of marijuana in his vehicle. 

 A subsequent search led to the location of 14.3 grams of methamphetamine, 7.3 grams of marijuana, and drug paraphernalia. 

The officer arrested Bradley on requested charges of Possession of Methamphetamine with the intent to distribute, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of marijuana, no drug tax stamp, no proof of liabliity insurance and speed over posted maximum.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/6/1655833173409.png" alt="Bradley-photo Marion County" />
 <figcaption>Bradley-photo Marion County</figcaption>
 </figure>MARION COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect on drug charges.Just after midnight early Tuesday, police conducted a&nbsp;traffic stop on Highway 56 near Ridge Road for a vehicle traveling over the posted speed limit, according to a social media report.While speaking with the driver, later identified as 37-year-old Joshua Bradley of Downs, he indicated the presence of marijuana in his vehicle. A subsequent search led to the location of 14.3 grams of methamphetamine, 7.3 grams of marijuana, and drug paraphernalia. The officer arrested Bradley on requested charges of Possession of Methamphetamine with the intent to distribute, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of marijuana, no drug tax stamp, no proof of liabliity insurance and speed over posted maximum.

Police: Kansas driver speeding with pot, meth in vehicle

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House Jan. 6 committee has heard chilling, tearful testimony that Donald Trump’s relentless pressure to overturn the 2020 presidential election led to widespread threats against local workers and state officials.

The panel focused Tuesday on the “heroes” of American democracy — election workers and officials who fended off the defeated president’s demands. The committee is focused on Trump's schemes to reject state tallies and electors, all fueled by his false claims of election fraud. 

It heard from Arizona’s Republican state House Speaker Rusty Bowers and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger about phone call pressure from Trump, including Trump’s call asking the Georgia official to “find 11,780” votes to prevent Joe Biden’s election victory and others.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/capitol-siege">House 1/6 committee</a>&nbsp;is set to hear from the caretakers of American democracy — elections workers and local officials — who fended off&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/capitol-siege-ivanka-trump-presidential-elections-government-and-politics-election-2020-ff7e4c0559ac4d983d9d06e168d5f7d4">Donald Trump’s pressure to overturn the 2020 presidential election</a>, at times despite frightening personal attacks.

The hearings investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack at the U.S. Capitol resume Tuesday with a focus on Trump’s relentless effort to undo Joe Biden’s victory in the most local way — by leaning on officials in key battleground states to reject ballots outright or to submit alternative electors for the final tally in Congress. The pressure was fueled by the defeated president’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/capitol-siege-ivanka-trump-biden-voting-elections-1ccfd89df6868911d934529b9e47d6c8">false claims of voter fraud</a>&nbsp;which, the panel says, led directly to the riot at the Capitol.

Embattled Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger is scheduled to testify about Trump’s phone call asking him to “find 11,780” votes that could flip the state to prevent Biden’s election victory.

Raffensperger, with his deputy Gabe Sterling and Arizona’s Republican state House Speaker Rusty Bowers, are scheduled to be key witnesses, along with Wandrea “Shay” Moss, a former Georgia election worker who, with her mother, have said they faced such severe public harassment from Trump allies they felt unable to live normal lives.

“I’m appalled at what I saw,” Bowers said in an interview Monday with The Associated Press after arriving in Washington. “I think it illuminates something we need to see big time, and take stock of ourselves. And I hope it would sober us.”

The hearing, the fourth by the panel this month, stems from its yearlong investigation into Trump’s unprecedented attempt to remain in power, a sprawling scheme that the chairman of the Jan. 6 committee has likened to an “attempted coup.”

Tuesday’s focus will review how Trump was repeatedly told his pressure campaign could potentially cause violence against the local officials and their families but pursued it anyway, according to a select committee aide. And it will underscore that fallout from Trump’s lies continues to this day, with elections officers facing ongoing public harassment and political challengers trying to take over their jobs.

While the committee cannot charge Trump with any crimes, the Justice Department is watching the panel’s work closely. Trump’s actions in Georgia are also the subject of a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-georgia-atlanta-presidential-3bc4ae72555ee3f22a13554d9b27d240">grand jury investigation</a>, with the district attorney expected to announce findings this year.

“We will show during a hearing what the president’s role was in trying to get states to name alternate slates of electors, how that scheme depended initially on hopes that the legislatures would reconvene and bless it,” Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., told the Los Angeles Times on Monday.

Schiff, who will lead much of Tuesday’s session, said the hearing will also dig into the “intimate role” the White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows, had in the plot to pressure Georgia state legislators and elections officials.

Raffensperger, Georgia’s top election official, rebuffed Trump’s request that he&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-joe-biden-donald-trump-georgia-elections-a7b4aa4d8ce3bf52301ddbe620c6bff6">“find” enough votes</a>&nbsp;to overturn Biden’s win in the state — a request caught on tape during a phone call days before the Jan. 6 attack.

During the call, Trump repeatedly cited disproven claims of fraud and raised the prospect of a “criminal offense” if Georgia officials did not change the vote count. The state had counted its votes three times before certifying Biden’s win by a 11,779 margin.

The public testimony from Raffensperger comes weeks after&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-georgia-atlanta-presidential-3bc4ae72555ee3f22a13554d9b27d240">he appeared before a special grand jury in Georgia</a>&nbsp;investigating whether Trump and others illegally tried to intervene in the state’s 2020 election, and after&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-georgia-primary-raffensperger-hice-fb73b1cdce296923dfae1e9ce795efef">Raffensperger beat a Trump-backed challenger</a>&nbsp;in last month’s primary election.

Sterling, Raffensperger’s chief operating officer, became a notable figure in Georgia’s long post-election counting, and recounting, of the presidential ballots, with his regular updates often broadcast live to a divided nation. At one point, the soft-spoken Republican implored Americans to tone down the heated rhetoric.

“Death threats, physical threats, intimidation — it’s too much, it’s not right,” he said.

Bowers is expected to discuss the pressure he faced to overturn Arizona’s results — requests from Trump advisers that the Republican state leader on Monday called “juvenile.”

In an&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-capitol-siege-biden-presidential-election-2020-5f0f2eeae477437a5fed9fffe9ce286a">interview with the AP</a>&nbsp;after arriving in Washington ahead of the hearing, Bowers said he is expected to be asked about a call with Trump during which lawyer Rudy Giuliani floated an idea to replace Arizona’s electors with those who would vote for Trump.

Bowers also revealed a second phone call with Trump in December 2020 that he said was mainly small talk, although Trump also referenced their first conversation.

Moss, who had worked for the Fulton County elections department since 2012, and her mother, Ruby Freeman, a temporary election worker,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/elections-new-york-lawsuits-new-york-city-donald-trump-33cdb4e73a5091a1299c49a553d4109d">filed a defamation lawsuit</a>&nbsp;in December 2021. Moss claimed conservative outlet One America News Network and Giuliani falsely spread allegations that she and her mother engaged in ballot fraud during the election. The case against OAN&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-lawsuits-georgia-atlanta-ba0a5021564d1377c394a3b4d8e554fb">has since been dismissed</a>&nbsp;with a settlement.

Both Bowers and Moss, along with Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., the panel’s vice chair, were among recipients of this year’s John F. Kennedy Profiles in Courage award “for their courage to protect and defend democracy.”

The select committee also plans to untangle the elaborate “fake electors” scheme that sought to have representatives in as many as seven battlegrounds — Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Nevada and New Mexico — sign certificates falsely stating that Trump, not Biden, had won their states.

Conservative law professor John Eastman, a lawyer for Trump,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/capitol-siege-biden-elections-government-and-politics-presidential-42911f613bee85913dcbcbaeed096b2c">pushed the fake electors</a>&nbsp;in the weeks after the election. Trump and Eastman convened hundreds of electors on a call on Jan. 2, 2021, encouraging them to send alternative slates from their states where Trump’s team was claiming fraud.

The fake electors idea was designed to set up a challenge on Jan. 6, 2021 when Congress met in joint session, with Vice President Mike Pence presiding over what is typically a ceremonial role to accept the states’ vote tallies. But the effort collapsed, as Pence refused Trump’s repeated demands that he simply halt the certification of Biden’s win — a power he believed he did not possess in his purely ceremonial role.

At least 20 people in connection with the fake electors scheme were subpoenaed by the House panel. The committee says it will also show that it has gathered enough evidence through its more than 1,000 interviews and tens of thousands of documents to connect the varying efforts to overturn the election directly to Trump.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House Jan. 6 committee has heard chilling, tearful testimony that Donald Trump’s relentless pressure to overturn the 2020 presidential election led to widespread threats against local workers and state officials.<div><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/xa43_z_82Og" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>The panel focused Tuesday on the “heroes” of American democracy — election workers and officials who fended off the defeated president’s demands. The committee is focused on Trump's schemes to reject state tallies and electors, all fueled by his false claims of election fraud. It heard from Arizona’s Republican state House Speaker Rusty Bowers and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger about phone call pressure from Trump, including Trump’s call asking the Georgia official to “find 11,780” votes to prevent Joe Biden’s election victory and others.-------WASHINGTON (AP) — The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/capitol-siege">House 1/6 committee</a>&nbsp;is set to hear from the caretakers of American democracy — elections workers and local officials — who fended off&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/capitol-siege-ivanka-trump-presidential-elections-government-and-politics-election-2020-ff7e4c0559ac4d983d9d06e168d5f7d4">Donald Trump’s pressure to overturn the 2020 presidential election</a>, at times despite frightening personal attacks.The hearings investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack at the U.S. Capitol resume Tuesday with a focus on Trump’s relentless effort to undo Joe Biden’s victory in the most local way — by leaning on officials in key battleground states to reject ballots outright or to submit alternative electors for the final tally in Congress. The pressure was fueled by the defeated president’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/capitol-siege-ivanka-trump-biden-voting-elections-1ccfd89df6868911d934529b9e47d6c8">false claims of voter fraud</a>&nbsp;which, the panel says, led directly to the riot at the Capitol.Embattled Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger is scheduled to testify about Trump’s phone call asking him to “find 11,780” votes that could flip the state to prevent Biden’s election victory.Raffensperger, with his deputy Gabe Sterling and Arizona’s Republican state House Speaker Rusty Bowers, are scheduled to be key witnesses, along with Wandrea “Shay” Moss, a former Georgia election worker who, with her mother, have said they faced such severe public harassment from Trump allies they felt unable to live normal lives.“I’m appalled at what I saw,” Bowers said in an interview Monday with The Associated Press after arriving in Washington. “I think it illuminates something we need to see big time, and take stock of ourselves. And I hope it would sober us.”The hearing, the fourth by the panel this month, stems from its yearlong investigation into Trump’s unprecedented attempt to remain in power, a sprawling scheme that the chairman of the Jan. 6 committee has likened to an “attempted coup.”Tuesday’s focus will review how Trump was repeatedly told his pressure campaign could potentially cause violence against the local officials and their families but pursued it anyway, according to a select committee aide. And it will underscore that fallout from Trump’s lies continues to this day, with elections officers facing ongoing public harassment and political challengers trying to take over their jobs.While the committee cannot charge Trump with any crimes, the Justice Department is watching the panel’s work closely. Trump’s actions in Georgia are also the subject of a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-georgia-atlanta-presidential-3bc4ae72555ee3f22a13554d9b27d240">grand jury investigation</a>, with the district attorney expected to announce findings this year.“We will show during a hearing what the president’s role was in trying to get states to name alternate slates of electors, how that scheme depended initially on hopes that the legislatures would reconvene and bless it,” Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., told the Los Angeles Times on Monday.Schiff, who will lead much of Tuesday’s session, said the hearing will also dig into the “intimate role” the White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows, had in the plot to pressure Georgia state legislators and elections officials.Raffensperger, Georgia’s top election official, rebuffed Trump’s request that he&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-joe-biden-donald-trump-georgia-elections-a7b4aa4d8ce3bf52301ddbe620c6bff6">“find” enough votes</a>&nbsp;to overturn Biden’s win in the state — a request caught on tape during a phone call days before the Jan. 6 attack.During the call, Trump repeatedly cited disproven claims of fraud and raised the prospect of a “criminal offense” if Georgia officials did not change the vote count. The state had counted its votes three times before certifying Biden’s win by a 11,779 margin.The public testimony from Raffensperger comes weeks after&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-georgia-atlanta-presidential-3bc4ae72555ee3f22a13554d9b27d240">he appeared before a special grand jury in Georgia</a>&nbsp;investigating whether Trump and others illegally tried to intervene in the state’s 2020 election, and after&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-georgia-primary-raffensperger-hice-fb73b1cdce296923dfae1e9ce795efef">Raffensperger beat a Trump-backed challenger</a>&nbsp;in last month’s primary election.Sterling, Raffensperger’s chief operating officer, became a notable figure in Georgia’s long post-election counting, and recounting, of the presidential ballots, with his regular updates often broadcast live to a divided nation. At one point, the soft-spoken Republican implored Americans to tone down the heated rhetoric.“Death threats, physical threats, intimidation — it’s too much, it’s not right,” he said.Bowers is expected to discuss the pressure he faced to overturn Arizona’s results — requests from Trump advisers that the Republican state leader on Monday called “juvenile.”In an&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-capitol-siege-biden-presidential-election-2020-5f0f2eeae477437a5fed9fffe9ce286a">interview with the AP</a>&nbsp;after arriving in Washington ahead of the hearing, Bowers said he is expected to be asked about a call with Trump during which lawyer Rudy Giuliani floated an idea to replace Arizona’s electors with those who would vote for Trump.Bowers also revealed a second phone call with Trump in December 2020 that he said was mainly small talk, although Trump also referenced their first conversation.Moss, who had worked for the Fulton County elections department since 2012, and her mother, Ruby Freeman, a temporary election worker,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/elections-new-york-lawsuits-new-york-city-donald-trump-33cdb4e73a5091a1299c49a553d4109d">filed a defamation lawsuit</a>&nbsp;in December 2021. Moss claimed conservative outlet One America News Network and Giuliani falsely spread allegations that she and her mother engaged in ballot fraud during the election. The case against OAN&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-lawsuits-georgia-atlanta-ba0a5021564d1377c394a3b4d8e554fb">has since been dismissed</a>&nbsp;with a settlement.Both Bowers and Moss, along with Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., the panel’s vice chair, were among recipients of this year’s John F. Kennedy Profiles in Courage award “for their courage to protect and defend democracy.”The select committee also plans to untangle the elaborate “fake electors” scheme that sought to have representatives in as many as seven battlegrounds — Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Nevada and New Mexico — sign certificates falsely stating that Trump, not Biden, had won their states.Conservative law professor John Eastman, a lawyer for Trump,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/capitol-siege-biden-elections-government-and-politics-presidential-42911f613bee85913dcbcbaeed096b2c">pushed the fake electors</a>&nbsp;in the weeks after the election. Trump and Eastman convened hundreds of electors on a call on Jan. 2, 2021, encouraging them to send alternative slates from their states where Trump’s team was claiming fraud.The fake electors idea was designed to set up a challenge on Jan. 6, 2021 when Congress met in joint session, with Vice President Mike Pence presiding over what is typically a ceremonial role to accept the states’ vote tallies. But the effort collapsed, as Pence refused Trump’s repeated demands that he simply halt the certification of Biden’s win — a power he believed he did not possess in his purely ceremonial role.At least 20 people in connection with the fake electors scheme were subpoenaed by the House panel. The committee says it will also show that it has gathered enough evidence through its more than 1,000 interviews and tens of thousands of documents to connect the varying efforts to overturn the election directly to Trump.

🎥1/6 hearings replay Day 4: Testimony on effort to overturn 2020 election

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas’ top court declared Tuesday that the state constitution doesn’t prohibit partisan gerrymandering, prompting one dissenting justice to accuse the majority of ignoring a “full-scale assault on democracy” from a Republican congressional redistricting law.

The state Supreme Court issued the opinion explaining its 4-3 decision last month to approve the&nbsp;<a href="http://www.kslegresearch.org/KLRD-web/Publications/Redistricting/2022-Plans/M3_AdAstra_2-packet.pdf" target="_blank">new congressional map</a>.&nbsp;<a href="http://www.kslegresearch.org/KLRD-web/Publications/Redistricting/2022-Plans/M3_AdAstra_2-packet.pdf" target="_blank"></a>It previously issued only&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/government-and-politics-elections-legislature-kansas-topeka-e6e6dfe3cfc63ddae5492980e04a0329">a brief opinion</a>&nbsp;that did not explain the majority’s reasons.

The new map&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/congress-kansas-kansas-city-topeka-lawrence-ddec8d74330eddabf091cdc59af63c78">makes it harder</a>&nbsp;for the only Democrat in the Kansas congressional delegation, two-term Rep. Sharice Davids, to win reelection in her Kansas City-area district. Davids is the state’s first openly lesbian and Native American woman in Congress.

Dissenting Justice Eric Rosen argued that the decision moves Kansas toward a “one-party system of government,” aids a “power grab” and authorizes “political chicanery.”

“In turning a blind eye to this full-scale assault on democracy in Kansas, the majority blithely ignores the plain language of this state’s Constitution,” Rosen wrote.

Lawsuits over new congressional maps&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/voting-rights-biden-us-supreme-court-legislature-redistricting-2dc22ffc8559f43401c9f116b4e7f8ad">proliferated this year</a>&nbsp;across the U.S., with Republicans looking to recapture a U.S. House majority in November’s midterm elections. Maps in at least 18 states inspired lawsuits, according to the nonpartisan Brennan Center for Justice.

In the Kansas Supreme Court’s majority opinion Tuesday, Justice Caleb Stegall said the state constitution’s&nbsp;<a href="https://kslib.info/826/Kansas-Bill-of-Rights" target="_blank">guarantee of equal legal protection</a>&nbsp;for all citizens does not prohibit the Legislature from considering partisan factors when redrawing lines each decade to make districts as equal in population as possible. The Legislature has Republican supermajorities and traditionally has been controlled by the GOP.

Stegall also argued that unless the state Supreme Court set a “zero tolerance” standard on partisan gerrymandering, it has no clear standards for when it should be prohibited.

“Are there any manageable and neutral judicial standards by which judges can decide that question without resort to our own partisan biases?” Stegall wrote.

Kansas courts previously had not been asked to consider whether the state constitution bars political gerrymandering. Federal judges — not the Kansas courts — have typically reviewed the state’s congressional boundaries, but the conservative-leaning U.S. Supreme Court&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/wi-state-wire-nc-state-wire-donald-trump-ap-top-news-courts-54daa625511445969fee66696f7979c2">ruled 5-4 in 2019</a>&nbsp;that complaints about partisan gerrymandering are political issues and not for the federal courts to resolve.

Stegall is widely seen as the seven-member court’s most conservative justice, having been appointed by conservative GOP Gov. Sam Brownback in 2014. But he was joined in the majority by a justice appointed by a moderate Republican governor and two who were appointed by Democrats. All of the dissenters were appointed by Democratic governors.

The majority also rejected critics’ claims that the new congressional map represented racial gerrymandering because it split the Black and Hispanic populations in the Kansas City areas between two districts. Stegall wrote that the aggrieved voters did not show that race was the predominant factor in how the lines were drawn.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas, which represented 11 voters, said in a statement that the decision was especially harmful to minority voters who were “targeted and silenced.”

Democrats accused Republicans of planning to hurt Davids politically. Although Republicans said that was not the case, a now-retired state Senate leader said publicly in 2020 that fellow Republicans could draw all four congressional districts to favor the GOP and “guarantee” a plan that “takes out” Davids.

Republican lawmakers noted repeatedly that the Kansas side of the Kansas City area has too many people to fit into a single congressional district, requiring some sort of split. And they argued that Davids still would win her new district based on 2020 election results.

The new congressional map moved the northern part of Kansas City, Kansas, out of the 3rd District represented by Davids and into the larger 2nd District of eastern Kansas represented by Republican Rep. Jake LaTurner. Kansas City, Kansas, is among the state’s few Democratic strongholds.

The map also moved&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/legislature-election-2020-kansas-city-kansas-donald-trump-85844d07388c25e71440059be29b7a6e">the liberal city of Lawrence</a>&nbsp;— a Democratic stronghold only about 40 miles west (64 kilometers) of Kansas City and home to the main University of Kansas campus —out of the 2nd District. Instead, the city of 95,000 has been added to the already sprawling 1st District, which is dominated by small conservative communities in central and western Kansas.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/1/1643147273216.png" alt="The map moved&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/legislature-election-2020-kansas-city-kansas-donald-trump-85844d07388c25e71440059be29b7a6e">the liberal northeastern Kansas city of Lawrence</a>&nbsp;into the sprawling 1st District of central and western Kansas that is dominated by small conservative communities" />
 <figcaption>The map moved&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/legislature-election-2020-kansas-city-kansas-donald-trump-85844d07388c25e71440059be29b7a6e">the liberal northeastern Kansas city of Lawrence</a>&nbsp;into the sprawling 1st District of central and western Kansas that is dominated by small conservative communities</figcaption>
 </figure>By JOHN HANNATOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas’ top court declared Tuesday that the state constitution doesn’t prohibit partisan gerrymandering, prompting one dissenting justice to accuse the majority of ignoring a “full-scale assault on democracy” from a Republican congressional redistricting law.The state Supreme Court issued the opinion explaining its 4-3 decision last month to approve the&nbsp;<a href="http://www.kslegresearch.org/KLRD-web/Publications/Redistricting/2022-Plans/M3_AdAstra_2-packet.pdf" target="_blank">new congressional map</a>.&nbsp;<a href="http://www.kslegresearch.org/KLRD-web/Publications/Redistricting/2022-Plans/M3_AdAstra_2-packet.pdf" target="_blank"></a>It previously issued only&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/government-and-politics-elections-legislature-kansas-topeka-e6e6dfe3cfc63ddae5492980e04a0329">a brief opinion</a>&nbsp;that did not explain the majority’s reasons.The new map&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/congress-kansas-kansas-city-topeka-lawrence-ddec8d74330eddabf091cdc59af63c78">makes it harder</a>&nbsp;for the only Democrat in the Kansas congressional delegation, two-term Rep. Sharice Davids, to win reelection in her Kansas City-area district. Davids is the state’s first openly lesbian and Native American woman in Congress.Dissenting Justice Eric Rosen argued that the decision moves Kansas toward a “one-party system of government,” aids a “power grab” and authorizes “political chicanery.”“In turning a blind eye to this full-scale assault on democracy in Kansas, the majority blithely ignores the plain language of this state’s Constitution,” Rosen wrote.Lawsuits over new congressional maps&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/voting-rights-biden-us-supreme-court-legislature-redistricting-2dc22ffc8559f43401c9f116b4e7f8ad">proliferated this year</a>&nbsp;across the U.S., with Republicans looking to recapture a U.S. House majority in November’s midterm elections. Maps in at least 18 states inspired lawsuits, according to the nonpartisan Brennan Center for Justice.In the Kansas Supreme Court’s majority opinion Tuesday, Justice Caleb Stegall said the state constitution’s&nbsp;<a href="https://kslib.info/826/Kansas-Bill-of-Rights" target="_blank">guarantee of equal legal protection</a>&nbsp;for all citizens does not prohibit the Legislature from considering partisan factors when redrawing lines each decade to make districts as equal in population as possible. The Legislature has Republican supermajorities and traditionally has been controlled by the GOP.Stegall also argued that unless the state Supreme Court set a “zero tolerance” standard on partisan gerrymandering, it has no clear standards for when it should be prohibited.“Are there any manageable and neutral judicial standards by which judges can decide that question without resort to our own partisan biases?” Stegall wrote.Kansas courts previously had not been asked to consider whether the state constitution bars political gerrymandering. Federal judges — not the Kansas courts — have typically reviewed the state’s congressional boundaries, but the conservative-leaning U.S. Supreme Court&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/wi-state-wire-nc-state-wire-donald-trump-ap-top-news-courts-54daa625511445969fee66696f7979c2">ruled 5-4 in 2019</a>&nbsp;that complaints about partisan gerrymandering are political issues and not for the federal courts to resolve.Stegall is widely seen as the seven-member court’s most conservative justice, having been appointed by conservative GOP Gov. Sam Brownback in 2014. But he was joined in the majority by a justice appointed by a moderate Republican governor and two who were appointed by Democrats. All of the dissenters were appointed by Democratic governors.The majority also rejected critics’ claims that the new congressional map represented racial gerrymandering because it split the Black and Hispanic populations in the Kansas City areas between two districts. Stegall wrote that the aggrieved voters did not show that race was the predominant factor in how the lines were drawn.The American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas, which represented 11 voters, said in a statement that the decision was especially harmful to minority voters who were “targeted and silenced.”Democrats accused Republicans of planning to hurt Davids politically. Although Republicans said that was not the case, a now-retired state Senate leader said publicly in 2020 that fellow Republicans could draw all four congressional districts to favor the GOP and “guarantee” a plan that “takes out” Davids.Republican lawmakers noted repeatedly that the Kansas side of the Kansas City area has too many people to fit into a single congressional district, requiring some sort of split. And they argued that Davids still would win her new district based on 2020 election results.The new congressional map moved the northern part of Kansas City, Kansas, out of the 3rd District represented by Davids and into the larger 2nd District of eastern Kansas represented by Republican Rep. Jake LaTurner. Kansas City, Kansas, is among the state’s few Democratic strongholds.The map also moved&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/legislature-election-2020-kansas-city-kansas-donald-trump-85844d07388c25e71440059be29b7a6e">the liberal city of Lawrence</a>&nbsp;— a Democratic stronghold only about 40 miles west (64 kilometers) of Kansas City and home to the main University of Kansas campus —out of the 2nd District. Instead, the city of 95,000 has been added to the already sprawling 1st District, which is dominated by small conservative communities in central and western Kansas.___

Top court: Kansas Constitution allows partisan redistricting

DOUGLAS COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities investigating a fatal weekend accident have identified the victim as 33 year-old Michael Travis Gibbons of Lawrence, according to a media release.

Just after 2a.m. Sunday, police responded to a report of a single vehicle collision at the intersection of 31st&nbsp;St and Atchison Avenue in Lawrence.

 Responding officers arrived to find a vehicle with Gibbons, the only occupant, had collided with a light pole on the northwest corner of the intersection. 

The vehicle sustained heavy damage and power lines were down as a result of the collision. Officers and paramedics attempted to render aid however it was determined Gibbons was deceased at the scene.

DOUGLAS COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities investigating a fatal weekend accident have identified the victim as 33 year-old Michael Travis Gibbons of Lawrence, according to a media release.Just after 2a.m. Sunday, police responded to a report of a single vehicle collision at the intersection of 31st&nbsp;St and Atchison Avenue in Lawrence. Responding officers arrived to find a vehicle with Gibbons, the only occupant, had collided with a light pole on the northwest corner of the intersection. The vehicle sustained heavy damage and power lines were down as a result of the collision. Officers and paramedics attempted to render aid however it was determined Gibbons was deceased at the scene.

Police ID Kansas man who died after crash into light pole

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that religious schools can’t be excluded from&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/me-state-wire-us-supreme-court-maine-religion-education-053be754922af11fe1bceaf408d0f910">a Maine program</a>&nbsp;that offers tuition aid for private education, a decision that could ease religious organizations’ access to taxpayer money.

The most immediate effect of the court’s 6-3 decision beyond Maine will be next door in Vermont, which has a similar program.

But the outcome also could fuel a renewed push for&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/school-choice">school choice programs</a>&nbsp;in some of the 18 states that have so far not directed taxpayer money to private, religious education.

Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for a conservative majority that the program violates the Constitution’s protections for religious freedoms.

“Maine’s ‘nonsectarian’ requirement for its otherwise generally available tuition assistance payments violates the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment. Regardless of how the benefit and restriction are described, the program operates to identify and exclude otherwise eligible schools on the basis of their religious exercise,” Roberts wrote.

The court’s three liberal justices dissented. “This Court continues to dismantle the wall of separation between church and state that the Framers fought to build,” Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote.

The ruling is the latest in a line of decisions from the Supreme Court that have favored religion-based discrimination claims. The court is separately weighing the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/sports-football-religion-prayer-washington-7490d215c8b1ead529299ac92114dbab">case of a football coach who says he has a First Amendment right to pray</a>&nbsp;at midfield immediately after games.

In largely rural Maine, the state allows families who live in towns that don’t have public schools to receive public tuition dollars to send their children to the public or private school of their choosing. The program has excluded religious schools.

Students who live in a district with public schools or in a district that contracts with another public system are ineligible for the tuition program.

Parents who challenged the program argued that the exclusion of religious schools violates their religious rights under the Constitution. Teacher unions and school boards said states can impose limits on public money for private education without running afoul of religious freedoms.

Most of the justices attended religious schools, and several send or have sent their children to them.

In the Maine case, parents sued in federal court to be able to use state aid to send their children to Christian schools in Bangor and Waterville. The schools in question, Bangor Christian School and Temple Academy, are uncertain whether they would accept public funds, according to court filings.

The Bangor school said it would not hire teachers or admit students who are transgender. Both schools said they do not hire gay or lesbian teachers, according to court records.

In 2020, the high court ruled 5-4 that states must give religious schools the same access to public funding that other private schools receive, preserving a Montana scholarship program that had largely benefited students at religious institutions.

In that case, the court said states don’t have to allow public money to be used in private education. But they can’t keep religious schools out of such programs, once created.

But even after that ruling, the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the Maine program, holding that the state was not violating anyone’s constitutional rights by refusing to allow taxpayer money to be used for religious instruction. The three-judge panel included retired Justice David Souter, who occasionally hears cases in the appeals court.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that religious schools can’t be excluded from&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/me-state-wire-us-supreme-court-maine-religion-education-053be754922af11fe1bceaf408d0f910">a Maine program</a>&nbsp;that offers tuition aid for private education, a decision that could ease religious organizations’ access to taxpayer money.The most immediate effect of the court’s 6-3 decision beyond Maine will be next door in Vermont, which has a similar program.But the outcome also could fuel a renewed push for&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/school-choice">school choice programs</a>&nbsp;in some of the 18 states that have so far not directed taxpayer money to private, religious education.Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for a conservative majority that the program violates the Constitution’s protections for religious freedoms.“Maine’s ‘nonsectarian’ requirement for its otherwise generally available tuition assistance payments violates the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment. Regardless of how the benefit and restriction are described, the program operates to identify and exclude otherwise eligible schools on the basis of their religious exercise,” Roberts wrote.The court’s three liberal justices dissented. “This Court continues to dismantle the wall of separation between church and state that the Framers fought to build,” Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote.The ruling is the latest in a line of decisions from the Supreme Court that have favored religion-based discrimination claims. The court is separately weighing the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/sports-football-religion-prayer-washington-7490d215c8b1ead529299ac92114dbab">case of a football coach who says he has a First Amendment right to pray</a>&nbsp;at midfield immediately after games.In largely rural Maine, the state allows families who live in towns that don’t have public schools to receive public tuition dollars to send their children to the public or private school of their choosing. The program has excluded religious schools.Students who live in a district with public schools or in a district that contracts with another public system are ineligible for the tuition program.Parents who challenged the program argued that the exclusion of religious schools violates their religious rights under the Constitution. Teacher unions and school boards said states can impose limits on public money for private education without running afoul of religious freedoms.Most of the justices attended religious schools, and several send or have sent their children to them.In the Maine case, parents sued in federal court to be able to use state aid to send their children to Christian schools in Bangor and Waterville. The schools in question, Bangor Christian School and Temple Academy, are uncertain whether they would accept public funds, according to court filings.The Bangor school said it would not hire teachers or admit students who are transgender. Both schools said they do not hire gay or lesbian teachers, according to court records.In 2020, the high court ruled 5-4 that states must give religious schools the same access to public funding that other private schools receive, preserving a Montana scholarship program that had largely benefited students at religious institutions.In that case, the court said states don’t have to allow public money to be used in private education. But they can’t keep religious schools out of such programs, once created.But even after that ruling, the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the Maine program, holding that the state was not violating anyone’s constitutional rights by refusing to allow taxpayer money to be used for religious instruction. The three-judge panel included retired Justice David Souter, who occasionally hears cases in the appeals court.

Supreme Court OKs use of public money for religious education

SEDGWICK COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities investigating a fatal crash and fire have identified the victim as Donna O'Reilly, 69, of Wichita, according to Sedgwick County Sheriff's Lt. Benjamin Blick.

Just before 8p.m. Monday, O'Reilly was a passenger in a 2003 Buick Regal that was southbound in the 5300 Block of West Street. The car left the roadway, struck a tree east of West Street and caught fire.

&nbsp;O’Reilly was pronounced dead at the scene. EMS transported the 73-year-old driver and husband of the deceased to a local hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

The cause of the accident remains under investigation, according to Blick.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/6/1655778105351.png" alt="First responders at the crash scene-photo courtesy KWCH" />
 <figcaption>First responders at the crash scene-photo courtesy KWCH</figcaption>
 </figure>SEDGWICK COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities investigating a fatal crash and fire have identified the victim as Donna O'Reilly, 69, of Wichita, according to Sedgwick County Sheriff's Lt. Benjamin Blick.Just before 8p.m. Monday, O'Reilly was a passenger in a 2003 Buick Regal that was southbound in the 5300 Block of West Street. The car left the roadway, struck a tree east of West Street and caught fire.&nbsp;O’Reilly was pronounced dead at the scene. EMS transported the 73-year-old driver and husband of the deceased to a local hospital with non-life threatening injuries.The cause of the accident remains under investigation, according to Blick.

Sheriff: Kansas woman dies after crash into tree, fire

By SHERMAN SMITH <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2022/06/21/kansas-to-give-child-care-workers-53m-in-appreciation-pay/">Kansas Reflector</a>

TOPEKA — Gov. Laura Kelly on Tuesday announced a $53 million program 
to deliver bonuses to 22,000 child care workers at licensed facilities 
in Kansas.

Child care workers will receive a one-time payment between $750 and 
$2,500, depending on the hours they work, in late July. The governor 
said the appreciation bonuses are “a reward for their incredibly hard 
work.”

“Child care providers have faced unbelievable challenges during the 
last two and a half years,” Kelly said. “Yet they’ve continued to 
fulfill their critical role in caring for kids. Their work is essential 
to the social and economic well-being of our state.”

The $53 million program is paid for with federal funding, the 
governor said. The bonuses will be administered by Child Care Aware of 
Kansas.

The governor announced the program in a news conference at 
Countryside United Methodist Church in Topeka, which renovated its child
 development center after closing during the pandemic.

Jenna Herrin, the center’s assistant director, said the appreciation 
bonuses will help morale for the underappreciated staff. The center 
serves about 60 kids ages 1 to 5, and has had to turn families down 
because the center is so full.

“I’ve worked in child care for a long time, and it doesn’t seem like 
we’ve been acknowledged for what we do — and it does take a village,” 
Herrin said.

Kelly said kids who receive early childhood education score higher on
 math and reading tests, are more likely to graduate, develop better 
social and emotional kills, and are better collaborators and problems. 
They earn more money as adults, are more likely to own a home, and are 
less likely to suffer from substance abuse, she said.

“To sum it up, early childhood investment is the smartest investment a
 community can make in its future,” Kelly said. “It’s also the smartest 
investment a community can make in its present.”

Kelly said available child care remains a challenge as the state 
attracts businesses and adds jobs. The state’s unemployment rate 
recently hit an all-time low at 2.3%.

“That means that every person who wants to work will be able to find 
work,” Kelly said. “However, one of the biggest barriers to entering the
 workforce, or returning to the workforce post-pandemic, is the lack of 
access to quality childcare.”

Earlier this year, the Kelly administration announced $160 million in
 federal grants to help child care providers with operating costs, 
payroll expenses and revenue losses.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/6/1655830527428.png" alt="Gov. Laura Kelly announces a new $53 million bonus pay program for child care workers during a news conference Tuesday at Countryside United Methodist Church in Topeka. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption>Gov. Laura Kelly announces a new $53 million bonus pay program for child care workers during a news conference Tuesday at Countryside United Methodist Church in Topeka. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure>By SHERMAN SMITH <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2022/06/21/kansas-to-give-child-care-workers-53m-in-appreciation-pay/">Kansas Reflector</a>TOPEKA — Gov. Laura Kelly on Tuesday announced a $53 million program 
to deliver bonuses to 22,000 child care workers at licensed facilities 
in Kansas.Child care workers will receive a one-time payment between $750 and 
$2,500, depending on the hours they work, in late July. The governor 
said the appreciation bonuses are “a reward for their incredibly hard 
work.”“Child care providers have faced unbelievable challenges during the 
last two and a half years,” Kelly said. “Yet they’ve continued to 
fulfill their critical role in caring for kids. Their work is essential 
to the social and economic well-being of our state.”The $53 million program is paid for with federal funding, the 
governor said. The bonuses will be administered by Child Care Aware of 
Kansas.The governor announced the program in a news conference at 
Countryside United Methodist Church in Topeka, which renovated its child
 development center after closing during the pandemic.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/6/1655830585575.png" alt="Alaina Miller, left, and Jenna Herrin talk about their work in the child development center at Countryside United Methodist Church in Topeka. They say the new bonus program will help staff morale. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption>Alaina Miller, left, and Jenna Herrin talk about their work in the child development center at Countryside United Methodist Church in Topeka. They say the new bonus program will help staff morale. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure>Jenna Herrin, the center’s assistant director, said the appreciation 
bonuses will help morale for the underappreciated staff. The center 
serves about 60 kids ages 1 to 5, and has had to turn families down 
because the center is so full.“I’ve worked in child care for a long time, and it doesn’t seem like 
we’ve been acknowledged for what we do — and it does take a village,” 
Herrin said.Kelly said kids who receive early childhood education score higher on
 math and reading tests, are more likely to graduate, develop better 
social and emotional kills, and are better collaborators and problems. 
They earn more money as adults, are more likely to own a home, and are 
less likely to suffer from substance abuse, she said.“To sum it up, early childhood investment is the smartest investment a
 community can make in its future,” Kelly said. “It’s also the smartest 
investment a community can make in its present.”Kelly said available child care remains a challenge as the state 
attracts businesses and adds jobs. The state’s unemployment rate 
recently hit an all-time low at 2.3%.“That means that every person who wants to work will be able to find 
work,” Kelly said. “However, one of the biggest barriers to entering the
 workforce, or returning to the workforce post-pandemic, is the lack of 
access to quality childcare.”Earlier this year, the Kelly administration announced $160 million in
 federal grants to help child care providers with operating costs, 
payroll expenses and revenue losses.

Kansas to give child care workers $53M in appreciation pay

SALINE COUNTY —The Salina Police Department continue their search for a man who has not been seen in over week and is being considered a missing, endangered person.

Nathan Philip Thompson, 44, of Salina is described as 6-foot-2, weighs 184 pounds with brown hair and hazel eyes.

On June 13, the Salina Fire Department responded to a trailer home fire located at 1635 Elgin, Salina, Kansas. Once the fire was extinguished the fire department determined no one was at home but has since classified the fire as arson, according to a statement from police.

The Salina Police Department has received information from neighbors that Nathan Thompson, who had been residing in the trailer home, has not been seen for approximately one week. Mr. Thompson’s family members have not spoken to him in the last seven days and are unaware of his location. In addition, Mr. Thompson failed to appear for a scheduled court hearing in Salina Municipal Court on June 14, 2022.

The Salina Police Department has received information that foul play may be involved in Mr. Thompson’s disappearance.

If you have had contact with Nathan Thompson since June 1, 2022, have information concerning his disappearance, or have information relative to the fire at 1635 Elgin please contact the Salina Police

Department at 785-826-7210. You may also call Crimestoppers at 785-825-TIPS or make an online tip at: <a href="https://www.p3tips.com/tipform.aspx?ID=950#">https://www.p3tips.com/tipform.aspx?ID=950#</a>. Tipsters may also contact the Salina Police Department at (785) 826-7210 and ask to speak to Detective Lemon, case 2022-17281.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/6/1655577117894.jpeg" alt="Nathan Philip Thompson. Photo from May 3, 2022- Salina Police Department" />
 <figcaption>Nathan Philip Thompson. Photo from May 3, 2022- Salina Police Department</figcaption>
 </figure>SALINE COUNTY —The Salina Police Department continue their search for a man who has not been seen in over week and is being considered a missing, endangered person.Nathan Philip Thompson, 44, of Salina is described as 6-foot-2, weighs 184 pounds with brown hair and hazel eyes.On June 13, the Salina Fire Department responded to a trailer home fire located at 1635 Elgin, Salina, Kansas. Once the fire was extinguished the fire department determined no one was at home but has since classified the fire as arson, according to a statement from police.The Salina Police Department has received information from neighbors that Nathan Thompson, who had been residing in the trailer home, has not been seen for approximately one week. Mr. Thompson’s family members have not spoken to him in the last seven days and are unaware of his location. In addition, Mr. Thompson failed to appear for a scheduled court hearing in Salina Municipal Court on June 14, 2022.The Salina Police Department has received information that foul play may be involved in Mr. Thompson’s disappearance.If you have had contact with Nathan Thompson since June 1, 2022, have information concerning his disappearance, or have information relative to the fire at 1635 Elgin please contact the Salina PoliceDepartment at 785-826-7210. You may also call Crimestoppers at 785-825-TIPS or make an online tip at: <a href="https://www.p3tips.com/tipform.aspx?ID=950#">https://www.p3tips.com/tipform.aspx?ID=950#</a>. Tipsters may also contact the Salina Police Department at (785) 826-7210 and ask to speak to Detective Lemon, case 2022-17281.

Search continues: Foul play could be involved in Kan. man's disappearance

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has rejected Bayer's appeal to shut down thousands of lawsuits claiming that its Roundup weedkiller causes cancer.

The justices on Tuesday left in place a $25 million judgment in favor of Edwin Hardeman, a&nbsp;California&nbsp;man who says he developed cancer from using Roundup for decades to treat poison oak, overgrowth and weeds on his San Francisco Bay Area property. Hardeman's lawsuit had served as a test case for thousands of similar lawsuits.

The high court’s action comes amid a series of court fights over Roundup that have pointed in different directions.

On Friday, a panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected an Environmental Protection Agency finding from 2020 that glyphosate does not pose a serious health risk and is “not likely” to cause cancer in humans. The appellate court ordered the EPA to reexamine its finding.

At the same time, Bayer has won four consecutive trials in state court against people who claimed they got cancer from their use of Roundup. The latest verdict in favor of the company came last week in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/oregon">Oregon</a>.

Bayer had argued that federal regulators have repeatedly determined its products are safe, and that lawsuits based on claims under state laws should be dismissed.

Last year, Bayer set aside $4.5 billion to deal with the claims that glyphosate, the weed-killing ingredient in Roundup, causes non-Hodgins lymphoma, a type of cancer. The company had previously taken a charge of nearly $10 billion for earlier rounds of litigation.

Bayer also had warned that allowing these sorts of claims will damage innovation in agriculture, health and other industries.

Bayer inherited Roundup and the litigation when it acquired Monsanto in 2018.

The EPA says on its website that there is “no evidence glyphosate causes cancer humans.” But in 2015, the International Agency for Research on Cancer, part of the World Health Organization, classified glyphosate as ”probably carcinogenic to humans.” The agency said it relied on “limited” evidence of cancer in people and “sufficient” evidence of cancer in study animals.

The Justice Department, which had sided with Bayer in the lower courts during the Trump administration, recommended that the high court not get involved.

Bayer maintains the product is safe, but said that it would replace glyphosate in Roundup for residential use beginning in 2023. Products containing glyphosate will still be available for professional and farm use.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has rejected Bayer's appeal to shut down thousands of lawsuits claiming that its Roundup weedkiller causes cancer.The justices on Tuesday left in place a $25 million judgment in favor of Edwin Hardeman, a&nbsp;California&nbsp;man who says he developed cancer from using Roundup for decades to treat poison oak, overgrowth and weeds on his San Francisco Bay Area property. Hardeman's lawsuit had served as a test case for thousands of similar lawsuits.The high court’s action comes amid a series of court fights over Roundup that have pointed in different directions.On Friday, a panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected an Environmental Protection Agency finding from 2020 that glyphosate does not pose a serious health risk and is “not likely” to cause cancer in humans. The appellate court ordered the EPA to reexamine its finding.At the same time, Bayer has won four consecutive trials in state court against people who claimed they got cancer from their use of Roundup. The latest verdict in favor of the company came last week in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/oregon">Oregon</a>.Bayer had argued that federal regulators have repeatedly determined its products are safe, and that lawsuits based on claims under state laws should be dismissed.Last year, Bayer set aside $4.5 billion to deal with the claims that glyphosate, the weed-killing ingredient in Roundup, causes non-Hodgins lymphoma, a type of cancer. The company had previously taken a charge of nearly $10 billion for earlier rounds of litigation.Bayer also had warned that allowing these sorts of claims will damage innovation in agriculture, health and other industries.Bayer inherited Roundup and the litigation when it acquired Monsanto in 2018.The EPA says on its website that there is “no evidence glyphosate causes cancer humans.” But in 2015, the International Agency for Research on Cancer, part of the World Health Organization, classified glyphosate as ”probably carcinogenic to humans.” The agency said it relied on “limited” evidence of cancer in people and “sufficient” evidence of cancer in study animals.The Justice Department, which had sided with Bayer in the lower courts during the Trump administration, recommended that the high court not get involved.Bayer maintains the product is safe, but said that it would replace glyphosate in Roundup for residential use beginning in 2023. Products containing glyphosate will still be available for professional and farm use.

Supreme Court rejects Bayer bid to stop Roundup lawsuits

KANSAS CITY —Two Kansas City-area men who were doing car stunts on Interstate 70 after 2 a.m. on June 12, 2022, have been charged in connection with them confronting and firing shots at others trying to pass through in order to get a child to the hospital, according to Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker.&nbsp;

Noah D. Miller, 24, Kansas City, faces a charge of Assault 2nd Degree, while Nicholas B. Benkowich, 23, faces charges of Unlawful Use of a Weapon and Armed Criminal Action.

According to court records, Miller was driving a vehicle and participating in a “side show” in the middle of the interstate at 13th Street on June 12, 2022, about 2:30 a.m., when the victims hit his vehicle while attempting to pass through the "side show" in order to take their child to the hospital. 

Miller and his passenger, Benkowich, began pursing the victims' vehicle for several miles. Benkowich fired a gun at the victim's vehicle, striking it multiple times. After the shooting, the two defendants fled the scene. &nbsp;

Prosecutors requested a bond of $25,000 for Miller and $50,000 for Benkowich, according to Baker.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/6/1655585565881.png" alt="Benkowich-photo Jackson Co." />
 <figcaption>Benkowich-photo Jackson Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY —Two Kansas City-area men who were doing car stunts on Interstate 70 after 2 a.m. on June 12, 2022, have been charged in connection with them confronting and firing shots at others trying to pass through in order to get a child to the hospital, according to Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker.&nbsp;Noah D. Miller, 24, Kansas City, faces a charge of Assault 2nd Degree, while Nicholas B. Benkowich, 23, faces charges of Unlawful Use of a Weapon and Armed Criminal Action.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/6/1655585443617.png" alt="Miller -photo Jackson Co." />
 <figcaption>Miller -photo Jackson Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>According to court records, Miller was driving a vehicle and participating in a “side show” in the middle of the interstate at 13th Street on June 12, 2022, about 2:30 a.m., when the victims hit his vehicle while attempting to pass through the "side show" in order to take their child to the hospital. Miller and his passenger, Benkowich, began pursing the victims' vehicle for several miles. Benkowich fired a gun at the victim's vehicle, striking it multiple times. After the shooting, the two defendants fled the scene. &nbsp;Prosecutors requested a bond of $25,000 for Miller and $50,000 for Benkowich, according to Baker.

2 doing car stunts on I-70 charged for blocking emergency hospital trip

KANSAS CITY (AP) —The price of a foot of water pipe in Tucson, Arizona: up 19%. The cost of a ton of asphalt in a small Massachusetts town: up 37%. The estimate to build a new airport terminal in Des Moines, Iowa: 69% higher, with a several year delay.

Inflation is taking a toll on infrastructure projects across the U.S., driving up costs so much that state and local officials are postponing projects, scaling back others and reprioritizing their needs.

The price hikes already are diminishing the value of a $1 trillion&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-congress-infrastructure-bill-signing-b5b8cca843133de060778f049861b144">infrastructure plan President Joe Biden signed</a>&nbsp;into law just seven months ago. That law had included, among other things, a roughly 25% increase in regular highway program funding for states.

“Those dollars are essentially evaporating,” said Jim Tymon, executive director of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. "The cost of those projects is going up by 20%, by 30%, and just wiping out that increase from the federal government that they were so excited about earlier in the year.”

In Casper, Wyoming, the low bid to rebuild a major intersection and construct a new bridge over the North Platte River came in at $35 million this spring — 55% over a state engineer's estimate. The bid was rejected and the project delayed as state officials re-evaluate their options.

“If this inflation keeps the way it is, we will have to roll projects from one year into the next, into the next, into the next," said Mark Gillett, chief engineer of the Wyoming Department of Transportation.

Gillett had hoped the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act would finance a boom in highway and bridge construction.

“But it’s just not going to go as far as we had hoped,” he said.

In addition to roads, the federal infrastructure bill includes billions of dollars for water projects, railways, airports, broadband internet, electric grids and green-energy projects over the coming years.

Inflation has affected the entire U.S. economy, posing one of Biden's biggest challenges during a midterm election year. Fuel, food and housing costs all have shot up.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/key-inflation-report-highest-level-in-four-decades-c0248c5b5705cd1523d3dab3771983b4">Consumer prices surged 8.6% in May</a>&nbsp;over last year, the highest rate since 1981, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

Prices for some key materials in infrastructure construction have risen even more. Prices paid to U.S. manufacturers of&nbsp;<a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/PCU3241213241210131">asphalt paving and tar mixtures</a>&nbsp;were up 14% in May compared to last year, according to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Prices for&nbsp;<a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/WPU10760102">fabricated steel plate</a>, used in bridges, were up 23%, and&nbsp;<a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/PCU3315113315111">ductile iron pipes and fittings</a>&nbsp;— used by water systems — were nearly 25% higher.

The hikes are being driven by a variety of factors, including worldwide supply-chain backlogs, strong consumer and business spending in the U.S., Russia's invasion of Ukraine — and, some argue, federal energy and fiscal policies.

U.S. Rep. Sam Graves, the ranking minority member on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, contends the infrastructure law itself is contributing to inflation by pouring more federal money into an economy already flush with trillions of dollars in federal pandemic aid.

“They are borrowing more money so they can spend more money, (which) is driving inflation, which is cutting down on the projects that they’re actually wanting to do,” said Graves, a Missouri Republican who voted against the infrastructure bill.

White House senior adviser Mitch Landrieu said the infrastructure law “actually positions us for lowering costs for families in the short- and long-term." He pointed, among other things, to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/briefing-room/2022/04/20/how-build-america-buy-america-guidance-strengthens-made-in-america-requirements/">made-in America requirements</a>&nbsp;for steel, iron and other construction materials that could strengthen supply chains and thus lower costs.

Officials at Des Moines International Airport were counting on the federal infrastructure money to replace an aging terminal with a modern structure. Four years ago, a new 14-gate terminal was projected to cost about $434 million and be open by 2026. By this spring,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.flydsm.com/filesimages/AIRPORT%20BUSINESS/Terminal%20Program%20Definition%20Manual%20Supplement%20Update%20-%20April%2015%202022.pdf">the cost had soared to $733 million.</a>

That’s more than the airport can afford, even with the federal aid. So officials are planning to break the project into phases, building just five new gates by 2026 at a cost of $411 million.

“If inflation continues, it may be a decade before the project gets completely done,” airport Executive Director Kevin Foley said.

Other projects also have been rocked by inflationary price hikes.

Since voters approved a property tax increase in 2020, the estimated cost of building two light rail lines and a tunnel through Austin, Texas, has&nbsp;<a href="https://publicinput.com/Customer/File/Full/6bba66e5-288f-4bfe-a4eb-a05d4176d792">gone from $5.8 billion to $10.3 billion</a>. Doubling the tunnel length was a big factor. But inflation and surging real estate prices also fueled the increase, forcing officials to consider cutting costs or lengthening the time frame for completing the project.

“It’s been a challenge,” said David Couch, chief program officer at the Austin Transit Partnership.

Low bids for a series of bridge repairs along Interstate 55 in St. Louis came in at $63 million this year, 57% over the budgeted amount. Overall, Missouri’s highway construction costs for the fiscal year ending in June were $139 million over budget — an 11% increase that marked a “pretty significant swing” from several under-budget years, said state Department of Transportation Director Patrick McKenna.

Though Missouri forged ahead with this year's projects, inflation “will take a bite out of the future,” McKenna said.

Inflation has carried more immediate consequence in some places.

When bids for a road project in Lansing, Michigan, came in 60% above estimates, the city rebid the project and cut its scope in half, said Andrew Kilpatrick, public service director and acting city engineer.

In Huntington, Massachusetts, a 1.5-mile stretch of road won't be finished this year after a 37% spike in the price of liquid asphalt increased the cost for paving a mile to about $140,000. The town gets $159,000 annually in state funding for its roads, highway superintendent Charles Dazelle said.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/6/1655740724204.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY (AP) —The price of a foot of water pipe in Tucson, Arizona: up 19%. The cost of a ton of asphalt in a small Massachusetts town: up 37%. The estimate to build a new airport terminal in Des Moines, Iowa: 69% higher, with a several year delay.Inflation is taking a toll on infrastructure projects across the U.S., driving up costs so much that state and local officials are postponing projects, scaling back others and reprioritizing their needs.The price hikes already are diminishing the value of a $1 trillion&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-congress-infrastructure-bill-signing-b5b8cca843133de060778f049861b144">infrastructure plan President Joe Biden signed</a>&nbsp;into law just seven months ago. That law had included, among other things, a roughly 25% increase in regular highway program funding for states.“Those dollars are essentially evaporating,” said Jim Tymon, executive director of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. "The cost of those projects is going up by 20%, by 30%, and just wiping out that increase from the federal government that they were so excited about earlier in the year.”In Casper, Wyoming, the low bid to rebuild a major intersection and construct a new bridge over the North Platte River came in at $35 million this spring — 55% over a state engineer's estimate. The bid was rejected and the project delayed as state officials re-evaluate their options.“If this inflation keeps the way it is, we will have to roll projects from one year into the next, into the next, into the next," said Mark Gillett, chief engineer of the Wyoming Department of Transportation.Gillett had hoped the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act would finance a boom in highway and bridge construction.“But it’s just not going to go as far as we had hoped,” he said.In addition to roads, the federal infrastructure bill includes billions of dollars for water projects, railways, airports, broadband internet, electric grids and green-energy projects over the coming years.Inflation has affected the entire U.S. economy, posing one of Biden's biggest challenges during a midterm election year. Fuel, food and housing costs all have shot up.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/key-inflation-report-highest-level-in-four-decades-c0248c5b5705cd1523d3dab3771983b4">Consumer prices surged 8.6% in May</a>&nbsp;over last year, the highest rate since 1981, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.Prices for some key materials in infrastructure construction have risen even more. Prices paid to U.S. manufacturers of&nbsp;<a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/PCU3241213241210131">asphalt paving and tar mixtures</a>&nbsp;were up 14% in May compared to last year, according to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Prices for&nbsp;<a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/WPU10760102">fabricated steel plate</a>, used in bridges, were up 23%, and&nbsp;<a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/PCU3315113315111">ductile iron pipes and fittings</a>&nbsp;— used by water systems — were nearly 25% higher.The hikes are being driven by a variety of factors, including worldwide supply-chain backlogs, strong consumer and business spending in the U.S., Russia's invasion of Ukraine — and, some argue, federal energy and fiscal policies.U.S. Rep. Sam Graves, the ranking minority member on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, contends the infrastructure law itself is contributing to inflation by pouring more federal money into an economy already flush with trillions of dollars in federal pandemic aid.“They are borrowing more money so they can spend more money, (which) is driving inflation, which is cutting down on the projects that they’re actually wanting to do,” said Graves, a Missouri Republican who voted against the infrastructure bill.White House senior adviser Mitch Landrieu said the infrastructure law “actually positions us for lowering costs for families in the short- and long-term." He pointed, among other things, to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/briefing-room/2022/04/20/how-build-america-buy-america-guidance-strengthens-made-in-america-requirements/">made-in America requirements</a>&nbsp;for steel, iron and other construction materials that could strengthen supply chains and thus lower costs.Officials at Des Moines International Airport were counting on the federal infrastructure money to replace an aging terminal with a modern structure. Four years ago, a new 14-gate terminal was projected to cost about $434 million and be open by 2026. By this spring,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.flydsm.com/filesimages/AIRPORT%20BUSINESS/Terminal%20Program%20Definition%20Manual%20Supplement%20Update%20-%20April%2015%202022.pdf">the cost had soared to $733 million.</a>That’s more than the airport can afford, even with the federal aid. So officials are planning to break the project into phases, building just five new gates by 2026 at a cost of $411 million.“If inflation continues, it may be a decade before the project gets completely done,” airport Executive Director Kevin Foley said.Other projects also have been rocked by inflationary price hikes.Since voters approved a property tax increase in 2020, the estimated cost of building two light rail lines and a tunnel through Austin, Texas, has&nbsp;<a href="https://publicinput.com/Customer/File/Full/6bba66e5-288f-4bfe-a4eb-a05d4176d792">gone from $5.8 billion to $10.3 billion</a>. Doubling the tunnel length was a big factor. But inflation and surging real estate prices also fueled the increase, forcing officials to consider cutting costs or lengthening the time frame for completing the project.“It’s been a challenge,” said David Couch, chief program officer at the Austin Transit Partnership.Low bids for a series of bridge repairs along Interstate 55 in St. Louis came in at $63 million this year, 57% over the budgeted amount. Overall, Missouri’s highway construction costs for the fiscal year ending in June were $139 million over budget — an 11% increase that marked a “pretty significant swing” from several under-budget years, said state Department of Transportation Director Patrick McKenna.Though Missouri forged ahead with this year's projects, inflation “will take a bite out of the future,” McKenna said.Inflation has carried more immediate consequence in some places.When bids for a road project in Lansing, Michigan, came in 60% above estimates, the city rebid the project and cut its scope in half, said Andrew Kilpatrick, public service director and acting city engineer.In Huntington, Massachusetts, a 1.5-mile stretch of road won't be finished this year after a 37% spike in the price of liquid asphalt increased the cost for paving a mile to about $140,000. The town gets $159,000 annually in state funding for its roads, highway superintendent Charles Dazelle said.“Right now, one mile of road, that’s one year. That is doing nothing else,” Dazelle said.Public water systems across the country also are straining under inflation.When Tucson, Arizona, launched the first part of a four-phase water main replacement project in September 2020, ductile iron pipe cost $75-a-foot and a gate valve cost $3,000. When it bid the most recent phase this spring, pipe costs had risen to nearly $90-a-foot and gate valves to nearly $4,100. The city is now prioritizing what other projects it can afford, and which ones have to wait.“To sum it up, we’re doing less work for the same amount of money,” said Tucson's chief water engineer, Scott Schladweiler.The city of Tacoma, Washington, also is altering some of its planned water main replacements because of rising costs.“Some of them are getting delayed, some of them are being reduced in scope, and it’s forcing us to re-evaluate some of the budgets that we’ve set forth,” said Ali Polda, principal engineer in the city's water department.Residents in a neighborhood west of Little Rock, Arkansas, will pay a $146 monthly surcharge to Central Arkansas Water to install new water lines. The charge is 17% more than originally planned because of spikes in construction costs.Other public utilities also will have to choose between scaling back work and passing along costs to customers, said Michael Arceneaux, acting CEO of the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies.“In the end, it’s going to be the rate payers that suffer,” he said, "because the projects have to get done, and funding will have to come from the rate payers.”___