WASHINGTON (AP) — The State Department says it’s paying more than $2 million per month to provide 24-hour security to former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and a former top aide, both of whom face “serious and credible” threats from Iran.

The department told Congress in a report that the cost of protecting Pompeo and former Iran envoy Brian Hook between August 2021 and February 2022 amounted to $13.1 million. The report, dated Feb. 14 and marked “sensitive but unclassified,” was obtained by The Associated Press on Saturday.

Pompeo and Hook led the Trump administration’s “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran and the report says U.S. intelligence assesses that the threats to them have remained constant since they left government and could intensify. The threats have persisted even as President Joe Biden’s administration has been&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-putin-business-iran-bahamas-c0577bf7718055d730a3b72802c132c2">engaged in indirect negotiations with Iran</a>&nbsp;over a U.S. return to a landmark 2015 nuclear deal.

As a former secretary of state, Pompeo was automatically given 180 days of protection by the State Department’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security after leaving office. But that protection has been repeatedly extended in 60-day increments by Secretary of State Antony Blinken due to “a serious and credible threat from a foreign power or agent of a foreign power arising from duties performed by former Secretary Pompeo while employed by the department,” the report said.

Hook, who along with Pompeo was often the public face of the Trump administration’s imposition of crippling sanctions against Iran, was granted the special protection by Blinken for the same reason as Pompeo immediately after he left government service. That has also been repeatedly renewed in 60-day increments.

The latest 60-day extensions will expire soon and the State Department, in conjunction with the Director of National Intelligence, must determine by March 16 if the protection should extended again, according to the report.

The report was prepared because the special protection budget will run out in June and require a new infusion of money if extensions are deemed necessary.

Current U.S. officials say the threats have been discusses in the nuclear talks in Vienna, where Iran is demanding the removal of all Trump-era sanctions. Those sanctions include a “foreign terrorist organization” designation of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps that Pompeo and Hook were instrumental in approving.

The Vienna talks had been expected to produce an agreement soon to salvage the nuclear agreement that President Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. from in 2018.

But the talks have been thrown into doubt because of new demands made by Russia and a small number of unresolved U.S.-Iran issues, including the terrorism designation, according to U.S. officials.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/3/1647123002389.png" alt="Mike. Pompeo was a member of the&nbsp;United States House of Representatives&nbsp;from 2011 to 2017, representing&nbsp;Kansas's 4th congressional district.&nbsp;" />
 <figcaption>Mike. Pompeo was a member of the&nbsp;United States House of Representatives&nbsp;from 2011 to 2017, representing&nbsp;Kansas's 4th congressional district.&nbsp;</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — The State Department says it’s paying more than $2 million per month to provide 24-hour security to former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and a former top aide, both of whom face “serious and credible” threats from Iran.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Great to be in Taiwan with the freedom-loving Taiwanese people. The U.S. and Taiwan have a great relationship, and it’s critical that we keep it. <a href="https://t.co/lyoDAUXSUp">pic.twitter.com/lyoDAUXSUp</a>&mdash; Mike Pompeo (@mikepompeo) <a href="https://twitter.com/mikepompeo/status/1499465659851452432?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 3, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>The department told Congress in a report that the cost of protecting Pompeo and former Iran envoy Brian Hook between August 2021 and February 2022 amounted to $13.1 million. The report, dated Feb. 14 and marked “sensitive but unclassified,” was obtained by The Associated Press on Saturday.Pompeo and Hook led the Trump administration’s “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran and the report says U.S. intelligence assesses that the threats to them have remained constant since they left government and could intensify. The threats have persisted even as President Joe Biden’s administration has been&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-putin-business-iran-bahamas-c0577bf7718055d730a3b72802c132c2">engaged in indirect negotiations with Iran</a>&nbsp;over a U.S. return to a landmark 2015 nuclear deal.As a former secretary of state, Pompeo was automatically given 180 days of protection by the State Department’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security after leaving office. But that protection has been repeatedly extended in 60-day increments by Secretary of State Antony Blinken due to “a serious and credible threat from a foreign power or agent of a foreign power arising from duties performed by former Secretary Pompeo while employed by the department,” the report said.Hook, who along with Pompeo was often the public face of the Trump administration’s imposition of crippling sanctions against Iran, was granted the special protection by Blinken for the same reason as Pompeo immediately after he left government service. That has also been repeatedly renewed in 60-day increments.The latest 60-day extensions will expire soon and the State Department, in conjunction with the Director of National Intelligence, must determine by March 16 if the protection should extended again, according to the report.The report was prepared because the special protection budget will run out in June and require a new infusion of money if extensions are deemed necessary.Current U.S. officials say the threats have been discusses in the nuclear talks in Vienna, where Iran is demanding the removal of all Trump-era sanctions. Those sanctions include a “foreign terrorist organization” designation of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps that Pompeo and Hook were instrumental in approving.The Vienna talks had been expected to produce an agreement soon to salvage the nuclear agreement that President Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. from in 2018.But the talks have been thrown into doubt because of new demands made by Russia and a small number of unresolved U.S.-Iran issues, including the terrorism designation, according to U.S. officials.

US pays $2M a month to protect former Kan. congressman from Iran threat

SEDGWICK COUNTY— Law enforcement authorities are investigating a fatal weekend accident have identified the victim as 9-year-old&nbsp;Armani Saucedo of Wichita, according to Officer Trevor Macy.

Just after 10p.m. Saturday, police responded to report of a three-car&nbsp; injury accident on eastbound Kellogg at Seneca, according to a statement from Wichita Police.&nbsp;

Investigators learned a 2007&nbsp; Ford Focus driven by a 27-year-old man was eastbound on Kellogg and side swiped a 2017 Ford F-150, causing the truck to collide with a 2004 Dodge Ram. 

The driver of the Ford Focus lost control of the car. It struck a bridge abutment and 9-year-old&nbsp;Saucedo was ejected. The boy was pronounced dead at the the scene, according to Macy. EMS transported a 27-year-old man to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Police reported no other injuries.&nbsp;Police continue investigating the cause of the accident.

SEDGWICK COUNTY— Law enforcement authorities are investigating a fatal weekend accident.

The driver of the Ford Focus lost control of the car. It struck a bridge abutment and a 9-year-old boy was ejected. The boy was pronounced dead at the the scene. EMS transported a 27-year-old man to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Police reported no other injuries.&nbsp;Police are investigating whether alcohol was a factor. Names of the victims have not been released.

SEDGWICK COUNTY— Law enforcement authorities are investigating a fatal weekend accident have identified the victim as 9-year-old&nbsp;Armani Saucedo of Wichita, according to Officer Trevor Macy.Just after 10p.m. Saturday, police responded to report of a three-car&nbsp; injury accident on eastbound Kellogg at Seneca, according to a statement from Wichita Police.&nbsp;Investigators learned a 2007&nbsp; Ford Focus driven by a 27-year-old man was eastbound on Kellogg and side swiped a 2017 Ford F-150, causing the truck to collide with a 2004 Dodge Ram. The driver of the Ford Focus lost control of the car. It struck a bridge abutment and 9-year-old&nbsp;Saucedo was ejected. The boy was pronounced dead at the the scene, according to Macy. EMS transported a 27-year-old man to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Police reported no other injuries.&nbsp;Police continue investigating the cause of the accident.-----------SEDGWICK COUNTY— Law enforcement authorities are investigating a fatal weekend accident.Just after 10p.m. Saturday, police responded to report of a three-car&nbsp; injury accident on eastbound Kellogg at Seneca, according to a statement from Wichita Police.&nbsp;Investigators learned a 2007&nbsp; Ford Focus driven by a 27-year-old man was eastbound on Kellogg and side swiped a 2017 Ford F-150, causing the truck to collide with a 2004 Dodge Ram. The driver of the Ford Focus lost control of the car. It struck a bridge abutment and a 9-year-old boy was ejected. The boy was pronounced dead at the the scene. EMS transported a 27-year-old man to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Police reported no other injuries.&nbsp;Police are investigating whether alcohol was a factor. Names of the victims have not been released.

Police ID 9-year-old Kan. boy who died in 3-vehicle crash

By NOAH TABORDA <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2022/03/14/streaming-services-seek-exemption-from-kansas-franchise-fee-as-local-governments-protest/">Kansas Reflector</a>

TOPEKA — Kansas senators debated 
Monday extending an exemption from a local government-collected 
franchise fee to streaming giants such as Netflix and Hulu.

Under Kansas law, cable companies are required to pay up to 5% of 
their revenue to municipal governments because they rely on the public 
right of way to deliver services to customers. Companies are also 
required to register with the Kansas Corporation Commission and pay a 
fee to the state.

<a target="_blank" href="http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2021_22/measures/sb547/">Senate Bill 547</a>
 would ensure streaming services would not be subject to these 
requirements. The issue has come to a head in Fort Scott, where the city
 filed a lawsuit against Netflix and Hulu over these fees.

Erik Sartorius, executive director of the Kansas League of 
Municipalities, said proponents were seeking to legislate rather than 
defend themselves in court. Quoting the song “Undone (The Sweater Song)”
 by the band Weezer, he said the legislation was akin to bringing a 
Gatling gun to a skeet shoot — it would blow apart long-standing 
governance.

“The refrain is, ‘If you want to destroy my sweater, hold this thread
 as I walk away. Watch me unravel. I’ll soon be naked lying on the 
floor. I’ve come undone,’” Sartorius said. “That is what this bill is. 
It’s not snipping a little loose thread. It is beginning the unwinding 
of right of way statutes, franchise agreements and the whole 
comprehensive system used to oversee the provision of services.”

Local governments across the country find themselves in a similar 
spot to Fort Scott, as they receive cuts of profit from cable companies 
but not streaming firms. As streaming services grow in popularity and 
people cut cable from their budget, municipalities have reported a 
notable decline in revenue from cable companies.

Streaming services argue efforts to place them under these franchise fees are desperate attempts to recoup these lost funds.

Some stakeholders have expressed concerns a franchise fee would 
trickle down and cost Kansas consumers more money if subscription costs 
are raised to offset the tax.

The debate over this exemption left Sen. Rob Olson, chairman of the 
Senate Federal and State Affairs Committee, questioning whether 
extending this tax to streaming platforms would be appropriate in the 
first place.

“You’re not able to charge that tax at Blockbuster or whatever. The 
cities can’t tax everything,” the Olathe Republican said. “Where does 
this stop? Is it going to go to everything on the internet?”

The question raises the broader issue of state and federal laws not 
matching how residents consume media. Debate in Kansas has largely 
focused on whether to treat these streaming or digital services as a 
physical disc for tax purposes.

The tax proposal has stalled in recent years amid concerns it would 
disproportionately burden middle-class families using these platforms.

John Federico, a Topeka lobbyist who serves as president of the 
Kansas Cable Telecommunications Association, urged the panel to reject 
the legislation for now and instead take a measured approach to review 
the issue at large. If the bill were to pass, he said, it would be 
nearly impossible to make meaningful changes.

“Give some thoughtful consideration to looking at the laws on the 
books, what we are receiving for services, who’s providing these 
services and see if there’s a way to make this work and an opportunity 
to modernize our telecommunications taxes or fees,” Federico said.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/3/1647289217916.png" alt="Erik Sartorious quoted the Weezer song Undone (The Sweater Song) to convey to Kansas senators an exemption for streaming services from franchise fees was too drastic a step to take. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption>Erik Sartorious quoted the Weezer song Undone (The Sweater Song) to convey to Kansas senators an exemption for streaming services from franchise fees was too drastic a step to take. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure>By NOAH TABORDA <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2022/03/14/streaming-services-seek-exemption-from-kansas-franchise-fee-as-local-governments-protest/">Kansas Reflector</a>TOPEKA — Kansas senators debated 
Monday extending an exemption from a local government-collected 
franchise fee to streaming giants such as Netflix and Hulu.Under Kansas law, cable companies are required to pay up to 5% of 
their revenue to municipal governments because they rely on the public 
right of way to deliver services to customers. Companies are also 
required to register with the Kansas Corporation Commission and pay a 
fee to the state.<a target="_blank" href="http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2021_22/measures/sb547/">Senate Bill 547</a>
 would ensure streaming services would not be subject to these 
requirements. The issue has come to a head in Fort Scott, where the city
 filed a lawsuit against Netflix and Hulu over these fees.Erik Sartorius, executive director of the Kansas League of 
Municipalities, said proponents were seeking to legislate rather than 
defend themselves in court. Quoting the song “Undone (The Sweater Song)”
 by the band Weezer, he said the legislation was akin to bringing a 
Gatling gun to a skeet shoot — it would blow apart long-standing 
governance.“The refrain is, ‘If you want to destroy my sweater, hold this thread
 as I walk away. Watch me unravel. I’ll soon be naked lying on the 
floor. I’ve come undone,’” Sartorius said. “That is what this bill is. 
It’s not snipping a little loose thread. It is beginning the unwinding 
of right of way statutes, franchise agreements and the whole 
comprehensive system used to oversee the provision of services.”Local governments across the country find themselves in a similar 
spot to Fort Scott, as they receive cuts of profit from cable companies 
but not streaming firms. As streaming services grow in popularity and 
people cut cable from their budget, municipalities have reported a 
notable decline in revenue from cable companies.Streaming services argue efforts to place them under these franchise fees are desperate attempts to recoup these lost funds.Some stakeholders have expressed concerns a franchise fee would 
trickle down and cost Kansas consumers more money if subscription costs 
are raised to offset the tax.The debate over this exemption left Sen. Rob Olson, chairman of the 
Senate Federal and State Affairs Committee, questioning whether 
extending this tax to streaming platforms would be appropriate in the 
first place.“You’re not able to charge that tax at Blockbuster or whatever. The 
cities can’t tax everything,” the Olathe Republican said. “Where does 
this stop? Is it going to go to everything on the internet?”The question raises the broader issue of state and federal laws not 
matching how residents consume media. Debate in Kansas has largely 
focused on whether to treat these streaming or digital services as a 
physical disc for tax purposes.The tax proposal has stalled in recent years amid concerns it would 
disproportionately burden middle-class families using these platforms.John Federico, a Topeka lobbyist who serves as president of the 
Kansas Cable Telecommunications Association, urged the panel to reject 
the legislation for now and instead take a measured approach to review 
the issue at large. If the bill were to pass, he said, it would be 
nearly impossible to make meaningful changes.“Give some thoughtful consideration to looking at the laws on the 
books, what we are receiving for services, who’s providing these 
services and see if there’s a way to make this work and an opportunity 
to modernize our telecommunications taxes or fees,” Federico said.

Local Kan. governments protest exempting streaming services from fees

ALLEN COUNTY—Two people died in an accident just after 6:30a.m. Monday in Allen County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2001 Chevrolet Silverado driven by&nbsp;Gordon Edward Lane, 62, Ottawa, was southbound on&nbsp;U.S. 169 one mile east of Humboldt.

The pickup traveled left of center and struck a northbound 2019 Ford F150 driven by Jaime Lynn Ellis, 45, Iola, head-on.

Lane and Ellis were pronounced dead at the scene and were transported to Frontier Forensics.

EMS transported passengers in the Ford David Daniel Glaze, 42, Carbondale to Overland Park Regional Medical and a 6-year-old girl from Iola to Children's Mercy. All four were properly restrained according to the KHP.

ALLEN COUNTY—Two people died in an accident just after 6:30a.m. Monday in Allen County.The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2001 Chevrolet Silverado driven by&nbsp;Gordon Edward Lane, 62, Ottawa, was southbound on&nbsp;U.S. 169 one mile east of Humboldt.The pickup traveled left of center and struck a northbound 2019 Ford F150 driven by Jaime Lynn Ellis, 45, Iola, head-on.Lane and Ellis were pronounced dead at the scene and were transported to Frontier Forensics.EMS transported passengers in the Ford David Daniel Glaze, 42, Carbondale to Overland Park Regional Medical and a 6-year-old girl from Iola to Children's Mercy. All four were properly restrained according to the KHP.

2 dead, 6-year-old Kan. girl injured after head-on crash

WASHINGTON (AP) — Russia’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-boris-johnson-business-europe-united-nations-bf2bcfb3a499d688e3075f2d4cf54989">invasion of Ukraine</a>&nbsp;has given the smaller nation’s embassy in Washington an unexpected role: recruitment center for Americans who want to join the fight.

Diplomats working out of the embassy, in a townhouse in the Georgetown section of the city, are fielding thousands of offers from volunteers seeking to fight for Ukraine, even as they work on the far more pressing matter of securing weapons to defend against an&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-kyiv-europe-evacuations-kharkiv-01693b3373cf8bcf2400ae29af992bbe">increasingly brutal Russian onslaught</a>.

“They really feel that this war is unfair, unprovoked,” said Ukraine’s military attaché, Maj. Gen. Borys Kremenetskyi. “They feel that they have to go and help.”

U.S. volunteers represent just a small subset of foreigners seeking to fight for Ukraine, who in turn comprise just a tiny fraction of the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-business-europe-philanthropy-7a08176a4b6c6822fcbfc0afc548969a">international assistance</a>&nbsp;that has flowed into the country. Still, it is a reflection of the passion, supercharged in an era of social media, that the attack and the mounting&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-europe-lifestyle-kyiv-ed0e4c3b29d4b287afaa4e43aead4f0e">civilian casualties</a>&nbsp;have stirred.

“This is not mercenaries who are coming to earn money,” Kremenetskyi said. “This is people of goodwill who are coming to assist Ukraine to fight for freedom.”

The U.S. government discourages Americans from going to fight in Ukraine, which raises legal and national security issues.

Since&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-europe-russia-moscow-kyiv-626a8c5ec22217bacb24ece60fac4fe1">the Feb. 24 invasion</a>, the embassy in Washington has heard from at least 6,000 people inquiring about volunteering for service, the “vast majority” of them American citizens, said Kremenetskyi, who oversees the screening of potential U.S. recruits.

Half the potential volunteers were quickly rejected and didn’t even make it to the Zoom interview, the general said. They lacked the required military experience, had a criminal background or weren’t suitable for other reasons such as age, including a 16-year-old boy and a 73-year-old man.

Some who expressed interest were rejected because the embassy said it couldn’t do adequate vetting. The general didn’t disclose the methods used to screen people.

Kremenetskyi, who spoke to The Associated Press just after returning from the Pentagon for discussions on the military hardware his country needs for its defense, said he appreciates the support from both the U.S. government and the public.

“Russians can be stopped only with hard fists and weapons,” he said.

So far, about 100 U.S. citizens have made the cut. They include veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan with combat experience, including some helicopter pilots, the attaché said.

They must make their own way to Poland, where they are to cross at a specified point, with their own protective gear but without a weapon, which they will get after they arrive. They will be required to sign a contract to serve, without pay, in the International Legion for the Territorial Defense of Ukraine.

The Ukrainian government says about 20,000 foreigners from various nations have already joined.

Borys Wrzesnewskyj, a former Liberal lawmaker in Canada who is helping to facilitate recruitment there, said about 1,000 Canadians have applied to fight for Ukraine, the vast majority of whom don’t have any ties to the country.

“The volunteers, a very large proportion are ex-military, these are people that made that tough decision that they would enter the military to stand up for the values that we subscribe to,” Wrzesnewskyj said. “And when they see what is happening in Ukraine they can’t stand aside.”

It’s not clear how many U.S. citizens seeking to fight have actually reached Ukraine, a journey the State Department has urged people not to make.

“We’ve been very clear for some time, of course, in calling on Americans who may have been resident in Ukraine to leave, and making clear to Americans who may be thinking of traveling there not to go,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters recently.

U.S. citizens aren’t required to register overseas. The State Department says it’s not certain how many have entered Ukraine since the Russian invasion.

Under some circumstances, Americans could face criminal penalties, or even risk losing their citizenship, by taking part in an overseas conflict, according to a senior federal law enforcement official.

But the legal issues are only one of many concerns for U.S. authorities, who worry about what could happen if an American is killed or captured or is recruited while over there to work for a foreign intelligence service upon their return home, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive security matters.

The official and independent security experts say some of the potential foreign fighters may be white supremacists, who are believed to be fighting on both sides of the conflict. They could become more radicalized and gain military training in Ukraine, thereby posing an increased danger when they return home.

“These are men who want adventure, a sense of significance and are harking back to World War II rhetoric,” said Anne Speckhard, who has extensively studied foreigners who fought in Syria and elsewhere as director of the International Center for the Study of Violent Extremism.

Ukraine may be getting around some of the potential legal issues by only facilitating the overseas recruitment, and directing volunteers to sign their contracts, and receive a weapon, once they arrive in the country. Also, by assigning them to the territorial defense forces, and not front-line units, it reduces the chance of direct combat with Russians, though it’s by no means eliminated.

The general acknowledges the possibility that any foreigners who are captured could be used for propaganda purposes. But he didn’t dwell on the issue, focusing instead on the need for his country to defend itself against Russia.

“We are fighting for our existence,” he said. “We are fighting for our families, for our land. And we are not going to give up.”

WASHINGTON (AP) — Russia’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-boris-johnson-business-europe-united-nations-bf2bcfb3a499d688e3075f2d4cf54989">invasion of Ukraine</a>&nbsp;has given the smaller nation’s embassy in Washington an unexpected role: recruitment center for Americans who want to join the fight.Diplomats working out of the embassy, in a townhouse in the Georgetown section of the city, are fielding thousands of offers from volunteers seeking to fight for Ukraine, even as they work on the far more pressing matter of securing weapons to defend against an&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-kyiv-europe-evacuations-kharkiv-01693b3373cf8bcf2400ae29af992bbe">increasingly brutal Russian onslaught</a>.“They really feel that this war is unfair, unprovoked,” said Ukraine’s military attaché, Maj. Gen. Borys Kremenetskyi. “They feel that they have to go and help.”U.S. volunteers represent just a small subset of foreigners seeking to fight for Ukraine, who in turn comprise just a tiny fraction of the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-business-europe-philanthropy-7a08176a4b6c6822fcbfc0afc548969a">international assistance</a>&nbsp;that has flowed into the country. Still, it is a reflection of the passion, supercharged in an era of social media, that the attack and the mounting&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-europe-lifestyle-kyiv-ed0e4c3b29d4b287afaa4e43aead4f0e">civilian casualties</a>&nbsp;have stirred.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">❗❗❗ ASSISTANCE FOR LOGISTICAL AND MEDICAL SUPPORT OF THE ARMED FORCES OF UKRAINE ⤵️<a href="https://t.co/BRjxM36pt5">https://t.co/BRjxM36pt5</a>&mdash; UKR Embassy in USA (@UKRintheUSA) <a href="https://twitter.com/UKRintheUSA/status/1498324103597596682?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 28, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>“This is not mercenaries who are coming to earn money,” Kremenetskyi said. “This is people of goodwill who are coming to assist Ukraine to fight for freedom.”The U.S. government discourages Americans from going to fight in Ukraine, which raises legal and national security issues.Since&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-europe-russia-moscow-kyiv-626a8c5ec22217bacb24ece60fac4fe1">the Feb. 24 invasion</a>, the embassy in Washington has heard from at least 6,000 people inquiring about volunteering for service, the “vast majority” of them American citizens, said Kremenetskyi, who oversees the screening of potential U.S. recruits.Half the potential volunteers were quickly rejected and didn’t even make it to the Zoom interview, the general said. They lacked the required military experience, had a criminal background or weren’t suitable for other reasons such as age, including a 16-year-old boy and a 73-year-old man.Some who expressed interest were rejected because the embassy said it couldn’t do adequate vetting. The general didn’t disclose the methods used to screen people.Kremenetskyi, who spoke to The Associated Press just after returning from the Pentagon for discussions on the military hardware his country needs for its defense, said he appreciates the support from both the U.S. government and the public.“Russians can be stopped only with hard fists and weapons,” he said.So far, about 100 U.S. citizens have made the cut. They include veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan with combat experience, including some helicopter pilots, the attaché said.They must make their own way to Poland, where they are to cross at a specified point, with their own protective gear but without a weapon, which they will get after they arrive. They will be required to sign a contract to serve, without pay, in the International Legion for the Territorial Defense of Ukraine.The Ukrainian government says about 20,000 foreigners from various nations have already joined.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Tristan, from Belgium: “I came to join the International Legion of Defense of <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Ukraine?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Ukraine</a> for freedom in Europe. I had to come &amp; do what I can do best, do what I can do to protect Ukrainian people” Freedom is a choice. Join the brave!<a href="https://t.co/QyUOgKPFQx">https://t.co/QyUOgKPFQx</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/StopRussianAggression?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#StopRussianAggression</a> <a href="https://t.co/4nU8SD8KLX">pic.twitter.com/4nU8SD8KLX</a>&mdash; MFA of Ukraine 🇺🇦 (@MFA_Ukraine) <a href="https://twitter.com/MFA_Ukraine/status/1503400183685648392?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 14, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Borys Wrzesnewskyj, a former Liberal lawmaker in Canada who is helping to facilitate recruitment there, said about 1,000 Canadians have applied to fight for Ukraine, the vast majority of whom don’t have any ties to the country.“The volunteers, a very large proportion are ex-military, these are people that made that tough decision that they would enter the military to stand up for the values that we subscribe to,” Wrzesnewskyj said. “And when they see what is happening in Ukraine they can’t stand aside.”It’s not clear how many U.S. citizens seeking to fight have actually reached Ukraine, a journey the State Department has urged people not to make.“We’ve been very clear for some time, of course, in calling on Americans who may have been resident in Ukraine to leave, and making clear to Americans who may be thinking of traveling there not to go,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters recently.U.S. citizens aren’t required to register overseas. The State Department says it’s not certain how many have entered Ukraine since the Russian invasion.Under some circumstances, Americans could face criminal penalties, or even risk losing their citizenship, by taking part in an overseas conflict, according to a senior federal law enforcement official.But the legal issues are only one of many concerns for U.S. authorities, who worry about what could happen if an American is killed or captured or is recruited while over there to work for a foreign intelligence service upon their return home, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive security matters.The official and independent security experts say some of the potential foreign fighters may be white supremacists, who are believed to be fighting on both sides of the conflict. They could become more radicalized and gain military training in Ukraine, thereby posing an increased danger when they return home.“These are men who want adventure, a sense of significance and are harking back to World War II rhetoric,” said Anne Speckhard, who has extensively studied foreigners who fought in Syria and elsewhere as director of the International Center for the Study of Violent Extremism.Ukraine may be getting around some of the potential legal issues by only facilitating the overseas recruitment, and directing volunteers to sign their contracts, and receive a weapon, once they arrive in the country. Also, by assigning them to the territorial defense forces, and not front-line units, it reduces the chance of direct combat with Russians, though it’s by no means eliminated.The general acknowledges the possibility that any foreigners who are captured could be used for propaganda purposes. But he didn’t dwell on the issue, focusing instead on the need for his country to defend itself against Russia.“We are fighting for our existence,” he said. “We are fighting for our families, for our land. And we are not going to give up.”

U.S. discourages Americans from going to fight in Ukraine

By FRANK MORRIS <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2022-03-13/kansas-oil-companies-scramble-to-increase-production-but-there-is-no-spigot">Kansas News Service</a>

To understand why oil prices are high today, you have to go back two years, to the early days of the pandemic. 

Oil prices hit the floor in April 2020. In fact, they fell right through the floor. For a while, oil producers had to pay companies to take oil off their hands. One day, the price in Kansas even hit a negative $47 a barrel.

Some small oil companies went under. In Kansas alone, companies took almost 5,000 wells off-line and production plummeted. 

But between then and now, the price of oil has increased about $160 a barrel.

“It’s
 probably the most dramatic price swing in the history of the oil 
business,” said Mickey Thompson, past president of the Oklahoma 
Independent Petroleum Association. “And that’s not good for anybody.”

With
 the ban on Russian oil imports, domestic crude is now selling for about
 $110 a barrel. That, of course, isn’t good for consumers, who’ve seen 
gasoline prices break records.

The pain falls especially hard on 
lower-income workers, who often drive older cars miles to work each day 
and spend more of their paychecks filling their tanks. It’s sparked 
demands from fossil fuel users and politicians to get more domestic oil 
to consumers — as if oil companies can just turn the flow back on.

“There
 is no spigot,” Thompson said. “Wells capable of producing crude oil and
 natural gas in this country are producing at close to maximum 
capacity.”

But oil companies, especially smaller ones, are having a tough time expanding production.

“They’re
 having trouble getting pipe. They’re having trouble with 
transportation. They’re having trouble finding crews,” said Dan Naatz, 
executive vice president of the Independent Petroleum Association of 
America.

Oil companies have been trying to scale up for months 
now, and that’s made basic supplies of the trade, like piping, both 
scarce and expensive. And pandemic-related shipping problems have made 
just getting supplies from factories to the oil fields a major obstacle.
 On top of that, there’s a labor shortage.

“Labor challenges are at the top of the list,” said Ed Cross, president of the Kansas Independent Oil and Gas Association.

Small
 oil Kansas companies cut as much as a quarter of their employees in the
 lean days of 2020, Cross said. Those are skilled, technical, often 
physically demanding jobs, so staffing up again is another major hurdle.

“It’s
 a busy time and we're seeing production starting to recover, but we're a
 long way from where we were before the COVID pandemic,” Cross said.

In
 Kansas, production is down almost 16% from 2019, when gas and oil 
prices were much lower. It’s hard to predict how long it will take just 
to get back to 2019 domestic oil production levels, but most of the 
experts say that won’t happen until next year, at best.

Meantime, 
Thompson said, consumers and politicians are going to have to show some 
patience as everyone tries to work through the next few months.

“You
 need to understand that nobody in this country, nobody — not the oil 
and gas industry, not the federal government, not the regulators, not 
the banks — nobody's the enemy on this deal,” Thompson said.

“Putin
 is the enemy and he and his army and his military are creating the 
situation," he added. "And we need to offer some grace to ourselves and 
our neighbors and people who are doing the best they can to alleviate 
the pain.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/3/1647274142642.png" alt="Scott Canon / Kansas News Service" />
 <figcaption>Scott Canon / Kansas News Service</figcaption>
 </figure>By FRANK MORRIS <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2022-03-13/kansas-oil-companies-scramble-to-increase-production-but-there-is-no-spigot">Kansas News Service</a>To understand why oil prices are high today, you have to go back two years, to the early days of the pandemic. Oil prices hit the floor in April 2020. In fact, they fell right through the floor. For a while, oil producers had to pay companies to take oil off their hands. One day, the price in Kansas even hit a negative $47 a barrel. Some small oil companies went under. In Kansas alone, companies took almost 5,000 wells off-line and production plummeted. But between then and now, the price of oil has increased about $160 a barrel.“It’s
 probably the most dramatic price swing in the history of the oil 
business,” said Mickey Thompson, past president of the Oklahoma 
Independent Petroleum Association. “And that’s not good for anybody.” <h2>There is no spigot</h2>With
 the ban on Russian oil imports, domestic crude is now selling for about
 $110 a barrel. That, of course, isn’t good for consumers, who’ve seen 
gasoline prices break records.The pain falls especially hard on 
lower-income workers, who often drive older cars miles to work each day 
and spend more of their paychecks filling their tanks. It’s sparked 
demands from fossil fuel users and politicians to get more domestic oil 
to consumers — as if oil companies can just turn the flow back on.“There
 is no spigot,” Thompson said. “Wells capable of producing crude oil and
 natural gas in this country are producing at close to maximum 
capacity.”But oil companies, especially smaller ones, are having a tough time expanding production.“They’re
 having trouble getting pipe. They’re having trouble with 
transportation. They’re having trouble finding crews,” said Dan Naatz, 
executive vice president of the Independent Petroleum Association of 
America.Oil companies have been trying to scale up for months 
now, and that’s made basic supplies of the trade, like piping, both 
scarce and expensive. And pandemic-related shipping problems have made 
just getting supplies from factories to the oil fields a major obstacle.
 On top of that, there’s a labor shortage.“Labor challenges are at the top of the list,” said Ed Cross, president of the Kansas Independent Oil and Gas Association.Small
 oil Kansas companies cut as much as a quarter of their employees in the
 lean days of 2020, Cross said. Those are skilled, technical, often 
physically demanding jobs, so staffing up again is another major hurdle.“It’s
 a busy time and we're seeing production starting to recover, but we're a
 long way from where we were before the COVID pandemic,” Cross said.In
 Kansas, production is down almost 16% from 2019, when gas and oil 
prices were much lower. It’s hard to predict how long it will take just 
to get back to 2019 domestic oil production levels, but most of the 
experts say that won’t happen until next year, at best.Meantime, 
Thompson said, consumers and politicians are going to have to show some 
patience as everyone tries to work through the next few months.“You
 need to understand that nobody in this country, nobody — not the oil 
and gas industry, not the federal government, not the regulators, not 
the banks — nobody's the enemy on this deal,” Thompson said.“Putin
 is the enemy and he and his army and his military are creating the 
situation," he added. "And we need to offer some grace to ourselves and 
our neighbors and people who are doing the best they can to alleviate 
the pain.”

Kan. oil companies scramble to increase production, but 'there is no spigot' 

TOPEKA — The number of confirmed coronavirus cases* (see below) in Kansas increased by 95 to a total of 768,820, the state health department reported Monday.

The state reported 22 additional COVID-19 deaths for a total of 8028.

<a href="https://www.kansasvaccine.gov/158/Data">Click here for Data</a> about the COVID-19 vaccine.

<a href="https://www.coronavirus.kdheks.gov/160/COVID-19-in-Kansas">Click here&nbsp;</a>for additional virus numbers from the KDHE.

As of August 1, 2021, in accordance with an&nbsp;<a href="https://ndc.services.cdc.gov/conditions/coronavirus-disease-2019-covid-19/" target="_blank">updated CDC/CSTE surveillance case definition</a>, a confirmed case is defined as a person who tested positive by molecular detection (e.g., PCR, NAA) or identification of SARS-CoV-2 through genetic sequencing. A probable case is defined as a person with: a) presumptive lab evidence (antigen) or b) no lab testing but meeting clinical case criteria and is epi-linked. A person will be counted as a new surveillance case (e.g. reinfection) if they test positive for SARS-CoV-2 by a diagnostic test (i.e., molecular, antigen) and it has been greater than 90 days since the previous positive diagnostic test. In addition, a person with sequencing results identifying different SARS-CoV-2 lineages regardless of the time since the previous specimen sequenced will be counted as a new surveillance case.&nbsp;

Cases occurring between&nbsp;September 1, 2020&nbsp;and July 29, 2021 were classified by&nbsp;<a href="https://ndc.services.cdc.gov/conditions/coronavirus-disease-2019-covid-19/" target="_blank">previous CDC/CSTE case definition,&nbsp;</a>and cases prior to September 1, 2020 were classified by the&nbsp;<a href="https://ndc.services.cdc.gov/case-definitions/coronavirus-disease-2019-2020/" target="_blank">original case definition</a>.

TOPEKA — The number of confirmed coronavirus cases* (see below) in Kansas increased by 95 to a total of 768,820, the state health department reported Monday.The state reported 22 additional COVID-19 deaths for a total of 8028.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/3/1647276897242.png" alt="Monday March 14, 2022 KDHE image" />
 <figcaption>Monday March 14, 2022 KDHE image</figcaption>
 </figure><a href="https://www.kansasvaccine.gov/158/Data">Click here for Data</a> about the COVID-19 vaccine.<a href="https://www.coronavirus.kdheks.gov/160/COVID-19-in-Kansas">Click here&nbsp;</a>for additional virus numbers from the KDHE.As of August 1, 2021, in accordance with an&nbsp;<a href="https://ndc.services.cdc.gov/conditions/coronavirus-disease-2019-covid-19/" target="_blank">updated CDC/CSTE surveillance case definition</a>, a confirmed case is defined as a person who tested positive by molecular detection (e.g., PCR, NAA) or identification of SARS-CoV-2 through genetic sequencing. A probable case is defined as a person with: a) presumptive lab evidence (antigen) or b) no lab testing but meeting clinical case criteria and is epi-linked. A person will be counted as a new surveillance case (e.g. reinfection) if they test positive for SARS-CoV-2 by a diagnostic test (i.e., molecular, antigen) and it has been greater than 90 days since the previous positive diagnostic test. In addition, a person with sequencing results identifying different SARS-CoV-2 lineages regardless of the time since the previous specimen sequenced will be counted as a new surveillance case.&nbsp;Cases occurring between&nbsp;September 1, 2020&nbsp;and July 29, 2021 were classified by&nbsp;<a href="https://ndc.services.cdc.gov/conditions/coronavirus-disease-2019-covid-19/" target="_blank">previous CDC/CSTE case definition,&nbsp;</a>and cases prior to September 1, 2020 were classified by the&nbsp;<a href="https://ndc.services.cdc.gov/case-definitions/coronavirus-disease-2019-2020/" target="_blank">original case definition</a>.

KDHE reports 22 additional COVID 19 deaths

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (AP) — A commercial flight from Huntsville, Alabama, to Denver was diverted to Wichita, Kansas, after a passenger became unruly. News outlets report the problem occurred Sunday morning on a United Airlines flight operated by SkyWest Airlines. 

A passenger tells WAFF-TV a woman was asking for more alcohol, refusing to wear a face mask and cursing. She was identified as 33-year-old Clara s. Lambert of New Market Alabama,<a href="https://ssc.sedgwickcounty.org/sheriffinmates/SheriffInmateDetail.aspx?nameId=20074791"> according to the Sedgwick County booking report.</a>

The flight landed in Wichita and officers came on board to remove Lambert. A manager at Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport says federal authorities were notified. The flight continued on to Denver. Lambert was still in custody early Monday, according to online jail records.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/3/1647265148095.png" alt="Clara S. Lambert -photo Sedgwick County" />
 <figcaption>Clara S. Lambert -photo Sedgwick County</figcaption>
 </figure>HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (AP) — A commercial flight from Huntsville, Alabama, to Denver was diverted to Wichita, Kansas, after a passenger became unruly. News outlets report the problem occurred Sunday morning on a United Airlines flight operated by SkyWest Airlines. A passenger tells WAFF-TV a woman was asking for more alcohol, refusing to wear a face mask and cursing. She was identified as 33-year-old Clara s. Lambert of New Market Alabama,<a href="https://ssc.sedgwickcounty.org/sheriffinmates/SheriffInmateDetail.aspx?nameId=20074791"> according to the Sedgwick County booking report.</a>The flight landed in Wichita and officers came on board to remove Lambert. A manager at Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport says federal authorities were notified. The flight continued on to Denver. Lambert was still in custody early Monday, according to online jail records.

Flight diverted to Wichita due to unruly passenger

By LESLIE EIKLEBERRY Salina Post

SALINE COUNTY —A pole barn and some of its contents were destroyed by fire Saturday morning northwest of Salina.

Just after 9a.m. Saturday, a 45-year-old woman looked out a window and saw smoke coming from her pole barn in the 4600 block of W. Shipton Road, according to&nbsp;Saline County Sheriff Roger Soldan.

Personnel from Rural Fire District No. 7 responded and extinguished the blaze.

&nbsp;A 30-by 50-foot pole barn, a horse trailer, some tack, and other miscellaneous items were destroyed in the fire. The total loss was estimated at $92,500, according to Soldan.

No definitive cause of the fire had been determined. Soldan said the barn had utilities.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/3/1647273506930.png" alt="A pole barn and horse trailer are ablaze. Photos courtesy Saline County Sheriff's Office" />
 <figcaption>A pole barn and horse trailer are ablaze. Photos courtesy Saline County Sheriff's Office</figcaption>
 </figure>By LESLIE EIKLEBERRY Salina PostSALINE COUNTY —A pole barn and some of its contents were destroyed by fire Saturday morning northwest of Salina.Just after 9a.m. Saturday, a 45-year-old woman looked out a window and saw smoke coming from her pole barn in the 4600 block of W. Shipton Road, according to&nbsp;Saline County Sheriff Roger Soldan.Personnel from Rural Fire District No. 7 responded and extinguished the blaze.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/3/1647273669113.png" alt="The aftermath of the fire." />
 <figcaption>The aftermath of the fire.</figcaption>
 </figure>&nbsp;A 30-by 50-foot pole barn, a horse trailer, some tack, and other miscellaneous items were destroyed in the fire. The total loss was estimated at $92,500, according to Soldan.No definitive cause of the fire had been determined. Soldan said the barn had utilities.

Rural Kansas barn fire caused  $92,500 in damage

SHAWNEE COUNTY —A Kansas teen died in an accident just after 9p.m. Sunday in Shawnee County.

A 2010 Toyota Tacoma driven by a 16-year-old was northbound on SW Valencia Road near SW 53rd, according to Deputy Abigail Christian. The driver&nbsp;failed to navigate the curve onto eastbound SW 53rd Street. The Toyota left the road and struck a tree.

The front seat passenger identified as 19-year-old Killian J. Vincent of Topeka was pronounced deceased at the scene, according to Christian. EMS transported the teen driver and an 18-year-old male back seat passenger to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

The driver was the only occupant wearing a seat belt, according to Christian.

SHAWNEE COUNTY —A Kansas teen died in an accident just after 9p.m. Sunday in Shawnee County.A 2010 Toyota Tacoma driven by a 16-year-old was northbound on SW Valencia Road near SW 53rd, according to Deputy Abigail Christian. The driver&nbsp;failed to navigate the curve onto eastbound SW 53rd Street. The Toyota left the road and struck a tree.The front seat passenger identified as 19-year-old Killian J. Vincent of Topeka was pronounced deceased at the scene, according to Christian. EMS transported the teen driver and an 18-year-old male back seat passenger to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.The driver was the only occupant wearing a seat belt, according to Christian.

Sheriff IDs Kansas teen who died after pickup strikes a tree

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Republicans are moving to redraw the boundaries of&nbsp;Kansas&nbsp;Senate districts so that a GOP and Democratic senator would face running against each other and the Redistricting Committee's chair would be drawn into a GOP colleague's district.

Republicans and Democrats have rival plans, though the GOP plan is more likely to pass, given Republicans' Senate supermajority. The League of Women Voters also has a plan, and all three were posted online by Friday morning.

The Kansas Constitution requires lawmakers to redraw their districts to make them as equal in population every 10 years. Senators expect to vote on a mpa next week.

The GOP plan would put Redistricting Chair Rick Wilborn, a McPherson Republican, in a district with Sen. Michael Fagg, an El Dorado Republican.

While that suggests that Wilborn might not seek reelection in 2024, he said Friday that he and Fagg will “work all that out later.” Wilborn said he's “right in the middle” of other senators with underpopulated districts.

The Republican plan also would put GOP Sen. Beverly Gossage, of Eudora, in a district with Democratic Sen. Tom Holland, of Baldwin City, setting up a potential 2024 race.

The Democratic plan has only one district with a pair of incumbents, Wilborn and Fagg. The League of Women Voters' proposal would have three districts with a pair of GOP incumbents.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/3/1647114807014.png" alt="Kansas Senate Districts-image courtesy Kansas Association of Counties" />
 <figcaption>Kansas Senate Districts-image courtesy Kansas Association of Counties</figcaption>
 </figure>TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Republicans are moving to redraw the boundaries of&nbsp;Kansas&nbsp;Senate districts so that a GOP and Democratic senator would face running against each other and the Redistricting Committee's chair would be drawn into a GOP colleague's district.Republicans and Democrats have rival plans, though the GOP plan is more likely to pass, given Republicans' Senate supermajority. The League of Women Voters also has a plan, and all three were posted online by Friday morning.The Kansas Constitution requires lawmakers to redraw their districts to make them as equal in population every 10 years. Senators expect to vote on a mpa next week.The GOP plan would put Redistricting Chair Rick Wilborn, a McPherson Republican, in a district with Sen. Michael Fagg, an El Dorado Republican.While that suggests that Wilborn might not seek reelection in 2024, he said Friday that he and Fagg will “work all that out later.” Wilborn said he's “right in the middle” of other senators with underpopulated districts.The Republican plan also would put GOP Sen. Beverly Gossage, of Eudora, in a district with Democratic Sen. Tom Holland, of Baldwin City, setting up a potential 2024 race.The Democratic plan has only one district with a pair of incumbents, Wilborn and Fagg. The League of Women Voters' proposal would have three districts with a pair of GOP incumbents.

GOP Kansas Senate map creates 2 districts with 2 incumbents

By RON FIELDS <a href="https://hayspost.com/pages/post-news-network">Post News Network</a>

Hours after the Russian invasion of the Ukraine, social media channels were barraged with misinformation. Photos and videos of fighter jets being downed, videos of explosions, photos of Russian forces parading through the streets of Moscow or Ukrainians praying in the streets — <a href="https://www.axios.com/uikraine-misinformation-videos-context-c9c13e84-7a9e-4578-8e52-6b8f34379f92.html">all from years or even decades before February 2022. </a>

These images filled social media feeds across the world and were shared countlessly, <a href="https://www.poynter.org/fact-checking/2022/russia-war-invasion-ukraine-scripted-fake/">fueling misinformation and confusion.</a>

But Ukraine is just one example of the now-constant battle to fight mis- and disinformation online, a problem that has accelerated in recent years. Young people are particularly vulnerable to both believing and sharing false information.

"We are now realizing that the more exposed we are to media, the less we have the tools to deal with all this media content," said Dr. Joseph Erba, strategic communication chair with the William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of Kansas. "With teenagers especially, we just assume since they've been around social media their whole lives that they know how it works."

Erba was quick to point out that youngsters aren't the only ones struggling with media literacy.&nbsp;

"Adults need help too," he said. "It's disheartening to see how easily people can be misinformed."

<a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/2019/06/05/many-americans-say-made-up-news-is-a-critical-problem-that-needs-to-be-fixed/">A 2019 study by Pew Research Center</a> found more than half of the 6,000-plus U.S. adults polled admitted to sharing made-up news — the vast majority telling researchers that they didn't know the information was false or misleading.&nbsp;

<a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/2785686">A recent study by JAMA Pediatrics</a> found that screen time among adolescents grew and astounding four hours a day from pre-pandemic levels — from 3.8 hours a day to 7.7 hours a day.

Each minute added to that figure translates to more and more opportunities young people will be exposed to — and possibly share — misinformation.

"I hesitate to call it fact versus fiction," said Robyn Hartman, information and digital librarian at Fort Hays State University's Forsythe Library. "It's information overload. The more you get hit with difference pieces of information, whether from true news sources or other actors in the field, the less ability you have to distinguish face from an unproven claim or a half-truth or an opinion disguised as news."

There are ample bad actors intentionally creating "fake news" to push an agenda or ideology, Hartman said, making it even more difficult to tell a credible source from a questionable one.

Disseminating false information is nothing new, she added. But in the pre-internet and pre-social media world, that information traveled and spread at an exponentially slower pace. 

Media literacy is a critical piece of a new curriculum plan being rolled at at FHSU. While there are no actual "media literacy" courses, the concept of critical thinking and information literacy will be baked into every aspect of coursework. 

"There's no magic bullet," she said. "I would love to hand you a checklist, but the big emphasis should be on your critical thinking skills. (Fact-checking tools) can help you make those decisions, but it's only a piece of the puzzle."

Erbe pleads with his students to slow down on social media — both to help prevent the spread of misinformation and to change one's own behavior on social media. 

"From a media literacy perspective, one of the tools that has worked the best is thinking to press pause, take a step back and really consider what you're reading here," he said. 

He believes most students entering KU have a "very low level of media literacy."

"The difference I've noted in the classroom is, years ago, students were chatting with each other. Now they are on their phones and even more plugged into media," Erbe said. "The idea of media literacy is not rocket science. The main tenant is to demystify the media, to deconstruct media into pieces small enough we can see what's behind the curtain. If you know how something works, you're less likely to be influenced by it."

He urges his students to use those critical thinking skills prior to blindly believing or sharing what they see on social media — Who is the source? Who is writing it? Where are their credentials? What examples are cited and who is quoted? Is it even a news article?

Jessica Augustine, journalism adviser at Hays High School, said while there is no course specifically focusing on media literacy or misinformation at HHS, "it's part of the stuff we do on a daily basis."

"In 21st Century Journalism, we talk about it — interviewing, balancing sources, finding good sources. I think the kids I have are a bit more aware of the misinformation that's out there. They tend to be more analytical about what they choose," she said. "In general, the student body ... some kids just read whatever is on social media and they take it as fact."

In her 20 years of teaching, Augustine said there have been noticeable behavior changes among young people. 

"In my first year ... it was rare for anyone to have a cellphone. Now it's odd if someone doesn't," she said. "I don't think they socialize face-to-face as well.

"And they're constantly barraged with just tons of information. I think it makes it hard for them to sift through and think about it. ... No one can sit there and fact check over and over and over."

Augustine also urges students to stop and think —&nbsp;hit pause — before sharing social media posts. 

She referenced a December string of incidents in which students were creating Instagram account to bully and publicly shame fellow students <a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/e24207c9-9f9b-4f93-8e22-3840df309059">— a chain of events that led to an all-school assembly and candid discussion about the risks of social media. </a>

"When you share those types of things, think before you post," she said.

Alex Mahadevan, program manager for the Poytner Institute's <a href="https://www.poynter.org/mediawise/">MediaWise</a>, said it's important to teach young people to think like fact checkers. He pointed out the significant number of first-time voters in 2018 and 2020 elections — many of them getting a bulk of their news from social media.

"The problem itself has only gotten worse and more widespread. Misinformers are getting better. ... People are becoming more polarized. ... <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/confirmation-bias">Confirmation bias</a> is a lot stronger than it was in the past," he said. "While the problem is getting worse, we are trying to scale up quickly to keep up with it."

<a href="https://www.poynter.org/teen-fact-checking-network/">Poytner's Teen Fact-Checking Network</a> has a "newsroom" of teens keeping an eye on social media in an attempt to turn the tide. When a dubious claim is spotted online, these teens will research the subject, write a script and post their findings— <a href="https://www.poynter.org/tfcn/2022/no-that-isnt-a-nuclear-power-plant-next-to-the-olympic-ski-jump/">either confirming or denying,</a> or noting information is <a href="https://www.poynter.org/tfcn/2022/was-2021-the-deadliest-year-for-police/">either lacking or taken out of context.</a>

Even though he works in the fact-checking field, he said he has seen misinformation shared by his own family in India via the Facebook messaging tool WhatsApp.

"It's frustrating, because they're not doing it on purpose," Mahadevan said. "But there's only so much fact checkers can do. One content farm in Macedonia could reach 100 million people in a day. ... We've tried to follow misinformation from platform to platform, but it's an arms race."

He also pointed to algorithms used by Facebook/Meta and other social media networks to determine what fills a news feed. 

"We're trying to help people understand why they see what they see. It could be curated by an computer algorithm rewarding negative engagement," he said. 

Mahadevan said parents need to help their children understand that what they see and share online can have real-world consequences on their future, noting billions of dollars being funneled into climate change denial efforts. 

"People are voting for politicians, doing things that are actively harming their future based on disinformation and misinformation online," he said. "Your future is at stake."

Recent changes by Facebook to downplay local news sources in news feeds is "extremely frustrating," Mahadevan added. 

"What happens at a local level has such a profound effect on your life compared to memes," he said. "What you (local news organizations) do at a local level has so much of a deeper effect than the things they see on Facebook, which is not doing a good job of amplifying local news."

And with many areas of the country now living within a "news desert" as an increasing number of newspapers close or cut staff, Mahadevan said that lack of local information is worrisome — noting a proper news diet should have local news as its foundation.

"That has been one of the biggest drivers of media illiteracy — the death of local news," he said. "The decline of local news has had a devastating effect on media literacy in the U.S."

By RON FIELDS <a href="https://hayspost.com/pages/post-news-network">Post News Network</a>Hours after the Russian invasion of the Ukraine, social media channels were barraged with misinformation. Photos and videos of fighter jets being downed, videos of explosions, photos of Russian forces parading through the streets of Moscow or Ukrainians praying in the streets — <a href="https://www.axios.com/uikraine-misinformation-videos-context-c9c13e84-7a9e-4578-8e52-6b8f34379f92.html">all from years or even decades before February 2022. </a>These images filled social media feeds across the world and were shared countlessly, <a href="https://www.poynter.org/fact-checking/2022/russia-war-invasion-ukraine-scripted-fake/">fueling misinformation and confusion.</a>But Ukraine is just one example of the now-constant battle to fight mis- and disinformation online, a problem that has accelerated in recent years. Young people are particularly vulnerable to both believing and sharing false information.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/3/1646672222349.jpeg" alt="Joseph Erba" />
 <figcaption>Joseph Erba</figcaption>
 </figure>"We are now realizing that the more exposed we are to media, the less we have the tools to deal with all this media content," said Dr. Joseph Erba, strategic communication chair with the William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of Kansas. "With teenagers especially, we just assume since they've been around social media their whole lives that they know how it works."Erba was quick to point out that youngsters aren't the only ones struggling with media literacy.&nbsp;"Adults need help too," he said. "It's disheartening to see how easily people can be misinformed."<a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/2019/06/05/many-americans-say-made-up-news-is-a-critical-problem-that-needs-to-be-fixed/">A 2019 study by Pew Research Center</a> found more than half of the 6,000-plus U.S. adults polled admitted to sharing made-up news — the vast majority telling researchers that they didn't know the information was false or misleading.&nbsp;<h2>More screen time</h2><a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/2785686">A recent study by JAMA Pediatrics</a> found that screen time among adolescents grew and astounding four hours a day from pre-pandemic levels — from 3.8 hours a day to 7.7 hours a day.Each minute added to that figure translates to more and more opportunities young people will be exposed to — and possibly share — misinformation."I hesitate to call it fact versus fiction," said Robyn Hartman, information and digital librarian at Fort Hays State University's Forsythe Library. "It's information overload. The more you get hit with difference pieces of information, whether from true news sources or other actors in the field, the less ability you have to distinguish face from an unproven claim or a half-truth or an opinion disguised as news."<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/3/1646672369750.jpeg" alt="Robyn Hartman" />
 <figcaption>Robyn Hartman</figcaption>
 </figure>There are ample bad actors intentionally creating "fake news" to push an agenda or ideology, Hartman said, making it even more difficult to tell a credible source from a questionable one.Disseminating false information is nothing new, she added. But in the pre-internet and pre-social media world, that information traveled and spread at an exponentially slower pace. Media literacy is a critical piece of a new curriculum plan being rolled at at FHSU. While there are no actual "media literacy" courses, the concept of critical thinking and information literacy will be baked into every aspect of coursework. "There's no magic bullet," she said. "I would love to hand you a checklist, but the big emphasis should be on your critical thinking skills. (Fact-checking tools) can help you make those decisions, but it's only a piece of the puzzle."<h2>Pressing pause</h2>Erbe pleads with his students to slow down on social media — both to help prevent the spread of misinformation and to change one's own behavior on social media. "From a media literacy perspective, one of the tools that has worked the best is thinking to press pause, take a step back and really consider what you're reading here," he said. He believes most students entering KU have a "very low level of media literacy.""The difference I've noted in the classroom is, years ago, students were chatting with each other. Now they are on their phones and even more plugged into media," Erbe said. "The idea of media literacy is not rocket science. The main tenant is to demystify the media, to deconstruct media into pieces small enough we can see what's behind the curtain. If you know how something works, you're less likely to be influenced by it."He urges his students to use those critical thinking skills prior to blindly believing or sharing what they see on social media — Who is the source? Who is writing it? Where are their credentials? What examples are cited and who is quoted? Is it even a news article?<h2>In the classroom</h2>Jessica Augustine, journalism adviser at Hays High School, said while there is no course specifically focusing on media literacy or misinformation at HHS, "it's part of the stuff we do on a daily basis.""In 21st Century Journalism, we talk about it — interviewing, balancing sources, finding good sources. I think the kids I have are a bit more aware of the misinformation that's out there. They tend to be more analytical about what they choose," she said. "In general, the student body ... some kids just read whatever is on social media and they take it as fact."<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/3/1646672316191.jpeg" alt="Jessica Augustine" />
 <figcaption>Jessica Augustine</figcaption>
 </figure>In her 20 years of teaching, Augustine said there have been noticeable behavior changes among young people. "In my first year ... it was rare for anyone to have a cellphone. Now it's odd if someone doesn't," she said. "I don't think they socialize face-to-face as well."And they're constantly barraged with just tons of information. I think it makes it hard for them to sift through and think about it. ... No one can sit there and fact check over and over and over."Augustine also urges students to stop and think —&nbsp;hit pause — before sharing social media posts. She referenced a December string of incidents in which students were creating Instagram account to bully and publicly shame fellow students <a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/e24207c9-9f9b-4f93-8e22-3840df309059">— a chain of events that led to an all-school assembly and candid discussion about the risks of social media. </a>"When you share those types of things, think before you post," she said.<h2>Arms race</h2><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/3/1646672161575.jpeg" alt="Alex Mahadevan" />
 <figcaption>Alex Mahadevan</figcaption>
 </figure>Alex Mahadevan, program manager for the Poytner Institute's <a href="https://www.poynter.org/mediawise/">MediaWise</a>, said it's important to teach young people to think like fact checkers. He pointed out the significant number of first-time voters in 2018 and 2020 elections — many of them getting a bulk of their news from social media."The problem itself has only gotten worse and more widespread. Misinformers are getting better. ... People are becoming more polarized. ... <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/confirmation-bias">Confirmation bias</a> is a lot stronger than it was in the past," he said. "While the problem is getting worse, we are trying to scale up quickly to keep up with it."<a href="https://www.poynter.org/teen-fact-checking-network/">Poytner's Teen Fact-Checking Network</a> has a "newsroom" of teens keeping an eye on social media in an attempt to turn the tide. When a dubious claim is spotted online, these teens will research the subject, write a script and post their findings— <a href="https://www.poynter.org/tfcn/2022/no-that-isnt-a-nuclear-power-plant-next-to-the-olympic-ski-jump/">either confirming or denying,</a> or noting information is <a href="https://www.poynter.org/tfcn/2022/was-2021-the-deadliest-year-for-police/">either lacking or taken out of context.</a><figure>
 <iframe width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/JRSB7BwHUQg"></iframe>
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Even though he works in the fact-checking field, he said he has seen misinformation shared by his own family in India via the Facebook messaging tool WhatsApp."It's frustrating, because they're not doing it on purpose," Mahadevan said. "But there's only so much fact checkers can do. One content farm in Macedonia could reach 100 million people in a day. ... We've tried to follow misinformation from platform to platform, but it's an arms race."He also pointed to algorithms used by Facebook/Meta and other social media networks to determine what fills a news feed. "We're trying to help people understand why they see what they see. It could be curated by an computer algorithm rewarding negative engagement," he said. Mahadevan said parents need to help their children understand that what they see and share online can have real-world consequences on their future, noting billions of dollars being funneled into climate change denial efforts. "People are voting for politicians, doing things that are actively harming their future based on disinformation and misinformation online," he said. "Your future is at stake."Recent changes by Facebook to downplay local news sources in news feeds is "extremely frustrating," Mahadevan added. "What happens at a local level has such a profound effect on your life compared to memes," he said. "What you (local news organizations) do at a local level has so much of a deeper effect than the things they see on Facebook, which is not doing a good job of amplifying local news."And with many areas of the country now living within a "news desert" as an increasing number of newspapers close or cut staff, Mahadevan said that lack of local information is worrisome — noting a proper news diet should have local news as its foundation."That has been one of the biggest drivers of media illiteracy — the death of local news," he said. "The decline of local news has had a devastating effect on media literacy in the U.S."<figure>
 <iframe width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Bm3Yyn-xn-4"></iframe>
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Cover image courtesy MediaWise

🎥 Pounded by waves of misinformation, youth struggle with media literacy

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Trial begins Monday for a man accused in a 2019 shooting in Kansas that killed a college football player and wounded a teammate of the victim, a man who now plays in the NFL.

<a href="https://www.cjonline.com/story/news/2022/03/12/trial-begin-topeka-2019-killing-washburn-player-dwane-simmons-wounding-nfl-player-corey-ballentine/9402245002/" target="_blank">The Topeka Capital-Journal</a>&nbsp;reports that Francisco Mendez is the only person arrested and charged in the case even though a prosecutor said at least three guns were used to fire 18 or more shots in the April 28, 2019, shooting.

Washburn University football player Dwane Simmons, 23, was killed in the shooting in Topeka. Corey Ballentine was shot and survived.

Mendez is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Simmons. He died at the scene from a single gunshot to the head.

Mendez is charged with attempted murder in the shooting of Ballentine, 25, who had been drafted hours earlier by the New York Giants.

Ballentine was shot once in the buttocks. He has played as a cornerback and kick returner with the Giants, New York Jets and Detroit Lions, and signed in January with the Atlanta Falcons.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/10/1570915422888.png" alt="Dwane Simmons-photo courtesy Washburn Athletics" />
 <figcaption>Dwane Simmons-photo courtesy Washburn Athletics</figcaption>
 </figure>TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Trial begins Monday for a man accused in a 2019 shooting in Kansas that killed a college football player and wounded a teammate of the victim, a man who now plays in the NFL.<a href="https://www.cjonline.com/story/news/2022/03/12/trial-begin-topeka-2019-killing-washburn-player-dwane-simmons-wounding-nfl-player-corey-ballentine/9402245002/" target="_blank">The Topeka Capital-Journal</a>&nbsp;reports that Francisco Mendez is the only person arrested and charged in the case even though a prosecutor said at least three guns were used to fire 18 or more shots in the April 28, 2019, shooting.Washburn University football player Dwane Simmons, 23, was killed in the shooting in Topeka. Corey Ballentine was shot and survived.Mendez is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Simmons. He died at the scene from a single gunshot to the head.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/7/1563037412059.png" alt="Francisco Mendez photo Shawnee Co." />
 <figcaption>Francisco Mendez photo Shawnee Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>Mendez is charged with attempted murder in the shooting of Ballentine, 25, who had been drafted hours earlier by the New York Giants.Ballentine was shot once in the buttocks. He has played as a cornerback and kick returner with the Giants, New York Jets and Detroit Lions, and signed in January with the Atlanta Falcons.

Trial set to begin in shooting that killed Washburn football player

WASHINGTON (AP) — A U.S. official said Russia asked China for military equipment to use in its invasion of Ukraine, a request that heightened tensions about the ongoing war ahead of a Monday meeting in Rome between top aides for the U.S. and Chinese governments.

In advance of the talks, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan bluntly warned China to avoid helping Russia evade punishment from global sanctions that have hammered the Russian economy. “We will not allow that to go forward,” he said. China in turn accused on Monday the U.S. of spreading “disinformation.”

The prospect of China offering Russia financial help is one of several concerns for President Joe Biden. A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters, said that in recent days, Russia had requested support from China, including military equipment, to press forward in its ongoing war with Ukraine. The official did not provide details on the scope of the request. The request was first reported by the Financial Times and The Washington Post.

The Biden administration is also accusing China of spreading Russian disinformation that could be a pretext for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s forces to attack Ukraine with chemical or biological weapons.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has put China in a delicate spot with two of its biggest trading partners: the U.S. and European Union. China needs access to those markets, yet it also has shown support for Moscow, joining with Russia in declaring a friendship with “no limits.”

In his talks with senior Chinese foreign policy adviser Yang Jiechi, Sullivan will indeed be looking for limits in what Beijing will do for Moscow.

“I’m not going to sit here publicly and brandish threats,” he told CNN in a round of Sunday news show interviews. “But what I will tell you is we are communicating directly and privately to Beijing that there absolutely will be consequences” if China helps Russia “backfill” its losses from the sanctions.

“We will not allow that to go forward and allow there to be a lifeline to Russia from these economic sanctions from any country anywhere in the world,” he said.

Without giving details, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said Monday that the “Ukraine situation will definitely be a hot topic” at the meeting, which had been scheduled before Russia invaded its neighbor.

Asked at a daily briefing about the reported Russian request for assistance, Zhao responded: “The U.S. has been spreading disinformation targeting China recently over the Ukraine issue. It is malicious.”

“What is pressing now is that all parties should exercise restraint and strive to cool down the situation, rather than fueling the tension,” Zhao told reporters. “We should promote diplomatic settlements instead of further escalating the situation.”

In a statement posted on the ministry’s website late Sunday, Zhao did not mention Ukraine, but said the sides would “exchange views on China-U.S. relations and international and regional issues of common concern.”

The White House said the talks will focus on the direct impact of Russia’s war against Ukraine on regional and global security.

Biden administration officials say Beijing is spreading false Russian claims that Ukraine was running chemical and biological weapons labs with U.S. support. They say China&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-europe-jen-psaki-chemical-weapons-weapons-of-mass-destruction-f01cedf434ec697034b2912696a3448b">is effectively providing cover</a>&nbsp;if Russia moves ahead with a biological or chemical weapons attack on Ukrainians.

When Russia starts accusing other countries of preparing to launch biological or chemical attacks, Sullivan told NBC’s “Meet the Press,” “it’s a good tell that they may be on the cusp of doing it themselves.”

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby, on ABC’s “This Week,” said “we haven’t seen anything that indicates some sort of imminent chemical or biological attack right now, but we’re watching this very, very closely.”

The striking U.S. accusations about Russian disinformation and Chinese complicity came after Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova alleged with no evidence that the U.S. was financing Ukrainian chemical and biological weapons labs.

The Russian claim was echoed by Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao, who claimed there were 26 bio-labs and related facilities in “which the U.S. Department of Defense has absolute control.” The United Nations has said it has received no information backing up such accusations.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki called the claims “preposterous.”

There is growing concern inside the White House that China is aligning itself with Russia on the Ukraine war in hopes it will advance Beijing’s “vision of the world order” in the long term, according to a person familiar with administration thinking. The person was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Sullivan told “Face the Nation” on CBS that the Russian rhetoric on chemical and biological warfare is “an indicator that, in fact, the Russians are getting ready to do it and try and pin the blame elsewhere and nobody should fall for that.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/2/1645218431708.png" alt="The prospect of China offering Russia financial help is one of several concerns for President Joe Biden.-photo courtesy White House&nbsp;" />
 <figcaption>The prospect of China offering Russia financial help is one of several concerns for President Joe Biden.-photo courtesy White House&nbsp;</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — A U.S. official said Russia asked China for military equipment to use in its invasion of Ukraine, a request that heightened tensions about the ongoing war ahead of a Monday meeting in Rome between top aides for the U.S. and Chinese governments.In advance of the talks, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan bluntly warned China to avoid helping Russia evade punishment from global sanctions that have hammered the Russian economy. “We will not allow that to go forward,” he said. China in turn accused on Monday the U.S. of spreading “disinformation.”The prospect of China offering Russia financial help is one of several concerns for President Joe Biden. A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters, said that in recent days, Russia had requested support from China, including military equipment, to press forward in its ongoing war with Ukraine. The official did not provide details on the scope of the request. The request was first reported by the Financial Times and The Washington Post.The Biden administration is also accusing China of spreading Russian disinformation that could be a pretext for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s forces to attack Ukraine with chemical or biological weapons.Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has put China in a delicate spot with two of its biggest trading partners: the U.S. and European Union. China needs access to those markets, yet it also has shown support for Moscow, joining with Russia in declaring a friendship with “no limits.”In his talks with senior Chinese foreign policy adviser Yang Jiechi, Sullivan will indeed be looking for limits in what Beijing will do for Moscow.“I’m not going to sit here publicly and brandish threats,” he told CNN in a round of Sunday news show interviews. “But what I will tell you is we are communicating directly and privately to Beijing that there absolutely will be consequences” if China helps Russia “backfill” its losses from the sanctions.“We will not allow that to go forward and allow there to be a lifeline to Russia from these economic sanctions from any country anywhere in the world,” he said.Without giving details, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said Monday that the “Ukraine situation will definitely be a hot topic” at the meeting, which had been scheduled before Russia invaded its neighbor.Asked at a daily briefing about the reported Russian request for assistance, Zhao responded: “The U.S. has been spreading disinformation targeting China recently over the Ukraine issue. It is malicious.”“What is pressing now is that all parties should exercise restraint and strive to cool down the situation, rather than fueling the tension,” Zhao told reporters. “We should promote diplomatic settlements instead of further escalating the situation.”In a statement posted on the ministry’s website late Sunday, Zhao did not mention Ukraine, but said the sides would “exchange views on China-U.S. relations and international and regional issues of common concern.”The White House said the talks will focus on the direct impact of Russia’s war against Ukraine on regional and global security.Biden administration officials say Beijing is spreading false Russian claims that Ukraine was running chemical and biological weapons labs with U.S. support. They say China&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-europe-jen-psaki-chemical-weapons-weapons-of-mass-destruction-f01cedf434ec697034b2912696a3448b">is effectively providing cover</a>&nbsp;if Russia moves ahead with a biological or chemical weapons attack on Ukrainians.When Russia starts accusing other countries of preparing to launch biological or chemical attacks, Sullivan told NBC’s “Meet the Press,” “it’s a good tell that they may be on the cusp of doing it themselves.”Pentagon spokesman John Kirby, on ABC’s “This Week,” said “we haven’t seen anything that indicates some sort of imminent chemical or biological attack right now, but we’re watching this very, very closely.”The striking U.S. accusations about Russian disinformation and Chinese complicity came after Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova alleged with no evidence that the U.S. was financing Ukrainian chemical and biological weapons labs.The Russian claim was echoed by Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao, who claimed there were 26 bio-labs and related facilities in “which the U.S. Department of Defense has absolute control.” The United Nations has said it has received no information backing up such accusations.White House press secretary Jen Psaki called the claims “preposterous.”There is growing concern inside the White House that China is aligning itself with Russia on the Ukraine war in hopes it will advance Beijing’s “vision of the world order” in the long term, according to a person familiar with administration thinking. The person was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.Sullivan told “Face the Nation” on CBS that the Russian rhetoric on chemical and biological warfare is “an indicator that, in fact, the Russians are getting ready to do it and try and pin the blame elsewhere and nobody should fall for that.”The international community has assessed that Russia used chemical weapons in attempts to assassinate Putin detractors such as Alexei Navalny and former spy Sergei Skripal. Russia also supports the Assad government in Syria, which has used chemical weapons against its people in a decade-long civil war.China has been one of few countries to avoid criticizing the Russians for its invasion of Ukraine. China’s leader Xi Jinping hosted Putin for the opening of the Winter Olympics in Beijing, just three weeks before Russia invaded on Feb. 24.During Putin’s visit, the two leaders issued a 5,000-word statement declaring limitless “friendship”.The Chinese abstained on U.N. votes censuring Russia and has criticized economic sanctions against Moscow. It has expressed its support for peace talks and offered its services as a mediator, despite questions about its neutrality and scant experience mediating international conflict.But questions remain over how far Beijing will go to alienate the West and put its own economy at risk. Sullivan said China and all countries are on notice that they cannot “basically bail Russia out ... give Russia a workaround to the sanctions,” with impunity.Chinese officials have said Washington shouldn’t be able to complain about Russia’s actions because the U.S. invaded Iraq under false pretenses. The U.S. claimed to have evidence Saddam Hussein was stockpiling weapons of mass destruction though none was ever found.On CNN, Sullivan said the administration believes China knew that Putin “was planning something” before the invasion of Ukraine. But he said the Chinese government “may not have understood the full extent of it because it’s very possible that Putin lied to them the same way that he lied to Europeans and others.”Sullivan and Yang last met for face-to-face talks in Switzerland, where Sullivan raised the Biden administration’s concerns about China’s military provocations against Taiwan, human rights abuses against ethnic minorities and efforts to squelch pro-democracy advocates in Hong Kong.That meeting set the stage for a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-xi-meeting-e6013378e03727b85a8f59f71fe61f4a">three-hour long virtual meeting</a>&nbsp;in November between Biden and Xi.Sullivan is also to meet Luigi Mattiolo, diplomatic adviser to Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, while in Rome.___