ST. LOUIS (AP) — A federal judge has denied a request from a 19-year-old woman to allow her to watch her father’s death by injection, upholding a Missouri law that bars anyone under 21 from witnessing an execution.

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/police-executions-missouri-3c5c00c2e09cc3d4639b827e374e45a1">Kevin Johnson</a>&nbsp;is set to be executed Tuesday for killing Kirkwood, Missouri, Police Officer William McEntee in 2005. Johnson’s lawyers have appeals pending that seek to spare his life.

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/executions-kansas-city-missouri-american-civil-liberties-union-fb286220ab2c127df3b9f56db67c6d45">His daughter, Khorry Ramey, had sought</a>&nbsp;to attend the execution, and the American Civil Liberties Union had filed an emergency motion with a federal court in Kansas City. The ACLU’s court filing said the age requirement served no safety purpose and violates Ramey’s constitutional rights. But U.S. District Judge Brian C. Wimes ruled late Friday that Ramey's constitutional rights would not be violated by the law.

“I’m heartbroken that I won’t be able to be with my dad in his last moments,” Ramey said in a statement. “My dad is the most important person in my life. He has been there for me my whole life, even though he’s been incarcerated."

While the judge acknowledged that the law would cause emotional harm for Ramey, he found that was just one part of the court's consideration and the law did not violate her constitutional rights.

Ramey said she was praying that Gov. Michael Parson would grant her father clemency. Johnson’s lawyers have filed appeals seeking to halt the execution. They don’t challenge his guilt but claim racism played a role in the decision to seek the death penalty, and in the jury’s decision to sentence him to die. Johnson is Black and McEntee was white.

Johnson’s lawyers also have asked the courts to intervene for other reasons, including a history of mental illness and his age — he was 19 at the time of the crime. Courts have increasingly moved away from sentencing teen offenders to death since the Supreme Court in 2005 banned the execution of offenders who were younger than 18 at the time of their crime.

In a court filing to the U.S. Supreme Court, the Missouri Attorney General’s Office stated there were no grounds for court intervention.

“The surviving victims of Johnson’s crimes have waited long enough for justice, and every day longer that they must wait is a day they are denied the chance to finally make peace with their loss,” the state petition stated.

Associated PressST. LOUIS (AP) — A federal judge has denied a request from a 19-year-old woman to allow her to watch her father’s death by injection, upholding a Missouri law that bars anyone under 21 from witnessing an execution.<a href="https://apnews.com/article/police-executions-missouri-3c5c00c2e09cc3d4639b827e374e45a1">Kevin Johnson</a>&nbsp;is set to be executed Tuesday for killing Kirkwood, Missouri, Police Officer William McEntee in 2005. Johnson’s lawyers have appeals pending that seek to spare his life.<a href="https://apnews.com/article/executions-kansas-city-missouri-american-civil-liberties-union-fb286220ab2c127df3b9f56db67c6d45">His daughter, Khorry Ramey, had sought</a>&nbsp;to attend the execution, and the American Civil Liberties Union had filed an emergency motion with a federal court in Kansas City. The ACLU’s court filing said the age requirement served no safety purpose and violates Ramey’s constitutional rights. But U.S. District Judge Brian C. Wimes ruled late Friday that Ramey's constitutional rights would not be violated by the law.“I’m heartbroken that I won’t be able to be with my dad in his last moments,” Ramey said in a statement. “My dad is the most important person in my life. He has been there for me my whole life, even though he’s been incarcerated."While the judge acknowledged that the law would cause emotional harm for Ramey, he found that was just one part of the court's consideration and the law did not violate her constitutional rights.Ramey said she was praying that Gov. Michael Parson would grant her father clemency. Johnson’s lawyers have filed appeals seeking to halt the execution. They don’t challenge his guilt but claim racism played a role in the decision to seek the death penalty, and in the jury’s decision to sentence him to die. Johnson is Black and McEntee was white.Johnson’s lawyers also have asked the courts to intervene for other reasons, including a history of mental illness and his age — he was 19 at the time of the crime. Courts have increasingly moved away from sentencing teen offenders to death since the Supreme Court in 2005 banned the execution of offenders who were younger than 18 at the time of their crime.In a court filing to the U.S. Supreme Court, the Missouri Attorney General’s Office stated there were no grounds for court intervention.“The surviving victims of Johnson’s crimes have waited long enough for justice, and every day longer that they must wait is a day they are denied the chance to finally make peace with their loss,” the state petition stated.

Judge denies 19-year-old's ask to attend father's execution

<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search/?query=byline:%22SAM%20MEDNICK%20and%20JAMEY%20KEATEN%22&amp;mediaType=text&amp;st=keyword&amp;sortOrder=newest">By SAM MEDNICK and JAMEY KEATEN Associated Press</a>

KHERSON, Ukraine (AP) — Fleeing shelling, civilians on Saturday streamed out of the southern Ukrainian city whose recapture they had celebrated just weeks earlier as the country remembered a Stalin-era famine and sought to ensure that Russia's war in Ukraine doesn’t deprive others worldwide of its vital food exports.

A line of trucks, vans and cars, some towing trailers or ferrying out pets and other belongings, stretched a kilometer or more on the outskirts of the city of Kherson.

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-europe-11bd38a125fa8e6d34ccb1fc62df8e3e">Days of intensive shelling</a>&nbsp;by Russian forces prompted a bittersweet exodus: Many civilians&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-europe-business-46c1061fc44458c903cf12fa442c57e1">were happy</a>&nbsp;that their city had been won back, but lamented that they couldn't stay.

“It is sad that we are leaving our home,” said Yevhen Yankov, as a van he was in inched forward. "Now we are free, but we have to leave, because there is shelling, and there are dead among the population.”

Poking her head out from the back, Svitlana Romanivna added: “We went through real hell. Our neighborhood was burning, it was a nightmare. Everything was in flames.”

Emilie Fourrey, emergency project coordinator for aid group Doctors Without Borders in Ukraine, said an evacuation of 400 patients of Kherson's psychiatric hospital, which is situated near both an electrical plant and the frontline, had begun on Thursday and was set to continue in the coming days.

Kherson was one of many cities in recent days to face a blistering onslaught of Russian artillery fire and drone attacks, with the shelling especially intense there. Elsewhere, the barrage largely targeted infrastructure, though civilian casualties were reported. Repair crews across the country were scrambling Saturday to restore heat, electricity and water services that were blasted into disrepair.

Russia has ratcheted up its attacks on critical infrastructure after suffering battlefield setbacks. A prominent Russian nationalist said Saturday the Russian military doesn't have enough doctors, in what was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-europe-moscow-fa5db922708b22b212f546b2f84a7cfb">a rare public admission</a>&nbsp;of problems within the military.

In the capital Kyiv, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy oversaw a busy day of diplomacy, welcoming several European Union leaders for meetings and hosting an “International Summit on Food Security” to discuss food security and agricultural exports from the country.

The prime ministers of Belgium, Poland and Lithuania and the president of Hungary were on hand, and many others participated by video.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said Ukraine — despite its own financial straits — has allocated 900 million hryvna ($24 million) to purchase corn for countries including Yemen, Sudan, Kenya and Nigeria.

Zelenskyy said Ukraine was working to get its grain on ships and to countries that need it.

“Our goal is ambitious and specific – to save at least 5 million people from hunger," Zelenskyy said.

The reminder about food supplies was timely: Ukrainians were marking the 90th anniversary of the start of the “Holodomor,” or Great Famine, which killed more than 3 million people over two years as the Soviet government under dictator Josef Stalin confiscated food and grain supplies and deported many Ukrainians.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz marked the commemoration by drawing parallels with the impact of the war on Ukraine on world markets. Exports from Ukraine have resumed under a U.N.-brokered deal but have still been far short of pre-war levels, driving up global prices.

“Today, we stand united in stating that hunger must never again be used as a weapon,” Scholz said in a video message. “That is why we cannot tolerate what we are witnessing: The worst global food crisis in years with abhorrent consequences for millions of people – from Afghanistan to Madagascar, from the Sahel to the Horn of Africa.”

He said Germany, with the U.N.'s World Food Program, will provide an additional 15 million euros for further grain shipments from Ukraine.

Scholz spokes as a cross-party group of lawmakers in Germany are seeking to pass a parliamentary resolution next week that would recognize the 1930s famine as “genocide.”

Last year Ukraine and Russia provided around 30% of the world’s exported wheat and barley, 20% of its corn, and over 50% of its sunflower oil, the U.N. has said.

In a post on the Telegram social network on Saturday, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said more than 3,000 specialists for a local utility continued to work “around the clock” and had succeeded in restoring heat to more than more than 90% of residential buildings. While about one-quarter of Kyiv residents remained without electricity, he said water serviced had been returned to all in the city.

The scramble to restore power came as Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo met Saturday with Zelenskyy in Kyiv.

“This might be a difficult winter,” he said, alluding to Belgium's contributions of generators, and support for schools and hospitals in Ukraine, as well as military aid such as “fuel, machine guns, propelled artillery and so on.”

“And by standing here, we hope that we provide you hope and resilience in fighting through this difficult period.”

<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search/?query=byline:%22SAM%20MEDNICK%20and%20JAMEY%20KEATEN%22&amp;mediaType=text&amp;st=keyword&amp;sortOrder=newest">By SAM MEDNICK and JAMEY KEATEN Associated Press</a>KHERSON, Ukraine (AP) — Fleeing shelling, civilians on Saturday streamed out of the southern Ukrainian city whose recapture they had celebrated just weeks earlier as the country remembered a Stalin-era famine and sought to ensure that Russia's war in Ukraine doesn’t deprive others worldwide of its vital food exports.A line of trucks, vans and cars, some towing trailers or ferrying out pets and other belongings, stretched a kilometer or more on the outskirts of the city of Kherson.<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-europe-11bd38a125fa8e6d34ccb1fc62df8e3e">Days of intensive shelling</a>&nbsp;by Russian forces prompted a bittersweet exodus: Many civilians&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-europe-business-46c1061fc44458c903cf12fa442c57e1">were happy</a>&nbsp;that their city had been won back, but lamented that they couldn't stay.“It is sad that we are leaving our home,” said Yevhen Yankov, as a van he was in inched forward. "Now we are free, but we have to leave, because there is shelling, and there are dead among the population.”Poking her head out from the back, Svitlana Romanivna added: “We went through real hell. Our neighborhood was burning, it was a nightmare. Everything was in flames.”Emilie Fourrey, emergency project coordinator for aid group Doctors Without Borders in Ukraine, said an evacuation of 400 patients of Kherson's psychiatric hospital, which is situated near both an electrical plant and the frontline, had begun on Thursday and was set to continue in the coming days.Kherson was one of many cities in recent days to face a blistering onslaught of Russian artillery fire and drone attacks, with the shelling especially intense there. Elsewhere, the barrage largely targeted infrastructure, though civilian casualties were reported. Repair crews across the country were scrambling Saturday to restore heat, electricity and water services that were blasted into disrepair.Russia has ratcheted up its attacks on critical infrastructure after suffering battlefield setbacks. A prominent Russian nationalist said Saturday the Russian military doesn't have enough doctors, in what was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-europe-moscow-fa5db922708b22b212f546b2f84a7cfb">a rare public admission</a>&nbsp;of problems within the military.In the capital Kyiv, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy oversaw a busy day of diplomacy, welcoming several European Union leaders for meetings and hosting an “International Summit on Food Security” to discuss food security and agricultural exports from the country.The prime ministers of Belgium, Poland and Lithuania and the president of Hungary were on hand, and many others participated by video.Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said Ukraine — despite its own financial straits — has allocated 900 million hryvna ($24 million) to purchase corn for countries including Yemen, Sudan, Kenya and Nigeria.Zelenskyy said Ukraine was working to get its grain on ships and to countries that need it.“Our goal is ambitious and specific – to save at least 5 million people from hunger," Zelenskyy said.The reminder about food supplies was timely: Ukrainians were marking the 90th anniversary of the start of the “Holodomor,” or Great Famine, which killed more than 3 million people over two years as the Soviet government under dictator Josef Stalin confiscated food and grain supplies and deported many Ukrainians.German Chancellor Olaf Scholz marked the commemoration by drawing parallels with the impact of the war on Ukraine on world markets. Exports from Ukraine have resumed under a U.N.-brokered deal but have still been far short of pre-war levels, driving up global prices.“Today, we stand united in stating that hunger must never again be used as a weapon,” Scholz said in a video message. “That is why we cannot tolerate what we are witnessing: The worst global food crisis in years with abhorrent consequences for millions of people – from Afghanistan to Madagascar, from the Sahel to the Horn of Africa.”He said Germany, with the U.N.'s World Food Program, will provide an additional 15 million euros for further grain shipments from Ukraine.Scholz spokes as a cross-party group of lawmakers in Germany are seeking to pass a parliamentary resolution next week that would recognize the 1930s famine as “genocide.”Last year Ukraine and Russia provided around 30% of the world’s exported wheat and barley, 20% of its corn, and over 50% of its sunflower oil, the U.N. has said.In a post on the Telegram social network on Saturday, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said more than 3,000 specialists for a local utility continued to work “around the clock” and had succeeded in restoring heat to more than more than 90% of residential buildings. While about one-quarter of Kyiv residents remained without electricity, he said water serviced had been returned to all in the city.The scramble to restore power came as Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo met Saturday with Zelenskyy in Kyiv.“This might be a difficult winter,” he said, alluding to Belgium's contributions of generators, and support for schools and hospitals in Ukraine, as well as military aid such as “fuel, machine guns, propelled artillery and so on.”“And by standing here, we hope that we provide you hope and resilience in fighting through this difficult period.”

Civilians escape Kherson after Russian strikes on freed city

<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search/?query=byline:%22HUIZHONG%20WU%22&amp;mediaType=text&amp;st=keyword&amp;sortOrder=newest">By HUIZHONG WU Associated Press</a>

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen resigned as head of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party following local election losses on Saturday in which voters chose the opposition Nationalist party in several major races across the self-ruled island.

Concerns about&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/taiwan-technology-science-business-china-35b2b91bcf82de7f86e784388f0a0245">threats from rival China,</a>&nbsp;which claims Taiwan as its territory, took a backseat to more local issues in the elections.

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-taiwan-europe-china-tsai-ing-wen-57bb77e6d3591a3848f12e4264c49e72">Tsai had spoken out many times</a>&nbsp;about “opposing China and defending Taiwan” in the course of campaigning for her party. But the party’s candidate Chen Shih-chung, who lost his battle for mayor of Taipei, only raised the issue of the Chinese Communist Party’s threat a few times before he quickly switched back to local issues as there was little interest.

Tsai offered her resignation on Saturday evening, a tradition after a major loss, in a short speech in which she also thanked supporters.

“I must shoulder all the responsibility,” she said. “Faced with a result like this, there are many areas that we must deeply review.”

While international observers and the ruling party have attempted to link the elections to the long-term existential threat that is Taiwan’s neighbor, many local experts do not think China had a large role to play this time around.

“The international community has raised the stakes too high. They’ve raised a local election to this international level, and Taiwan’s survival,” said Yeh-lih Wang, a political science professor at National Taiwan University.

During campaigning, there were few mentions of the large-scale military exercises targeting Taiwan that China held in August in reaction to U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit.

“So I think if you can’t even raise this issue in Taipei, you don’t even need to consider it in cities in the south,” Wang said.

Candidates from the Nationalist party won the mayoral seat in Taipei, Taiwan's capital, as well as in Taoyuan, Taichung and New Taipei city.

Taiwanese were picking mayors, city council members and other local leaders in all 13 counties and in nine cities. There was also a referendum to lower the voting age from 20 to 18, which was defeated, according to local media.

Chiang Wan-an, the new Taipei mayor, declared victory Saturday night in a large rally. “I will let the world see Taipei's greatness,” he said.

Not all votes had been formally counted by the time of his speech, but Chiang and the other candidates' numerical lead allowed them to declare victory.

Kao Hung-an, a candidate in the relatively new Taiwan People's Party, won the mayoral seat in Hsinchu, home to many of Taiwan's semi-conductor companies.

Campaigns had resolutely focused on the local: air pollution in the central city of Taichung, traffic snarls in Taipei’s tech hub Nangang, and the island’s COVID-19 vaccine purchasing strategies, which had left the island in short supply during an outbreak last year.

The defeat for the ruling DPP may be partly due to how it handled the pandemic.

“The public has some dissatisfaction with the DPP on this, even though Taiwan has done well relatively speaking in pandemic prevention,” said Weihao Huang, a political science professor at National Sun Yat-sen University.

At an elementary school in New Taipei City, the city that surrounds Taipei, voters young and old came early despite the rain.

Yu Mei-zhu, 60, said she came to cast her ballot for the incumbent Mayor Hou You-yi. “I think he has done well, so I want to continue to support him. I believe in him, and that he can improve our environment in New Taipei City and our transportation infrastructure."

Tsai came out early Saturday morning to cast her ballot, catching many voters by surprise as her security and entourage swept through the school.

“If the DPP loses many county seats, then their ability to rule will face a very strong challenge,” said You Ying-lung, chair at the Taiwanese Public Opinion Foundation that regularly conducts public surveys on political issues.

The election results will in some ways also reflect the public's attitude toward the ruling party's performance in the last two years, You said.

Some felt apathetic to the local race. “It feels as if everyone is almost the same, from the policy standpoint,” said 26-year-old Sean Tai, an employee at a hardware store.

Tai declined to say who he voted for, but wants someone who will raise Taipei's profile and bring better economic prospects while keeping the status quo with China. “We don’t want to be completely sealed off. I really hope that Taiwan can be seen internationally," he said.

<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search/?query=byline:%22HUIZHONG%20WU%22&amp;mediaType=text&amp;st=keyword&amp;sortOrder=newest">By HUIZHONG WU Associated Press</a>TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen resigned as head of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party following local election losses on Saturday in which voters chose the opposition Nationalist party in several major races across the self-ruled island.Concerns about&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/taiwan-technology-science-business-china-35b2b91bcf82de7f86e784388f0a0245">threats from rival China,</a>&nbsp;which claims Taiwan as its territory, took a backseat to more local issues in the elections.<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-taiwan-europe-china-tsai-ing-wen-57bb77e6d3591a3848f12e4264c49e72">Tsai had spoken out many times</a>&nbsp;about “opposing China and defending Taiwan” in the course of campaigning for her party. But the party’s candidate Chen Shih-chung, who lost his battle for mayor of Taipei, only raised the issue of the Chinese Communist Party’s threat a few times before he quickly switched back to local issues as there was little interest.Tsai offered her resignation on Saturday evening, a tradition after a major loss, in a short speech in which she also thanked supporters.“I must shoulder all the responsibility,” she said. “Faced with a result like this, there are many areas that we must deeply review.”While international observers and the ruling party have attempted to link the elections to the long-term existential threat that is Taiwan’s neighbor, many local experts do not think China had a large role to play this time around.“The international community has raised the stakes too high. They’ve raised a local election to this international level, and Taiwan’s survival,” said Yeh-lih Wang, a political science professor at National Taiwan University.During campaigning, there were few mentions of the large-scale military exercises targeting Taiwan that China held in August in reaction to U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit.“So I think if you can’t even raise this issue in Taipei, you don’t even need to consider it in cities in the south,” Wang said.Candidates from the Nationalist party won the mayoral seat in Taipei, Taiwan's capital, as well as in Taoyuan, Taichung and New Taipei city.Taiwanese were picking mayors, city council members and other local leaders in all 13 counties and in nine cities. There was also a referendum to lower the voting age from 20 to 18, which was defeated, according to local media.Chiang Wan-an, the new Taipei mayor, declared victory Saturday night in a large rally. “I will let the world see Taipei's greatness,” he said.Not all votes had been formally counted by the time of his speech, but Chiang and the other candidates' numerical lead allowed them to declare victory.Kao Hung-an, a candidate in the relatively new Taiwan People's Party, won the mayoral seat in Hsinchu, home to many of Taiwan's semi-conductor companies.Campaigns had resolutely focused on the local: air pollution in the central city of Taichung, traffic snarls in Taipei’s tech hub Nangang, and the island’s COVID-19 vaccine purchasing strategies, which had left the island in short supply during an outbreak last year.The defeat for the ruling DPP may be partly due to how it handled the pandemic.“The public has some dissatisfaction with the DPP on this, even though Taiwan has done well relatively speaking in pandemic prevention,” said Weihao Huang, a political science professor at National Sun Yat-sen University.At an elementary school in New Taipei City, the city that surrounds Taipei, voters young and old came early despite the rain.Yu Mei-zhu, 60, said she came to cast her ballot for the incumbent Mayor Hou You-yi. “I think he has done well, so I want to continue to support him. I believe in him, and that he can improve our environment in New Taipei City and our transportation infrastructure."Tsai came out early Saturday morning to cast her ballot, catching many voters by surprise as her security and entourage swept through the school.“If the DPP loses many county seats, then their ability to rule will face a very strong challenge,” said You Ying-lung, chair at the Taiwanese Public Opinion Foundation that regularly conducts public surveys on political issues.The election results will in some ways also reflect the public's attitude toward the ruling party's performance in the last two years, You said.Some felt apathetic to the local race. “It feels as if everyone is almost the same, from the policy standpoint,” said 26-year-old Sean Tai, an employee at a hardware store.Tai declined to say who he voted for, but wants someone who will raise Taipei's profile and bring better economic prospects while keeping the status quo with China. “We don’t want to be completely sealed off. I really hope that Taiwan can be seen internationally," he said.

Taiwan president resigns as party leader after election loss

WASHINGTON (AP) — State-level law enforcement units created after the
 2020 presidential election to investigate voter fraud are looking into 
scattered complaints more than two weeks after the <a href="https://apnews.com/hub/2022-midterm-elections">midterms</a> but have provided no indication of systemic problems.

That's
 just what election experts had expected and led critics to suggest that
 the new units were more about politics than rooting out widespread 
abuses. Most election-related fraud cases already are investigated and 
prosecuted at the local level.

Florida, Georgia and Virginia 
created special state-level units after the 2020 election, all pushed by
 Republican governors, attorneys general or legislatures.

“I am 
not aware of any significant detection of fraud on Election Day, but 
that’s not surprising,” said Paul Smith, senior vice president of the 
Campaign Legal Center. “The whole concept of voter impersonation fraud 
is such a horribly exaggerated problem. It doesn’t change the outcome of
 the election, it's a felony, you risk getting put in jail and you have a
 high possibility of getting caught. It's a rare phenomena.”

The absence of widespread fraud is important because <a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-michael-pence-electoral-college-elections-health-2d9bd47a8bd3561682ac46c6b3873a10">the lies</a> surrounding the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/election-claims-biden-won-explained-bd53b14ce871412b462cb3fe2c563f18">2020 presidential election</a>
 spread by former President Donald Trump and his allies have penetrated 
deeply into the Republican Party and eroded trust in elections. In the 
run-up to this year's elections, 45% of Republicans had <a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-presidential-election-2020-democracy-33823de7f22a601a192fc82eeb88e630">little to no confidence</a> that votes would be counted accurately.

An Associated Press investigation found there was <a href="https://apnews.com/article/voter-fraud-election-2020-joe-biden-donald-trump-7fcb6f134e528fee8237c7601db3328f">no widespread fraud</a> in Georgia or the five other <a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-arizona-donald-trump-voter-registration-tucson-c64bba90b8c074bf8bdfd2c751b6b0f2">battleground states</a> where Trump disputed his 2020 loss, and so far there is no indication of that in this year's elections. <a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-nevada-michigan-election-recounts-a2df6e14df54c99d6398985ebf465692">Certification of the results</a> is going smoothly in most states, with few complaints.

In
 Georgia, where Trump tried to pressure state officials to “find” enough
 votes to overturn his loss, a new law gives the state’s top law 
enforcement agency, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, authority to 
initiate investigations of alleged election fraud without a request from
 election officials. The alleged violation would have to be significant 
enough to change or create doubt about the outcome of an election.

GBI
 spokesperson Nelly Miles said the agency has not initiated any 
investigations under the statute. The agency is assisting the secretary 
of state’s office in an investigation of <a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-technology-lawsuits-donald-trump-voting-6a1324cc6cf45c95ca086a5c81617b15">a breach of voting equipment in Coffee County</a> in 2021, but that is its only recent election fraud investigation, she said in an email.

That
 breach, which came to light earlier this year, involved local officials
 in a county that voted for Trump by nearly 40 percentage points in 2020
 and some high-profile supporters of the former president.

State 
Rep. Jasmine Clark, a Democrat who opposed the additional authority for 
the bureau, said the lack of investigations validates the criticism that
 the law was unnecessary. But she said just the prospect of a GBI 
investigation could intimidate people who want to serve as poll workers 
or take on some other role in the voting process.

“In this 
situation, there was no actual problem to be solved,” Clark said. “This 
was a solution looking for a problem, and that’s never the way that we 
should legislate.”

Florida has been the most visible state, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-covid-health-crime-florida-5fad57fac85e0944b6e8eeb423b195b7">creating its Office of Election Crimes and Security</a> amid much fanfare this year and keeping <a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-crime-police-florida-voting-6faba6b361ef699eb3f90988a849d33c">a pledge that Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis made</a> in 2021 to combat unspecified election fraud.

The
 office is under the Florida Department of State. It reviews allegations
 and then tasks state law enforcement with pursuing violations.

DeSantis this summer announced the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-voting-rights-florida-presidential-bfbf3d7d4f5dea4fa2a11589e4235c71">election unit had arrested 20</a>
 people for illegally voting in the 2020 election, when the state had 
14.4 million registered voters. That was the first major election since a
 state constitutional amendment restored voting rights for felons, 
except for those convicted of murder or felony sex crimes or those who 
still owe fines, fees or restitution.

Court records show the 20 
people were able to register to vote despite prior felony convictions, 
apparently leading them to believe they could legally cast ballots. At 
least part of the confusion stems from language in the voter 
registration forms that requires applicants to swear they are not a 
felon — or if they are, that they have had their rights restored. The 
forms do not inquire specifically about past convictions for murder and 
felony sexual assault.

One of the people charged, 56-year-old 
Robert Lee Wood, had his home surrounded early one morning by law 
enforcement officers who banged on his door and arrested him. He spent 
two days in jail. Wood’s lawyer, Larry Davis, said his client did not 
think he was breaking the law because he was able to register to vote 
without issue. Davis called the law enforcement reaction “over the top” 
in this case.

Wood’s case was dismissed by a Miami judge in late 
October on jurisdictional grounds, because it was brought by the Office 
of the Statewide Prosecutor rather than local prosecutors in Miami. The 
state is appealing the ruling.

Andrea Mercado, executive director 
of Florida Rising, an independent political activist organization 
focused on economic and racial justice in the state, said the 
disproportionate targeting of such would-be voters was sending a 
“chilling message to all returning citizens who want to register to 
vote.” She said her group found that many of them were confused about 
the requirements.

“You have to go to 67 counties' websites and 
find their individual county processes to see if you have a fine or 
fee,” she said. “It’s a labyrinthian ordeal.”

Weeks before the 
Nov. 8 election, the Office of Election Crimes and Security began 
notifying Florida counties of hundreds of registered voters who 
potentially were ineligible to vote because of prior convictions. In 
letters to the counties, state officials asked that election officials 
verify the information and then take action to prevent ineligible voters
 from casting ballots.

“We’ve heard stories about voters who are 
eligible to vote but have a criminal conviction in their past, and they 
are now scared to register and vote," said Michael Pernick, a voting 
rights attorney with the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. He called it “deeply 
concerning.”

A spokesman for the new office did not provide 
information related to any other actions it might have taken or 
investigations it might have underway related to this year’s primary and
 general elections.

Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares 
announced he was forming his own Election Integrity Unit in September, 
saying it would “work to help restore confidence in our democratic 
process in the Commonwealth.”

The formation of the unit came in a state where Republicans <a href="https://apnews.com/article/election-day-2021-virginia-2bbad4e99c1a9bd4b5b943551b0ba303">swept the three statewide offices</a> in 2021 elections, including Miyares' defeat of a Democratic incumbent.

His
 spokeswoman, Victoria LaCivita, said in a written response to questions
 from The Associated Press that the office had received complaints 
connected to this month's elections, but she could not comment on 
whether any investigations had resulted.

In addition, “the EIU 
successfully got a demurrer and a motion to dismiss” an attempt to force
 the state to abandon its use of electronic voting machines to count 
ballots and institute a statewide hand count.

Miyares' office said
 he was not available for an interview, but in a letter to the editor in
 The Washington Post in October he stated there was no widespread fraud 
in Virginia or anywhere else during the 2020 election. He said his 
office already had jurisdiction in election-related issues but that he 
was restructuring it into a unit to work more cooperatively with the 
election community to allay any doubts about the fairness of elections.

Smith,
 of the Campaign Legal Center, said there are real issues related to 
election security, including protecting voters, poll workers and 
elections staff, and securing voting equipment. But he said Republican 
steps to boost what they often refer to as “election integrity” to 
combat voter fraud often are about something else.

“It’s a myth that’s created so they can justify making it harder for people to vote,” he said.

WASHINGTON (AP) — State-level law enforcement units created after the
 2020 presidential election to investigate voter fraud are looking into 
scattered complaints more than two weeks after the <a href="https://apnews.com/hub/2022-midterm-elections">midterms</a> but have provided no indication of systemic problems.That's
 just what election experts had expected and led critics to suggest that
 the new units were more about politics than rooting out widespread 
abuses. Most election-related fraud cases already are investigated and 
prosecuted at the local level.Florida, Georgia and Virginia 
created special state-level units after the 2020 election, all pushed by
 Republican governors, attorneys general or legislatures.“I am 
not aware of any significant detection of fraud on Election Day, but 
that’s not surprising,” said Paul Smith, senior vice president of the 
Campaign Legal Center. “The whole concept of voter impersonation fraud 
is such a horribly exaggerated problem. It doesn’t change the outcome of
 the election, it's a felony, you risk getting put in jail and you have a
 high possibility of getting caught. It's a rare phenomena.”The absence of widespread fraud is important because <a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-michael-pence-electoral-college-elections-health-2d9bd47a8bd3561682ac46c6b3873a10">the lies</a> surrounding the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/election-claims-biden-won-explained-bd53b14ce871412b462cb3fe2c563f18">2020 presidential election</a>
 spread by former President Donald Trump and his allies have penetrated 
deeply into the Republican Party and eroded trust in elections. In the 
run-up to this year's elections, 45% of Republicans had <a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-presidential-election-2020-democracy-33823de7f22a601a192fc82eeb88e630">little to no confidence</a> that votes would be counted accurately.An Associated Press investigation found there was <a href="https://apnews.com/article/voter-fraud-election-2020-joe-biden-donald-trump-7fcb6f134e528fee8237c7601db3328f">no widespread fraud</a> in Georgia or the five other <a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-arizona-donald-trump-voter-registration-tucson-c64bba90b8c074bf8bdfd2c751b6b0f2">battleground states</a> where Trump disputed his 2020 loss, and so far there is no indication of that in this year's elections. <a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-nevada-michigan-election-recounts-a2df6e14df54c99d6398985ebf465692">Certification of the results</a> is going smoothly in most states, with few complaints.In
 Georgia, where Trump tried to pressure state officials to “find” enough
 votes to overturn his loss, a new law gives the state’s top law 
enforcement agency, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, authority to 
initiate investigations of alleged election fraud without a request from
 election officials. The alleged violation would have to be significant 
enough to change or create doubt about the outcome of an election.GBI
 spokesperson Nelly Miles said the agency has not initiated any 
investigations under the statute. The agency is assisting the secretary 
of state’s office in an investigation of <a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-technology-lawsuits-donald-trump-voting-6a1324cc6cf45c95ca086a5c81617b15">a breach of voting equipment in Coffee County</a> in 2021, but that is its only recent election fraud investigation, she said in an email.That
 breach, which came to light earlier this year, involved local officials
 in a county that voted for Trump by nearly 40 percentage points in 2020
 and some high-profile supporters of the former president.State 
Rep. Jasmine Clark, a Democrat who opposed the additional authority for 
the bureau, said the lack of investigations validates the criticism that
 the law was unnecessary. But she said just the prospect of a GBI 
investigation could intimidate people who want to serve as poll workers 
or take on some other role in the voting process.“In this 
situation, there was no actual problem to be solved,” Clark said. “This 
was a solution looking for a problem, and that’s never the way that we 
should legislate.”Florida has been the most visible state, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-covid-health-crime-florida-5fad57fac85e0944b6e8eeb423b195b7">creating its Office of Election Crimes and Security</a> amid much fanfare this year and keeping <a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-crime-police-florida-voting-6faba6b361ef699eb3f90988a849d33c">a pledge that Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis made</a> in 2021 to combat unspecified election fraud.The
 office is under the Florida Department of State. It reviews allegations
 and then tasks state law enforcement with pursuing violations.DeSantis this summer announced the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-voting-rights-florida-presidential-bfbf3d7d4f5dea4fa2a11589e4235c71">election unit had arrested 20</a>
 people for illegally voting in the 2020 election, when the state had 
14.4 million registered voters. That was the first major election since a
 state constitutional amendment restored voting rights for felons, 
except for those convicted of murder or felony sex crimes or those who 
still owe fines, fees or restitution.Court records show the 20 
people were able to register to vote despite prior felony convictions, 
apparently leading them to believe they could legally cast ballots. At 
least part of the confusion stems from language in the voter 
registration forms that requires applicants to swear they are not a 
felon — or if they are, that they have had their rights restored. The 
forms do not inquire specifically about past convictions for murder and 
felony sexual assault.One of the people charged, 56-year-old 
Robert Lee Wood, had his home surrounded early one morning by law 
enforcement officers who banged on his door and arrested him. He spent 
two days in jail. Wood’s lawyer, Larry Davis, said his client did not 
think he was breaking the law because he was able to register to vote 
without issue. Davis called the law enforcement reaction “over the top” 
in this case.Wood’s case was dismissed by a Miami judge in late 
October on jurisdictional grounds, because it was brought by the Office 
of the Statewide Prosecutor rather than local prosecutors in Miami. The 
state is appealing the ruling.Andrea Mercado, executive director 
of Florida Rising, an independent political activist organization 
focused on economic and racial justice in the state, said the 
disproportionate targeting of such would-be voters was sending a 
“chilling message to all returning citizens who want to register to 
vote.” She said her group found that many of them were confused about 
the requirements.“You have to go to 67 counties' websites and 
find their individual county processes to see if you have a fine or 
fee,” she said. “It’s a labyrinthian ordeal.”Weeks before the 
Nov. 8 election, the Office of Election Crimes and Security began 
notifying Florida counties of hundreds of registered voters who 
potentially were ineligible to vote because of prior convictions. In 
letters to the counties, state officials asked that election officials 
verify the information and then take action to prevent ineligible voters
 from casting ballots.“We’ve heard stories about voters who are 
eligible to vote but have a criminal conviction in their past, and they 
are now scared to register and vote," said Michael Pernick, a voting 
rights attorney with the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. He called it “deeply 
concerning.”A spokesman for the new office did not provide 
information related to any other actions it might have taken or 
investigations it might have underway related to this year’s primary and
 general elections.Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares 
announced he was forming his own Election Integrity Unit in September, 
saying it would “work to help restore confidence in our democratic 
process in the Commonwealth.”The formation of the unit came in a state where Republicans <a href="https://apnews.com/article/election-day-2021-virginia-2bbad4e99c1a9bd4b5b943551b0ba303">swept the three statewide offices</a> in 2021 elections, including Miyares' defeat of a Democratic incumbent.His
 spokeswoman, Victoria LaCivita, said in a written response to questions
 from The Associated Press that the office had received complaints 
connected to this month's elections, but she could not comment on 
whether any investigations had resulted.In addition, “the EIU 
successfully got a demurrer and a motion to dismiss” an attempt to force
 the state to abandon its use of electronic voting machines to count 
ballots and institute a statewide hand count.Miyares' office said
 he was not available for an interview, but in a letter to the editor in
 The Washington Post in October he stated there was no widespread fraud 
in Virginia or anywhere else during the 2020 election. He said his 
office already had jurisdiction in election-related issues but that he 
was restructuring it into a unit to work more cooperatively with the 
election community to allay any doubts about the fairness of elections.Smith,
 of the Campaign Legal Center, said there are real issues related to 
election security, including protecting voters, poll workers and 
elections staff, and securing voting equipment. But he said Republican 
steps to boost what they often refer to as “election integrity” to 
combat voter fraud often are about something else.“It’s a myth that’s created so they can justify making it harder for people to vote,” he said.

New state voter fraud units finding few cases from midterms

By BRENT MARTIN St. Joseph Post

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — A disruption in the supply chain has already had negative
ripple effects through the economy.

A possible rail strike looms after another railroad union
rejected an agreement brokered by the Biden administration.

Northern Missouri Congressman Sam Graves, the ranking
Republican on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, says there
is a very good chance Congress will have to intervene to prevent a rail strike
that could cripple the economy.

“It does worry me with Christmas coming on and what we’re
seeing,” Graves tells KFEQ/St. Joseph Post. “We are still under Speaker Pelosi,
her leadership, up until January 3rd and she’s going to have to make
a decision.”

The possibility of a rail strike grew earlier this week when
one of the biggest rail unions rejected the compromise, joining three other
unions that contend rail freight companies haven’t agreed to ease demanding
schedules and offer paid sick time.

Unions could call for a strike as early as December 9th.

Congress has stepped in before. A strike in 1992 lasted all of
two days before Congress imposed a contract. A 1926 law governing rail
negotiations makes it very difficult for rail workers to go on strike.

Railroads
haul about 40% of the nation's freight each year. Railroads estimate a strike
would cost the national economy $2 billion a day. Trucking would not be able to
pick up the slack if railroads shut down.

Graves says the timing couldn’t be much worse with the
Christmas shopping season underway. Graves says Congress might be forced to
intervene.

“It would be nice if they could come to an agreement, but if
they won’t, then Congress needs to intervene, because it could cripple the
country,” Graves says.

Also, a
freight rail shutdown would nearly bring passenger rail to a halt. Around half
of all commuter trains run over tracks owned by freight railroads. Nearly all
long-distance Amtrak routes run over freight tracks.

Nationally, retailers appear set for this Christmas, but that
doesn’t mean they don’t have concerns about a possible rail strike.

“We
don’t see, you know, canceling Christmas and that kind of narrative,” Jess
Dankert, the vice president for supply chain at the Retail Industry Leaders
Association, Dankert said. “But I think we will see the generalized disruption
of really anything that moves by rail.”

David
Garfield, a managing director with the consulting firm AlixPartners, said a
rail strike could still impact holiday items shipped to stores later in
December, and would definitely hamper stocking of next season’s goods.

Retailers
are also concerned about online orders. Shippers like FedEx and UPS use rail
cars that hold roughly 2,000 packages in each car.

Associated
Press Writers David Pitt in Des Moines, Iowa, and Dee-Ann Durbin in Detroit
contributed to this report.

By BRENT MARTIN St. Joseph PostST. JOSEPH, Mo. — A disruption in the supply chain has already had negative
ripple effects through the economy.It could get worse.A possible rail strike looms after another railroad union
rejected an agreement brokered by the Biden administration.Northern Missouri Congressman Sam Graves, the ranking
Republican on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, says there
is a very good chance Congress will have to intervene to prevent a rail strike
that could cripple the economy.“It does worry me with Christmas coming on and what we’re
seeing,” Graves tells KFEQ/St. Joseph Post. “We are still under Speaker Pelosi,
her leadership, up until January 3rd and she’s going to have to make
a decision.”The possibility of a rail strike grew earlier this week when
one of the biggest rail unions rejected the compromise, joining three other
unions that contend rail freight companies haven’t agreed to ease demanding
schedules and offer paid sick time.Unions could call for a strike as early as December 9th.Congress has stepped in before. A strike in 1992 lasted all of
two days before Congress imposed a contract. A 1926 law governing rail
negotiations makes it very difficult for rail workers to go on strike.Railroads
haul about 40% of the nation's freight each year. Railroads estimate a strike
would cost the national economy $2 billion a day. Trucking would not be able to
pick up the slack if railroads shut down.Graves says the timing couldn’t be much worse with the
Christmas shopping season underway. Graves says Congress might be forced to
intervene.“It would be nice if they could come to an agreement, but if
they won’t, then Congress needs to intervene, because it could cripple the
country,” Graves says.Also, a
freight rail shutdown would nearly bring passenger rail to a halt. Around half
of all commuter trains run over tracks owned by freight railroads. Nearly all
long-distance Amtrak routes run over freight tracks.Nationally, retailers appear set for this Christmas, but that
doesn’t mean they don’t have concerns about a possible rail strike.“We
don’t see, you know, canceling Christmas and that kind of narrative,” Jess
Dankert, the vice president for supply chain at the Retail Industry Leaders
Association, Dankert said. “But I think we will see the generalized disruption
of really anything that moves by rail.”David
Garfield, a managing director with the consulting firm AlixPartners, said a
rail strike could still impact holiday items shipped to stores later in
December, and would definitely hamper stocking of next season’s goods.Retailers
are also concerned about online orders. Shippers like FedEx and UPS use rail
cars that hold roughly 2,000 packages in each car.Associated
Press Writers David Pitt in Des Moines, Iowa, and Dee-Ann Durbin in Detroit
contributed to this report.

Congressman: Congress might have to intervene to prevent rail strike

By ERIC THOMAS <a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2022/11/25/for-kansas-city-area-fans-sports-wins-feel-inevitable-lets-appreciate-them/">Courtesy Kansas Reflector</a>

Last Sunday night, I sat on the couch, a cocktail in hand, watching Chiefs
 quarterback Patrick Mahomes trot onto the field. Trailing the Los 
Angeles Chargers by four, Kansas City needed to drive 75 yards in the 
final 1:46 to score a touchdown. A field goal would not be enough.

I didn’t pace the room. I didn’t check the Chiefs’ win probability. 
Like so many other fans of Kansas City-area teams through the past 
decade, I waited for my team’s preordained win.

Supporting the region’s teams the past 10 years has been like that 
old video game, Frogger — only without the splat. We have scooted across
 the road, from the joy of one team to the championships of another.

As the Royals tanked, Sporting Kansas City topped their league. As 
Sporting faded, the Chiefs surged. When the Chiefs lost in the playoffs,
 the Jayhawks won in March Madness. If you are willing to abandon your 
ardent fandom of one descending team for the rise of another, the Kansas
 City area has been the place to be a fan.

My 13-year-old boy has really never known the darkness of living in a
 sports quagmire. Liberated by a day off school in 2015, he boarded a 
bus for downtown Kansas City to get a glimpse of the Royals’ World 
Series parade.

Four years later, we watched the Chiefs board double-decker buses for
 their own celebration. Sporting KC offered us a chance to see two 
players who represented the United States in the World Cup. Kansas City 
pro sports has offered him a glimmering local team at all times.

This year, he also traced the Jayhawks men’s basketball team on his 
bracket to the championship. The University of Kansas’ streak of 
dominance in Big 12 basketball bordered on absurdity during our last 
decade, and even before. Big 12 basketball teams can earn the regular 
season title, the conference tournament title or both. The Jayhawks have
 won or shared the regular season title 20 times. The other 11 teams? 
Only 11 titles combined. In the conference tournament, a format that 
much more easily bounces out superior teams through one bad result, the 
Jayhawks have still won nearly half.

(And who would have thought the 2022 football Jayhawks would execute this screeching U-turn of a season?)

It hasn’t always been this way. The Royals and Chiefs have tested 
fans with long stretches of misery. To call the futility that flanks the
 Royals’ 2014 and 2015 seasons simply “losing seasons” understates the 
dismal nature of those teams. Since 2002, Royals fans endured six 
seasons with 100 or more losses.

Likewise, the Chiefs claim an era of sour football — especially when 
compared with the current golden age. The recent teams are 
unprecedentedly hot, winning a record six consecutive AFC West division 
titles. They are poised to win another. Over the past seven seasons (not
 including this current one), the Chiefs have won 83 games.

Here is your trivia question: How many seasons would it have taken to
 earn 83 wins if you started counting in 1972? The answer: 14 — double 
the number during the Andy Reid era.

Consider the psychic drain of living in a city that lost so often. 
And consider how invincible it makes us feel to have a winner in the 
region at all times.

It certainly can lead us to arrogance. Or, as I experienced Sunday 
while watching Mahomes rally the Chiefs, it breeds a chill confidence, a
 relaxed assurance that we fans don’t need to fret. It’s going to be OK.
 We believe that we will win.

With less than two minutes to manage, Mahomes flung one pass and then
 another to dissolve the Chargers’ defense. The touchdown to tight end 
Travis Kelce felt less like surprising fan euphoria and more like deja 
vu. Like Lorenzo Cain making a circus catch in the outfield in 2015. 
Like opening a sports app on our phones to find Sporting KC advancing in
 its tournament. Like Bill Self smirking as he climbed the ladder to cut
 down the nets.

The danger of a run like this is forgetting to savor it. Just ask the
 fans in Detroit, with four major sports teams, most of them failing to 
post winning records much less advance meaningfully in the playoffs.

Cincinnati, despite three Super Bowl appearances, doesn’t have a 
single trophy. Add this to Cincinnati’s suffering: the hapless Reds who 
haven’t won their division in the past 10 years.

I ask this of you as fellow fans. Deploy all of your superstitions to
 keep this streak going. Don’t wash the lucky socks. Drive the same way 
to the stadium every week. Eat the same pregame meal of sauerkraut and 
bratwursts.

But whatever you do, don’t close your eyes. This is too rare — and fun — to miss.

Eric Thomas directs the Kansas Scholastic Press Association, a nonprofit that supports student journalism throughout the state. He also teaches visual journalism and photojournalism at the William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Kansas in Lawrence.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/11/1669408667473.png" alt="A red-clad crowd packs Arrowhead Stadium to watch the Kansas City Chiefs play (Eric Thomas/Kansas Reflector)." />
 <figcaption>A red-clad crowd packs Arrowhead Stadium to watch the Kansas City Chiefs play (Eric Thomas/Kansas Reflector).</figcaption>
 </figure>By ERIC THOMAS <a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2022/11/25/for-kansas-city-area-fans-sports-wins-feel-inevitable-lets-appreciate-them/">Courtesy Kansas Reflector</a>Last Sunday night, I sat on the couch, a cocktail in hand, watching Chiefs
 quarterback Patrick Mahomes trot onto the field. Trailing the Los 
Angeles Chargers by four, Kansas City needed to drive 75 yards in the 
final 1:46 to score a touchdown. A field goal would not be enough.And yet, there I reclined on the sofa.I didn’t pace the room. I didn’t check the Chiefs’ win probability. 
Like so many other fans of Kansas City-area teams through the past 
decade, I waited for my team’s preordained win.Supporting the region’s teams the past 10 years has been like that 
old video game, Frogger — only without the splat. We have scooted across
 the road, from the joy of one team to the championships of another.As the Royals tanked, Sporting Kansas City topped their league. As 
Sporting faded, the Chiefs surged. When the Chiefs lost in the playoffs,
 the Jayhawks won in March Madness. If you are willing to abandon your 
ardent fandom of one descending team for the rise of another, the Kansas
 City area has been the place to be a fan.My 13-year-old boy has really never known the darkness of living in a
 sports quagmire. Liberated by a day off school in 2015, he boarded a 
bus for downtown Kansas City to get a glimpse of the Royals’ World 
Series parade.Four years later, we watched the Chiefs board double-decker buses for
 their own celebration. Sporting KC offered us a chance to see two 
players who represented the United States in the World Cup. Kansas City 
pro sports has offered him a glimmering local team at all times.This year, he also traced the Jayhawks men’s basketball team on his 
bracket to the championship. The University of Kansas’ streak of 
dominance in Big 12 basketball bordered on absurdity during our last 
decade, and even before. Big 12 basketball teams can earn the regular 
season title, the conference tournament title or both. The Jayhawks have
 won or shared the regular season title 20 times. The other 11 teams? 
Only 11 titles combined. In the conference tournament, a format that 
much more easily bounces out superior teams through one bad result, the 
Jayhawks have still won nearly half.(And who would have thought the 2022 football Jayhawks would execute this screeching U-turn of a season?)It hasn’t always been this way. The Royals and Chiefs have tested 
fans with long stretches of misery. To call the futility that flanks the
 Royals’ 2014 and 2015 seasons simply “losing seasons” understates the 
dismal nature of those teams. Since 2002, Royals fans endured six 
seasons with 100 or more losses.Likewise, the Chiefs claim an era of sour football — especially when 
compared with the current golden age. The recent teams are 
unprecedentedly hot, winning a record six consecutive AFC West division 
titles. They are poised to win another. Over the past seven seasons (not
 including this current one), the Chiefs have won 83 games.Here is your trivia question: How many seasons would it have taken to
 earn 83 wins if you started counting in 1972? The answer: 14 — double 
the number during the Andy Reid era.Consider the psychic drain of living in a city that lost so often. 
And consider how invincible it makes us feel to have a winner in the 
region at all times.It certainly can lead us to arrogance. Or, as I experienced Sunday 
while watching Mahomes rally the Chiefs, it breeds a chill confidence, a
 relaxed assurance that we fans don’t need to fret. It’s going to be OK.
 We believe that we will win.With less than two minutes to manage, Mahomes flung one pass and then
 another to dissolve the Chargers’ defense. The touchdown to tight end 
Travis Kelce felt less like surprising fan euphoria and more like deja 
vu. Like Lorenzo Cain making a circus catch in the outfield in 2015. 
Like opening a sports app on our phones to find Sporting KC advancing in
 its tournament. Like Bill Self smirking as he climbed the ladder to cut
 down the nets.The danger of a run like this is forgetting to savor it. Just ask the
 fans in Detroit, with four major sports teams, most of them failing to 
post winning records much less advance meaningfully in the playoffs.Cincinnati, despite three Super Bowl appearances, doesn’t have a 
single trophy. Add this to Cincinnati’s suffering: the hapless Reds who 
haven’t won their division in the past 10 years.I ask this of you as fellow fans. Deploy all of your superstitions to
 keep this streak going. Don’t wash the lucky socks. Drive the same way 
to the stadium every week. Eat the same pregame meal of sauerkraut and 
bratwursts.But whatever you do, don’t close your eyes. This is too rare — and fun — to miss.Eric Thomas directs the Kansas Scholastic Press Association, a nonprofit that supports student journalism throughout the state. He also teaches visual journalism and photojournalism at the William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Kansas in Lawrence.&nbsp;

OPINION: For KC fans, sports wins feel inevitable. Let’s appreciate them

<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search/?query=byline:%22MARK%20KENNEDY%22&amp;mediaType=text&amp;st=keyword&amp;sortOrder=newest">By MARK KENNEDY AP Entertainment Writer</a>

NEW YORK (AP) — Oscar, Golden Globe and two-time Grammy winning singer-actress Irene Cara, who starred and sang the title cut from the 1980 hit movie “Fame” and then belted out the era-defining hit “Flashdance ... What a Feeling” from 1983's “Flashdance,” has died. She was 63.

Her publicist, Judith A. Moose, announced the news on social media, writing that a cause of death was “currently unknown.” Moose also confirmed the death to an Associated Press reporter on Saturday. Cara died at her home in Florida. The exact day of her death was not disclosed.

“Irene’s family has requested privacy as they process their grief,” Moose wrote. “She was a beautifully gifted soul whose legacy will live forever through her music and films.”

During her career, Cara had three Top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, including “Breakdance,” “Out Here On My Own,” “Fame” and “Flashdance ... What A Feeling,” which spent six weeks at No. 1. She was behind some of the most joyful, high-energy pop anthems of the early ’80s.

Tributes poured in on Saturday on social media, including from Deborah Cox, who called Cara an inspiration, and Holly Robinson Peete, who recalled seeing Cara perform: "The insane combination of talent and beauty was overwhelming to me. This hurts my heart so much.”

She first came to prominence among the young actors playing performing arts high schoolers in Alan Parker's “Fame,” with co-stars Debbie Allen, Paul McCrane and Anne Mear. Cara played Coco Hernandez, a striving dancer who endures all manner of deprivations, including a creepy nude photo shoot.

“How bright our spirits go shooting out into space, depends on how much we contributed to the earthly brilliance of this world. And I mean to be a major contributor!” she says in the movie.

Cara sang on the soaring title song with the chorus — “Remember my name/I’m gonna live forever/I’m gonna learn how to fly/I feel it coming together/People will see me and cry” — which would go on to be nominated for an Academy Award for best original song. She also sang on “Out Here on My Own,” "Hot Lunch Jam" and “I Sing the Body Electric.”

Allen took to Twitter Saturday to mourn, posting pictures of them together and calling Cara a “a gifted and beautiful genius. Her talent and her music will live forever! Forever remember her name!”

Three years later, she and the songwriting team of “Flashdance” — music by Giorgio Moroder, lyrics by Keith Forsey and Cara — was accepting the Oscar for best original song for “Flashdance ... What a Feeling.”

The movie starred Jennifer Beals as a steel-town girl who dances in a bar at night and hopes to attend a prestigious dance conservatory. It included the hit song “Maniac,” featuring Beals’ character leaping, spinning, stomping her feet and the slow-burning theme song.

“There aren’t enough words to express my love and my gratitude,” Cara told the Oscar crowd in her thanks. “And last but not least, a very special gentlemen who I guess started it all for me many years ago. To Alan Parker, wherever you may be tonight, I thank him.”

The New York-born Cara began her career on Broadway, with small parts in short-lived shows, although a musical called “The Me Nobody Knows” ran over 300 performances. She toured in the musical “Jesus Christ Superstar" as Mary Magdalene in the mid-1990s and a tour of the musical ”Flashdance" toured 2012-14 with her songs.

She also created the all-female band Irene Cara Presents Hot Caramel and put out a double CD with the single “How Can I Make You Luv Me.” Her movie credits include ”Sparkle" and “D.C. Cab.”

<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search/?query=byline:%22MARK%20KENNEDY%22&amp;mediaType=text&amp;st=keyword&amp;sortOrder=newest">By MARK KENNEDY AP Entertainment Writer</a>NEW YORK (AP) — Oscar, Golden Globe and two-time Grammy winning singer-actress Irene Cara, who starred and sang the title cut from the 1980 hit movie “Fame” and then belted out the era-defining hit “Flashdance ... What a Feeling” from 1983's “Flashdance,” has died. She was 63.Her publicist, Judith A. Moose, announced the news on social media, writing that a cause of death was “currently unknown.” Moose also confirmed the death to an Associated Press reporter on Saturday. Cara died at her home in Florida. The exact day of her death was not disclosed.“Irene’s family has requested privacy as they process their grief,” Moose wrote. “She was a beautifully gifted soul whose legacy will live forever through her music and films.”During her career, Cara had three Top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, including “Breakdance,” “Out Here On My Own,” “Fame” and “Flashdance ... What A Feeling,” which spent six weeks at No. 1. She was behind some of the most joyful, high-energy pop anthems of the early ’80s.Tributes poured in on Saturday on social media, including from Deborah Cox, who called Cara an inspiration, and Holly Robinson Peete, who recalled seeing Cara perform: "The insane combination of talent and beauty was overwhelming to me. This hurts my heart so much.”She first came to prominence among the young actors playing performing arts high schoolers in Alan Parker's “Fame,” with co-stars Debbie Allen, Paul McCrane and Anne Mear. Cara played Coco Hernandez, a striving dancer who endures all manner of deprivations, including a creepy nude photo shoot.“How bright our spirits go shooting out into space, depends on how much we contributed to the earthly brilliance of this world. And I mean to be a major contributor!” she says in the movie.Cara sang on the soaring title song with the chorus — “Remember my name/I’m gonna live forever/I’m gonna learn how to fly/I feel it coming together/People will see me and cry” — which would go on to be nominated for an Academy Award for best original song. She also sang on “Out Here on My Own,” "Hot Lunch Jam" and “I Sing the Body Electric.”Allen took to Twitter Saturday to mourn, posting pictures of them together and calling Cara a “a gifted and beautiful genius. Her talent and her music will live forever! Forever remember her name!”Three years later, she and the songwriting team of “Flashdance” — music by Giorgio Moroder, lyrics by Keith Forsey and Cara — was accepting the Oscar for best original song for “Flashdance ... What a Feeling.”The movie starred Jennifer Beals as a steel-town girl who dances in a bar at night and hopes to attend a prestigious dance conservatory. It included the hit song “Maniac,” featuring Beals’ character leaping, spinning, stomping her feet and the slow-burning theme song.“There aren’t enough words to express my love and my gratitude,” Cara told the Oscar crowd in her thanks. “And last but not least, a very special gentlemen who I guess started it all for me many years ago. To Alan Parker, wherever you may be tonight, I thank him.”The New York-born Cara began her career on Broadway, with small parts in short-lived shows, although a musical called “The Me Nobody Knows” ran over 300 performances. She toured in the musical “Jesus Christ Superstar" as Mary Magdalene in the mid-1990s and a tour of the musical ”Flashdance" toured 2012-14 with her songs.She also created the all-female band Irene Cara Presents Hot Caramel and put out a double CD with the single “How Can I Make You Luv Me.” Her movie credits include ”Sparkle" and “D.C. Cab.”

'Fame' and 'Flashdance' singer-actor Irene Cara dies at 63

By NICK GOSNELL Hutch Post

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Shawn 
Steward with AAA Kansas notes that gas prices are a little higher on 
average statewide this year than last at $3.20 a gallon as of Friday.

"A
 year ago, we were at $3.07 a gallon," Steward said. "Slightly up, but 
when you think about it, it's not a huge increase and shouldn't have a 
major impact on most people's plans to drive."

Central Kansas 
counties are below average and a lot closer to the 2021 number with Reno
 County at $3.10 and Harvey County at $3.07. McPherson County is at 
$3.13 and Sedgwick is at $3.04. The highest county average is Morton 
County at $3.72 with the lowest in Crawford County at $3.00.

&nbsp;"We're
 usually one of the lowest in the country, which is nice to have," 
Steward said. "The lower plains, basically from here to Texas and then 
the southeast U.S. across to South Carolina, those regions have the 
cheapest prices in gas across the country right now."

Gas prices traditionally drop as winter approaches, with the exception of holiday periods, due to reduced demand.

By NICK GOSNELL Hutch PostHUTCHINSON, Kan. — Shawn 
Steward with AAA Kansas notes that gas prices are a little higher on 
average statewide this year than last at $3.20 a gallon as of Friday."A
 year ago, we were at $3.07 a gallon," Steward said. "Slightly up, but 
when you think about it, it's not a huge increase and shouldn't have a 
major impact on most people's plans to drive."Central Kansas 
counties are below average and a lot closer to the 2021 number with Reno
 County at $3.10 and Harvey County at $3.07. McPherson County is at 
$3.13 and Sedgwick is at $3.04. The highest county average is Morton 
County at $3.72 with the lowest in Crawford County at $3.00.&nbsp;"We're
 usually one of the lowest in the country, which is nice to have," 
Steward said. "The lower plains, basically from here to Texas and then 
the southeast U.S. across to South Carolina, those regions have the 
cheapest prices in gas across the country right now."Gas prices traditionally drop as winter approaches, with the exception of holiday periods, due to reduced demand.

AAA: Gas prices remain volatile into holiday season

By SHERMAN SMITH <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2022/11/25/new-york-times-investigation-shows-how-sports-gambling-industry-exploited-kansas-legislators/">Kansas Reflector</a>

TOPEKA —&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/20/business/sports-betting-lobbying-kansas.html">A New York Times investigation</a>&nbsp;into the gambling industry’s bare-knuckled lobbying efforts provides insight into concessions Kansas lawmakers provided when they legalized sports betting earlier this year.

Among the revelations from the report, published Sunday as part of a series on “a relentless nationwide campaign” to expand sports betting: Kansas lawmakers slashed an already generous tax rate from 20% to 10%, and exempted some bets from being taxed at all, before passing&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2021_22/measures/documents/summary_sb_84_2022">the sports gambling package</a>&nbsp;after midnight in&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2022/04/29/kansas-legislatures-late-night-surge-covers-sports-betting-budget-kpers-and-covid-19/">the final hours of the legislative session</a>.

The final vote came two days after a lobbying event that promised “something for everyone.” There, the New York Times documented how Rep. John Barker, an Abilene Republican who helped orchestrate the sports gambling package, reveled in 30-year-old Irish whiskey while Sen. Jeff Pittman, a Leavenworth Democrat, secured an extra bag of pricey Honduras cigars. At the party, Pittman called it a “terrible” bill, but he voted in favor it anyway.

After the law took effect in September, Kansans wagered $350 million in the first two months — yielding just $271,000 in tax revenue.

Max Kautsch, president of the Kansas Coalition for Open Government, said the New York Times report “drives home the need for greater transparency in the legislative process.”

“Kansans should be disappointed to learn this holiday season that our leaders in Topeka are more interested in giving unprecedented tax breaks to the gambling industry than in meeting their fiduciary duties to be good stewards of public funds,” Kautsch said.

The sports gambling package exemplifies transparency concerns with the last-minute avalanche of bills the Legislature passes in the closing days of the session, often with unvetted policy provisions inserted under pressure from dark interests.

Kansas Reflector&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2022/05/08/analysis-how-the-kansas-legislature-avoids-public-scrutiny-by-hiding-in-darkness/">previously reported on this practice</a>, which is designed to avoid public scrutiny.

“Perhaps if Rep. Barker and his allies feared that their constituents would learn about these acts against the public interest in real time,” Kautsch said, “rather than months later as the result of a nationwide investigative report that chose to kick off an article totaling thousands upon thousands of words with an anecdote about whiskey and cigars in the Kansas Statehouse, they would think twice before leaving us with lumps of coal each legislative session.”

<a target="_blank" href="https://int.nyt.com/data/documenttools/2022-04-26-cigar-event-flyer-tues-tonight/ee93458fdc07e769/full.pdf">The flyer</a>&nbsp;for an April 26 lobbying event invited all 165 legislators and special guests to enjoy prime rib, seafood, desserts, wine, craft beer, fine cigars, classic cars, single malt scotch and single barrel bourbon.

Twenty-one lobbyists sponsored the event, titled Cigars, Cars and Bars, at M&amp;D Classic Car Storage, a few blocks north of the Statehouse on Kansas Avenue.

A New York Times reporter and photographer found Barker with Redbreast Irish whiskey and a Don Tomas cigar from Honduras.

“They keep a special bottle for me up there — they know I like it,” Barker told the Times. “I’m in my element when I have a whiskey and a cigar.”

John Federico, a powerful lobbyist who cosponsored the gathering, told the Times it was a social event and not a lobbying event.

Kansas law provides ample wiggle room for lobbyists and lawmakers — and makes it virtually impossible for journalists or the public to document the influence of such an event.

When every lawmaker is invited, lobbyists don’t need to itemize the costs on expense reports with the state ethics commission. Rules that restrict gifts to lawmakers provide exemptions for food and beverage.

And while Kansas law forbids gifts that cost more than $40, the cost of a gift can be split evenly among cosponsors to push it below the legal limit. A group of 10 lobbyists, for example, could provide a $300 gift — such as an expensive bottle of whiskey — to a legislator without violating the law.

Additionally, if the cost of a lobbying expense is less than $2 for a legislator, it doesn’t have to be reported. For an event with 165 legislators and 21 sponsors, the threshold would be $6,930.

The gambling industry’s fingerprints were on nearly every page of the 50-page sports gambling bill, the New York Times reported.

Barker and other legislative leaders agreed to cut in half the planned 20% tax rate — already substantially lower than the tax rate in other states. The bill also allows gambling companies to deduct “free bets” and other promotions from their taxable income.

None of the $271,000 in taxes the state collected on the first $350 million in bets will be used to fight gambling addiction.

Instead, lawmakers agreed to set aside most of the revenue for the construction of a sports facility. The questionable idea to lure the Kansas City Chiefs across state lines came from real estate developers who own 400 acres of land near the NASCAR racetrack, Sporting Kansas City soccer stadium and Hollywood Casino on the west edge of Kansas City.

The sports gambling package ensured casinos would get a cut of the action and expanded where sports betting is allowed, including at the racetrack and soccer stadium.

Barker wasn’t shy about inserting provisions that benefited lobbyists, including Federico, whose clients include Sporting Kansas City.

“John’s a good guy,” Barker told the Times. “I made sure they had something in our bill.”

Hollywood Casino funneled more than $60,000 in donations to campaign accounts, the Times found. Another $150,000 came from other casinos, lawyers and lobbyists.

Donors used networks of shell companies to skirt campaign finance laws that limit the amount of money a single candidate can receive, the New York Times reported.

The cigars at the April 26 “social event” were so expensive, legislators could only take three.

Pittman dispatched an aide to secure more.

“I have a little scam going on here,” Pittman joked to a New York Times reporter.

He acknowledged problems with the gambling package.

“The fact is, we’re not making that much money,” Pittman said. “It looks terrible.”

Two days later, Pittman’s “yes” vote helped the Senate pass the bill with the minimum number of votes required.

“Kansans are already betting on sports,” Pittman said during the Senate debate. “Many do it on illegal platforms that take money out of the state. Sports betting is not for everyone. This is just another avenue for avid players.”

Lawmakers were forced to consider votes on a wide array of legislation in the final two days of the session, including bills that had undergone rapid transformation. The official explanations provided to lawmakers seldom reveal the true effect of these last-minute, late-night deals, let alone the influence behind them.

<a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2022/04/29/kansas-legislatures-late-night-surge-covers-sports-betting-budget-kpers-and-covid-19/">The final hours of the session</a>&nbsp;also included votes on the state budget, a $1.1 billion investment in the state pension system and a law that would have banned any state or local government official from imposing a mask mandate in response to an infectious disease outbreak.

During the debate on sports gambling, opponents raised concerns about gambling addiction, the paltry amount of state tax revenue generated and the decision to set aside most of that cash for a special fund to attract the Kansas City Chiefs to Kansas.

“We will destroy people’s lives,” said Sen. Mark Steffen, R-Hutchinson. “We don’t know their names right now. We don’t know what they look like. But we do know that will happen.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/11/1669389903445.jpeg" alt="Rep. John Barker, an Abilene Republican who spearheaded legislation to the benefit of the sports gambling industry, appears during April 27, 2022, negotiations between the House and Senate.&nbsp;Photo by Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector" />
 <figcaption>Rep. John Barker, an Abilene Republican who spearheaded legislation to the benefit of the sports gambling industry, appears during April 27, 2022, negotiations between the House and Senate.&nbsp;Photo by Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector</figcaption>
 </figure>By SHERMAN SMITH <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2022/11/25/new-york-times-investigation-shows-how-sports-gambling-industry-exploited-kansas-legislators/">Kansas Reflector</a>TOPEKA —&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/20/business/sports-betting-lobbying-kansas.html">A New York Times investigation</a>&nbsp;into the gambling industry’s bare-knuckled lobbying efforts provides insight into concessions Kansas lawmakers provided when they legalized sports betting earlier this year.Among the revelations from the report, published Sunday as part of a series on “a relentless nationwide campaign” to expand sports betting: Kansas lawmakers slashed an already generous tax rate from 20% to 10%, and exempted some bets from being taxed at all, before passing&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2021_22/measures/documents/summary_sb_84_2022">the sports gambling package</a>&nbsp;after midnight in&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2022/04/29/kansas-legislatures-late-night-surge-covers-sports-betting-budget-kpers-and-covid-19/">the final hours of the legislative session</a>.The final vote came two days after a lobbying event that promised “something for everyone.” There, the New York Times documented how Rep. John Barker, an Abilene Republican who helped orchestrate the sports gambling package, reveled in 30-year-old Irish whiskey while Sen. Jeff Pittman, a Leavenworth Democrat, secured an extra bag of pricey Honduras cigars. At the party, Pittman called it a “terrible” bill, but he voted in favor it anyway.After the law took effect in September, Kansans wagered $350 million in the first two months — yielding just $271,000 in tax revenue.Max Kautsch, president of the Kansas Coalition for Open Government, said the New York Times report “drives home the need for greater transparency in the legislative process.”“Kansans should be disappointed to learn this holiday season that our leaders in Topeka are more interested in giving unprecedented tax breaks to the gambling industry than in meeting their fiduciary duties to be good stewards of public funds,” Kautsch said.The sports gambling package exemplifies transparency concerns with the last-minute avalanche of bills the Legislature passes in the closing days of the session, often with unvetted policy provisions inserted under pressure from dark interests.Kansas Reflector&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2022/05/08/analysis-how-the-kansas-legislature-avoids-public-scrutiny-by-hiding-in-darkness/">previously reported on this practice</a>, which is designed to avoid public scrutiny.“Perhaps if Rep. Barker and his allies feared that their constituents would learn about these acts against the public interest in real time,” Kautsch said, “rather than months later as the result of a nationwide investigative report that chose to kick off an article totaling thousands upon thousands of words with an anecdote about whiskey and cigars in the Kansas Statehouse, they would think twice before leaving us with lumps of coal each legislative session.”<h2>Lobbying rules</h2><a target="_blank" href="https://int.nyt.com/data/documenttools/2022-04-26-cigar-event-flyer-tues-tonight/ee93458fdc07e769/full.pdf">The flyer</a>&nbsp;for an April 26 lobbying event invited all 165 legislators and special guests to enjoy prime rib, seafood, desserts, wine, craft beer, fine cigars, classic cars, single malt scotch and single barrel bourbon.Twenty-one lobbyists sponsored the event, titled Cigars, Cars and Bars, at M&amp;D Classic Car Storage, a few blocks north of the Statehouse on Kansas Avenue.A New York Times reporter and photographer found Barker with Redbreast Irish whiskey and a Don Tomas cigar from Honduras.“They keep a special bottle for me up there — they know I like it,” Barker told the Times. “I’m in my element when I have a whiskey and a cigar.”John Federico, a powerful lobbyist who cosponsored the gathering, told the Times it was a social event and not a lobbying event.Kansas law provides ample wiggle room for lobbyists and lawmakers — and makes it virtually impossible for journalists or the public to document the influence of such an event.When every lawmaker is invited, lobbyists don’t need to itemize the costs on expense reports with the state ethics commission. Rules that restrict gifts to lawmakers provide exemptions for food and beverage.And while Kansas law forbids gifts that cost more than $40, the cost of a gift can be split evenly among cosponsors to push it below the legal limit. A group of 10 lobbyists, for example, could provide a $300 gift — such as an expensive bottle of whiskey — to a legislator without violating the law.Additionally, if the cost of a lobbying expense is less than $2 for a legislator, it doesn’t have to be reported. For an event with 165 legislators and 21 sponsors, the threshold would be $6,930.<h2>Hitting the jackpot</h2>The gambling industry’s fingerprints were on nearly every page of the 50-page sports gambling bill, the New York Times reported.Barker and other legislative leaders agreed to cut in half the planned 20% tax rate — already substantially lower than the tax rate in other states. The bill also allows gambling companies to deduct “free bets” and other promotions from their taxable income.None of the $271,000 in taxes the state collected on the first $350 million in bets will be used to fight gambling addiction.Instead, lawmakers agreed to set aside most of the revenue for the construction of a sports facility. The questionable idea to lure the Kansas City Chiefs across state lines came from real estate developers who own 400 acres of land near the NASCAR racetrack, Sporting Kansas City soccer stadium and Hollywood Casino on the west edge of Kansas City.The sports gambling package ensured casinos would get a cut of the action and expanded where sports betting is allowed, including at the racetrack and soccer stadium.Barker wasn’t shy about inserting provisions that benefited lobbyists, including Federico, whose clients include Sporting Kansas City.“John’s a good guy,” Barker told the Times. “I made sure they had something in our bill.”Hollywood Casino funneled more than $60,000 in donations to campaign accounts, the Times found. Another $150,000 came from other casinos, lawyers and lobbyists.Donors used networks of shell companies to skirt campaign finance laws that limit the amount of money a single candidate can receive, the New York Times reported.<h2>Cover of darkness</h2>The cigars at the April 26 “social event” were so expensive, legislators could only take three.Pittman dispatched an aide to secure more.“I have a little scam going on here,” Pittman joked to a New York Times reporter.He acknowledged problems with the gambling package.“The fact is, we’re not making that much money,” Pittman said. “It looks terrible.”Two days later, Pittman’s “yes” vote helped the Senate pass the bill with the minimum number of votes required.“Kansans are already betting on sports,” Pittman said during the Senate debate. “Many do it on illegal platforms that take money out of the state. Sports betting is not for everyone. This is just another avenue for avid players.”Lawmakers were forced to consider votes on a wide array of legislation in the final two days of the session, including bills that had undergone rapid transformation. The official explanations provided to lawmakers seldom reveal the true effect of these last-minute, late-night deals, let alone the influence behind them.<a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2022/04/29/kansas-legislatures-late-night-surge-covers-sports-betting-budget-kpers-and-covid-19/">The final hours of the session</a>&nbsp;also included votes on the state budget, a $1.1 billion investment in the state pension system and a law that would have banned any state or local government official from imposing a mask mandate in response to an infectious disease outbreak.During the debate on sports gambling, opponents raised concerns about gambling addiction, the paltry amount of state tax revenue generated and the decision to set aside most of that cash for a special fund to attract the Kansas City Chiefs to Kansas.“We will destroy people’s lives,” said Sen. Mark Steffen, R-Hutchinson. “We don’t know their names right now. We don’t know what they look like. But we do know that will happen.”