MCPHERSON COUNTY —Law enforcement in McPherson County are investigating a home burglary in Moundridge and have made an arrest.

On Saturday, police began an investigation of a break in at a Moundridge home&nbsp;while the owner was gone on vacation, according to a media release from police.

There was property damage from the forced entry, and items were taken from the home.

Moundridge Police identified two juvenile suspects in the break in. Charges of Burglary to a Dwelling and Felony Criminal Damage to Property have been submitted to the McPherson County Attorney's Office to be filed. Police did not release the names of the juveniles involved.

MCPHERSON COUNTY —Law enforcement in McPherson County are investigating a home burglary in Moundridge and have made an arrest.On Saturday, police began an investigation of a break in at a Moundridge home&nbsp;while the owner was gone on vacation, according to a media release from police.There was property damage from the forced entry, and items were taken from the home.Moundridge Police identified two juvenile suspects in the break in. Charges of Burglary to a Dwelling and Felony Criminal Damage to Property have been submitted to the McPherson County Attorney's Office to be filed. Police did not release the names of the juveniles involved.

Juveniles accused of burglary while Kan. homeowner was on vacation

By CRISTINA JANNEY Hays Post

Grow Hays has contracted to purchase 9.1 acres of land north of Home Depot in Hays. They hope to construct a new shopping center on the land.

The land is north of Interstate 70 on East 41st Street.

Williams said Grow Hays looked at three properties north of Interstate 70 near Vine, but the owner of this property was the only one who was interested in selling.

"We have too many real estate speculators in our community and not enough real estate developers who are really sincere about doing something," Doug Williams, executive director of Grow Hays, said. "They just want to ride out the highest prices. It's their land. It's their life, but it's not necessarily positive for the community."

Williams told an audience gathered for Grow Hays' quarterly luncheon on Tuesday another developer had been in talks to bring a new shopping center to Hays.

The developer had multiple big-box retailers interested in Hays.

However, the finances did not work out for a private developer to build a new space in Hays at this time.

The average rent for new space in a community such as Hays is $16 per square foot. Construction costs would be $190 per square foot and the land would cost $15 per square foot.

The investment in a 70,000-square-foot retail space would be $15.3 million.&nbsp;

Based on the rent a developer could hope to collect, the developer would lose about $471,000 per year or more than $7 million over a 15-year leasing period.

Kanas has appropriated $4.447 million to Hays for retail development. This money can be used for land acquisition, building construction, covering rent shortfalls, or infrastructure improvements to foster retail development.

Grow Hays hopes to use all or part of the state funds for the new shopping center. A portion of the $15 million would have to be borrowed from a lender. 

Another portion could be funded through a Community Improvement District. This would impose an additional sales tax on shopping center purchases, but the funds could be used to reimburse infrastructure costs.

"To do development today like this or even residential development, you've got to have multiple streams of revenue you can use to try to cover the cost because it's so expensive," Williams said.&nbsp;

Williams estimated the new shopping center would generate $20 million in annual sales, which would generate $600,000 combined annually in additional sales tax for the city of Hays, Ellis County and the Hays USD 489 bond issue.

The city of Hays has a 9.25 percent sales tax. However, a portion of that sales tax goes toward property tax reduction. This results in the lowest city mill levy and the lowest total mill levy compared to peer cities in the state.

Wiliams said he hopes Grow Hays can finalize the sale of the property by the end of July. The project would take about 18 months to complete.

He said the shopping center could accommodate five to six new retailers and the sizes of the spaces would likely vary.

He said he envisioned the building and parking mirroring the footprint on the Home Depot lot. However, Home Depot has line-of-sight restrictions and the shopping center designers must address that issue.

Although Grow Hays will likely be the shopping center's owner initially, Williams said he thought the property would eventually be sold to a private owner.

Williams said Grow Hays continues to work with Big Creek Crossing to try to keep its space full. The mall's owners are struggling with retailers who want outside entrances.

"We do think a rising tide raises all ships, so the more retail we have, the more people will come," he said. "I think there will be residual benefit throughout the retail sector."

Williams said retailers across the region continue to face other common challenges, including competition with e-commerce, construction costs, interest rates and declining population.

Williams said Big Creek Crossing still has opportunities to lure new businesses who want to pay less per square foot than the going rate for new construction.

Williams said residents often point to growth in Garden City and question why Hays has not seen similar growth.

Within a 60-mile radius of Hays, there are about 87,000 people. Within a 60-mile radius of Garden City, there are 123,000 people.

The Garden City area has also seen a slower population decline, 2.9%, in its market area. Although Hays' population did not decrease according to the last census. The surrounding population shrank by almost 6% in a 10-year period.

Williams said Grow Hays has also been working with developers on the area to the north of 24/7 on Vine. He said he sees the Rodeway Inn as another location in need of urban renewal.

"I think these retailers are ready to make moves, and we need to strike while the iron is hot," he said.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/6/1717532003060.jpeg" alt="Proposed location of a new shopping center in Hays. Photo by Cristina Janney/Hays Post" />
 <figcaption>Proposed location of a new shopping center in Hays. Photo by Cristina Janney/Hays Post</figcaption>
 </figure>By CRISTINA JANNEY Hays PostGrow Hays has contracted to purchase 9.1 acres of land north of Home Depot in Hays. They hope to construct a new shopping center on the land.The land is north of Interstate 70 on East 41st Street.Williams said Grow Hays looked at three properties north of Interstate 70 near Vine, but the owner of this property was the only one who was interested in selling."We have too many real estate speculators in our community and not enough real estate developers who are really sincere about doing something," Doug Williams, executive director of Grow Hays, said. "They just want to ride out the highest prices. It's their land. It's their life, but it's not necessarily positive for the community."Williams told an audience gathered for Grow Hays' quarterly luncheon on Tuesday another developer had been in talks to bring a new shopping center to Hays.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/6/1717529415201.jpeg" alt="Proposed location of the new shopping center north of the Home Depot in Hays. Courtesy image." />
 <figcaption>Proposed location of the new shopping center north of the Home Depot in Hays. Courtesy image.</figcaption>
 </figure>The developer had multiple big-box retailers interested in Hays.However, the finances did not work out for a private developer to build a new space in Hays at this time.The average rent for new space in a community such as Hays is $16 per square foot. Construction costs would be $190 per square foot and the land would cost $15 per square foot.The investment in a 70,000-square-foot retail space would be $15.3 million.&nbsp;<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/6/1717529313304.jpeg" alt="Projected shopping center cost. Source: Grow Hays" />
 <figcaption>Projected shopping center cost. Source: Grow Hays</figcaption>
 </figure><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/6/1717529352884.jpeg" alt="Projected loss for shopping center for a private investor.&nbsp;Source: Grow Hays" />
 <figcaption>Projected loss for shopping center for a private investor.&nbsp;Source: Grow Hays</figcaption>
 </figure>Based on the rent a developer could hope to collect, the developer would lose about $471,000 per year or more than $7 million over a 15-year leasing period.Kanas has appropriated $4.447 million to Hays for retail development. This money can be used for land acquisition, building construction, covering rent shortfalls, or infrastructure improvements to foster retail development.Grow Hays hopes to use all or part of the state funds for the new shopping center. A portion of the $15 million would have to be borrowed from a lender. Another portion could be funded through a Community Improvement District. This would impose an additional sales tax on shopping center purchases, but the funds could be used to reimburse infrastructure costs."To do development today like this or even residential development, you've got to have multiple streams of revenue you can use to try to cover the cost because it's so expensive," Williams said.&nbsp;Williams estimated the new shopping center would generate $20 million in annual sales, which would generate $600,000 combined annually in additional sales tax for the city of Hays, Ellis County and the Hays USD 489 bond issue.The city of Hays has a 9.25 percent sales tax. However, a portion of that sales tax goes toward property tax reduction. This results in the lowest city mill levy and the lowest total mill levy compared to peer cities in the state.See chart below.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/6/1717529495235.jpeg" alt="Hays and peer cities' mill levies and sales taxes. Source: Grow Hays" />
 <figcaption>Hays and peer cities' mill levies and sales taxes. Source: Grow Hays</figcaption>
 </figure><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/6/1717529626251.jpeg" alt="Sales tax for city of Hays. Source: Grow Hays" />
 <figcaption>Sales tax for city of Hays. Source: Grow Hays</figcaption>
 </figure>Wiliams said he hopes Grow Hays can finalize the sale of the property by the end of July. The project would take about 18 months to complete.He said the shopping center could accommodate five to six new retailers and the sizes of the spaces would likely vary.He said he envisioned the building and parking mirroring the footprint on the Home Depot lot. However, Home Depot has line-of-sight restrictions and the shopping center designers must address that issue.Although Grow Hays will likely be the shopping center's owner initially, Williams said he thought the property would eventually be sold to a private owner.Williams said Grow Hays continues to work with Big Creek Crossing to try to keep its space full. The mall's owners are struggling with retailers who want outside entrances."We do think a rising tide raises all ships, so the more retail we have, the more people will come," he said. "I think there will be residual benefit throughout the retail sector."Williams said retailers across the region continue to face other common challenges, including competition with e-commerce, construction costs, interest rates and declining population.Williams said Big Creek Crossing still has opportunities to lure new businesses who want to pay less per square foot than the going rate for new construction.Williams said residents often point to growth in Garden City and question why Hays has not seen similar growth.Within a 60-mile radius of Hays, there are about 87,000 people. Within a 60-mile radius of Garden City, there are 123,000 people.The Garden City area has also seen a slower population decline, 2.9%, in its market area. Although Hays' population did not decrease according to the last census. The surrounding population shrank by almost 6% in a 10-year period.Williams said Grow Hays has also been working with developers on the area to the north of 24/7 on Vine. He said he sees the Rodeway Inn as another location in need of urban renewal."I think these retailers are ready to make moves, and we need to strike while the iron is hot," he said.

Grow Hays announces new shopping center project north of I-70

SEDGWICK COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating another deadly shooting in Wichita.

Just after 9:30p.m. Tuesday, Sedgwick County Emergency Communications received a 911 call reporting a shooting in the 4800 block of East Funston, according to Police Captain Aaron Moses.

Wichita Police, Wichita Fire, and Sedgwick County EMS responded to the scene and found 27- year-old Quentin Gordon suffering from a gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Wichita Police Department Homicide Investigators, in collaboration with patrol officers, immediately began their investigation. Preliminary findings suggest that Gordon was involved in an argument with another individual when the shooting occurred, indicating that this was not a random act of violence, according to Moses.

Police have not reported an arrest or suspect details.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/6/1717605513604.png" alt="First responders at the scene- photo courtesy KWCH" />
 <figcaption>First responders at the scene- photo courtesy KWCH</figcaption>
 </figure>SEDGWICK COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating another deadly shooting in Wichita.Just after 9:30p.m. Tuesday, Sedgwick County Emergency Communications received a 911 call reporting a shooting in the 4800 block of East Funston, according to Police Captain Aaron Moses.Wichita Police, Wichita Fire, and Sedgwick County EMS responded to the scene and found 27- year-old Quentin Gordon suffering from a gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead at the scene.Wichita Police Department Homicide Investigators, in collaboration with patrol officers, immediately began their investigation. Preliminary findings suggest that Gordon was involved in an argument with another individual when the shooting occurred, indicating that this was not a random act of violence, according to Moses.Police have not reported an arrest or suspect details.

Police: Argument led to deadly Kansas shooting

WASHINGTON (AP) — Ukraine has used U.S weapons to strike inside Russia in recent days, according to a Western official familiar with the matter.

The weapons were used under&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/czechia-ukraine-russia-nato-blinken-441c9624d95f8193e99cf08effced44f">recently approved guidance from President Joe Biden</a>&nbsp;allowing American arms to be used to strike inside Russia for the limited purpose of defending&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-kharkiv-attacks-5023c3e67af30fc95b954a6f044112dc">Kharkiv</a>, Ukraine's second-largest city.

The official was not authorized to comment publicly on the sensitive matter and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Biden’s directive allows for U.S.-supplied weapons to be used to strike Russian forces that are attacking or preparing to attack. It does not change U.S. policy that directs Ukraine not to use&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-long-range-missiles-4d2254639eb5a503d8b0a291ed0680e9">American-provided ATACMS</a>&nbsp;or long-range missiles and other munitions to strike offensively inside Russia, U.S. officials have said.

Ukrainian officials had stepped up calls on the U.S. to allow Kyiv's forces to defend themselves against attacks originating from Russian territory. Kharkiv sits just 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the Russian border and has come under intensified Russian attack.

In advancing in the northeast Kharkiv region, Russian forces have exploited a lengthy delay in the replenishment of U.S. military aid. In addition, Western Europe’s inadequate military production has slowed crucial deliveries to the battlefield for Ukraine.

On Tuesday, White House national security spokesman John Kirby told reporters that he could not confirm that Ukraine had used U.S. weapons at targets in Russia.

“We’re just not in a position on a day-to-day basis of knowing exactly what the Ukrainians are firing at what,” Kirby said. "It’s certainly at a tactical level.”

According to a June 3 report from the Institute for the Study of War, Ukrainian forces struck a Russian S-300/400 air defense battery in Belgorod Oblast, likely with the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or HIMARS, on June 1 or June 2. The air defense system was located roughly 60 kilometers (about 40 miles) from the current front line in northern Kharkiv Oblast and more than 80 kilometers (50 miles) from the city of Kharkiv, which is within the range of HIMARS, the institute reported.

Confirmation of the strikes comes as Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelensky, visited Qatar, which along with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, has been a key mediators in prisoner swaps and other negotiations between Russia and Ukraine since the war began.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/6/1717605044854.png" alt="U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a meeting in November" />
 <figcaption>U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a meeting in November</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — Ukraine has used U.S weapons to strike inside Russia in recent days, according to a Western official familiar with the matter.The weapons were used under&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/czechia-ukraine-russia-nato-blinken-441c9624d95f8193e99cf08effced44f">recently approved guidance from President Joe Biden</a>&nbsp;allowing American arms to be used to strike inside Russia for the limited purpose of defending&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-kharkiv-attacks-5023c3e67af30fc95b954a6f044112dc">Kharkiv</a>, Ukraine's second-largest city.The official was not authorized to comment publicly on the sensitive matter and spoke on condition of anonymity.Biden’s directive allows for U.S.-supplied weapons to be used to strike Russian forces that are attacking or preparing to attack. It does not change U.S. policy that directs Ukraine not to use&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-long-range-missiles-4d2254639eb5a503d8b0a291ed0680e9">American-provided ATACMS</a>&nbsp;or long-range missiles and other munitions to strike offensively inside Russia, U.S. officials have said.Ukrainian officials had stepped up calls on the U.S. to allow Kyiv's forces to defend themselves against attacks originating from Russian territory. Kharkiv sits just 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the Russian border and has come under intensified Russian attack.In advancing in the northeast Kharkiv region, Russian forces have exploited a lengthy delay in the replenishment of U.S. military aid. In addition, Western Europe’s inadequate military production has slowed crucial deliveries to the battlefield for Ukraine.On Tuesday, White House national security spokesman John Kirby told reporters that he could not confirm that Ukraine had used U.S. weapons at targets in Russia.“We’re just not in a position on a day-to-day basis of knowing exactly what the Ukrainians are firing at what,” Kirby said. "It’s certainly at a tactical level.”According to a June 3 report from the Institute for the Study of War, Ukrainian forces struck a Russian S-300/400 air defense battery in Belgorod Oblast, likely with the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or HIMARS, on June 1 or June 2. The air defense system was located roughly 60 kilometers (about 40 miles) from the current front line in northern Kharkiv Oblast and more than 80 kilometers (50 miles) from the city of Kharkiv, which is within the range of HIMARS, the institute reported.Confirmation of the strikes comes as Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelensky, visited Qatar, which along with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, has been a key mediators in prisoner swaps and other negotiations between Russia and Ukraine since the war began.—-

White House won't confirm Ukraine using US weapons to strike inside Russia

BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/jennifer-shutt/">JENNIFER SHUTT</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;&nbsp;AND&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/jaredstrong/">JARED STRONG</a>&nbsp;-&nbsp;State's Newsroom

Dairy farmers throughout the country are on guard and the federal government is mobilizing after an outbreak among cattle herds of highly pathogenic avian influenza — once thought to be confined to poultry flocks.

What’s more, the virus, also known as H5N1 or bird flu, was diagnosed in a third dairy farmworker last week, marking the first U.S. case with respiratory symptoms, said to be mild. The other two cases, also both mild, were diagnosed as pink eye.

The notable leap from cows and chickens to humans is not yet ringing alarm bells for public health officials or veterinarians, who believe the risk to the public remains low. However, they are closely monitoring poultry and dairy farms for any changes, despite a reluctance among some dairy farmers to test their herds.

“Avian influenza is something that public health scientists are worried about,” said Marcus Plescia, chief medical officer for the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials. “It’s probably the potential infection or outbreak that causes the greatest amount of anxiety just because, if this did get into a place where it was easily transmissible among humans, everybody fears that could be a really, really bad scenario.”

The ongoing response has brought together a veritable alphabet soup of government agencies and agricultural organizations, highlighting the complicated nature of fighting bird flu. The mobilization is intended to stem the significant economic toll that farmers could face and curb the virus’ spread.

At the federal level, the Agriculture Department is responsible for the farm animals, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for human health, the Food and Drug Administration has jurisdiction over the eggs and milk sold in grocery stores, and the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response oversees its piece of the pie.

Then come the state agencies, interest groups, agribusiness and family farms.

As of last week, more than 40 people had been tested for H5N1 with more than 350 people enrolled in monitoring, about 220 of whom are in Michigan. Two of the human cases have been in Michigan while the other was diagnosed in Texas.

Michigan also has several dairy cattle herds diagnosed with H5N1.

The USDA has performed more than 17,000 PCR tests on cattle, with a total of 67 herds affected throughout nine states, including Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Michigan, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, South Dakota and Texas.

This strain of bird flu has also cropped up in a wide variety of mammals, including domestic cats. That’s led experts to recommend that people limit their pets’ interactions with wild birds, which hold a reservoir of the virus, as well as all farm animals.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced last week that it’s launching a voluntary pilot program to expand testing for dairy farms to gain better insight into the virus and make it easier for farmers to ship dairy cows across state lines.

The department is also transferring $824 million from the Commodity Credit Corporation to the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service for the ongoing response.

“It’s important to note that as these additional testing measures take place, USDA anticipates that we may see an increase in the number of herds that are testing positive,” said Eric Deeble, acting senior adviser for highly pathogenic avian influenza and deputy assistant secretary for congressional relations.

The pilot program will test milk samples from bulk tanks for H5N1. Farms that consistently test negative will “be able to ship their cows at the time they prefer and without testing individual animals, knowing that their entire herd is free of the disease,” Deeble said.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, on a press call with reporters Monday, declined to say whether USDA has a full grasp of the extent of the virus’ spread in dairy cattle, but he said, “We have a pretty good understanding of the nature of this virus and essentially what’s causing its spread.”

“We’re trying to essentially corner this virus, so that over time it dissipates,” Vilsack said.

Dairy farmers can begin enrolling in the pilot program this week in participating states.

Infected cows have tremendous amounts of the virus&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2024/05/02/bird-flu-virus-is-abundant-in-the-milk-of-sick-cows/">in their milk</a>, so those that are lactating must test negative for the virus before they can be transported across state lines, the USDA has ordered.

In states such as Iowa, which has no detections of the virus in cattle, dairy farmers have been reluctant to test more than is required.

“There has not been a lot of testing to date,” said Rodger Main, director of the Iowa State University Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, which first discovered bird flu was infecting cattle. “What’s being tested is the dairy cattle that are moving interstate.”

Scientists are sequencing the genetic code of an avian flu that&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2024/05/28/bird-flu-strikes-flock-of-4-2-million-chickens-in-sioux-county/">was found</a>&nbsp;in a flock of 4.2 million egg-laying hens last week in northwest Iowa to determine if it is the same variant that has been infecting cattle, said Don McDowell, a spokesperson for the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship. If so, it might indicate that there are infected cattle in Iowa.

A similar detection happened more than a month ago at a turkey flock in Minnesota, another state with no known dairy cattle infections.

However, no coordinated testing was done of dairy farms near the infected turkey flock to determine whether they had infected cattle and might have been the source of the transmission, said Michael Crusan, a spokesperson for the Minnesota Board of Animal Health.

“The Board of Animal Health didn’t collect any samples from dairy farms surrounding HPAI positive poultry premises,” Crusan said. “We do not have authority to test those dairy farms without suspected or confirmed illness reported to us.”

There is reluctance among some dairy farmers to voluntarily test their cattle for fear of what might happen if those tests reveal their herds are infected, said Dr. Barb Petersen, a Texas veterinarian&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2024/04/17/two-veterinarians-hundreds-of-miles-apart-solved-a-cow-sickness-whodunit/">who helped discover</a>&nbsp;that bird flu was infecting cattle.

They might be afraid that they’ll be barred from selling their cattle for an unknown amount of time or that animal movements to and from their farms will be otherwise restricted.

Petersen suspects that nearly all the dairies in her area near Amarillo were infected but that many were not tested.

Infected cows typically recover in 10 to 14 days. Infected herds suffer a drop in milk production that can last about a month.

The virus is much more severe for chicken and turkey flocks, where it often causes fatal illness. Entire flocks are destroyed to prevent the spread of the virus.

More testing and better biosecurity measures are important to help prevent the virus from spreading from infected cattle to the poultry flocks, said Phillip Jardon, the dairy extension veterinarian for Iowa State University.

He is aware of several dairy farms that installed noise-making systems to keep away wild birds, which are believed to be an initial source of the infections. It’s unclear how many other state-recommended precautions are being adopted.

“The risk to dairies is not as large as it is to poultry, but dairies should keep in mind that they have neighbors who are poultry producers where it can be devastating, and they don’t want to have a local source of the virus,” he said.

Vilsack said USDA needs to better educate dairy farmers about the risks to their neighboring farmers to get more voluntary help in tracking and containing the virus.

It spread from Texas to faraway states through the transportation of infected cattle, but it has likely spread locally via farmworkers, veterinarians and equipment moving farm to farm, Vilsack said.

Plescia from the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials said during an interview with States Newsroom that while the risk to the public remains low, health officials are paying close attention to agricultural workers.

Ensuring farmworkers have access to personal protective equipment is essential, though it could be challenging to get all workers to use it during the hotter summer months, Plescia said.

The most recent case in a farmworker in Michigan, announced May 30, is more concerning to experts. “We’re much, much more worried about respiratory infections because it’s respiratory infections, where in the past with earlier versions of H5N1, we’ve seen that those infections can be very, very severe and the mortality can be very high,” Plescia said.

Public health officials need to work with farm owners and farmworkers to make sure that even people with mild symptoms get tested for avian flu to ensure that it isn’t circulating more widely than the documented cases, he said.

They need to ensure that undocumented workers or those on agricultural work visas who are concerned about interaction with the government are comfortable enough to get tested.

“When the state government starts showing up to do testing as far as they’re concerned, people are fearful of that and so they’ll stop coming to work,” Plescia said.

Plescia also cautioned that people shouldn’t drink raw milk for the foreseeable future.

Dr. Nirav Shah, principal deputy director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said in an interview with States Newsroom the agency is focusing its attention on farmworker safety through personal protective equipment, testing and additional resources.

The CDC is also working to build trust so that workers who might be in the U.S. on visas or who are undocumented feel comfortable getting tested for H5N1 or reporting an illness to public health officials.

“When H5 became a phenomenon in poultry farms, it took some time for poultry farm owners and poultry farmworkers to gain trust with the public health system,” Shah said. “The same thing, the same dynamic, is at play here.”

Shah, speaking during a separate press briefing on H5N1, said that even with the new respiratory case, there have been no signs, either genetically or epidemiologically, that this strain of avian influenza is adapting in a way that would lead to greater transmission.

“We are on the lookout for those changes, but the mere fact that this individual displayed some respiratory symptoms — again, we should be alert — but, in and of itself, is not a cause to change or suggest that we’re at an inflection point,” Shah said. “It is a cause and a reason to remain alert.”

Amira Roess, professor of global health and epidemiology at George Mason University, said in a written statement that public health officials must “provide incentives for individuals to report illness and to get tested, or at least we have to remove barriers.”

“Because we don’t have meaningful, high quality and accessible health care for the majority of our population, particularly those in rural areas where the virus has first spilled over, it will be challenging to get ahead of this,” Roess wrote in response to questions from States Newsroom about H5N1. “Many farmworkers are hourly workers and cannot afford to take time off for what they perceive as mild illness.”

Meghan Davis, associate professor in the Department of Environmental Health and Engineering at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, said in an interview with States Newsroom this particular strain of avian flu has been spreading between mammals, including domestic pets, and will likely continue to do so.

“The fact that this particular clade has been able to infect so many different mammalian species, and has now caused at least two documented cases in people — although, thankfully, with relatively mild symptoms — is a concern,” she said, before the third case was announced.

Davis cautioned that because there have been cases among cats living on dairy farms that drank raw cow’s milk, people shouldn’t give raw milk to their pets.

Pet owners should also be cautious about letting their animals interact with wild birds, which are known to spread the virus.

Milk purchased in grocery stores is safe to drink since it’s been pasteurized and has been&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/fda-chief-says-feds-are-preparing-low-probability-bird-flu-moving-humans">repeatedly tested</a>&nbsp;by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration during the past few months to ensure there’s no active virus in the country’s food supply.

Other mammals diagnosed with avian flu this year include a mountain lion in Montana, red foxes in Michigan and Missouri, and a raccoon in Colorado. Domestic cats have been diagnosed in Michigan, Montana, New Mexico, Ohio, South Dakota and Texas, according to&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.aphis.usda.gov/livestock-poultry-disease/avian/avian-influenza/hpai-detections/mammals">data</a>&nbsp;from the CDC.

Davis said the surveillance system for H5N1 should be broadened to include “more systematic testing, which would require us to have somewhat better access to workers, to animals on farms, etc.” as well as antibody testing to determine if more people have contracted avian flu and recovered.

The additional information could help if the virus were to shift in the coming months or years.

“We don’t know exactly what this virus is going to do,” Davis said, noting the mild nature of the virus detected so far could mean that more people have contracted it and simply didn’t realize it.

Davis explained that public health officials and researchers need to closely monitor viruses like H5N1 since they can change in a way similar to how the flu changes, leading to the need for a different flu shot each year.

Roess, the epidemiology professor from George Mason University, noted that an uptick in human cases of avian influenza, could “be an indication of other types of transmission than what is currently believed.”

“Right now, the cases reported are a result of direct contact with infected food animals,” Roess said. “It is critical to ramp up surveillance of people working closely with possibly infected animals, other animals in the vicinity and other people who are not directly in contact with possibly infected animals in the community.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/5/1716902758487.jpeg" alt="The USDA has performed more than 17,000 tests for avian influenza on cattle, with a total of 67 herds affected throughout nine states&nbsp; (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd, File)" />
 <figcaption>The USDA has performed more than 17,000 tests for avian influenza on cattle, with a total of 67 herds affected throughout nine states&nbsp; (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd, File)</figcaption>
 </figure>BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/jennifer-shutt/">JENNIFER SHUTT</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;&nbsp;AND&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/jaredstrong/">JARED STRONG</a>&nbsp;-&nbsp;State's NewsroomDairy farmers throughout the country are on guard and the federal government is mobilizing after an outbreak among cattle herds of highly pathogenic avian influenza — once thought to be confined to poultry flocks.What’s more, the virus, also known as H5N1 or bird flu, was diagnosed in a third dairy farmworker last week, marking the first U.S. case with respiratory symptoms, said to be mild. The other two cases, also both mild, were diagnosed as pink eye.The notable leap from cows and chickens to humans is not yet ringing alarm bells for public health officials or veterinarians, who believe the risk to the public remains low. However, they are closely monitoring poultry and dairy farms for any changes, despite a reluctance among some dairy farmers to test their herds.“Avian influenza is something that public health scientists are worried about,” said Marcus Plescia, chief medical officer for the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials. “It’s probably the potential infection or outbreak that causes the greatest amount of anxiety just because, if this did get into a place where it was easily transmissible among humans, everybody fears that could be a really, really bad scenario.”The ongoing response has brought together a veritable alphabet soup of government agencies and agricultural organizations, highlighting the complicated nature of fighting bird flu. The mobilization is intended to stem the significant economic toll that farmers could face and curb the virus’ spread.At the federal level, the Agriculture Department is responsible for the farm animals, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for human health, the Food and Drug Administration has jurisdiction over the eggs and milk sold in grocery stores, and the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response oversees its piece of the pie.Then come the state agencies, interest groups, agribusiness and family farms.As of last week, more than 40 people had been tested for H5N1 with more than 350 people enrolled in monitoring, about 220 of whom are in Michigan. Two of the human cases have been in Michigan while the other was diagnosed in Texas.Michigan also has several dairy cattle herds diagnosed with H5N1.The USDA has performed more than 17,000 PCR tests on cattle, with a total of 67 herds affected throughout nine states, including Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Michigan, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, South Dakota and Texas.This strain of bird flu has also cropped up in a wide variety of mammals, including domestic cats. That’s led experts to recommend that people limit their pets’ interactions with wild birds, which hold a reservoir of the virus, as well as all farm animals.<h2>USDA begins expanded testing</h2>The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced last week that it’s launching a voluntary pilot program to expand testing for dairy farms to gain better insight into the virus and make it easier for farmers to ship dairy cows across state lines.The department is also transferring $824 million from the Commodity Credit Corporation to the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service for the ongoing response.“It’s important to note that as these additional testing measures take place, USDA anticipates that we may see an increase in the number of herds that are testing positive,” said Eric Deeble, acting senior adviser for highly pathogenic avian influenza and deputy assistant secretary for congressional relations.The pilot program will test milk samples from bulk tanks for H5N1. Farms that consistently test negative will “be able to ship their cows at the time they prefer and without testing individual animals, knowing that their entire herd is free of the disease,” Deeble said.Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, on a press call with reporters Monday, declined to say whether USDA has a full grasp of the extent of the virus’ spread in dairy cattle, but he said, “We have a pretty good understanding of the nature of this virus and essentially what’s causing its spread.”“We’re trying to essentially corner this virus, so that over time it dissipates,” Vilsack said.Dairy farmers can begin enrolling in the pilot program this week in participating states.<h2>Dairy farms reluctant to test</h2>Infected cows have tremendous amounts of the virus&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2024/05/02/bird-flu-virus-is-abundant-in-the-milk-of-sick-cows/">in their milk</a>, so those that are lactating must test negative for the virus before they can be transported across state lines, the USDA has ordered.In states such as Iowa, which has no detections of the virus in cattle, dairy farmers have been reluctant to test more than is required.“There has not been a lot of testing to date,” said Rodger Main, director of the Iowa State University Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, which first discovered bird flu was infecting cattle. “What’s being tested is the dairy cattle that are moving interstate.”Scientists are sequencing the genetic code of an avian flu that&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2024/05/28/bird-flu-strikes-flock-of-4-2-million-chickens-in-sioux-county/">was found</a>&nbsp;in a flock of 4.2 million egg-laying hens last week in northwest Iowa to determine if it is the same variant that has been infecting cattle, said Don McDowell, a spokesperson for the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship. If so, it might indicate that there are infected cattle in Iowa.A similar detection happened more than a month ago at a turkey flock in Minnesota, another state with no known dairy cattle infections.However, no coordinated testing was done of dairy farms near the infected turkey flock to determine whether they had infected cattle and might have been the source of the transmission, said Michael Crusan, a spokesperson for the Minnesota Board of Animal Health.“The Board of Animal Health didn’t collect any samples from dairy farms surrounding HPAI positive poultry premises,” Crusan said. “We do not have authority to test those dairy farms without suspected or confirmed illness reported to us.”There is reluctance among some dairy farmers to voluntarily test their cattle for fear of what might happen if those tests reveal their herds are infected, said Dr. Barb Petersen, a Texas veterinarian&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2024/04/17/two-veterinarians-hundreds-of-miles-apart-solved-a-cow-sickness-whodunit/">who helped discover</a>&nbsp;that bird flu was infecting cattle.They might be afraid that they’ll be barred from selling their cattle for an unknown amount of time or that animal movements to and from their farms will be otherwise restricted.Petersen suspects that nearly all the dairies in her area near Amarillo were infected but that many were not tested.Infected cows typically recover in 10 to 14 days. Infected herds suffer a drop in milk production that can last about a month.The virus is much more severe for chicken and turkey flocks, where it often causes fatal illness. Entire flocks are destroyed to prevent the spread of the virus.More testing and better biosecurity measures are important to help prevent the virus from spreading from infected cattle to the poultry flocks, said Phillip Jardon, the dairy extension veterinarian for Iowa State University.He is aware of several dairy farms that installed noise-making systems to keep away wild birds, which are believed to be an initial source of the infections. It’s unclear how many other state-recommended precautions are being adopted.“The risk to dairies is not as large as it is to poultry, but dairies should keep in mind that they have neighbors who are poultry producers where it can be devastating, and they don’t want to have a local source of the virus,” he said.Vilsack said USDA needs to better educate dairy farmers about the risks to their neighboring farmers to get more voluntary help in tracking and containing the virus.It spread from Texas to faraway states through the transportation of infected cattle, but it has likely spread locally via farmworkers, veterinarians and equipment moving farm to farm, Vilsack said.<h2>PPE for farmworkers</h2>Plescia from the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials said during an interview with States Newsroom that while the risk to the public remains low, health officials are paying close attention to agricultural workers.Ensuring farmworkers have access to personal protective equipment is essential, though it could be challenging to get all workers to use it during the hotter summer months, Plescia said.The most recent case in a farmworker in Michigan, announced May 30, is more concerning to experts. “We’re much, much more worried about respiratory infections because it’s respiratory infections, where in the past with earlier versions of H5N1, we’ve seen that those infections can be very, very severe and the mortality can be very high,” Plescia said.Public health officials need to work with farm owners and farmworkers to make sure that even people with mild symptoms get tested for avian flu to ensure that it isn’t circulating more widely than the documented cases, he said.They need to ensure that undocumented workers or those on agricultural work visas who are concerned about interaction with the government are comfortable enough to get tested.“When the state government starts showing up to do testing as far as they’re concerned, people are fearful of that and so they’ll stop coming to work,” Plescia said.Plescia also cautioned that people shouldn’t drink raw milk for the foreseeable future.Dr. Nirav Shah, principal deputy director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said in an interview with States Newsroom the agency is focusing its attention on farmworker safety through personal protective equipment, testing and additional resources.The CDC is also working to build trust so that workers who might be in the U.S. on visas or who are undocumented feel comfortable getting tested for H5N1 or reporting an illness to public health officials.“When H5 became a phenomenon in poultry farms, it took some time for poultry farm owners and poultry farmworkers to gain trust with the public health system,” Shah said. “The same thing, the same dynamic, is at play here.”Shah, speaking during a separate press briefing on H5N1, said that even with the new respiratory case, there have been no signs, either genetically or epidemiologically, that this strain of avian influenza is adapting in a way that would lead to greater transmission.“We are on the lookout for those changes, but the mere fact that this individual displayed some respiratory symptoms — again, we should be alert — but, in and of itself, is not a cause to change or suggest that we’re at an inflection point,” Shah said. “It is a cause and a reason to remain alert.”Amira Roess, professor of global health and epidemiology at George Mason University, said in a written statement that public health officials must “provide incentives for individuals to report illness and to get tested, or at least we have to remove barriers.”“Because we don’t have meaningful, high quality and accessible health care for the majority of our population, particularly those in rural areas where the virus has first spilled over, it will be challenging to get ahead of this,” Roess wrote in response to questions from States Newsroom about H5N1. “Many farmworkers are hourly workers and cannot afford to take time off for what they perceive as mild illness.”<h2>Keep pets away from wild birds</h2>Meghan Davis, associate professor in the Department of Environmental Health and Engineering at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, said in an interview with States Newsroom this particular strain of avian flu has been spreading between mammals, including domestic pets, and will likely continue to do so.“The fact that this particular clade has been able to infect so many different mammalian species, and has now caused at least two documented cases in people — although, thankfully, with relatively mild symptoms — is a concern,” she said, before the third case was announced.Davis cautioned that because there have been cases among cats living on dairy farms that drank raw cow’s milk, people shouldn’t give raw milk to their pets.Pet owners should also be cautious about letting their animals interact with wild birds, which are known to spread the virus.Milk purchased in grocery stores is safe to drink since it’s been pasteurized and has been&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/fda-chief-says-feds-are-preparing-low-probability-bird-flu-moving-humans">repeatedly tested</a>&nbsp;by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration during the past few months to ensure there’s no active virus in the country’s food supply.Other mammals diagnosed with avian flu this year include a mountain lion in Montana, red foxes in Michigan and Missouri, and a raccoon in Colorado. Domestic cats have been diagnosed in Michigan, Montana, New Mexico, Ohio, South Dakota and Texas, according to&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.aphis.usda.gov/livestock-poultry-disease/avian/avian-influenza/hpai-detections/mammals">data</a>&nbsp;from the CDC.Davis said the surveillance system for H5N1 should be broadened to include “more systematic testing, which would require us to have somewhat better access to workers, to animals on farms, etc.” as well as antibody testing to determine if more people have contracted avian flu and recovered.The additional information could help if the virus were to shift in the coming months or years.“We don’t know exactly what this virus is going to do,” Davis said, noting the mild nature of the virus detected so far could mean that more people have contracted it and simply didn’t realize it.Davis explained that public health officials and researchers need to closely monitor viruses like H5N1 since they can change in a way similar to how the flu changes, leading to the need for a different flu shot each year.Roess, the epidemiology professor from George Mason University, noted that an uptick in human cases of avian influenza, could “be an indication of other types of transmission than what is currently believed.”“Right now, the cases reported are a result of direct contact with infected food animals,” Roess said. “It is critical to ramp up surveillance of people working closely with possibly infected animals, other animals in the vicinity and other people who are not directly in contact with possibly infected animals in the community.”

Bird flu’s spread from poultry to cattle to humans provokes worry among feds, states

KANSAS CITY —The Missouri Supreme Court on Tuesday set a Sept. 24 execution date for Marcellus Williams, even as the inmate awaits a court hearing on his claim that he was not involved in the murder that landed him on death row.

The state Supreme Court set the date hours after it ruled that Republican Gov. Mike Parson was within his rights last year when he&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/death-penalty-murder-newspaper-dna-governor-innocence-5b068258172e1cd938498e9e8361f01b">dissolved a board of inquiry</a>&nbsp;convened six years earlier by Parson's predecessor to investigate Williams' innocence claim.

Williams, 55, was convicted of first-degree murder in the 1998 death of Lisha Gayle during a robbery of her suburban St. Louis home. He was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2fea0cfd4d73446c8475ccae31b1ea67">hours away from execution in August 2017</a>&nbsp;when then-Gov. Eric Greitens, also a Republican, halted the process and ordered an investigation. Greitens cited DNA testing unavailable at the time of the killing showing that DNA on the knife used to stab Gayle matched someone else, not Williams.

Separately, St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/missouri-death-row-inmate-dna-evidence-0a179b0aafb1a0c0a3e144f7e3592a62">filed a motion in January</a>&nbsp;to vacate the murder conviction. Bell cited the new DNA evidence and said he believed Williams was not involved in Gayle’s death.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/crime-kansas-city-kansas-missouri-f73d1486d17a1884ff95ce84af75b00f">A 2021 Missouri law</a>&nbsp;allows prosecuting attorneys to file a motion to vacate a conviction if they believe the inmate could be innocent or was otherwise erroneously convicted. The filing prompts a hearing before a judge.

But a hearing date on Bell's motion has not been set. A spokesman for Bell said Bell's office is still “digesting the Missouri Supreme Court’s actions of today.”

Parson dissolved the inquiry board in June 2023 after it failed to reach any conclusion, saying it was time to “move forward” on the case. It wasn't clear why the board comprised of five retired judges never reached a conclusion.

The day after Parson dissolved the board, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey asked the state Supreme Court to set an execution date.

The Midwest Innocence Project filed a lawsuit on behalf of Williams in August, contending that Greitens’ order required the inquiry board to provide a report and recommendation — but Parson received neither.

The state Supreme Court’s unanimous ruling on Tuesday stated that the “Missouri Constitution vests the governor with exclusive constitutional authority to grant or deny clemency and Williams has no statutory or due process right to the board of inquiry process.”

Parson's spokesman, Johnathan Shiflett, said the governor's authority “was clear, as affirmed by the Supreme Court of Missouri today.”

Tricia Rojo Bushnell, an attorney for the Midwest Innocence Project, said in a statement that the fight will continue to prove Williams' innocence.

“We look forward to presenting the evidence of his innocence in court alongside St. Louis County Prosecutor Wesley Bell, who has filed a motion to vacate Mr. Williams’ conviction. This injustice can still be righted,” Bushnell said.

Prosecutors at the time of the crime said Williams broke a window pane to get inside Gayle’s home on Aug. 11, 1998, heard water running in the shower, and found a large butcher knife. When Gayle came downstairs, she was stabbed 43 times. Her purse and her husband’s laptop were stolen. Gayle was a social worker who previously worked as a reporter for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Authorities said Williams stole a jacket to conceal blood on his shirt. Williams’ girlfriend asked him why he would wear a jacket on such a hot day. The girlfriend said she later saw the laptop in the car and that Williams sold it a day or two later.

Prosecutors also cited testimony from Henry Cole, who shared a St. Louis cell with Williams in 1999 while Williams was jailed on unrelated charges. Cole told prosecutors Williams confessed to the killing and offered details about it.

Williams’ attorneys responded that the girlfriend and Cole were both convicted felons out for a $10,000 reward.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/6/1688086205294.png" alt="Williams photo MODOC" />
 <figcaption>Williams photo MODOC</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY —The Missouri Supreme Court on Tuesday set a Sept. 24 execution date for Marcellus Williams, even as the inmate awaits a court hearing on his claim that he was not involved in the murder that landed him on death row.The state Supreme Court set the date hours after it ruled that Republican Gov. Mike Parson was within his rights last year when he&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/death-penalty-murder-newspaper-dna-governor-innocence-5b068258172e1cd938498e9e8361f01b">dissolved a board of inquiry</a>&nbsp;convened six years earlier by Parson's predecessor to investigate Williams' innocence claim.Williams, 55, was convicted of first-degree murder in the 1998 death of Lisha Gayle during a robbery of her suburban St. Louis home. He was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2fea0cfd4d73446c8475ccae31b1ea67">hours away from execution in August 2017</a>&nbsp;when then-Gov. Eric Greitens, also a Republican, halted the process and ordered an investigation. Greitens cited DNA testing unavailable at the time of the killing showing that DNA on the knife used to stab Gayle matched someone else, not Williams.Separately, St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/missouri-death-row-inmate-dna-evidence-0a179b0aafb1a0c0a3e144f7e3592a62">filed a motion in January</a>&nbsp;to vacate the murder conviction. Bell cited the new DNA evidence and said he believed Williams was not involved in Gayle’s death.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/crime-kansas-city-kansas-missouri-f73d1486d17a1884ff95ce84af75b00f">A 2021 Missouri law</a>&nbsp;allows prosecuting attorneys to file a motion to vacate a conviction if they believe the inmate could be innocent or was otherwise erroneously convicted. The filing prompts a hearing before a judge.But a hearing date on Bell's motion has not been set. A spokesman for Bell said Bell's office is still “digesting the Missouri Supreme Court’s actions of today.”Parson dissolved the inquiry board in June 2023 after it failed to reach any conclusion, saying it was time to “move forward” on the case. It wasn't clear why the board comprised of five retired judges never reached a conclusion.The day after Parson dissolved the board, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey asked the state Supreme Court to set an execution date.The Midwest Innocence Project filed a lawsuit on behalf of Williams in August, contending that Greitens’ order required the inquiry board to provide a report and recommendation — but Parson received neither.The state Supreme Court’s unanimous ruling on Tuesday stated that the “Missouri Constitution vests the governor with exclusive constitutional authority to grant or deny clemency and Williams has no statutory or due process right to the board of inquiry process.”Parson's spokesman, Johnathan Shiflett, said the governor's authority “was clear, as affirmed by the Supreme Court of Missouri today.”Tricia Rojo Bushnell, an attorney for the Midwest Innocence Project, said in a statement that the fight will continue to prove Williams' innocence.“We look forward to presenting the evidence of his innocence in court alongside St. Louis County Prosecutor Wesley Bell, who has filed a motion to vacate Mr. Williams’ conviction. This injustice can still be righted,” Bushnell said.Prosecutors at the time of the crime said Williams broke a window pane to get inside Gayle’s home on Aug. 11, 1998, heard water running in the shower, and found a large butcher knife. When Gayle came downstairs, she was stabbed 43 times. Her purse and her husband’s laptop were stolen. Gayle was a social worker who previously worked as a reporter for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.Authorities said Williams stole a jacket to conceal blood on his shirt. Williams’ girlfriend asked him why he would wear a jacket on such a hot day. The girlfriend said she later saw the laptop in the car and that Williams sold it a day or two later.Prosecutors also cited testimony from Henry Cole, who shared a St. Louis cell with Williams in 1999 while Williams was jailed on unrelated charges. Cole told prosecutors Williams confessed to the killing and offered details about it.Williams’ attorneys responded that the girlfriend and Cole were both convicted felons out for a $10,000 reward.

Execution date set for man convicted of killing newspaper reporter

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Boeing launched astronauts for the first time Wednesday, belatedly joining SpaceX as a second taxi service for NASA.

A pair of NASA test pilots blasted off aboard&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/boeing-space-station-starliner-launch-spacex-86085ceba30de94218c7cf2f70524413">Boeing’s Starliner capsule</a>&nbsp;for the International Space Station, the first to fly the new spacecraft.

The trip by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/boeing-space-capsule-starliner-astronauts-nasa-4742d2759c51d63c0d2ec9cbf93fce25">Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams</a>&nbsp;was expected to take 25 hours, with an arrival Thursday. They will spend just over a week at the orbiting lab before climbing back into Starliner for a remote desert touchdown in the western U.S. on June 14.

“Let’s get going!” Wilmore called out minutes before liftoff.

Years late because of spacecraft flaws, Starliner’s crew debut comes as the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/boeing-faa-safety-quality-plan-32ebe104f397d20e28f72c173234460b">company struggles with unrelated safety issues</a>&nbsp;on its airplane side.

Wilmore and Williams — retired Navy captains and former space station residents — stressed repeatedly before the launch that they had full confidence in Boeing’s ability to get it right with this test flight. Crippled by bad software, Starliner’s initial test flight in 2019 without a crew had to be repeated before NASA would let its astronauts strap in. The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/elon-musk-spacex-space-exploration-technology-science-f5e548af036b79c6387d2f26a39622c2">2022 do-over</a>&nbsp;went much better, but parachute problems later cropped up and flammable tape had to be removed from the capsule.

Wednesday's launch was the third attempt with astronauts since early May, coming after a pair of rocket-related problems, most recently last weekend. A small helium leak in the spacecraft’s propulsion system also caused delays, but managers decided the leak was manageable and not a safety issue.

“I know it’s been a long road to get here,” NASA’s commercial crew program manager Steve Stich said before the weekend delay.

Boeing was hired alongside Elon Musk’s SpaceX a decade ago to ferry NASA’s astronauts to and from the space station. The space agency wanted two competing U.S. companies for the job in the wake of the space shuttles’ retirement, paying $4.2 billion to Boeing and just over half that to SpaceX, which refashioned the capsule it was using to deliver station supplies.

SpaceX launched astronauts into orbit in 2020, becoming the first private business to achieve what only three countries — Russia, the U.S. and China — had mastered. It has taken nine crews to the space station for NASA and three private groups for a Houston company that charters flights.

The liftoff from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station was the 100th of an Atlas V for rocket maker United Launch Alliance. It was the first ride for astronauts on an Atlas rocket since John Glenn’s Mercury era more than 60 years ago; the rocket usually launches satellites and other spacecraft.

Despite the Atlas V’s perfect record, the human presence cranked up the tension for the scores of NASA and Boeing employees gathered at Cape Canaveral and Mission Control in Houston.

Boeing’s Starliner and SpaceX’s Dragon are designed to be fully autonomous and reusable. Wilmore and Williams occasionally will take manual control of Starliner on their way to the space station, to check out its systems.

If the mission goes well, NASA will alternate between SpaceX and Boeing for taxi flights, beginning next year. The backup pilot for this test flight, Mike Fincke, will strap in for Starliner’s next trip.

“When you have a new spacecraft, you need to learn all about it and this has been a great exercise,” Fincke told reporters late last week.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Boeing launched astronauts for the first time Wednesday, belatedly joining SpaceX as a second taxi service for NASA.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Liftoff! Go <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AtlasV?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AtlasV</a>! Go Centaur! Go <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Starliner?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Starliner</a>! Godspeed, Butch Wilmore and <a href="https://twitter.com/Astro_Suni?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Astro_Suni</a>! <a href="https://t.co/kTA8fjcLP7">pic.twitter.com/kTA8fjcLP7</a>&mdash; Boeing Space (@BoeingSpace) <a href="https://twitter.com/BoeingSpace/status/1798367584628207823?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 5, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>A pair of NASA test pilots blasted off aboard&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/boeing-space-station-starliner-launch-spacex-86085ceba30de94218c7cf2f70524413">Boeing’s Starliner capsule</a>&nbsp;for the International Space Station, the first to fly the new spacecraft.The trip by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/boeing-space-capsule-starliner-astronauts-nasa-4742d2759c51d63c0d2ec9cbf93fce25">Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams</a>&nbsp;was expected to take 25 hours, with an arrival Thursday. They will spend just over a week at the orbiting lab before climbing back into Starliner for a remote desert touchdown in the western U.S. on June 14.“Let’s get going!” Wilmore called out minutes before liftoff.Years late because of spacecraft flaws, Starliner’s crew debut comes as the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/boeing-faa-safety-quality-plan-32ebe104f397d20e28f72c173234460b">company struggles with unrelated safety issues</a>&nbsp;on its airplane side.Wilmore and Williams — retired Navy captains and former space station residents — stressed repeatedly before the launch that they had full confidence in Boeing’s ability to get it right with this test flight. Crippled by bad software, Starliner’s initial test flight in 2019 without a crew had to be repeated before NASA would let its astronauts strap in. The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/elon-musk-spacex-space-exploration-technology-science-f5e548af036b79c6387d2f26a39622c2">2022 do-over</a>&nbsp;went much better, but parachute problems later cropped up and flammable tape had to be removed from the capsule.Wednesday's launch was the third attempt with astronauts since early May, coming after a pair of rocket-related problems, most recently last weekend. A small helium leak in the spacecraft’s propulsion system also caused delays, but managers decided the leak was manageable and not a safety issue.“I know it’s been a long road to get here,” NASA’s commercial crew program manager Steve Stich said before the weekend delay.Boeing was hired alongside Elon Musk’s SpaceX a decade ago to ferry NASA’s astronauts to and from the space station. The space agency wanted two competing U.S. companies for the job in the wake of the space shuttles’ retirement, paying $4.2 billion to Boeing and just over half that to SpaceX, which refashioned the capsule it was using to deliver station supplies.SpaceX launched astronauts into orbit in 2020, becoming the first private business to achieve what only three countries — Russia, the U.S. and China — had mastered. It has taken nine crews to the space station for NASA and three private groups for a Houston company that charters flights.The liftoff from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station was the 100th of an Atlas V for rocket maker United Launch Alliance. It was the first ride for astronauts on an Atlas rocket since John Glenn’s Mercury era more than 60 years ago; the rocket usually launches satellites and other spacecraft.Despite the Atlas V’s perfect record, the human presence cranked up the tension for the scores of NASA and Boeing employees gathered at Cape Canaveral and Mission Control in Houston.Boeing’s Starliner and SpaceX’s Dragon are designed to be fully autonomous and reusable. Wilmore and Williams occasionally will take manual control of Starliner on their way to the space station, to check out its systems.If the mission goes well, NASA will alternate between SpaceX and Boeing for taxi flights, beginning next year. The backup pilot for this test flight, Mike Fincke, will strap in for Starliner’s next trip.“When you have a new spacecraft, you need to learn all about it and this has been a great exercise,” Fincke told reporters late last week.

🎥Boeing Starliner flies NASA astronauts into space for first time

KANSAS CITY —Two adults have been charged in connection with a boy who was found to have extensive injuries over his body, including bruises and burns and apparent malnutrition, according to Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker.

39- year-old James E. Griffin Jr. and 37-year-old Penny Woods each face a charge of Abuse or Neglect of a Child, a Class B felony.

According to court records filed, a the teen victim was taken by another adult from a Raytown residence to North Kansas City Hospital and eventually to Children's Mercy Hospital. 

Woods told the adult she couldn't handle the child any longer. &nbsp;At the hospital, the victim was observed to have multiple abrasions, lacerations, burns, missing teeth and signs of malnutrition. A search warrant of the residence where the victim had been staying found signs of blood.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/6/1717594808471.png" alt="Griffin photo Jackson Co." />
 <figcaption>Griffin photo Jackson Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY —Two adults have been charged in connection with a boy who was found to have extensive injuries over his body, including bruises and burns and apparent malnutrition, according to Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/6/1717534917376.png" alt="Woods-photo Jackson Co." />
 <figcaption>Woods-photo Jackson Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>39- year-old James E. Griffin Jr. and 37-year-old Penny Woods each face a charge of Abuse or Neglect of a Child, a Class B felony.According to court records filed, a the teen victim was taken by another adult from a Raytown residence to North Kansas City Hospital and eventually to Children's Mercy Hospital. Woods told the adult she couldn't handle the child any longer. &nbsp;At the hospital, the victim was observed to have multiple abrasions, lacerations, burns, missing teeth and signs of malnutrition. A search warrant of the residence where the victim had been staying found signs of blood.

Court records: KC boy hospitalized after months of abuse 

WASHINGTON (AP) —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/joe-biden">President Joe Biden</a>&nbsp;on Tuesday unveiled plans to enact immediate significant restrictions on migrants seeking asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border as the White House tries to neutralize immigration as a political liability ahead of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/election-2024">the November elections</a>.

Kansas Senior U.S. Senator Jerry Moran, delivered opening remarks and addressed President Biden’s Executive Order to reduce migrant entries at the southern border during a hearing with Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Christopher Wray.&nbsp; Moran said, "I’m doubtful that this executive order will make the necessary changes to ensure operational control of our border and that we know who, why and where people are crossing into our country."(Click below to watch)

On his social media account, Kansas Junior U.S. Senator Roger Marshall criticized President Biden's announcement.

The long-anticipated presidential proclamation would bar migrants from being granted asylum when U.S. officials deem that&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ap.org/news-highlights/region/us-mexico-border/">the southern border</a>&nbsp;is overwhelmed. The Democratic president had contemplated unilateral action for months after the collapse of a bipartisan border security deal in Congress that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/congress-ukraine-aid-border-security-386dcc54b29a5491f8bd87b727a284f8">most Republican lawmakers rejected</a>&nbsp;at the behest of former President Donald Trump, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee.

Biden said he preferred more lasting action via legislation but "Republicans have left me no choice.” Instead, he said he was acting on his own to “gain control of the border” while also insisting that “I believe immigration has always been the lifeblood of America.”

Trump “told the Republicans ... that he didn't want to fix the issue, he wanted to use it to attack me,” Biden said. “It was a cynical, extremely cynical, political move and a complete disservice to the American people who are looking for us not to weaponize the border but to fix it.”

Trump, on the other hand, used his social media account to assail Biden again over immigration, saying the Democrat had “totally surrendered our Southern Border” and his order was “all for show” ahead of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2024-election-presidential-debates-biden-trump-6b1d1dbb2ed61c7637041b23662d7da8">their June 27 presidential debate</a>.

The order will go into effect when the number of border encounters between ports of entry hits 2,500 per day, according to senior administration officials. That means Biden’s order should go into effect immediately, because the daily averages are higher now. Average daily arrests for illegal crossings from Mexico were last below 2,500 in January 2021, the month Biden took office. The last time the border encounters dipped to 1,500 a day was in July 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The restrictions would be in effect until two weeks after the daily encounter numbers are at or below 1,500 per day between ports of entry, under a seven-day average. Those figures were&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-immigration-executive-order-asylum-border-7cd0b0f28e298036ad1fc6b0c78961e1">first reported by The Associated Press</a>&nbsp;on Monday.

Homeland Security said increased enforcement with Mexico since high-level bilateral meetings in late December has lowered illegal crossings but is “likely to be less effective over time,” creating a need for more action. “Smuggling networks are adaptable, responding to changes put in place,” the department said in a federal rule published Tuesday.

The department predicts that arrests for illegal crossings may climb to a daily average as high as 6,700 from July through September.

Once this order is in effect, migrants who arrive at the border but do not express fear of returning to their home countries will be subject to immediate removal from the United States, within a matter of days or even hours. Those migrants could face punishments that could include a five-year bar from reentering the U.S. or even criminal prosecution.

Meanwhile, anyone who expresses that fear or an intention to seek asylum will be screened by a U.S. asylum officer but at a higher standard than currently used. If they pass the screening, they can pursue more limited forms of humanitarian protection, including the U.N. Convention Against Torture.

“We’re troubled to see this administration raise the bar on asylum seekers who are coming to our southern border and exercising a legal right,” said Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, president and CEO of Global Refuge. “Certainly no one wants to see migrants who may be coming to seek a better life or for economic opportunity game the asylum system, but we see in our clients and in other immigrants people who are fleeing the most dire of circumstances at a time of unprecedented global migration and believe that the U.S. is still a beacon of hope and refuge.”

The U.N.’s refugee agency also expressed concern, saying the new measures will deny access to asylum for many who are in need of international protection. The agency said in a statement that it recognizes that the U.S. is facing challenges in dealing with the significant number of people arriving at its border, but nonetheless called on the United States "to uphold its international obligations and urge the government to reconsider restrictions that undermine the fundamental right to seek asylum.”

At the border Tuesday, there were no visible signs of immediate impact.

Iselande Peralta, a Haitian mother staying at a migrant shelter in Reynosa, Mexico, with her 3-year-old son, said the U.S. was within its rights to enforce new restrictions. She has been trying for 10 months to get an appointment through U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s online app, called CBP One. Peralta, 26, wouldn’t consider crossing illegally and considers CBP One her best option.

“Even if I was crazy, I wouldn’t cross the river. How would I do that with a child as young as him? I’m willing to wait,” she said.

Biden's directive is coming when the number of migrants encountered at the border have been on a consistent decline since December, but senior administration officials say the numbers are still too high and could spike in better weather, as is typical.

Yet many questions and complications remain about how Biden's directive would be implemented.

For instance, the administration already has&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/mexico-migration-center-venezuela-cuba-haiti-nicaragua-65b84bb008083e33295d5c738d5b8218">an agreement with Mexico</a>&nbsp;in which Mexico agrees to accept up to 30,000 citizens a month from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela once they are denied entry from the U.S., and senior administration officials say that will continue under this order. But it is unclear what happens to nationals of other countries who are denied under Biden’s directive.

Four senior administration officials, who insisted on anonymity to describe the effort to reporters, acknowledged that Biden's goal of deporting migrants quickly is complicated by insufficient funding from Congress to do so. The administration also faces certain legal constraints when it comes to detaining migrant families, and the administration said it would continue to abide by those obligations.

The legal authority being invoked by Biden comes under Section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which allows a president to limit entries for certain migrants if their entry is deemed “detrimental” to the national interest. Senior officials expressed confidence that they would be able to implement Biden’s order, despite threats from prominent legal groups to file lawsuits over the directive.

“We intend to sue," Lee Gelernt, an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union who successfully argued similar legal challenges when Trump was president. "A ban on asylum is illegal, just as it was when Trump unsuccessfully tried it.”

The senior administration officials insisted that Biden’s proposal differs dramatically from&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-politics-virus-outbreak-immigration-immigration-policy-1f8c91e31fba158126f8e91c1453b13f">that of Trump</a>, who leaned on the same provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act that Biden is using, including Trump's 2017 directive to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/3a20abe305bd4c989116f82bf535393b">bar citizens of Muslim-majority nations</a>&nbsp;and his efforts in 2018 to clamp down on asylum.

Biden’s order outlines several groups of migrants who would be exempted due to humanitarian reasons, including victims of human trafficking, unaccompanied minors and those with severe medical emergencies.

The directive would also exempt migrants who make appointments with border officials at ports of entry using the CBP One app. About 1,450 appointments are made a day using the app, which launched last year to allow migrants to make asylum claims.

Immigration advocates worry that Biden’s plan would only increase an already monthslong backlog of migrants waiting for an appointment through the app, especially when immigration authorities do not have an accompanying surge of funding.

It could also be difficult for border officials to quickly remove migrants when many agents are already tasked with helping in shelters and other humanitarian tasks, said Jennie Murray, the president of the National Immigration Forum.

“Customs and Border Protection cannot keep up with apprehensions as it is right now because they don’t have enough personnel so it would cause more disorder,” she said.

Republicans dismissed Biden’s order as nothing more than a “political stunt” meant to show toughened immigration enforcement ahead of the election.

“He tried to convince us all for all this time that there was no way he could possibly fix the mess,” GOP House Speaker Mike Johnson said at a news conference. “Remember that he engineered it."

In a call organized by Trump’s campaign, Stephen Miller, a senior adviser in Trump’s White House who orchestrated his most polarizing immigration policies, and Tom Homan, former acting director of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the Trump administration, said Biden’s order essentially would allow 2,500 people into the country a day and legalize the illegal entry into the U.S.

“The only reason they’re doing this is because of the election,” Homan said. “They’ve had three and a half years to take action and done nothing.”

Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said legislation would have been more effective, but “Republican intransigence has forced the president’s hand.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/5/1683898210525.png" alt="Photo Texas Dept. of Public Safety" />
 <figcaption>Photo Texas Dept. of Public Safety</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/joe-biden">President Joe Biden</a>&nbsp;on Tuesday unveiled plans to enact immediate significant restrictions on migrants seeking asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border as the White House tries to neutralize immigration as a political liability ahead of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/election-2024">the November elections</a>.Kansas Senior U.S. Senator Jerry Moran, delivered opening remarks and addressed President Biden’s Executive Order to reduce migrant entries at the southern border during a hearing with Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Christopher Wray.&nbsp; Moran said, "I’m doubtful that this executive order will make the necessary changes to ensure operational control of our border and that we know who, why and where people are crossing into our country."(Click below to watch)<div><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3QZsHl-7cxc?si=4n5P9zyg7tGMoTBn&amp;start=48" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>On his social media account, Kansas Junior U.S. Senator Roger Marshall criticized President Biden's announcement.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Biden’s executive action does not ‘shut down’ the border or secure it - this is a desperate attempt at a political lifeline 5 months before the election.&mdash; Dr. Roger Marshall (@RogerMarshallMD) <a href="https://twitter.com/RogerMarshallMD/status/1798047866138812485?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 4, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Today&#39;s announcement by President Joe Biden is an admission of guilt. <a href="https://t.co/HjtxJGhnAx">pic.twitter.com/HjtxJGhnAx</a>&mdash; Dr. Roger Marshall (@RogerMarshallMD) <a href="https://twitter.com/RogerMarshallMD/status/1798092681194639574?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 4, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>The long-anticipated presidential proclamation would bar migrants from being granted asylum when U.S. officials deem that&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ap.org/news-highlights/region/us-mexico-border/">the southern border</a>&nbsp;is overwhelmed. The Democratic president had contemplated unilateral action for months after the collapse of a bipartisan border security deal in Congress that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/congress-ukraine-aid-border-security-386dcc54b29a5491f8bd87b727a284f8">most Republican lawmakers rejected</a>&nbsp;at the behest of former President Donald Trump, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee.Biden said he preferred more lasting action via legislation but "Republicans have left me no choice.” Instead, he said he was acting on his own to “gain control of the border” while also insisting that “I believe immigration has always been the lifeblood of America.”<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">I would have preferred to address our issues at the border through bipartisan legislation because that’s the only way to actually fix our broken system – But Republicans in Congress have left me no choice. So today, I’m announcing actions that bar migrants who cross our… <a href="https://t.co/ScZ2urgoG9">pic.twitter.com/ScZ2urgoG9</a>&mdash; President Biden (@POTUS) <a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1798078683045146896?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 4, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Trump “told the Republicans ... that he didn't want to fix the issue, he wanted to use it to attack me,” Biden said. “It was a cynical, extremely cynical, political move and a complete disservice to the American people who are looking for us not to weaponize the border but to fix it.”Trump, on the other hand, used his social media account to assail Biden again over immigration, saying the Democrat had “totally surrendered our Southern Border” and his order was “all for show” ahead of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2024-election-presidential-debates-biden-trump-6b1d1dbb2ed61c7637041b23662d7da8">their June 27 presidential debate</a>.The order will go into effect when the number of border encounters between ports of entry hits 2,500 per day, according to senior administration officials. That means Biden’s order should go into effect immediately, because the daily averages are higher now. Average daily arrests for illegal crossings from Mexico were last below 2,500 in January 2021, the month Biden took office. The last time the border encounters dipped to 1,500 a day was in July 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.The restrictions would be in effect until two weeks after the daily encounter numbers are at or below 1,500 per day between ports of entry, under a seven-day average. Those figures were&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-immigration-executive-order-asylum-border-7cd0b0f28e298036ad1fc6b0c78961e1">first reported by The Associated Press</a>&nbsp;on Monday.Homeland Security said increased enforcement with Mexico since high-level bilateral meetings in late December has lowered illegal crossings but is “likely to be less effective over time,” creating a need for more action. “Smuggling networks are adaptable, responding to changes put in place,” the department said in a federal rule published Tuesday.The department predicts that arrests for illegal crossings may climb to a daily average as high as 6,700 from July through September.Once this order is in effect, migrants who arrive at the border but do not express fear of returning to their home countries will be subject to immediate removal from the United States, within a matter of days or even hours. Those migrants could face punishments that could include a five-year bar from reentering the U.S. or even criminal prosecution.Meanwhile, anyone who expresses that fear or an intention to seek asylum will be screened by a U.S. asylum officer but at a higher standard than currently used. If they pass the screening, they can pursue more limited forms of humanitarian protection, including the U.N. Convention Against Torture.“We’re troubled to see this administration raise the bar on asylum seekers who are coming to our southern border and exercising a legal right,” said Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, president and CEO of Global Refuge. “Certainly no one wants to see migrants who may be coming to seek a better life or for economic opportunity game the asylum system, but we see in our clients and in other immigrants people who are fleeing the most dire of circumstances at a time of unprecedented global migration and believe that the U.S. is still a beacon of hope and refuge.”The U.N.’s refugee agency also expressed concern, saying the new measures will deny access to asylum for many who are in need of international protection. The agency said in a statement that it recognizes that the U.S. is facing challenges in dealing with the significant number of people arriving at its border, but nonetheless called on the United States "to uphold its international obligations and urge the government to reconsider restrictions that undermine the fundamental right to seek asylum.”At the border Tuesday, there were no visible signs of immediate impact.Iselande Peralta, a Haitian mother staying at a migrant shelter in Reynosa, Mexico, with her 3-year-old son, said the U.S. was within its rights to enforce new restrictions. She has been trying for 10 months to get an appointment through U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s online app, called CBP One. Peralta, 26, wouldn’t consider crossing illegally and considers CBP One her best option.“Even if I was crazy, I wouldn’t cross the river. How would I do that with a child as young as him? I’m willing to wait,” she said.Biden's directive is coming when the number of migrants encountered at the border have been on a consistent decline since December, but senior administration officials say the numbers are still too high and could spike in better weather, as is typical.Yet many questions and complications remain about how Biden's directive would be implemented.For instance, the administration already has&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/mexico-migration-center-venezuela-cuba-haiti-nicaragua-65b84bb008083e33295d5c738d5b8218">an agreement with Mexico</a>&nbsp;in which Mexico agrees to accept up to 30,000 citizens a month from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela once they are denied entry from the U.S., and senior administration officials say that will continue under this order. But it is unclear what happens to nationals of other countries who are denied under Biden’s directive.Four senior administration officials, who insisted on anonymity to describe the effort to reporters, acknowledged that Biden's goal of deporting migrants quickly is complicated by insufficient funding from Congress to do so. The administration also faces certain legal constraints when it comes to detaining migrant families, and the administration said it would continue to abide by those obligations.The legal authority being invoked by Biden comes under Section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which allows a president to limit entries for certain migrants if their entry is deemed “detrimental” to the national interest. Senior officials expressed confidence that they would be able to implement Biden’s order, despite threats from prominent legal groups to file lawsuits over the directive.“We intend to sue," Lee Gelernt, an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union who successfully argued similar legal challenges when Trump was president. "A ban on asylum is illegal, just as it was when Trump unsuccessfully tried it.”The senior administration officials insisted that Biden’s proposal differs dramatically from&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-politics-virus-outbreak-immigration-immigration-policy-1f8c91e31fba158126f8e91c1453b13f">that of Trump</a>, who leaned on the same provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act that Biden is using, including Trump's 2017 directive to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/3a20abe305bd4c989116f82bf535393b">bar citizens of Muslim-majority nations</a>&nbsp;and his efforts in 2018 to clamp down on asylum.Biden’s order outlines several groups of migrants who would be exempted due to humanitarian reasons, including victims of human trafficking, unaccompanied minors and those with severe medical emergencies.The directive would also exempt migrants who make appointments with border officials at ports of entry using the CBP One app. About 1,450 appointments are made a day using the app, which launched last year to allow migrants to make asylum claims.Immigration advocates worry that Biden’s plan would only increase an already monthslong backlog of migrants waiting for an appointment through the app, especially when immigration authorities do not have an accompanying surge of funding.It could also be difficult for border officials to quickly remove migrants when many agents are already tasked with helping in shelters and other humanitarian tasks, said Jennie Murray, the president of the National Immigration Forum.“Customs and Border Protection cannot keep up with apprehensions as it is right now because they don’t have enough personnel so it would cause more disorder,” she said.Republicans dismissed Biden’s order as nothing more than a “political stunt” meant to show toughened immigration enforcement ahead of the election.“He tried to convince us all for all this time that there was no way he could possibly fix the mess,” GOP House Speaker Mike Johnson said at a news conference. “Remember that he engineered it."In a call organized by Trump’s campaign, Stephen Miller, a senior adviser in Trump’s White House who orchestrated his most polarizing immigration policies, and Tom Homan, former acting director of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the Trump administration, said Biden’s order essentially would allow 2,500 people into the country a day and legalize the illegal entry into the U.S.“The only reason they’re doing this is because of the election,” Homan said. “They’ve had three and a half years to take action and done nothing.”Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said legislation would have been more effective, but “Republican intransigence has forced the president’s hand.”___

🎥Moran, Marshall critical of Biden's move to 'gain control' of the border

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Top Kansas legislators have intensified efforts to woo the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/super-bowl-chiefs-dynasty-kansas-city-d16a308684d97a6be2d269c8d56404be">Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs</a>&nbsp;by offering to let the professional football franchise shape a plan for using state bonds to finance a new stadium in Kansas.

Kansas House Speaker Dan Hawkins and Senate President Ty Masterson said in a statement Tuesday that the Legislature would consider the proposal during a special session set to convene June 18. They invited the Chiefs “to weigh in on" the plan in a letter May 23 to Chiefs Chairman and CEO Clark Hunt, with the leaders released Tuesday.

By JOHN HANNATOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Top Kansas legislators have intensified efforts to woo the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/super-bowl-chiefs-dynasty-kansas-city-d16a308684d97a6be2d269c8d56404be">Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs</a>&nbsp;by offering to let the professional football franchise shape a plan for using state bonds to finance a new stadium in Kansas.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/6/1717584376742.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Kansas House Speaker Dan Hawkins and Senate President Ty Masterson said in a statement Tuesday that the Legislature would consider the proposal during a special session set to convene June 18. They invited the Chiefs “to weigh in on" the plan in a letter May 23 to Chiefs Chairman and CEO Clark Hunt, with the leaders released Tuesday.Their actions came as a new Kansas nonprofit group, Scoop and Score, launched a campaign for bringing the Chiefs from Missouri to Kansas. The group started an online petition aimed at the Legislature, sent texts saying the Chiefs “deserve a permanent home in Kansas,” and registered 20 lobbyists to represent it at the Statehouse, including a former House speaker and some of the state's most prominent contract lobbyists.Kansas officials saw an opening in early April after voters on the Missouri side of the Kansas City metropolitan area&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/chiefs-royals-kansas-city-stadiums-e9605296b85e91699441e4ba10e83212">decisively refused</a>&nbsp;to extend a local sales tax used to keep up the complex housing the Chiefs’ Arrowhead Stadium and Kauffman Stadium, home to professional baseball’s Kansas City Royals.“Your insights and expertise are invaluable in shaping the success of this project,” Hawkins and Masterson said in their letter. “Your organization’s stature and experience in professional sports will help shape our understanding and ensure that this initiative aligns with the interests of all stakeholders involved.”The lobbyists who registered to represent&nbsp;<a href="https://scoopandscoreks.com/">Scoop and Score</a>&nbsp;included Ron Ryckman Jr., a Kansas City-area businessman who served as Kansas House speaker from 2017 through 2022. His former legislative chief of staff, Paje Resner, also registered, and she was listed as the group’s incorporator when it filed its articles of incorporation with the state on May 13.Hunt told reporters in April that the Chiefs would take “a broader perspective” about the team’s future home after the vote in Missouri. The Chiefs had hoped to use their share of the local sales tax to help pay for an $800 million renovation of Arrowhead.The plan favored by Hawkins, Masterson and other members of the Republican-controlled Kansas Legislature would pay off bonds for a new stadium with sales and alcohol tax revenues generated in a designated area around the stadium. It would be similar to how the state and officials in Kansas City, Kansas, financed construction of NASCAR's Kansas Speedway and an adjacent shopping and entertainment district.“We are poised to make the Kansas City Chiefs even stronger,” Hawkins and Masterson said in their letter. “It also promises to be a victory for Kansas taxpayers and a game-changer for our state’s economy.”Some legislators were pushing&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/kansas-city-chiefs-royals-new-stadiums-kansas-dd5a0b8509738ed5ad53e2c3da9cf730">a similar proposal</a>&nbsp;to build new stadiums in Kansas for both the Chiefs and the Royals before lawmakers adjourned their annual session May 1, but the plan never came to a vote. Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly called the special session to consider broad tax cuts after&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/kansas-budget-tax-cuts-veto-9ebddf96cd35b614d8e96f2d8b8939c2">vetoing three previous tax plans,</a>&nbsp;but legislators can consider whatever they want.The earlier stadium-financing proposal faced opposition from Americans for Prosperity-Kansas, a small-government, low-tax group long against the use of such bonds and influential with Republicans. Critics have argued that using the bonds for big projects represents the state picking economic winners and losers instead of the free market.