VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis apologized Tuesday after he was quoted using a vulgar and derogatory term about gay men to reaffirm the Catholic Church’s ban on gay priests.

Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni issued a statement acknowledging the media storm that erupted about Francis’ comments, which were delivered behind closed doors to Italian bishops on May 20.

Italian media on Monday had quoted unnamed Italian bishops in reporting that Francis jokingly used the term “faggotness” while speaking in Italian during the encounter. He had used the term in reaffirming the Vatican’s ban on allowing gay men to enter seminaries and be ordained priests.

Bruni said Francis was aware of the reports and recalled that the Argentine pope, who has made outreach to LGBTQ+ Catholics a hallmark of his papacy, has long insisted there was “room for everyone” in the Catholic Church.

“The pope never intended to offend or express himself in homophobic terms, and he extends his apologies to those who were offended by the use of a term that was reported by others,” Bruni said.

With the statement, Bruni carefully avoided an outright confirmation that the pope had indeed used the term, in keeping with the Vatican's tradition of not revealing what the pope says behind closed doors. But Bruni also didn't deny that Francis had used the term and acknowledged that some people had been offended by it.

Francis was addressing an assembly of the Italian bishops conference, which recently approved a new document outlining training for Italian seminarians. The document, which hasn’t been published pending review by the Holy See, reportedly sought to open some wiggle room in the Vatican’s absolute ban on gay priests by introducing the issue of celibacy as the primary requirement for priests, gay or straight.

The Vatican ban was articulated in a 2005 document from the Congregation for Catholic Education, and later repeated in a subsequent document in 2016, which said the church cannot admit to seminaries or ordain men who “practice homosexuality, present deep-seated homosexual tendencies or support the so-called gay culture.”

The position has long been criticized as homophobic and hypocritical for an institution that certainly counts gay priests in its ranks. The late psychotherapist Richard Sipe, a onetime Benedictine monk who taught in U.S. seminaries, estimated in the early 2000s that as many as 30% of the U.S. clergy was homosexually oriented.

The late Rev. Donald Cozzens, a seminary rector, said the percentage was even higher, and asserted in his book “The Changing Face of The Priesthood” that the U.S. priesthood was increasingly becoming a gay profession since so many heterosexual men had left the priesthood to marry and have families.

Priests in the Latin rite Catholic Church cannot marry, while those in eastern rite churches may.

Francis strongly reaffirmed the Vatican ban on gay priests in his May 20 meeting with the Italian bishops, joking that “there is already an air of faggotness” in seminaries, the Italian media reported, after initial reporting from gossip site Dagospia.

Italian is not Francis’ mother tongue language, and the Argentine pope has made linguistic gaffes in the past that raised eyebrows. The 87-year-old Argentine pope often speaks informally, jokes using slang and even curses in private.

He has been known for his outreach to LGBTQ+ Catholics, however, starting from his famous&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/general-news-7b465b60945f40deb3a68b3de742f84a">“Who am I to judge</a>&nbsp;” comment in 2013 about a priest who purportedly had a gay lover in his past. He has&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/vatican-transgender-lgbtq-b3d67868504ba701cce09da9ecc94de0">ministered to transgender Catholics</a>, allowed priests to bless same-sex couples and called for an end to anti-gay legislation, saying in a 2023 interview with The Associated Press that “&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/pope-francis-gay-rights-ap-interview-1359756ae22f27f87c1d4d6b9c8ce212">Being homosexual is not a crime.</a>&nbsp;”

However, he has occasionally offended LGBTQ+ people and their advocates, including in that same interview where he implied that while homosexuality wasn't a crime, it was a sin. He&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/pope-francis-lgbtq-people-religion-marriage-862075728690d103bd99bbe8e1e65aba">later clarified</a>&nbsp;that he was referring to sexual activity, and that any sex outside marriage between a man and a woman was sinful in the eyes of the church.

And most recently, he signed off on a Vatican document asserting that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/vatican-gender-surrogacy-abortion-pope-3f84d8eb97f045b0cfb0ec1efa4e614e">gender-affirming surgery was a grave violation of human dignity.</a>

New Ways Ministry, which advocates for LGBTQ+ Catholics, welcomed Francis' apology Tuesday and said it confirmed that the "use of the slur was a careless colloquialism." But the group's director Francis DeBernardo questioned the underlying content of the pope's comments and the overall ban on gays in the priesthood.

“Without a clarification, his words will be interpreted as a blanket ban on accepting any gay man to a seminary,” DeBernardo said in a release, asking for a clearer statement on Francis' views about gay priests “so many of whom faithfully serve the people of God each day.”

Francis strongly reaffirmed that position in his May 20 meeting with the Italian bishops, joking that “there is already an air of faggotness” in seminaries, the Italian media reported, after initial reporting from gossip site Dagospia.

He has been known for his outreach to LGBTQ+ Catholics, however, starting from his famous “Who am I to judge” comment in 2013 about a priest who purportedly had a gay lover in his past.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/3/1615845367722.png" alt="Italian media on Monday had quoted unnamed Italian bishops in reporting that Francis jokingly used the term “faggotness” while speaking in Italian during the encounter.-File photo CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>Italian media on Monday had quoted unnamed Italian bishops in reporting that Francis jokingly used the term “faggotness” while speaking in Italian during the encounter.-File photo CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis apologized Tuesday after he was quoted using a vulgar and derogatory term about gay men to reaffirm the Catholic Church’s ban on gay priests.Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni issued a statement acknowledging the media storm that erupted about Francis’ comments, which were delivered behind closed doors to Italian bishops on May 20.Italian media on Monday had quoted unnamed Italian bishops in reporting that Francis jokingly used the term “faggotness” while speaking in Italian during the encounter. He had used the term in reaffirming the Vatican’s ban on allowing gay men to enter seminaries and be ordained priests.Bruni said Francis was aware of the reports and recalled that the Argentine pope, who has made outreach to LGBTQ+ Catholics a hallmark of his papacy, has long insisted there was “room for everyone” in the Catholic Church.“The pope never intended to offend or express himself in homophobic terms, and he extends his apologies to those who were offended by the use of a term that was reported by others,” Bruni said.With the statement, Bruni carefully avoided an outright confirmation that the pope had indeed used the term, in keeping with the Vatican's tradition of not revealing what the pope says behind closed doors. But Bruni also didn't deny that Francis had used the term and acknowledged that some people had been offended by it.Francis was addressing an assembly of the Italian bishops conference, which recently approved a new document outlining training for Italian seminarians. The document, which hasn’t been published pending review by the Holy See, reportedly sought to open some wiggle room in the Vatican’s absolute ban on gay priests by introducing the issue of celibacy as the primary requirement for priests, gay or straight.The Vatican ban was articulated in a 2005 document from the Congregation for Catholic Education, and later repeated in a subsequent document in 2016, which said the church cannot admit to seminaries or ordain men who “practice homosexuality, present deep-seated homosexual tendencies or support the so-called gay culture.”The position has long been criticized as homophobic and hypocritical for an institution that certainly counts gay priests in its ranks. The late psychotherapist Richard Sipe, a onetime Benedictine monk who taught in U.S. seminaries, estimated in the early 2000s that as many as 30% of the U.S. clergy was homosexually oriented.The late Rev. Donald Cozzens, a seminary rector, said the percentage was even higher, and asserted in his book “The Changing Face of The Priesthood” that the U.S. priesthood was increasingly becoming a gay profession since so many heterosexual men had left the priesthood to marry and have families.Priests in the Latin rite Catholic Church cannot marry, while those in eastern rite churches may.Francis strongly reaffirmed the Vatican ban on gay priests in his May 20 meeting with the Italian bishops, joking that “there is already an air of faggotness” in seminaries, the Italian media reported, after initial reporting from gossip site Dagospia.Italian is not Francis’ mother tongue language, and the Argentine pope has made linguistic gaffes in the past that raised eyebrows. The 87-year-old Argentine pope often speaks informally, jokes using slang and even curses in private.He has been known for his outreach to LGBTQ+ Catholics, however, starting from his famous&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/general-news-7b465b60945f40deb3a68b3de742f84a">“Who am I to judge</a>&nbsp;” comment in 2013 about a priest who purportedly had a gay lover in his past. He has&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/vatican-transgender-lgbtq-b3d67868504ba701cce09da9ecc94de0">ministered to transgender Catholics</a>, allowed priests to bless same-sex couples and called for an end to anti-gay legislation, saying in a 2023 interview with The Associated Press that “&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/pope-francis-gay-rights-ap-interview-1359756ae22f27f87c1d4d6b9c8ce212">Being homosexual is not a crime.</a>&nbsp;”However, he has occasionally offended LGBTQ+ people and their advocates, including in that same interview where he implied that while homosexuality wasn't a crime, it was a sin. He&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/pope-francis-lgbtq-people-religion-marriage-862075728690d103bd99bbe8e1e65aba">later clarified</a>&nbsp;that he was referring to sexual activity, and that any sex outside marriage between a man and a woman was sinful in the eyes of the church.And most recently, he signed off on a Vatican document asserting that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/vatican-gender-surrogacy-abortion-pope-3f84d8eb97f045b0cfb0ec1efa4e614e">gender-affirming surgery was a grave violation of human dignity.</a>New Ways Ministry, which advocates for LGBTQ+ Catholics, welcomed Francis' apology Tuesday and said it confirmed that the "use of the slur was a careless colloquialism." But the group's director Francis DeBernardo questioned the underlying content of the pope's comments and the overall ban on gays in the priesthood.“Without a clarification, his words will be interpreted as a blanket ban on accepting any gay man to a seminary,” DeBernardo said in a release, asking for a clearer statement on Francis' views about gay priests “so many of whom faithfully serve the people of God each day.”The Vatican ban was articulated in a 2005 document from the Congregation for Catholic Education, and later repeated in a subsequent document in 2016, which said the church cannot admit to seminaries or ordain men who “practice homosexuality, present deep-seated homosexual tendencies or support the so-called gay culture.”Francis strongly reaffirmed that position in his May 20 meeting with the Italian bishops, joking that “there is already an air of faggotness” in seminaries, the Italian media reported, after initial reporting from gossip site Dagospia.Italian is not Francis’ mother tongue language, and the Argentine pope has made linguistic gaffes in the past that raised eyebrows. The 87-year-old Argentine pope often speaks informally, jokes using slang and even curses in private.He has been known for his outreach to LGBTQ+ Catholics, however, starting from his famous “Who am I to judge” comment in 2013 about a priest who purportedly had a gay lover in his past.

Pope Francis apologizes after quoted using homophobic slur

KANSAS CITY, Kan. –&nbsp;The Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) is investigating an officer-involved shooting that occurred Monday night in Kansas City, Kansas.

Just before 7&nbsp;p.m., a citizen reported to the Kansas City, Missouri Police Department (KCPD) that two male suspects carjacked her blue 2010 GMC Terrain at gunpoint from the area of East 24th&nbsp;Street and Highland Avenue, in Kansas City, Missouri, according to a media release from the KBI.

 Just after 8 p.m., KCPD spotted the stolen SUV in the 1500 block of Paseo, and a pursuit began when the driver refused to stop.

Around 8:10 p.m., the pursuit entered Kansas City, Kansas where officers from KCKPD joined. The Kansas Highway Patrol (KHP) and the Mission Police Department also joined the pursuit.

At 8:17 p.m., a 21-year-old male passenger exited the stolen GMC and fled in the area of 18th&nbsp;and Steele. He was quickly apprehended. At around 8:20 p.m., a KHP trooper conducted a tactical vehicle intervention causing the SUV to spin around and strike a guard rail, ending the pursuit along U.S. Highway 69 and the 18th&nbsp;Street Expressway.

Preliminary information indicates that once the vehicle stopped, the 41-year-old male driver began firing rounds from the SUV at responding officers. It is believed two officers from KCKPD, and five officers from KCPD returned fire. The man was struck multiple times.&nbsp;

Officers rendered aid and EMS transported the man to an area hospital. Despite efforts by medical personnel, he was pronounced deceased at the hospital. 

No law enforcement officers were injured in the shooting. The man will be identified once appropriate next of kin notifications have occurred.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/5/1716977677856.png" alt="Photo KBI" />
 <figcaption>Photo KBI</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY, Kan. –&nbsp;The Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) is investigating an officer-involved shooting that occurred Monday night in Kansas City, Kansas.Just before 7&nbsp;p.m., a citizen reported to the Kansas City, Missouri Police Department (KCPD) that two male suspects carjacked her blue 2010 GMC Terrain at gunpoint from the area of East 24th&nbsp;Street and Highland Avenue, in Kansas City, Missouri, according to a media release from the KBI. Just after 8 p.m., KCPD spotted the stolen SUV in the 1500 block of Paseo, and a pursuit began when the driver refused to stop.Around 8:10 p.m., the pursuit entered Kansas City, Kansas where officers from KCKPD joined. The Kansas Highway Patrol (KHP) and the Mission Police Department also joined the pursuit.At 8:17 p.m., a 21-year-old male passenger exited the stolen GMC and fled in the area of 18th&nbsp;and Steele. He was quickly apprehended. At around 8:20 p.m., a KHP trooper conducted a tactical vehicle intervention causing the SUV to spin around and strike a guard rail, ending the pursuit along U.S. Highway 69 and the 18th&nbsp;Street Expressway.Preliminary information indicates that once the vehicle stopped, the 41-year-old male driver began firing rounds from the SUV at responding officers. It is believed two officers from KCKPD, and five officers from KCPD returned fire. The man was struck multiple times.&nbsp;Officers rendered aid and EMS transported the man to an area hospital. Despite efforts by medical personnel, he was pronounced deceased at the hospital. No law enforcement officers were injured in the shooting. The man will be identified once appropriate next of kin notifications have occurred.

Carjacking suspect dead after gunfight with officers in Kansas

WASHINGTON (AP) —When Balu Natarajan became the first Indian American champion of the Scripps National Spelling Bee in 1985, a headline on an Associated Press article read, “Immigrants’ son wins National Spelling Bee,” with the first paragraph noting the champion “speaks his parents’ native Indian language at home.”

Those details would hardly be newsworthy today after a quarter-century of Indian American spelling champs, most of them the offspring of parents who arrived in the United States on student or work visas.

<a href="https://www.spellingbee.com/meet-the-spellers">This year's bee</a>&nbsp;is scheduled to begin Tuesday at a convention center outside Washington and, as usual, many of the expected contenders are Indian American, including Shradha Rachamreddy, Aryan Khedkar, Bruhat Soma and Ishika Varipilli.

Nearly 70% of Indian-born U.S. residents arrived after 2000, according to census data, and that dovetails with the surge in Indian American spelling bee champions. There were two Indian American Scripps winners before 1999. Of the 34 since, 28 have been Indian American, including three straight years of Indian American co-champions and one year (2019)&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/31123142c2dd4349b7e11649270dc3e6">when eight champions were declared</a>, seven of Indian ancestry.

The experiences of first-generation Indian Americans and their spelling bee champion children illustrate the economic success and cultural impact of the nation's second-largest immigrant group.

As of 2022, there were 3.1 million Indian-born people living in the U.S., and Indian American households had a median income of $147,000, more than twice the median income of all U.S. households, according to census data. Indian Americans also were more than twice as likely to have college degrees.

Indians received 74% of the H-1B visas for specialized occupations approved in fiscal 2021, and a record total of nearly 269,000 students from India were&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/college-international-students-india-china-8104695e27ca9d035ce6f15ad52f1bc5">enrolled at U.S. colleges and universities</a>&nbsp;in 2022-23, according to the Institute of International Education.

Those numbers paint a picture of a high-achieving demographic that is well-suited for success in academic competitions.

Ganesh Dasari, whose daughter and son each made multiple appearances at the Scripps bee, holds a doctorate in civil engineering from the University of Cambridge and was recruited to the U.S. to work for ExxonMobil on an H-1B visa. He quickly obtained a green card.

“Me and my wife, we came from a similar background. We both benefited from having the education ... so we put a lot of emphasis on educating our kids,” Dasari said. “We basically introduced them to anything academic, and a couple of sports, but clearly there was a bias in our thinking that education is a higher priority than sports.”

In his 2016 address to Congress, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi&nbsp;<a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4602630/user-clip-prime-minister-modi-recognizes-spelling-bee-champions&amp;fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR2lootutnJhPs7C1561fSwH8AA1V-aXNWkRDAps6nBbPs6TaHriQ5RzIck_aem_AWa0ZNDhtefFWp29EG2jb2Y1EgWh_6jZsbmYSnD9jgTSUlLGGn7RVXYH44hhAFIBqY4EHk5NMcIpvSF_QLSKJYyK">mentioned “spelling bee champions”</a>&nbsp;among his country's contributions to the U.S. while that year's co-champs, Nihar Janga and Jairam Hathwar, watched from the gallery.

Even among Indian American spellers, a particular subgroup is overrepresented: families from the southern states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, where Telugu is the primary language. Hyderabad, the capital of Telangana, is India's information-technology hub and the region supplies many H-1B visa recipients.

“Whenever we go to the spelling bee events, everybody speaks that language,” Dasari said. “We realized there are so many people from the same state.”

Deval Shah, the father of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2023-spelling-bee-finals-updates-1b09d39ba7631d26f3a3c833f7aeefea">last year's champion, Dev Shah</a>, grew up in the northwestern state of Gujarat and proudly noted Dev was the first spelling bee champion of Gujarati descent. The parents of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/texas-san-antonio-education-cf165d27b93b784ab7fb7c0f9e7ecbf0">the 2022 winner, Harini Logan</a>, are from Chennai in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Shah is an engineer, his wife is a physician, and both of Harini's parents were trained as software engineers.

Indian-born parents of kids with an affinity for spelling have a network of similar families to provide guidance and support, as well as access to organizations like the North South Foundation, which offers academic competitions aimed at the Indian diaspora.

“The reason Indian American immigrants really dominate, the main reason is the North South Foundation,” Shah said.

When Harini won her first NSF spelling competition, Ganesh Dasari was one of the judges, and “he was literally chasing us down” to tell them “Harini has tremendous potential to be on the national stage,” said Rampriya Logan, Harini's mother.

Ishika, a 13-year-old from Spring, Texas, who will be competing at Scripps this year for the third time, woke her parents at 6 a.m. the day after she lost a third-grade classroom spelling bee, saying she wanted to participate in more bees. Her mother, an IT manager who immigrated to the U.S. in 2006, then reached out to ask advice from other families from the Houston area whose children were high-level spellers.

The relative wealth and stability of Indian American households could lead observers to conclude their children are benefiting primarily from a privileged upbringing. The truth is more nuanced, said Devesh Kapur, a professor of South Asian Studies at Johns Hopkins University and a co-author of “The Other One Percent: Indians in America.”

“It is important to note that the children participating in the spelling bee competition come from striving middle-class immigrant families, often in occupations like IT, and not from wealthier Indian American households in finance or tech start-ups or consulting,” Kapur said.

Natarajan, a Chicago-based physician and health care executive, now serves as the volunteer president of the NSF, and he experienced the spelling bee as a parent when&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/df3754d09535412781362fd907ec9023">his son, Atman Balakrishnan, competed</a>. He said he sometimes feels out of place because he was born in the U.S. and he admires the grit of Indian-born parents and their children.

“It’s hard to describe, but it’s a very specific mindset that just drives effort and in many ways drives outcomes and sustainable success,” Natarajan said.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/5/1716911963934.png" alt="Emory Jobe, 14, 8th Grade, Mission Trail Middle School in Olathe-courtesy photo" />
 <figcaption>Emory Jobe, 14, 8th Grade, Mission Trail Middle School in Olathe-courtesy photo</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) —When Balu Natarajan became the first Indian American champion of the Scripps National Spelling Bee in 1985, a headline on an Associated Press article read, “Immigrants’ son wins National Spelling Bee,” with the first paragraph noting the champion “speaks his parents’ native Indian language at home.”Those details would hardly be newsworthy today after a quarter-century of Indian American spelling champs, most of them the offspring of parents who arrived in the United States on student or work visas.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/5/1716912172264.png" alt="Carey Chebii Chesire , 13, Andover Middle School- courtesy photo" />
 <figcaption>Carey Chebii Chesire , 13, Andover Middle School- courtesy photo</figcaption>
 </figure><a href="https://www.spellingbee.com/meet-the-spellers">This year's bee</a>&nbsp;is scheduled to begin Tuesday at a convention center outside Washington and, as usual, many of the expected contenders are Indian American, including Shradha Rachamreddy, Aryan Khedkar, Bruhat Soma and Ishika Varipilli.Nearly 70% of Indian-born U.S. residents arrived after 2000, according to census data, and that dovetails with the surge in Indian American spelling bee champions. There were two Indian American Scripps winners before 1999. Of the 34 since, 28 have been Indian American, including three straight years of Indian American co-champions and one year (2019)&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/31123142c2dd4349b7e11649270dc3e6">when eight champions were declared</a>, seven of Indian ancestry.The experiences of first-generation Indian Americans and their spelling bee champion children illustrate the economic success and cultural impact of the nation's second-largest immigrant group.As of 2022, there were 3.1 million Indian-born people living in the U.S., and Indian American households had a median income of $147,000, more than twice the median income of all U.S. households, according to census data. Indian Americans also were more than twice as likely to have college degrees.Indians received 74% of the H-1B visas for specialized occupations approved in fiscal 2021, and a record total of nearly 269,000 students from India were&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/college-international-students-india-china-8104695e27ca9d035ce6f15ad52f1bc5">enrolled at U.S. colleges and universities</a>&nbsp;in 2022-23, according to the Institute of International Education.Those numbers paint a picture of a high-achieving demographic that is well-suited for success in academic competitions.Ganesh Dasari, whose daughter and son each made multiple appearances at the Scripps bee, holds a doctorate in civil engineering from the University of Cambridge and was recruited to the U.S. to work for ExxonMobil on an H-1B visa. He quickly obtained a green card.“Me and my wife, we came from a similar background. We both benefited from having the education ... so we put a lot of emphasis on educating our kids,” Dasari said. “We basically introduced them to anything academic, and a couple of sports, but clearly there was a bias in our thinking that education is a higher priority than sports.”In his 2016 address to Congress, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi&nbsp;<a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4602630/user-clip-prime-minister-modi-recognizes-spelling-bee-champions&amp;fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR2lootutnJhPs7C1561fSwH8AA1V-aXNWkRDAps6nBbPs6TaHriQ5RzIck_aem_AWa0ZNDhtefFWp29EG2jb2Y1EgWh_6jZsbmYSnD9jgTSUlLGGn7RVXYH44hhAFIBqY4EHk5NMcIpvSF_QLSKJYyK">mentioned “spelling bee champions”</a>&nbsp;among his country's contributions to the U.S. while that year's co-champs, Nihar Janga and Jairam Hathwar, watched from the gallery.Even among Indian American spellers, a particular subgroup is overrepresented: families from the southern states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, where Telugu is the primary language. Hyderabad, the capital of Telangana, is India's information-technology hub and the region supplies many H-1B visa recipients.“Whenever we go to the spelling bee events, everybody speaks that language,” Dasari said. “We realized there are so many people from the same state.”Deval Shah, the father of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2023-spelling-bee-finals-updates-1b09d39ba7631d26f3a3c833f7aeefea">last year's champion, Dev Shah</a>, grew up in the northwestern state of Gujarat and proudly noted Dev was the first spelling bee champion of Gujarati descent. The parents of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/texas-san-antonio-education-cf165d27b93b784ab7fb7c0f9e7ecbf0">the 2022 winner, Harini Logan</a>, are from Chennai in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Shah is an engineer, his wife is a physician, and both of Harini's parents were trained as software engineers.Indian-born parents of kids with an affinity for spelling have a network of similar families to provide guidance and support, as well as access to organizations like the North South Foundation, which offers academic competitions aimed at the Indian diaspora.“The reason Indian American immigrants really dominate, the main reason is the North South Foundation,” Shah said.When Harini won her first NSF spelling competition, Ganesh Dasari was one of the judges, and “he was literally chasing us down” to tell them “Harini has tremendous potential to be on the national stage,” said Rampriya Logan, Harini's mother.Ishika, a 13-year-old from Spring, Texas, who will be competing at Scripps this year for the third time, woke her parents at 6 a.m. the day after she lost a third-grade classroom spelling bee, saying she wanted to participate in more bees. Her mother, an IT manager who immigrated to the U.S. in 2006, then reached out to ask advice from other families from the Houston area whose children were high-level spellers.The relative wealth and stability of Indian American households could lead observers to conclude their children are benefiting primarily from a privileged upbringing. The truth is more nuanced, said Devesh Kapur, a professor of South Asian Studies at Johns Hopkins University and a co-author of “The Other One Percent: Indians in America.”“It is important to note that the children participating in the spelling bee competition come from striving middle-class immigrant families, often in occupations like IT, and not from wealthier Indian American households in finance or tech start-ups or consulting,” Kapur said.Natarajan, a Chicago-based physician and health care executive, now serves as the volunteer president of the NSF, and he experienced the spelling bee as a parent when&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/df3754d09535412781362fd907ec9023">his son, Atman Balakrishnan, competed</a>. He said he sometimes feels out of place because he was born in the U.S. and he admires the grit of Indian-born parents and their children.“It’s hard to describe, but it’s a very specific mindset that just drives effort and in many ways drives outcomes and sustainable success,” Natarajan said.

2 Kan. teens among field at Scripps National Spelling Bee

TOPEKA —Officials with the Kansas Turnpike are warning drivers of a text scam. On social media, the Turnpike wrote, "If you get this fraudulent text, ignore it and do not click link.

 It’s part of a national smishing campaign design to steal personal financial information. 

Smishing is&nbsp;a social engineering attack that uses fake mobile text messages to trick people into downloading malware, sharing sensitive information or sending money to cybercriminals. The term “smishing” is a combination of “SMS”—or “short message service,” the technology behind text messages—and “phishing.”

<a href="https://www.ic3.gov/">Click here to</a> report such text to the FBI&nbsp;

TOPEKA —Officials with the Kansas Turnpike are warning drivers of a text scam. On social media, the Turnpike wrote, "If you get this fraudulent text, ignore it and do not click link.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">If you get this fraudulent text, ignore it and do not click link. It’s part of a national smishing campaign design to steal personal financial information. Report such text to the FBI at <a href="https://t.co/GEn9py01S5">https://t.co/GEn9py01S5</a>. <a href="https://t.co/uogJ5ctKir">pic.twitter.com/uogJ5ctKir</a>&mdash; Kansas Turnpike (@KansasTurnpike) <a href="https://twitter.com/KansasTurnpike/status/1794204475248574516?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 25, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div> It’s part of a national smishing campaign design to steal personal financial information. Smishing is&nbsp;a social engineering attack that uses fake mobile text messages to trick people into downloading malware, sharing sensitive information or sending money to cybercriminals. The term “smishing” is a combination of “SMS”—or “short message service,” the technology behind text messages—and “phishing.”<a href="https://www.ic3.gov/">Click here to</a> report such text to the FBI&nbsp;

Kansas Turnpike warns of fake mobile text scam

KANSAS CITY—Detectives continue investigating the deadly mass shooting near the Westport Entertainment District in Kansas City early Sunday.

According to KCPD Officer&nbsp;Alayna Gonzalez, indications are the identified shooting victim&nbsp;24-year-old Jahquan M. Robinson was actively shooting when Westport security arrived on scene. The security officer fired shots that struck Robinson.

Just before 1:30a.m. Sunday, police near the Westport Entertainment District responded to the sound of gun fire near the intersection of Westport and Broadway, according to Sheriff Daryl Forte'

First responders found multiple shooting victims. EMS responded and treated victims for non-life-threatening injuries. EMS and private vehicle transported six victims to area hospital where Robinson was pronounced deceased.&nbsp;

A preliminary investigation indicated the shooting was the result of a disturbance that escalated into gunfire, according to the KCPD.

Police believe there are many witnesses since a large crowd near the scene of the shooting dispersed when shots were fired.

If anyone heard or saw anything or has any information, they are asked to contact Homicide detectives directly at 816-234-5043 or the TIPS Hotline anonymously at 816-474-TIPS. There is a reward of up to $25,000 for information submitted anonymously to the TIPS hotline

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/5/1716725875459.png" alt="Photo Sheriff Daryl Forte" />
 <figcaption>Photo Sheriff Daryl Forte</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY—Detectives continue investigating the deadly mass shooting near the Westport Entertainment District in Kansas City early Sunday.According to KCPD Officer&nbsp;Alayna Gonzalez, indications are the identified shooting victim&nbsp;24-year-old Jahquan M. Robinson was actively shooting when Westport security arrived on scene. The security officer fired shots that struck Robinson.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/5/1716725854017.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Just before 1:30a.m. Sunday, police near the Westport Entertainment District responded to the sound of gun fire near the intersection of Westport and Broadway, according to Sheriff Daryl Forte'First responders found multiple shooting victims. EMS responded and treated victims for non-life-threatening injuries. EMS and private vehicle transported six victims to area hospital where Robinson was pronounced deceased.&nbsp;A preliminary investigation indicated the shooting was the result of a disturbance that escalated into gunfire, according to the KCPD.Police believe there are many witnesses since a large crowd near the scene of the shooting dispersed when shots were fired.If anyone heard or saw anything or has any information, they are asked to contact Homicide detectives directly at 816-234-5043 or the TIPS Hotline anonymously at 816-474-TIPS. There is a reward of up to $25,000 for information submitted anonymously to the TIPS hotline

KCPD: Westport Security officer shot, killed man firing shots

Washington, D.C. -&nbsp;This Memorial Day weekend, U.S. Senator Roger Marshall, M.D. hosted Kansas Gold Star families honoring Fort Riley soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice and lost their lives to protect our American freedoms.&nbsp;

For seven years, Senator Marshall has worked tirelessly to ensure that our fallen Big Red One Soldiers are rightfully honored at the First Division Infantry Monument located in Washington, D.C., outside of the White House. In order to get each fallen soldier's name added it takes an act of Congress. That's why Senator Marshall introduced, then as a Congressman, the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/116/hr1088" target="_blank">First Act</a>. This legislation, passed in 2021, ensured that the more than 631 names of First Infantry Division soldiers who were killed in action during Desert Storm, Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom, and Operation New Dawn are added to the monument outside of the White House.&nbsp;

Now, this Memorial Day weekend Senator Marshall came together with Kansas Gold Star families, the Greater Manhattan Community Foundation,&nbsp;the Fort Riley Army Community Services, Army Survivor Outreach Services, Fort Riley Commanding General, and Fort Riley Command Sergeant Major, Society of the 1ID for the unveiling of these soldiers names being added to this historic monument.&nbsp;

Senator Marshall also took the families on a private tour of the nation's capital on Saturday night and joined them in the ceremony and events honoring these soldiers throughout the holiday weekend.

“Nothing will ever be enough to honor and thank these men and women for their service to our nation and their sacrifice. We are honored to host our Kansas Gold Star families in our nation’s capital this Memorial Day,”&nbsp;Senator Marshall said.&nbsp;“With this ceremony at the First Division Monument, our Kansas heroes will be memorialized and honored forever. This day, unveiling the name of these fallen Kansas soldiers has been years in the making. I am honored to be a part of this ceremony and ensure our fallen soldiers are engraved and recognized at this monument forever.”&nbsp;

"This trip is such a great gift.&nbsp; It's an amazing thing that all of these people and businesses came together to send us to see our heroes' names forever immortalized on a monument,"&nbsp;Megan and Chris Johnson, family of PFC William Johnson's family, said.&nbsp;"No words are thanks enough."

"The Gold Star is a symbol of our Nation's Fallen Service Members and the families who are still here. We can't change what has happened but we support one another, and we continue to be a part of the Military Community,"&nbsp;Randy Frank, SGT Kevin Gilbertson's family member, said.&nbsp;"There is nothing we can do to stop the pain, but there is something we can do every day: Honor them! When you look at the news, remember that freedom of the press is because of them, remember that freedom of speech is because of them, and that whether you believe in God or any other Deity or not at all, remember freedom of religion is because of them. But for the families of the fallen – our GOLD STAR families – EVERY DAY is Memorial Day."

“On behalf of my family and all Gold Star families, I am proud to be a part of this memorial dedication; it is a reminder to our country the sacrifices that my soldier SPC Josph Lister and all fallen soldiers have made,”&nbsp;Sierra Herring, wife of SPC Josph Lister said.&nbsp;“Their families and active service members give so much so that we as a nation can live in peace and freedom.”

"Coming to DC feels unreal, especially coming in to be met with such hospitality and to have access to so many different things and all the wonderful things they planned for us. But the biggest thing is that we're all immigrants, and to be able to freely come to DC, I think that's the American dream,"&nbsp;Fatima Jaghoori, wife of Soldier Zac Hargrove said.&nbsp;“To be able to come here in honor of Zac and to see how much all of the people involved in it, how much they really care about everybody that has given their life in war and throughout their services, is beautiful."

“Senator Marshall and his Military affairs representative approached me about this project. I knew this was a perfect project for the Armed Forces Community Foundation. Through AFCF and the Greater Manhattan Community Foundation, we were able to raise enough to fund a complete trip to DC for the 1ID Monument Ceremony. Through our combined partnership, we funded 12 families for this trip to DC.”&nbsp;Christine Benne, Greater Manhattan Community Foundation Military Affairs Coordinator, said.&nbsp;“This is what Memorial Day is about. Honoring those families who gave all. Senator Marshall and his office, the GMCF, accomplished that by paying it forward to these families with this trip.”

"While we acknowledge that no tribute can truly capture our gratitude for the sacrifices made by their loved ones, it is a privilege to honor our Gold Star families. Hosted by the Junction City Area Chamber of Commerce's Economic Development Commission and Military Affairs Council, this dinner is a humble gesture of thanks,"&nbsp;Israel Waddell, Director of Military Affairs in Junction City, said.&nbsp;"Their loved ones' ultimate sacrifice is the bedrock of our freedom, and we are forever grateful for their heroism and the family's enduring strength."

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/5/1716758537753.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Washington, D.C. -&nbsp;This Memorial Day weekend, U.S. Senator Roger Marshall, M.D. hosted Kansas Gold Star families honoring Fort Riley soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice and lost their lives to protect our American freedoms.&nbsp;For seven years, Senator Marshall has worked tirelessly to ensure that our fallen Big Red One Soldiers are rightfully honored at the First Division Infantry Monument located in Washington, D.C., outside of the White House. In order to get each fallen soldier's name added it takes an act of Congress. That's why Senator Marshall introduced, then as a Congressman, the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/116/hr1088" target="_blank">First Act</a>. This legislation, passed in 2021, ensured that the more than 631 names of First Infantry Division soldiers who were killed in action during Desert Storm, Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom, and Operation New Dawn are added to the monument outside of the White House.&nbsp;<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/5/1716758512882.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Now, this Memorial Day weekend Senator Marshall came together with Kansas Gold Star families, the Greater Manhattan Community Foundation,&nbsp;the Fort Riley Army Community Services, Army Survivor Outreach Services, Fort Riley Commanding General, and Fort Riley Command Sergeant Major, Society of the 1ID for the unveiling of these soldiers names being added to this historic monument.&nbsp;Senator Marshall also took the families on a private tour of the nation's capital on Saturday night and joined them in the ceremony and events honoring these soldiers throughout the holiday weekend.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/5/1716758678432.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>“Nothing will ever be enough to honor and thank these men and women for their service to our nation and their sacrifice. We are honored to host our Kansas Gold Star families in our nation’s capital this Memorial Day,”&nbsp;Senator Marshall said.&nbsp;“With this ceremony at the First Division Monument, our Kansas heroes will be memorialized and honored forever. This day, unveiling the name of these fallen Kansas soldiers has been years in the making. I am honored to be a part of this ceremony and ensure our fallen soldiers are engraved and recognized at this monument forever.”&nbsp;"This trip is such a great gift.&nbsp; It's an amazing thing that all of these people and businesses came together to send us to see our heroes' names forever immortalized on a monument,"&nbsp;Megan and Chris Johnson, family of PFC William Johnson's family, said.&nbsp;"No words are thanks enough."<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/5/1716758604097.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>"The Gold Star is a symbol of our Nation's Fallen Service Members and the families who are still here. We can't change what has happened but we support one another, and we continue to be a part of the Military Community,"&nbsp;Randy Frank, SGT Kevin Gilbertson's family member, said.&nbsp;"There is nothing we can do to stop the pain, but there is something we can do every day: Honor them! When you look at the news, remember that freedom of the press is because of them, remember that freedom of speech is because of them, and that whether you believe in God or any other Deity or not at all, remember freedom of religion is because of them. But for the families of the fallen – our GOLD STAR families – EVERY DAY is Memorial Day."“On behalf of my family and all Gold Star families, I am proud to be a part of this memorial dedication; it is a reminder to our country the sacrifices that my soldier SPC Josph Lister and all fallen soldiers have made,”&nbsp;Sierra Herring, wife of SPC Josph Lister said.&nbsp;“Their families and active service members give so much so that we as a nation can live in peace and freedom.”"Coming to DC feels unreal, especially coming in to be met with such hospitality and to have access to so many different things and all the wonderful things they planned for us. But the biggest thing is that we're all immigrants, and to be able to freely come to DC, I think that's the American dream,"&nbsp;Fatima Jaghoori, wife of Soldier Zac Hargrove said.&nbsp;“To be able to come here in honor of Zac and to see how much all of the people involved in it, how much they really care about everybody that has given their life in war and throughout their services, is beautiful."“Senator Marshall and his Military affairs representative approached me about this project. I knew this was a perfect project for the Armed Forces Community Foundation. Through AFCF and the Greater Manhattan Community Foundation, we were able to raise enough to fund a complete trip to DC for the 1ID Monument Ceremony. Through our combined partnership, we funded 12 families for this trip to DC.”&nbsp;Christine Benne, Greater Manhattan Community Foundation Military Affairs Coordinator, said.&nbsp;“This is what Memorial Day is about. Honoring those families who gave all. Senator Marshall and his office, the GMCF, accomplished that by paying it forward to these families with this trip.”"While we acknowledge that no tribute can truly capture our gratitude for the sacrifices made by their loved ones, it is a privilege to honor our Gold Star families. Hosted by the Junction City Area Chamber of Commerce's Economic Development Commission and Military Affairs Council, this dinner is a humble gesture of thanks,"&nbsp;Israel Waddell, Director of Military Affairs in Junction City, said.&nbsp;"Their loved ones' ultimate sacrifice is the bedrock of our freedom, and we are forever grateful for their heroism and the family's enduring strength."

Sen. Marshall hosted Kansas Gold Star Families Memorial Day weekend

BUTLER COUNTY —Three people were injured in an accident just before 6:30p.m. Monday in Butler County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported the law enforcement were in pursuit of a 2020 Chevy Silverado that was pulling a was pulling a 2020 Karavan boat trailer westbound in the eastbound lanes of U.S. 54.

The pickup driven by Allan Milton&nbsp;Firman III, 44, Wichita, struck the left rear corner of a 2023 Dodge Durango Pursuit driven by Officer Kyle E.&nbsp;Sisco with the Augusta Police Department.

EMS transported&nbsp;Firman, a passenger in the pickup&nbsp;Sandra C.&nbsp; Schopplein, 47, Derby and Sisco to Wichita area hospitals. The occupants of the pickup were properly restrained, according to the KHP.&nbsp; Just after 11p.m. Monday, Firman was booked into the Butler County Jail. He has two previous convictions for aggravated battery, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/5/1716891294712.png" alt="Augusta Police vehicle involved in the crash -photo courtesy KWCH" />
 <figcaption>Augusta Police vehicle involved in the crash -photo courtesy KWCH</figcaption>
 </figure>BUTLER COUNTY —Three people were injured in an accident just before 6:30p.m. Monday in Butler County.The Kansas Highway Patrol reported the law enforcement were in pursuit of a 2020 Chevy Silverado that was pulling a was pulling a 2020 Karavan boat trailer westbound in the eastbound lanes of U.S. 54.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/5/1716894579577.png" alt="Firman has two previous convictions for aggravated battery, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections." />
 <figcaption>Firman has two previous convictions for aggravated battery, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections.</figcaption>
 </figure>The pickup driven by Allan Milton&nbsp;Firman III, 44, Wichita, struck the left rear corner of a 2023 Dodge Durango Pursuit driven by Officer Kyle E.&nbsp;Sisco with the Augusta Police Department.EMS transported&nbsp;Firman, a passenger in the pickup&nbsp;Sandra C.&nbsp; Schopplein, 47, Derby and Sisco to Wichita area hospitals. The occupants of the pickup were properly restrained, according to the KHP.&nbsp; Just after 11p.m. Monday, Firman was booked into the Butler County Jail. He has two previous convictions for aggravated battery, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections.

Kan. officer among 3 hospitalized after crash during chase

KANSAS CITY—Law enforcement are investigating a Memorial Day morning homicide in Kansas City.

Just after 7a.m. Monday, police responded to an EMS call near the 2500 block of College Avenue, according to KCPD&nbsp;Officer Alayna Gonzalez .

When officers arrived, they observed a man lying in the street suffering from unknown bodily trauma and unresponsive. EMS responded and declared the man deceased at the scene.

The circumstances surrounding this incident are currently unknown and no one is in custody. Homicide detectives and crime scene personnel responded to gather evidence and collect witness statements. Police have not identified the victim.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/5/1716817479838.png" alt="Photos Sheriff Daryl Forte'" />
 <figcaption>Photos Sheriff Daryl Forte'</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY—Law enforcement are investigating a Memorial Day morning homicide in Kansas City.Just after 7a.m. Monday, police responded to an EMS call near the 2500 block of College Avenue, according to KCPD&nbsp;Officer Alayna Gonzalez .<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/5/1716817453969.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>When officers arrived, they observed a man lying in the street suffering from unknown bodily trauma and unresponsive. EMS responded and declared the man deceased at the scene.The circumstances surrounding this incident are currently unknown and no one is in custody. Homicide detectives and crime scene personnel responded to gather evidence and collect witness statements. Police have not identified the victim.

Homicide: Man found dead on KC street Memorial Day 

HARPER COUNTY —The National Weather Service damage survey for May 25, found EF2 damage in Harper County around 8 miles WSW in Anthony, Kansas, according to the National Weather Service in Wichita.

EF2 tornadoes generate winds of 111-135mph, according to the enhanced Fujita Scale.

The tornado occurred at 7:29p.m., traveled 6.6 miles in 7 minutes and was approximately 100 yards wide.&nbsp; &nbsp;There were no injuries reported.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/5/1716813404237.png" alt="Photos National Weather Service Wichita" />
 <figcaption>Photos National Weather Service Wichita</figcaption>
 </figure>HARPER COUNTY —The National Weather Service damage survey for May 25, found EF2 damage in Harper County around 8 miles WSW in Anthony, Kansas, according to the National Weather Service in Wichita.EF2 tornadoes generate winds of 111-135mph, according to the enhanced Fujita Scale.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/5/1716813376790.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>The tornado occurred at 7:29p.m., traveled 6.6 miles in 7 minutes and was approximately 100 yards wide.&nbsp; &nbsp;There were no injuries reported.

NWS: South central Kan. tornado generated winds over 110mph

VIENNA (AP) — Iran has further increased its stockpile of uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels, according to a confidential report on Monday by the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, the latest in Tehran's attempts to steadily exert pressure on the international community.

Iran is seeking to have economic sanctions imposed over the country's controversial nuclear program lifted in exchange for slowing the program down. The program — as all matters of state in Iran — are&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-nuclear-program-raisi-helicopter-crash-diplomacy-27de312812676e698219a38e69bb9233">under the guidance of Iran’s supreme leader</a>, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and that likely won’t change in the wake of last week's helicopter crash that killed Iran's president and foreign minister.

The report by the International Atomic Energy Agency also comes against the backdrop of heightened tensions in the wider Middle East over the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. Israel and Iran have carried out direct strikes on each other’s territory for the first time last month.

The report, seen by The Associated Press, said that as of May 11, Iran has 142.1 kilograms (313.2 pounds) of uranium enriched up to 60% — an increase of 20.6 kilograms (45.4 pounds) since&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-iaea-nuclear-quarterly-report-bca494913fbc8ccc1621466fe9c221e6">the last report by the U.N. watchdog in February</a>. Uranium enriched at 60% purity is just a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90%.

By IAEA’s definition, around 42 kilograms (92.5 pounds) of uranium enriched to 60% is the amount at which creating one atomic weapon is theoretically possible — if the material is enriched further, to 90%.

Also as of May 11, the report says Iran’s overall stockpile of enriched uranium stands at 6,201.3 kilograms (1,3671.5 pounds), which represents an increase of 675.8 kilograms (1,489.8 pounds) since the IAEA's previous report.

Iran has maintained its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only, but&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-iaea-nuclear-program-143e3e3c015dbf9c17316ad60ff989da">the IAEA chief, Rafael Mariano Grossi</a>, has previously warned that Tehran has enough uranium enriched to near-weapons-grade levels&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-iran-politics-government-mahmoud-ahmadinejad-6acdb64d36fcbe05b3ee725d8a585d96">to make “several” nuclear bombs</a>&nbsp;if it chose to do so. He has acknowledged the U.N. agency cannot guarantee that none of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/cop28-climate-talks-grossi-iaea-iran-nuclear-power-11a37c802d7e0bca6538d5c66a9ec6fd">Iran’s centrifuges may have been peeled away for clandestine enrichment</a>.

Tensions have grown between Iran and the IAEA since 2018, when then-President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew the United States from Tehran’s nuclear deal with world powers. Since then, Iran has abandoned all limits the deal put on its program and quickly stepped up enrichment.

Under the original nuclear deal, struck in 2015, Iran was allowed to enrich uranium only up to 3.67% purity, maintain a stockpile of about 300 kilograms and use only very basic IR-1 centrifuges — machines that spin uranium gas at high speed for enrichment purposes.

The 2015 deal saw Tehran agree to limit enrichment of uranium to levels necessary for generating nuclear power in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions. At the time, U.N. inspectors were tasked with monitoring the program.

Monday's report also said that Tehran has not reconsidered its September 2023 decision to bar IAEA inspectors from further monitoring its nuclear program and added that it expects Iran “to do so in the context of the ongoing consultations between the (IAEA) agency and Iran.”

According to the report, Grossi “deeply regrets” Iran's decision to bar inspectors — and a reversal of that decision “remains essential to fully allow the agency to conduct its verification activities in Iran effectively.”

The deaths of Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian have triggered a pause in the IAEA's talks with Tehran over improving cooperation, the report acknowledged.

Before the May 19 helicopter crash, Iran had agreed to hold technical negotiations with IAEA on May 20, following a visit by Grossi earlier in the month. But those meetings fell apart due to the crash. Iran then sent a letter on May 21, saying its nuclear team wants to continue discussions in Tehran "on an appropriate date that will be mutually agreed upon,” the report said.

The report also said Iran has still not provided answers to the IAEA's years-long investigation about the origin and current location of manmade uranium particles found at two locations that Tehran has failed to declare as potential nuclear sites, Varamin and Turquzabad.

It said the IAEA’s request need to be resolved, otherwise the the agency “will not be able to confirm the correctness an completeness of Iran’s declarations" under a safeguards agreement between Tehran and the nuclear watchdog.

The report also said there was no progress so far in reinstalling more monitoring equipment, including cameras, removed in June 2022. Since then, the only recorded data is that of IAEA cameras installed at a centrifuge workshop in the city of Isfahan in May 2023 — although Iran has not provided the IAEA with access to this data.

VIENNA (AP) — Iran has further increased its stockpile of uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels, according to a confidential report on Monday by the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, the latest in Tehran's attempts to steadily exert pressure on the international community.Iran is seeking to have economic sanctions imposed over the country's controversial nuclear program lifted in exchange for slowing the program down. The program — as all matters of state in Iran — are&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-nuclear-program-raisi-helicopter-crash-diplomacy-27de312812676e698219a38e69bb9233">under the guidance of Iran’s supreme leader</a>, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and that likely won’t change in the wake of last week's helicopter crash that killed Iran's president and foreign minister.The report by the International Atomic Energy Agency also comes against the backdrop of heightened tensions in the wider Middle East over the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. Israel and Iran have carried out direct strikes on each other’s territory for the first time last month.The report, seen by The Associated Press, said that as of May 11, Iran has 142.1 kilograms (313.2 pounds) of uranium enriched up to 60% — an increase of 20.6 kilograms (45.4 pounds) since&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-iaea-nuclear-quarterly-report-bca494913fbc8ccc1621466fe9c221e6">the last report by the U.N. watchdog in February</a>. Uranium enriched at 60% purity is just a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90%.By IAEA’s definition, around 42 kilograms (92.5 pounds) of uranium enriched to 60% is the amount at which creating one atomic weapon is theoretically possible — if the material is enriched further, to 90%.Also as of May 11, the report says Iran’s overall stockpile of enriched uranium stands at 6,201.3 kilograms (1,3671.5 pounds), which represents an increase of 675.8 kilograms (1,489.8 pounds) since the IAEA's previous report.Iran has maintained its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only, but&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-iaea-nuclear-program-143e3e3c015dbf9c17316ad60ff989da">the IAEA chief, Rafael Mariano Grossi</a>, has previously warned that Tehran has enough uranium enriched to near-weapons-grade levels&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-iran-politics-government-mahmoud-ahmadinejad-6acdb64d36fcbe05b3ee725d8a585d96">to make “several” nuclear bombs</a>&nbsp;if it chose to do so. He has acknowledged the U.N. agency cannot guarantee that none of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/cop28-climate-talks-grossi-iaea-iran-nuclear-power-11a37c802d7e0bca6538d5c66a9ec6fd">Iran’s centrifuges may have been peeled away for clandestine enrichment</a>.Tensions have grown between Iran and the IAEA since 2018, when then-President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew the United States from Tehran’s nuclear deal with world powers. Since then, Iran has abandoned all limits the deal put on its program and quickly stepped up enrichment.Under the original nuclear deal, struck in 2015, Iran was allowed to enrich uranium only up to 3.67% purity, maintain a stockpile of about 300 kilograms and use only very basic IR-1 centrifuges — machines that spin uranium gas at high speed for enrichment purposes.The 2015 deal saw Tehran agree to limit enrichment of uranium to levels necessary for generating nuclear power in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions. At the time, U.N. inspectors were tasked with monitoring the program.Monday's report also said that Tehran has not reconsidered its September 2023 decision to bar IAEA inspectors from further monitoring its nuclear program and added that it expects Iran “to do so in the context of the ongoing consultations between the (IAEA) agency and Iran.”According to the report, Grossi “deeply regrets” Iran's decision to bar inspectors — and a reversal of that decision “remains essential to fully allow the agency to conduct its verification activities in Iran effectively.”The deaths of Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian have triggered a pause in the IAEA's talks with Tehran over improving cooperation, the report acknowledged.Before the May 19 helicopter crash, Iran had agreed to hold technical negotiations with IAEA on May 20, following a visit by Grossi earlier in the month. But those meetings fell apart due to the crash. Iran then sent a letter on May 21, saying its nuclear team wants to continue discussions in Tehran "on an appropriate date that will be mutually agreed upon,” the report said.The report also said Iran has still not provided answers to the IAEA's years-long investigation about the origin and current location of manmade uranium particles found at two locations that Tehran has failed to declare as potential nuclear sites, Varamin and Turquzabad.It said the IAEA’s request need to be resolved, otherwise the the agency “will not be able to confirm the correctness an completeness of Iran’s declarations" under a safeguards agreement between Tehran and the nuclear watchdog.The report also said there was no progress so far in reinstalling more monitoring equipment, including cameras, removed in June 2022. Since then, the only recorded data is that of IAEA cameras installed at a centrifuge workshop in the city of Isfahan in May 2023 — although Iran has not provided the IAEA with access to this data.

Report: Iran's near-nuclear bomb-grade uranium stock grows

KANSAS CITY —A bicyclist involved in a crash on May 24 died of his injuries.

Early Friday an electric bicycle ridden by a man crashed on the&nbsp;Rock Island Trail in the area of 9611 East 53rd Street, according to KCPD Captain Jake Becchina.

 A man out on his morning run found the rider on the concrete trail. The exact time of the crash is unknown. EMS transported the injured man to an area hospital with life threatening injuries.

The man was pronounced&nbsp; dead just before 10:30p.m. Friday, according to Becchina.&nbsp; Police have not released his name.

KANSAS CITY —A bicyclist involved in a crash on May 24 died of his injuries.Early Friday an electric bicycle ridden by a man crashed on the&nbsp;Rock Island Trail in the area of 9611 East 53rd Street, according to KCPD Captain Jake Becchina. A man out on his morning run found the rider on the concrete trail. The exact time of the crash is unknown. EMS transported the injured man to an area hospital with life threatening injuries.The man was pronounced&nbsp; dead just before 10:30p.m. Friday, according to Becchina.&nbsp; Police have not released his name.

Man injured after electric bicycle crash in Kansas City has died

DOUGLAS COUNTY —A jury earlier this month bound 36-year-old John T. Price of Lawrence guilty of battery against a law enforcement officer, according to&nbsp;Douglas County District Attorney Suzanne Valdez.

“Correctional officers accept one of the most difficult jobs in public safety,” Valdez said. “I am committed to supporting a safe and secure workplace for these dedicated public servants who ensure the safety of staff, inmates and the public.”

Charges stemmed from an incident that occurred on September 16, 2022, when corrections officers at the Douglas County Correctional Facility were moving Price to the facility’s behavioral management housing unit. Price, who had been kicking his cell door and screaming, began yelling at an officer and then spit directly into the officer’s mouth.

Senior Assistant District Attorney David Greenwald represented the State of Kansas. The matter was investigated by the Douglas County Sheriff's Office.

Judge Stacey Donovan set Price’s sentencing for 3:30 p.m., on June 28.

Price faces between 31 and 136 months in the Kansas Department of Corrections.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/5/1716324559949.png" alt="Price-photo Douglas Co." />
 <figcaption>Price-photo Douglas Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>DOUGLAS COUNTY —A jury earlier this month bound 36-year-old John T. Price of Lawrence guilty of battery against a law enforcement officer, according to&nbsp;Douglas County District Attorney Suzanne Valdez.“Correctional officers accept one of the most difficult jobs in public safety,” Valdez said. “I am committed to supporting a safe and secure workplace for these dedicated public servants who ensure the safety of staff, inmates and the public.”Charges stemmed from an incident that occurred on September 16, 2022, when corrections officers at the Douglas County Correctional Facility were moving Price to the facility’s behavioral management housing unit. Price, who had been kicking his cell door and screaming, began yelling at an officer and then spit directly into the officer’s mouth.Senior Assistant District Attorney David Greenwald represented the State of Kansas. The matter was investigated by the Douglas County Sheriff's Office.Judge Stacey Donovan set Price’s sentencing for 3:30 p.m., on June 28.Price faces between 31 and 136 months in the Kansas Department of Corrections.&nbsp;

Kan. man guilty of spitting into the mouth of corrections officer

JACKSON COUNTY, Kan—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a registered offender on multiple allegations.

Just before 5a.m. May 24,&nbsp;a Sheriff’s Deputy conducted a traffic stop on a 2014 Honda Civic for a traffic violation near Q.4 Road and 150th Road in rural Jackson County, according to Sheriff Tim Morse.

The deputy discovered methamphetamine, THC, and&nbsp;drug paraphernalia in the vehicle. The driver of the vehicle was identified as Jay Norman Giannakos, 52, of Paxico.

Gainnukos was arrested and booked into the Jackson County Jail for possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute greater than 3.5 grams, possession of THC, possession of drug paraphernalia, and&nbsp;violation of the registry offender act.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/5/1716503497152.png" alt="Gainnukos-photo Jackson Co." />
 <figcaption>Gainnukos-photo Jackson Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>JACKSON COUNTY, Kan—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a registered offender on multiple allegations.Just before 5a.m. May 24,&nbsp;a Sheriff’s Deputy conducted a traffic stop on a 2014 Honda Civic for a traffic violation near Q.4 Road and 150th Road in rural Jackson County, according to Sheriff Tim Morse.The deputy discovered methamphetamine, THC, and&nbsp;drug paraphernalia in the vehicle. The driver of the vehicle was identified as Jay Norman Giannakos, 52, of Paxico.Gainnukos was arrested and booked into the Jackson County Jail for possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute greater than 3.5 grams, possession of THC, possession of drug paraphernalia, and&nbsp;violation of the registry offender act.

Registered offender accused of attempting to sell drugs in Kansas

DENVER (AP) — The first attempts to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/artificial-intelligence-ai-explained-policy-technology-regulations-discrimination-d3226c9139d3d06af263e7ff467d0666">regulate artificial intelligence programs</a>&nbsp;that play a hidden role in hiring, housing and medical decisions for millions of Americans are facing pressure from all sides and floundering in statehouses nationwide.

Only one of seven bills aimed at preventing AI’s penchant to discriminate when making consequential decisions — including who gets hired, money for a home or medical care — has passed. Colorado Gov. Jared Polis hesitantly signed the bill on Friday.

Colorado’s bill and those that faltered in Washington, Connecticut and elsewhere faced battles on many fronts, including between civil rights groups and the tech industry, and lawmakers wary of wading into a technology few yet understand and governors worried about being the odd-state-out and spooking AI startups.

Polis signed Colorado’s bill “with reservations,” saying in an statement he was wary of regulations dousing AI innovation. The bill has a two-year runway and can be altered before it becomes law.

“I encourage (lawmakers) to significantly improve on this before it takes effect,” Polis wrote.

Colorado’s proposal, along with six sister bills, are complex, but will broadly require companies to assess the risk of discrimination from their AI and inform customers when AI was used to help make a consequential decision for them.

The bills are separate from more than 400 AI-related bills that have been debated this year. Most are aimed at slices of AI, such as the use of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/deepfake-images-taylor-swift-state-legislation-bffbc274dd178ab054426ee7d691df7e">deepfakes in elections</a>&nbsp;or to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/artificial-intelligence-ai-connecticut-regulation-b004b4477ac20cc365317edff9f7351b">make pornography</a>.

The seven bills are more ambitious, applying across major industries and targeting discrimination, one of the technology’s most perverse and complex problems.

“We actually have no visibility into the algorithms that are used, whether they work or they don’t, or whether we’re discriminated against,” said Rumman Chowdhury, AI envoy for the U.S. Department of State who previously led Twitter’s AI ethics team.

While anti-discrimination laws are already on the books, those who study AI discrimination say it’s a different beast, which the U.S. is already behind in regulating.

“The computers are making biased decisions at scale,” said Christine Webber, a civil rights attorney who has worked on class action lawsuits over discrimination including against Boeing and Tyson Foods. Now, Webber is nearing final approval on one of the first-in-the-nation settlements in a class action over AI discrimination.

“Not, I should say, that the old systems were perfectly free from bias either,” said Webber. But “any one person could only look at so many resumes in the day. So you could only make so many biased decisions in one day and the computer can do it rapidly across large numbers of people.”

When you apply for a job, an apartment or a home loan, there’s a good chance AI is assessing your application: sending it up the line, assigning it a score or filtering it out. It’s estimated as many as 83% of employers use algorithms to help in hiring, according to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

AI itself doesn’t know what to look for in a job application, so it’s taught based on past resumes. The historical data that is used to train algorithms can smuggle in bias.

Amazon, for example, worked on a hiring algorithm that was trained on old resumes: largely male applicants. When assessing new applicants, it downgraded resumes with the word “women’s” or that listed women’s colleges because they were not represented in the historical data — the resumes — it had learned from. The project was scuttled.

Webber’s class action lawsuit alleges that an AI system that scores rental applications disproportionately assigned lower scores to Black or Hispanic applicants. A study found that an AI system built to assess medical needs&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/racial-bias-in-health-care-software-aids-whites-over-blacks-b5fb4e1ae6e944fd979568df1fdb6df4">passed over Black patients</a>&nbsp;for special care.

Studies and lawsuits have allowed a glimpse under the hood of AI systems, but most algorithms remain veiled. Americans are largely unaware that these tools are being used, polling from Pew Research shows. Companies generally aren’t required to explicitly disclose that an AI was used.

“Just pulling back the curtain so that we can see who’s really doing the assessing and what tool is being used is a huge, huge first step,” said Webber. “The existing laws don’t work if we can’t get at least some basic information.”

That’s what Colorado’s bill, along with another surviving bill in California, are trying to change. The bills, including a flagship proposal in Connecticut that was killed under opposition from the governor, are largely similar.

Colorado’s bill will require companies using AI to help make consequential decisions for Americans to annually assess their AI for potential bias; implement an oversight program within the company; tell the state attorney general if discrimination was found; and inform to customers when an AI was used to help make a decision for them, including an option to appeal.

Labor unions and academics fear that a reliance on companies overseeing themselves means it'll be hard to proactively address discrimination in an AI system before it's done damage. Companies are fearful that forced transparency could reveal trade secrets, including in potential litigation, in this hyper-competitive new field.

AI companies also pushed for, and generally received, a provision that only allows the attorney general, not citizens, to file lawsuits under the new law. Enforcement details have been left up to the attorney general.

While larger AI companies have more or less been on board with these proposals, a group of smaller Colorado-based AI companies said the requirements might be manageable by behemoth AI companies, but not by budding startups.

“We are in a brand new era of primordial soup,” said Logan Cerkovnik, founder of Thumper.ai, referring to the field of AI. “Having overly restrictive legislation that forces us into definitions and restricts our use of technology while this is forming is just going to be detrimental to innovation.”

All agreed, along with many AI companies, that what’s formally called “algorithmic discrimination” is critical to tackle. But they said the bill as written falls short of that goal. Instead, they proposed beefing up existing anti-discrimination laws.

Chowdhury worries that lawsuits are too costly and time consuming to be an effective enforcement tool, and laws should instead go beyond what even Colorado is proposing. Instead, Chowdhury and academics have proposed accredited, independent organization that can explicitly test for potential bias in an AI algorithm.

“You can understand and deal with a single person who is discriminatory or biased,” said Chowdhury. “What do we do when it’s embedded into the entire institution?”

DENVER (AP) — The first attempts to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/artificial-intelligence-ai-explained-policy-technology-regulations-discrimination-d3226c9139d3d06af263e7ff467d0666">regulate artificial intelligence programs</a>&nbsp;that play a hidden role in hiring, housing and medical decisions for millions of Americans are facing pressure from all sides and floundering in statehouses nationwide.Only one of seven bills aimed at preventing AI’s penchant to discriminate when making consequential decisions — including who gets hired, money for a home or medical care — has passed. Colorado Gov. Jared Polis hesitantly signed the bill on Friday.Colorado’s bill and those that faltered in Washington, Connecticut and elsewhere faced battles on many fronts, including between civil rights groups and the tech industry, and lawmakers wary of wading into a technology few yet understand and governors worried about being the odd-state-out and spooking AI startups.Polis signed Colorado’s bill “with reservations,” saying in an statement he was wary of regulations dousing AI innovation. The bill has a two-year runway and can be altered before it becomes law.“I encourage (lawmakers) to significantly improve on this before it takes effect,” Polis wrote.Colorado’s proposal, along with six sister bills, are complex, but will broadly require companies to assess the risk of discrimination from their AI and inform customers when AI was used to help make a consequential decision for them.The bills are separate from more than 400 AI-related bills that have been debated this year. Most are aimed at slices of AI, such as the use of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/deepfake-images-taylor-swift-state-legislation-bffbc274dd178ab054426ee7d691df7e">deepfakes in elections</a>&nbsp;or to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/artificial-intelligence-ai-connecticut-regulation-b004b4477ac20cc365317edff9f7351b">make pornography</a>.The seven bills are more ambitious, applying across major industries and targeting discrimination, one of the technology’s most perverse and complex problems.“We actually have no visibility into the algorithms that are used, whether they work or they don’t, or whether we’re discriminated against,” said Rumman Chowdhury, AI envoy for the U.S. Department of State who previously led Twitter’s AI ethics team.While anti-discrimination laws are already on the books, those who study AI discrimination say it’s a different beast, which the U.S. is already behind in regulating.“The computers are making biased decisions at scale,” said Christine Webber, a civil rights attorney who has worked on class action lawsuits over discrimination including against Boeing and Tyson Foods. Now, Webber is nearing final approval on one of the first-in-the-nation settlements in a class action over AI discrimination.“Not, I should say, that the old systems were perfectly free from bias either,” said Webber. But “any one person could only look at so many resumes in the day. So you could only make so many biased decisions in one day and the computer can do it rapidly across large numbers of people.”When you apply for a job, an apartment or a home loan, there’s a good chance AI is assessing your application: sending it up the line, assigning it a score or filtering it out. It’s estimated as many as 83% of employers use algorithms to help in hiring, according to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.AI itself doesn’t know what to look for in a job application, so it’s taught based on past resumes. The historical data that is used to train algorithms can smuggle in bias.Amazon, for example, worked on a hiring algorithm that was trained on old resumes: largely male applicants. When assessing new applicants, it downgraded resumes with the word “women’s” or that listed women’s colleges because they were not represented in the historical data — the resumes — it had learned from. The project was scuttled.Webber’s class action lawsuit alleges that an AI system that scores rental applications disproportionately assigned lower scores to Black or Hispanic applicants. A study found that an AI system built to assess medical needs&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/racial-bias-in-health-care-software-aids-whites-over-blacks-b5fb4e1ae6e944fd979568df1fdb6df4">passed over Black patients</a>&nbsp;for special care.Studies and lawsuits have allowed a glimpse under the hood of AI systems, but most algorithms remain veiled. Americans are largely unaware that these tools are being used, polling from Pew Research shows. Companies generally aren’t required to explicitly disclose that an AI was used.“Just pulling back the curtain so that we can see who’s really doing the assessing and what tool is being used is a huge, huge first step,” said Webber. “The existing laws don’t work if we can’t get at least some basic information.”That’s what Colorado’s bill, along with another surviving bill in California, are trying to change. The bills, including a flagship proposal in Connecticut that was killed under opposition from the governor, are largely similar.Colorado’s bill will require companies using AI to help make consequential decisions for Americans to annually assess their AI for potential bias; implement an oversight program within the company; tell the state attorney general if discrimination was found; and inform to customers when an AI was used to help make a decision for them, including an option to appeal.Labor unions and academics fear that a reliance on companies overseeing themselves means it'll be hard to proactively address discrimination in an AI system before it's done damage. Companies are fearful that forced transparency could reveal trade secrets, including in potential litigation, in this hyper-competitive new field.AI companies also pushed for, and generally received, a provision that only allows the attorney general, not citizens, to file lawsuits under the new law. Enforcement details have been left up to the attorney general.While larger AI companies have more or less been on board with these proposals, a group of smaller Colorado-based AI companies said the requirements might be manageable by behemoth AI companies, but not by budding startups.“We are in a brand new era of primordial soup,” said Logan Cerkovnik, founder of Thumper.ai, referring to the field of AI. “Having overly restrictive legislation that forces us into definitions and restricts our use of technology while this is forming is just going to be detrimental to innovation.”All agreed, along with many AI companies, that what’s formally called “algorithmic discrimination” is critical to tackle. But they said the bill as written falls short of that goal. Instead, they proposed beefing up existing anti-discrimination laws.Chowdhury worries that lawsuits are too costly and time consuming to be an effective enforcement tool, and laws should instead go beyond what even Colorado is proposing. Instead, Chowdhury and academics have proposed accredited, independent organization that can explicitly test for potential bias in an AI algorithm.“You can understand and deal with a single person who is discriminatory or biased,” said Chowdhury. “What do we do when it’s embedded into the entire institution?”___

First state attempts to regulate AI’s hidden role in American life

BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/allison-winter/">ALLISON WINTER</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/">Kansas Reflector</a>

WASHINGTON — Republicans moved their long-awaited new farm bill through the U.S. House Agriculture Committee this week, despite opposition from most Democrats that could stall further advancement of the bill.

The massive $1.5 trillion legislation would set policy and funding levels for key food, agriculture and conservation programs for the next five years. After a marathon markup Thursday, the GOP-authored bill cleared the committee after midnight Friday, 33-21, with four Democratic votes.

The committee’s bill would increase farm “safety net” payments for some commodity crops, expand eligibility for disaster assistance and increase funding for speciality crops, organic farmers and dairy farmers.

It is expected to cost $1.5 trillion over 10 years. A title-by-title summary of the&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://agriculture.house.gov/uploadedfiles/discussion_draft_ffns.pdf">942-page bill</a>&nbsp;can be found&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://agriculture.house.gov/uploadedfiles/detailed_summary_final.pdf">here</a>.

Democrats Don Davis of North Carolina, Sanford Bishop of Georgia, Yadira Caraveo of Colorado and Eric Sorenson of Illinois&nbsp;joined all committee Republicans to vote to advance the bill.

After hours of heated debate and criticism from Democrats, support from the four lawmakers across the aisle seemed to surprise House Agriculture Chair Glenn “GT” Thompson, a Pennsylvania Republican who was the bill’s primary sponsor.

His microphone picked up his aside as the vote concluded: “That was bipartisan. I did not see that one coming.”

But the tepid Democratic support is likely not enough to see this version of the bill through to final passage in the House.

A handful of Republicans typically oppose farm bills over fiscal concerns. And even Democrats who voted for the bill in the House committee said it needs major changes before it could make it into law.

The measure does not have support of Democrats in the Senate or the White House.

“Everyone knows that this bill would never become law. The Senate won’t accept it and the administration won’t accept it,” Rep. David Scott of Georgia, the ranking Democrat on the committee, said at the markup. “And while this bill is a giant misstep, it nevertheless begins our journey toward passing a farm bill.”

As the House committee debated the bill, Michigan Democrat Debbie Stabenow, the chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee, said in an interview Thursday that the House proposal has no chance in the Senate.

“It tears up the farm and food coalition and does not have the votes to pass on the House floor. And certainly not in the Senate,” Stabenow told States Newsroom.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/usda-chief-voices-deep-concerns-over-us-house-gop-farm-bills-nutrition-cuts">said earlier this week</a>&nbsp;that the farm bill draft would damage the coalition that traditionally has united behind farm bills and “raises the real possibility of being unable to get a farm bill through the process.”

The committee vote – which came eight months after the previous farm bill expired – was the first step in what is expected to continue to be a protracted dispute over food and farm policy.

Many farm commodity groups have come out in support of the bill, but it faces opposition from hunger advocacy groups as well as fiscal conservatives.

Heritage Foundation, National Taxpayers Union and Taxpayers for Common Sense, along with Environmental Working Group, united this week to oppose the legislation, which they characterized as a government giveaway to favored special interests.

The groups, which span the ideological spectrum, contend the proposed legislation would spend tens of billions of dollars in subsidies that would overwhelmingly go to a relatively small number of farmers who grow certain commodity crops.

Historically, farm bills have brought together lawmakers across party lines, uniting on regional interests. The massive bill stitches together support for agriculture producers, energy and conservation programs on farmland and food and nutrition programs for families in need.

But committee members are deeply divided over limits on nutrition and climate programs that are the funding mechanisms for the Republican bill.

“This, on the policy side, is a very good bill,” Rep. Angie Craig, a Minnesota Democrat, said. “But on the payment side, how do you get to your math?”

The&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://utahnewsdispatch.com/2024/05/24/u-s-house-panel-debates-nutrition-benefit-changes-farm-bill/">key dispute</a>&nbsp;for Democrats is a funding calculation that would place limits on the formula that calculates benefits for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, SNAP, the food aid program formerly referred to as food stamps.

“One of the reasons it is so hard to negotiate the little items on this bill is because the big items and the funding mechanism are so fundamentally flawed,” Maine Democrat Chellie Pingree said.

The bill would limit future updates to the Thrifty Food Plan, the formula that calculates benefits for SNAP. This would result in a nearly $30 billion reduction in spending over ten years, based on the estimates from the Congressional Budget Office, lawmakers say.

“If we want a farm bill that is able to pass into law with the bipartisan levels that it requires to pass beyond this committee, it is necessary that we go back to the negotiating table and remove this provision,” Caraveo said.

Caraveo, who faces a tough re-election in a toss-up district, ultimately voted in favor of the bill.

Connecticut Democrat Jahana Hayes offered an amendment that would have struck the changes to the program. But after more than two hours of impassioned debate on the issue Thursday night, the amendment failed on a party-line vote, 25-29.

The farm bill has to remain budget neutral, so lawmakers must fit their proposals into a baseline projection of how much the government would spend over the next 10 years if the current farm bill was extended.

The House Republican bill would offset increases in payments for farmers by placing limits on SNAP and a discretionary account at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The committee-passed bill would put limits on USDA’s discretionary Commodity Credit Corporation account and would remove climate-smart policy requirements for about $13 billion in conservation projects funded by the Inflation Reduction Act.

“Farmers agree that this is good money that has come to all of our states, and is critically important,” Pingree said. “So taking away this authority from one Agriculture secretary maybe because you don’t like one program is completely misguided. It’s not thinking into the future.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/5/1589039066122.png" alt="&nbsp;The U.S. House Agriculture Committee approved a bill this week to renew farm and nutrition programs, the the measure faces a tough road to becoming law. File photo" />
 <figcaption>&nbsp;The U.S. House Agriculture Committee approved a bill this week to renew farm and nutrition programs, the the measure faces a tough road to becoming law. File photo</figcaption>
 </figure>BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/allison-winter/">ALLISON WINTER</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/">Kansas Reflector</a>WASHINGTON — Republicans moved their long-awaited new farm bill through the U.S. House Agriculture Committee this week, despite opposition from most Democrats that could stall further advancement of the bill.The massive $1.5 trillion legislation would set policy and funding levels for key food, agriculture and conservation programs for the next five years. After a marathon markup Thursday, the GOP-authored bill cleared the committee after midnight Friday, 33-21, with four Democratic votes.The committee’s bill would increase farm “safety net” payments for some commodity crops, expand eligibility for disaster assistance and increase funding for speciality crops, organic farmers and dairy farmers.It is expected to cost $1.5 trillion over 10 years. A title-by-title summary of the&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://agriculture.house.gov/uploadedfiles/discussion_draft_ffns.pdf">942-page bill</a>&nbsp;can be found&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://agriculture.house.gov/uploadedfiles/detailed_summary_final.pdf">here</a>.Democrats Don Davis of North Carolina, Sanford Bishop of Georgia, Yadira Caraveo of Colorado and Eric Sorenson of Illinois&nbsp;joined all committee Republicans to vote to advance the bill.After hours of heated debate and criticism from Democrats, support from the four lawmakers across the aisle seemed to surprise House Agriculture Chair Glenn “GT” Thompson, a Pennsylvania Republican who was the bill’s primary sponsor.His microphone picked up his aside as the vote concluded: “That was bipartisan. I did not see that one coming.”<h2>Changes ahead</h2>But the tepid Democratic support is likely not enough to see this version of the bill through to final passage in the House.A handful of Republicans typically oppose farm bills over fiscal concerns. And even Democrats who voted for the bill in the House committee said it needs major changes before it could make it into law.The measure does not have support of Democrats in the Senate or the White House.“Everyone knows that this bill would never become law. The Senate won’t accept it and the administration won’t accept it,” Rep. David Scott of Georgia, the ranking Democrat on the committee, said at the markup. “And while this bill is a giant misstep, it nevertheless begins our journey toward passing a farm bill.”As the House committee debated the bill, Michigan Democrat Debbie Stabenow, the chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee, said in an interview Thursday that the House proposal has no chance in the Senate.“It tears up the farm and food coalition and does not have the votes to pass on the House floor. And certainly not in the Senate,” Stabenow told States Newsroom.Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/usda-chief-voices-deep-concerns-over-us-house-gop-farm-bills-nutrition-cuts">said earlier this week</a>&nbsp;that the farm bill draft would damage the coalition that traditionally has united behind farm bills and “raises the real possibility of being unable to get a farm bill through the process.”The committee vote – which came eight months after the previous farm bill expired – was the first step in what is expected to continue to be a protracted dispute over food and farm policy.Many farm commodity groups have come out in support of the bill, but it faces opposition from hunger advocacy groups as well as fiscal conservatives.Heritage Foundation, National Taxpayers Union and Taxpayers for Common Sense, along with Environmental Working Group, united this week to oppose the legislation, which they characterized as a government giveaway to favored special interests.The groups, which span the ideological spectrum, contend the proposed legislation would spend tens of billions of dollars in subsidies that would overwhelmingly go to a relatively small number of farmers who grow certain commodity crops.<h2>Funding dispute</h2>Historically, farm bills have brought together lawmakers across party lines, uniting on regional interests. The massive bill stitches together support for agriculture producers, energy and conservation programs on farmland and food and nutrition programs for families in need.But committee members are deeply divided over limits on nutrition and climate programs that are the funding mechanisms for the Republican bill.“This, on the policy side, is a very good bill,” Rep. Angie Craig, a Minnesota Democrat, said. “But on the payment side, how do you get to your math?”The&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://utahnewsdispatch.com/2024/05/24/u-s-house-panel-debates-nutrition-benefit-changes-farm-bill/">key dispute</a>&nbsp;for Democrats is a funding calculation that would place limits on the formula that calculates benefits for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, SNAP, the food aid program formerly referred to as food stamps.“One of the reasons it is so hard to negotiate the little items on this bill is because the big items and the funding mechanism are so fundamentally flawed,” Maine Democrat Chellie Pingree said.The bill would limit future updates to the Thrifty Food Plan, the formula that calculates benefits for SNAP. This would result in a nearly $30 billion reduction in spending over ten years, based on the estimates from the Congressional Budget Office, lawmakers say.“If we want a farm bill that is able to pass into law with the bipartisan levels that it requires to pass beyond this committee, it is necessary that we go back to the negotiating table and remove this provision,” Caraveo said.Caraveo, who faces a tough re-election in a toss-up district, ultimately voted in favor of the bill.Connecticut Democrat Jahana Hayes offered an amendment that would have struck the changes to the program. But after more than two hours of impassioned debate on the issue Thursday night, the amendment failed on a party-line vote, 25-29.The farm bill has to remain budget neutral, so lawmakers must fit their proposals into a baseline projection of how much the government would spend over the next 10 years if the current farm bill was extended.The House Republican bill would offset increases in payments for farmers by placing limits on SNAP and a discretionary account at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.The committee-passed bill would put limits on USDA’s discretionary Commodity Credit Corporation account and would remove climate-smart policy requirements for about $13 billion in conservation projects funded by the Inflation Reduction Act.“Farmers agree that this is good money that has come to all of our states, and is critically important,” Pingree said. “So taking away this authority from one Agriculture secretary maybe because you don’t like one program is completely misguided. It’s not thinking into the future.”<h2>Slow Senate progress</h2>On the Senate side, Stabenow released an outline of her own&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.agriculture.senate.gov/newsroom/dem/press/release/chairwoman-stabenow-unveils-the-rural-prosperity-and-food-security-act">proposal</a>&nbsp;for the farm bill in early May but said she is waiting for language from Republicans before they can move forward.Among other things, Stabenow’s bill would boost eligibility for nutrition programs for low-income people like SNAP. Stabenow made public a summary of the bill, but not legislative text.Arkansas Republican John Boozman, the Senate Agriculture Committee’s top Republican, said Thursday he supports the direction on the farm bill from the House Agriculture Committee but was not optimistic about swift movement in his chamber.“We’ve got a lot of headwinds,” Boozman said in an interview with&nbsp;States Newsroom&nbsp;Thursday.Boozman said he plans to release language in the coming weeks but indicated lawmakers might be headed toward another extension if they cannot make progress swiftly.“When I visit with the farm groups, I think their attitude is that rather than just doing something, if it’s not meaningful, we’re better off waiting,” Boozman told States Newsroom. “This is a five-year commitment. And, again, if we’re not going to do meaningful changes, to improve the safety of the farmers, it’s probably not worth doing.”<h2>Election issue</h2>The farm bill is generally considered “must-pass” legislation. Lawmakers must rewrite the sweeping legislation every five years to set mandatory funding levels and policy. The current farm bill expired at the end of September 2023 but most programs have continued through extensions.The current extension lasts until the end of September, but it is not clear if lawmakers will make that deadline – especially as attention turns to election campaigns over the summer and fall.The farm bill votes could be fuel in upcoming elections.As the House committee debated the measure Thursday, the GOP candidate in the Michigan U.S. Senate race to replace Stabenow criticized Democratic candidate and committee member Elissa Slotkin for her stance on the bill. Republican Mike Rogers took to X (formerly Twitter) to say Slotkin had not focused enough on the bill.<h2>More negotiations ahead</h2>While the House committee engaged in 13 hours of debate on the farm bill markup, both Democrats and Republicans acknowledged that there would need to be more negotiations on the bill before it could become law.Rep. Frank Lucas, an Oklahoma Republican and longtime committee member who chaired the panel from 2011 to 2015, characterized the committee vote as “the first step of a long journey.”“Now, ultimately, ultimately, we must work with each other to advance a comprehensive committee product,” Lucas said.“As we begin this process, I want to remind all my colleagues, the real struggle is not here in the Ag Committee, but on the floor of the United States House and in the conference committee. We will sort out our differences with the United States Senate.”Jennifer Shutt contributed to this report.