TOPEKA —It was a deadly holiday weekend on Kansas highways. Seven people died in four accidents.

&nbsp;The first fatality occurred just before 1p.m. Friday in Sedgwick County. The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2010 Buick LaCrosse driven by Eugene Judson Theodore&nbsp;Stumblingbear, 44,&nbsp; Attica, was eastbound in the westbound lanes of Kansas 42 one quarter mile east of S 279th Street W.

The car struck a westbound 2024 Western Star semi driven by Donald David&nbsp;Piotrowski, 54,Valley Center, head-on.

Stumblingbear was pronounced dead at the scene and transported to&nbsp; Sedgwick County Forensic Science Center. EMS transported&nbsp;Piotrowski to&nbsp;Ascension Via Christi St Francis. The KHP had incomplete seat belt usage details.

Just after 10a.m. Saturday in Coffey County, the Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2009 Toyota Camry driven by Dallas R.&nbsp;Reeves, 20, Janesville, Wisconsin, was southbound on U.S. 75 just north of 8th Road.

The car was&nbsp;passing another vehicle. A northbound 2021 Chevy Silverado driven by Charles L&nbsp;Jarrell, 46, Leroy, Kansas, attempted to avoid a collision, slowed and steered to the northbound shoulder.

The Camry driver also steered to the northbound shoulder and collided with the pickup. After impact, the car spun and came to rest in the northbound lane and shoulder. The pickup came to a rest in the north ditch.

Reeves was pronounced dead at the scene and was transported to&nbsp;Jones Funeral Home. EMS transported&nbsp;Jarrell and a 6-ear-old passenger from the pickup to the Coffey County Hospital.&nbsp; All three were properly restrained, according to the KHP.

&nbsp;Four people died in an accident just before 3p.m. Saturday in Dickinson County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2013 Hyundai Elantra driven by Dawn Rae&nbsp;Peel, 30, Herington, was&nbsp;eastbound on Kansas 4 four miles west of Kansas 15 Highway.

The car crossed the center line and struck a westbound 2025 Chevy Traverse driven by Adam Gerhart&nbsp;Henely, 23, Salina, head-on.

Peel, and 2 passengers in the car including 71-year-old Peggy Ann Sutton of&nbsp;Bartlesville, Oklahoma, and an 8-year-old boy from Herington were pronounced dead at the scene and transported to Martin Becker Carlson Funeral Home.&nbsp; A passenger in the SUV identified as 57-year-old Denise Renee&nbsp;Henely of Herington also died at the scene and was transported to Martin Becker Carlson Funeral Home.

EMS transported an 8-year-old male passenger from the car and a 14-year-old male passenger from the SUV, both of Herington to Wesley Medical Center.

Henely and and a third passenger in the SUV were not transported for treatment. All eight were properly restrained, according to the KHP.

One person died in an accident just after 2a.m. Sunday in Geary County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2020 Ford Fusion driven by Richard B. Roberts, 20, Sebring, Florida, was northbound on U.S. 77 at Old Milford Road at a high rate of speed. The car entered into the east ditch, struck a tree and caught fire.

Roberts was pronounced dead at the scene and was transported to Johnson Funeral Home. He was properly restrained, according to the KHP.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/5/1748055276795.png" alt="First responders on the scene Friday afternoon -photo courtesy KWCH" />
 <figcaption>First responders on the scene Friday afternoon -photo courtesy KWCH</figcaption>
 </figure>TOPEKA —It was a deadly holiday weekend on Kansas highways. Seven people died in four accidents.&nbsp;The first fatality occurred just before 1p.m. Friday in Sedgwick County. The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2010 Buick LaCrosse driven by Eugene Judson Theodore&nbsp;Stumblingbear, 44,&nbsp; Attica, was eastbound in the westbound lanes of Kansas 42 one quarter mile east of S 279th Street W.The car struck a westbound 2024 Western Star semi driven by Donald David&nbsp;Piotrowski, 54,Valley Center, head-on.Stumblingbear was pronounced dead at the scene and transported to&nbsp; Sedgwick County Forensic Science Center. EMS transported&nbsp;Piotrowski to&nbsp;Ascension Via Christi St Francis. The KHP had incomplete seat belt usage details.Just after 10a.m. Saturday in Coffey County, the Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2009 Toyota Camry driven by Dallas R.&nbsp;Reeves, 20, Janesville, Wisconsin, was southbound on U.S. 75 just north of 8th Road.The car was&nbsp;passing another vehicle. A northbound 2021 Chevy Silverado driven by Charles L&nbsp;Jarrell, 46, Leroy, Kansas, attempted to avoid a collision, slowed and steered to the northbound shoulder.The Camry driver also steered to the northbound shoulder and collided with the pickup. After impact, the car spun and came to rest in the northbound lane and shoulder. The pickup came to a rest in the north ditch.Reeves was pronounced dead at the scene and was transported to&nbsp;Jones Funeral Home. EMS transported&nbsp;Jarrell and a 6-ear-old passenger from the pickup to the Coffey County Hospital.&nbsp; All three were properly restrained, according to the KHP.&nbsp;Four people died in an accident just before 3p.m. Saturday in Dickinson County.The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2013 Hyundai Elantra driven by Dawn Rae&nbsp;Peel, 30, Herington, was&nbsp;eastbound on Kansas 4 four miles west of Kansas 15 Highway.The car crossed the center line and struck a westbound 2025 Chevy Traverse driven by Adam Gerhart&nbsp;Henely, 23, Salina, head-on.Peel, and 2 passengers in the car including 71-year-old Peggy Ann Sutton of&nbsp;Bartlesville, Oklahoma, and an 8-year-old boy from Herington were pronounced dead at the scene and transported to Martin Becker Carlson Funeral Home.&nbsp; A passenger in the SUV identified as 57-year-old Denise Renee&nbsp;Henely of Herington also died at the scene and was transported to Martin Becker Carlson Funeral Home.EMS transported an 8-year-old male passenger from the car and a 14-year-old male passenger from the SUV, both of Herington to Wesley Medical Center.Henely and and a third passenger in the SUV were not transported for treatment. All eight were properly restrained, according to the KHP.One person died in an accident just after 2a.m. Sunday in Geary County.The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2020 Ford Fusion driven by Richard B. Roberts, 20, Sebring, Florida, was northbound on U.S. 77 at Old Milford Road at a high rate of speed. The car entered into the east ditch, struck a tree and caught fire.Roberts was pronounced dead at the scene and was transported to Johnson Funeral Home. He was properly restrained, according to the KHP.

Deadly holiday weekend on Kansas highways

CALICO ROCK, Ark. (AP) —As law officers search Arkansas' rugged Ozark Mountains for a former police chief and convicted killer, the sister of one of his victims is on edge.

Grant Hardin, the former police chief in the small town of Gateway near the Arkansas-Missouri border,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/police-chief-arkansas-prison-escape-grant-hardin-280127e9737bc8e8e0d6388d7f268bd1">was serving lengthy sentences for murder and rape</a>&nbsp;and became known as the “Devil in the Ozarks.”

Hardin escaped Sunday from the North Central Unit in Calico Rock by disguising himself and wearing a “makeshift outfit designed to mimic law enforcement,” state prison officials said in a statement.

“I don't think he will be taken alive,” said Cheryl Tillman, whose brother James Appleton was killed by Hardin in 2017. “He won't go peacefully.”

Sheriff's deputies in multiple northern Arkansas counties have been working with state prison officials to follow leads and search the rugged terrain in the Ozarks, Izard County Sheriff Charley Melton said in an update late Monday.

“To the citizens of Izard County and surrounding counties, please stay vigilant, lock your house and vehicle doors and report any suspicious activity by calling 911 immediately,” Melton said. Other sheriffs were issuing similar warnings about Hardin, who was the focus of a 2023 documentary, “Devil in the Ozarks.”

In an interview Tuesday, Tillman said she wasn't surprised when she heard that Hardin had escaped. But the news suddenly added fresh pain for her and other family members after dealing with the grief from the killing.

“He's just an evil man,” she said. “He is no good for society.”

Hardin being on the run is also alarming to Tillman and other family members since they were witnesses in his court proceedings.

“We were there at his trial when all that went down, and he seen us there, he knows,” she said.

Hardin pleaded guilty in October 2017 to first-degree murder in connection with the shooting death of Appleton, 59. Appleton worked for the Gateway water department when he was shot in the head on Feb. 23, 2017, near Garfield. Police found Appleton’s body inside a car. Investigators at the time did not release a motive for the killing.

Hardin, who was Gateway’s police chief for about four months in early 2016, was sentenced to 30 years in prison. He is also serving 50 years in prison for the 1997 rape of an elementary school teacher in Rogers north of Fayetteville.

Hardin had been held in Calico Rock since 2017. Tillman believes he had been planning his escape for a while.

“I'm sure it was in the makings for the eight years that he was there,” she said.

CALICO ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A former police chief in Arkansas who is serving decades-long sentences for murder and rape escaped from prison Sunday, state corrections officials said.

Grant Hardin, the former police chief of the tiny town of Gateway near the Arkansas-Missouri border, escaped from the North Central Unit in Calico Rock, where he has been held since 2017. Corrections officials did not provide any details about how he escaped.

They did say that Garvin had disguised himself and was “wearing a makeshift outfit designed to mimic law enforcement when he escaped the North Central Unit.”

The Division of Correction and the Division of Community Correction are following leads with local, state and federal law enforcement agencies.

On Monday night, officials reported they continue to utilize a variety of means to track Hardin, as well as investigating the events that led up to his escape

Hardin pleaded guilty in October 2017 to first-degree murder in connection with the shooting death of 59-year-old James Appleton. According to an affidavit filed in the case, Appleton worked for the Gateway water department and was talking to his brother-in-law, then Gateway Mayor Andrew Tillman, when he was shot in the head on Feb. 23, 2017 near Garfield. Police found Appleton’s body inside a car.

KFSM-TV, reporting on his guilty plea in 2019, wrote that police used DNA samples from the crime scene to apply for a John Doe Warrant in 2003 as the statute of limitations neared. The DNA was tested against old and new profiles, and investigators got a match when Hardin was imprisoned for killing Appleton.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/5/1748309291610.png" alt="It has been determined that Hardin was wearing a makeshift outfit designed to mimic law enforcement when he escaped the facility.&nbsp;" />
 <figcaption>It has been determined that Hardin was wearing a makeshift outfit designed to mimic law enforcement when he escaped the facility.&nbsp;</figcaption>
 </figure>CALICO ROCK, Ark. (AP) —As law officers search Arkansas' rugged Ozark Mountains for a former police chief and convicted killer, the sister of one of his victims is on edge.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/5/1748354598066.png" alt="Hardin escaped through the sally port wearing an ADC type uniform -photo ADC" />
 <figcaption>Hardin escaped through the sally port wearing an ADC type uniform -photo ADC</figcaption>
 </figure>Grant Hardin, the former police chief in the small town of Gateway near the Arkansas-Missouri border,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/police-chief-arkansas-prison-escape-grant-hardin-280127e9737bc8e8e0d6388d7f268bd1">was serving lengthy sentences for murder and rape</a>&nbsp;and became known as the “Devil in the Ozarks.”Hardin escaped Sunday from the North Central Unit in Calico Rock by disguising himself and wearing a “makeshift outfit designed to mimic law enforcement,” state prison officials said in a statement.“I don't think he will be taken alive,” said Cheryl Tillman, whose brother James Appleton was killed by Hardin in 2017. “He won't go peacefully.”Sheriff's deputies in multiple northern Arkansas counties have been working with state prison officials to follow leads and search the rugged terrain in the Ozarks, Izard County Sheriff Charley Melton said in an update late Monday.“To the citizens of Izard County and surrounding counties, please stay vigilant, lock your house and vehicle doors and report any suspicious activity by calling 911 immediately,” Melton said. Other sheriffs were issuing similar warnings about Hardin, who was the focus of a 2023 documentary, “Devil in the Ozarks.”In an interview Tuesday, Tillman said she wasn't surprised when she heard that Hardin had escaped. But the news suddenly added fresh pain for her and other family members after dealing with the grief from the killing.“He's just an evil man,” she said. “He is no good for society.”Hardin being on the run is also alarming to Tillman and other family members since they were witnesses in his court proceedings.“We were there at his trial when all that went down, and he seen us there, he knows,” she said.Hardin pleaded guilty in October 2017 to first-degree murder in connection with the shooting death of Appleton, 59. Appleton worked for the Gateway water department when he was shot in the head on Feb. 23, 2017, near Garfield. Police found Appleton’s body inside a car. Investigators at the time did not release a motive for the killing.Hardin, who was Gateway’s police chief for about four months in early 2016, was sentenced to 30 years in prison. He is also serving 50 years in prison for the 1997 rape of an elementary school teacher in Rogers north of Fayetteville.Hardin had been held in Calico Rock since 2017. Tillman believes he had been planning his escape for a while.“I'm sure it was in the makings for the eight years that he was there,” she said.CALICO ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A former police chief in Arkansas who is serving decades-long sentences for murder and rape escaped from prison Sunday, state corrections officials said.Grant Hardin, the former police chief of the tiny town of Gateway near the Arkansas-Missouri border, escaped from the North Central Unit in Calico Rock, where he has been held since 2017. Corrections officials did not provide any details about how he escaped.They did say that Garvin had disguised himself and was “wearing a makeshift outfit designed to mimic law enforcement when he escaped the North Central Unit.”The Division of Correction and the Division of Community Correction are following leads with local, state and federal law enforcement agencies.On Monday night, officials reported they continue to utilize a variety of means to track Hardin, as well as investigating the events that led up to his escapeHardin pleaded guilty in October 2017 to first-degree murder in connection with the shooting death of 59-year-old James Appleton. According to an affidavit filed in the case, Appleton worked for the Gateway water department and was talking to his brother-in-law, then Gateway Mayor Andrew Tillman, when he was shot in the head on Feb. 23, 2017 near Garfield. Police found Appleton’s body inside a car.Hardin, who was Gateway’s police chief for about four months in early 2016, was sentenced to 30 years in prison. He is also serving 50 years in prison for the 1997 rape of an elementary school teacher in Rogers north of Fayetteville.KFSM-TV, reporting on his guilty plea in 2019, wrote that police used DNA samples from the crime scene to apply for a John Doe Warrant in 2003 as the statute of limitations neared. The DNA was tested against old and new profiles, and investigators got a match when Hardin was imprisoned for killing Appleton.

Manhunt continues: Escape of 'Devil in the Ozarks' has residents on edge

NEW YORK (AP) — National Public Radio and three of its local stations filed a lawsuit Tuesday against President Donald Trump, arguing that an executive order aimed at cutting federal funding for the organization is illegal.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Washington by NPR, Colorado Public Radio, Aspen Public Radio and KUTE, Inc. argues that Trump’s executive order to slash public subsidies to PBS and NPR violates the First Amendment.

Trump issued the executive order earlier this month that instructs the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and other federal agencies “to cease Federal funding for NPR and PBS” and requires that they work to root out indirect sources of public financing for the news organizations. Trump issued the order after alleging there is “bias” in the broadcasters’ reporting.

“The Order’s objectives could not be clearer: the Order aims to punish NPR for the content of news and other programming the President dislikes and chill the free exercise of First Amendment rights by NPR and individual public radio stations across the country,” the lawsuit alleges.

“The Order is textbook retaliation and viewpoint-based discrimination in violation of the First Amendment, and it interferes with NPR’s and the Local Member Stations’ freedom of expressive association and editorial discretion," it said.

The court fight seemed preordained, given that the heads of NPR and PBS&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-pbs-npr-media-funding-8b51113b8edd932aa850235318b73e53">both reacted to Trump's move</a>&nbsp;with statements that they believed it was illegal. The absence of PBS from Tuesday's filing indicates the two systems will challenge this separately; PBS has not yet gone to court, but is likely to soon.

The president's attempts to dismantle government-run news sources like&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/voice-of-america-trump-f30c48df0c16de622ec5fd99ee6c627c">Voice of America</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/radio-free-europe-5e0b2355ad9cee4ad09a3e03b53df8fa">Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty</a>&nbsp;have also sparked court fights.

The administration has battled with the press on several fronts. The Federal Communications Commission is investigating ABC, CBS and NBC News. The Associated Press also&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-media-ap-access-white-house-12ef5a496d3da10d0461641b26dd9d47">went to court</a>&nbsp;after the administration restricted access to certain events in response to the organization's decision not to rename the Gulf of Mexico as Trump decreed.

NEW YORK (AP) — National Public Radio and three of its local stations filed a lawsuit Tuesday against President Donald Trump, arguing that an executive order aimed at cutting federal funding for the organization is illegal.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/5/1748356793271.png" alt=" " />
 <figcaption> </figcaption>
 </figure>The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Washington by NPR, Colorado Public Radio, Aspen Public Radio and KUTE, Inc. argues that Trump’s executive order to slash public subsidies to PBS and NPR violates the First Amendment.Trump issued the executive order earlier this month that instructs the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and other federal agencies “to cease Federal funding for NPR and PBS” and requires that they work to root out indirect sources of public financing for the news organizations. Trump issued the order after alleging there is “bias” in the broadcasters’ reporting.“The Order’s objectives could not be clearer: the Order aims to punish NPR for the content of news and other programming the President dislikes and chill the free exercise of First Amendment rights by NPR and individual public radio stations across the country,” the lawsuit alleges.“The Order is textbook retaliation and viewpoint-based discrimination in violation of the First Amendment, and it interferes with NPR’s and the Local Member Stations’ freedom of expressive association and editorial discretion," it said.The court fight seemed preordained, given that the heads of NPR and PBS&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-pbs-npr-media-funding-8b51113b8edd932aa850235318b73e53">both reacted to Trump's move</a>&nbsp;with statements that they believed it was illegal. The absence of PBS from Tuesday's filing indicates the two systems will challenge this separately; PBS has not yet gone to court, but is likely to soon.The president's attempts to dismantle government-run news sources like&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/voice-of-america-trump-f30c48df0c16de622ec5fd99ee6c627c">Voice of America</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/radio-free-europe-5e0b2355ad9cee4ad09a3e03b53df8fa">Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty</a>&nbsp;have also sparked court fights.The administration has battled with the press on several fronts. The Federal Communications Commission is investigating ABC, CBS and NBC News. The Associated Press also&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-media-ap-access-white-house-12ef5a496d3da10d0461641b26dd9d47">went to court</a>&nbsp;after the administration restricted access to certain events in response to the organization's decision not to rename the Gulf of Mexico as Trump decreed.

NPR sues Trump admin. over order to cut federal funding to public media

SEDGWICK COUNTY —A Kansas man accused in vehicle crash that left another man dead made his first court appearance in the case Thursday and was released from custody.

Christian Sheppard, 33 of Wichita, is charged with 2nd degree murder, according to the Sedgwick County District Attorney's office.

On Dec. 29, police responded to a collision in the 200 block of N. Charles Street in Wichita, according to a media release. First responders found the vehicle that struck a tree and fence and caught fire. A passenger, identified as 32-year-old Chekiel Wright, died, and the driver, later identified as Sheppard was seriously injured.

On May 21, police arrested Sheppard.&nbsp;&nbsp;He is scheduled back in court on June 5,&nbsp; before Judge Tyler Roush, according to the district attorney's office. Shortly after his court appearance, he met the requirement of a $250,000 bond and was released from custody, according to online jail records.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/5/1747917397070.png" alt="&nbsp;Sheppard photo Sedgwick County" />
 <figcaption>&nbsp;Sheppard photo Sedgwick County</figcaption>
 </figure>SEDGWICK COUNTY —A Kansas man accused in vehicle crash that left another man dead made his first court appearance in the case Thursday and was released from custody.Christian Sheppard, 33 of Wichita, is charged with 2nd degree murder, according to the Sedgwick County District Attorney's office.On Dec. 29, police responded to a collision in the 200 block of N. Charles Street in Wichita, according to a media release. First responders found the vehicle that struck a tree and fence and caught fire. A passenger, identified as 32-year-old Chekiel Wright, died, and the driver, later identified as Sheppard was seriously injured.On May 21, police arrested Sheppard.&nbsp;&nbsp;He is scheduled back in court on June 5,&nbsp; before Judge Tyler Roush, according to the district attorney's office. Shortly after his court appearance, he met the requirement of a $250,000 bond and was released from custody, according to online jail records.

Kansas man charged in fatal crash and fire is no longer in jail

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans were jubilant after&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/congress-tax-cuts-trump-f2c60ae5c7c1313de69446f9ac7176e6">muscling through</a>&nbsp;President Donald Trump’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/big-beautiful-bill-trump-tax-cuts-medicaid-00ce1ff8a7b7fea7a894d38398748c6b">“big, beautiful” tax and immigration package</a>&nbsp;by a single vote. But across the Capitol, senators were more cautious.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune can afford to lose three Republican senators and still pass the bill, and there are more than that, right now, who have problems with it. Like the House, he will have to balance the concerns from moderate and conservative members of his conference.

Republicans’ aspirational deadline is July 4, ahead of a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/debt-ceiling-treasury-finance-xdate-73b690e943ec3e9ce60130cc7a254305">potential debt default</a>. Thune said groups of senators had already been meeting to discuss the legislation and that they would want to take some time to review it. “And then we’ll put our stamp on it,” he said.

“We’ll see how it goes,” Thune said. “What does it take to get to 51?”

A look at a few of the potential sticking points in the Senate:

Several Republican senators have said the House’s multi-trillion-dollar tax package doesn’t have enough savings. Thune said many in his GOP conference favor the tax breaks in the bill but “when it comes to the spending side of the equation, this is a unique moment in time, in history, where we have the House and the Senate and the White House, and an opportunity to do something meaningful about how to control government spending.”

Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., a sharp critic of the House bill, wants the United States to go back to pre-pandemic spending levels. He has indicated he would be a no on the bill as it stands now, and he says he has at least three other senators aligned with him.

Senate Republicans are generally on board with stricter work requirements for older Medicaid recipients that make up much of the bill’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/medicaid-cuts-trump-tax-cuts-bill-1e2b12a91a3d12ceb0420ce7053de58e">$700 billion savings from the program</a>. But Republican Sens. Josh Hawley of Missouri, Jerry Moran of Kansas and Susan Collins of Maine, among others, have voiced concerns about other changes in the bill that could potentially cut funding to rural hospitals or increase copays and other health care costs for recipients.

The senators could have a powerful ally in Trump, who has frequently said he doesn’t want cuts to Medicaid, even as he’s endorsed the House bill. Hawley said he talked to Trump this week on the phone and “his exact words were, ‘Don’t touch it, Josh.’”

Others have been wary of the House bill’s effort to shift some costs of the food stamp program to states, potentially a major issue for some red states that have high numbers of food aid recipients. The House bill saves $290 billion from the food aid, and Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman John Boozman said the Senate savings will be “probably be a little bit lower.”

Thune said this week that “one of the principal differences” between the House and Senate is that Republican senators want to make many of the tax cuts permanent while the House bill has shorter time frames for many of its cuts — including&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/no-tax-on-tips-things-to-know-budget-bill-02b9d99dbe17cef93a81bc0cbb2cffcb">no taxes on tips</a>, overtime pay, car-loan interest and others.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Mike Crapo said Thursday that trying to make some of the cuts permanent is “an objective right now.”

One of the biggest questions for the Senate: whether the tax breaks really need to be offset by cuts elsewhere.

To offset the costs of lost tax revenue, House Republicans have proposed more than $1 trillion in spending reductions across Medicaid, food stamps and green energy program rollbacks. However, Republicans in the Senate do not believe there is a cost associated with permanently extending the existing taxes, setting up a political and procedural showdown ahead.

The House bill includes a $4 trillion increase in the debt limit. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has warned that the United States is on track to run out of money to pay its bills as early as August without congressional action.

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said he won’t support the bill if the debt ceiling increase is included. He said he’s willing to consider it if it’s taken out.

But most Republican senators want it to avoid a separate fight that would require 60 votes in the Senate. Texas Sen. John Cornyn said that if they deal with the debt ceiling outside of the legislation then they would have to “pay a king’s ransom” to Democrats to get enough votes.

Several Republican senators have said they are concerned about House provisions that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/congress-clean-energy-reconciliation-tax-credits-trump-c66009b4ac41a37517429bc08df26251">repeal or phase out clean energy tax credits</a>&nbsp;passed in 2022 that have spurred investment in many states.

Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Thom Tillis of North Carolina, John Curtis of Utah and Moran wrote Thune a letter last month arguing that removing the credits could “create uncertainty, jeopardizing capital allocation, long-term project planning, and job creation in the energy sector and across our broader economy.”

The House bill would&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ai-regulation-state-moratorium-congress-39d1c8a0758ffe0242283bb82f66d51a">ban states and localities from regulating artificial intelligence</a>&nbsp;for a decade, giving the federal government more control over the policy. It’s an approach that has been favored by the AI industry but has drawn concern from members on both sides of the aisle.

And even if it has enough support, the provision may not pass muster from the Senate parliamentarian because it’s unlikely to have impact on the federal budget.

With a narrow margin for victory and only 53 Republicans in the Senate, every senator’s top priority takes on outsize importance. South Dakota Sen. Mike Rounds said he supports the House bill but that the way that it deals with spectrum auctions — selling off telecommunications signal rights — is a “dealbreaker” for him. He said he’s in talks with other senators on the issue.

Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., said one of his main goals is that they include money for certain farm safety net programs and set up passage for a broader farm bill later this year.

“In the end, we have to have 50 plus one supporting it,” Hoeven said. “So we’ve got some work to do.”

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans were jubilant after&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/congress-tax-cuts-trump-f2c60ae5c7c1313de69446f9ac7176e6">muscling through</a>&nbsp;President Donald Trump’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/big-beautiful-bill-trump-tax-cuts-medicaid-00ce1ff8a7b7fea7a894d38398748c6b">“big, beautiful” tax and immigration package</a>&nbsp;by a single vote. But across the Capitol, senators were more cautious.Senate Majority Leader John Thune can afford to lose three Republican senators and still pass the bill, and there are more than that, right now, who have problems with it. Like the House, he will have to balance the concerns from moderate and conservative members of his conference.Republicans’ aspirational deadline is July 4, ahead of a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/debt-ceiling-treasury-finance-xdate-73b690e943ec3e9ce60130cc7a254305">potential debt default</a>. Thune said groups of senators had already been meeting to discuss the legislation and that they would want to take some time to review it. “And then we’ll put our stamp on it,” he said.“We’ll see how it goes,” Thune said. “What does it take to get to 51?”<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">President <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@realDonaldTrump</a> is the greatest political closer of all time. In the Senate, my Republican colleagues and I are going to make the One Big, Beautiful Bill stronger by coming up with even more savings. <a href="https://t.co/l2AATx1l7U">pic.twitter.com/l2AATx1l7U</a>&mdash; Dr. Roger Marshall (@RogerMarshallMD) <a href="https://twitter.com/RogerMarshallMD/status/1926758837148684460?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 25, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>A look at a few of the potential sticking points in the Senate:<h2>Spending</h2>Several Republican senators have said the House’s multi-trillion-dollar tax package doesn’t have enough savings. Thune said many in his GOP conference favor the tax breaks in the bill but “when it comes to the spending side of the equation, this is a unique moment in time, in history, where we have the House and the Senate and the White House, and an opportunity to do something meaningful about how to control government spending.”Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., a sharp critic of the House bill, wants the United States to go back to pre-pandemic spending levels. He has indicated he would be a no on the bill as it stands now, and he says he has at least three other senators aligned with him.<h2>Medicaid and food stamp cuts</h2>Senate Republicans are generally on board with stricter work requirements for older Medicaid recipients that make up much of the bill’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/medicaid-cuts-trump-tax-cuts-bill-1e2b12a91a3d12ceb0420ce7053de58e">$700 billion savings from the program</a>. But Republican Sens. Josh Hawley of Missouri, Jerry Moran of Kansas and Susan Collins of Maine, among others, have voiced concerns about other changes in the bill that could potentially cut funding to rural hospitals or increase copays and other health care costs for recipients.The senators could have a powerful ally in Trump, who has frequently said he doesn’t want cuts to Medicaid, even as he’s endorsed the House bill. Hawley said he talked to Trump this week on the phone and “his exact words were, ‘Don’t touch it, Josh.’”Others have been wary of the House bill’s effort to shift some costs of the food stamp program to states, potentially a major issue for some red states that have high numbers of food aid recipients. The House bill saves $290 billion from the food aid, and Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman John Boozman said the Senate savings will be “probably be a little bit lower.”<h2>Permanent tax cuts</h2>Thune said this week that “one of the principal differences” between the House and Senate is that Republican senators want to make many of the tax cuts permanent while the House bill has shorter time frames for many of its cuts — including&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/no-tax-on-tips-things-to-know-budget-bill-02b9d99dbe17cef93a81bc0cbb2cffcb">no taxes on tips</a>, overtime pay, car-loan interest and others.Senate Finance Committee Chairman Mike Crapo said Thursday that trying to make some of the cuts permanent is “an objective right now.”<h2>How to pay for it all</h2>One of the biggest questions for the Senate: whether the tax breaks really need to be offset by cuts elsewhere.To offset the costs of lost tax revenue, House Republicans have proposed more than $1 trillion in spending reductions across Medicaid, food stamps and green energy program rollbacks. However, Republicans in the Senate do not believe there is a cost associated with permanently extending the existing taxes, setting up a political and procedural showdown ahead.<h2>Debt limit</h2>The House bill includes a $4 trillion increase in the debt limit. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has warned that the United States is on track to run out of money to pay its bills as early as August without congressional action.Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said he won’t support the bill if the debt ceiling increase is included. He said he’s willing to consider it if it’s taken out.But most Republican senators want it to avoid a separate fight that would require 60 votes in the Senate. Texas Sen. John Cornyn said that if they deal with the debt ceiling outside of the legislation then they would have to “pay a king’s ransom” to Democrats to get enough votes.<h2>Energy tax credits</h2>Several Republican senators have said they are concerned about House provisions that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/congress-clean-energy-reconciliation-tax-credits-trump-c66009b4ac41a37517429bc08df26251">repeal or phase out clean energy tax credits</a>&nbsp;passed in 2022 that have spurred investment in many states.Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Thom Tillis of North Carolina, John Curtis of Utah and Moran wrote Thune a letter last month arguing that removing the credits could “create uncertainty, jeopardizing capital allocation, long-term project planning, and job creation in the energy sector and across our broader economy.”<h2>Artificial intelligence</h2>The House bill would&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ai-regulation-state-moratorium-congress-39d1c8a0758ffe0242283bb82f66d51a">ban states and localities from regulating artificial intelligence</a>&nbsp;for a decade, giving the federal government more control over the policy. It’s an approach that has been favored by the AI industry but has drawn concern from members on both sides of the aisle.And even if it has enough support, the provision may not pass muster from the Senate parliamentarian because it’s unlikely to have impact on the federal budget.<h2>Other issues</h2>With a narrow margin for victory and only 53 Republicans in the Senate, every senator’s top priority takes on outsize importance. South Dakota Sen. Mike Rounds said he supports the House bill but that the way that it deals with spectrum auctions — selling off telecommunications signal rights — is a “dealbreaker” for him. He said he’s in talks with other senators on the issue.Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., said one of his main goals is that they include money for certain farm safety net programs and set up passage for a broader farm bill later this year.“In the end, we have to have 50 plus one supporting it,” Hoeven said. “So we’ve got some work to do.”___

What issues to watch as ‘big, beautiful bill’ moves to the Senate

WICHITA, Kan. — The Wichita Police Department is investigating a deadly shooting that occurred early Sunday in Wichita and have a man in custody identified as 19-year-old Matthew Wayne Criscenso, according to Sedgwick County booking records.&nbsp;

The victim has been identified as 20-year-old Naomi Oglesby, a resident of Wichita. At the time of the incident, she was pregnant, according to Office Rick Pena. Despite the efforts of medical personnel, she was pronounced dead at 5:04 a.m.&nbsp; &nbsp;<a href="https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-naomis-family-after-her-untimely-loss?attribution_id=sl:2d18a7a3-5ebf-4f8e-b662-ed72c4175c96&amp;lang=en_US&amp;ts=1748307018&amp;utm_campaign=fp_sharesheet&amp;utm_content=amp13_t1-amp14_c-amp15_t2&amp;utm_medium=customer&amp;utm_source=email"> Click here to visit the online fundraiser.</a>

Doctors were able to deliver her infant, who is currently receiving care in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at a Wichita hospital.&nbsp; 

Police arrested Criscenso in the 700 Block of Laura Street and just before 10a.m. Sunday booked him into jail on requested charges of first-degree murder, battery, domestic battery, disorderly conduct, criminal restraint and contempt of court, according to online jail records.&nbsp; He is expected to make a court appearance on the charges this week.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/5/1748340707658.png" alt="Naomi Oglesby photo GoFundMe" />
 <figcaption>Naomi Oglesby photo GoFundMe</figcaption>
 </figure>WICHITA, Kan. — The Wichita Police Department is investigating a deadly shooting that occurred early Sunday in Wichita and have a man in custody identified as 19-year-old Matthew Wayne Criscenso, according to Sedgwick County booking records.&nbsp;<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/5/1748259337812.png" alt="Criscenzo -photo Sedgwick County" />
 <figcaption>Criscenzo -photo Sedgwick County</figcaption>
 </figure>The victim has been identified as 20-year-old Naomi Oglesby, a resident of Wichita. At the time of the incident, she was pregnant, according to Office Rick Pena. Despite the efforts of medical personnel, she was pronounced dead at 5:04 a.m.&nbsp; &nbsp;<a href="https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-naomis-family-after-her-untimely-loss?attribution_id=sl:2d18a7a3-5ebf-4f8e-b662-ed72c4175c96&amp;lang=en_US&amp;ts=1748307018&amp;utm_campaign=fp_sharesheet&amp;utm_content=amp13_t1-amp14_c-amp15_t2&amp;utm_medium=customer&amp;utm_source=email"> Click here to visit the online fundraiser.</a><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/5/1748212324516.png" alt="Police near the scene of the investigation -photo courtesy KWCH" />
 <figcaption>Police near the scene of the investigation -photo courtesy KWCH</figcaption>
 </figure>Doctors were able to deliver her infant, who is currently receiving care in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at a Wichita hospital.&nbsp; Police arrested Criscenso in the 700 Block of Laura Street and just before 10a.m. Sunday booked him into jail on requested charges of first-degree murder, battery, domestic battery, disorderly conduct, criminal restraint and contempt of court, according to online jail records.&nbsp; He is expected to make a court appearance on the charges this week.

Suspect accused of killing pregnant Kansas woman; baby survived

&nbsp;WYANDOTTE COUNTY—Only one person was injured in an accident in heavy rain just before noon Sunday in Wyandotte County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2012 Nissan Quest driven by Lorena&nbsp;Rodriguez-Guarini, 36, Kansas City, Kansas, was southbound on Interstate 635 at State Avenue.&nbsp; The driver lost control on the wet roadway. The van traveled off the road and overturned.

EMS transported a 16-year-old female passenger to Children's Mercy for treatment of a minor injury. Rodriguez-Guarini and three other passengers including a 5-year-old girl, a 7-year-old boy and a 40-year-old man were not injured. All were properly restrained, according to the KHP.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/5/1748342472422.png" alt="Images from KC Scout camera" />
 <figcaption>Images from KC Scout camera</figcaption>
 </figure>&nbsp;WYANDOTTE COUNTY—Only one person was injured in an accident in heavy rain just before noon Sunday in Wyandotte County.The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2012 Nissan Quest driven by Lorena&nbsp;Rodriguez-Guarini, 36, Kansas City, Kansas, was southbound on Interstate 635 at State Avenue.&nbsp; The driver lost control on the wet roadway. The van traveled off the road and overturned.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/5/1748342455574.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>EMS transported a 16-year-old female passenger to Children's Mercy for treatment of a minor injury. Rodriguez-Guarini and three other passengers including a 5-year-old girl, a 7-year-old boy and a 40-year-old man were not injured. All were properly restrained, according to the KHP.

Kansas family avoids tragedy after van crash in heavy rain

By:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/sofia-resnick/">Sofia Resnick</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/charlotte-rene-woods/">Charlotte Rene Woods</a>&nbsp; <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/03/30/u-s-judge-rules-insurers-dont-have-to-cover-many-free-preventive-health-services/">States Newsroom</a>

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Abortion pills — and questions over their inherent safety — were back in federal court Monday. Unlike a lawsuit rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court last year, plaintiffs this time are not anti-abortion activists arguing medication abortion should be banned, but abortion providers arguing the remaining restrictions should be lifted to match the drug’s 25-year record of safety and efficacy.

The suit seeks to make abortion pills more accessible by removing several existing restrictions on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s mifepristone-misoprostol regimen first approved in 2000. The drug was approved under the FDA’s drug safety program called Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS), provisions of which have been steadily eliminated over time but not fully.

On behalf of independent providers in Virginia, Montana, and Kansas, Center for Reproductive Rights senior counsel Linda Goldstein argued the FDA’s most recent evaluations did not properly assess whether remaining restrictions are still medically necessary. She argued that the biggest risks the FDA has identified with mifepristone — serious bleeding and infection — are not exclusive to the drug but with all pregnancy terminations, including spontaneous miscarriages, which she said affected about 25% of all pregnancies. Beyond abortion, for which the drug has captured attention, mifepristone is also used to treat miscarriages so that they conclude safely to help prevent infection.

“The FDA has acknowledged that staying pregnant is more dangerous than not staying pregnant,” said Goldstein, arguing that at minimum the FDA should be required to explain why drugs that pose similar risks are not subject to the same restrictions.

She noted that of the 20,000 drugs the FDA has approved,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=20%2C000+drugs+the+FDA+has+approved%2C+only+73+have+REMS+provisions&amp;oq=20%2C000+drugs+the+FDA+has+approved%2C+only+73+have+REMS+provisions&amp;gs_lcrp=EgRlZGdlKgYIABBFGDkyBggAEEUYOdIBBzMyNGowajmoAgCwAgE&amp;sourceid=chrome&amp;ie=UTF-8" target="_blank">only 73</a>&nbsp;have REMS provisions, and that mifepristone has proven to be a safe drug over time. About 7.5 million U.S. patients have taken it as of the end of last year, Goldstein said. As of December 2024, the FDA has reported&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fda.gov/drugs/postmarket-drug-safety-information-patients-and-providers/questions-and-answers-mifepristone-medical-termination-pregnancy-through-ten-weeks-gestation#:~:text=As%20of%20December%2031%2C%202024,several%20fatal%20cases%20of%20severe" target="_blank">36 patient deaths</a>&nbsp;associated with mifepristone since it was first approved in 2000.

Whole Woman’s Health Alliance v. FDA is the first time the U.S. Department of Justice is arguing a position on mifepristone in court since the Trump administration took office. Justice Department attorneys said current regulations are necessary for the most common form of pregnancy termination to be considered safe. When asked by the judge, DOJ attorney Noah Katzen did not confirm or deny whether or not the FDA still considers the drug to be safe and effective overall.

“That is what the FDA determined in the past,” Katzen said during the hearing at the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia in Charlottesville, where the case was originally filed in 2023.

Katzen, the FDA’s former associate chief counsel until 2021 and currently a trial attorney for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, said the FDA has found that the evidence was “not sufficient” to conclude the REMS are no longer necessary.

U.S. District Judge Robert S. Ballou, appointed by Democratic President Joe Biden, appeared more sympathetic to plaintiffs’ argument that some of the requirements appear arbitrary in that they don’t apply to other drugs with equal or greater risk, including drugs his parents have taken.&nbsp;

Ballou did not rule at the end of Monday’s hearing but said he would as soon as possible.

After the hearing, Whole Woman’s Health Alliance founder and president Amy Hagstrom Miller told States Newsroom she took note of Katzen’s response about whether the FDA considers mifepristone to be safe and effective.

“It was an interesting choice of words,” she said.

This<a href="https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/67347356/whole-womans-health-alliance-v-united-states-food-and-drug-administration/https:/www.courtlistener.com/docket/67347356/whole-womans-health-alliance-v-united-states-food-and-drug-administration/" target="_blank">&nbsp;lawsuit</a>&nbsp;is among several federal cases involving mifepristone. Earlier this month, the Trump administration filed a brief in the case Missouri v. FDA, requesting the court<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/trump-administration-asks-dismiss-suit-3-gop-states-trying-limit-abortion-pill" target="_blank">&nbsp;dismiss three states’ lawsuit</a>&nbsp;to restrict mifepristone on procedural grounds, but did not comment on the merits of the case or explicitly defend the FDA’s current medication abortion policy.

While the Missouri v. FDA lawsuit seeks to reinstate regulations loosened between 2016 and 2021, the Whole Woman’s Health v. FDA lawsuit takes aim at restrictions that require: medical professionals who prescribe mifepristone to register with the drug manufacturer; pharmacies to apply for special certification and maintain copious records, and patients to review and sign a counseling form.

On behalf of plaintiffs, which include Whole Woman’s Health Alliance in Virginia and other states, All Families Healthcare and Blue Mountain Clinic in Montana, and Trust Women in Kansas, Goldstein argued that these existing rules are burdensome and make these medications harder to access by limiting the number of providers and pharmacies who can provide and dispense it and impede access to time-sensitive care.

Goldstein noted the “political climate” surrounding mifepristone and pointed to how abortion opponents seek either rescinding of FDA approval for mifepristone or a return to the in-person dispensing requirements. She added how efforts to make abortion medication more&nbsp;<a href="https://virginiamercury.com/2024/06/28/mcclellan-spanberger-work-to-repeal-parts-of-19th-century-law-that-could-ban-abortion-nationally/" target="_blank">difficult to obtain</a>&nbsp;are outlined in Project 2025 — the conservative Heritage Foundation’s playbook.

Before and especially since Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022, anti-abortion groups have tried to convince courts that abortion pills, in addition to ending the lives of embryos and fetuses, harm pregnant people at rates that warrant being pulled from the market or at the very least heavily restricted.

During his presidential campaign and since taking office, President Donald Trump and his health appointees have messaged strategically on medication abortion, on the one hand promising to retain its access while also open to examining new evidence suggesting it is unsafe.

Just last week, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said he would direct the FDA to review abortion pill safety and potentially change its drug label, following the release of an&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/hhs-agrees-review-mifepristone-safety-based-anti-abortion-white-papers" target="_blank">anti-abortion white paper</a>&nbsp;commissioned by far-right funders, whose analysis has been widely criticized by reproductive health scientists and is outflanked by hundreds of studies showing a very low rate of serious adverse events.

Hagstrom Miller called the current restrictions “politically motivated” and said overturning them would be especially significant for Virginia, which as the least restrictive state in the South, has seen an uptick in people traveling from elsewhere to receive care.

“They’re not related to the safety of the medication,”&nbsp;Hagstrom Miller&nbsp;said, of the current restrictions. “We just want to ensure that the most popular method for abortion in Virginia and beyond is protected no matter who sits at the White House and who sits in the FDA.”

Virginia is in the process of amending its state constitution to enshrine abortion and other reproductive health care procedures or medications. The&nbsp;<a href="https://virginiamercury.com/2025/02/13/virginia-moves-to-protect-reproductive-and-voting-rights-but-the-fight-is-far-from-over/" target="_blank">constitutional amendment</a>&nbsp;passed the legislature on party-line votes this year and must pass again next year before appearing on ballots for voters statewide. Its continued success or failure hinges on the outcome of the state’s competitive House of Delegates elections — where Democrats hold a slim majority.

While governors don’t have a say in constitutional amendments, the issue is a&nbsp;<a href="https://virginiamercury.com/2025/04/02/virginia-march-for-life-tees-up-constitutional-amendment-ahead-of-this-years-elections/" target="_blank">divergence</a>&nbsp;between gubernatorial candidates Lt. Gov.&nbsp;<a href="https://virginiamercury.com/2025/05/08/earle-sears-morally-opposed-to-virginias-reproductive-rights-amendment-note-shows/" target="_blank">Winsome Earle-Sears</a>&nbsp;and Democratic challenger former Congresswoman&nbsp;<a href="https://virginiamercury.com/2024/06/28/mcclellan-spanberger-work-to-repeal-parts-of-19th-century-law-that-could-ban-abortion-nationally/" target="_blank">Abigail Spanberger</a>. This means that should the amendment fail and partisan control of the House shift, whoever is the next governor could advance or block potential future efforts to walk back Virginia’s current abortion access laws.&nbsp;

“It’s really important that we protect that safe access to medication abortion no matter where people live — Virginia is playing a key role in the South right now,”&nbsp;Hagstrom Miller said.

By:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/sofia-resnick/">Sofia Resnick</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/charlotte-rene-woods/">Charlotte Rene Woods</a>&nbsp; <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/03/30/u-s-judge-rules-insurers-dont-have-to-cover-many-free-preventive-health-services/">States Newsroom</a>CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Abortion pills — and questions over their inherent safety — were back in federal court Monday. Unlike a lawsuit rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court last year, plaintiffs this time are not anti-abortion activists arguing medication abortion should be banned, but abortion providers arguing the remaining restrictions should be lifted to match the drug’s 25-year record of safety and efficacy.The suit seeks to make abortion pills more accessible by removing several existing restrictions on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s mifepristone-misoprostol regimen first approved in 2000. The drug was approved under the FDA’s drug safety program called Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS), provisions of which have been steadily eliminated over time but not fully.On behalf of independent providers in Virginia, Montana, and Kansas, Center for Reproductive Rights senior counsel Linda Goldstein argued the FDA’s most recent evaluations did not properly assess whether remaining restrictions are still medically necessary. She argued that the biggest risks the FDA has identified with mifepristone — serious bleeding and infection — are not exclusive to the drug but with all pregnancy terminations, including spontaneous miscarriages, which she said affected about 25% of all pregnancies. Beyond abortion, for which the drug has captured attention, mifepristone is also used to treat miscarriages so that they conclude safely to help prevent infection.“The FDA has acknowledged that staying pregnant is more dangerous than not staying pregnant,” said Goldstein, arguing that at minimum the FDA should be required to explain why drugs that pose similar risks are not subject to the same restrictions.She noted that of the 20,000 drugs the FDA has approved,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=20%2C000+drugs+the+FDA+has+approved%2C+only+73+have+REMS+provisions&amp;oq=20%2C000+drugs+the+FDA+has+approved%2C+only+73+have+REMS+provisions&amp;gs_lcrp=EgRlZGdlKgYIABBFGDkyBggAEEUYOdIBBzMyNGowajmoAgCwAgE&amp;sourceid=chrome&amp;ie=UTF-8" target="_blank">only 73</a>&nbsp;have REMS provisions, and that mifepristone has proven to be a safe drug over time. About 7.5 million U.S. patients have taken it as of the end of last year, Goldstein said. As of December 2024, the FDA has reported&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fda.gov/drugs/postmarket-drug-safety-information-patients-and-providers/questions-and-answers-mifepristone-medical-termination-pregnancy-through-ten-weeks-gestation#:~:text=As%20of%20December%2031%2C%202024,several%20fatal%20cases%20of%20severe" target="_blank">36 patient deaths</a>&nbsp;associated with mifepristone since it was first approved in 2000.Whole Woman’s Health Alliance v. FDA is the first time the U.S. Department of Justice is arguing a position on mifepristone in court since the Trump administration took office. Justice Department attorneys said current regulations are necessary for the most common form of pregnancy termination to be considered safe. When asked by the judge, DOJ attorney Noah Katzen did not confirm or deny whether or not the FDA still considers the drug to be safe and effective overall.“That is what the FDA determined in the past,” Katzen said during the hearing at the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia in Charlottesville, where the case was originally filed in 2023.Katzen, the FDA’s former associate chief counsel until 2021 and currently a trial attorney for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, said the FDA has found that the evidence was “not sufficient” to conclude the REMS are no longer necessary.U.S. District Judge Robert S. Ballou, appointed by Democratic President Joe Biden, appeared more sympathetic to plaintiffs’ argument that some of the requirements appear arbitrary in that they don’t apply to other drugs with equal or greater risk, including drugs his parents have taken.&nbsp;Ballou did not rule at the end of Monday’s hearing but said he would as soon as possible.After the hearing, Whole Woman’s Health Alliance founder and president Amy Hagstrom Miller told States Newsroom she took note of Katzen’s response about whether the FDA considers mifepristone to be safe and effective.“It was an interesting choice of words,” she said.This<a href="https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/67347356/whole-womans-health-alliance-v-united-states-food-and-drug-administration/https:/www.courtlistener.com/docket/67347356/whole-womans-health-alliance-v-united-states-food-and-drug-administration/" target="_blank">&nbsp;lawsuit</a>&nbsp;is among several federal cases involving mifepristone. Earlier this month, the Trump administration filed a brief in the case Missouri v. FDA, requesting the court<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/trump-administration-asks-dismiss-suit-3-gop-states-trying-limit-abortion-pill" target="_blank">&nbsp;dismiss three states’ lawsuit</a>&nbsp;to restrict mifepristone on procedural grounds, but did not comment on the merits of the case or explicitly defend the FDA’s current medication abortion policy.While the Missouri v. FDA lawsuit seeks to reinstate regulations loosened between 2016 and 2021, the Whole Woman’s Health v. FDA lawsuit takes aim at restrictions that require: medical professionals who prescribe mifepristone to register with the drug manufacturer; pharmacies to apply for special certification and maintain copious records, and patients to review and sign a counseling form.On behalf of plaintiffs, which include Whole Woman’s Health Alliance in Virginia and other states, All Families Healthcare and Blue Mountain Clinic in Montana, and Trust Women in Kansas, Goldstein argued that these existing rules are burdensome and make these medications harder to access by limiting the number of providers and pharmacies who can provide and dispense it and impede access to time-sensitive care.Goldstein noted the “political climate” surrounding mifepristone and pointed to how abortion opponents seek either rescinding of FDA approval for mifepristone or a return to the in-person dispensing requirements. She added how efforts to make abortion medication more&nbsp;<a href="https://virginiamercury.com/2024/06/28/mcclellan-spanberger-work-to-repeal-parts-of-19th-century-law-that-could-ban-abortion-nationally/" target="_blank">difficult to obtain</a>&nbsp;are outlined in Project 2025 — the conservative Heritage Foundation’s playbook.Before and especially since Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022, anti-abortion groups have tried to convince courts that abortion pills, in addition to ending the lives of embryos and fetuses, harm pregnant people at rates that warrant being pulled from the market or at the very least heavily restricted.During his presidential campaign and since taking office, President Donald Trump and his health appointees have messaged strategically on medication abortion, on the one hand promising to retain its access while also open to examining new evidence suggesting it is unsafe.Just last week, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said he would direct the FDA to review abortion pill safety and potentially change its drug label, following the release of an&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/hhs-agrees-review-mifepristone-safety-based-anti-abortion-white-papers" target="_blank">anti-abortion white paper</a>&nbsp;commissioned by far-right funders, whose analysis has been widely criticized by reproductive health scientists and is outflanked by hundreds of studies showing a very low rate of serious adverse events.<h2>Significant for the South&nbsp;</h2>Hagstrom Miller called the current restrictions “politically motivated” and said overturning them would be especially significant for Virginia, which as the least restrictive state in the South, has seen an uptick in people traveling from elsewhere to receive care.“They’re not related to the safety of the medication,”&nbsp;Hagstrom Miller&nbsp;said, of the current restrictions. “We just want to ensure that the most popular method for abortion in Virginia and beyond is protected no matter who sits at the White House and who sits in the FDA.”Virginia is in the process of amending its state constitution to enshrine abortion and other reproductive health care procedures or medications. The&nbsp;<a href="https://virginiamercury.com/2025/02/13/virginia-moves-to-protect-reproductive-and-voting-rights-but-the-fight-is-far-from-over/" target="_blank">constitutional amendment</a>&nbsp;passed the legislature on party-line votes this year and must pass again next year before appearing on ballots for voters statewide. Its continued success or failure hinges on the outcome of the state’s competitive House of Delegates elections — where Democrats hold a slim majority.While governors don’t have a say in constitutional amendments, the issue is a&nbsp;<a href="https://virginiamercury.com/2025/04/02/virginia-march-for-life-tees-up-constitutional-amendment-ahead-of-this-years-elections/" target="_blank">divergence</a>&nbsp;between gubernatorial candidates Lt. Gov.&nbsp;<a href="https://virginiamercury.com/2025/05/08/earle-sears-morally-opposed-to-virginias-reproductive-rights-amendment-note-shows/" target="_blank">Winsome Earle-Sears</a>&nbsp;and Democratic challenger former Congresswoman&nbsp;<a href="https://virginiamercury.com/2024/06/28/mcclellan-spanberger-work-to-repeal-parts-of-19th-century-law-that-could-ban-abortion-nationally/" target="_blank">Abigail Spanberger</a>. This means that should the amendment fail and partisan control of the House shift, whoever is the next governor could advance or block potential future efforts to walk back Virginia’s current abortion access laws.&nbsp;“It’s really important that we protect that safe access to medication abortion no matter where people live — Virginia is playing a key role in the South right now,”&nbsp;Hagstrom Miller said.

Abortion providers challenge FDA’s remaining mifepristone restrictions in federal court

KANSAS CITY —Law enforcement are investigating two suspects on multiple allegtions after an encounter in a Kansas City suburb.

On Wednesday, police received a notification from a Flock Safety camera system indicating that a stolen vehicle had just passed a camera location in the city of Liberty, according to a media release from Liberty, Missouri Police.

 Officers quickly responded to the area and located the vehicle parked in a nearby hotel parking lot. Upon further investigation, officers determined that the driver had entered a room at the hotel. Officers contacted a man and woman in the room later identified as 30-year-old&nbsp; Brandon Schulenberg and 28-year-old&nbsp;Amanda Guffey both of Independence and a four-year-old child.

In plain view, officers observed a loaded ghost gun, drugs and drug paraphernalia. A search warrant was obtained and executed for the hotel room. Inside, officers recovered 17 grams of methamphetamine, 7.96 grams of fentanyl which is equivalent to approximately 3,980 fatal doses, and 10.85 grams of an unknown powdered substance.

Digital scales and additional drug paraphernalia were also located. As a result of this investigation, the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/claycountyprosecutingattorney?__cft__[0]=AZUsKDqaM6uwjgwnR3xFzN632HjJQILYM54RCxDqTIuT88ddvxKoGjGyk8zzfDC79Iz8HzOnWxzgQiVxthO-2ULERtFkSxQL2vWSdcO35SBwU-3_e2BNwo_6O_Aj2VFqwRMkXu0z4PqPYfVOvyZqut99WW8cNhbpAJQQNyV1v43PMHUyiVDnTwXWb3FDbPfrbTA&amp;__tn__=-]K-R">Clay County, Mo. Prosecutor's Office</a> charged Schulenberg with trafficking drugs in the second degree, unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, endangering the welfare of a child in the first degree, possession of a controlled substance, and unlawful use of a weapon. A warrant was issued for Schulenburg with a bond set at $100,000.

&nbsp;Guffey was also charged with trafficking drugs in the second degree, endangering the welfare of a child in the first degree, possession of a controlled substance, and unlawful use of a weapon. A warrant was issued for Guffey as well, with bond also set at $100,000. 

"This case is a stark reminder of the ongoing dangers posed by fentanyl and ghost guns in our communities. Fentanyl is an extremely potent synthetic opioid, just a few milligrams can be fatal, which is why the amount recovered in this case represents a significant threat to public safety," police reminded.

"Additionally, ghost guns, untraceable firearms often assembled without serial numbers, present a serious risk to both law enforcement and the public."

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/5/1747964496664.png" alt="Schulenberg photo Liberty PD" />
 <figcaption>Schulenberg photo Liberty PD</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY —Law enforcement are investigating two suspects on multiple allegtions after an encounter in a Kansas City suburb.On Wednesday, police received a notification from a Flock Safety camera system indicating that a stolen vehicle had just passed a camera location in the city of Liberty, according to a media release from Liberty, Missouri Police. Officers quickly responded to the area and located the vehicle parked in a nearby hotel parking lot. Upon further investigation, officers determined that the driver had entered a room at the hotel. Officers contacted a man and woman in the room later identified as 30-year-old&nbsp; Brandon Schulenberg and 28-year-old&nbsp;Amanda Guffey both of Independence and a four-year-old child.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/5/1747964538134.png" alt="Guffey photo Liberty PD" />
 <figcaption>Guffey photo Liberty PD</figcaption>
 </figure>In plain view, officers observed a loaded ghost gun, drugs and drug paraphernalia. A search warrant was obtained and executed for the hotel room. Inside, officers recovered 17 grams of methamphetamine, 7.96 grams of fentanyl which is equivalent to approximately 3,980 fatal doses, and 10.85 grams of an unknown powdered substance. Digital scales and additional drug paraphernalia were also located. As a result of this investigation, the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/claycountyprosecutingattorney?__cft__[0]=AZUsKDqaM6uwjgwnR3xFzN632HjJQILYM54RCxDqTIuT88ddvxKoGjGyk8zzfDC79Iz8HzOnWxzgQiVxthO-2ULERtFkSxQL2vWSdcO35SBwU-3_e2BNwo_6O_Aj2VFqwRMkXu0z4PqPYfVOvyZqut99WW8cNhbpAJQQNyV1v43PMHUyiVDnTwXWb3FDbPfrbTA&amp;__tn__=-]K-R">Clay County, Mo. Prosecutor's Office</a> charged Schulenberg with trafficking drugs in the second degree, unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, endangering the welfare of a child in the first degree, possession of a controlled substance, and unlawful use of a weapon. A warrant was issued for Schulenburg with a bond set at $100,000.&nbsp;Guffey was also charged with trafficking drugs in the second degree, endangering the welfare of a child in the first degree, possession of a controlled substance, and unlawful use of a weapon. A warrant was issued for Guffey as well, with bond also set at $100,000. "This case is a stark reminder of the ongoing dangers posed by fentanyl and ghost guns in our communities. Fentanyl is an extremely potent synthetic opioid, just a few milligrams can be fatal, which is why the amount recovered in this case represents a significant threat to public safety," police reminded."Additionally, ghost guns, untraceable firearms often assembled without serial numbers, present a serious risk to both law enforcement and the public."

Police found ghost gun, fentanyl and 4-year-old in KC area motel room

&nbsp;JACKSON COUNTY—Law enforcement are investigating a suspect in connection with a vehicle theft in rural Jackson County, Kansas.

Just before 5p.m. Thursday a, Sheriff’s Deputies apprehended a suspect involved in an early morning car theft in Jackson County, according to Sheriff Tim Morse.&nbsp;  The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office received a report of a Chevy Impala that had been stolen from a residence in the 25000 Block of T. Road, north of Holton.

The vehicle was located before noon east of U. Road on 334th Road.  The driver of the vehicle had lost control and crashed off the roadway and in the timber. 

Deputies investigated the scene and connected the theft with a suspect. Deputies arrested 23-year-old Austin Riley Richard of Tecumseh in connection with the theft of the vehicle.

Richard was booked in the Jackson County Jail on requested charges of felony theft, criminal damage to property and 3 counts of aggravated violation of the registered offender act.

Richard is being held in the Jackson County Jail. The Brown County Sheriff’s Office and the Kickapoo Police Department assisted with the incident.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/5/1748048155346.png" alt="Richard photo Jackson Co." />
 <figcaption>Richard photo Jackson Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>&nbsp;JACKSON COUNTY—Law enforcement are investigating a suspect in connection with a vehicle theft in rural Jackson County, Kansas.Just before 5p.m. Thursday a, Sheriff’s Deputies apprehended a suspect involved in an early morning car theft in Jackson County, according to Sheriff Tim Morse.&nbsp; The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office received a report of a Chevy Impala that had been stolen from a residence in the 25000 Block of T. Road, north of Holton.The vehicle was located before noon east of U. Road on 334th Road. The driver of the vehicle had lost control and crashed off the roadway and in the timber. Deputies investigated the scene and connected the theft with a suspect. Deputies arrested 23-year-old Austin Riley Richard of Tecumseh in connection with the theft of the vehicle.Richard was booked in the Jackson County Jail on requested charges of felony theft, criminal damage to property and 3 counts of aggravated violation of the registered offender act.Richard is being held in the Jackson County Jail. The Brown County Sheriff’s Office and the Kickapoo Police Department assisted with the incident.

Sheriff: Kansas man jailed after crash in stolen car

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military spent more than $6 billion over the past three years to recruit and retain service members, in what has been a growing campaign to counter enlistment shortfalls.

The financial incentives to reenlist in the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines increased dramatically from 2022 through last year, with the Navy vastly outspending the others, according to funding totals provided by the services. The overall amount of recruiting bonuses also rose steadily, fueled by significant jumps in spending by the Army and Marine Corps.

The military services have routinely poured money into recruiting and retention bonuses over the years. But the totals spiked as Pentagon leaders tried to reverse falling enlistment numbers, particularly as COVID-19 restrictions locked down public events, fairs and school visits that recruiters relied on to meet with young people.

Coupled with an array of new programs, an increased number of recruiters and adjustments to enlistment requirements, the additional incentives have helped the services bounce back from the shortfalls. All but the Navy met their recruiting targets last year and all are expected to do so this year.

President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth repeatedly point to Trump's election as a reason for the recruiting rebound. But the enlistment increases began long before last November, and officials have tied them more directly to the widespread overhauls that the services have done, including the increased financial incentives.

The Army, the military's largest service, spent more on recruiting bonuses in 2022 and 2024 than the other services. But it was significantly outspent by the Navy in 2023, when the sea service was struggling to overcome a large enlistment shortfall.

As a result, even though the Navy is a smaller service, it spent more overall in the three years than the Army did.

The Navy also has spent considerably more than the others to entice sailors to reenlist, doling out retention bonuses to roughly 70,000 service members for each of the past three years. That total is more than double the number of troops the Army gave retention bonuses to each year, even though the Army is a much larger service.

"Navy is dedicated to retaining our most capable sailors; retention is a critical component of achieving our end-strength goals," Adm. James Kilby, the vice chief of naval operations, told a Senate Armed Services subcommittee in March.

He said reenlistment for enlisted sailors "remains healthy" but officers are a challenge in specific jobs, including aviation, explosive ordnance disposal, surface and submarine warfare, health professionals and naval special operations. He added that the Navy has struggled to fill all of its at-sea jobs and is using financial incentives as one way to combat the problem.

The Army has seen the greatest recruiting struggles over the past decade, and by using a range of new programs and policies has had one of the largest comebacks. The Navy has had the most trouble more recently, and took a number of steps to expand those eligible for service and spend more in bonuses.

While the Army spends hundreds of millions each year to recruit troops, it also has relied on an array of new programs and policies to woo young people. A key driver of the Army's rebound has been its decision to create the Future Soldier Prep Course, at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, in August 2022.

That program gives lower-performing recruits up to 90 days of academic or fitness instruction to help them meet military standards and move on to basic training. It has resulted in thousands of enlistments.

The Air Force increased its spending on recruiting bonuses in 2023 as it also struggled to overcome shortfalls, but lowered the amount the following year. The payments were for jobs including munitions systems, aircraft maintenance and security forces. The Space Force does not currently authorize enlistment bonuses.

The Marine Corps and the tiny Space Force have consistently hit their recruiting goals, although the Marines had to dig deep into their pool of delayed entry candidates in 2022 to meet their target. The Corps, which is much smaller than the Army and Air Force, spends the least on bonuses and tends to spread the amount among a larger number of service members.

Maj. Jacoby Getty, a Marine spokesman, said the spike in retention bonuses from $126 million in 2023 to $201 million in 2024 was because Marines were allowed to reenlist a year early for the first time. More than 7,000 Marines got bonuses as a result, a jump of nearly 2,200 over the previous year.

When asked about bonuses in 2023, Gen. Eric Smith, the Marine commandant, famously told a naval conference that "your bonus is you get to call yourself a Marine."

"That's your bonus, right?" he said. "There's no dollar amount that goes with that."

The services tailor their recruiting and retention money to bolster harder-to-fill jobs, including cyber, intelligence and special operations forces. The Army and Marine Corps also use the money to woo troops to some combat, armor and artillery jobs.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/12/1734556522043.png" alt="Photo AP" />
 <figcaption>Photo AP</figcaption>
 </figure>By LOLITA C. BALDOR&nbsp;WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military spent more than $6 billion over the past three years to recruit and retain service members, in what has been a growing campaign to counter enlistment shortfalls.The financial incentives to reenlist in the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines increased dramatically from 2022 through last year, with the Navy vastly outspending the others, according to funding totals provided by the services. The overall amount of recruiting bonuses also rose steadily, fueled by significant jumps in spending by the Army and Marine Corps.The military services have routinely poured money into recruiting and retention bonuses over the years. But the totals spiked as Pentagon leaders tried to reverse falling enlistment numbers, particularly as COVID-19 restrictions locked down public events, fairs and school visits that recruiters relied on to meet with young people.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/2/1738854959688.png" alt="File Photos U.S. Northern Command" />
 <figcaption>File Photos U.S. Northern Command</figcaption>
 </figure>Coupled with an array of new programs, an increased number of recruiters and adjustments to enlistment requirements, the additional incentives have helped the services bounce back from the shortfalls. All but the Navy met their recruiting targets last year and all are expected to do so this year.President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth repeatedly point to Trump's election as a reason for the recruiting rebound. But the enlistment increases began long before last November, and officials have tied them more directly to the widespread overhauls that the services have done, including the increased financial incentives.The Army, the military's largest service, spent more on recruiting bonuses in 2022 and 2024 than the other services. But it was significantly outspent by the Navy in 2023, when the sea service was struggling to overcome a large enlistment shortfall.As a result, even though the Navy is a smaller service, it spent more overall in the three years than the Army did.The Navy also has spent considerably more than the others to entice sailors to reenlist, doling out retention bonuses to roughly 70,000 service members for each of the past three years. That total is more than double the number of troops the Army gave retention bonuses to each year, even though the Army is a much larger service."Navy is dedicated to retaining our most capable sailors; retention is a critical component of achieving our end-strength goals," Adm. James Kilby, the vice chief of naval operations, told a Senate Armed Services subcommittee in March.He said reenlistment for enlisted sailors "remains healthy" but officers are a challenge in specific jobs, including aviation, explosive ordnance disposal, surface and submarine warfare, health professionals and naval special operations. He added that the Navy has struggled to fill all of its at-sea jobs and is using financial incentives as one way to combat the problem.The Army has seen the greatest recruiting struggles over the past decade, and by using a range of new programs and policies has had one of the largest comebacks. The Navy has had the most trouble more recently, and took a number of steps to expand those eligible for service and spend more in bonuses.While the Army spends hundreds of millions each year to recruit troops, it also has relied on an array of new programs and policies to woo young people. A key driver of the Army's rebound has been its decision to create the Future Soldier Prep Course, at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, in August 2022.That program gives lower-performing recruits up to 90 days of academic or fitness instruction to help them meet military standards and move on to basic training. It has resulted in thousands of enlistments.The Air Force increased its spending on recruiting bonuses in 2023 as it also struggled to overcome shortfalls, but lowered the amount the following year. The payments were for jobs including munitions systems, aircraft maintenance and security forces. The Space Force does not currently authorize enlistment bonuses.The Marine Corps and the tiny Space Force have consistently hit their recruiting goals, although the Marines had to dig deep into their pool of delayed entry candidates in 2022 to meet their target. The Corps, which is much smaller than the Army and Air Force, spends the least on bonuses and tends to spread the amount among a larger number of service members.Maj. Jacoby Getty, a Marine spokesman, said the spike in retention bonuses from $126 million in 2023 to $201 million in 2024 was because Marines were allowed to reenlist a year early for the first time. More than 7,000 Marines got bonuses as a result, a jump of nearly 2,200 over the previous year.When asked about bonuses in 2023, Gen. Eric Smith, the Marine commandant, famously told a naval conference that "your bonus is you get to call yourself a Marine.""That's your bonus, right?" he said. "There's no dollar amount that goes with that."The services tailor their recruiting and retention money to bolster harder-to-fill jobs, including cyber, intelligence and special operations forces. The Army and Marine Corps also use the money to woo troops to some combat, armor and artillery jobs.

 US military spent $6 billion in the past 3 years to recruit and retain troops

The Missouri General Assembly seems likely to return next Monday to decide whether pay up to half the possible $3 billion projected cost for stadiums for the Chiefs and Royals

BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/jason-hancock/">JASON HANCOCK</a> <a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2023/02/20/state-senator-throws-first-punches-of-2024-missouri-governors-campaign/">Missouri Independent</a>

The last time Missouri was in danger of losing an NFL franchise, deep disagreements between the governor and lawmakers over whether the state should pay for a new stadium led to litigation and the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article49229835.html#storylink=cpy" target="_blank">threat of a constitutional showdown.</a>

It was 10 years ago when then-Gov. Jay Nixon and the legislature quarreled over&nbsp;a $1 billion plan to build a new St. Louis stadium for the Rams.&nbsp;

Expecting GOP resistance, Nixon, a Democrat, came up with a strategy that didn’t involve the legislature. That sparked a group of legislators to file a lawsuit to block Nixon’s plan and threaten to refuse to allocate money the governor committed to the stadium when the General&nbsp;Assembly reconvened in January 2016.&nbsp;

But that looming clash fizzled when&nbsp;the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.stlpr.org/government-politics-issues/2016-01-04/its-official-the-st-louis-rams-want-to-move-to-los-angeles" target="_blank">Rams announced an intention to move to Los Angeles</a>&nbsp;two days before the 2016 session began. NFL owners&nbsp;<a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/01/12/462848857/nfl-votes-to-move-rams-to-los-angeles-with-option-for-chargers-to-join-them" target="_blank">overwhelmingly agreed to let them do it</a>&nbsp;soon after.&nbsp;

A decade later, Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe is pushing a plan for the state to pay up to half the costs of a new stadium for the Kansas City Royals and renovations to Arrowhead Stadium for the Kansas City Chiefs.&nbsp;

Both teams have expressed interest in leaving Missouri when the lease on their current stadiums expire in 2030, and Kansas lawmakers have put a deal on the table that would use state incentives to pay for up to 70% of the costs of new stadiums.

Kehoe has one advantage Nixon didn’t — a legislature dominated by his own party. But while the governor successfully convinced the Missouri House to sign off on a stadium funding plan earlier this month in the final days of the session, the Senate was in no mood to play ball.&nbsp;

House Speaker Jon Patterson, a Lee’s Summit Republican, alerted his colleagues on Friday that the governor is expected to call the legislature back into session as early as next week to debate stadium funding. The governor may also include a&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2025/05/20/missouri-special-session-may-provide-new-life-for-500-million-budget-bill/">$500 million construction package on the special session agenda</a>, a move seen as vital to winning over support in the Senate for any stadium plan.&nbsp;

But with partisan tensions running high after a tumultuous end to the regular legislative session, and serious heartburn among Republicans over the idea of spending hundreds of millions to subsidize sports franchises, the outcome is anything but certain.&nbsp;

“I love the Kansas City Chiefs. I’m obnoxious during football season,” state Rep. Darin Chappell, a Republican from Rogersville, said in a recent interview with&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ksgf.com/episode/nick-reed-05-20-25-session-recap-with-rep-darin-chappell/" target="_blank">KSGF</a>. “… But I’ve got constituents trying to pay their rent and feed themselves, and they’re struggling. And I’m going to take their money and give it to billionaires so multimillionaires can play in a prettier place? That’s obscene.”

Senate President Pro Tem Cindy O’Laughlin, a Shelbina Republican, said state funding for stadiums is “an easy demagogue topic.” But losing the teams to Kansas, she contends, would cost much more than the proposal put forth by the governor.&nbsp;

“My personal belief is both the direct and indirect dollars accruing to Missouri businesses from the Chiefs and Royals being located here far exceeds what they are asking,” she wrote on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10236461280174694&amp;id=1312548800&amp;mibextid=wwXIfr&amp;rdid=g7soDX6nEvZ4rUCO" target="_blank">social media</a>. “I also believe if they left the state it would tear out the heart of Missouri, leaving two big concrete structures as a forever reminder of what might have been.”

The Chiefs and the Royals face a deadline at the end of June on whether they will accept the offer from Kansas.

The proposal floated by Kehoe and set to be debated next week would pay up to half the cost — estimated to be up to $3 billion — as well as up to $50 million in tax credits for any direct investments made by the teams.&nbsp;

The stadium plan&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2025/05/15/stadium-funding-gun-rights-law-among-casualties-of-missouri-senate-breakdown/">died in the regular session</a>&nbsp;when the Senate twice used a rare procedural rule to end debate on controversial bills on abortion and paid sick leave.&nbsp;The move infuriated Democrats, who vowed the Senate will not function normally until they feel they can trust the GOP to work towards compromise.

There is also lingering bipartisan anger over the projects that were lost when the House sunk a capital improvements bill. The $513 million would have paid for projects at eight hospitals around the state, supported a new nuclear reactor at the University of Missouri to make cancer treatments and a new mental health hospital in Kansas City.

The rollout of Kehoe’s plan didn’t help soothe the tensions.

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle complained that the governor kept the legislature in the dark on stadium funding plans, then demanded it sign off on the proposal with little debate and no details on the cost.

The lack of legislative involvement echoes 2015, when lawmakers took umbrage at Nixon’s efforts to work around them by trying to use existing incentive programs to help fund a new St. Louis stadium. &nbsp;Republicans and Democrats demanded Nixon either submit a proposal to the legislature or put it on the ballot for a vote.&nbsp;

&nbsp;“We will not stand idly by as the people of this state are committed to millions of dollars in debt without proper legislative approval or a public vote,” a group of House members said in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.news-leader.com/story/news/politics/2015/10/14/missouri-house-speaker-letter-blasts-state-money-for-stadium/73914594/" target="_blank">a letter to Nixon at the time</a>.

Lawmakers will get their wish this time around to have a say on whether Missouri taxpayers should help subsidize Kansas City stadiums.&nbsp;

Kehoe is optimistic, arguing that keeping the teams in Missouri&nbsp;“is a critical piece of economic development. And I’d like to see us make sure we can solidify our offer with legislative approval.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/5/1748263709817.png" alt="GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium, home of the Kansas City Chiefs, is pictured on Sat. Feb. 8 (Anna Spoerre/The Missouri Independent)." />
 <figcaption>GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium, home of the Kansas City Chiefs, is pictured on Sat. Feb. 8 (Anna Spoerre/The Missouri Independent).</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>The Missouri General Assembly seems likely to return next Monday to decide whether pay up to half the possible $3 billion projected cost for stadiums for the Chiefs and Royals</h2>BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/jason-hancock/">JASON HANCOCK</a> <a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2023/02/20/state-senator-throws-first-punches-of-2024-missouri-governors-campaign/">Missouri Independent</a>The last time Missouri was in danger of losing an NFL franchise, deep disagreements between the governor and lawmakers over whether the state should pay for a new stadium led to litigation and the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article49229835.html#storylink=cpy" target="_blank">threat of a constitutional showdown.</a>It was 10 years ago when then-Gov. Jay Nixon and the legislature quarreled over&nbsp;a $1 billion plan to build a new St. Louis stadium for the Rams.&nbsp;Expecting GOP resistance, Nixon, a Democrat, came up with a strategy that didn’t involve the legislature. That sparked a group of legislators to file a lawsuit to block Nixon’s plan and threaten to refuse to allocate money the governor committed to the stadium when the General&nbsp;Assembly reconvened in January 2016.&nbsp;But that looming clash fizzled when&nbsp;the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.stlpr.org/government-politics-issues/2016-01-04/its-official-the-st-louis-rams-want-to-move-to-los-angeles" target="_blank">Rams announced an intention to move to Los Angeles</a>&nbsp;two days before the 2016 session began. NFL owners&nbsp;<a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/01/12/462848857/nfl-votes-to-move-rams-to-los-angeles-with-option-for-chargers-to-join-them" target="_blank">overwhelmingly agreed to let them do it</a>&nbsp;soon after.&nbsp;A decade later, Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe is pushing a plan for the state to pay up to half the costs of a new stadium for the Kansas City Royals and renovations to Arrowhead Stadium for the Kansas City Chiefs.&nbsp;Both teams have expressed interest in leaving Missouri when the lease on their current stadiums expire in 2030, and Kansas lawmakers have put a deal on the table that would use state incentives to pay for up to 70% of the costs of new stadiums.Kehoe has one advantage Nixon didn’t — a legislature dominated by his own party. But while the governor successfully convinced the Missouri House to sign off on a stadium funding plan earlier this month in the final days of the session, the Senate was in no mood to play ball.&nbsp;House Speaker Jon Patterson, a Lee’s Summit Republican, alerted his colleagues on Friday that the governor is expected to call the legislature back into session as early as next week to debate stadium funding. The governor may also include a&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2025/05/20/missouri-special-session-may-provide-new-life-for-500-million-budget-bill/">$500 million construction package on the special session agenda</a>, a move seen as vital to winning over support in the Senate for any stadium plan.&nbsp;But with partisan tensions running high after a tumultuous end to the regular legislative session, and serious heartburn among Republicans over the idea of spending hundreds of millions to subsidize sports franchises, the outcome is anything but certain.&nbsp;“I love the Kansas City Chiefs. I’m obnoxious during football season,” state Rep. Darin Chappell, a Republican from Rogersville, said in a recent interview with&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ksgf.com/episode/nick-reed-05-20-25-session-recap-with-rep-darin-chappell/" target="_blank">KSGF</a>. “… But I’ve got constituents trying to pay their rent and feed themselves, and they’re struggling. And I’m going to take their money and give it to billionaires so multimillionaires can play in a prettier place? That’s obscene.”Senate President Pro Tem Cindy O’Laughlin, a Shelbina Republican, said state funding for stadiums is “an easy demagogue topic.” But losing the teams to Kansas, she contends, would cost much more than the proposal put forth by the governor.&nbsp;“My personal belief is both the direct and indirect dollars accruing to Missouri businesses from the Chiefs and Royals being located here far exceeds what they are asking,” she wrote on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10236461280174694&amp;id=1312548800&amp;mibextid=wwXIfr&amp;rdid=g7soDX6nEvZ4rUCO" target="_blank">social media</a>. “I also believe if they left the state it would tear out the heart of Missouri, leaving two big concrete structures as a forever reminder of what might have been.”The Chiefs and the Royals face a deadline at the end of June on whether they will accept the offer from Kansas.The proposal floated by Kehoe and set to be debated next week would pay up to half the cost — estimated to be up to $3 billion — as well as up to $50 million in tax credits for any direct investments made by the teams.&nbsp;The stadium plan&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2025/05/15/stadium-funding-gun-rights-law-among-casualties-of-missouri-senate-breakdown/">died in the regular session</a>&nbsp;when the Senate twice used a rare procedural rule to end debate on controversial bills on abortion and paid sick leave.&nbsp;The move infuriated Democrats, who vowed the Senate will not function normally until they feel they can trust the GOP to work towards compromise.There is also lingering bipartisan anger over the projects that were lost when the House sunk a capital improvements bill. The $513 million would have paid for projects at eight hospitals around the state, supported a new nuclear reactor at the University of Missouri to make cancer treatments and a new mental health hospital in Kansas City.The rollout of Kehoe’s plan didn’t help soothe the tensions.Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle complained that the governor kept the legislature in the dark on stadium funding plans, then demanded it sign off on the proposal with little debate and no details on the cost.The lack of legislative involvement echoes 2015, when lawmakers took umbrage at Nixon’s efforts to work around them by trying to use existing incentive programs to help fund a new St. Louis stadium. &nbsp;Republicans and Democrats demanded Nixon either submit a proposal to the legislature or put it on the ballot for a vote.&nbsp;&nbsp;“We will not stand idly by as the people of this state are committed to millions of dollars in debt without proper legislative approval or a public vote,” a group of House members said in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.news-leader.com/story/news/politics/2015/10/14/missouri-house-speaker-letter-blasts-state-money-for-stadium/73914594/" target="_blank">a letter to Nixon at the time</a>.Lawmakers will get their wish this time around to have a say on whether Missouri taxpayers should help subsidize Kansas City stadiums.&nbsp;Kehoe is optimistic, arguing that keeping the teams in Missouri&nbsp;“is a critical piece of economic development. And I’d like to see us make sure we can solidify our offer with legislative approval.”

A decade after losing an NFL team, Missouri lawmakers set to debate stadium funding plan

<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">.<a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/VP?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@VP</a>, and <a href="https://twitter.com/SecDef?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SecDef</a> salute as The Star-Spangled Banner is played at Arlington National Cemetery <a href="https://t.co/NVetqZxCyr">pic.twitter.com/NVetqZxCyr</a>&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1927025135065702443?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 26, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">President <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@realDonaldTrump</a> lays a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier 🇺🇸 <a href="https://t.co/YLyDQyQdXM">pic.twitter.com/YLyDQyQdXM</a>&mdash; Margo Martin (@MargoMartin47) <a href="https://twitter.com/MargoMartin47/status/1927027306377187555?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 26, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">President <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@realDonaldTrump</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/VP?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@VP</a>, and <a href="https://twitter.com/SecDef?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SecDef</a> arrive at Arlington National Cemetery 🇺🇸 <a href="https://t.co/OLzMz3yRAR">pic.twitter.com/OLzMz3yRAR</a>&mdash; Margo Martin (@MargoMartin47) <a href="https://twitter.com/MargoMartin47/status/1927027406709137553?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 26, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">.<a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a> arrives at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, alongside <a href="https://twitter.com/VP?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@VP</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/SecDef?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SecDef</a>. <a href="https://t.co/QxZtoOizEW">pic.twitter.com/QxZtoOizEW</a>&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1927024701437616232?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 26, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">.<a href="https://twitter.com/SecVetAffairs?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SecVetAffairs</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/DNIGabbard?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DNIGabbard</a>, and <a href="https://twitter.com/epaleezeldin?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@epaleezeldin</a> — all military veterans — arrive at Arlington National Cemetery alongside <a href="https://twitter.com/SecretaryTurner?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SecretaryTurner</a>, who served the military in special projects, including by helping transition veterans into civilian life. <a href="https://t.co/pogzdKrbQp">pic.twitter.com/pogzdKrbQp</a>&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1927023666518171789?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 26, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>

🎥.Memorial Day ceremony at Tomb of the Unknown Soldier 

WEST MONROE, La. (AP) — Phil Robertson, who turned his small duck calling interest in the sportsman's paradise of northern Louisiana into a big business and conservative&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/television-domestic-news-domestic-news-general-news-de4d0d70dd0a4bda8d0e29e2e9a97a59">cultural phenomenon</a>, died Sunday, according to his family. He was 79.

Robertson's family announced in December on their Unashamed With the Robertson Family podcast that the patriarch of the clan had Alzheimer’s disease. The statement on social media from Robertson's daughter-in-law didn't mention how he died.

“Thank you for the love and prayers of so many whose lives have been impacted by his life saved by grace, his bold faith, and by his desire to tell everyone who would listen the Good News of Jesus. We are grateful for his life on earth and will continue the legacy of love for God and love for others until we see him again,”&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/OfficialKorieRobertson/">Korie Robertson</a>&nbsp;wrote.

Phil Robertson skyrocketed to fame in the early 2010s when the A&amp;E network created a reality show, presented like a sitcom. It followed the adventures of Robertson, his three sons — including Willie, who runs the family's Duck Commander company, their wives and a host of other relatives and friends.

Phil Robertson and his boys were immediately recognizable by their long beards and their conservative, Christian and family-oriented beliefs.

That got Robertson&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/general-news-television-arts-and-entertainment-d9d9ee438c724ffea6d1f786c687a2ea">into trouble, too.</a>&nbsp;He told a magazine reporter in 2013 that gay people are sinners and African Americans were happy under Jim Crow laws.

A&amp;E suspended him from Duck Dynasty but reversed course in a few weeks after a backlash that included Sarah Palin.

At the time, Robertson's family called his comments coarse, but said his beliefs were grounded in the Bible and he “is a Godly man.” They also said that “as a family, we cannot imagine the show going forward without our patriarch at the helm.”

Robertson was born in north Louisiana and spent his life in the woods and lakes that make up the region called Sportsman's Paradise.

Robertson played football at Louisiana Tech and taught school. He also loved to hunt and created a duck call in the early 1970s that he said replicated the exact sound of a duck.

The calls were the centerpiece of the Duck Commander business Robertson would grow into a multimillion-dollar enterprise before A&amp;E came calling.

The family just didn't sell outdoor and hunting gear, but a lifestyle.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/5/1748225264063.png" alt="File photo Robertson from a campaign rally in 2020 image courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>File photo Robertson from a campaign rally in 2020 image courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>WEST MONROE, La. (AP) — Phil Robertson, who turned his small duck calling interest in the sportsman's paradise of northern Louisiana into a big business and conservative&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/television-domestic-news-domestic-news-general-news-de4d0d70dd0a4bda8d0e29e2e9a97a59">cultural phenomenon</a>, died Sunday, according to his family. He was 79.Robertson's family announced in December on their Unashamed With the Robertson Family podcast that the patriarch of the clan had Alzheimer’s disease. The statement on social media from Robertson's daughter-in-law didn't mention how he died.“Thank you for the love and prayers of so many whose lives have been impacted by his life saved by grace, his bold faith, and by his desire to tell everyone who would listen the Good News of Jesus. We are grateful for his life on earth and will continue the legacy of love for God and love for others until we see him again,”&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/OfficialKorieRobertson/">Korie Robertson</a>&nbsp;wrote.Phil Robertson skyrocketed to fame in the early 2010s when the A&amp;E network created a reality show, presented like a sitcom. It followed the adventures of Robertson, his three sons — including Willie, who runs the family's Duck Commander company, their wives and a host of other relatives and friends.Phil Robertson and his boys were immediately recognizable by their long beards and their conservative, Christian and family-oriented beliefs.That got Robertson&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/general-news-television-arts-and-entertainment-d9d9ee438c724ffea6d1f786c687a2ea">into trouble, too.</a>&nbsp;He told a magazine reporter in 2013 that gay people are sinners and African Americans were happy under Jim Crow laws.A&amp;E suspended him from Duck Dynasty but reversed course in a few weeks after a backlash that included Sarah Palin.At the time, Robertson's family called his comments coarse, but said his beliefs were grounded in the Bible and he “is a Godly man.” They also said that “as a family, we cannot imagine the show going forward without our patriarch at the helm.”Robertson was born in north Louisiana and spent his life in the woods and lakes that make up the region called Sportsman's Paradise.Robertson played football at Louisiana Tech and taught school. He also loved to hunt and created a duck call in the early 1970s that he said replicated the exact sound of a duck.The calls were the centerpiece of the Duck Commander business Robertson would grow into a multimillion-dollar enterprise before A&amp;E came calling.The family just didn't sell outdoor and hunting gear, but a lifestyle.