NEW YORK (AP) —One of the nation's largest grocery chains is the latest company to agree to settle lawsuits over the&nbsp;U.S. opioid crisis.

In a deal announced Friday, the Kroger Co. would pay up to $1.4 billion over 11 years. The amount includes up to $1.2 billion for state and local governments where it operates, $36 million to Native American tribes and about $177 million to cover lawyers' fees and costs.

Kroger currently has stores in 35 states — virtually everywhere save the Northeast, the northern plains and Hawaii. Thirty-three states would be eligible for money in the deal. The company previously announced settlements with New Mexico and West Virginia.

Over the past eight years, prescription drug manufacturers, wholesalers, consultants and pharmacies have proposed or finalized opioid settlements totaling more than $50 billion, including at least 12 others worth more than $1 billion. The U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear arguments later this year on whether one of the larger settlements, involving&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-opioid-crisis-purdue-bankruptcy-bd417e036d9f6db4b2916fdfbdb56252" target="_blank">OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma,</a>&nbsp;is legal.

Most of the settlement money is to be used to address an overdose epidemic linked to more than 80,000 deaths a year in the U.S. in recent years, with most of the latest deaths connected to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/fentanyl-penalties-state-legislatures-98a97e53a984e8f5a265ed229199ecb1" target="_blank">illicit synthetic drugs such as fentanyl</a>&nbsp;rather than prescription painkillers.

Still, Jayne Conroy, a lead lawyer for the governments suing the companies, told The Associated Press in an interview Friday that it makes sense for players in the prescription drug industry to have a major role in funding solutions to the crisis.

“It really isn’t a different problem,” she said. “The problem is the massive amount of addiction. That addiction stems from the massive amount of prescription drugs.”

The companies have also agreed to change their business practices regarding powerful prescription painkillers, consenting to restrictions on marketing and using data to catch overprescribing. Conroy said those noneconomic terms for Kroger have not been finalized, but they'll look like what other companies have agreed to.

Kroger said it intends to finalize its deal in time to make initial payments in December.

The company would not admit wrongdoing or liability as part of the deal, which is called in a statement a milestone in efforts to resolve opioid lawsuits. “Kroger has long served as a leader in combatting opioid abuse and remains committed to patient safety,” the company said.

While most of the biggest players have settled, the opioid litigation is continuing. Cases are being prepared for trial involving the supermarket chains Publix and Albertsons, the latter of which is&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/kroger-albertsons-merger-cs-wholesale-grocer-401520f2a25ea2ae5fd06be4973b7c48" target="_blank">attempting to merge</a>&nbsp;with Kroger. Pharmacy benefit managers such as Express Scripts and OptumRx also face opioid claims from governments.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/9/1694444368400.png" alt="Google image" />
 <figcaption>Google image</figcaption>
 </figure>NEW YORK (AP) —One of the nation's largest grocery chains is the latest company to agree to settle lawsuits over the&nbsp;U.S. opioid crisis.In a deal announced Friday, the Kroger Co. would pay up to $1.4 billion over 11 years. The amount includes up to $1.2 billion for state and local governments where it operates, $36 million to Native American tribes and about $177 million to cover lawyers' fees and costs.Kroger currently has stores in 35 states — virtually everywhere save the Northeast, the northern plains and Hawaii. Thirty-three states would be eligible for money in the deal. The company previously announced settlements with New Mexico and West Virginia.Over the past eight years, prescription drug manufacturers, wholesalers, consultants and pharmacies have proposed or finalized opioid settlements totaling more than $50 billion, including at least 12 others worth more than $1 billion. The U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear arguments later this year on whether one of the larger settlements, involving&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-opioid-crisis-purdue-bankruptcy-bd417e036d9f6db4b2916fdfbdb56252" target="_blank">OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma,</a>&nbsp;is legal.Most of the settlement money is to be used to address an overdose epidemic linked to more than 80,000 deaths a year in the U.S. in recent years, with most of the latest deaths connected to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/fentanyl-penalties-state-legislatures-98a97e53a984e8f5a265ed229199ecb1" target="_blank">illicit synthetic drugs such as fentanyl</a>&nbsp;rather than prescription painkillers.Still, Jayne Conroy, a lead lawyer for the governments suing the companies, told The Associated Press in an interview Friday that it makes sense for players in the prescription drug industry to have a major role in funding solutions to the crisis.“It really isn’t a different problem,” she said. “The problem is the massive amount of addiction. That addiction stems from the massive amount of prescription drugs.”The companies have also agreed to change their business practices regarding powerful prescription painkillers, consenting to restrictions on marketing and using data to catch overprescribing. Conroy said those noneconomic terms for Kroger have not been finalized, but they'll look like what other companies have agreed to.Kroger said it intends to finalize its deal in time to make initial payments in December.The company would not admit wrongdoing or liability as part of the deal, which is called in a statement a milestone in efforts to resolve opioid lawsuits. “Kroger has long served as a leader in combatting opioid abuse and remains committed to patient safety,” the company said.While most of the biggest players have settled, the opioid litigation is continuing. Cases are being prepared for trial involving the supermarket chains Publix and Albertsons, the latter of which is&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/kroger-albertsons-merger-cs-wholesale-grocer-401520f2a25ea2ae5fd06be4973b7c48" target="_blank">attempting to merge</a>&nbsp;with Kroger. Pharmacy benefit managers such as Express Scripts and OptumRx also face opioid claims from governments.

Kroger to pay up to $1.4 billion to settle opioid lawsuits

By RACHEL MIPRO,&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/04/05/kansas-lawmakers-debate-definition-of-female-and-male-for-county-jails/">Kansas Reflector</a>

Independent commission has begun to examine pay increases, fair compensation

TOPEKA —&nbsp; Increasing long-stagnant legislative pay could revolutionize state politics by encouraging Kansans from more diverse backgrounds to seek public office, but top Republican legislators also cautioned against dramatically escalating compensation.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Senate President Ty Masterson, R-Andover, said low pay has been a longstanding barrier for many Kansans. But Masterson also warned against raising pay to the point where Kansans have a marked financial incentive to serve in the Legislature.&nbsp;

“The truth is, for years now, it’s been a hurdle for large segments of our population to even attempt and represent their neighbors in this way,” Masterson said during a Thursday legislative meeting on compensation. “We’d like to see us make that hurdle go away. However, I also don’t believe it should be a career. There needs to be some level of service. Public service, at some level does have sacrifice to it, and I think that should exist but there needs to be balance.”

Low compensation and long hours have blocked many Kansans from entering the field, leaving retired Kansans or those with independent income or extremely flexible jobs facing less competition for seats. In past sessions, critics of the system have said the pay barrier allows affluent Kansans to have a much greater voice in state policy than those from other economic backgrounds.&nbsp;

State legislators are&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2023_24/committees/ctte_ot_legislative_compensation_commission_1/documents/testimony/20230907_04.pdf">currently paid</a>&nbsp;a base salary of $88.66 for every day during the session, a salary that hasn’t changed since 2009. Starting in October, lawmakers will receive a per diem allowance of $166 per day to offset food and lodging costs during the session. In an average 92-day session, the pay works out to about $23,429 per year, with additional compensation for leadership positions.&nbsp;

The state ranked in the bottom third for legislative compensation in a 2019 legislative study of 14 other states. The study found Oklahoma, Missouri and Colorado paid their lawmakers about $48,000 per year. The lowest state compensation was between $12,000 and $13,000 per year, in Maine, Rhode Island and New Hampshire.

Speaker of the House Dan Hawkins, R-Wichita, shared Masterson’s sentiments.&nbsp;

He estimated lawmakers spend about 10-15 hours per week outside of the 92-day session on constituent needs or community engagement, with another 15 hours of work for anyone who heads a committee.&nbsp;

“We don’t have a normal job as legislators,” Hawkins said. “I wouldn’t call our job normal at all in any stretch of the imagination. We are working all the time. … Truly, it is a huge level of service but we love the people we serve, and that’s what we’re really trying to do is just serve and do the best job we can.”&nbsp;

While Hawkins said compensation rates needed to be adjusted, he also warned against raising pay too high.&nbsp;

“There has to be a level of service,” Hawkins said. “We’re a citizen legislature so we don’t want people just to consider that their main job. We need to go back home and go to work. And so there’s always going to be a balance.”&nbsp;

The re-evaluation of legislative pay is a result of a law passed in the 2023 session.&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://lnks.gd/l/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJidWxsZXRpbl9saW5rX2lkIjoxMDMsInVyaSI6ImJwMjpjbGljayIsImJ1bGxldGluX2lkIjoiMjAyMzA0MjEuNzU1NjMzNDEiLCJ1cmwiOiJodHRwOi8vd3d3LmtzbGVnaXNsYXR1cmUub3JnL2xpL2IyMDIzXzI0L21lYXN1cmVzL3NiMjI5LyJ9.xuWFkl3Y9o9So9Dm4_7fcrA6t1Cc-muDt4iKxWjBt4o/s/2897855304/br/161153741090-l">Senate Bill 229</a>,&nbsp;a legislative pay adjustment proposal, established a nine-person independent commission tasked with studying compensation rates for state officials.&nbsp;

The first round of compensation rates and salary will be decided by Dec. 1, 2023, and implemented in the 2025 legislative session, with rates set to be readjusted every four years.&nbsp;

Jason Watkins from the Wichita Regional Chamber of Commerce, a former state representative who introduced the initial bill content on behalf of the chamber, said better pay would equalize the field.&nbsp;

“One of the reasons that we introduced this legislation is we believe in representative democracy,” Watkins said. “The Legislature should look like a cross section of the state of Kansas and folks from all walks of life should be able to serve.”&nbsp;

During his time as a representative, Watkins said he knew several people who could only serve one or two terms before leaving due to financial constraints. Watkins said lawmakers would joke that the term limits for Kansas lawmakers were decided by when they went&nbsp; bankrupt.&nbsp;

“A lot of folks that have served in the Legislature really experienced financial hardship,” Watkins said. “And listen, nobody should get rich serving at any level of government. But people shouldn’t have to go broke either. And that’s the stark truth.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/9/1694350643938.png" alt="Senate President Ty Masterson, R-Andover, says low legislative pay has long impeded prospective candidates who can't afford to serve in the Legislature. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption>Senate President Ty Masterson, R-Andover, says low legislative pay has long impeded prospective candidates who can't afford to serve in the Legislature. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure>By RACHEL MIPRO,&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/04/05/kansas-lawmakers-debate-definition-of-female-and-male-for-county-jails/">Kansas Reflector</a><h2>Independent commission has begun to examine pay increases, fair compensation</h2>TOPEKA —&nbsp; Increasing long-stagnant legislative pay could revolutionize state politics by encouraging Kansans from more diverse backgrounds to seek public office, but top Republican legislators also cautioned against dramatically escalating compensation.&nbsp;&nbsp;Senate President Ty Masterson, R-Andover, said low pay has been a longstanding barrier for many Kansans. But Masterson also warned against raising pay to the point where Kansans have a marked financial incentive to serve in the Legislature.&nbsp;“The truth is, for years now, it’s been a hurdle for large segments of our population to even attempt and represent their neighbors in this way,” Masterson said during a Thursday legislative meeting on compensation. “We’d like to see us make that hurdle go away. However, I also don’t believe it should be a career. There needs to be some level of service. Public service, at some level does have sacrifice to it, and I think that should exist but there needs to be balance.”Low compensation and long hours have blocked many Kansans from entering the field, leaving retired Kansans or those with independent income or extremely flexible jobs facing less competition for seats. In past sessions, critics of the system have said the pay barrier allows affluent Kansans to have a much greater voice in state policy than those from other economic backgrounds.&nbsp;State legislators are&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2023_24/committees/ctte_ot_legislative_compensation_commission_1/documents/testimony/20230907_04.pdf">currently paid</a>&nbsp;a base salary of $88.66 for every day during the session, a salary that hasn’t changed since 2009. Starting in October, lawmakers will receive a per diem allowance of $166 per day to offset food and lodging costs during the session. In an average 92-day session, the pay works out to about $23,429 per year, with additional compensation for leadership positions.&nbsp;The state ranked in the bottom third for legislative compensation in a 2019 legislative study of 14 other states. The study found Oklahoma, Missouri and Colorado paid their lawmakers about $48,000 per year. The lowest state compensation was between $12,000 and $13,000 per year, in Maine, Rhode Island and New Hampshire.Speaker of the House Dan Hawkins, R-Wichita, shared Masterson’s sentiments.&nbsp;He estimated lawmakers spend about 10-15 hours per week outside of the 92-day session on constituent needs or community engagement, with another 15 hours of work for anyone who heads a committee.&nbsp;“We don’t have a normal job as legislators,” Hawkins said. “I wouldn’t call our job normal at all in any stretch of the imagination. We are working all the time. … Truly, it is a huge level of service but we love the people we serve, and that’s what we’re really trying to do is just serve and do the best job we can.”&nbsp;While Hawkins said compensation rates needed to be adjusted, he also warned against raising pay too high.&nbsp;“There has to be a level of service,” Hawkins said. “We’re a citizen legislature so we don’t want people just to consider that their main job. We need to go back home and go to work. And so there’s always going to be a balance.”&nbsp;The re-evaluation of legislative pay is a result of a law passed in the 2023 session.&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://lnks.gd/l/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJidWxsZXRpbl9saW5rX2lkIjoxMDMsInVyaSI6ImJwMjpjbGljayIsImJ1bGxldGluX2lkIjoiMjAyMzA0MjEuNzU1NjMzNDEiLCJ1cmwiOiJodHRwOi8vd3d3LmtzbGVnaXNsYXR1cmUub3JnL2xpL2IyMDIzXzI0L21lYXN1cmVzL3NiMjI5LyJ9.xuWFkl3Y9o9So9Dm4_7fcrA6t1Cc-muDt4iKxWjBt4o/s/2897855304/br/161153741090-l">Senate Bill 229</a>,&nbsp;a legislative pay adjustment proposal, established a nine-person independent commission tasked with studying compensation rates for state officials.&nbsp;The first round of compensation rates and salary will be decided by Dec. 1, 2023, and implemented in the 2025 legislative session, with rates set to be readjusted every four years.&nbsp;Jason Watkins from the Wichita Regional Chamber of Commerce, a former state representative who introduced the initial bill content on behalf of the chamber, said better pay would equalize the field.&nbsp;“One of the reasons that we introduced this legislation is we believe in representative democracy,” Watkins said. “The Legislature should look like a cross section of the state of Kansas and folks from all walks of life should be able to serve.”&nbsp;During his time as a representative, Watkins said he knew several people who could only serve one or two terms before leaving due to financial constraints. Watkins said lawmakers would joke that the term limits for Kansas lawmakers were decided by when they went&nbsp; bankrupt.&nbsp;“A lot of folks that have served in the Legislature really experienced financial hardship,” Watkins said. “And listen, nobody should get rich serving at any level of government. But people shouldn’t have to go broke either. And that’s the stark truth.”

GOP leaders warn against substantial pay increases for Kansas lawmakers

KANSAS CITY —After a&nbsp; jury convicted a Kansas City man in the 2017 fatal shooting of Tamara Randolf, a judge sentences 42-year-old John Frazier to Life Without Parole plus 20 years, according to Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker.

In April, the jury convicted Frazier of Murder 1st Degree and Armed Criminal Action.&nbsp; The jury made its recommendation on sentence: Life Without Parole, the mandatory sentence for a Murder 1st Degree conviction, and 20 years in prison for the Armed Criminal Action conviction.

A Jackson County judge sentenced Frazier as the jury recommended. The sentences are to be served concurrently.

According to court records, police responded on Aug. 2, 2017, to a residence in the 3700 block of Woodland on a reported shooting.&nbsp; Frazier was the caller; he told police he shot the victim after she pulled a gun on him. 

Witnesses told police that the victim was at the residence to retrieve her two children. Police found the victim on the ground. She was declared deceased on the scene. 

Video surveillance showed the victim arriving and knocking at the door. Frazier arrived at the residence, gets out of his truck and appears to be holding a gun. A family member of the victim was on the phone with her and heard a struggle. A ShotSpotter nearby picked up the sounds of seven gun shots.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/9/1694035953134.png" alt="Frazier-photo Jackson Co." />
 <figcaption>Frazier-photo Jackson Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY —After a&nbsp; jury convicted a Kansas City man in the 2017 fatal shooting of Tamara Randolf, a judge sentences 42-year-old John Frazier to Life Without Parole plus 20 years, according to Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker.In April, the jury convicted Frazier of Murder 1st Degree and Armed Criminal Action.&nbsp; The jury made its recommendation on sentence: Life Without Parole, the mandatory sentence for a Murder 1st Degree conviction, and 20 years in prison for the Armed Criminal Action conviction.A Jackson County judge sentenced Frazier as the jury recommended. The sentences are to be served concurrently.According to court records, police responded on Aug. 2, 2017, to a residence in the 3700 block of Woodland on a reported shooting.&nbsp; Frazier was the caller; he told police he shot the victim after she pulled a gun on him. Witnesses told police that the victim was at the residence to retrieve her two children. Police found the victim on the ground. She was declared deceased on the scene. Video surveillance showed the victim arriving and knocking at the door. Frazier arrived at the residence, gets out of his truck and appears to be holding a gun. A family member of the victim was on the phone with her and heard a struggle. A ShotSpotter nearby picked up the sounds of seven gun shots.

Witness: KC man shot woman who came to pick up her children

SEDGWICK COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a vehicle vs. pedestrian collision that fatally injured a 57-year-old man from Wichita.

Just after 8:30 p.m. Sunday officers were dispatched to a collision at the intersection of Lincoln and Sylvan Street in Wichita, according to Officer Juan Rebolledo.

First responders located the victim unconscious and not breathing. EMS pronounced him deceased on the scene.

The investigation revealed the man was walking eastbound on the south side of Lincoln in the roadway when he was struck by an eastbound vehicle driven by a 32-year-old man from Andover.

Neither speed nor impairment are believed to be contributing factors to the collision.&nbsp;

If anyone has any information on this case, please call WPD Detectives at 316-350-3686, the See Something Say Something hotline at 316-519-2282, or Crime Stoppers at 316-267-2111.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/9/1694446874596.png" alt="Neither speed nor impairment are believed to be contributing factors to the collision-photo courtesy KWCH&nbsp;" />
 <figcaption>Neither speed nor impairment are believed to be contributing factors to the collision-photo courtesy KWCH&nbsp;</figcaption>
 </figure>SEDGWICK COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a vehicle vs. pedestrian collision that fatally injured a 57-year-old man from Wichita.Just after 8:30 p.m. Sunday officers were dispatched to a collision at the intersection of Lincoln and Sylvan Street in Wichita, according to Officer Juan Rebolledo.First responders located the victim unconscious and not breathing. EMS pronounced him deceased on the scene.The investigation revealed the man was walking eastbound on the south side of Lincoln in the roadway when he was struck by an eastbound vehicle driven by a 32-year-old man from Andover.Neither speed nor impairment are believed to be contributing factors to the collision.&nbsp;If anyone has any information on this case, please call WPD Detectives at 316-350-3686, the See Something Say Something hotline at 316-519-2282, or Crime Stoppers at 316-267-2111.

Police investigate fatal Kansas vehicle, pedestrian accident

KEARNY COUNTY — There is no school on Monday for USD 216 Deerfield due to damage from a Sunday storm that brought large hail and strong winds to the community.

The National Weather Service issued a severe thunderstorm warning just after 5p.m. Sunday for portions of Kearny, Haskell, Grant and Finney counties.

The school district reported early Monday they&nbsp;need time to clean up and repair large parts of the school.&nbsp; Many vehicles and buildings were damaged with hail approximately 2 and one half inches in diameter, according to the Kearny County Sheriff's office.&nbsp; There are no injuries reported.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/9/1694442575976.png" alt="Radar image from Sunday afternoon -NWS Dodge City" />
 <figcaption>Radar image from Sunday afternoon -NWS Dodge City</figcaption>
 </figure>KEARNY COUNTY — There is no school on Monday for USD 216 Deerfield due to damage from a Sunday storm that brought large hail and strong winds to the community.The National Weather Service issued a severe thunderstorm warning just after 5p.m. Sunday for portions of Kearny, Haskell, Grant and Finney counties.The school district reported early Monday they&nbsp;need time to clean up and repair large parts of the school.&nbsp; Many vehicles and buildings were damaged with hail approximately 2 and one half inches in diameter, according to the Kearny County Sheriff's office.&nbsp; There are no injuries reported.

Kan. district cancels school due to severe storm damage

NEW YORK (AP) — Americans are looking back on the horror and legacy of 9/11, gathering Monday at memorials, firehouses, city halls and elsewhere to observe the 22nd anniversary of the deadliest terror attack on U.S. soil.

<a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?530271-1/911-remembrance-ceremony-york-city">Click here to watch</a> the 9/11 remembrance ceremony in New York

Commemorations stretch from the attack sites — at New York's World Trade Center, the Pentagon and Shanksville, Pennsylvania — to Alaska and beyond.

“For those of us who lost people on that day, that day is still happening. Everybody else moves on. And you find a way to go forward, but that day is always happening for you,” Edward Edelman said as he arrived at ground zero to honor his slain brother-in-law, Daniel McGinley.

President Joe Biden is due at&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-911-terrorist-attack-harris-alaska-8e58378865dc612a49d0a2dee80f2304">a ceremony on a military base</a>&nbsp;in Anchorage. His visit, en route to Washington, D.C., from a trip to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-vietnam-status-china-trade-ac8f9dd899f77910c42295769d3fedb6">India and Vietnam</a>, is a reminder that the impact of 9/11 was felt in every corner of the nation, however remote. The hijacked plane attacks claimed nearly 3,000 lives and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/911-20-years-world-affairs-cc497f11743fcbd48b0b3e0c3ed2da5f">reshaped American foreign policy</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/how-sept-11-changed-flying-1ce4dc4282fb47a34c0b61ae09a024f4">domestic fears</a>.

On that day, “we were one country, one nation, one people, just like it should be. That was the feeling — that everyone came together and did what we could, where we were at, to try to help," said Eddie Ferguson, the fire-rescue chief in Virginia’s Goochland County.

It's more than 100 miles from the Pentagon and more than three times as far from New York. But a sense of connection is enshrined in a local memorial incorporating steel from the World Trade Center’s destroyed twin towers.

The predominantly rural county of 25,000 people holds not just one but two anniversary commemorations: a morning service focused on first responders and an evening ceremony honoring all the victims.

Other communities across the country pay tribute with moments of silence, tolling bells, candlelight vigils and other activities. In Columbus, Indiana, 911 dispatchers broadcast a remembrance message to police, fire and EMS radios throughout the 50,000-person city, which also holds a public memorial ceremony.

Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts raise and lower the flag at a commemoration in Fenton, Missouri, where a “Heroes Memorial” includes a piece of World Trade Center steel and a plaque honoring 9/11 victim Jessica Leigh Sachs. Some of her relatives live in the St. Louis suburb of 4,000 residents.

“We’re just a little bitty community,” said Mayor Joe Maurath, but “it’s important for us to continue to remember these events. Not just 9/11, but all of the events that make us free.”

New Jersey's Monmouth County, which was home to some 9/11 victims, made Sept. 11 a holiday this year for county employees so they could attend commemorations.

As another way of marking the anniversary, many Americans do volunteer work on what Congress has designated both Patriot Day and a National Day of Service and Remembrance.

At ground zero, Vice President Kamala Harris is due to join the ceremony on the National Sept. 11 Memorial and Museum plaza. The event will not feature remarks from political figures, instead giving the podium to victims’ relatives for an hourslong reading of the names of the dead.

James Giaccone signed up to read again this year in memory of his brother, Joseph Giaccone, 43. The family attends the ceremony every year to hear Joseph's name.

"If their name is spoken out loud, they don’t disappear,” James Giaccone said in a recent interview.

“I hope I never see the day when they minimize this,” he said. “It's a day that changed history.”

Biden, a Democrat, will be the first president to commemorate Sept. 11 in Alaska, or anywhere in the western U.S. He and his predecessors have gone to one or another of the attack sites in most years, though Republican George W. Bush and Democrat Barack Obama each marked the anniversary on the White House lawn at times. Obama followed one of those observances by recognizing the military with a visit to Fort Meade in Maryland.

First lady Jill Biden is due to lay a wreath at the 9/11 memorial at the Pentagon.

In Pennsylvania, where one of the hijacked jets crashed after passengers tried to storm the cockpit, a remembrance and wreath-laying is scheduled at the Flight 93 National Memorial in Stoystown operated by the National Park Service. Harris’ husband, Doug Emhoff, is expected to attend the ceremony.

The memorial site will offer a new educational video, virtual tour and other materials for teachers to use in classrooms. Educators with a total of more than 10,000 students have registered for access to the free “National Day of Learning” program, which will be available through the fall, organizers say.

“We need to get the word out to the next generation,” said memorial spokesperson Katherine Hostetler, a National Park Service ranger.

NEW YORK (AP) — Americans are looking back on the horror and legacy of 9/11, gathering Monday at memorials, firehouses, city halls and elsewhere to observe the 22nd anniversary of the deadliest terror attack on U.S. soil.<a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?530271-1/911-remembrance-ceremony-york-city">Click here to watch</a> the 9/11 remembrance ceremony in New YorkCommemorations stretch from the attack sites — at New York's World Trade Center, the Pentagon and Shanksville, Pennsylvania — to Alaska and beyond.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">September 11 is a day not only to remember, but a day of renewal and resolve for every American — in our devotion to this country, to the principles it embodies, to our democracy. That is what we owe one another. And what we owe future generations of Americans to come. <a href="https://t.co/EeCYvo7Q0Q">pic.twitter.com/EeCYvo7Q0Q</a>&mdash; President Biden (@POTUS) <a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1701200460386816145?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 11, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>“For those of us who lost people on that day, that day is still happening. Everybody else moves on. And you find a way to go forward, but that day is always happening for you,” Edward Edelman said as he arrived at ground zero to honor his slain brother-in-law, Daniel McGinley.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Today, we remember and honor all the heroes and victims our nation lost on September 11, 2001. We will never forget. <a href="https://t.co/Zmh9LIqX9Y">pic.twitter.com/Zmh9LIqX9Y</a>&mdash; KS Highway Patrol (@kshighwaypatrol) <a href="https://twitter.com/kshighwaypatrol/status/1701224816995365282?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 11, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>President Joe Biden is due at&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-911-terrorist-attack-harris-alaska-8e58378865dc612a49d0a2dee80f2304">a ceremony on a military base</a>&nbsp;in Anchorage. His visit, en route to Washington, D.C., from a trip to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-vietnam-status-china-trade-ac8f9dd899f77910c42295769d3fedb6">India and Vietnam</a>, is a reminder that the impact of 9/11 was felt in every corner of the nation, however remote. The hijacked plane attacks claimed nearly 3,000 lives and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/911-20-years-world-affairs-cc497f11743fcbd48b0b3e0c3ed2da5f">reshaped American foreign policy</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/how-sept-11-changed-flying-1ce4dc4282fb47a34c0b61ae09a024f4">domestic fears</a>.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Today marks 22 years since the terrorist attacks on America. 2,977 people were killed including 343 Firefighters, 72 police &amp; 55 military personnel. The KCKFD stands ready to serve our city as those responders served theirs. We will always remember. We will never forget 9-11-2001 <a href="https://t.co/Qahg3szxSg">pic.twitter.com/Qahg3szxSg</a>&mdash; KCK Fire Department (@KCKFDPIO) <a href="https://twitter.com/KCKFDPIO/status/1701225966037536876?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 11, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>On that day, “we were one country, one nation, one people, just like it should be. That was the feeling — that everyone came together and did what we could, where we were at, to try to help," said Eddie Ferguson, the fire-rescue chief in Virginia’s Goochland County.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">The lights are on! 9/11 Memorial Ceremony in Overland Park starts at 7:30 a.m. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NeverForget?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NeverForget</a> <a href="https://t.co/fWErmrdBCv">pic.twitter.com/fWErmrdBCv</a>&mdash; Overland Park Fire (@OverlandParkFD) <a href="https://twitter.com/OverlandParkFD/status/1701050417969529151?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 11, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>It's more than 100 miles from the Pentagon and more than three times as far from New York. But a sense of connection is enshrined in a local memorial incorporating steel from the World Trade Center’s destroyed twin towers.The predominantly rural county of 25,000 people holds not just one but two anniversary commemorations: a morning service focused on first responders and an evening ceremony honoring all the victims.Other communities across the country pay tribute with moments of silence, tolling bells, candlelight vigils and other activities. In Columbus, Indiana, 911 dispatchers broadcast a remembrance message to police, fire and EMS radios throughout the 50,000-person city, which also holds a public memorial ceremony.Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts raise and lower the flag at a commemoration in Fenton, Missouri, where a “Heroes Memorial” includes a piece of World Trade Center steel and a plaque honoring 9/11 victim Jessica Leigh Sachs. Some of her relatives live in the St. Louis suburb of 4,000 residents.“We’re just a little bitty community,” said Mayor Joe Maurath, but “it’s important for us to continue to remember these events. Not just 9/11, but all of the events that make us free.”New Jersey's Monmouth County, which was home to some 9/11 victims, made Sept. 11 a holiday this year for county employees so they could attend commemorations.As another way of marking the anniversary, many Americans do volunteer work on what Congress has designated both Patriot Day and a National Day of Service and Remembrance.At ground zero, Vice President Kamala Harris is due to join the ceremony on the National Sept. 11 Memorial and Museum plaza. The event will not feature remarks from political figures, instead giving the podium to victims’ relatives for an hourslong reading of the names of the dead.James Giaccone signed up to read again this year in memory of his brother, Joseph Giaccone, 43. The family attends the ceremony every year to hear Joseph's name."If their name is spoken out loud, they don’t disappear,” James Giaccone said in a recent interview.The commemoration is crucial to him.“I hope I never see the day when they minimize this,” he said. “It's a day that changed history.”Biden, a Democrat, will be the first president to commemorate Sept. 11 in Alaska, or anywhere in the western U.S. He and his predecessors have gone to one or another of the attack sites in most years, though Republican George W. Bush and Democrat Barack Obama each marked the anniversary on the White House lawn at times. Obama followed one of those observances by recognizing the military with a visit to Fort Meade in Maryland.First lady Jill Biden is due to lay a wreath at the 9/11 memorial at the Pentagon.In Pennsylvania, where one of the hijacked jets crashed after passengers tried to storm the cockpit, a remembrance and wreath-laying is scheduled at the Flight 93 National Memorial in Stoystown operated by the National Park Service. Harris’ husband, Doug Emhoff, is expected to attend the ceremony.The memorial site will offer a new educational video, virtual tour and other materials for teachers to use in classrooms. Educators with a total of more than 10,000 students have registered for access to the free “National Day of Learning” program, which will be available through the fall, organizers say.“We need to get the word out to the next generation,” said memorial spokesperson Katherine Hostetler, a National Park Service ranger.

🎥The United States marks 22 years since 9/11

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas high school football team paid tribute to their longtime photographer following her death Friday, four days after an accidental hit on the sidelines of a junior varsity game she was photographing.

Linda Gregory died a few hours before Friday's game, her husband Mel Gregory&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/mel.gregory/posts/pfbid0273zvgj8bCaFxGqemeRZEvisiwYhS4Je2amtwqrozjHjuLex3svN2qheoSTb1UzTXl">announced on Facebook</a>.

The 69-year-old woman had fallen backward and struck her head on concrete while taking pictures Sept. 4 at the junior varsity matchup between Wichita Northwest High School and rival Bishop Carroll High. Critically injured, she had been on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kansas.com/sports/varsity-kansas/article278994699.html">life support</a>&nbsp;all week waiting to donate her organs ever since the inadvertent hit during a blocking play by two players.

Mel Gregory, who owned a local photography business with his wife and was her photography partner, joined several other family members at Northwest's game against Heights High School on Friday just as the couple had done for years. All the players wore “LG” stickers on their helmets that will be there all season, and there was a moment of silence in her honor before kickoff.

“I was back on the sidelines tonight to watch Linda Gregory being honored with many tributes. It was hard to do the interviews and my voice broke way too many times but I hope I made my beloved Linda Gregory proud of my attempt to be as good as she was,” Mel Gregory&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/mel.gregory/posts/pfbid0ymaHzopLGUnxfce11DRUYPSsm47hGWLxDfJDyb8Kp3umSkkFDCqniPTEuwNW5MbEl">wrote</a>&nbsp;on Facebook after Friday's game.

The Gregorys started taking pictures of Northwest High sporting events in 2014 and have been a regular presence around the school's teams.

“Linda was an amazing person who breathed life into our students here at Northwest,” coach Steve Martin said after she was critically injured. “She would go out of her way to make each kid feel important in her own unique way. Her passion for kids was amazing, but it went deeper than taking pictures for Linda and Mel. They were a part of our football team and always will be. They are family!"

Longtime friend Joanna Chadwick said Linda Gregory made a lasting impression on the players she took pictures of. Chadwick became close to her when her husband coached basketball at Northwest.

“Linda is the third grandmother to my sons and that is something I’ll never, ever be able to repay her for,” Chadwick said. “But what is so amazing about Linda is that as much as she loved my family and as much as we loved her, it was that same way with so many other people.”

Former Northwest High star Breece Hall, who is now a New York Jets running back in the NFL, asked for prayers Tuesday after he heard about the injury.

“These are the most genuine, polite, kind, giving, whole hearted people. Prayers out to you and your wonderful wife, Mel Gregory,” Hall&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/breece.hall/posts/pfbid02o8Y77kJdPWMqaJ6iGZX2NJtCpaU71AXJaE9WbBzPPWtPvHJ93w8deLYXzrHX1x4Cl">posted on Facebook</a>.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/9/1694433688827.png" alt="Linda Gregory-photo courtesy KWCH" />
 <figcaption>Linda Gregory-photo courtesy KWCH</figcaption>
 </figure>WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas high school football team paid tribute to their longtime photographer following her death Friday, four days after an accidental hit on the sidelines of a junior varsity game she was photographing.Linda Gregory died a few hours before Friday's game, her husband Mel Gregory&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/mel.gregory/posts/pfbid0273zvgj8bCaFxGqemeRZEvisiwYhS4Je2amtwqrozjHjuLex3svN2qheoSTb1UzTXl">announced on Facebook</a>.The 69-year-old woman had fallen backward and struck her head on concrete while taking pictures Sept. 4 at the junior varsity matchup between Wichita Northwest High School and rival Bishop Carroll High. Critically injured, she had been on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kansas.com/sports/varsity-kansas/article278994699.html">life support</a>&nbsp;all week waiting to donate her organs ever since the inadvertent hit during a blocking play by two players.Mel Gregory, who owned a local photography business with his wife and was her photography partner, joined several other family members at Northwest's game against Heights High School on Friday just as the couple had done for years. All the players wore “LG” stickers on their helmets that will be there all season, and there was a moment of silence in her honor before kickoff.“I was back on the sidelines tonight to watch Linda Gregory being honored with many tributes. It was hard to do the interviews and my voice broke way too many times but I hope I made my beloved Linda Gregory proud of my attempt to be as good as she was,” Mel Gregory&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/mel.gregory/posts/pfbid0ymaHzopLGUnxfce11DRUYPSsm47hGWLxDfJDyb8Kp3umSkkFDCqniPTEuwNW5MbEl">wrote</a>&nbsp;on Facebook after Friday's game.The Gregorys started taking pictures of Northwest High sporting events in 2014 and have been a regular presence around the school's teams.“Linda was an amazing person who breathed life into our students here at Northwest,” coach Steve Martin said after she was critically injured. “She would go out of her way to make each kid feel important in her own unique way. Her passion for kids was amazing, but it went deeper than taking pictures for Linda and Mel. They were a part of our football team and always will be. They are family!"Longtime friend Joanna Chadwick said Linda Gregory made a lasting impression on the players she took pictures of. Chadwick became close to her when her husband coached basketball at Northwest.“Linda is the third grandmother to my sons and that is something I’ll never, ever be able to repay her for,” Chadwick said. “But what is so amazing about Linda is that as much as she loved my family and as much as we loved her, it was that same way with so many other people.”Former Northwest High star Breece Hall, who is now a New York Jets running back in the NFL, asked for prayers Tuesday after he heard about the injury.“These are the most genuine, polite, kind, giving, whole hearted people. Prayers out to you and your wonderful wife, Mel Gregory,” Hall&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/breece.hall/posts/pfbid02o8Y77kJdPWMqaJ6iGZX2NJtCpaU71AXJaE9WbBzPPWtPvHJ93w8deLYXzrHX1x4Cl">posted on Facebook</a>.

Tribute for Kan. high school football photographer who died after sideline accident

SEDGWICK COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a fatal weekend shooting in Wichita.

Just after 2a.m. Sunday, police were dispatched to report of a shooting in the 4000 block of West Memory Lane in Wichita, according to Officer Juan Rebolledo.

First responders&nbsp; located&nbsp;19-year-old Zyles James of Wichita unconscious and not breathing with gunshot wounds to his upper and lower body.

Officers began providing life-saving efforts until EMS arrived. James was transported to a local hospital where he was later pronounced deceased.

During the initial response, officers located another victim with a graze wound to the arm. The victim was transported to a local hospital and was treated and released.

Investigators are still working to determine the circumstances leading up to the shooting and the relationship between the victim and the suspect.

SEDGWICK COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a fatal weekend shooting in Wichita.Just after 2a.m. Sunday, police were dispatched to report of a shooting in the 4000 block of West Memory Lane in Wichita, according to Officer Juan Rebolledo.First responders&nbsp; located&nbsp;19-year-old Zyles James of Wichita unconscious and not breathing with gunshot wounds to his upper and lower body.Officers began providing life-saving efforts until EMS arrived. James was transported to a local hospital where he was later pronounced deceased.During the initial response, officers located another victim with a graze wound to the arm. The victim was transported to a local hospital and was treated and released.Investigators are still working to determine the circumstances leading up to the shooting and the relationship between the victim and the suspect.

Police: 19-year-old dead in Kansas shooting

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Kansas U.S. Senator Roger Marshall, M.D. spoke on Saturday at the Kansas State Fair about the importance of caring for your neighbors with mental health issues, especially those working in agriculture.

"September is Mental Health Awareness Month," Marshall said. "Specifically, we're trying to educate folks about the challenges in agriculture. Farmers and ranchers have an almost four times higher suicide rate than the general population. The pressures are for real. Many of us, I'm a fifth-generation farm kid, many are six and seven generations out here. The pressure to keep that farm alive and well for future generations is enormous."

It's getting harder and harder to go from pencil to profit in production agriculture. Costs are not what they were even a few years ago.

"Interest rates alone, the average farmer has about $1 million operation loan," Marshall said. "They were paying two percent interest on that particular loan three years ago and now it's, I'm hearing nine and ten percent. That was the profit margin in their entire operation. Most farmers and ranchers are not having any profit left. At the end of the day, they're working for free."

Marshall said cultivating relationships with those farmers that live near you is important to keeping them alive and healthy.

"Call 988 for the suicide prevention hotline, if they need it," Marshall said. "Most important, just be a good neighbor and reach out. When you see your neighbor struggling, invite them back to church. Invite them to a ballgame, invite them to go get some lunch with you. Be a good neighbor."

According to <a href="https://www.ruralminds.org/serving-rural-america">Rural Minds</a>, pre-pandemic in 2018, nearly two thirds of rural counties in America did not have a psychiatrist.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/9/1694426842459.png" alt="Kansas First District Congressman Tracey Mann and Senator Roger Marshall&nbsp; at the State Fair on Saturday-photo courtesy&nbsp;Renew Kansas Biofuels Association" />
 <figcaption>Kansas First District Congressman Tracey Mann and Senator Roger Marshall&nbsp; at the State Fair on Saturday-photo courtesy&nbsp;Renew Kansas Biofuels Association</figcaption>
 </figure>NICK GOSNELL Hutch PostHUTCHINSON, Kan. — Kansas U.S. Senator Roger Marshall, M.D. spoke on Saturday at the Kansas State Fair about the importance of caring for your neighbors with mental health issues, especially those working in agriculture."September is Mental Health Awareness Month," Marshall said. "Specifically, we're trying to educate folks about the challenges in agriculture. Farmers and ranchers have an almost four times higher suicide rate than the general population. The pressures are for real. Many of us, I'm a fifth-generation farm kid, many are six and seven generations out here. The pressure to keep that farm alive and well for future generations is enormous."It's getting harder and harder to go from pencil to profit in production agriculture. Costs are not what they were even a few years ago."Interest rates alone, the average farmer has about $1 million operation loan," Marshall said. "They were paying two percent interest on that particular loan three years ago and now it's, I'm hearing nine and ten percent. That was the profit margin in their entire operation. Most farmers and ranchers are not having any profit left. At the end of the day, they're working for free."Marshall said cultivating relationships with those farmers that live near you is important to keeping them alive and healthy."Call 988 for the suicide prevention hotline, if they need it," Marshall said. "Most important, just be a good neighbor and reach out. When you see your neighbor struggling, invite them back to church. Invite them to a ballgame, invite them to go get some lunch with you. Be a good neighbor."According to <a href="https://www.ruralminds.org/serving-rural-america">Rural Minds</a>, pre-pandemic in 2018, nearly two thirds of rural counties in America did not have a psychiatrist.

Marshall at State Fair: Mental health for farmers a major issue

KANSAS CITY —Two people died in an accident just after 4p.m. Sunday in Kansas City.

A Mazda CX5 was southbound on Bennington at a very high rate of speed, according to KCPD Captain Corey Carlisle.&nbsp; The driver of the Mazda failed to stop for the posted stop sign at 17th Street. 

The SUV entering the intersection and struck an east bound Toyota Camry. The driver and rear seat juvenile passenger of the Toyota were both declared deceased at the scene. 

EMS transported the driver of the Mazda to a local hospital with critical injuries and was in stable condition late Sunday.

The investigation, to include suspected impairment, is ongoing, according to Carlisle. Police have not released names of the victims.

KANSAS CITY —Two people died in an accident just after 4p.m. Sunday in Kansas City.A Mazda CX5 was southbound on Bennington at a very high rate of speed, according to KCPD Captain Corey Carlisle.&nbsp; The driver of the Mazda failed to stop for the posted stop sign at 17th Street. The SUV entering the intersection and struck an east bound Toyota Camry. The driver and rear seat juvenile passenger of the Toyota were both declared deceased at the scene. EMS transported the driver of the Mazda to a local hospital with critical injuries and was in stable condition late Sunday.The investigation, to include suspected impairment, is ongoing, according to Carlisle. Police have not released names of the victims.

Driver, juvenile passenger die in 2-vehicle KC crash

JACKSON COUNTY, Kan. —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a Kansas felon after a chase and crash

Just after 9p.m. Sept.6, a Sheriff’s Deputy attempted to conduct a traffic stop on a 2016 red Dodge Dart north of 198th and K-16 Highway for a traffic infraction, according to Sheriff Tim Morse.

The driver of the vehicle, later identified as Casey Cane Jordan Crawford, 30, Holton, allegedly failed to stop and fled eluding law enforcement. 

Deputies lost sight of the vehicle near 158th and T. Road due to dusty conditions. On Thursday morning, a Jackson County Sheriff’s Deputy located the wrecked Dodge Dart near 190th and the Jefferson County line. 

Deputies later located Crawford walking on Banner Road in Holton late Thursday evening. They arrested and booked him&nbsp;into the Jackson County Jail on requested charges of felony fleeing and eluding law enforcement, interference with law enforcement and driving while suspended.&nbsp;

Crawford has previous convictions for ID theft, battery, aggravated assault, flee or attempt to elude law enforcement and interference with law enforcement, according to the Kansas Dept. of Corrections.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/9/1694178378905.png" alt="Crawford has previous convictions for ID theft, battery, aggravated assault, flee or attempt to elude law enforcement and interference with law enforcement, according to the Kansas Dept. of Corrections -photo Jackson Co." />
 <figcaption>Crawford has previous convictions for ID theft, battery, aggravated assault, flee or attempt to elude law enforcement and interference with law enforcement, according to the Kansas Dept. of Corrections -photo Jackson Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>JACKSON COUNTY, Kan. —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a Kansas felon after a chase and crashJust after 9p.m. Sept.6, a Sheriff’s Deputy attempted to conduct a traffic stop on a 2016 red Dodge Dart north of 198th and K-16 Highway for a traffic infraction, according to Sheriff Tim Morse.The driver of the vehicle, later identified as Casey Cane Jordan Crawford, 30, Holton, allegedly failed to stop and fled eluding law enforcement. Deputies lost sight of the vehicle near 158th and T. Road due to dusty conditions. On Thursday morning, a Jackson County Sheriff’s Deputy located the wrecked Dodge Dart near 190th and the Jefferson County line. Deputies later located Crawford walking on Banner Road in Holton late Thursday evening. They arrested and booked him&nbsp;into the Jackson County Jail on requested charges of felony fleeing and eluding law enforcement, interference with law enforcement and driving while suspended.&nbsp;Crawford has previous convictions for ID theft, battery, aggravated assault, flee or attempt to elude law enforcement and interference with law enforcement, according to the Kansas Dept. of Corrections.

Kansas felon captured day after chase, crash 

OSAGE COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect on drug allegations.

Just after 9:31 p.m. Sept. 4, a Sheriff’s Deputy conducted a traffic stop on&nbsp; U.S. 75, near Carbondale, for a traffic violation, according to Sheriff Chris Wells.

During the stop, illegal narcotics were located. The driver of the vehicle, Cirenio Martinez-Apolinar, 35, of Lyndon was taken into custody and transported to the Osage County Jail Facility on requested charges of&nbsp; Possession of cocaine, Transporting an open container and No driver’s license.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/9/1693943544224.png" alt="Martinez-Apolinar-photo Osage Co." />
 <figcaption>Martinez-Apolinar-photo Osage Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>OSAGE COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect on drug allegations.Just after 9:31 p.m. Sept. 4, a Sheriff’s Deputy conducted a traffic stop on&nbsp; U.S. 75, near Carbondale, for a traffic violation, according to Sheriff Chris Wells.During the stop, illegal narcotics were located. The driver of the vehicle, Cirenio Martinez-Apolinar, 35, of Lyndon was taken into custody and transported to the Osage County Jail Facility on requested charges of&nbsp; Possession of cocaine, Transporting an open container and No driver’s license.

Kansas man caught transporting cocaine

ATCHISON COUNTY, Mo. —One person died in an accident just before 7a.m. Sunday in Atchison County, Missouri.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 2009 Hyundai Sonata driven by Ryan L. Roper, 28, Atchison, Kansas, was westbound on U.S. 59 two miles east of Atchison.

The car crossed the center of the road, began to skid, slide and struck a fixed object.&nbsp;

Roper was pronounced dead at the scene and was transported to Arensburg-Pruett Funeral Home in Atchison. He was not wearing a seat belt, according to the MSHP.

ATCHISON COUNTY, Mo. —One person died in an accident just before 7a.m. Sunday in Atchison County, Missouri.The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 2009 Hyundai Sonata driven by Ryan L. Roper, 28, Atchison, Kansas, was westbound on U.S. 59 two miles east of Atchison.The car crossed the center of the road, began to skid, slide and struck a fixed object.&nbsp;Roper was pronounced dead at the scene and was transported to Arensburg-Pruett Funeral Home in Atchison. He was not wearing a seat belt, according to the MSHP.

Kansas man dies after crash in Missouri 

Accidental overdoses are now the No. 1 cause of death for young people in 37 states, including Missouri

BY: TIM HENDERSON,&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://stateline.org/">Stateline</a>&nbsp;

A new Stateline analysis shows that U.S. residents under 40 were relatively unscathed by COVID-19 in the pandemic but fell victim to another killer: accidental drug overdose deaths.

Death rates in the age group were up by nearly a third in 2021 over 2018, and last year were still 21% higher.

COVID-19 was a small part of the increase, causing about 23,000 deaths total between 2018 and 2022 in the age group, which includes the millennial generation (born starting in the early 1980s), Generation Z (born starting in the late ’90s) and children. Vehicle accidents and suicide (about 96,000 each) and gun homicide (about 65,000) all took a cumulative toll from 2018 to 2022, according to a Stateline analysis of federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data.

Overdose deaths, however, took almost 177,000 lives in that time.

Accidental overdose became the No. 1 cause of death in 13 states for people under 40, overtaking suicide in nine states and vehicle accidents in five others; it’s now the top cause in 37 states. The only other change was in Mississippi, where homicide became the main cause of death, overtaking car accidents. In 40 states and the District of Columbia, overdose was the biggest increase in deaths for young people.

States are responding to the skyrocketing death rates with “harm reduction” strategies that can include warning of the new danger of recreational drugs laced with deadly fentanyl, training and equipping people to counteract overdoses when they see them, and even considering controversial supervised drug use sites to keep addicts safer.

A “fourth great wave” of accidental overdose deaths driven by drugs spiked with powerful fentanyl is now washing over young America, said Daliah Heller, vice president of drug use initiatives at Vital Strategies, an international advocacy group that works on strengthening public health.

Prescription opioids led to one surge in drug dependency from 2000 to 2016, then when supply waned in response to crackdowns, users turned to heroin, synthetic opioids and finally fentanyl, which is 50 times more potent than heroin and easier to get in the pandemic, Heller said.

Jonathan Diehl of Silver Spring, Maryland, died in 2019 at age 28 after using heroin he likely did not know was spiked with fentanyl, said his mother, Cristina Rabadán-Diehl. Jonathan Diehl earned a degree in construction management and was starting a promising new job in home heating and air conditioning four days before he died, his mother said.

“I think Jonathan’s trajectory was very common,” said Rabadán-Diehl, who now works as an adviser on substance use disorders. “He started with opioid pills, and when the government started putting restrictions on prescriptions, he as well as millions and millions of Americans transitioned into the illegal market. And then fentanyl made its appearance.”

Now, a fresh wave of overdose deaths — different from&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0955395919300180#:~:text=The%20triple%20wave%20epidemic%3A%20opioid,methadone%20(Ciccarone%2C%202017)">the first three</a>&nbsp;— is fed by fentanyl making its way into all kind of recreational drugs, and by pandemic isolation that led to more solitary drug use, Heller said.

“Somebody might think they’re getting a Xanax [for anxiety], or methamphetamine or cocaine,” Heller said. “They have no experience with opioids, it’s not what they’re expecting and now they have a much higher risk of overdose and death.”

Authorities generally classify overdose deaths as an accident or suicide based on individual investigations of the circumstances surrounding each death.

States struggling the most with deaths of young people, driven mostly by accidental overdoses, include New Mexico, which eclipsed West Virginia and Mississippi since 2018 to have the highest death rate in the nation for people under 40 — about 188 deaths per 100,000, up 43% since 2018.

Other states with high death rates for the age group include West Virginia (170 deaths per 100,000), Louisiana and Mississippi (164), and Alaska (163).

In New Mexico, where accidental overdoses became the main cause of death for people under 40 in 2022, overtaking suicide and rising 90% to 394 deaths since 2018, the overdose problem has&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://ibis.doh.nm.gov/indicator/summary/DrugOverdoseED.html">generally been concentrated</a>&nbsp;in poverty-plagued rural areas such as Rio Arriba County on the Colorado border.

Democratic state Rep. Tara Lujan, who has relatives in that county, sponsored&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.nmlegis.gov/Legislation/Legislation?chamber=H&amp;legType=B&amp;legNo=52&amp;year=22">harm reduction legislation</a>&nbsp;signed into law last year. It is similar to laws in many other states that include wide distribution of naloxone to reverse overdoses, legalized testing equipment for deadly additives like fentanyl, and good Samaritan laws that allow friends to report overdoses without legal consequences for their own drug use.

Lujan hopes to reintroduce a bill that would create so-called overdose prevention centers or harm reduction centers where drugs can be used in a supervised and safe environment. The legislation died in committee this year after Republicans called the idea “state-sponsored drug dens.”

“It’s all issues that were in place before the pandemic, but the pandemic made everything completely off the rails,” Lujan said. “My committee meetings have been packed with family members saying, ‘We know they won’t quit on their own, but we don’t want them to die.’”

Only New York City has two such facilities in operation, run by advocates; the sites claim some success in reversing overdoses. But federal law enforcement authorities are&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/08/nyregion/drug-overdoses-supervised-consumption-nyc.html">threatening to shut them down</a>&nbsp;without a specific state mandate, since otherwise they fall under a federal law banning operations that allow illegal drug use on-site.

In California, Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom last year&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.gov.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/SB-57-veto-msg-August-22-2022.pdf">vetoed</a>&nbsp;legislation that would have allowed jurisdictions to open safe injection sites, saying they “could induce a world of unintended consequences” in cities such as Los Angeles, San Francisco and Oakland.

“Worsening drug consumption challenges in these areas is not a risk we can take,” Newsom wrote in a veto message.

Rhode Island is the only state so far to pass legislation allowing supervised drug-use sites as a pilot project, in 2021, but&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.browndailyherald.com/article/2023/02/rhode-island-moves-closer-to-opening-first-overdose-prevention-center#:~:text=According%20to%20Marshall%2C%20the%20delay,a%20licensing%20procedure%2C%20he%20said.">has yet to open any centers</a>. New legislation&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/billtext23/housetext23/h5044.htm">introduced this year</a>&nbsp;would push the expiration of the pilot project from 2024 to 2026.

Bills on the same topic of supervised drug-use sites were under consideration this year in&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/hb23-1202">Colorado</a>,&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://ilga.gov/legislation/BillStatus.asp?DocNum=2&amp;GAID=17&amp;DocTypeID=HB&amp;LegId=141833&amp;SessionID=112&amp;GA=103">Illinois</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://nyassembly.gov/leg/?default_fld=%0D%0A&amp;leg_video=&amp;bn=S00399&amp;term=2023&amp;Actions=Y">New York</a>&nbsp;but did not pass.

In a sign of the impact on young people, a Massachusetts bill would have required all state university dorm assistants to have naloxone training to reverse overdoses, but it stalled.

<a target="_blank" href="https://www.wmur.com/article/overdose-prevention-van-to-deliver-life-saving-resources-across-new-hampshire/43065554">New Hampshire</a>&nbsp;is one of several states experimenting with vans that go to known drug-use locations and offer overdose prevention supplies and advice.

The lowest death rates for young people in 2022 were in Hawaii (78), Massachusetts and Rhode Island (79), and Utah and New Jersey (80). Massachusetts and New Jersey were the only states to see decreases in overall deaths for people under 40 since 2018, and also had drops in overdose deaths, although overdose remained the No. 1 cause of death for young people in both states.

Nationally, accidental overdoses dominated the increase in deaths in residents under 40 across racial and urban-rural divides, but many disparities exist. The increase in young overdose death rates was 154% for Black Americans, 122% for Hispanic residents and 37% for white people, yet even for white residents they represented the largest increase.

The largest urban areas saw increases in overdose death rates of 70%, and rural areas 64% — the largest increases in both areas for any cause of death.

Across races and age groups overdose death rates are higher for men and slowed in 2017, but picked up again after 2018 and skyrocketed in the pandemic until 2021, according to a federal National Center for Health Statistics&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db457.htm%5C">data brief</a>&nbsp;published last year.

<h2>Accidental overdoses are now the No. 1 cause of death for young people in 37 states, including Missouri</h2>BY: TIM HENDERSON,&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://stateline.org/">Stateline</a>&nbsp;A new Stateline analysis shows that U.S. residents under 40 were relatively unscathed by COVID-19 in the pandemic but fell victim to another killer: accidental drug overdose deaths.Death rates in the age group were up by nearly a third in 2021 over 2018, and last year were still 21% higher.COVID-19 was a small part of the increase, causing about 23,000 deaths total between 2018 and 2022 in the age group, which includes the millennial generation (born starting in the early 1980s), Generation Z (born starting in the late ’90s) and children. Vehicle accidents and suicide (about 96,000 each) and gun homicide (about 65,000) all took a cumulative toll from 2018 to 2022, according to a Stateline analysis of federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data.Overdose deaths, however, took almost 177,000 lives in that time.Accidental overdose became the No. 1 cause of death in 13 states for people under 40, overtaking suicide in nine states and vehicle accidents in five others; it’s now the top cause in 37 states. The only other change was in Mississippi, where homicide became the main cause of death, overtaking car accidents. In 40 states and the District of Columbia, overdose was the biggest increase in deaths for young people.States are responding to the skyrocketing death rates with “harm reduction” strategies that can include warning of the new danger of recreational drugs laced with deadly fentanyl, training and equipping people to counteract overdoses when they see them, and even considering controversial supervised drug use sites to keep addicts safer.A “fourth great wave” of accidental overdose deaths driven by drugs spiked with powerful fentanyl is now washing over young America, said Daliah Heller, vice president of drug use initiatives at Vital Strategies, an international advocacy group that works on strengthening public health.Prescription opioids led to one surge in drug dependency from 2000 to 2016, then when supply waned in response to crackdowns, users turned to heroin, synthetic opioids and finally fentanyl, which is 50 times more potent than heroin and easier to get in the pandemic, Heller said.<h2>‘Very common’ experience</h2>Jonathan Diehl of Silver Spring, Maryland, died in 2019 at age 28 after using heroin he likely did not know was spiked with fentanyl, said his mother, Cristina Rabadán-Diehl. Jonathan Diehl earned a degree in construction management and was starting a promising new job in home heating and air conditioning four days before he died, his mother said.“I think Jonathan’s trajectory was very common,” said Rabadán-Diehl, who now works as an adviser on substance use disorders. “He started with opioid pills, and when the government started putting restrictions on prescriptions, he as well as millions and millions of Americans transitioned into the illegal market. And then fentanyl made its appearance.”Now, a fresh wave of overdose deaths — different from&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0955395919300180#:~:text=The%20triple%20wave%20epidemic%3A%20opioid,methadone%20(Ciccarone%2C%202017)">the first three</a>&nbsp;— is fed by fentanyl making its way into all kind of recreational drugs, and by pandemic isolation that led to more solitary drug use, Heller said.“Somebody might think they’re getting a Xanax [for anxiety], or methamphetamine or cocaine,” Heller said. “They have no experience with opioids, it’s not what they’re expecting and now they have a much higher risk of overdose and death.”Authorities generally classify overdose deaths as an accident or suicide based on individual investigations of the circumstances surrounding each death.States struggling the most with deaths of young people, driven mostly by accidental overdoses, include New Mexico, which eclipsed West Virginia and Mississippi since 2018 to have the highest death rate in the nation for people under 40 — about 188 deaths per 100,000, up 43% since 2018.Other states with high death rates for the age group include West Virginia (170 deaths per 100,000), Louisiana and Mississippi (164), and Alaska (163).In New Mexico, where accidental overdoses became the main cause of death for people under 40 in 2022, overtaking suicide and rising 90% to 394 deaths since 2018, the overdose problem has&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://ibis.doh.nm.gov/indicator/summary/DrugOverdoseED.html">generally been concentrated</a>&nbsp;in poverty-plagued rural areas such as Rio Arriba County on the Colorado border.Democratic state Rep. Tara Lujan, who has relatives in that county, sponsored&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.nmlegis.gov/Legislation/Legislation?chamber=H&amp;legType=B&amp;legNo=52&amp;year=22">harm reduction legislation</a>&nbsp;signed into law last year. It is similar to laws in many other states that include wide distribution of naloxone to reverse overdoses, legalized testing equipment for deadly additives like fentanyl, and good Samaritan laws that allow friends to report overdoses without legal consequences for their own drug use.Lujan hopes to reintroduce a bill that would create so-called overdose prevention centers or harm reduction centers where drugs can be used in a supervised and safe environment. The legislation died in committee this year after Republicans called the idea “state-sponsored drug dens.”“It’s all issues that were in place before the pandemic, but the pandemic made everything completely off the rails,” Lujan said. “My committee meetings have been packed with family members saying, ‘We know they won’t quit on their own, but we don’t want them to die.’”Only New York City has two such facilities in operation, run by advocates; the sites claim some success in reversing overdoses. But federal law enforcement authorities are&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/08/nyregion/drug-overdoses-supervised-consumption-nyc.html">threatening to shut them down</a>&nbsp;without a specific state mandate, since otherwise they fall under a federal law banning operations that allow illegal drug use on-site.In California, Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom last year&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.gov.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/SB-57-veto-msg-August-22-2022.pdf">vetoed</a>&nbsp;legislation that would have allowed jurisdictions to open safe injection sites, saying they “could induce a world of unintended consequences” in cities such as Los Angeles, San Francisco and Oakland.“Worsening drug consumption challenges in these areas is not a risk we can take,” Newsom wrote in a veto message.Rhode Island is the only state so far to pass legislation allowing supervised drug-use sites as a pilot project, in 2021, but&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.browndailyherald.com/article/2023/02/rhode-island-moves-closer-to-opening-first-overdose-prevention-center#:~:text=According%20to%20Marshall%2C%20the%20delay,a%20licensing%20procedure%2C%20he%20said.">has yet to open any centers</a>. New legislation&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/billtext23/housetext23/h5044.htm">introduced this year</a>&nbsp;would push the expiration of the pilot project from 2024 to 2026.Bills on the same topic of supervised drug-use sites were under consideration this year in&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/hb23-1202">Colorado</a>,&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://ilga.gov/legislation/BillStatus.asp?DocNum=2&amp;GAID=17&amp;DocTypeID=HB&amp;LegId=141833&amp;SessionID=112&amp;GA=103">Illinois</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://nyassembly.gov/leg/?default_fld=%0D%0A&amp;leg_video=&amp;bn=S00399&amp;term=2023&amp;Actions=Y">New York</a>&nbsp;but did not pass.In a sign of the impact on young people, a Massachusetts bill would have required all state university dorm assistants to have naloxone training to reverse overdoses, but it stalled.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.wmur.com/article/overdose-prevention-van-to-deliver-life-saving-resources-across-new-hampshire/43065554">New Hampshire</a>&nbsp;is one of several states experimenting with vans that go to known drug-use locations and offer overdose prevention supplies and advice.<h2>Death rate disparities</h2>The lowest death rates for young people in 2022 were in Hawaii (78), Massachusetts and Rhode Island (79), and Utah and New Jersey (80). Massachusetts and New Jersey were the only states to see decreases in overall deaths for people under 40 since 2018, and also had drops in overdose deaths, although overdose remained the No. 1 cause of death for young people in both states.Nationally, accidental overdoses dominated the increase in deaths in residents under 40 across racial and urban-rural divides, but many disparities exist. The increase in young overdose death rates was 154% for Black Americans, 122% for Hispanic residents and 37% for white people, yet even for white residents they represented the largest increase.The largest urban areas saw increases in overdose death rates of 70%, and rural areas 64% — the largest increases in both areas for any cause of death.Across races and age groups overdose death rates are higher for men and slowed in 2017, but picked up again after 2018 and skyrocketed in the pandemic until 2021, according to a federal National Center for Health Statistics&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db457.htm%5C">data brief</a>&nbsp;published last year.

Death rates for people under 40 have skyrocketed. Blame fentanyl

RENO COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities investigating a shooting in Hutchinson and have made two arrests.

Just before 5a.m. Sunday, police were dispatched to a shooting in the 300 block West Avenue B in Hutchinson, according to a media release.&nbsp;

First responders located 18-year-old John Cantu III of Hutchinson with two gunshot wounds to his legs. It was determined that the shooting occurred in the 100 block of South Madison Street. Cantu was transported by EMS to Hutchinson Regional Medical Center where he was subsequently treated and released.

At the scene, police arrested 26-year-old Sergio Luna Para and 31-year-old Demetrius Cantu both of Hutchinson on requested charges of felony interference with law enforcement. Persons of interest who are acquainted with the victim have been also been identified.

RENO COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities investigating a shooting in Hutchinson and have made two arrests.Just before 5a.m. Sunday, police were dispatched to a shooting in the 300 block West Avenue B in Hutchinson, according to a media release.&nbsp;First responders located 18-year-old John Cantu III of Hutchinson with two gunshot wounds to his legs. It was determined that the shooting occurred in the 100 block of South Madison Street. Cantu was transported by EMS to Hutchinson Regional Medical Center where he was subsequently treated and released.At the scene, police arrested 26-year-old Sergio Luna Para and 31-year-old Demetrius Cantu both of Hutchinson on requested charges of felony interference with law enforcement. Persons of interest who are acquainted with the victim have been also been identified.

2 arrested for shooting that hospitalized Hutchison teen

ROCHEPORT, Mo. (AP) — Onlookers online and on the banks of the Missouri River had to wait more than an hour to watch officials use explosives to drop a historic steel trestle bridge into the river that for years carried cars across the waterway along I-70.

The blast just southeast of Rocheport, Missouri, which is is about 115 miles (185.07 kilometers) east of Kansas City, was delayed by fog Sunday morning. The demolition that was scheduled for 7:30 a.m. finally happened shortly before 9 a.m. after the view was clear.

A small crowd of onlookers gathered along the banks of the river to watch the destruction with some of their heads temporarily blocking the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.modot.org/RocheportBridge">livestream</a>&nbsp;the Missouri Department of Transportation operated. Many others logged on from across the country to watch online. The feed switched to a wide shot that showed the entire bridge before the explosives were triggered.

The state said crews will work to remove the roughly 1,100-foot-long (335-meter-long) bridge from the river within 24 hours to clear the channel for boat and barge traffic.

Cars along Interstate 70 were already rerouted onto a new westbound bridge earlier this summer although the busy highway was temporarily blocked off during Sunday's demolition. A new $220 million bridge is scheduled to be completed by December 2024.

ROCHEPORT, Mo. (AP) — Onlookers online and on the banks of the Missouri River had to wait more than an hour to watch officials use explosives to drop a historic steel trestle bridge into the river that for years carried cars across the waterway along I-70.<div><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OMVL9p2VUGU?si=rBJs4HB9qeFvBfXg&amp;start=1524" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>The blast just southeast of Rocheport, Missouri, which is is about 115 miles (185.07 kilometers) east of Kansas City, was delayed by fog Sunday morning. The demolition that was scheduled for 7:30 a.m. finally happened shortly before 9 a.m. after the view was clear.A small crowd of onlookers gathered along the banks of the river to watch the destruction with some of their heads temporarily blocking the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.modot.org/RocheportBridge">livestream</a>&nbsp;the Missouri Department of Transportation operated. Many others logged on from across the country to watch online. The feed switched to a wide shot that showed the entire bridge before the explosives were triggered.The state said crews will work to remove the roughly 1,100-foot-long (335-meter-long) bridge from the river within 24 hours to clear the channel for boat and barge traffic.Cars along Interstate 70 were already rerouted onto a new westbound bridge earlier this summer although the busy highway was temporarily blocked off during Sunday's demolition. A new $220 million bridge is scheduled to be completed by December 2024.

🎥Explosives drop steel trestle bridge into the water along I-70

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

A federal appeals court in Louisiana agreed on Friday evening with Missouri’s attorney general that the Biden administration “ran afoul of the First Amendment” by threatening social media platforms over posts spreading misinformation.&nbsp;

But the three-judge panel of the&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://missouriindependent.com/2023/08/10/appeals-court-weighs-limits-on-biden-administration-contact-with-social-media-platforms/#:~:text=Attorneys%20for%20the%20Biden%20administration,information%20deemed%20harmful%20or%20misleading.">5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans</a>&nbsp;concluded a lower court’s wide-ranging order barring the federal government from communicating with social media companies was “vague and broader than necessary.”

The appeals court’s Friday order vacated much of the lower court’s injunction, with the exception of a provision it narrowed concerning alleged coercion.

“As an initial matter, it is axiomatic that an injunction is overbroad if it enjoins a defendant from engaging in legal conduct,” Friday’s ruling said. “Nine of the preliminary injunction’s 10 prohibitions risk doing just that. Moreover, many of the provisions are duplicative of each other and thus unnecessary.”

The lawsuit was filed last year by former Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt and Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry. It alleges the federal government colluded with social media companies like Twitter and Facebook to suppress the freedom of speech.

U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty ruled July 4 that officials under both Democratic President Joe Biden and Republican President Donald Trump&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://missouriindependent.com/briefs/judge-limits-biden-administration-contact-with-social-media-platforms-in-censorship-case/">coerced social media companies to censor content over concerns it would fuel vaccine hesitancy during the COVID-19 pandemic or upend elections</a>.

Doughty, a Trump appointee, said the “widespread censorship campaign” violated the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment’s free speech guarantees. His order barred government agencies, including the Department of Health and Human Services and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, from contacting social media companies “for the purpose of urging, encouraging, pressuring or inducing in any manner the removal, deletion, suppression or reduction of content containing protected free speech.”

The Biden administration quickly appealed, and the 5th Circuit temporarily put the judge’s ruling on hold.

Friday’s order will not go into effect for 10 days, giving federal officials time to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.&nbsp;

Despite the appeals court limiting restrictions on the Biden administration, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey declared victory.&nbsp;

“Missouri will continue to lead the way in the fight to defend our most fundamental freedoms,” Bailey said in an emailed statement.&nbsp;

While the court limited the restrictions, Friday’s order pilloried the Biden administration’s efforts to combat misinformation by pressuring social media companies to remove posts.&nbsp;

“ …officials made express threats and, at the very least, leaned into the inherent authority of the president’s office,” Friday’s ruling stated.” The officials made inflammatory accusations, such as saying that the platforms were ‘poison[ing]’ the public, and ‘killing people.’ The platforms were told they needed to take greater responsibility and action. Then, they followed their statements with threats of ‘fundamental reforms’ like regulatory changes and increased enforcement actions that would ensure the platforms were ‘held accountable.’”

Jenin Younes, a lawyer with the New Civil Liberties Alliance, an organization representing individual plaintiffs in the case, said Friday’s ruling is a win for free speech.

“The government cannot coerce or encourage social media companies to censor views it dislikes,” Younes said.

The lawsuit has garnered widespread attention, and attracted co-plaintiffs with long histories of spreading misinformation and debunked conspiracy theories.

That includes Jim Hoft, founder of the right-wing conspiracy website Gateway Pundit, who was added to the lawsuit in August and has built a career on promulgating conspiracies on a wide range of topics, from the 2018 Parkland school shooting to former President Barack Obama’s birth certificate.

More recently, Hoft has been among the biggest purveyors of election fraud lies. He currently faces&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://missouriindependent.com/2023/04/28/missouri-lawsuit-isnt-the-only-defamation-case-against-far-right-site-gateway-pundit/">defamation lawsuit in St. Louis circuit court</a>&nbsp;filed by two Georgia election workers who faced death threats following Gateway Pundit’s false stories about a vote-rigging scheme.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/1/1578090484280.jpeg" alt="-The lawsuit alleges the federal government colluded with social media companies like Twitter and Facebook&nbsp;o suppress the freedom of speech." />
 <figcaption>-The lawsuit alleges the federal government colluded with social media companies like Twitter and Facebook&nbsp;o suppress the freedom of speech.</figcaption>
 </figure>By JASON HANCOCK,&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2023/02/20/state-senator-throws-first-punches-of-2024-missouri-governors-campaign/">Missouri Independent</a>A federal appeals court in Louisiana agreed on Friday evening with Missouri’s attorney general that the Biden administration “ran afoul of the First Amendment” by threatening social media platforms over posts spreading misinformation.&nbsp;But the three-judge panel of the&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://missouriindependent.com/2023/08/10/appeals-court-weighs-limits-on-biden-administration-contact-with-social-media-platforms/#:~:text=Attorneys%20for%20the%20Biden%20administration,information%20deemed%20harmful%20or%20misleading.">5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans</a>&nbsp;concluded a lower court’s wide-ranging order barring the federal government from communicating with social media companies was “vague and broader than necessary.”The appeals court’s Friday order vacated much of the lower court’s injunction, with the exception of a provision it narrowed concerning alleged coercion.“As an initial matter, it is axiomatic that an injunction is overbroad if it enjoins a defendant from engaging in legal conduct,” Friday’s ruling said. “Nine of the preliminary injunction’s 10 prohibitions risk doing just that. Moreover, many of the provisions are duplicative of each other and thus unnecessary.”The lawsuit was filed last year by former Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt and Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry. It alleges the federal government colluded with social media companies like Twitter and Facebook to suppress the freedom of speech.U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty ruled July 4 that officials under both Democratic President Joe Biden and Republican President Donald Trump&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://missouriindependent.com/briefs/judge-limits-biden-administration-contact-with-social-media-platforms-in-censorship-case/">coerced social media companies to censor content over concerns it would fuel vaccine hesitancy during the COVID-19 pandemic or upend elections</a>.Doughty, a Trump appointee, said the “widespread censorship campaign” violated the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment’s free speech guarantees. His order barred government agencies, including the Department of Health and Human Services and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, from contacting social media companies “for the purpose of urging, encouraging, pressuring or inducing in any manner the removal, deletion, suppression or reduction of content containing protected free speech.”The Biden administration quickly appealed, and the 5th Circuit temporarily put the judge’s ruling on hold.Friday’s order will not go into effect for 10 days, giving federal officials time to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.&nbsp;Despite the appeals court limiting restrictions on the Biden administration, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey declared victory.&nbsp;“Missouri will continue to lead the way in the fight to defend our most fundamental freedoms,” Bailey said in an emailed statement.&nbsp;While the court limited the restrictions, Friday’s order pilloried the Biden administration’s efforts to combat misinformation by pressuring social media companies to remove posts.&nbsp;“ …officials made express threats and, at the very least, leaned into the inherent authority of the president’s office,” Friday’s ruling stated.” The officials made inflammatory accusations, such as saying that the platforms were ‘poison[ing]’ the public, and ‘killing people.’ The platforms were told they needed to take greater responsibility and action. Then, they followed their statements with threats of ‘fundamental reforms’ like regulatory changes and increased enforcement actions that would ensure the platforms were ‘held accountable.’”Jenin Younes, a lawyer with the New Civil Liberties Alliance, an organization representing individual plaintiffs in the case, said Friday’s ruling is a win for free speech.“The government cannot coerce or encourage social media companies to censor views it dislikes,” Younes said.The lawsuit has garnered widespread attention, and attracted co-plaintiffs with long histories of spreading misinformation and debunked conspiracy theories.That includes Jim Hoft, founder of the right-wing conspiracy website Gateway Pundit, who was added to the lawsuit in August and has built a career on promulgating conspiracies on a wide range of topics, from the 2018 Parkland school shooting to former President Barack Obama’s birth certificate.More recently, Hoft has been among the biggest purveyors of election fraud lies. He currently faces&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://missouriindependent.com/2023/04/28/missouri-lawsuit-isnt-the-only-defamation-case-against-far-right-site-gateway-pundit/">defamation lawsuit in St. Louis circuit court</a>&nbsp;filed by two Georgia election workers who faced death threats following Gateway Pundit’s false stories about a vote-rigging scheme.&nbsp;The lawsuit also attracted support from&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://missouriindependent.com/2022/12/06/anti-vaxxers-seek-to-intervene-in-missouri-ag-eric-schmitts-social-media-lawsuit/">presidential hopeful Robert F. Kennedy Jr</a>., who has a long history of promoting medical misinformation such as the idea that vaccines cause autism and Wi-Fi causes cancer.