BOSTON (AP) — Teens have long been vital to filling out the summertime staffs of restaurants, ice cream stands, amusement parks and camps.

Now, thanks to one of the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/jobs-unemployment-inflation-layoffs-economy-federal-reserve-1bdc4e585c3c40ec14b9a40d9f8fe65f">tightest labor markets in decades</a>, they have even more sway, with an array of jobs to choose from at ever higher wages.

To ease the labor crunch, some&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/child-labor-laws-alabama-ohio-c1123a80970518676be44088619c6205">states are moving to roll back restrictions</a>&nbsp;to let teens work more hours and, in some cases, more hazardous jobs — much to the chagrin of labor rights groups, who see it as a troubling trend.

Economists say there are other ways to expand the workforce without putting more of a burden on kids, including by allowing more legal immigration.

At Funtown Splashtown USA, an amusement park in southern Maine, teens play a critical role in keeping the attractions open, which isn't as easy as it used to be.

General Manager Cory Hutchinson anticipates hiring about 350 workers this summer, including many local high schoolers, compared with more than 500 in past summers.

“We literally do not have enough people to staff the place seven days a week and into the evenings,” he said. This summer, Funtown Splashtown will only be open six days a week, and will close at 6 p.m., instead of 9 p.m.

In April, nearly 34% of Americans aged 16 to 19 had jobs, according to government data. That compares with 30% four years ago, the last pre-pandemic summer.

More jobs are available for those who want them: There are roughly 1.6 jobs open for every person that is unemployed, according to the Labor Department. In normal times, that ratio is about 1:1.

At RideAway Adventures on Cape Cod, which offers kayak, bike and paddleboard rentals and tours, finding enough teen workers hasn't been a challenge. Owner Mike Morrison chalks it up to the fact that RideAway is a desirable place to work compared with other options.

“They’re not washing dishes and they get to be outside and active,” Morrison said.

Plus, while he typically starts off new teen hires at $15 an hour, the state’s minimum wage, he will bump up the pay of hard workers by as much as 50 cents per hour toward the end of July to help keep them through the end of summer.

Maxen Lucas, a graduating senior at Lincoln Academy in Maine, had his first job at 15 as a summer camp dishwasher, followed by a stint as a grocery bagger before getting into landscaping. He said young workers can be choosier now.

“After COVID settled down, everyone was being paid more,” said the 18-year-old from Nobleboro who’ll head off to Maine Maritime Academy this fall.

Indeed, hourly pay jumped about 5% in April from a year ago at restaurants, retailers and amusement parks, the industries likely to employ teens. Before the pandemic, pay in these industries typically rose no more than 3% annually.

Addison Beer, 17, will work this summer at the Virginia G. Piper branch of the Boys &amp; Girls Club in Scottsdale, Arizona, where she feels a strong connection with colleagues and the kids she helps out.

Because of a scheduling conflict, she temporarily took a job at Zinburger, a restaurant that was desperate for workers. “They just asked me a few questions and were like, ‘Oh, you’re hired!’” she said.

For many teens, the point of a summer job doesn't have to be about finding the highest pay available.

“Having a job is just so I can sustain myself, be more independent, not rely on my parents too much,” said Christopher Au, 19, who has been dishing out ice cream at a J.P. Licks in Boston for the past few months.

Jack Gervais, 18, of Cumberland, Maine, lined up an internship shooting photography at an arts venue and will earn roughly the minimum wage of $13.80 an hour while gaining skills that relate to his career goals. But he said many kids he knows are seeking — and commanding — higher paying jobs.

“Nobody I know would work for minimum wage, unless there were major tips involved," he said.

New Jersey passed a law in 2022 allowing 16- and 17-year-olds to work up to 50 hours per week during the summer, when the state’s shore economy swells with tourists. The previous limit was 40 hours per week.

The measure has earned praise from parents.

Sally Rutherford, 56, of North Wildwood, New Jersey, said her 17-year-old son, Billy, was excited about the change. With the money he earns working as a game operator at a Jersey Shore amusement park, he'll be able to help pay for a car.

“It makes him a much more independent and responsible,” she said.

Other states are considering a variety of proposals to expand teens' role in the workplace.

In Wisconsin, lawmakers are backing a proposal to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/wisconsin-underage-alcohol-servers-31e0c73786d5489c626250a279760420">allow 14-year-olds to serve alcohol in bars and restaurants</a>. In Iowa,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iowa-governor-child-labor-laws-e8cb29e2a45b956489c4a192b7ddeba5">the governor signed a bill into law Friday</a>&nbsp;that will allow 16- and 17-year-olds to serve alcohol in restaurants, and to expand the hours minors can work.

Child welfare advocates worry the measures represent a coordinated push to scale back hard-won protections for minors.

Economists say allowing more legal immigration is a key solution to workforce shortages, noting that it has been central to the country’s ability to grow for years in the face of an&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/census-demographics-population-age-race-ethnicity-3bf63785a69db2a96a13eb70767c5f5e">aging population</a>.

Many resort towns rely on immigrants with summer visas to staff businesses such as restaurants, hotels, and tourist sites. But immigration fell sharply during the COVID outbreak as the federal government tightened restrictions. In 2022, nearly 285,000 of the summer visas were issued, down from about 350,000 before the pandemic.

The Federal Reserve&nbsp;<a href="https://www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/files/20230303_mprfullreport.pdf">in March estimated</a>&nbsp;that the overall drop in immigration has cost the United States nearly one million workers, compared with pre-pandemic trends. Immigration is rebounding to pre-COVID levels, but the effects are still being felt.

Another factor straining the labor market is Baby Boomers reaching retirement age. The Federal Reserve calculates that rising retirements has left the economy with about 2 million fewer workers.

Yet despite the significant challenges employers face this summer, labor shortages are much less of a problem than they were in 2021, when the pandemic made many people reluctant to return to consumer-facing jobs. Higher inflation has also incentivized many people to seek work to help their families cover food and rent.

In just the past six months, 2 million Americans who had been out of the workforce have taken jobs or started looking for one. The share of Americans aged 25 through 54 who are working or job-hunting is now above pre-pandemic levels.

BOSTON (AP) — Teens have long been vital to filling out the summertime staffs of restaurants, ice cream stands, amusement parks and camps.Now, thanks to one of the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/jobs-unemployment-inflation-layoffs-economy-federal-reserve-1bdc4e585c3c40ec14b9a40d9f8fe65f">tightest labor markets in decades</a>, they have even more sway, with an array of jobs to choose from at ever higher wages.To ease the labor crunch, some&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/child-labor-laws-alabama-ohio-c1123a80970518676be44088619c6205">states are moving to roll back restrictions</a>&nbsp;to let teens work more hours and, in some cases, more hazardous jobs — much to the chagrin of labor rights groups, who see it as a troubling trend.Economists say there are other ways to expand the workforce without putting more of a burden on kids, including by allowing more legal immigration.SEEKING TEEN WORKERSAt Funtown Splashtown USA, an amusement park in southern Maine, teens play a critical role in keeping the attractions open, which isn't as easy as it used to be.General Manager Cory Hutchinson anticipates hiring about 350 workers this summer, including many local high schoolers, compared with more than 500 in past summers.“We literally do not have enough people to staff the place seven days a week and into the evenings,” he said. This summer, Funtown Splashtown will only be open six days a week, and will close at 6 p.m., instead of 9 p.m.In April, nearly 34% of Americans aged 16 to 19 had jobs, according to government data. That compares with 30% four years ago, the last pre-pandemic summer.More jobs are available for those who want them: There are roughly 1.6 jobs open for every person that is unemployed, according to the Labor Department. In normal times, that ratio is about 1:1.At RideAway Adventures on Cape Cod, which offers kayak, bike and paddleboard rentals and tours, finding enough teen workers hasn't been a challenge. Owner Mike Morrison chalks it up to the fact that RideAway is a desirable place to work compared with other options.“They’re not washing dishes and they get to be outside and active,” Morrison said.Plus, while he typically starts off new teen hires at $15 an hour, the state’s minimum wage, he will bump up the pay of hard workers by as much as 50 cents per hour toward the end of July to help keep them through the end of summer.CHOOSIER TEENSMaxen Lucas, a graduating senior at Lincoln Academy in Maine, had his first job at 15 as a summer camp dishwasher, followed by a stint as a grocery bagger before getting into landscaping. He said young workers can be choosier now.“After COVID settled down, everyone was being paid more,” said the 18-year-old from Nobleboro who’ll head off to Maine Maritime Academy this fall.Indeed, hourly pay jumped about 5% in April from a year ago at restaurants, retailers and amusement parks, the industries likely to employ teens. Before the pandemic, pay in these industries typically rose no more than 3% annually.Addison Beer, 17, will work this summer at the Virginia G. Piper branch of the Boys &amp; Girls Club in Scottsdale, Arizona, where she feels a strong connection with colleagues and the kids she helps out.Because of a scheduling conflict, she temporarily took a job at Zinburger, a restaurant that was desperate for workers. “They just asked me a few questions and were like, ‘Oh, you’re hired!’” she said.For many teens, the point of a summer job doesn't have to be about finding the highest pay available.“Having a job is just so I can sustain myself, be more independent, not rely on my parents too much,” said Christopher Au, 19, who has been dishing out ice cream at a J.P. Licks in Boston for the past few months.Jack Gervais, 18, of Cumberland, Maine, lined up an internship shooting photography at an arts venue and will earn roughly the minimum wage of $13.80 an hour while gaining skills that relate to his career goals. But he said many kids he knows are seeking — and commanding — higher paying jobs.“Nobody I know would work for minimum wage, unless there were major tips involved," he said.EXPANDING TEEN HOURSNew Jersey passed a law in 2022 allowing 16- and 17-year-olds to work up to 50 hours per week during the summer, when the state’s shore economy swells with tourists. The previous limit was 40 hours per week.The measure has earned praise from parents.Sally Rutherford, 56, of North Wildwood, New Jersey, said her 17-year-old son, Billy, was excited about the change. With the money he earns working as a game operator at a Jersey Shore amusement park, he'll be able to help pay for a car.“It makes him a much more independent and responsible,” she said.Other states are considering a variety of proposals to expand teens' role in the workplace.In Wisconsin, lawmakers are backing a proposal to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/wisconsin-underage-alcohol-servers-31e0c73786d5489c626250a279760420">allow 14-year-olds to serve alcohol in bars and restaurants</a>. In Iowa,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iowa-governor-child-labor-laws-e8cb29e2a45b956489c4a192b7ddeba5">the governor signed a bill into law Friday</a>&nbsp;that will allow 16- and 17-year-olds to serve alcohol in restaurants, and to expand the hours minors can work.Child welfare advocates worry the measures represent a coordinated push to scale back hard-won protections for minors.IMMIGRATION IS A FACTOREconomists say allowing more legal immigration is a key solution to workforce shortages, noting that it has been central to the country’s ability to grow for years in the face of an&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/census-demographics-population-age-race-ethnicity-3bf63785a69db2a96a13eb70767c5f5e">aging population</a>.Many resort towns rely on immigrants with summer visas to staff businesses such as restaurants, hotels, and tourist sites. But immigration fell sharply during the COVID outbreak as the federal government tightened restrictions. In 2022, nearly 285,000 of the summer visas were issued, down from about 350,000 before the pandemic.The Federal Reserve&nbsp;<a href="https://www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/files/20230303_mprfullreport.pdf">in March estimated</a>&nbsp;that the overall drop in immigration has cost the United States nearly one million workers, compared with pre-pandemic trends. Immigration is rebounding to pre-COVID levels, but the effects are still being felt.LABOR CRUNCH BEGINNING TO EASEAnother factor straining the labor market is Baby Boomers reaching retirement age. The Federal Reserve calculates that rising retirements has left the economy with about 2 million fewer workers.Yet despite the significant challenges employers face this summer, labor shortages are much less of a problem than they were in 2021, when the pandemic made many people reluctant to return to consumer-facing jobs. Higher inflation has also incentivized many people to seek work to help their families cover food and rent.In just the past six months, 2 million Americans who had been out of the workforce have taken jobs or started looking for one. The share of Americans aged 25 through 54 who are working or job-hunting is now above pre-pandemic levels.

Teen workers are in high demand for summer and commanding better pay

On Memorial Day, we honor America’s beloved daughters and sons who gave their last full measure of devotion to this Nation. &nbsp;We can never fully repay the debt we owe these fallen heroes, according to a statement on the White House web site.

"But today, we vow to rededicate ourselves to the work for which they gave their lives, and we recommit to supporting the families, caregivers, and survivors they left behind."

"For generations, stretching back to the formation of our country, these courageous people answered duty’s call, willing to give their lives for that which we all hold dear. &nbsp;They fought for our Independence.&nbsp; They defended our democracy. &nbsp;They sacrificed for our freedom.&nbsp; And today, as they lie in eternal peace, we continue to live by the light of liberty that they so bravely kept burning bright around the world."

"This is always a day where pain and pride are mixed together. &nbsp;To all those who are mourning the loss of a service member — including America’s Gold Star Families — we see you and grieve with you. &nbsp;And we know that on this day especially, the pain of their absence can feel overwhelming.&nbsp; But for so many of you, that pain is wrapped around the knowledge that your loved one was part of something bigger than any of us; that they chose a life of mission and purpose; and that they dared all, risked all, and gave all to preserve and defend an idea unlike any other in human history: &nbsp;the United States of America."

"These brave service members are not only the heart and soul of our country — they are the very spine. &nbsp;Today — and every day — we remember their service and ultimate sacrifice to our Nation.&nbsp; We reflect on our sacred and enduring vow to care for their families. &nbsp;And together, as we pause and pray, we pledge to continue defending freedom and democracy in their honor. &nbsp;May God bless our fallen heroes, and may God protect our troops."

" In honor and recognition of all of our fallen service members, the Congress, by a joint resolution approved May 11, 1950, as amended (36 U.S.C. 116), has requested that the President issue a proclamation calling on the people of the United States to observe each Memorial Day as a day of prayer for permanent peace and designating a period on that day when the people of the United States might unite in prayer and reflection.&nbsp; The Congress, by Public Law 106-579, has also designated 3:00 p.m. local time on that day as a time for all Americans to observe, in their own way, the National Moment of Remembrance."

"NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim Memorial Day, May&nbsp;29, 2023, as a day of prayer for permanent peace, and I&nbsp;designate the hour beginning in each locality at 11:00 a.m. of&nbsp;that day as a time when people might unite in prayer and reflection.&nbsp; I urge the press, radio, television, and all other information media to cooperate in this observance.&nbsp; I further ask all Americans to observe the National Moment of Remembrance beginning at 3:00 p.m. local time on Memorial Day."

" I requested the Governors of the United States and its Commonwealths and Territories, and the appropriate officials of all units of government, to direct that the flag be flown at half-staff until noon on this Memorial Day on all buildings, grounds, and naval vessels throughout the United States and in all areas under its jurisdiction and control. &nbsp;I encourage families, friends, and neighbors to post tributes to our fallen service members through the Veterans Legacy Memorial at vlm.cem.va.gov so that we may learn more about the lives and contributions of those buried in National, State, and Tribal veteran cemeteries.&nbsp; I also request the people of the United States to display the flag at half-staff from their homes for the customary forenoon period."

"IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-sixth day of May, in the year of our Lord two&nbsp;thousand&nbsp;twenty-three, and of the Independence of the United&nbsp;States of&nbsp;America the two&nbsp;hundred and forty-seventh."

<div><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?height=314&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FWhiteHouse%2Fvideos%2F231787449589530%2F&show_text=false&width=560&t=5" width="560" height="314" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowFullScreen="true"></iframe></div>On Memorial Day, we honor America’s beloved daughters and sons who gave their last full measure of devotion to this Nation. &nbsp;We can never fully repay the debt we owe these fallen heroes, according to a statement on the White House web site."But today, we vow to rededicate ourselves to the work for which they gave their lives, and we recommit to supporting the families, caregivers, and survivors they left behind.""For generations, stretching back to the formation of our country, these courageous people answered duty’s call, willing to give their lives for that which we all hold dear. &nbsp;They fought for our Independence.&nbsp; They defended our democracy. &nbsp;They sacrificed for our freedom.&nbsp; And today, as they lie in eternal peace, we continue to live by the light of liberty that they so bravely kept burning bright around the world.""This is always a day where pain and pride are mixed together. &nbsp;To all those who are mourning the loss of a service member — including America’s Gold Star Families — we see you and grieve with you. &nbsp;And we know that on this day especially, the pain of their absence can feel overwhelming.&nbsp; But for so many of you, that pain is wrapped around the knowledge that your loved one was part of something bigger than any of us; that they chose a life of mission and purpose; and that they dared all, risked all, and gave all to preserve and defend an idea unlike any other in human history: &nbsp;the United States of America.""These brave service members are not only the heart and soul of our country — they are the very spine. &nbsp;Today — and every day — we remember their service and ultimate sacrifice to our Nation.&nbsp; We reflect on our sacred and enduring vow to care for their families. &nbsp;And together, as we pause and pray, we pledge to continue defending freedom and democracy in their honor. &nbsp;May God bless our fallen heroes, and may God protect our troops."" In honor and recognition of all of our fallen service members, the Congress, by a joint resolution approved May 11, 1950, as amended (36 U.S.C. 116), has requested that the President issue a proclamation calling on the people of the United States to observe each Memorial Day as a day of prayer for permanent peace and designating a period on that day when the people of the United States might unite in prayer and reflection.&nbsp; The Congress, by Public Law 106-579, has also designated 3:00 p.m. local time on that day as a time for all Americans to observe, in their own way, the National Moment of Remembrance.""NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim Memorial Day, May&nbsp;29, 2023, as a day of prayer for permanent peace, and I&nbsp;designate the hour beginning in each locality at 11:00 a.m. of&nbsp;that day as a time when people might unite in prayer and reflection.&nbsp; I urge the press, radio, television, and all other information media to cooperate in this observance.&nbsp; I further ask all Americans to observe the National Moment of Remembrance beginning at 3:00 p.m. local time on Memorial Day."" I requested the Governors of the United States and its Commonwealths and Territories, and the appropriate officials of all units of government, to direct that the flag be flown at half-staff until noon on this Memorial Day on all buildings, grounds, and naval vessels throughout the United States and in all areas under its jurisdiction and control. &nbsp;I encourage families, friends, and neighbors to post tributes to our fallen service members through the Veterans Legacy Memorial at vlm.cem.va.gov so that we may learn more about the lives and contributions of those buried in National, State, and Tribal veteran cemeteries.&nbsp; I also request the people of the United States to display the flag at half-staff from their homes for the customary forenoon period.""IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-sixth day of May, in the year of our Lord two&nbsp;thousand&nbsp;twenty-three, and of the Independence of the United&nbsp;States of&nbsp;America the two&nbsp;hundred and forty-seventh."

🎥President Biden offers a prayer for peace, Memorial Day, 2023

WASHINGTON (AP) — The details of the deal between President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/debt-limit-deal-biden-mccarthy-default-01657c829be119850cd65ab9ffb0626a">were released Sunday</a>&nbsp;in the form of a 99-page bill that would suspend the nation's debt limit through 2025 to avoid a federal default while limiting government spending.

The Democratic president and Republican speaker are trying to win over lawmakers to the plan in time to avert a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/debt-limit-default-government-shutdown-explainer-b38474f210e519aeb3f48107ca2657ba">default that would shake the global economy</a>. But Congress will be scrutinizing and debating the legislation, which also includes provisions to fund medical care for veterans, change&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/debt-limit-work-requirements-snap-medicaid-biden-66270829cfc0009ddb5f59eb12a6ba7a">work requirements</a>&nbsp;for some recipients of government aid and streamline environmental reviews for energy projects.

McCarthy said the House will vote on the legislation Wednesday, giving the Senate time to consider it before June 5, the date when Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the United States could default on its debt obligations if lawmakers did not act in time.

Some hardline conservatives have expressed early concerns that the compromise does not cut future deficits enough, while Democrats have been worried about proposed changes to work requirements in programs such as food stamps.

With the details of the deal now clear, here's what's in and out:

TWO-YEAR DEBT LIMIT SUSPENSION, SPENDING LIMITS

The agreement would keep nondefense spending roughly flat in the 2024 fiscal year and increase it by 1% the following year, as well as suspend the debt limit until January 2025 -- past the next presidential election.

For the next fiscal year, the bill matches Biden's proposed defense budget of $886 billion and allots $704 billion for nondefense spending.

The bill also requires Congress to approve 12 annual spending bills or face a snapback to spending limits from the previous year, which would mean a 1% cut.

The legislation aims to limit federal budget growth to 1% for the next six years, but that provision would not be enforceable starting in 2025.

Overall, the White House estimates that the plan would reduce government spending by at least $1 trillion, but official calculations have not yet been released.

The agreement would fully fund medical care for veterans at the levels included in Biden's proposed 2024 budget blueprint, including a fund dedicated to veterans who have been exposed to toxic substances or environmental hazards. Biden sought $20.3 billion for the toxic exposure fund in his budget.

The agreement would rescind about $30 billion in unspent coronavirus relief money that Congress approved through previous bills. It claws back unobligated money from dozens of federal programs that received aid during the pandemic, including rental assistance, small business loans and broadband for rural areas.

The legislation protects pandemic funding for veterans’ medical care, housing assistance, the Indian Health Service, and some $5 billion for a program focused on rapidly developing the next generation of COVID-19 vaccines and treatments.

Republicans targeted money that the IRS was allotted last year to crack down on tax fraud. The bill bites into some IRS funding, rescinding $1.4 billion.

The agreement would expand work requirements for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps — a longtime Republican priority. But the changes are pared down from the House-passed debt ceiling bill.

Work requirements already exist for most able-bodied adults between the ages of 18 and 49. The bill would phase in higher age limits, bringing the maximum age to 54 by 2025. But the provision expires, bringing the maximum age back down to age 49 five years later, in 2030.

Democrats also won some new expanded benefits for veterans, homeless people and young people aging out of foster care. That would also expire in 2030, according to the agreement.

The agreement would also make it slightly harder for states to waive work requirements for SNAP for certain individuals. Current law allows states to issue some exemptions to the work rules on a discretionary basis, but limits how many people can be exempted. The agreement would lower the number of exemptions that a state can issue and curb states’ ability to carry over the number of exemptions they can hand out from month to month.

The agreement would also make changes to the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families program, which gives cash aid to families with children. While not going as far as the House bill had proposed, the deal would make adjustments to a credit that allows states to require fewer recipients to work, updating and readjusting the credit to make it harder for states to avoid.

The deal puts in place changes in the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.epa.gov/nepa">National Environmental Policy Act</a>&nbsp;for the first time in nearly four decades that would designate “a single lead agency” to develop and schedule environmental reviews, in hopes of streamlining the process. It also simplifies some of the requirements for environmental reviews, including placing length limitations on environmental assessments and impact statements.

Agencies will be given one year to complete environmental reviews, and projects that are deemed to have complex impacts on the environment will need to be reviewed within two years.

The bill also gives special treatment to the Mountain Valley Pipeline — a West Virginia natural gas pipeline championed by Sens. Joe Manchin and Shelley Moore Capito — by approving all its outstanding permit requests.

Republicans have long sought to reel back the Biden administration's efforts to provide student loan relief and aid to millions of borrowers during the coronavirus pandemic. While the GOP proposal to rescind the White House's plan to waive $10,000 to $20,000 in debt for nearly all borrowers failed to make it into the package, Biden agreed to put an end to the pause on student loan repayment.

The pause in student loan repayments would end in the final days of August.

The fate of student loan relief, meanwhile, will be decided at the Supreme Court, which is dominated 6-3 by its conservative wing. During oral arguments in the case, several of the justices expressed deep skepticism about the legality of Biden’s plan. A decision is expected before the end of June.

House Republicans passed legislation last month that would have created new work requirements for some Medicaid recipients, but that was left out of the final agreement. The idea faced stiff opposition from the White House and congressional Democrats, who said it would lead to fewer people able to afford food or health care without actually increasing the number of people in the workforce.

Also absent from the final deal is the GOP proposal to repeal many of the clean energy tax credits Democrats passed in party-line votes last year to boost the production and consumption of clean energy. McCarthy and Republicans have argued that the tax breaks “distort the market and waste taxpayer money.”

The White House has defended the tax credits as resulting in hundreds of billions of dollars in private-sector investments, creating thousands of manufacturing jobs in the U.S.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/5/1685304077425.png" alt="House Speaker Kevin McCarthy met with reporters Saturday night -photo courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>House Speaker Kevin McCarthy met with reporters Saturday night -photo courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — The details of the deal between President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/debt-limit-deal-biden-mccarthy-default-01657c829be119850cd65ab9ffb0626a">were released Sunday</a>&nbsp;in the form of a 99-page bill that would suspend the nation's debt limit through 2025 to avoid a federal default while limiting government spending.<div><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?height=314&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FWhiteHouse%2Fvideos%2F1622964124879321%2F&show_text=false&width=560&t=9" width="560" height="314" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowFullScreen="true"></iframe></div>The Democratic president and Republican speaker are trying to win over lawmakers to the plan in time to avert a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/debt-limit-default-government-shutdown-explainer-b38474f210e519aeb3f48107ca2657ba">default that would shake the global economy</a>. But Congress will be scrutinizing and debating the legislation, which also includes provisions to fund medical care for veterans, change&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/debt-limit-work-requirements-snap-medicaid-biden-66270829cfc0009ddb5f59eb12a6ba7a">work requirements</a>&nbsp;for some recipients of government aid and streamline environmental reviews for energy projects.McCarthy said the House will vote on the legislation Wednesday, giving the Senate time to consider it before June 5, the date when Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the United States could default on its debt obligations if lawmakers did not act in time.Some hardline conservatives have expressed early concerns that the compromise does not cut future deficits enough, while Democrats have been worried about proposed changes to work requirements in programs such as food stamps.With the details of the deal now clear, here's what's in and out:TWO-YEAR DEBT LIMIT SUSPENSION, SPENDING LIMITSThe agreement would keep nondefense spending roughly flat in the 2024 fiscal year and increase it by 1% the following year, as well as suspend the debt limit until January 2025 -- past the next presidential election.For the next fiscal year, the bill matches Biden's proposed defense budget of $886 billion and allots $704 billion for nondefense spending.The bill also requires Congress to approve 12 annual spending bills or face a snapback to spending limits from the previous year, which would mean a 1% cut.The legislation aims to limit federal budget growth to 1% for the next six years, but that provision would not be enforceable starting in 2025.Overall, the White House estimates that the plan would reduce government spending by at least $1 trillion, but official calculations have not yet been released.VETERANS CAREThe agreement would fully fund medical care for veterans at the levels included in Biden's proposed 2024 budget blueprint, including a fund dedicated to veterans who have been exposed to toxic substances or environmental hazards. Biden sought $20.3 billion for the toxic exposure fund in his budget.UNSPENT COVID MONEYThe agreement would rescind about $30 billion in unspent coronavirus relief money that Congress approved through previous bills. It claws back unobligated money from dozens of federal programs that received aid during the pandemic, including rental assistance, small business loans and broadband for rural areas.The legislation protects pandemic funding for veterans’ medical care, housing assistance, the Indian Health Service, and some $5 billion for a program focused on rapidly developing the next generation of COVID-19 vaccines and treatments.IRS FUNDINGRepublicans targeted money that the IRS was allotted last year to crack down on tax fraud. The bill bites into some IRS funding, rescinding $1.4 billion.WORK REQUIREMENTSThe agreement would expand work requirements for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps — a longtime Republican priority. But the changes are pared down from the House-passed debt ceiling bill.Work requirements already exist for most able-bodied adults between the ages of 18 and 49. The bill would phase in higher age limits, bringing the maximum age to 54 by 2025. But the provision expires, bringing the maximum age back down to age 49 five years later, in 2030.Democrats also won some new expanded benefits for veterans, homeless people and young people aging out of foster care. That would also expire in 2030, according to the agreement.The agreement would also make it slightly harder for states to waive work requirements for SNAP for certain individuals. Current law allows states to issue some exemptions to the work rules on a discretionary basis, but limits how many people can be exempted. The agreement would lower the number of exemptions that a state can issue and curb states’ ability to carry over the number of exemptions they can hand out from month to month.The agreement would also make changes to the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families program, which gives cash aid to families with children. While not going as far as the House bill had proposed, the deal would make adjustments to a credit that allows states to require fewer recipients to work, updating and readjusting the credit to make it harder for states to avoid.SPEEDING UP ENERGY PROJECTSThe deal puts in place changes in the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.epa.gov/nepa">National Environmental Policy Act</a>&nbsp;for the first time in nearly four decades that would designate “a single lead agency” to develop and schedule environmental reviews, in hopes of streamlining the process. It also simplifies some of the requirements for environmental reviews, including placing length limitations on environmental assessments and impact statements.Agencies will be given one year to complete environmental reviews, and projects that are deemed to have complex impacts on the environment will need to be reviewed within two years.The bill also gives special treatment to the Mountain Valley Pipeline — a West Virginia natural gas pipeline championed by Sens. Joe Manchin and Shelley Moore Capito — by approving all its outstanding permit requests.STUDENT LOANSRepublicans have long sought to reel back the Biden administration's efforts to provide student loan relief and aid to millions of borrowers during the coronavirus pandemic. While the GOP proposal to rescind the White House's plan to waive $10,000 to $20,000 in debt for nearly all borrowers failed to make it into the package, Biden agreed to put an end to the pause on student loan repayment.The pause in student loan repayments would end in the final days of August.The fate of student loan relief, meanwhile, will be decided at the Supreme Court, which is dominated 6-3 by its conservative wing. During oral arguments in the case, several of the justices expressed deep skepticism about the legality of Biden’s plan. A decision is expected before the end of June.WHAT'S LEFT OUTHouse Republicans passed legislation last month that would have created new work requirements for some Medicaid recipients, but that was left out of the final agreement. The idea faced stiff opposition from the White House and congressional Democrats, who said it would lead to fewer people able to afford food or health care without actually increasing the number of people in the workforce.Also absent from the final deal is the GOP proposal to repeal many of the clean energy tax credits Democrats passed in party-line votes last year to boost the production and consumption of clean energy. McCarthy and Republicans have argued that the tax breaks “distort the market and waste taxpayer money.”The White House has defended the tax credits as resulting in hundreds of billions of dollars in private-sector investments, creating thousands of manufacturing jobs in the U.S.

🎥Debt ceiling deal: What's in the controversial agreement 

NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — Memorial Day is supposed to be about mourning the nation’s fallen service members, but it’s come to anchor the unofficial start of summer and a long weekend of discounts on anything from mattresses to lawn mowers.

Auto club AAA said in a travel forecast that this holiday weekend could be “one for the record books, especially at airports,” with more than 42 million Americans projected to travel 50 miles (80 kilometers) or more.

But for Manuel Castañeda Jr., 58, the day will be a quiet one in Durand, Illinois, outside Rockford. He lost his father, a U.S. Marine who served in Vietnam, in an accident in California while training other Marines in 1966.

“Memorial Day is very personal,” said Castañeda, who also served in the Marines and Army National Guard, from which he knew men who died in combat. “It isn’t just the specials. It isn’t just the barbecue.”

But he tries not to judge others who spend the holiday differently: “How can I expect them to understand the depth of what I feel when they haven’t experienced anything like that?”

WHAT IS THE OFFICIAL PURPOSE OF MEMORIAL DAY?

It’s a day of reflection and remembrance of those who died while serving in the U.S. military, according to the Congressional Research Service. The holiday is observed in part by the National Moment of Remembrance, which encourages all Americans to pause at 3 p.m. for a moment of silence.

The holiday stems from the American Civil War, which killed more than 600,000 service members — both Union and Confederate — between 1861 and 1865.

There’s little controversy over the first national observance of what was then called Decoration Day. It occurred May 30, 1868, after an organization of Union veterans called for decorating war graves with flowers, which were in bloom.

The practice was already widespread on a local level. Waterloo, New York, began a formal observance on May 5, 1866, and was later proclaimed to be the holiday's birthplace.

Yet Boalsburg, Pennsylvania, traced its first observance to October 1864, according to the Library of Congress. And women in some Confederate states were decorating graves before the war’s end.

But David Blight, a Yale history professor, points to May 1, 1865, when as many as 10,000 people, many of them Black, held a parade, heard speeches and dedicated the graves of Union dead in Charleston, South Carolina.

A total of 267 Union troops had died at a Confederate prison and were buried in a mass grave. After the war, members of Black churches buried them in individual graves.

“What happened in Charleston does have the right to claim to be first, if that matters,”&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theitem.com/stories/charleston-can-lay-claim-to-1st-memorial-day,59042?">Blight told The Associated Press in 2011</a>.

In 2021, a retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel cited the story in a Memorial Day speech in Hudson, Ohio. The ceremony’s organizers&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/sc-state-wire-lifestyle-memorial-day-race-and-ethnicity-f649e76fd5ae6140d501ac9dc0cac380">turned off his microphone</a>&nbsp;because they said it wasn’t relevant to honoring the city’s veterans.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/lifestyle-memorial-day-race-and-ethnicity-fea889be51b01a8b4c8f31480a21af79">The event’s organizers later resigned</a>.

HAS MEMORIAL DAY ALWAYS BEEN A SOURCE OF CONTENTION?

Someone has always lamented the holiday’s drift from its original meaning.

As early as 1869, The New York Times wrote that the holiday could become “sacrilegious” and no longer “sacred” if it focuses more on pomp, dinners and oratory.

In 1871, abolitionist Frederick Douglass feared Americans were forgetting the Civil War’s impetus — slavery — when he gave a Decoration Day speech at Arlington National Cemetery.

“We must never forget that the loyal soldiers who rest beneath this sod flung themselves between the nation and the nation’s destroyers,” Douglass said.

His concerns were well-founded, said Ben Railton, a professor of English and American studies at Fitchburg State University in Massachusetts. Even though roughly 180,000 Black men served in the Union Army, the holiday in many communities would essentially become “white Memorial Day,” especially after the rise of the Jim Crow South, Railton said.

Meanwhile, how the day was spent — at least by the nation’s elected officials — could draw scrutiny for years after the Civil War. In the 1880s, then-President Grover Cleveland was said to have gone fishing — and “people were appalled,” said Matthew Dennis, an emeritus history professor at the University of Oregon.

By 1911, the Indianapolis 500 held its inaugural race on May 30, drawing 85,000 spectators.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/4c4507a3b0a8412d9c035cf59059f159">A report from The Associated Press</a>&nbsp;made no mention of the holiday — or any controversy.

Dennis said Memorial Day's potency diminished somewhat with the addition of Armistice Day, which marked World War I's end on Nov. 11, 1918. Armistice Day became a national holiday by 1938 and was renamed Veterans Day in 1954.

An act of Congress changed Memorial Day from every May 30th to the last Monday in May in 1971. Veterans objected: “They didn’t want to be just some random Monday that people could forget about,” Dennis said.

In 1972, Time Magazine said the holiday had become “a three-day nationwide hootenanny that seems to have lost much of its original purpose.”

WHY IS MEMORIAL DAY TIED TO SALES AND TRAVEL?

Even in the 19th century, grave ceremonies were followed by leisure activities such as picnicking and foot races, Dennis said.

The holiday also evolved alongside baseball and the automobile, the five-day work week and summer vacation, according to the 2002 book, “A History of Memorial Day: Unity, Discord and the Pursuit of Happiness.”

In the mid-20th century, a small number of businesses began to open defiantly on the holiday.

Once the holiday moved to Monday, “the traditional barriers against doing business began to crumble,” authors Richard Harmond and Thomas Curran wrote.

These days, Memorial Day sales and traveling are deeply woven into the nation's muscle memory. This weekend, 2.7 million more people will travel for the unofficial start of summer compared to last year — despite inflation, according to AAA.

Jason Redman, 48, a retired Navy SEAL who fought in Iraq and Afghanistan, said he'll be thinking of friends he's lost. Thirty names are tattooed on his arm “for every guy that I personally knew that died.”

He wants Americans to remember the fallen — but also to enjoy themselves, knowing lives were sacrificed to forge the holiday.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/6/1623850361599.jpg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — Memorial Day is supposed to be about mourning the nation’s fallen service members, but it’s come to anchor the unofficial start of summer and a long weekend of discounts on anything from mattresses to lawn mowers.Auto club AAA said in a travel forecast that this holiday weekend could be “one for the record books, especially at airports,” with more than 42 million Americans projected to travel 50 miles (80 kilometers) or more.But for Manuel Castañeda Jr., 58, the day will be a quiet one in Durand, Illinois, outside Rockford. He lost his father, a U.S. Marine who served in Vietnam, in an accident in California while training other Marines in 1966.“Memorial Day is very personal,” said Castañeda, who also served in the Marines and Army National Guard, from which he knew men who died in combat. “It isn’t just the specials. It isn’t just the barbecue.”But he tries not to judge others who spend the holiday differently: “How can I expect them to understand the depth of what I feel when they haven’t experienced anything like that?”WHAT IS THE OFFICIAL PURPOSE OF MEMORIAL DAY?It’s a day of reflection and remembrance of those who died while serving in the U.S. military, according to the Congressional Research Service. The holiday is observed in part by the National Moment of Remembrance, which encourages all Americans to pause at 3 p.m. for a moment of silence.WHAT ARE THE HOLIDAY'S ORIGINS?The holiday stems from the American Civil War, which killed more than 600,000 service members — both Union and Confederate — between 1861 and 1865.There’s little controversy over the first national observance of what was then called Decoration Day. It occurred May 30, 1868, after an organization of Union veterans called for decorating war graves with flowers, which were in bloom.The practice was already widespread on a local level. Waterloo, New York, began a formal observance on May 5, 1866, and was later proclaimed to be the holiday's birthplace.Yet Boalsburg, Pennsylvania, traced its first observance to October 1864, according to the Library of Congress. And women in some Confederate states were decorating graves before the war’s end.But David Blight, a Yale history professor, points to May 1, 1865, when as many as 10,000 people, many of them Black, held a parade, heard speeches and dedicated the graves of Union dead in Charleston, South Carolina.A total of 267 Union troops had died at a Confederate prison and were buried in a mass grave. After the war, members of Black churches buried them in individual graves.“What happened in Charleston does have the right to claim to be first, if that matters,”&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theitem.com/stories/charleston-can-lay-claim-to-1st-memorial-day,59042?">Blight told The Associated Press in 2011</a>.In 2021, a retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel cited the story in a Memorial Day speech in Hudson, Ohio. The ceremony’s organizers&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/sc-state-wire-lifestyle-memorial-day-race-and-ethnicity-f649e76fd5ae6140d501ac9dc0cac380">turned off his microphone</a>&nbsp;because they said it wasn’t relevant to honoring the city’s veterans.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/lifestyle-memorial-day-race-and-ethnicity-fea889be51b01a8b4c8f31480a21af79">The event’s organizers later resigned</a>.HAS MEMORIAL DAY ALWAYS BEEN A SOURCE OF CONTENTION?Someone has always lamented the holiday’s drift from its original meaning.As early as 1869, The New York Times wrote that the holiday could become “sacrilegious” and no longer “sacred” if it focuses more on pomp, dinners and oratory.In 1871, abolitionist Frederick Douglass feared Americans were forgetting the Civil War’s impetus — slavery — when he gave a Decoration Day speech at Arlington National Cemetery.“We must never forget that the loyal soldiers who rest beneath this sod flung themselves between the nation and the nation’s destroyers,” Douglass said.His concerns were well-founded, said Ben Railton, a professor of English and American studies at Fitchburg State University in Massachusetts. Even though roughly 180,000 Black men served in the Union Army, the holiday in many communities would essentially become “white Memorial Day,” especially after the rise of the Jim Crow South, Railton said.Meanwhile, how the day was spent — at least by the nation’s elected officials — could draw scrutiny for years after the Civil War. In the 1880s, then-President Grover Cleveland was said to have gone fishing — and “people were appalled,” said Matthew Dennis, an emeritus history professor at the University of Oregon.By 1911, the Indianapolis 500 held its inaugural race on May 30, drawing 85,000 spectators.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/4c4507a3b0a8412d9c035cf59059f159">A report from The Associated Press</a>&nbsp;made no mention of the holiday — or any controversy.HOW HAS MEMORIAL DAY CHANGED?Dennis said Memorial Day's potency diminished somewhat with the addition of Armistice Day, which marked World War I's end on Nov. 11, 1918. Armistice Day became a national holiday by 1938 and was renamed Veterans Day in 1954.An act of Congress changed Memorial Day from every May 30th to the last Monday in May in 1971. Veterans objected: “They didn’t want to be just some random Monday that people could forget about,” Dennis said.In 1972, Time Magazine said the holiday had become “a three-day nationwide hootenanny that seems to have lost much of its original purpose.”WHY IS MEMORIAL DAY TIED TO SALES AND TRAVEL?Even in the 19th century, grave ceremonies were followed by leisure activities such as picnicking and foot races, Dennis said.The holiday also evolved alongside baseball and the automobile, the five-day work week and summer vacation, according to the 2002 book, “A History of Memorial Day: Unity, Discord and the Pursuit of Happiness.”In the mid-20th century, a small number of businesses began to open defiantly on the holiday.Once the holiday moved to Monday, “the traditional barriers against doing business began to crumble,” authors Richard Harmond and Thomas Curran wrote.These days, Memorial Day sales and traveling are deeply woven into the nation's muscle memory. This weekend, 2.7 million more people will travel for the unofficial start of summer compared to last year — despite inflation, according to AAA.Jason Redman, 48, a retired Navy SEAL who fought in Iraq and Afghanistan, said he'll be thinking of friends he's lost. Thirty names are tattooed on his arm “for every guy that I personally knew that died.”He wants Americans to remember the fallen — but also to enjoy themselves, knowing lives were sacrificed to forge the holiday.

From the Civil War to mattress sales, Memorial Day is full of contradiction

SEDGWICK COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a&nbsp; shooting that sent a 19-year-old from Wichita to the hospital where she died May 23, according to Officer Juan Rebolledo.

Officers continue the search for a suspect identified as&nbsp; 19-year-old La’Niha Banks who is considered armed and dangerous.

Just after 11 p.m. May 20, police were dispatched to a shooting in the 1000 block of E 1st Street N in Wichita.

First responders located a woman with two gunshot wounds to her upper body. The victim was transported to an area hospital in critical condition and with life-threatening injuries.

The investigation revealed that the victim was trying to break up a physical altercation between an acquaintance of hers and Banks in a parking lot. 

After the victim managed to stop the fight, she started to drive away, but&nbsp; Banks produced a handgun and started to shoot into the occupied vehicle.

During the investigation, detectives were able to confirm Banks as the suspect. She was last seen fleeing in a red 2014 Buick Lacrosse with a paper 60-day tag. The police have located the car.

&nbsp;Banks is wanted on requested charges of aggravated battery, five counts of Aggravated Assault, two counts of discharge of a firearm into an occupied vehicle, and one count of&nbsp; murder.&nbsp; If you see Banks or know where she is, call 911.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/5/1684684649459.png" alt="Banks-photo Wichita Police" />
 <figcaption>Banks-photo Wichita Police</figcaption>
 </figure>SEDGWICK COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a&nbsp; shooting that sent a 19-year-old from Wichita to the hospital where she died May 23, according to Officer Juan Rebolledo.Officers continue the search for a suspect identified as&nbsp; 19-year-old La’Niha Banks who is considered armed and dangerous.Just after 11 p.m. May 20, police were dispatched to a shooting in the 1000 block of E 1st Street N in Wichita.First responders located a woman with two gunshot wounds to her upper body. The victim was transported to an area hospital in critical condition and with life-threatening injuries.The investigation revealed that the victim was trying to break up a physical altercation between an acquaintance of hers and Banks in a parking lot. After the victim managed to stop the fight, she started to drive away, but&nbsp; Banks produced a handgun and started to shoot into the occupied vehicle.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/5/1684688157483.png" alt="Police reported on May 23 they had recovered Banks' car -photo Wichita Police" />
 <figcaption>Police reported on May 23 they had recovered Banks' car -photo Wichita Police</figcaption>
 </figure>During the investigation, detectives were able to confirm Banks as the suspect. She was last seen fleeing in a red 2014 Buick Lacrosse with a paper 60-day tag. The police have located the car.&nbsp;Banks is wanted on requested charges of aggravated battery, five counts of Aggravated Assault, two counts of discharge of a firearm into an occupied vehicle, and one count of&nbsp; murder.&nbsp; If you see Banks or know where she is, call 911.

Police: Search continues for Kansas murder suspect 

KANSAS CITY — A former agent for the Drug Enforcement Administration who is also a former Kansas City, Mo., Police Department officer has pleaded guilty in federal court to filing a false federal income tax return as part of a payday loan scheme, according to the United State's Attorney.

Patrick Scot Witcher, 57, of Wichita Falls, Texas, waived his right to an indictment and pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate District Judge Lajuana Counts to a federal information that charges him with one count of filing a false federal income tax return.

Witcher assisted at least five Kansas City-area individuals with the establishment, operation, and management of various payday lending enterprises. During his guilty plea, Witcher admitted that he filed false federal tax returns that included more than $1 million in unreported income between 2016-2018 from a payday lending enterprise. The operations of that payday lending enterprise purportedly occurred outside of the United States, and then on Native American reservations, but, in reality, the vast majority of the operational, financial, and administrative functions of the payday lending enterprise were based in the Kansas City metropolitan area.

Under federal law, Witcher is subject to a sentence of up to three years in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

KANSAS CITY — A former agent for the Drug Enforcement Administration who is also a former Kansas City, Mo., Police Department officer has pleaded guilty in federal court to filing a false federal income tax return as part of a payday loan scheme, according to the United State's Attorney.Patrick Scot Witcher, 57, of Wichita Falls, Texas, waived his right to an indictment and pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate District Judge Lajuana Counts to a federal information that charges him with one count of filing a false federal income tax return.Witcher assisted at least five Kansas City-area individuals with the establishment, operation, and management of various payday lending enterprises. During his guilty plea, Witcher admitted that he filed false federal tax returns that included more than $1 million in unreported income between 2016-2018 from a payday lending enterprise. The operations of that payday lending enterprise purportedly occurred outside of the United States, and then on Native American reservations, but, in reality, the vast majority of the operational, financial, and administrative functions of the payday lending enterprise were based in the Kansas City metropolitan area.Under federal law, Witcher is subject to a sentence of up to three years in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

Former KCPD officer admits role in payday loan scheme

SEDGWICK COUNTY —A man was sentenced this week following a truck-motorcycle crash during a high-speed chase in Wichita in 2021.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Judge James Fleetwood sentenced 40-year-0ld Ricardo Trevizo, 40 of Wichita, to 122 months in prison, according to a statement from Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett.

On Oct. 9th, 2021, Humberto Estrada was waiting for the red light to turn green at Kellogg and 119th Street West. At the same time, Trevizo was trying to get away from law enforcement officers who first tried to pull his Chevy Tahoe over in Kingman County. Speeds during the pursuit reached over 100 mph eastbound on U.S. 54.

The Kansas Highway Patrol spiked the Tahoe near Goddard but Trevizo did not slow down.

Estrada was stopped in the eastbound lanes of Kellogg when he was struck from behind by Trevizo’s truck. Doctors at St. Francis had to amputate Estrada’s left leg below his knee.

At the time of the chase, Trevizo was driving with a suspended license and driving while intoxicated. He also had two prior DUI’s.

On April 4, Trevizo pled guilty to aggravated battery while DUI. 

The judge also ordered him to pay $15,961.75 in restitution to help cover Estrada’s unpaid expenses.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/9/1663339342927.png" alt="Trevizo-photo Sedgwick County" />
 <figcaption>Trevizo-photo Sedgwick County</figcaption>
 </figure>SEDGWICK COUNTY —A man was sentenced this week following a truck-motorcycle crash during a high-speed chase in Wichita in 2021.&nbsp;&nbsp;Judge James Fleetwood sentenced 40-year-0ld Ricardo Trevizo, 40 of Wichita, to 122 months in prison, according to a statement from Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett.On Oct. 9th, 2021, Humberto Estrada was waiting for the red light to turn green at Kellogg and 119th Street West. At the same time, Trevizo was trying to get away from law enforcement officers who first tried to pull his Chevy Tahoe over in Kingman County. Speeds during the pursuit reached over 100 mph eastbound on U.S. 54.The Kansas Highway Patrol spiked the Tahoe near Goddard but Trevizo did not slow down.Estrada was stopped in the eastbound lanes of Kellogg when he was struck from behind by Trevizo’s truck. Doctors at St. Francis had to amputate Estrada’s left leg below his knee.At the time of the chase, Trevizo was driving with a suspended license and driving while intoxicated. He also had two prior DUI’s.On April 4, Trevizo pled guilty to aggravated battery while DUI. The judge also ordered him to pay $15,961.75 in restitution to help cover Estrada’s unpaid expenses.-----------

Kan. man with 2 prior DUIs sentenced for crash that cost man his leg

By TIM CARPENTER <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/04/06/grieving-moms-plea-to-kansas-lawmakers-do-something-this-epidemic-is-killing-our-kids/">Kansas Reflector</a>

TOPEKA — The state Department of Corrections’ prisoner review board forwarded a recommendation to Gov. Laura Kelly on the executive clemency application of a Kansas woman convicted in the slaying of a man who allegedly sexually assaulted her for months, state officials said.

The Department of Corrections declined to reveal the review board’s assessment of Sarah Gonzales-McLinn, a former Lawrence resident convicted of first-degree murder and serving a 25-year prison sentence in the death of Hal Sasko. He was brutally murdered by Gonzales-McLinn, who was a teenager at the time. The Douglas County District Court jury didn’t hear evidence at trial pointing to Sasko’s abuse of Gonzales-McLinn.

“The prisoner review board has completed its review and recommendation for this clemency request. Additional review and a final decision are pending,” said David Thompson, spokesman for the state Department of Corrections.

The prisoner review board&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/02/10/kansas-woman-who-killed-her-rapist-faces-long-odds-for-clemency/">referred Gonzales-McLinn’s clemency application May 12 to the&nbsp;</a>Kansas&nbsp;Department&nbsp;of&nbsp;Administration, which was to coordinate with the governor’s office. Kelly could accept or reject the review board’s recommendation.

A group advocating for Gonzales-McLinn applied for clemency in December. Prior to this case, the state’s prisoner review board recommended clemency 27 times since 2011.

Kelly and four governors before her made limited use of clemency authority. The Democratic governor, elected to a second term in November, granted clemency to eight people in 2021, including one recommended by the state review board. Republican Gov. Jeff Colyer granted clemency three times during his one year in office from 2018 to 2019.

GOP Gov. Sam Brownback, who served as the state’s chief executive from 2011 to 2018, issued one pardon in 2017. Gov. Mark Parkinson, a Democrat, pardoned four people from 2009 to 2011. He replaced Democratic Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, who issued one pardon from 2003 to 2009.

Gonzales-McLinn, 28, has been incarcerated at Topeka Correctional Facility since September 2015. Under a sentence that was adjusted downward from 50 years to 25 years, she could be released from prison in 2039. A plea agreement resulting in that reduction required Gonzales-McLinn to waive appellate rights. Her options were limited to seeking extraordinary relief through the review board and a Kansas governor.

Sasko, 52, was found dead Jan. 17, 2014, inside a house in Lawrence he shared with Gonzales-McLinn, who was 19 years old at time of the slaying. She said in an interview with Kansas Reflector that she met Sasko when she was 15 and moved in with him at age 17 when he was 50. She alleged Sasko provided her drugs and alcohol. He made sex with him a condition of remaining in the home after she turned 18 and ordered her to repay thousands of dollars he spent on medical and living expenses, she said.

Confidential law enforcement reports indicated Sasko had sought relationships with girls like Gonzales-McLinn who had been “abused, battered, dumped” or had “trouble with the law.”

Sasko’s former wife, Anne, urged the prisoner review board to recommend the state keep Gonzales-McLinn behind bars while focusing on “true victims in this case” and taking into account Gonzales-McLinn “chose to stay, then she chose to murder.”

Joan Wagnon, the first woman mayor of Topeka, a former member of the Kansas House and past leader of the state Democratic Party, has worked with the group of people supporting Gonzales-McLinn’s clemency request.

Wagnon said keeping Gonzalez-McLinn behind bars for a quarter century wouldn’t serve interests of justice, but acknowledged the case was complex and the clemency application equally complicated.

“I think the governor is a pretty gutsy lady and as such someone willing to stand up for women and for justice,” Wagnon said.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/5/1684959414354.png" alt="A group advocating for Gonzales-McLinn applied for clemency in December. photo Kansas Dept. of Corrections" />
 <figcaption>A group advocating for Gonzales-McLinn applied for clemency in December. photo Kansas Dept. of Corrections</figcaption>
 </figure>By TIM CARPENTER <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/04/06/grieving-moms-plea-to-kansas-lawmakers-do-something-this-epidemic-is-killing-our-kids/">Kansas Reflector</a>TOPEKA — The state Department of Corrections’ prisoner review board forwarded a recommendation to Gov. Laura Kelly on the executive clemency application of a Kansas woman convicted in the slaying of a man who allegedly sexually assaulted her for months, state officials said.The Department of Corrections declined to reveal the review board’s assessment of Sarah Gonzales-McLinn, a former Lawrence resident convicted of first-degree murder and serving a 25-year prison sentence in the death of Hal Sasko. He was brutally murdered by Gonzales-McLinn, who was a teenager at the time. The Douglas County District Court jury didn’t hear evidence at trial pointing to Sasko’s abuse of Gonzales-McLinn.“The prisoner review board has completed its review and recommendation for this clemency request. Additional review and a final decision are pending,” said David Thompson, spokesman for the state Department of Corrections.The prisoner review board&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/02/10/kansas-woman-who-killed-her-rapist-faces-long-odds-for-clemency/">referred Gonzales-McLinn’s clemency application May 12 to the&nbsp;</a>Kansas&nbsp;Department&nbsp;of&nbsp;Administration, which was to coordinate with the governor’s office. Kelly could accept or reject the review board’s recommendation.A group advocating for Gonzales-McLinn applied for clemency in December. Prior to this case, the state’s prisoner review board recommended clemency 27 times since 2011.Kelly and four governors before her made limited use of clemency authority. The Democratic governor, elected to a second term in November, granted clemency to eight people in 2021, including one recommended by the state review board. Republican Gov. Jeff Colyer granted clemency three times during his one year in office from 2018 to 2019.GOP Gov. Sam Brownback, who served as the state’s chief executive from 2011 to 2018, issued one pardon in 2017. Gov. Mark Parkinson, a Democrat, pardoned four people from 2009 to 2011. He replaced Democratic Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, who issued one pardon from 2003 to 2009.Gonzales-McLinn, 28, has been incarcerated at Topeka Correctional Facility since September 2015. Under a sentence that was adjusted downward from 50 years to 25 years, she could be released from prison in 2039. A plea agreement resulting in that reduction required Gonzales-McLinn to waive appellate rights. Her options were limited to seeking extraordinary relief through the review board and a Kansas governor.Sasko, 52, was found dead Jan. 17, 2014, inside a house in Lawrence he shared with Gonzales-McLinn, who was 19 years old at time of the slaying. She said in an interview with Kansas Reflector that she met Sasko when she was 15 and moved in with him at age 17 when he was 50. She alleged Sasko provided her drugs and alcohol. He made sex with him a condition of remaining in the home after she turned 18 and ordered her to repay thousands of dollars he spent on medical and living expenses, she said.Confidential law enforcement reports indicated Sasko had sought relationships with girls like Gonzales-McLinn who had been “abused, battered, dumped” or had “trouble with the law.”Sasko’s former wife, Anne, urged the prisoner review board to recommend the state keep Gonzales-McLinn behind bars while focusing on “true victims in this case” and taking into account Gonzales-McLinn “chose to stay, then she chose to murder.”Joan Wagnon, the first woman mayor of Topeka, a former member of the Kansas House and past leader of the state Democratic Party, has worked with the group of people supporting Gonzales-McLinn’s clemency request.Wagnon said keeping Gonzalez-McLinn behind bars for a quarter century wouldn’t serve interests of justice, but acknowledged the case was complex and the clemency application equally complicated.“I think the governor is a pretty gutsy lady and as such someone willing to stand up for women and for justice,” Wagnon said.

Kan. board conceals clemency recommendation for woman who killed alleged abuser 

WYANDOTTE COUNTY—One person died in an accident just before 10p.m. Saturday in Wyandotte County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2023 Harley Davidson&nbsp;FLTRX driven by Keith Payne, 52, San Diego, California, was westbound on Interstate 70 at Minnesota Avenue. 

The motorcycle struck the right barrier wall. The rider was ejected. Payne was pronounced dead at the scene and was transported to First Call.&nbsp; The KHP did not report if he was wearing a helmet.

WYANDOTTE COUNTY—One person died in an accident just before 10p.m. Saturday in Wyandotte County.The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2023 Harley Davidson&nbsp;FLTRX driven by Keith Payne, 52, San Diego, California, was westbound on Interstate 70 at Minnesota Avenue. The motorcycle struck the right barrier wall. The rider was ejected. Payne was pronounced dead at the scene and was transported to First Call.&nbsp; The KHP did not report if he was wearing a helmet.

Man dies after motorcycle strikes I-70 barrier wall

KANSAS CITY (AP) —<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/planned-parenthood">Planned Parenthood</a>&nbsp;is shifting funding to its state affiliates and cutting national office staff to reflect a changed landscape in both how&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/abortion">abortion</a>&nbsp;is provided and how battles over access&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-north-south-carolina-nebraska-mifepristone-e41ca174e5a774485454e4ac572c3a1a">are playing out</a>.

The group, a major provider of abortion and other health services and also an advocate for abortion access, told its staff on Monday that layoff notices would go out in June. It provided The Associated Press with an overview Tuesday.

The changes are to kick in on July 1, just over a year after the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-supreme-court-decision-854f60302f21c2c35129e58cf8d8a7b0">overturned Roe v. Wade</a>, the 1973 decision that provided a right to abortion across the country. Since then, most Republican-controlled states have banned or restricted abortion, and most Democrat-controlled states have made moves to protect access.

“We are in a moment when I just believe that Planned Parenthood needs to change, too,” said Alexis McGill Johnson, president and CEO of the two arms of the organization: the political Planned Parenthood Action Fund and the network for local service providers, the Planned Parenthood Federation of America.

She said the changes do not reflect financial struggles for the organization — just priorities that need to change.

Currently, bans on abortion at all stages of pregnancy are in effect in 14 states. Planned Parenthood affiliates have sued several states over their restrictions.

The organization plans to increase funding for non-abortion health services in states with bans. Planned Parenthood's services include testing for sexually transmitted infections, providing contraception, cancer screenings and gender-affirming care. The group also plans to increase funding in places where abortion remains legal in order to help serve patients who travel from states with restrictions.

To fund the changes, McGill Johnson said that 10% to 15% of the group’s 725 to 750 employees — possibly around 100 — face layoffs in June.

Service Employees International Union locals that represent Planned Parenthood workers criticized the layoffs. “We have served PPFA during the toughest times for abortion access,” they said in a statement. “We deserve more than empty claims of equity and of supporting our futures.”

In Ohio, a court has&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-health-ohio-government-and-politics-d4dd3a0c4816ccb9f56df30163f58b9e">blocked enforcement</a>&nbsp;of a ban on abortion after&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-laws-government-and-politics-health-77c9ba98c4f4ab46fdbd5bcc47b5b938">cardiac activity</a>&nbsp;can be detected — generally about six weeks and before many women know they are pregnant. For now, the state has an influx of abortion patients from neighboring Kentucky and West Virginia and other states with bans. But a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ohio-supreme-court-abortion-ban-constitution-0a3f89820ccbbe28526744d6464e0b3a">court ruling</a>&nbsp;could bring a strict ban to the state.

More funding from the national Planned Parenthood will help, said Kersha Deibel, president and CEO of Cincinnati-based Planned Parenthood Southwest Ohio Region. “No matter what happens, we are continuing to build power and making plans to protect and support patients who need access to care,” she said.

The national group plans to improve technology for electronic medial record sharing and telehealth. It will also launch an initiative to better serve Black patients, particularly in the South and Midwest. That element is in a multi-year, $50 million effort that began more than a year ago and has so far focused mostly on the planning stages.

The group's political arm is looking to increase funding at the state level. Last year, six states had ballot measures that dealt with abortion, and the side that supported abortion access prevailed in all of them — even generally conservative states like&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-primary-elections-kansas-abortion-b6d62a852c2ce4617f2c03589fbb523e">Kansas</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-kentucky-abortion-3fa387a4cdc355d50a223f4788aa0ae8">Kentucky</a>. Abortion is expected to be on ballots elsewhere in coming years, including in Ohio this fall.

The New York-based group said the Black health equality initiative will cost $15 million in the coming budget year and other elements will total close to $70 million. Political spending on these initiatives will be added on top of those costs.

Also Tuesday, Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, a major anti-abortion group, announced it is working with&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/kellyanne-conway">Kellyanne Conway</a>, a former adviser to President Donald Trump, to “get pro-life candidates on offense in the 2024 election cycle.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/10/1665657486023.png" alt="The changes are to kick in on July 1, just over a year after the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-supreme-court-decision-854f60302f21c2c35129e58cf8d8a7b0">overturned Roe v. Wade</a>, the 1973 decision that provided a right to abortion across the country. -Google image" />
 <figcaption>The changes are to kick in on July 1, just over a year after the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-supreme-court-decision-854f60302f21c2c35129e58cf8d8a7b0">overturned Roe v. Wade</a>, the 1973 decision that provided a right to abortion across the country. -Google image</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY (AP) —<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/planned-parenthood">Planned Parenthood</a>&nbsp;is shifting funding to its state affiliates and cutting national office staff to reflect a changed landscape in both how&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/abortion">abortion</a>&nbsp;is provided and how battles over access&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-north-south-carolina-nebraska-mifepristone-e41ca174e5a774485454e4ac572c3a1a">are playing out</a>.The group, a major provider of abortion and other health services and also an advocate for abortion access, told its staff on Monday that layoff notices would go out in June. It provided The Associated Press with an overview Tuesday.The changes are to kick in on July 1, just over a year after the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-supreme-court-decision-854f60302f21c2c35129e58cf8d8a7b0">overturned Roe v. Wade</a>, the 1973 decision that provided a right to abortion across the country. Since then, most Republican-controlled states have banned or restricted abortion, and most Democrat-controlled states have made moves to protect access.“We are in a moment when I just believe that Planned Parenthood needs to change, too,” said Alexis McGill Johnson, president and CEO of the two arms of the organization: the political Planned Parenthood Action Fund and the network for local service providers, the Planned Parenthood Federation of America.She said the changes do not reflect financial struggles for the organization — just priorities that need to change.Currently, bans on abortion at all stages of pregnancy are in effect in 14 states. Planned Parenthood affiliates have sued several states over their restrictions.The organization plans to increase funding for non-abortion health services in states with bans. Planned Parenthood's services include testing for sexually transmitted infections, providing contraception, cancer screenings and gender-affirming care. The group also plans to increase funding in places where abortion remains legal in order to help serve patients who travel from states with restrictions.To fund the changes, McGill Johnson said that 10% to 15% of the group’s 725 to 750 employees — possibly around 100 — face layoffs in June.Service Employees International Union locals that represent Planned Parenthood workers criticized the layoffs. “We have served PPFA during the toughest times for abortion access,” they said in a statement. “We deserve more than empty claims of equity and of supporting our futures.”In Ohio, a court has&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-health-ohio-government-and-politics-d4dd3a0c4816ccb9f56df30163f58b9e">blocked enforcement</a>&nbsp;of a ban on abortion after&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-laws-government-and-politics-health-77c9ba98c4f4ab46fdbd5bcc47b5b938">cardiac activity</a>&nbsp;can be detected — generally about six weeks and before many women know they are pregnant. For now, the state has an influx of abortion patients from neighboring Kentucky and West Virginia and other states with bans. But a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ohio-supreme-court-abortion-ban-constitution-0a3f89820ccbbe28526744d6464e0b3a">court ruling</a>&nbsp;could bring a strict ban to the state.More funding from the national Planned Parenthood will help, said Kersha Deibel, president and CEO of Cincinnati-based Planned Parenthood Southwest Ohio Region. “No matter what happens, we are continuing to build power and making plans to protect and support patients who need access to care,” she said.The national group plans to improve technology for electronic medial record sharing and telehealth. It will also launch an initiative to better serve Black patients, particularly in the South and Midwest. That element is in a multi-year, $50 million effort that began more than a year ago and has so far focused mostly on the planning stages.The group's political arm is looking to increase funding at the state level. Last year, six states had ballot measures that dealt with abortion, and the side that supported abortion access prevailed in all of them — even generally conservative states like&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-primary-elections-kansas-abortion-b6d62a852c2ce4617f2c03589fbb523e">Kansas</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-kentucky-abortion-3fa387a4cdc355d50a223f4788aa0ae8">Kentucky</a>. Abortion is expected to be on ballots elsewhere in coming years, including in Ohio this fall.The New York-based group said the Black health equality initiative will cost $15 million in the coming budget year and other elements will total close to $70 million. Political spending on these initiatives will be added on top of those costs.Also Tuesday, Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, a major anti-abortion group, announced it is working with&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/kellyanne-conway">Kellyanne Conway</a>, a former adviser to President Donald Trump, to “get pro-life candidates on offense in the 2024 election cycle.”

As abortion battle shifts, Planned Parenthood to boost regional affiliate funds

SEDGWICK COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities investigating a man's murder reported another arrest on Saturday.

Just before 4a.m. April 30, police were dispatched to a shooting that took place in the 2800 block of East Stadium Drive in Wichita, according to a media release.

First responders located a man, identified as 36-year-old Christian Santiago, of Wichita, in the front passenger seat of a white SUV deceased.

The investigation revealed that 26-year-old Joseph Fiedler was connected to the murder. He was arrested and <a href="https://ssc.sedgwickcounty.org/InmateSearch/Details.aspx?Id=224473">booked into the Sedgwick</a> County Jail on charges of First-Degree Murder.&nbsp;

&nbsp;In addition to Fiedler, three others including&nbsp;&nbsp;Adonis Andrews, 47, Jorge Romero, 48 and and Shaun O’Brien, 41, all of Wichita have been charged in the murder.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/5/1685222760721.png" alt="Fiedler-photo Sedgwick County" />
 <figcaption>Fiedler-photo Sedgwick County</figcaption>
 </figure>SEDGWICK COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities investigating a man's murder reported another arrest on Saturday.Just before 4a.m. April 30, police were dispatched to a shooting that took place in the 2800 block of East Stadium Drive in Wichita, according to a media release.First responders located a man, identified as 36-year-old Christian Santiago, of Wichita, in the front passenger seat of a white SUV deceased.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/5/1682974954685.png" alt="Andrews-photo Sedgwick Co." />
 <figcaption>Andrews-photo Sedgwick Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>The investigation revealed that 26-year-old Joseph Fiedler was connected to the murder. He was arrested and <a href="https://ssc.sedgwickcounty.org/InmateSearch/Details.aspx?Id=224473">booked into the Sedgwick</a> County Jail on charges of First-Degree Murder.&nbsp;<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/5/1683119668766.png" alt="Romero-photo Sedgwick County" />
 <figcaption>Romero-photo Sedgwick County</figcaption>
 </figure><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/5/1683134301504.png" alt="O'brien-photo Sedgwick County" />
 <figcaption>O'brien-photo Sedgwick County</figcaption>
 </figure>&nbsp;In addition to Fiedler, three others including&nbsp;&nbsp;Adonis Andrews, 47, Jorge Romero, 48 and and Shaun O’Brien, 41, all of Wichita have been charged in the murder.

Police: Fourth suspect accused in Kansas man's murder

By PETER SMITH and HOLLY MEYER, Associated Press

The Rev. Bill Farmer reached the point where he&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/global-methodist-church-breakaway-lgbt-f599979835addfd354856ff5b2024989">couldn’t stay in the United Methodist Church</a>&nbsp;anymore — but the congregation he attended was staying.

Michael Hahn always wanted to stay in the UMC — but his congregation was leaving it.

Each has found new church homes, and they’re not alone.

Thousands of United Methodist congregations have been voting on whether to stay or quit one of the nation’s largest denominations amid&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/religion-gay-rights-f3fc3ec9e1f39501495d227d5a0963f8">intractable debates</a>&nbsp;over theology and the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/religion-gay-rights-marriage-1ed8df15ecbb36700cbe638b29dc6617">role of LGBTQ people</a>. There are&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/lifestyle-religion-marriage-b6a4ec4a28ce2674932573ba6c850f4a">stark differences</a>&nbsp;over recognizing same-sex marriage and ordaining LGBTQ clergy.

But the dividing line isn’t just running between congregations. It’s running right through the pews of individual churches, separating people who had long worshipped together.

Those who come up on the short end of a disaffiliation vote face the dilemma of whether to stay or go.

The splintering — often grievous and tense — has spurred new initiatives to provide havens for the unmoored. Some United Methodist regional conferences have begun designating “Lighthouse” congregations — ones that actively welcome people who wanted to stay United Methodist but whose former churches voted to leave. Other conferences use different names, such as “Beacon” or “Oasis,” but the idea is the same.

"The pain is real, and there is a lot of grief and a lot of heartache over the split in the United Methodist Church,” said the Rev. Lynda Ferguson, the great-grandchild of a circuit-riding Methodist pastor.

Her North Carolina church, First United Methodist Asheboro, became a Lighthouse congregation. That assures newcomers that it’s committed to staying United Methodist, so they won’t have to worry about another disaffiliation vote. More than 400 congregations have disaffiliated in North Carolina.

Ferguson said she can personally relate to those from departing congregations. Her childhood church — the one that shaped her faith and where at age 12 she felt the call to ministry — also voted to leave.

"Part of the Lighthouse mission is to let people know the United Methodist Church is still here and still welcoming,” said the Rev. Ed McKinney, pastor of Stokesdale United Methodist Church in Stokesdale, North Carolina, which also became a Lighthouse congregation.

Michael Hahn and his family are among a group of newcomers who have begun participating in Stokesdale after their previous congregations left the denomination.

Hahn, whose family has been Methodist for generations, said he couldn’t imagine leaving the denomination, which he values for blending faith and rationality: “It’s a place where I don’t have to check my logic and reason at the door and blindly accept things.”

Hahn said he, his wife and daughters have found “a very warm and welcoming environment” in the Stokesdale congregation, with people saying, "We’re glad to have you here, we want to walk through this period with you.”

By PETER SMITH and HOLLY MEYER, Associated PressThe Rev. Bill Farmer reached the point where he&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/global-methodist-church-breakaway-lgbt-f599979835addfd354856ff5b2024989">couldn’t stay in the United Methodist Church</a>&nbsp;anymore — but the congregation he attended was staying.Michael Hahn always wanted to stay in the UMC — but his congregation was leaving it.Each has found new church homes, and they’re not alone.Thousands of United Methodist congregations have been voting on whether to stay or quit one of the nation’s largest denominations amid&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/religion-gay-rights-f3fc3ec9e1f39501495d227d5a0963f8">intractable debates</a>&nbsp;over theology and the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/religion-gay-rights-marriage-1ed8df15ecbb36700cbe638b29dc6617">role of LGBTQ people</a>. There are&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/lifestyle-religion-marriage-b6a4ec4a28ce2674932573ba6c850f4a">stark differences</a>&nbsp;over recognizing same-sex marriage and ordaining LGBTQ clergy.But the dividing line isn’t just running between congregations. It’s running right through the pews of individual churches, separating people who had long worshipped together.Those who come up on the short end of a disaffiliation vote face the dilemma of whether to stay or go.The splintering — often grievous and tense — has spurred new initiatives to provide havens for the unmoored. Some United Methodist regional conferences have begun designating “Lighthouse” congregations — ones that actively welcome people who wanted to stay United Methodist but whose former churches voted to leave. Other conferences use different names, such as “Beacon” or “Oasis,” but the idea is the same."The pain is real, and there is a lot of grief and a lot of heartache over the split in the United Methodist Church,” said the Rev. Lynda Ferguson, the great-grandchild of a circuit-riding Methodist pastor.Her North Carolina church, First United Methodist Asheboro, became a Lighthouse congregation. That assures newcomers that it’s committed to staying United Methodist, so they won’t have to worry about another disaffiliation vote. More than 400 congregations have disaffiliated in North Carolina.Ferguson said she can personally relate to those from departing congregations. Her childhood church — the one that shaped her faith and where at age 12 she felt the call to ministry — also voted to leave."Part of the Lighthouse mission is to let people know the United Methodist Church is still here and still welcoming,” said the Rev. Ed McKinney, pastor of Stokesdale United Methodist Church in Stokesdale, North Carolina, which also became a Lighthouse congregation.Michael Hahn and his family are among a group of newcomers who have begun participating in Stokesdale after their previous congregations left the denomination.Hahn, whose family has been Methodist for generations, said he couldn’t imagine leaving the denomination, which he values for blending faith and rationality: “It’s a place where I don’t have to check my logic and reason at the door and blindly accept things.”Hahn said he, his wife and daughters have found “a very warm and welcoming environment” in the Stokesdale congregation, with people saying, "We’re glad to have you here, we want to walk through this period with you.”Many of the departing churches are joining the conservative Global Methodist Church, created last year. Others are going independent or joining different denominations.While the Global Methodist Church doesn’t have a program like the Lighthouse initiative, it has begun launching or adopting congregations that can become homes for those who want to leave the United Methodist Church but whose congregations are staying.That was the case with the founders of Grace Methodist Church. They launched the church in January in Homosassa, Florida, after their previous congregation voted to stay in the UMC. The new church immediately affiliated with the Global Methodist Church.Grace Methodist has been renting a former lodge hall for its services and has already started Bible studies and community outreaches, while also working to attract attendees from their neighborhood.“We’re not there just to go to church on Sunday for an hour; we’re there to help the community," said member Neil Kline. The enthusiasm of participants is evident, he said: “They can’t wait to get to church, and they don’t want to leave.”Farmer came out of retirement to serve as the church's pastor.The group's previous congregation “was a good church,” Farmer said, and he wished it well. But “my struggle was with the United Methodist structure, what’s going on in the United States, particularly."The ongoing schism has been long in the making.The United Methodist Church — with about 6.5 million members in the United States and at least that many abroad — has long debated its bans on same-sex marriages and the ordination of openly LGBTQ clergy.The denomination has repeatedly upheld the bans, largely through the voting strength of the growing, more conservative churches abroad. But conservatives chose to form a new denomination amid growing defiance of the bans in U.S. churches.More than 3,500 U.S. congregations have received their local conferences’ permission to disaffiliate from the UMC, according to United Methodist News Service. With conference season underway, disaffiliations are closing in on 4,000 and could rise even more by the end of the year, said the Rev. Jay Therrell, president of the Wesleyan Covenant Association, a conservative group advocating for departing congregations.That’s a fraction of the United Methodists’ 30,000 U.S. churches, though several of the departing congregations are among the largest in their states.Therrell said he had no problem with the Lighthouse concept but renewed his call to allow churches to disaffiliate on reasonable terms.“I want everyone to be in the theological home that is the best fit,” Therrell said. “Certainly, the United Methodist Church is welcome to try to create churches to do that. I hope they would respect traditionalists and allow us to get to the place where we need to be.”In the Arkansas Conference, more than 100 churches — out of roughly 600 total — have received permission to disaffiliate. That leaves parts of the state with few or no remaining United Methodist congregations, said the Rev. Michael Roberts, director of the conference’s new Restart Initiative, which is hoping to enlist congregations to be Beacon churches. Such churches would invite self-described “exiles, refugees, nomads” to worship services, help them start home groups or develop other ways to keep them connected.“We’re just really simply inviting churches to consider how they can provide this kind of hospitality,” Roberts said. “I love the word ‘hospitality’ because the word ‘hospital’ comes from that word. It is about providing healing."In the Western Pennsylvania Conference, 17 congregations officially became Lighthouse congregations as of May 1.About a third of the estimated 800 churches in the Western Pennsylvania Conference — a sprawling 23-county region — are seeking to have their disaffiliations approved at the conference's June annual meeting, according to Bishop Cynthia Moore-Koikoi.“There have been very few votes where it was unanimous,” she said. For those on the short end of those votes — sometimes described as pilgrims — the Lighthouse congregations offer places where they can join or just find temporary harbor until they figure out next steps.But Lighthouse churches aren’t places to settle into old routines, she said.“This has been an opportunity to really think about folks who are unchurched, and how this nucleus of people looking for a church home might help us discern needs in the community and create faith communities” to reach people in new ways.Added B.T. Gilligan, senior pastor at Nixon United Methodist Church, a Lighthouse congregation in Butler, Pennsylvania: “I really hope this extends and goes far beyond the disaffiliation, but allows for people who have been hurt by churches for all different kinds of reasons.”___