<a href="https://www.ymzfh.com/obituary/MauriceMD-ShieldsJr">Obituary for Maurice "MD" Dean Shields, Jr. | Yazel-Megli Funeral Homes (ymzfh.com)</a>

MD’s life began on April 7, 1944, the son of Maurice Dean and Mary Elizabeth (Miller) Shields in Shattuck, Oklahoma. He attended Whitewater schools. 

MD was a member of the Federated Church, enjoyed facts and history about Kansas, maps, puzzles and collecting miniature horse figurines.

His loving family includes his brother and his wife, Randy and Jocelyn Shields of Potwin; nephew and his wife, Taylor and Jamie Shields; niece Lorelei Downey; great niece and her husband, Kortnei and Peter Kerby; great-nephew Josh Downey; great-great nieces Madisyn Tillet and Pyper Kerby; great-great nephew, Bensyn Kerby.

He was preceded in death by his parents and a brother, Larry R. Shields. MD passed away peacefully on Saturday, June 26, 2021 at the age of 77 years old.

His family will gather with friends on Thursday, July 1, from 6-8 p.m. at Federated Church, 207 E. Central, Whitewater, Kansas. A graveside service will be held Friday, July 2, at 10:00 a.m. in the Whitewater Cemetery.

Memorial contributions may be directed to Federated Church in care of Lamb Funeral Home, P.O. Box 358, Whitewater, Kansas 67154. 

Please sign his online guest book and leave a memory of MD at www.ymzfh.com.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Maurice "MD" Dean Shields, Jr., please visit our&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ymzfh.com/obituary/MauriceMD-ShieldsJr/sympathy">floral store.</a>

<h2>Maurice 'MD' Dean Shields, Jr., Potwin</h2><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/6/1624914251899.jpeg" alt="Maurice 'MD' Dean Shields, Jr." />
 <figcaption>Maurice 'MD' Dean Shields, Jr.</figcaption>
 </figure><a href="https://www.ymzfh.com/obituary/MauriceMD-ShieldsJr">Obituary for Maurice "MD" Dean Shields, Jr. | Yazel-Megli Funeral Homes (ymzfh.com)</a>April 7, 1944 ~ June 26, 2021 (age 77)MD’s life began on April 7, 1944, the son of Maurice Dean and Mary Elizabeth (Miller) Shields in Shattuck, Oklahoma. He attended Whitewater schools. MD was a member of the Federated Church, enjoyed facts and history about Kansas, maps, puzzles and collecting miniature horse figurines.His loving family includes his brother and his wife, Randy and Jocelyn Shields of Potwin; nephew and his wife, Taylor and Jamie Shields; niece Lorelei Downey; great niece and her husband, Kortnei and Peter Kerby; great-nephew Josh Downey; great-great nieces Madisyn Tillet and Pyper Kerby; great-great nephew, Bensyn Kerby.He was preceded in death by his parents and a brother, Larry R. Shields. MD passed away peacefully on Saturday, June 26, 2021 at the age of 77 years old.His family will gather with friends on Thursday, July 1, from 6-8 p.m. at Federated Church, 207 E. Central, Whitewater, Kansas. A graveside service will be held Friday, July 2, at 10:00 a.m. in the Whitewater Cemetery.Memorial contributions may be directed to Federated Church in care of Lamb Funeral Home, P.O. Box 358, Whitewater, Kansas 67154. Please sign his online guest book and leave a memory of MD at www.ymzfh.com.To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Maurice "MD" Dean Shields, Jr., please visit our&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ymzfh.com/obituary/MauriceMD-ShieldsJr/sympathy">floral store.</a>

Maurice 'MD' Dean Shields, Jr.

Today is Monday, June 28, the 179th day of 2021. There are 186 days left in the year. 

On June 28, 1940, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Alien Registration Act, also known as the Smith Act, which required adult foreigners residing in the U.S. to be registered and fingerprinted. 

In 1838, Britain's Queen Victoria was crowned in Westminster Abbey. 

In 1863, during the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln appointed Maj. Gen. George G. Meade the new commander of the Army of the Potomac, following the resignation of Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker. 

In 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife, Sophie, were shot to death in Sarajevo by Serb nationalist Gavrilo Princip — an act which sparked World War I. 

In 1919, the Treaty of Versailles was signed in France, ending the First World War.

In 1950, North Korean forces captured Seoul (sohl), the capital of South Korea.

In 1951, a TV version of the radio comedy program "Amos 'N' Andy" premiered on CBS. (It was the first network TV series to feature an all-Black cast, but came under criticism for racial stereotyping.)

In 1964, civil rights activist Malcolm X declared, "We want equality by any means necessary" during the Founding Rally of the Organization of Afro-American Unity in New York. 

In 1978, the Supreme Court ordered the University of California-Davis Medical School to admit Allan Bakke, a white man who argued he'd been a victim of reverse racial discrimination. 

In 2000, seven months after he was cast adrift in the Florida Straits, Elian Gonzalez was returned to his native Cuba. 

In 2010, Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., the longest-serving senator in the nation's history, died in Falls Church, Virginia, at 92. The Supreme Court ruled, 5-4, that Americans had the right to own a gun for self-defense anywhere they lived. 

In 2013, tens of thousands of supporters and opponents of Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi rallied in Cairo, and both sides fought each other in the country's second-largest city of Alexandria, where two people — including an American — were killed and scores injured. The four plaintiffs in the U.S. Supreme Court case that overturned California's same-sex marriage ban tied the knot, just hours after a federal appeals court freed gay couples to obtain marriage licenses in the state for the first time in 4 1/2 years. 

In 2019, avowed white supremacist James Alex Fields, who deliberately drove his car into a crowd of counterprotesters in Charlottesville, Virginia, killing a young woman and injuring dozens, apologized to his victims before being sentenced to life in prison on federal hate crime charges. 

Ten years ago: Taliban fighters raided an international hotel in Kabul and killed 10 people on the eve of a conference to discuss plans for Afghan forces to take over security when international troops left by the end of 2014.

Five years ago: House Republicans concluded their $7 million, two-year investigation into the deadly attacks in Benghazi, Libya, with fresh accusations of lethal mistakes by the Obama administration but no "smoking gun" pointing to wrongdoing by Hillary Clinton, who said the report "found nothing, nothing to contradict" the findings of earlier investigations. Three suicide bombers armed with assault rifles stormed Istanbul's Ataturk airport, killing 44 victims and wounding nearly 150; no one claimed responsibility, but Turkish officials said they suspected the Islamic State group. Death claimed Pat Summitt, the most successful coach in major college basketball history, at age 64; former pro football coach Buddy Ryan at age 85; and pioneering rock guitarist Scotty Moore at age 84.

One year ago: A St. Louis couple, Mark and Patricia McCloskey, waved guns at protesters who marched on their private street amid the national racial injustice demonstrations. (The McCloskeys, who were initially indicted on felony charges including unlawful use of a weapon, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges and agreed to give up the weapons they used during the confrontation.) President Donald Trump tweeted approvingly of a video showing one of his supporters chanting "white power," a racist slogan associated with white supremacists. (Trump later deleted the tweet, and the White House said he had not heard "the one statement" on the video.) Trump denied that he'd been made aware of the conclusions of U.S. intelligence officials that Russia had offered bounties to militants for killing U.S. troops in Afghanistan. The world surpassed two coronavirus milestones – 500,000 confirmed deaths, 10 million confirmed cases, while also hitting another high mark for daily new infections. California Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered bars that had opened in seven counties to immediately close, and urged bars in eight other counties to do the same, amid the rapid spread of the coronavirus in parts of the state.

Today's Birthdays: Comedian-movie director Mel Brooks is 95. Former Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., is 87. Comedian-impressionist John Byner is 84. Former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is 83. Rock musician Dave Knights (Procul Harum) is 76. Actor Bruce Davison is 75. Actor Kathy Bates is 73. Actor Alice Krige is 67. College and Pro Football Hall of Famer John Elway is 61. Jazz singer Tierney Sutton is 58. Actor Jessica Hecht is 56. Rock musician Saul Davies (James) is 56. Actor Mary Stuart Masterson is 55. Actor John Cusack is 55. Actor Gil Bellows is 54. Actor-singer Danielle Brisebois is 52. Jazz musician Jimmy Sommers is 52. Actor Tichina Arnold is 52. Actor Steve Burton is 51. Entrepreneur Elon Musk is 50. Actor Alessandro Nivola is 49. Actor Camille Guaty is 45. Rock musician Tim Nordwind (OK Go) is 45. Rock musician Mark Stoermer (The Killers) is 44. Country singer Big Vinny Hickerson (Trailer Choir) is 38. Country singer Kellie Pickler is 35.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/11/1573488868914.jpeg" alt="Photo of old book courtesy <a href="http://shutterstock.com">shutterstock</a>" />
 <figcaption>Photo of old book courtesy <a href="http://shutterstock.com">shutterstock</a></figcaption>
 </figure>By THE ASSOCIATED PRESSToday is Monday, June 28, the 179th day of 2021. There are 186 days left in the year. Today's Highlights in History: On June 28, 1940, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Alien Registration Act, also known as the Smith Act, which required adult foreigners residing in the U.S. to be registered and fingerprinted. On this date: In 1838, Britain's Queen Victoria was crowned in Westminster Abbey. In 1863, during the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln appointed Maj. Gen. George G. Meade the new commander of the Army of the Potomac, following the resignation of Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker. In 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife, Sophie, were shot to death in Sarajevo by Serb nationalist Gavrilo Princip — an act which sparked World War I. In 1919, the Treaty of Versailles was signed in France, ending the First World War.In 1950, North Korean forces captured Seoul (sohl), the capital of South Korea.In 1951, a TV version of the radio comedy program "Amos 'N' Andy" premiered on CBS. (It was the first network TV series to feature an all-Black cast, but came under criticism for racial stereotyping.)In 1964, civil rights activist Malcolm X declared, "We want equality by any means necessary" during the Founding Rally of the Organization of Afro-American Unity in New York. In 1978, the Supreme Court ordered the University of California-Davis Medical School to admit Allan Bakke, a white man who argued he'd been a victim of reverse racial discrimination. In 2000, seven months after he was cast adrift in the Florida Straits, Elian Gonzalez was returned to his native Cuba. In 2010, Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., the longest-serving senator in the nation's history, died in Falls Church, Virginia, at 92. The Supreme Court ruled, 5-4, that Americans had the right to own a gun for self-defense anywhere they lived. In 2013, tens of thousands of supporters and opponents of Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi rallied in Cairo, and both sides fought each other in the country's second-largest city of Alexandria, where two people — including an American — were killed and scores injured. The four plaintiffs in the U.S. Supreme Court case that overturned California's same-sex marriage ban tied the knot, just hours after a federal appeals court freed gay couples to obtain marriage licenses in the state for the first time in 4 1/2 years. In 2019, avowed white supremacist James Alex Fields, who deliberately drove his car into a crowd of counterprotesters in Charlottesville, Virginia, killing a young woman and injuring dozens, apologized to his victims before being sentenced to life in prison on federal hate crime charges. Ten years ago: Taliban fighters raided an international hotel in Kabul and killed 10 people on the eve of a conference to discuss plans for Afghan forces to take over security when international troops left by the end of 2014. Five years ago: House Republicans concluded their $7 million, two-year investigation into the deadly attacks in Benghazi, Libya, with fresh accusations of lethal mistakes by the Obama administration but no "smoking gun" pointing to wrongdoing by Hillary Clinton, who said the report "found nothing, nothing to contradict" the findings of earlier investigations. Three suicide bombers armed with assault rifles stormed Istanbul's Ataturk airport, killing 44 victims and wounding nearly 150; no one claimed responsibility, but Turkish officials said they suspected the Islamic State group. Death claimed Pat Summitt, the most successful coach in major college basketball history, at age 64; former pro football coach Buddy Ryan at age 85; and pioneering rock guitarist Scotty Moore at age 84.One year ago: A St. Louis couple, Mark and Patricia McCloskey, waved guns at protesters who marched on their private street amid the national racial injustice demonstrations. (The McCloskeys, who were initially indicted on felony charges including unlawful use of a weapon, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges and agreed to give up the weapons they used during the confrontation.) President Donald Trump tweeted approvingly of a video showing one of his supporters chanting "white power," a racist slogan associated with white supremacists. (Trump later deleted the tweet, and the White House said he had not heard "the one statement" on the video.) Trump denied that he'd been made aware of the conclusions of U.S. intelligence officials that Russia had offered bounties to militants for killing U.S. troops in Afghanistan. The world surpassed two coronavirus milestones – 500,000 confirmed deaths, 10 million confirmed cases, while also hitting another high mark for daily new infections. California Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered bars that had opened in seven counties to immediately close, and urged bars in eight other counties to do the same, amid the rapid spread of the coronavirus in parts of the state. Today's Birthdays: Comedian-movie director Mel Brooks is 95. Former Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., is 87. Comedian-impressionist John Byner is 84. Former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is 83. Rock musician Dave Knights (Procul Harum) is 76. Actor Bruce Davison is 75. Actor Kathy Bates is 73. Actor Alice Krige is 67. College and Pro Football Hall of Famer John Elway is 61. Jazz singer Tierney Sutton is 58. Actor Jessica Hecht is 56. Rock musician Saul Davies (James) is 56. Actor Mary Stuart Masterson is 55. Actor John Cusack is 55. Actor Gil Bellows is 54. Actor-singer Danielle Brisebois is 52. Jazz musician Jimmy Sommers is 52. Actor Tichina Arnold is 52. Actor Steve Burton is 51. Entrepreneur Elon Musk is 50. Actor Alessandro Nivola is 49. Actor Camille Guaty is 45. Rock musician Tim Nordwind (OK Go) is 45. Rock musician Mark Stoermer (The Killers) is 44. Country singer Big Vinny Hickerson (Trailer Choir) is 38. Country singer Kellie Pickler is 35.

Today in History - June 28

SHAWNEE COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities investigating fatal&nbsp; shooting of 51-year-old Bradley Bellinder at a home in Topeka arrested a suspect identified as Marshall Stewart IV, 38 of Topeka, according to Lt. Kelvin Johnson.

Just after 10p.m. June 24, police responded to a home in the&nbsp;1200 Block of NW Polk in Topeka after the Shawnee County Emergency Communication Center received a call for service on the report of an unknown medical issue, according to Lt. Jerry Monasmith.

On arrival, officers were advised of an adult victim later identified as Bellinder suffering from a gunshot wound. Officers located&nbsp; the victim who appeared to have a gunshot wound and he was&nbsp; later pronounced deceased, at the scene.&nbsp;

On Sunday police located Stewart, took him into custody and later booked him into the Shawnee County Department of Corrections on requested charges of Second Degree Murder and Felon in Possession of a Firearm.

SHAWNEE COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a fatal shooting at a home in Topeka and have identified the victim as 51-year-old Bradley Bellinder of Topeka.

Just after 10p.m. Thursday police responded to a home in the&nbsp;1200 Block of NW Polk after the Shawnee County Emergency Communication Center received a call for service on the report of an unknown medical issue, according to Lt. Jerry Monasmith.

The police department homicide unit continues reviewing all investigative leads.&nbsp; They have not reported an arrest.

SHAWNEE COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a fatal shooting at a home in Topeka.

 On arrival, officers were advised of an adult victim suffering from a gunshot wound. Officers located a victim who appeared to have a gunshot wound who was&nbsp; later pronounced deceased, at the scene.&nbsp;

The police department homicide unit is reviewing all investigative leads.&nbsp; They have not reported an arrest.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/6/1624842500783.png" alt="Stewart photo Shawnee Co." />
 <figcaption>Stewart photo Shawnee Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>SHAWNEE COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities investigating fatal&nbsp; shooting of 51-year-old Bradley Bellinder at a home in Topeka arrested a suspect identified as Marshall Stewart IV, 38 of Topeka, according to Lt. Kelvin Johnson.Just after 10p.m. June 24, police responded to a home in the&nbsp;1200 Block of NW Polk in Topeka after the Shawnee County Emergency Communication Center received a call for service on the report of an unknown medical issue, according to Lt. Jerry Monasmith.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/6/1624623642394.png" alt="Police on the scene of the fatal shooting on Thursday photo courtesy WIBW TV" />
 <figcaption>Police on the scene of the fatal shooting on Thursday photo courtesy WIBW TV</figcaption>
 </figure>On arrival, officers were advised of an adult victim later identified as Bellinder suffering from a gunshot wound. Officers located&nbsp; the victim who appeared to have a gunshot wound and he was&nbsp; later pronounced deceased, at the scene.&nbsp;On Sunday police located Stewart, took him into custody and later booked him into the Shawnee County Department of Corrections on requested charges of Second Degree Murder and Felon in Possession of a Firearm.--------SHAWNEE COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a fatal shooting at a home in Topeka and have identified the victim as 51-year-old Bradley Bellinder of Topeka.Just after 10p.m. Thursday police responded to a home in the&nbsp;1200 Block of NW Polk after the Shawnee County Emergency Communication Center received a call for service on the report of an unknown medical issue, according to Lt. Jerry Monasmith.On arrival, officers were advised of an adult victim later identified as Bellinder suffering from a gunshot wound. Officers located&nbsp; the victim who appeared to have a gunshot wound and he was&nbsp; later pronounced deceased, at the scene.&nbsp;The police department homicide unit continues reviewing all investigative leads.&nbsp; They have not reported an arrest.--------SHAWNEE COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a fatal shooting at a home in Topeka.Just after 10p.m. Thursday police responded to a home in the&nbsp;1200 Block of NW Polk after the Shawnee County Emergency Communication Center received a call for service on the report of an unknown medical issue, according to Lt. Jerry Monasmith. On arrival, officers were advised of an adult victim suffering from a gunshot wound. Officers located a victim who appeared to have a gunshot wound who was&nbsp; later pronounced deceased, at the scene.&nbsp;The police department homicide unit is reviewing all investigative leads.&nbsp; They have not reported an arrest.

Suspect arrested for death of 51-year-old Kansas man

By MAX MCCOY For Kansas Reflector

When Timothy McVeigh made the bomb that would take down the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City in 1995, he did it in plain sight, at a state park in Kansas. McVeigh and at least one co-conspirator, Terry Nichols, mixed 4,000 pounds of ammonium nitrate — a common fertilizer — with diesel fuel, and loaded the barrels in the back of a rented Ryder truck, while it was parked at Geary State Fishing Lake.

The location was convenient because McVeigh knew the area, having been stationed at nearby Fort Riley before being discharged in 1991. McVeigh, 26, was a decorated veteran of the first Gulf War, a combat infantryman who left the Army after washing out of Ranger school. He was also a racist and anti-government radical who sought revenge for the standoff at Ruby Ridge, in which a woman was killed by an FBI sniper, and Waco, where 82 Branch Davidians and four federal agents died, with most of the civilians perishing in a fiery conflagration following a 51-day siege.

Nichols was McVeigh’s old Army buddy and partner on the gun show circuit who had purchased a white frame house on South Second Street in Herington, less than 20 miles away from Geary Lake. McVeigh rented the Ryder truck from a body shop at Junction City.

The bomb exploded at 9:02 a.m. Wednesday, April 19.

The federal building was filled with hundreds of people. The blast killed 168, including six children. It remains the worst act of domestic terrorism in American history.

There is a direct line between the Oklahoma City bombing and the&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2021/01/10/this-letter-to-a-young-kansas-journalist-is-for-all-who-care-about-democracy/">Jan. 6 insurrection</a>. The beliefs that drove McVeigh and his co-conspirators, who saw themselves as patriots, are chillingly similar to those that propelled the Capitol insurrectionists, who see themselves as patriots.

But while Oklahoma City was a violent expression of anti-government sentiment by a handful of isolated extremists, the Jan. 6 attack was the coordinated action of hundreds of delusional partisans and violent extremists seeking to destroy the most vital instrument of our democracy — the physical ballots of the Electoral College.

The Oklahoma City bombing was near-universally condemned, but the movement that spawned it existed on the fringes of the American heartland, tolerated by a culture that showed deference to (Christian) religion and the military, mistrusted the government and prized guns as expressions of freedom. Far from the American mainstream, it recruited members through self-published books and newsletters, meetings in the back rooms of gun shows, broadcasts over shortwave radio, handwritten letters and calls from side-of-the-road pay phones.

While the players have changed and the movement has been given the patina of power, if not authority, by a former president who endorses the Big Lie that the 2020 election was stolen, its poisonous rhetoric remains the same, only now with a vast digital reach.

Let me take you back 20 years, to when I was an investigative writer working on a series about hate groups in the heartland. It’s the first Saturday in December, at a huge gun show at the Tulsa Expo Center, where in a side room&nbsp;<a href="https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/individual/bo-gritz">Bo Gritz</a>&nbsp;is performing his trademark move: He’s tied a United Nations flag to the barrel of a Mossberg 12-gauge shotgun and doused the flag in lighter fluid.

Gritz (pronounced “Grites”) has his bona fides. He’s a retired Green Beret colonel, the leader of the Christian Patriot movement, a former Populist Party presidential candidate (a distinction also held by KKK leader David Duke), and the man who helped negotiate an end to the Ruby Ridge standoff.

“I don’t see a single person sitting here that won’t get a chance in their lifetime to say ‘no’ to this New World Order — this Antichrist,” Gritz says.

Then he lights the flag. It burns with a fierce orange flame and malodorous black smoke drifts upwards. Gritz says those who fail to fight will become like the stinking residue, and he cites Revelation 14:11: “And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever.”

Now as then, religion gets mixed up in the philosophy of the extreme right, but it’s a kind of militant racist dogma that most Americans have never heard. Called Christian Identity, it holds three key beliefs, according to the pioneering work of&nbsp;<a href="https://uncpress.org/book/9780807846384/religion-and-the-racist-right/">Michael Barkun</a>, professor emeritus of political science at Syracuse University: Whites are the true descendants of the biblical tribes of Israel, and not modern Jews; the world is on the verge of an apocalyptic struggle between good and evil in which whites must do battle with a worldwide Jewish conspiracy; and Jews and nonwhites are the biological children of Satan, “mud people” without human souls.

While the influence of Christian Identity waned in the years following the Oklahoma City bombing,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/03/magazine/FBI-charlottesville-white-nationalism-far-right.html">it has reemerged</a>&nbsp;in recent years as the extreme right has gained power.

A few of Christian Identity’s most notorious adherents are Eric Rudolph, the 1996 Olympic Park and abortion clinic bomber; members of The Order, a white supremacist group that killed Jewish talk show host Allen Berg in Denver in 1984; and the Aryan Republican Army, probably the most successful bank robbers in American history.

The Aryan Republican Army — also known as the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1997/01/09/us/bank-robbery-trial-offers-a-glimpse-of-a-right-wing-world.html">Midwestern Bank Bandits</a>&nbsp;— was a white nationalist gang that, from 1994 to 1996, used pipe bombs as decoys and wore rubber masks representing living U.S. presidents to rob at least 22 banks to finance a cataclysmic race war.

Although they were headquartered in Ohio, one of their safehouses was on a quiet residential street in Pittsburg, Kansas. The gang fell apart after their two leaders, Kevin Langan and Richard Guthrie, had a violent argument over Langan’s cross-dressing. After that some former members turned informant, there was a shootout with the FBI, and Langan and Guthrie were arrested.

At the Pittsburg safehouse, investigators discovered a recruiting video. It showed ski-masked members brandishing automatic weapons and displaying bricks of hundred-dollar bills. “Make no mistake,” intoned a masked man with an assault rifle, as I recall, “we are your neighbors.”

Don’t get me wrong. There is no need to fear your neighbors. Most of them are decent people who would pitch in to help if your house was on fire. But too many of us believe the conspiracy theories that spread like cancer on social media and from our politicians.

There is no reason to believe the government, then or now, has built concentration camps for white Christians, or that the United Nations is seeking to enslave you, or that the coronavirus vaccine was designed to mess with your DNA and turn you zombie. And, if you are among the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.monmouth.edu/polling-institute/reports/monmouthpoll_us_062121/">1 in 3 Americans</a>&nbsp;who believe the Big Lie, let me suggest that not only are you wrong, but you are providing cover to the violent fringe that would overturn our democracy by force.

The choice Americans now face is not one of rival parties and competing ideas. The choice is between democracy and chaos. American democracy has, in our lifetimes, been among the most stable and credible systems of government in the world. That, of course, unraveled under the bizarro world of the former president. But here’s the thing (and I’ll invoke Carl Sagan): extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. There just is no credible evidence of large-scale fraud in the 2020 election.

But there is clear and convincing evidence that the mob that stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6 was fueled by conspiracy theories and encouraged to insurrection by the former president and others. In this age of social media, never before has a crime been so well-documented. And the insurrection perfectly fits the FBI’s definition of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fbi.gov/investigate/terrorism">domestic terrorism</a>: “Violent, criminal acts committed by individual and/or groups to further ideological goals stemming from domestic influences, such as those of a political, religious, social, racial, or environmental nature.”

The tragedy of Jan. 6 is that so many Americans were seduced into risking imprisonment or even death — and jeopardizing our democracy — in service to a delusion. The seductive old lie says that someone else is always to blame for our problems: the Jews, the Blacks, the United Nations. The lie plays on our faith, our patriotism, our sense of identity. It operates in plain sight. It preys on our fears and counts on being treated with deference because to do otherwise would be to invite scorn, or at least suspicion, from our neighbors.

The lie is easy to sell, because lies are always easier to sell than the truth, whether you’re hawking cigarettes or conspiracy theories. Lies are sexy. The truth is as homely and boring as an old shoe. But if we are to survive our third century as a nation, we must define truth as fact and not as feeling, patriotism as duty and not as loyalty, faith as an expression of love and not of hate.

At least six Kansans were among the more than 500 charged by the Department of Justice for taking part in the Capitol breach. One such Kansan is too many. As Independence Day approaches, let’s chart a path that leads away from Oklahoma City and Jan. 6, far from the ghosts of Geary Lake.

The above opinion piece is republished with permission from <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/">Kansas Reflector</a>.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/6/1624809854176.png" alt="A sketch of Timothy McVeigh and his mugshot as they appear on the FBI's website about the Oklahoma City bombing. (FBI)" />
 <figcaption>A sketch of Timothy McVeigh and his mugshot as they appear on the FBI's website about the Oklahoma City bombing. (FBI)</figcaption>
 </figure>By MAX MCCOY For Kansas ReflectorWhen Timothy McVeigh made the bomb that would take down the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City in 1995, he did it in plain sight, at a state park in Kansas. McVeigh and at least one co-conspirator, Terry Nichols, mixed 4,000 pounds of ammonium nitrate — a common fertilizer — with diesel fuel, and loaded the barrels in the back of a rented Ryder truck, while it was parked at Geary State Fishing Lake.The location was convenient because McVeigh knew the area, having been stationed at nearby Fort Riley before being discharged in 1991. McVeigh, 26, was a decorated veteran of the first Gulf War, a combat infantryman who left the Army after washing out of Ranger school. He was also a racist and anti-government radical who sought revenge for the standoff at Ruby Ridge, in which a woman was killed by an FBI sniper, and Waco, where 82 Branch Davidians and four federal agents died, with most of the civilians perishing in a fiery conflagration following a 51-day siege.Nichols was McVeigh’s old Army buddy and partner on the gun show circuit who had purchased a white frame house on South Second Street in Herington, less than 20 miles away from Geary Lake. McVeigh rented the Ryder truck from a body shop at Junction City.The bomb exploded at 9:02 a.m. Wednesday, April 19.The federal building was filled with hundreds of people. The blast killed 168, including six children. It remains the worst act of domestic terrorism in American history.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/6/1624809990625.jpeg" alt="Reporters interview family members of Oklahoma City bombing victims outside the courthouse where Terry Nichols was tried by the state in 1999. (Max McCoy/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption>Reporters interview family members of Oklahoma City bombing victims outside the courthouse where Terry Nichols was tried by the state in 1999. (Max McCoy/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure>There is a direct line between the Oklahoma City bombing and the&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2021/01/10/this-letter-to-a-young-kansas-journalist-is-for-all-who-care-about-democracy/">Jan. 6 insurrection</a>. The beliefs that drove McVeigh and his co-conspirators, who saw themselves as patriots, are chillingly similar to those that propelled the Capitol insurrectionists, who see themselves as patriots.But while Oklahoma City was a violent expression of anti-government sentiment by a handful of isolated extremists, the Jan. 6 attack was the coordinated action of hundreds of delusional partisans and violent extremists seeking to destroy the most vital instrument of our democracy — the physical ballots of the Electoral College.The Oklahoma City bombing was near-universally condemned, but the movement that spawned it existed on the fringes of the American heartland, tolerated by a culture that showed deference to (Christian) religion and the military, mistrusted the government and prized guns as expressions of freedom. Far from the American mainstream, it recruited members through self-published books and newsletters, meetings in the back rooms of gun shows, broadcasts over shortwave radio, handwritten letters and calls from side-of-the-road pay phones.Now, the movement has gone mainstream.While the players have changed and the movement has been given the patina of power, if not authority, by a former president who endorses the Big Lie that the 2020 election was stolen, its poisonous rhetoric remains the same, only now with a vast digital reach.Let me take you back 20 years, to when I was an investigative writer working on a series about hate groups in the heartland. It’s the first Saturday in December, at a huge gun show at the Tulsa Expo Center, where in a side room&nbsp;<a href="https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/individual/bo-gritz">Bo Gritz</a>&nbsp;is performing his trademark move: He’s tied a United Nations flag to the barrel of a Mossberg 12-gauge shotgun and doused the flag in lighter fluid.Gritz (pronounced “Grites”) has his bona fides. He’s a retired Green Beret colonel, the leader of the Christian Patriot movement, a former Populist Party presidential candidate (a distinction also held by KKK leader David Duke), and the man who helped negotiate an end to the Ruby Ridge standoff.“I don’t see a single person sitting here that won’t get a chance in their lifetime to say ‘no’ to this New World Order — this Antichrist,” Gritz says.Then he lights the flag. It burns with a fierce orange flame and malodorous black smoke drifts upwards. Gritz says those who fail to fight will become like the stinking residue, and he cites Revelation 14:11: “And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever.”Now as then, religion gets mixed up in the philosophy of the extreme right, but it’s a kind of militant racist dogma that most Americans have never heard. Called Christian Identity, it holds three key beliefs, according to the pioneering work of&nbsp;<a href="https://uncpress.org/book/9780807846384/religion-and-the-racist-right/">Michael Barkun</a>, professor emeritus of political science at Syracuse University: Whites are the true descendants of the biblical tribes of Israel, and not modern Jews; the world is on the verge of an apocalyptic struggle between good and evil in which whites must do battle with a worldwide Jewish conspiracy; and Jews and nonwhites are the biological children of Satan, “mud people” without human souls.While the influence of Christian Identity waned in the years following the Oklahoma City bombing,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/03/magazine/FBI-charlottesville-white-nationalism-far-right.html">it has reemerged</a>&nbsp;in recent years as the extreme right has gained power.A few of Christian Identity’s most notorious adherents are Eric Rudolph, the 1996 Olympic Park and abortion clinic bomber; members of The Order, a white supremacist group that killed Jewish talk show host Allen Berg in Denver in 1984; and the Aryan Republican Army, probably the most successful bank robbers in American history.The Aryan Republican Army — also known as the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1997/01/09/us/bank-robbery-trial-offers-a-glimpse-of-a-right-wing-world.html">Midwestern Bank Bandits</a>&nbsp;— was a white nationalist gang that, from 1994 to 1996, used pipe bombs as decoys and wore rubber masks representing living U.S. presidents to rob at least 22 banks to finance a cataclysmic race war.Although they were headquartered in Ohio, one of their safehouses was on a quiet residential street in Pittsburg, Kansas. The gang fell apart after their two leaders, Kevin Langan and Richard Guthrie, had a violent argument over Langan’s cross-dressing. After that some former members turned informant, there was a shootout with the FBI, and Langan and Guthrie were arrested.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/6/1624810127957.jpeg" alt="The Aryan Republican Army’s safehouse in Pittsburg. (Max McCoy/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption>The Aryan Republican Army’s safehouse in Pittsburg. (Max McCoy/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure>At the Pittsburg safehouse, investigators discovered a recruiting video. It showed ski-masked members brandishing automatic weapons and displaying bricks of hundred-dollar bills. “Make no mistake,” intoned a masked man with an assault rifle, as I recall, “we are your neighbors.”Don’t get me wrong. There is no need to fear your neighbors. Most of them are decent people who would pitch in to help if your house was on fire. But too many of us believe the conspiracy theories that spread like cancer on social media and from our politicians.There is no reason to believe the government, then or now, has built concentration camps for white Christians, or that the United Nations is seeking to enslave you, or that the coronavirus vaccine was designed to mess with your DNA and turn you zombie. And, if you are among the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.monmouth.edu/polling-institute/reports/monmouthpoll_us_062121/">1 in 3 Americans</a>&nbsp;who believe the Big Lie, let me suggest that not only are you wrong, but you are providing cover to the violent fringe that would overturn our democracy by force.The choice Americans now face is not one of rival parties and competing ideas. The choice is between democracy and chaos. American democracy has, in our lifetimes, been among the most stable and credible systems of government in the world. That, of course, unraveled under the bizarro world of the former president. But here’s the thing (and I’ll invoke Carl Sagan): extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. There just is no credible evidence of large-scale fraud in the 2020 election.But there is clear and convincing evidence that the mob that stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6 was fueled by conspiracy theories and encouraged to insurrection by the former president and others. In this age of social media, never before has a crime been so well-documented. And the insurrection perfectly fits the FBI’s definition of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fbi.gov/investigate/terrorism">domestic terrorism</a>: “Violent, criminal acts committed by individual and/or groups to further ideological goals stemming from domestic influences, such as those of a political, religious, social, racial, or environmental nature.”The tragedy of Jan. 6 is that so many Americans were seduced into risking imprisonment or even death — and jeopardizing our democracy — in service to a delusion. The seductive old lie says that someone else is always to blame for our problems: the Jews, the Blacks, the United Nations. The lie plays on our faith, our patriotism, our sense of identity. It operates in plain sight. It preys on our fears and counts on being treated with deference because to do otherwise would be to invite scorn, or at least suspicion, from our neighbors.The lie is easy to sell, because lies are always easier to sell than the truth, whether you’re hawking cigarettes or conspiracy theories. Lies are sexy. The truth is as homely and boring as an old shoe. But if we are to survive our third century as a nation, we must define truth as fact and not as feeling, patriotism as duty and not as loyalty, faith as an expression of love and not of hate.At least six Kansans were among the more than 500 charged by the Department of Justice for taking part in the Capitol breach. One such Kansan is too many. As Independence Day approaches, let’s chart a path that leads away from Oklahoma City and Jan. 6, far from the ghosts of Geary Lake.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/5/1619994329599.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>The above opinion piece is republished with permission from <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/">Kansas Reflector</a>.

OPINION: Road to Jan. 6 insurrection goes back to Kansas; let’s reverse its course

Today is Sunday, June 27, the 178th day of 2021. There are 187 days left in the year. 

On June 27, 1950, the U.N. Security Council passed a resolution calling on member nations to help South Korea repel an invasion from the North. 

In 1787, English historian Edward Gibbon completed work on his six-volume work, "The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire."

In 1880, author-lecturer Helen Keller, who lived most of her life without sight or hearing, was born in Tuscumbia, Alabama. 

In 1942, the FBI announced the arrests of eight Nazi saboteurs put ashore in Florida and Long Island, New York. (All were tried and sentenced to death; six were executed while two were spared for turning themselves in and cooperating with U.S. authorities.) 

In 1944, during World War II, American forces liberated the French port of Cherbourg from the Germans. 

In 1955, Illinois enacted the nation's first automobile seat belt law. (The law did not require cars to have seat belts, but that they be made seat belt-ready.)

In 1957, Hurricane Audrey slammed into coastal Louisiana and Texas as a Category 4 storm; the official death toll from the storm was placed at 390, although a variety of state, federal and local sources have estimated the number of fatalities at between 400 and 600. 

In 1974, President Richard Nixon opened an official visit to the Soviet Union. 

In 1985, the legendary Route 66, which originally stretched from Chicago to Santa Monica, California, passed into history as officials decertified the road.

In 1988, at least 56 people were killed when a commuter train ran into a stationary train at the Gare de Lyon terminal in Paris. 

In 1991, Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, the first Black jurist to sit on the nation's highest court, announced his retirement. (His departure led to the contentious nomination of Clarence Thomas to succeed him.)

In 2005, the Supreme Court ruled, in a pair of 5-4 decisions, that displaying the Ten Commandments on government property was constitutionally permissible in some cases but not in others. BTK serial killer Dennis Rader pleaded guilty to ten murders that had spread fear across Wichita, Kansas, beginning in the 1970s. (Rader later received multiple life sentences.) 

In 2006, a constitutional amendment to ban desecration of the American flag died in a Senate cliffhanger, falling one vote short of the 67 needed to send it to states for ratification. 

Ten years ago: Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich was convicted by a federal jury in Chicago on a wide range of corruption charges, including the allegation that he'd tried to sell or trade President Barack Obama's U.S. Senate seat. (Blagojevich was later sentenced to 14 years in prison; his sentence was commuted by President Donald Trump in February 2020.) International judges ordered the arrest of Libya's Moammar Gadhafi for murdering civilians. Venus and Serena Williams were eliminated in the fourth round of Wimbledon, the first time in five years that neither sister advanced to the quarterfinals at the All England Club.

Five years ago: The U.S. Supreme Court issued its strongest defense of abortion rights in a quarter-century, striking down Texas' widely replicated rules that sharply reduced abortion clinics. The Supreme Court overturned the bribery conviction of former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, sending the case back to a lower court. (Prosecutors ended up deciding not to retry McDonnell.)

One year ago: Florida set another daily record for the state in the number of daily confirmed coronavirus cases, with more than 9,500 new cases. Thousands of people gathered outside a police building in suburban Denver to call for justice in the death of Elijah McClain, a 23-year-old Black man who'd been put in a chokehold by police in August 2019; he suffered cardiac arrest on the way to the hospital and was later declared brain dead. Princeton University said it would remove the name of former President Woodrow Wilson from its public policy school because of his segregationist views. French cosmetics giant L'Oreal said it would remove words like "whitening" from its skin care products following criticism of the company amid global protests against racism.

Today's Birthdays: Former Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt is 83. Singer-musician Bruce Johnston (The Beach Boys) is 79. Fashion designer Vera Wang is 72. Actor Julia Duffy is 70. Actor Isabelle Adjani is 66. Country singer Lorrie Morgan is 62. Actor Brian Drillinger is 61. Writer-producer-director J.J. Abrams is 55. Former Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., is 53. Olympic gold and bronze medal figure skater Viktor Petrenko is 52. Latin singer Draco Rosa is 52. Actor Edward "Grapevine" Fordham Jr. is 51. TV personality Jo Frost is 51. Actor Yancey Arias is 50. Actor Christian Kane is 49. Actor Tobey Maguire is 46. Gospel singer Leigh Nash is 45. Christian rock singer Zach Williams is 43. Musician Chris Eldridge (Punch Brothers) is 39. Reality TV star Khloe Kardashian is 37. Actor Drake Bell is 35. Actor Sam Claflin is 35. Actor India de Beaufort is 34. Actor Ed Westwick is 34. Actor Matthew Lewis (Film: "Harry Potter"; TV: "Ripper Street") is 32. Actor Madylin Sweeten is 30. Pop singer Lauren Jauregui (Fifth Harmony) (TV: "The X Factor") is 25. R&amp;B singer H.E.R. is 24. Actor Chandler Riggs is 22.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/11/1573488868914.jpeg" alt="Photo of old book courtesy <a href="http://shutterstock.com">shutterstock</a>" />
 <figcaption>Photo of old book courtesy <a href="http://shutterstock.com">shutterstock</a></figcaption>
 </figure>By THE ASSOCIATED PRESSToday is Sunday, June 27, the 178th day of 2021. There are 187 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On June 27, 1950, the U.N. Security Council passed a resolution calling on member nations to help South Korea repel an invasion from the North. On this date: In 1787, English historian Edward Gibbon completed work on his six-volume work, "The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire."In 1880, author-lecturer Helen Keller, who lived most of her life without sight or hearing, was born in Tuscumbia, Alabama. In 1942, the FBI announced the arrests of eight Nazi saboteurs put ashore in Florida and Long Island, New York. (All were tried and sentenced to death; six were executed while two were spared for turning themselves in and cooperating with U.S. authorities.) In 1944, during World War II, American forces liberated the French port of Cherbourg from the Germans. In 1955, Illinois enacted the nation's first automobile seat belt law. (The law did not require cars to have seat belts, but that they be made seat belt-ready.)In 1957, Hurricane Audrey slammed into coastal Louisiana and Texas as a Category 4 storm; the official death toll from the storm was placed at 390, although a variety of state, federal and local sources have estimated the number of fatalities at between 400 and 600. In 1974, President Richard Nixon opened an official visit to the Soviet Union. In 1985, the legendary Route 66, which originally stretched from Chicago to Santa Monica, California, passed into history as officials decertified the road.In 1988, at least 56 people were killed when a commuter train ran into a stationary train at the Gare de Lyon terminal in Paris. In 1991, Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, the first Black jurist to sit on the nation's highest court, announced his retirement. (His departure led to the contentious nomination of Clarence Thomas to succeed him.)In 2005, the Supreme Court ruled, in a pair of 5-4 decisions, that displaying the Ten Commandments on government property was constitutionally permissible in some cases but not in others. BTK serial killer Dennis Rader pleaded guilty to ten murders that had spread fear across Wichita, Kansas, beginning in the 1970s. (Rader later received multiple life sentences.) In 2006, a constitutional amendment to ban desecration of the American flag died in a Senate cliffhanger, falling one vote short of the 67 needed to send it to states for ratification. Ten years ago: Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich was convicted by a federal jury in Chicago on a wide range of corruption charges, including the allegation that he'd tried to sell or trade President Barack Obama's U.S. Senate seat. (Blagojevich was later sentenced to 14 years in prison; his sentence was commuted by President Donald Trump in February 2020.) International judges ordered the arrest of Libya's Moammar Gadhafi for murdering civilians. Venus and Serena Williams were eliminated in the fourth round of Wimbledon, the first time in five years that neither sister advanced to the quarterfinals at the All England Club. Five years ago: The U.S. Supreme Court issued its strongest defense of abortion rights in a quarter-century, striking down Texas' widely replicated rules that sharply reduced abortion clinics. The Supreme Court overturned the bribery conviction of former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, sending the case back to a lower court. (Prosecutors ended up deciding not to retry McDonnell.) One year ago: Florida set another daily record for the state in the number of daily confirmed coronavirus cases, with more than 9,500 new cases. Thousands of people gathered outside a police building in suburban Denver to call for justice in the death of Elijah McClain, a 23-year-old Black man who'd been put in a chokehold by police in August 2019; he suffered cardiac arrest on the way to the hospital and was later declared brain dead. Princeton University said it would remove the name of former President Woodrow Wilson from its public policy school because of his segregationist views. French cosmetics giant L'Oreal said it would remove words like "whitening" from its skin care products following criticism of the company amid global protests against racism.Today's Birthdays: Former Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt is 83. Singer-musician Bruce Johnston (The Beach Boys) is 79. Fashion designer Vera Wang is 72. Actor Julia Duffy is 70. Actor Isabelle Adjani is 66. Country singer Lorrie Morgan is 62. Actor Brian Drillinger is 61. Writer-producer-director J.J. Abrams is 55. Former Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., is 53. Olympic gold and bronze medal figure skater Viktor Petrenko is 52. Latin singer Draco Rosa is 52. Actor Edward "Grapevine" Fordham Jr. is 51. TV personality Jo Frost is 51. Actor Yancey Arias is 50. Actor Christian Kane is 49. Actor Tobey Maguire is 46. Gospel singer Leigh Nash is 45. Christian rock singer Zach Williams is 43. Musician Chris Eldridge (Punch Brothers) is 39. Reality TV star Khloe Kardashian is 37. Actor Drake Bell is 35. Actor Sam Claflin is 35. Actor India de Beaufort is 34. Actor Ed Westwick is 34. Actor Matthew Lewis (Film: "Harry Potter"; TV: "Ripper Street") is 32. Actor Madylin Sweeten is 30. Pop singer Lauren Jauregui (Fifth Harmony) (TV: "The X Factor") is 25. R&amp;B singer H.E.R. is 24. Actor Chandler Riggs is 22.

Today in History - June 27

<a href="https://www.nsrfh.com/obituary/heather-bloom">Obituary | Heather Bloom | Neill-Schwensen-Rook Funeral Home (nsrfh.com)</a>

Heather Dawn Bloom, 51, of Mesa, Arizona passed away on June 23, 2021.

Heather was born on November 28, 1969 in Norton, Kansas, the daughter of Larry and Dana Bloom, previously of Clay Center, Kansas until they moved the family to Mesa, Arizona in 1977.

Heather had a degree in history and she loved to travel. She visited many countries to visit historical sites over the years. She settled in Portland, Oregon and was there for many years. While in Portland she owned and operated Plan B, one of the most successful music venues in Portland. Bands from across the U.S. as well as other Countries would book to play at her venue. 

Heather also had a soft spot in her heart for helping other people. She worked for non-profits and volunteered her time in places such as Ronald McDonald house and the Child Crisis Center in Mesa, AZ. 

She loved her nieces, nephews and cousins as if they were her own children and always planned special themed birthday parties for them. Everyone was always amazed at the detail and special work she put into planning and making everything from scratch.

Heather loved a multitude of people and a multitude of people loved her.

She is preceded in death by her dad Larry Bloom and niece Saige Bloom.

She is survived by her mom Dana Bloom, Mesa, AZ, brothers Gregory Bloom, Boonville, MO, Ryan Bloom, Mesa, AZ, sister Alisha Bloom of Milwaukee, OR, nieces Jamaica Bloom, Gilbert, AZ, Sicily Bloom, Mesa, AZ, Seven Bloom, Lockhart, TX and India Bloom, Baltimore, MD, nephews Evan Bloom, Kaden Bloom and Nathan Bloom all of Mesa, AZ.&nbsp; She is also survived by aunts, uncles and many cousins throughout Kansas, Missouri, Texas, Florida and Arizona.

Memorial contributions can be made to CCARE c/o Neill-Schwensen-Rook Funeral Home.

<h2>Heather Dawn Bloom, Mesa, Arizona</h2><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/6/1624754566969.jpeg" alt="Heather Bloom" />
 <figcaption>Heather Bloom</figcaption>
 </figure><a href="https://www.nsrfh.com/obituary/heather-bloom">Obituary | Heather Bloom | Neill-Schwensen-Rook Funeral Home (nsrfh.com)</a>November 28, 1969 - June 23, 2021Heather Dawn Bloom, 51, of Mesa, Arizona passed away on June 23, 2021.Heather was born on November 28, 1969 in Norton, Kansas, the daughter of Larry and Dana Bloom, previously of Clay Center, Kansas until they moved the family to Mesa, Arizona in 1977.Heather had a degree in history and she loved to travel. She visited many countries to visit historical sites over the years. She settled in Portland, Oregon and was there for many years. While in Portland she owned and operated Plan B, one of the most successful music venues in Portland. Bands from across the U.S. as well as other Countries would book to play at her venue. Heather also had a soft spot in her heart for helping other people. She worked for non-profits and volunteered her time in places such as Ronald McDonald house and the Child Crisis Center in Mesa, AZ. She loved her nieces, nephews and cousins as if they were her own children and always planned special themed birthday parties for them. Everyone was always amazed at the detail and special work she put into planning and making everything from scratch.Heather loved a multitude of people and a multitude of people loved her.She is preceded in death by her dad Larry Bloom and niece Saige Bloom.She is survived by her mom Dana Bloom, Mesa, AZ, brothers Gregory Bloom, Boonville, MO, Ryan Bloom, Mesa, AZ, sister Alisha Bloom of Milwaukee, OR, nieces Jamaica Bloom, Gilbert, AZ, Sicily Bloom, Mesa, AZ, Seven Bloom, Lockhart, TX and India Bloom, Baltimore, MD, nephews Evan Bloom, Kaden Bloom and Nathan Bloom all of Mesa, AZ.&nbsp; She is also survived by aunts, uncles and many cousins throughout Kansas, Missouri, Texas, Florida and Arizona.No services are planned at this time.Memorial contributions can be made to CCARE c/o Neill-Schwensen-Rook Funeral Home.

Heather Dawn Bloom

Martha “Marty” J. Reck, age 74, of Topeka, passed away on Thursday, June 24, 2021, at Stormont Vail Hospital.&nbsp;

She was born the daughter of G. Wayne and Berniece (Mans) Reck on December 31, 1946, in Salina.&nbsp;

Marty received her bachelor’s degree in Home Economics from Kansas State University in 1970. She had worked as a Dietary Manager for local nursing homes.&nbsp;&nbsp;Marty was an avid reader and coffee lover.&nbsp; She always had a book and a cup of coffee with her wherever she went.&nbsp; She loved&nbsp;trying out new&nbsp;restaurants with&nbsp;family and friends.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; She enjoyed building puzzles with her grandkids and treating them to cookies every&nbsp;visit.&nbsp; Marty was a devoted member of Most Pure Heart of Mary Catholic Church.&nbsp;&nbsp;Her greatest passions included volunteering for many years with Birthright of Topeka and being involved in the Glory to God community at her&nbsp;church.&nbsp; Her family was her greatest joy, and she will be dearly missed.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Survivors include her son, Adam Reck and his wife Allysa; four beloved grandchildren, Asher, Ezra, Isaiah and Rosalie Reck; and one sister, Mary Pat Post; as well as several nieces and nephews.&nbsp;

She was preceded in death by her parents; sister, Anne L. Homman; brother-in-law, Randall Post; and niece, Wendy Post.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Visitation will be held at the Brennan-Mathena Funeral Home on Tuesday, June 29, 2021, from 4-8 p.m., with a parish rosary at 6 p.m.&nbsp;

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at Most Pure Heart of Mary Catholic Church on Wednesday, June 30, at 10 a.m. A graveside service will take place at 3 p.m., at the Calvary Cemetery in Brookville.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Memorial contributions can be made in her loving memory to Birthright of Topeka,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.google.com/maps/search/512+SW+7?entry=gmail&amp;source=g" target="_blank">512 SW 7</a>th&nbsp;St., Topeka, KS 66603. Contributions can be left or mailed to the funeral home.&nbsp;

To share a memory or to leave condolences, please visit,&nbsp;<a href="https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=http%3a%2f%2fwww.brennanmathenafh.com%2f&amp;c=E,1,qoAkAmIj7ELwMnucmXYRtS_5a3gttaH4WmCfeSHtMhw8ZMUP0II2z7uWV7205wvnA2C4N6xcJt8WQdbV7qqMrrtKcDFjvZk_Xj89T0shE0600DWjCXNcpQ,,&amp;typo=1" target="_blank">www.brennanmathenafh.com</a>.&nbsp;

Arrangements entrusted to Brennan-Mathena Funeral Home,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.google.com/maps/search/800+SW+6?entry=gmail&amp;source=g" target="_blank">800 SW 6</a>th&nbsp;Ave., Topeka, KS 66603.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/6/1624733146969.jpeg" alt="Martha “Marty” J. Reck" />
 <figcaption>Martha “Marty” J. Reck</figcaption>
 </figure>Martha “Marty” J. Reck, age 74, of Topeka, passed away on Thursday, June 24, 2021, at Stormont Vail Hospital.&nbsp;She was born the daughter of G. Wayne and Berniece (Mans) Reck on December 31, 1946, in Salina.&nbsp;Marty received her bachelor’s degree in Home Economics from Kansas State University in 1970. She had worked as a Dietary Manager for local nursing homes.&nbsp;&nbsp;Marty was an avid reader and coffee lover.&nbsp; She always had a book and a cup of coffee with her wherever she went.&nbsp; She loved&nbsp;trying out new&nbsp;restaurants with&nbsp;family and friends.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; She enjoyed building puzzles with her grandkids and treating them to cookies every&nbsp;visit.&nbsp; Marty was a devoted member of Most Pure Heart of Mary Catholic Church.&nbsp;&nbsp;Her greatest passions included volunteering for many years with Birthright of Topeka and being involved in the Glory to God community at her&nbsp;church.&nbsp; Her family was her greatest joy, and she will be dearly missed.&nbsp;&nbsp;Survivors include her son, Adam Reck and his wife Allysa; four beloved grandchildren, Asher, Ezra, Isaiah and Rosalie Reck; and one sister, Mary Pat Post; as well as several nieces and nephews.&nbsp;She was preceded in death by her parents; sister, Anne L. Homman; brother-in-law, Randall Post; and niece, Wendy Post.&nbsp;&nbsp;Visitation will be held at the Brennan-Mathena Funeral Home on Tuesday, June 29, 2021, from 4-8 p.m., with a parish rosary at 6 p.m.&nbsp;A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at Most Pure Heart of Mary Catholic Church on Wednesday, June 30, at 10 a.m. A graveside service will take place at 3 p.m., at the Calvary Cemetery in Brookville.&nbsp;&nbsp;Memorial contributions can be made in her loving memory to Birthright of Topeka,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.google.com/maps/search/512+SW+7?entry=gmail&amp;source=g" target="_blank">512 SW 7</a>th&nbsp;St., Topeka, KS 66603. Contributions can be left or mailed to the funeral home.&nbsp;To share a memory or to leave condolences, please visit,&nbsp;<a href="https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=http%3a%2f%2fwww.brennanmathenafh.com%2f&amp;c=E,1,qoAkAmIj7ELwMnucmXYRtS_5a3gttaH4WmCfeSHtMhw8ZMUP0II2z7uWV7205wvnA2C4N6xcJt8WQdbV7qqMrrtKcDFjvZk_Xj89T0shE0600DWjCXNcpQ,,&amp;typo=1" target="_blank">www.brennanmathenafh.com</a>.&nbsp;Arrangements entrusted to Brennan-Mathena Funeral Home,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.google.com/maps/search/800+SW+6?entry=gmail&amp;source=g" target="_blank">800 SW 6</a>th&nbsp;Ave., Topeka, KS 66603.&nbsp;

Martha “Marty” J. Reck

SHAWNEE COUNTY—The family and friends of two children injured in a one-vehicle crash on Father's Day have established an <a href="https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-zoey-zackorys-medical-expenses?member=12029563&amp;utm_campaign=p_cp+share-sheet&amp;utm_medium=copy_link_all&amp;utm_source=customer">online fundraiser </a>to assist with paying the extensive medical bills.

Just after 8:30 p.m. June 20, police responded to a rollover accident in the 5200 block of Southwest Burlingame Road in rural Shawnee County, according to Deputy Abigail Christian.&nbsp;

The 2005 Volkswagen Jetta driven by the children's father Jimmy D. Landis, 36, Topeka, was northbound on SW Burlingame Road when it left the roadway to the east, struck a culvert and came to rest upside-down, facing southbound, in the ditch.

EMS transported Landis and two juvenile passengers identified on GoFundMe as Zoey and Zackory Landis to the hospital with serious injuries.

Zackory was sent to Stormont Vail with bumps and bruises, then released on Tuesday. Zoey was airlifted from Stormont Vail to Children's Mercy in KC with spinal injuries. 

On Tuesday, she had surgery to put plates and pins in her top vertebrae to retain movement in her arms.  Her other spinal injury is inoperable, which will leave her unable to walk, according to GoFundMe&nbsp;

Police later arrested Jimmy Landis and booked him into the Shawnee County Department of Corrections on requested charges of aggravated battery, aggravated child endangerment, battery of a law enforcement officer, interference with medical personnel, interference with law enforcement, child restraint violations, driving under the influence and driving while suspended.

The Shawnee County Sheriff’s Office asks that anyone who may have stopped and assisted with this incident, prior to the arrival of first responders, or anyone with information please call.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/6/1624556978515.png" alt="Zoey photo-GoFundMe" />
 <figcaption>Zoey photo-GoFundMe</figcaption>
 </figure>SHAWNEE COUNTY—The family and friends of two children injured in a one-vehicle crash on Father's Day have established an <a href="https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-zoey-zackorys-medical-expenses?member=12029563&amp;utm_campaign=p_cp+share-sheet&amp;utm_medium=copy_link_all&amp;utm_source=customer">online fundraiser </a>to assist with paying the extensive medical bills.Just after 8:30 p.m. June 20, police responded to a rollover accident in the 5200 block of Southwest Burlingame Road in rural Shawnee County, according to Deputy Abigail Christian.&nbsp;The 2005 Volkswagen Jetta driven by the children's father Jimmy D. Landis, 36, Topeka, was northbound on SW Burlingame Road when it left the roadway to the east, struck a culvert and came to rest upside-down, facing southbound, in the ditch.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/6/1624301761061.png" alt="Landis was moved from the hospital to jail following the Father's Day crash" />
 <figcaption>Landis was moved from the hospital to jail following the Father's Day crash</figcaption>
 </figure>EMS transported Landis and two juvenile passengers identified on GoFundMe as Zoey and Zackory Landis to the hospital with serious injuries.Zackory was sent to Stormont Vail with bumps and bruises, then released on Tuesday. Zoey was airlifted from Stormont Vail to Children's Mercy in KC with spinal injuries. On Tuesday, she had surgery to put plates and pins in her top vertebrae to retain movement in her arms. Her other spinal injury is inoperable, which will leave her unable to walk, according to GoFundMe&nbsp;Police later arrested Jimmy Landis and booked him into the Shawnee County Department of Corrections on requested charges of aggravated battery, aggravated child endangerment, battery of a law enforcement officer, interference with medical personnel, interference with law enforcement, child restraint violations, driving under the influence and driving while suspended.The Shawnee County Sheriff’s Office asks that anyone who may have stopped and assisted with this incident, prior to the arrival of first responders, or anyone with information please call.

Kansas girl critically injured in Father's Day crash

Today is Saturday, June 26, the 177th day of 2021. There are 188 days left in the year. 

On June 26, 2013, in deciding its first cases on the issue, the U.S. Supreme Court gave the nation's legally married gay couples equal federal footing with all other married Americans and also cleared the way for same-sex marriages to resume in California. 

In 1483, Richard III began his reign as King of England (he was crowned the following month at Westminster Abbey).

In 1917, the first troops of the American Expeditionary Force deployed to France during World War I landed in St. Nazaire. 

In 1919, the New York Daily News was first published.

In 1945, the charter of the United Nations was signed by 50 countries in San Francisco.

In 1948, the Berlin Airlift began in earnest after the Soviet Union cut off land and water routes to the isolated western sector of Berlin.

In 1963, President John F. Kennedy visited West Berlin, where he delivered his famous speech expressing solidarity with the city's residents, declaring: "Ich bin ein Berliner" (I am a Berliner). 

In 1968, President Lyndon B. Johnson announced his choice of Abe Fortas to succeed the retiring Earl Warren as chief justice of the United States (however, Fortas later withdrew in the face of stiff Senate opposition). 

In 1977, 42 people were killed when a fire sent toxic smoke pouring through the Maury County Jail in Columbia, Tennessee. Elvis Presley performed his last concert at Market Square Arena in Indianapolis. 

In 1993, President Bill Clinton announced the U.S. had launched missiles against Iraqi targets because of "compelling evidence" Iraq had plotted to assassinate former President George H.W. Bush. 

In 1996, the Supreme Court ordered the Virginia Military Institute to admit women or forgo state support. 

In 1997, the first Harry Potter novel, "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" by J.K. Rowling, was published in the United Kingdom (it was later released in the United States under the title "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone"). 

In 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a handgun ban in the District of Columbia as it affirmed, 5-4, that an individual right to gun ownership existed.

Ten years ago: New York City's gay pride parade turned into a carnival-like celebration of same-sex marriage as hundreds of thousands of revelers rejoiced at the state's new law giving gay couples the same marital rights as everyone else.

Five years ago: Fourteen people suffered stab wounds, cuts and bruises when fighting erupted outside the California state Capitol in Sacramento between more than 300 counter-protesters and about 30 members of the Traditionalist Worker Party, a white nationalist group. Fireworks exploded as a huge Chinese-owned container ship made the inaugural passage through the newly expanded Panama Canal.

One year ago: After protesters in Washington, D.C., attempted to pull down a statue of Andrew Jackson, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to protect monuments, memorials and statues. Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan met with demonstrators who had thwarted the city's effort to dismantle an "occupied" protest zone. (The zone would be dismantled five days later.) Texas and Florida reversed course and clamped down on bars as the daily number of confirmed coronavirus infections in the U.S. surged to an all-time high of 40,000. Clemson said 37 football players had tested positive for the coronavirus since the school reopened facilities for workouts earlier in the month. A federal judge ordered the release of children held with parents in U.S. immigration jails.

Today's Birthdays: Jazz musician-film composer Dave Grusin is 87. Actor Josef Sommer is 87. Singer Billy Davis Jr. is 83. Rock singer Georgie Fame is 78. Actor Clive Francis is 75. R&amp;B singer Brenda Holloway is 75. Actor Michael Paul Chan is 71. Actor Robert Davi is 70. Singer-musician Mick Jones is 66. Actor Gedde Watanabe is 66. Rock singer Chris Isaak is 65. Rock singer Patty Smyth is 64. Singer Terri Nunn (Berlin) is 62. U.S. Bicycling Hall of Famer Greg LeMond is 60. Rock singer Harriet Wheeler (The Sundays) is 58. Country musician Eddie Perez (The Mavericks) is 53. Rock musician Colin Greenwood (Radiohead) is 52. Writer-director Paul Thomas Anderson is 51. Actor Sean Hayes is 51. Actor Matt Letscher is 51. Actor Chris O'Donnell is 51. Actor Nick Offerman is 51. Actor Rebecca Budig is 48. Retired MLB All-Star Derek Jeter is 47. Contemporary Christian musician Jeff Frankenstein (Newsboys) is 47. Country singer Gretchen Wilson is 47. Rock musician Nathan Followill (Kings of Leon) is 42. Pop-rock singer-musician Ryan Tedder (OneRepublic) is 42. Actor-musician Jason Schwartzman is 41. Actor Aubrey Plaza is 37. Actor-singer Jennette McCurdy is 29. Actor-singer Ariana Grande is 28.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/11/1573488868914.jpeg" alt="Photo of old book courtesy <a href="http://shutterstock.com">shutterstock</a>" />
 <figcaption>Photo of old book courtesy <a href="http://shutterstock.com">shutterstock</a></figcaption>
 </figure>By THE ASSOCIATED PRESSToday is Saturday, June 26, the 177th day of 2021. There are 188 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On June 26, 2013, in deciding its first cases on the issue, the U.S. Supreme Court gave the nation's legally married gay couples equal federal footing with all other married Americans and also cleared the way for same-sex marriages to resume in California. On this date: In 1483, Richard III began his reign as King of England (he was crowned the following month at Westminster Abbey).In 1917, the first troops of the American Expeditionary Force deployed to France during World War I landed in St. Nazaire. In 1919, the New York Daily News was first published.In 1945, the charter of the United Nations was signed by 50 countries in San Francisco.In 1948, the Berlin Airlift began in earnest after the Soviet Union cut off land and water routes to the isolated western sector of Berlin.In 1963, President John F. Kennedy visited West Berlin, where he delivered his famous speech expressing solidarity with the city's residents, declaring: "Ich bin ein Berliner" (I am a Berliner). In 1968, President Lyndon B. Johnson announced his choice of Abe Fortas to succeed the retiring Earl Warren as chief justice of the United States (however, Fortas later withdrew in the face of stiff Senate opposition). In 1977, 42 people were killed when a fire sent toxic smoke pouring through the Maury County Jail in Columbia, Tennessee. Elvis Presley performed his last concert at Market Square Arena in Indianapolis. In 1993, President Bill Clinton announced the U.S. had launched missiles against Iraqi targets because of "compelling evidence" Iraq had plotted to assassinate former President George H.W. Bush. In 1996, the Supreme Court ordered the Virginia Military Institute to admit women or forgo state support. In 1997, the first Harry Potter novel, "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" by J.K. Rowling, was published in the United Kingdom (it was later released in the United States under the title "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone"). In 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a handgun ban in the District of Columbia as it affirmed, 5-4, that an individual right to gun ownership existed.Ten years ago: New York City's gay pride parade turned into a carnival-like celebration of same-sex marriage as hundreds of thousands of revelers rejoiced at the state's new law giving gay couples the same marital rights as everyone else. Five years ago: Fourteen people suffered stab wounds, cuts and bruises when fighting erupted outside the California state Capitol in Sacramento between more than 300 counter-protesters and about 30 members of the Traditionalist Worker Party, a white nationalist group. Fireworks exploded as a huge Chinese-owned container ship made the inaugural passage through the newly expanded Panama Canal.One year ago: After protesters in Washington, D.C., attempted to pull down a statue of Andrew Jackson, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to protect monuments, memorials and statues. Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan met with demonstrators who had thwarted the city's effort to dismantle an "occupied" protest zone. (The zone would be dismantled five days later.) Texas and Florida reversed course and clamped down on bars as the daily number of confirmed coronavirus infections in the U.S. surged to an all-time high of 40,000. Clemson said 37 football players had tested positive for the coronavirus since the school reopened facilities for workouts earlier in the month. A federal judge ordered the release of children held with parents in U.S. immigration jails. Today's Birthdays: Jazz musician-film composer Dave Grusin is 87. Actor Josef Sommer is 87. Singer Billy Davis Jr. is 83. Rock singer Georgie Fame is 78. Actor Clive Francis is 75. R&amp;B singer Brenda Holloway is 75. Actor Michael Paul Chan is 71. Actor Robert Davi is 70. Singer-musician Mick Jones is 66. Actor Gedde Watanabe is 66. Rock singer Chris Isaak is 65. Rock singer Patty Smyth is 64. Singer Terri Nunn (Berlin) is 62. U.S. Bicycling Hall of Famer Greg LeMond is 60. Rock singer Harriet Wheeler (The Sundays) is 58. Country musician Eddie Perez (The Mavericks) is 53. Rock musician Colin Greenwood (Radiohead) is 52. Writer-director Paul Thomas Anderson is 51. Actor Sean Hayes is 51. Actor Matt Letscher is 51. Actor Chris O'Donnell is 51. Actor Nick Offerman is 51. Actor Rebecca Budig is 48. Retired MLB All-Star Derek Jeter is 47. Contemporary Christian musician Jeff Frankenstein (Newsboys) is 47. Country singer Gretchen Wilson is 47. Rock musician Nathan Followill (Kings of Leon) is 42. Pop-rock singer-musician Ryan Tedder (OneRepublic) is 42. Actor-musician Jason Schwartzman is 41. Actor Aubrey Plaza is 37. Actor-singer Jennette McCurdy is 29. Actor-singer Ariana Grande is 28.

Today in History - June 26

<a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?511839-1/derek-chauvin-sentencing-hearing-murder-george-floyd">Click here to </a>watch a replay of the sentencing hearing.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin has been sentenced to 22 1/2 years in prison for the murder of George Floyd, whose dying gasps under Chauvin’s knee led to the biggest outcry against racial injustice in the U.S. in generations. 

The punishment handed out Friday fell short of the 30 years that prosecutors had requested. With good behavior, Chauvin, 45, could be paroled after serving two-thirds of his sentence, or about 15 years.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Former police Officer Derek Chauvin has broken his silence at his sentencing for the murder of George Floyd, offering condolences to Floyd’s family and saying he hopes more will come out in the future to give them “some peace of mind.” Chauvin, 45, could get a decadeslong prison sentence. Removing his COVID-19 mask, he addressed the court only briefly and said he could not say much because of the federal civil rights trial he is still facing.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — George Floyd's 7-year-old daughter says she wishes she could tell her late father that “I miss you and I love you.” Gianna Floyd's video interview was played in court Thursday during the sentencing of former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin, who is charged with murder and manslaughter in Floyd's death. Gianna Floyd said in the victim impact statement that she believed her dad was still with her in spirit. She said, “I want to play with him., have fun, go on a plane ride.” Hers was the first of four victim impact statements expected at the sentencing.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Former Minneapolis police Officer&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/american-protests-us-news-ap-top-news-police-mn-state-wire-8b486c2622de5504f1e65a606b0eac7f">Derek Chauvin</a>&nbsp;learns his sentence Friday for murder in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/george-floyd-profile-66163bbd94239afa16d706bd6479c613">George Floyd’</a>&nbsp;s death, closing a chapter in a case that sparked global outrage and a reckoning on racial disparities in America.

Chauvin, 45, faces decades in prison, with several legal experts predicting a sentence of 20 to 25 years. Though Chauvin is widely expected to appeal, he also still faces trial on federal civil rights charges, along with three other fired officers who have yet to have their state trials.

The concrete barricades, razor wire and National Guard patrols that shrouded the county courthouse for Chauvin’s three-week trial are gone, and so is most of the tension in the city&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/derek-chauvin-convicted-george-floyd-killing-d93d1f9fc61a5261e179240dc16924dc">as it awaited a verdict in April</a>. Still, there’s a recognition that Chauvin’s sentencing will be another major step forward for a city that has been on edge since Floyd’s death on May 25, 2020.

“Between the incident, the video, the riots, the trial — this is the pinnacle of it,” Mike Brandt, a local defense attorney who has closely followed Chauvin’s case, said. “The verdict was huge too, but this is where the justice comes down.”

Chauvin was convicted of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter for pressing his knee against Floyd’s neck for about 9 1/2 minutes as the Black man said he couldn’t breathe and went limp. Bystander video of Floyd’s arrest for suspicion of passing a counterfeit $20 bill prompted protests around the world and a nationwide reckoning on race and police brutality.

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/derek-chauvin-sentencing-what-to-know-93e2176551f3a73e85fd9b78c63457b9">Under Minnesota statutes</a>, Chauvin will be sentenced only on the most serious charge, which has a maximum sentence of 40 years. But case law dictates that a 30-year sentence would be the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/death-of-george-floyd-28fa08c9c74903a7d1a0f1adcf6e65f2">practical maximum sentence</a>&nbsp;Judge Peter Cahill could impose without risk of being overturned on appeal.

Prosecutors asked for 30 years, saying Chauvin’s actions were egregious and “shocked the nation’s conscience.” Defense attorney Eric Nelson requested probation, saying Chauvin was the product of a “broken” system and “believed he was doing his job.”

Cahill has already found that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/george-floyd-death-of-george-floyd-78a698283afd3fcd3252de512e395bd6">aggravating factors in Floyd’s death</a>&nbsp;warrant going higher than the 12 1/2-year sentence recommended by the state’s sentencing guidelines. The judge found Chauvin abused his position of authority, treated Floyd with particular cruelty, and that the crime was seen by several children. He also wrote that Chauvin knew the restraint of Floyd was dangerous.

“The prolonged use of this technique was particularly egregious in that George Floyd made it clear he was unable to breathe and expressed the view that he was dying as a result of the officers’ restraint,” Cahill wrote last month.

Attorneys on both sides are expected to make brief arguments Friday, and victims or family members of victims can make statements. No family members have said publicly that they will speak.

Chauvin can also make a statement, but it’s not clear if he will. Experts say it could be tricky for Chauvin to talk without implicating himself in the pending federal case accusing him of violating Floyd’s civil rights.

Chauvin chose not to testify at his trial. The only explanation the public has heard from him came from body-camera footage in which he told a bystander at the scene: “We got to control this guy ’cause he’s a sizable guy ... and it looks like he’s probably on something.”

Several experts said they doubted Chauvin would take the risk and speak, but Brandt thought he would. He said Chauvin could say a few words without getting himself into legal trouble.

“I think it’s his chance to tell the world, ‘I didn’t intend to kill him,’” Brandt said. “If I was him, I think I would want to try and let people know that I’m not a monster.”

Several people interviewed in Minneapolis days before Chauvin’s sentencing said they want to see a tough sentence.

Thirty years “doesn’t seem like long enough to me,” said Andrew Harer, a retail worker who is white. “I would be fine if he was in jail for the rest of his life.”

Joseph Allen, 31, who is Black, said he thinks Chauvin should receive “at least” 30 years, and said he’d prefer a life sentence. He cited nearly 20 complaints filed against the now-fired officer during his career.

Allen said he hopes other police officers can learn “not to do what Derek Chauvin did.”

Nekima Levy Armstrong, a civil rights attorney and activist, called for Chauvin to be sentenced “to the fullest extent of the law.” She called Floyd’s death “a modern day lynching” and predicted community outrage if Chauvin is sentenced lightly.

When asked if she would like to hear Chauvin speak, Levy Armstrong said: “For me as a Black woman living in this community, there’s really nothing that he could say that would alleviate the pain and trauma that he caused ... I think that if he spoke it would be disingenuous and could cause more trauma.”

No matter what sentence Chauvin gets, he’s likely to serve only about two-thirds behind bars presuming good behavior. The rest would be on supervised release.

He’s been held since his conviction at the state’s only maximum security prison, in Oak Park Heights. The former officer is held away from the general population for his safety, in a 10-by-10-foot cell, with meals brought to his room. He is allowed out for solitary exercise for an hour a day.

It’s not clear if Chauvin will remain there. State prisons officials said that decision wouldn’t be made until after Cahill’s formal sentencing order.

Chauvin and the three other officers involved in Floyd’s arrest are awaiting trial in federal court on charges of violating Floyd’s civil rights. No trial date has been set.

The three other officers are also scheduled for trial in March on state charges of aiding and abetting both murder and manslaughter.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/6/1624651161510.png" alt="Derek Chauvin&nbsp;offered condolences to Floyd’s family during Friday's sentencing hearing -photo courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>Derek Chauvin&nbsp;offered condolences to Floyd’s family during Friday's sentencing hearing -photo courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure><a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?511839-1/derek-chauvin-sentencing-hearing-murder-george-floyd">Click here to </a>watch a replay of the sentencing hearing.MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin has been sentenced to 22 1/2 years in prison for the murder of George Floyd, whose dying gasps under Chauvin’s knee led to the biggest outcry against racial injustice in the U.S. in generations. The punishment handed out Friday fell short of the 30 years that prosecutors had requested. With good behavior, Chauvin, 45, could be paroled after serving two-thirds of his sentence, or about 15 years.-----------MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Former police Officer Derek Chauvin has broken his silence at his sentencing for the murder of George Floyd, offering condolences to Floyd’s family and saying he hopes more will come out in the future to give them “some peace of mind.” Chauvin, 45, could get a decadeslong prison sentence. Removing his COVID-19 mask, he addressed the court only briefly and said he could not say much because of the federal civil rights trial he is still facing.MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — George Floyd's 7-year-old daughter says she wishes she could tell her late father that “I miss you and I love you.” Gianna Floyd's video interview was played in court Thursday during the sentencing of former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin, who is charged with murder and manslaughter in Floyd's death. Gianna Floyd said in the victim impact statement that she believed her dad was still with her in spirit. She said, “I want to play with him., have fun, go on a plane ride.” Hers was the first of four victim impact statements expected at the sentencing.-------<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/4/1619012623324.png" alt="Chauvin booking photo taken just after the guilty verdict in April -photo Minnesota Dept. of Corrections" />
 <figcaption>Chauvin booking photo taken just after the guilty verdict in April -photo Minnesota Dept. of Corrections</figcaption>
 </figure>MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Former Minneapolis police Officer&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/american-protests-us-news-ap-top-news-police-mn-state-wire-8b486c2622de5504f1e65a606b0eac7f">Derek Chauvin</a>&nbsp;learns his sentence Friday for murder in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/george-floyd-profile-66163bbd94239afa16d706bd6479c613">George Floyd’</a>&nbsp;s death, closing a chapter in a case that sparked global outrage and a reckoning on racial disparities in America.Chauvin, 45, faces decades in prison, with several legal experts predicting a sentence of 20 to 25 years. Though Chauvin is widely expected to appeal, he also still faces trial on federal civil rights charges, along with three other fired officers who have yet to have their state trials.The concrete barricades, razor wire and National Guard patrols that shrouded the county courthouse for Chauvin’s three-week trial are gone, and so is most of the tension in the city&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/derek-chauvin-convicted-george-floyd-killing-d93d1f9fc61a5261e179240dc16924dc">as it awaited a verdict in April</a>. Still, there’s a recognition that Chauvin’s sentencing will be another major step forward for a city that has been on edge since Floyd’s death on May 25, 2020.“Between the incident, the video, the riots, the trial — this is the pinnacle of it,” Mike Brandt, a local defense attorney who has closely followed Chauvin’s case, said. “The verdict was huge too, but this is where the justice comes down.”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/4/1618953264612.png" alt="Ex-officer Derek Chauvin is handcuffed moments after the judge read the guilty verdict-photo courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>Ex-officer Derek Chauvin is handcuffed moments after the judge read the guilty verdict-photo courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>Chauvin was convicted of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter for pressing his knee against Floyd’s neck for about 9 1/2 minutes as the Black man said he couldn’t breathe and went limp. Bystander video of Floyd’s arrest for suspicion of passing a counterfeit $20 bill prompted protests around the world and a nationwide reckoning on race and police brutality.<a href="https://apnews.com/article/derek-chauvin-sentencing-what-to-know-93e2176551f3a73e85fd9b78c63457b9">Under Minnesota statutes</a>, Chauvin will be sentenced only on the most serious charge, which has a maximum sentence of 40 years. But case law dictates that a 30-year sentence would be the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/death-of-george-floyd-28fa08c9c74903a7d1a0f1adcf6e65f2">practical maximum sentence</a>&nbsp;Judge Peter Cahill could impose without risk of being overturned on appeal.Prosecutors asked for 30 years, saying Chauvin’s actions were egregious and “shocked the nation’s conscience.” Defense attorney Eric Nelson requested probation, saying Chauvin was the product of a “broken” system and “believed he was doing his job.”Cahill has already found that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/george-floyd-death-of-george-floyd-78a698283afd3fcd3252de512e395bd6">aggravating factors in Floyd’s death</a>&nbsp;warrant going higher than the 12 1/2-year sentence recommended by the state’s sentencing guidelines. The judge found Chauvin abused his position of authority, treated Floyd with particular cruelty, and that the crime was seen by several children. He also wrote that Chauvin knew the restraint of Floyd was dangerous.“The prolonged use of this technique was particularly egregious in that George Floyd made it clear he was unable to breathe and expressed the view that he was dying as a result of the officers’ restraint,” Cahill wrote last month.Attorneys on both sides are expected to make brief arguments Friday, and victims or family members of victims can make statements. No family members have said publicly that they will speak.Chauvin can also make a statement, but it’s not clear if he will. Experts say it could be tricky for Chauvin to talk without implicating himself in the pending federal case accusing him of violating Floyd’s civil rights.Chauvin chose not to testify at his trial. The only explanation the public has heard from him came from body-camera footage in which he told a bystander at the scene: “We got to control this guy ’cause he’s a sizable guy ... and it looks like he’s probably on something.”Several experts said they doubted Chauvin would take the risk and speak, but Brandt thought he would. He said Chauvin could say a few words without getting himself into legal trouble.“I think it’s his chance to tell the world, ‘I didn’t intend to kill him,’” Brandt said. “If I was him, I think I would want to try and let people know that I’m not a monster.”Several people interviewed in Minneapolis days before Chauvin’s sentencing said they want to see a tough sentence.Thirty years “doesn’t seem like long enough to me,” said Andrew Harer, a retail worker who is white. “I would be fine if he was in jail for the rest of his life.”Joseph Allen, 31, who is Black, said he thinks Chauvin should receive “at least” 30 years, and said he’d prefer a life sentence. He cited nearly 20 complaints filed against the now-fired officer during his career.Allen said he hopes other police officers can learn “not to do what Derek Chauvin did.”Nekima Levy Armstrong, a civil rights attorney and activist, called for Chauvin to be sentenced “to the fullest extent of the law.” She called Floyd’s death “a modern day lynching” and predicted community outrage if Chauvin is sentenced lightly.When asked if she would like to hear Chauvin speak, Levy Armstrong said: “For me as a Black woman living in this community, there’s really nothing that he could say that would alleviate the pain and trauma that he caused ... I think that if he spoke it would be disingenuous and could cause more trauma.”No matter what sentence Chauvin gets, he’s likely to serve only about two-thirds behind bars presuming good behavior. The rest would be on supervised release.He’s been held since his conviction at the state’s only maximum security prison, in Oak Park Heights. The former officer is held away from the general population for his safety, in a 10-by-10-foot cell, with meals brought to his room. He is allowed out for solitary exercise for an hour a day.It’s not clear if Chauvin will remain there. State prisons officials said that decision wouldn’t be made until after Cahill’s formal sentencing order.Chauvin and the three other officers involved in Floyd’s arrest are awaiting trial in federal court on charges of violating Floyd’s civil rights. No trial date has been set.The three other officers are also scheduled for trial in March on state charges of aiding and abetting both murder and manslaughter.__

🎥 Derek Chauvin sentenced for murder of George Floyd

Today is Friday, June 25, the 176th day of 2021. There are 189 days left in the year. 

On June 25, 1962, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that recitation of a state-sponsored prayer in New York State public schools was unconstitutional. 

In 1788, Virginia ratified the U.S. Constitution. 

In 1876, Lt. Col. Colonel George A. Custer and his 7th Cavalry were wiped out by Sioux and Cheyenne Indians in the Battle of the Little Bighorn in Montana.

In 1942, Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower was designated Commanding General of the European Theater of Operations during World War II. Some 1,000 British Royal Air Force bombers raided Bremen, Germany. 

In 1947, "The Diary of a Young Girl," the personal journal of Anne Frank, a German-born Jewish girl hiding with her family from the Nazis in Amsterdam during World War II, was first published. 

In 1950, war broke out in Korea as forces from the communist North invaded the South. 

In 1973, former White House Counsel John W. Dean began testifying before the Senate Watergate Committee, implicating top administration officials, including President Richard Nixon as well as himself, in the Watergate scandal and cover-up. 

In 1981, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that male-only draft registration was constitutional.

In 1990, the U.S. Supreme Court, in its first "right-to-die" decision, ruled that family members could be barred from ending the lives of persistently comatose relatives who had not made their wishes known conclusively. 

In 1996, a truck bomb killed 19 Americans and injured hundreds at a U.S. military housing complex in Saudi Arabia. 

In 2003, the Recording Industry Association of America threatened to sue hundreds of individual computer users who were illegally sharing music files online. 

In 2009, death claimed Michael Jackson, the "King of Pop," in Los Angeles at age 50 and actor Farrah Fawcett in Santa Monica, California, at age 62. 

In 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld nationwide tax subsidies under President Barack Obama's health care overhaul in a 6-3 ruling that preserved health insurance for millions of Americans.

Ten years ago: A suicide car bomber blasted a small clinic in eastern Afghanistan, causing the building to collapse and killing some three dozen people.

Five years ago: Pope Francis visited Armenia, where he recognized the Ottoman-era slaughter of Armenians as a genocide, prompting a harsh rebuttal from Turkey.

One year ago: Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said the state would "pause" its aggressive reopening as it dealt with a surge in coronavirus cases and hospitalizations. A government watchdog found that nearly 1.1 million relief payments totaling some $1.4 billion in the government's coronavirus aid program went to dead people. Two U.S. warships, the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower and the USS San Jacinto, notched their 161st consecutive day at sea, breaking the previous Navy record, as ships were ordered to avoid port visits because of the coronavirus. Restaurant chain Chuck E. Cheese filed for bankruptcy protection. Disney said it would recast its "Splash Mountain" theme park ride to remove its ties to "Song of the South," a 1946 movie that many viewed as racist. The Grammy-winning country group The Dixie Chicks dropped the word Dixie from its name. Census Bureau figures showed that for the first time, nonwhites and Hispanics were a majority of people under age 16 in 2019.

Today's Birthdays: Actor June Lockhart is 96. Civil rights activist James Meredith is 88. R&amp;B singer Eddie Floyd is 84. Actor Barbara Montgomery is 82. Actor Mary Beth Peil is 81. Basketball Hall of Famer Willis Reed is 79. Singer Carly Simon is 76. Rock musician Ian McDonald (Foreigner; King Crimson) is 75. Actor-comedian Jimmie Walker is 74. Actor-director Michael Lembeck is 73. Rock singer Tim Finn is 69. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor is 67. Rock musician David Paich (Toto) is 67. Actor Michael Sabatino is 66. Actor-writer-director Ricky Gervais is 60. Actor John Benjamin Hickey is 58. Actor Erica Gimpel is 57. Basketball Hall of Famer Dikembe Mutombo is 55. Rapper-producer Richie Rich is 54. Actor Angela Kinsey is 50. Rock musician Mike Kroeger&nbsp; (Nickelback) is 49. Rock musician Mario Calire is 47. Actor Linda Cardellini is 46. Actor Busy Philipps is 42. Jazz musician Joey Alexander is 18.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/11/1573488868914.jpeg" alt="Photo of old book courtesy <a href="http://shutterstock.com">shutterstock</a>" />
 <figcaption>Photo of old book courtesy <a href="http://shutterstock.com">shutterstock</a></figcaption>
 </figure>By THE ASSOCIATED PRESSToday is Friday, June 25, the 176th day of 2021. There are 189 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On June 25, 1962, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that recitation of a state-sponsored prayer in New York State public schools was unconstitutional. On this date: In 1788, Virginia ratified the U.S. Constitution. In 1876, Lt. Col. Colonel George A. Custer and his 7th Cavalry were wiped out by Sioux and Cheyenne Indians in the Battle of the Little Bighorn in Montana.In 1942, Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower was designated Commanding General of the European Theater of Operations during World War II. Some 1,000 British Royal Air Force bombers raided Bremen, Germany. In 1947, "The Diary of a Young Girl," the personal journal of Anne Frank, a German-born Jewish girl hiding with her family from the Nazis in Amsterdam during World War II, was first published. In 1950, war broke out in Korea as forces from the communist North invaded the South. In 1973, former White House Counsel John W. Dean began testifying before the Senate Watergate Committee, implicating top administration officials, including President Richard Nixon as well as himself, in the Watergate scandal and cover-up. In 1981, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that male-only draft registration was constitutional.In 1990, the U.S. Supreme Court, in its first "right-to-die" decision, ruled that family members could be barred from ending the lives of persistently comatose relatives who had not made their wishes known conclusively. In 1996, a truck bomb killed 19 Americans and injured hundreds at a U.S. military housing complex in Saudi Arabia. In 2003, the Recording Industry Association of America threatened to sue hundreds of individual computer users who were illegally sharing music files online. In 2009, death claimed Michael Jackson, the "King of Pop," in Los Angeles at age 50 and actor Farrah Fawcett in Santa Monica, California, at age 62. In 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld nationwide tax subsidies under President Barack Obama's health care overhaul in a 6-3 ruling that preserved health insurance for millions of Americans.Ten years ago: A suicide car bomber blasted a small clinic in eastern Afghanistan, causing the building to collapse and killing some three dozen people. Five years ago: Pope Francis visited Armenia, where he recognized the Ottoman-era slaughter of Armenians as a genocide, prompting a harsh rebuttal from Turkey. One year ago: Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said the state would "pause" its aggressive reopening as it dealt with a surge in coronavirus cases and hospitalizations. A government watchdog found that nearly 1.1 million relief payments totaling some $1.4 billion in the government's coronavirus aid program went to dead people. Two U.S. warships, the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower and the USS San Jacinto, notched their 161st consecutive day at sea, breaking the previous Navy record, as ships were ordered to avoid port visits because of the coronavirus. Restaurant chain Chuck E. Cheese filed for bankruptcy protection. Disney said it would recast its "Splash Mountain" theme park ride to remove its ties to "Song of the South," a 1946 movie that many viewed as racist. The Grammy-winning country group The Dixie Chicks dropped the word Dixie from its name. Census Bureau figures showed that for the first time, nonwhites and Hispanics were a majority of people under age 16 in 2019.Today's Birthdays: Actor June Lockhart is 96. Civil rights activist James Meredith is 88. R&amp;B singer Eddie Floyd is 84. Actor Barbara Montgomery is 82. Actor Mary Beth Peil is 81. Basketball Hall of Famer Willis Reed is 79. Singer Carly Simon is 76. Rock musician Ian McDonald (Foreigner; King Crimson) is 75. Actor-comedian Jimmie Walker is 74. Actor-director Michael Lembeck is 73. Rock singer Tim Finn is 69. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor is 67. Rock musician David Paich (Toto) is 67. Actor Michael Sabatino is 66. Actor-writer-director Ricky Gervais is 60. Actor John Benjamin Hickey is 58. Actor Erica Gimpel is 57. Basketball Hall of Famer Dikembe Mutombo is 55. Rapper-producer Richie Rich is 54. Actor Angela Kinsey is 50. Rock musician Mike Kroeger&nbsp; (Nickelback) is 49. Rock musician Mario Calire is 47. Actor Linda Cardellini is 46. Actor Busy Philipps is 42. Jazz musician Joey Alexander is 18.

Today in History - June 25

SHAWNEE COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a Kansas man on multiple drug related charges following a narcotics and identity theft search warrant at a Kansas home.

Just after 10 a.m. Tuesday, sheriff’s deputies served a search warrant at a residence in the 2500 block of SW Clay Street in Shawnee County, according to Deputy Abigail Christian.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/6/1624543028796.png" alt="Smith-photo Shawnee Co." />
 <figcaption>Smith-photo Shawnee Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>SHAWNEE COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a Kansas man on multiple drug related charges following a narcotics and identity theft search warrant at a Kansas home.Just after 10 a.m. Tuesday, sheriff’s deputies served a search warrant at a residence in the 2500 block of SW Clay Street in Shawnee County, according to Deputy Abigail Christian. During the investigation, deputies found illegal narcotics, firearms and arrested 35-year-old Adam J. Smith of Topeka and booked him into the Shawnee County Department of Corrections on charges of criminal use of weapons, possession of methamphetamine and possession of drug paraphernalia.