FRANKLIN COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a fatal shooting in rural Franklin County.

Just before 9p.m. Friday, sheriff's deputies responded to a 911 call in the 1800 Block of of John Brown Road in rural Princeton, Kansas, according to a media release.

First responders found a man later identified as 42-year-old Nathan Boggs of Ottawa with an apparent gunshot wound.&nbsp; Despite efforts by law enforcement and Franklin County EMS, Boggs died at the scene.

The Kansas Bureau of Investigation and Ottawa Police are assisting the Franklin County Sheriff with the investigation.

FRANKLIN COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a fatal shooting in rural Franklin County.Just before 9p.m. Friday, sheriff's deputies responded to a 911 call in the 1800 Block of of John Brown Road in rural Princeton, Kansas, according to a media release.First responders found a man later identified as 42-year-old Nathan Boggs of Ottawa with an apparent gunshot wound.&nbsp; Despite efforts by law enforcement and Franklin County EMS, Boggs died at the scene.The Kansas Bureau of Investigation and Ottawa Police are assisting the Franklin County Sheriff with the investigation.

Homicide: Police ID man who died in rural Kansas shooting

Disorganization could lead to closure of all school buildings in Barton County’s USD 112

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

CLAFLIN — Barton County residents will decide whether to break up with their school district and “start fresh” following heartbreak and anger over the closure of a rural community’s high school.

The change could result in hundreds of students displaced and three more schools shut down.

The Aug. 1 disorganization vote is a test case for rural communities that increasingly have to make decisions to shut down or consolidate as populations dwindle&nbsp;and schools face financial strain.

“This is brand new territory for the Department of Education, for the State Board of Education and basically every district in the state of Kansas,” said KSDE general counsel Scott Gordon during a June 27 meeting in Claflin.

Dissolving the district is likely to have widespread consequences for all district schools and likely will increase residents’ taxes, according to opponents of disorganization.

Wilson parent Kayla Cullens said the split needs to happen because the Claflin-based Unified School District 112 school board voted to shut down Wilson High School.

The district covers portions of five counties, including the Holyrood, Bushton, Claflin, Dorrance, Lorraine, Wilson, Beaver and Odin communities, along with other rural areas. Claflin and Wilson are a little less than a half hour apart, and the other communities mostly fall within a 10-30 minute range of each other.

Cullens, part of a disorganization campaign, said the district’s school board had long treated the Wilson community unfairly. She said the “hostility” in the decision to close the high school was the latest evidence of other schools being prioritized over Wilson.

“It’s been growing animosity between both ends of the district since consolidation, and it’s now a good time just to part ways,” Cullens said. “They weren’t willing to work with us. They weren’t willing to look at the bigger picture.”

Michael Kratky, a lifelong Wilson resident and fellow disorganization advocate, said the Wilson shutdown was a bad decision by the board. Kratky said part of his frustration stemmed from Claflin’s consolidation with Wilson, Holyrood, Bushton and Lorraine in 2010, when the Claflin school district needed financial help.

Kratky said the district didn’t extend the same help these past two years to Wilson.&nbsp;

“They’re shooting for everything to be centrally located eventually in Claflin. … (The district) helped them survive. They didn’t help us survive,” Kratky said.

The district now has three schools left: Central Plains Elementary, Central Plains Junior-Senior High School and Wilson Elementary School.

Cullens said she is aware that disorganization isn’t likely to re-open the high school, but she said the Wilson community will fare better under a different district school board.

“I do not think it will get re-opened,” Cullens said. “I hope it will, and it’s really the only chance we have of reopening it. But I don’t see a yes vote opening our high school.”

Other members of communities in the district call the move misguided.

Denise Schmidt, a Claflin resident, educator and member of the opposing&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.unitedusd112.com/">“United USD 112” campaign</a>, said the disorganization effort is driven by anger and fear.

“They will lose their elementary school, we will lose our elementary school, Central Plains Elementary, and we’ll also lose Central Plains Junior Senior High School,” Schmidt said. “We will lose everything in a yes vote.”

Some have said the disorganization campaign has been misleading, with Wilson residents encouraged to believe signing the disorganization petition would bring back the high school or allow them to create their own district. Schmidt said a sign at the local post office asked residents to go in and sign the petition to “save our schools.”&nbsp;

“Obviously it’s for the postal officials to decide, but putting it out there to patrons, ‘save our school’ or ‘we need a high school’ and then encouraging them to sign the petition is misleading, because by signing the petition, it doesn’t open the high school,” Schmidt said.

Cullens said signs about saving the school were the work of one person, and not the official campaign effort, which has put up signs asking for a “fresh start.”

If the measure doesn’t pass in the Aug. 1 vote, the USD 112 school district will stay the same, keeping the tax rate and schools intact.

If the measure passes, the Kansas State Board of Education takes over, deciding how to divide up the USD 112 territory into 10 neighboring school districts. The district’s schools will either be absorbed into the surrounding districts or shut down.

Officials from the Kansas State Department of Education held two informational meetings on June 27 to explain the repercussions of disorganization. During one of the informational meetings, Gordon, the agency attorney, said he wanted to clear up rumors that people in the school district would have some say over which school district they became a part of.

“I don’t know who came up with that,” Gordon said. “And that’s probably not going to happen.”

Gordon said Wilson High School wouldn’t be reopened unless the incorporating school district decided it was a good choice. Gordon said reassignment wouldn’t assure the future safety of any of the district’s schools, or the school staffs’ jobs.

“Do we get to guarantee that they’re going to stay open? I don’t believe so,” Gordon said. “If you vote to disorganize a school district and you disorganize the locally elected school board, it is the same as if an employer suddenly goes out of business or a business owner suddenly goes out of business. The business is gone. It is entirely up to the receiving school districts.”

According to Gordon, former USD 112 residents likely would lose any say in school district functions for a few months. After the state Board of Education makes the reassignment decision, people from the former district wouldn’t be eligible to vote in elections for about 120 days.

Gordon estimated it would take 18 months after reassignment before anyone from the former USD 112 could run for local school board.

Taxpayers will pay the rate of their new district. Because nine of the 10 neighboring districts have higher mill levy rates, it’s likely many reassigned residents would see a tax increase.

Cullens said she understood there could be negative implications for the district but that Wilson needed better representation.

“We don’t know if a school will close,” Cullens said. “That’s totally up to the receiving district. We don’t know what that looks like. … They can choose to leave as open as is. They can choose to reopen the high school here in Wilson. They could choose to shut everybody down.”

She added: “We’re putting faith in the effort that they will be looking out for what’s in the best interest of our students, which we feel they’re not getting today.”

In April 2022, the USD 112 Central Plains Board of Education voted to reassign Wilson junior and high school students to the Central Plains Junior-Senior High School because of low enrollment and financial issues.

Members of the Wilson community began to explore options of keeping the school open, such as a land transfer, which would place the building into a neighboring district.

After those unsuccessful efforts, the BOE voted in January to close Wilson High School at the end of the 2022-23 school year. The plan was that Wilson junior high and high school students would be bused to Central Plains High School in Claflin. Kindergarten through sixth grade students would continue to attend school in Wilson.

According to KSDE data, the Wilson high school had 73 students at the end of the 2022-2023 school year, a 50% decline over 10 years. The Claflin high school had 140 students for the same school year.

Members of the community asked the board to grant an one-year extension to give the school time to find alternate solutions, such as opening a Catholic school in the space, or continuing efforts to have other school districts accept the high school.

After the extension was refused, a group of community residents successfully filed a petition in May to dissolve the school district entirely. Under&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.ksrevisor.org/statutes/chapters/ch72/072_006_0035.html">Kansas statute</a>, a disorganization petition with enough signatures is put on a ballot for all voters in the district.

Cullens, who has lived in Wilson for about 20 years, has said the months since the closure have been difficult. Her son graduated from the high school after attending the school since preschool, and her daughter, a rising senior, was set on the same track before the closure announcement. Now, she will shift schools, splitting her up from friends she has known since kindergarten.

“It’s very sad,” Cullens said. “And it’s hard on her.”

She blames a “lopsided” school board for the decision. Two out of the seven board members represent Wilson, and she said the school board wasn’t advocating for her community.

Cullens cited differences in janitor pay and being passed over for collaborative opportunities with other schools for athletic programs as examples of unequal treatment

She said she’s already seen some families move away as a result.

“There’s a house on the market,” Cullens said. “There’s no more local spending. … I just foresee it getting worse.”

In reaction to anger from the Wilson community, and support from other rural communities, the Legislature this year voted into law&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2023_24/measures/documents/summary_hb_2138_2023">House Bill 2138</a>.

The law allows citizens to request the state BOE to conduct an administrative review of a resolution to close a school building if 5% or more of registered voters in the school district request the review.

Kratky went to Topeka multiple times to testify in support of the proposal.

“Through all of this in our district, this discussion was never about education,” Kratky said in testimony submitted for a&nbsp; March 22 hearing. “It was always about one school surviving at the cost of another closing. … The current structure allows lopsided boards to overpower smaller schools in a district, and the smaller schools don’t have the ability to do what’s best for our communities. We need your help.”

Following the review, the state BOE will give its opinion on closure to the local board, which will make the final decision.

Schmidt said rural communities needed to find ways to cope with shrinking populations, pointing to Bushton as an example. When the district voted to shut down the Bushton middle school in 2019, her daughter was one of the students transferred to the Claflin school.

Schmidt said Wilson could learn from Bushton, which has turned the former middle school building into a multi-purpose facility for community spaces. She pointed out the Bushton community didn’t “take their anger and hurt” and use the statute to disorganize the school district.

“There’s always a loss,” Schmidt said. “Kind of like a death. You have to mourn the death of what was. You’re not the same community you’ve always been. But that doesn’t mean your community can’t go on, that your students can’t prosper, and that there’s good things to come.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/7/1689420928876.png" alt=" Barton County residents will vote August 1, 2023, on whether to disorganize or keep the USD 112 school district intact. (Rachel Mipro/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption> Barton County residents will vote August 1, 2023, on whether to disorganize or keep the USD 112 school district intact. (Rachel Mipro/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>Disorganization could lead to closure of all school buildings in Barton County’s USD 112</h2>By RACHEL MIPRO <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/04/05/kansas-lawmakers-debate-definition-of-female-and-male-for-county-jails/">Kansas Reflector</a>CLAFLIN — Barton County residents will decide whether to break up with their school district and “start fresh” following heartbreak and anger over the closure of a rural community’s high school.The change could result in hundreds of students displaced and three more schools shut down.The Aug. 1 disorganization vote is a test case for rural communities that increasingly have to make decisions to shut down or consolidate as populations dwindle&nbsp;and schools face financial strain.“This is brand new territory for the Department of Education, for the State Board of Education and basically every district in the state of Kansas,” said KSDE general counsel Scott Gordon during a June 27 meeting in Claflin.Dissolving the district is likely to have widespread consequences for all district schools and likely will increase residents’ taxes, according to opponents of disorganization.Wilson parent Kayla Cullens said the split needs to happen because the Claflin-based Unified School District 112 school board voted to shut down Wilson High School.The district covers portions of five counties, including the Holyrood, Bushton, Claflin, Dorrance, Lorraine, Wilson, Beaver and Odin communities, along with other rural areas. Claflin and Wilson are a little less than a half hour apart, and the other communities mostly fall within a 10-30 minute range of each other.Cullens, part of a disorganization campaign, said the district’s school board had long treated the Wilson community unfairly. She said the “hostility” in the decision to close the high school was the latest evidence of other schools being prioritized over Wilson.“It’s been growing animosity between both ends of the district since consolidation, and it’s now a good time just to part ways,” Cullens said. “They weren’t willing to work with us. They weren’t willing to look at the bigger picture.”Michael Kratky, a lifelong Wilson resident and fellow disorganization advocate, said the Wilson shutdown was a bad decision by the board. Kratky said part of his frustration stemmed from Claflin’s consolidation with Wilson, Holyrood, Bushton and Lorraine in 2010, when the Claflin school district needed financial help.Kratky said the district didn’t extend the same help these past two years to Wilson.&nbsp;“They’re shooting for everything to be centrally located eventually in Claflin. … (The district) helped them survive. They didn’t help us survive,” Kratky said.The district now has three schools left: Central Plains Elementary, Central Plains Junior-Senior High School and Wilson Elementary School.Cullens said she is aware that disorganization isn’t likely to re-open the high school, but she said the Wilson community will fare better under a different district school board.“I do not think it will get re-opened,” Cullens said. “I hope it will, and it’s really the only chance we have of reopening it. But I don’t see a yes vote opening our high school.”Other members of communities in the district call the move misguided.Denise Schmidt, a Claflin resident, educator and member of the opposing&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.unitedusd112.com/">“United USD 112” campaign</a>, said the disorganization effort is driven by anger and fear.“They will lose their elementary school, we will lose our elementary school, Central Plains Elementary, and we’ll also lose Central Plains Junior Senior High School,” Schmidt said. “We will lose everything in a yes vote.”Some have said the disorganization campaign has been misleading, with Wilson residents encouraged to believe signing the disorganization petition would bring back the high school or allow them to create their own district. Schmidt said a sign at the local post office asked residents to go in and sign the petition to “save our schools.”&nbsp;“Obviously it’s for the postal officials to decide, but putting it out there to patrons, ‘save our school’ or ‘we need a high school’ and then encouraging them to sign the petition is misleading, because by signing the petition, it doesn’t open the high school,” Schmidt said.Cullens said signs about saving the school were the work of one person, and not the official campaign effort, which has put up signs asking for a “fresh start.”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/7/1689420894228.png" alt=" A sign placed in a Wilson gas station tells residents to “vote yes” on the Aug. 1, 2023, petition to disorganize. (Rachel Mipro/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption> A sign placed in a Wilson gas station tells residents to “vote yes” on the Aug. 1, 2023, petition to disorganize. (Rachel Mipro/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>What will happen?&nbsp;</h2>If the measure doesn’t pass in the Aug. 1 vote, the USD 112 school district will stay the same, keeping the tax rate and schools intact.If the measure passes, the Kansas State Board of Education takes over, deciding how to divide up the USD 112 territory into 10 neighboring school districts. The district’s schools will either be absorbed into the surrounding districts or shut down.Officials from the Kansas State Department of Education held two informational meetings on June 27 to explain the repercussions of disorganization. During one of the informational meetings, Gordon, the agency attorney, said he wanted to clear up rumors that people in the school district would have some say over which school district they became a part of.“I don’t know who came up with that,” Gordon said. “And that’s probably not going to happen.”Gordon said Wilson High School wouldn’t be reopened unless the incorporating school district decided it was a good choice. Gordon said reassignment wouldn’t assure the future safety of any of the district’s schools, or the school staffs’ jobs.“Do we get to guarantee that they’re going to stay open? I don’t believe so,” Gordon said. “If you vote to disorganize a school district and you disorganize the locally elected school board, it is the same as if an employer suddenly goes out of business or a business owner suddenly goes out of business. The business is gone. It is entirely up to the receiving school districts.”According to Gordon, former USD 112 residents likely would lose any say in school district functions for a few months. After the state Board of Education makes the reassignment decision, people from the former district wouldn’t be eligible to vote in elections for about 120 days.Gordon estimated it would take 18 months after reassignment before anyone from the former USD 112 could run for local school board.Taxpayers will pay the rate of their new district. Because nine of the 10 neighboring districts have higher mill levy rates, it’s likely many reassigned residents would see a tax increase.Cullens said she understood there could be negative implications for the district but that Wilson needed better representation.“We don’t know if a school will close,” Cullens said. “That’s totally up to the receiving district. We don’t know what that looks like. … They can choose to leave as open as is. They can choose to reopen the high school here in Wilson. They could choose to shut everybody down.”She added: “We’re putting faith in the effort that they will be looking out for what’s in the best interest of our students, which we feel they’re not getting today.”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/7/1689420749268.png" alt=" The high school side of the Wilson school building closed at the end of the school year. (Rachel Mipro/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption> The high school side of the Wilson school building closed at the end of the school year. (Rachel Mipro/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>Timeline of the vote&nbsp;</h2>In April 2022, the USD 112 Central Plains Board of Education voted to reassign Wilson junior and high school students to the Central Plains Junior-Senior High School because of low enrollment and financial issues.Members of the Wilson community began to explore options of keeping the school open, such as a land transfer, which would place the building into a neighboring district.After those unsuccessful efforts, the BOE voted in January to close Wilson High School at the end of the 2022-23 school year. The plan was that Wilson junior high and high school students would be bused to Central Plains High School in Claflin. Kindergarten through sixth grade students would continue to attend school in Wilson.According to KSDE data, the Wilson high school had 73 students at the end of the 2022-2023 school year, a 50% decline over 10 years. The Claflin high school had 140 students for the same school year.Members of the community asked the board to grant an one-year extension to give the school time to find alternate solutions, such as opening a Catholic school in the space, or continuing efforts to have other school districts accept the high school.After the extension was refused, a group of community residents successfully filed a petition in May to dissolve the school district entirely. Under&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.ksrevisor.org/statutes/chapters/ch72/072_006_0035.html">Kansas statute</a>, a disorganization petition with enough signatures is put on a ballot for all voters in the district.Cullens, who has lived in Wilson for about 20 years, has said the months since the closure have been difficult. Her son graduated from the high school after attending the school since preschool, and her daughter, a rising senior, was set on the same track before the closure announcement. Now, she will shift schools, splitting her up from friends she has known since kindergarten.“It’s very sad,” Cullens said. “And it’s hard on her.”She blames a “lopsided” school board for the decision. Two out of the seven board members represent Wilson, and she said the school board wasn’t advocating for her community.Cullens cited differences in janitor pay and being passed over for collaborative opportunities with other schools for athletic programs as examples of unequal treatmentShe said she’s already seen some families move away as a result.“There’s a house on the market,” Cullens said. “There’s no more local spending. … I just foresee it getting worse.”<h2>Rural communities across Kansas&nbsp;</h2>In reaction to anger from the Wilson community, and support from other rural communities, the Legislature this year voted into law&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2023_24/measures/documents/summary_hb_2138_2023">House Bill 2138</a>.The law allows citizens to request the state BOE to conduct an administrative review of a resolution to close a school building if 5% or more of registered voters in the school district request the review.Kratky went to Topeka multiple times to testify in support of the proposal.“Through all of this in our district, this discussion was never about education,” Kratky said in testimony submitted for a&nbsp; March 22 hearing. “It was always about one school surviving at the cost of another closing. … The current structure allows lopsided boards to overpower smaller schools in a district, and the smaller schools don’t have the ability to do what’s best for our communities. We need your help.”Following the review, the state BOE will give its opinion on closure to the local board, which will make the final decision.Schmidt said rural communities needed to find ways to cope with shrinking populations, pointing to Bushton as an example. When the district voted to shut down the Bushton middle school in 2019, her daughter was one of the students transferred to the Claflin school.Schmidt said Wilson could learn from Bushton, which has turned the former middle school building into a multi-purpose facility for community spaces. She pointed out the Bushton community didn’t “take their anger and hurt” and use the statute to disorganize the school district.“There’s always a loss,” Schmidt said. “Kind of like a death. You have to mourn the death of what was. You’re not the same community you’ve always been. But that doesn’t mean your community can’t go on, that your students can’t prosper, and that there’s good things to come.”

After school shutdown, rural Kansas community tries to divorce district

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden signed an executive order on Friday giving decisions on the prosecution of serious military crimes, including sexual assault, to independent military attorneys, taking that power away from victims’ commanders.

The order formally implements&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-joe-biden-health-kirsten-gillibrand-jackie-speier-032a79f53d084f93ea99674108567e9f" target="_blank">legislation passed by Congress in 2022</a>&nbsp;aimed at strengthening protections for service members, who were often at the mercy of their commanders to decide whether to take their assault claims seriously.

Members of Congress, frustrated with&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/military-sexual-assault-report-a5138e59f145c223284dded6677257e3" target="_blank">the growing number of sexual assaults</a>&nbsp;in the military, fought with defense leaders for several years over the issue. They argued that commanders at times were willing to ignore charges or incidents in their units to protect those accused of offenses and that using independent lawyers would beef up prosecutions. Military leaders balked, saying it could erode commanders’ authority.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York spent about a decade in an uphill battle to reform how the military handles sexual assaults and get the legislative changes passed that were codified through Biden’s order.

“While it will take time to see the results of these changes, these measures will instill more trust, professionalism, and confidence in the system,” Gillibrand said.

The change was among more than two dozen recommendations made in 2021 by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/sexual-assault-lloyd-austin-government-and-politics-13077b68cbaf65e8ad862a00aa3c5552" target="_blank">an independent review commission</a>&nbsp;on sexual assault in the military that was set up by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/lloyd-austin" target="_blank">Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin</a>. And it was included in the annual defense bill last year. But since it requires a change to the Uniform Code of Military Justice, it needed formal presidential action.

In a call with reporters previewing the order, senior Biden administration officials said it was the most sweeping change to the military legal code since it was created in 1950.

The Pentagon had already been moving forward with the change. A year ago, the Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force set up the new special trial counsel offices, which will assume authority over prosecution decisions by the end of this year. Beginning Jan. 1, 2025, that prosecution authority will expand to include sexual harassment cases.

The changes come as the military grapples with rising numbers of reported sexual assaults in its ranks.

While the services have made inroads in making it easier and safer for troops to come forward, they have had far less success reducing the number of assaults, which have increased nearly every year since 2006. Overall, there were more than 8,942 reports of sexual assaults involving service members during the 2022 fiscal year, a slight increase over&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/covid-health-crime-pandemics-army-62b6b37fbb992b19f0da65a3a1ba1115" target="_blank">8,866 the year before</a>.

Defense officials have long argued that an increase in reported assaults is a positive trend because so many people are reluctant to report them, both in the military and in society as a whole. Greater reporting, they say, shows there is more confidence in the reporting system, greater comfort with the support for victims, and a growing number of offenders who are being held accountable.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/7/1690574292520.png" alt="White House photo" />
 <figcaption>White House photo</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden signed an executive order on Friday giving decisions on the prosecution of serious military crimes, including sexual assault, to independent military attorneys, taking that power away from victims’ commanders.The order formally implements&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-joe-biden-health-kirsten-gillibrand-jackie-speier-032a79f53d084f93ea99674108567e9f" target="_blank">legislation passed by Congress in 2022</a>&nbsp;aimed at strengthening protections for service members, who were often at the mercy of their commanders to decide whether to take their assault claims seriously.Members of Congress, frustrated with&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/military-sexual-assault-report-a5138e59f145c223284dded6677257e3" target="_blank">the growing number of sexual assaults</a>&nbsp;in the military, fought with defense leaders for several years over the issue. They argued that commanders at times were willing to ignore charges or incidents in their units to protect those accused of offenses and that using independent lawyers would beef up prosecutions. Military leaders balked, saying it could erode commanders’ authority.Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York spent about a decade in an uphill battle to reform how the military handles sexual assaults and get the legislative changes passed that were codified through Biden’s order.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Today, President Biden signed an Executive Order strengthening how the U.S. military handles sexual assault, domestic violence, and other serious offenses. Keeping our country safe starts with prioritizing the safety of those who serve. <a href="https://t.co/kRzgrki4RE">pic.twitter.com/kRzgrki4RE</a>&mdash; The White House (@WhiteHouse) <a href="https://twitter.com/WhiteHouse/status/1685066720325640192?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 28, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>“While it will take time to see the results of these changes, these measures will instill more trust, professionalism, and confidence in the system,” Gillibrand said.The change was among more than two dozen recommendations made in 2021 by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/sexual-assault-lloyd-austin-government-and-politics-13077b68cbaf65e8ad862a00aa3c5552" target="_blank">an independent review commission</a>&nbsp;on sexual assault in the military that was set up by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/lloyd-austin" target="_blank">Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin</a>. And it was included in the annual defense bill last year. But since it requires a change to the Uniform Code of Military Justice, it needed formal presidential action.In a call with reporters previewing the order, senior Biden administration officials said it was the most sweeping change to the military legal code since it was created in 1950.The Pentagon had already been moving forward with the change. A year ago, the Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force set up the new special trial counsel offices, which will assume authority over prosecution decisions by the end of this year. Beginning Jan. 1, 2025, that prosecution authority will expand to include sexual harassment cases.The changes come as the military grapples with rising numbers of reported sexual assaults in its ranks.While the services have made inroads in making it easier and safer for troops to come forward, they have had far less success reducing the number of assaults, which have increased nearly every year since 2006. Overall, there were more than 8,942 reports of sexual assaults involving service members during the 2022 fiscal year, a slight increase over&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/covid-health-crime-pandemics-army-62b6b37fbb992b19f0da65a3a1ba1115" target="_blank">8,866 the year before</a>.Defense officials have long argued that an increase in reported assaults is a positive trend because so many people are reluctant to report them, both in the military and in society as a whole. Greater reporting, they say, shows there is more confidence in the reporting system, greater comfort with the support for victims, and a growing number of offenders who are being held accountable.

Biden signs order strengthening how U.S. military handles sex assault

LINN COUNTY —Two people died in an accident just before 5p.m. Saturday in Linn County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2011 Ford Edge driven by Dennis N. Mayes, 62, Mapleton, was westbound on 200th Road just west of Jackson Road eight miles south of Mound City. A 2005 Dodge Ram 2500 driven by Clinton C. Barker, 21, Centerville, was eastbound.

&nbsp;Both vehicles crossed the center line and collided head-on. 

After impact, the Ford spun into the west ditch. The pickup entered the eastbound ditch and rolled onto its top.

Mayes and a passenger in the Ford Elizabeth A.&nbsp;Mayes, 59, Fort Scott, were pronounced dead at the scene. EMS transported Barker to Overland Park Regional Medical Center. A three were properly restrained, according to the KHP.

LINN COUNTY —Two people died in an accident just before 5p.m. Saturday in Linn County.The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2011 Ford Edge driven by Dennis N. Mayes, 62, Mapleton, was westbound on 200th Road just west of Jackson Road eight miles south of Mound City. A 2005 Dodge Ram 2500 driven by Clinton C. Barker, 21, Centerville, was eastbound.&nbsp;Both vehicles crossed the center line and collided head-on. After impact, the Ford spun into the west ditch. The pickup entered the eastbound ditch and rolled onto its top.Mayes and a passenger in the Ford Elizabeth A.&nbsp;Mayes, 59, Fort Scott, were pronounced dead at the scene. EMS transported Barker to Overland Park Regional Medical Center. A three were properly restrained, according to the KHP.

Kansas man, woman dead after SUV, pickup head-on crash

KANSAS CITY (AP) —The planned execution of a 45-year-old Missouri man with schizophrenia is back on after an appellate court reversed course Saturday.

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/missouri-execution-august-06f474f368dfd5ff5c4145164b222a3b">Johnny Johnson</a>&nbsp;is scheduled to receive a lethal injection Tuesday at the state prison in Bonne Terre for killing 6-year-old Casey Williamson after trying to sexually assault her in 2002.

With questions swirling about his mental competency, the execution was halted last Tuesday by a divided three-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court. But after the Missouri Attorney General’s Office asked that the full court reconsider, that decision was reversed in a 7-3 ruling.

The case will likely end up before the U.S. Supreme Court before the scheduled execution date.

Attorneys for Johnson have claimed his schizophrenia prevents him from understanding the link between his crime and the punishment. They have also said Johnson has delusions about the devil using his death to bring about the end of the world.

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/missouri-execution-johnny-johnson-052a2b3c6a25f14ef51ce35c59935084">The Missouri Supreme Court</a>&nbsp;in June declined to halt the execution based on the mental health claim. The attorney general’s office challenged the credibility of psychiatric evaluations of Johnson and contended that medical records indicate he is able to manage his mental illness through medication.

Johnson lured the girl to an abandoned glass factory, even carrying her on his shoulders on the walk to the dilapidated site. When he tried to sexually assault her, Casey screamed and tried to break free. He killed her with bricks and rocks, then washed off in the Meramec River. Johnson confessed to the crimes.

Casey’s disappearance set off a frantic search involving first responders and volunteers. Her body was found in a pit less than a mile (1.6 kilometers) from her home, buried beneath rocks and debris.

The execution would be the fourth in Missouri this year.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/7/1690408112630.png" alt="Johnson-photo MODOC" />
 <figcaption>Johnson-photo MODOC</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY (AP) —The planned execution of a 45-year-old Missouri man with schizophrenia is back on after an appellate court reversed course Saturday.<a href="https://apnews.com/article/missouri-execution-august-06f474f368dfd5ff5c4145164b222a3b">Johnny Johnson</a>&nbsp;is scheduled to receive a lethal injection Tuesday at the state prison in Bonne Terre for killing 6-year-old Casey Williamson after trying to sexually assault her in 2002.With questions swirling about his mental competency, the execution was halted last Tuesday by a divided three-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court. But after the Missouri Attorney General’s Office asked that the full court reconsider, that decision was reversed in a 7-3 ruling.The case will likely end up before the U.S. Supreme Court before the scheduled execution date.Attorneys for Johnson have claimed his schizophrenia prevents him from understanding the link between his crime and the punishment. They have also said Johnson has delusions about the devil using his death to bring about the end of the world.<a href="https://apnews.com/article/missouri-execution-johnny-johnson-052a2b3c6a25f14ef51ce35c59935084">The Missouri Supreme Court</a>&nbsp;in June declined to halt the execution based on the mental health claim. The attorney general’s office challenged the credibility of psychiatric evaluations of Johnson and contended that medical records indicate he is able to manage his mental illness through medication.Johnson lured the girl to an abandoned glass factory, even carrying her on his shoulders on the walk to the dilapidated site. When he tried to sexually assault her, Casey screamed and tried to break free. He killed her with bricks and rocks, then washed off in the Meramec River. Johnson confessed to the crimes.Casey’s disappearance set off a frantic search involving first responders and volunteers. Her body was found in a pit less than a mile (1.6 kilometers) from her home, buried beneath rocks and debris.The execution would be the fourth in Missouri this year.

Court rules man convicted of killing 6-year-old can be executed after all

SEDGWICK COUNTY—A Kansas man accused of double homicide in Wichita made his first appearance in court Friday.

Charles Crawford, 62, Wichita, is charged with one count of Capital Murder for the deaths of 58-year-old Donald Eckert and 50-year=old Vanessa Crawford, according to the Sedgwick County District Attorney's office.

On Tuesday, a woman dropping off her child at an in-home daycare saw the two homicide victims through a window of a home in the 1100 Block of North Woodrow, according to Officer Kris Gupilan. The victims were identified as Crawford and Eckert both of Wichita.

While the investigation was taking place on the scene, Charles Crawford arrived with a gun pointed at his own head. Officers took cover for safety and immediately requested the assistance of SWAT and Crisis Negotiators. A standoff ensued with Crawford but it ended peacefully when he surrendered and was taken into custody. <a href="https://ssc.sedgwickcounty.org/InmateSearch/Details.aspx?Id=741589">He remains jailed on a</a> $2 million bond, according to online jail records.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/7/1690372152213.png" alt="Crawford-photo Sedgwick County" />
 <figcaption>Crawford-photo Sedgwick County</figcaption>
 </figure>SEDGWICK COUNTY—A Kansas man accused of double homicide in Wichita made his first appearance in court Friday.Charles Crawford, 62, Wichita, is charged with one count of Capital Murder for the deaths of 58-year-old Donald Eckert and 50-year=old Vanessa Crawford, according to the Sedgwick County District Attorney's office.On Tuesday, a woman dropping off her child at an in-home daycare saw the two homicide victims through a window of a home in the 1100 Block of North Woodrow, according to Officer Kris Gupilan. The victims were identified as Crawford and Eckert both of Wichita.While the investigation was taking place on the scene, Charles Crawford arrived with a gun pointed at his own head. Officers took cover for safety and immediately requested the assistance of SWAT and Crisis Negotiators. A standoff ensued with Crawford but it ended peacefully when he surrendered and was taken into custody. <a href="https://ssc.sedgwickcounty.org/InmateSearch/Details.aspx?Id=741589">He remains jailed on a</a> $2 million bond, according to online jail records.

Kan. man charged in murder of couple at home day care

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas man whose 2-year-old daughter died after going days without food while he was passed out drunk has been sentenced to nearly 57 years in prison.

The sentence ordered Friday was the maximum that could be imposed after Jeffrey Exon was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/malnutrition-child-death-father-convicted-d5371bfaae9ed23f3027852ebc47dd93">convicted</a>&nbsp;in April of charges that included aggravated child endangerment and first-degree murder in the commission of a felony, The Topeka Capital-Journal&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cjonline.com/story/news/local/2023/07/28/topekan-receives-long-prison-sentence-in-daughters-malnutrition-death/70489888007/">reported</a>.

Exon, a 47-year-old who goes by the name of James, called 911 on Jan. 5. 2021, telling a dispatcher that his daughter, Aurora Exon, had stopped breathing. He also said she recently had been “starving herself.”

She was cold to the touch when found, and appeared to have been dead for several days, Shawnee County District Attorney Mike Kagay said. The coroner blamed her death on a form of malnutrition called marasmus.

Five empty liquor bottles were found in Exon's bedroom, investigators said. They determined that Exon would not feed or attend to his children for days because of his addiction issues.

Exon’s 6-year-old son, who was 4 when his sister died, testified at trial that his dad locked them in their rooms for several days without food while he “slept.”

Seonaid Nichols, the children’s mother, said she agreed to give James Exon custody of the children because her living conditions didn’t allow her to take care of them.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/3/1617140051622.png" alt="Exon" />
 <figcaption>Exon</figcaption>
 </figure>TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas man whose 2-year-old daughter died after going days without food while he was passed out drunk has been sentenced to nearly 57 years in prison.The sentence ordered Friday was the maximum that could be imposed after Jeffrey Exon was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/malnutrition-child-death-father-convicted-d5371bfaae9ed23f3027852ebc47dd93">convicted</a>&nbsp;in April of charges that included aggravated child endangerment and first-degree murder in the commission of a felony, The Topeka Capital-Journal&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cjonline.com/story/news/local/2023/07/28/topekan-receives-long-prison-sentence-in-daughters-malnutrition-death/70489888007/">reported</a>.Exon, a 47-year-old who goes by the name of James, called 911 on Jan. 5. 2021, telling a dispatcher that his daughter, Aurora Exon, had stopped breathing. He also said she recently had been “starving herself.”She was cold to the touch when found, and appeared to have been dead for several days, Shawnee County District Attorney Mike Kagay said. The coroner blamed her death on a form of malnutrition called marasmus.Five empty liquor bottles were found in Exon's bedroom, investigators said. They determined that Exon would not feed or attend to his children for days because of his addiction issues.Exon’s 6-year-old son, who was 4 when his sister died, testified at trial that his dad locked them in their rooms for several days without food while he “slept.”Seonaid Nichols, the children’s mother, said she agreed to give James Exon custody of the children because her living conditions didn’t allow her to take care of them.

Kan. man sentenced in death of 2-year-old who went days without food

Mental Health Coalition says state needs strategy to help unsheltered homeless population

TOPEKA — Advocates say unhoused Kansans need more support from state and local governments.&nbsp;

The Kansas Mental Health Coalition held a Wednesday meeting to begin discussing goals for legislative action on the state’s homelessness problem. Mary Jones, coalition president, said she wanted to focus on creating more resources in cities for people who are struggling.&nbsp;

“How do we broaden funding?” Jones said. “How do we broaden services that go along with it?”

Kansas city governments struggle to adequately deal with homelessness, a problem that has grown in urgency in recent years due to higher cost of living, scarce mental health resources and the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic forcing more Kansans out onto the streets.&nbsp;

Around 1,798 people are homeless on any given night in Kansas City, according to a&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://gkcceh.org/">Kansas City advocacy group</a>. Wichita’s annual homeless count showed 702 unhoused individuals, the highest number recorded by the yearly survey since 2011. In Topeka, an annual survey showed 412 individuals experiencing homelessness in the city in 2023.&nbsp;

The spike isn’t unique to the state; a<a target="_blank" href="https://bfi.uchicago.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/BFI_WP_2023-41.pdf">&nbsp;March paper released</a>&nbsp;by University of Chicago researchers reported that more than&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://endhomelessness.org/homelessness-in-america/homelessness-statistics/state-of-homelessness/">half a million people</a>&nbsp;in the U.S. were unhoused in January of 2020, with people of color facing greater risk of homelessness.

Thirty-nine percent of unhoused people and 50% of unhoused families with children surveyed in the research paper were Black.

The paper also found people experiencing homelessness have significantly higher mortality risks than their peers. An unhoused 40-year-old has a similar mortality risk to a 60-year-old with housing or a&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/04/09/high-mortality-rate-of-homeless-highlighted-in-new-report/">50-year-old person living in poverty with housing.&nbsp;</a>

State lawmakers have acknowledged the need to address the spike, but the only legislation on the topic in the 2023 legislative session was&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2023_24/measures/hb2430/">House Bill 2430</a>, a measure that would make it illegal to use state or local government property for unauthorized sleeping, camping or long-term shelters.&nbsp;

After widespread backlash from<a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/03/03/kansas-lawmakers-entertain-texas-groups-plan-to-penalize-homeless/">&nbsp;Kansans who had dealt with homelessness&nbsp;</a>and other concerned citizens, the House Welfare Reform Committee tabled the bill and pivoted to a one-day community&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/03/24/kansas-lawmakers-hear-from-businesses-city-officials-about-growing-homelessness-issues/">discussion of the issue</a>. Critics said the one-day meeting wasn’t enough to gain a complete picture of the situation, and more of a substantial game plan needed to be formed.&nbsp;

Amy Campbell, lobbyist and coordinator for the Kansas Mental Health Coalition, said there hadn’t been time to discuss potential solutions or&nbsp;followup at the roundtable, due to the time constraint.&nbsp;

Campbell said a comprehensive framework for Kansas’ homelessness problem needed to be made and implemented.

&nbsp;“Part of the problem has been that it’s such a big picture to have that comprehensive solution,” Campbell said. “So what has been preferred by most policymakers is to pick and choose pieces of the continuum to establish. And so that makes it a little more difficult.”&nbsp;

Ahead of the Legislature’s next scheduled meeting on homelessness, which will take place in November, community advocates and those working with the unhoused population pitched their thoughts on the matter.&nbsp;

Andy Houltberg, CEO of Wichita-based social services organization Breakthrough, said cities needed to have both temporary and long-term shelter plans. While he and others support the Housing First model, an approach that prioritizes providing permanent housing to those in need, he said more shelter beds should also be provided.&nbsp;

“I’m a huge proponent of Housing First, but I do think you need a mix,” Houltberg said. “I think that every city probably needs a healthy amount of long-term supportive housing and some emergency shelter crisis intervention type beds.”

Houltberg said Wichita was struggling with a scarcity of hospital beds.&nbsp;

“Right now we’re just seeing more and more folks die on the streets, and it’s pretty sad,” Houltberg said. “It doesn’t have to be that way.”&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/7/1690651679528.png" alt=" A man lies under shading on July 19, 2022, on North Topeka Avenue in Wichita, Kansas. The city has reported growing numbers of people struggling with homelessness. (Lily O'Shea Becker/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption> A man lies under shading on July 19, 2022, on North Topeka Avenue in Wichita, Kansas. The city has reported growing numbers of people struggling with homelessness. (Lily O'Shea Becker/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>Mental Health Coalition says state needs strategy to help unsheltered homeless population</h2>By RACHEL MIPRO <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/04/05/kansas-lawmakers-debate-definition-of-female-and-male-for-county-jails/">Kansas Reflector</a>TOPEKA — Advocates say unhoused Kansans need more support from state and local governments.&nbsp;The Kansas Mental Health Coalition held a Wednesday meeting to begin discussing goals for legislative action on the state’s homelessness problem. Mary Jones, coalition president, said she wanted to focus on creating more resources in cities for people who are struggling.&nbsp;“How do we broaden funding?” Jones said. “How do we broaden services that go along with it?”Kansas city governments struggle to adequately deal with homelessness, a problem that has grown in urgency in recent years due to higher cost of living, scarce mental health resources and the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic forcing more Kansans out onto the streets.&nbsp;Around 1,798 people are homeless on any given night in Kansas City, according to a&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://gkcceh.org/">Kansas City advocacy group</a>. Wichita’s annual homeless count showed 702 unhoused individuals, the highest number recorded by the yearly survey since 2011. In Topeka, an annual survey showed 412 individuals experiencing homelessness in the city in 2023.&nbsp;The spike isn’t unique to the state; a<a target="_blank" href="https://bfi.uchicago.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/BFI_WP_2023-41.pdf">&nbsp;March paper released</a>&nbsp;by University of Chicago researchers reported that more than&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://endhomelessness.org/homelessness-in-america/homelessness-statistics/state-of-homelessness/">half a million people</a>&nbsp;in the U.S. were unhoused in January of 2020, with people of color facing greater risk of homelessness.Thirty-nine percent of unhoused people and 50% of unhoused families with children surveyed in the research paper were Black.The paper also found people experiencing homelessness have significantly higher mortality risks than their peers. An unhoused 40-year-old has a similar mortality risk to a 60-year-old with housing or a&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/04/09/high-mortality-rate-of-homeless-highlighted-in-new-report/">50-year-old person living in poverty with housing.&nbsp;</a>State lawmakers have acknowledged the need to address the spike, but the only legislation on the topic in the 2023 legislative session was&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2023_24/measures/hb2430/">House Bill 2430</a>, a measure that would make it illegal to use state or local government property for unauthorized sleeping, camping or long-term shelters.&nbsp;After widespread backlash from<a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/03/03/kansas-lawmakers-entertain-texas-groups-plan-to-penalize-homeless/">&nbsp;Kansans who had dealt with homelessness&nbsp;</a>and other concerned citizens, the House Welfare Reform Committee tabled the bill and pivoted to a one-day community&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/03/24/kansas-lawmakers-hear-from-businesses-city-officials-about-growing-homelessness-issues/">discussion of the issue</a>. Critics said the one-day meeting wasn’t enough to gain a complete picture of the situation, and more of a substantial game plan needed to be formed.&nbsp;Amy Campbell, lobbyist and coordinator for the Kansas Mental Health Coalition, said there hadn’t been time to discuss potential solutions or&nbsp;followup at the roundtable, due to the time constraint.&nbsp;Campbell said a comprehensive framework for Kansas’ homelessness problem needed to be made and implemented.&nbsp;“Part of the problem has been that it’s such a big picture to have that comprehensive solution,” Campbell said. “So what has been preferred by most policymakers is to pick and choose pieces of the continuum to establish. And so that makes it a little more difficult.”&nbsp;Ahead of the Legislature’s next scheduled meeting on homelessness, which will take place in November, community advocates and those working with the unhoused population pitched their thoughts on the matter.&nbsp;Andy Houltberg, CEO of Wichita-based social services organization Breakthrough, said cities needed to have both temporary and long-term shelter plans. While he and others support the Housing First model, an approach that prioritizes providing permanent housing to those in need, he said more shelter beds should also be provided.&nbsp;“I’m a huge proponent of Housing First, but I do think you need a mix,” Houltberg said. “I think that every city probably needs a healthy amount of long-term supportive housing and some emergency shelter crisis intervention type beds.”Houltberg said Wichita was struggling with a scarcity of hospital beds.&nbsp;“Right now we’re just seeing more and more folks die on the streets, and it’s pretty sad,” Houltberg said. “It doesn’t have to be that way.”&nbsp;

Homeless advocates: ‘We’re seeing more folks die on the streets’ in Kansas

NEW YORK (AP) — The fate of U.S. trucking company Yellow Corp. isn't looking good.

After years of financial struggles, Yellow is reportedly preparing for bankruptcy and seeing customers leave in large numbers — heightening risk for future liquidation. While no official decision has been announced by the company, the prospect of bankruptcy has renewed attention around Yellow's ongoing negotiations with unionized workers, a $700 million pandemic-era loan from the government and other bills the trucker has racked up over time.

Yellow, formerly known as YRC Worldwide Inc., is one of the nation's largest less-than-truckload carriers. The Nashville, Tennessee-based company has some 30,000 employees across the country.

Not yet. But industry experts suspect that a bankruptcy filing could come any day now.

People familiar with the matter&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/trucker-yellow-prepares-to-file-for-bankruptcy-as-customers-flee-281151a6">told The Wall Street Journal</a>&nbsp;that the company could seek bankruptcy protection as soon as this week — with some noting that a significant amount of customers have already started to leave the carrier.

Meanwhile, according to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.freightwaves.com/news/yellow-executive-tells-sales-employees-company-will-file-bankruptcy-on-july-31">FreightWaves</a>, employees were told to expect the filing Monday. Yellow laid off an unknown number of employees Friday, the outlet&nbsp;<a href="https://www.freightwaves.com/news/yellow-lays-off-portions-of-at-least-3-major-corporate-teams">later reported</a>, citing a memo that stated the company was “shutting down its regular operations.”

According to Satish Jindel, president of transportation and logistics firm SJ Consulting, Yellow handled an average of 49,000 shipments per day in 2022. As of this week, he estimates that number is down to between 10,000 and 15,000 daily shipments.

With customers leaving — as well reports of Yellow stopping freight pickups earlier this week — bankruptcy would “be the end of Yellow,” Jindel told The Associated Press, noting increased risk for liquidation.

“The likelihood of them surviving and remaining solvent diminishes really by the day,” added Bruce Chan, a research director at investment banking firm Stifel.

Yellow media contacts did not immediately respond to the Associated Press' requests for comment on Friday. In a Wednesday statement to The Journal, the company said it was continuing “to prepare for a range of contingencies.” On Thursday, Yellow said it was in talks with multiple parties about selling its third-party logistics organization.

Even if Yellow was able to sell its logistics firm, it would “not generate a sufficient amount of cash to keep them operational on any sort of permanent basis," Chan said. “Without a major equity injection, it would be very difficult for them to survive.”

As of late March, Yellow had an outstanding debt of about $1.5 billion. Of that, $729.2 million was owed to the federal government.

In 2020, under the Trump administration, the Treasury Department granted the company a $700 million pandemic-era loan on national security grounds. Last month, a congressional probe concluded that the Treasury and Defense Departments “made missteps” in this decision — and noted that Yellow's “precarious financial position at the time of the loan, and continued struggles, expose taxpayers to a significant risk of loss.”

The government loan is due in September 2024. As of March, Yellow had made $54.8 million in interest payments and repaid just $230 million of the principal owed, according to government documents.

Yellow's current finances and prospect of bankruptcy “is probably two decades in the making,” Chan said, pointing to poor management and strategic decisions dating back to the early 2000s. “At this point, after each party has bailed them out so many times, there is a limited appetite to do that anymore.”

In May, Yellow reported a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/earnings-9cccf85534862b16e643827b52dba349">loss of $54.6 million</a>, a decline of $1.06 per share, for its first quarter of 2023. Operating revenue was about $1.16 billion in the period.

A Wednesday investors note from financial service firm Stephens estimated that Yellow could be burning between $9 million and $10 million each day. Using a liquidity disclosure from earlier this month, Yellow had roughly $100 million in cash at the end of June, the note added — estimating that the company has been burning through increasing amounts of money through July.

“It is reasonable to believe that the Company could breach its $35 mil. liquidity requirement at any moment,” Stephens analyst Jack Atkins and associate Grant Smith wrote.

The reports of bankruptcy preparations arrive just days after a strike from the Teamsters, which represents Yellow's 22,000 unionized workers, was averted.

A series of heated exchanges have built up between the Teamsters and Yellow, who sued the union in June after alleging it was “unjustifiably blocking” restructuring plans needed for the company's survival. The Teamsters called the litigation “baseless” — with general president Sean O’Brien pointing to Yellow's “decades of gross mismanagement," which included exhausting the $700 million federal loan.

On Sunday, a pension fund agreed to extend health benefits for workers at two Yellow Corp. operating companies, averting a strike — and giving Yellow “30 days to pay its bills,” notably $50 million that Yellow failed to pay the Central States Health and Welfare Fund on July 15, the union said. While the strike didn't occur, talks of a walkout may have caused some Yellow customers to pull back, Chan said.

Talks between Yellow and the Teamsters, which also represents&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ups-teamsters-strike-labor-logistics-delivery-a94482dbff7bfb67ad82f607ab127672">UPS's unionized workers</a>, are ongoing. The current contract expires in March 2024.

“The financial struggles of Yellow are not related to the union and the contracts,” Jindel said, pointing to management's responsibility around its services and prices. He added the union wages from Yellow are “lower than any competitor.”

WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF YELLOW WENT UNDER?

If Yellow files for bankruptcy and customers continue to take their shipments to other carriers, like FedEx or ABF Freight, prices will go up.

Yellow's prices have historically been the cheapest compared to other carriers, Jindel said. “That’s why they obviously were not making money," he added. "And while there is capacity with the other LTL carriers to handle the diversions from Yellow, it will come at a high price for (current shippers and customers) of Yellow.”

Chan adds that we're in an interesting time for the LTL marketplace — noting that, if Yellow declares bankruptcy and liquidates, “the freight would find a home” with other carriers, which may not have been true in recent years.

“It may take time, but there’s room for it to be absorbed,” he said.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/7/1690585296924.png" alt="YRC Freight in Kansas City -Google image" />
 <figcaption>YRC Freight in Kansas City -Google image</figcaption>
 </figure>NEW YORK (AP) — The fate of U.S. trucking company Yellow Corp. isn't looking good.After years of financial struggles, Yellow is reportedly preparing for bankruptcy and seeing customers leave in large numbers — heightening risk for future liquidation. While no official decision has been announced by the company, the prospect of bankruptcy has renewed attention around Yellow's ongoing negotiations with unionized workers, a $700 million pandemic-era loan from the government and other bills the trucker has racked up over time.Yellow, formerly known as YRC Worldwide Inc., is one of the nation's largest less-than-truckload carriers. The Nashville, Tennessee-based company has some 30,000 employees across the country.Here's what you need to know.IS YELLOW FILING FOR BANKRUPTCY? Not yet. But industry experts suspect that a bankruptcy filing could come any day now.People familiar with the matter&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/trucker-yellow-prepares-to-file-for-bankruptcy-as-customers-flee-281151a6">told The Wall Street Journal</a>&nbsp;that the company could seek bankruptcy protection as soon as this week — with some noting that a significant amount of customers have already started to leave the carrier.Meanwhile, according to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.freightwaves.com/news/yellow-executive-tells-sales-employees-company-will-file-bankruptcy-on-july-31">FreightWaves</a>, employees were told to expect the filing Monday. Yellow laid off an unknown number of employees Friday, the outlet&nbsp;<a href="https://www.freightwaves.com/news/yellow-lays-off-portions-of-at-least-3-major-corporate-teams">later reported</a>, citing a memo that stated the company was “shutting down its regular operations.”According to Satish Jindel, president of transportation and logistics firm SJ Consulting, Yellow handled an average of 49,000 shipments per day in 2022. As of this week, he estimates that number is down to between 10,000 and 15,000 daily shipments.With customers leaving — as well reports of Yellow stopping freight pickups earlier this week — bankruptcy would “be the end of Yellow,” Jindel told The Associated Press, noting increased risk for liquidation.“The likelihood of them surviving and remaining solvent diminishes really by the day,” added Bruce Chan, a research director at investment banking firm Stifel.Yellow media contacts did not immediately respond to the Associated Press' requests for comment on Friday. In a Wednesday statement to The Journal, the company said it was continuing “to prepare for a range of contingencies.” On Thursday, Yellow said it was in talks with multiple parties about selling its third-party logistics organization.Even if Yellow was able to sell its logistics firm, it would “not generate a sufficient amount of cash to keep them operational on any sort of permanent basis," Chan said. “Without a major equity injection, it would be very difficult for them to survive.”HOW MUCH DEBT DOES YELLOW HAVE? As of late March, Yellow had an outstanding debt of about $1.5 billion. Of that, $729.2 million was owed to the federal government.In 2020, under the Trump administration, the Treasury Department granted the company a $700 million pandemic-era loan on national security grounds. Last month, a congressional probe concluded that the Treasury and Defense Departments “made missteps” in this decision — and noted that Yellow's “precarious financial position at the time of the loan, and continued struggles, expose taxpayers to a significant risk of loss.”The government loan is due in September 2024. As of March, Yellow had made $54.8 million in interest payments and repaid just $230 million of the principal owed, according to government documents.Yellow's current finances and prospect of bankruptcy “is probably two decades in the making,” Chan said, pointing to poor management and strategic decisions dating back to the early 2000s. “At this point, after each party has bailed them out so many times, there is a limited appetite to do that anymore.”In May, Yellow reported a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/earnings-9cccf85534862b16e643827b52dba349">loss of $54.6 million</a>, a decline of $1.06 per share, for its first quarter of 2023. Operating revenue was about $1.16 billion in the period.A Wednesday investors note from financial service firm Stephens estimated that Yellow could be burning between $9 million and $10 million each day. Using a liquidity disclosure from earlier this month, Yellow had roughly $100 million in cash at the end of June, the note added — estimating that the company has been burning through increasing amounts of money through July.“It is reasonable to believe that the Company could breach its $35 mil. liquidity requirement at any moment,” Stephens analyst Jack Atkins and associate Grant Smith wrote.DID THE COMPANY JUST AVERT A STRIKE? The reports of bankruptcy preparations arrive just days after a strike from the Teamsters, which represents Yellow's 22,000 unionized workers, was averted.A series of heated exchanges have built up between the Teamsters and Yellow, who sued the union in June after alleging it was “unjustifiably blocking” restructuring plans needed for the company's survival. The Teamsters called the litigation “baseless” — with general president Sean O’Brien pointing to Yellow's “decades of gross mismanagement," which included exhausting the $700 million federal loan.On Sunday, a pension fund agreed to extend health benefits for workers at two Yellow Corp. operating companies, averting a strike — and giving Yellow “30 days to pay its bills,” notably $50 million that Yellow failed to pay the Central States Health and Welfare Fund on July 15, the union said. While the strike didn't occur, talks of a walkout may have caused some Yellow customers to pull back, Chan said.Talks between Yellow and the Teamsters, which also represents&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ups-teamsters-strike-labor-logistics-delivery-a94482dbff7bfb67ad82f607ab127672">UPS's unionized workers</a>, are ongoing. The current contract expires in March 2024.“The financial struggles of Yellow are not related to the union and the contracts,” Jindel said, pointing to management's responsibility around its services and prices. He added the union wages from Yellow are “lower than any competitor.”WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF YELLOW WENT UNDER? If Yellow files for bankruptcy and customers continue to take their shipments to other carriers, like FedEx or ABF Freight, prices will go up.Yellow's prices have historically been the cheapest compared to other carriers, Jindel said. “That’s why they obviously were not making money," he added. "And while there is capacity with the other LTL carriers to handle the diversions from Yellow, it will come at a high price for (current shippers and customers) of Yellow.”Chan adds that we're in an interesting time for the LTL marketplace — noting that, if Yellow declares bankruptcy and liquidates, “the freight would find a home” with other carriers, which may not have been true in recent years.“It may take time, but there’s room for it to be absorbed,” he said.

Trucking company Yellow Corp. reportedly preparing for bankruptcy

Des Moines (AP) —The Mega Millions jackpot climbed to an estimated $1.05 billion Friday night, only the fifth time in the history of the game that the grand prize has reached into the billions.

No one managed to beat the massive odds and match all six numbers for Friday's estimated $940 million jackpot. The numbers drawn were: 5, 10, 28, 52, 63 and the gold ball 18.

There have been 29 straight draws without a Mega Millions jackpot winner since the last grand prize ticket on April 18.

The $1.05 billion prize up for grabs in the next drawing Tuesday night would be for a sole winner choosing to be&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/powerball-jackpot-annuity-vs-cash-0e741f164106c0f4dba89707c5763c99">paid through an annuity</a>, with annual payments over 30 years. Jackpot winners almost always opt for a lump sum payment, which for Tuesday’s drawing would be an estimated $527.9 million.

The potential jackpot is the fourth-largest in the game and the fifth over $1 billion, Mega Millions said in a statement early Saturday.

Although there were no jackpot winners, one ticket in Pennsylvania was worth $5 million and another in the state connected for $1 million. There also were $1 million winners in Arizona, California and New York, Mega Millions said.

It has been less than two weeks since&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/powerball-jackpot-winner-california-9f0e98a47c96c2b3087a68b33195dd50">someone in Los Angeles</a>&nbsp;won a $1.08 billion Powerball prize that ranked as the sixth-largest in U.S. history. The winner of the prize is still a mystery.

Lottery jackpots grow so large because the odds of winning are so small. For Mega Millions, the odds of winning the jackpot are about&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/powerball-mega-millions-winning-odds-numbers-a3e5a8e8e7ed15d7500c1d6acdab6785">1 in 302.6 million.</a>

Winners also would be subject to federal taxes, and many states also tax lottery winnings.

Mega Millions is played in 45 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Des Moines (AP) —The Mega Millions jackpot climbed to an estimated $1.05 billion Friday night, only the fifth time in the history of the game that the grand prize has reached into the billions.No one managed to beat the massive odds and match all six numbers for Friday's estimated $940 million jackpot. The numbers drawn were: 5, 10, 28, 52, 63 and the gold ball 18.There have been 29 straight draws without a Mega Millions jackpot winner since the last grand prize ticket on April 18.The $1.05 billion prize up for grabs in the next drawing Tuesday night would be for a sole winner choosing to be&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/powerball-jackpot-annuity-vs-cash-0e741f164106c0f4dba89707c5763c99">paid through an annuity</a>, with annual payments over 30 years. Jackpot winners almost always opt for a lump sum payment, which for Tuesday’s drawing would be an estimated $527.9 million.The potential jackpot is the fourth-largest in the game and the fifth over $1 billion, Mega Millions said in a statement early Saturday.Although there were no jackpot winners, one ticket in Pennsylvania was worth $5 million and another in the state connected for $1 million. There also were $1 million winners in Arizona, California and New York, Mega Millions said.It has been less than two weeks since&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/powerball-jackpot-winner-california-9f0e98a47c96c2b3087a68b33195dd50">someone in Los Angeles</a>&nbsp;won a $1.08 billion Powerball prize that ranked as the sixth-largest in U.S. history. The winner of the prize is still a mystery.Lottery jackpots grow so large because the odds of winning are so small. For Mega Millions, the odds of winning the jackpot are about&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/powerball-mega-millions-winning-odds-numbers-a3e5a8e8e7ed15d7500c1d6acdab6785">1 in 302.6 million.</a>Winners also would be subject to federal taxes, and many states also tax lottery winnings.Mega Millions is played in 45 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Mega Millions jackpot climbs to $1.05 billion; another drawing and no big winner

AUBURN, Maine (AP) —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/joe-biden">President Joe Biden</a>&nbsp;— buoyed by new signs the economy is continuing on the upswing — took a swipe on Friday at House Republicans' flirtations with an impeachment inquiry, quipping that GOP lawmakers may decide to impeach him because&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/inflation-prices-federal-reserve-interest-rates-economy-c48791d3e506b30b643cedec34bab290">inflation is cooling down</a>.

(click below to watch the President's comments)

Standing in a textile manufacturing facility in Auburn Biden pointed to inflation statistics that showed the U.S. has the lowest rate of price increases among the world's biggest economies. Though he was careful to say he was not taking a victory lap on the economy, Biden suggested that his Republican opponents in Congress may need to find a fresh line of attack against him because of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-bidenomics-jobs-inflation-8d03a90a06b566e441f0b3f2284cd6a9">improving economic circumstances</a>.

“Maybe they’ll decide to impeach me because it’s coming down,” Biden said. “I don’t know. I'd love that one.”

Earlier this week, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-impeachment-mccarthy-hannity-78e4c7efeb030b29e1576f868257179b">made his most direct remarks yet</a>&nbsp;that GOP lawmakers could launch an impeachment inquiry into Biden over unproven claims of financial misconduct related to Hunter Biden, the president's son. However, the California Republican has acknowledged privately that it's too soon to know whether the president was aware of — much less involved in — his son's financial dealings in a way that would rise to the level of impeachable conduct.

While McCarthy publicly floated the inquiry this week, the White House has engaged little with those efforts, instead focused on promoting “Bidenomics" and the president's domestic agenda. Aides have repeatedly played down any inquiry as a hypothetical and pointed out the hesitation among&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/kevin-mccarthy">McCarthy's</a>&nbsp;own ranks about pursuing impeachment against the president.

“We're not going to get into what House Republicans want to do, may not do, hypotheticals, that's on them,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Air Force One en route to Maine earlier Friday. “What I can speak to is exactly what we're doing today, right? We're going to Maine. We're going to be able to talk about an issue that matters to Americans: investing in America, manufacturing, bringing good union-paying jobs back to America.”

Indeed, that was the focus of the White House on Friday, as Biden used the trip to Maine to sign an executive order that would encourage companies to manufacture new inventions in the United States. It was Biden's first trip to the state as president.

“I'm not here to declare victory on the economy. We have more work to do,” Biden said. But “we have a plan for turning things around. ‘Bidenomics’ is just another way of saying restoring the American dream.”

The Democrat&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-joe-biden-donald-trump-elections-maine-23bf8249bea27763dcfdae77f5bd611f">won three out of the state's four electoral votes</a>&nbsp;in 2020 and is seeking to shore up his support in the state. Maine allocates its electoral votes by congressional district, and Biden lost the vote in the state's 2nd District, which provided the only electoral vote in New England for then-President Donald Trump, a Republican.

By going to that district on Friday, Biden sought to show its blue-collar voters that he's committed to them, as a single electoral vote could be critical in a narrow&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2024-presidential-candidates-who-is-running-e89fbfee94e7e7980594a9ce3994fec7">2024 presidential election</a>.

Democrats can compete in Maine's 2nd District as Rep. Jared Golden has been its congressman since 2019. But Golden has also been one of the Democratic lawmakers who has openly criticized Biden over his handling of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/president-joe-biden-kevin-mccarthy-debt-limit-aee6d1dd48f53bedadfe1212e231f48f">debt limit talks</a>&nbsp;this year and the administration's forgiveness of student debt that has since been&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-student-loan-forgiveness-borrowers-76423b2951d89074cbb78f14b24af105">overturned by the Supreme Court</a>. Despite distancing himself from the White House on some policies, Golden traveled with Biden on Air Force One on Friday.

And shortly before Biden spoke at Auburn Manufacturing Inc., Golden noted to the audience that “it's no secret” he doesn't always agree with the president's agenda but that he “proudly” supports Bidenomics.

Republicans have said that Biden's policies have led to higher inflation. Consumer prices climbed to a four-decade high last summer, but&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/inflation-prices-interest-rates-economy-federal-reserve-53d93610b5ccaacd097853593f29bc26">inflation has eased</a>&nbsp;over the past 12 months to a rate of 3% annually.

“&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-economy-bidenomics-jobs-speech-inflation-1fcefdcbb66cb980db85b24accdfbaa6">Bidenomics</a>&nbsp;is hurting working people in my district," said Maine state Rep. Joshua Morris, a Republican. "The cost of groceries, heating oil, gas, health care and electricity have gone up as a result of Joe Biden’s policies. He should be apologizing to us while he’s here, not bragging.”

The National Republican Congressional Committee went on the attack against Golden, calling him “Joe Biden's loyal foot soldier” who had backed inflation-boosting policies earlier in his presidency.

The White House outlined the executive order being signed by Biden, which would improve the transparency of federal research and development programs to meet the administration's goals for&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-technology-democracy-congress-government-and-politics-46c5be6252376e5018163d6647f2cfe8">domestic manufacturing</a>. The order asks agencies to weigh U.S. national security and economic interests when determining if domestic manufacturing requirements should be broadened.

The order also urges federal agencies to consider domestic production when investing in research and development and to use their own legal authorities to encourage manufacturing new technologies in the U.S. But when goods cannot be made in the U.S., the order instructs the Commerce Department to create a clearer and timelier process for receiving a waiver.

<a href="https://apnews.com/4cb4f3c0b1e94c9eb6d923640c6fa140">Auburn Manufacturing Inc.</a>, where Biden spoke Friday, is a maker of heat- and fire-resistant fabrics for industries that include shipbuilding, oil refining and electricity generation. The company challenged China for its unfair trade practices regarding amorphous silica fabric, or ASF, which is a heat-resistant material.

Biden was also scheduled to appear at a fundraiser in Freeport, Maine, later Friday.

AUBURN, Maine (AP) —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/joe-biden">President Joe Biden</a>&nbsp;— buoyed by new signs the economy is continuing on the upswing — took a swipe on Friday at House Republicans' flirtations with an impeachment inquiry, quipping that GOP lawmakers may decide to impeach him because&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/inflation-prices-federal-reserve-interest-rates-economy-c48791d3e506b30b643cedec34bab290">inflation is cooling down</a>.(click below to watch the President's comments)<div><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?height=314&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FWhiteHouse%2Fvideos%2F647526017316344%2F&show_text=false&width=560&t=661" width="560" height="314" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowFullScreen="true"></iframe></div>Standing in a textile manufacturing facility in Auburn Biden pointed to inflation statistics that showed the U.S. has the lowest rate of price increases among the world's biggest economies. Though he was careful to say he was not taking a victory lap on the economy, Biden suggested that his Republican opponents in Congress may need to find a fresh line of attack against him because of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-bidenomics-jobs-inflation-8d03a90a06b566e441f0b3f2284cd6a9">improving economic circumstances</a>.“Maybe they’ll decide to impeach me because it’s coming down,” Biden said. “I don’t know. I'd love that one.”Earlier this week, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-impeachment-mccarthy-hannity-78e4c7efeb030b29e1576f868257179b">made his most direct remarks yet</a>&nbsp;that GOP lawmakers could launch an impeachment inquiry into Biden over unproven claims of financial misconduct related to Hunter Biden, the president's son. However, the California Republican has acknowledged privately that it's too soon to know whether the president was aware of — much less involved in — his son's financial dealings in a way that would rise to the level of impeachable conduct.While McCarthy publicly floated the inquiry this week, the White House has engaged little with those efforts, instead focused on promoting “Bidenomics" and the president's domestic agenda. Aides have repeatedly played down any inquiry as a hypothetical and pointed out the hesitation among&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/kevin-mccarthy">McCarthy's</a>&nbsp;own ranks about pursuing impeachment against the president.“We're not going to get into what House Republicans want to do, may not do, hypotheticals, that's on them,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Air Force One en route to Maine earlier Friday. “What I can speak to is exactly what we're doing today, right? We're going to Maine. We're going to be able to talk about an issue that matters to Americans: investing in America, manufacturing, bringing good union-paying jobs back to America.”Indeed, that was the focus of the White House on Friday, as Biden used the trip to Maine to sign an executive order that would encourage companies to manufacture new inventions in the United States. It was Biden's first trip to the state as president.“I'm not here to declare victory on the economy. We have more work to do,” Biden said. But “we have a plan for turning things around. ‘Bidenomics’ is just another way of saying restoring the American dream.”The Democrat&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-joe-biden-donald-trump-elections-maine-23bf8249bea27763dcfdae77f5bd611f">won three out of the state's four electoral votes</a>&nbsp;in 2020 and is seeking to shore up his support in the state. Maine allocates its electoral votes by congressional district, and Biden lost the vote in the state's 2nd District, which provided the only electoral vote in New England for then-President Donald Trump, a Republican.By going to that district on Friday, Biden sought to show its blue-collar voters that he's committed to them, as a single electoral vote could be critical in a narrow&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2024-presidential-candidates-who-is-running-e89fbfee94e7e7980594a9ce3994fec7">2024 presidential election</a>.Democrats can compete in Maine's 2nd District as Rep. Jared Golden has been its congressman since 2019. But Golden has also been one of the Democratic lawmakers who has openly criticized Biden over his handling of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/president-joe-biden-kevin-mccarthy-debt-limit-aee6d1dd48f53bedadfe1212e231f48f">debt limit talks</a>&nbsp;this year and the administration's forgiveness of student debt that has since been&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-student-loan-forgiveness-borrowers-76423b2951d89074cbb78f14b24af105">overturned by the Supreme Court</a>. Despite distancing himself from the White House on some policies, Golden traveled with Biden on Air Force One on Friday.And shortly before Biden spoke at Auburn Manufacturing Inc., Golden noted to the audience that “it's no secret” he doesn't always agree with the president's agenda but that he “proudly” supports Bidenomics.Republicans have said that Biden's policies have led to higher inflation. Consumer prices climbed to a four-decade high last summer, but&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/inflation-prices-interest-rates-economy-federal-reserve-53d93610b5ccaacd097853593f29bc26">inflation has eased</a>&nbsp;over the past 12 months to a rate of 3% annually.“&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-economy-bidenomics-jobs-speech-inflation-1fcefdcbb66cb980db85b24accdfbaa6">Bidenomics</a>&nbsp;is hurting working people in my district," said Maine state Rep. Joshua Morris, a Republican. "The cost of groceries, heating oil, gas, health care and electricity have gone up as a result of Joe Biden’s policies. He should be apologizing to us while he’s here, not bragging.”The National Republican Congressional Committee went on the attack against Golden, calling him “Joe Biden's loyal foot soldier” who had backed inflation-boosting policies earlier in his presidency.The White House outlined the executive order being signed by Biden, which would improve the transparency of federal research and development programs to meet the administration's goals for&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-technology-democracy-congress-government-and-politics-46c5be6252376e5018163d6647f2cfe8">domestic manufacturing</a>. The order asks agencies to weigh U.S. national security and economic interests when determining if domestic manufacturing requirements should be broadened.The order also urges federal agencies to consider domestic production when investing in research and development and to use their own legal authorities to encourage manufacturing new technologies in the U.S. But when goods cannot be made in the U.S., the order instructs the Commerce Department to create a clearer and timelier process for receiving a waiver.<a href="https://apnews.com/4cb4f3c0b1e94c9eb6d923640c6fa140">Auburn Manufacturing Inc.</a>, where Biden spoke Friday, is a maker of heat- and fire-resistant fabrics for industries that include shipbuilding, oil refining and electricity generation. The company challenged China for its unfair trade practices regarding amorphous silica fabric, or ASF, which is a heat-resistant material.Biden was also scheduled to appear at a fundraiser in Freeport, Maine, later Friday.___

🎥Biden jokes Republicans may impeach him because inflation cooling

WASHINGTON – Heartland Tri-State Bank of Elkhart, Kansas, was closed Friday by the Kansas Office of the State Bank Commissioner, which appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) as receiver, according to a media release from the FDIC.

To protect depositors, the FDIC entered into a purchase and assumption agreement with Dream First Bank, National Association, of Syracuse, Kansas, to assume all of the deposits of Heartland Tri-State Bank.

The bank has four branches including a location at 116 South Lincoln in Arlington; 601 Morton in Elkhart; 114 North Main in Attica and 212 Washington in Rolla.

The four branches will reopen as branches of Dream First Bank, National Association, on Monday, July 31, under normal business hours. 

Over the weekend, depositors of Heartland Tri-State Bank can access their money by writing checks or using ATM or debit cards. Checks drawn on the bank will continue to be processed. Loan customers should continue to make their payments as usual.

Depositors of Heartland Tri-State Bank will become depositors of Dream First Bank, National Association, so customers do not need to change their banking relationship in order to retain their deposit insurance coverage. Customers of Heartland Tri-State Bank should continue to use their existing branch until they receive notice from Dream First Bank, National Association, that it has completed systems changes to allow its branch offices to process their accounts as well.

As of March 31, 2023, Heartland Tri-State Bank had approximately $139 million in total assets and $130 million in total deposits. In addition to assuming all of the deposits, Dream First Bank, National Association, agreed to purchase essentially all of the failed bank’s assets.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/7/1690597696044.png" alt="Google image" />
 <figcaption>Google image</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON – Heartland Tri-State Bank of Elkhart, Kansas, was closed Friday by the Kansas Office of the State Bank Commissioner, which appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) as receiver, according to a media release from the FDIC.To protect depositors, the FDIC entered into a purchase and assumption agreement with Dream First Bank, National Association, of Syracuse, Kansas, to assume all of the deposits of Heartland Tri-State Bank.The bank has four branches including a location at 116 South Lincoln in Arlington; 601 Morton in Elkhart; 114 North Main in Attica and 212 Washington in Rolla.The four branches will reopen as branches of Dream First Bank, National Association, on Monday, July 31, under normal business hours. Over the weekend, depositors of Heartland Tri-State Bank can access their money by writing checks or using ATM or debit cards. Checks drawn on the bank will continue to be processed. Loan customers should continue to make their payments as usual.Depositors of Heartland Tri-State Bank will become depositors of Dream First Bank, National Association, so customers do not need to change their banking relationship in order to retain their deposit insurance coverage. Customers of Heartland Tri-State Bank should continue to use their existing branch until they receive notice from Dream First Bank, National Association, that it has completed systems changes to allow its branch offices to process their accounts as well.As of March 31, 2023, Heartland Tri-State Bank had approximately $139 million in total assets and $130 million in total deposits. In addition to assuming all of the deposits, Dream First Bank, National Association, agreed to purchase essentially all of the failed bank’s assets.The FDIC and Dream First Bank, National Association, are also entering into a commercial&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fdic.gov/resources/resolutions/bank-failures/failed-bank-list/lossshare/">shared-loss agreement</a>&nbsp;on the loans it purchased of the former Heartland Tri-State Bank. The FDIC as receiver and Dream First Bank, National Association, will share in the losses and potential recoveries on the loans covered by the shared-loss agreement, which is projected to maximize recoveries on the assets by keeping them in the private sector. The agreement is also expected to minimize disruptions for loan customers.Customers with questions about the transaction should call the FDIC toll-free at 1-866-431-1725. The phone number will be operational this evening until 9:00 p.m. Central Time (CT); on Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. CT; on Sunday from noon to 6:00 p.m. CT; on Monday from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. CT; and thereafter from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. CT. Interested parties also can&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fdic.gov/resources/resolutions/bank-failures/failed-bank-list/heartlandtristate.html">visit the FDIC’s website</a>.The FDIC estimates that the cost to the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fdic.gov/resources/deposit-insurance/deposit-insurance-fund/">Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF)</a>&nbsp;will be $54.2 million. Compared to other alternatives, Dream First Bank, National Association’s, acquisition was the least costly resolution for the DIF, an insurance fund created by Congress in 1933 and managed by the FDIC to protect the deposits at the nation’s banks.This is the fifth U.S. bank failure of 2023, following the collapse of First Republic Bank, Signature Bank, Silicon Valley Bank and Silvergate Bank. There were no bank failures the past two years.