WASHINGTON (AP) — The threat of a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/government-shutdown-congress-biden-trump-mccarthy-f1b06964cf549b09977677e5f70bf9ff">federal government shutdown</a>&nbsp;suddenly lifted late Saturday hours before a midnight deadline as Congress approved a temporary funding bill to keep agencies open and sent the measure to President Joe Biden to become law.

The rushed package drops&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/zelenskyy-biden-washington-visit-congress-ukraine-war-1d20574fb3ea4fb5efcc7db5458a33a3#:~:text=WASHINGTON%20(AP)%20%E2%80%94%20President%20Volodymyr,troops%20in%20the%20fight%20against">aid to Ukraine</a>, a White House priority opposed by a growing number of GOP lawmakers, but increases&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/wildfire-hurricane-flooding-fema-disaster-relief-budget-365fc3acd6a12c1f8e67b4926c8dc8b2">federal disaster assistance by $16 billion,</a>&nbsp;meeting Biden’s full request. The bill funds government until Nov. 17.

After chaotic days of turmoil in the House, Speaker Kevin McCarthy abruptly abandoned demands for steep spending cuts from his right flank and instead relied on Democrats to pass the bill, at risk to his own job. The Senate followed with final passage closing a whirlwind day at the Capitol.

“This is good news for the American people,” Biden said in a statement.

He also said the United States “cannot under any circumstances allow American support for Ukraine to be interrupted" and expected McCarthy "will keep his commitment to the people of Ukraine and secure passage of the support needed to help Ukraine at this critical moment."

It’s been a sudden head-spinning turn of events in Congress after days of House chaos pushed the government to the brink of a disruptive federal shutdown.

The outcome ends, for now, the threat of a shutdown, but the reprieve may be short lived. Congress will again need to fund the government in coming weeks risking a crisis as views are hardening, particularly among the right-flank lawmakers whose demands were ultimately swept aside this time in favor of a more bipartisan approach.

“We’re going to do our job,” McCarthy, R-Calif., said before the House vote. “We’re going to be adults in the room. And we’re going to keep government open.”

If no deal was in place before Sunday,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/shutdown-gop-federal-workers-congress-government-5978a4c7411eba06261d16c3aff3dfc5">federal workers would have faced furloughs</a>, more than 2 million active-duty and reserve military troops would have had to work without pay and programs and services that Americans rely on from coast to coast would have&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/government-shutdown-snap-benefits-loans-travel-97b3a3b30624704da6eb204837a9135c">begun to face shutdown disruptions</a>.

“It has been a day full of twists and turns, but the American people can breathe a sigh of relief: There will be no government shutdown," said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.

The package funds government at current 2023 levels until mid-November, and also extends other provisions, including for the Federal Aviation Administration. The package was approved by the House 335-91, with most Republicans and almost all Democrats supporting. Senate passage came by an 88-9 vote.&nbsp;Kansas Senator Jerry Moran voted in favor of the measure along with Missouri Senators Josh Hawley and Eric Schmitt and Nebraska Senators Deb Fischer and Pete Ricketts. Kansas Senator Roger Marshall voted against the bill.

But the loss of Ukraine aid was devastating for lawmakers of both parties vowing to support President&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/zelenskyy-biden-washington-visit-congress-ukraine-war-1d20574fb3ea4fb5efcc7db5458a33a3">Volodymyr Zelenskyy</a>&nbsp;after his recent Washington visit. The Senate bill included $6 billion for Ukraine, and both chambers came to a standstill Saturday as lawmakers assessed their options.

"The American people deserve better," said House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York, warning in a lengthy floor speech that “extreme" Republicans were risking a shutdown.

For the House package to be approved, McCarthy, R-Calif., was forced to rely on Democrats because the speaker's hard-right flank has said it will oppose any short-term funding measure, denying him the votes needed from his slim majority. It's a move that risks his job amid calls for his ouster.

After leaving his the conservative holdouts behind, McCarthy is almost certain to be facing a motion to try to remove from office, though it is not at all certain there would be enough votes to topple the speaker. Most Republicans voted for the package Saturday while 90 opposed.

"If somebody wants to remove me because I want to be the adult in the room, go ahead and try,” McCarthy said of the threat to oust him. “But I think this country is too important.”

The White House was tracking the developments on Capitol Hill and aides were briefing the president, who was spending the weekend in Washington.

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, who has championed Ukraine aid despite resistance from his own ranks, is expected to keep pursuing U.S. support for Kyiv in the fight against Russia.

"I have agreed to keep fighting for more economic and security aid for Ukraine,” McConnell, R-Ky., said before the vote.

Late at night, the Senate came to a standstill when Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., held up the vote, seeking assurances Ukraine funds would be reconsidered.

“I know important moments are like this, for the United States, to lead the rest of the world,” Bennet said, noting his mother was born in Poland in 1938 and survived the Holocaust. “We can’t fail.”

The House's quick pivot comes after the collapse Friday of McCarthy's earlier plan to pass a Republican-only bill with steep spending cuts up to 30% to most government agencies that the White House and Democrats rejected as too extreme.

"Our options are slipping away every minute,” said one senior Republican, Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart of Florida.

The federal government was heading&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/government-shutdown-congress-biden-trump-mccarthy-f1b06964cf549b09977677e5f70bf9ff">straight into a shutdown</a>&nbsp;that posed grave uncertainty for federal workers in states all across America and the people who depend on them — from troops to border control agents to office workers, scientists and others.

Families that rely on Head Start for children, food benefits and countless other programs large and small were&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/government-shutdown-snap-benefits-loans-travel-97b3a3b30624704da6eb204837a9135c">confronting potential interruptions or outright closures</a>. At the airports, Transportation Security Administration officers and air traffic controllers are expected to work without pay, but travelers could face delays in updating their U.S. passports or other travel documents.

An earlier McCarthy plan to keep the government open collapsed Friday due to opposition from a faction of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/government-shutdown-votes-mccarthy-gop-caucus-gaetz-585c82607c00c2cfc45768faff6e1cda">21 hard-right holdouts</a>&nbsp;despite steep spending cuts of nearly 30% to many agencies and severe border security provisions.

The White House has brushed aside McCarthy's overtures to meet with Biden after the speaker walked away from the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-debt-ceiling-budget-signing-f78a000d83cf85ffbaa2d08637844053#:~:text=Washington%20News-,Biden%20signs%20debt%20ceiling%20bill%20that%20pulls,from%20brink%20of%20unprecedented%20default&amp;text=WASHINGTON%20(AP)%20%E2%80%94%20With%20just,on%20the%20federal%20government's%20debt.">debt deal</a>&nbsp;they brokered earlier this year that set budget levels.

Catering to his hard-right flank, McCarthy had made multiple concessions including returning to the spending limits the conservatives demanded back in January as part of the deal-making to help him&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-united-states-house-of-representatives-kevin-mccarthy-us-republican-party-0938c7358f41c83759246f8949ac7c15">become the House speaker</a>.

But it was not enough as the right flank insisted the House follow regular rules, and debate and approve each of the 12 separate spending bills needed to fund the government agencies, typically a months-long process.

McCarthy’s chief Republican critic, Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, has warned he will file a motion calling a vote to oust the speaker.

Some of the Republican holdouts, including Gaetz, are allies of former President Donald Trump, who is Biden's chief rival in the 2024 race. Trump has been encouraging the Republicans to fight hard for their priorities and even to “shut it down.”

At an early closed-door meeting at the Capitol, several House Republicans, particularly those facing tough reelections next year, urged their colleagues to find a way to prevent a shutdown.

“All of us have a responsibility to lead and to govern,” said Republican Rep. Mike Lawler of New York.

The lone House Democrat to vote against the package, Rep. Mike Quigley of Illinois, the co-chair of the Congressional Ukraine Caucus, said, “Protecting Ukraine is in our national interest.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/9/1696122590629.png" alt="“We’re going to do our job,” House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said before the House vote. “We’re going to be adults in the room. And we’re going to keep government open.” photo courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>“We’re going to do our job,” House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said before the House vote. “We’re going to be adults in the room. And we’re going to keep government open.” photo courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — The threat of a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/government-shutdown-congress-biden-trump-mccarthy-f1b06964cf549b09977677e5f70bf9ff">federal government shutdown</a>&nbsp;suddenly lifted late Saturday hours before a midnight deadline as Congress approved a temporary funding bill to keep agencies open and sent the measure to President Joe Biden to become law.The rushed package drops&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/zelenskyy-biden-washington-visit-congress-ukraine-war-1d20574fb3ea4fb5efcc7db5458a33a3#:~:text=WASHINGTON%20(AP)%20%E2%80%94%20President%20Volodymyr,troops%20in%20the%20fight%20against">aid to Ukraine</a>, a White House priority opposed by a growing number of GOP lawmakers, but increases&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/wildfire-hurricane-flooding-fema-disaster-relief-budget-365fc3acd6a12c1f8e67b4926c8dc8b2">federal disaster assistance by $16 billion,</a>&nbsp;meeting Biden’s full request. The bill funds government until Nov. 17.After chaotic days of turmoil in the House, Speaker Kevin McCarthy abruptly abandoned demands for steep spending cuts from his right flank and instead relied on Democrats to pass the bill, at risk to his own job. The Senate followed with final passage closing a whirlwind day at the Capitol.“This is good news for the American people,” Biden said in a statement.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Tonight, Congress voted to keep the government open, preventing an unnecessary crisis that would have inflicted needless pain on millions of hardworking Americans. This is good news, but I want to be clear: we should never have been in this position in the first place. <a href="https://t.co/U28kaX11Rq">pic.twitter.com/U28kaX11Rq</a>&mdash; President Biden (@POTUS) <a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1708290185505419283?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 1, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>He also said the United States “cannot under any circumstances allow American support for Ukraine to be interrupted" and expected McCarthy "will keep his commitment to the people of Ukraine and secure passage of the support needed to help Ukraine at this critical moment."It’s been a sudden head-spinning turn of events in Congress after days of House chaos pushed the government to the brink of a disruptive federal shutdown.The outcome ends, for now, the threat of a shutdown, but the reprieve may be short lived. Congress will again need to fund the government in coming weeks risking a crisis as views are hardening, particularly among the right-flank lawmakers whose demands were ultimately swept aside this time in favor of a more bipartisan approach.“We’re going to do our job,” McCarthy, R-Calif., said before the House vote. “We’re going to be adults in the room. And we’re going to keep government open.”If no deal was in place before Sunday,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/shutdown-gop-federal-workers-congress-government-5978a4c7411eba06261d16c3aff3dfc5">federal workers would have faced furloughs</a>, more than 2 million active-duty and reserve military troops would have had to work without pay and programs and services that Americans rely on from coast to coast would have&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/government-shutdown-snap-benefits-loans-travel-97b3a3b30624704da6eb204837a9135c">begun to face shutdown disruptions</a>.“It has been a day full of twists and turns, but the American people can breathe a sigh of relief: There will be no government shutdown," said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.The package funds government at current 2023 levels until mid-November, and also extends other provisions, including for the Federal Aviation Administration. The package was approved by the House 335-91, with most Republicans and almost all Democrats supporting. Senate passage came by an 88-9 vote.&nbsp;Kansas Senator Jerry Moran voted in favor of the measure along with Missouri Senators Josh Hawley and Eric Schmitt and Nebraska Senators Deb Fischer and Pete Ricketts. Kansas Senator Roger Marshall voted against the bill.But the loss of Ukraine aid was devastating for lawmakers of both parties vowing to support President&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/zelenskyy-biden-washington-visit-congress-ukraine-war-1d20574fb3ea4fb5efcc7db5458a33a3">Volodymyr Zelenskyy</a>&nbsp;after his recent Washington visit. The Senate bill included $6 billion for Ukraine, and both chambers came to a standstill Saturday as lawmakers assessed their options."The American people deserve better," said House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York, warning in a lengthy floor speech that “extreme" Republicans were risking a shutdown.For the House package to be approved, McCarthy, R-Calif., was forced to rely on Democrats because the speaker's hard-right flank has said it will oppose any short-term funding measure, denying him the votes needed from his slim majority. It's a move that risks his job amid calls for his ouster.After leaving his the conservative holdouts behind, McCarthy is almost certain to be facing a motion to try to remove from office, though it is not at all certain there would be enough votes to topple the speaker. Most Republicans voted for the package Saturday while 90 opposed."If somebody wants to remove me because I want to be the adult in the room, go ahead and try,” McCarthy said of the threat to oust him. “But I think this country is too important.”The White House was tracking the developments on Capitol Hill and aides were briefing the president, who was spending the weekend in Washington.Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, who has championed Ukraine aid despite resistance from his own ranks, is expected to keep pursuing U.S. support for Kyiv in the fight against Russia."I have agreed to keep fighting for more economic and security aid for Ukraine,” McConnell, R-Ky., said before the vote.Late at night, the Senate came to a standstill when Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., held up the vote, seeking assurances Ukraine funds would be reconsidered.“I know important moments are like this, for the United States, to lead the rest of the world,” Bennet said, noting his mother was born in Poland in 1938 and survived the Holocaust. “We can’t fail.”The House's quick pivot comes after the collapse Friday of McCarthy's earlier plan to pass a Republican-only bill with steep spending cuts up to 30% to most government agencies that the White House and Democrats rejected as too extreme."Our options are slipping away every minute,” said one senior Republican, Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart of Florida.The federal government was heading&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/government-shutdown-congress-biden-trump-mccarthy-f1b06964cf549b09977677e5f70bf9ff">straight into a shutdown</a>&nbsp;that posed grave uncertainty for federal workers in states all across America and the people who depend on them — from troops to border control agents to office workers, scientists and others.Families that rely on Head Start for children, food benefits and countless other programs large and small were&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/government-shutdown-snap-benefits-loans-travel-97b3a3b30624704da6eb204837a9135c">confronting potential interruptions or outright closures</a>. At the airports, Transportation Security Administration officers and air traffic controllers are expected to work without pay, but travelers could face delays in updating their U.S. passports or other travel documents.An earlier McCarthy plan to keep the government open collapsed Friday due to opposition from a faction of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/government-shutdown-votes-mccarthy-gop-caucus-gaetz-585c82607c00c2cfc45768faff6e1cda">21 hard-right holdouts</a>&nbsp;despite steep spending cuts of nearly 30% to many agencies and severe border security provisions.The White House has brushed aside McCarthy's overtures to meet with Biden after the speaker walked away from the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-debt-ceiling-budget-signing-f78a000d83cf85ffbaa2d08637844053#:~:text=Washington%20News-,Biden%20signs%20debt%20ceiling%20bill%20that%20pulls,from%20brink%20of%20unprecedented%20default&amp;text=WASHINGTON%20(AP)%20%E2%80%94%20With%20just,on%20the%20federal%20government's%20debt.">debt deal</a>&nbsp;they brokered earlier this year that set budget levels.Catering to his hard-right flank, McCarthy had made multiple concessions including returning to the spending limits the conservatives demanded back in January as part of the deal-making to help him&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-united-states-house-of-representatives-kevin-mccarthy-us-republican-party-0938c7358f41c83759246f8949ac7c15">become the House speaker</a>.But it was not enough as the right flank insisted the House follow regular rules, and debate and approve each of the 12 separate spending bills needed to fund the government agencies, typically a months-long process.McCarthy’s chief Republican critic, Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, has warned he will file a motion calling a vote to oust the speaker.Some of the Republican holdouts, including Gaetz, are allies of former President Donald Trump, who is Biden's chief rival in the 2024 race. Trump has been encouraging the Republicans to fight hard for their priorities and even to “shut it down.”At an early closed-door meeting at the Capitol, several House Republicans, particularly those facing tough reelections next year, urged their colleagues to find a way to prevent a shutdown.“All of us have a responsibility to lead and to govern,” said Republican Rep. Mike Lawler of New York.The lone House Democrat to vote against the package, Rep. Mike Quigley of Illinois, the co-chair of the Congressional Ukraine Caucus, said, “Protecting Ukraine is in our national interest.”

Congress averts government shutdown passing short-term funding bill

ST. CLAIR, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri high school teacher says she has been placed on leave after officials discovered that she was performing on a pornography website to supplement her salary.

Brianna Coppage, 28, who taught English at St. Clair High School, says her teaching days are probably over, but she acknowledged she knew the risks.

Coppage&nbsp;<a href="https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/education/missouri-teacher-on-leave-after-school-district-discovers-her-onlyfans-porn-page/article_92ef5c4a-5e2e-11ee-b8be-d716acce2ff8.html#tracking-source=home-top-story">told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch</a>&nbsp;that she was put on leave on Wednesday after being interviewed by two administrators. Her access to school email and other software was suspended while the district investigates, she said.

“It was kind of always like this cloud hanging over my head, like I never knew when I would be discovered,” Coppage said in an interview. “Then, about two weeks ago, my husband and I were told that people were finding out about it. So I knew this day was coming.”

Superintendent Kyle Kruse said in a statement that the district was “recently notified that an employee may have posted inappropriate media on one or more internet sites.”

“The district has engaged legal counsel to conduct a comprehensive investigation into this matter,” Kruse wrote. “Actions taken as a result of the investigation will be in accordance with board policy and with guidance from legal counsel.”

St. Clair is about 55 miles southwest of St. Louis. The high school has about 750 students.

Coppage said she joined the OnlyFans website over the summer to supplement her salary as a second-year teacher. She taught English to freshmen and sophomores and made about $42,000 last year, according to the newspaper's public pay database. She said she’s earned an additional $8,000 to $10,000 per month performing on OnlyFans.

Coppage said she chose the site because its content is available only to subscribers and she thought it would help protect her identity. She said she didn't know how the district learned of her account. She insisted no content was filmed or posted while she was on school grounds.

“I’m very aware that I am probably never going to teach again, but that was kind of the risk I knew I was taking. I am sad about that. I do miss my students,” she said.

But Coppage said her account has gained about 100 new subscribers since word began to surface. She has more than doubled her subscription price and plans to continue posting on the site.

“I do not regret joining OnlyFans. I know it can be taboo, or some people may believe that it is shameful, but I don’t think sex work has to be shameful,” Coppage said. “I do just wish things just happened in a different way.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/9/1696082330307.png" alt="Brianna Coppage-photo Courtesy St. Clair School District" />
 <figcaption>Brianna Coppage-photo Courtesy St. Clair School District</figcaption>
 </figure>ST. CLAIR, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri high school teacher says she has been placed on leave after officials discovered that she was performing on a pornography website to supplement her salary.Brianna Coppage, 28, who taught English at St. Clair High School, says her teaching days are probably over, but she acknowledged she knew the risks.Coppage&nbsp;<a href="https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/education/missouri-teacher-on-leave-after-school-district-discovers-her-onlyfans-porn-page/article_92ef5c4a-5e2e-11ee-b8be-d716acce2ff8.html#tracking-source=home-top-story">told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch</a>&nbsp;that she was put on leave on Wednesday after being interviewed by two administrators. Her access to school email and other software was suspended while the district investigates, she said.“It was kind of always like this cloud hanging over my head, like I never knew when I would be discovered,” Coppage said in an interview. “Then, about two weeks ago, my husband and I were told that people were finding out about it. So I knew this day was coming.”Superintendent Kyle Kruse said in a statement that the district was “recently notified that an employee may have posted inappropriate media on one or more internet sites.”“The district has engaged legal counsel to conduct a comprehensive investigation into this matter,” Kruse wrote. “Actions taken as a result of the investigation will be in accordance with board policy and with guidance from legal counsel.”St. Clair is about 55 miles southwest of St. Louis. The high school has about 750 students.Coppage said she joined the OnlyFans website over the summer to supplement her salary as a second-year teacher. She taught English to freshmen and sophomores and made about $42,000 last year, according to the newspaper's public pay database. She said she’s earned an additional $8,000 to $10,000 per month performing on OnlyFans.Coppage said she chose the site because its content is available only to subscribers and she thought it would help protect her identity. She said she didn't know how the district learned of her account. She insisted no content was filmed or posted while she was on school grounds.“I’m very aware that I am probably never going to teach again, but that was kind of the risk I knew I was taking. I am sad about that. I do miss my students,” she said.But Coppage said her account has gained about 100 new subscribers since word began to surface. She has more than doubled her subscription price and plans to continue posting on the site.“I do not regret joining OnlyFans. I know it can be taboo, or some people may believe that it is shameful, but I don’t think sex work has to be shameful,” Coppage said. “I do just wish things just happened in a different way.”

Teacher put on leave after school discovers her page on porn site

GRAY COUNTY – A year has passed since the Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI), the Meade County Sheriff's Office, and the Gray County Sheriff's Office began investigating the disappearance of Richard Salisbury, of Plains, Kansas, according to the Kansas Bureau of Investigation.

Richard Salisbury is a white male who was 55-years-old when he was last seen on Sept. 20, 2022, in rural Gray County, Kansas. He would now be 56.

Salisbury is 6 foot 1 inch tall, weighs approximately 220 pounds. Salisbury has brown hair, brown eyes, and facial hair. He has a tattoo of a tomahawk and feathers on his left shoulder. He was last known wearing a gray shirt with red letters, a gray baseball cap, jeans, and sunglasses. He had been living in Plains, Kansas, in Meade County, for around three months. Prior to that, he lived in the Austin, Texas area.

If you have any information about the disappearance of Richard Salisbury, contact the KBI at 1-800-KS-CRIME, the Meade County Sheriff's Office at 620-873-8765, the Gray County Sheriff's Office at 620-855-3916, or submit a tip online at https://www.kbi.ks.gov/sar.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/9/1695926964987.png" alt="&nbsp;" />
 <figcaption>&nbsp;</figcaption>
 </figure>GRAY COUNTY – A year has passed since the Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI), the Meade County Sheriff's Office, and the Gray County Sheriff's Office began investigating the disappearance of Richard Salisbury, of Plains, Kansas, according to the Kansas Bureau of Investigation.Richard Salisbury is a white male who was 55-years-old when he was last seen on Sept. 20, 2022, in rural Gray County, Kansas. He would now be 56.Salisbury is 6 foot 1 inch tall, weighs approximately 220 pounds. Salisbury has brown hair, brown eyes, and facial hair. He has a tattoo of a tomahawk and feathers on his left shoulder. He was last known wearing a gray shirt with red letters, a gray baseball cap, jeans, and sunglasses. He had been living in Plains, Kansas, in Meade County, for around three months. Prior to that, he lived in the Austin, Texas area.If you have any information about the disappearance of Richard Salisbury, contact the KBI at 1-800-KS-CRIME, the Meade County Sheriff's Office at 620-873-8765, the Gray County Sheriff's Office at 620-855-3916, or submit a tip online at https://www.kbi.ks.gov/sar.

One year later, search continues for missing SW Kansas man

KANSAS CITY—One person died in an accident Saturday in Kansas City.

According to KC Police Captain Corey Carlisle, a man on a small motorbike was riding across the park at North Indiana and East 55th Street. There was a deep ditch that the driver apparently did not see. 

The motorbike traveled into the ditch and the driver was ejected, striking his head. He was not wearing a helmet. He was pronounced dead at the scene, according to Carlisle. The exact time of the crash is unknown.&nbsp; Police did not release the man's name.

KANSAS CITY—One person died in an accident Saturday in Kansas City.According to KC Police Captain Corey Carlisle, a man on a small motorbike was riding across the park at North Indiana and East 55th Street. There was a deep ditch that the driver apparently did not see. The motorbike traveled into the ditch and the driver was ejected, striking his head. He was not wearing a helmet. He was pronounced dead at the scene, according to Carlisle. The exact time of the crash is unknown.&nbsp; Police did not release the man's name.

KC man dies after ejected when motorbike travels into ditch

PHELPS COUNTY —Inmates Steven Timothy Scott and Jonathan Eugene Schmidt O'Dell both managed to escape from the jail in Phelps County, according to the FBI in Kansas City. Scott later turning himself to authorities. 

Law enforcement continue to search for33-year-old Schmidt O'Dell. He is described as a white male, 6-feet-1 inches tall and weighs approximately 200 pounds with brown hair, blue eyes and a full beard at the time of his booking. 

He may have shaved his beard to disguise his identity. He was last seen wearing a maroon-colored shirt with a Phelps County logo and brown slacks with a tan stripe.

Just after 11p.m. Friday the two inmates at the Phelps County Jail escaped by comprising the structural integrity of the cell and exiting the building. 

O'Dell is facing federal charges. According to a federal indictment O'Dell planned to travel to Texas to shoot at illegal immigrants who crossed into the U.S. from Mexico. The indictment also alleges he planned to murder officers and employees of U.S. Border Patrol who attempted to stop him.

As a reminder, anyone who aids a wanted fugitive could be subject to serious charges.

Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Jonathan O'Dell is asked to call 9-1-1 as soon as possible.  For non-emergency tips, please call our command post at (573) 426-3886.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/9/1696102076107.png" alt="What escaped Phelps County Jail inmate O'Dell looked like without his beard. Call 911 is you see him." />
 <figcaption>What escaped Phelps County Jail inmate O'Dell looked like without his beard. Call 911 is you see him.</figcaption>
 </figure>PHELPS COUNTY —Inmates Steven Timothy Scott and Jonathan Eugene Schmidt O'Dell both managed to escape from the jail in Phelps County, according to the FBI in Kansas City. Scott later turning himself to authorities. Law enforcement continue to search for33-year-old Schmidt O'Dell. He is described as a white male, 6-feet-1 inches tall and weighs approximately 200 pounds with brown hair, blue eyes and a full beard at the time of his booking. He may have shaved his beard to disguise his identity. He was last seen wearing a maroon-colored shirt with a Phelps County logo and brown slacks with a tan stripe.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/9/1696102787994.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Just after 11p.m. Friday the two inmates at the Phelps County Jail escaped by comprising the structural integrity of the cell and exiting the building. O'Dell is facing federal charges. According to a federal indictment O'Dell planned to travel to Texas to shoot at illegal immigrants who crossed into the U.S. from Mexico. The indictment also alleges he planned to murder officers and employees of U.S. Border Patrol who attempted to stop him.As a reminder, anyone who aids a wanted fugitive could be subject to serious charges.Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Jonathan O'Dell is asked to call 9-1-1 as soon as possible. For non-emergency tips, please call our command post at (573) 426-3886.

FBI: 2 inmates escape from county jail in Missouri

Appellate court upholds trial court rulings, financial penalties of $178,000

BY: TIM CARPENTER <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/">Kansas Reflector</a>

TOPEKA — The Kansas Court of Appeals rejected arguments of a Kansas hog producer who challenged trespassing and nuisance verdicts as well as $178,000 in damage awards against him for defiantly installing without permission 2 miles of underground pipe in the right-of-way of his neighbors’ property.

A Phillips County District Court jury and judge found farmer Terry Nelson, who has a history of contesting environmental orders of state regulators, built the pipeline despite objections of property owners, the sheriff and a county attorney. The pipes were installed by Nelson to move effluent generated at confined feeding facilities to farm fields where it would be applied as a fertilizer with a pivot irrigation system.

Plaintiff Rodney Ross said that when he confronted Nelson in 2017 about the yet-unfinished pipeline, Nelson made it clear he wouldn’t be deterred. Ross said Nelson scolded him: “I have done this before. I will do this again. And, you can’t stop me.”

Nelson began using his pipeline in 2019. In certain wind conditions, sewage pumped through irrigation gear would drift to the Ross home and leave the exterior covered with flies. It made the house’s inside so foul smelling it was uninhabitable. In response to a lawsuit filed by Ross and the second lead plaintiff Laura Field, Nelson allegedly increased the amount of hog waste applied to fields via the pipeline.

After a seven-day trial in 2021, the district court ordered Nelson to pay Ross and Field $63,360 each for trespassing on their property to install the pipe. Ross separately sought relief under state nuisance law in response to Nelson allowing watered-down animal feces to infiltrate his property. Ross was awarded $2,000 in actual damages and $50,000 in punitive damages due to errant spraying of sewage.

“After carefully reviewing the record and the parties’ arguments, we find that Nelson has not shown any error in the proceedings before the district court,” said Kansas Court of Appeals Judge Sarah Warner, who wrote for Judges Angela Coble, Rachel Pickering and herself. “We thus affirm the judgment against the defendants.”

The three-judge appellate panel, all appointees of Gov. Laura Kelly, issued a 40-page opinion in August affirming the district court’s findings and rejecting the entirety of Nelson’s legal arguments. Nelson ceased using the pipes to get rid of liquified hog manure.

Nelson, who filed a countersuit seeking $75,000, sought reversal of the district court through the Court of Appeals. His attorneys claimed District Court Judge Preston Pratt incorrectly interpretated a series of state laws. In part, Nelson’s counsel alleged the judge improperly assessed the intersection of property rights, criminal statute and the Kansas Right to Farm Act.

In 2022, Kansas House members and agriculture lobbying groups were unsuccessful in an attempt to build support for legislation that would have helped farmers such as Nelson who sought installation of pipelines in right-of-way of property owned by someone else.

Advocates of the reform bill said the district court decision threatened application of the Right to Farm law enacted decades ago to limit the reach of agricultural lawsuits.

Meanwhile, Nelson has been a known commodity to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. The agency wrestled with Nelson after he built hog feeding facilities in Norton and Phillips counties without state permits and ignored cease-and-desist orders to pause work until properly authorized. In 2018, Nelson managed to negotiate the original $147,000 fine issued by KDHE down to $34,000.

In the hog-waste legal dispute, the district and appellate courts concluded evidence showed Nelson didn’t follow county permitting practices on installation of a pipeline. The courts said neither Ross or Field nor government officials gave Nelson approval to lay pipe on that right-of-way.

Nelson also admitted the pipe he put in the ground didn’t comply with thickness requirements adopted in 1999, the Court of Appeals said.

The Court of Appeals didn’t endorse Nelson’s claim he had a legitimate public purpose for accessing right-of-way to bury pipe on property owned by neighbors. Nelson contended the public benefit was that he raised pigs that would eventually be sold to the public as pork products.

Of significance to farmers across Kansas, Nelson lost arguments in both courts that the Right to Farm Act should have derailed the suit brought by Ross and Field. The law was designed to immunize agricultural activities initiated prior to encroachment by urban and suburban populations into traditionally rural areas. However, Ross lived on his property for many years before the pipeline was constructed.

The courts said legal protection under the Right to Far Act sought by Nelson didn’t apply when farming practices in question failed to meet federal, state or local laws, rules and regulations. In the Nelson case, the district court concluded Nelson broke state law.

“The district court’s decision accurately and ably synthesized the caselaw on trespass,” the Court of Appeals said. “If a private person wants to install a pipeline in the right-of-way of a public highway, that pipeline must serve a public purpose — like providing a utility to the community.”

“Without a public purpose, the person must have permission to install the pipeline,” the appellate judges said. “Depending on the nature of the installation and the property, this permission may be granted by the abutting landowners or the Legislature. Nelson installed pipes for a private purpose and had no permission from the landowners or the Legislature.”

In addition, the Court of Appeals said the lower court’s assessment of $50,000 in punitive damages against Nelson on Ross’ nuisance claim “was not inappropriate or constitutionally excessive.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/7/1562343189353.jpeg" alt="&nbsp;The Kansas Court of Appeals affirmed a lower-court decision that hog farmer Terry Nelson violated trespass and nuisance laws by using the right-of-way on neighbors' property to build a pipeline to transport swine waste for distribution on farm fields. The appellate court also let stand $178,000 in actual and punitive damages against Nelson- file photo" />
 <figcaption>&nbsp;The Kansas Court of Appeals affirmed a lower-court decision that hog farmer Terry Nelson violated trespass and nuisance laws by using the right-of-way on neighbors' property to build a pipeline to transport swine waste for distribution on farm fields. The appellate court also let stand $178,000 in actual and punitive damages against Nelson- file photo</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>Appellate court upholds trial court rulings, financial penalties of $178,000</h2>BY: TIM CARPENTER <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/">Kansas Reflector</a>TOPEKA — The Kansas Court of Appeals rejected arguments of a Kansas hog producer who challenged trespassing and nuisance verdicts as well as $178,000 in damage awards against him for defiantly installing without permission 2 miles of underground pipe in the right-of-way of his neighbors’ property.A Phillips County District Court jury and judge found farmer Terry Nelson, who has a history of contesting environmental orders of state regulators, built the pipeline despite objections of property owners, the sheriff and a county attorney. The pipes were installed by Nelson to move effluent generated at confined feeding facilities to farm fields where it would be applied as a fertilizer with a pivot irrigation system.Plaintiff Rodney Ross said that when he confronted Nelson in 2017 about the yet-unfinished pipeline, Nelson made it clear he wouldn’t be deterred. Ross said Nelson scolded him: “I have done this before. I will do this again. And, you can’t stop me.”Nelson began using his pipeline in 2019. In certain wind conditions, sewage pumped through irrigation gear would drift to the Ross home and leave the exterior covered with flies. It made the house’s inside so foul smelling it was uninhabitable. In response to a lawsuit filed by Ross and the second lead plaintiff Laura Field, Nelson allegedly increased the amount of hog waste applied to fields via the pipeline.After a seven-day trial in 2021, the district court ordered Nelson to pay Ross and Field $63,360 each for trespassing on their property to install the pipe. Ross separately sought relief under state nuisance law in response to Nelson allowing watered-down animal feces to infiltrate his property. Ross was awarded $2,000 in actual damages and $50,000 in punitive damages due to errant spraying of sewage.“After carefully reviewing the record and the parties’ arguments, we find that Nelson has not shown any error in the proceedings before the district court,” said Kansas Court of Appeals Judge Sarah Warner, who wrote for Judges Angela Coble, Rachel Pickering and herself. “We thus affirm the judgment against the defendants.”<h2>Broad considerations</h2>The three-judge appellate panel, all appointees of Gov. Laura Kelly, issued a 40-page opinion in August affirming the district court’s findings and rejecting the entirety of Nelson’s legal arguments. Nelson ceased using the pipes to get rid of liquified hog manure.Nelson, who filed a countersuit seeking $75,000, sought reversal of the district court through the Court of Appeals. His attorneys claimed District Court Judge Preston Pratt incorrectly interpretated a series of state laws. In part, Nelson’s counsel alleged the judge improperly assessed the intersection of property rights, criminal statute and the Kansas Right to Farm Act.In 2022, Kansas House members and agriculture lobbying groups were unsuccessful in an attempt to build support for legislation that would have helped farmers such as Nelson who sought installation of pipelines in right-of-way of property owned by someone else.Advocates of the reform bill said the district court decision threatened application of the Right to Farm law enacted decades ago to limit the reach of agricultural lawsuits.Meanwhile, Nelson has been a known commodity to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. The agency wrestled with Nelson after he built hog feeding facilities in Norton and Phillips counties without state permits and ignored cease-and-desist orders to pause work until properly authorized. In 2018, Nelson managed to negotiate the original $147,000 fine issued by KDHE down to $34,000.<h2>Ross, Field v. Nelson</h2>In the hog-waste legal dispute, the district and appellate courts concluded evidence showed Nelson didn’t follow county permitting practices on installation of a pipeline. The courts said neither Ross or Field nor government officials gave Nelson approval to lay pipe on that right-of-way.Nelson also admitted the pipe he put in the ground didn’t comply with thickness requirements adopted in 1999, the Court of Appeals said.The Court of Appeals didn’t endorse Nelson’s claim he had a legitimate public purpose for accessing right-of-way to bury pipe on property owned by neighbors. Nelson contended the public benefit was that he raised pigs that would eventually be sold to the public as pork products.Of significance to farmers across Kansas, Nelson lost arguments in both courts that the Right to Farm Act should have derailed the suit brought by Ross and Field. The law was designed to immunize agricultural activities initiated prior to encroachment by urban and suburban populations into traditionally rural areas. However, Ross lived on his property for many years before the pipeline was constructed.The courts said legal protection under the Right to Far Act sought by Nelson didn’t apply when farming practices in question failed to meet federal, state or local laws, rules and regulations. In the Nelson case, the district court concluded Nelson broke state law.“The district court’s decision accurately and ably synthesized the caselaw on trespass,” the Court of Appeals said. “If a private person wants to install a pipeline in the right-of-way of a public highway, that pipeline must serve a public purpose — like providing a utility to the community.”“Without a public purpose, the person must have permission to install the pipeline,” the appellate judges said. “Depending on the nature of the installation and the property, this permission may be granted by the abutting landowners or the Legislature. Nelson installed pipes for a private purpose and had no permission from the landowners or the Legislature.”In addition, the Court of Appeals said the lower court’s assessment of $50,000 in punitive damages against Nelson on Ross’ nuisance claim “was not inappropriate or constitutionally excessive.”

Kansas farmer loses appeal in bizarre trespass, nuisance case tied to disposal of hog effluent

TEMPE, Arizona (AP) — President Joe Biden issued one of his most dire warnings yet that Donald Trump and his allies are a menace to American democracy, declaring Thursday that the former president is more interested in personal power than upholding the nation's core values and suggesting even mainstream Republicans are complicit.

During a speech in Arizona celebrating a library to be built honoring his friend and fierce Trump critic, the late Republican Sen. John McCain, Biden repeated one of his key campaign themes, branding the “Make America Great Again” movement as an existential threat to the U.S. political system. He's reviving that idea ahead of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/hunter-biden-impeachment-inquiry-house-republicans-51576c5fe4294be2605a14fa81075196">next year’s presidential race</a>&nbsp;after it buoyed Democrats during last fall’s midterm election, laying out the threat in especially stark terms: "There's something dangerous happening in America right now.”

“We should all remember, democracies don’t have to die at the end of a rifle," Biden said. "They can die when people are silent, when they fail to stand up or condemn threats to democracy, when people are willing to give away that which is most precious to them because they feel frustrated, disillusioned, tired, alienated.”

The 2024 election is still more than a year away, yet&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-trump-2024-election-president-republican-debate-5ecec325ce60121bf38a94b63c1dd388">Biden’s focus reflects Trump’s status</a>&nbsp;as the undisputed frontrunner for his party’s nomination despite facing four indictments, two of them related to his attempts to overturn Biden’s 2020 victory.

The president's speech was his fourth in a series of addresses on what he sees as challenges to democracy, a topic that is a touchstone for him as he tries to remain in office in the face of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-economy-poll-trump-2024-c3fc17ffe3e1a9c865e2f9627ef4bea4">low approval ratings</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-age-poll-trump-2024-620e0a5cfa0039a6448f607c17c7f23e">widespread concern from voters about his age</a>, 80.

He used this line of political attack frequently ahead of last year’s midterms, when Democrats gained a Senate seat and only narrowly lost the House to the GOP. But shifting the narrative in Washington could be especially tricky given that Biden is facing mounting pressure on Capitol Hill, where House Republicans held&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/hunter-biden-impeachment-inquiry-house-republicans-51576c5fe4294be2605a14fa81075196">the first hearing in their impeachment inquiry</a>&nbsp;and where the prospect of a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/government-shutdown">government shutdown</a>&nbsp;looms — a prospect Trump has actively egged on.

On the first anniversary of Jan. 6, 2021, when a mob of Trump supporters&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/capitol-siege">staged an insurrection</a>, Biden visited the Capitol and accused Trump of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/jan-6-capitol-siege-biden-congress-3dd8fd804c857c23f8e0fe2324c9d8a4">continuing to hold a “dagger” at democracy’s throat</a>. He closed out the summer that year in the shadow of Philadelphia’s Independence Hall,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-biden-donald-trump-presidential-philadelphia-5d0f7c02df093f0d3a3340474a53be4b">decrying Trumpism as a menace to democratic</a>&nbsp;institutions.

And in November, as voters were casting midterm ballots,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-biden-democracy-anita-dunn-government-and-politics-16c8a7f93e6d1718bd794671d186bed3">Biden again sounded a clarion call</a>&nbsp;to protect democratic institutions.

Advisers see the president's continued focus on democracy as both good policy and good politics. Campaign officials have pored over the election results from last November, when candidates who&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-donald-trump-race-and-ethnicity-e825e069640f1c89063210c39cd92ae4">denied the 2020 election results</a>&nbsp;did not fare well in competitive races, and point to polling that showed democracy was a highly&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-donald-trump-democracy-c3425635e40dd60c1ec7c1adba9fcc3a">motivating issue for voters in 2022</a>.

“Our task, our sacred task of our time, is to make sure that they change not for the worst but for the better, that democracy survives and thrives, not be smashed by a movement more interested in power than a principle,” Biden said Thursday. “It’s up to us, the American people.”

Like previous speeches the latest location was chosen for effect. It was near Arizona State University, which houses the McCain Institute, named after the late senator, the 2008 Republican presidential nominee who spent his public life denouncing autocrats around the globe.

Biden said that “there is no question that today’s Republican Party is driven and intimidated by MAGA extremists." He pointed to Trump's recent suggestion that Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff who is stepping down from his post on Friday, should be executed for allegedly treasonous betrayal of him.

“Although I don’t believe even a majority of Republicans think that, the silence is deafening," Biden added. He also noted that Trump has previously questioned those who serve in the U.S. military calling “service members suckers and losers. Was John a sucker?” Biden asked, referring to McCain, who survived long imprisonment in Vietnam.

Then he got even more personal adding, "Was my son, Beau — who lived next to a burn pit for a year and came home and died — was he a sucker for volunteering to serve his country?”

The late senator’s wife, Cindy McCain, said the library, which is still to be built, grew out of bipartisan support from Biden, Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs and her predecessor, Republican Gov. Doug Ducey. She called it “a fitting legacy for my husband” and recalled how the Bidens introduced her to her future husband decades ago.

“I am so grateful for that,” Cindy McCain said, her voice cracking.

Later Thursday, the Treasury Department announced $83 million in federal funds to help construct the 83,000-square-foot library near Papago Park.

Republicans competing with Trump for their party's 2024 presidential nomination have largely avoided challenging his election falsehoods, and Biden said Thursday that voters can't let them get away with it.

“Democracy is not a partisan issue," he said. "It’s An American issue.”

After the speech, Biden spoke at an Arizona fundraiser for his reelection campaign. The attendees included Brittney Griner, the basketball star who was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-entertainment-sports-moscow-brittney-griner-7b2cfe5f9726c8620251e85ad5aa6bc9">arrested last year</a>&nbsp;at the airport in Moscow on drug-related charges and detained for nearly 10 months.

A number of candidates who backed Trump’s election lies and were running for statewide offices with some influence over elections — governor, secretary of state, attorney general —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-donald-trump-race-and-ethnicity-e825e069640f1c89063210c39cd92ae4">lost their midterm races</a>&nbsp;in every presidential battleground state.

Still, in few states does Biden’s message of democracy resonate more than in Arizona, which became&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-presidential-censures-phoenix-donald-trump-5cccb6b2ba8d47eda24826ad5623dc36">politically competitive during Trump’s presidency</a>&nbsp;after seven decades of Republican dominance. Biden's victory made the state a hotbed of efforts to overturn or cast doubt on the results, and some GOP candidates continue to deny basic facts on elections.

That's help reinforce other claims from Democrats about GOP extremism on other, separate issues, said Republican officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to candidly describe the party’s election shortcomings last year. Though Trump-animated forces in the party dominate public attention, many Republican voters were concerned about other issues such as the economy and the border and did not want to focus on an election result that was two years old.

Republican state lawmakers used their subpoena power to obtain all the 2020 ballots and vote-counting machines from Maricopa County, then hired Trump supporters to conduct an&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/arizona-election-recount-b38a9205c306796f914d62bbad601587">unprecedented partisan review</a>&nbsp;of the election. The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/arizona-5179ca25963431ae137a86ef999a69c2">widely mocked spectacle</a><a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-elections-arizona-phoenix-conspiracy-theories-d38321441bcd6cea58421f6871b4f74e">confirmed Biden’s victory</a>&nbsp;but fueled unfounded conspiracy theories about the election and spurred an exodus of election workers.

In the midterms, voters up and down the ballot rejected Republican candidates who repeatedly denied the results of the 2020 election. But Kari Lake, the GOP gubernatorial candidate, has&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-kari-lake-katie-hobbs-arizona-862fcc3bea34bd46b697f5ba0ea41bce">never conceded her loss</a>&nbsp;to Hobbs and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/kari-lake-senate-arizona-sinema-gallego-trump-b5b4432a2df99c605800edad4ab73194">plans to launch</a>&nbsp;a bid for the U.S. Senate. Last year, Republican Senate candidate Blake Masters and Mark Finchem, who ran for secretary of state, also repeated fraudulent election claims in their campaigns.

Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., who defeated Masters, said the importance of defending democracy resonates not only with members of his own party but independents and moderate GOP voters.

“I met so many Republicans that were sick and tired of the lies about an election that was two years old,” Kelly said.

Arizona Rep. Ruben Gallego, who is seeking the Democratic nomination in next year’s Senate race, said a democracy-focused message is particularly important to two critical blocs of voters in the state: Latinos and veterans, both of whom Gallego said are uniquely affected by election denialism and the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection.

"You know, we come from countries and experiences where democracy is very corrupt, and many of us are only one generation removed from that, but we’re close enough to see how bad it can be," Gallego said. "And so Jan. 6 actually was particularly jarring, I think, to Latinos.”

TEMPE, Arizona (AP) — President Joe Biden issued one of his most dire warnings yet that Donald Trump and his allies are a menace to American democracy, declaring Thursday that the former president is more interested in personal power than upholding the nation's core values and suggesting even mainstream Republicans are complicit.“The silence is deafening,” he said.<div><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?height=314&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FWhiteHouse%2Fvideos%2F272361895765938%2F&show_text=false&width=560&t=464" 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>During a speech in Arizona celebrating a library to be built honoring his friend and fierce Trump critic, the late Republican Sen. John McCain, Biden repeated one of his key campaign themes, branding the “Make America Great Again” movement as an existential threat to the U.S. political system. He's reviving that idea ahead of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/hunter-biden-impeachment-inquiry-house-republicans-51576c5fe4294be2605a14fa81075196">next year’s presidential race</a>&nbsp;after it buoyed Democrats during last fall’s midterm election, laying out the threat in especially stark terms: "There's something dangerous happening in America right now.”“We should all remember, democracies don’t have to die at the end of a rifle," Biden said. "They can die when people are silent, when they fail to stand up or condemn threats to democracy, when people are willing to give away that which is most precious to them because they feel frustrated, disillusioned, tired, alienated.”The 2024 election is still more than a year away, yet&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-trump-2024-election-president-republican-debate-5ecec325ce60121bf38a94b63c1dd388">Biden’s focus reflects Trump’s status</a>&nbsp;as the undisputed frontrunner for his party’s nomination despite facing four indictments, two of them related to his attempts to overturn Biden’s 2020 victory.The president's speech was his fourth in a series of addresses on what he sees as challenges to democracy, a topic that is a touchstone for him as he tries to remain in office in the face of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-economy-poll-trump-2024-c3fc17ffe3e1a9c865e2f9627ef4bea4">low approval ratings</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-age-poll-trump-2024-620e0a5cfa0039a6448f607c17c7f23e">widespread concern from voters about his age</a>, 80.He used this line of political attack frequently ahead of last year’s midterms, when Democrats gained a Senate seat and only narrowly lost the House to the GOP. But shifting the narrative in Washington could be especially tricky given that Biden is facing mounting pressure on Capitol Hill, where House Republicans held&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/hunter-biden-impeachment-inquiry-house-republicans-51576c5fe4294be2605a14fa81075196">the first hearing in their impeachment inquiry</a>&nbsp;and where the prospect of a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/government-shutdown">government shutdown</a>&nbsp;looms — a prospect Trump has actively egged on.On the first anniversary of Jan. 6, 2021, when a mob of Trump supporters&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/capitol-siege">staged an insurrection</a>, Biden visited the Capitol and accused Trump of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/jan-6-capitol-siege-biden-congress-3dd8fd804c857c23f8e0fe2324c9d8a4">continuing to hold a “dagger” at democracy’s throat</a>. He closed out the summer that year in the shadow of Philadelphia’s Independence Hall,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-biden-donald-trump-presidential-philadelphia-5d0f7c02df093f0d3a3340474a53be4b">decrying Trumpism as a menace to democratic</a>&nbsp;institutions.And in November, as voters were casting midterm ballots,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-biden-democracy-anita-dunn-government-and-politics-16c8a7f93e6d1718bd794671d186bed3">Biden again sounded a clarion call</a>&nbsp;to protect democratic institutions.Advisers see the president's continued focus on democracy as both good policy and good politics. Campaign officials have pored over the election results from last November, when candidates who&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-donald-trump-race-and-ethnicity-e825e069640f1c89063210c39cd92ae4">denied the 2020 election results</a>&nbsp;did not fare well in competitive races, and point to polling that showed democracy was a highly&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-donald-trump-democracy-c3425635e40dd60c1ec7c1adba9fcc3a">motivating issue for voters in 2022</a>.“Our task, our sacred task of our time, is to make sure that they change not for the worst but for the better, that democracy survives and thrives, not be smashed by a movement more interested in power than a principle,” Biden said Thursday. “It’s up to us, the American people.”Like previous speeches the latest location was chosen for effect. It was near Arizona State University, which houses the McCain Institute, named after the late senator, the 2008 Republican presidential nominee who spent his public life denouncing autocrats around the globe.Biden said that “there is no question that today’s Republican Party is driven and intimidated by MAGA extremists." He pointed to Trump's recent suggestion that Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff who is stepping down from his post on Friday, should be executed for allegedly treasonous betrayal of him.“Although I don’t believe even a majority of Republicans think that, the silence is deafening," Biden added. He also noted that Trump has previously questioned those who serve in the U.S. military calling “service members suckers and losers. Was John a sucker?” Biden asked, referring to McCain, who survived long imprisonment in Vietnam.Then he got even more personal adding, "Was my son, Beau — who lived next to a burn pit for a year and came home and died — was he a sucker for volunteering to serve his country?”The late senator’s wife, Cindy McCain, said the library, which is still to be built, grew out of bipartisan support from Biden, Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs and her predecessor, Republican Gov. Doug Ducey. She called it “a fitting legacy for my husband” and recalled how the Bidens introduced her to her future husband decades ago.“I am so grateful for that,” Cindy McCain said, her voice cracking.Later Thursday, the Treasury Department announced $83 million in federal funds to help construct the 83,000-square-foot library near Papago Park.Republicans competing with Trump for their party's 2024 presidential nomination have largely avoided challenging his election falsehoods, and Biden said Thursday that voters can't let them get away with it.“Democracy is not a partisan issue," he said. "It’s An American issue.”After the speech, Biden spoke at an Arizona fundraiser for his reelection campaign. The attendees included Brittney Griner, the basketball star who was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-entertainment-sports-moscow-brittney-griner-7b2cfe5f9726c8620251e85ad5aa6bc9">arrested last year</a>&nbsp;at the airport in Moscow on drug-related charges and detained for nearly 10 months.A number of candidates who backed Trump’s election lies and were running for statewide offices with some influence over elections — governor, secretary of state, attorney general —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-donald-trump-race-and-ethnicity-e825e069640f1c89063210c39cd92ae4">lost their midterm races</a>&nbsp;in every presidential battleground state.Still, in few states does Biden’s message of democracy resonate more than in Arizona, which became&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-presidential-censures-phoenix-donald-trump-5cccb6b2ba8d47eda24826ad5623dc36">politically competitive during Trump’s presidency</a>&nbsp;after seven decades of Republican dominance. Biden's victory made the state a hotbed of efforts to overturn or cast doubt on the results, and some GOP candidates continue to deny basic facts on elections.That's help reinforce other claims from Democrats about GOP extremism on other, separate issues, said Republican officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to candidly describe the party’s election shortcomings last year. Though Trump-animated forces in the party dominate public attention, many Republican voters were concerned about other issues such as the economy and the border and did not want to focus on an election result that was two years old.Republican state lawmakers used their subpoena power to obtain all the 2020 ballots and vote-counting machines from Maricopa County, then hired Trump supporters to conduct an&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/arizona-election-recount-b38a9205c306796f914d62bbad601587">unprecedented partisan review</a>&nbsp;of the election. The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/arizona-5179ca25963431ae137a86ef999a69c2">widely mocked spectacle</a><a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-elections-arizona-phoenix-conspiracy-theories-d38321441bcd6cea58421f6871b4f74e">confirmed Biden’s victory</a>&nbsp;but fueled unfounded conspiracy theories about the election and spurred an exodus of election workers.In the midterms, voters up and down the ballot rejected Republican candidates who repeatedly denied the results of the 2020 election. But Kari Lake, the GOP gubernatorial candidate, has&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-kari-lake-katie-hobbs-arizona-862fcc3bea34bd46b697f5ba0ea41bce">never conceded her loss</a>&nbsp;to Hobbs and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/kari-lake-senate-arizona-sinema-gallego-trump-b5b4432a2df99c605800edad4ab73194">plans to launch</a>&nbsp;a bid for the U.S. Senate. Last year, Republican Senate candidate Blake Masters and Mark Finchem, who ran for secretary of state, also repeated fraudulent election claims in their campaigns.Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., who defeated Masters, said the importance of defending democracy resonates not only with members of his own party but independents and moderate GOP voters.“I met so many Republicans that were sick and tired of the lies about an election that was two years old,” Kelly said.Arizona Rep. Ruben Gallego, who is seeking the Democratic nomination in next year’s Senate race, said a democracy-focused message is particularly important to two critical blocs of voters in the state: Latinos and veterans, both of whom Gallego said are uniquely affected by election denialism and the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection."You know, we come from countries and experiences where democracy is very corrupt, and many of us are only one generation removed from that, but we’re close enough to see how bad it can be," Gallego said. "And so Jan. 6 actually was particularly jarring, I think, to Latinos.”

🎥Biden offered dire warnings about Trump, mainstream republicans

SEDGWICK COUNTY — A Kansas man accused in a 16-year-old sex assault cause as due to be formally charged this week.&nbsp;

The arraignment for 52-year-old Ted Foy was delayed until October 24 at the request of the defense attorney, according to the Sedgwick County. District Attorney's office.

In May, the district attorney charged Foy charged with aggravated criminal sodomy, rape, aggravated sexual battery, and attempted rape.

In November of 2007, police were dispatched to a reported sex assault case at 1900 S Tara Falls in Wichita, according to Officer Kris Gupilan.

Investigators learned that a suspect later identified as Foy had broken into a home and sexually assaulted a female victim. Investigators worked to identify a suspect but were unable to despite exhausting all available resources at the time.

In a collaboration with the Air Force Office of Special Investigations Cold Case Team and the Sedgwick County Regional Forensic Science Center, Wichita Police Investigators were able to utilize genealogical investigative techniques to assist them in identifying a potential suspect.

The suspect’s identity was confirmed through DNA as Ted Foy and on May 1, police arrested him. He remains in jail on a $500,000 bond.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/5/1682984799056.png" alt="Foy-photo Sedgwick County" />
 <figcaption>Foy-photo Sedgwick County</figcaption>
 </figure>SEDGWICK COUNTY — A Kansas man accused in a 16-year-old sex assault cause as due to be formally charged this week.&nbsp;The arraignment for 52-year-old Ted Foy was delayed until October 24 at the request of the defense attorney, according to the Sedgwick County. District Attorney's office.In May, the district attorney charged Foy charged with aggravated criminal sodomy, rape, aggravated sexual battery, and attempted rape.In November of 2007, police were dispatched to a reported sex assault case at 1900 S Tara Falls in Wichita, according to Officer Kris Gupilan.Investigators learned that a suspect later identified as Foy had broken into a home and sexually assaulted a female victim. Investigators worked to identify a suspect but were unable to despite exhausting all available resources at the time.In a collaboration with the Air Force Office of Special Investigations Cold Case Team and the Sedgwick County Regional Forensic Science Center, Wichita Police Investigators were able to utilize genealogical investigative techniques to assist them in identifying a potential suspect.The suspect’s identity was confirmed through DNA as Ted Foy and on May 1, police arrested him. He remains in jail on a $500,000 bond.

Arraignment in 16-year-old Kansas sex assault case delayed 

KANSAS CITY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a shooting and stabbing incident. 

Just after 6p.m. Friday, police responded to report of a stabbing in the area of S. Osage Street and E. 40th Terrace in Independence, according to a media release.

 The suspect in the stabbing fled the scene on foot, southbound, crossing Interstate 70 and entering a neighborhood.&nbsp; A disturbance with the stabbing suspect and a resident in the neighborhood broke out in the 4200 Block of S. Osage, resulting in the suspect shooting and killing one person and shooting and injuring another. 

The suspect then fled the area in a vehicle. The stabbing victim and second shooting victim were transported to an area hospital, according to police.

KANSAS CITY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a shooting and stabbing incident. Just after 6p.m. Friday, police responded to report of a stabbing in the area of S. Osage Street and E. 40th Terrace in Independence, according to a media release. The suspect in the stabbing fled the scene on foot, southbound, crossing Interstate 70 and entering a neighborhood.&nbsp; A disturbance with the stabbing suspect and a resident in the neighborhood broke out in the 4200 Block of S. Osage, resulting in the suspect shooting and killing one person and shooting and injuring another. The suspect then fled the area in a vehicle. The stabbing victim and second shooting victim were transported to an area hospital, according to police.The search for the suspect continues.

KC-area stabbing suspect shot, killed man as he fled crime scene

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. Sen.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/dianne-feinstein">Dianne Feinstein</a>&nbsp;of California, a centrist Democrat and champion of liberal causes who was elected to the Senate in 1992 and broke gender barriers throughout her long career in local and national politics, has died. She was 90.

On social media, senior members of the Kansas and Missouri Senate delegations issued statements.

Feinstein died on Thursday night at her home in Washington, D.C., her office said on Friday. Opening the Senate floor, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced that “earlier this morning, we lost a giant in the Senate.”

“Dianne Feinstein was one of the most amazing people who ever graced the Senate, who ever graced the country,” Schumer said, his voice cracking. “As the nation mourns this tremendous loss, we know how many lives she impacted and how many glass ceilings she shattered along the way.”

President Joe Biden, who served with Feinstein for years in the Senate, called her “a pioneering American,” a “true trailblazer” and a “cherished friend."

California Gov. Gavin Newsom will appoint a temporary replacement, and there is sure to be a spirited battle to succeed her.

Feinstein,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/05590483a95246c19f6f4cf2d68c6d4b">the oldest</a>&nbsp;sitting U.S. senator, was a passionate advocate for liberal priorities important to her state -- including environmental protection, reproductive rights and gun control -- but was also known as a pragmatic lawmaker who reached out to Republicans and sought middle ground.

Her death came after a bout of shingles sidelined her for more than two months earlier this year — an absence that drew frustration from her most liberal critics and launched an unsuccessful attempt by Democrats to temporarily replace her on the Senate Judiciary Committee. When she returned to the Senate in May, she was frail and using a wheelchair, voting only occasionally.

On Friday morning, her Senate desk was draped in black and topped with a vase of white roses. Senators gave tearful tributes as members of the California House delegation stood in the back of the chamber and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi sat in the gallery with Feinstein’s daughter, Katherine.

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell was one of several Republicans who gave tributes to the Democratic icon, calling her his friend. “Dianne was a trailblazer, and her beloved home state of California and our entire nation are better for her dogged advocacy and diligent service,” McConnell said.

Biden said in a statement, “Dianne made her mark on everything from national security to the environment to protecting civil liberties. "Our country will benefit from her legacy for generations.”

She was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1969 and became its first female board president in 1978, the year Mayor George Moscone was gunned down alongside Supervisor Harvey Milk at City Hall by Dan White, a disgruntled former supervisor. Feinstein found Milk’s body.

After Moscone’s death, Feinstein became San Francisco's first female mayor. In the Senate, she was one of California’s first two female senators, the first woman to head the Senate Intelligence Committee and the first woman to serve as the Judiciary Committee’s top Democrat.

Although Feinstein was not always embraced by the feminist movement, her experiences colored her outlook through her five decades in politics.

"I recognize that women have had to fight for everything they have gotten, every right," she told The Associated Press in 2005, as the Judiciary Committee prepared to hold hearings on President George W. Bush's nomination of John Roberts to replace Sandra Day O'Connor on&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/us-supreme-court">the Supreme Court</a>.

"So I must tell you, I try to look out for women's rights. I also try to solve problems as I perceive them, with legislation, and reaching out where I can, and working across the aisle," she said.

Feinstein's bipartisan efforts helped her notch legislative wins throughout her career. But it also proved to be a liability in her later years in Congress, as her state became more liberal and as the Senate and the electorate became increasingly polarized.

A fierce debater who did not suffer fools, the California senator was long known for her verbal zingers and sharp comebacks when challenged on the issues about which she was most fervent. But she lost that edge in her later years in the Senate, as her health visibly declined and she sometimes became confused when answering questions or speaking publicly. In February 2023, she said she would not run for a sixth term the next year. And within weeks of that announcement, she was absent for the Senate for more than two months as she recovered from a bout of shingles.

Amid the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/dianne-feinstein-fall-hospital-31a1358e1c25839b45bb699d83c75d58">concerns about her health</a>, Feinstein stepped down as the top Democrat on the Judiciary panel after the 2020 elections, just as her party was about to take the majority. In 2023, she said she would not serve as the Senate president pro tempore, or the most senior member of the majority party, even though she was in line to do so. The president pro tempore opens the Senate every day and holds other ceremonial duties.

One of Feinstein’s most significant legislative accomplishments was early in her career, when the Senate approved her amendment to ban manufacturing and sales of certain types of assault weapons as part of a crime bill that President Bill Clinton signed into law in 1994. Though the assault weapons ban expired 10 years later and was never renewed or replaced, it was a poignant win after her career had been significantly shaped by gun violence.

Feinstein remembered finding Milk’s body, her finger slipping into a bullet hole as she felt for a pulse. It was a story she would retell often in the years ahead as she pushed for stricter gun control measures.

She had little patience for Republicans and others who opposed her on that issue, though she was often challenged. In 1993, during debate on the assault weapons ban, Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, accused her of having an insufficient knowledge of guns and the gun control issue.

Feinstein spoke fiercely of the violence she’d lived through in San Francisco and retorted: ''Senator, I know something about what firearms can do.”

Two decades later, after 20 children and six educators were killed in a horrific school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, first-term Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas similarly challenged Feinstein during debate on legislation that would have permanently banned the weapons.

"I'm not a sixth grader,” Feinstein snapped back at the much younger Cruz — a moment that later went viral. She added: "It's fine you want to lecture me on the Constitution. I appreciate it. Just know I've been here a long time."

Feinstein became mayor of San Francisco after the 1978 slayings of Moscone and Milk, leading the city during one of the most turbulent periods in its history. Even her critics credited Feinstein with a calming influence, and she won reelection on her own to two four-year terms.

With her success and growing recognition statewide came visibility on the national political stage.

In 1984, Feinstein was viewed as a vice presidential possibility for Walter Mondale but faced questions about the business dealings of her husband, Richard Blum. In 1990, she used news footage of her announcement of the assassinations of Moscone and Milk in a television ad that helped her win the Democratic nomination for California governor, making her the first female major-party gubernatorial nominee in the state's history.

Although she narrowly lost the general election to Republican Pete Wilson, the stage was set for her election to the Senate two years later to fill the Senate seat Wilson had vacated to run for governor.

Feinstein campaigned jointly with Barbara Boxer, who was running for the state's other U.S. Senate seat, and both won, benefiting from positive news coverage and excitement over their historic race. California had never had a female U.S. senator, and female candidates and voters had been galvanized by the Supreme Court hearings in which the all-male Senate Judiciary Committee questioned Anita Hill about her sexual harassment allegations against nominee Clarence Thomas.

Feinstein was appointed to the Judiciary panel and eventually the Senate Intelligence Committee, becoming the chairperson in 2009. She was the first woman to lead the intelligence panel, a high-profile perch that gave her a central oversight role over U.S. intelligence controversies, setbacks and triumphs, from the killing of Osama bin Laden to leaks about National Security Agency surveillance.

Under Feinstein’s leadership, the intelligence committee conducted a wide-ranging, five-year investigation into CIA interrogation techniques during President George W. Bush’s administration, including waterboarding of terrorism suspects at secret overseas prisons. The resulting 6,300-page “torture report” concluded among other things that waterboarding and other "enhanced interrogation techniques" did not provide key evidence in the hunt for bin Laden. A 525-page executive summary was released in late 2014, but the rest of the report has remained classified.

The Senate investigation was full of intrigue at the time, including documents that mysteriously disappeared and accusations traded between the Senate and the CIA that the other was stealing information. The drama was captured in a 2019 movie about the investigation called “The Report,” and actor Annette Bening was nominated for a Golden Globe for her portrayal of Feinstein.

In the years since, Feinstein has continued to push aggressively for eventual declassification of the report.

"It's my very strong belief that one day this report should be declassified," Feinstein said. "This must be a lesson learned: that torture doesn't work."

Feinstein sometimes frustrated liberals by adopting moderate or hawkish positions that put her at odds with the left wing of the Democratic Party, as well as with the more liberal Boxer, who retired from the Senate in 2017. Feinstein defended the Obama administration’s expansive collection of Americans' phone and email records as necessary for protecting the country, for example, even as other Democratic senators voiced protests. “It’s called protecting America,” Feinstein said then.

That tension escalated during Donald Trump’s presidency, when many Democrats had little appetite for compromise. Feinstein became the top Democrat on the Judiciary panel in 2016 and led her party’s messaging through three Supreme Court nominations -- a role that angered liberal advocacy groups that wanted to see a more aggressive partisan in charge.

Feinstein closed out confirmation hearings for Justice Amy Coney Barrett with an embrace of Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and a public thanks to him for a job well done. “This has been one of the best set of hearings that I’ve participated in,” Feinstein said at the end of the hearing.

Liberal advocacy groups that had fiercely opposed Barrett's nomination to replace the late liberal icon Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg were furious and called for her to step down from the committee leadership.

A month later, Feinstein announced she would remain on the committee but step down as the top Democrat. The senator, then 87 years old, did not say why. In a statement, she said she would “continue to do my utmost to bring about positive change in the coming years.”

Feinstein was born on June 22, 1933. Her father, Leon Goldman, was a prominent surgeon and medical school professor in San Francisco, but her mother was an abusive woman with a violent temper that was often directed at Feinstein and her two younger sisters.

Feinstein graduated from Stanford University in 1955, with a bachelor’s degree in history. She married young and was a divorced single mother of her daughter, Katherine, in 1960, at a time when such a status was still unusual.

In 1961, Feinstein was appointed by then-Gov. Pat Brown to the women's parole board, on which she served before running for the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. Typical of the era, much of the early coverage of her entrance into public life focused on her appearance, and she was invariably described as stunning, tall, slender and raven-haired.

Feinstein's second husband, Bert Feinstein, was 19 years older than she, but she described the marriage as "a 10" and kept his name even after his death from cancer in 1978. In 1980, she married investment banker Richard Blum, and thanks to his wealth, she was one of the richest members of the Senate. He died in February 2022.

In addition to her daughter, Feinstein has a granddaughter, Eileen, and three stepchildren.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/2/1676410612598.jpeg" alt="In February, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., walked through a Senate corridor after telling her Democratic colleagues that she would not seek reelection in 2024, at the Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)" />
 <figcaption>In February, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., walked through a Senate corridor after telling her Democratic colleagues that she would not seek reelection in 2024, at the Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. Sen.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/dianne-feinstein">Dianne Feinstein</a>&nbsp;of California, a centrist Democrat and champion of liberal causes who was elected to the Senate in 1992 and broke gender barriers throughout her long career in local and national politics, has died. She was 90.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/9/1696024855417.png" alt="U.S. Senate draped Feinstein's desk in black cloth with white flowers. She passed away Thursday night-photo.CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>U.S. Senate draped Feinstein's desk in black cloth with white flowers. She passed away Thursday night-photo.CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>On social media, senior members of the Kansas and Missouri Senate delegations issued statements.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Senator Dianne Feinstein’s legacy in the Senate is marked by determination, a love for California and a willingness to extend her hand across the aisle to reach a deal.&mdash; Senator Jerry Moran (@JerryMoran) <a href="https://twitter.com/JerryMoran/status/1707768167790202936?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 29, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Erin and I were saddened to hear of the death of Senator Dianne Feinstein. It has been an honor to serve with her in the Senate and on the Judiciary Committee. No one was more welcoming when I came to the Senate than she, and no one was a better example. She was tough, incredibly…&mdash; Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) <a href="https://twitter.com/HawleyMO/status/1707740719769641327?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 29, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Senator Dianne Feinstein proudly served our country and the U.S. Senate for over 30 years. Her legacy will always be remembered. My prayers are with her family and loved ones. May she rest in peace.&mdash; Dr. Roger Marshall (@RogerMarshallMD) <a href="https://twitter.com/RogerMarshallMD/status/1707802087663255900?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 29, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Feinstein died on Thursday night at her home in Washington, D.C., her office said on Friday. Opening the Senate floor, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced that “earlier this morning, we lost a giant in the Senate.”“Dianne Feinstein was one of the most amazing people who ever graced the Senate, who ever graced the country,” Schumer said, his voice cracking. “As the nation mourns this tremendous loss, we know how many lives she impacted and how many glass ceilings she shattered along the way.”<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Senator Dianne Feinstein was a pioneering American. A true trailblazer. And for Jill and me, a cherished friend. As we mourn with her daughter Katherine and the Feinstein family, her team in the Senate, and the people of California, we take comfort that Dianne is reunited again… <a href="https://t.co/6RufV52z41">pic.twitter.com/6RufV52z41</a>&mdash; President Biden (@POTUS) <a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1707781336918847490?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 29, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>President Joe Biden, who served with Feinstein for years in the Senate, called her “a pioneering American,” a “true trailblazer” and a “cherished friend."California Gov. Gavin Newsom will appoint a temporary replacement, and there is sure to be a spirited battle to succeed her.Feinstein,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/05590483a95246c19f6f4cf2d68c6d4b">the oldest</a>&nbsp;sitting U.S. senator, was a passionate advocate for liberal priorities important to her state -- including environmental protection, reproductive rights and gun control -- but was also known as a pragmatic lawmaker who reached out to Republicans and sought middle ground.Her death came after a bout of shingles sidelined her for more than two months earlier this year — an absence that drew frustration from her most liberal critics and launched an unsuccessful attempt by Democrats to temporarily replace her on the Senate Judiciary Committee. When she returned to the Senate in May, she was frail and using a wheelchair, voting only occasionally.On Friday morning, her Senate desk was draped in black and topped with a vase of white roses. Senators gave tearful tributes as members of the California House delegation stood in the back of the chamber and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi sat in the gallery with Feinstein’s daughter, Katherine.Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell was one of several Republicans who gave tributes to the Democratic icon, calling her his friend. “Dianne was a trailblazer, and her beloved home state of California and our entire nation are better for her dogged advocacy and diligent service,” McConnell said.Biden said in a statement, “Dianne made her mark on everything from national security to the environment to protecting civil liberties. "Our country will benefit from her legacy for generations.”She was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1969 and became its first female board president in 1978, the year Mayor George Moscone was gunned down alongside Supervisor Harvey Milk at City Hall by Dan White, a disgruntled former supervisor. Feinstein found Milk’s body.After Moscone’s death, Feinstein became San Francisco's first female mayor. In the Senate, she was one of California’s first two female senators, the first woman to head the Senate Intelligence Committee and the first woman to serve as the Judiciary Committee’s top Democrat.Although Feinstein was not always embraced by the feminist movement, her experiences colored her outlook through her five decades in politics."I recognize that women have had to fight for everything they have gotten, every right," she told The Associated Press in 2005, as the Judiciary Committee prepared to hold hearings on President George W. Bush's nomination of John Roberts to replace Sandra Day O'Connor on&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/us-supreme-court">the Supreme Court</a>."So I must tell you, I try to look out for women's rights. I also try to solve problems as I perceive them, with legislation, and reaching out where I can, and working across the aisle," she said.Feinstein's bipartisan efforts helped her notch legislative wins throughout her career. But it also proved to be a liability in her later years in Congress, as her state became more liberal and as the Senate and the electorate became increasingly polarized.A fierce debater who did not suffer fools, the California senator was long known for her verbal zingers and sharp comebacks when challenged on the issues about which she was most fervent. But she lost that edge in her later years in the Senate, as her health visibly declined and she sometimes became confused when answering questions or speaking publicly. In February 2023, she said she would not run for a sixth term the next year. And within weeks of that announcement, she was absent for the Senate for more than two months as she recovered from a bout of shingles.Amid the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/dianne-feinstein-fall-hospital-31a1358e1c25839b45bb699d83c75d58">concerns about her health</a>, Feinstein stepped down as the top Democrat on the Judiciary panel after the 2020 elections, just as her party was about to take the majority. In 2023, she said she would not serve as the Senate president pro tempore, or the most senior member of the majority party, even though she was in line to do so. The president pro tempore opens the Senate every day and holds other ceremonial duties.One of Feinstein’s most significant legislative accomplishments was early in her career, when the Senate approved her amendment to ban manufacturing and sales of certain types of assault weapons as part of a crime bill that President Bill Clinton signed into law in 1994. Though the assault weapons ban expired 10 years later and was never renewed or replaced, it was a poignant win after her career had been significantly shaped by gun violence.Feinstein remembered finding Milk’s body, her finger slipping into a bullet hole as she felt for a pulse. It was a story she would retell often in the years ahead as she pushed for stricter gun control measures.She had little patience for Republicans and others who opposed her on that issue, though she was often challenged. In 1993, during debate on the assault weapons ban, Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, accused her of having an insufficient knowledge of guns and the gun control issue.Feinstein spoke fiercely of the violence she’d lived through in San Francisco and retorted: ''Senator, I know something about what firearms can do.”Two decades later, after 20 children and six educators were killed in a horrific school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, first-term Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas similarly challenged Feinstein during debate on legislation that would have permanently banned the weapons."I'm not a sixth grader,” Feinstein snapped back at the much younger Cruz — a moment that later went viral. She added: "It's fine you want to lecture me on the Constitution. I appreciate it. Just know I've been here a long time."Feinstein became mayor of San Francisco after the 1978 slayings of Moscone and Milk, leading the city during one of the most turbulent periods in its history. Even her critics credited Feinstein with a calming influence, and she won reelection on her own to two four-year terms.With her success and growing recognition statewide came visibility on the national political stage.In 1984, Feinstein was viewed as a vice presidential possibility for Walter Mondale but faced questions about the business dealings of her husband, Richard Blum. In 1990, she used news footage of her announcement of the assassinations of Moscone and Milk in a television ad that helped her win the Democratic nomination for California governor, making her the first female major-party gubernatorial nominee in the state's history.Although she narrowly lost the general election to Republican Pete Wilson, the stage was set for her election to the Senate two years later to fill the Senate seat Wilson had vacated to run for governor.Feinstein campaigned jointly with Barbara Boxer, who was running for the state's other U.S. Senate seat, and both won, benefiting from positive news coverage and excitement over their historic race. California had never had a female U.S. senator, and female candidates and voters had been galvanized by the Supreme Court hearings in which the all-male Senate Judiciary Committee questioned Anita Hill about her sexual harassment allegations against nominee Clarence Thomas.Feinstein was appointed to the Judiciary panel and eventually the Senate Intelligence Committee, becoming the chairperson in 2009. She was the first woman to lead the intelligence panel, a high-profile perch that gave her a central oversight role over U.S. intelligence controversies, setbacks and triumphs, from the killing of Osama bin Laden to leaks about National Security Agency surveillance.Under Feinstein’s leadership, the intelligence committee conducted a wide-ranging, five-year investigation into CIA interrogation techniques during President George W. Bush’s administration, including waterboarding of terrorism suspects at secret overseas prisons. The resulting 6,300-page “torture report” concluded among other things that waterboarding and other "enhanced interrogation techniques" did not provide key evidence in the hunt for bin Laden. A 525-page executive summary was released in late 2014, but the rest of the report has remained classified.The Senate investigation was full of intrigue at the time, including documents that mysteriously disappeared and accusations traded between the Senate and the CIA that the other was stealing information. The drama was captured in a 2019 movie about the investigation called “The Report,” and actor Annette Bening was nominated for a Golden Globe for her portrayal of Feinstein.In the years since, Feinstein has continued to push aggressively for eventual declassification of the report."It's my very strong belief that one day this report should be declassified," Feinstein said. "This must be a lesson learned: that torture doesn't work."Feinstein sometimes frustrated liberals by adopting moderate or hawkish positions that put her at odds with the left wing of the Democratic Party, as well as with the more liberal Boxer, who retired from the Senate in 2017. Feinstein defended the Obama administration’s expansive collection of Americans' phone and email records as necessary for protecting the country, for example, even as other Democratic senators voiced protests. “It’s called protecting America,” Feinstein said then.That tension escalated during Donald Trump’s presidency, when many Democrats had little appetite for compromise. Feinstein became the top Democrat on the Judiciary panel in 2016 and led her party’s messaging through three Supreme Court nominations -- a role that angered liberal advocacy groups that wanted to see a more aggressive partisan in charge.Feinstein closed out confirmation hearings for Justice Amy Coney Barrett with an embrace of Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and a public thanks to him for a job well done. “This has been one of the best set of hearings that I’ve participated in,” Feinstein said at the end of the hearing.Liberal advocacy groups that had fiercely opposed Barrett's nomination to replace the late liberal icon Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg were furious and called for her to step down from the committee leadership.A month later, Feinstein announced she would remain on the committee but step down as the top Democrat. The senator, then 87 years old, did not say why. In a statement, she said she would “continue to do my utmost to bring about positive change in the coming years.”Feinstein was born on June 22, 1933. Her father, Leon Goldman, was a prominent surgeon and medical school professor in San Francisco, but her mother was an abusive woman with a violent temper that was often directed at Feinstein and her two younger sisters.Feinstein graduated from Stanford University in 1955, with a bachelor’s degree in history. She married young and was a divorced single mother of her daughter, Katherine, in 1960, at a time when such a status was still unusual.In 1961, Feinstein was appointed by then-Gov. Pat Brown to the women's parole board, on which she served before running for the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. Typical of the era, much of the early coverage of her entrance into public life focused on her appearance, and she was invariably described as stunning, tall, slender and raven-haired.Feinstein's second husband, Bert Feinstein, was 19 years older than she, but she described the marriage as "a 10" and kept his name even after his death from cancer in 1978. In 1980, she married investment banker Richard Blum, and thanks to his wealth, she was one of the richest members of the Senate. He died in February 2022.In addition to her daughter, Feinstein has a granddaughter, Eileen, and three stepchildren.

Kansas, Missouri leaders honor memory of Senator Diane Feinstein

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Another Powerball drawing Saturday night, another chance at a jackpot that is inching toward $1 billion.

The estimated $960 million prize is the world's&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/lottery-jackpot-mega-millions-powerball-b77dd9c7de3f0ab09545a01113b1f111">ninth-largest lottery jackpot</a>, behind earlier Powerball and Mega Millions prizes that all topped $1 billion.

The prize has grown so large because there have been 30 consecutive drawings without a big winner,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/powerball-jackpot-winner-california-9f0e98a47c96c2b3087a68b33195dd50">dating to July 19</a>. That streak without a jackpot winner is due to the game's long odds,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/north-america-lottery-us-news-ap-top-news-ia-state-wire-b5572da1e5d74f6e974bea45c707b5cb">1 in 292.2 million</a>, that are designed to make winning rare so grand prizes can grow large.

The $960 million prize is for a sole winner who&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/powerball-jackpot-annuity-vs-cash-0e741f164106c0f4dba89707c5763c99">chooses an annuity</a>, with annual payments over 30 years. Winners almost always take the cash option, which for Saturday's drawing would be an estimated $441 million.

Federal taxes will eat into those winnings, and some states also tax big lottery prizes.

Powerball is played in 45 states, as well as Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/8/1691436357118.jpeg" alt="&nbsp;(AP Photo/Keith Srakocic, File)" />
 <figcaption>&nbsp;(AP Photo/Keith Srakocic, File)</figcaption>
 </figure>DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Another Powerball drawing Saturday night, another chance at a jackpot that is inching toward $1 billion.The estimated $960 million prize is the world's&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/lottery-jackpot-mega-millions-powerball-b77dd9c7de3f0ab09545a01113b1f111">ninth-largest lottery jackpot</a>, behind earlier Powerball and Mega Millions prizes that all topped $1 billion.The prize has grown so large because there have been 30 consecutive drawings without a big winner,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/powerball-jackpot-winner-california-9f0e98a47c96c2b3087a68b33195dd50">dating to July 19</a>. That streak without a jackpot winner is due to the game's long odds,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/north-america-lottery-us-news-ap-top-news-ia-state-wire-b5572da1e5d74f6e974bea45c707b5cb">1 in 292.2 million</a>, that are designed to make winning rare so grand prizes can grow large.The $960 million prize is for a sole winner who&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/powerball-jackpot-annuity-vs-cash-0e741f164106c0f4dba89707c5763c99">chooses an annuity</a>, with annual payments over 30 years. Winners almost always take the cash option, which for Saturday's drawing would be an estimated $441 million.Federal taxes will eat into those winnings, and some states also tax big lottery prizes.Powerball is played in 45 states, as well as Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Powerball jackpot nears $1 billion after long drought of winners

WASHINGTON (AP) — On the brink of a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/government-shutdown-congress-biden-trump-mccarthy-f1b06964cf549b09977677e5f70bf9ff">federal government shutdown</a>, the House on Saturday swiftly approved 45-day funding bill to keep federal agencies open as Speaker&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/kevin-mccarthy">Kevin McCarthy</a>&nbsp;dropped demands for steep spending cuts and relied on Democratic votes for passage to send the package to the Senate.

The new approach would leave behind&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/zelenskyy-biden-washington-visit-congress-ukraine-war-1d20574fb3ea4fb5efcc7db5458a33a3#:~:text=WASHINGTON%20(AP)%20%E2%80%94%20President%20Volodymyr,troops%20in%20the%20fight%20against">aid to Ukraine</a>, a White House priority opposed by a growing number of GOP lawmakers, but the plan would increase&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/wildfire-hurricane-flooding-fema-disaster-relief-budget-365fc3acd6a12c1f8e67b4926c8dc8b2">federal disaster assistance by $16 billion,</a>&nbsp;meeting President Joe Biden’s full request. The House vote was 335-91.

With hours to go for the midnight deadline to fund the government, the Senate was also in for a rare weekend session and prepared to act next.

“We’re going to do our job,” McCarthy said ahead of voting. “We’re going to be adults in the room. And we’re going to keep government open.”

With no deal in place before Sunday,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/shutdown-gop-federal-workers-congress-government-5978a4c7411eba06261d16c3aff3dfc5">federal workers will face furloughs</a>, more than 2 million active-duty and reserve military troops will work without pay and programs and services that Americans rely on from coast to coast will&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/government-shutdown-snap-benefits-loans-travel-97b3a3b30624704da6eb204837a9135c">begin to face shutdown disruptions</a>.

The House measure would fund government at current 2023 levels for 45 days, through Nov. 17, moving closer to the Senate's approach. But the Senate package would have added $6 billion for Ukraine to fight the war against Russia and $6 billion for U.S. disaster relief.

Both chambers came to a standstill as lawmakers assessed their options, some decrying the loss of Ukraine aid.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/9/1696100579610.png" alt="“We’re going to do our job,” McCarthy said ahead of voting. “We’re going to be adults in the room. And we’re going to keep government open.”-photo courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>“We’re going to do our job,” McCarthy said ahead of voting. “We’re going to be adults in the room. And we’re going to keep government open.”-photo courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — On the brink of a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/government-shutdown-congress-biden-trump-mccarthy-f1b06964cf549b09977677e5f70bf9ff">federal government shutdown</a>, the House on Saturday swiftly approved 45-day funding bill to keep federal agencies open as Speaker&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/kevin-mccarthy">Kevin McCarthy</a>&nbsp;dropped demands for steep spending cuts and relied on Democratic votes for passage to send the package to the Senate.The new approach would leave behind&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/zelenskyy-biden-washington-visit-congress-ukraine-war-1d20574fb3ea4fb5efcc7db5458a33a3#:~:text=WASHINGTON%20(AP)%20%E2%80%94%20President%20Volodymyr,troops%20in%20the%20fight%20against">aid to Ukraine</a>, a White House priority opposed by a growing number of GOP lawmakers, but the plan would increase&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/wildfire-hurricane-flooding-fema-disaster-relief-budget-365fc3acd6a12c1f8e67b4926c8dc8b2">federal disaster assistance by $16 billion,</a>&nbsp;meeting President Joe Biden’s full request. The House vote was 335-91.With hours to go for the midnight deadline to fund the government, the Senate was also in for a rare weekend session and prepared to act next.“We’re going to do our job,” McCarthy said ahead of voting. “We’re going to be adults in the room. And we’re going to keep government open.”With no deal in place before Sunday,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/shutdown-gop-federal-workers-congress-government-5978a4c7411eba06261d16c3aff3dfc5">federal workers will face furloughs</a>, more than 2 million active-duty and reserve military troops will work without pay and programs and services that Americans rely on from coast to coast will&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/government-shutdown-snap-benefits-loans-travel-97b3a3b30624704da6eb204837a9135c">begin to face shutdown disruptions</a>.The House measure would fund government at current 2023 levels for 45 days, through Nov. 17, moving closer to the Senate's approach. But the Senate package would have added $6 billion for Ukraine to fight the war against Russia and $6 billion for U.S. disaster relief.Both chambers came to a standstill as lawmakers assessed their options, some decrying the loss of Ukraine aid."The American people deserve better," said House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York, warning in a lengthy floor speech that “extreme" Republicans were risking shutdown.McConnell, of Kentucky, said Republican senators were waiting “to see what the House is doing."For the House package to be approved, McCarthy, R-Calif., will be forced to rely on Democrats because the speaker's hard-right flank has said it will oppose any short-term measure. Republicans hold a 221-212 majority, with two vacancies.Relying on Democratic votes and leaving his right-flank behind is something that the hard-right lawmakers have warned will risk McCarthy's job as speaker. They are almost certain to quickly file a motion to try to remove McCarthy from that office, though it is not at all certain there would be enough votes to topple the speaker."If somebody wants to remove me because I want to be the adult in the room, go ahead and try,” McCarthy said of the threat to oust him. “But I think this country is too important.”The quick pivot comes after the collapse Friday of McCarthy's earlier plan to pass a Republican-only bill with steep spending cuts up to 30% to most government agencies that the White House and Democrats rejected as too extreme."Our options are slipping away every minute,” said one senior Republican, Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart of Florida.The federal government is heading&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/government-shutdown-congress-biden-trump-mccarthy-f1b06964cf549b09977677e5f70bf9ff">straight into a shutdown</a>&nbsp;that poses grave uncertainty for federal workers in states all across America and the people who depend on them — from troops to border control agents to office workers, scientists and others.Families that rely on Head Start for children, food benefits and countless other programs large and small are&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/government-shutdown-snap-benefits-loans-travel-97b3a3b30624704da6eb204837a9135c">confronting potential interruptions or outright closures</a>. At the airports, Transportation Security Administration officers and air traffic controllers are expected to work without pay, but travelers could face delays in updating their U.S. passports or other travel documents.An earlier McCarthy plan to keep the government open collapsed Friday due to opposition from a faction of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/government-shutdown-votes-mccarthy-gop-caucus-gaetz-585c82607c00c2cfc45768faff6e1cda">21 hard-right holdouts</a>&nbsp;despite steep spending cuts of nearly 30% to many agencies and severe border security provisions.The White House has brushed aside McCarthy's overtures to meet with Biden after the speaker walked away from the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-debt-ceiling-budget-signing-f78a000d83cf85ffbaa2d08637844053#:~:text=Washington%20News-,Biden%20signs%20debt%20ceiling%20bill%20that%20pulls,from%20brink%20of%20unprecedented%20default&amp;text=WASHINGTON%20(AP)%20%E2%80%94%20With%20just,on%20the%20federal%20government's%20debt.">debt deal</a>&nbsp;they brokered earlier this year that set budget levels.Catering to his hard-right flank, McCarthy had returned to the spending limits the conservatives demanded back in January as part of the deal-making to help him&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-united-states-house-of-representatives-kevin-mccarthy-us-republican-party-0938c7358f41c83759246f8949ac7c15">become the House speaker</a>.After Friday's vote, McCarthy’s chief Republican critic, Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, said the speaker's bill “went down in flames as I’ve told you all week it would.”Some of the Republican holdouts, including Gaetz, are allies of former President Donald Trump, who is Biden's chief rival in the 2024 race. Trump has been encouraging the Republicans to fight hard for their priorities and even to “shut it down.”