KANSAS CITY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a fatal shooting.

Just after 3:30p.m. Saturday, police responded to a shooting at a residence in the 1100 Block of S. Cottage Avenue in Independence, according to a media release.

Officers located a 17-year-old boy outside the residence with a gunshot wound.  The victim was rendered medical aid at the scene and transported to a local hospital. He later died from his injuries. 

 There were several other people at the scene, and they were cooperating with detectives. Police have not released any suspect information or additional details.

KANSAS CITY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a fatal shooting.Just after 3:30p.m. Saturday, police responded to a shooting at a residence in the 1100 Block of S. Cottage Avenue in Independence, according to a media release.Officers located a 17-year-old boy outside the residence with a gunshot wound. The victim was rendered medical aid at the scene and transported to a local hospital. He later died from his injuries. There were several other people at the scene, and they were cooperating with detectives. Police have not released any suspect information or additional details.

Police: 17-year-old KC-area boy dies after weekend shooting

WASHINGTON (AP) — Nothing will change for now. That's what the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/us-supreme-court">Supreme Court</a>&nbsp;said Friday evening about access to a widely used abortion pill.

A court case that began in Texas has sought to roll back Food and Drug Administration approval of the drug, mifepristone. Lower courts had said that women seeking the drug should face more restrictions on getting it while the case continues, but the Supreme Court disagreed.

The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/22pdf/22a901_3d9g.pdf">court’s action</a>&nbsp;almost certainly will leave access to mifepristone unchanged at least into next year, as appeals play out, including a potential appeal to the high court.

The new abortion controversy comes less than a year after the Supreme Court's conservative majority&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-supreme-court-decision-854f60302f21c2c35129e58cf8d8a7b0">overturned Roe v. Wade</a>&nbsp;and allowed more than a dozen states to effectively ban abortion outright.

The following is a look at the drug at issue in the new case, how the case got to the nation's highest court and what's next in the legal case.

Mifepristone was approved for use by the Food and Drug Administration more than two decades ago. It has been used by more than 5 million women to safely end their pregnancies, and today more than half of women who end a pregnancy rely on the drug, the Justice Department said.

Over the years, the FDA has loosened restrictions on the drug’s use, extending from seven to 10 weeks of pregnancy when it can be used, reducing the dosage needed to safely end a pregnancy, eliminating the requirement to visit a doctor in person to get it and allowing pills to be obtained by mail. The FDA also approved a generic version of mifepristone that its manufacturer, Las Vegas-based GenBioPro, says makes up two-thirds of the domestic market.

Mifepristone is one of two pills used in medication abortions, along with misoprostol. Health care providers have said they could switch to misoprostol only if mifepristone is no longer available or is too hard to obtain. Misoprostol is somewhat less effective in ending pregnancies.

A lawsuit over mifepristone was filed in Amarillo, Texas, late last year. Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative Christian legal group, represents the pill's opponents, who say the FDA's approval of mifepristone was flawed.

Why Amarillo?&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/texas-judge-matthew-kacsmaryk-abortion-pill-fda-75964b777ef09593a1ad948c6cfc0237">U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk</a>, who was nominated by then-President Donald Trump, is the sole district court judge there, ensuring that all cases filed in the west Texas city land in front of him. Since taking the bench, he has ruled against President Joe Biden's administration on several other issues, including&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/immigration-joe-biden-new-orleans-mexico-statutes-0a3b7c93a6e6bdf06b0eee4935d7dc8f">immigration</a>&nbsp;and LGBTQ protections.

On April 7, Kacsmaryk issued a ruling that would completely&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-pill-lawsuit-mifepristone-misoprostol-kacsmaryk-74cb1c4cfab2c04f6cf2696151bc86ef">revoke the FDA's approval of mifepristone</a>, but he put the decision on hold for a week to allow an appeal.

Complicating matters, however, on the same day Kacsmaryk issued his order, a court in Washington state issued a separate ruling in a lawsuit brought by liberal states seeking to preserve access to mifepristone. The Washington judge, Spokane-based Thomas O. Rice, whom then-President Barack Obama nominated, ordered the FDA not to do anything that might affect the availability of mifepristone in the suing states. The Biden administration had said it would be impossible to follow both judges' directives at the same time.

HOW DID THE CASE GET TO THE SUPREME COURT?

The Biden administration responded to Kacsmaryk's ruling by asking the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/texas-abortion-pills-4b65ecc66d1b908019bdf3843a428d5a">Court of Appeals</a>&nbsp;to prevent it from taking effect for now.

The appeals court didn't do that, but it narrowed Kacsmaryk's ruling so that the initial approval of mifepristone in 2000 wouldn't be revoked. And it agreed with him that changes the FDA made to relax the rules for prescribing and dispensing the drug should be put on hold. It said those rules, including expanding when the drug could be taken and allowing for the drug's delivery through the mail, should be on hold while the case continued.

The appeals court acted by a 2-1 vote. The judges in the majority, Kurt Engelhardt and Andrew Oldham, are both Trump picks.

The Biden administration and the maker of mifepristone, New York-based Danco Laboratories,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/texas-abortion-pill-appeal-fe13d36218f1fb43590aff29b5ba4e9c">appealed to the Supreme Court</a>, saying that allowing the appeals court's restrictions to take effect would cause chaos. At first, facing a tight deadline, the Supreme Court gave itself some breathing room and issued an order suggesting it would act by Wednesday evening. But no decision came Wednesday and the court instead just gave itself an extension until just before midnight Friday. It wasn't clear why.

The court did make its second self-imposed deadline, issuing its brief decision around 6:30 p.m. in Washington. Two conservative justices, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, said they disagreed with the court's action but no other justice commented.

The case is on a fast track. Now that the high court has set out the rules that will govern access for now, the case can continue on its path through the courts.

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has already announced it will hear arguments in the case in less than a month, on May 17. Both sides as well as interest groups will submit written briefs ahead of those arguments. And a three-judge panel of the court will hear the case, though the court has not yet said who those three judges will be. The group won't issue a decision from the bench but instead hear arguments and ask questions. That will give the public a sense of what they're thinking. Their decision will be made privately after oral arguments, and at some point they'll issue a written decision announcing it.

Both sides then have an opportunity to appeal, taking the case to all the judges of the appeals court or directly to the Supreme Court. The justices take a break for the summer, however, and don't start hearing cases again until October.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/4/1680967457500.png" alt="The new abortion controversy comes less than a year after the Supreme Court's conservative majority&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-supreme-court-decision-854f60302f21c2c35129e58cf8d8a7b0">overturned Roe v. Wade</a>&nbsp;and allowed more than a dozen states to effectively ban abortion outright." />
 <figcaption>The new abortion controversy comes less than a year after the Supreme Court's conservative majority&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-supreme-court-decision-854f60302f21c2c35129e58cf8d8a7b0">overturned Roe v. Wade</a>&nbsp;and allowed more than a dozen states to effectively ban abortion outright.</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — Nothing will change for now. That's what the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/us-supreme-court">Supreme Court</a>&nbsp;said Friday evening about access to a widely used abortion pill.A court case that began in Texas has sought to roll back Food and Drug Administration approval of the drug, mifepristone. Lower courts had said that women seeking the drug should face more restrictions on getting it while the case continues, but the Supreme Court disagreed.The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/22pdf/22a901_3d9g.pdf">court’s action</a>&nbsp;almost certainly will leave access to mifepristone unchanged at least into next year, as appeals play out, including a potential appeal to the high court.The new abortion controversy comes less than a year after the Supreme Court's conservative majority&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-supreme-court-decision-854f60302f21c2c35129e58cf8d8a7b0">overturned Roe v. Wade</a>&nbsp;and allowed more than a dozen states to effectively ban abortion outright.The following is a look at the drug at issue in the new case, how the case got to the nation's highest court and what's next in the legal case.___WHAT IS MIFEPRISTONE?Mifepristone was approved for use by the Food and Drug Administration more than two decades ago. It has been used by more than 5 million women to safely end their pregnancies, and today more than half of women who end a pregnancy rely on the drug, the Justice Department said.Over the years, the FDA has loosened restrictions on the drug’s use, extending from seven to 10 weeks of pregnancy when it can be used, reducing the dosage needed to safely end a pregnancy, eliminating the requirement to visit a doctor in person to get it and allowing pills to be obtained by mail. The FDA also approved a generic version of mifepristone that its manufacturer, Las Vegas-based GenBioPro, says makes up two-thirds of the domestic market.Mifepristone is one of two pills used in medication abortions, along with misoprostol. Health care providers have said they could switch to misoprostol only if mifepristone is no longer available or is too hard to obtain. Misoprostol is somewhat less effective in ending pregnancies.___HOW DID THE CASE GET STARTED?A lawsuit over mifepristone was filed in Amarillo, Texas, late last year. Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative Christian legal group, represents the pill's opponents, who say the FDA's approval of mifepristone was flawed.Why Amarillo?&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/texas-judge-matthew-kacsmaryk-abortion-pill-fda-75964b777ef09593a1ad948c6cfc0237">U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk</a>, who was nominated by then-President Donald Trump, is the sole district court judge there, ensuring that all cases filed in the west Texas city land in front of him. Since taking the bench, he has ruled against President Joe Biden's administration on several other issues, including&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/immigration-joe-biden-new-orleans-mexico-statutes-0a3b7c93a6e6bdf06b0eee4935d7dc8f">immigration</a>&nbsp;and LGBTQ protections.On April 7, Kacsmaryk issued a ruling that would completely&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-pill-lawsuit-mifepristone-misoprostol-kacsmaryk-74cb1c4cfab2c04f6cf2696151bc86ef">revoke the FDA's approval of mifepristone</a>, but he put the decision on hold for a week to allow an appeal.Complicating matters, however, on the same day Kacsmaryk issued his order, a court in Washington state issued a separate ruling in a lawsuit brought by liberal states seeking to preserve access to mifepristone. The Washington judge, Spokane-based Thomas O. Rice, whom then-President Barack Obama nominated, ordered the FDA not to do anything that might affect the availability of mifepristone in the suing states. The Biden administration had said it would be impossible to follow both judges' directives at the same time.___HOW DID THE CASE GET TO THE SUPREME COURT?The Biden administration responded to Kacsmaryk's ruling by asking the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/texas-abortion-pills-4b65ecc66d1b908019bdf3843a428d5a">Court of Appeals</a>&nbsp;to prevent it from taking effect for now.The appeals court didn't do that, but it narrowed Kacsmaryk's ruling so that the initial approval of mifepristone in 2000 wouldn't be revoked. And it agreed with him that changes the FDA made to relax the rules for prescribing and dispensing the drug should be put on hold. It said those rules, including expanding when the drug could be taken and allowing for the drug's delivery through the mail, should be on hold while the case continued.The appeals court acted by a 2-1 vote. The judges in the majority, Kurt Engelhardt and Andrew Oldham, are both Trump picks.The Biden administration and the maker of mifepristone, New York-based Danco Laboratories,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/texas-abortion-pill-appeal-fe13d36218f1fb43590aff29b5ba4e9c">appealed to the Supreme Court</a>, saying that allowing the appeals court's restrictions to take effect would cause chaos. At first, facing a tight deadline, the Supreme Court gave itself some breathing room and issued an order suggesting it would act by Wednesday evening. But no decision came Wednesday and the court instead just gave itself an extension until just before midnight Friday. It wasn't clear why.The court did make its second self-imposed deadline, issuing its brief decision around 6:30 p.m. in Washington. Two conservative justices, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, said they disagreed with the court's action but no other justice commented.___WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?The case is on a fast track. Now that the high court has set out the rules that will govern access for now, the case can continue on its path through the courts.The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has already announced it will hear arguments in the case in less than a month, on May 17. Both sides as well as interest groups will submit written briefs ahead of those arguments. And a three-judge panel of the court will hear the case, though the court has not yet said who those three judges will be. The group won't issue a decision from the bench but instead hear arguments and ask questions. That will give the public a sense of what they're thinking. Their decision will be made privately after oral arguments, and at some point they'll issue a written decision announcing it.Both sides then have an opportunity to appeal, taking the case to all the judges of the appeals court or directly to the Supreme Court. The justices take a break for the summer, however, and don't start hearing cases again until October.___

Abortion pill battle on fast track after Supreme Court's order

By LESLIE EIKLEBERRY Salina Post

Two teens were arrested after a series of small fires were set in Salina Friday.&nbsp; According to Saline Police Captain Paul Forrester, the first fires were set early Friday morning.

Sunset Park, 700 Sunset Drive At approximately 12:37 a.m. Friday, officers and Salina Fire Department personnel were sent to the west side of Sunset Park for the report of a grass fire. When they arrived they found some brush on fire. Firefighters extinguished the blaze. Damage was estimated at $500.

Indian Rock Park, 1500 Gypsum Avenue At about that same time, officers and Salina Fire Department personnel were sent to the north side of the park for a report of a grass fire. Firefighters extinguished the fire. Damage was estimated at $500.

Sunset Park At approximately 2 a.m. Friday, officers and Salina Fire Department personnel were sent to another location on the west side of Sunset Park for the report of a brush fire. Firefighters extinguished the fire. Damage again was estimated at $500.

Taco Bell, 2315 S. Ninth Street At approximately 2:45 a.m., officers and firefighters were sent to the restaurant for the report of a dumpster on fire. The blaze was extinguished by firefighters. Damage was estimated at $100.

Two additional incidents occurred late Friday night, Forrester said. They are as follows.

Sunset Park At approximately 10:59 p.m. Friday, officers and firefighters were sent to the south side of Sunset Park, where someone had set some cardboard on fire under some bushes. The fire was extinguished. Damage was estimated at $500.

Indian Rock Park At approximately 11:25 p.m., officers and firefighters were sent to the upper part of the park for the report of a grass fire.

While they were there, the person who reported this last fire, a 17-year-old Salina boy, told officers that he had put out the blaze with a fire extinguisher he had with him,  Forrester said. A 13-year-old boy was accompanying him.

Damage caused by that fire was estimated at $500.

Forrester said that through the investigation, it was determined that the two boys had allegedly set all of the fires. Police arrested both on six requested counts of arson.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/4/1681221164871.jpg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>By LESLIE EIKLEBERRY Salina PostTwo teens were arrested after a series of small fires were set in Salina Friday.&nbsp; According to Saline Police Captain Paul Forrester, the first fires were set early Friday morning.Sunset Park, 700 Sunset Drive At approximately 12:37 a.m. Friday, officers and Salina Fire Department personnel were sent to the west side of Sunset Park for the report of a grass fire. When they arrived they found some brush on fire. Firefighters extinguished the blaze. Damage was estimated at $500.Indian Rock Park, 1500 Gypsum Avenue At about that same time, officers and Salina Fire Department personnel were sent to the north side of the park for a report of a grass fire. Firefighters extinguished the fire. Damage was estimated at $500.Sunset Park At approximately 2 a.m. Friday, officers and Salina Fire Department personnel were sent to another location on the west side of Sunset Park for the report of a brush fire. Firefighters extinguished the fire. Damage again was estimated at $500.Taco Bell, 2315 S. Ninth Street At approximately 2:45 a.m., officers and firefighters were sent to the restaurant for the report of a dumpster on fire. The blaze was extinguished by firefighters. Damage was estimated at $100.Two additional incidents occurred late Friday night, Forrester said. They are as follows.Sunset Park At approximately 10:59 p.m. Friday, officers and firefighters were sent to the south side of Sunset Park, where someone had set some cardboard on fire under some bushes. The fire was extinguished. Damage was estimated at $500.Indian Rock Park At approximately 11:25 p.m., officers and firefighters were sent to the upper part of the park for the report of a grass fire.While they were there, the person who reported this last fire, a 17-year-old Salina boy, told officers that he had put out the blaze with a fire extinguisher he had with him, Forrester said. A 13-year-old boy was accompanying him.Damage caused by that fire was estimated at $500.Forrester said that through the investigation, it was determined that the two boys had allegedly set all of the fires. Police arrested both on six requested counts of arson.

Police: 2 teens accused of setting 6 fires in Salina

TOPEKA&nbsp;– On Monday, Governor Laura Kelly visited Elmont Elementary School in Seaman School District to announce her veto of House Substitute for Senate Bill 169. 

The bill, which would overhaul the state’s tax structure to establish a flat tax rate, would cost the state $1.3 billion over the next three years and put public education funding at risk. Governor Kelly also announced her proposal to spend the one-time budget surplus on a tax rebate of $450 for individuals and $900 for married taxpayers filing jointly. &nbsp;

“Our public schools were one of the biggest victims in the legislature’s last tax experiment and are one of the many services that would take a hit should this bill become law,”&nbsp;said Governor Laura Kelly.&nbsp;“In my first term, I made a commitment to getting our state back on track. I’m proud of how far we have come, but we can’t risk turning back now. I’m calling on legislators to put this one-time surplus back in the hands of taxpayers -- without risking our ability to continue fully funding schools and investing in roads, bridges, and essential services.”

Included in H Sub SB 169 is a 5.15 percent flat income tax – or a single tax rate applied to all taxpayers. Just like with the “tax experiment” under Governor Brownback, the flat tax poses risks to funding for public education, roads and bridges, and other essential services. Middle-class taxpayers would see less than $100 in annual savings from the flat tax, but it would cost Kansans their public schools. Already, legislators are proposing cutting money from public schools in this year’s K-12 Education budget in order to pay for this tax cut.

Governor Kelly’s proposal for a one-time tax rebate provides relief to all Kansas resident taxpayers without breaking the bank or jeopardizing funds for our public schools.

TOPEKA&nbsp;– On Monday, Governor Laura Kelly visited Elmont Elementary School in Seaman School District to announce her veto of House Substitute for Senate Bill 169. The bill, which would overhaul the state’s tax structure to establish a flat tax rate, would cost the state $1.3 billion over the next three years and put public education funding at risk. Governor Kelly also announced her proposal to spend the one-time budget surplus on a tax rebate of $450 for individuals and $900 for married taxpayers filing jointly. &nbsp;<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Kansans know all too well that costly tax experiments devastate public schools. That&#39;s why today I vetoed the irresponsible flat tax package that would leave middle-class students, teachers, and families worse off. <a href="https://t.co/n9Txvl2nST">pic.twitter.com/n9Txvl2nST</a>&mdash; Governor Laura Kelly (@GovLauraKelly) <a href="https://twitter.com/GovLauraKelly/status/1650511990870220802?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 24, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>“Our public schools were one of the biggest victims in the legislature’s last tax experiment and are one of the many services that would take a hit should this bill become law,”&nbsp;said Governor Laura Kelly.&nbsp;“In my first term, I made a commitment to getting our state back on track. I’m proud of how far we have come, but we can’t risk turning back now. I’m calling on legislators to put this one-time surplus back in the hands of taxpayers -- without risking our ability to continue fully funding schools and investing in roads, bridges, and essential services.”Included in H Sub SB 169 is a 5.15 percent flat income tax – or a single tax rate applied to all taxpayers. Just like with the “tax experiment” under Governor Brownback, the flat tax poses risks to funding for public education, roads and bridges, and other essential services. Middle-class taxpayers would see less than $100 in annual savings from the flat tax, but it would cost Kansans their public schools. Already, legislators are proposing cutting money from public schools in this year’s K-12 Education budget in order to pay for this tax cut.Governor Kelly’s proposal for a one-time tax rebate provides relief to all Kansas resident taxpayers without breaking the bank or jeopardizing funds for our public schools.

Gov. vetoes flat tax, proposes $450 rebate per Kan. tax payer

SHAKOPEE, Minn. (AP) —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/daunte-wright-kim-potter-police-shooting-93c1d847f2188571ce70285d0ac55406">Kim Potter</a>, the former Minnesota police officer who said she mistook her gun for a Taser when she shot and killed&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/death-of-daunte-wright">Daunte Wright</a>&nbsp;in 2021, was released from prison early Monday.

The Minnesota Department of Corrections said Potter was released at about 4 a.m. “out of an abundance of caution" for Potter's safety. The department confirmed Friday she would be released Monday from the Minnesota Correctional Facility in Shakopee, but declined to say what time due to security concerns.

Potter, a white former officer for the Brooklyn Center Police Department in suburban Minneapolis, fatally shot Wright, who was Black, during a traffic stop in April 2021. The shooting happened during the trial of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/derek-chauvin-sentencing-23c52021812168c579b3886f8139c73d">Derek Chauvin</a>, the officer who killed&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/death-of-george-floyd">George Floyd</a>, and Wright’s death set off several days of protests.

She was convicted of second-degree manslaughter and given a two-year sentence. Under Minnesota law, those sent to prison typically serve two-thirds of their sentence behind bars and the remaining time on supervised release. In Potter’s case, she served 16 months of her two-year sentence behind bars, said Department of Corrections spokesman Andy Skoogman.

Skoogman said Potter will be on supervised release until Dec. 21, and she will live in Wisconsin during that time.

Potter, now 50, appeared much thinner in a new photo released last week by the Department of Corrections. Her attorney, Earl Gray, said Friday he had “no idea” why her appearance had changed.

Potter's two-year&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/death-of-daunte-wright-death-of-george-floyd-minnesota-george-floyd-minneapolis-a43a48970e37392efd85adfeae79ddf0">sentence</a>&nbsp;from Judge Regina Chu drew strong criticism from Wright's family and their attorney, civil rights lawyer Ben Crump. The state attorney general’s office had sought a sentence recommended by state guidelines of just over seven years in prison.

Wright’s mother, Katie Wright, said after the sentencing that Potter “murdered my son,” adding: “Today the justice system murdered him all over again.”

Defense attorneys argued at the sentencing hearing that Potter deserved leniency because Wright was trying to drive away and Potter had the right to defend herself. Chu said at the time that the case was not the same as other high-profile killings, including Floyd’s death, which resulted in a 22 1/2-year sentence for Chauvin.

“This is a cop who made a tragic mistake,” she said of Potter.

Wright, a 20-year-old father, was killed on April 11, 2021, after Brooklyn Center officers pulled him over for having expired license tags and an air freshener hanging from his rearview mirror. Officers discovered he had a warrant for a misdemeanor weapons possession charge and he was shot during a struggle as officers tried to arrest him.

Potter said she thought she was holding her Taser at the time, not her gun. She is heard on video yelling “Taser” several times just before she fires her pistol as Wright tried to drive away.

Potter, a 26-year police veteran, apologized to Wright’s family at the sentencing hearing and spoke directly to his mother: “Katie, I understand a mother’s love. I’m sorry I broke your heart ... my heart is broken and devastated for all of you.”

Civil rights advocates say laws against hanging objects from rearview mirrors have been used as a pretext for stopping Black motorists.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/12/1640352112509.png" alt="Potter's booking photo shows her smiling following her conviction in December 2021-photo Hennepin County Sheriff" />
 <figcaption>Potter's booking photo shows her smiling following her conviction in December 2021-photo Hennepin County Sheriff</figcaption>
 </figure>SHAKOPEE, Minn. (AP) —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/daunte-wright-kim-potter-police-shooting-93c1d847f2188571ce70285d0ac55406">Kim Potter</a>, the former Minnesota police officer who said she mistook her gun for a Taser when she shot and killed&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/death-of-daunte-wright">Daunte Wright</a>&nbsp;in 2021, was released from prison early Monday.The Minnesota Department of Corrections said Potter was released at about 4 a.m. “out of an abundance of caution" for Potter's safety. The department confirmed Friday she would be released Monday from the Minnesota Correctional Facility in Shakopee, but declined to say what time due to security concerns.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/4/1682343245082.png" alt="Potter as shown in the most recent photo released from the Minnesota Dpt. of Corrections" />
 <figcaption>Potter as shown in the most recent photo released from the Minnesota Dpt. of Corrections</figcaption>
 </figure>Potter, a white former officer for the Brooklyn Center Police Department in suburban Minneapolis, fatally shot Wright, who was Black, during a traffic stop in April 2021. The shooting happened during the trial of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/derek-chauvin-sentencing-23c52021812168c579b3886f8139c73d">Derek Chauvin</a>, the officer who killed&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/death-of-george-floyd">George Floyd</a>, and Wright’s death set off several days of protests.She was convicted of second-degree manslaughter and given a two-year sentence. Under Minnesota law, those sent to prison typically serve two-thirds of their sentence behind bars and the remaining time on supervised release. In Potter’s case, she served 16 months of her two-year sentence behind bars, said Department of Corrections spokesman Andy Skoogman.Skoogman said Potter will be on supervised release until Dec. 21, and she will live in Wisconsin during that time.Potter, now 50, appeared much thinner in a new photo released last week by the Department of Corrections. Her attorney, Earl Gray, said Friday he had “no idea” why her appearance had changed.Potter's two-year&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/death-of-daunte-wright-death-of-george-floyd-minnesota-george-floyd-minneapolis-a43a48970e37392efd85adfeae79ddf0">sentence</a>&nbsp;from Judge Regina Chu drew strong criticism from Wright's family and their attorney, civil rights lawyer Ben Crump. The state attorney general’s office had sought a sentence recommended by state guidelines of just over seven years in prison.Wright’s mother, Katie Wright, said after the sentencing that Potter “murdered my son,” adding: “Today the justice system murdered him all over again.”Defense attorneys argued at the sentencing hearing that Potter deserved leniency because Wright was trying to drive away and Potter had the right to defend herself. Chu said at the time that the case was not the same as other high-profile killings, including Floyd’s death, which resulted in a 22 1/2-year sentence for Chauvin.“This is a cop who made a tragic mistake,” she said of Potter.Wright, a 20-year-old father, was killed on April 11, 2021, after Brooklyn Center officers pulled him over for having expired license tags and an air freshener hanging from his rearview mirror. Officers discovered he had a warrant for a misdemeanor weapons possession charge and he was shot during a struggle as officers tried to arrest him.Potter said she thought she was holding her Taser at the time, not her gun. She is heard on video yelling “Taser” several times just before she fires her pistol as Wright tried to drive away.Potter, a 26-year police veteran, apologized to Wright’s family at the sentencing hearing and spoke directly to his mother: “Katie, I understand a mother’s love. I’m sorry I broke your heart ... my heart is broken and devastated for all of you.”Civil rights advocates say laws against hanging objects from rearview mirrors have been used as a pretext for stopping Black motorists.

Officer who pulled gun instead of Taser released from prison

SEDGWICK COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities in Wichita have learned that someone created a fake Wichita Police Department TikTok page, according to Officer Chad Ditch.

Police alerted the public that the page is not from the Wichita Police Department and they have reported this page to TikTok and hope to have it taken down in the very near future.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/4/1682297143501.png" alt="photo courtesy Wichita Police" />
 <figcaption>photo courtesy Wichita Police</figcaption>
 </figure>SEDGWICK COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities in Wichita have learned that someone created a fake Wichita Police Department TikTok page, according to Officer Chad Ditch.Police alerted the public that the page is not from the Wichita Police Department and they have reported this page to TikTok and hope to have it taken down in the very near future.

Someone made a fake Wichita Police TikTok page

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas is joining a fledgling effort that could one day make it easier to hire teachers from other states.

A bill that Gov. Laura Kelly signed Thursday makes Kansas the latest member of the <a href="https://compacts.csg.org/compact-updates/teaching/">Interstate Teacher Mobility Compact.</a>

The compact is a creation of the Council of State Governments, with heavy backing from the U.S. Department of Defense, which wanted to create an easier pathway to teacher licensure for military personnel and their spouses as they move around the country.

It would effectively allow teaching licenses to be viable across members of the compact, cutting through the current 50-state patchwork of disparate requirements.

It's not off the ground yet. Ten states are required to fully enact the compact, and Kansas is only the fourth to join. The three others are Utah, Colorado and Kentucky.

Legislation, however, is&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/colorado-state-government-teaching-education-550490b3b5a00998b67d4464a07b9b3a">pending in about a dozen other states</a>. Depending on what happens, the compact could be operational in a year or two.

The Kansas chapter of the National Education Association has raised concerns about the potential for underqualified educators.

Schools have championed the compact as a way to help fill vacant teaching jobs.

Sen. Pat Pettey, a Kansas City Democrat and retired educator who sponsored the bill, described the effort in a statement as "one more tool to the State Board of Education Licensure tool box.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/4/1682331291256.png" alt="Image courtesy the Council of State Governments" />
 <figcaption>Image courtesy the Council of State Governments</figcaption>
 </figure>TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas is joining a fledgling effort that could one day make it easier to hire teachers from other states.A bill that Gov. Laura Kelly signed Thursday makes Kansas the latest member of the <a href="https://compacts.csg.org/compact-updates/teaching/">Interstate Teacher Mobility Compact.</a>The compact is a creation of the Council of State Governments, with heavy backing from the U.S. Department of Defense, which wanted to create an easier pathway to teacher licensure for military personnel and their spouses as they move around the country.It would effectively allow teaching licenses to be viable across members of the compact, cutting through the current 50-state patchwork of disparate requirements.It's not off the ground yet. Ten states are required to fully enact the compact, and Kansas is only the fourth to join. The three others are Utah, Colorado and Kentucky.Legislation, however, is&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/colorado-state-government-teaching-education-550490b3b5a00998b67d4464a07b9b3a">pending in about a dozen other states</a>. Depending on what happens, the compact could be operational in a year or two.The Kansas chapter of the National Education Association has raised concerns about the potential for underqualified educators.Schools have championed the compact as a way to help fill vacant teaching jobs.Sen. Pat Pettey, a Kansas City Democrat and retired educator who sponsored the bill, described the effort in a statement as "one more tool to the State Board of Education Licensure tool box.”

Kansas to make it easier to hire out-of-state teachers

KANSAS CITY— Law enforcement authorities are searching for 21-year-old Jae’veon Marquice Mitchell-Locke, a suspect in the April 5, shooting of three Kansas police officers during an undercover fentanyl trafficking investigation, according&nbsp; to the Platte County Sheriff's office.

Officials at the Platte County, Missouri Detention Center released him inadvertently on April 20.

Mitchell-Locke and two other suspects in the gunfight are charged in Wyandotte County with attempted murder, aggravated battery against law enforcement, criminal discharge of a firearm at an occupied building or vehicle, aggravated endangering a child, aggravated assault of law enforcement officers and distribution or possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute, according to online jail records.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/4/1682111930463.png" alt="Mitchell-Locke-photo Platte County" />
 <figcaption>Mitchell-Locke-photo Platte County</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY— Law enforcement authorities are searching for 21-year-old Jae’veon Marquice Mitchell-Locke, a suspect in the April 5, shooting of three Kansas police officers during an undercover fentanyl trafficking investigation, according&nbsp; to the Platte County Sheriff's office.Officials at the Platte County, Missouri Detention Center released him inadvertently on April 20.Mitchell-Locke and two other suspects in the gunfight are charged in Wyandotte County with attempted murder, aggravated battery against law enforcement, criminal discharge of a firearm at an occupied building or vehicle, aggravated endangering a child, aggravated assault of law enforcement officers and distribution or possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute, according to online jail records.

Still missing: Suspect in Kan. officer shooting released by mistake

LONDON (AP) — Len Goodman, a long-serving judge on “Dancing with the Stars” and “Strictly Come Dancing" who helped revive interest in ballroom dancing on both sides of the Atlantic, has died, his agent said Monday. He was 78.

Agent Jackie Gill said Goodman “passed away peacefully" on Saturday night. He had been diagnosed with bone cancer.

A former professional ballroom dancer and British champion, Goodman was head judge on “Strictly Come Dancing” for 12 years from its launch on the BBC in 2004. The dance competition, which pairs celebrities with professional dance partners, was a surprise hit and has become one of the network’s most popular shows.

Goodman's pithy observations, delivered in a Cockney accent, endeared him to viewers. “You floated across that floor like butter on a crumpet," he remarked after one foxtrot. He praised a salsa-dancing couple as “like two sizzling sausages on a barbecue.”

Goodman was head judge on the U.S. version of the show, ABC's “Dancing With the Stars,” for 15 years until his retirement in November. For several years he judged the British and American shows simultaneously each autumn, criss-crossing the Atlantic weekly.

Buckingham Palace said Camilla, the queen consort, was “saddened to hear” of Goodman's death. The wife of King Charles III is a fan of “Strictly,” and danced with Goodman at a 2019 event celebrating the British Dance Council.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's spokesman said Goodman was “a great entertainer” who would be “missed by many.”

British broadcaster Esther Rantzen said Goodman had been “astonished and delighted” by his late-life fame.

“One of the reasons he succeeded so well in the States is that he was quintessentially British," she said. "He was firm but fair, funny but a gentleman and I hope the nation will adopt his favorite expostulation of ‘pickle me walnuts.'”

Goodman also presented BBC radio programs and made TV documentaries, including a 2012 program about the sinking of the Titanic. As a young man, Goodman had worked as a shipyard welder for the company that built the doomed ship.

BBC director-general Tim Davie said Goodman was “a wonderful, warm entertainer who was adored by millions. He appealed to all ages and felt like a member of everyone’s family. Len was at the very heart of Strictly’s success. He will be hugely missed by the public and his many friends and family.”

Goodman was also a recipient of the Carl Alan Award in recognition of outstanding contributions to dance, and owned the Goodman Academy dance school in southern England.

LONDON (AP) — Len Goodman, a long-serving judge on “Dancing with the Stars” and “Strictly Come Dancing" who helped revive interest in ballroom dancing on both sides of the Atlantic, has died, his agent said Monday. He was 78.Agent Jackie Gill said Goodman “passed away peacefully" on Saturday night. He had been diagnosed with bone cancer.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Hart broken my dear friend and partner for 19 years the one and only ballroom LEGEND <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LenGoodman?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LenGoodman</a> passed away I will treasure the memories of our adventures <a href="https://twitter.com/bbcstrictly?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@bbcstrictly</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/officialdwts?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@officialdwts</a> there will never be anyone like you you will always be my perfect 10 ❤️ <a href="https://t.co/M5qnHedx5S">pic.twitter.com/M5qnHedx5S</a>&mdash; Bruno Tonioli (@BrunoTonioli) <a href="https://twitter.com/BrunoTonioli/status/1650441152783437825?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 24, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>A former professional ballroom dancer and British champion, Goodman was head judge on “Strictly Come Dancing” for 12 years from its launch on the BBC in 2004. The dance competition, which pairs celebrities with professional dance partners, was a surprise hit and has become one of the network’s most popular shows.Goodman's pithy observations, delivered in a Cockney accent, endeared him to viewers. “You floated across that floor like butter on a crumpet," he remarked after one foxtrot. He praised a salsa-dancing couple as “like two sizzling sausages on a barbecue.”Goodman was head judge on the U.S. version of the show, ABC's “Dancing With the Stars,” for 15 years until his retirement in November. For several years he judged the British and American shows simultaneously each autumn, criss-crossing the Atlantic weekly.Buckingham Palace said Camilla, the queen consort, was “saddened to hear” of Goodman's death. The wife of King Charles III is a fan of “Strictly,” and danced with Goodman at a 2019 event celebrating the British Dance Council.Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's spokesman said Goodman was “a great entertainer” who would be “missed by many.”British broadcaster Esther Rantzen said Goodman had been “astonished and delighted” by his late-life fame.“One of the reasons he succeeded so well in the States is that he was quintessentially British," she said. "He was firm but fair, funny but a gentleman and I hope the nation will adopt his favorite expostulation of ‘pickle me walnuts.'”Goodman also presented BBC radio programs and made TV documentaries, including a 2012 program about the sinking of the Titanic. As a young man, Goodman had worked as a shipyard welder for the company that built the doomed ship.BBC director-general Tim Davie said Goodman was “a wonderful, warm entertainer who was adored by millions. He appealed to all ages and felt like a member of everyone’s family. Len was at the very heart of Strictly’s success. He will be hugely missed by the public and his many friends and family.”Goodman was also a recipient of the Carl Alan Award in recognition of outstanding contributions to dance, and owned the Goodman Academy dance school in southern England.

'Dancing With the Stars' judge Len Goodman dies at 78

KANSAS CITY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspicious fire in in a recreational vehicle in the 1200 block of SW Morningside, according to The Blue Springs Police Department and&nbsp;Central Jackson County Fire Protection District.&nbsp;

First responders found a deceased individual while extinguishing the fire. After the&nbsp; State Fire Marshal's office arrived,&nbsp; police updated the case to a homicide investigation.  The death was not due to the fire.&nbsp; 

Police were waiting on confirmation of the identity of the deceased.&nbsp;&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/4/1682295920586.png" alt="Investigators on the scene-photo courtesy KCTV" />
 <figcaption>Investigators on the scene-photo courtesy KCTV</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspicious fire in in a recreational vehicle in the 1200 block of SW Morningside, according to The Blue Springs Police Department and&nbsp;Central Jackson County Fire Protection District.&nbsp;First responders found a deceased individual while extinguishing the fire. After the&nbsp; State Fire Marshal's office arrived,&nbsp; police updated the case to a homicide investigation. The death was not due to the fire.&nbsp; Police were waiting on confirmation of the identity of the deceased.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Homicide: KC-area victim's death not due to fire

SEDGWICK COUNTY —One person was injured in an accident just before 10p.m. Saturday in Sedgwick County

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a&nbsp; 2018 Chevy Silverado driven by Samantha N. Bailey, 34, Wichita, was actively fleeing from law enforcement at the Eisenhower Airport Parkway in front of the airport terminal.

The driver lost control of the vehicle while driving erratically. The pickup left the roadway and struck a concrete pole base for the entrance to the parking garage

EMS transported Bailey to a Wichita hospital. She also was not wearing a seat belt, according to the KHP.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Bailey has previous convictions for theft and drugs, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections.&nbsp;

SEDGWICK COUNTY —One person was injured in an accident just before 10p.m. Saturday in Sedgwick CountyThe Kansas Highway Patrol reported a&nbsp; 2018 Chevy Silverado driven by Samantha N. Bailey, 34, Wichita, was actively fleeing from law enforcement at the Eisenhower Airport Parkway in front of the airport terminal.The driver lost control of the vehicle while driving erratically. The pickup left the roadway and struck a concrete pole base for the entrance to the parking garageEMS transported Bailey to a Wichita hospital. She also was not wearing a seat belt, according to the KHP.&nbsp;&nbsp;Bailey has previous convictions for theft and drugs, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections.&nbsp;

 Kansas felon hospitalized after chase, crash near airport

MOUND CITY – A Kansas man has been sentenced to more than 18 years in prison for his conviction on two counts of sex crimes, according to&nbsp;Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach.

Lonnie Shane Martin, 34, of Fort Scott, was sentenced April 14 in Linn County District Court to serve 165 months in a Kansas Department of Corrections facility for one count of rape and 61 months for one count of aggravated indecent liberties with a child. 

Linn County Judge Andrea Purvis ordered Martin to serve the sentences consecutively and to register for the rest of his life as a sex offender. Martin pleaded no contest to the charges on February 22.

The crimes took place between July 2014 and December 2017. The case was investigated by the Linn County Sheriff’s Department and the Kansas Bureau of Investigation.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/4/1681953332604.png" alt="Martin-photo KBI offender registry" />
 <figcaption>Martin-photo KBI offender registry</figcaption>
 </figure>MOUND CITY – A Kansas man has been sentenced to more than 18 years in prison for his conviction on two counts of sex crimes, according to&nbsp;Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach.Lonnie Shane Martin, 34, of Fort Scott, was sentenced April 14 in Linn County District Court to serve 165 months in a Kansas Department of Corrections facility for one count of rape and 61 months for one count of aggravated indecent liberties with a child. Linn County Judge Andrea Purvis ordered Martin to serve the sentences consecutively and to register for the rest of his life as a sex offender. Martin pleaded no contest to the charges on February 22.The crimes took place between July 2014 and December 2017. The case was investigated by the Linn County Sheriff’s Department and the Kansas Bureau of Investigation.

Kansas man sentenced for child sex crimes

By BLAISE MESA <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2023-04-19/a-lack-of-affordable-housing-in-kansas-prevents-section-8-tenants-from-using-rent-subsidies">Kansas News Service</a>

TOPEKA — Kamber Corpening felt relief when she first 
landed a Section 8 voucher in 2020, a promise that she qualified for 
substantial rent subsidies from federal taxpayers.

Then came the 
hard part — finding a landlord willing to deal with the accompanying red
 tape and to open units to lower-income tenants.

She tried almost 100 places over the course of a year and found few that took Section 8 vouchers.

In the meantime, she crashed at shelters, in the homes of friends and with family.

"Anywhere we could lay our head," Corpening said.

Thousands
 of Kansans find themselves in similar straits. They carry Section 8 
vouchers that can mean the difference between affordable housing and 
chronic homelessness, but struggle to find apartments that will take 
them in.

The vouchers pay a portion of the rent with the tenant 
paying the rest. A voucher holder can only use up to 40% of their income
 for rent. But rents are rising fast and landlords are pulling out of 
the program. That’s shrunk the number of places accepting vouchers.

In
 Johnson County, around 60% of the vouchers went unused in 2022. In 
Wyandotte County, that number is around 50%. The Wichita Housing 
Authority and Southeast Kansas Community Action Program both said around
 40% of their vouchers expire before a tenant can use them. Those two 
offices run voucher programs for about 15 counties.

In a typical year, the Topeka Housing Authority estimates about 32% of vouchers expire.

Tenants,
 housing authorities and advocacy groups say a combination of rising 
rents, tighter housing markets and a lack of affordable housing are 
responsible for the unused vouchers.

Corpening said more affordable housing and more landlords willing to take Section 8 would help.

“There’s
 so many more people that are needing it now,” she said. That increased 
demand, she said, makes competition for units stiffer.

Housing is 
in hot demand, which can mean more people are applying for units. Units 
could have dozens of applicants and landlords typically rent to people 
with the best credit, most income and cleanest rental history.

That can cross off Section 8 voucher holders, who might have poor credit or past evictions.

Large
 development companies buying up land and increasing rent add to the 
shortage. Rising costs at some units wouldn’t hurt the housing market if
 Kansas wasn’t in such dire need for affordable housing.

The 
National Low Income Housing Coalition estimates that Kansas needs 
another 55,000 low-income rental properties to meet the need for 
affordable housing.

“This challenge is definitely broader than 
just Kansas,” said Andrew Aurand, vice president of research at the 
National Low Income Housing Coalition. “We see this happening in many 
states and in many housing markets across the country.”

People on Section 8 vouchers are often be disabled or on a fixed income, leaving little budget flexibility.

“We
 have not put adequate resources into our affordable rental housing 
programs for decades,” Aurand said. “We’ve underfunded them now for so 
long.”

In Johnson County, the housing authority has hired a 
landlord recruiter. Heather McNeive, director of housing services for 
the Johnson County Housing Authority, said that recruiter works with 
landlords to convince them to take housing vouchers. The county is also 
working on a landlord survey to see what issues property owners have.

McNeive
 said people on Section 8 can are too often seen as problem tenants even
 though they can represent guaranteed income for landlords because 
voucher payments often come without issue each month.

“We try to 
really make the business case (to) landlords,” McNeive said, “We try to 
show them that Section 8 tenants are long-term tenants, you’re not going
 to have a lot of vacancy days.”

Stacey
 Johnson-Cosby owns property in Missouri but is the president of the KC 
Regional Housing Alliance representing landlords on the Kansas side of 
the Kansas City area. She said she could count on Section 8 tenants to 
pay rent each month.

Johnson-Cosby said landlords need to be 
included in the conversation more. She says members in her group have 
complained about slow wait times to inspect properties, leaving units 
vacant when a renter was already approved.

She also complained 
about rent control legislation aimed to corral skyrocketing rents and 
other attempts by cities to regulate landlords.

Johnson-Cosby sold
 some of her properties because of local regulations on landlords. Those
 properties were then bought up by a big development company.

“Several of us have left the marketplace,” Johnson-Cosby said, “taking with us hundreds of affordable units.”

Landlords,
 tenants and advocacy groups have offered competing solutions to the 
shortage of affordable housing. For instance, landlords want less 
government accountability and more reliance on the market keep to prices
 affordable, while tenants’ groups call for increased regulations.

Whatever
 the solution, McNeive and the Johnson County Housing Authority say the 
rental market is reaching a tipping point. She said if agencies aren’t 
looking for solutions, then more people will end up homeless.

“Without the voucher,” McNeive said, “they really cannot make it.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/4/1681914613366.png" alt="Section 8 vouchers are designed to help low-income Kansans find a home. But vouchers are expiring as rent skyrockets. Blaise Mesa / Kansas News Service " />
 <figcaption>Section 8 vouchers are designed to help low-income Kansans find a home. But vouchers are expiring as rent skyrockets. Blaise Mesa / Kansas News Service </figcaption>
 </figure>By BLAISE MESA <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2023-04-19/a-lack-of-affordable-housing-in-kansas-prevents-section-8-tenants-from-using-rent-subsidies">Kansas News Service</a>TOPEKA — Kamber Corpening felt relief when she first 
landed a Section 8 voucher in 2020, a promise that she qualified for 
substantial rent subsidies from federal taxpayers.Then came the 
hard part — finding a landlord willing to deal with the accompanying red
 tape and to open units to lower-income tenants.She tried almost 100 places over the course of a year and found few that took Section 8 vouchers.In the meantime, she crashed at shelters, in the homes of friends and with family."Anywhere we could lay our head," Corpening said.Thousands
 of Kansans find themselves in similar straits. They carry Section 8 
vouchers that can mean the difference between affordable housing and 
chronic homelessness, but struggle to find apartments that will take 
them in.The vouchers pay a portion of the rent with the tenant 
paying the rest. A voucher holder can only use up to 40% of their income
 for rent. But rents are rising fast and landlords are pulling out of 
the program. That’s shrunk the number of places accepting vouchers.In
 Johnson County, around 60% of the vouchers went unused in 2022. In 
Wyandotte County, that number is around 50%. The Wichita Housing 
Authority and Southeast Kansas Community Action Program both said around
 40% of their vouchers expire before a tenant can use them. Those two 
offices run voucher programs for about 15 counties.In a typical year, the Topeka Housing Authority estimates about 32% of vouchers expire.Tenants,
 housing authorities and advocacy groups say a combination of rising 
rents, tighter housing markets and a lack of affordable housing are 
responsible for the unused vouchers.Corpening said more affordable housing and more landlords willing to take Section 8 would help.“There’s
 so many more people that are needing it now,” she said. That increased 
demand, she said, makes competition for units stiffer.Housing is 
in hot demand, which can mean more people are applying for units. Units 
could have dozens of applicants and landlords typically rent to people 
with the best credit, most income and cleanest rental history.That can cross off Section 8 voucher holders, who might have poor credit or past evictions.Large
 development companies buying up land and increasing rent add to the 
shortage. Rising costs at some units wouldn’t hurt the housing market if
 Kansas wasn’t in such dire need for affordable housing.The 
National Low Income Housing Coalition estimates that Kansas needs 
another 55,000 low-income rental properties to meet the need for 
affordable housing.“This challenge is definitely broader than 
just Kansas,” said Andrew Aurand, vice president of research at the 
National Low Income Housing Coalition. “We see this happening in many 
states and in many housing markets across the country.”People on Section 8 vouchers are often be disabled or on a fixed income, leaving little budget flexibility.“We
 have not put adequate resources into our affordable rental housing 
programs for decades,” Aurand said. “We’ve underfunded them now for so 
long.”In Johnson County, the housing authority has hired a 
landlord recruiter. Heather McNeive, director of housing services for 
the Johnson County Housing Authority, said that recruiter works with 
landlords to convince them to take housing vouchers. The county is also 
working on a landlord survey to see what issues property owners have.McNeive
 said people on Section 8 can are too often seen as problem tenants even
 though they can represent guaranteed income for landlords because 
voucher payments often come without issue each month.“We try to 
really make the business case (to) landlords,” McNeive said, “We try to 
show them that Section 8 tenants are long-term tenants, you’re not going
 to have a lot of vacancy days.”And landlords have seen that firsthand.Stacey
 Johnson-Cosby owns property in Missouri but is the president of the KC 
Regional Housing Alliance representing landlords on the Kansas side of 
the Kansas City area. She said she could count on Section 8 tenants to 
pay rent each month.Johnson-Cosby said landlords need to be 
included in the conversation more. She says members in her group have 
complained about slow wait times to inspect properties, leaving units 
vacant when a renter was already approved.She also complained 
about rent control legislation aimed to corral skyrocketing rents and 
other attempts by cities to regulate landlords.Johnson-Cosby sold
 some of her properties because of local regulations on landlords. Those
 properties were then bought up by a big development company.“Several of us have left the marketplace,” Johnson-Cosby said, “taking with us hundreds of affordable units.”Landlords,
 tenants and advocacy groups have offered competing solutions to the 
shortage of affordable housing. For instance, landlords want less 
government accountability and more reliance on the market keep to prices
 affordable, while tenants’ groups call for increased regulations.Whatever
 the solution, McNeive and the Johnson County Housing Authority say the 
rental market is reaching a tipping point. She said if agencies aren’t 
looking for solutions, then more people will end up homeless.“Without the voucher,” McNeive said, “they really cannot make it.”

Lack of housing in Kansas preventing tenants from using rent subsidies 

By PAUL HAMMEL <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2023/04/21/massive-pipeline-spill-caused-by-crack-created-during-installation-third-party-review-concludes/">Nebraska Examiner</a>

LINCOLN — A third-party review of a pipeline spill that released 
500,000 gallons of crude oil onto Kansas farmland and a nearby stream 
was caused by a crack in the metal pipe that eventually ruptured under 
pressure.

That was the conclusion of a third-party review that was ordered by a
 federal pipeline safety agency to investigate the December failure of 
the 36-inch Keystone pipeline, just south of the Nebraska border near 
Washington, Kansas.

It was the largest oil pipeline spill in the U.S. in nine years.

The “Root Cause Failure Analysis” for the so-called “Milepost 14 incident” reached the <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/briefs/keystone-pipeline-owner-blames-kansas-spill-on-faulty-weld-estimates-480m-remediation-cost/">same conclusion as an independent analysis</a> of the metal pipeline released in February.

“The primary cause of the rupture was a progressive fatigue crack 
that originated at a girth weld connecting a manufactured elbow fitting 
to the pipe constructed across Mill Creek (in Kansas),” the operator of 
the pipeline, TC Energy, said in a press release Friday.

The company said that during construction of this segment of the 
Keystone pipeline, which as completed in 2011, “inadvertent bending 
stresses sufficient to initiate a crack” occurred on the elbow fitting.

Over time, and under the high pressure needed to push the oil down 
the pipeline, the crack worsened, eventually resulting in the leak.

The pipeline, which carries tar sands oil from Canada to refineries 
on the U.S. Gulf Coast, was operating at a pressure of 1,153 pounds per 
square gauge at the time of the Dec. 7 rupture, according to the federal
 Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.

Since 2009, the Keystone pipeline has experienced three failures on similar girth welds, according to PHMSA.

<a target="_blank" href="https://hazmat.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/2023-03/TC%20Oil%20Pipeline%20-%2032022074CAO_Amended%20Corrective%20Action%20Order_03072023_%2822-261792%29.pdf">In March, the agency</a>
 ordered TC Energy to reduce the operating pressure to 923 ppsg on the 
segment of the Keystone pipeline from Steele City, Neb., to Cushing, 
Okla., due to a “repetitious pattern of failures related to the original
 design, manufacture, and construction.”

On Friday, TC Energy, in a press release, said it had recovered 98% 
of the released product and cleaned up 90% of the shoreline of Mill 
Creek, where the failure occurred. Previously, the company has estimated
 its cost of responding and cleaning up the leak at $480 million.

Thousands of cubic yards of oil-soaked soil and other materials removed from the spill site were trucked <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2023/02/23/oil-soaked-soil-from-kansas-pipeline-spill-was-sent-to-landfill-near-omaha/">to a landfill just outside Omaha.</a>

TC Energy said that in response to the failure analysis, it plans to:

The company said the latest review confirmed that the welding 
workmanship on the pipeline was “compliant with applicable codes and 
standards.”

A lobbyist with the Sierra Club of Kansas, however, said the latest report just reaffirms that there were flaws in original design, material and installation of the Keystone pipeline that make more oil spills inevitable.

“This shouldn’t give us any relief or assurance,” said Zack Pistora of the Sierra Club. “This only reaffirms that it’s only a matter of time before another weld fails or a design flaw causes another disaster.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/4/1682268577079.png" alt="TC Energy workers at the site of a pipeline spill near Washington, Kansas, just a few miles south of the Nebraska border (Courtesy of TC Energy) " />
 <figcaption>TC Energy workers at the site of a pipeline spill near Washington, Kansas, just a few miles south of the Nebraska border (Courtesy of TC Energy) </figcaption>
 </figure>By PAUL HAMMEL <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2023/04/21/massive-pipeline-spill-caused-by-crack-created-during-installation-third-party-review-concludes/">Nebraska Examiner</a>LINCOLN — A third-party review of a pipeline spill that released 
500,000 gallons of crude oil onto Kansas farmland and a nearby stream 
was caused by a crack in the metal pipe that eventually ruptured under 
pressure.That was the conclusion of a third-party review that was ordered by a
 federal pipeline safety agency to investigate the December failure of 
the 36-inch Keystone pipeline, just south of the Nebraska border near 
Washington, Kansas.It was the largest oil pipeline spill in the U.S. in nine years.The “Root Cause Failure Analysis” for the so-called “Milepost 14 incident” reached the <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/briefs/keystone-pipeline-owner-blames-kansas-spill-on-faulty-weld-estimates-480m-remediation-cost/">same conclusion as an independent analysis</a> of the metal pipeline released in February.<h2>‘Fatigue crack’</h2>“The primary cause of the rupture was a progressive fatigue crack 
that originated at a girth weld connecting a manufactured elbow fitting 
to the pipe constructed across Mill Creek (in Kansas),” the operator of 
the pipeline, TC Energy, said in a press release Friday.The company said that during construction of this segment of the 
Keystone pipeline, which as completed in 2011, “inadvertent bending 
stresses sufficient to initiate a crack” occurred on the elbow fitting.Over time, and under the high pressure needed to push the oil down 
the pipeline, the crack worsened, eventually resulting in the leak.The pipeline, which carries tar sands oil from Canada to refineries 
on the U.S. Gulf Coast, was operating at a pressure of 1,153 pounds per 
square gauge at the time of the Dec. 7 rupture, according to the federal
 Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.<h2>‘Repetitious pattern of failures’</h2>Since 2009, the Keystone pipeline has experienced three failures on similar girth welds, according to PHMSA.<a target="_blank" href="https://hazmat.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/2023-03/TC%20Oil%20Pipeline%20-%2032022074CAO_Amended%20Corrective%20Action%20Order_03072023_%2822-261792%29.pdf">In March, the agency</a>
 ordered TC Energy to reduce the operating pressure to 923 ppsg on the 
segment of the Keystone pipeline from Steele City, Neb., to Cushing, 
Okla., due to a “repetitious pattern of failures related to the original
 design, manufacture, and construction.”On Friday, TC Energy, in a press release, said it had recovered 98% 
of the released product and cleaned up 90% of the shoreline of Mill 
Creek, where the failure occurred. Previously, the company has estimated
 its cost of responding and cleaning up the leak at $480 million.Thousands of cubic yards of oil-soaked soil and other materials removed from the spill site were trucked <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2023/02/23/oil-soaked-soil-from-kansas-pipeline-spill-was-sent-to-landfill-near-omaha/">to a landfill just outside Omaha.</a><h2>Excavation, more inspections planned</h2>TC Energy said that in response to the failure analysis, it plans to:<ul>
 <li>Excavate and investigate other Keystone pipeline sites with characteristics like the incident location.</li><li>Perform additional in-line inspections of the pipeline.</li><li>Review evolving pipeline design guidelines.</li>
 </ul><h2>‘Only a matter of time’</h2>The company said the latest review confirmed that the welding 
workmanship on the pipeline was “compliant with applicable codes and 
standards.”A lobbyist with the Sierra Club of Kansas, however, said the latest report just reaffirms that there were flaws in original design, material and installation of the Keystone pipeline that make more oil spills inevitable.“This shouldn’t give us any relief or assurance,” said Zack Pistora of the Sierra Club. “This only reaffirms that it’s only a matter of time before another weld fails or a design flaw causes another disaster.”

Kansas pipeline spill caused by crack created during installation

WICHITA —A federal grand jury in Wichita returned an indictment charging a woman and a man from Kansas with drug trafficking crimes. 

According to court documents, Regan Viner, 29, and Abram Velo, 41, both of Wichita, are charged with one count of possession of methamphetamine with intention to distribute and one count of possession of fentanyl with intention to distribute. Velo is also charged with one count of possession of a firearm by convicted felon and one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.&nbsp;Velo has convictions for theft, obstruction, criminal trespass, criminal possession of a weapon by a felon and four previous drug convictions, according to the Kansas Dept. of Corrections

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is investigating the case.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/4/1681923187030.png" alt="Velo has convictions for theft, obstruction, criminal trespass, criminal possession of a weapon by a felon and four previous drug convictions, according to the Kansas Dept. of Corrections-photo KDOC" />
 <figcaption>Velo has convictions for theft, obstruction, criminal trespass, criminal possession of a weapon by a felon and four previous drug convictions, according to the Kansas Dept. of Corrections-photo KDOC</figcaption>
 </figure>WICHITA —A federal grand jury in Wichita returned an indictment charging a woman and a man from Kansas with drug trafficking crimes. According to court documents, Regan Viner, 29, and Abram Velo, 41, both of Wichita, are charged with one count of possession of methamphetamine with intention to distribute and one count of possession of fentanyl with intention to distribute. Velo is also charged with one count of possession of a firearm by convicted felon and one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.&nbsp;Velo has convictions for theft, obstruction, criminal trespass, criminal possession of a weapon by a felon and four previous drug convictions, according to the Kansas Dept. of CorrectionsThe Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is investigating the case.

Kansas felon accused attempting to sell fentanyl

WASHINGTON (AP) — The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/us-supreme-court">Supreme Court</a>&nbsp;last week&nbsp; wrestled with the case of a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-post-office-christian-85291b805b5630e958ac1200ef711cf2">Christian mail carrier</a>&nbsp;who refused to work on Sundays when he was required to deliver Amazon packages.

<a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/audio/2022/22-174">Click here to listen to a replay</a> of the oral arguments

While the court seemed in broad agreement that businesses like the Postal Service can't cite minor costs or hardships to reject such requests to accommodate religious practices, it was less clear what they might do about the particular worker's case.

The case before the court involves a mail carrier in rural Pennsylvania. The man was told that as part of his job he’d need to start delivering Amazon packages on Sundays. He declined, saying his Sundays are for church and family. U.S. Postal Service officials initially tried to get substitutes for the man’s shifts, but they couldn’t always accommodate him. When he didn’t show, that meant more work for others. Ultimately, the man quit and sued for religious discrimination.

During the arguments, the justices struggled with the question of when employers have to accommodate employees' religious needs. Justice&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/ketanji-brown-jackson">Ketanji Brown Jackson</a>&nbsp;said the circumstances of each case matter and that "the answer is: it depends.”

The case is the latest religious confrontation the high court has been asked to referee. In recent years, the court’s 6-3 conservative majority has been particularly sensitive to the concerns of religious plaintiffs. That includes a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-coach-prayer-2981a8073ea82a1a688c367270c941aa">ruling last year</a>&nbsp;in which the court said a public high school football coach should be allowed to pray on the field after games. Another case the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/us-supreme-court-entertainment-religion-race-and-ethnicity-discrimination-9f2a76e9c72b6e0dc2a513a968328799">court is weighing</a>&nbsp;this term involves a Christian graphic artist who wants to create wedding websites, but doesn't want to serve gay couples.

A federal law, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, requires employers to accommodate employees’ religious practices unless doing so would be an “undue hardship” for the business. But a Supreme Court case from 1977, Trans World Airlines v. Hardison, says in part that employers can deny religious accommodations to employees when they impose “more than a de minimis cost” on the business.

Three current justices have said the court should reconsider the Hardison case. And on Tuesday other justices also suggested the “more than de minimis cost language” was problematic.

Even Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar, the Biden administration’s top Supreme Court lawyer who was representing the Post Office, told the justices that the Hardison case as a whole requires an employer who wants to deny an accommodation to show more. She said that most often requests for religious accommodation come up when employees seek schedule changes like the Sabbath off or midday prayer breaks or exemptions from a company's dress code or grooming policies. They also come up when an employee wants to display a religious symbol in the workplace.

Justice Neil Gorsuch, who along with Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito has said Hardison should be reconsidered, suggested the justices could simply say that “some courts have taken this de minimis language" too far and that has “been a serious misunderstanding.” He suggested the justices could do “a good day's work and put a period at the end of it by saying that that is not the law.”

The justices seemed less in agreement, however, about what to do on the facts of the case in front of them involving Gerald Groff, a former employee of the U.S. Postal Service in Pennsylvania’s Amish Country. For years, Groff was a fill-in mail carrier who worked on days when other mail carriers were off.

But when an Amazon.com contract with the Postal Service required carriers to start delivering packages on Sundays, Groff balked. Initially, to avoid the shifts, Groff transferred to a more rural post office not yet doing Sunday deliveries, but eventually that post office was required to do them, too.

Whenever Groff was scheduled on a Sunday, another carrier had to work or his spot went unfilled. Officials said Groff’s absences created a tense environment and contributed to morale problems. It also meant other carriers had to deliver more Sunday mail than they otherwise would.

Justice Elena Kagan suggested there was enough evidence that Groff's Sunday absences were causing a hardship and that the Postal Service did nothing wrong in denying an accommodation. Justice Brett Kavanaugh pointed out that the Postal Service had “one employee quit, one employee transfer and another file a grievance” as a result of Groff's Sunday absences. But other justices including Justice Amy Coney Barrett suggested the justices might want to send Groff's case back to lower courts for another look.

Groff resigned in 2019 rather than wait to be fired. His lawyer Aaron Streett urged the Supreme Court to overrule the Hardison case and to say that employers must show “significant difficulty or expense” if they want to reject a religious accommodation.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1596998822010.png" alt="The case before the court involves a mail carrier in rural Pennsylvania. The man was told that as part of his job he’d need to start delivering Amazon packages on Sundays.-Google image" />
 <figcaption>The case before the court involves a mail carrier in rural Pennsylvania. The man was told that as part of his job he’d need to start delivering Amazon packages on Sundays.-Google image</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/us-supreme-court">Supreme Court</a>&nbsp;last week&nbsp; wrestled with the case of a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-post-office-christian-85291b805b5630e958ac1200ef711cf2">Christian mail carrier</a>&nbsp;who refused to work on Sundays when he was required to deliver Amazon packages.<a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/audio/2022/22-174">Click here to listen to a replay</a> of the oral argumentsWhile the court seemed in broad agreement that businesses like the Postal Service can't cite minor costs or hardships to reject such requests to accommodate religious practices, it was less clear what they might do about the particular worker's case.The case before the court involves a mail carrier in rural Pennsylvania. The man was told that as part of his job he’d need to start delivering Amazon packages on Sundays. He declined, saying his Sundays are for church and family. U.S. Postal Service officials initially tried to get substitutes for the man’s shifts, but they couldn’t always accommodate him. When he didn’t show, that meant more work for others. Ultimately, the man quit and sued for religious discrimination.During the arguments, the justices struggled with the question of when employers have to accommodate employees' religious needs. Justice&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/ketanji-brown-jackson">Ketanji Brown Jackson</a>&nbsp;said the circumstances of each case matter and that "the answer is: it depends.”The case is the latest religious confrontation the high court has been asked to referee. In recent years, the court’s 6-3 conservative majority has been particularly sensitive to the concerns of religious plaintiffs. That includes a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-coach-prayer-2981a8073ea82a1a688c367270c941aa">ruling last year</a>&nbsp;in which the court said a public high school football coach should be allowed to pray on the field after games. Another case the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/us-supreme-court-entertainment-religion-race-and-ethnicity-discrimination-9f2a76e9c72b6e0dc2a513a968328799">court is weighing</a>&nbsp;this term involves a Christian graphic artist who wants to create wedding websites, but doesn't want to serve gay couples.A federal law, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, requires employers to accommodate employees’ religious practices unless doing so would be an “undue hardship” for the business. But a Supreme Court case from 1977, Trans World Airlines v. Hardison, says in part that employers can deny religious accommodations to employees when they impose “more than a de minimis cost” on the business.Three current justices have said the court should reconsider the Hardison case. And on Tuesday other justices also suggested the “more than de minimis cost language” was problematic.Even Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar, the Biden administration’s top Supreme Court lawyer who was representing the Post Office, told the justices that the Hardison case as a whole requires an employer who wants to deny an accommodation to show more. She said that most often requests for religious accommodation come up when employees seek schedule changes like the Sabbath off or midday prayer breaks or exemptions from a company's dress code or grooming policies. They also come up when an employee wants to display a religious symbol in the workplace.Justice Neil Gorsuch, who along with Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito has said Hardison should be reconsidered, suggested the justices could simply say that “some courts have taken this de minimis language" too far and that has “been a serious misunderstanding.” He suggested the justices could do “a good day's work and put a period at the end of it by saying that that is not the law.”The justices seemed less in agreement, however, about what to do on the facts of the case in front of them involving Gerald Groff, a former employee of the U.S. Postal Service in Pennsylvania’s Amish Country. For years, Groff was a fill-in mail carrier who worked on days when other mail carriers were off.But when an Amazon.com contract with the Postal Service required carriers to start delivering packages on Sundays, Groff balked. Initially, to avoid the shifts, Groff transferred to a more rural post office not yet doing Sunday deliveries, but eventually that post office was required to do them, too.Whenever Groff was scheduled on a Sunday, another carrier had to work or his spot went unfilled. Officials said Groff’s absences created a tense environment and contributed to morale problems. It also meant other carriers had to deliver more Sunday mail than they otherwise would.Justice Elena Kagan suggested there was enough evidence that Groff's Sunday absences were causing a hardship and that the Postal Service did nothing wrong in denying an accommodation. Justice Brett Kavanaugh pointed out that the Postal Service had “one employee quit, one employee transfer and another file a grievance” as a result of Groff's Sunday absences. But other justices including Justice Amy Coney Barrett suggested the justices might want to send Groff's case back to lower courts for another look.Groff resigned in 2019 rather than wait to be fired. His lawyer Aaron Streett urged the Supreme Court to overrule the Hardison case and to say that employers must show “significant difficulty or expense” if they want to reject a religious accommodation.The case is Groff v. DeJoy, 22-174.

🎤Supreme Court case tests religious tolerance on Sunday work

KANSAS CITY (AP) —In suburban Detroit, it was a lost 14-year-old looking for directions. In Kansas City, it was a 16-year-old who went to the wrong house to pick up his younger brothers. There was the 12-year-old rummaging around in a yard in small-town Alabama, the 20-year-old woman who found herself in the wrong driveway in upstate New York and the cheerleader who got into the wrong car in Texas.

All of them, and dozens more across America, were&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/wrong-place-shootings-3c6e5061adb30d889ac3d071893ef129">met by gunfire</a>. Some were injured, some killed.

In a nation where strangers are all too often seen as threats and fear has been politicized, honest mistakes and simple acts like going to the wrong address or car in a parking lot, or even just ringing the wrong doorbell, can seem like a fateful question of trust.

It is a tension not lost on Jae Moyer, who was at a rally at the federal courthouse in Kansas City on Tuesday, demanding a U.S. Department of Justice investigation into the shooting of Ralph Yarl, the Black teenager&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ralph-yarl-shooting-kansas-city-black-teen-154c4e3275732b83bc9f0026a9981b81">shot last week</a>&nbsp;when he went to the door of an elderly white man while looking for his brothers. Yarl, who was shot in the head and arm, is recovering at home.

“I want to be welcoming and inviting to anyone that comes to my home. Even if they are asking for help and I can’t help them I’m going to be kind to them. I think that’s the way everyone should be,” Moyer said.

“But I don’t think that’s the culture we have right now,” Moyer said. “There’s a lot of fear in our country.”

In the early 1970s, surveys showed that about half of America believed most people were trustworthy. By 2020, that number had fallen to less than one-third. Meanwhile, Americans have believed for decades that crime is going up — even in years when it is going down — and also wildly overestimate their chances of being a crime victim.

“Part of that is you guys,” said Warren Eller, a professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, referring to the media’s relentless focus on crime. “We get 24 hours a day of all the dangers out there.”

That’s hardly surprising. Politicians have long used crime as a wedge issue to gain footholds. Neighborhood message boards foment paranoia about suspicious outsiders. And local and national newscasts bombard TV viewers daily with images of grainy surveillance videos showing a variety of crimes and provocative headlines about cities in decay.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/4/1681726215314.png" alt="Ralph Yarl, the Black teenager&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ralph-yarl-shooting-kansas-city-black-teen-154c4e3275732b83bc9f0026a9981b81">shot last week</a>&nbsp;when he went to the door of an elderly white man while looking for his brothers. Yarl, who was shot in the head and arm, is recovering at home.-photo GoFundMe" />
 <figcaption>Ralph Yarl, the Black teenager&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ralph-yarl-shooting-kansas-city-black-teen-154c4e3275732b83bc9f0026a9981b81">shot last week</a>&nbsp;when he went to the door of an elderly white man while looking for his brothers. Yarl, who was shot in the head and arm, is recovering at home.-photo GoFundMe</figcaption>
 </figure>By TIM SULLIVAN and AARON MORRISON&nbsp;KANSAS CITY (AP) —In suburban Detroit, it was a lost 14-year-old looking for directions. In Kansas City, it was a 16-year-old who went to the wrong house to pick up his younger brothers. There was the 12-year-old rummaging around in a yard in small-town Alabama, the 20-year-old woman who found herself in the wrong driveway in upstate New York and the cheerleader who got into the wrong car in Texas.All of them, and dozens more across America, were&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/wrong-place-shootings-3c6e5061adb30d889ac3d071893ef129">met by gunfire</a>. Some were injured, some killed.In a nation where strangers are all too often seen as threats and fear has been politicized, honest mistakes and simple acts like going to the wrong address or car in a parking lot, or even just ringing the wrong doorbell, can seem like a fateful question of trust.It is a tension not lost on Jae Moyer, who was at a rally at the federal courthouse in Kansas City on Tuesday, demanding a U.S. Department of Justice investigation into the shooting of Ralph Yarl, the Black teenager&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ralph-yarl-shooting-kansas-city-black-teen-154c4e3275732b83bc9f0026a9981b81">shot last week</a>&nbsp;when he went to the door of an elderly white man while looking for his brothers. Yarl, who was shot in the head and arm, is recovering at home.“I want to be welcoming and inviting to anyone that comes to my home. Even if they are asking for help and I can’t help them I’m going to be kind to them. I think that’s the way everyone should be,” Moyer said.“But I don’t think that’s the culture we have right now,” Moyer said. “There’s a lot of fear in our country.”There is also plenty of mistrust.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Ralph Yarl is home and recovering! How the bullet in his head did not cause more extensive damage is truly a miracle. To God be the glory! <a href="https://t.co/y5mWpQNcY4">pic.twitter.com/y5mWpQNcY4</a>&mdash; Lee Merritt (@MerrittForTexas) <a href="https://twitter.com/MerrittForTexas/status/1648707056159866880?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 19, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>AMERICAN SUSPICIONIn the early 1970s, surveys showed that about half of America believed most people were trustworthy. By 2020, that number had fallen to less than one-third. Meanwhile, Americans have believed for decades that crime is going up — even in years when it is going down — and also wildly overestimate their chances of being a crime victim.“Part of that is you guys,” said Warren Eller, a professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, referring to the media’s relentless focus on crime. “We get 24 hours a day of all the dangers out there.”That’s hardly surprising. Politicians have long used crime as a wedge issue to gain footholds. Neighborhood message boards foment paranoia about suspicious outsiders. And local and national newscasts bombard TV viewers daily with images of grainy surveillance videos showing a variety of crimes and provocative headlines about cities in decay.That includes shootings where innocent victims are shot by people who wrongly believe that they are under threat. While there are few statistics on these shootings, they appear to make up a very small percentage of the more than 15,000 people killed every year in the U.S. in firearm homicides.And yet in just six days in April, four young people across the U.S. were shot — and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/kaylin-gillis-wrong-driveway-532de0f3d1fbdcff922fe49f78003976">the woman in New York killed</a>&nbsp;— for being at what someone decided was the wrong place. Just Tuesday, a man&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/texas-cheerleaders-shot-mistaken-location-4b5d0659a3768bc2a46b4756e6a5ee4a">shot and wounded two cheerleaders</a>&nbsp;in a Texas supermarket parking lot after one said she mistakenly got into his car thinking it was her own. One cheerleader was grazed by a bullet and treated at the scene. Her teammate was shot in the leg and back.This American mistrust has settled in as something that, while not normal, is less surprising than ever. And when mixed with legal confusion, easy access to weapons, poor firearms training and sometimes outright racism, it has produced a string of shootings like these that never seems to end.Take the legal issues. Shooters in incidents like these often use defenses based on&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ralph-yarl-shooting-stand-your-ground-69f91b0a09b25f9758219897f5890278">“stand-your-ground” laws</a>, which have broadened people's rights to defend themselves if they are threatened. But those laws, which have spread across America in the last 25 years, may have actually driven up violence.A study published in 2022 by the JAMA Network Open, a peer-reviewed medical journal, found that monthly homicide rates increased between 8% and 11% in states with stand-your-ground laws.“I think it has commonly become known of as a license to use deadly force whenever someone feels threatened,” said Geoffrey Corn, the chair of criminal law at the Texas Tech University School of Law. He has extensively studied such laws, which he believes are deeply misunderstood by the public.“The fear has to be justified by the circumstances," he said. “You don't get to kill somebody just because you fear them.”AGGRAVATING FACTORSLegal experts expect Andrew Lester, the 84-year-old man who shot Yarl, to claim self-defense and cite Missouri’s stand-your-ground law. On Wednesday, he&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ralph-yarl-shooting-updates-c13170d6759f2963b01a68fc8a6332f7">pleaded not guilty</a>&nbsp;in Yarl’s shooting.Corn, a 22-year-military veteran, also wonders about America’s recent boom in firearm sales and whether it has combined with insufficient training to compound the problem.“What troubles me isn’t that there are a lot of firearms, it’s that nothing is required of someone who takes on the awesome responsibility" of wielding them, Corn said. Even in states that require firearms training, he says training is often insufficient, with poor explanations of self-defense laws.When he was in the military, he had weeks of training before he was even allowed to touch a bullet. “I was always conscious of the awesome killing power of a firearm,” he said.Then there is the unavoidable question of race, a central pillar of American distrust across the centuries.False notions about threats posed by nonwhite people have played out repeatedly in modern American history, including in a number of high-profile cases when assailants attacked Black or Hispanic people who they believed meant them harm, even when no threat was apparent.Yarl’s shooting has drawn comparisons to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/trayvon-martin">the 2012 shooting death of Trayvon Martin</a>, 17, a Black teenager visiting his father’s home in a gated Florida community when George Zimmerman, a volunteer neighborhood watchman, decided he looked suspicious and shot him to death. Zimmerman was acquitted after a trial in which his attorneys essentially used the state’s stand-your-ground law as a defense.It also echoes&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-crime-shootings-michigan-detroit-4495fe92a5c152ab707f74bcc6cb2f04">the case of Renisha McBride</a>, a Black woman who knocked on doors in a Detroit-area community in 2013, seeking help after a car accident. She was fatally shot by a white resident who fired through his screen door, saying he feared she meant him harm.These cases, said Ibram X. Kendi, the bestselling author of books on racism and founder of the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bu.edu/antiracism-center/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwxYOiBhC9ARIsANiEIfYXscTCBySJ0PRmHgZQ1ZOfxEbFn76YeCJGKSX_2J4aB6yMPl-eVP0aAp2PEALw_wcB">Center for Antiracist Research</a>&nbsp;at Boston University, occurred because people of all races and backgrounds are groomed to fear Black people as more prone to criminality and violence.“No one is born fearing another person because of their skin color,” Kendi said. “There’s so many different ways in which people are taught that Black people are dangerous, and those ideas actually create all sorts of dangers for Black people, including Black teenagers.”“The more we unlearn that idea and realize that we can’t attach danger to skin color in any way," he said, “the less likely people are going to be to use lethal force against a 16-year-old child who is ringing their doorbell.”___