INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Top Republican hopefuls for the 2024 presidential race vowed Friday at the National Rifle Association's annual convention to defend the Second Amendment at all costs, suggesting that new firearms restrictions in the wake of mass shootings around the country would only hurt law-abiding gun owners.

The three-day gathering with thousands of the organization’s most active members at Indianapolis’ convention center came mere days after mass shootings at a school in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/nashville-school-shooting-covenant-school-5da45b469ccb6c9533bbddf20c1bfe16">Nashville</a>&nbsp;and a bank in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/louisville-bank-shooting-9826ea39f24ff9dcf3cb5390c04be47b">Louisville</a>, Kentucky. Last year's NRA convention followed the massacre at a school in Uvalde, Texas.

That illustrated the stark reality that such shootings have become enough of the fabric of American life that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/uvalde-school-shooting-nra-convention-212dfd1b57474f1ab208d4a72521a010">the NRA can no longer schedule around them</a>. Nor does it really want to: The convention also fell on the second anniversary of the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/fedex-indianapolis-mass-shooting-e92ad3117c56357b3b2c71a2903e68a8">mass shooting at a FedEx facility in Indianapolis</a>&nbsp;that killed nine people.

None of that stopped top Republicans from flocking to the event, underscoring the political power of the NRA.

“Gun-hating politicians should never go to bed unafraid of what this association, and all of our millions of members, can do to their political careers,” said NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre, suggesting that his group could play a dominant role in the 2024 election after&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/shootings-gun-politics-barack-obama-houston-violence-62765e5b208e74c0b109678bb46d31ed">turmoil in recent years</a>&nbsp;over a failed bankruptcy effort, a class action lawsuit and a fraud investigation.

Instead of fewer guns, former Vice President Mike Pence called for federal funding for armed school officers and more institutions for the mentally ill, though&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/gun-politics-shootings-health-donald-trump-crime-b8ce29d88543479bbd4894f5a39cc686">mental illness is not the main driver of mass shootings</a>. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said he had resisted implementing any gun restrictions in his state despite that stance being unpopular.

Former President Donald Trump crowned himself as “the most pro-gun, pro-Second Amendment president” in the nation’s history. “I will be your loyal friend and fearless champion once again as the 47th president of the United States,” he told the crowd, pledging to create a new tax credit to reimburse teachers “for the full cost of a concealed-carry firearm,” as well as gun training “from highly-qualified experts.”

Some of the Republican politicians speaking at the event said they were saddened by the recent shootings, but most spent more time criticizing Democrats, slamming COVID-19 restrictions and vaccines, and discussing security along the U.S.-Mexico border. That was fine with many attendees, who don't think gun restrictions are the answer to mass shootings.

“No one wants to see the violence you see in schools and stuff today,” said Randy Conner, a pistol and rifle instructor for the NRA from Waynesburg, Pennsylvania. “But I don’t think taking the guns away from ordinary citizens is going to change any of that at all.”

Trump's appearance was his first public event since being&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-arraignment-hush-money-81225510ef7638494852816878f612f0#:~:text=NEW%20YORK%20(AP)%20%E2%80%94%20A,his%20first%20White%20House%20campaign.">arrested and arraigned in New York last week</a>&nbsp;on felony charges stemming from a hush money payment to porn actor Stormy Daniels during his 2016 campaign. His Secret Service protection meant attendees couldn't carry guns at the convention.

The former president made a few references to the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/what-else-is-trump-being-investigated-for-bbc926171b5bdf91eabd76db93411b8b">numerous investigations he's facing</a>. Instead of the government going after hardened criminals, he complained, “The only one they want to prosecute is Donald Trump.”

Friday's appearance was the first time he and Pence have addressed the same campaign event on the same day since their estrangement following the Jan. 6, 2021,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/capitol-siege">insurrection at the U.S. Capitol</a>. Pence is considering his own 2024 bid.

A former Indiana governor, Pence drew scattered boos as he started speaking, despite it being his home turf. The former vice president had skipped a number of conservative gatherings in recent years after he was booed and heckled during their previous meetings.

Taking the stage later, Trump said sarcastically that he hoped the crowd had given his former vice president a warm introduction.

Pence noted the two recent mass shootings and said his heart and prayers were with the families of the victims, who included three 9-year-old students. But he said, “We don’t need gun control. We need crime control.”

Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, a Trump critic who&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/asa-hutchinson-president-2024-election-3a55855b1914d6e61338d1c8576a817f">announced his 2024 campaign</a>&nbsp;after news of the former president's indictment broke, drew at least one yelled obscenity from the Trump-friendly crowd after he suggested President Joe Biden was "praying” for a rematch with Trump in 2024 and declared, “We don’t need a rerun of 2020."

Others offering video messages were former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, who&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/nikki-haley-running-for-president-f28052019e8ac3846cd125b3d9614d4f">began her 2024 campaign in February</a>, and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, who announced a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/exploratory-committee-president-tim-scott-2024-b129664cb44862100e43e2930e75efb3">presidential exploratory committee</a>&nbsp;this week. DeSantis, seen as a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/desantis-florida-trump-president-2024-election-00b8335b1a2dd4d08fb216e4b609f6a3">top rival to Trump</a>&nbsp;even though he’s yet to jump into the race, also spoke briefly in virtual remarks.

“I’ve resisted calls to take up gun control, even when such a stand is superficially unpopular,” DeSantis said, a reference to calls for stricter Florida laws in the wake of the 2018 Parkland school shooting that killed 17 people.

Pain over the Louisville and Nashville shooting rampages has crossed party lines. Kentucky Democratic Gov.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-health-covid-kentucky-steve-beshear-e6dd4d00c92502d4814451d6e9995ed8">Andy Beshear</a>&nbsp;talked about having a friend killed in the Louisville shooting, while Republican Tennessee Gov.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-abortion-health-covid-6e6d211ca65d625eef90d91ee8f4567d">Bill Lee</a>&nbsp;said he had friends killed during the Nashville school attack.

Yet the NRA convention's tone was as defiant as last year, when the group held its convention in Houston just three days after the massacre of 19 students and two teachers at a Uvalde elementary school.

Further overlapping with recent tragedy, Pence and some of the other speakers were following up their NRA speeches by traveling to Nashville to meet with top GOP donors gathered there.

“Every significant national Republican, every Republican that’s thrown their hat in the ring to run for president, is showing up this weekend to pledge their undying loyalty to the NRA and the gun lobby,” said Democratic Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy, who championed&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-signs-gun-violence-bill-c21249287f976c2c164d8753205c2e6d">bipartisan legislation</a>&nbsp;that passed last year and imposed some new federal gun restrictions after the Uvalde shooting. “Our kids are being hunted, and the NRA’s business model is to give aid to the hunters.”

Indeed, support for gun rights among Republican voters remains higher than for voters overall. Some 56% of voters in last fall’s midterm elections said they want to see stricter nationwide gun laws, compared with just 28% of Republicans, according to AP VoteCast, a wide-ranging survey of the electorate. About half of Republicans said gun laws should be left as they are.

Trump, meanwhile, has a contradictory history on guns.

The NRA was a key backer of his 2016 campaign, spending some $30 million to support a candidate who sometimes mentioned carrying his own gun and vowed to eliminate gun-free zones in schools and on military bases. Trump also pledged to establish a national right to carry.

But, as the country reeled from a series of mass shootings,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/shootings-north-america-us-news-ap-top-news-las-vegas-6c1af80fb290472c89fb930e223505af">Trump’s administration banned bump stocks</a>, which were used in a 2017 attack on a Las Vegas country music concert that killed 60 people and injured hundreds more. After the Parkland school shooting in Florida the following year,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ap-top-news-donald-trump-violence-gun-politics-politics-75db363bc4fb4779b92d4582f5d5bb70">Trump urged congressional Republicans to expand background checks</a>&nbsp;and proposed seizing guns from mentally ill people.

He also suggested raising the minimum age to buy assault rifles from 18 to 21, and suggested he was open to a conversation about reviving assault weapons bans. After later meeting with the NRA, however, Trump abandoned his push.

Friday's convention largely belonged to Trump, who drew the loudest cheers from the crowd.

Donna Alberts, who traveled around 600 miles (965 kilometers) from Greenbriar, Arkansas, for the convention, said nothing could sway her vote for Trump in 2024.

“He’s a good man," Alberts said, “and he does what he says he’s going to do, and he loves this country.”

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Top Republican hopefuls for the 2024 presidential race vowed Friday at the National Rifle Association's annual convention to defend the Second Amendment at all costs, suggesting that new firearms restrictions in the wake of mass shootings around the country would only hurt law-abiding gun owners.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">“If we can send 120 billion dollars to Ukraine, then we can afford 1/10th of that amount to protect American children in American schools.” - <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@realDonaldTrump</a> at the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NRAConvention?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NRAConvention</a> <a href="https://t.co/uOL7xC9GNs">pic.twitter.com/uOL7xC9GNs</a>&mdash; NRA (@NRA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NRA/status/1647040792853196801?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 15, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>The three-day gathering with thousands of the organization’s most active members at Indianapolis’ convention center came mere days after mass shootings at a school in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/nashville-school-shooting-covenant-school-5da45b469ccb6c9533bbddf20c1bfe16">Nashville</a>&nbsp;and a bank in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/louisville-bank-shooting-9826ea39f24ff9dcf3cb5390c04be47b">Louisville</a>, Kentucky. Last year's NRA convention followed the massacre at a school in Uvalde, Texas.That illustrated the stark reality that such shootings have become enough of the fabric of American life that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/uvalde-school-shooting-nra-convention-212dfd1b57474f1ab208d4a72521a010">the NRA can no longer schedule around them</a>. Nor does it really want to: The convention also fell on the second anniversary of the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/fedex-indianapolis-mass-shooting-e92ad3117c56357b3b2c71a2903e68a8">mass shooting at a FedEx facility in Indianapolis</a>&nbsp;that killed nine people.None of that stopped top Republicans from flocking to the event, underscoring the political power of the NRA.“Gun-hating politicians should never go to bed unafraid of what this association, and all of our millions of members, can do to their political careers,” said NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre, suggesting that his group could play a dominant role in the 2024 election after&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/shootings-gun-politics-barack-obama-houston-violence-62765e5b208e74c0b109678bb46d31ed">turmoil in recent years</a>&nbsp;over a failed bankruptcy effort, a class action lawsuit and a fraud investigation.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">NRA Life Member Donald J. Trump 🇺🇸 <a href="https://t.co/m9RqcEzOpw">pic.twitter.com/m9RqcEzOpw</a>&mdash; NRA (@NRA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NRA/status/1646990622794940419?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 14, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Instead of fewer guns, former Vice President Mike Pence called for federal funding for armed school officers and more institutions for the mentally ill, though&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/gun-politics-shootings-health-donald-trump-crime-b8ce29d88543479bbd4894f5a39cc686">mental illness is not the main driver of mass shootings</a>. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said he had resisted implementing any gun restrictions in his state despite that stance being unpopular.Former President Donald Trump crowned himself as “the most pro-gun, pro-Second Amendment president” in the nation’s history. “I will be your loyal friend and fearless champion once again as the 47th president of the United States,” he told the crowd, pledging to create a new tax credit to reimburse teachers “for the full cost of a concealed-carry firearm,” as well as gun training “from highly-qualified experts.”Some of the Republican politicians speaking at the event said they were saddened by the recent shootings, but most spent more time criticizing Democrats, slamming COVID-19 restrictions and vaccines, and discussing security along the U.S.-Mexico border. That was fine with many attendees, who don't think gun restrictions are the answer to mass shootings.“No one wants to see the violence you see in schools and stuff today,” said Randy Conner, a pistol and rifle instructor for the NRA from Waynesburg, Pennsylvania. “But I don’t think taking the guns away from ordinary citizens is going to change any of that at all.”Trump's appearance was his first public event since being&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-arraignment-hush-money-81225510ef7638494852816878f612f0#:~:text=NEW%20YORK%20(AP)%20%E2%80%94%20A,his%20first%20White%20House%20campaign.">arrested and arraigned in New York last week</a>&nbsp;on felony charges stemming from a hush money payment to porn actor Stormy Daniels during his 2016 campaign. His Secret Service protection meant attendees couldn't carry guns at the convention.The former president made a few references to the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/what-else-is-trump-being-investigated-for-bbc926171b5bdf91eabd76db93411b8b">numerous investigations he's facing</a>. Instead of the government going after hardened criminals, he complained, “The only one they want to prosecute is Donald Trump.”Friday's appearance was the first time he and Pence have addressed the same campaign event on the same day since their estrangement following the Jan. 6, 2021,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/capitol-siege">insurrection at the U.S. Capitol</a>. Pence is considering his own 2024 bid.A former Indiana governor, Pence drew scattered boos as he started speaking, despite it being his home turf. The former vice president had skipped a number of conservative gatherings in recent years after he was booed and heckled during their previous meetings.Taking the stage later, Trump said sarcastically that he hoped the crowd had given his former vice president a warm introduction.Pence noted the two recent mass shootings and said his heart and prayers were with the families of the victims, who included three 9-year-old students. But he said, “We don’t need gun control. We need crime control.”Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, a Trump critic who&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/asa-hutchinson-president-2024-election-3a55855b1914d6e61338d1c8576a817f">announced his 2024 campaign</a>&nbsp;after news of the former president's indictment broke, drew at least one yelled obscenity from the Trump-friendly crowd after he suggested President Joe Biden was "praying” for a rematch with Trump in 2024 and declared, “We don’t need a rerun of 2020."Others offering video messages were former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, who&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/nikki-haley-running-for-president-f28052019e8ac3846cd125b3d9614d4f">began her 2024 campaign in February</a>, and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, who announced a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/exploratory-committee-president-tim-scott-2024-b129664cb44862100e43e2930e75efb3">presidential exploratory committee</a>&nbsp;this week. DeSantis, seen as a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/desantis-florida-trump-president-2024-election-00b8335b1a2dd4d08fb216e4b609f6a3">top rival to Trump</a>&nbsp;even though he’s yet to jump into the race, also spoke briefly in virtual remarks.“I’ve resisted calls to take up gun control, even when such a stand is superficially unpopular,” DeSantis said, a reference to calls for stricter Florida laws in the wake of the 2018 Parkland school shooting that killed 17 people.Pain over the Louisville and Nashville shooting rampages has crossed party lines. Kentucky Democratic Gov.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-health-covid-kentucky-steve-beshear-e6dd4d00c92502d4814451d6e9995ed8">Andy Beshear</a>&nbsp;talked about having a friend killed in the Louisville shooting, while Republican Tennessee Gov.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-abortion-health-covid-6e6d211ca65d625eef90d91ee8f4567d">Bill Lee</a>&nbsp;said he had friends killed during the Nashville school attack.Yet the NRA convention's tone was as defiant as last year, when the group held its convention in Houston just three days after the massacre of 19 students and two teachers at a Uvalde elementary school.Further overlapping with recent tragedy, Pence and some of the other speakers were following up their NRA speeches by traveling to Nashville to meet with top GOP donors gathered there.“Every significant national Republican, every Republican that’s thrown their hat in the ring to run for president, is showing up this weekend to pledge their undying loyalty to the NRA and the gun lobby,” said Democratic Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy, who championed&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-signs-gun-violence-bill-c21249287f976c2c164d8753205c2e6d">bipartisan legislation</a>&nbsp;that passed last year and imposed some new federal gun restrictions after the Uvalde shooting. “Our kids are being hunted, and the NRA’s business model is to give aid to the hunters.”Indeed, support for gun rights among Republican voters remains higher than for voters overall. Some 56% of voters in last fall’s midterm elections said they want to see stricter nationwide gun laws, compared with just 28% of Republicans, according to AP VoteCast, a wide-ranging survey of the electorate. About half of Republicans said gun laws should be left as they are.Trump, meanwhile, has a contradictory history on guns.The NRA was a key backer of his 2016 campaign, spending some $30 million to support a candidate who sometimes mentioned carrying his own gun and vowed to eliminate gun-free zones in schools and on military bases. Trump also pledged to establish a national right to carry.But, as the country reeled from a series of mass shootings,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/shootings-north-america-us-news-ap-top-news-las-vegas-6c1af80fb290472c89fb930e223505af">Trump’s administration banned bump stocks</a>, which were used in a 2017 attack on a Las Vegas country music concert that killed 60 people and injured hundreds more. After the Parkland school shooting in Florida the following year,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ap-top-news-donald-trump-violence-gun-politics-politics-75db363bc4fb4779b92d4582f5d5bb70">Trump urged congressional Republicans to expand background checks</a>&nbsp;and proposed seizing guns from mentally ill people.He also suggested raising the minimum age to buy assault rifles from 18 to 21, and suggested he was open to a conversation about reviving assault weapons bans. After later meeting with the NRA, however, Trump abandoned his push.Friday's convention largely belonged to Trump, who drew the loudest cheers from the crowd.Donna Alberts, who traveled around 600 miles (965 kilometers) from Greenbriar, Arkansas, for the convention, said nothing could sway her vote for Trump in 2024.“He’s a good man," Alberts said, “and he does what he says he’s going to do, and he loves this country.”___

Trump tells NRA he's the most pro-gun president in history

KANSAS CITY —Law enforcement authorities&nbsp;have identified the body recovered from the Kansas River on Wednesday afternoon as 30-year-old Verlon Timms, Jr., of Kansas City, Kansas, according to KCK Police.

Family reported Timms missing on March 24. The cause of death is pending final autopsy results.

This incident remains under investigation by the KCKPD Major Case Unit. Anyone with information on this case is urged to call the Crime Stoppers TIPS hotline at 816-474-TIPS (8477). All tips remain anonymous.

KANSAS CITY —Detectives with the Kansas City, Kansas Police Department have initiated a death investigation after a body was discovered Wednesday afternoon in the Kansas River, according to a media release.

Just after 4:30p.m. first responders were dispatched to the area of S. 26th and Kansas Avenue. Due to the location of the body, KCK Fire Dept. Water Rescue launched from Kaw Point, and a short time later, were able to recover the body of an adult male. 

Police released no additional details late Wednesday.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/4/1681383507977.png" alt="File photo courtesy KCK Fire Department" />
 <figcaption>File photo courtesy KCK Fire Department</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY —Law enforcement authorities&nbsp;have identified the body recovered from the Kansas River on Wednesday afternoon as 30-year-old Verlon Timms, Jr., of Kansas City, Kansas, according to KCK Police.Family reported Timms missing on March 24. The cause of death is pending final autopsy results.This incident remains under investigation by the KCKPD Major Case Unit. Anyone with information on this case is urged to call the Crime Stoppers TIPS hotline at 816-474-TIPS (8477). All tips remain anonymous.---------KANSAS CITY —Detectives with the Kansas City, Kansas Police Department have initiated a death investigation after a body was discovered Wednesday afternoon in the Kansas River, according to a media release.Just after 4:30p.m. first responders were dispatched to the area of S. 26th and Kansas Avenue. Due to the location of the body, KCK Fire Dept. Water Rescue launched from Kaw Point, and a short time later, were able to recover the body of an adult male. Police released no additional details late Wednesday.

Police ID body found in river as missing Kansas man

DOUGLAS COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a Kansas teen after a high-speed chase in Douglas County.

Just before 11a.m. Thursday, a sheriff's deputy near 26th Street and O'Connell Road in Lawrence observed a vehicle known to be associated with an 18-year-old Gardner man who had an outstanding felony warrant, according to a media release.

After turning into a cul-de-sac in the area, the suspect drove through a resident's front yard to evade law enforcement and fled from the attempted traffic stop into the Prairie Park neighborhood.

After unsuccessful attempts to stop the vehicle, the suspect traveled into the neighborhood east of O'Connell Road and deputies successfully used a tactical vehicle intervention to disable the vehicle on East 25th Terrace. That safely ended the pursuit. After a brief foot chase, deputies captured the suspect who was checked by medics and then transported to the Douglas County jail. He is being held on the warrants and requested charges related to the pursuit. Deputies also recovered drugs and a firearm from the vehicle.&nbsp; The sheriff's office did not release the suspect's name.

DOUGLAS COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a Kansas teen after a high-speed chase in Douglas County.Just before 11a.m. Thursday, a sheriff's deputy near 26th Street and O'Connell Road in Lawrence observed a vehicle known to be associated with an 18-year-old Gardner man who had an outstanding felony warrant, according to a media release.After turning into a cul-de-sac in the area, the suspect drove through a resident's front yard to evade law enforcement and fled from the attempted traffic stop into the Prairie Park neighborhood.After unsuccessful attempts to stop the vehicle, the suspect traveled into the neighborhood east of O'Connell Road and deputies successfully used a tactical vehicle intervention to disable the vehicle on East 25th Terrace. That safely ended the pursuit. After a brief foot chase, deputies captured the suspect who was checked by medics and then transported to the Douglas County jail. He is being held on the warrants and requested charges related to the pursuit. Deputies also recovered drugs and a firearm from the vehicle.&nbsp; The sheriff's office did not release the suspect's name.

Wanted Kan. teen drove through a front yard during pursuit

Top GOP lawmakers in the state vow to override Kelly’s vetoes

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

TOPEKA — Gov. Laura Kelly overruled a “born-alive” bill and an NRA-backed gun program for public schools, but the Kansas GOP plans to overturn these vetoes when the Legislature returns in April.&nbsp;

Immediately after Kelly announced her vetoes Friday, Republican lawmakers, who hold a legislative supermajority, announced in a series of released statements their plans to&nbsp;override the Democrat’s vetoes.

Senate President Ty Masterson, R-Andover, said Kelly’s rejection of the two bills showed a lack of willingness to work across the aisle.

“The governor has opted to abandon all semblance of moderation and side with the most extreme elements in her party,” Masterson said in a Friday news release. “The result is that our veto session will now be quite busy.”&nbsp;

To override Kelly’s vetoes, 84 votes are needed in the House, and&nbsp;27 are needed in the Senate.&nbsp;The<a target="_blank" href="http://kslegislature.org/li/b2023_24/measures/hb2304/">&nbsp;proposed NRA program</a>, which has been debated for years, passed the House 78-43 and the Senate 31-8, meaning the GOP may not be able to gather enough votes to override the measure.&nbsp;

The bill would encourage elementary and middle school students to participate in the Eddie Eagle program, an NRA-developed child gun safety curriculum.&nbsp;

From kindergarten through grade five, Kansas children in participating school districts would be instructed with the Eddie Eagle program, and grades six through eight would either use Eddie Eagle or other gun programs offered by the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks.

Critics have said the training program isn’t effective and that lawmakers should work toward stricter gun laws rather than child gun training.

Kelly said local school boards and the State Board of Education should&nbsp;decide K-12 education,&nbsp;not lawmakers pushing agendas.&nbsp;&nbsp;

“This bill is yet again an act of legislative overreach, an attempt to override our locally elected leaders and insert partisan politics into our children’s education,” Kelly said in a Friday news release.  

House Speaker Dan Hawkins, a Wichita Republican, also mentioned politics in a Friday news release on Kelly’s veto.&nbsp;

“It’s clear that with the veto of the Eddie Eagle GunSafe firearm safety bill, Governor Kelly cares more about scoring political points simply talking about gun safety rather than taking action to actually increase the safety of our children around firearms,” Hawkins said.&nbsp;

In an average year, 456 people die and 655 are wounded by guns in Kansas, according to Everytown for Gun Safety statistics. The organization estimated that gun deaths and injuries cost Kansas $5.7 billion each year, of which $95.1 million is paid by taxpayers.&nbsp;

The&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="http://kslegislature.org/li/b2023_24/measures/hb2313/">“born-alive” bill</a>&nbsp;was passed in the Senate 31-9, while the House approved the measure 86-36.&nbsp;

The legislation, which is backed by anti-abortion organizations and lobbyists, would require health professionals to help infants that survive a botched abortion and send these newborns to a hospital or face criminal and civil sanctions. Kelly vetoed a similar bill in 2019.

“This bill is misleading and unnecessary,” Kelly said. “Federal law already protects newborns, and the procedure being described in this bill does not exist in Kansas in the era of modern medicine.”&nbsp;

Supporters of the legislation have argued that newborns with a heartbeat or who are breathing had been left to die in abortion clinics, but have given no evidence of this occurring in Kansas. Critics of the “born-alive” bill say no one is killing infants and that the bill is anti-abortion propaganda.&nbsp;

&nbsp;Masterson called Kelly’s opposition to the bill a “barbaric and extreme position.”

“With this veto, the governor has sadly indicated she believes that Kansas should be more like New York where even babies born alive do not have the protection of law,” Masterson said.&nbsp;

Senate Democratic Leader Dinah Sykes echoed Kelly’s message in a news release following the veto announcement.&nbsp;

“There is no circumstance in which an abortion is performed in Kansas where an infant can be born alive,” Sykes said. “It simply does not happen.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://kansasreflector.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/P1242597-1024x576.jpg" alt="- Gov. Laura Kelly announced her vetoes of two GOP-backed bills Friday. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption>- Gov. Laura Kelly announced her vetoes of two GOP-backed bills Friday. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>Top GOP lawmakers in the state vow to override Kelly’s vetoes</h2>By RACHEL MIPRO <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/04/05/kansas-lawmakers-debate-definition-of-female-and-male-for-county-jails/">Kansas Reflector</a>TOPEKA — Gov. Laura Kelly overruled a “born-alive” bill and an NRA-backed gun program for public schools, but the Kansas GOP plans to overturn these vetoes when the Legislature returns in April.&nbsp;Immediately after Kelly announced her vetoes Friday, Republican lawmakers, who hold a legislative supermajority, announced in a series of released statements their plans to&nbsp;override the Democrat’s vetoes.Senate President Ty Masterson, R-Andover, said Kelly’s rejection of the two bills showed a lack of willingness to work across the aisle.“The governor has opted to abandon all semblance of moderation and side with the most extreme elements in her party,” Masterson said in a Friday news release. “The result is that our veto session will now be quite busy.”&nbsp;To override Kelly’s vetoes, 84 votes are needed in the House, and&nbsp;27 are needed in the Senate.&nbsp;The<a target="_blank" href="http://kslegislature.org/li/b2023_24/measures/hb2304/">&nbsp;proposed NRA program</a>, which has been debated for years, passed the House 78-43 and the Senate 31-8, meaning the GOP may not be able to gather enough votes to override the measure.&nbsp;The bill would encourage elementary and middle school students to participate in the Eddie Eagle program, an NRA-developed child gun safety curriculum.&nbsp;From kindergarten through grade five, Kansas children in participating school districts would be instructed with the Eddie Eagle program, and grades six through eight would either use Eddie Eagle or other gun programs offered by the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks.Critics have said the training program isn’t effective and that lawmakers should work toward stricter gun laws rather than child gun training.Kelly said local school boards and the State Board of Education should&nbsp;decide K-12 education,&nbsp;not lawmakers pushing agendas.&nbsp;&nbsp;“This bill is yet again an act of legislative overreach, an attempt to override our locally elected leaders and insert partisan politics into our children’s education,” Kelly said in a Friday news release.  House Speaker Dan Hawkins, a Wichita Republican, also mentioned politics in a Friday news release on Kelly’s veto.&nbsp;“It’s clear that with the veto of the Eddie Eagle GunSafe firearm safety bill, Governor Kelly cares more about scoring political points simply talking about gun safety rather than taking action to actually increase the safety of our children around firearms,” Hawkins said.&nbsp;In an average year, 456 people die and 655 are wounded by guns in Kansas, according to Everytown for Gun Safety statistics. The organization estimated that gun deaths and injuries cost Kansas $5.7 billion each year, of which $95.1 million is paid by taxpayers.&nbsp;<h2>“Born-alive” bill</h2>The&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="http://kslegislature.org/li/b2023_24/measures/hb2313/">“born-alive” bill</a>&nbsp;was passed in the Senate 31-9, while the House approved the measure 86-36.&nbsp;The legislation, which is backed by anti-abortion organizations and lobbyists, would require health professionals to help infants that survive a botched abortion and send these newborns to a hospital or face criminal and civil sanctions. Kelly vetoed a similar bill in 2019.“This bill is misleading and unnecessary,” Kelly said. “Federal law already protects newborns, and the procedure being described in this bill does not exist in Kansas in the era of modern medicine.”&nbsp;Supporters of the legislation have argued that newborns with a heartbeat or who are breathing had been left to die in abortion clinics, but have given no evidence of this occurring in Kansas. Critics of the “born-alive” bill say no one is killing infants and that the bill is anti-abortion propaganda.&nbsp;&nbsp;Masterson called Kelly’s opposition to the bill a “barbaric and extreme position.”“With this veto, the governor has sadly indicated she believes that Kansas should be more like New York where even babies born alive do not have the protection of law,” Masterson said.&nbsp;Senate Democratic Leader Dinah Sykes echoed Kelly’s message in a news release following the veto announcement.&nbsp;“There is no circumstance in which an abortion is performed in Kansas where an infant can be born alive,” Sykes said. “It simply does not happen.”

Kan. governor vetos “born-alive” bill, K-12 NRA gun safety training program

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans passed a resolution that would repeal a Biden administration rule tightening&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-national-rifle-association-us-republican-party-gun-politics-362e5d6dfc78c896b7a376e5368c770b">federal regulations</a>&nbsp;on stabilizing braces for firearms, an accessory that has been used in several mass shootings in the U.S. over the last decade.

The resolution passed 219-210 nearly on party lines and after a contentious floor debate where Republicans accused the administration of “executive overreach” and Democrats condemned a bill they said would “help kill people.” Two Democrats voted in support and two Republicans voted against it.

The resolution, which was introduced by Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., will now go to the Senate, which could take up the measure as soon as this week. Should it pass, President Joe Biden has promised a veto. Overriding a presidential veto would require two-thirds majorities in the House and Senate.

The new rule issued by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in January treats guns with the accessories like short-barreled rifles, a weapon that is like a sawed-off shotgun and has been heavily regulated since the 1930s.

The regulation, which went into effect June 1, was one of several steps Biden announced in 2021 after a man using a stabilizing brace&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/boulder-supermarket-shooting">killed 10 people at a grocery store in Boulder, Colorado</a>. A stabilizing brace was also used in a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/shootings-el-paso-texas-mass-shooting-us-news-ap-top-news-health-165d6dd66e1b46628a0ffdcc4d27c58b">shooting in Dayton, Ohio</a>, that left nine people dead in 2019 and most recently in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/nashville-school-shooting-covenant-school-5da45b469ccb6c9533bbddf20c1bfe16">a school shooting in Nashville, Tennessee</a>.

Stabilizing braces transform a pistol into a weapon that’s powerful and easy to conceal, Attorney General Merrick Garland said when&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-national-rifle-association-us-republican-party-gun-politics-362e5d6dfc78c896b7a376e5368c770b">he announced the rule</a>. Originally developed for disabled veterans, gun-control groups have said the accessories have became a loophole exploited by gunmakers to make weapons more deadly.

Since taking effect earlier this month, the rule requires anyone who has a gun with an arm-stabilizing brace to register the weapon with the federal government and pay a fee, or remove the brace from their weapons.

Republicans employed the Congressional Review Act, which allows Congress to undo recently enacted executive branch regulations, to try and nullify the new rule that they claim has turned millions of gun owners into felons.

“This rule doesn’t just infringe upon Americans' Second Amendment liberties. It represents a dangerous government overreach by the administration,” Clyde said during debate Tuesday. “Congress maintains sole legislative authority, not government agencies, not the executive branch.”

Several lawsuits have been filed against the regulations by gun owners and state attorneys general. They say it violates Second Amendment protections by requiring millions of people to alter or register their weapons. In some cases, judges have recently agreed to temporarily block enforcement of the rule for the plaintiffs in a setback for the Biden administration.

House Democrats defended the rule on Tuesday, saying it could save lives.

“How many more mass shootings need to happen, how many more kids need to die before my Republican colleagues pull their heads out of the sand and realize that the NRA money is not worth the damage that’s been done to our country,” said Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass.

The main sponsor for the measure, Clyde, is a member of the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus and the owner of a gun store in his district in Georgia. His proposal to overturn the ATF rule first came to the House Judiciary Committee in late March for markup. But House Republicans postponed debate of the measure after a gunman used a weapon with a stabilizing brace to fatally shoot three children and three adults at an elementary school in Nashville, Tenn.

Last week, Clyde claimed GOP leadership had blocked his resolution from reaching the floor as retribution for his no vote on a bipartisan agreement to lift the debt ceiling, which leaders denied.

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise said he and Rep. Tom Emmer, the GOP's chief vote-counter, had been working intensely to ensure enough support to pass the legislation in the narrowly divided House.

“We’ve been moving people every week on this bill,” Scalise said. “It has not been easy.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/6/1686790900641.png" alt="“This rule doesn’t just infringe upon Americans' Second Amendment liberties. It represents a dangerous government overreach by the administration,” Clyde said during debate Tuesday-courtesy image" />
 <figcaption>“This rule doesn’t just infringe upon Americans' Second Amendment liberties. It represents a dangerous government overreach by the administration,” Clyde said during debate Tuesday-courtesy image</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans passed a resolution that would repeal a Biden administration rule tightening&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-national-rifle-association-us-republican-party-gun-politics-362e5d6dfc78c896b7a376e5368c770b">federal regulations</a>&nbsp;on stabilizing braces for firearms, an accessory that has been used in several mass shootings in the U.S. over the last decade.The resolution passed 219-210 nearly on party lines and after a contentious floor debate where Republicans accused the administration of “executive overreach” and Democrats condemned a bill they said would “help kill people.” Two Democrats voted in support and two Republicans voted against it.The resolution, which was introduced by Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., will now go to the Senate, which could take up the measure as soon as this week. Should it pass, President Joe Biden has promised a veto. Overriding a presidential veto would require two-thirds majorities in the House and Senate.The new rule issued by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in January treats guns with the accessories like short-barreled rifles, a weapon that is like a sawed-off shotgun and has been heavily regulated since the 1930s.The regulation, which went into effect June 1, was one of several steps Biden announced in 2021 after a man using a stabilizing brace&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/boulder-supermarket-shooting">killed 10 people at a grocery store in Boulder, Colorado</a>. A stabilizing brace was also used in a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/shootings-el-paso-texas-mass-shooting-us-news-ap-top-news-health-165d6dd66e1b46628a0ffdcc4d27c58b">shooting in Dayton, Ohio</a>, that left nine people dead in 2019 and most recently in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/nashville-school-shooting-covenant-school-5da45b469ccb6c9533bbddf20c1bfe16">a school shooting in Nashville, Tennessee</a>.Stabilizing braces transform a pistol into a weapon that’s powerful and easy to conceal, Attorney General Merrick Garland said when&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-national-rifle-association-us-republican-party-gun-politics-362e5d6dfc78c896b7a376e5368c770b">he announced the rule</a>. Originally developed for disabled veterans, gun-control groups have said the accessories have became a loophole exploited by gunmakers to make weapons more deadly.Since taking effect earlier this month, the rule requires anyone who has a gun with an arm-stabilizing brace to register the weapon with the federal government and pay a fee, or remove the brace from their weapons.Republicans employed the Congressional Review Act, which allows Congress to undo recently enacted executive branch regulations, to try and nullify the new rule that they claim has turned millions of gun owners into felons.“This rule doesn’t just infringe upon Americans' Second Amendment liberties. It represents a dangerous government overreach by the administration,” Clyde said during debate Tuesday. “Congress maintains sole legislative authority, not government agencies, not the executive branch.”Several lawsuits have been filed against the regulations by gun owners and state attorneys general. They say it violates Second Amendment protections by requiring millions of people to alter or register their weapons. In some cases, judges have recently agreed to temporarily block enforcement of the rule for the plaintiffs in a setback for the Biden administration.House Democrats defended the rule on Tuesday, saying it could save lives.“How many more mass shootings need to happen, how many more kids need to die before my Republican colleagues pull their heads out of the sand and realize that the NRA money is not worth the damage that’s been done to our country,” said Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass.The main sponsor for the measure, Clyde, is a member of the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus and the owner of a gun store in his district in Georgia. His proposal to overturn the ATF rule first came to the House Judiciary Committee in late March for markup. But House Republicans postponed debate of the measure after a gunman used a weapon with a stabilizing brace to fatally shoot three children and three adults at an elementary school in Nashville, Tenn.Last week, Clyde claimed GOP leadership had blocked his resolution from reaching the floor as retribution for his no vote on a bipartisan agreement to lift the debt ceiling, which leaders denied.House Majority Leader Steve Scalise said he and Rep. Tom Emmer, the GOP's chief vote-counter, had been working intensely to ensure enough support to pass the legislation in the narrowly divided House.“We’ve been moving people every week on this bill,” Scalise said. “It has not been easy.”

House  passes resolution to overturn controversial gun regulation

KANSAS CITY —A former Grain Valley, Missouri police officer faces multiple felony charges after an investigation by the Missouri Highway Patrol found the officer had engaged in sex acts with a juvenile in Grain Valley, according to Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker.

August P. Gildehaus, 27, faces nine felony charges: Sodomy or Attempted Sodomy 1st Degree, Sexual Exploitation of a Minor, four counts of Statutory Sodomy 2nd Degree, and three counts of Staturoy Rape 2nd Degree.

According to court records, on March 6, the Grain Valley Police Chief asked the Missouri Highway Patrol to investigate the allegations that a Grain Valley police officer had engaged in sex acts in 2022 and early 2023 with a juvenile. 

The day before,&nbsp;Grain Valley police officers were dispatched on a report of a juvenile under the age of 17&nbsp; who was missing. The missing teen returned home and informed parents of sexual activity with adult men. 

The victim identified one of the men as a police officer. When police detectives showed the victim the Grain Valley Police Department Facebook page, the victim identified the defendant. The Victim also identified during a forensic interview other identifying details of the defendant. Detectives reviewed the victim's diary and social media for evidence of the sexual activity of the defendant with the juvenile victim.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/4/1681393419659.png" alt=" Gildehaus-courtesy photo" />
 <figcaption> Gildehaus-courtesy photo</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY —A former Grain Valley, Missouri police officer faces multiple felony charges after an investigation by the Missouri Highway Patrol found the officer had engaged in sex acts with a juvenile in Grain Valley, according to Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker.August P. Gildehaus, 27, faces nine felony charges: Sodomy or Attempted Sodomy 1st Degree, Sexual Exploitation of a Minor, four counts of Statutory Sodomy 2nd Degree, and three counts of Staturoy Rape 2nd Degree.According to court records, on March 6, the Grain Valley Police Chief asked the Missouri Highway Patrol to investigate the allegations that a Grain Valley police officer had engaged in sex acts in 2022 and early 2023 with a juvenile. The day before,&nbsp;Grain Valley police officers were dispatched on a report of a juvenile under the age of 17&nbsp; who was missing. The missing teen returned home and informed parents of sexual activity with adult men. The victim identified one of the men as a police officer. When police detectives showed the victim the Grain Valley Police Department Facebook page, the victim identified the defendant. The Victim also identified during a forensic interview other identifying details of the defendant. Detectives reviewed the victim's diary and social media for evidence of the sexual activity of the defendant with the juvenile victim.

Former KC-area police officer charged for sex acts with a juvenile

JACKSON COUNTY—One person died in an accident just before 4p.m. Friday in Jackson County, according to Sheriff Tim Morse.

A 1997 Lincoln Town Car driven by 90-year-old Eudora McQueen of Delia was westbound across northbound U.S. 75 just north of 21st Road after exiting a business. 

The driver failed to yield the right of way. A northbound 2012 Chevy Volt driven by Sammy W.&nbsp;Ramirez, 56, Holton struck the drivers side of the Lincoln.

EMS transported McQueen to Stormont Vail where she was pronounced deceased. Ramirez was transported to the hospital in Holton. Both drivers were properly restrained, according to the Kansas Highway Patrol.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/4/1681520346950.png" alt="First responders on the scene Friday afternoon -Photo courtesy WIBW TV" />
 <figcaption>First responders on the scene Friday afternoon -Photo courtesy WIBW TV</figcaption>
 </figure>JACKSON COUNTY—One person died in an accident just before 4p.m. Friday in Jackson County, according to Sheriff Tim Morse.A 1997 Lincoln Town Car driven by 90-year-old Eudora McQueen of Delia was westbound across northbound U.S. 75 just north of 21st Road after exiting a business. The driver failed to yield the right of way. A northbound 2012 Chevy Volt driven by Sammy W.&nbsp;Ramirez, 56, Holton struck the drivers side of the Lincoln.EMS transported McQueen to Stormont Vail where she was pronounced deceased. Ramirez was transported to the hospital in Holton. Both drivers were properly restrained, according to the Kansas Highway Patrol.

90-year-old Kan. woman dead after 2-vehicle crash

WASHINGTON (AP) —Former Secretary of State&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/mike-pompeo">Mike Pompeo</a>&nbsp;said Friday he will not enter the race for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.

In an interview with Fox News, the devoted ally and defender of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a>&nbsp;opted out of a contest that would have put him into competition with his former commander in chief.

“The time is not right for me and my family,” Pompeo said in a statement later posted to Twitter. “At each stage of my public service — as a soldier, as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, and then as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, and as your Secretary of State — I’ve been blessed to have the opportunity to advance America in a way that fit the time and the moment. This is not that time or that moment for me to seek elected office again.”

Pompeo seemed to leave the door open on a future run.

“To those of you this announcement disappoints, my apologies,” Pompeo said. “And to those of you this thrilled, know that I’m 59 years old. There remain many more opportunities for which the timing might be more fitting as presidential leadership becomes even more necessary.”

Pompeo would have been the second former Trump Cabinet member to enter the race to challenge the former president for the 2024 GOP nomination, joining former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, who announced her campaign in February. Former Vice President Mike Pence is also considering entering the race and has stepped up his travel and activity in early-voting primary and caucus states.

In addition, biotech investor Vivek Ramaswamy and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson have also announced campaigns. U.S. Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina has launched a presidential exploratory committee as he considers his own bid.

President Joe Biden has indicated he will seek reelection, tamping down any major challenges for the Democratic nomination.

Where Haley and Pence have openly expressed differences with Trump, Pompeo has had no public split with Trump and hasn't been rebuked by the former president, as many of his would-be rivals have. Pompeo recently referred to Trump as a “great boss.”

The former congressman graduated at the top of his class from the U.S. Military Academy in 1986 before spending five years on active duty, deployed for a time as a cavalry officer commanding tank movements along the border between NATO-backed Western Europe and Soviet-occupied Eastern Europe.

The retired Army captain is a Harvard-educated lawyer who practiced law in Washington and founded two Wichita businesses — an aerospace firm and later a petroleum equipment manufacturer — before entering politics.

Pompeo — a witty and sometimes gruff politician — easily won four consecutive terms in the U.S. House representing southern Kansas. He sat on the House Intelligence Committee as well as the select committee investigating the deadly 2012 attack on the U.S. embassy in Benghazi, Libya.

Pompeo counts as among his proudest moments the 2020 Abraham Accords, declarations of support for peaceful relations among Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. He also points to the imposition of tariffs on China, direct talks with North Korea and the U.S. withdrawal from the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement as pillars of Trump’s “America First” theme he helped erect.

The 2018 withdrawal from the Iran deal and imposition of crippling sanctions have prompted death threats against Pompeo, who remains under 24-hour security protection provided by the State Department.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/3/1677935775709.png" alt="Pompeo seemed to leave the door open on a future run.-photo courtesy CPAC" />
 <figcaption>Pompeo seemed to leave the door open on a future run.-photo courtesy CPAC</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) —Former Secretary of State&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/mike-pompeo">Mike Pompeo</a>&nbsp;said Friday he will not enter the race for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Susan and I have concluded, after much consideration and prayer, that I will not present myself as a candidate to become President of the United States in the 2024 election. <a href="https://t.co/hxujBzGgkI">pic.twitter.com/hxujBzGgkI</a>&mdash; Mike Pompeo (@mikepompeo) <a href="https://twitter.com/mikepompeo/status/1647001366441897985?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 14, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>In an interview with Fox News, the devoted ally and defender of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a>&nbsp;opted out of a contest that would have put him into competition with his former commander in chief.“The time is not right for me and my family,” Pompeo said in a statement later posted to Twitter. “At each stage of my public service — as a soldier, as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, and then as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, and as your Secretary of State — I’ve been blessed to have the opportunity to advance America in a way that fit the time and the moment. This is not that time or that moment for me to seek elected office again.”Pompeo seemed to leave the door open on a future run.“To those of you this announcement disappoints, my apologies,” Pompeo said. “And to those of you this thrilled, know that I’m 59 years old. There remain many more opportunities for which the timing might be more fitting as presidential leadership becomes even more necessary.”Pompeo would have been the second former Trump Cabinet member to enter the race to challenge the former president for the 2024 GOP nomination, joining former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, who announced her campaign in February. Former Vice President Mike Pence is also considering entering the race and has stepped up his travel and activity in early-voting primary and caucus states.In addition, biotech investor Vivek Ramaswamy and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson have also announced campaigns. U.S. Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina has launched a presidential exploratory committee as he considers his own bid.President Joe Biden has indicated he will seek reelection, tamping down any major challenges for the Democratic nomination.Where Haley and Pence have openly expressed differences with Trump, Pompeo has had no public split with Trump and hasn't been rebuked by the former president, as many of his would-be rivals have. Pompeo recently referred to Trump as a “great boss.”The former congressman graduated at the top of his class from the U.S. Military Academy in 1986 before spending five years on active duty, deployed for a time as a cavalry officer commanding tank movements along the border between NATO-backed Western Europe and Soviet-occupied Eastern Europe.The retired Army captain is a Harvard-educated lawyer who practiced law in Washington and founded two Wichita businesses — an aerospace firm and later a petroleum equipment manufacturer — before entering politics.Pompeo — a witty and sometimes gruff politician — easily won four consecutive terms in the U.S. House representing southern Kansas. He sat on the House Intelligence Committee as well as the select committee investigating the deadly 2012 attack on the U.S. embassy in Benghazi, Libya.Pompeo counts as among his proudest moments the 2020 Abraham Accords, declarations of support for peaceful relations among Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. He also points to the imposition of tariffs on China, direct talks with North Korea and the U.S. withdrawal from the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement as pillars of Trump’s “America First” theme he helped erect.The 2018 withdrawal from the Iran deal and imposition of crippling sanctions have prompted death threats against Pompeo, who remains under 24-hour security protection provided by the State Department.

Ex-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo not running for president

OSAGE COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a wanted Kansas felon on new charges after a high-speed chase.

On Thursday, an Osage County Sheriff’s Office K-9 unit attempted to initiate a traffic stop near just before the Waverly exit on Interstate 35&nbsp; for an alleged traffic violation. The driver later identified as 42-year-old Kansas felon Terrance of Shawnee failed to stop, and a pursuit began.

The pursuit traveled mainly through rural areas of Coffey and into Anderson County. The vehicle pursuit ended when the suspect traveled down a dead end road. The driver then eluded law enforcement on foot before being located.

Wade was taken into custody and transported to the Osage County Jail on requested charges of Flee or attempting to elude law enforcement by engaging in reckless driving,&nbsp;&nbsp;Aggravated assault of a law enforcement officer; use of a deadly weapon, Interference with law enforcement, a&nbsp;Jackson County, Missouri warrant, Shawnee County, and Kansas probation violation felony warrant. He has previous drug convictions in Wyandotte County, according to the Kansas Dept. of Corrections.

The Osage County Sheriff’s Office was assisted by Coffey County Sheriff's Office, Anderson County Sheriff’s Office, Garnett Police Department, Garnett Rural Fire Department, Anderson County EMS, Anderson County Emergency Management, and Kansas Highway Patrol.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/4/1681469136829.png" alt="Wade has previous drug convictions, according to the Kan. Dept. of Corrections-photo from an earlier arrest in Wyandotte Co." />
 <figcaption>Wade has previous drug convictions, according to the Kan. Dept. of Corrections-photo from an earlier arrest in Wyandotte Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>OSAGE COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a wanted Kansas felon on new charges after a high-speed chase.On Thursday, an Osage County Sheriff’s Office K-9 unit attempted to initiate a traffic stop near just before the Waverly exit on Interstate 35&nbsp; for an alleged traffic violation. The driver later identified as 42-year-old Kansas felon Terrance of Shawnee failed to stop, and a pursuit began.The pursuit traveled mainly through rural areas of Coffey and into Anderson County. The vehicle pursuit ended when the suspect traveled down a dead end road. The driver then eluded law enforcement on foot before being located.Wade was taken into custody and transported to the Osage County Jail on requested charges of Flee or attempting to elude law enforcement by engaging in reckless driving,&nbsp;&nbsp;Aggravated assault of a law enforcement officer; use of a deadly weapon, Interference with law enforcement, a&nbsp;Jackson County, Missouri warrant, Shawnee County, and Kansas probation violation felony warrant. He has previous drug convictions in Wyandotte County, according to the Kansas Dept. of Corrections.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/4/1681488138774.png" alt="Wade-photo Osage Co." />
 <figcaption>Wade-photo Osage Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>The Osage County Sheriff’s Office was assisted by Coffey County Sheriff's Office, Anderson County Sheriff’s Office, Garnett Police Department, Garnett Rural Fire Department, Anderson County EMS, Anderson County Emergency Management, and Kansas Highway Patrol.

Wanted Kansas felon captured after 3-county chase

Kansas Governor Laura Kelly Friday signed House Bill 2290. This allows Fort Hays State University, Northwest Kansas Technical College and North Central Kansas Technical College to move forward in a process that began in early January of this year, according to a statement from FHSU.

"A strong, well-trained workforce is vital to attracting businesses and economic development to Kansas,"&nbsp;Kelly said.&nbsp;"The partnerships this legislation builds between Fort Hays State University, North Central Kansas Technical College, and Northwest Kansas Technical College will advance technical education and prepare students to step into successful careers."&nbsp;

The Strategic Affiliation Plan was developed as a partnership between the three institutions toaddress major demographic and economic challenges in rural Kansas, with a focus on developing solutions in three key areas:

The affiliation plan will next be reviewed by the Higher Learning Commission, the accrediting body for all three institutions.

Kansas Governor Laura Kelly Friday signed House Bill 2290. This allows Fort Hays State University, Northwest Kansas Technical College and North Central Kansas Technical College to move forward in a process that began in early January of this year, according to a statement from FHSU."A strong, well-trained workforce is vital to attracting businesses and economic development to Kansas,"&nbsp;Kelly said.&nbsp;"The partnerships this legislation builds between Fort Hays State University, North Central Kansas Technical College, and Northwest Kansas Technical College will advance technical education and prepare students to step into successful careers."&nbsp;The Strategic Affiliation Plan was developed as a partnership between the three institutions toaddress major demographic and economic challenges in rural Kansas, with a focus on developing solutions in three key areas:<ol>
 <li>Developing academic programs and integrated student services that meet the educational and professional needs of today’s and tomorrow’s students</li><li>Aligning and optimizing inter-institutional operations to remove unnecessary bureaucratic barriers to student success</li><li>Creating a coalition with regional businesses, industries, and communities focused on increasing opportunities for students, expanding entrepreneurship, and meeting workforce development needs in rural Kansas</li>
 </ol>The affiliation plan will next be reviewed by the Higher Learning Commission, the accrediting body for all three institutions.

Governor signs off on NW Kansas college affiliation plan

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court said Friday it was temporarily keeping in place federal rules for use of an abortion drug, while it takes time to more fully consider the issues raised in a court challenge.

In an order signed by Justice Samuel Alito, the court put a five-day pause on the fast-moving case so the justices can decide whether lower court rulings restricting the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of the drug, mifepristone, should be allowed to take effect in the short term.

The justices are being asked at this point only to determine what parts of an April 7 ruling by U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk in Texas, as modified by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/texas-abortion-pill-appeal-fe13d36218f1fb43590aff29b5ba4e9c">an appellate ruling Wednesday</a>, can be in force while the case continues. The order expires late Wednesday, suggesting the court will decide that issue by then.

The court finds itself immersed in a new fight involving abortion less than a year after&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-supreme-court-decision-854f60302f21c2c35129e58cf8d8a7b0">conservative justices reversed Roe v. Wade</a>&nbsp;and allowed more than a dozen states to effectively ban abortion outright.

President Joe Biden's administration and New York-based Danco Laboratories, the maker of the pill, asked the justices to intervene.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement Friday evening that the administration continues “to stand by FDA’s evidence-based approval of mifepristone, and we will continue to support the FDA’s independent, expert authority to review, approve, and regulate a wide range of prescription drugs.”

She added, “The stakes of this fight could not be higher in the face of ongoing attacks on women’s health, and we will continue to fight to restore the protections of Roe v. Wade.”

A lawyer for the anti-abortion doctors and medical organizations suing over mifepristone said the court's action Friday was “standard operating procedure” and urged the justices to allow the appeals court-ordered changes to take effect by the middle of next week.

The type of order issued by the court Friday, an administrative stay, ordinarily is not an indication of what the justices will do going forward. It was signed by Alito because he handles emergency filings from Texas. Alito also is the author of last year’s opinion overturning Roe v. Wade.

The Justice Department and Danco both warned of “regulatory chaos” and harm to women if the high court doesn't block the lower-court rulings that had the effect of tightening FDA rules under which the drug, mifepristone, can be prescribed and dispensed.

The new limits would have taken effect Saturday if the court hadn't acted.

"This application concerns unprecedented lower court orders countermanding FDA’s scientific judgment and unleashing regulatory chaos by suspending the existing FDA-approved conditions of use for mifepristone," Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar, the Biden administration's top Supreme Court lawyer, wrote Friday, less than two days after the appellate ruling.

The Biden administration and Danco now want a more lasting order that would keep the current rules in place as long as the legal fight over mifepristone continues. As a fallback, they asked the court to take up the issue, hear arguments and decide by early summer a legal challenge to mifepristone that anti-abortion doctors and medical organizations filed last year.

The court rarely acts so quickly to grant full review of cases before at least one appeals court has thoroughly examined the legal issues involved.

A ruling from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals late Wednesday would prevent the pill, used in the most common abortion method, from being mailed or prescribed without an in-person visit to a doctor. It also would withdraw the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of mifepristone for use beyond the seventh week of pregnancy. The FDA says it’s safe through 10 weeks.

Still, the appeals court did not entirely withdraw FDA approval of mifepristone&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-telehealth-mifepristone-9ba8f3ce130fae246e1d87ce428b74a0">while the fight over it continues</a>. The 5th circuit narrowed an April 7 ruling by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/texas-judge-matthew-kacsmaryk-abortion-pill-fda-75964b777ef09593a1ad948c6cfc0237">U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk</a>, whose far-reaching and virtually unprecedented order would have blocked FDA approval of the pill. He gave the administration a week to appeal.

“To the government’s knowledge, this is the first time any court has abrogated FDA’s conditions on a drug’s approval based on a disagreement with the agency’s judgment about safety — much less done so after those conditions have been in effect for years,” Prelogar wrote.

Erin Hawley, a lawyer for the challengers, said in a statement that the FDA has put politics ahead of health concerns in its actions on medication abortion.

“The 5th Circuit rightly required the agency to prioritize women’s health by restoring critical safeguards, and we’ll urge the Supreme Court to keep that accountability in place,” said Hawley, a senior counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative legal group that also argued to overturn Roe v. Wade.

Mifepristone was approved by the FDA more than two decades ago and is used in combination with a second drug, misoprostol.

Adding to the uncertainty, a separate federal judge in Washington on Thursday clarified his own order from last week to make clear that the FDA is not to do anything that might block mifepristone’s availability in 17 Democrat-led states suing to keep it on the market.

It’s unclear how the FDA can comply with court orders in both cases, a situation that Prelogar described Friday as untenable.

Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, in a statement Friday night, said the April 7 ruling out of Texas poses “an existential threat to the FDA’s authority to review and approve a wide range of drugs. If it stands, no medicine approved by the FDA would be safe from these attacks.”

Use of medication abortion jumped significantly after the FDA's 2016 rule expansion, according to data gathered by the Guttmacher Institute, a research group that supports abortion rights. In 2017, medication abortion accounted for 39% percent of abortions, but by 2020 it had increased to become the most common method, accounting for 53% of all abortions.

Experts have said the use of medication abortion has increased since the court overturned Roe.

When the drug was initially approved, the FDA limited its use to up to seven weeks of pregnancy. It also required three in-person office visits: the first to administer mifepristone, the next to administer the second drug, misoprostol, and the third to address any complications. It also required a doctor’s supervision and a reporting system for any serious consequences of the drug.

If the appeals court’s action stands, those would again be the terms under which mifepristone could be dispensed for now.

At the core of the Texas lawsuit is the allegation that the FDA’s initial approval of mifepristone was flawed because the agency did not adequately review safety risks.

Mifepristone has been used by millions of women over the past 23 years. While less drastic than completely overturning the drug’s approval, the latest ruling still represents a stark challenge to the FDA’s authority overseeing how prescription drugs are used in the U.S. The ruling late Wednesday overturned multiple decisions made by FDA regulators after years of scientific review.

Common side effects with mifepristone include cramping, bleeding, nausea, headache and diarrhea. In rare cases, women can experience excess bleeding that requires surgery to stop.

Still, in loosening restrictions on mifepristone, FDA regulators cited “exceedingly low rates of serious adverse events.”

More than 5.6 million women in the U.S. had used the drug as of June 2022, according to the FDA. In that period, the agency received 4,200 reports of complications in women, or less than one tenth of 1% of women who took the drug.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/4/1680967457500.png" alt="About 60% of abortions in Kansas involve the abortion pill. photo Associated Press" />
 <figcaption>About 60% of abortions in Kansas involve the abortion pill. photo Associated Press</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court said Friday it was temporarily keeping in place federal rules for use of an abortion drug, while it takes time to more fully consider the issues raised in a court challenge.In an order signed by Justice Samuel Alito, the court put a five-day pause on the fast-moving case so the justices can decide whether lower court rulings restricting the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of the drug, mifepristone, should be allowed to take effect in the short term.The justices are being asked at this point only to determine what parts of an April 7 ruling by U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk in Texas, as modified by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/texas-abortion-pill-appeal-fe13d36218f1fb43590aff29b5ba4e9c">an appellate ruling Wednesday</a>, can be in force while the case continues. The order expires late Wednesday, suggesting the court will decide that issue by then.The court finds itself immersed in a new fight involving abortion less than a year after&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-supreme-court-decision-854f60302f21c2c35129e58cf8d8a7b0">conservative justices reversed Roe v. Wade</a>&nbsp;and allowed more than a dozen states to effectively ban abortion outright.President Joe Biden's administration and New York-based Danco Laboratories, the maker of the pill, asked the justices to intervene.White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement Friday evening that the administration continues “to stand by FDA’s evidence-based approval of mifepristone, and we will continue to support the FDA’s independent, expert authority to review, approve, and regulate a wide range of prescription drugs.”She added, “The stakes of this fight could not be higher in the face of ongoing attacks on women’s health, and we will continue to fight to restore the protections of Roe v. Wade.”A lawyer for the anti-abortion doctors and medical organizations suing over mifepristone said the court's action Friday was “standard operating procedure” and urged the justices to allow the appeals court-ordered changes to take effect by the middle of next week.The type of order issued by the court Friday, an administrative stay, ordinarily is not an indication of what the justices will do going forward. It was signed by Alito because he handles emergency filings from Texas. Alito also is the author of last year’s opinion overturning Roe v. Wade.The Justice Department and Danco both warned of “regulatory chaos” and harm to women if the high court doesn't block the lower-court rulings that had the effect of tightening FDA rules under which the drug, mifepristone, can be prescribed and dispensed.The new limits would have taken effect Saturday if the court hadn't acted."This application concerns unprecedented lower court orders countermanding FDA’s scientific judgment and unleashing regulatory chaos by suspending the existing FDA-approved conditions of use for mifepristone," Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar, the Biden administration's top Supreme Court lawyer, wrote Friday, less than two days after the appellate ruling.The Biden administration and Danco now want a more lasting order that would keep the current rules in place as long as the legal fight over mifepristone continues. As a fallback, they asked the court to take up the issue, hear arguments and decide by early summer a legal challenge to mifepristone that anti-abortion doctors and medical organizations filed last year.The court rarely acts so quickly to grant full review of cases before at least one appeals court has thoroughly examined the legal issues involved.A ruling from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals late Wednesday would prevent the pill, used in the most common abortion method, from being mailed or prescribed without an in-person visit to a doctor. It also would withdraw the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of mifepristone for use beyond the seventh week of pregnancy. The FDA says it’s safe through 10 weeks.Still, the appeals court did not entirely withdraw FDA approval of mifepristone&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-telehealth-mifepristone-9ba8f3ce130fae246e1d87ce428b74a0">while the fight over it continues</a>. The 5th circuit narrowed an April 7 ruling by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/texas-judge-matthew-kacsmaryk-abortion-pill-fda-75964b777ef09593a1ad948c6cfc0237">U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk</a>, whose far-reaching and virtually unprecedented order would have blocked FDA approval of the pill. He gave the administration a week to appeal.“To the government’s knowledge, this is the first time any court has abrogated FDA’s conditions on a drug’s approval based on a disagreement with the agency’s judgment about safety — much less done so after those conditions have been in effect for years,” Prelogar wrote.Erin Hawley, a lawyer for the challengers, said in a statement that the FDA has put politics ahead of health concerns in its actions on medication abortion.“The 5th Circuit rightly required the agency to prioritize women’s health by restoring critical safeguards, and we’ll urge the Supreme Court to keep that accountability in place,” said Hawley, a senior counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative legal group that also argued to overturn Roe v. Wade.Mifepristone was approved by the FDA more than two decades ago and is used in combination with a second drug, misoprostol.Adding to the uncertainty, a separate federal judge in Washington on Thursday clarified his own order from last week to make clear that the FDA is not to do anything that might block mifepristone’s availability in 17 Democrat-led states suing to keep it on the market.It’s unclear how the FDA can comply with court orders in both cases, a situation that Prelogar described Friday as untenable.Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, in a statement Friday night, said the April 7 ruling out of Texas poses “an existential threat to the FDA’s authority to review and approve a wide range of drugs. If it stands, no medicine approved by the FDA would be safe from these attacks.”Use of medication abortion jumped significantly after the FDA's 2016 rule expansion, according to data gathered by the Guttmacher Institute, a research group that supports abortion rights. In 2017, medication abortion accounted for 39% percent of abortions, but by 2020 it had increased to become the most common method, accounting for 53% of all abortions.Experts have said the use of medication abortion has increased since the court overturned Roe.When the drug was initially approved, the FDA limited its use to up to seven weeks of pregnancy. It also required three in-person office visits: the first to administer mifepristone, the next to administer the second drug, misoprostol, and the third to address any complications. It also required a doctor’s supervision and a reporting system for any serious consequences of the drug.If the appeals court’s action stands, those would again be the terms under which mifepristone could be dispensed for now.At the core of the Texas lawsuit is the allegation that the FDA’s initial approval of mifepristone was flawed because the agency did not adequately review safety risks.Mifepristone has been used by millions of women over the past 23 years. While less drastic than completely overturning the drug’s approval, the latest ruling still represents a stark challenge to the FDA’s authority overseeing how prescription drugs are used in the U.S. The ruling late Wednesday overturned multiple decisions made by FDA regulators after years of scientific review.Common side effects with mifepristone include cramping, bleeding, nausea, headache and diarrhea. In rare cases, women can experience excess bleeding that requires surgery to stop.Still, in loosening restrictions on mifepristone, FDA regulators cited “exceedingly low rates of serious adverse events.”More than 5.6 million women in the U.S. had used the drug as of June 2022, according to the FDA. In that period, the agency received 4,200 reports of complications in women, or less than one tenth of 1% of women who took the drug.-------------

High court temporarily restores broad availability of abortion pill

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas on Wednesday became the second state to restrict social media use by children, as Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders approved legislation requiring minors to get their parents’ permission to create a new account.

The bill signed by the Republican governor requires social media companies to contract with third-party vendors to perform age verification checks on new users. The law will apply to new accounts created starting in September.

“While social media can be a great tool and a wonderful resource, it can have a massive negative impact on our kids,” Sanders said before signing the legislation.

The proposal is similar to a first-in-the-nation law that Utah Gov. Spencer Cox signed last month. Utah’s law takes effect in March 2024. Several other states are considering similar measures, touted by supporters as a way to protect children. California last year enacted a law requiring tech companies to put kids’ safety first by barring them from profiling children or using personal information in ways that could harm children physically or mentally.

Sanders last month announced the state had filed lawsuits against TikTok and Facebook parent Meta, claiming the social media companies misled consumers about the safety of children on their platforms and the protection of users’ private data.

The legislation has drawn criticism from opponents who said restrictions could raise new privacy concerns and exacerbate the mental health crisis among young people. Experts have also questioned how and if the restrictions could be enforced.

“The governor and the legislators who voted for this bill must not understand the harm it will cause to the privacy and free speech rights of the people they represent, because if they did, I don’t think they could pass it in good conscience,” Jason Kelley, acting director of activism for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, said in a statement.

The restrictions would only apply to social media platforms that generate more than $100 million in annual revenue. It also wouldn’t apply to certain platforms, including LinkedIn, Google and YouTube.

Social media companies that knowingly violate the age verification requirement could face a $2,500 fine for each violation under the new law. The law also prohibits third party vendors from retaining identifying information of users after they’ve been granted access to the social media site.

Republican Sen. Tyler Dees, the Arkansas bill’s sponsor, said the new law “sends a clear message that we want to partner with parents and empower them to protect our children.”

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas on Wednesday became the second state to restrict social media use by children, as Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders approved legislation requiring minors to get their parents’ permission to create a new account.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">For years, social media companies have gotten away with exploiting kids for profit. Not anymore. I signed a new law today requiring social media companies to verify the age of all new Arkansas users — and if an account holder is under 18, they’ll need parental permission. <a href="https://t.co/k0WO8438wM">pic.twitter.com/k0WO8438wM</a>&mdash; Sarah Huckabee Sanders (@SarahHuckabee) <a href="https://twitter.com/SarahHuckabee/status/1646320020702601216?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 13, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>The bill signed by the Republican governor requires social media companies to contract with third-party vendors to perform age verification checks on new users. The law will apply to new accounts created starting in September.“While social media can be a great tool and a wonderful resource, it can have a massive negative impact on our kids,” Sanders said before signing the legislation.The proposal is similar to a first-in-the-nation law that Utah Gov. Spencer Cox signed last month. Utah’s law takes effect in March 2024. Several other states are considering similar measures, touted by supporters as a way to protect children. California last year enacted a law requiring tech companies to put kids’ safety first by barring them from profiling children or using personal information in ways that could harm children physically or mentally.Sanders last month announced the state had filed lawsuits against TikTok and Facebook parent Meta, claiming the social media companies misled consumers about the safety of children on their platforms and the protection of users’ private data.The legislation has drawn criticism from opponents who said restrictions could raise new privacy concerns and exacerbate the mental health crisis among young people. Experts have also questioned how and if the restrictions could be enforced.“The governor and the legislators who voted for this bill must not understand the harm it will cause to the privacy and free speech rights of the people they represent, because if they did, I don’t think they could pass it in good conscience,” Jason Kelley, acting director of activism for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, said in a statement.The restrictions would only apply to social media platforms that generate more than $100 million in annual revenue. It also wouldn’t apply to certain platforms, including LinkedIn, Google and YouTube.Social media companies that knowingly violate the age verification requirement could face a $2,500 fine for each violation under the new law. The law also prohibits third party vendors from retaining identifying information of users after they’ve been granted access to the social media site.Republican Sen. Tyler Dees, the Arkansas bill’s sponsor, said the new law “sends a clear message that we want to partner with parents and empower them to protect our children.”

Another state will require parents OK for kids on social media

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Last year it was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/uvalde-school-shooting">Uvalde</a>. Now it's&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/nashville-school-shooting-covenant-school-5da45b469ccb6c9533bbddf20c1bfe16">Nashville</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/louisville-bank-shooting-9826ea39f24ff9dcf3cb5390c04be47b">Louisville</a>. For the second year in a row, the National Rifle Association is holding its annual convention within days of mass shootings that shook the nation.

The three-day gathering kicked off Friday with thousands of the organization’s most active members at Indianapolis’ convention center attracting a bevy of top Republican presidential candidates — enough that it could help shape the early part of next year’s GOP primary race.

It illustrates the stark reality that such shootings have become enough of the fabric of American life that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/uvalde-school-shooting-nra-convention-212dfd1b57474f1ab208d4a72521a010">the NRA can no longer schedule around them</a>. Nor does it really want to: The convention falls on the second anniversary of the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/fedex-indianapolis-mass-shooting-e92ad3117c56357b3b2c71a2903e68a8">mass shooting at a FedEx facility in Indianapolis</a>&nbsp;that killed nine people.

In brief remarks, NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre didn’t mention the recent mass shootings.

“Gun-hating politicians should never go to bed unafraid of what this association and all of our millions of members can do to their political careers,” LaPierre said.

But Randy Conner, a pistol and rifle instructor for the NRA from Waynesburg, Pennsylvania, expressed the sentiment of many attendees when he said in an interview that blaming firearms for mass shootings is misguided: “A gun is not dangerous until somebody picks it up,” he said.

“No one wants to see the violence you see in schools and stuff today,” Conner said. “But I don’t think taking the guns away from ordinary citizens is going to change any of that at all.”

Former President Donald Trump will be speaking at the gathering, his first public appearance since being&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-arraignment-hush-money-81225510ef7638494852816878f612f0#:~:text=NEW%20YORK%20(AP)%20%E2%80%94%20A,his%20first%20White%20House%20campaign.">arrested and arraigned in New York last week</a>&nbsp;on felony charges stemming from a hush money payment to porn actor Stormy Daniels during his 2016 campaign. His Secret Service protection means attendees can't have guns at the convention.

Also speaking Friday was Trump's former vice president, Mike Pence, who is&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/pence-trump-republican-2024-election-ffc7babf74068ab6071a19e897e780b9">considering his own 2024 White House bid</a>&nbsp;— the first time they have addressed the same campaign event on the same day since their estrangement following the Jan. 6, 2021,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/capitol-siege">insurrection at the U.S. Capitol</a>.

Pence, who was met by scattered boos before his NRA speech, has skipped a number of conservative gatherings in recent years, including the Conservative Political Action Conference as well as the Faith &amp; Freedom Coalition’s annual gathering after he was booed and heckled there in 2021.

The former vice president noted shootings at a Louisville, Kentucky, bank that killed five people this week and at a Christian school in Nashville, Tennessee, on March 27 that killed three 9-year-olds and three staff members. But he said, “We don’t need gun control. We need crime control.”

“We don’t need lectures about the liberties of law-abiding citizens," Pence said. “We need solutions to protect our kids.”

Instead of fewer guns, Pence called for more institutions for the mentally ill and federal funding for armed school officers. He also called for a federal death penalty statute with expedited appeal to punish the perpetrators of mass shootings more quickly.

“To Joe Biden and the gun control extremists, I say: Give up on your pipe dreams of gun confiscation. Stop endangering our lives with gun bans," Pence said.

Two GOP Trump critics — former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/asa-hutchinson-president-2024-election-3a55855b1914d6e61338d1c8576a817f">announced his 2024 campaign</a>&nbsp;after news of the former president's indictment broke, and New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, who may launch his own White House bid — are also speaking.

Offering video messages are former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, who&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/nikki-haley-running-for-president-f28052019e8ac3846cd125b3d9614d4f">began her 2024 campaign in February</a>; South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, who announced a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/exploratory-committee-president-tim-scott-2024-b129664cb44862100e43e2930e75efb3">presidential exploratory committee</a>&nbsp;this week, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is seen as a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/desantis-florida-trump-president-2024-election-00b8335b1a2dd4d08fb216e4b609f6a3">top rival to Trump</a>&nbsp;even though he’s yet to jump into the race.

The NRA convention's tone was as defiant as last year, when the group held its convention in Houston just three days after the massacre of 19 students and two teachers at an elementary school across Texas in the town of Uvalde.

Further overlapping with recent tragedy, Pence and some of the other speakers plan to follow up their NRA speeches by traveling to Nashville to meet with top GOP donors gathered there.

Indeed, support for gun rights among Republican voters remains higher than for voters overall. Some 56% of voters in last fall’s midterm elections said they want to see stricter nationwide gun laws, compared with just 28% of Republicans, according to AP VoteCast, a wide-ranging survey of the electorate.

About half of Republicans said gun laws should be left as they are.

Also on display Friday was the resurgence of the NRA and the key role it is poised to play in next year's presidential race — in a stark departure from 2020. Back then, the organization was trying to regroup and saw its membership and political spending decline following serious legal and financial turmoil — including&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/nra-bankruptcy-dismissed-a281b888b64d391374f24539a820d60f">a failed bankruptcy effort</a>, a class action lawsuit and a fraud investigation.

Trump, meanwhile, has a contradictory history on guns. The NRA was a key backer of his 2016 campaign, spending some $30 million to support a candidate who sometimes mentioned carrying his own gun and vowed to eliminate gun-free zones in schools and on military bases. Trump also pledged to establish a national right to carry.

But, as the country reeled from a series of mass shootings,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/shootings-north-america-us-news-ap-top-news-las-vegas-6c1af80fb290472c89fb930e223505af">Trump’s administration banned bump stocks</a>, which were used in a 2017 attack on a Las Vegas country music concert that killed 60 people. After the Parkland school shooting in Florida the following year,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ap-top-news-donald-trump-violence-gun-politics-politics-75db363bc4fb4779b92d4582f5d5bb70">Trump urged congressional Republicans to expand background checks</a>&nbsp;and proposed seizing guns from mentally ill people.

He also suggested raising the minimum age to buy assault rifles from 18 to 21, and suggested he was open to a conversation about reviving assault weapons bans. After later meeting with the NRA, however, Trump abandoned his push, instead focusing on arming teachers and making schools more secure.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/4/1681497492227.png" alt="The NRA calls the convention “one of the most politically significant and popular events in the country, featuring our nation’s top Second Amendment leaders.-image courtesy NRA" />
 <figcaption>The NRA calls the convention “one of the most politically significant and popular events in the country, featuring our nation’s top Second Amendment leaders.-image courtesy NRA</figcaption>
 </figure>INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Last year it was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/uvalde-school-shooting">Uvalde</a>. Now it's&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/nashville-school-shooting-covenant-school-5da45b469ccb6c9533bbddf20c1bfe16">Nashville</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/louisville-bank-shooting-9826ea39f24ff9dcf3cb5390c04be47b">Louisville</a>. For the second year in a row, the National Rifle Association is holding its annual convention within days of mass shootings that shook the nation.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Former Vice President and Indiana Governor closes out his speech STRONG at <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NRAConvention?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NRAConvention</a> <a href="https://t.co/Ge7f1H8l3A">pic.twitter.com/Ge7f1H8l3A</a>&mdash; NRA (@NRA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NRA/status/1646949679492374564?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 14, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>The three-day gathering kicked off Friday with thousands of the organization’s most active members at Indianapolis’ convention center attracting a bevy of top Republican presidential candidates — enough that it could help shape the early part of next year’s GOP primary race.It illustrates the stark reality that such shootings have become enough of the fabric of American life that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/uvalde-school-shooting-nra-convention-212dfd1b57474f1ab208d4a72521a010">the NRA can no longer schedule around them</a>. Nor does it really want to: The convention falls on the second anniversary of the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/fedex-indianapolis-mass-shooting-e92ad3117c56357b3b2c71a2903e68a8">mass shooting at a FedEx facility in Indianapolis</a>&nbsp;that killed nine people.In brief remarks, NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre didn’t mention the recent mass shootings.“Gun-hating politicians should never go to bed unafraid of what this association and all of our millions of members can do to their political careers,” LaPierre said.But Randy Conner, a pistol and rifle instructor for the NRA from Waynesburg, Pennsylvania, expressed the sentiment of many attendees when he said in an interview that blaming firearms for mass shootings is misguided: “A gun is not dangerous until somebody picks it up,” he said.“No one wants to see the violence you see in schools and stuff today,” Conner said. “But I don’t think taking the guns away from ordinary citizens is going to change any of that at all.”Former President Donald Trump will be speaking at the gathering, his first public appearance since being&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-arraignment-hush-money-81225510ef7638494852816878f612f0#:~:text=NEW%20YORK%20(AP)%20%E2%80%94%20A,his%20first%20White%20House%20campaign.">arrested and arraigned in New York last week</a>&nbsp;on felony charges stemming from a hush money payment to porn actor Stormy Daniels during his 2016 campaign. His Secret Service protection means attendees can't have guns at the convention.Also speaking Friday was Trump's former vice president, Mike Pence, who is&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/pence-trump-republican-2024-election-ffc7babf74068ab6071a19e897e780b9">considering his own 2024 White House bid</a>&nbsp;— the first time they have addressed the same campaign event on the same day since their estrangement following the Jan. 6, 2021,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/capitol-siege">insurrection at the U.S. Capitol</a>.Pence, who was met by scattered boos before his NRA speech, has skipped a number of conservative gatherings in recent years, including the Conservative Political Action Conference as well as the Faith &amp; Freedom Coalition’s annual gathering after he was booed and heckled there in 2021.The former vice president noted shootings at a Louisville, Kentucky, bank that killed five people this week and at a Christian school in Nashville, Tennessee, on March 27 that killed three 9-year-olds and three staff members. But he said, “We don’t need gun control. We need crime control.”“We don’t need lectures about the liberties of law-abiding citizens," Pence said. “We need solutions to protect our kids.”Instead of fewer guns, Pence called for more institutions for the mentally ill and federal funding for armed school officers. He also called for a federal death penalty statute with expedited appeal to punish the perpetrators of mass shootings more quickly.“To Joe Biden and the gun control extremists, I say: Give up on your pipe dreams of gun confiscation. Stop endangering our lives with gun bans," Pence said.Two GOP Trump critics — former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/asa-hutchinson-president-2024-election-3a55855b1914d6e61338d1c8576a817f">announced his 2024 campaign</a>&nbsp;after news of the former president's indictment broke, and New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, who may launch his own White House bid — are also speaking.Offering video messages are former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, who&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/nikki-haley-running-for-president-f28052019e8ac3846cd125b3d9614d4f">began her 2024 campaign in February</a>; South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, who announced a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/exploratory-committee-president-tim-scott-2024-b129664cb44862100e43e2930e75efb3">presidential exploratory committee</a>&nbsp;this week, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is seen as a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/desantis-florida-trump-president-2024-election-00b8335b1a2dd4d08fb216e4b609f6a3">top rival to Trump</a>&nbsp;even though he’s yet to jump into the race.Pain over the Louisville and Nashville shooting rampages has crossed party lines. Kentucky Democratic Gov.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-health-covid-kentucky-steve-beshear-e6dd4d00c92502d4814451d6e9995ed8">Andy Beshear</a>&nbsp;talked about having a friend killed in the Louisville shooting, while Republican Tennessee Gov.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-abortion-health-covid-6e6d211ca65d625eef90d91ee8f4567d">Bill Lee</a>&nbsp;said he had friends killed during the Nashville school attack.The NRA convention's tone was as defiant as last year, when the group held its convention in Houston just three days after the massacre of 19 students and two teachers at an elementary school across Texas in the town of Uvalde.Further overlapping with recent tragedy, Pence and some of the other speakers plan to follow up their NRA speeches by traveling to Nashville to meet with top GOP donors gathered there.“Every significant national Republican, every Republican that’s thrown their hat in the ring to run for president, is showing up this weekend to pledge their undying loyalty to the NRA and the gun lobby,” said Democratic Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy, who championed&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-signs-gun-violence-bill-c21249287f976c2c164d8753205c2e6d">bipartisan legislation</a>&nbsp;that passed last year and imposed some new federal gun restrictions after the Uvalde shooting. “Our kids are being hunted, and the NRA’s business model is to give aid to the hunters.”Indeed, support for gun rights among Republican voters remains higher than for voters overall. Some 56% of voters in last fall’s midterm elections said they want to see stricter nationwide gun laws, compared with just 28% of Republicans, according to AP VoteCast, a wide-ranging survey of the electorate.About half of Republicans said gun laws should be left as they are.Also on display Friday was the resurgence of the NRA and the key role it is poised to play in next year's presidential race — in a stark departure from 2020. Back then, the organization was trying to regroup and saw its membership and political spending decline following serious legal and financial turmoil — including&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/nra-bankruptcy-dismissed-a281b888b64d391374f24539a820d60f">a failed bankruptcy effort</a>, a class action lawsuit and a fraud investigation.Trump, meanwhile, has a contradictory history on guns. The NRA was a key backer of his 2016 campaign, spending some $30 million to support a candidate who sometimes mentioned carrying his own gun and vowed to eliminate gun-free zones in schools and on military bases. Trump also pledged to establish a national right to carry.But, as the country reeled from a series of mass shootings,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/shootings-north-america-us-news-ap-top-news-las-vegas-6c1af80fb290472c89fb930e223505af">Trump’s administration banned bump stocks</a>, which were used in a 2017 attack on a Las Vegas country music concert that killed 60 people. After the Parkland school shooting in Florida the following year,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ap-top-news-donald-trump-violence-gun-politics-politics-75db363bc4fb4779b92d4582f5d5bb70">Trump urged congressional Republicans to expand background checks</a>&nbsp;and proposed seizing guns from mentally ill people.He also suggested raising the minimum age to buy assault rifles from 18 to 21, and suggested he was open to a conversation about reviving assault weapons bans. After later meeting with the NRA, however, Trump abandoned his push, instead focusing on arming teachers and making schools more secure.Donna Alberts, who traveled around 600 miles (965 kilometers) from Greenbriar, Arkansas, for the convention, said nothing could sway her vote for Trump in 2024.“He’s a good man," Alberts said, “and he does what he says he’s going to do, and he loves this country.”Gun rights advocates continue to celebrate&nbsp;<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/Americans%20have%20a%20right%20to%20carry%20firearms%20in%20public%20for%20self-defense">a Supreme Court decision last June</a>&nbsp;that said&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-guns-decision-58d01ef8bd48e816d5f8761ffa84e3e8">Americans have a right to carry firearms in public for self-defense</a>. That opened the door to a wave of challenges to firearm restrictions across the country by changing the test that lower courts had long used for evaluating challenges to firearm restrictions.Amid upheaval in the wake of the ruling, courts have declared unconstitutional laws including federal measures designed to keep guns out of the hands of domestic abusers and defendants under felony indictment, as well as a ban on possessing guns with the serial number removed. Courts are also considering challenges to state bans on AR-15-style semi-automatic rifles.Attempting to counter gun rights advocates has been an ascendant gun safety movement that has poured tens of millions of dollars into political campaigns. That includes Moms Demand Action, which was among a coalition of groups that derided Friday’s speeches as “a cattle call of far-right" presidential candidates.___