INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — A military plane carrying enough specialty infant formula for more than half a million baby bottles arrived Sunday in Indianapolis,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-health-government-and-politics-8dd6bfbee3046be4c774c53d4517c870">the first of several flights</a>&nbsp;expected from Europe aimed at relieving a shortage that has sent parents scrambling to find enough to feed their children.

President Joe Biden authorized the use of Air Force planes for the effort, dubbed “Operation Fly Formula,” because no commercial flights were available.

The formula weighed 78,000 pounds. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters aboard Air Force One as Biden flew from South Korea to Japan.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack was in Indianapolis to greet the arrival of the first shipment.

The flights are intended to provide “some incremental relief in the coming days” as the government works on a more lasting response to the shortage, Brian Deese, director of the White House National Economic Council, said Sunday.

Deese told CNN’s “State of the Union” that Sunday’s flight brought 15% of the specialty medical grade formula needed in the U.S., and because of various actions by the government, people should see “more formula in stores starting as early as this week.”

Longer term, he said, the U.S. needs more formula providers “so that no individual company has this much control over supply chains.”

The Biden administration has struggled to address the nationwide shortage of formula, particularly hypoallergenic varieties. The crisis follows the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/science-business-health-michigan-a4205025fc781b1fb902cdd9e1264b41">closure of the nation’s largest domestic manufacturing plant in Michigan in February</a>&nbsp;due to safety issues.

The White House has said 132 pallets of Nestle Health Science Alfamino Infant and Alfamino Junior formula was to leave Ramstein Air Base in Germany for the U.S. Another 114 pallets of Gerber Good Start Extensive HA formula were expected to arrive in the coming days. Altogether, about 1.5 million 8-ounce bottles of the three formulas, which are hypoallergenic for children with cow’s milk protein allergies, are expected to arrive this week.

Indianapolis was chosen because it is a Nestle distribution hub. The formula will be offloaded into FedEx semitractor-trailers and taken to a Nestle distribution center about a mile away where the company will do a standard quality control check before distributing the supplies to hospitals, pharmacies and doctor’s offices, according to an administration official on site.

In a statement Sunday, the White House said a Pentagon-sourced FedEx Express flight of Nestlé S.A. formula from Ramstein Air Base would be bound for a Nestle facility in Pennsylvania.

Nestle said that over the past few months it has worked “around the clock” to address the formula shortage and help meet demand.

“We have significantly increased the amount of our formulas available to consumers by ramping up production and accelerating general product availability to retailers and online, as well as through hospitals and home health care for those most vulnerable,” the company said in a release.

“At Nestle we are absolutely committed to doing everything we can to get parents and caregivers the formula they need so their children can thrive,” it added. “We prioritized these products because they serve a critical medical purpose as they are for children with cow’s milk protein allergies.”

Under “Operation Fly Formula,” the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health and Human Services are authorized to request Department of Defense support to pick up overseas infant formula that meets U.S. health and safety standards, so it can get to store shelves faster, according to the USDA.

Alfamino is primarily available through hospitals and home health care companies that serve patients at home.

U.S. regulators and the manufacturer, Abbott Nutrition,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-covid-politics-science-e4aef87dfb74039f1612ca5279e85227">hope to have its Michigan plant reopened</a>&nbsp;next week, but it will take about two months before product is ready for delivery. The Food and Drug Administration this week eased importation requirements for baby formula to try to ease the supply crunch, which has left store shelves void of some brands and some retailers rationing supply for parents nervous about feeding their children.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/5/1653255395217.png" alt="President Joe Biden authorized the use of Air Force planes for the effort, dubbed “Operation Fly Formula,” because no commercial flights were available.-photo White House" />
 <figcaption>President Joe Biden authorized the use of Air Force planes for the effort, dubbed “Operation Fly Formula,” because no commercial flights were available.-photo White House</figcaption>
 </figure>INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — A military plane carrying enough specialty infant formula for more than half a million baby bottles arrived Sunday in Indianapolis,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-health-government-and-politics-8dd6bfbee3046be4c774c53d4517c870">the first of several flights</a>&nbsp;expected from Europe aimed at relieving a shortage that has sent parents scrambling to find enough to feed their children.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Operation Fly Formula is underway. Thanks to the teamwork of the men and women of U.S. Transportation Command, needed specialty infant formula is in the United States. <a href="https://t.co/uErzdh6tXk">pic.twitter.com/uErzdh6tXk</a>&mdash; President Biden (@POTUS) <a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1528422672052502535?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 22, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>President Joe Biden authorized the use of Air Force planes for the effort, dubbed “Operation Fly Formula,” because no commercial flights were available.The formula weighed 78,000 pounds. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters aboard Air Force One as Biden flew from South Korea to Japan.Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack was in Indianapolis to greet the arrival of the first shipment.The flights are intended to provide “some incremental relief in the coming days” as the government works on a more lasting response to the shortage, Brian Deese, director of the White House National Economic Council, said Sunday.Deese told CNN’s “State of the Union” that Sunday’s flight brought 15% of the specialty medical grade formula needed in the U.S., and because of various actions by the government, people should see “more formula in stores starting as early as this week.”Longer term, he said, the U.S. needs more formula providers “so that no individual company has this much control over supply chains.”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/5/1653255351950.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>The Biden administration has struggled to address the nationwide shortage of formula, particularly hypoallergenic varieties. The crisis follows the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/science-business-health-michigan-a4205025fc781b1fb902cdd9e1264b41">closure of the nation’s largest domestic manufacturing plant in Michigan in February</a>&nbsp;due to safety issues.The White House has said 132 pallets of Nestle Health Science Alfamino Infant and Alfamino Junior formula was to leave Ramstein Air Base in Germany for the U.S. Another 114 pallets of Gerber Good Start Extensive HA formula were expected to arrive in the coming days. Altogether, about 1.5 million 8-ounce bottles of the three formulas, which are hypoallergenic for children with cow’s milk protein allergies, are expected to arrive this week.Indianapolis was chosen because it is a Nestle distribution hub. The formula will be offloaded into FedEx semitractor-trailers and taken to a Nestle distribution center about a mile away where the company will do a standard quality control check before distributing the supplies to hospitals, pharmacies and doctor’s offices, according to an administration official on site.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/5/1653255522967.png" alt="White House photo&nbsp;" />
 <figcaption>White House photo&nbsp;</figcaption>
 </figure>In a statement Sunday, the White House said a Pentagon-sourced FedEx Express flight of Nestlé S.A. formula from Ramstein Air Base would be bound for a Nestle facility in Pennsylvania.Nestle said that over the past few months it has worked “around the clock” to address the formula shortage and help meet demand.“We have significantly increased the amount of our formulas available to consumers by ramping up production and accelerating general product availability to retailers and online, as well as through hospitals and home health care for those most vulnerable,” the company said in a release.“At Nestle we are absolutely committed to doing everything we can to get parents and caregivers the formula they need so their children can thrive,” it added. “We prioritized these products because they serve a critical medical purpose as they are for children with cow’s milk protein allergies.”Under “Operation Fly Formula,” the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health and Human Services are authorized to request Department of Defense support to pick up overseas infant formula that meets U.S. health and safety standards, so it can get to store shelves faster, according to the USDA.Alfamino is primarily available through hospitals and home health care companies that serve patients at home.U.S. regulators and the manufacturer, Abbott Nutrition,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-covid-politics-science-e4aef87dfb74039f1612ca5279e85227">hope to have its Michigan plant reopened</a>&nbsp;next week, but it will take about two months before product is ready for delivery. The Food and Drug Administration this week eased importation requirements for baby formula to try to ease the supply crunch, which has left store shelves void of some brands and some retailers rationing supply for parents nervous about feeding their children.

78,000 pounds of infant formula arrives in US

By ALLISON KITE <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2022/05/16/why-an-ambitious-effort-to-overhaul-kansas-water-management-fell-short/">Kansas Reflector</a>

The <a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2022/01/09/nonrenewable-resource-as-western-kansas-dries-up-legislature-revisits-water-policy/">dire state of water in western Kansas</a> is not in dispute. The aquifer Kansans out west rely on to irrigate crops and provide drinking water <a target="_blank" href="http://news.ku.edu/2022/03/23/groundwater-levels-fall-across-western-and-central-kansas">dropped by a foot in 2021</a>.&nbsp;

“If you look at charts as to where it
 was … when they started irrigating and now, it’s alarming,” said the 
House Water Committee chairman, Rep. Ron Highland, R-Wamego.&nbsp;

The Ogallala Aquifer has just 10 
years left in one county in the extreme western part of the state, where
 groundwater supplies towns and irrigates crops in an otherwise arid 
countryside.&nbsp;

How to handle the drying out of the huge swaths of Kansas’ farmland is a <a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2022/02/20/we-cant-wait-15-years-legislative-committee-works-to-overhaul-kansas-water-policy/">point of serious contention</a>.
 Tension between the rights of farmers and the reality that water is 
running out stalled a massive effort this session to get a handle on the
 state’s most precious resource.&nbsp;

After a year of study and 
legislators’ visit to Garden City, where the Arkansas River bed sits 
dry, it appeared that the Kansas House Water Committee was ready to 
raise water issues to a cabinet-level position, grant more independence 
to the state’s chief engineer and demand more oversight of local 
agencies charged for decades with stopping depletion of the aquifers.

But <a target="_blank" href="http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2021_22/measures/hb2686/">a bill</a> meant to do all that died without ever seeing a debate on the House floor. <a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2022/03/01/shooting-themselves-in-the-foot-committee-guts-kansas-bill-to-protect-water/">Committee members voted to essentially gut the bill</a> with an amendment backed by agricultural groups.&nbsp;

“My fear is that, ultimately, they 
have so much power that they don’t have to come to the table if they 
don’t want to, and that’s going to be to the demise of our rural 
communities in western Kansas,” said Rep. Lindsay Vaughn, D-Overland 
Park, the committee’s ranking Democrat.

Highland won’t seek reelection and 
will leave office in January without seeing his efforts culminate in any
 legislation passed. But to him, not all is lost.&nbsp;

House members and senators will keep 
studying declining water in western Kansas and quality issues in the 
east before they introduce legislation for the next session, with far 
more time for stakeholders to take a look before hearings and 
negotiations begin. Meanwhile, state auditors will take a look at 
groundwater management districts in southern and western Kansas that 
have been charged since the 1970s with overseeing water conservation 
with mixed success.&nbsp;

“We want to know how much conservation they’ve actually done…and we want to know where the money goes,” Highland said.&nbsp;

For more than 75 years, the right to use water in Kansas has been governed by a simple idea: “first in time, first in right.”

Farmers who irrigate crops hold water
 rights, which are considered property rights. Those who have held them 
longer have seniority over newer water right holders, and they’re 
entitled to a certain number of acre-feet of water.

Farmers and ranchers —&nbsp;and, as a result, the Kansas Livestock Association — take that right seriously.

“First and foremost, we want to 
protect those property rights, and while we do understand and are 
concerned about declining levels of the Ogallala Aquifer, I think, from 
our perspective, we’re always concerned when government tries to 
interfere with those property rights,” said Aaron Popelka, vice 
president of legal and government affairs with the Kansas Livestock 
Association.

Getting them to use less, Highland said, is an uphill climb.&nbsp;

During meetings in Garden City, “several
 of the farmers that irrigate said, ‘I’m going to pump it dry, and then 
move away,’” Highland said. “But … the other side of the coin is those 
that want to keep something for the grandchildren and great 
grandchildren.”

But in parts of the state, Kansas has
 over appropriated water rights. Water users have the right to use more 
water than exists, setting up a conflict between farmers’ legal property
 rights of today and the reality of tomorrow.

It was against this backdrop that 
Highland introduced a 293-page bill restructuring state agencies that 
deal with water and creating a cabinet secretary dedicated to the 
issue.&nbsp;

The bill would have given autonomy to
 the state’s chief engineer, tasked with administering Kansas’ water 
rights laws. Right now, the engineer reports to the state’s secretary of
 agriculture, which Highland argues puts the engineer at risk of being 
overruled by a political appointee. It would have raised fees that, in 
some cases, haven’t changed in 40 years to fund water projects.&nbsp;

The most controversial element of the
 original bill would have given more power to residents residing within 
groundwater management districts who do not hold water rights. Right 
now, to serve on the board of a groundwater management district, someone
 must own at least 40 contiguous acres or a right to withdraw water on 
their property.

But the challenges to Highland’s efforts to do something about water in western Kansas were swift and severe.&nbsp;

The bill was unveiled weeks into the 
session, and critics said they weren’t given enough time to study it. 
Some objected entirely to the idea of altering groundwater management 
districts or said conservation efforts should be led from the local 
level.&nbsp;

“Some of the best solutions out there
 have been done by the local farmers and ranchers themselves,” Popelka 
said. “And while I think some folks would like to see more, there’s a 
certain level where you got to kind of let those things develop 
organically.”

The group supported a poison pill amendment gutting the bill of the bulk of its provisions.&nbsp;

Though the bill passed the committee,
 there was no floor debate. The prospect of a major reform to Kansas 
water management died for the year.&nbsp;

Behind the scenes, Highland said there was some negotiation.

Agriculture groups, he said, gave 
some ground on creating a secretary position and other provisions. But 
as time ran short in the legislative session, there still wasn’t a 
consensus.&nbsp;

Kent Askren, public policy director 
for the Kansas Farm Bureau, said the group’s contract lobbyist was 
involved in some discussions after the committee vote but there was no 
agreement.&nbsp;

“It probably was just too little too late,” he said.&nbsp;

Some victories were won this year. 
The state’s budget fully funds its portion of the state water plan for 
the first time in well over a decade. That was one area where Highland 
and agricultural groups alike could find common ground.

Agriculture groups all said there was
 more that the state could provide to fund water projects on the 
Ogallala. Changing the way Kansas oversees and gets involved in water is
 another story.&nbsp;

Askren was open to the possibility that Kansas water law could be better administered.&nbsp;

“We can have those conversations,” he
 said, “but to make or consider wholesale changes to the structure of 
our water law —&nbsp;I don’t see us being very excited about having that 
conversation.”

Allison Kite is a data reporter for The Missouri Independent and Kansas Reflector, with a focus on the environment and agriculture.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/5/1652719643247.png" alt="The dry bed of the Arkansas River near the Santa Fe Trail crossing at Cimarron. The Ogallala aquifer groundwater levels in much of western Kansas started dropping in the 1950s as pumping increased, according to the Kansas Geological Survey. (Max McCoy)" />
 <figcaption>The dry bed of the Arkansas River near the Santa Fe Trail crossing at Cimarron. The Ogallala aquifer groundwater levels in much of western Kansas started dropping in the 1950s as pumping increased, according to the Kansas Geological Survey. (Max McCoy)</figcaption>
 </figure>By ALLISON KITE <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2022/05/16/why-an-ambitious-effort-to-overhaul-kansas-water-management-fell-short/">Kansas Reflector</a>The <a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2022/01/09/nonrenewable-resource-as-western-kansas-dries-up-legislature-revisits-water-policy/">dire state of water in western Kansas</a> is not in dispute. The aquifer Kansans out west rely on to irrigate crops and provide drinking water <a target="_blank" href="http://news.ku.edu/2022/03/23/groundwater-levels-fall-across-western-and-central-kansas">dropped by a foot in 2021</a>.&nbsp;“If you look at charts as to where it
 was … when they started irrigating and now, it’s alarming,” said the 
House Water Committee chairman, Rep. Ron Highland, R-Wamego.&nbsp;The Ogallala Aquifer has just 10 
years left in one county in the extreme western part of the state, where
 groundwater supplies towns and irrigates crops in an otherwise arid 
countryside.&nbsp;How to handle the drying out of the huge swaths of Kansas’ farmland is a <a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2022/02/20/we-cant-wait-15-years-legislative-committee-works-to-overhaul-kansas-water-policy/">point of serious contention</a>.
 Tension between the rights of farmers and the reality that water is 
running out stalled a massive effort this session to get a handle on the
 state’s most precious resource.&nbsp;<div><iframe width="100%" height="300" scrolling="no" frameborder="no" allow="autoplay" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/1269265606&color=%232b7fb4&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true&visual=true"></iframe><div style="font-size: 10px; color: #cccccc;line-break: anywhere;word-break: normal;overflow: hidden;white-space: nowrap;text-overflow: ellipsis; font-family: Interstate,Lucida Grande,Lucida Sans Unicode,Lucida Sans,Garuda,Verdana,Tahoma,sans-serif;font-weight: 100;"><a href="https://soundcloud.com/kansas-reflector-podcast" title="Reflector Podcast" target="_blank" style="color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;">Reflector Podcast</a> · <a href="https://soundcloud.com/kansas-reflector-podcast/the-state-of-kansas-water" title="The state of Kansas water" target="_blank" style="color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;">The state of Kansas water</a></div></div>After a year of study and 
legislators’ visit to Garden City, where the Arkansas River bed sits 
dry, it appeared that the Kansas House Water Committee was ready to 
raise water issues to a cabinet-level position, grant more independence 
to the state’s chief engineer and demand more oversight of local 
agencies charged for decades with stopping depletion of the aquifers.But <a target="_blank" href="http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2021_22/measures/hb2686/">a bill</a> meant to do all that died without ever seeing a debate on the House floor. <a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2022/03/01/shooting-themselves-in-the-foot-committee-guts-kansas-bill-to-protect-water/">Committee members voted to essentially gut the bill</a> with an amendment backed by agricultural groups.&nbsp;“My fear is that, ultimately, they 
have so much power that they don’t have to come to the table if they 
don’t want to, and that’s going to be to the demise of our rural 
communities in western Kansas,” said Rep. Lindsay Vaughn, D-Overland 
Park, the committee’s ranking Democrat.Highland won’t seek reelection and 
will leave office in January without seeing his efforts culminate in any
 legislation passed. But to him, not all is lost.&nbsp;House members and senators will keep 
studying declining water in western Kansas and quality issues in the 
east before they introduce legislation for the next session, with far 
more time for stakeholders to take a look before hearings and 
negotiations begin. Meanwhile, state auditors will take a look at 
groundwater management districts in southern and western Kansas that 
have been charged since the 1970s with overseeing water conservation 
with mixed success.&nbsp;“We want to know how much conservation they’ve actually done…and we want to know where the money goes,” Highland said.&nbsp;<h2>Rights and responsibilities</h2>For more than 75 years, the right to use water in Kansas has been governed by a simple idea: “first in time, first in right.”Farmers who irrigate crops hold water
 rights, which are considered property rights. Those who have held them 
longer have seniority over newer water right holders, and they’re 
entitled to a certain number of acre-feet of water.Farmers and ranchers —&nbsp;and, as a result, the Kansas Livestock Association — take that right seriously.“First and foremost, we want to 
protect those property rights, and while we do understand and are 
concerned about declining levels of the Ogallala Aquifer, I think, from 
our perspective, we’re always concerned when government tries to 
interfere with those property rights,” said Aaron Popelka, vice 
president of legal and government affairs with the Kansas Livestock 
Association.Getting them to use less, Highland said, is an uphill climb.&nbsp;<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/5/1652719730798.jpeg" alt=" Rep. Ron Highland and Rep. Lindsay Vaughn have championed a bill to overhaul Kansas’ management of water resources. A House committee gutted it. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption> Rep. Ron Highland and Rep. Lindsay Vaughn have championed a bill to overhaul Kansas’ management of water resources. A House committee gutted it. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure>During meetings in Garden City, “several
 of the farmers that irrigate said, ‘I’m going to pump it dry, and then 
move away,’” Highland said. “But … the other side of the coin is those 
that want to keep something for the grandchildren and great 
grandchildren.”But in parts of the state, Kansas has
 over appropriated water rights. Water users have the right to use more 
water than exists, setting up a conflict between farmers’ legal property
 rights of today and the reality of tomorrow.It was against this backdrop that 
Highland introduced a 293-page bill restructuring state agencies that 
deal with water and creating a cabinet secretary dedicated to the 
issue.&nbsp;The bill would have given autonomy to
 the state’s chief engineer, tasked with administering Kansas’ water 
rights laws. Right now, the engineer reports to the state’s secretary of
 agriculture, which Highland argues puts the engineer at risk of being 
overruled by a political appointee. It would have raised fees that, in 
some cases, haven’t changed in 40 years to fund water projects.&nbsp;The most controversial element of the
 original bill would have given more power to residents residing within 
groundwater management districts who do not hold water rights. Right 
now, to serve on the board of a groundwater management district, someone
 must own at least 40 contiguous acres or a right to withdraw water on 
their property.But the challenges to Highland’s efforts to do something about water in western Kansas were swift and severe.&nbsp;The bill was unveiled weeks into the 
session, and critics said they weren’t given enough time to study it. 
Some objected entirely to the idea of altering groundwater management 
districts or said conservation efforts should be led from the local 
level.&nbsp;“Some of the best solutions out there
 have been done by the local farmers and ranchers themselves,” Popelka 
said. “And while I think some folks would like to see more, there’s a 
certain level where you got to kind of let those things develop 
organically.”The group supported a poison pill amendment gutting the bill of the bulk of its provisions.&nbsp;Though the bill passed the committee,
 there was no floor debate. The prospect of a major reform to Kansas 
water management died for the year.&nbsp;Behind the scenes, Highland said there was some negotiation.Agriculture groups, he said, gave 
some ground on creating a secretary position and other provisions. But 
as time ran short in the legislative session, there still wasn’t a 
consensus.&nbsp;Kent Askren, public policy director 
for the Kansas Farm Bureau, said the group’s contract lobbyist was 
involved in some discussions after the committee vote but there was no 
agreement.&nbsp;“It probably was just too little too late,” he said.&nbsp;Some victories were won this year. 
The state’s budget fully funds its portion of the state water plan for 
the first time in well over a decade. That was one area where Highland 
and agricultural groups alike could find common ground.Agriculture groups all said there was
 more that the state could provide to fund water projects on the 
Ogallala. Changing the way Kansas oversees and gets involved in water is
 another story.&nbsp;Askren was open to the possibility that Kansas water law could be better administered.&nbsp;“We can have those conversations,” he
 said, “but to make or consider wholesale changes to the structure of 
our water law —&nbsp;I don’t see us being very excited about having that 
conversation.”Allison Kite is a data reporter for The Missouri Independent and Kansas Reflector, with a focus on the environment and agriculture.&nbsp;

Why ambitious effort to overhaul Kan. water management fell short

GEARY COUNTY&nbsp;-&nbsp;The Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) is investigating an officer-involved shooting that occurred Saturday night in Junction City, according to a media release from the agency.

Preliminary information indicates that at approximately 5:15 p.m. on Saturday, a female subject called 911 to report that a man was outside her home, waving a handgun and threatening her and another female subject with it. She lived in the 700 block of West 11th&nbsp;St. in Junction City.&nbsp;

Minutes later, several officers from the Junction City Police Department responded to the area. As they arrived, officers spotted a man matching the suspect’s description fleeing the area. They chased the man on foot. During the chase, officers saw that the man had a gun, heard gunshots coming from his direction, and observed him pointing the gun at them.

As one officer caught up to the suspect, between two houses in the 600 block of West 11th&nbsp;St., a confrontation occurred and the officer fired at the man striking him multiple times.

Officers then rendered aid to the man. EMS responded and took over life-saving measures. The man was identified as Carlton Solton, Jr., 36, of Junction City. No law enforcement officers were injured during the incident.

EMS transported Solton to the Geary Community Hospital. He was later flown to Stormont Vail Hospital in Topeka. Solton underwent surgery and is receiving further treatment in the intensive care unit.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/8/1629836301977.jpeg" alt="Solton from an earlier arrest in Geary Co. He has previous convictions for stalking, domestic battery, criminal threat, assault on a law enforcement officer, criminal possession of a firearm, flee or elude law enforcement and battery of campus or university police, according to the Kansas Dept. of Corrections." />
 <figcaption>Solton from an earlier arrest in Geary Co. He has previous convictions for stalking, domestic battery, criminal threat, assault on a law enforcement officer, criminal possession of a firearm, flee or elude law enforcement and battery of campus or university police, according to the Kansas Dept. of Corrections.</figcaption>
 </figure>GEARY COUNTY&nbsp;-&nbsp;The Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) is investigating an officer-involved shooting that occurred Saturday night in Junction City, according to a media release from the agency.Preliminary information indicates that at approximately 5:15 p.m. on Saturday, a female subject called 911 to report that a man was outside her home, waving a handgun and threatening her and another female subject with it. She lived in the 700 block of West 11th&nbsp;St. in Junction City.&nbsp;<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/5/1653229189947.jpeg" alt="KBI on the scene of the investigation -photo courtesy WIBW TV" />
 <figcaption>KBI on the scene of the investigation -photo courtesy WIBW TV</figcaption>
 </figure>Minutes later, several officers from the Junction City Police Department responded to the area. As they arrived, officers spotted a man matching the suspect’s description fleeing the area. They chased the man on foot. During the chase, officers saw that the man had a gun, heard gunshots coming from his direction, and observed him pointing the gun at them.As one officer caught up to the suspect, between two houses in the 600 block of West 11th&nbsp;St., a confrontation occurred and the officer fired at the man striking him multiple times.Officers then rendered aid to the man. EMS responded and took over life-saving measures. The man was identified as Carlton Solton, Jr., 36, of Junction City. No law enforcement officers were injured during the incident.EMS transported Solton to the Geary Community Hospital. He was later flown to Stormont Vail Hospital in Topeka. Solton underwent surgery and is receiving further treatment in the intensive care unit.

KBI: Man wounded in Kansas officer-involved shooting

By NOAH TABORDA <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2022/05/20/kansas-republican-attorney-general-candidates-wrangle-over-experience-electability/">Kansas Reflector</a>

PITTSBURG— Sen. Kellie Warren and former Kansas Secretary of State 
Kris Kobach repeatedly clashed Thursday over who was best suited to 
ensure a GOP victory on election night and battle Democratic 
administrations at the state and federal levels.

On one side was a candidate with experience in statewide office but 
blemishes on his election record. On the other was a Leawood Republican 
lawmaker who is actively pursuing change in the Legislature but without 
statewide experience. In the middle was Tony Mattivi, a former federal 
prosecutor, who contrasted himself with his opponents by arguing he was a
 career prosecutor while they were career politicians.

Mattivi faced questions about his conservative bona fides as well 
during the first attorney general debate in Pittsburg, the unofficial 
kickoff to the summer election season.

“What we care about as Americans will not be represented in the 
attorney general’s Office unless we have a conservative Republican with 
the track record you can look at and depend on and trust to win this 
tough election,” Warren said. “It’s too important to risk a candidate 
who says they’re conservative, but we don’t know. How can we know? 
Untested in the court of public opinion.”

Warren positioned herself as the only candidate with a winning 
history, in elections and with policies at the Statehouse including 
government overreach and the Value Them Both amendment on the August 
primary ballot. She pointed to Kobach’s defeat at the hands of Gov. 
Laura Kelly in 2018 and his losses in court to ACLU over proof of 
citizenship voter law as signs he could not be trusted to win in 
November.

“It’s not very careful thinking to think that any Republican can 
automatically win in the general election,” Warren said. “We have a 
candidate in this race who has already lost a statewide election to the 
left.”

But Kobach dismissed these criticisms, arguing his victory in a 
statewide election should instill more confidence than a legislative 
win.

“Winning a tiny little Johnson County, senate district or house 
district, that’s not like running a statewide election,” Kobach said. 
“Running statewide, there are a lot of things you learn on the trail. I 
have learned them, and I know how to win statewide, and we will win 
statewide.”

The Republican nominee for attorney general will likely face Democrat
 Chris Mann, a former police officer and prosecutor for the Wyandotte 
County District Attorney’s Office. The three GOP candidates had similar 
opinions on the topics ranging from the Second Amendment to government 
overreach to immigration, so much of the debate centered on experience 
and electability.

Warren touted her wins as a state representative and senator, 
asserting that Kansans could expect more of the same if she is elected.

Kobach emphasized his work with and in support of former President 
Donald Trump on immigration and leading his election fraud commission. 
His 2018 loss? It could be explained by a “blue wave” election for 
Democrats.

Mattivi said Kansans should rely on his decades of practical 
experience to serve as the state’s chief law enforcement official, 
including being the only candidate to work in the Kansas Attorney 
General’s Office. In addition, he served more than two decades as a 
federal prosecutor.

Of Warren, Mattivi warned she lacked experience in the courtroom. He 
noted that every attorney general — except Phill Kline, who held the 
role from 2003 to 2007 — had worked as a prosecutor, been a judge or 
worked in the attorney general’s office.

“If you insist that your chief law enforcement official actually be a
 law enforcement official, I am the only candidate in the race with 
those qualifications,” Mattivi said.­­

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/5/1653064549129.png" alt="Sen. Kellie Warren positioned herself as the only Republican candidate for Kansas attorney general with a winning track record, in elections and with policies at the Statehouse. The Leawood legislator sparred with Kris Kobach and Tony Mattivi in a debate Thursday in Pittsburg, the first between the three. (Noah Taborda/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption>Sen. Kellie Warren positioned herself as the only Republican candidate for Kansas attorney general with a winning track record, in elections and with policies at the Statehouse. The Leawood legislator sparred with Kris Kobach and Tony Mattivi in a debate Thursday in Pittsburg, the first between the three. (Noah Taborda/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure>By NOAH TABORDA <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2022/05/20/kansas-republican-attorney-general-candidates-wrangle-over-experience-electability/">Kansas Reflector</a>PITTSBURG— Sen. Kellie Warren and former Kansas Secretary of State 
Kris Kobach repeatedly clashed Thursday over who was best suited to 
ensure a GOP victory on election night and battle Democratic 
administrations at the state and federal levels.On one side was a candidate with experience in statewide office but 
blemishes on his election record. On the other was a Leawood Republican 
lawmaker who is actively pursuing change in the Legislature but without 
statewide experience. In the middle was Tony Mattivi, a former federal 
prosecutor, who contrasted himself with his opponents by arguing he was a
 career prosecutor while they were career politicians.Mattivi faced questions about his conservative bona fides as well 
during the first attorney general debate in Pittsburg, the unofficial 
kickoff to the summer election season.“What we care about as Americans will not be represented in the 
attorney general’s Office unless we have a conservative Republican with 
the track record you can look at and depend on and trust to win this 
tough election,” Warren said. “It’s too important to risk a candidate 
who says they’re conservative, but we don’t know. How can we know? 
Untested in the court of public opinion.”Warren positioned herself as the only candidate with a winning 
history, in elections and with policies at the Statehouse including 
government overreach and the Value Them Both amendment on the August 
primary ballot. She pointed to Kobach’s defeat at the hands of Gov. 
Laura Kelly in 2018 and his losses in court to ACLU over proof of 
citizenship voter law as signs he could not be trusted to win in 
November.“It’s not very careful thinking to think that any Republican can 
automatically win in the general election,” Warren said. “We have a 
candidate in this race who has already lost a statewide election to the 
left.”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/5/1653064617058.png" alt="Kobach, right, and Mattivi, left, touted having vastly more experience with actual litigation than Warren. Mattivi, who previously worked in the attorney general’s office, contrasted himself as a career prosecutor running against two career politicians. (Noah Taborda/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption>Kobach, right, and Mattivi, left, touted having vastly more experience with actual litigation than Warren. Mattivi, who previously worked in the attorney general’s office, contrasted himself as a career prosecutor running against two career politicians. (Noah Taborda/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure>But Kobach dismissed these criticisms, arguing his victory in a 
statewide election should instill more confidence than a legislative 
win.“Winning a tiny little Johnson County, senate district or house 
district, that’s not like running a statewide election,” Kobach said. 
“Running statewide, there are a lot of things you learn on the trail. I 
have learned them, and I know how to win statewide, and we will win 
statewide.”The Republican nominee for attorney general will likely face Democrat
 Chris Mann, a former police officer and prosecutor for the Wyandotte 
County District Attorney’s Office. The three GOP candidates had similar 
opinions on the topics ranging from the Second Amendment to government 
overreach to immigration, so much of the debate centered on experience 
and electability.Warren touted her wins as a state representative and senator, 
asserting that Kansans could expect more of the same if she is elected.Kobach emphasized his work with and in support of former President 
Donald Trump on immigration and leading his election fraud commission. 
His 2018 loss? It could be explained by a “blue wave” election for 
Democrats.Mattivi said Kansans should rely on his decades of practical 
experience to serve as the state’s chief law enforcement official, 
including being the only candidate to work in the Kansas Attorney 
General’s Office. In addition, he served more than two decades as a 
federal prosecutor.Of Warren, Mattivi warned she lacked experience in the courtroom. He 
noted that every attorney general — except Phill Kline, who held the 
role from 2003 to 2007 — had worked as a prosecutor, been a judge or 
worked in the attorney general’s office.“If you insist that your chief law enforcement official actually be a
 law enforcement official, I am the only candidate in the race with 
those qualifications,” Mattivi said.­­

Kan. GOP AG candidates wrangle over experience, electability

KANSAS CITY – A Kansas City-area man pleaded guilty in federal court to his role in a fraud scheme that utilized the stolen identities of Johnson County, Kansas, government employees to make fraudulent purchases, according to the United State's Attorney.

Michael B. Becher, 40, Raytown, Mo. pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Howard F. Sachs to participating in a conspiracy to commit credit card fraud from Feb. 1 to June 30, 2019.

By pleading guilty this week, Becher admitted that he and his co-conspirators used stolen identity information to make fraudulent purchases. Many of the identity theft victims were current or former employees of Johnson County, Kan. The Johnson County, Kan., government experienced a data breach of employees’ personally identifiable information in 2015.

Becher was responsible for making counterfeit driver’s licenses in the names of the identity theft victims. Becher and co-conspirators used the counterfeit licenses to open fraudulent credit accounts. Before making a counterfeit driver’s license, Becher performed a credit check on the identity theft victim to determine the likelihood of establishing a credit account.

Becher made at least seven fraudulent purchases himself, using the stolen identities of three victims, at Lowe’s and Home Depot in transactions ranging from $1,617 to $8,049. Becher then sold the goods and equipment for half of the actual value of the property. Becher kept half of the proceeds that he sold and gave the other half to co-conspirators.

Co-defendant Rachel R. Jarman, 35, address unknown, pleaded guilty on Dec. 17, 2021, to her role in the conspiracy.

In a separate and unrelated case, Becher has also pleaded guilty to his role in a nearly $10 million conspiracy to distribute almost 1,000 kilograms of methamphetamine from Sept. 1, 2018, to Nov. 5, 2019. Becher admitted he was responsible for the distribution of at least 185 kilograms of methamphetamine. Becher also admitted that he purchased multiple pounds of methamphetamine on a daily basis.

Under federal statutes, Becher and Jarman each are subject to a sentence of up to five years in federal prison without parole in this case. In the drug-trafficking case, the government and Becher have agreed to a sentence of 20 years in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

KANSAS CITY – A Kansas City-area man pleaded guilty in federal court to his role in a fraud scheme that utilized the stolen identities of Johnson County, Kansas, government employees to make fraudulent purchases, according to the United State's Attorney.Michael B. Becher, 40, Raytown, Mo. pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Howard F. Sachs to participating in a conspiracy to commit credit card fraud from Feb. 1 to June 30, 2019.By pleading guilty this week, Becher admitted that he and his co-conspirators used stolen identity information to make fraudulent purchases. Many of the identity theft victims were current or former employees of Johnson County, Kan. The Johnson County, Kan., government experienced a data breach of employees’ personally identifiable information in 2015.Becher was responsible for making counterfeit driver’s licenses in the names of the identity theft victims. Becher and co-conspirators used the counterfeit licenses to open fraudulent credit accounts. Before making a counterfeit driver’s license, Becher performed a credit check on the identity theft victim to determine the likelihood of establishing a credit account.Becher made at least seven fraudulent purchases himself, using the stolen identities of three victims, at Lowe’s and Home Depot in transactions ranging from $1,617 to $8,049. Becher then sold the goods and equipment for half of the actual value of the property. Becher kept half of the proceeds that he sold and gave the other half to co-conspirators.Co-defendant Rachel R. Jarman, 35, address unknown, pleaded guilty on Dec. 17, 2021, to her role in the conspiracy.In a separate and unrelated case, Becher has also pleaded guilty to his role in a nearly $10 million conspiracy to distribute almost 1,000 kilograms of methamphetamine from Sept. 1, 2018, to Nov. 5, 2019. Becher admitted he was responsible for the distribution of at least 185 kilograms of methamphetamine. Becher also admitted that he purchased multiple pounds of methamphetamine on a daily basis.Under federal statutes, Becher and Jarman each are subject to a sentence of up to five years in federal prison without parole in this case. In the drug-trafficking case, the government and Becher have agreed to a sentence of 20 years in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

KC-area man admits making counterfeit driver’s licenses 

DENVER (AP) — U.S. government lawyers asked the appeals court overseeing four western and two midwestern states to recognize that the First Amendment guarantee of free speech gives people the right to film police as they do their work in public — a decision that would allow officers to be sued if they interfere with bystanders trying to record them.

Six of the nation’s 12 appeals courts have recognized that right but the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals has not and justices heard arguments in the case of a YouTube journalist and blogger who claimed that a suburban Denver officer blocked him from recording a 2019 traffic stop.

Natasha Babazadeh, an attorney for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, urged a three-judge panel from the court to rule in that filming police is a constitutional right and said there has been an increase in the number of lawsuits filed against police by people saying they could not record them in public. The appeals court has over Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico and Utah and the parts of Yellowstone National Park that lie in Idaho and Montana.

“This issue is timely and would give guidance to district courts,” Babazadeh said.

The First Amendment issue intersects with the controversial legal doctrine called “qualified immunity,” which shields police officers from misconduct lawsuits unless their actions violate clearly established laws. If the appeals court decides people have a right to record police, police departments and officers who work in the court’s region would be put on notice that they could be sued for violating that right.

In the Colorado lawsuit, Abade Irizarry said he was filming a police traffic stop in the city of Lakewood when he claimed Officer Ahmed Yehia stood in front of the camera to block Irizarry from recording. The officer was on foot shined a flashlight into Irizarry’s camera and the camera of another blogger. Then Yehia left the two, got into his cruiser and sped the cruiser toward the two bloggers, the lawsuit said. The cruiser swerved before reaching the bloggers and they were not hit, according to the lawsuit.

The case was heard in federal court in Denver, where a magistrate judge sided with lawyers for Yehia and dismissed it last year, agreeing with Yehia’s lawyers, who contended the right to record police was not clearly established by the time of the incident in 2019.

Irizarry appealed and U.S. government lawyers joined the case to support the public’s right to record police.

Alex Dorotik, the lawyer for Yehia and the city of Lakewood, said in court documents that the appeals court panel should uphold the lower court ruling.

Pointing out that Yehia allegedly drove towards Irizarry, appeals court Judge Carolyn McHugh said officers can be held liable for actions which are so egregious that all officers should should know that they violate people’s rights.

Dorotik told the appeals court panel that the motivation for why Yehia drove toward Irizarry would have to be considered but later acknowledged that it would be fair to infer it was motivated by Irizarry’s efforts to film the traffic stop.

The Justice Department lawyers did not take a position on whether Yehia should be granted qualified immunity.

But they said the appeals court can rule on the constitutional question of whether people have the right to record police regardless of whether the lawsuit against Yehia is reinstated. L&nbsp;<a href="https://www.justice.gov/crt/case-document/file/1458396/download" target="_blank">egal documents filed by the Justice Department lawyers stressed the importance of eyewitness video in</a>&nbsp;its investigations of police departments and for the investigative hunt for suspects who attacked police during the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

Alan Chen, a University of Denver law professor and one of the First Amendment experts who have also urged the appeals court to rule on the right of people to record police, said courts tend to address cases narrowly instead of weighing in on constitutional issues.

But the video of the killing of George Floyd brought national attention to the importance of people having the right to record police as they work, he said.

“The more uncertainity there is, the more people might be afraid to pull out their phones and record the police,” Chen said.

DENVER (AP) — U.S. government lawyers asked the appeals court overseeing four western and two midwestern states to recognize that the First Amendment guarantee of free speech gives people the right to film police as they do their work in public — a decision that would allow officers to be sued if they interfere with bystanders trying to record them.Six of the nation’s 12 appeals courts have recognized that right but the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals has not and justices heard arguments in the case of a YouTube journalist and blogger who claimed that a suburban Denver officer blocked him from recording a 2019 traffic stop.Natasha Babazadeh, an attorney for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, urged a three-judge panel from the court to rule in that filming police is a constitutional right and said there has been an increase in the number of lawsuits filed against police by people saying they could not record them in public. The appeals court has over Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico and Utah and the parts of Yellowstone National Park that lie in Idaho and Montana.“This issue is timely and would give guidance to district courts,” Babazadeh said.The First Amendment issue intersects with the controversial legal doctrine called “qualified immunity,” which shields police officers from misconduct lawsuits unless their actions violate clearly established laws. If the appeals court decides people have a right to record police, police departments and officers who work in the court’s region would be put on notice that they could be sued for violating that right.In the Colorado lawsuit, Abade Irizarry said he was filming a police traffic stop in the city of Lakewood when he claimed Officer Ahmed Yehia stood in front of the camera to block Irizarry from recording. The officer was on foot shined a flashlight into Irizarry’s camera and the camera of another blogger. Then Yehia left the two, got into his cruiser and sped the cruiser toward the two bloggers, the lawsuit said. The cruiser swerved before reaching the bloggers and they were not hit, according to the lawsuit.The case was heard in federal court in Denver, where a magistrate judge sided with lawyers for Yehia and dismissed it last year, agreeing with Yehia’s lawyers, who contended the right to record police was not clearly established by the time of the incident in 2019.Irizarry appealed and U.S. government lawyers joined the case to support the public’s right to record police.Alex Dorotik, the lawyer for Yehia and the city of Lakewood, said in court documents that the appeals court panel should uphold the lower court ruling.Pointing out that Yehia allegedly drove towards Irizarry, appeals court Judge Carolyn McHugh said officers can be held liable for actions which are so egregious that all officers should should know that they violate people’s rights.Dorotik told the appeals court panel that the motivation for why Yehia drove toward Irizarry would have to be considered but later acknowledged that it would be fair to infer it was motivated by Irizarry’s efforts to film the traffic stop.The Justice Department lawyers did not take a position on whether Yehia should be granted qualified immunity.But they said the appeals court can rule on the constitutional question of whether people have the right to record police regardless of whether the lawsuit against Yehia is reinstated. L&nbsp;<a href="https://www.justice.gov/crt/case-document/file/1458396/download" target="_blank">egal documents filed by the Justice Department lawyers stressed the importance of eyewitness video in</a>&nbsp;its investigations of police departments and for the investigative hunt for suspects who attacked police during the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.Alan Chen, a University of Denver law professor and one of the First Amendment experts who have also urged the appeals court to rule on the right of people to record police, said courts tend to address cases narrowly instead of weighing in on constitutional issues.But the video of the killing of George Floyd brought national attention to the importance of people having the right to record police as they work, he said.“The more uncertainity there is, the more people might be afraid to pull out their phones and record the police,” Chen said.

Right to film cops weighed by US court overseeing Kansas

KANSAS CITY (AP) — It was lunch hour at the abortion clinic, so the nurse in the recovery room got her Bible out of her bag in the closet and began to read.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding,” her favorite proverb says, and she returns to it again and again. “He will make your paths straight.”

She believes God led her here, to a job at the West Alabama Women’s Center, tending to patients who’ve just had abortions. “I trust in God,” said Ramona, who asked that her last name not be used because of the volatility of America’s abortion debate

Out in the parking lot, protesters bellowed at patients arriving for appointments, doing battle against what they regard as a grave sin.

The loudest voices in the abortion debate are often characterized along a starkly religious divide, the faithful versus not. But the reality is much more nuanced, both at this abortion clinic and in the nation that surrounds it. The clinic’s staff of 11 — most of them Black, deeply faithful Christian women — have no trouble at all reconciling their work with their religion.

And as the U.S. Supreme Court appears poised to dismantle the constitutional right to an abortion, they draw on their faith that they will somehow continue.

God is on our side, they tell each other. God will keep this clinic open.

Robin Marty, who moved from Minneapolis to Tuscaloosa a couple years ago to help run this clinic, was surprised to hear nurses pray for guidance as the future of abortion grows uncertain.

“That is one of the things that has caused a whiplash for me — I had this stereotype in my head of a Southern religious person,” said Marty. “I just assumed that there was no compatibility between people who are religious and people who support the ability to get an abortion.”

Marty realized she was wrong . It’s a common error.

“We need to have a real conversation about what we describe as Christianity,” said Kendra Cotton, a member of the Black Southern Women’s Collective, a network of Black women organizers, many of them from faith-based groups.

The white evangelical worldview that abortion is murder has consumed the conversation, flattening the understanding of how religion and views on abortion truly intersect, she said.

Before Roe v. Wade, faith leaders in many places led efforts to help pregnant women access underground abortions, because they considered it a calling to show compassion and mercy to the most vulnerable.

Now, Black Protestants have some of the most liberal views on access to abortion: Nearly 70% believe abortion should be legal in most or all cases, according to the Public Religion Research Institute. White evangelicals are the other extreme, with only 24% believing abortion should be allowed in most or all cases.

For faithful women of color, there’s often a very different balancing act of values when confronting the question of whether women should be able to end unwanted pregnancies, Cotton said.

“We know that Christianity supports freedom, and inherent in freedom is bodily autonomy. Inherent in Christianity is free will. When people talk about the body being a temple of God, you have purview over your body, there is nothing more sacred,” Cotton said.

The idea of the state restricting what a person can do with their own body is in direct conflict with that, she said, and it is reminiscent of being under someone else’s control -- of slavery.

“You don’t get to tell me what to do,” Cotton said.

In Tuscaloosa, the West Alabama Women’s Center sits on the edge of a nondescript medical plaza, a half-mile from the University of Alabama campus. Though many of the center’s clientele are college students, others come from all over the state and some surrounding ones -- it is the only abortion clinic for two hours in every direction. Many of their clients are Black, many already have children and more than 75% survive below the poverty line.

Every patient comes into Ramona’s recovery room after their abortion. She keeps the lights low. Working here, to her, feels like a righteous calling. She believes the Christian way is to love people where they are, and that means walking kindly with them as they make the best decision for themselves.

Sometimes they cry, and tell her they didn’t want to be there. She’s heard stories of rape and domestic violence, but most talk about fear of having more mouths they can’t afford to feed. She always says, “I understand.”

“I mean that, I do understand, I’ve gone through that myself,” she said.

Ramona, 39, is a single mother of four children, and had her first child at 16. She sometimes imagines what her life might have been had she started her family later. She had to drop out of college. There were times, when her children were young, when she couldn’t pay the gas bill, and she boiled water so they could have warm baths.

“Women go through so much, it’s hard,” she said. “So you should have that choice, whether or not you’re ready to be a mother. No one else should choose for you.”

Her daughter used to say “Mom, I want to be just like you,” and she would stop her. “No ma’am,” she’d say to her. “I want you to be better.” Her daughter is now 22 and studying to be a doctor.

She clawed herself out of poverty and built a life she loves. Her co-worker at the front desk calls her Miss Wonderful -- she’s at peace with God, she said, so every day is a great one.

For a time, she tried to be friendly with one of the regulars who protested outside, trying to convince patients that abortion is murder and they shouldn’t go in. She’d visit on her breaks or as she was leaving for the day. They discussed Scripture, forgiveness, sin.

She’d say, “I can see where you’re coming from. Can you see where I’m coming from? I’m not going to love you any less because of what you believe in or what you think.”

Then one day she was walking by and he shouted at her: When you die, you know where you’ll be going, and it isn’t heaven. She doesn’t talk to him anymore.

Alesia Horton, the clinic’s director, eyed the protesters from the window.

“I don’t know what Bible they’re reading, ’cause it’s not the one that I read,” she said. She and Ramona have been friends since childhood and share a Christian faith.

If people heard the stories she had inside this clinic, she can’t imagine trying to mandate that people be forced into motherhood. She had a patient once who had cancer, wanted the child but couldn’t continue chemotherapy while she was pregnant. She had to choose between her own life and the child she wanted.

Just two weeks before, Horton wept when she met a 13-year-old who’d been raped, and she can’t shake the look on the child’s face, staring blankly in the exam room.

“It’s going to be OK. Don’t think you did anything wrong because you didn’t,” Horton told her.

She often hears patients cry that they’re going to go to hell.

“I’ve had patients against abortion until it happened to their child, or it happened to them,” she said. “The first thing they say, ‘I don’t believe in this.’ And I say, ‘Let’s get past that. Now that you’re pregnant, what are you doing to do? Are you still not going to believe in this? Now you’re on the other side. Where you were judging, now it’s you.’”

They pray that the Supreme Court won’t overturn Roe v. Wade, because they know their poorest patients will bear the burden of abortion bans. Wealthy women will always find a way. They can travel to states where abortion is legal and all the headaches that entails: time off work, babysitters, a tank full of gas, hotel rooms.

If Roe falls, abortion would be barred in Alabama in almost every instance. A 2019 state law, put on hold by the courts for now, outlaws the procedure in all but emergency cases. This clinic is going to try to stay open for those left behind. It is expanding into a full-service gynecological office that people can turn to if they self-administer an abortion and require medical attention, without fear that someone will report them to the police.

In the meantime, the ideological gulf between the believers inside and outside remains wide.

Some of the protesters outside stand quietly, holding signs and hoping their silent presence rattles patients enough to head back to their cars and go home. Some shout at patients as they walk through the parking lot into the clinic, trying to hand them leaflets or direct them to the anti-abortion crisis pregnancy center next door. Some say they want abortion barred completely, with no exceptions even for rape or life-threatening complications, because they believe abortion is murder no matter the circumstances. Most would not give their names; the pregnancy center declined an interview.

The protesters are sometimes aggressive: They have screamed into the clinic’s back doors, recorded biohazard bins being carted away, called police if a patient lashes out when they tell them they’re going to hell.

The clinic locks the doors for security reasons during the lunch hour between morning and afternoon appointments. On a recent day, as Ramona read her Bible in the back room, a 23-year-old woman arrived and couldn’t get inside.

A group of protesters beckoned the woman, who did not want to be named. She was confused — perhaps these people worked for the clinic. “We can help you,” they told her.

“I just walked over there and had a million things thrown in my face,” the woman said. “I’m a baby killer, I’m a murderer.”

She ran away weeping. The clinic staff heard and sought her out.

She glared at the protesters from the window.

“God isn’t theirs,” she said, “God is all of ours.”

By CLAIRE GALOFAROKANSAS CITY (AP) — It was lunch hour at the abortion clinic, so the nurse in the recovery room got her Bible out of her bag in the closet and began to read.“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding,” her favorite proverb says, and she returns to it again and again. “He will make your paths straight.”She believes God led her here, to a job at the West Alabama Women’s Center, tending to patients who’ve just had abortions. “I trust in God,” said Ramona, who asked that her last name not be used because of the volatility of America’s abortion debateOut in the parking lot, protesters bellowed at patients arriving for appointments, doing battle against what they regard as a grave sin.The loudest voices in the abortion debate are often characterized along a starkly religious divide, the faithful versus not. But the reality is much more nuanced, both at this abortion clinic and in the nation that surrounds it. The clinic’s staff of 11 — most of them Black, deeply faithful Christian women — have no trouble at all reconciling their work with their religion.And as the U.S. Supreme Court appears poised to dismantle the constitutional right to an abortion, they draw on their faith that they will somehow continue.God is on our side, they tell each other. God will keep this clinic open.Robin Marty, who moved from Minneapolis to Tuscaloosa a couple years ago to help run this clinic, was surprised to hear nurses pray for guidance as the future of abortion grows uncertain.“That is one of the things that has caused a whiplash for me — I had this stereotype in my head of a Southern religious person,” said Marty. “I just assumed that there was no compatibility between people who are religious and people who support the ability to get an abortion.”Marty realized she was wrong . It’s a common error.“We need to have a real conversation about what we describe as Christianity,” said Kendra Cotton, a member of the Black Southern Women’s Collective, a network of Black women organizers, many of them from faith-based groups.The white evangelical worldview that abortion is murder has consumed the conversation, flattening the understanding of how religion and views on abortion truly intersect, she said.Before Roe v. Wade, faith leaders in many places led efforts to help pregnant women access underground abortions, because they considered it a calling to show compassion and mercy to the most vulnerable.Now, Black Protestants have some of the most liberal views on access to abortion: Nearly 70% believe abortion should be legal in most or all cases, according to the Public Religion Research Institute. White evangelicals are the other extreme, with only 24% believing abortion should be allowed in most or all cases.For faithful women of color, there’s often a very different balancing act of values when confronting the question of whether women should be able to end unwanted pregnancies, Cotton said.“We know that Christianity supports freedom, and inherent in freedom is bodily autonomy. Inherent in Christianity is free will. When people talk about the body being a temple of God, you have purview over your body, there is nothing more sacred,” Cotton said.The idea of the state restricting what a person can do with their own body is in direct conflict with that, she said, and it is reminiscent of being under someone else’s control -- of slavery.“You don’t get to tell me what to do,” Cotton said.In Tuscaloosa, the West Alabama Women’s Center sits on the edge of a nondescript medical plaza, a half-mile from the University of Alabama campus. Though many of the center’s clientele are college students, others come from all over the state and some surrounding ones -- it is the only abortion clinic for two hours in every direction. Many of their clients are Black, many already have children and more than 75% survive below the poverty line.Every patient comes into Ramona’s recovery room after their abortion. She keeps the lights low. Working here, to her, feels like a righteous calling. She believes the Christian way is to love people where they are, and that means walking kindly with them as they make the best decision for themselves.Sometimes they cry, and tell her they didn’t want to be there. She’s heard stories of rape and domestic violence, but most talk about fear of having more mouths they can’t afford to feed. She always says, “I understand.”“I mean that, I do understand, I’ve gone through that myself,” she said.Ramona, 39, is a single mother of four children, and had her first child at 16. She sometimes imagines what her life might have been had she started her family later. She had to drop out of college. There were times, when her children were young, when she couldn’t pay the gas bill, and she boiled water so they could have warm baths.“Women go through so much, it’s hard,” she said. “So you should have that choice, whether or not you’re ready to be a mother. No one else should choose for you.”Her daughter used to say “Mom, I want to be just like you,” and she would stop her. “No ma’am,” she’d say to her. “I want you to be better.” Her daughter is now 22 and studying to be a doctor.She clawed herself out of poverty and built a life she loves. Her co-worker at the front desk calls her Miss Wonderful -- she’s at peace with God, she said, so every day is a great one.For a time, she tried to be friendly with one of the regulars who protested outside, trying to convince patients that abortion is murder and they shouldn’t go in. She’d visit on her breaks or as she was leaving for the day. They discussed Scripture, forgiveness, sin.She’d say, “I can see where you’re coming from. Can you see where I’m coming from? I’m not going to love you any less because of what you believe in or what you think.”Then one day she was walking by and he shouted at her: When you die, you know where you’ll be going, and it isn’t heaven. She doesn’t talk to him anymore.Alesia Horton, the clinic’s director, eyed the protesters from the window.“I don’t know what Bible they’re reading, ’cause it’s not the one that I read,” she said. She and Ramona have been friends since childhood and share a Christian faith.If people heard the stories she had inside this clinic, she can’t imagine trying to mandate that people be forced into motherhood. She had a patient once who had cancer, wanted the child but couldn’t continue chemotherapy while she was pregnant. She had to choose between her own life and the child she wanted.Just two weeks before, Horton wept when she met a 13-year-old who’d been raped, and she can’t shake the look on the child’s face, staring blankly in the exam room.“It’s going to be OK. Don’t think you did anything wrong because you didn’t,” Horton told her.She often hears patients cry that they’re going to go to hell.“I’ve had patients against abortion until it happened to their child, or it happened to them,” she said. “The first thing they say, ‘I don’t believe in this.’ And I say, ‘Let’s get past that. Now that you’re pregnant, what are you doing to do? Are you still not going to believe in this? Now you’re on the other side. Where you were judging, now it’s you.’”They pray that the Supreme Court won’t overturn Roe v. Wade, because they know their poorest patients will bear the burden of abortion bans. Wealthy women will always find a way. They can travel to states where abortion is legal and all the headaches that entails: time off work, babysitters, a tank full of gas, hotel rooms.If Roe falls, abortion would be barred in Alabama in almost every instance. A 2019 state law, put on hold by the courts for now, outlaws the procedure in all but emergency cases. This clinic is going to try to stay open for those left behind. It is expanding into a full-service gynecological office that people can turn to if they self-administer an abortion and require medical attention, without fear that someone will report them to the police.In the meantime, the ideological gulf between the believers inside and outside remains wide.Some of the protesters outside stand quietly, holding signs and hoping their silent presence rattles patients enough to head back to their cars and go home. Some shout at patients as they walk through the parking lot into the clinic, trying to hand them leaflets or direct them to the anti-abortion crisis pregnancy center next door. Some say they want abortion barred completely, with no exceptions even for rape or life-threatening complications, because they believe abortion is murder no matter the circumstances. Most would not give their names; the pregnancy center declined an interview.The protesters are sometimes aggressive: They have screamed into the clinic’s back doors, recorded biohazard bins being carted away, called police if a patient lashes out when they tell them they’re going to hell.The clinic locks the doors for security reasons during the lunch hour between morning and afternoon appointments. On a recent day, as Ramona read her Bible in the back room, a 23-year-old woman arrived and couldn’t get inside.A group of protesters beckoned the woman, who did not want to be named. She was confused — perhaps these people worked for the clinic. “We can help you,” they told her.“I just walked over there and had a million things thrown in my face,” the woman said. “I’m a baby killer, I’m a murderer.”She ran away weeping. The clinic staff heard and sought her out.“I’m so sorry,” Horton said.She glared at the protesters from the window.“God isn’t theirs,” she said, “God is all of ours.”

Religious backers of abortion rights say God's on their side

JACKSON COUNTY —A Kansas City man has been charged in connection with the fatal shooting of Andreone T. Hall at a gas station at 33rd and Linwood in Kansas City, according to Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker.

Jerpree Williams, 20,&nbsp; faces Murder 2nd Degree, Unlawful Use of a Weapon and two counts of Armed Criminal Action.

According to court records, police in the area of Linwood and Indiana responded to the sound of gun shots. They found the victim deceased in the parking lot of a gas station at 33rd and Indiana. He had been shot multiple times. Surveillance video showed the defendant pull a gun and fire at the victim, who began to run away. 

The Medical Examiner determined the victim died as a result of the multiple gunshots. The defendant initially told police he didn't shoot at the victim, then he said he did it in self defense.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/5/1652969165898.png" alt="Williams-photo Jackson" />
 <figcaption>Williams-photo Jackson</figcaption>
 </figure>JACKSON COUNTY —A Kansas City man has been charged in connection with the fatal shooting of Andreone T. Hall at a gas station at 33rd and Linwood in Kansas City, according to Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker.Jerpree Williams, 20,&nbsp; faces Murder 2nd Degree, Unlawful Use of a Weapon and two counts of Armed Criminal Action.According to court records, police in the area of Linwood and Indiana responded to the sound of gun shots. They found the victim deceased in the parking lot of a gas station at 33rd and Indiana. He had been shot multiple times. Surveillance video showed the defendant pull a gun and fire at the victim, who began to run away. The Medical Examiner determined the victim died as a result of the multiple gunshots. The defendant initially told police he didn't shoot at the victim, then he said he did it in self defense.

20-year-old claims self defense in KC gas station killing

WASHINGTON (AP) — The first flights of infant formula from Europe, authorized by President Joe Biden to relieve a deepening U.S. shortage, will arrive in Indiana aboard military aircraft on Sunday the White House announced.

The White House says 132 pallets of Nestlé Health Science Alfamino Infant and Alfamino Junior formula will leave Ramstein Air Base in Germany and arrive in the U.S. this weekend. Another 114 pallets of Gerber Good Start Extensive HA formula are expected to arrive in the coming days. Altogether about 1.5 million 8-ounce bottles of the three formulas, which are hypoallergenic for children with cow’s milk protein allergy, will arrive this week.

While Biden initially requested that the Pentagon use commercially chartered aircraft to move the formula from Europe to the U.S., the White House said no commercial flights were available this weekend. Instead, U.S. Air Force planes will transport the initial batch of formula.

The Biden administration has dubbed the effort “Operation Fly Formula,” as it struggles to address nationwide shortages of formula, particularly hypoallergenic varieties, after the closure of the country’s largest domestic manufacturing plant in February due to safety issues.

U.S. regulators and the manufacturer, Abbott, hope to have that Michigan plant reopened next week, but it will take about two months before product is ready for delivery. The Food and Drug Administration this week eased importation requirements for baby formula to try to ease the supply crunch, which has left store shelves bare of some brands and some retailers rationing supply for parents nervous about feeding their children.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/5/1653176350929.png" alt="The first pallets from Operation Fly Formula were loaded onto a military plane in Germany Saturday. The first plane lands in the U.S. Sunday morning-White House photo" />
 <figcaption>The first pallets from Operation Fly Formula were loaded onto a military plane in Germany Saturday. The first plane lands in the U.S. Sunday morning-White House photo</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — The first flights of infant formula from Europe, authorized by President Joe Biden to relieve a deepening U.S. shortage, will arrive in Indiana aboard military aircraft on Sunday the White House announced.The White House says 132 pallets of Nestlé Health Science Alfamino Infant and Alfamino Junior formula will leave Ramstein Air Base in Germany and arrive in the U.S. this weekend. Another 114 pallets of Gerber Good Start Extensive HA formula are expected to arrive in the coming days. Altogether about 1.5 million 8-ounce bottles of the three formulas, which are hypoallergenic for children with cow’s milk protein allergy, will arrive this week.While Biden initially requested that the Pentagon use commercially chartered aircraft to move the formula from Europe to the U.S., the White House said no commercial flights were available this weekend. Instead, U.S. Air Force planes will transport the initial batch of formula.The Biden administration has dubbed the effort “Operation Fly Formula,” as it struggles to address nationwide shortages of formula, particularly hypoallergenic varieties, after the closure of the country’s largest domestic manufacturing plant in February due to safety issues.U.S. regulators and the manufacturer, Abbott, hope to have that Michigan plant reopened next week, but it will take about two months before product is ready for delivery. The Food and Drug Administration this week eased importation requirements for baby formula to try to ease the supply crunch, which has left store shelves bare of some brands and some retailers rationing supply for parents nervous about feeding their children.

First baby formula flights from Europe to U.S. on the way

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The state of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/kansas">Kansas</a>&nbsp;must pay former pizza executive Gene Bicknell more than $63 million to settle a long-running dispute over his tax bill.

The court ruled on Friday that Bicknell was a&nbsp;Florida&nbsp;resident in 2005 and 2006 when he sold NPC International, which owned more than 800 Pizza Hut locations around the world.

The Kansas Department of Revenue argued the Bicknell, a longtime resident of Pittsburg, set up a residence in Florida to avoid paying taxes on the sale to Kansas. In 2010, it ordered him to pay $42 million to the state.

The case wound through several courts over the years before being taken up by the state Supreme Court, which sided with Bicknell, The Topeka Capital-Journal reported.

“These findings support its legal conclusion that Gene was domiciled in Florida in 2005 and 2006,” Justice K.J. Wall Jr., wrote in the opinion.

In 2020, Bicknell said Kansas owed him $63 million — his original tax bill plus interest.

“The Department of Revenue’s approach has always felt like extortion, forcing me and my family to endure hundreds of interrogatories, depositions, three trials, three appeals, 15 years of attorney time, and appearances before an agency board that was a kangaroo court,” Bicknell said in a statement Friday.

The revenue department is reviewing the court's 75-page decision, spokesman Zach Fletcher said.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The state of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/kansas">Kansas</a>&nbsp;must pay former pizza executive Gene Bicknell more than $63 million to settle a long-running dispute over his tax bill.The court ruled on Friday that Bicknell was a&nbsp;Florida&nbsp;resident in 2005 and 2006 when he sold NPC International, which owned more than 800 Pizza Hut locations around the world.The Kansas Department of Revenue argued the Bicknell, a longtime resident of Pittsburg, set up a residence in Florida to avoid paying taxes on the sale to Kansas. In 2010, it ordered him to pay $42 million to the state.The case wound through several courts over the years before being taken up by the state Supreme Court, which sided with Bicknell, The Topeka Capital-Journal reported.“These findings support its legal conclusion that Gene was domiciled in Florida in 2005 and 2006,” Justice K.J. Wall Jr., wrote in the opinion.In 2020, Bicknell said Kansas owed him $63 million — his original tax bill plus interest.“The Department of Revenue’s approach has always felt like extortion, forcing me and my family to endure hundreds of interrogatories, depositions, three trials, three appeals, 15 years of attorney time, and appearances before an agency board that was a kangaroo court,” Bicknell said in a statement Friday.The revenue department is reviewing the court's 75-page decision, spokesman Zach Fletcher said.

Kansas ordered to pay $63 million to former pizza magnate

WAYNE, Neb. (AP) — Officials say a pilot died when a single-engine plane crashed at the Wayne Municipal Airport. The crash occurred Friday evening during the MayDay STOL Drag Races. 

The event organizers said the pilot crashed on final landing in what appeared to be a stall/spin crash. The pilot's name has not been released. 

No one else was aboard the Cessna 140. STOL is short take-off and landing drag racing, which involves pilots flying 2,000 feet down and back in a side-by-side format. The rest of the events scheduled for the weekend were canceled.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/5/1653165626700.png" alt="Investigators on the scene of the crash photo courtesy KPTH Fox 44" />
 <figcaption>Investigators on the scene of the crash photo courtesy KPTH Fox 44</figcaption>
 </figure>WAYNE, Neb. (AP) — Officials say a pilot died when a single-engine plane crashed at the Wayne Municipal Airport. The crash occurred Friday evening during the MayDay STOL Drag Races. The event organizers said the pilot crashed on final landing in what appeared to be a stall/spin crash. The pilot's name has not been released. No one else was aboard the Cessna 140. STOL is short take-off and landing drag racing, which involves pilots flying 2,000 feet down and back in a side-by-side format. The rest of the events scheduled for the weekend were canceled.

Pilot dies in airplane crash near Nebraska drag race event

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kansas City officials have approved a new ordinance that clarifies when people may witness or record police officers' actions without being arrested.

The Kansas City Council on Thursday approved the ordinance to settle a federal lawsuit filed by three women who were arrested during racial injustice protests in the city in 2020.

The women were charged with violating city laws involving resisting or interfering with an officer. The lawsuit said those laws were unconstitutionally vague and overly broad, KCUR&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2022-05-19/kansas-city-changes-its-failure-to-obey-laws-after-settling-lawsuit-with-arrested-protesters">reported</a>.

The ordinance approved Thursday says witnessing or recording police officers does not violate city law unless the offender is substantially impeding the officer’s duties.

The women were among more than 200 nonviolent protesters arrested at or near the Country Club Plaza during protests after the death in Minneapolis of George Floyd.

The settlement did not require the city to pay any monetary damages.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/5/1590925459037.png" alt="The women were among more than 200 nonviolent protesters arrested at or near the Country Club Plaza during protests after the death in Minneapolis of George Floyd.-photo courtesy KCTV" />
 <figcaption>The women were among more than 200 nonviolent protesters arrested at or near the Country Club Plaza during protests after the death in Minneapolis of George Floyd.-photo courtesy KCTV</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kansas City officials have approved a new ordinance that clarifies when people may witness or record police officers' actions without being arrested.The Kansas City Council on Thursday approved the ordinance to settle a federal lawsuit filed by three women who were arrested during racial injustice protests in the city in 2020.The women were charged with violating city laws involving resisting or interfering with an officer. The lawsuit said those laws were unconstitutionally vague and overly broad, KCUR&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2022-05-19/kansas-city-changes-its-failure-to-obey-laws-after-settling-lawsuit-with-arrested-protesters">reported</a>.The ordinance approved Thursday says witnessing or recording police officers does not violate city law unless the offender is substantially impeding the officer’s duties.The women were among more than 200 nonviolent protesters arrested at or near the Country Club Plaza during protests after the death in Minneapolis of George Floyd.The settlement did not require the city to pay any monetary damages.

KC oks settlement for arrests during George Floyd protests

By TIM CARPENTER <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2022/05/20/kansas-supreme-court-disbars-former-shawnee-county-prosecutor-for-unethical-conduct/">Kansas Reflector</a>

TOPEKA — The Kansas Supreme Court
 issued a 101-page disciplinary opinion Friday disbarring former Shawnee
 County prosecutor Jacqie Spradling for a pattern of unethical conduct 
resulting in “significant prejudice” against the accused.

It was the most stringent punishment available to the Supreme Court, 
and followed the unanimous recommendation of a three-attorney panel that
 heard evidence of Spradling’s penchant for making false statements in 
court. The justices found Spradling violated more than a half dozen 
Kansas rules of professional conduct.

“The evidence in this case demonstrates a serious pattern of grossly 
unethical misconduct,” the Supreme Court majority said in the decision. 
“After carefully considering the findings, conclusions, recommendations 
and the American Bar Association standards for imposing lawyer 
sanctions, we find that respondent’s intolerable acts of deception 
warrant the severe sanction of disbarment.”

In addition, the court mandated the Office of Judicial Administration
 “strike the name of Jacqueline J. Spradling from the roll of attorneys 
licensed to practice law in Kansas.” Her disbarment was to coincide with
 publication of Friday’s decision.

Spradling came under scrutiny after winning convictions against Dana 
Chandler in a double-homicide case in Shawnee County and later for her 
work on a Jackson County sexual assault case involving defendant Jacob 
Ewing. In both instances, the convictions were overturned on appeal.

The Kansas Board for Discipline of Attorneys’ panel of lawyers 
recommended disbarment of Spradling after concluding she “knowingly and 
intentionally” engaged in a deliberate misconduct to win convictions. In
 a highly unusual maneuver, the state’s disciplinary administrator 
independently urged the Supreme Court to reject the hearing panel’s 
conclusion and impose a lesser punishment of indefinite suspension.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/5/1653064739101.png" alt="The Kansas Supreme Court issued a decision Friday disbarring former Shawnee County prosecutor Jacqie Spradling for prosecutorial misconduct in high-level murder and sexual assault trials. In both cases, the convictions were overturned on appeal. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption>The Kansas Supreme Court issued a decision Friday disbarring former Shawnee County prosecutor Jacqie Spradling for prosecutorial misconduct in high-level murder and sexual assault trials. In both cases, the convictions were overturned on appeal. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure>By TIM CARPENTER <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2022/05/20/kansas-supreme-court-disbars-former-shawnee-county-prosecutor-for-unethical-conduct/">Kansas Reflector</a>TOPEKA — The Kansas Supreme Court
 issued a 101-page disciplinary opinion Friday disbarring former Shawnee
 County prosecutor Jacqie Spradling for a pattern of unethical conduct 
resulting in “significant prejudice” against the accused.It was the most stringent punishment available to the Supreme Court, 
and followed the unanimous recommendation of a three-attorney panel that
 heard evidence of Spradling’s penchant for making false statements in 
court. The justices found Spradling violated more than a half dozen 
Kansas rules of professional conduct.“The evidence in this case demonstrates a serious pattern of grossly 
unethical misconduct,” the Supreme Court majority said in the decision. 
“After carefully considering the findings, conclusions, recommendations 
and the American Bar Association standards for imposing lawyer 
sanctions, we find that respondent’s intolerable acts of deception 
warrant the severe sanction of disbarment.”In addition, the court mandated the Office of Judicial Administration
 “strike the name of Jacqueline J. Spradling from the roll of attorneys 
licensed to practice law in Kansas.” Her disbarment was to coincide with
 publication of Friday’s decision.Spradling came under scrutiny after winning convictions against Dana 
Chandler in a double-homicide case in Shawnee County and later for her 
work on a Jackson County sexual assault case involving defendant Jacob 
Ewing. In both instances, the convictions were overturned on appeal.The Kansas Board for Discipline of Attorneys’ panel of lawyers 
recommended disbarment of Spradling after concluding she “knowingly and 
intentionally” engaged in a deliberate misconduct to win convictions. In
 a highly unusual maneuver, the state’s disciplinary administrator 
independently urged the Supreme Court to reject the hearing panel’s 
conclusion and impose a lesser punishment of indefinite suspension.Spradling asserted she shouldn’t receive any form of discipline for 
what the Supreme Court concluded was a pattern of “serious misconduct 
and dishonesty” warranting disbarment. Spradling’s attorney, LJ 
Leatherman, said during the disciplinary proceedings that Spradling made
 mistakes during the Chandler trial, but she didn’t intentionally try to
 mislead jurors.The Supreme Court majority concentrated on prosecutorial misconduct 
in the Chandler trial and decided to set aside issues raised from the 
Ewing case. The justices concluded Spradling had ignored orders of a 
district court, repeatedly made arguments to the jury that lacked 
evidentiary support, intentionally lied to the Supreme Court in written 
briefs and during oral arguments, and made false statements during the 
disciplinary investigation.In a dissent, Justice Evelyn Wilson, a former chief judge of the 
Shawnee County District Court, said the majority accepted the hearing 
panel’s recommendation to strip Spradling of her profession despite 
Wilson’s belief Spradling was “one of the most skilled, successful and 
expert trial attorneys in this state.”Wilson said in her dissent the justices discarded for lack of 
sufficient evidence a portion of the three-lawyer hearing panel’s most 
serious findings.“Oh, Spradling did make mistakes, and those mistakes were serious and
 costly,” Wilson said in her dissent. “They caused reversals of 
convictions for murder and rape. But we also know some of Spradling’s 
mistakes were based in part on mistakes made by other professionals who 
were honest and highly skilled.”In 2021, Spradling resigned from legal positions in Bourbon and Allen counties and placed her law license on inactive status.Spradling, who earned her law license in 1992 and secured about 80 
murder convictions during her career, landed before the disciplinary 
board as the Supreme Court overturned the 2012 double-homicide 
conviction of Chandler in Shawnee County and the Kansas Court of Appeals
 overturned a 2017 guilty verdict against Ewing in a sex crime case in 
Jackson County. Spradling was lead prosecutor in both cases.Ewing accepted a plea deal to avoid another trial, while Chandler is 
awaiting retrial on two counts of first-degree murder. She was accused 
of shooting to death in 2002 of her former husband Michael Sisco and 
Sisco’s girlfriend Karen Harkness in Topeka.Attorney Keen Umbehr, who has supported Chandler during the lengthy 
legal drama, filed a formal ethics complaint against Spradling in 2016 
based on Spradling’s trial work in the Chandler case.“I’m glad that the Supreme Court disbarred Jacqie Spradling for the 
misconduct she committed in the 2012 Chandler case,” Umbehr said. “I’m 
disappointing that the court didn’t go farther and fashion a remedy that
 would address the serious injury Spradling‘s misconduct did to the 
administration of justice.”Umbehr also said he was disappointed Wilson considered disbarment too
 harsh given evidence of Spradling’s abuse of prosecutorial authority.In 2018, the state Supreme Court unanimously found justification to 
reverse Chandler’s convictions in a decision that said the prosecution 
of Chandler by Spradling&nbsp;“unfortunately illustrates how a desire to win 
can eclipse the state’s responsibility to safeguard the fundamental 
constitutional right to a fair trial owed to any defendant facing 
criminal prosecution in a Kansas courtroom.”In that opinion, Justice Dan Biles concluded: “The state’s obligation
 is to ensure its case is vigorously, but properly, championed to bring 
about a just conviction — not merely a win. Prosecutors are the state’s 
instrument in fulfilling this duty. When they fail, our system fails, 
and the safeguards protecting the constitutional right to a fair trial 
strain to the breaking point. That is what happened in this case.”