<a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?508916-1/impeachment">Click here </a>to watch a replay of Day 4 of the impeachment trial

WASHINGTON (AP) — In a whirlwind defense, Donald Trump's impeachment attorneys aired a litany of grievances Friday, arguing the former president bore no responsibility for the deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol while accusing Democrats of “hatred” and “hypocrisy.”

The defense team, which wrapped up its arguments in just over three hours, said Trump was engaged in “constitutionally protected speech” when he spoke at a rally that immediately preceded the violence on Jan. 6 that left five dead.

Echoing themes often heard in conservative media, they called the impeachment trial a “witch hunt” and accused Democrats of elevating a destructive “cancel culture” to the halls of Congress. They also suggested Democrats were hypocrites for impeaching Trump after some had previously voiced support for racial justice marches last summer, some of which turned violent.

“It has become very clear that House Democrats hate Donald Trump,” said Michael van der Veen, a Philadelphia personal injury attorney who is part of Trump's defense team. “Hatred is at the heart.”

Here are some highlights from Friday's impeachment proceedings:

Regardless of what occurred after Trump's Jan. 6 speech, the former president was simply exercising his First Amendment right to free speech and can't be found at fault, his attorneys argued.

"The Senate cannot ignore the First Amendment," said van der Veen.

Nearly 150 constitutional scholars disagree. In a letter signed last week they wrote that “the First Amendment does not apply in impeachment proceedings, so it cannot provide a defense for President Trump."

The First Amendment has long been invoked as a powerful and compelling defense in court. But impeachment proceedings are an inherently political process that exists outside the U.S. court system in which senators sit as jurors.

Further, just because speech is protected by the Constitution doesn't mean that there aren't limits. Threats to commit a crime or “fighting words” that are likely to incite violence can be exceptions to protected speech.

The articles of impeachment charge Trump with the “incitement of an insurrection,” a word that Webster's Dictionary defines as “an act or instance of revolting against civil authority or an established government.”

Trump's lawyers say that's not technically correct. And they offered some alternative facts to make their point.

“'Insurrection' is a term of art," said attorney Bruce Castor, and it "involves taking over a country” or “a shadow government taking the TV stations over and having some plan on what you’re going to do when you finally take power.”

“Clearly this is not that,” he added.

In any event, Trump still wasn't responsible for what happened after his speech, Castor said.

Trump's speech, in which he urged his supporters to “fight like hell,“ was actual a call for the "peaceful exercise of every American’s first amendment rights to peacefully assemble and petition their government for redress of grievances,” according to Castor.

And he suggested that Trump wasn't literally calling on his supporters to "fight," but rather get involved in the political process, like supporting primary challengers of elected officials they did not like.

Many of Trump's supporters who participated in the attack found far different meaning in the former president's words on Jan. 6.

They have said in media interviews, videos taken at the scene and in statements to law enforcement that they were acting on Trump's orders and aimed to overturn the outcome of the election by stopping Congress from certifying President Joe Biden's Electoral College victory — the definition of an insurrection.

Donald Trump’s defense team attempted to undermine a key Democratic argument: that the former president incited the attack on the Capitol by urging his supporters to "fight like hell" and “go by very different rules” or they “wouldn’t have a country anymore.”

To do so, they played a lengthy montage of video clips during Friday's proceedings, which featured President Joe Biden and other prominent Democrats repeatedly uttering the word "fight" during public speeches.

“There is a fight in front of us,” Vice President Kamala Harris said in one clip from November 2019. Another showed Biden talking about taking Trump “behind the gym” to “beat the hell out of him,” like in high school.

The use of the words “fight” or “fighting” is exceedingly common in political speech. The effort by Trump’s legal team amounted amounted to an effort to muddy the waters by drawing an equivalence and ignoring his false claims about voter fraud.

Trump used the word "fight" while trying to undermine the outcome of a free and fair election that he lost. And his use of the word on Jan. 6 came after weeks of baselessly claiming the election was being stolen from him.

There was no widespread fraud in the election, as has been confirmed by election officials across the country and former Attorney General William Barr. Dozens of legal challenges to the election put forth by Trump and his allies were dismissed.

Still, Trump's lawyers said they were making a valid point by highlighting Democrats' use of the word "fight."

“This is not whataboutism," said Michael van der Veen. "I am showing you this to make the point that all political speech must be protected.”

Senate Democrats seemed mostly amused by the defense's video of prominent party leaders, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Hillary Clinton, repeatedly saying the word “fight.”

Though initially stone-faced and impassionate, as the minutes ticked by some reacted, particularly after their own turn on the screen.

Some giggled, others gasped. Some raised their hands or shrugged.

Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar rolled her eyes. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts fidgeted with a pen during a lengthy section devoted to her. But Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent who caucuses with Democrats, was visibly annoyed.

It “feels like they are erecting straw men to then take them down rather deal with the fact the events (on Jan. 6) happened," said Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Lawyers for Donald Trump opened his impeachment defense Friday by accusing Democrats of waging a campaign of “hatred” against the former president and manipulating his words in the lead-up to the deadly siege of the U.S. Capitol. Their presentation included a blizzard of their own selectively edited fiery comments from Democrats.

In hours of arguments, the Trump legal team characterized the impeachment case as a politically motivated “witch hunt” — an outgrowth, they said, of years of efforts to drive him from office — and they sought to reduce the case to Trump’s use of a single word, “fight,” in a speech preceding the Jan. 6 riot. They played dozens of clips showing Democrats, some of them senators now serving as jurors, using the same word to energize supporters in speeches railing against Trump.

“You didn’t do anything wrong” in using the word, Trump attorney David Schoen told the senators. “But, please, stop the hypocrisy.”

The Trump defense team left out that what Trump was doing in telling his supporters to “fight like hell” was to undermine an election that the states and Congress declared was free and fair, basing his exhortations on false attacks on the integrity of voting systems. Instead, they said, he was simply telling his supporters to press Congress for reforms to the election process — something he was entitled to do.

The case is speeding toward a conclusion and near-certain acquittal, perhaps as soon as Saturday. The defense arguments and the quick pivot to the Democrats’ own words deflected from the central question of the trial — whether Trump incited the assault on the Capitol — and instead aimed to place impeachment managers and Trump adversaries on the defensive .

After a two-day effort by Democrats to sync up Trump’s words to the violence that followed, including through raw and emotive video footage, defense lawyers suggested that Democrats have typically engaged in the same overheated rhetoric as Trump.

But in trying to draw that equivalency, the defenders minimized Trump’s monthslong, efforts to undermine the election results and his exhortations to followers to do the same. Democrats say that long campaign, rooted in a “big lie,” laid the groundwork for the mob that assembled outside the Capitol and stormed inside. Five people died.

Without Trump, who in a speech at a rally preceding the violence told supporters to “fight like hell,” the violence would never have happened, Democrats say.

“And so they came, draped in Trump’s flag, and used our flag, the American flag, to batter and to bludgeon,” Rep. Madeleine Dean, one of the impeachment managers, said Thursday as she choked back emotion.”

Trump’s defenders told senators that Trump was entitled to dispute the 2020 election results and that his doing so did not amount to inciting the violence. They sought to turn the tables on prosecutors by likening the Democrats’ questioning of the legitimacy of Trump’s 2016 win to his challenge of his election loss. When Trump implored supporters to “fight like hell” on Jan. 6, he was speaking figuratively, they said.

“This is ordinarily political rhetoric that is virtually indistinguishable from the language that has been used by people across the political spectrum for hundreds of years,” said Michael van der Veen, another Trump lawyer. “Countless politicians have spoken of fighting for our principles.”

The defense team did not dispute the horror of the violence, painstakingly reconstructed by impeachment managers earlier in the week, but said it had been carried out by people who had “hijacked” for their own purposes what was supposed to be a peaceful event and had planned violence before Trump had spoken.

“You can’t incite what was going to happen,” he said.

Acknowledging the reality of the January day is meant to blunt the visceral impact of the House Democrats’ case and quickly pivot to what Trump’s defenders see as the core — and more winnable — issue of the trial: Whether Trump actually incited the riot. The argument is likely to appeal to Republican senators who want to be seen as condemning the violence but without convicting the president.

Anticipating defense efforts to disentangle Trump’s rhetoric from the rioters’ actions, the impeachment managers spent days trying to fuse them together through a reconstruction of never-been-seen video footage alongside clips of the president’s monthslong urging of his supporters to undo the election results.

Democrats, who concluded their case Thursday, used the rioters’ own videos and words from Jan. 6 to try to pin responsibility on Trump. “We were invited here,” said one Capitol invader. “Trump sent us,” said another. “He’ll be happy. We’re fighting for Trump.”

The prosecutors’ goal was to cast Trump not as a bystander but rather as the “inciter in chief” who spread election falsehoods, then encouraged supporters to come challenge the results in Washington and fanned the discontent with rhetoric about fighting and taking back the country.

The Democrats also are demanding that he be barred from holding future federal office.

But Trump’s lawyers say that goal only underscores the “hatred” Democrats feel for Trump. Throughout the trial, they showed clips from Democrats questioning the legitimacy of his presidency and suggesting as early as 2017 that he should be impeached.

“Hatred is at the heart of the house managers’ fruitless attempts to blame Donald Trump for the criminal acts of the rioters based on double hearsay statements of fringe right wing groups based on no real evidence other than rank speculation,” van der Veen said.

Trump’s lawyers note that in the same Jan. 6 speech he encouraged the crowd to behave “peacefully,” and they contend that his remarks — and his general distrust of the election results — are all protected under the First Amendment. Democrats strenuously resist that assertion, saying his words weren’t political speech but rather amounted to direct incitement of violence.

The defense lawyers also returned to arguments made Tuesday that the trial itself is unconstitutional because Trump is no longer in office. The Senate rejected that contention as it voted to proceed with the trial.

On Thursday, with little hope of conviction by the required two-thirds of the Senate, Democrats delivered a graphic case to the American public, describing in stark, personal terms the terror they faced that day — some of it in the very Senate chamber where senators now are sitting as jurors. They used security video of rioters searching menacingly for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Vice President Mike Pence, smashing into the building and engaging in bloody, hand-to-hand combat with police.

They displayed the many public and explicit instructions Trump gave his supporters — long before the White House rally that unleashed the deadly Capitol attack as Congress was certifying Democrat Joe Biden’s victory.

Several Republican senators, including Ted Cruz of Texas and Mike Lee of Utah, conferred Thursday with Trump’s lawyers. Cruz told reporters that the senators were discussing legal strategy -- something that would never be permissible in a criminal case. There’s no rule against the Senate jurors strategizing with the lawyers in an impeachment trial, though Democrats can use it to raise questions about impartiality.

WASHINGTON (AP) — After a prosecution case rooted in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/senators-capitol-riot-trump-impeachment-09c50efe5a11115b0537c7ea430ec6c2">emotive, violent images</a>&nbsp;from&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/78104aea082995bbd7412a6e6cd13818">the Capitol siege</a>, Donald Trump’s impeachment trial shifts on Friday to defense lawyers prepared to make a fundamental concession: The violence was every bit as traumatic, unacceptable and illegal as Democrats say.

But, they will say, Trump did not order it.

Acknowledging the horrors of the January day is meant to blunt the visceral impact of the House Democrats’ case and quickly pivot to what Trump’s defenders see as the core — and more winnable — issue of the trial: Whether Trump can be held responsible for&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-impeachment-vote-capitol-siege-0a6f2a348a6e43f27d5e1dc486027860">inciting the deadly Jan. 6 riot</a>.

The argument is likely to appeal to Republican senators who want to be seen as condemning the violence but without convicting the president.

“They haven’t in any way tied it to Trump,” David Schoen, one of the president’s lawyers, told reporters near the end of two full days of Democrats’ arguments aimed at doing just that.

He previewed the essence of his argument Tuesday, telling the Senate jurors: “They don’t need to show you movies to show you that the riot happened here. We will stipulate that it happened, and you know all about it.”

In both legal filings and in arguments this week, Trump’s lawyers have made clear their position that the people responsible for the riot are the ones who actually stormed the building and who are now being prosecuted by the Justice Department.

“This attack never would have happened but for Donald Trump,” Rep. Madeleine Dean, one of the impeachment managers, said Thursday as she choked back emotion. “And so they came, draped in Trump’s flag, and used our flag, the American flag, to batter and to bludgeon.”

For all the significance the impeachment of a president is meant to convey, this historic second trial of Trump could wrap up with a vote by this weekend, particularly since Trump’s lawyers focused on legal rather than emotional or historic questions and are hoping to get it all behind him as quickly as possible.

With little hope of conviction by the required two-thirds of the Senate, Democrats delivered a graphic case to the American public, describing in stark, personal terms the terror faced that day — some of it in the very Senate chamber where senators are sitting as jurors. They used security video of rioters searching menacingly for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Vice President Mike Pence, smashing into the building and engaging in bloody, hand-to-hand combat with police.

They displayed the many public and explicit instructions Trump gave his supporters — long before the White House rally that unleashed the deadly Capitol attack as Congress was certifying Democrat Joe Biden’s victory. Five people died in the chaos and its aftermath.

“What makes you think the nightmare with Donald Trump and his law-breaking and violent mobs is over?” asked&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/jamie-raskin-trump-impeachment-454b94e69a3c3c624722ff6bf3486c20">Rep. Jamie Raskin</a>, D-Md., the lead prosecutor. He said earlier, “When Donald Trump tells the crowd, as he did on Jan. 6, ‘Fight like hell, or you won’t have a country anymore,’ he meant for them to ‘fight like hell.’”

At the White House, Biden said he believed “some minds may be changed” after senators saw the security video, though he had previously acknowledged that conviction was unlikely. By Thursday, many seemed prepared to move on.

“I thought today was very repetitive, actually. I mean, not much new. I was really disappointed that they didn’t engage much with the legal standards,” said Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri.

The presentation by Trump’s lawyers is low-risk in one sense given the likelihood of acquittal. But it is also being closely watched because of an uneven performance on Tuesday when one defense lawyer,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-john-cornyn-impeachments-lindsey-graham-trump-impeachment-3ef96142fd9bf5b18c87cfe94d68d93b">Bruce Castor</a>, gave such meandering arguments that Trump raged from his home in Florida.

They are expected to highlight different parts of the same speech focused on by prosecutors, when Trump told supporters assembled at the Ellipse outside the White House to “fight like hell.”

They will contend that Trump in the same speech encouraged the crowd to behave “peacefully” and that his remarks — and his general distrust of the election results — are all protected under the First Amendment. Democrats strenuously resist that assertion, saying his words weren’t political speech but rather amounted to direct incitement of violence.

The defense lawyers also were likely to return to arguments made Tuesday that the trial itself is unconstitutional because Trump is no longer in office. The Senate rejected that contention Tuesday as it voted to proceed with the trial, but Republican senators have nonetheless signaled that they remain interested in the argument.

By Thursday, senators sitting through a second full day of arguments appeared somewhat fatigued, slouching in their chairs, crossing their arms and walking around to stretch.

One Republican, Sen. Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma, said during a break: “To me, they’re losing credibility the longer they talk.”

Republican Sen. Marco Rubio said the facts of Jan. 6, though “unpatriotic” and even “treasonous,” were not his chief concern. Rather, he said Thursday, an impeachment trial for someone no longer in office “sets a very dangerous precedent.”

🎥  Impeachment Day 4 Highlights: Trump grievances, angry outbursts 

By STEPHEN KORANDA <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2021-02-11/business-owners-say-kansas-counties-that-ordered-pandemic-shutdowns-should-refund-property-taxes">Kansas News Service</a>

The pandemic caused counties across the state to issue varying levels
 of business shutdown orders meant to slow the spread of a 
life-threatening virus.

Now businesses that lost their ability to 
make money during the pandemic want a tax refund for the time they were 
forced to hang “closed” signs.

Lawmakers heard competing arguments about property tax rebates this week.

Businesses
 say the closures put them on the brink of shutting down for good. Local
 governments warn they don’t have the resources to be offering mass tax 
refunds.

A pending <a href="http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2021_22/measures/hb2142/" target="_blank">bill</a>
 is a first step in a larger discussion looming before lawmakers: Should
 either the state or local governments be required to compensate the 
businesses that public officials ordered to close during the pandemic?

“We are fighting for the survival for our business,” Nick and Jake’s restaurants co-owner Kevin Timmons told lawmakers.

The
 legislation would require counties to refund taxes paid by property 
owners during times the county ordered businesses closed.

Timmons 
said businesses like his restaurants in the Kansas City area had to 
close by government orders and should get a break on taxes because of 
it.

“Reduced revenues through lockdowns and restrictions have 
forced us to make choices that were previously unthinkable,” he told 
lawmakers. “Do we pay property taxes or do we pay payroll?”

Government officials argue it’s not as simple as just giving businesses back the taxes they paid.

“The
 assumption of the legislation is we’re sitting on piles of money,” 
Sedgwick County Commissioner Jim Howell said. “That’s not true. We’ve 
actually spent those dollars providing services.”

The Kansas 
Association of Counties said it’s hard to estimate the full impact of 
the bill, but in Johnson County alone the cost of the refunds could 
total $177 million.

Statewide, KAC Legislative Policy Director Jay
 Hall estimated the bill could mean counties refunding a half billion 
dollars in property taxes. He said that would cause a tax shift. The 
refunds to business property owners would have to be paid with taxes on 
homeowners.

“That’s going to ultimately drive up taxes on our 
residential taxpayers,” Hall told lawmakers, “because the county is 
going to have to get that money from somewhere.”

Hall pointed to 
potential problems with the wording of the bill. For example, a 
restaurant owner may lease a building and pay the property taxes through
 their rent, but the bill says the owner of the property would be the 
one to receive the tax refund.

Republican Rep. Samantha Poetter 
said lawmakers need to take action or struggling businesses might close 
for good and take away all the tax revenue they generate.

“If 
something isn’t done to relieve this issue … the county is going to be 
out a lot more,” she said. “I’m looking at it as a long-term solution.”

Deborah Shaar of KMUW contributed to this report.

Stephen Koranda is the Statehouse reporter for Kansas Public Radio and the Kansas News Service. You can follow him on Twitter<a href="https://twitter.com/kprkoranda" target="_blank"> @kprkoranda</a>.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/2/1613149934279.png" alt="Some businesses were closed during the pandemic. That's prompted legislation calling for counties to rebate property taxes to land owners hurt by the shutdowns. Celia Llopis-Jepsen / Kansas News Service" />
 <figcaption>Some businesses were closed during the pandemic. That's prompted legislation calling for counties to rebate property taxes to land owners hurt by the shutdowns. Celia Llopis-Jepsen / Kansas News Service</figcaption>
 </figure>By STEPHEN KORANDA <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2021-02-11/business-owners-say-kansas-counties-that-ordered-pandemic-shutdowns-should-refund-property-taxes">Kansas News Service</a>The pandemic caused counties across the state to issue varying levels
 of business shutdown orders meant to slow the spread of a 
life-threatening virus.Now businesses that lost their ability to 
make money during the pandemic want a tax refund for the time they were 
forced to hang “closed” signs.Lawmakers heard competing arguments about property tax rebates this week.Businesses
 say the closures put them on the brink of shutting down for good. Local
 governments warn they don’t have the resources to be offering mass tax 
refunds.A pending <a href="http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2021_22/measures/hb2142/" target="_blank">bill</a>
 is a first step in a larger discussion looming before lawmakers: Should
 either the state or local governments be required to compensate the 
businesses that public officials ordered to close during the pandemic?“We are fighting for the survival for our business,” Nick and Jake’s restaurants co-owner Kevin Timmons told lawmakers.The
 legislation would require counties to refund taxes paid by property 
owners during times the county ordered businesses closed.Timmons 
said businesses like his restaurants in the Kansas City area had to 
close by government orders and should get a break on taxes because of 
it.“Reduced revenues through lockdowns and restrictions have 
forced us to make choices that were previously unthinkable,” he told 
lawmakers. “Do we pay property taxes or do we pay payroll?”Government officials argue it’s not as simple as just giving businesses back the taxes they paid.“The
 assumption of the legislation is we’re sitting on piles of money,” 
Sedgwick County Commissioner Jim Howell said. “That’s not true. We’ve 
actually spent those dollars providing services.”The Kansas 
Association of Counties said it’s hard to estimate the full impact of 
the bill, but in Johnson County alone the cost of the refunds could 
total $177 million.Statewide, KAC Legislative Policy Director Jay
 Hall estimated the bill could mean counties refunding a half billion 
dollars in property taxes. He said that would cause a tax shift. The 
refunds to business property owners would have to be paid with taxes on 
homeowners.“That’s going to ultimately drive up taxes on our 
residential taxpayers,” Hall told lawmakers, “because the county is 
going to have to get that money from somewhere.”Hall pointed to 
potential problems with the wording of the bill. For example, a 
restaurant owner may lease a building and pay the property taxes through
 their rent, but the bill says the owner of the property would be the 
one to receive the tax refund.Republican Rep. Samantha Poetter 
said lawmakers need to take action or struggling businesses might close 
for good and take away all the tax revenue they generate.“If 
something isn’t done to relieve this issue … the county is going to be 
out a lot more,” she said. “I’m looking at it as a long-term solution.”Deborah Shaar of KMUW contributed to this report.Stephen Koranda is the Statehouse reporter for Kansas Public Radio and the Kansas News Service. You can follow him on Twitter<a href="https://twitter.com/kprkoranda" target="_blank"> @kprkoranda</a>.

Business owners: Kan. that ordered shutdowns should refund property taxes

TOPEKA— The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Kansas increased by 1208 to a total of 286,102, the state health department reported Wednesday afternoon.&nbsp;

Coronavirus deaths were reported at 4364 an increase of 61

<a href="https://www.kansasvaccine.gov/158/Data">Click here for Data</a> about the COVID-19 vaccine.

<a href="https://www.coronavirus.kdheks.gov/160/COVID-19-in-Kansas">Click here&nbsp;</a>for additional virus numbers from the KDHE.

TOPEKA— The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Kansas increased by 1208 to a total of 286,102, the state health department reported Wednesday afternoon.&nbsp;Coronavirus deaths were reported at 4364 an increase of 61<a href="https://www.kansasvaccine.gov/158/Data">Click here for Data</a> about the COVID-19 vaccine.<a href="https://www.coronavirus.kdheks.gov/160/COVID-19-in-Kansas">Click here&nbsp;</a>for additional virus numbers from the KDHE.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/2/1613153220574.png" alt="Friday February 12, 2021 KDHE image" />
 <figcaption>Friday February 12, 2021 KDHE image</figcaption>
 </figure>

KDHE: Latest coronavirus numbers in Kansas

KANSAS CITY (AP) — Police have identified a man found dead inside an Independence home this week in what has been deemed a homicide.

Officers were called to a home in the Kansas City suburb around 1:30 a.m. Tuesday for a report of a disturbance and found the body of 41-year-old Nathan Looker, of Independence, police said in a news release.

Police have not said how Looker died, but have said his death is being treated as a homicide. 

No suspects in the case had been named or an arrests announced by Friday morning.

KANSAS CITY (AP) — Police have identified a man found dead inside an Independence home this week in what has been deemed a homicide.Officers were called to a home in the Kansas City suburb around 1:30 a.m. Tuesday for a report of a disturbance and found the body of 41-year-old Nathan Looker, of Independence, police said in a news release.Police have not said how Looker died, but have said his death is being treated as a homicide. No suspects in the case had been named or an arrests announced by Friday morning.

Homicide: Police ID man found dead in KC-area home

FORD COUNTY— A Kansas woman and her 4-year-old son are recovering from injuries after an accident Tuesday evening in southwest Kansas.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2002 Toyota Camry driven by Alejandrina&nbsp;Treto-Banuelos, 37, Dodge City, was westbound on U.S. 50 just after 7p.m.

The car struck a southbound 2021 Volvo semi driven by Juan Carlos&nbsp;Fuentes, 32, Bridgeport, Texas, who failed to stop at stop sign at U.S. 283-U.S. 50 Junction.&nbsp; 

The Toytoa got trapped underneath the semi's trailer. The semi dragged the car approximately 100 feet south. Both Treto-Banuelos and her 4-year-old son Abraham Ponce, 4, Dodge City were stuck in vehicle.

Crews from Ford County Fire and EMS were dispatched to the scene and used the "jaws of life" to remove Treto-Banuelos from the car, according Ford County Fire and EMS Chief Rob Boyd.&nbsp;&nbsp;Crews could not reach the boy in the back seat due to the semi trailer being extremely close to the back seat passenger.

Authorities called Daniel Williams with Southwest Towing. He utilized equipment to lift the trailer off of the car. The car was then winched out from under the trailer so EMS could reach the boy and they removed him in just a couple minutes. 

Both patients were removed within 30 minutes of receiving the call, according to Boyd. EMS transported Treto-Banuelos and her son to Wesley Medical Center, according to the KHP. The semi driver was not injured.&nbsp; &nbsp;

On Friday morning, Boyd did not have an update on the condition of Treto-Banuelos or her son.&nbsp; He did say that first responders were doing well after working the crash. "This is what they train for and this type of crash was a once in a lifetime event, we hope."

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/2/1613144686993.png" alt="Crash photos courtesy Ford County Fire and EMS and authorized by the family." />
 <figcaption>Crash photos courtesy Ford County Fire and EMS and authorized by the family.</figcaption>
 </figure>FORD COUNTY— A Kansas woman and her 4-year-old son are recovering from injuries after an accident Tuesday evening in southwest Kansas.The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2002 Toyota Camry driven by Alejandrina&nbsp;Treto-Banuelos, 37, Dodge City, was westbound on U.S. 50 just after 7p.m.The car struck a southbound 2021 Volvo semi driven by Juan Carlos&nbsp;Fuentes, 32, Bridgeport, Texas, who failed to stop at stop sign at U.S. 283-U.S. 50 Junction.&nbsp; The Toytoa got trapped underneath the semi's trailer. The semi dragged the car approximately 100 feet south. Both Treto-Banuelos and her 4-year-old son Abraham Ponce, 4, Dodge City were stuck in vehicle.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/2/1613144578571.png" alt="Crash photos courtesy Ford County Fire and EMS and authorized by the family." />
 <figcaption>Crash photos courtesy Ford County Fire and EMS and authorized by the family.</figcaption>
 </figure>Crews from Ford County Fire and EMS were dispatched to the scene and used the "jaws of life" to remove Treto-Banuelos from the car, according Ford County Fire and EMS Chief Rob Boyd.&nbsp;&nbsp;Crews could not reach the boy in the back seat due to the semi trailer being extremely close to the back seat passenger.Authorities called Daniel Williams with Southwest Towing. He utilized equipment to lift the trailer off of the car. The car was then winched out from under the trailer so EMS could reach the boy and they removed him in just a couple minutes. <figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/2/1613147401926.png" alt="Crash photos courtesy Ford County Fire and EMS and authorized by the family." />
 <figcaption>Crash photos courtesy Ford County Fire and EMS and authorized by the family.</figcaption>
 </figure>Both patients were removed within 30 minutes of receiving the call, according to Boyd. EMS transported Treto-Banuelos and her son to Wesley Medical Center, according to the KHP. The semi driver was not injured.&nbsp; &nbsp;On Friday morning, Boyd did not have an update on the condition of Treto-Banuelos or her son.&nbsp; He did say that first responders were doing well after working the crash. "This is what they train for and this type of crash was a once in a lifetime event, we hope."

Kan. mother, 4-year-old recovering after trapped in crash

BETHESDA, Md. (AP) — President Joe Biden said Thursday that the U.S. will have enough supply of the COVID-19 vaccine by the end of the summer to inoculate 300 million Americans.

Biden made the announcement at the sprawling National Institutes of Health complex just outside Washington as he visited some of the nation’s leading scientists on the frontlines of the fight against the disease. He toured the Viral Pathogenesis Laboratory that created the COVID-19 vaccine now manufactured by Moderna and being rolled out in the U.S. and other countries.

The U.S. is on pace to exceed Biden’s goal of administering 100 million vaccine doses in his first 100 days in office, with more than 26 million shots delivered in his first three weeks.

“That’s just the floor,” Biden said. “Our end goal is beating COVID-19.”

Biden announced on Thursday that the U.S. had secured contractual commitments from Moderna and Pfizer to deliver the 600 million doses of vaccine by the end of July — more than a month earlier than initially anticipated.

“We’re now on track to have enough supply for 300 million Americans by the end of July,” he announced.

The pace of injections could increase further if a third coronavirus vaccine from drugmaker Johnson &amp; Johnson receives approval from the Food and Drug Administration.

Speaking with Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious-disease specialist, Biden emphasized that his administration is doing everything possible to increase the vaccine supply and the country’s capacity to deliver injections into arms.

“It’s been a hell of a learning process,” Biden said.

Biden, wearing a mask, used his remarks to criticize President Donald Trump, saying he inherited “no plan to vaccinate most of the country.”

“It is no secret that the vaccination program was in much worse shape than my team and I anticipated,” he said.

To date, the Biden administration has deployed active-duty troops to help stand up mass vaccination sites in several states, as it looks to lay the groundwork for increasing the rate of vaccinations once more supply is available.

The Viral Pathogenesis Laboratory is led by Dr. Barney Graham, whose team made critical discoveries years ago that laid the groundwork for rapid development of that and other COVID-19 vaccines. Before the pandemic erupted, one of Graham’s research fellows, Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett, had been using those earlier findings to develop a vaccine for MERS, a cousin of COVID-19.

On the tour, Biden was shown the lab bench where researchers sequenced the virus and developed the precursor of the Moderna vaccine.

Armed with their prior research, Corbett and Graham had a head start when Chinese scientists shared the genetic map of the new coronavirus in January 2020. They already knew how to make spike proteins, which coat the surface of the new coronavirus and its MERS relative, that were stable enough to be used as a key vaccine ingredient.

Within days, the NIH had sent instructions to Moderna to brew up doses, and Corbett and her colleagues were setting up the key lab and animal tests that would eventually prove they were on the right track.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/2/1613084660514.png" alt="President Biden delivers remarks to National Institutes of Health staff on Thursday -image courtesy White House " />
 <figcaption>President Biden delivers remarks to National Institutes of Health staff on Thursday -image courtesy White House </figcaption>
 </figure>BETHESDA, Md. (AP) — President Joe Biden said Thursday that the U.S. will have enough supply of the COVID-19 vaccine by the end of the summer to inoculate 300 million Americans.Biden made the announcement at the sprawling National Institutes of Health complex just outside Washington as he visited some of the nation’s leading scientists on the frontlines of the fight against the disease. He toured the Viral Pathogenesis Laboratory that created the COVID-19 vaccine now manufactured by Moderna and being rolled out in the U.S. and other countries.The U.S. is on pace to exceed Biden’s goal of administering 100 million vaccine doses in his first 100 days in office, with more than 26 million shots delivered in his first three weeks.“That’s just the floor,” Biden said. “Our end goal is beating COVID-19.”Biden announced on Thursday that the U.S. had secured contractual commitments from Moderna and Pfizer to deliver the 600 million doses of vaccine by the end of July — more than a month earlier than initially anticipated.“We’re now on track to have enough supply for 300 million Americans by the end of July,” he announced.The pace of injections could increase further if a third coronavirus vaccine from drugmaker Johnson &amp; Johnson receives approval from the Food and Drug Administration.Speaking with Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious-disease specialist, Biden emphasized that his administration is doing everything possible to increase the vaccine supply and the country’s capacity to deliver injections into arms.“It’s been a hell of a learning process,” Biden said.Biden, wearing a mask, used his remarks to criticize President Donald Trump, saying he inherited “no plan to vaccinate most of the country.”“It is no secret that the vaccination program was in much worse shape than my team and I anticipated,” he said.To date, the Biden administration has deployed active-duty troops to help stand up mass vaccination sites in several states, as it looks to lay the groundwork for increasing the rate of vaccinations once more supply is available.The Viral Pathogenesis Laboratory is led by Dr. Barney Graham, whose team made critical discoveries years ago that laid the groundwork for rapid development of that and other COVID-19 vaccines. Before the pandemic erupted, one of Graham’s research fellows, Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett, had been using those earlier findings to develop a vaccine for MERS, a cousin of COVID-19.On the tour, Biden was shown the lab bench where researchers sequenced the virus and developed the precursor of the Moderna vaccine.Armed with their prior research, Corbett and Graham had a head start when Chinese scientists shared the genetic map of the new coronavirus in January 2020. They already knew how to make spike proteins, which coat the surface of the new coronavirus and its MERS relative, that were stable enough to be used as a key vaccine ingredient.Within days, the NIH had sent instructions to Moderna to brew up doses, and Corbett and her colleagues were setting up the key lab and animal tests that would eventually prove they were on the right track.___

Biden: U.S. will have vaccine doses for all Americans by July

MISSION, Kan. (AP) — Nursing homes and other long-term care facilities in Kansas are making their tentative first steps toward easing visitor restrictions that were put in place to stem the spread of the coronavirus, as health officials finish the first round of vaccinations.

Dr. Lee Norman, head of the state health department, told the Senate Ways and Means Committee on Thursday that 83% of residents have received a first dose and 53% a second dose, with some turning down the vaccination at least for now. He said 56% of staff had agreed to the vaccine, according to the most recent data.

He said the push to vaccinate has led a lot of hospitals and some nursing homes to begin liberalizing their visitation policies, with some allowing one visitor. During the peak of the pandemic, visits often were limited to those who were dying.

“We are working a strategy with what is called rapid antigen testing where the unvaccinated person can have a rapid antigen test at the time that they come in to visit a loved one for example in a skilled facility,” Norman said. “Until we can get to a higher percentage we just can’t fling the doors open.”

He said the facilities are working with county health officials to determine what is appropriate.

“We cannot continue to be risk averse,” he said. “We will never be down to a risk of zero, so we will have to find a happy medium in there because we certainly recognize the mental health and isolation issues.”

Linda MowBray, president of the Kansas Health Care Association, a nursing home advocacy group, agreed that the vaccination situation is beginning to make a difference, although slowly. She added that there are still a few dozen often smaller facilities that the state continues to track down because they weren’t on the federal database.

She said the official guidance hasn’t changed yet: facilities need to look at the positivity rate in their communities and the percentage of residents and staff who have been vaccinated as they make decisions.

“There are a lot of steps that have to go through and opening up doesn’t simply mean opening the doors and everything goes back to normal and anybody can visit anytime and hugs all around,” she said.

She said it was a “great sign” that the number of infections in long-term care facilities was dropping but that community buy-in remains an issue.

“We have to keep encouraging keeping our diligence up,” she said. “They are coming out now saying two masks are better than one. We’ve had counties and parts of the state that never wanted to wear one mask. So we still have a fight on our hands.”

She said that facilities want to allow visitors but added that the decisions is being complicated by staffing issues.

“Family members aren’t just traipsing down the hall to a visitor’s room,” she said. “They have a visitation area or something set up, and we are still in a horrible staffing crisis so there is a tradeoff when you are spending staff time to facilitate a visit, making sure that other people’s needs are being meet.”

MISSION, Kan. (AP) — Nursing homes and other long-term care facilities in Kansas are making their tentative first steps toward easing visitor restrictions that were put in place to stem the spread of the coronavirus, as health officials finish the first round of vaccinations.<div><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZjbJmsTuXKU?start=3057" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>Dr. Lee Norman, head of the state health department, told the Senate Ways and Means Committee on Thursday that 83% of residents have received a first dose and 53% a second dose, with some turning down the vaccination at least for now. He said 56% of staff had agreed to the vaccine, according to the most recent data.He said the push to vaccinate has led a lot of hospitals and some nursing homes to begin liberalizing their visitation policies, with some allowing one visitor. During the peak of the pandemic, visits often were limited to those who were dying.“We are working a strategy with what is called rapid antigen testing where the unvaccinated person can have a rapid antigen test at the time that they come in to visit a loved one for example in a skilled facility,” Norman said. “Until we can get to a higher percentage we just can’t fling the doors open.”He said the facilities are working with county health officials to determine what is appropriate.“We cannot continue to be risk averse,” he said. “We will never be down to a risk of zero, so we will have to find a happy medium in there because we certainly recognize the mental health and isolation issues.”Linda MowBray, president of the Kansas Health Care Association, a nursing home advocacy group, agreed that the vaccination situation is beginning to make a difference, although slowly. She added that there are still a few dozen often smaller facilities that the state continues to track down because they weren’t on the federal database.She said the official guidance hasn’t changed yet: facilities need to look at the positivity rate in their communities and the percentage of residents and staff who have been vaccinated as they make decisions.“There are a lot of steps that have to go through and opening up doesn’t simply mean opening the doors and everything goes back to normal and anybody can visit anytime and hugs all around,” she said.She said it was a “great sign” that the number of infections in long-term care facilities was dropping but that community buy-in remains an issue.“We have to keep encouraging keeping our diligence up,” she said. “They are coming out now saying two masks are better than one. We’ve had counties and parts of the state that never wanted to wear one mask. So we still have a fight on our hands.”She said that facilities want to allow visitors but added that the decisions is being complicated by staffing issues.“Family members aren’t just traipsing down the hall to a visitor’s room,” she said. “They have a visitation area or something set up, and we are still in a horrible staffing crisis so there is a tradeoff when you are spending staff time to facilitate a visit, making sure that other people’s needs are being meet.”

🎥 Nursing homes begin slow return to normal in Kansas

ATCHISON—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a burglary and have a suspect in custody.

Just before 4a.m. Wednesday, an employee of the Massasoit Apartments in the 200 block North 3rd Street in Atchison interrupted burglary, according to Police Chief Mike Wilson.

As the employee opened the office door, the suspect later identified as 39-year-old Gale Hewitt pointed a handgun at the employee.

The employee was able to flee that immediate area and called police. Officers arrived quickly but the suspect had fled after taking a handgun and cash, according to Wilson.

The same suspect described as a white male, 6-foot-2, stock build, bald head, a goatee and wearing a gray sweatshirt and bleached blue jeans, appeared at the door of a residence in the 200 block North 4th about 5:30a.m. He confronted the resident, displayed a gun during a conversation but left without taking anything.

By late Wednesday, police identified Hewitt as&nbsp;the suspect and just before 5p.m. a police officer spotted him driving a 2005 Chrysler PT Cruiser at 6th and “M” Street in Atchison.

 Hewitt got out of the vehicle holding a handgun and subsequently ran into a wooded area. Police officers were joined by Atchison County sheriff deputies and Kansas Highway Patrol troopers at the scene as a perimeter around the wooded area was secured. At 5:18PM Hewitt was taken into custody north of the wooded area, just south of Harper Drive in the 500 block with the assistance of a Kansas Highway Patrol K-9.

Hewitt was transported to the hospital by EMS for treatment of minor injuries and subsequently taken to the County Jail, according to Wilson.

He is being held on requested charges that include burglary, aggravated assault, theft, theft of a firearm, criminal damage to property, aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, criminal possession of a firearm by a felon, and felony interference with law enforcement.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/2/1613051025400.png" alt="Hewitt has previous convictions that include arson, theft,&nbsp; burglary, driving while suspended and flee or attempt to elude law enforcement and for drugs, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections." />
 <figcaption>Hewitt has previous convictions that include arson, theft,&nbsp; burglary, driving while suspended and flee or attempt to elude law enforcement and for drugs, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections.</figcaption>
 </figure>ATCHISON—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a burglary and have a suspect in custody.Just before 4a.m. Wednesday, an employee of the Massasoit Apartments in the 200 block North 3rd Street in Atchison interrupted burglary, according to Police Chief Mike Wilson.As the employee opened the office door, the suspect later identified as 39-year-old Gale Hewitt pointed a handgun at the employee.The employee was able to flee that immediate area and called police. Officers arrived quickly but the suspect had fled after taking a handgun and cash, according to Wilson.The same suspect described as a white male, 6-foot-2, stock build, bald head, a goatee and wearing a gray sweatshirt and bleached blue jeans, appeared at the door of a residence in the 200 block North 4th about 5:30a.m. He confronted the resident, displayed a gun during a conversation but left without taking anything.By late Wednesday, police identified Hewitt as&nbsp;the suspect and just before 5p.m. a police officer spotted him driving a 2005 Chrysler PT Cruiser at 6th and “M” Street in Atchison. Hewitt got out of the vehicle holding a handgun and subsequently ran into a wooded area. Police officers were joined by Atchison County sheriff deputies and Kansas Highway Patrol troopers at the scene as a perimeter around the wooded area was secured. At 5:18PM Hewitt was taken into custody north of the wooded area, just south of Harper Drive in the 500 block with the assistance of a Kansas Highway Patrol K-9.Hewitt was transported to the hospital by EMS for treatment of minor injuries and subsequently taken to the County Jail, according to Wilson.He is being held on requested charges that include burglary, aggravated assault, theft, theft of a firearm, criminal damage to property, aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, criminal possession of a firearm by a felon, and felony interference with law enforcement.

Kansas burglary suspect taken from hospital to jail

KANSAS CITY (AP) — Add another obstacle to the already stuttering rollout of COVID-19 vaccines — brutal winter weather creating dangerous conditions and forcing tens of thousands of would-be shot takers to wait longer.

Icy roads from the West Coast through the Midwest and into the South shut down vaccinations at many sites, pushing those with appointments back into the pool of those waiting. The schedule disarray could get worse, with nasty weather expected to last for several days. Places from Oregon to Oklahoma could see a foot of new snow by the weekend.

Limited vaccine supply, varying state plans and other points of confusion have slowed the effort to get doses to Americans. Statistics from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday showed a little over 10% of the country — 34.7 million people — have received at least one dose, and 11.2 million have received both of the two doses required for both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.

With the elderly now the focus of mass vaccinations, state and local health officials decided the risk of falls or accidents outweighed the benefit of a timely shot.

“Unfortunately, if you look at the weather for next week, it’s not going to be easy,” Oklahoma Deputy Health Commissioner Keith Reed said. “It’s just another challenge with this vaccine program. You talk about all the logistical challenges, and now Mother Nature wants to make it a little bit more of a challenge for us.”

Ice-covered roads led to crashes and road closures in Oklahoma. A mass vaccination site in Tulsa was shut down, forcing 2,000 appointments to be rescheduled. At another site in Oklahoma City, 700 appointments were moved to March 10.

The prospect of an extended delay was worrisome for those who have received their first shot. The second shot for the Pfizer vaccine is recommended 21 days after the first, and the second dose of the Moderna vaccine is recommended 28 days later.

Dr. Dale Bratzler, Oklahoma University Health’s chief quality officer, said a later-than-ideal second shot will still be an effective booster, whenever you can get it, though within six weeks of the first shot is best.

“If you don’t get it within the 21 or 28 days, that’s OK,” Bratzler said. “Just go ahead and get it as soon as you can.”

In Texas,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2-dozen-cars-pileup-texas-icy-road-87f579e71157567d2be476cc5f69caf2">where at least six people were killed Thursday</a>&nbsp;in a massive pileup on an icy interstate, Dallas’ largest vaccination site was ordered shut down after consultation with the National Weather Service, said Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins, the county's top administrator.

More than 42,000 people have received the first dose in downtown’s Fair Park, which the Biden administration announced Wednesday would soon become one of three federal mass vaccination sites in Texas capable of delivering 10,000 shots a day. The dangerous weather conditions also come ahead of a long weekend for many because of Presidents Day, which state health officials warned could push back the arrival of vaccines even more.

“We have two potential events that may delay shipments next week," said Imelda Garcia, chairwoman of the state's vaccine allocation panel.

In Missouri, wind chills in the single digits was a big factor in postponing mass vaccination drive-thrus being operated by the National Guard.

“The National Guard tells us it’s very difficult to thaw frozen vaccine at an outdoor event when the temperature may be 5 degrees,” said Robert Knodell, deputy chief of staff for Gov. Mike Parson. He said most of the postponed events will be moved back only a few days, depending on when the weather breaks.

A forecast of up to 14 inches of snow in parts of Oregon was enough to cancel a drive-thru vaccination clinic at Portland International Airport for up to 4,500 people age 80 and older.

“Our goal is to keep our patients, members and volunteers safe by mitigating the risk of driving/commuting in the snow and exposure to freezing temperatures,” the Oregon Health &amp; Science University said in a statement.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/2/1613128909073.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY (AP) — Add another obstacle to the already stuttering rollout of COVID-19 vaccines — brutal winter weather creating dangerous conditions and forcing tens of thousands of would-be shot takers to wait longer.Icy roads from the West Coast through the Midwest and into the South shut down vaccinations at many sites, pushing those with appointments back into the pool of those waiting. The schedule disarray could get worse, with nasty weather expected to last for several days. Places from Oregon to Oklahoma could see a foot of new snow by the weekend.Limited vaccine supply, varying state plans and other points of confusion have slowed the effort to get doses to Americans. Statistics from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday showed a little over 10% of the country — 34.7 million people — have received at least one dose, and 11.2 million have received both of the two doses required for both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.With the elderly now the focus of mass vaccinations, state and local health officials decided the risk of falls or accidents outweighed the benefit of a timely shot.“Unfortunately, if you look at the weather for next week, it’s not going to be easy,” Oklahoma Deputy Health Commissioner Keith Reed said. “It’s just another challenge with this vaccine program. You talk about all the logistical challenges, and now Mother Nature wants to make it a little bit more of a challenge for us.”Ice-covered roads led to crashes and road closures in Oklahoma. A mass vaccination site in Tulsa was shut down, forcing 2,000 appointments to be rescheduled. At another site in Oklahoma City, 700 appointments were moved to March 10.The prospect of an extended delay was worrisome for those who have received their first shot. The second shot for the Pfizer vaccine is recommended 21 days after the first, and the second dose of the Moderna vaccine is recommended 28 days later.Dr. Dale Bratzler, Oklahoma University Health’s chief quality officer, said a later-than-ideal second shot will still be an effective booster, whenever you can get it, though within six weeks of the first shot is best.“If you don’t get it within the 21 or 28 days, that’s OK,” Bratzler said. “Just go ahead and get it as soon as you can.”In Texas,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2-dozen-cars-pileup-texas-icy-road-87f579e71157567d2be476cc5f69caf2">where at least six people were killed Thursday</a>&nbsp;in a massive pileup on an icy interstate, Dallas’ largest vaccination site was ordered shut down after consultation with the National Weather Service, said Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins, the county's top administrator.More than 42,000 people have received the first dose in downtown’s Fair Park, which the Biden administration announced Wednesday would soon become one of three federal mass vaccination sites in Texas capable of delivering 10,000 shots a day. The dangerous weather conditions also come ahead of a long weekend for many because of Presidents Day, which state health officials warned could push back the arrival of vaccines even more.“We have two potential events that may delay shipments next week," said Imelda Garcia, chairwoman of the state's vaccine allocation panel.In Missouri, wind chills in the single digits was a big factor in postponing mass vaccination drive-thrus being operated by the National Guard.“The National Guard tells us it’s very difficult to thaw frozen vaccine at an outdoor event when the temperature may be 5 degrees,” said Robert Knodell, deputy chief of staff for Gov. Mike Parson. He said most of the postponed events will be moved back only a few days, depending on when the weather breaks.A forecast of up to 14 inches of snow in parts of Oregon was enough to cancel a drive-thru vaccination clinic at Portland International Airport for up to 4,500 people age 80 and older.“Our goal is to keep our patients, members and volunteers safe by mitigating the risk of driving/commuting in the snow and exposure to freezing temperatures,” the Oregon Health &amp; Science University said in a statement.

Winter weather is latest snag for lagging vaccine rollout

KANSAS CITY (AP) — A woman has been arrested and charged in the shooting death earlier this week of a man inside a Kansas City home, authorities said.

Marvina Stemmons, 30, has been charged in Jackson County with second-degree murder and armed criminal action in the Sunday shooting death of 48-year-old Charles Harris.

Officers were called to the home in the Ivanhoe Southeast neighborhood around 4 a.m. Sunday for reports of a shooting and found Harris dead from a gunshot wound, police said. Police said Stemmons was later brought in for questioning after witnesses reported seeing her Saturday night with Harris.

Stemmons first said she accidentally shot Harris, then later told investigators she fired shots at him when he became sexually aggressive, police said.

Stemmons was being held on a $75,000 cash-only bond.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/2/1613076567456.png" alt="Stemmons photo Jackson Co." />
 <figcaption>Stemmons photo Jackson Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY (AP) — A woman has been arrested and charged in the shooting death earlier this week of a man inside a Kansas City home, authorities said.Marvina Stemmons, 30, has been charged in Jackson County with second-degree murder and armed criminal action in the Sunday shooting death of 48-year-old Charles Harris.Officers were called to the home in the Ivanhoe Southeast neighborhood around 4 a.m. Sunday for reports of a shooting and found Harris dead from a gunshot wound, police said. Police said Stemmons was later brought in for questioning after witnesses reported seeing her Saturday night with Harris.Stemmons first said she accidentally shot Harris, then later told investigators she fired shots at him when he became sexually aggressive, police said.Stemmons was being held on a $75,000 cash-only bond.

Police: Woman charged in shooting death of Kansas City man

<a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?508743-1/impeachment-trial">CLICK here&nbsp;</a>to watch replay of Day 3 of the trial

WASHINGTON (AP) — Dire harm from Donald Trump’s false and violent incitements will vex American democracy long into the future unless the Senate convicts him of impeachment and bars him from future office, House prosecutors insisted Thursday as they concluded two days of emotional arguments in his historic trial.

Making their case, they presented piles of new videos of last month’s deadly Capitol attack, with invaders proudly declaring they were merely obeying “the president’s orders” to fight to overturn the election results as Congress was certifying his defeat to Democrat Joe Biden. Trump is accused of inciting the invasion, which prosecutors said was a predictable culmination of the many public and explicit instructions he gave supporters long before his White House rally that unleashed the Jan. 6&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/capitol-siege">attack.</a>

“If we pretend this didn’t happen, or worse, if we let it go unanswered, who’s to say it won’t happen again?” argued prosecutor Rep. Joe Neguse, D-Colo. Even out of office, Democrats warned, Trump could whip up a mob of followers for similar damage.

Trump’s defense will take the Senate floor on Friday, arguing that as terrible as the attack was, it clearly was not the president’s doing. The proceedings could finish with a vote this weekend by the senators who are sitting as impeachment jurors.

The Democrats, with little hope of conviction by two-thirds of the evenly divided Senate, are also making their most graphic case to the American public, while Trump’s lawyers and the Republicans are focused on legal rather than emotional or historic questions, hoping to get it all behind as quickly as possible. Five people died in the Capitol chaos and its aftermath, a domestic attack unparalleled in U.S. history.

Trump’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-capitol-siege-biden-cabinet-trials-acquittals-d82d5aa64d4988ec92860d4729dfc9f8">second impeachment trial,</a>&nbsp;on a charge of incitement of insurrection, has echoes of last year’s impeachment and acquittal over the Ukraine matter, as prosecutors warn senators that Trump has shown no bounds and will pose a continuing danger to the civic order unless he is convicted. Even out of the White House, the former president holds influence over large swaths of voters.

The Democratic House members acting as prosecutors drew a direct line Thursday from Trump’s repeated comments condoning and even celebrating violence — praising “both sides” after the 2017 outbreak at the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia — and urging his rally crowd last month to go to the Capitol and fight for his presidency. He spread false claims about election fraud and urged his supporters to “stop the steal” of the presidency.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/2/1613085041579.png" alt="In his final remarks, House impeachment manager Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) said&nbsp;“The First Amendment does not create some superpower immunity from impeachment." -photo courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>In his final remarks, House impeachment manager Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) said&nbsp;“The First Amendment does not create some superpower immunity from impeachment." -photo courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure><a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?508743-1/impeachment-trial">CLICK here&nbsp;</a>to watch replay of Day 3 of the trialWASHINGTON (AP) — Dire harm from Donald Trump’s false and violent incitements will vex American democracy long into the future unless the Senate convicts him of impeachment and bars him from future office, House prosecutors insisted Thursday as they concluded two days of emotional arguments in his historic trial.Making their case, they presented piles of new videos of last month’s deadly Capitol attack, with invaders proudly declaring they were merely obeying “the president’s orders” to fight to overturn the election results as Congress was certifying his defeat to Democrat Joe Biden. Trump is accused of inciting the invasion, which prosecutors said was a predictable culmination of the many public and explicit instructions he gave supporters long before his White House rally that unleashed the Jan. 6&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/capitol-siege">attack.</a>“If we pretend this didn’t happen, or worse, if we let it go unanswered, who’s to say it won’t happen again?” argued prosecutor Rep. Joe Neguse, D-Colo. Even out of office, Democrats warned, Trump could whip up a mob of followers for similar damage.Trump’s defense will take the Senate floor on Friday, arguing that as terrible as the attack was, it clearly was not the president’s doing. The proceedings could finish with a vote this weekend by the senators who are sitting as impeachment jurors.The Democrats, with little hope of conviction by two-thirds of the evenly divided Senate, are also making their most graphic case to the American public, while Trump’s lawyers and the Republicans are focused on legal rather than emotional or historic questions, hoping to get it all behind as quickly as possible. Five people died in the Capitol chaos and its aftermath, a domestic attack unparalleled in U.S. history.Trump’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-capitol-siege-biden-cabinet-trials-acquittals-d82d5aa64d4988ec92860d4729dfc9f8">second impeachment trial,</a>&nbsp;on a charge of incitement of insurrection, has echoes of last year’s impeachment and acquittal over the Ukraine matter, as prosecutors warn senators that Trump has shown no bounds and will pose a continuing danger to the civic order unless he is convicted. Even out of the White House, the former president holds influence over large swaths of voters.The Democratic House members acting as prosecutors drew a direct line Thursday from Trump’s repeated comments condoning and even celebrating violence — praising “both sides” after the 2017 outbreak at the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia — and urging his rally crowd last month to go to the Capitol and fight for his presidency. He spread false claims about election fraud and urged his supporters to “stop the steal” of the presidency.Prosecutors used the rioters’ own videos from that day to pin responsibility on Trump. “We were invited here,” said one. “Trump sent us,” said another. “He’ll be happy. We’re fighting for Trump.”“They truly believed that the whole intrusion was at the president’s orders,” said Rep. Diana DeGette of Colorado. “The president told them to be there.”At the White House, President Biden said he believed “some minds may be changed” after senators saw chilling security video Wednesday of the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/78104aea082995bbd7412a6e6cd13818">deadly insurrection at the Capitol</a>, including of rioters searching menacingly for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Vice President Mike Pence.Biden said he didn’t watch any of the previous day’s proceedings live but later saw news coverage.Though most of the Senate jurors seem to have made up their minds, making Trump’s acquittal likely, the never-before-seen audio and video released Wednesday became a key exhibit.Senators sat riveted as the jarring video played in the chamber. The footage showed the mob smashing into the building and rioters engaging in hand-to-hand combat with police, with audio of officers pleading for backup. Rioters roamed the halls chanting, “Hang Mike Pence,” and eerily singing out, “Where are you, Nancy?” in search of Pelosi.Videos of the siege have been circulating since the day of the riot, but the graphic compilation offered a moment-by-moment retelling of one of the nation’s most alarming days. And it underscored how dangerously close the rioters came to the nation’s leaders, shifting the focus of the trial from an academic debate about the Constitution to a raw retelling of the assault.Trump attorney David Schoen took issue, saying that the presentation was “offensive” and that the Democrats “haven’t tied it in any way to Trump.”He told reporters Thursday at the Capitol that he believed Democrats were making the public relive the tragedy in a way that “tears at the American people” and impedes efforts at unity in the country.And by Thursday, senators sitting through a second full day of arguments appeared somewhat fatigued, slouching in their chairs, crossing their arms and walking around to stretch.One Republican, Sen. Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma, said during a break: “To me, they’re losing credibility the longer they talk.”The goal of the two-day presentation by prosecutors from the House, which impeached the outgoing president last month a week after the siege, was to cast Trump not as an innocent bystander but rather as the “inciter in chief” who spent months spreading falsehoods and revving up supporters to challenge the election.“This attack never would have happened but for Donald Trump,” Rep. Madeleine Dean, one of the impeachment managers, said as she choked back emotion. “And so they came, draped in Trump’s flag, and used our flag, the American flag, to batter and to bludgeon.”Trump’s lawyers are likely to blame the rioters themselves for the violence.The first president to face an impeachment trial after leaving office, Trump is also the first to be twice impeached.His lawyers say he cannot be convicted because he is already gone from the White House. Even though the Senate rejected that argument in Tuesday’s vote to proceed to trial, the issue could resonate with Senate Republicans eager to acquit Trump without being seen as condoning his behavior.While six Republicans joined with Democrats to vote to proceed with the trial on Tuesday, the 56-44 vote was far from the two-thirds threshold of 67 votes needed for conviction.-----WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump incited a deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol, put his own vice president in danger and later expressed solidarity with rioters who attempted to overturn the 2020 election in his name, Democrats argued Thursday as they wrapped up opening arguments in Trump’s impeachment trial.Over two days of testimony, the Democrats asserted that Trump deliberately ordered his supporters to “fight like hell” and “go by very different rules” or they “wouldn’t have a country anymore.” They bolstered their case with accounts from the rioters themselves, some of whom said they were acting on Trump’s orders.The former president’s defense team insists Trump’s speech near the White House was protected under the First Amendment. And they argue he shouldn’t be on trial in the Senate because he is no longer in office — an argument Democrats reject.“The First Amendment does not create some superpower immunity from impeachment,” said Rep. Jamie Raskin, a Maryland Democrat who is leading the prosecution. “If you don’t find this a high crime and misdemeanor today, you have set a new terrible standard for presidential misconduct.”Highlights from the trial on Thursday:‘WE WERE INVITED HERE’“Fight for Trump.” “Trump sent us.” “We are listening to Trump.” “We wait and take orders from our president”Democrats focused intently on words offered by rioters to rationalize their storming of the Capitol. It was part of a broader effort to directly link the president’s call for his loyalists to “fight like hell” with the death, destruction and mayhem that followed his speech on Jan. 6.In many cases, rioters, who sought to stop Congress from certifying President Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory, explained that they were acting at Trump’s behest.To underscore their point, Democrats showed videos using rioters own words. Among them was Jennifer Ryan, a Texas real estate agent who was criminally charged but insists she was just “following my president.”One video showed a man in the Capitol during the siege, who suggested to his friends that they pick up an office phone and call Trump to say, “We love you, bro!”Another captured a man shouting at police: “We were invited here.”Democratic impeachment managers also noted that many left after Trump released an online video hours after the attack, urging them to go home.“Today is ours. We won the day,” a man with a bullhorn can be heard saying in one clip. He then added that Trump wanted “everybody to go home.”___A HISTORY OF VIOLENCEThe violence at the Capitol shocked the nation. But Democratic impeachment managers said that, in hindsight, it should have been no surprise.Ever since Trump descended a golden escalator in his New York tower to launch his presidential bid in 2016, he has openly stoked and incited his supporters to violence, they said. Then they showed an exhibit cataloging his past incendiary remarks.When Trump supporters attacked a protester at a 2016 campaign rally, the then-candidate called it “very, very appropriate.”Another time, he urged supporters to “knock the crap out of” a protester and promised to pay their legal fees.In 2017, after a woman in Charlottesville, Virginia, was stuck and killed by a car driven by a white supremacist during violent clashes, Trump said there were “fine people on both sides.”And last year, after armed protesters surged into the Michigan statehouse to protest pandemic lockdown measures, he criticized Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and tweeted “LIBERATE MICHIGAN.”“These are very good people but they are angry. They want their lives back again,” Trump said.The FBI later broke up a plot to kidnap Whitmer by anti-government extremists upset over coronavirus restrictions she had imposed in the state.“The siege of the Michigan statehouse was effectively a state-level dress rehearsal,” Raskin said. “It was a preview of the coming insurrection.”___A QUICK DEFENSETrump attorney David Schoen said Thursday that the defense’s case should go quickly on Friday, making clear they have no intention of using the 16 hours available to them.“There’s no reason for us to be out there a long time,” Schoen said during an appearance on Fox News before blasting Democrats for the “harm this is causing to the American people.”Schoen told reporters that the Democrats’ video presentations during the trial were “offensive” and that they “haven’t tied it in any way to Trump.” He said he believed Democrats were effectively making the public relive the tragedy in a way that “tears at the American people” and impedes efforts at unity in the country.Trump senior adviser Jason Miller said he expects the defense will wrap up in less than a day.___POST RIOT RESIGNATIONSMany Senate Republicans have indicated they will not vote to impeach Trump, a sign of cooling of emotions that had run hot just over a month ago.As Democrats look to secure the 67 votes needed for a conviction, they used a slideshow presentation on Thursday to remind Senate jurors of the widespread outrage voiced in the wake of the attack, when many in the party directly blamed Trump — including Republicans who had worked for him.“Today’s violent assault on our Capitol, an effort to subjugate American democracy by mob rule, was fomented by Mr. Trump,” read a statement issued by James Mattis, Trump’s former secretary of defense, hours after the attack.Another slide showed a statement from John Kelly, Trump’s former chief of staff, who said the violence was “a direct result of (Trump) poisoning the minds of people with the lies and the fraud.”“The invasion of our Capitol by a mob, incited by lies from some entrusted with power, is a disgrace to all who sacrificed to build our Republic,” read another, which showed a tweet from former Republican House Speaker John Boehner.Democrats also showed a chart of the 16 administration officials and Cabinet members who resigned in the aftermath of the attack on the Capitol, including Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos.“There is no mistaking the impact your rhetoric had on the situation, and it is the inflection point for me,” DeVos said at the time.WASHINGTON (AP) — House Democrats prosecuting President Donald Trump’s impeachment have wrapped up their opening arguments.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/2/1613077374687.png" alt="House impeachment manager Rep. Joe Neguse of Colorado during his presentation Thursday afternoon." />
 <figcaption>House impeachment manager Rep. Joe Neguse of Colorado during his presentation Thursday afternoon.</figcaption>
 </figure>Rep. Jamie Raskin implored senators in his closing speech to exercise “common sense about what just took place in our country” and find Trump guilty of inciting an insurrection. Raskin is the lead prosecutor for the House.He said senators have the power under the Constitution to find Trump guilty of having betrayed the oath of office the nation's founders wrote into the Constitution.Another impeachment manager warned senators that acquitting Trump could have lasting consequences for the country. Rep. Joe Neguse said that “if we pretend this didn’t happen, or worse, if we let it go unanswered, who’s to say it won’t happen again.”Trump’s lawyers will begin their arguments when the trial resumes at noon Friday.WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic prosecutors in Donald Trump's impeachment trial say rioters believed they were are acting on the “president’s orders” to storm the Capitol to undo Joe Biden's election victory. The House is ready to wrap up opening arguments. Biden says he believes “some minds may be changed” after the previous day's gripping video of the deadly siege The Democrats are laying out the physical and mental harm caused by the Capitol attack and discussing Trump’s lack of action as it unfolded. Thursday's session follows the previous day's raw and visceral video of last month’s deadly insurrection. The Trump legal team gets its chance to make its case Friday and Saturday.---------<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/2/1613061767146.png" alt="<a href="https://www.c-span.org/series/?theSenate">The Senate</a>&nbsp;impeachment trial of former&nbsp;<a href="https://www.c-span.org/person/?donaldtrump">President Donald Trump&nbsp;</a>continues Thursday with House managers presenting more of their case.-image courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption><a href="https://www.c-span.org/series/?theSenate">The Senate</a>&nbsp;impeachment trial of former&nbsp;<a href="https://www.c-span.org/person/?donaldtrump">President Donald Trump&nbsp;</a>continues Thursday with House managers presenting more of their case.-image courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic prosecutors in Donald Trump's impeachment trial say rioters believed they were are acting on the “president’s orders” to storm the Capitol to undo Joe Biden's election victory. The House is ready to wrap up opening arguments. Biden says he believes “some minds may be changed” after the previous day's gripping video of the deadly siege The Democrats are laying out the physical and mental harm caused by the Capitol attack and discussing Trump’s lack of action as it unfolded. Thursday's session follows the previous day's raw and visceral video of last month’s deadly insurrection. The Trump legal team gets its chance to make its case Friday and Saturday.---------WASHINGTON (AP) — The House managers are continuing their case Thursday in the historic impeachment trial. Trump’s lawyers are expected to launch their defense by week’s end.<a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?508743-1/impeachment-trial">CLICK here </a>to watch Day 3 of the trialPresident Joe Biden said&nbsp; he believes “some minds may be changed” in former President Trump’s&nbsp; trial after the display of <a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?508741-101/senate-impeachment-trial-day-2-part-2">searing, graphic videos</a> of the assault on the U.S. Capitol.Biden told reporters in the Oval Office on Thursday that he didn’t watch any of the previous day’s proceedings live but later saw news coverage. The Democratic House impeachment managers used security video as part of their case, and the violent images of the riot shook senators and TV viewers alike.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">The &#39;Not Guilty&#39; vote is growing after today. I think most Republicans found the presentation by the House Managers offensive and absurd.&mdash; Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) <a href="https://twitter.com/LindseyGrahamSC/status/1359695883906998277?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 11, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Biden has steadfastly refused to weigh in on the trial and again on Thursday said his focus was on fulfilling his campaign promise to battle the coronavirus pandemic. Biden says the nation has “to move on.” Aides have said Biden will address the proceedings after a verdict is reached.Trump’s lawyers are expected to launch their defense by week’s end.