JACKSON COUNTY – One person died in an accident just before 2:30p.m. Saturday in County.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 2007 Suzuki motorcycle driven by Charles D. Davis, 32, Kansas City, was southbound on the Interstate 435 ramp to Interstate 470. The motorcycle traveled off the roadway and the driver was ejected.
Davis was pronounced dead at the scene and transported to the Jackson County Medical Examiner’s office. He was wearing a helmet, according to the MSHP.
DEKALB COUNTY — One person was injured in an accident just before 5:30a.m. Saturday in DeKalb County.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 2008 Ford Focus driven by Matthew A. Turner, 35, Platte City, was westbound on U.S. 36 just west of Watson Road. The driver fell asleep. The vehicle traveled off the road, struck an embankment and overturned.
Stewartsville EMS transported Turner to Cameron Regional Medical Center. He was properly restrained at the time of the accident, according to the MSHP.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Despite pushback from U.S. business, Mexico and Capitol Hill, President Donald Trump is doubling down on his threat to slap a 5% tariff on Mexican imports unless America’s southern neighbor cracks down on Central American migrants trying to cross the U.S. border.
U.S. manufacturers said the tariff, set to take effect June 10, would have devastating consequences on them and American consumers. U.S. stocks tumbled on Wall Street in response to Trump’s planned action.
“Imposing tariffs on goods from Mexico is exactly the wrong move,” said Neil Bradley, executive vice president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which is exploring legal action in response to the tariffs. “These tariffs will be paid by American families and businesses without doing a thing to solve the very real problems at the border. Instead, Congress and the president need to work together to address the serious problems at the border.”
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obradordispatched his foreign secretary to Washington to try to negotiate a solution. He said social problems are not solved with coercive measures, but also seemed convinced that Trump just needed to be informed about all the steps Mexico has taken to slow illegal migration.
Mexico has stepped up raids on migrant caravans traveling through the southern states of Chiapas and Oaxaca this year. It has deported thousands of migrants and frustrated thousands more who wait endlessly for permits that would allow them to travel legally through Mexico.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke with his Mexican counterpart via telephone Friday, said State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus, who’s traveling with Pompeo in Bern, Switzerland. Ortagus said the department doesn’t comment on details of diplomatic conversations.
“We maintain an ongoing dialogue and close cooperation with Mexico on a wide range of issues, including border security efforts,” she said. “The United States and Mexico recognize that managing our shared border is a challenge common to both countries.”
Administration officials told reporters in a briefing call Thursday evening that Mexico could prevent the tariffs from kicking in by securing its southern border with Guatemala, cracking down on criminal smuggling organizations, and entering into a “safe third country agreement” that would make it difficult for those who enter Mexico from other countries to claim asylum in the U.S.
“We fully believe they have the ability to stop people coming in from their southern border and if they’re able to do that, these tariffs will either not go into place or will be removed after they go into place,” said acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney.
Trump said the percentage will gradually increase — up to 25% — until the migration problem is remedied.
“Mexico has taken advantage of the United States for decades,” Trump said in a tweet Friday. “Because of the Dems, our Immigration Laws are BAD. Mexico makes a FORTUNE from the U.S., have for decades, they can easily fix this problem. Time for them to finally do what must be done!”
Trump’s decision showed the administration going to new lengths, and looking for new levers, to pressure Mexico to take action — even if those risk upending other policy priorities, like the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, a trade deal that is the cornerstone of Trump’s legislative agenda and seen as beneficial to his reelection effort.
Keeping the economy rolling also is critical to Trump’s reelection, and business was not happy with the president’s planned tariff on Mexican imports.
“These proposed tariffs would have devastating consequences on manufacturers in America and on American consumers,” said Jay Timmons, chief executive officer of the National Association of Manufacturers. “We have taken our concerns to the highest levels of the administration and strongly urge them to consider carefully the impact of this action on working families across this country.”
The stock market’s tumble on Friday all but guarantees that May will be the first monthly loss for the market in 2019. The news hit automakers particularly hard. Many of them import vehicles into the U.S. from Mexico.
“The auto sector — and the 10 million jobs it supports — relies upon the North American supply chain and cross border commerce to remain globally competitive,” said the Auto Alliance, which represents automakers that built 70% of all cars and light trucks sold in U.S. “Any barrier to the flow of commerce across the U.S.-Mexico border will have a cascading effect — harming U.S. consumers, threatening American jobs and investment and curtailing economic progress.”
Some of Trump’s fellow Republicans in Congress opposed the tariff. Republican senators have made almost weekly treks to the White House to nudge the president off his trade wars, and this latest move sent them scrambling again to signal their displeasure in hopes of reversing Trump’s actions.
Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn supports the president’s commitment to securing the border, an aide said, but he opposes the across-the-board tariff, “which will disproportionately hurt Texas.”
Key trade senators also spoke up. Pennsylvania GOP Sen. Pat Toomey, who has questioned the administration’s ability to invoke national security threats for some other imports, called the tariffs a “blanket tax increase” on items Americans purchases from Mexico and “the wrong remedy.”
The tariff threat comes at a peculiar time, given how hard the administration has been pushing for passage of the USMCA, which would update the North American Free Trade Agreement.
Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, a usual Trump ally and the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, slammed the president’s action, saying it was a “misuse of presidential tariff authority” that would burden American consumers and “seriously jeopardize passage of USMCA.”
Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, said the livelihoods of farmers and producers from her state are at risk and so is the USMCA.
“If the president goes through with this, I’m afraid progress to get this trade agreement across the finish line will be stifled,” she said.
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WYANDOTTE COUNTY — One person died in an accident just after midnight Saturday in Wyandotte County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2014 Volvo semi driven by Christopher Engle, 33, Burlington, IA., was eastbound on Kansas 32 Highway at 59th Street in the right lane.
The semi struck a concrete bridge girder that was being pulled by a 2015 Freightliner semi driven by Errol Stevens, 59, Independence, Mo., that was making a left turn from 59th Street onto westbound Kansas 32.
Stevens was pronounced dead at the scene. Engle and a passenger were not injured. All three were properly restrained at the time of the accident, according to the KHP.
JACKSON COUNTY, Mo. —The weekend flooding event in eastern Jackson County, Missouri reached historic levels. The Sheriff’s Office along with multiple emergency services personnel responded and assisted the citizens of Levasy, Missouri.
Flood waters increased significantly after a second levee breached Saturday afternoon. Overnight flood waters reached 24 Highway, according to the sheriff’s department.
The highway was impassable in both directions Sunday afternoon. It is estimated that flood waters impacted 4.5 miles, approximately 2800 acres.
Citizens of Levasy can contact the Red Cross at:
The United Methodist
109 S Hudson St
Buckner, MO 64016
“As we continue to access the areas impacted by the flood, we encourage the public not to come into the flood area. High water can cause significant damage to vehicles, and create a water rescue situation. Please use alternate routes to get around flooded areas. The Sheriff’s Office will remain in the area and will continue to work with other agencies to ensure that residents and citizens are safe. The safety of everyone is our priority. We will provide updates as information becomes available,” Sheriff Darryl Forté
JACKSON COUNTY, MO—A levee in eastern Jackson County, Missouri breeched Saturday morning causing parts of the City of Levasy to flood, according to a media release from the sheriff’s office.
Central Jackson County Fire and Protection and Fort Osage Fire conducted water rescues. The Missouri State Highway Patrol is assisting.
No injuries have been reported, according to the sheriff’s department.
Access to the City of Levasy is restricted to residents only who must show proof of residency to enter.
As of 3:30p.m., most of the residents had been evacuated as water levels continue to rise.
The water levels of Levisay, have never been this high based on statements from residents and other emergency personnel on scene.
The Sheriff’s Office is committed to ensuring the residents of Levasy are safe during this incident. We have allocated resources to monitor this incident over the next 24 hours, according to Sheriff Darryl Forté.
TOPEKA —The State Emergency Operations Center continues to remain activated 24/7 to monitor flooding impacting the state.
According to a media release from the Adjutant General’s Department, Fifteen additional Kansas counties have been added to a federal emergency declaration for Kansas. The counties added to FEMA-3412-EM are Allen, Doniphan, Dickinson, Douglas, Geary, Jefferson, Leavenworth, Linn, Lyon, Marshall, Morris, Pottawatomie, Riley, Saline, and Wabaunsee.
The 18 counties originally named in the federal emergency declaration from President Donald Trump were Anderson, Butler, Chautauqua, Cherokee, Coffey, Cowley, Crawford, Elk, Franklin, Greenwood, Harvey, Montgomery, Neosho, Osage, Reno, Sumner, Wilson, and Woodson. An emergency declaration supplements state and local government efforts for required emergency measures to save lives and to protect property and public health and safety, or to lessen or avert the threat of a catastrophe through direct federal assistance for emergency protective measures.
Two additional counties (Gray and Norton) were added to the state disaster proclamation signed by Governor Laura Kelly May 9 which brings the total to 60. Counties currently named in the declaration are Allen, Anderson, Barber, Barton, Butler, Chase, Chautauqua, Cherokee, Clark, Clay, Cloud, Coffey, Comanche, Cowley, Crawford, Dickinson, Doniphan, Douglas, Edwards, Elk, Ellsworth, Franklin, Geary, Greenwood, Harper, Harvey, Hodgeman, Jefferson, Kingman, Leavenworth, Lincoln, Linn, Lyon, Marion, Marshall, McPherson, Meade, Montgomery, Morris, Nemaha, Neosho, Osage, Ottawa, Pawnee, Phillips, Pottawatomie, Pratt, Reno, Rice, Riley, Rush, Russell, Saline, Sumner, Wabaunsee, Washington, Wilson, and Woodson.
Tuttle Creek is releasing water at 30,000 cubic feet per second and has begun to stabilize. Kansas Gas Service, as a precautionary measure, discontinued service to the identified potentially impacted areas. This was done as a proactive measure, should flooding occur, because their technicians’ ability to safely access those areas in the event of a natural gas emergency would be at risk. The Kansas Gas Service has temporarily shut off meters in certain areas of Manhattan including: Dix Addition, S. Manhattan Ave., Berry Streets and Countryside Estates Mobile Home Park. Service technicians left door hangers to notify impacted customers and will return to restore service as soon as weather conditions have stabilized.
John Redmond Reservoir has stabilized but is still being monitored by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
The Verdigris River has seen decreases with minor flooding levels in Independence and Coffeyville. The levees along the Verdigris River near Coffeyville continue to be monitored.
The American Red Cross is providing support to persons affected by flooding and tornados. One shelter, which is also a pet shelter, is currently open in Riley County at the Westview Community Church, 615 Gillespie Drive, Manhattan.
Ten shelters are on standby in Dickinson, Jefferson, Montgomery, Neosho, Reno, Saline and Wabaunsee Counties.
Two other pet shelters are on standby. The Kansas State Animal Response Team is supporting pet shelter needs, as requested.
Staff from the Department of Agriculture, Division of Water Resources and local emergency management officials have been monitoring the reclamation dam located in Nemaha County. The dam appears to have stabilized due to the decrease of water draining into the water shed.
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment Bureau of Vital Statistics has temporarily suspended the provisions of the regulatory statutes and rules and regulations prescribing the requirement for fee assessment for people who need to obtain certified copies of birth and marriage certificates that were lost in the May 28 tornadoes which swept through Douglas, Leavenworth, Mitchell, Osborne and Washington counties.
The KDHE Office of Vital Statistics will begin providing assistance to disaster victims who need to replace birth and marriage certificates for their immediate family on June 3. This service will end August 2. This offer is not available to anyone who has not been verified as a victim in the damaged area in the above stated counties on May 28.
Kansans with additional questions are encouraged to visit the Vital Statistics website at www.kdheks.gov/ or call 785-296-1400 for more information.
The Kansas Army National Guard continues to provide support to KDEM. The Kansas National Guard’s Joint Operation Center is staffed 24/7 and coordinate requests for assistant from KDEM. Soldiers with the 635th Regional Support Group, Wichita; 69th Troop Command, Topeka; 130th Field Artillery Brigade, Manhattan, have been tasked with hauling pallets of water, providing High Water Evacuation Teams in support of water rescue efforts, and assisted Coffeyville with building up their levee.
Airmen from the 184th Intelligence Wing, Kansas Air National Guard’s, Unclassified Processing Assessment and Dissemination continue to support KDEM with geospatial imagery. The 184th IW mobilized their Mobile Emergency Operations Center to Coffeyville to assist with monitoring the levee when water levels rose along the Verdigris River.
Airmen from the 190th Air Refueling Wing, Kansas Air National Guard, are supporting the disaster response operations with logistics and power generation support.
The Kansas Wing of the Civil Air Patrol continues to conduct aerial photography of flooding and tornado damage as requested by KDEM.
Flooding continues to affect roadways across Kansas. For continuously-updated road condition information, go to www.KanDrive.org or dial 5-1-1. Flooding information is shown on the construction map so that all highway closures can be seen at once. Other construction information, camera views, weather websites and travel details are also available.
MEKLENBURG COUNTY —An Ohio man was found guilty this week for his role in a $7 million telemarketing scheme that defrauded primarily elderly victims in the United States from call centers in Costa Rica, according to the U.S. Justice Department.
Following a five-day jury trial, Donald Dodt, 76, originally of Cleveland, Ohio, was convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and mail fraud, two counts of mail fraud, eight counts of wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit international money laundering and 10 counts of international money laundering.
According to evidence presented at trial, Dodt worked in a call center in Costa Rica in which co-conspirators, who posed as representatives of the District of Columbia Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs and federal agencies, including the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, and who also posed as federal judges, contacted victims in the United States — primarily senior citizens – to tell them that that they had supposedly won a substantial “sweepstakes” prize. After convincing victims that they stood to receive a significant financial reward, the co-conspirators told victims that they needed to make a series of up-front cash payments before collecting, purportedly for items like insurance fees, taxes and import fees. Co-conspirators used a variety of means to conceal their true identity, such as Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services provided by Dodt that made it appear that they were calling from Washington, D.C., and other places in the United States.
As the evidence presented at trial illustrated, Dodt was an integral part of this scheme in that he knowingly provided services that were necessary for the scheme to operate and that facilitated the concealment and, ultimately, success of the scheme for many years. Specifically, Dodt provided and maintained VoIP phone technology and assigned phone numbers associated with locations in the United States through which members of the conspiracy were able to make the fraudulent calls to victims in the United States and conceal their identities and location. Dodt specifically assigned virtual phone numbers with area codes associated with Washington, D.C., to make it appear that the calls originated from within the United States and that also bolstered conspirators’ misrepresentations that they were representatives of government agencies located in Washington. Dodt also warned the co-conspirators if certain numbers were “hot” – i.e., there were customer complaints or law enforcement inquiries – and replaced those phone numbers with new phone numbers that the co-conspirators then used in furtherance of the scheme, the evidence showed.
Dodt and his conspirators stole more than $7 million from victims, the evidence showed.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly’s choice to be the next head of the state prison system was criticized by an Idaho judge earlier this year for giving “disingenuous” testimony as a top corrections official there in a lawsuit over access to execution records.
Kelly’s office has said Jefferey Zmuda has a “long record of success” during a 30-year career in the Idaho prison system, where he is now the deputy director. The Democratic governor announced his appointment as Kansas corrections secretary last week, and Zmuda is scheduled to take over July 1.
But over the past year, Zmuda has been entangled in a lawsuit in Idaho state court aimed at forcing the release of records relating to the execution of an inmate in 2011 and another in 2012. Idaho officials have kept finding more documents over the past year, despite previous assurances by Zmuda that all known records were collected.
While Zmuda can begin running the Kansas prison system this summer, his appointment must be confirmed by the Republican-controlled state Senate for him to stay on the job. The Legislature is out of session until January.
“These claims are deeply troublesome and if true, this administration has either learned nothing from their mistakes in thoroughly vetting nominees or are completely naïve,” said Senate President Susan Wagle, a Wichita Republican.
Earlier this month, the Senate rejected a Kelly nominee for the Kansas Court of Appeals, the state’s second-highest court, over his political tweets in 2017.
Zmuda is replacing Interim Secretary Roger Werholtz, who agreed to run the department temporarily when Kelly took office in January. He will take over a prison system that saw multiple riots in 2017 and 2018 and is plagued by short staffing.
Kelly spokeswoman Ashley All defended Zmuda, saying that he recognizes that Idaho’s prison system “could have done some things better” in the course of the lawsuit.
“However, he has worked with staff to conduct multiple searches for records to meet the court’s order,” All said.
In Idaho, corrections Director Josh Tewalt called Zmuda “a person of high integrity and a great leader.”
“He’ll wear the blame when it’s undeserved but will be the first one to share credit,” Tewalt said.
A University of Idaho professor sought the state’s execution records in 2017, and her request was mostly denied. She sued, accusing prison officials of withholding documents that included records showing how the state had obtained execution drugs.
Zmuda said in an affidavit taken in July 2018 that state officials had collected “all known documents” related to the executions.
District Judge Lynn Norton, based in the Idaho’s state capital of Boise, ruled in March that the prison system acted frivolously and in bad faith in mostly denying the professor’s request for records.
The judge also concluded that officials had not conducted a diligent search for records before Zmuda filed his affidavit. Court records show that Zmuda emailed corrections employees the day after, directing them to search for documents.
“The emphasis on the word ‘known’ in a sworn affidavit filed with this Court is disingenuous,” Norton wrote.
In his affidavit, Zmuda acknowledged record-keeping problems, saying “we have previously failed to organize documents properly.”
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SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — Police in southwestern Missouri say five people were arrested when a fight broke out among abortion-rights advocates and anti-abortion protesters in the Springfield town square.
The clash occurred Friday after more than 100 people showed up at the square to protest as a St. Louis judge considered the fate of Missouri’s only abortion provider. The judge later ruled that Planned Parenthood’s St. Louis clinic can continue providing abortions despite the Missouri health department’s refusal to renew its license.
Police said the fight broke out toward the end of the demonstration. Police arrested four men ranging in age from 19 to 34 and an 18-year-old woman on suspicion of assault, resisting arrest and assaults on officers seeking to break up the fight.
Police did not detail how the fight began. No serious injuries were reported.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Transportation Security Administration has changed its cannabis policy to allow passengers to travel with some forms of CBD oil and a drug derived from marijuana that has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
All forms of marijuana were previously prohibited in carry-on bags and checked luggage. This week, the TSA updated its “What Can I bring?” guidance under medical marijuana. The FDA in June legalized a drug called Epidiolex, which is used to treat epilepsy in children. The TSA said in a statement that it was recently made aware of the drug and updated the regulations to avoid confusion on whether families can bring it when traveling.
The new policy also includes some CBD oil, “as long as it is produced within the regulations defined by the law” under the 2018 Farm Bill, which legalized hemp and hemp derivatives. Hemp-derived CBD is low in or has no THC, the chemical that produces a high found in marijuana.
The TSA’s new rules still ban other forms of marijuana, including CBD oils that have THC, and cannabis-infused products that are still illegal under federal law.
It’s not clear how agents will determine the difference. But while agents screen for potential threats to planes and passengers, they do not search for marijuana or other illegal drugs. If they come across anything suspect, they refer it to law enforcement.
The change in TSA’s cannabis policy was first reported by Marijuana Moment.
