WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say they have located and recovered 18 missing children who ran away from foster homes in Kansas.
The Kansas Bureau of Investigation said in a news release Tuesday that the joint effort last week to find runaways from the Kansas Foster Care Program involved more than 100 federal, state and local law enforcement officers.
It focused on Sedgwick, Johnson and Wyandotte counties although the effort ultimately spanned several other Kansas counties and generated leads forwarded to other states.
Operation Hope was led by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service, the Office of Inspector General and Office of Investigations.
The KBI says law enforcement officials sought to ensure the well-being of the foster children and to identify waste, fraud and abuse occurring within the state’s foster care program.
The Department of Agriculture and Food and Drug Administration agreed to a joint regulation of cell-cultured foods.
China’s former trade chief says the nation’s tactics in the trade war with the U.S. are not well thought out. In criticizing the handling of the trade war, Long Yongtu told a Chinese media event that it was inappropriate to involve political considerations in trade talks, according to the South China Morning Post. The official said: “We don’t think deeply enough,” referring to the focus on politics rather than economic impact. He claimed it was “unwise” to impose tariffs on U.S. soybeans because “targeting agricultural products should be the last resort.” China responded at the beginning of the tit-for-tat trade war by implementing a 25 percent duty on U.S. soybeans, altering global soybean trade. Yongtu said, “China is in dire need of soybean imports.” China has sourced much of its recent soybean purchases from Brazil since the start of the trade war with the United States.
The Department of Agriculture has canceled trade mitigation program payments to Chinese-owned Smithfield Foods following industry complaints. Politico reports USDA canceled a $250,000 contract with Smithfield following public complaints that a Chinese-owned company would receive U.S. relief funds intended for farmers losing money from the U.S.-China trade war. Smithfield has requested that USDA terminate the contract and no funds have been transferred, according to USDA. The contract was part of the Food Purchase and Distribution Program within the $12 billion trade mitigation package. Iowa Republican U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley was a vocal critic of the payment, saying he didn’t understand why Smithfield qualifies for the funding that was meant to help U.S. farmers. Last month, a Smithfield Foods statement noted the company met USDA’s eligibility standards, while pointing out the Smithfield is still a U.S.-based company employing thousands of Americans and that its U.S. meat products are made in its nearly 50 domestic facilities.
