The tariffs on Canadian and Mexican steel and aluminum imports are history, removing a key barrier to ratifying the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement. However, Democrats are still not close to giving full support to the Trump Administration’s biggest trade victory.
Agri-Pulse says Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer says, “There are still many other issues that are outstanding before Democrats would support the USMCA.” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi wants changes made to USMCA that would add enforcement regulations to Mexican labor reform. They’d also like to reverse an agreement with Mexico and Canada to extend patents for certain pharmaceutical drugs to 10 years.
Wisconsin Representative Ron Kind, a Democrat with the House Ways and Means Committee, says his fellow Democrats want some changes in the body of the agreement. Side letters won’t be enough. U.S. Trade Rep Robert Lighthizer is listening to Democrat concerns but is growing frustrated with the overall number of those concerns, as well as the number of Congressional members on the fence when it comes to the trade deal.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says if USMCA can get through the House, it won’t have a problem getting through the Senate and to the president’s desk for signature.
JASPER, Mo. (AP) — The wife of a southwest Missouri man imprisoned for sexually molesting a young girl admitted to trying to keep the girl from testifying.
Jerred Taffner-photo Jasper Co.
31-year-old Audrey Taffner pleaded guilty Monday in a plea agreement with a five-year cap on any sentence she might receive.
Circuit Judge Dean Dankelson delayed formal ruling on the plea and ordered a sentencing assessment before her sentencing hearing July 1.
The defendant’s husband, 30-year-old Jerred Taffner was sentenced in April to 15 years in prison with no chance of parole for molesting a child under the age of 12.
Investigators say Audrey Taffner was caught discussing ways to keep the girl from testifying during a jailhouse with her husband during a visit about a year ago. The conversation was recorded.
The Mexican government published an official notice that Mexico has removed its retaliatory duties on U.S. pork. Canada’s Department of Finance announced that Canada will immediately eliminate the 10 percent tariff that Canada imposed on prepared beef items from the United States.
U.S. Meat Export Federation President and CEO Dan Halstrom says restoring duty-free access to the Mexican and Canadian markets is a tremendous breakthrough for the U.S. red meat industry. “USMEF thanks President Trump and Ambassador Robert Lighthizer for reaching an agreement with Mexico and Canada on steel and aluminum tariffs,” Halstrom said.
“We’re also grateful for Mexico and Canada’s lifting of retaliatory duties on U.S. red meat.” Halstrom also says this will remove a significant obstacle for the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement. The USMEF says they’re hoping that all three countries will ratify the new North American trade agreement as soon as possible.
U.S. Ag groups representing different sectors of the industry were pleased that the Trump Administration reached a deal to remove the Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from Mexico and Canada last week. National Sorghum Producers Chair Dan Atkisson says the move will “hopefully clear the way for USMCA to be ratified by Congress and enacted soon, providing more fair and open markets north and south of our borders.”
The trade group Tariffs Hurt the Heartland is pleased with what it called “long-overdue news. We’re hoping the administration sees the folly of imposing tariffs and taxing Americans.” American Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall says, “Retaliatory tariffs are a drag on American farmers and ranchers at a time when they’re suffering more economic difficulty than many can remember. Farm Bureau believes in fair trade and eliminating tariffs is critical to achieving that goal.”
National Cattlemen’s Beef Association VP of Government Affairs, Colin Woodall, says his group, “Fully supports USMCA and now is the time for Congress to work with the president to get it passed as soon as possible.” The National Corn Growers Association says it’s also pleased to hear the news, saying “Mexico and Canada are the U.S. corn industry’s largest and most reliable markets.”
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Four men were sentenced in federal court Monday for stealing 654 firearms from United Parcel Service trailers in Springfield, Mo., en route to Bass Pro Shops, according to the United State’s Attorney.
Haywood photo Greene Co.
A federal prosecutor says authorities have recovered only 73 of the hand guns and 2-gauge shotguns.
During a sentencing hearing Monday, U.S. Assistant Attorney James Kelleher said most of the guns are in public circulation.
Frank McChriston, 35, and Derrick White, 33, both of Dallas, Texas; Quinton Haywood, 27, of Glenn Heights, Texas; and Eric White, 28, of Arlington, Texas were sentenced in separate appearances before U.S. Chief District Judge Beth Phillips. McChriston was sentenced to seven years and eight months in federal prison without parole. Derrick and Eric White were each sentenced to seven years and three months in federal prison without parole. Haywood was sentenced to seven years and six months in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered the defendants to pay $206,132 in restitution, for which they are jointly and severally liable.
All four defendants admitted they aided and abetted each other to steal cargo that was being shipped across state lines, from Beretta USA in Maryland to the state of Missouri. They also pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting each other to possess stolen firearms.
Co-defendants Raynord Hunt, 36, and Keith Lowe, 29, both of Dallas, have pleaded guilty to the same charges and await sentencing.
According to court documents, the defendants stole 600 Beretta .380-caliber handguns and 54 Beretta 12-gauge shotguns from United Parcel Service (UPS) trailers in Springfield in October 2017.
The firearms were in the process of being shipped from Beretta Firearms in Maryland to Bass Pro Shops in Springfield. The trailers in which the firearms were shipped had been parked in the UPS freight lot in a configuration to prevent access to the trailer doors, by being parked back-to-back, with the roll-up doors facing each other. The trailers were then blocked by longer trailers, which should have acted as a preventative measure from someone backing a truck-tractor to the trailer and pulling it forward.
Sometime between noon on Oct. 28, 2017, and 8:30 a.m. on Oct. 29, 2017, thieves hot-wired two truck-tractors and used them to push and pull various trailers around the lot, allowing the thieves access to the trailer doors. UPS employees discovered the theft on Oct. 29, 2017, and notified law enforcement.
CRAWFORD COUNTY– A tornado touched down south of Pittsburg, Kansas Monday evening taking a path from 180th and 400 highway in Cherokee, Kansas and moving northeast toward 270th and 530th Avenue. east of Pittsburg, according to a statement from the city. No injuries have been reported, according to the sheriff’s department.
Storm damage reported includes damage to outbuildings and secondary structures, shingles blown off houses, wind damage, large trees down, and downed power lines. Westar Energy is responding to downed power lines and addressing power outages.
Search and rescue crews have been activated. Local first responders are checking residences to make sure everyone is accounted for. Anyone needing to locate loved ones or report missing residents should call (620) 230-5625.
Residents were advised to stay away from Langdon Lane and the surrounding area effected. Current weather hazards include downed power lines, debris, lightening and heavy rain. More weather risks are headed our way with a second round of thunderstorms in the forecast for this evening.
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Late Monday, the National Weather Service reduced the severe threat of violent storms to a small area of southern Oklahoma and northern Texas. But it kept an area stretching from Tulsa, Oklahoma, to Wichita Falls, Texas, under tornado watch — the level of threat just below a tornado warning — until 5 a.m. CDT Tuesday morning
The biggest threat overnight appeared to be flash flooding from torrential rains that accompanied the storms, forecasters said.
The National Weather Service had warned that Monday evening could bring perilous weather to a large swath of western Texas, most of Oklahoma and southern Kansas. The storm was expected to move later Monday into western Arkansas.
As predicted, more than a dozen sightings of tornadoes were reported in Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas and Missouri early Monday evening, although they were in sparsely populated areas. Oklahoma residents were particularly nervous Monday because it was the sixth anniversary of a massive tornado in Moore, south of Oklahoma City, that killed 24 people.
A tornado struck western and northern portions of the southwestern Oklahoma town of Mangum on Monday afternoon. Glynadee Edwards, the Greer County emergency management director, says some homes incurred roof damage and the high school’s agriculture barn was destroyed, but the livestock survived.
“The pigs are walking around wondering what happened to their house,” she said.
Emergency officials reported a tornado near Lucien, in northern Oklahoma, severely damaging a house and destroying a barn. One storm cell near Crescent, 32 miles north of Oklahoma City, spawned twin tornadoes.
National Weather Service meteorologist John Pike in Norman, Oklahoma, said a developing layer of relatively warm air aloft late Monday afternoon and evening over central Oklahoma was capping development of the kind of supercells that spawned tornadoes earlier in the afternoon in western and northern Oklahoma. Storm cells that did develop, however, followed one after the other in what is called “training,” leading to scattered reports of flash flooding Monday night.
The Storm Prediction Center website shows the main severe thunderstorm threat Tuesday will be over Missouri and northern Arkansas, with a slight threat in a surrounding area bounded by Dallas; Springfield, Illinois; Garden City, Kansas; and Oklahoma City.
The threat of nasty weather had prompted measures to prepare for the worst. School districts in Oklahoma City, nearby Norman and elsewhere in Oklahoma canceled classes with forecasts of hail and wind gusts of up to 80 mph (128 kph). A flood watch was in effect for the greater Oklahoma City region. Schools in Abilene and elsewhere in West Texas sent students home early.
Tinker Air Force Base near Oklahoma City moved several planes to other military installations in anticipation of storm damage. Meanwhile, state workers in several Oklahoma counties were sent home early.
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt said in a statement that the state emergency operations center was activated and urged motorists not to drive around barricades or into flooded roadways.
In Oklahoma City, emergency management officials opened the Multi-Agency Coordination Center, an underground bunker on the city’s northeast side that serves as a clearinghouse for coordinating information about severe weather events and other major emergencies.
Some flights at Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City were canceled to avoid damage to aircraft and the possibility of extended delays elsewhere.
The Monday storms followed a spate of tornadoes in the Southern Plains on Friday and Saturday, leaving widespread damage and some people injured.
NEW YORK (AP) — Dressbarn, the women’s clothing chain that’s been around for nearly 60 years, is closing all 650 of its stores.
Google image
The company’s chief financial officer, Steven Taylor, said Dressbarn has not been operating at an “acceptable level of profitability in today’s retail environment.”
Its owner, Ascena Retail Group Inc., says it wants to focus on its more profitable brands. Ascena also owns Ann Taylor, Lane Bryant and other clothing stores.
The company did not say when Dressbarn will shut all its stores. Dressbarn employs about 6,800 people.
After the news was announced Monday, shares of Ascena Retail Group Inc. rose 2.6% to $1.17 in extended trading. Shares of the Mahwah, New Jersey-based company are down more than 50% so far this year.
ST. LOUIS (AP) — A three-judge panel of the Eighth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled in favor of a Missouri man in his dispute with a municipal government over how many political signs he can have in his yard.
The ACLU in January 2018 filed a First Amendment lawsuit on behalf of Bel-Nor, Missouri, resident Lawrence Willson, who was threatened with fines and jail time over an ordinance that says residents can post no more than one political sign. He had three.
A judge ruled in favor of Bel-Nor, but the appeals panel on Monday reversed that ruling.
ACLU attorney Tony Rothert calls yard signs a “uniquely important form of communicating ideas and political opinions.”
The attorney for Bel-Nor did not immediately respond to a phone message seeking comment.
OLATHE, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say a suburban Kansas City teen was killed when an $8 Xanax deal fell through.
Bibee -photo Johnson Co.
The affidavit released Monday in the case against Matthew Lee Bibee Jr. says 17-year-old Rowan Padgett was killed in March after Bibee arranged to buy the anxiety medication through another suspect, 16-year-old Jordan Denny. Bibee, Denny and a third teen are charged with first-degree felony murder.
Denny told authorities she kicked Padgett out of her Olathe, Kansas, house after he asked for sex. But he stayed in the area and was there when Bibee arrived with friends to get the Xanax. Denny told investigators that she asked Padgett to leave with Bibee because her supplier had fallen through and her father had called police.
Padgett was killed after getting into the car with Bibee, who was wounded two days later in an exchange of gunfire with police.
JEFFERSON CITY Governor Mike Parson announced Monday night that President Donald Trump has approved his request for a major disaster declaration to help local governments and nonprofit agencies in 13 Missouri counties recover from devastating flooding and severe storms that occurred from March 11 to April 16, according to a media release from the governor’s office.
The declaration makes federal assistance available for the repair of damaged roads, bridges, and other public infrastructure, along with emergency response costs associated with the storms and flooding. The Governor’s April 24 request said $25 million in qualifying expenses had already been identified.
“This disaster declaration means millions of dollars in vitally important federal reimbursements will be available for communities that are hurting because of damaged and destroyed roads, bridges, and other vitally important infrastructure,” Governor Parson said. “I appreciate President Trump making the federal assistance available and all those who are already working to help our Missouri communities recover.”
The counties include in the President’s Public Assistance disaster declaration are the following: Andrew, Atchison, Buchanan, Carroll, Chariton, Holt, Mississippi, New Madrid, Pemiscot, Perry, Platte, Ray, and Ste. Genevieve.
The President’s declaration also makes available assistance through the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Hazard Mitigation Program to prevent or reduce long-term risk to life and property due to natural hazards.
Governor Parson said the state expects to request the Public Assistance disaster declaration to be expanded to include additional counties as joint teams can fully assess damage in other counties.
The federal government is continuing to review Governor Parson’s request for Federal Emergency Management Agencyassistance to individual residents in Andrew, Atchison, Buchanan, Holt, and Platte counties.
On March 21, Governor Parson declared a state of emergency in response to worsening conditions along the Missouri and Mississippi rivers as a result of excessive rainfall, releases from upstream reservoirs, and snow melt. On March 29, the Governor signed an executive order giving the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) discretionary authority to temporarily waive or suspend rules or regulations in support of flooding response and recovery. On April 3, Governor Parson, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds, and Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts met with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and FEMA to identify regional solutions for recovery and levee repairs along the Missouri River. On April 26, the Governor held a follow-up meeting with the Iowa and Nebraska Governors. On April 30, Governor Parson extended his executive order giving DNR the authority to temporarily waive or suspend rules or regulations in support of flooding recovery.
The tariffs on Canadian and Mexican steel and aluminum imports are history, removing a key barrier to ratifying the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement. However, Democrats are still not close to giving full support to the Trump Administration’s biggest trade victory.
The Mexican government published an official notice that Mexico has removed its retaliatory duties on U.S. pork. Canada’s Department of Finance announced that Canada will immediately eliminate the 10 percent tariff that Canada imposed on prepared beef items from the United States.
U.S. Ag groups representing different sectors of the industry were pleased that the Trump Administration reached a deal to remove the Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from Mexico and Canada last week. National Sorghum Producers Chair Dan Atkisson says the move will “hopefully clear the way for USMCA to be ratified by Congress and enacted soon, providing more fair and open markets north and south of our borders.”
