JOHNSON COUNTY —Members of Kansas Task Force 2 are on their way home from hurricane response duty.

While in Florida, the task force teams&nbsp; performed search and rescue efforts with one squad utilizing a boat and another squad using ATV’s, according to a social media report from the Kansas Fire Marshal's office.

Historic flooding remains a concern in the area where Task Force 2 was assigned for their search and rescue efforts. Being unfamiliar with the area, flood concerns are taken seriously so search and rescue operations are not jeopardized.

The Task Force was able to provide some true Kansas hospitality as they helped cook camp breakfast for members of various task forces. This type of teamwork is a great way to build rapport not only for KS-TF2, but also with other task force teams in the same area.

In the field during disaster response, work areas are not the normal office setting many back home enjoy while in the office. For Randy Hill, former Kansas State Fire Marshal Search and Rescue (SAR) Coordinator and current contractor with the Kansas State Fire Marshal, that means setting up an office in the back of one of the Kansas State Fire Marshal trailers. 

Task Force members adapt and work with what they have so assignments can be completed in safe and timely manners. Kansas Task Force 2 members also assisted Florida-Task Force 7 with getting their new boat built and ready for service so they can continue their search and rescue efforts. 

"Kansas Task Force 2 members have stepped up to the call and delivered professional, meaningful, and much needed assistance to Florida. One of the reasons that is possible is training they receive and their compassion about Search and Rescue response."&nbsp;

&nbsp;On Sunday, Kansas Task Force 2 was notified&nbsp; that they were going to be demobilized and released from their deployment. They began the two-day drive home back to Kansas on Monday.&nbsp; Last week, the Olathe Fire Department welcomed home a portion of Kansas Task Force 1 from their hurricane response duty.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1728954907312.png" alt="Photos Office of Kansaas Fire Marshal" />
 <figcaption>Photos Office of Kansaas Fire Marshal</figcaption>
 </figure>JOHNSON COUNTY —Members of Kansas Task Force 2 are on their way home from hurricane response duty.While in Florida, the task force teams&nbsp; performed search and rescue efforts with one squad utilizing a boat and another squad using ATV’s, according to a social media report from the Kansas Fire Marshal's office.Historic flooding remains a concern in the area where Task Force 2 was assigned for their search and rescue efforts. Being unfamiliar with the area, flood concerns are taken seriously so search and rescue operations are not jeopardized.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1728954961719.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>The Task Force was able to provide some true Kansas hospitality as they helped cook camp breakfast for members of various task forces. This type of teamwork is a great way to build rapport not only for KS-TF2, but also with other task force teams in the same area.In the field during disaster response, work areas are not the normal office setting many back home enjoy while in the office. For Randy Hill, former Kansas State Fire Marshal Search and Rescue (SAR) Coordinator and current contractor with the Kansas State Fire Marshal, that means setting up an office in the back of one of the Kansas State Fire Marshal trailers. Task Force members adapt and work with what they have so assignments can be completed in safe and timely manners. Kansas Task Force 2 members also assisted Florida-Task Force 7 with getting their new boat built and ready for service so they can continue their search and rescue efforts. "Kansas Task Force 2 members have stepped up to the call and delivered professional, meaningful, and much needed assistance to Florida. One of the reasons that is possible is training they receive and their compassion about Search and Rescue response."&nbsp;&nbsp;On Sunday, Kansas Task Force 2 was notified&nbsp; that they were going to be demobilized and released from their deployment. They began the two-day drive home back to Kansas on Monday.&nbsp; Last week, the Olathe Fire Department welcomed home a portion of Kansas Task Force 1 from their hurricane response duty.

Kansas Task Force 2 on the way home from hurricane Milton response

JOHNSON COUNTY —Law enforcement are investigating a burglary and asking the public for help to identify suspects.

Just before 10:30p.m. October 10, police responded to a report of an auto burglary in the parking lot of a hotel near Midland Drive and Renner Road, in the city of Shawnee.

 The suspects arrived in a newer gray four-door BMW sedan with an unknown license plate. If you have any information or recognize the suspects, please call 913-742-6776.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1728927199041.png" alt="Photo Shawnee Police" />
 <figcaption>Photo Shawnee Police</figcaption>
 </figure>JOHNSON COUNTY —Law enforcement are investigating a burglary and asking the public for help to identify suspects.Just before 10:30p.m. October 10, police responded to a report of an auto burglary in the parking lot of a hotel near Midland Drive and Renner Road, in the city of Shawnee. The suspects arrived in a newer gray four-door BMW sedan with an unknown license plate. If you have any information or recognize the suspects, please call 913-742-6776.

Police ask for help to ID suspects in burglary near Kan. hotel

CALLAWAY COUNTY, Missouri—Two deputies were injured and a suspect is dead following a traffic stop and gun fight early Monday in Callaway County, Missouri.

The preliminary investigation revealed Jonathan A. Beason, 37, of Medina, Texas, was fatally shot after exchanging gunfire with Callaway County Deputies on a traffic stop on Interstate 70 just east of the Route DD / Route J- Millersburg exit, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

 Beason was located deceased on scene, and a firearm was recovered on scene by Missouri State Highway Patrol Division of Drug and Crime Control investigators.

One deputy is out of surgery and the other was slated for surgery late Monday, according to the Callaway County Sheriff. Both will need extensive time to recover. "Please keep their families in your thoughts and prayers."

Just after 3:30a.m. Monday, a Sheriff’s Deputy initiated a traffic stop on Interstate 70 just east of the Route&nbsp;DD&nbsp;/ Route&nbsp;J- Millersburg exit, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol. A second deputy arrived shortly afterward to assist.

During the stop, deputies identified the driver, a 37-year-old man from Texas, as the sole occupant of the vehicle. Callaway County Joint Communications (CCJC) informed the deputies that the driver had multiple felony warrants from out of state. When deputies attempted to take the driver into custody, they notified CCJC that the driver was resisting arrest.

Moments later, deputies reported shots fired. Both deputies were struck by gunfire. The Boone County Sheriff’s Office, Fulton Police Department, and Columbia Police Department quickly responded to provide assistance. 

The injured deputies were transported to a nearby hospital for treatment.The suspect was pronounced deceased at the scene. The Callaway County Sheriff’s Office has requested the Missouri State Highway Patrol’s Division of Drug and Crime Control (DDCC) to lead the investigation.

"We ask the public to keep both deputies in their thoughts during this difficult time. One deputy is currently in serious condition and undergoing surgery, while the other is in stable condition."

CALLAWAY COUNTY, Missouri—Two deputies were injured and a suspect is dead following a traffic stop and gun fight early Monday in Callaway County, Missouri.The preliminary investigation revealed Jonathan A. Beason, 37, of Medina, Texas, was fatally shot after exchanging gunfire with Callaway County Deputies on a traffic stop on Interstate 70 just east of the Route DD / Route J- Millersburg exit, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol. Beason was located deceased on scene, and a firearm was recovered on scene by Missouri State Highway Patrol Division of Drug and Crime Control investigators.One deputy is out of surgery and the other was slated for surgery late Monday, according to the Callaway County Sheriff. Both will need extensive time to recover. "Please keep their families in your thoughts and prayers."-------CALLAWAY COUNTY, Missouri—Two deputies were injured and a suspect is dead following a traffic stop and gun fight early Monday in Callaway County, Missouri.Just after 3:30a.m. Monday, a Sheriff’s Deputy initiated a traffic stop on Interstate 70 just east of the Route&nbsp;DD&nbsp;/ Route&nbsp;J- Millersburg exit, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol. A second deputy arrived shortly afterward to assist.During the stop, deputies identified the driver, a 37-year-old man from Texas, as the sole occupant of the vehicle. Callaway County Joint Communications (CCJC) informed the deputies that the driver had multiple felony warrants from out of state. When deputies attempted to take the driver into custody, they notified CCJC that the driver was resisting arrest.Moments later, deputies reported shots fired. Both deputies were struck by gunfire. The Boone County Sheriff’s Office, Fulton Police Department, and Columbia Police Department quickly responded to provide assistance. The injured deputies were transported to a nearby hospital for treatment.The suspect was pronounced deceased at the scene. The Callaway County Sheriff’s Office has requested the Missouri State Highway Patrol’s Division of Drug and Crime Control (DDCC) to lead the investigation."We ask the public to keep both deputies in their thoughts during this difficult time. One deputy is currently in serious condition and undergoing surgery, while the other is in stable condition."

Deputies injured after I-70 traffic stop gunfight are recovering

KANSAS CITY —Law enforcement investigating a fatal shooting in Kansas City have identified the victim as 37-year-old&nbsp;DeAnthony Guthrie.

Just after 5:30p.m. Sunday patrol officers were dispatched to a shooting in the parking lot of a convenience store at 35th and Cleveland, according to Sheriff Daryl Forte'.

First responders found Guthrie in the parking lot suffering from gunshot wounds. Officers immediately began performing life saving measures and ordered EMS.

Emergency medical personnel pronounced him deceased at the scene, according to KCPD Sergeant Phil DiMartino. This is being investigated as a homicide.

Detectives are woking to determine the events that led up to the shooting and interviewing witnesses. Police have not released any suspect details or reported an arrest.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1728902794443.png" alt="POlice on the scene of the investigation -photo courtesy KMBC" />
 <figcaption>POlice on the scene of the investigation -photo courtesy KMBC</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY —Law enforcement investigating a fatal shooting in Kansas City have identified the victim as 37-year-old&nbsp;DeAnthony Guthrie.Just after 5:30p.m. Sunday patrol officers were dispatched to a shooting in the parking lot of a convenience store at 35th and Cleveland, according to Sheriff Daryl Forte'.First responders found Guthrie in the parking lot suffering from gunshot wounds. Officers immediately began performing life saving measures and ordered EMS.Emergency medical personnel pronounced him deceased at the scene, according to KCPD Sergeant Phil DiMartino. This is being investigated as a homicide.Detectives are woking to determine the events that led up to the shooting and interviewing witnesses. Police have not released any suspect details or reported an arrest.

Police ID man killed in KC convenience store parking lot

HALF MOON BAY, Calif. (AP) — A Minnesota horticulture teacher remained the reigning champion Monday of an annual pumpkin-weighing contest in Northern California where his massive gourds have won the top prize four years in a row.

Travis Gienger, of Anoka, Minnesota, beat his closest competitor by 6 pounds (2.7 kilograms) to clinch the victory at the 51st World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off in Half Moon Bay, south of San Francisco.

His winning gourd came in at 2,471 pounds (1,121 kilograms), falling short of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/california-giant-pumpkin-world-record-dbe2b22743e332998c204f2191b2a46f">the world record</a>&nbsp;he set last year with a pumpkin weighing 2,749 pounds (1,247 kilograms).

Gienger, 44, said that as he has done in the past, he focused on having healthy soil and well-fed plants but that a cold fall with record-breaking rain likely impacted his pumpkin's growth.

“We had really, really tough weather and somehow, some way, I kept on working," Gienger said. “I had to work for this one, and we got it done at the end, but it wasn’t by much.”

Gienger and his family drove his gargantuan gourd for 35 hours to California.

He said the giant pumpkin's next stop will be in Southern California, where a team of professional carvers will do a 3D carve on it at a Halloween event.

HALF MOON BAY, Calif. (AP) — A Minnesota horticulture teacher remained the reigning champion Monday of an annual pumpkin-weighing contest in Northern California where his massive gourds have won the top prize four years in a row.<div><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?height=476&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FCNGInews%2Fvideos%2F1526534047969471%2F&show_text=false&width=267&t=1" width="267" height="476" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowFullScreen="true"></iframe></div>Travis Gienger, of Anoka, Minnesota, beat his closest competitor by 6 pounds (2.7 kilograms) to clinch the victory at the 51st World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off in Half Moon Bay, south of San Francisco.His winning gourd came in at 2,471 pounds (1,121 kilograms), falling short of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/california-giant-pumpkin-world-record-dbe2b22743e332998c204f2191b2a46f">the world record</a>&nbsp;he set last year with a pumpkin weighing 2,749 pounds (1,247 kilograms).Gienger, 44, said that as he has done in the past, he focused on having healthy soil and well-fed plants but that a cold fall with record-breaking rain likely impacted his pumpkin's growth.“We had really, really tough weather and somehow, some way, I kept on working," Gienger said. “I had to work for this one, and we got it done at the end, but it wasn’t by much.”<div><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fhalfmoonbaypumpkinweighoff%2Fposts%2Fpfbid0pB3gCkVjLZSsMku5iv7Zt5ij3DJg5zho4M5n7cGkfVqmXauFYEJg3TKxijrt9nKQl&show_text=true&width=500" width="500" height="684" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share"></iframe></div>Gienger and his family drove his gargantuan gourd for 35 hours to California.He said the giant pumpkin's next stop will be in Southern California, where a team of professional carvers will do a 3D carve on it at a Halloween event.

Pumpkin weighing 2,471 pounds wins 2024 world championship

JOHNSON COUNTY&nbsp; — A 16-year-old pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and other charges in connection to a&nbsp;deadly shooting at Olathe’s Black Bob Park&nbsp;in 2022.

The Johnson County District Attorney’s Office says Jacobi Epting, who was 14 at the time of the crime, pleaded guilty to attempted second-degree murder, conspiracy to commit aggravated robbery and attempted aggravated robbery.

A court filing says&nbsp;Epting and other teens took masks and a gun&nbsp;with them when they went to Black Bob Park to buy drugs from Cardino.

The document also said one of the teenagers told investigators she believed the other teenagers planned to steal the marijuana from Cardino.

Olathe police responded to&nbsp;Black Bob Park&nbsp;on May after someone heard gunfire. Officers found Cardino’s body. He’d been shot multiple times.

The teenagers went to the park to buy marijuana, according to the Johnson County District Attorney’s Office.

On Jan. 3, 2023, Epting was waived to adult status and charged with first-degree murder in the death of Marco Cardino

The two other teenagers were 13 at the time of Cardino’s death. They are each serving sentences in a juvenile correctional facility. Each teenager will remain in custody until they reach the age of 22 and a half. If either teenager fails to comply with the terms of their sentence, each would serve a 12-year sentence in prison.

JOHNSON COUNTY&nbsp; — A 16-year-old pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and other charges in connection to a&nbsp;deadly shooting at Olathe’s Black Bob Park&nbsp;in 2022.The Johnson County District Attorney’s Office says Jacobi Epting, who was 14 at the time of the crime, pleaded guilty to attempted second-degree murder, conspiracy to commit aggravated robbery and attempted aggravated robbery.A court filing says&nbsp;Epting and other teens took masks and a gun&nbsp;with them when they went to Black Bob Park to buy drugs from Cardino.The document also said one of the teenagers told investigators she believed the other teenagers planned to steal the marijuana from Cardino.Olathe police responded to&nbsp;Black Bob Park&nbsp;on May after someone heard gunfire. Officers found Cardino’s body. He’d been shot multiple times.The teenagers went to the park to buy marijuana, according to the Johnson County District Attorney’s Office.On Jan. 3, 2023, Epting was waived to adult status and charged with first-degree murder in the death of Marco CardinoThe two other teenagers were 13 at the time of Cardino’s death. They are each serving sentences in a juvenile correctional facility. Each teenager will remain in custody until they reach the age of 22 and a half. If either teenager fails to comply with the terms of their sentence, each would serve a 12-year sentence in prison.Sentencing is set for December 27.

Kansas teen enters plea deal in marijuana sale killing

SEDGWICK COUNTY —Police investigating a fatal officer-involved shooting have identified the man who died as 27-year-old Jonathan Macias of Sedgwick County, according to Wichita Police Captain Aaron Moses.

Just after 7a.m.&nbsp; Saturday, Sedgwick County 911 received a call from a man stating that he was armed and going to shoot people. Law Enforcement from multiple agencies responded to this call and contacted a man later identified as Macias who appeared to be wearing body armor, according to Colonel Keith Allen with the Sedgwick County Sheriff's office.

Law enforcement tried to deescalate the situation over the next hour&nbsp; but Macias got into a vehicle and drove up and down the streets in the neighborhood on the northwest edge of Wichita.

After approximately one hour of attempting negotiations with Macias, there was an officer involved shooting. Deputies and police from multiple agencies were inolved.&nbsp; Sedgwick County EMS pronounced Macias&nbsp; deceased at the scene of the incident.

In December, police arrested Macias on requested charges of Domestic battery, battery on a law enforcement officer, failure to stop at an injury accident and failure to appear, according to Sedgwick County booking records. He was released by a court order, according to online arrest records.&nbsp; The Associated Press contributed to this report.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1728936452904.png" alt="Macias photo from a December arrest" />
 <figcaption>Macias photo from a December arrest</figcaption>
 </figure>SEDGWICK COUNTY —Police investigating a fatal officer-involved shooting have identified the man who died as 27-year-old Jonathan Macias of Sedgwick County, according to Wichita Police Captain Aaron Moses.Just after 7a.m.&nbsp; Saturday, Sedgwick County 911 received a call from a man stating that he was armed and going to shoot people. Law Enforcement from multiple agencies responded to this call and contacted a man later identified as Macias who appeared to be wearing body armor, according to Colonel Keith Allen with the Sedgwick County Sheriff's office.Law enforcement tried to deescalate the situation over the next hour&nbsp; but Macias got into a vehicle and drove up and down the streets in the neighborhood on the northwest edge of Wichita.After approximately one hour of attempting negotiations with Macias, there was an officer involved shooting. Deputies and police from multiple agencies were inolved.&nbsp; Sedgwick County EMS pronounced Macias&nbsp; deceased at the scene of the incident.In December, police arrested Macias on requested charges of Domestic battery, battery on a law enforcement officer, failure to stop at an injury accident and failure to appear, according to Sedgwick County booking records. He was released by a court order, according to online arrest records.&nbsp; The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Man who died in Kan. officer shooting was jailed in December

KINGMAN COUNTY —One person died in an accident just before 10a.m. Monday in Kingman County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2007 Chevy Silverado driven by Michael&nbsp;McCoy, 42, Kingman, was eastbound on NE 50th Street four miles north of U.S. 54.

 The driver failed to stop at the stop sign at the Kansas 14 intersection. The pickup struck a northbound 2014 Toyota Sequoia driven by Gayle&nbsp; Thornbro, 66, Norwich. After impact the Toyota came to rest upright in the field northeast of the intersection.

Thornbro was pronounced dead at the scene and was transported to&nbsp; Livingston Funeral Home. EMS transported McCoy and a passenger in the Chevy Jennifer Travis, 41, Cunningham, to Wesley Medical Center. Thornbro and Travis were not wearing seat belts, according to the KHP.

KINGMAN COUNTY —One person died in an accident just before 10a.m. Monday in Kingman County.The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2007 Chevy Silverado driven by Michael&nbsp;McCoy, 42, Kingman, was eastbound on NE 50th Street four miles north of U.S. 54. The driver failed to stop at the stop sign at the Kansas 14 intersection. The pickup struck a northbound 2014 Toyota Sequoia driven by Gayle&nbsp; Thornbro, 66, Norwich. After impact the Toyota came to rest upright in the field northeast of the intersection.Thornbro was pronounced dead at the scene and was transported to&nbsp; Livingston Funeral Home. EMS transported McCoy and a passenger in the Chevy Jennifer Travis, 41, Cunningham, to Wesley Medical Center. Thornbro and Travis were not wearing seat belts, according to the KHP.

Kansas woman dead after pickup, SUV crash

NEW YORK (AP) — Lilly Ledbetter, a former Alabama factory manager whose lawsuit against her employer made her an icon of the equal pay movement and led to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-pay-equity-ledbetter-women-2564198d081a0d62ec9cc55a48803fb3">landmark wage discrimination legislation</a>, has died at 86.

Ledbetter's discovery that she was earning less than her male counterparts for doing the same job at a Goodyear Tire &amp; Rubber Co. plant in Alabama led to her lawsuit, which ultimately failed when the Supreme Court ruled in 2007 that she had filed her complaint too late. The court ruled that workers must file lawsuits within six months of first receiving a discriminatory paycheck — in Ledbetter's case, years before she learned about the disparity through an anonymous letter.

Two years later, former&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-pay-equity-ledbetter-women-2564198d081a0d62ec9cc55a48803fb3">President Barack Obama</a>&nbsp;signed into the law the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which gave workers the right to sue within 180 days of receiving each discriminatory paycheck, not just the first one.

Ledbetter died Saturday night after a brief illness surrounded by loved ones, according to a brief statement from her family and an obituary sent by the team behind a film about her life. She is survived by her two children, four grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

Ledbetter continued campaigning for equal pay policies for the rest of her life. Last week, she was awarded the Future Is Female Lifetime Achievement Award by Advertising Week, and a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.lillymovie.com/">film about her life starring Patricia Clarkson</a>&nbsp;premiered at the Hamptons International Film Festival.

“She lost her case and she never saw a dime but she was a tireless advocate for all of us,” said Deborah Vagins, director of Equal Pay Today and the national campaign director of Equal Rights Advocates.

“Every now then, once in a generation, you meet these people who sacrifice everything for something even if it never benefits them,” added Vagins, who met Ledbetter and introduced her to then Sen.-Obama soon after the Supreme Court ruling galvanized the movement for what would become the Ledbetter Act.

“She sparked a movement and changed the face of pay equity forever,” she said.

In January, President Joe Biden&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-pay-equity-ledbetter-women-2564198d081a0d62ec9cc55a48803fb3">marked the 15th anniversary of the law named after Ledbetter</a>&nbsp;with new measures to help close the gender wage gap, including a new rule barring the federal government from considering a person’s current or past pay when determining their salary.

But Ledbetter and other advocates have long campaigned for the more comprehensive the Paycheck Fairness Act, which would strengthen the Equal Pay Act of 1963, including by protecting workers from retaliation for discussing their pay.

In a statement on Monday, Vice President Kamala Harris pledged to “continue to fight for the Paycheck Fairness Act — to honor Lilly’s legacy, and continue building a more fair and equitable future for women, and all Americans.” Republican&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/congress-9062366d20f4af3e2c94e17f1f86db1f">lawmakers largely oppose the law</a>&nbsp;as redundant and conducive to frivolous lawsuits.

Obama also praised Ledbetter's legacy said in statement that “this grandmother from Alabama kept on fighting until the day I signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act into law — my first as president.” Biden said in a statement that “it was an honor to stand with Lilly as the bill that bears her name was made law” when he was vice president.

Also among those paying tribute to Ledbetter was Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, who&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/Benioff/status/1845680105663643842">said on the social media platform X</a>&nbsp;that she "forever changed my understanding with the simple but powerful phrase, ‘Equal pay for equal work.’”

The team behind the film, “LILLY,” issued&nbsp;<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DBFhGKyvyPj/">a statement of condolence on social media</a>. In her own statement, Clarkson said “portraying Lilly Ledbetter was the privilege of my lifetime.”

The sense of urgency among advocates deepened after an&nbsp;<a href="https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/2024/demo/p60-282.pdf">annual report</a>&nbsp;from the Census Bureau last month found that the gender wage gap between men and women widened for the first time 20 years. In 2023, women working full time earned 83 cents on the dollar compared with men, down from 84 cents in 2022. Even before then, advocates had been frustrated that wage gap improvement had&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/equal-pay-day-gender-wage-gap-pay-gap-women-889af690259722284241539984855758">mostly stalled for the last 20 years</a>&nbsp;despite women making gains in the C-suite and earning college degrees at a faster rate than men. Experts say the reasons for the enduring gap are multifaceted, including the overrepresentation of women in lower-paying industries and the weak childcare system that pushes many women to step back from their careers in their peak earnings years.

In 2018, at the height of the #MeToo movement, Ledbetter&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/09/opinion/lilly-ledbetter-metoo-equal-pay.html">wrote an opinion piece in The New York Times</a>&nbsp;detailing the harassment she faced as a manager at the Goodyear factory and drawing a link between workplace sexual harassment and pay discrimination.

Ledbetter had worked at the plant in Gadsden, Alabama, for 19 years when she received an anonymous note saying she was being paid significantly less than three male colleagues.

Two years before she was set for retirement, she filed a lawsuit in 1999 and initially won $3.8 million in backpay and damages from a federal court. She never received the money after eventually losing her case before the Supreme Court. But a dissenting opinion from Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who stated that the “ball is in Congress' court,” inspired Ledbetter to keep up the fight for better laws.

At&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z89V1dJJ-yY">the Forbes Women's Summit in 2021</a>, Ledbetter said one of the achievements she was most proud of was that the Ledbetter act passed with bipartisan support.

The law named set an important precedent “for ensuring that we don’t just have the promise of equal pay on the books but we have a way to enforce the law,” said Emily Martin, chief program officer at the National Women’s Law Center, which worked closely with Ledbetter.

“She is really an inspiration in showing us how a loss does not mean you can’t win,” Martin said. “We know her name because she lost, and she lost big, and she kept coming back from it and kept working until the day she died to change that loss into real gains for women across the country.”

Associated Press Writer Kaitlyn Huamani in Los Angeles contributed to this story.

The Associated Press’ women in the workforce and state government coverage receives financial support from Pivotal Ventures. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ap.org/about/standards-for-working-with-outside-groups/">standards</a>&nbsp;for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at&nbsp;<a href="http://ap.org/">AP.org</a>.

NEW YORK (AP) — Lilly Ledbetter, a former Alabama factory manager whose lawsuit against her employer made her an icon of the equal pay movement and led to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-pay-equity-ledbetter-women-2564198d081a0d62ec9cc55a48803fb3">landmark wage discrimination legislation</a>, has died at 86.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Lilly Ledbetter never set out to be a trailblazer or a household name. She just wanted to be paid the same as a man for her hard work. But this grandmother from Alabama kept on fighting until the day I signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act into law – my first as president.… <a href="https://t.co/Z4ZxsDbIU5">pic.twitter.com/Z4ZxsDbIU5</a>&mdash; Barack Obama (@BarackObama) <a href="https://twitter.com/BarackObama/status/1845616323092472209?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 14, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Ledbetter's discovery that she was earning less than her male counterparts for doing the same job at a Goodyear Tire &amp; Rubber Co. plant in Alabama led to her lawsuit, which ultimately failed when the Supreme Court ruled in 2007 that she had filed her complaint too late. The court ruled that workers must file lawsuits within six months of first receiving a discriminatory paycheck — in Ledbetter's case, years before she learned about the disparity through an anonymous letter.Two years later, former&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-pay-equity-ledbetter-women-2564198d081a0d62ec9cc55a48803fb3">President Barack Obama</a>&nbsp;signed into the law the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which gave workers the right to sue within 180 days of receiving each discriminatory paycheck, not just the first one.Ledbetter died Saturday night after a brief illness surrounded by loved ones, according to a brief statement from her family and an obituary sent by the team behind a film about her life. She is survived by her two children, four grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.Ledbetter continued campaigning for equal pay policies for the rest of her life. Last week, she was awarded the Future Is Female Lifetime Achievement Award by Advertising Week, and a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.lillymovie.com/">film about her life starring Patricia Clarkson</a>&nbsp;premiered at the Hamptons International Film Festival.“She lost her case and she never saw a dime but she was a tireless advocate for all of us,” said Deborah Vagins, director of Equal Pay Today and the national campaign director of Equal Rights Advocates.“Every now then, once in a generation, you meet these people who sacrifice everything for something even if it never benefits them,” added Vagins, who met Ledbetter and introduced her to then Sen.-Obama soon after the Supreme Court ruling galvanized the movement for what would become the Ledbetter Act.“She sparked a movement and changed the face of pay equity forever,” she said.In January, President Joe Biden&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-pay-equity-ledbetter-women-2564198d081a0d62ec9cc55a48803fb3">marked the 15th anniversary of the law named after Ledbetter</a>&nbsp;with new measures to help close the gender wage gap, including a new rule barring the federal government from considering a person’s current or past pay when determining their salary.But Ledbetter and other advocates have long campaigned for the more comprehensive the Paycheck Fairness Act, which would strengthen the Equal Pay Act of 1963, including by protecting workers from retaliation for discussing their pay.In a statement on Monday, Vice President Kamala Harris pledged to “continue to fight for the Paycheck Fairness Act — to honor Lilly’s legacy, and continue building a more fair and equitable future for women, and all Americans.” Republican&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/congress-9062366d20f4af3e2c94e17f1f86db1f">lawmakers largely oppose the law</a>&nbsp;as redundant and conducive to frivolous lawsuits.Obama also praised Ledbetter's legacy said in statement that “this grandmother from Alabama kept on fighting until the day I signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act into law — my first as president.” Biden said in a statement that “it was an honor to stand with Lilly as the bill that bears her name was made law” when he was vice president.Also among those paying tribute to Ledbetter was Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, who&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/Benioff/status/1845680105663643842">said on the social media platform X</a>&nbsp;that she "forever changed my understanding with the simple but powerful phrase, ‘Equal pay for equal work.’”The team behind the film, “LILLY,” issued&nbsp;<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DBFhGKyvyPj/">a statement of condolence on social media</a>. In her own statement, Clarkson said “portraying Lilly Ledbetter was the privilege of my lifetime.”The sense of urgency among advocates deepened after an&nbsp;<a href="https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/2024/demo/p60-282.pdf">annual report</a>&nbsp;from the Census Bureau last month found that the gender wage gap between men and women widened for the first time 20 years. In 2023, women working full time earned 83 cents on the dollar compared with men, down from 84 cents in 2022. Even before then, advocates had been frustrated that wage gap improvement had&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/equal-pay-day-gender-wage-gap-pay-gap-women-889af690259722284241539984855758">mostly stalled for the last 20 years</a>&nbsp;despite women making gains in the C-suite and earning college degrees at a faster rate than men. Experts say the reasons for the enduring gap are multifaceted, including the overrepresentation of women in lower-paying industries and the weak childcare system that pushes many women to step back from their careers in their peak earnings years.In 2018, at the height of the #MeToo movement, Ledbetter&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/09/opinion/lilly-ledbetter-metoo-equal-pay.html">wrote an opinion piece in The New York Times</a>&nbsp;detailing the harassment she faced as a manager at the Goodyear factory and drawing a link between workplace sexual harassment and pay discrimination.Ledbetter had worked at the plant in Gadsden, Alabama, for 19 years when she received an anonymous note saying she was being paid significantly less than three male colleagues.Two years before she was set for retirement, she filed a lawsuit in 1999 and initially won $3.8 million in backpay and damages from a federal court. She never received the money after eventually losing her case before the Supreme Court. But a dissenting opinion from Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who stated that the “ball is in Congress' court,” inspired Ledbetter to keep up the fight for better laws.At&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z89V1dJJ-yY">the Forbes Women's Summit in 2021</a>, Ledbetter said one of the achievements she was most proud of was that the Ledbetter act passed with bipartisan support.The law named set an important precedent “for ensuring that we don’t just have the promise of equal pay on the books but we have a way to enforce the law,” said Emily Martin, chief program officer at the National Women’s Law Center, which worked closely with Ledbetter.“She is really an inspiration in showing us how a loss does not mean you can’t win,” Martin said. “We know her name because she lost, and she lost big, and she kept coming back from it and kept working until the day she died to change that loss into real gains for women across the country.”______Associated Press Writer Kaitlyn Huamani in Los Angeles contributed to this story.______The Associated Press’ women in the workforce and state government coverage receives financial support from Pivotal Ventures. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ap.org/about/standards-for-working-with-outside-groups/">standards</a>&nbsp;for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at&nbsp;<a href="http://ap.org/">AP.org</a>.

Lilly Ledbetter, an icon of the fight for equal pay, has died at 86

OSAGE COUNTY —Law enforcement are investigating a suspect on drug allegations.

Just after 2:30p.m. October 9, a Sheriff's K-9 unit conducted a traffic stop at Main Street and Topeka Avenue in Carbondale for a traffic violation, according to Sheriff Chris Wells.&nbsp;

 During the stop, illegal narcotics were located.

Leroy K. Spurgeon, 55, of Livonia, Missouri was taken into custody and transported to the Osage County Jail Facility on requested charges of Distribution of methamphetamine, Possession of marijuana and Possession of drug paraphernalia.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1728643951725.png" alt="Spurgeon photo Osage County" />
 <figcaption>Spurgeon photo Osage County</figcaption>
 </figure>OSAGE COUNTY —Law enforcement are investigating a suspect on drug allegations.Just after 2:30p.m. October 9, a Sheriff's K-9 unit conducted a traffic stop at Main Street and Topeka Avenue in Carbondale for a traffic violation, according to Sheriff Chris Wells.&nbsp; During the stop, illegal narcotics were located.Leroy K. Spurgeon, 55, of Livonia, Missouri was taken into custody and transported to the Osage County Jail Facility on requested charges of Distribution of methamphetamine, Possession of marijuana and Possession of drug paraphernalia.

Sheriff: Kansas man accused of selling methamphetamine

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — An Indiana man was found guilty of killing a Nickerson, Kansas, man and injuring his family in Louisville, Kentucky in 2022.

Michael Hurley, 35, was on probation in Indiana for drug-related charges at the time of the crash, according to court documents detailing his criminal history.

He admitted to officers that he was doing drugs before the July 5, 2022 accident that fatally injured Trey Jones and critically injured Amy and Ava Jones. On Monday, Hurley was convicted of one count of murder, three counts of assault and one count of driving under the influence. At sentencing, he could get up to 70 years in prison.&nbsp;

Ava Jones remains on scholarship at the University of Iowa, though she&nbsp;<a href="https://hutchpost.com/posts/3b59ae88-485c-4271-a63b-4092b55dc260">announced earlier this spring that she is no longer going to attempt to return to basketball</a>.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/7/1657123638963.jpeg" alt="Michael Hurley-photo Louisville Metro Department of Corrections" />
 <figcaption>Michael Hurley-photo Louisville Metro Department of Corrections</figcaption>
 </figure>LOUISVILLE, Ky. — An Indiana man was found guilty of killing a Nickerson, Kansas, man and injuring his family in Louisville, Kentucky in 2022.Michael Hurley, 35, was on probation in Indiana for drug-related charges at the time of the crash, according to court documents detailing his criminal history.He admitted to officers that he was doing drugs before the July 5, 2022 accident that fatally injured Trey Jones and critically injured Amy and Ava Jones. On Monday, Hurley was convicted of one count of murder, three counts of assault and one count of driving under the influence. At sentencing, he could get up to 70 years in prison.&nbsp;<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/8/1660247623254.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Ava Jones remains on scholarship at the University of Iowa, though she&nbsp;<a href="https://hutchpost.com/posts/3b59ae88-485c-4271-a63b-4092b55dc260">announced earlier this spring that she is no longer going to attempt to return to basketball</a>.&nbsp;

Jury: Man guilty of murder for crash into Kan. family in downtown Louisville

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street rolled to more records Monday as U.S. stocks added to their&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/stock-market-china-stimulus-fed-korea-rates-7dfc363b1ff32e71a335571cdf8325fb">all-time highs</a>.

The S&amp;P 500 climbed 0.8% to build on its record set on Friday. It’s coming off its fifth straight winning week and is on track for its longest weekly winning streak of the year.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.5% and added 201 points to its own record, while the Nasdaq composite gained 0.9%.

The gains followed relatively quiet trading in Europe, while the U.S. bond market remained closed for the day because of a holiday.

The strongest action in global markets came from China, where the finance minister gave a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/china-finance-minister-economy-stimulus-96aaf75fe6d75c8550f866783f70b10a">highly anticipated update on Saturday</a>&nbsp;about plans for the world’s second-largest economy. Lan Fo’an said the government is looking at additional ways&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/china-economy-stocks-factory-jinping-e6db38661b131c9e32179cbe31a67136">to boost the economy</a>, but he stopped short of unveiling a major new stimulus plan that investors were hoping for.

The lack of detail sent markets spinning. Stocks in Shanghai jumped 2.1%, but the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong fell 0.7%. Crude oil prices, meanwhile, sank roughly 2% on worries about demand from China’s slowing economy.

Hopes for big stimulus in China have sent Chinese stocks sharply higher recently after they languished for years. But investors are skeptical about how much it can remake and restore the economy.

“While clearly welcome, the efforts may be insufficient to spur a new reflationary cycle,” according to Lisa Shalett, chief investment officer at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management.

Besides oil, prices also fell for copper and other commodities that a healthy Chinese economy would devour. That helped drive down prices for miners, such as Freeport-McMoRan, which fell 2.3% for one of the larger losses in the S&amp;P 500.

Boeing lost 1.3% in its first trading since the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/boeing-layoffs-strike-airplane-factories-de637999cf525699577b42b72bff2a70">aerospace giant warned</a>&nbsp;that it expects to report that it burned through $1.3 billion in cash during the latest quarter and lost $9.97 per share. Boeing also said it was laying off 10% of its workforce as it tries to deal with a labor strike that is crippling production of the company’s best-selling airline planes.

On the winning side of Wall Street was SoFi Technologies. It rose 11.4% after announcing a $2 billion loan platform agreement with investment firm Fortress Investment Group, where SoFi will refer pre-qualified borrowers.

Longboard Pharmaceuticals soared 51.6% after H. Lundbeck, a Danish company, said it would buy the biopharmaceutical company in an all-cash deal valuing it at $2.6 billion.

Trump Media &amp; Technology Group jumped 18.5% and is near $30 again for the first time since July. The company behind former President Donald Trump’s Truth Social platform had briefly dropped below $12 last month. It continues to lose money, but its stock often moves more with Trump’s perceived re-election chances than anything else.

All told, the S&amp;P 500 rose 44.82 points to 5,859.85. The Dow added 201.36 to 43,065.22, and the Nasdaq composite gained 159.75 to 18,502.69.

This upcoming week will have few top-tier economic reports outside of Thursday’s update on sales at U.S. retailers to help guide trading. That will likely leave the emphasis on corporate earnings reports, which will pick up the pace this week after big banks began the reporting season last week.

Bank of America, Johnson &amp; Johnson and UnitedHealth Group will all report their latest results on Tuesday. Later in the week will come United Airlines, Netflix, American Express and Procter &amp; Gamble.

Analysts are looking for S&amp;P 500 companies to deliver overall growth of 4.1% in earnings per share for the latest quarter from a year earlier, according to FactSet. If they’re correct, it would be a fifth straight quarter of growth.

Solid, continued growth in profits for companies would help tamp down criticism that’s built up about how expensive the broad stock market looks, after share prices ran higher faster than earnings.

Stocks have broadly rallied to records on relief that interest rates are&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/interest-rates-inflation-prices-federal-reserve-economy-0283bc6f92e9f9920094b78d821df227">finally heading back down</a>, now that the Federal Reserve has widened its focus to include&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/interest-rates-inflation-prices-federal-reserve-economy-31e05db08464c58ce8a3f2db0270f2d3">keeping the economy humming</a>&nbsp;instead of just&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/inflation-economy-prices-consumer-74e1a5c9bced40460e4079f62e980095">fighting high inflation</a>.

Recent reports showing the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/jobs-hiring-federal-reserve-inflation-unemployment-economy-87447d5187b37bb0f5cf996e25bad808">U.S. economy remains stronger than expected</a>&nbsp;have also raised optimism that the Fed can pull off a perfect landing where it gets inflation down to 2% without causing a recession that many had thought would be necessary.

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street rolled to more records Monday as U.S. stocks added to their&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/stock-market-china-stimulus-fed-korea-rates-7dfc363b1ff32e71a335571cdf8325fb">all-time highs</a>.The S&amp;P 500 climbed 0.8% to build on its record set on Friday. It’s coming off its fifth straight winning week and is on track for its longest weekly winning streak of the year.The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.5% and added 201 points to its own record, while the Nasdaq composite gained 0.9%.The gains followed relatively quiet trading in Europe, while the U.S. bond market remained closed for the day because of a holiday.The strongest action in global markets came from China, where the finance minister gave a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/china-finance-minister-economy-stimulus-96aaf75fe6d75c8550f866783f70b10a">highly anticipated update on Saturday</a>&nbsp;about plans for the world’s second-largest economy. Lan Fo’an said the government is looking at additional ways&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/china-economy-stocks-factory-jinping-e6db38661b131c9e32179cbe31a67136">to boost the economy</a>, but he stopped short of unveiling a major new stimulus plan that investors were hoping for.The lack of detail sent markets spinning. Stocks in Shanghai jumped 2.1%, but the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong fell 0.7%. Crude oil prices, meanwhile, sank roughly 2% on worries about demand from China’s slowing economy.Hopes for big stimulus in China have sent Chinese stocks sharply higher recently after they languished for years. But investors are skeptical about how much it can remake and restore the economy.“While clearly welcome, the efforts may be insufficient to spur a new reflationary cycle,” according to Lisa Shalett, chief investment officer at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management.Besides oil, prices also fell for copper and other commodities that a healthy Chinese economy would devour. That helped drive down prices for miners, such as Freeport-McMoRan, which fell 2.3% for one of the larger losses in the S&amp;P 500.Boeing lost 1.3% in its first trading since the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/boeing-layoffs-strike-airplane-factories-de637999cf525699577b42b72bff2a70">aerospace giant warned</a>&nbsp;that it expects to report that it burned through $1.3 billion in cash during the latest quarter and lost $9.97 per share. Boeing also said it was laying off 10% of its workforce as it tries to deal with a labor strike that is crippling production of the company’s best-selling airline planes.On the winning side of Wall Street was SoFi Technologies. It rose 11.4% after announcing a $2 billion loan platform agreement with investment firm Fortress Investment Group, where SoFi will refer pre-qualified borrowers.Longboard Pharmaceuticals soared 51.6% after H. Lundbeck, a Danish company, said it would buy the biopharmaceutical company in an all-cash deal valuing it at $2.6 billion.Trump Media &amp; Technology Group jumped 18.5% and is near $30 again for the first time since July. The company behind former President Donald Trump’s Truth Social platform had briefly dropped below $12 last month. It continues to lose money, but its stock often moves more with Trump’s perceived re-election chances than anything else.All told, the S&amp;P 500 rose 44.82 points to 5,859.85. The Dow added 201.36 to 43,065.22, and the Nasdaq composite gained 159.75 to 18,502.69.This upcoming week will have few top-tier economic reports outside of Thursday’s update on sales at U.S. retailers to help guide trading. That will likely leave the emphasis on corporate earnings reports, which will pick up the pace this week after big banks began the reporting season last week.Bank of America, Johnson &amp; Johnson and UnitedHealth Group will all report their latest results on Tuesday. Later in the week will come United Airlines, Netflix, American Express and Procter &amp; Gamble.Analysts are looking for S&amp;P 500 companies to deliver overall growth of 4.1% in earnings per share for the latest quarter from a year earlier, according to FactSet. If they’re correct, it would be a fifth straight quarter of growth.Solid, continued growth in profits for companies would help tamp down criticism that’s built up about how expensive the broad stock market looks, after share prices ran higher faster than earnings.Stocks have broadly rallied to records on relief that interest rates are&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/interest-rates-inflation-prices-federal-reserve-economy-0283bc6f92e9f9920094b78d821df227">finally heading back down</a>, now that the Federal Reserve has widened its focus to include&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/interest-rates-inflation-prices-federal-reserve-economy-31e05db08464c58ce8a3f2db0270f2d3">keeping the economy humming</a>&nbsp;instead of just&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/inflation-economy-prices-consumer-74e1a5c9bced40460e4079f62e980095">fighting high inflation</a>.Recent reports showing the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/jobs-hiring-federal-reserve-inflation-unemployment-economy-87447d5187b37bb0f5cf996e25bad808">U.S. economy remains stronger than expected</a>&nbsp;have also raised optimism that the Fed can pull off a perfect landing where it gets inflation down to 2% without causing a recession that many had thought would be necessary.

Wall Street powers higher to more records

CALLAWAY COUNTY, Missouri—Two deputies were injured and a suspect is dead following a traffic stop and gun fight early Monday in Callaway County, Missouri.Just after 3:30a.m. Monday, a Sheriff’s Deputy initiated a traffic stop on Interstate 70 just east of the Route&nbsp;DD&nbsp;/ Route&nbsp;J- Millersburg exit, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol. A second deputy arrived shortly afterward to assist.During the stop, deputies identified the driver, a 37-year-old man from Texas, as the sole occupant of the vehicle. Callaway County Joint Communications (CCJC) informed the deputies that the driver had multiple felony warrants from out of state. When deputies attempted to take the driver into custody, they notified CCJC that the driver was resisting arrest.Moments later, deputies reported shots fired. Both deputies were struck by gunfire. The Boone County Sheriff’s Office, Fulton Police Department, and Columbia Police Department quickly responded to provide assistance. The injured deputies were transported to a nearby hospital for treatment.The suspect was pronounced deceased at the scene. The Callaway County Sheriff’s Office has requested the Missouri State Highway Patrol’s Division of Drug and Crime Control (DDCC) to lead the investigation."We ask the public to keep both deputies in their thoughts during this difficult time. One deputy is currently in serious condition and undergoing surgery, while the other is in stable condition."

Two deputies injured, suspect dead after I-70 traffic stop gun fight

<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search/?query=byline:%22JOHN%20HANNA%20and%20DAVID%20A.%20LIEB%22&amp;mediaType=text&amp;st=keyword&amp;sortOrder=newest">By JOHN HANNA and DAVID A. LIEB&nbsp;</a>

SHAWNEE, Kan. (AP) — After introducing herself at their front doors, Vanessa Vaughn West began her pitch to voters with a question: What issues are important to you? She heard frustration about rising local property taxes, a desire for smaller government and questions about affordable housing.

West is a Democrat making her second run for a Kansas House seat representing a western Kansas City neighborhood where Republicans have held sway since the construction of homes began in the late 1990s.

Despite that history, West’s race against Republican state Rep. Angela Stiens is on the national Democratic Party’s radar, as is the Kansas Legislature. Democrats need to gain just two seats in the 125-member House or three in the 40-member Senate to break a supermajority that has enabled Republicans to override Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly's vetoes of measures&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-ban-law-states-kansas-lousiana-81e9da53aaa0903fdd958421bd941a3a">restricting abortion providers</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/states-define-sex-transgender-dc8c48669aef760c68d2fb7abde10e8c">transgender rights</a>.

A similar battle is playing out in North Carolina, where the flip of a single seat in either the House or Senate could cost Republicans a veto-proof majority that has repeatedly imposed its will over the objections of a Democratic governor. In Nevada, meanwhile, it's Democrats who stand to gain a veto-proof majority over a Republican governor, if they can pick up just one more state Senate seat without losing one in the Assembly.

Nationwide, more than 5,800&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/election-2024-state-legislatures-3ca47e37a87fe5647d1b80f8e5e295f3">state legislative seats</a>&nbsp;in 44 states are up election this year in the background of higher profile&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/election-2024">contests for president</a>, Congress and governor. Groups aligned with Democrats and Republicans are expected to pour a couple hundred million dollars into the state legislative battles, focusing most intensely on states where control of a chamber is in play: Arizona, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

But they also are paying attention to some states where there is little doubt about which party will prevail, because there is still plenty at stake.

The Associated Press identified 14 states where a swing of just three or fewer seats could determine whether&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/state-legislatures-supermajorities-extreme-policies-5cff2be330289aa034dce295fa0a3a56">a party holds a supermajority</a>, meaning a margin so dominant that a party is able to enact laws despite a governor’s veto, convene special sessions or place constitutional amendments on the ballot without needing any support from lawmakers of an opposing party.

“Having a party in power is really important — the most import thing,” said Wesley Hussey, a political science professor at California State University, Sacramento. But “having a supermajority can give you additional tools to enact policy.”

GOP districts in Kansas draw Democrats' attention

In Kansas, Stiens was appointed to fill a House vacancy this spring in time to help override Kelly’s veto of a bill requiring abortion providers to ask patients&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-restrictions-reporting-rule-kansas-lawsuit-4cbbcf2ce5770b6c7f8259451d5c5636">why they want to end their pregnancies</a>&nbsp;and submit that data to the state health department. The law isn't being enforced amid legal challenges.

But West said the Legislature’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-kansas-reporting-patients-data-3025f009a076868f7c31dc2cd67860fe">continued push</a>&nbsp;for restrictions on abortion providers is one reason she is running against Stiens, just two years after narrowly losing to Stiens' predecessor. West strongly supports abortion rights and residents in her home of Johnson County voted by nearly 69% in favor of abortion rights during&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-primary-elections-kansas-abortion-b6d62a852c2ce4617f2c03589fbb523e">a decisive 2022 statewide vote</a>.

“This is why we need parity, right?” West said as she walked from home to home talking to prospective voters. “And this is why we need support for what I would call the voice of the people — making sure that when the people vote on things like that, that we as legislators reinforce those sentiments with our votes.”

Though still leaning Republican and largely white, the Kansas City suburbs have become more racially diverse and friendlier to Democrats since former President Donald Trump’s victory in 2016. But national Democrats also are targeting a portion of southwestern Topeka, a longtime Republican area where GOP state Rep. Jesse Borjon is seeking a third term against Democrat Jacquie Lightcap, a local school board member.

Campaigning door-to-door recently in a neighborhood of late-1980s homes with three-car garages, Borjon emphasized his support for public schools and tax cuts enacted this year. His vote for eliminating the state income tax on Social Security benefits resonated with Bob Schmidt, a retired computer company executive who chatted with Borjon about rising property taxes.

Regardless of party label, Schmidt said he wants a representative who will “maintain conservative values.”

A change of one seat could affect North Carolina laws

North Carolina provides a clear example of how legislative supermajorities can affect laws.

When North Carolina&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/cotham-north-carolina-party-switch-republican-abe32788b89eba63cffd68917b8bb5d7">state Rep. Tricia Cotham</a>&nbsp;switched from the Democratic to Republican party in 2023, it gave Republicans the final seat they needed to obtain a veto-proof majority in both legislative chambers. Republicans quickly flexed their new powers to override Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-veto-override-north-carolina-4282913637b499490494dd3e3cce3478">legislation barring most abortions</a>&nbsp;after 12 weeks of pregnancy.

Republicans have since enacted two dozen additional laws by overriding Cooper's vetoes, including ones weakening the governor’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/north-carolina-elections-governor-legislature-vetoes-5c22afdce6b92171f64cbde047748b78">election oversight</a>, restricting medical treatments and sports activities for&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/transgender-health-care-veto-override-north-carolina-536351cc360a92cdd21f298f6212e6d2">transgender youths</a>&nbsp;and limiting school lessons about gender identity in early grades.

“Republicans have been easily overriding his vetoes and basically putting their stamp on the state in terms of public policies,” said Michael Bitzer, a political science professor at Catawba College in Salisbury, North Carolina.

Though Cooper is term-limited, Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein is leading in the race to replace him. That makes it critical for Republicans to retain a supermajority, “or else they have to deal with the governor,” Bitzer said.

Supermajorities are at their highest point in decades

The number of states with legislative supermajorities is at its highest level since at least 1982, according to research by Saint Louis University political scientist Steven Rogers. Democrats hold nine veto-proof majorities. But Republicans hold 20, including in Nebraska, where the single-chamber Legislature is officially nonpartisan but two-thirds of members identify as Republicans.

Democrats need a gain of three or fewer seats this election to break Republican supermajorities in Florida, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska and North Carolina while a similar flip for Republicans could end Democratic supermajorities in Delaware and New York.

Meanwhile, a gain of three or fewer seats could create new supermajorities for Republicans in Iowa and South Carolina and for Democrats in Colorado, Connecticut, Nevada and New Mexico.

But gaining a supermajority is no guarantee legislative leaders will always get their way.

Democrats dominate in California. Yet Democratic&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/california-ai-safety-measures-veto-newsom-92a715a5765d1738851bb26b247bf493">Gov. Gavin Newsom has vetoed</a>&nbsp;numerous bills, none of which have been overridden by the Democratic legislative supermajority. The legislature also has at times failed to achieve the two-thirds majority needed to pass tax increases.

In Missouri, where Republicans hold a supermajority, a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/freedom-caucus-republican-states-conservative-59561a5fe67c52f2a47f0106172d9b5b">conservative Senate faction</a>&nbsp;has repeatedly clashed with GOP leadership. Ultimately, Republicans mired in tensions have failed to pass some of their own priority measures.

“Having a veto-proof majority can matter,” said Ben Williams, associate director of elections and redistricting at the National Conference of State Legislatures. But “the larger a legislative majority gets, the more factions you get within that majority, and sometimes they don’t necessarily agree.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1728919162420.png" alt="Kansas 3rd District congresswoman Sharice Davids and State District 39 candidate Vanessa Vaughn West- courtesy photo" />
 <figcaption>Kansas 3rd District congresswoman Sharice Davids and State District 39 candidate Vanessa Vaughn West- courtesy photo</figcaption>
 </figure><a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search/?query=byline:%22JOHN%20HANNA%20and%20DAVID%20A.%20LIEB%22&amp;mediaType=text&amp;st=keyword&amp;sortOrder=newest">By JOHN HANNA and DAVID A. LIEB&nbsp;</a>SHAWNEE, Kan. (AP) — After introducing herself at their front doors, Vanessa Vaughn West began her pitch to voters with a question: What issues are important to you? She heard frustration about rising local property taxes, a desire for smaller government and questions about affordable housing.West is a Democrat making her second run for a Kansas House seat representing a western Kansas City neighborhood where Republicans have held sway since the construction of homes began in the late 1990s.Despite that history, West’s race against Republican state Rep. Angela Stiens is on the national Democratic Party’s radar, as is the Kansas Legislature. Democrats need to gain just two seats in the 125-member House or three in the 40-member Senate to break a supermajority that has enabled Republicans to override Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly's vetoes of measures&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-ban-law-states-kansas-lousiana-81e9da53aaa0903fdd958421bd941a3a">restricting abortion providers</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/states-define-sex-transgender-dc8c48669aef760c68d2fb7abde10e8c">transgender rights</a>.A similar battle is playing out in North Carolina, where the flip of a single seat in either the House or Senate could cost Republicans a veto-proof majority that has repeatedly imposed its will over the objections of a Democratic governor. In Nevada, meanwhile, it's Democrats who stand to gain a veto-proof majority over a Republican governor, if they can pick up just one more state Senate seat without losing one in the Assembly.Nationwide, more than 5,800&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/election-2024-state-legislatures-3ca47e37a87fe5647d1b80f8e5e295f3">state legislative seats</a>&nbsp;in 44 states are up election this year in the background of higher profile&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/election-2024">contests for president</a>, Congress and governor. Groups aligned with Democrats and Republicans are expected to pour a couple hundred million dollars into the state legislative battles, focusing most intensely on states where control of a chamber is in play: Arizona, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.But they also are paying attention to some states where there is little doubt about which party will prevail, because there is still plenty at stake.The Associated Press identified 14 states where a swing of just three or fewer seats could determine whether&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/state-legislatures-supermajorities-extreme-policies-5cff2be330289aa034dce295fa0a3a56">a party holds a supermajority</a>, meaning a margin so dominant that a party is able to enact laws despite a governor’s veto, convene special sessions or place constitutional amendments on the ballot without needing any support from lawmakers of an opposing party.“Having a party in power is really important — the most import thing,” said Wesley Hussey, a political science professor at California State University, Sacramento. But “having a supermajority can give you additional tools to enact policy.”<h2>GOP districts in Kansas draw Democrats' attention</h2>In Kansas, Stiens was appointed to fill a House vacancy this spring in time to help override Kelly’s veto of a bill requiring abortion providers to ask patients&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-restrictions-reporting-rule-kansas-lawsuit-4cbbcf2ce5770b6c7f8259451d5c5636">why they want to end their pregnancies</a>&nbsp;and submit that data to the state health department. The law isn't being enforced amid legal challenges.But West said the Legislature’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-kansas-reporting-patients-data-3025f009a076868f7c31dc2cd67860fe">continued push</a>&nbsp;for restrictions on abortion providers is one reason she is running against Stiens, just two years after narrowly losing to Stiens' predecessor. West strongly supports abortion rights and residents in her home of Johnson County voted by nearly 69% in favor of abortion rights during&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-primary-elections-kansas-abortion-b6d62a852c2ce4617f2c03589fbb523e">a decisive 2022 statewide vote</a>.“This is why we need parity, right?” West said as she walked from home to home talking to prospective voters. “And this is why we need support for what I would call the voice of the people — making sure that when the people vote on things like that, that we as legislators reinforce those sentiments with our votes.”Though still leaning Republican and largely white, the Kansas City suburbs have become more racially diverse and friendlier to Democrats since former President Donald Trump’s victory in 2016. But national Democrats also are targeting a portion of southwestern Topeka, a longtime Republican area where GOP state Rep. Jesse Borjon is seeking a third term against Democrat Jacquie Lightcap, a local school board member.Campaigning door-to-door recently in a neighborhood of late-1980s homes with three-car garages, Borjon emphasized his support for public schools and tax cuts enacted this year. His vote for eliminating the state income tax on Social Security benefits resonated with Bob Schmidt, a retired computer company executive who chatted with Borjon about rising property taxes.Regardless of party label, Schmidt said he wants a representative who will “maintain conservative values.”<h2>A change of one seat could affect North Carolina laws</h2>North Carolina provides a clear example of how legislative supermajorities can affect laws.When North Carolina&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/cotham-north-carolina-party-switch-republican-abe32788b89eba63cffd68917b8bb5d7">state Rep. Tricia Cotham</a>&nbsp;switched from the Democratic to Republican party in 2023, it gave Republicans the final seat they needed to obtain a veto-proof majority in both legislative chambers. Republicans quickly flexed their new powers to override Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-veto-override-north-carolina-4282913637b499490494dd3e3cce3478">legislation barring most abortions</a>&nbsp;after 12 weeks of pregnancy.Republicans have since enacted two dozen additional laws by overriding Cooper's vetoes, including ones weakening the governor’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/north-carolina-elections-governor-legislature-vetoes-5c22afdce6b92171f64cbde047748b78">election oversight</a>, restricting medical treatments and sports activities for&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/transgender-health-care-veto-override-north-carolina-536351cc360a92cdd21f298f6212e6d2">transgender youths</a>&nbsp;and limiting school lessons about gender identity in early grades.“Republicans have been easily overriding his vetoes and basically putting their stamp on the state in terms of public policies,” said Michael Bitzer, a political science professor at Catawba College in Salisbury, North Carolina.Though Cooper is term-limited, Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein is leading in the race to replace him. That makes it critical for Republicans to retain a supermajority, “or else they have to deal with the governor,” Bitzer said.<h2>Supermajorities are at their highest point in decades</h2>The number of states with legislative supermajorities is at its highest level since at least 1982, according to research by Saint Louis University political scientist Steven Rogers. Democrats hold nine veto-proof majorities. But Republicans hold 20, including in Nebraska, where the single-chamber Legislature is officially nonpartisan but two-thirds of members identify as Republicans.Democrats need a gain of three or fewer seats this election to break Republican supermajorities in Florida, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska and North Carolina while a similar flip for Republicans could end Democratic supermajorities in Delaware and New York.Meanwhile, a gain of three or fewer seats could create new supermajorities for Republicans in Iowa and South Carolina and for Democrats in Colorado, Connecticut, Nevada and New Mexico.But gaining a supermajority is no guarantee legislative leaders will always get their way.Democrats dominate in California. Yet Democratic&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/california-ai-safety-measures-veto-newsom-92a715a5765d1738851bb26b247bf493">Gov. Gavin Newsom has vetoed</a>&nbsp;numerous bills, none of which have been overridden by the Democratic legislative supermajority. The legislature also has at times failed to achieve the two-thirds majority needed to pass tax increases.In Missouri, where Republicans hold a supermajority, a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/freedom-caucus-republican-states-conservative-59561a5fe67c52f2a47f0106172d9b5b">conservative Senate faction</a>&nbsp;has repeatedly clashed with GOP leadership. Ultimately, Republicans mired in tensions have failed to pass some of their own priority measures.“Having a veto-proof majority can matter,” said Ben Williams, associate director of elections and redistricting at the National Conference of State Legislatures. But “the larger a legislative majority gets, the more factions you get within that majority, and sometimes they don’t necessarily agree.”

Legislative majorities giving 1 party all the power are in play in several states

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i63oZu7Gvkk">NASA spacecraft</a>&nbsp;rocketed away Monday on a quest to explore&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/nasa-europa-clipper-jupiter-f2a8f35f807f18eba447b518c289a552">Jupiter’s tantalizing moon Europa</a>&nbsp;and reveal whether its vast hidden ocean might hold the keys to life.

It will take&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/jupiter-europa-clipper-nasa-d5b5a724b1802c601400e6d38fef06dd">Europa Clipper</a>&nbsp;5 1/2 years to reach Jupiter, where it will slip into orbit around the giant gas planet and sneak close to Europa during dozens of radiation-drenched flybys.

Scientists are almost certain a deep, global ocean exists beneath&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/astronomy-space-exploration-science-business-jupiter-910a2cfff7501e45e3e167c4b22cc428">Europa’s icy crust</a>. And where there is water, there could be life, making the moon one of the most promising places out there to hunt for it.

Europa Clipper won’t look for life; it has no life detectors. Instead, the spacecraft will zero in on the ingredients necessary to sustain life, searching for organic compounds and other clues as it peers beneath the ice for suitable conditions.

SpaceX started Clipper on its 1.8 million-mile (3 billion-kilometer) journey, launching the spacecraft on a Falcon Heavy rocket from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center. An hour later, the spacecraft separated from the upper stage, floated off and called home.

“Please say goodbye to Clipper on its way to Europa,” NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory's flight director announced from Southern California.

"The science on this is really captivating,” NASA Associate Administrator Jim Free told The Associated Press back at the launch site. Scientists are still learning about the depths of our own ocean, “and here we are looking that far out.”

The $5.2 billion mission almost got derailed by transistors.

NASA didn’t learn until spring that Clipper’s transistors might be more vulnerable to Jupiter’s intense radiation field than anticipated. Clipper will endure the equivalent of several million chest X-rays during each of the 49 Europa flybys. The space agency spent months reviewing everything before concluding in September that the mission could proceed as planned.

Hurricane Milton added to the anxiety, delaying the launch by several days.

“What a great day. We’re so excited,” JPL Director Laurie Leshin said after liftoff.

About the size of a basketball court with its solar wings unfurled, Clipper will swing past Mars and then Earth on its way to Jupiter for gravity assists. The nearly 13,000-pound (5,700-kilogram) probe should reach the solar system’s biggest planet in 2030.

Clipper will circle Jupiter every 21 days. One of those days will bring it close to Europa, among 95 known moons at Jupiter and close to our own moon in size.

The spacecraft will skim as low as 16 miles (25 kilometers) above Europa — much closer than the few previous visitors. Onboard radar will attempt to penetrate the moon’s ice sheet, believed to be 10 miles to 15 miles or more (15 kilometers to 24 kilometers) thick. The ocean below could be 80 miles (120 kilometers) or more deep.

The spacecraft holds nine instruments, with its sensitive electronics stored in a vault with dense zinc and aluminum walls for protection against radiation. Exploration will last until 2034.

“Ocean worlds like Europa are not only unique because they might be habitable, but they might be habitable today,” NASA’s Gina DiBraccio said on the eve of launch.

If conditions are found to be favorable for life at Europa, then that opens up the possibility of life at other ocean worlds in our solar system and beyond, according to scientists. With an underground ocean and geysers, Saturn’s moon Enceladus is another top candidate.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/jupiter-europa-clipper-nasa-d5b5a724b1802c601400e6d38fef06dd">NASA spacecraft</a>&nbsp;has set sail for Jupiter and its&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/astronomy-space-exploration-science-business-jupiter-910a2cfff7501e45e3e167c4b22cc428">moon Europa</a>, one of the best bets for finding life beyond Earth.

Europa Clipper will peer beneath the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/88e5387a194104711f4be663b7dd6e31">moon’s icy crust</a>&nbsp;where an ocean is thought to be sloshing fairly close to the surface. It won’t search for life, but rather determine whether conditions there could support it. Another mission would be needed to flush out any microorganisms lurking there.

“It’s a chance for us to explore not a world that might have been habitable billions of years ago, but a world that might be habitable today — right now,” said program scientist Curt Niebur.

Its massive solar panels make Clipper the biggest craft built by NASA to investigate another planet. It will take 5 1/2 years to reach Jupiter and will sneak within 16 miles (25 kilometers) of Europa's surface — considerably closer than any other spacecraft.

Clipper lifted off Monday aboard SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Mission cost: $5.2 billion.

Europa, the superstar among Jupiter’s many moons

One of Jupiter’s 95 known moons, Europa is almost the size of our own moon. It's encased in an ice sheet estimated to be 10 miles to 15 miles or more (15 kilometers to 24 kilometers) thick. Scientists believe this frozen crust hides an ocean that could be 80 miles (120 kilometers) or more deep. The Hubble Space Telescope has spotted what appear to be geysers erupting from the surface. Discovered by Galileo in 1610, Europa is one of the four so-called Galilean moons of Jupiter, along with Ganymede, Io and Callisto.

What type of life might Europa harbor? Besides water, organic compounds are needed for life as we know it, plus an energy source. In Europa’s case that could be thermal vents on the ocean floor. Deputy project scientist Bonnie Buratti imagines any life would be primitive like the bacterial life that originated in Earth’s deep ocean vents. “We will not know from this mission because we can’t see that deep,” she said. Unlike missions to Mars where habitability is one of many questions, Clipper’s sole job is to establish whether the moon could support life in its ocean or possibly in any pockets of water in the ice.

When its solar wings and antennas are unfurled, Clipper is about the size of a basketball court — more than 100 feet (30 meters) end to end — and weighs nearly 13,000 pounds (6,000 kilograms). The supersized solar panels are needed because of Jupiter’s distance from the sun. The main body — about the size of a camper — is packed with nine science instruments, including radar that will penetrate the ice, cameras that will map virtually the entire moon and tools to tease out the contents of Europa’s surface and tenuous atmosphere. The name hearkens to the swift sailing ships of centuries past.

The roundabout trip to Jupiter will span 1.8 billion miles (3 billion kilometers). For extra oomph, the spacecraft will swing past Mars early next year and then Earth in late 2026. It arrives at Jupiter in 2030 and begins science work the next year. While orbiting Jupiter, it will cross paths with Europa 49 times. The mission ends in 2034 with a planned crash into Ganymede — Jupiter’s biggest moon and the solar system's too.

There’s more radiation around Jupiter than anywhere else in our solar system, besides the sun. Europa passes through Jupiter’s bands of radiation as it orbits the gas giant, making it especially menacing for spacecraft. That’s why Clipper’s electronics are inside a vault with dense aluminum and zinc walls. All this radiation would nix any life on Europa’s surface. But it could break down water molecules and, perhaps, release oxygen all the way down into the ocean that could possibly fuel sea life.

Earlier this year, NASA was in a panic that the spacecraft's many transistors might not withstand the intense radiation. But after months of analysis, engineers concluded the mission could proceed as planned.

NASA’s twin Pioneer spacecraft and then two Voyagers swept past Jupiter in the 1970s. The Voyagers provided the first detailed photos of Europa but from quite a distance. NASA’s Galileo spacecraft had repeated flybys of the moon during the 1990s, passing as close as 124 miles (200 kilometers). Still in action around Jupiter, NASA’s Juno spacecraft has added to Europa’s photo album. Arriving at Jupiter a year after Clipper will be the European Space Agency’s Juice spacecraft, launched last year.

Like Europa, Jupiter’s jumbo moon Ganymede is thought to host an underground ocean. But its frozen shell is much thicker — possibly 100 miles (160 kilometers) thick — making it tougher to probe the environment below. Callisto’s ice sheet may be even thicker, possibly hiding an ocean. Saturn’s moon Enceladus has geysers shooting up, but it’s much farther than Jupiter. Ditto for Saturn’s moon Titan, also suspected of having a subterranean sea. While no ocean worlds have been confirmed beyond our solar system, scientists believe they’re out there — and may even be relatively common.

Like many robotic explorers before it, Clipper bears messages from Earth. Attached to the electronics vault is a triangular metal plate. On one side is a design labeled “water words” with representations of the word for water in 104 languages. On the opposite side: a poem about the moon by U.S. poet laureate Ada Limon and a silicon chip containing the names of 2.6 million people who signed up to vicariously ride along.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i63oZu7Gvkk">NASA spacecraft</a>&nbsp;rocketed away Monday on a quest to explore&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/nasa-europa-clipper-jupiter-f2a8f35f807f18eba447b518c289a552">Jupiter’s tantalizing moon Europa</a>&nbsp;and reveal whether its vast hidden ocean might hold the keys to life.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Liftoff of Europa Clipper! The <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/EuropaClipper?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#EuropaClipper</a> spacecraft lifted off at 12:06pm ET Oct. 14 from Launch Pad 39A aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket. The mission will help scientists better understand how life developed on Earth and the potential for finding life beyond our… <a href="https://t.co/rzqbmqvyBh">pic.twitter.com/rzqbmqvyBh</a>&mdash; NASA&#39;s Kennedy Space Center (@NASAKennedy) <a href="https://twitter.com/NASAKennedy/status/1845860335154086212?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 14, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>It will take&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/jupiter-europa-clipper-nasa-d5b5a724b1802c601400e6d38fef06dd">Europa Clipper</a>&nbsp;5 1/2 years to reach Jupiter, where it will slip into orbit around the giant gas planet and sneak close to Europa during dozens of radiation-drenched flybys.Scientists are almost certain a deep, global ocean exists beneath&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/astronomy-space-exploration-science-business-jupiter-910a2cfff7501e45e3e167c4b22cc428">Europa’s icy crust</a>. And where there is water, there could be life, making the moon one of the most promising places out there to hunt for it.Europa Clipper won’t look for life; it has no life detectors. Instead, the spacecraft will zero in on the ingredients necessary to sustain life, searching for organic compounds and other clues as it peers beneath the ice for suitable conditions.SpaceX started Clipper on its 1.8 million-mile (3 billion-kilometer) journey, launching the spacecraft on a Falcon Heavy rocket from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center. An hour later, the spacecraft separated from the upper stage, floated off and called home.“Please say goodbye to Clipper on its way to Europa,” NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory's flight director announced from Southern California."The science on this is really captivating,” NASA Associate Administrator Jim Free told The Associated Press back at the launch site. Scientists are still learning about the depths of our own ocean, “and here we are looking that far out.”The $5.2 billion mission almost got derailed by transistors.NASA didn’t learn until spring that Clipper’s transistors might be more vulnerable to Jupiter’s intense radiation field than anticipated. Clipper will endure the equivalent of several million chest X-rays during each of the 49 Europa flybys. The space agency spent months reviewing everything before concluding in September that the mission could proceed as planned.Hurricane Milton added to the anxiety, delaying the launch by several days.“What a great day. We’re so excited,” JPL Director Laurie Leshin said after liftoff.About the size of a basketball court with its solar wings unfurled, Clipper will swing past Mars and then Earth on its way to Jupiter for gravity assists. The nearly 13,000-pound (5,700-kilogram) probe should reach the solar system’s biggest planet in 2030.Clipper will circle Jupiter every 21 days. One of those days will bring it close to Europa, among 95 known moons at Jupiter and close to our own moon in size.The spacecraft will skim as low as 16 miles (25 kilometers) above Europa — much closer than the few previous visitors. Onboard radar will attempt to penetrate the moon’s ice sheet, believed to be 10 miles to 15 miles or more (15 kilometers to 24 kilometers) thick. The ocean below could be 80 miles (120 kilometers) or more deep.The spacecraft holds nine instruments, with its sensitive electronics stored in a vault with dense zinc and aluminum walls for protection against radiation. Exploration will last until 2034.“Ocean worlds like Europa are not only unique because they might be habitable, but they might be habitable today,” NASA’s Gina DiBraccio said on the eve of launch.If conditions are found to be favorable for life at Europa, then that opens up the possibility of life at other ocean worlds in our solar system and beyond, according to scientists. With an underground ocean and geysers, Saturn’s moon Enceladus is another top candidate.------------------CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/jupiter-europa-clipper-nasa-d5b5a724b1802c601400e6d38fef06dd">NASA spacecraft</a>&nbsp;has set sail for Jupiter and its&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/astronomy-space-exploration-science-business-jupiter-910a2cfff7501e45e3e167c4b22cc428">moon Europa</a>, one of the best bets for finding life beyond Earth.Europa Clipper will peer beneath the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/88e5387a194104711f4be663b7dd6e31">moon’s icy crust</a>&nbsp;where an ocean is thought to be sloshing fairly close to the surface. It won’t search for life, but rather determine whether conditions there could support it. Another mission would be needed to flush out any microorganisms lurking there.“It’s a chance for us to explore not a world that might have been habitable billions of years ago, but a world that might be habitable today — right now,” said program scientist Curt Niebur.Its massive solar panels make Clipper the biggest craft built by NASA to investigate another planet. It will take 5 1/2 years to reach Jupiter and will sneak within 16 miles (25 kilometers) of Europa's surface — considerably closer than any other spacecraft.Clipper lifted off Monday aboard SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Mission cost: $5.2 billion.<h2>Europa, the superstar among Jupiter’s many moons</h2>One of Jupiter’s 95 known moons, Europa is almost the size of our own moon. It's encased in an ice sheet estimated to be 10 miles to 15 miles or more (15 kilometers to 24 kilometers) thick. Scientists believe this frozen crust hides an ocean that could be 80 miles (120 kilometers) or more deep. The Hubble Space Telescope has spotted what appear to be geysers erupting from the surface. Discovered by Galileo in 1610, Europa is one of the four so-called Galilean moons of Jupiter, along with Ganymede, Io and Callisto.<h2>Seeking conditions that support life</h2>What type of life might Europa harbor? Besides water, organic compounds are needed for life as we know it, plus an energy source. In Europa’s case that could be thermal vents on the ocean floor. Deputy project scientist Bonnie Buratti imagines any life would be primitive like the bacterial life that originated in Earth’s deep ocean vents. “We will not know from this mission because we can’t see that deep,” she said. Unlike missions to Mars where habitability is one of many questions, Clipper’s sole job is to establish whether the moon could support life in its ocean or possibly in any pockets of water in the ice.<h2>Supersized spacecraft</h2>When its solar wings and antennas are unfurled, Clipper is about the size of a basketball court — more than 100 feet (30 meters) end to end — and weighs nearly 13,000 pounds (6,000 kilograms). The supersized solar panels are needed because of Jupiter’s distance from the sun. The main body — about the size of a camper — is packed with nine science instruments, including radar that will penetrate the ice, cameras that will map virtually the entire moon and tools to tease out the contents of Europa’s surface and tenuous atmosphere. The name hearkens to the swift sailing ships of centuries past.<h2>Circling Jupiter to fly by Europa</h2>The roundabout trip to Jupiter will span 1.8 billion miles (3 billion kilometers). For extra oomph, the spacecraft will swing past Mars early next year and then Earth in late 2026. It arrives at Jupiter in 2030 and begins science work the next year. While orbiting Jupiter, it will cross paths with Europa 49 times. The mission ends in 2034 with a planned crash into Ganymede — Jupiter’s biggest moon and the solar system's too.<h2>Europa flybys pose huge radiation risk</h2>There’s more radiation around Jupiter than anywhere else in our solar system, besides the sun. Europa passes through Jupiter’s bands of radiation as it orbits the gas giant, making it especially menacing for spacecraft. That’s why Clipper’s electronics are inside a vault with dense aluminum and zinc walls. All this radiation would nix any life on Europa’s surface. But it could break down water molecules and, perhaps, release oxygen all the way down into the ocean that could possibly fuel sea life.Earlier this year, NASA was in a panic that the spacecraft's many transistors might not withstand the intense radiation. But after months of analysis, engineers concluded the mission could proceed as planned.<h2>Other visitors to Jupiter and Europa</h2>NASA’s twin Pioneer spacecraft and then two Voyagers swept past Jupiter in the 1970s. The Voyagers provided the first detailed photos of Europa but from quite a distance. NASA’s Galileo spacecraft had repeated flybys of the moon during the 1990s, passing as close as 124 miles (200 kilometers). Still in action around Jupiter, NASA’s Juno spacecraft has added to Europa’s photo album. Arriving at Jupiter a year after Clipper will be the European Space Agency’s Juice spacecraft, launched last year.<h2>Ganymede and other possible ocean worlds</h2>Like Europa, Jupiter’s jumbo moon Ganymede is thought to host an underground ocean. But its frozen shell is much thicker — possibly 100 miles (160 kilometers) thick — making it tougher to probe the environment below. Callisto’s ice sheet may be even thicker, possibly hiding an ocean. Saturn’s moon Enceladus has geysers shooting up, but it’s much farther than Jupiter. Ditto for Saturn’s moon Titan, also suspected of having a subterranean sea. While no ocean worlds have been confirmed beyond our solar system, scientists believe they’re out there — and may even be relatively common.<h2>Messages in a cosmic bottle</h2>Like many robotic explorers before it, Clipper bears messages from Earth. Attached to the electronics vault is a triangular metal plate. On one side is a design labeled “water words” with representations of the word for water in 104 languages. On the opposite side: a poem about the moon by U.S. poet laureate Ada Limon and a silicon chip containing the names of 2.6 million people who signed up to vicariously ride along.___The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

🎥NASA spacecraft rockets toward Jupiter in search of the right conditions for life

Lawyer questions company’s claim of a bird flu outbreak

BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/clarkkauffman/">CLARK KAUFFMAN</a>&nbsp;

A group of Midwest egg suppliers are embroiled in litigation over egg prices, with an Iowa company arguing it shouldn’t be forced to disclose its pricing information.

A central element of the case is whether a fabricated claim of a bird flu outbreak is to blame for one supplier raising its egg prices and canceling orders.

Grand Prairie Foods of South Dakota, which supplies hotels and convenience stores with breakfast sandwiches, is suing Echo Lake Foods, a Wisconsin company that manufactures precooked egg entrees, for breach of contract and unjust enrichment.

At the same time, a third company, Oskaloosa Food Products in Iowa, is attempting to quash a subpoena for company records related to its pricing.

Court records indicate Grand Prairie has purchased egg patties and other products from Echo Lake since at least 2005. In early 2022, Echo Lake’s supplier of raw eggs experienced an outbreak of avian influenza, commonly known as the bird flu, resulting in the destruction of more than 6 million laying hens.

Echo Lake then notified its customers, including Grand Prairie, that existing purchase orders for egg patties and other egg products would have to be revised to reflect increased pricing.

<h2>Lawyer questions company’s claim of a bird flu outbreak</h2>BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/clarkkauffman/">CLARK KAUFFMAN</a>&nbsp;A group of Midwest egg suppliers are embroiled in litigation over egg prices, with an Iowa company arguing it shouldn’t be forced to disclose its pricing information.A central element of the case is whether a fabricated claim of a bird flu outbreak is to blame for one supplier raising its egg prices and canceling orders.Grand Prairie Foods of South Dakota, which supplies hotels and convenience stores with breakfast sandwiches, is suing Echo Lake Foods, a Wisconsin company that manufactures precooked egg entrees, for breach of contract and unjust enrichment.At the same time, a third company, Oskaloosa Food Products in Iowa, is attempting to quash a subpoena for company records related to its pricing.Court records indicate Grand Prairie has purchased egg patties and other products from Echo Lake since at least 2005. In early 2022, Echo Lake’s supplier of raw eggs experienced an outbreak of avian influenza, commonly known as the bird flu, resulting in the destruction of more than 6 million laying hens.Echo Lake then notified its customers, including Grand Prairie, that existing purchase orders for egg patties and other egg products would have to be revised to reflect increased pricing.According to Grand Prairie’s lawsuit, Echo Lake Foods then doubled the price of its egg patties, and while the nationwide market price of eggs eventually decreased, Echo Lake allegedly refused to reduce the price of its egg patties.Court exhibits show that on July 12, 2022, Grand Prairie’s president, Kurt Loudenback, e-mailed Echo Lake’s director of national sales, Justin Milbradt, writing, “Justin – I don’t understand why we continue to see these high prices,” noting that Grand Prairie could purchase eggs from other suppliers at a significantly lower price. “I’m sure you buy WAY more eggs than we do,” Loudenback added.The next day, Loudenback emailed Echo Lake again, proposing that his company sell tankers of whole eggs to Echo Lake for $1.28 per pound — significantly less than the $3.60 per pound Echo Lake was charging Grand Prairie for its finished egg products.“Just trying to get your eggs at (a) lower price to lower my cost,” Loudenback explained in his email. “$3.60 seems pretty high for a $1.28 input cost.”The two companies eventually agreed on an arrangement whereby Grand Prairie would sell two truckloads of raw eggs each week to Echo Lake. Court records show Echo Lake agreed to pay a “premium price,” $1.70 per pound, for the raw eggs from Grand Prairie. In return, the records show, Echo Lake would sell the finished, processed eggs back to Grand Prairie for $3.60 per pound — the same price Grand Prairie had previously objected to as being out of line with market prices.Within a few months, however, Grand Prairie told Echo Lake that an avian flu outbreak had affected its egg supplier, Oskaloosa Food Products, and so Grand Prairie would have to raise its prices. A few weeks later, Grand Prairie said it was unable to find a new supplier and wouldn’t be able to fulfill Echo Lake’s orders.Echo Lake then began acquiring eggs elsewhere — but at a higher price. In court documents, Echo Lake says Grand Prairie’s failure to deliver eggs at the promised price cost Echo Lake more than $1.1 million.Court exhibits show that in an effort to offset the added expense, Echo Lake withheld payments to Grand Prairie totaling $567,460. Grand Prairie then sued Echo Lake to recover the $567,460 it was owed, alleging breach of contract and unjust enrichment.Echo Lake countersued, claiming Grand Prairie had breached the contract.<h2>Was company’s bird-flu claim false?</h2>Recently filed court records show that attorneys for Echo Lake are questioning Grand Prairie’s stated rationale for its price hike and the eventual cancellation of orders — an avian flu outbreak that affected the Oskaloosa plant.In July, an Echo Lake attorney wrote to a lawyer for Oskaloosa Food Products, stating that while “Grand Prairie claims it had no choice other than to cancel the remaining purchase orders because of an outbreak of avian influenza among its suppliers, including Oskaloosa,” an independent investigation had concluded Oskaloosa reported no such outbreak at that time, despite legal requirements for such reporting.In addition, the lawyer wrote, the chief operating officer of the Oskaloosa plant had confirmed for Echo Lake that “Oskaloosa did not experience the Al outbreak described by Grand Prairie.”In late May, Echo Lake subpoenaed Oskaloosa Food Products to obtain access to the contract between Grand Prairie and the Oskaloosa company.Oskaloosa has since filed a motion to quash that subpoena, arguing the agreement includes trade secrets. Echo Lake has responded in court by arguing that the price of eggs is not a trade secret.That issue is now before a judge in the U.S. District Court for Southern Iowa, while the underlying lawsuit between Grand Prairie and Echo Lake continues to move forward in South Dakota federal court.Iowa Capital Dispatch, a States Newsroom affiliate,&nbsp;<a href="https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2024/10/11/egg-suppliers-battle-over-pricing-claims-of-bird-flu-outbreak/" target="_blank">produced this story</a>.