<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search/?query=byline:%22DEVI%20SHASTRI%22&amp;mediaType=text&amp;st=keyword&amp;sortOrder=newest">By DEVI SHASTRI &nbsp;AP Health Writer</a>

North Dakota is the 11th state in the U.S. with a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/measles-texas-vaccines-funding-cuts-5785985d6b74024b0502f6a2fc1576e2">measles outbreak</a>, logging its first cases since 2011.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's confirmed&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/measles-mmr-vaccine-texas-rfk-ff8e744b19ead87698d7217de02814ee">measles case</a>&nbsp;count is 935, more than triple the amount seen in all of 2024. The three-month outbreak in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.datawrapper.de/_/sxSwi/?v=7">Texas</a>&nbsp;accounts for the vast majority of cases, with 702 confirmed as of Tuesday. The outbreak has also spread to New Mexico, Oklahoma and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.datawrapper.de/_/aP4Au/?v=3">Kansas.</a>

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/measles-texas-rfk-death-vaccine-4e28b0edf5cab47980b40b2d47f0ec50">Two unvaccinated elementary school-aged children</a>&nbsp;died from measles-related illnesses in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/measles-outbreak-texas-rfk-vaccines-8cf4641b04731c713edb524ca943490c">the epicenter in West Texas,</a>&nbsp;and an&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/measles-death-new-mexico-texas-outbreak-b9aef6fdd51fbb4ebd1ce9ce28e33299">adult in New Mexico</a>&nbsp;who was not vaccinated died of a measles-related illness.

Other&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/measles-kansas-ohio-mmr-vaccination-new-mexico-texas-569474272df9baaad1f6d73462ebe92a">states with active outbreaks</a>&nbsp;— which the CDC defines as three or more related cases — include Indiana, Michigan, Montana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Tennessee.

North America has&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/measles-texas-mexico-canada-ontario-0956a30c043b030ae79bc9f67c6ce89c">two other ongoing outbreaks</a>. One in Ontario, Canada, has resulted in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.publichealthontario.ca/-/media/Documents/M/24/measles-ontario-epi-summary.pdf?rev=323859266e21469b8b97a294d6c6f98e&amp;sc_lang=en">1,243 cases</a>&nbsp;from mid-October through April 29. And the Mexican state of Chihuahua had 922 measles cases and one death as of Tuesday, according to data from the state health ministry. Health officials in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.who.int/emergencies/disease-outbreak-news/item/2025-DON561">Mexico</a>&nbsp;and the U.S. say all three outbreaks are of the same measles strain.

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/measles-texas-new-mexico-mmr-outbreak-vaccines-408371700e3ab548777bf0354e586549">Measles</a>&nbsp;is caused by a highly contagious virus that’s airborne and spreads easily when an infected person breathes, sneezes or coughs. It is&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/rfk-vaccines-autism-measles-obesity-food-dye-f26089856550e978d28fd25b653d8103">preventable through vaccines</a>, and has been considered eliminated from the U.S. since 2000.

As the virus takes hold in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/measles-texas-vaccines-funding-cuts-5785985d6b74024b0502f6a2fc1576e2">U.S. communities with low vaccination rates</a>, health experts fear that spread&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/measles-texas-new-mexico-outbreak-mmr-vaccine-6cfda9a944084c390bc70f0e7a37a426">could stretch on for a year</a>. Here's what else you&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/measles-outbreak-texas-rfk-vaccines-8cf4641b04731c713edb524ca943490c">need to know about measles in the U.S.</a>

<a href="https://www.datawrapper.de/_/aP4Au/?v=3">Kansas</a>&nbsp;added nine cases Wednesday for a total of 46 across eight counties in the southwest part of the state. Gray County is up to 15 cases. The state also reported its first hospitalization.

Kansas' health department didn't elaborate Wednesday about a discrepancy in the number of new cases at the state and county levels beyond noting that case counts are “fluid as the outbreak progresses."

The state's first reported case is linked to the Texas outbreak based on genetic testing.

How many measles cases are there in Texas and New Mexico?

Texas state health officials said Tuesday there were 19 new cases of measles since Friday, bringing the total to 702&nbsp;<a href="https://www.datawrapper.de/_/sxSwi/?v=7">across 29 counties</a>&nbsp;— most of them in West Texas. The state also added two hospitalizations to its count Friday, for a total of 91 throughout the outbreak.

<a href="https://www.dshs.texas.gov/news-alerts/measles-outbreak-2025">State health officials estimated</a>&nbsp;about 1% of cases — fewer than 10 — are actively infectious.

Fifty-seven percent of Texas' cases are in Gaines County, population 22,892, where the virus started spreading in a close-knit, undervaccinated Mennonite community. The county has had 403 cases since late January — just over 1.7% of the county's residents.

The April 3 death in Texas was an&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/measles-texas-rfk-death-vaccine-4e28b0edf5cab47980b40b2d47f0ec50">8-year-old child,</a>&nbsp;according to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/texas-measles-outbreak-rfk-jr-ben-edwards-2dd7c79d47c64ad2e6d4a4ac3c87ec1f">Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.</a>&nbsp;Local health officials in Texas said the child did not have underlying health conditions and died of “what the child's doctor described as measles pulmonary failure.” A unvaccinated&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/measles-outbreak-west-texas-death-rfk-41adc66641e4a56ce2b2677480031ab9">child with no underlying conditions died of measles in Texas</a>&nbsp;in late February — Kennedy said age 6.

New Mexico was steady Tuesday with 67 total cases. Seven people have been hospitalized since the outbreak started. Most of the state's cases are in Lea County. Three are in Eddy County, two in Doña Ana County and one in Chaves County.

Indiana confirmed two more cases April 21 in an outbreak that has sickened eight in Allen County in the northeast part of the state — five are unvaccinated minors and three are adults whose vaccination status is unknown.

The cases have no known link to other outbreaks, the Allen County Department of Health has said.

Montcalm County, near Grand Rapids in western Michigan, has an outbreak of four cases that state health officials say is tied to the Ontario outbreak. The state had nine confirmed measles cases as of Friday, but the remaining five are not part of the Montcalm County outbreak.

Montana state health officials announced five cases April 17 in unvaccinated children and adults who had traveled out of state, and later confirmed it was an outbreak. All five are isolating at home in Gallatin County in the southwest part of the state.

They were Montana’s first measles cases in 35 years. Health officials didn’t say whether the cases are linked to other outbreaks in North America.

How many measles cases are there in North Dakota?

North Dakota announced its first measles case since 2011 on Friday, and by Tuesday, there were nine cases.

All are in Williams County in western North Dakota on the Montana border. The state health department said Monday that three of the confirmed cases are linked to the first case — an unvaccinated child who health officials believe got it from an out-of-state visitor.

The other five cases, announced Tuesday, were people who were not vaccinated and did not have contact with the other cases, causing concern about community transmission. The state health department said four people diagnosed with measles attended classes while infectious at a Williston elementary school, middle school and high school.

The state has two outbreaks. Ashtabula County near Cleveland has 16 cases. And Knox County in east-central Ohio has 20 — 14 among Ohio residents and the rest among visitors.

The Ohio Department of Health on Thursday confirmed 33 measles cases and one hospitalization. That count includes only Ohio residents. Defiance County in the northwestern part of the state has logged its first case.

Allen and Holmes counties have had one case each.

Oklahoma added one case for a total of 14 confirmed and three probable cases as of Tuesday. The outbreak is linked to Texas and New Mexico.

The state health department is not releasing which counties have cases, but Cleveland, Oklahoma and Sequoyah counties have had public exposures in the past couple of months.

How many cases are there in Pennsylvania?

There are eight measles cases in Erie County in far northwest Pennsylvania, officials said Friday. The county declared an outbreak in mid-April. The state has said it has 13 cases overall in 2025, including international travel-related cases in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pa.gov/content/dam/copapwp-pagov/en/health/documents/topics/documents/2025%20HAN/2025-787-3-13-ADV-%20Measles.pdf">Montgomery County and one in Philadelphia</a>.

Tennessee had six measles cases as of last week. Health department spokesman Bill Christian said all cases are the middle part of the state, and that “at least three of these cases are linked to each other” but declined to specify further. The state also did not say whether the cases were linked to other outbreaks or when Tennessee's outbreak started.

The state health department announced the first measles case March 21, three more on April 1 and the last two on April 17, but none of the news releases declared an outbreak. However, Tennessee was on a list of outbreak states in a CDC report April 17.

Where else is measles showing up in the U.S.?

Cases also have been reported in Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and Washington.

Cases and outbreaks in the U.S. are frequently traced to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/europe-asia-measles-rates-unicef-who-report-2f888732cc297090238956986fd89cc4">someone who caught the disease abroad</a>. In 2019, the U.S. saw 1,274 cases and almost lost its status of having eliminated measles.

What do you need to know about the MMR vaccine?

The best way to avoid measles is to get the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/vaccine-safety/vaccines/mmr.html">measles, mumps and rubella</a>&nbsp;vaccine. The first shot is recommended for children between 12 and 15 months old and the second between 4 and 6 years old.

Getting another MMR shot is harmless if there are concerns about waning immunity, the CDC says. People who have documentation of receiving a live measles vaccine in the 1960s don’t need to be revaccinated, but people who were immunized before 1968 with an ineffective measles vaccine made from “killed” virus should be revaccinated with at least one dose, the agency said.

People who have documentation that they had measles are immune and those born before 1957 generally don’t need the shots because most children back then had measles and now have “presumptive immunity.”

In communities with high vaccination rates — above 95% — diseases like measles have a harder time spreading through communities. This is called “herd immunity.”

But childhood vaccination rates have declined nationwide since the pandemic and more parents are claiming religious or personal conscience waivers to exempt their kids from required shots. The U.S. saw&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/measles-cdc-outbreak-chicago-mmr-vaccine-7ecdfef41e6dbd659c7ac8b80d5de38f">a rise in measles cases in 2024</a>, including an outbreak in Chicago that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/measles-chicago-migrant-shelter-cdc-e58517c830f73e42266d45d45983c12b">sickened more than 60.</a>

Measles first infects the respiratory tract, then spreads throughout the body, causing a high fever, runny nose, cough, red, watery eyes and a rash.

The rash generally appears three to five days after the first symptoms, beginning as flat red spots on the face and then spreading downward to the neck, trunk, arms, legs and feet. When the rash appears, the fever may spike over 104 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the CDC.

Most kids will recover from measles, but infection can lead to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/measles/signs-symptoms/index.html">dangerous complications</a>&nbsp;such as pneumonia, blindness, brain swelling and death.

There’s no specific treatment for measles, so doctors generally try to alleviate symptoms, prevent complications and keep patients comfortable.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/3/1743085628490.png" alt="Photo by Tatiana Lanzieri Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.png" />
 <figcaption>Photo by Tatiana Lanzieri Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.png</figcaption>
 </figure><a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search/?query=byline:%22DEVI%20SHASTRI%22&amp;mediaType=text&amp;st=keyword&amp;sortOrder=newest">By DEVI SHASTRI &nbsp;AP Health Writer</a>North Dakota is the 11th state in the U.S. with a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/measles-texas-vaccines-funding-cuts-5785985d6b74024b0502f6a2fc1576e2">measles outbreak</a>, logging its first cases since 2011.The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's confirmed&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/measles-mmr-vaccine-texas-rfk-ff8e744b19ead87698d7217de02814ee">measles case</a>&nbsp;count is 935, more than triple the amount seen in all of 2024. The three-month outbreak in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.datawrapper.de/_/sxSwi/?v=7">Texas</a>&nbsp;accounts for the vast majority of cases, with 702 confirmed as of Tuesday. The outbreak has also spread to New Mexico, Oklahoma and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.datawrapper.de/_/aP4Au/?v=3">Kansas.</a><a href="https://apnews.com/article/measles-texas-rfk-death-vaccine-4e28b0edf5cab47980b40b2d47f0ec50">Two unvaccinated elementary school-aged children</a>&nbsp;died from measles-related illnesses in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/measles-outbreak-texas-rfk-vaccines-8cf4641b04731c713edb524ca943490c">the epicenter in West Texas,</a>&nbsp;and an&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/measles-death-new-mexico-texas-outbreak-b9aef6fdd51fbb4ebd1ce9ce28e33299">adult in New Mexico</a>&nbsp;who was not vaccinated died of a measles-related illness.Other&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/measles-kansas-ohio-mmr-vaccination-new-mexico-texas-569474272df9baaad1f6d73462ebe92a">states with active outbreaks</a>&nbsp;— which the CDC defines as three or more related cases — include Indiana, Michigan, Montana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Tennessee.North America has&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/measles-texas-mexico-canada-ontario-0956a30c043b030ae79bc9f67c6ce89c">two other ongoing outbreaks</a>. One in Ontario, Canada, has resulted in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.publichealthontario.ca/-/media/Documents/M/24/measles-ontario-epi-summary.pdf?rev=323859266e21469b8b97a294d6c6f98e&amp;sc_lang=en">1,243 cases</a>&nbsp;from mid-October through April 29. And the Mexican state of Chihuahua had 922 measles cases and one death as of Tuesday, according to data from the state health ministry. Health officials in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.who.int/emergencies/disease-outbreak-news/item/2025-DON561">Mexico</a>&nbsp;and the U.S. say all three outbreaks are of the same measles strain.<a href="https://apnews.com/article/measles-texas-new-mexico-mmr-outbreak-vaccines-408371700e3ab548777bf0354e586549">Measles</a>&nbsp;is caused by a highly contagious virus that’s airborne and spreads easily when an infected person breathes, sneezes or coughs. It is&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/rfk-vaccines-autism-measles-obesity-food-dye-f26089856550e978d28fd25b653d8103">preventable through vaccines</a>, and has been considered eliminated from the U.S. since 2000.As the virus takes hold in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/measles-texas-vaccines-funding-cuts-5785985d6b74024b0502f6a2fc1576e2">U.S. communities with low vaccination rates</a>, health experts fear that spread&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/measles-texas-new-mexico-outbreak-mmr-vaccine-6cfda9a944084c390bc70f0e7a37a426">could stretch on for a year</a>. Here's what else you&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/measles-outbreak-texas-rfk-vaccines-8cf4641b04731c713edb524ca943490c">need to know about measles in the U.S.</a><h2>How many cases are there in Kansas?</h2><a href="https://www.datawrapper.de/_/aP4Au/?v=3">Kansas</a>&nbsp;added nine cases Wednesday for a total of 46 across eight counties in the southwest part of the state. Gray County is up to 15 cases. The state also reported its first hospitalization.Kansas' health department didn't elaborate Wednesday about a discrepancy in the number of new cases at the state and county levels beyond noting that case counts are “fluid as the outbreak progresses."The state's first reported case is linked to the Texas outbreak based on genetic testing.<h2>How many measles cases are there in Texas and New Mexico?</h2>Texas state health officials said Tuesday there were 19 new cases of measles since Friday, bringing the total to 702&nbsp;<a href="https://www.datawrapper.de/_/sxSwi/?v=7">across 29 counties</a>&nbsp;— most of them in West Texas. The state also added two hospitalizations to its count Friday, for a total of 91 throughout the outbreak.<a href="https://www.dshs.texas.gov/news-alerts/measles-outbreak-2025">State health officials estimated</a>&nbsp;about 1% of cases — fewer than 10 — are actively infectious.Fifty-seven percent of Texas' cases are in Gaines County, population 22,892, where the virus started spreading in a close-knit, undervaccinated Mennonite community. The county has had 403 cases since late January — just over 1.7% of the county's residents.The April 3 death in Texas was an&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/measles-texas-rfk-death-vaccine-4e28b0edf5cab47980b40b2d47f0ec50">8-year-old child,</a>&nbsp;according to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/texas-measles-outbreak-rfk-jr-ben-edwards-2dd7c79d47c64ad2e6d4a4ac3c87ec1f">Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.</a>&nbsp;Local health officials in Texas said the child did not have underlying health conditions and died of “what the child's doctor described as measles pulmonary failure.” A unvaccinated&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/measles-outbreak-west-texas-death-rfk-41adc66641e4a56ce2b2677480031ab9">child with no underlying conditions died of measles in Texas</a>&nbsp;in late February — Kennedy said age 6.New Mexico was steady Tuesday with 67 total cases. Seven people have been hospitalized since the outbreak started. Most of the state's cases are in Lea County. Three are in Eddy County, two in Doña Ana County and one in Chaves County.<h2>How many cases are there in Indiana?</h2>Indiana confirmed two more cases April 21 in an outbreak that has sickened eight in Allen County in the northeast part of the state — five are unvaccinated minors and three are adults whose vaccination status is unknown.The cases have no known link to other outbreaks, the Allen County Department of Health has said.<h2>How many cases are there in Michigan?</h2>Montcalm County, near Grand Rapids in western Michigan, has an outbreak of four cases that state health officials say is tied to the Ontario outbreak. The state had nine confirmed measles cases as of Friday, but the remaining five are not part of the Montcalm County outbreak.<h2>How many cases are there in Montana?</h2>Montana state health officials announced five cases April 17 in unvaccinated children and adults who had traveled out of state, and later confirmed it was an outbreak. All five are isolating at home in Gallatin County in the southwest part of the state.They were Montana’s first measles cases in 35 years. Health officials didn’t say whether the cases are linked to other outbreaks in North America.<h2>How many measles cases are there in North Dakota?</h2>North Dakota announced its first measles case since 2011 on Friday, and by Tuesday, there were nine cases.All are in Williams County in western North Dakota on the Montana border. The state health department said Monday that three of the confirmed cases are linked to the first case — an unvaccinated child who health officials believe got it from an out-of-state visitor.The other five cases, announced Tuesday, were people who were not vaccinated and did not have contact with the other cases, causing concern about community transmission. The state health department said four people diagnosed with measles attended classes while infectious at a Williston elementary school, middle school and high school.<h2>How many cases are there in Ohio?</h2>The state has two outbreaks. Ashtabula County near Cleveland has 16 cases. And Knox County in east-central Ohio has 20 — 14 among Ohio residents and the rest among visitors.The Ohio Department of Health on Thursday confirmed 33 measles cases and one hospitalization. That count includes only Ohio residents. Defiance County in the northwestern part of the state has logged its first case.Allen and Holmes counties have had one case each.<h2>How many cases are there in Oklahoma?</h2>Oklahoma added one case for a total of 14 confirmed and three probable cases as of Tuesday. The outbreak is linked to Texas and New Mexico.The state health department is not releasing which counties have cases, but Cleveland, Oklahoma and Sequoyah counties have had public exposures in the past couple of months.<h2>How many cases are there in Pennsylvania?</h2>There are eight measles cases in Erie County in far northwest Pennsylvania, officials said Friday. The county declared an outbreak in mid-April. The state has said it has 13 cases overall in 2025, including international travel-related cases in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pa.gov/content/dam/copapwp-pagov/en/health/documents/topics/documents/2025%20HAN/2025-787-3-13-ADV-%20Measles.pdf">Montgomery County and one in Philadelphia</a>.<h2>How many cases are there in Tennessee?</h2>Tennessee had six measles cases as of last week. Health department spokesman Bill Christian said all cases are the middle part of the state, and that “at least three of these cases are linked to each other” but declined to specify further. The state also did not say whether the cases were linked to other outbreaks or when Tennessee's outbreak started.The state health department announced the first measles case March 21, three more on April 1 and the last two on April 17, but none of the news releases declared an outbreak. However, Tennessee was on a list of outbreak states in a CDC report April 17.<h2>Where else is measles showing up in the U.S.?</h2>Cases also have been reported in Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and Washington.Cases and outbreaks in the U.S. are frequently traced to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/europe-asia-measles-rates-unicef-who-report-2f888732cc297090238956986fd89cc4">someone who caught the disease abroad</a>. In 2019, the U.S. saw 1,274 cases and almost lost its status of having eliminated measles.<h2>What do you need to know about the MMR vaccine?</h2>The best way to avoid measles is to get the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/vaccine-safety/vaccines/mmr.html">measles, mumps and rubella</a>&nbsp;vaccine. The first shot is recommended for children between 12 and 15 months old and the second between 4 and 6 years old.Getting another MMR shot is harmless if there are concerns about waning immunity, the CDC says. People who have documentation of receiving a live measles vaccine in the 1960s don’t need to be revaccinated, but people who were immunized before 1968 with an ineffective measles vaccine made from “killed” virus should be revaccinated with at least one dose, the agency said.People who have documentation that they had measles are immune and those born before 1957 generally don’t need the shots because most children back then had measles and now have “presumptive immunity.”In communities with high vaccination rates — above 95% — diseases like measles have a harder time spreading through communities. This is called “herd immunity.”But childhood vaccination rates have declined nationwide since the pandemic and more parents are claiming religious or personal conscience waivers to exempt their kids from required shots. The U.S. saw&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/measles-cdc-outbreak-chicago-mmr-vaccine-7ecdfef41e6dbd659c7ac8b80d5de38f">a rise in measles cases in 2024</a>, including an outbreak in Chicago that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/measles-chicago-migrant-shelter-cdc-e58517c830f73e42266d45d45983c12b">sickened more than 60.</a><h2>What are the symptoms of measles?</h2>Measles first infects the respiratory tract, then spreads throughout the body, causing a high fever, runny nose, cough, red, watery eyes and a rash.The rash generally appears three to five days after the first symptoms, beginning as flat red spots on the face and then spreading downward to the neck, trunk, arms, legs and feet. When the rash appears, the fever may spike over 104 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the CDC.Most kids will recover from measles, but infection can lead to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/measles/signs-symptoms/index.html">dangerous complications</a>&nbsp;such as pneumonia, blindness, brain swelling and death.<h2>How can you treat measles?</h2>There’s no specific treatment for measles, so doctors generally try to alleviate symptoms, prevent complications and keep patients comfortable.

11 states now with a measles outbreak

SEDGWICK COUNTY, Kan.&nbsp;—A Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office Detention Deputy is under investigation.

On Sunday, the Derby Police Department arrested 21-year-old Jordan Rubio&nbsp; on suspicion of driving under the influence, according to a statement from the Sheriff's Department.

Rubio has been employed with the Sheriff’s Office since February 2024. He is currently the subject of both a criminal investigation by Derby Police Department and an internal administrative investigation related to the arrest.

He met the requirements to bond out of jail at 5a.m. Sunday, according to online jail records.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/5/1746544018763.png" alt="Rubio photo Sedgwick Co." />
 <figcaption>Rubio photo Sedgwick Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>SEDGWICK COUNTY, Kan.&nbsp;—A Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office Detention Deputy is under investigation.On Sunday, the Derby Police Department arrested 21-year-old Jordan Rubio&nbsp; on suspicion of driving under the influence, according to a statement from the Sheriff's Department.Rubio has been employed with the Sheriff’s Office since February 2024. He is currently the subject of both a criminal investigation by Derby Police Department and an internal administrative investigation related to the arrest.He met the requirements to bond out of jail at 5a.m. Sunday, according to online jail records.

Kansas sheriff's detention deputy accused of DUI

Job description: Leading the 1.4 billion-strong Catholic Church.

There are&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/next-pope-contenders-list-101d68d61be2401a85310e34b45371a9">no official candidates</a>&nbsp;for the papacy, but some cardinals are considered “papabile,” or possessing the characteristics necessary to become pope. After St. John Paul II broke the centurieslong Italian hold on the papacy in 1978, the field of contenders has broadened considerably.

When the cardinals&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/conclave-definition-what-happens-92a4da4116a62ccc165a63d1ae3c30dc">enter the Sistine Chapel on May 7</a>&nbsp;to choose a successor to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/vatican-pope-francis-dead-01ca7d73c3c48d25fd1504ba076e2e2a">Pope Francis</a>, the first pontiff from Latin America, they will be looking above all for a holy man who can guide the Catholic Church. Beyond that, they will weigh his administrative and pastoral experience and consider what the church needs today.

Here is a selection of possible contenders, in no particular order. The list will be updated as cardinals continue their closed-door, preconclave discussions.

Position: Vatican secretary of state under Francis

The 70-year-old veteran diplomat was Francis' secretary of state, essentially the Holy See's prime minister.

Though associated closely with Francis' pontificate, Parolin is much more demure in personality and diplomatic in his approach to leading than the Argentine Jesuit he served and he knows where the Catholic Church might need a course correction.

Parolin oversaw the Holy See’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/china-vatican-agreement-b9cd669a0a91ad3da8fc70fe41611bdb">controversial deal with China</a>&nbsp;over bishop nominations and was involved -- but not charged -- in the Vatican’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/london-europe-voting-rights-business-religion-4abac4eee3bfd02205349c353906fcbf">botched investment</a>&nbsp;in a London real estate venture that led to a 2021 trial of another cardinal and nine others. A former ambassador to Venezuela, Parolin knows the Latin American church well and played a key role in the 2014 U.S.-Cuba detente, which the Vatican helped facilitate.

If he were elected, he would return an Italian to the papacy after three successive outsiders: St. John Paul II (Poland), Pope Benedict XVI (Germany) and Francis (Argentina).

But Parolin has very little pastoral experience: He entered the seminary at age 14, four years after his father was killed in a car accident. After his 1980 ordination, he spent two years as a parish priest near his hometown in northern Italy, but then went to Rome to study and entered the Vatican diplomatic service, where he has remained ever since. He has served at Vatican embassies in Nigeria, Mexico and Venezuela.

He is widely respected for his&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/vatican-pope-ukraine-white-flag-af55b9a6e3fe1e1bff5f3a07104e52cb">diplomatic finesse</a>&nbsp;on some of the thorniest dossiers facing the Catholic Church. He has long been involved in the China file, and he played a hands-on role in the Holy See’s diplomatic rapprochement with Vietnam that resulted in an agreement to establish a resident Vatican representative in the country.

Parolin was also the Vatican’s point-person in its frustrated efforts to end the wars in Ukraine and the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/vatican-pope-israel-palestinians-gaza-d837110b8201d7dc6494216ddb812b3f">Middle East</a>. He has tried to make the church’s voice heard as the Trump administration began working to end Russia’s war in Ukraine.

“Let’s hope we can arrive at a peace that, in order to be solid, lasting, must be a just peace, must involve all the actors who are at stake and take into account the principles of international law and the UN declarations,” he said.

Parolin might find the geopolitical reality ushered in by the Trump administration somewhat unreceptive to the Holy See's&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-putin-pope-francis-diplomacy-europe-83a98bf40d2c51ba8a1de88e847c6e70">soft power</a>.

Position: Pro-Prefect, Dicastery for Evangelization under Francis

Experience: Former archbishop of Manila, Philippines

Tagle, 67, is on many bookmakers’ lists to be the first Asian pope, a choice that would acknowledge a part of the world where the church is growing.

Francis brought the popular&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/general-news-7c1fff5eabfe9b8eb5c3d48769580f02">archbishop of Manila</a>&nbsp;to Rome to head the Vatican’s missionary evangelization office, which serves the needs of the Catholic Church in much of Asia and Africa. His role took on greater weight when Francis reformed the Vatican bureaucracy. Tagle often cites his Chinese heritage — his maternal grandmother was part of a Chinese family that moved to the Philippines.

Though he has pastoral, Vatican and management experience — he headed the Vatican’s Caritas Internationalis federation of charity groups before coming to Rome permanently — Tagle would be on the young side to be elected pope, with cardinals perhaps preferring an older candidate whose papacy would be more limited.

Tagle is known as a good communicator and teacher — key attributes for a pope.

“The pope will have to do a lot of teaching, we’ll have to face the cameras all the time so if there will be a communicator pope, that’s very desirable,” said Leo Ocampo, a theology professor at the University of Santo Tomas in Manila.

That said, Tagle’s tenure at Caritas was not without controversy and some have questioned his management skills.

In 2022&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/pope-francis-religion-philanthropy-dd48a5818e58a1c416b27b57925b895a">,</a>&nbsp;Francis&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/pope-francis-religion-philanthropy-dd48a5818e58a1c416b27b57925b895a">ousted the Caritas management</a>, including demoting Tagle. The Holy See said an outside investigation had found “real deficiencies” in management that had affected staff morale at the Caritas secretariat in Rome.

— By Jim Gomez in Manila, Philippines, and Nicole Winfield in Vatican City

Experience: President of the bishops conferences of Africa and Madagascar

The 65-year-old Ambongo is one of Africa's most outspoken Catholic leaders, heading the archdiocese that has the largest number of Catholics on the continent that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/pope-francis-religion-egypt-africa-middle-east-52264c1e130b3fe5b352a1a8c93dbff6">seen as the future of the church</a>.

He has been archbishop of Congo's capital since 2018 and a cardinal since in 2019. Francis also appointed him to a group of advisers that was helping reorganize the Vatican bureaucracy.

In Congo and across Africa, Ambongo has been deeply committed to the Catholic orthodoxy and is seen as conservative.

In 2024, he&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/vatican-lgbtq-blessing-africa-france-12ede13dec72ecdd9f6da1dd1877d7e5">signed a statement</a>&nbsp;on behalf of the bishops conferences of Africa and Madagascar refusing to follow Francis'&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/vatican-lgbtq-pope-bfa5b71fa79055626e362936e739d1d8">declaration allowing priests to offer blessings to same-sex couples</a>&nbsp;in what amounted to continent-wide dissent from a papal teaching. The rebuke crystalized both the African church's line on LGBTQ+ outreach and Ambongo's stature within the African hierarchy.

He has received praise from some in Congo for promoting interfaith tolerance, especially on a continent where religious divisions between Christians and Muslims are common.

“He is for the openness of the church to different cultures,” said Monsignor Donatien Nshole, secretary-general of the National Episcopal Conference of Congo, who has long worked with Ambongo.

An outspoken government critic, the cardinal is also known for his unwavering advocacy for social justice.

In a country with high poverty and hunger levels despite being rich in minerals, and where fighting by rebel groups has killed thousands and displaced millions in one of the world’s biggest humanitarian crises, he frequently criticizes both government corruption and inaction, as well as the exploitation of the country’s natural resources by foreign powers.

“Congo is the plate from which everyone eats, except for our people,” he said last year during a speech at the Pontifical Antonianum University.

Ambongo's criticism of authorities has drawn both public admiration and legal scrutiny. Last year, prosecutors ordered a judicial investigation of him after accusing him of “seditious behavior” over his criticism of the government’s handling of the conflict in eastern Congo.

Current position: Archbishop of Bologna, Italy, president of the Italian bishops conference

Previous position: Auxiliary bishop of Rome

Zuppi, 69, came up as a street priest in the image of Francis, who promoted him quickly: first to archbishop of the wealthy archdiocese of Bologna in northern Italy in 2015, before bestowing the title of cardinal in 2019.

He is closely closely affiliated with the Sant’Egidio Community, a Rome-based Catholic charity that was influential under Francis, particularly in interfaith dialogue. Zuppi was part of Sant’Egidio’s team that helped negotiate the end of Mozambique’s civil war in the 1990s and was named Francis’&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/vatican-ukraine-pope-0e9ee7e7c9b26b4fa3da2dbebf7b5dfc">peace envoy</a>&nbsp;for Russia’s war in Ukraine.

He traveled to Kyiv and Moscow after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appealed to the Holy See for help in winning the release of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-vatican-pope-children-reunification-24c3931fd9fe3234ddb8e3fdf949f02f">19,000 Ukrainian children taken from their families</a>&nbsp;and brought to Russia during the war. The mission also took him to China and the United States.

After making him a cardinal, Francis made clear he wanted him in charge of Italy’s bishops, a sign of his admiration for the prelate who, like Francis, is known as a “street priest” — someone who prioritizes ministering to poor and homeless people and refugees.

Zuppi would be a candidate in Francis’ tradition of ministering to those on the margins, although his relative youth would count against him for cardinals seeking a short papacy.

In a sign of his progressive leanings, Zuppi wrote the introduction to the Italian edition of “Building a Bridge,” by the Rev. James Martin, an American Jesuit, about the church’s need to improve its outreach to the LGBTQ+ community.

Zuppi wrote that building bridges with the community was a “difficult process, still unfolding.'' He recognized that “doing nothing, on the other hand, risks causing a great deal of suffering, makes people feel lonely, and often leads to the adoption of positions that are both contrasting and extreme.”

Zuppi's family also has strong institutional ties: His father worked for the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, and his mother was the niece of Cardinal Carlo Confalonieri, dean of the College of Cardinals in the 1960s and 1970s.

Position: Archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest, Hungary

Past experience: Twice elected head of the umbrella group of European bishops conferences

Known by his peers as a serious theologian, scholar and educator, Erdő, 72, is a leading contender&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/pope-francis-hungary-visit-orban-ukraine-5d35e834ebac80ec14840fa90071af95">among conservatives</a>. He has served as the archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest since 2002 and was made a cardinal by John Paul the following year. He has participated in two conclaves, in 2005 and 2013, for the selection of Benedict and Francis.

Holding doctorates in theology and canon law, Erdő, speaks six languages, is a proponent of doctrinal orthodoxy, and champions the church’s positions on issues like abortion and same-sex marriage.

Erdő opposes same-sex unions, and has also resisted suggestions that Catholics who remarry after divorce be able to receive communion. He stated in 2015 that divorced Catholics should only be permitted communion if they remain sexually abstinent in their new marriage.

An advocate for traditional family structures, he helped organize Francis’ 2014 and 2015 Vatican meetings on the family.

From 2006 to 2016, Erdő served as president of the Council of European Bishops’ Conferences, helping to foster collaboration among Catholic bishops across Europe and to address contemporary issues facing the church on the continent.

While careful to avoid taking part in Hungary’s often tumultuous political life, Erdő has maintained a close relationship with the country’s rightist populist government, which provides generous subsidies to Christian churches.

He has been reluctant to take positions on several of the government’s policies that divided society in Hungary such as public campaigns that villainized migrants and refugees and laws that eroded the rights of LGBTQ+ communities.

When hundreds of thousands of asylum-seekers entered Europe in 2015 fleeing war and deprivation in the Middle East and Africa, Erdő emphasized that the church had a Christian duty to provide humanitarian assistance to those in need, but stopped short of the full-throated advocacy for migrants that was one of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/pope-francis-migrant-advocate-82193bcef21f096ce5f9754bba8f0cbb">Francis’ top priorities</a>.

Position: Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops; president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America under Francis

Experience: Archbishop of Chiclayo, Peru; head of the Augustinian religious order

Francis brought Prevost, 69, to the Vatican in 2023 to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/pope-francis-canada-vatican-city-chicago-peru-a2df40ea86c77a2c1442de8a5615b198">serve as the powerful head</a>&nbsp;of the office that vets bishop nominations from around the world, one of the most important jobs in the Catholic Church. As a result, Prevost has a prominence going into the conclave that few other cardinals have.

One strike against him, however, is that he’s American, and there has long been a taboo against a U.S. pope, given the geopolitical power already wielded by the United States in the secular sphere. But Prevost, a Chicago native, could be a first because he’s also a Peruvian citizen and lived for years in Peru, first as a missionary and then as an archbishop.

Prevost was also twice elected prior general, or top leader, of the Augustinian religious order, the 13th century order founded by St. Augustine. Francis clearly had an eye on him for years, moving him from the Augustinian leadership back to Peru in 2014 to serve as the administrator and later archbishop of Chiclayo.

He remained in that position, acquiring Peruvian citizenship in 2015, until Francis brought him to Rome in 2023 to assume the presidency of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America. In that job he would have kept in regular contact with the Catholic hierarchy in the part of the world that counts still counts the most Catholics.

Ever since he arrived in Rome, Prevost has kept a low public profile, but he is well known to the men who count.

Significantly, he presided over one of the most revolutionary reforms Francis made, when he added&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/pope-francis-religion-29e916926583aaa49bd385e874b70c84">three women to the voting bloc</a>&nbsp;that decides which bishop nominations to forward to the pope. In early 2025, Francis again showed his esteem by appointing Prevost to the most senior rank of cardinals, suggesting he would at least be Francis’ choice in an any future conclave.

Prevost’s comparative youth could count against him if his brother cardinals don’t want to commit to a pope who might reign for another two decades.

The Rev. Fidel Purisaca Vigil, the communications director for Prevost’s old diocese in Chiclayo, remembers the cardinal rising each day and having breakfast with his fellow priests after saying his prayers.

“No matter how many problems he has, he maintains good humor and joy,” Purisaca said in an email.

— By Franklin Briceño in Lima, Peru, and Nicole Winfield in Vatican City

Contenders to be pope include a street priest, a missionary and a Lutheran convert

SEDGWICK COUNTY—A Kansas man died in an accident just before 4p.m.&nbsp; Monday in Wichita.

A Ford F150 driven by 37-year-old Joshua Mann of Wichita was northbound near the intersection of George Washington Boulevard and Aloma, according to Wichita Police spokesman Rick Pena.&nbsp; The vehicle left the road and struck a tree.

First responders located Man who was pronounced deceased at the scene.

Preliminary investigation revealed speed is believed to be a factor in the crash. Police released no additional details.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/5/1746566364563.png" alt="View of the crash scene -photo courtesy KWCH" />
 <figcaption>View of the crash scene -photo courtesy KWCH</figcaption>
 </figure>SEDGWICK COUNTY—A Kansas man died in an accident just before 4p.m.&nbsp; Monday in Wichita.A Ford F150 driven by 37-year-old Joshua Mann of Wichita was northbound near the intersection of George Washington Boulevard and Aloma, according to Wichita Police spokesman Rick Pena.&nbsp; The vehicle left the road and struck a tree.First responders located Man who was pronounced deceased at the scene.Preliminary investigation revealed speed is believed to be a factor in the crash. Police released no additional details.

Police: Speed a factor in crash that killed Kansas man

WASHINGTON (AP) — President&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a>&nbsp;said Tuesday that he’s ordering a halt to nearly two months of U.S. airstrikes on Yemen’s Houthis, saying that the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/houthis">Iran-backed rebels</a>&nbsp;have indicated that “they don’t want to fight anymore” and have pledged to stop attacking ships along a vital maritime corridor.

“We’re going to stop the bombing of the Houthis, effective immediately,” Trump said at the start of his Oval Office meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.

Trump said that the Houthis had indicated to U.S. officials that “they don’t want to fight anymore. They just don’t want to fight. And we will honor that, and we will stop the bombings.”

That likely means an abrupt end to a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-yemen-houthis-rebels-attack-airstrike-11b0e080b3982542dd621338a7b18afd">bombing campaign that began in March</a>, when Trump promised to use “overwhelming lethal force” after the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/yemen-houthi-rebels-israel-hamas-war-gaza-aid-ship-attacks-0da6c2453fe2c4e5f81923c84c7d3f3a">Houthis said they would resume attacks</a>&nbsp;on Israeli vessels sailing off Yemen in response to Israel’s mounting another blockade on the Gaza Strip.

At the time, they described the warning as affecting the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the Arabian Sea.

Trump said the Houthis had “capitulated but, more importantly, we will take their word that they say they will not be blowing up ships anymore. And that’s what the purpose of what we were doing,” Trump said.

“I think that’s very positive,” Trump added. “They were knocking out a lot of ships.”

Asked how the Houthis had communicated that they were looking to stop being targeted by U.S. bombs, Trump offered few details, saying only with a chuckle that the information came from a “very good source.”

A short time later, Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi, confirmed that the U.S. bombing campaign was ending, posting on X that discussions involving the U.S. and Oman, as well as negotiators in Yemen, “have resulted in a ceasefire agreement between the two sides.”

“In the future, neither side will target the other, including American vessels, in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab Strait, ensuring freedom of navigation and the smooth flow of international commercial shipping,” he wrote, calling the agreement a “welcome outcome.”

Defense Secretary&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/pete-hegseth">Pete Hegseth</a>&nbsp;said on social media that Trump’s “objective from Day One: ‘ensuring freedom of navigation.’ PEACE THRU STRENGTH in action.”

The broad-based missile strikes Trump had ordered were similar to ones carried out against the Houthis multiple times by the administration of his predecessor, Democratic President&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/joe-biden">Joe Biden</a>, in response to frequent attacks against commercial and military vessels in the region.

The Trump-ordered airstrikes gained a higher profile in the public consciousness when The Atlantic revealed that Hegseth had&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/war-plans-trump-hegseth-atlantic-230718a984911dd8663d59edbcb86f2a">texted sensitive plans for a military strike</a>&nbsp;against the Houthis on a group chat in the messaging app Signal that mistakenly included the magazine’s editor-in-chief.

Trump stood by Hegseth and downplayed the breach as a “glitch.” But national security adviser&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-national-security-adviser-mike-wlatz-0c81d044c9ffe18dfd745202e8351b9c">Mike Waltz</a>, who created the group chat on Signal, left his post last week and has been&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-waltz-national-security-signal-db2443f6fed98e4067edd57f26f23603">nominated</a>&nbsp;by Trump to be the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/8/1723583511919.png" alt="Photo U.S. Central Command" />
 <figcaption>Photo U.S. Central Command</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — President&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a>&nbsp;said Tuesday that he’s ordering a halt to nearly two months of U.S. airstrikes on Yemen’s Houthis, saying that the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/houthis">Iran-backed rebels</a>&nbsp;have indicated that “they don’t want to fight anymore” and have pledged to stop attacking ships along a vital maritime corridor.“We’re going to stop the bombing of the Houthis, effective immediately,” Trump said at the start of his Oval Office meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.Trump said that the Houthis had indicated to U.S. officials that “they don’t want to fight anymore. They just don’t want to fight. And we will honor that, and we will stop the bombings.”That likely means an abrupt end to a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-yemen-houthis-rebels-attack-airstrike-11b0e080b3982542dd621338a7b18afd">bombing campaign that began in March</a>, when Trump promised to use “overwhelming lethal force” after the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/yemen-houthi-rebels-israel-hamas-war-gaza-aid-ship-attacks-0da6c2453fe2c4e5f81923c84c7d3f3a">Houthis said they would resume attacks</a>&nbsp;on Israeli vessels sailing off Yemen in response to Israel’s mounting another blockade on the Gaza Strip.At the time, they described the warning as affecting the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the Arabian Sea.Trump said the Houthis had “capitulated but, more importantly, we will take their word that they say they will not be blowing up ships anymore. And that’s what the purpose of what we were doing,” Trump said.“I think that’s very positive,” Trump added. “They were knocking out a lot of ships.”Asked how the Houthis had communicated that they were looking to stop being targeted by U.S. bombs, Trump offered few details, saying only with a chuckle that the information came from a “very good source.”A short time later, Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi, confirmed that the U.S. bombing campaign was ending, posting on X that discussions involving the U.S. and Oman, as well as negotiators in Yemen, “have resulted in a ceasefire agreement between the two sides.”“In the future, neither side will target the other, including American vessels, in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab Strait, ensuring freedom of navigation and the smooth flow of international commercial shipping,” he wrote, calling the agreement a “welcome outcome.”Defense Secretary&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/pete-hegseth">Pete Hegseth</a>&nbsp;said on social media that Trump’s “objective from Day One: ‘ensuring freedom of navigation.’ PEACE THRU STRENGTH in action.”The broad-based missile strikes Trump had ordered were similar to ones carried out against the Houthis multiple times by the administration of his predecessor, Democratic President&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/joe-biden">Joe Biden</a>, in response to frequent attacks against commercial and military vessels in the region.The Trump-ordered airstrikes gained a higher profile in the public consciousness when The Atlantic revealed that Hegseth had&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/war-plans-trump-hegseth-atlantic-230718a984911dd8663d59edbcb86f2a">texted sensitive plans for a military strike</a>&nbsp;against the Houthis on a group chat in the messaging app Signal that mistakenly included the magazine’s editor-in-chief.Trump stood by Hegseth and downplayed the breach as a “glitch.” But national security adviser&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-national-security-adviser-mike-wlatz-0c81d044c9ffe18dfd745202e8351b9c">Mike Waltz</a>, who created the group chat on Signal, left his post last week and has been&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-waltz-national-security-signal-db2443f6fed98e4067edd57f26f23603">nominated</a>&nbsp;by Trump to be the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

Trump: US has deal to stop bombing Houthis, end attacks on shipping

WASHINGTON (AP) — Travelers who aren’t&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/real-id-tsa-dhs-air-travel-5005fc6ad2b59bc96d1ee43db08e0ea4">REAL ID compliant</a>&nbsp;by the upcoming deadline this week will still be able to fly but should be prepared for extra scrutiny, the head of Homeland Security said Tuesday.

<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/kristi-noem">Kristi Noem</a>&nbsp;told a Congressional panel that 81% of travelers already have IDs that comply with the REAL ID requirements. She said security checkpoints will also be accepting passports and tribal identification when the deadline hits Wednesday.

Those who still lack an identification that complies with the REAL ID law “may be diverted to a different line, have an extra step,” Noem said.

“But people will be allowed to fly,” she said. “We will make sure it’s as seamless as possible.”

REAL ID is a federally compliant state-issued license or identification card that Homeland Security says is a more secure form of identification. It was a recommendation by the 9/11 Commission and signed into law in 2005.

The commission recommended the government set security standards for state-issued driver’s licenses and IDs. It was supposed to be rolled out in 2008 but implementation has been repeatedly delayed.

Besides needing a REAL ID to fly domestically, people will also need one to access certain federal buildings and facilities.

In recent weeks, Noem has been warning the American public about the upcoming deadline. In a television ad put out by Homeland Security, she warned that these IDs were needed for air travel and for entering public buildings, adding: “These IDs keep our country safe.”

A REAL ID-compliant driver’s license has a symbol (&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/JFKairport/status/1917292918634582136">in most states, a star</a>&nbsp;) in the top corner of the card.

NEW YORK (AP) — The deadline to get a REAL ID is fast approaching after years of postponements and delays.

Starting May 7, your license or identification card will need to be REAL ID-compliant to fly domestically in the U.S.

Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like there will be another delay in the deadline this time. So, if you're confused about how to get a REAL ID, why you even need one in the first place, and what happens if you don't have one by May 7, here are some things to know:

It's a federally compliant state-issued license or identification card that the DHS says is a more secure form of identification. Besides needing a REAL ID to fly domestically, you will also need one to access certain federal buildings and facilities.

When the REAL ID Act was signed into law in 2005, it enacted a recommendation from the 9/11 Commission that the government set security standards for state-issued driver's licenses and IDs.

"REAL ID is a coordinated effort by the federal government to improve the reliability and accuracy of driver's licenses and identification cards," John Essig, the Transportation Security Administration's Security Director for airports in the New York City region said in a press release on April 3. "The improvements are intended to inhibit terrorists' ability to evade detection by using fraudulent identification."

The REAL ID Act was supposed to begin rolling out in 2008, "but has faced repeated delays due to state implementation challenges and the COVID-19 pandemic," said Nina Ruggiero, senior editorial director for Travel + Leisure. "The combination of varying state processes and shifting deadlines has added to the overall confusion around REAL IDs and likely led some travelers to take the deadlines less seriously."

How do I know if I already have a REAL ID?

If you've gotten a new ID in the last few years, it could already be REAL ID-compliant.

"I also hear from travelers who are confused as to whether or not they already have a REAL ID," Ruggiero said. "Some people who have recently renewed their license may already have a compliant ID and not know it," so you may want to double-check yours before starting the process.

A REAL ID-compliant driver's license has a symbol ( in most states, a star ) in the top corner of the card.

If you live in Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Vermont or Washington, it's possible you could have an "enhanced" ID card instead, which permits you to cross land and sea borders into Mexico and Canada from the U.S. It does not, however, allow you to fly into either of those countries.

Enhanced IDs will have an American flag icon, as well as the word "enhanced" at the top of the card.

If I don't have a REAL ID, how do I get one?

The requirements vary by state, so you will need to visit the website of your state's driver's licensing agency to find out the specific steps, including whether you'll need to make an appointment at a DMV and what documentation you'll need when you get there.

What happens on May 7? What if I don't have a REAL ID by then?

If you don't have a REAL ID by the deadline and you're planning to board a domestic flight, you will need to bring your passport or another TSA-approved form of identification when you travel.

Otherwise, you could face "delays, additional screening and the possibility of not being permitted into the security checkpoint," warns TSA spokesperson Lisa Farbstein.

The deadline has already been pushed back so many times. Could it be delayed again?

In mid-April, a group of state senators from Kentucky asked the agency to delay implementing the new requirements yet again. They said the state has limited appointments available to people seeking the new cards and that there has been a rush to meet the May 7 deadline.

However, TSA spokesperson Dan Velez told the AP that the agency does not intend to delay the REAL ID deadline again.

As of late April, 81% of travelers at TSA checkpoints were presenting acceptable identification, including a state-issued REAL ID, according to DHS.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/4/1617726479094.jpeg" alt=" " />
 <figcaption> </figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — Travelers who aren’t&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/real-id-tsa-dhs-air-travel-5005fc6ad2b59bc96d1ee43db08e0ea4">REAL ID compliant</a>&nbsp;by the upcoming deadline this week will still be able to fly but should be prepared for extra scrutiny, the head of Homeland Security said Tuesday.<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/kristi-noem">Kristi Noem</a>&nbsp;told a Congressional panel that 81% of travelers already have IDs that comply with the REAL ID requirements. She said security checkpoints will also be accepting passports and tribal identification when the deadline hits Wednesday.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">.<a href="https://twitter.com/Sec_Noem?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Sec_Noem</a>: &quot;Tomorrow is the day that Real ID will finally be enforced. It&#39;s been a law that&#39;s been in place for over 20 years. 81% of the travelers that travel by airline in the United States today are already compliant.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/n4A6ZVorkw">pic.twitter.com/n4A6ZVorkw</a>&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1919765080175989075?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 6, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Those who still lack an identification that complies with the REAL ID law “may be diverted to a different line, have an extra step,” Noem said.“But people will be allowed to fly,” she said. “We will make sure it’s as seamless as possible.”<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">REAL ID enforcement begins TOMORROW. If you’re flying within the U.S. &amp; do not have a REAL ID or other acceptable form of ID (like a passport or military ID) you may be subject to additional screening. Plan ahead, arrive early, and arrive prepared. 🔗 <a href="https://t.co/6uWOP95HFj">https://t.co/6uWOP95HFj</a> <a href="https://t.co/nJtraAlM00">pic.twitter.com/nJtraAlM00</a>&mdash; TSA (@TSA) <a href="https://twitter.com/TSA/status/1919776420357648690?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 6, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>REAL ID is a federally compliant state-issued license or identification card that Homeland Security says is a more secure form of identification. It was a recommendation by the 9/11 Commission and signed into law in 2005.The commission recommended the government set security standards for state-issued driver’s licenses and IDs. It was supposed to be rolled out in 2008 but implementation has been repeatedly delayed.Besides needing a REAL ID to fly domestically, people will also need one to access certain federal buildings and facilities.In recent weeks, Noem has been warning the American public about the upcoming deadline. In a television ad put out by Homeland Security, she warned that these IDs were needed for air travel and for entering public buildings, adding: “These IDs keep our country safe.”A REAL ID-compliant driver’s license has a symbol (&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/JFKairport/status/1917292918634582136">in most states, a star</a>&nbsp;) in the top corner of the card.-------------------By BRIDGET BROWN Associated PressNEW YORK (AP) — The deadline to get a REAL ID is fast approaching after years of postponements and delays.Starting May 7, your license or identification card will need to be REAL ID-compliant to fly domestically in the U.S.Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like there will be another delay in the deadline this time. So, if you're confused about how to get a REAL ID, why you even need one in the first place, and what happens if you don't have one by May 7, here are some things to know:What is a REAL ID?It's a federally compliant state-issued license or identification card that the DHS says is a more secure form of identification. Besides needing a REAL ID to fly domestically, you will also need one to access certain federal buildings and facilities.Why is this happening?When the REAL ID Act was signed into law in 2005, it enacted a recommendation from the 9/11 Commission that the government set security standards for state-issued driver's licenses and IDs."REAL ID is a coordinated effort by the federal government to improve the reliability and accuracy of driver's licenses and identification cards," John Essig, the Transportation Security Administration's Security Director for airports in the New York City region said in a press release on April 3. "The improvements are intended to inhibit terrorists' ability to evade detection by using fraudulent identification."The REAL ID Act was supposed to begin rolling out in 2008, "but has faced repeated delays due to state implementation challenges and the COVID-19 pandemic," said Nina Ruggiero, senior editorial director for Travel + Leisure. "The combination of varying state processes and shifting deadlines has added to the overall confusion around REAL IDs and likely led some travelers to take the deadlines less seriously."How do I know if I already have a REAL ID?If you've gotten a new ID in the last few years, it could already be REAL ID-compliant."I also hear from travelers who are confused as to whether or not they already have a REAL ID," Ruggiero said. "Some people who have recently renewed their license may already have a compliant ID and not know it," so you may want to double-check yours before starting the process.A REAL ID-compliant driver's license has a symbol ( in most states, a star ) in the top corner of the card.If you live in Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Vermont or Washington, it's possible you could have an "enhanced" ID card instead, which permits you to cross land and sea borders into Mexico and Canada from the U.S. It does not, however, allow you to fly into either of those countries.Enhanced IDs will have an American flag icon, as well as the word "enhanced" at the top of the card.If I don't have a REAL ID, how do I get one?The requirements vary by state, so you will need to visit the website of your state's driver's licensing agency to find out the specific steps, including whether you'll need to make an appointment at a DMV and what documentation you'll need when you get there.What happens on May 7? What if I don't have a REAL ID by then?If you don't have a REAL ID by the deadline and you're planning to board a domestic flight, you will need to bring your passport or another TSA-approved form of identification when you travel.Otherwise, you could face "delays, additional screening and the possibility of not being permitted into the security checkpoint," warns TSA spokesperson Lisa Farbstein.The deadline has already been pushed back so many times. Could it be delayed again?In mid-April, a group of state senators from Kentucky asked the agency to delay implementing the new requirements yet again. They said the state has limited appointments available to people seeking the new cards and that there has been a rush to meet the May 7 deadline.However, TSA spokesperson Dan Velez told the AP that the agency does not intend to delay the REAL ID deadline again.As of late April, 81% of travelers at TSA checkpoints were presenting acceptable identification, including a state-issued REAL ID, according to DHS.

🎥DHS explains what will happen Wednesday to travelers without a REAL ID 

WASHINGTON (AP) — The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/us-supreme-court">Supreme Court</a>&nbsp;on Tuesday allowed President Donald Trump’s administration to enforce&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/transgender-military-trump-ban-troops-deb9e388ff588d9d25fb0d8cc58e540f">a ban on transgender people in the military</a>, while legal challenges proceed.

The court acted in the dispute over a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/transgender-military-trump-ban-troops-deb9e388ff588d9d25fb0d8cc58e540f">policy</a>&nbsp;that presumptively disqualifies transgender people from military service and could lead to the expulsion of experienced, decorated officers.

The court’s three liberal justices said they would have kept the policy on hold.

Just after beginning his second term in January, Trump moved aggressively to roll back&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-transgender-order-passports-prisons-military-3c14ecbdd10f61618384e81624d090fb">the rights of transgender people</a>. Among the Republican president’s actions was an executive order that claims the sexual identity of transgender service members “conflicts with a soldier’s commitment to an honorable, truthful, and disciplined lifestyle, even in one’s personal life” and is harmful to military readiness.

In response, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/transgender-military-trump-ban-troops-deb9e388ff588d9d25fb0d8cc58e540f">issued a policy</a>&nbsp;that gives the military services 30 days to figure out how they will seek out and identify transgender service members to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/hegseth-tuskegee-airmen-dei-pentagon-480d932c8bcb4c6056abe78e34010982">remove them from the force</a>.

Three federal judges had ruled against the ban.

In the case the justices acted in Tuesday, U.S. District Court Judge Benjamin Settle in Tacoma, Washington, had ruled for seven long-serving transgender military members who say that the ban is insulting and discriminatory and that their firing would cause lasting damage to their careers and reputations. A prospective service member also sued.

The individual service members who challenged the ban together have amassed more than 70 medals in 115 years of service, their lawyers wrote. The lead plaintiff is Emily Shilling, a Navy commander with nearly 20 years of service, including as a combat pilot who flew 60 missions in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

The Trump administration offered no explanation as to why transgender troops, who have been able to serve openly over the past four years with no evidence of problems, should suddenly be banned, Settle wrote. The judge is an appointee of Republican President George W. Bush and is a former captain in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General Corps.

Settle imposed a nationwide hold on the policy and a federal appeals court rejected the administration’s emergency plea. The Justice Department then turned to the Supreme Court.

The policy also has been blocked by a federal judge in the nation’s capital, but that ruling has been temporarily halted by a federal appeals court, which heard arguments last month. The three-judge panel, which includes two judges appointed by Trump during his first term, appeared to be in favor of the administration’s position.

In a more limited ruling, a judge in New Jersey also has&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-transgender-troops-military-judge-new-jersey-3b7cfe4235487ce08db678ec0386a5d4">barred the Air Force</a>&nbsp;from removing two transgender men, saying they showed their separation would cause lasting damage to their careers and reputations that no monetary settlement could repair.

The LGBTQ rights group Lambda Legal called the high court order a devastating blow to dedicated and highly qualified service members.

"By allowing this discriminatory ban to take effect while our challenge continues, the court has temporarily sanctioned a policy that has nothing to do with military readiness and everything to do with prejudice. Transgender individuals meet the same standards and demonstrate the same values as all who serve. We remain steadfast in our belief that this ban violates constitutional guarantees of equal protection and will ultimately be struck down,” the group said in a statement.

The federal appeals court in San Francisco will hear the administration's appeal in a process that will play out over several months at least. All the while, though, the transgender ban will remain in place under the Supreme Court order.

In 2016, during Barack Obama’s presidency, a Defense Department policy permitted transgender people to serve openly in the military. During Trump’s first term in the White House, the Republican issued a directive to ban transgender service members, with an exception for some of those who had already started transitioning under more lenient rules that were in effect during Obama’s Democratic administration.

The Supreme Court&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/7bda7809a10e4c6f9c9ff0077d4165f4">allowed that ban to take effect</a>. President Joe Biden, a Democrat,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-reverse-ban-transgender-military-f0ace4f9866e0ca0df021eba75b3af20">scrapped it</a>&nbsp;when he took office.

The rules the Defense Department wants to enforce contain no exceptions.

The policy during Trump’s first term and the new one are “materially indistinguishable,” Solicitor General D. John Sauer told the justices, though lawyers for the service members who sued disagreed.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/12/1672235865420.png" alt="Supreme Court Credit: Fred Schilling, Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States" />
 <figcaption>Supreme Court Credit: Fred Schilling, Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/us-supreme-court">Supreme Court</a>&nbsp;on Tuesday allowed President Donald Trump’s administration to enforce&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/transgender-military-trump-ban-troops-deb9e388ff588d9d25fb0d8cc58e540f">a ban on transgender people in the military</a>, while legal challenges proceed.The court acted in the dispute over a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/transgender-military-trump-ban-troops-deb9e388ff588d9d25fb0d8cc58e540f">policy</a>&nbsp;that presumptively disqualifies transgender people from military service and could lead to the expulsion of experienced, decorated officers.The court’s three liberal justices said they would have kept the policy on hold.Just after beginning his second term in January, Trump moved aggressively to roll back&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-transgender-order-passports-prisons-military-3c14ecbdd10f61618384e81624d090fb">the rights of transgender people</a>. Among the Republican president’s actions was an executive order that claims the sexual identity of transgender service members “conflicts with a soldier’s commitment to an honorable, truthful, and disciplined lifestyle, even in one’s personal life” and is harmful to military readiness.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">. <a href="https://twitter.com/SecDef?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SecDef</a> We are leaving WOKENESS and WEAKNESS behind. No more pronouns, no more climate change obsessions, no more emergency vaccine mandates, no more DUDES IN DRESSES. We are done with that sh*t.” <a href="https://t.co/MSunWnRYXU">pic.twitter.com/MSunWnRYXU</a>&mdash; DOD Rapid Response (@DODResponse) <a href="https://twitter.com/DODResponse/status/1919742768831692830?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 6, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>In response, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/transgender-military-trump-ban-troops-deb9e388ff588d9d25fb0d8cc58e540f">issued a policy</a>&nbsp;that gives the military services 30 days to figure out how they will seek out and identify transgender service members to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/hegseth-tuskegee-airmen-dei-pentagon-480d932c8bcb4c6056abe78e34010982">remove them from the force</a>.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 <a href="https://t.co/4StUIuSn2z">pic.twitter.com/4StUIuSn2z</a>&mdash; DOD Rapid Response (@DODResponse) <a href="https://twitter.com/DODResponse/status/1919838609709978067?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 6, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Three federal judges had ruled against the ban.In the case the justices acted in Tuesday, U.S. District Court Judge Benjamin Settle in Tacoma, Washington, had ruled for seven long-serving transgender military members who say that the ban is insulting and discriminatory and that their firing would cause lasting damage to their careers and reputations. A prospective service member also sued.The individual service members who challenged the ban together have amassed more than 70 medals in 115 years of service, their lawyers wrote. The lead plaintiff is Emily Shilling, a Navy commander with nearly 20 years of service, including as a combat pilot who flew 60 missions in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.The Trump administration offered no explanation as to why transgender troops, who have been able to serve openly over the past four years with no evidence of problems, should suddenly be banned, Settle wrote. The judge is an appointee of Republican President George W. Bush and is a former captain in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General Corps.Settle imposed a nationwide hold on the policy and a federal appeals court rejected the administration’s emergency plea. The Justice Department then turned to the Supreme Court.The policy also has been blocked by a federal judge in the nation’s capital, but that ruling has been temporarily halted by a federal appeals court, which heard arguments last month. The three-judge panel, which includes two judges appointed by Trump during his first term, appeared to be in favor of the administration’s position.In a more limited ruling, a judge in New Jersey also has&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-transgender-troops-military-judge-new-jersey-3b7cfe4235487ce08db678ec0386a5d4">barred the Air Force</a>&nbsp;from removing two transgender men, saying they showed their separation would cause lasting damage to their careers and reputations that no monetary settlement could repair.The LGBTQ rights group Lambda Legal called the high court order a devastating blow to dedicated and highly qualified service members."By allowing this discriminatory ban to take effect while our challenge continues, the court has temporarily sanctioned a policy that has nothing to do with military readiness and everything to do with prejudice. Transgender individuals meet the same standards and demonstrate the same values as all who serve. We remain steadfast in our belief that this ban violates constitutional guarantees of equal protection and will ultimately be struck down,” the group said in a statement.The federal appeals court in San Francisco will hear the administration's appeal in a process that will play out over several months at least. All the while, though, the transgender ban will remain in place under the Supreme Court order.In 2016, during Barack Obama’s presidency, a Defense Department policy permitted transgender people to serve openly in the military. During Trump’s first term in the White House, the Republican issued a directive to ban transgender service members, with an exception for some of those who had already started transitioning under more lenient rules that were in effect during Obama’s Democratic administration.The Supreme Court&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/7bda7809a10e4c6f9c9ff0077d4165f4">allowed that ban to take effect</a>. President Joe Biden, a Democrat,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-reverse-ban-transgender-military-f0ace4f9866e0ca0df021eba75b3af20">scrapped it</a>&nbsp;when he took office.The rules the Defense Department wants to enforce contain no exceptions.The policy during Trump’s first term and the new one are “materially indistinguishable,” Solicitor General D. John Sauer told the justices, though lawyers for the service members who sued disagreed.

Supreme Court allows ban on transgender members of the military to take effect

House budget bill might trim $1 billion from state’s Medicaid system

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/5/1746552383496.png" alt=" Gov. Laura Kelly, chair of the Democratic Governors Association, asked the Kansas’ six representatives in Congress to oppose large-scale federal funding cuts to Medicaid. The program serves more than 440,000 Kansans who are elderly, children, pregnant women or disabled. In 2023 and 2024, Kelly toured the state pitching the idea of broadening access to Medicaid, including this appearance at Southwest Medical Center in Liberal, Kansas. (Allison Kite/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption> Gov. Laura Kelly, chair of the Democratic Governors Association, asked the Kansas’ six representatives in Congress to oppose large-scale federal funding cuts to Medicaid. The program serves more than 440,000 Kansans who are elderly, children, pregnant women or disabled. In 2023 and 2024, Kelly toured the state pitching the idea of broadening access to Medicaid, including this appearance at Southwest Medical Center in Liberal, Kansas. (Allison Kite/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>House budget bill might trim $1 billion from state’s Medicaid system</h2>By&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/tim-carpenter/">TIM CARPENTER</a> <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2025/02/24/gov-laura-kelly-skeptical-kansas-houses-anti-tenure-legislation-will-reach-her-desk/">Kansas Reflector</a>TOPEKA — Gov. Laura Kelly joined three other Democratic governors Tuesday in denouncing movement by the Republican-led Congress to impose substantial cuts in federal funding of the Medicaid program providing health care to more than 70 million Americans.Kelly, the chair of the Democratic Governors Association who has campaigned for expansion of Medicaid in Kansas, said the latest proposal in Congress would have a substantial effect on coverage for about 443,000 low-income seniors, children, pregnant mothers and people with disabilities in Kansas.“Congressional Republicans’ new proposal is expected to slash Medicaid funding by billions of dollars over the next 10 years, threatening health coverage for millions of Americans who rely on this essential program,” Kelly said. “It would be particularly devastating for our rural providers and hospitals who are already struggling to keep their doors open.”Kelly said 64% of the state’s rural hospitals were at risk of closing and diminishing Medicaid funding would further strain those hospitals. She said the damage could come in the form of lower reimbursement rates to health providers or through growth of uncompensated care for individuals who lost coverage.On Monday, Kelly said she sent letters to the five Republicans and one Democrat in the Kansas congressional delegation urging those lawmakers to resist pressure to vote for Medicaid cuts that would deny health care to the most vulnerable people in the state.“Significant cuts to the Medicaid program will directly affect Kansans across the state, regardless of their political views. These cuts would be particularly detrimental to our rural hospitals and providers,” Kelly said.She said the decision by the Kansas Legislature to block expansion of eligibility for Medicaid meant the state’s hospitals currently carry a higher burden of charity care.So far, the governor said, refusal to take advantage of the Affordable Care Act provisions broadening eligibility for Medicaid meant Kansas turned away approximately $7 billion in federal funding that would have flowed through the state’s health care economy during the past decade.Kansas House Speaker Dan Hawkins, a Wichita Republican who indicated interest in running for state insurance commissioner, said President Donald Trump and his allies were working to the cost of Medicaid to make certain it was sustainable for years to come.“Our country cannot continue spending money like drunken sailors,” Hawkins said. “I applaud the Trump administration and those in our federal delegation for their efforts to preserve Medicaid.”He said it was wrong for states to enroll “able-bodied adults” in the Medicaid program designed for the frail, elderly and disabled as well as children. He endorsed imposition of work requirements for adults in Medicaid ranging in age from 18 to 60 who weren’t pregnant or disabled.“Governor Kelly should be less concerned about leading the DGA resistance to President Trump and focus more on the best interests of the country, the people of Kansas and the long-term future of Medicaid,” Hawkins said.In response to the governor’s letter, U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids of Kansas said her GOP colleagues in Congress should reject large federal cuts to Medicaid enacted to help pay for tax breaks to wealthy Americans.“I stand with Governor Kelly in urging all federal leaders to reject these devastating Medicaid cuts,” the 3rd District Democrat said. “I’ve fought time and again to protect and expand Medicaid in Kansas because our families shouldn’t have to pay more or travel farther just to get the health care they need.”