BUTLER COUNTY, Kan. —The Kansas Highway Patrol is investigating a fatal hit and run that occurred just before 7p.m. Monday in Butler County.

The KHP reported a 2015 Freightliner semi driven by Clinton Wyatt, 55,&nbsp;Bettendorf, Iowa, was southbound on Interstate 35 near Eldorado, Kansas.

The semi struck a pedestrian identified as&nbsp;Eduardo Garcia Guzman, 31, New London, Iowa, who was picking up triangles behind his vehicle which was parked on the shoulder. The semi did not stop.

Guzman was pronounced dead at the scene and was transported to Preferred Mortuary Service. The KHP released no additional details.

BUTLER COUNTY, Kan. —The Kansas Highway Patrol is investigating a fatal hit and run that occurred just before 7p.m. Monday in Butler County.The KHP reported a 2015 Freightliner semi driven by Clinton Wyatt, 55,&nbsp;Bettendorf, Iowa, was southbound on Interstate 35 near Eldorado, Kansas.The semi struck a pedestrian identified as&nbsp;Eduardo Garcia Guzman, 31, New London, Iowa, who was picking up triangles behind his vehicle which was parked on the shoulder. The semi did not stop.Guzman was pronounced dead at the scene and was transported to Preferred Mortuary Service. The KHP released no additional details.

Iowa man dies after hit-and-run on the Kansas Turnpike

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The Justice Department on Monday sued Texas Gov. Greg Abbott over&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/buoys-texas-immigration-rio-grande-mexico-522e45febd880de1453460370043a25f">a newly installed floating barrier</a>&nbsp;on the Rio Grande that is the Republican's latest aggressive tactic to try to stop migrants from crossing into the U.S. from Mexico.

The lawsuit asks a federal judge in Austin to force Texas to remove a roughly 1,000-foot (305-meter) line of bright orange, wrecking ball-sized buoys that the Biden administration&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/texas-buoy-barrier-migrants-6a807c66a5781448801ac7fc0be46083">says raises humanitarian and environmental concerns</a>. The suit claims that Texas unlawfully installed the barrier without permission between the border cities of Eagle Pass and Piedras Negras, Mexico.

The buoys are&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/immigration-texas-border-buoys-wire-abbott-5f138e354e88fc319f46c55344d7335c">the latest escalation of Texas’ border security operation</a>&nbsp;that also includes razor-wire fencing, arresting migrants on trespassing charges and sending&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/migrants-los-angeles-california-texas-immigration-abbott-3fdb47985b34cd8301b61251b590778c">busloads of asylum-seekers</a>&nbsp;to Democratic-led cities in other states. Critics have long questioned the effectiveness of the two-year operation, known as Operation Lone Star. A state trooper's account this month that some of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/texas-border-razor-wire-fainting-7aa811baf2708b89a0316804c3f2e35e">the measures injured migrants</a>&nbsp;has put the mission under intensifying new scrutiny.

In anticipation of the lawsuit, Abbott sent President Joe Biden a letter earlier Monday that defended Texas’ right to install the barrier. He accused Biden of putting migrants at risk by not doing more to deter them from making the journey to the U.S.

“Texas will see you in court, Mr. President,” Abbott wrote.

The Biden administration has said illegal border crossings have declined significantly since new immigration restrictions&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/immigration-biden-border-title-42-mexico-asylum-be4e0b15b27adb9bede87b9bbefb798d">took effect in May</a>. In June, the first full month since the new polices took effect, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said migrant encounters were down 30% from the month prior and were at the lowest levels since Biden's first full month in office.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters that Abbott's policies as a whole have made it difficult for U.S. Border Patrol agents to access Rio Grande.

“Those are unlawful actions that are not helpful and is undermining what the president has put forward and is trying to do," she said.

In a letter last week, the Justice Department gave Texas until Monday to commit to removing the barrier or face a lawsuit. The letter said the buoy wall “poses a risk to navigation, as well as public safety, in the Rio Grande River, and it presents humanitarian concerns.”

The state deployed the buoys&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/immigration-texas-border-buoys-wire-abbott-5f138e354e88fc319f46c55344d7335c">without notifying</a>&nbsp;the International Boundary and Water Commission or the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Mexico's secretary of state asked the federal government to intervene, saying the barrier violates international treaties.

The lawsuit is not the first time the Biden administration has sued Texas overs it actions on the border.

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland in 2021 accused the state of usurping and even interfering with the federal government’s responsibility to enforce immigration laws after&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-texas-immigration-coronavirus-pandemic-55e31af32734aa443a43f23104c56dad">Abbott empowered state troopers orders to stop vehicles</a>&nbsp;carrying migrants on the basis that they could increase the spread of COVID-19.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/7/1690239152931.png" alt="Photo Texas Department of Public Safety" />
 <figcaption>Photo Texas Department of Public Safety</figcaption>
 </figure>AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The Justice Department on Monday sued Texas Gov. Greg Abbott over&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/buoys-texas-immigration-rio-grande-mexico-522e45febd880de1453460370043a25f">a newly installed floating barrier</a>&nbsp;on the Rio Grande that is the Republican's latest aggressive tactic to try to stop migrants from crossing into the U.S. from Mexico.The lawsuit asks a federal judge in Austin to force Texas to remove a roughly 1,000-foot (305-meter) line of bright orange, wrecking ball-sized buoys that the Biden administration&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/texas-buoy-barrier-migrants-6a807c66a5781448801ac7fc0be46083">says raises humanitarian and environmental concerns</a>. The suit claims that Texas unlawfully installed the barrier without permission between the border cities of Eagle Pass and Piedras Negras, Mexico.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">President Biden&#39;s Dept. of Justice threatened to sue Texas over the marine barriers we deployed on the Rio Grande. Mr. President, Texas will see you in court. Texas will fully utilize our sovereign authority to deal with the humanitarian crisis Biden created at our border. <a href="https://t.co/hlnHahwDi8">pic.twitter.com/hlnHahwDi8</a>&mdash; Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) <a href="https://twitter.com/GregAbbott_TX/status/1683494430429282307?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 24, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>The buoys are&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/immigration-texas-border-buoys-wire-abbott-5f138e354e88fc319f46c55344d7335c">the latest escalation of Texas’ border security operation</a>&nbsp;that also includes razor-wire fencing, arresting migrants on trespassing charges and sending&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/migrants-los-angeles-california-texas-immigration-abbott-3fdb47985b34cd8301b61251b590778c">busloads of asylum-seekers</a>&nbsp;to Democratic-led cities in other states. Critics have long questioned the effectiveness of the two-year operation, known as Operation Lone Star. A state trooper's account this month that some of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/texas-border-razor-wire-fainting-7aa811baf2708b89a0316804c3f2e35e">the measures injured migrants</a>&nbsp;has put the mission under intensifying new scrutiny.In anticipation of the lawsuit, Abbott sent President Joe Biden a letter earlier Monday that defended Texas’ right to install the barrier. He accused Biden of putting migrants at risk by not doing more to deter them from making the journey to the U.S.“Texas will see you in court, Mr. President,” Abbott wrote.The Biden administration has said illegal border crossings have declined significantly since new immigration restrictions&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/immigration-biden-border-title-42-mexico-asylum-be4e0b15b27adb9bede87b9bbefb798d">took effect in May</a>. In June, the first full month since the new polices took effect, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said migrant encounters were down 30% from the month prior and were at the lowest levels since Biden's first full month in office.White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters that Abbott's policies as a whole have made it difficult for U.S. Border Patrol agents to access Rio Grande.“Those are unlawful actions that are not helpful and is undermining what the president has put forward and is trying to do," she said.In a letter last week, the Justice Department gave Texas until Monday to commit to removing the barrier or face a lawsuit. The letter said the buoy wall “poses a risk to navigation, as well as public safety, in the Rio Grande River, and it presents humanitarian concerns.”The state deployed the buoys&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/immigration-texas-border-buoys-wire-abbott-5f138e354e88fc319f46c55344d7335c">without notifying</a>&nbsp;the International Boundary and Water Commission or the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Mexico's secretary of state asked the federal government to intervene, saying the barrier violates international treaties.The lawsuit is not the first time the Biden administration has sued Texas overs it actions on the border.U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland in 2021 accused the state of usurping and even interfering with the federal government’s responsibility to enforce immigration laws after&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-texas-immigration-coronavirus-pandemic-55e31af32734aa443a43f23104c56dad">Abbott empowered state troopers orders to stop vehicles</a>&nbsp;carrying migrants on the basis that they could increase the spread of COVID-19.___

Biden admin. sues Texas gov. over buoy barrier meant to stop migrants

By TIM CARPENTER <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/04/06/grieving-moms-plea-to-kansas-lawmakers-do-something-this-epidemic-is-killing-our-kids/">Kansas Reflector</a>

Kansas liberal arts college to focus on student access, academic expansion

TOPEKA — McPherson College secured endowment pledges to meet requirements of a $500 million challenge donation from an anonymous donor who committed another half a billion dollars to the small liberal arts college in Kansas.

The agreement with the benefactor allowed the large donation to be paid out over time or upon the donor’s death to give the college access to $1 billion. A majority of smaller matching gifts made to meet the challenge were estate commitments.

“Now, the work begins to build a bridge to our future endowment,” said Michael Schneider, the college’s president. “We need to carefully plan how the income from the endowment is deployed to reimagine and construct the campus of the future, build a much-needed rural health pipeline in Kansas, create a center for the future of automotive engineering and work to make college more affordable for all our students.”

“I am incredibly grateful to our anonymous donor for giving us an unprecedented opportunity — and responsibility — to build and implement our strategic vision of becoming a destination learning community,” he said.

Schneider affirmed the initial $500 million double-match had been secured during a meeting with about 200 faculty, staff and others. News of the second $500 million gift from the unnamed donor also was announced Friday in McPherson.

In November, the anonymous donor promised to deliver $2 for every $1 raised by McPherson College up to a maximum gift of $500 million. The college had to meet that mark by June 30. Under that scenario, the college’s endowment would grow by $750 million.

The supplemental commitment of $500 million would grow the endowment by at least $1.25 billion.

The McPherson College’s board of trustees voted to name the college’s endowment for the late John Ward and John Burkholder, where were graduates and faculty at the college. Ward graduated in 1950 and taught at McPherson College and University of Nebraska. Burkholder earned a degree in 1949 and taught biology for nearly 40 years at McPherson College.

The college’s agenda included expansion of the student debt project. It’s a partnership with local businesses to provide 25 cents for every dollar a student contributed to their education. The dramatic expansion of the college’s endowment would finance a building master plan.

In addition, administrators intend to create the Kansas Center for Rural and Community Health to provide&nbsp; practitioners with the latest technology and techniques. The college features a unique four-year program in antique automobile restoration. One objective would be to create a national center on engineering design and mobility.

McPherson College was founded in the 1880s and enrolls about 850 students.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/7/1690224136804.png" alt=" Michael Schneider, president of McPherson College, said the college had secured commitments for $250 million to secure a $500 million donation. The anonymous benefactor of the Kansas liberal arts college also pledged another $500 million to the endowment. (Kansas Reflector screen capture from McPherson College video)" />
 <figcaption> Michael Schneider, president of McPherson College, said the college had secured commitments for $250 million to secure a $500 million donation. The anonymous benefactor of the Kansas liberal arts college also pledged another $500 million to the endowment. (Kansas Reflector screen capture from McPherson College video)</figcaption>
 </figure>By TIM CARPENTER <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/04/06/grieving-moms-plea-to-kansas-lawmakers-do-something-this-epidemic-is-killing-our-kids/">Kansas Reflector</a><h2>Kansas liberal arts college to focus on student access, academic expansion</h2>TOPEKA — McPherson College secured endowment pledges to meet requirements of a $500 million challenge donation from an anonymous donor who committed another half a billion dollars to the small liberal arts college in Kansas.The agreement with the benefactor allowed the large donation to be paid out over time or upon the donor’s death to give the college access to $1 billion. A majority of smaller matching gifts made to meet the challenge were estate commitments.“Now, the work begins to build a bridge to our future endowment,” said Michael Schneider, the college’s president. “We need to carefully plan how the income from the endowment is deployed to reimagine and construct the campus of the future, build a much-needed rural health pipeline in Kansas, create a center for the future of automotive engineering and work to make college more affordable for all our students.”“I am incredibly grateful to our anonymous donor for giving us an unprecedented opportunity — and responsibility — to build and implement our strategic vision of becoming a destination learning community,” he said.Schneider affirmed the initial $500 million double-match had been secured during a meeting with about 200 faculty, staff and others. News of the second $500 million gift from the unnamed donor also was announced Friday in McPherson.In November, the anonymous donor promised to deliver $2 for every $1 raised by McPherson College up to a maximum gift of $500 million. The college had to meet that mark by June 30. Under that scenario, the college’s endowment would grow by $750 million.The supplemental commitment of $500 million would grow the endowment by at least $1.25 billion.The McPherson College’s board of trustees voted to name the college’s endowment for the late John Ward and John Burkholder, where were graduates and faculty at the college. Ward graduated in 1950 and taught at McPherson College and University of Nebraska. Burkholder earned a degree in 1949 and taught biology for nearly 40 years at McPherson College.The college’s agenda included expansion of the student debt project. It’s a partnership with local businesses to provide 25 cents for every dollar a student contributed to their education. The dramatic expansion of the college’s endowment would finance a building master plan.In addition, administrators intend to create the Kansas Center for Rural and Community Health to provide&nbsp; practitioners with the latest technology and techniques. The college features a unique four-year program in antique automobile restoration. One objective would be to create a national center on engineering design and mobility.McPherson College was founded in the 1880s and enrolls about 850 students.

Gift of $1 billion to McPherson College sparking extraordinary educational journey

YELLOWSTONE COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a deadly bear encounter near Yellowstone.&nbsp;

About 8 a.m. Saturday, game wardens with Montana Fish, Wildlife &amp; Parks were notified that a hiker had found a woman deceased on the trail, about 8 miles west of West Yellowstone, according to the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.&nbsp;&nbsp;Amie Adamson, 47, of Derby, Kansas was identified as the victim, according to her family.

She was believed to be alone during the encounter, and no bear spray or firearms were found at the scene.&nbsp;

Fish Wildlife and Parks wardens and bear specialists, along with staff from other agencies, found that Adamson had wounds consistent with a bear attack. 

They also found tracks from an adult grizzly bear and at least one cub near the site. They did not see any bears or signs of a day bed or animal carcass during the investigation. 

The <a href="https://www.facebook.com/CusterGallatinNationalForest?__cft__[0]=AZUxBKfXHO7Fsxh6bB5uE8XuCdiAkUQ9W4VUzeKS_3PwHLG0ekEbqjS7Bmi3KY1bu1T9aqdh4mEDWOG0_E0ryPgRTCqgASdbIbALRVR92yzyYLP_-l6N-HeXXYwkbGSbMQCT8h_2_cLa72BzoV7BiAo4B4nvla06Z4KVXq0eBUSmHmd0uTB0c2kAg5-xrc_bn4A&amp;__tn__=-]K-R">Custer Gallatin National Forest</a> implemented an emergency closure of the area as a safety precaution. FWP bear specialists and game wardens notified residents and visitors nearby of the bear activity and the U.S. Forest Service closure.

They then began conducting capture operations due to the incident’s proximity to residences, campgrounds and a high-use OHV trail system. No bears have been captured to date. FWP staff also searched the area from an aircraft and did not locate any bears.&nbsp;

In June, a bear attacked and killed a man at a campsite in central Arizona. That victim, 66-year-old Steven Jackson of Tucson, was at his campsite when the bear attack him in the morning, according to a media release from the Yavapai County Sheriff’s office.

On Sunday, the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/CusterGallatinNationalForest?__cft__[0]=AZWPeq8ILnzI3ZsZE9RcgldAf3GtDN5Hqzyb7yB9PZOdzOG-Wt9XtfWfCLoEDWiHw880XJBBGpDXGntDYB-Aq6tPQ73qdxm3lraRDYEaTMoPuW20W7FUhB6WIcOp8qATPdUSxrkppFFaOLhI587Tg9R7sk8v1991zYQCST9JbNrlfEYSOjebjLkyFWj-wf2l3AkweCZ3iTv2RyT42fLB7XCB&amp;__tn__=-]K-R">Custer Gallatin National Forest</a>&nbsp;in Montana issued an emergency closure of the Buttermilk area for human safety..Generally, the Buttermilk Area Closure is located about 8 miles west of West Yellowstone.

 It follows the Continental Divide Trail, Forest Service Trail #116, from the trailhead near Targhee Pass on Highway 20 south to the confluence with Cream Creek Road, Forest Service Road #1703 and Road 484. The area closure follows these roads to the east and north back to the Forest Service boundary just south of Highway 20 and to the west to connect with the Continental Divide Trail #116.

Bears can be found throughout Montana. In recent years, grizzly bear populations have expanded. Those venturing into the outdoors should “Be Bear Aware” by following precautionary step that include: Carry and know how to use bear spray; Travel in groups whenever possible and plan to be out in the daylight hour; Avoid carcass sites and concentrations of ravens and other scavengers; Watch for signs of bears such as bear scat, diggings, torn-up logs and turned over rocks, and partly consumed animal carcasses; Make noise, especially near streams or in thick forest where hearing and visibility are limited, to alert bears to your presence and Don't approach a bear.

<a href="https://fwp.mt.gov/conservation/wildlife-management/bear?fbclid=IwAR0bAeovbe1CgGK-8_n_ZlUfooQhjzsVLDKnzfi20js151jSMMtX8x7ZnJ0">Click here to learn</a> more about bears in the wild.

On Saturday, a woman was found deceased on the Buttermilk Trail west of West Yellowstone following an apparent bear encounter, according to the&nbsp;Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.&nbsp; Investigators confirmed grizzly bear tracks at the scene.&nbsp;Amie Adamson, 47, of Derby, Kansas was identified as the victim, according to her family.

Neighbors tried to help by making noises. But the bear was able to drag Jackson several yards in the campsite in the Groom Creek area about 100 miles&nbsp; north of Phoenix.&nbsp;A neighbor then shot and killed the bear, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

YELLOWSTONE COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a deadly bear encounter near Yellowstone.&nbsp;About 8 a.m. Saturday, game wardens with Montana Fish, Wildlife &amp; Parks were notified that a hiker had found a woman deceased on the trail, about 8 miles west of West Yellowstone, according to the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.&nbsp;&nbsp;Amie Adamson, 47, of Derby, Kansas was identified as the victim, according to her family.She was believed to be alone during the encounter, and no bear spray or firearms were found at the scene.&nbsp;Fish Wildlife and Parks wardens and bear specialists, along with staff from other agencies, found that Adamson had wounds consistent with a bear attack. They also found tracks from an adult grizzly bear and at least one cub near the site. They did not see any bears or signs of a day bed or animal carcass during the investigation. The <a href="https://www.facebook.com/CusterGallatinNationalForest?__cft__[0]=AZUxBKfXHO7Fsxh6bB5uE8XuCdiAkUQ9W4VUzeKS_3PwHLG0ekEbqjS7Bmi3KY1bu1T9aqdh4mEDWOG0_E0ryPgRTCqgASdbIbALRVR92yzyYLP_-l6N-HeXXYwkbGSbMQCT8h_2_cLa72BzoV7BiAo4B4nvla06Z4KVXq0eBUSmHmd0uTB0c2kAg5-xrc_bn4A&amp;__tn__=-]K-R">Custer Gallatin National Forest</a> implemented an emergency closure of the area as a safety precaution. FWP bear specialists and game wardens notified residents and visitors nearby of the bear activity and the U.S. Forest Service closure. They then began conducting capture operations due to the incident’s proximity to residences, campgrounds and a high-use OHV trail system. No bears have been captured to date. FWP staff also searched the area from an aircraft and did not locate any bears.&nbsp;In June, a bear attacked and killed a man at a campsite in central Arizona. That victim, 66-year-old Steven Jackson of Tucson, was at his campsite when the bear attack him in the morning, according to a media release from the Yavapai County Sheriff’s office.On Sunday, the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/CusterGallatinNationalForest?__cft__[0]=AZWPeq8ILnzI3ZsZE9RcgldAf3GtDN5Hqzyb7yB9PZOdzOG-Wt9XtfWfCLoEDWiHw880XJBBGpDXGntDYB-Aq6tPQ73qdxm3lraRDYEaTMoPuW20W7FUhB6WIcOp8qATPdUSxrkppFFaOLhI587Tg9R7sk8v1991zYQCST9JbNrlfEYSOjebjLkyFWj-wf2l3AkweCZ3iTv2RyT42fLB7XCB&amp;__tn__=-]K-R">Custer Gallatin National Forest</a>&nbsp;in Montana issued an emergency closure of the Buttermilk area for human safety..Generally, the Buttermilk Area Closure is located about 8 miles west of West Yellowstone. It follows the Continental Divide Trail, Forest Service Trail #116, from the trailhead near Targhee Pass on Highway 20 south to the confluence with Cream Creek Road, Forest Service Road #1703 and Road 484. The area closure follows these roads to the east and north back to the Forest Service boundary just south of Highway 20 and to the west to connect with the Continental Divide Trail #116.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/7/1690206200389.png" alt="Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks" />
 <figcaption>Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks</figcaption>
 </figure>Bears can be found throughout Montana. In recent years, grizzly bear populations have expanded. Those venturing into the outdoors should “Be Bear Aware” by following precautionary step that include: Carry and know how to use bear spray; Travel in groups whenever possible and plan to be out in the daylight hour; Avoid carcass sites and concentrations of ravens and other scavengers; Watch for signs of bears such as bear scat, diggings, torn-up logs and turned over rocks, and partly consumed animal carcasses; Make noise, especially near streams or in thick forest where hearing and visibility are limited, to alert bears to your presence and Don't approach a bear. <a href="https://fwp.mt.gov/conservation/wildlife-management/bear?fbclid=IwAR0bAeovbe1CgGK-8_n_ZlUfooQhjzsVLDKnzfi20js151jSMMtX8x7ZnJ0">Click here to learn</a> more about bears in the wild.-------------YELLOWSTONE COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a deadly bear encounter near Yellowstone.&nbsp;On Saturday, a woman was found deceased on the Buttermilk Trail west of West Yellowstone following an apparent bear encounter, according to the&nbsp;Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.&nbsp; Investigators confirmed grizzly bear tracks at the scene.&nbsp;Amie Adamson, 47, of Derby, Kansas was identified as the victim, according to her family.In June, a bear attacked and killed a man at a campsite in central Arizona. That victim, 66-year-old Steven Jackson of Tucson, was at his campsite when the bear attack him in the morning, according to a media release from the Yavapai County Sheriff’s office.Neighbors tried to help by making noises. But the bear was able to drag Jackson several yards in the campsite in the Groom Creek area about 100 miles&nbsp; north of Phoenix.&nbsp;A neighbor then shot and killed the bear, according to the Sheriff’s Office.On Sunday, the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/CusterGallatinNationalForest?__cft__[0]=AZWPeq8ILnzI3ZsZE9RcgldAf3GtDN5Hqzyb7yB9PZOdzOG-Wt9XtfWfCLoEDWiHw880XJBBGpDXGntDYB-Aq6tPQ73qdxm3lraRDYEaTMoPuW20W7FUhB6WIcOp8qATPdUSxrkppFFaOLhI587Tg9R7sk8v1991zYQCST9JbNrlfEYSOjebjLkyFWj-wf2l3AkweCZ3iTv2RyT42fLB7XCB&amp;__tn__=-]K-R">Custer Gallatin National Forest</a>&nbsp;in Montana issued an emergency closure of the Buttermilk area for human safety..Generally, the Buttermilk Area Closure is located about 8 miles west of West Yellowstone. It follows the Continental Divide Trail, Forest Service Trail #116, from the trailhead near Targhee Pass on Highway 20 south to the confluence with Cream Creek Road, Forest Service Road #1703 and Road 484. The area closure follows these roads to the east and north back to the Forest Service boundary just south of Highway 20 and to the west to connect with the Continental Divide Trail #116.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/7/1690206200389.png" alt="Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks" />
 <figcaption>Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks</figcaption>
 </figure>Bears can be found throughout Montana. In recent years, grizzly bear populations have expanded. Those venturing into the outdoors should “Be Bear Aware” by following precautionary step that include: Carry and know how to use bear spray; Travel in groups whenever possible and plan to be out in the daylight hour; Avoid carcass sites and concentrations of ravens and other scavengers; Watch for signs of bears such as bear scat, diggings, torn-up logs and turned over rocks, and partly consumed animal carcasses; Make noise, especially near streams or in thick forest where hearing and visibility are limited, to alert bears to your presence and Don't approach a bear. <a href="https://fwp.mt.gov/conservation/wildlife-management/bear?fbclid=IwAR0bAeovbe1CgGK-8_n_ZlUfooQhjzsVLDKnzfi20js151jSMMtX8x7ZnJ0">Click here to learn</a> more about bears in the wild.

Kan. woman was hiking alone during fatal bear encounter near Yellowstone

NEW YORK (AP) — The clock is ticking. As the deadline to reach a new contract nears, a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ups-strike-delivery-supply-chain-union-labor-16270bd5699419398de376e07ada06ba" target="_blank">potential UPS strike</a>&nbsp;feels closer than ever.

Negotiations broke down earlier this month and unionized workers have been holding rallies and practice pickets across the country. The Teamsters, which represent more than half of the company’s workforce,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ups-teamsters-labor-contract-talks-strike-6cb8662aed18d4ef2700d77f6ccac5ea" target="_blank">will resume talks</a>&nbsp;with UPS on Tuesday.

That leaves less than a week to come to an agreement before the current contract expires on Monday, July 31. The union has authorized a strike and Sean M. O’Brien, a fiery leader elected last year to lead the union, has vowed to do so if their demands aren’t met.

“We’re sending a message... all 340,000 of our members are united and ready to fight,” O’Brien told The Associated Press at a practice picket Friday in Atlanta, where UPS is based.

UPS’s unionized workers still seethe about a contract they feel was forced on them in 2018, and say that the company delivers millions more packages every day than it did just five years ago. The Teamsters are calling for better pay, particularly for part-time employees, and improved working conditions.

UPS has maintained that it already offers “industry-leading pay and benefits,” but says it’s prepared to increase that compensation. In a Friday update, the company said it aimed “quickly to finalize a fair deal that provides certainty for our customers, our employees and businesses across the country.”

If negotiations are unsuccessful the deliveries that Americans have come to rely on, particularly since the pandemic began in 2020, could be vastly disrupted. Such an impasse hasn’t been seen since 1997, well before delivery of everyday items from dog food to prescription drugs became the norm, when a walkout by 185,000 workers crippled UPS. Here’s what you need to know.

Much on the union’s demands comes down to better pay and improved working conditions.

Annual profits at UPS in the past two years are close to three times what they were before the pandemic. The company returned about $8.6 billion to shareholders in the form of dividends and stock buybacks in 2022, and forecast another $8.4 billion for shareholders this year.

The Teamsters say frontline UPS workers deserve some of that windfall. A sticking point in negotiations has been wage increases for part-time workers, who make a minimum of $16.20 an hour.

“People want their packages yesterday with the emergence of the e-commerce. So it’s a very demanding job,” O’Brien said, pushing back on the salary statistics that UPS shares. “Everybody doesn’t realize what it takes to get these packages on the truck. And a lot of our part timers... work for poverty wages.”

In addition to addressing part-time pay, the union wants to eliminate a contract provision that created two separate hierarchies of workers with different pay scales, hours and benefits. Driver safety, particularly the lack of air conditioning in delivery trucks, is also in the mix.

Before contract talks broke down on July 5, with both sides blaming each other for walking away from the bargaining table, tentative agreements were made on several issues — including installing air conditioning in more trucks. UPS said it would add air conditioning to U.S. small delivery vehicles purchased after January 1, 2024. Existing vehicles wouldn’t get that upgrade, but the union said they will have other additions like fans and air vents.

The union also said it has reached tentative agreements to establish Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a full holiday for the first time, end unwanted overtime on drivers’ days off and get rid of the two-tier wage system for drivers who work weekends and earn less money.

COULD A STRIKE BE AVOIDED? CAN THE GOVERNMENT INTERVENE?

The strike can be avoided if UPS and the Teamsters agree to a new contract before the July 31 deadline. There’s also a possibility of government intervention.

O’Brien said Sunday that he has asked the White House on numerous occasions&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ups-strike-teamsters-biden-delivery-cb586d2f6160a92cda9318d6290ac8ea" target="_blank">not to intervene</a>&nbsp;if workers end up going on strike. Last year, President Joe Biden&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-economy-strikes-congress-d2ae4d3aecb27f176418518d977e69e1" target="_blank">intervened to avert a railroad strike</a>&nbsp;to avoid disrupting the nation’s supply chain, and workers had accept an agreement that wasn’t broadly supported by union members.

The 24 million packages UPS ships on an average day amounts to about a quarter of all U.S. parcel volume, according to the global shipping and logistics firm Pitney Bowes. As UPS puts it, that’s the equivalent of about 6% of nation’s gross domestic product.

Higher prices and long wait times are all but certain if there is an impasse. A strike also threatens to extend&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/inflation-health-china-business-united-states-8d5fffd96a46d0690d843f5e1de410fe" target="_blank">lingering supply chain troubles</a>.

“Something’s got to give,” Thomas Goldsby, logistics chairman in the Supply Chain Management Department at the University of Tennessee, told The Associated Press. “The python can’t swallow the alligator, and that’s going to be felt by all of us.”

UPS said this month that it will temporarily begin training nonunion employees in the U.S. to step in should there be a strike.

Beyond shipping and supply implications, a union win at UPS could have significance for organized labor across industries. UPS’s contract talks arrive amid other prominent labor campaigns at Apple, Starbucks, Trader Joe’s and other companies — as well as the current&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/how-hollywood-strikes-affect-fans-b7d9f908207629dd3c30e65a77666d8f" target="_blank">writers and actors’ strikes</a>&nbsp;seen in Hollywood.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/6/1686070070872.png" alt="If negotiations are unsuccessful the deliveries that Americans have come to rely on, particularly since the pandemic began in 2020, could be vastly disrupted.-file photo" />
 <figcaption>If negotiations are unsuccessful the deliveries that Americans have come to rely on, particularly since the pandemic began in 2020, could be vastly disrupted.-file photo</figcaption>
 </figure>NEW YORK (AP) — The clock is ticking. As the deadline to reach a new contract nears, a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ups-strike-delivery-supply-chain-union-labor-16270bd5699419398de376e07ada06ba" target="_blank">potential UPS strike</a>&nbsp;feels closer than ever.Negotiations broke down earlier this month and unionized workers have been holding rallies and practice pickets across the country. The Teamsters, which represent more than half of the company’s workforce,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ups-teamsters-labor-contract-talks-strike-6cb8662aed18d4ef2700d77f6ccac5ea" target="_blank">will resume talks</a>&nbsp;with UPS on Tuesday.That leaves less than a week to come to an agreement before the current contract expires on Monday, July 31. The union has authorized a strike and Sean M. O’Brien, a fiery leader elected last year to lead the union, has vowed to do so if their demands aren’t met.“We’re sending a message... all 340,000 of our members are united and ready to fight,” O’Brien told The Associated Press at a practice picket Friday in Atlanta, where UPS is based.UPS’s unionized workers still seethe about a contract they feel was forced on them in 2018, and say that the company delivers millions more packages every day than it did just five years ago. The Teamsters are calling for better pay, particularly for part-time employees, and improved working conditions.UPS has maintained that it already offers “industry-leading pay and benefits,” but says it’s prepared to increase that compensation. In a Friday update, the company said it aimed “quickly to finalize a fair deal that provides certainty for our customers, our employees and businesses across the country.”If negotiations are unsuccessful the deliveries that Americans have come to rely on, particularly since the pandemic began in 2020, could be vastly disrupted. Such an impasse hasn’t been seen since 1997, well before delivery of everyday items from dog food to prescription drugs became the norm, when a walkout by 185,000 workers crippled UPS. Here’s what you need to know.<h2>WHAT ARE THE TEAMSTERS ASKING FOR?</h2>Much on the union’s demands comes down to better pay and improved working conditions.Annual profits at UPS in the past two years are close to three times what they were before the pandemic. The company returned about $8.6 billion to shareholders in the form of dividends and stock buybacks in 2022, and forecast another $8.4 billion for shareholders this year.The Teamsters say frontline UPS workers deserve some of that windfall. A sticking point in negotiations has been wage increases for part-time workers, who make a minimum of $16.20 an hour.“People want their packages yesterday with the emergence of the e-commerce. So it’s a very demanding job,” O’Brien said, pushing back on the salary statistics that UPS shares. “Everybody doesn’t realize what it takes to get these packages on the truck. And a lot of our part timers... work for poverty wages.”In addition to addressing part-time pay, the union wants to eliminate a contract provision that created two separate hierarchies of workers with different pay scales, hours and benefits. Driver safety, particularly the lack of air conditioning in delivery trucks, is also in the mix.<h2>HAS UPS AGREED TO ANY DEMANDS?</h2>Before contract talks broke down on July 5, with both sides blaming each other for walking away from the bargaining table, tentative agreements were made on several issues — including installing air conditioning in more trucks. UPS said it would add air conditioning to U.S. small delivery vehicles purchased after January 1, 2024. Existing vehicles wouldn’t get that upgrade, but the union said they will have other additions like fans and air vents.The union also said it has reached tentative agreements to establish Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a full holiday for the first time, end unwanted overtime on drivers’ days off and get rid of the two-tier wage system for drivers who work weekends and earn less money.<h2>COULD A STRIKE BE AVOIDED? CAN THE GOVERNMENT INTERVENE?</h2>The strike can be avoided if UPS and the Teamsters agree to a new contract before the July 31 deadline. There’s also a possibility of government intervention.O’Brien said Sunday that he has asked the White House on numerous occasions&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ups-strike-teamsters-biden-delivery-cb586d2f6160a92cda9318d6290ac8ea" target="_blank">not to intervene</a>&nbsp;if workers end up going on strike. Last year, President Joe Biden&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-economy-strikes-congress-d2ae4d3aecb27f176418518d977e69e1" target="_blank">intervened to avert a railroad strike</a>&nbsp;to avoid disrupting the nation’s supply chain, and workers had accept an agreement that wasn’t broadly supported by union members.<h2>WHAT IMPACT WOULD A STRIKE HAVE?</h2>The 24 million packages UPS ships on an average day amounts to about a quarter of all U.S. parcel volume, according to the global shipping and logistics firm Pitney Bowes. As UPS puts it, that’s the equivalent of about 6% of nation’s gross domestic product.Higher prices and long wait times are all but certain if there is an impasse. A strike also threatens to extend&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/inflation-health-china-business-united-states-8d5fffd96a46d0690d843f5e1de410fe" target="_blank">lingering supply chain troubles</a>.“Something’s got to give,” Thomas Goldsby, logistics chairman in the Supply Chain Management Department at the University of Tennessee, told The Associated Press. “The python can’t swallow the alligator, and that’s going to be felt by all of us.”UPS said this month that it will temporarily begin training nonunion employees in the U.S. to step in should there be a strike.Beyond shipping and supply implications, a union win at UPS could have significance for organized labor across industries. UPS’s contract talks arrive amid other prominent labor campaigns at Apple, Starbucks, Trader Joe’s and other companies — as well as the current&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/how-hollywood-strikes-affect-fans-b7d9f908207629dd3c30e65a77666d8f" target="_blank">writers and actors’ strikes</a>&nbsp;seen in Hollywood.

Decision week: UPS workers poised for biggest U.S. strike in 60 years

By JENNIFER SHUTT&nbsp;&nbsp; <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/03/30/u-s-judge-rules-insurers-dont-have-to-cover-many-free-preventive-health-services/">States Newsroom</a>

WASHINGTON — A U.S. Senate committee approved legislation that would update how the federal government prepares for and then responds to pandemics and natural disasters.

The broadly bipartisan legislation moved through the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee following a 17-3 vote after members adopted two bipartisan amendments.

Republican Sens. Rand Paul of Kentucky, Mike Braun of Indiana and Tommy Tuberville of Alabama voted against moving the bill to the Senate floor. Oklahoma GOP Sen. Markwayne Mullin voted present.

Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy, the top Republican on the committee, said the COVID-19 pandemic showed Congress that the existing Pandemic and All Hazards Preparedness Act was “far from perfect.”

Congress originally established the law in 2006, following the federal government’s “failures” in responding to Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana, Cassidy said.

“Although mistakes were made during COVID-19, we did learn some tough lessons and we hope this legislation is here to make sure that future generations are not forced to learn on the fly should another crisis occur,” Cassidy said.

“We’re updating the playbook and we’re ensuring that our framework remains flexible to address those future threats — a future Hurricane Katrina for example,” he added.

The legislation, Cassidy said, would increase accountability and transparency in how the federal government helps state and local governments prepare for and respond to public health emergencies.

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, the committee’s chair, said during the&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.help.senate.gov/hearings/s-2333-pandemic-and-all-hazards-preparedness-and-response-act">hearing</a>&nbsp;the bill would help the federal government better prepare for future pandemics and natural disasters as well as possible biological, chemical or nuclear threats.

“I think it is fair to say that while all of our public health people worked tirelessly and did everything they could to protect the American people, it would be an understatement to say we were tragically unprepared to respond to that crisis,” Sanders said.

The 107-page&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.help.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/pahpara_text.pdf">bill</a>&nbsp;has several sections, including a reauthorization of the Hospital Preparedness Program, an update of the National Health Security Strategy and updates to the Annual Threat-Based Review for the Strategic National Stockpile, according to a&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.help.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/pahpara_section_by_section2.pdf">summary</a>.

The bill, Sanders said, would require companies to tell the U.S. Food and Drug Administration if there’s a spike in demand for any of their products that they are unable to meet, like a shortage of children’s Tylenol.

The measure would also expand emergency medical services in rural areas, Sanders said.

The&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/senate-bill/2333/text?s=4&amp;r=2&amp;q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22S.+2333%22%5D%7D">bill</a>&nbsp;is co-sponsored in the Senate by Pennsylvania Democrat Bob Casey, Utah Republican Mitt Romney, Sanders and Cassidy.

The HELP Committee adopted two amendments to the bill, one from North Carolina Republican Sen. Ted Budd and New Hampshire Democrat Maggie Hassan as well as a second amendment from Colorado Democratic Sen. John Hickenlooper and Budd.

The Budd-Hassan amendment would strengthen the Strategic National Stockpile, which purchases and stores personal protective equipment, vaccines and pharmaceuticals, among other critical supplies. The amendment implements some recommendations made by the Government Accountability Office.

The Hickenlooper-Budd amendment would establish an emerging pathogen preparedness program at the FDA that would allow the agency to respond faster during a future pandemic.

“This new team will allow FDA to dedicate the necessary manpower to be able to quickly evaluate and … clear the many countermeasures that would come before them during a pandemic,” Hickenlooper said. “Getting these countermeasures to the public fast in a time of crisis will save lives.”

The FDA had requested the authority from Congress, he said.

Cassidy spoke out against the amendment, saying he was unsure why the FDA would need Congress to establish a new program for emerging threats since it already has “an office of counterterrorism and emerging threats.”

The HELP Committee also rejected several amendments.

A majority of the panel did not agree to add a proposal from Tuberville that would have required any new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention directors nominated by the president to get Senate approval immediately, moving up the timetable from January 2025.

Braun and Budd had an amendment rejected that would have prevented the secretary of the Health and Human Services Department from declaring a public health emergency on gun violence.

The panel rejected several amendments from Paul, including one that would have divided the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases within the National Institutes of Health up into three different agencies.

Paul unsuccessfully proposed another amendment that would have barred federal funding from going to gain of function research in China.

Paul defined that as “any research project that may be reasonably anticipated to confer attributes to influenza, MERS, or SARS viruses such that the virus would have enhanced pathogenicity or transmissibility in mammals.”

Sanders said Paul’s concerns about that type of research are important and pledged to work with the Kentucky Republican on the issue moving forward, though he said the bill itself gets at the issue.

“I worked with ranking member Cassidy to include a provision in this bill to make sure that any country, including China, that is deemed dangerous by our intelligence community would not be able to receive medical research dollars from the U.S. government for a minimum of five years,” Sanders said.

Paul’s amendment on gain of function research, Sanders said, could have jeopardized international collaborations on medical research.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/3/1617126228958.jpeg" alt="The legislation would increase accountability and transparency in how the federal government helps state and local governments prepare for and respond to public health emergencies." />
 <figcaption>The legislation would increase accountability and transparency in how the federal government helps state and local governments prepare for and respond to public health emergencies.</figcaption>
 </figure>By JENNIFER SHUTT&nbsp;&nbsp; <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/03/30/u-s-judge-rules-insurers-dont-have-to-cover-many-free-preventive-health-services/">States Newsroom</a>WASHINGTON — A U.S. Senate committee approved legislation that would update how the federal government prepares for and then responds to pandemics and natural disasters.The broadly bipartisan legislation moved through the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee following a 17-3 vote after members adopted two bipartisan amendments.Republican Sens. Rand Paul of Kentucky, Mike Braun of Indiana and Tommy Tuberville of Alabama voted against moving the bill to the Senate floor. Oklahoma GOP Sen. Markwayne Mullin voted present.Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy, the top Republican on the committee, said the COVID-19 pandemic showed Congress that the existing Pandemic and All Hazards Preparedness Act was “far from perfect.”Congress originally established the law in 2006, following the federal government’s “failures” in responding to Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana, Cassidy said.“Although mistakes were made during COVID-19, we did learn some tough lessons and we hope this legislation is here to make sure that future generations are not forced to learn on the fly should another crisis occur,” Cassidy said.“We’re updating the playbook and we’re ensuring that our framework remains flexible to address those future threats — a future Hurricane Katrina for example,” he added.The legislation, Cassidy said, would increase accountability and transparency in how the federal government helps state and local governments prepare for and respond to public health emergencies.<h2>‘Tragically unprepared’</h2>Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, the committee’s chair, said during the&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.help.senate.gov/hearings/s-2333-pandemic-and-all-hazards-preparedness-and-response-act">hearing</a>&nbsp;the bill would help the federal government better prepare for future pandemics and natural disasters as well as possible biological, chemical or nuclear threats.“I think it is fair to say that while all of our public health people worked tirelessly and did everything they could to protect the American people, it would be an understatement to say we were tragically unprepared to respond to that crisis,” Sanders said.The 107-page&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.help.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/pahpara_text.pdf">bill</a>&nbsp;has several sections, including a reauthorization of the Hospital Preparedness Program, an update of the National Health Security Strategy and updates to the Annual Threat-Based Review for the Strategic National Stockpile, according to a&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.help.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/pahpara_section_by_section2.pdf">summary</a>.The bill, Sanders said, would require companies to tell the U.S. Food and Drug Administration if there’s a spike in demand for any of their products that they are unable to meet, like a shortage of children’s Tylenol.The measure would also expand emergency medical services in rural areas, Sanders said.The&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/senate-bill/2333/text?s=4&amp;r=2&amp;q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22S.+2333%22%5D%7D">bill</a>&nbsp;is co-sponsored in the Senate by Pennsylvania Democrat Bob Casey, Utah Republican Mitt Romney, Sanders and Cassidy.<h2>National stockpile</h2>The HELP Committee adopted two amendments to the bill, one from North Carolina Republican Sen. Ted Budd and New Hampshire Democrat Maggie Hassan as well as a second amendment from Colorado Democratic Sen. John Hickenlooper and Budd.The Budd-Hassan amendment would strengthen the Strategic National Stockpile, which purchases and stores personal protective equipment, vaccines and pharmaceuticals, among other critical supplies. The amendment implements some recommendations made by the Government Accountability Office.The Hickenlooper-Budd amendment would establish an emerging pathogen preparedness program at the FDA that would allow the agency to respond faster during a future pandemic.“This new team will allow FDA to dedicate the necessary manpower to be able to quickly evaluate and … clear the many countermeasures that would come before them during a pandemic,” Hickenlooper said. “Getting these countermeasures to the public fast in a time of crisis will save lives.”The FDA had requested the authority from Congress, he said.Cassidy spoke out against the amendment, saying he was unsure why the FDA would need Congress to establish a new program for emerging threats since it already has “an office of counterterrorism and emerging threats.”<h2>Tuberville amendment</h2>The HELP Committee also rejected several amendments.A majority of the panel did not agree to add a proposal from Tuberville that would have required any new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention directors nominated by the president to get Senate approval immediately, moving up the timetable from January 2025.Braun and Budd had an amendment rejected that would have prevented the secretary of the Health and Human Services Department from declaring a public health emergency on gun violence.The panel rejected several amendments from Paul, including one that would have divided the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases within the National Institutes of Health up into three different agencies.Paul unsuccessfully proposed another amendment that would have barred federal funding from going to gain of function research in China.Paul defined that as “any research project that may be reasonably anticipated to confer attributes to influenza, MERS, or SARS viruses such that the virus would have enhanced pathogenicity or transmissibility in mammals.”Sanders said Paul’s concerns about that type of research are important and pledged to work with the Kentucky Republican on the issue moving forward, though he said the bill itself gets at the issue.“I worked with ranking member Cassidy to include a provision in this bill to make sure that any country, including China, that is deemed dangerous by our intelligence community would not be able to receive medical research dollars from the U.S. government for a minimum of five years,” Sanders said.Paul’s amendment on gain of function research, Sanders said, could have jeopardized international collaborations on medical research.

U.S. Senate panel OKs bill to help form better pandemic response

DENVER (AP) — An 18-year-old from suburban Denver who allegedly planned to go to Iraq to fight for the Islamic State group was arrested last week as he tried to board a flight to Turkey.

Davin Daniel Meyer of Castle Rock, who was arrested Friday, has been charged with attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization, the U.S. Attorney's Office for Colorado announced late Monday.

Meyer's lawyer did not immediately return a telephone message or email seeking comment.

According to his arrest affidavit, law enforcement began investigating him in June 2022 when someone who knew him contacted the Douglas County Sheriff's Office. The person said they were concerned because, after following white supremacist ideology, Meyer, then 17, had turned to Islam and was frequently watching and listening to “radical Islamic sermons online." The FBI was notified by the sheriff's office, it said.

The person, who was not identified in the document, said Meyer said “he wanted to die in his early twenties for Allah."

“In October 2022, the individual informed the FBI that Meyer had stated that if he could not go to the Middle East, he planned to get fertilizer and build a bomb in the United States,” the arrest affidavit said.

The document noted that Meyer had previously undergone mental health treatment and has been diagnosed with conditions including autism spectrum disorder and major depressive disorder.

Soon after he turned 18 in November, Meyer began communicating online with someone he thought was an Islamic State facilitator but was actually a paid FBI informant, the document said. The following month, that person introduced Meyer to another informant who claimed to be an Islamic State travel facilitator, who met with Meyer three times to talk about his plan to pay and prepare for traveling to join the Islamic State.

Meyer talked about problems finding a job that would allow him to follow his religious practices, such as not having to interact with women or listen to music, it said. After his mother offered to pay for an apartment for him and cover some living expenses for him, he decided to use that money to pay for his trip and buy gear that he needed to become a fighter, the document said.

Concerned that his mother would worry about him, he talked about leaving a note on the counter saying he had left by his own choice.

Meyer bought a ticket for July 14 to travel to Ankara, Turkey, where he believed he would meet with Islamic State members and travel on to Iraq to become a fighter, the arrest affidavit said.

That day, he “repeatedly expressed anxiety and hesitation” to one of the informants, but he also “repeatedly expressed determination to go through with his plans,” it said.

Meyer was arrested after showing his boarding pass to the gate agent and walking down the jet bridge to the plane, the arrest affidavit said.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/7/1690157195054.png" alt="Davin Daniel Meyer -photo courtesy FBI" />
 <figcaption>Davin Daniel Meyer -photo courtesy FBI</figcaption>
 </figure>DENVER (AP) — An 18-year-old from suburban Denver who allegedly planned to go to Iraq to fight for the Islamic State group was arrested last week as he tried to board a flight to Turkey.Davin Daniel Meyer of Castle Rock, who was arrested Friday, has been charged with attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization, the U.S. Attorney's Office for Colorado announced late Monday.Meyer's lawyer did not immediately return a telephone message or email seeking comment.According to his arrest affidavit, law enforcement began investigating him in June 2022 when someone who knew him contacted the Douglas County Sheriff's Office. The person said they were concerned because, after following white supremacist ideology, Meyer, then 17, had turned to Islam and was frequently watching and listening to “radical Islamic sermons online." The FBI was notified by the sheriff's office, it said.The person, who was not identified in the document, said Meyer said “he wanted to die in his early twenties for Allah."“In October 2022, the individual informed the FBI that Meyer had stated that if he could not go to the Middle East, he planned to get fertilizer and build a bomb in the United States,” the arrest affidavit said.The document noted that Meyer had previously undergone mental health treatment and has been diagnosed with conditions including autism spectrum disorder and major depressive disorder.Soon after he turned 18 in November, Meyer began communicating online with someone he thought was an Islamic State facilitator but was actually a paid FBI informant, the document said. The following month, that person introduced Meyer to another informant who claimed to be an Islamic State travel facilitator, who met with Meyer three times to talk about his plan to pay and prepare for traveling to join the Islamic State.Meyer talked about problems finding a job that would allow him to follow his religious practices, such as not having to interact with women or listen to music, it said. After his mother offered to pay for an apartment for him and cover some living expenses for him, he decided to use that money to pay for his trip and buy gear that he needed to become a fighter, the document said.Concerned that his mother would worry about him, he talked about leaving a note on the counter saying he had left by his own choice.Meyer bought a ticket for July 14 to travel to Ankara, Turkey, where he believed he would meet with Islamic State members and travel on to Iraq to become a fighter, the arrest affidavit said.That day, he “repeatedly expressed anxiety and hesitation” to one of the informants, but he also “repeatedly expressed determination to go through with his plans,” it said.Meyer was arrested after showing his boarding pass to the gate agent and walking down the jet bridge to the plane, the arrest affidavit said.

Colorado teen accused of ties to foreign terrorist organization

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden said Friday that new commitments by Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft and other companies that are leading the development of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/artificial-intelligence">artificial intelligence technology</a>&nbsp;to meet a set of AI safeguards brokered by his White House are an important step toward managing the “enormous” promise and risks posed by the technology.

Biden announced that his administration has secured voluntary commitments from seven U.S. companies meant to ensure that their AI products are safe before they release them. Some of the commitments call for third-party oversight of the workings of the next generation of AI systems, though they don't detail who will audit the technology or hold the companies accountable.

“We must be clear eyed and vigilant about the threats emerging technologies can pose," Biden said, adding that the companies have a “fundamental obligation” to ensure their products are safe.

“Social media has shown us the harm that powerful technology can do without the right safeguards in place," Biden added. “These commitments are a promising step, but we have a lot more work to do together."

A surge of commercial investment in generative AI tools that can write convincingly human-like text and churn out new images and other media has brought public fascination as well as concern about their ability to trick people and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/technology-science-business-artificial-intelligence-afb4618ff593db9e3e51ecbd91dc3eef">spread disinformation</a>, among other dangers.

The four tech giants, along with ChatGPT-maker OpenAI and startups Anthropic and Inflection, have committed to security testing “carried out in part by independent experts” to guard against major risks, such as to biosecurity and cybersecurity, the White House said in a statement.

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/hacking-jailbreaking-chatgpt-bing-defcon-biden-ai-97b963db084800f11b26b8a023b1713f">That testing</a>&nbsp;will also examine the potential&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/child-welfare-algorithm-investigation-9497ee937e0053ad4144a86c68241ef1">for societal harms</a>, such as bias and discrimination, and more theoretical dangers about advanced AI systems that could gain control of physical systems or “self-replicate” by making copies of themselves.

The companies have also committed to methods for reporting vulnerabilities to their systems and to using digital watermarking to help distinguish between real and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/north-america-donald-trump-ap-top-news-elections-artificial-intelligence-21fa207a1254401197fd1e0d7ecd14cb">AI-generated images or audio known as deepfakes</a>.

Executives from the seven companies met behind closed doors with Biden and other officials Friday as they pledged to follow the standards.

“He was very firm and clear” that he wanted the companies to continue to be innovative, but at the same time “felt that this needed a lot of attention,” Inflection CEO Mustafa Suleyman said in an interview after the White House gathering.

“It’s a big deal to bring all the labs together, all the companies,” said Suleyman, whose Palo Alto, California-based startup is the youngest and smallest of the firms. “This is supercompetitive and we wouldn’t come together under other circumstances.”

The companies will also publicly report flaws and risks in their technology, including effects on fairness and bias, according to the pledge.

The voluntary commitments are meant to be an immediate way of addressing risks ahead of a longer-term push to get Congress to pass laws regulating the technology.

Some advocates for AI regulations said Biden’s move is a start but more needs to be done to hold the companies and their products accountable.

“A closed-door deliberation with corporate actors resulting in voluntary safeguards isn’t enough,” said Amba Kak, executive director of the AI Now Institute. “We need a much more wide-ranging public deliberation, and that’s going to bring up issues that companies almost certainly won’t voluntarily commit to because it would lead to substantively different results, ones that may more directly impact their business models.”

While voluntary, agreeing to submit to “&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/hacking-jailbreaking-chatgpt-bing-defcon-biden-ai-97b963db084800f11b26b8a023b1713f">red team” tests</a>&nbsp;that poke at their AI systems is not an easy promise, said Suleyman.

“The commitment we’ve made to have red-teamers basically try to break our models, identify weaknesses and then share those methods with the other large language model developers is a pretty significant commitment,” Suleyman said.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has said he will introduce legislation to regulate AI and is working closely with the Biden administration "and our bipartisan colleagues” to build upon the pledges made Friday.

A number of technology executives have called for regulation, and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ai-artificial-intelligence-white-house-harris-578d623e473b0eeb3fa3e4728d7e9868">several attended an earlier White House</a>&nbsp;summit in May.

Microsoft President Brad Smith said in a blog post Friday that his company is making some commitments that go beyond the White House pledge, including support for regulation that would create a “licensing regime for highly capable models.”

Some experts and upstart competitors worry that the type of regulation being floated could be a boon for deep-pocketed first-movers led by OpenAI, Google and Microsoft as smaller players are elbowed out by the high cost of making their AI systems adhere to regulatory strictures.

The White House pledge notes that it mostly only applies to models that “are overall more powerful than the current industry frontier,” set by recent models such as OpenAI's GPT-4 and image generator DALL-E 2 and similar releases from Anthropic, Google and Amazon.

A number of countries have been looking at ways to regulate AI, including&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ai-act-artificial-intelligence-europe-regulation-94e2b38703b38fdbfabc9580f845ef9a">European Union lawmakers</a>&nbsp;negotiating sweeping AI rules for the 27-nation bloc that could restrict applications deemed to have the highest risks.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres recently said the United Nations is&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/artificial-intelligence-un-big-tech-first-5a184197c4281365866b5963d56f84ea">“the ideal place”</a>&nbsp;to adopt global standards and appointed a board that will report back on options for global AI governance by the end of the year.

Guterres also said he welcomed calls from some countries for the creation of a new U.N. body to support global efforts to govern AI, inspired by such models as the International Atomic Energy Agency or the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

The White House said Friday that it has consulted on the voluntary commitments with a number of countries.

The pledge is heavily focused on safety risks but doesn't address other worries about the latest AI technology, including the effect on jobs and market competition, the environmental resources required to build the models, and copyright concerns about the writings, art and other human handiwork being used to teach AI systems how to produce human-like content.

Last week, OpenAI and The Associated Press announced a deal for the AI company to license AP’s archive of news stories. The amount it will pay for that content was not disclosed.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/7/1690031816449.png" alt="Biden announced that his administration has secured voluntary commitments from seven U.S. companies meant to ensure that their AI products are safe before they release them.-White House image" />
 <figcaption>Biden announced that his administration has secured voluntary commitments from seven U.S. companies meant to ensure that their AI products are safe before they release them.-White House image</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden said Friday that new commitments by Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft and other companies that are leading the development of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/artificial-intelligence">artificial intelligence technology</a>&nbsp;to meet a set of AI safeguards brokered by his White House are an important step toward managing the “enormous” promise and risks posed by the technology.<div><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tg2FNynmToM?start=11" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>Biden announced that his administration has secured voluntary commitments from seven U.S. companies meant to ensure that their AI products are safe before they release them. Some of the commitments call for third-party oversight of the workings of the next generation of AI systems, though they don't detail who will audit the technology or hold the companies accountable.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Today, I was joined by leaders from American companies driving innovation in AI to announce their voluntary commitments for responsible innovation. These commitments – which companies will implement immediately – underscore the principles of safety, security, and trust. <a href="https://t.co/6kvrcl4krv">pic.twitter.com/6kvrcl4krv</a>&mdash; President Biden (@POTUS) <a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1682519577920503812?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 21, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>“We must be clear eyed and vigilant about the threats emerging technologies can pose," Biden said, adding that the companies have a “fundamental obligation” to ensure their products are safe.“Social media has shown us the harm that powerful technology can do without the right safeguards in place," Biden added. “These commitments are a promising step, but we have a lot more work to do together."A surge of commercial investment in generative AI tools that can write convincingly human-like text and churn out new images and other media has brought public fascination as well as concern about their ability to trick people and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/technology-science-business-artificial-intelligence-afb4618ff593db9e3e51ecbd91dc3eef">spread disinformation</a>, among other dangers.The four tech giants, along with ChatGPT-maker OpenAI and startups Anthropic and Inflection, have committed to security testing “carried out in part by independent experts” to guard against major risks, such as to biosecurity and cybersecurity, the White House said in a statement.<a href="https://apnews.com/article/hacking-jailbreaking-chatgpt-bing-defcon-biden-ai-97b963db084800f11b26b8a023b1713f">That testing</a>&nbsp;will also examine the potential&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/child-welfare-algorithm-investigation-9497ee937e0053ad4144a86c68241ef1">for societal harms</a>, such as bias and discrimination, and more theoretical dangers about advanced AI systems that could gain control of physical systems or “self-replicate” by making copies of themselves.The companies have also committed to methods for reporting vulnerabilities to their systems and to using digital watermarking to help distinguish between real and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/north-america-donald-trump-ap-top-news-elections-artificial-intelligence-21fa207a1254401197fd1e0d7ecd14cb">AI-generated images or audio known as deepfakes</a>.Executives from the seven companies met behind closed doors with Biden and other officials Friday as they pledged to follow the standards.“He was very firm and clear” that he wanted the companies to continue to be innovative, but at the same time “felt that this needed a lot of attention,” Inflection CEO Mustafa Suleyman said in an interview after the White House gathering.“It’s a big deal to bring all the labs together, all the companies,” said Suleyman, whose Palo Alto, California-based startup is the youngest and smallest of the firms. “This is supercompetitive and we wouldn’t come together under other circumstances.”The companies will also publicly report flaws and risks in their technology, including effects on fairness and bias, according to the pledge.The voluntary commitments are meant to be an immediate way of addressing risks ahead of a longer-term push to get Congress to pass laws regulating the technology.Some advocates for AI regulations said Biden’s move is a start but more needs to be done to hold the companies and their products accountable.“A closed-door deliberation with corporate actors resulting in voluntary safeguards isn’t enough,” said Amba Kak, executive director of the AI Now Institute. “We need a much more wide-ranging public deliberation, and that’s going to bring up issues that companies almost certainly won’t voluntarily commit to because it would lead to substantively different results, ones that may more directly impact their business models.”While voluntary, agreeing to submit to “&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/hacking-jailbreaking-chatgpt-bing-defcon-biden-ai-97b963db084800f11b26b8a023b1713f">red team” tests</a>&nbsp;that poke at their AI systems is not an easy promise, said Suleyman.“The commitment we’ve made to have red-teamers basically try to break our models, identify weaknesses and then share those methods with the other large language model developers is a pretty significant commitment,” Suleyman said.Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has said he will introduce legislation to regulate AI and is working closely with the Biden administration "and our bipartisan colleagues” to build upon the pledges made Friday.A number of technology executives have called for regulation, and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ai-artificial-intelligence-white-house-harris-578d623e473b0eeb3fa3e4728d7e9868">several attended an earlier White House</a>&nbsp;summit in May.Microsoft President Brad Smith said in a blog post Friday that his company is making some commitments that go beyond the White House pledge, including support for regulation that would create a “licensing regime for highly capable models.”Some experts and upstart competitors worry that the type of regulation being floated could be a boon for deep-pocketed first-movers led by OpenAI, Google and Microsoft as smaller players are elbowed out by the high cost of making their AI systems adhere to regulatory strictures.The White House pledge notes that it mostly only applies to models that “are overall more powerful than the current industry frontier,” set by recent models such as OpenAI's GPT-4 and image generator DALL-E 2 and similar releases from Anthropic, Google and Amazon.A number of countries have been looking at ways to regulate AI, including&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ai-act-artificial-intelligence-europe-regulation-94e2b38703b38fdbfabc9580f845ef9a">European Union lawmakers</a>&nbsp;negotiating sweeping AI rules for the 27-nation bloc that could restrict applications deemed to have the highest risks.U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres recently said the United Nations is&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/artificial-intelligence-un-big-tech-first-5a184197c4281365866b5963d56f84ea">“the ideal place”</a>&nbsp;to adopt global standards and appointed a board that will report back on options for global AI governance by the end of the year.Guterres also said he welcomed calls from some countries for the creation of a new U.N. body to support global efforts to govern AI, inspired by such models as the International Atomic Energy Agency or the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.The White House said Friday that it has consulted on the voluntary commitments with a number of countries.The pledge is heavily focused on safety risks but doesn't address other worries about the latest AI technology, including the effect on jobs and market competition, the environmental resources required to build the models, and copyright concerns about the writings, art and other human handiwork being used to teach AI systems how to produce human-like content.Last week, OpenAI and The Associated Press announced a deal for the AI company to license AP’s archive of news stories. The amount it will pay for that content was not disclosed.

🎥 Biden: Tech firms agree to artificial intelligence safeguards

KANSAS CITY (AP) —Movie theater operator AMC has ditched plans to charge more seats for seats with better sightlines after rival chains did not follow along.

AMC began the pilot program five months ago in three U.S. markets where it said it charged slightly more for better seats, and less for those in the front of the theater and others with inferior views.

AMC said its competitors didn’t raise or cut prices on any of their seats based on location. The company said because it wants its pricing to remain competitive, it’s ending the pilot program in the coming weeks and there will be no attempt to roll out those changes nationwide.

AMC also found that more than three out of every four guests who previously sat in the preferred sightline section continued to choose seats in that section, even with a slight up-charge. But it saw little to no increase in people buying front row seats that were cheaper.

AMC first announced the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/amc-ticket-prices-7dbf4b9ddc7d531e252c21b790e860be">pilot program</a>&nbsp;in February.

AMC, based in Leawood, Kansas, said it's now going to focus on testing more spacious seating for the front row with seats that recline at some U.S. locations later this year.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/2/1675797951504.png" alt="Google image" />
 <figcaption>Google image</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY (AP) —Movie theater operator AMC has ditched plans to charge more seats for seats with better sightlines after rival chains did not follow along.AMC began the pilot program five months ago in three U.S. markets where it said it charged slightly more for better seats, and less for those in the front of the theater and others with inferior views.AMC said its competitors didn’t raise or cut prices on any of their seats based on location. The company said because it wants its pricing to remain competitive, it’s ending the pilot program in the coming weeks and there will be no attempt to roll out those changes nationwide.AMC also found that more than three out of every four guests who previously sat in the preferred sightline section continued to choose seats in that section, even with a slight up-charge. But it saw little to no increase in people buying front row seats that were cheaper.AMC first announced the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/amc-ticket-prices-7dbf4b9ddc7d531e252c21b790e860be">pilot program</a>&nbsp;in February.AMC, based in Leawood, Kansas, said it's now going to focus on testing more spacious seating for the front row with seats that recline at some U.S. locations later this year.

Plan to charge more for good seats in movie theaters falls flat

NEW YORK (AP) — The Federal Reserve launched a new instant payment service Thursday.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/8d6e9d6406398cb51ded58becceaacf4">FedNow allows banks and credit unions</a>&nbsp;to sign up to send real-time payments so they can offer customers a quicker way to send money between banks.

<a href="https://www.federalreserve.gov/paymentsystems/fednow_about.htm">FedNow,</a> which was first announced in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/pressreleases/other20190805a.htm">2019</a>, published a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.frbservices.org/financial-services/fednow/organizations">list of banks</a>&nbsp;and credit unions that are already signed up to the service. However, it might take longer for customers to be able to use the service with their bank.

Here’s what you need to know about FedNow.

FedNow offers instant payment services for banks and credit unions to transfer money for their customers. Unlike other private money-transferring services like PayPal or Venmo, FedNow services are not offered to customers directly through a third-party app or website. The services will only be available through banks or credit unions. However, once banks have adopted FedNow, they’re expected to make it available on their websites and apps.

Once a bank offers the FedNow services, customers will be able to send money instantly. The service is also available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Among&nbsp;<a href="https://www.frbservices.org/financial-services/fednow/organizations-certified">the banks</a>&nbsp;that will offer the FedNow services soon are Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase.

By creating FedNow, the Fed is making it quicker and more accessible for people to send and receive online payments. The Fed is also catching up with other countries that already have real-time payment systems like FedNow, including England, China, Sweden and India.

FedNow will also equip banks with&nbsp;<a href="https://www.clevelandfed.org/collections/speeches/2023/sp-20230712-update-on-the-federal-reserves-instant-payments-service">tools to identify and combat fraud attempts.</a>&nbsp;These tools include the ability for banks to flag suspicious accounts and limit the amount and frequency of payments by those accounts.

Customers, including individuals and businesses, whose banks or credit unions offer FedNow services will be able to send and receive money in real-time. If, for example, a customer wants to send money to a friend, both people have to bank with institutions that offer FedNow services.

WHAT ARE SOME SCENARIOS WHERE I CAN USE FEDNOW?

Given the speed of transactions, this service can be beneficial for customers in many ways.

— If your employer sends your paycheck through FedNow, the paycheck will be able to clear in seconds rather than days.

— If you forgot to pay your rent until the last minute, you will be able to send the money late at night without waiting to have it cleared the next business day.

FedNow is now live but it might take months or years for customers to be able to use this service, it all depends on when your bank makes it available.

WILL MY PRIVACY BE PROTECTED WITH FEDNOW?

The Federal Reserve and the FedNow service cannot access people’s bank accounts and it doesn’t have the authority for additional surveillance,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/fact-check-banking-federal-reserve-fednow-429714320991">according to Fed officials</a>.

WILL FEDNOW REPLACE VENMO, PAYPAY OR OTHER SERVICES?

There are key differences between the FedNow service and apps such as Venmo and PayPal. FedNow is a service offered directly to banks and not to customers, which means FedNow does not have an app or website where customers will be able to send money to each other.

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN FEDNOW AND ZELLE?

While both FedNow and Zelle allow customers to make online transactions, there are some key differences. Zelle is a private app that works with some financial institutions while FedNow is backed by the Federal Reserve and is envisioned to be adopted by the majority of banks in the country.

Zelle lets you send and receive money instantly but the money might not be available for customers until days after the transaction. With FedNow, the Fed says the money will be available within seconds. Zelle has a customer-facing platform that allows customers to send money through their app while FedNow will not directly interact with customers but rather offer the services to banks.

Fed officials have stressed FedNow is unrelated to the notion of a government-run digital currency, which social media users also falsely claim would&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/fact-check-FedNow-CBDC-223356937707">lead to the elimination of cash</a>.

“The Federal Reserve has made no decision on issuing a central bank digital currency (CBDC) &amp; would not do so without clear support from Congress and executive branch, ideally in the form of a specific authorizing law,” the agency wrote in a&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/federalreserve/status/1644391858733187082">series of tweets</a>&nbsp;in April “A CBDC would not replace cash or other payment options.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/7/1689966177750.png" alt="“The Federal Reserve has made no decision on issuing a central bank digital currency.-Courtesy image" />
 <figcaption>“The Federal Reserve has made no decision on issuing a central bank digital currency.-Courtesy image</figcaption>
 </figure>NEW YORK (AP) — The Federal Reserve launched a new instant payment service Thursday.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/8d6e9d6406398cb51ded58becceaacf4">FedNow allows banks and credit unions</a>&nbsp;to sign up to send real-time payments so they can offer customers a quicker way to send money between banks.<a href="https://www.federalreserve.gov/paymentsystems/fednow_about.htm">FedNow,</a> which was first announced in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/pressreleases/other20190805a.htm">2019</a>, published a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.frbservices.org/financial-services/fednow/organizations">list of banks</a>&nbsp;and credit unions that are already signed up to the service. However, it might take longer for customers to be able to use the service with their bank.Here’s what you need to know about FedNow.<h2>HOW DOES FEDNOW WORK?</h2>FedNow offers instant payment services for banks and credit unions to transfer money for their customers. Unlike other private money-transferring services like PayPal or Venmo, FedNow services are not offered to customers directly through a third-party app or website. The services will only be available through banks or credit unions. However, once banks have adopted FedNow, they’re expected to make it available on their websites and apps.Once a bank offers the FedNow services, customers will be able to send money instantly. The service is also available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.Among&nbsp;<a href="https://www.frbservices.org/financial-services/fednow/organizations-certified">the banks</a>&nbsp;that will offer the FedNow services soon are Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase.<h2>WHY DID THE FED CREATE FEDNOW?</h2>By creating FedNow, the Fed is making it quicker and more accessible for people to send and receive online payments. The Fed is also catching up with other countries that already have real-time payment systems like FedNow, including England, China, Sweden and India.FedNow will also equip banks with&nbsp;<a href="https://www.clevelandfed.org/collections/speeches/2023/sp-20230712-update-on-the-federal-reserves-instant-payments-service">tools to identify and combat fraud attempts.</a>&nbsp;These tools include the ability for banks to flag suspicious accounts and limit the amount and frequency of payments by those accounts.<h2>WHO CAN USE FEDNOW?</h2>Customers, including individuals and businesses, whose banks or credit unions offer FedNow services will be able to send and receive money in real-time. If, for example, a customer wants to send money to a friend, both people have to bank with institutions that offer FedNow services.<h2>WHAT ARE SOME SCENARIOS WHERE I CAN USE FEDNOW?</h2>Given the speed of transactions, this service can be beneficial for customers in many ways.Here are some examples:— If your employer sends your paycheck through FedNow, the paycheck will be able to clear in seconds rather than days.— If you forgot to pay your rent until the last minute, you will be able to send the money late at night without waiting to have it cleared the next business day.<h2>WHEN WILL FEDNOW BE AVAILABLE TO ME?</h2>FedNow is now live but it might take months or years for customers to be able to use this service, it all depends on when your bank makes it available.<h2>WILL MY PRIVACY BE PROTECTED WITH FEDNOW?</h2>The Federal Reserve and the FedNow service cannot access people’s bank accounts and it doesn’t have the authority for additional surveillance,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/fact-check-banking-federal-reserve-fednow-429714320991">according to Fed officials</a>.<h2>WILL FEDNOW REPLACE VENMO, PAYPAY OR OTHER SERVICES?</h2>There are key differences between the FedNow service and apps such as Venmo and PayPal. FedNow is a service offered directly to banks and not to customers, which means FedNow does not have an app or website where customers will be able to send money to each other.<h2>WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN FEDNOW AND ZELLE?</h2>While both FedNow and Zelle allow customers to make online transactions, there are some key differences. Zelle is a private app that works with some financial institutions while FedNow is backed by the Federal Reserve and is envisioned to be adopted by the majority of banks in the country.Zelle lets you send and receive money instantly but the money might not be available for customers until days after the transaction. With FedNow, the Fed says the money will be available within seconds. Zelle has a customer-facing platform that allows customers to send money through their app while FedNow will not directly interact with customers but rather offer the services to banks.<h2>WILL FEDNOW REPLACE CASH?</h2>Fed officials have stressed FedNow is unrelated to the notion of a government-run digital currency, which social media users also falsely claim would&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/fact-check-FedNow-CBDC-223356937707">lead to the elimination of cash</a>.“The Federal Reserve has made no decision on issuing a central bank digital currency (CBDC) &amp; would not do so without clear support from Congress and executive branch, ideally in the form of a specific authorizing law,” the agency wrote in a&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/federalreserve/status/1644391858733187082">series of tweets</a>&nbsp;in April “A CBDC would not replace cash or other payment options.”

U.S. moves step closer to Central Bank Digital Currency

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Mega Millions has upped the ante by another $100 million.

The lack of a jackpot winner in the lottery game's latest drawing on Friday night sent the top prize soaring to an estimated $820 million.

The numbers drawn late Friday were: 29, 40, 47, 50, 57 and gold Mega Ball 25. No tickets were sold hitting all those numbers for the estimated grand prize of $720 million.

The estimated $820 million in the next drawing on Tuesday night would only be distributed to a winner who chooses an annuity paid over 29 years. Nearly all grand prize winners opt to take a cash payout, which for Tuesdays drawing is an estimated $422 million.

The potential jackpot is the fifth largest in the history of the game, Mega Millions said in a statement early Saturday.

Despite the game’s long odds of 1 in 302.6 million, players continue to purchase tickets as the size of the grand prize grows.

The last time a Mega Millions player hit the top prize was April 18.

Friday's drawing resulted in eight tickets matching five white balls for a $1 million prize. Two each were sold in Florida, New Jersey and North Carolina, with one in California and another in Michigan, Mega Millions said.

The Powerball jackpot also was approaching near-record levels before a tiny neighborhood store in downtown Los Angeles sold the winning ticket for Wednesday's drawing, worth an estimated&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/powerball-jackpot-winner-california-9f0e98a47c96c2b3087a68b33195dd50">$1.08 billion</a>.

Mega Millions is&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/religion-alabama-alaska-lotteries-business-86424cf8e2b7cccf8ae9d06f6652d559">played in 45 states</a>, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Mega Millions has upped the ante by another $100 million.The lack of a jackpot winner in the lottery game's latest drawing on Friday night sent the top prize soaring to an estimated $820 million.The numbers drawn late Friday were: 29, 40, 47, 50, 57 and gold Mega Ball 25. No tickets were sold hitting all those numbers for the estimated grand prize of $720 million.The estimated $820 million in the next drawing on Tuesday night would only be distributed to a winner who chooses an annuity paid over 29 years. Nearly all grand prize winners opt to take a cash payout, which for Tuesdays drawing is an estimated $422 million.The potential jackpot is the fifth largest in the history of the game, Mega Millions said in a statement early Saturday.Despite the game’s long odds of 1 in 302.6 million, players continue to purchase tickets as the size of the grand prize grows.The last time a Mega Millions player hit the top prize was April 18.Friday's drawing resulted in eight tickets matching five white balls for a $1 million prize. Two each were sold in Florida, New Jersey and North Carolina, with one in California and another in Michigan, Mega Millions said.The Powerball jackpot also was approaching near-record levels before a tiny neighborhood store in downtown Los Angeles sold the winning ticket for Wednesday's drawing, worth an estimated&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/powerball-jackpot-winner-california-9f0e98a47c96c2b3087a68b33195dd50">$1.08 billion</a>.Mega Millions is&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/religion-alabama-alaska-lotteries-business-86424cf8e2b7cccf8ae9d06f6652d559">played in 45 states</a>, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Mega Millions jackpot grows to $820 million

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley released an unclassified document Thursday that Republicans claim is significant in their investigation of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/robert-hunter-biden">Hunter Biden</a>&nbsp;as they delve into the financial affairs of the president and his son, and revive previously debunked claims of wrongdoing.

<a href="https://www.grassley.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/fd_1023_obtained_by_senator_grassley_-_biden.pdf">Click here to read the</a>&nbsp;FBI source document

Grassley of Iowa has been working alongside&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-kentucky-state-government-us-republican-party-united-states-house-of-representatives-d68267048aa4f42d244130e81d3e9c30">House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer</a>, R-Ky., as Republicans deepen their probe of President&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/joe-biden">Joe Biden</a>&nbsp;and his son, Hunter, ahead of the 2024 election. Comer had&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/fbi-subpoena-biden-family-republicans-whistleblower-allegations-add7012e9076e546d62d250e3ba33fd0">issued a subpoena</a>&nbsp;for the document from the FBI.

While lawmakers on the Oversight Committee have already been able to partly&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-fbi-oversight-comer-congress-0c647e00b2559f59e4a898ee264d8753">review the information</a>, this is the first time the full document — which contains raw, unverified information — is being made public. Called an FD-1023 form, it involves claims a confidential informant made in 2020 about Hunter Biden's alleged business dealings when he served on the board of Ukrainian energy company Burisma. Top Republicans have acknowledged they cannot confirm whether the information is true.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley released an unclassified document Thursday that Republicans claim is significant in their investigation of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/robert-hunter-biden">Hunter Biden</a>&nbsp;as they delve into the financial affairs of the president and his son, and revive previously debunked claims of wrongdoing.<a href="https://www.grassley.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/fd_1023_obtained_by_senator_grassley_-_biden.pdf">Click here to read the</a>&nbsp;FBI source document<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">🚨 I’ve released the 1023 I’ve been working on getting from the FBI for a yr. Now u can read it for yourself thx to patriotic whistleblowers <a href="https://t.co/ooGYR7fU02">pic.twitter.com/ooGYR7fU02</a>&mdash; Chuck Grassley (@ChuckGrassley) <a href="https://twitter.com/ChuckGrassley/status/1682117873420972032?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 20, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Grassley of Iowa has been working alongside&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-kentucky-state-government-us-republican-party-united-states-house-of-representatives-d68267048aa4f42d244130e81d3e9c30">House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer</a>, R-Ky., as Republicans deepen their probe of President&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/joe-biden">Joe Biden</a>&nbsp;and his son, Hunter, ahead of the 2024 election. Comer had&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/fbi-subpoena-biden-family-republicans-whistleblower-allegations-add7012e9076e546d62d250e3ba33fd0">issued a subpoena</a>&nbsp;for the document from the FBI.While lawmakers on the Oversight Committee have already been able to partly&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-fbi-oversight-comer-congress-0c647e00b2559f59e4a898ee264d8753">review the information</a>, this is the first time the full document — which contains raw, unverified information — is being made public. Called an FD-1023 form, it involves claims a confidential informant made in 2020 about Hunter Biden's alleged business dealings when he served on the board of Ukrainian energy company Burisma. Top Republicans have acknowledged they cannot confirm whether the information is true.“The American people can now read this document for themselves," Grassley said.The document adds to information that had widely aired during&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-ap-top-news-elections-politics-election-2020-d78192d45b176f73ad435ae9fb926ed3">Donald Trump's first impeachment trial</a>, which involved Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani's efforts to dig up dirt on the Bidens ahead of the 2020 election. It was also the subject of a subsequent&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/26ecd17c8fcf7fc26b9e2df44325a83a">Department of Justice review</a>&nbsp;that Trump's Attorney General William Barr launched in 2020 and closed later that year.Grassley's office said the FBI told the senator the document was related to an ongoing matter.White House spokesman Ian Sams said Thursday, “It is remarkable that congressional Republicans, in their eagerness to go after President Biden regardless of the truth, continue to push claims that have been debunked for years."“These claims have reportedly been scrutinized by the Trump Justice Department, a Trump-appointed U.S. Attorney, and a full impeachment trial of the former President that centered on these very issues, and over and over again, they have been found to lack credibility,” he said. “It’s clear that congressional Republicans are dead-set on playing shameless, dishonest politics and refuse to let truth get in the way.”In the four-page document, the confidential informant claims to have been involved in various meetings some years earlier, in 2015 or 2016, with officials from the Burisma energy company looking to do business in the United States. The informant claims being told by Burisma officials about their relationship and dealings with Hunter Biden.One company official said they kept Hunter Biden on the Burisma board because they believed through “his dad” it could protect them from all kinds of problems, the informant claimed.In another instance, a top company official suggested payment of $5 million to each of the Bidens as the company sought to have Ukraine's prosecutor general at the time, Viktor Shokin, removed from office, according to the document.Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, the top Democrat on the Oversight panel, said after lawmakers reviewed a redacted document in June, “Congress thoroughly reviewed and debunked" similar allegations that Giuliani had made.“As the FBI explained, the allegations were also thoroughly investigated by Donald Trump’s own Justice Department,” Raskin wrote. That assessment was closed in August 2020 after eight months of investigative efforts, he said, and “found insufficient evidence” to warrant further investigation.But Comer said Thursday: “The American people must be able to read this record for themselves. I thank Senator Grassley for providing much needed transparency.”Grassley said while the FBI had released a redacted version to lawmakers, he was able to provide a fuller document because whistleblowers made it available to him.Comer’s panel held a hearing this week with two&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/hunter-biden-irs-justice-department-congress-republicans-32d9f33fb0d05c483d76926504d45bef">Internal Review Service whistleblowers</a>&nbsp;who have claimed Justice Department interference as they tried to probe Hunter Biden’s financial affairs. They said they were unaware of the document.The Justice Department has denied the whistleblower claims. Department policy has long told prosecutors to take care when bringing charges with political overtones so close to an election.A recovering addict, Hunter Biden&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/hunter-biden-charges-income-tax-weapon-ea6b78d4bac037da24b485985b99bc1c">pleaded guilty</a>&nbsp;last month to misdemeanor charges over his finances after years of failing to pay taxes. Republicans have denounced the agreement with federal prosecutors as a "sweetheart deal."The top prosecutor in the case, U.S. Attorney David Weiss in Delaware, has said he is willing to testify before the House panel once he is legally able to share information with Congress without violating the longstanding department policy of discussing an ongoing investigation.Testimony from Justice Department officials could come after Hunter Biden appears for his plea hearing next week.