By DARRELL EHRLICK <a href="https://dailymontanan.com/2022/03/01/on-150th-anniversary-new-book-looks-back-at-the-founding-of-yellowstone-national-park/">Daily Montanan</a>

When educators cover American 
history, the Civil War period usually gives way to the westward 
expansion. Often, Reconstruction, the period directly following the 
Civil War, is glossed over or only presented as a movement in the U.S. 
South.

However, Megan Kate Nelson, a Pulitzer Prize nominee for history, has
 tackled the period, taking aim at the creation of Yellowstone National 
Park. Her latest book, “Saving Yellowstone: Exploration and Preservation
 in Reconstruction America,” demonstrates that the idea of changing 
America and rebuilding it in a better image didn’t just happen in the 
South, but was part of a larger Republican ideal that led to the 
founding of America’s first national park.

And yet, the book is told from three perspectives, including that of 
explorer Ferdinand Hayden, who saw illustrations and paintings of 
Yellowstone and wanted it preserved as a testament to the country. 
Meanwhile, railroad magnate and financier Jay Cooke saw the park as a 
tourist destination and economic engine for railroads. And Sitting Bull,
 the powerful Lakota leader, saw the land as desperately needing 
protection from the hordes of settlers who would otherwise lay claim to 
the area, which had held deep religious significance for generations of 
different Native tribes.

The book illustrates how different motives and interests led to an 
ultimately conflicted view of the park, which has been dubbed the “crown
 jewel” of the country’s national park system.

“The Civil War period with its battles and violence really continued 
into the Western expansion and ‘Indian Wars,’” Nelson said. “A lot of 
educators bolt through Reconstruction to get to the West. The Western 
expansion is more compelling, but it shouldn’t be. Four million people 
got new freedom, and there was pushback, which needs to be explored.”

Part of that pushback and freedom involves questions of why settlers 
went West and what happened as they encroached on Native lands.

And yet, the nascent idea of creating Yellowstone National Park was meant to be an act of unity.

“This is a Republican Party, which is asserting new ideals and trying
 to bring people back together again. This was supposed to give all 
Americans something to be proud of. This was supposed to be ‘Nature’s 
Nation.’ While we didn’t have claim to Roman ruins, we had these amazing
 natural wonders like Niagara Falls, Yosemite and Yellowstone,” Nelson 
said.

But these Republicans would shape the nation by more than just creating national tourist attractions.

“These ‘Radical Republicans’ also gave us the 13th, 14th, and 15th
 Amendments, which were galvanizing events that helped to fight the 
growing racial threats in the South like the Ku Klux Klan,” Nelson said.

And even though the Ulysses S. Grant administration ran on a platform
 of peace, for people of color, including Native Americans, it was 
anything but peaceful.

“They were fighting for emancipation and Black rights in the South 
while also discussing extermination of indigenous peoples in the West,” 
Nelson said.

It was Sitting Bull who also had an outsized influence in the 
creation of the park as hostile tribes that fought along the Bozeman 
Trail stymied earlier exploration of the land around Yellowstone prior 
and during the Civil War. Meanwhile, it was Cooke and the completion of 
the transcontinental railroad that helped travel to these previously 
remote locations possible.

“Before then, who has the time and money to take that kind of vacation?” Nelson said.

Yet, with the completion of the railroad, going from Chicago to the Pacific Ocean could happen in less than a week.

“And people saw all these amazing landscapes,” Nelson said. “And they had never seen anything like it.”

Because of that, Cooke invested heavily in creating a more robust western railroad.

“He really believed it was a good investment. It was not. There 
wasn’t a lot there,” Nelson said. “The investment was based on a future 
dream, but it destroyed him because he couldn’t let go of it.”

Throughout the book, there are circumstances of chance, places where 
characters keeping on popping up coincidentally, for example, Hayden and
 Cooke both being at the same Union League meeting in Philadelphia.

The book also helps put the Native perspective into the narrative, as
 most histories speak of Yellowstone National Park being “discovered” 
even though tribes had been attached to the area for centuries.

“It really shows the regional impact that these players had. They have an outsized influence on the story,” Nelson said.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/3/1648219242155.png" alt="“Saving Yellowstone” by Megan Kate Nelson (Photo by Darrell Ehrlick of the Daily Montanan). " />
 <figcaption>“Saving Yellowstone” by Megan Kate Nelson (Photo by Darrell Ehrlick of the Daily Montanan). </figcaption>
 </figure>By DARRELL EHRLICK <a href="https://dailymontanan.com/2022/03/01/on-150th-anniversary-new-book-looks-back-at-the-founding-of-yellowstone-national-park/">Daily Montanan</a>When educators cover American 
history, the Civil War period usually gives way to the westward 
expansion. Often, Reconstruction, the period directly following the 
Civil War, is glossed over or only presented as a movement in the U.S. 
South.However, Megan Kate Nelson, a Pulitzer Prize nominee for history, has
 tackled the period, taking aim at the creation of Yellowstone National 
Park. Her latest book, “Saving Yellowstone: Exploration and Preservation
 in Reconstruction America,” demonstrates that the idea of changing 
America and rebuilding it in a better image didn’t just happen in the 
South, but was part of a larger Republican ideal that led to the 
founding of America’s first national park.And yet, the book is told from three perspectives, including that of 
explorer Ferdinand Hayden, who saw illustrations and paintings of 
Yellowstone and wanted it preserved as a testament to the country. 
Meanwhile, railroad magnate and financier Jay Cooke saw the park as a 
tourist destination and economic engine for railroads. And Sitting Bull,
 the powerful Lakota leader, saw the land as desperately needing 
protection from the hordes of settlers who would otherwise lay claim to 
the area, which had held deep religious significance for generations of 
different Native tribes.The book illustrates how different motives and interests led to an 
ultimately conflicted view of the park, which has been dubbed the “crown
 jewel” of the country’s national park system.“The Civil War period with its battles and violence really continued 
into the Western expansion and ‘Indian Wars,’” Nelson said. “A lot of 
educators bolt through Reconstruction to get to the West. The Western 
expansion is more compelling, but it shouldn’t be. Four million people 
got new freedom, and there was pushback, which needs to be explored.”Part of that pushback and freedom involves questions of why settlers 
went West and what happened as they encroached on Native lands.And yet, the nascent idea of creating Yellowstone National Park was meant to be an act of unity.“This is a Republican Party, which is asserting new ideals and trying
 to bring people back together again. This was supposed to give all 
Americans something to be proud of. This was supposed to be ‘Nature’s 
Nation.’ While we didn’t have claim to Roman ruins, we had these amazing
 natural wonders like Niagara Falls, Yosemite and Yellowstone,” Nelson 
said.But these Republicans would shape the nation by more than just creating national tourist attractions.“These ‘Radical Republicans’ also gave us the 13th, 14th, and 15th
 Amendments, which were galvanizing events that helped to fight the 
growing racial threats in the South like the Ku Klux Klan,” Nelson said.And even though the Ulysses S. Grant administration ran on a platform
 of peace, for people of color, including Native Americans, it was 
anything but peaceful.“They were fighting for emancipation and Black rights in the South 
while also discussing extermination of indigenous peoples in the West,” 
Nelson said.It was Sitting Bull who also had an outsized influence in the 
creation of the park as hostile tribes that fought along the Bozeman 
Trail stymied earlier exploration of the land around Yellowstone prior 
and during the Civil War. Meanwhile, it was Cooke and the completion of 
the transcontinental railroad that helped travel to these previously 
remote locations possible.“Before then, who has the time and money to take that kind of vacation?” Nelson said.Yet, with the completion of the railroad, going from Chicago to the Pacific Ocean could happen in less than a week.“And people saw all these amazing landscapes,” Nelson said. “And they had never seen anything like it.”Because of that, Cooke invested heavily in creating a more robust western railroad.“He really believed it was a good investment. It was not. There 
wasn’t a lot there,” Nelson said. “The investment was based on a future 
dream, but it destroyed him because he couldn’t let go of it.”Throughout the book, there are circumstances of chance, places where 
characters keeping on popping up coincidentally, for example, Hayden and
 Cooke both being at the same Union League meeting in Philadelphia.The book also helps put the Native perspective into the narrative, as
 most histories speak of Yellowstone National Park being “discovered” 
even though tribes had been attached to the area for centuries.“It really shows the regional impact that these players had. They have an outsized influence on the story,” Nelson said.

On 150th anniversary, book looks at founding of Yellowstone National Park

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — President Joe Biden delivered a forceful and highly personal condemnation of Russia’s Vladimir Putin on Saturday, summoning a call for liberal democracy and a durable resolve among Western nations in the face of a brutal autocrat.

As he capped a four-day trip to Europe, a blend of emotive scenes with refugees and standing among other world leaders in grand settings, Biden said of Putin: “For God’s sake, this man cannot remain in power.”

It was a dramatic escalation in rhetoric — Biden had earlier called Putin a “butcher” — that the White House found itself quickly walking back. Before Biden could even board Air Force One to begin the flight back to Washington, aides were clarifying that he wasn’t calling for an immediate change in government in Moscow.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov quickly denounced Biden, saying “it’s not up to the president of the U.S. and not up to the Americans to decide who will remain in power in Russia.”

While Biden’s blunt language grabbed headlines, in other pieces of his roughly 30-minute speech before Warsaw’s iconic Royal Castle he urged Western allies to brace for what will be a turbulent road ahead in a “new battle for freedom.”

He also pointedly warned Putin against invading even “an inch” of territory of a NATO nation.

The address was a heavy bookend to a European visit in which Biden met with NATO and other Western leaders, visited the front lines of the growing refugee crisis and even held a young Ukrainian girl in his arms as he sought to spotlight some of the vast tentacles of the conflict that will likely define his presidency.

“We must remain unified today and tomorrow and the day after, and for the years and decades to come. It will not be easy,” Biden said as Russia continued to pound several Ukrainian cities. “There will be costs, but the price we have to pay, because the darkness that drives autocracy is ultimately no match for the flame of liberty that lights the souls of free people everywhere.”

Biden also made the case that multilateral institutions like NATO are more important than ever if the West and its allies are going to successfully push back against autocrats like Putin.

During his campaign for president, Biden talked often about the battle for primacy between democracies and autocracies. In those moments, his words seemed like an abstraction. Now, they have an urgent resonance.

Europe finds itself ensconced in a crisis that has virtually all of Europe revisiting defense spending, energy policy and more, and so does the U.S.

Charles Kupchan, who served as senior director for European affairs on the White House National Security Council during the Obama administration, called the invasion a “game-changer” that left Atlantic democracies with “no choice” but to bolster their posture against Russia.

But the path ahead for Biden — and the West — will only grow more complicated, Kupchan said.

“The challenges Biden’s presidency faces have just grown in magnitude,” said Kupchan, now a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. “He now needs to lead the West’s efforts to protect the West from the pressing external threat posed by Russia. And he needs to continue strengthening the West from within by countering the illiberal populism that still poses internal threats to democratic societies on both sides of the Atlantic.”

In one of the most poignant moments of his trip, Biden on Saturday bent down and picked up a young girl, a Ukrainian refugee in a pink winter coat, and spoke of how she reminded him of his own granddaughters.

“I don’t speak Ukrainian, but tell her I want to take her home,” Biden asked a translator to tell the smiling child.

Hours later, Biden was in front of a crowd of a 1,000 — including recent Ukrainian refugees — at the Royal Castle, a Warsaw landmark that dates back more than 400 years and was badly damaged in World War II. He made clear that the West would need to steel itself for what will be a long and difficult battle.

“We must commit now, to be this fight for the long haul,” Biden said.

The Biden administration, which has been selective about putting too great of importance on any single policy speech, sought to elevate what White House officials billed as a major address. Biden spoke with grand palace behind him to an invited audience — one bigger than just about any he’s spoken to during his presidency.

He singled out Lech Walesa, the Polish labor leader who led the push for freedom in his country and was eventually elected its president, and connected the moment to the former Soviet Union’s history of brutal oppression, including the post-World War II military operations to stamp out pro-democracy movements in Hungary, Poland and what was then Czechoslovakia. And he urged Europe to heed the words of Pope John Paul II, the first pontiff from Poland: “Be not afraid.”

Biden’s trip has reaffirmed the importance of European alliances, which atrophied under former President Donald Trump. He’s worked with his counterparts to marshal an array of punishing sanctions on Russia, and placed the continent on a course that could eliminate its dependence on Russian energy over the next several years.

The collective response to the invasion of Ukraine has little parallel in recent history, which has been more characterized by widening divisions than close coordination. But the Russian invasion of Ukraine has changed that dynamic, with European nations stepping up defense spending and imposing crushing sanctions against Moscow, and some taking initial steps to reorient their energy needs away from Russia.

“I’m confident that Vladimir Putin was counting on dividing NATO,” Biden said during a meeting with Polish President Andrzej Duda on Friday. “But he hasn’t been able to do it. We’ve all stayed together.”

Maintaining such unity will likely prove difficult as the war grinds on, and the refugee situation could become one source of strain. Much like NATO is committed to the collective defense of each member, Biden said, other nations should share the burden of caring for Ukrainian refugees. To that end, the U.S. administration announced it would admit up to 100,000 Ukrainian refugees into the United States this year.

“It should be all of NATO’s responsibility,” he told Duda, whose country has accepted roughly 2.2 million of the 3.7 million who have fled Ukraine. It’s not clear how many of those displaced Ukrainians who have come through Poland have now moved on to other nations.

There’s also no clear path to ending the conflict. Although Russian officials have suggested they will focus their invasion on the Donbas, a region in East Ukraine, Biden wasn’t so sure if there was a real shift underway.

Asked on Saturday if the Russians have changed their strategy, he told reporters that “I am not sure they have.”

Despite the hazards ahead, Biden insisted there is more reason to be hopeful that the West and Ukraine can eventually succeed.

“A dictator bent on rebuilding an empire will never erase a people’s love for liberty,” Biden said. “Brutality will never grind down their will to be free. Ukraine will never be a victory for Russia, for free people refuse to live in a world of hopelessness and darkness.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/3/1648345290520.png" alt="&nbsp;President Biden visited Ukrainian refugees who have fled to Poland. You don’t need to speak the same language to feel the roller-coaster of emotions in their eyes-White House photo" />
 <figcaption>&nbsp;President Biden visited Ukrainian refugees who have fled to Poland. You don’t need to speak the same language to feel the roller-coaster of emotions in their eyes-White House photo</figcaption>
 </figure>WARSAW, Poland (AP) — President Joe Biden delivered a forceful and highly personal condemnation of Russia’s Vladimir Putin on Saturday, summoning a call for liberal democracy and a durable resolve among Western nations in the face of a brutal autocrat.<div><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?height=314&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FWhiteHouse%2Fvideos%2F736390384013878%2F&show_text=false&width=560&t=12" width="560" height="314" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowFullScreen="true"></iframe></div>As he capped a four-day trip to Europe, a blend of emotive scenes with refugees and standing among other world leaders in grand settings, Biden said of Putin: “For God’s sake, this man cannot remain in power.”It was a dramatic escalation in rhetoric — Biden had earlier called Putin a “butcher” — that the White House found itself quickly walking back. Before Biden could even board Air Force One to begin the flight back to Washington, aides were clarifying that he wasn’t calling for an immediate change in government in Moscow.Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov quickly denounced Biden, saying “it’s not up to the president of the U.S. and not up to the Americans to decide who will remain in power in Russia.”While Biden’s blunt language grabbed headlines, in other pieces of his roughly 30-minute speech before Warsaw’s iconic Royal Castle he urged Western allies to brace for what will be a turbulent road ahead in a “new battle for freedom.”He also pointedly warned Putin against invading even “an inch” of territory of a NATO nation.The address was a heavy bookend to a European visit in which Biden met with NATO and other Western leaders, visited the front lines of the growing refugee crisis and even held a young Ukrainian girl in his arms as he sought to spotlight some of the vast tentacles of the conflict that will likely define his presidency.“We must remain unified today and tomorrow and the day after, and for the years and decades to come. It will not be easy,” Biden said as Russia continued to pound several Ukrainian cities. “There will be costs, but the price we have to pay, because the darkness that drives autocracy is ultimately no match for the flame of liberty that lights the souls of free people everywhere.”Biden also made the case that multilateral institutions like NATO are more important than ever if the West and its allies are going to successfully push back against autocrats like Putin.During his campaign for president, Biden talked often about the battle for primacy between democracies and autocracies. In those moments, his words seemed like an abstraction. Now, they have an urgent resonance.Europe finds itself ensconced in a crisis that has virtually all of Europe revisiting defense spending, energy policy and more, and so does the U.S.Charles Kupchan, who served as senior director for European affairs on the White House National Security Council during the Obama administration, called the invasion a “game-changer” that left Atlantic democracies with “no choice” but to bolster their posture against Russia.But the path ahead for Biden — and the West — will only grow more complicated, Kupchan said.“The challenges Biden’s presidency faces have just grown in magnitude,” said Kupchan, now a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. “He now needs to lead the West’s efforts to protect the West from the pressing external threat posed by Russia. And he needs to continue strengthening the West from within by countering the illiberal populism that still poses internal threats to democratic societies on both sides of the Atlantic.”In one of the most poignant moments of his trip, Biden on Saturday bent down and picked up a young girl, a Ukrainian refugee in a pink winter coat, and spoke of how she reminded him of his own granddaughters.“I don’t speak Ukrainian, but tell her I want to take her home,” Biden asked a translator to tell the smiling child.Hours later, Biden was in front of a crowd of a 1,000 — including recent Ukrainian refugees — at the Royal Castle, a Warsaw landmark that dates back more than 400 years and was badly damaged in World War II. He made clear that the West would need to steel itself for what will be a long and difficult battle.“We must commit now, to be this fight for the long haul,” Biden said.The Biden administration, which has been selective about putting too great of importance on any single policy speech, sought to elevate what White House officials billed as a major address. Biden spoke with grand palace behind him to an invited audience — one bigger than just about any he’s spoken to during his presidency.He singled out Lech Walesa, the Polish labor leader who led the push for freedom in his country and was eventually elected its president, and connected the moment to the former Soviet Union’s history of brutal oppression, including the post-World War II military operations to stamp out pro-democracy movements in Hungary, Poland and what was then Czechoslovakia. And he urged Europe to heed the words of Pope John Paul II, the first pontiff from Poland: “Be not afraid.”Biden’s trip has reaffirmed the importance of European alliances, which atrophied under former President Donald Trump. He’s worked with his counterparts to marshal an array of punishing sanctions on Russia, and placed the continent on a course that could eliminate its dependence on Russian energy over the next several years.The collective response to the invasion of Ukraine has little parallel in recent history, which has been more characterized by widening divisions than close coordination. But the Russian invasion of Ukraine has changed that dynamic, with European nations stepping up defense spending and imposing crushing sanctions against Moscow, and some taking initial steps to reorient their energy needs away from Russia.“I’m confident that Vladimir Putin was counting on dividing NATO,” Biden said during a meeting with Polish President Andrzej Duda on Friday. “But he hasn’t been able to do it. We’ve all stayed together.”Maintaining such unity will likely prove difficult as the war grinds on, and the refugee situation could become one source of strain. Much like NATO is committed to the collective defense of each member, Biden said, other nations should share the burden of caring for Ukrainian refugees. To that end, the U.S. administration announced it would admit up to 100,000 Ukrainian refugees into the United States this year.“It should be all of NATO’s responsibility,” he told Duda, whose country has accepted roughly 2.2 million of the 3.7 million who have fled Ukraine. It’s not clear how many of those displaced Ukrainians who have come through Poland have now moved on to other nations.There’s also no clear path to ending the conflict. Although Russian officials have suggested they will focus their invasion on the Donbas, a region in East Ukraine, Biden wasn’t so sure if there was a real shift underway.Asked on Saturday if the Russians have changed their strategy, he told reporters that “I am not sure they have.”Despite the hazards ahead, Biden insisted there is more reason to be hopeful that the West and Ukraine can eventually succeed.“A dictator bent on rebuilding an empire will never erase a people’s love for liberty,” Biden said. “Brutality will never grind down their will to be free. Ukraine will never be a victory for Russia, for free people refuse to live in a world of hopelessness and darkness.”

🎥Biden: For God’s sake, Putin cannot remain in power

BOULDER, Colo. (AP) — Authorities issued an evacuation order for 19,000 people Saturday near a fast-moving Colorado wildfire in rolling hills south of the college town of Boulder, not far from the site of a destructive 2021 blaze that leveled more than 1,000 homes.

The wildfire had grown to 123 acres (50 hectares) by late afternoon with no containment, according to the Boulder Office of Emergency Management. Evacuation orders covered 8,000 homes.

Protected wildland was burning near the Table Mesa neighborhood and the National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder police said on Twitter. Authorities have called it the NCAR fire.

The fire is in an area where a blaze destroyed 1,000 homes last year in unincorporated Boulder County and suburban Superior and Louisville.

Superior town officials told residents in an email that there were no immediate concerns for the community.

The fire was moving south-southeast toward Eldorado Springs, the Boulder County Sheriff’s office said.

Eldorado Canyon State Park has been closed and authorities have ordered people hiking or climbing in the area to evacuate. University of Colorado Boulder Police were evacuating the south campus and police blocked westbound traffic on roads near the blaze.

The fire started around 2 p.m. Saturday, said Boulder Fire-Rescue spokesperson Marya Washburn. An Emergency Operations Center was activated, Boulder police said. Emergency alerts were sent to cellphones within a 1/4 mile (0.4 kilometer) radius of the research center.

“Message is to EVACUATE area due to fast moving wildfire #boulder,” police said.

There was no immediate information on the cause of the blaze.

The skies are clear and the temperature was about 73 degrees (23 degrees Celsius) with wind at about 25 mph (40 kph). Winds were dying down later Saturday, Washburn said.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/3/1648347736467.jpg" alt="Image courtesy of Pixabay" />
 <figcaption>Image courtesy of Pixabay</figcaption>
 </figure>By ASSOCIATED PRESSBOULDER, Colo. (AP) — Authorities issued an evacuation order for 19,000 people Saturday near a fast-moving Colorado wildfire in rolling hills south of the college town of Boulder, not far from the site of a destructive 2021 blaze that leveled more than 1,000 homes.The wildfire had grown to 123 acres (50 hectares) by late afternoon with no containment, according to the Boulder Office of Emergency Management. Evacuation orders covered 8,000 homes.Protected wildland was burning near the Table Mesa neighborhood and the National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder police said on Twitter. Authorities have called it the NCAR fire.The fire is in an area where a blaze destroyed 1,000 homes last year in unincorporated Boulder County and suburban Superior and Louisville.Superior town officials told residents in an email that there were no immediate concerns for the community.The fire was moving south-southeast toward Eldorado Springs, the Boulder County Sheriff’s office said.Eldorado Canyon State Park has been closed and authorities have ordered people hiking or climbing in the area to evacuate. University of Colorado Boulder Police were evacuating the south campus and police blocked westbound traffic on roads near the blaze.The fire started around 2 p.m. Saturday, said Boulder Fire-Rescue spokesperson Marya Washburn. An Emergency Operations Center was activated, Boulder police said. Emergency alerts were sent to cellphones within a 1/4 mile (0.4 kilometer) radius of the research center.“Message is to EVACUATE area due to fast moving wildfire #boulder,” police said.There was no immediate information on the cause of the blaze.The skies are clear and the temperature was about 73 degrees (23 degrees Celsius) with wind at about 25 mph (40 kph). Winds were dying down later Saturday, Washburn said.

Colorado wildfire forces evacuation orders for 19,000 people

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (AP) — Law enforcement authorities on Saturday rescued a 60-year-old man who had been taken hostage by an escaped inmate, capturing the inmate and peacefully ending a standoff at an apartment that lasted hours, police said.

Tyler Manka, 27, of Grand Island, Nebraska, escaped from the custody of the Hall County Department of Corrections about 10:19 p.m. Friday while being treated at St. Francis Medical Center. He fled by foot and forced his way into an apartment located several blocks east of the hospital, the Grand Island Police Department said in a news release.

Manka took the apartment’s resident hostage, barricading himself in one of the rooms. The hostage situation prompted the deployment of the Grand Island Police Department Tactical Response team, Hall County Sheriff’s Department and Nebraska State Patrol, among others.

At about 6 a.m. Saturday, tactical operations were turned over to the Nebraska State Patrol SWAT team amid the lengthy negotiations. The SWAT team entered the apartment shortly after 10 a.m., safely rescuing the hostage and taking Manka into custody.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/3/1648347324809.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>By ASSOCIATED PRESSGRAND ISLAND, Neb. (AP) — Law enforcement authorities on Saturday rescued a 60-year-old man who had been taken hostage by an escaped inmate, capturing the inmate and peacefully ending a standoff at an apartment that lasted hours, police said.Tyler Manka, 27, of Grand Island, Nebraska, escaped from the custody of the Hall County Department of Corrections about 10:19 p.m. Friday while being treated at St. Francis Medical Center. He fled by foot and forced his way into an apartment located several blocks east of the hospital, the Grand Island Police Department said in a news release.Manka took the apartment’s resident hostage, barricading himself in one of the rooms. The hostage situation prompted the deployment of the Grand Island Police Department Tactical Response team, Hall County Sheriff’s Department and Nebraska State Patrol, among others.At about 6 a.m. Saturday, tactical operations were turned over to the Nebraska State Patrol SWAT team amid the lengthy negotiations. The SWAT team entered the apartment shortly after 10 a.m., safely rescuing the hostage and taking Manka into custody.

Nebraska authorities rescue hostage, capture escaped inmate

SEDGWICK COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities continue asking the public to help locate an inmate who was released from jail by mistake.

Just after 11:30 a.m. Monday, inmate Elijah Nehemiah Reed was released from the Sedgwick County Detention Facility in error, according to Sheriff's Lt. Benjamin Blick.

Reed was in custody on two writs to detain through the Juvenile District Court and a criminal possession of a firearm charge through the Adult District Court. After the adult case was dismissed by the District Court a paperwork error in the Sheriff’s Office was made concerning the sentencing status of the two juvenile cases and Reed was released from custody in error.

Reed is a 20 year old African-American who was last known to live in Wichita. He is 6-foot -2,&nbsp; weighs approximately 150 pounds with black hair and brown eyes. Reed could be dangerous and possibly armed.

If you know of Reed’s whereabouts please call 911.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/3/1648080074670.png" alt="Reed photo Sedgwick Co." />
 <figcaption>Reed photo Sedgwick Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>SEDGWICK COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities continue asking the public to help locate an inmate who was released from jail by mistake.Just after 11:30 a.m. Monday, inmate Elijah Nehemiah Reed was released from the Sedgwick County Detention Facility in error, according to Sheriff's Lt. Benjamin Blick.Reed was in custody on two writs to detain through the Juvenile District Court and a criminal possession of a firearm charge through the Adult District Court. After the adult case was dismissed by the District Court a paperwork error in the Sheriff’s Office was made concerning the sentencing status of the two juvenile cases and Reed was released from custody in error.Reed is a 20 year old African-American who was last known to live in Wichita. He is 6-foot -2,&nbsp; weighs approximately 150 pounds with black hair and brown eyes. Reed could be dangerous and possibly armed.If you know of Reed’s whereabouts please call 911.

Search continues for dangerous Kan. inmate released by mistake

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is giving the Navy a freer hand determining what job assignments it gives to 35 sailors who sued after refusing on religious grounds to comply with an order to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

The high court in a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/21pdf/21a477_1bo2.pdf" target="_blank">brief order Friday</a>&nbsp;sided with the Biden administration and said that while the lawsuit plays out, the Navy may consider the sailors’ vaccination status in making deployment, assignment and other operational decisions. The group that sued includes mostly Navy SEALs.

Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote that there was a “simple overarching reason” that he agreed with the court’s decision. The Constitution makes the president, “not any federal judge,” the commander in chief of the armed forces, he wrote, noting that courts have been traditionally “reluctant to intrude upon the authority of the Executive in military and national security affairs.”

Three conservative justices — Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch — noted that they disagreed with their colleagues’ decision and would have sided with the group of SEALs.

Alito wrote that his colleagues were “rubberstamping the Government’s request.” “These individuals appear to have been treated shabbily by the Navy, and the Court brushes all that aside,” Alito wrote.

A federal judge in Texas in January&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-health-religion-austin-texas-b8227807672374e6f99edfc851e191dd">issued a preliminary injunction barring the Navy&nbsp;</a>from acting against the sailors. The Biden administration said it was not asking the Supreme Court to block parts of the lower court order barring the sailors from being disciplined or discharged but only the requirement that their assignments be made without considering their vaccination status. That requirement posed “intolerable risks to safety and mission success,”&nbsp;<a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/21/21A477/217841/20220307123349362_21A%20Texas%20Navy%20SEALS%20stay%20app.pdf" target="_blank">the administration had argued</a>.

“Navy personnel routinely operate for extended periods of time in confined spaces that are ripe breeding grounds for respiratory illnesses, where mitigation measures such as distancing are impractical or impossible. A SEAL who falls ill not only cannot complete his or her own mission, but risks infecting others as well, particularly in close quarters, including on submarines,” Biden administration lawyers wrote.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin last year&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-health-coronavirus-pandemic-e08a6e68308b27ad7653ca9210d953dc">made vaccinations mandatory for service members</a>. Navy guidelines allow for exemptions to the vaccine requirement on religious and other grounds, including medical reasons and if a servicemember is about to leave the Navy. The Biden administration says the Navy has received more than 4,000 requests for religious exemptions, but it said that as of the start of February only about 80 had been fully adjudicated. It said one religious exemption had been granted.

Lawyers for the group of sailors that sued had argued that the Navy had granted hundreds of non-religious exemptions. They said that in asking the high court to allow vaccine status to be considered, the Navy was seeking “license to engage in hostile tactics designed to coerce plaintiffs into disregarding their religious beliefs.”

Lower courts had denied the Biden administration’s plea to be allowed to consider vaccination status. That includes a federal judge in Texas, Reed O’Connor, who was nominated by former President George W. Bush, and a three-judge panel of the 5th U.S Circuit Court of Appeals. Two of those judges were appointees of former President Donald Trump while the third was appointed by former President Ronald Reagan.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/8/1629972789785.png" alt="Photo courtesy U.S. Dept. of Defense" />
 <figcaption>Photo courtesy U.S. Dept. of Defense</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is giving the Navy a freer hand determining what job assignments it gives to 35 sailors who sued after refusing on religious grounds to comply with an order to get vaccinated against COVID-19.The high court in a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/21pdf/21a477_1bo2.pdf" target="_blank">brief order Friday</a>&nbsp;sided with the Biden administration and said that while the lawsuit plays out, the Navy may consider the sailors’ vaccination status in making deployment, assignment and other operational decisions. The group that sued includes mostly Navy SEALs.Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote that there was a “simple overarching reason” that he agreed with the court’s decision. The Constitution makes the president, “not any federal judge,” the commander in chief of the armed forces, he wrote, noting that courts have been traditionally “reluctant to intrude upon the authority of the Executive in military and national security affairs.”Three conservative justices — Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch — noted that they disagreed with their colleagues’ decision and would have sided with the group of SEALs.Alito wrote that his colleagues were “rubberstamping the Government’s request.” “These individuals appear to have been treated shabbily by the Navy, and the Court brushes all that aside,” Alito wrote.A federal judge in Texas in January&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-health-religion-austin-texas-b8227807672374e6f99edfc851e191dd">issued a preliminary injunction barring the Navy&nbsp;</a>from acting against the sailors. The Biden administration said it was not asking the Supreme Court to block parts of the lower court order barring the sailors from being disciplined or discharged but only the requirement that their assignments be made without considering their vaccination status. That requirement posed “intolerable risks to safety and mission success,”&nbsp;<a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/21/21A477/217841/20220307123349362_21A%20Texas%20Navy%20SEALS%20stay%20app.pdf" target="_blank">the administration had argued</a>.“Navy personnel routinely operate for extended periods of time in confined spaces that are ripe breeding grounds for respiratory illnesses, where mitigation measures such as distancing are impractical or impossible. A SEAL who falls ill not only cannot complete his or her own mission, but risks infecting others as well, particularly in close quarters, including on submarines,” Biden administration lawyers wrote.Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin last year&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-health-coronavirus-pandemic-e08a6e68308b27ad7653ca9210d953dc">made vaccinations mandatory for service members</a>. Navy guidelines allow for exemptions to the vaccine requirement on religious and other grounds, including medical reasons and if a servicemember is about to leave the Navy. The Biden administration says the Navy has received more than 4,000 requests for religious exemptions, but it said that as of the start of February only about 80 had been fully adjudicated. It said one religious exemption had been granted.Lawyers for the group of sailors that sued had argued that the Navy had granted hundreds of non-religious exemptions. They said that in asking the high court to allow vaccine status to be considered, the Navy was seeking “license to engage in hostile tactics designed to coerce plaintiffs into disregarding their religious beliefs.”Lower courts had denied the Biden administration’s plea to be allowed to consider vaccination status. That includes a federal judge in Texas, Reed O’Connor, who was nominated by former President George W. Bush, and a three-judge panel of the 5th U.S Circuit Court of Appeals. Two of those judges were appointees of former President Donald Trump while the third was appointed by former President Ronald Reagan.

High court rules for the Navy in COVID-19 vaccine case

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A Montana man who went missing while hiking earlier this week was killed in a suspected encounter with a grizzly bear north of Yellowstone National Park, authorities said Friday.

The victim was identified as Craig Clouatre, 40, of Livingston. No details were provided on where he was found or why a grizzly bear was believed responsible for his death.

Search teams on the ground and in helicopters had been looking for Clouatre after he went hiking on Wednesday morning with a friend, possibly to hunt for antlers, and was reported overdue that day, according to the sheriff. The search began that night concentrated on the Six Mile Creek area of the Absaroka Mountains, located about 30 miles (48 kilometers) south of Livingston, Montana.

“They split up at some point later in the morning,” Park County Sheriff Brad Bichler told the Livingston Enterprise. “When the other man returned to their vehicle and his friend wasn’t there, he called us and we began searching.”

Authorities were working Friday to return Clouatre’s body to his family, Bichler said in a social media post.

Clouatre’s father told The Associated Press that the victim grew up in Massachusetts and moved more than two decades ago to Montana, where Clouatre met his future wife, Jamie, and decided to make a home.

“He was a joy to have as a son all the way around,” David Clouatre said. “He was a good man, a good, hardworking family man.”

The mountains in the area where Craig Clouatre died rise steeply above the Yellowstone River as it passes through the Paradise Valley. Dense forests at higher elevations are home to bears and other wildlife, although dangerous encounters with people are relatively rare.

Clouatre frequented those mountains and others around the park, hiking in summer and ice climbing in winter when he wasn’t home with his wife and their four young children, said Anne Tanner, a friend of the victim.

Tanner said she had known Clouatre for about a decade because he worked for commercial food companies and delivered to their restaurant, the Emigrant Outpost. The restaurant held a benefit for the Clouatre family after their house burned down two years ago. Tanner said they had only recently recovered from the fire.

“He was finally just getting their house together,” she said. “It just makes me angry that something like this could happen to such a good person...Of all the men I know, I can’t believe he would die in the wilderness. He was so strong and he was so smart.”

State wildlife officials were responding to the scene but Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks spokesperson Greg Lemon said he had no further information.

Since 2010, grizzlies in the Yellowstone region have killed at least eight people.

Among them was a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/wildlife-bears-parks-national-parks-montana-0e4131fffea36bfc4356384f8965ff77">backcountry guide killed&nbsp;</a>by a bear last year along Yellowstone’s western border. Guide Charles “Carl” Mock was killed in April after being mauled by a 400-plus pound (181-plus kilogram) male grizzly while fishing alone at a favorite spot on Montana’s Madison River, where it spills out of the park.

Grizzlies are protected under federal law outside Alaska. Elected officials in the Yellowstone region are pushing to lift protections and allow grizzly hunting.

The Yellowstone region spanning portions of Montana, Idaho and Wyoming has more than 700 bears. Fatal attacks on humans are rare but have increased in recent decades as the grizzly population grew and more people moved into rural areas near bear habitat.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/3/1648304451708.jpg" alt="Image courtesy of Pixabay" />
 <figcaption>Image courtesy of Pixabay</figcaption>
 </figure>By ASSOCIATED PRESSBILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A Montana man who went missing while hiking earlier this week was killed in a suspected encounter with a grizzly bear north of Yellowstone National Park, authorities said Friday.The victim was identified as Craig Clouatre, 40, of Livingston. No details were provided on where he was found or why a grizzly bear was believed responsible for his death.Search teams on the ground and in helicopters had been looking for Clouatre after he went hiking on Wednesday morning with a friend, possibly to hunt for antlers, and was reported overdue that day, according to the sheriff. The search began that night concentrated on the Six Mile Creek area of the Absaroka Mountains, located about 30 miles (48 kilometers) south of Livingston, Montana.“They split up at some point later in the morning,” Park County Sheriff Brad Bichler told the Livingston Enterprise. “When the other man returned to their vehicle and his friend wasn’t there, he called us and we began searching.”Authorities were working Friday to return Clouatre’s body to his family, Bichler said in a social media post.Clouatre’s father told The Associated Press that the victim grew up in Massachusetts and moved more than two decades ago to Montana, where Clouatre met his future wife, Jamie, and decided to make a home.“He was a joy to have as a son all the way around,” David Clouatre said. “He was a good man, a good, hardworking family man.”The mountains in the area where Craig Clouatre died rise steeply above the Yellowstone River as it passes through the Paradise Valley. Dense forests at higher elevations are home to bears and other wildlife, although dangerous encounters with people are relatively rare.Clouatre frequented those mountains and others around the park, hiking in summer and ice climbing in winter when he wasn’t home with his wife and their four young children, said Anne Tanner, a friend of the victim.Tanner said she had known Clouatre for about a decade because he worked for commercial food companies and delivered to their restaurant, the Emigrant Outpost. The restaurant held a benefit for the Clouatre family after their house burned down two years ago. Tanner said they had only recently recovered from the fire.“He was finally just getting their house together,” she said. “It just makes me angry that something like this could happen to such a good person...Of all the men I know, I can’t believe he would die in the wilderness. He was so strong and he was so smart.”State wildlife officials were responding to the scene but Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks spokesperson Greg Lemon said he had no further information.Since 2010, grizzlies in the Yellowstone region have killed at least eight people.Among them was a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/wildlife-bears-parks-national-parks-montana-0e4131fffea36bfc4356384f8965ff77">backcountry guide killed&nbsp;</a>by a bear last year along Yellowstone’s western border. Guide Charles “Carl” Mock was killed in April after being mauled by a 400-plus pound (181-plus kilogram) male grizzly while fishing alone at a favorite spot on Montana’s Madison River, where it spills out of the park.Grizzlies are protected under federal law outside Alaska. Elected officials in the Yellowstone region are pushing to lift protections and allow grizzly hunting.The Yellowstone region spanning portions of Montana, Idaho and Wyoming has more than 700 bears. Fatal attacks on humans are rare but have increased in recent decades as the grizzly population grew and more people moved into rural areas near bear habitat.

Montana sheriff says hiker killed, grizzly bear suspected

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Taylor Hawkins, for 25 years the drummer for Foo Fighters and best friend of frontman Dave Grohl, has died during a South American tour with the rock band. He was 50.

There were no immediate details on how Hawkins died, although the band said in a statement Friday that his death was a “tragic and untimely loss.”

Foo Fighters had been scheduled to play at a festival in Bogota, Colombia, on Friday night. Hawkins’ final concert was Sunday at another festival in San Isidro, Argentina.

“His musical spirit and infectious laughter will live on with all of us forever,” said a message on the band’s official Twitter account that was also emailed to reporters. “Our hearts go out to his wife, children and family.”

Police vehicles, an ambulance and fans were gathered outside the hotel in northern Bogota where Hawkins was believed to have been staying.

“It was a band I grew up with. This leaves me empty,” Juan Sebastian Anchique, 23, told The Associated Press as he mourned Hawkins outside the hotel.

Colombian police confirmed the death but gave no details. The U.S. Embassy in Bogota expressed its condolences in a tweet.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/3/1648304022379.png" alt="Photo:&nbsp;Taylor Hawkins al Lollapalooza Berlin nel 2017 (<a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:FoosLollBerlin190917-21_(cropped).jpg">Raph_PH </a>)" />
 <figcaption>Photo:&nbsp;Taylor Hawkins al Lollapalooza Berlin nel 2017 (<a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:FoosLollBerlin190917-21_(cropped).jpg">Raph_PH </a>)</figcaption>
 </figure>By ASSOCIATED PRESSLOS ANGELES (AP) — Taylor Hawkins, for 25 years the drummer for Foo Fighters and best friend of frontman Dave Grohl, has died during a South American tour with the rock band. He was 50.There were no immediate details on how Hawkins died, although the band said in a statement Friday that his death was a “tragic and untimely loss.”Foo Fighters had been scheduled to play at a festival in Bogota, Colombia, on Friday night. Hawkins’ final concert was Sunday at another festival in San Isidro, Argentina.“His musical spirit and infectious laughter will live on with all of us forever,” said a message on the band’s official Twitter account that was also emailed to reporters. “Our hearts go out to his wife, children and family.”Police vehicles, an ambulance and fans were gathered outside the hotel in northern Bogota where Hawkins was believed to have been staying.“It was a band I grew up with. This leaves me empty,” Juan Sebastian Anchique, 23, told The Associated Press as he mourned Hawkins outside the hotel.Colombian police confirmed the death but gave no details. The U.S. Embassy in Bogota expressed its condolences in a tweet.

Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins dead at 50

RZESZOW, Poland (AP) — Just 60 miles from Ukraine, President Joe Biden saluted Poland on Friday for welcoming more than 2 million refugees who have fled Russia’s invasion. Then he met with humanitarian experts on the ground about what will be needed to mitigate the growing suffering.

Biden said he had hoped to get even closer to the border but was prevented because of security concerns. Still, he said he wanted to visit Poland to underscore that the assistance it is providing is of “enormous consequence” as Europe experiences the biggest refugee crisis since World War II.

“It’s not stopping,” Biden said of the devastation in Ukraine. “It’s like something out of a science fiction movie.”

Biden also visited with some of the thousands of U.S. troops who have been sent near Poland’s border to assist with the humanitarian emergency and to bolster the U.S. military presence on the eastern flank of NATO. More than 3.5 million Ukrainians have fled the country since the Feb. 24 invasion, including about 2.2 million to Poland, according to the United Nations.

Within a few days, the number of refugees displaced from Ukraine since last month will exceed the number of Syrians routed from their homes over years of conflict after a 2011 uprising turned into a full-scale war, said Samantha Power, the U.S. Agency for International Development administrator.

The American military commitment in Poland was apparent as soon as Air Force One touched down, rolling past Patriot missile batteries. More hardware, including heavy trucks and other equipment painted with dark green and brown camouflage, was present at the airport. A nearby convention center serves as a base for the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division.

Polish President Andrzej Duda joined Biden for a briefing with humanitarian experts.

Duda, through an interpreter, thanked Biden for his support. He said the Poles see the Ukrainians they are receiving as their “guests.”

“This is the name we want to apply to them,” Duda said. “We do not want to call them refugees. They are our guests, our brothers, our neighbors from Ukraine, who today are in a very difficult situation.”

Biden’s first stop was with 82nd Airborne troops, at a barber shop and dining facility where he invited himself to sit down and share some pizza. The Americans are serving alongside Polish troops.

With the troops, he shared an anecdote about visiting his late son, Beau Biden, while he was deployed in Baghdad and going by his mother’s maiden name so as not to draw attention to himself. The president jokingly razzed one service member about his standard-issue short haircut and seriously praised the troops, too.

“You are the finest fighting force in the world and that’s not hyperbole,. Biden said.

He later addressed a group of soldiers in more formal remarks, telling them the nation “owes you big.” He also borrowed the words of the late Secretary of State Madeleine Albright to underscore their place in a fragile moment for the U.S. and its European allies.

“The secretary of state used to have an expression. She said, ‘We are the essential nation,’” Biden told the troops. “I don’t want to sound philosophical here, but you are in midst of a fight between democracy and an an oligarch.”

Biden will be in Warsaw on Saturday for further talks with Duda and others. The Polish leader had planned to welcome him at the airport on Friday, but his plane was delayed by a technical problem.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Biden was looking to hear directly from the American troops and humanitarian experts about the situation on the ground and “what further steps need to be taken to make sure that we’re investing” U.S. dollars in the right place.

Biden, who spent Thursday lobbying U.S. allies to stay united against Russia, speculated that what he sees in Poland “will reinforce my commitment to have the United States make sure we are a major piece of dealing with the relocation of all those folks, as well as humanitarian assistance needed both inside Ukraine and outside Ukraine.”

Speaking in Brussels after meetings with other world leaders, Biden said he had visited many war zones and refugee camps during his political career and “it’s devastating” to see young children without parents or men and women with blank looks on their faces wondering, “My God, where am I? What’s going to happen to me?”

He said Poland, Romania and Germany shouldn’t be left on their own to deal with the largest refugee crisis in Europe since World War II.

“This is an international responsibility,” Biden said shortly after he announced $1 billion in additional assistance to help Ukrainian refugees. He also announced that the United States would take in up to 100,000 of those refugees. The White House has said most Ukrainian refugees eventually want to return home.

Biden said the United States is obligated to be “engaged and do all we can to ease the suffering and pain of innocent women and children and men” who make it across the border.

He said, “I plan on attempting to see those folks ... I hope I get to see a lot of people.”

Some refugees interviewed Friday at the train station in Przemysl, Poland, said they hoped to eventually return to Ukraine. They also weren’t very hopeful about Biden’s visit.

“For sure I do not have any expectations” about Biden, said a tearful Ira Satula, 32, from Kremenchug. Satula was grateful for all the support and Poland’s warm reception.

“But home is home, and I hope we’ll be there soon,” Satula said.

Olga Antonovna, 68, from Chernigov, said “it’s really 50-50” that Biden will help enough.

“I think that we needed help a long time ago, long before,” she said.

Sullivan said Biden will give a speech Saturday on “the stakes of this moment, the urgency of the challenge that lies ahead, what the conflict in Ukraine means for the world.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/3/1648290495540.png" alt="President Biden also visited with some of the thousands of U.S. troops who have been sent near Poland’s border-White House photo" />
 <figcaption>President Biden also visited with some of the thousands of U.S. troops who have been sent near Poland’s border-White House photo</figcaption>
 </figure>RZESZOW, Poland (AP) — Just 60 miles from Ukraine, President Joe Biden saluted Poland on Friday for welcoming more than 2 million refugees who have fled Russia’s invasion. Then he met with humanitarian experts on the ground about what will be needed to mitigate the growing suffering.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">My message to the 82nd Airborne Division on the ground in Poland: Every single one of you stepped up. Thank you. <a href="https://t.co/9Z9NeiWllQ">pic.twitter.com/9Z9NeiWllQ</a>&mdash; Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) <a href="https://twitter.com/JoeBiden/status/1507487532015144963?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 25, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Biden said he had hoped to get even closer to the border but was prevented because of security concerns. Still, he said he wanted to visit Poland to underscore that the assistance it is providing is of “enormous consequence” as Europe experiences the biggest refugee crisis since World War II.“It’s not stopping,” Biden said of the devastation in Ukraine. “It’s like something out of a science fiction movie.”Biden also visited with some of the thousands of U.S. troops who have been sent near Poland’s border to assist with the humanitarian emergency and to bolster the U.S. military presence on the eastern flank of NATO. More than 3.5 million Ukrainians have fled the country since the Feb. 24 invasion, including about 2.2 million to Poland, according to the United Nations.Within a few days, the number of refugees displaced from Ukraine since last month will exceed the number of Syrians routed from their homes over years of conflict after a 2011 uprising turned into a full-scale war, said Samantha Power, the U.S. Agency for International Development administrator.The American military commitment in Poland was apparent as soon as Air Force One touched down, rolling past Patriot missile batteries. More hardware, including heavy trucks and other equipment painted with dark green and brown camouflage, was present at the airport. A nearby convention center serves as a base for the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division.Polish President Andrzej Duda joined Biden for a briefing with humanitarian experts.Duda, through an interpreter, thanked Biden for his support. He said the Poles see the Ukrainians they are receiving as their “guests.”“This is the name we want to apply to them,” Duda said. “We do not want to call them refugees. They are our guests, our brothers, our neighbors from Ukraine, who today are in a very difficult situation.”Biden’s first stop was with 82nd Airborne troops, at a barber shop and dining facility where he invited himself to sit down and share some pizza. The Americans are serving alongside Polish troops.With the troops, he shared an anecdote about visiting his late son, Beau Biden, while he was deployed in Baghdad and going by his mother’s maiden name so as not to draw attention to himself. The president jokingly razzed one service member about his standard-issue short haircut and seriously praised the troops, too.“You are the finest fighting force in the world and that’s not hyperbole,. Biden said.ADVERTISEMENTHe later addressed a group of soldiers in more formal remarks, telling them the nation “owes you big.” He also borrowed the words of the late Secretary of State Madeleine Albright to underscore their place in a fragile moment for the U.S. and its European allies.“The secretary of state used to have an expression. She said, ‘We are the essential nation,’” Biden told the troops. “I don’t want to sound philosophical here, but you are in midst of a fight between democracy and an an oligarch.”Biden will be in Warsaw on Saturday for further talks with Duda and others. The Polish leader had planned to welcome him at the airport on Friday, but his plane was delayed by a technical problem.White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Biden was looking to hear directly from the American troops and humanitarian experts about the situation on the ground and “what further steps need to be taken to make sure that we’re investing” U.S. dollars in the right place.Biden, who spent Thursday lobbying U.S. allies to stay united against Russia, speculated that what he sees in Poland “will reinforce my commitment to have the United States make sure we are a major piece of dealing with the relocation of all those folks, as well as humanitarian assistance needed both inside Ukraine and outside Ukraine.”Speaking in Brussels after meetings with other world leaders, Biden said he had visited many war zones and refugee camps during his political career and “it’s devastating” to see young children without parents or men and women with blank looks on their faces wondering, “My God, where am I? What’s going to happen to me?”He said Poland, Romania and Germany shouldn’t be left on their own to deal with the largest refugee crisis in Europe since World War II.“This is an international responsibility,” Biden said shortly after he announced $1 billion in additional assistance to help Ukrainian refugees. He also announced that the United States would take in up to 100,000 of those refugees. The White House has said most Ukrainian refugees eventually want to return home.Biden said the United States is obligated to be “engaged and do all we can to ease the suffering and pain of innocent women and children and men” who make it across the border.He said, “I plan on attempting to see those folks ... I hope I get to see a lot of people.”Some refugees interviewed Friday at the train station in Przemysl, Poland, said they hoped to eventually return to Ukraine. They also weren’t very hopeful about Biden’s visit.“For sure I do not have any expectations” about Biden, said a tearful Ira Satula, 32, from Kremenchug. Satula was grateful for all the support and Poland’s warm reception.“But home is home, and I hope we’ll be there soon,” Satula said.Olga Antonovna, 68, from Chernigov, said “it’s really 50-50” that Biden will help enough.“I think that we needed help a long time ago, long before,” she said.Sullivan said Biden will give a speech Saturday on “the stakes of this moment, the urgency of the challenge that lies ahead, what the conflict in Ukraine means for the world.”___

🎥Biden visits U.S. troops, sees refugee crisis near Ukraine border

By LESLIE EIKLEBERRY Salina Post

Members of the Saline County Sheriff's Mounted Patrol and Rescue Squad are among those assisting the Nebraska State Patrol in the search for a woman who went missing last June.

Commander Bill Cooke told Salina Post that five members of the mounted patrol are in Nebraska helping with the search.

Linda Dillard was last seen on June 16, 2021, in the rural Table Rock, Neb., area. As part of the investigation, NSP and assisting agencies have conducted multiple searches in the area where Dillard was last seen. Investigators believe Dillard may have been the victim of a crime, which led to her disappearance, according to information from the Nebraska State Patrol.

Cooke said his unit was contacted by the Nebraska State Patrol to assist with the search since part of the area being searched is somewhat rugged terrain not compatable with motorized vehicles, but easily accessible by horses.

The mounted patrol members left Wednesday and plan to remain in Nebraska through Saturday, if need be, to assist with the search, Cooke said.&nbsp;The Sedgwick County Emergency Management’s K9 Search and Rescue Team also deployed to Nebraska Wednesday to assist.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/3/1648235986587.jpeg" alt="Some of the members of the Saline County Sheriff's Mounted Patrol and Rescue Squad. Recent file photo courtesy&nbsp;Saline County Sheriff's Mounted Patrol and Rescue Squad" />
 <figcaption>Some of the members of the Saline County Sheriff's Mounted Patrol and Rescue Squad. Recent file photo courtesy&nbsp;Saline County Sheriff's Mounted Patrol and Rescue Squad</figcaption>
 </figure>By LESLIE EIKLEBERRY Salina PostMembers of the Saline County Sheriff's Mounted Patrol and Rescue Squad are among those assisting the Nebraska State Patrol in the search for a woman who went missing last June.Commander Bill Cooke told Salina Post that five members of the mounted patrol are in Nebraska helping with the search.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/7/1625684792207.png" alt="Linda Dillard. Photo Nebraska State Patrol" />
 <figcaption>Linda Dillard. Photo Nebraska State Patrol</figcaption>
 </figure>Linda Dillard was last seen on June 16, 2021, in the rural Table Rock, Neb., area. As part of the investigation, NSP and assisting agencies have conducted multiple searches in the area where Dillard was last seen. Investigators believe Dillard may have been the victim of a crime, which led to her disappearance, according to information from the Nebraska State Patrol.Cooke said his unit was contacted by the Nebraska State Patrol to assist with the search since part of the area being searched is somewhat rugged terrain not compatable with motorized vehicles, but easily accessible by horses.The mounted patrol members left Wednesday and plan to remain in Nebraska through Saturday, if need be, to assist with the search, Cooke said.&nbsp;The Sedgwick County Emergency Management’s K9 Search and Rescue Team also deployed to Nebraska Wednesday to assist.

Saline Co. Sheriff's Mounted Patrol joins search for missing woman

By MARTY SCHLADEN <a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2022/03/25/expert-hard-to-know-if-covid-variant-will-surge-in-u-s-or-how-badly/">Ohio Capital Journal</a>

The
 last thing people want to hear right now is that the coronavirus might 
have mutated yet again into yet another deadly variant, extending the 
pain, death and inconvenience of a pandemic that we long hoped would be 
over.

However, whether the subvariant of 
omicron known as BA.2 will hit the United States as hard as it’s hitting
 other parts of the world is hard to say at this point, an expert at 
modeling the disease said Wednesday.

The pandemic has been full of unpleasant surprises and BA.2 is no exception. Scientists estimate that it’s <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/15/is-omicron-subvariant-bapoint2-to-blame-for-rising-covid-cases.html">one-and-a-half times as transmissible</a> as the original omicron strain, BA.1, and is overtaking it.

Europe, and particularly the <a target="_blank" href="https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/details/cases">United Kingdom</a>, have seen an increase in the new variant in recent months, but that hasn’t been the case everywhere, said <a target="_blank" href="https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/stephen-kissler/">Stephen Kissler</a>,
 a research fellow in the Department of Immunology and Infectious 
Diseases of Harvard University’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

“The question of if and when a surge 
is coming and how large is very open,” Kissler said in a Zoom conference
 with reporters. “I know that we’ve seen surges that are dominated by 
BA.2 across much of Europe. But in contrast, for example, in South 
Africa we saw a major BA.1 wave — that’s where we saw the omicron wave 
first — and now there’s a lot of circulation of BA.2, but it hasn’t 
really caused an increase in cases so much that it’s lengthened the 
decline and given the epidemic a very long tail.”

Kissler explained that vaccination 
rates in the U.S. are lower than those in Europe, but higher than those 
in South Africa. That could mean that more Americans have developed 
antibodies against the omicron variants than have Europeans.

“To the extent that that gives us 
protection against BA.2 we might see dynamics that are more similar to 
what happened in South Africa,” he said.

Seasonality and other factors likely 
will play a role, Kissler said, with spring in the United States being a
 season of relatively low spread and fall a season of relatively high 
spread.

So if there is a surge here of the new variant, how will it affect Americans of varying ages?

“In many ways it will likely resemble our experience with COVID-19 up to this point,” Kissler said.

And past experience has shown one factor to be hugely important: vaccination.&nbsp;

Kissler said that being vaccinated, 
along with a booster dose, “really goes a long way toward helping to 
protect you from symptomatic disease and especially severe disease. The 
biggest delineation I imagine seeing is that people who are boosted will
 probably fare better than people who are unboosted.”

Another important factor is age, with
 the elderly having less natural resistance to all variants of the 
coronavirus than the young. Vaccines and boosters, though, can be a 
great equalizer.

“A vaccinated and boosted person over
 the age of 75, their risk is probably on the order of — if not lower 
than — an unvaccinated 20-year-old,” Kissler said.

COVID eventually will go from being a pandemic disease that spikes rapidly and overwhelms resources to an <a target="_blank" href="https://abcnews.go.com/Health/covid-19-pandemic-endemic-difference-matters/story?id=83166723#:~:text=The%20World%20Health%20Organization%20declared,toward%20an%20%E2%80%9Cendemic%E2%80%9D%20phase.">endemic </a>one
 where a background level is present, sickening and even killing people,
 but in semi-predictable ways. Sadly, however, hopes that it will 
disappear altogether are small.

Looking forward, one simple public-health measure might be most effective, Kissler said.

“In many ways, one of the best things
 we can do to manage outbreaks is to just to continue to keep informing 
people how much COVID is circulating in their communities and make it 
just as accessible as a weather report,” he said. “A lot of data suggest
 that people tend to adjust their behavior accordingly.”

He said that probably won’t be enough to quell future waves of COVID, or be adequate in the face of major new variants.

“But as we continue to deal with 
COVID and we think about this permanent circulation of COVID-19 in the 
population — recognizing that there’s going to be different dynamics in 
different places, different patterns across the year — making it clear 
what’s happening in any given community at any given time through 
passive surveillance is probably the best thing we can do right now,” he
 said.

This article was originally published by the Ohio Capital Journal.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/3/1648237238183.png" alt="The deaths data, which the department calls “probable” COVID-19 fatalities, is being added eight months after the department began reporting antigen-identified infections in its daily report (image courtesy of CDC)." />
 <figcaption>The deaths data, which the department calls “probable” COVID-19 fatalities, is being added eight months after the department began reporting antigen-identified infections in its daily report (image courtesy of CDC).</figcaption>
 </figure>By MARTY SCHLADEN <a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2022/03/25/expert-hard-to-know-if-covid-variant-will-surge-in-u-s-or-how-badly/">Ohio Capital Journal</a>The
 last thing people want to hear right now is that the coronavirus might 
have mutated yet again into yet another deadly variant, extending the 
pain, death and inconvenience of a pandemic that we long hoped would be 
over.However, whether the subvariant of 
omicron known as BA.2 will hit the United States as hard as it’s hitting
 other parts of the world is hard to say at this point, an expert at 
modeling the disease said Wednesday.The pandemic has been full of unpleasant surprises and BA.2 is no exception. Scientists estimate that it’s <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/15/is-omicron-subvariant-bapoint2-to-blame-for-rising-covid-cases.html">one-and-a-half times as transmissible</a> as the original omicron strain, BA.1, and is overtaking it.Europe, and particularly the <a target="_blank" href="https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/details/cases">United Kingdom</a>, have seen an increase in the new variant in recent months, but that hasn’t been the case everywhere, said <a target="_blank" href="https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/stephen-kissler/">Stephen Kissler</a>,
 a research fellow in the Department of Immunology and Infectious 
Diseases of Harvard University’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health.“The question of if and when a surge 
is coming and how large is very open,” Kissler said in a Zoom conference
 with reporters. “I know that we’ve seen surges that are dominated by 
BA.2 across much of Europe. But in contrast, for example, in South 
Africa we saw a major BA.1 wave — that’s where we saw the omicron wave 
first — and now there’s a lot of circulation of BA.2, but it hasn’t 
really caused an increase in cases so much that it’s lengthened the 
decline and given the epidemic a very long tail.”Kissler explained that vaccination 
rates in the U.S. are lower than those in Europe, but higher than those 
in South Africa. That could mean that more Americans have developed 
antibodies against the omicron variants than have Europeans.“To the extent that that gives us 
protection against BA.2 we might see dynamics that are more similar to 
what happened in South Africa,” he said.Seasonality and other factors likely 
will play a role, Kissler said, with spring in the United States being a
 season of relatively low spread and fall a season of relatively high 
spread.So if there is a surge here of the new variant, how will it affect Americans of varying ages?“In many ways it will likely resemble our experience with COVID-19 up to this point,” Kissler said.And past experience has shown one factor to be hugely important: vaccination.&nbsp;Kissler said that being vaccinated, 
along with a booster dose, “really goes a long way toward helping to 
protect you from symptomatic disease and especially severe disease. The 
biggest delineation I imagine seeing is that people who are boosted will
 probably fare better than people who are unboosted.”Another important factor is age, with
 the elderly having less natural resistance to all variants of the 
coronavirus than the young. Vaccines and boosters, though, can be a 
great equalizer.“A vaccinated and boosted person over
 the age of 75, their risk is probably on the order of — if not lower 
than — an unvaccinated 20-year-old,” Kissler said.COVID eventually will go from being a pandemic disease that spikes rapidly and overwhelms resources to an <a target="_blank" href="https://abcnews.go.com/Health/covid-19-pandemic-endemic-difference-matters/story?id=83166723#:~:text=The%20World%20Health%20Organization%20declared,toward%20an%20%E2%80%9Cendemic%E2%80%9D%20phase.">endemic </a>one
 where a background level is present, sickening and even killing people,
 but in semi-predictable ways. Sadly, however, hopes that it will 
disappear altogether are small.Looking forward, one simple public-health measure might be most effective, Kissler said.“In many ways, one of the best things
 we can do to manage outbreaks is to just to continue to keep informing 
people how much COVID is circulating in their communities and make it 
just as accessible as a weather report,” he said. “A lot of data suggest
 that people tend to adjust their behavior accordingly.”He said that probably won’t be enough to quell future waves of COVID, or be adequate in the face of major new variants.“But as we continue to deal with 
COVID and we think about this permanent circulation of COVID-19 in the 
population — recognizing that there’s going to be different dynamics in 
different places, different patterns across the year — making it clear 
what’s happening in any given community at any given time through 
passive surveillance is probably the best thing we can do right now,” he
 said.This article was originally published by the Ohio Capital Journal.

Expert: Hard to know if COVID variant will surge in U.S. or how badly

WASHINGTON – The Internal Revenue Service today updated its <a href="https://www.irs.gov/pub/taxpros/fs-2022-22.pdf">frequently asked questions (FAQs) on the third-round Economic Impact Payment (FS-2022-22)</a>&nbsp;PDF.

These FAQs revisions (as noted by date at the end of each revised question) are as follows:

These FAQs are being issued to provide general information to taxpayers and tax professionals as expeditiously as possible.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/9/1599869632873.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>IRSWASHINGTON – The Internal Revenue Service today updated its <a href="https://www.irs.gov/pub/taxpros/fs-2022-22.pdf">frequently asked questions (FAQs) on the third-round Economic Impact Payment (FS-2022-22)</a>&nbsp;PDF.These FAQs revisions (as noted by date at the end of each revised question) are as follows:<ul>
 <li>Third-round Economic Impact Payment — Topic A: General Information</li><li>Third-round Economic Impact Payment — Topic B: Eligibility and Calculation of the Third Payment</li><li>Third-round Economic Impact Payment — Topic C: Plus-Up Payments</li><li>Third-round Economic Impact Payment — Topic D: EIP Cards</li><li>Third-round Economic Impact Payment — Topic E: Requesting My Payment</li><li>Third-round Economic Impact Payment — Topic F: Social Security, 
Railroad Retirement and Department of Veterans Affairs benefit 
recipients</li><li>Third-round Economic Impact Payment — Topic G: Receiving My Payment</li><li>Third-round Economic Impact Payment — Topic H: Reconciling on Your 2021 Tax Return</li><li>Third-round Economic Impact Payment — Topic J: Payment Issued but Lost, Stolen, Destroyed or Not Received</li>
 </ul>These FAQs are being issued to provide general information to taxpayers and tax professionals as expeditiously as possible.

Questions about COVID relief payments and taxes? IRS updates FAQs

WASHINGTON (AP) — Baby formula maker Abbott failed to maintain sanitary conditions and procedures at the Michigan manufacturing plant recently linked to a cluster of infant illnesses, according to findings released Tuesday by federal safety inspectors.

The Food and Drug Administration posted its initial inspection&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fda.gov/food/outbreaks-foodborne-illness/fda-investigation-cronobacter-infections-powdered-infant-formula-february-2022?utm_medium=email&amp;utm_source=govdelivery" target="_blank">findings&nbsp;</a>from the Abbott plant that’s been tied to several infant hospitalizations, including two deaths, due to a rare bacterial infection. Abbott&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/science-business-health-michigan-sturgis-a44d06262482d776ae465e0d22382d2d">recalled&nbsp;</a>various lots of three popular powdered infant formulas in mid-February. FDA inspectors have been on-site inspecting the Sturgis, Michigan, facility since late January.

Abbott didn’t maintain clean surfaces used in producing and handling the powdered formula, according to the FDA inspection, which concluded last week. Additionally, inspectors found a history of contamination with the bacteria, known as cronobacter, including eight instances between fall 2019 and February of this year.

The report gives the agency’s preliminary findings and is likely to be followed by a formal report and a warning to the company.

Food safety advocates who have followed the recall noted that neither the FDA nor the company has been able to explain what caused the contamination.

“This sheds a little more light on what went wrong, but we still don’t have all the answers,” said Sarah Sorscher of the Center for Science in the Public Interest. “Abbott and the FDA really need to do more work to get to the bottom of what happened so we can prevent the next outbreak.”

Abbott said in a statement it is “taking this very seriously and working closely with the FDA to implement corrective actions.”

Abbott has not confirmed how many units have been recalled, but the company’s brands include some of the best-selling baby formulas in the world, including Similac, Alimentum and EleCare. The company says it continues to produce baby formula at its other plants in the U.S. and overseas.

<a href="https://www.similacrecall.com/us/en/product-lookup.html">The recalls</a> have exacerbated ongoing shortages of infant formula due to supply chain issues.

Infections with the cronobacter bacteria are rare but can be fatal in babies. Almost all outbreaks reported in the U.S. have been linked to powdered baby formulas, which don’t undergo the same high temperatures used to kill germs in many other foods. Manufacturers have long said that it’s impossible to eliminate all bacteria from the formulas.

There had been little new information about the recall since last month, despite requests from Senate lawmakers for Abbott to turn over documents on conditions at the Michigan plant.

In a letter last month, members of the Senate health committee specifically asked Abbott about the amount of time it took to start the recall. According to the letter, Abbott first received a report of an illness tied to its formula from Minnesota health officials in September, with additional reports in coming months from Ohio and Texas.

It’s also unclear why the FDA didn’t take action at the plant earlier. FDA inspectors visited the plant in late September and cited several problems, including unsanitary conditions, a lack of temperature controls, and employees who failed to sanitize their hands. But none of the problems resulted in a formal FDA warning or requirement that Abbott halt production.

The FDA released the September inspection report Tuesday evening along with another from 2019.

In addition to its plant inspectors, the FDA has scientists at its Washington headquarters who specialize in food outbreaks linked to baby food and formulas. A high-ranking FDA deputy commissioner is also assigned to oversee food safety issues.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/3/1648164055231.png" alt="photo courtesy Abbott" />
 <figcaption>photo courtesy Abbott</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — Baby formula maker Abbott failed to maintain sanitary conditions and procedures at the Michigan manufacturing plant recently linked to a cluster of infant illnesses, according to findings released Tuesday by federal safety inspectors.The Food and Drug Administration posted its initial inspection&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fda.gov/food/outbreaks-foodborne-illness/fda-investigation-cronobacter-infections-powdered-infant-formula-february-2022?utm_medium=email&amp;utm_source=govdelivery" target="_blank">findings&nbsp;</a>from the Abbott plant that’s been tied to several infant hospitalizations, including two deaths, due to a rare bacterial infection. Abbott&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/science-business-health-michigan-sturgis-a44d06262482d776ae465e0d22382d2d">recalled&nbsp;</a>various lots of three popular powdered infant formulas in mid-February. FDA inspectors have been on-site inspecting the Sturgis, Michigan, facility since late January.Abbott didn’t maintain clean surfaces used in producing and handling the powdered formula, according to the FDA inspection, which concluded last week. Additionally, inspectors found a history of contamination with the bacteria, known as cronobacter, including eight instances between fall 2019 and February of this year.The report gives the agency’s preliminary findings and is likely to be followed by a formal report and a warning to the company.Food safety advocates who have followed the recall noted that neither the FDA nor the company has been able to explain what caused the contamination.“This sheds a little more light on what went wrong, but we still don’t have all the answers,” said Sarah Sorscher of the Center for Science in the Public Interest. “Abbott and the FDA really need to do more work to get to the bottom of what happened so we can prevent the next outbreak.”Abbott said in a statement it is “taking this very seriously and working closely with the FDA to implement corrective actions.”Abbott has not confirmed how many units have been recalled, but the company’s brands include some of the best-selling baby formulas in the world, including Similac, Alimentum and EleCare. The company says it continues to produce baby formula at its other plants in the U.S. and overseas.<a href="https://www.similacrecall.com/us/en/product-lookup.html">The recalls</a> have exacerbated ongoing shortages of infant formula due to supply chain issues.Infections with the cronobacter bacteria are rare but can be fatal in babies. Almost all outbreaks reported in the U.S. have been linked to powdered baby formulas, which don’t undergo the same high temperatures used to kill germs in many other foods. Manufacturers have long said that it’s impossible to eliminate all bacteria from the formulas.There had been little new information about the recall since last month, despite requests from Senate lawmakers for Abbott to turn over documents on conditions at the Michigan plant.In a letter last month, members of the Senate health committee specifically asked Abbott about the amount of time it took to start the recall. According to the letter, Abbott first received a report of an illness tied to its formula from Minnesota health officials in September, with additional reports in coming months from Ohio and Texas.It’s also unclear why the FDA didn’t take action at the plant earlier. FDA inspectors visited the plant in late September and cited several problems, including unsanitary conditions, a lack of temperature controls, and employees who failed to sanitize their hands. But none of the problems resulted in a formal FDA warning or requirement that Abbott halt production.The FDA released the September inspection report Tuesday evening along with another from 2019.In addition to its plant inspectors, the FDA has scientists at its Washington headquarters who specialize in food outbreaks linked to baby food and formulas. A high-ranking FDA deputy commissioner is also assigned to oversee food safety issues.The recalled Abbott products can be identified by examining the coding on the bottom of each container. The affected formulas all have an expiration date of April 1, 2022, or later. The company has set up a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.similacrecall.com/us/en/home.html" target="_blank">website&nbsp;</a>where parents can check if products have been recalled.___