WASHINGTON (AP) — The casket of slain U.S. Capitol Police Officer William “Billy” Evans arrived at the Capitol on Tuesday as President Joe Biden and congressional leaders prepared to pay their respects to an officer struck by a car and killed while he manned a barricade near the Senate side of the building.

<a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?510593-1/memorial-service-capitol-police-officer-billy-evans&amp;live">CLICK here</a> to watch a replay of the service

Evans’ casket was placed in the Capitol Rotunda for the second such memorial ceremony this year for a force that has edged close to crisis in the wake of the Jan. 6 insurrection.

Members of the National Guard lined the street and saluted as the hearse carrying Evans’ flag-draped casket entered the Capitol complex. His former colleagues gathered on the Capitol’s East Plaza Front while church bells rang in the distance. His family, including his two children, gathered to watch as his casket was carried up the Capitol steps.

Evans, 41, and another officer were struck on April 2 by a car driven by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/capitol-siege-politics-451c5c5154045d404d0db76270f78aac">Noah Green</a>, 25, who came out of the car with a knife and was shot to death by police. Investigators believe Green had been delusional and increasingly having suicidal thoughts.

Evans’ death came just three months after a violent mob of President Donald Trump’s supporters blew past security barricades and attacked the Capitol, injuring dozens of Capitol Police officers. Officer&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/brian-sicknick-honored-at-capitol-d8804f70438d1a731a7b5b0f96061d0a">Brian Sicknick</a>&nbsp;died after engaging with the rioters, though officials do not yet know exactly what caused his death.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/george-tanios-julian-khater-charged-capitol-riot-f28484b486155d911cab41c90a8bed8d">Two men have been arrested</a>&nbsp;and charged with assaulting him with bear spray.

Sicknick and Evans are two of only six Capitol Police officers who have been killed in the line of duty in the force’s nearly 200-year history, according to the department. Another officer, Howard Liebengood, died by suicide in the days after Jan. 6.

The three deaths in as many months have taken an unbearable toll on the force, which has been overworked and understaffed as leaders try to figure out how to move forward after the mistakes of Jan. 6. The Capitol Police were massively unprepared for the hundreds of violent Trump supporters who pushed past them that day, injuring them as they broke into the building. In the weeks and months since, top leaders have resigned and many have considered leaving the department. Officials have brought in trauma therapists, and lawmakers are considering what more they can do.

“This is a group of men and women who’ve been through an overwhelming amount of trauma over the last few months,” said Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio, who heads a spending committee that oversees the Capitol Police and has been investigating the response to the insurrection. “The loss of Officer Evans is yet another stark reminder of what our brothers and sisters in uniform risk every day to protect us. The honor of lying in state under the Capitol dome is befitting of this American hero.”

Lawmakers, family and members of the police force will be invited to pay their respects to Evans after the ceremony with Biden and congressional leaders. He will be only the sixth person to lie in honor in the Capitol Rotunda, a designation for those who are not elected officials, judges or military leaders.

Evans, who had two young children, was an 18-year veteran of the force. He was remembered by colleagues and friends as a man with a sense of humor who loved baseball and golf.

Members of his family said in a statement through the police earlier this month that most important in his life were his two children, Logan and Abigail.

“His most cherished moments were those spent with them — building with Lego, having lightsaber duels, playing board games, doing arts and crafts, and recently finishing the Harry Potter series,” the family said. “He was always so eager to show how proud he was of everything they did.”

The family said Evans was proud of his job and his friendship with colleagues near the “North Barricade” of the Capitol complex was one of the best parts of it.

“We hold them in our hearts, as we know they acutely share our grief,” they said.

Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said on the Senate floor Monday evening that Evans was a “familiar and friendly face” at that barricade where he died, a gate that is frequently used by senators and staff. Durbin said the three deaths this year are an “incredible hardship” for the department and Congress owes them a debt that can never be repaid.

“Every day it is incumbent on those of us who work in this building to remember this officer, and to thank him, and the men and women of the U.S. Capitol Police who have given so much to keep us safe,” Durbin said.

Rep. Jennifer Wexton, D-Va., who represented Liebengood and has gotten to know his family since his suicide, has worked to find more mental health resources for the Capitol Police as they have worked extra shifts and dealt with the trauma of losing their colleagues. She said the current pace for the force is unsustainable.

“We’ve lost officers to this level of stress and as we approach the second laying in honor of a Capitol police officer this year, I fear an exodus is approaching if we don’t prioritize the mental and physical health of our Capitol police officers,” Wexton said.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/4/1618327771250.png" alt="Evans’ casket was placed in the Capitol Rotunda for the second such memorial ceremony this year -image courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>Evans’ casket was placed in the Capitol Rotunda for the second such memorial ceremony this year -image courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — The casket of slain U.S. Capitol Police Officer William “Billy” Evans arrived at the Capitol on Tuesday as President Joe Biden and congressional leaders prepared to pay their respects to an officer struck by a car and killed while he manned a barricade near the Senate side of the building.<a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?510593-1/memorial-service-capitol-police-officer-billy-evans&amp;live">CLICK here</a> to watch a replay of the serviceEvans’ casket was placed in the Capitol Rotunda for the second such memorial ceremony this year for a force that has edged close to crisis in the wake of the Jan. 6 insurrection.Members of the National Guard lined the street and saluted as the hearse carrying Evans’ flag-draped casket entered the Capitol complex. His former colleagues gathered on the Capitol’s East Plaza Front while church bells rang in the distance. His family, including his two children, gathered to watch as his casket was carried up the Capitol steps.Evans, 41, and another officer were struck on April 2 by a car driven by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/capitol-siege-politics-451c5c5154045d404d0db76270f78aac">Noah Green</a>, 25, who came out of the car with a knife and was shot to death by police. Investigators believe Green had been delusional and increasingly having suicidal thoughts.Evans’ death came just three months after a violent mob of President Donald Trump’s supporters blew past security barricades and attacked the Capitol, injuring dozens of Capitol Police officers. Officer&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/brian-sicknick-honored-at-capitol-d8804f70438d1a731a7b5b0f96061d0a">Brian Sicknick</a>&nbsp;died after engaging with the rioters, though officials do not yet know exactly what caused his death.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/george-tanios-julian-khater-charged-capitol-riot-f28484b486155d911cab41c90a8bed8d">Two men have been arrested</a>&nbsp;and charged with assaulting him with bear spray.Sicknick and Evans are two of only six Capitol Police officers who have been killed in the line of duty in the force’s nearly 200-year history, according to the department. Another officer, Howard Liebengood, died by suicide in the days after Jan. 6.The three deaths in as many months have taken an unbearable toll on the force, which has been overworked and understaffed as leaders try to figure out how to move forward after the mistakes of Jan. 6. The Capitol Police were massively unprepared for the hundreds of violent Trump supporters who pushed past them that day, injuring them as they broke into the building. In the weeks and months since, top leaders have resigned and many have considered leaving the department. Officials have brought in trauma therapists, and lawmakers are considering what more they can do.“This is a group of men and women who’ve been through an overwhelming amount of trauma over the last few months,” said Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio, who heads a spending committee that oversees the Capitol Police and has been investigating the response to the insurrection. “The loss of Officer Evans is yet another stark reminder of what our brothers and sisters in uniform risk every day to protect us. The honor of lying in state under the Capitol dome is befitting of this American hero.”Lawmakers, family and members of the police force will be invited to pay their respects to Evans after the ceremony with Biden and congressional leaders. He will be only the sixth person to lie in honor in the Capitol Rotunda, a designation for those who are not elected officials, judges or military leaders.Evans, who had two young children, was an 18-year veteran of the force. He was remembered by colleagues and friends as a man with a sense of humor who loved baseball and golf.Members of his family said in a statement through the police earlier this month that most important in his life were his two children, Logan and Abigail.“His most cherished moments were those spent with them — building with Lego, having lightsaber duels, playing board games, doing arts and crafts, and recently finishing the Harry Potter series,” the family said. “He was always so eager to show how proud he was of everything they did.”The family said Evans was proud of his job and his friendship with colleagues near the “North Barricade” of the Capitol complex was one of the best parts of it.“We hold them in our hearts, as we know they acutely share our grief,” they said.Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said on the Senate floor Monday evening that Evans was a “familiar and friendly face” at that barricade where he died, a gate that is frequently used by senators and staff. Durbin said the three deaths this year are an “incredible hardship” for the department and Congress owes them a debt that can never be repaid.“Every day it is incumbent on those of us who work in this building to remember this officer, and to thank him, and the men and women of the U.S. Capitol Police who have given so much to keep us safe,” Durbin said.Rep. Jennifer Wexton, D-Va., who represented Liebengood and has gotten to know his family since his suicide, has worked to find more mental health resources for the Capitol Police as they have worked extra shifts and dealt with the trauma of losing their colleagues. She said the current pace for the force is unsustainable.“We’ve lost officers to this level of stress and as we approach the second laying in honor of a Capitol police officer this year, I fear an exodus is approaching if we don’t prioritize the mental and physical health of our Capitol police officers,” Wexton said.

Biden, lawmakers pay tribute to slain Capitol Police officer

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. is recommending a “pause” in administration of the single-dose Johnson &amp; Johnson COVID-19 vaccine to investigate reports of potentially dangerous blood clots.

In a joint statement Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration said it was investigating clots in six women in the days after vaccination, in combination with reduced platelet counts. More than 6.8 million doses of the J&amp;J vaccine have been administered in the U.S.

U.S. federal distribution channels, including mass vaccination sites, will pause the use of the J&amp;J shot, and states and other providers are expected to follow.

CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices will meet Wednesday to discuss the cases and the FDA has also launched an investigation of the cases.

“Until that process is complete, we are recommending a pause in the use of this vaccine out of an abundance of caution,” Dr. Anne Schuchat, Principal Deputy Director of the CDC and Dr. Peter Marks, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research said in a joint statement.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. is recommending a “pause” in administration of the single-dose Johnson &amp; Johnson COVID-19 vaccine to investigate reports of potentially dangerous blood clots.In a joint statement Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration said it was investigating clots in six women in the days after vaccination, in combination with reduced platelet counts. More than 6.8 million doses of the J&amp;J vaccine have been administered in the U.S.U.S. federal distribution channels, including mass vaccination sites, will pause the use of the J&amp;J shot, and states and other providers are expected to follow.CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices will meet Wednesday to discuss the cases and the FDA has also launched an investigation of the cases.“Until that process is complete, we are recommending a pause in the use of this vaccine out of an abundance of caution,” Dr. Anne Schuchat, Principal Deputy Director of the CDC and Dr. Peter Marks, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research said in a joint statement.

US recommends 'pause' of Johnson & Johnson vaccine 

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden wants Congress to know he’s sincere about cutting a deal on infrastructure, but Republican lawmakers have deep-seated doubts about the scope of his proposed package, its tax hikes and Biden’s premise that this is an inflection point for the U.S. as a world power.

Biden met Monday afternoon with a bipartisan group of lawmakers and tried to assure them that the Oval Office gathering was not “window dressing.” One of the core disputes is over what counts as infrastructure in his&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-technology-coronavirus-pandemic-pittsburgh-jen-psaki-8865ffc8f5ad3142155a5bd3c3a3e6d3">$2.3 trillion proposal</a>.

“I’m prepared to negotiate as to the extent of my infrastructure project, as well as how we pay for it,” Biden said. “It’s going to get down to what we call ‘infrastructure.’”

Republican Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi indicated after the meeting that he was willing to negotiate with Biden and called it a “good discussion.” But a more fundamental disagreement also emerged about whether the United States is losing its status atop the global economy because of its deteriorating infrastructure.

“He says that we’re a declining superpower, the United States is no longer number one,” Wicker said afterward. “I just fundamentally disagree with that.”

The meeting came as the Biden’s team is making a direct argument for lawmakers to put their constituents ahead of their ideologies. The White House released state-by-state breakdowns Monday that show the dire shape of roads, bridges, the power grid and housing affordability, among other issues. An appeal to the broader public is unlikely to resonate much with Republican lawmakers who have already blasted the plan.

Among the Republicans at the meeting were Sen. Deb Fischer of Nebraska and Reps. Garret Graves of Louisiana and Don Young of Alaska. Democrats attending were Sens. Maria Cantwell of Washington and Sen. Alex Padilla of California and Reps. Donald Payne Jr. of New Jersey and David Price of North Carolina.

In the room, “nobody said we didn’t need infrastructure investment,” Cantwell, the chair of the Senate Commerce Committee, said in an interview.

The lawmakers said Biden will seek to drive a consensus by having his team revisit with them and others, as soon as Tuesday.

Graves said the president talked about how he was open to discussion and open to negotiation on the size, scope and definition of infrastructure.

“Those are all the exact words that I wanted to hear going into the meeting. And so that was really encouraging,” Graves, a member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, told The Associated Press. “Is this truly going to be a two-way discussion where we talk about better ways to deliver infrastructure, what the appropriate size and scope are, ways of funding, things like that?”

The figures in the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/20613298-biden-infrastructure-plan-state-highlights" target="_blank">state summaries</a>&nbsp;paint a decidedly bleak outlook for the world’s largest economy after years of repairs being deferred and delayed. They suggest that too much infrastructure is unsafe for vehicles at any speed, while highlighting the costs of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/weather">extreme weather events</a>&nbsp;that have become more frequent with climate change as well as dead spots for broadband and a dearth of child care options.

Drawn from an array of private and public data, the state reports show there are 7,300 miles (11,748 kilometers) of highway in Michigan alone that are in poor condition. Damaged streets in North Carolina impose an average yearly cost of $500 on motorists. Iowa has 4,571 bridges in need of repair. There is a roughly 4-in-10 chance that a public transit vehicle in Indiana might be ready for the scrap yard. Pennsylvania’s schools are short $1.4 billion for maintenance and upgrades.

Most states received a letter grade on their infrastructure. West Virginia earned a D. So did Biden’s home state of Delaware. Of the states rated, the highest grade went to Georgia and Utah, which each notched a C-plus. The lowest grade, D-minus, went to the territory of Puerto Rico.

The administration is banking that the data will confirm the everyday experiences of Americans as they bump over potholes, get trapped in traffic jams and wait for buses that almost never correspond to published schedules. There is already a receptive audience to the sales pitch, and the strategy is that public support can overcome any congressional misgivings.

“We don’t have a lot of work to do to persuade the American people that U.S. infrastructure needs major improvement,”&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/pete-buttigieg-transportation-secretary-infrastructure-bb883b4af7b9c700d0ef2b7c29d7a5b0">Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg</a>&nbsp;said on Fox News Channel’s “Fox News Sunday” ahead of the reports’ release. “The American people already know it.”

Republican lawmakers have been quick to reject the infrastructure proposal from Biden. They say just a fraction of the spending goes to traditional infrastructure, as $400 billion would expand Medicaid support for caregivers and substantial portions would fund electric vehicle charging stations and address the racial injustice of highways that were built in ways that destroyed Black neighborhoods.

The reports give some data to back up their argument that more money should be spent on roads and bridges. Biden’s plan would modernize 20,000 miles (32,187 kilometers) worth of roadways, but California by itself has 14,220 miles (22,885 kilometers) of highway in poor condition.

Republican lawmakers also object to funding the package by increasing&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/corporate-taxes">the corporate tax rate</a>&nbsp;from 21% to 28% and increasing the global minimum tax, among other tax changes including stepped-up IRS enforcement being proposed by the Biden administration.

“This plan would impose the biggest tax hikes in a generation when workers need an economic recovery. It would gut right-to-work protections for blue-collar workers,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said in a Monday floor speech. “It would throw hundreds of billions at the far-left’s ‘green’ fads.”

Yet the state-by-state reports make clear that many of the people in Mississippi that Wicker represents could benefit from the package, an aspect of the Biden effort to engender the backing of voters across party lines.

Mississippi needs $4.8 billion for drinking water and $289 million for schools. Nearly a quarter of households lack an internet subscription, and a similar percentage lives in areas without broadband. Mississippians who use public transportation have to devote an extra 87.7% of their time to commuting.

Mississippi’s infrastructure received a grade of D-plus.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/4/1618264660542.png" alt="President Biden at meeting&nbsp; on&nbsp; Monday with a bipartisan group of Members of Congress to discuss American Jobs Plan. -image courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>President Biden at meeting&nbsp; on&nbsp; Monday with a bipartisan group of Members of Congress to discuss American Jobs Plan. -image courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden wants Congress to know he’s sincere about cutting a deal on infrastructure, but Republican lawmakers have deep-seated doubts about the scope of his proposed package, its tax hikes and Biden’s premise that this is an inflection point for the U.S. as a world power.Biden met Monday afternoon with a bipartisan group of lawmakers and tried to assure them that the Oval Office gathering was not “window dressing.” One of the core disputes is over what counts as infrastructure in his&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-technology-coronavirus-pandemic-pittsburgh-jen-psaki-8865ffc8f5ad3142155a5bd3c3a3e6d3">$2.3 trillion proposal</a>.“I’m prepared to negotiate as to the extent of my infrastructure project, as well as how we pay for it,” Biden said. “It’s going to get down to what we call ‘infrastructure.’”Republican Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi indicated after the meeting that he was willing to negotiate with Biden and called it a “good discussion.” But a more fundamental disagreement also emerged about whether the United States is losing its status atop the global economy because of its deteriorating infrastructure.“He says that we’re a declining superpower, the United States is no longer number one,” Wicker said afterward. “I just fundamentally disagree with that.”The meeting came as the Biden’s team is making a direct argument for lawmakers to put their constituents ahead of their ideologies. The White House released state-by-state breakdowns Monday that show the dire shape of roads, bridges, the power grid and housing affordability, among other issues. An appeal to the broader public is unlikely to resonate much with Republican lawmakers who have already blasted the plan.Among the Republicans at the meeting were Sen. Deb Fischer of Nebraska and Reps. Garret Graves of Louisiana and Don Young of Alaska. Democrats attending were Sens. Maria Cantwell of Washington and Sen. Alex Padilla of California and Reps. Donald Payne Jr. of New Jersey and David Price of North Carolina.In the room, “nobody said we didn’t need infrastructure investment,” Cantwell, the chair of the Senate Commerce Committee, said in an interview.The lawmakers said Biden will seek to drive a consensus by having his team revisit with them and others, as soon as Tuesday.Graves said the president talked about how he was open to discussion and open to negotiation on the size, scope and definition of infrastructure.“Those are all the exact words that I wanted to hear going into the meeting. And so that was really encouraging,” Graves, a member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, told The Associated Press. “Is this truly going to be a two-way discussion where we talk about better ways to deliver infrastructure, what the appropriate size and scope are, ways of funding, things like that?”The figures in the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/20613298-biden-infrastructure-plan-state-highlights" target="_blank">state summaries</a>&nbsp;paint a decidedly bleak outlook for the world’s largest economy after years of repairs being deferred and delayed. They suggest that too much infrastructure is unsafe for vehicles at any speed, while highlighting the costs of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/weather">extreme weather events</a>&nbsp;that have become more frequent with climate change as well as dead spots for broadband and a dearth of child care options.Drawn from an array of private and public data, the state reports show there are 7,300 miles (11,748 kilometers) of highway in Michigan alone that are in poor condition. Damaged streets in North Carolina impose an average yearly cost of $500 on motorists. Iowa has 4,571 bridges in need of repair. There is a roughly 4-in-10 chance that a public transit vehicle in Indiana might be ready for the scrap yard. Pennsylvania’s schools are short $1.4 billion for maintenance and upgrades.Most states received a letter grade on their infrastructure. West Virginia earned a D. So did Biden’s home state of Delaware. Of the states rated, the highest grade went to Georgia and Utah, which each notched a C-plus. The lowest grade, D-minus, went to the territory of Puerto Rico.The administration is banking that the data will confirm the everyday experiences of Americans as they bump over potholes, get trapped in traffic jams and wait for buses that almost never correspond to published schedules. There is already a receptive audience to the sales pitch, and the strategy is that public support can overcome any congressional misgivings.“We don’t have a lot of work to do to persuade the American people that U.S. infrastructure needs major improvement,”&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/pete-buttigieg-transportation-secretary-infrastructure-bb883b4af7b9c700d0ef2b7c29d7a5b0">Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg</a>&nbsp;said on Fox News Channel’s “Fox News Sunday” ahead of the reports’ release. “The American people already know it.”Republican lawmakers have been quick to reject the infrastructure proposal from Biden. They say just a fraction of the spending goes to traditional infrastructure, as $400 billion would expand Medicaid support for caregivers and substantial portions would fund electric vehicle charging stations and address the racial injustice of highways that were built in ways that destroyed Black neighborhoods.The reports give some data to back up their argument that more money should be spent on roads and bridges. Biden’s plan would modernize 20,000 miles (32,187 kilometers) worth of roadways, but California by itself has 14,220 miles (22,885 kilometers) of highway in poor condition.Republican lawmakers also object to funding the package by increasing&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/corporate-taxes">the corporate tax rate</a>&nbsp;from 21% to 28% and increasing the global minimum tax, among other tax changes including stepped-up IRS enforcement being proposed by the Biden administration.“This plan would impose the biggest tax hikes in a generation when workers need an economic recovery. It would gut right-to-work protections for blue-collar workers,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said in a Monday floor speech. “It would throw hundreds of billions at the far-left’s ‘green’ fads.”Yet the state-by-state reports make clear that many of the people in Mississippi that Wicker represents could benefit from the package, an aspect of the Biden effort to engender the backing of voters across party lines.Mississippi needs $4.8 billion for drinking water and $289 million for schools. Nearly a quarter of households lack an internet subscription, and a similar percentage lives in areas without broadband. Mississippians who use public transportation have to devote an extra 87.7% of their time to commuting.Mississippi’s infrastructure received a grade of D-plus.

Lawmakers debate 'infrastructure' in Biden's $2.3T plan

INDIANAPOLIS —The NCAA Board of Governors on Monday issued a statement firmly and unequivocally in support of the opportunity for transgender student-athletes to compete in college sports, according to a statement on the organization's web site.

This commitment is grounded in our values of inclusion and fair competition, according to the statement.

The NCAA has a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ncaa.org/sites/default/files/Transgender_Handbook_2011_Final.pdf">long-standing policy</a>&nbsp;that provides a more inclusive path for transgender participation in college sports. Our approach — which requires testosterone suppression treatment for transgender women to compete in women’s sports — embraces the evolving science on this issue and is anchored in participation policies of both the International Olympic Committee and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee. Inclusion and fairness can coexist for all student-athletes, including transgender athletes, at all levels of sport. Our clear expectation as the Association’s top governing body is that all student-athletes will be treated with dignity and respect. We are committed to ensuring that NCAA championships are open for all who earn the right to compete in them.

When determining where championships are held, NCAA policy directs that only locations where hosts can commit to providing an environment that is safe, healthy and free of discrimination should be selected. 

We will continue to closely monitor these situations to determine whether NCAA championships can be conducted in ways that are welcoming and respectful of all participants

On Friday, Kansas conservatives pushed a proposed ban on transgender athletes in girl’s and women’s school sports through the Republican-controlled Legislature. Governor Kelly has not indicated whether she will sign the bill.&nbsp;The bill's supporters were eight votes short in the House and one short in the Senate of the two-thirds majorities for overriding a veto.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/4/1587379293613.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>INDIANAPOLIS —The NCAA Board of Governors on Monday issued a statement firmly and unequivocally in support of the opportunity for transgender student-athletes to compete in college sports, according to a statement on the organization's web site.This commitment is grounded in our values of inclusion and fair competition, according to the statement.The NCAA has a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ncaa.org/sites/default/files/Transgender_Handbook_2011_Final.pdf">long-standing policy</a>&nbsp;that provides a more inclusive path for transgender participation in college sports. Our approach — which requires testosterone suppression treatment for transgender women to compete in women’s sports — embraces the evolving science on this issue and is anchored in participation policies of both the International Olympic Committee and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee. Inclusion and fairness can coexist for all student-athletes, including transgender athletes, at all levels of sport. Our clear expectation as the Association’s top governing body is that all student-athletes will be treated with dignity and respect. We are committed to ensuring that NCAA championships are open for all who earn the right to compete in them.When determining where championships are held, NCAA policy directs that only locations where hosts can commit to providing an environment that is safe, healthy and free of discrimination should be selected. We will continue to closely monitor these situations to determine whether NCAA championships can be conducted in ways that are welcoming and respectful of all participantsOn Friday, Kansas conservatives pushed a proposed ban on transgender athletes in girl’s and women’s school sports through the Republican-controlled Legislature. Governor Kelly has not indicated whether she will sign the bill.&nbsp;The bill's supporters were eight votes short in the House and one short in the Senate of the two-thirds majorities for overriding a veto.&nbsp;

NCAA says it unequivocally supports transgender athletes

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) —Authorities say a student at a Tennessee high school fired at officers and was killed by police. Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Director David B. Rausch said at a news conference Monday that police responded to a report of a possible gunman at Austin-East Magnet High School in Knoxville. 

He says the officers found him in a bathroom and ordered him to come out, but he wouldn’t comply. Rausch says that’s when the student reportedly opened fire, and police fired back. The student died at the school, and an officer was shot in the leg and taken into surgery.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Authorities say a confrontation in a Tennessee high school that involved police officers responding to a report of a possible armed man left one person dead and the officer wounded. 

Police say no other person were killed or wounded in Monday afternoon's shooting and that the scene has been secured at at the Austin-East Magnet High School in Knoxville. 

Knoxville Police posted on Facebook that officers responded to reports of a male subject who was possibly armed at the school. They said shots rang out as officers approached the person. The school was the subject of media reports in February after three students were shot to death over a three-week span.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Authorities say multiple people including a police officer have been shot at a high school in the east Tennessee city of Knoxville, and the scene has since been secured. There was no immediate report on the exact number of people shot or the extent of their injuries. 

The Knoxville Police Department tweeted that authorities were on the scene of the shooting Monday at Austin-East Magnet High School. Authorities did not immediately say how many people were shot or disclose the extent of their injuries. 

The online posting said a Knoxville Police Department officer was reported among the victims. Police urged people to avoid the area. Details remained sketchy and news outlets showed numerous police and emergency vehicles outside the school.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Authorities say multiple people including a police officer have been shot at a high school in the east Tennessee city of Knoxville, and the scene has since been secured. 

The Knoxville Police Department tweeted that authorities were on the scene of the shooting Monday at Austin-East Magnet High School. The online posting said a Knoxville Police Department officer was reported among the victims. 

Police urged people to avoid the area. Details remained sketchy and news outlets showed numerous police and emergency vehicles outside the school.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/4/1618260444077.png" alt="&nbsp;Multiple agencies on the scene of a shooting at Austin-East Magnet High School. Multiple gunshot victims reported, including a Knoxville Police officer-photo courtesy Knoxville Police" />
 <figcaption>&nbsp;Multiple agencies on the scene of a shooting at Austin-East Magnet High School. Multiple gunshot victims reported, including a Knoxville Police officer-photo courtesy Knoxville Police</figcaption>
 </figure>KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) —Authorities say a student at a Tennessee high school fired at officers and was killed by police. Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Director David B. Rausch said at a news conference Monday that police responded to a report of a possible gunman at Austin-East Magnet High School in Knoxville. He says the officers found him in a bathroom and ordered him to come out, but he wouldn’t comply. Rausch says that’s when the student reportedly opened fire, and police fired back. The student died at the school, and an officer was shot in the leg and taken into surgery.----------KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Authorities say a confrontation in a Tennessee high school that involved police officers responding to a report of a possible armed man left one person dead and the officer wounded. Police say no other person were killed or wounded in Monday afternoon's shooting and that the scene has been secured at at the Austin-East Magnet High School in Knoxville. Knoxville Police posted on Facebook that officers responded to reports of a male subject who was possibly armed at the school. They said shots rang out as officers approached the person. The school was the subject of media reports in February after three students were shot to death over a three-week span.KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Authorities say multiple people including a police officer have been shot at a high school in the east Tennessee city of Knoxville, and the scene has since been secured. There was no immediate report on the exact number of people shot or the extent of their injuries. The Knoxville Police Department tweeted that authorities were on the scene of the shooting Monday at Austin-East Magnet High School. Authorities did not immediately say how many people were shot or disclose the extent of their injuries. The online posting said a Knoxville Police Department officer was reported among the victims. Police urged people to avoid the area. Details remained sketchy and news outlets showed numerous police and emergency vehicles outside the school.---------KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Authorities say multiple people including a police officer have been shot at a high school in the east Tennessee city of Knoxville, and the scene has since been secured. The Knoxville Police Department tweeted that authorities were on the scene of the shooting Monday at Austin-East Magnet High School. The online posting said a Knoxville Police Department officer was reported among the victims. Police urged people to avoid the area. Details remained sketchy and news outlets showed numerous police and emergency vehicles outside the school.

Update: Student fires at officers at Tennessee school, is killed

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (AP) — A 27-year-old Nebraska woman has died after her vehicle struck the back of a tractor in Howard County. 

The Nebraska State Patrol says Ashley M. Hurley of Grand Island was pronounced dead at a local hospital. A juvenile in her vehicle was treated for minor injuries and released from the hospital. 

The Omaha World-Herald reports that the Howard County Sheriff’s Office determined that Hurley was northbound on Highway 281 about 30 miles north of Grand Island at about 9:30 a.m. Sunday when the vehicle she was driving hit the rear of a slow-moving tractor. &nbsp;

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (AP) — A 27-year-old Nebraska woman has died after her vehicle struck the back of a tractor in Howard County. The Nebraska State Patrol says Ashley M. Hurley of Grand Island was pronounced dead at a local hospital. A juvenile in her vehicle was treated for minor injuries and released from the hospital. The Omaha World-Herald reports that the Howard County Sheriff’s Office determined that Hurley was northbound on Highway 281 about 30 miles north of Grand Island at about 9:30 a.m. Sunday when the vehicle she was driving hit the rear of a slow-moving tractor. &nbsp;The tractor driver was not injured.

Nebraska woman killed in collision with slow-moving tractor

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden White House is amplifying the push for&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-technology-coronavirus-pandemic-pittsburgh-jen-psaki-8865ffc8f5ad3142155a5bd3c3a3e6d3">its $2.3 trillion infrastructure package</a>&nbsp;with the release of state-by-state breakdowns that show the dire shape of roads, bridges, the power grid and housing affordability.

The figures in the state summaries, obtained by The Associated Press, paint a decidedly bleak outlook for the world’s largest economy after years of repairs being deferred and delayed. They suggest that too much infrastructure is unsafe for vehicles at any speed, while highlighting the costs of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/weather">extreme weather events</a>&nbsp;that have become more frequent with climate change as well as dead spots for broadband and a dearth of child care options.

President Joe Biden is scheduled to meet Monday afternoon with Republican and Democratic lawmakers and can use the state summaries to show that his plan would help meet the needs of their constituents.

Drawn from an array of private and public data, the reports show there are 7,300 miles of highway in Michigan alone that are in poor condition. Damaged streets in North Carolina impose an average yearly cost of $500 on motorists. Iowa has 4,571 bridges in need of repair. There is a roughly 4-in-10 chance that a public transit vehicle in Indiana might be ready for the scrap yard. Pennsylvania’s schools are short $1.4 billion for maintenance and upgrades.

The reports give some data to back up their argument that more money should be spent on roads and bridges. Biden’s plan would modernize 20,000 miles worth of roadways, but California by itself has 14,220 miles of highway in poor condition.

“This is a massive social welfare spending program combined with a massive tax increase on small-business job creators,” Sen Roger Wicker, R-Miss., said on ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday. “I can’t think of a worse thing to do.”

Yet the state-by-state reports make clear that many of the people Wicker represents could benefit from the package, an aspect of the Biden effort to engender the backing of voters across party lines.

Wicker was among four Republicans on the White House guest list for Biden’s Monday meeting, along with Sen. Deb Fischer of Nebraska and Reps. Garret Graves of Louisiana and Don Young of Alaska. Democrats on the list were Sens. Maria Cantwell of Washington and Alex Padilla of California and Reps. Donald Payne Jr. of New Jersey and David Price of North Carolina.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden White House is amplifying the push for&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-technology-coronavirus-pandemic-pittsburgh-jen-psaki-8865ffc8f5ad3142155a5bd3c3a3e6d3">its $2.3 trillion infrastructure package</a>&nbsp;with the release of state-by-state breakdowns that show the dire shape of roads, bridges, the power grid and housing affordability.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/4/1618251319025.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>The figures in the state summaries, obtained by The Associated Press, paint a decidedly bleak outlook for the world’s largest economy after years of repairs being deferred and delayed. They suggest that too much infrastructure is unsafe for vehicles at any speed, while highlighting the costs of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/weather">extreme weather events</a>&nbsp;that have become more frequent with climate change as well as dead spots for broadband and a dearth of child care options.President Joe Biden is scheduled to meet Monday afternoon with Republican and Democratic lawmakers and can use the state summaries to show that his plan would help meet the needs of their constituents.Drawn from an array of private and public data, the reports show there are 7,300 miles of highway in Michigan alone that are in poor condition. Damaged streets in North Carolina impose an average yearly cost of $500 on motorists. Iowa has 4,571 bridges in need of repair. There is a roughly 4-in-10 chance that a public transit vehicle in Indiana might be ready for the scrap yard. Pennsylvania’s schools are short $1.4 billion for maintenance and upgrades.The administration is banking that the data will confirm the everyday experiences of Americans as they bump over potholes, get trapped in traffic jams and wait for buses that almost never correspond to published schedules. There is already a receptive audience to the sales pitch, and the strategy is that public support can overcome any congressional misgivings.“We don’t have a lot of work to do to persuade the American people that U.S. infrastructure needs major improvement,”&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/pete-buttigieg-transportation-secretary-infrastructure-bb883b4af7b9c700d0ef2b7c29d7a5b0">Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg</a>&nbsp;said on Fox News Channel’s “Fox News Sunday” ahead of the reports’ release. “The American people already know it.”Republican lawmakers have been quick to reject the infrastructure proposal from Biden. They say just a fraction of the spending goes to traditional infrastructure, as $400 billion would expand Medicaid support for caregivers and substantial portions would fund electric vehicle charging stations and address the racial injustice of highways that were built in ways that destroyed Black neighborhoods.The reports give some data to back up their argument that more money should be spent on roads and bridges. Biden’s plan would modernize 20,000 miles worth of roadways, but California by itself has 14,220 miles of highway in poor condition.Republican lawmakers also object to funding the package by increasing&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/corporate-taxes">the corporate tax rate</a>&nbsp;from 21% to 28% and increasing the global minimum tax, among other tax changes including stepped-up IRS enforcement being proposed by the Biden administration.“This is a massive social welfare spending program combined with a massive tax increase on small-business job creators,” Sen Roger Wicker, R-Miss., said on ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday. “I can’t think of a worse thing to do.”Yet the state-by-state reports make clear that many of the people Wicker represents could benefit from the package, an aspect of the Biden effort to engender the backing of voters across party lines.Wicker was among four Republicans on the White House guest list for Biden’s Monday meeting, along with Sen. Deb Fischer of Nebraska and Reps. Garret Graves of Louisiana and Don Young of Alaska. Democrats on the list were Sens. Maria Cantwell of Washington and Alex Padilla of California and Reps. Donald Payne Jr. of New Jersey and David Price of North Carolina.Mississippi needs $4.8 billion for drinking water and $289 million for schools. Nearly a quarter of households lack an internet subscription, and a similar percentage lives in areas without broadband. Mississippians who use public transportation have to devote an extra 87.7% of their time to commuting.___

White House issues reports on states' infrastructure needs

YUTAN, Neb. (AP) — Omaha Public Power District has signed a contract to build the state's first solar power plant in eastern Nebraska south of Yutan. 

The Omaha World-Herald reports that the utility signed the contract last week to build an 81-megawatt solar farm on 500 acres in Saunders County, with construction to begin next year. 

The contract was signed despite some opposition from some residents in the area, who fear it will become an eyesore and lower property values.

 The project would be the largest solar farm in Nebraska and is the first step toward OPPD’s plan to provide 600 megawatts of solar power. 

OPPD says the facility, dubbed Platteview Solar, would have the capacity to generate enough electricity to power 14,000 homes.

YUTAN, Neb. (AP) — Omaha Public Power District has signed a contract to build the state's first solar power plant in eastern Nebraska south of Yutan. The Omaha World-Herald reports that the utility signed the contract last week to build an 81-megawatt solar farm on 500 acres in Saunders County, with construction to begin next year. The contract was signed despite some opposition from some residents in the area, who fear it will become an eyesore and lower property values. The project would be the largest solar farm in Nebraska and is the first step toward OPPD’s plan to provide 600 megawatts of solar power. OPPD says the facility, dubbed Platteview Solar, would have the capacity to generate enough electricity to power 14,000 homes.

Omaha power utility signs contract for huge solar farm

CASPER, Wyo. (AP) — A member of Wyoming’s 2021 football recruiting class is dead after a shooting in Texas. 

The Dallas Morning News reports 17-year-old Tony Evans Jr., was shot early Sunday at a hotel in the Dallas area. 

The Dallas Morning News reports another person is wounded. 

Police tell the Casper Star-Tribune nobody has been arrested and the motive is unknown.

 Evans was a wide receiver for Lancaster High School in Texas.

 He signed with Wyoming in February. Wyoming coach Craig Bohl expressed his condolences. 

Bohl was on Tulsa’s coaching staff when Evans’ father played for the Golden Hurricane in the 1980s.

CASPER, Wyo. (AP) — A member of Wyoming’s 2021 football recruiting class is dead after a shooting in Texas. The Dallas Morning News reports 17-year-old Tony Evans Jr., was shot early Sunday at a hotel in the Dallas area. The Dallas Morning News reports another person is wounded. Police tell the Casper Star-Tribune nobody has been arrested and the motive is unknown. Evans was a wide receiver for Lancaster High School in Texas. He signed with Wyoming in February. Wyoming coach Craig Bohl expressed his condolences. Bohl was on Tulsa’s coaching staff when Evans’ father played for the Golden Hurricane in the 1980s.

Wyoming football recruit killed in Dallas hotel shooting

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — Half of South Dakota’s population age 16 and over has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. 

Health officials opened vaccine eligibility to anyone over age 16 on Monday. 

Nearly 300,000 in total have received at least a single dose of the vaccine, and about 70% of those people have completed their vaccinations.

 However, Secretary of Health Kim Malsam-Rysdon warns that there has been a 75% jump in COVID-19 infections among people in their 20s over the last six weeks. 

The state reported 2,413 people with active infections, including 238 new cases. 

There are 102 people in the hospital with COVID-19.

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — Half of South Dakota’s population age 16 and over has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. Health officials opened vaccine eligibility to anyone over age 16 on Monday. Nearly 300,000 in total have received at least a single dose of the vaccine, and about 70% of those people have completed their vaccinations. However, Secretary of Health Kim Malsam-Rysdon warns that there has been a 75% jump in COVID-19 infections among people in their 20s over the last six weeks. The state reported 2,413 people with active infections, including 238 new cases. There are 102 people in the hospital with COVID-19.

South Dakota hits halfway mark for vaccine-eligible people

BOSTON (AP) — U.S. colleges hoping for a return to normalcy next fall are weighing how far they should go in urging students to get the COVID-19 vaccine, including whether they should — or legally can — require it.

Universities including Rutgers, Brown, Cornell and Northeastern recently told students they must get vaccinated before returning to campus next fall. They hope to achieve herd immunity on campus, which they say would allow them to loosen spacing restrictions in classrooms and dorms.

But some colleges are leaving the decision to students, and others believe they can't legally require vaccinations. At Virginia Tech, officials determined that they can’t because the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has only allowed the emergency use of the vaccines and hasn't given them its full approval.

The question looms large as more colleges plan to shift back from remote to in-person instruction. Many schools have launched vaccination blitzes to get students immunized before they leave for the summer. At some schools, the added requirement is meant to encourage holdouts and to build confidence that students and faculty will be safe on campus.

“It takes away any ambiguity about whether individuals should be vaccinated,” said Kenneth Henderson, the chancellor of Northeastern University in Boston. “It also provides a level of confidence for the entire community that we are taking all appropriate measures.”

Northeastern and other colleges requiring shots believe they’re on solid legal ground. It’s not unusual for colleges to require students to be vaccinated for other types of diseases, and a California court last year upheld a flu shot requirement at the University of California system.

But legal scholars say the COVID-19 vaccines' emergency use status moves the issue to a legal gray area that's likely to be challenged in court, and some colleges may take a more cautious approach to avoid litigation.

Harvard Law professor Glenn Cohen, who teaches health law and bioethics, said there's no legal reason colleges wouldn't be allowed to require COVID-19 vaccinations. It makes no difference that the shots haven't been given full approval, he said, noting that many colleges already require students to take coronavirus tests that are approved under the same FDA emergency authorization. But there’s also no federal guidance explicitly permitting vaccination mandates.

The biggest clashes could come in states taking a stance against vaccination requirements, he said.

In Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis this month banned all businesses from requiring customers to show proof of vaccination. The order raises questions about Nova Southeastern University's plan to require students and staff to get vaccinated. The college’s president said he’s still confident in the plan, but he also promised to “respect the laws of our state and all federal directives.”

The governor of Texas, the country's second-largest state, issued a similar order.

There’s a parallel debate about whether to require vaccination for faculty and staff, an issue that employers across the nation are grappling with. At the University of Notre Dame, one of the latest schools to require student vaccinations, shots are still optional for workers. Northeastern is considering whether to extend its mandate to employees.

Even at schools making shots mandatory, there are exemptions. Federal law requires colleges to provide accommodations to students who refuse a vaccine for medical reasons, and most schools are also offering exemptions for religious reasons.

At Brown, students who forgo shots and have no valid exemption must file a petition to study remotely or take a leave of absence next fall, the school’s president, Christina Paxson, told students in a letter last week.

But enforcing vaccine mandates will bring its own challenges. Cornell and Northeastern say students will be asked to show proof of vaccination, but there is no widely accepted vaccine credential. Cornell told students they can provide the card given out at their vaccination site, but card formats vary and generally seem like they would be easy to forge.

At Northeastern, officials are still deciding whether students will have to provide a medical record proving they were vaccinated or whether they will be allowed to attest to having been immunized — essentially taking their word for it.

“We would expect students to be honest and forthright about any attestation they make to the university,” Henderson said.

Northeastern student Tyler Lee said he thinks requiring vaccinations is the right move because it will help stop the virus’ spread and protect the community around the downtown Boston campus. There has been some pushback from parents, but little from students, he said.

“It’s Northeastern’s decision,” said Lee, a senior who is awaiting his second shot. “If I didn’t like it, I would transfer. And that’s what most students feel.”

Ariana Palomo, an incoming freshman at Brown, said the university’s mandate sends the message that it’s serious about keeping students safe. She was “happy and relieved” when she heard about it, she said.

“I know that I’m going to feel so much safer on campus,” said Palomo, 18. “This is the next step in protecting one another and preventing more lives from being lost.”

Schools expect some pushback, and Republican student groups on some campuses have opposed mandates, saying it should be a choice.

Colleges are also grappling with what to expect of international students, who may not have access to vaccines in their home countries or who may get shots that are not used in the United States. Some colleges say they’re planning to develop arrangements to make shots available for international students when they arrive.

Other colleges are using a lighter touch to promote shots, including at Dickinson State University in North Dakota, which is exempting students from a campus mask mandate two weeks after they are fully vaccinated.

Many others are hoping a word of encouragement will be enough. Campus officials at Bowdoin College in Maine said it’s their “hope and expectation” that all students will get shots. Harvard University officials “strongly recommend” that students get vaccinated but have stopped short of a mandate.

Some, including Dartmouth College, are waiting for shots to become more widely available before making a decision. Diana Lawrence, a spokesperson for Dartmouth, said officials “cannot make a determination regarding required vaccination until vaccines are accessible for all students.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/4/1617926738657.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>By the Associated PressBOSTON (AP) — U.S. colleges hoping for a return to normalcy next fall are weighing how far they should go in urging students to get the COVID-19 vaccine, including whether they should — or legally can — require it.Universities including Rutgers, Brown, Cornell and Northeastern recently told students they must get vaccinated before returning to campus next fall. They hope to achieve herd immunity on campus, which they say would allow them to loosen spacing restrictions in classrooms and dorms.But some colleges are leaving the decision to students, and others believe they can't legally require vaccinations. At Virginia Tech, officials determined that they can’t because the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has only allowed the emergency use of the vaccines and hasn't given them its full approval.The question looms large as more colleges plan to shift back from remote to in-person instruction. Many schools have launched vaccination blitzes to get students immunized before they leave for the summer. At some schools, the added requirement is meant to encourage holdouts and to build confidence that students and faculty will be safe on campus.“It takes away any ambiguity about whether individuals should be vaccinated,” said Kenneth Henderson, the chancellor of Northeastern University in Boston. “It also provides a level of confidence for the entire community that we are taking all appropriate measures.”Northeastern and other colleges requiring shots believe they’re on solid legal ground. It’s not unusual for colleges to require students to be vaccinated for other types of diseases, and a California court last year upheld a flu shot requirement at the University of California system.But legal scholars say the COVID-19 vaccines' emergency use status moves the issue to a legal gray area that's likely to be challenged in court, and some colleges may take a more cautious approach to avoid litigation.Harvard Law professor Glenn Cohen, who teaches health law and bioethics, said there's no legal reason colleges wouldn't be allowed to require COVID-19 vaccinations. It makes no difference that the shots haven't been given full approval, he said, noting that many colleges already require students to take coronavirus tests that are approved under the same FDA emergency authorization. But there’s also no federal guidance explicitly permitting vaccination mandates.The biggest clashes could come in states taking a stance against vaccination requirements, he said.In Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis this month banned all businesses from requiring customers to show proof of vaccination. The order raises questions about Nova Southeastern University's plan to require students and staff to get vaccinated. The college’s president said he’s still confident in the plan, but he also promised to “respect the laws of our state and all federal directives.”The governor of Texas, the country's second-largest state, issued a similar order.There’s a parallel debate about whether to require vaccination for faculty and staff, an issue that employers across the nation are grappling with. At the University of Notre Dame, one of the latest schools to require student vaccinations, shots are still optional for workers. Northeastern is considering whether to extend its mandate to employees.Even at schools making shots mandatory, there are exemptions. Federal law requires colleges to provide accommodations to students who refuse a vaccine for medical reasons, and most schools are also offering exemptions for religious reasons.At Brown, students who forgo shots and have no valid exemption must file a petition to study remotely or take a leave of absence next fall, the school’s president, Christina Paxson, told students in a letter last week.But enforcing vaccine mandates will bring its own challenges. Cornell and Northeastern say students will be asked to show proof of vaccination, but there is no widely accepted vaccine credential. Cornell told students they can provide the card given out at their vaccination site, but card formats vary and generally seem like they would be easy to forge.At Northeastern, officials are still deciding whether students will have to provide a medical record proving they were vaccinated or whether they will be allowed to attest to having been immunized — essentially taking their word for it.“We would expect students to be honest and forthright about any attestation they make to the university,” Henderson said.Northeastern student Tyler Lee said he thinks requiring vaccinations is the right move because it will help stop the virus’ spread and protect the community around the downtown Boston campus. There has been some pushback from parents, but little from students, he said.“It’s Northeastern’s decision,” said Lee, a senior who is awaiting his second shot. “If I didn’t like it, I would transfer. And that’s what most students feel.”Ariana Palomo, an incoming freshman at Brown, said the university’s mandate sends the message that it’s serious about keeping students safe. She was “happy and relieved” when she heard about it, she said.“I know that I’m going to feel so much safer on campus,” said Palomo, 18. “This is the next step in protecting one another and preventing more lives from being lost.”Schools expect some pushback, and Republican student groups on some campuses have opposed mandates, saying it should be a choice.Colleges are also grappling with what to expect of international students, who may not have access to vaccines in their home countries or who may get shots that are not used in the United States. Some colleges say they’re planning to develop arrangements to make shots available for international students when they arrive.Other colleges are using a lighter touch to promote shots, including at Dickinson State University in North Dakota, which is exempting students from a campus mask mandate two weeks after they are fully vaccinated.Many others are hoping a word of encouragement will be enough. Campus officials at Bowdoin College in Maine said it’s their “hope and expectation” that all students will get shots. Harvard University officials “strongly recommend” that students get vaccinated but have stopped short of a mandate.Some, including Dartmouth College, are waiting for shots to become more widely available before making a decision. Diana Lawrence, a spokesperson for Dartmouth, said officials “cannot make a determination regarding required vaccination until vaccines are accessible for all students.”

US colleges divided over requiring student vaccinations

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden released a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/20611847-biden-administration-budget-request" target="_blank">$1.5 trillion wish list</a>&nbsp;for his first federal budget, asking for substantial gains for Democratic priorities including education, health care, housing and environmental protection.

The request by the White House budget office Friday for an 8.4% increase in agency operating budgets spells out Biden’s top priorities as Congress weighs its spending plans for next year. It’s the first financial outline of the Democrats’ broader ambitions since the expiration of a 2011 law that capped congressional spending.

“I’m hoping it’ll have some bipartisan support across the board,” Biden said before an Oval Office meeting with his economics team, though prominent Senate Republicans immediately complained the plan would shortchange the military and national security in boosting domestic programs.

Bipartisanship in 2011 also restricted Democrats’ ambitions, a problem they’re now trying to address. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the administration was “inheriting a legacy of chronic underinvestment” because of the caps.

“The president is focused on reversing this trend and reinvesting in the foundations of our strength,” she told reporters at a briefing.

At stake is “discretionary spending,” roughly one-third of the huge federal budget that is passed by Congress each year, funding the military, domestic Cabinet department operations, foreign policy and homeland security. The rest of the budget involves so-called mandatory programs with locked-in spending, chiefly Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.

The Biden request provides a significantly smaller 1.6% increase for the $700 billion-plus Pentagon budget than for domestic accounts. Homeland security accounts would basically be frozen, reflecting opposition among Democratic progressives to immigration security forces.

Senate Republicans were quick to criticize the modest proposed increase for defense, with Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Oklahoma’s Jim Inhofe, Florida’s Marco Rubio, South Carolina’s Lindsey Graham and Alabama’s Richard Shelby releasing a joint statement.

“Talk is cheap, but defending our country is not,” they said. “We can’t afford to fail in our constitutional responsibility to provide for the common defense. To keep America strong, we must balance domestic and defense spending priorities.”

The appropriations process was one of the few consistent success stories of former President Donald Trump’s tumultuous four-year tenure in office, but this year’s budget cycle is not governed by the formal spending caps of a broader outline. The lapse of those caps opens the door to more domestic spending favored by Biden and Democrats but invites a battle with Republicans over military accounts.

The Biden administration believes the caps, imposed by a long-abandoned 2011 budget deal, caused a decade of severe underinvestment in public services that the president is now trying to turn around with large increases that would mostly bypass national security programs.

The administration says the request would bring spending in line with historical averages. It seeks $769 billion in non-defense discretionary funding, about equal to the 30-year average relative to the overall U.S. economy.

Biden wants to increase the Education Department’s budget by a massive 40.8% to $102.8 billion, which includes an additional $20 billion in grants for high-poverty schools.

The Department of Health and Human Services would get a 23.1% boost to $133.7 billion. There would be additional funds to combat opioid addiction and for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, whose mission took on new urgency during the coronavirus pandemic. The administration is also asking for $6.5 billion to establish a biomedical research agency to address cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer’s and other diseases.

Biden is seeking a $14 billion increase across government agencies to address climate change. It’s part of a whole-of-government approach to the climate crisis that includes billions to boost environmental justice for communities near refineries, power plants and other hazardous sites.

Housing and Urban Development would get a 15.1% increase to $68.7 billion, primarily to provide housing vouchers for an additional 200,000 families. The administration also seeks more money for civil rights enforcement and addressing gun violence as a public health epidemic.

Passing the president’s plan as written through Congress is typically a long shot. Recent history and guaranteed conflicts with Republicans are likely to force lawmakers to put discretionary accounts on autopilot for months after the Sept. 30 expiration of the budget year.

The plan also details how the Biden administration will try to deal with the influx of arrivals at the U.S. southern border. It includes $861 million to invest in Central America to address the forces driving people to migrate to the United States. An additional $345 million would go to immigration services to resolve delays in years-long naturalization and asylum cases. The budget for the Executive Office of Immigration Review would jump 21% to $891 million in order to hire 100 new immigration judges and support teams to reduce the existing backlogs.

The president seeks modest increases for national security. Defense -- the largest department in the discretionary plan -- would get a 1.6% increase to $715 billion. Homeland Security would edge up 0.2% to $52 billion.

But the administration views diplomacy as a way to engage with the wider world. It’s pursuing a 12% increase in funding for the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development, taking their spending to $63.5 billion.

Friday’s request does not include plans for tax revenues or mandatory federal spending. Nor does it include the planned spending in Biden’s infrastructure plan. A fuller budget proposal will be released later this spring.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/4/1618062522198.png" alt="President Biden during a Friday meeting in the Oval Office said he wants to increase the Education Department’s budget by a massive 40.8% to $102.8 billion, which includes an additional $20 billion in grants for high-poverty schools-image courtesy White House." />
 <figcaption>President Biden during a Friday meeting in the Oval Office said he wants to increase the Education Department’s budget by a massive 40.8% to $102.8 billion, which includes an additional $20 billion in grants for high-poverty schools-image courtesy White House.</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden released a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/20611847-biden-administration-budget-request" target="_blank">$1.5 trillion wish list</a>&nbsp;for his first federal budget, asking for substantial gains for Democratic priorities including education, health care, housing and environmental protection.The request by the White House budget office Friday for an 8.4% increase in agency operating budgets spells out Biden’s top priorities as Congress weighs its spending plans for next year. It’s the first financial outline of the Democrats’ broader ambitions since the expiration of a 2011 law that capped congressional spending.“I’m hoping it’ll have some bipartisan support across the board,” Biden said before an Oval Office meeting with his economics team, though prominent Senate Republicans immediately complained the plan would shortchange the military and national security in boosting domestic programs.Bipartisanship in 2011 also restricted Democrats’ ambitions, a problem they’re now trying to address. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the administration was “inheriting a legacy of chronic underinvestment” because of the caps.“The president is focused on reversing this trend and reinvesting in the foundations of our strength,” she told reporters at a briefing.At stake is “discretionary spending,” roughly one-third of the huge federal budget that is passed by Congress each year, funding the military, domestic Cabinet department operations, foreign policy and homeland security. The rest of the budget involves so-called mandatory programs with locked-in spending, chiefly Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.The Biden request provides a significantly smaller 1.6% increase for the $700 billion-plus Pentagon budget than for domestic accounts. Homeland security accounts would basically be frozen, reflecting opposition among Democratic progressives to immigration security forces.Senate Republicans were quick to criticize the modest proposed increase for defense, with Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Oklahoma’s Jim Inhofe, Florida’s Marco Rubio, South Carolina’s Lindsey Graham and Alabama’s Richard Shelby releasing a joint statement.“Talk is cheap, but defending our country is not,” they said. “We can’t afford to fail in our constitutional responsibility to provide for the common defense. To keep America strong, we must balance domestic and defense spending priorities.”The appropriations process was one of the few consistent success stories of former President Donald Trump’s tumultuous four-year tenure in office, but this year’s budget cycle is not governed by the formal spending caps of a broader outline. The lapse of those caps opens the door to more domestic spending favored by Biden and Democrats but invites a battle with Republicans over military accounts.The Biden administration believes the caps, imposed by a long-abandoned 2011 budget deal, caused a decade of severe underinvestment in public services that the president is now trying to turn around with large increases that would mostly bypass national security programs.The administration says the request would bring spending in line with historical averages. It seeks $769 billion in non-defense discretionary funding, about equal to the 30-year average relative to the overall U.S. economy.Biden wants to increase the Education Department’s budget by a massive 40.8% to $102.8 billion, which includes an additional $20 billion in grants for high-poverty schools.The Department of Health and Human Services would get a 23.1% boost to $133.7 billion. There would be additional funds to combat opioid addiction and for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, whose mission took on new urgency during the coronavirus pandemic. The administration is also asking for $6.5 billion to establish a biomedical research agency to address cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer’s and other diseases.Biden is seeking a $14 billion increase across government agencies to address climate change. It’s part of a whole-of-government approach to the climate crisis that includes billions to boost environmental justice for communities near refineries, power plants and other hazardous sites.Housing and Urban Development would get a 15.1% increase to $68.7 billion, primarily to provide housing vouchers for an additional 200,000 families. The administration also seeks more money for civil rights enforcement and addressing gun violence as a public health epidemic.Passing the president’s plan as written through Congress is typically a long shot. Recent history and guaranteed conflicts with Republicans are likely to force lawmakers to put discretionary accounts on autopilot for months after the Sept. 30 expiration of the budget year.The plan also details how the Biden administration will try to deal with the influx of arrivals at the U.S. southern border. It includes $861 million to invest in Central America to address the forces driving people to migrate to the United States. An additional $345 million would go to immigration services to resolve delays in years-long naturalization and asylum cases. The budget for the Executive Office of Immigration Review would jump 21% to $891 million in order to hire 100 new immigration judges and support teams to reduce the existing backlogs.The president seeks modest increases for national security. Defense -- the largest department in the discretionary plan -- would get a 1.6% increase to $715 billion. Homeland Security would edge up 0.2% to $52 billion.But the administration views diplomacy as a way to engage with the wider world. It’s pursuing a 12% increase in funding for the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development, taking their spending to $63.5 billion.Friday’s request does not include plans for tax revenues or mandatory federal spending. Nor does it include the planned spending in Biden’s infrastructure plan. A fuller budget proposal will be released later this spring.

Biden budget seeks more for schools, health care and housing

ST. LOUIS (AP) — A 4-year-old girl was accidentally shot by her 5-year-old sister while the girls were playing together with another sister at a home in St. Louis on Saturday, authorities said.

Police said the girl was taken to a hospital in critical condition after the shooting in St. Louis’ Carr Square neighborhood Saturday night.

At the time of the shooting, the 4-year-old was playing with her two older sisters in a room of the home. Detectives are investigating the circumstances of the shooting.

So far this year, nine children under the age of 17 have been shot and killed in St. Louis.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — A 4-year-old girl was accidentally shot by her 5-year-old sister while the girls were playing together with another sister at a home in St. Louis on Saturday, authorities said.Police said the girl was taken to a hospital in critical condition after the shooting in St. Louis’ Carr Square neighborhood Saturday night.At the time of the shooting, the 4-year-old was playing with her two older sisters in a room of the home. Detectives are investigating the circumstances of the shooting.So far this year, nine children under the age of 17 have been shot and killed in St. Louis.

Police: 4-year-old accidentally shot by sister in Missouri

CAMARILLO, Calif. (AP) — The average U.S. price of regular-grade gasoline held steady over the past two weeks at $2.94 per gallon. 

Industry analyst Trilby Lundberg of the Lundberg Survey says Sunday that the price at the pump was likely to remain stable or drop as wholesale costs begin to decrease. 

The price of a gallon of regular-grade gas is 93 cents higher than it was a year ago. 

The highest average price in the nation right now is $3.99 a gallon in the San Francisco Bay Area. The lowest average is $2.50 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. 

The average price of diesel dropped a penny over the same period to $3.13.

CAMARILLO, Calif. (AP) — The average U.S. price of regular-grade gasoline held steady over the past two weeks at $2.94 per gallon. Industry analyst Trilby Lundberg of the Lundberg Survey says Sunday that the price at the pump was likely to remain stable or drop as wholesale costs begin to decrease. The price of a gallon of regular-grade gas is 93 cents higher than it was a year ago. The highest average price in the nation right now is $3.99 a gallon in the San Francisco Bay Area. The lowest average is $2.50 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The average price of diesel dropped a penny over the same period to $3.13.

Average US price of gas holds steady at $2.94 per gallon

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. government picked up nearly 19,000 children traveling alone across the Mexican border in March, authorities said Thursday, the largest monthly number ever recorded and a major test for President Joe Biden as he reverses many of his predecessor’s hardline immigration tactics.

A&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-donald-trump-mexico-immigration-coronavirus-pandemic-6a412f3edf07715509e3181b8bc63ca7">complex mix of factors</a>&nbsp;in the United States and Central America drove the increase. It has coincided with the Biden administration’s decision to exempt unaccompanied children from pandemic-related powers to immediately expel most people from the country without giving them an opportunity to seek asylum. Children are instead released to “sponsors” in the U.S., usually parents or close relatives, while being allowed to pursue their cases in heavily backlogged immigration courts.

The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/stats/southwest-land-border-encounters" target="_blank">Border Patrol encountered</a>&nbsp;18,663 unaccompanied children in March, well above previous highs of 11,475 in May 2019 and 10,620 in June 2014. The agency started publishing the numbers in 2009. Before then, adults made up the vast majority of those crossing the border.

March’s count was roughly double the number of unaccompanied children encountered by the Border Patrol in February and more than five times the number in March 2020.

The huge increase in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/mexico-coronavirus-pandemic-immigration-us-news-texas-e1cd317d83c3a2c2fe829b1d2e03cd4e">children traveling alone</a>&nbsp;— some as young as 3 — and families has severely strained border holding facilities, which aren’t allowed to hold people for more than three days but often do. It’s left the government scrambling to find space and hire staff to care for children longer term until they can be placed with sponsors.

For many, a hurricane that hit Central America in November added urgency to endemic poverty and violence that have led people to flee for decades.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-mexico-health-immigration-immigration-policy-1fb007e86452849d8e373908a3d81e94">Changes in U.S. policy under Biden</a>&nbsp;also have guided their decisions, whether real or rumored.

Hermelindo Ak, a Guatemalan corn grower who barely makes enough to feed his family, was expelled to Mexico from&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/border-crossing-rio-grande-valley-texas-b47bbbb5846c8528a016f1bb9bbc3db0">Texas’ Rio Grande Valley</a>&nbsp;with his 17-year-old son. Ak decided to send his son alone for a second attempt after learning unaccompanied children can stay in the U.S. Ak, 40, said he would return to family in Guatemala after selling his house to pay smugglers. The plan was for his oldest son to live with relatives in the U.S.

“I didn’t want to leave him alone,” Ak said last week in the Mexican border city of Reynosa. “Necessity obligates us.”

Amid the growing numbers, more than 4,000 people at a U.S. Customs and Border Protection holding facility have been jammed into a space designed for 250 at a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-immigration-texas-59d0eafb23d135f901dfc50ff326cfcd">tent complex in Donna, Texas</a>. They lay inches apart on mats on the floor with foil blankets.

CBP must transfer unaccompanied children within 72 hours to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, whose facilities are more suited to longer-term care while arrangements are made to release them. More than 2,000 children were held longer than that at the Donna facility one day last week, with 39 there at least 15 days.

HHS opened its first temporary holding facility in Carrizo Springs, Texas, on Feb. 22, and has since struck a slew of agreements to occupy large venues near the border, including convention centers in Dallas and San Diego, a stadium in San Antonio and Fort Bliss army base in El Paso, Texas. The department also has been paying for flights for children and sponsors to limit time in government custody.

In this March 19 photo, migrants are seen in custody at a U.S. Customs and Border Protection processing area under the Anzalduas International Bridge, in Mission, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Overall, the Border Patrol had 168,195 encounters with migrants on the southern border in March, its busiest month since March 2001, when it counted 170,580 arrests. The numbers aren’t entirely comparable because more than half of last month’s encounters resulted in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/mexico-coronavirus-pandemic-immigration-border-guatemala-4d6e258b4b23c4f068b008af83c1151e">expulsions under pandemic-related authority</a>&nbsp;instituted by former President Donald Trump and kept in place by Biden.

People who are expelled are far more likely to try again because they face no legal consequences.

Unlike expulsions, people arrested under immigration laws can face jail time, felony prosecution for repeat offenses and bans on entering the country legally through marriage or other means. Biden administration officials said 28% of expulsions in March were people who had been expelled before, compared with a 7% pre-pandemic recidivism rate for the 12-month period that ended in September 2019.

The Border Patrol had 52,904 encounters with people arriving as families, with only about one in three being expelled and the rest allowed to stay in the U.S. to pursue asylum.

Mexico’s refusal to accept Central American families with children 6 and under because of a new law against detaining migrant families has limited the effectiveness of expulsions, administration officials said.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-mexico-immigration-guatemala-central-america-cbb61c31526c988451c305855c8f8486">Mexico</a>&nbsp;is especially reluctant to accept families with young children in Tamaulipas state bordering the Rio Grande Valley, the busiest corridor for illegal crossings.

The means hundreds of migrants go to bus stations in Texas border towns like McAllen and Brownsville on their way to their final destinations in the U.S. To save time, the Border Patrol last month began releasing migrant families — about 9,600 people as of Tuesday, according to U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/migants-freed-without-court-notice-paperwork-9ace3e41e0acadac7cece17c83a8f7ff">without notices to appear in court</a>, instead directing them to report to a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in 60 days.

Numbers grew sharply during Trump’s final year in office but further accelerated under Biden, who quickly ended many of his predecessor’s policies, including one that made asylum-seekers wait in Mexico for court hearings in the U.S.

Mexicans represented the largest proportion of people encountered by the U.S. Border Patrol, and nearly all were single adults. Arrivals of people from Honduras and Guatemala were second and third, respectively, and more than half of the people from those countries were families or children traveling alone.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/4/1617909066947.png" alt="Migrants near the U.S. Texas border last month -image courtesy Sen. Roger Marshall" />
 <figcaption>Migrants near the U.S. Texas border last month -image courtesy Sen. Roger Marshall</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. government picked up nearly 19,000 children traveling alone across the Mexican border in March, authorities said Thursday, the largest monthly number ever recorded and a major test for President Joe Biden as he reverses many of his predecessor’s hardline immigration tactics.A&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-donald-trump-mexico-immigration-coronavirus-pandemic-6a412f3edf07715509e3181b8bc63ca7">complex mix of factors</a>&nbsp;in the United States and Central America drove the increase. It has coincided with the Biden administration’s decision to exempt unaccompanied children from pandemic-related powers to immediately expel most people from the country without giving them an opportunity to seek asylum. Children are instead released to “sponsors” in the U.S., usually parents or close relatives, while being allowed to pursue their cases in heavily backlogged immigration courts.The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/stats/southwest-land-border-encounters" target="_blank">Border Patrol encountered</a>&nbsp;18,663 unaccompanied children in March, well above previous highs of 11,475 in May 2019 and 10,620 in June 2014. The agency started publishing the numbers in 2009. Before then, adults made up the vast majority of those crossing the border.March’s count was roughly double the number of unaccompanied children encountered by the Border Patrol in February and more than five times the number in March 2020.The huge increase in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/mexico-coronavirus-pandemic-immigration-us-news-texas-e1cd317d83c3a2c2fe829b1d2e03cd4e">children traveling alone</a>&nbsp;— some as young as 3 — and families has severely strained border holding facilities, which aren’t allowed to hold people for more than three days but often do. It’s left the government scrambling to find space and hire staff to care for children longer term until they can be placed with sponsors.For many, a hurricane that hit Central America in November added urgency to endemic poverty and violence that have led people to flee for decades.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-mexico-health-immigration-immigration-policy-1fb007e86452849d8e373908a3d81e94">Changes in U.S. policy under Biden</a>&nbsp;also have guided their decisions, whether real or rumored.Hermelindo Ak, a Guatemalan corn grower who barely makes enough to feed his family, was expelled to Mexico from&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/border-crossing-rio-grande-valley-texas-b47bbbb5846c8528a016f1bb9bbc3db0">Texas’ Rio Grande Valley</a>&nbsp;with his 17-year-old son. Ak decided to send his son alone for a second attempt after learning unaccompanied children can stay in the U.S. Ak, 40, said he would return to family in Guatemala after selling his house to pay smugglers. The plan was for his oldest son to live with relatives in the U.S.“I didn’t want to leave him alone,” Ak said last week in the Mexican border city of Reynosa. “Necessity obligates us.”Amid the growing numbers, more than 4,000 people at a U.S. Customs and Border Protection holding facility have been jammed into a space designed for 250 at a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-immigration-texas-59d0eafb23d135f901dfc50ff326cfcd">tent complex in Donna, Texas</a>. They lay inches apart on mats on the floor with foil blankets.CBP must transfer unaccompanied children within 72 hours to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, whose facilities are more suited to longer-term care while arrangements are made to release them. More than 2,000 children were held longer than that at the Donna facility one day last week, with 39 there at least 15 days.HHS opened its first temporary holding facility in Carrizo Springs, Texas, on Feb. 22, and has since struck a slew of agreements to occupy large venues near the border, including convention centers in Dallas and San Diego, a stadium in San Antonio and Fort Bliss army base in El Paso, Texas. The department also has been paying for flights for children and sponsors to limit time in government custody.In this March 19 photo, migrants are seen in custody at a U.S. Customs and Border Protection processing area under the Anzalduas International Bridge, in Mission, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)Overall, the Border Patrol had 168,195 encounters with migrants on the southern border in March, its busiest month since March 2001, when it counted 170,580 arrests. The numbers aren’t entirely comparable because more than half of last month’s encounters resulted in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/mexico-coronavirus-pandemic-immigration-border-guatemala-4d6e258b4b23c4f068b008af83c1151e">expulsions under pandemic-related authority</a>&nbsp;instituted by former President Donald Trump and kept in place by Biden.People who are expelled are far more likely to try again because they face no legal consequences.Unlike expulsions, people arrested under immigration laws can face jail time, felony prosecution for repeat offenses and bans on entering the country legally through marriage or other means. Biden administration officials said 28% of expulsions in March were people who had been expelled before, compared with a 7% pre-pandemic recidivism rate for the 12-month period that ended in September 2019.The Border Patrol had 52,904 encounters with people arriving as families, with only about one in three being expelled and the rest allowed to stay in the U.S. to pursue asylum.Mexico’s refusal to accept Central American families with children 6 and under because of a new law against detaining migrant families has limited the effectiveness of expulsions, administration officials said.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-mexico-immigration-guatemala-central-america-cbb61c31526c988451c305855c8f8486">Mexico</a>&nbsp;is especially reluctant to accept families with young children in Tamaulipas state bordering the Rio Grande Valley, the busiest corridor for illegal crossings.The means hundreds of migrants go to bus stations in Texas border towns like McAllen and Brownsville on their way to their final destinations in the U.S. To save time, the Border Patrol last month began releasing migrant families — about 9,600 people as of Tuesday, according to U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/migants-freed-without-court-notice-paperwork-9ace3e41e0acadac7cece17c83a8f7ff">without notices to appear in court</a>, instead directing them to report to a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in 60 days.Numbers grew sharply during Trump’s final year in office but further accelerated under Biden, who quickly ended many of his predecessor’s policies, including one that made asylum-seekers wait in Mexico for court hearings in the U.S.Mexicans represented the largest proportion of people encountered by the U.S. Border Patrol, and nearly all were single adults. Arrivals of people from Honduras and Guatemala were second and third, respectively, and more than half of the people from those countries were families or children traveling alone.

Number of kids alone at U.S. border hits all-time high

As governors loosen long-lasting coronavirus restrictions, state lawmakers across the U.S. are taking actions to significantly limit the power they could wield in future emergencies.

The legislative measures are aimed not simply at undoing mask mandates and capacity limits that have been common during the pandemic. Many proposals seek to fundamentally shift power away from governors and toward lawmakers the next time there is a virus outbreak, terrorist attack or natural disaster.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/1/1611280712430.png" alt="Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly, a Democrat, also enacted a law last month giving legislative leaders power to revoke her emergency orders." />
 <figcaption>Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly, a Democrat, also enacted a law last month giving legislative leaders power to revoke her emergency orders.</figcaption>
 </figure>By DAVID A. LIEB, Associated PressAs governors loosen long-lasting coronavirus restrictions, state lawmakers across the U.S. are taking actions to significantly limit the power they could wield in future emergencies.The legislative measures are aimed not simply at undoing mask mandates and capacity limits that have been common during the pandemic. Many proposals seek to fundamentally shift power away from governors and toward lawmakers the next time there is a virus outbreak, terrorist attack or natural disaster.“The COVID pandemic has been an impetus for a re-examination of balancing of legislative power with executive powers,” said Pam Greenberg, a policy researcher at the National Conference of State Legislatures.Lawmakers in 45 states have proposed more than 300 measures this year related to legislative oversight of executive actions during the COVID-19 pandemic or other emergencies, according to the NCSL.About half those states are considering significant changes, such as tighter limits on how long governors’ emergency orders can last without legislative approval, according to the American Legislative Exchange Council, an association of conservative lawmakers and businesses. It wrote a model “Emergency Power Limitation Act” for lawmakers to follow.Though the pushback is coming primarily from Republican lawmakers, it is not entirely partisan.Republican lawmakers have sought to limit the power of Democratic governors in states such as Kansas, Kentucky and North Carolina. But they also have sought to rein in fellow Republican governors in such states as Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana and Ohio. Some Democratic lawmakers also have pushed back against governors of their own party, most notably limiting the ability of embattled New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo to issue new mandates.When the pandemic hit a year ago, many governors and their top health officials temporarily ordered residents to remain home, limited public gatherings, prohibited in-person schooling and shut down dine-in restaurants, gyms and other businesses. Many governors have been repealing or relaxing restrictions after cases declined from a winter peak and as more people get vaccinated.But the potential remains in many states for governors to again tighten restrictions if new variants of the coronavirus lead to another surge in cases.Governors have been acting under the authority of emergency response laws that in some states date back decades and weren’t crafted with an indefinite health crisis in mind.“A previous legislature back in the ’60s, fearing a nuclear holocaust, granted tremendous powers” to the governor, said Idaho state Rep. Jason Monks, a Republican and the chamber’s assistant majority leader.“This was the first time I think that those laws were really stress-tested,” he said.Like many governors, Idaho Gov. Brad Little has repeatedly extended his monthlong emergency order since originally issuing it last spring. A pair of bills nearing final approval would prohibit him from declaring an emergency for more than 60 days without legislative approval. The Republican governor also would be barred from suspending constitutional rights, restricting the ability of people to work, or altering state laws like he did by suspending in-person voting and holding a mail-only primary election last year.A measure that recently passed New Hampshire’s Republican-led House also would prohibit governors from indefinitely renewing emergency declarations, as GOP Gov. Chris Sununu has done every 21 days for the past year. It would halt emergency orders after 30 days unless renewed by lawmakers.Next month, Pennsylvania voters will decide a pair of constitutional amendments to limit disaster emergency declarations to three weeks, rather than three months, and require legislative approval to extend them. The Republican-led Legislature placed the measures on the ballot after repeatedly failing to reverse the policies Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf implemented to try to contain the pandemic.In Indiana, the Republican-led Legislature and GOP governor are embroiled in a power struggle over executive powers.The Legislature approved a bill this past week that would give lawmakers greater authority to intervene in gubernatorially declared emergencies by calling themselves into special session. The House Republican leader said the bill was not “anti-governor” but a response to a generational crisis.Gov. Eric Holcomb, who has issued more than 60 executive orders during the pandemic, vetoed the bill Friday. He contends the legislature’s attempt to expand its power could violate the state Constitution. Legislative leaders said they intend to override the veto, potentially setting up a legal clash between the legislative and executive branches. Unlike Congress and most states, Indiana lawmakers can override a veto with a simple majority of both houses.Several other governors also have vetoed bills limiting their emergency authority or increasing legislative powers.In Michigan, where new variants are fueling a rise in COVID-19 cases, Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer vetoed GOP-backed legislation last month that would have ended state health department orders after 28 days unless lengthened by lawmakers.Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican, contended that legislation allowing lawmakers to rescind his public health orders “jeopardizes the safety of every Ohioan.” But the Republican-led Legislature overrode his veto the next day.“It’s time for us to stand up for the legislative branch,” sponsoring Sen. Rob McColley told his colleagues.Kentucky’s GOP-led Legislature overrode Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear’s vetoes of bills limiting his emergency powers, but a judge temporarily blocked the laws from taking effect. The judge said they are “likely to undermine, or even cripple, the effectiveness of public health measures.”In some states, governors have worked with lawmakers to pare back executive powers.Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, a Republican, signed a law last month giving the GOP-led Legislature greater say in determining whether to end his emergency orders. It was quickly put to the test by the Arkansas Legislative Council, which decided to let Hutchinson extend his emergency declaration another two months.Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly, a Democrat, also enacted a law last month giving legislative leaders power to revoke her emergency orders. Top Republican lawmakers immediately used it to scuttle a Kelly order meant to encourage counties to keep mask mandates in place.“The power of the executive has been emasculated when it comes to the Emergency Management Act,” Democratic state Rep. John Carmichael said. “That may have very dire consequences in other circumstances and other disasters.”Kelly said it will be harder to persuade people to keep wearing masks without state or local mandates. She said her orders had relieved pressure on local leaders and businesses.“Let me be the bad guy. Let me be the one who mandates so that they don’t have to make those kinds of decisions,” Kelly said.Republican lawmakers insisted that their push to curb the governor’s power is not partisan. Lawmakers said they didn’t understand how broad the governor’s power was until she started issuing orders last spring to close K-12 schools, limit indoor worship services and regulate how businesses could reopen.House Speaker Pro Tem Blaine Finch said he believes the changes in Kansas’ emergency management law will encourage future governors to “use that power sparingly” and collaborate with lawmakers.“Our system is set up not to give one person of any party too much power over the lives of Kansans,” he said. “We’re supposed to have checks and balances.”___