High temperatures in the midwest recently caused thousands of cattle to die, prompting some to start asking questions as to what caused the sudden deaths.
Clay Scott lives in Kansas and used to own cattle. He discussed the situation with The Daily Wire, saying it was a “freak of nature thing,” and this type of situation has happened in the past due to the local climate.
He said it happens “once in a while, every twenty years or so,” where the weather quickly increases temperature. There had been a few days in a row of high temperatures, and the cattle had a difficult time getting cooled off.
He also explained that since May was abnormally cold, a lot of the cattle still had their winter coats.
The easy explanation, he added, was that it “was really hot, it was really humid, there was no breeze. We had a heat down burst,” which he explained is &#8220;a rare but not uncommon spike in temperatures in the morning.”
In some circumstances, the animals had almost a full winter coat. He noted that it was sad that several thousand animals died in the region, but pointed out that there are several million cattle in that area of the world, although the numbers seem large.
He said a local veterinarian pointed out on Twitter the heat index scores for cattle, and he said that for “three days in a row” the lethal heat amount for cattle was exceeded, but “it only took until the third day when we had that heat event that really spiked the numbers.”
Scott said it hurts the people who raise the animals “more than just a paycheck. They don&#8217;t like to see it because they work so hard. And you work with animals every day. You want to see &#8217;em do the best they can. You don&#8217;t want to see anybody suffer. So I know several of those guys are a little dejected. … It’s kind of like a flood or a fire, you know, it wasn’t anything they could control, but yet they suffer the consequences of it.”
The particular type of cattle that died were the heavy ones that are used to being on the range, Scott noted, and are the last to get rid of their winter coats. They were also from the northern rather than southern regions.
“99.9% of the time you [bring these cattle south], nothing ever matters of it,” he said, adding it was “a one-time event.”
According to Scott, if something malicious had happened to cause the cattle to die, the people who raise the animals would be “up in arms” about it.
“It’s pretty evident that we got some really good people taking care of our cattle supply,” he said. “They’re really working hard to make sure it&#8217;s right.”
As The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/up-to-10000-cattle-die-as-extreme-heat-bakes-kansas">reported</a>, as many as 10,000 cattle died in the midst of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/weather">triple-digit temperatures</a> in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/kansas">Kansas</a>.
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment said at least 2,000 head of cattle died due to high heat and humidity as of Tuesday last week, spokesperson Matthew Lara said. The calculation came from the number of carcasses the agency had been requested to help dispose of.
The farming journal <a href="https://www.agweb.com/news/livestock/beef/cattle-losses-reported-due-heat-stress">AgWeb.com</a> reported the amount of dead cows could be as many as 10,000 — and more have been reported deceased in nearby Nebraska.
Greg Wilson contributed to this report.

2B26B942-1D5F-4EEC-9465-400A70B21715_1_201_a

Former Cattle Owner In Kansas Explains Freak Heat Incident That Killed Thousands Of Cattle

Former Cattle Owner In Kansas Explains Freak Heat Incident That Killed Thousands Of Cattle During Recent High Temperatures

Farming

Food

Kansas

Nebraska

Weather

Overwhelming majorities in four states want more transparency regarding children’s school curriculums, according to new polling provided exclusively to The Daily Wire.
Most registered voters in Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, and Louisiana agreed that parents should be able to compare curriculums between schools prior to enrolling their children so they can find the best learning environment for their child, polling from the Goldwater Institute showed.
About 87% of Louisiana voters agreed that parents should be able to compare curriculums beforehand, along with 72% in Missouri, 71% in Iowa, and 64% in Kansas.
Notably, that includes hefty majorities in every state of adults in their 20s, 30s, and 40s, who are more likely than older adults to have school-aged children. Of adults from 35 to 44, 85% in Louisiana, 75% in Missouri, 78% in Iowa, and 74% in Kansas said they supported parental curriculum access before enrollment.
The polling surveyed between 500 and 768 voters in each state and was conducted in late March and early April by Sherpa Public Affairs. Each state’s survey had between a 3.5% and 4.4% margin of error.
Curriculum transparency has become a hot-button issue for many parents across the country in the last year.
In March, the Iowa legislature <a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.carrollspaper.com/news/local-legislators-speak-on-education-bills-requiring-more-transparency-from-public-teachers/article_533ce478-bf24-11ec-9d67-6774907de7ed.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">considered</a> several versions of a bill that would have required public schools to give parents access to their classroom materials and library catalogs.
Around the same time, Missouri <a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.news-leader.com/story/news/politics/2022/06/09/missouri-ag-demands-springfield-public-schools-provide-student-surveys-document-portal-race-gender/7556679001/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">considered</a> a similar “parents’ bill of rights,” one version of which would have allowed parents to sue public school districts for violating parents’ rights to access school curriculums.
Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) <a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.wftv.com/news/local/happening-this-morning-gov-desantis-speak-daytona-beach/IBOZKTZXXFD37KGVALI5RQW4EM/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">signed</a> a curriculum transparency bill in late March, while bills in other states have stalled.
Some parents have found themselves in nightmare situations over this issue. When Rhode Island mom Nicole Solas asked her school district what her kindergartener would be learning, she got sued by a major teachers union.
“When I called the school and asked, they said that they don’t call children &#8216;boys’ and ‘girls,’” she <a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.goldwaterinstitute.org/our-childrens-education-is-not-a-game-we-need-academic-transparency/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. “They said that they refrained from using gendered terminology in the classroom, and that they embed the values of gender identity into the classroom at every grade at an age-appropriate level. When I asked about Critical Race Theory, they said that they teach 5 year olds on the first Thanksgiving, this ridiculous question where they say, ‘What could have been done differently on the first Thanksgiving?’”
The school district informed Solas that the public records she requested on the curriculum would cost $74,000, and she was sued by the nation’s largest public-sector teachers union, the National Education Association.
Even public school teachers have spoken out about the transparency issues they have observed.
Kali Fontanilla was a high school English language teacher in the Salinas, California, school district when she <a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.goldwaterinstitute.org/teacher-blows-the-whistle-on-critical-race-theory-in-california-schools/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">blew the whistle</a> on Critical Race Theory (CRT) content in her classroom.
During the pandemic lockdown, Fontanilla was sharing the online remote learning platform with her fellow teachers and noticed that her students were failing their required ethnic studies course, including about 50% of the boys. When she looked at the curriculum, she was alarmed to find what she described as “Critical Race Theory 101 for my students,” including the definition of critical race theory, implicit bias, and inherent racism.
“I think what has happened is our public school systems and the curriculum makers have gone unchecked for so long,” Fontanilla told The Daily Wire. “And we just let it happen like that frog in a boiling pot and it’s slowly heating up. We didn’t even realize, and now the water is boiling and we’re like, our kids are being damaged currently. And so we need to do a lot of work to undo all of this garbage that’s in our schools right now, and on top of it, our kids are failing.”
Eventually, Fontanilla resigned from her teaching position and started her own fully accredited academy, the <a href="https://www.thinkexodus.org/about">Exodus Institute</a>, which includes a K-12 online school.

MPs Pressure PM To Announce Plan To Reopen Schools

Poll: Overwhelming Majorities In Four States Want More Curriculum Transparency

Iowa

Louisiana

Missouri

Poll

Public Schools

Teachers Unions

As many as 10,000 cattle have died amid <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/weather">triple-digit temperatures</a> in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/kansas">Kansas</a>, and more livestock could perish over the next several days, according to reports.
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment said at least 2,000 head of cattle succumbed to high heat and humidity as of Tuesday, spokesperson Matthew Lara said. The calculation is based on the number of carcasses the agency has been asked to help dispose of.
&#8220;It was essentially a perfect storm,&#8221; A.J. Tarpoff, beef extension veterinarian for Kansas State University, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/heat-humidity-kill-least-2000-kansas-cattle-state-says-2022-06-15/">told Reuters</a>.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Thousands of cattle suddenly died last weekend in Kansas. The reason given &#8211; high temperatures. <a href="https://t.co/Gd0I5k5eRP">pic.twitter.com/Gd0I5k5eRP</a>
&mdash; James Melville (@JamesMelville) <a href="https://twitter.com/JamesMelville/status/1537149934213992451?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 15, 2022</a></blockquote>
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The farming journal <a href="https://www.agweb.com/news/livestock/beef/cattle-losses-reported-due-heat-stress">AgWeb.com</a> reported the number of dead cows could be as high as 10,000, and more have been reported dead in neighboring Nebraska.
&#8220;During these bouts of extreme heat, the cattle can’t dissipate the heat at night because there’s not night cooling and so this perfect storm hits,” Veterinarian Dr. Dan Thomson of Iowa State University told the site. “No different than a tornado hitting a cattle feeding facility or a derecho or whatever and we have these natural disasters.”
Livestock on ranches in the western part of the state, which has 2.4 million cattle, suffered heat stress over the weekend as temperatures rose and cooling winds abated, said Scarlett Hagins, spokesperson for the Kansas Livestock Association. Temperatures reached as high as 108 degrees by Monday, Drew Lerner, president of World Weather, told Reuters. Temperatures could go even higher in the coming days, although officials believe wind and lower humidity levels could offer relief to the herds.
&#8220;It&#8217;s going to be oppressively hot and stressful for the animals,&#8221; Lerner said.
Ranchers are giving more water to their herds and checking on them with greater regularity.
“There’s mitigation strategies that we place, whether its nutrition, strategies for increasing water tank space and decreasing movement of cattle, all these things we’re doing on a day to day basis,” Thomson said.
The cattle deaths come as the ranching industry battles droughts and soaring feed costs linked to a global grain squeeze. In addition, extreme drought has left western and central Kansas parched. Experts project the state&#8217;s wheat yield to drop by more than 100 million bushels from last year&#8217;s harvest, costing farmers more than $1 billion.
&#8220;That is driven primarily from severe drought, particularly in the southwest part of the state, and to a certain degree in the south-central part of the state,&#8221; Ernie Minton, dean of Kansas State University&#8217;s College of Agriculture, <a href="https://news.yahoo.com/drought-conditions-across-much-kansas-104508704.html">told the Topeka Capital-Journal</a>.

Cattle

Up To 10,000 Cattle Die As Extreme Heat Bakes Kansas

drought

An American woman from Kansas confessed to leading a battalion of all-female <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/isis-k">ISIS</a> recruits and plotting terror attacks on American soil.
Allison Fluke-Ekren, also known by the alias Umm Mohammed al-Amrik, was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/kansas-woman-who-led-female-isis-battalion-detained-after-allegedly-recruiting-for-attack-on-american-college-wanted-max-casualties">originally detained</a> and charged by the FBI in January, and has <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-61727520">pleaded guilty</a> to one count of aiding ISIS and confessed to training over 100 women and girls. She also admitted to plotting attacks on American targets, specifically a university and a shopping mall.
“To conduct the attack, Fluke-Ekren allegedly explained that she could go to a shopping mall in the United States, park a vehicle full of explosives in the basement or parking garage level of the structure, and detonate the explosives in the vehicle with a cell phone triggering device. Fluke-Ekren allegedly considered any attack that did not kill a large number of individuals to be a waste of resources,” the Department of Justice stated.
Fluke-Ekren is a former school teacher and a mother of <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/07/us/politics/islamic-state-fluke-ekren.html">at least</a> seven children, five of whom were born on American soil, and left the United States for Egypt in 2008, before moving to Libya in 2011. According to court documents, Fluke-Ekren and “others with whom she traveled” were moved into Syria in 2012. Allegedly, Fluke-Ekren relocated because the terrorist group Ansar al-Sharia — the organization responsible for carrying out the 2012 attack on the American compound in Benghazi — had ceased conducting attacks in Libya, and Fluke-Ekren wanted to be involved in “violent jihad.” Court documents also revealed that her husband, who was killed in an airstrike in 2016, was also affiliated with Ansar al-Sharia and that the couple had drafted a report for terrorist leaders after analyzing government documents stolen during the attack.
While with ISIS, Fluke-Ekren led Khatiba Nusaybah, an all-female battalion operating in its de-facto capital of Raqqa, Syria. Her main role was providing weapons training to women and children, primarily with AK-47s, grenades, and suicide vests. Fluke-Ekren testified that she did not know that some of the trainees were underage, claiming &#8220;we didn&#8217;t intentionally train any young girls,” according to <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/07/politics/isis-allison-fluke-ekren-plea/index.html">CNN</a>.
According to witnesses at her trial, Fluke-Ekren’s radicalization levels were “off the charts” and “an 11 or 12” out of 10.
Fluke-Ekren will be sentenced in October and faces up to 20 years imprisonment.

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Kansas Woman Confesses To Leading All Female ISIS Battalion

Crime

Criminal Justice

ISIS

Syria

Former University of Kansas soccer star Regan Noelle Gibbs is dead at the age of 25, and her husband Chad Joseph Marek, 26, has been charged with murder.
According to <a href="https://www.wibw.com/2022/05/17/lawrence-man-arrested-murder-suspect/">local news source</a> WIBW, officers from the Lawrence Police Department responded to a call from a north Lawrence home around 7:30 pm on Monday. Upon arrival, they found a woman with fatal injuries who was pronounced dead by medical personnel at the scene.
The woman was <a href="https://www.kansascity.com/news/local/article261555902.html">later identified</a> as Regan Gibbs, who was a goalkeeper at KU from 2015-2018. Marek was with her when authorities arrived, and he was arrested at the scene on suspicion of murder. According to a report from the Kansas City Star, authorities believe that domestic violence played a role in the former soccer star&#8217;s death.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
We are heartbroken about the loss of Regan Gibbs 💔
We share our deepest condolences to Regan’s family, friends and teammates.
More information → <a href="https://t.co/9reH5e2hry">https://t.co/9reH5e2hry</a> <a href="https://t.co/1id7golZHE">pic.twitter.com/1id7golZHE</a>
&mdash; Kansas Soccer (@KUWSoccer) <a href="https://twitter.com/KUWSoccer/status/1526732399622729730?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 18, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Marek was initially held at the Douglas County jail on $1 million bond — the prosecutor argued that a high bail amount was warranted due to the &#8220;excessive brutality&#8221; of the murder, and &#8220;because the defendant was adamant that what he did was justified.&#8221;
Officials stated that Marek was the one who placed the 911 call, and that he informed law enforcement that God had instructed him to kill his wife.
&#8220;Police have not released the cause of Gibbs’ death pending the results of an autopsy,&#8221; The Lawrence Times reported. &#8220;But Lawrence Police Chief Rich Lockhart said there was blunt force trauma involved. Marek called 911 Monday night and told dispatchers that God told him to kill his wife, Lockhart said.&#8221;
Marek made his <a href="https://lawrencekstimes.com/2022/05/17/lpd-murder-update-dv/">first court appearance</a> on Monday, when he was formally charged with his wife&#8217;s murder — and when asked if he would like to have an attorney provided to represent him, he replied simply: &#8220;Jesus Christ is my attorney.&#8221;
KU soccer coach Mark Francis issued a <a href="https://kuathletics.com/kansas-soccer-mourns-loss-of-former-student-athlete-regan-gibbs/">statement</a> upon learning of Gibbs&#8217; passing, saying, &#8220;Our soccer program is heartbroken to hear about the tragic loss of Regan. She was a tremendous teammate and young woman, and touched so many during her time at Kansas. Regan will always be remembered for the impact she had both on and off the field. We share our condolences to her family, friends and teammates during this difficult time.&#8221;
&#8220;Our KU family sends our love, support and prayers to Regan’s family, friends and former teammates as we all mourn her loss,&#8221; KU Athletic Director Travis Goff added.
Gibbs, according to a GoFundMe page set up by her cousin Hannah Lewis, is survived by her mother and four sisters. &#8220;Regan was only 25, a beautiful, kindhearted girl who loved Jesus and people. She had a big heart for the homeless an hoped to go back to school to become a Physicians Assistant to do mission work.&#8221;

Chalk Outline at Police Crime Scene

Former Kansas Soccer Star Dead At 25, Husband Arrested On $1 Million Bond

Former Kansas Soccer Goalie Star Dead At 25, Husband Arrested On $1 Million Bond

Domestic Violence

Soccer

Violent Crime

Three college students were killed in a car crash while returning from storm chasing in Kansas late Friday evening.
The students, who were studying meteorology at the University of Oklahoma, were identified as 20-year-old Nicholas Nair of Denton, Texas; 19-year old Gavin Short of Grayslake, Illinois; and 22-year old Drake Brooks of Evansville, Indiana. 
“The three were in a vehicle being driven by Nair southbound on Interstate 35 when the vehicle hydroplaned and was struck by a tractor-trailer rig in Tonkawa, about 85 miles (137 kilometers) north of Oklahoma City,” CBS News <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/tornado-kansas-university-of-oklahoma-students-killed/">reported</a>. 
According to Oklahoma Highway Patrol, the car the students were in veered into the left lane due to rainy conditions when the tractor-trailer rig then hit it. 
“Before they could exit their vehicle, a semi came along in the rain and struck them broadside in the interstate,” Oklahoma Highway Patrol Lt. Phillip Ludwyck of Oklahoma said. 
“It’s just heartbreaking to think we lost three very talented young men. Our hearts and our prayers, just as an agency and as Oklahomans, goes out to the families,” he added. “You know, they lost sons in just a tragic, tragic accident.”
Fellow meteorological student and friend, Brayden Siau, was surprised at how “sudden” the loss was, according to Fox46. “It’s just so sudden,” he said. “They’re just gone, I really don’t know… It’s awful.” 
Siau added that the three students said they had a good time in Kansas and talked to their parents “to tell them how excited they were” after the experience. 
&#8220;The university is devastated to learn of the tragic passing of three students. Each were valued and loved members of our community,” the University of Oklahoma said in a statement. 
The tornado that the students had been chasing hit a 13-mile stretch of south-central Kansas and caused damage to more than 1,000 buildings. Wind speeds reached up to 165 miles per hour and the tornado was reportedly on the ground for at least twenty minutes. 
No one was killed in the storm, but four people were injured. The tornado hit Andover, a suburb of Wichita, especially hard. Between 300 and 400 buildings in the area were destroyed, according to Fire Chief Chad Russell.  
Sixteen-thousand people also lost power during the storm, with 15,000 getting power back by Sunday morning. 
&#8220;The city of Andover will be affected by this for years,&#8221; Russell said. &#8220;We still have scars from 1991 (EF-5 tornado). I&#8217;m so thankful this tornado was not as bad as that, but we will literally be doing this for years.&#8221;

Flashing lights on a police car

Three Students Killed In Car Crash After Storm Chasing Tornado In Kansas

Oklahoma

Students

Tornado

The Democratic governor of Kansas has vetoed a bill banning biological males from women&#8217;s sports and another protecting parents&#8217; rights in education.
SB 160, the Fairness in Women&#8217;s Sports Act, <a href="http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2021_22/measures/documents/summary_sb_160_2022">would have required</a> &#8220;interscholastic, intercollegiate, intramural, or club athletic teams or sports that are sponsored by public educational institutions to be designated based on biological sex.&#8221;
SB 58 <a href="http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2021_22/measures/documents/summary_sb_58_2022">would have established</a> a &#8220;Parents&#8217; Bill Of Rights&#8221; stating that &#8220;all parents have a right to direct the upbringing, education, care, and mental health of their child&#8221; and the right to &#8220;direct the education and care of the parent’s child and the right to direct the upbringing and moral or religious training of the parent’s child.&#8221;
The bills were driven by conservative Republicans and mirror similarly constructed legislation passed in other states. The issues will likely play a big role in Republican midterm messaging.
Republican state Senator Ty Masterson said that Gov. Laura Kelly vetoed the measure because she is &#8220;largely controlled by the hard left,&#8221; <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-politics-and-policy/kansas-governor-vetoes-bills-trans-athletes-parental-rights-rcna24806">NBC News reported</a>.
“It’s about protecting the woman who worked and trained all her life and should not have her hard work wiped out by being forced to compete on unlevel playing fields,” Masterson said.
Kelly herself said that Republicans were politically driven in pushing the measures and that the bill banning biological males from women&#8217;s sports was &#8220;divisive&#8221; and would harm the state&#8217;s economy, the publication reported.
“It’s harmful to students and their families, and it’s bad for business,” said Kelly, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/kansas-government-and-politics-321b19c681fe78be837bde945c0f6aa4">who vetoed</a> a similar bill last year.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Thank you Kansas Governor Laura Kelly for vetoing two anti-LGBTQ bills. SB 58 would give parents the ability to ban books which mention LGBTQ identity, and SB 160 which would ban trans athletes. Both cynically politicize our lives to score votes:<a href="https://t.co/Q9HSJlvIaZ">https://t.co/Q9HSJlvIaZ</a>
&mdash; National Center for Transgender Equality (@TransEquality) <a href="https://twitter.com/TransEquality/status/1516148813714673664?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 18, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Kansas Republican Attorney General Derek Schmidt, Kelly&#8217;s presumed gubernatorial opponent, has said that he would sign the bill.
At least 29 states in the U.S. have made moves to craft or pass legislation banning biological males from women’s sports, <a href="https://www.aclu.org/legislation-affecting-lgbtq-rights-across-country">according to data compiled</a> by the American Civil Liberties Union.
Other Republican-backed legislation <a href="https://dailycaller.com/2021/04/12/here-are-the-states-that-want-to-ban-trans-surgeries-for-minors/">bans minors</a> from obtaining transgender surgeries and hormones — medical interventions that advocates and many in the legacy media <a href="https://dailycaller.com/2021/06/14/walt-heyer-lgbtQ-transgender/">frame</a> as “gender-affirming medical care.”
During his State of the Union address, President Joe Biden urged lawmakers to enact the radically progressive Equality Act, criticizing the “onslaught of state laws targeting transgender Americans and their families.”
“As I said last year, especially to our younger transgender Americans, I’ll always have your back as your president so you can be yourself and reach your God-given potential,” Biden added.
Perhaps most recently, Oklahoma Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/oklahoma-governor-signs-bill-banning-biological-males-from-womens-sports">signed a bill</a> on March 30 banning biological males from women’s sports.
Stitt called the legislation “common sense,” pointing to the physiological advantages that biological men have over women, and thanked legislators for “doing the hard work” to put the bill on his desk.
“When it comes to sports and athletics, girls should compete against girls,” he said. “Boys should compete against boys. And let’s be very clear. That’s all this bill says.”
Only a few days earlier, Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis signed the state’s Parental Rights in Education legislation, a bill banning classroom discussions of gender identity and sexual orientation for little children.
The governor promised that parents have a “fundamental” role in the education, upbringing, and healthcare of their children, insisting that he will <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/desantis-undeterred-by-disney-criticism-of-florida-parental-rights-bill">never cave to pressure</a> from outside groups like Disney on this matter. (Disclosure: The Daily Wire has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/videos/introducing-dw-kids">announced</a> plans for kids entertainment content.)
The bill has been wildly misrepresented as “Don’t Say Gay” legislation by critics who <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/floridas-lgbtq-bill-is-being-wildly-misrepresented-here-are-the-facts">most notably taken issue</a> with HB 1557’s statement that “classroom instruction by school personnel or third parties on sexual orientation or gender identity may not occur in kindergarten through grade 3 or in a manner that is not age appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards.”
Students in kindergarten are typically five years old, while third graders generally are eight or nine years old.
Nowhere in the legislation is the word “gay” mentioned, though the word “parent” is mentioned 32 times and the word “parental” is mentioned eight times. The legislation heavily focuses on parental notification and parental awareness of what children are being taught or exposed to in school.

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Kansas Governor Vetoes Bills Banning Biological Males From Women’s Sports, Protecting Parental Education Rights

Parental Rights in Education

Transgender Athletes

NEW ORLEANS &#8211; 148 days ago, on November 9, the 2021-2022 college basketball season began with great uncertainty. 
The two prior Final Four’s were drastically impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, we experienced an all-out cancellation of the NCAA tournament, a devastating blow to fans of the sport. In 2021, March Madness didn’t have nearly the same feel, as the entire tournament was played inside of a bubble in Indianapolis. 
No one knew what to expect as the 2021-2022 college basketball season commenced, but we’ve made it through — largely unscathed — and we have ourselves a national champion. 
On Monday night at the Superdome in New Orleans, Kansas won its fourth national title, defeating North Carolina 72-69, pulling off the largest comeback in national championship game history. 
It was the ultimate tale of two halves for Kansas, who went into halftime down 15 — they were down by as much as 16 — after North Carolina went on an 18-3 run to end the first half. Senior forward Brady Manek was three of five from beyond the arc in the first half, and Armando Bacot chipped in 12 points and 10 rebounds, three coming on the offensive glass.  
But Kansas came out with a different energy with its season on the line, responding with a 31-10 run of their own, taking a 56-50 lead with 10:23 left in the second half. Christian Braun had 10 points during the run, with Jalen Wilson adding eight points of his own. 
Transfer guard Remy Martin was huge off the bench, contributing 14 points with three massive shots from beyond the arc in the second half. David McCormack had 15 points and 10 rebounds for Kansas, and Braun finishing with a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds. 
Sophomore guard Caleb Love missed the tying three at the buzzer for North Carolina. Love finished the night with 13 points on 5-24 shooting from the field.
It’s the second championship for Kansas under head coach Bill Self and the school&#8217;s first since 2008. Self has taken some heat over the years for some of his teams early NCAA tournaments exits.
“We’ve had some really terrific seasons and some teams that came up short,” Self said on Sunday. “And I do think that when you have as many good teams as we’ve had — at most places winning one national championship would be quite the accomplishment — I think as many good teams as we’ve had, one’s not enough.” 
“So, I don’t think that I personally feel pressure that we have to win,” Self continued. “But I do know that when you have a chance to coach at a place where you have an opportunity to be in the game most years, you need to take advantage of that more than we have.”
With the retirement of Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski, someone has to take over the mantle as the preeminent coach in college basketball, and with his second title and 19 seasons at Kansas, Self would be one of the obvious choices. 
&#8220;We&#8217;ve lost some icons due to retirement that have been the pillars of our profession for a while,&#8221; Self said Sunday. &#8220;And I think that all coaches my age — I don&#8217;t think that you&#8217;re going to see any person step into a role like Coach K&#8217;s had or anything like that.&#8221;
&#8220;And I think there&#8217;s numerous coaches out there, including myself, that need to have a voice and be active and responsible in helping those changes occur,&#8221; Self added.
Joe Morgan is the Sports Reporter for The Daily Wire. Most recently, Morgan covered the Clippers, Lakers and the NBA for Sporting News. Send your sports questions to sports@dailywire.com.
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
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North Carolina v Kansas

National Champions: Kansas Pulls Off Largest Comeback In Championship Game History

College basketball

NCAA

North Carolina

A Kansas state legislator was arrested over the weekend, his second arrest in the span of a month, prompting renewed calls for him to resign or be removed from office.
Aaron Coleman, the embattled 21-year-old state representative from Kansas City, was arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated by Kansas State Police on Interstate 70 near Lawrence, at around 1 o’clock Saturday morning, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/crime-arrests-kansas-city-kansas-lawrence-c876d564826fdfeebc29b002a3298492">The Associated Press</a> reported. He was subsequently detained at the Douglas County Jail, where he was later released after posting bond. 
Coleman, a Democrat, was already out on bond for a previous arrest when he was arrested on Saturday. That arrest stemmed from a domestic battery charge on October 30. Police officers alleged in an affidavit at the time that Coleman pushed, hit, and spit on his 18-year-old brother during a fight that broke out between the two after the younger brother said he was going to be baptized. Police said that Coleman was “uncooperative” with officers responding to the scene, and was “extremely erratic” after the fight, the AP reported, citing court documents from the time. 
Coleman has faced significant scrutiny since he was elected to the Kansas State Legislature in 2020. Coleman defeated seven-term incumbent State Rep. Stan Frownfelter by just 14 votes in the Democratic Primary, despite admitting before the primary began that he had engaged in revenge porn and cyberbullying young girls while he was in middle school. The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/teenage-democrat-running-for-kansas-state-house-drops-out-after-revenge-porn-admission">reported</a> at the time:
<blockquote>Coleman claimed he shared the nude photo of the girl seven years earlier because she wouldn’t agree to send him more nudes. The girl, now 20 years old, told The New York Times last week that she didn’t know Coleman when he made the threat to release her nude picture and believed he found her picture through Snapchat…
Coleman also did not dispute a report in the Kansas City Star detailing his harassment of girls when he was in middle school. One girl, who is now 18, told the outlet she attempted suicide due to Coleman’s abuse. She said Coleman was constantly “calling me fat, telling me to kill myself, like I’m never going to find anyone, like I’m worthless, just downgrading me every day.” The woman also said she “was just in disbelief that another man that doesn’t respect women is in power.”
A third woman told the Star that Coleman “harassed me for months, it got so bad that he found out my family’s home phone and wouldn’t stop calling it until we picked up.”</blockquote>
Those allegations, coupled with other social media posts mocking Republicans who were infected with and died from COVID-19, as well as his father’s sudden hospitalization, caused Coleman to suspend his campaign briefly, but he reversed course days later and won his election, <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/583361-21-year-old-kansas-lawmaker-arrested-for-second-time-in-a-month?rl=1">The Hill</a> reported. Coleman received a reprimand from a state legislative committee over those allegations in February.
Coleman was barred from the offices of the Kansas Department of Labor last month over allegations of “disruptive behavior,” the AP reported. Coleman defended himself, saying he was trying to help his constituents. 
Democratic Kansas Governor Laura Kelly and House Democratic Leader Tom Sawyer responded to Coleman’s latest arrest. Kelly said in a statement that Coleman is “not fit to serve” and that his “continued presence in the Legislature is a disservice to his constituents.” Both Kelly and Sawyer told local news outlets, via The Hill, that Coleman should resign and seek “the help he badly needs.”

Kansas State Capitol Building.

Controversial Democratic Kansas State Legislator Arrested For Second Time In A Month

Drunk Driving

Politicians in Kansas are expressing bipartisan support to cut the state&#8217;s food tax in an effort to combat rising food prices caused in part by inflation, reports <a href="https://justthenews.com/nation/states/eliminating-food-sales-tax-gets-bipartisan-support-amidst-inflation-woes">Just the News</a>. Accordingly, several other of the 14 states that have a food or grocery tax are also seeking to cut the tax.
In early November, Kansas Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly <a href="https://governor.kansas.gov/governor-laura-kelly-announces-axe-the-food-tax-plan-to-eliminate-state-sales-tax-on-food/">announced her</a> &#8220;Axe the Food Tax&#8221; plan, which would eliminate the state&#8217;s 6.5% tax on groceries.
&#8220;For too long, Kansans have been paying more for groceries than people in almost every other state,&#8221; Gov. Kelly said at the time. &#8220;This legislation will save the average Kansas family $500 dollars or more a year on their grocery bill; and thanks to the fiscally responsible decisions we made before and during the pandemic, we can cut the food sales tax and keep Kansas’ budget intact.&#8221;
&#8220;This tax cut will put money back in Kansans’ pockets and create real savings for those who need it most,&#8221; she added.
According to Gov. Kelly, the plan would make it so that a &#8220;Kansas family of four will save an average of $500 or more on their grocery bill every year.&#8221;
The desire to cut taxes on groceries has been expressed by Gov. Kelly&#8217;s gubernatorial opponent, current Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt, as well.
But, Schmidt was quick to point out that this idea is not new, and that Gov. Kelly has not acted upon it since coming into office despite promising to do so in 2018.
&#8220;This issue has had bipartisan support since long before Laura Kelly was governor,&#8221; Schmidt recently <a href="https://www.cjonline.com/story/news/politics/2021/11/05/derek-schmidt-asks-lawmakers-cut-kansas-sales-tax-food-groceries-inflation/6298857001/">told</a> The Topeka Capital-Journal. &#8220;It&#8217;s true that then-candidate Kelly campaigned on this in 2018, and it&#8217;s also true that three years into her administration she has completely failed to deliver on that promise.&#8221;
More recently, rising food prices have only exacerbated the state&#8217;s high food tax. As reported by Just The News, &#8220;the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index shows a 5.4% increase in the cost of goods since September 2020. The meats, poultry, fish, and eggs index increased 10.5%, and beef alone rose 17.6%.&#8221;
Kansas is not alone in wanting to find new ways to save state residents money. Notably in Virginia, one of the key economic issues that Governor-Elect Glenn Youngkin ran on was cutting the grocery tax.
Recently, Youngkin promised that pledge would be part of his &#8220;day-one&#8221; plan.
&#8220;The grocery tax is a regressive tax. The folks that can least afford it are paying the same as folks that can afford it, so this is why I&#8217;m so focused on making sure we get rid of the grocery tax,&#8221; Youngkin said according to <a href="https://wset.com/news/local/how-youngkins-plan-to-repeal-virginias-grocery-tax-could-impact-your-wallet-glenn-governor-elect-virginia-lynchburg">ABC 13</a>.
In response to the proposed Virginia tax cut, economist Gerald Prante stated, &#8220;If you look at the typical family of four in the Lynchburg area, this would save about $165 per year with the elimination of the sales tax on groceries.&#8221;
&#8220;In the long run, with the prices of everything climbing, I think it will give people a bit of a price break,&#8221; Evangeline Anderson, of Anderson&#8217;s Country Market in Amherst, added.
And in Utah, activists are confident that they can secure a citizen ballot initiative to cut the sales tax even if the GOP Gov. Spencer Cox and the state legislature cannot work out a deal to repeal the existing tax.
However, last week, Cox told<a href="https://www.fox13now.com/news/local-news/activists-call-on-the-utah-legislature-to-eliminate-the-sales-tax-on-food"> Fox 13</a>, &#8220;We are going to to do a tax cut this year. I think there’s broad agreement on that. What that looks like? We’re working on some ideas around that.&#8221;
&#8220;Maybe a tax credit for families that will help them with food and the rising inflation we’re seeing right now,&#8221; he added.
As for Kansas, Dave Trabert, CEO of Kansas Policy Institute, reiterated that the food tax alone is not responsible for high food prices.
&#8220;Washington’s reckless government spending is causing unprecedented inflation,&#8221;  Trabert told<a href="https://justthenews.com/nation/states/eliminating-food-sales-tax-gets-bipartisan-support-amidst-inflation-woes"> The Center Square</a>. &#8220;That, and the high food sales tax in Kansas, makes it hard for some people to put food on the table.&#8221;
&#8220;Kansas has the second-highest tax on food because Gov. Kelly and many legislators are addicted to spending the money it produces,&#8221; Trabert added. &#8220;The food sales tax should go away, but spending must also be reduced, so the tax burden isn’t shifted elsewhere.&#8221;
Youngkin, Cox, and Kelly have all indicated that the potential food tax cuts will occur in the 2022 legislative year.

Consumer Prices See Largest Increases In 30 Years

Republicans and Dems Across America Want to Cut Food Taxes to Combat Inflation

Glenn Youngkin

Taxes

Virginia

Kansas Democrat Governor Laura Kelly came out against Democrat President Joe Biden’s vaccine mandate on Friday, saying that she does not believe it’s the best solution and that it’s too late to implement it.
&#8220;Yesterday, I reviewed the new vaccine mandate from the Biden Administration,&#8221; she said. &#8220;While I appreciate the intention to keep people safe, a goal I share, I don’t believe this directive is the correct, or the most effective, solution for Kansas.&#8221;
&#8220;States have been leading the fight against COVID-19 from the start of the pandemic,&#8221; she continued. &#8220;It is too late to impose a federal standard now that we have already developed systems and strategies that are tailored for our specific needs. I will seek a resolution that continues to recognize the uniqueness of our state and builds on our on-going efforts to combat a once-in-a-century crisis.&#8221;
Kelly&#8217;s statement comes after the Biden administration announced this week that the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) would require businesses with 100 or more employees to get their employees vaccinated or test for the coronavirus on a weekly basis.
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-federal-court-freezes-biden-vaccine-mandate-over-possible-grave-statutory-and-constitutional-issues">issued</a> a stay on Saturday temporarily halting the vaccine mandate, writing in a ruling:
<blockquote>Before the court is the petitioners’ emergency motion to stay enforcement of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s November 5, 2021 Emergency Temporary Standard (the “Mandate”) pending expedited judicial review.
Because the petitions give cause to believe there are grave statutory and constitutional issues with the Mandate, the Mandate is hereby STAYED pending further action by this court.</blockquote>
Immediately following the release of the OSHA rule, The Daily Wire was the first major company to file a lawsuit against the Biden administration, as the company noted in a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/jeremy-boreing-explains-daily-wires-lawsuit-over-joe-bidens-vax-order-grotesque-abuse-of-power">report</a> on Thursday:
<blockquote>The lawsuit does not take a position on whether someone should receive the vaccine or not, only against Biden’s mandate, announced earlier this year and unveiled on Thursday morning. The mandate applies to all companies with 100 or more employees and forces those businesses to police the vaccine status of their employees. The Daily Wire, with over 100 employees, falls under the mandate.
The Daily Wire’s lawsuit seeks to overturn Biden’s executive action, arguing that the order is unconstitutional and that the Biden administration violated federal law in drafting it.</blockquote>
Jeremy Boreing, co-founder and co-CEO of The Daily Wire, explained the company’s decision, saying, “We’re not the enforcement arm of the federal government.”
“Forcing Americans to choose between their livelihoods and their freedom is a grotesque abuse of power and we won’t be a party to it,” Boreing added. “We will not incur the cost of implementing this testing regime. We will not incur the liability of inserting ourselves into the private health decisions and information of our employees. Our company was founded to stand against tyranny, and we will.”
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/top-house-senate-republicans-move-to-kill-bidens-unconstitutional-vaccine-mandate">Top House, Senate Republicans Move To Kill Biden’s ‘Unconstitutional’ Vaccine Mandate</a>
This report has been updated to include additional information.

President Biden Delivers Remarks On The Passage Of Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal

Democrat Governor Comes Out Against Biden Vaccine Mandate: It’s Not ‘Correct, Or The Most Effective’

Biden Administration

Vaccine Mandate

The Kansas Legislature voted to override Democratic Governor Laura Kelly’s veto of a couple of election reform bills Monday.
Inspired by controversies from the 2020 election, the bills aimed to prevent similar fights from taking place in future elections. Kelly vetoed the bills last month claiming that the legislation was “designed to disenfranchise Kansans,” according to the <a href="https://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article251135959.html">Kansas City Star</a>.
Republican state Sen. Caryn Tyson rejected the governor’s characterization of the bills and said the new legislation would secure “voter accuracy” in later elections: “Every single vote matters and the accuracy matters. This bill is not about voter suppression it is about voter accuracy and making sure every legal vote counts.”
The Star described each bill:
<blockquote>House Bill 2332 prohibits the executive and judicial branches of government from altering election laws. It also prevents the Secretary of State from entering into consent decrees with a court without legislative approval. …
House Bill 2183 focuses largely on mail-in voting. It limits who is permitted to return a mail-in ballot for another person and makes it a misdemeanor for one person to return more than 10 mail-in ballots. The measure also requires the signature on a mail ballot to match the signature election officials have on file, creating a potential for votes to be discarded, and bans the Secretary of State from extending mail-in vote deadlines.
The bill also makes it illegal to backdate a postmark on a ballot and bars election offices from accepting money from any entity other than the state for administering elections.</blockquote>
Republicans in many states have pushed new election integrity measures since the 2020 election to restore trust in elections and prevent a number of issues that came up amid the COVID-19 pandemic. During the pandemic, executives and courts made changes to state election laws while bypassing the legislature.
Republican Georgia Governor Brian Kemp signed legislation in March reforming Georgia’s election laws after his state received national scrutiny during the 2020 election. As <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/gop-gov-kemp-signs-massive-election-integrity-bill-protesting-democrat-cuffed-outside-kemps-office">The Daily Wire</a> reported at the time:
<blockquote>The legislation seeks to tighten up elections and reduce fraud by enforcing conformity across the state, amping up voter ID, restricting drop boxes, and expanding in-person voting, among additional election-related overhauls.
“With Senate Bill 202, Georgia will take another step toward ensuring our elections are secure, accessible and fair,” Kemp <a href="https://www.gpb.org/news/2021/03/25/kemp-signs-96-page-omnibus-elections-bill">said</a> Thursday. “Ensuring the integrity of the ballot box isn’t partisan, it’s about protecting the very foundation of who we are as Georgians and Americans.”</blockquote>
Democrats and large corporations have ripped the new Georgia laws. Major League Baseball (MLB) went as far as pulling its 2021 all-star game and draft out of the state in protest of the election integrity measures, drawing backlash from Georgians, including local Democrats.
Kemp later ripped Democrats and the MLB for caving to “cancel culture” while lying about what the election reforms actually do.
“It’s unfortunate that Major League Baseball has caved to the cancel culture, and quite honestly, President Biden and Stacey Abrams and a lot of other people are simply lying about this bill to pressure these organizations,” Kemp <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/georgia-gop-governor-rips-mlb-for-caving-to-cancel-culture-says-president-biden-is-lying-about-voting-reform-bill">said</a> in an April appearance on Fox News. “This is just a cancel culture, and I’ll tell you, the people at home should be scared because their ballgame is next, their business will be next, their way of life will be next. It is time to stand up and fight this and say, ‘look, we’re not going to take this anymore.’ It’s ridiculous.”

Laura Kelly

Kansas Legislature Rallies Around Election Integrity Reforms, Overrides Democratic Governor’s Veto

Election Laws

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