The U.S. bombers struck three sites in Iran early Sunday, according to a statement from President Donald Trump.&nbsp; The Pentagon held a press briefing to provide additional details on the mission.

<p>The U.S. bombers struck three sites in Iran early Sunday, according to a statement from President Donald Trump.&nbsp; The Pentagon held a press briefing to provide additional details on the mission.</p><p>(click the videos below to watch)</p><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair Gen. Dan Caine (<a href="https://twitter.com/thejointstaff?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@thejointstaff</a>) on Operation MIDNIGHT HAMMER: &quot;This was the largest B-2 operation strike in U.S. history.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/VeyUjP84JT">pic.twitter.com/VeyUjP84JT</a></p>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1936763649411973190?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 22, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth (<a href="https://twitter.com/SecDef?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SecDef</a>): &quot;We devastated the Iran nuclear program...Iran&#39;s nuclear ambitions have been obliterated.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/39zW06zFtm">pic.twitter.com/39zW06zFtm</a></p>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1936761039011414133?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 22, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>

🎥Pentagon: Dramatic details of Iran bombing 'Operation Midnight Hammer'

<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Tonight, President Trump and our brave military demonstrated the importance of strength in pursuit of peace. <br><br>We strongly support the President’s actions against Iranian nuclear facilities.<br><br>Missourians are proud of the men and women from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri.</p>&mdash; Governor Mike Kehoe (@GovMikeKehoe) <a href="https://twitter.com/GovMikeKehoe/status/1936611210054828112?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 22, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">President Trump is a foreign policy realist not an ideologue. He has taken limited military action to achieve a crucial objective that is in the core national interest of the United States: preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons.<br><br>He doesn’t want another Forever War. He…</p>&mdash; Eric Schmitt (@Eric_Schmitt) <a href="https://twitter.com/Eric_Schmitt/status/1936599592659017852?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 22, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Iran must never be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon. Peace through strength. <a href="https://t.co/o3Z2otW7Md">pic.twitter.com/o3Z2otW7Md</a></p>&mdash; Rep. Sam Graves (@RepSamGraves) <a href="https://twitter.com/RepSamGraves/status/1936583064089444756?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 22, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">As the Congressman for Whiteman AFB, I’ve been saying for weeks that our airmen in the 509th bomber wing are ready, capable, and lethal.<br><br>Tonight, they showed the world what they can do to protect American interests and keep our citizens safe.<br><br>MO-04 strong! <a href="https://t.co/osuwoTvzhl">pic.twitter.com/osuwoTvzhl</a></p>&mdash; Rep. Mark Alford (@RepMarkAlford) <a href="https://twitter.com/RepMarkAlford/status/1936585247002689914?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 22, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Iran is an adversary of the U.S. and should not be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon. Tonight our military executed its mission professionally and courageously. I pray for the safety of all our troops in the region, and we must be vigilant in protecting against any Iranian…</p>&mdash; Senator Jerry Moran (@JerryMoran) <a href="https://twitter.com/JerryMoran/status/1936606358041751563?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 22, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Iran was given every chance to get rid of its nuclear program, but instead of choosing peace the Ayatollah embraced violence and chaos. <br><br>President Trump was absolutely right to send our bombers in and strike the Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan nuclear facilities, and this decision…</p>&mdash; Ann Wagner (@RepAnnWagner) <a href="https://twitter.com/RepAnnWagner/status/1936598761448337749?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 22, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Thank you to our brave American Air Force and their successful mission as no Americans were harmed.<br><br>We stand tall with President Trump who is protecting the world from a nuclear capable Iran. <a href="https://t.co/MLWc1FbPF9">https://t.co/MLWc1FbPF9</a></p>&mdash; Dr. Roger Marshall (@RogerMarshallMD) <a href="https://twitter.com/RogerMarshallMD/status/1936591179078086896?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 22, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>

Missouri lawmakers comment on US bombing of Iran

<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">President Donald J. Trump Delivers Address to the Nation, June 21, 2025 <a href="https://t.co/yutRDvtWv0">https://t.co/yutRDvtWv0</a></p>&mdash; The White House (@WhiteHouse) <a href="https://twitter.com/WhiteHouse/status/1936602999553433965?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 22, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FWhiteHouse%2Fposts%2Fpfbid0eDnzuBAGJkTkYPzYhbNGHiGVMjbEJr79xgwPEwbCPQDaoDyvNppzHEyJQ8KSMtbfl&show_text=true&width=500" width="500" height="645" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share"></iframe></div>

🎥 President Trump address to the nation after attack on Iran

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/6/1750540951558.png" alt="FILE PHOTO -- The B-2 Spirit is a multi-role bomber capable of delivering both conventional and nuclear munitions.&nbsp; (U.S. Air Force photo by Bobbie Garcia)" />
                        <figcaption>FILE PHOTO -- The B-2 Spirit is a multi-role bomber capable of delivering both conventional and nuclear munitions.&nbsp; (U.S. Air Force photo by Bobbie Garcia)</figcaption>
                    </figure><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="zxx" dir="ltr"><a href="https://t.co/wu9mMkxtUg">pic.twitter.com/wu9mMkxtUg</a></p>&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1936573183634645387?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 21, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/6/1750552826391.png" alt="President Trump arriving back at the White House Saturday afternoon" />
                        <figcaption>President Trump arriving back at the White House Saturday afternoon</figcaption>
                    </figure><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="zxx" dir="ltr"><a href="https://t.co/5z5p2JMPf1">pic.twitter.com/5z5p2JMPf1</a></p>&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1936578685986910309?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 22, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="zxx" dir="ltr"><a href="https://t.co/C5vWu396WF">pic.twitter.com/C5vWu396WF</a></p>&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1936587221483577642?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 22, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>

President Trump: US attacked three Iranian nuclear sites

KANSAS CITY – An Ozark, Missouri man pleaded guilty in federal court today to one count of attempting to evade or defeat taxation, according to the United State's Attorney.

<a href="https://www.courts.mo.gov/file/SC96223_McMillin_brief.pdf">Click here to read the</a> respondent's brief

Ryan J. McMillin, 52, admitted during his plea that he did not report income he received while employed as a timeshare salesman with four different companies from 2018 to 2023. Because McMillin claimed exempt status on his W-4s his employers did not withhold taxes from McMillin’s paychecks. McMillin also failed to make an income tax return or pay income taxes to the IRS for those six calendar years. McMillin owes the IRS an estimated $581,981 in unpaid taxes.

Under federal statutes, McMillin is subject to a sentence of up to five years in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Casey Clark. It was investigated by IRS-Criminal Investigations.

<p>KANSAS CITY – An Ozark, Missouri man pleaded guilty in federal court today to one count of attempting to evade or defeat taxation, according to the United State's Attorney.</p><p><a href="https://www.courts.mo.gov/file/SC96223_McMillin_brief.pdf">Click here to read the</a> respondent's brief</p><p>Ryan J. McMillin, 52, admitted during his plea that he did not report income he received while employed as a timeshare salesman with four different companies from 2018 to 2023. Because McMillin claimed exempt status on his W-4s his employers did not withhold taxes from McMillin’s paychecks. McMillin also failed to make an income tax return or pay income taxes to the IRS for those six calendar years. McMillin owes the IRS an estimated $581,981 in unpaid taxes.</p><p>Under federal statutes, McMillin is subject to a sentence of up to five years in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.</p><p>This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Casey Clark. It was investigated by IRS-Criminal Investigations.</p>

Read the brief: Timeshare salesman admits attempting to skip paying taxes

BY:&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/rudi-keller/">RUDI KELLER</a><br><a href="https://missouriindependent.com/briefs/missouri-senate-committee-advances-bill-to-ban-texting-while-driving/"><i>Missouri Independent</i></a>

Fees for new licenses and vehicle registrations would increase 50% to attract bidders under legislation on the governor’s desk

When the state announced the Caruthersville license office was going to close, residents needing to renew registrations or driver license were directed to the closest open offices in Kennett, New Madrid and Malden.&nbsp;

Those communities are all at least an hour, round-trip, from Caruthersville. The inconvenience would be compounded if, after waiting in line, the transaction couldn’t be completed for lack of a required document.

The Missouri Department of Revenue was quick to note motorists renewing vehicle registrations — but not new vehicle registrations or drivers license transactions —&nbsp;<a href="https://dor.mo.gov/motor-vehicle/plates/" target="_blank">could do so online</a>.

But the situation in Caruthersville is not unique, as a growing number of license offices around the state are shuttering — currently at least six of 175 — with dozens more operating under an expired contract.

<a href="https://www.senate.mo.gov/25info/BTS_Web/Bill.aspx?SessionType=R&amp;BillID=235" target="_blank">A bill</a>&nbsp;sponsored by state Sen. Sandy Crawford, a Republican from Buffalo, and awaiting action from Gov. Mike Kehoe, would increase the fees received by the license offices by 50%.

The transaction fee for a drivers license or motor vehicle would go from $6 to $9 for the shortest period and from $12 to $18 for the longest, six years for a drivers license and two years for a vehicle registration.

The fee on transactions is in addition to the state charge for&nbsp;<a href="https://dor.mo.gov/motor-vehicle/titling-registration/fees.html" target="_blank">titling and registering</a>&nbsp;a vehicle and obtaining or renewing&nbsp;<a href="https://dor.mo.gov/driver-license/resources/license.html#fees" target="_blank">a drivers license</a>.

The goal is to make the offices attractive to contractors and avoid closures, Crawford said during a House committee hearing in April.

“I live in a small town, and if my license bureau were to close, I would likely have to drive 45 minutes, take a half a day to drive and get my license,” Crawford said. “And so I would much rather pay $3 than take off half a day and drive 45 miles or 45 minutes to get this done.”

There is supposed to be at least one license office in every county.

“Many small agents in rural communities have stated they are closing or not rebidding upon contract expiration,” said Ryan Williams, the license office contractor in Gladstone in Clay County. “Hopefully this increase will help enough to keep them open and solvent.”

Williams is also the legislative chair of the Missouri Association of License Offices.

The smallest office currently closed is in Unionville, in Putnam County on the Iowa border. The nearest open office is in Milan, a 50-minute round-trip. The busiest is the South Springfield License Office, which&nbsp;<a href="https://dor.mo.gov/contact/documents/FY2024-MV-and-DL-Estimated-Transactions.pdf" target="_blank">processed more than 100,000 transactions</a>&nbsp;in fiscal 2024. There are two other offices within five miles.

The other offices currently closed are in Cuba, Willow Springs, Sedalia and&nbsp;<a href="https://dor.mo.gov/news/newsitem/uuid/39dacb8b-5467-4c37-b3d2-dbfc19a27a84" target="_blank">Palmyra</a>.

License offices, also known as fee offices for the transaction fees they charge, at one time were awarded by governors as political patronage. Until 2005, there were a dozen state-operated offices in the largest cities.

A bidding and contract system was created in the following years. The fees have been raised twice previously this century, in 2003 and 2019. There are currently 16 license offices listed on the state purchasing website, including Caruthersville and Unionville, which is on for the second time this year.

“We’re the only direct interaction that most people have with the state of Missouri,” Williams said.

In fiscal 2024, license offices processed almost 9 million transactions and charged $58.4 million in fees.

The Unionville office generated $28,736 in fees on 4,519 transactions. The Caruthersville office took in $119,260 from 18,747 transactions. And the South Springfield office received fees of $702,290 to process 105,516 transactions.

The reputation of license offices is not good, as seen by comments of members of the House Commerce Committee during the April hearing.

“If I had $1 for every time my office got called for the unpleasantness of the Rolla, Missouri, office, I’d be a millionaire today,” said state Rep. Tara Peters, a Republican from Rolla in her third year in the legislature.

State Rep. Brian Seitz, a Branson Republican, said he was glad lawmakers get special service for their license plates, which have legislative identifiers. There are two two license offices in Branson.

“I’m so glad that as a representative, I get to do the things right here in the Capitol that I need to do so I can continue to serve the people instead of wait an hour and a half in line without a bathroom,” Seitz said.

During the hearing, Williams said the contract office system saves the state money.

“If the state took it over, it would be a considerable expense,” he said.

The facilities and staffing are dependent on the amount of fees an office generates, Williams said. The contractor must meet payroll, pay rent and cover office expenses from the fee revenue.

“When you have long wait times, that’s a direct result that we can’t afford to hire the staff that we need, or pay them or attract the staff that we need,” Williams said.

The issues forcing contractors to give up their offices aren’t all financial, said Terri Harris, owner of Elle Management in St. Louis. At one point, Harris operated nine license offices around the state and was the contractor at South Springfield when it closed.

The contract had been repeatedly extended, for short periods, leaving her with uncertainty about the future and making it difficult to hire staff, she said.

After 34 years in the business, including almost two decades managing license offices for others, health issues and working through bureaucratic and political issues with the department became too much, she said.

The fee increase in 2019 was welcome, Harris said, but came just before the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The first thing I did when we got that increase is I brought my employees’ wages up to where I could stay competitive,” Harris said. “After COVID, everything changed for all employers, and my offices were large. It required a lot of employees, and frankly, the increase that I could afford to make was eaten up when you wait 17 and a half years for an increase.”

When she surrendered the contract, Harris said, she was offering $20.50 an hour to employees.

“We couldn’t keep people at that pay rate,” she said.

The fee increases will not induce her to return to the business of operating license offices, Harris said.

The South Springfield office was on an extended contract, but the extensions were short. That uncertainty also made staffing difficult, she said.&nbsp;

“We went through years of being extended, two months, three months, maybe four months at a time,” she said. “That was ridiculous.”

She was reluctant to seek new contracts because the requirements being added didn’t work in the office situations she dealt with, Harris said. Specific performance numbers for managers, who Harris wanted supervising rather than processing transactions, was one issue, she said.

“The relationship became adversarial,”

&nbsp;Initial contracts are generally for five years and the bill before Kehoe allows an extension of five years at the discretion of the director of revenue.

The bill would also bar department employees from becoming contractors or part owners of a license office company for a year after leaving state employment.

The department should figure out how to give more support to the small, rural offices where fee income is low, Harris said.

The contract requirements for the Unionville office call for it to be open 24 hours a week. It processed about four transactions an hour during fiscal 2024.&nbsp;

“These communities, when you close an office, they’re not going 10 minutes away to the next office,” Harris said. “They’re going counties away, right to the next office. It’s it’s tough on the community period. I also understand there is a very small profit margin in them, and that makes it difficult."

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/6/1750444315864.png" alt=" The Columbia License Office, one of two contract Department of Revenue offices in the city. Six of the 175 license offices in Missouri are closed because no contractor is willing to operate them. (Rudi Keller/Missouri Independent)" />
                        <figcaption> The Columbia License Office, one of two contract Department of Revenue offices in the city. Six of the 175 license offices in Missouri are closed because no contractor is willing to operate them. (Rudi Keller/Missouri Independent)</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>BY:&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/rudi-keller/">RUDI KELLER</a><br><a href="https://missouriindependent.com/briefs/missouri-senate-committee-advances-bill-to-ban-texting-while-driving/"><i>Missouri Independent</i></a></p><h2>Fees for new licenses and vehicle registrations would increase 50% to attract bidders under legislation on the governor’s desk</h2><p>When the state announced the Caruthersville license office was going to close, residents needing to renew registrations or driver license were directed to the closest open offices in Kennett, New Madrid and Malden.&nbsp;</p><p>Those communities are all at least an hour, round-trip, from Caruthersville. The inconvenience would be compounded if, after waiting in line, the transaction couldn’t be completed for lack of a required document.</p><p>The Missouri Department of Revenue was quick to note motorists renewing vehicle registrations — but not new vehicle registrations or drivers license transactions —&nbsp;<a href="https://dor.mo.gov/motor-vehicle/plates/" target="_blank">could do so online</a>.</p><p>But the situation in Caruthersville is not unique, as a growing number of license offices around the state are shuttering — currently at least six of 175 — with dozens more operating under an expired contract.</p><p><a href="https://www.senate.mo.gov/25info/BTS_Web/Bill.aspx?SessionType=R&amp;BillID=235" target="_blank">A bill</a>&nbsp;sponsored by state Sen. Sandy Crawford, a Republican from Buffalo, and awaiting action from Gov. Mike Kehoe, would increase the fees received by the license offices by 50%.</p><p>The transaction fee for a drivers license or motor vehicle would go from $6 to $9 for the shortest period and from $12 to $18 for the longest, six years for a drivers license and two years for a vehicle registration.</p><p>The fee on transactions is in addition to the state charge for&nbsp;<a href="https://dor.mo.gov/motor-vehicle/titling-registration/fees.html" target="_blank">titling and registering</a>&nbsp;a vehicle and obtaining or renewing&nbsp;<a href="https://dor.mo.gov/driver-license/resources/license.html#fees" target="_blank">a drivers license</a>.</p><p>The goal is to make the offices attractive to contractors and avoid closures, Crawford said during a House committee hearing in April.</p><p>“I live in a small town, and if my license bureau were to close, I would likely have to drive 45 minutes, take a half a day to drive and get my license,” Crawford said. “And so I would much rather pay $3 than take off half a day and drive 45 miles or 45 minutes to get this done.”</p><p>There is supposed to be at least one license office in every county.</p><p>“Many small agents in rural communities have stated they are closing or not rebidding upon contract expiration,” said Ryan Williams, the license office contractor in Gladstone in Clay County. “Hopefully this increase will help enough to keep them open and solvent.”</p><p>Williams is also the legislative chair of the Missouri Association of License Offices.</p><p>The smallest office currently closed is in Unionville, in Putnam County on the Iowa border. The nearest open office is in Milan, a 50-minute round-trip. The busiest is the South Springfield License Office, which&nbsp;<a href="https://dor.mo.gov/contact/documents/FY2024-MV-and-DL-Estimated-Transactions.pdf" target="_blank">processed more than 100,000 transactions</a>&nbsp;in fiscal 2024. There are two other offices within five miles.</p><p>The other offices currently closed are in Cuba, Willow Springs, Sedalia and&nbsp;<a href="https://dor.mo.gov/news/newsitem/uuid/39dacb8b-5467-4c37-b3d2-dbfc19a27a84" target="_blank">Palmyra</a>.</p><h2>Financial challenges</h2><p>License offices, also known as fee offices for the transaction fees they charge, at one time were awarded by governors as political patronage. Until 2005, there were a dozen state-operated offices in the largest cities.</p><p>A bidding and contract system was created in the following years. The fees have been raised twice previously this century, in 2003 and 2019. There are currently 16 license offices listed on the state purchasing website, including Caruthersville and Unionville, which is on for the second time this year.</p><p>“We’re the only direct interaction that most people have with the state of Missouri,” Williams said.</p><p>In fiscal 2024, license offices processed almost 9 million transactions and charged $58.4 million in fees.</p><p>The Unionville office generated $28,736 in fees on 4,519 transactions. The Caruthersville office took in $119,260 from 18,747 transactions. And the South Springfield office received fees of $702,290 to process 105,516 transactions.</p><p>The reputation of license offices is not good, as seen by comments of members of the House Commerce Committee during the April hearing.</p><p>“If I had $1 for every time my office got called for the unpleasantness of the Rolla, Missouri, office, I’d be a millionaire today,” said state Rep. Tara Peters, a Republican from Rolla in her third year in the legislature.</p><p>State Rep. Brian Seitz, a Branson Republican, said he was glad lawmakers get special service for their license plates, which have legislative identifiers. There are two two license offices in Branson.</p><p>“I’m so glad that as a representative, I get to do the things right here in the Capitol that I need to do so I can continue to serve the people instead of wait an hour and a half in line without a bathroom,” Seitz said.</p><p>During the hearing, Williams said the contract office system saves the state money.</p><p>“If the state took it over, it would be a considerable expense,” he said.</p><p>The facilities and staffing are dependent on the amount of fees an office generates, Williams said. The contractor must meet payroll, pay rent and cover office expenses from the fee revenue.</p><p>“When you have long wait times, that’s a direct result that we can’t afford to hire the staff that we need, or pay them or attract the staff that we need,” Williams said.</p><h2>Administrative issues</h2><p>The issues forcing contractors to give up their offices aren’t all financial, said Terri Harris, owner of Elle Management in St. Louis. At one point, Harris operated nine license offices around the state and was the contractor at South Springfield when it closed.</p><p>The contract had been repeatedly extended, for short periods, leaving her with uncertainty about the future and making it difficult to hire staff, she said.</p><p>After 34 years in the business, including almost two decades managing license offices for others, health issues and working through bureaucratic and political issues with the department became too much, she said.</p><p>The fee increase in 2019 was welcome, Harris said, but came just before the COVID-19 pandemic.</p><p>“The first thing I did when we got that increase is I brought my employees’ wages up to where I could stay competitive,” Harris said. “After COVID, everything changed for all employers, and my offices were large. It required a lot of employees, and frankly, the increase that I could afford to make was eaten up when you wait 17 and a half years for an increase.”</p><p>When she surrendered the contract, Harris said, she was offering $20.50 an hour to employees.</p><p>“We couldn’t keep people at that pay rate,” she said.</p><p>The fee increases will not induce her to return to the business of operating license offices, Harris said.</p><p>The South Springfield office was on an extended contract, but the extensions were short. That uncertainty also made staffing difficult, she said.&nbsp;</p><p>“We went through years of being extended, two months, three months, maybe four months at a time,” she said. “That was ridiculous.”</p><p>She was reluctant to seek new contracts because the requirements being added didn’t work in the office situations she dealt with, Harris said. Specific performance numbers for managers, who Harris wanted supervising rather than processing transactions, was one issue, she said.</p><p>“The relationship became adversarial,”</p><p>&nbsp;Initial contracts are generally for five years and the bill before Kehoe allows an extension of five years at the discretion of the director of revenue.</p><p>The bill would also bar department employees from becoming contractors or part owners of a license office company for a year after leaving state employment.</p><p>The department should figure out how to give more support to the small, rural offices where fee income is low, Harris said.</p><p>The contract requirements for the Unionville office call for it to be open 24 hours a week. It processed about four transactions an hour during fiscal 2024.&nbsp;</p><p>“These communities, when you close an office, they’re not going 10 minutes away to the next office,” Harris said. “They’re going counties away, right to the next office. It’s it’s tough on the community period. I also understand there is a very small profit margin in them, and that makes it difficult."</p>

Five Missouri counties no longer have a license office. A fee hike seeks to fix that

KANSAS CITY —One person died inan accident just after midnight Friday in Kansas City.

According to KCPD Sergeant Phil DiMartino, a white Toyota Camry was northbound on&nbsp;Interstate 49 at Interstate 470 at a very high rate of speed.

 The driver failed to negotiate the curve in the roadway. The car traveled off the roadway to the right and struck a concrete bridge support located underneath&nbsp;Interstate 470. 

The unrestrained driver&nbsp;and&nbsp;sole occupant of the Toyota was ejected from the vehicle&nbsp;and&nbsp;pronounced deceased at the scene.

 This is fatality #37 compared to #48 at this time last year, according to&nbsp;&nbsp;DiMartino. The accident remains under investigation.

<p>KANSAS CITY —One person died inan accident just after midnight Friday in Kansas City.</p><p>According to KCPD Sergeant Phil DiMartino, a white Toyota Camry was northbound on&nbsp;Interstate 49 at Interstate 470 at a very high rate of speed.</p><p> The driver failed to negotiate the curve in the roadway. The car traveled off the roadway to the right and struck a concrete bridge support located underneath&nbsp;Interstate 470. </p><p>The unrestrained driver&nbsp;and&nbsp;sole occupant of the Toyota was ejected from the vehicle&nbsp;and&nbsp;pronounced deceased at the scene.</p><p> This is fatality #37 compared to #48 at this time last year, according to&nbsp;&nbsp;DiMartino. The accident remains under investigation.</p>

KCPD: Speeding driver dies after crash into concrete bridge

President&nbsp;Donald Trump kept silent Thursday about the Juneteenth Holiday.&nbsp; Late Thursday, the President finally wrote on social media to complain about too many non-working holidays..

During the Thursday press briefing,&nbsp; White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt thanked reporters for showing up to work on the Juneteenth Federal Holiday. "We are certainly here. We’re working 24/7 right now.”

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/6/1750269288982.png" alt="File image White House" />
                        <figcaption>File image White House</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>President&nbsp;Donald Trump kept silent Thursday about the Juneteenth Holiday.&nbsp; Late Thursday, the President finally wrote on social media to complain about too many non-working holidays..</p><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="zxx" dir="ltr"><a href="https://t.co/5DPtr8EtwQ">pic.twitter.com/5DPtr8EtwQ</a></p>&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1935836246133080540?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 19, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><p>During the Thursday press briefing,&nbsp; White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt thanked reporters for showing up to work on the Juneteenth Federal Holiday. "We are certainly here. We’re working 24/7 right now.”</p>

President Trump complains about too many 'non-working holidays'

by&nbsp;<a href="https://calmatters.org/author/mikhailzinshteyn/">Mikhail Zinshteyn</a><br><a href="https://calmatters.org/">CalMatters</a>

Donald Trump can continue to control the National Guard in California for the time being after a panel of judges from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals determined he followed the law in&nbsp;<a href="https://calmatters.org/politics/2025/06/national-guard-los-angeles-appeals-court/" target="_blank">deploying troops to Los Angeles</a>.

The order, handed down Thursday evening, is the latest in a fast-moving legal saga playing out over Trump’s decision to call up the National Guard and U.S. Marines to the Los Angeles area in response to protests after federal immigration law enforcement agents began worksite raids and arrests two weeks ago. California’s Democratic leadership, led by Gov. Gavin Newsom, has called the deployment&nbsp;<a href="https://calmatters.org/politics/2025/06/california-republicans-trump-military-los-angeles/" target="_blank">unnecessary and illegal</a>. The appeals court order in a lawsuit filed by Newsom contesting the deployment isn’t surprising; the panel signaled an openness to the Trump administration’s legal arguments during a legal hearing on Tuesday.

In court earlier this week, attorneys from the Trump administration argued the president’s deployment was “unreviewable” by courts.&nbsp;

The appeals court judges disagreed that the decision was beyond the reach of the judicial branch, but found the president had a legitimate interest in protecting federal employees when he called up the troops.&nbsp;

“The undisputed facts demonstrate that before the deployment of the National Guard, protesters ‘pinned down’ several federal officers and threw ‘concrete chunks, bottles of liquid and other objects’ at the officers.”Two of those judges were appointed by President Trump in his previous term.

<a href="https://calmatters.org/politics/2025/06/national-guard-los-angeles-legal/" target="_blank">Trump deployed the troops&nbsp;</a>through a presidential memo on June 7 and cited a rarely used federal statute permitting a president to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/10/12406" target="_blank">deploy the National Guard</a>&nbsp;in times of invasion, domestic rebellion or the inability for the federal government to carry out its laws. Trump’s order was for 60 days and technically applied to all of the state Nation Guards in the U.S.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass&nbsp;<a href="https://calmatters.org/justice/2025/06/los-angeles-protests-downtown-life/" target="_blank">imposed a weeklong curfew</a>&nbsp;in the city’s downtown after Trump’s deployment. She and other California leaders have maintained that local law enforcement agencies were more than capable of addressing the unrest that followed high-profile immigration sweeps earlier this month.

Trump’s order marked the first time since 1965 that a president deployed the National Guard against the wishes of a state’s governor. A group of former service secretaries and four star military commanders wrote an amicus brief supporting Newsom’s lawsuit challenging the deployment.

“The court rightly rejected Trump’s claim that he can do whatever he wants with the National Guard and not have to explain himself to a court,” Gov. Newsom said in a written statement after the 9th Circuit released its ruling. “The president is not a king and is not above the law. We will press forward with our challenge to President Trump’s authoritarian use of U.S. military soldiers against citizens.”

What happens next could take one of several turns. On Friday a lower court judge, Charles Breyer, will hold a hearing on whether to return the troops to Newsom through a preliminary injunction. Breyer last week issued an order that would have temporarily halted Trump’s deployment, but the 9th Circuit blocked it. Now, the battle over whether federal troops can remain in Los Angeles is operating on three parallel tracks — the case the 9th Circuit decided today, which can be appealed; Friday’s hearing on the preliminary injunction; and the full merits of the case that would be argued through a prolonged trial.

For Newsom’s legal team to prevail in Friday’s hearing, they’ll have to clear a higher threshold of scrutiny than they did when they initially won back the National Guard last week, albeit for a few hours. That’s because anyone seeking a preliminary injunction must demonstrate that the merits of their arguments will likely prevail in the full trial.

The appeals court’s decision could influence Breyer’s thinking, legal thinkers said, even if he initially signaled support for the Newsom administration’s arguments.

“It’s kind of hard to disentangle the two processes when we think about how judge Breyer will be weighing” the preliminary injunction hearing, because a lot of that’s going to be informed by what these higher level courts decide,” said Christopher Mirasola, an assistant law professor at the University of Houston Law Center.

No matter what Breyer does after Friday, it’ll likely quickly go back to the appeals court. And if the appeals court keeps halting the lower court’s orders, Trump keeps the National Guard for the duration of the lower court’s full trial.

Would the Newsom team try to appeal the injunction with the Supreme Court?

On one hand, “why not shoot your shot when you got the opportunity, right?” asked Mirasola rhetorically.&nbsp; But there’s a chance the high court comes back with such a strong opinion favoring the Trump administration that it could “substantively affect how judge Breyer treats the merits of the case.”

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/6/1750414117167.jpeg" alt="Demonstrators protest against recent ICE immigration raids as National Guard officers stand guard in front of a federal building in Los Angeles on June 9, 2025. Photo by Ted Soqui for CalMatters" />
                        <figcaption>Demonstrators protest against recent ICE immigration raids as National Guard officers stand guard in front of a federal building in Los Angeles on June 9, 2025. Photo by Ted Soqui for CalMatters</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>by&nbsp;<a href="https://calmatters.org/author/mikhailzinshteyn/">Mikhail Zinshteyn</a><br><a href="https://calmatters.org/">CalMatters</a></p><p>Donald Trump can continue to control the National Guard in California for the time being after a panel of judges from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals determined he followed the law in&nbsp;<a href="https://calmatters.org/politics/2025/06/national-guard-los-angeles-appeals-court/" target="_blank">deploying troops to Los Angeles</a>.</p><p>The order, handed down Thursday evening, is the latest in a fast-moving legal saga playing out over Trump’s decision to call up the National Guard and U.S. Marines to the Los Angeles area in response to protests after federal immigration law enforcement agents began worksite raids and arrests two weeks ago. California’s Democratic leadership, led by Gov. Gavin Newsom, has called the deployment&nbsp;<a href="https://calmatters.org/politics/2025/06/california-republicans-trump-military-los-angeles/" target="_blank">unnecessary and illegal</a>. The appeals court order in a lawsuit filed by Newsom contesting the deployment isn’t surprising; the panel signaled an openness to the Trump administration’s legal arguments during a legal hearing on Tuesday.</p><p>In court earlier this week, attorneys from the Trump administration argued the president’s deployment was “unreviewable” by courts.&nbsp;</p><p>The appeals court judges disagreed that the decision was beyond the reach of the judicial branch, but found the president had a legitimate interest in protecting federal employees when he called up the troops.&nbsp;</p><p>“The undisputed facts demonstrate that before the deployment of the National Guard, protesters ‘pinned down’ several federal officers and threw ‘concrete chunks, bottles of liquid and other objects’ at the officers.”Two of those judges were appointed by President Trump in his previous term.</p><p><a href="https://calmatters.org/politics/2025/06/national-guard-los-angeles-legal/" target="_blank">Trump deployed the troops&nbsp;</a>through a presidential memo on June 7 and cited a rarely used federal statute permitting a president to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/10/12406" target="_blank">deploy the National Guard</a>&nbsp;in times of invasion, domestic rebellion or the inability for the federal government to carry out its laws. Trump’s order was for 60 days and technically applied to all of the state Nation Guards in the U.S.</p><p>Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass&nbsp;<a href="https://calmatters.org/justice/2025/06/los-angeles-protests-downtown-life/" target="_blank">imposed a weeklong curfew</a>&nbsp;in the city’s downtown after Trump’s deployment. She and other California leaders have maintained that local law enforcement agencies were more than capable of addressing the unrest that followed high-profile immigration sweeps earlier this month.</p><p>Trump’s order marked the first time since 1965 that a president deployed the National Guard against the wishes of a state’s governor. A group of former service secretaries and four star military commanders wrote an amicus brief supporting Newsom’s lawsuit challenging the deployment.</p><p>“The court rightly rejected Trump’s claim that he can do whatever he wants with the National Guard and not have to explain himself to a court,” Gov. Newsom said in a written statement after the 9th Circuit released its ruling. “The president is not a king and is not above the law. We will press forward with our challenge to President Trump’s authoritarian use of U.S. military soldiers against citizens.”</p><p>What happens next could take one of several turns. On Friday a lower court judge, Charles Breyer, will hold a hearing on whether to return the troops to Newsom through a preliminary injunction. Breyer last week issued an order that would have temporarily halted Trump’s deployment, but the 9th Circuit blocked it. Now, the battle over whether federal troops can remain in Los Angeles is operating on three parallel tracks — the case the 9th Circuit decided today, which can be appealed; Friday’s hearing on the preliminary injunction; and the full merits of the case that would be argued through a prolonged trial.</p><p>For Newsom’s legal team to prevail in Friday’s hearing, they’ll have to clear a higher threshold of scrutiny than they did when they initially won back the National Guard last week, albeit for a few hours. That’s because anyone seeking a preliminary injunction must demonstrate that the merits of their arguments will likely prevail in the full trial.</p><p>The appeals court’s decision could influence Breyer’s thinking, legal thinkers said, even if he initially signaled support for the Newsom administration’s arguments.</p><p>“It’s kind of hard to disentangle the two processes when we think about how judge Breyer will be weighing” the preliminary injunction hearing, because a lot of that’s going to be informed by what these higher level courts decide,” said Christopher Mirasola, an assistant law professor at the University of Houston Law Center.</p><p>No matter what Breyer does after Friday, it’ll likely quickly go back to the appeals court. And if the appeals court keeps halting the lower court’s orders, Trump keeps the National Guard for the duration of the lower court’s full trial.</p><p>Would the Newsom team try to appeal the injunction with the Supreme Court?</p><p>On one hand, “why not shoot your shot when you got the opportunity, right?” asked Mirasola rhetorically.&nbsp; But there’s a chance the high court comes back with such a strong opinion favoring the Trump administration that it could “substantively affect how judge Breyer treats the merits of the case.”</p>

Appeals court rules Trump can keep control of California National Guard

KANSAS CITY—A teen who Kansas City police reported as missing is dead following an accident on Interstate 70 Thursday.

Early Thursday, police issued an alert asking for help to locate 14-year-old&nbsp; Mario Myers, according to KCPD Sergeant Phil DiMartino.&nbsp; Myers was seen&nbsp; at 3a.m., walking in the area of 39th and Bales in Kansas City. 

Police reported the boy "needs immediate medical treatment"

Approximately 90 minutes later, police and EMS responded to a confirmed fatal pedestrian accident. The&nbsp;pedestrian, later identified as Myers was walking or standing in the #2 travel lane of eastbound Interstate 70 just west of Manchester, according to DiMartino.

An eastbound white Chevrolet Malibu struck the boy. He was pronounced deceased at the scene. The driver of the Chevrolet was uninjured, stopped immediately, remained at the scene and cooperated with the investigation.

All lanes of Eastbound Interstate 70 were closed to traffic for approximately two and a half hours during the investigation.&nbsp;

This is fatality #35 compared to #48 at this time last year, according to DiMartino.

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/6/1750354866727.png" alt="Myers photo KCPD" />
                        <figcaption>Myers photo KCPD</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>KANSAS CITY—A teen who Kansas City police reported as missing is dead following an accident on Interstate 70 Thursday.</p><p>Early Thursday, police issued an alert asking for help to locate 14-year-old&nbsp; Mario Myers, according to KCPD Sergeant Phil DiMartino.&nbsp; Myers was seen&nbsp; at 3a.m., walking in the area of 39th and Bales in Kansas City. </p><p>Police reported the boy "needs immediate medical treatment"</p><p>Approximately 90 minutes later, police and EMS responded to a confirmed fatal pedestrian accident. The&nbsp;pedestrian, later identified as Myers was walking or standing in the #2 travel lane of eastbound Interstate 70 just west of Manchester, according to DiMartino.</p><p>An eastbound white Chevrolet Malibu struck the boy. He was pronounced deceased at the scene. The driver of the Chevrolet was uninjured, stopped immediately, remained at the scene and cooperated with the investigation.</p><p>All lanes of Eastbound Interstate 70 were closed to traffic for approximately two and a half hours during the investigation.&nbsp;</p><p>This is fatality #35 compared to #48 at this time last year, according to DiMartino.</p>

Police: Missing 14-year-old struck, killed on Interstate 70 

<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">🚨 <a href="https://twitter.com/PressSec?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PressSec</a> shares an important message from President Donald J. Trump: &quot;Based on the fact that there&#39;s a substantial chance of negotiations that may or may not take place with Iran in the near future, I will make my decision whether or not to go within the next two weeks.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/Xh3rNuURn0">pic.twitter.com/Xh3rNuURn0</a></p>&mdash; The White House (@WhiteHouse) <a href="https://twitter.com/WhiteHouse/status/1935759403510104118?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 19, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">These architects of terrorism are officially done terrorizing the world. <a href="https://t.co/H19TzmsCe9">pic.twitter.com/H19TzmsCe9</a></p>&mdash; Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) <a href="https://twitter.com/IDF/status/1935517962242322459?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 19, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>

🎥Trump gives Israel and Iran a deadline to broker peace

By:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/mchilson/">Morgan Chilson</a>&nbsp;<br><a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2025/02/24/gov-laura-kelly-skeptical-kansas-houses-anti-tenure-legislation-will-reach-her-desk/"><i>Kansas Reflector</i></a>

TOPEKA — Kansas farm income in 2025 is expected to be among the strongest in the last 20 years, bolstered by $2 billion in government payments for depressed crop prices and weather conditions, an agricultural economics expert said Tuesday.

“If you look at the inflation-adjusted farm income for 2025, it’s by far the largest we’ve seen in several years,” said Jennifer Ifft, professor and extension specialist in agricultural policy at Kansas State University. “What drove that sharp increase that we see from 2024 to 2025? The answer is government payments.”

Ifft spoke&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFy4kX8es1Y&amp;t=1s" target="_blank">at a webinar</a>&nbsp;about the outlook for farm income in Kansas and nationally,&nbsp;<a href="https://raff.missouri.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Kansas_Farm_Income_Spring2025.pdf" target="_blank">based on a report from</a>&nbsp;the Rural and Farm Finance Policy Analysis Center at the University of Missouri and Kansas State University’s Department of Agricultural Economics.

Crop and livestock farmers face opposite market conditions, as livestock farmers are thriving amid strong demand while crop farmers face lower prices and high input costs, Ifft said.&nbsp;

“We’ve seen an increase of over $5 billion in livestock receipts since 2020,” she said. “On the crop side, you have seen a decline in crop receipts since 2020. These numbers are very much moving in opposite directions, even though crops have leveled off a little bit.”

Crop receipts fell about $1.6 billion from 2020 to 2025, according to a chart Ifft shared. Data in 2025 is projected.&nbsp;

“Somebody recently reminded me that there’s never been a year when all farms are doing well, and I think that’s especially true this year, and it’s especially important to look under the hood to understand what’s happening with these numbers,” Ifft said.

Although crop farm expenses have decreased, they are still high compared to previous years, she said.

“In 2015, fertilizer expenses have come down, but they’re still 28% higher than the long-run average,” Ifft said. “Pesticides … have come down in 2025, and they’re still 30% higher than that long-run average.”

The long-run average was determined from fertilizer and pesticide expenses from 2006 to 2024.&nbsp;

Ifft highlighted government payments made in recent years, including during the first Trump administration after trade tariffs affected sales; in 2020-2021 related to the COVID-19 pandemic; and those approved at the end of 2024 that will be paid this year related to economic losses for some crop farms and disaster payments.

Gregg Ibendahl, K-State associate professor of agricultural economics, shared data that narrowed Kansas numbers down to a farm level, using information collected from farmers who are part of the Kansas Farm Management Association.&nbsp;

He noted that in 2024, without government payments, about half of Kansas farms in his data would have lost money.&nbsp;

Ibendahl said the current global situation affects farm income projections.&nbsp;

“Some other issues to maybe think about or worry about, is what’s going to happen with the oil supply,” he said, adding that there are wars involving two of the biggest areas in the world where oil is produced, Russia and Ukraine, and now the Middle East conflict between Israel and Iran.&nbsp;

“Surprisingly, though, with the fact that we have two major conflicts going on in two of the major oil-producing areas of the world, oil is still in the $70 range,” Ibendahl said. “I don’t know if the traders are being a little optimistic. They kind of got burned a little bit when the Ukraine war first started, because they had jacked up oil prices into about the $130 range. Turns out that it really didn’t affect Russia’s ability to produce oil.”

If oil prices would escalate quickly, it would affect diesel and fertilizer prices, he said.

Kansas parallels what is happening across the country.&nbsp;

“The bottom line at the national level is that we are seeing short- and medium-term pain for field crops because of lower prices, sticky costs,” said Alejandro Plastina, director of the Rural and Farm Finance Policy Analysis Center. “In the cattle sector, I would say the picture is better. There are limited supplies, mostly on beef and cattle production, high prices and lower feed costs than in the past, still high, but lower than the past.”

Plastina said government payments, specifically ad hoc payments made based on need to address situations such as weather events, were important in 2023 and 2024.&nbsp;

“At the aggregate level, we are projecting higher net farm income in 2025,” he said. “But there’s a lot of uncertainty regarding the impact of tariffs and trades, whether we will have a farm bill this year, reconciliation and what it will look like, and then what’s next? That’s a big question for us.”

Like Ifft, Plastina said government support from 2023 and 2024 being paid out this year will increase net farm income.&nbsp;

“In the absence of another round of big ad hoc, direct government payments in 2026, which there’s no sign or signal at this point that they might occur —&nbsp; without those payments, net farm income would decline by 20% in 2026 to be barely above what we have as an estimate for 2024,” he said.&nbsp;

Of the $41 billion in net farm increase predicted in 2025, $33 billion of it is in government payments, Plastina said.&nbsp;

“Net farm income is up for one time in 2025 for those who will receive the payments, but managing that cash flow generated in 2025 to cushion the drop in margins going forward, I think will be critical for the ag sector,” he said.&nbsp;

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/6/1750345862222.png" alt="&nbsp;Kansas farm income in 2025 is expected to be the second highest in the past 20 years, bolstered by government payments that addressed weather challenges and depressed crop prices. (Kevin Hardy/Stateline)" />
                        <figcaption>&nbsp;Kansas farm income in 2025 is expected to be the second highest in the past 20 years, bolstered by government payments that addressed weather challenges and depressed crop prices. (Kevin Hardy/Stateline)</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>By:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/mchilson/">Morgan Chilson</a>&nbsp;<br><a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2025/02/24/gov-laura-kelly-skeptical-kansas-houses-anti-tenure-legislation-will-reach-her-desk/"><i>Kansas Reflector</i></a></p><p>TOPEKA — Kansas farm income in 2025 is expected to be among the strongest in the last 20 years, bolstered by $2 billion in government payments for depressed crop prices and weather conditions, an agricultural economics expert said Tuesday.</p><p>“If you look at the inflation-adjusted farm income for 2025, it’s by far the largest we’ve seen in several years,” said Jennifer Ifft, professor and extension specialist in agricultural policy at Kansas State University. “What drove that sharp increase that we see from 2024 to 2025? The answer is government payments.”</p><p>Ifft spoke&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFy4kX8es1Y&amp;t=1s" target="_blank">at a webinar</a>&nbsp;about the outlook for farm income in Kansas and nationally,&nbsp;<a href="https://raff.missouri.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Kansas_Farm_Income_Spring2025.pdf" target="_blank">based on a report from</a>&nbsp;the Rural and Farm Finance Policy Analysis Center at the University of Missouri and Kansas State University’s Department of Agricultural Economics.</p><p>Crop and livestock farmers face opposite market conditions, as livestock farmers are thriving amid strong demand while crop farmers face lower prices and high input costs, Ifft said.&nbsp;</p><p>“We’ve seen an increase of over $5 billion in livestock receipts since 2020,” she said. “On the crop side, you have seen a decline in crop receipts since 2020. These numbers are very much moving in opposite directions, even though crops have leveled off a little bit.”</p><p>Crop receipts fell about $1.6 billion from 2020 to 2025, according to a chart Ifft shared. Data in 2025 is projected.&nbsp;</p><p>“Somebody recently reminded me that there’s never been a year when all farms are doing well, and I think that’s especially true this year, and it’s especially important to look under the hood to understand what’s happening with these numbers,” Ifft said.</p><p>Although crop farm expenses have decreased, they are still high compared to previous years, she said.</p><p>“In 2015, fertilizer expenses have come down, but they’re still 28% higher than the long-run average,” Ifft said. “Pesticides … have come down in 2025, and they’re still 30% higher than that long-run average.”</p><p>The long-run average was determined from fertilizer and pesticide expenses from 2006 to 2024.&nbsp;</p><p>Ifft highlighted government payments made in recent years, including during the first Trump administration after trade tariffs affected sales; in 2020-2021 related to the COVID-19 pandemic; and those approved at the end of 2024 that will be paid this year related to economic losses for some crop farms and disaster payments.</p><figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/6/1750355919009.png" alt=" Data shared at a Kansas farm income webinar Tuesday tracked the sales for livestock and crop farmers. (Screen capture)" />
                        <figcaption> Data shared at a Kansas farm income webinar Tuesday tracked the sales for livestock and crop farmers. (Screen capture)</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>Gregg Ibendahl, K-State associate professor of agricultural economics, shared data that narrowed Kansas numbers down to a farm level, using information collected from farmers who are part of the Kansas Farm Management Association.&nbsp;</p><p>He noted that in 2024, without government payments, about half of Kansas farms in his data would have lost money.&nbsp;</p><p>Ibendahl said the current global situation affects farm income projections.&nbsp;</p><p>“Some other issues to maybe think about or worry about, is what’s going to happen with the oil supply,” he said, adding that there are wars involving two of the biggest areas in the world where oil is produced, Russia and Ukraine, and now the Middle East conflict between Israel and Iran.&nbsp;</p><p>“Surprisingly, though, with the fact that we have two major conflicts going on in two of the major oil-producing areas of the world, oil is still in the $70 range,” Ibendahl said. “I don’t know if the traders are being a little optimistic. They kind of got burned a little bit when the Ukraine war first started, because they had jacked up oil prices into about the $130 range. Turns out that it really didn’t affect Russia’s ability to produce oil.”</p><p>If oil prices would escalate quickly, it would affect diesel and fertilizer prices, he said.</p><h2>National outlook</h2><p>Kansas parallels what is happening across the country.&nbsp;</p><p>“The bottom line at the national level is that we are seeing short- and medium-term pain for field crops because of lower prices, sticky costs,” said Alejandro Plastina, director of the Rural and Farm Finance Policy Analysis Center. “In the cattle sector, I would say the picture is better. There are limited supplies, mostly on beef and cattle production, high prices and lower feed costs than in the past, still high, but lower than the past.”</p><p>Plastina said government payments, specifically ad hoc payments made based on need to address situations such as weather events, were important in 2023 and 2024.&nbsp;</p><p>“At the aggregate level, we are projecting higher net farm income in 2025,” he said. “But there’s a lot of uncertainty regarding the impact of tariffs and trades, whether we will have a farm bill this year, reconciliation and what it will look like, and then what’s next? That’s a big question for us.”</p><p>Like Ifft, Plastina said government support from 2023 and 2024 being paid out this year will increase net farm income.&nbsp;</p><p>“In the absence of another round of big ad hoc, direct government payments in 2026, which there’s no sign or signal at this point that they might occur —&nbsp; without those payments, net farm income would decline by 20% in 2026 to be barely above what we have as an estimate for 2024,” he said.&nbsp;</p><p>Of the $41 billion in net farm increase predicted in 2025, $33 billion of it is in government payments, Plastina said.&nbsp;</p><p>“Net farm income is up for one time in 2025 for those who will receive the payments, but managing that cash flow generated in 2025 to cushion the drop in margins going forward, I think will be critical for the ag sector,” he said.&nbsp;</p>

Government payments push Kansas farm income higher in 2025 amid global uncertainty

<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="zxx" dir="ltr"><a href="https://t.co/IvUbD8fPZg">pic.twitter.com/IvUbD8fPZg</a></p>&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1935720711919706165?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 19, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>

President Trump explains why he delayed the TikTok ban again

A SpaceX rocket exploded Wednesday night in Texas.

<p>A SpaceX rocket exploded Wednesday night in Texas.</p><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Credit where it&#39;s due to Musk. <br>He has made a radical new leap forward in SpaceX technology:<br>Now you don&#39;t have to wait until after launch for the devastating explosion.<br>👀 <a href="https://t.co/1OOHwB8kY1">pic.twitter.com/1OOHwB8kY1</a></p>&mdash; tern (@1goodtern) <a href="https://twitter.com/1goodtern/status/1935582164390969717?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 19, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Just a scratch</p>&mdash; Elon Musk (@elonmusk) <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1935638560276926914?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 19, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">On Wednesday, June 18 at approximately 11 p.m. CT, the Starship preparing for the tenth flight test experienced a major anomaly while on a test stand at Starbase. A safety clear area around the site was maintained throughout the operation and all personnel are safe and accounted…</p>&mdash; SpaceX (@SpaceX) <a href="https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1935572705941880971?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 19, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>

🎥SpaceX Starship Rocket Explodes During Routine Test

NEOSHO COUNTY —Two Kansas boys died in an accident Wednesday in Neosho County.

Just after 12:30p.m. the Neosho County 911 Center received a report from the Union Pacific Railroad that two individuals had been struck on the Railroad Bridge south of Erie near 115th Road, according to Neosho County Sheriff Greg Taylor.

 The Sheriff’s Office, EMS, and members of the St. Paul Fire Department and the Erie Fire Department, and Union Pacific Railroad immediately responded to the scene. 

First responders found 16-year-old Arthur  Pollries of Walnut, Kansas, deceased, according to the Kansas Highway Patrol.

&nbsp;A thorough search of the area with available personnel was quickly initiated. A local individual was requested to respond to the scene with a drone. Kansas Deparatment of Wildlife and Parks responded with personnel, a drone and boat. KHP sent numerous personnel, helicopter, and search dogs in an attempt to find the body of 12-year-old&nbsp; Kollin&nbsp;Showwalter, of Erie, according to the KHP.

After reviewing the Engine Camera footage and physical evidence, the two children were on the bridge and unable to outrun the train. Unfortunately after reviewing the footage and physical evidence at the scene, the search went from hopeful rescue effort to a recovery effort.

The Neosho River is currently rising, nearly bank full, with a very swift current, and full of debris. Due to extremely dangerous condition.

The recovery will resume in Thursday. The sheriff's department has specialized swift water teams coming to assist with the ongoing search, according to Sheriff Taylor.

<p>NEOSHO COUNTY —Two Kansas boys died in an accident Wednesday in Neosho County.</p><p>Just after 12:30p.m. the Neosho County 911 Center received a report from the Union Pacific Railroad that two individuals had been struck on the Railroad Bridge south of Erie near 115th Road, according to Neosho County Sheriff Greg Taylor.</p><p> The Sheriff’s Office, EMS, and members of the St. Paul Fire Department and the Erie Fire Department, and Union Pacific Railroad immediately responded to the scene. </p><p>First responders found 16-year-old Arthur  Pollries of Walnut, Kansas, deceased, according to the Kansas Highway Patrol.</p><p>&nbsp;A thorough search of the area with available personnel was quickly initiated. A local individual was requested to respond to the scene with a drone. Kansas Deparatment of Wildlife and Parks responded with personnel, a drone and boat. KHP sent numerous personnel, helicopter, and search dogs in an attempt to find the body of 12-year-old&nbsp; Kollin&nbsp;Showwalter, of Erie, according to the KHP.</p><p>After reviewing the Engine Camera footage and physical evidence, the two children were on the bridge and unable to outrun the train. Unfortunately after reviewing the footage and physical evidence at the scene, the search went from hopeful rescue effort to a recovery effort.</p><p>The Neosho River is currently rising, nearly bank full, with a very swift current, and full of debris. Due to extremely dangerous condition.</p><p>The recovery will resume in Thursday. The sheriff's department has specialized swift water teams coming to assist with the ongoing search, according to Sheriff Taylor.</p><p>.</p>

Train struck and killed 2 Kansas boys on river bridge

<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">U.S. Senate unanimously passes resolution calling on streaming services to carry C-SPAN. <a href="https://t.co/TpM05yvPHs">pic.twitter.com/TpM05yvPHs</a></p>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1935424808814035031?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 18, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">U.S. Senate unanimously passes resolution calling on streaming services to carry C-SPAN. <a href="https://t.co/iQfi8ZuvOz">pic.twitter.com/iQfi8ZuvOz</a></p>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1935419849494126703?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 18, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>

Senate passes resolution asking streaming services to carry C-SPAN

WASHINGTON– FreshRealm establishments in San Clemente, Calif., Montezuma, Ga., and Indianapolis, Ind., are recalling chicken fettuccine alfredo products that may be adulterated with an outbreak strain of&nbsp;Listeria monocytogenes&nbsp;(Lm), the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced Tuesday. Out of an abundance of caution, the company is voluntarily recalling all products produced prior to June 17, 2025, that are available in commerce under the following brand names.

The following ready-to-eat products were shipped to Kroger and Walmart retail locations nationwide&nbsp;

The products bear the USDA mark of inspection on the product label as well as establishment numbers “EST. P-50784,” “EST. P-47770,” or “EST. P-47718” printed on the side of the packaging.

FSIS and public health partners are investigating an outbreak of&nbsp;Lm&nbsp;that currently includes 17 ill people in 13 states. As of June 17, 2025, there have been three reported deaths and one fetal loss associated with this outbreak. The outbreak strain of&nbsp;Lm&nbsp;was isolated from ill people on dates ranging from August 2024 – May 2025. 

The same outbreak strain was isolated from a routine chicken fettuccine alfredo sample collected by FSIS in a FreshRealm establishment in March 2025. The lot of chicken fettuccine alfredo represented by this sample was held during sampling, destroyed, and never entered commerce. The subsequent investigations at the establishment that produced this product, and into the product ingredients, have not identified the source of contamination. 

FSIS also used purchase records from two ill people to trace purchased chicken fettuccine alfredo products to FreshRealm establishments. An additional two ill people verbally described chicken fettuccine alfredo products they purchased. FSIS identified products produced by FreshRealm that matched the descriptions during follow-up at the retail stores where they shopped. This investigation is ongoing. FSIS is sharing what is currently known regarding products associated with the outbreak as the agency continues to work with public health partners to identify whether a specific ingredient in the chicken fettucine alfredo may be the source of this strain of&nbsp;Lm.

Consumption of food contaminated with&nbsp;Lm&nbsp;can cause listeriosis, a serious infection that primarily affects older adults, persons with weakened immune systems, and pregnant women and their newborns. Less commonly, people outside these risk groups are affected.

Listeriosis can cause fever, muscle aches, headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance and convulsions sometimes preceded by diarrhea or other gastrointestinal symptoms. An invasive infection spreads beyond the gastrointestinal tract. In pregnant women, the infection can cause miscarriages, stillbirths, premature delivery or life-threatening infection of the newborn. In addition, serious and sometimes fatal infections in older adults and people with weakened immune systems. Listeriosis is treated with antibiotics. People in the higher-risk categories who experience flu-like symptoms within two months after eating contaminated food should seek medical care and tell the health care provider about eating the contaminated food.

FSIS is concerned that some products may be in consumers’ refrigerators or freezers. Consumers who have purchased these products are urged not to consume them. These products should be thrown away or returned to the place of purchase.

FSIS routinely conducts recall effectiveness checks to verify recalling firms notify their&nbsp;customers of the recall and that steps are taken to make certain that the product is no longer available to consumers. When available, the retail distribution list(s) will be posted on the FSIS website at&nbsp;<a href="http://www.fsis.usda.gov/recalls">www.fsis.usda.gov/recalls</a>.

FSIS advises all consumers to safely prepare their meat products, including fresh and frozen, and to only consume premade meals like chicken fettuccine alfredo that has been cooked to a temperature of 165 degrees F. The only way to confirm that premade meals are cooked to a temperature high enough to kill harmful bacteria is to use a food thermometer that measures internal temperature,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fsis.usda.gov/safetempchart">https://www.fsis.usda.gov/safetempchart</a>.

Consumers with questions regarding the recall can contact FreshRealm’s customer service at 888-244-1562. Media can contact Mary Beth Lowell, Director of Internal Communications, FreshRealm, at 425-531-0122 or&nbsp;<a href="mailto:marybeth.lowell@freshrealm.com">marybeth.lowell@freshrealm.com</a>.

Consumers with food safety questions can call the toll-free USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline at 888-MPHotline (888-674-6854) or send a question via email to&nbsp;<a href="mailto:MPHotline@usda.gov">MPHotline@usda.gov</a>. For consumers that need to report a problem with a meat, poultry, or egg product, the online Electronic Consumer Complaint Monitoring System can be accessed 24 hours a day at&nbsp;<a href="https://gcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Ffoodcomplaint.fsis.usda.gov%2FeCCF%2F&amp;data=05%7C01%7CMelissa.Cordell%40usda.gov%7C2ffd2d584176447889ea08dbb48bd749%7Ced5b36e701ee4ebc867ee03cfa0d4697%7C1%7C0%7C638302284933732023%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=Jx%2BVgXbvTA0YVfEYBwKrSu9MQne%2BUQZ3bT04yRxlrAI%3D&amp;reserved=0">https://foodcomplaint.fsis.usda.gov/eCCF/</a>.

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/6/1750253967577.png" alt="Image USDA" />
                        <figcaption>Image USDA</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>WASHINGTON– FreshRealm establishments in San Clemente, Calif., Montezuma, Ga., and Indianapolis, Ind., are recalling chicken fettuccine alfredo products that may be adulterated with an outbreak strain of&nbsp;Listeria monocytogenes&nbsp;(Lm), the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced Tuesday. Out of an abundance of caution, the company is voluntarily recalling all products produced prior to June 17, 2025, that are available in commerce under the following brand names.</p><figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/6/1750253948292.png" alt="Image USDA" />
                        <figcaption>Image USDA</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>The following ready-to-eat products were shipped to Kroger and Walmart retail locations nationwide&nbsp;</p><ul>
                        <li>32.8-oz. tray packages containing “MARKETSIDE GRILLED CHICKEN ALFREDO WITH FETTUCCINE Tender Pasta with Creamy Alfredo Sauce, White Meat Chicken and Shaved Parmesan Cheese” with best-by date 06/27/25 or prior.&nbsp;</li><li>12.3 oz. tray packages containing “MARKETSIDE GRILLED CHICKEN ALFREDO WITH FETTUCCINE Tender Pasta with Creamy Alfredo Sauce, White Meat Chicken, Broccoli and Shaved Parmesan Cheese” with best-by date 06/26/25 or prior.&nbsp;</li><li>12.5 oz. tray packages containing “HOME CHEF Heat &amp; Eat Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo with pasta, grilled white meat chicken, and Parmesan cheese” with best-by date 06/19/25 or prior.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;</li>
                    </ul><p>The products bear the USDA mark of inspection on the product label as well as establishment numbers “EST. P-50784,” “EST. P-47770,” or “EST. P-47718” printed on the side of the packaging.</p><p>FSIS and public health partners are investigating an outbreak of&nbsp;Lm&nbsp;that currently includes 17 ill people in 13 states. As of June 17, 2025, there have been three reported deaths and one fetal loss associated with this outbreak. The outbreak strain of&nbsp;Lm&nbsp;was isolated from ill people on dates ranging from August 2024 – May 2025. </p><p>The same outbreak strain was isolated from a routine chicken fettuccine alfredo sample collected by FSIS in a FreshRealm establishment in March 2025. The lot of chicken fettuccine alfredo represented by this sample was held during sampling, destroyed, and never entered commerce. The subsequent investigations at the establishment that produced this product, and into the product ingredients, have not identified the source of contamination. </p><p>FSIS also used purchase records from two ill people to trace purchased chicken fettuccine alfredo products to FreshRealm establishments. An additional two ill people verbally described chicken fettuccine alfredo products they purchased. FSIS identified products produced by FreshRealm that matched the descriptions during follow-up at the retail stores where they shopped. This investigation is ongoing. FSIS is sharing what is currently known regarding products associated with the outbreak as the agency continues to work with public health partners to identify whether a specific ingredient in the chicken fettucine alfredo may be the source of this strain of&nbsp;Lm.</p><p>Consumption of food contaminated with&nbsp;Lm&nbsp;can cause listeriosis, a serious infection that primarily affects older adults, persons with weakened immune systems, and pregnant women and their newborns. Less commonly, people outside these risk groups are affected.</p><p>Listeriosis can cause fever, muscle aches, headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance and convulsions sometimes preceded by diarrhea or other gastrointestinal symptoms. An invasive infection spreads beyond the gastrointestinal tract. In pregnant women, the infection can cause miscarriages, stillbirths, premature delivery or life-threatening infection of the newborn. In addition, serious and sometimes fatal infections in older adults and people with weakened immune systems. Listeriosis is treated with antibiotics. People in the higher-risk categories who experience flu-like symptoms within two months after eating contaminated food should seek medical care and tell the health care provider about eating the contaminated food.</p><p>FSIS is concerned that some products may be in consumers’ refrigerators or freezers. Consumers who have purchased these products are urged not to consume them. These products should be thrown away or returned to the place of purchase.</p><p>FSIS routinely conducts recall effectiveness checks to verify recalling firms notify their&nbsp;customers of the recall and that steps are taken to make certain that the product is no longer available to consumers. When available, the retail distribution list(s) will be posted on the FSIS website at&nbsp;<a href="http://www.fsis.usda.gov/recalls">www.fsis.usda.gov/recalls</a>.</p><p>FSIS advises all consumers to safely prepare their meat products, including fresh and frozen, and to only consume premade meals like chicken fettuccine alfredo that has been cooked to a temperature of 165 degrees F. The only way to confirm that premade meals are cooked to a temperature high enough to kill harmful bacteria is to use a food thermometer that measures internal temperature,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fsis.usda.gov/safetempchart">https://www.fsis.usda.gov/safetempchart</a>.</p><p>Consumers with questions regarding the recall can contact FreshRealm’s customer service at 888-244-1562. Media can contact Mary Beth Lowell, Director of Internal Communications, FreshRealm, at 425-531-0122 or&nbsp;<a href="mailto:marybeth.lowell@freshrealm.com">marybeth.lowell@freshrealm.com</a>.</p><p>Consumers with food safety questions can call the toll-free USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline at 888-MPHotline (888-674-6854) or send a question via email to&nbsp;<a href="mailto:MPHotline@usda.gov">MPHotline@usda.gov</a>. For consumers that need to report a problem with a meat, poultry, or egg product, the online Electronic Consumer Complaint Monitoring System can be accessed 24 hours a day at&nbsp;<a href="https://gcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Ffoodcomplaint.fsis.usda.gov%2FeCCF%2F&amp;data=05%7C01%7CMelissa.Cordell%40usda.gov%7C2ffd2d584176447889ea08dbb48bd749%7Ced5b36e701ee4ebc867ee03cfa0d4697%7C1%7C0%7C638302284933732023%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=Jx%2BVgXbvTA0YVfEYBwKrSu9MQne%2BUQZ3bT04yRxlrAI%3D&amp;reserved=0">https://foodcomplaint.fsis.usda.gov/eCCF/</a>.</p>

Meals sold at Walmart and Kroger recalled amid deadly listeria outbreak

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/6/1750268276007.png" alt="<br>" />
                        <figcaption><br></figcaption>
                    </figure><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">.<a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a>: &quot;The White House opened about 1800... and I&#39;ve always said, &#39;Why doesn&#39;t it have a flagpole from the grass?&#39; ... This is about the largest you&#39;ll ever see... We&#39;re about to lift it, and we also have one going on the front, or the north.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/2c8jsLuCGS">pic.twitter.com/2c8jsLuCGS</a></p>&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1935336846604558790?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 18, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">President Trump on new flag poles at the White House: &quot;These are the best poles anywhere in the country, or the world actually.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/JkWuo40zyN">pic.twitter.com/JkWuo40zyN</a></p>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1935338113389195481?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 18, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/6/1750257361875.png" alt="Image courtesy White House" />
                        <figcaption>Image courtesy White House</figcaption>
                    </figure><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">A new flag pole is raised on the South Lawn of the White House. <a href="https://t.co/TKQpSQJ2Ko">pic.twitter.com/TKQpSQJ2Ko</a></p>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1935348717936071006?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 18, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Happening Now—President Trump stops by to say hello and thank the workers who are installing the Beautiful American Flagpole on the South Lawn of the <a href="https://twitter.com/WhiteHouse?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@WhiteHouse</a>… <a href="https://t.co/QXtcdp35bu">pic.twitter.com/QXtcdp35bu</a></p>&mdash; Dan Scavino (@Scavino47) <a href="https://twitter.com/Scavino47/status/1935349139291914441?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 18, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">President Trump speaking to the <a href="https://twitter.com/WhiteHouse?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@WhiteHouse</a> press pool on the South Lawn as the flagpole is installed… <a href="https://t.co/F9eGy0ViEx">pic.twitter.com/F9eGy0ViEx</a></p>&mdash; Dan Scavino (@Scavino47) <a href="https://twitter.com/Scavino47/status/1935350108813410774?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 18, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/6/1750268324911.png" alt="Photo by Margo Martin, Assistant to the President" />
                        <figcaption>Photo by Margo Martin, Assistant to the President</figcaption>
                    </figure><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="zxx" dir="ltr"><a href="https://t.co/ravicGkEh3">https://t.co/ravicGkEh3</a> <a href="https://t.co/ULvnETTWi8">pic.twitter.com/ULvnETTWi8</a></p>&mdash; Dan Scavino (@Scavino47) <a href="https://twitter.com/Scavino47/status/1935395446710747603?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 18, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">View from the roof of the White House of the new flag being raised! 🇺🇸 <a href="https://t.co/9AgpbWTWg4">pic.twitter.com/9AgpbWTWg4</a></p>&mdash; Margo Martin (@MargoMartin47) <a href="https://twitter.com/MargoMartin47/status/1935410080179945685?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 18, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="qme" dir="ltr">🇺🇸 <a href="https://t.co/i5yGc8GbSA">pic.twitter.com/i5yGc8GbSA</a></p>&mdash; House Republicans (@HouseGOP) <a href="https://twitter.com/HouseGOP/status/1935422118155665799?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 18, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>

🎥Trump shows off  new ‘magnificent’ flagpoles at the White House

<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Fed Chair Jerome Powell: &quot;In support of our goals, today the Federal Open Market Committee decided to leave our policy interest rate unchanged. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FOMC?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FOMC</a> <a href="https://t.co/6Lezvvzqyj">pic.twitter.com/6Lezvvzqyj</a></p>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1935407886311579746?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 18, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>

🎥No good news for borrowers on interest rates

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/6/1750269288982.png" alt="President Donald Trump speaks as a flag pole is installed on the South Lawn of the White House, Wednesday-image courtesy CSPAN" />
                        <figcaption>President Donald Trump speaks as a flag pole is installed on the South Lawn of the White House, Wednesday-image courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
                    </figure><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Urgent notice! American citizens wanting to leave Israel- US Embassy in Israel <a href="https://twitter.com/usembassyjlm?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@usembassyjlm</a> is working on evacuation flights &amp; cruise ship departures. <br>You must enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) (<a href="https://t.co/rXymPRTQJJ">https://t.co/rXymPRTQJJ</a>) You will be alerted w/ updates.</p>&mdash; Ambassador Mike Huckabee (@GovMikeHuckabee) <a href="https://twitter.com/GovMikeHuckabee/status/1935354233819193433?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 18, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">President Trump: &quot;Nobody knows what I&#39;m going to do. I can tell you this, that Iran&#39;s got a lot of trouble and they want to negotiate...&quot; <a href="https://t.co/5IxVLjd4HC">pic.twitter.com/5IxVLjd4HC</a></p>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1935342623708926350?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 18, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Q: &quot;Mr. President, what do you say to the Supreme Leader of Iran who says that they will not surrender?&quot;<a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a>: &quot;I say, &#39;Good luck.&#39;&quot; <a href="https://t.co/iXy5xfKNup">pic.twitter.com/iXy5xfKNup</a></p>&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1935341674055508457?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 18, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">.<a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a>: &quot;We&#39;re not looking for long-term war. I only want one thing — Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. That&#39;s it.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/8gl7Wp2NBy">pic.twitter.com/8gl7Wp2NBy</a></p>&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1935347025954095376?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 18, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">.<a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a> on negotiations with Iran: &quot;Nothing is too late. The only thing too late is Powell.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/g7x5b9u8Gw">pic.twitter.com/g7x5b9u8Gw</a></p>&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1935338837695189018?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 18, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>

🎥Americans warned to evacuate Israel by air and sea as Iran crisis deepens

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/6/1750210174941.png" alt="Image White House" />
                        <figcaption>Image White House</figcaption>
                    </figure><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="qme" dir="ltr">🇺🇸 <a href="https://t.co/kqUAgta0En">pic.twitter.com/kqUAgta0En</a></p>&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1935131324190203983?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 18, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Presiden Trump on the North Lawn of the <a href="https://twitter.com/WhiteHouse?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@WhiteHouse</a> looking for the perfect spot to put a 100ft tall American Flag pole—he will determine a second spot on the South Lawn as well, at his personal expense… <a href="https://t.co/2ckAR0tndf">pic.twitter.com/2ckAR0tndf</a></p>&mdash; Dan Scavino (@Scavino47) <a href="https://twitter.com/Scavino47/status/1915075327778320503?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 23, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>

President Trump's new 'magnificent' flag poles going up at the White House

By:&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/author/ariana-figueroa/">Ariana Figueroa</a>

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla, a California Democrat who was forcibly removed from a press conference with the secretary of Homeland Security, said Tuesday that his home state is the testing ground for President Donald Trump’s push to deploy the military within the United States.

Trump is using immigrants in the country without legal status as scapegoats to send in troops, said Padilla, who in a speech on the Senate floor choked up as he related how he was wrestled to the ground by law enforcement officials. “I refuse to let immigrants be political pawns on his path toward fascism,” Padilla said.

It’s the first floor speech the senior senator from California has given since&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/democratic-us-sen-alex-padilla-california-cuffed-shoved-out-noem-press-event" target="_blank">the highly publicized incident in Los Angeles&nbsp;</a>last week. The Secret Service handcuffed Padilla after he tried to question Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who was defending to reporters Trump’s decision to send 4,000 National Guard members and 700 Marines to LA.

Trump sent in the troops following multi-day protests over Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids and against California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s wishes. An appeals court Tuesday is hearing&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/trump-keeps-control-california-national-guard-la-now-after-appeals-court-order" target="_blank">arguments on a suit</a>&nbsp;by&nbsp;California contending that the president unlawfully took control of the state National Guard.

“He wants the spectacle,” Padilla said of the president. “To justify his undemocratic crackdown and his authoritarian power grab.”

The LA protests were sparked after ICE targeted Home Depots, places where undocumented day laborers typically search for work, for immigration raids.

The Padilla incident, widely captured on video, was a stark escalation of the tensions between Democratic lawmakers and the administration over Trump’s drive to enact mass deportations.

A Democratic House member from New Jersey is&nbsp;<a href="https://newjerseymonitor.com/2025/06/11/n-j-congresswoman-indicted-over-fracas-outside-newark-ice-jail/" target="_blank">facing federal charges</a>&nbsp;on allegations that she shoved immigration officials while protesting the opening of an immigrant detention center in Newark. And on Tuesday, in New York City, ICE officers arrested city comptroller and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fox5ny.com/election/nyc-primary-election-mayor-race-polls-candidates-june-17" target="_blank">mayoral candidate</a>&nbsp;Brad Lander while he was escorting an immigrant to their hearing in immigration court, according to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/brad-lander-nyc-immigration-court-arrest-6ed341297efab31a08a14421674d8ed8" target="_blank">The Associated Press</a>.

In a statement to States Newsroom, DHS Assistant Secretary of Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin said Lander “was arrested for assaulting law enforcement and impeding a federal officer.”

“No one is above the law, and if you lay a hand on a law enforcement officer, you will face consequences,” McLaughlin said.

<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/trump-directs-ice-target-3-big-democratic-cities-raids" target="_blank">The president late Sunday</a>&nbsp;directed ICE&nbsp;to conduct immigration raids in New York, LA and Chicago, the nation’s three most populous cities, all led by elected Democrats in heavily Democratic states.

“We will follow the President’s direction and continue to work to get the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens off of America’s streets,” McLaughlin said.

Padilla in his Senate remarks gave an account of the events that led to him being handcuffed and detained last week.

On June 12, he had a meeting scheduled with&nbsp;General Gregory M. Guillot, commander of the U.S. Northern Command, to discuss the military presence in LA.

Padilla, the top Democrat on a Judiciary panel that oversees DHS and immigration policy, said his meeting with the general was delayed because of a press briefing across the hall with Noem.&nbsp;

Padilla said he has tried to speak with DHS because for weeks LA has “seen a disturbing pattern of increasingly extreme and cruel immigration enforcement operations targeting non-violent people at places of worship, at schools, in courthouses.”

So Padilla said he asked to attend the press conference, and&nbsp;a National Guard member and an FBI agent escorted him inside.

“They opened the door for me,” he said.

As he listened, he said a comment from Noem compelled him to ask a question.

“We are not going away,” Noem, the former governor of South Dakota, told the press. “We are staying here to liberate the city from the socialists and the burdensome leadership that this governor and that this mayor have placed on this country and what they have tried to insert into the city.”

Padilla said her remarks struck him as “an un-American mission statement.”

“That cannot be the mission of federal law enforcement and the United States military,” he said. “Are we truly prepared to live in a country where the president can deploy the armed forces to decide which duly elected governors and mayors should be allowed to lead their constituents?”&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Padilla said before he could finish his question, he was physically removed and the National Guard member and FBI agent who escorted him in the room “stood by silently, knowing full well who I was.”

As he recounted being handcuffed, Padilla paused, getting emotional.

“I was forced to the ground, first on my knees, and then flat on my chest,” he said.

Padilla said a flurry of questions went through his head as he was marched down a hallway, and as he kept asking why he was being detained: Where are they taking me? What will a city, already on the edge from being militarized, think when they see their U.S. senator being handcuffed just for trying to ask a question? What will my wife think? What will our boys think?

“I also remember asking myself, if this aggressive escalation is the result of someone speaking up about the abuse and overreach of the Trump administration, was it really worth it?” Padilla asked. “If a United States senator becomes too afraid to speak up, how can we expect any other American to do the same?”

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/6/1749757448306.png" alt="Senator Padilla as shown in the video provided by U.S. Homeland Security" />
                        <figcaption>Senator Padilla as shown in the video provided by U.S. Homeland Security</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>By:&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/author/ariana-figueroa/">Ariana Figueroa</a></p><p>WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla, a California Democrat who was forcibly removed from a press conference with the secretary of Homeland Security, said Tuesday that his home state is the testing ground for President Donald Trump’s push to deploy the military within the United States.</p><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">.<a href="https://twitter.com/SenAlexPadilla?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SenAlexPadilla</a>: &quot;How many Americans in the year 2025 see a vindictive president on a tour of retribution unrestrained by the majority of this separate and co-equal branch of government and wonder if it&#39;s worth it to stand up or to speak out.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/RhCaix3Y3q">pic.twitter.com/RhCaix3Y3q</a></p>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1935022858654089493?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 17, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><p>Trump is using immigrants in the country without legal status as scapegoats to send in troops, said Padilla, who in a speech on the Senate floor choked up as he related how he was wrestled to the ground by law enforcement officials. “I refuse to let immigrants be political pawns on his path toward fascism,” Padilla said.</p><p>It’s the first floor speech the senior senator from California has given since&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/democratic-us-sen-alex-padilla-california-cuffed-shoved-out-noem-press-event" target="_blank">the highly publicized incident in Los Angeles&nbsp;</a>last week. The Secret Service handcuffed Padilla after he tried to question Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who was defending to reporters Trump’s decision to send 4,000 National Guard members and 700 Marines to LA.</p><p>Trump sent in the troops following multi-day protests over Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids and against California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s wishes. An appeals court Tuesday is hearing&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/trump-keeps-control-california-national-guard-la-now-after-appeals-court-order" target="_blank">arguments on a suit</a>&nbsp;by&nbsp;California contending that the president unlawfully took control of the state National Guard.</p><p>“He wants the spectacle,” Padilla said of the president. “To justify his undemocratic crackdown and his authoritarian power grab.”</p><p>The LA protests were sparked after ICE targeted Home Depots, places where undocumented day laborers typically search for work, for immigration raids.</p><h2>Arrests, confrontations</h2><p>The Padilla incident, widely captured on video, was a stark escalation of the tensions between Democratic lawmakers and the administration over Trump’s drive to enact mass deportations.</p><p>A Democratic House member from New Jersey is&nbsp;<a href="https://newjerseymonitor.com/2025/06/11/n-j-congresswoman-indicted-over-fracas-outside-newark-ice-jail/" target="_blank">facing federal charges</a>&nbsp;on allegations that she shoved immigration officials while protesting the opening of an immigrant detention center in Newark. And on Tuesday, in New York City, ICE officers arrested city comptroller and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fox5ny.com/election/nyc-primary-election-mayor-race-polls-candidates-june-17" target="_blank">mayoral candidate</a>&nbsp;Brad Lander while he was escorting an immigrant to their hearing in immigration court, according to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/brad-lander-nyc-immigration-court-arrest-6ed341297efab31a08a14421674d8ed8" target="_blank">The Associated Press</a>.</p><p>In a statement to States Newsroom, DHS Assistant Secretary of Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin said Lander “was arrested for assaulting law enforcement and impeding a federal officer.”</p><p>“No one is above the law, and if you lay a hand on a law enforcement officer, you will face consequences,” McLaughlin said.</p><p><a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/trump-directs-ice-target-3-big-democratic-cities-raids" target="_blank">The president late Sunday</a>&nbsp;directed ICE&nbsp;to conduct immigration raids in New York, LA and Chicago, the nation’s three most populous cities, all led by elected Democrats in heavily Democratic states.</p><p>“We will follow the President’s direction and continue to work to get the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens off of America’s streets,” McLaughlin said.</p><h2>‘They opened the door for me’</h2><p>Padilla in his Senate remarks gave an account of the events that led to him being handcuffed and detained last week.</p><p>On June 12, he had a meeting scheduled with&nbsp;General Gregory M. Guillot, commander of the U.S. Northern Command, to discuss the military presence in LA.</p><p>Padilla, the top Democrat on a Judiciary panel that oversees DHS and immigration policy, said his meeting with the general was delayed because of a press briefing across the hall with Noem.&nbsp;</p><p>Padilla said he has tried to speak with DHS because for weeks LA has “seen a disturbing pattern of increasingly extreme and cruel immigration enforcement operations targeting non-violent people at places of worship, at schools, in courthouses.”</p><p>So Padilla said he asked to attend the press conference, and&nbsp;a National Guard member and an FBI agent escorted him inside.</p><p>“They opened the door for me,” he said.</p><p>As he listened, he said a comment from Noem compelled him to ask a question.</p><p>“We are not going away,” Noem, the former governor of South Dakota, told the press. “We are staying here to liberate the city from the socialists and the burdensome leadership that this governor and that this mayor have placed on this country and what they have tried to insert into the city.”</p><p>Padilla said her remarks struck him as “an un-American mission statement.”</p><p>“That cannot be the mission of federal law enforcement and the United States military,” he said. “Are we truly prepared to live in a country where the president can deploy the armed forces to decide which duly elected governors and mayors should be allowed to lead their constituents?”&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>Padilla said before he could finish his question, he was physically removed and the National Guard member and FBI agent who escorted him in the room “stood by silently, knowing full well who I was.”</p><p>As he recounted being handcuffed, Padilla paused, getting emotional.</p><p>“I was forced to the ground, first on my knees, and then flat on my chest,” he said.</p><p>Padilla said a flurry of questions went through his head as he was marched down a hallway, and as he kept asking why he was being detained: Where are they taking me? What will a city, already on the edge from being militarized, think when they see their U.S. senator being handcuffed just for trying to ask a question? What will my wife think? What will our boys think?</p><p>“I also remember asking myself, if this aggressive escalation is the result of someone speaking up about the abuse and overreach of the Trump administration, was it really worth it?” Padilla asked. “If a United States senator becomes too afraid to speak up, how can we expect any other American to do the same?”</p><h2>Padilla-Noem meeting</h2><p>In a statement, DHS,&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/DHSgov/status/1933236707060822447" target="_blank">said</a>&nbsp;that the Secret Service did not know Padilla was a U.S. senator, although video of the incident shows that Padilla stated that he was a member of the Senate.</p><p>“I’m Sen. Alex Padilla and I have questions for the secretary,” he said as four federal law enforcement officers grabbed him and shoved him to the ground.</p><p>Noem met with Padilla after he was handcuffed, his office told States Newsroom.</p><p>“He raised concerns with the deployment of military forces and the needless escalation over the last week, among other issues,” according to his office. “And he voiced his frustration with the continued lack of response from this administration. It was a civil, brief meeting, but the Secretary did not provide any meaningful answers. The Senator was simply trying to do his job and seek answers for the people he represents in California.”</p><p>U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson has suggested that the Senate take action against Padilla, such as a censure. Johnson criticized the senator’s actions and accused him of charging at Noem, which Padilla is not seen doing in the multiple videos of the incident.</p><p>“I’m not in that chamber, but I do think that it merits immediate attention by other colleagues over there,” the Louisiana Republican said. “I think that behavior, at a minimum, rises to the level of censure. I think there needs to be a message sent by the body as a whole.”</p><p>Senate Democrats have coalesced their support around Padilla. During a Tuesday press conference, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer praised Padilla for his speech on the Senate floor.</p><p>“It was basically a strong plea for America to regain the gyroscope of democracy, which has led us forward for so many years and now we’re losing it,” the New York Democrat said. “It’s a wake-up call to all Americans.”</p><p>Jennifer Shutt contributed to this report.&nbsp;</p>