HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un, leaders of two nations with a long history of hostilities, opened their second summitWednesday with smiles, hopeful talk and a friendly dinner that will set the stage for more difficult talks to come about curbing North Korea’s pursuit of nuclear weapons.

Happening Now: President Donald J. Trump and Chairman Kim Jong Un at dinner in Hanoi. pic.twitter.com/gzAlLqStWf

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) February 27, 2019

Facing widespread skepticism about what they can achieve, the two men exchanged a warm handshake before a phalanx of alternating American and North Korean flags before disappearing for a private, 30-minute pre-dinner chat.

“A lot of things are going to be solved I hope,” Trump said as dinner commenced. “I think it will lead to a wonderful, really a wonderful situation long-term.”

Kim, for his part, said that his country had been “misunderstood” and viewed with “distrust.”

“There have been efforts, whether out of hostility or not, to block the path that we intend to take,” he said. “But we have overcome all these and walked toward each other again and we’ve now reached Hanoi after 261 days” since their first meeting in Singapore.

“We have met again here and I am confident that we can achieve great results that everyone welcomes.”

For all of the optimistic talk, there was broad concern that Trump, eager for an agreement, would give Kim too much and get too little in return — perhaps a peace declaration for the Korean War that the North could use to eventually push for the reduction of U.S. troops in South Korea, for example, or sanctions relief that could allow Pyongyang to pursue lucrative economic projects with the South.

Photos from moments ago: President Donald J. Trump and Chairman Kim Jong Un meeting in Hanoi. pic.twitter.com/cWQNOLVecK

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) February 27, 2019

Skeptics insist Trump must first get real progress on the North abandoning its nuclear weapons before giving away important negotiating leverage.

Asked if this summit would yield a political declaration to end the Korean War, Trump told reporters: “We’ll see.”

The two leaders were joined for an intimate dinner by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, Kim Yong Chol, a former military spy chief and Kim’s point man in negotiations, and North Korean Foreign Affairs Minister Ri Yong Ho. Interpreters for each side also attended.

As Trump reached for a summit victory abroad, back in Washington his former personal attorney, Michael Cohen, was prepared to deliver explosive testimony on Capitol Hill that the president is a “racist,” a “conman” and a “cheat.” Unable to ignore the drama playing out thousands of miles away, Trump tweeted that Cohen, who has been sentenced to three years in prison for lying to Congress, “did bad things unrelated to Trump” and “is lying in order to reduce his prison time.”

Anticipation for what could be accomplished at the summit ran high in Hanoi. But the carnival-like atmosphere in the Vietnamese capital, with street artists painting likenesses of the leaders and vendors hawking T-shirts showing Kim waving and Trump giving a thumbs-up, contrasted with the serious items on their agenda: North Korea’s nuclear weapons program and peace on the Korean Peninsula.

pic.twitter.com/blzh6t4Zln

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) February 27, 2019

Trump has been trying to convince Kim that his nation could thrive economically like the host country, Vietnam, if he would end his nuclear weapons program.

“I think that your country has tremendous economic potential — unbelievable, unlimited,” Trump said. “I think that you will have a tremendous future with your country — a great leader — and I look forward to watching it happen and helping it to happen.”

The summit venue, the colonial and neoclassical Sofitel Legend Metropole in the old part of Hanoi, came with a dose of history: Trump was trying to talk Kim into giving up his nuclear arsenal at a hotel with a bomb shelter that protected the likes of actress Jane Fonda and singer Joan Baez from American air raids during the Vietnam War.

Trump and Kim first met last June in Singapore, a summit that was long on historic pageantry but short on any enforceable agreements for North Korea to give up its nuclear arsenal. North Korea has spent decades, at great economic sacrifice, building its nuclear program, and there are doubts that it will give away that program without getting something substantial from the U.S.

The Korean conflict ended in 1953 with an armistice, essentially a cease-fire signed by North Korea, China and the 17-nation, U.S.-led United Nations Command. A peace declaration would amount to a political statement, ostensibly teeing up talks for a formal peace treaty that would involve other nations.

North and South Korea also want U.S. sanctions dialed back so they can resurrect two major symbols of rapprochement that provided much-needed hard currency to North Korea: a jointly run factory park in Kaesong and South Korean tours to the North’s scenic Diamond Mountain resort.

Ahead of the private dinner, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders excluded some U.S. reporters, including The Associated Press, after reporters asked questions of Trump during a previous photo opportunity. “Due to the sensitive nature of the meetings we have limited the pool for the dinner to a smaller group,” she said in a statement.

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HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un — affable leaders of hostile nations — opened their second summit Wednesday with hopeful words and a private chat before sitting down for dinner and further talks about North Korea’s pursuit of nuclear weapons.

The two exchanged smiles and a warm handshake in front of a phalanx of alternating American and North Korean flags. They posed for cameras before disappearing for their private tete-a-tete, similar to one they had at their first historic meeting last year in Singapore.

Photos from moments ago: President Donald J. Trump and Chairman Kim Jong Un meeting in Hanoi. pic.twitter.com/cWQNOLVecK

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) February 27, 2019

“We made a lot of progress,” Trump said of their first summit. “I think the biggest progress was our relationship, is really a good one.”

Asked if this summit would yield a political declaration to end the Korean War, Trump said “We’ll see.”

Kim said he was “confident of achieving the great results that everyone will welcome.”

The venue, the colonial and neoclassical Sofitel Legend Metropole in the old part of Hanoi, came with a bit of irony.

Trump will be trying to convince Kim to give up his nuclear weapons at a hotel that has bomb shelter that protected the likes of actress Jane Fonda and singer Joan Baez from American air raids during the Vietnam War. According to the hotel’s website, the bunker was closed and sealed after the war ended in the mid-1970s. It was rediscovered by chance during a bar renovation project in 2011.

Trump was being joined at dinner by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney. Kim was being accompanied by Kim Yong Chol, a former military spy chief and Kim’s point man in negotiations, and Ri Yong Ho, the foreign affairs minister. Interpreters for each side also were attending.

Anticipation for what will be accomplished at the summit ran high in Hanoi. But the carnival-like atmosphere in the Vietnamese capital, with street artists painting likenesses of the leaders and vendors hawking T-shirts showing Kim waving and Trump giving a thumbs-up, contrasted with the serious items on their agenda.

President @realDonaldTrump arriving at the Office of Government Hall in Hanoi, Vietnam… pic.twitter.com/fGuAn5H2vk

— Dan Scavino Jr. (@Scavino45) February 27, 2019

Scoring a victory at the summit would offset Trump’s political troubles back in Washington, where Michael Cohen, his former personal attorney, was prepared to tell lawmakers that Trump is a “racist,” a “conman” and a “cheat.” Earlier in the day, after meeting with the president of Vietnam, Trump was unable to ignore the drama playing out thousands of miles away.

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By JOHN HANNA
Associated Press

TOPEKA — Unified Republicans blocked an attempt Tuesday by the Kansas Senate’s top Democrat to speed up work on education funding issues and advance Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s plan for increasing spending on public schools.The new Democratic governor has urged legislators to pass a school funding bill by the end of this month to comply with a Kansas Supreme Court ruling last year that said the state’s current spending isn’t sufficient, even with increases approved last year. But with her target date of Thursday approaching, no legislative committee has taken a vote.And, so, with the Senate debating an education policy bill , Minority Leader Anthony Hensley, a Topeka Democrat and Kelly ally, proposed to add Kelly’s plan to boost education funding by $93 million during the state budget year beginning in July. His plan also would have guaranteed another funding increase the following year.

“We haven’t had any discussion about school finance,” Hensley said, adding that he was trying to make a “good faith effort” to meet the court’s demands.

But the vote was 28-12 against Hensley’s amendment, with every GOP senator voting no, including moderates who must support Kelly’s initiatives if they are to pass the Republican-dominated Legislature.

Senate GOP leaders said they’re committed to boosting spending on public schools. But they added that they want to make sure a school finance bill is properly vetted.

“We’re well on our way to getting this sorted out methodically,” said Senate Majority Leader Jim Denning, an Overland Park Republican.

The law enacted last year phases in a $548 million increase in education funding, but the Supreme Court said it was insufficient because it didn’t properly account for inflation in recent years. The court’s ruling in June was the latest in a series of decisions forcing lawmakers to increase spending, issued in a lawsuit filed in 2010 by four local school districts.

The Supreme Court has given parties in the lawsuit until April 15 to file written arguments about lawmakers’ response to last year’s ruling. The justices have set oral arguments for May 9.

“The Legislature has debated this issue for years and has a deadline to meet,” Kelly spokeswoman Ashley All said, adding that lawmakers should “focus on meeting needs of our children and schools.”

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TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Republicans in the Kansas Senate have thwarted an attempt by the chamber’s top Democrat to advance Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s proposal to boost spending on public schools.

The Senate vote Tuesday was 28-12 against an amendment offered by Minority Leader Anthony Hensley of Topeka to a bill to clarify a law dealing with which programs for at-risk students can receive state funds.

The amendment contained Kelly’s proposal to increase education funding by roughly $90 million a year to comply with a Kansas Supreme Court ruling last year.

No legislative committee has voted on Kelly’s proposal. Republican leaders said they want a funding bill to be thoroughly reviewed.

The Supreme Court said a law enacted last year to boost education funding wasn’t sufficient because it didn’t adequately account for inflation.

BELOIT, Kan. (AP) — A jury has acquitted a man who was charged with his mother’s murder nearly 15 years after she died.

46-year-old Chuckie Fleming was found not guilty of first-degree murder Monday after a trial in Mitchell County.

Fleming was arrested and charged in July in the death of Carol Fleming. She was found in August 2003 shot to death as she slept in her Beloit home.

His defense attorney, Julie Effenbeck, said the decision came down to a lack of evidence and a lack of credibility with the state’s witnesses.

Mitchell County Attorney Mark Noah argued during the trial that Carol Fleming was killed with a shotgun from one of her son’s trucks, and that he received $370,000 from his parents’ estate.

RENO COUNTY—Two suspects arrested for a February 18, robbery at a Kansas convenience store have been formally charged.

Emerson Noble, 19, and Elaina Matos, 27, have been charged with aggravated robbery. Noble is also charged with interference with law enforcement.

They are accused of robbing the Kwik Shop at 17th and Lorraine in Hutchinson. Noble allegedly entered the store and requested to purchase an item from behind the counter. Once the clerk opened up the register, the suspect punched her one time in the face and grabbed some money from the register.

Police believe he conspired with Matos, who drove him to the Kwik Shop and dropped him off with the intent to commit robbery.

Both will be back in court on March 20.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — The United Methodist Church, America’s second-largest Protestant denomination, faces a likely surge in defections and acts of defiance after delegates at a crucial conference Tuesday rejected a move to ease the faith’s ban on same-sex marriage and ordination of LGBT clergy.

Some supporters of greater LGBT inclusion were in tears, while others vented their anger after delegates, on a 449-374 vote, defeated a proposal that would have let regional and local church bodies decide for themselves on gay-friendly policies.

“Devastation,” was how former Methodist pastor Rebecca Wilson of Detroit described her feelings. “As someone who left because I’m gay, I’m waiting for the church I love to stop bringing more hate.”

Delegates then took up a competing measure, known as the Traditional Plan, that would tighten enforcement of the LGBT bans and encourage Methodists who oppose those policies to leave the church. It won majority support in a preliminary vote on Monday.

The Traditional Plan’s success was due to an alliance of conservatives from the U.S. and overseas. About 43 percent of the delegates are from abroad, mostly from Africa, and overwhelmingly support the LGBT bans.

If the bans were eased, “the church in Africa would cease to exist,” said the Rev. Jerry Kulah of Liberia. “We can’t do anything but to support the Traditional Plan — it is the biblical plan.”

The deep split within the church was evident in several fiery speeches opposing the Traditional Plan.

“If we bring this virus into our church, it will bring illness to us all,” said the Rev. Thomas Berlin of Herndon, Virginia. He predicted many Methodist churchgoers and some regional bodies would leave the church, while others would “stay and fight,” performing same-sex weddings even if it meant punishment.

Many supporters of the more liberal plan stood in support as Berlin spoke. Some wore rainbow-motif garments or sat behind rainbow banners.

The Rev. Allen Ewing-Merrill, a pastor from Portland, Maine, pledged defiance of the Traditional Plan, tweeting: “I will not participate in your bigotry, sin & violence.”

An association of Methodist theological schools warned that if the Traditional Plan passes, the church “will lose an entire generation of leaders in America.”

Formed in a merger in 1968, the United Methodist Church claims about 12.6 million members worldwide, including nearly 7 million in the United States.

While other mainline Protestant denominations, such as the Episcopal and Presbyterian (U.S.A.) churches, have embraced gay-friendly practices, the Methodist church still bans them, though acts of defiance by pro-LGBT clergy have multiplied.

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