WASHINGTON (AP) — Mike Pompeo took over as America’s top diplomat Thursday after being confirmed by the Senate and sworn in across the street minutes later. The new secretary of state immediately dashed off to Europe in an energetic start befitting the high-stakes issues awaiting him from Iran to North Korea.

JUST RELEASED: Photos of Secretary of State Pompeo in North Korea. Secretary Pompeo will do an excellent job helping President Trump lead our efforts to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula. pic.twitter.com/pQ0P8hbMTN

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) April 26, 2018

The hard-charging former CIA director was confirmed on a 57-42 vote — one of the slimmest margins for the job in recent history. Every past nominee to get a roll call vote since at least the Carter administration received 85 or more yes votes in the Senate, with the exception of Trump’s first secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, who got 56.

Michael Richard Pompeo was just sworn in as the 70th Secretary of State from the West Conference Room at The Supreme Court of the United States by Associate Justice Samuel Anthony Alito, Jr. pic.twitter.com/RH95jrt8vk

— Hogan Gidley (@hogangidley45) April 26, 2018

He was sworn in at the Supreme Court by Justice Samuel Alito, a fellow Italian-American, who said he was “proud” to officiate for the occasion. Pompeo, in a statement relayed by the State Department, said he was “delighted” to serve as America’s top diplomat.

“I am completely humbled by the responsibility and looking forward to serving the American people and getting to work right away,” Pompeo said.

Then it was off to Andrews Air Force Base, where a government aircraft was waiting to ferry him to Brussels for meetings at NATO headquarters. State Department staffers, demoralized after a tumultuous first year of President Donald Trump’s administration, gave a round of applause to Pompeo, who responded as he boarded the aircraft with a casual, “Hi, I’m Mike.”

Pompeo, a former Republican congressman from Kansas, is expected to guide Trump’s foreign policy farther to the right than Tillerson, the former Exxon Mobil CEO fired by Trump on Twitter last month. He inherits a State Department that has lost relevance under Trump and a diplomatic corps deeply dispirited by the tenure of Tillerson, who pushed budget and staff cuts and eschewed public appearances while leaving key diplomatic positions unfilled.

His confirmation creates a vacancy atop the CIA that will be filled, at least for now, by Gina Haspel, the intelligence agency’s No. 2 official. Trump has nominated Haspel to replace Pompeo, but she faces a rocky road to confirmation. The CIA said she took over Thursday as acting director while the Senate weighs whether to make it permanent.

For Pompeo, a long list of pressing issues awaits, including a decision on the Iran nuclear deal, Trump’s upcoming summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and ongoing disagreements in the White House about the future U.S. role in Syria.

Trump said he was pleased by Pompeo’s confirmation, calling him a “patriot” with “immense talent, energy and intellect.”

“He will always put the interests of America first,” Trump said in a statement. “He has my trust. He has my support.”

Yet the Senate vote followed an uneasy confirmation process for Pompeo that underscored Trump’s growing difficulties in getting nominees in place for top positions. On Monday, it appeared Pompeo would fail a vote in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, but the panel ultimately cleared him after last-minute support from Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky.

Previously confirmed for the CIA job, Pompeo was supported Thursday by all the Republican senators and by six Democrats, including several up for re-election in conservative-leaning states. GOP Sen. John McCain of Arizona, who is being treated for cancer, was absent.

In the run-up to Pompeo’s confirmation, his backers emphasized his resume as a West Point and Harvard Law School graduate and former congressman who enjoys a close relationship with Trump. Pompeo traveled to Pyongyang over Easter after being nominated for secretary of state and met with Kim ahead of the planned summit with Trump, expected in late May or June.

“He’s the perfect person to come in at this time and lead those efforts,” Republican Sen. Bob Corker, who chairs the foreign relations panel, said on the Senate floor moments before Pompeo was confirmed.

Yet his opponents warned that his hawkish foreign policy views and negative comments about gay marriage and Muslims made him ill-equipped to serve as a diplomat or to represent the U.S. on the world stage. Pompeo used his confirmation hearing to try to soften that image, edging away from past comments about regime change in North Korea.

Pompeo takes the helm ahead of Trump’s expected decision about whether to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal by a May 12 deadline and reimpose sanctions on Tehran. A staunch Iran critic, Pompeo has long deplored the 2015 nuclear accord but has supported Trump’s efforts to get European allies to strengthen restrictions on Iran.

“If there’s no chance that we can fix it, I will recommend to the president that we work with our allies to achieve a better outcome and to achieve a better deal,” Pompeo said in his confirmation hearing.

The State Department said no secretary of state had ever traveled abroad so soon after being confirmed. Originally, Deputy Secretary John Sullivan, who had been filling in as secretary since Tillerson departed, had planned to make the trip. With Pompeo’s confirmation imminent, the plane was held on the tarmac until Pompeo could arrive and swap in.

In Brussels, Pompeo will attend a NATO foreign ministers summit and meet with the top diplomats from Turkey and Italy. Pompeo planned to keep up pressure on NATO’s European members, particularly Germany, to live up to their past pledges to boost their defense spending.

From there, the State Department said Pompeo planned to fly to the Middle East for stops in Saudi Arabia, Israel and Jordan, where the future of the Iran deal and the conflict in Syria will be significant agenda items. Pompeo will arrive in the region ahead of a series of events that could potentially plunge it into deeper disarray, including the Iran deal decision and the relocation of the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

 

 

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Outgoing CIA Director Mike Pompeo has cleared the final hurdle to become secretary of state.

The Senate voted 57-42 Thursday to confirm the former Kansas Congressman’s  nomination.

Pompeo’s confirmation narrowly made it out of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Monday after last-minute support from Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky. He’s expected to have an easier time in the full Senate, though the tally will still likely be close.

Pompeo will replace Rex Tillerson, the former Exxon Mobil CEO fired by President Donald Trump on Twitter last month.

Pompeo is expected to be sworn in almost immediately. A long list of pressing issues awaits him including a decision on the Iran nuclear deal and Trump’s upcoming summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Pompeo was first elected to serve Kansas fourth congressional district in 2010.

SALINA, Kan. (AP) — A state board has suspended the license of a former Kansas pharmacy manager after she admitted to creating fraudulent prescriptions.

27-year-old Kirsty Hartley’s license to practice was suspended last fall under an emergency order. The Board of Pharmacy hasn’t scheduled a hearing to take final action.

The emergency order said that after CVS officials confronted her in July, she signed a statement admitting to creating fake prescriptions to obtain thousands of tablets of the narcotic hydrocodone and the sedatives alprazolam and zolpidem.

The order also said that she admitted to personally using some of the hydrocodone, but said most of the drugs were given to another person, whom she said was both selling and using the drugs. There’s no record of charges against Hartley.

By COLE REIF
Great Bend Post

GREAT BEND — Barton County Sheriff Brian Bellendir appeared in Barton County District Court on Thursday morning for a preliminary hearing regarding a Class-A misdemeanor charge filed against him. The hearing, which lasted just under an hour, sorted through information that might be allowed or disclosed and whether the prosecutor’s selection was improper.

On Nov. 1, Bellendir was issued a summons to appear in court following an investigation by the Kansas Bureau of Investigation. Bellendir was accused of “ill-treating a man in handcuffs by speaking to him in a vulgar, insulting, rude or angry manner” while serving an arrest warrant on Aug. 10 to Nathan Manley of Ellinwood.

Bellendir has since pleaded not guilty and declined a plea agreement offered by the Barton County Attorney’s Office.

The primary issued discussed Thursday morning was whether prosecuting attorney William Halvorsen’s appointment to handle the case was improper.

According to records, Halvorsen filed the complaint against Bellendir at 3:13 p.m. on Oct. 31. At 4:25 p.m. the same day, Barton County Attorney Amy Mellor recused herself from the case to avoid a conflict of interest, but recruited Chase County Attorney Halvorsen to handle the prosecution. At 4:27 p.m., Judge Mike Keeley appointed Halvorsen as special prosecutor.

Bellendir’s attorney, Jess Hoeme, said there was discussion via email between Mellor and Halvorsen prior to the complaint being made, and that Mellor recruited Halvorsen, a like-minded attorney, for her side.

Hoeme said Mellor knew about her ethical disqualification but stayed involved in the investigation, prepared the case for charging, and sought out Halvorsen for assistance. Hoeme felt that Mellor “hoodwinked” or deceived Judge Keeley in appointing Halvorsen special prosecutor without knowing about Mellor’s disqualification.

Hoeme noted if Mellor recused herself from the case, the recommendation should have come from the Barton County Commission.

The charge against Bellendir puts his certification as a Kansas law enforcement officer in jeopardy. The Kansas Commission on Peace Officers’ Standards and Training, or CPOST as it is referred to, reviews the certification. Mellor is a member of the 12-person board and would be a voting member of CPOST.

Hoeme also questioned why Halvorsen filed the complaint in the first place, being from Chase County, for an incident that happened in Great Bend.

The judge allowed Barton County to search emails between Mellor and Halvorsen between the dates of Aug. 10 and Nov. 20.

The next hearing is scheduled for June 5 at 9 a.m.

SEDGWICK COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a shooting and are asking for help to locate a suspect.

Just after 8p.m. Wednesday, police responded to a shooting near 21^st Street North and Interstate 135 in Wichita, according to officer Paul Cruz.

Police located the victims at the 29^th Street and Hydraulic exit ramp. Investigators learned that there was a verbal disturbance between an 18-year-old girl and a known suspect.

During the argument the teen walked to a nearby gas station and waited for friends to pick her up.  At the gas station, another verbal dispute the teen and the suspect continued to argue.

When her friends arrived, they left northbound on Interstate 135 to the Hydraulic and 29^th Street north exit, according to Cruz.

At that point, the suspect driving a Silver Chevy HHR approached and began shooting.

A 26-year-old female driver was wounded in the arms and legs, according to Cruz. A bullet also grazed a 21-year-old male passenger’s leg.  They were transported to treatment.  The 18-year-old was not injured. The suspect was not located.

Anyone with information on the suspect or the location of the Chevy HHR is asked to contact Wichita Police.

By STEPHEN KORANDA

Changes in federal tax law could actually cost some Kansans more in state taxes.

Kansas lawmakers might turn down that revenue windfall and add an election year tax cut instead. A bill they’re backing would cost roughly the same amount as a court-triggered boost to school spending.

The cut to federal taxes has become a signature achievement of the Trump administration and a talking point for national Republicans.

But because of the way federal income tax returns translate to state filings, it means some people in Kansas can’t itemize — and save on their taxes — as they might have before last year’s federal overhaul.

The Kansas Senate has already passed a bill aimed at returning that money to taxpayers — just a year after lawmakers raised taxes to salvage a cratering state budget.

Some of the proposals in the bill are directly related to the federal law. For example, one portion would let Kansans itemize tax deductions whether or not they itemize on their federal taxes.

Another provision would amend Kansas law relating to the repatriation of foreign earnings, another issue addressed in the federal tax bill.

Republican Sen. Caryn Tyson, chair of the Senate tax committee, said lawmakers should not view this as a chance to capture more state tax revenue.

“We’ve got to quit growing government,” Tyson said during a floor debate earlier this month. “This is not our money. This is Kansas taxpayer money. Let’s get it back to them.”

The legislation passed the Senate before lawmakers left for their spring break. It’s now in the hands of House members.

The chairman of the House’s tax committee, Republican Steven Johnson, said House leaders agree with the goal of returning the windfall to Kansas taxpayers. But he said the bill goes beyond that.

“Both chambers want to make sure that windfall stays in the pockets of those taxpayers,” Johnson said. “The challenge is there are so many things in play that, as a package, I don’t believe it is affordable.”

Other portions of the Senate bill delve into additional parts of state tax policy. The standard deduction would rise from $3,000 to $3,750 for individuals. Married taxpayers filing jointly would see their standard deduction go from $7,500 to $9,375.

The proposals would also accelerate the restoration of some tax deductions, including the mortgage interest and property tax deduction. Several deductions eliminated or cut back in the past are phasing back in over several years. The bill would end the phase-in and fully restore those deductions.

Johnson said he expects House lawmakers will consider the bill, but the portions of the legislation outside the scope of the windfall are less likely to advance.

So far, the Legislature has no official estimate on how much the Senate bill would dent state revenue. Heidi Holliday, with the Kansas Center for Economic Growth, said it would mean at least $494 million less for the state over five years. That’s close to the funding increase approved for local school districts.

She calls it premature to make state tax changes, because estimates of the impact of the federal tax cut are not written in stone.

“We don’t even know how much Kansas is going to get as a result of any federal tax law changes,” Holliday said.

The new discussion on tax policy comes less than a year after lawmakers rolled back many of the state’s 2012 tax cuts by overriding a veto from then-Gov. Sam Brownback.

Holliday said the state should be investing in areas of government that faced lean budget years because of the tax cuts. Instead of going down that road again, Holliday said Kansas should invest in services such as infrastructure, higher education and the state’s pension plan.

“It’s really risky for lawmakers to be trying to pass a bill like this right now,” Holliday said.

The most immediate cost is the state’s public school funding boost, which comes in response to a court ruling that said school funding isn’t living up to a requirement in the Kansas Constitution.

Democratic Rep. Jarrod Ousley said pursuing the tax cut plan will make it harder to fund services like schools.

“We need to meet our constitutional obligations first,” Ousley said. “We’ve got a generation of kids depending upon it.”

State budget officials raised the fiscal outlook last week. That prompted Republican Senate President Susan Wagle to renew her push for the bill.

However, Wagle didn’t argue for advancing all parts of the bill. She said in a statement that lawmakers should approve the changes to tax itemizing.

“I will urge my colleagues to pass legislation to allow Kansans who currently itemize under state tax law to continue to do so in the future,” Wagle said.

She said after doing that, lawmakers should look at paying back money borrowed from sources such as the state’s pension system, KPERS.

“We owe it to future generations to pay back our current debts and obligations,” Wagle said.

Stephen Koranda is Statehouse reporter the Kansas News Service. Follow him on Twitter @kprkoranda.

NORRISTOWN, Pa. (AP) — The Latest on Bill Cosby’s sexual assault retrial (all times local):

Bill Cosby has been convicted of drugging and molesting a woman in the first big celebrity trial of the #MeToo era.

A jury outside Philadelphia convicted the “Cosby Show” star of three counts of aggravated indecent assault on Thursday. The guilty verdict came less than a year after another jury deadlocked on the charges.

Cosby was charged with violating Temple University employee Andrea Constand at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004. His lawyer called Constand a “con artist” who leveled false accusations against Cosby so she could sue him.

Cosby could get up to 10 years in prison on each of the counts.

Dozens of women have come forward in recent years to say he drugged and assaulted them. Five of the other accusers testified against him at the retrial.

The Associated Press does not typically identify people who say they are victims of sexual assault unless they grant permission. Constand has done so.

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WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The new Pizza Hut Museum has opened at Wichita State University.

WSU Foundation CEO Elizabeth King said that staff from the school came together “to collaborate and create this fabulous museum that will be curated by the students.”

Brothers Dan and Frank Carney were students at the university in 1958 when they converted a beer tavern into the original Pizza Hut. The building was used for the museum, which opened Wednesday on the school’s Innovation Campus.

Dan Carney attended the opening ceremony, saying “I think they did a great job.”

The museum includes articles, memorabilia and photos of the brothers and takes visitors through the evolution of the pizza chain.

There are 7,500 Pizza Huts nationwide and another 10,000 internationally.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Medicare will require hospitals to post their standard prices online and make electronic medical records more readily available to patients, officials said Tuesday.

The program is also starting a comprehensive review of how it will pay for costly new forms of immunotherapy to battle cancer.

Seema Verma, head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said the new requirement for online prices reflects the Trump administration’s ongoing efforts to encourage patients to become better-educated decision makers in their own care.

“We are just beginning on price transparency,” said Verma. “We know that hospitals have this information and we’re asking them to post what they have online.”

Hospitals are required to disclose prices publicly, but the latest change would put that information online in machine-readable format that can be easily processed by computers. It may still prove to be confusing to consumers, since standard rates are like list prices and don’t reflect what insurers and government programs pay.

Patients concerned about their potential out-of-pocket costs from a hospitalization would still be advised to consult with their insurer. Most insurance plans nowadays have an annual limit on how much patients must pay in copays and deductibles — although traditional Medicare does not.

Likewise, many health care providers already make computerized records available to patients, but starting in 2021 Medicare would base part of a hospital’s payments on how good a job they do.

Using electronic medical records remains a cumbersome task, and the Trump administration has invited technology companies to design secure apps that would let patients access their records from all their providers instead of having to go to different portals.

Verma also announced Medicare is starting a comprehensive review of how it will pay for a costly new form of immunotherapy called CAR-T. It’s gene therapy that turbocharges a patient’s own immune system cells to attack cancer.

Immune system T cells are filtered from the patient’s own blood and reprogrammed to target and kill cancer cells that had managed to evade them. Hundreds of millions of copies of the revved-up cells are then returned to the patient’s blood to take on the cancer.

Though only a couple of such treatments have been approved for blood cancers, the cost can exceed $370,000 per patient.

“It’s a new area for the agency,” said Verma. “We haven’t seen drugs priced at this level and we’re having to think about our strategy.”

HUTCHINSON — A Minden, Nevada, company is coming to Kansas to build public restrooms.

The Public Restroom Company manufactures restrooms for outdoor parks and ships them to locations across the United States.

According to company president and founder Chuck Kaufman, the company will use a building along East 4th Avenue in Hutchinson. It is the former Mega Manufacturing facility at 714 Cory. Siemens currently uses the building for storage.

Kaufman hopes to employ 40-50 workers with what he calls “a good wage and very generous benefits package,” which includes all health insurance paid to the employee. Kaufman says the company has been looking for another location for some time now and chose Hutchinson because of an available workforce. The building has the necessary equipment to manufacture its product.

According to their web site, the company assembles whole restrooms and then ships them to the location. Some of its products are at the bottom of the Grand Canyon and other major parks. The modular restrooms weigh between 30 and 40 tons when finished.

The rapidly expanding company expects to have between $50 million and $75 million in annual sales in the next few years.

WICHITA, KAN. – A man was indicted Wednesday on charges of robbing a bank in Newton, according to U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister.

Martin L. Paris, 50, Yukon, Okla., was charged with the April 9, 2018, robbery of the First Bank of Newton at 1404 S. Kansas Avenue in Newton, Kan. According to court records, Paris gave a teller a note directing her to “be calm” and “start with hundreds.” The note ended with, “Thank you and have a nice day.”

Paris was identified from bank surveillance photos and arrested the day after the robbery. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000. The Newton Police Department and the FBI investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alan Metzger is prosecuting.