SEDGWICK COUNTY — Two people  injured in an accident during a police chase Monday in Sedgwick County.

Just after 12:30 Monday, a police officer was conducting a traffic stop on a Chevy Impala in the 1700 Block of North Minnesota Street, according to officer Paul Cruz.

The driver, later identified as 21-year-old Michael Pete, refused to stop. As the suspect vehicle approached 13^thstreet, it struck a Ford passenger vehicle occupied by two men, according to Cruz.

Following an investigation that shut down traffic in the area for a couple of hours, police arrested 21-year-old Michael Pete on requested charges of flee and elude law enforcement, criminal possession of a firearm, drug distribution, driving while suspended, speeding and additional traffic violations, according to the Sedgwick County Jail online report.  He was not injured in the crash.  Pete has a previous aggravated burglary conviction, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections.

The driver and passenger in the Ford suffered only minor injuries, according to Cruz.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Democratic-led House failed Tuesday to override President Donald Trump’s first veto, salvaging his effort to steer billions of extra dollars to erecting border barriers and delivering a victory to the White House in a constitutional and political clash that’s raged for months.

Lawmakers voted 248-181 to overturn Trump’s veto, but that fell 38 votes shy of the required two-thirds margin. Just days after Attorney General William Barr announced that special counsel Robert Mueller had found Trump didn’t scheme with Russia to help his 2016 election, Tuesday’s vote bolstered Trump’s drive to build a wall along the boundary with Mexico, a hallmark of his 2016 presidential campaign and a priority of his presidency.

While clearly a defeat for Democrats, the vote afforded them a chance to reemphasize policy differences with Trump and change the subject from collusion allegations that have lost political clout. Underscoring that, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi placed her name atop a House Democratic fundraising email referencing the failed veto override entitled, “My heart just sank.”

Just 14 Republicans joined all voting Democrats in Tuesday’s futile effort to void Trump’s declaration of a national emergency at the Southwest border.

By invoking that power, Trump has said he will shift $3.6 billion from military construction to erecting barriers along that boundary. Congress has voted to provide less than $1.4 billion for border barriers, leaving Democrats and some Republicans fuming that Trump is abusing his powers by ignoring Congress’ constitutional control over spending.

Despite his veto remaining intact, Trump may not be able to spend the money for barriers quickly because of lawsuits by Democratic state attorneys general and others that could take years to resolve.

Even so, Democrats hope to use the border emergency battle in their 2020 election campaigns, both to symbolize Trump’s harsh immigration stance and claim he was hurting congressional districts around the country.

The Pentagon sent lawmakers a list last week of hundreds of military construction projects that might be cut to pay for barrier work. Though the list was tentative, Democrats say that by backing Trump, GOP lawmakers were endangering local bases to pay for the wall.

Unhappiness over Trump’s plan to siphon the money from the military has become a bipartisan concern. On top of the $3.6 billion from construction, the Pentagon has formally informed Congress that it wants to steer another $1 billion from personnel accounts to barriers instead.

At a House Armed Services Committee hearing Tuesday, panel Chairman Adam Smith, D-Wash., said it was wrong to use the Pentagon as “sort of a piggybank-slash-slush fund.” The committee’s top Republican, Mac Thornberry of Texas, also said he opposes redirecting defense funds.

Congress had sent Trump a resolution annulling the national emergency that Trump declared at the US-Mexico border. That included passage by the Republican-led Senate, in which 12 GOP senators — nearly 1 of every 4 — joined Democrats in blocking him.

Trump vetoed that measure almost immediately.

“We take an oath that we must honor” to protect the Constitution,” Pelosi, D-Calif., speaking on her 79th birthday, said Tuesday. “The choice is simple, between partisanship and patriotism. Between honoring our sacred oath or hypocritically, inconsistently breaking this oath.”

Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, called Trump’s declaration “constitutional vandalism.”

Republicans said Trump was merely following a 1976 law that gives presidents emergency powers, and was trying to head off Democrats with little concern about border security.

Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif., said Trump was acting against the “radical left in this House that would dissolve our borders entirely if given the chance” — a stance that no Democrat has taken.

Rep. Paul Mitchell, R-Mich., called the veto override effort “a partisan whack job” because of its certain defeat.

All 13 Republicans who voted with Democrats last month to oppose Trump’s declaration did the same Tuesday. That group of moderates from swing districts and conservatives was joined by Rep. John Katko, R-N.Y., who missed the earlier roll call.

In a symbolic move, presiding over the House was freshman Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-Texas, representing a border district surrounding El Paso.

The showdown began building last year. Trump’s insistence on wall money prompted this winter’s record 35-day partial government shutdown, which ended when he surrendered in January without getting any funds. Eventually a compromise was struck for $1.4 billion.

Opponents of Trump’s emergency warned that besides usurping Congress’ power over spending, he was inviting future Democratic presidents to circumvent lawmakers by declaring emergencies to finance their own favored initiatives.

Trump’s declaration was the 60th presidential emergency under that statute, but the first aimed at spending that Congress explicitly denied, according to New York University’s Brennan Center for Justice, which tracks the law.

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WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is nearing a victory over Democrats as the House tries overriding his first veto , a vote that seems certain to fail and would let stand his declaration of a national emergency at the Mexican border.

Tuesday’s vote would keep the border emergency intact, which for now would let him shift an additional $3.6 billion from military construction projects to work on a barrier along the southwest boundary. Building the wall was one of his most oft-repeated campaign promises, though he claimed the money would come from Mexico, not taxpayers.

Trump’s emergency declaration drew unanimous opposition from congressional Democrats and opposition from some Republicans, especially in the Senate , where lawmakers objected that he was abusing presidential powers.

But while Congress approved a resolution voiding Trump’s move, the margins by which the House and Senate passed the measure fell well short of the two-thirds majorities that will be needed to override the veto. That’s expected to happen again when the House votes Tuesday.

“The president will be fine in the House,” said Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., in a brief interview. “The veto will not be overridden.”

Even with his veto remaining intact, Trump may not be able to spend the money for barriers quickly because of lawsuits that might take years to resolve.

Tuesday’s vote was coming as Trump claimed a different political triumph after Attorney General William Barr said special counsel Robert Mueller had ended his two-year investigation without evidence of collusion by Trump’s 2016 campaign with the Russian government.

Democrats were hoping to use the border emergency battle in upcoming campaigns, both to symbolize Trump’s harsh immigration stance and claim he was hurting congressional districts around the country.

The Pentagon sent lawmakers a list last week of hundreds of military construction projects that might be cut to pay for barrier work. Though the list was tentative, Democrats were asserting that GOP lawmakers were endangering local bases to pay for the wall.

Congress, to which the Constitution assigned control over spending, voted weeks ago to provide less than $1.4 billion for barriers. Opponents warned that besides usurping Congress’ role in making spending decisions, Trump was inviting future Democratic presidents to circumvent lawmakers by declaring emergencies to finance their own favored initiatives.

Trump supporters said he was simply acting under a 1976 law that lets presidents declare national emergencies. Trump’s declaration was the 60th presidential emergency under that statute, but the first aimed at spending that Congress explicitly denied, according to New York University’s Brennan Center for Justice, which tracks the law.

The House approved the resolution blocking Trump’s emergency by 245-182 in February. On Tuesday, Trump opponents will need to reach 288 votes to prevail.

Just 13 Republicans opposed Trump in February, around 1 in 15. Another 30 would have to defect to override his veto.

This month, the GOP-led Senate rebuked Trump with a 59-41 vote blocking his declaration after the failure of a Republican effort to reach a compromise with the White House. Republicans were hoping to avoid a confrontation with him for fear of alienating pro-Trump voters.

Twelve GOP senators, nearly 1 in 4, ended up opposing him.

If the House vote fails, the Senate won’t attempt its own override and the veto will stand.

MONTGOMERY COUNTY – The Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) has identified the man suspected of shooting a coworker, and then fatally shooting himself, at the G&W Foods grocery store on Monday afternoon, in Cherryvale, Kan.

The suspected shooter has been identified as 28-year-old Jamal Brown of Independence.

The 39-year-old man shot by Brown was also from Independence. He remains hospitalized in Joplin, Mo., and his condition was upgraded to “fair.”

The KBI released no additional details Tuesday afternoon

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MONTGOMERY COUNTY – The Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) is assisting the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office and the Cherryvale Police Department with an investigation into a shooting that occurred Monday afternoon at a grocery store in Cherryvale.

According to a media release, just after 3:30 p.m., Monday, the Cherryvale Police Department, the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, and the Kansas Highway Patrol responded to the report of a man with a gun in the G&W Foods grocery store. When they arrived at the store at 216 N. Liberty St., they learned the armed man was an employee who was holding a coworker in an office in the northwest area of the store. They began to quickly evacuate employees and customers.

Soon after, gunshots were heard from the office. As authorities entered the office, they witnessed the 28-year-old suspect shoot himself. They also located his 39-year-old coworker suffering from gunshot wounds.

The male victim was flown to a hospital in Joplin. He underwent surgery, and his condition is unknown at this time.

The suspect was taken to a local hospital where he was stablized and then flown to a Tulsa hospital. He later died from his injuries.

The investigation is ongoing. Nothing further will be released at this time.

By STEPHEN KORANDA
Kansas News Service

Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly has sent a tax relief bill down in flames, taking her veto pen to the measure she says would wreck the state budget. But, as a priority for Republicans, it could remain in play for the rest of the legislative session and rise from the ashes.

Legislative estimates say the bill would keep the state from collecting about $500 million in taxes over three years. The tax breaks would primarily benefit multinational companies with operations in Kansas.

Forgoing the revenue, the governor said Monday, would hamper the state’s ability to reinvest in education, transportation and other services neglected in the wake of tax cuts signed by then-Gov. Sam Brownback in 2012.

“We simply cannot go backward now,” Kelly said after vetoing the bill. “We cannot fix our state if we repeat the mistakes of the past.”

The veto is Kelly’s first as governor, and it’s indicative of the rift between the Democratic leader of the state and the conservative Republicans who control the House and Senate. They immediately branded the veto as a tax increase and a broken campaign promise.

The whole debate started with the federal tax cut bill approved in 2017.

Republican lawmakers pushed for changes to state tax rules to allow Kansans to continue itemizing on their state returns even if they no longer do so on their federal returns because of larger standard deductions. The bill Kelly vetoed would have also freed Kansas businesses from owing state taxes on overseas income.

Republicans say the core issue is preventing a tax increase caused by the federal changes.

Lawmakers had also folded into the bill a 1 percentage point cut to the food sales tax. That’s a policy many politicians, including Kelly, favor.

“Governor Kelly’s campaign promises that she would decrease food sales taxes for hardworking Kansans are clearly little more than talking points,” House Majority Leader Dan Hawkins said in response to the veto.

Kelly said in her veto message that it’s irresponsible to cut taxes — even taxes on food — until the state’s fiscal health stabilizes.

The debate could be far from over. Republican Senate President Susan Wagle said she’d be conferring with leaders about when to attempt a veto override.

Monday afternoon, the chairman of the Kansas Republican Party was already working in support of that effort.

“I am calling on all legislative Republicans including those who did not originally vote for the bill to override her veto,” Chairman Mike Kuckelman said in a statement.

The Kansas GOP is also gathering donations for mailings attacking Republican-turned-Democrat Sen. Dinah Sykes for voting against the tax relief package.

On its first trip through the Legislature, the measure secured 76 votes in the House and 24 in the Senate. An override requires support from 84 House members and 27 senators.

Democratic Rep. Kathy Wolfe Moore suspects the uncertainty about the fiscal impact will keep lawmakers who opposed the bill initially from supporting an override.

“I feel relatively comfortable that they won’t be able to override it,” she said.

Still, parts of the bill could be resurrected as lawmakers pursue deals to fund schools and expand Medicaid.

“It is a possibility that we’ll get a bargaining chip,” Wagle said.

While Kelly said there’s no way she’d sign the full tax relief package in its current form, she indicated she could compromise on some pieces under the right circumstances.

“My door is always open. My mind is always open,” she said. “If I can be convinced that there’s something in here that’s good and worthwhile and won’t throw our budget into a tailspin, I’ll consider it.”

Stephen Koranda is Statehouse reporter for the Kansas News Service, a collaboration of KCUR. Follow him on Twitter @kprkoranda.