Richard Muma copied more than 50 passages from sources without full attribution

BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/tim-carpenter/">TIM CARPENTER</a> <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/">Kansas Reflector</a>

WICHITA — Wichita State University president Richard Muma failed to give proper credit to more than 20 authors after copying their writing in his doctoral dissertation.

<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2024/10/07/read-the-evidence-examples-of-copied-material-in-wichita-state-university-presidents-dissertation/">Click here to view </a>some of the evidence

Muma, president of the university since 2020, runs afoul of academic standards and university policies by including extensive amounts of inadequately attributed material into his 2004 dissertation, according to academic professionals who reviewed Muma’s work.

A Kansas Reflector comparison of Muma’s 88-page dissertation with earlier scholarly work uncovered improperly ascribed phrases, sentences and paragraphs. In some cases, text copied from books and journals comprised the majority of entire pages in Muma’s dissertation.

Ten faculty at public and private colleges and universities said in interviews Muma’s dissertation amounted to plagiarism. None embraced Muma’s view that his dissertation adhered to academic publication standards.

Steven Mintz, a history professor at University of Texas-Austin who has authored or edited 15 books and found plagiarism of his own writing in international publications, said Muma’s dissertation would give the university a “black eye.”

“It is a form of theft. In my department, if I let a dissertation get to that stage, well, a student would be expelled, but I would be ostracized,” Mintz said.

Muma denied he plagiarized his dissertation through Wichita State spokeswoman Lainie Mazzullo-Hart, who said allegations of academic misconduct, especially assertions of plagiarism, were a serious matter.

Despite repeated requests via phone and email over five weeks, WSU declined to make Muma available for an interview.

“What I can share with you is that Dr. Muma vehemently denies any accusation of plagiarism and maintains that the research, analysis and conclusions in his dissertation were entirely original, and all referenced material were properly cited in accordance with academic standards,” Mazzullo-Hart said.

Muma’s dissertation, “<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Muma_Dissertation.pdf">Use of Mintzberg’s Model of Managerial Roles as a Framework to Describe a Population of Academic Health Profession Administrators</a>,” relied on parentheses — in the form of (Bennett, 1983) — to cite sources. He also included reference materials in a bibliography.

But Muma’s research paper lacked routine techniques for attributing other authors’ work. Typically, attribution is made through single or double quotation marks, italics or indentation of margins on the page.

Muma was a tenured professor and department chair at the time he submitted the dissertation on physician assistant education programs to a faculty review panel at University of Missouri-St. Louis. The project earned him a doctorate in higher education. With that credential, Muma advanced through the hierarchy at WSU from department chairman to vice president, provost and president.

Misappropriated text started with the first sentence in his dissertation: It was a mirror image to the opening of the 1983 book “Managing the Academic Department” by John Bennett, who earned a doctorate at Yale University, served as a college provost and authored more than 100 articles and six books.

“Important? Definitely. Overworked? Probably. Prepared for the job? Rarely. This is the typical academic department chairperson,” Bennett wrote.

Muma copied the sequence word for word, but didn’t place quotation marks around the text to show readers the prose was created by someone else. Muma replicated that pattern dozens of times in his dissertation.

Of 255 words on the first page of Muma’s dissertation, more than 150 were copied from published work by Bennett and two other scholars, Kathleen Stassen Berger and Allan Tucker.

In a lengthy passage on Page 22, Muma deleted quote marks from borrowed text, keeping the reader in the dark that there was an original author. On Page 24 of the dissertation, three-fourths of 284 words were copied from other scholarly writing and pasted into the dissertation. All but a handful of 230 words on Page 29 were drawn verbatim from previously published academic work.

In 2002, for example, Berger wrote an academic article on “Inevitable Conflicts of a Department Chair.” Her distinctive opening lines: “Too much to do, too little time. Deadlines ignored; demands not met; requests trashed. Students, faculty, staff, and administrators queue up with phone messages, mailbox memos, emails and knocks on my door.”

Muma’s casting two years later echoed Berger: “It seems that academic department chairs have too much to do and no time to do it. Frequently they ignore deadlines, have demands that are not met, and requests are not answered.” That was followed by verbatim text: “Students, faculty, staff, and administrators queue up with phone messages, mailbox memos, emails, and knocks at the door.”

Higher education institutions most often describe this type of academic misconduct as seizing work of others without full credit. Plagiarism could result from insufficiently paraphrasing research and writing performed by others or by inadequately citing thoughts of others. Lesser infractions might occur because of carelessness in conducting research or lack of familiarity with U.S. standards for academic writing.

The American Association of University Professors’ statement on plagiarism, adopted nearly 35 years ago, says those who claimed words, ideas or methods of others with the intent of being credited for that work committed “theft of a special kind.” AAUP said plagiarism was the antithesis of “honest labor that characterizes true scholarship.”

Concern about plagiarism among college students escalated in recent years along with access to generative artificial intelligence capable of completing academic assignments. Sophisticated software has been deployed at universities to test students’ work for plagiarism. AI cross-check resources weren’t a prominent feature of higher education when Muma was in graduate school and completed his dissertation.

Anxiety about academic dishonesty has infiltrated U.S. faculty ranks, including Harvard University where the university’s president resigned, in part, over allegations of plagiarism.

Other recent faculty cases of alleged plagiarism have emerged at Columbia University, University of Maryland, University of Wisconsin-Madison and University of Washington.

In five chapters of Muma’s dissertation, which included findings of an opinion survey of health educators and professionals, Kansas Reflector identified approximately 55 passages of inadequately attributed material.

“That’s a problem in my eyes,” said Jonathan Bailey, founder of Plagiarism Today and a copyright and plagiarism consultant in New Orleans. “When you copy and paste wholesale like that, you’re not proving you have the knowledge and understanding. This person did a shortcut.”

U.S. colleges and universities discipline students, including dismissal, for violating policies requiring they avoid plagiarism by distinguishing their original expression from information drawn from other sources. Plagiarism is considered an especially grave error when perpetrated by graduate students or faculty members expected to be well-versed in scholarly writing.

Individuals engaged in higher education research, teaching or administration told Kansas Reflector the insufficient attribution in Muma’s dissertation reached the level of plagiarism.

Tim Hill, professor of political science at Doane University in Nebraska and recipient of a 2003 doctorate from Ohio State University, said his review led to an undeniable conclusion.

“The standard of the profession says this counts as plagiarism,” Hill said. “I keep thinking (of) being a faculty member at that institution when this breaks. How do you walk into the classroom and say academic honesty is important? From the perspective of the audience, he’s lying to them. It harms everyone involved.”

The&nbsp;<a href="https://academicintegrity.org/events-conferences/idoa-international-day-of-action-for-academic-integrity" target="_blank">International Day of Action for Academic Integrity</a>&nbsp;will be Oct. 16. Wichita State scheduled events during the month to emphasize academic integrity as the responsibility of all faculty, staff and students.

Kansas Rep. Kirk Haskins, a Topeka Democrat who earned a doctorate in higher education at the University of Kansas and a master’s degree at WSU, said he was trained to include quotation marks and other attribution when making use of scholarship from other people.

Haskins, who serves as chairman of graduate-level programs at Baker University in Baldwin City, said taking material without sufficient attribution could suggest an individual didn’t understand dissertation writing practices. Or, he said, it could demonstrate what a person thought he or she could get away with while producing a capstone educational achievement.

“(Muma) has done a commendable job in his time as president,” Haskins said. “However, I find these issues should be taken seriously because it pulls threads of higher ed’s academic integrity.”

Kansas Reflector also interviewed college and university educators without identifying Muma, his job title or employer. These interview subjects were informed of the breadth of attribution issues and that the author was awarded a doctorate, remained a faculty member and was employed as an administrator.

Kansas Sen. Molly Baumgardner, a Louisburg Republican who taught at Johnson County Community College and is now an associate vice president at Pittsburg State University, serves as chairwoman of the Senate Education Committee.

“Every step of the way, it’s a matter of ‘show us your work,’ ” said Baumgardner, who holds a master’s degree. “This notion of appropriation of someone else’s work is critical. A reputation is what can make or break an institution. Anytime someone dishonestly advances, it leaves another in the dust.”

At Wichita State, students found to have violated plagiarism policy could fail a class or receive a warning, probation, suspension or expulsion.

WSU requires faculty to “practice intellectual honesty.” The statement says faculty have a duty to “acknowledge their academic debts.”

“As members of their institution,” the policy manual says, “faculty members seek above all to be effective teachers and scholars.”

Policies regarding research misconduct at WSU, adopted in 1997 and last revised in 2017, cover “fabrication, falsification, plagiarism or other practices that seriously deviate from those that are commonly accepted within the scientific community.”

The Kansas Board of Regents policy manual is silent on faculty plagiarism, said Matt Keith, spokesman for the board. The Board of Regents has responsibility for hiring presidents and chancellors at the state’s six public universities.

Muma was named acting president in September 2020 by the Board of Regents simultaneous to the departure of WSU president Jay Golden. The state board formally appointed him the 15th president of WSU in May 2021.

WSU made Muma its first gay president and Muma was the first physician assistant in the country to rise through the ranks to become a university president.

Muma, in his fourth year as WSU president, received a 4% raise in July to increase his annual salary to $520,000.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1728303448862.png" alt=" Wichita State University President Richard Muma earned a doctorate in 2004 from University of Missouri-St. Louis with a dissertation that includes dozens of passages from more than 20 scholars without quotation marks to properly cite original authors. Academics interviewed by Kansas Reflector say Muma’s dissertation includes plagiarism. (Thad Allton for Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption> Wichita State University President Richard Muma earned a doctorate in 2004 from University of Missouri-St. Louis with a dissertation that includes dozens of passages from more than 20 scholars without quotation marks to properly cite original authors. Academics interviewed by Kansas Reflector say Muma’s dissertation includes plagiarism. (Thad Allton for Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>Richard Muma copied more than 50 passages from sources without full attribution</h2>BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/tim-carpenter/">TIM CARPENTER</a> <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/">Kansas Reflector</a>WICHITA — Wichita State University president Richard Muma failed to give proper credit to more than 20 authors after copying their writing in his doctoral dissertation.<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2024/10/07/read-the-evidence-examples-of-copied-material-in-wichita-state-university-presidents-dissertation/">Click here to view </a>some of the evidenceMuma, president of the university since 2020, runs afoul of academic standards and university policies by including extensive amounts of inadequately attributed material into his 2004 dissertation, according to academic professionals who reviewed Muma’s work.A Kansas Reflector comparison of Muma’s 88-page dissertation with earlier scholarly work uncovered improperly ascribed phrases, sentences and paragraphs. In some cases, text copied from books and journals comprised the majority of entire pages in Muma’s dissertation.Ten faculty at public and private colleges and universities said in interviews Muma’s dissertation amounted to plagiarism. None embraced Muma’s view that his dissertation adhered to academic publication standards.Steven Mintz, a history professor at University of Texas-Austin who has authored or edited 15 books and found plagiarism of his own writing in international publications, said Muma’s dissertation would give the university a “black eye.”“It is a form of theft. In my department, if I let a dissertation get to that stage, well, a student would be expelled, but I would be ostracized,” Mintz said.<h2>WSU stands by Muma</h2>Muma denied he plagiarized his dissertation through Wichita State spokeswoman Lainie Mazzullo-Hart, who said allegations of academic misconduct, especially assertions of plagiarism, were a serious matter.Despite repeated requests via phone and email over five weeks, WSU declined to make Muma available for an interview.“What I can share with you is that Dr. Muma vehemently denies any accusation of plagiarism and maintains that the research, analysis and conclusions in his dissertation were entirely original, and all referenced material were properly cited in accordance with academic standards,” Mazzullo-Hart said.Muma’s dissertation, “<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Muma_Dissertation.pdf">Use of Mintzberg’s Model of Managerial Roles as a Framework to Describe a Population of Academic Health Profession Administrators</a>,” relied on parentheses — in the form of (Bennett, 1983) — to cite sources. He also included reference materials in a bibliography.But Muma’s research paper lacked routine techniques for attributing other authors’ work. Typically, attribution is made through single or double quotation marks, italics or indentation of margins on the page.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1728303407224.png" alt=" The first sentence of Wichita State University President Richard Muma’s 2004 doctoral dissertation is copied — without quotation marks — from the first sentence of the 1983 book “Managing the Academic Department” by John Bennett, who earned a doctorate at Yale University. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption> The first sentence of Wichita State University President Richard Muma’s 2004 doctoral dissertation is copied — without quotation marks — from the first sentence of the 1983 book “Managing the Academic Department” by John Bennett, who earned a doctorate at Yale University. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>A dissertation review</h2>Muma was a tenured professor and department chair at the time he submitted the dissertation on physician assistant education programs to a faculty review panel at University of Missouri-St. Louis. The project earned him a doctorate in higher education. With that credential, Muma advanced through the hierarchy at WSU from department chairman to vice president, provost and president.Misappropriated text started with the first sentence in his dissertation: It was a mirror image to the opening of the 1983 book “Managing the Academic Department” by John Bennett, who earned a doctorate at Yale University, served as a college provost and authored more than 100 articles and six books.“Important? Definitely. Overworked? Probably. Prepared for the job? Rarely. This is the typical academic department chairperson,” Bennett wrote.Muma copied the sequence word for word, but didn’t place quotation marks around the text to show readers the prose was created by someone else. Muma replicated that pattern dozens of times in his dissertation.Of 255 words on the first page of Muma’s dissertation, more than 150 were copied from published work by Bennett and two other scholars, Kathleen Stassen Berger and Allan Tucker.In a lengthy passage on Page 22, Muma deleted quote marks from borrowed text, keeping the reader in the dark that there was an original author. On Page 24 of the dissertation, three-fourths of 284 words were copied from other scholarly writing and pasted into the dissertation. All but a handful of 230 words on Page 29 were drawn verbatim from previously published academic work.In 2002, for example, Berger wrote an academic article on “Inevitable Conflicts of a Department Chair.” Her distinctive opening lines: “Too much to do, too little time. Deadlines ignored; demands not met; requests trashed. Students, faculty, staff, and administrators queue up with phone messages, mailbox memos, emails and knocks on my door.”Muma’s casting two years later echoed Berger: “It seems that academic department chairs have too much to do and no time to do it. Frequently they ignore deadlines, have demands that are not met, and requests are not answered.” That was followed by verbatim text: “Students, faculty, staff, and administrators queue up with phone messages, mailbox memos, emails, and knocks at the door.”<h2>Defining plagiarism</h2>Higher education institutions most often describe this type of academic misconduct as seizing work of others without full credit. Plagiarism could result from insufficiently paraphrasing research and writing performed by others or by inadequately citing thoughts of others. Lesser infractions might occur because of carelessness in conducting research or lack of familiarity with U.S. standards for academic writing.The American Association of University Professors’ statement on plagiarism, adopted nearly 35 years ago, says those who claimed words, ideas or methods of others with the intent of being credited for that work committed “theft of a special kind.” AAUP said plagiarism was the antithesis of “honest labor that characterizes true scholarship.”Concern about plagiarism among college students escalated in recent years along with access to generative artificial intelligence capable of completing academic assignments. Sophisticated software has been deployed at universities to test students’ work for plagiarism. AI cross-check resources weren’t a prominent feature of higher education when Muma was in graduate school and completed his dissertation.Anxiety about academic dishonesty has infiltrated U.S. faculty ranks, including Harvard University where the university’s president resigned, in part, over allegations of plagiarism.Other recent faculty cases of alleged plagiarism have emerged at Columbia University, University of Maryland, University of Wisconsin-Madison and University of Washington.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1728303341893.png" alt=" Wichita State University president Richard Muma inserted phrases, sentences and paragraphs into his doctoral dissertation without proper credit to original authors. Muma declined requests for an interview, but WSU says the 2004 dissertation is “original.” In this image, highlighted phrases denote inadequately attributed material. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption> Wichita State University president Richard Muma inserted phrases, sentences and paragraphs into his doctoral dissertation without proper credit to original authors. Muma declined requests for an interview, but WSU says the 2004 dissertation is “original.” In this image, highlighted phrases denote inadequately attributed material. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>A shortcut’</h2>In five chapters of Muma’s dissertation, which included findings of an opinion survey of health educators and professionals, Kansas Reflector identified approximately 55 passages of inadequately attributed material.“That’s a problem in my eyes,” said Jonathan Bailey, founder of Plagiarism Today and a copyright and plagiarism consultant in New Orleans. “When you copy and paste wholesale like that, you’re not proving you have the knowledge and understanding. This person did a shortcut.”U.S. colleges and universities discipline students, including dismissal, for violating policies requiring they avoid plagiarism by distinguishing their original expression from information drawn from other sources. Plagiarism is considered an especially grave error when perpetrated by graduate students or faculty members expected to be well-versed in scholarly writing.Individuals engaged in higher education research, teaching or administration told Kansas Reflector the insufficient attribution in Muma’s dissertation reached the level of plagiarism.Tim Hill, professor of political science at Doane University in Nebraska and recipient of a 2003 doctorate from Ohio State University, said his review led to an undeniable conclusion.“The standard of the profession says this counts as plagiarism,” Hill said. “I keep thinking (of) being a faculty member at that institution when this breaks. How do you walk into the classroom and say academic honesty is important? From the perspective of the audience, he’s lying to them. It harms everyone involved.”The&nbsp;<a href="https://academicintegrity.org/events-conferences/idoa-international-day-of-action-for-academic-integrity" target="_blank">International Day of Action for Academic Integrity</a>&nbsp;will be Oct. 16. Wichita State scheduled events during the month to emphasize academic integrity as the responsibility of all faculty, staff and students.Kansas Rep. Kirk Haskins, a Topeka Democrat who earned a doctorate in higher education at the University of Kansas and a master’s degree at WSU, said he was trained to include quotation marks and other attribution when making use of scholarship from other people.Haskins, who serves as chairman of graduate-level programs at Baker University in Baldwin City, said taking material without sufficient attribution could suggest an individual didn’t understand dissertation writing practices. Or, he said, it could demonstrate what a person thought he or she could get away with while producing a capstone educational achievement.“(Muma) has done a commendable job in his time as president,” Haskins said. “However, I find these issues should be taken seriously because it pulls threads of higher ed’s academic integrity.”Kansas Reflector also interviewed college and university educators without identifying Muma, his job title or employer. These interview subjects were informed of the breadth of attribution issues and that the author was awarded a doctorate, remained a faculty member and was employed as an administrator.Kansas Sen. Molly Baumgardner, a Louisburg Republican who taught at Johnson County Community College and is now an associate vice president at Pittsburg State University, serves as chairwoman of the Senate Education Committee.“Every step of the way, it’s a matter of ‘show us your work,’ ” said Baumgardner, who holds a master’s degree. “This notion of appropriation of someone else’s work is critical. A reputation is what can make or break an institution. Anytime someone dishonestly advances, it leaves another in the dust.”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1728303262352.png" alt="Wichita State University policy on professional ethics says faculty derive obligations from membership in a community of scholars, which includes a duty to “acknowledge their academic debts” to other scholars. In addition, WSU’s definition of research misconduct includes fabrication, falsification and plagiarism. (Thad Allton for Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption>Wichita State University policy on professional ethics says faculty derive obligations from membership in a community of scholars, which includes a duty to “acknowledge their academic debts” to other scholars. In addition, WSU’s definition of research misconduct includes fabrication, falsification and plagiarism. (Thad Allton for Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>WSU policies</h2>At Wichita State, students found to have violated plagiarism policy could fail a class or receive a warning, probation, suspension or expulsion.WSU requires faculty to “practice intellectual honesty.” The statement says faculty have a duty to “acknowledge their academic debts.”“As members of their institution,” the policy manual says, “faculty members seek above all to be effective teachers and scholars.”Policies regarding research misconduct at WSU, adopted in 1997 and last revised in 2017, cover “fabrication, falsification, plagiarism or other practices that seriously deviate from those that are commonly accepted within the scientific community.”The Kansas Board of Regents policy manual is silent on faculty plagiarism, said Matt Keith, spokesman for the board. The Board of Regents has responsibility for hiring presidents and chancellors at the state’s six public universities.Muma was named acting president in September 2020 by the Board of Regents simultaneous to the departure of WSU president Jay Golden. The state board formally appointed him the 15th president of WSU in May 2021.WSU made Muma its first gay president and Muma was the first physician assistant in the country to rise through the ranks to become a university president.Muma, in his fourth year as WSU president, received a 4% raise in July to increase his annual salary to $520,000.

Wichita State University president’s doctoral dissertation raises concerns of academic misconduct

WASHINGTON (AP)— U.S. President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden hosted a somber memorial ceremony at the White House Monday to mark the one-year anniversary of Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel.

The Bidens looked on as Rabbi Aaron Alexander of Washington’s Adas Israel Congregation recited the Jewish remembrance prayer for the more than 1,200 people, including dozens of Americans, killed that day, listing the towns, villages and festival site that were the scenes of the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Three Americans are dead including Judih Weinstein Haggai and Gadi Haggai, a couple in their 70s, and Itay Chen, 19, according to Israeli authorities.&nbsp;

Four American-Israeli hostages are believed to be still alive&nbsp;&nbsp;Keith Siegel, 65; Sagui Dekel-Chen, 36; Eden Alexander, 20 and Omer Neutra, 22.

The president then lit a lone memorial candle placed on a small table at the center of the Blue Room before they observed a moment of silence.

Earlier in the day, Biden spoke with Israeli President Isaac Herzog, the White House said.&nbsp;

Israelis held somber ceremonies on Monday to mark a year since&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-gaza-war-kibbutz-attack-anniversary-344b289751d8ee80d4909f15864f508c">the deadliest attack in the country's history</a>, a Hamas-led raid that shattered its sense of security and ignited wars on two fronts with no end in sight.

Hamas marked the anniversary of its Oct. 7, 2023, attack by firing a barrage of rockets at Tel Aviv, underscoring its resilience after&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war">a year of war and devastation in Gaza</a>. Lebanon's Hezbollah, which began firing rockets at Israel on Oct. 8 in support if its ally Hamas, vowed to keep up the barrages despite its recent losses.

The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-gaza-hamas-rockets-airstrikes-tel-aviv-11fb98655c256d54ecb5329284fc37d2">surprise cross-border attack one year ago</a>&nbsp;— which caught Israelis unprepared on a major Jewish holiday — shook their faith in their leaders and their military, and its aftershocks are still rippling across the region. Around 100 hostages captured that day have not been returned, a third of whom are believed to be dead, and cease-fire efforts have ground to a halt.

The war in Gaza rages on and Israel is fighting&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-lebanon-what-to-know-hezbollah-incursion-c44358cb4c70db69bdab4b254cb2ed76">a new war against Hezbollah</a>. There is also&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-lebanon-hezbollah-gaza-news-10-01-2024-eb175dff6e46906caea8b9e43dfbd3da">an escalating conflict with Iran</a>&nbsp;— which backs both Hamas and Hezbollah — that threatens to drag the region into an even more dangerous conflagration.

No formal commemorative event is planned in Gaza, where fighting is still underway,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/scars-of-war-0000019256a2d640a5fef6ba634b0000">huge areas have been completely destroyed</a>&nbsp;and most of the population&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/a-year-of-fleeing-across-gaza-000001925701d383a5925f8f807f0000">have been driven from their homes</a>.

In Lebanon, meanwhile, an Israeli strike killed at least 10 firefighters, the latest in a series of strikes that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/lebanon-israel-medics-hezbollah-hospitals-6c7f75c921c9deec0fa5c160ce639664">have killed dozens of first responders</a>, according to Lebanon's Health Ministry. It said they were in a municipality building in the southern town of Baraachit that was hit as they prepared for a mission.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.

Israelis hold memorials and call for the return of hostages

Israelis flocked to ceremonies, cemeteries and memorial sites around the country, remembering the hundreds of victims, the dozens of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/hostages-gaza-tunnels-hamas-israel-war-d8ecb415268e911cea09518acdaf7ba2">hostages still in captivity</a>&nbsp;and soldiers killed in battle. Commemorations were also planned&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/hamas-attack-israel-anniversary-protests-b8f7428b707f2cf4300405feca0b570e">across Europe and elsewhere</a>.

Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in the Oct. 7 attack and abducted another 250.

Before dawn, hundreds of families of those killed at the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-gaza-hamas-music-festival-6a55aae2375944f10ecc4c52d05f2ffe">Nova music festival</a>, joined by Israeli President Isaac Herzog, gathered at the site where at least 364 revelers were killed and many others were&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/hersh-goldberg-polin-israel-palestinians-gaza-hostages-0be443e7ce616cbce3f2cb984e7971ca">taken hostage</a>. As the sun rose, organizers played the same trance track that was abruptly halted when the barrage of rockets began.

At 6:29 a.m. — the exact minute Hamas launched its attack — the crowd observed a moment of silence. A woman’s piercing wail broke the quiet and booms echoed from the fighting in Gaza, just a few kilometers (miles) away.

“When we are here, we are near our loved ones,” said Sigal Bar-On, whose niece, Yuval Bar-On, 25, and her fiancé Moshe Shuva, 34, were killed in the attack two months before they were to be married.

“We can’t understand how a year has passed,” said Shimon Busika, whose 25-year-old son Yarden was killed at the festival.

At 6:31 a.m., four projectiles were launched from Gaza toward the same communities that came under attack last year, without disrupting the ceremony.

The military said another five rockets were launched from the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis toward central Israel, setting off air raid sirens in Tel Aviv. Two women were lightly wounded, according to first responders, and there was minor damage. The military said it struck the launch sites.

Meanwhile, the families of hostages still held in Gaza gathered near Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Jerusalem residence and stood during a two-minute siren.

“We are here to remind (the hostages) that we haven’t forgotten them,” said Shiri Albag, whose daughter Liri is among the captives. In a speech addressing Netanyahu, she said: “We wont let you rest until all of them are back, every last one of them."

Netanyahu, who has come under heavy criticism for the security lapses on Oct. 7 and for not yet returning all the hostages, spoke at a small ceremony in Jerusalem, saying: “We went through a terrible massacre a year ago and we arose as a nation as lions."

An official state ceremony is set to air on Monday. It was prerecorded without an audience — apparently to avoid potential disruptions — in the southern city of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-militants-attack-cec3cc9e14969fd100d342ad1b90f7e4">Ofakim, which was among several communities and army bases that were attacked a year ago</a>.

Anger at Netanyahu's government prompted families of those killed and taken captive to hold a separate event in Tel Aviv. That event had been set to draw tens of thousands of people but was scaled back due to the threat of missile attacks from Iran and Hezbollah.

Israel responded to the Oct. 7 attack by launching&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-gaza-bombs-destruction-death-toll-scope-419488c511f83c85baea22458472a796">one of the deadliest and most destructive military campaigns</a>&nbsp;in recent history. The war in Gaza has killed more than 41,000 Palestinians, displaced most of the territory's 2.3 million people and caused&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-war-palestinians-hunger-famine-42e404ec4ef3e2836a82a8d2b2315fd1">widespread hunger</a>.

“We lost everything we have,” said Liyala al-Shanar, who fled her home in Gaza City. “We live in a tent that doesn’t protect us from the winter cold or the summer heat."

Hamas remains in control of the territory and its forces have repeatedly regrouped in areas where Israel carried out major operations. On Sunday, Israeli forces encircled the northern town of Jabaliya and launched another major operation there that the military says is aimed at rooting out militants.

In Lebanon, Hezbollah has continued to fire rockets, missiles and drones at Israel even after a wave of Israeli strikes in recent weeks killed most of its top command — including&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/hezbollah-nasrallah-lebanon-israel-airstrikes-haret-hreik-7d89051bb420991cee29398243c250fe">longtime leader Hassan Nasrallah</a>&nbsp;— and pounded large areas of Lebanon. Israel launched what has so far been a limited ground operation across the border last week.

At least 1,400&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/lebanon-global-diaspora-violence-israel-hezbollah-12b4de400efafed84f665a0ea3045c9f">Lebanese</a>, including civilians, medics and Hezbollah fighters, have been killed and 1.2 million driven from their homes. Israel says it aims to drive the militant group from its border so tens of thousands of Israeli citizens can return home.

Israel has also vowed to respond to a ballistic missile attack last week that Iran said was in response to the killing of Nasrallah,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-hamas-israel-30968a7acb31cd8b259de9650014b779">top Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh</a>&nbsp;and one of its own Revolutionary Guard generals.

In a statement on Monday, Hezbollah vowed to continue its attacks until there is a cease-fire in Gaza, saying Israel “was and will remain a deadly, aggressive, cancerous gland that must be eliminated, no matter how long it takes.”

Goldenberg reported from Tel Aviv, Israel. Associated Press reporters Kareem Chehayeb in Beirut, Julia Frankel in Jerusalem and Wafaa Shurafa in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, contributed to this report.

WASHINGTON (AP)— U.S. President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden hosted a somber memorial ceremony at the White House Monday to mark the one-year anniversary of Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">President Biden and <a href="https://twitter.com/FLOTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@FLOTUS</a> Dr. Jill Biden marks Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas Attack Anniversary at the White House. <a href="https://t.co/FBQ3iwK32N">pic.twitter.com/FBQ3iwK32N</a>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1843320449985356248?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 7, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>The Bidens looked on as Rabbi Aaron Alexander of Washington’s Adas Israel Congregation recited the Jewish remembrance prayer for the more than 1,200 people, including dozens of Americans, killed that day, listing the towns, villages and festival site that were the scenes of the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust.&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1728311333069.png" alt="Keith Siegel-Israeli American is 64, and a native of North Carolina--photo Hostage and Missing Families Forum." />
 <figcaption>Keith Siegel-Israeli American is 64, and a native of North Carolina--photo Hostage and Missing Families Forum.</figcaption>
 </figure>Three Americans are dead including Judih Weinstein Haggai and Gadi Haggai, a couple in their 70s, and Itay Chen, 19, according to Israeli authorities.&nbsp;Four American-Israeli hostages are believed to be still alive&nbsp;&nbsp;Keith Siegel, 65; Sagui Dekel-Chen, 36; Eden Alexander, 20 and Omer Neutra, 22.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1728311271815.png" alt="Sagui Dekel-Chen, Israeli American, is 35,&nbsp;-photo Hostage and Missing Families Forum." />
 <figcaption>Sagui Dekel-Chen, Israeli American, is 35,&nbsp;-photo Hostage and Missing Families Forum.</figcaption>
 </figure>The president then lit a lone memorial candle placed on a small table at the center of the Blue Room before they observed a moment of silence.Earlier in the day, Biden spoke with Israeli President Isaac Herzog, the White House said.&nbsp;<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1728311127875.png" alt="Eden Alexander, Israeli American, is 20, and a native of New Jersey--photo Hostage and Missing Families Forum." />
 <figcaption>Eden Alexander, Israeli American, is 20, and a native of New Jersey--photo Hostage and Missing Families Forum.</figcaption>
 </figure>Israelis held somber ceremonies on Monday to mark a year since&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-gaza-war-kibbutz-attack-anniversary-344b289751d8ee80d4909f15864f508c">the deadliest attack in the country's history</a>, a Hamas-led raid that shattered its sense of security and ignited wars on two fronts with no end in sight.Hamas marked the anniversary of its Oct. 7, 2023, attack by firing a barrage of rockets at Tel Aviv, underscoring its resilience after&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war">a year of war and devastation in Gaza</a>. Lebanon's Hezbollah, which began firing rockets at Israel on Oct. 8 in support if its ally Hamas, vowed to keep up the barrages despite its recent losses.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1728311216287.png" alt="Omer Neutra, Israeli American, is 22. He was born in Manhattan, New York-photo Hostage and Missing Families Forum." />
 <figcaption>Omer Neutra, Israeli American, is 22. He was born in Manhattan, New York-photo Hostage and Missing Families Forum.</figcaption>
 </figure>The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-gaza-hamas-rockets-airstrikes-tel-aviv-11fb98655c256d54ecb5329284fc37d2">surprise cross-border attack one year ago</a>&nbsp;— which caught Israelis unprepared on a major Jewish holiday — shook their faith in their leaders and their military, and its aftershocks are still rippling across the region. Around 100 hostages captured that day have not been returned, a third of whom are believed to be dead, and cease-fire efforts have ground to a halt.The war in Gaza rages on and Israel is fighting&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-lebanon-what-to-know-hezbollah-incursion-c44358cb4c70db69bdab4b254cb2ed76">a new war against Hezbollah</a>. There is also&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-lebanon-hezbollah-gaza-news-10-01-2024-eb175dff6e46906caea8b9e43dfbd3da">an escalating conflict with Iran</a>&nbsp;— which backs both Hamas and Hezbollah — that threatens to drag the region into an even more dangerous conflagration.No formal commemorative event is planned in Gaza, where fighting is still underway,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/scars-of-war-0000019256a2d640a5fef6ba634b0000">huge areas have been completely destroyed</a>&nbsp;and most of the population&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/a-year-of-fleeing-across-gaza-000001925701d383a5925f8f807f0000">have been driven from their homes</a>.In Lebanon, meanwhile, an Israeli strike killed at least 10 firefighters, the latest in a series of strikes that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/lebanon-israel-medics-hezbollah-hospitals-6c7f75c921c9deec0fa5c160ce639664">have killed dozens of first responders</a>, according to Lebanon's Health Ministry. It said they were in a municipality building in the southern town of Baraachit that was hit as they prepared for a mission.There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/12/1703271147260.png" alt="Gadi Haggai, 73, was the firs U.S. hostage confirmed killed. -photo Hostage and Missing Families Forum." />
 <figcaption>Gadi Haggai, 73, was the firs U.S. hostage confirmed killed. -photo Hostage and Missing Families Forum.</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>Israelis hold memorials and call for the return of hostages</h2>Israelis flocked to ceremonies, cemeteries and memorial sites around the country, remembering the hundreds of victims, the dozens of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/hostages-gaza-tunnels-hamas-israel-war-d8ecb415268e911cea09518acdaf7ba2">hostages still in captivity</a>&nbsp;and soldiers killed in battle. Commemorations were also planned&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/hamas-attack-israel-anniversary-protests-b8f7428b707f2cf4300405feca0b570e">across Europe and elsewhere</a>.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/12/1703800478199.png" alt="Judith Weinstein-Haggai is originally from New York is among the hostages killed.&nbsp;-photo Hostage and Missing Families Forum." />
 <figcaption>Judith Weinstein-Haggai is originally from New York is among the hostages killed.&nbsp;-photo Hostage and Missing Families Forum.</figcaption>
 </figure>Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in the Oct. 7 attack and abducted another 250.Before dawn, hundreds of families of those killed at the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-gaza-hamas-music-festival-6a55aae2375944f10ecc4c52d05f2ffe">Nova music festival</a>, joined by Israeli President Isaac Herzog, gathered at the site where at least 364 revelers were killed and many others were&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/hersh-goldberg-polin-israel-palestinians-gaza-hostages-0be443e7ce616cbce3f2cb984e7971ca">taken hostage</a>. As the sun rose, organizers played the same trance track that was abruptly halted when the barrage of rockets began.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1728311073154.png" alt="Itay Chen, 19, was the youngest American taken hostage and is believed to be dead.&nbsp;-photo Hostage and Missing Families Forum." />
 <figcaption>Itay Chen, 19, was the youngest American taken hostage and is believed to be dead.&nbsp;-photo Hostage and Missing Families Forum.</figcaption>
 </figure>At 6:29 a.m. — the exact minute Hamas launched its attack — the crowd observed a moment of silence. A woman’s piercing wail broke the quiet and booms echoed from the fighting in Gaza, just a few kilometers (miles) away.“When we are here, we are near our loved ones,” said Sigal Bar-On, whose niece, Yuval Bar-On, 25, and her fiancé Moshe Shuva, 34, were killed in the attack two months before they were to be married.“We can’t understand how a year has passed,” said Shimon Busika, whose 25-year-old son Yarden was killed at the festival.At 6:31 a.m., four projectiles were launched from Gaza toward the same communities that came under attack last year, without disrupting the ceremony.The military said another five rockets were launched from the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis toward central Israel, setting off air raid sirens in Tel Aviv. Two women were lightly wounded, according to first responders, and there was minor damage. The military said it struck the launch sites.Meanwhile, the families of hostages still held in Gaza gathered near Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Jerusalem residence and stood during a two-minute siren.“We are here to remind (the hostages) that we haven’t forgotten them,” said Shiri Albag, whose daughter Liri is among the captives. In a speech addressing Netanyahu, she said: “We wont let you rest until all of them are back, every last one of them."Netanyahu, who has come under heavy criticism for the security lapses on Oct. 7 and for not yet returning all the hostages, spoke at a small ceremony in Jerusalem, saying: “We went through a terrible massacre a year ago and we arose as a nation as lions."An official state ceremony is set to air on Monday. It was prerecorded without an audience — apparently to avoid potential disruptions — in the southern city of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-militants-attack-cec3cc9e14969fd100d342ad1b90f7e4">Ofakim, which was among several communities and army bases that were attacked a year ago</a>.Anger at Netanyahu's government prompted families of those killed and taken captive to hold a separate event in Tel Aviv. That event had been set to draw tens of thousands of people but was scaled back due to the threat of missile attacks from Iran and Hezbollah.<h2>Hamas and Hezbollah vow to fight on</h2>Israel responded to the Oct. 7 attack by launching&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-gaza-bombs-destruction-death-toll-scope-419488c511f83c85baea22458472a796">one of the deadliest and most destructive military campaigns</a>&nbsp;in recent history. The war in Gaza has killed more than 41,000 Palestinians, displaced most of the territory's 2.3 million people and caused&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-war-palestinians-hunger-famine-42e404ec4ef3e2836a82a8d2b2315fd1">widespread hunger</a>.“We lost everything we have,” said Liyala al-Shanar, who fled her home in Gaza City. “We live in a tent that doesn’t protect us from the winter cold or the summer heat."Hamas remains in control of the territory and its forces have repeatedly regrouped in areas where Israel carried out major operations. On Sunday, Israeli forces encircled the northern town of Jabaliya and launched another major operation there that the military says is aimed at rooting out militants.In Lebanon, Hezbollah has continued to fire rockets, missiles and drones at Israel even after a wave of Israeli strikes in recent weeks killed most of its top command — including&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/hezbollah-nasrallah-lebanon-israel-airstrikes-haret-hreik-7d89051bb420991cee29398243c250fe">longtime leader Hassan Nasrallah</a>&nbsp;— and pounded large areas of Lebanon. Israel launched what has so far been a limited ground operation across the border last week.At least 1,400&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/lebanon-global-diaspora-violence-israel-hezbollah-12b4de400efafed84f665a0ea3045c9f">Lebanese</a>, including civilians, medics and Hezbollah fighters, have been killed and 1.2 million driven from their homes. Israel says it aims to drive the militant group from its border so tens of thousands of Israeli citizens can return home.Israel has also vowed to respond to a ballistic missile attack last week that Iran said was in response to the killing of Nasrallah,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-hamas-israel-30968a7acb31cd8b259de9650014b779">top Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh</a>&nbsp;and one of its own Revolutionary Guard generals.In a statement on Monday, Hezbollah vowed to continue its attacks until there is a cease-fire in Gaza, saying Israel “was and will remain a deadly, aggressive, cancerous gland that must be eliminated, no matter how long it takes.”___Goldenberg reported from Tel Aviv, Israel. Associated Press reporters Kareem Chehayeb in Beirut, Julia Frankel in Jerusalem and Wafaa Shurafa in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, contributed to this report.

1 year later: Remembering American hostages in Gaza

BARBER COUNTY —The Silver Alert issued August 3, for 73-year-old David Reese remains active, according to the Kansas Bureau of Investigation.&nbsp;

After two months, the Harper Police Department shared that on the morning of Oct. 4, David Reese’s chocolate lab, that had accompanied him when he disappeared, was found in good health. She was returned to his family.  The dog was found not far from the last sighting of Reese near Little Mule and Hardtner Shortcut in Barber County. Police searched over 50 square miles again but still did not locate David or his truck.&nbsp;

David Reese, 73, was reported missing to the Harper Police Department and a silver alert was issued on Aug. 3. He was last seen on Aug. 1, but later a sighting was reported placing him near Little Mule and Hardtner Shortcut in Barber County.

Law enforcement have conducted multiple searches in an effort to find him.

Reese was believed to be driving a white 2017 Chevy Silverado bearing Kansas tag 885 NEW.

He is described as a white male who is 5-feet -11 inches tall and weighs around 250 pounds. He has brown eyes, a white beard, and is balding. He was likely wearing a baseball cap. Reese has diabetes, anxiety, and a condition impairing cognition and memory.

 If you see David Reese or his vehicle, please call 911 immediately. If you have other information about this case, contact the Harper Police Department at (620) 842-3830.If you own property in Barber County, please take the time to thoroughly check your land and immediately report anything out of the ordinary.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1728310404447.png" alt="David Reese courtesy photo" />
 <figcaption>David Reese courtesy photo</figcaption>
 </figure>BARBER COUNTY —The Silver Alert issued August 3, for 73-year-old David Reese remains active, according to the Kansas Bureau of Investigation.&nbsp;After two months, the Harper Police Department shared that on the morning of Oct. 4, David Reese’s chocolate lab, that had accompanied him when he disappeared, was found in good health. She was returned to his family. The dog was found not far from the last sighting of Reese near Little Mule and Hardtner Shortcut in Barber County. Police searched over 50 square miles again but still did not locate David or his truck.&nbsp;<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/8/1722706150273.png" alt="David Reese courtesy photo" />
 <figcaption>David Reese courtesy photo</figcaption>
 </figure>David Reese, 73, was reported missing to the Harper Police Department and a silver alert was issued on Aug. 3. He was last seen on Aug. 1, but later a sighting was reported placing him near Little Mule and Hardtner Shortcut in Barber County.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1728310557814.png" alt="photo KBI" />
 <figcaption>photo KBI</figcaption>
 </figure>Law enforcement have conducted multiple searches in an effort to find him.Reese was believed to be driving a white 2017 Chevy Silverado bearing Kansas tag 885 NEW.He is described as a white male who is 5-feet -11 inches tall and weighs around 250 pounds. He has brown eyes, a white beard, and is balding. He was likely wearing a baseball cap. Reese has diabetes, anxiety, and a condition impairing cognition and memory. If you see David Reese or his vehicle, please call 911 immediately. If you have other information about this case, contact the Harper Police Department at (620) 842-3830.If you own property in Barber County, please take the time to thoroughly check your land and immediately report anything out of the ordinary.

Silver Alert for Kan. man still active; searchers found his dog

WASHINGTON (AP) —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/us-supreme-court">The Supreme Court</a>&nbsp;on Monday let stand a decision barring&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/abortion">emergency abortions</a>&nbsp;that violate the law in Texas, which has one of the country’s strictest abortion bans.

Without detailing their reasoning, the justices kept in place a lower court order that said hospitals cannot be required to provide pregnancy terminations that would violate Texas law.

The Biden administration had asked the justices to throw out the lower court order, arguing that hospitals have to perform abortions in emergency situations under federal law. The administration pointed to the Supreme Court’s action in a similar case from Idaho earlier this year in which the justices narrowly allowed emergency abortions to resume while a lawsuit continues.

The administration also cited a Texas Supreme Court ruling that said doctors do not have to wait until a woman’s life is in immediate danger to provide an abortion legally. The administration said it brings Texas in line with federal law and means the lower court ruling is not necessary.

Texas asked the justices to leave the order in place, saying the state Supreme Court ruling meant Texas law, unlike Idaho’s, does have an exception for the health of a pregnant patient and there’s no conflict between federal and state law.

Doctors have said the law remains dangerously vague after a medical board refused to specify exactly which conditions qualify for the exception.

There has been a spike in complaints that pregnant women in medical distress have been turned away from emergency rooms in Texas and elsewhere as hospitals grapple with whether standard care could violate strict laws against abortion.

Pregnancy terminations have long been part of medical treatment for patients with serious complications, as way to to prevent sepsis, organ failure and other major problems. But in Texas and other states with strict abortion bans, doctors and hospitals have said it is not clear whether those terminations could run afoul of abortion bans that carry the possibility of prison time.

The Texas case started after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, leading to abortion restrictions in many Republican-controlled states. The Biden administration issued guidance saying hospitals still needed to provide abortions in emergency situations under a health care law that requires most hospitals to treat any patients in medical distress.

Texas sued over that guidance, arguing that hospitals cannot be required to provide abortions that would violate its ban. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court Appeals sided with the state, ruling in January that the administration had overstepped its authority.

WASHINGTON (AP) —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/us-supreme-court">The Supreme Court</a>&nbsp;on Monday let stand a decision barring&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/abortion">emergency abortions</a>&nbsp;that violate the law in Texas, which has one of the country’s strictest abortion bans.Without detailing their reasoning, the justices kept in place a lower court order that said hospitals cannot be required to provide pregnancy terminations that would violate Texas law.The Biden administration had asked the justices to throw out the lower court order, arguing that hospitals have to perform abortions in emergency situations under federal law. The administration pointed to the Supreme Court’s action in a similar case from Idaho earlier this year in which the justices narrowly allowed emergency abortions to resume while a lawsuit continues.The administration also cited a Texas Supreme Court ruling that said doctors do not have to wait until a woman’s life is in immediate danger to provide an abortion legally. The administration said it brings Texas in line with federal law and means the lower court ruling is not necessary.Texas asked the justices to leave the order in place, saying the state Supreme Court ruling meant Texas law, unlike Idaho’s, does have an exception for the health of a pregnant patient and there’s no conflict between federal and state law.Doctors have said the law remains dangerously vague after a medical board refused to specify exactly which conditions qualify for the exception.There has been a spike in complaints that pregnant women in medical distress have been turned away from emergency rooms in Texas and elsewhere as hospitals grapple with whether standard care could violate strict laws against abortion.Pregnancy terminations have long been part of medical treatment for patients with serious complications, as way to to prevent sepsis, organ failure and other major problems. But in Texas and other states with strict abortion bans, doctors and hospitals have said it is not clear whether those terminations could run afoul of abortion bans that carry the possibility of prison time.The Texas case started after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, leading to abortion restrictions in many Republican-controlled states. The Biden administration issued guidance saying hospitals still needed to provide abortions in emergency situations under a health care law that requires most hospitals to treat any patients in medical distress.Texas sued over that guidance, arguing that hospitals cannot be required to provide abortions that would violate its ban. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court Appeals sided with the state, ruling in January that the administration had overstepped its authority.

Supreme Court declines to hear Biden appeal in ER abortion dispute

WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris opened a media blitz by the Democratic ticket on Sunday by appearing on the popular “Call Her Daddy” podcast about abortion, sexual abuse and other issues that resonate with women, working in some digs at her GOP opponent along the way.

In the roughly 40-minute interview, taped last week, the Democratic presidential nominee spoke about the grit it takes to be a woman seeking public office, the toughness her mother instilled in her and the importance of reproductive rights in this election.

The program is the most-listened-to podcast for women and it has millions of fans tuning in for talk about relationships, sex, mental health and women’s empowerment. The discussion with Harris was on the tame side for the show, with the vice president keeping her message focused, in part, on the value of ignoring people who have doubted her.

“I don’t hear no. I urge all the ‘Daddy Gang,’ don’t hear no, just don’t hear it,” she said. “I think it’s really important not to let other people define you.”

The interview was part of a broader media outreach effort by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/kamala-harris">Harris</a>&nbsp;and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, as the Democrats seek to boost their support in the final 30 days of the campaign against Republicans&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/jd-vance">JD Vance</a>.

Harris has been criticized for not doing more media interviews.

On the podcast, the Democratic nominee largely stuck to her usual messaging on abortion, and said that in her travels she's seen that even people who have strong opposition to abortion tell her they “are now seeing what’s happening and saying ‘Hmm, I didn’t intend for all this to happen' ” when they see the health problems arising since Roe v. Wade was repealed.

Harris dinged Trump as she has in recent speeches, leaning in on his integrity and saying “this guy is full of lies” when he talks about abortion and other issues. She dismissed Vance’s comments about “childless cat ladies” as “mean, and mean-spirited.”

Trump has continued to stress that abortion policy should be left to the states and that doctors have a duty to provide emergency care to women whose lives are in danger. Vance, for his part, has said his remark about childless women were misinterpreted and that he wants to support families.

There's much more to come from Harris and Walz.

Harris has taped an interview with CBS’ “60 Minutes” that will air Monday night. She is booked Tuesday on Howard Stern’s satellite radio show, ABC’s “The View” and “The Late Show” with Stephen Colbert on CBS. Walz will be on Jimmy Kimmel’s ABC show on Monday.

In a “60 Minutes” excerpt released Sunday, Harris navigated around a question about whether Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was “a real close ally,” saying that “The better question is: Do we have an important alliance between the American people and the Israeli people? And the answer to that question is yes.”

And nearly a week after his verbal stumbles in the only&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/debate-takeaways-vance-walz-harris-trump-5b6f219b555416ff579764048ac238a1">vice presidential debate</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/tim-walz">Walz</a>&nbsp;used his debut campaign appearance on a Sunday news show to try to fend off criticism of his stand on abortion rights and to “own up” to past misstatements.

Walz's Fox appearance also touched on the turmoil in the Middle East, with anchor Shannon Bream pressing the Minnesota governor on whether Israel has a right to preemptively attack&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-israel-iran-hezbollah-nuclear-sites-846c8779b2b95a3bebcf955c4e69cf6c">Iran's nuclear and oil facilities</a>&nbsp;in response to Tehran's firing of missiles against Israel. It was a question that Walz did not fully answer during his debate this past week with Vance, an Ohio senator.

Walz said Sunday that “specific operations will be dealt with at the time” and he spoke of ”consequences for what they do."

He said Israel has a right to defend itself and that Harris worked with Israel this past week to repel the Iranian attack.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/joe-biden">President Joe Biden</a>&nbsp;said last week he would not support an Israeli strike on sites related to Tehran’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-nuclear-natanz-uranium-enrichment-underground-project-04dae673fc937af04e62b65dd78db2e0">nuclear program.</a>

Walz defended a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-politics-minnesota-state-government-timothy-walz-11c3b1d5269c929e442b979ff1bac73b">law that he signed as governor</a>&nbsp;to ensure abortion protections, saying it "puts the decision with the woman and her health care providers.”

Trump has said he would not sign a national abortion ban into law, and during the interview Sunday, Walz was asked whether he was calling that “a flat-out lie.”

Walz also faced questions in the interview about misstatements related to his military service, drunken driving arrest, infertility treatment for his family and claims to have been in Hong Kong during the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre in China.

“I will own up when I misspeak,” Walz said. “I will own up when I make a mistake.”

He said he believes voters are more concerned by the fact that Vance could not acknowledge during their debate that Trump lost the 2020 election to Biden and that there could be restrictions on the infertility treatments, like the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/tim-walz-ivf-fertility-jd-vance-fc5ebf8f37adb28cf45d0af51224a938">intrauterine insemination</a>&nbsp;that his wife, Gwen, received.

“I think they’re probably far more concerned with that than my wife and I used IUI to have our child and that Donald Trump would restrict that," Walz said. "So I think folks know who I am.”

Bream noted that Trump has come out in support of fertility treatments, even as he has said that abortion questions should be decided by states.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1728267494913.png" alt="Image courtesy Harris campaign" />
 <figcaption>Image courtesy Harris campaign</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris opened a media blitz by the Democratic ticket on Sunday by appearing on the popular “Call Her Daddy” podcast about abortion, sexual abuse and other issues that resonate with women, working in some digs at her GOP opponent along the way.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">You don’t have to abandon your faith or deeply-held beliefs to agree that the government or Donald Trump shouldn’t be telling women what to do with their bodies. Watch my full conversation with <a href="https://twitter.com/alexandracooper?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@alexandracooper</a> on Spotify: <a href="https://t.co/MDI9za7S8i">https://t.co/MDI9za7S8i</a> <a href="https://t.co/yVP6ULM3KX">pic.twitter.com/yVP6ULM3KX</a>&mdash; Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) <a href="https://twitter.com/KamalaHarris/status/1843077659925860488?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 6, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>In the roughly 40-minute interview, taped last week, the Democratic presidential nominee spoke about the grit it takes to be a woman seeking public office, the toughness her mother instilled in her and the importance of reproductive rights in this election.The program is the most-listened-to podcast for women and it has millions of fans tuning in for talk about relationships, sex, mental health and women’s empowerment. The discussion with Harris was on the tame side for the show, with the vice president keeping her message focused, in part, on the value of ignoring people who have doubted her.“I don’t hear no. I urge all the ‘Daddy Gang,’ don’t hear no, just don’t hear it,” she said. “I think it’s really important not to let other people define you.”The interview was part of a broader media outreach effort by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/kamala-harris">Harris</a>&nbsp;and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, as the Democrats seek to boost their support in the final 30 days of the campaign against Republicans&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/jd-vance">JD Vance</a>.Harris has been criticized for not doing more media interviews.On the podcast, the Democratic nominee largely stuck to her usual messaging on abortion, and said that in her travels she's seen that even people who have strong opposition to abortion tell her they “are now seeing what’s happening and saying ‘Hmm, I didn’t intend for all this to happen' ” when they see the health problems arising since Roe v. Wade was repealed.Harris dinged Trump as she has in recent speeches, leaning in on his integrity and saying “this guy is full of lies” when he talks about abortion and other issues. She dismissed Vance’s comments about “childless cat ladies” as “mean, and mean-spirited.”Trump has continued to stress that abortion policy should be left to the states and that doctors have a duty to provide emergency care to women whose lives are in danger. Vance, for his part, has said his remark about childless women were misinterpreted and that he wants to support families.There's much more to come from Harris and Walz.Harris has taped an interview with CBS’ “60 Minutes” that will air Monday night. She is booked Tuesday on Howard Stern’s satellite radio show, ABC’s “The View” and “The Late Show” with Stephen Colbert on CBS. Walz will be on Jimmy Kimmel’s ABC show on Monday.In a “60 Minutes” excerpt released Sunday, Harris navigated around a question about whether Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was “a real close ally,” saying that “The better question is: Do we have an important alliance between the American people and the Israeli people? And the answer to that question is yes.”And nearly a week after his verbal stumbles in the only&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/debate-takeaways-vance-walz-harris-trump-5b6f219b555416ff579764048ac238a1">vice presidential debate</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/tim-walz">Walz</a>&nbsp;used his debut campaign appearance on a Sunday news show to try to fend off criticism of his stand on abortion rights and to “own up” to past misstatements.Walz's Fox appearance also touched on the turmoil in the Middle East, with anchor Shannon Bream pressing the Minnesota governor on whether Israel has a right to preemptively attack&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-israel-iran-hezbollah-nuclear-sites-846c8779b2b95a3bebcf955c4e69cf6c">Iran's nuclear and oil facilities</a>&nbsp;in response to Tehran's firing of missiles against Israel. It was a question that Walz did not fully answer during his debate this past week with Vance, an Ohio senator.Walz said Sunday that “specific operations will be dealt with at the time” and he spoke of ”consequences for what they do."He said Israel has a right to defend itself and that Harris worked with Israel this past week to repel the Iranian attack.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/joe-biden">President Joe Biden</a>&nbsp;said last week he would not support an Israeli strike on sites related to Tehran’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-nuclear-natanz-uranium-enrichment-underground-project-04dae673fc937af04e62b65dd78db2e0">nuclear program.</a>Walz defended a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-politics-minnesota-state-government-timothy-walz-11c3b1d5269c929e442b979ff1bac73b">law that he signed as governor</a>&nbsp;to ensure abortion protections, saying it "puts the decision with the woman and her health care providers.”Trump has said he would not sign a national abortion ban into law, and during the interview Sunday, Walz was asked whether he was calling that “a flat-out lie.”“Yes ... of course,” Walz said.Walz also faced questions in the interview about misstatements related to his military service, drunken driving arrest, infertility treatment for his family and claims to have been in Hong Kong during the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre in China.“I will own up when I misspeak,” Walz said. “I will own up when I make a mistake.”He said he believes voters are more concerned by the fact that Vance could not acknowledge during their debate that Trump lost the 2020 election to Biden and that there could be restrictions on the infertility treatments, like the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/tim-walz-ivf-fertility-jd-vance-fc5ebf8f37adb28cf45d0af51224a938">intrauterine insemination</a>&nbsp;that his wife, Gwen, received.“I think they’re probably far more concerned with that than my wife and I used IUI to have our child and that Donald Trump would restrict that," Walz said. "So I think folks know who I am.”Bream noted that Trump has come out in support of fertility treatments, even as he has said that abortion questions should be decided by states.

🎥Harris begins media blitz in final sprint to election day

SEDGWICK COUNTY —A man jailed following an Amber Alert in September is due in court for a preliminary hearing on Monday.&nbsp;

 Trevawn Strong, 30 of Wichita, has been charged with abuse of a child, two counts of aggravated battery, two counts of aggravated assault, three counts of aggravated endangering a child, three counts of criminal threat, and misdemeanor counts of domestic battery, criminal restraint, and criminal damage to property, according to the Sedgwick County District Attorney's office.

Just before 5 p.m. September 11, 5-year-old Trevawn Strong Jr. was forcibly taken from his mother by his father 30-year-old Trevawn Strong Sr. utilizing a knife and firearm during a domestic incident at their residence at 2025 S. Grove in Wichita, according to police.

&nbsp;Strong&nbsp; threatened to kill his son, stabbed the boy's mother, and took the child.&nbsp; The Kansas Bureau of Investigation reported the boy was in imminent danger. The suspect left in a vehicle, but that vehicle was recovered in the 1900 block of N. Woodlawn in Wichita.&nbsp;

Just before 9p.m. police located the child and took the father into custody. 

Strong's next court appearance is scheduled for October 7. He is free on a $250,000 bond with conditions including electronic monitoring with pre-trial services.&nbsp;&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/9/1726138875380.png" alt="Strong-photo Sedgwick County" />
 <figcaption>Strong-photo Sedgwick County</figcaption>
 </figure>SEDGWICK COUNTY —A man jailed following an Amber Alert in September is due in court for a preliminary hearing on Monday.&nbsp; Trevawn Strong, 30 of Wichita, has been charged with abuse of a child, two counts of aggravated battery, two counts of aggravated assault, three counts of aggravated endangering a child, three counts of criminal threat, and misdemeanor counts of domestic battery, criminal restraint, and criminal damage to property, according to the Sedgwick County District Attorney's office.Just before 5 p.m. September 11, 5-year-old Trevawn Strong Jr. was forcibly taken from his mother by his father 30-year-old Trevawn Strong Sr. utilizing a knife and firearm during a domestic incident at their residence at 2025 S. Grove in Wichita, according to police.&nbsp;Strong&nbsp; threatened to kill his son, stabbed the boy's mother, and took the child.&nbsp; The Kansas Bureau of Investigation reported the boy was in imminent danger. The suspect left in a vehicle, but that vehicle was recovered in the 1900 block of N. Woodlawn in Wichita.&nbsp;Just before 9p.m. police located the child and took the father into custody. Strong's next court appearance is scheduled for October 7. He is free on a $250,000 bond with conditions including electronic monitoring with pre-trial services.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Suspect in Kansas Amber Alert due back in court

KANSAS CITY —Law enforcement are investigating another homicide in Kansas City.

Just before 11a.m. Saturday, police were dispatched to the 8800 block of NE. 105th Place on a reported knife attack. When officers arrived, they were summoned to a nearby residence where they located a man inside of a bedroom suffering from apparent stab wounds. 

EMS responded to the scene and declared the victim deceased at that time, according to KCPD&nbsp;Officer Alayna Gonzalez.

Preliminary investigation indicates an altercation ensued between an adult male suspect, and the victim. 

It is believed this is a domestic violence incident at this time. The suspect left the scene prior to police arrival. Detectives have identified a person of interest and are working quickly to locate him.

Police have not released the name of the suspect or the victim.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1728183619944.png" alt="Photo Sheriff Daryl Forte'" />
 <figcaption>Photo Sheriff Daryl Forte'</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY —Law enforcement are investigating another homicide in Kansas City.Just before 11a.m. Saturday, police were dispatched to the 8800 block of NE. 105th Place on a reported knife attack. When officers arrived, they were summoned to a nearby residence where they located a man inside of a bedroom suffering from apparent stab wounds. EMS responded to the scene and declared the victim deceased at that time, according to KCPD&nbsp;Officer Alayna Gonzalez.Preliminary investigation indicates an altercation ensued between an adult male suspect, and the victim. It is believed this is a domestic violence incident at this time. The suspect left the scene prior to police arrival. Detectives have identified a person of interest and are working quickly to locate him.Police have not released the name of the suspect or the victim.

Man stabbed to death during fight at apartment in Kansas City

SHAWNEE COUNTY —Authorities are investigating a fatal house fire in Topeka. Just after 6p.m. Sunday, crews from the Topeka Fire Department&nbsp; responded to a reported house fire at 1640 SW Buchanan Street, according to department spokesperson Rosie Nichols.

Firs responders found heavy smoke and flames coming from the two-story residence. Firefighters performed a search and found an individual on the second floor of the residence who was later pronounced deceased. 

Crews extinguished the fire. Investigators have not released the cause of the fire or the name of the victim.&nbsp; Check the Post for additional details as they become available.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1728296248154.png" alt="Photo courtesy WIBW TV" />
 <figcaption>Photo courtesy WIBW TV</figcaption>
 </figure>SHAWNEE COUNTY —Authorities are investigating a fatal house fire in Topeka. Just after 6p.m. Sunday, crews from the Topeka Fire Department&nbsp; responded to a reported house fire at 1640 SW Buchanan Street, according to department spokesperson Rosie Nichols.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1728296520340.png" alt="Photo courtesy WIBW TV" />
 <figcaption>Photo courtesy WIBW TV</figcaption>
 </figure>Firs responders found heavy smoke and flames coming from the two-story residence. Firefighters performed a search and found an individual on the second floor of the residence who was later pronounced deceased. Crews extinguished the fire. Investigators have not released the cause of the fire or the name of the victim.&nbsp; Check the Post for additional details as they become available.

Cause of deadly Kansas house fire under investigation

WASHINGTON —The United States will provide nearly $157 million in new U.S. humanitarian&nbsp;assistance&nbsp;to support populations affected by conflict in Lebanon and the region, according to a statement from the U..S Department of State.

&nbsp;This funding will address new and existing needs of internally displaced persons and refugee populations inside Lebanon and the communities that host them.&nbsp; The assistance will also support those fleeing to neighboring Syria.&nbsp;

This life-saving assistance from the American people includes nearly $82 million immediately available through the Department of State’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration and $75 million through the United States Agency for International Development’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance.&nbsp; 

Of this total, USAID has already deployed $11.5 million, and working with Congress plans to make another $63.5 million available in the coming weeks, to ensure that vital humanitarian assistance can continue to reach the most vulnerable communities in need.&nbsp;&nbsp;This&nbsp;emergency food, shelter, blankets, hygiene kits, protection, water, and sanitation assistance will be a critical lifeline for those who have endured unimaginable hardships.

The United States provided nearly $386 million over the last year to support vulnerable populations in Lebanon and Syria impacted by the increase in conflict.&nbsp; This new humanitarian assistance comes at a time of devastating humanitarian crisis for Lebanon, with more than a million people displaced from their homes. &nbsp;The United States is committed to helping those most vulnerable in Lebanon and throughout the region. &nbsp;We&nbsp;urge other donors to join us in stepping up to contribute to these new humanitarian needs.

WASHINGTON —The United States will provide nearly $157 million in new U.S. humanitarian&nbsp;assistance&nbsp;to support populations affected by conflict in Lebanon and the region, according to a statement from the U..S Department of State.&nbsp;This funding will address new and existing needs of internally displaced persons and refugee populations inside Lebanon and the communities that host them.&nbsp; The assistance will also support those fleeing to neighboring Syria.&nbsp;<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">The people of Lebanon are facing an increasingly dire humanitarian situation. I am concerned about the security and well-being of civilians suffering in Lebanon and will continue working to help meet the needs of all civilians there. To that end, the United States will provide…&mdash; Vice President Kamala Harris (@VP) <a href="https://twitter.com/VP/status/1842710797241434259?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 5, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>This life-saving assistance from the American people includes nearly $82 million immediately available through the Department of State’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration and $75 million through the United States Agency for International Development’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance.&nbsp; Of this total, USAID has already deployed $11.5 million, and working with Congress plans to make another $63.5 million available in the coming weeks, to ensure that vital humanitarian assistance can continue to reach the most vulnerable communities in need.&nbsp;&nbsp;This&nbsp;emergency food, shelter, blankets, hygiene kits, protection, water, and sanitation assistance will be a critical lifeline for those who have endured unimaginable hardships.The United States provided nearly $386 million over the last year to support vulnerable populations in Lebanon and Syria impacted by the increase in conflict.&nbsp; This new humanitarian assistance comes at a time of devastating humanitarian crisis for Lebanon, with more than a million people displaced from their homes. &nbsp;The United States is committed to helping those most vulnerable in Lebanon and throughout the region. &nbsp;We&nbsp;urge other donors to join us in stepping up to contribute to these new humanitarian needs.

US to give $157 million in aid in response to Lebanon crisis

KANSAS CITY —One person died in an accident just after 1:30a.m. Sunday in Kansas City.

 A red and white Honda 450R was southbound on Grand Boulevard near 22nd Street at a high rate of speed, according to Officer Alayna Gonzalez.

The motorcycle traveled off the roadway to the right, collided with a street light pole, and the driver was ejected from the vehicle. The driver of the Honda, who was not wearing a helmet, was pronounced dead at the scene, according to Gonzalez.&nbsp; The name of the victim has not been released.

KANSAS CITY —One person died in an accident just after 1:30a.m. Sunday in Kansas City. A red and white Honda 450R was southbound on Grand Boulevard near 22nd Street at a high rate of speed, according to Officer Alayna Gonzalez.The motorcycle traveled off the roadway to the right, collided with a street light pole, and the driver was ejected from the vehicle. The driver of the Honda, who was not wearing a helmet, was pronounced dead at the scene, according to Gonzalez.&nbsp; The name of the victim has not been released.

KCPD: Motorcyclist dies after high-speed crash into light pole

KANSAS CITY —A&nbsp; man was sentenced in federal court this week for his role in a conspiracy to distribute more than 60 kilograms of methamphetamine.

Juan Hernandez-Guzman, 31, a citizen of Mexico who is a permanent resident of the United States, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Howard F. Sachs to 15 years in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Hernandez-Guzman to forfeit to the government $13,048 that was seized by law enforcement officers, which represents the proceeds of drug trafficking.

On April 16, 2024, Hernandez-Guzman pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine from April 10 to April 23, 2023.

Police officers executed a search warrant at Hernandez-Guzman’s residence on April 23, 2023. Officers found a loaded Glock .357-caliber handgun, which had been modified so that it was capable of firing automatically, and a loaded Glock 9mm handgun, and a non-functioning .22-caliber revolver. Each of the Glock handguns had an extended magazine loaded with 27 rounds of ammunition. Officers also seized $4,048 in cash. Officers took protective custody of two children who were present.

Officers also found 10.9 kilograms of methamphetamine inside a cardboard box in the back seat of Hernandez-Guzman’s Tahoe. The vehicle also contained $9,000 in cash.

KANSAS CITY —A&nbsp; man was sentenced in federal court this week for his role in a conspiracy to distribute more than 60 kilograms of methamphetamine.Juan Hernandez-Guzman, 31, a citizen of Mexico who is a permanent resident of the United States, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Howard F. Sachs to 15 years in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Hernandez-Guzman to forfeit to the government $13,048 that was seized by law enforcement officers, which represents the proceeds of drug trafficking.On April 16, 2024, Hernandez-Guzman pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine from April 10 to April 23, 2023.Police officers executed a search warrant at Hernandez-Guzman’s residence on April 23, 2023. Officers found a loaded Glock .357-caliber handgun, which had been modified so that it was capable of firing automatically, and a loaded Glock 9mm handgun, and a non-functioning .22-caliber revolver. Each of the Glock handguns had an extended magazine loaded with 27 rounds of ammunition. Officers also seized $4,048 in cash. Officers took protective custody of two children who were present.Officers also found 10.9 kilograms of methamphetamine inside a cardboard box in the back seat of Hernandez-Guzman’s Tahoe. The vehicle also contained $9,000 in cash.

Mexican-national was selling meth in Kansas City

SEDGWICK COUNTY —The Wichita Police Department is investigating a shooting incident involving a 26-year-old man from Wichita and a 21-year-old woman.

Just after 3:30 a.m. Sunday, officers from the Patrol East Bureau were flagged down by an individual reporting that a man they knew had broken into their residence in the 800 block of South Edgemoor, armed with a handgun, according to Officer Juan Rebolledo.

 The individual was reportedly inside the home with his ex-domestic partner and had made suicidal statements.

Officers arrived at the scene and attempted to make contact but received no response. The Wichita Police SWAT and Crisis Negotiation teams were immediately activated. Despite efforts to establish communication, no contact was made.

SWAT entered the residence later in the morning and discovered both the male suspect and his ex-domestic partner deceased from non-survivable gunshot wounds. Police released no additional details Sunday afternoon.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1728251189682.png" alt="Police on the scene of the investigation photo courtesy KWCH" />
 <figcaption>Police on the scene of the investigation photo courtesy KWCH</figcaption>
 </figure>SEDGWICK COUNTY —The Wichita Police Department is investigating a shooting incident involving a 26-year-old man from Wichita and a 21-year-old woman.Just after 3:30 a.m. Sunday, officers from the Patrol East Bureau were flagged down by an individual reporting that a man they knew had broken into their residence in the 800 block of South Edgemoor, armed with a handgun, according to Officer Juan Rebolledo. The individual was reportedly inside the home with his ex-domestic partner and had made suicidal statements.Officers arrived at the scene and attempted to make contact but received no response. The Wichita Police SWAT and Crisis Negotiation teams were immediately activated. Despite efforts to establish communication, no contact was made.SWAT entered the residence later in the morning and discovered both the male suspect and his ex-domestic partner deceased from non-survivable gunshot wounds. Police released no additional details Sunday afternoon.

Kan. man broke into home, killed ex-domestic partner and himself

SHAWNEE COUNTY —Law enforcement are investigating two suspects on drug allegations.&nbsp;

On Thursday, members of the Topeka Police Department Narcotics Unit and the Shawnee County Drug Task Force served search warrants in the 500 Block SE Baldwin Road and the 400 Block of NE Winfield, according to Topeka Police LT Ronnie Connell.

While conducting the search warrants, officers located marijuana, drug-cultivating equipment, firearms, and drug paraphernalia.

As a result, Shawn Wadkins, 51, and James Haney, 71, were transported to the Shawnee County Department of Corrections.

Shawn Wadkins remains jailed on requested charges of Distribution of marijuana, Cultivating hallucinogens with intent,&nbsp;&nbsp;Possession of Drug Paraphernalia with intent to distribute, Unlawful to acquire proceeds from drug transaction and no Drug Tax.

James Haney is jailed on requested charges of&nbsp;Distribution of marijuana, Cultivating hallucinogens with intent, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia with intent to distribute, Unlawful to acquire proceeds from drug transactions and Drug Tax.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1728060315368.png" alt="Wadkins photo Shawnee Co." />
 <figcaption>Wadkins photo Shawnee Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>SHAWNEE COUNTY —Law enforcement are investigating two suspects on drug allegations.&nbsp;On Thursday, members of the Topeka Police Department Narcotics Unit and the Shawnee County Drug Task Force served search warrants in the 500 Block SE Baldwin Road and the 400 Block of NE Winfield, according to Topeka Police LT Ronnie Connell.While conducting the search warrants, officers located marijuana, drug-cultivating equipment, firearms, and drug paraphernalia.As a result, Shawn Wadkins, 51, and James Haney, 71, were transported to the Shawnee County Department of Corrections.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1728060376770.png" alt="Haney photo Shawnee Co." />
 <figcaption>Haney photo Shawnee Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>Shawn Wadkins remains jailed on requested charges of Distribution of marijuana, Cultivating hallucinogens with intent,&nbsp;&nbsp;Possession of Drug Paraphernalia with intent to distribute, Unlawful to acquire proceeds from drug transaction and no Drug Tax.James Haney is jailed on requested charges of&nbsp;Distribution of marijuana, Cultivating hallucinogens with intent, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia with intent to distribute, Unlawful to acquire proceeds from drug transactions and Drug Tax.

Two Kansas men caught selling drugs

BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/shauneen-miranda/">SHAUNEEN MIRANDA</a> <a href="https://statesnewsroom.com/">States Newsroom</a>

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Education is launching the first testing period for its phased rollout of the 2025-26 form to apply for federal financial student aid on Tuesday, with more students set to partake in this beginning testing stage than initially expected.

The department&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/us-education-department-gradually-roll-out-new-fafsa-form-dec-1" target="_blank">announced in August</a>&nbsp;it would be using a staggered approach to launch the 2025-26&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/dont-give-fafsa-advocates-student-financial-aid-urge" target="_blank">Free Application for Federal Student Aid</a>&nbsp;— or FAFSA — in order to address any issues that might arise before the form opens up to everyone by Dec. 1. The number of students able to complete the form will gradually increase throughout four separate testing stages, with the first one beginning Oct. 1.

The phased rollout makes the form fully available two months later than usual and comes as the 2024-25 form — which got a makeover after Congress passed the FAFSA Simplification Act in late 2020 — faced a series of highly publicized hiccups that the department has worked to fix.

Earlier in September, the department&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/us-education-department-open-new-financial-aid-form-more-applicants" target="_blank">announced six community-based organizations</a>&nbsp;chosen to participate in the first testing period: Alabama Possible; Bridge 2 Life, in Florida; College AIM, in Georgia; Education is Freedom, in Texas; the Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara, in California; and the Scholarship Fund of Alexandria, in Virginia.

“Thanks to the wonderful organizations, we expect closer to 1,000 students in Beta 1 as opposed to the 100 we initially thought,” FAFSA executive adviser Jeremy Singer said on a call with reporters Monday regarding the 2025-26 form.

During this first testing stage, U.S. Under Secretary of Education James Kvaal said the department will process students’ FAFSAs, “give students an opportunity to make corrections, if needed, and send the records to colleges and state agencies.”

“Colleges will be able to use these same records when it’s time for them to make financial aid offers,” said Kvaal, who oversees higher education and financial aid, including the Office of Federal Student Aid.

The department on Monday also named 78 community-based organizations, governmental entities, high schools, school districts and institutions of higher education to participate in its three subsequent testing periods for the 2025-26 form.

Three of the community-based organizations chosen to take part in the first testing period — Florida’s Bridge 2 Life; Texas’ Education is Freedom; and Virginia’s&nbsp; Scholarship Fund of Alexandria — will also participate in subsequent testing stages.

To help students and families prepare for the 2025-26 application cycle, the department said this week it’s releasing a revised&nbsp;<a href="https://studentaid.gov/aid-estimator/" target="_blank">Federal Student Aid Estimator</a>, updated resources for creating a&nbsp;<a href="https://studentaid.gov/" target="_blank">StudentAid.Gov account</a>, including a “parent wizard,” as well as an updated prototype of the 2025-26 FAFSA.

Last week, the department released&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ed.gov/sites/ed/files/2024-09/AFocusonImprovingtheFAFSAExperience.pdf" target="_blank">a report</a>&nbsp;outlining 10 steps it’s taking to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/gaps-fafsa-rollout-are-closing-watchdog-tells-us-house-panel" target="_blank">improve the FAFSA application process</a>. Part of those efforts include the department strengthening its leadership team and working to address issues for families without Social Security numbers when completing the form, in addition to vendors adding more than 700 new call center agents.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1727807641728.png" alt=" A sign reminding people to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid — better known as FAFSA — appears on a bus near Union Station in Washington, D.C. (Shauneen Miranda/States Newsroom)" />
 <figcaption> A sign reminding people to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid — better known as FAFSA — appears on a bus near Union Station in Washington, D.C. (Shauneen Miranda/States Newsroom)</figcaption>
 </figure>BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/shauneen-miranda/">SHAUNEEN MIRANDA</a> <a href="https://statesnewsroom.com/">States Newsroom</a>WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Education is launching the first testing period for its phased rollout of the 2025-26 form to apply for federal financial student aid on Tuesday, with more students set to partake in this beginning testing stage than initially expected.The department&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/us-education-department-gradually-roll-out-new-fafsa-form-dec-1" target="_blank">announced in August</a>&nbsp;it would be using a staggered approach to launch the 2025-26&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/dont-give-fafsa-advocates-student-financial-aid-urge" target="_blank">Free Application for Federal Student Aid</a>&nbsp;— or FAFSA — in order to address any issues that might arise before the form opens up to everyone by Dec. 1. The number of students able to complete the form will gradually increase throughout four separate testing stages, with the first one beginning Oct. 1.The phased rollout makes the form fully available two months later than usual and comes as the 2024-25 form — which got a makeover after Congress passed the FAFSA Simplification Act in late 2020 — faced a series of highly publicized hiccups that the department has worked to fix.Earlier in September, the department&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/us-education-department-open-new-financial-aid-form-more-applicants" target="_blank">announced six community-based organizations</a>&nbsp;chosen to participate in the first testing period: Alabama Possible; Bridge 2 Life, in Florida; College AIM, in Georgia; Education is Freedom, in Texas; the Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara, in California; and the Scholarship Fund of Alexandria, in Virginia.“Thanks to the wonderful organizations, we expect closer to 1,000 students in Beta 1 as opposed to the 100 we initially thought,” FAFSA executive adviser Jeremy Singer said on a call with reporters Monday regarding the 2025-26 form.During this first testing stage, U.S. Under Secretary of Education James Kvaal said the department will process students’ FAFSAs, “give students an opportunity to make corrections, if needed, and send the records to colleges and state agencies.”“Colleges will be able to use these same records when it’s time for them to make financial aid offers,” said Kvaal, who oversees higher education and financial aid, including the Office of Federal Student Aid.<h2>Three more testing periods</h2>The department on Monday also named 78 community-based organizations, governmental entities, high schools, school districts and institutions of higher education to participate in its three subsequent testing periods for the 2025-26 form.Three of the community-based organizations chosen to take part in the first testing period — Florida’s Bridge 2 Life; Texas’ Education is Freedom; and Virginia’s&nbsp; Scholarship Fund of Alexandria — will also participate in subsequent testing stages.To help students and families prepare for the 2025-26 application cycle, the department said this week it’s releasing a revised&nbsp;<a href="https://studentaid.gov/aid-estimator/" target="_blank">Federal Student Aid Estimator</a>, updated resources for creating a&nbsp;<a href="https://studentaid.gov/" target="_blank">StudentAid.Gov account</a>, including a “parent wizard,” as well as an updated prototype of the 2025-26 FAFSA.Last week, the department released&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ed.gov/sites/ed/files/2024-09/AFocusonImprovingtheFAFSAExperience.pdf" target="_blank">a report</a>&nbsp;outlining 10 steps it’s taking to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/gaps-fafsa-rollout-are-closing-watchdog-tells-us-house-panel" target="_blank">improve the FAFSA application process</a>. Part of those efforts include the department strengthening its leadership team and working to address issues for families without Social Security numbers when completing the form, in addition to vendors adding more than 700 new call center agents.