OSAGE COUNTy —Law enforcement are investigating a suspect on multiple drug allegations.

Just before 6:30p.m. Christmas Eve,&nbsp;a Sheriff’s Deputy was dispatched to a suspicious vehicle near Green Acres Pizza &amp; Sub, 4951 E. K-268 Highway in the small Osage County community of Vassar, according to Sheriff Chris Wells.

 During the encounter, suspected illegal narcotics were in plain view. Deputies took Thomas A. Anderson, 42, of Quenemo into custody and transported him to the Osage County Jail facility on requested charges of&nbsp;Distribution of methamphetamine, Possession of drug paraphernalia and Possession of marijuana.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/12/1735230208155.png" alt="Anderson-photo Osage County" />
 <figcaption>Anderson-photo Osage County</figcaption>
 </figure>OSAGE COUNTy —Law enforcement are investigating a suspect on multiple drug allegations.Just before 6:30p.m. Christmas Eve,&nbsp;a Sheriff’s Deputy was dispatched to a suspicious vehicle near Green Acres Pizza &amp; Sub, 4951 E. K-268 Highway in the small Osage County community of Vassar, according to Sheriff Chris Wells. During the encounter, suspected illegal narcotics were in plain view. Deputies took Thomas A. Anderson, 42, of Quenemo into custody and transported him to the Osage County Jail facility on requested charges of&nbsp;Distribution of methamphetamine, Possession of drug paraphernalia and Possession of marijuana.

Accused Kansas meth dealer jailed on Christmas Eve

KANSAS CITY—Law enforcement investigating a fatal hit-and-run have located the vehicle involved and took a&nbsp;&nbsp;subject of interest has been taken into custody for questioning, according to KCPD OOfficer Alayna Gonzalez.

Just after 6:30p.m. Dec. 10, a vehicle described as a 2009-12 Nissan Altima driving Northbound on Troost Avenue on the outside lane struck a pedestrian later identified as 46-year-old Phillip Castleberry who was crossing Troost Avenue at 82nd Terrace.

The vehicle left the scene in an unknown direction. EMS transported Castleberry to a local hospital with life threatening injuries, according to KCPD Sergeant Phil DiMartino.&nbsp; He died nine days later.

KANSAS CITY—Law enforcement investigating a fatal hit-and-run have located the vehicle involved and took a&nbsp;&nbsp;subject of interest has been taken into custody for questioning, according to KCPD OOfficer Alayna Gonzalez.Just after 6:30p.m. Dec. 10, a vehicle described as a 2009-12 Nissan Altima driving Northbound on Troost Avenue on the outside lane struck a pedestrian later identified as 46-year-old Phillip Castleberry who was crossing Troost Avenue at 82nd Terrace.The vehicle left the scene in an unknown direction. EMS transported Castleberry to a local hospital with life threatening injuries, according to KCPD Sergeant Phil DiMartino.&nbsp; He died nine days later.

Police locate vehicle, suspect in fatal KC hit-and-run

WASHINGTON (AP) — A lead organization monitoring for food crises around the world withdrew a new report this week warning of imminent famine in north&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-hamas-war-news-12-25-2024-be8508e8a1a89343b94e963137e42d5b">Gaza</a>&nbsp;under what it called Israel's “near-total blockade,” after the U.S. asked for its retraction, U.S. officials told The Associated Press. The move follows public criticism of the report from the U.S. ambassador to Israel.

The rare public challenge from the Biden administration of the work of the U.S.-funded&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/famine-gaza-warning-israel-united-states-8333697957bed4df13f5ab0c1582d4bd">Famine Early Warning System,</a>&nbsp;which is meant to reflect the data-driven analysis of unbiased experts, drew accusations from aid and human-rights figures of possible U.S. political interference. A finding of famine would be a public rebuke of Israel, which has insisted that its 15-month war in Gaza is aimed against the Hamas militant group and not against its civilian population.

U.S. ambassador to Israel&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/jacob-lew">Jacob Lew</a>&nbsp;earlier this week&nbsp;<a href="https://il.usembassy.gov/statement-from-u-s-ambassador-jacob-lew-on-fews-net-report/">called</a>&nbsp;the warning by the internationally recognized group&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/famine-gaza-warning-israel-united-states-8333697957bed4df13f5ab0c1582d4bd">inaccurate and “irresponsible</a>." Lew and the U.S. Agency for International Development, which funds the monitoring group, both said the findings failed to properly account for rapidly changing circumstances in north Gaza.

Humanitarian and human rights officials expressed fear of U.S. political interference in the world's monitoring system for famines. The U.S. Embassy in Israel and the State Department declined comment. FEWS officials did not respond to questions.

“We work day and night with the U.N. and our Israeli partners to meet humanitarian needs — which are great — and relying on inaccurate data is irresponsible,” Lew said Tuesday.

USAID confirmed to the AP that it had asked the famine-monitoring organization to withdraw its stepped-up warning issued in a report dated Monday. The&nbsp;<a href="https://fews.net/sites/default/files/2024-12/Gaza_Alert_202412_1.pdf">report</a>&nbsp;did not appear among the top updates on the group's website Thursday,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/famine-gaza-warning-israel-united-states-8333697957bed4df13f5ab0c1582d4bd">but the link to it remained active</a>.

The dispute points in part to the difficulty of assessing the extent of starvation in largely isolated northern Gaza. Thousands in recent weeks have fled an intensified Israeli military crackdown that aid groups say has allowed delivery of only a dozen trucks of food and water since roughly October.

FEWS Net said in its withdrawn report that unless Israel changes its policy, it expects the number of people dying of starvation and related ailments in north Gaza to reach between two and 15 per day sometime between January and March.

The internationally recognized mortality threshold for famine is&nbsp;<a href="https://fews.net/about/integrated-phase-classification#:~:text=of%20coping%20strategies.-,Famine%20(IPC%20Phase%205),per%2010%2C000%20people%20per%20day.">two or more deaths a day per 10,000 people.</a>

FEWS was created by the U.S. development agency in the 1980s and is still funded by it. But it is intended to provide independent, neutral and data-driven assessments of hunger crises, including in war zones. Its findings help guide decisions on aid by the U.S. and other governments and agencies around the world.

A spokesman for Israel's foreign ministry, Oren Marmorstein, welcomed the U.S. ambassador's public challenge of the famine warning. “FEWS NET - Stop spreading these lies!” Marmorstein said on&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/OrenMarmorstein/status/1871587714229043532">X</a>.

In challenging the findings publicly, the U.S. ambassador "leveraged his political power to undermine the work of this expert agency,” said Scott Paul, a senior manager at the Oxfam America humanitarian nonprofit. Paul stressed that he was not weighing in on the accuracy of the data or methodology of the report.

“The whole point of creating FEWS is to have a group of experts make assessments about imminent famine that are untainted by political considerations,” said Kenneth Roth, former executive director of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/human-rights-watch">Human Rights Watch</a>&nbsp;and now a visiting professor in international affairs at&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/princeton-university">Princeton University</a>. “It sure looks like USAID is allowing political considerations -- the Biden administration’s worry about funding Israel’s starvation strategy -- to interfere."

Israel says it has been operating in recent months against Hamas militants still active in northern Gaza. It says the vast majority of the area’s residents have fled and relocated to Gaza City, where most aid destined for the north is delivered. But some critics, including a former defense minister, have accused Israel of carrying out ethnic cleansing in Gaza’s far north, near the Israeli border.

North Gaza has been one of the areas hardest-hit by fighting and Israel’s restrictions on aid throughout its war with Hamas militants. Global famine monitors and U.N. and U.S. officials have warned repeatedly of the imminent risk of malnutrition and deaths from starvation hitting famine levels.

International officials say Israel last summer increased the amount of aid it was admitting there, under U.S. pressure. The U.S. and U.N. have said Gaza’s people as a whole need between 350 and 500 trucks a day of food and other vital needs.

But the U.N. and aid groups say Israel recently has again blocked almost all aid to that part of Gaza.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/cindy-mccain">Cindy McCain</a>, the American head of the U.N. World Food Program,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/famine-gaza-warning-israel-united-states-8333697957bed4df13f5ab0c1582d4bd">called</a>&nbsp;earlier this month for political pressure to get food flowing to Palestinians there.

Israel says it places no restrictions on aid entering Gaza and that hundreds of truckloads of goods are piled up at Gaza’s crossings and accused international aid agencies of failing to deliver the supplies. The U.N. and other aid groups say Israeli restrictions, ongoing combat, looting and insufficient security by Israeli troops make it impossible to deliver aid effectively.

Lew, the U.S. ambassador, said the famine warning was based on “outdated and inaccurate” data. He pointed to uncertainty over how many of the 65,000-75,000 people remaining in northern Gaza had fled in recent weeks, saying that skewed the findings.

FEWS said in its report that its famine assessment holds even if as few as 10,000 people remain.

USAID in its statement to AP said it had reviewed the report before it became public, and noted “discrepancies” in population estimates and some other data. The U.S. agency had asked the famine warning group to address those uncertainties and be clear in its final report to reflect how those uncertainties affected its predictions of famine, it said.

“This was relayed before Ambassador Lew’s statement,” USAID said in a statement. “FEWS NET did not resolve any of these concerns and published in spite of these technical comments and a request for substantive engagement before publication. As such, USAID asked to retract the report.”

Roth criticized the U.S. challenge of the report in light of the gravity of the crisis there.

“This quibbling over the number of people desperate for food seems a politicized diversion from the fact that the Israeli government is blocking virtually all food from getting in,” he said, adding that “the Biden administration seems to be closing its eyes to that reality, but putting its head in the sand won’t feed anyone.”

The U.S., Israel’s main backer, provided a record amount of military support in the first year of the war. At the same time, the Biden administration repeatedly urged Israel to allow more access to aid deliveries in Gaza overall, and warned that failing to do so could trigger U.S. restrictions on military support. The administration recently said Israel was making improvements and declined to carry out its threat of restrictions.

Military support for Israel’s war in Gaza is politically charged in the U.S., with Republicans and some Democrats staunchly opposed any effort to limit U.S. support over the suffering of Palestinian civilians trapped in the conflict. The Biden administration’s reluctance to do more to press Israel for improved treatment of civilians undercut support for Democrats in last month’s elections.

Sam Mednick and Josef Federman in Jerusalem contributed to this report.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/11/1698839698947.png" alt="U.S. ambassador to Israel&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/jacob-lew">Jacob Lew</a>-image courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>U.S. ambassador to Israel&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/jacob-lew">Jacob Lew</a>-image courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — A lead organization monitoring for food crises around the world withdrew a new report this week warning of imminent famine in north&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-hamas-war-news-12-25-2024-be8508e8a1a89343b94e963137e42d5b">Gaza</a>&nbsp;under what it called Israel's “near-total blockade,” after the U.S. asked for its retraction, U.S. officials told The Associated Press. The move follows public criticism of the report from the U.S. ambassador to Israel.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/12/1735262710659.png" alt="Famine Early Warning System" />
 <figcaption>Famine Early Warning System</figcaption>
 </figure>The rare public challenge from the Biden administration of the work of the U.S.-funded&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/famine-gaza-warning-israel-united-states-8333697957bed4df13f5ab0c1582d4bd">Famine Early Warning System,</a>&nbsp;which is meant to reflect the data-driven analysis of unbiased experts, drew accusations from aid and human-rights figures of possible U.S. political interference. A finding of famine would be a public rebuke of Israel, which has insisted that its 15-month war in Gaza is aimed against the Hamas militant group and not against its civilian population.U.S. ambassador to Israel&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/jacob-lew">Jacob Lew</a>&nbsp;earlier this week&nbsp;<a href="https://il.usembassy.gov/statement-from-u-s-ambassador-jacob-lew-on-fews-net-report/">called</a>&nbsp;the warning by the internationally recognized group&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/famine-gaza-warning-israel-united-states-8333697957bed4df13f5ab0c1582d4bd">inaccurate and “irresponsible</a>." Lew and the U.S. Agency for International Development, which funds the monitoring group, both said the findings failed to properly account for rapidly changing circumstances in north Gaza.Humanitarian and human rights officials expressed fear of U.S. political interference in the world's monitoring system for famines. The U.S. Embassy in Israel and the State Department declined comment. FEWS officials did not respond to questions.“We work day and night with the U.N. and our Israeli partners to meet humanitarian needs — which are great — and relying on inaccurate data is irresponsible,” Lew said Tuesday.USAID confirmed to the AP that it had asked the famine-monitoring organization to withdraw its stepped-up warning issued in a report dated Monday. The&nbsp;<a href="https://fews.net/sites/default/files/2024-12/Gaza_Alert_202412_1.pdf">report</a>&nbsp;did not appear among the top updates on the group's website Thursday,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/famine-gaza-warning-israel-united-states-8333697957bed4df13f5ab0c1582d4bd">but the link to it remained active</a>.The dispute points in part to the difficulty of assessing the extent of starvation in largely isolated northern Gaza. Thousands in recent weeks have fled an intensified Israeli military crackdown that aid groups say has allowed delivery of only a dozen trucks of food and water since roughly October.FEWS Net said in its withdrawn report that unless Israel changes its policy, it expects the number of people dying of starvation and related ailments in north Gaza to reach between two and 15 per day sometime between January and March.The internationally recognized mortality threshold for famine is&nbsp;<a href="https://fews.net/about/integrated-phase-classification#:~:text=of%20coping%20strategies.-,Famine%20(IPC%20Phase%205),per%2010%2C000%20people%20per%20day.">two or more deaths a day per 10,000 people.</a>FEWS was created by the U.S. development agency in the 1980s and is still funded by it. But it is intended to provide independent, neutral and data-driven assessments of hunger crises, including in war zones. Its findings help guide decisions on aid by the U.S. and other governments and agencies around the world.A spokesman for Israel's foreign ministry, Oren Marmorstein, welcomed the U.S. ambassador's public challenge of the famine warning. “FEWS NET - Stop spreading these lies!” Marmorstein said on&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/OrenMarmorstein/status/1871587714229043532">X</a>.In challenging the findings publicly, the U.S. ambassador "leveraged his political power to undermine the work of this expert agency,” said Scott Paul, a senior manager at the Oxfam America humanitarian nonprofit. Paul stressed that he was not weighing in on the accuracy of the data or methodology of the report.“The whole point of creating FEWS is to have a group of experts make assessments about imminent famine that are untainted by political considerations,” said Kenneth Roth, former executive director of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/human-rights-watch">Human Rights Watch</a>&nbsp;and now a visiting professor in international affairs at&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/princeton-university">Princeton University</a>. “It sure looks like USAID is allowing political considerations -- the Biden administration’s worry about funding Israel’s starvation strategy -- to interfere."Israel says it has been operating in recent months against Hamas militants still active in northern Gaza. It says the vast majority of the area’s residents have fled and relocated to Gaza City, where most aid destined for the north is delivered. But some critics, including a former defense minister, have accused Israel of carrying out ethnic cleansing in Gaza’s far north, near the Israeli border.North Gaza has been one of the areas hardest-hit by fighting and Israel’s restrictions on aid throughout its war with Hamas militants. Global famine monitors and U.N. and U.S. officials have warned repeatedly of the imminent risk of malnutrition and deaths from starvation hitting famine levels.International officials say Israel last summer increased the amount of aid it was admitting there, under U.S. pressure. The U.S. and U.N. have said Gaza’s people as a whole need between 350 and 500 trucks a day of food and other vital needs.But the U.N. and aid groups say Israel recently has again blocked almost all aid to that part of Gaza.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/cindy-mccain">Cindy McCain</a>, the American head of the U.N. World Food Program,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/famine-gaza-warning-israel-united-states-8333697957bed4df13f5ab0c1582d4bd">called</a>&nbsp;earlier this month for political pressure to get food flowing to Palestinians there.Israel says it places no restrictions on aid entering Gaza and that hundreds of truckloads of goods are piled up at Gaza’s crossings and accused international aid agencies of failing to deliver the supplies. The U.N. and other aid groups say Israeli restrictions, ongoing combat, looting and insufficient security by Israeli troops make it impossible to deliver aid effectively.Lew, the U.S. ambassador, said the famine warning was based on “outdated and inaccurate” data. He pointed to uncertainty over how many of the 65,000-75,000 people remaining in northern Gaza had fled in recent weeks, saying that skewed the findings.FEWS said in its report that its famine assessment holds even if as few as 10,000 people remain.USAID in its statement to AP said it had reviewed the report before it became public, and noted “discrepancies” in population estimates and some other data. The U.S. agency had asked the famine warning group to address those uncertainties and be clear in its final report to reflect how those uncertainties affected its predictions of famine, it said.“This was relayed before Ambassador Lew’s statement,” USAID said in a statement. “FEWS NET did not resolve any of these concerns and published in spite of these technical comments and a request for substantive engagement before publication. As such, USAID asked to retract the report.”Roth criticized the U.S. challenge of the report in light of the gravity of the crisis there.“This quibbling over the number of people desperate for food seems a politicized diversion from the fact that the Israeli government is blocking virtually all food from getting in,” he said, adding that “the Biden administration seems to be closing its eyes to that reality, but putting its head in the sand won’t feed anyone.”The U.S., Israel’s main backer, provided a record amount of military support in the first year of the war. At the same time, the Biden administration repeatedly urged Israel to allow more access to aid deliveries in Gaza overall, and warned that failing to do so could trigger U.S. restrictions on military support. The administration recently said Israel was making improvements and declined to carry out its threat of restrictions.Military support for Israel’s war in Gaza is politically charged in the U.S., with Republicans and some Democrats staunchly opposed any effort to limit U.S. support over the suffering of Palestinian civilians trapped in the conflict. The Biden administration’s reluctance to do more to press Israel for improved treatment of civilians undercut support for Democrats in last month’s elections.___Sam Mednick and Josef Federman in Jerusalem contributed to this report.

Rebuke from U.S. leads to withdrawal of Gaza famine warning 

KANSAS CITY (AP) —Americans still dreaming of a really big Christmas present can keep that dream alive during&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/jackpot-mega-millions-lottery-9d15d33eb17c3c199c8bb1592e2804cb">Friday's Mega Millions drawing</a>&nbsp;for a jackpot worth an estimated $1.15 billion. Friday’s jackpot will potentially be the fifth largest in the game's history. Mega Millions tickets are $2 a piece. But the odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 302,575,350, and the odds of winning any Mega Millions prize are 1 in 24, according to lottery officials. Tickets for the game are sold in 45 states, along with Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Here is a look at the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/lottery-jackpots-mega-millions-powerball-80fcb836622ba8e18883ce778786c1cc">largest U.S. jackpots won</a>&nbsp;and the states where the winning tickets were sold:

1. $2.04 billion, Powerball, Nov. 7, 2022 (one ticket, from California)

2. $1.765 billion, Powerball, Oct. 11, 2023 (one ticket, from California)

3. $1.602 billion, Mega Millions, Aug. 8, 2023 (one ticket, from Florida)

4. $1.586 billion, Powerball, Jan. 13, 2016 (three tickets, from California, Florida, Tennessee)

5. $1.537 billion, Mega Millions, Oct. 23, 2018 (one ticket, from South Carolina)

6. $1.348 billion, Mega Millions, Jan. 13, 2023 (one ticket, from Maine)

7. $1.337 billion, Mega Millions, July 29, 2022 (one ticket, from Illinois)

8. $1.326 billion, Powerball, April 7, 2024 (one ticket, Oregon)

9. $1.13 billion, Mega Millions, March 26, 2024 (one ticket, from New Jersey)

10. $1.08 billion, Powerball, July 19, 2023 (one ticket, from California)

KANSAS CITY (AP) —Americans still dreaming of a really big Christmas present can keep that dream alive during&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/jackpot-mega-millions-lottery-9d15d33eb17c3c199c8bb1592e2804cb">Friday's Mega Millions drawing</a>&nbsp;for a jackpot worth an estimated $1.15 billion. Friday’s jackpot will potentially be the fifth largest in the game's history. Mega Millions tickets are $2 a piece. But the odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 302,575,350, and the odds of winning any Mega Millions prize are 1 in 24, according to lottery officials. Tickets for the game are sold in 45 states, along with Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands.Here is a look at the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/lottery-jackpots-mega-millions-powerball-80fcb836622ba8e18883ce778786c1cc">largest U.S. jackpots won</a>&nbsp;and the states where the winning tickets were sold:1. $2.04 billion, Powerball, Nov. 7, 2022 (one ticket, from California)2. $1.765 billion, Powerball, Oct. 11, 2023 (one ticket, from California)3. $1.602 billion, Mega Millions, Aug. 8, 2023 (one ticket, from Florida)4. $1.586 billion, Powerball, Jan. 13, 2016 (three tickets, from California, Florida, Tennessee)5. $1.537 billion, Mega Millions, Oct. 23, 2018 (one ticket, from South Carolina)6. $1.348 billion, Mega Millions, Jan. 13, 2023 (one ticket, from Maine)7. $1.337 billion, Mega Millions, July 29, 2022 (one ticket, from Illinois)8. $1.326 billion, Powerball, April 7, 2024 (one ticket, Oregon)9. $1.13 billion, Mega Millions, March 26, 2024 (one ticket, from New Jersey)10. $1.08 billion, Powerball, July 19, 2023 (one ticket, from California)

$1.15 billion: Friday's Mega Millions drawing one of the game's top jackpots

KANSAS CITY – A Kansas City area teacher has been charged in federal court on charges related to child pornography.

Seth Brummond, 37, of Greenwood, Missouri, who teaches at  Lee’s Summit West High School, was charged in a two-count criminal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court in Kansas City, according to the Untied State's Attorney.

The federal criminal complaint charges Brummond with one count of distributing child pornography over the internet and one count of possessing child pornography from September 1 to December 18, 2024.

According to an affidavit filed in support of the criminal complaint, Lee’s Summit police officers received a Cyber Tip on Sept. 8, 2024, that a user, later identified as Brummond, had uploaded 12 videos of child pornography via the Kik Messenger application.

On Dec. 19, Lee’s Summit law enforcement officers placed Brummond’s residence under surveillance for the purpose of serving federal search warrants. Officers followed Brummond when he left his house and at about 6 a.m. officers conducted a traffic stop and placed Brummond under arrest. Officers seized his iPhone as well as a computer tower that was in the trunk of his car.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/12/1735160218938.png" alt="Brummond-photo Lee's Summit Police" />
 <figcaption>Brummond-photo Lee's Summit Police</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY – A Kansas City area teacher has been charged in federal court on charges related to child pornography.Seth Brummond, 37, of Greenwood, Missouri, who teaches at Lee’s Summit West High School, was charged in a two-count criminal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court in Kansas City, according to the Untied State's Attorney.The federal criminal complaint charges Brummond with one count of distributing child pornography over the internet and one count of possessing child pornography from September 1 to December 18, 2024.According to an affidavit filed in support of the criminal complaint, Lee’s Summit police officers received a Cyber Tip on Sept. 8, 2024, that a user, later identified as Brummond, had uploaded 12 videos of child pornography via the Kik Messenger application.On Dec. 19, Lee’s Summit law enforcement officers placed Brummond’s residence under surveillance for the purpose of serving federal search warrants. Officers followed Brummond when he left his house and at about 6 a.m. officers conducted a traffic stop and placed Brummond under arrest. Officers seized his iPhone as well as a computer tower that was in the trunk of his car.

KC area teacher accused of uploading child porn videos via Kik app

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump promised on Tuesday to “vigorously pursue” capital punishment after President Joe&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-death-row-commutations-trump-executions-f67b5e04453cd1aa6383c516bc14f300">Biden commuted the sentences</a>&nbsp;of most people on federal death row partly to stop Trump from pushing forward their executions.

Trump criticized Biden’s decision on Monday to change the sentences of 37 of the 40 condemned people to life in prison without parole, arguing that it was senseless and insulted the families of their victims. Biden said converting their punishments to life imprisonment was consistent with the moratorium imposed on federal executions in cases other than terrorism and hate-motivated mass murder.

“Joe Biden just commuted the Death Sentence on 37 of the worst killers in our Country,” he wrote on his social media site. “When you hear the acts of each, you won’t believe that he did this. Makes no sense. Relatives and friends are further devastated. They can’t believe this is happening!”

Presidents historically have no involvement in dictating or recommending the punishments that federal prosecutors seek for defendants in criminal cases, though Trump has long sought more direct control over the Justice Department's operations. The president-elect wrote that he would direct the department to pursue the death penalty “as soon as I am inaugurated,” but was vague on what specific actions he may take and said they would be in cases of “violent rapists, murderers, and monsters.”

He highlighted the cases of two men who were on federal death row for slaying a woman and a girl, had admitted to killing more and had their sentences commuted by Biden.

On the campaign trail, Trump often called for expanding the federal death penalty — including for those who kill police officers, those convicted of drug and human trafficking, and migrants who kill U.S. citizens.

“Trump has been fairly consistent in wanting to sort of say that he thinks the death penalty is an important tool and he wants to use it,” said Douglas Berman, an expert on sentencing at Ohio State University’s law school. “But whether practically any of that can happen, either under existing law or other laws, is a heavy lift.”

Berman said Trump’s statement at this point seems to be just a response to Biden’s commutation.

“I’m inclined to think it’s still in sort of more the rhetoric phase. Just, ‘don’t worry. The new sheriff is coming. I like the death penalty,’” he said.

Most Americans have historically supported the death penalty for people convicted of murder, according to decades of annual polling by Gallup, but support has declined over the past few decades. About half of Americans were in favor in an October poll, while roughly 7 in 10 Americans backed capital punishment for murderers in 2007.

Death row inmates are mostly sentenced by states

Before Biden's commutation, there were 40 federal death row inmates compared with more than 2,000 who have been sentenced to death by states.

“The reality is all of these crimes are typically handled by the states,” Berman said.

A question is whether the Trump administration would try to take over some state murder cases, such as those related to drug trafficking or smuggling. He could also attempt to take cases from states that have abolished the death penalty.

Berman said Trump's statement, along with some recent actions by states, may present an effort to get the Supreme Court to reconsider a precedent that considers the death penalty disproportionate punishment for rape.

“That would literally take decades to unfold. It’s not something that is going to happen overnight,” Berman said.

Before one of Trump's rallies on Aug. 20, his prepared remarks released to the media said he would announce he would ask for the death penalty for child rapists and child traffickers. But Trump never delivered the line.

What were the cases highlighted by Trump?

One of the men Trump highlighted on Tuesday was ex-Marine Jorge Avila Torrez, who was sentenced to death for killing a sailor in Virginia and later pleaded guilty to the fatal stabbing of an 8-year-old and a 9-year-old girl in a suburban Chicago park several years before.

The other man, Thomas Steven Sanders, was sentenced to death for the kidnapping and slaying of a 12-year-old girl in Louisiana, days after shooting the girl's mother in a wildlife park in Arizona. Court records show he admitted to both killings.

Some families of victims expressed anger with Biden's decision, but the president had faced pressure from advocacy groups urging him to make it more difficult for Trump to increase the use of capital punishment for federal inmates. The ACLU and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops were some of the groups that applauded the decision.

Biden left three federal inmates to face execution. They are Dylann Roof, who carried out the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/religion-389bcc56019f268cb1056e37a517bd6c">2015 racist slayings of nine Black members of Mother Emanuel AME Church</a>&nbsp;in Charleston, South Carolina; 2013 Boston Marathon bomber&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/dzhokhar-tsarnaev">Dzhokhar Tsarnaev</a>; and Robert Bowers, who fatally shot 11 congregants at Pittsburgh’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/pittsburgh-synagogue-shooting-death-penalty-27e3b1a505cacdd674ee9b8a179aa1a8">Tree of Life Synagogue in 2018</a>, the deadliest antisemitic attack in U.S history. _______

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/12/1734957421965.png" alt="According to the U.S. Attorney, in 2014, a federal jury in Louisiana decided that Thomas Sanders, 57, should be put to death for the brutal kidnapping and murder of 12-year-old Lexis Roberts in the fall of 2010. Sanders drove several days across the country before he murdered the girl in a wooded area in Catahoula Parish, Louisiana. Evidence at trial established that Sanders shot Lexis Roberts four times, cut her throat, and left her body in the woods where a hunter found her body . President Biden commuted his sentence-photo Yavapai County, AZ Sheriff" />
 <figcaption>According to the U.S. Attorney, in 2014, a federal jury in Louisiana decided that Thomas Sanders, 57, should be put to death for the brutal kidnapping and murder of 12-year-old Lexis Roberts in the fall of 2010. Sanders drove several days across the country before he murdered the girl in a wooded area in Catahoula Parish, Louisiana. Evidence at trial established that Sanders shot Lexis Roberts four times, cut her throat, and left her body in the woods where a hunter found her body . President Biden commuted his sentence-photo Yavapai County, AZ Sheriff</figcaption>
 </figure>FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump promised on Tuesday to “vigorously pursue” capital punishment after President Joe&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-death-row-commutations-trump-executions-f67b5e04453cd1aa6383c516bc14f300">Biden commuted the sentences</a>&nbsp;of most people on federal death row partly to stop Trump from pushing forward their executions.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/12/1735074506437.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Trump criticized Biden’s decision on Monday to change the sentences of 37 of the 40 condemned people to life in prison without parole, arguing that it was senseless and insulted the families of their victims. Biden said converting their punishments to life imprisonment was consistent with the moratorium imposed on federal executions in cases other than terrorism and hate-motivated mass murder.“Joe Biden just commuted the Death Sentence on 37 of the worst killers in our Country,” he wrote on his social media site. “When you hear the acts of each, you won’t believe that he did this. Makes no sense. Relatives and friends are further devastated. They can’t believe this is happening!”Presidents historically have no involvement in dictating or recommending the punishments that federal prosecutors seek for defendants in criminal cases, though Trump has long sought more direct control over the Justice Department's operations. The president-elect wrote that he would direct the department to pursue the death penalty “as soon as I am inaugurated,” but was vague on what specific actions he may take and said they would be in cases of “violent rapists, murderers, and monsters.”He highlighted the cases of two men who were on federal death row for slaying a woman and a girl, had admitted to killing more and had their sentences commuted by Biden.<h2>Is it a plan in motion or more rhetoric?</h2>On the campaign trail, Trump often called for expanding the federal death penalty — including for those who kill police officers, those convicted of drug and human trafficking, and migrants who kill U.S. citizens.“Trump has been fairly consistent in wanting to sort of say that he thinks the death penalty is an important tool and he wants to use it,” said Douglas Berman, an expert on sentencing at Ohio State University’s law school. “But whether practically any of that can happen, either under existing law or other laws, is a heavy lift.”Berman said Trump’s statement at this point seems to be just a response to Biden’s commutation.“I’m inclined to think it’s still in sort of more the rhetoric phase. Just, ‘don’t worry. The new sheriff is coming. I like the death penalty,’” he said.Most Americans have historically supported the death penalty for people convicted of murder, according to decades of annual polling by Gallup, but support has declined over the past few decades. About half of Americans were in favor in an October poll, while roughly 7 in 10 Americans backed capital punishment for murderers in 2007.<h2>Death row inmates are mostly sentenced by states</h2>Before Biden's commutation, there were 40 federal death row inmates compared with more than 2,000 who have been sentenced to death by states.“The reality is all of these crimes are typically handled by the states,” Berman said.A question is whether the Trump administration would try to take over some state murder cases, such as those related to drug trafficking or smuggling. He could also attempt to take cases from states that have abolished the death penalty.<h2>Could rape now be punishable by death?</h2>Berman said Trump's statement, along with some recent actions by states, may present an effort to get the Supreme Court to reconsider a precedent that considers the death penalty disproportionate punishment for rape.“That would literally take decades to unfold. It’s not something that is going to happen overnight,” Berman said.Before one of Trump's rallies on Aug. 20, his prepared remarks released to the media said he would announce he would ask for the death penalty for child rapists and child traffickers. But Trump never delivered the line.<h2>What were the cases highlighted by Trump?</h2>One of the men Trump highlighted on Tuesday was ex-Marine Jorge Avila Torrez, who was sentenced to death for killing a sailor in Virginia and later pleaded guilty to the fatal stabbing of an 8-year-old and a 9-year-old girl in a suburban Chicago park several years before.The other man, Thomas Steven Sanders, was sentenced to death for the kidnapping and slaying of a 12-year-old girl in Louisiana, days after shooting the girl's mother in a wildlife park in Arizona. Court records show he admitted to both killings.Some families of victims expressed anger with Biden's decision, but the president had faced pressure from advocacy groups urging him to make it more difficult for Trump to increase the use of capital punishment for federal inmates. The ACLU and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops were some of the groups that applauded the decision.Biden left three federal inmates to face execution. They are Dylann Roof, who carried out the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/religion-389bcc56019f268cb1056e37a517bd6c">2015 racist slayings of nine Black members of Mother Emanuel AME Church</a>&nbsp;in Charleston, South Carolina; 2013 Boston Marathon bomber&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/dzhokhar-tsarnaev">Dzhokhar Tsarnaev</a>; and Robert Bowers, who fatally shot 11 congregants at Pittsburgh’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/pittsburgh-synagogue-shooting-death-penalty-27e3b1a505cacdd674ee9b8a179aa1a8">Tree of Life Synagogue in 2018</a>, the deadliest antisemitic attack in U.S history. _______

Trump vows to pursue executions after Biden commutes most of federal death row

REPUBLIC COUNTY –&nbsp;The Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) is investigating a suspected&nbsp;child abuse case in Belleville. &nbsp;

On Thursday morning, the&nbsp;Belleville Police Department&nbsp;contacted the&nbsp;KBI to investigate after an unresponsive&nbsp;three-month-old&nbsp;infant was transported from the Republic County hospital to a hospital in Omaha, Nebraska.

The child’s parents brought her to the Republic County hospital on Dec. 25, and hospital staff later contacted the Belleville Police Department.

A pediatrician at the Omaha hospital indicated the child has no brain activity due to severe injuries she had sustained. Late Thursday afternoon, KBI reported the infant remains on life support.

REPUBLIC COUNTY –&nbsp;The Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) is investigating a suspected&nbsp;child abuse case in Belleville. &nbsp;On Thursday morning, the&nbsp;Belleville Police Department&nbsp;contacted the&nbsp;KBI to investigate after an unresponsive&nbsp;three-month-old&nbsp;infant was transported from the Republic County hospital to a hospital in Omaha, Nebraska.The child’s parents brought her to the Republic County hospital on Dec. 25, and hospital staff later contacted the Belleville Police Department.A pediatrician at the Omaha hospital indicated the child has no brain activity due to severe injuries she had sustained. Late Thursday afternoon, KBI reported the infant remains on life support.

KBI: 3-month-old with severe injuries from alleged child abuse

KANSAS CITY —One person died in an accident just after 4a.m. Thursday in Kansas City.

A black BMW 535I was northbound on Hardesty at Winner in Kansas City at a very high rate of speed, according to&nbsp;Officer Alayna Gonzalez.

In the area of Winner Road, the BMW crossed the double yellow line and traveled northbound in the southbound lanes of Hardesty.&nbsp; The BMW struck a concrete traffic median, a metal traffic signal pole and continued northbound across Winner Road. 

The BMW traveled up a grassy hill and launched across a private driveway, striking a building before coming to rest. 

The driver of the BMW was pronounced deceased at the scene. The front seat passenger was transported to a local hospital with serious injuries. The passenger is currently in stable condition and the investigation is ongoing. 

This is Fatality #93 compared to #100 at this time last year, according to Gonzalez&nbsp;

KANSAS CITY —One person died in an accident just after 4a.m. Thursday in Kansas City.A black BMW 535I was northbound on Hardesty at Winner in Kansas City at a very high rate of speed, according to&nbsp;Officer Alayna Gonzalez.In the area of Winner Road, the BMW crossed the double yellow line and traveled northbound in the southbound lanes of Hardesty.&nbsp; The BMW struck a concrete traffic median, a metal traffic signal pole and continued northbound across Winner Road. The BMW traveled up a grassy hill and launched across a private driveway, striking a building before coming to rest. The driver of the BMW was pronounced deceased at the scene. The front seat passenger was transported to a local hospital with serious injuries. The passenger is currently in stable condition and the investigation is ongoing. This is Fatality #93 compared to #100 at this time last year, according to Gonzalez&nbsp;

KCPD: One dead after violent crash into a building

<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search/?query=byline:%22JOHN%20HANNA%22&amp;mediaType=text&amp;st=keyword&amp;sortOrder=newest">By JOHN HANNA </a>

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas official who is an informal adviser to President-elect Donald Trump's transition team on immigration issues doesn't expect&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-day-1-priorities-deportations-drilling-ukraine-6747c6e64b0440978f59450b928f61d1">mass deportations</a>&nbsp;to prompt arrests of migrants at sensitive locations such as schools and churches.

But Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach does expect Trump to take action that will spark a legal challenge over the citizenship status of children born in the U.S. to immigrants living in the country illegally. He also expects Trump to encourage local and state law enforcement officers to help with efforts to arrest and detain migrants.

Kobach has&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/6153978f60ee4289b7fd4da8b956516a">for two decades been one of the most influential lawyers</a>&nbsp;in the Republican movement to restrict illegal immigration. He is also a longtime Trump supporter who could be a key ally given federal immigration authorities' need for state and local cooperation to carry out Trump's promise of the largest deportation operation in U.S. history.

He said Wednesday that he's in regular contact with Trump's team, including&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-homan-ice-border-czar-7dea915b5ea43896390b8020d254f887">Tom Homan,</a>&nbsp;Trump's pick for border czar, and Stephen Miller, incoming deputy White House chief of staff for policy. He made his comments during an interview with The Associated Press. Here are excerpts:

Is it realistic to try to remove millions of immigrants?

Critics of Trump’s mass deportation plans argue that he’s promising to remove millions of immigrants from the U.S. and that’s logistically not possible. But Kobach and other Trump allies think only a portion of those migrants would have to be deported for the effort to succeed.

KOBACH: “Once there’s a massive enforcement effort going on, then a lot of people start leaving on their own.”

“You can put a multiplier on that number, and it’ll be a much greater number. They will start leaving on their own because they don’t want to get arrested. They want to leave on their own terms, and so I don’t know — we don’t know — what that multiplier number is going to be, but there will be one.”

What about arrests at sensitive locations?

Immigrant rights advocates worry the Trump administration will rescind a longstanding policy of avoiding arrests of migrants at sensitive locations such as schools, hospitals and houses of worship.

KOBACH: “I haven’t heard this. ... First of all, I don’t think that you are likely to see K-12 students being arrested. It’s going to be the adults that are going to be the focus of the removals."

“There are some places that are better to make an arrest than others. There are reasons why the policy of a police department is different with regard to a high-speed chase in a neighborhood versus a high-speed chase on a highway. So I think they’re probably going to have to make decisions as to which ones involve the least risk to the public.”

Is an attempt to end birthright citizenship coming?

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/birthright-citizenship-immigration-trump-20919d26029cf0f98ecb0dc7f90a066b">Birthright citizenship</a>&nbsp;means that anyone born in the U.S. is a citizen, whatever the legal status of their parents. Trump has promised to end it, though others say the 14th Amendment enshrines it in the U.S. Constitution.

KOBACH: “Whatever the Trump administration does will certainly be litigated because it’s one of those hot-button issues.”

“I believe that the Trump administration has every intention of addressing this issue, in his second term.”

How would state and local officials help?

The Trump administration would need the help of state and local officials in its efforts to deport millions of immigrants living in the U.S. illegally.

A provision in federal immigration law allows U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to make agreements with state and law enforcement agencies to deputize and train officers to arrest migrants.

KOBACH: “They can provide a force multiplier to the federal government, and I think that is the biggest and best thing that the states and counties can do to help. ... The point is, it casts a daily net.”

“I don’t see how a massive deportation program can possibly succeed without it."

President Joe Biden's administration cut the number of beds that ICE had for detaining immigrants living in the U.S. illegally. However, in August, the agency issued&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/us-news/california-donald-trump-donald-trump-es-immigration-u-s-immigration-and-customs-enforcement-080d529d662ad626e369d7f3757cefdc">requests for information</a>&nbsp;about the potential for new detention centers in Arizona, California, New Mexico, Oregon and Washington, documents show.

Trump could seek new contracts with counties to keep immigrants in their jails, and Kobach said he's previously worked as a lawyer for some Texas counties with bigger jails than they need for local offenders.

KOBACH: "The Trump administration, the people in the immigration sphere, are well aware of this problem, and I've talked to them."

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/12/1734536002113.png" alt="Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach-courtesy photo" />
 <figcaption>Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach-courtesy photo</figcaption>
 </figure><a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search/?query=byline:%22JOHN%20HANNA%22&amp;mediaType=text&amp;st=keyword&amp;sortOrder=newest">By JOHN HANNA </a>TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas official who is an informal adviser to President-elect Donald Trump's transition team on immigration issues doesn't expect&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-day-1-priorities-deportations-drilling-ukraine-6747c6e64b0440978f59450b928f61d1">mass deportations</a>&nbsp;to prompt arrests of migrants at sensitive locations such as schools and churches.But Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach does expect Trump to take action that will spark a legal challenge over the citizenship status of children born in the U.S. to immigrants living in the country illegally. He also expects Trump to encourage local and state law enforcement officers to help with efforts to arrest and detain migrants.Kobach has&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/6153978f60ee4289b7fd4da8b956516a">for two decades been one of the most influential lawyers</a>&nbsp;in the Republican movement to restrict illegal immigration. He is also a longtime Trump supporter who could be a key ally given federal immigration authorities' need for state and local cooperation to carry out Trump's promise of the largest deportation operation in U.S. history.He said Wednesday that he's in regular contact with Trump's team, including&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-homan-ice-border-czar-7dea915b5ea43896390b8020d254f887">Tom Homan,</a>&nbsp;Trump's pick for border czar, and Stephen Miller, incoming deputy White House chief of staff for policy. He made his comments during an interview with The Associated Press. Here are excerpts:<h2>Is it realistic to try to remove millions of immigrants?</h2>Critics of Trump’s mass deportation plans argue that he’s promising to remove millions of immigrants from the U.S. and that’s logistically not possible. But Kobach and other Trump allies think only a portion of those migrants would have to be deported for the effort to succeed.KOBACH: “Once there’s a massive enforcement effort going on, then a lot of people start leaving on their own.”“You can put a multiplier on that number, and it’ll be a much greater number. They will start leaving on their own because they don’t want to get arrested. They want to leave on their own terms, and so I don’t know — we don’t know — what that multiplier number is going to be, but there will be one.”<h2>What about arrests at sensitive locations?</h2>Immigrant rights advocates worry the Trump administration will rescind a longstanding policy of avoiding arrests of migrants at sensitive locations such as schools, hospitals and houses of worship.KOBACH: “I haven’t heard this. ... First of all, I don’t think that you are likely to see K-12 students being arrested. It’s going to be the adults that are going to be the focus of the removals."“There are some places that are better to make an arrest than others. There are reasons why the policy of a police department is different with regard to a high-speed chase in a neighborhood versus a high-speed chase on a highway. So I think they’re probably going to have to make decisions as to which ones involve the least risk to the public.”<h2>Is an attempt to end birthright citizenship coming?</h2><a href="https://apnews.com/article/birthright-citizenship-immigration-trump-20919d26029cf0f98ecb0dc7f90a066b">Birthright citizenship</a>&nbsp;means that anyone born in the U.S. is a citizen, whatever the legal status of their parents. Trump has promised to end it, though others say the 14th Amendment enshrines it in the U.S. Constitution.KOBACH: “Whatever the Trump administration does will certainly be litigated because it’s one of those hot-button issues.”“I believe that the Trump administration has every intention of addressing this issue, in his second term.”<h2>How would state and local officials help?</h2>The Trump administration would need the help of state and local officials in its efforts to deport millions of immigrants living in the U.S. illegally.A provision in federal immigration law allows U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to make agreements with state and law enforcement agencies to deputize and train officers to arrest migrants.KOBACH: “They can provide a force multiplier to the federal government, and I think that is the biggest and best thing that the states and counties can do to help. ... The point is, it casts a daily net.”“I don’t see how a massive deportation program can possibly succeed without it."<h2>Where would immigrants be detained?</h2>President Joe Biden's administration cut the number of beds that ICE had for detaining immigrants living in the U.S. illegally. However, in August, the agency issued&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/us-news/california-donald-trump-donald-trump-es-immigration-u-s-immigration-and-customs-enforcement-080d529d662ad626e369d7f3757cefdc">requests for information</a>&nbsp;about the potential for new detention centers in Arizona, California, New Mexico, Oregon and Washington, documents show.Trump could seek new contracts with counties to keep immigrants in their jails, and Kobach said he's previously worked as a lawyer for some Texas counties with bigger jails than they need for local offenders.KOBACH: "The Trump administration, the people in the immigration sphere, are well aware of this problem, and I've talked to them."

Kan. Attorney General explains how mass deportations could work

KANSAS CITY—Law enforcement are&nbsp;&nbsp;investigating a homicide in Kansas City.

Just before 4a.m. Thursday, police were dispatched to an apartment in the 900 block of E 134th Street on a reported Welfare Check, according to KCPD Officer&nbsp;Officer Alayna Gonzalez

When officers arrived to the apartment, they located evidence of a possible disturbance that may have occurred inside. They entered the apartment to check for any victims or injured persons. While searching the apartment for anyone in need of possible assistance, a woman was located suffering from apparent bodily trauma and she unresponsive, according to Gonzalez.

&nbsp;EMS personnel also responded to the scene and declared the victim deceased.

Preliminary information indicated the victim and an adult male subject were involved in a verbal altercation the turned physical. Due to the help of the public and neighboring police agencies, detectives were able to quickly locate a male subject of interest and take him into custody for further questioning. 

Detectives are not looking for any additional subjects of interest at this time. Homicide detectives and crime scene personnel responded to the scene to begin gathering evidence and collecting any witness statements.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/12/1735222031093.png" alt="Photo Sheriff Daryl Forte'" />
 <figcaption>Photo Sheriff Daryl Forte'</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY—Law enforcement are&nbsp;&nbsp;investigating a homicide in Kansas City.Just before 4a.m. Thursday, police were dispatched to an apartment in the 900 block of E 134th Street on a reported Welfare Check, according to KCPD Officer&nbsp;Officer Alayna GonzalezWhen officers arrived to the apartment, they located evidence of a possible disturbance that may have occurred inside. They entered the apartment to check for any victims or injured persons. While searching the apartment for anyone in need of possible assistance, a woman was located suffering from apparent bodily trauma and she unresponsive, according to Gonzalez.&nbsp;EMS personnel also responded to the scene and declared the victim deceased.Preliminary information indicated the victim and an adult male subject were involved in a verbal altercation the turned physical. Due to the help of the public and neighboring police agencies, detectives were able to quickly locate a male subject of interest and take him into custody for further questioning. Detectives are not looking for any additional subjects of interest at this time. Homicide detectives and crime scene personnel responded to the scene to begin gathering evidence and collecting any witness statements.

Homicide: Woman found dead in Kansas City apartment

SEDGWICK COUNTY —One person died in a duplex fire on Christmas night.

Just after 11p.m. Wednesday, someone walking a dog saw flames coming out of the back window of a home in the&nbsp;&nbsp;700 block of E. Meadowlark in Derby and called 911, according to Derby Fire Chief John Turner.

Crews arrived, entered the home and found a man in his 70s in the back of the residence who was pronounced dead at the scene. A pet cat also died, according to Turner.

The victim was home alone at the time of the fire. There were reports of another resident but that person was accounted for, according to Turner. The other portion of the duplex did have some smoke damage.&nbsp; Investigators are working to confirm what caused the fire. The victim's name has not been released.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/12/1735252885062.png" alt="Investigators are working to confirm what caused the fire. -photo courtesy KWCH" />
 <figcaption>Investigators are working to confirm what caused the fire. -photo courtesy KWCH</figcaption>
 </figure>SEDGWICK COUNTY —One person died in a duplex fire on Christmas night.Just after 11p.m. Wednesday, someone walking a dog saw flames coming out of the back window of a home in the&nbsp;&nbsp;700 block of E. Meadowlark in Derby and called 911, according to Derby Fire Chief John Turner.Crews arrived, entered the home and found a man in his 70s in the back of the residence who was pronounced dead at the scene. A pet cat also died, according to Turner.The victim was home alone at the time of the fire. There were reports of another resident but that person was accounted for, according to Turner. The other portion of the duplex did have some smoke damage.&nbsp; Investigators are working to confirm what caused the fire. The victim's name has not been released.

Kansas man, pet cat dead after duplex fire on Christmas

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — An Oregon house cat died after eating pet food that tested positive for&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/video/angela-rasmussen-california-bird-flu-saskatchewan-animals-0299de6bbc3740c8be3c348b1c6055e3">bird flu</a>, Oregon authorities said, prompting a recall of raw frozen pet food that was sold nationwide.

Northwest Naturals, a pet food company based in Portland, Oregon, said Tuesday it had voluntarily recalled one batch of its two-pound Feline Turkey Recipe raw frozen pet food after it tested positive for the virus. The product was sold through distributors in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Wisconsin, as well as Canada’s British Columbia.

“We are confident that this cat contracted H5N1 by eating the Northwest Naturals raw and frozen pet food,” Oregon Department of Agriculture State Veterinarian Dr. Ryan Scholz said in a Tuesday news release. “This cat was strictly an indoor cat; it was not exposed to the virus in its environment, and results from the genome sequencing confirmed that the virus recovered from the raw pet food and infected cat were exact matches to each other.”

The recalled product is packaged in two-pound plastic bags with “best if used by” dates of May 21, 2026, and June 23, 2026. The company and Oregon authorities said that consumers who bought the recalled product should throw it away immediately and contact the place of purchase for a refund.

No&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/bird-flu-severe-louisiana-2b4a5f55a05cf8be9b169c15e8b9582d">human cases</a>&nbsp;of bird flu have been linked to the incident, but those who were in contact with the cat are being monitored for flu symptoms, Oregon authorities said.

More than 60 people in eight states&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/bird-flu-h5n1-spread-people-e5edab844b409b8ba21feaecb10156d0">have been infected</a>, with mostly mild illnesses, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC. One person in Louisiana has been hospitalized with the nation’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/bird-flu-severe-louisiana-2b4a5f55a05cf8be9b169c15e8b9582d">first known severe illness</a>&nbsp;caused by the virus, health officials said last week.

So far, the CDC has confirmed one human case of bird flu in Oregon. The person was linked to a previously reported outbreak at a commercial poultry operation and fully recovered after experiencing mild illness, according to a November news release from the Oregon Health Authority.

In late October, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced that a pig at a backyard farm in Oregon was found to have bird flu, marking the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/bird-flu-pig-oregon-1f340a8f8c781e20478cbddabd2d9e18">first detection of the virus in U.S. swine</a>.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/12/1733747978622.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — An Oregon house cat died after eating pet food that tested positive for&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/video/angela-rasmussen-california-bird-flu-saskatchewan-animals-0299de6bbc3740c8be3c348b1c6055e3">bird flu</a>, Oregon authorities said, prompting a recall of raw frozen pet food that was sold nationwide.Northwest Naturals, a pet food company based in Portland, Oregon, said Tuesday it had voluntarily recalled one batch of its two-pound Feline Turkey Recipe raw frozen pet food after it tested positive for the virus. The product was sold through distributors in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Wisconsin, as well as Canada’s British Columbia.“We are confident that this cat contracted H5N1 by eating the Northwest Naturals raw and frozen pet food,” Oregon Department of Agriculture State Veterinarian Dr. Ryan Scholz said in a Tuesday news release. “This cat was strictly an indoor cat; it was not exposed to the virus in its environment, and results from the genome sequencing confirmed that the virus recovered from the raw pet food and infected cat were exact matches to each other.”The recalled product is packaged in two-pound plastic bags with “best if used by” dates of May 21, 2026, and June 23, 2026. The company and Oregon authorities said that consumers who bought the recalled product should throw it away immediately and contact the place of purchase for a refund.No&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/bird-flu-severe-louisiana-2b4a5f55a05cf8be9b169c15e8b9582d">human cases</a>&nbsp;of bird flu have been linked to the incident, but those who were in contact with the cat are being monitored for flu symptoms, Oregon authorities said.More than 60 people in eight states&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/bird-flu-h5n1-spread-people-e5edab844b409b8ba21feaecb10156d0">have been infected</a>, with mostly mild illnesses, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC. One person in Louisiana has been hospitalized with the nation’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/bird-flu-severe-louisiana-2b4a5f55a05cf8be9b169c15e8b9582d">first known severe illness</a>&nbsp;caused by the virus, health officials said last week.So far, the CDC has confirmed one human case of bird flu in Oregon. The person was linked to a previously reported outbreak at a commercial poultry operation and fully recovered after experiencing mild illness, according to a November news release from the Oregon Health Authority.In late October, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced that a pig at a backyard farm in Oregon was found to have bird flu, marking the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/bird-flu-pig-oregon-1f340a8f8c781e20478cbddabd2d9e18">first detection of the virus in U.S. swine</a>.

House cat died after eating pet food that tested positive for bird flu

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/ryan-wesley-routh">man accused of attempting to assassinate</a>&nbsp;President-elect Donald Trump in South Florida won't be tried until September 2025, a federal judge ruled this week.

Ryan Routh's trial will begin Sept. 8 instead of the previously scheduled Feb. 10, 2025 start date, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon said in an order released on Monday.

Routh, 58, a Hawaii resident, has pleaded not guilty.

Routh's attorneys&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-florida-assassination-attempt-routh-4d1772992e6897648f07da7c120a4a18">had asked the judge</a>&nbsp;to delay the trial until no earlier than next December, saying they needed more time to review the evidence against him and decide whether to mount an insanity defense.

Routh owned 17 cellphones and numerous other electronic devices, and there are hundreds of hours of police body camera and surveillance videos that have been provided to the defense, Routh's attorneys argued during a hearing two weeks ago in Fort Pierce, Florida.

In her order, Cannon said she wanted to err on the side of providing more time given the seriousness of the allegations, but that starting the trial no earlier than December would be an excessive amount. A September trial date didn't amount to an “unreasonable delay,” she said.

The judge said that any insanity defense or any request related to Routh's mental competency must be made by early February. Any visit to the scene of the assassination attempt must be made by the end of February.

Prosecutors say Routh methodically plotted to kill Trump for weeks before aiming a rifle through the shrubbery as Trump played golf on Sept. 15, 2024 at his West Palm Beach country club. Before Trump came into view, Routh was spotted by a Secret Service agent. Routh allegedly aimed his rifle at the agent, who opened fire, causing Routh to drop his weapon and flee without firing a shot. Prosecutors say he left behind a note describing his intentions.

He was arrested a short time later driving on a nearby interstate.

Routh’s charge of attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate carries a potential life sentence in the event of a conviction. Other charges include assaulting a federal officer and three firearms counts. He is being held without bail at the federal jail in Miami.

Routh’s arrest came two months after&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-vp-vance-rubio-7c7ba6b99b5f38d2d840ed95b2fdc3e5">Trump was shot and wounded</a>&nbsp;in the ear in an assassination attempt during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-secret-service-assassination-attempt-campaign-7dca5e30730287f46cceaa35437f0d47">The Secret Service acknowledged failings</a>&nbsp;leading up to that shooting but has said security worked as it should have to thwart the potential Florida attack.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/9/1726536262473.png" alt="Routh during his arrest -photo Martin County Sheriff" />
 <figcaption>Routh during his arrest -photo Martin County Sheriff</figcaption>
 </figure>ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/ryan-wesley-routh">man accused of attempting to assassinate</a>&nbsp;President-elect Donald Trump in South Florida won't be tried until September 2025, a federal judge ruled this week.Ryan Routh's trial will begin Sept. 8 instead of the previously scheduled Feb. 10, 2025 start date, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon said in an order released on Monday.Routh, 58, a Hawaii resident, has pleaded not guilty.Routh's attorneys&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-florida-assassination-attempt-routh-4d1772992e6897648f07da7c120a4a18">had asked the judge</a>&nbsp;to delay the trial until no earlier than next December, saying they needed more time to review the evidence against him and decide whether to mount an insanity defense.Routh owned 17 cellphones and numerous other electronic devices, and there are hundreds of hours of police body camera and surveillance videos that have been provided to the defense, Routh's attorneys argued during a hearing two weeks ago in Fort Pierce, Florida.In her order, Cannon said she wanted to err on the side of providing more time given the seriousness of the allegations, but that starting the trial no earlier than December would be an excessive amount. A September trial date didn't amount to an “unreasonable delay,” she said.The judge said that any insanity defense or any request related to Routh's mental competency must be made by early February. Any visit to the scene of the assassination attempt must be made by the end of February.Prosecutors say Routh methodically plotted to kill Trump for weeks before aiming a rifle through the shrubbery as Trump played golf on Sept. 15, 2024 at his West Palm Beach country club. Before Trump came into view, Routh was spotted by a Secret Service agent. Routh allegedly aimed his rifle at the agent, who opened fire, causing Routh to drop his weapon and flee without firing a shot. Prosecutors say he left behind a note describing his intentions.He was arrested a short time later driving on a nearby interstate.Routh’s charge of attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate carries a potential life sentence in the event of a conviction. Other charges include assaulting a federal officer and three firearms counts. He is being held without bail at the federal jail in Miami.Routh’s arrest came two months after&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-vp-vance-rubio-7c7ba6b99b5f38d2d840ed95b2fdc3e5">Trump was shot and wounded</a>&nbsp;in the ear in an assassination attempt during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-secret-service-assassination-attempt-campaign-7dca5e30730287f46cceaa35437f0d47">The Secret Service acknowledged failings</a>&nbsp;leading up to that shooting but has said security worked as it should have to thwart the potential Florida attack.

Judge issues new ruling against Trump would-be assassin

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon acknowledged this week that there are more than 2,500 U.S. troops in Iraq, the total routinely touted publicly. It also said the number of forces in Syria has grown over the past “several years” due to increasing threats, but was not openly disclosed.

Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, Pentagon press secretary, said in a statement that there are “at least 2,500” U.S. military personnel in Iraq “plus some additional, temporary enablers” that are on rotational deployments. He said that due to diplomatic considerations, the department will not provide more specifics.

The U.S. concluded sensitive negotiations with the government of Iraq in September that called for troops to begin leaving after the November election. The presence of U.S. troops there has long been a political liability for Iraqi leaders who are under increased pressure and influence from Iran.

U.S. officials have not provided details about the withdrawal agreement, but it calls for the mission against the Islamic State group to end by September 2025, and that some U.S. troops will remain through 2026 to support the anti-IS mission in Syria. Some troops may stay in the Kurdistan region after that because the regional government would like them to stay.

Ryder announced last week that there are about 2,000 U.S. troops in Syria – more than double the 900 that the U.S. had acknowledged publicly until now. On Monday he said the extra 1,100 deploy for shorter times to do force protection, transportation, maintenance and other missions. He said the number has fluctuated for the past several years and increased “over time.”

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon acknowledged this week that there are more than 2,500 U.S. troops in Iraq, the total routinely touted publicly. It also said the number of forces in Syria has grown over the past “several years” due to increasing threats, but was not openly disclosed.Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, Pentagon press secretary, said in a statement that there are “at least 2,500” U.S. military personnel in Iraq “plus some additional, temporary enablers” that are on rotational deployments. He said that due to diplomatic considerations, the department will not provide more specifics.The U.S. concluded sensitive negotiations with the government of Iraq in September that called for troops to begin leaving after the November election. The presence of U.S. troops there has long been a political liability for Iraqi leaders who are under increased pressure and influence from Iran.U.S. officials have not provided details about the withdrawal agreement, but it calls for the mission against the Islamic State group to end by September 2025, and that some U.S. troops will remain through 2026 to support the anti-IS mission in Syria. Some troops may stay in the Kurdistan region after that because the regional government would like them to stay.Ryder announced last week that there are about 2,000 U.S. troops in Syria – more than double the 900 that the U.S. had acknowledged publicly until now. On Monday he said the extra 1,100 deploy for shorter times to do force protection, transportation, maintenance and other missions. He said the number has fluctuated for the past several years and increased “over time.”

Pentagon quietly increases number of US troops in Iraq, Syria

DONIPHAN COUNTY —One person died in an accident just after 8:30a.m. Wednesday in Doniphan County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2012 Toyota Tundra driven by Maria Ann&nbsp;Keys, 37, Bendena, was northbound on Kansas 7 just north of 120th Road

The pickup crossed the center line and struck a southbound 2002 Chevy Suburban driven by Kace Rayelee Keller, 22, Troy, head-on.

A passenger in the SUV identified as Katlyn&nbsp; Folsom, 22, Troy, was pronounced dead at at the sene and was transported to&nbsp; Becker-Dyer Funeral Home. EMS transported both drivers to Mosaic Life Care in St. Joseph. Keys was not wearing a seat belt, according to the KHP.

DONIPHAN COUNTY —One person died in an accident just after 8:30a.m. Wednesday in Doniphan County.The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2012 Toyota Tundra driven by Maria Ann&nbsp;Keys, 37, Bendena, was northbound on Kansas 7 just north of 120th RoadThe pickup crossed the center line and struck a southbound 2002 Chevy Suburban driven by Kace Rayelee Keller, 22, Troy, head-on.A passenger in the SUV identified as Katlyn&nbsp; Folsom, 22, Troy, was pronounced dead at at the sene and was transported to&nbsp; Becker-Dyer Funeral Home. EMS transported both drivers to Mosaic Life Care in St. Joseph. Keys was not wearing a seat belt, according to the KHP.

Kansas woman killed in Christmas Day head-on crash

TOPEKA— The Federal Bureau of Investigation in Kansas City is asking for help to locate two wanted fugitives known for alleged sleight-of-hand thefts at jewelry stores, according to a statement from the ageney.

Authorities are searching for 53-year-old&nbsp;Vasile Sava&nbsp;and 54-year-old&nbsp;Onita Rostas.&nbsp;Authorities believe Sava and Rostas are married, and may be using a variety of aliases.

In January, Sava and Rostas were the subjects of arrest warrants, issued by United States District Court, District of Kansas, after being charged with conspiracy to commit interstate transportation of stolen property.&nbsp;

&nbsp;Sava and Rostas, along with other suspects, targeted multiple jewelry businesses, according to a statement from the FBI. The suspects would enter the stores in groups of two or more. One of the suspects would distract or separate the employees while another would remove, conceal, and ultimately make off with items of jewelry that had been on display. The FBI calls this practice a sleight-of-hand distraction theft.

The thieves would then take the stolen jewelry elsewhere in the U.S. to be sold, prosecutors said.

The jewelry stores in Kansas Marks Jewelers in Lawrence; Calhoun's in Topeka, Venable Jewlers in McPherson and G. Thomas in Manhattan.

The pair may be living in or operating across multiple states including California, Texas, Florida, Maryland, and Virginia.

It is unknown if the pair has ties to the Kansas City area.

Anyone with information on their whereabouts is asked to contact any law enforcement agency, or reach out to the FBI directly through&nbsp;<a href="https://tips.fbi.gov/home" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">this tip website</a>

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/12/1734634218307.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>TOPEKA— The Federal Bureau of Investigation in Kansas City is asking for help to locate two wanted fugitives known for alleged sleight-of-hand thefts at jewelry stores, according to a statement from the ageney.Authorities are searching for 53-year-old&nbsp;Vasile Sava&nbsp;and 54-year-old&nbsp;Onita Rostas.&nbsp;Authorities believe Sava and Rostas are married, and may be using a variety of aliases.In January, Sava and Rostas were the subjects of arrest warrants, issued by United States District Court, District of Kansas, after being charged with conspiracy to commit interstate transportation of stolen property.&nbsp;<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/12/1734634248605.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>&nbsp;Sava and Rostas, along with other suspects, targeted multiple jewelry businesses, according to a statement from the FBI. The suspects would enter the stores in groups of two or more. One of the suspects would distract or separate the employees while another would remove, conceal, and ultimately make off with items of jewelry that had been on display. The FBI calls this practice a sleight-of-hand distraction theft.The thieves would then take the stolen jewelry elsewhere in the U.S. to be sold, prosecutors said.The jewelry stores in Kansas Marks Jewelers in Lawrence; Calhoun's in Topeka, Venable Jewlers in McPherson and G. Thomas in Manhattan.The pair may be living in or operating across multiple states including California, Texas, Florida, Maryland, and Virginia.It is unknown if the pair has ties to the Kansas City area.Anyone with information on their whereabouts is asked to contact any law enforcement agency, or reach out to the FBI directly through&nbsp;<a href="https://tips.fbi.gov/home" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">this tip website</a>

FBI: Search continues for Kan. jewelry store robbery suspects

KANSAS CITY—A nurse at the Veterans Affairs hospital in Kansas City, Missouri has been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges related to child pornography.

Paul Robert Wyatt, 56, of Excelsior Springs, Mo., was charged in a three-count indictment returned under seal by a federal grand jury in Kansas City on Tuesday, Dec. 17. 

The indictment was unsealed and made public&nbsp; following Wyatt’s arrest and initial court appearance.

Wyatt is employed as a nurse at the Kansas City V.A. Medical Center on Linwood Boulevard in Kansas City, Mo.

The federal indictment alleges that Wyatt distributed child pornography over the internet on Sept. 9, 2023. The indictment also charges Wyatt with one count of receiving child pornography on Oct. 12, 2023, and one count of possessing child pornography (which involved a victim under the age of 12) on Nov. 22, 2023.

KANSAS CITY—A nurse at the Veterans Affairs hospital in Kansas City, Missouri has been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges related to child pornography.Paul Robert Wyatt, 56, of Excelsior Springs, Mo., was charged in a three-count indictment returned under seal by a federal grand jury in Kansas City on Tuesday, Dec. 17. The indictment was unsealed and made public&nbsp; following Wyatt’s arrest and initial court appearance.Wyatt is employed as a nurse at the Kansas City V.A. Medical Center on Linwood Boulevard in Kansas City, Mo.The federal indictment alleges that Wyatt distributed child pornography over the internet on Sept. 9, 2023. The indictment also charges Wyatt with one count of receiving child pornography on Oct. 12, 2023, and one count of possessing child pornography (which involved a victim under the age of 12) on Nov. 22, 2023.

VA nurse in KC accused of having child porn involving a juvenile victim

MANHATTAN — Fire investigators are working to determine the cause of a Christmas morning house fire in Manhattan.

Just after 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday, the Manhattan Fire Department was dispatched to house fire at 2717 Wyndham Heights Drive, according to a media release.&nbsp;

Crews found a single-family dwelling with heavy fire and smoke coming from the back of the house. Fire crews aggressively attacked the fire and searched the house for occupants, but none were found.&nbsp; 

The fire reached a second alarm before it was contained within 30 minutes.&nbsp; A total of 17 firefighters responded on 6 fire apparatus with fire units clearing by 10:30 a.m.&nbsp;&nbsp;The house is a one-story with a walk-out basement.&nbsp; Two occupants live in the home, but neither were home when firefighters arrived on the scene.&nbsp;

 The building is no longer habitable. Loss is estimated at $250,000 to contents and $450,000 to the structure. The owner is listed as Kenny Fischer of the same address.&nbsp;&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/12/1735159100227.png" alt="-Photo Manhattan fire department" />
 <figcaption>-Photo Manhattan fire department</figcaption>
 </figure>MANHATTAN — Fire investigators are working to determine the cause of a Christmas morning house fire in Manhattan.Just after 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday, the Manhattan Fire Department was dispatched to house fire at 2717 Wyndham Heights Drive, according to a media release.&nbsp;Crews found a single-family dwelling with heavy fire and smoke coming from the back of the house. Fire crews aggressively attacked the fire and searched the house for occupants, but none were found.&nbsp; The fire reached a second alarm before it was contained within 30 minutes.&nbsp; A total of 17 firefighters responded on 6 fire apparatus with fire units clearing by 10:30 a.m.&nbsp;&nbsp;The house is a one-story with a walk-out basement.&nbsp; Two occupants live in the home, but neither were home when firefighters arrived on the scene.&nbsp; The building is no longer habitable. Loss is estimated at $250,000 to contents and $450,000 to the structure. The owner is listed as Kenny Fischer of the same address.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Kan. home no longer habitable after fire Christmas morning

Hang onto those stocking-stuffer lottery tickets.

Hang onto those stocking-stuffer lottery tickets.The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/mega-millions-powerball-lottery-price-6d07dbc300b42565f3d87c058841b816">Mega Millions</a>&nbsp;jackpot has surpassed $1 billion after no ticket matched all six numbers drawn on Christmas Eve. That means the estimated jackpot for Friday's drawing is $1.15 billion, potentially the fifth-largest jackpot in the game's history.“We know that many people will likely receive tickets to Friday’s drawing as holiday gifts, and what a gift that would turn out to be if you ended up with a ticket worth a $1.15 billion jackpot,” Joshua Johnston, lead director for the Mega Millions Consortium said in a Wednesday statement.The odds of winning the Mega Millions jackpot are 1 in 302,575,350, while the odds of winning any Mega Millions prize are 1 in 24, according to lottery officials.Tickets for the game are sold in 45 states, along with Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Mega Millions tickets are $2 a piece. Half of the proceeds from the sale of each ticket remains in the state where the ticket was sold. Drawings are held at 11 p.m. Eastern Time on Tuesdays and Fridays.