BUTLER COUNTY – A Kansas man pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography which was found on multiple electronic devices.

According to court documents, Alexander James Rosell, 34, of Wichita pleaded guilty to one count of possession of child pornography.

Rosell's activity was discovered through an international investigation into a particular dark web website, as well as reports made against IP addresses connected to a residence to which he had access. During a search warrant at the home, investigators found Rosell had child pornography images on a cell phone and multiple laptops.

Rosell is scheduled to be sentenced on April 4, 2025, and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Kansas Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force are investigating the case

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1737409307108.png" alt="Rosell is being held in Butler County" />
 <figcaption>Rosell is being held in Butler County</figcaption>
 </figure>BUTLER COUNTY – A Kansas man pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography which was found on multiple electronic devices.According to court documents, Alexander James Rosell, 34, of Wichita pleaded guilty to one count of possession of child pornography.Rosell's activity was discovered through an international investigation into a particular dark web website, as well as reports made against IP addresses connected to a residence to which he had access. During a search warrant at the home, investigators found Rosell had child pornography images on a cell phone and multiple laptops.Rosell is scheduled to be sentenced on April 4, 2025, and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Kansas Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force are investigating the case

International child porn investigation led to Kan. man's arrest

NEW YORK (AP) — Garth Hudson, the Band’s virtuoso keyboardist and all-around musician who drew from a unique palette of sounds and styles to add a conversational touch to such rock standards as “Up on Cripple Creek,” “The Weight” and “Rag Mama Rag,” has died at age 87.

Hudson was the eldest and last surviving member of the influential group that once backed Bob Dylan. His death was confirmed Tuesday by The Canadian Press, which cited Hudson’s friend, Jan Haust. Additional details were not immediately available. Hudson had been living in a nursing home in upstate New York.

A rustic figure with an expansive forehead and sprawling beard, Hudson was a classically trained performer and self-educated Greek chorus who spoke through piano, synthesizers, horns and his favored Lowrey organ. No matter the song, Hudson summoned just the right feeling or shading, whether the tipsy clavinet and wah-wah pedal on “Up on Cripple Creek,” the galloping piano on “Rag Mama Rag” or the melancholy saxophone on “It Makes No Difference.”

The only non-singer among five musicians celebrated for their camaraderie, texture and versatility, Hudson mostly loomed in the background, but he did have one showcase: “Chest Fever,” a Robbie Robertson composition for which he devised an introductory organ solo (“The Genetic Method”), an eclectic sampling of moods and melodies that segued into the song’s hard rock riff.

Robertson, the band’s guitarist and lead songwriter, died in 2023 after a long illness. Keyboardist-drummer Richard Manuel hung himself in 1986, bassist Rick Danko died in his sleep in 1999 and drummer Levon Helm died of cancer in 2012. The Band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994.

Formed in the early 1960s as a backing group for rocker Ronnie Hawkins, the Band was originally called The Hawks and featured the Arkansas-born Helm and four Canadians recruited by Helm and Hawkins: Hudson, Danko, Manuel and Robertson.

The Band mastered their craft through years of performing as unknowns — first behind Hawkins, then as Levon and the Hawks, then as the unsuspecting targets of outrage after hooking up with Dylan in the mid-1960s. All joined Dylan on his historic tours of 1965-66 (Helm departed midway), when he broke with his folk past and teamed with the Band for some of the most stirring and stormiest music of the time, enraging some old Dylan admirers but attracting many new ones. The group would rename itself the Band in part because so many people around Dylan simply referred to his backing musicians as “the band.”

By 1967, Dylan was in semi-seclusion, having allegedly broken his neck in a motorcycle accident, and he and the group settled in the artist community in Woodstock that two years later would become world famous thanks to the festival in nearby Bethel. With no album planned, they wrote and played spontaneously in an old pink house outside of town shared by Hudson, Danko and Manuel. Hudson was in charge of the tape machine as Dylan and The Band recorded more than 100 songs, for years available only as bootlegs, that became known as “The Basement Tapes.” Often cited as the foundation of “roots” music and “Americana,” the music varied from old folk, country and Appalachian songs to such new compositions as “Tears of Rage,” “I Shall Be Released” and “This Wheel’s on Fire.”

“There would be an informal discussion, before each recording,’” Hudson told the online publication Something Else! in 2014. “There would be ideas floating around, and the telling of stories. And then we’d go back to the songs.

“We looked for words, phrases and situations that were worth writing about. I think that Bob Dylan showed us discipline, and ageless concern about the quality of his art.”

Dylan resurfaced in late 1967 with the austere “John Wesley Harding,” and the Band debuted soon after with “Music from Big Pink,” its down home sound so radically different from the jams and psychedelic tricks then in fashion that artists from The Beatles to Eric Clapton to the Grateful Dead would cite its influence. The Band followed in 1969 with a self-titled album that many still consider its best and has often been ranked among the greatest rock albums of all time.

Future records included “Stage Fright,” “Cahoots” and “Northern Lights/Southern Cross,” a 1975 album that brought Hudson special praise for his work on the keyboards. A year later, Robertson decided he had tired of live performances, and the Band staged the all-star concert and Martin Scorsese film, “The Last Waltz,” featuring Dylan, Clapton, Neil Young and many others. Tension between Robertson and Helm, who would allege the film unduly elevated Robertson over the others, led to a full breakup before the documentary’s release in 1978.

Hudson played briefly with the English band the Call; appeared with various latter incarnations of the Band, usually featuring Danko, Hudson and Helm; assisted on solo albums by Robertson and Danko; and joined Danko and Helm for a performance of Pink Floyd’s “The Wall” at the Berlin Wall. Other session work included records by Van Morrison, Leonard Cohen and Emmylou Harris.

Hudson also organized his own projects, although his first solo effort, “The Sea to the North,” came out on the day of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. In 2005, he formed a 12-piece band called The Best!, with his wife on vocals. “Garth Hudson Presents: A Canadian Celebration of The Band” was a 2010 tribute featuring Neil Young, Bruce Cockburn and other Canadian musicians.

In recent years, Hudson struggled financially. He had sold his interest in the Band to Robertson and went bankrupt several times. He lost one home to foreclosure and saw many of his belongings put up for auction in 2013 when he fell behind on payments for storage. Hudson’s wife, Maud, died in 2022. They had a daughter, Tami Zoe Hill.

The son of musicians, Hudson was born in Windsor, Ontario in 1937 and received formal training at an early age. He was performing on stage and writing before he was even a teenager, although by his early 20s he had soured on classical music and was playing in a rock band, the Capers.

He was the last to join the Band and he worried that his parents would disapprove. The solution was to have Hawkins hire him as a “musical consultant” and pay him $10 extra a week.

“It was a job,” Hudson said of the Band in a 2002 interview with Maclean’s. “Play a stadium, play a theater. My job was to provide arrangements with pads underneath, pads and fills behind good poets. Same poems every night.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1737482629347.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>NEW YORK (AP) — Garth Hudson, the Band’s virtuoso keyboardist and all-around musician who drew from a unique palette of sounds and styles to add a conversational touch to such rock standards as “Up on Cripple Creek,” “The Weight” and “Rag Mama Rag,” has died at age 87.Hudson was the eldest and last surviving member of the influential group that once backed Bob Dylan. His death was confirmed Tuesday by The Canadian Press, which cited Hudson’s friend, Jan Haust. Additional details were not immediately available. Hudson had been living in a nursing home in upstate New York.A rustic figure with an expansive forehead and sprawling beard, Hudson was a classically trained performer and self-educated Greek chorus who spoke through piano, synthesizers, horns and his favored Lowrey organ. No matter the song, Hudson summoned just the right feeling or shading, whether the tipsy clavinet and wah-wah pedal on “Up on Cripple Creek,” the galloping piano on “Rag Mama Rag” or the melancholy saxophone on “It Makes No Difference.”The only non-singer among five musicians celebrated for their camaraderie, texture and versatility, Hudson mostly loomed in the background, but he did have one showcase: “Chest Fever,” a Robbie Robertson composition for which he devised an introductory organ solo (“The Genetic Method”), an eclectic sampling of moods and melodies that segued into the song’s hard rock riff.Robertson, the band’s guitarist and lead songwriter, died in 2023 after a long illness. Keyboardist-drummer Richard Manuel hung himself in 1986, bassist Rick Danko died in his sleep in 1999 and drummer Levon Helm died of cancer in 2012. The Band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994.Formed in the early 1960s as a backing group for rocker Ronnie Hawkins, the Band was originally called The Hawks and featured the Arkansas-born Helm and four Canadians recruited by Helm and Hawkins: Hudson, Danko, Manuel and Robertson.The Band mastered their craft through years of performing as unknowns — first behind Hawkins, then as Levon and the Hawks, then as the unsuspecting targets of outrage after hooking up with Dylan in the mid-1960s. All joined Dylan on his historic tours of 1965-66 (Helm departed midway), when he broke with his folk past and teamed with the Band for some of the most stirring and stormiest music of the time, enraging some old Dylan admirers but attracting many new ones. The group would rename itself the Band in part because so many people around Dylan simply referred to his backing musicians as “the band.”By 1967, Dylan was in semi-seclusion, having allegedly broken his neck in a motorcycle accident, and he and the group settled in the artist community in Woodstock that two years later would become world famous thanks to the festival in nearby Bethel. With no album planned, they wrote and played spontaneously in an old pink house outside of town shared by Hudson, Danko and Manuel. Hudson was in charge of the tape machine as Dylan and The Band recorded more than 100 songs, for years available only as bootlegs, that became known as “The Basement Tapes.” Often cited as the foundation of “roots” music and “Americana,” the music varied from old folk, country and Appalachian songs to such new compositions as “Tears of Rage,” “I Shall Be Released” and “This Wheel’s on Fire.”“There would be an informal discussion, before each recording,’” Hudson told the online publication Something Else! in 2014. “There would be ideas floating around, and the telling of stories. And then we’d go back to the songs.“We looked for words, phrases and situations that were worth writing about. I think that Bob Dylan showed us discipline, and ageless concern about the quality of his art.”Dylan resurfaced in late 1967 with the austere “John Wesley Harding,” and the Band debuted soon after with “Music from Big Pink,” its down home sound so radically different from the jams and psychedelic tricks then in fashion that artists from The Beatles to Eric Clapton to the Grateful Dead would cite its influence. The Band followed in 1969 with a self-titled album that many still consider its best and has often been ranked among the greatest rock albums of all time.Future records included “Stage Fright,” “Cahoots” and “Northern Lights/Southern Cross,” a 1975 album that brought Hudson special praise for his work on the keyboards. A year later, Robertson decided he had tired of live performances, and the Band staged the all-star concert and Martin Scorsese film, “The Last Waltz,” featuring Dylan, Clapton, Neil Young and many others. Tension between Robertson and Helm, who would allege the film unduly elevated Robertson over the others, led to a full breakup before the documentary’s release in 1978.Hudson played briefly with the English band the Call; appeared with various latter incarnations of the Band, usually featuring Danko, Hudson and Helm; assisted on solo albums by Robertson and Danko; and joined Danko and Helm for a performance of Pink Floyd’s “The Wall” at the Berlin Wall. Other session work included records by Van Morrison, Leonard Cohen and Emmylou Harris.Hudson also organized his own projects, although his first solo effort, “The Sea to the North,” came out on the day of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. In 2005, he formed a 12-piece band called The Best!, with his wife on vocals. “Garth Hudson Presents: A Canadian Celebration of The Band” was a 2010 tribute featuring Neil Young, Bruce Cockburn and other Canadian musicians.In recent years, Hudson struggled financially. He had sold his interest in the Band to Robertson and went bankrupt several times. He lost one home to foreclosure and saw many of his belongings put up for auction in 2013 when he fell behind on payments for storage. Hudson’s wife, Maud, died in 2022. They had a daughter, Tami Zoe Hill.The son of musicians, Hudson was born in Windsor, Ontario in 1937 and received formal training at an early age. He was performing on stage and writing before he was even a teenager, although by his early 20s he had soured on classical music and was playing in a rock band, the Capers.He was the last to join the Band and he worried that his parents would disapprove. The solution was to have Hawkins hire him as a “musical consultant” and pay him $10 extra a week.“It was a job,” Hudson said of the Band in a 2002 interview with Maclean’s. “Play a stadium, play a theater. My job was to provide arrangements with pads underneath, pads and fills behind good poets. Same poems every night.”

Garth Hudson, last surviving member of The Band, dies at 87

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

Just after 7:30p.m. Monday, police were dispatched to 56th and Westridge in Kansas City on a reported shooting, according to KCPD&nbsp;Sergeant Phil DiMartino.

Upon arrival they were directed to a residence near the intersection. In the yard they located a man suffering from gunshot wounds.&nbsp; Several witnesses were rendering aid to the victim as officers arrived.

 Officers took over life saving measures and ordered EMS.&nbsp; The victim was transported from the scene with life threatening injuries.&nbsp; Several hours later the victim died at the hospital, according to DiMartion.

This is being investigated as a homicide and no one is in custody. Detectives and crime scene personnel are working to determine what led up to the incident.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1737478624532.png" alt="Photo Sheriff Daryl Forte'" />
 <figcaption>Photo Sheriff Daryl Forte'</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY —Law enforcement investigating another homicide in Kansas City.Just after 7:30p.m. Monday, police were dispatched to 56th and Westridge in Kansas City on a reported shooting, according to KCPD&nbsp;Sergeant Phil DiMartino.Upon arrival they were directed to a residence near the intersection. In the yard they located a man suffering from gunshot wounds.&nbsp; Several witnesses were rendering aid to the victim as officers arrived. Officers took over life saving measures and ordered EMS.&nbsp; The victim was transported from the scene with life threatening injuries.&nbsp; Several hours later the victim died at the hospital, according to DiMartion.This is being investigated as a homicide and no one is in custody. Detectives and crime scene personnel are working to determine what led up to the incident.

Police: Shooting victim dies at Kansas City hospital

WASHINGTON (AP) —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-inauguration-swearing-capitol-b3549ebe5dae74a872502aa79def7a11">President Donald Trump</a>&nbsp;has begun his promised flurry of executive action on Day 1.

With his opening rounds of memoranda and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/what-is-an-executive-order-trump-ea7ef3c7a785dbd1ee63e0ea3a776e14">executive orders</a>, Trump repealed dozens of former President Joe Biden’s actions, began his immigration crackdown, withdrew the U.S. from the Paris climate accords and sought to keep TikTok open in the U.S., among other actions. He pardoned hundreds of people for their roles in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Here’s a look at some of Trump’s initial actions and upcoming plans:

As he promised repeatedly during the 2024 campaign, the president&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/capitol-jan-6-pardons-trump-justice-department-8ce8b2a8f8cb602d5eaf85ac7b969606">issued pardons</a>&nbsp;late Monday for about 1,500 people convicted or criminally charged in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol as Congress convened to certify Biden’s 2020 victory over Trump.

<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/granting-pardons-and-commutation-of-sentences-for-certain-offenses-relating-to-the-events-at-or-near-the-united-states-capitol-on-january-6-2021/">Click here to see the full list</a>&nbsp;of pardons and commutations

Separately, Trump ordered an end to federal cases against “political opponents” of the Biden administration — meaning Trump supporters. He said Monday that he would end “weaponization” of federal law enforcement but his actions seemed targeted only to help his backers.

In a made-for-TV display at Capital One Arena on Monday evening, Trump signed a largely symbolic memorandum that he described as directing every federal agency to combat consumer inflation. By repealing Biden actions and adding his own orders, Trump is easing regulatory burdens on&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-offshore-drilling-trump-florida-atlantic-pacific-aa26f50e158fd4f9c24d368898244dce">oil and natural gas production</a>, something he promises will bring down costs of all consumer goods. Trump is specifically targeting Alaska for expanded fossil fuel production.

On trade, the president said he expects to impose 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico starting Feb. 1, but declined to flesh out his plans for taxing Chinese imports.

Trump also signed an order intended to pause Congress’ TikTok ban for 75 days, a period in which the president says he will seek a U.S. buyer in a deal that can protect national security interests while leaving the popular social media platform open to Americans.

As he did during his first administration, Trump is pulling the U.S. out of the World Health Organization. He also ordered a comprehensive review of U.S. foreign aid spending. Both moves fit into his more isolationist “America First” approach to international affairs.

In more symbolic moves, Trump planned to sign an order renaming the Gulf of Mexico, making it the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-gulf-of-mexico-bc438f4feca1234475a1adef99344da7">Gulf of America</a>. The highest mountain in North America,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-denali-mckinley-alaska-57b2a44d878aa7ac927d346fcdf824b8">now known as Denali</a>, will revert back to Mount McKinley, its name until President Barack Obama changed it. And Trump signed an order that flags must be at full height at every future Inauguration Day. The order came because former President Jimmy Carter’s death had prompted flags to be at half-staff. Trump demanded they be moved up Monday. Another Trump order calls for promoting “Beautiful Federal Civic Architecture.”

Trump reversed several immigration orders from Biden’s presidency, including one that narrowed deportation priorities to people who commit serious crimes, are deemed national security threats or were stopped at the border. It returns the government to Trump’s first-term policy that everyone in the country illegally is a priority for deportation.

The president declared a national emergency at&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/immigration-border-town-us-mexico-7b0e02f167bb6d01159f2fda80566752">the U.S.-Mexico border</a>, and he plans to send U.S. troops to help support immigration agents and restrict refugees and asylum.

Trump is trying&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/79744cebd6a348239aae057a7331316d">end birthright citizenship</a>. It’s unclear, though, whether his order will survive inevitable legal challenges, since birthright citizenship is enshrined in the U.S. Constitution.

He temporarily suspended the U.S. Refugee Admission Program, pending a review to assess the program’s “public safety and national security” implications. He’s also pledged to restart a policy that forced asylum seekers to wait over the border in Mexico, but officials didn’t say whether Mexico would accept migrants again. And Trump is ending&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-deportation-immigration-homan-asylum-inauguration-ac10480dc636b758ab3c435b974aeb19">the CBP One app</a>, a Biden-era border app that gave legal entry to nearly 1 million migrants.

Meanwhile, on national security, the president revoked any active security clearances from a long list of his perceived enemies, including former director of national intelligence James Clapper, Leon Panetta, a former director of the CIA and defense secretary, and his own former national security adviser, John Bolton.

As expected, Trump signed documents he said will formally withdraw the U.S. from the Paris climate agreements. He made the same move during his first term but Biden reversed it.

Additionally, Trump declared an energy emergency as he promised to “drill, baby, drill,” and said he will eliminate what he calls Biden’s electric vehicle mandate.

Trump has halted federal government hiring, excepting the military and other parts of government that went unnamed. He added a freeze on new federal regulations while he builds out his second administration.

He formally empowered the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, which is being led by Elon Musk, the world’s richest man. Ostensibly an effort to streamline government, DOGE is not an official agency. But Trump appears poised to give Musk wide latitude to recommend cuts in government programs and spending.

Diversity, equity and inclusion and transgender rights

Trump is rolling back&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/election-2024-transgender-rights-lgbtq-donald-trump-3bb3ace81ff32b6dec382b486ec6a772">protections for transgender people</a>&nbsp;and terminating diversity, equity and inclusion programs within the federal government. Both are major shifts for the federal policy and are in line with Trump’s campaign trail promises. One order declares that the federal government would recognize only two immutable sexes: male and female. And they’re to be defined based on whether people are born with eggs or sperm, rather than on their chromosomes, according to details of the upcoming order. Under the order, federal prisons and shelters for migrants and rape victims would be segregated by sex as defined by the order. And federal taxpayer money could not be used to fund “transition services.”

A separate order halts DEI programs, directing the White House to identify and end them within the government.

In addition, the White House web site lists these items on Tuesday

Barrow reported from Atlanta. Associated Press writers Elliot Spagat and Geoff Mulvihill contributed to this report.

A look at the dozens of executive orders Trump signed on Day 1

ATCHISON COUNTY —Authorities are investigating the cause of a train derailment in Atchison.

Just after 6:30p.m.  on Monday police officers were on the scene of a derailment that involved empty coal rail cars in Atchison. The derailment extended between 4th Street and 5th Street in the rail yards, according to Police Chief Mike Wilson.  

According to Union Pacific, approximately seven Union Pacific rail cars and one locomotive derailed. The train crew was taken to local emergency services for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries.

The 4th Street railroad crossing will remain closed for an extended period of time. There were no injuries, no fire, no hazards, and no damage other than to the rail cars.

Clean up crews for the railroad were on the scene during the night and the clean up continued Tuesday morning. The cause of the accident remains under investigation.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1737470837622.png" alt="Photos Atchison Police" />
 <figcaption>Photos Atchison Police</figcaption>
 </figure>ATCHISON COUNTY —Authorities are investigating the cause of a train derailment in Atchison.Just after 6:30p.m. on Monday police officers were on the scene of a derailment that involved empty coal rail cars in Atchison. The derailment extended between 4th Street and 5th Street in the rail yards, according to Police Chief Mike Wilson. <figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1737470777673.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>According to Union Pacific, approximately seven Union Pacific rail cars and one locomotive derailed. The train crew was taken to local emergency services for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries.The 4th Street railroad crossing will remain closed for an extended period of time. There were no injuries, no fire, no hazards, and no damage other than to the rail cars.Clean up crews for the railroad were on the scene during the night and the clean up continued Tuesday morning. The cause of the accident remains under investigation.

Cause of Kansas train derailment under investigation

WASHINGTON (AP)—Vice President JD Vance has sworn in Rubio as Secretary of State, the first of Trump’s Cabinet nominees to take the job.

Rubio said Trump’s primary priority will be furthering the United States’ interests and that anything the government and State Department do must make the country stronger, safer or more prosperous.

“If it doesn’t do one of those three things, we will not do it,” Rubio said.

Vance, who served as a senator alongside Rubio, called him a “bipartisan solutions seeker.”

WASHINGTON (AP)—Vice President JD Vance has sworn in Rubio as Secretary of State, the first of Trump’s Cabinet nominees to take the job.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">Vice President Vance swears in Marco Rubio as Secretary of State. Full video here: <a href="https://t.co/hzNSC919DE">https://t.co/hzNSC919DE</a> <a href="https://t.co/Cdh76lakDa">pic.twitter.com/Cdh76lakDa</a>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1881717644291653784?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 21, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Rubio said Trump’s primary priority will be furthering the United States’ interests and that anything the government and State Department do must make the country stronger, safer or more prosperous.“If it doesn’t do one of those three things, we will not do it,” Rubio said.Vance, who served as a senator alongside Rubio, called him a “bipartisan solutions seeker.”

Marco Rubio has been sworn in as America’s chief diplomat

OSAGE COUNTY —Authorities investigating a drowning incident at a Kansas lake over the weekend have identified the victim as 28-year-old Justin T. Steinman, 28, of Overland Park, according to Osage County Sheriff Chris Wells.

&nbsp;Just after 3:30 p.m. Saturday, the Osage County Sheriff’s Office received a report of a person who had fallen out of a boat while duck hunting on Melvern Lake, according to Wells. Emergency crews responded to the scene.

After a lengthy search by land, air and water,&nbsp;Steinman was located&nbsp; and rescued from the water.&nbsp; Life-saving measures were performed. EMS&nbsp; transported him to a local hospital, where he was pronounced deceased.

The Osage County Sheriff’s Office, Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks, Osage County Fire District #2 – Osage City, Osage County Fire District #3 – Melvern, Reading Fire Department, LifeSave air ambulance out of Emporia, and Osage County EMS participated in the search.&nbsp;

OSAGE COUNTY —Authorities investigating a drowning incident at a Kansas lake over the weekend have identified the victim as 28-year-old Justin T. Steinman, 28, of Overland Park, according to Osage County Sheriff Chris Wells.&nbsp;Just after 3:30 p.m. Saturday, the Osage County Sheriff’s Office received a report of a person who had fallen out of a boat while duck hunting on Melvern Lake, according to Wells. Emergency crews responded to the scene.After a lengthy search by land, air and water,&nbsp;Steinman was located&nbsp; and rescued from the water.&nbsp; Life-saving measures were performed. EMS&nbsp; transported him to a local hospital, where he was pronounced deceased.The Osage County Sheriff’s Office, Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks, Osage County Fire District #2 – Osage City, Osage County Fire District #3 – Melvern, Reading Fire Department, LifeSave air ambulance out of Emporia, and Osage County EMS participated in the search.&nbsp;

Sheriff IDs Kansas duck hunter who drowned after fall from boat

ISLAMABAD (AP) — A prisoner swap between the United States and Afghanistan's Taliban freed two Americans in exchange for a Taliban figure imprisoned for life in California on drug trafficking and terrorism charges, officials said Tuesday.

<a href="https://www.freeryancorbett.com/so/6aPHtMZIi?languageTag=en&amp;fbclid=IwY2xjawH8W71leHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHc0ut7yKrylOwcHSZqFM14sCncUQu_YAW7xABIuGGIqrRKMcZ89pRC-mLQ_aem_VrDGZ5EICOPoa4wrpFfPEQ">Click here to read the statement</a> from the Ryan Corbett family

The deal came as Joe Biden, who oversaw the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/afghanistan-kabul-milley-taliban-biden-620fd2ca8187389da38ddcf3f9466fbd">chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan</a>&nbsp;in 2021, handed power over to returning President Donald Trump. The Taliban praised the swap as a step toward the “normalization” of ties between the U.S. and Afghanistan, but that likely remains a tall order as most countries in the world still don't recognize their rule and another two Americans are believed held.

U.S., Qatar and Taliban all involved in the swap

The Taliban’s Foreign Ministry in Kabul confirmed the swap, saying two unidentified U.S. citizens had been exchanged for Khan Mohammed, who was sentenced to two terms of life imprisonment in 2008.

The family of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/taliban-detained-american-un-investigation-afghanistan-641ffd0b1664f8512d33008137e49244">Ryan Corbett</a>, one American held by the Taliban, confirmed he had been released in a statement. Corbett, who had lived in Afghanistan with his family at the time of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/afghanistan-state-department-withdrawal-c4004657b7390a952d2a74c74fd720f2">the 2021 collapse of the U.S.-backed government,</a>&nbsp;was detained by the Taliban in August 2022 while on a business trip.

“Our hearts are filled with overwhelming gratitude and praise to God for sustaining Ryan’s life and bringing him back home after what has been the most challenging and uncertain 894 days of our lives,” the family's statement said. They thanked both Trump and Biden, as well as many government officials, for their efforts in freeing him.

Corbett's family also praised the Middle Eastern nation of Qatar “for their vital role in facilitating Ryan’s release, and for their visits to Ryan as the United States’ Protecting Power in Afghanistan.” Energy-rich Qatar has hosted negotiations between the U.S. and the Taliban over the years.

Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari declined to discuss the swap in detail with journalists at a briefing Tuesday.

“We are still working on it with the parties,” al-Ansari said. “We can confirm that our efforts are always ongoing, of course, in all or many of the elements of this matter.”

Both CNN and The New York Times, relying on anonymous U.S. officials, identified the second American released as William McKenty, though no other details have emerged about his identity or what he was doing in Afghanistan. Officials in Washington did not respond to requests for comment early Tuesday after Trump’s inauguration the day before.

Taliban prisoner first convicted of narco-terrorism

Mohammed, 55, was a prisoner in California after his 2008 conviction. The Bureau of Prisons early Tuesday listed Mohammed as not being in their custody.

Hafiz Zia Ahmad Takal, a Taliban Foreign Ministry deputy spokesperson, said Mohammed had arrived in Afghanistan and was with his family. Photos released by the Taliban showed him being welcomed home with multicolored garlands.

Mohammed was detained on the battlefield in Afghanistan's Nangarhar province and later taken to the U.S. A federal jury convicted him on charges of securing heroin and opium that he knew were bound for the United States and, in doing so, assisting terrorism activity.

The Justice Department at the time referred to Mohammed as “a violent jihadist and narcotics trafficker” who “sought to kill U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan using rockets.” He was the first person to be convicted on U.S. narco-terrorism laws.

Before Biden left office, his administration had been trying to work out a deal to free Corbett, as well as&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/taliban-afghanistan-detainees-ryan-corbett-biden-trump-7a62e24dda83867f83386e08ff2e60df">George Glezmann and Mahmood Habibi</a>, in exchange for Muhammad Rahim, one of the remaining detainees at Guantanamo Bay.

Glezmann, an airline mechanic from Atlanta, was taken by the Taliban’s intelligence services in December 2022 while traveling through the country. Habibi, an Afghan-American businessman who worked as a contractor for a Kabul-based telecommunications company, also went missing in 2022. The Taliban have denied they have Habibi.

Habibi's family welcomed the exchange and said they were confident the Trump administration would make a “greater effort” to free him, expressing their frustration with the Biden team.

“We know they have evidence my brother is alive and in Taliban hands and it could have been influential in encouraging the Taliban to admit they have him,” Habibi's brother Ahmed said in a statement shared by the nonprofit Global Reach.

Biden officials “refused to use" the evidence, he claimed. "We know Trump is about results and we have faith he will use every tool available to get Mahmood home.”

Taliban tries to gain international recognition

For their part, the Taliban called the exchange the result of “long and fruitful negotiations” with the U.S. and said it was a good example of solving problems through dialogue.

“The Islamic Emirate looks positively at the actions of the United States of America that help the normalization and development of relations between the two countries,” it said.

The Taliban have been trying to make inroads in being recognized, in part to escape&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/afghanistan-business-united-nations-economy-kabul-08db064b2e1d8986b3f731ae7f6589f4">the economic tailspin caused by their takeover.</a>&nbsp;Billions in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-health-afghanistan-coronavirus-pandemic-middle-east-2af7c7c8c2022c7a7cdf17b0697e5784">international funds were frozen</a>, and tens of thousands of highly skilled Afghans fled the country and took their money with them.

However, some nations have welcomed Taliban officials, like the United Arab Emirates, home to Abu Dhabi and Dubai. On Tuesday,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/emirates-afghanistan-taliban-sirajuddin-haqqani-5a2c407eee5b0d37e4cf37511b550232">Emirati leader Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan</a>&nbsp;again welcomed Taliban Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani, who also heads the Haqqani network, a powerful force within the group blamed for some of the bloodiest attacks against Afghanistan’s former Western-backed government.

Haqqani is still wanted by the U.S. on a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/general-news-aa640fb0516d4d8b9b1eb79a4dce8b2e">bounty of up to $10 million</a>&nbsp;over his involvement in an attack that killed an American citizen and other assaults. The meeting came even as the UAE maintains a close relationship with the U.S.

Associated Press writers Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Najib Jobain in Doha, Qatar, contributed to this report.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1737456783181.png" alt="Ryan Corbett as seen in this photo published Tuesday on Free Ryan Corbett social media page" />
 <figcaption>Ryan Corbett as seen in this photo published Tuesday on Free Ryan Corbett social media page</figcaption>
 </figure>ISLAMABAD (AP) — A prisoner swap between the United States and Afghanistan's Taliban freed two Americans in exchange for a Taliban figure imprisoned for life in California on drug trafficking and terrorism charges, officials said Tuesday.<a href="https://www.freeryancorbett.com/so/6aPHtMZIi?languageTag=en&amp;fbclid=IwY2xjawH8W71leHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHc0ut7yKrylOwcHSZqFM14sCncUQu_YAW7xABIuGGIqrRKMcZ89pRC-mLQ_aem_VrDGZ5EICOPoa4wrpFfPEQ">Click here to read the statement</a> from the Ryan Corbett familyThe deal came as Joe Biden, who oversaw the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/afghanistan-kabul-milley-taliban-biden-620fd2ca8187389da38ddcf3f9466fbd">chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan</a>&nbsp;in 2021, handed power over to returning President Donald Trump. The Taliban praised the swap as a step toward the “normalization” of ties between the U.S. and Afghanistan, but that likely remains a tall order as most countries in the world still don't recognize their rule and another two Americans are believed held.<h2>U.S., Qatar and Taliban all involved in the swap</h2>The Taliban’s Foreign Ministry in Kabul confirmed the swap, saying two unidentified U.S. citizens had been exchanged for Khan Mohammed, who was sentenced to two terms of life imprisonment in 2008.The family of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/taliban-detained-american-un-investigation-afghanistan-641ffd0b1664f8512d33008137e49244">Ryan Corbett</a>, one American held by the Taliban, confirmed he had been released in a statement. Corbett, who had lived in Afghanistan with his family at the time of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/afghanistan-state-department-withdrawal-c4004657b7390a952d2a74c74fd720f2">the 2021 collapse of the U.S.-backed government,</a>&nbsp;was detained by the Taliban in August 2022 while on a business trip.“Our hearts are filled with overwhelming gratitude and praise to God for sustaining Ryan’s life and bringing him back home after what has been the most challenging and uncertain 894 days of our lives,” the family's statement said. They thanked both Trump and Biden, as well as many government officials, for their efforts in freeing him.Corbett's family also praised the Middle Eastern nation of Qatar “for their vital role in facilitating Ryan’s release, and for their visits to Ryan as the United States’ Protecting Power in Afghanistan.” Energy-rich Qatar has hosted negotiations between the U.S. and the Taliban over the years.Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari declined to discuss the swap in detail with journalists at a briefing Tuesday.“We are still working on it with the parties,” al-Ansari said. “We can confirm that our efforts are always ongoing, of course, in all or many of the elements of this matter.”Both CNN and The New York Times, relying on anonymous U.S. officials, identified the second American released as William McKenty, though no other details have emerged about his identity or what he was doing in Afghanistan. Officials in Washington did not respond to requests for comment early Tuesday after Trump’s inauguration the day before.<h2>Taliban prisoner first convicted of narco-terrorism</h2>Mohammed, 55, was a prisoner in California after his 2008 conviction. The Bureau of Prisons early Tuesday listed Mohammed as not being in their custody.Hafiz Zia Ahmad Takal, a Taliban Foreign Ministry deputy spokesperson, said Mohammed had arrived in Afghanistan and was with his family. Photos released by the Taliban showed him being welcomed home with multicolored garlands.Mohammed was detained on the battlefield in Afghanistan's Nangarhar province and later taken to the U.S. A federal jury convicted him on charges of securing heroin and opium that he knew were bound for the United States and, in doing so, assisting terrorism activity.The Justice Department at the time referred to Mohammed as “a violent jihadist and narcotics trafficker” who “sought to kill U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan using rockets.” He was the first person to be convicted on U.S. narco-terrorism laws.Before Biden left office, his administration had been trying to work out a deal to free Corbett, as well as&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/taliban-afghanistan-detainees-ryan-corbett-biden-trump-7a62e24dda83867f83386e08ff2e60df">George Glezmann and Mahmood Habibi</a>, in exchange for Muhammad Rahim, one of the remaining detainees at Guantanamo Bay.Glezmann, an airline mechanic from Atlanta, was taken by the Taliban’s intelligence services in December 2022 while traveling through the country. Habibi, an Afghan-American businessman who worked as a contractor for a Kabul-based telecommunications company, also went missing in 2022. The Taliban have denied they have Habibi.Habibi's family welcomed the exchange and said they were confident the Trump administration would make a “greater effort” to free him, expressing their frustration with the Biden team.“We know they have evidence my brother is alive and in Taliban hands and it could have been influential in encouraging the Taliban to admit they have him,” Habibi's brother Ahmed said in a statement shared by the nonprofit Global Reach.Biden officials “refused to use" the evidence, he claimed. "We know Trump is about results and we have faith he will use every tool available to get Mahmood home.”<h2>Taliban tries to gain international recognition</h2>For their part, the Taliban called the exchange the result of “long and fruitful negotiations” with the U.S. and said it was a good example of solving problems through dialogue.“The Islamic Emirate looks positively at the actions of the United States of America that help the normalization and development of relations between the two countries,” it said.The Taliban have been trying to make inroads in being recognized, in part to escape&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/afghanistan-business-united-nations-economy-kabul-08db064b2e1d8986b3f731ae7f6589f4">the economic tailspin caused by their takeover.</a>&nbsp;Billions in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-health-afghanistan-coronavirus-pandemic-middle-east-2af7c7c8c2022c7a7cdf17b0697e5784">international funds were frozen</a>, and tens of thousands of highly skilled Afghans fled the country and took their money with them.However, some nations have welcomed Taliban officials, like the United Arab Emirates, home to Abu Dhabi and Dubai. On Tuesday,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/emirates-afghanistan-taliban-sirajuddin-haqqani-5a2c407eee5b0d37e4cf37511b550232">Emirati leader Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan</a>&nbsp;again welcomed Taliban Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani, who also heads the Haqqani network, a powerful force within the group blamed for some of the bloodiest attacks against Afghanistan’s former Western-backed government.Haqqani is still wanted by the U.S. on a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/general-news-aa640fb0516d4d8b9b1eb79a4dce8b2e">bounty of up to $10 million</a>&nbsp;over his involvement in an attack that killed an American citizen and other assaults. The meeting came even as the UAE maintains a close relationship with the U.S.___Associated Press writers Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Najib Jobain in Doha, Qatar, contributed to this report.

Taliban: 2 Americans held in Afghanistan freed in a prisoner exchange

President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump attended the Commander-in-Chief Inaugural Ball and the Liberty Inaugural Ball in Washington on Monday night. (Click below to watch)

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1737458384752.png" alt="Images from video provided by the Presidential Inaugural Committee" />
 <figcaption>Images from video provided by the Presidential Inaugural Committee</figcaption>
 </figure>President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump attended the Commander-in-Chief Inaugural Ball and the Liberty Inaugural Ball in Washington on Monday night. (Click below to watch)<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump at the Commander in Chief Inaugural Ball. <a href="https://t.co/1TM8TxkJsh">pic.twitter.com/1TM8TxkJsh</a>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1881547485585293680?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 21, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1737458878395.png" alt="" />
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 </figure><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1737458926595.png" alt="Vance" />
 <figcaption>Vance</figcaption>
 </figure><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1737458853244.png" alt="" />
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🎥 President, First Lady attend Commander-in-Chief, Liberty Inaugural Balls

KANSAS CITY —Investigators are working to determine the cause an apartment fire in Kansas City.

Just before 7a.m. Monday, crews&nbsp;responded to a reported apartment fire in the 3800 block of E. 12th Terrace in Kansas City, according to Battalion Chief Michael Hopkins.

 On arrival crews reported heavy fire and smoke from a vacant two-story apartment.

Due to the nearness of the structure to the south and a partial collapse of the original structure, fire spread to the adjacent home to the east. 

A third home to the east also sustained smoke and water damage. One firefighter was transported for injuries sustained during a slip and fall due to the icy conditions. 

&nbsp;Red Cross was ordered for five adults. Dangerous buildings were ordered. The cause of the fire will be investigated by KCFD.&nbsp; Due to the extensive damage an exact cause may be difficult to determine.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1737386897365.png" alt="Photo Kansas City Fire Department" />
 <figcaption>Photo Kansas City Fire Department</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY —Investigators are working to determine the cause an apartment fire in Kansas City.Just before 7a.m. Monday, crews&nbsp;responded to a reported apartment fire in the 3800 block of E. 12th Terrace in Kansas City, according to Battalion Chief Michael Hopkins. On arrival crews reported heavy fire and smoke from a vacant two-story apartment.Due to the nearness of the structure to the south and a partial collapse of the original structure, fire spread to the adjacent home to the east. A third home to the east also sustained smoke and water damage. One firefighter was transported for injuries sustained during a slip and fall due to the icy conditions. &nbsp;Red Cross was ordered for five adults. Dangerous buildings were ordered. The cause of the fire will be investigated by KCFD.&nbsp; Due to the extensive damage an exact cause may be difficult to determine.&nbsp;

Nearby homes damaged in 2-alarm KC apartment fire

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Monday pardoned or commuted the prison sentences of all of the 1,500-plus people charged with crimes&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/projects/january-6-cases/">in the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riot</a>, including people convicted of seditious conspiracy and assaulting police officers, using his clemency powers on his first day in office to undo the massive prosecution of the unprecedented assault on the seat of American democracy.

<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/granting-pardons-and-commutation-of-sentences-for-certain-offenses-relating-to-the-events-at-or-near-the-united-states-capitol-on-january-6-2021/">Click here to see the full list</a> of pardons and commutations

Among those set to be released from prison are defendants captured on camera committing violent attacks on law enforcement as lawmakers met to certify President Joe Biden's 2020 election victory. Leaders of the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys extremist groups who were found of seditious conspiracy in the most serious cases brought by the Justice Department will also be freed from prison after having their sentences commuted. Trump is directing the attorney general to seek the dismissal of about 450 pending cases.

The pardons were expected after Trump’s yearslong campaign to rewrite the history of the Jan. 6 attack that left more than 100 police officers injured and threatened the peaceful transfer of power. Yet the scope of the clemency, coming hours after Trump returned to power, still comes as a stunning dismantling of the Justice Department’s effort to hold participants accountable over what has been described as one of the darkest days in the county's history.

Trump had suggested in the weeks leading up to his return to the White House that instead of blanket pardons, he would look at the Jan. 6 defendants on a case-by-case basis. Vice President JD Vance had said just days ago that&nbsp;<a href="https://interactives.ap.org/jan-6-prosecutions/">people</a>&nbsp;responsible for the violence during the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/projects/january-6-cases/">Capitol riot</a>&nbsp;“obviously” should not be&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-pardons-congress-capitol-riot-crimes-4443c672fc3b1492640684652647cde6">pardoned</a>.

Casting the rioters as “patriots” and “hostages,” Trump has claimed they were unfairly treated by the Justice Department that also charged him with federal crimes in two cases he contends were politically motivated. Trump said the pardons end “a grave national injustice that has been perpetrated upon the American people over the last four years and begins a process of national reconciliation.”

An attorney for Enrique Tarrio, the former national chairman of the Proud Boys who was sentenced to 22 years in prison for seditious conspiracy, said he expects his client to be released from prison Monday night. Tarrio, who was convicted of orchestrating a failed plot to keep Donald Trump in power&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-wins-white-house-ap-fd58df73aa677acb74fce2a69adb71f9">after the Republican lost the 2020 election</a>, is serving the longest sentence of any of the Jan. 6 defendants.

The pardons come weeks after Trump’s own Jan. 6 case was dismissed because of the Justice Department’s policy against prosecuting sitting presidents. Had Trump lost the 2024 election, he may have ultimately stood trial in the same federal courthouse within view of the Capitol where Jan. 6 cases have been playing out over the last four years.

More than 1,200 people have been convicted in the riot, including approximately 250 people convicted of assault charges.

Hundreds of Jan. 6 defendants who didn’t engage in any of the violence and destruction were charged with misdemeanor trespassing offenses, and many of those served little to no time behind bars.

But the violence that day has been documented extensively through videos, testimony and other evidence showing rioters — some armed with poles, bats and bear spray — swarming the Capitol, quickly overrunning overwhelmed police, shattering windows and sending lawmakers and aides running into hiding.

Police were dragged into the crowd and beaten. One officer screamed in pain as he was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/capitol-riot-sentencing-patrick-mccaughey-police-attack-8fa19a15b9355a72bc69b067ffa63cb8">crushed in a doorframe</a>, and another suffered a heart attack after a rioter&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/capitol-riot-sentence-daniel-rodriguez-michael-fanone-stun-gun-e9695c314110df4064fc0cd242b58a68">pressed a stun gun against his neck</a>&nbsp;and repeatedly shocked him. Officers have described in testimony fearing for their lives as members of the mob hurled insults and obscenities at them.

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called the pardons “an outrageous insult to our justice system and the heroes who suffered physical scars and emotional trauma as they protected the Capitol, the Congress and the Constitution.”

Of the more than 1,500 people charged, about 250 people have been convicted of crimes by a judge or a jury after a trial. At least 1,020 had pleaded guilty to crimes as of Jan. 1. Only two people were acquitted of all charges by judges after bench trials. No jury has fully acquitted a Capitol riot defendant.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Monday pardoned or commuted the prison sentences of all of the 1,500-plus people charged with crimes&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/projects/january-6-cases/">in the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riot</a>, including people convicted of seditious conspiracy and assaulting police officers, using his clemency powers on his first day in office to undo the massive prosecution of the unprecedented assault on the seat of American democracy.<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/granting-pardons-and-commutation-of-sentences-for-certain-offenses-relating-to-the-events-at-or-near-the-united-states-capitol-on-january-6-2021/">Click here to see the full list</a> of pardons and commutations<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">President Trump signs executive order pardoning approximately 1,500 January 6th defendants, with six commutations. <a href="https://t.co/qaSK1vJlPE">pic.twitter.com/qaSK1vJlPE</a>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1881508454717907151?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 21, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Among those set to be released from prison are defendants captured on camera committing violent attacks on law enforcement as lawmakers met to certify President Joe Biden's 2020 election victory. Leaders of the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys extremist groups who were found of seditious conspiracy in the most serious cases brought by the Justice Department will also be freed from prison after having their sentences commuted. Trump is directing the attorney general to seek the dismissal of about 450 pending cases.The pardons were expected after Trump’s yearslong campaign to rewrite the history of the Jan. 6 attack that left more than 100 police officers injured and threatened the peaceful transfer of power. Yet the scope of the clemency, coming hours after Trump returned to power, still comes as a stunning dismantling of the Justice Department’s effort to hold participants accountable over what has been described as one of the darkest days in the county's history.Trump had suggested in the weeks leading up to his return to the White House that instead of blanket pardons, he would look at the Jan. 6 defendants on a case-by-case basis. Vice President JD Vance had said just days ago that&nbsp;<a href="https://interactives.ap.org/jan-6-prosecutions/">people</a>&nbsp;responsible for the violence during the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/projects/january-6-cases/">Capitol riot</a>&nbsp;“obviously” should not be&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-pardons-congress-capitol-riot-crimes-4443c672fc3b1492640684652647cde6">pardoned</a>.Casting the rioters as “patriots” and “hostages,” Trump has claimed they were unfairly treated by the Justice Department that also charged him with federal crimes in two cases he contends were politically motivated. Trump said the pardons end “a grave national injustice that has been perpetrated upon the American people over the last four years and begins a process of national reconciliation.”An attorney for Enrique Tarrio, the former national chairman of the Proud Boys who was sentenced to 22 years in prison for seditious conspiracy, said he expects his client to be released from prison Monday night. Tarrio, who was convicted of orchestrating a failed plot to keep Donald Trump in power&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-wins-white-house-ap-fd58df73aa677acb74fce2a69adb71f9">after the Republican lost the 2020 election</a>, is serving the longest sentence of any of the Jan. 6 defendants.The pardons come weeks after Trump’s own Jan. 6 case was dismissed because of the Justice Department’s policy against prosecuting sitting presidents. Had Trump lost the 2024 election, he may have ultimately stood trial in the same federal courthouse within view of the Capitol where Jan. 6 cases have been playing out over the last four years.More than 1,200 people have been convicted in the riot, including approximately 250 people convicted of assault charges.Hundreds of Jan. 6 defendants who didn’t engage in any of the violence and destruction were charged with misdemeanor trespassing offenses, and many of those served little to no time behind bars.But the violence that day has been documented extensively through videos, testimony and other evidence showing rioters — some armed with poles, bats and bear spray — swarming the Capitol, quickly overrunning overwhelmed police, shattering windows and sending lawmakers and aides running into hiding.Police were dragged into the crowd and beaten. One officer screamed in pain as he was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/capitol-riot-sentencing-patrick-mccaughey-police-attack-8fa19a15b9355a72bc69b067ffa63cb8">crushed in a doorframe</a>, and another suffered a heart attack after a rioter&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/capitol-riot-sentence-daniel-rodriguez-michael-fanone-stun-gun-e9695c314110df4064fc0cd242b58a68">pressed a stun gun against his neck</a>&nbsp;and repeatedly shocked him. Officers have described in testimony fearing for their lives as members of the mob hurled insults and obscenities at them.Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called the pardons “an outrageous insult to our justice system and the heroes who suffered physical scars and emotional trauma as they protected the Capitol, the Congress and the Constitution.”Of the more than 1,500 people charged, about 250 people have been convicted of crimes by a judge or a jury after a trial. At least 1,020 had pleaded guilty to crimes as of Jan. 1. Only two people were acquitted of all charges by judges after bench trials. No jury has fully acquitted a Capitol riot defendant.

🎥See the list: Trump pardons defendants in Jan. 6 Capitol attack

MARION COUNTY—One person died in an accident just after 1p.m. Monday in Marion County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2019 Ram 1500 driven by Kendall Layne&nbsp;Harding, 29, Lost Springs, Kansas was northbound on U.S. 56&nbsp; just north of 270th Road&nbsp; The pickup traveled into the southbound lane and struck a 2023 Peterbilt semi head-on. 

Harding was pronounced dead at the scene and was transported to&nbsp;Yazel-Megli-Zeiner Funeral Homes. The semi driver Jason Philip&nbsp;Mathews, 36, Garnet, was not injured. Harding was not wearing a seat belt, according to the KHP.

MARION COUNTY—One person died in an accident just after 1p.m. Monday in Marion County.The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2019 Ram 1500 driven by Kendall Layne&nbsp;Harding, 29, Lost Springs, Kansas was northbound on U.S. 56&nbsp; just north of 270th Road&nbsp; The pickup traveled into the southbound lane and struck a 2023 Peterbilt semi head-on. Harding was pronounced dead at the scene and was transported to&nbsp;Yazel-Megli-Zeiner Funeral Homes. The semi driver Jason Philip&nbsp;Mathews, 36, Garnet, was not injured. Harding was not wearing a seat belt, according to the KHP.

Kansas man dies after head-on pickup, semi crash

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate quickly confirmed&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/marco-rubio">Marco Rubio</a>&nbsp;as secretary of state Monday, voting unanimously to give President Donald Trump the first member of his new Cabinet on&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/live/trump-inauguration-updates#00000194-84c6-dc8c-a1fe-f7c6e75e0000">Inauguration Day</a>.

Rubio, the Republican senator from Florida, is among the least controversial of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-cabinet-confirmation-hearings-e12dcbc5d26d675414331d9a35cab6a6">Trump’s nominees</a>&nbsp;and vote was decisive, 99-0. Another pick,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ratcliffe-trump-cia-russia-senate-gabbard-e85881d1c3921bc65d6c0e3be3ed555c">John Ratcliffe</a>&nbsp;for CIA director, is also expected to have a swift vote. Action on others, including former combat veteran and Fox News host&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/hegseth-defense-trump-women-allegations-cd3bfa2dbc35afa37a7f98b72e576233">Pete Hegseth</a>&nbsp;for defense secretary, is expected later in the week.

“Marco Rubio is a very intelligent man with a remarkable understanding of American foreign policy,” Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, the senior-most Republican, said as the chamber opened.

It’s often tradition for the Senate to convene immediately after the ceremonial pomp of the inauguration to begin putting the new president’s team in place, particularly the national security officials. During Trump’s first term, the Senate swiftly confirmed his defense and homeland security secretaries on day one, and President Joe Biden’s choice for director of national intelligence was confirmed on his own Inauguration Day.

With Trump’s return to the White House, and his Republican Party controlling majorities in Congress, his&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-cabinet-confirmation-hearings-e12dcbc5d26d675414331d9a35cab6a6">outsider Cabinet choices</a>&nbsp;are more clearly falling into place, despite initial skepticism and opposition from both sides of the aisle.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune moved quickly Monday, saying he expected voting to begin “imminently” on Trump’s nominees.

Democrats have calculated it's better for them to be seen as more willing to work with Trump, rather than simply mounting a blockade to his nominees. They're holding their opposition for some of his other picks who have less support, including Tulsi Gabbard for director of national intelligence and vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for health secretary.

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said his party will “neither rubber-stamp nominees we feel are grossly unqualified, nor oppose nominees that deserve serious consideration.”

Rubio, he said, is an example of "a qualified nominee we think should be confirmed quickly."

Senate committees have been holding lengthy&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-cabinet-picks-senate-hearings-schedule-4ed7745df0eae49bad07d02d7b16805b">confirmation hearings</a>&nbsp;on more than a dozen of the Cabinet nominees, with more to come this week. And several panels are expected to meet late Monday to begin voting to advance the nominees to the full Senate for confirmation.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee advanced Rubio's nomination late Monday. The Senate Armed Services Committee and Senate Intelligence Committee, respectively, advanced the nominations of Hegseth and Ratcliffe.

Rubio, a well-liked senator and former Trump rival during the 2016 presidential race, has drawn closer to the president in recent years. He appeared last week to answer questions before the Foreign Relations Committee, where he has spent more than a decade as a member.

As secretary of state, Rubio would be the nation’s top diplomat, and the first Latino to hold the position. Born in Miami to Cuban immigrants, he has long been involved in foreign affairs, particularly in South America, and has emerged as a hawk on China’s rise.

During his confirmation hearing last week, Rubio&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/marco-rubio-trump-secretary-state-senate-nomination-7ad1ad16ed95a213706c18b613b630b5">warned of the consequences</a>&nbsp;of America’s “unbalanced relationship” with China. While he echoes Trump’s anti-globalist rhetoric, Rubio is also seen as an internationalist who understands the power of U.S. involvement on the global stage.

Rubio is likely to win bipartisan support from both Republicans and Democrats. He would take over for outgoing Secretary of State&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/blinken-state-department-trump-rubio-e50be53942888bf188a0ceb4ac5dba6f">Antony Blinken</a>, who has said he hopes the Trump administration continues Biden's policies in the Middle East to end the war in Gaza and to help Ukraine counter Russian nomination.

The Senate is split 53-47, but the resignation of Vice President JD Vance drops the GOP majority to 52 until his successor arrives. Republicans need almost all every party member in line to overcome Democratic opposition to nominees.

Objection from any one senator, as is expected with Hegseth and several other choices, would force the Senate into procedural steps that would drag voting later into the week.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1736955391749.png" alt="New Secretary of State Maro Rubio during his confirmation hearing last week-image courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>New Secretary of State Maro Rubio during his confirmation hearing last week-image courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate quickly confirmed&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/marco-rubio">Marco Rubio</a>&nbsp;as secretary of state Monday, voting unanimously to give President Donald Trump the first member of his new Cabinet on&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/live/trump-inauguration-updates#00000194-84c6-dc8c-a1fe-f7c6e75e0000">Inauguration Day</a>.<div>https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/granting-pardons-and-commutation-of-sentences-for-certain-offenses-relating-to-the-events-at-or-near-the-united-states-capitol-on-january-6-2021/</div>Rubio, the Republican senator from Florida, is among the least controversial of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-cabinet-confirmation-hearings-e12dcbc5d26d675414331d9a35cab6a6">Trump’s nominees</a>&nbsp;and vote was decisive, 99-0. Another pick,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ratcliffe-trump-cia-russia-senate-gabbard-e85881d1c3921bc65d6c0e3be3ed555c">John Ratcliffe</a>&nbsp;for CIA director, is also expected to have a swift vote. Action on others, including former combat veteran and Fox News host&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/hegseth-defense-trump-women-allegations-cd3bfa2dbc35afa37a7f98b72e576233">Pete Hegseth</a>&nbsp;for defense secretary, is expected later in the week.“Marco Rubio is a very intelligent man with a remarkable understanding of American foreign policy,” Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, the senior-most Republican, said as the chamber opened.It’s often tradition for the Senate to convene immediately after the ceremonial pomp of the inauguration to begin putting the new president’s team in place, particularly the national security officials. During Trump’s first term, the Senate swiftly confirmed his defense and homeland security secretaries on day one, and President Joe Biden’s choice for director of national intelligence was confirmed on his own Inauguration Day.With Trump’s return to the White House, and his Republican Party controlling majorities in Congress, his&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-cabinet-confirmation-hearings-e12dcbc5d26d675414331d9a35cab6a6">outsider Cabinet choices</a>&nbsp;are more clearly falling into place, despite initial skepticism and opposition from both sides of the aisle.Senate Majority Leader John Thune moved quickly Monday, saying he expected voting to begin “imminently” on Trump’s nominees.Democrats have calculated it's better for them to be seen as more willing to work with Trump, rather than simply mounting a blockade to his nominees. They're holding their opposition for some of his other picks who have less support, including Tulsi Gabbard for director of national intelligence and vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for health secretary.Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said his party will “neither rubber-stamp nominees we feel are grossly unqualified, nor oppose nominees that deserve serious consideration.”Rubio, he said, is an example of "a qualified nominee we think should be confirmed quickly."Senate committees have been holding lengthy&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-cabinet-picks-senate-hearings-schedule-4ed7745df0eae49bad07d02d7b16805b">confirmation hearings</a>&nbsp;on more than a dozen of the Cabinet nominees, with more to come this week. And several panels are expected to meet late Monday to begin voting to advance the nominees to the full Senate for confirmation.The Senate Foreign Relations Committee advanced Rubio's nomination late Monday. The Senate Armed Services Committee and Senate Intelligence Committee, respectively, advanced the nominations of Hegseth and Ratcliffe.Rubio, a well-liked senator and former Trump rival during the 2016 presidential race, has drawn closer to the president in recent years. He appeared last week to answer questions before the Foreign Relations Committee, where he has spent more than a decade as a member.As secretary of state, Rubio would be the nation’s top diplomat, and the first Latino to hold the position. Born in Miami to Cuban immigrants, he has long been involved in foreign affairs, particularly in South America, and has emerged as a hawk on China’s rise.During his confirmation hearing last week, Rubio&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/marco-rubio-trump-secretary-state-senate-nomination-7ad1ad16ed95a213706c18b613b630b5">warned of the consequences</a>&nbsp;of America’s “unbalanced relationship” with China. While he echoes Trump’s anti-globalist rhetoric, Rubio is also seen as an internationalist who understands the power of U.S. involvement on the global stage.Rubio is likely to win bipartisan support from both Republicans and Democrats. He would take over for outgoing Secretary of State&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/blinken-state-department-trump-rubio-e50be53942888bf188a0ceb4ac5dba6f">Antony Blinken</a>, who has said he hopes the Trump administration continues Biden's policies in the Middle East to end the war in Gaza and to help Ukraine counter Russian nomination.The Senate is split 53-47, but the resignation of Vice President JD Vance drops the GOP majority to 52 until his successor arrives. Republicans need almost all every party member in line to overcome Democratic opposition to nominees.Objection from any one senator, as is expected with Hegseth and several other choices, would force the Senate into procedural steps that would drag voting later into the week.

Unanimous vote: First member of Trump's cabinet confirmed

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

While red baseball caps have become synonymous with President Donald Trump,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/melania-trump">first lady Melania Trump</a>&nbsp;made her own millinery-related fashion statement, sporting a navy wide-brimmed hat by an American designer&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/live/trump-inauguration-updates">on Inauguration Day.</a>

The hat designed by Eric Javits shielded the first lady’s eyes as her husband was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-inauguration-swearing-capitol-b3549ebe5dae74a872502aa79def7a11">sworn in Monday</a>&nbsp;for the second time. Javits said dressing the first lady has been one of the greatest honors of his career.

“My art background gave me an edge in bringing harmony and balance to the face by creating hat shapes that would flatter and enhance every kind of face,” he said in a statement. “In this specific case that was not difficult to do, in that Mrs. Trump is blessed with great bone structure, beauty and a wonderful sense of style.”

The hat made its mark throughout the inauguration ceremony: As Trump went to kiss his wife after entering the Capitol Rotunda, the hat left only room for an air kiss. Even now-former President Joe Biden had to navigate around the hat while trying to talk to her husband on the other side.

Trump, speaking in Emancipation Hall after the swearing-in ceremony, joked about his wife’s hat nearly blowing away. The first lady had held onto her hat as a military helicopter taking off with Biden generated wind.

“She almost blew away,” Trump said with a laugh. “She was being elevated off the ground.”

In a departure from&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/beauty-and-fashion-political-news-fashion-united-states-government-5655e4b0162c44bca34c24bbc18bbec5">2017's sky blue cashmere dress and gloves by Ralph Lauren,</a>&nbsp;this time, Melania Trump paired a muted navy silk wool coat with a navy skirt and an ivory silk crepe blouse underneath, all by independent American designer Adam Lippes.

“The tradition of the presidential inauguration embodies the beauty of American democracy and today we had the honor to dress our first lady, Mrs. Melania Trump,” Lippes said in a statement. “Mrs. Trump’s outfit was created by some of America’s finest craftsmen and I take great pride in showing such work to the world.”

Her first inauguration ensemble drew comparisons to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/fashion-beauty-and-fashion-united-states-government-23e4a1b0714f4a2a84f59a0960e3ab73">Jacqueline Kennedy’s style.</a>&nbsp;Kennedy also famously wore a pillbox hat for her husband’s inauguration in 1961. But dressing the first lady became a point of political contention in 2017, with some designers saying they would not dress the incoming first lady — typically a coveted opportunity. Some social media users&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/c17019d689b943a38e73cdf2886223ec">pushed to boycott Ralph Lauren</a>&nbsp;at the time.

Fast forward to 2025, and Ralph Lauren was the designer of choice for departing first lady Jill Biden, who chose the designer for her parting look. She opted for a monochromatic purple, from her coat to her shoes and gloves, to mark the transition of power.

Ralph Lauren did not return a request for comment.

Associated Press writer Jill Colvin contributed to this report.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1737381842811.png" alt="The Trumps start Inauguration Day with the traditional church service -Image courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>The Trumps start Inauguration Day with the traditional church service -Image courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure><a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search/?query=byline:%22BEATRICE%20DUPUY%22&amp;mediaType=text&amp;st=keyword&amp;sortOrder=newest">By BEATRICE DUPUY &nbsp;Associated Press</a>While red baseball caps have become synonymous with President Donald Trump,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/melania-trump">first lady Melania Trump</a>&nbsp;made her own millinery-related fashion statement, sporting a navy wide-brimmed hat by an American designer&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/live/trump-inauguration-updates">on Inauguration Day.</a>The hat designed by Eric Javits shielded the first lady’s eyes as her husband was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-inauguration-swearing-capitol-b3549ebe5dae74a872502aa79def7a11">sworn in Monday</a>&nbsp;for the second time. Javits said dressing the first lady has been one of the greatest honors of his career.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1737398522725.png" alt="Image courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>Image courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>“My art background gave me an edge in bringing harmony and balance to the face by creating hat shapes that would flatter and enhance every kind of face,” he said in a statement. “In this specific case that was not difficult to do, in that Mrs. Trump is blessed with great bone structure, beauty and a wonderful sense of style.”The hat made its mark throughout the inauguration ceremony: As Trump went to kiss his wife after entering the Capitol Rotunda, the hat left only room for an air kiss. Even now-former President Joe Biden had to navigate around the hat while trying to talk to her husband on the other side.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1737414298563.png" alt="Image courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>Image courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>Trump, speaking in Emancipation Hall after the swearing-in ceremony, joked about his wife’s hat nearly blowing away. The first lady had held onto her hat as a military helicopter taking off with Biden generated wind.“She almost blew away,” Trump said with a laugh. “She was being elevated off the ground.”In a departure from&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/beauty-and-fashion-political-news-fashion-united-states-government-5655e4b0162c44bca34c24bbc18bbec5">2017's sky blue cashmere dress and gloves by Ralph Lauren,</a>&nbsp;this time, Melania Trump paired a muted navy silk wool coat with a navy skirt and an ivory silk crepe blouse underneath, all by independent American designer Adam Lippes.“The tradition of the presidential inauguration embodies the beauty of American democracy and today we had the honor to dress our first lady, Mrs. Melania Trump,” Lippes said in a statement. “Mrs. Trump’s outfit was created by some of America’s finest craftsmen and I take great pride in showing such work to the world.”Her first inauguration ensemble drew comparisons to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/fashion-beauty-and-fashion-united-states-government-23e4a1b0714f4a2a84f59a0960e3ab73">Jacqueline Kennedy’s style.</a>&nbsp;Kennedy also famously wore a pillbox hat for her husband’s inauguration in 1961. But dressing the first lady became a point of political contention in 2017, with some designers saying they would not dress the incoming first lady — typically a coveted opportunity. Some social media users&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/c17019d689b943a38e73cdf2886223ec">pushed to boycott Ralph Lauren</a>&nbsp;at the time.Fast forward to 2025, and Ralph Lauren was the designer of choice for departing first lady Jill Biden, who chose the designer for her parting look. She opted for a monochromatic purple, from her coat to her shoes and gloves, to mark the transition of power.Ralph Lauren did not return a request for comment.___Associated Press writer Jill Colvin contributed to this report.

What Melania Trump wore to the inauguration — including the hat

WASHINGTON (AP) — Fresh off&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/live/trump-inauguration-updates">President Donald Trump's inauguration</a>, the Senate on Monday passed a bill that would require federal authorities to detain migrants accused of theft and violent crimes, the first measure he likely will sign into law and giving more weight to his plans to deport millions of migrants. The bill passed 64-34.&nbsp; Kansas U.S. Senators Jerry Moran and Roger Marshall voted with the majority along with a dozen Democrats including&nbsp; Cortez Masto, Fetterman, Gallego, Hassan, Kelly, Ossoff, Peters, Rosen, Shaheen, Slotkin, Warnock and Warner.

Trump has made a broad&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-day-1-priorities-deportations-drilling-ukraine-6747c6e64b0440978f59450b928f61d1">crackdown on illegal immigration</a>&nbsp;his top priority, and Congress, with Republicans in control and some Democrats willing to go along, is showing it is ready to follow suit.

Passage of the Laken Riley Act — named after&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-trump-riley-immigrants-crime-63181cbc7a89fe9fe28b1d0cf84c8b9a">a Georgia nursing student</a>&nbsp;whose murder by a Venezuelan man last year became a rallying cry for Trump’s White House campaign — was a sign of how Congress has shifted sharply right on border security and immigration.

“We don’t want criminals coming into our country,” Trump told supporters at the Capitol, adding he looked forward to holding a bill signing “within a week or so.”

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-deportation-immigration-homan-asylum-inauguration-ac10480dc636b758ab3c435b974aeb19">Trump is already ending</a>&nbsp;many of former President Joe Biden's border and immigration programs, turning the United States away from the Democrat's attempts at more humane immigration policies at a time when record numbers of people were sometimes arriving at the border with Mexico. Swift action on immigration policy was proof of how Democrats were no longer resisting some strict enforcement proposals.

“If you come into this country illegally and you commit a crime, you should not be free to roam the streets of this nation,” said Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., who helped push the bill through the Senate.

The bill cleared a key procedural vote in the Senate last week with support from 10 Democrats, and similar legislation gained support from 48 House Democrats earlier this month.

The Republican-controlled House passed its version of the bill, but will still need to take up changes made in the Senate.

The legislation would require federal authorities to detain migrants accused of crimes such as shoplifting, as well as offenses that injure or kill someone, and would grant states new legal standing to challenge federal immigration decisions, including by immigration judges.

Critics of the bill say that provision will open the door for Republican state attorneys general to wage a legal battle against federal immigration decisions, injecting even more uncertainty and partisanship into immigration policy.

Deporting millions of migrants or enforcing the Laken Riley Act will largely depend on Congress' ability to allocate $100 billion. Republicans are debating how to approve that money through a process known as budget reconciliation that will allow them to squeeze it through Congress purely on party-line votes.

That won't be easy in the House, where Republicans hold the majority by just a few seats.

Currently, the Laken Riley Act has no funding attached to it, but Democrats on the Appropriations Committee estimate the bill would cost $83 billion over the next three years, according to a memo obtained by The Associated Press. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has estimated it would need to nearly triple the number of detention beds and conduct more than 80 removal flights per week to implement the requirements, according to the memo.

“That’s a lot of money to spend on a bill that is going to cause chaos, punish legal immigrants, and undermine due process in America — all while drawing resources away from true threats,” said Washington Sen. Patty Murray, the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, in a floor speech last week.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/11/1732127765713.png" alt="Laken Riley photo courtesy Poole Funeral Home" />
 <figcaption>Laken Riley photo courtesy Poole Funeral Home</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — Fresh off&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/live/trump-inauguration-updates">President Donald Trump's inauguration</a>, the Senate on Monday passed a bill that would require federal authorities to detain migrants accused of theft and violent crimes, the first measure he likely will sign into law and giving more weight to his plans to deport millions of migrants. The bill passed 64-34.&nbsp; Kansas U.S. Senators Jerry Moran and Roger Marshall voted with the majority along with a dozen Democrats including&nbsp; Cortez Masto, Fetterman, Gallego, Hassan, Kelly, Ossoff, Peters, Rosen, Shaheen, Slotkin, Warnock and Warner.Trump has made a broad&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-day-1-priorities-deportations-drilling-ukraine-6747c6e64b0440978f59450b928f61d1">crackdown on illegal immigration</a>&nbsp;his top priority, and Congress, with Republicans in control and some Democrats willing to go along, is showing it is ready to follow suit.Passage of the Laken Riley Act — named after&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-trump-riley-immigrants-crime-63181cbc7a89fe9fe28b1d0cf84c8b9a">a Georgia nursing student</a>&nbsp;whose murder by a Venezuelan man last year became a rallying cry for Trump’s White House campaign — was a sign of how Congress has shifted sharply right on border security and immigration.“We don’t want criminals coming into our country,” Trump told supporters at the Capitol, adding he looked forward to holding a bill signing “within a week or so.”<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-deportation-immigration-homan-asylum-inauguration-ac10480dc636b758ab3c435b974aeb19">Trump is already ending</a>&nbsp;many of former President Joe Biden's border and immigration programs, turning the United States away from the Democrat's attempts at more humane immigration policies at a time when record numbers of people were sometimes arriving at the border with Mexico. Swift action on immigration policy was proof of how Democrats were no longer resisting some strict enforcement proposals.“If you come into this country illegally and you commit a crime, you should not be free to roam the streets of this nation,” said Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., who helped push the bill through the Senate.The bill cleared a key procedural vote in the Senate last week with support from 10 Democrats, and similar legislation gained support from 48 House Democrats earlier this month.The Republican-controlled House passed its version of the bill, but will still need to take up changes made in the Senate.The legislation would require federal authorities to detain migrants accused of crimes such as shoplifting, as well as offenses that injure or kill someone, and would grant states new legal standing to challenge federal immigration decisions, including by immigration judges.Critics of the bill say that provision will open the door for Republican state attorneys general to wage a legal battle against federal immigration decisions, injecting even more uncertainty and partisanship into immigration policy.Deporting millions of migrants or enforcing the Laken Riley Act will largely depend on Congress' ability to allocate $100 billion. Republicans are debating how to approve that money through a process known as budget reconciliation that will allow them to squeeze it through Congress purely on party-line votes.That won't be easy in the House, where Republicans hold the majority by just a few seats.Currently, the Laken Riley Act has no funding attached to it, but Democrats on the Appropriations Committee estimate the bill would cost $83 billion over the next three years, according to a memo obtained by The Associated Press. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has estimated it would need to nearly triple the number of detention beds and conduct more than 80 removal flights per week to implement the requirements, according to the memo.“That’s a lot of money to spend on a bill that is going to cause chaos, punish legal immigrants, and undermine due process in America — all while drawing resources away from true threats,” said Washington Sen. Patty Murray, the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, in a floor speech last week.

Moran, Marshall help Senate pass Laken Riley Act; first measure Trump could signs into law

BY&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/author/sally-ho">SALLY HO</a> Associated Press

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday to keep TikTok operating for 75 days, a relief to the social media platform’s users even as national security questions persist.

TikTok’s China-based parent ByteDance was supposed to find a U.S. buyer or&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-tiktok-ban-da11df6d59c17e2c17eea40c4042386d">be banned on Jan. 19</a>. Trump’s order could give ByteDance more time to find a buyer.

“I guess I have a warm spot for TikTok,” Trump said.

Shou Zi Chew, TikTok’s CEO, attended Trump’s inauguration earlier in the day,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-inauguration-tech-billionaires-zuckerberg-musk-wealth-0896bfc3f50d941d62cebc3074267ecd">seated with American tech heavyweights</a>.

Trump has amassed nearly 15 million followers on TikTok since&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ap.org/news-highlights/elections/2024/trump-joins-tiktok-and-calls-it-an-honor-as-president-he-once-tried-to-ban-the-video-sharing-app/" target="_blank">he joined last year</a>, and he has credited the trendsetting platform with helping him gain traction among young voters. Yet its 170 million U.S. users could not access TikTok for more than 12 hours between Saturday night and Sunday morning.

The platform went offline before the ban&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/tiktok-ban-fire-congressmans-office-wisconsin-a815e6592bea4c028b1c7748491461ed">approved by Congress</a>&nbsp;and upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court took effect Sunday. After Trump promised he would pause the ban Monday,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/tiktok-ban-trump-biden-china-bdc79b7ce741a81761f67ea56d410103">TikTok restored access</a>&nbsp;for existing users. Google and Apple, however, still have not reinstated TikTok to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/tiktok-ban-app-stores-apple-google-a905693c43984e9b80d432a3a933a73f">their app stores</a>.

Business leaders, lawmakers, legal scholars, and influencers who make money on TikTok are watching to see how Trump tries to resolve a thicket of regulatory, legal, financial and geopolitical issues with his signature.

TikTok’s app allows users to create and watch short-form videos, and broke new ground by operating with an algorithm that fed viewers recommendations based on their viewing habits. But concerns about its potential to serve as a tool for Beijing to manipulate and spy on Americans pre-date Trump’s first presidency.

In 2020, Trump&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/global-trade-ap-top-news-politics-asia-business-719d8c83f689929c9c9d8c9aa5593fc8">issued executive orders</a>&nbsp;banning dealings with ByteDance and the owners of the Chinese messaging app WeChat. Courts ended up blocking the orders, but less than a year ago Congress overwhelmingly passed a law citing national security concerns to ban TikTok unless ByteDance sold it to an approved buyer.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1737424060647.png" alt="Image courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>Image courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>BY&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/author/sally-ho">SALLY HO</a> Associated PressPresident Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday to keep TikTok operating for 75 days, a relief to the social media platform’s users even as national security questions persist.TikTok’s China-based parent ByteDance was supposed to find a U.S. buyer or&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-tiktok-ban-da11df6d59c17e2c17eea40c4042386d">be banned on Jan. 19</a>. Trump’s order could give ByteDance more time to find a buyer.“I guess I have a warm spot for TikTok,” Trump said.Shou Zi Chew, TikTok’s CEO, attended Trump’s inauguration earlier in the day,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-inauguration-tech-billionaires-zuckerberg-musk-wealth-0896bfc3f50d941d62cebc3074267ecd">seated with American tech heavyweights</a>.Trump has amassed nearly 15 million followers on TikTok since&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ap.org/news-highlights/elections/2024/trump-joins-tiktok-and-calls-it-an-honor-as-president-he-once-tried-to-ban-the-video-sharing-app/" target="_blank">he joined last year</a>, and he has credited the trendsetting platform with helping him gain traction among young voters. Yet its 170 million U.S. users could not access TikTok for more than 12 hours between Saturday night and Sunday morning.The platform went offline before the ban&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/tiktok-ban-fire-congressmans-office-wisconsin-a815e6592bea4c028b1c7748491461ed">approved by Congress</a>&nbsp;and upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court took effect Sunday. After Trump promised he would pause the ban Monday,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/tiktok-ban-trump-biden-china-bdc79b7ce741a81761f67ea56d410103">TikTok restored access</a>&nbsp;for existing users. Google and Apple, however, still have not reinstated TikTok to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/tiktok-ban-app-stores-apple-google-a905693c43984e9b80d432a3a933a73f">their app stores</a>.Business leaders, lawmakers, legal scholars, and influencers who make money on TikTok are watching to see how Trump tries to resolve a thicket of regulatory, legal, financial and geopolitical issues with his signature.<h2>How did the TikTok ban come about?</h2>TikTok’s app allows users to create and watch short-form videos, and broke new ground by operating with an algorithm that fed viewers recommendations based on their viewing habits. But concerns about its potential to serve as a tool for Beijing to manipulate and spy on Americans pre-date Trump’s first presidency.In 2020, Trump&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/global-trade-ap-top-news-politics-asia-business-719d8c83f689929c9c9d8c9aa5593fc8">issued executive orders</a>&nbsp;banning dealings with ByteDance and the owners of the Chinese messaging app WeChat. Courts ended up blocking the orders, but less than a year ago Congress overwhelmingly passed a law citing national security concerns to ban TikTok unless ByteDance sold it to an approved buyer.The law, which went into force Sunday, allows for fines of up to $5,000 per U.S. TikTok user against major mobile app stores — like the ones operated by Apple and Google — and internet hosting services like Oracle if they continued to distribute TikTok to U.S. users beyond the deadline for ByteDance’s divestment.Trump on Sunday said he had asked TikTok’s U.S. service providers to continue supporting the platform and app while he prepared to sign an executive order to stop the ban for now.“The order will also confirm that there will be no liability for any company that helped keep TikTok from going dark before my order,” Trump posted on Truth Social, his social networking site.The law that Congress passed and now-former President Joe Biden signed in April allowed for a 90-day extension if there had been progress toward a sale before the statute’s effective date. Less certain is whether that provision can be applied retroactively, according to Sarah Kreps, director of Cornell University’s Tech Policy Institute.“Executive orders cannot override existing laws,” Kreps said. “It’s not clear that the new president has that authority to issue the 90-day extension of a law that’s already gone into effect.”<h2>What difference might the sale of TikTok make?</h2>Kreps also doubts the conditions for a delay exist at this point without so much as even a potential buyer being named to prove that a sale was moving along.But Alan Rozenshtein, a University of Minnesota law professor, has written that the law also empowers the president to decide what constitutes a “qualified divestiture” — suggesting Trump could have discretion to say whether or when ByteDance meets the terms of the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act.Although ByteDance spent months repeating it wasn’t interested in selling, Beijing on Monday also signaled a possible easing on China’s stance on TikTok to allow it to be divested from its Chinese parent company.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/han-zheng-vance-musk-trump-xi-2a82e553c50259d65f0e070c3079d8ce">China’s vice president</a>&nbsp;held meetings with Vice President JD Vance and Tesla tech titan&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-inauguration-elon-musk-mars-tech-billionaires-70ad9d5f854fce40f44cdabbd8084734">Elon Musk</a>&nbsp;on Sunday.Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning, said Monday that business operations and acquisitions “should be independently decided by companies in accordance with market principles.”“If it involves Chinese companies, China’s laws and regulations should be observed,” Mao said.Until now, it was widely believed that Beijing would not allow the sale of TikTok, which had come to embody China’s defiance in the face of “U.S. robbery.” However, TikTok was among several issues brought up in a phone call between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Trump on Friday, though details were not available.Trump on Monday said he is looking to have the U.S. government broker a deal for 50% control of TikTok, adding that “every rich person” has called him about acquiring the social media platform.“I think the U.S. should be entitled to get half of TikTok and, congratulations, TikTok has a good partner and that would be worth, you know, could be $500 billion,” Trump said. “The numbers are crazy, but it’s worthless” without a U.S. buyer.<h2>Who or what can enforce the ban?</h2>The Justice Department is generally tasked with enforcing the laws of the federal government. Trump’s executive order instructs the U.S. attorney general not to take any action to enforce the TikTok ban for 75 days “to allow my Administration an opportunity to determine the appropriate course forward in an orderly way that protects national security while avoiding an abrupt shutdown of a communications platform used by millions of Americans.”Such a move might itself be subject to legal scrutiny but would buy time for TikTok.Trump’s efforts to save TikTok may put him at odds with some of the House members and senators who voted for the law, which received broad bipartisan support. House Speaker Mike Johnson called ByteDance’s ownership “a very dangerous thing,” and said he expected a full sale to happen.“I think we will enforce the law,” Johnson told NBC News’ “Meet the Press” on Sunday.Legislators now stand to “look a little bit silly” if the ban doesn’t last, Kreps said.“(The case) becomes about the separations of powers, and checks and balances, that we don’t have a king who decides what happens with the law,” Kreps said. “Enforcement isn’t only up to the executive branch.”<h2>What are other potential legal obstacles?</h2>Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, in a message posted on X, listed a number of state and federal agencies, and private entities, that might be willing to go to court to get the ban enforced.“Any company that hosts, distributes, services, or otherwise facilitates communist-controlled TikTok could face hundreds of billions of dollars of ruinous liability under the law, not just from DOJ, but also under securities law, shareholder lawsuits, and state AGs,” Cotton noted.Despite the intense scrutiny and potential costs involved, the machinations over TikTok are in some ways just business as usual for the tech companies involved, according to Gus Hurwitz, a legal scholar with the International Center for Law and Economics.“The fines that we’re talking about are civil penalties and companies risk civil penalties all the time,” Hurwitz said.Still, the hard business calculus of complying with a law in limbo or risk defying a president who holds lucrative federal contracts over those companies could come into focus if shareholders sue.Oracle, for example, has a part of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/technology-politics-amazoncom-inc-cloud-computing-us-department-of-defense-bfaeb3549b4d42328f35e579d7cb40b0">the Pentagon’s $9 billion contract</a>&nbsp;to build its cloud computing network.“This actually could be the right business decision to make,” Hurwitz said. “That’s not necessarily a breach of duty to shareholders.”<h2>Which companies are deciding whether to trust Trump’s assurances?</h2>There’s been lots of questions about how companies such as Oracle and Akamai Technologies are powering TikTok’s servers to stay online, while others such as Apple and Google have made the app unavailable for new users to download.None of the companies have responded to requests for comment.Oracle in 2020 announced it had a 12.5% stake in TikTok Global after securing its business as the app’s cloud technology provider.Meanwhile, as of Monday night, a search for TikTok on Apple’s app store directs to an online statement that reads in part: “Apple is obligated to follow the laws in the jurisdictions where it operates,” while Google’s app store notes downloads for TikTok “are paused due to current US legal requirements.”